Posts by BobChip

China orders trial of aged care robots that can cook, clean, and provide emotional support

Aged Care Robots?

So soon already! A potential use for redundant / retired robots. How very ecological.

1.5 TB of James Webb Space Telescope data just hit the internet

Re: COMMUNISM!

That's a little harsh - they are scientists, not MS. Science may be very competitive, but at the end of the day it is still all about sharing data.

Microsoft pulls MS365 Business Premium from nonprofits

Re: It's a pain - but there is a better solution

Can't use LibreOffice? Why not? People in my working group - 50 + in our local network - use MS, Linux and Apple OSs, and their office suites, all the time to create and exchange documents without any difficulty. Just take care to watch your save and send formats before you commit.

If you are a free agent, have another look. If you are constrained by a "big brother" business policy............ well hard luck.

Windows 11 market share stalls ahead of Windows 10 cutoff

Re: Landfill

While some computers undoubtedly will end up in landfill, I should like to think that the majority will either be recycled (materials recovery) or repurposed (given a new life with a new OS). The "end of 10" ought to imply a large supply of very cheap (and often very powerful) second hand machines with years of useful life left in them, for those who have the wit to take advantage of the opportunity to grab one. (I have just spent £40 locally on a very high spec pre-owned Dell laptop for my wife, now revitalised with Linux Mint).

All this depends on corporates not wanting to completely write off the asset value invested in these machines, to somewhat offset the cost of buying the new ones, AND someone to take the time and trouble to "clean" them before releasing them to the second hand market. Sadly, I suspect that the cost of cleaning up will win out, until the penny drops and someone realises that this will have to be done anyway, for compliance reasons.

Compliance sledgehammer (too smashed up for economic materials recovery) followed by landfill after all......?

Wish I wasn't an optimist.......

Microsoft dumps AI into Notepad as 'Copilot all the things' mania takes hold in Redmond

Re: Smells of desperation

Desperation indeed. But paying for it? No I am not! I went Linux years ago.

NASA keeps ancient Voyager 1 spacecraft alive with Hail Mary thruster fix

Re: Remember, the best protection from small explosions is.....CORRECTION

The best protection from ALL explosions is distance. Lots and lots of distance.

There.

FIFY

Microsoft set to pull the plug on Bing Search APIs in favor of AI alternative

Ditching Bing

Yet another reason (on top of many existing ones) to abandon Micro$$t for good. I have already done so, and feel so much more productive, comfortable and secure as a result. I will never be going back to anything made or pushed by MS

The 'End of 10' is nigh, but don't bury your PC just yet

Linux alternatives

Yes, LibreOffice is very good. GIMP is quite a reasonable alternative to Photoshop - yes, it works differently to Photoshop, and there will be a learning curve, but to date I have yet to find any task which I used to do in Photoshop which cannot be done just as well in GIMP. Inkscape is a very powerful vector graphics package like Illustrator. I used to be considered a Corel Draw power user, and now regard Inkscape as a good (even if not quite as good) alternative to Corel. I always preferred Corel to Illustrator, but that probably reflects familiarity and the type of work I was doing, as much as the respective merits of each package. But Inkscape is good and, like Libre Office and GIMP, it is free.

Xcode I don't know enough about to comment on, and while there are decent basic (free) CAD packages available for Linux, I would agree that there is (as yet) nothing available to compete with the power of Autocad. I understand that it can be run in Linux using Codeweavers Crossover, but I have no personal experience of this.

To sum up, my personal decision in the face of the imminent demise of a usable Windows system is to switch to Linux. Not only do I move to an infinitely more user-friendly, stable, easy to maintain, nag free OS, but I also recover a nice 2Tb SS hard drive which I can put to much better use. No brainer.

What price Windows 11 / 12 now?

Windows 11 market share falls despite Microsoft ad blitz

Re: Maybe Microsoft should go back to making just an O.S.

Someone else already does make "just an OS". Two of them. Apple and Linux. The choice is yours.

The Telegraph jumps the gun on World War III

War of the Worlds again?

Remember Orson Welles (I think?) and his 1938 spoof radio broadcast claiming that "the Martians have landed". It caused amazing panic at the time, no doubt because of his sober gravitas. I bet it is still out there somewhere on the internet... But responsible?? Really??

Microsoft moved the goalposts once. Will Windows 12 bring another shift?

Re: moved to Linux

One big step?

