Windows 8 - Deeper Impressions

[Aero7x64]

Personally Linux is not option to me. Linux is not cancer as Ballmer said, but it is annoying. Sure it include lot of options which is good, but I like to configure everything via GUI. Linux is too much command line based, also many programs settings need to be configured via text editor instead of its own settings GUI like in Windows. Linux doesn't have system restore point like feature, doesn't have possibility to create new process via GUI. Also upgrading Linux is pain. I remember last time in Ubuntu:not xinit found, when trying to manually start X when it didn't start during upgrading. Linux doesn't have troubleshooting wizards. I will continue with Windows 7 until Windows 9 and then decide what to do. My dream OS would be one that is configurable but via GUI instead of command line. Also troubleshooting wizards could be improved to be more smart and recognise more problems. ipconfig/ all command could have it own GUI. Command line could be option to those who really want to use it, but should not be required those who don't want to use it, everything should be possible to configure and troubleshoot via GUI.

Also as Mac is locked down to Apple hardware and still has its flaws so it is not option.

As Prism it is bad use of technology. Technology could be used so many good things and yet it is used to things like this. Shame on US government and shame on companies involved.

Edited September 11, 2013 by Aero7x64

[JorgeA]

Yeah, sure, you can trust on their word that the CIA guys (or NSA or the military or whomever) have fully obeyed and destroyed each and every file and each and every copy they made of them.

If they do have a list of all Manning Support Network donors, surely it comes from some other source

Now, if I had a PC of mine seized and then returned to me by the Feds (and if I was suspected to be involved in something like the Manning case) I would look for a keylogger placed in it while they had it in their possession, or - safer, wipe it and either destroy it or sell it on e-bay the very day after I got it back, but that's another story.

Oh jaclaz, you cynic -- why wouldn't you trust the authorities, our dedicated public servants, to keep their word?

(Good advice BTW as to what to do with the laptop once it was recovered.)

--JorgeA

[JorgeA]

Personally Linux is not option to me. Linux is not cancer as Ballmer said, but it is annoying. Sure it include lot of options which is good, but I like to configure everything via GUI. Linux is too much command line based, also many programs settings need to be configured via text editor instead of its own settings GUI like in Windows. Linux doesn't have system restore point like feature, doesn't have possibility to create new process via GUI. Also upgrading Linux is pain. I remember last time in Ubuntu:not xinit found, when trying to manually start X when it didn't start during upgrading. I will continue with Windows 7 until Windows 9 and then decide what to do. My dream OS would be one that is configurable but via GUI instead of command line.

Also as Mac is locked down to Apple hardware and still has its flaw.

As Prism it is bad use of technology. Technology could be used so many good things and yet it is used to things like this. Shame on US government and shame on companies involved.

Yeah, Linux has its own set of flaws and annoyances. Support for international characters is clunky at best -- there's nothing there to match the simplicity of typing ALT+130 to get é, for example. You can manually create macros to get the characters you need, but if you use a lot of different ones as I do then it becomes a long and tedious exercise. It's like having to wire your own car radio: just give me something that works out of the box, OK? Microsoft's Windows is much better in that regard, I will hand them that.

--JorgeA

[JorgeA]

Microsoft has screwed up three Office 2007-related Patch Tuesday updates:

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-windows_update/windows-update-kb2760411-kb2760588-kb2760583/ef2ff8c5-64aa-4751-b38e-2dd53f7fee72?page=1&tm=1378907362347

http://www.infoworld.com/t/microsoft-windows/microsoft-botches-still-more-patches-in-latest-automatic-update-226594

Don't they test these things before sending them out??

At the end of his piece, Woody says exactly what I was thinking:

Does this make you feel warm and fuzzy about automatic app updates in Windows 8.1?

Yes, just imagine if and when everybody gets all their updates automatically. (Oh, and no doubt the NSA wouldn't mind lending a hand with that...)

--JorgeA

[jaclaz]

Yeah, Linux has its own set of flaws and annoyances. Support for international characters is clunky at best -- there's nothing there to match the simplicity of typing ALT+130 to get é, for example. You can manually create macros to get the characters you need, but if you use a lot of different ones as I do then it becomes a long and tedious exercise. It's like having to wire your own car radio: just give me something that works out of the box, OK? Microsoft's Windows is much better in that regard, I will hand them that.

--JorgeA

You might like it or not, but usually there is CTRL+SHIFT+U and then keeping pressed the CTRL+SHIFT digit the Unicode 4 character ordinal of the character.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unicode_input

jaclaz

[Aero7x64]

You need to know that USA government is not alone in this.

