Let's just say that the last PC video game I played all the way through was Spacequest 2 running on a DOS based 80286 machine overclocked to some odd number between 16 and 20 MHz (the fastest DIP oscillator that I could find that would work, and a 20 MHz would not work). This had to be in the late 80's. I did finish The Legend of Zelda on my daughters original Nintendo NES somewhere in the late 80's as well.
My version of a "video game" today is a PC board layout. Fortunately the layout software runs on just about anything as the graphics are static 2D shapes. Music generation, especially virtual music synthesizers, requires a decent CPU and video rendering require a decent GPU, so I have one decent PC for that purpose, the Ryzen 7 / GTX1660 machine.
For those interested in digital music generation, it is also noted on the VCV rack website, elsewhere, and confirmed by me that for digital music, a cheap video card like the old GT430 in my 4790K PC is far better than using on chip video since the on chip video shares memory and DMA cycles with the CPU slowing down raw throughput. The biggest and baddest core i9 chip on the planet is not necessarily the optimum choice for music. Image Line (FL Studio) has some good information on the CPU needs here:
https://support.image-line.com/acti...11.1644051015.1650714609-318814488.1650202373
I have seen discussions on the Blender and Resolve web sites about the best PC for digital video, but I have not looked there in a few years and both of those have evolved a lot since I picked the best compromise between music, video and budget to build the R7 / 1660 machine.
Motherboards have MAC addresses now, and Win 10 onwards have functions to tell M$ if you are using pirated software, and they can inform the police.
They can trace the boards from the MAC addresses.
Never mind if it is old freeware on a compiler, if it is not the approved list, you had it.
I have no idea about other OSs doing that.
They can trace the boards from the MAC addresses.
Never mind if it is old freeware on a compiler, if it is not the approved list, you had it.
I have no idea about other OSs doing that.
Motherboards with ethernet ports or wifi have always had MAC addresses, nothing has changed nor anything to do with Win10. Microsoft are not going to call your local police station to report a pirated version of windows.
Even if it were possible, the time and expense in doing so would exceed the amount of money they will make harvesting your usage habits and web surfing details to on sell to data brokers.
Even if it were possible, the time and expense in doing so would exceed the amount of money they will make harvesting your usage habits and web surfing details to on sell to data brokers.
Probably depends what the pirated software IS and how widespread the use. I doubt they care if you’re still using an old Office 97 pack on multiple obsolete computers they don’t support anymore.
And guess what - it still works.
And guess what - it still works.
Microsoft doesn't care if you pirate. How many people pirated windows in the part with no repercussions (except for corporations)? Even now? You can pirate Windows for free from MS - It will work forever without being activated.
The new security feature is not the MAC address, but the TPM (Trusted Platform Module) 2.0, a security smart card chip fitted on the motherboard, or in a (proprietary) slot. Apple devices have this feature from ages. It can be used for many purposes, most of them are benefical but some are anti-consumer. One of the feature is related to software license control. By the way, the most popular Microsoft license contract for large organizations does require "activation servers" inside the company lan. Microsoft manages licensing non-conformity as sales opportunity. Nothing is preventing the installation of MS software products but the bill will come, sooner or later.
I finally moved up to Office 2007. It is a legally owned copy I bought in 2007. It might be on more than one of my computers. I did buy a single PC version of Office Home and Student 2019 for this PC. I prefer the 2007 version as the 2019 version is far too dumbed down, maybe for very young students. Since it is tied to my MS account, it probably calls home office to report "aggregate analytics." They won't find much interesting material.
Image Line, the publisher of FL studio, the music making DAW, made a public spectacle out of a YouTuber that was demonstrating the use of the DAW with a pirated copy. FL studio shows the user's name on the main screen. Not too smart to display someone else's user name in your YouTube video, especially when someone else had a video with the same name. Most other pricey music software limits the number of copies to 2 or 3 and requires online registration in order for the save functions to work.
Some software companies go for the known cracked codes and turn them off or remotely kill them, or reverse engineer key generators and kill those users.
True, but the consumer (home) version of Windows 10 and 11 is actually free for volume PC manufacturers, and to any consumer that purchased a PC with Windows 7 or 8 license - the free upgrade from Windows 7 and 8 is still active. Win 10 and 11 home are obviously paid for by the data harvested by Microsoft.
If it is not broken then don’t fix/change….
Why did you upgrade from i7 8700k to i5 12400 ? Your computer is used for office stuff, correct?
Why did you upgrade from i7 8700k to i5 12400 ? Your computer is used for office stuff, correct?
That's win 11.... And no one in their right mind wants that kludge up....
oh, and there's already a work around to avoid needing tpm...
I have certain pieces of Software that only run on the Windows platform. Hence still an occasional Foray into The Darkness that is MS Windows. 😳
For instance, consider that Windows considers all your private details protected by a Password. A Ubuntu Linux DVD-R disk can sail past that in a Flash and see everything on your "private" disk!
Linux is, of course, much better these days. Used to get you into the Command Line far too often. Impenetrable Terms like "Grub" and "Grep".
