Which Windows?

I once did the above and it was less than 5 mins! I was gob smacked.
 
I'm pondering pulling the trigger on a Dell Venue Pro 8 at the moment. Low spec, but an 8" portable with full Windows 8.1 and a digitiser pen interface. I could (somewhat slowly and with limited speed and storage) run Lightroom and PS in the field with it in my pocket or use it for tethered shooting...all for under 180 quid.
 
Clover Trail or Bay Trail? Wouldn't go for Clover Trail last gen atoms tbh, too slow. The new gens are much more competent, check out the T100.

Edit : I see it is Bay Trail, not a bad option for the money then....should cope with a little LR/PS. I managed LR on a Samsung NC10!
 
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Anthony.Ralph said:
With Win 8.1 a PC can be booted straight to the desktop; no need to see the garish squares.

Anthony.
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Still no start menu though.

ANyway.... Start8.. nuff said.
 
Well, not getting the venue pro. We had an offer thru work to buy one for 99 quid but I was too late!
 
landwomble said:
Well, you might not think that. However there will be zero patches or security updates for it, and it's highly likely that all the virus and malware authors will have been saving up their exploits for post 14th April so MS doesn't release a patch for them. So on the 15th April you are going to be absolutely open season to anyone and everyone. If you're connected to the internet this is madness and you *will* get hacked...

As a real-world example, with XP, just before SP1 was released which included automatic firewall turned on by default, if you did a clean install of XP on an internet-connected PC, you could expect to be exploited within about 7 minutes from finishing installation at one point...
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Yeah, but that's assuming the computer is plugged into the Internet. My 98 hadn't been connected to the Internet for a few years as it was a dial-up, my XP machine is not plugged into the Internet as my Internet services stopped when BT closed down the dial-up. The only things I upload to the XP are my photos form my cameras.

For those who use the XP as a stand alone, no longer connected to the Internet, the XP will work fine for a few more years just like my 98 did. Do everyone thinks that everyone who have Windows XP must be connected to the Internet and after next April, it will be open season, don't anyone ever consider there are people who don't really want the Internet and their computers are not connected?

Of course most of the XP will be screwed up after April when it's open season for hackers and such, but there will be some who may use the XP not connected to the Internet, so I'm sure some of the those would still soldier on for a bit.
 
A few years back for a laugh I made a vanilla XP install and connected it sans prophylactics to the internet.

It had all manner of nasties within 15 mins toolbars, scareware, spambots :)

You're not safe with no internet connection btw. Some of the most advanced crop of current malware spreads though USB sticks and more than likely SD/CF cards even through MTP.
 
Obviously you can use a machine airgapped from the world (also assuming you don't use USB drives, CDROMs etc). That's obvious. However the more significant risk is that the vast majority of users don't fit this use case and are at significant risk. Your choice, just make sure its an informed one...
 
How did we get on topic of Windows 98 lol, Lightroom hasn't supported XP in years so in one way or another you will upgrade as the software you want to use will not work on older windows versions. You may be safe for a couple of years, but the clock is indeed ticking

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Talk Photography Forums mobile app
 
if you did a clean install of XP on an internet-connected PC, you could expect to be exploited within about 7 minutes from finishing installation at one point...
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Wasn't that proved to be an urban myth?

Just because Microsoft is going to stop support for XP in April, I don't think it means XP will "die".
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I'll have XP still installed (on a separate drive in my PC) after April 2014. This is because I own a film scanner that has no manufacturer supplied drivers for Win 7 or Win 8.
 
I object to a $5 tax for every PC I want to run Win 8 on. It should be fixed by Microsoft
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No, it's not, pre sp1 XP was from an era before broadband internet and the rate of exploits and no default firewall made it quote vulnerable. For the guy with a negative scanner, try installing it in compatibility mode? PS late disclaimer: I work for Microsoft.
 
