Microsoft scraps hotfix system
https://ghacks.net/2018/11/05/microsofts-hotfix-service-is-no-longer-available/
I ran into this issue when looking for KB888111, aka the Windows 2000 SP4/XP SP1/2003 RTM universal HDA bus driver (which can be found here
Another bastion of the great win32 way of doing things has been resigned to history; taking the updates you need when you want, ignoring the ones you don't need (and may screw something else up). and now we're being coaxed into running on the Apple-esque upgrade treadmill sinking into software hell (broken API calls, file deletion, and now licence downgrading/de-activation).
Comments
Yeah it's just great. Love the mass update strategy containing what you don't know except what MS says.
I especially loved when I needed to tether my laptop with my phone at the airport, and Windows 10 saw this as an opportunity to download the next release version. Even though I had "metered connection" turned on it still ate up all my data. That was one big reason I left that pile of shit.
Hotfixes weren't a thing with Windows 10. They always wanted it to be as a service.
But in the past, hotfixes were convenient methods of fixing something fast before I could push the next mass of updates to the network. Or if I didn't feel like downloading 700mb update on my home computer at the moment to fix it.
I really hate what they've done with Windows Update. I mean, I do like having the roll up packages so you can get up to date quicker, but the quality control has gone down hill majorly. I'm also extremely annoyed at the "Daddy Microsoft knows best" attitude where they just update your machine whenever they want and you have no say in the matter. I can't tell you how many times I've had work applications open and I walked away from my machine to go eat or sleep or whatever and I came back only to find that Windows rebooted to install updates.
Yeah, yeah, I can set active hours, but you know what? My active hours change from time to time... and I don't fancy having to reset them every day.
It's pissed me off so much that I actually haven't powered on my Windows 10 machine in about 3 weeks now. A while back I bought a mac mini as a test machine to get myself more familiar with mac os because I have clients that run mac. I've been using it as my daily driver for those 3 weeks and a bit before that as well. Those that know me know that I was pretty anti-apple and I hated mac os. Now, don't get me wrong, their hardware is still overhyped shit. But mac OS has actually gotten better compared to the pile of crap I first used and it's really a decent OS. If nothing else, I've never had it just reboot and cause me to lose all of my work.
But that being said, I've never had that problem with Linux either. I've been considering replacing Windows 10 on my desktop and my laptop with Linux. But the problem is it's just not at the same level as Windows and mac os. The software support is not there yet, but it's getting better all the time, so I'm very hopeful for its future.
Windows is getting worse and the competition is getting better...
Took the words right out of my mouth. Also, as you say that macOS is getting better, it's a different story when Mojave will be the last to support 32-bit apps. Just thought I'd tell you that.
I don't see it as much of a problem. Everything I use is already 64 bit.
But most of us poor souls would rather cling on to 32-bit :(
And even 16-bit! Lots of the DOS/win16 stuff on here and archive.org is genuinely interesting.
DOSbox has continued where the NTVDM left off, but killing 32-bit programs? That would turn Microsoft into Microsuicide amongst corporate and power users. I'm sure their long-term plans call for killing off win32 though.
Well, we were talking about Apple killing it in macOS, not Microsoft killing it in Windows, but yes, I would expect that to happen in the future.
It's really only a matter of time before they no longer offer 32bit versions of Windows for desktops. They've already been doing it on servers for the last 10 years.