Windows 8 - Deeper Impressions

[bpalone]

TELVM said:

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 ...

Kind of like admitting on NEOWIN that you're using Linux??

Sounds like it is their plan to totally destroy the x86 culture and software. They may be handing the future to Linux, but if that starts to look like to much of a threat, they will TROT OUT THEIR LAWYERS and commence the Patent wars.

After many of the revelations about security and just how far in bed everybody is with the respective spook agencies, I can't begin to imagine how anyone could even consider any of Microsoft's newer OSes for their companies computing systems. As mentioned here back up the thread, wherein the NSA bragged about how much more data they were getting from Skype after Microsoft bought it, to me that means that they probably have back doors in all the newer OSes.

Maybe, I'm a bit paranoid, but my profession requires that information is kept confidential. At some point in the life of a project a large part of the information is no longer that confidential, but there are still parts that is nobody's business except mine and the client's.

bpalone

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

[...]

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 ...

Epic post! And this is very nice ---> JOAN.png <--- How much you wanna bet it is her Xbox avatar.

I see her talking about how kids are so tech savvy, but that is a redefinition of the words. Today's kids couldn't tell hex from binary any more than they can identify countries on a map, in other words they are just as vaguely educated as previous generations, or even less educated considering that much time is wasted in school on computer "activities" like training them to use Office or Photoshop.

Today's kids however are highly educated in consumer tasks like using a remote control, DVD players, consoles, Facebook and cellphones. This is what astonishes the red-headed bimbo and what she confuses for tech skills. If someone went in an swapped around all the wires on their console, TV and DVD player or screwed with the router they would show no logical debugging skills and most likely have daddy buy them a new set of devices before calling in paid techs to sort it out. Becoming Tech savvy is largely voluntary and is more an art than anything else.

Julie exemplifies the low standards of intelligence required to get by even at Microsoft. She is catering to the sheeple but describes it as something else, and this either by accident or design, but either way she is focusing on sheeple consumers ... because it is easy. And you're right, the Apple-envy is strong, very strong, it's industrial-strength, and drives them at every step.

When they flop again, Julie had better hope that Bill Gates doesn't show up to her office with a stranger dressed in black ...

Do You Know What Weakness Is?

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

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.

You got that right but try telling the NeoKids. They won't let any number of facts interrupt their circle jerk.

I just don't see how this handful of millions means anything at all anyway. As you know Apple is selling over a million iPads per week, and that's just them. Phones sales are getting almost uncountable and all three ( tablets, phones, consoles ) are in the same price range. Clearly consoles are the niche market and they would be even niche-ier had Microsoft not declared war on the PC, especially PC Gaming with all their planned obsolescence with Direct-X and Windows.

I got nothing against them, either one really, because canned solutions like a console for the GameTards that just want to play and not be bothered by disk space and CPU and RAM and cooling are a good fit. Sony and Nintendo were no threats to the PC world and had no designs on destroying it. Then along comes Microsoft with their typical modus operandi of trying to clear the field ( PC gaming ) to pave the way for another near monopoly. They know nothing else. It is a consequence of the young child-like Bill Gates in the early years doing nothing but eliminating competition wherever he saw it, and it trickled down to all his subordinates, especially Uncle Fester.

There is a timeline graphic ...

Infographic: A timeline of Sony's PlayStation franchise ( TechSpot 2013-11-22 )

... that shows huge numbers of PlayStation sales, like a hundred million for the first two and 75 million for the PS3, I'm having a hard time imagining this latest generation matching those in any way, especially Xbone.

[ricktendo]

LG Admits Its Smart TVs Collected Info, Promises Fix So Customers Can Actually Opt Out

At LG, we are always aiming to improve our Smart TV experience. Recently, it has been brought to our attention that there is an issue related to viewing information allegedly being gathered without consent. Our customers’ privacy is a very important part of the Smart TV experience so we began an immediate investigation into these claims. Here’s what we found:

Information such as channel, TV platform, broadcast source, etc. that is collected by certain LG Smart TVs is not personal but viewing information. This information is collected as part of the Smart TV platform to deliver more relevant advertisements and to offer recommendations to viewers based on what other LG Smart TV owners are watching. We have verified that even when this function is turned off by the viewers, it continues to transmit viewing information although the data is not retained by the server. A firmware update is being prepared for immediate rollout that will correct this problem on all affected LG Smart TVs so when this feature is disabled, no data will be transmitted.

