CharlotteTheHarlot

Xbox One rumor round-up: what was correct? ( NeoWin 2013-05-25 ) I have my own graphic about exactly this subject but I am waiting for more official word on some of the issues. In case he hadn't noticed ( and as Jaclaz accurately described above ) Microsoft said very little to nothing at all. All the hype for a nothing press conference, as usual. They were like politicians taking the Fifth Amendment, as usual. Pretty much every rumor of consequence will have proven true at the end of this saga, not the meaningless ones like what the name of the Xbox will be. Here is a clue for NeoWhiners: anything that benefits Microsoft at the expense of the customer will actually occur. Full stop. Period. The only things they actually care about are themselves and their revenue cash streams. The customer does not even merit an after-thought. EDITORIAL: What has me excited, disappointed and curious about Xbox One ( NeoWin 2013-05-25 ) Article is somewhat interesting but one comment caught my eye ... Which frankly had never occurred to me and does makes some sense. Nielsen is a legendary but secretive data collection service and is rumored to make tons of money. It would make sense for a company to look at this model and expand into it. However it leads to even more serious conflict-of-interest issues because the ratings product they deliver directly affects prices of products (through advertising rates and budgets), not to mention the potential success of said products. Were Microsoft to enter this arena they would immediately be suspected again of anti-competitive practices ( with good reason ) so it would be a bad idea logically, therefore considering Microsoft's recent track record of crazy ill-advised illogical decision-making it would seem to suggest they WILL try to enter this arena. I'm not sure of the validity of that comment though, the part about "access millions of more data-sets than Nielsen can". Their potential sample size would never be adequate for anything except a narrow set of products and advertising. I'm too busy to look it up ( or if Nielson even publishes their sample size ) but there is not a chance that XboxAnything will ever be anything more than a skewed demographic weighted heavily towards moderate gamers. The hardcore gamers with unlimited spending budgets (the advertising target demographic of disposable income) will never touch this Xbox and instead be using real computers. The lightweight gamers will stick to their phones and tablets. You can also make the case that smart gamers will stay away from an Xbox with a mandatory built-in spying device that can literally identify you and what you are doing. Speaking of spying and big brother .... There is some astonishing cognitive dissonance employed by fanboys over this subject. The MicroZealots and MetroTards are infamous for attacking Google at every turn, supporting Microsoft's Scroogle attack campaign, while decrying targeted ads in the Google search results. Fine, that's their opinion and it is valid. But how the he!! do you go from there to accepting the capabilities of Kinect paired with the potential of Microsoft Patent #20120278904! What manner of cranial neurological disorder leads to such a disconnect? Can you imagine a couple fooling around on the couch and suddenly the Microsoft Hal 9000 launches a Trojan commercial or a PSA about venereal disease? That would be a truly targeted demographic! And corporations will pay big bucks to get their ads in at such an opportune moment.

Rumor: Microsoft and publishers to get money from Xbox One used game sales [update] ( NeoWin 2013-05-24 ) Microsoft: Reports about Xbox One used games "inaccurate and incomplete" ( NeoWin 2013-05-24 ) I was wondering how Microsoft could make this even worse. We knew the Xbox rumor of not using old games would be proved true, only die-hard fanboys doubted that one. There was hope they might emulate the PPC architecture in hardware or software but Microsoft failed here as well - no playing older games, period. But this is the lowest of all possible lows. They are literally going to try to monopolize and dominate the 3rd party resale aftermarket as well by taking yet another bite from the apple by cashing in on games that were already paid for once already. This is positively criminal and I hope the FTC and other alphabet agencies are ready to pounce this time. They will deserve everything that happens to them. Apple's iOS 7 to be "black, white and flat all over" ( TechSpot 2013-05-24 ) More details emerge about Apple's "flat" UI plans for iOS 7 ( NeoWin 2013-05-24 ) It seems Apple has the equivalent of Steven Sinofsky working there, he even resembles the Windows Destroyer-in-Chief, his name is Jony Ive ... ... uncanny, right? Anyway, it is very hard to believe that Apple is dumb enough to directly copy Microsoft's retard style especially considering that is is almost universally despised. I don't know much about the internals of Apple except for other people's comments and it seems this hipster Jony Ive was a buddy of Steve Jobs and now that he died has a sort of free reign to screw things up. Not a great plan IMHO. I'll tell you what. Apple fans are loyal and the last thing you want to do is break that customer loyalty ( that would really be copying Microsoft ). But the iPhone is nothing if not consistent. Change that interface ( and even worse the Mac OSX ) and you are gonna have a real problem because the people using iPhones are not computer experts and expect things to be simple. Mark my words, a big change in the iPhone GUI will start a backlash the likes of which Apple is NOT equipped to understand. Now this is definitely still a rumor, and suspiciously like a rumor Microsoft might float to ease their own suffering, so we'll wait and see. EDIT: typo

