Windows 8 - Deeper Impressions

[TELVM]

... Well it is another OS-tan, which isn't new and I believe pre-dates hipster culture (if that is such a thing.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Os-tan

I'm actually surprised it took this long for an official IE-tan to exist. I'm fairly sure there was one before, but maybe just not an officially supported product.

LOL, I wasn't aware of this funny jap notion .

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

Actually the fanboy mindset is not narcissistic at all, it's masochistic. All this stuff doesn't benefit the fanboy in the slightest, but he is willing to take it "for the team".

The "team" being in this case an anonymous corporation, to which the boyz have no actual meaningful relationships with (apart from using their products). This makes it even way more pathetic than nationalism, religious extremism and similar extreme devotions to a (group-) identity.

All true. So perhaps they have elements of all three ... NarcissisiSadoMasochism :lol

Narcissism ... consideration only to personal circumstances ... "Well this new Microsoft policy of xxx doesn't affect me at all"

Sadism ... willingness to inflict their preferred interface, or lack of it, on the rest of the world, and to make relatively easy jobs like detailed file level operations impossible through abstracted interface training wheels.

Masochism ... unerring ability to drop trow and bend over whenever their MicroMasters demand so.

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

Microsoft makes nice with student who got his Xbox One console early ( NeoWin 2013-11-10 )

... got his pre-ordered Xbox One console shipped to him two weeks early thanks to a mistake from retailer Target. "Moonlightswam" started posting up his impressions of the console on his Twitter account, and even uploaded an unboxing video of his Xbox One on YouTube.

Then Microsoft stepped in, as it took down his YouTube video on copyright violation claims, and then banned his new Xbox One console from connecting to the Internet. Needless to say, these actions were not appreciated by many people, least of all Moonlightswami, whose real name is André Weingarten, a college student in New York.

Wait what? Banned from "connecting to the Internet"? Addressable box? Remote kill switch? This really needs some explanation.

And now an update ...

Microsoft says Xbox One isn't getting new DRM policies ( NeoWin 2013-11-11 )

André Weingarten, a student from New York state, was able to play a disc copy of "Call of Duty: Ghosts" offline in campaign mode, even though his Xbox One was banned from connecting to the Internet, over the weekend. However, he later discovered he was unable to play the game at all.

Just a quick update, with my temporary console ban in place, I CANNOT play Ghosts offline. It requires online, and the ban prevents Live.

Microsoft Xbox executive Albert Penello later posted on the NeoGAF message boards that this was not a sign of a new DRM game policy for the Xbox One, but simply a consequence of the fact that the company is still not ready to debut the console to the public. He stated, "His build is now old. This is why we were saying we didn't want people on early - it's not done yet." He added, "When we launch, console will work exactly as you expect today on 360."

There are several huge pending questions here about remotely killing the thing and the previously denied always-connected DRM. Maybe NeoWin botched the previously story but "banned from connecting to the Internet" seems pretty clear to me.

One thing is for sure, Microsoft cannot catch a break with Xbox. It makes me wonder why they ever got into this crazy field in the first place because the tiny profit cannot be worth all of this. No wonder the thing is on everybody's chopping block.

The death of the PC was probably over-estimated and if Microsoft has any say in the matter we might just be talking about the death of the console instead.

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

New Xbox One commercial shows Kinect notification and zombies ( NeoWin 2013-11-11 )

It shows a man sitting on his couch watching a soccer match when his girlfriend Jennifer walks in the room. It's then that the Xbox One's Kinect sensor "sees" her and flashes a notification on screen, "Hi Jennifer." It's a solid display of the Xbox One's more distinctive features.

She then proceeds to take over her boyfriend's Xbox One activities by saying, "Xbox, show my stuff." The screen changes from the soccer match to Jennifer's dashboard. She asks the Xbox to go to "Dead Rising 3" where she begins to shoot some virtual zombies while her boyfriend just sits there amazed that she is playing such a game. We are not sure by the expression on the boyfriend's face if he is upset or just surprised that Jennifer turns out to be a fan of slaying the undead.

