Windows 8 - Deeper Impressions

[vinifera]

I don't understand why is everyone so afraid that this metro crap will take over the world

MS does not make standards, people do

why comply to their crap designs ?

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

The modern disease spreads:

http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=2722493

Guy who designed the new logo:

http://blog.seanmartell.com/2013/06/27/rebuilding-a-simplified-firefox-logo/

Notice the metro look on that site. it even has a swipe function! (The "cell" on the left side)

A page and graphic outlining these stupid little changes? Man. Why does this remind me of elementary schools awarding ribbons to kids for the little things.

I used to think these were anomalies but it is clear now that all segments of the industry went out and hired "new blood" but without testing the potential hires for IQ. I'm picturing cubicles full of youngsters with pants sagging down below their @ss and with more piercings than brains. And then they think we're crazy when we call them out for blunder after blunder.

Anyway, the new logo sucks. Notice that Mozilla locked comments on the announcement thread:

http://blog.mozilla.org/creative/2013/06/27/a-new-firefox-logo-for-a-new-firefox-era/

I'm pretty sure they never would have heard the end of it. Cowards.

[jaclaz]

Let's say that someone (with all due respect) who is "excited" to announce:

http://blog.seanmartell.com/2013/06/27/rebuilding-a-simplified-firefox-logo/

... excited to announce a visual evolution of our Firefox brand that will better fit its extended usage beyond that of a desktop web browser.

and "happy" about the arm extending from a shoulder :

A final touch that you may notice in the new logo (and one that makes me very happy) is the arm of the fox now extends from a shoulder instead of layering behind his chest 6. It’s a small detail, but it really seems to unify the form of the fox and make him feel more cohesive a brand element.

ad actually thinks that these unneeded changes may contribute in *any* way to the "brand" with *any* degree of relevance, might he be the best graphic designer that ever walked on Earth, has, in my mind, automatically won a mention in the Hall of Fame for the All Time Most Superfluous Reasons to be excited or happy (or both).

jaclaz

[TELVM]

Another example of logo retardation:

-------------------

"WTF? This 'modern' crap is ruining everything!"

[jaclaz]

SCOOP!

A lot of people designing GUI and GUI tools are using this:

http://toastytech.com/guis/uirant.html

as source for inspiration, BUT they failed to understand the nature of the document and/or missed the small text:

Good User Interface Design Tips

(If you want to whiz off your users)

jaclaz

P.S.: An interesting attempt to describe the FUTURE evolution of a few logos (compared with the past ones):

http://albinopanda.com/evolution-of-logos

Edited August 8, 2013 by jaclaz

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

Did Microsoft make a mistake in listening to fan feedback for Xbox One? ( NeoWin 2013-08-05 )

But did Microsoft make the right move, both as a company and for its customers, to cave in to user demand in this case? Gamesindustry International interviewed Jesse Schell, the founder of casual game developer Schell Games, claims that Microsoft did in fact make the wrong move. In fact, he states that in terms of all large companies, "There's one mistake that they all make, and that mistake is listening to their customers."

How about that? I'd say that's the logical progression of the arrogant mind. He sounds like he is applying for a job at Microsoft ( or NeoWin, or The Verge, or EA, or ... ).

Microsoft calls Windows 8.1 an 'update', not a 'upgrade', for the money ( NeoWin 2013-08-05 )

Uh huh. I cannot wait to see what happens when the browser stats are updated to include Windows 8.1 Blew. They will have no honest choice but to keep it separate from Windows 8.0 in the same manner that they sort the last few Mac OSX releases. Look for priceless entertainment at NeoWin and The Verge when the fanboys discover what has happened!

Key Xbox One features limited to Xbox Live Gold subscribers ( TechSpot 2013-08-07 )

Xbox One to restrict Skype, OneGuide and Game DVR to Xbox Live Gold members ( NeoWin 2013-08-07 )

Xbox One DVR Features for Gold Members Only ( Tom's Hardware 2013-08-08 )

Naturally there's a whole lotta defendin' goin' on in them thar comments. But these defenses ring hollow because when Microsoft and their sycophants kept throwing up bullet lists of features for NuXbox, they conveniently left off the fine print on the items that "require Live Gold subscriptions" didn't they? Sony scores another win. The Xbox now more than ever is the bait on a hook in a sea of sheeplefish.

