Cheap Laptops

[J Riff]

/i'd rather go linux than use any restricted crap from microsoft

 

[Foxbat]

This S mode malarky just sounds like a sneaky way to get around anti-trust lawsuits.

 

[Elckerlyc]

When it comes to Microsoft, the word 'single-mindedness' springs to mind.

 

[Robert Zwilling]

S mode is plain old malarky and single mindedness is way too polite. Wait till everything is only available from the cloud for security purposes, then all there will be is a dumb terminal that stamps every single character and pixel with a unique code so it supposedly can't get lost in the cloud. Enjoy those fake hard drives while you got em before they too just become memories in the sky.

 

[Finch]

The S mode is not part of a sinister plot . Windows in the past has had a number of security and performance issues. If your computer did not become in infected by some unwanted software, it would become gummed up and grind to halt . S mode Is an attempt to stop that and make the machines run efficiently for longer. If you don't want it you can turn it off. I believe as we move from the internet as a novel form of entertainment to a vital household utility, a secure terminal will be the norm.

 

[Foxbat]

Maybe I'm being cynical but I wonder when Microsoft will cotton on to the fact that it could be seen as a constantly updatable feature by providing a list of downloadable 'trusted products by commercial partners' to users - for which they could then charge a subscription to facilitate these updates (just like antivirus software).

 

[M. Robert Gibson]

he only uses it for email and writing a few letters

It is possible to install Linux on old machines and give them a new lease of life. I had one running Vista and it's doing fine.

Give an old PC new life by replacing Windows with Linux

Do you have an older computer that you're thinking about replacing because it runs too slowly? Well, there is a much cheaper alternative (it's free!) for you to consider. I know how enticing the idea of simply

www.ricksdailytips.com

I use Linux Mint. Email client: Thunderbird. Office suite: LibreOffice

all this Windows talk reminds me again why I am using Linux

Me too

 

[mosaix]

It is possible to install Linux on old machines and give them a new lease of life. I had one running Vista and it's doing fine.

Give an old PC new life by replacing Windows with Linux

Do you have an older computer that you're thinking about replacing because it runs too slowly? Well, there is a much cheaper alternative (it's free!) for you to consider. I know how enticing the idea of simply

www.ricksdailytips.com

I use Linux Mint. Email client: Thunderbird. Office suite: LibreOffice


Me too

Thanks, Robert.

Friend is a bit of a techno-phobe. Basic Windows with Word and Gmail is about as far as he’s prepared to go.

Once tried to persuade him to have a network cable connection direct to his router. It’s right next to his laptop and he never moves either of them. Too much of a change from what he’s used to though. Linux would be mind blowing.

 

[M. Robert Gibson]

Basic Windows with Word and Gmail

Sounds like a candidate for a Chromebook, if he doesn't mind all the data slurping from Google.

 

[Parson]

I would point out that what Microsoft is doing sounds a lot like what Apple has done all along. They give little option for using other stuff. No options in the early years! I don't like it, but from M$ point of view, Apple is a MUCH more profitable company with a fraction of the sales. With Phones it is absolutely bananas .... did you know that 87% of the profit from phones belongs to Apple in spite of a much smaller market share?

The take away... Make good stuff, get the "right" people to use it, and don't share. (SIGH!!!)

 

[J Riff]

My offline PC runs XP, no reason to change it. Plays movies fine.

 

[Foxbat]

I'm also still using XP on an offline computer. Still the best operating system from Microsoft in my opinion.

 

[Foxbat]

I would point out that what Microsoft is doing sounds a lot like what Apple has done all along. They give little option for using other stuff. No options in the early years! I don't like it, but from M$ point of view, Apple is a MUCH more profitable company with a fraction of the sales. With Phones it is absolutely bananas .... did you know that 87% of the profit from phones belongs to Apple in spite of a much smaller market share?

The take away... Make good stuff, get the "right" people to use it, and don't share. (SIGH!!!)

I remember a time many years ago (early nineties) when Microsoft was the controlling money giant and Apple used to whine about how unfair it all was on the rest of the market. How times change and how hypocrisy thrives on both sides.

 

[Elckerlyc]

As said before, I am using Linux. But I have Windows-7 running in VirtualBox, for the software that has no decent alternative suitable for Linux. And DOS in DosBox for the old, nostalgic stuff.
I still have Windows XP somewhere, only problem is to get it working (authorization)
Of course. nothing compares to my very first computer, a Sinclair ZX80 with an astounding standard 1K RAM!

 

[Dave]

Since Windows 10, you can only rent Microsoft Windows products rather than buy them. This means that even though I bought Access when I was studying, for a considerable sum, just a few years ago, I still have to rent it every year now if I want to continue to use it. Yes, it is a complete rip-off and I put off getting Windows 10 as long as I could but had no choice when my old laptop hard drive began to die on me.

You can use open-office products that are compatible and are free. I know plenty of people that use them and pay nothing.

Why would anyone want to lock themselves into having to use only Microsoft products?

Because the laptop is cheaper. My son has a Google laptop. it is the same deal. It was only about £100 but you can only use Chrome and Google docs, Google sheets, etc. It was very cheap and Google products work adequately enough for most purposes.

It is really no different to printers. You can buy a new printer for £30 but each set of ink cartridges sets you back another £30. The cost of the ink cartridges is subsidising the cost of the printer itself because you are tied into one manufacturer of ink cartridge. The cost of the computer software is subsidising the computer hardware.

 

[Foxbat]

Since Windows 10, you can only rent Microsoft Windows products rather than buy them. This means that even though I bought Access when I was studying, for a considerable sum, just a few years ago, I still have to rent it every year now if I want to continue to use it. Yes, it is a complete rip-off and I put off getting Windows 10 as long as I could but had no choice when my old laptop hard drive began to die on me.

It's the same with Adobe products. The last one I bought was Premier and Photo Elements 11 because they were the last you could buy outright. Now you can only rent. I won't be buying/renting any more Adobe products and will make do with what I have. I still have my old XP disc and product code. If my offline PC fails completely, I'll just buy a new one, scrub the drive and reinstall XP. It'll be cheaper in the long run.

 

[Overread]

In fairness Adobes renting system actually works out well for me. I was never going to spend the, what £300 odd in one go to get Photoshop in one go. If I ever had that much saved up for my camera hobby it would get put toward camera gear not software. The rental basically costs the same but spreads it out. Adobe gets my money and I get a powerful software package.

Adobe also seems to actually add stuff to their software; whilst things like Word haven't really added any ground breaking new features. Heck it still throws massive hissy fits and formatting problems once you start putting images into it and if a single edit above moves everything up or down a line you can wave good buy to a half hour reformatting all the suddenly moved images (some now half missing as they are on the top/bottom of a page).

 

[Foxbat]

The pitfall with renting is, the longer you use it, the less economical it becomes because there comes a time where it's simply cheaper to buy than continue renting.

 

[Overread]

The pitfall with renting is, the longer you use it, the less economical it becomes because there comes a time where it's simply cheaper to buy than continue renting.

True, for windows that would be my argument that after I've got word I don't really need to "buy" it again. Adobe at least updates Photoshop with new features and content and systems (beyond codec updates). The real trap is for hobbies where you end up renting software but in a lull in the hobby thus your'e paying for a service that you're not currently using.

 

[CupofJoe]

At home I'm still using Adobe CS3 products. I had CS6, but that stuff just stopped working one-day when Adobe went over to the rental/leasing model.
CS3 doesn't have all the whistles and bells of the newest Adobe CC stuff [we pay for at work], but it does everything I want. I like and hate that CC is being updated and tweaked constantly.