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Windows 8 - Deeper Impressions


JorgeA

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Loose ends from the previous week or two ... The Competition and Miscellaneous ...

Intel Subsidiary Havok Launches Free Mobile 3D Engine ( Tom's Hardware 2013-06-26 )

Here's an interesting tidbit of news: Intel subsidiary Havok, based out of Dublin, Ireland, has released a completely free end-to-end mobile 3D game engine. What's more, games developed with this engine can be deployed for free on iOS, Android and Tizen mobile platforms without commercial restrictions on company size or revenue.

[...]

"With features like an extensible C++ architecture, a flexible asset management system, advanced Lua debugging and customizable game samples and tutorials, Project Anarchy offers game developers the ability to quickly iterate on their ideas and create incredible gaming experiences," the company said.

Along with many other I haven't been too happy with Intel lately. I keep hoping that they will wake up and realize that Microsoft will dump them like a bad habit if Windows ARM takes off or some other chip family comes along. Maybe, just maybe they are testing the waters of independence ( remember, Wintel has no real need for Microsoft to write an operating system because Intel is fully capable of producing software for the chips they design and manufacture ). Here is a little more perhaps shedding light on their angle ...

So what's the catch? Why is this engine free? Havok only requires a few things in return: participate in the Project Anarchy community, allow Intel/Havok to do some co-marketing when it comes time to ship the game, and build an x86-compatible version of the game alongside any other version. Oh, there's a "Pro" version too. Surprised?

Very interestink! ( - Arte Johnson )

Yahoo closing several products, including Yahoo Axis and AltaVista ( NeoWin 2013-06-29 )

Yahoo Takes AltaVista Search Engine Off Life Support ( Maximum PC 2013-07-02 )

Hasta la vista, AltaVista

AltaVista is shutting down, and if you find that the least bit surprising, it's probably because you're shocked to discover it still exists. Well, it does, for a few more days anyway. On July 8, 2013, Yahoo will pull the plug on one of the web's earliest search engines, ending a run that spanned nearly two decades (AltaVista launched on December 15, 1995).

Well, for a proper fond farewell I decided to launch one last search into AltaVista ( Yahoo powered by Bing ) using an appropriate subject search. So here is a final souvenir from AltaVista ( 234 KB ) ...

gnQR79c.png

Mozilla and partners launch first Firefox OS smartphone ( TechSpot 2013-07-01 )

ZTE Open to release tomorrow, as first Firefox OS device for the public ( NeoWin 2013-07-02 )

Firefox OS Tablets Coming Soon, Says Mozilla CTO ( Tom's Hardware 2013-07-02 )

Mozilla Announces First Firefox OS Smartphones ( Tom's Hardware 2013-07-02 )

It may not look like much yet, but they are not aiming at the top-end boutique hipster. I didn't really know what to make of this but I think it has to do with the good name recognition they have earned in the long fought battle in the browser arena. Both Mozilla and Firefox carry an independent connotation, and that just might help them grab a foothold in a market that is getting saturated. I figure if you are looking for a cheap phone and you have to choose from several brands that are not all familiar to you, the name alone might just lock up that purchase when faced with a quick decision. Regardless of their success, every one of these things that sells is one less WP that could have moved. And I think the exact same plan will work for their tablets as well. So how's that plan working out Ballmer?

HP executive confirms a smartphone is in the pipeline ( TechSpot 2013-07-01 )

HP Hints Again at Return to Smartphone Market ( Tom's Hardware 2013-07-02 )

HP looking to get back into the smartphone race ( NeoWin 2013-07-02 )

And another one! I'm more optimistic than all the commenters at these threads who keep reminding us of Palm and WebOS. They have a different CEO now and she can't possible be as bad as the last guy. I suspect all they need to do is follow through and not kill the project and they will at least sell some phones and maybe tablets. And once again, every one that moves is one less MicroToy that sells. None of these stories are good news for Microsoft and Steve Ballmer, who only thrive in a monopolized, captive market. This, on the hand, is what we call competition, so may the best man win ( ... and may the fat man lose ).

Google's Moto X ad says it is 'the first smartphone that you can design yourself' ( NeoWin 2013-07-02 )

Motorola Ad Teases Customizable, U.S.-made Moto X Phone ( Tom's Hardware 2013-07-03 )

This does look interesting ( and many of the commenters at NeoWin would seem to agree ). They're hitiing all the points for USA buyers, made in America ( mostly ), simple and effective ads, even the new updated Motorola logo looks sharp. But the thing about designing the phone ( spec'ing it ) yourself is quite a differentiator. That puts them miles above Microsoft IMHO, and truthfully it is unexpected from Google also. We may have something very different here indeed. :yes:

EDIT: added article

Edited by CharlotteTheHarlot
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You know what's interesting? All these different people with suits and titles and access to the public and they have made no visible effort to select an official spokesmouth instead opting for keystone cops amateur hour. This is the most undisciplined bunch of children I have ever seen. Who would trust their business to them?

The shills are funny in these situations because they try to assert that these spokespeople don't carry the opinion of the company, even when it's a CxO speaking. If you can't listen to these people then who?

