Can You Hear Me Now???

Topic: Can You Hear Me Now??? (Read 4942 times) previous topic - next topic

Re: Can You Hear Me Now???

Reply #15 – September 21, 2005, 03:28:07 AM

Why ME is better than 98SE:

1. It is newer, and thus benefitting from many little things, like built in directx, system restore, operating systems options stored on the hard drive instead of having to insert os cd-rom everytime you want to install an os option, Media player 7.

2. It is 98SE, but with more multimedia and drivers support and enhanced usb (interesting thing you mentioned about usb jumpdrive and 98SE - I had to download the driver to get it to work on one computer). It is just as stable as 98SE.

3. It is still (or at least up till recently) supported by Microsoft, so users will get patches.

Why ME is perceived to "suck":

1. It launched at a similar time as Windows 2000, and the synonymous names left uninformed buyers feeling like they were being misled by tricky advertising.

2. It launched only a year after 98SE, so 98SE users felt cheated that Micro$oft wanted them to rush out and buy yet another operating system for the steep price of $200. 98SE users felt that ME should have been a service pack for 98SE, and not a new os (I have to partly agree with that). They made their opinion heard, and so retail sales of ME were low. Besides, it didn't offer enough new features for windows 98 users to want to get a copy either.

3. Windows XP came out just one year later. Looking completely different from every previous Microsoft os, and with seemingly outlandish claims being made by microsoft about the superiority of their new product, many users simply skipped over the ME os and upgraded from 95 or 98 straight to XP.

Back in the day, ME did suck. It offered little bang for the buck. Today, when 98SE and ME are both dirth cheap (ironically, ME is cheaper to buy than 98SE now), ME is better, b/c of the reasons stated.

Comparing windows 2000 to ME is grossly unfair. 2000 is NT based, so of course it's much more stable. ME is a shiny turd, while 2000 is a diamond waiting to be polished. ME did the best it could with the platform it was built on: the old rickety 9x that went all they way back to 95. 2000, though based on NT (like NT 4.0), was blessed by having a major overhaul of the NT platform performed before it was released. I can't dispute your claims of running 2000 on extremely low hardware b/c I've never really been able to play with 2000. I do agree that between 2000 and xp, 2000 runs much better on older hardware. On old computers the decision to run ME or 2000 is purely one of stability and price. You pay more for 2000 but get more stability. Both offer similar performance and options.

When you compare 2000 with XP, you see there really is no comparison. XP is just as stable of 2000, yet benefits tremendously from enhanced multimedia support, lots more drivers, and more ease-of-use for the novice computer user (it's the whole 98SE vs ME thing all over again). It can be streamlined for faster performance by disabling all the fluff, if you so desire. Service Pack 2 is the best security upgrade ever for a microsoft operating system. That, along with mozilla and zone alarm, have reduced the likelyhood of picking up spyware/adware/virus's to a point where I no longer run spybot, adaware, or any antivirus software. I've been free of internet bugs since the day I built this computer (going on 9 months now). And no, you don't have to sign your soul over to microsoft. My copy is a corporate version, so I don't have to deal with product activation, and all of the automatic updates have been disabled. Security Center has been disabled as well.

For some reason haystack, I don't think 95/98/Me or 2000 would fit the bill for the tasks I perform on my computer. XP does use more system resources than any previous os, but it also can do more than any previous os. If I've got the hardware to run it, I'm gonna run XP.

Re: Can You Hear Me Now???

Reply #16 – September 21, 2005, 10:04:09 AM

WOW I really started something(well I guess it was Joe, since he asked about the win ME).

I read all the arguements for and against the oper systems and will just say this... ME has worked for me for almost 5 years(till it started crashing with the camera), and since I got it for free(as a upgrade for 98)... I ain't changing it... Unless someone wants to send me a copy of 2000(Wwhich I've used on the portable work station I had, before I retired)...

Re: Can You Hear Me Now???

Reply #17 – September 21, 2005, 10:12:40 AM

minus the roll back on windows xp there isnt much of anything that xp can do that 2000 dosent. But that must just be my opinion. Sorry I didnt mean to go off on a rant like that. I just get sick of windows xp every once in a while. I work for emachines as a computer tech, and honestly I would feel better if all the computers still had ME over 98. For the average computer user it is great. It will take quite some time before I tell you the same about xp though.

Re: Can You Hear Me Now???