With the benefit of hindsight, Nigel could have anticipated disaster in Windows XP or 7 with a simple "Safe Boot" with the F8 key. This would have booted Windows into a minimal driver configuration with networking. Thus, hopefully, allowing Windows to repair itself for a new Processor. Or revert to the old one. 😎
But the main thing with Computers is to think "What can go Wrong?" here. There are two sorts of Computer People. Those who make backups, and those who wish they had made backups.
So far I am keeping my Computers running and fully functional. And nicely backed up.
For instance, consider that Windows considers all your private details protected by a Password. A Ubuntu Linux DVD-R disk can sail past that in a Flash and see everything on your "private" disk!
Linux is, of course, much better these days. Used to get you into the Command Line far too often. Impenetrable Terms like "Grub" and "Grep".
With the benefit of hindsight, Nigel could have anticipated disaster in Windows XP or 7 with a simple "Safe Boot" with the F8 key. This would have booted Windows into a minimal driver configuration with networking. Thus, hopefully, allowing Windows to repair itself for a new Processor. Or revert to the old one. 😎
But the main thing with Computers is to think "What can go Wrong?" here. There are two sorts of Computer People. Those who make backups, and those who wish they had made backups.
So far I am keeping my Computers running and fully functional. And nicely backed up.
Well, Rayma you're half right. Macs were better at one time than they are now with their current OS upgrade cycle and the 'we don't want you to touch our glorious computers' attitude. I have 7 of the damn things in the house ranging from a PowerPC G4 Power Mac - which could at least be upgraded with hardware - to several Minis, a couple of laptops and one iMac. I'm hesitant to add a new one because they no longer allow memory upgrades and even drive replacing is a nightmare. You buy it, you're stuck with it. And it's not a given that an app will necessarily work, or work correctly, with an OS upgrade.
Microsoft absolutely does care. If there is enough money in it to nab you, they will. Microsoft is entirely money motivated and does not have your best interests at heart.
I had Win7 Pro running happily, I could live with it. Forced to "upgrade" to Win10 "for security reasons" by some software app. Well, Win10 is hell. More marketing interruptions than I have ever seen. Trashed my network and changed settings that existed before. You know what? Security is my concern, not theirs. The machine belongs to me, not them. The security chip they want for Win11 might prevent you from saving your data should you MB fail. Plus, Win11 will probably be an entirely new interface. You know what? I'm going back to Linux (Fedora). No learning curve for every update and it just works efficiently.
When I hear the words "Security" and windows as a positive thing, I don't know whether to laugh or cry. Window software is poorly coded in general, why do you think computers run much faster with any other OS? The only secure windows box in existence will run unconnected to the internet or network.
I had Win7 Pro running happily, I could live with it. Forced to "upgrade" to Win10 "for security reasons" by some software app. Well, Win10 is hell. More marketing interruptions than I have ever seen. Trashed my network and changed settings that existed before. You know what? Security is my concern, not theirs. The machine belongs to me, not them. The security chip they want for Win11 might prevent you from saving your data should you MB fail. Plus, Win11 will probably be an entirely new interface. You know what? I'm going back to Linux (Fedora). No learning curve for every update and it just works efficiently.
When I hear the words "Security" and windows as a positive thing, I don't know whether to laugh or cry. Window software is poorly coded in general, why do you think computers run much faster with any other OS? The only secure windows box in existence will run unconnected to the internet or network.
Win7 Ultimate was about 10,500 Rupees in Retail, and an assembled PC is about 18000 with monitor.
AutoCAD starts about 150,000, and Solid Edge / Solid Works are north of 200,000 Rupees, cheapest versions.
Corel Draw, Adobe CS, others, all expensive.
Win 10 seems to report / check the serial numbers, and if it turns out pirated, the police will come with the anti piracy people from the software association, can charge you 10x software price.
So you gave a situation where the software is in tens of times the hardware cost, powerful incentive both ways.
AutoCAD starts about 150,000, and Solid Edge / Solid Works are north of 200,000 Rupees, cheapest versions.
Corel Draw, Adobe CS, others, all expensive.
Win 10 seems to report / check the serial numbers, and if it turns out pirated, the police will come with the anti piracy people from the software association, can charge you 10x software price.
So you gave a situation where the software is in tens of times the hardware cost, powerful incentive both ways.
A danger of upgrading is: you end up with software interfaces so different than the previous ones you were productive at, that you look shocked at the screen with disbelief! You reason, all the time and effort you invested in becoming accustomed and productive with the previous interfaces, is now, useless. Your time and effort are not worthy of consideration.
Please, note this applies to both Linux and Windows. I cannot speak about MAC because I have never used it.
Please, note this applies to both Linux and Windows. I cannot speak about MAC because I have never used it.
Except that the 18k PC will never be able to run AutoCAD or SolidWorks. At least not well enough to be usable. In today's market, 18k for a new PC means using warehoused or grandfathered parts. from the early part of the last decade.
An Intel i3 old-age home PC built with new parts is at least 30k using name-brand parts. OEM licenses for W10 (fully legal) can be had for as little as 2.5k for W10 Home. There is literally zero reason to pirate Windows.
