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Windows 8 - Deeper Impressions


JorgeA

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There was a very interesting letter to the editor in the July 2013 issue of PCWorld. It first appeared in the magazine forum:

Let me get this straight. Microsoft should ditch the keyboard, the mouse and overlapping windows, all major improvements made many years ago years ago so that people who type with their thumbs can get their greasy paws all over the screen and office workers can all wave to their computers. True, who needs programs that actually do something when all that's needed are Microsoft Store apps. Well, we don't need a new Windows for that, let's just tweak Windows 1.0, it was doing tiles and non-overlapping windows quite well 25 years ago.

Yeah -- "Modern" UI, my foot. It's a regression, not progress.

A pretty vigorous discussion there, BTW.

--JorgeA

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Anonymous Xbox engineer explains DRM and Microsoft's Xbox One intentions

I'm sure you all are going to find something to dislike in that article...lets see what it is

BTW you know what I think is REALLY restarted?...THIS!!!

--JorgeA
--JorgeA
--JorgeA
--JorgeA
--JorgeA
--JorgeA
--JorgeA
--JorgeA

Do you need to sign your name every time?

Are people too stupid to know you wrote the contents of what is in your own post?

I also find it really funny when you are quoting something somebody else wrote and bellow you sign your name

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Do you need to sign your name every time?

At least myself, personally I do need it. :yes:

There are a few reasons for this, if you are interested I can explain them.

Now if the point was about re-posting if the last post on a thread is your own (as opposed to editing last post) being not part of common netiquette, that may be a good topic to discuss IMHO. :unsure:

Are people too stupid to know you wrote the contents of what is in your own post?

Who knows? :w00t: , the stupidometer is managed by MS through Forrester Research and other respectable firms, but they release only partial and "aggregated" data. :whistle:;)

jaclaz

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Anonymous Xbox engineer explains DRM and Microsoft's Xbox One intentions

I'm sure you all are going to find something to dislike in that article...lets see what it is

OK, I've read it. And it's BS. There are even lots of people on Neowin who see through it call it BS in the comments, and we're talking about Neowin here.

Microsoft probably invented the DRM system on its own, without prior pressure from publishers. Peter Moore from EA just said that. Of course he could lie, but then:

1. He says the truth: That would explain why Sony and Nintendo are without these ridiculous DRM schemes.

2. EA and other publishers were the instigators behind all this, but if true, how come Sony was able to resist it? I don't believe that EA will ignore the PS4. How stupid was Microsoft not to envision the backlash, especially after all these forewarnings? The obvious conclusion is that Sony said no, while Microsoft sold out their users without hesitation.

In any case, EA and Sony are apparently able to notice when the s*** hits the fan and are able to react to customer wishes, while "NuMicrosoft" proves yet again, that it would rather bulldozer another once loyal customer base and create yet another backlash.

Microsoft is primarily caught in a struggle against the Apple bogey-man, and its method of war is a botched up cargo-cult strategy ("Apple is closed - we need to be more closed!" - "The more liberties the customers lose that way, the better. Serves them right."). That's the main reason why all newish strategies and products have an anti-customer stance and lack of options in them, and the resulting backlashes and controversies.

The success of the iPhone and especially the iPad cracked Ballmer and his top brass cohorts on a deep level. I fully believe that they put all this s*** because they really do hate the customers, at least on a subconscious level, after the Apple-hype. They do really want to harm and ridicule them.

The Xbone is a good evidence, but there are tons of others: Like the mail app on Windows 8, that doesn't support POP3 but instead of just not offering it, it does offer the option only to insult the paying customers when they do click on it. Or the faux start button in 8.1, that leads back the metro menu, the true reason for all this outrage.

They are overjoyed to insult and ridicule their users.

Thanks to the iPad, Ballmer and crew are clinically insane.

And here's a bit copy-pasta from another user on Techbroil:

I bet MS can't believe the furore they've created with the Xbox 1.