[ROTT] was a good step up from Wolf3D which was the engine that is was based on. It managed to come out in that gap between Wolf3D and Doom and IIRC, they were first to unlock the Z-axis ( player could move vertically ), and also introduced elevator and jump pads which obviously became the norm ever since. But the best thing was that the designers went for a wild and wacky arsenal of weapons, setting the precedent for so many later games like Quake and Unreal. If I'm not mistaken, they introduced the bazooka, drunk missile, and that great flamethrower thing. It was definitely way ahead of its time, and it's coming back.

Technology-wise, ROTT was an upgrade over Wolf3D and was originally supposed to be another Nazi game, which is evident in the game itself. The project was delayed, though, and Doom beat it to market. ROTT was still awesome, though, and was the best multiplayer FPS of its time. The influence on other multiplayer FPSes like Quake is obvious. ROTT introduced several staple multiplayer modes and had the most total modes at the time and allowed the most players, 11, over the usual 4 or so.

Doom had pseudo Z-axis in that one could move up and down stairs, elevators, etc, but no objects could occupy the same space vertically, so Doom was something like 2.5D. ROTT didn't entirely eliminate this restriction as those platforms were hardcoded spites. As in, literally hex edited into the game because while they figured out how to remove the Z restriction, they couldn't build it into the engine.

ROTT had unique weapons for its time. Doom had introduced the vanilla rocket launcher, plasma gun, and BFG, but ROTT introduced what you mentioned plus the baseball bat (and balls), dog mode, magic wand, god hand, and others I am surely forgetting. It also introduced begging enemies (that would get you back if you didn't kill them). Besides allowing character selection, there were subtle differences between the characters. Another first, I believe, but this is usually attributed to Goldeneye I think, probably due to Oddjob's obvious and extreme advantage.

EDIT: ROTT also introduced modifiable environments (smashing pots, bullet holes) and disintegrating enemies (burning, explosions). Okay, I'll stop now.

Edited by HalloweenDocument12
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Hasta la vista, AltaVista

AltaVista is shutting down, and if you find that the least bit surprising, it's probably because you're shocked to discover it still exists. Well, it does, for a few more days anyway. On July 8, 2013, Yahoo will pull the plug on one of the web's earliest search engines, ending a run that spanned nearly two decades (AltaVista launched on December 15, 1995).

Count me in. I thought AltaVista was shut down when they redirected Babel Fish to Yahoo some years ago. For true nostalgia, they should make AltaVista return nothing but 404s and "Bad Redirect" notices.

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( Finally getting a break from two weeks of torrential rain, outages, and other fun stuff. Quite a backlog of articles! Apologies in advance if they have been covered because I have no time to doublecheck all the posts. )

Welcome back. :hello: Glad you survived!

Do take a look at the previous posts if you can. There's a number of interesting/funny images, cartoons, and videos embedded in some of them.

Google Working on Android Console Too ( Tom's Hardware 2013-06-28 )

A lot of folks are scratching their heads about this. But you know what it might be? Remember what Microsoft stated about going after Apple ( as if ) on every playing field and at every form factor? It sure looks to me like Google's revenge for Scroogle is a silent but deadly attack on Microsoft on all form factors, and is perhaps underway as we speak. And they actually are eating their lunch almost everywhere. I suspect there is a ton of work going on at the desktop OS level, and if they can just pry themselves away from the locked-up slimmed-down model of Chrome, which is the opposite of Windows, and especially knock out something that seamlessly replaces FAT/exFAT/NTFS, they will finish them off except for the cloud thing.

That sure would be a welcome development. It'd be a sneaky strategy on Google's part, but I wouldn't mind if they tried it. Evidently MSFT needs strong competition before they'll take their customers' preferences seriously.

--JorgeA

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Time Warner Cable to offer 300 live channels on Xbox 360 ( TechSpot 2013-06-28 )

Time Warner Cable app coming to Xbox 360 this summer ( NeoWin 2013-06-28 )

Microsoft and Time Warner Cable Announce Xbox 360 Deal ( Tom's Hardware 2013-07-01 )

This one is very strange. In order to even use the app you will have to already have a Time-Warner subscription ( this is cable TV ). Then you will have access to about 300 channels. But wouldn't you already be using the cable for just that on the TV in the first place? More importantly, unless the Xbox has a coaxial cable input like a DVR ( the feed from Time-Warner is coax cable ) then this would have to be connected by ethernet. Now, either way it sure looks to me like Xbox will be loading up the data bandwidth on the cable, blowing your Internet capacity out the Window. Cable is typically sucky over here unless you pay for an extraordinary data plan. If you have the most common arrangement, Cable TV + Phone + Internet ( aka Triple Play ), the Internet portion is only like 15 to 20 Mb/s download. So I don't get how this is that great an idea yet. Maybe someone else knows.

It sounds like the concept is to have the Xbox work like a set-top box, maybe even taking the place of the STB.

Incidentally, this announcement would help to explain Microsoft's relegating Windows Media Center to second-class status in the Windows world: they don't really care about WMC because the focus is now on the Xbox.

The type of connection would depend on how the cable company sets up its delivery system. Some of them are using switched digital video (SDV), which requires the use of a supplementary piece of equipment in addition to the STB or DVR. So, conceivably the coax could go out of the wall into the SDV adapter, and then the adapter would connect to the Xbox by HDMI/component/composite video.

