Windows 10

[Gimli]

Who has tested the technical previews of Win10 yet?

I've spent the last 30-40 minutes playing around with Build 10036 and I am quite liking it. For a technical preview/beta, it is quite light on resources (even with only giving it 4GB RAM in the VM machine I made for the install). It will be interesting to see how Microsoft's new web browser runs (named Spartan) which has just come out in another build.

While I still use Win7 for most things (and some *nix distros), I think Win10 is going to win me over when it's final build is finished. It's quick, it's sleek, the UI is very nice...

Interested to hear others opinions/thoughts

[ThunderIdeal]

They need to release windows 9 before I will have a bar of windows 10.

Same goes with xbox one. They need to retrospectively rename 360s to 0.36

Microsoft has developed a strange tendency to number things out of sequence and imo it ruins their credibility as people who graduated kindy

[obtuse]

really couldnt give a shit what numbering system is used as long as it works.

but i understand your frustration in why they would release a product only to release the propr working version as a point upgarde as per windows 8.0 to 8.1

but microsoft completely overshot the mark with the windows 8 thing and have realised. they must have gone too far down the development path with win 9, so the only way to avoid issues was to skip straight to 10 to undo their stupidity related to mobile devices.

apple and android have that sown up already so i dont see why windows would bother trying to compete. better they get back to desktop and server appliances.

[2XB]

I miss win2000 :-(

[Gimli]

I miss win95 :-(

Fixed that for you.

[2XB]

Haha

[Distracted]

I used to really like Windows ME.

I found once you've just dragged all the error pop-ups under the start bar it worked fine! (not actually kidding, i ran it for years :D)

Windows 8 works on a touch screen laptop, I wouldn't recommend it with anything else.

[gtarman]

I was an XP fan for years until I finally, begrudginly got tired of the security risks associated with an unsupported OS and switched to Linux. Best decision, once you find the right distro for you, you'll never look back IMO. Although I'm looking into dual booting or just getting a second computer with Win7 just so I can use certain pro software that doesn't have any real viable Linux equivalents at this point.

[Sallubrious]

I've been putting it through it's paces as a virtual machine for the last week or so. I find the pre-release version of Micro$oft OS's always work much better than the final release after an OEM gets hold of it bolts on all their own bells & whistles and bogs it down.

I really wouldn't even contemplate installing anything from Micro$oft in anything other than a in VM. It really is pissweak overbloated bullshit, without a bucketload of bolt on accessories (anti virus, anti-malware etc) it's not resilient enough to handle the internet for long.

Now that M$ has moved everything to the Metro interface your user account doesn't even belong to you anymore, it's their property unless you don't get tricked into using email login at install time. A link to some more info on this below.

http://www.hanselman.com/blog/HowToSignIntoWindows8Or81WithoutAMicrosoftAccountMakeALocalUser.aspx

All the search functions tend to end up with a link to their webstore or a websearch too and if you can't open a file because you don't have the program capable of handling the file extension you end up in the webstore again. Some people will find that convenient but I like to decide myself when I go online, not just have it happen transparently in the background.

It's better than 8/8.1 but, why pay for something when you can get a better alternative free ?

[obtuse]

windows 10 will be free for a year to those with win 7 and win8/8.1

hear you on the rant about linux. but some of them are getting bloated too. problem is, its easier to say with win for compatability with work or studies.

[goneski]

Install Arch. No problems with bloat whatsoever. I wouldn't touch one of the Ubuntu variants given some of the shit Canonical has pulled off in the past (submitting usage statistics, etc) and how bloated they are.

I agree with Sally. I just use Linux at home now -- Arch on desktop, Debian on server running OSes virtualised with KVM. The only reason I'd go Windows over Linux is if you're not keen on the steeper learning curve, but that's half the fun. Windows is great if you just want to get things up and running and aiming for basic productivity (office, email, cat videos, etc) and you absolutely NEED to use <insert app>. Beyond that, it really shits me to tears.

I use Windows 8.1 in the office and fucking hate it. It's such an intrusive system. I've played around a bit with Server 2008 + 2012 R2 at work (because I have to) and at home, but I'm not terribly interested in Windows in the server space. My only real interest in Windows nowadays is for hacking, malware research and reverse engineering. Beyond that, Windows seems to be a bit of a toy compared to *nix.

The main benefit from what I can see with Windows 10 is OneGet (shamelessly stolen from Chocolatey, which in turn was shamelessly stolen from NuGet) -- package management for Windows (it's about time Microsoft). It will be interesting to see how well this plays out and compares to Linux. Having said that, I haven't really kept up to date or bothered playing around with Windows 10, so maybe there are some other improvements beyond fixing the shitty 8.x interface.

