M$ strikes again

[DaveB]

Y E S.. switch to Chrome and have the world listening in

ATB
DaveB

[nigelb]

I declined the XP update and went to the relevent KB page. I left a comment for MS that they should provide more detail. A google search and I found all I needed to know from other sources. I don't need the reminder, I know support ends in April.

Nigel²

[rohan]

In the absence of clarification from other users, this is what I found through Google. If you rely on automatic installation of updates, this nagging pop-up can be uninstalled or switched off after it's been installed. More info at -

http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/Windows-XP- ... -p/1472586

This in no way improves my opinion of M$ or their support ...

[paulsl]

Hello,

I guess this http://www.zdnet.com/microsoft-to-start ... 000026932/ is what the update brings you. TBH I agree that it's beyond the pail to embed this in an operating system update, but then again they can do that. If you choose to take the update.

As for Apple don't get me started. They denied iPad app developers the ability to update (their paying customers') apps unless the iPad was on iOS7. They put nag screens in the best selling Numbers and Pages apps to force people to go to iOS7. Pure unadulterated evil IMHO.

That's the thing with computers. You have to have an operating system and with the sheer numbers that sell it gives the vendors way too much control over too many peoples devices. Linux should have saved the PC world but couldn't get the necessary traction in Business, and Android's looking good but as Dave hinted..... "Google". No no no I never said Evil Empire.

</rant>

Paul

[DaveB]

Hi Chaps

Having read those links and thought about it a bit, there are 2 ways you can go.. perhaps 3.

Letting it install (as I did) probably isn't the end of the world. There's a tick box on the warning window 'Don't show me this message again' which when ticked, should stop the message showing. I like this option.. it's easy and I CBA to fiddle

Turning off automatic notifications is another option but as support for MSE will continue for another 12months, you'll want to keep MSE updated. But.. leaving automatic notifications turned on, I fear you'll keep being offered the 'end of support' update again and again and we all know what that's like. I resisted IE7 for as long as possible but gave in eventually due to the constant reminders! If you don't mind having to refuse it every month, fair enough

The other solution is to let it install then disable it in scheduled tasks. If you don't mind doing this simple chore, then this isn't a bad option and you shouldn't be reminded again if you keep automatic notifications turned on.

For my part, I like the first option. Let it install, let it run once then tick the 'Don't show me this again' box. I won't be reminded again by the update and automatic notifications won't offer it again as it's already installed if that makes sense. I can leave automatic notifications turned on so will continue to get MSE updates. M$ may be more devious than I'm giving them credit for but unless they are, the 'minimalist' approach should work.
ATB
DaveB

[rohan]

Duh, but ...

According to another link I found through Google "Users of Microsoft Security Essentials will also receive the warning through its definition updates.". I'm not at all sure how M$ will get MSE to start showing pop-ups through a definition update, but if you plan on staying on-line with an XP machine after the end of support, I'd say you need to think about replacing MSE with something else like Avast free.

I've tried several times to look at this link with IE8 but all I keep getting is a blank page. In the end, I opened the link in Safari, but it doesn't really say much more than I quoted above. Here's that other link -

http://thewebatom.net/blog/microsoft-xp ... ort-popup/

M$ strikes again, and again, and again ...

[DaveB]

OK.. so you're damned if you do and you're damned if you don't. Accept the update and if you turn it off and use MSE as your AV, you'll get a reminder via MSE. So.. if you don't want this dreaded warning, don't accept the update and turn off auto notifications. If you use MSE, get an alternative. I'm sure there wasn't this hoo-har when WinME support ended. All good things come to an end as the saying goes
I've a laptop with crappy Vista installed and my FSX pc with Win7 Ultimate installed. Perhaps I'd feel a little differently had I not got these alternatives but when WinMe got the boot, I had another system with WinXP installed so I migrated to that full time.

ATB
DaveB

[mayagrafix]

There are flavors (variations) of GNU/Linux that work well with older hardware, and which will breathe new life into that laptop or PC that came with Xp. Best of all they are FREE! yet have a robust support network (the dimminishing levels of which MS and Apple are famously known for after having sagged in supplying) along with regular free updates and upgrades.

For old hardware (the kind with 1 Core and >500 megs of RAM) there is XFCE or LXDE (+ variants), which are versions optimized for lower capacity computers. If you like the GUI can be made to look like Xp.

For modern, more powerful hardware (2 or more cores, 1 gig plus of RAM) basically there is Ubuntu developed in the UK by Canonical (owned by millionaire Space Tourist Mark Shuttleworth) featuring Unity --a very modern GUI; from Deutschland there is openSUSE with KDE and the Plasma GUI producing an integrated set of cross-platform applications designed to run on Linux, FreeBSD, Solaris, Windows, and OSX systems; Fedora from the USA (formerly known as Red Hat) comes with the GNOME GUI which is very popular in corporate environments.

There are many other variants (such as Linux Mint or Arch) designed to optimize performance at a particular task or environment. They are basically the same cup of joe (derived from Debian, one of the first Linux based OS, first released in 1993) i.e. Fedora, for example, is best known for its security features which makes it popular in corporate networks. For more info I encourage you to watch this documentary, Revolution OS, which relates how GNU/Linux got started, its principles and goals. Two Thumbs UP!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kR6P0GueyVA

If you are not tied to a particular brand of software (Photoshop or Autocad for example, which do not have a Linux version) there is equivalent software packages (for Photoshop the equivalent is GIMP Image Editor and for Autocad there is LibreCAD) that work just as well; there is Open Office, initially developed by Sun Microsystems as an open source (read free) alternative to MS Office, or Laminar Research X-plane instead of MS Flight Simulator (not free but worth it).

Many MS or Apple refuges opt for a dual boot configuration (a PC which allows you to choose between two -or more- OS at startup), as the best of both worlds in case Linux fails to deliver. But as time goes by, these same doubters end up using Linux OS more and more exclusively for their daily computing needs because the Linux OS is so insanely great. Even Apple fanboys renounce their credo once they realize how lame OSX is compared to Linux (and I am one of them).

Your old or new PC will function better, faster and more efficiently with an OS that is not bloated with crapware and vendor lock-in --designed to make you a captive user, and constantly sponging you for more money. Although I advocate the use of GNU/Linux, I understand that this OS has some drawbacks and flaws, and It's not right for everyone. So I suggest you look at it, play with it, consider it, and give yourself a chance to get to know it. If you like it, and it works for you, then use it. If not, then you got an education, and you still come out a winner.

[mayagrafix]

Here is an older production of a documentary about the Linux operating system and the GNU foundation. The language in this video is a mix of English and Swedish (I think). This chronicle of the genesis and evolution of the Linux operating system is enlightening, as it also traces the development of Linus Torvalds' from student in Helisinki to the poster boy of the free software movement in California. The best parts are the interviews with Linus himself, Richard Stallman (Free Software Foundation) and other founding members of the FOSS movement. If you ever wanted to learn about the start of the open source software movement and the history of the GNU/Linux operating system, this documentary is a great place to start.

http://youtu.be/IvlL0JpiqqQ

[DaveB]

Cheers for that matey

Having thought I'd previously accepted the end of support notification, I was surprised to see it being offered again yesterday so this time, I didn't accept it and ticked the box asking not to be shown it again. We shall see

ATB
DaveB