JorgeA

Would it be correct to conclude that you see no particular raison d'être for this browser? I didn't find much in the way of special privacy features, but it did look interesting that it has a built-in video downloader. The option to stop all GIF animations might come in handy, depending on how quickly it can be enabled/disabled compared to, say, Internet Explorer. (Don't know how it compares to Chrome in that regard... or any other regard, for that matter. ) (Note that I'm asking for opinions about this browser, not endorsing it.) --JorgeA

http://www.slimjet.com/en/ Anybody here have tried this yet, and what do you think? --JorgeA

It really shouldn't be news, but given the past three years things are such that it is noteworthy that the folks at Microsoft have adopted a (more) sane approach to the UX that they've been asking their Windows customers to adopt. There are still some isolated Metro holdouts, however. Check out this guy, and then see how he gets skewered in the comments. Click-bait or no, bet he's sorry he brought the whole thing up. --JorgeA

Microsoft expected to announce Windows 9 on September 30 Windows Threshold: Rapid release is getting really interesting If this carries over to the official release, it will be a heck of a lot simpler than the way they handled the transition from 8 to 8.1 which required a visit to the Windows Store to download a whole ISO, and closer to the way Service Packs used to be delivered (with a simple click via Windows Update). Another UX improvement. --JorgeA

HP still pushing Windows 7 laptops well into Windows 8's second year Even Neowin is climbing off the Win8 bandwagon. --JorgeA

Hmmm. JFYI: http://www.forensicfocus.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=9693/postdays=0/postorder=asc/start=21/ My head's spinning!! --JorgeA

Veeery nice. --JorgeA

The XP Start Menu can be made to "Scroll programs" then it won't occupy multiple columns. Are you aware of that setting? When that is checked, the Programs column will overlap the right column of the main menu only (Documents, Pictures, Music etc), It won't go beyond that. It still manages to show more programs than the nested "All Programs" treeview which is too cramped and requires too many clicks to get to the program. (In the XP menu, just hovering was enough). I agree about Windows Update. It is much improved in Vista. The text can be tuned using ClearType Tuning PowerToy but the visuals are no match for the beautiful Windows Vista. Vista's DirectX is obviously also much more capable. I tried changing the XP Start Menu setting to scroll the programs, and hit Apply. Didn't make a difference, they're still flying out halfway across the screen. Is a reboot necessary, in addition to Apply? --JorgeA

Thank you! --JorgeA

No, but I am pretty sure I am allowed to use it, as I run this side business (just so you know to whom you will have to pay 20 bucks if you attempt the same) Have the charges been adjusted for inflation since enforcement began in his (apparently the 19th) century? The answer will determine how careful I am... FWIW, TBH, AFAIK I have IMHO not committed any of those infractions IIRC. Oddly enough, "PC computer" might be defensible by a skillful lawyer on the grounds that the speaker really meant a "politically correct" computer... --JorgeA

Another reason to use AV protection and to keep it up to date: Antivirus Works Too Well, Gripe Cybercops --JorgeA

But before you may use that euphemism for a "dim bulb", have you submitted a proper application to the PC (poliical correctness) Language Police to have it registered as an Acceptable Term? --JorgeA

For German, Swiss Privacy Start-Ups, a Post-Snowden Boom --JorgeA

My sentiments exactly. Therefore, ...is, for me, a "H*ll, Yes!" in agreement with you. --JorgeA P.S. Just to make it clear where I'm coming from -- in print, it's not always evident whether something is being said seriously or in jest. Because NoelC had replied that... ...it's clear that the danger of misinterpreting the good-natured nit-picking existed. Just sayin'...

