[ctviggen]

BUT, the problem is that Bob wants to stream to his SB (Ubuntu) while being in Windows working, emailing, etc.  Can't dual boot at the same time AFAIK.  It's one or the other at a time.

He needs one platform that will work well for everything at the same time.

Install Sun VirtualBox and install one of the OS under that.
 
Steve

I'm not sure if this is what my friend uses, but he had two version of the Ubuntu OSes operated at the same time in virtual windows.

[flintstone]

This thread is still running, and the poster is still making up his mind  .....how funny 

I've ran them all.....buy a good computer, and you won't have many problems with any of them.


Dave

[Mr Content]

Bob, to come full circle on our decision:
We had the session in our local Apple store on Monday and walked away with MacBook Pro's - an Apple store is a dangerous place as it's full of cool stuff on active display and use.
I had already made the decision to switch to a Mac but wanted my Chinese business partner to find out if it was the right decision for him.  He gets tech support as part of the deal and is able to go to the local Apple store in the US or the Apple store in Beijing when he's in China.  They transferred all the data from his XP laptop to his Mac and did all the setup for him, being technically challenged this was a great option for him.  So far he loves his Mac.

We have used Dell XP laptops for the last 4 years and the decision to switch to Macs was based on expected productivity benefits and frustration with Windows systems.  The upfront cost though is significantly higher than buying an equivalent Windows machine.  We just need to wait and see if we have a robust hardware and software package.

The Ubuntu proposal looks a great idea, I would probably go down this path first.  If you do go into an Apple store the likelihood is that you'll walk out with the new Mac, it's a very feature rich and cool machine with a price to match!

Phil

How good are they ah Phil, Makes you (me, us) wonder why we didn't do years ago

Mr C

[Bob in St. Louis]

This thread is still running, and the poster is still making up his mind  .....how funny 

Well Dave, I'm not really still making up my mind, I've just not been able to find the time to sit at the PC much recently. Ideally, I'd like to get an additional new HDD, install Windows 7 on it, and migrate the personal stuff over as it's needed. Financially that's a bit too much of a stretch. My second choice would be to wipe this drive and reinstall XP. But that takes more time than I can spend on the unit(s) right now. I have since found out that the biggest "bug" I've got is called a "Google redirect". Seems there are a BUNCH of people with this same problem, but there are as many solutions as there are 'victims'. 

Oh well. I'll find the time one of these days. I suppose if I don't have the time to use it, the bugs aren't much of a problem anymore, are they? 

Thanks again folks. Great thread.
Happy Thanksgiving to all.
Bob

[DougSmith]

FWIW, I was having all kinds of problems with my ~3 yr old laptop.  The basic machine was fine in terms of video and processor capacity, but there were some weird loading problems with Office applications + other glitches that could not be fixed by numerous repair & re-installation attempts.  Adding more memory 1 >2 Gb improved performance a bit, but didn't solve the main issues.  I then upgraded the HD from the original 40 Gb to a 320 Gb drive ($99) & reinstalled XP + applications.  The new drive not only had more capacity, it also had faster access time than the original. It was a bit of an inconvenience reinstalling everything and transferring all of my data and 'user experience' but the problem was completely solved.  It was like night and day performance-wise - basically like having a new machine.  One thing I learned from our IT guys at work is that if the master file table gets too large on a machine, all kinds of problems start happening - and it is not possible to rebuild it unless you have about 20% of free space available. 

Also, if you haven't already, you should try the Firefox browser. I prefer it to IE for most things (except it doesn't work with certain Oracle applications).  Another recommendation is Firefox for pdfs - loads way faster than Adobe reader.

