Jump to content

Windows 10 - Deeper Impressions


xper

Recommended Posts

This is expected behaviour, if you press WIN + 1 to 0 (1, 2....9, 0) key, it will open your 10 first programs on your taskbar (I have only tested with pinned programs but I think it should work same if you have 10 opened programs on taskbar), if you put Visual Studio as first position, WIN + 1 will open it (or acting like if you click on it if it's open).

Link to comment
Share on other sites


On 12/2/2016 at 7:13 PM, jonah8208 said:

Jorge I been waiting for that day probably as long as you have, not looking any closer than it was 10 years ago, maybe by 2025!

Yup!  :)

One of the limitations I've run into when trying Linux in some of my work, is that there doesn't appear to be any PDF software that "converts" a Web page to PDF -- as opposed to "printing" a Web page to PDF, which is not quite the same thing. When I "print" a page to PDF, increasingly I run into all sorts of oddities, such as black banners running down the left edge covering up text, or standard website cr*p at the top of every printed page that covers up text, or even having the text printed as an image that you can't then select to highlight or comment on. (It's almost as if they don't want people actually printing their stuff, so they make the output as difficult and useless as they can.) These issues don't happen with PDF software that offers the ability to "convert" pages to PDF -- the whole process runs much more smoothly there, and as a bonus you get clickable hyperlinks.

In Linux you can "print" pages to PDF natively, and there is some dedicated software that will also do that, but I haven't found software that will perform this needed "convert to PDF" function. That will be a bit of a roadblock, or at least a bump in the road to Penguinland.

Another small annoyance is that entering international characters requires more keystrokes. In Windows you can just hit ALT-130 to get the accented "e": é. That's 4 keystrokes. In Linux, IIRC you need a 5- or 6-keystroke sequence to get the same thing. A couple of extra keystrokes here, an extra keystroke there, and over time it adds up. In my business I deal with a lot of international names (people and places) that we try to render faithfully, so the more keystrokes needed the more tedious the work becomes. (Remapping the keyboard for a certain language is impractical, because I deal with Spanish, Serbo-Croatian, French, Slovenian, Icelandic, etc., interchangeably on the same page and sometimes even on the same line of text.)

The next big test will be to try to do a whole project in Linux -- for me, probably in the Linux version of SoftMaker Office. That will be the acid test of file compatibility between Linux and Windows office suites. I have one author who uses OpenOffice (or is it LibreOffice; the file extension is ODT) on a Mac, and the files invariably come back to me a mess, with formatting changes ignored, missing carriage returns, and the like.

--JorgeA

Edited by JorgeA
typo
Link to comment
Share on other sites

IDC once predicted 20% market share for Windows phones; now it forecasts 0.1% share by 2020

Just like the MSFT execs (and their fanboys and trolls) who confidently predicted 1 billion Windows 10 devices by 2018. They need better crystal balls. Maybe the ghost of Steve Jobs can design one for them.

Oh, and about that 0.1% share for Windows phones:

Quote

...the table above states that proportion as 0.1% market share, but that's rounded up; it's actually closer to 0.06%.

Tell me again why Microsoft keeps turning real Windows into a phone OS?

--JorgeA

Edited by JorgeA
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, JorgeA said:

Tell me again why Microsoft keeps turning real Windows into a phone OS?

Because they are stubborn as a mule, perhaps? :dubbio::angel

OTOH, crystal balls are really a problem-prone hardware, you know... :yes:

xtal_ball.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

OT, but not much, they repented :w00t: and just provided Symlinks bypassing UAC elevation.

Something BTW possible in XP (with a third party driver since the functionality is there in NTFS but the MS guys didn't provide one, probably in order to boast about Vista :ph34r: "new" functionalities ) that they are trying to "sell" as "news" and as the third best thing in the world (after bread and ice-cream):

https://blogs.windows.com/buildingapps/2016/12/02/symlinks-windows-10/

Just for the record, the new approach makes anyway little sense, it involves the use of a "Developer Mode", so I am failing to see the advantage over simply elevating the cmd prompt or the program creating the Symlink.

jaclaz


 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

UAC is simply ridiculous.  Now, if they'd resurrect the ability to run EVERYTHING without UAC in Developer Mode, I might gain back a few percent of the respect I've lost for Microsoft (right now it would take about a 20% gain just to get back to zero).  But you just KNOW what they'd do, right?  They'd charge a monthly fee for the ability to enter Developer Mode.

-Noel

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 minutes ago, NoelC said:

UAC is simply ridiculous.

