ScuzzBlog: Diaries August 2026
Entry 23rd August 2026: Post 1: Win7 - Today I lost a good friend.
Win7 - Today I lost a good friend.
It has been a difficult summer. Very difficult. I was cast from
my computer play room late June and have suffered heat wave after
heat wave making the use of the upstairs unbearable. Sadly during
the hot period I made the dreadful mistake of switching on the Win7
machine and paid the price yet again of the loss of the NVIDIA. I
am cursed by such a reoccurring issue as I have lost two graphic
cards by the same foolish actions.
I held off doing anything till the heat died down and only now
late August is the room at 23 degrees.
I insist on buying the same card as the original so I am reliant
on Ebay to come up with the goods. Cost me 28 quid , though I
wasn't feeling confident this time around.
I have been using the Win7 machine since February 2011 and that
is the longest period of service any of my machines have achieved.
I know I am a great fan of the Amiga, but I can say this with a
heavy heart today , the Win7 machine is my greatest and most loved
computer. A very good friend. We have gone through a lot.
Sadly my heart was to sink to an all time low as try as I might to
breath life into the Win7 machine, she sadly passed away. The
machine refused to boot and just cycled through a start process
that was too painful to watch. I decided to call it a day. I cannot
expect a machine of this age that has been in continuous operation
to keep on working. It really is not fair on the thing. So she
is now unplugged.
What to do ? What to do ?
What I did next may surprise some. Here is the thing. I cannot abide
the intrusive nature of the internet. I have a real problem with
people. Whilst others may be prepared to suffer the sight of folk
and their various animals going about their lives trying to flog
me stuff, I for one cannot stand it. It was why I pulled the plug
on the TV and Shitalite feed to the house. I just won't tolerate
adverts. And sorry everything today is about data collection and
selling online. Reason being the mobile phone, amazon and social
media have killed off the high street so we are expected to do all
our purchasing online. Sad but hey.
So when it comes to computer choices I struggle. The modern machines
made for Windows are generally poor quality. I know, cus I just
spent a thousand quid on a tin load of crap. And then we have the
crappy operating system and a creator that has removed all the
free useful stuff and replaced it with.. er well er shite. All my
favourite software no longer works with the latest versions and
people like Adobe expect me to subscribe. Worse they are intent on
making you reside on a cloud so they can search through your stuff
and nab all your buying habits.
So what have I done. It was easy really. I decided to go offline
and hook up my studio HP Desktop running XP. Yes good old XP. Not
exactly my weapon of choice, but it'll do.
So I now have an offline XP machine utilising a 1TB external drive
so I can sit in peace, untroubled by the boring drivel that is
modern trending. Free to fashion my webpages.
Benefits ...
OK I am not being badgered by Microsoft about updating and setting
up that bloody cloud. I also don't get any live feeds of the friggin
weather, which trust me... I don't want to know.
Next up I can use my ActiveSync with my iPaq handheld so I can in an
instant transfer my thoughts to the PC. The hand held has been a
godsend this summer as it gave me an easy to use tool to record all
my inner thoughts. Also the iPaq comes with Windows mobile and has
some really useful tools included, like Office mobile etc. And XP
retains all the classics like Wordpad.
Best of all I can carry on using Adobe Photoshop 5.5 which refuses
to work with Windows 10 and 11. The people at Adobe want me to spend
twenty quid a month on a subscription and expect some cloud system
to operate from. I have no intention of sharing my world with any
human on this planet. So that was never going to work. No worries
I have Photoshop running that cost my 550 quid in the day.
Windows XP comes with Windows Movie Maker a little gem that was
removed after Win7. Great for adding titles to video. I also can
generate stuff for the Amiga. So useful.
Working offline you have to have stuff that doesn't need updates
and I use a browser to test all my pages so I have an old version
of Firefox that is locked in time. Just the way I like it.
I have the original version of Windows Paint which was brutally
butchered by the current team. I have Photoshop for everything but
I do still use Paint for the odd little image test.
Next I have the joy of an old version of Windows Media Player. Which
makes the playing of my music collections just a breeze. And all
wonderfully disconnected from internet meddling.
I have the Hamster software and VLC for use with Avidemux and Moyea
FLV generator. Again processes that the current systems view as taboo
and only cus they don't rely on internet connectivity.
Next up I am blessed with all my versions of Ejay which all refused
to work even on the Win7 machine. Music creations sound way better
using the original software and I have shelves full of samples and
libraries. Its all I have been doing all day.
Thankfully I have disc versions of Thumbsplus that I purchased as
sadly the creator died and did not release the software into the
public domain. So if you can download it you will hit a brick wall
cus it wont work without validation. And that validation of old
software is what modern OSs tend to frown on.
Lastly I am able use an OS with simple file systems. Simple menus
that are not 'apps'. No 'apps'. Apps are banned from this computer.
I simply use 'icons' linked to software on the computer. If anyone
reading this considers 'apps' and 'cookies' and 'browsing' as
anything other than data mining, I suggest you go see a shrink. The
mobile phone is a tool simply used to farm data. The rest is just
bullshit. I better leave it there.
Anyhoo.. my time on the XP machine will use no 'apps' , no cookies
and be devoid of any social or media interactions. My source material
will come from my vast libraries of stuff that I have collected over
the years. This summer I spent many many hours away from the computer
and I have to say it was a welcome change.
Enough.
Sadly all my words will not disguise the truth that a good friend
was taken from me today. I have been very low since she failed in
the dreadful heat. My heart still wants to repair the computer
though in some ways she deserves the rest. She still sits on the
floor at my feet as a reminder of happier times. For me the world
has changed and not for the better. I don't believe humans have
the determination to put matters right and I fear it's only going
to get worse. So escape may be the only comfort. Dunno.
I should be able to return to my world for now. Tonight I have the
joys of 2001 Space Odyssey to enjoy. That'll get the juices flowing.
Thanks for reading.
*Sorry for the image quality. I didn't have the lights or the
tripod on hand so lots of shaky pics. Never mind.
Note that the HP Desktop computer predates the Win7 machine by say
four years. The iPaq with the incorrect date is a year older than
the HP Desktop. The Desktop has been sitting idle for 13 years so
has a lot of catching up to do. She is also a throw-away and if she
dies I have at least half a dozen other XP machines that can take
her place. Onward.
One final point and that is the computer is ethernet networked to
my other PCs. In true Amiga fashion the computer has a female name.
She is named Risa after the Japanese gravure model Risa Yoshiki.
You may see in one of the pics the C drive listed as Risa.
Win7 - Today I lost a good friend.
Sadly the Win7 machine is no more.
And so enters the HP Desktop XP machine.
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