From the don’t force shit on me I don’t want and prevent me from saying NO department.
Forgive my off-topic rant, but this will be useful for others having this same problem. One of the things I hate about Microsoft recently is the idea that Windows 8, 8.1, and the upcoming Windows 10 is the greatest thing since sliced bread. If you own a Windows based tablet, or a Windows phone, it probably is (I own a Windows 8 based tablet, and I’m able to use it just fine, because Windows 8.1 is a touch based operating system).
But a problem occurs with Windows 8, 8.1, and the upcoming Windows 10 as a desktop operating system. IMHO, it’s mostly useless as a desktop OS and gets in the way of working as I am accustomed to. I use a mouse and keyboard, with a 27″ monitor, not a touchscreen. I use Windows 7 because it works, is stable, and defensible from malware.
Imagine my surprise after recently doing “Microsoft Update” and I get this icon in my system tray:
Clicking it gives you this advertisement:
OK, I can forgive them for offering this free upgrade, but what I CAN’T forgive Microsoft for is the inability to ever opt-out of being notified about this. Why?
- You can’t remove the icon from the system tray easily,
- You can’t make it go away after “reserving” a copy of Windows 10,
- Average users can’t get rid of the notification process that’s running in the background called “gwx.exe” easily. It saps CPU and memory resources just so it can keep reminding you about Windows 10 and calling home to find out if Windows 10 is available yet,
- This advertisement was a “stealth” upgrade. It is almost like a Trojan in my opinion.
Sorry Microsoft, this isn’t cool, and if I don’t want to bastardize my desktop experience with an operating system designed with a tablet/phone user touch interface, I shouldn’t have to put up with continual reminders. Since this has done nothing but piss me off, it’s marketing FAIL as far as I’m concerned.
This sticky nature of this upgrade notice is by design, the average user of Windows 7, 8, or 8.1 that doesn’t have savvy skills won’t be able to make this go away, so I’m here to help with a simple solution:
Get rid of the Windows Update that creates the problem!
Here’s what it is, from Windows Update:
Update enables additional capabilities for Windows Update notifications in Windows 8.1 and Windows 7 SP1
This update enables additional capabilities for Windows Update notifications when new updates are available to the user. It applies to a computer that is running Windows 8.1 or Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1). Before you install this update, check out the Prerequisites section.
Source: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3035583
Note that they don’t really tell you what you’ll actually be getting, hence my opinion that it’s like a Trojan horse.
So, here’s how to get rid of the damned thing:
1. Go to Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features > Installed Updates
2. Put KB3035583 into the search box in the upper right of the dialog as shown below, press ENTER to search for it
3. Click on the “update for Microsoft Windows (KB3035583)” to highlight it, then click “Uninstall” as show below.
4. Unfortunately, you’ll have to Restart your computer.
5. Enjoy a hassle free desktop experience from now on.
By the way if you already have Windows 8 or 8.1 and you hate the fact that you are running a tablet/phone touch based operating system on your desktop, and you wish it would run like Windows 7, I have a solution for that too:
Classic Shell™ is free software that improves your productivity, enhances the usability of Windows and empowers you to use the computer the way you like it. The main features are:
- Highly customizable start menu with multiple styles and skins
- Quick access to recent, frequently-used, or pinned programs
- Find programs, settings, files and documents
- Start button for Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10
- Toolbar and status bar for Windows Explorer
- Caption and status bar for Internet Explorer
Classic Shell has been in active development for 5 years and has over 25 million downloads.
Get it free here: http://classicshell.net/
In my opinion, Microsoft has erred greatly in trying to foist a tablet/phone touch based OS on desktop users. They should have allowed for some sort of retro experience in the GUI for people that want to use a desktop like they always have. Windows 8, 8.1, and 10 have speed and security enhancements, but they come at the cost of running a touch based OS on your desktop when you really don’t want a touch based OS on your existing machine.
Boneheads.
Discover more from Watts Up With That?
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Hey I still use Windows XP when I can. Either that or a version of Linux.
G’Day Robert, have you tried Puppy Gnu/Linux? It is a bootable CD or DVD and works well on my 6 yo Toshiba Satellite Pro. Happy Trails.
I’ve got Puppy linux dual booted w/Win 7 — posting from it now. Win 7 is still the “main” OS, but linux programming comments are documented in the script files that give oppurtunities to tinker with.
