algarveandroid

Thumbs up here for mint on old pcs , though not for win 10 as I detest a tile based os , however may return to it later once some clever soul as MS decides to de tile , or some sort of thing like the old win95lite comes out for better customisation.

I Liked a trial I had of Chrome os , however after having some chrome browser problems went back to firefox , which is ironic cos I went to chrome for nearly identical problems with webpages in firefox. Though I do run 3 or 4 browsers at a time normally , and avoid MS incarnations.

And you are right also on the linux servers being the hosts of malware , but nearly all of it is directed towards win stuff , due to lack of husbandy by owners running windows. Even the VBB backend of forums like this are still used for mining and is linux based.


check out remix os , looks like a starter for a mint replacement , based on andy , that is if the goal is a true bypass of a main os and is achieved , currently only installable through windows in beta , but I do hope that changes.

zoff

I'm not flying any flag or defending anyone or anything, just commenting on personal experience.

I live in the USA, but I'm not American, been living here for 50 years and I'm still a Portugese citizen. The reason I'm on this site is because I plan on returning to Portugal soon, maybe sooner than planned if Drumpf is elected

I only come here because this site great to learn about Portugal (I haven't lived there since '66) not to argue about computer platforms.

MrBife

If you have lived in America for 50 years then by default you are American in terms of attitude and expectation.

If you seriously think that Portugal is without its political problems then you really are fifty years out of touch.

Coming to an 'expat' forum where most contributors can't speak Portuguese, are shielded from what is REALLY going on by their lack of language skills and their unrealistic view that Portugal is England with a bit more sunshine is somewhat naive.

You should research some of the wicked goings on in the murky world of Portuguese Politics and Banking (they are linked here) to learn what has been happening - you may start to view Mr Trump in a new light.

To take all our minds off the BES/Novo Banco fiasco, the TAP rip off the plundering going on at council level a light hearted Linux/Windows argument will continue for some time to come

macliam

Ummm, 50 years ago Salazar was still alive, democracy was a pipe-dream, the "Estado Novo" was still the only political force allowed, the PIDE were torturing and killing anyone they disliked and Portugal was a "colonial power" (although the Indians had exposed that sham by walking into Goa, Diu and Damao).......

So, today's Portugal (with all its warts) is a very different place than it was in 1966. Anyone returning "home" after years away will notice a difference, but I think this will be like a different planet!

zoff

I have been going back almost every year for a 3 week vacation. In the late 70s it did look like a different planet when the "estrangeiros" started invading the beaches

GeniB

I think your tag say's it all You are as computer savvy as all get out. That's great..for you. And your so right about needing to keep the computer updated and cleaned out of junk.
It IS forcing us all to become left brained computer experts though isn't it. As if that's normal.How about if we all had to become ballet dancers,or car mechanics!. I just think it's running away with itself. In danger of no longer providing a wonderful service,but dictating a certain pathway

The Banking dictat and the security dictat is a cause for concern imo

algarveandroid

It is basic maintainence , the settings are there in windows for most of them , with programs , or apps , for the rest free or for sale. To use the hoover analogy once more , they dont empty themselves.

I am a lover of all things Dyson , regardless of the guy as a person , having an engineer background and lineage myself.

My gen 2 DC is like a triggers brush , gen 1 faultless , though in 20 years they have become like harleys .... one sneeze and a bit falls off.

Hardly the well thought out man hoover they once were , I have bought another 2 in those 20 years for my other properties , and they arent as good as v1 , suffering from hose problems , bend blocks etc , but I still do maintainence once a year on them each spring. Gen 1 is was mostly used for cleaning out customer pcs so ended up in the workshop as a tool , that sometimes comes out of retirement when needed.

This is the reasoning behind windows 10 , simplification means income increasing from the lowest common denominator , the uneducated and the unwilling to learn. Reminds me of the coffee tray call to tech support for it not working , and yes you guessed it , it was the dvd tray , or the other snopes fav the motorhome crash - cos the owner pressed the cruise control and went in the back to make dinner.

However with that lack of choice also comes other things , like auto updates that you may not want or need , their new privacy settings .... or indeed that windows is a yearly licence - which is where it is going , that whole free upgrade from win7 isnt that free with pay to use YOY licencing further down the line.

I am just as bad though as those I ridicule , I dont read most licences on installs , who ever has? But inside that fine print lies some really bad agreements against the consumers rights , from said privacy to left kidneys... the last one I jest , but i reckon there is a TM and patent there somewhere for the iKidney.

But the other side of the coin is that the users that have any skill , are the very ones being removed from the chain , thus an eventual lack of choice , or pricing competition actually lowering costs to the end user.

The gearing for win 10 is towards ms going the nintendo , andy or apple route , where eventually only their software can be used as soon as you install it , or buy something with it already preloaded.

They are migrating the os towards that of say gaming consoles , locked and unopen to anyone but licenced devs , where those that write software , just like video games , have to use microsoft libraries and only sell it through their store.