Will Xbox One talk back to you and let you play games remotely? ( NeoWin 2013-05-24 ) Told ya. Look at that Kinect poster above and now imagine the red HAL appearing on your giant TV screen ... " " More details on how the Xbox One will use cloud computing ( NeoWin 2013-05-24 ) What we have here is the start of endless explanations trying to justify the use of the cloud for far more efficient local operations. They will do and say anything to rationalize this thing even though it makes no sense from any angle you look at it. Few games can saturate the abilities of a modern quad-core, let alone the eight-core in the NextBox ( okay, the rumors say that the cores will be radically slow ). But here is what they are really saying ... games will be sabotaged by-design to utilize distant computational power rather than the local CPU which lies mere inches away from the output device. Only Microsoft could be expected to reimagine reality by redesigning and reversing the Client-Server paradigm to put processing in the cloud. Of course this is but a mere evolutionary half-step because they are afraid to make the whole step at once. The whole step is to have everything in the cloud and your retarded personal device ( Xbox, Laptop, Desktop, Phone, Tablet, ... whatever ) will be only an output device displaying what is processed upstream at servers under Microsoft control. George Orwell pick up the courtesy phone. Report: Microsoft wants to sell 25m Surface tablets in 2014 fiscal year ( NeoWin 2013-05-24 ) That last bit is the part that drives me nuts. If I could wave a magic wand and make all computers from schools disappear I would do it in a heartbeat. This actually started with Apple and later IBM. They have been milking the career underachievers in the education sector like cows for all their worth ever since the mid-1980's. The damaging part is that they have little to no need for computers except for perhaps book-keeping. None of the legends of the tech industry ever even saw a computer in school, that includes Gates and Allen and Jobs, and neither did I. Now they are present everywhere, and for what purpose? To teach kids how to use Word? Google? People need to start thinking outside the box and question why a single penny should be spent equipping schools with computers at all. Even if you are a parent, it''s a good question. If you are a homeowner it is a very very good question because it is we that get the bill, not the school administrators or politicians. This is a black hole of waste that gets more money flushed down the toilet everytime these companies release a new version of this or that. I for one, am tired of it. EDIT: typo

Microsoft files complaint over XboxOne.com domain ( NeoWin 2013-05-24 ) Now isn't this rich. Two domains, XboxOne.com and XboxOne.net are gonna be taken away from a 3rd party by Microsoft. This isn't a typical squatting case either. The owner of the names registered these no later than December 2011, an eternity before the name "Xbox One" was a twinkle in Microsoft's eye. Furthermore, back in 2005 Microsoft registered XboxTwo.com but failed to reserve the other variations. Summary: another MicroFail along the lines of the Metro naming fiasco. Due to their disproportionate clout in tech matters we can guess just which way the "neutral" arbitration board will decide? In a saner world, customers and governments and juries and neutral arbitration committees would knock these megacorps down a few pegs whenever they got a chance rather than empowering them further. US Staples stores currently selling 32 GB Surface RT for $399 ( NeoWin 2013-05-24 ) There you go. Six months later the Surface ReTard model is priced at $399 without the keyboard covers meaning that they just hit the sub-$500 price point finally with a keyboard. This is what many people said right here in this thread back on launch day. Unfortunately it is no longer launch day, that was six months ago. Back in the real world in May 2013 this orphan tablet might be sell-able at $199, maybe $299 all extras included. So good luck with this one. Full ITC panel prevents Microsoft's Xbox 360 from being hit with import ban ( NeoWin 2013-05-24 ) Pot meet kettle. There were four patents that Microsoft infringed upon and that Google successfully used to block Xbox sales, now there are zero because the court says three of them were "standard-essential patents", Meanwhile Microsoft is hypocritically going after Android makers for infringing on some secret patent that they control, most likely related to file systems like exFAT. Naturally the MicroZealots cannot see the disconnect here. I expect another round of Karma to come around and bite Microsoft in their assets because that is what happens with bad karma. Rumor: Better Bing integration coming with Windows 8.1 ( NeoWin 2013-05-24 ) No thank you. Whenever I see that BING desktop in the Windows Update list I barf a little and hide it from the customer. It's for their own good really. But now they want to intertwine it into all facets of the OS like some kind of Lymphomic Cancer. I can't help but think this also may become a future antitrust issue knowing how the courts seem to operate. You would think that Microsoft would have learned something from previous experience but it appears they have not. Microsoft is clearly in a bad way these days with regards to logic and common sense. They seem to have infinite ability to strike every obstacle and guard rail while driving down the road. EDIT: typo

