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Why would you suggest that “uncle” (not Millennial) buy a LAPTOP? Those ALL are lousy.  DESKTOPS are still the only way to go unless you have to have a laptop for your work and then your employer should supply it.

I would suggest a Dell XPS Special Edition machine with an SSD. You should also have a secondary hard drive for storage and that should be a traditional drive.  I’m not a gamer, but I have been buying Dell XPS machines since my first machine in 1999.  I’d rather have no machine than have a laptop since I don’t need to carry a computer around with me when I leave my home.  These days, most would use a really good smart phone when away from home.  Laptops have such severe limitations and are so expensive for what little you get.  Desktops have much more bang for the the money spent.

I live on the ocean with no air conditioning yet my XPS Special Edition with Windows 8 Pro is now six years old and just fine even with all the salt air on a daily basis.  My XPS Special Edition with Windows 10 Pro (1709) is also fine but it is just one year old. Windows 10 is no fun but, to me, it would be a million times worse if it were a laptop.  If someone is bent on getting a laptop (non business use…consumer use) then I would recommend Dell XPS 13 inch or 15 inch (or if one can afford it a 15″ Precision).  The XPS ones can be bought with Ubuntu factory installed and fully supported by Dell.  I would recommend a 24″ Dell Ultra Sharp Infinity Edge monitor that will last probably 10 years and is excellent and has a non-reflective coating which is vastly superior to the shiny, highly reflective coating on most laptops.

i would NEVER suggest to anyone that they buy a computer in a store! You get OLD stuff and no way to choose components you want.  A computer is one of the few things one should ALWAYS buy online from the OEM (and the monitor…there are no better monitors for reasonable prices than the Dell Ultra Sharps).

As for a Chromebook, if you have zero interest in privacy and want something cheap and junky then I guess that would be ok, but once you have had a nice computer (desktop) no way you would go for a Chromebook even if privacy is irrelevant to you.

One should always buy a longer warranty.  Buy at least a three year warranty from the OEM.  XPS warranties have dedicated techs that are trained only on XPS machines.  For consumer purchases the techs are located in India but there is almost no wait time and they usually have minimal accents.  If you buy from Dell Small Business (the best way) you get Enterprise techs which actually is not as good even though they are 24/7/365 and located in the USA.  You also get next business day in home service with home or small business.  It is worth every penny although Dell machines these days (at least the better XPSes have few hardware problems even in a harsh climate like where I am).  Plus, you get 24/7/365 software support (which I may find very handy when I upgrade to 1803).

Tech Community….I’d not seen that before.  I found it sad that there is NOTHING there that has to do with Windows.  That’s makes me angry but not particularly surprised.  So Microsoft replies on everything EXCEPT Windows.  Pathetic since WINDOWS is what I use.  I’m not enough of a fool to use Outlook or any of the programs listed at Tech Community.  Technet, I guess, is still the only place at Microsoft to communicate with others regarding Windows and, hopefully, get help. (Microsoft help forums are anything but).

As for Twitter as a place to get help, gee, I have ALWAYS blocked Twitter and Facebook in my Hosts file.  I cannot imagine either as a viable venue for Microsoft help.  Nor can I imagine using Twitter at all even if some companies only respond there or at Facebook.  I try not to buy any products from those companies. (Plus, since Twitter is basically a sinister, nasty place why would any decent person use it?)

Please follow the –Lounge Rules–

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Steve

I stopped using Word when that horrible ribbon was forced on us.  I got Open Office and have never looked back. I loved Word/Office before Microsoft ruined it with the ribbon.  I’ve been happy with Open Office so Microsoft actually did me a favor as Open Office is free.

That’s certainly c***y.  Thanks for the heads up.

However, not everything in the Microsoft store should be avoided.  That is where you have to go if you have Windows 10 and want Microsoft themes for it.  I have a great theme currently, Cat Expressions.  I love it!

I also got Dell Mobile Connect there in anticipation of my soon to come new iPhone XR.  There is no where else to get this app as Dell arbitrarily uses Dec 31, 2017 as the cutoff date for using this app on XPS 8930 desktops which is absurd since there is no difference between an 8930 bought in late December 2017 and one bought on January 1, 2018 as far as whether it is able to successfully run this app.

I have a few others and I have been surprised once I turned off Metered Connection, and they were able to update, that I really like Photos now after the updates.

However, a lot at the Microsoft store is junk so you have to be really careful.  Microsoft should do a better job vetting the apps.

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johnf

PKCano wrote:

The “Previews are usually NOT released through Windows Update and are not meant for general public installation. If you download them from the Catalog and manually install them, you take what you get if they cause problems.

Thank you for the explanation.  I have not used Windows Updates since 2004 on an XP Pro computer (when I got mad because Windows Updates site ate my entire  history and Microsoft tried and couldn’t get it back so I stopped using Windows Updates and never looked back).  I permanently disabled Windows Updates in XP Pro and Win 8.0 Pro and would enable it in Services only when I had to update…that was after Microsoft made it so the stand alone installer would no longer work unless Windows Updates was enabled… and then disabled it again as soon as I finished the updates.  Plus, since 2004 on XP Pro, Win 8.0 Pro and now Windows 10 Pro, I have updated manually by downloading each update from reading the Bulletin and KB articles.  (From 2001-2016 I was a prolific poster in the Security Forum at dslreports.com and this was how most of us did it…read each Security Bulletin and the KB and then pick and choose and manually download and install and most of us did not use Windows Updates at all).

