I am a big fat hypocrite
Wednesday, August 1, 2001 by AJCrowley | Discussion: WinCustomize Talk
Yes, it's true. After my little rant about how I wouldn't be upgrading to WinXP for some time yet, I finally caved. My Win2K install was starting to act up, and XP RC2 was up on MSDN, so I did the only thing a big fat liar such as myself could do and downloaded it. My main gripe with it before was the issues with sharing "protected" folders, and since this was on my main machine, I don't need to access these from my other machines. Anyway, after much tweaking, crashing and swearing, I got everything to work except for Gamespy Arcade, which absolutely refuses to co-operate. After all this, I'll probably stick with XP when the official release happens, but I still don't see any advantages whatsoever over Win2K except a few graphical tweaks.
Vaguely on the same topic, I was reading an forum about XP today (may have been on slashdot, if not something of the same vein). People were complaining about the system requirements of XP, and how it would rule many newbies out, as their hardware wasn't up to spec. This reminded me of something I was reading within the last few days, I have no recollection of where (maybe here?), but the general gist of the article was that Microsoft's OSs were being held back by the fact that they were always trying to cater to older hardware, to get more people to upgrade. Because Apple has control of the hardware used to run their OSs as well as the OS themselves, it places them in the position of being able to really get the most out of new technologies, by making their new software, which is bundled with the hardware to take full advantage of this. Anyway, I'm rambling now.
AJ
Vaguely on the same topic, I was reading an forum about XP today (may have been on slashdot, if not something of the same vein). People were complaining about the system requirements of XP, and how it would rule many newbies out, as their hardware wasn't up to spec. This reminded me of something I was reading within the last few days, I have no recollection of where (maybe here?), but the general gist of the article was that Microsoft's OSs were being held back by the fact that they were always trying to cater to older hardware, to get more people to upgrade. Because Apple has control of the hardware used to run their OSs as well as the OS themselves, it places them in the position of being able to really get the most out of new technologies, by making their new software, which is bundled with the hardware to take full advantage of this. Anyway, I'm rambling now.
AJ
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e-roz
Reply #22 Thursday, August 2, 2001 1:35 PM
Reply #22 Thursday, August 2, 2001 1:35 PM
Ehh, we all will upgrade soon enough. First we'll be reluctant, then we'll see it working at some friend's computer, say something like "hmm, it does have some nice feature, ya know?" and then switch, after all the fuss we previously made about stability.
But the reality is, I program critical systems for which stability is imporant, and I don't see MS being able to offer the kind of uptime that *nix has. I love win2k, but they're not there yet, and XP won't change that. It's some basic things about the OS infra-structure.
But the reality is, I program critical systems for which stability is imporant, and I don't see MS being able to offer the kind of uptime that *nix has. I love win2k, but they're not there yet, and XP won't change that. It's some basic things about the OS infra-structure.
Tarkus
Reply #23 Thursday, August 2, 2001 2:53 PM
Reply #23 Thursday, August 2, 2001 2:53 PM
There are some legitimate concerns about WPA, but I don't think privacy is one of them.
People who love to constantly tinker with their hardware are likely to run into problems (even with the relaxed rules).
People who have two or more computers are going to hate it. While technically, it could be considered piracy to install it on two home computers, even though only one is used at a time, I think most people would consider this fair use.
And what scares a lot of people is the fact that MS can pull the plug at any time, and simply stop all activation, forcing you to upgrade to whatever OS they're selling at the time (assuming you make any hardware changes or have to do a clean install).
That would be a PR nightmare, so I don't think it will happen anytime soon, but it's still a legitimate concern, especially if their monopoly gets even stronger (where bad PR will be pretty much irrelevant).
I still wouldn't be shocked of WPA is removed before WXP goes gold, because of pressure from the states and the DOJ. If not, I'll be looking for the hack that disables it, even though I'll be buying a legitimate copy.
People who love to constantly tinker with their hardware are likely to run into problems (even with the relaxed rules).
People who have two or more computers are going to hate it. While technically, it could be considered piracy to install it on two home computers, even though only one is used at a time, I think most people would consider this fair use.
And what scares a lot of people is the fact that MS can pull the plug at any time, and simply stop all activation, forcing you to upgrade to whatever OS they're selling at the time (assuming you make any hardware changes or have to do a clean install).
That would be a PR nightmare, so I don't think it will happen anytime soon, but it's still a legitimate concern, especially if their monopoly gets even stronger (where bad PR will be pretty much irrelevant).