It has also been reported that the names of media files stored on external drives such as USB flash devices are being collected by LG Smart TVs. While the file names are not stored, the transmission of such file names was part of a new feature being readied to search for data from the internet (metadata) related to the program being watched in order to deliver a better viewing experience. This feature, however, was never fully implemented and no personal data was ever collected or retained. This feature will also be removed from affected LG Smart TVs with the firmware update.

LG regrets any concerns these reports may have caused and will continue to strive to meet the expectations of all our customers and the public. We hope this update clears up any confusion

Edited November 25, 2013 by ricktendo

[JorgeA]

The FBI joins the NSA party (or has been in on it all along):

Meet the Spies Doing the NSA's Dirty Work

With every fresh leak, the world learns more about the U.S. National Security Agency's massive and controversial surveillance apparatus. Lost in the commotion has been the story of the NSA's indispensable partner in its global spying operations: an obscure, clandestine unit of the Federal Bureau of Investigation that, even for a surveillance agency, keeps a low profile.

When the media and members of Congress say the NSA spies on Americans, what they really mean is that the FBI helps the NSA do it, providing a technical and legal infrastructure that permits the NSA, which by law collects foreign intelligence, to operate on U.S. soil. It's the FBI, a domestic U.S. law enforcement agency, that collects digital information from at least nine American technology companies as part of the NSA's Prism system. It was the FBI that petitioned the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to order Verizon Business Network Services, one of the United States' biggest telecom carriers for corporations, to hand over the call records of millions of its customers to the NSA.

But the FBI is no mere errand boy for the United States' biggest intelligence agency. It carries out its own signals intelligence operations and is trying to collect huge amounts of email and Internet data from U.S. companies -- an operation that the NSA once conducted, was reprimanded for, and says it abandoned.

--JorgeA

[JorgeA]

... 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)

I love it!! Brings back some memories (all right, not for ALL of those machines...).

Our last CRT TV was a c.2006 high-definition Sony that weighed 192 pounds. And I still have a bulky Betamax in storage waiting to get fixed.

--JorgeA

[Tripredacus]

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.

Plus knowing how Microsoft *counts* things they sell, that number probably also figures in the amount of units sold to the distributing houses. It always seemed like a strange thing to me that you could buy an Xbox from disty if you wanted to...

[bpalone]

Well, it looks like everybody wants in on the act. LoJack just announced they are going to be providing a service to automakers and insurance companies to track driving habits, where the vehicle has been and certain conditions of the automobile. Now, they say that the system will be be able to be turned off by the consumer, and that they are not going to be harvesting data about you and then selling it to third parties. We all know that we can TRUST THE BIG COMPANIES AND GOVERNMENTS to keep their word.

The full article is here: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9244338/LoJack_system_will_allow_parents_auto_makers_and_insurance_companies_to_track_vehicles

It is getting to be a pretty scary place live these days.

bpalone

[G8YMW]

The Insurance company Aviva Insurance Company (Formally Norwich Union) have been promoting a mobile phone app that monitors your driving style and then if you are "steady enough" you get a discount on your premium.

I imagine it uses the accelorometer (sp) in the phone then sends the data to Aviva

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctkQRt2HzIE

Edited November 27, 2013 by G8YMW

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

The FBI joins the NSA party (or has been in on it all along):

Meet the Spies Doing the NSA's Dirty Work

With every fresh leak, the world learns more about the U.S. National Security Agency's massive and controversial surveillance apparatus. Lost in the commotion has been the story of the NSA's indispensable partner in its global spying operations: an obscure, clandestine unit of the Federal Bureau of Investigation that, even for a surveillance agency, keeps a low profile.

