Get Windows 10

[ians]

Imagine that ...the very first thing that pops up as i open an XL spreadsheet ... office 2010 support ends in October

10 years has become the technical lifespan.

[adrianh]

Imagine that ...the very first thing that pops up as i open an XL spreadsheet ... office 2010 support ends in October

10 years has become the technical lifespan.

I still run Office 2007 on my Windows 10 machine and XP on 3 of my machines.

[Justloadit]

Imagine that ...the very first thing that pops up as i open an XL spreadsheet ... office 2010 support ends in October

10 years has become the technical lifespan.

Who cares about the support. I only use maybe 5% of its functions, so I do not need all the other unnecessary support they claim I need.
In other words it will work for as long as the OS allows it to work.

I am still using a DOS program on my XP pro PC, because the new replacement program requires a rocket scientist to navigate through the most basic functions, or maybe you can not teach an old dog new tricks . The fact there is no support does not bar the functionality of the software. I have 4 'old' PCs ready to take over when ever one fails, so that I can continue using the DOS program.
I still have an office PC from 2000 with XP pro running daily. Every couple of days I have to switch off, as there is some issue with a WIN XP handler, and the PC hangs up. One day I will reload the XP.

[ians]

Thank goodness i do still have my old netbook which has XP pro ....bought in 2006 and still has the same battery ... ok it only lasts 3 hours compared to the 6hrs when i bought it ...but it works for all my test equipment... I suppose i could run a virtual xp on wondows 10 ... nah too much hassle.

Everything was going well until i started going through all the programs and updating drivers etc.

I have a gmail account which is for one of my side line facebook pages which generates funds for the odd good ol captains ... i didnt think someone would actully want to steal the email address ... what are the chances ... a million to one ... going through the google accounts ...i found one is missing.

So i do a bit of scratching to find someone has the same name ...sells a simliar product ...he felt the need to steal it ... so i sent an email to the address and he responded to confirm he had stolen it ... and there is nothing i can do.

a bit of an eye opener for me ...i didnt realise it was so easy access them and take over and email address.

There are more secure measures in place since 2016 (probably because of the same thing that happened to mine) like 2 step verification ... using another email address and a phone number ...if you have an gmail account and dont want anyone to access it ...make sure you update your email address and telephone number ... i didnt use my current gamil address for the notification if there is strange activity so it seems that because i didnt setup my account with the 2 step verification and didnt use my phone numeber ...he just made out like he had forgotten the password and got gmail to send info to his phone number changed the password and now i no longer have access to the email account.

My concern is the information shared in emails with customers ... i suppose gmail is more for individuals looking for a way to communicate ...not when you need a secure platform to exchange important bussiness information.

I can only asume this is what happened ...if anyone in the know better let me know.

by the way you looking for a spam email address ... customrodracks@gmail.com ...please feel free to send as much crap as you like the more the better.

[wptech]

Can we still upgrade to Windows 10 from Windows 7 for free?

[ians]

Can we still upgrade to Windows 10 from Windows 7 for free?

I did ... apparently so long as your windows 7 was licensed ... mine is working.

[wptech]

I did ... apparently so long as your windows 7 was licensed ... mine is working.

Thanks. When did you do it?

[ians]

Thanks. When did you do it?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGN4aXCuGuU

[Xplosiv]

Imagine that ...the very first thing that pops up as i open an XL spreadsheet ... office 2010 support ends in October

10 years has become the technical lifespan.

I've been using LibreOffice for the last 10 years. Not a power user, so it works for what I need. It's open-source and free to use.
Two downsides:
1) Updates are not automatic (I only update for a major version change)
2) It's default save is to the open-source format. You have to "Save As" and select your required format (.doc, .docx, .xls, .xlsx, etc.)

Very similar to Microsoft Office but not as powerful.

https://libreoffice.org/

[kidr]

i think windows just suck!! linux is the best

[Justloadit]

i think windows just suck!! linux is the best

99.9% of the population is not a programmer, and setting Linux up requires technical know how.
And if there is an issue, you require technical know to clear.
Sometimes you have to design a product to make the user life easier, and this is where Windows has managed to get the operation right.
You do not have to be a computer boffin to work windows.
With out any training, I can do the following :-
A mouse and a keyboard and I can type a letter.
A mouse and a keyboard and I can set up a simple spreadsheet.

With Linux, I have to learn the operating system and know my way around the system to make it work.
Have a printer, now go hunting for a compatible driver. Not so easy for a computer illiterate user.
Most users use the computer for basic tasks as writing a letter, spreadsheet and email.

For a successful product, you have to design for your target market, and Windows has done that.

[polpak]

Justloadit writes: " 99.9% of the population is not a programmer, and setting Linux up requires technical know how.
And if there is an issue, you require technical know to clear. "

As a user am NOT so technical.

