Another reason why I hate PCs, Sigh... Options

[mipadi]

My supervisor's Toshiba laptop, immediately after restoring with the Toshiba restoration software:

click to enlarge

(And I couldn't use our non-crufty Windows XP automagic installer, because it isn't made for tablet PCs, and Microsoft won't let you just download the extra stuff you need to turn Windows XP into Windows XP Tablet PC Edition.)

[Uronacid]

That's not Microsoft's fault though. It's the manufacturer. Hate Toshiba for that bloatware problem ;).

[mipadi]

That's not Microsoft's fault though. It's the manufacturer. Hate Toshiba for that bloatware problem ;).

Hence why the title is "Another reason why I hate PCs", not "Another reason why I hate Microsoft".

Microsoft still sucks for other reasons (today I hate them for the Tablet PC Edition bullshit), but that's not the focus of this thread.

[Uronacid]

Hence why the title is "Another reason why I hate PCs", not "Another reason why I hate Microsoft".

Microsoft still sucks for other reasons (today I hate them for the Tablet PC Edition bullshit), but that's not the focus of this thread.

Not all PCs are bad. I own a great PC. Don't hate what you don't understand. I don't hate MACs.

its an easy fix but unfortunately 90% percent of pc users dont know how to do it... instead of coming out with vista why didnt microsoft decide to just sell their own pc's using their hardware and software and not added extra crud and done all the modification that all people should do as soon as they get a pc.

Actually...

[mipadi]

Not all PCs are bad. I own a great PC. Don't hate what you don't understand. I don't hate MACs.

Well, isn't that kind of presumptuous to assume I don't understand PCs? It's not as though I haven't worked with PCs, or used them, or written software for them.

[Uronacid]

Well, isn't that kind of presumptuous to assume I don't understand PCs? It's not as though I haven't worked with PCs, or used them, or written software for them.

Considering you didn't just torrent a Tablet Edition CD ISO. I share your frustration with bloatware, but it's not PCs it's Toshiba.

[mipadi]

Considering you didn't just torrent a Tablet Edition CD ISO. I share your frustration with bloatware, but it's not PCs it's Toshiba.

I manage the IT operations for a research lab. I wasn't fixing my supervisor's computer for fun. When you manage the IT operations in a corporate environment, you don't have the luxury of "just torrent[ing] a Tablet PC Edition CD ISO". You have to maintain documentation for licensing, because if the BSA or another entity decides to audit your software and you don't have a legitimate license, your organization can get into a lot of trouble, and by extension, you can get into a lot of trouble. And yes, our lab gets audited from time to time.

And no, even though we have a volume license for Windows XP, we don't have an explicit license for Tablet PC Edition, which is required by Microsoft.

So no, I can't just simply torrent Tablet PC Edition.

Finally, I'm not going to trust some pirated version of XP on my equipment, which is critical to the operation of the lab.

At any rate, this was more of a tongue-in-cheek/"I had a frustrating day at work" kind of comment. I think you're taking it too personally.

[Uronacid]

I manage the IT operations for a research lab. I wasn't fixing my supervisor's computer for fun. When you manage the IT operations in a corporate environment, you don't have the luxury of "just torrent[ing] a Tablet PC Edition CD ISO". You have to maintain documentation for licensing, because if the BSA or another entity decides to audit your software and you don't have a legitimate license, your organization can get into a lot of trouble, and by extension, you can get into a lot of trouble. And yes, our lab gets audited from time to time.

And no, even though we have a volume license for Windows XP, we don't have an explicit license for Tablet PC Edition, which is required by Microsoft.

So no, I can't just simply torrent Tablet PC Edition.

Finally, I'm not going to trust some pirated version of XP on my equipment, which is critical to the operation of the lab.

You aren't pirating the license. The CD doesn't have a license. In fact the CD means nothing. The laptop has a sticker on it that contains a Product Key. That is what costs money.

Also, you can download the CD directly from Microsoft if your IT department has a tech-net subscription.

I will go down with this ship. I won't put my flag up and surrender. When are you going to play Magic the Gathering! I want to destroy you!!!

[mipadi]

You aren't pirating the license. The CD doesn't have a license. In fact the CD means nothing. The laptop has a sticker on it that contains a Product Key. That is what costs money.

What part of "I don't have a license for Tablet PC Edition" is difficult for you to understand? The laptop doesn't have the sticker on it. Maybe it was rubbed off, maybe it was pulled off, I have no idea. It's an old machine. I don't even know why it's still in use.

And the point still stands: I'm not going to put a torrented copy of software on a semi-critical piece of hardware. Maybe I'd be okay with doing that on my own machine, but not on a machine that matters.

Also, you can download the CD directly from Microsoft if your IT department has a tech-net subscription.

We don't, but thanks for the tip.

Honestly, I think you're missing the point: that this situation is annoying for two reasons:

1. A lot of PC manufacturers -- not just Toshiba -- put a lot of stupid shit on their laptops, shit that no one finds to be useful.
2. Microsoft should just bundle the Tablet PC stuff with XP, and automatically enable it when XP is installed on a Tablet PC. For example, Apple bundles tablet functionality with OS X -- they have since OS X 10.0 -- and Apple doesn't even make a tablet PC. Which brings up another valid point: packaging Windows in different bundles is f*cking annoying. How many varieties of XP are there? Let's see: XP Home, XP Pro, XP Tablet PC, XP Media Center, XP Pro 64-bit... I won't even bother counting the number of Vista editions on the market. That's bullshit.

The fact that there are workarounds for the issue aren't the point; the point is that I shouldn't have to fight with the PC and Windows to reinstall software, and with other systems (Mac OS X, Linux, etc.), I don't. Maybe this sounds arrogant, but only Windows users seem willing to put up with this crap. I feel like this is a sort of "shadows on the walls of Plato's cave" situation. You look at the situation and say, "Meh, I'll deal with it, I'm used to jumping through hoops to get a PC up and running." I look at the situation and say, "There must be some way this can be better." At the risk of sounding arrogant again, I'll point out that it's the second mindset that actually promotes innovation.