Cheers,

- Doug

[boead]

FWIW, I was having all kinds of problems with my ~3 yr old laptop.  The basic machine was fine in terms of video and processor capacity, but there were some weird loading problems with Office applications + other glitches that could not be fixed by numerous repair & re-installation attempts.  Adding more memory 1 >2 Gb improved performance a bit, but didn't solve the main issues.  I then upgraded the HD from the original 40 Gb to a 320 Gb drive ($99) & reinstalled XP + applications.  The new drive not only had more capacity, it also had faster access time than the original. It was a bit of an inconvenience reinstalling everything and transferring all of my data and 'user experience' but the problem was completely solved.  It was like night and day performance-wise - basically like having a new machine.  One thing I learned from our IT guys at work is that if the master file table gets too large on a machine, all kinds of problems start happening - and it is not possible to rebuild it unless you have about 20% of free space available. 

Also, if you haven't already, you should try the Firefox browser. I prefer it to IE for most things (except it doesn't work with certain Oracle applications).  Another recommendation is Firefox for pdfs - loads way faster than Adobe reader.

Cheers,

- Doug

Windows 7 is awesome!! And Google Chrome is the best browser, Mozilla can't compare anymore. IE8 is also very good.
Such issues…my god I don’t understand what you people do to your machines. Since the late 80’s I’ve been doing this and I still don’t understand what the hell you guys do to destroy your OS’s but I don’t mind that much, I make a peaty penny fixing all your mistakes.
I’d rather have a basket of snakes stuffed up my ass then buy a mac. F Steve Jobs and the carpet he flew in on.
M 2 cents.

[TrungT]

Boead --> 100% 
"nough .. said.."

[Lyndon]

boead said:

I’d rather have a basket of snakes stuffed up my ass then buy a mac.

You made my day!
But I am sure frustrated with my slow learning curve.  I should have finished my first project (HTPC) before...
bought the Insignia blu-ray player because it was supposed to play mkv files. It does, but not the subs. Sigh
Then I bought the Western Digital Media Player Live 2 because it was supposed to play almost everything.
It does play the h264 (mkv) with subs, but won't play my recorded tv files from my Aver Media 780 tuner card.
I bought the Windows 7 to use the Media Center for my HTPC, and was told at AVS Forum that it doesn't
"like" the Western Digital Media Center.  Good grief, it is always something.
Thanks for the chuckle, boead.
Lyndon

[Lyndon]

boead,
I got one more for you.
Was just reading the local paper online:
"cops looking for store-smashing Mac bandit"
police are looking for a man who crashed his pickup truck through the front windows and door of a computer store early Friday and made off with thousands of dollars in electronics.
You should see the security video:
http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_14026815?source=rss

And the first person's comment on the article/robbery said:
"Windows 7 can't be -that- bad!"

[Levi]

Hey Bob, it looks like you have a Virus or Malware on your Internet explorer.  Have you tried other browser?

As promised (to myself), I finally installed Windows 7 Professional in my new MacBook Pro (Aluminium Unibody).  If you cannot decide which OS Platform.  Why not get both!  LOL.    If you have a PC no problem there is away to install and clone a Mac as well. 

Windows 7 Professional runs snappier and quicker than the latest Mac OSX 10.6.x Snow Leopard.  On the same machine.  There you have it boys!

As promised (to myself), I installed Windows 7 Professional in my MacBook Pro.  Everything works no issues there.

This is a good example if you cannot decide between which OS Platform (Windows computer or an Apple)?  Have both!

The "best of both worlds!". 

Windows 7 actually a tad snappier quicker than the Snow Leopard.  There you go!

Thanks for looking!

[ctviggen]

You know, I installed Win 7 on my wife's laptop (over Vista), and to be honest, I can't see what the big deal is.  It has a few nice features, but then it has some crappy ones too, like the fact that I can't get it to immediately see our home network, which isn't a Win 7 network; it keeps getting confused between using the wireless or wired network (you plug the computer into the wired network, and it still wants to use the wireless network; you get it to use the wired network, then unplug, and it won't find the wireless without going through trouble shooting). 

Still, I just bought a computer with win 7 and will likely upgrade my Xp computer to Win 7. 

[StereoNut]

Boead...

Does your alternative to Mac include the basket?!   

SN

[Bob in St. Louis]

Hey Bob, it looks like you have a Virus or Malware on your Internet explorer.  Have you tried other browser?

