Windows 8 - Deeper Impressions

[jaclaz]

OW, comeon.

Whenever I find someone who is MS MVP or "Software Architect" I wonder about the whole academic (as they often hold a BSc in Computer Science and similar) and certification business, I may have been particularly unlucky, but I rarely happened to find anyone with those certifications that actually knows where his/her towel is.

jaclaz

[JorgeA]

More news on online privacy:

Test 'reveals Facebook, Twitter and Google snoop on emails': Study of net giants spurs new privacy concerns

Facebook, Twitter and Google have been caught snooping on messages sent across their networks, new research claims, prompting campaigners to express concerns over privacy.

[...]

Cyber-security company High-Tech Bridge set out to test the confidentiality of 50 of the biggest internet companies by using their systems to send a unique web address in private messages.

Experts at its Geneva HQ then waited to see which companies clicked on the website.

During the ten-day operation, six of the 50 companies tested were found to have opened the link.

Among the six were Facebook, Twitter, Google and discussion forum Formspring.

High-Tech Bridge chief executive Ilia Kolochenko said: ‘We found they were clicking on links that should be known only to the sender and recipient...'

And I wonder how long it'll be before this product is banned for "security" reasons:

OFF Pocket privacy pouch blocks mobile phone signals and stops anyone - including the government - from finding where you are

Your mobile phone can be the perfect tool for spies who want to track your movements.

And with recent revelations that authorities can remotely enable the microphone on Android phones, mobile privacy concerns have risen to the top of the agenda.

Now, Brooklyn-based designer Adam Harvey is hoping to cash in on these concerns with his $85 (£55) signal-blocking smartphone case named ‘OFF Pocket.’

Get one while you're still allowed to...

--JorgeA

Edited September 2, 2013 by JorgeA

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

Security news ...

Government Releasing Surveillance Doc Figures Annually ( Tom's Hardware 2013-09-02 )

Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper said on Friday that each year, the Intelligence Community (IC) will release figures showing the total number of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court orders and national security letters issued during the prior twelve-month period, and the number of targets affected by those orders.

Ah, they really think we're stupid don't they? This is that tiny walkback I anticipated designed to distract us and appease Congress. But it's nothing but a show. I recall that decades ago the communists were known for methodical long-term strategies sometimes called "two steps forward, one step back". What our wonderful government spooks have done is to far surpass them using something that we can safely call: "ten steps forward, one step back".


News from the competition ...

Acer Turns to Android for Latest All-in-One Desktop Solution ( Maximum PC 2013-09-02 )

One of those products is a 24-inch all-in-one desktop (DA241HL) running Android 4.2 Jelly Bean and powered by an Nvidia Tegra 3 System-on-Chip (SoC).

We're seeing more and more of these announcements. Not chromebooks ( which are selling pretty well for a cloudy OS experiment ), but native Android on the "desktop". I'd have to say that unless some radical events take place, like Microsoft growing a brain, the Windows replacement is already here and is really just awaiting a big push from Google. This is Microsoft's biggest nightmaare because losing the Operating System war, which never even needed to be fought in the first place, will be the biggest event in PC history since IBM fumbled the ball and was taken out of the game by ... wait for it ... Microsoft. Of course this will suck for everybody in the PC universe, which explains why we are so ticked off at these dumb*sses.

Acer unveils Liquid S2 as first 4K video recording smartphone ( TechSpot 2013-09-02 )

Ahead of IFA 2013 in Berlin, Acer has unveiled the Liquid S2, a brand new Android handset that features 4K 'Ultra HD' video recording; the "first" to do so according to Acer's press release. The smartphone packs a 13-megapixel camera with a BSI sensor and f/2.2 lens, surrounded by a ring LED flash, which alongside 4K recording is also capable of 1080p video at 60 frames per second, and 27-megapixel panoramas.

Here we see a high-end Android phone with huge photo and video capabilities aimed squarely at Nokia's flagship 1020. Speaking of that particular Nokia phone, has anyone noticed something interesting about the TV commercials they are running? Here's one, and here's another. What is obvious is that the Windows Phone aspect is being hugely downplayed, only appearing briefly at the end for a split second, if at all. Microsoft Tiles is becoming a liability and Nokia knows it better than anybody. I would expect them to build an Android phone soon and that 1020 would be a perfect starting point.