Getting it dual-booted was a bit risky, but combining several methods got it going.
@beng135 — my hat’s off to you. I too have dual boot Puppy/Win7, but most of the time Puppy just hangs during boot. When it does work, I have no idea why, or why not. I am using Grub4Dos.
Dan, I had issues getting the dual-boot to work (first reboot windows disappeared!). Seems no single method got it to work, but a combo did. Look at below site:
https://www.iceflatline.com/2009/09/how-to-dual-boot-windows-7-and-linux-using-bcdedit/
That uses isolinux.bin copied to C: to act as a bootloader for linux. That worked, but Grub had no functionality in its “advanced mode” that appears after choosing linux (OK, just an irritant instead of a real problem). Experimenting, I used EasyBCD to make another boot option using legacy Grub that installs C:\NST\nst_linux.mbr. I had attempted that and failed before, but after using the isolinux method, the EasyBCD entry now worked! Not sure why — perhaps had something to do the isolinux method marking the linux partition as “active” (NOT BOOT!).
Depends on the applications one needs, and the support one needs.
In the past, Windows has had most technical applications for many people, Linux has had ones in software design and perhaps data analysis, Apple in graphics work.
I worked in development of high-integrity products when every SW engineer had two computers on their desk – one running Windows and one running Linux.
I do too, I experimented with more recent versions and always went back to good old XP.
Thank you, guys. I don’t feel so lonely now…
I use Linux mint, windows only in virtualbox.
Windows drives me insane.
Oh, and if you would like to try:
http://distrowatch.com/
Sorry B methinks you must have already been more than a little psychotic before MS.
http://distrowatch.com/
Thanks, Bjorn, that’s a very convenient site. I still have some leftover space on my harddrive for another linux distro to try. Already tried Mint 14 & Ubuntu, but they were slower than windows 7 or puppy-linux.
Linux rules!
You can also run Mint and other flavors of Linux from a live USB stick with persistence enabled. Not so long ago we booted from Linux CD/DVD. Now, with bigger and bigger USB sticks, it may be possible to forego partitioning the hard drive, so you may have your cake, and eat it too.
Linux Mint is the most user friendly Distro that is the closest to Windows in form and function. However, you are severely limiting yourself with the amount of applications available and VirtualBox is not a solution IMO.
Fedora 16, 17, 18, 19,20, 21 & 22 user here. With Windows XP and Windows 7 on the side for emergencies. I’m putting my relatives slowly onto linux 🙂
Regards
Climate Heretic
Yep, they can pry my XP out of my cold dead hands !!!
https://securelist.com/analysis/kaspersky-security-bulletin/68052/kaspersky-security-bulletin-2014-malware-evolution/
“Sadly, there are still a lot of people running Windows XP – our data suggests that Windows XP accounts for around 18% of infections. This is a lot of people wide open to attack now that security patches have dried up. Effectively, every vulnerability discovered since April is a zero-day vulnerability – that is, one for which there is no chance of a patch.”
I would strongly suggest that if you are still using XP, that you never use it to connect to a network — especially not one that is also connected to the Internet.
Well, I’m not one of the 18%.
unknown502756 June 3, 2015 at 12:46 pm
“Windows XP accounts for around 18% of infections.”
That’s especially frightening when one considers the following:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2878774/windows-7-and-windows-xp-show-no-signs-of-dying.html
What Matthew said…
To be fair, this outfit shows XP at c11% a/o 3/2015:
http://www.statista.com/statistics/218089/global-market-share-of-windows-7/
Just to be clear:
I’m not trying to ‘pry XP out of .. cold dead hands’ …
However, if anyone is still using XP to connect to the Internet, this is very foolish. Today’s Internet criminals are not yesterday’s ‘War Games’ fan hacker crowd. Today’s Internet criminals are state paid experts and will install malware and bot your unpatchable XP machine as soon as someone finds it… since most of us are still using IPv4, that means a few hours… not a joke.
And Matthew W… you wouldn’t even know it, since there would be no way to detect the intrusion.
That is the correct solution. Install Linux.
That is not a good idea Windows XP is not supported by Microsoft anymore and is not receiving any security updates.
