Windows 10 . Anybody downloaded it yet?

[BG John]

Come on you modernists !

Did non of you ever have a Spectrum 128K with a tape cassette to load programs and plugged in to a TV ?

I even advanced to a Microdrive later (still got them all somewhere)

Hard Drives totally out of financial reach for most people and the size of a record player at that time.

Spectrum 128k? Massive amounts of memory like that were something to be dreamed of for those of us who had an original Spectrum, bought to replace a ZX81! After spending most of its life plugged into a cassette recorder, it did eventually have a couple of Microdrives attached though.

 

And what's all this about multi Gb hard disks on early PCs? My first one, an Amstrad PC1640, was the single floppy version that I added a 30Mb hard card to, because the biggest Amstrad hard disk was only 20Mb. The first PC with a hard disk I ever used was an IBM XT with a gigantic 5Mb one! The other IBM PC in the office came with two 160Kb floppy drives, later upgraded to a massive 320Kb.

[eastwestdivide]

...taking the Four Yorkshiremen Sketch (Computer Edition) to its inevitable conclusion:

"0s and 1s - luxury. We had to make do with capital O and lower-case L on a typewriter."

Edited March 16, 2016 by eastwestdivide

[Reorte]

Come on you modernists !

Did non of you ever have a Spectrum 128K with a tape cassette to load programs and plugged in to a TV ?

No, just the 32 K BBC B for me. Ah the joy of loading off cassettes. It was only years later (i.e. after I'd got a disc drive) that I discovered that when it went wrong and popped up "Searching - rewind tape" it only meant a little way so it could re-try the block it failed on, rather than start over from scratch.

[beast66606]

...taking the Four Yorkshiremen Sketch (Computer Edition) to its inevitable conclusion:

"0s and 1s - luxury. We had to make do with capital O and lower-case L on a typewriter."

 

Typewriter you say ? luxury ! we 'ad to make do with slate and chalk - and woe betide us if we didn't draw a perfect O

[melmerby]

Remember when the BBC had programs that could be downloaded to your beeb during a "data burst"?

 

Keith

[BG John]

And all this nonsense about smart phones that people seem to run their businesses from nowadays. My first portable computer was the extremely elegant, and rather bulky, Amstrad PPC640!

This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:AmstradPPC640.jpg

[DerekEm8]

Big Whoops

 

I forgot my  ZX 81 that started my home computing (Sorry Mr Sinclair)

Edited March 16, 2016 by DerekEm8

[Joseph_Pestell]

My brother-in-law downloaded Windows 10 last week and promptly had big problems with internet connectivity.

 

Not sure if that is cause and effect or just that broadband provision here is less good than dial-up was 20 years ago.

[RhBBob]

Strange that internet connectivity (BT Unlimited) should be one of my problems as well; even stranger that the in-built Atheros wireless network adaptor has started working again, and the plug-in N*t***r WPS - so reliable before - is constantly failing.  They are obviously speaking to one another since unplugging the non-connected N*t**** device prompts a warning that the internet connectivity has been lost ! 

 

Other problems included the AVG Internet Security and their Pc Tune-up which both had to be reloaded twice; many thanks to the guys in Mumbai.

 

However matters have now settled down; he said confidently 

[PhilJ W]

Chalk and blackboard? we had to cut our fingers and write in blood!

[Horsetan]

Once my home-built PC is finally rebuilt and upgraded after over a decade in service, I think I might push the boat out and go from Win XP to Win 7.....

[beast66606]

I was asked for some DOS commands yesterday so a teacher at my Mrs school could demonstrate the good old days - I realised I am now an antique

[rockershovel]

More reports of Windows users having problems with W10 being aggressively promoted by Microsoft and particularly, trying to install itself due to minor changes in tne permissions settings now allowing this.

[RhBBob]

Other problems included the AVG Internet Security and their Pc Tune-up which both had to be reloaded twice; many thanks to the guys in Mumbai.

 

However matters have now settled down; he said confidently 

 

Completely forgot that the loss of AVG was caused by having to reset the laptop, twice, to a previous restore point.  Still, good practice for the next time, I suppose 

[mezzoman253]

My brother-in-law downloaded Windows 10 last week and promptly had big problems with internet connectivity.

 

Not sure if that is cause and effect or just that broadband provision here is less good than dial-up was 20 years ago.

Google "wifi problems with windows 10 upgrade" and you'll see pages of problems and possible fixes.

 

Seems to be down, mostly, to incompatible drivers. A friend spent days trying to get it to work and gave up and went back to "7".

 

Steering clear of "10" until I need to replace the PC.

 

Rob

[Butler Henderson]

Probably its a case of anyone on Windows 7 making certain they have updated all drivers before installed W10. All 3 of my upgraded to W10 machines have had no problems(*) but then they were all new with the awful W8.

 

*I did have irregular wifi connectivity problems on them under both W8 and W10 but since replacing my router I have had no problems.

