[pete]

So I had to get a used thinkpad T40 with XP professional in order to use with Dragon Naturallyspeaking 8. I've developed minor RSI that I don't want to get worse so dictation is the only solution right now. Anyway, the hardware is simply superb. Like a tank with incredible sturdiness and a wonderful keyboard even better than my powerbook. And the LCD blows my beautiful powerbook away too. And it's much cooler.But, having used XP for just 24 hours, I can say that there is no hardware in the world that makes up for the incredibly frustration and aggrevating experience of using XP.

First, I can't stand having constant pop up messages telling me about security threats, spyware updates and virus security. It's distracting and annoying. Second, warning messages are aggressive and misleading. As are error messages. I tried to install an update from IBM and suddenly I got an abrupt and alarming message telling me that a 'serious error' had ocurred, followed immediately with another window BEHIND it explaining that my computer was not 'eligible' for the update. That was the error: not being eligible. I thought a bomb was going to explode or something. Third, the user interface is messy, cluttered and just simply distracting and annoying: Fourth, Drag and drop seems totally inconsistent. Fifth, the taskpar icons are butt ugly and almost impossible to decipher. Sixth, iis there any point in going on? I mean there are so many little things messed up with it that I could write forever and still not exhaust them. Oh, right, I forgot (memory lapse due to newer problems): I installed one of the recommened updates and couldn't connecct to the internet afterwards. What was really annoying was that the status windows showed a strong signal but there was no internet. I searched google and found lots of people with the same problem, but nobody with a solution. THe only thing I could do is use the return to a previous state function (or whatever it's called) and remove the update. Luckily it worked and luckily this function exists. I spent 5 HOURS trying to get my connection back.

I tried to rectify the user interface problems by installing all the mac themes available, but after using a system that resembled a mac but didn't work at all like one, I realized I couldn't cover up the beast and reverted back to ugly xp.

I've decided not to use this machine for the internet at all, but just use it for my dictation. I can't believe that the world puts up with this! And I realize how lucky I am not to have been exposed earlier. I'm praying for a really good voice dictation application for mac. Macspeech and viavoice just don't cut it.

So, guys and girls, let's all be happy that we're using macs and enjoy the weekend.

Thanks for listening. I needed it.

[ghporter]

What's giving you those popups? If you have installed a useful antivirus program, you can simply tell it to handle potential viruses for you and let you ignore it. A good firewall is important too, and the above goes for that too. Depending on XP's firewall is only moderately useful, since it only looks at incoming packets, and there are a lot of things you may or may not want "calling home."

Also remember that many Windows users are...er..."challenged." They think they know what's going on and that they are in control, when in fact they are blundering along without a clue. That's kind of hard to do with MacOS, but Windows exposes so much of the nuts and bolts that the user has to be involved at least a little, and that leads to some "interesting" problems. IBM telling you your computer wasn't "eligible" for the update (which may have been because it already was as up to date as it could be, or because the software you were updating was a limited version) could be a big deal for some people.

The user interface is as flexible as OS X's, but it's not as easy to manipulate for someone who's used to how user friendly the GUI on a Mac is. You can delete just about everything on the desktop without any problem, and the stuff that you can't delete can be hidden using a simple tool called "TweakUI." Drag and drop is somewhat inconsistent, but it's better than it was-there were times when Win98 would let you drop stuff where it shouldn't go, and that would lead to some "bad things" happening, like crashing the machine. If your taskbar icons are too small to decipher, your screen resolution is set to large for the screen size. And while Windows will tell you that it will "probably look better" set at it's natural resolution, most laptop screens (ThinkPads included) do fine at somewhat lower resolutions. And besides, most of the taskbar icons are useless most of the time anyway.

Don't obsess over what's wrong with Windows. Just be happy that it's not the only game in town. I've spent years and years not only working with Windows but teaching others how to do so, and you can get used to it. I am actually a switcher, and I was amazed at how simple, easy, and natural OS X is to use, manipulate and customize-all because I'd learned to do much of what I wanted the hard way. There is a place for Windows. Let's keep it there and have fun with our Macs!