OT, but not much, this is ridiculous (pdf 134 Kb):

https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/Strategic_Principles_for_Securing_the_Internet_of_Things-2016-1115-FINAL....pdf

Quote


Last year, in a cyber attack that temporarily disabled the power grid in parts of Ukraine, the 
world saw the critical consequences that can result from failures in connected systems. 
Because our nation is now dependent on properly functioning networks to drive so many life-
sustaining activities, IoT security is now a matter of homeland security.

basically - according to NHS - if you install an el-cheapo camera and leave password admin/admin, you may cause the disruption of primary US networks, which seemingly have today the same robustness of Ukraine's ones one year ago, which were however compromised NOT by DDOS or similar attacks but from remote logins on (with payloads sent and/or credentials obtained through phishing) internet connected  SCADA's :w00t::ph34r:

A report on the Ukraine accident is here (pdf 1.4 Mb):

http://www.nerc.com/pa/CI/ESISAC/Documents/E-ISAC_SANS_Ukraine_DUC_18Mar2016.pdf
 

Hey guys, what about the good ol'way of having strategical infrastructure and particularly SCADA's NOT connected to the Internet? Too d@mn simple, I presume. :dubbio:


 

jaclaz
 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We have a popular TV show ("Madam Secretary") that recently showed how a hacker targeting the Secretary of State was able to turn the lights and various other appliances on and off as a show of dominance.

It's not hard to imagine a cyber attack that would shut down everyone's portable electronic devices and cell phone connectivity.  I am imagining a nation of bewildered people, probably unable to sleep or function normally.  It'd be like withdrawal from powerful drugs.

We have already heard of certain "connected" vehicles being hacked.  Yeah, just what people need, their car just suddenly going renegade while speeding down the highway.

It's why I regard learning to assert and maintain control over one's technology (Windows and everything else) very important - nay, essential.

What the apologists claim is tin foil is really Mylar coated Kevlar armor housing unhackable wetware.

-Noel

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, JorgeA said:

Just like the MSFT execs (and their fanboys and trolls) who confidently predicted 1 billion Windows 10 devices by 2018. They need better crystal balls. Maybe the ghost of Steve Jobs can design one for them.

I take small exception to it being called a "prediction"...

These people are spouting what's necessary to keep Microsoft's stock from tanking, no matter that they have released bogus software.  So it's a well-scripted media dance, not a prediction per se.

And they're doing it on multiple fronts.  Not only are they trying to feed investors whatever BS is necessary, but they're trying to change the culture by inundating us with things clearly designed to numb us to what was once considered unacceptable. 

There’s an undertone to all this "telemetry" stuff, for example - that somehow it’s okay to send information about you and your computer usage if it’s been sanitized.

Uh, no – sorry – it’s not.

Even if all that is logged and stored in a server somewhere was “computer at 12.34.56.78 logged on successfully” that’s an invasion of privacy. I simply don’t care to share that information with anyone. It’s none of your d*** business, Microsoft!

A classic ploy:

On a scale of 1 to 10, if 1 is considered acceptable, 3 is unacceptable, and 10 is outrageous, then do something at level 10 and respond to the outcry by backing down to 3. Point out how much better 3 is, and how you’re a real hero for listening.

Iterate doing the above until you get the acceptable level way up there, to suit your business goals. Boom, before you know it, society’s norms are changed.  All too many people are easily influenced.

There is no reason whatsoever that anyone needs to know whether or when I log into my computer. I paid for the software, hardware, and electricity, not to mention the communications link, which I would prefer to be available for MY use 100.0%.

There might be those who would say that if my system doesn’t report in then Microsoft won’t be able to make the software better. Yet *I* can write up and report problems just fine, thank you. And let’s ask: Better for whom? With all the telemetry we have had to deal with lately, in just what ways are they’re making Windows better for users?

There could be those who might say that if my system doesn’t inform mother Microsoft about what I’m running then they won’t be able to make everyone’s computing experience more secure. Bunk. Don’t look now, we’ve been inundated with telemetry for years, yet I’m not hearing that Windows today is more secure from ANYONE but Microsoft’s Marketeers. Has there been an observed drop in infections lately?

Why can I, a mere user, set up a system that’s WAY more secure than an out-of-box Windows system? Seriously.

Remember when Microsoft used telemetry to justify things like removing the Windows Backup UI? “Only 6% of people use it, according to telemetry, so we’re dropping support.” That was back in the time of Win 8. What a resounding success! Not.

All food for thought.