15 years ago, for my first few months certainly was nervous, soon realized was able to do everything I needed do.

Linux is not MS-W, so there is some learning, of this need only learn a few things to begin, other learning builds over time.



Self found using short simple terminal (like DOS prompt) commands taught me a lot, as soon was relaxing doing almost all my updates, upgrades, installations and removals, this as I found terminal learning much easier to remember.

Linux is not so hard to use, to learn, and with considerable savings :-)



Consider doing an install of ubuntu [longer term support version 20.04] onto a spare computer with empty hard drive partition (50 GB or more) and try it out.



BTW just installed Win-10 for one of my relations...

.

[Justloadit]

Justloadit writes: " 99.9% of the population is not a programmer, and setting Linux up requires technical know how.
And if there is an issue, you require technical know to clear. "

As a user am NOT so technical.

15 years ago, for my first few months certainly was nervous, soon realized was able to do everything I needed do.

Linux is not MS-W, so there is some learning, of this need only learn a few things to begin, other learning builds over time.

Self found using short simple terminal (like DOS prompt) commands taught me a lot, as soon was relaxing doing almost all my updates, upgrades, installations and removals, this as I found terminal learning much easier to remember.

Linux is not so hard to use, to learn, and with considerable savings :-)


Consider doing an install of ubuntu [longer term support version 20.04] onto a spare computer with empty hard drive partition (50 GB or more) and try it out.


BTW just installed Win-10 for one of my relations...

.

Just a point, if you wish to reply to a specific thread, and quote the thread , or parts of a thread, click on the icons at the bottom right hand side of the thread box, where it says "Reply with a quote", you can delete text not required, just do not mess with the text within the [] as this sets up the thread display format

Yes again, 99% of the population don't care about learning the intricacies of Linux/Ubunto.
I will use an example, I enjoy the scones from a bakery, I will eat them regularly, however I could not be bothered or really want to know how to make the scones, I just pitch up buy one eat it and enjoy it.

I want to type a letter, I do not want to spend an hour trying to figure out why this morning why the program does not open properly for some reason.
Believe me this happens often with IDE systems and upgrades.

Make no mistake I do partially understand the systems, this is the reason that I understand users.
I have to deal with them everyday. If you want a successful product, you have to first design the interface around the user, and taking notice that the user is clueless with the operation.

[tec0]

Right as someone that knows IT here is my take and i invite any IT professional to read this.

When you boot Linux it looks good, feels fast and for the most part installing apps is easy simple and fast.

Drivers is buggy but supported all good. Most printers will work with Linux again all good. For Windows must have functionality a VM is a good solution depending on the work load.

Here is the thing, i run 4 servers in my home. i do a LOT of work and a lot of file types are NOT supported on Linux. It does not matter what replacement software i use, what software is compatible. Some pieces of software is simply a must have. For me CorelDRAW is a must have because it exports stuff to a format that my tools that are OLD AS HELL can still read.

Considering a new tool cost about 4 million Rand i am NOT buying a new one just so that i can run Linux. That would be STUPID as HELL because i will have a 4 million Rand loan to pay in a market that is volatile and crash happy. So my old tools that i got second hand and had to rebuild from the ground up must do the job. This means some of my tools run WinXP and yes i even have a Win95 PC running in 2021. Why because i am not buying new tools. The tools i got i got for less then R20k back in the late 1990s and early 2000 rebuild them and here we are. Now my math might be doggy but R20k is a lot less then 4million... i think.. not sure..

So before we sing Linux, Win10 or Win11 or cry over the death of WinXp and Win7 we must understand that there are people like myself that needs stuff to just work.

Now to be clear i run a lot of Linux computers. i have servers with at least 5 Linux VMs on it running currently dealing with file sharing and other important functions. So it is not that i am anti Linux. No... I am for the user. What ever the user needs the user needs and if it is a mix of Linux, Windows and even Apple "heaven help you with Apple" Getting these devices to talk to each other is a nightmare specially if some of them run WIN95 NOT WIN98 because there is no compatible driver after WIN95.

Today 2021 i run a windows95 PC yes a PC that i build in 1994 updated it to win95 in 1996 or 97 i can't remember, BUT still works to this day with its 133Mhz CPU S4 GPU and 10Mb network card and USB expansion card "with a driver from hell" It does its job.

So is Linux good? YES. Is Windows good? YES. Is apple good? YES. Is android OS for PC good? YES. All of them work in a network, all of them have functions they need to preform, all of them do what they are suppose to do.


The point i am making a PC is a tool, like any other tool it has requirements and limitations. It is up to you as the user to identify the use-case and get the tool to work.

It is for the same reason why massive companies spend millions on Java development and refuse to go over to any other development platform. Why? Because it is simply to expensive to change/start over. It is simply more cost effective to keep the old stuff rolling along.