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I was going to get ISDN, then BT got the hump and told me I'd have to relinquish my 5 digit phone number - just after I'd moved in and told everyone my number - so I waited for broadband.Went on a 'lads day out' yesterday (still sufferring badly today), and was bored on train. So downloaded the mobile version of Google maps to my phone. What an excellent bit of kit - that could use up some of the bandwidth
The mobile phone test gear I work with supports HSDPA. Seeing megabits go through a mobile phone is a wake up call. However, that's effectively with a bit of coax between phone and base station. I wonder what throughput'll be like in the real world. Plenty of quicker stuff in the pipeline too. Just need the Tunnies of the world to dream up some applications before the service providers get cold feet.
Not that Tunnie gets as much time to dream now
Kevin
I agree. None of this is really an option yet, but it is interesting to think outside the box every now and then.5 years ago, I had a broadband connection, then for several years before, ISDN. Trying to think if I ever had 56k dialup at home, think I went from 28800 to ISDN, it was that long ago. How anyone could use analogue modems for internet access is beyond me.....
After all, 5 years ago my only internet access was using a 56k dialup modem. Now I've got a mobile phone that's way smaller than the one I had then with a better internet connection than I had at home.
It does make me wonder what the future has in store. Will we keep just scaling up the things we have today or will something radical happen? 8-)
Kevin
If you have to reboot ASAP, then why does it say that you can continue your work if you install the updates? :-?Precisely that - carry on working whilst the updates are being deployed. Just reboot as soon as they are finished.
Some software and drivers under Linux scatter files all over the shop, with no uninstaller, so searching through /usr/bin /usr/sbin /usr/local/bin /etc and so on. Again, those Win apps that obey the rules tend to come on and off OK. MSI is a good technology, but you always get people who want to push it beyond its design...QuoteI don't need pop-ups every five minutes interrupting what I'm doing
Don't get me started on popups! Oh, for the days when a computer did what the user said and sat idle otherwiseQuoteThe poor driver cannot be blamed on the OS.
No, but when the whole process of installing, de-installing, etc. is hidden from me, it has to work faultlessly. Otherwise, I'd rather do the job manually and know what's been messed about with so I can get in and put it right. Whilst I've got the option to do that under Linux, with Windows it's not as simple.Quoteeven the most fanatical Linux user wouldn't recommend it to my 70yr old mum, who gets along with Windows nicely.
I appologise if I'm doing your mum a grave injustice here
Why does an average home user need a system that's effectively identical to a developer's desktop? The things they do are pretty mundane. Web browsing, email, word processing and other office apps, downloading from their digital camera, etc. All that and more could be achieved with a small internet connected "thin client" that boots instantly, won't run malicious code and takes up much less space in the house.
Connect it to a service like Google Docs & Spreadsheet (just an example!) and the headache of storing, backing up files, installing applications, etc. is gone. The unit doesn't even need any storage itself so malicious code has nowhere to hide. No more firewalls, anti-virus software, etc. or viruses if they fail or aren't updated. The user can access their desktop from anywhere on the web too.
People use computers for other things without even realising it on a day to day basis, and because they're leaned down to the task in hand there's no hassle involved. When's the last time you had to wait for your Motronic to boot, or had to remove a virus from your set top box?
Kevin
The driver issue may not be Vista's 'fault', but it is a major problem and good reason to not use Vista for at least 6 more months. Vista may prove to to be good, but it is to be avoided for now.Vista was launched on 1st November - that makes it 8 months old by my reckoning
Windows is not the only good OS, Mac's are quite good. Safari can be a bit unstable, but OSX is great. One thing typifies my thoughts on the hubris of MS, Windows Update. I don't mind downloading and installing updates but the world isn't going to end if I don't reboot right away. I don't need pop-ups every five minutes interrupting what I'm doing, or the computer destroying an hour's work by rebooting if I leave for 10 minutes because I wasn't enough of a supplicant to the altar of Bill. SWMBO says that Windows Update is a synonym for Virus and refuses to do them. She does have fewer problems with her laptop . . . :-?
. Even the consumer launch was nearly 6 months ago.
Now, as many of you may know, my job is Unix. Therefore, I like command line (obviously we never install the crap X Windows system on any of our servers).QuoteNo usb to serial adpter works with vista, as neither driver maker has released an update.
.. and very few machines have real serial ports now
The thing that gets me about new windows versions is that there's clearly a lot of effort put into making it look flash and changing around the GUI and other trivia whereas the code underneath it still suffers from a lot of the same problems. M$ work on the basis that customers are stuck with them so have to figure out where they've hidden all the stuff they used to know about or lump it.
.. but then maybe that's just me. I'd rather go back to a command prompt anyway!
Kevin
QuoteYeah, that's what I was referring to. Good luck getting anything installed that uses the USB port and isn't mainstream. I'd be surprised if your real Tech2 works, it's not just the cheapo stuff that is a problem.Quotevista has a few problems with some programmes, ive got a number of them that conflict and have to try and get a solution from the microsoft website. stick to xpActually, according to the developers site, any program that obeyed the recent (last 5yrs) recommended rules for Windows development will run fine under Windows Vista.
There are a few older ones that are a bit naughty with registry, or use kernel mode, that may not work too well. Ones that directly manipulate hardware, inc COM ports, may struggle (cheapo tech2 lead may not work).
But virtually all of fairly recent apps should be no problem.
vista has a few problems with some programmes, ive got a number of them that conflict and have to try and get a solution from the microsoft website. stick to xpActually, according to the developers site, any program that obeyed the recent (last 5yrs) recommended rules for Windows development will run fine under Windows Vista.
God I can't stand Vista!I am surprised its slow. Maybe the specs of the laptop are not what we expect off a modern machine. Any Core2 Duo, 2Gb RAM fast 5400 spin HDD and discrete VGA should run Vista very well.
It came on the very nice, and very powerful "laptop" that PC world gave me to apologise....
Now this is a seriosu piece of kit with 2gig of ram for starters!
Vista is horribly bloated, takes an eternity to bl**dy load and shut down, has a convoluted way of doing things, has IE7
I will probably set up a dual boot system with XP to save my sanity!
As far as I am aware, the only laptops you can still buy new with XP are Dell ones.
Sorry, but Vista is a long way from being a decent replacemnt to XP right now....
I've found very little software that doesn't run, and for a new OS, current driver support is excellent (though still behind XP), and improving all the time.QuoteNought wrong with Vista if the hardware is powerful enough to run it. Takes a bit of getting used to, but then you actually find XP hard work when you go back to it.Nothing works on Vista. Can't get drivers. Can't set security so that programs will run. Can't run anything pre-.NET. If you want to do anything other than Office and IE you're hosed. Even stuff like the scroll wheel on a mouse doesn't work with Outlook.
Many people I know are switching to MacBooks with OSX and XP on bootcamp. As stable and robust as IBM but a lot cheaper.
Silly boyQuoteQuoteFor ages I used Antivir as it was free and I just scanned weekly. my new ISP provides a free Norton, anyway after a month of poor performance and constantly trying to disable it - there was no uninstall either!! I removed it following some guides - what a relief!
Going to try AVG now
You didnt install the software they would have sent you on a cd did you?
Totally uneccesary.....much better to setup manually
I downloaded via link from ISP