The more I work with Windows daily as I have for years (job requires it), the more turned off and disinterested I become. Ideally I'd love to move into a proper development, devops or sysadmin job working with *nix systems, but they don't seem terribly common in Australia and the few that exist require 123910x10e years experience.

Edited March 31, 2015 by goneski

[SayN]

i'll believe it's better when I see it.

the thing I hate about windows upgrades is it's like someone came in and rearranged your house. sure, shits still there but just not where you're used to finding it.

I work mainly on POS platforms like Atom CPU's (hate them) with minimal RAM (ie. 1 to 4GB). I've started using some systems with Celeron (yes Celeron!) CPU's that are better but still really sluggish in comparison to i3 or greater.

[Sallubrious]

I was an XP fan for years until I finally, begrudginly got tired of the security risks associated with an unsupported OS and switched to Linux. Best decision, once you find the right distro for you, you'll never look back IMO. Although I'm looking into dual booting or just getting a second computer with Win7 just so I can use certain pro software that doesn't have any real viable Linux equivalents at this point.

Hey gtarman, I was going to add some info about your post above mine before, but I went off on a tangent & then got distracted by someone that had come to my door.

If you plan on dual booting on a recent model computer, it's a lot more complicated than it used to be. The BIOS system is now known as legacy mode and has been superseded by the UEFI system. The UEFI system requires signed files to boot from (which linux has) but window$ 8 and onwards will re write it's boot config files and reset the boot configuration and fuck up the Linux boot loader. Just when you think you have it beaten a windows update can re-write things again and fuck it up again.

It takes a bit of creative manipulation to make things stick on some computers.

If anyone is interested in dual booting window$ 8, 8.1 or 10 with Linux check out the rEFInd website and a few other relevant posts from forums I read in the links below. For many people installing rEFInd will be a good decision but read up on it first as it's not necessary if you are comfortable editing config files manually. As always when editing system config files BACK THEM UP FIRST.

rEFInd Website

http://www.rodsbooks.com/refind/

Ask Ubuntu forum post (The final solution!)

http://askubuntu.com/questions/244261/how-do-i-get-my-hp-laptop-to-boot-into-grub-from-my-new-efi-file

Thorough explanation of the problems encountered

http://www.zdnet.com/article/the-refind-boot-loader-for-uefi-systems-a-life-and-sanity-saver/

Boot repair disk download

http://sourceforge.net/projects/boot-repair-cd/

Edited March 31, 2015 by Sally

[shroomau5]

EasyBCD also works like a charm.

Doesn't mess with the windows 8.1 bootloader.

I'm running windows 7, 8.1, Kali linux and Ubuntu through EasyBCD

Edited March 31, 2015 by shroomau5

[paradox]

All this appy touchscreen bullshit. on my laptop i just want a good functional straight to the point OS as a platform for music production & graphic design with as little pointless crap running as possible.

People just love all that pointless garbage don't they? Anything so they don't have to think about the fact their life has no heart & they're existence is little more than a meaningless & destructive waste of resources?

People might call it old fashioned, i just call it not being a dumb fuck, but all i want is a system that does only what i want it to do & does it really well.

Windows 8 or 10 might only be worthwhile on a tablet of touchscreen laptop.. but it still looks like shit.

yes i ave nothing constructive to add

[brooa]

ive been running windows 10 for a while and think its awesome! no problems yet *touch wood*

my gf has a touchscreen w8.1 lappy and my work machine is an all-in-one touchscreen lenovo w8.1 and its pretty cool. i find i sit to far away from it to be really functional tho. if you were standing and it was mounted flat i think it would be better.

Edited April 4, 2015 by brooa

[Sallubrious]

I managed to fuck my installation of M$ win 10 with all the modified SDR software I was running on it to try and decrypt some rouge radio signals with my TV dongle.

Anyway I went to re-install it and this time I payed a bit more attention than I normally do at install time. The technical preview gets to a point in the installation process where it sets up the network connections, I was doing this with a web connection active and it seemed to be taking a very long time, so I disconnected the web connection and it eventually went back to the previous step and I chose custom settings.

The custom settings took me into a sub menu which revealed all the default settings which were for the most part turning on or off remote access to the computer. Naturally I turned them all off and proceeded.

