__/ [ [H]omer ] on Tuesday 26 September 2006 20:35 \__
> The Ghost In The Machine wrote:
>
>> I'll have to find it but my understanding is that Vista no longer
>> allows the user to disable the startup sound (!). The derivations
>> are obvious; in order to boot up the computer one might have to
>> watch a 90 second infomercial about something -- and if the Internet
>> is active that infomercial might even be downloadable from the
>> Internet.
I read a couple of days ago (or yesterday) that, due to the public commotion,
an option for removing that sound has been added (in Control Panel, IIRC).
What's funnier is that the almighty sound is apparently unfinished. The
'artist' is said to be working on it, still. It's amazing what Microsoft
puts emphasis on. If only computers could be measures by their artwork and
sound, Microsoft wouldn't have to program after Windows 95. Just experiment
with some new graphics and get a bunch of people with an acoustic guitar.
> What I object to, and this is something that seems almost unique to
> Windows based software, is that there is more and more of an arrogant
> assumption, on the part of developers, that *all* PC must surely be
> connected to the Internet.
>
> Thus, product activation, and other things that require phoning home,
> are hard-wired, and in many cases irrepressible in that software.
True. May I add the Vista's login screen was said to contain ads? I don't
know if the plan has been changed since I last read this.
> Well that's fine and dandy, but I have several boxes here that are
> completely isolated from the big WAN outside called the Internet, and
> I see no reason to change that, for the sake of some stupid poxy
> software registration process, or other such nonsense.
Nanny governments want your data. No connection equates to unmonitored
activity. And you could be a terrorist, you know? The scare factor. The
winner argument. Who would rebel/contend?
>> Wonderful, isn't it, how Microsoft is looking out for the consumer's
>> interests.
>
> I find working with Windows intolerable in certain situations where
> assumptions are being made about a) what you want to do and b) how you
> would like to do it.
Seen it a few hours ago. Every bloody second-level bulletpoint capitalised
again, and again, and again. Sure, this can be disabled, but not trivially
so (PowerPoint). Imagine my reaction when I saw a simple single slides
taking 1.5 hours to create! It was nerve-wrecking (honest confession: maybe
I've just become a neophile though, so I don't like it when time gets
drained/passes on). I could do a whole bunch in the same amount of time with
OpenOffice Impress.
>> </sarcasm>
>>
>> With Linux, I don't have to worry quite as much as to what's running
>> on my 'puter, even if it's not viruses, malware, etc.
>
> Right, and you don't get nagged every five seconds about being "unable
> to connect" either.
Reminds me of all the balloons I saw. Network cannot be reached and some
such... one can truly spot a lot of errors in just 3 hours of staring at
Windows and Office in action.
Best wishes,
Roy
PS - Excuse my rants. It's probably a state of mind/mood that'll soon pass.
--
Roy S. Schestowitz | Useless fact: Sharks are immune to cancer
http://Schestowitz.com | Open Prospects ¦ PGP-Key: 0x74572E8E
Tasks: 150 total, 1 running, 146 sleeping, 0 stopped, 3 zombie
http://iuron.com - knowledge engine, not a search engine
|
|
