2009-10-27, 05:55 | Link #463 |
Aoba Tsukishima
Join Date: May 2007
|
Actually, Macs do have a BIOS (Basic Input/Output System), or more specifically, boot firmware that does the same job as BIOS; which is to initialize and check the devices in your computer (POST) and start the boot loader which will load your operating system. BIOS also manages some software and hardware interactions, like power management.
Current Macs use EFI (Extensible Firmware Interface) which is for all intents and purposes a more advanced BIOS. It does the same basic tasks as BIOS and more, while getting rid of its 16-bit limitations. Considering that current Intel-based Macintosh machines support, via Boot Camp, installation of x86 Windows XP and newer, they are almost identical to any modern x86 PC. You can even get MacOS X from 10.4.4 onward to run on non-Apple hardware, and create what is knows as a Hackintosh. Yes, that means running MacOS X on machines with BIOS via EFI emulation. Basically, the opposite of what Apple does to have Windows run on Intel Mac hardware. At any rate, that's not what I originally came here to post. I just wanted to put this here for people who may want to see what the Nanami Theme for Windows 7 is like: And this: |
2009-10-27, 06:40 | Link #464 | |
NYAAAAHAAANNNNN~
Join Date: Nov 2007
Age: 35
|
Quote:
P.S If anyone starts a flame war here, the best way to douse it is to post Nanami Madobe pictures here. Her moe will calm all the nerves here.
__________________
|
|
2009-10-27, 07:31 | Link #466 |
ひきこもりアイドル
IT Support
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Pennsylvania , United States
Age: 34
|
Whoa there... I never said it's horrible... but every OSes is going to have their strengths and weaknesses... and I always felt that Windows is still a high maintenance OS no matter you look at it for the 10+ years I have been using it. Compared to the free alternative, Ubuntu, it runs faster since it doesn't have the registry and also have a more efficient file system that automatically defragments iteself. Unix like systems are going to be more stable and faster than Windows because the Unix operating system is alot older than Windows and have matured alot, which is a main reason why Unix is used more in scientific fields and servers than Windows...
I would rather not start a OS War because they are pointless and counterproductive and would be against the rules anyways...
__________________
Last edited by chikorita157; 2009-10-27 at 07:45. |
2009-10-27, 07:42 | Link #467 |
blinded by blood
Author
|
From what I've seen so far Windows 7 is good. Everything great about Vista, almost everything bad about it gone, except that stupid UAC (which can thankfully be turned off). The OSX-alike UI improvements are really weird to someone used to WinXP, but I'm sure I'll get used to it in time.
I don't plan on converting over to Windows 7 until a service pack is released, however. If I manage to replace my derelict primary computer before Windows 7 SP1 comes out, that is.
__________________
|
2009-10-27, 08:27 | Link #468 |
I desire Tomorrow!
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: As far away from reality as possible
Age: 41
|
I'll say it one more time, do NOT turn the UAC off. People turn the UAC off, then something goes wrong and somehow it's Windows' fault. I don't undestand the UAC psychosis, just let it be in its default stage and pray the idiots that made whatever programs wrongly ask for admin rights will fix their damn programs.
__________________
|
2009-10-27, 08:36 | Link #469 | |
ひきこもりアイドル
IT Support
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Pennsylvania , United States
Age: 34
|
Quote:
Actually, I set UAC to the highest level since I'm used to having prompts when I modify the system and I don't feel the need to use a Anti-virus because of it (and it adds extra bloat anyways). Not to mention, disabling UAC will disable Internet Explorer Protected Mode which sandboxes the IE window to prevent installation of malware.
__________________
|
|
2009-10-27, 13:12 | Link #470 |
Obey the Darkly Cute ...
Author
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: On the whole, I'd rather be in Kyoto ...
Age: 66
|
Scratching my head a bit here.... one thing I've *always* been able to do with any version of Windows is work "in the language of my choice" by setting up multi-regional languages.
I'm looking at the "differences" between Ultimate and Professional and (besides BitLocker) the only difference listed is "Work in the language of your choice and switch between any of 35 languages." WTF? Are they trying to tell me if I want to work in Japanese and English I have to buy Ultimate? Or are they saying I can switch the entire GUI to the language of choice (rather simply be able to type and read in either language)? I hate it when marketeers write stuff instead of engineers....
__________________
|
2009-10-27, 13:25 | Link #472 |
Obey the Darkly Cute ...
Author
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: On the whole, I'd rather be in Kyoto ...
