BEWARE: Newcomers to WINDOWS

I am writing this article after facing severe hardships for the past couple of days of my struggle with both Windows XP Home Edition and Windows XP Pro.

Being a newcomer myself, I think it is worthy to mention the downsides of Windows to all other newbies, so that they don't have to be in a miserable condition like me...

1. WINDOWS is for the PRO, I repeat ONLY FOR the PRO. It is not as easy to install a WINDOWS system like that of Ubuntu/Mandriva. Lots of technical questions pop up on the course of the installation, which. to me, were none other than HEBREW language.
Dual Booting: If you are a new comer and have no friends/relatives with master degree of Computer Science, then better to forget it.
You can't do a thing yourself without being an expert...

2. They say that Windows is driven by business. Sure, it is buisiness driven... but only a nerd IT staff! People having no post-graduate qualification will hardly be able to understand what is going on in the forum. If you ask one question, you get hundred and one rebound-questions (like rapid fire rounds in the quiz competition), which has nothing to do with your present level of knowledge. [SIZE= "3"]Nothing is written in plain English.[/SIZE]

3. Non-conventional hardwares? Man... you are left out with a pair of busted bums!!! You ask questions about getting help on hardware issues and installing drivers, people may ask you what is the Heisenberg's co-efficient or what is the present quantum state of your motherboard...? Or how many electrons are there in your mouse...?
Some well wisher may suggest you to change the hardware itself...!!!

4. They say WINDOWS has a low TCO. Defintely, there are versions which are pirated and so free, but if you want to get a good night sleep, you have to buy a paid license, only to recieve no bugging from WGA.

5. Centralised updates for all software, not just the MS stuff? Well... where are you from? Mars or Pluto?

6. Want to get rid of the Installed Windows? How much balance do you have in your bank account to hire the guys of Harvard/Stanford ?

All said and done... Don't later blame me that I didn't warn you....

Lastly came back to "free" LINUX world...

Man... now I am feeling that [SIZE= "3"]I am living on Earth like a normal human being[/SIZE] and not like those in the MATRIX movie....

 

I think I finally found out why Windows only has a 90% maket share:

It’s because of all the problems mentioned in the above post.

I tried Linux once, could not even get my dell printer to go.
Windows has problems???

Sven

 

Yay or nay, Windows needs to be all things to all people, from the first time turning on a computer, to a high level professional.

Windows XP has Home and Professional. Vista has several more levels.

Levels? Beginner...you will need to be protected (against the unknown?). User...what do you want to use it for? Professional...it must do what you expect it to do.

Matt

 

Beside all of the things that one can type and make a whole long post out of it, my comment comes from growing up with various operating systems including linux and windows.

When you buy a new car, there are some basic things you have to know or learn to be a good driver, you cannot just put any fuel in your car neither can you just drive on any side of the road you wish. The same goes for pretty much everything else, even your mobile phone.

The same with a computer. If you cannot answer the basic questions that windows asks when installing it is a good idea to note them down and take them to someone who might know those answers. In that way you will become a responsible driver of your computer, an even smarter person and life will be all smiley faces .

 

Take that even further like this :

Those who pass their driving course and then go onto participate in the defensive driving course will be far better equipped to deal with the scenarios taking place on our roads today.

Thos who learn computers on windows, should move onto linux to learn more of the adnvanced aspects of computers. And why not the linux desktop is more featured and robust than the windows desktop now.

I did, and I learnt that windows is leaving itself unsecure without a good reason.

ps. there are less technical questions in ubuntu linux live-cd-installer (feisty version) than windows(any-version).

 

Boy for a rank beginner he sure knows how to bold text and throw around a lot of big words
Sound like a Linux plant to me

 

Hi visionof, I think sou1234322 is being quite honest about his/her experience...a newcomer to Windows. As mentioned, I believe the frustration may come from "changing" operating systems. I might equate it to learning a new language. When I started learning French in school I needed to disregard most of the language skills I had learnt from childhood and start over (not that my language skills were very good to begin with ).

For me, changing from the DOS based Windows system to NTFS, not what I term "easy ". No matter how much I would like to make my DOS skills work in NTFS, they won't.

If you are a beginner learning will be much easier using one system. Trying to make a Linux education work in Windows??

Linux has different levels. sou1234322 mentioned Ubuntu and Mandrivra, they might be different from a professional/business level (I don't know linux, maybe Unix?).

I could well see the frustration, as I said, I see it as learning a whole new language.