About professional software, most contractors require proof of authenticity of the software and most professionals don't bother pirating as you can make up the funds in two to three decent jobs.
My calculations show a computer that isn't crap would cost ~180,000 Rupees (3000CAD). That is CPU, MB, RAM, Video board, case, PSU, no monitor or peripherals.
Just the CPU is over 40000 Rupees and that's almost half price! https://www.amazon.in/AMD-Ryzen-5900X-Processor-100-100000061WOF/dp/B08164VTWH
Oh course that's for a decent gaming machine for 4K gaming which also extends to rendering/production.
FWIW, I bought a legit W10 home licence for 5$CAD to use in Virtualbox.
Also: "Windows 11 does not detect pirated software. However, pirated software often contains malware and can cause harm to your computer."
https://windowsreport.com/does-windows-11-detect-pirated-software/
Just the CPU is over 40000 Rupees and that's almost half price! https://www.amazon.in/AMD-Ryzen-5900X-Processor-100-100000061WOF/dp/B08164VTWH
Oh course that's for a decent gaming machine for 4K gaming which also extends to rendering/production.
FWIW, I bought a legit W10 home licence for 5$CAD to use in Virtualbox.
Also: "Windows 11 does not detect pirated software. However, pirated software often contains malware and can cause harm to your computer."
https://windowsreport.com/does-windows-11-detect-pirated-software/
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4K gaming requires a RTX3080 at the bare minimum, and that is around 100,000 rupees hereabouts. So no, $3000 CA will not be enough. There are reasons for this that border on politics so I won't get into it. Suffice to say that most computers tend to cost over twice that of what you would pay in the developing world.
I've dabbled with Linux on and off and I find it too complex to administer as a daily drive, plus it doesn't have what I need in terms of software, gaming and drivers. Not that I don't use it - I happily run multiple Rpi servers but with simplistic setups, tailored for my greenhorn abilities. Windows is more susceptible to malware in general, but you could say the same about wifi, which now needs multiple performance-sapping security layers to try and prevent unauth access (which still happen).
Android is a good example of a Linux-based OS that is infested with malware, simply because of its popularity. Malware will always be written for the most popular products, so if and when Linux becomes mainstream, it will be infiltrated just like every other OS that is not tightly controlled by the manufacturer (aka Apple). At the end of the day, common sense is what helps slow malware - even though some do not require any user action and are unstoppable, specially the ones that governments tend to use. Don't click on links unless you are 100% sure. If you're not 100% sure, don't click. Don't depend on search to locate links, most of them are SEO pages with malware in every link.
I've dabbled with Linux on and off and I find it too complex to administer as a daily drive, plus it doesn't have what I need in terms of software, gaming and drivers. Not that I don't use it - I happily run multiple Rpi servers but with simplistic setups, tailored for my greenhorn abilities. Windows is more susceptible to malware in general, but you could say the same about wifi, which now needs multiple performance-sapping security layers to try and prevent unauth access (which still happen).
Android is a good example of a Linux-based OS that is infested with malware, simply because of its popularity. Malware will always be written for the most popular products, so if and when Linux becomes mainstream, it will be infiltrated just like every other OS that is not tightly controlled by the manufacturer (aka Apple). At the end of the day, common sense is what helps slow malware - even though some do not require any user action and are unstoppable, specially the ones that governments tend to use. Don't click on links unless you are 100% sure. If you're not 100% sure, don't click. Don't depend on search to locate links, most of them are SEO pages with malware in every link.
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Linux uses a sophisticated filesystem with permissions tailored to enhance security. Writing to a filesystem is now not automatically granted, but an executable must be explicitly given permission to write to a filesystem. The permission system, refer to apparmor, is so detailed that one must specify where on the filesystem an application is given permission to write. This means, malware will find it difficult to write to a file system, especially when, a user runs a internet browser inside a jail, which presents the running browser with a fake environment, most specifically, a fake filesystem.
My experience is such, that even before this was introduced, Linux was still adequately secure for most computer uses. However, certain hardware features, I can mention Intel, for instance, add features to the processor which can be used remotely to access a computer. The added feature is a hidden operating system that is always installed in the processor as it is written onto hardware. To be fare with Intel, I will mention the fact that there are firmware update to the CPU which are claimed to switch off the feature, but that, is an act of faith, and more importantly, an act which can result in a dead CPU. As far as I know, firmware updates are no joke, however, I may be wrong on this, and I say, hopefully.
My experience is such, that even before this was introduced, Linux was still adequately secure for most computer uses. However, certain hardware features, I can mention Intel, for instance, add features to the processor which can be used remotely to access a computer. The added feature is a hidden operating system that is always installed in the processor as it is written onto hardware. To be fare with Intel, I will mention the fact that there are firmware update to the CPU which are claimed to switch off the feature, but that, is an act of faith, and more importantly, an act which can result in a dead CPU. As far as I know, firmware updates are no joke, however, I may be wrong on this, and I say, hopefully.