Define "usable".
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Define "usable".
us·a·ble also use·a·ble ( P ) Pronunciation Key (yz-bl)Quote:
Originally Posted by Dr Unne
adj.
That can be used: usable byproducts.
Fit for use; convenient to use: usable spare parts.
WinME = The extreme of a usable OS.
Fit for use; convenient to use.
No version of Windows fits that description.
Quote:
Originally Posted by RSL
Don't feed it cookies.
And actually, yeah, you are mistreating it in a number of ways.
1) No or inadequate firewall
2) No or inadequate antivirus protection
3) No or inadequate use of Windows Update
And possibly:
4) Opening of email attachments without adequate verification of authenticity
5) Use of Outlook Express
A router is an adequate firewall even if you don't spend any time configuring it. XPee's built-in Internet Connection firewall is inadequate, as is ZoneAlarm, which causes more problems than it fixes.
Norton Antivirus or AVG is adequate antivirus protection if you have automatic updates turned on. McAffee is not. Yes, it was, once, but those days are gone. Network Associates dropped the ball. Symantec hasn't so far, and AVG's actually better in a lot of ways than Norton--being free, for example.
Windows update: Update early. Update often. Turn on automatic updates.
I see virus/worm alerts left, right, and center, and I just laugh. MyDoom? Sasser? RPC? What's all that crap? The only reason I even know it exists is because there are users out there who don't take even the simplest of precautions, and then act surprised when they get infected. I turn on my monitor every morning to see that nice comforting row of red zeroes that says that nothing even made it far enough to hit my antivirus scanner.
People who spew hate at XP just do it because they don't know how to use the OS. One would spew hate at a table saw, too, if one cut off a thumb or, say, genitals, but the fact is the table saw is only intended to cut, it's not intended to be mommy and daddy. You put wood on, the saw cuts it. You put body parts on, the saw cuts those, too. When you do something really stupid, Windows will usually come up with a little dialog box that says "Hey, man, are you really sure you want to stick your finger in there?" The saw just cuts it off.
Switch to Linux? Go ahead! Chances are, you don't know how to use that, either. Have a blast! You think it's hard to learn to do things in Windows? You're going to love the command prompt, especially if you can't spell--and this means 80-90% of the EoFF audience. Also especially fun is the no-prompts Linux philosophy--Made for power users who know what they're doing. It's great if you know that you don't really want to cat /dev/zero > /dev/hda0, but what if you're some newbie who can't even master the use of "their" versus "there," and doesn't know which witch is which? You tell Linux to rape your partition table, it just rapes away, without the Microsoft prompt that says "Hey, man, that's really *arf*ing dumb. Are you sure you want to do it?"
But I like Outlook Express :(
Don't go Linux then.
As a general rule:
If you're a system administrator or network professional, use Linux--for your own computer. At work, you'll still be supporting Windows servers, of course, but you'll be happier running Linux at home.
If you're a user, stay the *arf* away from anything other than XP.
Win 2k was great... A lot better than XP. I miss my 2k machine.
:cry:
Bleys, that's why everyone who can't use Linux should get a Mac. :)
One would spew hate at a table saw, too, if one cut off a thumb or, say, genitals, but the fact is the table saw is only intended to cut, it's not intended to be mommy and daddy. --Bleys
In Windows' case, you need to remove the parts of the saw that come broken or defective out of the box, ignore some of the parts that work but are too dangerous to use, build a solid steel barrier around the saw to protect you from random breakages and shrapnel, disable the remote-control "features" which lets anyone in the world start your saw from their own living room, and replace the saw every 2 years with a saw that's exactly the same, but a different color, and incompatible with your old saw. In the case of Linux, the saw has a million buttons, but as long as you don't press the one of the ones called "self-destruct" it won't. In the case of Mac, the saw is easy to use, but costs $3500 and people will make fun of you for buying one.
BillyBob McAverageuser doesn't understand what a "firewall" does either, or how to tell a virus email from a good email; if it says it's from BillyBob Jr., why not open it? If Windows comes with IE and OE, why not use those? If Windows comes with a firewall, why should someone pay for a different one? When one of Windows patches randomly breaks something on his computer, he's going to be just as lost as if he gets a kernel panic in Linux. When he starts getting random BSoD's, what's he going to do? When a virus gets right past his AV, then what? If you're smart enough to use XP without having it meltdown, I think you're just about smart enough to use, say, Mandrake or Lindows or some newbie-Linux, and you're more than smart enough to use a Mac.
Bad thing about Linux: Everything is complicated. Bad thing about Windows: Many things are complicated, but everything LOOKS easy.
I agree. It messed up my computer, and when I took it out, my computer was completely fine.Quote:
A router is an adequate firewall even if you don't spend any time configuring it. XPee's built-in Internet Connection firewall is inadequate, as is ZoneAlarm, which causes more problems than it fixes.
Dr Unne, you really don't undersand. Windows is the operating system. Why don't you go around town and ask people about Linux? Chances are a large percentage won't even know what it is. How do you expect it to be easier for people to use it? You learn what is given to you, and the majority of the time for most people that is Windows. You can't just tell people some thing is easier, the fact of the matter is Windows would be easier because of the fact that they used Windows first. I don't use Linux much because it would mean not being able to play a lot of games. I could set it up to have both operating systems, but then I'd have to be learning two different operating systems. I'm not going to say that Windows is better than Linux. I like Linux, but every thing I use is on Windows. Maybe in the future, when more things are developed for Linux, I will switch to it completely. But right now, no one I know uses it, none of the games I play are compatible with it and I have to fiddle with it just to make it like what I am use to in Windows.
Thanks for the awesome lecture, Bleys.
I agree. I think that instead of making an OS that has a billion and a half Bells and Whistles. Microsoft needs to quit having the Queer Eye for the Straight Guy designers to point out ways for an OS to look "chique" with the 3D GUI interface that is really unessesary, and just make there OS come with a stronger built in Firewall. It'll make the OS cost about 20 bucks extra but it'll be worth it. I just got cable recently and I'm about 20 times more concerned about my web security then I did when I had 56k, so I just downloaded Zonealarm because it's all I can afford.
You learn what is given to you, and the majority of the time for most people that is Windows. --ZeZipster
This is what most people do, yes. And those people get what they deserve: shoddy products. Being an informed consumer is a good thing. If you mindlessly buy whatever anyone puts in front of you, then you will be taken advantage of.
Joel, Bleys is right, buy a hardware router. They're like $25, and far superior to any software firewall. Plus they let you have a home network.
Bleys, that's why everyone who can't use Linux should get a Mac. - Unne
Number of times I've had a Mac crash on me: Roughly 1000.
Number of times I've used a Mac: Roughly 1050.
Number of times I've had XP crash on me: Roughly twice.
Number of times I've used XP: Well, everyday, 24/7, really.
Unne, if everyone here used Linux, I can almost guarantee you'd have to deal with about 1,000 times the help requests you get right now at EoFF. Well, you wouldn't HAVE to deal with them, but you, being the person who told them to use Linux, should.
I agree with everything Bleys said. If Linux ran all my programs and I was capable of using it, I'd use Linux. Unfortunately, those two negatives (it can't run all the programs I use and I don't know the programming language of Linux) outweigh the positives. Especially given the fact that I've hardly ever had a single problem with XP in over 1.5 years of running it 24/7.