Windows 8 - Deeper Impressions

[JorgeA]

thats why I fake output browser string, as I'm using Opera 11 some sites block it coz it is "outdated" yet it isn't

so my fake output string is Firefox 25, then when I reload the page they let me in, or in case like this the annoying warning goes away

Neat trick, I'd like to try it! Any tips on how to do this, or is it considered un-kosher?

--JorgeA

[JorgeA]

In cybersecurity news:

“We cannot trust” Intel and Via’s chip-based crypto, FreeBSD developers say

Developers of the FreeBSD operating system will no longer allow users to trust processors manufactured by Intel and Via Technologies as the sole source of random numbers needed to generate cryptographic keys that can't easily be cracked by government spies and other adversaries.

The change, which will be effective in the upcoming FreeBSD version 10.0, comes three months after secret documents leaked by former National Security Agency (NSA) subcontractor Edward Snowden said the US spy agency was able to decode vast swaths of the Internet's encrypted traffic. Among other ways, The New York Times, Pro Publica, and The Guardian reported in September, the NSA and its British counterpart defeat encryption technologies by working with chipmakers to insert backdoors, or cryptographic weaknesses, in their products.

--JorgeA

[Formfiller]

I love it how open these guys are:

More and more personal and household devices are connecting to the internet, from your television to your car navigation systems to your light switches. CIA Director David Petraeus cannot wait to spy on you through them.

Earlier this month, Petraeus mused about the emergence of an “Internet of Things” — that is, wired devices — at a summit for In-Q-Tel, the CIA’s venture capital firm. “‘Transformational’ is an overused word, but I do believe it properly applies to these technologies,” Petraeus enthused, “particularly to their effect on clandestine tradecraft.”

All those new online devices are a treasure trove of data if you’re a “person of interest” to the spy community. Once upon a time, spies had to place a bug in your chandelier to hear your conversation. With the rise of the “smart home,” you’d be sending tagged, geolocated data that a spy agency can intercept in real time when you use the lighting app on your phone to adjust your living room’s ambiance.

“Items of interest will be located, identified, monitored, and remotely controlled through technologies such as radio-frequency identification, sensor networks, tiny embedded servers, and energy harvesters — all connected to the next-generation internet using abundant, low-cost, and high-power computing,” Petraeus said, “the latter now going to cloud computing, in many areas greater and greater supercomputing, and, ultimately, heading to quantum computing.”

Petraeus allowed that these household spy devices “change our notions of secrecy” and prompt a rethink of “our notions of identity and secrecy.” All of which is true — if convenient for a CIA director.

The CIA has a lot of legal restrictions against spying on American citizens. But collecting ambient geolocation data from devices is a grayer area, especially after the 2008 carve-outs to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Hardware manufacturers, it turns out, store a trove of geolocation data; and some legislators have grown alarmed at how easy it is for the government to track you through your phone or PlayStation.

That’s not the only data exploit intriguing Petraeus. He’s interested in creating new online identities for his undercover spies — and sweeping away the “digital footprints” of agents who suddenly need to vanish.

“Proud parents document the arrival and growth of their future CIA officer in all forms of social media that the world can access for decades to come,” Petraeus observed. “Moreover, we have to figure out how to create the digital footprint for new identities for some officers.”

It’s hard to argue with that. Online cache is not a spy’s friend. But Petraeus has an inadvertent pal in Facebook.

Why? With the arrival of Timeline, Facebook made it super-easy to backdate your online history. Barack Obama, for instance, hasn’t been on Facebook since his birth in 1961. Creating new identities for CIA non-official cover operatives has arguably never been easier. Thank Zuck, spies. Thank Zuck.

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/03/petraeus-tv-remote/

And:

US Spy Agency Boasts 'Nothing Is Beyond Our Reach' With New Logo

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/nrol-39-logo-nothing-beyond-our-reach-2013-12#ixzz2nY8HEjwm

US Spy Agency Boasts 'Nothing Is Beyond Our Reach' With New Logo

The National Reconnaissance Office launched a new satellite called NROL-39 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California late Thursday, but it's their mission logo that's getting much more interest.

The logo, featuring a massive octopus straddling the earth with its tentacles above the phrase "Nothing Is Beyond Our Reach" is probably not the best choice from a public-relations standpoint, in light of the many leaks about mass government surveillance from ex-NSA contractor Edward Snowden.

The National Reconnaissance Office launched a new satellite called NROL-39 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California late Thursday, but it's their mission logo that's getting much more interest.

The logo, featuring a massive octopus straddling the earth with its tentacles above the phrase "Nothing Is Beyond Our Reach" is probably not the best choice from a public-relations standpoint, in light of the many leaks about mass government surveillance from ex-NSA contractor Edward Snowden.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/nrol-39-logo-nothing-beyond-our-reach-2013-12#ixzz2nY8Niv

http://www.businessinsider.com/nrol-39-logo-nothing-beyond-our-reach-2013-12

[JorgeA]

Wow, that's pretty brazen, in light of this year's disclosures.

And the CIA story makes a good argument for buying the "dumbest" (unconnected) things that you can put in your house.

I'd try going on Facebook to check out the President's presumably bogus page, but I have Facebook in my Hosts file.

