View Full Version : What operating system do you use?
1.Win 7 home/preamium 32/64
2.Win 7 pro 32/64
3.Win 7 ultimate 32/64
4.Win XP
5.XP pro
6.Vista 32/64
7.Linux 32/64 What edition?
8.Mac what edition 32/64
9.Presto
And what is your favorite browser?
I wish I could make this a pole.
As we all use computers of some form or another to access this site.
Windows 7 home/premium 32bit
Browser Opera 11.01
Security Mc Afee
It all runs pretty smoothly togather.
Windows 7 Professional on all my machines (64-bit on desktops, 32-bit on netbooks).
Internet Explorer 9
AVG Network Edition
Windows XP Media Center Edition SP2.
Fav browser is Opera.
Adam.
Stationary:
Windows 7 home premium 64bit
Internet Explorer 9 RC
Avast 5
Laptop
Windows 7 home premium 64bit
Internet Explorer 8 - will go 9 when sure that banking and everything works
Avast 5
Music server
Windows 7 home premium 32bit
Internet Explorer 8
MS SE 2 - just to try it
Reid Malenfant
14-02-2011, 10:21
XP Pro (SP2), Firefox, AVG9 free edition, Sygate firewall...
Desktop PC:
Windows XP service pack 3
AVG
IE8, Firefox, Opera, Chrome, Safari + IETester for old IE versions (web development)
Server:
Ubuntu Linux server edition 10.04LTS (32 bit)
Music PC:
Ubuntu Linux 10.04LTS (64 bit)
XBMC Media player
Firefox
Laptop:
Ubuntu Linux 10.10 (32 bit)
Firefox
Desktop - XP pro SP2
Laptop 1 - XP home SP3 (auto updates)
Laptop 2 - Windows 7 (64bit) (auto updates)
Netbook - XP home SP3 (auto updates)
(Chrome, AVG, & Winamp on all 4)
QNAP Server - Linux kernel, QNAP firmware interface
HTC Desire - Android 2.2 (Froyo)
aquapiranha
14-02-2011, 11:26
PC1, W7 Pro. Firefox
PC2, Ubuntu, firefox
Laptop, W7 Pro.
I knew there would be alot of different combanations of software but I am shocked at just how menny.
I never thought I would see so menny linux users here.
I am very interested in Linux,a good alturnitive to Windows?
I'm told it is not so easily infected with viruses.
I wonder if it has office software or will my MS office 7 work with it?
Techno Commander
14-02-2011, 12:37
XP Pro SP3
Although I will probably use W7 on my next PC build. We have been using it at work for a while now and I am actually starting to like it.:eek:
Hmmmm - on everything possible, XP Pro SP3 - but I have got Vista Home Premium on my Sony laptop which is the one I mainly use - contrary to everyone else's experience with Vista, I don't seem to have many problems... (That's done it, hasn't it!)
Will look at upgrading from XP only when I have to - does just about everything I need. I used to use AVG Free, but I've converted over on some machines to Microsoft Security Essentials, which is very good imo. I was an early adopter of Firefox, but made the switch to Chrome when it first came out and haven't looked back. I'd also recommend CCleaner for tidying up all the crap on a regular basis.
I am very interested in Linux,a good alturnitive to Windows?
I'm told it is not so easily infected with viruses.
I wonder if it has office software or will my MS office 7 work with it?
I think it's an excellent alternative. Easy enough for you to try it yourself - just download Ubuntu from www.ubuntu.net, burn to a cd and boot from the cd. You can try it without it touching your windows installation. No real need for antivirus software, though it is available. The standard Ubuntu desktop distro comes with OpenOffice suite - which can read and write Office-compatible file formats. Give it a go! :)
Rare Bird
14-02-2011, 13:01
Windows XP Pro on this pooter..The HDD packed up on the other desktop, untill i can get hold of a Full installation disc for XP Home that wont be getting sorted in a hurry, what i pay to have it reinstalled down PC World i'll have to forfit buying some new toy or a bunch of CD's :lolsign: besides i hate paying for thing you can do yourself.
Scrounge mode: Anyone got a full installation disc at all?
:sofa:
Laptop; XP and Firefox
Main; dual boot XP/Ubuntu Opera and Firefox
Ali Tait
14-02-2011, 18:01
:sofa:
Laptop; XP and Firefox
Main; dual boot XP/Ubuntu Opera and Firefox
Ayup John!
Ali Tait
14-02-2011, 18:04
Got a new laptop for Xmas, running Win7 64 bit, and just been trying IE9 prompted by Martin's suggestion.Works very well. Using norton anti virus, which again up to now works very well.
Ali, if you go to the Adobe website you can now also download Flash for 64-bit IE, making it compatible with YouTube, iPlayer etc.
any of you chaps wondering about linux but want to run windoze software check out www.winehq.org << a nice free app that lets you run most windoze wares on a linux box :)
im mac here, latest version, firefox is the browser of choice, I cant really say what firewall I have in the rack but lets just say that I make my living advising business about and installing high end firewalls ;)
Primary workstation: Win 7 (64bit)
Secondary workstation: Win 7 (64bit)
Laptop: Vista HP (32bit)
Server: Windows Home Server (WHS)
File server (for Touch): XP Pro SP3 (32bit)
I cant really say what firewall I have in the rack but lets just say that I make my living advising business about and installing high end firewalls ;)
I have installed a Smoothwall Advanced Firewall and Barracuda E-Mail firewall at work. They're brilliant products.
Ali Tait
15-02-2011, 07:58
Ali, if you go to the Adobe website you can now also download Flash for 64-bit IE, making it compatible with YouTube, iPlayer etc.