[Superchicken]

Why didn't you just get VPC for your PowerBook? Sounds like that would have been an easier solution. Text to speech can't take up that much CPU power can it?

[Severed Hand of Skywalker]

True but tiger is much newer. What OSX was out when XP was released?

[ManOfSteal]

Originally Posted by Severed Hand of Skywalker

What OSX was out when XP was released?

v10.1

[ghporter]

V10.1 of OS X was pretty rough. Still, in most ways it was probably superior in design to XP. That said, XP was more "finished" than OS X. There were fewer disconnects between things that were supposed to work together than in OS X. Of course that was then and this is now; XP hasn't gotten much easier to use, and Mac OS has gotten significantly better. That's not to say XP has stagnated, it's just that the improvements haven't been as substantial as those between say Jaguar and Panther.

And it still all comes down to what you're used to and how flexible you want to be. I can shift between the two pretty easily, but that comes from long experience with Windows as the only OS I had to work with.

[Wiskedjak]

Originally Posted by pete

Anyway, the hardware is simply superb. Like a tank with incredible sturdiness and a wonderful keyboard even better than my powerbook. And the LCD blows my beautiful powerbook away too. And it's much cooler.But, having used XP for just 24 hours, I can say that there is no hardware in the world that makes up for the incredibly frustration and aggrevating experience of using XP.

I agree with you completely. OSX is certainly superior to WinXP. But, I'm only spending a few hundred on the OS and a few thousand on the hardware. I'm more inclined to buy a PC over a Mac because the PC hardware is far better value for the money.

[OogaBooga]

Buying a PC is like getting a cheap Formula 1 car. It's fast, but you can't really drive it anywhere.

[danman]

Buying a Mac is like buying a formula 1 car. It's expensive and don't expect to be able to add on to it.

[ManOfSteal]

Fight! Fight! Fight!

[hyperb0le]

Racing sucks. I win.

[Link]

Originally Posted by danman

Buying a Mac is like buying a formula 1 car. It's expensive and don't expect to be able to add on to it.

Whoa whoa whoa. You just got the whole powermac forum against you there idiot. There's plenty of us who have upgraded macs like no tomorrow that would be willing to prove you wrong every day of the week..

Then turn around and sell our 4-6 year old macs for more than your POS "Gaming rig" is worth now.

[budster101]

danman = damnan = mannad = nadman

Hope this helps.

[danman]

I wus just bored. But if it keeps this thread alive so be it.

[danman]

and that doesnt help. nadman? WTF is that?

[budster101]

I wus just bored. But if it keeps you wondering, then so be it.

[danman]

Actually it did. I was trying to come up with some other ones but the 4 that you posted were enough.

[ApplCmptrDood]

Now back to the subject...
i agree with you 100 % original poster (i can't remember screen names). I have to use XP half the time at my mom's house, and it is a living hell. Pop-ups everywhere, spyware EVERYDAY and god knows what else. I could go get an intercontinental flight, and come back, and a webpage wouldn't be done loading on that laptop. My 1.25 Ghz mac mini (with 256 MB of RAM), is faster than the 2.4 Ghz laptop (with 512 MB of RAM) and with XP on it at my mom's house. And it's because of the software. Thank god that Apple is switching to Intel, because we'll have speed and the BEST OS on the planet!!!

[ghporter]

Originally Posted by ApplCmptrDood

Now back to the subject...
i agree with you 100 % original poster (i can't remember screen names). I have to use XP half the time at my mom's house, and it is a living hell. Pop-ups everywhere, spyware EVERYDAY and god knows what else. I could go get an intercontinental flight, and come back, and a webpage wouldn't be done loading on that laptop. My 1.25 Ghz mac mini (with 256 MB of RAM), is faster than the 2.4 Ghz laptop (with 512 MB of RAM) and with XP on it at my mom's house. And it's because of the software. Thank god that Apple is switching to Intel, because we'll have speed and the BEST OS on the planet!!!