Yep, I posted something about that a while ago and made a graphic that covers it, thanks for reminding me ... JPG approximately 305 KB stored at IMGUR. Feel free to use it at will. This is one of those critical junctures when a new precedent is either accepted without argument or fought. This one must be fought. EDIT: changed image URL

That's true, for now. Does anyone really doubt that they will build their walled garden in steps rather than all at once? I guarantee you that is the plan. When companies outsource jobs overseas it is also done in steps. First hire in India and China. Then layoff domestically. At neither point can we say they are outsourcing but the net result is the same. I believe Microsoft is keeping sideloading available as the fallback to thwart government or other legal action. They have it for enterprise but not for consumer. If they get attacked they can just enable it later. Regardless, the walled garden idea is the most sinister thing they have dreamt of. These are not "their" computers in the same way that Macs are Apple computers. They should be broken up just for entertaining the thought of trying to kidnap 3rd party computers into the Microsoft empire and locking out all developers except those they approve. P.S. I see that thread ( "163057-how-to-recover-lost-access-database" ) was deleted. So they were spammers?

It draws some stupid conclusions at the end though: Whoops, I missed that! Sorry.

Well, that's calling for it! And here is the stern look of disapproval : jaclaz I guess I wasn't clear, I really don't know what the fuss is over and have no time to read through all the posts. I'll assume that the sample size of that "poll" is considered too small? Maybe, maybe not. But considering the torturing of statistics that Microsoft has done with their CEIP telemetry I would suggest that they deserve it, and more. Screw 'em. P.S. I do love the picture of that Angry Bird! Probably an Owl?

BrandZ: Microsoft is seventh most valued global brand in 2013 ( NeoWin 2013-05-21 ) This will not be pleasant news for fanboys. Here are the four techies in the 2013 top ten ... #1 Apple ..... $ 185 billion ( +1% ) ... #1 in 2012 #2 Google .... $ 113 billion ( +5% ) ... #3 in 2012 #3 IBM ....... $ 112 billion ( -3% ) ... #2 in 2012 #7 Microsoft . $ 069 billion ( -9% ) ... #5 in 2012 I think this is the kinda statistic that makes Ballmer crazy. A few more related articles ... Apple's cash heap could top $170 billion by year's end ( TechSpot 2013-03-20 ) Former Microsoft executive says Apple has lost its way ( NeoWin 2013-03-26 ) Facebook breaks into Fortune 500 list, Apple makes top ten ( TechSpot 2013-05-06 ) Windows 8 Causes Dip in Microsoft Customer Satisfaction Rating ( Maximum PC 2013-05-23 ) Microsoft customer satisfaction drops to almost Vista-era lows (TechSpot 2013-05-27 ) A little more ... Sorry, Microsoft, but consumers just don't like you ( NeoWin 2013-04-23 ) A month old post. This one is not a research poll or anything like that, but a rather long and detailed opinion piece from a writer, probably pro-Microsoft but certainly not fanatical. Unusually thoughtful fare for NeoWin. And considering the above article it seems he was really thinking ahead. EDIT: added article

