First MSIE Security Alert of the new year ...

[Saaby]

But if you'd just get a Mac you wouldn't have such problems /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinser2.gif


Ok I'm sorry I'm sorry but this one time I really couldn't resist, here I'll take care of it


Sasha /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/twakfl.gif Saaby

 

[Charles Bradshaw]

Ryan, as you know, those of us who use OSes other than Windows, tend to Evangelize about them here. Maybe too much for some here.

 

[Negeltu]

I love Windows XP /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif To be honest I'm tired of hearing others bash Windows. I find XP to be very stable. I hated 95 and 98, but XP is great. Microsoft products are widely used. Those who would wish to cause problems with the flow of society or with other peoples lives target windows and other microsoft products for that reason. The most damage...The most effect... If you had people looking for flaws and security holes in macs as hard as they look in windows machines you'd find plenty. That said... ActiveX sucks... poorly thought out... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif That's why I disable it /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Greta]

Negeltu... I'll second that! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif ... I've had XP for over a year now and can honestly say that this is the first one that I've had that I've had no problems with. It took a little while for me to get used to as it IS different but now that I have been using it for so long, I love it! I've had no crashes, no glitches, nothing. I haven't had to fdisk or reinstall anything. Sure, I have virus protection... but that's just a necessary evil no matter what OS you're using. And I have to admit that I love some of the programs that are XP compatible... Office XP comes to mind. I couldn't live without it! And because most professionals and businesses also use Office programs, I don't have to worry about compatibility. I absolutely hate Adobe Acrobat and will not click on any links that are to pdf files... locks up my system every single time. Word and Excel and Access and Powerpoint files don't. In addition, Notepad is one of the best html text editors that I've found. For what I do, that is an absolute necessity!

Yes, ActiveX sucks... and I've disabled mine too. And I can't tell you one instance where I've missed it... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif

 

[geepondy]

What is good about pdf files is that all the fonts, formatting, etc. are locked into place so that you know the person whom you send it to is going to view it the exact same way you see it. With MS word however, if receiver is using a different version of Word or does not have all the fonts installed that the document contains, it can come out screwy and different from the way you created it. There is an underlying reason why the pdf files are locking up your system. I would recommend installing Acrobat reader 6 if not already done so. My only complaint about the program (same for photoshop) is that when you first open it, it takes a long time to load all the libraries, etc. It's probably bloated much more then it needs to be. Here in the engineering world almost all of our technical documents are in pdf format now.

 

[Greta]

Gary... it's funny but Acrobat is THE one and only program that no matter what version of Windows I'm using and no matter what version of Acrobat I'm using, I end up with problems. Yes, it takes FOREVER to load... even with DSL... and then it locks up my machine. I'll admit that with XP and Acrobat reader 6, it only locks up my browser (thank God!) instead of the whole system. The only way I can ever get out of Acrobat pdf files is to go to task manager and end task. PITA if you ask me... I really do hate pdf files and as I said, I will not click on links that send me to them.

Added... in all fairness, I realize that each indivual computer user has different needs. To a person, they will seek the software that best suits their needs. In addition, to a person, each has their own preferences (I hate icons on my desktop and bright colors!!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif ). With this in mind, I feel that it is extrememly inappropriate to tell someone that what they are using is ca-ca. To me, Adobe Acrobat is ca-ca... but obviously, Gary doesn't think so. Doesn't make either of us "wrong"... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[LukeK]

XP can be stable if managed correctly. I installed XP for a friend of mine only to have his dad ask if we could reinstall ME 6 months later because he didn't know where everything was in XP. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jpshakehead.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon6.gif

 

[tiktok 22]

I believe there is one very good reason for Microsoft to be a dominant force on OS's. Could you imagine twenty or so different operating systems over the years. Nothing would be compatible. I think the Mac vs. Windows is problem enough.

 

[evan9162]

I agree with Sasha about Acrobat reader being a POS. It's a very poorly designed/implemented piece of software. It's slow to render pages, and scrolling speeds are atrocious.

The plugin is the bane of my existence. While waiting for additional PDF data from the web server, the browser plug-in goes into a tight, CPU-hogging spin, obliterating that browser window until it gets all the data it wants, or you kill off the process. HELLO ADOBE!!! IT'S CALLED BLOCKING I/O. YOU DON'T NEED TO ACTIVELY POLL THE DATA CONNECTION!!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif

Also, AcroRd32.exe is always left running afterwords, even hours after every browser window has been shut down. This process typically consumes 32MB+ of memory.

