The joys of microcrust windows 10

[DaveInGA]

So I got this "free microsoft 10 flag on both my office computers early last summer/late spring. Did some quick online checks and read about all the disasters people ran into downloading/installing it and decided to wait.

It is now 2016 and I knew microcrust would soon insist on downloading the windows 10 wether I liked it or not, as it was obvious they wanted 7 & 8 gone. So I did some research and found the only software I have on my computers not listed as Windows 10 compatible was my Quickbooks Pro 2014. (Joy of Joys, the stuff I run my business with, of all things.)

Got into an online chat with a Quickbooks customer service "person." They do their best to get me to buy Quickbooks new "cloud" service at big dollars/month. They never answered my question if version 2014 or any other buy it once software worked with Windows 10. Major frustration/waste of time.

Okay, so back to the drawing board and onto some actual current online research again. Within 10 minutes, I was reading a blog by a software expert/accounting professional/quickbooks expert. His information let me know that Quickbooks 2015 has exactly 0 (That's right, ZERO) problems with Windows 10. I also learned that 2014 had one or two minor problems at work at that 2012/2013 had a few issues, but were mostly workable. Made a decision to buy a copy of Quickbooks Pro 2015 before the company quit producing it so they could push their "cloud"aka (steady money streaming from my pocket to theirs) version.

I ordered from Amazon, so it came in within 2 days of my order and I was now all set to upgrade to Windows 10. Started the download around 8-9PM last night. What a whopper of a download! I have fast internet and it took most all night to download. Around 5AM, I lost focus for a moment and the download decided it was time to hang up and have a glitch. I discovered this around 6AM, hit restart download and got lucky - the download started around 64%. So by around 7:45AM, the download is complete and it asks me to accept the terms/conditions and permission to install. I do so and it's another 2 hours or so before it's finally down installing itself.

It comes up, I login with my normal password and there everything is, with the only thing appearing to be lost is my background and the size of my desktop icons. I address these and I'm set. I click on google chrome, the browser I use most and find everything is normal. Got to youtube and tryout a video. Works fine. Now for the tough test: I click on Quickbooks Pro 2014. It opens reasonably quickly, faster than it used to and after testing everything I use Quickbooks for, I don't have to download QB Pro 2015 unless I want to. But I will, just so I have the latest PC based Quickbooks with current support for as long as possible. +

So I'm done downloading Windows 10 on the main business computer. My new operating system (OS) appears to be much more stable and cleaned up than Windows 7 Professional. Of that, I'm glad. Everything seems to actually work correctly on it like it should. Again, I'm so very glad and thankful. I lost no internet connection, passwords for my intranet devices and such. Again, very thankful.

I'm praying this stuff works as well on my other PC, the one my wife uses for landscape architect design work that has a fairly expensive graphics card in it. :ugeek: Wish me luck....

[Steve]

I am still using Office 97. Thought I might have to get a new version for sure when I downloaded Windows 10 (it did take a long time!) I am really happy to find that Office 97 is operating ok.

Windows 10 seems to be pretty stable and when I get used to where the rest of the functions are that I use I'll be a happy camper.

[mr surveyor]

I'm still hesitant to download win10 to my office computers, and I also use QBooks .... not really to hip to update that either as we don't use their automated fed tax stuff. We have quite a bit of "legacy" software for some older gps number crunching software that we were fortunate to be able to run on win 7pro, and left some really good stuff behind that wouldn't even run on xppro. I still have an old ibm thinkpad with win98 that will run the old legacy stuff (when necessary), but the onboard battery needs replacing. I'm not sure our cad and other business related software (currently used versions) will even run on win10, and I don't want to spend the thousands of dollars that may be necessary to upgrade all the s/w.

I'm really ready to hang it all up and let my son worry about staying up to date, but financially I can't retire until I'm at least 75. ........ 12 more years and counting


jd

[RBHarter]

We bought a new laptop last spring factory loaded with 7 . It locked and wouldn't run until 10 was agreed to . 17 hrs . Not really a big for our typical use but it did take most of 4 evenings to get it all loaded .

[DaveInGA]

I still have an old ibm thinkpad with win98 that will run the old legacy stuff (when necessary), but the onboard battery needs replacing. I'm not sure our cad and other business related software (currently used versions) will even run on win10, and I don't want to spend the thousands of dollars that may be necessary to upgrade all the s/w.