Xbox head Don Mattrick to depart Microsoft, headed to Zynga? ( NeoWin 2013-07-01 )

Xbox chief Don Mattrick heading for top position at Zynga, sources say (update) ( TechSpot 2013-07-01 )

Xbox One Boss Don Mattrick Leaves Microsoft for Zynga ( Tom's Hardware 2013-07-01 )

Microsoft's Don Mattrick officially Zynga's new CEO ( NeoWin 2013-07-01 )

Microsoft's Don Mattrick Headed to Zynga, Stock Surges ( Maximum PC 2013-07-02 )

Steve Ballmer Steps Into Don Mattrick's Shoes to Lead Xbox Division ( Maximum PC 2013-07-02 )

Steve Ballmer is Taking Command of Xbox One ( Tom's Hardware 2013-07-02 )

Conflicting reports emerge about why Don Mattrick is leaving Microsoft ( NeoWin 2013-07-03 )

The guy who first flipped off criticism by saying if you want backward compatibility to get a Xbox 360. Then after the Xbox 180 announcement his name is floated as a possible top honcho in Softieville. Now he jumps ship. Well my head is spinning. You know what's weird? I can't tell if either Microsoft or Zynga gained or lost on this deal! :lol:

Is there the start of a pattern here? Mattrick is the second MSFT exec (Sinofsky was the first) to oversee the launching of a major new company product amid great controversy, and then leave immediately thereafter.

--JorgeA

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Confirmed: Windows 8.1 Doesnt Allow Users to Disable the Start Button ( Softpedia 2013-06-28 )

Hey, even I think that should be an option. I don't think it's fair to confuse the MetroTards. ( Okay, I actually do but my belief in choice supercedes messing with the 'Tards :lol: )

Agreed that it should be an option. In fact, my worry is that if it's impossible to disable the pseudo-Start Button that takes you to the Metro Start Screen, then it will be at best awkward and definitely ugly to have a real Start Menu overlaid on top of it. And, when you clicked in the area, how would the computer know which of them to activate?

Worse than a middle-finger salute to Windows users, this pseudo-Start Button could actually cripple all the replacement real Start Buttons out there. Maybe that was part of MSFT's thinking. Does anybody have insight into this?

--JorgeA

Edited by JorgeA
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Desktop Gadgets (unofficially) comes to Windows 8.1 ( NeoWin 2013-07-02 )

Winaero, an independent 3rd party, has added gadgets to Windows 8.1 Blew ( and had already done the same for 8.0 ). Naturally the MetroTards start to cry ... "oh no, don't put them back please!" ... and: "2007 called..." ( courtesy of Dot MetroTard ) ... and: "gross" ... and: "Why??" ... and my favorite: "What's next? Active Desktop?". Figures he has no clue that he is using Active Desktop, and an even uglier implementataion of it than it was originally. Hey MetroTards, 1998 called, they want their Tiles back!

:lol:

Glad to hear that it's still possible to get the Gadgets.

BTW, has anybody else wondered about the timing of the original announcement last year that people should stop using Gagdets for "security" reasons? It was right around the time that Win8 was coming out (within a month, IIRC). I've always suspected that trying to eliminate the Gadgets was an attempt to make the Vista/Windows 7 Desktop look that much more static in comparison to what the 'Softies viewed as the dynamic, constantly updating live tiles. Moreover, if you're using Gadgets that get their data right from your own PC (like the picture gallery and the CPU meter), then there can be no question of a security problem, so why issue a "fix" to get rid of all of them? :unsure:

--JorgeA

Edited by JorgeA
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BTW, has anybody else wondered about the timing of the original announcement last year that people should stop using Gagdets for "security" reasons? It was right around the time that Win8 was coming out (within a month, IIRC). I've always suspected that trying to eliminate the Gadgets was an attempt to make the Vista/Windows 7 Desktop look that much more static

--JorgeA

Of course it was.

I had an argument about this on Channel9:

http://channel9.msdn.com/Forums/Coffeehouse/Dick-move

The fanboys didn't like it one bit and flailed around with ad hominems.

It's one of my "how to handle the boyz"-threads.

Edited by Formfiller
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Loose ends from the previous week or two ... Miscellaneous ...

Telefonica joins forces with Microsoft to eliminate iOS, Android duopoly ( TechSpot 2013-06-26 )

Telefónica to push Windows Phone 8 to fight 'duopoly of Android and iOS' ( NeoWin 2013-06-26 )

Looks like Microsoft has roped in an unwitting accomplice in a last ditch effort to save its WP. They probably have been approaching all kinds of major carriers that deal in Android and iOS handsets and could only get this one to play ball, else we would have heard something more, eh? One commenter at TechSpot speaks his mind ...

Maybe they think the people in these other countries are stupid enough to buy a Windows Phone.

I do not think they are. Although if Telefonica is a monopoly, they might be able to ram it down there customers throats.

Understanding the Duopoly Phenomenon ( John C. Dvorak PC Magazine 2013-06-26 )

Dvorak's philosophy on duopoly. I take it a little farther myself, and play down the Apple-Microsoft faux competition. It is a duopoly but not a competition. It is more like the crips and bloods dividing up the territory and scrupulously avoiding trespassing each others' turf, ever. They have never competed, until Surface. Ever.

Steve Ballmer: 'Rapid Release' is the new norm ( NeoWin 2013-06-26 )

Microsoft Shooting for Weekly Refresh with Office ( Tom's Hardware 2013-07-01 )

Ah, just what the doctor ordered - an ever-changing codebase. Now there is a real plan for stability. :no: Eh, whatever. The real reason for it is so that when you get automatically billed you can then say: "Well I guess it's worth it, I mean it must be because they're always updating this thing in the background." ( everyone has heard that kind of comment before ). Microsoft calls it an update, I call it a placebo. The Windows sheeple are merely patients in a giant double-blind medical trial.

