Windows 7 is super duper

[Liberty Star]

Is this the Freedom version:


http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9141182/Microsoft_denies_it_built_backdoor_in_Windows_7?ta xonomyId=125

[Danke]

Is this the Freedom version:


http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9141182/Microsoft_denies_it_built_backdoor_in_Windows_7?ta xonomyId=125

K, no geek here. But I am thinking about making the switch to LINUX. Should I pull the plug on WIN?

[Reason]

dear god why am I not even remotely surprised...

[Liberty Star]

Danke, not a regular reader or geek enough to answer that question with authority :) This link was in google news.

[DamianTV]

NSA doesnt need to put a back door into windows because they dont need a warrant for wiretaps or to just come in your house and put a trojan on your computer. Technology again isnt the problem. Like guns. Guns are not the problem and never were. The laws are the problem.

[Mini-Me]

NSA doesnt need to put a back door into windows because they dont need a warrant for wiretaps or to just come in your house and put a trojan on your computer. Technology again isnt the problem. Like guns. Guns are not the problem and never were. The laws are the problem.

You're right, but a preexisting back door would still make it that much easier and cheaper for the NSA to tap into whoever they want, whenever they want, at a whim, and within only a few seconds...assuming their victim is using Windows. Wiretapping alone can only monitor communications, not everything else that's going on locally. Coming into your house to install a trojan requires real time, effort, and obvious risk of exposure, so the NSA could only really do that to a relatively small number of people. Why go out to someone's house to install a trojan when you can put the trojan right in their operating system off the shelf, right?

[constituent]

Danke, back up your data and do it.

What's to lose but the headache?

[GBurr]

I love how they say that it would be hard for large developers to turn down NSA efforts because the government is such a large buyer. I would love to see Microsoft play hardball with the Feds. Microsoft offers the best platform at the cheapest price. If the feds tried to play hardball with Microsoft they would end up crawling back offering to pay Microsoft double.

[Dieseler]

Man I want this Windows 7 so bad now.

[PreDeadMan]

I wont get any new Operating system my laptop came with windows vista what a crappy OS a memory hog i wiped it out and put windows xp on it (even though i prefer windows 2000) is Windows 7 a memory hog like Vista? I also wouldn't trust the new OS because it will undergo lots of beta testing there will be a tons of bugs with it most likely application incompatibility issues probably best waiting another year or so they'll probably have service packs put out with fixes and so forth =p

[dannno]

K, no geek here. But I am thinking about making the switch to LINUX. Should I pull the plug on WIN?

You can make a bootable Ubuntu CD and boot straight from the CD into the OS to see how things work and then decide if you want to install and partition it up or whatever. I still store all of my MP3s and media on my windows partition cause I never use it anymore. Linux can read the windows partition fine, but go into windows and you wouldn't even know linux was installed on the machine :confused:

[HOLLYWOOD]

Uncle Bill rewarding those very well that brings the cheaper H1B Slave Labor to Redmond, WA.

So many SW careered Americans have been laid off... and Gates continues his lobbying for even more cheap labor.

[0zzy]

I wasn't going to get it until I realized that it was THIRTY DOLLARS for students with a .edu. :) oh hell ya.

[DFF]

I hated Vista...and Windows 7 looks like Vista...so I was reluctant at first...but after giving the 64 Bit Ultimate version a go....I can resoundingly say it's a winner....I like it even better than XP.

[0zzy]

I hated Vista...and Windows 7 looks like Vista...so I was reluctant at first...but after giving the 64 Bit Ultimate version a go....I can resoundingly say it's a winner....I like it even better than XP.

I'm a little confused as to why 7>Vista so much. It's like they tweaked it ever so slightly and now it's the sex?

[torchbearer]

I'm a little confused as to why 7>Vista so much. It's like they tweaked it ever so slightly and now it's the sex?

you can tell by resource requirements that it was a complete overhaul of the code.
benchmarks have been way better on my computer.

vista was win7's beta.

[revolutionisnow]

Windows 7 is awesome, backdoors have always been a problem with windows though. That is why they constantly have to release security patches.
Problem solved though. http://www.truecrypt.org/

[jmdrake]

Windows 7 is awesome, backdoors have always been a problem with windows though. That is why they constantly have to release security patches.
Problem solved though. http://www.truecrypt.org/

In the past the problem was security holes. But this raises the backdoor question to a whole different level. If the NSA put the backdoor in then it's unlikely that any "security patch" will fix it. That would kinda defeat the whole purpose of having a backdoor.

