The Technology Vent and Rant Thread

[Katsunami]

I don't know if this is rant, or an exultation.

I can still remember the 15 years from 1990 to 2005, where it was almost mandatory to update a computer after 2-3 years, because computers sped up by quantum leaps, and newer program versions required that extra speed to run decently.

Nowadays? Not so much. I'm typing this post from a 2008 vintage Dell Latitude E6500.

Specifications;
Intel Core 2 Duo P8600, 2.4 GHz
4GB RAM
64 GB SSD (where the original HDD used to be, replaced in 2011)
256 GB HDD (original HDD, in a caddy, where the original CD-RW was)
15.4 inch screen, 1280x800
Age: 10 years

It originally came with Windows Vista Business 64-bit (as Windows 7 wasn't out yet). In 2011, while doing a course at a university, I got access to SurfSpot, and bought Windows 7, removed the CD-RW, put the original HDD there, added an SSD, and re-installed. I did the entire course on this laptop. Normally, this laptop functioned as a backup for my desktop.

Its last serious stint was in the beginning of 2015, when the computer at my job broke down. The manager handed me a Pentium 4 from 2004 (!), and didn't seem to think it a priority to actually get me a new computer. (It took him like 4 weeks 'to do research and decide on the parts...', and then he ordered sub-par stuff for too much money. Idiot. He could just have given me a budget, and I would have ordered parts or a complete system the same day.) I started and finished an entire software project on this laptop.

At the beginning of 2016, I upgraded the laptop to Windows 10 during the free upgrade offer, updated the basic software, removed the development stuff, and pensioned it off when I got my current laptop. It was 8 years old at the time.

Now, two years later, I dusted it off and upgraded the installed software to the latest verions, including Windows 10, and synced the important data from the desktop. I did it just because the system is now 10 years old and just because I can.

You know what? This dinosaur is actually usable for everything I would need to do on a daily basis, even if its some light development. I've been using it for the last two days without a hitch, just to see if it can be done.

Granted, my newer laptop and desktop are respectively 3 and 5 times as fast, both with 32GB RAM, but as long as I'd need to do office work or light development, this system can still be used effectively. The one thing I wouldn't do with it are tasks that require a lot of calculation or a lot of memory. (For example, converting a Delphi Classics omnibus using Calibre would take a long time on this CPU, not to mention that the memory requirements would make the system swap heavily. But still, it _would_ work.)

The weakest point is the screen, which is TN, with horrible viewing angles. (AFAIK, there wasn't an IPS option for this system back in the day, or if there was, it was horribly expensive. Otherwise, I would have chosen that.) If memory isn't sufficient, it could be upgraded to 8GB RAM for about €150.

No wonder PC and laptop sales are shrinking each year, if a 10 year old dual core system can still be used for productive office-type work, and even some (web)development.

So many people are screaming that the PC and laptop are dying, but this experience just tells me something different. Phones and tablets are fast enough for basic tasks already. Maybe a phone in a docking station, connected to a keyboard, mouse and screen will be commonplace in another few years, for users who want a bigger screen.

The computer and laptop are not dying, and they won't. They are just moving back to where they came from: for use by professionals who need the power, for development, editing media and analysis of data, and enthusiasts who want it, for things such as gaming.

[John F]

Originally Posted by Blossom

Whoever released 1709 update for Windows 10 obviously it was not tested properly. I have one issue after another and now Calibre is not responding every few seconds. Argh!!! I'm doing a uninstall/Clean install and hope that fixes it. I had to fight with Windows Defender as it goes up then down. I had to repair Cortana as she disappeared. I thought I had everything fix but now this. I've never had such a lemon since Windows ME. Computer resources are always in use by some windows operation. It's ridiculous.

Update: Reinstall Didn't work. Running Calibre in Compatibility mode - Win 8 did fix it. No more freezing. No more UI flashing. Very little lag now.

Sent from my Nexus 7

Thank you for the rant.

I did a Windows Update this morning on Windows 7, and had a lot of troubles. Rolled it back, and everything is now fine.

