Anyone up for Micro$oft bashing thread???

[Ani]

 

Downloaded a trial version on MS Visual Studio 2008 awhile back just to peek in a bit at the software. Haven't really had much time to play around with it, but I just went to access my CD/DVD burning program and it's toast because apparently some of the files were overwritten when the VS was installed.

 

I need the RNENU.msi app, and from what I'm reading, there's problems recovering even then.

[UstadKhanAli]

Bash them?

 

Oh, sure, why not.

 

Uh, Microsoft sucks. Down with the Evil Empire.

 

How's that?

[Lancaster]

I'm trying to uninstall Microsoft SQL after Sony Vegas installed it. So far, seems like you cant get there from here. This is gonne be fun....

[blue2blue]

I'm all for bashing MS when they deserve it.

 

Ani's issue appears to revolve around what appears to be an issue with Sonic RecordNow software's registry entry. (I'm guessing form scanning google returns.)

 

 

This appears to be a problem experienced by a small number of people using that program and installing Visual Studio (and perhaps other softwares).

 

I don't feel like I've read enough to apportion blame that would hold up in a court of law, but having experienced the Sonic softare first hand (and removed it), I would lay 10 to 1 odds that the problem lies with a nonstandard or improper implementation by them. I consider it crapware -- the kind of thing you remove from a new Dell or HP first thing.

[ggm1960]

The scroll wheel on my MS wireless laptop mouse quit working. I'd had it less than a year, bought it at Wal-Mart, and managed to find the receipt.

 

I wasn't sure how long the warranty might have been for so I decided to have a go at the microsoft support site just to see if maybe it was still covered.

 

I managed to get to a screen where I entered the 300 digit number on the mouse and was surprised to discover that the device was not supported in the country I'd entered in a previous screen (I'd put in USA) ummm, yeah that's where I live yep.

 

Certainly I'd made a wrong entry or other mistake so I tried it all again but alas, the same results.

 

So...... later (the next day or something) I tried calling the MS support number. After a couple tries I finally got through to a human who told me I could get more support for my mouse issue but she needed my credit card number so she could start a "support incident" and charge me $35.

 

I finally managed to get the message across that this was just a $30 mouse and all I really wanted to know was if it might still be under warranty.

 

Although the warranty was expired, I considered myself lucky because the woman actually spoke some pretty good english.

[blue2blue]

Man... I don't even know how old my MS Natural mouse is... about a million.

 

I'm lost without a scroll wheel. I have to occasionally use a client's nice new iMac. Unfotunately, it has one those no-button-no-wheel mouses and it's a total pain. But the guy refuses to consider buying a new mouse. (He's a huge computerphobe. Who is always lecturing me about the superiority of the Mac and then asking me how to do things or fix his work. On my 'overgrown adding machine' -- of course. )

[Kerouac]

I hate M$. I'm currently hoarding copies of XP Pro as I believe that this is the best they'll be able to do and when i buy my next computer this year I don't want Vista. I'm also seriously contemplating going Mac as I can get a discount, but I'm addicted to Sonar and need to have Windows for that. The only two pieces of M$ "software" I use are the OS and Windows Media Player. Everything else is 3rd party and many of them are OpenSource or cross-platform, exception being Sonar.

[philbo]

I hate M$. I'm currently hoarding copies of XP Pro as I believe that this is the best they'll be able to do and when i buy my next computer this year I don't want Vista. I'm also seriously contemplating going Mac as I can get a discount, but I'm addicted to Sonar and need to have Windows for that. The only two pieces of M$ "software" I use are the OS and Windows Media Player. Everything else is 3rd party and many of them are OpenSource or cross-platform, exception being Sonar.

 

It sound like the time is ripe for a Linux-based Windows Emulator. By, what a nightmare that would be to write... How do you accurately replicate sloppy ill-conceived coding?

[Lee Flier]

It sound like the time is ripe for a Linux-based Windows Emulator. By, what a nightmare that would be to write... How do you accurately replicate sloppy ill-conceived coding?

 

:lol:

 

Well as for a Linux based Windows emulator, there already is one - it's called Wine.

[yermej]

Wine is not an emulator.

 

But, on the surface, it works like one...when it works. Some stuff will do okay under Wine, but a lot of the focus has been on things like Office and then games. I know some audio apps will run under Wine, but I'm not sure about things like ASIO and latency. And then there's the problem of hardware support.

 

With the insane level of hardware available these days, something like VMware is probably the best bet, but I don't know about latency with that either. And, since it's a virtual machine, there's definitely a performance penalty involved.

[daklander]

 

..... With the insane level of hardware available these days, something like VMware is probably the best bet, but I don't know about latency with that either. And, since it's a virtual machine, there's definitely a performance penalty involved.

 

 

From what I read on some of the Linux forums there is often a gain in performance running the Windows OS via VMWare. Would that not translate to a gain in underlying programs as well?

[Lee Flier]

W ine i s n ot an e mulator.

 

So they say.