No. Not really. In one sense, only about 30 minutes to go double boot - or for a complete install. In another sense, a couple of days or so to adapt to the new, FAST, secure environment.

I was FORCED to take this step when Windows 8 deprecated hundreds of pounds worth of expensive peripherals which had worked perfectly under Windows 7, but which to my considerable surprise still worked beautifully under Ubuntu. No further explanation or justification needed. MS response had been "just go out and buy all new kit compatible with Win 8 (and stop being a nuisance..)"

I continue to watch MS's "progress" with the same fascination as watching a disaster movie. You know what is coming....... but not quite when.

20% discount offer on Windows 365 expires around same time as Windows 10 support

Re: A tempting deal

If I had said that every time I'd advised someone to "go Linux" I would have run out of fingers years ago. I have of course taken my own advice. Very happy Minty penguin now.

Windows isn't an OS, it's a bad habit that wants to become an addiction

Re: Windows and I...

It was Windows 8 (2012, I think) that did it for me. It deprecated several very expensive peripherals - film scanner etc.. - which I then found, to my enormous surprise and astonishment, were perfectly well supported by Ubuntu. I started out on dual boot, but within a few months the boot logs told me that I was no longer using Windows at all. Now I work entirely in Linux, and have never had any cause to regret it.

I was not "persuaded or drawn" to switch to Linux. Microsoft FORCED me to jump. Probably the only thing for which I am ever going to be genuinely grateful to Microsoft.....

It is by no means an OS landslide, but I find myself increasingly working in partnership with other designers and businesses who have also switched to Linux. More significantly, none of them have gone back to Microsoft.

Microsoft blames 'latent code issue' after Windows 11 upgrades sneak past admin blockades

Microsoft will stop at nothing.......

I recognise the above title statement to be demonstrably true. And it is not just Microsoft playing this game. I also find it deeply concerning - meaning I do not like it and "will stop at nothing" to prevent it from impacting me. My solution may seem drastic, but it is relatively simple and very effective:-

1 Linux

2 Have nothing to do with Microsoft; in particular Office 365 or anything else linked to cloud storage. Sorry Google, but that mostly applies to you too...

3 As far as possible, treat your computer as an air-gapped stand alone device, where you store your sensitive data. Make air gapped backup (external HDD) a habit. You ought to be doing this anyway.

4 I recognise the need to use the internet. For this I use a cheap - almost "disposable" Chromebook, and a clean, reformatted USB data stick for data transfer between this and my isolated desktop when necessary.

5 Software updates (fast and easy on Linux) are managed by enabling WiFi for only the few minutes needed. This minimises the risk of intrusion.

I appreciate that for a lot of users this is going back to the stone age. I would only point out that the stone age was much simpler to keep secure, and that no one tried (as much) to monetise your every last keystroke.

Inconvenient? Less so than you might think. It is as much about working habits as anything else. And the people for whom I prepare sensitive plans and drawings are clear that they very much appreciate the level of security and privacy I can offer.

April's Patch Tuesday leaves unlucky Windows Hello users unable to login

Re: Windows Hello, Windows Goodbye!

Hello Linux. Simples

'Copilot will remember key details about you' for a 'catered to you' experience

Re: I don't need bloat!

I read years ago - probably in this forum - that the purpose of an OS was to facilitate the user in doing productive work.

M$ has not done that since - IMHO - Win 7. It has consistently focused on "owning" your machine and, as far as (in)humanly possible, monetising every keystroke you make. This is why I chose the Linux route more than a decade ago, and, having recently had to try to do useful work on a Win 11 machine - on another machine in another work environment - I have come to realise just how bad Windows has become.

I do not want or need to become a Linux "evangelist". Microsoft are far more effective than I will ever be....

Re: Where will Copilot store its memories ?

Nowhere near me, or any of my machines. Ever. (Penguin in the room, or rather, a whole flock of them..) I have belonged to the Spheniscidae clan for almost 20 years, and continue to enjoy robust and secure good health.

HP Inc settles printer toner lockout lawsuit with a promise to make firmware updates optional

Re: Update optional?

Expressed a little more clearly (or directly) my next replacement printer will NOT be made by HP. A replacement is imminent, as my very elderly (but hitherto very reliable) HP LaserJet m401d is clearly dying. Thanks to El Reg for the timely advice. Canon ink tank looks like a good choice, as they all come with full function Linux drivers. (penguin in the room....)

