The Energon Pub

Tue May 20, 2008 4:25 pm

http://news.yahoo.com/s/pcworld/146059

News Credits: 2 · Tue May 20, 2008 4:32 pm

Not a problem that would affect the general populace of XP users, but a problem nonetheless I suppose.

Microsoft seem to excel at taking the pinnacle of their Windows system XP and mercilessly bloating it with unnecessary features.

<shameslessplug>At times like this I'm glad I switched to linux!</shamelessplug>

News Credits: 226 · Tue May 20, 2008 4:42 pm

I find it funny that when someone writes a bit of code and distributes it enmasse and it causes disruptions or a computer to act in an erratic manner it's considered a virus and deemed illegal.

But when Microsoft does it ...

News Credits: 1 · Tue May 20, 2008 9:44 pm

Tekka wrote:Not a problem that would affect the general populace of XP users, but a problem nonetheless I suppose.

Microsoft seem to excel at taking the pinnacle of their Windows system XP and mercilessly bloating it with unnecessary features.

<shameslessplug>At times like this I'm glad I switched to linux!</shamelessplug>

My new imac is arriving the 21st!

News Credits: 2 · Tue May 20, 2008 11:39 pm

***Galvatron*** wrote:
Tekka wrote:Not a problem that would affect the general populace of XP users, but a problem nonetheless I suppose.

Microsoft seem to excel at taking the pinnacle of their Windows system XP and mercilessly bloating it with unnecessary features.

<shameslessplug>At times like this I'm glad I switched to linux!</shamelessplug>

My new imac is arriving the 21st!

My condolences.

I just got Vista Service Pack 1, and I haven't noticed anything going wrong. It runs a bit smoother, in fact.

News Credits: 1 · Wed May 21, 2008 8:40 am

Shadowman wrote:
***Galvatron*** wrote:
Tekka wrote:Not a problem that would affect the general populace of XP users, but a problem nonetheless I suppose.

Microsoft seem to excel at taking the pinnacle of their Windows system XP and mercilessly bloating it with unnecessary features.

<shameslessplug>At times like this I'm glad I switched to linux!</shamelessplug>

My new imac is arriving the 21st!

My condolences.

I just got Vista Service Pack 1, and I haven't noticed anything going wrong. It runs a bit smoother, in fact.

hahahaha

Well have fun in Dell hell or whatever pc you're using and their continued decline in quality but a friend tried to razz me about getting an apple so he complained about how expensive they are spending 2,500.00 himself... he spent 200.00 less than me and thought that was a quantum amount less and a huge deal...less than a month after he got it he ripped it open replaced the video and sound card adding another 500.00 or what he would admit to now spending more than me and since he opened it he voided the warranty on it.

:lol:

News Credits: 2 · Wed May 21, 2008 1:32 pm

***Galvatron*** wrote:
Shadowman wrote:
***Galvatron*** wrote:My new imac is arriving the 21st!

My condolences.

I just got Vista Service Pack 1, and I haven't noticed anything going wrong. It runs a bit smoother, in fact.

hahahaha Well have fun in Dell hell or whatever pc you're using and their continued decline in quality but a friend tried to razz me about getting an apple so he complained about how expensive they are spending 2,500.00 himself... he spent 200.00 less than me and thought that was a quantum amount less and a huge deal...less than a month after he got it he ripped it open replaced the video and sound card adding another 500.00 or what he would admit to now spending more than me and since he opened it he voided the warranty on it.

My entire machine, including the new memory and video card, could not have been more than $700.

By the way, it's eMachines, which I think is owned by Gateway.

***Galvatron*** wrote:and since he opened it he voided the warranty on it.

Then why are there open PCI and AGP slots on every machine?

News Credits: 1 · Wed May 21, 2008 2:24 pm

Shadowman wrote:
***Galvatron
I just got Vista Service Pack 1, and I haven't noticed anything going wrong. It runs a bit smoother, in fact.

hahahaha Well have fun in Dell hell or whatever pc you're using and their continued decline in quality but a friend tried to razz me about getting an apple so he complained about how expensive they are spending 2,500.00 himself... he spent 200.00 less than me and thought that was a quantum amount less and a huge deal...less than a month after he got it he ripped it open replaced the video and sound card adding another 500.00 or what he would admit to now spending more than me and since he opened it he voided the warranty on it.