There are 2 people on this thread who have experience of it.
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Wow, sounds like any XP pc connected to the internet will be a part of botnet post April 2014.

For the guy with a negative scanner, try installing it in compatibility mode? PS late disclaimer: I work for Microsoft.
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Compatibility mode won't work as only 32bit XP drivers are available from the scanner manufacture. My main OS is Win8.1 64bit.
I will be installing XP on a separate hdd and it will have all network\internet connectivity disabled.
 
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Unless you're buying a machine with a touchscreen, Windows 8 offers nothing.
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except increased speed
better power management
better security oob

If a UI works well for touches, it stands to reason it doesn't work well for a mouse, and vice versa
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That like saying wearing training shoes makes walking on carpet difficult as they are designed to be used on a running track, your logic is seriously flawed mate.

Wow I worked out how to use Windows 8 little difficulties and I'm in my fifties.

To open an application using Win 8 start menu with touch screen, scroll to your required icon and momentarily touch with finger (any finger will do)
To open an application using Win 8 start menu with desktop or laptop without a touch screen, scroll to your required icon and momentarily press left mouse button.

I know the above instruction maybe difficult for people of a certain age but persevere and you will get the have of it eventually.
 
Phil V said:
Unless you're buying a machine with a touchscreen, Windows 8 offers nothing.

Win 7 every time for me.
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That is what you call - Hitting the Nail on the Head

I would totally agree.... Win 7 in my opinion was by far the best version of Windows yet
 
There's no doubt that straight out of the box Win 8/8.1 presents a different interface to the user but I think its unreasonable to assume that it offers nothing if you don't have a touchscreen. Win8.1 did address some minor issues - personally I think the lack of the old fashioned Start Menu wasn't an issue.

Of course we all have our own comfort zone and when something different comes along and takes us out of this, then there is a certain reluctance to adopt new methods and consequently we may think change is bad.

In my opinion Win 8.1 is the best desktop OS from MS to date - even without a touchscreen - but then I've had or used every version of Windows with the exception of ME. You can tailor Win 8.1 to look and feel similar to previous versions without too much effort. You can boot to the conventional Desktop, you can have your programs on the Quick Launch Task Bar or Desktop and you can have a Start Menu although it looks different - but it is very easy to switch between this and the desktop. Since you can easily customise the Start Menu I find it easier to use on the very few occasions I need to.

To me the most important thing about a Desktop OS is that it's just a way of managing peripherals and files and allowing programs of your choice to run and Win 8.1 will allow all that and as far as I can tell more efficiently than previous versions.

Now to be fair although I have PCs with Win 7 on them, my main workstation was Vista which needed to be updated to make use of Lightroom 5. The choice was either Win 7 or 8 and I chose Win 8. If I'd had Win7 I probably wouldn't have bothered - which is not to say that Win7 is better than Win8, just that there would have been no need to update. So far I haven't been disappointed with Win 8 and would recommend it to anyone thinking of upgrading - but do check your program and hardware compatibility.

Pays your money etc etc...

Colin
 
Just bought a new PC purely for my photography so wanted something to replace my old desktop for general messing about. As it won't get a huge amount of use decided to go for a laptop. I'm a big Windows 7 fan and every time I walked into currys I would have a play with Windows 8 and every time walk away thinking what a piece of junk. It just seemed awkward.

Anyway bought a laptop with Windows 8.1. Bit of reading up and a few minutes getting it to boot to the desktop instead of the metro and configuring the power switch as a shutdown button and a few other odds and ends and I now really quite like it. It's not a touch screen either just using a USB mouse.
 
And peace and tranquility is about to be restored ;)
 
FYI, Windows XP won't suddenly die. If you have up to date firewall, spyware and most importantly, a good av, you will be fine.
 
Except for you won't be able to use recent software, quite a big problem!
 
mejinks said:
FYI, Windows XP won't suddenly die. If you have up to date firewall, spyware and most importantly, a good av, you will be fine.
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I wouldn't count on it for long.....the longer it goes unpatched the more holes will be found. I would recommend everyone upgrade to 7 at least by the end of 2013 if you value your machine and files.