 

[Greta]

Ah now Evan... I didn't call it a POS... I called it a PITA... Let's be fair... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[geepondy]

There is a way in the Adobe reader options to have PDF files open separately and not from within the browser. I think it's slow too. In some cases, we have documents in both word and pdf and the word documents scroll faster. Scrolling thru a schematic in pdf can be a very slow experience. As mentioned though almost all vendor data sheets now that are online are in pdf format, at least with the companies I have to deal with. I've never had a problem with it locking up or causing though at home or in multiple machines at work. I did have to upgrade from version 4 to 6 though so some documents would print correctly. That was a shame because 4 loaded much faster. I don't think it's ca-ca but I do think it's bloated or it appears to be that way anyhow.

P.S. OK under version 5 which is what I have here at home under options, then preferences, you can uncheck a box that says to display pdf in browser.

 

[geepondy]

Oh also another reason to have Acrobat reader installed is that the Surefire catalog is in pdf form! hundred pages plus for last year and I would think the 2004 catalog is just around the corner.

 

[Kiessling]

... or use Netscape and it'll download normally and open as a seperate programm (the reader, I mean).
bernhard - netscaper

 

[Pellidon]

[ QUOTE ]
Sasha said:
Yes, it takes FOREVER to load... even with DSL... and then it locks up my machine. [/i]

[/ QUOTE ]

Whenever possible, I have had luck with slow loading PDF files by saving them to my PC first and then opening them from there. They load a lot faster that way. And I thought Acrobat Reader was slow until I tried using Picsel Viewer on a PDA! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif Good program but slooooooow.

 

[geepondy]

Acrobat reader version 5 loads much quicker then the newer version 6 which is why I still use version 5 on the home pc. A whole lot more is loaded at start up for 6. I am ignorant on the nature of the files being loaded so I can't really comment on whether they are necessary or not but version 5 works fine for me thus far.

 

[Bill.H]

geepondy, /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif I still use version 4.05 because I thought version 5 was too bloated! You must have more patience than I do /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Sasha, if you ever get stuck with a pdf that you must open, try the older version, it's simpler and smaller and it's the one I use when I must. Generally, I don't like pdf at all, but sometimes there's no alternative available.

 

[brightnorm]

[ QUOTE ]
geepondy said:
...With MS word however, if receiver is using a different version of Word or does not have all the fonts installed that the document contains, it can come out screwy and different from the way you created it...

[/ QUOTE ]
True! I discovered that when I emailed some self-created Christmas cards. Now I send them as Word attachments and have had very few complaints.



[ QUOTE ]
Sasha said:
…. I absolutely hate Adobe Acrobat and will not click on any links that are to pdf files... loks up my system every single time….

[/ QUOTE ]
Sasha, I don't know enough to help you with that but I have XP (Earthlink cable) and for some reason PDF files run smoothly and load quickly.

Brightnorm

 

[star882]

"it's funny but Acrobat is THE one and only program that no matter what version of Windows I'm using and no matter what version of Acrobat I'm using, I end up with problems. Yes, it takes FOREVER to load... even with DSL... and then it locks up my machine. I'll admit that with XP and Acrobat reader 6, it only locks up my browser (thank God!) instead of the whole system. The only way I can ever get out of Acrobat pdf files is to go to task manager and end task. PITA if you ask me... I really do hate pdf files and as I said, I will not click on links that send me to them."
Oh yes, the infamous PDF bug.
At least the bug doesn't exist on Mandrake Linux 9.2.

 

[Charles Bradshaw]

Star882, neither does it exist in mandrake 9.1. Funny, the only time I had trouble in windows this way, was with a plugin for a different version of acrobat reader, than was installed in windows.

 

[Eugene]

I've always had the same problem. In fact pdf's were the reason I switched from Windows 9x to NT years ago because when adobe crashed it would bring down the whole 9x os but under NT it would just crash itsself, I was attempting to OCR large documents at the time. I had to get in the habit of always saving pdf's to the desktop or somewhere and opening them separate so they wouldn't lock the web browser. Now at home with slackware I'm not as careful since it doesn't lock when opening a pdf so when I go back to the office I forget and lock up IE on the w2k system all the time.