Thanks Martin, I'll have a look.
jantheman
15-02-2011, 09:58
OSX 10.6.6 on MacMini music server.
Windoze 7 64 on desktop.
Windoze XP on netbook.
Have you guys heard of an OP called Presto?
It's suposed to boot in 1 to 3 seconds depending on your computer.
Have you guys heard of an OP called Presto?
It's suposed to boot in 1 to 3 seconds depending on your computer.
I guess it's some how tied to XP or Vista with out a partition.
aquapiranha
16-02-2011, 16:58
For those interested, I have just today upgraded the install on my laptop to Ubuntu 10.10 and despite a small hitch with the wireless driver, everything went smoothly. If it were not for a couple of progs I use being windows only, I might have already switched to Linux permanently.
http://www.ubuntu.com/
Hi Steve.
How long did it take you to find your way around Ubuntu?
Do you serve music from your Ubuntu PC?
I’m rather cowardly about making a complete transfer. Getting bit perfect off a Ubuntu machine has me stumped atm and of course, lots of window apps for speaker building and room measurement will only run on windows, wine wont cope with some of them.
aquapiranha
16-02-2011, 20:37
Hi Chris.I do not use Ubuntu for streaming, but there is a school of thought that sound quality on Linux is very good indeed. There are also many free software packages available using the built in downloader. Have a look around the web, there are many sites and forums offering advice. Try ubuntu for free, you can download it and dual boot with windows.
Also if you are into making music too, there is always Ubuntu Studio..
http://ubuntustudio.org/
:)
Hi Steve.
Yep I’ve got Ubuntu studio and I’ve got Ubuntu dual boot already ;)
I’ve tried a few streaming methods suggested on various linux web sites but have yet to get one to work bit perfect. Need a total idiots guide really and most of the forums tend to be a bit geeky :scratch:
Oh btw, my names John :lolsign:
aquapiranha
16-02-2011, 21:43
Oops sorry John! I was mid conversation with a friend on chat. :doh:
I hope you get it sorted soon, how do you find studio?
Steve
Win XP Home and the google browser.
Filterlab
18-02-2011, 10:35
OS X (10.6.6 currently).
OS X 10.6.something on the edit suite, OS 10.6.6 on the new iMac, OS 10.3.4 on the 2 eMacs and Mac Mini, Windows 7 on the lappy and Windows XP on the PC indoors. And Ubuntu on the now defunkt Dell laptop.
Far too many computers.
I burned Ubuntu to a disk to try it,My laptop won't boot it.
How dose it stack up with Win.7?
and dose itunes work with Linux Ubuntu?
linux is inherently more secure than windoze
I use ubuntu, fedora, puppy linux and PC linux OS all as virtual machines on my iSan server for testing etc, ubuntu is great, cant rate it enough so is fedora, well worth the free download but for support and compatibility ubuntu has been impressing me for years.
out of all my customers I make my living from fixing windoze, my linux and mac customers hardly ever give me any work after the initial set up, that should speak for itself.
linux is inherently more secure than windoze
I use ubuntu, fedora, puppy linux and PC linux OS all as virtual machines on my iSan server for testing etc, ubuntu is great, cant rate it enough so is fedora, well worth the free download but for support and compatibility ubuntu has been impressing me for years.
out of all my customers I make my living from fixing windoze, my linux and mac customers hardly ever give me any work after the initial set up, that should speak for itself.
Do you actually use and operate Win 7 on a daily basis?
I just found out itunes dosen't work with Linux,at least not yet.
spendorman
20-02-2011, 13:29
I just found out itunes dosen't work with Linux,at least not yet.
You might try this:
http://www.ehow.com/how_5197743_download-itunes-linux-ubuntu.html
I have run loads of Windows programs in Linux using the free Wine software.
I run Spotify this way.
linux is inherently more secure than windoze
No it isn't, it is simply targeted by millions more malware writers, which reflects the size of its user base.
No it isn't, it is simply targeted by millions more malware writers, which reflects the size of its user base.
being open source is what . . actually I dont know why im bothering, im not asking you if you think I am right, I know I am, its what I do.
Do you actually use and operate Win 7 on a daily basis?
I have a win7 virtual machine on our iSann server, I use it as little as possible.
other than that the only time I touch win7 is when im fixing or breaking something.
actually I dont know why im bothering, im not asking you if you think I am right, I know I am, its what I do.
Be rude if you like, but if you looked you would have seen that I am in IT, too, and have been all my life. I support some 300 users right now, and I do have a clue.
other than that the only time I touch win7 is when im fixing or breaking something.
So you have no valid experience of supporting Windows 7 in a live environment.
sorry I should have realised working in IT for a school obviously means you have far greater knowledge on the subject of IT security than a IT security consultant, I am honestly sorry and will make sure I never make that silly mistake ever again.
;)
and its the open source part of linux that makes it inherently more secure than windoze as that is locked down only given to certain people (like the chinese government) access to the source.
but hey, I shouldn't really have to tell you this ;)
So you have no valid experience of supporting Windows 7 in a live environment.
erm?, OK
you just go ahead and assume yourself stuff if it makes you happy :D
you just go ahead and assume yourself stuff if it makes you happy :D
No mate, I took it from your own post. Let's just agree to differ, shall we? Life is too short.
yes agree to differ on facts.
nice angle you got there, let me give you a lesson in IT if I may, IT is digital, it is linear, it is yes or no.
it is not a democratically agreed yes or no, it is yes or no based on the subject and attributes in question, to agree yes is no for example would be silly and that wouldnt ever get us anywhere, would it?
all you have proven here and I don't wish to be rude, is you know about setting up computers for kids, that's what you do, but not about root level security across multiple platforms, mabe you would like others to think you know about things you dont really know about, I know LOTS of people who have made a nice little carreer in IT by doing just that.
