Would that Windows 7 lived up to this totally awesome hardware I brought home last Friday!
If I ever find myself in the vicinity of Redmond, Washington, I might just have to pay a visit to Microsoft, throw a good Southern tantrum and slap a few people around....
I understand there's a learning curve with nearly anything, and I knew it would take at least a couple of weeks to get everything set up the way I like it, and learn new stuff ... but I wasn't really prepared for Microsoft's nanny state mentality. I understand that some things have to be protected from the unknowing, the uncaring and the reckless -- they can basically destroy an OS... but workarounds need to be provided for people who know what they're doing....
I love my new machine but there are parts of Windows 7 that absolutely suck. I've found registry hacks online for getting "Libraries" and "Favorites" and "Homegroups" out of the navigation pane in Windows Explorer. But they still show up in open and save screens.
So I found registry hacks to remove "Documents Libraries" from those screens, and they STILL show up. Turns out you have to hack different registry keys for opening and saving 32 bit software and 64 bit software. More registry hacking ahead.
At least I solved another, completely unrelated problem earlier today. Plugged in a microphone to test doing voiceovers for videos, and there was this horrendous hum. Hor-ren-dous. Googled all over the Internet to find a solution, but I don't know much about sound processing. (I have a freebie Open Source program called Audacity and I have no idea what most of it does.)
One video said if your equipment is not grounded, it will cause a hum. I know mine isn't because it's plugged into an ordinary two-prong outlet with an adapter plug. So I watched a video about making a two-prong outlet a grounded, three-prong one (grounding it to the metal box the outlet is in). I figured that was a project for hubs to do one weekend.
Then I noticed that every time I touched the desktop mic stand (a makeshift one made from a tripod with telescoping metal legs), the humming changed character. So I took the mic off the stand and --voila! -- the humming ceased!
Slowly but surely, I'm getting it like I want it. I did have an unfortunate software crash, the first on my new machine -- my little 1997 vintage photo editor that I dearly love. It's vintage Windows 95/98 software and I have to jump through all kinds of hoops to make it run on Windows 7 (as I did XP) but I finally got it working. I'm sure the crash had to do with having to run it in compatibility mode, and crashes are probably going to happen with it now and then.
Nevertheless, for the most part, it's swift and stable, and I'm so glad I can use it at all!
Now back to hacking the registry....
Corey asks me if Microsoft is still supporting Windows 7. He asks me if I know there is Windows 8.
ReplyDeleteOh, stupid, ignorant me. What WOULD I do without my cadre folks who hate me looking out for me and keeping me informed?
Yes, Corey. Microsoft still supports Windows 7. Heck, support for XP, which was launched in 2001, only stopped two days ago. MC also still supports Vista (launched 2006) and Seven (launched 2009).
Yes, Corey, I know about Windows 8, which launched in Oct. 2012. (I even know Windows 9 will launch in 2015). I also know Windows 8 sucks worse than Windows 7. My computer guy and I talked about what OS should go on my new machine (imagine that! Consultation to discuss this very thing!) and he did NOT recommend 8. (He gave me 7 and Ubuntu, the latter at my request.) My sister was told the same thing by her computer guys when she had her system built. Don't get 8, they told her. They told her their tool of choice for maintaining and repairing Windows 8 was a two inch lead pipe.
Seven sucks. The nannies at Microsoft took away many of the ways a user could customize their systems their way, requiring one to hack the registry to make the simplest changes. My goal, when I started having to use XP back in 2006, was to make it as much like Windows 98 as possible, and I was pretty successful. My goal now is to make Seven as much like XP and 98 as possible.
Toward that end, I use the "classic" theme/skin provided with Seven. I have downloaded and installed "Classic Shell." I'm on the hunt for retro icon packs (Windows 98 or 95) to replace the abominable "aero" "glass" icons. And I am hacking the registry, when necessary, and will continue to do so. When necessary.
Does that answer your question, chump?