negative1ne
Member
- Jun 8, 2013
- 163
- 3
- 18
well i'm an old timer too,
and my experience is pretty much the opposite of yours.
i've almost never bought anything from microsoft,
unless it was software.
i didn't buy their hardware until recently.
microsoft software is
usually pretty good
from windows 1.0 - windows xp
----------------------------------------------------------
i started off with the big old computers using punchcards,
and then small micro computers at school, using slow modems
and terminals.
my friends started out with the apple 2, and slow
cassette tapes for drives, and eventually single sided floppies.
one of my friends finally got an ibm pc, and we got to
try out the wonderful world of dos 1.0
pc clones
-----------------------------------------------------------
anyways, a few years later, my family got an at & t pc which
was pc compatible, with a green screen monitor that had CGA
graphics, and a special AT&T mode for higher resolution
640x400 graphics. we eventually got 1200 baud modem, and
then onto 2400/4800/9600 etc. we also upgraded from a
double sided floppy to also adding a 20 megabyte hard drive.
so this pc which was an 8088 and had an 8087 math coprocessor
lasted awhile.
we went through several upgrade in computers, but always stuck
with microsoft, dos 2.0,3.0, 5.0 and 6.0, eventually trying out
windows 1.0, 2.0, 2.1, and windows /286 and /386.
more years passed, and we moved onto faster computers like the
pentium, and more, so that windows 3.0, and 3.1 came out and
were amazing.... when windows 95 came out, i thought the was the
best operating system ever, until windows 98 came out. i stayed
on that for several years. even though NT 1, 2, 3 came out, and
then windows 2000. i finally tried out windows nt4, and that was
pretty stable.
xp, the best operating system microsoft has ever made
------------------------------------------------------
more years passed, and then windows xp, came out, and sp1,sp2, and
even sp3. i still use it on most of my computers. i tried out vista
and hated it because most of the drivers weren't updated. i am now
trying out windows 7, but it has problems, and so does the SP1, i used
to run xp 24/7 and had to go months before ever needing a reboot. windows
7 only lasts a few weeks at the most before problems start happening.
i know finally got a surface pro last year with windows 8, then 8.1,
and then 8.1 updated, and hate it. it's terrible with the modern stuff,
but the desktop is acceptable, and that's all i use.
so my background with microsoft is pretty good for software.
i did buy a surface, and the hardware is great, the software is average.
now onto mobile devices
----------------------------
i used to own a flip phonel about 7 years ago, can't remember which kind,
and then about 5 years ago, i had a Palm TX PDA, which was really cool,
and could play movie files, play music, and run palm apps.
i also have a ton of digital watches, calculator watches, and many other
types, mostly from casio. the one 'smart' watch, that i never actually wore,
but bought for fun, was the fossil PALM wrist PDA.
-----
Fossil Wrist PDA - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
the thing is huge, doesn't last very long,
but ran apps, and had a stylus, pretty cool
beautiful ZUNE HD
-------------------------------------------------------------
later on my palm pda died, and i heard about the
microsoft ZUNE, well, i checked it out in the stores
and it looked cool, but i really didn't have a need for
it.... however the ZUNE HD was announced, and that changed
my mind completely, i ended up buying a 32g version, and
it was the first microsoft hardware that wasn't a mouse
or keyboard that i bought.
i liked the shape, the feel of it, and of course the software
and the functionality, it was nearly perfect. especially the
software (which i am still using to this day).
yes, there were problems, glitches, bugs, but updates fixed
pretty much all of those. i was active on the ZUNE HD forums
at anythingbutipod, and the people there were passionate, just
like here at windowscentral, they loved microsoft, and wished
their products were better, had better ads, etc,almost everything
that goes on here.
so fast forward to about 2 years ago, my ZUNE HD died on me.
at this time, i had heard about windows phone 7, and it sounded
cool, but i had a good feature phone, the blitz on verizon, that
was a nice small square phone with a keyboard, it lasted for 4 years,
and of course it died out last year.