Microsoft is Confident Xbox One Won't Have Quality Issues ( Tom's Hardware 2013-05-23 ) No 'Red Ring Of Death'-style disasters for Xbox One, says Microsoft ( NeoWin 2013-05-24 ) What they're talking about naturally is the RROD - Red Ring of Death, and they're pretty sure it won't be showing up this time. I feel sorry for them, you know there are gonna be many sleepless nights for the designers waiting for the inevitable fail that will be splashed around the world in mere minutes should it occur. EA CTO: Xbox One architecture is “a generation ahead of the highest end PC on the market” ( PC Gamer 2013-05-23 ) EA: PS4, XBox One Are a 'Generation Ahead' of Gaming PCs ( Tom's Hardware 2013-05-25 ) More foot-in-mouth disease. Not going over well with hardcore gamers and power users in the comments. I'm not sure Microsoft will be happy that their moral support is coming from EA officials ( and ex-officials ). It's a little like Al Capone getting praise from Tony Soprano. Add the Aero glass look to Windows 8 with the beta of WindowBlinds 8 ( NeoWin 2013-04-23 ) From watching this saga unfold ( I mean the purposeful destruction of the desktop aesthetics ) this will probably be the closest thing to a one-stop solution for fixing the whole mess. If they accurately re-create all the popular themes, from Win2k/9x classic to XP Luna and MCE, Royale Noir, plus Vista and 7 Aero, and also pay attention to the details like drop shadows and 3D chrome and corner geometry, they will have a gold-plated winner and save Microsoft in the process. If anyone can do it, Stardock can as they have been doing this with and without Microsoft's blessing for many years. We'll have to watch this one closely. Don't screw it up Stardock! There are lots of details to get right. EDIT: added articles

Actually I could , but as a matter of fact you started it, and Charlotte only provided additional sources and commented only on the comments... Naah, I'll blame just you , at the most Charlotte could deserve a stern look of disapproval, which I have ready, in case of need : jaclaz Psst Microsoft, Windows 8 Users are Barely Touching Metro Apps ( Maximum PC 2013-05-23 ) Report: Majority of Windows 8 Users Ignore Metro / Modern UI Applications ( Tom's Hardware 2013-05-28 ) Not sure what all the fuss is over ( if there is any fuss ) but that story is being reblogged almost everywhere, making it a story in itself. Let's just face it, it will be in the news cycle until the next MicroFail comes to light. Probably in the next few minutes. EDIT: added article

Xbox One: Three ways it could affect PC gaming ( PC Gamer 2013-05-21 ) Microsoft (still) won’t focus on the “traditional desktop PC game” ( PC Gamer 2013-05-23 ) You can definitely say that the verdict from real Gamers ( not Cut-the-Rope Angry-Birds Fruit-Ninja players ) is not good. Another MicroFail underway. Microsoft's Xbox head: 'If you’re backwards compatible, you’re really backwards' ( The Verge 2013-05-22 ) Microsoft on Xbox One: Backwards compatibility is "really backwards" ( NeoWin 2013-05-23 ) Another MicroDummy with foot-in-mouth disease. Jeez Louise. And there ain't no walking this back either. He is literally describing Xbox One as the "future" and everything else as history! This Softie has a name - Don Mattrick. And for some strange reason that gives me dyslexia and I keep reading it as Dot Matrix Former CEO of Electronic Arts: gamers will “learn to love” always-online gaming ( PC Gamer 2013-05-22 ) Birds of a feather. EA is one of the most hated companies still around and earn awards for that feat every year. Microsoft has somehow added EA-envy to their previous afflictions, Apple-envy, Google-envy, IBM-envy. If you stop and think about it though, it looks more like a lot of fake competition between all these tech companies, and they are more likely than not just playing a public relations game to make us think they are competing when in reality they are merely like the Five Families meeting in upstate New York or Atlantic City in order to divide up the territory and the spoils. Ballmer: Microsoft hiring thousands in China for Windows Phone and cloud services ( NeoWin 2013-05-23 ) Hmmmm. Now that sounds really enticing. Trust our data and programs to be managed by slave labor in China! Why not farm out everything including the picture snooping. Egads man! Also, I just saw somewhere that the Xbox is being made by FoxConn. I guess now their Apple-envy is complete Happy 23rd birthday, Windows 3.0 ( UK Register 2013-05-23 ) Here's a nice change-of-pace for those that are getting burned out from all the MicroFails. And it just reminded me that we somehow missed the Win98se 14th Anniversary one month ago today ( for RTM filestamps ) 1999-04-23.

