Windows 8 - Deeper Impressions

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

Another item I saw mentioned over at TechBroil : ...

Microsoft Offers To Pay YouTubers To Positively Promote Xbox One ( Cinemablend 2014-01-18 )

When your console is getting trashed by anyone who doesn't watch TV on their TV, when you have no idea how to win over the silent Japanese audience and when some people still think your system is an NSA Spybox incarnate, there's only one solution left: pay for good publicity.

[...]

iGame Responsibly managed to get hold of an image of an e-mail being passed around to select Machinima partners to help promote the Xbox One and the Xbox One's games.

( Image from CinemaBlend )

So how much is Microsoft offering? Three cool and breezy dollars for CPM, or $3 for every one thousand applicable impressions. For the average YouTuber that gains about 35,000 views per video that would roughly translate into $105 per video. As noted by iGR, even if the video(s) hit(s) 1.25 million views, that would only cost Microsoft $3,750. That's decent cash for YouTubers, but it's peanuts for Microsoft.

Now if you go to YouTube and search for the string "XB1M13" you will find some videos posted already. For example: FIFA 14: Ultimate Team Roulette - Episode 3 (Great Pack Player) XB1M13. And some people are already trolling the poster, sometimes viciously ...

You f*cking sellout everuone look at his tag xb1m13 meaning microsoft paid this f*g money to make this vid about xbone?

Are all your videos gonna have XB1M13 tagged in them so that you can get a paltry 3 dollars per 1000 views from Microsoft? Guys don't trust this YouTube sellout. Every machinima partner is being paid to advertise for the Xbox from now until mid february through machinima. This youtuber is untrustworthy and doesn't even disclose that he has had his arse pimped by M$, if you want biased opinions on gaming search "XB1M13" on YouTube. ?

Oh my. I don't know which is worse, Microsoft purchasing bad publicity, or the fools that stepped into this for $3. Even with all the other fails in the past several years I still can't believe Microsoft would do a dishonest stealth campaign ( dishonest because they did not insist on a "Sponsored By Microsoft" disclaimer ). What are the NeoKids gonna do after hammering others like EA for similar stunts and Samsung for benchmarks?

Indeed, that $3 is going to be the hardest $3 these YouTubers ever earned. ... But hold on ... now the story is getting around ...

Microsoft reportedly paying off popular YouTubers to promote Xbox One ( TechSpot 2014-01-21 )

Microsoft paying YouTubers to mention Xbox One in their videos ( NeoWin 2014-01-21 )

The legal agreement also included a few more conditions: video creators must not "say anything negative or disparaging about the Xbox One or any of its games", and they must also keep the deal a secret, which means that they can't mention anything about it to their subscribers lest they not get paid.

Note that the fanboys in the comments at NeoWin and elsewhere are having a very difficult time justifying this one. "Oh, it's just advertising" is not getting traction since it clearly has no "Sponsored by Microsoft" disclaimer. This is astroturfing, plain and simple.

That new, additional detail about secrecy reported in the NeoWin article is incredibly dumb IMHO. The most amazing thing to me is that anyone could possibly believe that they could get away with a stealth campaign today. We should have a special category of punishment, call it a jack*ss law, that addresses

But wait, there's even more now ... another twist to the story ...

Microsoft: We didn't know details about Machinima-Xbox One YouTube contracts ( NeoWin 2014-01-22 )

Microsoft is now claiming that it didn't know the details about a recently unearthed contract to promote the Xbox One on YouTube in a partnership with Machinima.

[...]

Microsoft sent another note on its own that put much more distance between itself and Machinima on this matter. GeekWire reports that, according to the company's new statement:

"Microsoft was not aware of individual contracts Machinima had with their content providers as part of this promotion and we didnt provide feedback on any of the videos. We have asked Machinima to not post any additional Xbox One content as part of this media buy and we have asked them to add disclaimers to the videos that were part of this program indicating they were part of paid advertising."

It would appear as if Microsoft doesn't want to be linked to this deal, especially if the Federal Trade Commission decides to investigate the partnership. Many people believe the Machimima contract could violate FTC regulations that require Internet content creators to reveal if they are being paid to promote products.

So that's that. I imagine it is possible that they were in fact unaware of what this outfit was doing and the details of the contract, but that does not end their responsibility. Microsoft has deals with lots of "partners" and they ( and other companies like them ) would have us believe that they don't have a ton of legalese in those deals that outline what these companies can do? Not a chance. I guarantee they are full of morality clauses as company reputation is no laughing matter. Certainly there are those at Microsoft responsible for hiring these partners, monitoring them, and keeping them working within company approved parameters. Identify these employees and fire them. Not doing this means you are willing to have a built-in self-destruct mechanism that can detonate at anytime. They are like cancer cells.