--JorgeA

[JorgeA]

Apropos of all that --

By cracking cellphone code, NSA has capacity for decoding private conversations

The cellphone encryption technology used most widely across the world can be easily defeated by the National Security Agency, an internal document shows, giving the agency the means to decode most of the billions of calls and texts that travel over public airwaves every day.

While the military and law enforcement agencies long have been able to hack into individual cellphones, the NSA’s capability appears to be far more sweeping because of the agency’s global signals collection operation. The agency’s ability to crack encryption used by the majority of cellphones in the world offers it wide-ranging powers to listen in on private conversations.

U.S. law prohibits the NSA from collecting the content of conversations between Americans without a court order. But experts say that if the NSA has developed the capacity to easily decode encrypted cellphone conversations, then other nations likely can do the same through their own intelligence services, potentially to Americans’ calls, as well.

This really complicates mattters. If other spy agencies can do it too, then the argument can be made that by putting an end to NSA snooping we'd simply be disarming ourselves, relative to other governments.

Some are capable of mimicking cell towers to trick individual phones into directing all communications to the interception devices in a way that automatically defeats encryption. USA Today reported Monday that at least 25 police departments in the United States own such devices, the most popular of which go by the brand name Harris StingRay. Experts say they are in widespread use by governments overseas, as well.

Even more common, however, are what experts call “passive” collection devices, in which cell signals are secretly gathered by antennas that do not mimic cellphone towers or connect directly with individual phones. These systems collect signals that are then decoded in order for the content of the calls or texts to be understood by analysts.

One solution would be to disarm all of them at the same time by using strong encryption every step of the way:

Upgrading an entire network to better encryption provides substantially more privacy for users. Nohl, the German cryptographer, said that breaking a newer form of encryption, called A5/3, requires 100,000 times more computing power than breaking A5/1. But upgrading entire networks is an expensive, time-consuming undertaking that likely would cause interruptions in service for some customers as individual phones would be forced to switch to the new technology.

[...]

Even with strong encryption, the protection exists only from a phone to the cell tower, after which point the communications are decrypted for transmission on a company’s internal data network. Interception is possible on those internal links, as The Washington Post reported last week. Leading technology companies, including Google and Microsoft, have announced plans in recent months to encrypt the links between their data centers to better protect their users from government surveillance and criminal hackers.

--JorgeA

Edited December 15, 2013 by JorgeA

[JorgeA]

And a few little and fanciful ways to fight back:

The New Armor That Lets You Sense Surveillance Cameras

We pass under surveillance cameras every day, appearing on perhaps hundreds of minutes of film. We rarely notice them. London-based artist James Bridle would like to remind us.

Bridle has created a wearable device he calls the “surveillance spaulder.” Inspired by the original spaulder—a piece of medieval plate armor that protected “the wearer from unexpected and unseen blows from above”—the surveillance spaulder alerts the wearer to similarly unseen, if electronic, attacks. Whenever its sensor detects the the type of infrared lighting commonly used with surveillance cameras, it sends an electric signal to two “transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation” pads, which causes the wearer to twitch.

--JorgeA

[TELVM]

... The logo, featuring a massive octopus straddling the earth with its tentacles above the phrase "Nothing Is Beyond Our Reach" is probably not the best choice from a public-relations standpoint, in light of the many leaks about mass government surveillance from ex-NSA contractor Edward Snowden.

"Lovely". Reminds me of this other one:

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

Well I can't remember the tech world being as busy as its been for this past month or two. It's quite dramatic. I'm trying to catch up after shoveling endless sh** I mean freaking snow, not to mention regular work, both running way ahead of schedule. After a couple days I turn around to find another thousand tech stories and articles out here. I hope everyone is okay, I see you guys have gotten hammered down there too Jorge. Anyway, here goes nothing ...

Ford board of directors to pressure CEO Alan Mulally for answers on Microsoft job ( TechSpot 2013-12-12 )

Latest Microsoft CEO rumor: Alan Mulally may not be the front runner anymore ( NeoWin 2013-12-12 )

Microsoft Adds Qualcomm COO Steve Mollenkopf to List of CEO Candidates ( Maximum PC 2013-12-13 )

Microsoft rumored to be considering Qualcomm COO for its own CEO gig ( NeoWin 2013-12-13 )

Potential Microsoft CEO candidate Steve Mollenkopf elevated to CEO at Qualcomm ( NeoWin 2013-12-13 )

Qualcomm's Mollenkopf Just Got Promoted to CEO ( Tom's Hardware 2013-12-14 )

What a soap opera, and in public no less! Only Microsoft could do this to themselves. No sooner than they float a rumor about another "Steve", then his own company promotes him to keep him! Clearly they want the Ford guy. I love this comment at TechSpot: "They really should be questioning him on the utterly ugly "new" Mustang they just announced." And if this 2015 'Stang is what he's talking about then I would definitely agree. On the other hand, that butchering of the clearly identifiable traditional Mustang lines and curves would in fact make him infinitely qualified for CEO of Microsoft.

