My strategy (and I'll leave the debate on the relative merits of having an OS that you have to reinstall to clean to others) is based on my usage. I'm a technologist by nature, so lots of stuff gets loaded/unloaded on my various systems.
I've looked at most of the registry/system/startup cleaners available, and, for me, the choice to move to reinstalls was the simplest.
BUT...
Being the simplest solution is predicated on the fact that I build unattended installs for my job. It was a simple matter to make a UI of Windows XP, setup the patches and drivers, and build install routines for the apps. Anyone can do it, it just requires doing some research.
Currently, I have a DVD which will install XP on any of 6 systems (all of which have different hardware), patch to the current level, and install all of my apps. I can go from bare metal to complete system in about 45 minutes, which is WAY easier for me than trying to go in and pick out the items that are causing me grief. So, I end up rebuilding about once a month, and my systems stay fresh and cruft-free.
BravoTwoZero - you missed one link, which I consider the most important site for UI design:,url:http://www.msfn.org>
While I do sort of agree with you, I have to say:
Holy shit! I never expected to read that in a "Let's port another UNIX type to something else for no good reason" article.
The chances are if you're still finding Linux unuseable on the desktop, you'd probably find any non-Windows OS "unsuseable" too. If you can put up with the expense and inconvenience of Windows (and prefer it) stick with it, but keep your anti-Linux rhetoric to your self. We're sick and tired of hearing it.
Really? I find Linux to be completely unusable on the desktop. It's amateur and low-rent. I'll concede that I haven't run it in a few years, but I think the breaking point was being told that editing menus in Gnome wasn't really something that was a high priority.
Meanwhile, back at the point, I'm typing this on my shiny new Powerbook. So, I'd say that your generalization is just that...a generalization.
Um, ok. So let's assume for the sake of argument that Bill G decided to do just that - give the world an OS for free.
That OS might just be XP. Are you *SURE* you want that?:)
Imagine a world where users had a free operating system that actually worked with all of the hardware that the MAINSTREAM users go buy at CompUSA, and did so without needing a freakin' CS degree to configure. Imagine a world where users could actually play the other 99% of the popular games on the market.
I could go on...but the net result would be that those precious few "Joe Sixpack" users that might consider switching over to your little pet project would take one look at Linux and run, not walk, to the nearest distribution point.
"So, lemme get this straight...I can't play my games on it, I can't use Word and Outlook on it, and I can't use my hardware without serious headache, if at all. What's your compelling argument again?"
Of course, most of the world uses the same argument when they look at Linux in a world where its free and Windows costs $149.
So, what you're saying is "no, they have not fixed this."
If Trillian can code around the problem, I would expect Gaim could as well. When I spoke to the developers about it, they sent me some CVS code that supposedly could be modified to make it work, but they didn't have plans at that time to fix it.
You're about 12 months behind the times.
My Samsung 712n's cost me $400 each, and have sub-13 response times. Sub-16 is the magic number for 3d gaming.
Preach brother!
Two of them sitting on my desk, and both play Doom3 with no ghosting whatsoever.
My only complaint was that a certain set of menu text was slightly fuzzy. Turned on Cleartype and everything is sharp as a razor.
Did they ever fix the issue with global away messages? (Issue being that there weren't any!)
That was the one thing I always hated about Gaim, and the reason I never even bothered with the Windows version when I switched back to the dark side.
You must be British to make that kind of understatement.
What it actually was was a radioactive lump of dogshit, a sucking black hole from which no entertainment can pass the shit horizon, a words-fail-to-capture-how-happy-I-would-be-to-murd er/skin/anally abuse-every-motherfucker-who-had-a-part-in-the-cre ation-of-it-just-to-get-that-chunk-of-my-life-back genital wart on the vulva of humanity.
As much as I'd like to get away from Outlook, TBird just ain't gonna cut it for me.
Having a different set of folders for each email account is something I can't get over.
If I could only run Evolution in Windows, I'd be a happy panda.
(BTW, please don't tell me to go change prefs.js.obscure.file.whatever. I'm niot interested in hacking my email client to make it work.)
I put my DVD in the drive and restart my system. Then I go back upstairs and watch Tivo.
58 minutes later, I have the following:
Windows XP - SP1a
All critical patches.
DX9.0b
ATI Drivers and control panel
All device drivers for my system.
WMP9
Office 2k3, customized for me, Outlook set for my accounts.
MusicMatch Jukebox
Everquest
Virtual PC
WinInstallLE
Quicken 2004 Deluxe
AVG Antivirus
PGP8
DVDShrink
TeamSpeak
Trillian Pro
Putty
Firefox
Dreamweaver
Fireworks.
What I do see being a huge problem is that Windows XP setup doesn't seem to support SATA devices without using a driver floppy to allow it to recognize SATA ports as a Mass Storage Controller. -- an annoyance for people who have discarded their floppy drives long ago.
