Dumping Microsoft

[BB63Squid]

As others have said, a fresh install of the MS product is your best bet.

Remove the programs you want carefully as some are interdependent.


As far as windows media player.... DO NOT convert to "Real Player" unless you want a TON of problems.

My suggestion is to google VLC. It is free, open source and plays just about everything out there including .MKV files.

K-lite codec pack is also a good install as it will install media player classic w.o all the garbage that the WMP currently has.

[Richie Caketown]

"Format C:", it's very effective at maximizing free space!

is this before or after deleting the WIN32 file

[jwest]

I thought this thread was about dumping the M$ OS.

Since I bothered to read the threads - I will post this:
I am looking forward to the new OS Google is working on...!!!

[locosway]

http://ubuntu.com is the best tool I know for removing those pesky Microsoft applications.

[Digital_Boy]

"Get a Mac..."
Only if you want a toy for a computer.

Ah, not so much. For a while, the top end MacBook Pro was the fastest Vista machine on the market, even compared to Dell machines that cost as much or more when fully optioned with processor, RAM, HD, etcetera. Apple has ceded the mid and bottom end market to Dell, HP, Lenovo and company. If you compare a top end Dell to a top end Apple laptop, the prices are pretty close to one another. Apple is raking in so much money from the iPod, iPhone and iTunes that they're not hungry enough, yet, to tackle the mid and low end PC markets, along with the headaches they entail.

One other thing that really seperates Apple from the rest of the pack is their customer service. I know several people personally who have purchased used Apple laptops, and had boards fail on them, that Apple repaired for free, even though the warranty was expired. In some cases, the hardware was obsolete, so Apple replaced their machine with a newer factory refurb, along with a complimentary migration of their existing data and preferences from their old machine to their new one. I don't see Dell or HP going that extra mile to keep the customer happy, unless they pay beaucoup money for an extended service contract.

And now that they've upgraded their OS to a UNIX based platform (OSX is derived from BSD), it's pretty damn solid and secure out of the box. Yes, if you grew up on MS-DOS and Windows, you have to shift your paradigm a bit to get used to the logic of the Mac GUI, and you can call up a real, honest to ghawd UNIX command line anytime you feel like it.

And for purposes of disclosure, I have an HP (more like H-POS) laptop that's work issued, had a Mac Mini doing home theater duties (sold it), and a couple of Windows XP boxes. No Apple PCs in the stable at the moment.

[locosway]

Ah, not so much. For a while, the top end MacBook Pro was the fastest Vista machine on the market, even compared to Dell machines that cost as much or more when fully optioned with processor, RAM, HD, etcetera. Apple has ceded the mid and bottom end market to Dell, HP, Lenovo and company. If you compare a top end Dell to a top end Apple laptop, the prices are pretty close to one another. Apple is raking in so much money from the iPod, iPhone and iTunes that they're not hungry enough, yet, to tackle the mid and low end PC markets, along with the headaches they entail.

One other thing that really seperates Apple from the rest of the pack is their customer service. I know several people personally who have purchased used Apple laptops, and had boards fail on them, that Apple repaired for free, even though the warranty was expired. In some cases, the hardware was obsolete, so Apple replaced their machine with a newer factory refurb, along with a complimentary migration of their existing data and preferences from their old machine to their new one. I don't see Dell or HP going that extra mile to keep the customer happy, unless they pay beaucoup money for an extended service contract.

And now that they've upgraded their OS to a UNIX based platform (OSX is derived from BSD), it's pretty damn solid and secure out of the box. Yes, if you grew up on MS-DOS and Windows, you have to shift your paradigm a bit to get used to the logic of the Mac GUI, and you can call up a real, honest to ghawd UNIX command line anytime you feel like it.

And for purposes of disclosure, I have an HP (more like H-POS) laptop that's work issued, had a Mac Mini doing home theater duties (sold it), and a couple of Windows XP boxes. No Apple PCs in the stable at the moment.

Being a ex-Mac user and a life long PC user and a Linux Admin for my adult life I'd like to comment.

I too once thought that the prices were the same at the high end. Well, that's not true. My laptop now is a Dell and it cost me $1490 out the door. This is the same price I paid for a MacBook with a 13" screen. Also, my MacBook didn't have a 64bit processor. It only had 2GB of RAM as well. Not to mention the HDD wasn't as big. Oh, and also it didn't have the all important LED backlight for the LCD.

My wife had a Mac and the fan went out inside a week out of warranty. Apple wanted $80 just to look at it and they wouldn't sell me the parts to fix it myself.

Now... Dell has in home service and they'll ship you parts. Not to mention I can buy my Dell with either Windows or Linux which is a huge plus for me.

Apple is great if you're trying to keep up your image of a techy, or if you like throwing money at the problem. The truth is PC's are cheaper, and I can build my own PC if I want.

It's almost like the PC is the AR and the Mac is something else...

[ocabj]

I prefer using Mac OS X because it works.

I will never go back to Windows for my workstation/laptop if they continue to rehash the NT kernel. Hopefully, Microsoft will build a new OS from scratch and ditch the NT code branch.