Gary,
Martin has helped alot of us non IT guys through alot of computer issues,myself included.
It would be wrong to write him off ,in this subject.
Your some what new to the forum,or you would have seen him pull alot of people out of the soup.
I am looking at Linux because alot of very computer savy people use it,for banking now.
I do think Windows has alot of good qualitys and I am afraid of paying bills on line after haveing a key logger and malware get through my antivirus software.
but I don't want to reload over 100 gigs of music and 70+ gigs of software.
So I may set up a small used laptop in Ubuntu just for banking.
spendorman
21-02-2011, 18:25
One thing, of course, Linux is free, legally!
yes agree to differ on facts.
nice angle you got there, let me give you a lesson in IT if I may, IT is digital, it is linear, it is yes or no.
it is not a democratically agreed yes or no, it is yes or no based on the subject and attributes in question, to agree yes is no for example would be silly and that wouldnt ever get us anywhere, would it?
all you have proven here and I don't wish to be rude, is you know about setting up computers for kids, that's what you do, but not about root level security across multiple platforms, mabe you would like others to think you know about things you dont really know about, I know LOTS of people who have made a nice little carreer in IT by doing just that.
I also work in a school,they need some of the highest security possable as they deal with student records,student medical records,emplyee pay roll, court orders ,custody orders,grades ect...
There is more than money that must be protected.
Seriously Gary, I'd leave it. You don't know anything about what I do now or what I've done in the past. You've made classic anti-Microsoft statements about Windows 7 which I felt should be challenged, and I've done so now. I have no desire or intention to get into a pointless ruck with you.
Jeff, im sorry I was not meaning to offend anyone but martin came on assuming things and was thinking his opinion was actual fact.
unfortunatly it is not, well not this time anyways, windows is inherently less secure than linux by design, this is not my opinion, it is fact.
thats not to say you cant get had with linux, not at all, it is just harder to break into a locked down linux machine than it is with windows, again that is not opinion.
mabe martin has no actual hands on experience with supporting linux?
I also work in a school,they need some of the highest security possable as they deal with student records,student medical records,emplyee pay roll, court orders ,custody orders,grades ect...
Spot on, Jeff. It's incredible how resourceful students are at breaking security and sometimes a real challenge to resolve. We're a business and an educational establishment all wrapped together with an internal customer base half of whom are working against us.
Seriously Gary, I'd leave it. You don't know anything about what I do now or what I've done in the past. You've made classic anti-Microsoft statements about Windows 7 which I felt should be challenged, and I've done so now. I have no desire or intention to get into a pointless ruck with you.
I agree it is pointless, and if you look back the argumentation was dealt by your hand.
i'm not anti anyone, or any thing, I do dislike windoze but only from the risk angle, it poses a far greater risk than a locked down linux environment IT risk is what keeps me awake at night.
martin, all I know is you are not in a position to think your opinion RE windows security being better than linux is correct, carry on if you wish, almost everyone else in the world knows you are incorrect on that one matey.
Jeff, im sorry I was not meaning to offend anyone but martin came on assuming things and was thinking his opinion was actual fact.
unfortunatly it is not, well not this time anyways, windows is inherently less secure than linux by design, this is not my opinion, it is fact.
thats not to say you cant get had with linux, not at all, it is just harder to break into a locked down linux machine than it is with windows, again that is not opinion.
mabe martin has no actual hands on experience with supporting linux?
I have also read this,Linux Ubuntu is built more secure, it was in one of my computer mags as well.I don't like the fact that menny codes are in the hands of third world governments,God help us if Nigeria gets them.
Point well taken,but Window is very user freindly and has a high level of compatability.It is a good operateing system ,but it's always under attack.
It is the Isrial of operateing systems.
ht leaking of MS source code to china was a mistake, albeit a very easy one to make . . .
microsofts main partner in china asked for the source, they signed a NDA and MS give them the source, unfortunatly MS did not expect the chinese government to just take it from their partner.
and this leak to the chinese gov is what is said to have given china access to America's NSA networks last year.
rumour has it the wikileaks government cables where had through this also, but thats security journo rumours not facts.
Just out of interest,
Is anyone using Windows7 on a computer for file audio and if so, how much success are they having with it?
Do you use an asio wrap?
A true asio driver?
Kernal streaming?
Proprietary drivers or wraps supplied with Dac?
What?
So far, I have found XP the best for audio bar a linux setup I’ve heard that I don’t have the knowledge to implement.
Views on this?
You forgot India haveing the codes too,where some of windows 7 was made,as well as mexico too.
Out sorceing will kill us one day.
Just out of interest,
Is anyone using Windows7 on a computer for file audio and if so, how much success are they having with it?
Do you use an asio wrap?
A true asio driver?
Kernal streaming?
Proprietary drivers or wraps supplied with Dac?
What?
So far, I have found XP the best for audio bar a linux setup I’ve heard that I don’t have the knowledge to implement.
Views on this?
I am useing W7 with Itunes and it works well for audio.
I'm just concerned about banking with a MS op system.
Is anyone using Windows7 on a computer for file audio and if so, how much success are they having with it?
Shuggie of these parts is using W7 very successfully from his netbook for streaming duties. We were listening to some very nice hi-res sounds on my system last Saturday.
spendorman
21-02-2011, 18:51
Some years ago I worked for British Aerospace (BAE Systems in fact), a top IT guy there recommended this site:
https://www.grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2
to test ones PC for security, things have probably changed since then.
Certainly the guy that recommended the site has changed, he's now got a brain disorder and can hardly do anything now.
It might be interesting to access that site with Windows and Linux and see the results.
I'm just concerned about banking with a MS op system.
