Convert laptop to Windows 7

On 2/3/19 11:45 AM, KenW wrote:
On Sun, 3 Feb 2019 15:59:42 +0100, Jack of Diamonds
wrote:

Art Todesco wrote:
I have a Dell Latitude 7350 touch screen laptop with Windows 10.Â* I
really hate Windows 10.Â* Can it be converted to Windows 7?Â* Will I be
able to get the touch screen working?Â* I've tried to make it look like
Windows 7, but there are many things that just don't work well.Â* Am I
nuts to do something like this?Â* I appreciate any comments.

www.linuxmint.com

Linux sucks


But NOT in the same ways Windows sucks. Note that for many of the things
you need Linux help for, you can find solutions on the web.

Mark Lloyd wrote:
[snip]

I hate Windows 10 too, and Windows 7 is not going to be supported.

https://www.ubuntu.com/desktop

At one time Windows 2000 was the best version ever. I kept using it for
about 3 years after that "end of life", which doesn't really mean much.
If you are worried about security patches, use Firefox for a browser (it
does more of the security stuff itself).

Eventually, you get to a point where incompatibility becomes too much of
a problem, but that is NOT what MS calls "end of life".

I expect Windows 7 to be like that too, you can use it safely as long as
Firefox supports it.

Most of the time, there's only a few programs I use that require
Windows, and those are very tolerant of old versions. They should
continue to work fine on W7 (I won't use anything later).

Johnny's alternative should work fine for mot things.

Firefox OR Chrome - it's gotten to the point that sometimes I need to use
Chrome on a few sites (mostly the ones with video)

Sam E wrote:
On 2/3/19 11:45 AM, KenW wrote:
On Sun, 3 Feb 2019 15:59:42 +0100, Jack of Diamonds
wrote:

Art Todesco wrote:
I have a Dell Latitude 7350 touch screen laptop with Windows 10. I
really hate Windows 10. Can it be converted to Windows 7? Will I be
able to get the touch screen working? I've tried to make it look like
Windows 7, but there are many things that just don't work well. Am I
nuts to do something like this? I appreciate any comments.

www.linuxmint.com

Linux sucks


But NOT in the same ways Windows sucks. Note that for many of the things
you need Linux help for, you can find solutions on the web.

And, just like windows, many solutions which are not valid
for the current release.

You will need help getting the scanner to work on your
AIO printer.

And printers work, for those experienced with setting one up.
If you're a noob, not so much.

Paul

On Mon, 4 Feb 2019 11:15:28 -0700, "Bill in Co"
surly_curmudgeon@earthlink wrote:

Mark Lloyd wrote:
[snip]

I hate Windows 10 too, and Windows 7 is not going to be supported.

https://www.ubuntu.com/desktop

At one time Windows 2000 was the best version ever. I kept using it for
about 3 years after that "end of life", which doesn't really mean much.
If you are worried about security patches, use Firefox for a browser (it
does more of the security stuff itself).

Eventually, you get to a point where incompatibility becomes too much of
a problem, but that is NOT what MS calls "end of life".

I expect Windows 7 to be like that too, you can use it safely as long as
Firefox supports it.

Most of the time, there's only a few programs I use that require
Windows, and those are very tolerant of old versions. They should
continue to work fine on W7 (I won't use anything later).

Johnny's alternative should work fine for mot things.

Firefox OR Chrome - it's gotten to the point that sometimes I need to use
Chrome on a few sites (mostly the ones with video)


It's interesting to me that you see FireFox and Chrome as alternatives
to each other. I don't. As far as I'm concerned, FireFox is the best
available browser and Chrome is among the worst--possibly better than
Edge and IE, but that's all.

Ken Blake wrote:
On Mon, 4 Feb 2019 11:15:28 -0700, "Bill in Co"
surly_curmudgeon@earthlink wrote:

Mark Lloyd wrote:
[snip]

I hate Windows 10 too, and Windows 7 is not going to be supported.

https://www.ubuntu.com/desktop

At one time Windows 2000 was the best version ever. I kept using it for
about 3 years after that "end of life", which doesn't really mean much.
If you are worried about security patches, use Firefox for a browser (it
does more of the security stuff itself).

Eventually, you get to a point where incompatibility becomes too much of
a problem, but that is NOT what MS calls "end of life".

I expect Windows 7 to be like that too, you can use it safely as long as
Firefox supports it.

Most of the time, there's only a few programs I use that require
Windows, and those are very tolerant of old versions. They should
continue to work fine on W7 (I won't use anything later).

Johnny's alternative should work fine for mot things.

Firefox OR Chrome - it's gotten to the point that sometimes I need to use
Chrome on a few sites (mostly the ones with video)


It's interesting to me that you see FireFox and Chrome as alternatives
to each other. I don't. As far as I'm concerned, FireFox is the best
available browser and Chrome is among the worst--possibly better than
Edge and IE, but that's all.

Trust me, I'm not a fan of Chrome. But Chrome works on some sites where FF
(the latest version I can use on Windows XP) doesn't - especially on some
sites with some videos. So I'm still using Windows XP for the most part,
since I am annoyed by all the restrictions imposed on me in all the later
versions of the OS.

