NoelC Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 (edited) All your data are belong to US. -Noel Edited July 21, 2014 by NoelC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JorgeA Posted July 24, 2014 Author Share Posted July 24, 2014 Nice dark humor there. @jaclaz: I'd slowed down on the surveillance theme as interest in it here seemed to have waned, but I'm game if folks want to keep up that part of the discussion. BTW, the theme isn't really OT because it derived from Microsoft's own snooping and collaboration with snoops (and not just the NSA, but also helping the New York Police Department to build a network of surveillance cameras around the city). As the thread's subtitle under the old forum software used to read, it's also about "Microsoft controversies." Anyway, here goes something new: Snowden plans to work on anti-surveillance technology Snowden addressed the conference on Saturday, requesting that the hacking community channel its resources into developing anti-surveillance technologies which will make government spying more difficult — and said that he planned to spend much of his future time doing the same. If and when he does finish such a project, people hoping to download it would be well advised to use multiple layers of encryption and anonymization to decrease the chances that the busybodies will find out they visited the site. --JorgeA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JorgeA Posted July 24, 2014 Author Share Posted July 24, 2014 Desktop PCs and the Windows desktop: Endangered species? Why the renewed focus on desktop users? I can think of 136 million reasons. That 136 million figure is how many desktop PCs businesses and consumers bought in 2013, according to the latest Gartner numbers. That’s not a bad showing for a technology segment that is supposedly on life support.... And you could probably add another 160 million reasons to that total, one for each of the traditional notebooks sold worldwide in 2013. [...] With the Windows 8.1 update, Microsoft added a slew of features designed to improve the desktop experience for keyboard-and-mouse users. A key part of that update is an increased use of "device type detection," which tailors the Start and desktop experiences differently for different types of devices. Using that detection logic in Windows 9 to tailor different experiences for different users could go a long way toward winning back Metro haters (especially with an option to choose a pure desktop role for a PC regardless of its manufacturer-defined role). And make no mistake about it, that's Job #1 for "the next iteration of Windows," whatever it's called. I think desktop computing on Windows and Macs will hang on much longer than anyone expects. Looks like even Ed MicroBott (an early Win8 apologist) is regaining his sanity. --JorgeA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TELVM Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 ... I think desktop computing ... will hang on much longer than anyone expects ... ^ What a breathtaking demonstration of clairvoyance and intellectual penetration. Who'd have thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaclaz Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 @JorgeAI found the Aussie news particularly funny, we have here a proverb/old saying "cencio parla male di straccio", which translates more or less to "rag is badmouthing cloth". And of course, my English may not be at it's best, but I would have found more reassuring this sentence:“In my view, the needs of national security and law enforcement are crucial and the public should not be concerned that there’s going to be gross misuse in terms of invasions of their privacy by law enforcement and the security intelligence organisation. if "gross" had been replaced by "any". jaclaz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoelC Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 Looks like even Ed MicroBott (an early Win8 apologist) is regaining his sanity. I'm not sure a paid opinion could be called sane or insane. It's a bit like postulating whether a prostitute is enjoying her work. But the really funny part is that NOW, after a couple of years of tweaking and 3rd party development, Windows 8.1 finally can be made into a usable animal for desktop work. And NOW the shills are being paid to distance Microsoft from it's steaming pile. -Noel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monroe Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 (edited) I guess to do a "certain" kind of search a person needs to go to a free Wi-Fi location, from reading this article. "Online users who search for such software, including the popular TOR, have their IP addresses logged by the National Security Agency and may be put on a list by the government for future monitoring. The spying was discovered through a review of leaked source code linked to the NSA's "XKeyscore" software." ... But according to Wired, simply doing a private search is enough to flag you to the NSA as an "extremist" ... German Report: NSA Tracks Users Researching Privacy Software Online http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/privacy-software-online-tracking/2014/07/24/id/584800/ Thursday, 24 Jul 2014 08:19 PM By Andrea Billups A warning to those who might do a little online research about Internet privacy software: The NSA is tracking you, a report by the German public broadcasting group ARD concludes, according to a story published by The Independent. Online users who search for such software, including the popular TOR, have their IP addresses logged by the National Security Agency and may be put on a list by the government for future monitoring. The spying was discovered through a review of leaked source code linked to the NSA's "XKeyscore" software. Such software was described by exiled NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, who says the government can use it to monitor "nearly everything" a user does online. TOR, or The Onion Router, masks a user's online activity by bouncing through a computer network that makes tracking difficult to trace. It is free software that was funded originally by the U.S. military, the Independent noted. But according to Wired, simply doing a private search is enough to flag you to the NSA as an "extremist,' a potential legal issue over the authority of the federal agency to track citizens who may have no interest in anything nefarious. "Under [the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act] there are numerous places where it says you shouldn't be targeting people on the basis of activities protected by the First Amendment," Kurt Opsahl, deputy general counsel for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, told Wired. "I can’t see how this activity could have been properly authorized under FISA. This is suggesting then that they have come up with some other theory of authorizing this." The findings also contradict longstanding NSA claims that its surveillance targets only those suspected of engaging in activity that threatens national security. "They say, 'We're not doing indiscriminate searches,' but this is indiscriminate," Opsahl notes. "It’s saying that anyone who is looking for those various [services] are suspicious persons." The NSA pushed back on any notion it was targeting citizens unfairly through XKeyscore, Computer