IE9 is now at release candidate level. Give it a try, as well as being a lot faster in rendering it features tracking protection which will build over the following months to give additional protection on a blacklist style basis. If you have a 64-bit setup, try IE9-64. I'm impressed so far.
I'm just concerned about banking with a MS op system.
here in UK all banks are insured against this so if it happens it is no loss to you, unsure if that is the same in US of A though.
It might be interesting to access that site with Windows and Linux and see the results.
Sorry to say but that site is pretty far behind current threats (but it was good in its day). If any PC generates warnings today its security is in a pretty poor state.
spendorman
21-02-2011, 19:04
Sorry to say but that site is pretty far behind current threats (but it was good in its day). If any PC generates warnings today its security is in a pretty poor state.
Are there any similar, but up to date sites?
Are there any similar, but up to date sites?
Not that I've seen, but then head-on attacks on open ports are easy to fix with a decent OS and firewall (preferably two levels). These days, you need to be much more careful with the way you respond to either phishing (e-mail) attacks or websites that prompt the OS to install something malicious through a script or innocent looking prompt.
spendorman
21-02-2011, 19:36
Not that I've seen, but then head-on attacks on open ports are easy to fix with a decent OS and firewall (preferably two levels). These days, you need to be much more careful with the way you respond to either phishing (e-mail) attacks or websites that prompt the OS to install something malicious through a script or innocent looking prompt.
Although a qualified Engineer, I'm certainly no computer expert by any means, but I do set up / repair a lot of systems for friends / neighbours and get a strong feeling that, at this moment, a basic Linux system is more secure than Windows with various third party security software.
This may all change in the future.
Any suggestions of what security software is worth using on Linux?
Ali Tait
21-02-2011, 19:44
I use 7, but not to play my files, I just let the Squeezebox do that. Db Poweramp for ripping now as I had issues with EAC when changing over from my old laptop running XP.
Mark Grant
21-02-2011, 19:57
Windows 7 Professional 64 bit with 6 GIGAbytes of memory, works really well even with tons of stuff open.
XP was my favourite, I hated Vista and never got on with it, Windows 7 is great :)
I must try Linux sometime on a spare machine...
Reid Malenfant
21-02-2011, 20:00
Windows 7 Professional 64 bit with 6 megabytes of memory, works really well even with tons of stuff open.
Me thinks you mean 6Gb you nutcase :D
I'm still getting by nicely with 500Mb with XP Pro on here ;)
Ali Tait
21-02-2011, 20:03
Yes I have the same Mark.
clam av for anti virus = free :)
as for a firewall you should have a dedicated box seperating you from the internet on a seperate subnet and IP range, preferably not just the one in built in your router, unless it is a decent one, which would be rare.
edit - the only reason you would need anti virus on linux is to stop the chance of passing a windows virus you recieved but didnt get infected from to a windows user by accident (email etc) I would usually advise having AV all taken care of from the firewall also.
Me thinks you mean 6Gb you nutcase :D
LOL!
I'm still getting by nicely with 500Mb with XP Pro on here ;)
You must be seeing disk-bound performance limits. For goodness sake don't apply SP3 without going up to 1GB :)
I hated Vista and never got on with it.
Vista was an unmitigated disaster. For that alone, Steve Ballmer should have stepped down.
Vista was an unmitigated disaster. For that alone, Steve Ballmer should have stepped down.
windows 7 is vista with a different front end.
its the same base OS built on the same source.
Mark Grant
21-02-2011, 20:17
Me thinks you mean 6Gb you nutcase :D
:) Corrected :eek:
Vista was an unmitigated disaster. For that alone, Steve Ballmer should have stepped down.
My laptop came with Vista,I added Norton Anti virus and everything froze up.
Vista was a big pain in the arse,7 works as well as XP service pac 3 did.
I may partion my hard drive and add Ubuntu 64 bit. for banking only and later if I like it expand into other apps.
I would also like to say that there is a combined effort of some of the britest people found any where on earth makeing AOS something truly special.
THANKS BIG TO ALL OF YOU!!
spendorman
21-02-2011, 20:24
clam av for anti virus = free :)
as for a firewall you should have a dedicated box seperating you from the internet on a seperate subnet and IP range, preferably not just the one in built in your router, unless it is a decent one, which would be rare.
edit - the only reason you would need anti virus on linux is to stop the chance of passing a windows virus you recieved but didnt get infected from to a windows user by accident (email etc) I would usually advise having AV all taken care of from the firewall also.
Thanks, I looked at Clam and will now install it, will have to look at subnet. Yes, I knew that a good reason for AV is to reduce the chances of passing on something to a Windows user.
windows 7 is vista with a different front end.
its the same base OS built on the same source.
Strictly speaking, Windows 7 development started first. For some of the time, 7 and Vista were developed in parallel. The problem with Vista is not so much the core as the UI and layers of bloat. A classic example of suffering at the hands of customer clinics.
I added Norton Anti virus
There's your problem. Bloated noxious-ware that often won't even uninstall cleanly. It's a huge performance slug. Try AVG Free Edition 2011, it's nice and compact and, err, free.
Jac Hawk
21-02-2011, 20:51
Strictly speaking, Windows 7 development started first. For some of the time, 7 and Vista were developed in parallel. The problem with Vista is not so much the core as the UI and layers of bloat. A classic example of suffering at the hands of customer clinics.
I look at ALL Microsoft software like this:
All new 1st edition / SP1 stuff is crap, more bugs than enough and patches can easily stop your whole computer from working, i always wait for SP2 to come out, and as far as Vista and 7 are concerned, 7 is just Vista SP2, it's just Bill and hiss buddies dropped such a huge clanger with Vista than no one would touch it so it's now called 7.