[Horsetan]

Unfortunately, my colleague's PC updated itself from 7 to 10, which caused me no end of trouble when I tried to install a USB Wifi adapter this afternoon. PC refused to recognise that adapter had been inserted. Going to look for a W10-specific one tomorrow.

 

My office terminal is still on Win 7, so no problems with installing said adapter.

[brigo]

When I put Windows 10 on my laptop, I found wifi a bit hit and miss, particularly when running on the battery. Discovered that Windows 10 had put the wifi into a low power mode.

 

Right click the "Start" button, select Control Panel > Power Options > Change Plan Settings > Change Advanced Power Settings >

 

Expand the Wireless Adapter Settings > Power Saving Mode, and make sure they are set to Maximum Performance for both battery and plugged in.

 

Brian

 

PS

 

For those who like a quick means to access most of the customization features of windows then "Godmode" still functions in 10.

 

Make a new folder on your desktop or C drive or wherever and name it

 

GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}

 

(Actually you don't have to call it Godmode, it can be anything you like.)

 

More info here http://www.pcworld.com/article/2081124/easily-find-far-flung-customization-options-with-windows-secret-godmode.html

[melmerby]

I was asked for some DOS commands yesterday so a teacher at my Mrs school could demonstrate the good old days - I realised I am now an antique

DOS, DOS?

 

My first bit of computer programming consisted of putting hex values directly into memory locations (or was it pushing beads along a rod? ) and the only display was also in hex!

 

Keith

[chaz]

 

Steering clear of "10" until I need to replace the PC.

 

Rob

 

Precisely my intention Rob. I think my laptop will be about ready to replace about the time MS cuts 7 loose. What are the chances that 10 will be bug free by then? Of course a machine with 10 loaded from new may well be a more stable combination......? 

[beast66606]

DOS, DOS?

 

My first bit of computer programming consisted of putting hex values directly into memory locations (or was it pushing beads along a rod? ) and the only display was also in hex!

 

Keith

Hex ? Luxury I started in octal (seriously)

[Bert Cheese]

I've had windows 10 on the laptop for a good few months now, but its been more trouble than its worth so I'll be reinstalling the original W7 it came with soon.

I have very little need for all the app based features it constantly bombards me with, has lost my printer/scanner/speakers at least twice and now refuses to recognise my Nikon SLR which is pretty much the final straw as far as I'm concerned...my existing photos are all in total disarray too under the new regime for reasons I cannot fathom.

It might be more suitable on a tablet or decent smartphone perhaps, but not for me

[Oldddudders]

It might be more suitable on a tablet or decent smartphone perhaps, but not for me

And I suspect you've hit the nail fair and square. The rise and rise of the tablet and phablet (a larger phone) means Microsoft is anxious to get its wedge of that market, hence the Windows phone, challenging the Apple/Android duopoly. Meanwhile, PCs and laptops are probably not enjoying boom times, but having the same software modules for all means Win 10 looks like a phone set-up. I hate rubbish

Iike MSN, and have no desire for it to be on the front page or anywhere else.

 

I had been a happy PC user for many years, still have a couple of heritage Win 7 desktops and a laptop, but really my iPad mini and Retina iMac get far more use now.

[Horsetan]

I've had windows 10 on the laptop for a good few months now, but its been more trouble than its worth so I'll be reinstalling the original W7 it came with soon.

I have very little need for all the app based features it constantly bombards me with, has lost my printer/scanner/speakers at least twice and now refuses to recognise my Nikon SLR which is pretty much the final straw as far as I'm concerned...my existing photos are all in total disarray too under the new regime for reasons I cannot fathom.

It might be more suitable on a tablet or decent smartphone perhaps, but not for me

Lost all network and WiFi functions when my office terminal decided to convert itself to Windows 10 from Win 7. Apparently there is a command line fix for this but if it doesn't work, I'll have to go back to Win 7 - can't be wasting time on this type of thing.

[rockershovel]

I've switched over to a MacBook Pro wth extremely mixed results, mostly because I use commercial software which isn't available in Mac and I end up using Parallels, a hopeless dogs-breakfast of a shell. I COULD partition the disk and use Windows but there are numerous problems with this, mainly relating to swapping data between the two sides of the disk.

 

Windows 10 is a curse though, if you work in an environment where connections are slow and unreliable, and client servers arbitrarily block whole ranges of things (last year I lost Kindle and the Client server blocked the App Store... ). A colleague lost the use of his laptop completely for about two weeks, due to becoming stuck in a loop involving a failed update. That's totally unacceptable, so much as I dislike Mac, I will soldier on for now.

 

The MacBook Pro is a hopeless piece of junk. It is a misbegotten hybrid lashed together by Apple to take advantage of the disgruntled W7 users who needed a CD drive, which most MacBooks don't have, using a less-than-entirely-functional combination if old and new circuit boards.

 

I'm waiting to see what happens with W7. Microsoft clearly no longer want to serve the "professional engineering" market, but see profits in a grudging accommodation, Mac never DID serve them but see profits, the professional engineering software market doesn't regard either W10 or Mac as something they wish to cater for..