Instead of running your mom's computer down, why not help her out? Either get her some good protective software, or help her find the Mac of her dreams. SHE is dealing with the popups and spyware all the time-and she gave birth to you!!!! Help the lady out!

Really, most of the "it's too slow and laggy" stuff people complain about with XP is because they haven't bothered to install software to fight the bad guys. A good firewall and a good antivirus package are essential. You can also get them FOR FREE, so there's no reason not to-except that you don't bother with them. If that's the case, don't complain. Zone Alarm personal is free for personal use, and it's great. Antivirus is available for free from AVG, Pandaware, Avast, and many others. And most if not all AV products now allow you to update the virus defs in the background on a set schedule so you don't have to even think about it. Further, running both a firewall and a good AV package will put a significantly lesser strain on the computer than letting the crap that's crept in just stay there.

Also, before you think you're done, download and use these two products: SaferNetworking's Spybot Search & Destroy and Lavasoft's AdAware SE. Run both and let them fix what they find. No spyware/adware package catches everything, but used together these two do a great job.

When you've done that, you will have done mom a great service. Then start working on her to get a PowerBook!

[Gee4orce]

Actually, XP is like driving an F1 car - it requires a lot of maintenance, goes out of date after less than a year, the hardware incompatibilities are a nightmare (tires anyone ?) and you have to have constant driver updates !

How can anyone say XP was released at the same time as 10.1, and XP is better because it's better than 10.1 ?! What sort of logic is that ? The fact remains the Mac OS X is now at 10.4 and is light years ahead of XP.

Windows Vista (hahah !) isn't due out for more than a year, by which time we'll be on 10.5, or very close to it.

[Maflynn]

I think with the appropriate software colktail you won't get those pop ups, adware/spyware and virsues.

I've been a mac person for years and PC user since dos 2.11

With the advant of XP (actually win2k) M$ really made some improvements on the stability. The user interface is quite simiar to that mac though, I really do hate the start button and the registry is just a kludge plain and simple.

Visually they are quite similar though. There are things on the PC I like and I wished the mac had, but overall I think OSX has a better design, its better built and its intergration into the hardware is by far the best. In the end OSX is superior ina number of ways, while XP the ability to run more software. There's just much more applications for less money available for the pc then there is for the mac, add on top the premium we pay for the mac hardware and its a good chunk of change. No regets though, I'd rather be a mac user and think different then the some mindless lemmnig.

Mike

[Link]

FWIW, I preferred 10.1 to XP, and still do. Windows isn't the worst thing in the world, but for me it aint better than say -- OS 9 .. One of the things I really liked back in the day was I could do almost anything -- under the GUI, over -- it didn't matter.. but then Windows got crazier and crazier.. but there's things that have NEVER been right..

Shut down a Windows machine? Start -> Turn Off Computer -> Shut down
Log off Windows? Start -> Turn off Computer -> Log out

[Maflynn]

Originally Posted by Link

Shut down a Windows machine? Start -> Turn Off Computer -> Shut down
Log off Windows? Start -> Turn off Computer -> Log out

Oh I hate that especially in running terminal server, I'm afraid of shutting down a server instead of logging out.

[Maflynn]

Stupid double post

[kmkkid]

Vista is going to take care of most, if not all of the security issues. Of course that's not going to put an end to viruses, because windows marketshare is huge, so it's targeted. But apparently it will put an end to spyware, at least current forms of spyware.

Plus from recent beta shots of Vista, it's going to look nice and looks to be more usable. I like the new "breadcrumb trail" hierarchy in Explorer.

[Weyland-Yutani]

I have never been interested in any Windows release, but Vista has changed that. I am looking forward to see and try it out. Windows 2000 was surprisingly good and XP developed eventually into something tolerable. Vista is built on a new foundation so this is Microsoft's OS X in a way.

Perhaps this one will be good enough for me to change camps? I'll probably be able to use my MacTel to do it too, so it won't be hard.

cheers

W-Y

[Maflynn]

Originally Posted by kmkkid

Vista is going to take care of most, if not all of the security issues.

How so?

