I had a chance to compare four operating systems side by side. The result was unexpected.
A friend of mine was gifted a new HP laptop and asked me to "set it up" and transfer all of his data from his old Window 10 laptop (also HP) to the new machine. I was reluctant to do this, because, like working on someone else's car, if you screw it all up, you are the villain, but if you do it right, you are no hero ("Oh, anyone could have done that!"). Needless to say, my declining mental faculties make the whole project more dreadful - as in making me full of dread.
Nevertheless, he insisted, and I set up four computers - my trusty but slow Windows 7 Ultimate Toshiba laptop (one of four or so I own, now), my Chromebook, his old HP laptop running Windows 10, and the new-in-the-box HP laptop running Windows 11. I put these on our dining room table, all plugged into a plug strip. The table is a very old thing, taken from the library in a mansion in Westchester County that Mark's parents briefly owned and ran as a retirement home, shortly after the war, when such white elephants could be bought on the cheap. It is over 12 feet long and apparently was four feet longer, but was cut down by Mark's Dad when they sold the estate. It is over 200 years old and sturdy as a tank - the kind of furniture I favor - if it can't support the weight of a car, I'm not interested.
But I digress.
The initial frustration was trying to translate actions from Windows 7 to Windows 10 and 11. Microsoft changes things for the sake of changing things, or for nefarious reasons. The general trend over the years is to insulate the user from the workings of the machine. So instead of showing you the architecture of the computer - the drives, the peripherals, etc. - it merely steers you to do things that make Microsoft money.
For example, it was frustrating enough that Windows 7 has "public" and "private" libraries, so you never know where a particular file is stored (chances are, it is in "downloads" anyway). Windows 11 defaults to the "cloud" which is Microsoft's "Onedrive" feature. It has just enough storage space to be somewhat useful, but once you start using the computer, it quickly fills up. Conveniently (for Microsoft) they offer to "upgrade" your storage for a monthly fee (the first of many as we shall see) and I suspect most users just agree to this as they have no idea the data is even going to the cloud.
Onedrive was useful in that I could copy files to it from the old Windows 10 machine, wait for them to upload (slow on our phone-based network) and then download them to the new Windows 11 machine. Most networks are asymmetrical in that the upload speed is 1/10th of the download speed, as most users are downloading far more than uploading. Your typical "upload" is a click on a YouTube video and the download is firehose of video data. So even with a "fast" network, it would take a long time to upload the data to Onedrive.
What sort of data? He had few documents, but lots of photos, starting in the 2000's and ending suddenly in 2017 - the year he got his first iPhone. Back in the day, we had digital cameras and took pictures and videos and then uploaded them to our computers. The smart phone put an end to all that - all our photos are on the phone now. Funny how that happened.
Anyway, while that data was uploading, I got out an old stack of 100 CD-ROMs (R and RW) that I bought at a garage sale for ten cents a few years back and transferred the photos in blocks to a total of 22 CDs, so he would have an archive of sorts. I suspect he will never look at any of it, but if I erased even one file, by accident, no doubt it would be the one file he wanted. You can't win at this game.
Yes, I tried the backup and restore function and indeed, Windows 11 even prompted me for this - but then said the backup was corrupted. I also tried to "network" the computers together, and while the Windows 10 machine seemed eager to talk to my Windows 7, the Windows 11 machine copped some sort of attitude toward its lesser brethren and refused to connect, noting pointedly that Windows 10 and earlier are "no longer supported."
Microsoft networking has always been clunky - or at least modern versions of it. I remember I was able to network my PCs in my office with ease back in the 1990s. We could create "network drives" and share data on the Z:\ drive across every PC in the office. Newer versions of Microsoft networking were almost paranoid in the level of security and it seemed if you even breathed on the computer it would disconnect from the network and never connect again. The arcane system of addresses and passwords worked - sometimes. Other times, you could "see" another computer on the network, but never connect to that machine, no matter how many times you enabled sharing on that machine and entered password or whatever. In the end, I just gave up - life is too short to troubleshoot Microsoft crap.
While the files were being transferred, I checked out his e-mail setup. There were over 3,000 e-mails in his inbox, most unread. And while I was in Outlook (Outhouse?) several dozen more popped up, including outright ads. No wonder he never responds to my e-mails! Now I understand the meaning of the transmission, "We have two copies of Outlook and neither are working" from Artemis II. It scares me that NASA uses Microsoft products for man-rated mission-critical software. Imagine a Windows 11 forced update in the middle of the landing sequence, or a pitch for "Outlook Pro" or whatever at a critical moment - forcing astronauts to fumble for credit cards in zero-G in order to avoid catastrophe.
The Outlook thing was jarring, as I use Chrome and g-mail with adblock plus, and I pay no monthly fee and see no ads and get little SPAM. I keep only a dozen or so e-mails in my inbox at a time, deleting those that are unnecessary, marking SPAM (on rare occasion) or filing important things away in folders. Outlook, on the other hand, was so SPAMmed and commercial that it was unusable - it reminded me of how "newsgroups" in the old days of ASCII-text internet were SPAMmed into oblivion almost overnight.
