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The day Windows died

thomasbandt.com

371–380 of 925 posts

Re: The day Windows died

#371

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What configs are you talking about? Because most things in the official UIs are carefully crafted to be permanent user preferences that windows updates don't touch.

If this is a good-faith question, then I assume you don't use Windows as your primary OS. After most major Windows updates, you'll see new crapware in the Start menu and get nagged to set up a Microsoft account and have your default programs switched back to the Microsoft ones, no matter how many times you said "no, and never ask again" before.

[deleted]

Re: The day Windows died

#372

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Surface Laptop 5 costs $899. Still no sign of "extra up-front cost" of Apple. For me, Surface Laptop isn't even in the running because of poor screen resolution. The old Surface Book has 3000x2000 resolution which is 200%, but the Surface Laptops have 2256x1504 resolution, which is only 150%. As Steve Jobs said when he introduced iPhone 4, the only resolution that looks good after 100% is 200%. I have tested screens…

I think Mac and surfaces are in the same price bracket definitely. My surface book was a cool 4k in NZD when I grabbed it, comparative to a similar MacBook pro.

You were being asked about Surface vs Macbook Air - why're you bringing MacBook Pro into it? There's no extra upfront cost for Apple. It is mind boggling how good a computer you can get for USD$800 from Apple compared to anything else on the market.

Re: The day Windows died

#373
post #39

It's infuriating how much work one has to do to clean up what should already be a bare-bones, stock, factory environment. All of these 8 kb "apps" like LinkedIn, TikTok, etc. that you "uninstall" but then re-appear right in the Add or Remove Programs menu. I haven't tried, but what do these little TikTok, LinkedIn apps even do? I imagine they don't install a local version of LinkedIn to peruse, right? I don't totally…

I've never seen those apps on my machine, very strange. Is this an OEM choice?

Re: The day Windows died

#374

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The last update broke WSL for me.

Do wsl --update as administrator If doesn't work the first time try a few times

> If doesn't work the first time try a few times

Windows sounds like it hasn’t changed much after all.

Re: The day Windows died

#375
I have a similar experience to the author, but reversed. Instead of Windows 95 it was Red Hat Linux.

So if I had to setup a similar experience for my child today it would be with Fedora, which would be a lot better of course.

Because when I was a kid in the 90s my older brother was studying for his Microsoft certifications, but he didn't want to install Windows on a computer used by his kids (and me), so he installed Red Hat on it.

I have fond memories of being at their house and playing on their Red Hat computer that stood in my nephews room. My favorite game was Konquest.

I would love to give a similar experience to my child today.

Years later this kickstarted my Linux career as I started to play with Linux on my own computer. And now, 25+ years later, I have an established and comfortable career in IT.

Re: The day Windows died

#376

Earlier quoted context omitted.

iOS apps don't work with SIP disabled.

A. Does anyone actually use iOS on Mac? B. This is actually platform consistency for iOS developers. If you are building an iOS app, you should be fairly comfortable knowing it will be running on a locked-down device, particularly if it’s a social media app with anti-robot technologies. You shouldn’t need to engineer around macOS blowing a hole in that security. If you could run iOS apps on macOS without SIP, what is…

B is clearly anti-consumer. Software running on “my” hardware should be in my control.

Re: The day Windows died

#377

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But at least “yes, it can do that” That's a good point. Hardware failures are far more costly on a Mac that on a windows machine. I'm so far removed from that being an issue (because I'm old) that it is a privilege I forget I have. Duly noted. Cygwin/MSYS/Mingw are really sad reflections of their source material. Not to take a big crap on the millions of man hours the developers have put into them, but they are not…

It's really all about the perspective. I'm a Windows wizard of many a decades and fucking hate iPhones and iPads, but finally got around to buying a Macbook to try it thanks to the sheer hype surrounding the Apple M chips. My understanding of Macs now is that I hate them but also respect them. What do I mean by this? Well, I have gripes, lots of them; but I'm a power user and here's the kicker: Macs are not intended…

It doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s users don’t like to tinker — just that they don’t want to mess with hardware.

