The 2016 Operating System Thread

[stj]

Re: The 2016 Operating System Thread

the best light install is Vector
http://www.vectorlinux.com/

[Stefan Payne]

Re: The 2016 Operating System Thread

If it is about resources usage, try Manjaro BSPWM.
It's tiny and uses almost o memory.

Though it looks kinda hardcorish

[diif]

Re: The 2016 Operating System Thread

There are lightweight versions of Mint too.

[Stefan Payne]

Re: The 2016 Operating System Thread

I bet that you have not used Linux for a very long time. Linux is not lightweight for a couple of years. Just try to install it on computers with 512MB ram and see what happens.

Tried that a couple of months ago, there are some lightweight distributions.

Like Zorin OS Lite:
http://zorinos.com/faq.html
Used that on a Pentium 4 Laptop with 256MiB RAM, works decent.

Maybe
http://lxle.net
But I haven't tried that...

Linux Mint isn't a great option for that.
As for Ubuntu: I hate that user interface thing from them.

[diif]

Re: The 2016 Operating System Thread

Excuse me, when exactly you fell for the MS propaganda that an OS without security updates is insecure? Nearly every single laptop/desktop that I have fixed/reinstalled Windows had adware / spyware installed with the user's permission. Either they tried to download a torrent and ended up downloading and installing an .exe or they chose typical installation when installing a software bundle that came with spyware/adware.

Same thing goes with viruses. There are many incidents that an infected file was successfully recognized by the antivirus software but the user selected "Allow" or "Add to exceptions".

It is so strange to find people in this forum claiming that security updates are critical and that if you don't install them your computer will get infected automatically. This is proof that most of you just believe what you read online and have no experience of tech support.

Sad

No, 15 years of tech support/IT administration.
Yes, those in IT know the importance of patching. In fact it's a good way to sort the pros from the others. It's not Microsoft propaganda, it's the advice of every IT professional in the land.

There are plenty of lightweight Linux versions.
There really is no need for XP to be online.

[goodpsusearch]

Re: The 2016 Operating System Thread

Why use such an old and shitty Windows instead of Linux?!
Linux Mint or Zorin OS are pretty decent, so why not try it and live with it?

I bet that you have not used Linux for a very long time. Linux is not lightweight for a couple of years. Just try to install it on computers with 512MB ram and see what happens.

Lubuntu, puppy etc are decent, but none of them can compete Windows XP SP2 or SP3. Xp can be installed even on a 192MB SDRAM laptop and work without a problem! I have done this myself.

[goodpsusearch]

Re: The 2016 Operating System Thread

Excuse me, when exactly you fell for the MS propaganda that an OS without security updates is insecure? Nearly every single laptop/desktop that I have fixed/reinstalled Windows had adware / spyware installed with the user's permission. Either they tried to download a torrent and ended up downloading and installing an .exe or they chose typical installation when installing a software bundle that came with spyware/adware.

Same thing goes with viruses. There are many incidents that an infected file was successfully recognized by the antivirus software but the user selected "Allow" or "Add to exceptions".

It is so strange to find people in this forum claiming that security updates are critical and that if you don't install them your computer will get infected automatically. This is proof that most of you just believe what you read online and have no experience of tech support.

Sad

[Stefan Payne]

Re: The 2016 Operating System Thread

Stefan Payne: Worrying about what OS other people use seems kind of pointless, it's their choice no?
Also I posted the picture for a reason, the trend for XP is very evident, it's dropping like a dead fly...

Yeah, but still, 8.2% Windows XP users online...
That's almost one year after the support of that OS ran out...

And I wonder how many of those installations are unpatched...

Do you think security updates fix EVERYTHING?

No, but they fix known security holes.
Without those, these holes stay open forever...
And so a Windows XP computer is a welcomed target...

... because Windows Vista and 7 are impeccable fortresses. Just don't ask me how many of those systems I've seen hosed by stupid viruses and malware. It's the exact same "piece of shit" as the XP days. With a "pretty" GUI, though.

No, but they were developed with security in mind.
Windows 2000 and XP were not. THus they are as insecure as it gets...

As for the viruses and malware you've seen on the newer Windows machines:
How much of them got onto it due to the user installing them??
That's the main cause of infection on newer Windows machines!
You send them an email and hope that the user clicks on it. Or something like that...