hello windows phone 7
---------------------
at this point there were a lot of windows 8 phones out, and 7 was
being left behind with 7.5/7.8, i went to verizon, and they barely
had any windows phones (what else is new), and nobody else had any
decent ones either.
i checked on ebay, and amazon, and ended up settling with an LG optimus,
for $75, brand new. went to tmobile, and signed up for a month to month
account (with basic data, which i got rid of shortly after).
the main reason i wanted a windows phone, was because of the ZUNE tie in,
i knew it would be close to, but not quite as good. and that was right,
it was almost as good, except for the battery life, and a few other things.
so here we are today, i still have that phone, it's nearly perfect,
hardware keyboard, replaceable battery, hardware camera button and
regular buttons. syncs with zune, and is fixed on windows 7.8
the only other hardware i have that is related is an xbox 360 from
microsoft, before that all my consoles were sega related, and i think
i have an old ps2 in there also that someone gave me.
convergence
=====================================
so somehow or the other, i started out mostly anti-microsoft,
only trusting their software (at least until vista, 7, and 8)
i do trust their hardware, like the surface pro 1, although
i wish i could downgrade windows 8 on it. i like the stylus
but hate the touch part.
and now my game console is a microsoft console, along
with a pc running xp for games.
and my phone, media player is windows 7.8, with no intention
of switching to any other company. or even to any newer models,
since this works out so well.
of course i will be interested in seeing how windows 10 works out.
it soulds like a good plan making everything work together.
i don't need a smart watch, or a fitness band, i have no interest
in either one to be back to the current topic.
however, microsoft always has interesting things planned, whether
it takes them years or not, whether they end up supporting it or not.
there will always be something from microsoft to look forward too
in the future as long as they are around.
i feel sorry for the people jumping ship, and being all doom and gloom,
just because there aren't any new flagships, or because they don't have
a smartwatch, or 'fill in the blank' that doesn't fill their need.
people need to learn to be patient. after 30+ years,
its working out great for me.
later
-1
and my experience is pretty much the opposite of yours.
i've almost never bought anything from microsoft,
unless it was software.
i didn't buy their hardware until recently.
microsoft software is
usually pretty good
from windows 1.0 - windows xp
----------------------------------------------------------
i started off with the big old computers using punchcards,
and then small micro computers at school, using slow modems
and terminals.
my friends started out with the apple 2, and slow
cassette tapes for drives, and eventually single sided floppies.
one of my friends finally got an ibm pc, and we got to
try out the wonderful world of dos 1.0
pc clones
-----------------------------------------------------------
anyways, a few years later, my family got an at & t pc which
was pc compatible, with a green screen monitor that had CGA
graphics, and a special AT&T mode for higher resolution
640x400 graphics. we eventually got 1200 baud modem, and
then onto 2400/4800/9600 etc. we also upgraded from a
double sided floppy to also adding a 20 megabyte hard drive.
so this pc which was an 8088 and had an 8087 math coprocessor
lasted awhile.
we went through several upgrade in computers, but always stuck
with microsoft, dos 2.0,3.0, 5.0 and 6.0, eventually trying out
windows 1.0, 2.0, 2.1, and windows /286 and /386.
more years passed, and we moved onto faster computers like the
pentium, and more, so that windows 3.0, and 3.1 came out and
were amazing.... when windows 95 came out, i thought the was the
best operating system ever, until windows 98 came out. i stayed
on that for several years. even though NT 1, 2, 3 came out, and
then windows 2000. i finally tried out windows nt4, and that was
pretty stable.
xp, the best operating system microsoft has ever made
------------------------------------------------------
more years passed, and then windows xp, came out, and sp1,sp2, and
even sp3. i still use it on most of my computers. i tried out vista
and hated it because most of the drivers weren't updated. i am now
trying out windows 7, but it has problems, and so does the SP1, i used
to run xp 24/7 and had to go months before ever needing a reboot. windows
7 only lasts a few weeks at the most before problems start happening.