I am absolutely a tinkerer. But I basically need Unix for that. I have a set of dotfiles and config that basically instantly works whenever I transfer machines, just by doing a “git clone” into my $HOME folder. I have a setup script included in there, which copies my config and installs all necessary programs. I have two Mac laptops and can keep them in sync this way. I’ve used Linux for years also, and can modify the Mac script with some changes to support Linux too.

There’s basically no way to do this on Windows because the terminal is a step removed from the system. I can’t open a brand new laptop and have all my programs and config transfer by just running a script. You need to use the UI during multiple points.

Part of this is because I’ve used all of the OS’s extensively (still have windows too!), and always end up needing to reinstall the system every couple of years for one reason or another — maybe just general clutter. This is regardless of OS. On Windows I always lose multiple days to getting it “back to how I want it”, but on Mac and Linux-based systems, it is much faster because (1) there isn’t a bunch of adware to remove, and (2) most/all of the programs that I need can be installed in the terminal with zero effort

Re: The day Windows died

#378

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think Mac and surfaces are in the same price bracket definitely. My surface book was a cool 4k in NZD when I grabbed it, comparative to a similar MacBook pro.

You were being asked about Surface vs Macbook Air - why're you bringing MacBook Pro into it? There's no extra upfront cost for Apple. It is mind boggling how good a computer you can get for USD$800 from Apple compared to anything else on the market.

No I wasn't, but if I was it works like this: Surface Go = iPad, same rough price and specs, Surface Laptop Go, Surface Laptop vs Macbook Air or low-end Macbook Pro, same rough price (Laptop Go is a few hundred cheaper), Surface Book vs medium-high-end Macbook Pro, same rough price.

Right now a entry level Macbook Air in NZ is ~1600, 1400 on special, and a Surface Laptop Go 2 is ~1400. Same size, same ram, same hdd, higher res on the air, touch screen on the surface, m1 on the air, intel x64 on the surface, basically same target market.

Re: The day Windows died

#379
post #232

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had one once. I honestly thought it was awful.I respect that your experiences may have been different but I found it painfully slow and bulky. The detachable battery broke as well and had to be held in place by tape. I opened it once and it looked like a bunch of bits arranged to look like a laptop. Anyone who has seen the elegant neatness of the inside of a Mac will understand what I mean.

The modularity and keyboards of the older Thinkpads (e.g., X220) were worth the extra bulk. But the new laptops sure are pretty, thin and light.

Replying on my X220, which is my go-to device for writing, non-graphic intensive gaming, and general web use. It's light enough for my needs, and is built like a tank. Plus, I cannot stand more modern laptop keyboards, and I'm hooked on pointing sticks. I've got my desktop for anything that really needs processing power.

I enjoy how my X220 really is a laptop of Theseus; over the years I've replaced everything except the LCD rear cover, bezel, hinges, and base. The biggest problem is getting decent batteries.

Re: The day Windows died

#380

It's really sad that there is no where for us to go in the desktop OS space right now. I, weirdly, daily drive all 3 OSes. MacOS; Work issued laptop and longish-time user (about 6 years with it). Windows; Desktop PC mostly for games. I've been using Windows since I could walk. Fedora; Desktop PC, dual booted which I use for most everything else. I cannot believe how much of a dumpster fire Windows has become. From th…

This post is basically about the author's nostalgia for his early days of computing with Windows 95 and how he wanted his son to have the same experience. This post is screaming out for Linux. Linux is the solution to his dilemma. If he reformats that drive and puts say Kubuntu on it - the kid's first PC experience is going to be a vaguely retro 90's style shell with a start menu, the start menu is going to have a Ga…

> And of course it's Linux, so there's infinite opportunity to get under the hood and tinker.

- Or keep trying to fix the environment + hardware compatibility issues and not do the actual work/study. Or keep editing some random xorg.conf file because his monitor's display suddenly became weird. Or try to fix some other random files since the sound driver doesn't work. He's 10. I'm 40 and still horrified to deal with those problems on a daily basis as my company requires me to work multiple platforms. Linux doesn't care for a regular non-geek user, and its experts all over the internet are very condescending in general.

It's a sad reality that no platform actually cares for what a general customer wants. Macs these days have a few times more problems than Windows. His best bet is probably to just stick to Windows and keep checking for any new auto-introduced problems.

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