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Windows 8 - Deeper Impressions


JorgeA

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[...] For years (as probably with most people) I was interested in wallpapers, icons, screensavers, etc but as time went on I stopped bothering with these things.

When I am using my computer, I rarely see my wallpaper. The exception is in the morning on the multi-monitor setup before I get my apps up. So what use is a wallpaper? I don't change it at home anymore.

Icons went away for me a long time ago. It was the combination of two things. The first being that I was informed that having stuff on your desktop was actually bad for performance. The second was once I could put shortcuts to often used things on the Taskbar and much later when Windows 7 (I never really used Vista) had the Start Menu show the top 10 most used programs. Now I never go to the desktop except for rare occassions when I need to format a USB key, since that is where I have that program.

And screen savers are a similar thing. The screen saver comes on when you are not using the computer and its probably because you are not near it. You wouldn't be there to see your screen saver since you'd be busy doing something else most of the time. Even the case of Shiva, who others have nicknamed "The Drugs Computer" because of its screen saver ended up just being a distraction you can see from the corner of your eye if you are doing something else in the room.

Of course I would totally flip around on this subject if they include After Dark in Windows 8.1. :thumbup

I used to play with wallpapers too, until I decided that plain backgrounds were best for me as they made it easier to locate the desktop icons. Which itself is ironic because I don't actually use those icons very much: most of my program launching takes place from the -- gasp -- Start Menu. :o It's compact (doesn't take over my whole screen), easy to scan through as everything's in a single column, visually appealing, and neatly self-arranged. What more could I ask for? :)

Like you, I no longer use screensavers. They were more trouble than they were worth -- sometimes the monitor wouldn't come back properly, and I was never sure if it was hitting a key or jiggling the mouse that I needed to do. Now I just let the monitor (but not the computer) go to sleep if I step away from it for a while.

--JorgeA

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It being Patch Tuesday today, in case we haven't covered it already, one more thing that Microsoft changed screwed up with Windows 8 is that users no longer get the Taskbar balloon telling them that new updates are available.

It seems that these notifications appear only in the lock screen or when you power up the computer and log in (and then only if you have it set up to ask for a login password). And even then, the notice tells you merely that some unspecified updates are available, no details of what they are or how big. (More details here.)

This occurs if you set Windows to tell you when updates are available and to let you choose if and when to download them. So obviously the function is broken, intentionally or otherwise. Apparently MSFT would prefer that you were a good little serf and allowed them unquestioningly to do whatever they wanted to your property (your computer).

It's pathetic that third-party tools have become necessary to carry out such a fundamental OS function.

--JorgeA

Edited by JorgeA
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And speaking of the dumbing-down of the PC experience, have you noticed that the descriptions for this month's Windows Updates don't say anything relevant about each specific update? Used to be they'd give you a little useful information, such as if the patch involved a vulnerability from (for example) a remote attacker or a local attacker that could allow him to control your PC. Now they say even less. They all have vague, completely generic language about "a security issue" that "could affect your system." If you want any detail at all, now you have to click on the link.

User-friendly computing... NOT!! :angry:

--JorgeA

Edited by JorgeA
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It being Patch Tuesday today, in case we haven't covered it already, one more thing that Microsoft changed screwed up with Windows 8 is that users no longer get the Taskbar balloon telling them that new updates are available.

It seems that these notifications appear only in the lock screen or when you power up the computer and log in (and then only if you have it set up to ask for a login password). And even then, the notice tells you merely that some unspecified updates are available, no details of what they are or how big. (More details here.)

yes, this sucks. I use this tool to get it back: http://www.quppa.net/wunotify

balloon.png

Edited by MagicAndre1981
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The ironic thing is that the original Judgment against Microsoft, and the order to break it up into two parts would have been the absolute BEST thing for us, and Microsoft itself. :yes: Getting the neutral Windows OS away from the rest of the clowns up there into a separate place where they would answer to everyone would have been ideal. Most importantly it would have removed the irresistible temptation for Microsoft to use the OS as leverage to steer the Sheeple into the Microverse as they are plotting as we speak. Windows would be far more cross platform friendly and so many developer avenues would not have turned into dead-ends. Unfortunately the government spent so much time hammering them over Netscape ( thanks a lot Barksdale ) that they actually drummed up sympathy for Microsoft. I know this because I was one of them ( boy was I wrong! ). It seemed really dumb to complain about a free browser in the OS because other browsers worked fine. And the downside of making them remove it meant opening the door to every other non-essential part of the OS ( Calc, Notepad, etc ) to also be challenged by every Tom, Dick and Harry on the planet. Meanwhile the backroom OEM deals got stepped over chasing Netscape down a rabbit hole. ~sigh~ [...]

