Mike's Window : Windows

The difference that a FULL driver makes..

Mike Hall — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 21:36:49 GMT

The desktop tower: Windows 8 – not quite fully supported

AMD Phenom II X4 running at 3,4ghz
8gb high performance RAM
ATI HD4250 video
WD 500gb High Performance SATA

The Netbook: Windows 7 – fully supported

Intel Atom running at 1.6ghz
2gb standard RAM'
Intel GMA 3150
WD 320gb SATA

Take a look at this, and then guess which machine produced the screen shot..

Have I made it too easy? The winner is ……………………. the Netbook, and not because Angry Birds will not run in Windows 8, because it will..

.. AS LONG AS THE COMPUTER HAS FULL DRIVER SUPPORT FOR WINDOWS 8

It doesn’t matter how fancy the processor, how much RAM, how fancy the video card, or how fast the hard drive is, hardware drivers are ultimately what make or break performance.

My desktop tower is really good, BUT it has essentially only basic video support for Windows 8, and to get it to play Angry Birds, I would have to invest at least $80 in a decent supported video card.

When I tell somebody in the MS Community Windows 8 forum (or Windows 7) that their computer will NOT perform as well with Windows 7 or 8 as it has been with XP or Vista, I am not just being mean as some like to believe. I always check out driver availability, and if there isn’t a full set Windows 7 or 8 drivers, it is GAME OVER.

If I install the latest legacy driver for the ATI CCC + 4200 series driver, Angry Birds still will not run, and neither will the machine go into sleep mode, hibernation or SHUT DOWN. Who’s an angry bird now?

The best mobile PC.. for business.. or anybody

Mike Hall — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 19:04:17 GMT

Some interesting results here.. http://www.soluto.com/reports

Of course, the one advantage business supplied machines have over the OEM stuff in stores is the slim customized corporate Windows image, rigorously tested over maybe a year before being applied to each machine. Software is restricted to what the company needs such that the employee can complete assigned tasks, all other stuff going to the wall.

It is all a far cry from the junk infested, trial ridden OEM images + Recovery + Tools, indifferent OEM support, and a tendency to always shift the blame onto Microsoft.

Trials anti-virus solutions and office suites account for a few failures. Between users not fully understanding the meaning of ‘trial’ and being surprised to find that 1, it isn’t working anymore and 2, it is going to cost $$$ to rectify, and then installing older versions over the top of new, it is hardly surprising that there are operational hiccups.

As a hobbyist and former IT Pro, I don’t have any of the above issues. How smug of me. Well, not really. Over time, I have learned a great deal, much of it trial and error in the early days, and I find the installation of Windows and what I need on a daily basis easy to install and set up. For Joe and Josie Average, they need support, so the OEMs load up as much into the Windows installation in a bid to drive users away from contacting the OEM directly.

Also, the J’s don’t want the task of loading Windows. They want an instant, out of the box experience.

In fairness to the OEMs, much has been done to make life easier for the end users. Recovery partitions have offset users losing manufacturer supplied recovery disks, but in doing so have reduced the scope to create and use partitions. The recovery process even offers to save user data before wiping out and re-installing everything in many cases.

Whatever the OEMs do, many problems are generated because the end user has no clue. People are no more computer literate than they were 20 years ago. There are just a lot more of them these days.

So, does the report have any value, bearing in mind that there is a disclaimer that corporate images had replaced the OEM stuff? No, not really. What it does show is that corporations look for general value for money, and Acer and Dell offer the best value in the field.

Windows 8 - a slow start..

Mike Hall — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 18:55:12 GMT

A slow start isn’t so bad. It is what happens after the start that counts, and Windows 8 is proving that every other Windows release is not a good one. http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9235059/Windows_8_s_uptake_falls_behind_Vista_s_pace?source...(read more)

Microsoft Partners..

Mike Hall — Thu, 22 Nov 2012 15:32:00 GMT

I wish that I was a software author. I would be able to see how easy it is to get a Microsoft Partner logo. I am talking about this.. Put this on your website and you could get a lot of business from it. The logo suggests that Microsoft is endorsing your...(read more)

Unhappy with MacOS?

Mike Hall — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 00:30:21 GMT

If you read the article in the link below, you will see that it is not just Windows users who are displeased with the way upgrade operating systems affect the speed of a machine or the way in which the user interacts with it. http://www.zdnet.com/blog...(read more)

OEM and activation..