To be honest, I think my HP problem boils down to all the toner / print units now being re-manufactured old stock - polish it up a bit, put more toner in, repackage and sell again. No prime new stock available - almost certainly no longer being made-, and the elderly green photosensitive cylinder has a limited working life. It was a good machine while it lasted, and probably still would be if supplied with decent quality toner units, but after about 20(?) years and goodness knows how many toner units I really have no grounds at all for complaint.

Time to move on to newer technology..., but it will not be HP.

Printers start speaking in tongues after Windows 11 update

Re: Same as it ever was.

It has happened to me as well. Your expensive printer / high spec film scanner no longer works. Just go buy new ones ... About £ 3k to replace all my deprecated kit.

Ultra cheap solution is to go Linux; you would be amazed just how much kit (e.g my Epson high end photo / film scanner, Canon ink tank printer etc..) comes with fully functional Linux drivers. I do NOT use anything sold by Micro$t or HP. I have not had to replace ANY peripherals. 'Cos Linux updates almost never screw with your system either. Happy minty bunny now.

Microsoft trims more CPUs from Windows 11 compatibility list

Stay alive!

Please don't die! Just go Linux now, and live on happily while you watch the demise - not just of Windows, but of M$ too.

Live long and prosper!

Slowly AND surely

Minor edit required.... Microsoft is rapidly removing itself from the marketplace. Full stop.

But seriously, who cares?

Microsoft to force Windows 11 24H2 on Home and Pro users

Re: M$ good, Linux bad

Odd. I just had to reload Linux after a hard drive crash, replacing an elderly "spinning glass" HDD with a new 2 Tb SSD. To my considerable surprise, during loading, Mint 22.1, it immediately recognised my Canon Pixma TS6251 inkjet and gave it full functionality, including the scan function. No additional software needed. Up to now, I have always had to download Canon's own Linux software before I could use it. It also comes with HP laserjet M401d drivers pre-loaded. Nice, as I have one of these as well. The only time I had to go "outside of the box" was to get full function drivers for an Epson V600 scanner, which also works perfectly in its' new environment. Happy penguin now.

Linux "better" than Win 11? - which I still have to use on another machine. Yes. It is now much easier to set up, use and maintain, and much more stable. Can't wait for the day when I can wrap up the Windows project, chuck MS in the bin, and repurpose that machine with a Linux OS.

Just my personal opinion, of course, but I now see M$ OSs as obsolete dinosaurs. I will not lament their passing for one second.

A New Year's gift from Microsoft: Surprise, your scanners don't work

Scanner not working?

Windows 8 completely borked my Minolta film scanner, a Canon A4 flatbed scanner, a very expensive roll feed A0 inkjet printer, and an elderly HP laser printer. ALL OF THEM! MS response was "you need to update = renew your obsolete devices" In excess of £ 4500 for that lot!

Oddly enough the whole setup worked perfectly when I tried Ubuntu - so much for device incompatibility will always stop people using Linux... I now use an HP 400 series B&W laser, an Epson 700 scanner and a Canon Pixma inkjet, all working perfectly and reliably together under Mint 22. Plus Vuescan and Turboprint - Linux versions - as they add lots of useful control and functionality.

Ask yourself why I abandoned anything to do with M$ all these years ago... and have never looked back since.... Simples!

Microsoft coughs up yet more Windows 11 24H2 headaches

Re: They should have called it...

Windows 8 beta?

BOFH: Don't sell The Boss a firewall. Sell him The Dream

Re: That reminds me of "The Plan"

You are roughly right. I first came across "the plan" some time in the 1980s, when I was working as a young research chemist in the (now defunct) ICI. The original "plan" was quite a bit longer and more detailed, and carefully tailored to reflect the well known (to staff) attitudes and proclivities of some of ICI's individual operating divisions. It was wildly popular at the time. Such deep cynicism (AKA insight?), among us merely mortal junior staff, was profoundly unwelcome to senior managers, to the extent that copies had to be hand circulated (Don't use the internal mail!) pretty much as samizdat literature. Photocopiers were relatively rare, with limited access in those days, and digital media had barely been invented. I even saw handwritten copies.

There was a widespread view at the time, no doubt reinforced by the furious management reaction, that "the plan" had originated in one of ICI's heavy chemicals divisions. It may have had some roots earlier in history - who knows - but I am pretty confident that it first appeared in its "fully developed" form, as described above, somewhere within ICI. Although I have been retired for many years, I think I still have a copy in a file somewhere (must get around to weeding all that old stuff--).

