Windows 8 - Deeper Impressions

[JorgeA]

Microsoft DNS servers down; Hotmail, Microsoft.com, others down [update: Microsoft Response] ( NeoWin 2013-11-21 )

This is a big story from yesterday which somehow flew under the radar ...

Microsoft's DNS server servers are apparently failing to respond to requests, returning "no record" errors. This means that you can't access sites like Hotmail.com, MSN.com, and Live.com. It's unknown how widespread this outage is at this time. Currently msn.com, live.com, hotmail.com, and outlook.com, azure.com, and microsoft.com are all known to be impacted. It's very probable that all Microsoft domains are currently unavailable.

[...]

UPDATE 1: Microsoft responded to us and gave us the following statement:

Microsoft can confirm that all online services have been restored. We are investigating the root cause of the disruption and will continue to keep customers updated as information becomes available.

Commenters clearly state that Xbox.com is also down, so that pretty much covers everything. So they had themselves quite an outage and it could definitely be related to the Xbox launch. I'll bet they re-tasked resources to handle the expected influx of gamers, but since it could only be a couple of million max, what does this really say about their capacity management? Just imagine if hundreds of millions of sheeple actually went to cloud versions of Office and other things they would be dead in the water I think.

One wonders how many well-publicized service outages it will take to take the shine off this cloud thing. A lot fewer in business than among the general public, I suspect: not getting your e-mail right away is an annoyance to us as private individuals -- but losing access to customer data, even temporarily, could mean lost customers to a sole proprietor or company.

--JorgeA

[TELVM]

Let's go for the whole set while we're at it .

[jaclaz]

About the LG Smart TV issue, I would say that if "they" disable it (but still the device is "capable of" AND can be remotely managed - possibly through a "firmware update") the whole represents pure bull§hit as always.

So you go to bed and find in your bed (say) a potentially dangerous/poisonous animal, let's say a biggish spider or a scorpion, what do you do:

1. find a way to get it the heck out of your room/house or kill it
2. go to bed and sing to it a lullaby (so that it also gets to sleep and thus becomes innocuous)

jaclaz

[JorgeA]

Let's go for the whole set while we're at it .

Amazing!

Not that we'd be given permission to use their company logos , but I wonder how much this complete set of coffee mugs would sell for on eBay...

--JorgeA

[JorgeA]

About the LG Smart TV issue, I would say that if "they" disable it (but still the device is "capable of" AND can be remotely managed - possibly through a "firmware update") the whole represents pure bull§hit as always.

So you go to bed and find in your bed (say) a potentially dangerous/poisonous animal, let's say a biggish spider or a scorpion, what do you do:

1. find a way to get it the heck out of your room/house or kill it
2. go to bed and sing to it a lullaby (so that it also gets to sleep and thus becomes innocuous)

jaclaz

#2, only if you're a "scorpion whisperer."

The ultimate solution to the "LG problem" is not to connect the thingy to the Internet. Go ahead, SpyTV, talk all you want -- nobody can hear you!

--JorgeA

[JorgeA]

Xbox One Debut Could Be Last Major Console Launch

Meanwhile, some on Wall Street are pressuring Microsoft to spin off or sell its Xbox business, seeing it as a distraction for the software giant. Nomura analyst Rick Sherlund recently estimated that Microsoft loses $2 billion a year on Xbox. He called it an "orphan" business that Microsoft should exit.

David Cole, an analyst with DFC Intelligence, said it could be hard for Microsoft to justify being in the video game business as it looks to strengthen its core businesses.

"It's a side business for them," Cole said. "And they really don't have a business model that can make them money in it."

I'm sure that the Xbox One strategy is the reason Microsoft has let Windows Media Center wither on the vine. The ideal approach would be for them to drop the Xbone and promote WMC as the truly fantastic product that it is, now that (for viewers in the U.S.) the CableCARD issue has been sorted out and it's fairly easy to watch and record cable TV on your PC.

More likely, though, if these critics were to win out and the Xbox got sold off, then WMC and all entertainment-related stuff would also go out the window.

--JorgeA

Edited November 23, 2013 by JorgeA

[TELVM]

... The ultimate solution to the "LG problem" is not to connect the thingy to the Internet ...

But then your "smart" TV would start bitching that a connection is de rigueur to display its superior smartness and yada yada yada.