Reply #18 – September 21, 2005, 01:16:49 PM

In every of the 13 computers i have bought, i also installed windows ME....XP is good if you have enough memory to run with, but here is not cheap, and for 128 or less Ram, you can get a fast computer if you are running Me. I had the Old Acer PIII with 256 running Me and still works all the night without problems. And for the Boot, a friend of the school have a PIII at 1 ghz with 256 with XP.....My acer run circles around that......for that reason, my "computer in car project"is going to be running windows me....what the hell, waiting two minutes to hear the music while running Xp or 30 seconds (or less improving the startup) running with winme ?

Re: Can You Hear Me Now???

Reply #19 – September 21, 2005, 04:47:36 PM

Check out knoppix it is like 5 bucks. http://www.205lan.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=2_19_26&products_id=98
If you want something to play around with this is fun and there is not install.

Hell here is a free download and information page.
http://www.knopper.net/knoppix/index-en.html

Re: Can You Hear Me Now???

Reply #20 – September 21, 2005, 05:52:11 PM

Linux or any of its sixty billion variants will never, ever make major gains in the Intel/AMD market until they make it as easy to install and use as XP is. And when they do, and when millions of people start using it, the hackers, spyware authors and virus makers will be right there to take advantage of that fact.

I'm no computer expert, but I do know my way around the things, and I find Linux to be not worth the hassle. I don't have time to fight with or tweak an operating system to work on my machine. With XP I install it, maybe load a few drivers, and that's that. No searching for underground drivers or software.

As for ME, my father swears by it. Every computer he builds out of spare parts for friends/family members has had ME on it, and until he bought his 2.6 GHZ Dell last year (We're a Dell family - he's got one, I've got two and my sister just bought one yesterday) he was running ME on his own machine (the 1700 Athlon XP that I gave him).

I don't have much experience with ME because I jumped straight from 98SE to 2000 to XP Pro Corp. I prefer XP myself, but I'm running a 2.4 P4 with 512MB RAM and a 3.0 P4 with 1 gig of RAM, so there's plenty of performance.The machines might have run a bit faster with ME, but the gain in performance wouldn't be worth the loss in features.

I just can't wait until Macs start using Intel hardware, so I can try one of the hacked versions of Mac OS that will inevitably turn up on Limewire. Jobs says that Mac OS will only run on Mac hardware, but I have faith in the hackers out there :D And I think Jobs is fooling himself, and Apple will likely eventually relent and release a retail OS that will work on Intel/AMD machines. Now THERE is an OS that could put the boots to Microsoft, finally.

Re: Can You Hear Me Now???

Reply #21 – September 21, 2005, 06:07:56 PM

you should try downloading that knoppix then. A couple or mins with high speed (if applicable) burn it to a cd and watch as it automatically configures all devices and internet/network connections in about the same amount of time it takes windows xp to load up. (depending on the speed/performance of the computer). It detected all of my hardware, even my 6.1 surround sound card and istalled everything it needed. most computers with a high speed interent connection are automatically installed and work the first time that you try it. Every program I have tried on it works fine. When its really slow at work I load it up and even use my works programs through it. I have been around alittle bit, but I am no computer expert either. Most anyone can use knoppix, although I would recomend buying it because of the download time. but even my little brother uses knoppix for the games that come on it when I am too lazy to fix his puter.

Re: Can You Hear Me Now???

Reply #22 – September 22, 2005, 12:53:48 AM

I'm waiting for a good easy version of linux that installs to a system that already has XP installed and runs dual-boot easily.

Suse Linux 9.1 seems pretty good, I used it for a good 4 months, but I missed my windows games. I could still even download and play mp3's as well as burn CD's and watch streaming video. Oh, and it even worked with my wireless network!

Re: Can You Hear Me Now???

Reply #23 – September 22, 2005, 09:55:34 AM

Quote from: Thunder Chicken

I just can't wait until Macs start using Intel hardware, so I can try one of the hacked versions of Mac OS that will inevitably turn up on Limewire. Jobs says that Mac OS will only run on Mac hardware, but I have faith in the hackers out there :D And I think Jobs is fooling himself, and Apple will likely eventually relent and release a retail OS that will work on Intel/AMD machines. Now THERE is an OS that could put the boots to Microsoft, finally.

In 1997, Apple was nearly bankrupt thanks to two previous CEO's. Jobs came back to the company much to everyone's delight. But before he could run it, he had to do something that most people forgot about years ago: he had to publicly humble himself and borrow several million dollars from Bill Gate$. That money was the kick-start to where Apple is today. Without M$, the iMac and the iPod, Apple would be in a much worse position today, if non-existant or absorbed into another company.