When the media and members of Congress say the NSA spies on Americans, what they really mean is that the FBI helps the NSA do it, providing a technical and legal infrastructure that permits the NSA, which by law collects foreign intelligence, to operate on U.S. soil. It's the FBI, a domestic U.S. law enforcement agency, that collects digital information from at least nine American technology companies as part of the NSA's Prism system. It was the FBI that petitioned the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to order Verizon Business Network Services, one of the United States' biggest telecom carriers for corporations, to hand over the call records of millions of its customers to the NSA.

But the FBI is no mere errand boy for the United States' biggest intelligence agency. It carries out its own signals intelligence operations and is trying to collect huge amounts of email and Internet data from U.S. companies -- an operation that the NSA once conducted, was reprimanded for, and says it abandoned.

Ha! The Bureau is still doing black bag jobs, which is rather ironic as the Federal government ( especially the Justice Department ) is populated with people that spent their lives lecturing us about the sordid past. People cried like mad when the Bureau did it to politicians, elitists in the news media, and high profile citizens like MLK. Now that they appear solely focused on the citizen peasants, I mean terrorists, you can hear a pin drop. J. Edgar Hoover or G. Gordon Liddy please pick up the courtesy phone.

Well, it looks like everybody wants in on the act. LoJack just announced they are going to be providing a service to automakers and insurance companies to track driving habits, where the vehicle has been and certain conditions of the automobile. Now, they say that the system will be be able to be turned off by the consumer, and that they are not going to be harvesting data about you and then selling it to third parties. We all know that we can TRUST THE BIG COMPANIES AND GOVERNMENTS to keep their word.

The full article is here: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9244338/LoJack_system_will_allow_parents_auto_makers_and_insurance_companies_to_track_vehicles

It is getting to be a pretty scary place live these days.

Amazing. I expect to see a new commodities exchange open up in Chicago for Metadata futures speculation. You would think it is more valuable than Gold, Platinum and Oil. Clearly what is happening is that everyone is actively probing the perimeters of where legality ends and spying begins. It's that precedent thing again. Camel noses and tents. Give an inch and they will most assuredly take mile. To try yet another cliché, this is where the rubber meets the road ( pardon the pun ). We need to fight each and every foray into this Brave NuWorld. Failure is NOT an option.

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

Microsoft Responds to Surface 2 Overheating Issue ( Tom's Hardware 2013-11-26 )

The screen dimming problem seems to stem from long use of graphic intensive applications like gaming. "I have been using my Surface 2 for a week now and everything has been great except when I play Halo: Spartan Assault. The back gets pretty hot while playing (which I don't mind) but then my Surface automatically dims the screen to the lowest level. I have to pause and wait for the Surface to cool down before playing again," states one Surface 2 owner.

Many owners complain of screen dimming when using an Xbox controller, assuming that because of a lack of touch input, the screen automatically goes into power saving mode. Others believe that their Surface 2 unit is merely defective, but thats not the case at all. Microsoft blames the problem on overheating, and calls the dimming "unnecessary".

Hmmmm. This is a new one I think. And one that is to be expected when cramming a computer into a tiny sliver of a case, a true fool's errand. I wonder how Microsoft is enjoying the hardware business now?

Microsoft to sell Surface RT for $199 on Black Friday ( NeoWin 2013-11-26 )

Looking to get a Surface and dont mind grabbing yesterdays hardware? If so, Microsoft has a killer deal for you by offering the Surface (previously known as the Surface RT) for $199.

Microsoft will be offering this pricing at its Microsoft stores and online but if you are headed out to Best Buy, they too, will be offering the same deal.

Just over one year ago this thing was released ( and then Sinofsky was fired ). And this is the price many of us suggested for it to have any chance at all of selling. We are literally seeing a repeat of the HP Touchpad firesale ... almost ... a mere $100 difference at this point. Will the fanboys acknowledge they have a Touchpad fiasco on their hands yet? Ironically there was real love shown for that WebOS operating system in stark contrast to the overwhelming disdain for the Metro-centric Microsoft Tiles. There are many lessons here and chief among them is that even a good software interface cannot guarantee success in a market, and a bad interface, well, that can only reduce your chance of success further.

