Linked by Thom Holwerda on Sun 11th Nov 2012 15:49 UTC
"Yesterday my desktop died, and so I went ahead and got a brand new Windows 8 laptop. It's always been my feeling that as years go on, user experience has been going down for people who use a computer and the Internet, because of decisions all companies make that are clearly anti-user, either because they think they know best, or in many cases, for financial gains. But from spending all night reinstalling everything and customizing the laptop, I realized just how bad it has become." Probably the biggest reason to go Mac or Linux. Such a shame Microsoft found it more important to pressure OEMs into silly Secure Boot nonsense instead of doing something about the anti-user crapware disaster. Goes to show who Microsoft cares about. Hint: it ain't you.
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RE[2]: How to have clean installs
by avgalen on Mon 12th Nov 2012 14:28
in reply to "RE: How to have clean installs"
Member since:2010-09-23
1b) I have used trial ISO's from Microsoft with my own keys and that works just fine. VHD's tend to expire but trials work just fine.
1c) Refresh works exactly as you would want to remove the crapware AND you can do more advanced things (but that is out of scope of the normal users comfort zone, just like the 1b option is): http://www.anandtech.com/show/5290/windows-8s-refresh-and-reset-fun...
2) I can vouch for ninite after having used it for the last 2 years. From their site: "No Toolbars
Ninite automatically says "No" to toolbars and other junk.". There is also a Pro version that allows you to cache the downloads locally. I have compared several downloads from ninite with my own downloads and they were identical bitwise. For years I have been doing silent installations and it was very resource intensive to find the latest files in the right language and processtype. Ninite is awesome
(yes, I am a big ninite fan. No, I don't have any ties with them. Just a happy customer)
Features
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/21/13 21:38 UTC
At an event earlier today, Microsoft unveiled the next Xbox - the third model, but confusingly named Xbox One. The big focus was TV, integrated Kinect, and all the other stuff we all expected to be forced down our throats. I think it took them 25 minutes to actually come to what should be the core of the story: gaming. Nothing groundbreaking in the gaming department, except for how Microsoft intends to handle the used games market and borrowing games from friends: pay up, buddy!
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/20/13 11:29 UTC
The day has finally come! Jolla has finally announced the launch device for its Sailfish operating system - and by god this is a looker. It's decidedly different from other phones out there, but it has good specifications and carries a relatively reasonably price tag - EUR 399, and it's up for pre-order today, shipping in the fourth quarter of this year.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/18/13 21:33 UTC
Why does Google get so much credit in the technology industry? Why, despite the company's many obvious failings, do many geeks and enthusiasts still hold a somewhat positive view on the all-knowing technology giant? A specific talk at Google I/O this week provides the answer.
Linked by David Adams on 05/16/13 4:23 UTC
OSNews is a sponsor of this year's O'Reilly OSCON in Portland, Oregon, USA. A lucky OSNews reader will win a free three-day pass, including two tutorials days. To win the pass, post a comment on this story saying something about Open Source Software or OSCON. We'll pick a winner at random next week. If you don't have an OSNews account, you may email us your entry. Part of the conference is the 9th annual Open Source Awards, and today the 16th is the deadline for nominations. If you'd like to nominate an outstanding open source contributor, do it here. Read on for more information about OSCON. Update: The 20% discount code for OSNews readers is "OSN."
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/11/13 21:41 UTC
"Windows is indeed slower than other operating systems in many scenarios, and the gap is worsening." That's one way to start an insider explanation of why Windows' performance isn't up to snuff. Written by someone who actually contributes code to the Windows NT kernel, the comment on Hacker News, later deleted but reposted with permission on Marc Bevand's blog, paints a very dreary picture of the state of Windows development. The root issue? Think of how Linux is developed, and you'll know the answer.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/08/13 14:22 UTC
This is one of those news items that's fun to write, fun to read, fun to comment on, and where no one will be able to say anything unkind. It's all just one big ball of awesome fluffiness. TuneTracker, the BeOS radio automation software, has just released something very special: TuneTracker System 5, the first version designed entirely and specifically for Haiku. In fact, it actually includes Haiku in the software package. Better yet, TuneTracker also unveiled several system-in-a-box products - which have Haiku and TuneTracker pre-installed.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/02/13 15:28 UTC
Exactly twenty years ago, a document was published that played a huge role in establishing the web as we know it today. Twenty years later, and this simple and straightforward document is proof of an irrefutable fact: while closed technologies can change markets, open technologies can change the world.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/29/13 21:06 UTC
Oh multitasking. That staple of computing that got thrown out the window with many modern smartphones. We got some rudimentary thing in its place - but even as multitasking on phone and tablets improves, its user-visible side remains cumbersome. Windows 8 has a neat implementation, and now it's time Android follows in it footsteps.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/24/13 22:24 UTC
They're here! Whether that excites you or not remains to be seen, but the Galaxy S4, which will most likely become the best selling Android smartphone of the year by a huge margin, has been reviewed by all the major sites, and there's lots of interesting conclusions in there - although I think most of you will get the gist.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/18/13 11:21 UTC
Nokia has posted its quarterly results for the first quarter of 2013, and just like the quarters that came before, there's not a whole lot of good news in there. The rise in Lumia sales still can't even dream of making up for the sales drop in Symbian phones, and when broken down in versions, the sales figures for Windows Phone 8 Lumias in particular are very disappointing. In North America, Nokia is getting slaughtered.More Features »
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In point of fact, you cannot. The Windows 8 trial (assuming said individual even wants Windows 8) cannot be used to install a non-trial copy of Windows. After the 90 days of evaluation, the trial will expire and a full installation from a licensed Windows disk will be needed (though you can rearm to get an additional 90 days if you do that in time). You can, of course, download the full, non-trial Windows 8 iso images (or Windows 7 for that matter) legally, but you cannot use the trial iso for this purpose. I might add that re-installing Windows falls outside the familiar territory of your typical home user in either case, so they either have to know someone who can assist them or else pay a computer shop in their area to do it. No, the procedure is not difficult, but for some reason when most people here the phrase "reinstall windows" they panic despite the fact that 95% of computer users could do it easily if they were willing to try.
Has anyone tried this? Does it refresh your PC with an unaltered copy of Windows 8, or can the OEM modify the refresh image to contain their crapware as well? I haven't found any definitive answer on this question one way or the other, though in theory for this to work as intended the OEM would have to be able to modify the image if for no other purpose than to put in place any drivers that the default refresh image may not have.
I've not tried this service yet, though I've been meaning to do so at some point. I'm a bit sceptical of third-party services that put themselves between me and the installers I want, however.