Bloody Universal Plug and Play

[mobrien_12]

MS made up this so called "Universal Plug and Play."  The instant I read about it, I knew it was a bad idea.  Network devices shouldn't be searched and automatically configued.  

MS made it up. They enabled it by default on their operating systems... you know the story.. we are MS, we have a desktop monopoly, we will bundle something with the OS and force it on customers and then all the businesses will pick it up.  

It was a known security risk.

It was known to cause problems.

My work computer runs XP pro (I don't have a choice, it's the company computer, they own it, company policy says I don't put any other OS on it).  For months after I put on SP2 (again, I didn't have a choice), the damned thing would just slow to a freaking crawl for no reason, because the WINLOGON.EXE program would go haywire, and the only thing I could do was reboot it.  GRR.

I made sure I had no malware.  Finally I find out that this happens sometimes when you have UPnP enabled, and SP2 re-enables it by default.  WTF.

[worker201]

Probably doesn't have anything at all to do with it, but I found out today that you must have cookies enabled to download a piece of clipart from the Microsoft Office page.  I mean, can't even get to the page where you download stuff unless they are satisfied with your cookie handling.  Why is that?  I thought that was a little excessive, and had no real purpose but to keep tabs on a user.  And not to improve their surfing experience either.

Really, I can't understand why people would use Windows as their OS of choice.

[Refalm]

I use this at work:
XP-antispy

Disabling stupid bullshit like UnPnP is just one click away.

[Aloone_Jonez]

There are two Windows plug and play services, one can be disabled without any problems but the other fucks your system up if it's disabled.

Really, I can't understand why people would use Windows as their OS of choice.

Duh, software & hardware compatability and because it's what they're used to.

[piratePenguin]

Duh, software & hardware compatability and because it's what they're used to.

And because they don't know anything else exists. Windows was my OS of "choice" before I learned of the existance of GNU/Linux.

[adiment]

Installing XP SP2 over SP1 causes problems for many users, you aren't the only one. Most [smart] people slipstream it onto their CD.

[H_TeXMeX_H]

And because they don't know anything else exists. Windows was my OS of "choice" before I learned of the existance of GNU/Linux.

I agree ... most people are to quote them "not goood with computehhhs" ... so when you ask them ... so do you prefer Window$, Mac, or Linux as your operating system ... they would respond with "Huuuhhh ? Uhhh ... lemme think ... uhhh .... wait ... ok ... when I pressed the little button on the front of my computeehhh it says Windoze so I guess I go wit windoze ... yuh ... (drool on self)".

[worker201]

A more likely response would be "What do you mean, operating system?"  There are people who are working for the university who think that every computer on the planet features Word, Outlook, Excel, and Windows.  In fact, they don't even know the names of anything, that's how clueless they are to the world of choices.  It would be like asking you what operating system is on your flashlight, as far as they are concerned.

[H_TeXMeX_H]

man that's sad ... why do people have to be so ... ignorant .... I was gonna say stupid, but maybe they can learn ? ... maybe they just don't care ? ... is there any hope of changing them for the better ? ... is it worth trying ? ... live and let die ... ?

[Aloone_Jonez]

This doesn't just apply to MS software you know.

I was reading a specification from customer this morning and they specified the proprietary Windows-only engineering software we should use to create design for them and that all documentation should be in Word and Excel format. :mad:

[Refalm]

Yes, and I've also noticed that the official European computer diploma (ECDL) requires you to learn Windows and MS Office :thumbdwn:

[H_TeXMeX_H]

Well what else could they require ? M$ Office is very similar in many ways to OpenOfiice, with different layout but similar functionality ... OpenOffice being the more functional of the two. But I dunno, I would have been surprized if they required say Linux and OpenOffice ...

A better thing to require is a brain that can figure out any Operating System using any desktop environment and any word processor ... that would earn you a real diploma, not a certified in Winblows and M$ Office bullshit diploma

[Aloone_Jonez]

Lots of firms don't use OO because it lacks porgrams like Visio and MS Project also it isn't compatable with MS Office VB scripting so all their old macros won't work, in other words they're locked in.

[piratePenguin]

Yes, and I've also noticed that the official European computer diploma (ECDL) requires you to learn Windows and MS Office :thumbdwn:

Where'd you hear that? A few months ago I looked into that and saw that you can use any software so long as it has the functionality tested.

I'm pretty sure OOo has the functionality, and Firefox damn-fucking-well has what it needs, but nearly all places teach MS Office (kinda lame) and IE (LAME), and I'm not sure if they will/have to let you sit the exam with something else.

[worker201]

Lots of firms don't use OO because it lacks porgrams like Visio and MS Project also it isn't compatable with MS Office VB scripting so all their old macros won't work, in other words they're locked in.

The reason OO isn't compatible with VB Scripts is that VB Scripts are a half-assed implementation that should have been scrapped years ago.  No sane person uses them.