[/quote]

My entire machine, including the new memory and video card, could not have been more than $700.

Great, what are the specs on it then ?

By the way, it's eMachines, which I think is owned by Gateway.

[quote="***Galvatron*** wrote:and since he opened it he voided the warranty on it.

Then why are there open PCI and AGP slots on every machine?[/quote]

It's pretty common business practice that when you break seals on the internal components of computers you have violated the terms of the warranty since it is considered tampering without having done by the company or licensed professional.

News Credits: 38 · Wed May 21, 2008 3:38 pm

It's not illegal to install new hardware in a pre built computer unless there are specific lockouts installed on the hardware. HP, Dell and Gateway do not do this any longer. Compaq was the last company to do so, and when they were pulled in under HP, the lockouts were removed.

Regardless, I knew the new service packs would be crap so I didn't worry about installing them. SP3 is ****, and it follows right in line with Vista. Yes SP1 makes it run faster..... But still not as fast as XP does.

News Credits: 1 · Wed May 21, 2008 11:48 pm

Iron-Man wrote:It's not illegal to install new hardware in a pre built computer unless there are specific lockouts installed on the hardware. HP, Dell and Gateway do not do this any longer. Compaq was the last company to do so, and when they were pulled in under HP, the lockouts were removed.

Regardless, I knew the new service packs would be crap so I didn't worry about installing them. SP3 is ****, and it follows right in line with Vista. Yes SP1 makes it run faster..... But still not as fast as XP does.

No certainly not illegal but they will say your warranty is null and void is all I meant. B-)

News Credits: 2 · Thu May 22, 2008 12:02 am

***Galvatron*** wrote:
Iron-Man wrote:It's not illegal to install new hardware in a pre built computer unless there are specific lockouts installed on the hardware. HP, Dell and Gateway do not do this any longer. Compaq was the last company to do so, and when they were pulled in under HP, the lockouts were removed.

Regardless, I knew the new service packs would be crap so I didn't worry about installing them. SP3 is ****, and it follows right in line with Vista. Yes SP1 makes it run faster..... But still not as fast as XP does.

No certainly not illegal but they will say your warranty is null and void is all I meant.

I don't think I've ever had a PC problem that required me to have a non-voided warranty...

News Credits: 38 · Thu May 22, 2008 12:09 am

And I'm calling bullshit on that. Show me the papers saying that opening the case voids the warranty on the parts.

News Credits: 226 · Thu May 22, 2008 1:14 am

Couple of years ago (not sure about these days as I haven't had to deal with a brand name computer in ages) they use to have a sticker which would rip if you opened the case and it often read "Warranty Void if case opened by unqualified technicians" or something to that extent.

Like I said, dunno what it's like these days but it's just more reason to avoid brand names.

News Credits: 2 · Thu May 22, 2008 1:55 am

Iron-Man wrote:And I'm calling bullshit on that. Show me the papers saying that opening the case voids the warranty on the parts.

Like I said, PC makers probably wouldn't add extra PCI and AGP slots if to use them, you'd have to void your warranty.

EDIT: Oh, and nVidia wouldn't exist.

News Credits: 1 · Thu May 22, 2008 8:09 am

Iron-Man wrote:And I'm calling bullshit on that. Show me the papers saying that opening the case voids the warranty on the parts.

If that's changed over the years that's fine this is my first new pc in may many years, so long that I won't even say, ha ha

Regardless I don't have a cpu tower to open on the imac nor do I need to on this as I did not low ball it with the memory or hard drive or other components and six months down the line or whatever it's bogging down and cannot handle the work loads, that's where most people make their mistakes with computers because they are only thinking about pinching pennies and thinking about just the here and now.

This was the right decision for my needs.

News Credits: 2 · Thu May 22, 2008 8:15 am

I always find it's best build a machine myself. Recycling components is cheap and helps save money in the future by reselling old graphics cards and ram.

The only time I ever do a case change is if my new motherboard is of a new standard-size.

Being a technician myself I don't really have to worry about service warranties on my machine when I build them by component. The warranties on my individually bought components are still good should any go awry.

News Credits: 38 · Thu May 22, 2008 9:29 am

Quite true. And the fact that the equipment is insanely less expensive than if you get a prebuilt, makes it even more worthwhile. My machine would have cost over $2,000 at the time if you bought it from Dell.... I paid $1200 for all of my components. And that was getting the higher end versions. I freaking love being in control of what type and what brand of component goes into my system.