Astroturfing is a real issue because it is very dishonest, and possibly illegal in some places ...

- Give Yourself 5 Stars? Online, It Might Cost You ( New York Times 2013-09-22 )

- New York Attorney General sets up sting operation to crackdown on fake online reviews ( TechSpot 2013-09-23 )

I personally do suspect that Microsoft intentionally funds or gives tacit approval to all the Astroturfing seen in the wake of Windows 8. In fact it appears to me to be an intentional strategy ever since Vista when I first became suspicious and aggravated by this phenomenon. When used against constructive criticism it has the terrible effect of enabling mistakes and errors. If the company sees criticism balanced out by fake compliments then they have absolutely no chance of making sound decisions. Needless to say it is not just Microsoft either, because I noticed a similar thing in the Opera forums where possibly paid fanboys derailed so many threads about their browser development ( bugs, wish-lists, removed features, etc ). Enablers are among the worst examples of human beings, just look at alcoholics and drug addicts and criminals that never hear the word "no", are never questioned, never exposed to common sense.

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

Google Glass owner wears it to AMC movie theater; claims federal agents came to remove him (Update) ( NeoWin 2014-01-21 )

The Gadgeteer, the unidentified owner of the wearable computing device says that federal agents removed him from an AMC theater in Columbus, Ohio while he was watching a movie.

[...]

The rest of the report is about the man's dealings with the "federal service" authorities who accused him of illegally taping the movie with his Google Glass unit. Both his wife and himself were questioned for several hours until finally the agents hooked up the device to a PC and saw that he had not recorded the movie. He then was given two free passes to see the movie again by an unnamed "Movie Association" representative, along with an apology.

Naturally being a Google product the article spawns comments from NeoKids who are very fast to support the action. Doesn't matter at all to them that the scope here includes federales and national security! One NeoKid even trolls the thread saying it's fake until the article got updated ...

Update: The Washington Post has received a statement from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement department of the Office of Homeland Security that confirms this story.

"On Jan. 18, special agents with ICEs Homeland Security Investigations and local authorities briefly interviewed a man suspected of using an electronic recording device to record a film at an AMC theater in Columbus The man, who voluntarily answered questions, confirmed to authorities that the suspected recording device was also a pair of prescription eye glasses in which the recording function had been inactive. No further action was taken."

Uggh. This incident neatly pulls together not one, not two, but three pressing issues often discussed here now. They are Technology, Intellectual Property, National Security. Specifically this one shows the misuse of the National Security apparatus to protect a super-lobbying favorite son of the powers-that-be in DC ( the District of Criminals ), the Hollywood Mafia. Ironically, in one way it pits one lobby against the other ( Hollywood vs. Google ), but not really because Google is not well represented here, the federal wolves pounced upon a lone sheeple I mean citizen. To me the biggest danger is in allowing any government entity to become the security guard for any private industry, no matter how much they lobby. If your product is so ephemeral that it cannot be protected by ordinary means, tough luck. Meanwhile, enablers can still be counted on to pop up and lend verbal support for the fascist actions that are no longer rare and far-fetched.

Nest CEO Tony Fadell pledges that all privacy changes will be announced, opt-in only ( NeoWin 2014-01-21 )

Recall that Google bought "Nest", opening up new avenues for them to exploit inside the home, and this rightly worries a lot of people ...

... Nest CEO Tony Fadell attempted to allay concerns over potential privacy issues related to Googles recent $3.2 billion purchase of Nest.

Asked how Google, a company that thrives on data collection, might make use of information collected from Nests range of smart thermostat and alarm products, Fadell said that at this point there are no changes . . . the data we collect is about our products and improving them. If there are ever any changes, he continued, we will be sure to be transparent about it and for you to opt into it. The data is to stay within Nests world of improving its products.

Well that statement has openings so wide that you could drive a truck through. See the concurrent story about LogMeIn for a fine example.

Chrome bug allows websites to continue listening to conversations after you close the tab ( TechSpot 2014-01-22 )

Do you use speech recognition in Google Chrome? If yes, here's something to worry about. Developer Tal Ater has discovered a bug in Google's popular browser that malicious websites, enabled for voice-recognition, could exploit to listen in on the conversation taking place around the computer without your knowledge.