Can you elaborate a little on those?

The main thrust of the DoJ action, at least publicly, was centered around Netscape being somehow strangled by Microsoft including MSIE in Windows. Barksdale was testifying before Congress, all the Netscape fanboys were up in arms, and Microsoft would need to be punished.

Ironically, this is the very point that kept me from supporting the breakup of Microsoft. People on my side of the argument felt that this was incredibly stupid and petty Government action, and it reeked of protecting a specific product, Netscape, and was extremely shortsighted. The reason that many felt this way was because of the dangerous precedent that would be set if MSIE was forced to be removed due to Government action. This is one of those times that an automobile analogy fits perfectly: "Telling Microsoft to not include MSIE in Windows is like telling car-makers to not include a radio". After-market radios work just fine, and no-one is alleging car-makers or Microsoft is preventing after-market hardware or software from being installed later. The Netscape portion of the DoJ case should never have moved past that analogy because it is plain common sense.

Now if the Government did step in specifically using Netscape as an injured party and the remedy is to remove MSIE, then the door gets kicked wide open for every other part of the Operating System to be challenged and removed by anyone that produces a "competing" applet. Calculator, Notepad, Wordpad, Scandisk, Defrag, Paint, Media Player, etc. All of these and more would become subject to the whims of lawsuits and Government action and Windows could literally be reduced to a set of DLLs and Explorer.exe. We did not want all the other parts of Windows jettisoned because ACME Media Player or Harry's Calculator or Adobe Photoshop got butthurt by Windows applets. That's the reason so many people fought against the Netscape thing.

There is also the little matter of protectionism where the Federal Government would be protecting Netscape's business, a paid browser threatened by a free one, placing the Government in the odd position of serving its citizens by favoring a paid solution over a free one. And there's the more philosophical and political angle that points out that the Federal Government has no business selecting what products should win or lose, or what their price should be. These are more or less beside the point though, because as I said the Netscape portion of the case should never have went past the auto analogy because the mere presence of MSIE did not hurt Netscape.

So that explains the most prominent feature of the controversy, Netscape. However, if Microsoft did anything above and beyond merely including MSIE without sabotaging the ability for 3rd party after-market browsers, anything that gets into anticompetitive behavior, then all bets are obviously off. So, the bottom line about the most visible part of the case, Netscape, was this ... the mere inclusion of MSIE is not anticompetitive. Period. Clearly the case went much further, and if you read that Wikipedia extract you will see that they were obstinate, and frankly should have been held in contempt of court. The thing that bothers me the most is that in retrospect is that the Netscape fiasco looks now like a pea-shell game diversion! While thousands of hours were wasted pontificating over MSIE and Netscape, Microsoft was busy monopolizing the back channels of OEM distribution of Windows. So here we sit today with no actual competitors because they were actually strangled out of the market ( Netscape was not ). And the consequence is this ... as Microsoft makes its anticompetitive move with Windows 8 and the wall-garden Store being slipped into non-Microsoft hardware at the OEM factory, those missing competitors are unable to show damage from the OEM monopoly. That's because ... they are missing.

In summary, whether it is the Government's or Microsoft's fault, the Netscape diversion allowed the OEM monopoly to flourish, so even though Microsoft lost, they really won. I hope people re-read that previous post, especially the Wikipedia excerpt and still contact the Government, because as the only remaining injured party, the people are the only ones that can start an action. In a perfect world the remedy would be the same, break out the neutral OS division from the company. Better yet, just ask them to release the x86 source code and let them go on their merry way producing a toy operating system for MetroTards.

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From a pro-Windows 8 website, and now for yet another Windows 8.1 annoyance:

Closing Metro Apps In Windows Blue Is Now Just A Tad Harder

Pulling down the UI of a Metro app was the simplest of ways to close it down quickly. This allowed users to easily manage their running applications. Windows 8.1 Preview, however, has made some small changes to the process.

It now requires users to hold the window at the bottom of the screen for a couple of seconds before it gets closed. A Microsoft support engineer explained this new process of closing apps in a post on the company’s official forums:

“In Windows 8.1 Preview, to close an app you have to drag the app down the screen and hold it for some time. You will see the app rotates and this will close the app completely.”

