Just been reminded why I dislike Windows so much (1 Viewer)

Allanm

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i have a Panasonic Toughbook running win 7. The only use it gets is to connect to a video cam used in my telescope, and to control the telescope itself. I went for the Toughbook because its waterproof and can be left outside for hours while running the cam
Anyway, I heard Windows 10 was starting to look like OSX and though it might be worth upgrading. I got the free update icon and thought, why not.
So, I started downloading win 10 on our very slow, sub 1 Megabit broadband connection.
About 15 hours later, it was ready to go. I pressed the next key and it told me it was preparing. A few minutes later it told me I had to manually uninstall one programme that wasn't compatible with win 10. So, I did. Then tried again. It came up with the same programme to be uninstalled. So, I tried again then realised I had to restart the computer to complete the uninstall
So I did
No windows 10 update, it was as if I had never tried to download it!
I had to re download the update!
This was last night. Before I went to bed, it was 59% downloaded. This morning, the Windows 7 desktop was staring at me with a message. Windows has restarted you computer after installing essential updates!
Stupid stupid system.
So, I have now restarted the download of win 10 for the third time
Compare that to OSX. When I download updates, it does it in the background. I can shut off my macbook, send it to sleep, pause the update or download it to the computer and install it when I want.
I just cannot find anything I like about the Windows operating system. I shall be looking at Linux to see if it will run my guiding and video cam programmes
On a good note, I like the robustness of the Toughbook.
 

scotjimland

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I started downloading win 10 on our very slow, sub 1 Megabit broadband connection.

which frankly, is the cause of most of your problems... you can't blame Microsoft for your ultra slow connection

I've installed W10 on two laptops and a desktop.. but I do have a fast internet, 80meg and downloaded W10 only took a few minutes .. the installations were faultless. and didn't take long.

I also have two Macs.. wife has an Airbook and I have a Macbookpro.. used mostly when travelling .. OSX is not without it's problems.. been using Macs since around 2002 .. . first one was an 14" G3 iBook.. loved it and it was light years ahead of Windows.. but since then Windows has caught up.. W7 is a fine OS .. and now find them much of a muchness

Installed Linux Mint on an old Dell laptop and as a dual boot on the desktop... but wouldn't consider it as the main operating system as I have photo and video editing software that wouldn't run on Linux. It may run your guiding and video cam programs.. best to try on another laptop, or install alongside W10

If you don't get on with W10 you can roll back to W7 easily..

initially I didn't like W10 and rolled back to W7 .. then changed my mind and re-installed W10 ... so it does work.. you have 30days to do that.. http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/how-to/windows/how-downgrade-windows-10-to-windows-7-8-easy-3615606/
 
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DBK

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And Apple has never had problems rolling out a new OS? :)

I've got Linux on a laptop but only use it if desperate. I guess if it was the only OS you used you would get used to it but I find it too different to Windows to be able to get my brain around it. For example it doesn't recognise different drives in a way which makes sense to me and you really shouldn't have to do things with the command line.

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i have a Panasonic Toughbook running win 7. The only use it gets is to connect to a video cam used in my telescope, and to control the telescope itself. I went for the Toughbook because its waterproof and can be left outside for hours while running the cam
Anyway, I heard Windows 10 was starting to look like OSX and though it might be worth upgrading. I got the free update icon and thought, why not.
So, I started downloading win 10 on our very slow, sub 1 Megabit broadband connection.
About 15 hours later, it was ready to go. I pressed the next key and it told me it was preparing. A few minutes later it told me I had to manually uninstall one programme that wasn't compatible with win 10. So, I did. Then tried again. It came up with the same programme to be uninstalled. So, I tried again then realised I had to restart the computer to complete the uninstall
So I did
No windows 10 update, it was as if I had never tried to download it!
I had to re download the update!
This was last night. Before I went to bed, it was 59% downloaded. This morning, the Windows 7 desktop was staring at me with a message. Windows has restarted you computer after installing essential updates!
Stupid stupid system.
So, I have now restarted the download of win 10 for the third time
Compare that to OSX. When I download updates, it does it in the background. I can shut off my macbook, send it to sleep, pause the update or download it to the computer and install it when I want.
I just cannot find anything I like about the Windows operating system. I shall be looking at Linux to see if it will run my guiding and video cam programmes
On a good note, I like the robustness of the Toughbook.
Me thinks it could be time to invest in a faster connection.....:)
 
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Allanm

Allanm

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It's not the Internet connection so much ( we live in a remote rural area, the only alternative is satellite, too expensive) it's the way Windows and the download works that has me frustrated. I've had Macs since the G4 came out and I don't remember any problems upgrading. I always put the upgrade on a new drive then swap the drives over. If it runs fine, I leave it in, if not, I stick the old drive in. I only did this once and within days, an update came along and it ran fine. That's the good thing about Macs, the operating systems can be swapped as simply as swapping a drive or using a copy on a usb stick or drive.
Also, with a Mac upgrade, any incompatible programmes are ignored, they just don't run with the upgrade, so it doesn't mess up the installation.
Anyway, 10 hours later, the 3rd Windows 10 download is 88% finished. Then I have to install it!
 

