Windows 8

[Big Boy]

You aren't, but the way I read it, your link was.

[hhfarang]

http://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonkelly ... r=yahootix

Well, I've made my decision. I just don't trust Microsoft any longer and refuse to give them any more of my hard earned cash. I am going to unplug (from the internet) my XP Pro desktop and just use it for offline apps and storage of photos, music, etc. I will buy an Apple product to use for the internet, and any sensitive personal stuff!

If I decide later to put my desktop back on the internet, I will install a (free) Unix based OS dual boot on it!

[Pleng]

I just don't trust Microsoft any longer

I will buy an Apple product to use for the internet

Let me know how that works out for you. I'll be interested to see if said Apple product gets anywhere near the 13+ years of OS updates you enjoyed with XP....

[hhfarang]

It won't matter, hackers and viruses rarely target an Apple OS because it is based on Unix.

I only used XP for about the last 5 years, before that I was using Windows ME (another stunning winner of an OS from Microsoft!)...

[buksida]

It won't matter, hackers and viruses rarely target an Apple OS because it is based on Unix.

Straight from the Apple Inc marketing brochure!

[adammike]

its easy to download wubi (Ubuntu) I use it on my Sony laptop ,as I can only upgrade from vista to 8 and not do a clean install ,and just use windows the odd time when there is no alternative,as long as you have a couple of GB spare anybody can do it
and its free and can get you started with Linux.

[hhfarang]

^ I did that very thing all day today. I am at the moment happily using Ubuntu and it seems to work just fine. No more money to Microsoft from me.

[richard]

^ I did that very thing all day today. I am at the moment happily using Ubuntu and it seems to work just fine. No more money to Microsoft from me.

Don't Microsoft own a big chunk of Apple?

[hhfarang]

BTW, be aware XP users: I never had a serious problem with XP before that running a few antivirus or mallware programs wouldn't cure or by asking a question on here or the internet that was solved quickly. A couple of days ago, about a week after support stopped for XP, I turned on the computer and got the blue screen of death... actually I got my desktop wallpaper but no icons. After a while I finally got the task manager to come up and process were totally idle... no explorer. I tried for a day and a half to debug the problem. I went into safe mode and ran all the anti virus and mallware stuff to no avail. I kept trying and once I got the desktop to come up but immediately got a message from MS security essentials that it was turned off. I turned it on and something immediately turned it off again. I tried to install Avast and something prevented it from installing.

Finally I gave up and, at least temporarilly until I can decide my next course of action installed Ubuntu so that I could use the internet and check mail, etc. As MS warned, XP is no longer safe to use online.

[m_right]

Another reason to dump Windows 8:
China Bans Windows 8 From Government Computers After Leaked Warning By Germany About Backdoor To The NSA

http://www.zerohedge.com/contributed/20 ... any-about-

[dtaai-maai]

Interesting, though a tad self-congratulatory.

Turns out, Windows 8 with TPM 2.0 allows Microsoft to control the computer remotely through a built-in backdoor. Keys to that backdoor are likely accessible to the NSA.

Called ironically “Trusted Computing,” the backdoor was developed by the Trusted Computing Group, founded by AMD, Cisco, HP, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, and Wave Systems. At its core is a chip, the Trusted Platform Module (TPM), that works with Windows. Its purpose is Digital Rights Management and computer security. The system decides what software was legally obtained and allows it to run; and it disables other software, such as bootlegged copies or viruses. The process is governed by Windows, and through remote access, by Microsoft.

What is new about TPM 2.0 is that it’s activated by default when the computer boots up. The user cannot turn it off. Microsoft decides what software can run on the computer, and the user cannot influence it. Windows governs TPM 2.0. What Microsoft does remotely is not visible to the user. Users of Windows 8 with TPM 2.0 surrender control over their machines the moment they turn it on. And there are indications that Microsoft or chip manufacturers pass the backdoor keys to the NSA and allow it to control those computers

Interesting dilemma. I wonder if bootleg copies of Windows 8 will appear without TPM, if that's possible?

I can understand the need to find some way to enforce copyright, but doing it centrally with remote access to individual computers is a mite too Orwellian to be acceptable.

[buksida]

Microsoft decides what software can run on the computer, and the user cannot influence it.

Erm ... haven't Apple been doing exactly that for years? Cant download or install anything unless it is Apple approved and through iTunes - or unless you hack/crack/jailbreak your own machine.

I'm also pretty sure most of the recent M$ Windows operating systems had back doors in them too, this is just a bit more hyped up because of Snowden's revelations.

[STEVE G]

I think both Apple and MS are in for a hard time as far as the home computer market is concerned. The reason I mention that is because I was planning on buying a computer while I was out here but I've come to realise that I don't need one anymore, I can do everything I need to with either my android tablet or my Smart TV.

[hhfarang]

Here you go, 8 is so bad they are replacing it faster than usual...

http://www.valuewalk.com/2014/05/window ... -of-fixes/

[J.J.B.]

Microsoft decides what software can run on the computer, and the user cannot influence it.

Erm ... haven't Apple been doing exactly that for years? Cant download or install anything unless it is Apple approved and through iTunes - or unless you hack/crack/jailbreak your own machine.

This is not the case, Buksi, you can download and install what you want but recent versions of OS X (from around 10.6 if I recall) pop-up a warning for anything that hasn't been through the 'approved' App Store route. It's a simple case of clicking the 'install software' button, which is already highlighted in this window. Most of my software falls into this category and a lot of it is mainstream stuff but there's no need to 'hack/crack/jailbreak' anything.

It would seem that Apple is changing its business model regarding upgrades since the last iteration of OS X (Mavericks - 10.9) was completely free. Of course, as with Windows 8, you can't run a 64-bit OS on any old machine but Mavericks can be installed on Apple Macs as early as 2007, pretty much when they switched to Intel processors, so even if your hardware refresh cycle is running at seven years you should be OK. There probably aren't many PCs that can make it to seven years in one piece...