I mean not sound like a doubting Thomas but didn't Microsoft promise that in XP service 2 they were going to take care of that?

then there's their own spyware detection software, they recently downgraded the setting from spyware to ignore anyhting from Claria. They (Claria) are the makers of Gator and other known adware/spyware applications.

So their actions fail to instill a sense of security or that they have our best interest in mind.

Mike

[kmkkid]

Originally Posted by Maflynn

How so?

I mean not sound like a doubting Thomas but didn't Microsoft promise that in XP service 2 they were going to take care of that?

then there's their own spyware detection software, they recently downgraded the setting from spyware to ignore anyhting from Claria. They (Claria) are the makers of Gator and other known adware/spyware applications.

So their actions fail to instill a sense of security or that they have our best interest in mind.

Mike

I believe they promised enhanced security in SP2, which they did deliver on. Remember Vista is almost going to be a complete re-write and isnt just a service pack.

And, there are other anti-spyware applications out there.

[kmkkid]

ARG. I agree with you about XP. For the last week or so my system has been having really slow shutdowns. And I had to manually shut it down from the admin controls, because the start menu shutdown command would cause explorer to freeze.

Well... I just discovered what has been causing it. It seems some spyware I removed a couple of weeks back had a CLSID Value still intact, and when the system shutdown it was looking for the value which led to nothing obviously because I deleted the spyware. If I didnt know what to look for I would have had to reinstall XP. Too bad it was something so simple, I was just too lazy to look into it sooner lol.

Damn I HATE the registry. Oh well, all is good now

[dru]

XP spontaneously reboots on my mother's new toshiba laptop. It's stable now that I turned off all video acceleration. Considering they use an all Intel chipset I can't say I'm thrilled with Apple's move. This is actually a "tip" I picked up from the server edition's settings. I figure if Microsoft doesn't trust stability with their certified drivers then why should I?

[Superchicken]

They only started touting security recently compared to the newer features that had to be dropped. I imagine they'll be doing a few things to make it more secure but I highly doubt that this will really make Windows near as secure as Linux or OS X.

[msuper69]

Microsoft:

"This version of Windows is the greatest! Really. It's what we've all been waiting for. Honest. Trust us."

They have been saying this since Windows 1.1.

[ghporter]

Originally Posted by msuper69

Microsoft:

"This version of Windows is the greatest! Really. It's what we've all been waiting for. Honest. Trust us."

They have been saying this since Windows 1.1.

And every single time they've been right-each new version is tons better than the previous version. They just aren't as smooth and consistent as MacOS. And let's not forget that some versions of MacOS have not been "perfect." Wasn't there something about OS 7...?

Anyway, Pete, how is Dragon working for you?

[strokemouth]

Originally Posted by msuper69

Microsoft:

"This version of Windows is the greatest! Really. It's what we've all been waiting for. Honest. Trust us."

They have been saying this since Windows 1.1.

And that's what Steve Jobs says at every keynote he does. Welcome to marketing!

[Maflynn]

Originally Posted by ghporter

And every single time they've been right-each new version is tons better than the previous version.

I got one word for you Windows Millennium That was a dog. A lot of the NT flavors (before they merged the platforms) had tons of issues also, so I think your kind of stretching it when youe saying that every single time they've been right (being tons better the the prior version).

They seemed to be on track with XP and well see when vista is released.

[OreoCookie]

Originally Posted by Maflynn

I got one word for you Windows Millennium That was a dog. A lot of the NT flavors (before they merged the platforms) had tons of issues also, so I think your kind of stretching it when youe saying that every single time they've been right (being tons better the the prior version).

They seemed to be on track with XP and well see when vista is released.

I think Win98 first edition (not SE) was worse. I still have to deal with it from time to time (one client of mine runs it on her office machines).

[CaptainHaddock]

Originally Posted by Maflynn

I got one word for you Windows Millennium That was a dog. A lot of the NT flavors (before they merged the platforms) had tons of issues also, so I think your kind of stretching it when youe saying that every single time they've been right (being tons better the the prior version).

They seemed to be on track with XP and well see when vista is released.