TheBig1

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why didnt you just download the standalone installer, just once. then it can be used from a usb stick on any other pcs or laptops
 

OldAgeTravellers

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I have done seven installations of Win10 so far and at home I only have a very slow connection in rural France 3mb/s. After the first one I decided it was much better to download the iso's for 32 & 64 bit took about 24 hours, as I have a mixture and work from there. My best success was my tiny eeePC-900 which failed under XP as it got a graphics problem then failed under Win7 with the same problem and now is as solid as a rock under Win10, Ok it would not fit on the Tiny A drive buts works from D just fine and I use a 16gig SD card to run programs from. I only use it for Autoroute as a moving map display on the dash and I did have to upgrade the USB GPS dongle but that was fifteen years old so needed upgrading.
Make sure you do a Clasic install. Click the blue link on the purple background, MS made it very difficult to see then you avoid revealing all the personal stuff. There are some oddities OK but generally it is very quick to pick up and if you really want to you can download the classic win 7 she'll but personally I don't think it necessary.
I have not found any of my very old legacy programs will not run after using the compatability tool. Quite frankly it is the easiest and most satisfying upgrade I have ever done which I hate saying but it is true. MS seem to have got it right this time. I may be disappointed later as I get deeper into it but nearly two months and no problems.
You are going to have to go that way eventually unless you go to Linux, but unfortunately it is still in control of the geeks who will not let go. I use it for some things, mainly reorganising and partitioning disks but it will not easily run the windows programs I want. And the closest I want to get to Apple is my IPad which reluctantly I have to admit is fantastic.
Don't forget the Ctrl left click shortcut in Win10 which gets you to most places without working through the Start menu.
Really it does work fine, take it slowly, download a CD ISO not a stick because some older machines will not use a USB install.
Best of Luck
 
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Allanm

Allanm

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Managed to download it again last night and as it was setting up, it threw up another programme that was incompatible, which meant another manual uninstall. This time, however, I told it to remove all apps ( apps?) and do a clean install, which it did.
At last! A Windows installation that doesn't look exactly the same as win 95. ( never had 8) Haven't had a chance to try it out yet, I still have to install all the Panasonic programmes ( sorry, apps), but as I said, it will only be used for the telescope, for everything else, I will be using my Macs.
Had another think about Linux, but I remember trying out a few distributions a while ago, (Ubuntu and Red Hat) and realised I spent more time trying to get it to run than actually using it.

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Allanm

Allanm

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After running Win 10 on this Toughbook for a while I discovered that there are far too many Panasonic drivers that are missing, (there are only a few dedicated Win 10 updated drivers ) and I understand that's not microsofts fault. So, I did a clean install of Win 7, updated all the drivers and I think that's as far as I will go. I tried to download Win 10 again to a usb stick, but it doesn't seem to want to play.
So, I will stick with 7 on this laptop. I have 10 on another Toughbook, but to be honest, I'd rather spend time getting my Mac to run the telescope than to spend even more time with Windows. Plus, I now have an app on my iPad that fully controls one of my small telescopes, it's brilliant.
 
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When people say they have installed linux they have in actual fact installed just one version of a Linux Distribution.
Linux is all about choice. There are specialised distributions for pretty much everything from recording studios to the Cern particle accelerator.
These all look and behave differently with bigger differences between them that there are between Windows and Apple.

There are a number of Linux distributions that look and feel just like Windows. For example Zorin is having extremely good reviews. If you want a Linux OS that behaves like OS/X then go for Elementary Linux. If however you want to move across to a proper linux environment look at a distribution that is based on either of these Desktops, KDE, Gnome, XFCE, LXDE, Mate or Cinnamon. Avoid Unity (Ubuntu) as it does things it's very own special and unique way and I find it gets in the way too much, it is too different.

Linux is made up of many many components but basically from your perspective there is the Kernel which is pretty much the same across all distributions. The package manager which is used to install new software I prefer yum based over apt-get based. Finally there is the desktop and themes. There are many different desktops which do things differently. A bit like the difference between OS/X and Windows. But the range of choices is much much bigger. KDE Plasma is a big powerful desktop environment that has more configuration options than all the other OS's put together. It is not just pretty it is extremely powerful. However you do have to learn a lot to get the best use out of it. At the other end of the scale there is XFCE which is extremely lightweight but still more configurable than windows. It is very fast and easy to use.

Once you have chosen your desktop you have to choose your theme. You can either stick with the default theme installed by the distribution or choose a totally new one. A theme on Linux is much more than what you would find on windows. It doesn't just change the colours, fonts and sizes. It can change the behaviour as well. If you look at Elementary for instance it changes everything to behave like a Mac. It is slick and easy to use however it does hide a lot of the power user features like the Mac does.

Linux is used in a surprising number of places. Every time you use an android device you are using Linux with an Android desktop.