GUIs: The computing revolution that turned us into cranky idiots ( ZDNet 2013-06-28 )

The author writes a pretty good historical article, and is doing fine until he flat-out lies about Windows 95, so I guess his whole post must be brought into question.

We saw this, for example, with the introduction of the Start Menu in Windows 95, which was utterly pervasive in Windows until 2012. Mind you, Windows 95 was an extremely successful operating system, but the migration to using the new GUI from Program Manager did not go without its own share of people kicking and screaming along the way.

Where do they get this stuff? ~sigh~ Rather than tear him a new one I'll just quote two excellent replies found in the comments ...

yes, a little history

Windows 1.0 was a toy. The only graphical programs it ran were its own applets, like Clock, and it could only handle tiled windows. Windows 2.0 had only one graphical program, Excel 2 for Windows, and they were so closely tied that Windows 2 was bundled with Excel 2.

Re Windows 95, that's the last Windows version I can remember for which people lined up outside software stores (remember those?) before they opened in order to be some of the first to get it. Maybe there was some complaining about the new UI, but what really sold Windows 95 were long filenames, FAT32 file system, better multitasking than in Windows 3.1, .LNK shortcuts rather than .PIF ones, and new desktop functionality like putting shortcuts on the desktop. And for those who really didn't like the new UI, Windows 95 included Program Manager and instructions in its README on how to revert to Program Manager.

That is, back before MSFT had fully consolidated it's iron grip on humanity's privates, it allowed for users to choose their UI - new or old. Choice - what a concept!

I was in IT at the time of the 3.1 to 95 transition

and it is a modern day fantasy presented by Windows 8 defenders that users objected to that change. They absolutely didn't. I had a stable of Windows NT 3.51 users who were irritated that they would be stuck with Program Manager for another year.

There's a reason people lined up for Windows 95. it was a major improvement and everyone knew it.

As to the Alto interface, I used it, as Xerox employed it some of their printing technology. They didn't change it much over the years, as it was used by operators for very specific tasks... and contrary to the other Windows 8 defender myth that UIs must change drastically, Xerox's UI (used on their print consoles) was used with a primitive bezel touch screen.

Yes - the Alto interface, the original pointer driven UI, was also able to drive a touch screen. So the notion that you need blinky tiles and multiple inchoate UIs in order to operate a computer is yet another myth.

These two actually do know what they are talking about. I might have been a little hard on the author because he only has that little sentence, but it has become a meme among the MicroParrots and must be corrected.

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Loose ends from the previous week or two ... Miscellaneous ( continued ) ...

EDITORIAL: Microsoft's Customer Relationship Status: It's Complicated. ( NeoWin 2013-06-29 )

An editorial by a NeoWinner and quite a fine one at that! Good writing and contrary to the screams and cries in the comments, he's very accurate IMHO. Here's a good zinger ...

The Start screen and interface paradigm itself were a product of this Sinofsky style rationale. The Mark Twain attributed Disraeli method of “lies, damned lies and statistics” has never been fruitful in product development. Microsoft Windows 8 was no exception; thus Sinofsky’s retreat to academia where this scientific method belongs.

:lol: I won't spoil it. He's good and he's ticking off the MetroTards and MicroZealots. Read it for yourself!

ComScore: Microsoft's US smartphone market share down in May 2013 ( NeoWin 2013-06-29 )

Sj88eaz.jpg

I'm sure others have probably mentioned this already, but I'm just getting the headline and chart together in here for the record. WP sinks lower. Tsk Tsk. Shame about Blackberry in the USA though. We really do need more than a couple of choices.

Microsoft loses in court in SkyDrive UK trademark dispute but will appeal ( NeoWin 2013-06-30 )

UK's BSKYB Wins 'SkyDrive' Suit Against Microsoft ( Tom's Hardware 2013-07-03 )

Another legal blunder, and it mirrors or exceeds the Metro fiasco. I'm not sure how they expected to win this case, it seems iron-clad. The UK "Sky" name is even known over here, unlike Metro AG in Germany ( speaking for myself of course ). I'd argue that they could have kept "Metro" because from what I remember the trademark doesn't carry to different industries and product types. Now "Sky" is different because it is transmission of data, and clearly they were going for the primary definition of it as a metaphor. If NewsCorp ever considered online storage or even a plain website the confusion to "SkyDrive" would be patently obvious. So what to make of this? I say it is doubtful that Microsoft employs lawyers dumb enough to believe they could snake the term "Sky" away from them. So what does that leave exactly? I guess it means they never expected to win, and this whole thing came up out of nowhere, catching them flatfooted like before, because they did no due diligence in selecting the name. Even regular people who buy a house or property know they need to pay for a title search. It only leaves incompetence as an excuse. Ah well. Another day another screwup I guess.

Microsoft starts offering Surface tablets via authorized resellers ( NeoWin 2013-07-01 )

Microsoft partners with resellers to boost Surface tablet sales ( TechSpot 2013-07-01 )

So I guess Best Buy and Staples isn't cutting it? Let's review. They started out as exclusive to Microsoft stores. FAIL. Then they add to some big box retailers like Best Buy. FAIL. Then they expand into MicroStores inside Best Buy. FAIL. ( remember all the incredible excuses at each step! ) Now they go for general release in any store. What will be the result? FAIL. Well maybe. With enough availability and the right price they could probably sell the things. So what about that price then ...

