Downgrade from Windows 7 to XP?

Windows 7 is an absolute winner - once you get into it you will be very very happy. I have a Acer Aspire 5332 laptop and AVG anti-virus. I run CAD and a shitload of other programs including the infamous and dreaded Limewire for music with I-tunes, I can surf any **** site and any other site on the planet NO PROBLEM. Video editing is a breeze and i am making my own movies with sound on boat building for YouTube. Got Netgear wi-fi modem for wireless internet anywhere in the house and can print wireless. Also got my internet connected via my Nokia cellphone for on my boat to see Google earth and download e-mail in the harbour.

So Windows 7 is a winner - it is absolutely ******* fantastic


finally my old pc is ok with XP, and my son's laptop with Vista is ok for him.

 

Well, isn't this timely?

I just built my own i5 machine with help from my Networking Systems buddy. The new box has a very potent graphics card. Rhino3 showed some very wierd screen displays when I fired it up in the new machine. I've got too many folks expecting me to produce drawings to be messing around with fix-its and routines.. so, I bought Rhino4 (which was long overdue anyway and has a load of new features that really fill-in a lot of the drafting limits with R3)

Once installed, the system just flat flies. I loaded my most complex design and flew it around in the perspective box at full screen. Absolutely perfect display in HD video. Rendering times are also incredibly fast by comparison.

When putting the new system together, I considered all the above mentioned work-arounds, including Mac and Linux. Truth is, there is nothing but hassle associated with all of them for one reason or another. The one real hassle with the Win7 is the potential susceptibility to virus/crapola. I have found, over the years, that a good virus/malware program simply eliminates all the nonsense and it has never been an issue.

I know it's a bit of a chunk, Will, but Rhino4 is where you are going to go anyway. Rhino5 is in WIP right now, followed by the Beta process... so something like a year and some change before it's done.

 

its a testimony to the marketing skill of the PC crowd that these things area still around let alone still holding a significant market share

I had several PC's before I gave up literally threw them out or gave them away and went Mac
all died ignominious deaths from every form of problem from virus to spyware to you name it
it was and endless battle against intrusions
ripped the joy right out of playing with a computer

this mac is flip a switch and your on
never a problem of any kind

I tip my hat at those who can win the battle with a PC but I prefer to not waste time in endless battle ( who'd have thought given the climate thread and all )

cheers and best wishes to all
B

 

Flip of a switch is nice, if you can run the apps you need & want. If not, it's only a teaser. I can flip my tv on without any issues and it never gets corrupted or holds me up with a security update, and like a mac, it also doesn't run the cad I want natively.

 

Looks like a mac os native rhino might change things soon though: http://community.irhino3d.com/ Not sure how soon is soon as I see "plug-ins for Windows Rhino will NOT work with Rhino OS X" so those will have to be recoded too...

 

if I know MAC they likely have a way to do it and a in such a manor that you will be virus free permanently

friend of mine is a systems engineer for MAC and I'v never seen her stumped yet
so to speak

 

True, Rhino has a Mac OS version out now... even after Robert McNeel famously said once, "That'll happen when hell freezes over!"

Still, it's not all about Rhino, or Mac and never will be. There's a whole host of tools that are really powerful for boat designers that have not, nor will they ever be written to Mac. To wave all that potential off is near criminal, as far as I'm concerned.

I've been a professional photographer/cinema cameraman all my working life and a Mac makes perfect sense for that world. I could fly around in a Mac all day as a shooter and edit my stills, or nail together a really cool stream of freshly shot footage for a short, a spot or a feature.

But, some time back, I decided to get into boat design and the die was pretty much immediately cast. The PC is the way to go and it isn't even close. That reality has nothing at all to do with marketing. It has everything to do with the principal markets that were staked-out way back in the early 80's by the two platform makers. Apple went artsy and IBM went business. The rest is all about playing to those markets ever since.

Apple still has a very minor impact on the business world, emulation process potential, or not. Even in media design, or advertising agency houses, the artists use Macs, the CEO and the CFO use PC's. That's just how it is. Apple's share of desk-top business world is infinitesimal compared to the PC slice of the pie.

It's not about one being better than the other. It's about having a set of tools that are best for what you do. Right now, I live in both worlds, but I drive a PC, because it suits both of them and especially the stuff I do in boat design.

Simple, really

 

I've been running Windows for fifteen years, and I've always gotten along with it just fine. Of course, I also use Mozilla Firefox instead of Windows Explorer. Since I first installed it in 2005, I've never bothered with an anti-virus program.

That may be changing, though. I caught a case of Vista Defender Pro (a rogue/fake antispyware program) a couple of weeks ago, and had to flush it out of my laptop. Looks like the bad guys have finally noticed Firefox.

 

Well.... a little update... and thanks for all the replies....
I agree that Mac would be nice, if it were 'up to the task' of running that various applications I require... Not so much because of their bulletproof nature... more because they simply look cool!!

With a little help from Matt, I have most of the applications up and running with the compatibility set to XP SP2. Some strange things still occure here and there, particularly when opening programs up, but I'm getting there.

FYI - I'm running W7 Pro with an i7 processor... I'm not one for upgrading for upgrading's sake, but there comes a time...
And when it does come, it makes sense to jump back to as close to the front of the pack as you can justifiably afford IMHO...

Thanks again for all the help....

 

Another thought....
Which anitvirus etc programs have you all had most success with?
Kaspersky was my latest and seemed pretty good....

 

I have been running AVG anti virus for many years - really good
Norton slowed my PC down badly - I actually hate Norton
looked at some of the others over time but was not impressed

 

I dont envy your guys being forced to use PC because you cant find the programs configured to run on Mac

I remember Norton and AVG with grim clarity and it was downright traumatic every time some virus came along and wiped out my computer
again

best of luck and signing off
B

 

Dont really know why - but in South Africa Apple Mac's notebooks are 400% more expensive than regular pc's and at least 200% more expensive than top of the range HP's
just another consideration

 

bottom line is, use what you can get on with
BUT if you dont get to know it well - you are bound to be unhappy
and changing is not always the answer

must say my support from "Incredible Connection" has always been excellent and without decent support from the supplier over the years I would not know what I do today

 

Boston, hope you are enjoying your fishing...

Wil, I use two free applications, both get high ratings, and have never caused me any trama's of any kind after 3 years. Before that I tried the standard stuff like norton, symantic, Kasperski, etc. but they drew a lot of systems resources, and just never seemed to do what I wanted. Oh, I also depend on Windows 7 firewall, and of course my router also provides its own forms of protection. Never had a problem with a Virus, etc. since around 1990...

Avira free version. http://www.avira.com/free-av Everyday it bugs you with a usually humorous pop up encouraging you to buy the more complete version. One click and its gone - I do not even notice

Spyware: I use Spybot http://www.safer-networking.org/index2.html It might pop up with warnings about changes to your register, etc. but if you recognize the software causing the problem, usually because you are updating something like Adobe Flash just say allow. If you dont recognize it and you have just started an less than well known application, then use it to kill the process and delete the root cause... again, I have never had any spyware in 25 years of using PCs..

Cheers,
Grant