Microsoft discounts Surface Pro by $100 during August ( TechSpot 2013-08-04 )

Microsoft cuts price of Surface Pro by $100 for "limited time" ( NeoWin 2013-08-04 )

Microsoft Cuts the Price of the Surface Pro by $100 ( Tom's Hardware 2013-08-05 )

Microsoft Trims $100 Off Surface Pro Following Surface RT Reduction ( Maximum PC 2013-08-05 )

It sure is getting harder to keep track of all the price cutting for Surfaces. But this one here is just plain dumb. It's only $100, not even enough to cover the keyboard. Want to see how overpriced the thing still is? Here is how I read it ...

• Surface with 10.6" screen and onboard graphics with 128 GB storage and 4 GB RAM and no keyboard is $900.
• Add keyboard for $129
• Or add keyboard and Office Home-Student and 2-year warranty for $309 to $478.

So expect to pay $1200 to $1400 before tax for an almost functional laptop with a 10" screen. That is the cost of two good 17" laptops. I think I'll pass!

EDIT: typo, added article

Edited August 10, 2013 by CharlotteTheHarlot

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

Windows Phone takes third place in Q2 with 8.7 million units shipped ( NeoWin 2013-08-07 )

2013 Q2 Shipping Units and Shipping Share
Android ... 187.4 million ... 79.3 %
iOS ........ 31.2 million ... 13.2 %
Windows ..... 8.7 million .... 3.7 %
Blackberry .. 6.8 million .... 2.9 %

That is "shipped" units last quarter, and contrary to what many of the fanboys are saying those percentages are NOT "marketshare" as they describe it. They are in fact "shipping share" of the last quarter ( I checked the math ) a meaningless synthetic statistic. I wish Blackberry had gotten a little traction by now, but it is no longer looking good for them. Unless they have something up their sleeve it will be tough to recover. But on the bright side, they can't go too much lower and if they do manage a small gain while WP loses a little the headlines will be priceless entertainment over at NeoWin and The Verge What they both have to worry about now is another refresh from Apple which is in the pipeline as we speak.


Nokia completes buyout of joint venture with Siemens; could start layoffs ( NeoWin 2013-08-08 )

While everything in today's press release sounds optimistic, another report from Bloomberg, citing unnamed sources, claims that Nokia is already considering some job cuts at NSN. The plan, if put into motion, would lay off as many as 8,500 of its team members, or about 17 percent of NSN's workforce, by the end of 2014 in an effort to boost profitability.

Meanwhile back in the real world, Nokia is still hanging on by a thread. I don't see how they will survive as a pawn on Microsoft's game board for more than a few more quarters.


Microsoft implements app searches on their website, lets you see inside the Windows Store ( NeoWin 2013-08-08 )

Until now only Windows 8 users could actually see inside of Microsoft’s store and search for the apps they wanted. There was no official way to search the store from a browser, and even though there were some alternatives out there they weren’t very reliable.

Well Microsoft is now making things a bit better with the introduction of App searches on the Windows website. Here curious folks can search for their favourite apps and see if they’re available and how much they cost.

Unfortunately this is still a very basic search implementation with no ability to differentiate by genre, game type, publisher or any of the “fancy” things that people expect from their app stores. But at least Microsoft is working on the problem and here’s hoping this will get better soon.

One year on and Microsoft finally puts a site search online, albeit a limited one. Stunning amateurism from the company that markets a search engine called Bing!

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

The Coming Windows XP Apocalypse ( Thurrott 2013-08-06 )

Windows XP still accounted for over 37 percent of all desktop OS usage share in July 2013, behind Windows 7 (44.5 percent) but well ahead of Windows 8 (5.4 percent), Vista (4.24 percent), or the most recent Mac OS X version (3.3 percent).

What the…?

No matter how you measure things, this is a disaster in the making.

Mega FUD! Well, unless he means a "disaster" for his beloved Microsoft which I highly doubt is the case.

With Windows 8, Microsoft is pushing a new world of the consumerization of IT and of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), two concepts that were basically science fiction in the superglued USB port days of 2001, when XP first shipped. XP has lived through three two-term US presidencies and was most notable in its day for being the OS that finally moved customers off the aging DOS-based Windows 9x codebase that dated back to 1985. This thing isn’t just venerable, it’s ancient history.

Okay, what the heck does "superglued" mean? And then he gives us two errors of fact in rapid succession: "XP has lived through three two-term US presidencies" Wait, what? That would be 24 years Paul. Continuing on: "the aging DOS-based Windows 9x codebase that dated back to 1985" Now he is just pulling dates out of a hat or it's a typo. That should be 1995 obviously.

The closest comparison, perhaps, is the Y2K scare, though I’d argue that these two events are in fact complete opposites. With Y2K, many were forecasting an electronic doomsday scenario in which society crumbled overnight as aging computer systems reverted back in time 100 years, resulting in what I took to be a “Planet of the Apes”-type outcome. The XP expiration is a bit more insidious. Obviously, these PCs will continue to work just fine and will still run much modern software.