256 GB Surface Pro for $1,199.99 on sale at CDW ( NeoWin 2013-07-01 )

Let's just look at the specs like we were buying any old laptop ... 10 inch screen, i5 CPU, 4 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD, Integrated Video, Windows 8, NO keyboard, 1-year warranty all yours for just $1200 . :whistle: I said it a long way back in this thread. By the time this Windows 8 nightmare gets going we will have $1000 netbooks. I guess I was wrong. I should have said $1200 netbooks. ( Note to MicroZealots, the much maligned netbooks do run x86 software :yes: ).

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Loose ends from the previous week or two ... Miscellaneous ( continued ) ...

Internet Explorer 11 Will Use Your GPU to Make Everything Fast ( Tom's Hardware 2013-07-01 )

Yeah, yeah. Can anyone tell me exactly what is so slow in a web browser that the GPU is needed? Don't get me wrong because I'm not against it, I just want to know what the heck is meriting this dubious feature? YouTube? Actually I know this is just another planned obsolescence strategy so it is a moot point, I just wish more people would figure it out. BTW: Another outright hypocrisy by Microsoft is pointed out by commenters. If you decide to go with the GPU it is unavoidable that the power cost ( which means dollars, heat and electricity ) must increase. This flies right in the face of the bogus Windows 8 streamlining for power savings, such as the removal of all frills like Aero glassy transparency. So we have crystal clear proof of self-serving lying once again.

TechSpot Subscriptions and Licensing ( technet.microsoft.com )

Microsoft to retire TechNet subscription model for IT professionals ( TechSpot 2013-07-01 )

Microsoft killing off TechNet subscriptions ( Ars Technica 2013-07-01 )

Microsoft you are blowing it ( SBS Diva Blog 2013-07-02 )

Microsoft to stop new TechNet subscriptions after August 31st ( NeoWin 2013-07-02 )

I can't believe anyone is really defending this, but there are a handful. Well we sure know what the answer to the question of who they are going to p!ss off next is, don't we? This time it is the Microsoft professional community, the important one that exists beyond users and developers. This is that base that actually supports Windows, the folks that have been applying string and ductape to this Rube Goldberg machine all along. These are the people that save the phone calls to Microsoft support, so this is one of the dumbest moves in history. I guess it's time to re-up one last time ( before August 31st ) and load up on all the images and get that last extremely reduced set of keys. Might as well before their transformation into just another toy software maker, and a footnote in history, is complete.

DirectX 11.2 an Xbox One and Windows 8.1 Exclusive ( Tom's Hardware 2013-07-02 )

We can’t say we’re particularly surprised by the announcement since Microsoft is clearly hoping this exclusivity will increase sales of the upcoming Xbox One console and motivate gamers to make the switch over to Windows 8.1.

Microsoft once again presses ahead using planned obsolescence to lure victims into an operating system "upgrade". 'We care deeply for our customers' - said Microsoft never. The only problem is that there is a greater chance now that people might just not care anymore about Direct-X. So this dog might not hunt anymore.

New AMD Beta Driver Drops Windows XP Support ( Tom's Hardware 2013-07-01 )

Son of a ... :realmad: That's right, AMD has been sipping the Koolaid. Microsoft wants Windows XP dead. No doubt in my mind whatsoever that this is coordinated. AMD got the big contract for APU chips for Xbox and this was the catch. Count on it. Rather a shame to read so many ignorant comments at a normally sane Tom's Hardware though, ah well, children. But no more proof is needed about this collusion than what one great commenter said ...

They support Vista (4% of PCs according to wikipedia), Apple (6%), Linux (2%), Windows 8 (4%), but they drop Windows XP (32%). Very interesting decision from AMD...

Yep. :yes: No possible reason to write off 1/3 of all possible customers, unless Microsoft put you up to it. Busted! This is a great opportunity for people to make their voices heard. Email them, call the support numbers, make them waste time and money discussing it. Tell them not to collude with a convicted monopolist that was set to be broken up because of predatory and self-serving tactics. Put your money to work, get nVidia next time and Intel and most importantly let them know what you did. They are now co-conspirators.

Microsoft sues Atlanta-based company over 'unauthorized' software sales ( NeoWin 2013-07-03 )

The lawsuit also claims that in April of 2013, an investigator that worked for Microsoft bought computers from VertexPC that had unauthorized copies of its Windows XP installed. Microsoft is looking for damages as well as any profits that VertexPC has made from sales of Microsoft's software.

'Nuff said.

