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I have a computer. It shits me.
Its a standard kind of PC (Beige)that used to work fine for all that we needed and it still should but over the last six months it has progressively gotten slower and become more and more cantankerous. I cant be stuffed performing "maintenance" for it - it tends to do what it likes when it needs it anyway in the middle of the night and then tells me it has "upgraded" itself and then performs worse than it had the day before. I have seen all this before and it tends to end up with me sitting in front of it for a weekend staring at a MS status bar for hours on end while I try to just put the basic stuff back into it after performing Hari Kari ( format C:). It is being threatened with that again or it may just find a new home at our local landfill
Brings me to the point. I want an ordinary computer. One that does what it's told and doesn't keep telling me what its "needs" are and then behaving badly if I dont deliver like a whiney bitch.
Is there a computer out there that can;
1. Browse the interwebs
2. Operate a basic Office platform - Spreadsheet, Word processor etc
3. Store 1 gazzilion photos and videos without the aide of an external HD that has it's own issues because it doesn't want to talk to the CPU because of what is being said behind its back to the other peripherals while it's not connected.
4. Burn CD and DVD easily without drama - Just do it without too much stuffing about.
I think I want an apple, just because I can get it out of the box and it will work and should do so forever more, or is there a PC machine that will do the same without all of the Microsoft bullshit that seems to be the cause of all my angst.

Please don't ask what it is I am mashing the keyboard on because I have no idea, its beige with a television type screen above the keyboard, what I want is a machine that can perform the 4 things above only.
Your suggestions please.

Slow and wobbly wrote:................
Is there a computer out there that can;
1. Browse the interwebs
2. Operate a basic Office platform - Spreadsheet, Word processor etc
3. Store 1 gazzilion photos and videos without the aide of an external HD that has it's own issues because it doesn't want to talk to the CPU because of what is being said behind its back to the other peripherals while it's not connected.
4. Burn CD and DVD easily without drama - Just do it without too much stuffing about.

my beige PC does that

WIn XP (no slow old Vista)
memory of 2gb
1 terabyte of storage on 2 hard disks (stores lots of video and piccies)
decent video card and 21" LCD
wireless keyboard and mouse
2 DVD burners (for copying )
Microsoft Office XP (yeah from 2005)
Nero for DVD burning
Microsoft Fax
has Firefox as main browser (and IE coz it comes with XP)

it just works
(and yes...i have auto updates on)

It runs well and I have Vet antivirus and Adaware and Spybot to keep it that way

Mate MAC's are gonna cost you a lot more! Though if you are gonna go windows id wait till Octoberish as windows 7 is coming out and its gonna shit on Windows Vista. Whats was your budget? You could get a windows PC for around $500-$800
http://www.macotechnology.com.au/system ... type=Intel - with a screen
Or if you already have a screen and you dont want one
Something like one of these
http://www.eyo.com.au/systems.php?system=V-A-H
Not sure about melbourne stored....
And if you want more storage its a simple case of ordering the PC with another HD! I can help you with the order if you want!

Smitty wrote:

Slow and wobbly wrote:................
Is there a computer out there that can;
1. Browse the interwebs
2. Operate a basic Office platform - Spreadsheet, Word processor etc
3. Store 1 gazzilion photos and videos without the aide of an external HD that has it's own issues because it doesn't want to talk to the CPU because of what is being said behind its back to the other peripherals while it's not connected.
4. Burn CD and DVD easily without drama - Just do it without too much stuffing about.

my beige PC does that

WIn XP (no slow old Vista)
memory of 2gb
1 terabyte of storage on 2 hard disks (stores lots of video and piccies)
decent video card and 21" LCD
wireless keyboard and mouse
2 DVD burners (for copying )
Microsoft Office XP (yeah from 2005)
Nero for DVD burning
Microsoft Fax
has Firefox as main browser (and IE coz it comes with XP)

it just works
(and yes...i have auto updates on)

It runs well and I have Vet antivirus and Adaware and Spybot to keep it that way

Can I have it?

should i be so bold as to suggest, Linux?
sounds like you need a basic operating system that doesnt require maintenance and the threat of a virus.

Although there is a drawback, when it breaks, you will need an expert.