If there is any interest, I could possibly post a copy in this forum. Under "anonymous", of course!

Microsoft confirms there will be no U-turn on Windows 11 hardware requirements

Re: Well... Just build your own....

It should really be well within the capabilities of the great majority of El Reg readers, and you can then run pretty much any OS you want to. Even Win 11 if you must.

Re: I think it is an excellent requirement NOT

I also homebuild - and have done so for years. My current build has a modern MSI mobo, an i7 chip and 32 Mb ram. Plus several decent (minimum 2 Tb SSDs) each on switchable sata power supplies, each running different (linux, of course) OSs, so that I can select whichever one I want to play / work with before booting up. So I could easily run M$.xx if I wanted to, but you will already have figured out that I don't. That would be a complete waste of an expensive hard drive! Steam / Proton for the few old Win games I still like to keep. And Wine or Crossover for anything else

I AM NOW TOTALLY MICROSOFT-INDEPENDENT, and intend to stay that way!

Windows 11 continues to creep up behind Windows 10

Ageing?

I'm ageing too - 80+ - and I have been a Mint user for years, with an additional 2 Tb HDD in my homebuild purely for backup and data storage. My wife has an "old" ex windows laptop (< 5yrs ), also running Mint but sadly without the capacity for a second data drive. Now looking for a higher spec second hand machine with more flexible upgrade potential; M2 card or the like rather than spinning tin.

It will most likely be a "casualty" of Win 11 and cost maybe as much as £50 - or less. I'll probably have to pay more than that just for the second HDD to get the spec I want. Then it will probably go on working reliably for more years than I've got left.

Windows 10 given an extra year of supported life, for $30

Photoshop?

Linux provides GIMP for photo editing etc.. It is certainly different to Photoshop, so there will be a (pretty minor) learning curve, but after that I have yet to find anything that I used to use Photoshop for that cannot be done just as well or better using GIMP. And very much faster......

Obviously, I have been a totally Linux user ever since the "delights" of Win 8.....

One-year countdown to 'biggest Ctrl-Alt-Delete in history' as Windows 10 approaches end of support

Why move off Win 7?

Why indeed?

I live and work in a totally Linux world, but I keep a (legal) copy of win 7 on Virtualbox, purely for playing a couple old Win games - such as Riven and its successors. It does not talk to the internet, ever, because that is disabled, so no updates to screw it up or attract bad actors. It just goes on working. If win 10 and win.xx were to disappear tomorrow - as everything I read on El Reg and elsewhere seems to suggest is coming - I would not even know until I read about it in the media. Their demise would pass un-noticed and un-lamented.

M$ is ancient history, and apart from the occasional - equally ancient - game, I have as much use for it as I have for a stone axe.

Post Office CTO had 'nagging doubts' about Horizon system despite reliability assurances

Re: ...and it was open to abuse.

Lots of money (LOTS and LOTS of money) is still missing. Since it is now obvious that it was not the Postmasters who were stealing it, where did it go, how, and where is it now? Those who had access to the system and could "adjust" it at will, look to me to be the primary suspects. Whether within Fujitsu or even the Post Office itself? And who is now looking into this? Obviously can't let either the Post Office or Fujitsu anywhere near to running the investigation themselves. This story has only just begun......

Saying goodbye to the tech dreams Microsoft abandoned with Windows 11 24H2

Re: Microsoft, i hate you even more now

Is it just me, or does anyone else share my view that MS has now passed the point of being useless and/or irrelevant? Why would anyone choose to set up a business IT structure using such difficult and unreliable software when there are alternatives of proven superiority and reliability, and at much lower cost if required. I.e. using existing hardware inventories for a start. MS seem to have gone out of their way to make their offerings fundamentally unattractive in the marketplace, and not just by insisting on new hardware throughout.

A doctor would now be concerned that his patient was showing pronounced suicidal tendencies......

Thoughts?

Windows 11 users still living in the past face forced update, like it or not

Win 7

Win 7 was the last decent (as in solid, easy to maintain and adapt to your - my - needs) they ever made. It was Win 8 that compelled me to go Linux. That was the only FORCED update I have EVER had to make. Happy Penguin now.