Anyway to my mind 7 is a good system, i use the home premium edition 64bit, i use Firefox for the browser and Avast for the antivirus, and it all seems to work a treat :lol:
Strictly speaking, Windows 7 development started first. For some of the time, 7 and Vista were developed in parallel. The problem with Vista is not so much the core as the UI and layers of bloat. A classic example of suffering at the hands of customer clinics.
you are thinking of "longhorn"
AKA what was actually released as windows server 2008
that was the base for the source on both.
never had a problem with vista, much better than xp from my point of view and not one of the users I support has ever said any negative things about it apart from the initial user account warnings.
I still stand by the view that vista was OK if set up right, the problem was it needed tweaking out the box but once set up right worked well.
still not as secure as linux though :ner:
edit to add - I actually ran longhorn erm I mean win server 2008 for a year as my last ever daily PC, but in all honesty that was purely to find out how to break into it.
out of interest martin have you ever supported linux systems? what about the apple xserve / OSX server set up?
you are thinking of "longhorn"
No, I'm thinking of Blackcomb.
never had a problem with vista, much better than xp from my point of view and not one of the users I support has ever said any negative things about it apart from the initial user account warnings.
In my experience, it causes more blue screens than either XP or 7 on the same (working) hardware. Not stable, and not even down to drivers as many of them can run in W7 and work just fine. Admittedly better now but godawful even after SP1.
out of interest martin have you ever supported linux systems? what about the apple xserve / OSX server set up?
Some, a few as a service engineer and in my current work I have implemented a Smoothwall Advanced Firewall, although this is mostly shrink-wrap. I setup a Boddington (linux) intranet a few years ago but didn't like it much and switched to Sharepoint. Only work with Apples as clients and they have their own problems working on an MS Server environment. The students like them, though, and we do support multi-platforms unlike many schools.
Here's an amusing one and the best machine we've seen this year. It appears to be a knock-off Apple Macbook Pro (but with UK keyboard) running Chinese Windows XP (also knock-off). Oh the delights of supporting this one :)
http://www.mtc.me.uk/images/AppleChineseXP.jpg
seriously, I would remove the brand of firewall ;) knowing what you have to get round is sometimes half the job.
apple with their osx server is what will put IT support people out of work, seriously easy to manage and cross platform.
if you have issues cross platform with MS servers and OSX clients let me know, i would be surprised if it is something I have not already sorted for someone else.
and Blackcomb was just the later name used for a seperate version of longhorn, albiet without a few features since it was for win7 as it was aimed for personal use rather than over a wide area network.
i understand this all seems like a joust but we are obviously on very different levels in terms of ability and knowledge, you work for schools, i work for governments and world leading business/banks/etc im not bragging im not like that, im just pointing out the obvious.
LOL! You're really quite the rudest individual I've come across for some time. I'm leaving your post intact for all to see, unless of course you'd like to withdraw it yourself.
Kindly do not address me in a post again.
I understand this all seems like a joust but we are obviously on very different levels in terms of ability and knowledge, you work for schools, i work for governments and world leading business/banks/etc im not bragging im not like that, im just pointing out the obvious.
Crikey - if that's not bragging, then I wonder how much more arrogant and obnoxious you could be if you were!?
Seriously, if that wasn't supposed to be a joke then I really think you need to think before you post in future if you want to be treated with any kind of respect.
There's your problem. Bloated noxious-ware that often won't even uninstall cleanly. It's a huge performance slug. Try AVG Free Edition 2011, it's nice and compact and, err, free.
I 'm talking about 08 when my laptop was new.I have Win 7 and use McAfee now.
seriously, I would remove the brand of firewall ;) knowing what you have to get round is sometimes half the job.
apple with their osx server is what will put IT support people out of work, seriously easy to manage and cross platform.
if you have issues cross platform with MS servers and OSX clients let me know, i would be surprised if it is something I have not already sorted for someone else.
and Blackcomb was just the later name used for a seperate version of longhorn, albiet without a few features since it was for win7 as it was aimed for personal use rather than over a wide area network.
i understand this all seems like a joust but we are obviously on very different levels in terms of ability and knowledge, you work for schools, i work for governments and world leading business/banks/etc im not bragging im not like that, im just pointing out the obvious.
UNCOOL, seriously Gary,Check yourself before you wreck yourself.
This forum is a lot of fun,don't throw rocks,this isen't Palistine.
Ali Tait
22-02-2011, 07:34
Is Norton that bad then? I'm using it on the new laptop (Christmas present) Seems fine at the moment.
Is Norton that bad then? I'm using it on the new laptop (Christmas present) Seems fine at the moment.
The latest version is better behaved, Ali, but I have had so many problems with it over the years that I just won't use it.
Just from a users point of view ;)
I’ve never liked Norton or McAfee; as Martin points out, they’re way too system intensive and rather hard to tailor to your preferences. They may be effective, but I like to know whats going on and neither is very informative in this regard. Martin also has a point that if you don’t know what your doing both are quite hard to completely remove from the registry once installed.
I’ve tried most of the free AV’s (well I would have wouldn’t I) and ended up with Kasperski AV on my main computer and oh horror I still use Sygate as a firewall.
A sandbox, (I assume this is what Gary meant) seems like a great idea until you try to use one; ever tried playing an online game through a sandbox?
Virus attacks are comparatively rare, trojans, trackers, browser highjackers, root kits and other assorted maleware are what tends to plague most users.
The best security is still “think before you click” coupled with port control (close them)
A few simple scripts can also be useful and correct use of an email client such as Thunderbird.
For audio, I still think XP gives the best results for the average user.
