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From: Eris Discordia <eris.discordia@gmail.com>
To: Fans of the OS Plan 9 from Bell Labs <9fans@9fans.net>
Subject: Re: [9fans] Help for home user discovering Plan 9
Date: Sat, 18 Apr 2009 20:34:18 +0100	[thread overview]
Message-ID: <B6FF436789F29A3B7977687E@[192.168.1.2]> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <3aaafc130904181243xa0e269n52379085af1b741@mail.gmail.com>

> Actually, I used Windows for years before discovering something
> better. I explicitly disabled updates in XP, and it would insist on
> looking for them and bothering me about them, anyway.

I put it here for I don't know what to call it--shall we say... historical 
record?--how to turn off your Windows XP installation's automatic update 
service: get into Control Panel, run the System applet, turn to Automatic 
Updates page tab, set the radio button to your desired option. If you want 
Windows to never download anything of its own accord, even when instructed 
by applications (such as InstallShield) that use Windows Update 
infrastructure for their purposes, go to Control Panel, go to 
Administrative Tools, run the Services MMC snap-in, find Background 
Intelligent Transfer Service, stop the service, set the service's startup 
mode to 'Disabled.'

Very easy, very logical, very intuitive, clearly documented, and even 
self-documented. Windows has lots of disadvantages but UI, configuration, 
and representation of the local system is where there's the smallest 
concentration of them. If you want to blame it get under the hood, find 
actual OS design flaws, and then laugh to your heart's content.

In conclusion, I apologize to 9fans for polluting their list with Windows 
nonsense. This will end right here even if J. R. Mauro goes on to say 
her/his Windows system won't boot after a clean successful installation.

--On Saturday, April 18, 2009 3:43 PM -0400 "J.R. Mauro" 
<jrm8005@gmail.com> wrote:

> On Sat, Apr 18, 2009 at 2:29 PM, Eris Discordia
> <eris.discordia@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> That is a lie. There are updates which (at least on XP) you could
>>> never refuse. Nevermind the fact that Windows would have to restart
>>> more than once on a typical series of updates.
>>
>> Windows isn't really the subject on this thread or this list. Except when
>> someone goes out of their way to nonsensically blame it. I don't think
>> that's really meaningful or productive in any imaginable way. As it
>> happens, no one here is really a Windows user (or some are and they're
>> laughing in the hiding bush). You are no better. Please do substantiate
>> what you claim or stop trolling. There are absolutely no mandatory
>> Windows updates; you can run a Windows system intact, with zero
>> modification, for as long as you want or as long as it holds up given
>> its shortcomings. So, my educated guess goes: you have zero acquaintance
>> with that OS. Not even as much acquaintance as a normal user should have.
>
> Actually, I used Windows for years before discovering something
> better. I explicitly disabled updates in XP, and it would insist on
> looking for them and bothering me about them, anyway.
>
> Now maybe I missed some other option or the option I chose was
> misleadingly labeled, or something was biffed in my registry. I just
> googled for "can't turn off Automatic update" and found a bunch of
> similar stories, though. In any event, it was so long ago I can't
> remember what the circumstances exactly were.
>
>>
>> --On Saturday, April 18, 2009 12:19 PM -0400 "J.R. Mauro"
>> <jrm8005@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> On Sat, Apr 18, 2009 at 2:08 AM, Eris Discordia
>>> <eris.discordia@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> This thing about Windows updates, I think it's a non-issue. It's not
>>>> like updates are mandatory and, as a matter of fact, there's rather
>>>> fine-grained classification of them on Microsoft's knowledge base which
>>>> can be used by any more or less experienced user to identify exactly
>>>> what they need for addressing a specific glitch and to download and
>>>> install that and only that. Periodic updates of Windows are really
>>>> unnecessary and can be easily turned off. Cumulative updates (like the
>>>> service packs), on the other hand, are often the best way to go.
>>>
>>> That is a lie. There are updates which (at least on XP) you could
>>> never refuse. Nevermind the fact that Windows would have to restart
>>> more than once on a typical series of updates.
>>>
>>>>
>>>> What seems to actually be the problem for you is that you don't like
>>>> being told there's a closed modification to your existing closed
>>>> software. Well, that's the nature of binary-only proprietary for-profit
>>>> software. The only way to get you to pay out of anything other than
>>>> good will, which is a rare bird.
>>>
>>> No, I think he's saying that Windows Update is a piece of fetid garbage.
>>>
>>>>
>>>> P.S. On open/free software mailing lists and forums justice is often
>>>> not done to Windows, et al. Particularly, no meaningful alternative is
>>>> presented for carrying out the important duties Windows currently
>>>> performs for general computing, i.e. non-technical home and office
>>>> applications which combined together were and continue to be the killer
>>>> application of microcomputers.
>>>
>>> Mac's updater is miles ahead of Windows Update, but both are still
>>> crappy. I've given Linux to several "computer illiterates" and they
>>> were immediately relieved that they could open up a single application
>>> and search for any kind of software they needed, and updating it all
>>> was done by that simple application. How simple is that!
>>>
>>> The rate of failure of updates (compared to Windows update, which
>>> would leave you with a completely unusable system every once in a
>>> while) was also much lower.
>>>
>>>>
>>>> --On Saturday, April 18, 2009 8:11 AM +0200 lucio@proxima.alt.za wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>> The update/installation process in Ubuntu sucks. If you try something
>>>>>> using BSD ports or Gentoo portage, you can fine tune things and have
>>>>>> explicit control over the update process.
>>>>>
>>>>> I was specifically omitting BSD ports, as they are in a different
>>>>> league.  The point I _was_ making is that one readily sacrifices
>>>>> control for convenience and that Linux and Windows users and those who
>>>>> assist them have to accept second-rate management and pay for it (I
>>>>> should know, I can see it when XP decides to use the GPRS link for its
>>>>> updating :-(
>>>>>
>>>>> Enough reason for me to prefer Plan 9 (and NetBSD, but I can only get
>>>>> my teeth into so many apples), if there weren't many more reasons.
>>>>>
>>>>> ++L
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>