Doug Engelbart, inventor of the computer mouse, dies at 88 ( TechSpot 2013-07-03 )

Inventor of the computer mouse dies ( NeoWin 2013-07-03 )

Douglas C. Engelbart, computer visionary and inventor of the mouse, dies at 88 ( PC Gamer 2013-07-04 )

So what's the tie-in to Windows 8 or Metro? Well aside from the fact that it is a shame that this pioneer lived to see his patent expire and then get pounced upon and milked by other companies like Microsoft who design nothing and exploit everything, and aside from the fact that he had to witness Microsoft raising a generation of MetroTards who would rather fingerpaint on the computer interface, well there's no tie-in at all. :lol:

Seriously, this man's passing should be marked by two things: {1} appreciation for quite a forward looking invention way back in 1963 ( :blink: ) that is so ubiquitious that it sold billions of units which very few things do, and {2} sadness from reflecting upon the cut-throat tech industry chock of thieves and exploiters like Apple and Microsoft, who like the borg assimilated this person's intellectual property into their collectives. Engelbart got the patent in 1970 and it "ran out" in 1987, but I can find no explanation why it was not at least the usual 20 years ( and that is some wicked poor timing for that expiration date ). There is some kind of amazing backstory here to be written yet. Especially that critical mid-1980's era where both Microsoft and Apple capitalized on a whole slew of other people's inventions around the personal computer GUI, including Mr. Engelbart's mouse already in use at Xerox PARC ( interestingly, one Wikipedia page says: "Several of his researchers became alienated from him and left his organization for Xerox PARC..." which tells me they took it with them ) so the inventor seems to have been shafted multiple times. Regardless, today we should remember that the title of that TV movie "Pirates of Silicon Valley" was very much understating things.

EDIT: typos(s)

Edited by CharlotteTheHarlot
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Loose ends from the previous week or two ... Security, Privacy and Cloud related ...

SSL encrypted communications intercepted and stored by PRISM ( TechSpot 2013-06-26 )

In addition to collecting standard unencrypted communication, PRISM is also gathering and storing mass quantities of SSL (secure sockets layer) encrypted data for later cryptanalysis. Netcraft reports that this large volume of data is logged so that if an SSL private key later becomes available through a variety of means, the entire batch of data collected from a particular site could be decrypted.

Private keys can be obtained through a number of means: a court order, social engineering, an attack against the website, or through cryptanalysis. Once exposed, a single key can decrypt the entire site’s worth of data.

Yep, that sounds like a workable, logical and well-thought out plan to me. And it has been executed flawlessly. And remind me who is in charge of certificates again? My friends, we've been had.

FDA seizes 9,600 domains and $41 million from illegal online pharmacies ( TechSpot 2013-06-27 )

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration this week took down 9,600 websites that illegally sold “potentially dangerous and unapproved” prescription drugs online. The FDA issued regulatory warnings to the site owners, and seized the offending websites along with $41 million of illegal medicine.

The FDA with Internet policing powers? How wonderful. I don't automatically jump for joy when I read these stories these days. The Mega fiasco was similar as it was painted as saving someone from someone else. Unfortunately that was about saving Big Hollywood and Big Technology ( alleged pirated software and movies ). So what exactly do we got here then? Saving Big Medicine? That's what I would guess from those keywords “potentially dangerous and unapproved”. The old Internet is quickly shaping up to be policed for those with the deepest wallets, the highest bidder. Once that occurs our Internet for all practical purposes becomes their Internet.

Verizon now covering 500 markets with LTE, VoLTE coming in 2014 ( NeoWin 2013-06-27 )

Verizon states that there are now more than 298 million people covered by LTE in the US which accounts for 95% of the population; 99% of Verizon’s 3G network is now also covered by LTE.

And Big Brother thanks you for your business. :yes: But seriously, Verizon. :blink: After all the spying stories and their fiberoptic pipeline right into the spymaster headquarters. How do you monitor 300+ million people? It's easy if you put your mind to it. Just set up a handful of trusted ISP's and offload your dirty work to them. You may now notice there is a thread running through all these stories, and believe me, these are but the tip of the iceberg.

Reject DRM and you risk walling off parts of the web, says W3C chief ( ZDNet 2013-06-27 )

Proposals to provide a hook for DRM-protected media within HTML are necessary to help prevent scenarios such as movie studios removing films from the web in a bid to protect them from piracy, said Dr Jeff Jaffe, CEO of the World Wide Web Consortium.

Fail to do so, he said, and there is a danger that such media will only be available via native apps, rather than the browser.

[...]

Ultimately, Jaffe believes it is in the interest of everybody that protected content remains available on the web, and that EME is a compromise that will make this possible.

"The concern that we have is the premium content that owners are protecting using DRM will end up being forever severed from the web," Jaffe told ZDNet at the Cloud World Forum in London.

"We would like the web platform to be a universal platform. We don't think it's good when content finds its way into walled gardens or into closed apps."

Thank you W3C for helping us get our minds right. :no: What a dolt. He goes on to worry about walled-gardens, consoles for example that might instead be used if the web doesn't itself build in DRM. Of course web browsers and website designers who are too busy to standardize core functionality like displaying a web page correctly and will somehow find the time to incorporate DRM to satisfy Big Hollywood and Big Media. W3C, how far they have fallen.

Researchers see through walls with Wi-Fi ( TechSpot 2013-06-28 )

MIT researchers have demonstrated the application of using Wi-Fi signals to track the movements, locations and number of people inside buildings. Dubbed Wi-Vi, the inexpensive and portable "through-the-wall" radar system could have practical applications in law enforcement, search and rescue operations and home security, even if it does present some potential privacy concerns.

Well at least it's not as bad as it sounds ... yet. It is kind of a pseudo-radar. Probably no-one will find it useful, well, except maybe government spooks. But why trouble themselves if they can just get to your Kinect?

