Coming to terms with Win XP after using Win 98

  • Thread starter Thread starter AL D
  • Start date Start date
ToolPackinMama said:
I change my hardware frequently, and for MS to demand that I re-activate
at full price after "one-too-many" upgrades felt like punishment. I
have been a faithful and honest customer. I resent being treated like a
thief, simply because I upgrade frequently.
Click to expand...

You express well why I no longer use MS.
 
AL said:
No doubt there must be benefits in using Windows XP over Windows 98...
apart from being easier to shut down... but I seem to be finding a lot
of DISadvantages so far...
Click to expand...

The main advantage of Windows XP is extremely high stability compared
to the older 9x versions of Windows. The 9x versions were poorly
written and had a _completely_ different architecture under the hood,
despite their superficial resemblance to XP. XP is a descendant of NT
and has a very solid and reliable codebase, with much better security
and stability.

Windows XP typically never crashes at all (if it does, you have a
driver problem, a hardware problem, or a problem with a privileged
application). This cannot be said for the 9x versions of Windows.

Windows XP also supports NTFS, a far more stable and fail-safe file
system than FAT or FAT32. NTFS has higher capacity, better security,
more flexbility (much of which is still not exposed in current Windows
versions), and better maintainability, and is almost impossible to
corrupt with a simple power failure.

The flip side is that XP requires a lot more resources than the 9x
family of Windows, and since it is more recent, it carries more of the
bloat and unwanted features that Microsoft piles into each new version
of Windows, as it seeks to justify upgrades and please its Hollywood
and record-industry masters.
1) be able to drag an .exe file from filing cabinet onto the desktop,
and have the resulting desktop icon actually execute its programwhen I
click on it (in all cases).

2) set the filing cabinet to display files as list, with details, by
default every time..

3) Have those details include the file extension.
Click to expand...

Not sure about the first (never tried it), but the latter two are
simple options that you can easily enable.
 
John said:
But comparing Windows XP to prior versions of Windows (given the
workarounds for WPA), it's relative bliss. The big antitrust trial
probably had something to do with Microsoft blessing us with a half
decent operating system.
Click to expand...

It had nothing to do with it. XP is just a consumer version of
Windows NT, which existed long before any antitrust problems arose.
Windows XP is a _completely different_ operating system from Windows
9x, and it is a superior operating system. That's why it runs better.

For those who were running NT from the beginning, the move to XP
brought no surprises, as they were already used to the stability and
security and other features of NT.
 
Mxsmanic said:
For those who were running NT from the beginning, the move to XP
brought no surprises, as they were already used to the stability and
security and other features of NT.
Click to expand...

True, but NT/2K were not OK for gaming. XP is better for that.
 
Jim said:
You express well why I no longer use MS.
Click to expand...

If only it were that simple. I suppose if you don't actually run
anything on the machine, you can choose any OS. But if you want
access to the vast majority of PC applications out there, you must run
Windows.
 
Mxsmanic said:
Jim writes:




If only it were that simple. I suppose if you don't actually run
anything on the machine, you can choose any OS. But if you want
access to the vast majority of PC applications out there, you must run
Windows.
Click to expand...

::sigh:: True. Most of the best games are windows-only.
 
I change my hardware frequently, and for MS to demand that I re-activate
at full price after "one-too-many" upgrades felt like punishment. I have
been a faithful and honest customer. I resent being treated like a thief,
simply because I upgrade frequently.
Click to expand...

What are you talking about? I upgrade frequently, too and have never had
a request for money. Has MS ever asked you for money
when you called to activate?

Tom Lake
 
Troll

Mxsmanic said:
Path: newssvr29.news.prodigy.net!newsdbm05.news.prodigy.com!newsdbm04.news.prodigy.com!newsdbm03.news.prodigy.com!newsdst01.news.prodigy.com!newsmst01b.news.prodigy.com!prodigy.com!newscon06.news.prodigy.com!prodigy.net!border1.nntp.dca.giganews.com!nntp.giganews.com!local01.nntp.dca.giganews.com!news.giganews.com.POSTED!not-for-mail
NNTP-Posting-Date: Wed, 28 Dec 2005 17:50:31 -0600
From: Mxsmanic <mxsmanic gmail.com>
Newsgroups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt
Subject: Re: Coming to terms with Win XP after using Win 98
Date: Thu, 29 Dec 2005 00:50:31 +0100
Organization: Just Mxsmanic
Message-ID: <e596r1pnc5qpd2gacnl9jakfjc8o9207ij 4ax.com>
References: <43b29f54.7492791 news.individual.net> <Xns973A94D5DA03Efollydom 207.115.17.102> <H_Csf.27721$wq.6497 bignews7.bellsouth.net> <Xns973A9C7166C39follydom 207.115.17.102>
X-Newsreader: Forte Agent 2.0/32.652
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Lines: 9
X-Trace: sv3-bSmMjk7YK/2wTRECPqDLiy4/GV8dIf5mb1HmdPY15sZXXHBHTpKFT6tMaK1pP80y3WZn8XOUNcBiE5O!ZWPfkF8fm9q3WTu1kIKYqUEvEU5w5IlgN1wy0RBtiGNbR2oAGZ0HpRkJiY41ovN03iHGjeE=
X-Complaints-To: abuse giganews.com
X-DMCA-Notifications: http://www.giganews.com/info/dmca.html
X-Abuse-and-DMCA-Info: Please be sure to forward a copy of ALL headers
X-Abuse-and-DMCA-Info: Otherwise we will be unable to process your complaint properly
X-Postfilter: 1.3.32
Xref: newsmst01b.news.prodigy.com alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt:454120