With Windows 10 Pro, I immediately killed Windows Updates in every way possible.  Since there are almost no useful KB’s anymore, I use the Microsoft Catalog instead and I didn’t know (as there is no indication in the catalog) that the updates after patch Tuesday are previews.

I’m still confused because if we are supposed to only install the patches that come out on Patch Tuesday then why the long wait until the early part of the next month before this site gives the ok to install them?  Those patches released on Patch Tuesday have not changed in the slightest in the ensuing weeks…the cumulative update that may have changed more than once after patch Tuesday you have explained is a Preview patch.  So, why is there even a defcon system if we are only supposed to choose the Patch Tues cumulative update in the Microsoft catalog as there is no point in waiting as the patches after that are Previews?

Maybe I still don’t understand Windows 10 after almost a year of using it (and hating it).  On my Windows 8.0 Pro computer, I deliberately chose (as I did on XP Pro) to NOT upgrade to a Service Pack (hence I don’t have 8.1).  I was not worried, still am not worried about threats on that computer.  Windows 10 is very different and I deeply hate it as I cannot run the version of the OS that came on the computer when I purchased it for the 5 years until I buy a new computer.  I have always felt it was very foolish to get service packs on a heavily used, heavily tweaked computer as problems would abound.  Here I am with a new animal called Windows 10 that forces me to upgrade at least every 365 days.

The title is confusing.  Why is it a bad idea to install the SEPTEMBER Windows 10 update (there is only one – the cumulative update KB4457136) even now after the 1809 fiasco?

I installed it for 1709 on October 1 (and a forgotten, from July, servicing stack update) when we were still at MS defcon 3.  Why would it be bad to do that NOW if I had been sick or something and hadn’t gotten it done earlier?

I guess I don’t understand the Master Patch list as it says install an earlier cumulative update from Sept!  Why?  Logically, seems to me that if you are waiting until the first part of the next month before you install the previous month’s cumulative update that you would want the most recent one from that month rather than one from several weeks earlier.  I don’t understand “preview of next month”.  I have installed the last cumulative update each month not one in the beginning of that month.  Am I just lucky that I haven’t had problems?  With the Sept patch, am I to understand I got some hybrid something that includes stuff from 1809?  Since I am on 1709 that sounds crazy.

 

I don’t understand why my NON smart phone did not get a TEXT message from the government.  There is still a good percentage of those over 60 who do not have smart phones primarily because they prefer non-smart ones. Plus, what about phones that were turned off…is the text message waiting for when you first turn on the phone that day (the government sent it in the middle of night for Hawaii especially for us night owls)?

As for the spam, I have recently read that by EARLY 2019 OVER 50% of all cellular calls will be spam!  (It is currently 31% that is spam).  I have an unlisted and non published (for which I pay a fee each month) landline for over 40 years now.  I plan to buy the new iPhone XR when it is available and I am afraid I won’t be able tolerate the spam as I get VERY LITTLE on my landline and what little I get drives me nuts.  I will be using a prepaid service with an unlocked iPhone and the service doesn’t block spam calls.  In the past, even with the small usage I have had for the non smart cell phone, I have to change the number twice in four years because of spam.

Given the huge increase in spam that is expected next year, I would continue to refrain from getting an iPhone (would never get an Android phone because my privacy is foremost) except I need it for reasons other than phone calls.  Imagine that!

I remember a lot of hoopla and long lines when XP was released and Dell told me I could not upgrade my 2 year old 98SE XPS Dimension but said I could upgrade to Windows 2000.  I waited (I actually liked 98SE and never had to reinstall it) until I purchased my next computer that came with XP Pro SP1a.  Remember what the “a” version was about?  (“Naughty” Microsoft and Sun won) LOL

As for trusting Microsoft with the way “new” versions are now handled with Windows 10 this blows my mind:

‘Microsoft’s new approach to software updates is paying dividends

Customer satisfaction with software for desktops and laptops rose 1.3 percent to 79. Specifically, Microsoft climbs 4 percent to 79 on the strength of a successful Windows 10 upgrade cycle that favors smaller, more regular updates to improve user experience and remain innovative over rollouts of large new versions of Windows.

Microsoft’s user satisfaction now ranks even with the combined score of smaller software makers, including Adobe, Norton, Quicken and TurboTax.”

https://www.theacsi.org/news-and-resources/press-releases/press-2018/press-release-household-appliances-and-electronics-2018

Windows 10 Pro 1709.  I did not install patches in July.  Installed the cumulative update a couple of hours ago. For the FIRST TIME since I got this computer, I had a few odd problems with the update.  I would not call this level 4 more like level 3 IMO.