To correctly address this problem a return to the classics is needed :

1000lbs of pure bigassed CRT dumbness! (Taken from here, have a laugh)

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

Workers in China Protest Nokia-Microsoft Deal ( Tom's Hardware 2013-11-22 )

The protest was triggered by a new contract that the employees were apparently forced to sign. The new contract contains much worse terms of employment and that they'd ultimately be paid quite a bit less.

Reuters has the full story, as well as some comments from Nokia suggesting that the soon-to-be-bought company is in talks with the protesters. Given the abhorrent working conditions in general, stuff so bad that some workers commit suicide, I'm going to bet that the protesters aren't really asking for anything too unreasonable.

Phheww! I bet Elop and Ballmer didn't see this coming. Well Ballmer definitely didn't as the luxury of being a software maker means you don't have to worry about things like slave labor building and sabotaging your widgets. ( I added that Reuters link because like so many articles these days, the bad journalism seems to require leaving out links to the main sources of information. ) There is some reported violence and lots of bad publicity being reported in the Reuters article. Definitely not something they will be happy about seeing. No coverage yet at NeoWin unsurprisingly, this is too much of a downer for the fanboys. And besides, they would just say that it happens to Apple, and everyone else too.

Ballmer Defends Xbox, Bing as Key Microsoft Components ( Tom's Hardware 2013-11-23 )

GeekWire reports that on Tuesday, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer spoke at the company's annual shareholder meeting for the very last time. He made a point to highlight the company's need for the Xbox and Bing divisions, calling them key parts of Microsoft's broader vision. This topic arrives after previous reports indicated that Stephen Elop may do away with the two divisions altogether if appointed as CEO.

What this sounds like is that the Board Of Directors ( inluding Ballmer ) will be a roadblock to any sensible moves by Microsoft and her new CEO in the future. Wall Street will be unimpressed by this and their stock will likely remain stuck in the mud for eternity.

Microsoft's devices head: We won't have three Windows versions in the future ( NeoWin 2013-11-23 )

In a Q&A held this week during the UBS Global Technology Summit (and transcribed by Microsoft) Larson-Green had this to say on where they see the entire Windows ecosystem going in the future:

We have the Windows Phone OS. We have Windows RT and we have full Windows. We're not going to have three. We do think there's a world where there is a more mobile operating system that doesn't have the risks to battery life, or the risks to security. But, it also comes at the cost of flexibility. So we believe in that vision and that direction and we're continuing down that path.

Like a stubborn mule the red-headed bimbo digs in her heels and tells us that a dumbed-down NuWindows is the plan for NuMicrosoft. Period.

I said it long ago, they are getting out of the personal computer business and getting into the toy business because it is easier. This is a violation of the concept of a standards setting monopoly they everyone agrees to in order to let a common platform ( x86 Windows ) take root and thrive. They are further violating this trust by targeting the members of the x86 monopoly with forced use of Microsoft Tiles and the Microsoft Store, no clearer case of self-serving abuse of leverage could possibly be found. Imagine if one company provided more than 90% of the petroleum or food we used and suddenly decided to switch to something else ( ethanol, natural gas, tofu, ... ) and everyone then had to turn their world upside down to accommodate this newer, self-serving business model. Governments would step in, take the supply chain and break it up and redistribute it to more reliable parties. That's what we have here contrary to what the narcissistic fanboys want to believe. Microsoft is violating their decades old position at the center of this universe. The most ethical solutions would have been to build a separate Microsoft Tiles piece of crap and allow it to stand or fall on its own rather than leveragin their monopoly. They could also alleviate their illegality by releasing the x86 operating system code to public domain. If governments were not bought off and if the fanboys weren't so retarded, this is where the conversation would be today.

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

Skydrive will not be rebranded as New Drive' ( NeoWin 2013-11-22 )

I'm still shaking my head at this situation. They have been using "SkyDrive" more and more since losing this lawsuit it seems. It is apparently even used in Xbox, a newly released device, rather than switching to whatever they want for the future. That's crazy because they now have to scrub all of them also! If the UK Sky company wanted to drag them right back into court they would have no problem nailing them with a contempt verdict for thoroughly ignoring the earlier judgment. This is yet another example of Microsoft's ability to screw up every issue in the legal department. It also is in stark contrast to how fast they ran away from the name "Metro".

