No, no, no, no, NO! (Computer Death)

[Dragon Writer]

*accuses mousey of evilness* though i did end up helping you, so you can hardly complain. *Wishes i had a laptop, though*

Ask mousey about the legality...she might not be of help, but if she backs it up then it's probaBly true (or she's tricking you for unknown reasons)

[Tuttle]

What is said there about it being legal to download music in Canada is just plain wrong. It is illegal in Canada as in the US. On top of that, Canada is actually working on getting stricter laws on things like that. One article on the Canada DMCA is here
and in general if you want to find more, look at slashdot.com and search.

On the topic of viruses, etc. I suggest everyone using windows to do virus, spyware, etc, scans at least weekly. Windows is extremely insecure. I will not try to argue people out of using Windows since it is the most popular thing and there is the gaming side, and such. Micrtosoft does have most of the market and does at least manage to make stuff easy to use.

I do take offense to the "I use windows because its the best" though. I completely disagree with the statement that windows is the best, but would have issues with stating that any operating system is better than others. I am personally a linux user, I like the open source side of things rather than the commercial and find linux much easier to use personally. I know this is not true for everyone, and even all linux users don't prefer to use the command line as often as I do. I personally like to connect to a wireless network by typing in to the computer and telling it to connect to a network, not by dealing with the mouse and pictures on the screen. This is something which is very much not true of everyone. However, saying that what I use is the best almost makes it feel like the reason it is better is because you like it. I know that isn't the case in this situation, and I want to be careful to not make it sound like I'm accusing you of thinking you're better than others, but I want to warn you that it can be read like that. It is only made worse when there are known problems with the program you're discussing. There are problems with the other operating systems too though. Macs, Linux, other BSDs, etc, don't have the gaming options that Windows has. Windows has lower security. The Mac operating system runs on computers which are more expensive than one of the other ones. Linux has a higher learning curve, as do non-Mac BSDs and such. Nothing is perfect for everyone.

Now that I'm done ranting about that, I'll wander off. I don't feel comfortable posting too much in a computer thread here because I know I work differently than most people here. I just wanted to make sure that the non-perfectness of an operating system was mentioned. Actually more of why I posted was to answer the illegal downloading question, since I know the answer and think having people think its not wrong to do is a problem.

And yes, large numbers of people do download stuff illegally, it doesn't mean its not wrong to do so.

[wolf_wizard]

I completely agree with Tuttle, and am glad that answer is cleared up. for it to be legal sounds very wrong.um... *tryes to think of somthing more to say...* I got a new Laptop!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[EricG1793]

Really? I'm practically always on the internet, yet I never get anything-no viruses, no spyware, no adware, no Trojan horses.... And 2 good programs are: AVG Antivirus (which you can get for free, or pay to get more features) and Microsoft Windows Antispyware.

-vashmata

Same situation for me. Although I find that Ad-Aware detects things that no other programs do (especially Norton... I loathe Norton now that my my uncle recommended AVG to me - and it's free!). Actually, with Ad-Aware SE, it used to say that I had around 13 critical objects whenever I scanned with it, but now with the new Ad-Aware 2007, I get no critical objects; they're not considered critical objects... I don't remember what they classify them as in 2007, but I've never gotten one categorized Critical with 2007. Not that 2007 isn't as good as scanning, it's just it classifies things differently.

I like AVG for antivirus, too. I think that Norton was so good it was overkill, making it horrible. Mainly I was concerned about my computer's start-up time, and the business of the hard drive even when I'm not doing anything. I was complaining about this to my dad and it was then that he told me about my uncle's recommendation for AVG. The only thing AVG doesn't seem to have is the ability to block intrusion attempts... unless it doesn't tell me it does so. But occasionally it would give me a notification that it had blocked an intrusion attempt; not AVG.

I don't even know about Windows Antivirus; if it's on Windows Vista, it's been doing absolutely NOTHING for spyware on my computer. vashmata, you should try Ad-Aware, and see if it detects anything. I'm sure it would, but that's up to you.

[Wizardling]

Originally posted by vashmata:
that sounds kinda cool. I like watching anime on my pc, to the point that i'm addicted to it. So, do you guys prefer windows or mac?
I prefer windows because, well, it's the best.

what kinda programs do you guys use for music?
I use foobar for music and vlc for TV shows
(Sorry for kinda changing the topic)

Best by what definition? Perhaps most widely used (e.g. more support available... though some would say more is needed for Windows; Windows PCs are often cheaper than Macs, though Linux can run on even lower end and cheaper hardware than either Macs OR Windows), more commercial game development... am I missing any advantages of Windows?

Certainly Windows isn't cheaper - Linux and BSD Unix is free and Mac OS X is cheaper than almost every version of Windows, excepting the low end crippled versions. *nix and Mac OS X are more secure. There are great versions of every kind of software imaginable available on *minx and Mac platforms. The one issue I won't bring up is ease of use, due to it's subjective nature

Regards,
Jamie Kahn Genet

[EricG1793]

I'm supposing that you work at Mac, Wizardling, since it says your AIM screen name is your Email address, which is at Mac.com, so you must be an employee there, right? Or do Mac owners get right to "@mac.com" addresses? So of course, you CAN'T say against Macs.

[wolf_wizard]

Well, if it's true that Wizardling works for Mac, then it would make perfect sense that they would say that, doesn't it? I think this thread is starting to get a little bias.

[vashmata]

Antispyware is still in beta, so i don't think you would have it, even in vista. And I know about Ad-Aware already, seeing how my family is a group of crazy computer-fixers, which know about practically every program for Windows.
And lets put it this way. Windows has the biggest variety of games and the biggest amount of features, the biggest amount of virus etc. protection because of all the programs they make for, and yes, because it is the most widely used. I didn't say the other operating systems are bad. I just hate Macs. Either they're for lefties, or for dyslexics, because everything is backwards (No insults to actual people intended). And as I said about the law here, I wasn't sure, so don't go biting my head off.

Sorry for being so harsh people.

Candyman Jr, Master Procrastinator, Joe Green, Vashmata

[Wizardling]

Originally posted by EricG1793:
I'm supposing that you work at Mac, Wizardling, since it says your AIM screen name is your Email address, which is at Mac.com, so you must be an employee there, right? Or do Mac owners get right to "@mac.com" addresses? So of course, you CAN'T say against Macs.

.Mac is a service anyone can buy from Apple that includes a .mac email address. I have no affiliation with Apple other than using some of their products and services

Regards,
Jamie Kahn Genet