bpalone

Note that this goes well before Vista or XP, and if true, would cover versions of Windows all the way back to 98FE. (I read somewhere, but now can't find it, that this key was introduced in 95 OSR2.) We'd have to start using Windows 3.x... or Linux. Comments? Insights? --JorgeA The Penguin is really not all that bad. It has become my primary OS for the last several years. All any of them are, is nothing more than an operating system. I've always said, that if it does what you want and you like it, then by all means use it. As for security, if the government really wants to know what you are doing, they can get the information. Either directly or via some obscure method of keyboard logging, either from within your own hardware, listening device or by measuring the EMF fields around your set up. Now, are there methods of logging the wonderful touch interface? Probably, and is probably more accurate and easier to implement. If one is that concerned about being spied upon, then they probably shouldn't be using a computer, typewriter or paper for such incriminating material. Of course, most peoples memory isn't good enough for that. Being in the U.S., at this point, I put absolutely nothing past my government these days. I trust them just about as far as I can throw a loaded box car. bpalone

I was always a bit skeptical of the conspiracy theory about Microsoft, but the more recent revelations certainly make one one rethink their position. I quit the treadmill with 2K, and never really cared for XP, but tolerated it. Personally, I think everything after 2K was downhill. The revelation of Acer certainly make one think that Microsoft's days may be numbered. They may be lucky to come out of all this as the 75 pound gorilla. I wonder if enterprise customers are seriously starting to look at other platforms for their OS? Or.. are they just considering staying with the OLD Windows platform and making do? It will be an interesting event to watch unfold. The proprietary file formats are no longer enough to keep your customers locked into your product. So... time will tell who survives and who doesn't. bpalone

One thing can be said for the NuMicrosoft, you don't have to be creative to come up with new bad news ideas. Here is the latest news item: Microsoft To Add Bing Ads To Windows 8.1 Search The article can be read here. Just what everyone wants to do, pay for a product that is going to shove MORE advertising in your face. I can just see the folks lining up at the Microsoft Stores right now. They want to be sure to be the first get this brand new advertising model, they just might miss the latest and greatest piece of junk in years. It also adds to the thought Microsoft, etal, are going to be watching your every move with their new software. bpalone

It looks like they are he!! bent on destruction. Just saw this other headline: Microsoft to shut down TechNet subscription service The article is available here. Some of the comments that I read were interesting. I wasn't aware that tech people used it to keep up with the new offerings and to gain experience with the various versions. So, if a large enough segment is using the service for that, they (Microsoft) will have put another round into their foot. It seems that they have absolutely no desire to keep the enterprise segment or the professionals that actually use a computer to get work done. bpalone

Well here's the new headline: Windows 8 now up to 5.10% market share as it finally passes Windows Vista Here is an interesting quote from the article: and From another tracking site, I have watched Windows usage decline for years. Not a large decline, but enough that anyone in management would be concerned as it marks an overall trend. Now, to be honest, part of this slow continued decline could be the passing on of some of the user base (dead people only vote, they don't use computers) or people just getting fed up using a computer and stopping the use thereof, or they have gotten fed up with the internet and stopped being there to be counted. But, if management were watching the trend, they certainly wouldn't be giving the one finger salute to the user base. My guess is that at the end of all of this, Microsoft will have publicly demonstrated how the 800 pound gorilla can really go on a diet and emerge the new 200 to 250 pound gorilla in the room. That is pure speculation on my part, and I have been proven wrong many times in the past.