Re: Windows 11, version 23H2 keeps your device supported

I moved to Linux when Win 8 screwed with (deprecated = totally f****d) some of my expensive peripherals - but they were still perfectly well supported in Ubuntu. So much for the oft repeated mantra "that will always stop Linux being adopted". Oddly enough, I have never used anything made by MS since, and have never needed to. Could WIN now be an archaic system on the steep and slippery slope to obsolescence? It seems to be showing all the right symptoms......

Ex business auditor (retired).

Windows 11 Patch Tuesday preview is a glitchy disaster

There's always Linux..

Works for me, and has done for almost 20 years. It is not always perfect, but it is consistently infinitely less imperfect than $MS. It's the reason I changed in the first place.

Linux Mint 22 'Wilma' still the Bedrock choice for moving off Windows

Build your own?

Don't shy away from home build. It really is not that hard to do, with dozens of "how to" books and YouTube videos out there. The only tricky bit is ensuring mutual compatibility of all the components you decide you need. If you go to a decent supplier (eg Novotech, and there are others out there as well) they will happily talk you through what will work with what, particularly if it leads to a sale. They can even build you a "bare bones" system, which you can complete yourself if you happen to have a few spare HDDs and a monitor and a keyboard. Best advice, get a high-ish end motherboard and corresponding processor, and as much RAM as you can afford, to delay obsolescence for as long as possible. Even cheaper, try to find a "junk" system and rebuild / replace key components. That way, you can pick up a case, power supply, monitor and keyboard for next to nothing. Remember that Linux OSs are free

FIRST STEP - get, beg, scrounge or borrow a laptop or chromebook so that you can follow each step on, say, youtube or websites as you go along, and to download the OS of your choice. SECOND STEP, see how much you saved, not to say how much you have learned. WARNING! once you have completed your first working home build, you will immediately start thinking about the next improved version. It can become addictive...

Dead???

Wishing you a very long and happy life. FYI, Penguins are a notably long lived species, as birds go.

BOFH: The true gravity of the Boss and the 3-coffee problem

Re: Cafeine overdose incoming!

Fact is, there is often much more caffeine in one teabag than in the equivalent (drink making) quantity of ground coffee. That's why I always have 2 pints of tea every morning before starting "work". At least, that (work) is what I THINK I am doing. As with coffee, the gastrointestinal consequences should be carefully considered re proximity to toilet facilities.....

P.S. Were you aware that most toxicologists regard caffeine as a potential carcinogen? Look up the Ames Test results.

Must be about time for another cuppa.

Microsoft finds a new way to irritate Windows 11 users – a backup pop-up

One size fits all???

Sorry, but NO SIZE meets my needs. I want an OS that is stable, easy to maintain and update, does not scour everything I do for data to sell, and is cheap - free being actually better of course. And did I mention meets all my drawing office needs easily, while supporting various expensive peripherals which M$ regularly borks / deprecates. M$ fails all these tests, eg by simply saying go out and buy a new A0 size roll feed drawing printer (£3500) because we no longer want to support the older one you currently have. This printer still works perfectly under Linux, by the way, as does all the CAD software etc. that I need ... M$ is genuinely useless to me. I left it behind more than a decade ago

EU AI Act still in infancy, but those with 'intelligent' HR apps better watch out

Not necessarily....

"Sensible, reasonable people" do not, in my experience, work in HR. And for that reason, they are unlikely to employ such people. Give HR AI to play with and "just because I felt like it" comes across as an entirely "logical and reasonable" answer to the question of "why", or "why not" this candidate or another. This of course also satisfies another fundamental principle of HR in being unhelpful. I will now prepare for an onslaught of rotten vegetables........ No vinegar please...

CrowdStrike file update bricks Windows machines around the world

Monoculture

Monoculture is exactly the right way to look at this. (eg Irish potato famine caused by just one plant pest taking out whole crop) Just for once M$ look to be a genuine victim, rather than the cause. Goes to show how careful you have to be who you make friends with. Wish I was a lawyer in the insurance business - reckon I could retire on the proceeds about a year or two from now.

Glad I went Penguin years ago.

Users rage as Microsoft announces retirement of Office 365 connectors within Teams

Retirement of Office etc

Sorry, I thought they already had done.....

Windows: Insecure by design

Re: when I'll have the time to deal with it

Oh yes - converting to Linux is soooo hard. NOT. Bootable USB stick with the latest Mint iso, and about 30 minutes should do it.