Do not give sovereign nations power to central governments. Big Central governments are bad and mostly corrupted.

This is result:

http://hpub.org/european-union-seeks-drone-and-spy-satellite-network/

You need to know what happen when you give power to big central government. (US Government, European Parliament, European Council)

Edited September 11, 2013 by Aero7x64

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

NSA Affair: Germans Conduct Helicopter Flyover of US Consulate ( Der Spiegel 2013-09-09 )

Talk about unintended consequences. German aerial recon of the American embassy looking for exposed spy equipment on the building. This really highlights something that is a fuzzy gray area - Are embassies and consulates native land to the guest country or not? We're probably gonna see that issue settled once and for all in the next few years thanks to all the spy leaks. Hint for our German friends, you won't visually see the equipment that is listening to you, you will only see what is intentionally exposed. But they probably are fully aware of this and the action was a ( pretty good ) publicity stunt.

NSA Violated Privacy Protections, Officials Say ( Wall Street Journal 2013-09-10 )

Since the breadth of the phone-records collection came to light through leaks by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, U.S. officials have said that for all queries of the database, the NSA must show a "reasonable articulable suspicion" that the phone number being targeted is associated with a terrorist organization.

Between 2006 and 2009, however, of the 17,835 phone numbers checked against phone records, only 1,935 were based on that reasonable-suspicion standard, intelligence officials said.

Oopsie daisy. 'Sorry, we'll try harder next time'. Don't be fooled again, this is one of those distracting slabs of meat thrown our way to divert attention from the real capabilities which are pressing ahead like a tsunami plowing miles inland through Japanese villages.

Is Tor's Anonymous Internet Still Secure? ( Tom's Hardware 2013-09-10 )

Tor is a networking protocol originally sponsored by the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory. Now an open-source project, the protocol is used in various pieces of software, including the Tor Project's free-to-download browser bundle, which anonymizes your data by sending it through a random selection of more than 3,000 servers, called relays.

Lots of background about Tor, SSL and WWW communications. Long story short - we're screwed.

'FLYING PIG' Soars Over Internet Privacy Protections ( Tom's Hardware 2013-09-10 )

FLYING PIG can bypass SSL through what is known as a man-in-the-middle attack. By interposing itself between the user and the user's intended destination during such an attack, GCHQ can redirect the user to a spoof site, usually almost indistinguishable from the genuine article.

For example, a man-in-the-middle attack on an online store can steal a user's credit card information by making it appear that the order has gone through as planned.

FLYING PIG, in particular, takes advantage of SSL's modus operandi, which requires a "handshake." SSL makes both the end user and the server provide security certificates before transmitting data. GCHQ can provide fake security certificates, rendering both a user and his or her system unaware that a third party has acquired the information.

It seems our UK friends own government are also leaving no stone unturned. The term "When Pigs Fly" which is typically used to denote a very unlikely eventuality has been cynically appropriated by James Bond, M and Q to describe how they can do anything they desire. The movies were not exaggerated, but understated! They're rubbing our noses in it now!

NSA Poisoned Internet Security from the Beginning ( Tom's Hardware 2013-09-06 )

( forgot about this one, and apologies if already mentioned here ). Excellent article, very long and quite detailed history of how it all happened as best as can be told. Most importantly, they seem to confirm some of our worst suspicions ...

However, the documents cited in The New York Times' article reveal that in 2006, the NSA intentionally inserted a back door into at least one of its encryption standards, one that was later adopted by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). This government organization publishes peer-reviewed best practices for government agencies. Private industries are not required to adopt NIST standards, but many do so or did so because of the standards' quality.

A representative for the NIST could not confirm which 2006 standard The New York Times referenced in its piece, but that standard appears to govern the creation of random number generators and is called Dual Elliptic Curve Deterministic Random Bit Generator, or Dual_EC_DRBG.

That means that any encryption using Dual_EC_DRBG could be circumvented by the NSA through the secret back door it inserted.

[...]

Microsoft added Dual_EC_DRBGto Windows Vista later in 2007. An NIST certification list reveals that Dual_EC-DRBG has also been incorporated into products made by Cisco Systems, RSA Security, Juniper Networks, BlackBerry, McAfee, Samsung, Symantec and many other companies.

This wasn't an isolated incident. The NSA's Commercial Solutions Center, an outward-facing part of the organization that seeks out partnerships with outside developers, also has the task of working with those developers to insert vulnerabilities into their products. The NSA can then exploit these vulnerabilities to gain access to the communications transmitted through the products.

The NSA has other ways of penetrating online communications without cracking encryption keys. As earlier Snowden leaks imply, the NSA has partnerships with Verizon, Microsoft and Google that give the agency access to those companies' servers, thereby circumventing the need to crack their encryption.