Yes they are complete opposite for one primary reason ... in Y2K there were countless unknowns, but with Windows XP there are none. Even though he is throwing around hyperbolic adjectives like "insidious" he does mention that computers will continue to work fine ( possibly better than ever because of the lack of pushed updates constantly altering the operating system code ). He still lies firmly on the FUD spreading side of the argument though, injecting fear, uncertainty and doubt where there is none if you have a functioning brain.

I’m nervous that businesses either don’t take this threat seriously enough or have determined that the sheer amount of time, effort, and cost that an XP migration would require simply makes this change untenable for the short term, and they’re reacting with a predictable “deer in the headlamps” gaze that could result in a disaster that will in effect be a realization of the Y2K predictions. (Well, without the Dr. Zaius stuff.)

Folks, it’s time to get serious about this migration, and if you’re dead-set against Windows 8 for some reason, Windows 7 is still there for the taking. Don’t be a statistic: Migrate before the clock stops ticking.

More uber-FUD! "realization of the Y2K predictions" and "Don’t be a statistic" and "Migrate before the clock stops ticking". Absolutely pathetic! He's like a little girl. But that's what happens when someone goes off his bi-polar medication I guess. Either that or it is simply shilling for Microsoft who happen to be in a quest to reduce Windows XP usage to 10%. I guess he got the memo.

Here's one of his sycophants ...

I do a lot of support for friends, family and very small businesses (2-4 pc's) and most of these folks are running XP on 6-10 year old hardware. I've tried to warn them of the impending disaster ...

God, I wish I had five minutes with this guy to make him explain a single scenario that qualifies as a disaster! The only disaster will be for Microsoft and her sycophants if the Sheeple ever discover that Microsoft doesn't really support anything, and that these computers will prosper without endless placebo security updates and .NET fixes tying up the system.

Here's another ...

I don't think Microsoft has to continue to support Windows XP just because there are businesses that refuse to upgrade to a newer operating system. If they did that for a 12-year old OS, then you would have to expect them to continue issuing patches for DOS 3.x and Windows 98 as well. Hardware manufacturers fail to issue drivers for their older machines and software makers drop support for older operating systems. There have been 3 new operating systems released since Windows XP and refusing to move is a choice that Microsoft doesn't need to support.

I have a Mac Classic that runs OS 6.x fine, but I'm not expecting Apple to support it so why would I expect Microsoft to continue to support old hardware and old operating systems forever? At least they provided an upgrade path for XP, Vista and 7 users - Apple drops generations of hardware with every new release of OS X.

It's NOT about Microsoft supporting a 12 year old operating system ( and it's more like 5 for WinXP SP3 which is younger than Vista and Vista SP1 ) they don't support crap anyway, it's about those drivers not being produced in the first place, most likely in collusion with the convicted monopolist Microsoft in order to manufacture new operating system and hardware sales.

And comparing Microsoft to Apple is simply ridiculous since Apple is the opposite of Microsoft. They are a hardware company and have no more responsibility to "support" their hardware after the warranty period than the manufacturer of your car or refrigerator or microwave. Their operating system is designed only for their hardware and therefore is closer to a firmware than to the Windows platform. And that so-called "upgrade path" is almost non-existent unless you don't mind losing stuff along the way. Furthermore, as I demonstrated a while back, if you are using WinXP 32-bit as most people are, you will only receive the 32-bit version upgrade. So there is no successful path in WinXP in most circumstances.

EDIT: spacing

Edited August 8, 2013 by CharlotteTheHarlot

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

From The Competition ...

LG Intros New Flagship G2 Phone ( Tom's Hardware 2013-08-07 )

The new phone also features a unique design that positions all the buttons on the back of the device rather than along the side. LG said that as screens get bigger, it's more difficult to access buttons when they're lined along the edge. Users have better control when buttons are on the back because that's where their index fingers naturally reside. The design also supposedly reduces the chance of dropping the device when adjusting the volume.

It's about time! It took larger and larger phones for designers to finally figure out that buttons on the edges are stupid. Finally some common sense!

Intel reveals 7- and 10-inch Android educational tablets ( TechSpot 2013-08-06 )

Intel Intros Two Atom-Based Tablets for Education ( Tom's Hardware 2013-08-09 )

No pricing information but since they are Atoms they will be cheap. The really important keywords here are "Intel" and "Android".

