Posts by Happy Lemming

Microsoft dangles extended Windows 10 support in exchange for Reward Points

Good move, Microsoft

Surprise - as the arbitrary end of support for Windows 10 nears, ways to delay the annoyance appear. I like this one. My ten-year-old i7-4790K system will be happy.

Intel pitches modular PC designs to make repairs less painful

Re: My desktop PC is nearly 30 years old

In our family, computer cases have names, because the outsides remain the same while the insides change. I recently replaced the guts of Marmot, a rather nice Lian-Li aluminum case - the only visible difference is a USB-C jack on one of the 5 1/4" panels.

Microsoft declares 2025 'the year of the Windows 11 PC refresh'

Re: "We believe that Windows 11 is available at a time when the world needs it most"

As a confused colonial: copy, paste & search, thank you Wikipedia. (Of course I support Jimmy's endeavor.)

How a good business deal made us underestimate BASIC

Yes. After my first computer encounter - Fortran on an IBM 360/30, punch cards - I switched from engineering to computing science and subsequently found myself using HP Basic on an HP-85 to glue a specialized weather computer to a satellite uplink. Good times. Sometimes I play with an HP-85 emulator, just for fun.

VMware giving away Workstation Pro, Fusion Pro free for personal use

Re: Great chance to get some free experience

If you develop your Killer App in a personal-use environment, and foresee a pile of coin, simply buy a commercial license.

Updates are plenty but fans are few in Windows 11 land

You really shouldn't be running such ancient hardware. Get in the MS spirit, landfill it, and buy some overpriced new system that probably won't accept Windows 12 next year.

I have noticed that my i7-3770K, on a no-longer-supported Intel motherboard, runs remarkably well with an RX480 video card that's barely seven years old. Of course, it's Windows 10, and it will probably stay that way long past the promised demise of the OS, with some careful firewalling.

Microsoft Publisher books its retirement party for 2026

Time to throw it in the bin, along with Windows 10 and those old 7 licenses. A pity. I once used it a lot, for brochures and how-to guides, but now it's just for making calendars.

Microsoft's Surface Pro 9 requires a tedious balancing act

Re: I guess the Author is missing the point of the Surface Pro

Perhaps it's a good idea to inform newcomers that the Surface Pro is a tablet, not a laptop, although in a pinch it can sort of mimic a laptop. I use mine almost exclusively in tablet mode, often in portrait orientation. The type-cover keyboard works for me since I don't write epics while traveling.

Windows 11 still not winning the OS popularity contest

A hint from the future

"This PC doesn't currently meet the minimum system requirements to run Windows 12." Oh no, not again.

HP pilots paper delivery service for Instant Ink subscribers

What kind of paper?

Paper by subscription? What kind of paper? I print on 20-lb, 24-lb, 32lb, various photo papers, brochure, and several card weights. All are available locally and most could be delivered to my door tomorrow. Good luck figuring out what I want next. But keep the instant ink coming - it's convenient and cheap, particularly when printing a lot of color.

Microsoft's problem child, Windows 11, is here. Will you run it? Can you run it? Do you even WANT to run it?

Just wait

Out of the dozen or so computers around here, there are three that probably qualify for Windows 11. That's one out of four, a fail by most definitions. So we will wait for Microsoft to smarten up and support older hardware.

No need to panic.

Florida man might just stick it to HP for injecting sneaky DRM update into his printers that rejected non-HP ink

"HP print quality is mediocre at best."

Using knockoff cartridges, are we?

Farewell to Borland C++: Embarcadero releases Delphi and C++ Builder 10

Re: We miss Borland..

Lazarus. Thank you for that - just installed, will play with it tonight. I fear my C++ will move to MS and their free Community Edition.

The Embarcadero products seem to have lost their way, at least for casual developers. Pity.

Microsoft lathers up Windows 8.0 Surface RT for quick price shave

Kinda grows on you

I actually bought a Surface RT 32 GB through the educational discount, considering CDN $323 to be a reasonable price for a bundle with the Type cover. It's not a general-purpose computer, and does not pretend to be - I'd put it somewhere between my Kobo e-reader and a good netbook. I am still learning what it will and won't do. I like the display, the way it handles pdfs, and the few apps I've added (good for the Economist and CBC), and I will certainly use Word when traveling. I've streamed some HD video which looked good and did not stutter. Battery life is decent (6-8 hours) and the small charger is convenient; the whole kit is compact and lightweight. The Windows 8 interface is a matter of taste, as annoying on a Surface as it is on a desktop, but it does work although not intuitively.

Don't dismiss the Surface RT - it has its place. I quite like it.