World reported. "The communications of people who are not foreign intelligence targets are of no use to the agency," the agency noted in a statement to ARD. Edited July 25, 2014 by monroe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Formfiller Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 (edited) "I think desktop computing on Windows and Macs will hang on much longer than anyone expects." Well, I always expected just that (just as many other non-fanboys did).As demonstrated a quantillion times, doing real work on a tablet, yet alone smartphone, sucks. And not in a fanboytastic "my stuff is better than your stuff"-way, but in a trying "trying to reach the moon with a train instead of a rocket"-way. The formfactor just isn't working for work. Of course, you can attach a mouse, and a keyboard and a external display to tablet.. but then you're on a desktop again, where a desktop UI is neccessary. When I hammered that down to the various boyz on channel9 and hardforums, Hal2020 etc. none of them could provide an adequate answer, except for "tablets are selling". Speaking of selling:http://windowsitpro.com/paul-thurrotts-wininfo/apple-earnings-strong-iphone-mac-sales Mac sales are up (aka PCs not infested with metro), iPad sales going down. The market saturation sets in and the tablet-hype is reaching it's natural conclusion, like any hypes do (only that Microsoft managed to destroy its own OS because of it though). (Semi)-New hype to watch for: http://www.neowin.net/news/to-combat-chromebooks-microsoft-is-pushing-netbooks-v2 Edited July 25, 2014 by Formfiller Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JorgeA Posted July 25, 2014 Author Share Posted July 25, 2014 Mac sales are up (aka PCs not infested with metro), iPad sales going down. The market saturation sets in and the tablet-hype is reaching it's natural conclusion, like any hypes do (only that Microsoft managed to destroy its own OS because of it though). Word of this is getting out: Are Tablets the Odd Man Out as Phones Grow and Laptops Shrink? Apple said on Tuesday that unit sales of the iPad—the best-selling tablet on the market—fell for a second straight quarter. IPad revenue has fallen in four of the last five quarters, and recent evidence points to slowing sales for imitators that rushed their own tablets to market. The slump suggests tablets are feeling a squeeze. As smartphone screens grow larger and laptop computers grow thinner and lighter, tablet computers are starting to look less appealing. They aren’t as essential to many users as smartphones, nor are they as portable. They don’t handle many work chores as well as laptop or desktop PCs. And while many people watch videos or read articles on a tablet, it isn’t quite a must-have device for many consumers. [...] Many of the people who want tablets already have them, industry executives and analysts say. When it comes time to replace them, tablet owners now often consider spending that money instead on new designs of smartphones or laptops. Wouldn't it be ironic if it turned out that Microsoft destroyed its flagship product for the sake of a two-year fad? --JorgeA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JorgeA Posted July 25, 2014 Author Share Posted July 25, 2014 I guess to do a "certain" kind of search a person needs to go to a free Wi-Fi location, from reading this article. "Online users who search for such software, including the popular TOR, have their IP addresses logged by the National Security Agency and may be put on a list by the government for future monitoring. The spying was discovered through a review of leaked source code linked to the NSA's "XKeyscore" software." ... But according to Wired, simply doing a private search is enough to flag you to the NSA as an "extremist" ... German Report: NSA Tracks Users Researching Privacy Software Online http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/privacy-software-online-tracking/2014/07/24/id/584800/ Here's some more info on this: Secret code indicates NSA tracks privacy tool users [The report] noted that the rule for monitoring the TOR Project's website was crafted to avoid collecting data on people believed to be in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the U.K. and the U.S., the so-called "Five Eyes" states that collaborate on signals intelligence. That is presumably to avoid violating rules that prohibit unfettered data collection on citizens, one of the core issues raised after Snowden's leaks became public. But the report noted no such rule was incorporated into the code for monitoring the Tails and Linux Journal websites. So the situation may in some ways not be as bad as it looks (certain countries are excluded when you're looking into TOR), but worse in other ways (the monitoring is broader than TOR, and except for TOR it does cover the whole world). --JorgeA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JorgeA Posted July 25, 2014 Author Share Posted July 25, 2014 Report: Microsoft shoveling more dirt onto Windows 8.1 with 'Threshold' Over time, Metro will probably head in one of two directions: Microsoft will either ditch it entirely in favor of a Windows Phone-style interface for smaller tablets and phones; or refine it to the point where it only appears when the tablet’s undocked and on the go. Best line in the piece: Personally, I’m not calling for the Start Page’s demise. For me, it’s already dead. --JorgeA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoelC Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 Gee Whiz Toys always seem attractive, especially to the decision-makers - who aren't those that do real work. -Noel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Formfiller Posted July 26, 2014 Share Posted July 26, 2014 (edited) Wouldn't it be ironic if it turned out that Microsoft destroyed its flagship product for the sake of a two-year fad? No need for the question mark. They did just that. I am not saying tablets will die, but they will be just one additional device more, certainly not the be-it-all, end-it-all as hyped two years ago. Microsoft Bob was born out of a short-lived fad too: The "living room" shell, that was somewhat hypy between 1994-1996 in consumer "multimedia" PCs (but got rejected fast). If the current MS leadership would have been in place back then, they would have replaced the Windows GUI with Bob. Edited July 26, 2014 by Formfiller 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoelC Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 Ever have a debate with someone who claims "they can get real work done on a tablet"? I have, way too many times, and after much head-shaking finally came to the conclusion that "real work" must mean entirely different things to different people. -Noel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JorgeA Posted July 27, 2014 Author Share Posted July 27, 2014 Ever have a debate with someone who claims "they can get real work done on a tablet"? I have, way too many times, and after much head-shaking finally came to the conclusion that "real work" must mean entirely different things to different people. -Noel If you work in the, umm, adult film industry, then you can classify all that video watching on your tablet as "research." --JorgeA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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