Is today the day to abandon Windows?
Discussion
I've been using Windows machines since 3.1 and found Windows less user friendly and reliable as the years have passed.
We've gradually abandoned our Windows portable devices and have only one left. It's running a W7 shell and is used only for browsing.
We have one desktop with W7, which I doubt is powerful enough to run W10. We've had the, "Windows 7 is no longer supported" message.
Is today the day we should buy a Chrome desktop and fill the wheelie bin with the Windows kit we've accumulated over the years?
There's only one outcome for threads like this - so I'll get it out the way - thought about a Mac?!
Seriously, chromebooks are surprisingly good, but only if you already use (or plan to use) a lot of Google services e.g your email is gmail, use google docs etc. They don't just have to be for basic web browsing.
Seriously, chromebooks are surprisingly good, but only if you already use (or plan to use) a lot of Google services e.g your email is gmail, use google docs etc. They don't just have to be for basic web browsing.
Bikerjon said:
There's only one outcome for threads like this - so I'll get it out the way - thought about a Mac?!
Seriously, chromebooks are surprisingly good, but only if you already use (or plan to use) a lot of Google services e.g your email is gmail, use google docs etc. They don't just have to be for basic web browsing.
We've got some Apple devices, which are not worth the money IMHO. To the lay person it appears that Apple is becoming complacent, but is behind MS on the complacency curve.Seriously, chromebooks are surprisingly good, but only if you already use (or plan to use) a lot of Google services e.g your email is gmail, use google docs etc. They don't just have to be for basic web browsing.
The cheap Chrome kit we've bought of late has been great.
I use an old Dell laptop for writing mainly when out and about, using Softmaker Office. It's very good quality but struggled a bit with Win10.
I replaced the 64gig HD with a 250 SSD and installed Linux Mint. It's now quick and does everything I need on a portable. It's got a solid metal case, so it's not light, but a small price to pay for robustness.
I don't think there is a single answer to which OS any more.
I have to use Win10 on my desktop and decent laptop to run certain programmes. But if Linux could run them, I'd jump ship tomorrow. Or latter today if I heard in the morning.
I have a google phone and android tablet.
I've always thought an OS should be transparent.
I replaced the 64gig HD with a 250 SSD and installed Linux Mint. It's now quick and does everything I need on a portable. It's got a solid metal case, so it's not light, but a small price to pay for robustness.
I don't think there is a single answer to which OS any more.
I have to use Win10 on my desktop and decent laptop to run certain programmes. But if Linux could run them, I'd jump ship tomorrow. Or latter today if I heard in the morning.
I have a google phone and android tablet.
I've always thought an OS should be transparent.
I would personally be astonished if you had anything happily running Windows 7 that wasn't just as happy running Windows 10. I've yet to see anything run slower as a result of it.
There's a lot of dinosaurs who want a 16-bit OS back with Program Manager but aside from a leaning towards a technology that isn't as widespread as people thought it might end up (touchscreen) there's very little fundamentally wrong with Windows 10. Even had a bunch of my Linux-toting mates accept it as their primary OS.
There's a lot of dinosaurs who want a 16-bit OS back with Program Manager but aside from a leaning towards a technology that isn't as widespread as people thought it might end up (touchscreen) there's very little fundamentally wrong with Windows 10. Even had a bunch of my Linux-toting mates accept it as their primary OS.
Pegscratch said:
aside from a leaning towards a technology that isn't as widespread as people thought it might end up (touchscreen) there's very little fundamentally wrong
If you actually want to use it for real stuff (as apposed to browsing and media etc) that is a a pretty big thing isn't it? At times you would be forgiven for thinking windows 10 wants to be an application for the computer illiterate rather than an operating system.That, and the "we know best and want complete control of your machine" approach to windows updates are the two reasons why I hate windows 10.
Unfortunately, those things aside it is better than windows 7 and better than any other general purpose OS around. So I still use it on both my desktop and laptop. I just swear at it quite a lot.....
Personally very happy with my windows 10. I think half the complaints are geeky tech types who like to pretend they know better with linux chrome side loaded iOS android powered blahblahblah.
I actually love it, wife watches one born and I wirelessly play my xbox on my windows pc using headset. Honestly cannot stand that program. Thank you microsoft
I actually love it, wife watches one born and I wirelessly play my xbox on my windows pc using headset. Honestly cannot stand that program. Thank you microsoft
Win 10 is very good. No complaints here at all really, once you've accepted you're still running Windows.
I have lots of other devices in the house - mostly android, but I have 2 Lubuntu machines - one laptop and one media server. Ubuntu is good, but still does really mean that now and again, you need to get involved with '$ sudo blah blah -c etc...'. It's pretty straightforward, but it's still a barrier to entry.
Inevitably I am in some way techie, so have patience for this stuff, but if I had a win 7 machine, I'd first see if I can do the upgrade to 10 as Win 10 is comparable in terms of hardware requirements.
I have lots of other devices in the house - mostly android, but I have 2 Lubuntu machines - one laptop and one media server. Ubuntu is good, but still does really mean that now and again, you need to get involved with '$ sudo blah blah -c etc...'. It's pretty straightforward, but it's still a barrier to entry.
Inevitably I am in some way techie, so have patience for this stuff, but if I had a win 7 machine, I'd first see if I can do the upgrade to 10 as Win 10 is comparable in terms of hardware requirements.
First of all, stop believing lies. Win10 is not more power hungry than Win7, it's not an Apple device.
It's easy to be snobby about Win10, it's thelowest hanging fruit that sheep repeat.
Plus you will be able to upgrade to Win10 for free. Try it first, you may be surprised, You dont sound a very heavy user anyway.