One only has to look at apple os with their store to see why they are going this route , biggest cash asset company in the world for a reason , pleb and posuer , plus credit card equals job done. While the idea of locking out unlicenced devs to a platform may result in less malware , it will also limit choice and not prevent malware at all.

I dont despise macs , though it may seem that way by a few of my posts. Work macs are the bomb when it comes to being tools , ie video and music , its just everything else ... well the ones oh so shiny for the magpies , but perhaps they could be better described as cash lemmings.

Back in the day , when monochrome was the norm in pubbing , macs were king , but so was the Amiga for 3d and video editting , but wheres commodore now?

You only get so far with an income based on tech for business supply , a lucrative but small and ever decreasing market.

Back then in days of DTP apple were in and out of balifs appearing at the door , you die when cheaper competition comes along doing what you have specialised in , a kind of a darwinian motion , which is what happened when windows did proper DTP cheaper , hence the eventual flip to mass consumer for Steve Jobs vision ... theres only so many macworkstations wanted or needed.

This was also a reason for apple to dump prop hardware , which originally gave it an edge over work pcs , and to go intel off the shelf for less internal hardware and software dev costs , meaning cheaper production costs and an increased supply chain by piggy backing on the pc hardware mass production route. Though costs never decreased to the end user , only increasing the profit for apple instead.

Were it not for the ipod , well I think you can guess where apple would be today . Its ironic really considering they had ousted Jobs when the company was dying as the sole reason for it dying.

His love of music , coupled with making it cheaper per song saved the company , and gave birth the the "i" brand. The guy as person was never a real tech guy or programmer , a poseur hispter though definately , nor was he an engineer , just was given the right time , right decision , to piggy back on the young grasping the digital format and seen a market outside of hardware for increasing profit.

GeniB

OHMYGOD See what I mean LOL.. Those of you with deep computer savvy have simple gone nuts on the technics... IT'S ALL MARTIAN to most of us normal folk. ha! How on earth are we supposed to keep up? It'S a foreign language thats's getting worse. We now can't skip French, we HAVE to learn it.. Who has the time?

algarveandroid

Dont need to deep learn it , just need to have a program or two that does the things for you. Google is not always your freind though.

There used to be a thing called a ECDL , basically a computer driving licence , but that was geared more towards using specific software rather than maintaining the computer itself. Back in the 80s I lectured a few classes on its predecessor.

Settings in windows that are important.

1.Auto backup to external hd , NAS , or cloud for just files you would not like losing , ie pics , docs , video , browser favs.
2.Back up of windows as a restore image to external hd at least once. Meaning if you lose your hd to failure you can replace it. Most versions of windows presintalled come with a hidden restore feature , ie factory fresh image , but if your hd goes so does it. So a new image to a external hd is always preferred.
3.Clean up and check your hd.
4.Clean out your hardware once a year , remove side panel , aircan on fans and rads should be enough. Always unplug from wall first.
5.Clean out your windows HD daily as well as browser cache , prevents to some extent hijacks from inferior coded malware too. REALLY important if you have "saved your passwords" is clearing browser cache and preventing saved passwords.
6.In any area where you get power spikes , to protect the longetivity of your hardware always use a UPS with 20 percent headroom and can take two cords , one for the monitor , one for the pc.

Set it up right and Ccleaner does the clean up of windows HD thing for you , , or asks you before hand ,though there is a lesser version built into windows . Free , or more indepth advanced paid. Sits always running , monitoring , and will tell you if you should clean up.

Scan disk , in "windows schedule" set for at least one a week , though not needed if running off a ssd hd. Free included in every windows. Will tell you of impending doom with enough time to replace , ie frequent errors , and you can plan to reinstall windows from mentioned Image.

Defrag , aligns files on the hd , meaning smoother running and boot. Can be set in windows schedule for regular maintainance , never use on a ssd. Theres other software out there , but for nearly everyone the ms included file will do , can be ran from windows , set for defrag on next start up. Min use once a week , that is unless your on a SSD , or solid state hd then not at all.

Make Sure hd and bios are running SMART monitoring , will warn of impending doom from hd loss at boot time. Lots of people think disabling it bios means a faster boot , it doesnt , thats the kind of people whom family members usually think are experts. You can always run a smart monitoring tool in windows to see condition of the hd.

SFC , system file checker , useful to check integrity of all windows files , its included in windows though you would rarely need it combined with using the other servicing softwares and smart monitoring... unless a power spike has borked a file.

Continual updating , Windows can either be set to auto install updates , no updates , or ask first. Sometimes needed , sometimes not , sometimes borks a pc... but thats why windows has inbuilt system restore - to manually return the pc to a previous state - removing the offending update.

Driver updates , essential code for running the hardware , not always neccesary to update. Definately dont do a free driver software update scan offer , ie click on a pop up , absolutely useless .If its not broken dont fix it when it comes to drivers.