Thats the whole point!
It shouldn't break!
It should just be and continue to be without needing to do anything.
For instance I have been using Firefox for a couple of years now and it has been bloody good but recently it upgraded itself and there seems to have been a falling out between mozilla and google. My start page has always been the Mozilla / google page but now it takes ages to get started and then refuses to search for anything for a couple of minutes through google. Yahoo is instantaneous but the results are poor at best. Firefox just added a stupid Yahoo toolbar to the browser and now enters all searches through that - I was fine with what I had why did they go and change it without asking ?

the yahoo toolbar change would have been from installing an application (perhaps yahoo messenger)
And IT always breaks if it didn't i wouldn't have a job lol! How old is your current computer?

think most of your probs started with it being a beige pc, big mistake.
I prefer black
once you go black u'll never go back!

DMonkey wrote:the yahoo toolbar change would have been from installing an application (perhaps yahoo messenger)
And IT always breaks if it didn't i wouldn't have a job lol! How old is your current computer?

Nope it was the most recent firefox upgrade what it done all by itself.
I don't install anything - it installs whatever it likes when it likes. I only do the 4 things above.
How old is it I've had it plugged in here for about 2 years but it was an ex office machine from the local geekomart down the street - about $400 for the cpu bit - I already had the screen etc.

My computer properties says
Windows XP version 2002 service pack 3. Pentium 4 2.4ghz 2.39ghz 504mb ram

Have you defragmented the hard drive lately? This is ofen the cause of many slow running issues - and although the system says it doesn't need doing, it helps anyway.

Just a suggestion...

504MB ram maybe a ram upgrade would make a big differece
http://www.eyo.com.au/prod_C-VS2GBKit40 ... d_CL3.html
Something like that and they are piss easy to install! I could talk you through it over the phone if necessary!

xp should run ok for what you are using it for on 500mb ram, however when you start opening some apps you'll notice the difference.
The automatic firefox updates can be turned off, so the end user normally always has an option if they want to receive new updates or not.
I can tell you now, im running 3 pcs and 1 server using firefox and they all got the latest updates. They all run a different version of operating systems but none of them have a shitty yahoo search bar installed. Like what DMonkey mentioned, it must have been installed as part of some other application.

Some installers have a little check box right at the bottom which asks you if you want to install it a shitty search bar, missing it could mean a whole change to what you are used to. Having your home page changed is a classic example of this.

Doesnt matter if you go to Mac OSX, Windows, Linux, Dos...what ever, eventually something will break/change and you will be in the same boat.
Mac and Linux are alike int he way that not many people use them and very user friendly (at least some versionsof Linux).

If you are thinking of going to Mac, there are a couple of things you should consider. Linux is free and you can install it on your PC, getting rid of that shitty windows rubbish. Mac OSX is designed to only run on Mac hardware, so you are up for the cost of a new laptop/desktop, which by the sounds of of it, what you have currently suits you so it may be money best spent elsewhere.
But in saying that, Mac have taken off in a big way, and they are made with the average joe that just wants something to work. Problem is not a lot of people have them compared to the windows market so some applications you currently use may only exist for windows. This is the same for Linux.

-or-

Keep windows, have a look through your add/remove programs list and piss anything off that you dont think is important (you will probably find the yahoo toolbar there). Run a defrag on your disk, maybe get a little extra ram and try not to go through any gay porn sites which install yahoo bars in your web browsers

Slow and wobbly wrote:

Smitty wrote:

Slow and wobbly wrote:................
Is there a computer out there that can;
1. Browse the interwebs
2. Operate a basic Office platform - Spreadsheet, Word processor etc
3. Store 1 gazzilion photos and videos without the aide of an external HD that has it's own issues because it doesn't want to talk to the CPU because of what is being said behind its back to the other peripherals while it's not connected.
4. Burn CD and DVD easily without drama - Just do it without too much stuffing about.

my beige PC does that

WIn XP (no slow old Vista)
memory of 2gb
1 terabyte of storage on 2 hard disks (stores lots of video and piccies)
decent video card and 21" LCD
wireless keyboard and mouse
2 DVD burners (for copying )
Microsoft Office XP (yeah from 2005)
Nero for DVD burning
Microsoft Fax
has Firefox as main browser (and IE coz it comes with XP)

it just works
(and yes...i have auto updates on)

It runs well and I have Vet antivirus and Adaware and Spybot to keep it that way

Can I have it?

...No

MrWasabi wrote:should i be so bold as to suggest, Linux?
sounds like you need a basic operating system that doesnt require maintenance and the threat of a virus.

Although there is a drawback, when it breaks, you will need an expert.

ubuntu

http://www.ubuntu.com/

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