JorgeA

Are you somehow trying to say that Child Pornography should be covered by the 1st Amendment or similar provision? There are better places to discuss this kind of topics, be aware of Rule #2.b Agreed. Independently of the merits of ROTS's argument, I've suspected for a while that there are certain forum gods who would shut down this thread in a minute if they got the slightest excuse to do so. The last time, we were saved by the grace of other forum gods (you know who you are, and Thank You). Please please please, let's stay off that particular topic! --JorgeA

Yes, the concern is that, for fear of being spied on while trying to hinder the spying, people would scare themselves into doing nothing about the spying. --JorgeA

Monday's edition of The Wall Street Journal took a look at Microsoft from an investor's viewpoint. Some highlights: --JorgeA

This is all very depressing. What are we to do -- just surrender and "love the Party," like Winston Smith? OTOH, in a corner of my mind I have to wonder how much FUD there is out there, designed to discourage us from even trying to keep those prying eyes off our backs. Since we've been speculating about devious scenarios in the last couple of days, suppose that Edward Snowden was actually commissioned by the NSA to make all these disclosures in order to create an impression of irresistible omniscience, far beyond their real capabilities... Thanks for the rundown on Chromium. The Epic Browser people say they've modified the browser code to remove its privacy holes. (Also see here, they seem to take privacy-related criticism seriously.) --JorgeA

Chromium is the actual "engine" on which also Chrome is based. http://code.google.com/p/chromium/wiki/ChromiumBrowserVsGoogleChrome OK, thanks. But what's the issue with basing this Epic browser on Chromium? --JorgeA

An update on something we read about last month: FBI admits what we all suspected: It compromised Freedom Hosting’s Tor servers Here's the earlier, linked article with the details on the exploit: Attackers wield Firefox exploit to uncloak anonymous Tor users --JorgeA

How would you (or any user) go about determining this information? What would constitute sufficient evidence for you to decide that the proxy is safe to use? --JorgeA

Not really hidden info:http://www.epicbrowser.com/FAQ.html I stopped reading at Chrome ...What's wrong with the Epic folks basing their project on Chromium (not Chrome)? --JorgeA P.S. There was another DB problem yesterday. Couldn't get into MSFN for most of the night. I don't think we lost any posts this time, at least in this thread.

Jaclaz, the point I was adding and asking for comments on is that the proxy server is based in the USA (a fact not given in your underlined text, see below), where it is directly subject to all the tender mercies of various American three-letter agencies. If the company were located outside the U.S., they could not simply issue a "national security letter" and force them to let the spooks in, the spooks would have to figure out a way to break in on their own. Not really hidden info: http://www.epicbrowser.com/FAQ.html jaclaz So, I repeat my request for comments on the fact that Epic Privacy Browser's proxy servers are based in the U.S. rather than (for example) the Netherlands. My first reaction is similar to that of the guy whom I quoted from Epic's forum: I would prefer that the proxies were in a more privacy-respecting country. --JorgeA

This Epic Browser is intriguing, but here's a heads-up: Comments? --JorgeA

I'm taking bets as to which of the two devices would sit in users' laps, and which one would serve as a protective surface for the wood coffee table. --JorgeA

Here's a suggestive survey: Reality for Windows developers: Users want Android, iOS apps If the figures are anywhere near reflective of the way things are, then all mobile versions of Windows are doomed. Metro and Metro Apps will become the appendix of Windows -- an excrescence with literally no purpose for existence. Unlike the real appendix, though, market evolution will decree its swift disappearance from lack of nourishment (consumer interest). --JorgeA

Maybe you can install a cooling fan? (Or maybe an existing fan isn't working properly and needs replacing.) Assuming that what you need is an additional fan (and not just a replacement fan), you could possibly either install it internally to blow on the part that gets the hottest (the CPU, probably) or you could leave the computer case open and blow a regular household fan into it. (I did that several months ago with one PC where the graphics card's built-in fan wasn't doing the job, and the problem hasn't come back.) Also, if it's related to the CPU, it could be that the thermal paste is insufficient or needs changing. In my view, though, this involves "major surgery" and that has to be taken into account when deciding what to do. (OTOH, if it's just a $100 machine you might decide to change the thermal paste as practice.) I would start with the fan first and see if that takes care of the issue. They're not expensive. Good luck with the problem. --JorgeA

At first glance, it doesn't look to me that we lost any posts in this thread. Maybe someone else will notice if something that they'd posted has gone missing. --JorgeA