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

Canalys: Microsoft to Own Just 5 Percent of Rapidly Expanding Tablet Market in 2014 ( Maximum PC 2013-11-26 )

Tablet PC shipments grew 40 percent in the third quarter of 2013, which helped the overall PC market grow 18 percent even though traditional desktop and notebook shipments declined. Amid all this growth is a window of opportunity to monetize the frenzy, just like Intel did when netbooks were all the craze.

Apple is still the top tablet vendor, and with the recent launch of the iPad Air and new iPad mini with Retina-class display, it will probably stay in the lead. Meanwhile, Canalys believes Microsoft will carve out a 5 percent share of the market next year, which would be more than double its 2 percent stake in 2012. In order to really compete, however, there's a sense that Microsoft needs to consolidate its operating systems.

And this is what you destroyed Windows for, Ballmer and Sinofsky? Great job guys! You're really good at this.

SkyDrive Could be Renamed BingDrive, FetchDrive, and NewDrive Following UK Court Ruling ( Tom's Hardware 2013-11-25 )

Microsoft is apparently working out new names for SkyDrive after being ordered to stop using the 'SkyDrive' name by UK courts. WindowsPowerUser reports that BingDrive, FetchDrive, and NewDrive are all in the running. Prominent Windows blogger Paul Thurrott on Friday tweeted that the new name for SkyDrive would be NewDrive, though it's possible this could be a placeholder name until Microsoft decides.

[...]

Microsoft was given permission to use the SkyDrive name until it could find and transition to a new name. If there was a deadline, it wasn't published, but it looks like Microsoft is getting closer to making a decision.

That's exactly what I've been wondering about lately. Why on Earth did they not make the change before the Xbox release, because now that's a whole new line of product websites and services that need to be addressed.

Anyway, I already made them a new name and logo which they may use free of charge ...

( Originals: 1, 2, 3 )

EDIT: oops, needed more SpyDrive edits in that image.

Edited November 27, 2013 by CharlotteTheHarlot

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

Watching TV in Europe inside Xbox One suffers from 50Hz limitations ( NeoWin 2013-11-25 )

Another mistake? Unbelieveably, the answer is yes! And it's a doozy. They actually forgot about PAL vs NTSC! There's no excuse for this except that it's a certifiable clown circus at Microsoft ...

( Image Source: here )

Sony resetting PSN account passwords worldwide is just a "routine protection" ( NeoWin 2013-11-26 )

Xbox One multiplayer and store services currently experiencing small service disruption (Update) ( NeoWin 2013-11-26 )

The perils of the cloud continue. Kinda ironic of how these two occurred in succession. First came the Sony story and unsurprisingly the MicroZealots started taking shots at them, then a few hours later the Microsoft story arrived and the MicroZealots started taking shots at the NeoWin author for having the temerity to spoil their party. Kids these days.

A new Steam Machines prototype emerges, from iBuyPower ( PC Gamer 2013-11-26 )

For the price of an Xbox One, iBuyPower will sell you a Steam Machine ( TechSpot 2013-11-26 )

Steam Machine Prototype Previewed from iBuyPower ( Tom's Hardware 2013-11-26 )

iBuyPower Teases White Steam Machine Prototype ( Maximum PC 2013-11-26 )

The demoed box was carrying a multicore AMD CPU, and used a AMD Radeon R9 270. The full package will be bundled with the Steam Controller, and will cost around $500. It will offer Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and a 500GB hard drive as standard, be larger than the PS4, and smaller than the Xbox One. Then again, some Alsations are smaller than an Xbox One.

This is only the first of what is sure to be a slew of Steam Machine announcements, covering various specs and price points. That's one of the benefits to Valve's acceptance of third-party variation: there's bound to be a model that fits your needs. Just how well their OS can compliment those needs will, for now, remain an open question.