Just don’t let them warm the pot until you’re boiled alive.

-Noel

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Follow the money.  Who makes money with an undervalued MS?  Who makes money with telemetry?  Who would make money with a bankrupted MS?  Would anyone do such manipulation just to make money?  Where is the money going anyway?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, NoelC said:

Remember when Microsoft used telemetry to justify things like removing the Windows Backup UI? “Only 6% of people use it, according to telemetry, so we’re dropping support.” That was back in the time of Win 8. What a resounding success! Not.

One thing I don't understand is that

A) The people that would use Windows Backup would most likely be more technically inclined than people who wouldn't

B) The people that would disable Telemetry (or even know it exists in the first place) would most likely be more technically inclined than people who wouldn't

C) The people that would work at MS should be more technically inclined than people that don't work at MS

.... SO ....

How is the "revelation" that only 6% of users (with telemetry enabled) use the backup UI shocking? The demographic of users that would have not disabled telemetry and the demographic of users that would use backup directly contradict each other. The "geniuses" that work at MS should have figured this out by now, and they obviously haven't. These people are supposed to be technically inclined, AKA the users that would do the SAME THING.

Oftentimes, I wonder what MS would be like if people that had half an idea how to run a software company, and write and manage the world's most used desktop operating system, and not people with a "cloud fetish," were still in power.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

People who disable telemetry probably prefer non-MS backup solutions. Why would one who refuses to trust MS after finding out about telemetry trust them with a critical thing like backup?  So people who doesn't disable (or even know about) telemetry also shouldn't care to backup at all. Why would they? MS Win 10 rocks so no backup'll ever be needed right? That's there just for the die-hard bona-fide tinfoil-hat (or better still: Velostat-lined-hat) wearing certified paranoids, after all. :angel
Exceptions, there are some, but they just confirm the rule. :yes:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As a side note, but relevant, a recent international study confirms the gut feeling that only 1/15 to 1/20 people actually know where their towel is (provided that the "level 3", which seems to me anyway basic enough, corresponds to knowing where your towel is :dubbio:):
https://www.nngroup.com/articles/computer-skill-levels/

Quote

The main point I want to make is that you, dear reader, are almost certainly in the top category of computer skills, level 3. In the United States, only 5% of the population has these high computer skills. In Australia and the UK 6% are at this level; in Canada and across Northern Europe the number increases to 7%; Singapore and Japan are even better with a level-3 percentage of 8%.

Overall, people with strong technology skills make up a 5–8% sliver of their country’s population, whatever rich country they may be coming from. Go back to the OECD’s definition of the level-3 skills, quoted above. Consider defining your goals based on implicit criteria. Or overcoming unexpected outcomes and impasses while using the computer. Or evaluating the relevance and reliability of information in order to discard distractors. Do these sound like something you are capable of? Of course they do.

What’s important is to remember that 95% of the population in the United States (93% in Northern Europe; 92% in rich Asia) cannot do these things.

You can do it; 92%–95% of the population can’t.

What does this simple fact tell us? You are not the user, unless you’re designing for an elite audience. (And even if you do target, say, a B2B audience of nothing but engineers, they still know much less about your specific product than you do, so you’re still not the user.)

If you think something is easy, or that “surely people can do this simple thing on our website,” then you may very well be wrong.



 

More or less the direct consequence of this is that in the name of popularity (and/or market size) everything is going to be dumbed down simplified to be compliant with the level the vast majority of people are, thus keeping them in their persistent ignorance computer illiteracy.

Now, I am the first one to sponsor simplicity and attempting to apply Occam's razor to *everything*, but one thing is making things as simple as possible (good) and another thing is making things as simple as the lazy users expect them to be (and in doing so limit the possibilities of more advanced uses of the tool by a few more knowledgeable and willing to learn people).

jaclaz


 


 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If a designer creates a computer system that is powerful, and requires the user to gather up some knowledge and exercise some responsibility to use it, what's wrong with that?

It's not like Microsoft didn't already dominate computing by providing powerful, sophisticated tools and require the users to be smart to use them.  Dumbing things down is just a cop out for a company that just doesn't want to have to do difficult, intelligent things any longer.

I'm imagining a conversation that started this whole downslide...  "What's our biggest problem?"  "I dunno, probably that we have to pay our people so much to retain the smart ones, and those are the ones that complain the most."  "Yeah, if we could just get 3rd world workers to code for a few cents a day we could take home obscene paychecks with the savings.  Make it so."

-Noel

Edited by NoelC
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...