Not a problem. Make your own unattened install, and add the SATA drivers. Been doing it for a year now, and it's a wondrous thing.
Check out MSFN.org for more info.
My unattended install (which has grown to a DVD) installs WinXP fully patched, DirectX 9.0b, Office 2k3 (customized to my settings), all of my apps except Firefox, and tweaks my system out. It does it in 45 minutes, with only 1 user intervention (carving drives). It mtakes a couple of days to set it up initially, but once you're done, the maintenance is very low.
Wow. That's great! You mean, somewhere, there's a group of people who have reviewed this code and pronounced it safe for my enterprise? Kool and the gang, man! Where's the url for that? Better yet, give me a phone number I can call so I can talk to them. I'm sure that I've met most of them and can personally attest to the fact that they know shit over shinola about development AND my environment.
Sorry Skippy...I've got better things to do with my time than potentially fuck the enterprise that my employer has entrusted to me and my team.
Who's to say that my onsite TAM isn't going to spontaeneously combust when he sees that I rolled out a patch from some group o' yayhoos who genned it up for shitz n grinz? What happens when my support contract gets nullified on 10,000+ desktops? You think my boss is going to give a tin-plated rat's ass that some Slashdot folks think it's cool that there's an open source patch for a proprietary app?
Microsoft may not be the best dog, and it may not have the fewest fleas. But when the guy signing your paycheck says that you're a Microsoft shop and you're gonna support it by their rules, then you by-God are gonna do it. Or find yourself a new line of work.
"Linux really doesn't need users such as yourself. Linux is an advanced operating system. Please feel free to stick with your kindergarten operating system and save the rest of us having to offer to help you"
Why do you think most people never bother trying to use Linux?
The day that the open source community strips itself of that very attitude, Linux will have a shot at the masses.
I, for one, can't wait.
Slashdot Mirror
I'm the friend in question :)
,url:http://www.msfn.org>
My strategy (and I'll leave the debate on the relative merits of having an OS that you have to reinstall to clean to others) is based on my usage. I'm a technologist by nature, so lots of stuff gets loaded/unloaded on my various systems.
I've looked at most of the registry/system/startup cleaners available, and, for me, the choice to move to reinstalls was the simplest.
BUT...
Being the simplest solution is predicated on the fact that I build unattended installs for my job. It was a simple matter to make a UI of Windows XP, setup the patches and drivers, and build install routines for the apps. Anyone can do it, it just requires doing some research.
Currently, I have a DVD which will install XP on any of 6 systems (all of which have different hardware), patch to the current level, and install all of my apps. I can go from bare metal to complete system in about 45 minutes, which is WAY easier for me than trying to go in and pick out the items that are causing me grief. So, I end up rebuilding about once a month, and my systems stay fresh and cruft-free.
BravoTwoZero - you missed one link, which I consider the most important site for UI design:
Jeebus - what part of "We built it, it's ours, unhook your shit from our network and go build your own if you don't like it" don't you understand.
Well holy fucking shit. If New Zealand Prime Minister David Lange , then I guess it's time to pack'em up and dismantle. That guy knows his shit.
There is no such thing as a card shark. Someone who is an exceptionally good card player is said to be a card SHARP.
While I do sort of agree with you, I have to say: Holy shit! I never expected to read that in a "Let's port another UNIX type to something else for no good reason" article.
The chances are if you're still finding Linux unuseable on the desktop, you'd probably find any non-Windows OS "unsuseable" too. If you can put up with the expense and inconvenience of Windows (and prefer it) stick with it, but keep your anti-Linux rhetoric to your self. We're sick and tired of hearing it.
Really? I find Linux to be completely unusable on the desktop. It's amateur and low-rent. I'll concede that I haven't run it in a few years, but I think the breaking point was being told that editing menus in Gnome wasn't really something that was a high priority.
Meanwhile, back at the point, I'm typing this on my shiny new Powerbook. So, I'd say that your generalization is just that...a generalization.
I hate to feed the troll, but I just have to.
:)
Um, ok. So let's assume for the sake of argument that Bill G decided to do just that - give the world an OS for free.
That OS might just be XP. Are you *SURE* you want that?
Imagine a world where users had a free operating system that actually worked with all of the hardware that the MAINSTREAM users go buy at CompUSA, and did so without needing a freakin' CS degree to configure. Imagine a world where users could actually play the other 99% of the popular games on the market.
I could go on...but the net result would be that those precious few "Joe Sixpack" users that might consider switching over to your little pet project would take one look at Linux and run, not walk, to the nearest distribution point.
"So, lemme get this straight...I can't play my games on it, I can't use Word and Outlook on it, and I can't use my hardware without serious headache, if at all. What's your compelling argument again?"
Of course, most of the world uses the same argument when they look at Linux in a world where its free and Windows costs $149.
