It's Microsoft. It's a given you'll hate them.

[kyburg]

Trogdor is no longer giving me the finger. It just finally gave up and fragged itself. Geek Squad is saying trojans and viruses...I'm saying hard drive crash. They want to reinstall the OS and start over, to put a point to it. So, find the original disks and bring them in and get it done.

..

I went back (actually, both Jim and I went in) to find the original installation works...and mind you, I don't recall exactly when Trogdor went into good and beneficial service...but it's been long enough to scramble everything that came with the machine into a froth with the rest of the software packages near the computer desk.

I was able to retrieve a green certificate labeled "Certificate of Authenticity" that has watermarks, holograms and a barcode on it. Great - I can call Microsoft and get a replacement set of disks, right?

NO.

I may have the product ID, but I don't have the document that actually has the license key on it. You got it - the guy we paid to build us the machine, install the software and so on - loaded the software and didn't pay for it.

I must have spent most of the day talking to Microsoft, repeating the words "I HAVE the certificate - right here. Shall I fax it to you?"

Best I could do was beg off on the Windows Genuine Advantage program - which is, buy a copy of the OS, get legal and they'll knock some $$ off the price.

It'll be two to four weeks before the disks arrive and I can actually DO something with them.

These are the people who inflicted brought Vista to the world. It's a given. You'll hate them. And then give them more money. It's Microsoft. It's what they do.

Comments

[redqueenofevil.livejournal.com]

Since Trogdor is your server, why not switch to Gentoo, or something else Linux related?

It will run smoother, I promise.

Or is Trogdor not your server?

[kyburg.livejournal.com]

Trogdor is essentially our base machine - the two 'new' machines that I got over Christmas are earmarked for server duty, once I get the hard drives for them.

Base machine meaning email...and games.

I had everything under the sun running on that thing. Spyware and viruses indeed!

[exedore.livejournal.com]

Said it before, will say it again.

Next time? Get a Mac.

[technoshaman.livejournal.com]

You sure you don't want an Ubuntu CD?

I haven't paid MSFT a damn dime for software in years. Not one red cent, since, I think, February 1999. There have been a few things I've wanted to run, but most things Just Work these days. Including WMV's, DVD's, Word docs, etc. These cute little dancing baby .exe's don't, but these days those are a good way to get a virus and scrag your machine. Neither do ActiveX controls... see previous comment. Other than that? Photoshop? bring it. Quicken files? got'em. Only thing I don't have (and only because I haven't tried the emulator yet) is cflute's Concertware stuff.

And it's not near the rocket science it used to be. Heck, if Dell is loading the stuff on laptops, it's expecting Ravi from Bangalore to be able to support it.

I totally understand if you've got some weirdo app you can't get to run any other way. And there's the little matter of support for it if things get weird. I'm just sayin', this is the 21st Century, and there are alternatives to letting the Man screw you. Again.

[technoshaman.livejournal.com]

Ah. Gamage. Hit or miss with that... some of the vendors have the clue and release Linux versions concurrently now, some don't.

[kyburg.livejournal.com]

So many things are Windows only. (I'll take the CD, though. One of those two machines is going to be Linux - and soon, Apache. I hope. Cross fingers.)

I am so stuck with them. There's gotta be a support group somewhere. Oh - that's everyone using the product. Got it.

[kyburg.livejournal.com]

Got one. Got two, actually.

And I have to get an OS for one of them - and not Leopard, machine's too old.

How much do you think I'll have to suffer for that one....

[technoshaman.livejournal.com]

One presumes either the web server is local-only, or your ISP allows servers.

There's a *bunch* of LUG's in LA: http://lalugs.org/#meetings

They can even help you get installed and set up. Just take your box over there...

I'm going to go ahead and make you a Gutsy Gibbon CD - that's the latest one. It's not the five-year-support version, but it's proving to be reasonably stable, and upgrading to Hardy Heron (which *will* have five year support) come April will be a walk in the park...

You want the server-only version, or the desktop LiveCD? oh, heck, I'll just do both of'em. CD's are cheap, a new copy of Windows is expensive.

[redqueenofevil.livejournal.com]

Well, with the exception of some games, switching to Linux may not be a bad way to go. And there are a lot of games that will run on the Linux platform. And then, you wouldn't have to deal with Microsoft giving you grief. Just a thought.

