h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I'm using Windoze Vista, not XP, but it looks the same...

Will try it tomorrow. Need to go to RFB now.

RF

hi all
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i found that if a restore is needed, its best to pick a point that had an update on the day, because when its just a clear one, 9 out of 10 times the restore doesnt acsept.
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the farther back you can go the better jim

>>the farther back you can go the better<<

Not quite - it'll mean having to redo all your updates! Just stick with the day before you installed whatever it was, that's enough.

sorry i got the wording wrong.
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i ment to the last update, usually if there is a clear day or so, its not always that it will update.
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i think it also goes on what windows you have, some still use 2000, millenium, xp home and so on.never used a pc with the new vista, the cyber ones are all xp home. jim

Restore completed.

Updates completed.

Antivirus updated.

Chrome downloaded. Not going anywhere near that IE8 for a long while, thangyouverymuch

RF

Glad it worked!

Does anyone using another OS than Windows know whether you can use IE with that?

There was an IE:Mac that was the default on Macs before Safari was developed - and it's still available for download, but hasn't been updated (except for safety patches) for the last few years, and Microsoft isn't developing it anymore.

That's interesting. Is/was it different from IE for Windows then?

I think they used the same base at first and then changed it somewhere around version 5 - the last version.

It's no longer available on the Microsoft site, and Microsoft officially recommends using Safari on a Mac now.

Why?

Just curious. If IE is the same for all OS, then why do they want to know whether you have an official (i.e. legal) version of Windows when trying to install IE? I mean, if it's not compulsory to have Windows as your OS in the first place, then what is this for? MS spying your PC once again?

Yes. Don't let it install WGA whatever you do. It's just corporate spyware.

Like Google Chrome, which collects data - and stores it - on what you look at on the internet.

But don't worry, it's made anonymous...

After nine months! Before that, it's tied to your IP address. And that's *after* people complained.

Re RF's issue with IE8. I've been 'playing around' with IE8 on an XP machine and also found issues with it not recognising existing web pages, including some of Microsofts own. However there is a 'Tool' next to the refresh button on the top bar that is a 'Compatability Button'. Clicking this basically puts IE8 into IE7 mode and then the subsequent web page works. Not sure whether this will be a permanent feature when IE8 is issued in full though. If it is then it's back to the same issues that occur with newer OS's where existing software either has to be upgraded or have patches issued to make them work.
My version of Photoshop for example works great on the XP machine but they won't issue a patch to make it work in Vista. I'll be darned if I'm going to fork out over £200.00 for a version that works in Vista.

In relation to Bels question, no, IE won't work in it's entirety on other OS systems, only some of it. That's what most of the legal actions over code access has been about. I'll be having a look later but so far I haven't found an OS outside of Windows that will take a full version of IE. What I find usually is other browsers and OS have to rely on 'Plug-ins' for MS stuff to work.

Compatability Button? That's just a big banner saying "This is bugware", now isn't it?

I think Vista still isn't officially compatible with anything by Adobe, which is another reason I refuse to switch...

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/beta/features/enhanced-navigation.aspx

The above explains a little more.

Thank you. That's interesting. I mean, wouldn't that be a valid reason not to use IE at all? (OK, so I'm used to it and comfortable with it, but still).
I never knew MS would offer its browser for Windows users only. Isn't that antiquated in today's times?

After Google has amended the problematic ToS parts I have now downloaded Chrome again to give it another go. That is mainly due to my current IE not working properly (it frequently aborts operations so I have to click the refresh button to get the page loaded), so I wanted to have an alternative (and I don't particularly like Firefox).
There are still a lot of things to find out and get used to, but there are a few things I quite like about this.

Opera

Isn't that very similar to Firefox?

Depends on what you mean by "similar" - it's certainly not IE

oops, you posted while I wuz typing Mal.
I think there's so much competition from so many sources for software that frankly all beta versions tend to be 'bug ridden'. The public as always are the guinnea pigs. The days of fully testing any software prior to release are long gone. It;s a shame really as when things go wrong then reputations are damaged and whatever good stuff they may have had get's forgotten and the buggy stuff gets slated.
Firefox for example lost their shine on the latest release simply because they made such a song and dance about having a record number of downloads in a 24hr period, they missed some obvious, serious security flaws in the new browser.
Can you imagine the uproar if a new car, say, was brought out and put on the road without full testing etc and someone was killed as a result of a mechanical failure?
Sign of the times I guess. Too much competition perhaps?