Please do not use windows XP for anything that involves money and the Internet. E.g. online banking, paypal or even buying stuff where you enter a credit card. Why? because Win XP can be infected in seconds if you get the wrong ad in your browser and YOU CANNOT PATCH IT TO STOP THIS and no AV can stop it either. Once it is infected with any one of half a dozen strains of banker malware you’ll likely end up giving your passwords to the criminals when you login to your bank and so on.
I like Peppermint Linux, a Ubuntu based Distro that runs well on older PCs and laptops. “Mint” is good too
THANK YOU!
Anthony, I just went through the same process yesterday.
I am using Windows 8.1 64-bit on my desktop and it can be configured to run with a keyboard and mouse.
Its not so much that you can’t use it with M/KB but that the UI ‘panels’ is [snip] to use on a desktop. There’s just a ton of mouse movement from one side of the screen to the other that is unnecessary and is only there because of the tiling (instead of listing).
http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2013/06/28
incunabulum, there are a lot of issues with Windows 8, but Windows 8.1 created a fairly large improvement in the keyboard and mouse department. I can’t tell my 7 / 8.1 computers interfaces apart, except when I go to the start menu, where it’s in a list format that’s big enough to punch with a finger (and not the tile format, which you can swap between).
I will admit that I’m lucky, though. I muscle-memory my applications so that I launch almost all of them with +first three letters and don’t even use the mouse. 🙂
Windows 10 makes the distinction between touch and keyboard/mouse better, as I have been using the previews for unimportant things.
The icon, as far as I understand it, is there because it will download the large (~5GB) over the next month so that everyone can get a copy of Windows 10 on the release day without destroying the content servers at Microsoft. When it installed and first ran on my computer, I noticed it was accessing BITS.
I’m considering ditching windows and moving over to Apple…
I know people who’ve done that. Lots of regrets.
None for me. I switched in 1998 and haven’t looked back since. When I have to run a windows only program ( very few ), I run VM Ware Fusion and Windows XP. I do not go on the internet from windows and get along quite well. And no, I’m not an Apple Luddite running OS 7.3.
Having said all that, Apple has delusions of control and omniscience, just like Windows. I just find work arounds for the most egregious intrusions and stupidity from those who think they know more about how I want to use my computer than I do.
pbh
My ipad uses Safari, which is wayyyy slower than Firefox. I have given up on my ipad now, and use my laptop instead (when I am away from my Windows 7 PC) which runs Windows 7. Whenever I use my wife’s ipad (and Safari) I find it infuriating – that damn blue bar and the stupid gear turning. A mouse is so much easier too.
I wonder why?
My experience, and that of all the people I know that have made the change, is that there isn’t enough money in the world to persuade them to go back to Windows.
VMWare Fusion is relatively cheap, and allows you to run Linux and Windows VMs.
There is also a tool that comes with it to create an image from your existing Windows system that you can run under VMWare. I tested tis on my old XP laptop. It runs faster on the Mac/VMWare combination than it ever did on its native hardware.
I never use that any more, I have a Windows 7 VM that I use for things for which there is no Mac equivalent (getting more and more rare).
This is being typed on an Android tablet that has become my major browser. My daily driver for typing and posting is a Chromebox. I am very happy with both.
The spouse, 2 kids ( in their 20s…), niece and her Mom all use Macs and would never think of using Micro$oft unless required by management that is a bit slow…
I have 2 PCs with Windoze on them that will never be upgaded (one w7 and the other XP Pro IIRC). They sit mostly unused for weeks on end. Mostly kept just for legacy data access…
I also have dual boot Linux on one of them and use Puppy Linux (or several others) to boot the other one for internet use. Mix of CD, DVD, and USB Thumb drive Linux versions for various uses. (Hard to get more secure than a fresh boot of a Read Only operating system…).
I have near zero use of or need for Microsoft and will never look back.
While I would buy a Mac if I had the kilobuck… I find the Chrome fine for things I don’t mind being shared with Google (and through them via PRISM program, the Feds), while the tablet is addictive for mobile or couch potato use. In those few time I want security for internet things (security beyond just not being hacked) a quick Linux boot gives me a hardened environment. All up about $600 spent on the whole lot.
Splitting use types across machines also enforces a kind of air gap security between use domains that is impossible to break.
Oh and a $35 Raspberry Pi provides things like local DNS cache, time server, and serves about 30 GB of bittorent files. I can reflash that system from a stored copy as desired.