Or...is it society in general, that is? bpalone

Jaclaz, I agree that it is somewhat of an exercise in idiocy. What, if anything, is to keep the corporate/enterprise overlords from snooping on your personal data? I say absolutely nothing, and would further venture to suggest that it probably would be done, especially if you routinely handle sensitive data for your employer. They would want to know if you were fixing to jump ship and if you were seriously considering taking any data with you. Now from the corporate/enterprise side of the equation. Knowing, John Q. Averages computing habits and skills, would you want your sensitive data on their hardware? I doubt it. Now, if the employee does not handle sensitive data and the employee is willing to accept the snooping and the possible loss of all their data, then maybe. Just my $0.02 worth, and worth just what you paid for it, nothing. bpalone

Just thought I would pass this on, I found it available at Amazon for$1.99 as a Kindle download. I don't know how their International distribution of Kindle books are, but for the U.S. I thought that was very reasonable. bpalone

I haven't read the book, but you are correct. The true ramifications of all this Social Media (Facebook, twitter and the like) will only start to show up in earnest 20 or so years from now. People are willingly sharing PERSONAL AND PRIVATE items on these sites. I hear people saying, I have to go onto Facebook to see any pictures of the grand kids. Now, let's just say that little Johnny is a normal kid and will on occasions do some things that not really the most intelligent. For instance, on a cold winters day he may take a dare to stick his tongue onto the flag pole, and it becomes frozen thereto. Now, the family thinks this is funny, so they post it on Facebook. Now, let's fast forward 25 years and little Johnny is up for a major promotion or heaven forbid, has decided for run for public office. Someone finds this old picture and with the right spin, POOF there goes the promotion or the office. Most everything in a person's and family's life belongs to be kept private, for family members only and only obtained by nefarious means by parties outside of the family. But, people are far too willing to hand everything over to some third party, so they don't have spend a couple of minutes emailing a photo or two to the grandparents, aunts and uncles. As for the cloud, it isn't meant for anything of a private nature, unless heavily encrypted and then only for the brief time it takes for it to be picked up by the other party or parties. Of course you could host your own cloud, but then you have to be sure that your security is up to snuff, or you are likely to have a data breach. So, I still support the sneaker net. bpalone

Two computers communicating on telephone lines is not that hard. If my memory serves correctly, the program I used back then was "PROCOMM" and it had the ability to answer a call as well as initiate one. This a Command Line or DOS program and I am sure there are others. I had even started a terminal program in C and if dug hard enough might even be able to turn up my old source file. Do some searches for Modem manuals and you should be able to find enough about the command set for the modem to get a start. It isn't all that tough, the biggest thing to get a grasp on the ACK and NAK signals. (That is if my memory serves me correctly and assuming you want to write your code.) It would be much easier to find a decent terminal program or use the one that was include with Windows 9x, but a stand alone will probably be easier to learn and use. Someone may correct me on that, as I think I only used the included software one or two times and I have slept a couple of times since then. But, the simple answer is yes two computers can communicate via the telephone lines, provided both computers are using software that deals with serial communications through a Modem and that the Modems and the Software are configured properly on both sides of the link. Just remember that, you are still using the PUBLIC telecom system and that your speeds are going to be dialup equivalent. bpalone

Sounds like the good ole boys at Microsoft are sticking another dagger into themselves. Here is a quote from the article: Sure sounds a like a death from a thousand cuts. bpalone

This is a bit off topic, but not entirely with the disclosure of the zero day and the rumored X-Box snooping: It appears that a CBS Reporter's computer was compromised and that the party responsible has taken some pretty deft steps to cover their tracks. Here is an interesting quote from the article: Read more about it here. It is beginning to look and smell a lot like 1984. Guess I'll go to the kitchen make my tin-foil hat and then go and sit in my pyramid. bpalone

If you decide on Windows 7, you will probably not be able to go down to the local big box store and get one. I had a friend get a HP laptop with Windows 7 on it within the last few months. They said they had to go straight to HP and use the telephone, but they were able to get it with Windows 7 installed. I also recall seeing somewhere that Lenovo was still selling Windows 7 computers. Adding to what Charlotte said about the bigger screen, remember that on most laptops you can hook up an external monitor and then have the best of both worlds. A Big screen when at home and a portable to take on the road.

