Following the enforced replacement of the antivirus software on my computers this weekend, I have decided to withdraw life support from the PCs in the house.
We have two Windows computers in the house - my desktop machine, and W’s laptop. The antivirus software on both of them (AVG) has had to be replaced because a new version is coming out. I have done a bit of research, and people are complaining that the new version causes problems (surprise surprise).
I therefore finding myself returning to Computer Associates “CA Antivirus”, and having to pay for the privilage of the next year of virus protection.
Here’s the really annoying bit.
Computers with Windows installed on them get slower over time. You may not have noticed it, but if I visited your house, formatted the computer and re-installed Windows, it would be noticeably faster. Microsoft Windows is like a pair of shoes that wear out - mostly because of an idiotic design decision many years ago, to store everything in a database behind the scenes called “the registry”.
You can make a computer go faster again, but the tools to do it cost money. The best I have ever found are “Registry Mechanic” and “PC Doctor”. The catch is they cost an amount per year.
So. Time to cut our losses.
We are going to open a savings account this weekend, and if any money arrives in our hands that we didn’t directly earn through our day jobs, it goes in the pot. The first label slapped on the pot is “a macbook pro each for Jonathan and W”.
I was reading TechCrunch last week about a meeting that took place at Microsoft, where all the journalists arrived, sat down around a big boardroom table, and unfolded their laptops. They all had Apple laptops. Apparently the Microsoft guy’s faces were a picture.
I wonder how many other people will be ditching their Windows machines over the next few years when faced with the ridiculous hardware requirements and nazi licensing of Windows Vista ?