The problem lies in Chrome's microphone permissions policy. Once you allow an HTTPS website to access your microphone, every instance of the website (including pop-ups) has the same permission. To a user, it may seem as though a pop-up window is not doing anything evil, but in reality it could be transcribing everything they say.

[...]

Alter first reported the bug in September last year. Google acknowledged the loophole, nominated the bug for Chromiums Reward Panel, and even fixed it. But the fix never made it to users desktops, which means that your Chrome browser is still vulnerable.

~sigh~ I'll just echo the feelings of one of the commenters: "It's not a bug, it's a feature...NSA paid them to implement it. "

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

16 million email addresses and passwords in Germany exposed by malware attack ( NeoWin 2014-01-21 )

Hot on the heels of the massive credit card cyber attacks that affected U.S. retailers such as Target, Neiman Marcus and others in December, the German government has announced it found criminals used malware to get the email addresses and passwords of as many as 16 million of its citizens.

The German-based The Local reports that the the country's Federal Office for Online Security discovered the issue when it checked into the activities of a number of criminal botnets. The government did not reveal the specifics of its discovery, nor is there any word on which group or groups are responsible for the stolen email info.

And the hit parade continues, and continues. Now how can you possibly make matter worse? Easy ...

The government has set up a website so that citizens can type in their email address to see if it is part of this cyber theft. However, the huge amount of traffic generated by concerned German residents has resulted in the site becoming inaccessible for much of today.

Nothing could possibly go wrong with setting up a single place for everyone to check their email address.

Microsoft Office blog compromised by Syrian Electronic Army ( NeoWin 2014-01-20 )

Syrian Electronic Army hacks Microsoft's Office blog hours after redesign goes live ( TechSpot 2014-01-21 )

Over the past few weeks, Microsofts web properties have been compromised by the Syrian Electronic Army. While Microsoft was able to quickly regain control of these online assets, Microsofts Office blog has been compromised by SEA.

You can clearly see in the screenshot above that SEA has made several posts to show that they have obtained access to the blog. While this is likely not a hack, as many will call it ...

That's from Brad Sams, who says not to worry, it's not a hack. Note that this a newer and different case, at least the 3rd if you are counting. Also note that this is a Microsoft website, not Twitter. It is http://blogs.office.com/ and they allegedly phished employees ( presumably Microsoft ) to get the passwords or whatever details necessary to hijack the page. One might wonder how that NeoWin article and comments would look if SEA had phished Apple and hijacked one of their websites. What are the chances that Brad and the NeoKids would downplay it?

Details of 20 million credit cards stolen and sold in South Korea; arrests made ( NeoWin 2014-01-20 )

An IT worker at the Korea Credit Bureau has managed to access and copy 20 million customer credit card details; the company has access to three large databases that hold the credit details of customers of KB Kookmin Card, Lotte Card, and NH Nonghyup Card.

The contractor accessed the databases and copied the information onto a USB stick before selling them to marketing companies to later be sold on. The figure is pretty substantial considering South Korea has a total population of around 50 million.

Hmmmm, secured data files mere inches away from a USB port, employees with USB flashdrives, what could possibly go wrong? Apparently not even the most rudimentary steps of basic security remain in the public conciousness, even in the minds of network adminstrators.

Cyber attack: 750,000 malicious emails traced back to hacked home appliances ( NeoWin 2014-01-20 )

California security firm Proofpoint has announced their findings that a large botnet which sent over 750,000 malicious emails originated from the unlikeliest place imaginable: Home appliances, including televisions, routers and even refrigerators.

[...]

Proofpoint stated that the attack has "significant security implications for device owners", and that in the future, concerns may grow, in part due to the exponential growth of smart appliances. Thus far, device manufacturers have neglected to implement any major safety features, and consumers have no way to diagnose these infections if they do occur.

This is NeoWin's coverage of the story from a few days back. They appear to be as wary as we are over connected home appliances, but that is of course for one simple reason ... none of these refrigerators or TV's have a label that says "Microsoft Inside", yet. Since Microsoft is adamant about fighting on every battlefield they will have no choice but to create a Microsoft Tiles edition for home appliances. At that point the NeoWin articles would shift the blame to the stoopid home appliance owner for irresponsibly resisting change and not getting the latest updates and apps from the Microsoft Store.