Microsoft? Just say no.
If the useless iPhone that management foisted upon me in lieu of my Android Samsung is anything to go by … iApple? I’d rather use a banana.
I have both, and I don’t really understand what the fuss is about. The differences are marginal in my opinion.
I have 2 desktops and 2×24″ screens. One desktop running Linux Kubuntu and the other desktop running Win7. I have a single keyboard and mouse shared on the two systems using synergy software (a version from before they started to charge), it is very convenient.
Now I got the Win10 thing thrown on me, just like Anthony explains. I have been preparing to phase out Windows over a number of years and I can manage just fine with Linux only. Maybe this is the final blow.
If Microsoft messes up my Windows box in a way I am not entirely happy with, I can simply erase Windows and go for Linux only. It isn’t unrealistic that it will happen, since I have converted to using open source programs for quite some time already.
I expect Microsoft have some spyware in there, which makes it even more tempting to finally erase Windows for good.
Btw., I am posting from Linux 🙂
Tried microsoft twenty years ago and gave up, apple tends to be a bit more honest in their dealings, and gives no pain, thus all my stuff is apple. I also like apple pie and ice-cream.
My solution is to not use any Microsoft product.
Apple products work well. My 90+ yr. old mother uses a Mac with little trouble.
I use Linux. The beauty thing about Linux is that you can choose your user interface. That means you don’t have to learn a bunch of new stuff every time you upgrade your system. With Windows it’s like: OK now the steering wheel is in the back seat and the brake pedal is in the trunk. Oh and you have to open the glove compartment to get at the rear view mirror.
Good description of new Windows versions, commiebob.
And don’t forget the Microsoft salute ctrl-alt-del
That (along with the BSOD, UAE, GPF) is really a distant memory.
And “start” to end the session….
One of the sad aspects I have noted emerging in Linux is that apparently Windows programmers are beginning to emigrate to Linux. It is not too unusual any more to have Linux notify you that the system has to be rebooted following updates. That is strictly a Windows practice and properly done Linux should never require a reboot unless you are installing a new distribution. For years I ran my Linux systems continuously for months at a time with ever needing to restart them aside from when I replaced the distribution entirely.
I noticed that, too. Sux.
When Ubuntu wend from 12.04 to 12.10, they moved everything. The went tablet format. That was the last time I tried regular Ubuntu (though derivatives like Mint are still good).
Ditch Windows for Mac. Problem solved. Shame on Microsoft for forcing a mobile OS on everyone. Your computer’s stink, Mr. Gates.
Mr. Gates doesn’t make computers. He makes software.
Actually, they do now. the Microsoft Surface, which will likely be my next tablet.
See it here
Actually Gates does neither. He does philanthropic work full time now. Satya Nadella runs the company.
Actually Lauren, Bill Gates is back at Microsoft working something like 1 / 4 full time. Before Satya Nadella, Ballmer was CEO.
I have been using a Microsoft Surface Pro for almost 2 years now. I connect it up to a USB 3 Workstation device and have 3 external monitors to help me develop code. I am working now on climate software that I will only be providing to Windows 10 devices. So ya better upgrade to 10. I’m not going to sprinkle :
#if (!(NETFX_CORE || WINDOWS_PHONE))
throw new NotImplementedException();
#endif
throughout my code.
Yes – as Anthony says Microsoft do make computers now. I have a Surface 3 Pro and it is the best/most useable personal computer I have ever owned. I can run all the legacy software that I need including Solidworks CAD which doesn’t run on Linux or Macintosh – and would be a dog in a virtual machine because it needs direct access to the hardware. It is easy to make Win 8.0 look and operate like Win 7. It boots faster than any earlier Windows versions is more secure etc etc. Anyone who is still using XP is living in a dream (probably a nightmare).
I support (usually pro-bono) many seniors on a range of platforms – it is horses for courses. If you think people have no problems with Macs then you are soft in the head. There is no way I would support most of my users on Linux or Open Source – have tried but usually ends in disaster.
I am just waiting for the worm that gets through the Apple Store and takes over all the iThingys out there. IOS is a joke of an operating system as far security is concerned. Android has the opposite problem – it is sitting in a pool of sharks with little protection for naïve users – not to mention the forking problem. Pick your poison they all have problems.