So, what you're saying is "no, they have not fixed this." If Trillian can code around the problem, I would expect Gaim could as well. When I spoke to the developers about it, they sent me some CVS code that supposedly could be modified to make it work, but they didn't have plans at that time to fix it.
You're about 12 months behind the times. My Samsung 712n's cost me $400 each, and have sub-13 response times. Sub-16 is the magic number for 3d gaming.
Preach brother! Two of them sitting on my desk, and both play Doom3 with no ghosting whatsoever. My only complaint was that a certain set of menu text was slightly fuzzy. Turned on Cleartype and everything is sharp as a razor.
Did they ever fix the issue with global away messages? (Issue being that there weren't any!) That was the one thing I always hated about Gaim, and the reason I never even bothered with the Windows version when I switched back to the dark side.
ROFLMAO. If I had points, I'd mod you for the best, most subtle Clerks reference so far. /salute.
If you DO want to personally criticise someone (and I think "You yourself are an idiot" easily qualifies for that)
Yes, it's a personal attack (I didn't make it, by the way), but it's easily one of the funniest things I've read in weeks.
AKAIK, yes. That was one of the biggies. The firewall loads before the IP stack.
You must be British to make that kind of understatement.
d er/skin/anally abuse-every-motherfucker-who-had-a-part-in-the-cre ation-of-it-just-to-get-that-chunk-of-my-life-back genital wart on the vulva of humanity.
What it actually was was a radioactive lump of dogshit, a sucking black hole from which no entertainment can pass the shit horizon, a words-fail-to-capture-how-happy-I-would-be-to-mur
The boxes have been on display in BestBuy for 3 months.
As much as I'd like to get away from Outlook, TBird just ain't gonna cut it for me. Having a different set of folders for each email account is something I can't get over. If I could only run Evolution in Windows, I'd be a happy panda. (BTW, please don't tell me to go change prefs.js.obscure.file.whatever. I'm niot interested in hacking my email client to make it work.)
I install nothing.
I put my DVD in the drive and restart my system. Then I go back upstairs and watch Tivo.
58 minutes later, I have the following:
Windows XP - SP1a
All critical patches.
DX9.0b
ATI Drivers and control panel
All device drivers for my system.
WMP9
Office 2k3, customized for me, Outlook set for my accounts.
MusicMatch Jukebox
Everquest
Virtual PC
WinInstallLE
Quicken 2004 Deluxe
AVG Antivirus
PGP8
DVDShrink
TeamSpeak
Trillian Pro
Putty
Firefox
Dreamweaver
Fireworks.
Wanna know how? Check MSFN.org.
Win2k follows pretty much the same steps. That's how I got on the UI bandwagon. Good luck!
What I do see being a huge problem is that Windows XP setup doesn't seem to support SATA devices without using a driver floppy to allow it to recognize SATA ports as a Mass Storage Controller. -- an annoyance for people who have discarded their floppy drives long ago.
Not a problem. Make your own unattened install, and add the SATA drivers. Been doing it for a year now, and it's a wondrous thing.
Check out MSFN.org for more info.
My unattended install (which has grown to a DVD) installs WinXP fully patched, DirectX 9.0b, Office 2k3 (customized to my settings), all of my apps except Firefox, and tweaks my system out. It does it in 45 minutes, with only 1 user intervention (carving drives). It mtakes a couple of days to set it up initially, but once you're done, the maintenance is very low.
Wow. That's great! You mean, somewhere, there's a group of people who have reviewed this code and pronounced it safe for my enterprise? Kool and the gang, man! Where's the url for that? Better yet, give me a phone number I can call so I can talk to them. I'm sure that I've met most of them and can personally attest to the fact that they know shit over shinola about development AND my environment.
Sorry Skippy...I've got better things to do with my time than potentially fuck the enterprise that my employer has entrusted to me and my team.
Who's to say that my onsite TAM isn't going to spontaeneously combust when he sees that I rolled out a patch from some group o' yayhoos who genned it up for shitz n grinz? What happens when my support contract gets nullified on 10,000+ desktops? You think my boss is going to give a tin-plated rat's ass that some Slashdot folks think it's cool that there's an open source patch for a proprietary app?
Microsoft may not be the best dog, and it may not have the fewest fleas. But when the guy signing your paycheck says that you're a Microsoft shop and you're gonna support it by their rules, then you by-God are gonna do it. Or find yourself a new line of work.
"Linux really doesn't need users such as yourself. Linux is an advanced operating system. Please feel free to stick with your kindergarten operating system and save the rest of us having to offer to help you"
Why do you think most people never bother trying to use Linux?
The day that the open source community strips itself of that very attitude, Linux will have a shot at the masses. I, for one, can't wait.
Someone's been watching MST3K, the movie.
/bow. I thank you, sir.
It was Dr. Theopolis.