Of course one thing that is hardly mentioned is exactly WHY this is hacking already occurring. It is happening because of the easily duped sheeple being promised and convinced that SMART things are better than anything else, and with that fancy LCD screen on the fridge or apps in that TV comes something called connectivity, usually defaulting to Wi-Fi being automatically on ( I checked our 60 inch Samsung and sure enough it was trying to latch onto Wi-Fi, unsuccessfully because I had both passphrases and MAC white-listing, however what percentage of sheeple do that? Almost none. ) So let's all use our shocked face and act surprised that the megacorps are just now shipping consumer electronics as preconfigured security exploits. Since the TV commercials are starting to trumpet that must-have feature of "controlling and monitoring xxx from your smartphone" where "xxx" is light bulbs, toasters, security cameras, refrigerators and ovens it doesn't take a rocket scientist to predict the immediate future. Maybe we shouldn't have allowed Orwell to be on the elementary school curriculum after all because it seems that the sheeple mistook those warnings for recipes. And we all know where recipes come from ... a cookbook.

Sorry to sound so cynical but I can't imagine a way out of this mess. For every person out there with a brain or just with common sense, there appears to be 100 more that have nothing between their ears. Clearly they have us outnumbered, and even if they didn't there is the force multiplier of herds of enablers cheering everything except for common sense, tech media that for the most part couldn't recognize danger if it were shaped like anvil falling off a cliff onto Wile E Coyote's head, and of course the Big Data empires that will proceed down any path as long as there is the promise of cash along the way. I'm sure our government protectors will save us, NOT. These new avenues are welcome additions to their spook toolbox. What about the fed bureaucrats? Doubtful, the FTC will make a manufacturer put warning labels on hammers and cigarettes but would never anticipate danger from a remotely controlled oven or toaster. Face it, Humanity is Doomed.

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

Microsoft Fixes Office 365 Exploit That Grants Admin Rights ( Tom's Hardware 2014-01-21 )

Alan Byrne of Cogmotive reports on the discovery of a "serious" Cross Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Microsoft Office 365. All a potential hacker needed in order to fully exploit this vulnerability are just a few lines of JavaScript and a web browser.

According to the report, any person with a mailbox in a company using Office 365 could gain full administrative permissions over an entire company's Office 365 environment. They would have the ability to make configuration changes to the environment, and gain access to every employees' email and SharePoint content.

[...]

The good news here is that the problem was reported to Microsoft on October 16, 2013, and resolved as of December 19, 2013.

If you say so.

LogMeIn is killing free remote access ( NeoWin 2014-01-21 )

LogMeIn Ends Free Ride, Gives Users 7 Days' Notice to Subscribe or Scram ( Maximum PC 2014-01-21 )

People who currently use the free version of the LogMeIn remote desktop software will have to prepare for a big, and for most an unwelcome, change. The company announced today that it will no longer offer a free version to download and will force current users to switch to their paid software.

[...]

Free LogMeIn users will have seven days of continued use after they log into the program beginning today. After that, they will have to pay to continue to use the program.

Didn't that used to be called bait and switch? Whatever, I guess. BTW, it seems that this is the norm for this outfit ...

LogMeIn have a habit of doing this - offering something for free, and then at a later stage change and offer exactly the same produce, but at a cost - so this news comes as no surprised to me!

Some recent examples of other LogMeIn products that were initially totally free, and are now paid services, include:

Cubby - initially totally free, then only free for certain options, with others that had been free suddenly becoming premium.

Hamachi - initially totally free, then only free for up to 8 devices, then only free for up to 5 devices.

Basically, don't trust LogMeIn as a company!! - They will screw you over and change the terms/license of their software at a whim.

You wouldn't mind paying more for more features, but when they take away features that once were free, and make you pay to get them back.. well, that's just bad business practice! No wonder their customers are annoyed and leaving them in droves for alternative - and FREE solutions!

US court: Bloggers have same speech protections as institutional press ( TechSpot 2014-01-20 )

Under US law, professional journalists are entitled to the First Amendment Protection which makes it mandatory for the accuser to prove that the accused journalist deliberately printed something they knew was false. In Cox's case, the blogger wasn't entitled to this protection as she wasn't a professional journalist.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, however, rejected the court's interpretation, and pointed out that the First Amendment Protection applies to anyone who raises a matter of public concern. According to the court, the allegations made by Cox were indeed a matter of public concern.

Well isn't that good news? Probably not I'm afraid. This does NOT have paradigm shift written all over it IMHO. The Ninth Circus ( not a typo ) finally got something right it seems, but it should have been obvious all along and never got there. And I am referring to the categorization of the First Amendment and NOT about the defamation issue. I'm worried that if people highlight the First Amendment part of this case it will become even more damaged because of this blogger's carelessness and it could easily get overturned by the Supreme Court. This is really a dangerous case IMHO.

