First they came for Notepad. Now they're coming for Task Manager Windows' murderous Task Manager looks set to get a makeover in Windows 11 after a work-in-progress turned up in the latest Insider Dev Channel build. Task Manager in Windows XP Remembering the good times The build, 22538, is an otherwise relatively mundane emission from the Windows team. Sure, there was great excitement …
You did know that David Plummer spent about as much time with it for XP and the famous disk partitioner, adding maybe a few draw tweaks here and there? The new UI looks barely different, putting the articles in the left pane into the ui above kinda makes sense. It's actually looking a lot more like Win Virtual machine manager UI now.
KISS is a typical old school programming element forgotten by modern devs. That's why Windows today sucks in so many ways. This design and taking a day to do means that it wasn't broken and didn't need much changing.
With every Windows update I lose more control of my own system. Processes I cannot kill off when they hang (because as full Admin I don't have authorization) services I cannot change (because you really didn't mean to do that. we at Microsoft know better than you) and the endless invasive telemetry to the point where Powershell fails to open promptly if there is no Internet connection.
Windows is no longer a Operating System. It is a personal data gathering utility tied to profit making similar to crypto currency miners. The more you use it, the more data MS has to sell on to its partners.
Killing special Tasks: You have to be "SYSTEM", "TRUSTEDINSTALLER" or one of the other builtin special accounts. If you don't know how to do that you don't need to kill tasks which you cannot kill. Same goes for Service configurations: If you don't know how to change them despite MS trying to block you, you really shouldn't.
Powershell not opening when there is no Internet: Tell us exactly how you achieved that, by default this is not true. But you can whack powershell into a configuration to make it so since Windows is still a somewhat open OS - which proves again that you should not have admin rights in fist place.
You get a point for the telemetry stuff/data gathering, though if you use the normal control panel (on the pro version) it goes down to reporting program crashes and the like. But you can turn that off too.
"So you honestly think that Microsoft should stop people from being allowed to mess with the equipment that they bought and paid for?"
Sigh.
I understand and agree with this reaction to the extent that I personally have decided not to use Windows but to stick to (slackware) Linux with OpenBSD as a fallback position.
But.
Software in the age of ubiquitous always-on distributed network connections is porous - think colostomy bag - and the writers of commercial software will want to move to charging rent rather than selling stand alone applications. So the boundary between our rights as customers/tenants and the software provider's rights as landlord is fractal and shifts. In the same way the dividing line between what is hardware (which I own) and software (which I have a licence to use subject to terms and conditions - e.g. a tenancy agreement) is pretty vague. Is the bios/boot code hardware or software?
Also.
Ordinary people (the ones who never come here) have problems managing a user name and a password and have problems saving files, let alone getting their head around processes on a CPU &c. Perhaps file sync to data stores in the 'cloud' (i.e. landlord's servers) is better for ordinary people.
I dunno - views?
Icon: I accepted some decades ago that I would always be the one outside in the street looking in on the feast.
"the writers of commercial software will want to move to charging rent rather than selling stand alone applications."
They can want whatever they like. They are still not getting another dime of my money. FOSS solutions work just fine, and I can (and do) pay in kind. It does not bother me that some people use the code for free, and don't even bother finding out if they can contribute ... that's what it's there for.
"Perhaps file sync to data stores in the 'cloud' (i.e. landlord's servers) is better for ordinary people."
Why? Because they have to pay for it and/or give up all of their personal details and/or their firstborn (just wait ... ) in order to use it? How does that help them remember their username, password, and where, exactly, their files are stored? More to the point, how does that help a tech find their missing files, should that kind of help become necessary?
I won't get into the concept of increasing the size of the attack surface with clouds, much less the unknown number of attack vectors introduced by clouds ...
But how do I get that understanding if I can't "fiddle" with it?
Learning HOW to "fiddle" with it requires that I .............
Wait for it ................
FIDDLE WITH IT!
< shakes head >
So ...................
His comment is bullshit.
And yes he was telling us how to "admin" our machines.
He said .............
DON'T.
But then if I want to break my machine.
I can.
I have that right.
And after 22+ years of using it, I still break it every now and then.
My OS respects my right to do it.
"When did we start talking about Android?"
LOL. I didn't say it was the only one.