Not to mention that each new version of Windows is slower on the same hardware than the last. And networking seems to be getting worse. It was fairly easy in Windows 98 but unworkable in ME. And I can't make my parents' XP machine transfer files over a network with any success (it usually hangs or crashes partway through).

After years of Windows frustrations, I switched. I have nothing good to say about that platform, except good riddance.

[pete]

It's ironic that I'm coming to my old mac friends to get help with windows, but it's a jungle out there and I am so so frustrated.

Ok, I thought I had everything up and running, including NaturallySpeaking 8 which is an amazing and superb product. NS8 works perfectly everywhere it's supposed to except in explorere and outlook express where I can open a menu with my voice, but not select any of the items in it. I tried reinstalling NS8 but the problem persists((and the uninstall of that program gave me an error message saying it was unable to remove something like: dlksjldjalsdjalkdj89p0e9809w0598w908as90d80as9d8a0 9809as8d90asd and thus failed the uninstall process!). Since the problem is only in outlook express and explorer, both of which are installed together and linked somehow, I am assuming that there is something wrong/corrupt with those two apps. Surprise. Unfortunately, NS8 only works in them so I need to use them right now until my RSI is under control.

Being a mac person, I thought I could just uninstall explorer and outlook express and then reinstall them. But, NO, I can't. There seems to be no way to actually remove the files and reinstall them without reinstalling XP altogether. I can uninstall almost everything else, but not internet explorer or outlook express. It's hard to believe, I know.re some instruction from microsoft that have to do with changing the registry and reinstalling, but they didn't work for me and when I launched the internet explorerer 6 install, I got a message saying that a newer version is already installed and my only option is to quit. This is so ****ing frustrating I just want to cry.

Does anybody know of a way to reinstall internet explorer 6 and outlook express 6 in XP witthout reinstalling the whole OS???

Any help you can provide would be so so appreciated. I feel desperate.

thanks,

Pete

[OreoCookie]

Originally Posted by CaptainHaddock

Not to mention that each new version of Windows is slower on the same hardware than the last. And networking seems to be getting worse. It was fairly easy in Windows 98 but unworkable in ME. And I can't make my parents' XP machine transfer files over a network with any success (it usually hangs or crashes partway through).

After years of Windows frustrations, I switched. I have nothing good to say about that platform, except good riddance.

I can still feel the pain every time I fix someone else's computer

BTW, what are you doing in Nagoya? (Look at my location, hint, hint.)

[CaptainHaddock]

Originally Posted by OreoCookie

I can still feel the pain every time I fix someone else's computer

BTW, what are you doing in Nagoya? (Look at my location, hint, hint.)

I think I commented on your signature in another thread a few months ago. I just moved to Nagoya from Canada last week — basically for the adventure and cultural experience. I do some writing and freelancing, which I'm keeping up, and my wife just got a teaching job.

We're sharing a house with some friends here in Nishi ward, a few blocks away from Nagoya Castle.

[ghporter]

Originally Posted by pete

Does anybody know of a way to reinstall internet explorer 6 and outlook express 6 in XP witthout reinstalling the whole OS???

Go to "Add and Remove Programs" and select "Windows Components." There should be an entry in the list that comes up for both IE and Outlook Express. Uncheck them both and click "Next" and/or "OK" until the process finishes. Restart. Go BACK to "Add and Remove"|"Windows Components" and recheck the boxes. "Next"/"OK" until the process finishes. Restart.

That should remove the programs (the unchecking part), and then reinstall them. If that doesn't work try going to the Windows Update site and see if there's a link for updates-that should fix it too.

Also, if you don't have Service Pack 2 installed yet, doing so will install a new, more secure version of IE6 tweaked for SP2. Or go here for links to installs for IE6 SP1.

[pete]

"Go to "Add and Remove Programs" and select "Windows Components." There should be an entry in the list that comes up for both IE and Outlook Express. Uncheck them both and click "Next" and/or "OK" until the process finishes. Restart. Go BACK to "Add and Remove"|"Windows Components" and recheck the boxes. "Next"/"OK" until the process finishes. Restart.

