OpenChess

Weird post you got there...

Anyway, check:

http://www.morefaq.com/garden/garden-26052.html

Uly wrote:Why all the Windows hate? I've been very happy with Windows XP and don't have any problems.

There are excellent reasons for Windows hate. Here is just one:

A MOSFET chip on my MOBO exploded (literally). Had to get a new MOBO. Guess what happened when I attached my HD containing my legitimate Vista install (upgraded from XP a few years ago) into the new MOBO? Freaking hell-on-computer. The partition is hopelessly hosed (apparently by design). There is no approved (or unapproved) method for making it operational again apart from a destructive "clean install" and a subsequent phone call to some Borg drone for a recitation of my now destroyed partition's credentials. There are no words to adequately describe this bletchery.

But, guess what happened when I booted to the Ubuntu Linux partition on the same HD? It said, "Oh, I see we need to ignore this old sound chip driver. Here's a new one that works. Ok? Fine. We're good to go."

Hence, the apropo wallpaper...



I see no reason to continue to pay for the priviledge of being tortured, abused and separated from my critical data, applications and computing resources. Realise along with me that Windows hate is mandatory for the maintenance of good morals.

Okay, good point there. But is it that all Windows haters have suffered a similar experience?

Uly wrote:Okay, good point there. But is it that all Windows haters have suffered a similar experience?

That was just one among many examples. I had the same issue when my XP install needed to move to a new MOBO/CHIP architecture (hence the Vista "upgrade"). Horrors. Before that, there were the infamous Win9x distributions, which peppered a typical workday with BSODs, hangs and going for a sandwich for reboots. The smallest changes required time-wasting one-to-n sequences of three-fingered salutes (unlike my clandestine linux partition).

This for someone used to working on mainframes which never reboot but for a scheduled outage. MS products are utterly unprofessional peices of software. The mindset is unprofessional. The uptime expectations are unprofessional. I have never encountered another suite of software products that so effectively reduces a user's attempt at enhancing productivity to a Sisyphean effort.

In conclusion, I'd say it's fine if you hate windows for reasons similar to the ones above, it's just that I've seen people hating Windows irrationally (just like some people hate the Comic Sans Font).

I haven't had any such problems since moving to Windows XP in 2004, they've basically been 7 years of happiness and just would want to state for new users that just because some people have problems with Windows, it doesn't meant that you will do.

Uly wrote:In conclusion, I'd say it's fine if you hate windows for reasons similar to the ones above, it's just that I've seen people hating Windows irrationally (just like some people hate the Comic Sans Font).

I haven't had any such problems since moving to Windows XP in 2004, they've basically been 7 years of happiness and just would want to state for new users that just because some people have problems with Windows, it doesn't meant that you will do.

Your experience is atypical. The life cycle of the average system is much less than 7 years. Transition to something newer will be required for you very soon. You can then compare the transition experience perhaps to that of a Mac. My upgrade from an old PowerPC-based iBook to a new Intel-based Macbook Pro involved a firewire cable and about 45 minutes. All data and apps were seamlessly transferred to the completely new architecture and OS version, without losing a single application (PowerPC emulation is built in to the Intel Macs) or file. Even the Microsoft Office apps for PowerPC worked on the new system without a hiccup. You can't tell they aren't Intel-compiled apps.

Good luck getting that kind of painless, non-destructive transition from Windows.

orgfert wrote:Your experience is atypical.

Then I must be very lucky, since I lived the same story on 3 systems. An old Celeron 900Mhz, still alive and healthy, an Athlon 1.8Ghz that still works, and my current Q8200. All with Windows XP. [is they are way to check when a system is going to "die"? So far I've only seen specific parts die that can be replaced, not the whole system.]

Yeah, every time I've had to start from scratch regarding my installation of programs for those that require Registry entries, but lots of them worked fine by just moving their folders from the old computer.

Is this really about "oh no! I have to reinstall my applications!"?

Uly wrote:Is this really about "oh no! I have to reinstall my applications!"?

You tell me what it's about. As things now sit, I can't even perform a clean install of Vista because the installation is crashing on the new hardware during the unpacking process, going BSOD with different stop errors on each try. Presumably this is due to the Vista SP1 upgrade disk being so old it's not able to deal dynamically with "hardware of the future".

The all-to-predictable solution presenting itself:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYWmDag3ruM

It's about "oh no! I have to buy Windows again!"

I'm not going to defend Vista or Windows 7, such issues are the reasons I'm sticking with an OS from 2001. But I don't think XP should be judged on future, crappy versions.

Uly wrote:I'm not going to defend Vista or Windows 7, such issues are the reasons I'm sticking with an OS from 2001. But I don't think XP should be judged on future, crappy versions.

I'm a Mac user, but I run WinXP and Win7 in Parallels, and I haven't had too much trouble with it, either. On the other hand, I never need to do migrations (I can just copy my virtual machine from machine to machine), and the bulk of my important data is on the Apple side. I do some development work in Windows, but use it primarily for chess software.

As for day-to-day usability, Windows is a clumsy nightmare, IMO. But that's entering the religion arena...

jb