It bemuses me that US citizens love to slate Microsoft and Bill Gates (who no longer “runs” MS) – you would think that they would have some understanding that that is where a significant slice of their export income comes from (read wealth, pensions, health services, etc).
Amen! When I got my first MAC, I called my “computer guru” and complained that there was no user manual.
His answer, “You don’t need one. If you want to do something, just think, ‘How would I like to be able to do it’ and then do that. It will work.”
He was right.
Whoa! You don’t countenance the S-word here at WUWT except for can’t-really-grab-a-better-term-than-that situations, Anthony.
When I saw that up front in your article, I knew Windows 10 must have really jumped the shark.
Thanks for the sneak preview of the fun that I’ll be having. (Or not!) Maybe it’s finally time to close the Windows and go elsewhere.
But it’s free!
(Merci.)
I suspect that MicroSoft has now had its Richard Stallman “enlightenment” and intends to make all its future income from paid support. The OS will be “free,” but you’ll be paying for plenty of support.
Either that, or they’ll make the monthly subscription model the only way to get Windows. Which is just like the paid support model except that they don’t have to support you worth a d___. What a great racket!
Here’s the official and easy way to turn off the button-
Can I turn off the notifications?
Yes. Click “Customize” in the System Tray [that’s the area in the lower right where the upgrade button appears] and turn off the Get Windows 10 app notifications in the menu that comes up.
Interestingly, I’m running Windows 7SP1 the update is installed but I don’t have the notification. Not that I would want it anyway.
You may not have hardware that Win10 like …
I have 7SP1 (after booting Vista to the electronic nether regions.) and I have the 10pox..
We hates Microsoft….
Thanks Anthony..
Same here, tho I had previously uninstalled several updates that were causing sfc /scannow errors (corrupted files in some of the updates). Turns out one of the uninstalled updates was the one Anth*ny identifies.
Still, getting a free download of Windows 10 is tempting, but not sure I want to interfere w/my customized/tweaked, solid Windows 7 installation. If it ain’t broke…..
I’m an EE working as an IT guy. I run servers and general network admin stuff…
I normally just install Ubuntu, Debian, or Trisquel and promptly forget about Microsoft altogether.
However, it’s a really good idea for most Windows users to *not* uninstall updates. Many of the these include security updates, which if uninstalled may leave your machine vulnerable to attack in various ways.
Anyway… infoworld [several other places] has an article on KB3035583:
http://www.infoworld.com/article/2906002/operating-systems/mystery-patch-kb-3035583-for-windows-7-and-8-revealed-it-s-a-windows-10-prompter-downloader.html
Microsoft probably has this ‘nag’ update because the official end-of-support has already occurred for Windows 7:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/lifecycle
OS End of Support
————————————————————–
Windows 7 * – Service Pack 1 – January 13, 2015
Microsoft is still selling OEM Win 7 Pro (as of earlier this year when I built a machine), so that puts the end support date in 2020.
True. But I think that only ‘officially’ applies to system running the ‘Pro’ version. Someone running a five year old Staples special priced laptop will probably not have the ‘Pro’ version.
I definitely don’t like ‘nag’ updates or the idea of a ‘forced’ update — but when my servers get hit with a DDoS attack, it’s generally an army of un-updated Windows XP or Windows 7 machines. Although, the most recent hit was a coordinated Android botnet attack from compromised WiMax nodes.
The end of life for XP just hit industry with everyone writing updates to run in W7 – had to be finished a couple of months ago. No one in their right mind would put production equipment on W8. W7 works, at least. W8 turns your laptop into an iPhone.
Yuk.
unknown502756,
End of Life for Windows 7 is 2020 for all versions not just Pro.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/search/default.aspx?alpha=windows%207
Which means all Windows 7 versions will get security updates until then. Only “Mainstream” support ends in 2015, you can read about the differences here,
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/gp/lifepolicy
I have been testing/using the preview Win10 on a old machine at home for some time now.
It is far more friendly for mouse/keyboard users that Win8x is. You do NOT have to have a touch screen to make full use of it and it is not clunky to use with a mouse like Win8x is.
MS has been taking user feedback on desktop view and implementing it quite rapidly in their iterations of the preview.
Trust me, the Win10 ‘Desktop’ mode will be similar in function and ease, but not the same, as Win7.