Then the install process got stuck in a loop and kept defaulting back to the network settings screen. Every time I tried to continue with the remote access features turned off the installation would fail and loop back to the network discovery screen. I found I could get around it by using the recommended/default settings with no network cable/connection, but after installation all the legal spyware would still be active and need to be dealt with.

It seems the pre release version will not install unless you are gullible enough to allow a full nmap scan/network audit of the LAN side of your router and also allow full access to your machine from a remote location. If you don't allow full access then basically the system will not install or at least my release won't, it will loop back to the network detection screen until you turn on the options it wants or choose the automatic option that gives m$oft free reign over the install process & access to your system.

Maybe this will change for a retail version of the OS, but knowing micro$oft this will be another trick (like the create user account with email) that most people will fall for out of ignorance or laziness.

The ISO has been relegated to the trash where it belongs, along with my relationship micro$oft - forever.

I've tested alpha/beta pre release versions of linux & contributed code for around 15 years and I've never been railroaded or hoodwinked into anything like that before.

[indigo264nm]

Install Arch. No problems with bloat whatsoever. I wouldn't touch one of the Ubuntu variants given some of the shit Canonical has pulled off in the past (submitting usage statistics, etc) and how bloated they are.

I agree with Sally. I just use Linux at home now -- Arch on desktop, Debian on server running OSes virtualised with KVM. The only reason I'd go Windows over Linux is if you're not keen on the steeper learning curve, but that's half the fun. Windows is great if you just want to get things up and running and aiming for basic productivity (office, email, cat videos, etc) and you absolutely NEED to use <insert app>. Beyond that, it really shits me to tears.

I use Windows 8.1 in the office and fucking hate it. It's such an intrusive system. I've played around a bit with Server 2008 + 2012 R2 at work (because I have to) and at home, but I'm not terribly interested in Windows in the server space. My only real interest in Windows nowadays is for hacking, malware research and reverse engineering. Beyond that, Windows seems to be a bit of a toy compared to *nix.

The main benefit from what I can see with Windows 10 is OneGet (shamelessly stolen from Chocolatey, which in turn was shamelessly stolen from NuGet) -- package management for Windows (it's about time Microsoft). It will be interesting to see how well this plays out and compares to Linux. Having said that, I haven't really kept up to date or bothered playing around with Windows 10, so maybe there are some other improvements beyond fixing the shitty 8.x interface.

The more I work with Windows daily as I have for years (job requires it), the more turned off and disinterested I become. Ideally I'd love to move into a proper development, devops or sysadmin job working with *nix systems, but they don't seem terribly common in Australia and the few that exist require 123910x10e years experience.

Urgh I fucking hate Arch..... I just don't have the time...

Also with devops, sysad jobs in Australia. Don't give up. I have no real certifications and now I'm at NICTA running hundreds sensor nodes on the Habour Bridge. Just keep applying.

Also if you have any good ideas for something new, you know your shit and I'm always looking for a project on the side.

[goneski]

It seems the pre release version will not install unless you are gullible enough to allow a full nmap scan/network audit of the LAN side of your router and also allow full access to your machine from a remote location. If you don't allow full access then basically the system will not install or at least my release won't, it will loop back to the network detection screen until you turn on the options it wants or choose the automatic option that gives m$oft free reign over the install process & access to your system

This is why I've set up separate VLANs with a router/firewall inbetween. Also in the process of setting up an Intrusion Detection/Prevention System. I prefer to NOT just run Windows, but I do have a domain controller + some Win 8.1 VMs set up for testing group policy and other boring shit I need for work. My understanding was the tech preview of Windows 10 includes all kinds of 'statistics gathering' (i.e. surveillance)?

Also with devops, sysad jobs in Australia. Don't give up. I have no real certifications and now I'm at NICTA running hundreds sensor nodes on the Habour Bridge. Just keep applying.

Yea, certs mean sweet FA in my opinion. My current workplace has a raging hardon for certs, yet whenever I ask someone with certs basic questions, they have no clue. I really fail to see the value in it. On top of that, it's an M$ shop. I had a look at MCSA, MCSE, etc certs and they bore me. I'm not interested in learning how to click through a fucking GUI and maybe script some minor PowerShell (yuck) to learn how to set up Server 2012 in accordance with some myopic course objectives.

Cisco and other networking certs don't seem a whole lot better. If I'm actually interested in networking stuff (which I am, but mostly from a security perspective), I feel like I'd be much better off reading proper textbooks and sticking to vendor-agnostic material. I really hate being in a Windows based environment where we use large, clunky 'enterprise' proprietary software. As soon as the SHTF, it's next to impossible to do any real troubleshooting and you end up just passing the problem off to some useless third party vendor's support and go around and around in circles with them while the issue remains unresolved.