That should remove the programs (the unchecking part), and then reinstall them. If that doesn't work try going to the Windows Update site and see if there's a link for updates-that should fix it too.

Also, if you don't have Service Pack 2 installed yet, doing so will install a new, more secure version of IE6 tweaked for SP2. Or go here for links to installs for IE6 SP1."


That would seem like the logical way to do it. However, unchecking Internet Explorer only removes the link on the desktop! It doesn't remove the program itself. For some reason, Internet Explorer is so integrated into the system that Microsoft doesn't want you removing it. I tried downloading Internet Explorer for service Pack 1 but because the newer version was installed already, the installer would not let me do it. I finally reinstalled service Pack 2, hoping that it would replace Internet Explorer, but it still didn't work.

I was so caught up in all of this that it didn't even occur to me to create a new user account. When I finally did that, everything started working again. I have no idea what was wrong, except that nothing I have done so far has transpired without some kind of issue. When I created a new user account, for example, after reboot, the system hung , with a message saying that it's updating my computer settings. When I rebooted again, it took me to the desktop but there was no taskbar or access to anything. Finally, when I reboot did the third time, it worked.

Right now I'm so relieved that everything is working and pray that nothing will go wrong again. Having said that, the software I'm using, NaturallySpeaking 8, is marvellous! After 15 minutes training, I am able to dictate with probably 95% accuracy, and I can surf the web, click on any links, images etc, input addresses and what not all with my voice. And it's easy and straightforward as well. I have no idea what the people over at Macpeech are doing, but it looks like a dead end compared to this. Besides that, there is no doubt that MacOS X is a much more friendly and sleek operating system.

Thanks for the advice!

By the way, I dictated this with probably two or three errors. And that's after almost no training.

Cheers,

Pete

[pete]

ha ha ha...I'm going crazy..

So everything worked for about three hours. Then suddenly, for no reason whatsoever, no internet connection. On my powerbook everything working perfectly.

[pete]

So, after nine hours of troubleshooting, I finally solved the problem. By no means am I an expert on windows XP, but this shouldn't have taken nine hours for anybody. The IBM ThinkPad hardware light was showing that there was a wireless connection, but I was still unable to connect. Using ethernet cable didn't work either. Just before going to bed, I was browsing the Internet for solutions, and came across a suggestion that it might be a problem with conflicting network drivers. It turned out to be a problem between the Cisco mini PCI card driver and the windows no configuration function/driver (these two came with the system). Whatever the conflict was, the end result was that none of them could see the network connection and the network wizard and help/troubleshooting system couldn't help either. What had happened was, apparently, that the Cisco driver had locked into my neighbour's access point and somehow refused any other incoming signal. None of this makes any sense to me, but at the end of the day I got it to work. I guess my main point is that this shouldn't have to happen. Now that everything is up and running, I'm already getting used to Windows XP -- and pray that I have no more problems like this.

[ghporter]

Holy cow! Your problem was XP's Zero Config fighting it out with the Cisco driver? And it CAME THAT WAY???!!! If it did come that way you should get a coupon for a swift kick in the wazoo of the idiot that configured it! Most driver software won't bother to look to see if Windows is managing a card, and Windows won't/can't check to see if there's a driver installed. It is a serious problem for the "add on card" user, because I have yet to see installation directions that are explicit enough to tell you DON'T DO BOTH.

The only reason to use a manufacturer's driver/configurator is that the card either isn't natively supported by XP, or the manufacturer offers options and features you need that XP doesn't provide. Otherwise it's just so much simpler to let XP handle all of it...kind of like letting OS X do its thing.

[budster101]

I delete all network configs when installing a new network... Start with a clean slate.

[pete]

One thing is for sure: I'm learning VERY quickly. Nothing better than three days of non-stop XP 'fun' to teach you the game. I am now allowing windows to take care of the connection and have banned the cisco driver from entering my house.

[sokukodo]

If you had no internet, how did you Google?

[ShotgunEd]

Another machine?

[pete]

I got google from my sweet, reliable powerbook of course.