I still wouldn't be shocked of WPA is removed before WXP goes gold, because of pressure from the states and the DOJ. If not, I'll be looking for the hack that disables it, even though I'll be buying a legitimate copy.
AJCrowley
Reply #24 Thursday, August 2, 2001 3:01 PM
Reply #24 Thursday, August 2, 2001 3:01 PM
Actually the way things are going so far with the whole DMCA/DeCSS issue, it looks like MS could lock you up and throw away the key if you do the simple regedit and couple of "regsvr32 -u"s that are required to remove the WPA from XP. That's assuming they don't toughen it up for the release version. I once saw this movie about people who did these cracks, and they said that there's always a back door, and the password is usually "love", "god", or "sex", then there's the old favourites such as "trustno1". Sorry to all the millions of sys admins who's secret passwords I've just posted on a public message board, but these are virtually GUARANTEED to work when cracking WPA, just be careful that you don't meet any countermeasures, cos I heard that if you like die in cyberspace, your brain thinks you're dead and you die in real life.
erm......sorry.
erm......sorry.
DaWebMassa
Reply #25 Thursday, August 2, 2001 3:40 PM
Reply #25 Thursday, August 2, 2001 3:40 PM
I wasn't concerned about transmitting my personal info and such to M$ , but more, what I have on my system. It's none of their damn business.
As Tarkus points out, having M$ have ANY control over the OS on my system is more than they should have. The fact that I run they're OS is shameful enough without having to admit they managed to pull the plug on me.
Also, IF and when I buy a copy, I too will be looking into disabling it. And if they don't like it, tough nuggies! I've sold (was a consultant) and purchased enough M$ junkware in my life that they should credit me for a few years of freebies.
As Tarkus points out, having M$ have ANY control over the OS on my system is more than they should have. The fact that I run they're OS is shameful enough without having to admit they managed to pull the plug on me.
Also, IF and when I buy a copy, I too will be looking into disabling it. And if they don't like it, tough nuggies! I've sold (was a consultant) and purchased enough M$ junkware in my life that they should credit me for a few years of freebies.
Dork
Reply #26 Thursday, August 2, 2001 5:04 PM
Reply #26 Thursday, August 2, 2001 5:04 PM
sounds like XP is more of a lease than a purchase...
if i buy something, shouldn't it be mine, to do with as i please?
set a cup of coffee on
play frisbee
break in half and do nasty things with the hologram
teach my dog fetch
microwave
plunder
pillage
hack
crack
or even, god forbid, hang from the rearview mirror in my car
?
if i buy something, shouldn't it be mine, to do with as i please?
set a cup of coffee on
play frisbee
break in half and do nasty things with the hologram
teach my dog fetch
microwave
plunder
pillage
hack
crack
or even, god forbid, hang from the rearview mirror in my car
?
craeonics
Reply #27 Thursday, August 2, 2001 5:58 PM
Reply #27 Thursday, August 2, 2001 5:58 PM
Aj forgot some: "hello", "girlfriend's name" "123456", "qwerty".
Jafo
Reply #28 Thursday, August 2, 2001 7:02 PM
Reply #28 Thursday, August 2, 2001 7:02 PM
JavaBrain...you almost got a flame from me....
I've used WBXP already and am really taken by the integration....it's one plus FOR using XP...though it MUST be fully compatible with LiteSTEP or I will be staying with 2K...
I've used WBXP already and am really taken by the integration....it's one plus FOR using XP...though it MUST be fully compatible with LiteSTEP or I will be staying with 2K...
hoverboy
Reply #29 Thursday, August 2, 2001 8:05 PM
Reply #29 Thursday, August 2, 2001 8:05 PM
Paxx - What Tomb Raider? The only one that I haven't tried in XP is TR1, and the rest work fine for me. I'm running a Geforce 2 with the 12.41 drivers (which are XP compat.)
Dork - Read the EULA on any software that you buy and tell me how much it all sounds like a lease. The CD itself is yours, but by accepting the EULA (on most software) you are entering into a "lease" type of situation/agreement.
And please, for the sake of integrity, stop using the little dollar sign for the MS initials. Yes, they make money, but so does $un, Linu$ Torvald$, Larry Elli$on, and yes, even $tardock... I haven't read the posts which contain it because I've learned from ZD Net's corny "TalkBack" section to filter them out. 9 out of 10 times those who use the dollar sign for the name/initials are bashing Microsoft, and really, that's a tired, old bandwagon.