( Image Source: Maximum PC )

Not a lot of positive comments so far. But this is one of those pre-made canned solutions ... it's a console ... it's for GameTards who cannot muster the patience and/or lack the experience to construct something like this for themselves. Funny how that one seems a perfect cross of Xbox and PS in appearance though. I wonder if Microsoft patented that puke green color?

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

Microsoft Enlists Pawn Stars to Call Chromebook Not a Real Laptop ( Maximum PC 2013-11-26 )

Gloves off: Microsoft slams Google and its Chromebook in new video ( NeoWin 2013-11-26 )

[This isn't] a real laptop. It doesn't have Windows or Office. Without Wi-Fi, it doesn't do much at all," Rick Harris, host of the popular History channel show, says. "And when you are online, Google tracks everything you do so they can sell ads. That's how you get Scroogled.

~sigh~ Now this is so very disappointing ( see the pathetic commercial at the links ). Pawn Stars was at the top of the heap of modern reality TV shows but is now starting to decend into a morass of crap. Fist they started clearly fleecing some of the people that come in with items to sell, crying about risk and profit and seem to have settled upon 50% maximum buying price for almost everything that comes in. Then we started seeing product placement segments, commercials really where they are obviously paid for their consideration. Now they are full blown shills for a deep pocketed shillmaster. It's not only embarrassing, it is damaging to their reputation. The only thing they ( and everybody really ) has going for them is their integrity. How can anyone ever trust them now if they have sold off their neutrality for financial gain? I wouldn't trust them. The thing is obviously scripted which is bad enough, but they use the normal setting ( the store itself, and the backroom with the guitars where Rick usually explains facts and details ) which means that in the future when he is explaining the history of something and pontificating on the value his own integrity is tarnished ( is this a commercial or not? ). Dumb, dumb, dumb!

I notice that they only signed up Rick and the old man for some reason. Perhaps Chumlee wasn't available? Or maybe they were worried that Google might do something like this ...

( Chumlee original photo )

IMPORTANT NOTE: I'm not at all saying that Chumlee is a MetroTard, just that this is what might have happened had Microsoft bribed him instead! In fact, if you watch the show you'll see that Chumlee is the only one that knows anything at all about technology ( other than using Google or blabbing on cellphones ) so I would guess he is not a MetroTard at all, not even close.

So after making that image I instead decided to whip up a few more that we can safely say are accurate now ...

( Rick original photo )

( original image )

I guess it's true when Ricks says "Everything has its price". Even integrity.

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

Protecting Your Data: Grading the Major Websites ( Tom's Hardware 2013-11-25 )

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a digital-rights advocacy organization, asked 18 of the top websites and services about the encryption measures each uses. Results showed that many fail to provide enough protections for your data.

The EFF asked whether a site took any of 5 measures:

• Encryption of data-center links: Does the company encrypt the data traveling among its own servers?
• HTTPS support: Does the company encrypt traffic to and from its public websites?
• HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS) support: Do the company's Web servers accept only encrypted incoming connections?
• Perfect Forward Secrecy: Are encryption keys used to secure communications used only once, so that someone using the key from one encrypted session can't use it to read other messages?
• STARTTLS: Does the service add encryption to standard email, file-transfer and instant-messaging connections?

Nice reference there, I mirrored it and put it into this spoiler ...

( Image Source: BestOfMicro )

Guess What? Your Facebook Friends List Is Never Private ( Tom's Hardware 2013-11-25 )

Even if you've set your Facebook friend list to private, a vulnerability in the social media platform makes it easy for anyone to find it, whether accidentally or through more sinister means.

The vulnerability is simple: To see someone's full friend list, potential snoops or stalkers only need to create a new Facebook profile and send their target a friend request.

Then, thanks to Facebook's "People You May Know" feature, which mines friend networks to suggest new connections, the snoop will be able to see their target's friend list.

The target doesn't even have to accept the friend request for this to work.

And the steady drumbeat of half-arsed privacy implementations continues. Awesome job Zuck! You're worth every single penny of all those billions.