For those of you out there still using Windows I salute you. It is the biggest load of hype there ever was. I have a small Sony Laptop that should be perfect for the boat but having received it with Vista installed - aargh, that did not last long so I tried to down grade it (when I got it to XP - not all the right drivers were available for it so only 2/3rds of it worked.) I then had the opportunity to put Win 7 on it. The best so far but still way too power hungry. One thing a boater needs is a computer that is low powered or invest in a larger battery bank.
So it got forgotten. When on the boat last I tried it again and was frustrated by its slowness so I brought it back and have tried XP again, all the drivers are now available - took a couple of years.... but it is still not right. It appears you (I) have to install the drivers and utilities in a certain way, which I must not have done as I have a warning on startup regarding some software that will not now properly uninstall. Plus I have two unknown system devices under device manager.
I wanted to throw it through the window but Rachel would not let me.
Solution........ Mac
I have gone over 99% at work to Mac and only use my Macbook pro for work with the1% being some Access database stuff. I have parallels that I will use for that 1% when I have to.
So it will have to be my Macbook with me on the boat from now on. It has a 60 w power supply but from a full charge I can get well over 6 hours of use and it is so fast and reliable and nice and reliable and fast and good looking and reliable AND IT IS NOT WINDOZE.
Phew that's better, now bed time - where it that nice tight jacket I wear every now and then !
Nev
I wrote this on the Windoze machine and for some reason it appears in bold. Can't seem to remove the formatting - I recon they know you know ;-)
Edited... to add this
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13 comments:
I use Linux (Ubuntu) at home and on the boat and am perfectly happy with it. At work I am holding out against updating from Windows XP to 7. I don't want to learn all that new stuff!
Sarah,
I have dabbled with it in the past - thanks for the suggestion I might give it another go if for no other reason it might bring the little Sony back to life !
Nev
Bold? It looks small here!
I still can't work out why my experience of the Windows/Mac divide is a polar opposite to yours (and, let it be said, most other users)
I had a Mac book for 18 months (Panther, upgraded to Tiger) - miserable experience, glad to be out of it.
Then I got my Dell/XP laptop, lovely machine, good enough to have painted with roses & castles.
Upgraded to Windows 7, it works even better. Best OS I have ever used.
At WW there are Macs on all editorial desks, and I really dislike mine. I always use my new Dell Studio with Win 7. Far more logical and intuitive. Crashes a bit more, but not much - the Mac just pretends it doesn't crash, that's all.
Why is my experience so different?
Halfie,
I tried to get it right but it seems to have an idea of its own format at the moment !
Andrew,
I think it might be a host issue. Windows goes on many machines of greatly varying capability some with really slow processors and other no doubt like your Dell a fast machine. This gives so many impressions of it.
When the massive amounts of software are added to the mix written in varying ways I think that adds to the potential woes. It does not however get away from the fact I tried a new install and whilst is ran ok it was telling me that bits were missing. Maybe my mac has the same problems it just does not tell me about them (or let me find out about them) One question - how long does your Dell go for on batteries and how long does it take to wake up when you open the lid....? In my experience the latest Mac laptops are excellent in both these areas.
Not so good on games though or mind mapping software !
Take care
Nev
I actually even have Ubuntu on my Acer netbook (which came with Linpus Lite, which did seem rather unstable). I was warned that it might be a bit slow with the full Ubuntu works, but it's certainly acceptable.
Your entire post actually seems to be a link to... er, your blog.
Belle has a Dell and its battery life is 6 or 7 hours. It also wakes up from hibernate in about a minute.
Andy,
I might be off the pace on the latest laptops - I havce had Dells in the past and they were very good then.
Paul,
Just checked and Waterlily is where she should be so no it was not me or waterlily at Swarkstone. There is a Blue Waterlily that is in the area I understand.
Regards
Nev
When windows xp crashes and goes into bsod where would i find the error codes?
Brad...
No expert but a quick google took me here ...
http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=1647&page=1
HTH
Nev
Can connecting another computer to my network influence the connections of the other computers?
I think that adds to the potential woes. It does not however get away from the fact I tried a new install and whilst is ran ok it was telling me that bits were missing.
How to remove or disable safe boot from windows vista?
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