Well, they have released the DOG, read about it here. Really makes me want to run out and get in line to get a copy......................................NOT! I mean let's get real here. The only thing they have listened to is the play toy zealots and their own egos. I am sure glad that I quit the upgrade treadmill with 2K and have since made a version of the Penguin my primary OS. I don't think I could even begin to try this abomination they call 8 or 8.1. Not even sure that I would allow someone to connect to my home network with it for fear of it leaving some social disease behind. But, I will say that their marketing department can certainly make a turd seem like something desirable to possess (sp?). B)

Somebody at MS ( or the event organizer ) has a sense of humour. Made me laugh. A bit of levity is needed amidst the attempt to shove this awful thing on the unsuspecting public. From a bumper sticker of years past: WE ARE MICROSOFT, YOU WILL ASSIMILATE, RESISTANCE IS FUTILE! Seems to fit their attitude these days.

It looks like the lunacy is contageous, Adobe is making what appears to be a bad step. Most of the comments I read were very negative, go take a look and see what you think. The full article is here. It may be that in the not to distant future, that Open Source software becomes the defacto standard. I know that the programs I am aware of don't match up to Photo Shop, but they can get somewhat close. If some larger commercial operations, decide to support the development things could change. I realize, this is somewhat off topic, but not really.

@GeorgeA Those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it.

Microsoft CFO Leaves Company The article states "...latest in a line of top-level executives to leave the company, following Windows head Steven Sinofsky last November....". Do they know something, that the general public doesn't? Kind of reminds one of Rats leaving the ship.

Problem now identified and IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH DRM. Been messing around with a virtual machine and finally figured out the problem. My Antivirus software and my Firewall software don't want to play nicely together. So, I'll just use an older version of the antivirus software and go on about life. (edit) I can't find how to mark as SOLVED, so please mark it as such. Thanks. (end edit)

O.K., here is what I can figure at this point. I had destroyed the problem installation by installing my backup of that partition, so no more experimenting with it. While getting to that point, I remembered that I had upgraded my antivirus program. So, I began to think that may of been it. The backup, obviously had an older version of my antivirus software. I decided to try upgrading it, as it said it was going to upgrade to the next version which had been OK. Well, it told me a fib, it upgraded to newest version and I had the same problems I had encountered before. So, I would say that it was probably the antivirus upgrade that nailed me. I have now reinstalled the backup again, and am awaiting an answer from the antivirus vendor. Some of the joys of running an old OS (2K), new things tend to break things. Thanks for the replies and suggestions.

We'll never know what the cause was. I did mess it a bit this afternoon and ended up having to install a backup copy. Got to thinking about it, it could of been an update of my anti virus program, as I don't recall exactly when I OKed the upgrade. I will concede that I doubt it was any form of DRM as I experimented in a virtual machine and changed enough to make everything think it was on a new computer, and everything still worked there. Could be beginning of hard drive failure as it has a few years on it, but I haven't noticed anything with it other than this issue. So... time will tell if it was beginning of a hard drive failure. Thanks.

Quick short answer to differences in compilers: Language Syntax will be the same. Complier switches and options will be different. One may offer some non-standard functions that the other doesn't. There may be others, that someone else can jump in and correct/add.

Ahh, come on, I like my cart in front of the horse. Don't have to smell the exhaust. Did get a good chuckle out of the picture, though.

Writing on the wall? Of those that have used/tried it, it is: 31% Like it. 46% Don't like it. Not what I would call real stellar numbers. We will have look back later to see if it changes much.

When it is the ONLY item affected, I really begin to lean toward something built into the software as being the culprit. Everything else on the system appears to be fully functional and no issues whatsoever. Now, I haven't taken time to test every single application, but I have used a couple of fairly demanding applications that are not tied to Office. So, yes it could be something else, but I seriously have my doubts. As I said before, I will check around and see what I find in the registry when I have more time. Besides, how many people (average folks, not the type that hangs out around here) would change motherboards? Most would, just buy a new computer. Which is why I ask the question here, thinking that maybe someone else had, had a similar experience and thus shorten my question mark removal time with the system.