Meet Sol, the Solar-powered Ubuntu notebook with a 10-hour battery ( TechSpot 2013-08-06 )

Just had to show that cool picture with the unfolding solar array ( no mention of a retractable Canadian arm though ). It's another Atom running between $350 and $400. The really important keywords here are "Intel" and "Linux".

I got an idea. If they ever make TV commercials for these new devices what they should do right after those little Intel ding tones have it end with: 'Brought to you by Microsoft and Windows 8'

Miscellaneous Stuff ...

Disabled Australian starts petition to kill CAPTCHA ( TechSpot 2013-08-05 )

CAPTCHA technology could become a thing of the past ( NeoWin 2013-08-07 )

Well I'm not blind but after using these captcha thingies I do want to gouge my eyes out. And I'm not deaf but after hearing some of the audio captchas I want to shove a pencil in my ears. No, I'm just kidding, those are things I would like to do to the authors of these captchas. Clearly they won't miss their eyes and ears since they are obviously not in working order. You can put me down as supporting the destruction of this captcha insanity.

Poor design decision in Chrome makes it easy to steal passwords ( NeoWin 2013-08-07 )

Ah, the fanboys have a circle jerk whipping Chrome for a so-called security flaw. It's no flaw. It is by design. It is a feature that gives the owner of the computer the ability to check out his browser-stored passwords! Lots of commenters advocating some 3rd party password storage tool but that means it will need to have the ability to enter them into web pages as you browse or else you will be typing them in by hand. Ironically their favorite browser, MSIE, is the easiest one of all to collect stored passwords from. Furthermore, most of these commenters are advocates of Metro which prominently displays live tiles of personal information within eyeshot of anyone nearby and a single finger press for access. What dummies.

Hackers demonstrate Toyota Prius hijacking on video ( TechSpot 2013-08-07 )

For now this a very local hack, meaning they need to be physically in the car with access to certain components. But just wait until everything is connected online ( because it can be, it will be ) and when you have an app for your phone that controls stuff in your car ( because it can be, it will be ). At this point things are going to get interesting indeed.

EDIT: added article

Edited August 10, 2013 by CharlotteTheHarlot

[vinifera]

I have Neptune do you want a set of screens?

I would like to see them also. Can you confirm that the 2nd and 4th screenshot that Jorge reposted above from Thurrott are from that build?

no they aren't

those were only concept pic's

but 3rd one IS from leaked build, and was re-enabled by user known to beta scene named Ken Oath (I have his video doing it if anyone is interested to see)

he re-enabled 80% activity centers (then)

Edited August 8, 2013 by vinifera

[ricktendo]

The modern disease spreads:

http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=2722493

Guy who designed the new logo:

http://blog.seanmartell.com/2013/06/27/rebuilding-a-simplified-firefox-logo/

Notice the metro look on that site. it even has a swipe function! (The "cell" on the left side)

Android icon still remains the same as before, non metro. Has the Mac and/or Linux icons changed as well?

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

Microsoft will absorb cost to add headset to Xbox One; no change in price ( NeoWin 2013-08-08 )

Wow, look what a little competition can do! Just imagine if all their products had competition.

Acer to sell fewer Windows PCs in favor of more Android and Chromebook products ( NeoWin 2013-08-08 )

Acer to offer fewer Windows devices in favor of Android, Chromebooks ( TechSpot 2013-08-09 )

It's official: Asus will no longer make Windows RT products ( NeoWin 2013-08-09 )

One of the biggest OEM's dropping the hammer on Microsoft. HP is in serious trouble and Dell is also on the ropes. There's still Lenovo, but being Chinese and with precedents already set warning about some Chinese manufacturers for security reasons they could wind up being a problem also. Microsoft made two errors in this latest cycle, first they released a Windows that almost everyone despises, and secondly they chose to sucker punch "their OEMs" with the Surface and there are now visible consequences. It's a brand new ball game and anything could happen at anytime. Microsoft could wind up with almost no-one selling Windows devices.

Snowden's Secure Email Service Mysteriously Shuts Down ( Tom's Hardware 2013-08-08 )

This is one of the most troubling security items I've seen yet. A secure messaging company called Lavabit, whose: "... service offered strong end-to-end email encryption that would make it difficult for anyone other than an account holder to read messages." has been forced to close.

Ever heard of Lavabit? Neither had we, but it was a secure email service that NSA leaker Edward Snowden used to communicate while on the run and now it's been shut down.

"My fellow users, I have been forced to make a difficult decision: to become complicit in crimes against the American people or walk away from nearly ten years of hard work by shutting down Lavabit," wrote Lavabit owner and operator Ladar Levison in an open letter posted on Lavabit.com today (Aug. 8). "After significant soul searching, I have decided to suspend operations."