Xbox ...

Xbox One likely won't support external storage at launch ( NeoWin 2013-09-02 )

Microsoft's upcoming Xbox One game and entertainment console likely won't support external storage when it launches in November, though the company is working on an update that will add the functionality at a later date.

The Xbox hit parade continues. Microsoft and her sycophants all said "Don't worry about not being able to change the HDD, or having to install everything to the disk. You can add drives via USB!". Whoops, sorry about that! Maybe later.

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

Rumor: Windows RT, Windows Phone to Eventually Merge ( Tom's Hardware 2013-09-02 )

Winbeta reports that a source named WZOR, which has provided a number of Microsoft information leaks in the past, claims that the company is planning to merge Windows Phone OS and Windows RT.

This dog is almost dead now even though the fanboys still insist Windows 8 ReTard Edition is the greatest idea evah! Paul Thurrott was one of them saying it is the future blah blah blah. Who was right Paul? Yep, we were.


Windows 8 market share surpasses all versions of OS X combined ( TechSpot 2013-09-02 )

Proverbial short bus thinking going on here. For that headline to be true, either Microsoft would have had to release Windows 8 for Apple branded Macs, or, Apple to have released the Mac OS X for non-Apple computers. Neither of those things are true, sorry. This kind of "thinking" is one of the biggest cases of Idiocracy I have ever seen, and it goes back many, many years. The Mac OS is Microsoft's favorite phantom competitor since they get to make believe they are not a monopoly by pointing a finger at Apple.

Now consider the truth of the matter ... A multi-billion dollar push for Microsoft Tiles, a monopolized OEM distribution channel where they yanked the only real competitor ( Windows 7 ) off the playing field, and the fact that Mac OS X is NOT FOR SALE, anywhere, at any price. That puts it into proper perspective and makes headlines such as this a lie of epic proportions. The count of Mac OS X usage is a count of Apple computers sold. The count of Windows 8 usage is a count of computers shipped from the monopolized OEM channels with Windows forced onto them. Lies, lies, and more lies.


Rumor: Microsoft's new CEO to be named "sooner than later" ( NeoWin 2013-09-02 )

Ha! Time for the fanboys to get a taste of FUD! The thread is littered with speculation of what Microsoft products will be terminated or spun off. The shoe's on the other foot now. They're getting rattled and it shows.


Study: Windows Phone rises to 8.2 percent market share in five European markets ( NeoWin 2013-09-02 )

Sad and pathetic display of desperate optimism. They're bragging about the WP success in a handful of European markets where they have double marketshare compared to everywhere else. They really must hate math because even in their best case scenario WP makes up 1 out of every 12 smartphones. I guess that explains their celebration because everywhere else it is 1 out of every 25 smartphones or less. It is hard to imagine a worse result for the grand Microsoft Tiles experiment sacrificing their hard-fought Windows reputation in the process of gaining nothing.

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

Microsoft buys Nokia's Devices and Services unit for 5.4 billion Euros ( TechSpot 2013-09-02 )

Microsoft to Buy Nokia's Device Business for Over $7 Billion ( Tom's Hardware 2013-09-02 )

Microsoft to buy Nokia's Devices & Services business ( NeoWin 2013-09-02 )

Stephen Elop returning to Microsoft as part of Nokia deal ( NeoWin 2013-09-02 )

What Microsoft's deal to acquire Nokia will (and could) mean to everyone ( NeoWin 2013-09-02 )

Around 32,000 employees will transfer from Nokia to Microsoft thanks to the purchase, including 4,700 people in Finland, and 18,300 people directly involved with manufacturing. Nokia CEO Stephen Elop will return to Microsoft as Executive VP of Devices & Services, with Risto Siilasmaa assuming an interim CEO position at what remains of Nokia.