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by John F

Thank you for the rant.

I did a Windows Update this morning on Windows 7, and had a lot of troubles. Rolled it back, and everything is now fine.

I found superfetch was causing serious performance issues after 1709. I disabled it and everything is faster now. The problem with 1709 is there is now so much crud running in the background that you have to constantly fight the system for resources. This I haven't been able to fix or figure. It's my computer I'd like to use it. There are these two Telemetry processes always hogging resources. Task scheduler seems to always running something. My disk activity is ridiculous.

Sent from my XT1528

[Katsunami]

I'm sorry to generalize, but I don't know what 'you people' are doing with those computers.

I described a 10 year old system in my previous post... and I've upgraded it to Windows 10/1709 without a hitch.There are no issues, not even with its drivers, that had the last updates by DELL somewhere around 2013 or 2014. I've been using it for the last few days as my main computer, just to see if I could. Apart from being slower than my 1 and 2 year old desktop and laptop (which is expected, obviously), it runs perfectly.

The one thing I've noticed since 2011: if a system feels slow, there are two things you can do:

- Increase memory to 4GB.
- Replace the hard drive with an SSD.

This will make any system produced in the last 10 years completely usable with Windows 10. The only requirement is that you don't try to do super-heavy stuff on a 10 year old system, such as editing 36 megapixel RAW photo files.

[Blossom]

Every computer system is different. Just because it works great in one system doesn't mean it works the same on all unfortunately. 1709 has been nothing but a pita. I've been reading up on some more things I can try to narrow down the thrashing. I also suspect because I'm in the USA that Microsoft has more rights to do whatever they want to my system and get away with it. I bought this laptop in 2011 or 2012 I think it was so it's old.

Sent from my XT1528

[Terisa de morgan]

Originally Posted by Blossom

Every computer system is different. Just because it works great in one system doesn't mean it works the same on all unfortunately. 1709 has been nothing but a pita. I've been reading up on some more things I can try to narrow down the thrashing. I also suspect because I'm in the USA that Microsoft has more rights to do whatever they want to my system and get away with it. I bought this laptop in 2011 or 2012 I think it was so it's old.

Sent from my XT1528

If you find, please, tell it, because I have the same problem in one of my computers (not the other).

[Katsunami]

AFAIK, MS doesn't have different versions of Windows for Windows or the US.

There is one (very small) thing I can rant about with regard to the old E6500. It runs perfectly, except for a few tiny, minor quibbles that have no impact on daily usage.

I've been checking drivers and such, and the only one that was newer than my archived version, was ControlPoint A12. (Mine was A07.) While A07 installs without a hitch on Windows 10, A12 balks at the fact that the OS is unsupported. When setting Compatibility Mode to Windows 7, it installs and works. The only problems are choppy animations in the popup, and a brightness slider stuck at 100% (but the Windows slider does work correctly).

this is not really a rant. Sometimes, I'm just in awe how long Microsoft can keep stuff working. This is a 10 year old computer, originally running Windows Vista x64. Now it runs Windows 10 x64, using drivers written in 2006-2014, and everything basically still works as it dd 10 years ago, apart from:

- Having to set a single compatibility option for one installer
- The brigtness bar being stuck at 100% (but the Windows one works)
- Choppy (but correctly working) popups from ControlPoint

I wonder if it would work as a daily workhorse for another few years if I'd take the slower operation for granted, after replacing the battery and upgrading it to a 256 GB SSD, 2TB of storage, and 8GB RAM. To some extent, I love this computer. It still has dedicated INS/DEL, HOME/END, PGUP/PGDN buttons, dedicated volume controls, LED's ON TOP instead of ON THE FRONT for things like WIFI, BT, CAPS, and so on... on newer laptops, a lot of dedicated buttons have moved to FN-controls, and they have no leds, or in hard to see places.

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by Terisa de morgan

If you find, please, tell it, because I have the same problem in one of my computers (not the other).