I've looked for malware using "Malwarebytes", "The Ultimate Troubleshooter", "Ad-Aware", and "AVG".
All of them say I'm clean.
I've tried Chrome, IE7, IE8, and Firefox. All have more bugs than I feel is acceptable.
Looks like the biggest problem with my unit is what's known as a "Google redirect". Seems there are a LOT of people with the same issue, but the solution is different for each case. Haven't been able to find the time to mess with it recently.

I'd love to start over with '7'. But you can't upgrade from XP from what I understand. Again, too little time to investigate in the short term.

Bob

[mjosef]

Set the sucker on fire. 
There is something about fire that cleanses the soul.

[Doublej]

Hey Bob, it looks like you have a Virus or Malware on your Internet explorer.  Have you tried other browser?

I've looked for malware using "Malwarebytes", "The Ultimate Troubleshooter", "Ad-Aware", and "AVG".
All of them say I'm clean.
I've tried Chrome, IE7, IE8, and Firefox. All have more bugs than I feel is acceptable.
Looks like the biggest problem with my unit is what's known as a "Google redirect". Seems there are a LOT of people with the same issue, but the solution is different for each case. Haven't been able to find the time to mess with it recently.

I'd love to start over with '7'. But you can't upgrade from XP from what I understand. Again, too little time to investigate in the short term.

Bob

You can't upgrade but you can use Windows Easy Transfer to bring over files, settings and configuration stuff. It even tells you what programs you had installed on your old machine. You just have to reinstall them but once you do you should find your settings as they were on the old machine. I was amazed that when I reinstalled Firefox all of my bookmarks and addins magically appeared.

I am not sure it will bring over your browser hijack malware 

But seriously many of the antivirus programs don't detect browser hijacks. You need to run other programs to detect it and then eradicate them. Free programs can be found to do this but I can't remember the name of them since the last time I had to deal with one was before the inception of Firefox.

[earplay]

Bob,

I use both Macs and PC's. They both have their advantages and disadvantages. From a maintenance and reliability standpoint, from an ease-of-use and trouble-free operation standpoint, Macs are superior. They are orders of magnitude less trouble. They do not require constant attention. Using a Mac, I don't find myself constantly bracing for the next failure.

[Wind Chaser]

From a maintenance and reliability standpoint... and trouble-free operation standpoint, Macs are superior... They do not require constant attention.

Wow.  My experience with 3 out 5 Macs wasn't anything quite like that.  My PC batting average looks better, especially considering that now I've been using PC's four times longer than Macs.

YMMV

[jqp]

My Mother got a new Windows 7 PC for Christmas (Dell refurb) and I was the tech support to set it up on the network and to transfer all the XP files over to the new machine.

I had to do a little research on the web but I found the Windows Easy Transfer

here's the link, complete with a video  http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/products/features/windows-easy-transfer

You need to set something up on each PC but it is very slick

[Bob in St. Louis]

Is there a good place to get a decent price on '7', or is it the same eveywhere.
Sorry about that question, I'll admit to being totally lazy, there's been no research on my part at all. 

Bob

[jqp]

Is there a good place to get a decent price on '7', or is it the same eveywhere.
Sorry about that question, I'll admit to being totally lazy, there's been no research on my part at all. 

Bob

There used to be a deal on Windows 7 Home Premium upgrade - $150 for a 3-license pack. Not sure if that is still out there anywhere.

Another cheacper way is to get the OEM version of Windows 7 from New Egg or Directron, or Tiger Direct, etc

Directron has Win 7 Home Premium OEM for $99

I would call them (Directron.com) to order. For OEM you may need to qualify by buying some kind of hardware as if you are building your own PC, msybe not. also check on upgrade 3-pack price.

You may have some registry corruption from reading your issues, or possibly hardware issues, but I would bet more on software. You should be able to do a clean install even with upgrade. You can open up cases and reseat memory, etc. when you do all this, also vacum out the dust. PCs, like stereo and HT gear can be a pain if you do not want to take a hands on approach. With cell phones, you just have to buy a new one  I had to do that after I dropped my iPhone one too many times...