As for the Linux v Windows war….well its nonsense for the majority of users. Most users just want to click a mouse and in this respect Windows has user ease sorted.
Linux can be a very good OS but it’s not for the novice and until it becomes more user friendly and cross platform friendly it just ain’t going to be the choice of the masses.
Ali Tait
22-02-2011, 07:57
Port control? Whassat then?
Hey Ali
Your computer talks to the world through an array of Ports, gateways if you like.
By default, most of these ports are open and in theory, if someone was to scan your ports and find one open they can control certain aspects of your system through such a port.
If the ports are shut, then not only are they not seen on the internet, they cant be used to communicate from or to your computer.
The problem with most users and port control is the OS uses ports to update the OS, track your browsing habits etc etc. and if you close them a lot of automatic stuff won’t work.
My view is a lot of these “computer to computer” communications are unnecessary and I don’t want my computer talking to the web unless I say so and know who its talking to.
I close all but a couple of ports and update any OS requirements, including virus definitions manually.
My view is a lot of these “computer to computer” communications are unnecessary and I don’t want my computer talking to the web unless I say so and know who its talking to.
I close all but a couple of ports and update any OS requirements, including virus definitions manually.
Yep, agree with that, also worth thinking about a good firewall at the point your network joins the internet, normally the ADSL or cable router.
Linux can be a very good OS but it’s not for the novice and until it becomes more user friendly and cross platform friendly it just ain’t going to be the choice of the masses.
You can point many fingers at Linux, but cross platform is just what it does do well. MS have a history of changing networking standards to keep the system locked to MS.
"You can point many fingers at Linux, but cross platform is just what it does do well. MS have a history of changing networking standards to keep the system locked to MS."
Hmm, I don’t agree Nick…..or at least I have some reservations.
Yes a lot of Windows apps can be run through Wine for example but I have a number of apps to do with mathematics, speaker building, audio measurement that try as I might I cant get Ubuntu for example to run.
I have yet to find anything I cant get to run with Windows.
I close all but a couple of ports and update any OS requirements, including virus definitions manually.
Agreed, John. To explain that a little more, a firewall is used to close the ports and the default nowadays is for safety with ports closed rather than open, and exceptions made for certain ports or programs.
Vista and 7 both feature bidirectional firewalls and there is no reason ever to not use them. I find that firewalls that have been brought down by users are because they can't get a program (e.g. GoogleTalk or MSN Messanger) to work otherwise. Better to set up the exception and bring the firewall up again.
Additionally, a second level firewall at the perimeter of your network is highly recommended. Many good modern routers have a built-in firewall and also perform NAT (network address translation) for additional safety. If you're brave you can use a spare old pc with two network interfaces and install Smoothwall Express on it, which is a freebie firewall running on linux.
Of course, if you want a program to gain access to a port for the outside world you need to remember to open it in both the local and perimeter firewalls.
Ali Tait
22-02-2011, 10:00
So since this is a new laptop running 7 64 bit and using Norton, it will already be doing this? Do I just need to use Norton to set the websites I want to browse as safe and not allow anything else without a specific say-so from me?
I do have some small understanding of this, it's just I'm unfamiliar with the terminology.
I think if you’re running computer audio with the aid of, or through a net connected laptop or PC everyone should learn about this stuff, and laptop and PC grounding.
Anything other than processes directly related to getting data from disc to Dac are potentially detrimental to audio quality imo.
As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, getting quality audio out of a computer is not nearly so straightforward as it seems.
I’ve come across people using some fairly expensive Dacs running through kmixer/and or the audio stack relevant to their OS………and net related process going full tilt. it’s not going to sound good like this :doh:
"You can point many fingers at Linux, but cross platform is just what it does do well. MS have a history of changing networking standards to keep the system locked to MS."
Hmm, I don’t agree Nick…..or at least I have some reservations.
Yes a lot of Windows apps can be run through Wine for example but I have a number of apps to do with mathematics, speaker building, audio measurement that try as I might I cant get Ubuntu for example to run.
I have yet to find anything I cant get to run with Windows.
Yep, but what you are saying is that cross platform means runs windows apps, obviously windows apps run on windows, and less of them run under other OS's. Turning that around and trying to get Windows to run apps from other OS's is impossible unless you use a VM environment in which case you are running the other OS anyway.
What I thought you meant by cross platform was network protocols, running across a mixed platform of OS's, say Windows, OSX, Linux and just for fun VMS.
The other way of reading cross platform was hardware wise, and again, Windows is way down, AFAIK at the moment its only x86 and ia64, the alpha and mips NT ports went long ago, whereas Linux will run on just about any 32 platform, and some 16 bit ones.
Ali Tait
22-02-2011, 10:24
Aye but I'm not doing that, I only use the laptop to rip music. The drobo is connected directly to the Touch.
I am starting to get buffering issues though, because of the size of my flac collection and the limited processing power of the Touch, so I am looking at using an old laptop which I have flattened and reloaded XP on, which I want to use purely as a server to run Squeezecenter. Any advice on the best way to do this?
Yep, that’s fair enough Nick. Plus, I’m not too clever with Linux so there may well be ways to get the apps running; I just don’t know how.
Took me long enough to get a grip on XP :eyebrows:
Hey Ali.
Erm , not really mate coz I know bugger all about the touch so I don’t know what it needs from the computer.
I would recommend dissecting an Ethernet cable so the data transfer wires are disconnected but the ground wire stills connects to the router which is plugged into the mains ground….usual ground rules applying etc. Most laptops are NOT mains grounded.
Other than that it’s a matter of stripping out all the unnecessary programs.
Service pack 3 for XP has if my memory serves me has USB driver enhancements so get that and all the updates on before you start ripping stuff out.