Quite a barfworthy article IMHO. Many quotes in there to demonstrate his shill-worthyness. A fine time to resurrect this one ...

And elsewhere ... Study suggests majority of Windows 8 users ignore Metro apps ( TechSpot 2013-05-22 ) More than half of Windows 8 users just treat it like Windows 7. Almost nobody using Windows Store apps, survey finds ( UK Register 2013-05-22 ) Quite a beating the MetroTards are taking in the comments, even at NeoWin. Probably a bit surprising to them.

I'm wondering if this sounds familiar to anyone. I have seen this twice on customer computers, Windows 7 SP1 laptops, but both times I was too busy to take a photo, I'll have to remember next time. After running through all available "priority" Windows Updates and possibly a couple "optional", and then rebooting as suggested, and the obligatory "configuring updates" completes and the computer reboots again and finishes at the desktop. All is good at this point and everything works fine. On the next reboot you wind up with a partial desktop, black, no wallpaper and a dialog that says something like "desktop not available ..." or similar. Both times I rebooted again and it was fine. I know that is really vague information but I am hoping it rings some bells. I am certain it was from one of the Windows updates. Google hits for those symptoms seem bunched around 2010 and 2011. The more recent ones are not related from what I can tell. If I see it again I will post pictures here.

More interesting articles from the past week ... Windows 8 'sales' barely half as good as Microsoft claims. Don't even mention the XP/Vista sales comparisons ( UK Register 2013-05-14 ) Windows 8 won't hit critical mass in enterprises, Forrester says ( PC World 2013-05-16 ) Hey, Teflon Ballmer. Look, isn't it time? You know, time to quit? Microsoft chief defies pundits by hanging on - we reveal how ( UK Register 2013-05-17 ) Dell: Our corporate customers are still upgrading to Windows 7 ( NeoWin 2013-05-19 ) Interview: We chat with the creator of Classic Shell ( NeoWin 2013-05-20 )