The main issue not being addressed in isolation is the fact that there are now laws in the USA that amend the First Amendment, casting journalists into categories: pros or amateurs, and this is utterly ridiculous. I've read the Federalist papers and that is NOT the intent of the Constitution. Such a concept is insidious for another reason, and that is that once this twisting of the First Amendment is accepted, then you have the locking-in of the concept because the very journalists reporting on such matters ( even this particular case ) have a vested interest in protecting their protected status, which means shaping the "journalist vs blogger" issue in their stories squarely against the blogger ( and this often happens ) which cements their own position of power.

The closest possible parallel to revolutionary pamphleteers in colonial times has to be today's citizen bloggers, relentlessly questioning the system and everything around them. By no stretch of the imagination can the intent of free speech protection be applied solely to paid journalists. That is the biggest insult to the Constitution imaginable. And that is why this case is so dangerous as it could very well set even worse precedents if it is overturned, or, if people merely accept the concept of special status for paid journalism.

Microsoft's not entirely pleased with NSA reforms, says there is more work to do' ( NeoWin 2014-01-21 )

With the fluff out of the way, Microsoft has take a hard stance that the announcements by Obama about the NSA reforms are not enough and they are not happy with the current plans. More so, if you start to understand why they are unhappy, it becomes quite clear why the US (and all countries) needs a legal framework.

Heres the deal. If the government is able to, at will, retrieve data from Microsoft (or Google, Apple, or Amazon) then it is hard to make the sell that US organizations are secure options for storing data (Cloud). Think about it, if you are outside the US and you choose any US firm to securely store your data, you are giving the US government access to your information, based on the current procedures. That, in itself, puts US companies in a tough position as they are now at a disadvantage where firms outside the US can advertise that they are able to offer more secure solutions than US based companies.

Here is Brad Sams trying to understand a huge issue through the narrow perspective from the NeoWin fishbowl. In short, he is buying the story that they are upset with the limited scope of proposed reforms and have their hands tied. Sycophants do that, so do enablers. I think the spook first and primary PRISM partner ( Microsoft ) has a lot of explaining to do and they have done none. If they want to impress me, disregard the gag orders and tell us all about the backdoors and other weaknesses the spooks are privy to. Detail all the stuff in Windows and Office and explain what happened around Longhorn-Vista. That's just the beginning of the questions.

[vinifera]

seems like Update 1 will allow pinning of metrocrap apps to taskbar

http://www.winbeta.org/news/modern-apps-can-be-pinned-taskbar-latest-windows-81-update-1-builds

is it just me or this move + "threshold" which will bring windoved metrocrap apps to desktop
is admitting metro was failure from beginning ?

[bphlpt]

In my mind, allowing the "metro" apps to be used as windowed apps on the desktop turns a lot of them into the gadgets that MS quit supporting. Oh wait. Could it possibly be that MS quit supporting gadgets to force people to have to get those same functions through the MS store? Hmmmm...

Cheers and Regards

[JorgeA]

I saw this one mentioned over at TechBroil ...

Dear HP: Running From the Future Doesn't Help Anyone ( Gizmodo 2014-01-19 )

Except when they don't. It's one thing to let tech-savvy consumers have the option for a software downgrade if they see fit, but HP's choice to push Windows 7 on consumers by default is another entirely: it's bad, for everyone involved. No one ever came out ahead by fighting against the future.

[...]

Clinging to the old guard is just delaying the inevitable. It also ensures that everyone who's trying to run from the future is only going to be even more hopelessly behind when stalling isn't an option anymore.

[...]

So please HP, don't be an enabler. Or if you're going to retreat, at least pick a route that's not a total dead end.

Seeing how he hits all the common memes, this author should apply for a job at NeoWin ( if his self-photo is accurate he is about the right age for the NeoKids ). The replies are great as he gets skewered for his accidental or intentional shilling. One of his replies back is: "The issue isn't HP giving the people what they want; it's HP setting the whole thing up in a way that nudges undecideds toward the dying OS instead of the one that's going to survive, whether they've expressed any preference or not.". I find that funny because using the term "dying" is so misplaced. Maybe Windows 7 is on death-row slated for planned execution, in that case it would be a victim of murder. Normally that is "dying" but condemned. "Dying" is usually reserved for something about to die from inevitability, perhaps natural causes like old age, perhaps a self-inflicted wound like suicide. That word seems better applied to Windows 8 if you ask me. Or maybe a better description is stillborn.

