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John_Cillis

Appreciating Windows 10, a year into ownership

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Just giving kudos to Microsoft for what I feel is their best, most stable O/S release to date.  I have never had a lockup in Windows 10, and the speed is stunning.  Only thing missing was Comdlg32.ocx for legacy Win 95 app support, so I added it to the OS and registered it.  And Chess Titans, so I downloaded it so I can enjoy a good game of chess with an unargumentative operating system that always manages to beat a formerly outstanding chess player, I guess I am just not the abstract thinker I was in high school and college.  I had great luck with Vista on my old system, only blue screen I ever had in Vista was when I tried to overclock my Nvidia card once, my bad and reversing what I had done erased that problem.

My MSI Vortex is not overclockable, the Bios is locked down but it is a speedy little sucker that lets Xplane11 and P3D have a ball on my system, plus No Limits2 Coaster sim.  PC's have come such a long way.  I remember shopping for the MSI right after my old system crashed last year, I had just come home from Europe.  I looked at one system costing twice as much and another costing 500 more at Fry's Electronics in North Phoenix.  I sought the salesperson's advice when I looked at the much cheaper MSI Vortex, told him I wanted it for flight simming.  He looked up the specs and said it was certified for just that and other gaming, so I bought it, already owning a good monitor, and have never looked back.

I did at first think I had a lemon when I could not get it to turn on, until I found the tiniest power switch on the upper right of the machine.  I had to read the manual over and over again until I found it, which is funny since being an IT guy I usually ditch the manuals and just wing it.

Anyway, back to Windows 10.  Windows 11?  Probably won't upgrade unless Microsoft tries to force it upon me.

John

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I'm not in IT, but I know folks who are. I've only been a user since W 98. I've never had a real problem with any version of Windows. I've used 'em all. Where some better than others? Sure. Does Microsoft change things that might not seem to make any sense? Sure. So what. I don't mind learning something new. Besides, I don't try to force what I think I know about an older version of windows on to a newer version. I think that's the problem. Sometimes what worked in an older version is now different. OK, I can adjust. How about "right-click". That hasn't hardly changed at all. Lots of things are the same.

And speaking of FSX. We all started using it on XP. Ran like crap. No one had a powerful enough box. So it was decided that it was poorly written. Maybe it was. And yet, how many pieces of software does anyone own that has run just fine, given the right hardware, on every version of Windows from XP through 10?

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Bob

i5, 16 GB ram, GTX 960, FS on SSD, Windows 10 64 bit, home built works anyway.

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2 minutes ago, bobbyjack said:

I'm not in IT, but I know folks who are. I've only been a user since W 98. I've never had a real problem with any version of Windows. I've used 'em all. Where some better than others? Sure. Does Microsoft change things that might not seem to make any sense? Sure. So what. I don't mind learning something new. Besides, I don't try to force what I think I know about an older version of windows on to a newer version. I think that's the problem. Sometimes what worked in an older version is now different. OK, I can adjust. How about "right-click". That hasn't hardly changed at all. Lots of things are the same.

And speaking of FSX. We all started using it on XP. Ran like crap. No one had a powerful enough box. So it was decided that it was poorly written. Maybe it was. And yet, how many pieces of software does anyone own that has run just fine, given the right hardware, on every version of Windows from XP through 10?

As long as I did not ratchet up AI, FSX on my old system ran well enough, on Vista, for the duration I had it.  If I wanted to fly in swarms of AI I would fire up FS9, which ran very smooth on my old system, I still miss it with my Soft Horizons add-on I created for it, the way I could get the clouds to look oh so perfect, but P3D has improved on horizons and haze as well as Xplane11.

I was pleased that two programs I wrote for Win 95 and put up on CNET, Spirapaint and Mirrorart, have worked all the way up to Windows 10 so far, as long as COMDLG32.OCX is added to each subsequent version of Windows, Microsoft does not install it by default for some reason, I reported it to their support center since the absence of it crashes legacy programs that are still used worldwide, especially in poorer countries.  I used to be a Microsoft vendor, and worked with them closely in my capacity that my employers had me play in.  Even had the pleasure of meeting Bill Gates 31 years ago, the man who would be king.

They say Apple computers are going to make a run on Intel based computers, that they have a more advanced processor that moves beyond Moore's law.  The old 68000 processor was a darn fine one, and had memory management features that Intel lacks even today, smaller code could be written that could do a lot more, I saw it when I compiled code I wrote on my old Atari ST.  Now code for Intel machines is so large and bloated that optimization options are running out, for the way the Intel processors are designed and the way code is using runtime modules rather than being machine language like programs of old.

FSII was entirely written in machine language, and given the speed of processors back then the performance was stellar.  I wrote one machine language program with a 6502 Macro Assembler, that generated prime numbers in a Commodore 64's memory using Binary Encoded Decimals.  I had to teach my program how to add, subtract, multiply and divide, very basic steps but since it was machine language it was hyper fast and could generate prime numbers with dozens of digits in seconds, using the sieve algorithm.  But I digress.

