Comments

1. ExDotNetter

   
   Posted on: September 25, 2008 at 1:18AM  

   I'm a PC, and I just reinstalled Windows Vista... People hate it but it gets the job done. We have an odd VPN at work, and I felt I didn't have enough time on my hands to tweak the VPN config on Linux... just like the first time I switched over. Productivity over principle. I'm becoming a bit of a pragmatic, apathetic, "Git-R-Done" PC...

   Speaking of DRM, after all the rumors I had heard before, I actually got relieved when I installed the OS. It turned out to have much less DRM than I had expected. A lot of the horror stories I heard in the early 00s were completely untrue.

   They said: You won't be able to install another OS.

   Reality: Linux ran just fine in dual-boot mode and even in MS Virtual PC 2007. I could even launch it from a MyBook drive.

   They said: You won't be able to play or copy DRM-free content.

   Reality: I ripped all the CDs that I own and put them in my Music folder. I also made a whole bunch of copies for my car. No hassle, no restrictions. Every once in a while, I stream them from my XBox.

   They said: You will only be able to run applications that have been signed and authorized by Microsoft.

   Reality: You can sign applications just like you put an SSL cert on a Web site to assure your customers that the page is actually coming from you and not from some scammer/spammer who created an identical copy of your page. If an app is unsigned, all you get is a scary-looking pop-up.

   WMA files can come both with and without DRM, and some services like Napster let you remove the DRM for a fee (the Internet equivalent of buying a CD)

   DRM is a hot issue these days, but since I ain't no left-winger, I don't object to the technology per se... It depends on how it's used. And I think if it's applied properly, it might actually increase competition in the music distribution market because artists will be able to work with much smaller record labels and publish music directly on the Internet. And I don't download any pirated content of software from Gnutella (LimeWire) or BitTorrent. But that's just me...

   In reality, the Vista woes everyone is so gung-ho about somehow bypassed me. Here are the issues I experienced personally:

   1) Problems with VS 2005 Express - SP1 is required, and even with SP1, you can't open files directly from Windows Explorer.

   Resolution: VS 2008 Express.

   2) TortoiseSVN used to crash Windows Explorer about every couple of hours (when heavily used)

   Resolution: TortoiseSVN 1.5.x... They finally fixed those bugs.

   3) Hibernate went away...

   Resolution: This was a Dell issue, not a Windows issue... The Hibernate option was removed by Dell's power management updates. An MS tech support specialist brought it back by typing something in the command line.

   4) Old JavaScript debuggers won't run because of permission adjustments (MS Script Debugger / Script Editor)

   Resolution: Use Visual Web Developer to debug in IE, FireBug to debug in FieFox.

   5) Very minor: unzipping files would take a while before SP1. With SP1, unzipping is zippy.

   6) A few blue screens from a third-party VPN driver.

   Resolution: This seems to have been partially fixed by SonicWall. Blue screens are very rare now.

   Other than that, it's been just as stable as any other Windows NT (2k, XP), and way more stable than 9x... I don`t really believe it to be the buggiest Windows ever.

   Honestly, there`s only one thing I hate about Vista... I HATE THE FACT THAT EVERYONE HATES IT. I wish I could have the same "pride of ownership" of my laptop and the tools I use that I would've had a few years back... And it`s annoying to hear people scream "VISTA SUCKS" from behind my back the first time they see me working on my laptop... and try hard not to laugh when I try to extend PHP ".net-style" (by re-coding some of the little features I miss from .net like IXmlSerializable, for example)

   How about y'all release a Service Pack that will actually go ahead and rename it to Mojave? (just joking)
2. Brandon LeBlanc

   

   
   Posted on: September 25, 2008 at 4:07AM  

   ExDotNetter, great to see you back on Windows Vista. Neat comment by the way.

   - Brandon
3. ke6seh

   
   Posted on: October 14, 2008 at 2:31PM  

   I'm a PC, and I don't use Microsoft products.

   My email sig states:

   Ubuntu (logo here) Life without Windows

   I customized my Ubuntu sustem so that it looks and feels like a Macintosh.

   Now I have the best of both worlds without the bad of both worlds.

   Open Source Rules!!
4. adrian

   

   
   Posted on: November 05, 2008 at 10:04AM  

   I'm a PC and life without windows would be quite suffocating... indeed