In fact, the shorter list would be which ones AREN'T data gathering devices disguised as a consumer device. And it may be multiple levels deep - ie. even if Google didn't want your data, Verizon obviously wants to keep their own tally of which pr0n sites you've visited on your phone so they know whether to slipstream ads for blue pills or tight leather.
A nice gesture, but some people think that adding one more set of obstacles that have no UI controls is progress. (though even the are you really, really, really sure you want to see hidden system files and file extensions have a check box and the sky isn't falling). They can's stop themselves.
That's what the oncoming truck is for.
This. This is exactly why Windows will never make it on the desktop. You run into a seemingly straightforward issue - killing a rogue process - and end up having to jump through a sequence of obscure and badly-documented configuration hoops. Then you try to get advice on the forums and cop a load of snark from some smug git dissing you as a n00b.
PS. couldn't they just have ported htop?
You will have to go back to Windows 3.x if you insist on that. Remember "Active Desktop" from Windows 95? Making your desktop background a webpage, making your fast Win95 slow down to a jumping mouse and invited web-virii right to your desktop?
I like the fact that you both followed the FAQ, and ignored it in equal measure :-)
Quote: "The correct English plural of "virus" is "viruses". The Latin word is a mass noun (like "air") and, therefore, there is no correct Latin plural.
Please use "viruses", and if people use other forms, please do *not* use Virus-L/comp.virus to correct them."
"you both followed the FAQ, and ignored it in equal measure"
I did nothing of the sort. I pointed the user at the FAQ, not the mailing list or newsgroup. That's what the FAQ is for, to take a portion of the load off the more interactive forums.
Another opportunity to remind ourselves of the difference between homophones (two words that sound the same or similar) and homonyms (two different meanings of the same spelled word).
I stand to be corrected, but Bill S could probably tell his arse (G. Arsch) from his ass (L. asinus).
It takes a septic to conflate the two.
Well, I had apps that said Windows 3.1 or better, and I followed that to the letter, installed OS/2 (OK, that joke should be dragged out the back and put out of it's misery).
Off topic, I Will admit though that after playing around with OS/2 as my daily drive for 6 months, was how I managed to land my first job at Big Blue. Apparently entry-level OS/2 fanboys were as rare as rocking horse shit in the 90's, and it's included semi pre-emptive Windows 3.1 offering was way more stable than Redmond's native offering for some unknown reason!
I use Process Hacker, as its more useful (you may have issues in corporate environments though as a lot of AV & similar "security software" flags it as a nasty, because it has (obv.) lots of low level functionality they deem suspect. You can get the code and build your own to be sure there's no hidden nasties (AV will still whinge though)
I couldn't care less what Microsoft's "plans" for Windows 11 are. Until they rescind their elimination of ALL my home PC's and notebooks from using it, MY plan is to go to Linux Mint when support for 10 is dropped. I'm gone from MS forever. Goodbye. (It wasn't so nice knowing 'ya.)
When you do make the change be patient. Linux is not Windows and there is learning curve. It can be frustrating at first but after a few weeks it gets easier and a joy to use. Like many others have said, "I wish I switched sooner". The refreshing feeling that YOUR machine is 100% under YOUR control. It does what you tell it. It does not have hidden masters pulling strings and spying on you. It's stable and runs for weeks before YOU restart it. It upgrades only when you allow it and you can chose what updates if ever.
I don't find this constant fiddling with user interfaces very useful but then I'm not an enthusiast. I'm just trying to get work done.
As for Linux Mint, I installed it on my Windows 10 machine as a boot option. Now I only bring up Windows 10 occasionally, when I've got some spare time to wait for the updates to load. You can tell that Win10 is a bit off because compared to mint its quite sluggish and the processor fan's working overtime. (Win10 never really shuts down when idle, Linux does.)
But... Windows does what I want it to do and I can run all the programs that I want.
Linux/BSD are nice and all, but from my experience there's always something not working properly and, no matter the DE, it always looks a bit more ugly than Windows (even after Microsoft UI botches).
And then there's the Linux/GNU/whatever community, that on the whole I find to be preachy and have a lot of people who think very highly of themselves. I'd almost rather use TikTok than ask them anything.
I have to agree on this. MacOS is a solution if you absolutely have to use MS Office in some capacity and retain a coherent UI across the years, but sometimes their forced multiple desktops with one app per desktop that blocks you from having 2 apps on the same screen drives me nuts (Option+Click maximise for the win, but it's still a PITA).