The code base for XP is Windows NT, which predates Windows 95.
Click to expand...
 
ToolPackinMama said:
True.
Click to expand...

True semantics.

If you are suggesting that all of the code for Windows XP was
contained in Windows NT, that sounds very silly.

Are you saying that Microsoft just sat around for however many years
it was supposed to have been writing Windows XP before its release?

During the antitrust trial, Microsoft said that Windows code is
completely overhauled every three years. But Yes, I know that's
false.
 
Mxsmanic said:
Jim writes:




If only it were that simple. I suppose if you don't actually run
anything on the machine, you can choose any OS. But if you want
access to the vast majority of PC applications out there, you must
run Windows.
Click to expand...

Depends. If you count strictly the numbers of applications then by no
doubt MS wins hands down. But how many do you actually use?

I have two desktops and one laptop. One desktop is dual boot Linux/XP
as is the laptop. The other desktop is strictly Linux.

My use of Windows tends to be Quicken, TurboTax, and Streets & Trips.
Quicken I access about once a month. TurboTax in a couple weeks. And
Streets & Trips a couple times in the summer. Always offline.

Linux handles everything else. Nice being able to access the Internet
and such without dealing with the bug if the week. Other than games
which I'm not into I'm not aware of anything I'm missing. Like the Mac
guys like to say, "it just works".
 
Mxsmanic said:
It had nothing to do with it.
Click to expand...

The usual Microsoft Speak nonsense from the same Microsoft defender
who plainly/unashamedly states "Microsoft Office is one
application".
XP is just a consumer version of Windows NT,
Click to expand...

Misleading, obscure, and pointless.
which existed long before any antitrust problems arose.
Click to expand...

A Microsoft defender suggesting that the many years of work on XP
before its release were an allusion, that Microsoft employees were
sitting around twiddling their thumbs.
Windows XP is a _completely different_ operating system from
Windows 9x, and it is a superior operating system. That's why it
runs better.
Click to expand...

So it magically appeared at the wave of his idle Steve Ballmer's
hand.
For those who were running NT from the beginning,
Click to expand...

Which doesn't include most consumers.
the move to XP
brought no surprises, as they were already used to the stability
and security and other features of NT.
Click to expand...

Which doesn't mean that Windows XP would be offered to consumers at
the same price as prior consumer versions of Windows.

Apparently the troll doesn't understand what proper motivation can
do for an entity.
 
Mxsmanic said:
The main advantage of Windows XP is extremely high stability
compared to the older 9x versions of Windows. The 9x versions
were poorly written and had a _completely_ different architecture
under the hood, despite their superficial resemblance to XP. XP
is a descendant of NT and has a very solid and reliable codebase,
with much better security and stability.

Windows XP typically never crashes at all (if it does, you have a
driver problem, a hardware problem, or a problem with a privileged
application). This cannot be said for the 9x versions of Windows.
Click to expand...

Horse hockey. Microsoft defenders have always blamed Windows crashes
on driver problems. It's always been the same old story, it's the
same excuse always used for prior consumer versions of Windows.
 
Jim said:
Depends. If you count strictly the numbers of applications then
by no doubt MS wins hands down.
Click to expand...

And if you walk into a software store, you might be able to find
something other than Windows software, and you certainly won't find
Linux software.

The evidence was clear a decade ago.
But how many do you actually use?
Click to expand...

It is only the software you use, it's the software you might use or
the software you might want to use.

Half of the fun stuff I do on my personal computer I couldn't do in
Linux or on a Mac, and then there's games.
I have two desktops and one laptop. One desktop is dual boot
Linux/XP as is the laptop.
Click to expand...

Right. That falsifies your claim "I no longer use MS".

And that's the way it is.
 
Another pointless troll to complement his often times incorrect
advice to people who ask for help here in this group.
 
Back
Top