Apologies if the following story was already covered: NSA disguised itself as Google to spy, say reports --JorgeA

A ray of hope, maybe: Who's who on Microsoft's new operating systems team I'm comforted by all but the last sentence in that paragraph.I guess it will depend on what exactly the "breaking down" of those "boundaries between the different flavors of Windows" ultimately means. I'd be more comforted if the last sentence had said something like, "The overarching goal for Myerson's OS division is to create flavors of Windows appropriate to each form factor, while enhancing connectivity and communication among devices." --JorgeA

My $0.02: IMO what's happening with this is that the Metro Start Screen is both obtrusive ("in your face;" "can't miss it") and uniform due to its solid colors and large screen elements (the tiles). The standard Desktop is not only more discreet, it also lends itself to greater customization and a broader range of possible "looks." For the Metro Start Screen, this means that, when the reader sees a page full of Windows 8 devices, not only does the Start Screen dominate the visuals of each individual PC image, but the computers all look the same. Plus, as we know, the design of the Metro Start Screen is crude and garish to begin with. All told, it makes sense that vendors have started to pull away from showing it in their ads. --JorgeA

Microsoft has screwed up three Office 2007-related Patch Tuesday updates: http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-windows_update/windows-update-kb2760411-kb2760588-kb2760583/ef2ff8c5-64aa-4751-b38e-2dd53f7fee72?page=1&tm=1378907362347 http://www.infoworld.com/t/microsoft-windows/microsoft-botches-still-more-patches-in-latest-automatic-update-226594 Don't they test these things before sending them out?? At the end of his piece, Woody says exactly what I was thinking: Yes, just imagine if and when everybody gets all their updates automatically. (Oh, and no doubt the NSA wouldn't mind lending a hand with that...) --JorgeA

Yeah, Linux has its own set of flaws and annoyances. Support for international characters is clunky at best -- there's nothing there to match the simplicity of typing ALT+130 to get é, for example. You can manually create macros to get the characters you need, but if you use a lot of different ones as I do then it becomes a long and tedious exercise. It's like having to wire your own car radio: just give me something that works out of the box, OK? Microsoft's Windows is much better in that regard, I will hand them that. --JorgeA

Oh jaclaz, you cynic -- why wouldn't you trust the authorities, our dedicated public servants, to keep their word? (Good advice BTW as to what to do with the laptop once it was recovered.) --JorgeA

Ditto on that last sentence! As you know, I have a special fondness for 98FE and Vista. But Win7 is acceptable, although I haven't yet made it my main (work) OS. Once I make the switch I'll probably install some kind of Vista theme (especially for the convex taskbar) and then wait and see what MSFT does with Windows 9 and beyond. If they stick to their present course, my next OS after that will be some flavor of Linux. Assuming that those folks haven't messed THAT up by then... --JorgeA P.S. I have what must be a first-generation Kobo e-reader. I got it because it was the only one of its kind I could find, that's easy both to set up and to connect without using wireless (an inherently insecure technology IMHO). But after my first purchase I would only ever put fiction on it -- books with references are a nightmare if you want to see what's in the notes. Nor do I have any idea how far into the book I am. More recent e-readers have better features, but seem to require wireless (like sitting in the Barnes & Noble store) to register and set up. No, thanks!

Yup. I also remember the days when everything was done at the DOS prompt. Back then I felt like I understood exactly what was going on, it was as if the machine were an extension of my body. Today, in some ways I am a spectator as to what's happening on my computer, although I've developed a decent grasp of events beneath the surface. By hiding the inner workings of the OS, automating functions and simplifying the interface, Metro (if and when it displaces the Desktop completely) is going to accelerate that process of turning the user from an active partner to an almost purely passive spectator who has no clue what's going on inside... and won't even have any way to learn. --JorgeA

Thanks, dencorso. If you're right about No. 1, that would make the situation about as bad as I'd thought, and for the reasons that you describe. I do remember when amazon.com removed (ironically) those books from customers' Kindles. That did serve (or should have served) as a general warning of the, umm, "possibilities" presented by this kind of technology! --JorgeA

Huh, it's hard to say. The question seems to be poorly worded: Maybe I'm misinterpreting it, but the way it reads, it makes me wonder why anbody would want more than even one single Microsoft Account on their RT (or any computing device), so why would this question even come up. I must be missing something in the scenario. --JorgeA

Two thumbs up indeed -- I'd give it five thumbs if I had that many. There's so much good, insightful stuff in there that the entire three-part post would be worth quoting here, but I'll stop myself. --JorgeA