Unfortunately, I cannot get a modernish MacOS to run as a hackintosh on my Dell's at my disposal without having the same gritty issues as Linux or BSD - something is not going to work properly, and it's either audio, video, function keys - and when you finally get most of that working, you find out that the bloody machine won't resume after suspend, and I'm too much of a cheapskate to dump 1000 euros on what was (intel processor days) an entry level PC that I could get for half the price or less from some of the other reputable makers (or maybe a 3rd from the less reputable ones. Acer I'm looking at you, where you secure your chassis and parts with blue loctite coated screws that fall out on their own and then claim non warranty misuse...).
Personally, I would love to return to the Windows 2000 days. You had a robust OS you could generally hack around on your own without having many svchost.exe managed tasks running higher than admin and you could "easily" force a working system down to use less than 24 megs of RAM on after first boot and didn't require farting around an add-on command line console to (try and generally fail to) purge system services that you have absolutely no use for (some registry fettling required I will admit).
I've wanted to try to get a Win10 down to a similar level of bare bones, but it does not seem to be something that can reasonably done in a day without having some sort of critical system failure that requires 2 hours of system restore or full reinstall...
One of the nicest features of Windows XP was Hardware Profiles.
You could setup a hardware profile where only the services you needed were started, shut off all unnecessary startup programs, even shut off AV software. It was great for getting every last ounce of processing power for gaming.
I was not happy when that was removed from Windows 7.
The same could be said about Windows. For me the biggest irritation Windows offers is its mishandling of USB ports. This probably doesn't affect most users but if you're a developer who uses a JTAG debugger and one or more serial ports then you'll rapidly find out that Windows (assuming the driver actually works) ties physical ports to specific USB devices. Fixing this is relatively straightforward at home but in a curated work environment you have to be Administrator to do this which requires -- at best -- a separate login.....its just horrible. Linux 'just works'.
Incidentally, another place I ran into Windows's 'didn't quite figure it out' policy was working the polls in last November's election (in the US). The Dominion voter terminals are Windows based and they connect to a laser printer to print a voter's ballot. When voting spans several days you have to pack up everything at the end of a session (its locked into a steel cage). When you come to hook everything up again you rapidly discover that nothing works unless you match a specific printer with a specific voting machine. Windows won't tell you who/what/why, it just issues a generic error and sulks, leaving the polling place staff limited time to figure everything out. Linux, "never a problem".
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@Phil Opian-tube & Ucle Ron
It is just a matter of unfamiliarity. Whenever I now need to do something on/in Windows, 9 times out of ten I have to google in order to find out how to do it (the only Windows machine I need to touch belongs to my better half). And when I do, it feels so.... limited.
I have been using Linux on my PC's and laptops since 2004. Started off with Mandrake, followed it to Mandriva and then went with Mageia when Mandriva started losing the plot.
Microsoft removed the familiar right-click-on-the-taskbar approach of old for Windows 11 and adopted a slightly odd right-click-on-the-start-button method instead.
What's the point, except pissing out users??
Why changing those kind of things people are used to? It just makes things harder to be done.
I Agree, but it's hardly a Motte and Bailey keeping out marauders from tinkering with a few innards. Once you're aware how to do it you're off and running and will soon forget there was ever an alternative. And it was already on the start right click anyway so there's already a bunch of people who won't even notice the change.
I can't believe I'm defending Microsoft but, come on guys! Really!
The point is M$ and windows is part of the new world order. The constant tinkering, blatant spy ware and control is all conditioning. Spyware used to be illegal but when it is a mass surveillance tool used by governments it gets a pass. And still the mass use it?? Ask yourself why you still use it.
"And still the mass use it?? Ask yourself why you still use it."
Must we continue to reply to the same ridiculous question??
We use APPS, not OS's. What I mean by that is we spend 90% of our time interfacing with a application that modifies or creates our data - Photoshop, AutoCAD, Premier, InDesign, ProTools, Bloomberg workstations, Quicken, plus thousands upon thousands of specialized industry-specific apps.
When Linux can boast running these apps NATIVELY and *not* inside an emulator or compatibility layer, both of which can cause incompatibility and increased administration...
Get. Back. To. Us.
I don't use APPS. I use programs.