Microsoft matches Sony, sells over a million Xbox One consoles in the first 24 hours ( TechSpot 2013-11-23 )

Microsoft: More than 1 million Xbox One consoles sold in 24 hours ( NeoWin 2013-11-23 )

To put all that gaming into perspective, Microsoft tossed out a few facts about several of that launch titles that consumers have been playing:

Over 60 million zombies have been killed in Dead Rising 3

Over 3.6 million miles driven in Forza Motorsport 5

Over 7.1 million combos in Killer Instinct

Over 8.5 million enemies defeated in Ryse: Son of Rome

With Microsoft clearly able to pull out these statistics at will doesn't it beg a question or two like ...

* Number of customers optically tracked by Kinect

* Quantity of gamers who said "Xbox, On" and "Xbox, Off"

* TV viewing habits of customers now that they have a super-TiVo uber-Nielson big brother

* Quantity of customers opting out of data collection

* Number of gamers disabling Kinect

* ... etc

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

Microsoft: We are working to replace Xbox One units with disc drive issues ( NeoWin 2013-11-23 )

When Neowin asked Microsoft about these reports, we got a rather general statement back from the company saying that there are "many avenues for customers to get the answers they need and get back in the game as soon as possible." Now Eurogamer has received a somewhat more specific answer from Microsoft on what they will do to help Xbox One owners with faulty disc drives. The statement said:

The issue is affecting a very small number of Xbox One customers. We're working directly with those affected to get a replacement console to them as soon as possible through our advance exchange program. Rest assured, we are taking care of our customers.

Speaking of their ability to perform data collection, these things would sound far less suspicious if every answer wasn't couched in defensive babble like "affecting a small number". Since they obviously know exactly what numbers are involved why not just state them? They literally are asking for more and more criticism with every word they officially utter. It also would help if their fanboys weren't crying in each and every one of these threads as to how the article is unfair for mentioning problems involving their beloved Microsoft. It's pathetic really.

Senators Call NSA Snooping Unnecessary to Security ( Tom's Hardware 2013-11-22 )

Mark Udall (D-Colorado), Martin Heinrich (D-New Mexico) and Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) collectively filed an amicus curae brief for a lawsuit filed against the NSA, claiming that its record collection violated the Fourth Amendment.

No kidding. Pretty much all of the first Ten Amendments are under incessant attack these days. So anyway, that's three of the one hundred boobs in that house. Three. Wonderful. And the thing looks too vague to get anywhere.

I've got a perfect solution though. Make it a federal offense for any federal employee or citizen to violate a citizen's civil rights and specify that they must be charged individually for each count ( no immunity as they have now for official duties ). So if someone spies on a thousand citizens they are charged with a thousand counts and face a thousand consecutive ( not concurrent! ) sentences. This means that computer based crime becomes much more risky because of the multiplicative factor involved. Note that I already suggested something similar earlier for a non-governmental crime by a bitcoin miner. It is the perfect solution all around because it uses the ability of computers and networks to affect many people at a time as the main deterrent. Criminals would realize that using a computer to attack multiple targets means multiple counts and multiple penalties. Of course this is resisted by law enforcement and the judicial branch because it means their ability to make deals behind the scenes is compromised, but that is a large part of the problem in the first place.

[Monroe]

Anybody find this NSA article interesting and revealing ... "‘Sleeper cells’ can be activated with a single push of a button ... The malware can be controlled remotely and be turned on and off at will. The ‘implants’ act as digital ‘sleeper cells’ that can be activated with a single push of a button. According to the Washington Post, the NSA has been carrying out this type of cyber operation since 1998.

NSA Infected 50,000 Computer Networks with Malicious software

23 November 2013

http://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2013/11/23/nsa-infected-50000-computer-networks-with-malicious-software/

The American intelligence service - NSA - infected more than 50,000 computer networks worldwide with malicious software designed to steal sensitive information. Documents provided by former NSA-employee Edward Snowden and seen by this newspaper, prove this.

A management presentation dating from 2012 explains how the NSA collects information worldwide. In addition, the presentation shows that the intelligence service uses ‘Computer Network Exploitation’ (CNE) in more than 50,000 locations. CNE is the secret infiltration of computer systems achieved by installing malware, malicious software.