Ubuntu is pretty good. Before I got my mac, I had one Windows box, and one Kubuntu (offshoot of Ubuntu) box. Minimal issues with the Linux box.

Sadly, I don't think TS2 is a Linux compatible game, although NWN was.

[redqueenofevil.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that only goes so far though. My mac was giving a lot of grief last week. Leopard, for all its shininess, isn't perfect. And some things, like iPhoto, just plain suck.

Nothing's perfect.

[phinnia.livejournal.com]

I don't hate them! They're employing my husband and paying my medical bills. :-D

[foogod.livejournal.com]

Sigh.. If I'd known, I could have burned you a copy of a WinXP CD, and I can get license codes, that's not that big a deal..

As a long time software developer myself, I have always been fairly strongly against copyright infringement and illegally obtaining software in general, but Microsoft is one of the only companies where I actively encourage it. I am always willing to do anything I can to help people not pay money to Microsoft.

In my opinion they've violated legal and ethical boundaries so many ways on so many occasions already that they've given up any right to claim legal protections for anything they do.

[nagasvoice.livejournal.com]

It might be well worth checking on the alternatives program by program, $ wise. I'm sure the flist round here can answer questions on it.
We just switched my machine to Linux two weeks ago, we've been running it on another one for about 3 months. We're still fine-tuning what I need with Ubuntu. Mostly there's shareware out there to do what everybody needs done, dozens of graphics programs and so on.
Work's been having all kinds of virii, spam battles, slow loading because of overloaded security programs, etc.
Home--lack of viruses?
Priceless.

[browren.livejournal.com]

If you do try out Linux, don't forget you've got at least one full-time developer on your friends list. From the looks of it there's already plenty of expertise available to you, though. :)

Also, as games go - if you have particular titles you're interested in, the Wine DB has a nice compatibility list. There's also Cedega, but that's been going downhill recently.

Don't forget about open source games too - there's a lot of really good free stuff out there, and most popular commercial games have clones.

[dracowayfarer.livejournal.com]

Aw, I like iPhoto. What don't you like about it? (Just curious. I'm still on Tiger.)

[dracowayfarer.livejournal.com]

Two to four weeks? To ship their own software??

[7leaguebootdisk.livejournal.com]

If you can download and burn iso's, I can get you one. Or I'll be in the inland empire/Temecula area this Fri and Sat.

[exedore.livejournal.com]

Apple don't require activation or serial numbers for OS installs, so as long as you can borrow/find one install disc you can use it at will (and with a clear conscience if you bought a house/family license, which unlike MS, IS significantly discounted).

[redqueenofevil.livejournal.com]

Where do I begin?

Perhaps iPhoto and I aren't compatible. For starters, it crashes frequently.
Next, we have the fact that if you store your photos on a dedicated server (which I do), and you try to run iphoto, it borks, because it doesn't like the fact that the photos aren't on THAT computer, but on a server.

Oh, and it's so laggy even with stuff you may have on your computer. That's mostly it. Sorry.

[kyburg.livejournal.com]

..

[kyburg.livejournal.com]

*squees* Whatcha doing Saturday? Friday night? Inquiring minds and all that.

[kyburg.livejournal.com]

My ISP encourages servers. I have Megapath (and silverkun works for them. They nice. Very nice) - and that was the plan all along. I just haven't found the umph to 1) build the machine and then 2) learn how to admin it.

You know the mailbox addy, right? 1601 N. Sepulveda Blvd. #772, Manhattan Beach, CA 90266.

[kyburg.livejournal.com]

When Civ IV and Starfleet Armada can run on anything but Windows, let me know.

[kyburg.livejournal.com]

He must work on the good parts!

[kyburg.livejournal.com]

The best way I've found not to give them money is to learn how to use Linux instead. Really really.

(Thanks for the offer.)

[kyburg.livejournal.com]

I've got my laptop, which is where my Sims live.

Trogdor, was Jim's game machine. Civ III, Starfleet Armada...you name it.