 

But, on the surface, it works like one...when it works. Some stuff will do okay under Wine, but a lot of the focus has been on things like Office and then games. I know some audio apps will run under Wine, but I'm not sure about things like ASIO and latency. And then there's the problem of hardware support.

 

Yeah, it really is true that Linux is sorely lacking in the area of audio, and especially audio hardware support. And wine really doesn't help in that department. Honestly, if it could catch up in the audio and video world, I wouldn't see a whole lot of reason to ever use Windoze.

[techristian]

After trying 10 different Linux DISTROS on this laptop. I have finally decided to stop wasting my time with Linux or Solaris here. I just finished re-writing my MBR and I am formating the Linux partition with NTFS as I now write.

 

They all have problems running the built in nvidia GeForce 7000 and Realtek High definition audio on this Acer 5520-5912. (out of the box)

I had a few old dedicated Linux Desktops and I will return to that approach.

 

I'm glad that I got rid of VI$TA though. XP only here now.

 

Dan

[yermej]

 

From what I read on some of the Linux forums there is often a gain in performance running the Windows OS via VMWare. Would that not translate to a gain in underlying programs as well?

 

 

I haven't heard that, but I don't really read much about it. I don't understand how that would be possible though. I mean, logically speaking, XP on the hardware should be faster than XP virtualized on the same hardware. The virtualization adds an extra layer which should slow things down even if only a little bit. If it ran faster, then couldn't you install VMware in your virtual machine and run Windows on that for even better performance?

 

Maybe you can configure the virtual machine in a way that makes Windows more efficient? Not as many devices? I don't know. I'll have to do some googlin'.

[Ani]

 

but having experienced the Sonic softare first hand (and removed it), I would lay 10 to 1 odds that the problem lies with a nonstandard or improper implementation by them. I consider it crapware -- the kind of thing you remove from a new Dell or HP first thing.

 

 

It has worked well for downloading my photos to CD for archiving purposes so that I don't have to carry so much baggage on my hard drive. What would you suggest as an alternative without purchasing something like the Adobe products? I need something to get lossless images from point A to point B to preserve the integrity of the original shots.

 

This isn't about the music side of things, because I have software that will burn audio CD's and DVD's. It's about data types and long raw format used in transferring images from the camera or hard drive to disk.

[ggm1960]

 

I'm also seriously contemplating going Mac

 

 

I recently did, for live performance anyway.

 

I've been riding the PC/Cakewalk train for 16 years and overall it's been a positive experience save for the hardware/software upgrade tribulations we've all had along the way.

 

Recently though when we started the last band I'd added newer gear that benefits from midi control. The only mobile computer I had was this Toshiba laptop. It's a good computer but I quickly learned that Windows is not a good road machine. It's very particular about the order in which you hook things up and turn things on, I found I often needed to reboot during setup, sometimes more than once.

 

I got a reasonable deal on a 15" Powerbook G4 on eBay and soon discovered that it was a lot more tolerant of switching firewire and USB interfaces "on the fly".

 

I just recently took the next step; Logic Express 8 arrived the other day and I should have a Macbook Pro on my doorstep perhaps as soon as tomorrow.

[Anderton]

Well, I guess it's time to put on my contrarian hat...

 

Windows XP and Windows Vista 64 have been working great for me. Then again, my Mac works great too but as this is a Microsoft-bashing thread, I'll limit my comments to Microsoft...

 

I use a Rain Recording laptop for live use with Live and it has never crashed or done anything even remotely anti-social. I have an Intel 8-core computer from PC Audio Labs for my desktop and if it went any faster, it would go back in time. The only time I've had to re-install XP was when the hard drive it was on died. And, every time I've dealt with Microsoft engineers about their software, they've always been really open to suggestions and actually sorta humble.

 

Now, I don't use a lot of Microsoft software other than Windows, but I've been a happy camper. Productive, too Sure, I have some hardware/software issues - I push my computers pretty hard. But eventually they get figured out.

[philbo]

I do have to say that with XP, they got things right... finally.

 

Side note - I had an oscilloscope at work that ran Win ME, and it would blue screen me every 20 minutes. I asked for an upgrade to Win2000, and they sent not only the OS, but an entire new motherboard! Since it was buried inside an oscilloscope chassis (and had special hardware hooks into the motherboard for the oscilloscope interface) it took a couple of days to tear it all apart and install it, but it worked like a charm when done (as you would expect from an instrument costing around $18K). And it's the only one in my (previous) department that you can play pinball on

[Ani]

I've been a faithful user of MS products for several years; both home and career. For the most part, I still am. It just IRKS me that programs are written that are invasive enough to overwrite files in other perfectly functioning software that you currently have in use.... rendering them inoperable. Do these programmers ASK if you wish to overwrite files in OTHER programs that have been servicing your needs??? NO.... do they warn you that if you install this or that program that you will risk screwing up programs that you have not otherwise had any problems with that you utilize frequently??? NO!!!