As mentioned previously software and hardware makers will stop supporting the platform as well (many already have)
 
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Firewall etc won't help. Look at the number of critical security patches released over the last year for windows, IE etc. You WILL be vulnerable. You've had years to move to a newer OS, now is the time to do so.
 
landwomble said:
Firewall etc won't help. Look at the number of critical security patches released over the last year for windows, IE etc. You WILL be vulnerable. You've had years to move to a newer OS, now is the time to do so.
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I have always thought the billions of urgent, must update, your thing will fall off if you don't patches was just a way of MS justifying their expensive OS :mad:

Oh and to keep an eye on the peasants too!
 
It won't die, but it is becoming retired and now incompatible with leading software. Its a choice, if you don't want or need to run the latest software then you may be OK in the short-term
 
Your choice. Think you're misguided though. We've supported XP for nearly 13 years, an extra 3 than our normal 10 year support cycle. Take whatever risk you wish with your own machines but please don't encourage others with the assurance that it'll be just fine.
 
And how do you brand windows as expensive? Just out of curiosity, and compared to what?
 
I hate change and am no expert but for me it's no brainer. Your buying a new machine so get the latest windows.Nothings perfect. You will get used to it. I'm only a home user eg. internet, Photoshop (Daily) word excel emails. On Windows 8 :-)

Gaz
 
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landwomble said:
Your choice. Think you're misguided though. We've supported XP for nearly 13 years, an extra 3 than our normal 10 year support cycle. Take whatever risk you wish with your own machines but please don't encourage others with the assurance that it'll be just fine.
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Did you know that the large majority of cash machines run on Windows NT 3.51? Do you know how many webservers out there run on Windows Server 2003? They haven't exploded or stopped working. The issue is that MS won't release further patches for XP, so a new exploit could come out that could cripple your machine. By the same token, an exploit could be written for Windows 8 right now and it would still take time for Microsoft to patch it.

My stance is that home users should consider upgrading now when the opportunity arises instead of rushing out and installing a new OS. My feeling is that Windows 7 will become the new XP or Windows 8.2 will as rumours suggest bring back the old features such as start bar and desktop.
 
I must be one of the few that thought that the start bar was never a good mechanism when there were lots of programs, I find it hideous to use now when I have to use an older PC, how things change...
 
Some irresponsible advice being given, especially on a photography site where a compromised PC can cost valued memories.

ATMs, web servers etc are static machines running single, secure, maintained applications either on strictly locked down private networks or at least behind layers of security, and maintained by experienced IT professionals. Windows NT/XP embedded support extends far beyond desktop versions and the companies running them pay microsoft to provide continued support and critical exploit fixes.

Home users should never use an unsupported OS. Period.
 
Yes, I work for Microsoft and assist a $50 billion pa revenue customer company with their infrastructure. I've also a history of implementing Windows machines to manage patient dosing and vital signs capture for clinical trials. I am utterly aware if how to maintain High criticality, airgapped solutions. None of these scenarios apply to home users on XP. Cheers.
 
mejinks said:
Did you know that the large majority of cash machines run on Windows NT 3.51? Do you know how many webservers out there run on Windows Server 2003? They haven't exploded or stopped working. The issue is that MS won't release further patches for XP, so a new exploit could come out that could cripple your machine. By the same token, an exploit could be written for Windows 8 right now and it would still take time for Microsoft to patch it.

My stance is that home users should consider upgrading now when the opportunity arises instead of rushing out and installing a new OS. My feeling is that Windows 7 will become the new XP or Windows 8.2 will as rumours suggest bring back the old features such as start bar and desktop.
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As said ATMs will be on a locked down network and not publicly accessible.

And you know about lockdown tools for IIS don't you...
 
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