[phinnia.livejournal.com]

Honestly? He's working on the test system so the next version of the OS won't have as many bugs and won't be as badly delayed. :-)

[kyburg.livejournal.com]

TS2 is nearly Mac compliant all the way up now - it's just a HUUUUGE resource hog and you need big and beefy machines to run it.

It's a Windows emulation, where the rubber meets the road, code-wise Go figure.

But as long as Balls will run TS2, that's where they live.

[stormdragon.livejournal.com]

I can't hate MS on this. It just sounds like the guy that you paid to build the machine screwed you over by not paying for the copy of windows he installed. Microsoft is perfectly within their right to ask for money for a product that they're providing.

Granted, MS can and has pulled some really f'ed up things in the past, but this? Yeah, I can't fault them for this (well, except for how long it's taking to ship).

Also, Apple/Mac? It's just as bad. They just hide it better and have a better PR team.

Linux, while nice because some versions are free, it also means that there's no support for it (if something should go wrong) except from the community, which means you could be spending a lot of time digging through internet searches to find a fix. If you're fine with that, as well as an extremely limited video game library, then Linux might be a good choice for you.

Honestly, the whole OS debate is chock full of exaggerations and rampant fanboy(girl)ism. It's hard to get an unbiased opinion, but I'm giving you one right now.

My suggestion:

Windows XP until MS gets their head out of their ass and makes Vista not suck so much donkey ass. It has a larger software library than Mac and Linux. You just have to be a bit more diligent about protecting yourself from adware/spyware and viruses, but truthfully, it's not that bad.

Macs are great machines if you don't mind being stuck with the hardware. I'm a hardware junkie, so I need to be able to switch out/upgrade my machine on a component level. I don't like Macs because in order to upgrade, I have to purchase an entirely new machine, but that's my personal preference and not applicable to everyone. Also, their software library, especially in the games department, isn't as large as the one for Windows.

Linux, hmm...not much I can say about it. I wasn't impressed with it at all. It didn't bring anything to the table for me, except that it was free. It required more effort to support as there are so many variations of the OS that you're not guaranteed compatibility with Linux software without a great deal of tweaking. It was just way more work than I wanted. To me, Windows and Macs require less effort to simply run, and by simply run, I mean installing/uninstalling and using software on it in general.

Keep in mind that I'm approaching these OSes on a strictly casual, end-user point of view. If you're a complete Linux nut, then installing and running software on a Linux box isn't a big deal, but if you're not, then until the Linux community can get their act together and create a uniform Linux build, then it's something that's strictly for the more advanced users, or those that intend/want to spend a lot of their time learning it.

Macs and Windows machines are a lot better for everyone all around. Yes, it costs money, but seriously? If that's a serious grievance with the software for someone, then they need a reality check.

[kyburg.livejournal.com]

I've been using Linux here at work - easily six, seven years now. It rocks. I reboot when I'm asked to - not every day. (I have a Windows machine right next to it - because there are still packages that won't run on Linux. And some idiots coding for websites are still coding IE specific. Bastids.)

Other than that, XP baby. All the way.

You want Mac hardware fun, I got some for you. That Mac machine is going to get the overhaul of its little life. (Mac guts are FUN. And so easy, it's scary. The case just opens itself for you. Seriously. No sharp edges. No screws to lose. Lots of hand room. I was amazed.)

I work with Unix, day in and day out. Linux is a nice extension of that. And fast? Baby.

[kyburg.livejournal.com]

Oh, and the hate? Why does it take five hours to find the one person with an answer? I had MS techs conferencing each other in. Three at a time.

I am scary. I am also stubborn.

[dracowayfarer.livejournal.com]

.. indeed.

[7leaguebootdisk.livejournal.com]

Well, sometime Saturday we are going to the memorial for my wife's favorite uncle, and some amount of Friday and Saturday my wife will be helping her grandmother make food for it, and I will be entertaining our kids.

And we will also be seeing some of my wifes paternal relatives, probably see some more people and leave midday Sunday.

[kyburg.livejournal.com]

See how things sort out - perhaps something Saturday night might work? Which airport are you using? (Are you flying?)

[7leaguebootdisk.livejournal.com]

Driving down, staying overnight most of the way down Th. We shall see.

If you do want that XP disk, bring a flash drive (my wife has had issues with burning recently, but we shall see what I can do), nice corp site licence for it. :-)