 

Right now, as a result of opting to try a trial version of MS Visual Studio, I'm out of my CD/DVD burner that I use FREQUENTLY to back my photos up. I take tons of pictures that hog lots of memory resources; especially when I save many of those files in TIFF, PSD, PNG and other humongous space hog formats.

 

Does the MS Visual Studio offer the capabilities to burn the images directly to CD/DVD ???? I don't know, I haven't had enough time to play around with it to find out what all it has to offer.... But in the mean time, the damn thing is going to cripple the things that HAVE been working for me. Blue, you said something about the key***? by Roxio, and it possibly being "their" problem. I'm not willing to buy that because I've been using the program since I've been using this particular computer; it's going on three years without fail for photo imaging, editing, and archiving purposes until now.

 

The newer computer that I bought a year ago has YET to be connected to the Internet and, as far as I'm concerned, IT WON'T BE!!! Every program that I have installed on that computer that requires registration to validate the programs have been sent by snail mail or telephoned directly. I really don't want to break that computer open to using it for the photo works that I do because I've dedicated it as my music computer and the writing of an autobiography in the works. With the music software and the voice recognition software in place, I don't want to weight it down with the heavy load of photo processing programs.

 

The Roxio is not a real expensive program compared to the money I've shelled out for other software products, but right now, I really don't want the extra expense and headaches of having to rework my computer setup because some BULLY software developers KNOW they have market domination and they can get by with overwriting files on operating systems that are not right in time with the cutting edge of the latest in technology.

 

I looked at the Sonic RecordNow Creative Suite with thoughts of just buying an updated version and taking the kick in the side, but everything in what I saw being offered at a quick glance had VISTA written all over it. SCREW VISTA!!! ... and at the moment, MS is on my {censored} list.

[yermej]

Visual Studio will not burn CD/DVDs. It's a programming integrated development environment (IDE) -- basically, a text editor for programming languages, a compiler, a debugger, and other tools to help programmers with development. If you aren't planning on creating a Windows program/application with C#, J++, C++ or another .NET language, you probably don't need it.

 

If you just burn groups of images to CD/DVD all at once (i.e. you don't write several right now and then a few more later on, all to the same disc), you could use CD-R Tools Frontend. It's free and can burn data CDs and DVDs. The interface itsn't as fancy as something like Roxio or Sonic, but it uses much less diskspace and fewer system resources in general. If you want to try it and have problems, I might be able to help.

[Ani]

 

Visual Studio will not burn CD/DVDs. It's a programming integrated development environment (IDE) -- basically, a text editor for programming languages, a compiler, a debugger, and other tools to help programmers with development. If you aren't planning on creating a Windows program/application with C#, J++, C++ or another .NET language, you probably don't need it. If you just burn groups of images to CD/DVD all at once (i.e. you don't write several right now and then a few more later on, all to the same disc), you could use CD-R Tools Frontend . It's free and can burn data CDs and DVDs. The interface itsn't as fancy as something like Roxio or Sonic, but it uses much less diskspace and fewer system resources in general. If you want to try it and have problems, I might be able to help.

 

 

Thanks Yermej,

 

I originally installed the MS VS whenever I recently installed my personal copy of MS SQL Server that was included in an MS Office XP Developer Software bundle I bought some time back. I had never bothered to use the SQL Server software, but rather used the Office and Frontpage portions of the bundle instead and left the SQL Server set.

 

In November, I landed a position where I work with Oracle databases routinely while coordinating user end services between maintenance personnel and management personnel. The even better opportunities come for those familiar with writing the code and development of the databases so I have been taking some courses to advance my knowledge in a field that interests me immensely. Once I began setting up the SQL server, something prompted me to include Visual Studio... anyway.... there's a lot to learn and a lot going on, but initially I wanted to start building my own databases as I learn different phases in my training courses. Sometimes it's easier to retain what you learn when you implement the use of it right away. I'm pretty decent with manipulating SELECT, WHERE, and etc statements... but I wanted a place to host the tables that I will be preparing as I learn the more complex database developing skills.

 

Well... for my personal database, my PHOTOS are what I wanted to contain inside of the tables inside the database. As I have been burning them off to discs, I've also been categorizing them into individual groups with specific identities so that they will be easier to list into the tables as I create them. Everything needs to be organized neatly, or it could easily become a nightmare.

 

Thing is, if Visual Studio is not capable of replacing the functionality of the software it renders useless by overwriting files, then WHY does it overwrite the files. Just clumsy programming or oversight????

 

I dunno, but it's a pain in the butt when stuff like this happens. I've got too much on my plate to have to backtrack because someone didn't care if a file they used overwrote files on other non competitive software.

[Dylan Walters]

Ani,

 

You might want to ditch Roxio, Nero, etc., and go with a more slim approach utilizing the built-in CD-burning functionality to XP and Vista. IMO, most CD burning suites have become too bloated and intrusive to use anymore, which is sad to say the least. I remember when Nero was known as the light-weight champ of burning tools and now it

[Raymar]

Windows Collapsing Under Its Own Weight