Will do. I don't consider myself a tech but I'm determined to get this PC usable. I notice the search index was corrupted during the upgrade so rebuilding that. If you need to fix Cortana it's all about registry. You have to enable several keys and Bing. I don't know why they were turned off. The language area is still screwed up though. It says there are no language packs available but it doesn't seem to be stopping anything that I can tell so I'm leaving it alone.

Sent from my XT1528

[Katsunami]

If it has activated correctly without having a serial number (when upgraded from Windows 7, for example), you can just download the Media Creation Tool at Microsoft, create a bootable ISO, and then re-install Windows 10 clean. It'll activate itself. Have it install as many drivers as possible through Windows update, and install the rest manually. Most of the time, a Windows 7, 8 or 8.1 driver will work.

[Blossom]

I agree if that is an option to try but for me it isn't at the moment. I don't have a flash drive and all my setups to my programs I'd have to hunt down.

Disabling superfetch has really helped. The fans are finally quiet.

Here's what I've done since last post.
Disabled superfetch, uninstall Internet Explorer 11, Installed a third party firewall so Windows firewall is off or on standby mode. Some users reported problems after 1709 with ICS and Microsoft answer was to repair the firewall. Didn't work for me but installing a third party firewall seems to have quieted it. I also added exclusions into Windows Defender. You need to add the process, not the file or folder. It will still scan processes even with exclusions set as file/folder. The Process option makes it leave the program alone. Only do this with trusted programs of course such as other security software.

The main hogs are Windows Defender, some unknown I've yet to track down and telemetry. I'll wait for 24 hours to see if problem comes back.

Sent from my Nexus 7

[Blossom]

Gah! I updated CCleaner and it installed Avast without asking. There was no option or mention of it on the setup. I always do custom install. It totally messed up my system because it didn't install correctly. Now trying to fix it.

It turns out that CCleaner was bought by Avast.

Sent from my Nexus 7

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by John F

I received a notification from Overdrive that a digital hold is ready to borrow. I check it out. I go to download the epub, and I get an error message:

<...>

So I now have the the book checked out, but I can't download or return it. The new release date is Feb 14. So I'm guessing that I'll have to put the book on hold again (after my checkout expires) and be put at the end of the hold line.

Stupid technology.

There was fun years back. Patrons of the Philadelphia Free Library were reporting that it was offline. That wasn't quite the case. The library's site was up and running fine.

But the PFL, like most libraries, used Overdrive's service for eBooks. They bought X number of licenses for a title. When the patron wanted to check out an eBook, the request went to Overdrive. If a free license was available, the book was downloaded to the patron. If not, the patron got a message that all available copies were checked out, and they would have to wait for one to become available, just like a printed book.

The complaints came in January after a Christmas where an awful lot of Philadelphia area folks apparently found eReaders under their tree. Come January, they all heading to the library to download eBooks to read.

Overdrive's pipe couldn't handle the volume, and they were inaccessible. Overdrive had to scramble to increase bandwidth to service the increased demand.
______
Dennis

[Katsunami]

Well... strange. Suddenly, the DELL ControlPoint brightness bar is working, and Windows doesn't show it's own bar anymore. Also, animations are not choppy anymore. I'm not complaining, but I do think it strange.

Also, newer isn't always better. This old beast boots from off to login-screen in under 10 seconds. (I'm estimating 7-8 seconds; haven't timed it yet.) The newer laptop, which has UEFI instead of BIOS, takes 15 seconds to get to actually booting Windows. Total boot time of the newer laptop is around 20 seconds. Does it matter much? No, I just find it ironic that a much newer system takes more than twice as long to boot the exact same operating system, using much faster hardware.

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by Blossom

Gah! I updated CCleaner and it installed Avast without asking. There was no option or mention of it on the setup.

For me the option to install Avast is in plain sight, been so for several releases.

I don't let CC, or anything else, auto-download let alone auto-update, so I can't vouch for what happens in that scenario.



BR

[Katsunami]

For tools such as these, I always use the Portable version. Unzip, run, done.

https://www.piriform.com/ccleaner/builds