Here's some information on the "why" of the big push for getting off Windows XP. I mentioned earlier that I can't think of a technical reason considering that it's recommended replacement, Windows 7, gets viruses just as fast as WinXP did years ago with or without the firewall. In fact I spent the past two days cleaning out some backlogged customer computers, all Windows 7 SP1 normal non-privileged standard user accounts with malware ranging from mild to full blown FBI ransomware. ~sigh~ FYI, none of these customers have any clue whatsoever. They apparently click on anything and everything, and skip using a hardware firewall router altogether jacking the ethernet from their cable or FIOS modem directly into the computer. The ones with routers somehow found a way to make them completely unsafe by opening all ports or something. Whatever makes their life easier at home for their laptops I guess. For all practical purposes we are still in 2001 when XP arrived without a firewall and broadband got popular and well, you know the rest. Nothing has changed, especially Windows vulnerabilities. So contrary to the massive amounts of FUD being spread, you know: "WinXP is NOT safe! Win7 has better security!", the problem with staying on WinXP is clearly not related to that at all. Anyone who fixes Windows problems can tell you that. No, the problem is artificial and arbitrary. It has nothing to do home users either, but it has everything to do with corporate licensing. First up, Thurrott ... Short Takes: May 17, 2013 ( Thurrott 2013-05-17 ) We'll leave aside the typical patented Thurrott sloppy mistake: "ancient OS" ( WinXP SP3 is newer than Vista RTM and SP1, and just a year older than Win7 RTM, you big dummy ). What he is describing here is Microsoft book-keeping, taking another bite out of these companies dumb enough to sign on for support contracts. They haven't yet figured out it would be cheaper to buy them all standalone one-time rather than shoveling money endlessly into the Redmond money pit. Whatever. They will learn eventually. Probably in the interim many Windows XP computers will now be retired without any replacement whatsoever. Folks that live near big companies would do well to watch for discounted computers in their area or be sure to visit the recycling center and bribe the workers for a few units. Moving on, here is an article with details on Microsoft's extortion operation ... Microsoft: Staying on Win XP will cost Indian biz ( ZDNet 2013-05-17 ) Now the endgame is visible - broken drivers from planned obsolescence between Windows versions. It is arbitrary and capricious. I suspect it is also illegal here in the USA, or should be, and now we know why their agreements and contracts are so secret, and why the OEM backroom deals are also kept under wraps. It is to stave off the FTC and Justice Department. The only real difference between Microsoft ( and similar companies ) and the Sopranos is that one is fictional on TV. The fictional family distributes garbage collection services and Microsoft distributes IT services. This move against Indian companies is akin to the Sicilian enforcer they brought in to rough-up un-cooperative local businessmen. The point is that there is no real reason for anyone to move from a Windows version that works, unless you are easily cowed into submission by corporate FUD. Home users have no excuse to fall for it though, you own your computer, keep it and all the software. There will come a time when you won't be able to easily own one again. For the corporates I recommend you call their bluff if you can manage them yourselves ( and why shouldn't they? ). Oh yeah, if you read the articles there are "regulations" requiring businesses to have computer systems that meet certain criteria, specifications that Microsoft no doubt had a hand in writing and had supporting whitepapers that they financially sponsored. How convenient. Am I the only one that sees all the conflicts of interests here? Allegedly these regulations keep everyone's data and finances safe. Well how's that working out in real life? Can we see a report of all the thousands of hacking cases, passwords, credit cards, customer data lost in just the last couple years. Guess what, they will have no doubt all met the vaunted Microsoft standards and regulations yet were still utterly compromised. So the upgrading cycle becomes nothing but a self-serving make-work job-security scenario that benefits one institution ... wait for it ... Microsoft. EDIT: typos, clarity

This one has radical options ... Scarabée Siren ... link ... I used a bunch of these types of tools and mentioned them in this thread. The above-mentioned program has pretty much limitless possibilities using strings of tokens, variables and constants.

Somewhere way back in the thread I suggested Microsoft must be buying stock in touchscreen Monitor manufacturers, and also in cleaning supplies for regular screens. I think we can add physical therapists and drug companies to that list too due to related treatment and prescriptions! If you look at that picture closely ... ... that scenario is like a dream come true for all manufacturers involved especially if kids are around. Furniture that looks like it will be scrap within a year. Wireless Mouse and Keyboard just waiting to bounce off the floor without even a cable to possibly save it. Paddles or controllers of some kind that inevitably will become flying objects or spend their time bouncing off the glass. Back-free stools to aid in posture development. And knowing how things are designed these days it looks like a typical top-heavy object just waiting for a tipping point. So the manufacturers love these situations primarily because they built-in job-security from sure-fire replacements. Go to it kids! Like I mentioned above, I just can't remember anything expensive being necessary to get for kids from our parents generation. The only thing I can think of was the periodic bicycle every 5-10 years, and even with a whole litter of kids the cost for all of them forever would be less than a cellphone or calling plan, let alone additional laptops, tablets, AIO and all the status symbols ( clothes, sneakers ) that are also desired. This is not an old fogey b!itchin', just highlighting the strategic shift in target demographic that the tech industry ( and all others ) have cleverly chosen. I'm not aware of a lot of parents capable of saying no, at least not as many as one or two generations ago. I guess I'm very cynical about this. Whatever. I expect a day will yet come when people tire of all the bleeding and slam their wallets shut, that day will be a marvel to behold. The shakeout will be ferocious as all manner of companies fall like dominoes, especially those that survive on the optional wants from peer-pressure.