On Mon, 4 Feb 2019 15:31:04 -0700, "Bill in Co"
surly_curmudgeon@earthlink wrote:

Ken Blake wrote:
On Mon, 4 Feb 2019 11:15:28 -0700, "Bill in Co"
surly_curmudgeon@earthlink wrote:

Mark Lloyd wrote:
[snip]

I hate Windows 10 too, and Windows 7 is not going to be supported.

https://www.ubuntu.com/desktop

At one time Windows 2000 was the best version ever. I kept using it for
about 3 years after that "end of life", which doesn't really mean much.
If you are worried about security patches, use Firefox for a browser (it
does more of the security stuff itself).

Eventually, you get to a point where incompatibility becomes too much of
a problem, but that is NOT what MS calls "end of life".

I expect Windows 7 to be like that too, you can use it safely as long as
Firefox supports it.

Most of the time, there's only a few programs I use that require
Windows, and those are very tolerant of old versions. They should
continue to work fine on W7 (I won't use anything later).

Johnny's alternative should work fine for mot things.

Firefox OR Chrome - it's gotten to the point that sometimes I need to use
Chrome on a few sites (mostly the ones with video)


It's interesting to me that you see FireFox and Chrome as alternatives
to each other. I don't. As far as I'm concerned, FireFox is the best
available browser and Chrome is among the worst--possibly better than
Edge and IE, but that's all.

Trust me, I'm not a fan of Chrome. But Chrome works on some sites where FF
(the latest version I can use on Windows XP) doesn't - especially on some
sites with some videos. So I'm still using Windows XP for the most part,
since I am annoyed by all the restrictions imposed on me in all the later
versions of the OS.


OK, understood.

Ken Blake wrote:
On Mon, 4 Feb 2019 15:31:04 -0700, "Bill in Co"
surly_curmudgeon@earthlink wrote:

Ken Blake wrote:
On Mon, 4 Feb 2019 11:15:28 -0700, "Bill in Co"
surly_curmudgeon@earthlink wrote:

Mark Lloyd wrote:
[snip]

I hate Windows 10 too, and Windows 7 is not going to be supported.

https://www.ubuntu.com/desktop

At one time Windows 2000 was the best version ever. I kept using it
for about 3 years after that "end of life", which doesn't really mean
much. If you are worried about security patches, use Firefox for a
browser (it does more of the security stuff itself).

Eventually, you get to a point where incompatibility becomes too much
of a problem, but that is NOT what MS calls "end of life".

I expect Windows 7 to be like that too, you can use it safely as long
as Firefox supports it.

Most of the time, there's only a few programs I use that require
Windows, and those are very tolerant of old versions. They should
continue to work fine on W7 (I won't use anything later).

Johnny's alternative should work fine for mot things.

Firefox OR Chrome - it's gotten to the point that sometimes I need to
use Chrome on a few sites (mostly the ones with video)


It's interesting to me that you see FireFox and Chrome as alternatives
to each other. I don't. As far as I'm concerned, FireFox is the best
available browser and Chrome is among the worst--possibly better than
Edge and IE, but that's all.

Trust me, I'm not a fan of Chrome. But Chrome works on some sites where
FF (the latest version I can use on Windows XP) doesn't - especially on
some sites with some videos. So I'm still using Windows XP for the most
part, since I am annoyed by all the restrictions imposed on me in all
the later versions of the OS.


OK, understood.

Just to be more specific, it's all the permissions, ownership, and smoke and
mirrors (what you see is often not what is really there in windows
explorer), that gets to me. Here are some examples (in Windows Explorer)
when using Windows 7:

I click on Documents and Settings in Windows Explorer, and am greeted with
"Access is Denied". If I click on the "Owner" desktop icon, I see a
different set of directories, including TWO directories called "My
Documents". Gee, how nice. Click on the first one, and no problem. Click
on the second one (with the shortcut arrow), and I get "Access is Denied".

And I've even had to use the RegOwnership program to allow me to "take
ownership" of my computer and allow me any access to some of these folders.
It's all utter nonsense (as a home user).

My feeling about all this is .... life is too short for all this. All the
so needless and arcane permissions, ownership, and "smoke and mirrors" -
when you look at the directories (some of which are real, and some of which
are just smoke and mirrors - shadow directories - , is just too much crap
for me to deal with, as a home user. Plus the fact that it takes twice as
long to boot up as Windows XP, to boot, and this is not even a slow laptop.

But I know the day will likely come when I will have no choice, and be
forced to go to Windows 7 for routine work. I think the browser limitations
will probably be the determining factor here, since I'm not using any newer
programs.

On Mon, 4 Feb 2019 19:48:33 -0700, "Bill in Co"
surly_curmudgeon@earthlink wrote:

I click on Documents and Settings in Windows Explorer, and am greeted with
"Access is Denied". If I click on the "Owner" desktop icon, I see a
different set of directories, including TWO directories called "My
Documents". Gee, how nice. Click on the first one, and no problem. Click
on the second one (with the shortcut arrow), and I get "Access is Denied".