Steve Ballmer: Longhorn-Vista was the "single biggest mistake I made" as Microsoft CEO ( NeoWin 2013-12-11 )

Leaving Microsoft: Ballmer's exit interview talks lawsuits and Xbox ( NeoWin 2013-12-11 )

Steve Ballmer Offers Management Advice for Other CEOs ( Maximum PC 2013-12-12 )

And what about Yahoo? Microsoft thought about buying the website back in 2008 but a deal between the two companies later collapsed. In today's interview, Ballmer said, "... it will be really smart we didn't buy it, because the market collapsed, of course. It would have really looked silly to have bought it."

Well he is certainly correct now about that Yahoo decision, but he merely got lucky, really really lucky that they held out for even more money than he was willing to flush down the toilet. The truth is that it is pure luck that Microsoft still exists today. Had they accepted $45 billion then Microsoft would be busted today after later having spent even more good money after bad trying to alter Yahoo into its corporate image and make it profitable. There is some chance that regulators would have vetoed the acquisition though, but overall it was like a crazy repeat of the DotCom bubble 8 years earlier and it really shows that Ballmer is not as smart as he or the NeoKid sycophants thinks he is. Check out the comments at MPC where there are only a handful of children compared to NeoWin and The Verge Tribe.

As far as Vista goes, we'll never know the whole story from someone like Ballmer. Personally I suspect that the spooks set their eyes on the next big Windows OS rollout as their best way into personal computers in everyone's homes. It has since been proven that they are actively exploiting every possible path in every possible device so how can this even be in doubt anymore? Are we to believe the spooks would exploit everything EXCEPT personal computers? That's ridiculous on its face. I truly believe now ( but had no idea at the time ) that the Longhorn rewrite was at least partly about handing the source code to the feds for examination of exploitable weaknesses and perhaps inclusion of backdoors we still don't know about ( to be used only in emergency cases of national security naturally ). The DRM issue and public backlash was a visible manifestation of how customers would react and this is what has driven them crazy since, losing their previous ability to rollout products predictably and unchallenged, thwarting their expectations and messing up their cooperation with the Feds which exactly fits the timeline. The events around the Longhorn/Vista timeframeare the untold story IMHO.

Two Windows team members move to Microsoft's Bing team ( NeoWin 2013-12-10 )

GeekWire reports that Microsoft confirmed the changes, which involve Windows Store team leader Ted Dworkin and Jensen Harris, the director of program management for the Windows User Experience. Harris's departure from the Windows team is especially noteworthy as he helped to develop the Modern UI for Windows 8 and the changes that were made to it for Windows 8.1. His personal website states he has worked at Microsoft since 1998.

Windows principal destroyer Jensen Harris shows off his GUI for Retards. ( Image Source: NeoWin )

NeoWin's take on the story we mentioned earlier from Paul Thurrott and the banishment of several Sinofsky people to MicroSiberia.

Pity the poor NeoKids. Every person that touched Windows 8 is vanishing. Some still don't get it though, and one even says: "so basically, they are bringing his genius over to bing. good move." and believe me he means it, it is not sarcasm. Nothing will penetrate some of these kids. Anyway, another commenter offers an educational link: "if you're interested, you should check out Jensen Harris' talk at Mix 08 about the Office Ribbon. The principles behind it, concepts and everything. http://channel9.msdn.com/Events/MIX/MIX08/UX09" where you can watch The Story of the Ribbon. Download the presentation directly as PPT Slides (20 MB) or WMV Video (280 MB) if you are so inclined.

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

Windows Threshold' may not be a spring chicken after all ( NeoWin 2013-12-10 )

Start Menu Could Return to Windows in Spring 2014 ( Tom's Hardware 2013-12-15 )

Windows Threshold is starting to take shape but one detail that seems to be unknown, is when it will ship. We had previously heard that it was looking like a release in 2015 but now a new report suggests that it will arrive in 2014.

Yep, that's exactly what I said. If they wait until 2015 they are toast. This semi-confirmation hints that there really might be a change going on, a paradigm-shift if they are sensible, but change for sure as a response to the dismal numbers that have arrived for adoption of this dog called Windows 8. There would be no rush otherwise.

Of course this is starting to cause cracks in the wall of cognitive dissonance separating the NeoKids and Verge Tribers from reality, and some are grudgingly showing signs of sanity ... but not all ... ...

I'm still waiting for the removal the GUI and get back to the command line interface, as we ALL KNOW it is the best. At the very least, give us back Program Manager and File Manager.* /s

*Same idiotic thinking and comments we all saw in 1995.

It is amazing that a tiny percentage of users seem to think they know what is best, which becomes even more absurd when it becomes obvious they don't understand the model behind the UI evolutions.

Let's examine the lineage of other 'forward' thinkers like yourself...

1990 - GUI is for idiots - Who cares if you can run multiple programs

1992 - File Manager changes are horrible - Unified Drivers hurt the peripheral industry

1995 - Start Menu is horrible - File Explorer is horrible - Document folders are Stupid

1998 - Explorer updates are horrible - Browser integration hurts consumers

2001 - New Start Menu is horrible - UI is Fisher Price - Everyone is keeping Win98

2006 - New Start menu is horrible - Transparency looks childish

2007 - New Ribbon UI is horrible, no one will ever use it, MS lost the business world

2009 - Aero is still horrible - EVERYONE uses Basic/Classic

2012 - Start Screen is horrible - We miss the Start Menu - We miss the Transparency

2014 - The new (Any Changes) are horrible, EVERYONE hates it.

