So, some random blogger posts a screenshot and we implicitly trust it's contents? I could do this with Greasemonkey to GIMP.
I am no Google apologist, but my spidey sense it tingling like when I get an email full of "Amazing Pictures" from my grandma.
I'm no MS apologist ( I run slack on my laptop and Ubuntu server at work, eucalyptus cloud), but there is a whole lot of inaccuracies here. Any kernel level malware invalidates your "literally impossible" file replacement argument. The original execution of the registry was poor, but the concept of a fast and reliable btree key-value store for all your program settings isn't that idiotic (think dbus, gnomeconf, etc). The modern windows registry has plenty of permissions built in the important areas, although it is admittedly a mess of disorganization still.
There are plenty mechanisms to restore a registry; in fact it can be rebuilt in parts if need be. You can walk the structure and recreate the index. UBCD has an excellent one, for example.
If you want to get on a soapbox against MS, there are plenty of arguments why the OS sucks, from a bone-headed approach to library version control, to ugly API's like the MFC, inconsistent handling of kernel mechanisms/calls, a still evolving/broken application install system, extension based file types, a complete lack of usable logs and diagnostic tools built into the OS, the command line is a joke... I could go on and on. But please, don't give the windows guys a swiss cheese argument... there are some smart ones out there, if we want to point and laugh we need to go at them with facts:)
Whether or not there should be caps at all is certainly a valid point, but hear me out.
I really wish other companies would state what their caps are, rather than imposing arbitrary secret limits you don't know about until you hit them.
At least if you know what the cap is, you can
a.) hold them to their promise, even if it is rather unimpressive
b.) compare providers more accurately
b.) budget accordingly
Just a thought.
formating the drive and installing your OS of choice (be it windows *nix or whatever) is nearly always a better choice and takes about the same time for a perfect result.
I think there's something really to be said for how long it takes to remove the crap-ware, if it's faster to do a nuke-and-pave. I've done several decrapifications of peoples machines after they've owned them for years (so I really can't just nuke and pave at this point for fear of losing something they hold dear), and was shocked at how horribly slow Windows' Add/Remove Software function is. I've spent a couple hours before doing it, wondering how such a process can be so time-intensive. Reminded me of the old days of troubleshooting extensions in the "classic" Mac OSs (pre 10.0).
It would be nice if you could do a selection style mass-remove/upgrade like you can with Synaptic.
is PC Decrapifier. It's free, lightweight, requires no install, and just works.
http://www.pcdecrapifier.com/
It's not perfect, but it removes a good hunk of the stuff.
Slashdot Mirror
So, some random blogger posts a screenshot and we implicitly trust it's contents? I could do this with Greasemonkey to GIMP. I am no Google apologist, but my spidey sense it tingling like when I get an email full of "Amazing Pictures" from my grandma.
He has notoriously fought 3rd party biographies before... why the change? Is mortality really staring him down that hard?
I'm no MS apologist ( I run slack on my laptop and Ubuntu server at work, eucalyptus cloud), but there is a whole lot of inaccuracies here. Any kernel level malware invalidates your "literally impossible" file replacement argument. The original execution of the registry was poor, but the concept of a fast and reliable btree key-value store for all your program settings isn't that idiotic (think dbus, gnomeconf, etc). The modern windows registry has plenty of permissions built in the important areas, although it is admittedly a mess of disorganization still. There are plenty mechanisms to restore a registry; in fact it can be rebuilt in parts if need be. You can walk the structure and recreate the index. UBCD has an excellent one, for example. If you want to get on a soapbox against MS, there are plenty of arguments why the OS sucks, from a bone-headed approach to library version control, to ugly API's like the MFC, inconsistent handling of kernel mechanisms/calls, a still evolving/broken application install system, extension based file types, a complete lack of usable logs and diagnostic tools built into the OS, the command line is a joke... I could go on and on. But please, don't give the windows guys a swiss cheese argument... there are some smart ones out there, if we want to point and laugh we need to go at them with facts :)
Whether or not there should be caps at all is certainly a valid point, but hear me out. I really wish other companies would state what their caps are, rather than imposing arbitrary secret limits you don't know about until you hit them. At least if you know what the cap is, you can a.) hold them to their promise, even if it is rather unimpressive b.) compare providers more accurately b.) budget accordingly Just a thought.
Ahuh. If I was on that machine I'd point out a few URIs that refuse to operate properly in Firefox, Safari, or Chrome, that show up fine in IE.
Like?
formating the drive and installing your OS of choice (be it windows *nix or whatever) is nearly always a better choice and takes about the same time for a perfect result.
I think there's something really to be said for how long it takes to remove the crap-ware, if it's faster to do a nuke-and-pave. I've done several decrapifications of peoples machines after they've owned them for years (so I really can't just nuke and pave at this point for fear of losing something they hold dear), and was shocked at how horribly slow Windows' Add/Remove Software function is. I've spent a couple hours before doing it, wondering how such a process can be so time-intensive. Reminded me of the old days of troubleshooting extensions in the "classic" Mac OSs (pre 10.0).
It would be nice if you could do a selection style mass-remove/upgrade like you can with Synaptic.
is PC Decrapifier. It's free, lightweight, requires no install, and just works. http://www.pcdecrapifier.com/ It's not perfect, but it removes a good hunk of the stuff.
It probably has something to do with lack of source (which Debian is pretty against)