One example of this type of hacking was discovered in September 2013 at the Belgium telecom provider Belgacom. For a number of years the British intelligence service - GCHQ – has been installing this malicious software in the Belgacom network in order to tap their customers’ telephone and data traffic. The Belgacom network was infiltrated by GCHQ through a process of luring employees to a false Linkedin page.

NSA special department employs more than a thousand hackers

The NSA computer attacks are performed by a special department called TAO (Tailored Access Operations). Public sources show that this department employs more than a thousand hackers. As recently as August 2013, the Washington Post published articles about these NSA-TAO cyber operations. In these articles The Washington Post reported that the NSA installed an estimated 20,000 ‘implants’ as early as 2008. These articles were based on a secret budget report of the American intelligence services. By mid-2012 this number had more than doubled to 50,000, as is shown in the presentation NRC Handelsblad laid eyes on. Cyber operations are increasingly important for the NSA. Computer hacks are relatively inexpensive and provide the NSA with opportunities to obtain information that they otherwise would not have access to. The NSA-presentation shows their CNE-operations in countries such as Venezuela and Brazil. The malware installed in these countries can remain active for years without being detected.

‘Sleeper cells’ can be activated with a single push of a button

The malware can be controlled remotely and be turned on and off at will. The ‘implants’ act as digital ‘sleeper cells’ that can be activated with a single push of a button. According to the Washington Post, the NSA has been carrying out this type of cyber operation since 1998. The Dutch intelligence services - AIVD and MIVD – have displayed interest in hacking. The Joint Sigint Cyber Unit – JSCU – was created early in 2013. The JSCU is an inter-agency unit drawing on experts with a range of IT skills. This new unit is prohibited by law from performing the type of operations carried out by the NSA as Dutch law does not allow this type of internet searches. The NSA declined to comment and referred to the US Government. A government spokesperson states that any disclosure of classified material is harmful to our national security.

Edited November 24, 2013 by duffy98

[Kelsenellenelvian]

People say that if you play Microsoft CD's backwards, you hear satanic things, but that's nothing, because if you play them forwards, they install Windows.

[Monroe]

Just read this article about Wickr. I don't know much about it but I thought this one small paragraph was interesting about Facebook and similar social networks and people leaving.

"Nico Sell, co-founder and chief executive of Wickr, said the year-and-a-half-old company had seen an extreme spike in interest after revelations about the National Security Agency’s surveillance program were published earlier this year. “George Washington would be rolling over in his grave right now,” said Ms Sell, adding many of her friends who used to think she was paranoid about security were now leaving social networks such as Facebook."

It would be interesting to know just how many Facebook and other accounts are being closed because of all these spying revelations ... probably hard to get solid numbers from the companies.

November 24, 2013

US spying fuels popularity of secure messaging app Wickr

By Hannah Kuchler in San Francisco

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/89f19e64-5501-11e3-a321-00144feabdc0.html

Wickr, the secure messaging app that positions itself “halfway between Snapchat and Snowden”, is set to raise more funds and launch a major update on Monday after its popularity soared following revelations of a US mass surveillance programme.

The Silicon Valley start-up enables encrypted peer-to-peer communications from email to instant messaging while keeping no data whatsoever. It plans to rival Skype by rolling out secure and private international video calling next year.

... more at the link.

Edited November 24, 2013 by duffy98

[TELVM]

Microsoft's devices head: We won't have three Windows versions in the future ( NeoWin 2013-11-23 )

Some revealing excerpts from the transcript of that Q&A:

"... When I started at Microsoft about 20 years ago, I started in developer tools. So it was basically the bottom layer of the stack with developers that create applications for our platform. I moved into Internet Explorer. Then I helped created the SharePoint team. Then I went to Office and redefined productivity with the Office Ribbon. And I went to Windows and reinvented the platform. And so now my job is to reinvent how we think about device products, and how those things come together ..."

"... I have a 13-year-old at home who loves gaming. I get texts from him, I know when he says "love you, mom," it's followed by “can I get for 99 cents”. So it's a very big part of how kids are growing up today, is growing up with technology. And more than just gaming, they're also growing up with writing with a pen on glass, which is something that we didn't grow up with. So it feels different to us. It feels more natural to them. I think with our Surface touch keyboard, the one that is not mechanical keys, that uses all touch, the touch cover, it's a different experience that they have, because they don't have the preconception of what it was like to type on physical keys. So seeing what kids do with the technology today, without the past in their head, has been really fascinating ..."