...and kicking and screaming, Microsoft was able to bring users into the newer generation of interface designs and usability, despite all the 'EXPERTS' that claimed they knew better.

**2000 - WinME did suck, the monolithic kernel & FAT couldn't handle the new features

... that's the craziest strawman collection yet assembled. Note the big fat lies about Windows 95 ( common talking points among 'Tards ), and Windows XP which had no Fisher-Price UI ever, the user interface operates exactly the same as earlier ones, he is of course confusing the UI with colors. The GUI cannot be changed by two click of the mouse which is what you could do with the Windows XP color scheme, contained in its so-called Visual Style. Strawmen are sometimes from 'projection' and are possible signs of a mental illness that denote a patient who is capable of having a conversation only with himself and never with someone else. One very sensible commenter replied ...

If, after a years of defending Windows 8, the only thing you have left is combative remarks about "you just hate all change command line blah blah blah" then its no wonder why you guys lost and why Windows 8 was a catastrophic failure.

So very true. And that particular MicroZealot he is talking to is most likely an actual Softie which makes his lies significant to the reply about "its no wonder why you guys lost and why Windows 8 was a catastrophic failure". Check out the rest of the comments for more stuttering, babbling and spittle. Some are even now playing the role of victim, because you see they are poor put-upon Windows users beset by attacks from Windows haterz who love Apple. Hehehe Stupid is as stupid does.

Start Menu to Make a Glorious Return in Upcoming Windows "Threshold" Update ( Maximum PC 2013-12-10 )

Microsoft May Bring Full Start Menu Back in Windows 8.2 ( Tom's Hardware 2013-12-11 )

Start menu rumors are heating up, currently referred to as 'mini-Start' internally ( NeoWin 2013-12-11 )

More coverage of the Start Menu rumors mentioned by Thurrott and MJF. More cheers from the hopeful. More tears from the fanboys.

Back to the Start: imagining a better Windows ( The Verge 2013-12-12 )

Designer's concept for Windows 8.2 brings Modern UI to the Desktop ( NeoWin 2013-12-13 )

In today's edition of 'ramblings from the short bus' a NeoKid has spent his time illustrating his own fantasies of what the next Start Menu should look like. By all means Microsoft, copy these mockups and screw over the Windows desktop users yet again!

Start Menu fantasy of a MetroTard! And yes, he is serious. ( Image Source: NeoWin )

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

Microsoft reportedly offers $1bn to Samsung for future Windows Phones ( NeoWin 2013-12-12 )

Is there any good news for MicroZealots and MetroTards anywhere? Not really. But for everyone else it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Get out the salt: Windows Phone said to be getting a new UI ( NeoWin 2013-12-12 )

Rumor: Modern UI May be Optional in Future Windows Phone ( Tom's Hardware 2013-12-15 )

... take this next bit of information as just another rumor - but Eldar Murtazin is saying that

Windows Phone 9 will feature an updated UI that will drop the tile-based interface formerly known as 'Metro'. Now, this would be a massive departure for Windows Phone - and Microsoft's other Windows and Xbox interfaces - but he insists his claims are "not tales". We should point out too that this is not the first time we have heard that Windows Phone 9 might be a clean slate from Eldar.

Wait, what? They would kill Microsoft Tiles on the one form factor where it actually makes some sense? This is almost believable Microsoft logic therefore it just might be true. Don't miss in the comments where Dot MetroTard drops by to get kicked around a little.

Rumor: Microsoft mulling free Windows RT and Windows Phone versions to OEMs ( NeoWin 2013-12-11 )

Microsoft May Offer Windows Phone, RT Free to OEMs ( Tom's Hardware 2013-12-12 )

Microsoft planning to compete with Android by offering Windows for free ( TechSpot 2013-12-12 )

Phheeew. The hits just keep on coming. Merge WP. Scrap WP. Give WP away free. My head is spinning. Pity the poor NeoKids. Tom's Hardware commenter: "At first, M$ want to be apple, now they want to be Google...." Yeah. Apple-envy, Google-envy, they swing both ways. We have long identified both of these neuroses in Microsoft in this very thread for ages now. And of course like all the recent articles that are hammering the NuMicrosoft sycophants mercilessly, the comments here include one of our personal favorites, Dot MetroTard again who responds to a sane commenter complaining about the fatal Microsoft decision to impose Microsoft Tiles on everyone ...

RE: "Yes, choice is such a terrible thing. Let's all just switch to Microsoft and be confined to using the same god awful Metro UI on every product in our lives."

Then buy something else. There's your choice. Microsoft doesn't need to provide eleventy billion UIs for each of its users. In fact, it's easier not to in terms of support, and development.