One last thing about linux is that it has 10's of thousands of people working on it daily all over the world and it is improving daily. Bugs are fixed quietly and quickly and rolled out. Features are added by huge numbers each day. If you tried it a year ago things have moved on. If yo have only tried one or two different distributions you may not have found the one for you. It's a bit like shoes. You can buy loads of work boots and then you try a new brand and you cannot believe how good they are. You then buy them forever. Linux is a bit like finding the right boots.

Basically what I am trying to say is that trying linux once or twice then giving up may be doing yourself an injustice. If you have a spare laptop or PC. Give Zorin a go, give Elementary a go, Try out different desktops. However I recommend that your first one is never Ubuntu running Unity.

For me personally I really like Linux Mint XFCE edition at the moment. It has just the right balance between being very fast and being configurable.
 
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PS: if you want to see what a desktop looks like you can youtube reviews. Here is a good one for KDE to give you an idea what it looks like.
Watch this full screen.

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OldAgeTravellers

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PS: if you want to see what a desktop looks like you can youtube reviews. Here is a good one for KDE to give you an idea what it looks like.
Watch this full screen.


Thanks Gromett,
Good demo, I have tried various Linux distros in the past and found the learning curve just too long to be bothered. Plus have never had a powerful enough machine to run Wine successfully. As I use a number of legacy programs that I just cannot do without. I also use four screens and may upgrade to Six soon so also need that functionality.
Do you dual boot, run it in a Virtual Box or only use Linux?
Steve
 
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Thanks Gromett,
Good demo, I have tried various Linux distros in the past and found the learning curve just too long to be bothered. Plus have never had a powerful enough machine to run Wine successfully. As I use a number of legacy programs that I just cannot do without. I also use four screens and may upgrade to Six soon so also need that functionality.
Do you dual boot, run it in a Virtual Box or only use Linux?
Steve

If you have legacy programs rather than run Wine I would run VirtualBox. However this depends on your use case. If you use them most of the time or they are really heavy duty programs such as recent versions of photoshop or autocad then any form off emulation is probably a no go. Sticking to their original OS is advisable.

Until recently I ran 100% linux. I bought a new XPS13 and haven't got round to installing Linux on it yet. Been too busy but I can't wait. I am continuously frustrated by Windows.

Within windows I use KVM and Virtual box for running other linux and windows installs. On my main box for instance I run virtualbox using the VT-x and VT-d and windows actually runs faster on it than it does on the raw hardware. Really strange. No good for graphics heavy stuff mind you. I also use KVM to run other Linux distributions to test and for server emulation. I use Linux Mint XFCE as my main desktop as it is the closest to windows XP/7 style running as I need without all the extra fizz and pops that more heavy weight desktops provide. I don't need pretty or slick. I need fast and stable.

I am however tempted to try a KDE install on my laptop first before going back to the XFCE desktop.
 
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My HP i5 laptop runs very well on Windows 7 and so it will stay.

If it aint broke dont fix it (y)

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GJH

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I've played with Mac OS and various flavours of Linux over the years but mainly only for the sake of interest when I was still involved, to an extent, with techie stuff for work. When we had our own business much of the software we needed to run was Windows only and most of the software I now prefer to run is Windows only as well.

I ran stuff perfectly happily on XP, 7, 8, 8.1 and even Vista to an extent (until I upgraded that machine to XP). I've upgraded 5 machines to Windows 10, four of which are in regular use for one thing or another and all of which work better than running their previous OSs.

At the end of the day computers and the software which runs on them are tools. Like any other tools one has to learn to use them properly but, having done that, if they do the job required then no need to change.
 
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Allanm

Allanm

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Tried Linux a few times but I spent more time fixing it and getting it to run than actually using it.
I find Windows like that too. Too much fixing and fiddling involved.
Anyway, after installing all the Panasonic drivers again on my Win 7 laptop, I downloaded and installed Win 10 and everything went relatively smoothly and everything still works.
Still don't like Windows, but at least it's working as it should.
 

Munchie

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BIG update coming soon for 10!
Apparently will allow a "clean" install.

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scotjimland

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Since last posting I've rolled back to W7 .. gave W10 a good try but prefer 7 ..

Hard to say which is better.. horses for course.. IMO 10 is made for mobile devices with touch screens...

I spend most of my computer time on a high end PC Specialist desk top.. for mobile use I have MacBook pro

maybe just what I'm used to, I can find my way around W7 without needing Windows help .. I paid to upgrade to W7 Ultimate.. as far as I can establish.. W10 does not have that equivalent..

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MattR

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My iPad 2 is becoming a brick as the iOS updates arrive. I won't be updating to 9 and won't get another iPad when this one gives up completely.
 

Gellyneck

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More than toes wet now!
Thanks for PM..

there is another way.. only hides it ..

In the 'customize' the task bar icons,

Find: 'GWX Get Windows 10' and set to ' Hide icon and notifications'

Hi Jim
Agreed you can hide the icon but the detail I gave actually uninstalls GWX.exe so it gone until MS bring out another sneaky update to try and reinstall it.

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