Regardless, Microsoft Tiles is now about 4 years old since conception during the introduction of the iPad, which ironically was the age of Windows 7 just last year when it finally became clear that Microsoft was obsolescing it prematurely ( no more sales, apparently no more service packs ). Therefore isn't time for change? Shouldn't MetroTards now step aside and embrace the future?

This Eric Limer has got his logic backward. "The future" isn't set in stone, otherwise the Thousand-Year Reich in Germany would still be standing and the Proletarian Revolution would still be spreading out of Russia to an ever-growing list of countries.

"The future" is the unpredictable outcome of an unimaginably complex set of factors, in the case of Windows involving the push-and-pull, give-and-take of Microsoft, the press, and most importantly their respective customers and readers. One may push for or root for specific outcomes, but to proclaim a particular outcome as "the future" is baseless and idi0tic. For all we know, it'll be Windows 8 that turns out to be the dead end and the future -- like both the past and the present -- really is the Desktop as currently represented by Windows 7, Vista, and XP.

Hewlett-Packard did not suddenly decide to paddle upstream by switching its promotions to Windows 7 -- why would they prefer to lose sales by forever ignoring customer preferences? More likely, what happened is that at first they thought that Win8, backed by the vast resources of Microsoft, would meet with widespread enthusiastic approval and so, like all other PC vendors, they offered it; but then as the sales figures came in, they eventually realized that Win8 was a loser and so they opted to switch back to a proven sales performer like Win7. It's Windows 8 that's paddling upstream, not Windows 7.

So my take on it is that H-P isn't "fighting against the future" or "clinging to the old guard," as Limer puts it -- rather, they saw the handwriting on the wall and adjusted accordingly.

--JorgeA

[JorgeA]

seems like Update 1 will allow pinning of metrocrap apps to taskbar

http://www.winbeta.org/news/modern-apps-can-be-pinned-taskbar-latest-windows-81-update-1-builds

is it just me or this move + "threshold" which will bring windoved metrocrap apps to desktop

is admitting metro was failure from beginning ?

Considering that it's a retreat from the tile model they've been pusing, I think we can argue that it means they're admitting that it's at least a half-failure...

--JorgeA

[JorgeA]

In my mind, allowing the "metro" apps to be used as windowed apps on the desktop turns a lot of them into the gadgets that MS quit supporting. Oh wait. Could it possibly be that MS quit supporting gadgets to force people to have to get those same functions through the MS store? Hmmmm...

Cheers and Regards

Makes a lot of sense to me. Talk about "nudging" like that guy Limer was talking about.

I always did find it "interesting" that MSFT quit support for Gadgets just as they were gearing up to release Win8. In my view it was an attempt to highlight the contrast between what would now be an increasingly "static" Win7 Desktop, and the "dynamic" (epileptic seizure-inducing) Metro Tiles with stuff constantly scrolling and blinking.

--JorgeA

[Aero7x64]

Well I could care less about brand in this case. Just changing name of Windows wouldn't do it to me. If Windows 9 will come already in 2014 and will be similar to Win 8.1 then it just rebranding and is actually Windows 8.2. I want full Windows Aero and proper start menu (and no tiles menu wouldn't be counted, I want that it will function and look like desktop start menu). I already thought before that timeline of 2016-2017 would be more likely time to Microsoft actually understand what they should do. Rebranding without full Windows Aero and proper start menu would be just lame. Personally I don't have to hurry anywhere. Microsoft has obviously investigated lot of time and money to this unification attempt and it will probably take some time in order that they fully understand that this is not right way. But it will also teach them big lesson ( that all devices can't be unifield without compromising them all some way) that they most likely won't forget in future.

Edited January 23, 2014 by Aero7x64

[jaclaz]

Well I could care less about brand in this case. Just changing name of Windows wouldn't do it to me. If Windows 9 will come already in 2014 and will be similar to Win 8.1 then it just rebranding and is actually Windows 8.2. I want full Windows Aero and proper start menu (and no tiles menu wouldn't be counted, I want that it will function and look like desktop start menu). I already thought before that timeline of 2016-2017 would be more likely time to Microsoft actually understand what they should do. Rebranding without full Windows Aero and proper start menu would be just lame. Personally I don't have to hurry anywhere. Microsoft has obviously investigated lot of time and money to this unification attempt and it will probably take some time in order that they fully understand that this is not right way. But it will also teach them big lesson ( that all devices can't be unifield without compromising them all some way) that they most likely won't forget in future.