Dork - Read the EULA on any software that you buy and tell me how much it all sounds like a lease. The CD itself is yours, but by accepting the EULA (on most software) you are entering into a "lease" type of situation/agreement.
And please, for the sake of integrity, stop using the little dollar sign for the MS initials. Yes, they make money, but so does $un, Linu$ Torvald$, Larry Elli$on, and yes, even $tardock... I haven't read the posts which contain it because I've learned from ZD Net's corny "TalkBack" section to filter them out. 9 out of 10 times those who use the dollar sign for the name/initials are bashing Microsoft, and really, that's a tired, old bandwagon.
paxx
Reply #30 Thursday, August 2, 2001 8:31 PM
Reply #30 Thursday, August 2, 2001 8:31 PM
Hum, I guess people write it M$ because M₣, M₤, M₧ or even M€ doesn't really work... 
DaWebMassa
Reply #31 Thursday, August 2, 2001 10:39 PM
Reply #31 Thursday, August 2, 2001 10:39 PM
Not to sound like an angry old man or anything (so, ok, maybe I do) but I live in the USA and it's my right to bash whomever I choose. If you choose to filter my posts rather than reason with me, that's certainly your decision.
I've been around this business for a LONG time and Microsoft (I didn't say I wouldn't try to cooperate) has been bamboozling people for many MANY years. I remember when tried to reject computer vendors their Windows licenses if they offered any other OS on the machines they sold. This is one in a long line of problems I have with them.
I don't hate Microsoft (wow, that's twice now!), but I sure as hell don't favor them either.
I may be just a smidge prejudice due to the fact that I was such as OS/2 fan and it WAS the better OS.
I've been around this business for a LONG time and Microsoft (I didn't say I wouldn't try to cooperate) has been bamboozling people for many MANY years. I remember when tried to reject computer vendors their Windows licenses if they offered any other OS on the machines they sold. This is one in a long line of problems I have with them.
I don't hate Microsoft (wow, that's twice now!), but I sure as hell don't favor them either.
I may be just a smidge prejudice due to the fact that I was such as OS/2 fan and it WAS the better OS.
Tarkus
Reply #32 Thursday, August 2, 2001 11:34 PM
Reply #32 Thursday, August 2, 2001 11:34 PM
DaWebMassa: With all due respect, MS couldn't care less what hardware is on your system. And even if they did, they wouldn't know it's YOUR system. It's simply a verification system to make sure that when you buy their product it's only used on one computer.
I don't like it either, but not because I'm worried about MS knowing what hardware is on my system. It's not like someone at MS is saying, "Look at Tarkus -- he has an Iomega CD burner, a Microtek scanner and an HP DeskJet. Wait till the guys in product development hear this!"
hoverboy: Bravo!
I don't like it either, but not because I'm worried about MS knowing what hardware is on my system. It's not like someone at MS is saying, "Look at Tarkus -- he has an Iomega CD burner, a Microtek scanner and an HP DeskJet. Wait till the guys in product development hear this!"
hoverboy: Bravo!
DaWebMassa
Reply #33 Thursday, August 2, 2001 11:56 PM
Reply #33 Thursday, August 2, 2001 11:56 PM
Tarkus, I meant software... there have been rumors (yes, I know RUMORS) about them collecting info from the registry on what software you're running.
AJCrowley
Reply #34 Friday, August 3, 2001 1:27 AM
Reply #34 Friday, August 3, 2001 1:27 AM
well I shall fill my registry with ascii pornographic imagery. That'll learn 'em.
Tarkus
Reply #35 Friday, August 3, 2001 2:30 PM
Reply #35 Friday, August 3, 2001 2:30 PM
DaWebMassa: It would probably be trivial for someone with a port scanner to see what info they're collecting. And activiation happens so fast, it's extremely unlikely they're collecting much if anything from the registry.
Also, given the consequences that could result from such devious actions, I doubt very much if they'd want to take the risk. For what purpose?
I'll just file this next to all the other unfounded conspiracy theories.
Also, given the consequences that could result from such devious actions, I doubt very much if they'd want to take the risk. For what purpose?