I'm really ready to hang it all up and let my son worry about staying up to date, but financially I can't retire until I'm at least 75. ........ 12 more years and counting

jd

JD,

I have an older Lenovo laptop (basically a Thinkpad, they made/make Thinkpads for IBM) and I was able to find a battery for it doing a duckduckgo web search. I found the battery, an improved model, on both amazon and ebay. I bought whichever was the best price/rating combination. Also bought a keypad (the wife had spilled coffee on the old, trashing it) and something else I can't remember. Got the old laptop up and going. Wife loves the thing and she uses it daily. It has XP Pro on it.

I betcha you can find a battery for your old laptop as well. Price wasn't bad at all for the parts I bought.

And I'm totally with you on having the son take over. I'd like to at least have a son or stepson in the business, at least part time. But the two who are intelligent enough, have the business acumen and the drive to succeed are already successful in their own respective careers. The rest either have careers, are too far away or lack what it takes to run a business.

I'm always amazed by that last statement. My father had 3 sons and a daughter. He showed all of them how to run a business, but none showed the least bit of interest, including myself. But I never quite fit into the environment I was educated as a technical person, was always the odd man out in the engineering group and didn't understand why.

Then, as I got older, I began to first create small part time businesses to supplement my income. When my career in the telecommunications field went bust thanks to clintonian economics, I fed myself and my wife using my part time businesses while I went back to college for respiratory therapy (a waste of three years of my life). Graduated top of my class, but again, odd man out. But I now knew why. I thought too much like the boss of the boss of the boss aka the owners. Did not fit in well with the come in, do the job and go home folks. Made the supervisor uncomfortable, I'm sure you know why.

My Dad came late in his life to live with me until he passed away. When he did, I had arthritis, couldn't work in the hospital, so I sold some guns and started the business we run now. My wife, who has 30 years in the industry, relies on me to make the business decisions and generally run things. She talks to the customers and takes orders and does landscaping design along with selling some bookkeeping in Quickbooks. But when any serious decision comes up, it's me that makes that decision.

I now know why. I'm the child who thought independently of the others. I'm the INTJ of my family, though at times I'm an ENTJ on the Briggs-Meyers testing. I'm the one who's totally comfortable running the business without worrying about my decisions. I'm the one that actually has the odd (weird) combination of things it takes to own and run a business.

My Dad, if he were still alive, would be pleased. Who woulda thought?

[Missionary]

Greetings
Bought this "puter" used with 8 and will stick with this until I cannot.
Mike in Peru

[62chevy]

WoW !!! I am so glad I don't need to use any Windows or Apple software. Linux has worked for me since 1999. But I'm not running a business or need software that would need it.

[DaveInGA]

WoW !!! I am so glad I don't need to use any Windows or Apple software. Linux has worked for me since 1999. But I'm not running a business or need software that would need it.

I would like to be running Linux, but unfortunately, when it comes to application softwares, microcrust has been the dominant force in the market forever. I've wished for many years to switch over to Linux and would, if the support by the application companies were there, but thanks to those who want lots of buttons to click on, all the applications are microcrust.:/

[Steve]

Just a software note.
AutoCAD 12 was the best version made and ran in Dos 6.

[mr surveyor]

Just a software note.
AutoCAD 12 was the best version made and ran in Dos 6.

Steve ... I was an old hold out on acad. In '85 I started using Bruce Carlson's "Surv11" surveying s/w and he "gave" me the utility to print out my coordinate points to scale - on greenbar paper. I connected the dots in pencil on the table, then taped my vellum with border/title block over it and ink traced. Did that for several years, then in '92-'93 finally got kicked and dragged into AutoCAD 14 with Carlson application software (total cost at the time was almost $5k). In the last 5-6 years my old buddy Bruce Carlson has started marketing his products with "Intellicad". My son, at 39, is still young enough to accept all the changes between platforms ..... dang, I really miss the old days of computing points and getting a drawing out on schedule with pen and ink. Except for the fact that now (since 2000) ALL of our work is done in easily reproduced coordinate systems that can be dropped almost perfectly into a near seamless composite drawing frame. That's many hundreds of individual projects with hundreds of thousands of data points that can be evaluated over a few thousand square miles if necessary.

Really cool technology, and I feel somewhat blessed to have worked this career from the same tools used since the 1930's up through the most current .... but I'm afraid I'm suffering a case of TechnoBurnout now.


jd