Windows 10 Technical Preview

[Lewis]

New Windows 10 Technical Preview build includes notifications among 7,000 new changes
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2836...s-7000-new-changes-include-notifications.html
The new Action Center in Windows 10, with notiifications.



Windows 10: The votes are pouring in for these 10 features
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2835...-10-features-users-want-microsoft-to-add.html

 

[Lewis]

Hey Tim, so what you think dude ?

 

[tim-from-pa]

Well, it still has a registry, doesn't it? So, some things never change. My computer does not have one so there's no way a wayward or incompatible program can mess up the operating system. The OS has it's own "registry" that apps don't have access to. Each app has it's own configuration setup file.

 

[TOG]

Well, it still has a registry, doesn't it? So, some things never change. My computer does not have one so there's no way a wayward or incompatible program can mess up the operating system. The OS has it's own "registry" that apps don't have access to. Each app has it's own configuration setup file.

I would really like to find out who's idea the Windows registry was, and ask him what in the world he was thinking. In Windows 3.x, there was a text file called win.ini, which contained many settings that Windows had to read and use on startup. The problem with it, which many people complained about, was that every program you installed added a section to it, which made the startup time longer, since Windows had to read through a longer file. When you uninstalled a program, it would often not delete it's entry in win.ini, so after a while, you might have hundreds of entries in win.ini, most of which were just taking space and slowing the system down, without needing to be there.

Then somebody had an idea - get rid of win.ini, and replace it's functionality with something else. So they replaced it with the registry, which is just a database that does the exact same thing as win.ini. The system reads it at boot time and executes the commands it finds there. Every program you install adds to the registry, making booting the computer slower and slower. When you uninstall programs, they often don't remove their registry entries. So what's the difference? Whereas win.ini was a text file, which you could edit in Dos if it caused Windows to refuse to boot, and which you could edit in Notepad if you wanted to remove stray entries from programs that you had uninstalled, the registry is a database which can only be edited with one specific application (regedit), which only works in Windows. If the registry gets corrupted, there's no way of fixing it and you have to save your data by putting the disk in another computer, then put it back in yours and re-install Windows.

Why did they just make the problem worse by changing win.ini into a database with all the same problems, when it would have been so easy to fix. Just merge everything in win.ini with the registry that already existed in Windows 3.x, and leave win.ini or some other text file or database to the applications. Better yet, let each application have it's own .ini file or registry, which would only be read when you launch the application. That way, a badly written application couldn't mess up your whole system.

The TOG​

 

[tim-from-pa]

....... Better yet, let each application have it's own .ini file or registry, which would only be read when you launch the application. That way, a badly written application couldn't mess up your whole system.

The TOG​

Exactly, and as you and I know, that's how Linux works -- keeps the app stuff from the OS files, and indeed are not even on the same level of permissions for that matter, as the OS kernal is in the root, but the user works (or should work) on a higher level. This keeps them separated, and what most people who make the claim that "Linux would suffer malware etc just as much if everyone used it" doesn't understand, is that it's a true multi-user operating system. The root core where the operating system files are kept download what is needed to the user's account just as the software for this forum does to our local computers here. We may have viruses, or other software problems, but they don't affect the software on this forum. To put it in layman's terms, they are "two different computers" separated by the network. This is how the root of a Linux directory with the OS files is isolated from the user's account, whereas Microsoft merges all that together.

Windows is like politics. They promise better things, but its the same old stuff with a different facade. I totally gave up on Windows several years now. They had plenty of time to redeem themselves and they just made things worse. There's no fix for that operating system. It's so far gone the best thing to do is scrap it totally and start anew.

 

[Nick]

Tim, I believe what you said about Linux is also applicable to OSX, no?

 

[tim-from-pa]

Tim, I believe what you said about Linux is also applicable to OSX, no?

If you mean Mac's are similar to Linux, yes. Mac is based off the Unix operating system as is Linux, so they are cousins of sorts. Last I heard, Mac's don't even allow one to work as a root user with the exception of "jail-breaking" one's device. But it's nothing I ever did nor care to do.

I have no gripes against Mac's, but they are (unlike Linux) a commercialized operating system subject to their rules and procedures. However, I always said it was a costly operating system, but a very good one. On the other hand If one has enough smarts, they can actually modify the Linux operating system themselves and customize it since it's open source. They only allow well scrutinized distros out on their sites, plus there's many eyeballs to watch the code and update it regularly, so if you are new and download it there's no worry about getting something malicious.

I only gripe against Microsoft. They march to the beat of their own drum and a bad one at that. I have no other favorite operating system other than the fact I prefer free over paying naturally. But they are all good and virus, and hassle free since they are similar. Mac's, Androids, Google, Linux (various distros) are all good, but those with commercialized hardware you have to be aware of some things they put on them. Privacy concerns e.g. "location services" has been one of them. But Linux can do that too if you want it to. Sometimes you need to use location services. The issue was tracking people's locations without their knowing it.

 

[Lewis]

Tog I had forgot all about win.ini boy do I remember that with the Windows 3.1s