It has taken 28 years...

[jasman]

Would you suggest turning Windows updates off? I normally turn them off completely, but as this is a new laptop, not sure, on my previous laptop, I had them switched on when I first got it, and Microsoft updated with a bad update which they then gave a patch for, but it messed up my restore on the computer

Well this is the dilemma. If you turn the updates off, you run the risk of having unpatched security holes in your machine. If you turn them on it's going to get more bloated, less efficient and more error-prone.

The fact is with all those processes and services going on in the background nearly every computer owner in the world has no idea what their computer is doing any more under the bonnet. We just have to trust Microsoft.

And when you consider that Bill Gates who has given $billions to 'population control' programmes and is on record stating that the best way to reduce world population is to increase healthcare and vaccines (yes I did say reduce world population) I don't hold a lot of trust.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0gvDkVcFkI

There's always Linux, Ubuntu is very similar to Windows for every day work stuff (not games). OpenOffice is practially identical to MS Office. Plenty of good text editors, FTP programs etc

 

[davedevelopment]

SSD is certainly the way forward, anything as mechanical as a regular hard disk is going to deteriorate over a number of years I guess

 

[Edwin]

Edwin, for anyone of us wanting to recreate "the perfect system" how much would it cost in £ please? I'm looking to upgrade, normally just stick with laptops for ease but may get a desktop this time for my main computer.

About £1,800 I think. I've bought some of the components in dribs and drabs in the last couple of months, but mentally adding it all up that looks about right. By the way, I can strongly recommend Novatech.co.uk - good prices and fantastically reliable delivery (in my experience, across 4 separate orders)

 

[mat]

Yep, I have used Novatech for years!

 

[retired_member27]

Wow, I must be some sort of luddite, I'm still using the computer that I build way back in 2001 which incidentally has never broken down. The strange thing is it's still fast, or at least it is for me anyway.

I do all my custom software on it and can have up to five applications running at the same time including a web browser. Mind you I never play games on it. I do make a point of only installing stuff that I need and never go to dodgy websites, so I guess my hard drive (all 40GB of it) is relatively uncluttered.

Just thinking about it now, the last time I defragged was nearly 3 years ago, and I haven't noticed it slowing down at all in that time!

 

[Bailey]

Your not alone apd

I have running and using at this moment and an original pentium II- 450. and boy does it leave me time to make plenty of Coffee between page loads - even time to take a bath when i'm downloading email.

don't get me wrong i've gota couple of 2 ghtz notebooks and a home build PC sitting unconnected under my desk but, i can't abandon an old friend like my " Edgar" my name for old faithfull.

Running XP and Office perfectly well and i don't get side tracked by any Video content - not unless i want to view it in single page views