You know of Stuxnet? And you know how it got into the systems?
And that the exploit used for newer Windows is much more complicated...

The worst thing is the exploit industry caused by those damn intelligence agencys buying those for stupid amounts of money...

Because it does the exact same shit that newer OSes do - at least for the things I use it for.

Why use such an old and shitty Windows instead of Linux?!
Linux Mint or Zorin OS are pretty decent, so why not try it and live with it?

[diif]

Re: The 2016 Operating System Thread

I've had an exploding CD. Was about 15 years ago with my first PC.
I turned on the PC and Boom !! Big bang, rushed over, no smell of burning which thought strange, PC loaded the desktop and I opened the CD drawer, million of tiny pieces of silver flew out and covered my computer room.

[Sparkey55]

Re: The 2016 Operating System Thread

[kaboom]

Re: The 2016 Operating System Thread

umm... if i wanted my system to be fully secure, i would just unplug the lan cable...

umm... you missed the point, and explaining it to you would ruin the (inside) joke...

[ChaosLegionnaire]

Re: The 2016 Operating System Thread

umm... if i wanted my system to be fully secure, i would just unplug the lan cable...

[kaboom]

Re: The 2016 Operating System Thread

I limit my optical drives to 32x max. I know of some versions of AOL discs that would crack just looking at them.

Those were cracked from the beginning!

[Sparkey55]

Re: The 2016 Operating System Thread

i'm surprised you never read about it.
there are a lot of disks with chipped or cracked hubs because of poor manufacturing.
when you put them in a very fast drive the centrifugal force can rip the disk apart inside wih a bang!
m$ changed the company pressing it's disc's afterwards.
http://askbobrankin.com/exploding_cdroms.html

I limit my optical drives to 32x max. I know of some versions of AOL discs that would crack just looking at them.

[stj]

Re: The 2016 Operating System Thread

i'm surprised you never read about it.
there are a lot of disks with chipped or cracked hubs because of poor manufacturing.
when you put them in a very fast drive the centrifugal force can rip the disk apart inside wih a bang!
m$ changed the company pressing it's disc's afterwards.
http://askbobrankin.com/exploding_cdroms.html

[Sparkey55]

Re: The 2016 Operating System Thread

the only version of windows to explode in your cd-rom drive!!!

I have two commercial cd versions and about seven burned copies and none have exploded on me. Please elaborate.

[stj]

Re: The 2016 Operating System Thread

The best OS Microsoft ever made is Windows 2000 Professional.

the only version of windows to explode in your cd-rom drive!!!

[shovenose]

Re: The 2016 Operating System Thread

There are allot more than 250 updates, a fresh Win7 SP1 machine sees that.
But consider how many updates SP1 already includes (almost 1000)

you're right, i completely forgot about that - haven't used a pre-sp1 win7 install media for years. and i have sp1 on a flash drive for old pre-sp1 oem restore partitions.

[Per Hansson]

Re: The 2016 Operating System Thread

Stefan Payne: Worrying about what OS other people use seems kind of pointless, it's their choice no?
Also I posted the picture for a reason, the trend for XP is very evident, it's dropping like a dead fly...

shovenose: There are allot more than 250 updates, a fresh Win7 SP1 machine sees that.
But consider how many updates SP1 already includes (almost 1000)

goodpsusearch: "Windows XP is the greatest OS MS ever made."
You're of course entitled to your opinion, even if it's dead wrong
The best OS Microsoft ever made is Windows 2000 Professional.

Btw, a funny thing about the Win2K statistics I posted earlier:
The offline analytics program I used to directly parse the visitor logs set Win2K at a much higher usage percentage than Google Analytics:
0.1% vs 0.02% know why?
It's because those Win2K users use a hosts file, no-script or ad-blocker.
Thus Google Analytics can't see those users.
What does that tell us?
Win2K users are probably safer online than the clueless general public using the "latest and greatest" OS.

[diif]

Re: The 2016 Operating System Thread

a lot of embedded xp is out there,
casino slots, cash machines etc.

you dont see that stuff being "upgraded" to 7 for the sake of it.

There is no need to, these machines are not on the internet.