Microsoft supports End Anonymous Patents Act bill in US Congress ( NeoWin 2013-05-17 ) Hypocrites. This from the company that goes around extorting cash from Android manufacturers and keeps the agreements secret. Parasites. Adobe releases free Photoshop Express Windows 8 app ( NeoWin 2013-05-17 ) ( image source ) Photoshop ReTard Edition. And, there's the hook too - DLC ( like in-game purchases ). Well they got the target demographic mSheep all neatly corralled in a walled garden just waiting for them. Naturally the often-mentioned MetroTard-in-chief cannot help but to jump in to the comments, say something ridiculous and get slapped around for a while. Lenovo reveals furniture range designed for its 27-inch Windows 8 touch-PC ( NeoWin 2013-05-17 ) ( image source ) Ergonomics. Humanity is doomed. More examples at the article too. I'm trying to think back as a child to remember if there was anything that cost $2000 or even $1000 for kids. Nope, got nuthin'. And this AIO computer would no doubt supplement a cellphone and designer clothes and junk food that could feed an entire 3rd world family. Humanity is really really doomed.

Ha! I just said ... Man, I wish this story was posted at NeoWin just to see their heads explode. ... and it has been noticed at last ... Samsung co-CEO: Galaxy S4 sales to reach 10 million next week ( NeoWin 2013-05-17 ) ... but just 17 comments! You can almost hear a pin drop.

As is often the case, Thurrott only sticks his toe in the water but won't commit to getting in. Maybe some day. As Jaclaz mentioned, the 800 pound gorilla IMHO is antitrust. What they do with Xbox or Surface is really irrelevant because these are Microsoft hardware and whether they put an OS on there or embedded firmware chips doesn't stifle competition because competitors can make their own hardware themselves. In short, 3rd parties have no expectation of inserting themselves into Microsoft hardware. Microsoft's special situation is about Windows and is because they supply an OS to other manufacturer's hardware, not their own ( contrary to what they might believe ), we'll leave out the ant-competitive blocking backroom deals for a moment. The operating system installed on these billions of personal computers must supply an "API" or "something" that lets software work on the hardware. That OS must be neutral and not favor Microsoft's "software" divisions, an equal playing field must be provided. And for the most part it has been just that - neutral. You could use whatever dev suites, languages and compilers you wanted. Distribute the binaries in any form you wanted, even interpreted runtimes. Sell the product for whatever price you wanted, or give it away for free. Such is the x86 universe. What is happening now is the most naked power grab ever contemplated. With Windows 8, the plan is to kidnap that existing x86 universe into their walled garden - but THESE ARE STILL NOT MICROSOFT'S COMPUTERS! This also makes clear how devious they are in another way - blurring the definition of Windows, particularly RT and WP, the former running on both Microsoft and 3rd party devices, the latter so far only on 3rd party. A bright line must exist between operating systems that 3rd parties require access to ( x86 Windows ) and operating systems that are permanently proprietary IP ( Microsoft hardware ). They are just recently out from the antitrust scrutiny and are intentionally violating the letter and spirit of antitrust again by blending all the concepts. So Thurrott hasn't yet come around to simple reality, and that is that while it is true that Microsoft should be broken up, the axe should cleave away the x86 operating system ( Windows ) into a separate company with no contact with the rest of the software divs. What they do with the remainder ( Xbox, etc ) doesn't matter. The best outcome for everybody would be for Microsoft to voluntarily release all x86 properties into the public domain, including patents for file systems and other things. This would not impact their software business at all except to force them to compete with the same access as everyone else. Then they would be legally and morally free to pursue their mindless Metro Playskool Tiles projects. Naturally this a doubtful eventuality. Failing that it should be forcibly taken away because as I said before, what Microsoft is attempting to hijack into their walled garden ARE NOT MICROSOFT'S COMPUTERS! And it's quite a scam indeed. Take a huge cut from each sale and shove the responsibility for buggy OS problems over to the dummies that made the hardware. Microsoft has used Apple as a foil, a distraction, a phantom competitor. Apple makes hardware and supplies an OS to make it run. It doesn't allow any 3rd party OS to get onto these computers prior to purchase, nor does it sell their OS to anyone. MetroTards are completely stuck on stupid, including Thurrott and Ed Bott who say "Windows has passed Mac OSX!!!". This is a wonderful shell game but pardon the pun, Apples and Oranges. Microsoft has been the beneficiary of this idiocracy and seems to believe it themselves. But it cannot change the fact that Microsoft is unique in its position of being the 3rd party OS supplier to billions of computers around the world. And now they are going for the throats of them all.