It's utterly pointless and infuriating being stuck in little more than a help desk job despite having a Software Engineering degree, 2 years full time experience as a .NET developer, and having programmed since I was around 11 yo (now 28). I'm supposed to be working in a NOC setting up infrastructure, dealing with automation (config management, monitoring, etc) but just end up getting dragged into support stuff. It's quite comical when you're dealing with a large system that costs six figures responsible for monitoring 4,000+ devices and the system is horrendous -- no flexibility, no openness, poor performance etc.. Then you start looking at free open source solutions which are MUCH more advanced and powerful.

My main gripe with IT shops in Australia is that they seem to just (generally speaking) lack technical expertise and really just throw money at proprietary solutions that don't end up meeting business requirements. It's a bit hard to feel inspired and motivated when all you're doing is taking off the shelf hardware and software and then configuring it.

Anyway, I'm going off on a tangent.. </rant>

Edited April 6, 2015 by goneski

[shroomau5]

I managed to fuck my installation of M$ win 10 with all the modified SDR software I was running on it to try and decrypt some rouge radio signals with my TV dongle.

I dabble in sdr:) Did sdrsharp install and run ok windowz 10?

[Sallubrious]

I dabble in sdr:) Did sdrsharp install and run ok windowz 10?

It was bit choppy but it worked OK. I think it was mostly a memory/timing issue with the VM. Under a full install on a real system I think it would be fine on win10

RTL-SDR running on native Linux boxes kept dropping the signal back to a raw undemodulated hiss for some reason. It was demodulated for a few minutes and then dropped back to a hiss. I'm not sure why, crash dumps didn't turn up anything of use.

That's why I went for SDR# under the VM.

I'll play around with it again when the funcube turns up.

Edited April 6, 2015 by Sally

[indigo264nm]

You're absolutely correct about the cert system just being an M$ shop. All a load of shit and people seem to graduate without any useful skills from it.

I'd learn Powershell if I had the need - sure as hell beats windows CMD prompt, but luckily I only need to stick to BASH, Perl etc.

Oh btw, our project will be looking to bring on a few more Software Engineers, where remote work is possible for the right applicants, so if your Ruby is any good and you have an interest in R&D as well it might be worth keeping an eye on the NICTA position vacancies.

This is why I've set up separate VLANs with a router/firewall inbetween. Also in the process of setting up an Intrusion Detection/Prevention System. I prefer to NOT just run Windows, but I do have a domain controller + some Win 8.1 VMs set up for testing group policy and other boring shit I need for work. My understanding was the tech preview of Windows 10 includes all kinds of 'statistics gathering' (i.e. surveillance)?

Yea, certs mean sweet FA in my opinion. My current workplace has a raging hardon for certs, yet whenever I ask someone with certs basic questions, they have no clue. I really fail to see the value in it. On top of that, it's an M$ shop. I had a look at MCSA, MCSE, etc certs and they bore me. I'm not interested in learning how to click through a fucking GUI and maybe script some minor PowerShell (yuck) to learn how to set up Server 2012 in accordance with some myopic course objectives.

Cisco and other networking certs don't seem a whole lot better. If I'm actually interested in networking stuff (which I am, but mostly from a security perspective), I feel like I'd be much better off reading proper textbooks and sticking to vendor-agnostic material. I really hate being in a Windows based environment where we use large, clunky 'enterprise' proprietary software. As soon as the SHTF, it's next to impossible to do any real troubleshooting and you end up just passing the problem off to some useless third party vendor's support and go around and around in circles with them while the issue remains unresolved.

It's utterly pointless and infuriating being stuck in little more than a help desk job despite having a Software Engineering degree, 2 years full time experience as a .NET developer, and having programmed since I was around 11 yo (now 28). I'm supposed to be working in a NOC setting up infrastructure, dealing with automation (config management, monitoring, etc) but just end up getting dragged into support stuff. It's quite comical when you're dealing with a large system that costs six figures responsible for monitoring 4,000+ devices and the system is horrendous -- no flexibility, no openness, poor performance etc.. Then you start looking at free open source solutions which are MUCH more advanced and powerful.

My main gripe with IT shops in Australia is that they seem to just (generally speaking) lack technical expertise and really just throw money at proprietary solutions that don't end up meeting business requirements. It's a bit hard to feel inspired and motivated when all you're doing is taking off the shelf hardware and software and then configuring it.

Anyway, I'm going off on a tangent.. </rant>