The only tool you list that I use is AutoCAD ...ACad2K on Win2K, to be precise. It works perfectly (is over-kill, even) for my needs, no need to ever upgrade. I am slowly moving to a FOSS solution, though.
Before you say it, the NT system is airgapped.
In the last couple decades, the down-time spent upgrading/patching/swearing at the tools I choose to run is on the order of perhaps 5 minutes per month. Maybe. In a bad month. One of my laptops is coming up on twenty years old, still runs my solution for tools (including the NT system, with dual boot, if needed). Yourself? How much money have you/your employer had to spend chasing Redmond in all that time? Costing you/your employer how much money?
Not quite so ridiculous a question, now is it?
I do not remember "app" beginning to be used as common shorthand until roughly 2005, and it didn't really take off until the release of the first iPhone (2007?) ... Prior to that, "Application Software" was used in contracts (and by suits), "program" was used by everybody else. Smaller programs were called "utilities" or "tools". Some used "executable files" (or .exes) and ".com files" on DOS. There was also separation of binaries, filters and scripts.
But APPS? Not so much. Not in my memory, anyway. With one exception ... the proverbial "killer app" (mid 1980s?), which was mostly just used as a term in the media and by certain rah-rah types in marketing (see: iPhone, above).
And obviously you are a complete 1 off user.
I run Linux are my primary OS and I am an Administrator of an Active Directory Windows Network.
But I also have a VM running windows as there are still things you cannot do under Linux to Administer a Windows Active Directory.
As far as regular users, Office is a road block to Linux. You can claim the Libre is a competent replacement but it just isn't! So much in Libre is clunky and clumsy compared to Office. In regards to BI Calc just doesn't have the functionality that Excel does. Even something as simple a a pivot table is so clunky in Calc and so easy and intuitive in Excel. When MS creates a cross platform Office (and it may happen) then Linux "might" become a viable alternative.
< heavy sigh >
So you don't actually don't understand exactly what .....
"Linux is not Windows"
.... means.
And no you apparently don't, because ...............
"... Photoshop, AutoCAD, Premier, InDesign, ProTools, Bloomberg workstations, Quicken, plus thousands upon thousands of specialized industry-specific apps. ... "
Which are all .................
Windows apps.
And that is NOT a Linux problem.
No matter what you think.
Nothing is burning down except a few commenters. They moved some stuff from the top to the left, and some stuff from the left to the top. So they rotated a few things. Agreed, it's a bit pointless, but it's hardly a great fire of london. It looked pretty much the same since Windows 8.1. I haven't checked with the blessed windows 7 [genuflect...genuflect] because I can't be arsed finding where I stuck those machines.
The principle of interfaces when they came into computer science was that the interface, by remaining unchanged* enabled the developer to improve the the implementation behind it whilst not requiring the user of the interface to change in step. What does the I in GUI stand for? That's right - interface. So why is that simple principle not being followed?
What really gets up my nose about this is that Microsoft imposes non-optional GUI changes on its victims supporters who then argue that Microsoft can't be ditched for anything else because of the training costs it would involve. Stockholm Syndrome?
* Of course a new facility could require the interface to be augmented but it shouldn't be broken.
And Gnome is "Different"? "Better"?
Gnome 3, to me, is completely unusable in a desktop environment. For some reason they thought Gnome was going to be used on tablets, touch screens but it's not! At least MS had the sense to walk away from the disaster that was Windows 8 but the Gnome team seems perpetually "stuck on stupid!" Not only that but don't question their methods or design because "They know so much more that you mere humans do!"
This is why I use Cinnamon! It's a simple, standardized, familiar user interface that I can use without any "where the hell is what I want!"
Just like windows 7 was the apology for vista and 10 the apology for 8.
11 is a turkey release, 12 can't be announced until AFTER the burning platforms speech for 11, and after at least the 2nd attempt for a forced migration off 10. It's like Christmas. You can't open your presents until you take down the old Halloween decorations an put up the tree, but you also gotta at least wait for them to show up under it on Christmas eve.
Or maybe I'm just looking forward to whatever comes after 11 with a little too much anticipation.
"You can't open your presents until you take down the old Halloween decorations an put up the tree, "
Hmm - some of my Halloween decorations are still in place from 2019. The neighbours' kids still want to clap their hands to cause the spiders to drop - or press the button on the Ghoul clock The neighbours have been told the Xmas "tree" lights will definitely be switched off at Candlemas - even though it is likely they will ask for an extension until Easter.