That's a very nice encapsulation of his and the rest of the short bus riders entire, mistaken train of thought. You see, that other operating system was ALREADY developed. ALREADY supported. ALREADY done. It was already shipped and unlike the Playskool successor, was actually installed and in use on the majority of computers. The new one for retards was the one adding development and support costs. He sidesteps the question of choice even though that is central to the issue. How dare they tell us to choose "something else" when they killed "something else" leaving only the OS For Retards available? Furthermore he skips over the issue of using the previous OS as the very leverage to enter the OS For Retards into the market by inserting it into the dominated and monopolized OEM channels. These sycophants lack any semblance of reason and logic, let alone neutrality and objectivity. Employment headhunters and interviewers would be well-served to screen out this type of personality before they make the mistake of hiring them.

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

Nokia Offers Free Lumia to User Whose Galaxy S4 Caught Fire ( Tom's Hardware 2013-12-11 )

Earlier this month, a Canadian Galaxy S4 user made headlines when he posted a video claiming his GS4 had caught fire while it had been plugged in to charge. Richard Wygand posted the video because Samsung had requested proof. Not long after, the South Korean phone company sent Wygand a letter offering a replacement phone on the condition that he remove the video and not discuss the incident again.

[...]

".@ghostlyrich we want to help you out," the tweet read. "Let me send you a Nokia Lumia so you can experience how customer service should *really* work."

Follow-up to the earlier story where Samsung and/or her lawyers really messed things up for themselves. Thing is, while this looks smart from Nokia's perspective, it is contingent on them not being similarly capable of such mistakes, and that is rather unlikely. It also presumes facts not in evidence, for one, that the guy with the melting phone wasn't at fault or a scammer, or worse, an Apple or Lumia fanboy who might eventually be exposed. Most importantly though, what if the guy hates Microsoft Tiles and it leads to their own embarrassment in a YouTube videos! This kind of thing, Nokia stepping into the spotlight voluntarily is a very risky proposition indeed.

PlayStation 4 was the best selling next-gen console in November according to NPD ( TechSpot 2013-12-13 )

Microsoft sells 909,132 Xbox One units in the U.S. during November; Sony claims victory for PS4 ( NeoWin 2013-12-13 )

Not that it matters much, but as everyone expected ( except NeoKids and The Verge Tribers ) the PS4 is apparently leading sales. Next year in Q1 the launch numbers will be more official but this should have been obvious. Note the contrasting headlines with the spin by the NeoWin.

Report: Xbox One hard drive becomes full at 362 GB ( NeoWin 2013-12-10 )

Well, as it turns out it is possible to max out the available storage on an Xbox One if you install enough games and apps on its hard drive. IGN posted up a video (no embed options; sorry) that shows the maximum amount of available space on the drive for users is about 362 GB or so.

That limit was reached after installing 20 of the Xbox One's 23 launch titles. In a statement sent to IGN, Microsoft said the rest of the 500 GB space is used for the OS and the first party apps that are already available on the console.

Continuing the theme of the day I mean week I mean month I mean season, another hiccup surfaces for the Xbox'ers. It seems the 500 GB disk has a true limit for the enduser that occurs around at 2/3 capacity. Oops. Yeah it's nitpicking, but my point is more about Microsoft than the Xbox anyway. They had to know this would be determined by someone eventually, and since they have yet to enable external storage for the Xbox this is a pressing matter now. They tried to skate over this with talk of "automatic" disk space management and by keeping the user away from views that show actual disk space in the first place. So Microsoft set this trap for themselves and step right into it. They have 23 games and they had to know someone would set about installing them all. Clairvoyance is not necessary to see these events coming.

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

The Competition, Steam/Linux/Android Edition ...

Dell reveals its first Chromebook offering, aimed at the education market ( TechSpot 2013-12-11 )

Dell Unaffected by Scroogled Campaign, Joins the Chromebook Movement ( Maximum PC 2013-12-11 )

Dell Launching Chromebook 11 in January ( Tom's Hardware 2013-12-12 )

Wait until the NeoKids hear about this one. Newly private Dell leaves the stock market analysts in the rear-view mirror and immediately starts selling a non-Microsoft device that we are continually told no-one can make any money on. It must doubly sting that Microsoft kicked in a few billion to help Dell go private. Well on the brighter side, I guess that means that Microsoft just might make some money of Chrome now!

Ubuntu-powered high-end phones from an unnamed OEM coming next year ( TechSpot 2013-12-11 )

Canonical on Tuesday announced that the company has entered an agreement with a smartphone maker to get Ubuntu Touch, its mobile operating system, out in the market. "We have concluded our first set of agreements to ship Ubuntu on mobile phones," founder Mark Shuttleworth told CNET. He did not disclose the name of the OEM, but said that the company's mobile OS will be available on high-end phones sometime next year.

There's still life over there in Linux phone land. But we'll see if Canonical can still mess this up. Who is the mystery builder? I don't know but might guess Dell, which wouldn't exactly guarantee success unfortunately. However another Dell product that collaborates with the enemy would certainly guarantee entertainment value as the NeoKids continue to go nuts.