This happens if you have set Windows Explorer to show hidden and
protected files. Then "Juntions" are shown, and they are not working
for normal navigating.
--
Jesper Kaas -

Jesper Kaas wrote:
On Mon, 4 Feb 2019 19:48:33 -0700, "Bill in Co"
surly_curmudgeon@earthlink wrote:

I click on Documents and Settings in Windows Explorer, and am greeted
with "Access is Denied". If I click on the "Owner" desktop icon, I see
a different set of directories, including TWO directories called "My
Documents". Gee, how nice. Click on the first one, and no problem.
Click on the second one (with the shortcut arrow), and I get "Access is
Denied".

This happens if you have set Windows Explorer to show hidden and
protected files. Then "Junctions" are shown, and they are not working
for normal navigating.

Well, that may be true, but I've always had that option checked (even in
Windows XP) so that I can see everything, and have never seen such junctions
(or other smoke and mirrors) in Windows XP. Or folders with never ending
depths to them if you try traversing them in Windows Explorer. It's just
more obfuscation to me. Now if I never used Windows Explorer, I can see how
this issue might not bother a regular user.

On 2/4/19 12:15 PM, Bill in Co wrote:

[snip]

Firefox OR Chrome - it's gotten to the point that sometimes I need to use
Chrome on a few sites (mostly the ones with video)

Usually, when a page doesn't work on Firefox, it's because that page
won't tolerate a security or privacy setting I made. Still, having a
second browser is a good idea.

--
Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.us/

"Heresy is only another word for freedom of thought." [Graham Greene,
1981]

On 2/4/19 3:51 PM, Ken Blake wrote:

[snip]

Firefox OR Chrome - it's gotten to the point that sometimes I need to use
Chrome on a few sites (mostly the ones with video)


It's interesting to me that you see FireFox and Chrome as alternatives
to each other. I don't. As far as I'm concerned, FireFox is the best
available browser and Chrome is among the worst--possibly better than
Edge and IE, but that's all.

I normally use Firefox, when I need to use a different browser it's
often Opera.

--
Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.us/

"Heresy is only another word for freedom of thought." [Graham Greene,
1981]

Mark Lloyd wrote:
On 2/4/19 12:15 PM, Bill in Co wrote:

[snip]

Firefox OR Chrome - it's gotten to the point that sometimes I need to use
Chrome on a few sites (mostly the ones with video)

Usually, when a page doesn't work on Firefox, it's because that page
won't tolerate a security or privacy setting I made. Still, having a
second browser is a good idea.

Oh and sometimes I've had problems with printing pages in FF, whereas Chrome
has usually worked ok for that. But I'm not a Chrome lover, to put it
mildly. I only use it as a last resort.

But having a second or third browser has proven useful. I've also got an
older version of Pale Moon installed too, which I used to use in place of
FF, but most of the time FF works out better nowadays.

Again, I'm using Windows XP for the most part, so YMMV. How much longer I
can keep doing so remains a TBD. :-) But at least there are no smoke and
mirrors on Windows XP.

On Tue, 5 Feb 2019 11:56:02 -0600, Mark Lloyd
wrote:

On 2/4/19 3:51 PM, Ken Blake wrote:

[snip]

Firefox OR Chrome - it's gotten to the point that sometimes I need to use
Chrome on a few sites (mostly the ones with video)


It's interesting to me that you see FireFox and Chrome as alternatives
to each other. I don't. As far as I'm concerned, FireFox is the best
available browser and Chrome is among the worst--possibly better than
Edge and IE, but that's all.

I normally use Firefox, when I need to use a different browser it's
often Opera.


It's very rare that I need a different browser, but when I do, it's
usually Edge. As much as I hate Edge, I use it for two reasons:

1. It's most likely to work on a site FireFox doesn't work on.

2. Just to look at a single site, all the things I hate about its
interface aren't as important as usual.

Your message reminded me that one of the very few sites I used Edge
for was that of a local supermarket. FireFox didn't display the site
properly, but I just tried it again. The site fixed whatever was wrong
and FireFox is fine with it now.

Opera's another browser I dislike.

[snip]

Oh and sometimes I've had problems with printing pages in FF, whereas Chrome
has usually worked ok for that. But I'm not a Chrome lover, to put it
mildly. I only use it as a last resort.

The first regular browser I used was Internet Explorer 3 (in about
1995). It had printing problems, mainly that if the page was too wide it
would be truncated horizontally with NO error indication. AFAIK, that
was NEVER fixed.


[snip]

--
Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.us/

"What the mind doesn't understand, it worships or fears." [Alice Walker,
"The Temple of My Familiar"]

On 2/5/19 12:56 PM, Ken Blake wrote:

[snip]

Opera's another browser I dislike.

I once thought it was going to be the best, before they dropped Presto.
Now it's too much like Chrome.

There's no browser with nothing wrong with it.

--
Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.us/

"What the mind doesn't understand, it worships or fears." [Alice Walker,
"The Temple of My Familiar"]