Seven
So, I decided to finally take the plunge and install Windows 7 (64-bit) on my laptop (I have hestitated to do that for a reason I will come to shortly). So far it’s working well, it’s running pretty smoothly (especially considering I got the Ultimate edition). Installing Win7 is really easy (much more so than the XP setup process, which can be quite intimidating to novice users) and despite the fact that this is a laptop, I had no driver issues whatsoever (thanks to Acer).
I like having 64-bit now. Computer hardware has been capable of 64-bit for a long time now, yet it is heavily underused (mostly because people are afraid of it and the extremely crappy 64-bit drivers that XP had). But it definately has it’s advantages, and so far I havn’t come accross a single 32-bit application that didn’t work in a 64-bit OS environment.
Doing all the configuration and re-installing applications is the bit I hate though. Yes, I could have just used the ‘upgrade’ function, but I had a lot of software installed that I don’t really use anymore anyway, and a lot of stuff that needed to be updated, so then you can just as well start from scratch. I finally moved to Office 2007 (instead of 2003), reinstalled/fixed SolidWorks (running 2010 Premium SP2 now, even though I despise the extremely lengthy and complicated setup process big time), and updated a ton of other applications. Still, it’s a long process and not altogether a lot of fun. A lot is back up again, but not everything…
One thing I did have issues with were the drivers for various USB -> RS232 adapters. I frequently use serial ports, and since my laptop has none of its own, I’m stuck with using the (often crappy) USB adapters. And of course, it seems that there is no such thing as a Windows 7 driver (let alone a 64-bit Windows 7 driver) for any of them.
I like Win7 so far, but am not installing it on my desktop PC just yet. Two reasons for that: first, I hate having to re-install everything (particularly SolidWorks, which I have just re-installed anyhow). Second, I hope to be doing some hardware upgrades soon, which would require me to re-install the OS anyway, and I’m not exactly feeling like repeating the previous step several times over if it’s not absolutely necessary.
Anyway, on an entirely different note, I thought I’d post a little story (not mine, but I like it):
Trro lamu krr a terìran Nantang.
Terìran mì na’rìng.
Ultxarolun pol Yerikit. Poehu lu prrnen.
Nantang plltxe san Kaltxì, ma tsmuke.
Mì tal ngeyä prrnenä a sanhì lor nìtxan lu nang!
Nìrangal lirvu oeyä frrnenur lora sanhì sìk.
Yerik plltxe san sanhì tsun livu frrnenur ngeyä.
Pìsyeng oel ngar.
Kem si fìfya.
Frrnen hì’i lu nìtxan a krr, apxa txepit txula oel.
Tepvil sanhìti ngop.
Tsakem sivi nga tsun fpi frrnen ngeyä.
Tsakrr lora sanhì layu kop for sìk.
‘Efu Nantang nitram.
Zene sivi a kemit olomum.
New livu lora sanhì frrnenur peyä.
Ayvulit zamolunge ‘awsiteng.
Txepit apxa txolula.
Evengit nìwotx yem nemfa txep.
Tepvi tswayon.
San lìyu for lora sanhì sìk plltxe.
Po pxaw txep srew.
Krromaw plltxe Yerikur san.
Krr a fol txepit tok lu txan nìtam srak?
Lu set for lora sanhì srak? sìk.
Srane sìk plltxe Poe.
Tolul neto tengkrr herangham.
Evengit ta txep molunge Nantangìl.
Lu fo nawnekx. Lu kerusey.
Po steri. Yerikit folewi.
Nantangìl vay set ferewi Yerikit, slä ke stä’nì kawkrr.
First person who can (correctly) tell me what it is about gets a cookie.