It's easy to be snobby about Win10, it's thelowest hanging fruit that sheep repeat.
Plus you will be able to upgrade to Win10 for free. Try it first, you may be surprised, You dont sound a very heavy user anyway.
Hoofy said:
How old is your PC? I think mine's about 6 or 7 years old and it was secondhand back then! Happily runs W10 although starting up is slow. (Before anyone posts, CBA to switch to a SSD.)
My PC will be 6 years old in two months, not particularly well specc'd when new as I wanted a small form factor, so it's AMD A8 chip/6gb/1gb GPU/1tb HDD an start up was annoying the life out of me - about 4 months ago I fitted a Samsung 250gb SSD (I could have bought a much cheaper SSD but Samsung's migration software is by far the least hassle for cloning the original HDD) And it's made a vast difference to the usability. I found a brand new 4gb stick of Crucial RAM on Ebay for £12 two weeks ago so it's now got 8gb running on SSD and the old HDD as storage - it does everything I need pretty quickly indeed. I paid nearly £60 for the SSD but prices have tumbled in that time - kicked myself right up the arse for not having done it sooner!So said:
Bikerjon said:
There's only one outcome for threads like this - so I'll get it out the way - thought about a Mac?!
Seriously, chromebooks are surprisingly good, but only if you already use (or plan to use) a lot of Google services e.g your email is gmail, use google docs etc. They don't just have to be for basic web browsing.
We've got some Apple devices, which are not worth the money IMHO. To the lay person it appears that Apple is becoming complacent, but is behind MS on the complacency curve.Seriously, chromebooks are surprisingly good, but only if you already use (or plan to use) a lot of Google services e.g your email is gmail, use google docs etc. They don't just have to be for basic web browsing.
The cheap Chrome kit we've bought of late has been great.
The only reason I didn't just replace the 2011 Pro is because the battery also needed replaced (after one top many drops did for the mountings), and I'd worn out some of the keys as well as there being a crack in the screen where my son had closed it while I had a tiny screw laid in the base of the screen. I could still resurrect it and use it fine, but it was just easier to pull out the 13" one and use that.
I run a docker stack for app development, which comprises a database, a java API layer and a few other things. I also run Final Cut Pro for video editing from time to time and event tho both laptops are 7 and 9 years old respectively, they can both handle that all fine.
So yes, it's expensive, but for me it works well
feef said:
Don't know about the more recent stuff, but my 2011 MacBook Pro only died in November after being used every day for 8 years because it's hard-drive failed. I have a spare 2013, 13" MacBook Pro which subcontractors and employees used for a short while and I'm using that now instead.
The only reason I didn't just replace the 2011 Pro is because the battery also needed replaced (after one top many drops did for the mountings), and I'd worn out some of the keys as well as there being a crack in the screen where my son had closed it while I had a tiny screw laid in the base of the screen. I could still resurrect it and use it fine, but it was just easier to pull out the 13" one and use that.
I run a docker stack for app development, which comprises a database, a java API layer and a few other things. I also run Final Cut Pro for video editing from time to time and event tho both laptops are 7 and 9 years old respectively, they can both handle that all fine.
So yes, it's expensive, but for me it works well
I ran a 2010 MBP for about a year in 2017 which I got very cheap, I stuck a SSD and 8GB ram in it and must admit it worked well. The only reason I didn't just replace the 2011 Pro is because the battery also needed replaced (after one top many drops did for the mountings), and I'd worn out some of the keys as well as there being a crack in the screen where my son had closed it while I had a tiny screw laid in the base of the screen. I could still resurrect it and use it fine, but it was just easier to pull out the 13" one and use that.
I run a docker stack for app development, which comprises a database, a java API layer and a few other things. I also run Final Cut Pro for video editing from time to time and event tho both laptops are 7 and 9 years old respectively, they can both handle that all fine.
So yes, it's expensive, but for me it works well
I went back to Linux after that (I'd come from Linux before that as well) but for a 2010 machine it worked well, I only sold it because Apple stopped OS updates for it and it was quite heavy, I did buy a 3rd party replacement battery for it from Amazon as well which lasted about 3 hours max.
Pegscratch said:
aside from a leaning towards a technology that isn't as widespread as people thought it might end up (touchscreen) there's very little fundamentally wrong with Windows 10.
I thought touchscreen was a bit of a gimmick until I bought a laptop with it. If you're actually using a laptop as a laptop and not using a mouse it's absolutely brilliant for scrolling and clicking buttons compared to using the tracker pad.The_Jackal said:
Plus you will be able to upgrade to Win10 for free. Try it first, you may be surprised, You dont sound a very heavy user anyway.
Doesn't the free upgrade thing expire tomorrow?I've been on Win10 for ages the only issues I ever have are when I don't use my laptop for a while as it usually decides I need an update when I do use it. My desktop gets a lot more use so I don't really notice the updates other than the occasional time when I shut down and it asks if I want to install the update.
However, I have a windows PC as I use several bits of windows software. If I just wanted to browse the web and read e-mails a chrome book or tablet would do the job nicely. My wife's just bought a Samsing Android tablet and I suspect that's all a lot of people need.
My main concern right now is that it really feels like Microsoft are trying to discourage everyone from using native applications and push everything onto this pseudo virtual desktop/thin web enabled client known as Teams.
Does this mean they then strip the OS back to some very very basic functionality.
I don't know. All I know is that I hate teams for messaging and collaboration, but Skype for Business is being retired by our company this year and it doesn't feel like Teams is a worthy and ready replacement.
Does this mean they then strip the OS back to some very very basic functionality.
I don't know. All I know is that I hate teams for messaging and collaboration, but Skype for Business is being retired by our company this year and it doesn't feel like Teams is a worthy and ready replacement.
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