^ Behold the breathtaking breakthrough in the science of ergonomics, gentlemen. We could call it 'The Noble Savage Theory of Computing'.

(Only through a supreme effort of will have i been able to control the urge to insert Charlotte's poking monkeys pic here ).

"... My favorite feature on Xbox is actually a very little known feature. On my Windows Phone I can see when my son is playing or not, and if he's supposed to be doing homework I can send him a message from my phone to the Xbox, because he won't answer his phone when he's playing, but he sees a message come up that says, "Mom: Get off the Xbox. Do your homework" ..."

^ She's got a point here, I expect Xbone wiping the floor with PS4 on this feature alone .

"... So I think there will always be for a long time, for my lifetime, there will be desktop computers where people are doing precision movements with a mouse which are highly tuned towards productivity and typing, as well as maybe something on your wrist, or something on your head, or something in your pocket that you will want to interact and see your e-mails, hear notifications, get access to corporate data that you need to do your job, as well as interact with friends and family. I think we are very poised ..."

^ Who'd have thought!

"... And so again with Apple there was an inflection point with tablets, or with phones, with touch. So we had mobile phones, smart phones before that. But, they were based in the key -- like Blackberry, as well. There was a keypad and a stylus. And it was trying to use concepts of Windows on a smaller device. And so they came in with a bunch of technology that came together in size, weight, power, but the real invention was touch and that changed and created a new revolution, which is why in Windows 8 we became touch-first in our thinking to try to -- we knew touch was going to be a big deal. We added it in Windows 7, but we really exploited it in Windows 8 to rethink that experience ..."

^ This bunch is really really green with Apple-envy.

"... when you look out in the industry, there's clearly a need for a simplified consumer electronics experience on devices. So you look at iPad in particular, and it's a turnkey, closed system. It doesn't degrade over time. It doesn't get viruses. It's not as flexible, you can't do as much with it, but it's a more seamless experience, even though more simplified.

Windows can do anything you want it to do. You can write all the way to the metal. You can add things into your startup groups that would affect your battery life long-term. There are cool, powerful scenarios, but they come at a cost in mobility. And so Windows on ARM, or Windows RT, was our first go at creating that more closed, turnkey experience, where it doesn't have all the flexibility of Windows, but it has the power of Office and then all the new style applications. So you could give it to your kid and he's not going to load it up with a bunch of toolbars accidentally out of Internet Explorer and then come to you later and say, why am I getting all these pop-ups. It just isn't capable of doing that by design ..."

^ Unashamed apology of retardation and idiocracy. Screw versatility, screw flexibility, screw choice. All those 'legacy' concepts must be immolated in the altar for battery life and toddlers' startup cleanliness.

I can't help but keep thinking: This can't be true, this is too surreal, this HAS TO BE some kind of prank.

Otherwise in the not too distant future the mere admission that you have 'Windows' installed in any of your systems will be shameful, and will make you a target of jokes ...

[Formfiller]

Microsoft matches Sony, sells over a million Xbox One consoles in the first 24 hours ( TechSpot 2013-11-23 )

Microsoft: More than 1 million Xbox One consoles sold in 24 hours ( NeoWin 2013-11-23 )

To put all that gaming into perspective, Microsoft tossed out a few facts about several of that launch titles that consumers have been playing:

Over 60 million zombies have been killed in Dead Rising 3

Over 3.6 million miles driven in Forza Motorsport 5

Over 7.1 million combos in Killer Instinct

Over 8.5 million enemies defeated in Ryse: Son of Rome

With Microsoft clearly able to pull out these statistics at will doesn't it beg a question or two like ...

* Number of customers optically tracked by Kinect

* Quantity of gamers who said "Xbox, On" and "Xbox, Off"

* TV viewing habits of customers now that they have a super-TiVo uber-Nielson big brother

* Quantity of customers opting out of data collection

* Number of gamers disabling Kinect

* ... etc

The numbers don't match Sony's at all!

The Xbone was released worldwide and sold one million units.

The PS4 is only available in the US and Canada so far and sold one million there!

The Xbone sold worldwide what the PS4 managed in only two countries! These numbers are actually pretty bad for MS.

PS4 release in Europe, Brazil and Australia will be on the 29th November.