i know finally got a surface pro last year with windows 8, then 8.1,
and then 8.1 updated, and hate it. it's terrible with the modern stuff,
but the desktop is acceptable, and that's all i use.
so my background with microsoft is pretty good for software.
i did buy a surface, and the hardware is great, the software is average.
now onto mobile devices
----------------------------
i used to own a flip phonel about 7 years ago, can't remember which kind,
and then about 5 years ago, i had a Palm TX PDA, which was really cool,
and could play movie files, play music, and run palm apps.
i also have a ton of digital watches, calculator watches, and many other
types, mostly from casio. the one 'smart' watch, that i never actually wore,
but bought for fun, was the fossil PALM wrist PDA.
-----
Fossil Wrist PDA - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
the thing is huge, doesn't last very long,
but ran apps, and had a stylus, pretty cool
beautiful ZUNE HD
-------------------------------------------------------------
later on my palm pda died, and i heard about the
microsoft ZUNE, well, i checked it out in the stores
and it looked cool, but i really didn't have a need for
it.... however the ZUNE HD was announced, and that changed
my mind completely, i ended up buying a 32g version, and
it was the first microsoft hardware that wasn't a mouse
or keyboard that i bought.
i liked the shape, the feel of it, and of course the software
and the functionality, it was nearly perfect. especially the
software (which i am still using to this day).
yes, there were problems, glitches, bugs, but updates fixed
pretty much all of those. i was active on the ZUNE HD forums
at anythingbutipod, and the people there were passionate, just
like here at windowscentral, they loved microsoft, and wished
their products were better, had better ads, etc,almost everything
that goes on here.
so fast forward to about 2 years ago, my ZUNE HD died on me.
at this time, i had heard about windows phone 7, and it sounded
cool, but i had a good feature phone, the blitz on verizon, that
was a nice small square phone with a keyboard, it lasted for 4 years,
and of course it died out last year.
hello windows phone 7
---------------------
at this point there were a lot of windows 8 phones out, and 7 was
being left behind with 7.5/7.8, i went to verizon, and they barely
had any windows phones (what else is new), and nobody else had any
decent ones either.
i checked on ebay, and amazon, and ended up settling with an LG optimus,
for $75, brand new. went to tmobile, and signed up for a month to month
account (with basic data, which i got rid of shortly after).
the main reason i wanted a windows phone, was because of the ZUNE tie in,
i knew it would be close to, but not quite as good. and that was right,
it was almost as good, except for the battery life, and a few other things.
so here we are today, i still have that phone, it's nearly perfect,
hardware keyboard, replaceable battery, hardware camera button and
regular buttons. syncs with zune, and is fixed on windows 7.8
the only other hardware i have that is related is an xbox 360 from
microsoft, before that all my consoles were sega related, and i think
i have an old ps2 in there also that someone gave me.
convergence
=====================================
so somehow or the other, i started out mostly anti-microsoft,
only trusting their software (at least until vista, 7, and 8)
i do trust their hardware, like the surface pro 1, although
i wish i could downgrade windows 8 on it. i like the stylus
but hate the touch part.
and now my game console is a microsoft console, along
with a pc running xp for games.
and my phone, media player is windows 7.8, with no intention
of switching to any other company. or even to any newer models,
since this works out so well.
of course i will be interested in seeing how windows 10 works out.
it soulds like a good plan making everything work together.
i don't need a smart watch, or a fitness band, i have no interest
in either one to be back to the current topic.
however, microsoft always has interesting things planned, whether
it takes them years or not, whether they end up supporting it or not.
there will always be something from microsoft to look forward too
in the future as long as they are around.
i feel sorry for the people jumping ship, and being all doom and gloom,
just because there aren't any new flagships, or because they don't have
a smartwatch, or 'fill in the blank' that doesn't fill their need.
people need to learn to be patient. after 30+ years,
its working out great for me.
later
-1
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