Ex
Finally something that warmists and skeptics can agree upon (MS hatred)
Some seem to be suffering from microsoftphobia?
I don’t hate Microsoft.
Have been using Windows 10 Technical Preview for a few months and it’s more like Windows 7, if you don’t have a Touch Screen. The start button/menu has returned and so has the program listing – no touch screen panels. However I understand if you do have a touch screen, the initial installation will give you the choice of the desk top view or the touch screen view.
Yep, same here. Been using Windows 10 Technical Preview and it is more of a return to desktop oriented UX. Anthony is spot on with the commercial ad placed by Microsoft, but he is absolutely incorrect in his assumptions on what Windows 10 is. I would suggest anyone who is currently on xp, 7, 8.1 to install the upcoming Windows 10 OS. It is far superior in every way especially in security.
I’ve been using Win 10 Tech Preview also and will definitely be upgrading my Win 7 Pro desktop computer.
Agreed. This article is nuts given all the “install by default” sneeky crap bundled with third party products by the likes of Google, Adobe et al.
OSX.
Other than at work (Windows is mandated due to my reliance on MSProject in the performance of my duties), I have not had any of these MS woes. Not on my iPads (x3), iPhones (x3), MacbookAir, AirPort, or MacMini; ever. Never caught a virus either, now that I think of it, and I don’t run anti-virus; yet my Windows computer at work has caught three viruses (while running McAfee) and crashed, hard, twice.
Huh. Is correlation causation in this case?
🙂
Thank you – thank you – thank you
Three years ago I defenestrated M$. There is not an iM$ app or program on my linux computer and I am happy! But now I have to buy a Windoze dedicated industry specific compute ’cause they looove security through obscurity. Just damn.
I feel your pain AW.
I agree, and I think Microsoft has made a serious mistake in the move. Microsoft has always had a core customer base of business desktop users, and they seem to have abandoned that to what will always be a recreational market of touchpad users. All they really need to do (if they insist on using the same os for both) is let the desktop user hide the touch features so they dont get so badly in the way.
It’s all there, you can even tell Windows 10 to always start in desktop mode. Millions of preview users had the chance to contribute their ideas and suggestions for a better Windows. But then, nobody has to buy Windows.
Nope, nobody has to buy Window, If you buy a PC, that c**p is already installed.
Just get a Mac.
Seriously, it’s the 21st Century. There is no reason to conform to cheesy government-monopoly computer systems any more. So there is no reason to be a 2nd class citizen or complain about it.
Troll is troll.
Maybe, But Helen is right.
Helen is indeed right get a Mac and no B%%sh&t follows on.
Of the Macs we have installed only two have gone wrong, and both issues were user-induced. So basically that’s zero breakdowns. Though, you could by three PCs for the price of one Mac. You pays your money…
One nice thing about Macs is that you can always ask their support centers for help with clients’ issues even if you aren’t an official dealer. That, and there is no computer age limit on asking for help or advice.
Well, on the plus side, Microsoft may have learned from the Win8 debacle and is offering platform dependent UI’s – meaning that their should be a somewhat different UI for desktops and mobile devices rather than the touchscreen-centric UI of Win8
I bought a Macbook Pro in 2010 and it still works great on Yosemite (after memory added). All our products are Microsoft .NET based and our shop runs only MS Servers .. but the Mac OS is still superior IMO for personal use. The only real issue has been MS Office for Mac, which has the usual MS glitches from time to time.
To get around the MS application requirements I need occasionally, I installed VMWare fusion and have Win XP, Win 7, Win 8 and Windows Server 2008 R2 virtual machines I can start on the Mac anytime I need them.
Never had a blue screen of death on the VMWare either.
Was going to add an internal SSD to my Mac, but will probably get a new one and keep this one as a spare.
The thing that bothered me the most about windows was that you cannot install any program without the risk of having toolbars installed in your browser. That was the case some five years ago when I decided to move to linux. And you may think that the toolbars and programs are easy to unistall, until you dedide to have a look at your regedit and windows.ini files just fo find out that many programs leave some code in there that slows down your computer.
Who benefits when less sophisticated users are forced prematurely to buy a new PC in order to deal with the accumulated junk and speed brakes on their “old” PC? This relates to all of the other unwanted add-ons and features while ignoring other basic productivity flaws. There is an incentive here to bog down users as much as possible. Call it Microsoft’s anti-Moore’s Law.