I'd use FreeBSD/Linux, but X windows is still clunky to me and the workflow for video/photo editing isn't as solid as the commercial apps in Windows/MacOS.

It's definitely true that straight up for hardware, any Windows laptop/desktop is going to be cheaper than a Mac. But the frustration of having to deal with the inadequacies of Windows adds to the cost of ownership.

As far as out-of-warranty repair, yes, I do agree that a Mac is almost like owning black-box appliance. But there are plenty of resources on the Internet to assist in repairing a Mac. Coming from an EDU, we're always going straight to the OEM for parts, even in out-of-warranty repairs. But most consumers don't follow that stringent requirement and will go to third-party vendors.

Apple doesn't promote a techy image, at least not to me or among my colleagues (Systems Administrators). If anything, Apple is more an image of style and function.

But I'm not going to admonish people for their choice of PC, Mac, Linux, Solaris, FreeBSD, or what not. Pick with what you are willing to work with. I've converted quite a few of my friends to Macs ever since I started using Macs after OS X v 10.0 dropped. All of them still use Macs as their primary.

[sfwdiy]

Being a ex-Mac user and a life long PC user and a Linux Admin for my adult life I'd like to comment.

I too once thought that the prices were the same at the high end. Well, that's not true. My laptop now is a Dell and it cost me $1490 out the door. This is the same price I paid for a MacBook with a 13" screen. Also, my MacBook didn't have a 64bit processor. It only had 2GB of RAM as well. Not to mention the HDD wasn't as big. Oh, and also it didn't have the all important LED backlight for the LCD.

My wife had a Mac and the fan went out inside a week out of warranty. Apple wanted $80 just to look at it and they wouldn't sell me the parts to fix it myself.

Now... Dell has in home service and they'll ship you parts. Not to mention I can buy my Dell with either Windows or Linux which is a huge plus for me.

Apple is great if you're trying to keep up your image of a techy, or if you like throwing money at the problem. The truth is PC's are cheaper, and I can build my own PC if I want.

It's almost like the PC is the AR and the Mac is something else...

The higher price of the Mac is to cover the service you get with it. I can completely understand that technically oriented users have no need for most of this service. For the average end-user it's very helpful. Name one other OEM that has retail locations where you can get a consultation with a factory trained technician for just about any issue for free.

Again, if you're not the type that needs the help, the extra cost seems like a ripoff. It's a huge amount of added value for the majority of users, who are by-and-large non-technical.

Apple parts can be bought online for almost any computer they make from a number of different sources. One thing I would caution is that Macs, especially laptops, are rife with engineering and construction idiosyncrasies that are totally unapparent unless you read the service manuals. I've seen experienced PC techs do huge amounts of damage to Mac laptops just trying to get them open.

--B

[locosway]

Yeah, I tried opening my wifes and no matter how many screws I removed it wouldn't come apart. I bought her a PC instead...

Dell has awesome service, but they don't have a *cough* genius bar I can go to for *cough* expert advice. However, if you really want to talk to a customer service rep who knows their stuff, call in to the Linux server support guys at Dell, they'll really talk you in circles...

[sfwdiy]

...if you really want to talk to a customer service rep who knows their stuff, call in to the Linux server support guys at Dell, they'll really talk you in circles...

I don't doubt it.

If you need any help pulling apart that Mac, shoot me a message. I fix 'em for a living.

--B

[locosway]

Yeah, I don't know where it is now but it's fairly new. 64bit Duo processor with 2gb's ram and so on. My wife would like it better than her HP which is total crap!

If you can, never buy HP, they are the worst!

[packnrat]

don't you need to know programing to use these??

As others have said, a fresh install of the MS product is your best bet.

Remove the programs you want carefully as some are interdependent.


As far as windows media player.... DO NOT convert to "Real Player" unless you want a TON of problems.

My suggestion is to google VLC. It is free, open source and plays just about everything out there including .MKV files.


OR, you could wipe the entire hard drive and install ubuntu (lots of online support and a HUGE forum for any help you may need) or my personal favorite Kubuntu (If this is your FIRST Linux experience, go Ubuntu)

https://www.ubuntu.com

www.kubuntu.org

[locosway]

VLC? No, it's just a video player.

Linux? No, it's just an Operating System.

As someone said, Ubuntu is a great flavor of Linux. Mint Linux is also another great flavor based on Ubuntu.

If you have any OSS or Linux questions feel free to ask.

[jmlivingston]

If you bought a new computer and they didn't include the media for any bundled applications, either that software application was illegally installed (unlicensed) or trial software. The manufacturer or OEM is supposed to provide the media to install any software that is bundled with the computer.

Used to be the case, but not any more. Most tier-1 manufacturers now have the ISO's on the hard drive and you create your own recovery disks. They do this for the operating system as well as any pre-installed applications. It's done this way to keep costs down.

John

[locosway]

They do this because Windows isn't worth the $.05 the CD costs... It's also a great incentive to install Linux when you get a virus after being on the internet for a few minutes.