Mike Hall — Sat, 14 Jul 2012 15:58:37 GMT

If you have a desktop machine, take a look at the front panel. If you bought from Dell, Acer, HP, or any other OEM manufacturer, it will have a manufacturer badge on it. If you look on the back panel, there will be stickers on which are printed serial...(read more)

Consumers are left out in the cold..

Mike Hall — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 19:16:55 GMT

I was answering a query today about the transition from XP/Office XP to Windows 7/Office 2010. The OP asked why home users never get the chance to voice concerns re features that are going to appear in the latest and greatest Microsoft software. A good...(read more)

What do I see..

Mike Hall — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 14:59:44 GMT

.. when my computer boots to the desktop? This is what I see.. The total view is of a 19” widescreen LG monitor connected via a DVI cable. Starting at the top, under the Start button are nine applications and utilities all pinned there for easy access...(read more)

Words do no justice..

Mike Hall — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 16:20:49 GMT

.. well not printable words suitable for a public place anyway.. If you are a bit upset at the prospect of having no proper desktop, take some solace in the newly designed METRO styled Windows logo. Tada!! Nice eh.. some people are drooling over this...(read more)

When is a desktop not a desktop?

Mike Hall — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 00:55:18 GMT

When it has been Metroed. I was walking through the Nuclear Medicine department in one of our local hospitals recently. There was a technician sitting in a large cubicle. She had the task of monitoring two MRI machines, and had two large LCD panels in...(read more)

Not so much where you want to go..

Mike Hall — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 02:30:17 GMT

More how on earth do you get there? I’ll give you the link because my typing is slow. One hundred ways to get there, wherever ‘there’ might be.. http://distrowatch.com/ and watch out because some of them are cul-de-sacs and others have yet to be properly...(read more)

Linux trolls still on the defensive

Mike Hall — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 21:13:50 GMT

If Ubuntu Linux was as good as they say it is, there would be one article written purely about Ubuntu, but there never is. Always a reference to to Microsoft Windows. This is the latest. Oh my God! There are security holes in Ubuntu 10.04! The sky is...(read more)

Defrag

Mike Hall — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 19:07:33 GMT

You should defrag. It keeps files in some kind of order and, while it may speed up general operations a little, it will reduce wear and tear on the hard drive heads too. I have always been a fan of Diskeeper, and not just because the integrated XP defragger...(read more)

D-Link.. more woes

Mike Hall — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 14:33:00 GMT

Recently, I was asked to set up a ‘new’ computer, transfer files and connect it wirelessly to a home network. The computer, an aging HP business desktop, was supplied by a third party, had XP installed, and also a D-Link WDA 2320 PCI wireless...(read more)

Win32.Patched.gq

Mike Hall — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 14:38:07 GMT

Apparently, this file does not exist, even though a computer might tell you that it does. Certainly, I couldn’t find it. I even removed the laptop hard drive and attached it to another system, just in case there was something hiding it in the host OS...(read more)

MSE updates..

Mike Hall — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 14:54:01 GMT

Why does Windows Update serve these up as optional? I would have thought that updates for any security program like Microsoft Security Essentials would be essential at the very least. Regardless of what some consider privacy issues, updates...(read more)

Another one bites the dust?

Mike Hall — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 14:31:53 GMT

From what is seen in the MS Answers forum, one might be forgiven for thinking that Windows 7 breaks motherboards. Vista showed similar properties too, but can an operating system really break a motherboard? Much depends upon interpretation ...(read more)

Wireless router performance

Mike Hall — Sun, 02 May 2010 16:55:25 GMT

.. is affected by the amount of obstacles between the wireless device and the router. Drywall (plasterboard in the UK) does not inhibit signals too much, but concrete (especially re-enforced), brick and metal take at toll. Something else also...(read more)

Not exactly new..

Mike Hall — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 14:43:55 GMT

.. but some seem to think that it is. I have copied text from a BBC News item because the links to this kind of stuff disappear over time, and I want to ensure that this doesn’t. Google warning on fake anti-virus software Fake anti virus is often distributed...(read more)

AVG v MSE

Mike Hall — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 02:00:23 GMT

Scenario A computer running Windows XP SP3, fully updated and running AVG 8.5 also fully updated. There is a REGCURE popup which will not go away and, not unsurprisingly, the uninstall for REGCURE throws up an error message. AVG 8.5 appears to be blissfully...(read more)