In Space No One Can Hear You Scream (as Windows crashes again)
Getting astronauts to the Moon or Mars is the least of NASA’s problems. Persuading Microsoft Windows not to fall over along the way is apparently a far greater challenge.
Spotted by Register reader Scott during a visit to the otherwise excellent Space Center Houston, there is something all too real lurking within the mock-up of the Orion capsule in which NASA hopes to send its astronauts for jaunts beyond low Earth orbit.
Clutched in the hand of a mannequin posed in the capsule’s hatch is a reminder of both how old space tech tends to be and a warning for space-farers intending to take Microsoft’s finest out for a spin.
We’ve finally got one, folks: A NASA bork (click to enlarge)
Yes, that handy mock-up of an outer-space tablet looks to be running Microsoft’s finest, circa 2009. And Windows has done what Windows does best: fall over into a heap.
We imagine the last thing an astronaut wants to see, millions of miles from home, is Windows bleating about a system restore. Just think of the interplanetary bandwidth needed to sate Microsoft’s never-ending demands for updates. Even Elon Musk’s Starlink might struggle to satisfy The Beast.
Thankfully, we’re pretty sure this particular Orion capsule won’t be troubling the top of a Space Launch System (SLS) rocket any time soon and anyhow, Linux is already on Mars courtesy of NASA’s Perseverance rover and the Ingenuity mini-helicopter.
We can but imagine what names the space agency might give a Windows-powered craft: perhaps the Binary Long Orbit Attenuation Tester, or BLOAT for short? Certainly, the voracious appetite for resources and ability to embrace and extinguish for which the company is famed might make it more of a Star Trek villain than NASA hero.
And let’s face it, “Houston, we’ve had a Blue Screen of Death” just doesn’t have quite the same ring to it.
Read more here: www.theregister.com
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Bevan Dockery
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So it is not just my PC that is having problems with Windows 10. In the last week or two I seem to have unknowingly doubled the number of files on my PC from about 1 million to about 2 million files. Where did they come from ? Microsoft presumably.
Since upgrading from Windows 7 to 10 last year, my mouse has taken on a life of its own, jumping hither and thither at random. I have deleted everything from the Quick Actions panel and that seems to have made some improvement.
Can anyone recommend an alternative that just lets me get on with the tasks that I want to perform?
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Advocatus Diaboli
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Depending on how brave you feel and how comfortable you are with tech, Linux may work for you. To try them out before installing, you can download different flavors and put them on a DVD or USB drive to try in a “live session” without erasing your hard drive.
Some of the most popular varieties of Linux are Ubuntu, Linux Mint, and Kubuntu. They each have their own websites and thriving communities of users to answer questions.
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VICB3
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My mom is hell on computers. We’ll call it “Technically Adventuresome.” And that was exacerbated by Windows 10 inasmuch as, reliably, every three months or so the whole computer would shut down/lock up completely on her and I’d have to reload the OS plus all the rest.
I wanted to install Win 7, but the architecture would somehow not allow it. Upon consultation with my computer guy, finally installed Linux Mint, and a year later still no problems.
So in conclusion, if you can install Win 7 – still a buggy os but at least not a spyware ridden POS like 10 – then do so. If not, then at least investigate and consider using Linux. It looks pretty much like MS minus the problems, and it will save you from having to tear out your hair every three months or so.
Hope this helps.
Just a thought.
VicB3
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Photios
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I use openSUSE Tumblweed. Download at: https://get.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/
When installing the OS, I selected the basic graphical desktop.
Once all was done, I googled https://en.opensuse.org/KDE3
Then I did a one-click install of the KDE3 Desktop Environment.
This is the most useable desktop I have ever seen.
It is menu-driven (like WinXP but much, much superior).
Reply
Photios
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There is a choice of two menu styles offered: openSUSE and Classic KDE
I use Classic KDE. It is much more transparent and easier to use.
Place the cursor on the menu symbol at bottom left and right-click for choice.
Reply