Ballmer going out with a bang. Blowing another $7 billion , flushed down the toilet to go along with the previous large amounts blown on Skype and aQuantive.

Why is this bad? Well for starters, Nokia is dead and gone now and they were a very good independent phone maker. What is worse is that they will never be able to re-create their reputation of quality as a Microsoft division. It's all downhill from here baby. As an independent, Nokia could barely muster 4% marketshare with the Microsoft Tiles interface on a "Nokia" handset. Change that label to "Microsoft" and you have a miniature Surface fiasco in the making. They cannot be trusted to do anything right so Nokia just discarded their legacy.

It is stunning that Microsoft actually believes they can buy a reputation! Have they learned nothing? And what about Nokia? Abandoning their business and customers to cash out? Disgusting.

ADDED: so what other company would even consider signing up to use Windows Phone now? They pretty much just guaranteed that only Microsoft will make those handsets going forward. And then you have all those new employees! 32,000! You Softies out there better get your résumés up to date because you know that layoffs are on the horizon.

Here is the graphic I made a while back that now fits even more perfectly ...

EDIT: added quote, also some more thoughts

Edited September 3, 2013 by CharlotteTheHarlot

[FiveAcres]

My favorite quote today on Nokia acquisition by Microsoft:

Moreover, the fact Steve Ballmer is stepping down makes a deal of this magnitude hugely problematic. Guy English has already characterized Ballmer’s disastrous reorganization as a straitjacket for the next CEO; adding on a mobile phone business that Microsoft probably should abandon is like attaching an anchor to said straitjacket and tossing the patient into the ocean. It will be that much more difficult for the next CEO to look at Windows Phone rationally.

The Deal the Makes No Sense from stratechery

[jaclaz]

@JorgeA

Nice find about the guy, but you should be aware that he re-invented hot-water (and not particularly hotter than common hot water):

Now, Brooklyn-based designer Adam Harvey is hoping to cash in on these concerns with his $85 (£55) signal-blocking smartphone case named ‘OFF Pocket.’

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2405855/OFF-Pocket-privacy-pouch-blocks-mobile-phone-signals-stops--including-government--finding-are.html

These things are called "Faraday bags", are on the market since years, are not 100% effective in a number of cases, BUT - if they work - they will bring the battery of the phone down in a VERY SHORT period of time.

See:

http://www.forensicfocus.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=10657/

http://www.forensicfocus.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=9890/

"Inventing" some that already exists, it is actually better tested, and it's already sold for less than US $ 60 (very expensive because of the transparent window, plainer models cost much less, anything between US$ 10 and $25 is available) and selling it for the US$ 85 apiece is pure genius .

BTW, wrapping the handy in three or four layers of common kitchen aluminum foil has EXACTLY the same (if not better) results.

jaclaz

Edited September 3, 2013 by jaclaz

[JorgeA]

@JorgeA

Nice find about the guy, but you should be aware that he re-invented hot-water (and not particularly hotter than common hot water):

Now, Brooklyn-based designer Adam Harvey is hoping to cash in on these concerns with his $85 (£55) signal-blocking smartphone case named ‘OFF Pocket.’

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2405855/OFF-Pocket-privacy-pouch-blocks-mobile-phone-signals-stops--including-government--finding-are.html

These things are called "Faraday bags", are on the market since years, are not 100% effective in a number of cases, BUT - if they work - they will bring the battery of the phone down in a VERY SHORT period of time.

See:

http://www.forensicfocus.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=10657/

http://www.forensicfocus.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=9890/

"Inventing" some that already exists, it is actually better tested, and it's already sold for less than US $ 60 (very expensive because of the transparent window, plainer models cost much less, anything between US$ 10 and $25 is available) and selling it for the US$ 85 apiece is pure genius .

BTW, wrapping the handy in three or four layers of common kitchen aluminum foil has EXACTLY the same (if not better) results.

jaclaz

The Daily Mail article doesn't say that this guy invented the idea or its implementation, only that he created this particular product. However, the article does suggest that this particular bag may offer superior privacy:

The interior fabric is made up of metal-covered fibres that shield your phone from signals of up to 100dB between 800MHz-2.4GHz.