Winaudit is handy programs (free) for discovering what is active and what the dependencies are.
I don’t use an anti virus on my laptop music server or a fire wall on the laptop. Instead I do as Martin mentioned and firewall my router. I like internet radio access otherwise I wouldn’t bother with live net connection at all.
I made a lot of mistakes ripping stuff out (not an expert by any means) and totally stuffed the lappy a few times. It really is a matter of trying things out and a lot of research.
There are bits on the net about what you can safely rip out but you take a chance every time you edit the registry which is how I went about it in the end.
At least with the touch you don’t have to worry bout this bit perfect at any res bollocks.
A linear power supply can help but you’ll lose the battery charging capability and power management…..well I have anyway.
All that loads at startup on my laptop are essential system processes (?) well the ones I can’t seem to stop without crashing.
I have CCCleaner lite, Tweak UI, Foobar2000, ASIO4all, Media Player Classic+ codec pack=reclock installed and that’s it.
I have one port open that allows me to connect to Radio Paradise and a couple of other net stations.
System restore off, but a partition with crash rescue stuff on.
I have a separate partition for foobar and asio….nothing else in it.
I don’t get drop outs, pops and clicks.
It took me about two months of intermittent fiddling to get it all to work as I wanted
(should have kept a log of what I did really)
I hope you don't think I am picking on you Welder, but:
I would recommend dissecting an Ethernet cable so the data transfer wires are disconnected but the ground wire stills connects to the router which is plugged into the mains ground….usual ground rules applying etc. Most laptops are NOT mains grounded.
There isnt a "ground wire" in a rj45 ethernet connection, its just balanced pairs.
http://www.ertyu.org/steven_nikkel/ethernetcables.html
EDIT: But you can get isolators.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_isolator
Ah, i stand corrected then. If I'm wrong better off knowing.
I wonder why I get less noise through my headphone laptop-dac-headphone amp with an ethernet cable connected :scratch:
I had assumed i was earthing the laptop in some way.
Ah, i stand corrected then. If I'm wrong better off knowing.
I wonder why I get less noise through my headphone laptop-dac-headphone amp with an ethernet cable connected :scratch:
I had assumed i was earthing the laptop in some way.
I guess you will have been, any of the data wires would have created a reference between the two boxes. I was just worried that folk may go and look for the "ground wire" in a cat5 cable.
Ah well, I’m no expert. It seems to work whatever is happening :)
Any ideas for grounding a laptop in a better manner?
Ah well, I’m no expert. It seems to work whatever is happening :)
Any ideas for grounding a laptop in a better manner?
GND pin on RS232 connector if there is one?
I'm a PC :)
(but I do use Linux now and again)
Win7 Pro 64bit primary, 32bit on the Netbook. I also use XP and Ubuntu at work. NOD32 A/V and that's about it really... oh, Firefox user for many years now.
Ali Tait
22-02-2011, 18:28
Hey Ali.
Erm , not really mate coz I know bugger all about the touch so I don’t know what it needs from the computer.
I would recommend dissecting an Ethernet cable so the data transfer wires are disconnected but the ground wire stills connects to the router which is plugged into the mains ground….usual ground rules applying etc. Most laptops are NOT mains grounded.
Other than that it’s a matter of stripping out all the unnecessary programs.
Service pack 3 for XP has if my memory serves me has USB driver enhancements so get that and all the updates on before you start ripping stuff out.
Winaudit is handy programs (free) for discovering what is active and what the dependencies are.
I don’t use an anti virus on my laptop music server or a fire wall on the laptop. Instead I do as Martin mentioned and firewall my router. I like internet radio access otherwise I wouldn’t bother with live net connection at all.
I made a lot of mistakes ripping stuff out (not an expert by any means) and totally stuffed the lappy a few times. It really is a matter of trying things out and a lot of research.
There are bits on the net about what you can safely rip out but you take a chance every time you edit the registry which is how I went about it in the end.
At least with the touch you don’t have to worry bout this bit perfect at any res bollocks.
A linear power supply can help but you’ll lose the battery charging capability and power management…..well I have anyway.
All that loads at startup on my laptop are essential system processes (?) well the ones I can’t seem to stop without crashing.
I have CCCleaner lite, Tweak UI, Foobar2000, ASIO4all, Media Player Classic+ codec pack=reclock installed and that’s it.
I have one port open that allows me to connect to Radio Paradise and a couple of other net stations.
System restore off, but a partition with crash rescue stuff on.
I have a separate partition for foobar and asio….nothing else in it.
I don’t get drop outs, pops and clicks.
It took me about two months of intermittent fiddling to get it all to work as I wanted
(should have kept a log of what I did really)
Thanks for the help mate. I'll hopefully have Gary (who's an IT bod) coming over when I set the network up, so at least I'll have someone there that knows what he's doing!
Mac OS X Snow Leopard running all sweetly on my 4 1/2 year old iMac 20" which altogether runs everything I do beautifully, music production, photoshop, Cisco emulation.
Better late than never:
PC1: Mulitboot using a separate GRUB partition and chain loading,
Win7 + sp1, with win XP + sp3 in a Virtual Machine (all 32 bit).
Firefox 4 and Opera
PCLinuxOS (kernel 2.6.38.4)
Firefox 4 and Opera
Aptosid 64bit (based on Debian unstable, kernel 2.6.38.4)
Iceweasel, Opera and Chromium 12.0.735.0 Debian Unstable
Voyage MPD in a Virtual machine.
PC2: Debian stable. Runs headless, was used as a router and with shorewall firewall plus file and printer sharing. Now just switched on for file backups.
Laptop (not mine): WinXP + sp2
Firefox 4.