This is my last Windows machine. It's an Acer and a piece of crap. I'm seriously thinking of either going Linux or Mac.

[Dieseler]

I would suggest two machines to anyone.
A linux box for,
Browsing and posting to forums
Email
Paying bills
and any other online activity that required using personal information.

A Windows box for
gaming and recreation.

It's not that hard to do with a kvm switch.

[Ninja Homer]

I would suggest two machines to anyone.
A linux box for,
Browsing and posting to forums
Email
Paying bills
and any other online activity that required using personal information.

A Windows box for
gaming and recreation.

It's not that hard to do with a kvm switch.

That's what I'm considering doing. I can't give up Windows yet because I have too much invested in Windows software and a lot of what I use just isn't available for linux yet (ie Adobe products).

There are a lot of netbooks available for under $200 for Black Friday deals:
http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/hot-deals/968303
http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/hot-deals/969702
http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/hot-deals/969193

Netbooks are more than capable of running email and a lot more. I'd like to try out Google Chrome OS as well: http://www.chromium.org/chromium-os

I don't know though... I may hold out for a netbook with an Atom processor and Nvidia Ion graphics card so it can double as a media center... although then I may be better off with a mini format using a kvm rather than a netbook.

[AdamT]

Just go Mac and be done with.

[revolutionisnow]

I would suggest two machines to anyone.
A linux box for,
Browsing and posting to forums
Email
Paying bills
and any other online activity that required using personal information.

A Windows box for
gaming and recreation.

It's not that hard to do with a kvm switch.

You really don't need two computers to do it, you can just have a couple partitions and dual boot.

And as far as all the security patches, I was just pointing out that Windows was not previously secure either.

"NSA pen-testers found that about 73 percent of their intrusions were possible because of poorly configured software that created vulnerabilities. In some cases, the culprit was an operating system or application that came bloated with unsecured features that were never re-configured securely by Air Force administrators."

“It was really an easy target,” Gilligan says. “All the NSA had to do was scan the network.”

"It’s the most secure distribution version of Windows XP ever produced by Microsoft: More than 600 settings are locked down tight, and critical security patches can be installed in an average of 72 hours instead of 57 days. The only problem is, you have to join the Air Force to get it."

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/04/air-force-windows/comment-page-1/#comments

[Dieseler]

Yes, I dual, triple and quadruple booted on this machine while testing different Linux flavors.
I still prefer not having to log from one OS to another just to check my email or pay my bills securely.

[Mini-Me]

Just go Mac and be done with.

If the concern is about back doors left open for the NSA, any closed source OS - not just Windows - may be betraying you, and you'd never really know for sure (unless and until it's too late, of course).

[tpreitzel]

K, no geek here. But I am thinking about making the switch to LINUX. Should I pull the plug on WIN?

Depends. ;)

I switched decades (~13 years) ago, but then I don't use my system for games. I use Bluewhite64 Linux, but many people use Ubuntu due to the automation.

[Liberty Star]

There are a lot of netbooks available for under $200 for Black Friday deals:
http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/hot-deals/968303
http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/hot-deals/969702
http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/hot-deals/969193


$200 is good price for mini but they are all out of stock : -) Probably they order 5 units per store just to attract crowds and then out of stock sign goes up.

[PreDeadMan]

Ok I installed windows 7 yesterday I had windows xp prior to it i typed out every program I had on my pc so i can re-download it when Windows 7 was installed because I did a clean install. I have to say I'm pretty impressed with windows 7 I like the GUI it's a wee different from your normal windows everything seems to be pretty cool and convenient. Stuff opens up very fast and it's very organized. It takes a little time to get used to it or to sort of get everything to your likings customize some stuff but overall I think it's a great operating system :)

[torchbearer]

Ok I installed windows 7 yesterday I had windows xp prior to it i typed out every program I had on my pc so i can re-download it when Windows 7 was installed because I did a clean install. I have to say I'm pretty impressed with windows 7 I like the GUI it's a wee different from your normal windows everything seems to be pretty cool and convenient. Stuff opens up very fast and it's very organized. It takes a little time to get used to it or to sort of get everything to your likings customize some stuff but overall I think it's a great operating system :)

i agree.