Wow, that's industrial strength creepiness. And it is a very short jump from here to custom tailored advertising recognition. I guarantee that all interested parties are waiting with baited breath for acceptance of this first "baby step". It really couldn't be any clearer to me that this is only a warmup. The enabler fanboys on the other hand, remain completely oblivious to this.

"Xbox, load MSFN Deeper Impressions please" ... I'm sorry Dave, I can't do that!

Internet Explorer users face drive-by attacks targeting new 0-day bug (Updated) ( Ars Technica 2013-11-10 )

Operation Ephemeral Hydra: IE Zero-Day Linked to DeputyDog Uses Diskless Method ( FireEye 2013-11-10 )

New Internet Explorer zero-day bug already in use by hackers ( NeoWin 2013-11-1! )

FireEye says the attackers who found this zero-day bug in IE have already used it to embed malware code into "a strategically important website, known to draw visitors that are likely interested in national and international security policy," though the security firm did not state which website was infected. The malware that's delivered by the unnamed site only exists in PC memory, which FireEye says makes it "exceptionally accomplished and elusive."

So as usual MSIE can be counted on to facilitate a yet another malware attack vector? Say it ain't so. However, we are being told that some important unnamed website is currently compromised and dispensing malware and yet people are not warned to avoid it? This part smells of typical BS from security industry professionals. Prove it now.

And what about the possibility that this is a spook sponsored counter-attack to disrupt the flow of leaks, maybe targeting the Guardian, NYT, WP or others? That used to be called a tin-foil conspiracy theory. How's it looking these days?

[bpalone]

That used to be called a tin-foil conspiracy theory. How's it looking these days?

Don't knock the tin hats. I just bought two new rolls of tin foil!

But, when I read that about the residing only in memory and being elusive, the first thing through my shallow mind was spook planted/originated. Sounds a bit sophisticated to be purely hacker created. Not that they don't have some talent, but really? One would think more along the spook lines, as they probably have all the source and the known exploits (probably before the MS staff even gets it).

I used to think a lot of what we have discussed here was something that was to far fetched to ever be a reality. But, today, I put absolutely nothing past my government or any other government for that matter. People with power only want more power and it corrupts.

bpalone

[JorgeA]

The "integrated Bing Search" type of infection is spreading beyond the Windows world:

Canonical tries to stop fan website using Ubuntu name and logo

Canonical, the team behind Ubuntu, finds itself the subject of criticism after contacting an Ubuntu related website and asking that the domain name be changed. Fix Ubuntu was created by Micah Lee to provide Ubuntu users with instructions about how to disable the web component of the desktop search tool. Lee was emailed by Canonical to request that he not only stop using the word "Ubuntu" in the domain name, but also refrained from using the logo.

The control-freak infection (regarding use of the product's name) is also visible in this case, as the website owner felt compelled to prepare the following disclaimer:

Disclaimer: In case you are either 1) a complete id***; or 2) a lawyer; or 3) both, please be aware that this site is not affiliated with or approved by Canonical Limited. This site criticizes Canonical for certain privacy-invading features of Ubuntu and teaches users how to fix them. So, obviously, the site is not approved by Canonical. And our use of the trademarked term Ubuntu is plainly descriptive -- it helps the public find this site and understand its message.

Hmm, that would be a neat way to prevent all criticism of your product -- just threaten legal action against anybody who uses its name in a negative context.

--JorgeA

P.S. From the comments:

C'mon Canonical, don't be A-holes, that's already Apple's domain. Keep it up and Apple will sue you for A-hole infringement.

Edited November 12, 2013 by JorgeA

[JorgeA]

That used to be called a tin-foil conspiracy theory. How's it looking these days?

Don't knock the tin hats. I just bought two new rolls of tin foil!

But, when I read that about the residing only in memory and being elusive, the first thing through my shallow mind was spook planted/originated. Sounds a bit sophisticated to be purely hacker created. Not that they don't have some talent, but really? One would think more along the spook lines, as they probably have all the source and the known exploits (probably before the MS staff even gets it).