Hmm, when I was recently setting up some new computers for colleagues, the pre-installed Windows 10 asked me if I wanted to update to Windows 11. It asked liek some websites ask whether you like to allow cookies or whether you like to allow cookies.
Fortunately paid-for Windows 10 still allows you to remain on Windows 10.
"... a fix to stop Explorer crashing for some users when hardware volume control buttons are jabbed."
Is there any bug description that is more Windows?
Win7 is stable & lets us get shit done.
Along comes Win8, nobody can find anything, the UI blows goats, & the outcry is such that MS is forced to release an update to restore some of the functionality. Meanwhile Win7 users take a "wait & see" attitude in the hopes MS will release an OS that lets us get shit done.
Along comes Win10 that makes Win8 look like visual & functional sanity in comparison. Nobody likes it, it takes forever for folks to figure out where all the functionality has gone (to either work around via MS approved means or to find a 3rd party utility to force the fix down MS' throat), and folks are still having trouble getting shit done. Meanwhile Win7 users are still waiting.
Then comes Win11 & cranks the idiocy up to eleven. Functionality gone, useability gone, UI designed by a drunken myopic colour blind Vogon, and to put shit flavoured frosting on an already shit flavoured cake, MS doubles down on all the shit nobody wants, to remove all the shit they need to get shit done. Meanwhile Win7 users are still waiting.
Yes Win7 is a security issue waiting to be exploited by n'er-do-wells, but Win10/11 has become a security, useability, & functionality shit show exploited by MS itself. Damned if you stay, damned if you "upgrade", so WTF is the answer?
"Just use Linux" isn't really an option for some. From legacy software that is bespoke & nobody has created a newer version to replace (think CNC control software, ancient interface software for hardware nobody makes anymore, etc), or software the Linux community hasn't been interested in creating (and no, the typical person off the street is not about to write the replacement code themselves), Linux can be the answer a lot of the time, but when it's not, it's a deal-breaker that stops the migration dead in it's tracks.
Win7 may be old & crotchety, but then so am I, and at least it lets me get shit done.
Win10/11 is new, shiny, & about as useful as bollocks on a tuba. =-/
Yeah, I agree that windows 7 was one of the good ones. It was a huge leap back in the correct direction compared to vista.
8 was inexcusable.
10 actually made some huge improvements. It's got a great core, and if the same people that broke 8 and Vista didn't wrap a huge turd around the core of 10 in could have been brilliant. They should have just finished moving the old 95-98 stuff into the new settings UI and called it a day on the UI side.
11 was never going to be that. It only exists to push a hardware upgrade cycle for for Microsoft's hardware partners that were on the ropes pre-covid. They where pissed that microsoft made them look bad by selling better than a cookie cutter ultrabook knockoff and 11 was them mending fences in the channel.
It turns out that nature had other plans for us all, and the PC market rebounded before they could finish 11.
The window 10 team probably would have kept the release train going for another couple years. It doesn't matter much. Nobody is going to be pushing windows 11 only software too soon. Get on the LTS train with the rest of us apes and wait them out.
So what shit can't you do in Win 10/11?
(Ok, I switched to Ubuntu when Vista arrived, but I still need to use WinX in VMs for Delphi dev.)
The start button moved. Wow, That REALLY stops me from doing shit. The right-click popup menu has cut 'n' paste piccies instead of text lines. Now I'm stumped as I'm unable to click little buttons and I seem to forget to use Ctl/C & V.
So many here complain of things like the Control Panel / Settings muddle, yet attempts to resolve this type of issue cause constant derision.
My only gripe with Win 7 -> 10 -> 11 is the corresponding increase in telemetry. I think I can handle all those tricky changes to the UI. In all other respects for me it Gets Shit Done.
I am totally blind & require a screen reader to interface with the computer at all. Given the frequency MS causes the underlying OS to go TITSUP (Total Inability To Support User Processes) & that those bits have to be stable for the reader to run on, I can't even count on the OS to stay running from reboot to reboot. I can't see to do a roll-back to a previously known state, there's no reader in Safe Mode so no interaction possible on my part, thus my only fix is to take it to someone like the BestBuy GeekSquad & *pay* to have them repair the screw ups that MS has forced down the pipe. I can't afford that.
