The most annoying message of all time.

[Zeke]

"This program has performed an illegal operation and will be shut down."

I hope some day the Microsoft ********* that wrote those words ends up doing something illegal himself and is thrown in jail for all time.

Wouldn't there be a better way to write software programs? WTF is an 'illegal operation?' Whose law did it break? Bill Gates?

Long live Steve Jobs!!!! I'm buying a Mac.

[motion]

Mac is the only way to fly!

My collection:

G5 w/23" Apple Cinema Display
G4 Cube w/22" Apple Cinema Display
G3 Powerbook
iMac 500mhz
20th Anniversary Mac
Quadra 950

[BlueSkyJaunte]

Originally posted by motion
G5 w/23" Apple Cinema Display

I hate you.

Though, now that I've got good memory in my AlBook 15, life's pretty sedate. I probably won't need another box until at least April...

[exc911ence]

Not so fast. I love Macs, don't get me wrong but ever since I installed Panther (OS/X10.3.whatever) on my machine, it's become rather unstable. My Safari browser crashes several times a day and now my mail program is starting to act up. I should have saved my money and stuck with the Jaguar OS/X. I hope they release some upgrades soon, I'm getting really pissed with the "such and such has unexpectantly quit, would you like to report a bug to Apple?". I've reported some real uncensored doozies!

[SpeedracerIndy]

Originally posted by Zeke
"This program has performed an illegal operation and will be shut down."

I hope some day the Microsoft ********* that wrote those words ends up doing something illegal himself and is thrown in jail for all time.

Wouldn't there be a better way to write software programs? WTF is an 'illegal operation?' Whose law did it break? Bill Gates?

Long live Steve Jobs!!!! I'm buying a Mac.

You must have Windows 9X or ME. If so that is your problem. Anything 9X or ME is junk. You should get either 2000 or XP. They NEVER crash. I never have to reboot my XP pro unless I make a change to the computer that requires a reboot.

[BlueSkyJaunte]

HAH! I can crash Win2k or XP without batting an eyelash. I'm administrator for 15 hi-performance workstations, two file servers, a webserver, and 3 DB development servers, and let me tell you, Microsoft hates nothing more than users who know a little more than is good for them.

Sometimes I think my "lusers" are doing it on purpose just to keep me from getting bored.

[id10t]

PC, Mac, who cares? You can put Linux on any of 'em.

[Zeke]

Originally posted by CDiercks
You must have Windows 9X or ME. If so that is your problem. Anything 9X or ME is junk. You should get either 2000 or XP. They NEVER crash. I never have to reboot my XP pro unless I make a change to the computer that requires a reboot.

By Windows 9X I take it you mean 98 which is what I have. The system is OK, but the programs (some) are what give me the trouble. My point was why does the program/system handle this in this manner? Seems to this lay user that if a program becomes unstable, it should go into a safe mode and give you an option to save work or SOMETHING. Instead, you just sit there and stare at this usless message until you decide to close the application.

Like I said, WTF is an 'illegal operation?' I'll tell you what an illegal operation is-- it's me taking this computer out to the trash and leaving the whole shebang for the land fill.

[motion]

Mail it to bill, Milt. I think everyone with dead PCs should mail them to Bill. He started this mess.

[JavaBrewer]

Hey Milt, what app were you trying to run when the error occured? Oh and "Illegal operation" usually means the app software tried to access memory space the OS was using - which is a bug in the app.

PCs are all about bang for the buck. I can upgrade my system 3 times for the entry price of a Mac. On the same token - this price advantage comes at the risk of introducing unstable software and/or peripherals. I will continue to contend that most PCs as delivered from the manufacturers are very stable. It's when a user wants to add some $15 CD/RW or other bargain basement peripheral with a lousy device driver that problems occur. And when their $40 scanner/printer/fax machine/ice cream maker software crashes Windoz it's all the OS's fault. WTF?

Most people don't give a rats ass what OS they have, or how many buttons their mouse has, they just want to read their email, look at pictures, browse the web, balance their financial statements, play some games, and write a letter or two. In this context PC and Mac are on equal ground. If you need the vase w/ flower when doing these tasks then spring for the Mac, otherwise save some money and get the PC.

[Zeke]

If that's the case, I would certainly prefer a message that said, " Your current application cannot accesss the memory that it needs to function properly. Please shut down some other programs and try again."

That way, I would have some explanation of what is going on, whether it's right or not. David, the infor you give is very insightful and informative. I can assure you that I am not one to buy cheap goods. However, I cannot be sure of the quality of what I am buying simply because I paid more for it. But, I use HP periphials were applicable. As I've mentioned before, my current ISP is Compuserve and that is the main problem most of the time. I am going to get DSL soon, along with a new computer. What'cha all think of the higher end Dells? They seem to have comparable performance features to the Mac for 2/3-3/4 the price. I'm talking $1300-1500 for the base unit; tower, monitor, keyboard and mouse. I use an upgraded mouse and an ergonomic keyboard, so those will be stored on arrival. The current batch of Dells use XP and the latest Pentium along with a *****load of memory and more speed than I'm used to. I don't have one game in the house. Middle age emptynestors, don't need no stinkin' games. I will get into video, though.

[motion]

David, you're right for the most part... almost any decent computer these days will do what people want and do it well. XP has been a big step forward for dealing with digital pics, emails, the net, etc.

But there is one big difference. My $900 Dell is worth about $25 6 months after I buy it... I put my Macs on eBay a year after I buy them and usually get around $1,000 for them. Macs have great resale. Its the perfect way to keep up to date with the new machines.

[JavaBrewer]

Richard,

900 bones is big money for a PC unless you're doing a monitor too. After a year you can upgrade the motherboard and CPU for $250, throw on another gig of RAM, and you're good to go.

Don't know much about the used Mac market so you probably have a strong point if you just want to replace the whole system vs. partial upgrade.

I always get a grin from ads like:

Complete PC system - cheap!! Pentium 233, 850MB hard drive, 64 MB Ram, video, sound, keyboard, and 15" monitor. Tons of software, ready for the internet. $250 obo.

Yeah right buddy