I'll just file this next to all the other unfounded conspiracy theories.
berzerka
Reply #36 Friday, August 3, 2001 8:32 PM
Reply #36 Friday, August 3, 2001 8:32 PM
XP crashed?!!!!
it hasnt crashed once for me in over 2 months!
it hasnt crashed once for me in over 2 months!
berzerka
Reply #37 Friday, August 3, 2001 8:34 PM
Reply #37 Friday, August 3, 2001 8:34 PM
another point, what major problems are there on XP?!!!!!!
berzerka
Reply #38 Friday, August 3, 2001 8:39 PM
Reply #38 Friday, August 3, 2001 8:39 PM
oh, another point (yes another), i bet 99% of all u ppl use one piece of MS software every day. so stop complaining, be happy for once. Oh, and by the way, Internet Explorer is far better than Netscape rant rant flame flame
rant rant flame flame
misterME
Reply #39 Friday, August 3, 2001 9:03 PM
Reply #39 Friday, August 3, 2001 9:03 PM
Berzerka, the only problem I've noticed so far is that XP seems to load multiple versions of the same services during boot-up, causing it to use more memory than it otherwise would. For example, I have five--yes, five--instances of svchost.exe running according to the Processes tab in Task Manager. I can't figure out if this is by design or a bug, but they total 26 MB of memory being used.
Typically, I'm at 80+ MB of memory in use after a fresh boot. That's a little bloated, but not such a big deal in this age of ultra-cheap RAM. (I just wish I had a newer motherboard that could support 256 MB chips, so I wasn't capped at 384 MB...)
Besides that, I haven't seen any problems. My games and other programs run fine on it. It's pretty. It has some nice informative features that make computing a little easier. It's pretty. Things are laid out a bit more conveniently than in Win2k. And, finally, it's pretty.
As for Product Activation, it saddens me to see so many people still fall for the same sort of anti-MS rumormilling that's been going on for so long now. Sure, they're anti-competitive. They've broken the law. And they'll eventually pay the price for it. But they aren't sneaking into your computer to collect all sorts of trivial, meaningless info about their users. The Activation uses ID and Serial Numbers from your hardware to form a unique code that gets tied to your Product Key as an anti-piracy measure. No personal data; not even a convenient way to tell *what* exactly you have installed in your system. And no Reg keys. It's really no big deal. I think some people have watched the Anti-Trust DVD a few too many times...
If I don't end up with a free copy of the finished product from attending the XP Roadshow this Fall, I'll fork over the money. I like it *that* much. And damn, it's pretty...
Typically, I'm at 80+ MB of memory in use after a fresh boot. That's a little bloated, but not such a big deal in this age of ultra-cheap RAM. (I just wish I had a newer motherboard that could support 256 MB chips, so I wasn't capped at 384 MB...)
Besides that, I haven't seen any problems. My games and other programs run fine on it. It's pretty. It has some nice informative features that make computing a little easier. It's pretty. Things are laid out a bit more conveniently than in Win2k. And, finally, it's pretty.
As for Product Activation, it saddens me to see so many people still fall for the same sort of anti-MS rumormilling that's been going on for so long now. Sure, they're anti-competitive. They've broken the law. And they'll eventually pay the price for it. But they aren't sneaking into your computer to collect all sorts of trivial, meaningless info about their users. The Activation uses ID and Serial Numbers from your hardware to form a unique code that gets tied to your Product Key as an anti-piracy measure. No personal data; not even a convenient way to tell *what* exactly you have installed in your system. And no Reg keys. It's really no big deal. I think some people have watched the Anti-Trust DVD a few too many times...
If I don't end up with a free copy of the finished product from attending the XP Roadshow this Fall, I'll fork over the money. I like it *that* much. And damn, it's pretty...
paxx
Reply #40 Friday, August 3, 2001 9:13 PM
Reply #40 Friday, August 3, 2001 9:13 PM
I still don't understand what there is to like that's worth 200$ or 300$ or whatever they'll overprice it for. Nice, transparent icons are nice, but not worth that much...
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Reply #21 Thursday, August 2, 2001 1:11 PM
I've used WinXP a good bit and I gotta say it's nice. As far as stability goes it's about the same as Win2k. As far as features are concerned it offers a lot to computer novices who like everything they need bundled into one tidy package (ie: digital picture managment, DVD playback, CD burning, etc..). For those who really do love Win2k turning XP into basically "Windows 2000.1" is easy enough. Just turn off all the eyecandy and disable the features that might otherwise bloat the OS.
I'm done messin' with the Betas for now but I'll definitly grab a copy in October when it comes out.