I update via Microsoft update catalog. This update, I could not close my browser after downloading and update commenced with the browser open. Update appeared stuck at 1%.  Finally, I was able to close the browser and update then proceeded at a more normal rate.  After the computer rebooted, I found that Windowblinds was not running and that has not happened with earlier updates.  After I restarted it, I found it had lost my settings and was set on a strange style I have never used.  I had to reset everything. I’ve used Windowblinds for seven-eight years now (on Windows 8 and 10) and never had it lose settings after a Windows update.  I could see that perhaps happening if i was upgrading to 1803 but this was just a monthly cumulative update.

Only once before have I had a monthly cumulative update reset scrollbar width and height to the extremely narrow default made worse on wide screen large monitors.

As for Windows Defender, I am suddenly now able to click away the yellow triangle and exclamation point that has been set (with no way to remove) on App and Browser Control and Virus Protection since I got this computer.  That’s nice!

All in all it was ok.

1709 here. One of the first things I did when I got this computer last December was to remove OneDrive.  It comes back in 1803?

I just did the Cumulative Update with a few strange quirks, but got them fixed.  I am delighted that my Windows Defender icon is now happy because I was able to turn OFF the various warnings by just dismissing them.  I have never been able to do that before and I always had the Virus and Threat Protection and the App and Browser Control showing the yellow triangle with the exclamation point.  This was because I had Smart Screen Protection and Cloud Protection turned off from the time I first set up this computer and that made the Windows Defender icon unhappy.

Under Virus and Threat Protection settings there is something brand new.  In red font for Cloud Protection is the statement “This setting is managed by your administrator”.  That has not been there before!  This must be why I was able just now to dismiss those warnings but never could in the past.

anonymous wrote:

Should be noted that so called official support (vastly outsourced to India etc. these days) amounts to scam normally. Avast, Symantec, Microsoft… mostly useless waste of money.

Dell’s extended hardware and software support on a new computer is not a waste of money.  Especially if you buy from Dell Small Business rather than Home, you get Pro Support which is access to Enterprise support techs in the USA.  However, I actually prefer XPS Premium dedicated support as, even though the techs are in India, they are involved ONLY with XPS systems and thus are actually better than the Enterprise techs that I deal with now.  But if you are buying a system other than XPS or Alienware from Small Business, Pro Support is fine and not a waste of money.

Plus, if your primary use for the computer is business then Pro Support with Enterprise techs is great, but if your use is more for enjoyment then better to buy via Small Business Member Purchase Program and get Premium support (especially if buying an XPS).  Of course, always best to buy over the phone through a Dell Small Business sales person (or your MPP representative) as you will get more savings that way as they have access to various savings you cannot get if you buy online.

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Elly, jburk07

Personally, I don’t want this update in firmware. Anything that slows down my system (even a little) to fix a problem that thus far does not exist in the wild isn’t one that I want made permanent. It’s perfectly fine to get it as an OS update– if your OS provider is willing to provide one.

I agree completely.  I can’t understand the praise for Dell in this thread.  I have a Dell Windows 10 Pro (Business) computer that is less than one year old. I don’t want the firmware updates for this issue.  What no one is mentioning is that every one of these updates has cause bricking of systems!  Not all systems…but I don’t want the risk nor do I want the slow down.  I spent a lot of money on this computer and I bought to be fast.

I probably can’t ignore these firmware updates indefinitely though as I also bought 4 years of Enterprise hardware and software extended warranty support.  If I have to call Dell about anything…a dead data drive (which is almost inevitable) for instance, I won’t get hardware extended warranty support or any support unless I am fully up to date and that includes bios updates.

Thanks for the sage advice.

I do though have to smile wryly regarding your comment about instead of patching go out and enjoy the weather as I live in Hilo, Hawaii.  I’ve been cooped up in my home for four days now. Eek!  Rain expected to continue here for several more days but hopefully there will be a bit of sun tomorrow!

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Myst, Elly, SueW, jburk07, HiFlyer

I’ve used it a few times in Windows 8 and Windows 10 only until I got Gadwin Printscreen 4.7 installed on a new computer.  I’ve used Gadwin Printscreen for at least 15 years and never upgraded past version 4.7 (newer versions had an awful GUI).

I’ve used Irfanview, of course, but I think Gadwin is much better.  A main lack (to me) in Snip tool is it is harder to organize your files of clips.  That can be set up easily in Gadwin.  Snip does let you use Paint like tools right there when captured which, if you use Gadwin, you have to open the screenshot in MSPaint.  I rarely need to do that so Gadwin’s ability to organize all the screenshots is more important to me.  But I’m glad to hear Microsoft is not getting rid of it.  I had to use Snip for a screenshot of Gadwin Printscreen GUI.

Lars220 wrote:

For some also decent instructions on disabling Cortana, without any blinking stuff that I noticed, maybe this website could be useful for some people, hopefully (?)

Sorry, if I sounded grumpy.  I really dislike Cortana and the fact I can’t keep it from running in task manager although it is disabled.

That pureinfotech site page looks useful but it would be nice if I saw the images…there are huge blanks where the images should be on all my browsers (maybe the site doesn’t like Windows 10 1709)?  I even disabled my ad blockers and still saw no images, but for those who can see the images, it looks helpful.