For comparison, various law-enforcement forensic bags offer 80dB of shielding.

In any case, I'm all for new entrants in this market. As the saying goes, "the more, the merrier!"

--JorgeA

[JorgeA]

Here's an interesting take on the surveillance/privacy game Microsoft and Google may be playing:

Microsoft and Google (don’t really) want to tell you more about government data requests

There isn't a singular paragraph that sums up what the article says, so I'm not pasting any quotes. You may want to go and read it all. (It's not long.)

--JorgeA

[jaclaz]

In any case, I'm all for new entrants in this market. As the saying goes, "the more, the merrier!"

--JorgeA

Ow, come on.

You probably didn't read fully what I posted.

Or you really like paying more money for something that you can have for much less and that will anyway drain your battery?

Interesting idea of "competition" and "evolution".

Humanity is doomed.

jaclaz

[Tripredacus]

Windows 8.1 does not really take care of a common Windows 8 complaint. There still is no "how to use the OS" thing that even Vista had. Instead there is a first run "experience" where annoying large boxes with arrows show up on the screen telling you how to access charms and the "Start button" on the taskbar.

what is now changed for technet? I haven't seen new things.

Its back to "normal" today. On the 30th the "My Forums" page had the old TechNet mesh design. And viewing a thread had some design elements changed. Maybe it was done by accident, as today I go there and it looks like it did before.

[TELVM]

Your mobile phone can be the perfect tool for spies who want to track your movements.

And with recent revelations that authorities can remotely enable the microphone on Android phones, mobile privacy concerns have risen to the top of the agenda ...

"Lester, can you actually believe we f***ing sold the wiretaps to the targets ... ... LMAO!"

[JorgeA]

In any case, I'm all for new entrants in this market. As the saying goes, "the more, the merrier!"

--JorgeA

Ow, come on.

You probably didn't read fully what I posted.

Or you really like paying more money for something that you can have for much less and that will anyway drain your battery?

Interesting idea of "competition" and "evolution".

Humanity is doomed.

jaclaz

jaclaz, I did read fully what you wrote, as you will see below.

Regarding the higher price for this product -- well, whether it's worth it depends on whether their bag really does offer better protection (as claimed) than other competing products. We can look into it if you want. And as for how fast it drains the battery -- that's good to know, but again it is up to the market (customers) to decide whether it's worth it to get the ostensible level of protection.

If you can find a protective bag that performs as well or better, for a lower price -- fabulous. Market competition will separate the wheat from the chaff. For now -- and this is the actual point of posting the link to that article, a point that has been ignored in this sidetracking discussion -- a major daily newspaper saw fit to remind its readers (no doubt some of them learning of this concept for the first time) that there is this kind of product out there that they can use. It is not the sort of thing that a user would conceive of automatically, so articles like this one are helpful as springboards for researching one's purchases.

--JorgeA

EDIT: clearer wording

Edited September 4, 2013 by JorgeA

[JorgeA]

The race tightens:

Leaked US spying budget reveals investments in 'groundbreaking' cryptanalysis

In his statement, Clapper listed the primary areas of investment for the intelligence community which included Signals Intelligence (SIGINT). In respect to SIGINT he wrote: "We are bolstering our support for clandestine SIGINT capabilities to collect against high priority targets, including foreign leadership targets. Also, we are investing in groundbreaking cryptanalytic capabilities to defeat adversarial cryptography and exploit internet traffic."

[...]

The NSA's mass upstream interception of Internet traffic has prompted many people in the security community to wonder what the agency's crypto-cracking capabilities might be in relation to encryption schemes and protocols that are in widespread use on the Internet today. Some crypto experts believe that there is not reason to believe the NSA can crack strong encryption algorithms vetted by scientists, but others said that the feasibility of breaking widely used encryption protocols like SSL/TLS depends on various factors, like key size and other configurations.

What do y'all think?

--JorgeA

[JorgeA]

"Lester, can you actually believe we f***ing sold the wiretaps to the targets ... ... LMAO!"

That was very good!

--JorgeA