Antivirus , antimalware , its also system optimisation software.

For Anitvirus I use AVG or Avira on pc and Android. Free for basic set up which most people need.Or you can use windows defender , free and built into windows , but like the others only is as good as the updates it gets , cant detect what it cant identify.

Important -- you only ever need one viruskiller installed at a time with one exception malwarebytes . This is a single run file , not continually running unlike the others , and detection is therefore as good as the freshness of the downloaded program.

Malware bytes is a very indepth free piece of software that can and does find far more malware than other software , including AVG , Avira or Windows defender. It has a live community which is always helpful , and is particulary adept because of it , very good as spotting hijacked browsers too.

For system optimisation I just use the inbuilt stuff mentioned , no need to buy or download any free ones at all.

For office work , no need to buy a full ms office package , or even use it if its already installed. Use openoffice instead , for free. Much smaller footprint than say an old msoffice install , meaning if you prefer openoffice you can delete the msoffice freeing up space ...usually.

For photography work and picture editting , gimp. More than Mspaint , less than photoshop...including the pricing. I am no expert on Gimp , but there are many forums catering for the advanced or starter user.

ADVANCED CCLEANER , not for those that dont backup , but is a really good piece of software for removing invalid registry entries , important as this is sometimes where malware flips its code linking or apps just run slower by being confused.

Registries are like small files , think say like a library card system , locating other files. If any of them are rotten , it means a sluggish or non working pc or program . Advanced Ccleaner can be used to remove the bad links safely , as long as you choose to back up the registry when asked , then you can simply restore it by double clicking on the file it saves should it worsen the problem.

Another good thing with Ccleaner is that it can edit easilly what is in your startup , ie old software say for a printer or mobile long gone.

Unused programs.

Most of the software on a pc may have been installed and never used , theres ways to remove them. System image , used in conjunction with add remove programs in control panel will mean you can safely remove programs without problem.

Say your pc has old phone drivers loading at startup , old modem drivers , or camera and printing software , this is using up hd and memory. So looking at removal of these unused packages should also be considered as servicing. Back pre fat pipe internet most of the repairs I had were due to "free" mag disks installed and forgotten about , today with high speed internet things havent changed much.... people still install free crap and dont uninstall it.

For the playback of music and video I use VLC , small footprint means even on lower powered pcs you can usually still watch 1080p , ie HD . So much better than the windows media player , which means on a low spec pc it can be removed entirely - freeing up space and any problems ascociated with it.

peterfc

Hi Algarveandroid

https://www.theguardian.com/technolo...crosoft-office

For office work , no need to buy a full ms office package , or even use it if its already installed. Use openoffice instead , for free. Much smaller footprint than say an old msoffice install , meaning if you prefer openoffice you can delete the msoffice freeing up space ...usually.

Peter

GeniB

I need to lie down now

Algarve5

Windows 10 drove me nuts. Almost every time it updated (without asking me first), my expensive, high tech Sony Vaio went into an unbreakable loop and I had to factory reset the PC to get it working again.
Then I started thinking; what am I actually using my PC for? The answer was: visiting and sometimes logging on to different sites on the internet (including online banking, Financas, ordering stuff online etc), creating and printing documents in Google Drive. And not very much more.
So I put my PC aside, ordered a Chromebook (less than 250 euros from Amazon) and am happy as Larry in the Google Cloud

No more antivirus, just be sure to have very strong passwords, as with all systems. No more looking after a hard drive that can be infested or full of rubbish I never need. And my phone, tablet and the chromebook are all connected, so I have everything available, and can print from any device, anytime. Without a cable.
And no more Windows 10!!!

GeniB

You sound like you have got it sussed! You using the tools instead of the 'tools' using you.

Just sat in an airless office for nearly 35 mins whilst a guy made two simple(?) appointments in another town for me and my OH. There was a time when that would have taken a few minutes on a PHONE to do...This isn't progress ..this is wasting my time

Ingles

[QUOTE=algarveandroid;11961218]nuff said



I also mentioned I dont suffer from the problems most windows folk do , simply because I backup , scandisk , defrag , cleanup , malware check etc on a regular basis.... all it takes ffs is setting it up with a few mouse clicks.

100% Agree

GeniB

I don't use windows at all (Apple macbook air) I have never had a problem in fact since it was set up 5 yrs ago. As has been said. 'Good Housekeeping' keeps most problems at bay.and a great techie on hand helps.

It wasn't actually my point of discussion though. Much as I love my mac and the ability it gives me to function well here in the Algarve,communicate,discover,be informed etc.I wonder where it's leading us as humans. We are definitely more insular.We are less patient with the non techie world.Our kids don't act like kids anymore,locked in their rooms for hrs on end.I always thought the machine was supposed to help us.It seems that we are becoming the tool of the machine. Or is that an exaggeration ?