I used to think a lot of what we have discussed here was something that was to far fetched to ever be a reality. But, today, I put absolutely nothing past my government or any other government for that matter. People with power only want more power and it corrupts.

bpalone

+1

[JorgeA]

A trip down memory lane...

Microsoft's Windows operating system celebrates its 30th birthday

...with an interesting tidbit:

Bill Gates, at the time, described this as a "unique software designed for the serious PC user."

How far (low) we have come since then. The new Playskool Tiles interface is obviously designed for the, umm, not-so-serious user.

--JorgeA

[Formfiller]

About the Xbox:

I guess despite not being mandatory now, some games can enforce online-mode. And the Xboxes can be banned from connecting, because every box has a unique serial number. It's not a kill switch as such; the server doesn't accept connections from a banned serial number.

[Formfiller]

Looks like Marissa Mayer introduced stack ranking at Yahoo!

http://allthingsd.com/20131108/because-marissa-said-so-yahoos-bristle-at-mayers-new-qpr-ranking-system-and-silent-layoffs/

Genius. Wasn't Yahoo mail metrofied as well under her tenure? Is Marissa a metrotard?

[JorgeA]

One good thing that's happened as a result of the government snooping scandal:

NSA spying prompts open TrueCrypt encryption software audit to go viral

A unique effort to crowdsource a security audit of the popular TrueCrypt open source encryption software appears to be going viral three weeks after it was launched by two U.S. based researchers in response to concerns that the National Security Agency may have tampered with it.

The intiative has so far garnered more than $57,000 in donations and bitcoins and attracted over 1,000 volunteers from 30 countries, including a techncial advisory group comprised of some of the world's best regarded cryptographers.

--JorgeA

[JorgeA]

About the Xbox:

I guess despite not being mandatory now, some games can enforce online-mode. And the Xboxes can be banned from connecting, because every box has a unique serial number. It's not a kill switch as such; the server doesn't accept connections from a banned serial number.

What a lovely idea -- you pay for our product, and we tell you how you may use it. Sort of like the way Hollywood works.

Just wait 'til they do this to PCs themselves (via the OS). In your best interests, of course, since you're too stupid or ignorant to properly look out for yourself.

--JorgeA

[JorgeA]

More privacy news:

Location-tracking turns your smartphone into your stalker

It knows when you are sleeping. It knows when you're awake.

And it's not Santa Claus. It is your increasingly smart smartphone, loaded with processors and apps that you acquired voluntarily, with "location services" that broadcast where you are and, in some cases, what you are doing.

[...]

Then there is Apple's own description of its latest iPhone M7 coprocessor, which notes that it is, "designed specifically to measure motion data from the accelerometer, gyroscope, and compass," so fitness apps can monitor your workouts.

"M7 knows when you're walking, running, or even driving," the company says, so that if you stop driving and start walking, its Maps app will switch to walking turn-by-turn navigation. "And if your phone hasn't moved for a while, like when you're asleep, M7 reduces network pinging to spare your battery."

With apologies to Sting, your mobile device is now in the realm of knowing, in essence, "every breath you take, every move you make."

So, along with that easier and more interesting life comes a problem security experts have been talking about for years: If your phone knows, it isn't just your circle of selected friends, associates and family members who know. While teen users may be mostly concerned about their parents monitoring them, the companies that provide those magical conveniences are also collecting that information. And that opens the door to surveillance not only by advertisers but governments as well.

Indeed, the New York Times recently reported on police departments in cities around the country using federal grant money meant to combat terrorism to collect and analyze general surveillance data, including monitoring, "a fire hose of social media posts to look for evidence of criminal activities."

Another reason not to get a smartphone -- orf if you have one, to leave it turned off except when needed. At the very least, make sure that the location "services" are disabled.

--JorgeA

Edited November 12, 2013 by JorgeA

[Tripredacus]

I'll just leave this here...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/200983192143

[G8YMW]

I dont use location services, socks the battery too hard and I cannot get on with Sat-Nav