Odd you should mention that…
In the ’90s I ran a Cray Supercomputer shop. As of now, you can buy a loptop for about $500 that is faster. Yet put MSoft on it, and it is “too slow”.
At that same time my Brother In Law (Ph.D Aeronautics Stanford) was doing computes at NASA on air flow simulation. He shared a graph. One line was rising at about a 30 degree angle (log graph). That was compute increase from Moore’s Law. Another line rose at about a 45 degree slope. That was improvement from better code / algorithms.
The meaning? Better code can improve things faster than Moore’s Law. The correlary I saw was that crappy code can consume ALL of Moore’s Law and then some. Thus the Windoze box today running just as slow to simply edit a text file… no gain to me in 30 years…
On my Linux box I avoid similar code bloat releases like Ubuntu laden with cycle sucking eye candy. On 10 year old hardware it is still faster than MS on new hardware. For much basic Linux software, it is just damned fast. FORTRAN too. I ported GIStemp to an old Pentium class machine with about 256 Megabytes of memory and it was way more than fast enough under Red Hat 7.2 (yes, ancient but fast and stable release with the FORTRAN I needed… and no bloat…). As it doesn’t talk to the internet, no need for updates. Using Puppy from CD, the whole OS get loaded into RAMdisk on my 2 GB machine. Just flies for speed with eye candy graphics and modern browser.
So if you want fast computes, dump the code sucking pig… You don’t need a new computer, you need a new operating system…
EM, puppy is also very fast as a seperate-partition dual-boot. The only issue so far is the very useful “puppy package manager” that links to secure repositories for puppy “pet” files (hundreds of ’em), which install like any other .exe file — no compiling necessary. It can be buggy, tho, can even freeze the desktop. Solution, save any data and close every other program when running it, and browse slowly & carefully thru its menus.
No one is forced to prematurely buy a new PC. I can restore any PC to its original performance and usually faster relatively easily.
Can you do that with an IBM PC/XT with IBM DOS 2.1?
* With any PC that is still receiving security updates from Microsoft.
I agree with poptech. There are many free tools to fix slow Win PCs.
It is Google, Adobe, Oracle(Java) and others that just load cr@p on PCs without folks realising.
Microsoft almost always has any downloads as opt-in choices. Google etc are all opt-out.
I wrote a complaint to the ACCC in Australia about this issue and their response was “they are not breaking the law” – that was my point, I want to see the law changed so that all piggy back software installs are opt-in!!
This Win10 update is unfortunate and here is where I agree somewhat with Anthony – it should be easy to remove the update.
But I will be updating all my win8 computers to10. Not sure about the Win 7 ones right away though – don’t know how the drivers will go. I won’t be upgrading my Linux boxes to Win 10 though ;-). Don’t have any Macs – don’t care. Might have to buy an Android tablet for my EFB (electronic flight bag) and not happy about that.
Could you or Poptech please tell me how to speed up my (relatively new) laptop ? It seems slower than my old laptop.
“Arding Thoughts
June 4, 2015 at 6:53 pm”
I agree, there are plenty of tools and utilities around to “fix” a slaow running Window$ PC, and it does not take too long for Window$ to be bogged down. The only issue in my experience is that most people simply don’t know they exist, don’t realise their PC is running slow nor how too use them. I alway have friends knocking on my door to help them with PC/Mac issues and even peripherals.
Windows 8 has some issues, many fixed in 8.1 but it is entirely configurable for desktop use. It’s just a little different despite behaving similar to win7 under the hood. The problem users like you and I using 7 is that OS is now at end of life. I tried 10, I could live with it if I had to but as yet I don’t have to. It’s much faster than 7. You have to take the plunge at some point.
I think that there are still free 60 or 90 day versions available. Stick a virtual desktop on your machine and install 10 there. Give it a go, you may be surprised. I would not adopt it yet, i don’t think the current build is quite there yet. What i would do in your case is ensure that I reserved my free upgrade license. It is only available for 12 months from the end of this month. After that you would have to pay. Reserving your copy now will give you a license key, you don’t actually have to install it. Once reserved your icon goes away. ( I think )
23-27 inch touchscreens are quite reasonably priced now, the trick is instaling them in a way that they can be swivelled and tilted around your workspace for ease of use. Personally hooked up to my PC I have 3 37″ screens on my desk and a 47″ screen on the wall for video so won’t be adopting touchscreens any time soon.