Age: 66
|
Ah... just wanted to make sure before I switched from my RC 'Ultimate' to a paid version and then get annoyed. I don't have any particular need for BitLocker and Professional seemed to be just fine for my purposes.
__________________
|
2009-10-27, 14:22 | Link #473 | |
blinded by blood
Author
|
Quote:
Pretty much ever since it came out. Windows XP doesn't have UAC. It doesn't annoy the holy hell out of me with a stupid little box asking me "HURR ARE U SHUR U WANNA DO DAT" every time I want to make a change to fucking anything. I have never bricked a Windows XP computer I have owned, ever. So yeah. UAC is annoying and superfluous for a power user who knows what the hell she's doing. When I'm tweaking with something, I know enough to know when there's a chance that I might turn my computer into a brick. I do not need the OS nagging me about it.
__________________
|
|
2009-10-27, 14:46 | Link #474 | |
I desire Tomorrow!
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: As far away from reality as possible
Age: 41
|
Quote:
When people who supposedly know their stuff bash the UAC for whatever reason, the average user will go ahead and disable it "cause the people on X forum said it's useless and I can live without it", which is an ill practice based on ill advice because it can't apply to people who don't have the time or will to become "power users". Then those same people tend to bash Windows as a whole for being broken/full of security holes/etcetc, when part of the reason is themselves. I've actually read about people "not needing an AV (or firewall or any other security measure in Windows) cause if you know how to browse around and know what to run, you'll be perfectly safe", when we all know that most people don't even know the basics and many will never move past the basics, which leaves it up to the OS to do whatever it can in an attempt to compromise security with ease of use. The UAC was meant to address that problem by adding an extra protection layer, a layer that both Linux and OS X have to some extent and it's basically the same thing (not sure about OS X, but I've used a number of Linux distros and that's common practice). Actually, it was my use of Linux distros that helped me appreciate what UAC is meant for. Yeah, its Vista implementation needed work in places (like why must it alert me when all I want to do is check the Performance meter), but that's all. Yeah, all such security measures are a bit of a bother but they are the same as the slight performance hit I'm willing to take when I install an antiV on a Windows system in order to keep it a bit safer. TL;DR It isn't always about us.
__________________
|
|
2009-10-27, 19:01 | Link #475 |
blinded by blood
Author
|
Your reasoning would make perfect sense if I were an ordinary end-user. But I'm not, so it's nothing but a major annoyance.
I'm not really upset that UAC exists, because like you say some people would need such a thing to keep them from turning their computer into a brick. But I don't, and for those of us who don't need the OS nagging us every time we want to change the config settings, we can turn it off. What bothered me more about UAC wasn't that it warned the user when they were going to make a major system-altering change, but that it comes up every time you do anything remotely related to anything. You want to install a game, UAC harasses you. You want to pull up the task manager, UAC harasses you. Et cetera.
__________________
|
2009-10-27, 19:26 | Link #476 | |
ひきこもりアイドル
IT Support
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Pennsylvania , United States
Age: 34
|
Quote:
Also, the changes in Windows 7 allow you to add programs that require elevation to be added to a exclude list so you don't get a prompt when running the programs require elevation on the list. Anyways, how often anyone install a program... The likely hood of seeing these prompts are low if you don't do this often... npal: Mac OS X asks for password if you install something that have files needed to be installed in the Library folder (not the home library folder), installing system updates, anything that change the system settings or files or preference panes that are locked such as modifying account settings (this is changed in Snow Leopard, requiring you to enter your password to change network, startup disk, date, security settings).
__________________
|
|
2009-10-28, 07:30 | Link #478 | |||
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2004
|
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
|
|||
2009-10-28, 10:42 | Link #480 | |
ひきこもりアイドル
IT Support
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Pennsylvania , United States
Age: 34
|
Quote:
In actuality, there are four settings: Always Notify, Notify me only when programs try to make changes to my computer, Notify me only when programs try to make changes to my computer (do not dim my desktop), Never Notify... Well, the lowest level is not recommended, but the default level is not as annoying as it's used to be when it notifies you when you change anything with the system. At best, you should atleast have it at Notify me only when programs try to make changes to my computer (do not dim my desktop) since you at least protecting yourself from doing something stupid, but at the same time, some malware can mimick a UAC dialog... which isn't good. This what the UAC Settings should look like: Don't mind me... I set mine on high since I'm used to it.
__________________
|
|
|
|