I find it necessary, before anyone accuses us *somehow* of being fanboys for the desktop (and Aero or *whatever*) that the point is not about the NCI (Nameless Crap Interface) being crap (which it is - at least on desktops ), but about having the option to use it (if one likes it ) on devices such as tablets and other touch enabled hardware but to have additionally the option to use a more traditional desktop interface.

All in all, what we are asking is a minimum amount of freedom in choosing the way we like to use the PC (and let everyone else liking the NCI be completely free to use it instead).

This basic freedom has been already been negated to us in Office applications (with the forced use of the senseless ribbon), with the obvious consequence of many of us migrating to other office suites or remaining with good ol' pre-2007 releases, let's see if this time the good MS guys will be more "democratic" .

And no, Office 365 remains "pure folly" in my mind.

jaclaz

[Aero7x64]

Of course. That what I already said before in past. When I said tiles menu ( http://i.imgur.com/3zVm4HC.jpg) I didn't mean start screen but speculated tiles menu that was in screenshot before. That kind of start menu would just be insult to users who want proper start menu. Having option to use for example start screen is necessary because there are people who actually like it ( and they are not your typical Windows 8 fanboy) but there should be possibility to use also proper start menu. I prefer start menu to my user case but on certain different user cases it makes sense to use start screen. Basically there should be options. Default for desktop version should be proper start menu and full WIndows Aero theme but optionally user could choose minimalistic (flat) theme ( or some other basic or classic like theme) and use start screen if it fit to specific user case better.

Edited January 23, 2014 by Aero7x64

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

New Windows 8.1 update 1 screenshots highlight modern app pinning ( NeoWin 2014-01-23 )

( Image from NeoWin )

Looks like the taskbar will now be littered with icons for Metro apps in addition to all the normal x86 applications and other shortcuts. Yay Microsoft.

Hopefully they will think of combining them into a single icon with a jump list ( SEPARATE from usual Explorer one ). We'll call it the Metro or Playskool icon.

Best comment I've seen yet ... "I been using Windows 8.1 for several weeks and I have to say: Windows 7 is awesome!"

Microsoft's Must-Have List for Windows 9 ( John Dvorak PC Magazine 2014-01-22 )

Dvorak drops the hammer on Microsoft for the Windows 8 fiasco and offers up some suggestions ( not enough though IMHO ). Surprisingly most commenters so far agree which is surprising because ZD has quite a few astroturfers.

Nokia sold 8.2 million Lumias in Q4 2013 ( NeoWin 2014-01-23 )

Nokia did not reveal how many feature phones or Lumia smartphones it sold during the fourth quarter of 2013 in its latest financial report today, but later confirmed that it sold 8.2 million Lumias in the fourth quarter.

Back in October, Nokia said it sold 8.8 million Lumia handsets worldwide and 55.8 million mobile phones for the third quarter of 2013. Today's report from Nokia's Devices and Services division stated that Lumia sales for the fourth quarter of 2013 were up from the same period a year ago but down from the third quarter of last year. Overall, Nokia sold 30 million Lumia phones in 2013, over double the number that it recorded being sold during 2012.

Awfully wordy article when they could have just said: "Nokia Lumia sales down in Q4 2013 from Q3." That means the crucial Q4 Thanksgiving-Christmas holiday season somehow underperformed the late summer Q3 dead quarter.

UPDATE ...

Nokia reveals hugely disappointing Lumia Windows Phone sales in Q4 2013 ( BetaNews 2014-01-23 )

Nokia reveals hugely disappointing Lumia Windows Phone sales in Q4 2013 ( The Verge 2014-01-23 )

HeHeHe Folks stoking the flames. The Verge Tribe comments should get pretty good.

Edited January 24, 2014 by CharlotteTheHarlot

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

Edward Snowden to participate in live Q&A session on January 23rd at 3PM ET ( TechSpot 2014-01-22 )

Live Q&A with Edward Snowden: Thursday 23rd January, 8pm GMT, 3pm EST ( FreeSnowden 2014-01-23 )

For a good laugh read the comments at the first link from before the Q&A from a couple of sheeple ( saying: "He's a Traitor" ) boot-lickers.

NOTE: the interview is now complete. At the second link is the completed transcript.

I like how the second question and answer echo what I said a few days ago ...

@mrbass21 Recently several threats have been made on your life by the intelligence community. Are you afraid for your life? Thoughts? #AskSnowden

Its concerning, to me, but primarily for reasons you might not expect.