Nokia's Android phone reportedly still in development, pictured in leaked image ( TechSpot 2013-12-10 )

Report: Nokia Has Been Working on an Android Phone ( Tom's Hardware 2013-12-11 )

Nokia reportedly still developing Android smartphone despite impending Microsoft acquisition ( NeoWin 2013-12-11 )

Please, everyone say a prayer tonight for the mental health of the kids at NeoWin and The Verge Tribe. This past fall and holiday season has definitely not been kind to MicroZealots and MetroTards as nothing, I mean nothing is going the way they hoped. I'm not sure where this Nokia-Android story is going to wind up, I have my own doubts now that it will get traction after Nokia has soiled it's pretty stellar reputation by jumping in bed with Windows Phone. I can tell you what I am wishing for though, and that is that "Nokia proper", i.e., the part of the company not sold to Microsoft decides to re-enter the cellphone business independently and makes a competing phone based on Android with all kinds of new Nokia innovations. That would be worth gallons of ink of tech media publicity, and gallons of tears from MicroZealots. Please make it so. :

Digital Storm Steam Machine Will Dual Boot SteamOS, Windows ( Tom's Hardware 2013-12-11 )

Microsoft Says Valve is Keeping the PC Ecosystem Strong ( Tom's Hardware 2013-12-11 )

SteamOS to be Released on Friday the 13th ( Tom's Hardware 2013-12-12 )

Valve to ship Steam Machines, Steam Controllers and SteamOS this Friday ( TechSpot 2013-12-12 )

Valve Steam Controller Preview ( Maximum PC 2013-12-13 )

Download SteamOS now Valve's free Linux-based operating system releases ( PC Gamer 2013-12-13 )

Valve's SteamOS Now Ready to Download ( Tom's Hardware 2013-12-13 )

SteamOS Compositor Details, Kernel Patches, Screenshots ( Phoronix 2013-12-13 )

Valve releases first public version of SteamOS ( NeoWin 2013-12-14 )

SteamOS beta available for download ( TechSpot 2013-12-14 )

Everything you need to know to install SteamOS on your very own computer ( Ars Technica 2013-12-14 )

Valve's Steam Machine Delivered To Homes, Gets Unboxed ( Kotaku 2013-12-14 )

There's a truckload of news on the Valve Steam OS front. Clearly this DIY gamer operating system is not vaporware as it is now officially released for beta testing ( links can be found in several of the articles to a CDROM sized package and other stuff ). Simultaneously, pre-made machines are already appearing with more to come. The Valve steam Controller is also still getting very good reviews ( although I have yet to see the version with the touchscreen LCD panel in the middle show up anywhere ). Add to this a high profile presentation scheduled for COMDEX and it's sure hard to dismiss this all as insignificant. The catch will be in native game support and I would probably guess we'll see a steady stream of announcements from COMDEX forward. Then the fanboys should really start to worry because this isn't about selling more units than Xbox or PS. It is about liberation. Perhaps all the naysaying fanboys should be asking themselves why people want to get away from MicroTards in the first place rather than constantly ridiculing 'The Year Of Linux' ( hint, it might occur before there ever is a 'Year of Windows 8' ). Another meme is that there is no 'selling point' for Steam OS since it lacks games but where are they when the exact same thing is said about Windows 8 and Windows Phone? Hypocrites. Most importantly 'selling point' is kind of ridiculous for an OS given away for free. It grants a true incentive to builders who are already operating on slim profit margins to get to pocket that cost. And the proof is seen above as Microsoft is now pondering the same idea for Windows Phone! What will the hypocrites have to say then?

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

The Competition, Apple Edition ...

Apple granted patent for curved touch surfaces, could lead to curved-display iPhones ( TechSpot 2013-12-11 )

Apple jumps on the curved screen bandwagon by securing patent ( NeoWin 2013-12-11 )

A complete iPhone redesign has been speculated about for many years now, with different models being put forth such as a teardrop shaped device, a larger 4.5-inch device, a slimmer iPhone with a curved screen, etc. Now it looks like at least some of those options are being considered inside Cupertino, thanks to a patent thats come to light.

( see the TechSpot article for actual illustrations from the patent ) Well I'm not surprised by this. The only thing that does surprise me is the continual reaction by MicroTards that cannot grasp how the consumer thinks. Example: "None of the curved phones look good or make any sense, they're solving a problem that doesn't exist by making new ones...". These are the same kinds of people that embrace Microsoft Tiles and ridicule iPhones and Androids, which explains how Microsoft found itself in the position of constantly playing catch-up. Of course there will be designer phones with teardrops or hearts or whatever shape. And they will sell, by the boatload. All that commenter shows is that he does not understand what Art is. Art has no practical purpose that can be defined, and it certainly cannot be explained to or understood by MicroTards. They will forever be caught flat-footed by every development that comes along. The only thing they can ever be counted on is planning, designing and building for the previous trend. That is their trademark and they should patent it.

Ha! Analyst predicts that Microsoft and Apple will soon merge ( NeoWin 2013-12-11 )

Enter Keith Fitz-Gerald, an analyst from Money Map Press, who appeared on Fox Business to share his predictions for two of the giants of the industry, Microsoft and Apple. Fitz-Gerald believes that the conditions of the market will force Microsoft and Apple into closer co-operation and, eventually, a merger.

"Well, here's the thing: this is one of those unthinkable but absolutely possible deals," Fitz-Gerald began. "I think that Apple and Microsoft may not only have to work together for the next few years, but may even see a merger five to ten years from now, because they're going to have to take on the Google Android/Facebooks of the world."