Matt

 

Actually, by any measure, Win XP is a pretty easy OS to install. I wonder how our friend would go with an early Unix installation. Maybe its a hardware problem. If unfamiliar with desktop computers he may have attempted to put the installation CD in the floppy drive. That's happened before. A bit like the fellow who tried to boot his system during a power blackout.

Cheers

Codecutter

 

Bingo!

 

Purely out of curiosity I downloaded Unbuntu recently as I had read DELL were supplying it with some new laptops.

Having a couple of DELL laptops myself, and being able to download the latest version with DELL hardware support built in (I've already had a "laugh" with Mandrake 9.0 a year or two ago trying to get even a modem to work!) I wanted to see if Linux based OS's had made any headway.

I admit that it did run OK, and seemed to find all the built in hardware, and connected to the internerd (via LAN). It wouldn't work with my on-board ItelPRO wireless card though, unlike XP which auto-detected it. As for getting it to work with my Netgear RangeMAX PCMCIA card, forget it! No 108Mbps wireless for me then! I couldn't work out how to install drivers for any of the other peripheral hardware either; it's not at all intuitive... no slapping the CD in or clicking the setup.exe and hitting "next" >> "next" >> "next" >> "yes I accept it's not certified... get on with it/next" >> "finish "!

To me, being a Windows user since WIN98, Unbuntu it seemed very awkward... a bit like they are trying to be too clever. It certainly wasn't inspiring, or convincing, but I guess it did work -- unlike Mandrake! Mind you, it was a DELL download, to go on a DELL laptop... make of that what you will.

I for one will be staying with XP Pro/Server2K3 for the foreseeable future. The laptops aren't capable of running the version of Vista I would want if I "upgraded ", and in all fairness XP Pro is exceptionally stable despite the amount of tinkering I do. When it does die, it's all of my own making!

The Unbuntu CD is a coaster now!

I'm not getting sucked into a flame war, I'm just airing my views, for anyone even remotely interested!

Andy.

 

Another side of the story.

That is the biggest bunch of nonsense that I have read in a LONG time.

Like mc21repsol I have used Windows for a LONG time. Even WAY back to good old WIn3.1.

I am not, never have been and never will be Pro.

But right now we have two PCs. One with 98 and this one with XP. My Wife and I spend MANY fun hours playings games betweeen the two. Also one night a week we play Golf with a long time Friend IN CANADA who also uses Windows.
I do not see Windows being an different than anything else in life. Use it properly and keep things up todate and it should be fine.
And what works for me may well not work for you. What esle is new.
If you still wish to still say that Windows is for the pros, then be my guest.

BillyBob

 

Good morning all.
I do not konw of this realy fits here or not be I will do it anyway.

If it does mean anything, I was just looking for something else and found this in my C:/ Windows folder

MMPLAYER.EXE date 10/21/1992. I was 60 then. And many other files in the nineties. So I guess ( wild or otherwise ) that at least my HD has not been reformated for a while.
So I guess the bottom line is "Windows can't be all that bad. "
Have a Nice day.

BillyBob

PS.
My wife beat me BAD at Cribbage last night.

 

BillyBob,

Loved your last post. To be blunt, if the guy who started this thread had another brain, it'd be lonely.

Cheers

Codecutter

 

i tried to use linux once. i couldn't even install any software cos its impossible.
first you gotta go to the shell and run 'make' and then something like 'make install'.

i did that, but then what's next? is there a nice icon on the desktop? no
i didn't even want to imagine uninstalling the software.

so i went back to windows.

 

Dear Fellow member Codecutter

I will accept ONLY the first four words of your reply .

I will ask you to do some serous editing and apologize to the proper member.

No money required.

Insert proper 3.5 floppy/CD and type "FORMAT C: "

Regardless of what many ( TOO MANY ) newer users think good old fashioned "DOS IS NOT DEAD yet if used properly.

BillyBob
The old man that has learned more by DOING and mistakes than from books. The books only say what SHOULD happen. And do not ask me to read the books either because more than likely I can't find them.

BB

 

Can't be too many real technical questions. I made it work.

BillyBob

 

Going over a few things I found this.

I also used Windows to help me build this ( A few years ago in my sixties )

http://home.hvc.rr.com/ripsweb/nancy.html

BillyBob

 

Going back again I also found this.

http://home.hvc.rr.com/ripsweb/fool.html
And this
http://home.hvc.rr.com/ripsweb/small.html
Gotta go check the mail.

BillyB