That current, serving officials of our government are so comfortable in their authorities that theyre willing to tell reporters on the record that they think the due process protections of the 5th Amendment of our Constitution are outdated concepts. These are the same officials telling us to trust that theyll honor the 4th and 1st Amendments. This should bother all of us.

The fact that its also a direct threat to my life is something I am aware of, but Im not going to be intimidated. Doing the right thing means having no regrets.

Good answer.

Independent watchdog says NSA program is illegal and should end ( TechSpot 2014-01-23 )

Less than a week after President Barack Obama announced plans to overhaul controversial NSA phone data collection program, an independent review board has questioned the program's legality. According to a Washington Post report, the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, which became an independent agency in 2007, has concluded that the program is illegal and should end.

Well that's all fine and dandy, but only of gray area significance because it is mostly metadata and has been done for a very long time. Ultimately this will probably be ruled Constitutional IMHO because it occurs outside of the home, in transit where governments have some claim to regulatory privilege. That's not to say it is a slam dunk, or even acceptable, but it looks to me like one of those sucker issues to draw in everybody's focus and resources and they will ultimately hammer out a compromise so everyone feels like they won something ( though we lose in every circumstance ).

Meanwhile crystal clear violations of the Constitution are evident. Black bag jobs, spying on private property, collecting content ( not just metadata ), breaking and entering into Big Data resources, hardware and software spyware, data theft and hacking, and other computer crimes galore. The list is simply endless and we don't even know a fraction of the entire scope. The First, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments are under specific assault, but frankly the most important one is the Ninth Amendment that essentially says "Those previous Eight Amendments are NOT all the rights we have by a longshot, just a few of them we bothered to enumerate. We reserve everything stated and unstated, period". The original intent is that it is the government that is limited, not the citizenry. With that perspective the amount of rights violated by the spook agencies and the government itself is almost unmeasurable.

Federal judge rules IP address alone not proof of copyright infringement ( NeoWin 2014-01-23 )

In considering a claim against hundreds of alleged downloaders of the movie Elf-Man, Judge Lasnik considered the complaint brought forward by the film-makers, who asserted that the defendants - identified via their IP addresses through their internet service providers under subpoena - had either downloaded a copy of the film themselves, or otherwise enabled others to download the files using their internet connection.

But the judge disagreed with that assessment: "[The movie studio] has actually alleged no more than that the named defendants purchased Internet access and failed to ensure that others did not use that access to download copyrighted material," he stated. "Simply identifying the account holder associated with an IP address tells us very little about who actually downloaded 'Elf-Man' using that IP address."

Amen to that ruling which kicks the Hollywood Mafia right in the 'nads. Now they are going to have to figure out ways to break into the networks at those IP addresses to steal personal info that might identify the dummies who copied their stoopid movie. Or they can just ask their friends in spook agencies, or the DoJ to do it for them. Or they will cry to their DC benefactors to pass even more laws to save their starving industry ( /sarc ) from ruin.

I wonder why some clever individuals didn't set up a reverse honey pot trap showing fake movie and music files, which records IP addresses from the Hollywood Mafia and their agents and drag them into court for a variety of computer crimes? On private property they could host a private server and buy a T3 line and a bank of URLs and place a big banner on the front page with an Opt-In EULA that says "No Trespassing. Federal Agencies and Hollywood and their agents are not welcome and if you enter this site you agree to pay One Million Dollars for each infraction". A firm of lawyers could have a field day with the results and it would help right the floundering ship of privacy back to vertical after they get a taste of their own medicine. What's good for the goose.

[jaclaz]

If I may , you are extending the concept of astroturfing a bit too much .
The general idea of astroturfing
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astroturfing
is IMHO in three points:

• deny (or hide) any connection with the product/firm, i.e. appear as "independent" or"super partes"
• appear as knowledgeable, expert, reliable, honest
• recommend the product/firm (or tell everyone how great it is, etc.)

A large part of what you address as "astroturfing" fulfills point #1 and #3 but fail on point #2, thus flatly falling in this definition of "fanboyism":
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Fanboy&defid=3190045

An astroturfer, in other words, has often spent some time and work in creating it's credibility, in a somewhat perverted way he/she has some more dignity and deserves some more respect than the "pure" fanboy.

Courtesy of: http://venturebeat.com/2013/08/22/understanding-fanboy-ism-an-overused-and-misconstrued-term/

jaclaz

Edited January 24, 2014 by jaclaz