I've said that governments everywhere are making their moves to tame the Internet and naturally they will all cooperate with each other since they all have the exact same goal: keeping themselves in power and thwarting citizen independence and potential insurrections. A service like the one Lavabit ran was a direct threat so expect every country to do this going forward.

In the letter, Levison hinted that pressure from the federal government was behind the shutdown.

"I wish that I could legally share with you the events that led to my decision," he wrote. "Unfortunately, Congress has passed laws that say otherwise. As things currently stand, I cannot share my experiences over the last six weeks, even though I have twice made the appropriate requests."

I'd say that's sure confirmation considering they normally say nothing in these cases.

"This experience has taught me one very important lesson," Levison concluded. "Without congressional action or a strong judicial precedent, I would strongly recommend against anyone trusting their private data to a company with physical ties to the United States."

That's for sure! More verification for John Dvorak's hypothesis that the spying scandal will seriously damage American tech companies more than anything else.

Seeing how the feds are going after these firms in secret and then taking their data ( Fourth Amendment ) and then prohibiting them from even talking about it ( First Amendment ), so the companies come out with carefully worded denials, does anyone really believe that Microsoft hasn't completely caved no matter what they say? Longhorn/Vista was completely written post-9/11, it's time to consider the likelihood that it is completely compromised.

EDIT: added articles

Edited August 10, 2013 by CharlotteTheHarlot

[jaclaz]

Android icon still remains the same as before, non metro. Has the Mac and/or Linux icons changed as well?

In the case of Linux, it can be even worse than "modern" style, in some cases (Ubuntu) , see:

http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/155290-windows-8-deeper-impressions/page-133#entry1043129

http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/155290-windows-8-deeper-impressions/?p=1043219

jaclaz

Edited August 9, 2013 by jaclaz

[bpalone]

Seeing how the feds are going after these firms in secret and then taking their data ( Fourth Amendment ) and then prohibiting them from even talking about it ( First Amendment ), so the companies come out with carefully worded denials, does anyone really believe that Microsoft hasn't completely caved no matter what they say? Longhorn/Vista was completely written post-9/11, it's time to consider the likelihood that it is completely compromised.

I was always a bit skeptical of the conspiracy theory about Microsoft, but the more recent revelations certainly make one one rethink their position. I quit the treadmill with 2K, and never really cared for XP, but tolerated it. Personally, I think everything after 2K was downhill.

The revelation of Acer certainly make one think that Microsoft's days may be numbered. They may be lucky to come out of all this as the 75 pound gorilla. I wonder if enterprise customers are seriously starting to look at other platforms for their OS? Or.. are they just considering staying with the OLD Windows platform and making do?

It will be an interesting event to watch unfold. The proprietary file formats are no longer enough to keep your customers locked into your product. So... time will tell who survives and who doesn't.

bpalone

[JorgeA]

More reasons not to put your stuff in the cloud:

Gartner: SaaS contract language regarding security is lacking

The large majority of people working in IT procurement are "significantly dissatisfied" with the way SaaS (software as a service) vendors define contract language related to security, a feeling likely to persist through 2015, according to a Gartner report.

"Contractually, very little security language appears in the body of SaaS contracts," Gartner analysts Jay Heiser and Alexa Bona wrote in the report. "Typically the security section contains little more than platitudes, stating that the provider will use 'commercially reasonable efforts to establish and maintain security safeguards.' These are often declared to be 'in line with industry standards,' which are mostly never defined."

SaaS vendors also tend to give themselves the right to change security language at will, rather than adhere to a specific version, according to Gartner.

Gartner reviewed more than 100 SaaS vendors' "master service agreements or service contracts and [service level agreements]" for the report, and found that providers "are extremely vague about the forms of service, and especially the levels of it."

"They accept little or no financial responsibility for fulfillment of these vague commitments, so even if it is determined that these obligations were not met, the buyer has no recourse," the report adds.

In this thread I've previously suggested the idea that, with the cloud and the notion of "software as a service," we are moving away from the individual-property model of license in perpetuity and heading toward a feudal-type system where the "lord of the manor" controls everything and users are mere renters paying regular tribute for the privilege of working on the lord's estate. How curious, then, to see the following paragraph at the bottom of the first page (see the portion I've highlighted):

"Nearly all contracts have a force majeure clause that excludes several forms of catastrophic incident," the report states. "If a failure simultaneously affected 1,000 customers, and each was entitled to $2 million of compensation, it would amount to a total payout of $2 billion. Ask service providers what their total liability would be in the case of a failure impacting all of their tenants, and demand evidence of adequately underwritten insurance."

--JorgeA