Even when the OS runs reasonably well for a time (IE: I've refused to reboot) I can't find half the shit I need to get shit done. Sighted folks can simply scan the screen, find a menu item or icon or whatnot, but I have to let the reader read the entire screen to me, try to determine which of the goobledygook might be the bit I need, then try & figure out how to trigger that bit. I can't see to use a pointing device, I have to use the keyboard, and MS has gone out of it's way to render the UI into a visual-only fuster cluck of iconography. No keyboard shortcut means I can't get to it. Yes I know copy, paste, select all, etc, but those don't do any good if I'm trying to figure out WTF to do to get Windows to give me access to a "hamburger menu icon" that my reader describes as "elipsys". Yes, three dots, sooooo?
I've got my primary Win7 machine to get shit done with, plus a Win10 machine to try & figure out how to use it enough to make the switch. I've been at this for *YEARS* and every time I think I might be getting a handle on it, MS goes & changes everything yet again, adds functions over here, removes them from over there, moves the controls somewhere else, tweaks the UI to randomize shit into yet another cluster fuck, & then, just to make sure there's no bloody way in hell I can afford to switch, breaks random shit that causes the Win10 machine to stop working. I end up having to take the machine to the BB GS to fix it, pay to get it rolled back, & then have to keep it off the internet lest the auto update cause it to happen all over again.
"Just use the LTSB like the rest of us." That's nice, but *HOW*? AFAIK it's not for sale to regular people off the street, BestBuy nor NewEgg knows WTF it is to try & sell me a copy, so I'm stuck with the plebe version of Win7Pro64 & Win10Pro that came with the machines on which they're run.
*Frustrated sigh*
"*Frustrated sigh*"
I hear that all the way up here in Sonoma. Relax, have a beer.
Question for you ... are you aware of the Knoppix Linux distribution's "Adriane" option? In a nutshell, it is developed by a guy and his wife, who is blind. It's been in continuous development for about 15 years now, so it's not a flash in the pan.
A live CD or DVD image of the latest version (9.1) can be downloaded from the usual mirrors ... It addresses most, if not all, of the gripes you are venting about when it comes to Redmond's clusterfuck. It's based on Debian, so is as up to date as anything else. A couple friends of mine use it, and report Klaus and Adriane (his wife's name is Adriane, thus the name) are quite responsive to feedback, both positive and respectful negative.
The basic distro is one of the easiest Linux distros to use ... I sometimes suggest it to newbies because of the well thought out live CD and DVD. Simply enter "adriane64" as a boot option to start Knoppix with the screen reader and other helpful bits and bobs running. It'll find your network. The text browser is elinks. It supports braille terminals. (Entering "adriane" as your boot option runs the 32-bit version, if your hardware is old or you prefer it that way.)
For more:http://knopper.net/knoppix-adriane/index-en.html
The forum:http://knoppix.net/forum/forum.php
Knoppix official mirrors: http://knopper.net/knoppix-mirrors/index-en.html
I am aware of Adriane. I have even tried to use it a few times. I have determined that I am cursed.
Both my primary machine (Win7Pro64) and the Win10 machine are both Intel NUC's. The primary is a 4th gen I3 at 1.8GHz, 16Gb RAM, & a 250Gb SSD. The Win10 machine is an 8th? gen I5 at 2.?GHz, 32Gb RAM, & a 512Gb NVMe SSD.
I'm not sure I could get a machine any better supported WRT hardware drivers.
So I plug in the USB DVD, insert the Adriane DVD, and... nothing. I type in "Adriane" in the hopes it's just sitting at the menu, but nothing happens. I grab a sighted helper to BeMyEyes & watch the normally unused/unplugged monitor, but they claim the screen just sits at a "Loading..." prompt with no other clues.
I unplug the DVD, use just a bootable USB stick with the ISO burned to it, & move the stick to the Win10 machine. Insert stick, reboot, aaaaand... silence.
Again, sighted helper to BME, this time they describe the boot menu, I walk them through to boot to the ISO, aaaaaand... nothing.
It didn't find the audio subsystem to initialize it & start talking to me.
I know the speakers are on/working, I'm simply moving the AUX-input cable from the primary to the secondary, it works with the primary, but the secondary stay silent. I know the secondary's audio works, it's just fine under Win10.
