The Vent and Rant Thread

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

The next question is Open Office or Libre Office.

OO was a project of Sun Microsystems. Oracle bought Sun, and OO's future got cloudy. Various folks were unhappy, and created a fork of the Open Office code thy called Libre Office, to be out from under Oracle's control.

Oracle finally got around to transferring Open Office to the Apache Foundation and no longer is involved, but meanwhile the damage was done and there are now two similar products based on the same code but beginning to diverge. Either will do.

Because of licensing differences, LibreOffice can copy code from OpenOffice but OpenOffice can't copy code from LibreOffice.

And LibreOffice had a big head start while OpenOffice languished.

I can't imagine why someone would prefer OpenOffice. All it has is the original and better-known name (though that is beginning to change).

[badgoodDeb]

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

And before you upgrade, there will be a boatload of critical security patches that likely never got applied, and you'll need to let them apply first. Expect multiple reboots in the process, because some patches affect things that can't be modified while Windows is up and running. You must reboot after the patches are downloaded, and they'll be installed when you reboot before Windows fully loads.
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Dennis

Ah yes. I'm familiar with that on Macs, but hadn't yet thought about it re: her PC. Although I *do* know that it keeps asking about checking for patches, and then cannot get connected.

Do we have to create a Microsoft Store account? We balked at that before, when trying to locate her Solitaire games which are no longer in Win8! Still, if we have to create an account for the Win10 upgrade, then I'll get the Solitaire games while I'm there.

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by badgoodDeb

Gracious! Who on earth is Cortana? Is she on Win10 or on 8?

She is the evil AI of Windows 10. Terrorizing the elderly and spying on you when you least expect it. You could be surfing a site and she'll just take over.


Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by badgoodDeb

Ah yes. I'm familiar with that on Macs, but hadn't yet thought about it re: her PC. Although I *do* know that it keeps asking about checking for patches, and then cannot get connected.

Like I said, you'll need to do that before you upgrade.

Do we have to create a Microsoft Store account? We balked at that before, when trying to locate her Solitaire games which are no longer in Win8! Still, if we have to create an account for the Win10 upgrade, then I'll get the Solitaire games while I'm there.

Nope. I haven't.

And yes, MS removed the games that were there in Win7. The whole purpose of the games back when was to teach basic skills like use of a GUI and mouse. Win10 is firmly oriented at the Enterprise market, and Enterprises tend to be fussy about what's on employee PCs.

But the ones in the Store are either payware or ad supported. I found a package that someone had created where they grabbed the games off a Win7 system, patched them to remove the version check that prevented them from running on a later version, and packaged them as an installer from which you could pick and choose what you wanted. Works fine here. See http://winaero.com/blog/get-windows-...or-windows-10/ for pointers.
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Dennis

[CRussel]

Yes, you need to create a Microsoft Account. BUT, you don't need to attach any monetary device or account to it. You just need a MS account. Tie it to her current preferred email account, and she won't have to think about it again. (So, my primary MS account is my email address, which is Charlie@<mydomain>.com. I simply created it as a new MS account, way back when, and use it for my non-business logons.) You can set it to never send you emails except security ones (such as a new logon to your account from a device or browser it's never seen before) and you won't be spammed on it.

ETA: OK, Dennis is technically correct, you can do it with a local account only, but all sorts of things will have problems. The goal is to simplify, not create roadblocks. Instead, just create the MS account and don't worry about it. It can be any email address you want to use, as long as it's a real one that you can pick up email from if you need to.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by badgoodDeb

Do we have to create a Microsoft Store account? We balked at that before, when trying to locate her Solitaire games which are no longer in Win8! Still, if we have to create an account for the Win10 upgrade, then I'll get the Solitaire games while I'm there.

No, you don't need a MS account at all, but you have to hunt for the hidden option to use a local account.
During install I would:
1. Use a local account
2. turn off the wifi sharing and other privacy concerns
3. Turn off Cortana
4. Turn off One Drive integration (unless she actually uses it).
5. Configure easy login and set up classic shell.
6. Install the hacked version of solitaire and the other Win7 games, I've posted a link to it in past, PM me if you can't find it online.