Take the used games restrictions for example. The Official PlayStation Used Game Instructional Video at

has had 10 million views and 80,000 comments, the Reddit community is up in arms, and Google searches for xbox news were overwhelmingly negative.

I think their line of reasoning with used games was that Steam on the PC was successful and didn't allow used games, so why not make more money by restricting this? With every disk sold hey make a profit. They are also in bed with EA who probably encouraged them. Also, if they allowed game disks to be fully installed to the console, and played without a disk in the caddy, this was a natural conclusion, as game disks merely became means of transferring data, not a symbol of ownership.

What they forgot about is:

(1) Console game disks have traditionally been transferable, breaking this tradition was dangerous for consumer opinion. Strangely, people do like to sell, borrow and lend games easily.

(2) Steam is very different, as it has traditionally not used install disks, although some PC game DVDs now require Steam. Also, the PC is an open platform, not curated by MS, so Steam is a choice rather than a necessity, although it may be required for some games. There has been a slow transition to Steam-type DRM. There is a large tradition of discounting with Steam. There is a lot of trust with Steam. There are multiple vendors for downloads, even if Steam DRM is required. On the PC piracy is easier if you hate Steam DRM. People do not buy PCs mainly to play games. And other factors I've probably missed.

(3) Console games have traditionally been more expensive than the PC, but this factored in the possibility of resale. Would the cost of game disks of the xbox one be lowered? Doesn't seem likely in the short run.

And all this is merely about used games. They have made many other poor decisions, e.g. online required, kinect required, higher cost, regional restrictions, poor name, uninspiring design, poor conference presentation, disdain for backward compatibility, etc.. I still expect xbox one to be successful, but these type of decisions will cost them millions in sales.

If you need more, here's my thread on Channel9 where I flog other fanboys like you:

http://channel9.msdn.com/Forums/Coffeehouse/E3-Smackdown

Edited by Formfiller
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This add new "Steam-Envy" to the list of Microsoft's sickness.

XBox division are envying the steam business model,

but they hates the fact in steam model they need to actively use discounts to attract sales.

... they could do super discounted s**t.
Edited by Joseph_sw
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--JorgeA

Do you need to sign your name every time?

Are people too stupid to know you wrote the contents of what is in your own post?

I also find it really funny when you are quoting something somebody else wrote and bellow you sign your name

I may be old-school on this, but I consider it a common courtesy to sign a piece of correspondence, which is how I view this kind of communication. To my mind, posts lacking a signature tend to come off as cold and impersonal, regardless of their content. But far be it for me to tell other people how to construct their own postings.

BTW you know what I think is REALLY restarted?...

Typos in the critical word.

--JorgeA

;)

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OT :ph34r: , but not much, let's see who knows what this graph represents (without checking the Spoiler or reading the link):

duck-duck-go-traffic.png

I was scratching my head over this me, trying to figure out what it was without peeking! Ultimately, I gave up and looked.

Very nice! If I get the chance to, I'll look into what happened early in 2012 to cause the big jump.

Meanwhile, I've found another search engine that is said to offer a great degree of user privacy.

--JorgeA

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Anonymous Xbox engineer explains DRM and Microsoft's Xbox One intentions

I'm sure you all are going to find something to dislike in that article...lets see what it is

Full title of that article just for the record ( this MSFN thread has a nice time-capsule effect, so when skimming down through the posts the headline makes it easy to tell what was in the news that day ) ...

Anonymous Xbox engineer explains DRM and Microsoft's Xbox One intentions ( NeoWin 2013-06-13 )

We should point out that this one is a rumor and is probably 50/50 that it was forged in a clever PsyOp operation.

This add new "Steam-Envy" to the list of Microsoft's sickness.

XBox division are envying the steam business model,

but they hates the fact in steam model they need to actively use discounts to attract sales.

... they could do super discounted s**t.

I agree! Steam-Envy. You coined it first.

IBM-envy, Apple-envy, Google-Envy, Sony-envy, Steam-envy ... it's all still a mental illness and is apparently contagious because it spread from the Fathead chair-thrower to seemingly every remaining Softie that didn't quit or was forced out.