I bring this up because Apple and Micro$oft play a very controlled dance with each other. Apple owes M$, plain and simple. However, the number one buyer of Apple hardware and software is...yep, M$. There is also the Mac Business Unit at M$--in Redmond--which makes Office, M$N Messenger, etc. for the Mac platform. And let's not forget that Apple develops a lot of its programs for Windows (iTunes, Quicktime, etc.). These two companies have been tied at the ankles for a decade now, and that's not likely to change. While I do believe that final hacked copies of the Macintel OS X will be available and used by the tech savvy once the official switch happens next June, I don't think Steve Jobs would bite the hand that has fed for so long and purposely try to thwart Windows out in the open (most Apple employees and fans would probably love to see that happen though!). Unless there is a monumental shift with how people perceive the OS, the PC itself, and what you can do with them together, it's unlikely that the Intel Mac OS would ever catch on like Windows did. It would be great if it did but I'm not holding my breath. Then again, stranger things have happened--people bought the whole marketing of Win95 hook, line and sinker.

BTW, the internally-converted-and-leaked Intel version of OS X also works on AMD processors. I saw a video of it a few weeks ago. If you're curious, the current "evaluation version" of OS X is probably "readily available" on "sharing sites"...

Re: Can You Hear Me Now???

Reply #24 – September 24, 2005, 04:14:06 AM

I wanna see how mac utilizes the right click

Re: Can You Hear Me Now???

Reply #25 – September 24, 2005, 09:35:17 AM

Quote from: Haystack

I wanna see how mac utilizes the right click

Haven't you heard? Monkeys finally flew out of Steve Jobs' ass and Apple introduced a two button mouse! A really expensive one at that!

http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/71505/wo/JXXUwD2BPCiU2YMbJA29bJ9mhwd/1.0.0.15.1.0.6.9.9.17.0.1.0.1.1.0.1.0.13

Imagine, fifty bucks for a mouse...

Re: Can You Hear Me Now???

Reply #26 – September 24, 2005, 09:48:20 AM

Quote from: EricCoolCats

Unless there is a monumental shift with how people perceive the OS, the PC itself, and what you can do with them together, it's unlikely that the Intel Mac OS would ever catch on like Windows did.

That monumental shift is happening as we type - even such fanboy magazines as Maximum PC are fed up with Windows XP and its many problems. Spyware, viruses, activeX, worms, etc have all really tarnished MS's image. I know dozens of computer "noobs" from 20-80 years old who don't even bother with their machines any more because they've become so infected with spyware that they're useless. These people will not upgrade to a new Windows OS any time soon.

Longorn has been delayed again, pushed back to late 2006 at the earliest, and by then I think a lot of people will be in the "why bother, it's just more of the same shiznit" frame of mind and not bother upgrading. In fact, I think Windows XP has so many problems that MS should really offer Longhorn as a service pack by way of apology. Granted, I've always held that Windows' own success was its undoing and if Mac OS ever became mainstream the hackers/viruses/spyware authors would take aim at it, but I imagine Apple would be quicker to react, and Mac users, who seem to be more friendly with each other, would be more willing to help out than hardcore Winders users, who seem to take joy from the misfortune of other Winders users...

Re: Can You Hear Me Now???

Reply #27 – September 24, 2005, 10:00:50 AM

Quote

I wanna see how mac utilizes the right click

We have for 5 years, ever since OS X came out. Hook any USB 2-button mouse to a Mac running OS X and right-click works right out of the box, no configuration necessary. For those still using a one-button mouse, control-click brings up the contextual menu too. BTW Carm, the Mighty Mouse got mixed reviews but a lot of people seem to like it. Word is that it will be standard soon....let's hope not. :)

I paid $100 for my Kensington Turbo Mouse Pro, a trackball with 6 hot keys and a scroll wheel. I've paid $40 for a Kensington Iridio standard 2-button mouse with a scroll wheel. Both are excellent and worth the money IMO. Never regretted the money spent on them. Don't forget...we're used to spending more money on our systems. It's just a way of life for us. :)

Re: Can You Hear Me Now???

Reply #28 – September 24, 2005, 10:16:07 AM

Quote from: EricCoolCats

Don't forget...we're used to spending more money on our systems. It's just a way of life for us. :)

Kinda like Hot Rodding a Ford in the old days, before the popularity of the 5.0...

Re: Can You Hear Me Now???

Reply #29 – September 24, 2005, 06:39:52 PM

Quote from: Thunder Chicken

Imagine, fifty bucks for a mouse...

The logitech one I want is prolly gonna be between $70 to $100. I have no qualms paying that much as long as it's high quality. Heck, i'd even buy a mighty mouse and preform a sacralige by using it on a PC!