Think again.
I just bought a new HP printer after the “programmed obsolesence timer” in my 9 yr old OfficeJet forced a hard kill on it. HP only offers a driver installation for Mac OS 10.7 or higher. (my printer diagnostics included taking the power supply apart, checking internal fuses, checking voltages on the printer’s controller board, everything seemed ok, but was still dead. Now it’s just a pile of eWaste.).
So I also have a 2008 iMac that was running Mac OS 10.6.8. I didn’t want to upgrade to 10.7 or above, even though they were free because my copy of MicroSoft Office For Mac wouldn’t run on 10.7 or higher. Which would cost me $100+ to upgrade Office while still getting no increase in functionality.
Anyway I was forced to update my Mac to Yosemite (OS 10.10) to get the printer working on that iMac. Now I have to shell out money to MicroSoft for a new MS Office. sigh.
At least my trusty old 2008 Lenovo Thinkpad running XP is still supported with my new HP printer and it runs fine as I have fervently kept malware and assorted junk software off of it. My Dell desktop running Win7 Pro 64 bit version is my workhorse. I only let it update MS updates after releases have been out at least 3 months and the MS user community reports no major issues.
Macs run a print server called ‘CUPS’ … I’m surprised you couldn’t manually install the new print driver via the local web interface at:
http://localhost:631
Anyway, you should check out the latest release of LibreOffice [4.4] … it has served me very well so far… no issues at all with return trips to docx formats in shared documents.
The HP downloaded printer .dmg file for setup-install wouldn’t let the install proceed with anything below OS 10.7. I had no obvious way to extract the actual driver files from the .dmg file. Apple demands a tight a control over their OS configs and verified installation files.
@Joel O’Bryan:
I believe you can use hdiutil to mount the image file. And then you should be able to pull the driver files out of the image.
Here’s the hdiutil man page:
https://developer.apple.com/library/mac/documentation/Darwin/Reference/ManPages/man1/hdiutil.1.html
And here’s someone’s tutorial on the process:
http://www.unixtutorial.org/2012/09/how-to-mount-dmg-files-from-command-line-in-mac-os/
Maybe this helps. I dunno…
I generally look for printers that have a native postscript language ability. These are generally more expensive than a generic ink jet, but I don’t seem to run into driver problems on any given connecting OS.
I do recommend the HP Color LaserJet series.
If you are adventurous, you can buy a Raspberry Pi 2 B and configure it to work with your printer. Once that’s done, you will be able to add that printer as a networked device. I’ve done this trick with several electronic devices giving me network access to fax machines, printers, and even oscilloscopes… anything that can be connected to a GNU/Linux machine.
joelobryan
June 3, 2015 at 9:10 am
Just “lie” about what version is installed 😉
https://justindaigle.com/blog/2010/02/tutorial-change-mac-os-x-system-version/
You don’t need to upgrade Microsoft Office for the Mac. Get NeoOffice. It runs well and does everything most people need. I started transitioning my business from Microsoft to Apple in 2007. I started buying Macs for my employees and running Windows on the Macs, so I could keep using my Microsoft Access database while working on a pure Mac database solution. The computers are more reliable than anything I’d used before. The Mac Minis are very robust. And they easily run Windows.
I finally ditched Microsoft altogether in 2012 when I ported the data from my Microsoft Access database to Filemaker Pro. Now my whole business runs on Macs, and the Filemaker database runs from a real database server. No more worries about file corruption, viruses and the like. Everything just works.
Life is good.
Amen. Maybe the scales will fall from their eyes like they did from yours.
I gather one of the new “features” of Windows 10 will be a complete loss of control of system updates (at least for non-business versions), which will mean you get no choice when the update required 30 mins of download and reboot to install the latest trap door from NSA/GCHQ – and no ability to disable a feature such as this.
You gather wrongly.
I don’t think so::
http://www.theverge.com/2015/6/1/8696949/windows-10-feature-loss
Please take into account that there are still vast numbers of people who object to coarse language, and that many of us belong to your target audience.
Thank you.
Trigger warnings for children not allowed. This is a site for grown-ups.
Since when…. I must have missed the memo.
You making the rules now ???