Computers have come a long way, and who knows what the future may hold?

John

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Hi John,

I'm also very happy with Windows 10. Also, we have been told that Windows 10 is the final version that will be constantly updated with added features, so, no Windows 11. 🙂


Robin


"Onward & Upward" ...
To the Stars, & Beyond... 

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Another satisfied Windows 10 user here! I keep it fully updated, minus drivers, and have had no real problems since installing it not long after it was released - I made a clean install which I'm convinced gives far fewer problems than an OS upgrade. It seems generally faster than my old Windows 7 installation and although some settings are buried a little deeper than in Windows 7, now that I'm familiar with them it's not a problem. I definitely wouldn't go back to 7.


 i7-6700k | Asus Maximus VIII Hero | 16GB RAM | MSI GTX 1080 Gaming X Plus | Samsung Evo 500GB & 1TB | WD Blue 2 x 1TB | EVGA Supernova G2 850W | AOC 2560x1440 monitor | Win 10 Pro 64-bit

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I think you will find Windows 10 will reach final build around 2020, that was intended in the pre-release statement and after that security updates for life, I suspect Microsoft will then make addon software payware  like office subscription based software, you never own it just rent it that's the way the industry is going.

 


 

Raymond Fry.

PMDG_Banner_747_Enthusiast.jpg

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On 8/2/2018 at 9:15 AM, rjfry said:

I suspect Microsoft will then make addon software payware  like office subscription based software, you never own it just rent it that's the way the industry is going.

I think what you're referring to is the proposed "Microsoft Managed Desktop" - see: https://www.zdnet.com/article/microsofts-got-a-new-plan-for-managing-windows-10-devices-for-a-monthly-fee/. However, I get the impression from what I've read that will be more likely an enterprise option. I don't think that they'd survive the outcry if they tried to make all individual users pay a monthly fee.

Edited by vortex681

 i7-6700k | Asus Maximus VIII Hero | 16GB RAM | MSI GTX 1080 Gaming X Plus | Samsung Evo 500GB & 1TB | WD Blue 2 x 1TB | EVGA Supernova G2 850W | AOC 2560x1440 monitor | Win 10 Pro 64-bit

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 Correct. A possible BUSINESS solution only. It will include software and hardware. 

So let's not be getting our nickers in a not! 


Robin


"Onward & Upward" ...
To the Stars, & Beyond... 

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No issues with Win10 here either. Not sure where others are coming from insisting win7 for life.  Here I have peace of mind that everything is up to date including security holes. The forced updates can be worked around if need be. Best of all it was free. You can make it look like Win7 if your really that concerned about the interface but I dont think its all that different. 

I suspect they made the foundations very modular so they can rework it if need be and just replace a module that way rather than a whole new version. 


CYVR LSZH 

http://f9ixu0-2.png
 

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Hi,

My experiences, albeit somewhat brief, have also been quite favourable thus far. Recently I decided to see what all the fuss was about and so installed Windows 10 Pro 64bit (1803) alongside my trusty Windows 7 Pro 64bit as a Dual Boot arrangement. Windows 7 installation remains intact and Windows 10 is installed on a Samsung 970 EVO 2TB V-NAND M.2 PCI Express SSD.

So far all is good bar one reservation, see later.

Imagine my surprise when I discovered I was able to ‘share’ my existing Steam installations (including Aerofly FS2) without having to reinstall any for Windows 10! Also, the existing purchased licences/keys for Apps running under Windows 7 are accepted when those same Apps are installed and activated under Windows 10. I presume this is because it’s assumed that only one instance of each App will be running in each booted O/S environment.

All Windows 10 specific drivers are in place and the group policy editor configured to prevent any unwanted automatic driver updates. Windows Defender has been disabled in favour of ESET NOD32 antivirus. Everything seems to be working and the GUI is currently being tailored to suit my preferences.

Now my reservation: As you can see from my signature my rig is still very capable and yet, in terms of responsiveness, Windows 10 is a little disappointing when compared to my Windows 7 Pro installation(*). Desktop activities in the latter are very snappy and satisfying whereas Windows 10 Pro seems less so. For example, if I right-click on the desktop and open the nVidia CP it appears almost immediately in Windows 7 whereas three seconds pass before the window opens in Windows 10. In fact Apps generally open faster under Windows 7. Many have stated that Windows 10 is faster than Windows 7. Really? Does make me wonder whether they have in fact come from an environment that was becoming bogged down from lack of regular maintenance.

This behaviour does seem a little odd particularly with Windows 10 having been installed on a fast M.2 SSD:

EsZa2BT.jpg

I appreciate much can still be done to prune out all the unnecessary Windows 10, supposedly ‘user-helpful’, features/embellishments but surely, even with these in place, one should expect a much faster out-of-the-box experience?

Regards 

Mike

Edit: (*) Stock Base clock has been maintained throughout this exercise. Now that all the important stuff is safely in place I intend to re-establish the overclock sometime in the next few days.

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