This one is just for fun and just to upset the MicroZealots. But I'm not exactly sure which of the two - Apple or Microsoft fans will be more insulted by thought of this. I've been referring to them already as MicroApple for obvious reasons but this puts a whole new spin on it. Obviously there is no way in hell that a sane regulator would allow this to happen though!

Wikipedia :: OS Marketshare consolidates many different methods of counting these things and pretty much shows why this theory is impossible, well, not as long as any desktops or laptops are being sold ...

Desktops/Laptops ... Microsoft +90% plus Apple +07% = ~98%

Phones/Tablets ..... Microsoft +01% plus Apple +20% = ~22%

Perhaps Apple would be allowed to purchase the Nokia division but that's as far as a sane person would let this go, especially with the antitrust history of Microsoft already on the books. They are fantasizing with this story. Anyway, NeoWin posts a possible logo here ( unfortunately uncredited as are most photos these days ) which isn't half bad ...

( Image Source: NeoWin )

I made one that could also work ...

MicroApple ( Source images: 1, 2 )

Bitcoin hoax dupes Mac users into wiping their hard drives ( NeoWin 2013-12-14 )

A Bitcoin mining hoax started by a prankster on the 4chan imageboard has reportedly led some Mac users into erasing all of their data within seconds.

The prankster posted an image that stated that Apple has implemented Bitcoin mining into its Mac computers since 2009 and that users simply need to enter a command to activate the feature. The command of course is the infamous "sudo" [...]

For a real educational glimpse into the sick minds of not some, but many fanboys check out the comments where there is laughing and sarcasm and at least one promising to spread this "prank" further. Where did these zealots came from, would someone tell me? In over 30 years in the PC universe I can't remember dealing with a single person that would fit this profile and hang out in this crowd of malcontent losers. It's literally like Crips and Bloods. They are simply pathetic human beings. If I had caught one of my kids morphing into a cretin like any of these I would have kicked him out on his *ss and tell him to live with his fanboy friends in their parents' basement and support himself by selling the hatred they spew for Apple or Linux users. Surely someone would want to hire them. Not.

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

Miscellaneous ...

Mozilla shows off new Firefox start screen for Windows 8 version ( NeoWin 2013-12-12 )

NeoWin coverage of what we were talking about a few days ago. The example they show is just horrific. All freaking gray and white and washed out. I just cannot believe these idi0ts. This is worse than the color and screen elements from the earliest days of the web. It is HTML crap. Naturally quite a few NeoKids LOVE this garbage. Two NeoKids ...

I wish the desktop version had this smooth design, not bad at all.

The Desktop version is actually getting a redesign based on the same theme, Australis. You can see an article that just came out about it here: https://blog.mozilla.org/ux/2013/12/whywhatiswhere/

But yeah that same general theme is already in Firefox for Android and being added to Firefox OS' browser as more features are being added...

Strangely and suspiciously that post at Mozilla has one single comment. I'm not sure what's going on with them as I rarely use FF except by necessity because a page doesn't work well in Opera, but if they do continue down this path they are just crazy. In fact they would be crazier than Microsoft who is already clearly suffering from their NuGUI trend, and now Mozilla would follow them but with a timelag that means they will arrive after the party is over. I hope Firefox users write to them and demand a NON-RETARD version or theme for the desktop browser. Don't mince words either.

Harlem in New York to get the country's biggest free public Wi-Fi network ( TechSpot 2013-12-11 )

Sure, why not, let's expedite and complete the transition into Orwell. Give away free phones, check, free service, check. If you don't think every single drop of data is being funneled into the government vacuum, well then you're not a sentient human. The idi0t mayor of NYC describes this as privately funded of course, with advertising at the core which is bad enough, but if you believe him then I got a bridge for sale just a couple miles south of Harlem.

AT&T CEO: Wireless carriers can't keep doing big subsidies on smartphones ( NeoWin 2013-12-11 )

AT&T CEO Says Subsidizing Phones Must Stop ( Tom's Hardware 2013-12-11 )

Boy would this be a great thing! Leaving aside the little narcissists already showing up in the comments saying 'well they better reduce plan costs ... etc' the fact remains that this is the most artificial industry yet conceived by humans. There is no way to sell billions of $500-$1000 easily stolen or misplaced pocket-size gadgets without a huge assist from somewhere. The damage caused by this model is that these valuable devices are now routinely treated like valueless commodities. They are dropped and broken or lost and all the 'owner' says is: "oh well, my plan will give me another". Meanwhile they go deeper in debt or take on extra monthly expenses that are equal to what rent or car payments were not too long ago. Sure they get instant communication and tiny little games to waste their presumably valuable time, but the cost has been to acclimate them to becoming first order sheeple in the Brave NuWorld.