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94% Of Gamers Favor PS4 To Xbox One, According To Amazon Poll ( CinemaBlend 2013-06-13 )

Currently 21,501 to 1,240. :whistle:

Poll: Did Microsoft's Xbox One DRM announcements change your opinion of the console? ( NeoWin 2013-06-07 )

This contrasting poll was from a week ago at NeoWin. Just check out the mind-twisting choice of answers! Even with that little trick, still 47.3 % said that: Yes, I view it more negatively :lol:

Six reasons the PC is winning E3 ( PC Gamer 2013-06-13 )

Good article IMHO. Partly about E3 and Oculus Rift, but more a philosophical rant about PC's versus Consoles. This is a non-Zealot site of course, fanboys don't get cut a lot of slack round these parts.

E3 2013: "Microsoft, you have some splainin to do!" - EDITORIAL ( NeoWin 2013-06-12 )

E3 2013: Anti-DRM game developer CD Projekt on Xbox One's used disc features ( NeoWin 2013-06-13 )

Nintendo disagrees with Microsoft's DRM policies ( NeoWin 2013-06-13 )

Acer: Windows Phone 8 is 'a great OS... but no-one knows about it' ( NeoWin 2013-06-13 )

Manufacturers reportedly ignoring Windows Phone due to OS fees... and Nokia ( NeoWin 2013-06-13 )

Has the Xbox One 'alienated the entire military'? ( NeoWin 2013-06-14 )

More indications of discontent in the Empire, concerning both Xbox and WP. And these are only the ones seen at NeoWin in the past 48 hours. And I probably missed a few ( a little distracted vacuuming up water from all these frickin storms! )

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Ah, cute:

http://www.osnews.com/comments/27126

'Microsoft gives zero-day exploits to US government'

From Bloomberg: "Microsoft, the world's largest software company, provides intelligence agencies with information about bugs in its popular software before it publicly releases a fix, according to two people familiar with the process. That information can be used to protect government computers and to access the computers of terrorists or military foes." The lid has officially been blown off.

Frankly, I've always suspected something like that. But stil...

Edited by Formfiller
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I came across this by sheer chance after our recent discussion of the Sony rootkit (I wasn't researching that). This is unfreakinbelievable:

USA to legalize rootkits, spyware, ransomware

and trojans to combat piracy?

Just a few days ago the "Commission on the Theft of American Intellectual Property" released their 84-page report. Amidst a large amount of rather naive ideas there is one idea that strikes us as particularly insane: The report proposes the use of malware to determine whether or not you are pirating intellectual property and if you are, to lock your computer and holds all your files hostage until you call the police and confess to your crime

They go on to declare:

We as a company don't believe in "legal malware". It doesn't matter whether a country, Hollywood, or a Russian backyard crimeware gang created it. Malware will always be malicious, no matter the intentions.

We have therefore never adhered to requests by law enforcement agencies to whitelist their malware in the past and we don't plan to do so in the future. This is especially true for our behavior blocking technology, which is technically incapable of reliably determining the origin of a malware file, making it impossible for us to whitelist certain malware based on its origin even if we wanted to or were legally forced to do so.

Bravo for this cybersecurity company!

--JorgeA

EDIT: (Due diligence) Charlotte gave a different article discussing this story here. But the angle from Emsisoft is new to this thread.

Edited by JorgeA
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Ah, cute:

http://www.osnews.com/comments/27126

'Microsoft gives zero-day exploits to US government'

From Bloomberg: "Microsoft, the world's largest software company, provides intelligence agencies with information about bugs in its popular software before it publicly releases a fix, according to two people familiar with the process. That information can be used to protect government computers and to access the computers of terrorists or military foes." The lid has officially been blown off.

Frankly, I've always suspected something like that. But stil...

Yeah, it's still disappointing to see something like this being confirmed.

Hmm, another reason to consider some Linux variant... :sneaky:

--JorgeA

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