[eta: Dennis beat me to it, I see.]

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

Because of licensing differences, LibreOffice can copy code from OpenOffice but OpenOffice can't copy code from LibreOffice.

I am dealing with a variant of that elsewhere. Incompatible open source licenses which won't permit code intended to be reused because it has a different license than the project that might use it make my irony meter peg offscale.

And LibreOffice had a big head start while OpenOffice languished.

The code hasn't diverged that much. Both will still handle MS Office files, which is the normal reason they get picked.

I can't imagine why someone would prefer OpenOffice. All it has is the original and better-known name (though that is beginning to change).

I run Libre Office under Windows and Linux on the desktop. On Android, I run Open Office, because there's an actual working port. Libre Office is still in early alpha state on Android.
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Dennis

[badgoodDeb]

Originally Posted by ApK

No, you don't need a MS account at all, but you have to hunt for the hidden option to use a local account.
During install I would:
1. Use a local account
2. turn off the wifi sharing and other privacy concerns
3. Turn off Cortana
4. Turn off One Drive integration (unless she actually uses it).
5. Configure easy login and set up classic shell.
6. Install the hacked version of solitaire and the other Win7 games, I've posted a link to it in past, PM me if you can't find it online.

[eta: Dennis beat me to it, I see.]

Thanks! Printing this list, and downloading the games right now.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by Blossom

She is the evil AI of Windows 10. Terrorizing the elderly and spying on you when you least expect it. You could be surfing a site and she'll just take over.

Cortana is the modern version of Clippy.

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

Cortana is the modern version of Clippy.

Clippy? Cortana is evil my poor mother's nerves she loves Facebook and will be reading her news feed out loud and Cortana hijacks her laptop throwing whatever she thinks mom said. When I call Cortana is always going off and my mom has never said any wake word. It's freaky.

I told my sister to disable it but she hasn't yet. Mom was near to tears the other day from it. I had to talk to Cortana and tell her to cancel because she would just not quit. Alexa is nothing like that or Google. The Cortana on my Nokia isn't either. MS has a long way to go on this feature.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

I do a fair bit of virtual tongue biting.

My pet peeves are the folks elsewhere who elevate paranoia to an art form. Like the folks quite sure Microsoft left back doors in Windows to let the NSA snoop on their PCs.

Clinical paranoia is a defense mechanism. What the paranoid is really terrified of, on a level thay can't consciously admit, is that they don't matter and nobody cares about them. If you can buy into a paranoid view, hey! You matter!. You're important enough that someone is trying to get you.

All I can say to the folks I mentioned is "You wish you were important enough that anybody could be bothered to snoop on your PC. Your worst nightmare is true. You aren't important. You don't matter. Nobody cares what you think! Deal with it."
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Dennis

Well now if the NSA is watching me, they are either bored or hungry.
I knew someone that when an FBI agent moved in behind her, she thought the FBI was going to bug her phone.
Yes, I laughed.

[wodin]

I'm reminded about when several young single Honolulu's finest moved into the rental apartment across the street. The neighborhood never felt so secure and safe. I was sorry to see them leave.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

Well now if the NSA is watching me, they are either bored or hungry.
I knew someone that when an FBI agent moved in behind her, she thought the FBI was going to bug her phone.
Yes, I laughed.

I have a morbidly obese friend, of mature years, who is CONVINCED that if she has a webcam on her computer, that strangers will hack into her webcam and watch her while she's working on it, at night...naked.

Hell, forget the weight--at our ages, it's a desperate man, indeed, who will risk the scalded eyeballs that peeping on ladies of a certain vintage will incur.


Hitch

[Blossom]

Wow that's not a nice thing to say about your friend. Your friends fears are justify. Webcams and nanny cams are being hacked into everyday. My husband makes sure our devices have a sticker on them or turned over. It's a real security issue.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

[wodin]

They're welcome to look all they want. H#!!, they can hack my security cams if they want, just don't try to walk past them to burgle my house, I know what you look like.