But the most important thing of all is that this business model has completely skewed the technology landscape and impacted the evolution of computers, their sales, and their operating systems. So I for one hoping this CEO is not just blowing smoke. If this is true and they end the subsidy nonsense then the mobile bubble we pop faster than the tech bubble did 13 years ago. People would stop jumping on the latest everything, they would squeeze every last drop of use out of their existing gear, particularly expensive little toys, and the 'Desktop is dead' and all other mantras by NuTards would be exposed as the Idiocracy they always were. This statement by the CEO clearly underlines the huge mistake Microsoft made chasing the latest fad, and shows their impeccable timing is as late as always. They will be forced to survey the landscape of destruction in the wake of their kneejerk lurching towards the mobile trend, the battered shell of 'Windows' ruined by knuckleheads in Redmond, and the complete loss of respect of the Microsoft brand by longtime veterans.

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

Security, Privacy, and Big Brotherhood ...

NSA uses Google's PREF and other commercial tracking cookies to spy on folks ( NeoWin 2013-12-11 )

NSA uses Google-specific cookie to locate and hack selected targets ( TechSpot 2013-12-12 )

More coverage of yet another Snowden leak mentioned above. Unexpected detour taken in the NeoWin comments after a pretty good point was raised: "What I also find shocking is that one man - Edward Snowden - had access to such a massive, and varied amount of NSA information. Surely, the NSA would not grant such widespread access to any one individual within the organization!? Makes you wonder just what else will emerge from the Snowden leaks in the coming weeks/months!". Indeed it is not logical that any spy org would fail to compartmentalize critical information and keep it offline in the first place. The tried and true "eyes only" method seems lost on the NuSpooks in our brave NuWorld ( ironically this amateurism is a good thing for us because we would know nothing now ). Anyway, what is interesting is how one of the most outspoken MicroZealot fanboys jumps in to suggest that the leaks are false, perhaps faked. For those that follow the mindless meanderings of the NeoKids you really gotta wonder about this coincidence of defending Microsoft with every breath and now defending the government spooks! Who does he work for I wonder? My bet is still that he is a Softie ( who is supposed to identify himself BTW ) but is so rattled by the goings-on of the past few years and the accelerated pace of the failure that he can't help but plumb new depths of zealotry by being forced into the position of discrediting and denying the massive surveillance just in order to absolve Microsoft's involvement. Psychiatrists could make a nice living just by treating NeoKids.

British Telecom Blocking Porn by Default for New Customers ( Tom's Hardware 2013-12-13 )

UK ISP BT Broadband to block porn for new customers by default ( NeoWin 2013-12-15 )

No adult content unless you specify that you want it.

British Telecom today announced that it would block all adult content by default for new customers. The company is launching a new network-based filter called Parental Controls that will require customers to actively choose their parental controls when setting up their internet connection.

That's right, even if you don't have any kids. Pssst, China called, they're suing you for copyright infringement ( now wouldn't that be perfect? ). Tips for the terminally gullible: next up: No Snowden articles unless you specify that you want it. And later: No anti-government articles unless you specify that you want it. .Got criticism for the PM or your MP? They'll plug that hole later.. ad nauseum ... There are infinite things our government protectors will find to save us from, but almost every single one will be about protecting themselves, they only start off with something like p0rn because it divides and conquers the sheeple, some of which baaahhh and bleat in agreement ( see comments ), but after the sheep pen gates are erected and everyone is corralled into their safe and cozy new infrastructure, there will be no need to continue the illusion. They'll just continually amend those early specifications to include this year's cause celebe.

Microsoft joins FIDO Alliance that wants to replace passwords ( NeoWin 2013-12-14 )

FIDO stands for Fast IDentity Online and, as its name suggests, the members of the coalition want to create a set of open authentication standards that are easy to use by consumers and business and yet offer better security than the current login-password set up. The group states:

"Open FIDO specifications will support a full range of authentication technologies for operating systems , including biometrics such as fingerprint and iris scanners, voice and facial recognition, as well as existing solutions and communications standards, such as Trusted Platform Modules (TPM), USB Security Tokens, embedded Secure Elements (eSE), Smart Cards, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) , and Near Field Communication (NFC)."

The group will offer its final proposals to groups like the Internet Engineering Task Force and the World Wide Web Consortium with the goal of getting them approved as open standards that are used by everyone.

It's funny how 30, 20, even 10 years ago we would shrug our shoulders at this story because Microsoft and IBM and later W3C and Google ( etc ) are big players in Big Data and should rightly be at the center of these things. Now, not so much, since we now know they are all compromised by government spooks, not to mention all having their own agendas. In this article it all really comes together and instead of making perfect sense it smells of rotting fish. So all these "powers-that-be" in wake of all the spying revelations see fit to get together now and do some more work on behalf of the sheeple, I mean citizens? They're gonna work on an identity infrastructure eh? Protecting privacy will certainly rate big here. Not. The part about Trusted Platform pretty much sours the whole thing really. They probably just want to get a secure purchasing channel up and running, and that means secure for them to ensure that crooks can't rip off their checkout carts and stuff. As far as security or privacy for the sheeple, I mean customers, well that will come later, I mean never. It sounds like a fiefdom planning session, and in such a meeting the pecking order is government spooks, then the Big Data member companies, and then finally the sheeple, I mean citizens. That's a similar arrangement to feudal times with royalty, nobility, peasants. Meetings involving the first two rarely occurred for the purpose of benefiting the latter.