I was going to suggest he go a similar route, but having to change e-mail addresses and all - and learn a new program - isn't easy for the older set. Instead, I loaded Chrome onto his new laptop, added adblock plus, and then ran Outlook as a website (rather than an "app" - more on that later) and like magic, the ads disappeared.
I also checked his subscriptions and found nearly 200 subscriptions to e-mails, mostly for retailers and such. Some were quite sketchy. I unsubscribed from all of them, and I don't think he'll miss the daily sales pitches from Joseph Banks (they are still in business?) or from mortgage refinancing places (he has no mortgage). The mass data flow of 2-3 e-mails every few minutes dropped off. A few of the sketchy ones peeked through, but I went through and reported them as SPAM and blocked them (and later showed him how to do this). In two days, not a single e-mail (that was not legit) came through.
But again, the smart phone. Like I said, he stopped answering e-mails because of this debacle, but switched to texting instead - as did a lot of folks. Just as we put away out digital cameras and went to the phone, the laptop and the "personal computer" seems doomed for extinction, other than for people who need it for their jobs or maybe gaming. I suspect a lot of folks are going to go computer-free in the next few years (or go to a netbook, more on that later).
Anyway, I also set up Apache Open Office, which he had on his old machine. Yes, Windows 11 comes with Microsoft WORD, but you have to subscribe to it, in order to use it outside of the ten-minute trial period. As retirees, we don't write letters much anymore (does anyone?) and WORD is such a powerful program with so many features that unless you use it regularly, well, you will forget how to use it.
I still know how to use WORD 2000, which I bought 26 years ago and still runs perfectly (thank you very much) on my old Windows 7 machines. But I use it less and less. The last time was to edit a document for Mr. See for the Arts Association. And yes, most people use the ".docx" format (a scam, as I noted before, to force WORD users to migrate to subscription model) but it is east to import a .doc file to Apache Open Office and save it as a .docx file, without even having to learn the details of Open Office.
It is like how Chrome lets you open .pdf files and even enter data fields, save the file and print it - all most users really want to do - without having to buy or use a copy of Adobe Acrobat (a bloated piece of software that no one loves anymore). CutePDF allows you to create a PDF file from any program that allows you to print - it "prints" to a PDF file. Free, too.
I digress, yet again.
Everything, it seems, is a pitch for money on Windows 11 - monthly fees. Even HP gets in on the game, offering to extend the warranty for a "modest" fee. Subscribe to WORD! Subscribe to Outlook Plus! Subscribe to Windows itself! You will own nothing and be happy the silicon valley bros tell us. I think the end result is many of us would rather just own nothing.
Which brings us to the Chromebook. I was ambivalent about the Chromebook - I bought one a few years back on the advice of a reader and I used it to stream Netflix to my "dumb" television at the time. But for the most part, it sat unused. Recently, I dusted it off and gave it a second look. As a retiree, I don't create and store documents on my computer much anymore. Indeed, even working people store their stuff in the cloud or on a company server (and of course, you can always download your cloud data to a removable hard drive if you need backup). Maybe the Chromebook needs a second look.
As much as we all hate Google - the "Don't be Evil" mantra was dropped a long time ago - my dive into the world of Microsoft made me realize why Google initially adopted that slogan. Comparing the two ecosystems is interesting. While Google has drifted toward the dark side, Microsoft has become Satan personified - making so many cash-grabs as to make their software non-functional or at least pointless for the average user.
What's more, since the world is morphing to a smart phone environment, the Chromebook makes more and more sense. When I power up the Chromebook, all my tabs, my passwords, my files, and even my add-ons (including Adblock plus!) are automatically on there. I have one-stop shopping, one interface, one way of doing things. I don't have to "switch gears" from one ecosystem to another, it is seamless. For the average user, a Chromebook might be all they need. Well, at least for me, in retirement, it seems to be all I need.
Of course, Microsoft has noticed this and they have tried to make Windows 11 look netbook-like. They call the programs "apps" so you think it is like a smart phone. But like the ill-fated Windows phone, the Microsoft Zune, and a host of other failed "me too!' products, it is a half-hearted attempt. Even its few successes, such as Xbox have been troubled as of late. Microsoft historically has always been shitty software, copied from others, bloated and slow, and never as good as the original. They have always relied on monopoly practice to maintain market share and their market share to maintain monopoly practice. Capitalism doesn't always anoint the best and brightest.
MS-DOS was a shitty copy of CP/M. Windows was a shitty copy of Xerox PARC's GUI (including its invention - the mouse). Internet Explorer was a shittier copy of Netscspe Navigator and WORD was a crappy version of WordPerfect - both succeeded because they were given away for free with every copy of Windows, which every new computer came with, by default. I could go on, but you get the idea - Microsoft blows chunks, always has, always will. It reminds me of my time at GM in the late 1970s or indeed even up to today - bloated management, mediocre products, and reliance of market share and consumer inertia to keep selling products.