The main concern going forward should be in the whole uPnP ( remember when that was considered bad? ) and new router interfaces that are adaptable for use by external devices. Yes, external. Outside your network, outside your security bubble. The hook is all the promise of watching a baby monitor from work, a webcam, having Metro Tiles that show these things, etc. Sheeple really go for this kind of thing, even if it means busting down all the security walls created along the way. And bust them they will. Windows, Router firmware, firewalls, everything. Duhfaults will be set, ports will be open, remote access will be enabled, it has to be because the baby monitor and webcam makers will insist on it. And hackers everywhere will thank them for it.

Facebook Android App Found Collecting Phone Numbers Without User Consent ( Maximum PC 2013-06-30 )

The latest version of Symantec’s Norton Mobile Security tool came out on Wednesday and got down to work straight away, flagging the Facebook app as being a privacy risk ...

[...]

“The first time you launch the Facebook application, even before logging in, your phone number will be sent over the Internet to Facebook servers,” Symantec said in a blog post. “You do not need to provide your phone number, log in, initiate a specific action, or even need a Facebook account for this to happen.”

On being confronted on the issue by Symantec, Facebook promised to fix the issue in the next update (already in beta, thankfully). Further, it denied using or processing the phone numbers in anyway, adding that they have now been deleted from its servers.

Brazen stealing or accidental data collection by Facebook? Does it matter? I say stealing and they would have gotten away with it except for those pesky kids Symantec ( wait, what? :blink: ). Finally a good accomplishment by Symantec.

However there is a real problem here, bigger than this case, and it was achieved in baby steps with Microsoft leading the way. At some point it became an acceptable standard operating procedure for communications to be sent from your computer to them ( phoning home ), naturally under the guise of an operating system function, most importantly WITHOUT a prompt or notification. They created a new normal where they can "take" stuff from your PC completely at will and completely under their control. This wiretapping is bad enough but they even use your Phone / Cable / DSL / Fiber / Satellite connection and bandwidth, your CPU cycles and electricity in the process. If someone came into your house and planted a bug or used your phone or electricity they would be in trouble, but instead we have somehow approved of this radically more efficient mechanism and we actually pay for it in cash. These precedents of unapproved communications taking place on our computers at the behest of Microsoft and countless 3rd parties is not even questioned by anyone. So again, why wouldn't Facebook brazenly steal a few bytes here and there. And how about that scoffing response they gave.

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Loose ends from the previous week or two ... Security, Privacy and Cloud related ( continued ) ...

Encryption defeated wiretaps for the first time ever in 2012 ( TechSpot 2013-07-01 )

A recent report from the U.S. Administrative Office of the Courts reveals that, for the first time, encryption prevented government officials from deciphering communications obtained through wiretaps.

[...]

In 1997, FBI Director Louis Freeh told Congress, “all of law enforcement is also in total agreement on one aspect of encryption. The widespread use of uncrackable encryption will devastate our ability to fight crime and prevent terrorism,” reports Wired.

Well I ain't buying this bullcrap at all. This is disinformation. And a ruse to get more powers. What I think they're saying is that FBI and law enforcement might have been thwarted, since they are not equipped with a black budget and mountains full of computers. Now here is a prediction I think you can bank on : expect legislation to outlaw any strong encryption. No-one would have dreamed it possible a few years ago, but the precedents are now in place. They already outlawed strong encryption for export. They have outlawed "circumvention" in your own private property ( DVD's, Satellite and Cable boxes, etc ). They have only the lonely PC device now to target, and target it they will. We are reaching a fundamental crossroad now. Will everyone sit around playing Angry Birds and let it happen?

New ICANN agreement requires domain registrars to verify user identity ( TechSpot 2013-07-01 )

Under the new rule, domain registrars will be required to verify either the e-mail address of phone number of users that sign up for a new domain within 15 days of applying. If a user fails to do so after the allotted time, the registrar has been instructed to suspend the registration until verification is taken care of.

Furthermore, registrars will be required to keep detailed records on customers for up to two years after a registration has been canceled. This includes information like the credit card that was used to register the domain, we’re told. Also, registrars must keep a record of the IP address used to sign up for the domain for up to 180 days while users are required to update contact information within seven days of making any changes.

This is another brazen move against anonymity and it is no coincidence that it comes on the heels of the spying news. Governments are making a play for the Internet now. Sales taxes are in the pipeline. They think the party is over, and they just may be right. The people are mostly sheeple and are apparently welcoming their new overlords.

Speaking of sheeple, listen to the clueless conclusion the TechSpot author comes too ...

It would seem that ICANN is hoping to deter individuals from setting up websites that would contain unlawful material or perhaps sites that would facilitate the sale of illegal goods. The changes will also ensure that WHOIS data is more accurate and reliable ...

That's what you take away from this? Illegal goods? Accurate WhoIs? Go back to sleep. ~sigh~

AT&T Says It Can Accurately Track P2P-Shared Content ( Tom's Hardware 2013-07-01 )

TorrentFreak has discovered a patent filed by AT&T ...

[...]

According to the patent, the system scans each content title that is uploaded and downloaded via torrent on the network. Titles that are downloaded over a predetermined threshold will be added to a list, ordered from most popular to least popular, in the company's database. It then downloads the actual torrent to verify that the content listed inside (content signature) verifies with the content title stored in the database.

The system can also identify each unique user that has downloaded the content title in the list. It then pretends to be a torrent client and contacts the user's own client to request a download. A successful connection means that the unique user has actually downloaded the content title. Busted.

