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[MrToad28]

I was given a chromebook by girlfriend who wasn’t using it. No way will it REPLACE windows..too many applications that I depend on that won’t run on Chrome. It’s basically the chrome web browser with a very limited number of extensions..far less than chrome on windows. Very limited number of apps…don’t think you can pull up the play store and add your fav’s. No external programs [Unless you’re a Ninja hacker?] OTOH I really like the chrome for it’s light weight, beside the recliner, instant on convenience and really long battery life. For under $20 you can add a 64gb usb drive with files you want access to and 32gb sd drive for extra space. For those that prefer a mouse to a touchpad, USB wireless mouse works great. Like a tablet, it’s a nice addition to the gadget arsenal if you’re a long term windows user…not replacement.

The big market for these appears to be students who need something beyond a phone or tablet for typing notes and papers who haven’t established work patterns around Windows programs.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 6 months ago by MrToad28.
• This reply was modified 5 years, 6 months ago by MrToad28.

I’m beginning to consider entering the  windows 10 world..so far strictly Win 7. I definitely want Win 10 Pro so I can turn off the auto-updates. I ran across a laptop with good spec’s that was offered with “windows 10 home pro” is there such a thing or did they just write wrong description. Thanks  in  advance.

Win7 October updates: So far I’ve updated 5 W7Pro desktops & 1 Win7 home laptop using Win7 roll-ups. Since I had last updated in July, I installed the Sept updates first, then had to search for updates, hide the November update, search again and install the October update. I currently have the November roll-up hidden [so I could get back to the October roll-up] and the 2019-11 Servicing Stack Update for Windows 7 for x64-based Systems (KB4523206) on offer..which I will not install until we get to Devcon 4.

PKCano wrote:

But you could hide the Aug Rollup as well

OK, Hid the Aug Rollup..the last installed update was July 2019..the result: Only the October MSRT shows up in important update..so again..should I go ahead and install Sept 2019 and see if Oct 2019 shows up?

PKCano wrote:

so you can hide the Sept patches and install just KB4519976.

When I hid the Sept patches, the skipped August patches showed up. So if I unhide the Sept patches and install them, will the Oct patches then follow?

I’m confused..Running several Win7 64 PC’s..most recent update was July 2019. I expected to see the Oct updates, but current offered Win7 updates are Sept * 2019-09 (KB4516065) * 2019-09 (KB4474419) and Oct MSRT.

As of 10/29 we were on Defcon 1..2 days later Defcon 4…Quite the transformation

My default strategy in the face of this uncertainty is to wait till there’s clear skies but I’m open to suggestions to the contrary.

[MrToad28]

Updated 8 Windows 7 PC’s on 8/4..Using JULY Roll-ups. No problems seen. Skipped the June update.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 10 months ago by MrToad28.

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jburk07

FWIW, I have 2 Win7 Home laptops and neither has had the NAG SCREEN pop-up…could it be that using Spybot anti-beacon that blocks MSFT spying also blocked that nag screen?

Sorry for the late reply. My post refers to the March standard patches, Group A..I think..not the individual security only..the roll-ups. I always patch late and sometimes skip months when there are significant risks such as the Windows 7 NIC issue. Despite assurances that this was in the rear view mirror, I did experience a wifi issue with one laptop which repaired by reactivating the driver in device manager. I’m not saying this problem occurred because of the patch..it didn’t happen until days after the patch..but the patch may have caused the deactivation.

Windows 7: Patched 6 desktops W7Pro ~9 years old and 2 Laptops W7 home ~3-5 yr old. No problems. Started with 2 back-up PC’s..did patching sequentially progressing as no problems seen: Restore pt, 3 patches – restart, restore pt, a small patch that showed up after the 1st 3. Ran spybot anti-beacon to shut off spying, created 2 more restore points. Easy peasy. Thanks to Wood and to all who commented on their patching experiences.

Updated 8 Win 7 PC’s with Feb patches last night. No problems seen. These are older Core-2 duo and similar.

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DrBonzo, jburk07

I’m planning on continuing to use Win7 PC’s well beyond the update expiration. When I read of the complexities of the Win 10 version updates and the problems…no thanks. The updates seem to be causing users way more headaches than malware.

OTOH..I might follow Woody’s lead and get a cheapo to test my hypotheses that it’s just not worth the hassle.

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Charlie

I’m not so worried about the risk of Spectre and Meltdown…none of my PC’s have any mitigations…No..the worry is that software mitigation attempts will screw things up.

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DriftyDonN, bassmanzam

After I posted above..I did a bit of digging. Here are some notes:

2/20/2019  https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/Intel-Ice-Lake-Cpu-Everything-You-Need-To-Know/
ICE LAKE will have HARDWARE FIXES FOR THE SPECTRE AND MELTDOWN architectural flaws
OR NOT  Won’t fix Spectre Variant 1 https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/intel-ice-lake-wont-rid-spectre/
Intel has no concrete plan for fixing Spectre variant one; pushes the problem onto software developers; to protect against Spectre in this manner, every piece of software that runs on modern PCs, both Windows and MacOS would have to be rewritten with this fix in mind. It’s completely unrealistic. “From what I know of Intel’s ROADMAP FOR THE NEXT FEW YEARS, THERE’S NOT A CLEAR SOLUTION THAT’S BEEN PUT FORWARD,” Kocher said. “It’s an unmitigated risk that will be lingering for a long time.”

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AlexEiffel, Elly

Since most of my PC’s are old enough to not be practically patchable to defend against a threat that isn’t happening, I’ve avoided the hassle.

To avoid the hassle of patching for these issues in the future, I’m waiting till Intel comes out with processors that fix the problem. As far as I can find recent releases from intel still rely on software and microcode patches and I can’t find when a really fixed processor will be available…just vague hints maybe this year. Intel is understandably reluctant to make much noise about the defects as it might cause more people to join me in waiting for a fixed processor with out the problems. Anybody have insight on when a processor without the spectre meltdown issues may be released?