But for how long? Just as expensive gas killed SUV sales in 2008 and bankrupted GM, something may have to give at Microsoft in the end. Subscription fees are seen as a cash-grab by most consumers. Sure, companies might consider this the cost of doing business. It would be smart for Microsoft to go back to the model of getting consumers to sign on for free and then relying on corporate accounts to pay the freight. If you have an installed base of employees using Windows, well, it makes sense for your company to use it as well.
Today, the largest installed base for software is Android - on smart phones. Schools are going to inexpensive netbooks running Android, as they can afford to buy them cheap and not worry when the kids trash them. A whole new generation is being raised on Chromebooks, much as an earlier generation was raised on Apple II machines (but that is going back a ways!), or more recently, Windows. Just food for thought.
Of course, many have issues with Google and our European friends are trying to "de-Google" themselves from that ecosystem as well. There is a lot to dislike about Google, but it is a system that is so ridiculously easy to use and FREE as well, on the consumer level. Google is taking a page from the early Microsoft playbook, while Microsoft seems to be acting like a failing company, making that last desperate cash-grab so they can boost the bottom line and the C-suite can cash in a few more stock options before it all goes bust.
And bust it seemes to be going. Microsoft finally announced some changes to Windows 11 - to make it less intrusive, fewer ads, fewer forced updates, etc. The hue and cry against Windows 11 has been loud and long. Forced upgrades and early sunsetting of earlier versions are not sitting well with a lot of folks. Thankfully, our European friends are passing regulations against such things and as a result, improving products worldwide. The next time you hear a friend bash the EU, remind them that those "onerous regulations" from Brussels gave us the universal charging plug that works on ALL phones, tablets, laptops, netbooks, etc. No more drawer-full of incompatible plugs! And soon, we may go back to removable batteries as well. While we wallow in unfettered capitalism, Europeans are deciding what is best for themselves, not for a few shareholders.
But I digress.
One final thought: Many argue that LINUX is the wave of the future and also of the distant past. LINUX is everywhere and nowhere all at once. The UNIX kernal forms a key part of Android, oddly enough, so maybe LINUX sort of is, already the default operating system. Of course, it is in a lot of hardware consumers never see, such as servers and industrial applications Like I said, it is everywhere and nowhere all at once. One place that seems to resist it is the PC - unless you are a dedicated hobbiest with a lot of time on your hands, converting an existing computer to LINUX is a frustrating task - at best maybe you can hope for a LINUX partition and then switch between that and Windows. But what is the point of that?
Maybe the Chromebook is the LINUX laptop of the future - if Google plays its cards right.
UPDATE: I suppose I should comment on HP as well - once a storied company and the very original (or at least one of the earliest) "Garage Startups" (whose garage is now a museum) of Silicon Valley. I cut my teeth, as an instrumentation technician, on HP hardware - oscilloscopes, frequency counters, and the like. Later, its "Laserjet" printers became an industry standard. The company was kind of run into the ground by a new CEO who would rent out stadiums and force employees to attend worship services anointing her as some sort of false God. They did the usual cash-grab subscription thing with proprietary cartridges - abusing copyright law to insure no 3rd party ink was used in their machines. It all went horribly wrong when people decided that printing things was no longer so important. The consumer always has the ultimate weapon in their back pocket - the choice not to consume at all.
Today, the company still sells laptops and printers - made in China, of course. But I suspect it is more of a Trademark management company than anything close to the Engineering firm of yore.
Like a Netbook, it had few plugs. Two USB-C ports, either used for charging the battery, one USB port (for your mouse?) and oddly enough, a 1/8" micro audio jack, even though it has Bluetooth. Go Figure. I don't recall it having an HDMI, either, but I could be wrong about that.
Like the Windows 10 machine (and the Chromebook) it has a touchscreen - like your phone! I have mixed feelings about this. Screens get greasy and nasty as a result, much as keyboards do (I had to remove food from the Windows 10 laptop keyboard and may end up disassembling it and cleaning it - something that any laptop needs periodically as the vents clog up with lint, dust, dead skin, pet hair, and God-knows-what). It is convenient, but then again, the icons you are supposed to click on are tiny, and my meaty shithooks are too large to select dainty tabs on the display. I end up going back to the touchpad or mouse.
Like most new laptops, it is very thin, because, reasons. You need thin! Thin is in! You don't want to be mocked on your next red-eye flight by pulling a thick computer out of you briefcase, right? Thin also means no DVD-drive, so I had to plug in my DELL external DVD drive I bought on eBay for ten bucks a few years back.
The ancient traditions still survive,.In Japan, they have just now abandoned the floppy disc and upgraded to... CD-ROMs. Yes, the Japanese love physical media, and maybe they are on to something (they love cash, too, and credit cards are - or were - rare over there). The sudden switch to optical storage has meant a spike in the demand for external optical drives.
My $10 DVD drive is now worth a fortune!