I can't get my sighted helper to admit there's an error message I can use to research on the primary system, so I'm left unable to get Adriane, Vinux, nor any other talking distro to do so.
It's enough to make me thankful I already shave my head bald, otherwise I'd be tearing my hair out in frustrated fistfulls... =-/
*Accepts the drink & drinks half of it in one go*
I would *LOVE* to be using Linux rather than Windows, but so far my luck has proven I'm cursed to zombie-shuffle along under Win7 rather than sprinting under a distro...
Am I missing something? The Windows 10 Task Manager was re-designed (with the requisite whitespace, flatness and spidery fonts) a long time ago. The linked Windows 11 Task Manager screen shot looks like a slightly re-skinned version of the current Windows 10 version -- some basic system info added across the top and the old-skool menus converted to icons on the left sidebar.
You didn't miss it. With Windows 8/10 it was extended, showing GPU usage, and showing how much of the RAM still needs to be flushed to disk, showing disk activity statistics and so on.
But there is not much sense in reskinning it - I bet they take away good usability. Like with the taskbar. Or the wasted space with "suggestions" on the new start menu which you cannot turn of. And *rant*rant*rant*....
Menus are good because you can change settings and invoke commands without leaving the actual context. The fact that web developers and designer can't design and code menus and resorted to separate "pages" just shows they have really no clue about application design and ergonomics. If I wanted an animated book, I would have bought one.
I'm aghast that even minor changes to completely unimportant applications such as Windows Notepad and Calculator are front-page headlines on ICT webzines. Come on, people, what ARE you thinking writing about such dribble?
Windows is completely schizophrenic with half the UI being "modern" and the other half stuck in the early '90's. Any other company producing such junk would've sunk within a year.
"The rest of the world doesn’t give a shit. Because it doesn’t matter"
When W8 through 10 came out I told my friends and family that I was staying with W7. Therefore I would not have the familiarity to talk them through problems over the phone - or even in exchange for a meal.
Most of them have now given up on Windows 10 and use Apple or Android devices. Several have converted their kids' laptops to Chromebooks for remote learning during lockdown.
One or two still come to me to dry their tears because W10 has suddenly stopped them doing something they've done for years.
I'm aghast that even minor changes to completely unimportant applications such as Windows Notepad and Calculator are front-page headlines on ICT webzines. Come on, people, what ARE you thinking writing about such dribble?
Methinks that what is interesting, here, though perhaps not actually "newsworthy" within the meaning of the act is that Microsoft are still capable of taking an unexceptionable and unregarded piece of the supporting software of their OS and tweaking it for no good reason and ending up making it worse. It seems they will never learn.
Maybe as long as Mark Russinovich is around they don't dare, but he's white and male (don't know about his gender/sexual preferences, never cared about them, his books and code are enough), so probably there will be request to replace him in the name of diversity....
But apart from that this story was really a bit yawnworthy. I'm questioning if it's a story at all. The "slightly odd right-click-on-the-start-button" method doesn't strike me as odd at all, particularly as we've had it since Windows 10.
I did enjoy the meme, however, and sent it to my 12 year old who says I don't understand them.
Sent from my Mac
There is the much used trope of every other desktop release being good, though I fear that ended at 8.
Any OS baking hardcore spyware into itself (so, Android, iOS, Windows) without sane means of disabling it gets a black mark from me.
Server 2019 as a desktop is quite usable, close UI to 7 behaviour, good compatibility and far easier to control garbage. Happily recommend those that can't ditch Windows to try it for those workloads. Not tried 2022 out yet but the free trial has been out a little while now.
Ironically, Vista, with good drivers and adequate hardware was actually a really nice system - 7 effectively being Vista SP4. The Vista Beta worked perfect on my setup of the day - but then you're dealing with a PC enthusiast as opposed to GP experience of it...
..... go to the foot of my stairs.
Bugger me who'd have thought it! Control volume using the mouse wheel, open up handy shortcuts with a right click on that windowy looking start icon. What the hell!
I've been a loyal El Reg reader for donkeys and you only just tell me now? Shameful. (But thank you).
As for redesigning task manager, do your best Mr. Gates, The only time I opened it was when I was in deep doo doo, and got further into it by doing so.
Toodle Pip.
PS. I live in a bungalow so can't go the the foot of my stairs.
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