News Credits: 226 · Thu May 22, 2008 3:10 pm

I've just got a wonderful local computer shop. Been dealing with them for 10 years or so. I must be one of their preferred clients because if anything goes wrong they help me out straight away, and i've seen how much work they have on at the time and I really should have been waiting more than a week at times!

I don't pick brands, but I just tell them the sort of specs I want and trust them with the rest. In all the years i've been dealing with them both personally and for work, the biggest issue was the hard drive on the work server and they had that fixed up within a day.

News Credits: 668 · Thu May 22, 2008 5:13 pm

1.) Today's manufacturers will not void your warranty if you open the case and upgrade it. (In fact, eMachines even states that their PCs are made for upgrading.)

2.) eMachines is owned by Gateway, which is now owned by Acer.

3.) Macs are reliable, but they're not infallible and they're too expensive for a glorified Intel powered computer.

I normally don't rely on brands when buying, but lately it's become necessary.

I don't like Sony because they have optical drive problems with their video game systems andd if you ever go to one of their outlet stores, it's generally stocked with more than half of the stuff being refurbs. Including Vaios. (Desktops and laptops!)

I don't like eMachines anymore because they're owned by Gateway and the quality went down. I know of 2-3 people now who've had their brand new eMachines repaired after a month's worth of ownership.

I don't like Gateways because I have first hand experience with their breakdowns and high rate of repairs. (A family friend had his motherboard, processor and hard drive all replaced in the course of 14 months. Good thing he bought the extended warranty eh?)

I don't like Acers after the word of mouth was so terrible, that and the people at Best Buy said it's one of their best sellers due to price, not quality.

I don't like Hp/Compaq anymore because this generation of their products is riddled with problems. People having to replace the wireless card by hand, the LCD cables wearing out and coming loose with repeated daily usage, etc.

I took a gamble with my Toshiba because I had never dealt with them before and their DVD players and hard drives have a high failure rate. (You see DVD players in refurb packing all the time. Go check Value City sometime, they're all over the place. Their hard drives are notorious online for failing.) Fortunately, their PC division is handled well. They use a different manufacturer for the hard drives, and this thing has been nothing short of reliable. Heavy, due to the construction, but reliable.

I would definitely buy another Toshiba after this one, it's sad they don't make desktops. =\

Thu May 22, 2008 7:23 pm

The RDP issue is pretty much killing the company I work for. Our programs rely heavily on RDP for user connections and we're suddenly getting customers panicking that they can't access their information anymore. The simple solution is to uninstall SP3, but these people either don't know how to do that by themselves or start blaming us for something Microsoft caused.

News Credits: 3 · Thu May 22, 2008 7:29 pm

I downloaded SP3 a couple of weeks ago and my computer got slower. When I change HDD's this weekend, I'm not going to download it again until it forces my to (I love building my own computers).

Mon May 26, 2008 12:59 am

Well, I waited a couple weeks, then took the plunge.

As of now I have installed XP SP3 on three computers, none of which have yet to blow up.

It may be safe now. (I take no responsibility if it is not, though! Use at own risk!)

Plus, Automatic Updates is now nagging as it being kinda mandatory, as opposed to optional, and so.

Mon May 26, 2008 9:22 am

I've downloaded it, but no problems here.
But I most say this: I'm using Ccleaner after the restart and it puts away the updates in a few maps by using the second tabpage and the first tabpage cleans all the things that are useless.

My brother builded my pc.

News Credits: 38 · Mon May 26, 2008 12:31 pm

When I installed it on a work computer, I was no longer able to download other updates. Hardware updates. Updates that have nothing to do with SP3. I quickly rolled back the computer and haven't given it a second thought.

News Credits: 668 · Mon May 26, 2008 12:56 pm

Iron-Man wrote:When I installed it on a work computer, I was no longer able to download other updates. Hardware updates. Updates that have nothing to do with SP3. I quickly rolled back the computer and haven't given it a second thought.

...you know? Now that you mention it...I haven't seen anything telling me it needs updated and what not. Plus, I do have problems getting my computers to connect to one another in the home network via Remote Desktop, etc.

...perhaps it's time to remove SP3 from mine as well. =\