  reply	other threads:[~2009-04-18 19:34 UTC|newest]

Thread overview: 58+ messages / expand[flat|nested]  mbox.gz  Atom feed  top
2009-04-14  6:05 Jim Habegger
2009-04-14 11:09 ` Sergey Zhilkin
2009-04-14 12:36 ` Pietro Gagliardi
2009-04-14 12:38   ` Devon H. O'Dell
2009-04-14 12:46   ` Pietro Gagliardi
2009-04-14 12:37 ` Devon H. O'Dell
2009-04-14 13:17 ` Andrés Domínguez
2009-04-15  8:26 ` Eris Discordia
2009-04-15 11:48   ` Pietro Gagliardi
2009-04-17 13:14     ` Balwinder S Dheeman
2009-04-17 13:00       ` Eris Discordia
2009-04-17 13:35       ` erik quanstrom
     [not found]       ` <F1194F3CF3ADD35D3B0DF261@192.168.1.2>
2009-04-17 14:03         ` Devon H. O'Dell
2009-04-18 16:23         ` ron minnich
2009-04-18 16:29           ` lucio
2009-04-17 14:08       ` Steve Simon
2009-04-17 16:08         ` hiro
2009-04-17 19:26       ` Gorka Guardiola
2009-04-20 10:41         ` Balwinder S Dheeman
2009-04-20 11:52           ` Federico G. Benavento
2009-04-20 15:02           ` Uriel
2009-04-20 16:21             ` erik quanstrom
2009-04-20 18:57           ` Steve Simon
2009-04-20 20:22             ` David Leimbach
2009-04-18  0:13       ` Robert Raschke
2009-04-18  5:47         ` lucio
2009-04-18  6:03           ` J.R. Mauro
2009-04-18  6:11             ` lucio
2009-04-18  6:08               ` Eris Discordia
2009-04-18 16:15               ` J.R. Mauro
2009-04-18 16:20                 ` erik quanstrom
2009-04-18 16:34                   ` J.R. Mauro
     [not found]               ` <87DD0DBADB1647F789D9EB63@192.168.1.2>
2009-04-18 16:19                 ` J.R. Mauro
2009-04-18 18:29                   ` Eris Discordia
     [not found]                   ` <0AE52A74098A8B999540233C@192.168.1.2>
2009-04-18 19:43                     ` J.R. Mauro
2009-04-18 19:34                       ` Eris Discordia [this message]
     [not found]                       ` <B6FF436789F29A3B7977687E@192.168.1.2>
2009-04-18 20:44                         ` J.R. Mauro
2009-04-20 10:41             ` Balwinder S Dheeman
2009-04-20 18:13               ` J.R. Mauro
2009-04-22 12:19                 ` Balwinder S Dheeman
2009-04-22 13:09                   ` Skip Tavakkolian
2009-04-20 10:41           ` Balwinder S Dheeman
2009-04-20 10:41         ` Balwinder S Dheeman
2009-04-15 13:52   ` lucio
2009-04-15 13:32     ` Eris Discordia
2009-04-15 16:00   ` Steve Simon
2009-04-15 16:09     ` ron minnich
     [not found] ` <69CBEA1CA346E38D7A5C7507@192.168.1.2>
2009-04-15 13:02   ` hiro
2009-04-15 13:05   ` Jim Habegger
2009-04-15 12:50     ` Eris Discordia
2009-04-15 14:00     ` Navin Johnson
2009-04-15 14:39     ` hugo rivera
2009-04-16 14:07 ` Jim Habegger
2009-04-17 13:14 ` Jim
2009-04-14 14:46 Jim Habegger
2009-04-14 15:41 ` maht
2009-04-14 19:43 ` Sergey Zhilkin
2009-04-14 23:28   ` Jim Habegger

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