Howdy folks!
The other day I installed Windows for the first time in a long time. Version Seven of Ten. Or Seven of Actually Nine, as there was no 9, I think. Windows Nein. Nein nein nein. Windows 7 is quite nice. I used to like XP, too. Windows 95/98 was... well let's forget about that, shall we?
When installing I was reminded of how long time it takes to install Windows. Also, quite a few restarts, although nowhere near the mothership NT. That was ridiculous. Updates of 7 also takes time. I am spoiled from using GNU/Linux distros. Another thing is that drivers sometimes have to be downloaded from the software company's website. Which causes a warning dialogue to pop. It is a bit dual messaging here: "You need stuff from outside our repositories, but do you really trust that?". By now I take software repositories for granted, it served as a reminder how one did it in the old days.
Well, when all the install and updates were done, it is a nice operative system. The colors and design do feel a little outdated, but not as butt-ugly as Windows 98, obviously. I really forgot the logic of the file system, where stuff are, but I am not going to use it as my everyday system, so it is really not a problem. Windows 8 I never used, and Windows 10 I have not even seen. I know several Windows users that hold on to 7 for as long as they can. They do not like (or maybe not even trust) the newfangled syndromes.
ps. NT was short for "New Technology" I think, not New Testament. I like to think of it as "New Tractor" in Russian accent from Soviet meeting muhahaha.
Feature image is of a tractor formatting an acre by harrowing. By PetarM. [ Image source ]
I have to use Windows 7 at work. I initially hated it but have gotten reasonably used to it now. I still much prefer my Gnome desktop, though, and I really notice the difference when I’ve had a week (or more) off work.
Windows 10 is best avoided. We bought some Cheap Dells for the boys at Christmas. These came with Windows 10 – I took one look at it and installed Ubuntu.
The start menu (or whatever Microsoft calls it these days) is a horrendous mess of advertising.
Speaking of advertising, I installed Skype, and it was full of ads! I have used Skype on occasion on Linux, and there were no ads, maybe thanks to it being an old version. 😀
I believe Skype development on Linux was ignored or abandoned for quite some time after Microsoft bought it. I was quite happy about this as they never got around to stuffing it with ads 😉
I don’t know what it’s like now — I have managed to avoid using it (outside work, at least) for several years.
I wonder how much ad revenue etc is important for Microsoft these days.
That’s a very good question.
Maybe they just want to be more like Google 😉
“Do not be evil. Do not use adblockers.”
Privacy is evil.
Don’t be evil.
😉
I have to reply publicly, or else I am evil!
Windows decided (during postinstall process) to change the clock setting in BIOS, to two hours earlier, like “superwintertime”. On my Linux install (same computer, diferent drive) it showed the wrong time shortly (a few seconds) before it requested the time from an NTP server and displayed the right one. On Windows I fail to find the setting for it doing it automatically at login, so had to ask it to ask an NTP server, every time I logged in. Finally I remembered to look in the BIOS. Annoying that a operative syndrome sets values in there.