Did they maybe find that it was too easy to swipe down and unintentionally close an app? :unsure:

Let’s hope there is some good reasoning behind this new technique of closing programs, if it makes it in the final version of the operating system later this year.

--JorgeA

Edited by JorgeA
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Thanks Charlotte, this makes sense to me.

Was there a 2nd post from me just above yours when you replied? Any chance you have a saved copy?

Thanks to the recent forum problems, some posts vanished.

:yes: agreed.

Does anyone have a copy of this page before the rollback?

I can't believe I was stupid enough to make a post without saving a copy. :realmad:

P.S. the one just above this is a spammer, already reported.

EDIT: spammer already gone even before I posted.

EDIT2: I checked Google, Bing, and DDG, the closest cached page is July 6 in Bing. Cannot determine Google's last crawl but they all definitely were not here yesterday.

Edited by CharlotteTheHarlot
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Thanks Charlotte, this makes sense to me.

Was there a 2nd post from me just above yours when you replied? Any chance you have a saved copy?

No, sorry, at least not when I came back into the forum to check for new posts, and replied to yours. Had there been any other posts in-between when I replied, I'd have quoted yours so that everyone would know the context. But there weren't any, and my reply was posted right after yours, so I could get away with replying the lazy way...

That's not to say that there never were any other posts after the one that I replied to. I couldn't get into MSFN at all yesterday (until after midnight) and anything could have happened in the interim.

--JorgeA

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( trying to piece together a missing post )


Statcounter June 2013: Google Chrome reigns supreme, IE comes in second ( NeoWin 2013-07-09 )

Not making the MicroZealots very happy. Naturally they insist these stats are bad. Naturally. I couldn't care less, choosing between Chrome and MSIE is like poop and diarrhea.



Microsoft announces partner initiative to improve app design ( NeoWin 2013-07-10 )

The competency will provide a way to train your designers and be recognized for your expertise in the Microsoft Design Language and App User Experience on Windows devices. It will ensure that all of our partners have access to the user experience and design foundation necessary to create innovative experiences that engage millions of users on the Windows platform.


Now that is a mouthful of marketbabble. "innovative experiences that engage millions of users" yeah right.



Microsoft puts in new security update policy for third party store apps ( NeoWin 2013-07-10 )

Starting today, developers will be required to submit an updated app within 180 days of being notified of a Critical or Important severity security issue. This assumes the app is not currently being exploited in the wild. In those cases, we’ll work with the developer to have an update available as soon as possible and may remove the app from the store earlier.


You know this is lip service because holding the playskool Metro toy app makers to any such standard, like pulling non-updated apps, means the total in the Store would drop precipitously. Lip service.



Microsoft wants Windows XP's market share to be below 10 percent by support cut off ( NeoWin 2013-07-10 )

Now isn't that rich? Here's what the MetroTard-in-chief had to say about Windows XP ...

DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE.


He also adds this industrial strength Idiocracy ...

Because it's a support nightmare all around. For starters, any one who uses 7 or 8 daily, your workflow is broken. There's no Search. Security is a nightmare, driver support is an even worse wreck at this point, upon a heap of other issues.

There's a reason many don't support it (me included) already anymore. It's not worth the time or the energy.


First of all he's a student, he supports nothing, and it's more likely our tax dollars are supporting him. But he's constructed a career in his mind of "supporting" systems somewhere, maybe his grandmother's. Notice the word "workflow". A classroom concept as well as Microsoft MarketBabble, people that work for a living don't have time for droid talk ( and he probably means workflow as checking email and NeoWin anyway ). Think back to when you were in school and remember the fraudster that spent all day making glamorous flow charts while real programmers hammered out code, you know the type, eager to capitalize on others' work. Perfect for Microsoft these days from what I hear, he should apply. But he better hope they don't read all his posts.

So Windows XP has no Search? Well it does if you want it ( including indexing ), but there are replacements as well. However, by 'Search' he means specifically the

Windows 8 'Tard search that indexes everything and leaves it at their fingertips, no dialog box necessary, so if he turns his back on his Surface tablet I can just press a couple of keystrokes and out jumps everything, including personal documents. If I turn my back on an XP system and he tried the same, he wouldn't have the slightest idea how to mine anything. You really got to wonder if the word "security" was ever explained to MetroTards.