Yup, it's all about torrents, NOT. We now have the ISPs exerting government approved snooping in the service of Big Hollywood. Oh wait, we've had that for quite a while now. So this is the next step, still disguised as serving the greater good looking after Hollywood intellectual properties, but actually putting names and places on download events. Okay, here's a question. If our government cannot even check and see someone's library records, the books they read, etc, how can this even be remotely acceptable? I have no love for crooks, torrents or pirates, but at this point I would take them in a heartbeat over the Big Brother that government and the sheeple are putting into place.

Ubisoft Hacked, User Accounts Compromised ( Tom's Hardware 2013-07-02 )

Ubisoft website hacked, account information compromised ( TechSpot 2013-07-03 )

Ubisoft accounts hacked, email addresses and passwords compromised ( PC Gamer 2013-07-03 )

"Credentials were stolen and used to illegally access our online network. We can’t go into specifics for security reasons," the company said. "To our knowledge, no other personal information (phone numbers, physical addresses etc. was accessed)."

[...]

Given that credit card information was not accessible, Ubisoft customers should likely be worried about hackers retrieving their information and hacking into other gaming services that do contain credit card information. Currently there's no evidence that this intrusion is related to any other game company’s previous security incidents.

Ah the joys of the cloud. The hacked company isn't important, nor is what they took. The point is obvious though, another day, another hacking. I'm pretty sure now that we can just stop reporting these events completely, because it would be far simpler to just make a list of companies that have NOT been penetrated. Can anyone think of any example? Anyone? Bueller? I got nothin'. :no:

IIP bureau of U.S. State Department spent $630,000 on Facebook ‘likes’ ( TechSpot 2013-07-03 )

I just threw this one in to make everyone even more angry ( USA citizens obviously ). So, just to rub salt in the wounds from all the domestic spying against ourselves which we masochistically pay for, other government agencies are on a social spending spree! Isn't that just great? And what are the chances really that this is the extent of it all? The real number blown by all taxpayer funded bureaucrats will be in the millions. I don't suppose we could prevail on all these companies taking our money to consider reporting all the government entities wasting our money on their social sites?

[update] Xbox Live currently experiencing a service disruption ( NeoWin 2013-07-03 )

Xbox Live was Dead. So how's that cloud thingy supposed to work again? Anyway, it is already restored so all connections are working. For now. Until next time. Bwahahahaha! ( evil laugh ! )

Microsoft, former Windows head Sinofsky agree to $14.2 million retirement package ( NeoWin 2013-07-03 )

The article details the severance package Sinofsky receives for either getting fired by Ballmer or for getting fired by Ballmer :lol: ( Stevie left shortly after the Windows 8 launch, on a Monday night a week and a half before Thanksgiving with no warning for Wall Street ). He is to receive some $14.2 million according to NeoWin, with some strings attached ...

Sinofsky won't get that amount all at once; Microsoft will give him the shares over a period of time that will end in August 2016.

In return, Sinofsky agrees to not take any new job offers "at certain competitors" until after Dec. 31, 2013.

Thanks to this hush money no-one including Wall Street shareholders will get to learn the truth of what is going on up in clownsville for at least three more years. Well unless he gets offered a book deal worth more than that substantial bribe he receives if he stays quiet.

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Loose ends from the previous week or two ... Miscellaneous ( continued ) ...

EDITORIAL: Microsoft's Customer Relationship Status: It's Complicated. ( NeoWin 2013-06-29 )

An editorial by a NeoWinner and quite a fine one at that! Good writing and contrary to the screams and cries in the comments, he's very accurate IMHO. Here's a good zinger ...

The Start screen and interface paradigm itself were a product of this Sinofsky style rationale. The Mark Twain attributed Disraeli method of “lies, damned lies and statistics” has never been fruitful in product development. Microsoft Windows 8 was no exception; thus Sinofsky’s retreat to academia where this scientific method belongs.

:lol: I won't spoil it. He's good and he's ticking off the MetroTards and MicroZealots. Read it for yourself!

Speaking of good stuff from Neowin:

http://www.neowin.net/news/microsofts-don-mattrick-officially-zyngas-new-ceo#comment-2254891

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Dot Matrix is flailing:

http://www.neowin.net/news/microsofts-customer-relationship-status-its-complicated#comment-2252515

Why do they need to? What is so different about clicking on a tile, than an icon? They don't need to split the SKUs up, there's nothing wrong with Windows 8 on the desktop, and as Windows 8.1 shows, things will advance on.

If you're so hurt over using Modern apps, don't use them. Click to boot straight to the desktop, and move on.

Now, how long before the boss pulls down this article?

Quite telling, huh. What "boss"?

1. He assumes everyone who doesn't praise Windows 8 is a counter-shill (since he is one himself), and has a "boss", too.

2. He means the boss of Neowin - so he expects that critical articles towards Microsoft get pulled on Neowin. Well, he isn't so far off here.

His mojo isn't strong like it was before. I guess Windows 8.1 diminished his motivation somewhat. He argued against many features which are now included in 8.1 (start button, boot-to-desktop). Sure, those appeasements are ridiculous compared to Windows 7, but it must be still a kick in the balls when the mothership betrays your hard earned shilling.

Dot Matrix is finding out that being a shill is not as glamorous as he thought.

Edited by Formfiller
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