I have "converted" more than half a dozen Windows victims in the last couple of years, on initially being asked if I could help solve a "computer problem" for them. The "problem(s)" was always something to do with Windows.xx, the fix being Mint.xx. Installed as dual boot in the first instance, for the Snoopy "security blanket" effect. Mostly all they really needed was a word processor and a spreadsheet. Check boot logs after about a month or so to see how often they were actually booting into Win today - mostly zero - and then clean up the whole system to release all that wasted space. It is the phenomenally fast and solid update process that strikes them first, then the fact that stuff just WORKS. Plus all the other goodies. Takes a bit of getting used to....

PS. I am over 80 and self taught - If I can do this stuff, ANYONE can.

Re: how much punishment are you willing to take?

Not in the least keen on (in?)voluntary self-abuse. Linux user ever since Win 8 screwed with my horribly expensive peripherals (High end Minolta film scanner, and a large format Canon printer). Both continued to work perfectly under Ubuntu, and their current generation replacements still continue to do so under Linux Mint.

Remind me someone - what was Microsoft?

The Canon Cat – remembering the computer that tried to banish mice

Re: How many people need to do that?

How many people need to do that?

Well I do! - and I can confirm that trying to use CAD (Libre CAD), graphics (Inkscape), or mapping software (QGIS) without a mouse, while just about do-able is, for any practical purpose, essentially impossible. On the credit side, the effort WILL drive you to drink. My wireless mouse broke this afternoon, and I can't find a spare!

My next strategy is to have another generous glass of Ozzie 14.5% Shiraz - sh***! is that all that's left in the bottle already!

I'm on Amazon for TWO new mice first thing tomorrow, and then off to the local wine shop...

BOFH: The greatest victory is that which requires no battle

AI and HR

The article author clearly does not understand how real Human Resources (an oxymoron if ever I heard one!) departments work. Rule No.1 - ANY changes in company staff numbers, from massive expansion to huge redundancies must ALWAYS be accompanied by a large increase in HR staff numbers (to cope with the increased workload, of course). Rule No.2 These staff will be appointed by HR.

Rule No.3 HR staff numbers must NEVER decrease. This leads logically to a business consisting entirely of HR staff and no one else, producing nothing and just consuming resources. I have worked in a couple of large businesses who did seem to be seriously trying to reach this goal, but, oddly, neither of them exist any more.

I consider the case for AI HR to be made and proven.

Windows 12: Savior of PC makers, or just an apology for Windows 11?

Re: there's nothing particularly wrong with Windows 11

Can't agree. Pretty much everything is wrong with M$ - ever since Win 7, up to and including 11. And yes, I can do everything I need with Linux. And I do.

Why should I want to use anything else, when everything just works - smoothly, reliably and FREELY, without subscriptions, data slurping or special hardware requirements? Plus dramatically better updating processes and easy maintenance.

Life with the Flintstones may have had some quaint charms, but that does not mean I want to return to them.

HP exec says quiet part out loud when it comes to locking in print customers

Re: HP laser and HP15c

HP laserjet. B&W 401D. I've had one for years, though, post retirement, most of the (several dozens of pages a week) printing is done for my wife's Girl Guide unit rather than my own needs. It still works, is all I need to say.

HP 15C. Quite simply the best RPN calculator of it's day. I got mine as (almost) a pimply youth, but back then my employer paid for it - I could never have done so. More than 35 years on I still use it, even writing simple programs from time to time.

The laser printer could fail tomorrow and cause me nothing more than temporary inconvenience; good colour lasers are cheap these days. The loss of my 15C however would be a tragedy. Fortunately, they seem to have been well enough built to outlast the universe. Not too many things you can say that about these days.

Microsoft confirms Smart App issue renaming everyone's printers to HP

Re: Not a renaming problem

Don't have any problems like that with Linux. Plays nice with HP laser and Canon Pixma printers, plus a high end Epson scanner. None of which worked reliably or consistently on the same system when using $MS 8 and subsequent releases. Now a very happy Minty penguin and will never look back.

Is it just easier to make reliable device drivers for Linux systems, or have MS just lost the plot?. Not my problem now........

Windows users can soon ditch Bing, Edge, other bundleware – but only in the EU

Re: UK workarounds ?

Global workaround is better. Linux iso on USB stick. Press install when prompted. No more cruft. Simples.