The biggest irony is that after admitting he not only doesn't use Windows XP, but also never touches it even if others have it, then he spends time in forum threads slamming Windows XP, doing precisely what he and all MetroTards accuse others of doing - criticizing an OS they don't use or understand! The fail is strong with this one. Meanwhile I and millions of others continue along, not only without problems, but with the full force of the processor available because it is not ( in my case anyway ) tied up with antivirus and all the extra tasks built into Windows 6.x.

Lately at NeoWin the non-MetroTards have been having a go at the MicroZealots. They're getting in at the top of the threads, with leadoff posts, driving them batty. Cheers :thumbup

EDIT: 2013-07-12 ( since forum changeover ) trying to adjust formatting to see what sticks. This editor really sucks. Try to go to end of comment and add blank lines and you get them somewhere in the middle of the comment. Choices for large font appear to be 24 pt and 36 pt ( the old "5" appears to fall in between that. No bold on size "1" which is 8 pt apparently. More later.

Edited by CharlotteTheHarlot
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The biggest irony is that after admitting he not only doesn't use Windows XP, but also never touches it even if others have it, then he spends time in forum threads slamming Windows XP, doing precisely what he and all MetroTards accuse others of doing - criticizing an OS they don't use or understand!

Touché!! :thumbup

--JorgeA

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Microsoft clobbers Google over privacy at WPC 2013 ( NeoWin 2013-07-10 )

Windows Phone to get business boost with VPN support, encrypted email and more ( NeoWin 2013-07-10 )

Microsoft criticizes Google about privacy and Windows Phone marketed as a security friendly platform? Hmmm. Let me think. What is this all about I wonder. Could it be that they think the news of just a month ago is forgotten ...

Some of the world's largest internet brands are claimed to be part of the information-sharing program since its introduction in 2007. Microsoft – which is currently running an advertising campaign with the slogan "Your privacy is our priority" – was the first, with collection beginning in December 2007.

It was followed by Yahoo in 2008; Google, Facebook and PalTalk in 2009; YouTube in 2010; Skype and AOL in 2011; and finally Apple, which joined the program in 2012. The program is continuing to expand, with other providers due to come online.

Collectively, the companies cover the vast majority of online email, search, video and communications networks.

For no less than six years, ever since Vista, Microsoft has been at the center of the spy scandal handing over user information to the feds, and probably others as well. Naturally they would go for the operating system maker, to get access to the source code no doubt, it's not like they are an ISP. What kind of chutzpah does it take for them to lecture anyone on "Privacy". None of these companies have any business talking about privacy or security, least of all Microsoft. They sold out their customers before anybody else. Microsoft was the first "partner" in the spy ring against Americans and the rest of the world. They should STFU about privacy. Fraudsters.

Russia's largest carrier backs Windows Phone after ditching iPhone ( NeoWin 2013-07-10 )

Finally some cheerful news? Well I guess it cannot get much worse for Nokia or Microsoft WP right? Let's see what the 'Tards think ...

Apple's running scared, starting to wonder, can they survive Nokia Rolling Thunder.

It's Samsung that needs to worry

Both need to be worried for two reasons:

Nokia=strong brand, great phones

Microsoft=Innovating on WP (OK OK this is only visible with WP8 )

:whistle:

Microsoft: Xbox One for small businesses is a great investment ( NeoWin 2013-07-11 )

While Microsoft views the Xbox One as “an excellent entertainment device” the company claims that the new console can be so much more. It argues that the Xbox platform is so robust and reliable that it can be a great option in terms of video conferencing and as a networking platform.

For real? Not an April Fools joke? Okay sure.

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Thanks Charlotte, this makes sense to me.

Was there a 2nd post from me just above yours when you replied? Any chance you have a saved copy?

No, sorry, at least not when I came back into the forum to check for new posts, and replied to yours. Had there been any other posts in-between when I replied, I'd have quoted yours so that everyone would know the context. But there weren't any, and my reply was posted right after yours, so I could get away with replying the lazy way...

That's not to say that there never were any other posts after the one that I replied to. I couldn't get into MSFN at all yesterday (until after midnight) and anything could have happened in the interim.

Definitely some lost posts, I had at least one, re-created just above.

So that everyone here is aware, @xper reports in the Site & Forum Issues subforum that MSFN will be on and off for the next few days for a forum upgrade.

Ah well, time to start doing saves now. Ain't gonna let that happen again. :yes:

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