The very idea of using an OS with 'unstable' in its title :lol:
The very idea of using an OS with 'unstable' in its title :lol:
Well, at least it's not Debian experimental.
Aptosid (previously sidux) may be based on Debian unstable but it's been pretty stable for me as long as you avoid doing dist-upgrades will-nilly & check the forum "upgrade warnings". Add a few additional repositories and you get the latest chromium builds for example. On the other hand if you hanker after the latest Kde 4.6.3 you'll be kept wating until it enters Debian unstable. I settled on it just as an easy to use 64bit distro with the latest versions of popular packages. But you'd not necessarily use it in a production environment.
Is Aptosid a 64bit op and can it support itunes?
I have been looking for a win 7 replacement that works with linux programs,open office and will support itunes.
Is Aptosid a 64bit op and can it support itunes?
I have been looking for a win 7 replacement that works with linux programs,open office and will support itunes.
Jeff,
aptosid is just one variety of linux and comes in both 64bit and 32bit versions. But itunes and Linux don't mix, AFAIK you'd either have to run itunes under wine or in a virtual machine with windows/osx. Otherwise, it means you'd have to ditch itunes and look for a linux alternative. Here's a short, but not exhaustive, list of possibles:
http://gmusicbrowser.org/
http://www.clementine-player.org/
http://deadbeef.sourceforge.net/
http://banshee.fm/
http://www.foobnix.com/news/eng ( http://debian-bits-and-snips.blogspot.com/2010/11/foobnix-player.html )
http://www.listen-project.org/
http://debian-bits-and-snips.blogspot.com/2010/11/run-spotify-with-wine.html
Steps to run itunes under wine can be found by googling, it will be something like this:
http://www.mikesubuntu.com/2007/10/itunes-great-with-wine-yep-its-true/
http://www.jonathanmoeller.com/screed/?p=1647
It may not be 100% fully functional.
spendorman
16-05-2011, 07:55
Jeff,
aptosid is just one variety of linux and comes in both 64bit and 32bit versions. But itunes and Linux don't mix, AFAIK you'd either have to run itunes under wine or in a virtual machine with windows/osx. Otherwise, it means you'd have to ditch itunes and look for a linux alternative. Here's a short, but not exhaustive, list of possibles:
http://gmusicbrowser.org/
http://www.clementine-player.org/
http://deadbeef.sourceforge.net/
http://banshee.fm/
http://www.foobnix.com/news/eng ( http://debian-bits-and-snips.blogspot.com/2010/11/foobnix-player.html )
http://www.listen-project.org/
http://debian-bits-and-snips.blogspot.com/2010/11/run-spotify-with-wine.html
Steps to run itunes under wine can be found by googling, it will be something like this:
http://www.mikesubuntu.com/2007/10/itunes-great-with-wine-yep-its-true/
http://www.jonathanmoeller.com/screed/?p=1647
It may not be 100% fully functional.
Never used itunes, but run plenty of Windows programs in Linux by using Wine program, most times Wine works very well.
Reid Malenfant
30-05-2011, 16:57
I decided to take up MartinT advice & download/install SP3 for Windoze XP...
I started off with 61% of a 17.5Gb HDD free :) By the time everything had finished messing me about i discover i now have 52% free :eek:
Honestly it made me laugh, first up it downloaded SP3... Restart & off we go.. Windoze tells me it has 46 updates, i take a look & download them, install & restart once again :rolleyes: Up she comes & all looks good, but what's this? Yet another bloody update that requires downloading & installing...
After the last restart it hasn't tried it's luck again :lolsign:
I'm assuming that most of that cobblers taking up nearly 2Gb of space is going to be eliminated within a day or two. After all SP3 was only 66Mb :eyebrows:
All appears to be running as it should, no crashes or other bizarre behavior..
Cheers Martin :cool:
The additional updates are most likely because of dependencies... so nothing strange about that as such.
CCleaner can remove some of the backedup files from the update. I cant see the option on Win7, but most likely it is under Cleaner\Advanced
Mark - in the Windows folder, you can safely delete all the blue compressed update folders except the $hsperf (??) one. This will recover space used by updates, as long as you never want to reverse them. I delete them all as I don't go backwards once I'm happy that all is stable.
Also, delete the contents of the windows\temp folder.
You should see the shenanigans with W7 SP1! Multiple new updates and restarts :eek:
Reid Malenfant
30-05-2011, 19:16
Mark - in the Windows folder
Wossat & how do i find it? :)
Ta in advance :cool:
If you installed to c: drive, it's the c:\windows folder (directory).
Reid Malenfant
30-05-2011, 19:35
Cheers Martin :cool:
Cheers Martin :cool:
You could also try a 'disk cleanup', and select all the options...
Start/programs/accessories/system tools/disk cleanup
...that should also get rid of unnecessary temp installation files, along with any other chaff :)
Reid Malenfant
31-05-2011, 17:42
You know how the governbent are getting nutritionist to try & make you eat your 5 a day ;) Well the PC went on this morning & i'll be stuffed if i didn't have another 45 updates to download :doh:
Good point Will, i'll give that a shuffle :)
You know how the governbent are getting nutritionist to try & make you eat your 5 a day ;) Well the PC went on this morning & i'll be stuffed if i didn't have another 45 updates to download :doh:
Happens! I updated a W7 machine the other day with 81 updates. It's best to keep them trickling in regularly.
i'll be stuffed if i didn't have another 45 updates to download :doh:
Good point Will, i'll give that a shuffle :)
That'll slow to a trickle soon Mark, when you do a major upgrade like a service pack, especially an old one, you will get updates for updates for awhile, it will settle down ..... honest ;)
I still have XP on some of my machines at work, as I have to run multiple platforms and the XP one ticks over with the odd update every now and then.
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