You'd also have to find a square (OK, rectangular) socket for this bulb, and then try to screw it into place somehow. IMHO what NoelC did there was fantastic and it illustrates (so to speak) the "artistic" possibilities of the PC. Let's not nitpick it to death. --JorgeA

Personally, I use Ixquick or StartPage. DuckDuckGo recently added recommendations based on your search terms (i.e., for local establishments if you type in "Italian restaurant"), and that makes me leery. --JorgeA

When XP was being regularly updated, Windows Update on my XP systems (three of them) had a nasty habit of frequently offering updates with that yellow shield in the notification area -- and then doing nothing after I clicked on it. And if I then checked for updates via the Control Panel, the page would start loading but never finish loading, or else claim that there weren't any updates. (So why'd you tell me there were some??) Nothing like this has ever happened to me with Vista. Once they're announced, Windows Updates don't vanish on me. And I much, much prefer the Vista Start Menu which stays at a discreet size no matter how many levels deep I go into the All Programs listings. This keeps in view whatever is displayed on the screen, which is especially useful when trying to follow unfamiliar instructions on the screen. The XP menu, on the other hand, can fly out to cover half the screen, obscuring the instructions I'm trying to follow. In that regard, it serves a (hindering) function similar to the Windows 8 start screen. As far as I'm concerned, the nested menu listings were a stroke of genius. I used Vista before I used XP. Both graphics and text on XP feel crude, primitive. I have one PC that dual-boots XP and Vista on (of course) the same monitor, and there is just no comparison. On XP, the Desktop has a grainy look and the letters in a piece of text -- it's hard to describe, but the words that come to mind is that the letters look thin and eroded. Whereas on Vista the Desktop is smooth and clean and the letters are filled-in. At first, Vista was incompatible with some of the programs I'd been using on my previous Windows 98 machine, which was inconvenient and annoying. But then, a few months in, a compatibility update came in that took care of that issue. Sadly, it's not often (if ever) that we get a new OS that offers new features while keeping every single feature that the previous OS had. But overall, I'm much happier doing my work on Vista than I expect I would have been on XP. --JorgeA

A new (supposedly) privacy-oriented search engine has hit the market. Sounds intriguing, but there's a few alarm bells: [emphasis added] Maybe a bit too close to the Powers That Be? And from the Privacy Policy: Don't know about you, but I'd feel more comfortable if they said that they collect NO information about my browsing and searches for ANY purpose whatsoever. What do you think? --JorgeA EDIT: typo!

^^ Unfortunately, the rules for the process of awarding that status indicate that candidates may not speak out in favor of their candidacy (although, curiously, they do not prohibit speaking against one's own candidacy )... Thanks for the endorsement! --JorgeA

Please keep us posted on your adventures with this. --JorgeA

Make that 79.09% (76.04 + 3.05) adding Vista to the mix. The proportion that you cite for category #1 is then even larger, which only makes your point stronger. --JorgeA

Well, maybe Linux isn't the answer to Microsoft's outrages after all: Munich, Germany realizes that deploying Linux was a disaster, going back to Windows The city of Munich realizes that using Linux over Windows hampers productivity, goes back to Windows Munich reverses course, may ditch Linux for Microsoft For a comprehensive assessment of the issues involved in making the switch to Linux (not specific to Munich's case), see this and this and this. The first item is the most relevant for people who use a computer in an office environment. --JorgeA

The video (for me) was preceded by an advertisement for an Android watch. How's that for irony? About Ballmer owning the Clippers: I'm looking forward to his first chair- (or bucket-) throwing tantrum next time the team goes on a losing streak. --JorgeA

Paul Thurrott declaims on those botched Windows Updates: Patch Tuesday Tripped Up by Rapid Release Era He brings up a cogent point here. If and when we are all dependent on a cloud-based OS, a failed update will affect every user suddenly, instead of how things work now where some "early adopters" take the chance and then report to the rest of the world if things go bad. Picture 1.5 billion terminals PCs all BSODing at the same time. --JorgeA

Windows Threshold: Answers to the questions you have been asking Not a lot of detail, but something to chew on. Also: Maybe this is the reason why they're pushing for the "ease of upgrade" Update (see the previous post), so that users can move on to Windows 9 (and find it less objectionable after Win7 got screwed up). --JorgeA