I was just gonna mention that story ( it's at NeoWin of course! ), but there's a problem and it is because IDC says one thing and Gartner says another. Scroll up to Post #2918 and see that there are competing numbers ... I even noted that result ... What should really worry them is that WP8 has been out for over six months and they either still can't / just barely pass Blackberry which just got released at the end of Q1 ( and in the USA later still ). That is the big story IMHO. I think there is gonna be a back and forth this year for 3rd place but it won't matter in the long run because they both will eventually have Linux nipping at their heels within a year. China is going into it and I suspect this is the end-of-the-line for WP. Just a hunch.

A couple points: Oh, yes it is. (in much more cases that you might think ) No, not yet, BTW your employees are doing exactly that, but only part-time . While using XP they still use some of their time to do some little work, the switch will happen when you will adopt Windows 8 that will help in making clicking on random web links and file downloaders the main activity . Most probably they will be able to do that "more securely" than before , and thus your data will possibly be safer, but this won't make any difference, since you will have not any data (no new data produced) to be worried about . Well I still can't imagine how a computer can actually rely on Microsoft "supporting it" - standalone at home, or on a network at work. In the former case it is simple to prove it by just not auto-updating it ( manually apply patches only when needed) running bare naked without AV but using a hardware firewall. In the latter case, I can't imagine a network without some kind of sysadmin who manages it remotely or possibly sneaker net. I mean really, if there are a thousand computers why would they have them all connecting and auto-updating at 3am or whatever. This cannot be efficient. Microsoft dropping support means a likely uptick in real performance and productivity. But there are restore points, deployment images, backups, and all of these computers must be behind a gateway and hardware firewall with dynamic IPs ( probably a local software firewall too ), and the admin certainly has blacklisted large swaths of outgoing suspicious sites and addresses. Not to mention they probably got snookered into a corporate license for some performance sucking antivirus and/or security suite. This is why I am having a tough time understanding how they get into any trouble ever. Just so I can understand better, can you describe examples of how their well-being is tied to what OS they are using and whether or not Microsoft "supports" it ( that's my real point ). I am hearing the most amazing FUD lately from the MicroShills. Just utter the words "Windows XP" and "support" and stand back. But it all sounds like "make work" keep-busy job-security bullsh!t to me. I say call their bluff. The last thing they want is for people to find out is that they ( Microsoft ) are no longer needed. So I think it is critically important for people to take a stand at last. P.S. I'm not involved in enterprise IT at all these days, so I admit I could easily be mistaken about current network configurations. But I will tell you from the outside that the infections I see on standalone home and SOHO computers are those running Windows 7 SP1 on allegedly safe NON-admin accounts. Now obviously at this point in time that isn't a significant data point because it is the OS on the majority of computers, but anecdotally I can say the same was true during Vista, and also XP before that. My conclusion is that whatever OS is installed it will get infected if the user allows it to happen, which again makes my point that neither Windows XP or end-of-support makes any difference. EDIT: typo

Samsung shipped six million Galaxy S4s in less than three weeks ( TechSpot 2013-05-16 ) Man, I wish this story was posted at NeoWin just to see their heads explode. Microsoft Issues Another Warning of XP's Demise ( Tom's Hardware 2013-05-16 ) Extraordinary amount of FUD. Microsoft and their sycophants are literally the textbook definition of FUD spreaders. Too funny to even quote. These people actually believe there is a magical switch that will be thrown! Their understanding seems to be that there are some magic bits that travel down the wire "supporting" the OS from Redmond. I hurt my neck shaking my head in disbelief Please call their bluff! I am begging SysAdmins and managers. All you people that made fun of Y2k have a chance to prove your mettle now. Tell them to screw off and keep on running XP ( as long as it works for you naturally ). It's not like you have these machines exposed to the internet without a gateway and hardware firewall. It's not like your employees spend their time on the clock clicking on random web links and file downloaders! If you want to save money, just terminate your support contracts with Microsoft and keep running in perpetuity. Do you buy a new car when the warranty runs out? I mean really. Microsoft has one of the greatest FUD operations going. Just read through the comments and marvel at the state of of modern logic.