Declaring war on Microsoft!!!!

[JCJanko]

OK, there have probably been Microsoft bashing threads before, but I can't help myself. I recently had to reformat my hard drive and reinstall Windows XP. No problem. Yes, it is a pain having to call in to get the damn thing reinstalled, but that right now is the least of my worries. As I finished installing my...

1. Motherboard drivers
2. Video card drivers
3. Sound card drivers

...I reboot and get a message to the effect of: Windows has detected major changes to your system's hardware since you installed Windows XP. You need to reregister Windows within 3 days.

OK, so I am fuming at this massive retardation (who the hell cares what changes I make to MY F-ing COMPUTER!), so I call extremely pissed off. I get some bitch, can barely speak English, who asks me if I want to register (or authenticate) my copy of Windows. I say yes, and she says, without taking a breath or pausing, "We are unable to authenticate your copy of Windows at this time please call back in 2 hours thank you." I said, "excuse me?" And she says the same damn thing exactly the same.

So here's what I'm going to do: bitch and moan and scream and yell. In other words, not a damn thing. Ever see "Liar, Liar" when Jim Carrey gets a scratch on his car after it was impounded? That's me right now. Because I do tons of video editing and video gaming for fun, and Linux will not suffice for everything. And yes, I will probably get a copy of Vista sometime and keep shoving money down my mortal enemy's throat for the rest of my life.

And that's my rant.

[MikeL]

Buy a Mac. You'll be happy.

[Axxman300]

I know I'm going to sound like an asshole but here goes.

If you are doing lots of video-editing you really should have a Mac, that's the only thing that they do better than a PC. Mac's don't have the problems that Windows-based PCs can have, although XP is pretty stable for Microsoft.

No, I don't have a Mac.

When you re-register, do it online and put "Fuck You" under the name, only spell it Phuk Yu.

[MikeL]

They do quite a few things better than PCs, Axx. Getting out of a person's way being first and foremost.

[JCJanko]

Buy a Mac. You'll be happy.

I would probably, but I've become addicted to building them. Can you build your own easily, or is it more like a laptop where you are basically stuck with what you've got? I don't know much about Macs, but have heard only good things about them.

[vh resurrection]

I just bought a new Mac Mini with a dual core Intel chip. You can run Windows or OSX. I don't really need the Windows part of it as everything I do works well in Apple's OS. But at least you can have the best of both worlds. A little heaven right here on earth.

[seenbad]

Kind of off topic/but still in the same breath...

Anybody had an issue with the newest service release? Careful if you have auto update and don't have a legit version of windows running. The WGA thing is really annoying and keeps reminding you that it's not a legit copy. It's spyware at it's finest. Hacks have already found a cure, but it's kind of a pain.

[MikeL]

I would probably, but I've become addicted to building them. Can you build your own easily, or is it more like a laptop where you are basically stuck with what you've got? I don't know much about Macs, but have heard only good things about them.

You can't build them, and depending on the model you're pretty restricted to what comes in the box. With my old G3 and G4 I was always tinkering and swapping things in and out. Drives, video cards, processors, lots of stupid cards. My G5 has only had a new video card, a couple of new drives, and a FW/USB card... more than I thought, I guess.

[JCJanko]

Kind of off topic/but still in the same breath...

Anybody had an issue with the newest service release? Careful if you have auto update and don't have a legit version of windows running. The WGA thing is really annoying and keeps reminding you that it's not a legit copy. It's spyware at it's finest. Hacks have already found a cure, but it's kind of a pain.

You know, the funny thing about this is a friend of mine builds comps, and uses the same copy for every computer. He said all you have to do is keep telling them it's only on one computer, and I guess they never know the difference (so he tells me).

[JCJanko]

Back on Macs, how is video gaming? I actually only play a select few games (WWII shooters and racing games), but I love to do it when I can.

[Axxman300]

They do quite a few things better than PCs, Axx. Getting out of a person's way being first and foremost.

That was true six years ago, not so much these days. AMD's current processor and the current XP OS, along with more power and memory available cheap has evened out things in many areas. If you're into gaming then a PC is your weapon of choice.

MACs are great and if I had a recording studio or edited video as a pro then I'd have one. Since I write, I don't. PCs have everything I need and while a Mac would be nice they're more money then I need to spend.

[MikeL]

Axx, I own both. I do have some inkling of what I'm talking about when it comes to this.

[MikeL]

Back on Macs, how is video gaming? I actually only play a select few games (WWII shooters and racing games), but I love to do it when I can.

You'll never see a new release come out on the Mac as soon as it's out for Windows. I finally got Civ4 this month. COD2 came out in May or June. I actually think there's a chance that fewer of the A-list titles will come to the Mac in the future. Anybody who's serious about gaming and owns a Mac will just boot into Windows to get their fix.

[JCJanko]

You'll never see a new release come out on the Mac as soon as it's out for Windows. I finally got Civ4 this month. COD2 came out in May or June. I actually think there's a chance that fewer of the A-list titles will come to the Mac in the future. Anybody who's serious about gaming and owns a Mac will just boot into Windows to get their fix.

Yeah, I'm not "serious" into gaming, but I do like to get the best possible with the few I play. And I never have the time to get these games when they come out anyway. I still haven't finished MOH Pacific assault yet, and I actually like the older racing games better than the new ones, in the Need for Speed series.

It's not like I'm in the market right now for anything, anyway. With 4 kids and a new mortgage, I can't even afford breast milk (good thing my wife bottle feeds).

[Viking]

With 4 kids and a new mortgage, I can't even afford breast milk (good thing my wife bottle feeds).

I am going to assume that was intentional. Either way, it's funny as hell!