Once again, perhaps we now know the real reason that Microsoft and her MicroZealot and MetroTard fanboys have been on such a Jihad to kill Windows XP.

Smart advice? Keep all WinXP and older computers from now on. Store them and stockpile them. Use the Vista/7+ computers only for the most innocent and least important tasks, nothing involving privacy obviously! Use the old ones whenever you want to at least try to remain private and anonymous ( there is more to it than just that of course! ). We've been at war with the governments and the tech companies and we didn't even know it.

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

Top Microsoft shareholders reportedly want Ford CEO to replace Ballmer ( NeoWin 2013-09-10 )

Alan Mulally ( Ford CEO ) and Mike Lawrie ( Computer Sciences CEO ) are rumored to be in the running to replace Ballmer. I saw this on CNBC yesterday. Naturally the fanboys are apoplectic ...

Such a stupid idea. Why don't all 100,000 MS employees find these top share holders and hit them over the head with their Surface RT? Such a stupid dumb idea, a car guy running a software company.

Alan is probably one of those CEO's who pecks at his keyboard like a chicken and keeps mistakenly launching Notepad for Microsoft Word and has to call his secretary everytime to help him. Say what you will about Ballmer, but the guy is bright, he is actually brighter than Bill Gates at Math, Excel Guru and I am sure he is an excellent touch typist.

The only other person I could see matching up with that is like Steven Sinofsky, but since he's gone, then we just have to settle with Mr. Elop.

Elop was a suit at Microsoft for just a couple of years, and then at Nokia for about the same. He's no Softie, more like a carpetbagger if you ask me. Meanwhile, a more logical candidate is apparently not even being considered ...

CEO of Bill & Melinda Gates foundation to depart ( NeoWin 2013-09-10 )

Jeff Raikes who came to Microsoft the year after Ballmer and has been tight with Gates to this day is not even on the table. Quite the head-scratcher.


Official Windows Phone, Nokia Twitter accounts poke fun at new iPhones ( NeoWin 2013-09-10 )

Here is an official Nokia tweet that slams the Apple product announcement. This is one of the biggest role reversals imaginable. A decade ago Microsoft was the serious business company and Apple was the tie-dyed hippie outsider. Now we have Apple as the corporate benchmark and Microsoft's b*tch Nokia acting like the petulant child ...

(unedited screencap of tweet from https://twitter.com/NokiaUS/status/377486843178418176 )

I'm no Apple fan but this hypocrisy really burns me up because of that "imitation" smear. Microsoft and her Windows 8 and Windows Phone retarded GUI's are ripping off every child's toy to be found by using the Microsoft Tiles Playskool interface, not to mention borrowing heavily from other legacy Windows, MCE, and Xbox features. There is nothing original from the mind of the MetroTard.

Now I'm gonna have to create a whole new set of images to tweet back at these children. ~sigh~

EDIT: formatting

Edited September 12, 2013 by CharlotteTheHarlot

[Formfiller]

Another Channel9 saga!

http://channel9.msdn.com/Forums/Coffeehouse/Windows-81-is-the-OS-equivalent-of-phishing-mail

It's about the article posted earlier here on Tweakguides. The huge disagreement is about the 8.1 account screen.

[TELVM]

NSA Affair: Germans Conduct Helicopter Flyover of US Consulate ( Der Spiegel 2013-09-09 )

Talk about unintended consequences. German aerial recon of the American embassy looking for exposed spy equipment on the building. This really highlights something that is a fuzzy gray area - Are embassies and consulates native land to the guest country or not? We're probably gonna see that issue settled once and for all in the next few years thanks to all the spy leaks. Hint for our German friends, you won't visually see the equipment that is listening to you, you will only see what is intentionally exposed. But they probably are fully aware of this and the action was a ( pretty good ) publicity stunt.

Hope this doesn't degenerate in angry mobs of teutonic internauts assaulting the embassy and taking everybody as hostages .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_hostage_crisis

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

Before this day ends I wanted to be sure to mention the 12th anniversary of the tragedy of 2001-09-11 ...

Both hijacked flights that hit WTC pretty much passed over us, but we did not know it at the time. Then, we had just seen the aftermath of the first crash on the TV and a short time later we did hear the roar of one of the two F-15's out of Otis (*) over in Mass who flew over here in NY but were far too late for the first strike but managed to arrive almost in time for the second ( they actually launched after the first hit ). Somewhere south of us, closing in on NYC they broke Mach-1 but there was nothing for them to do really by that time but circle.

It was a tragic day, week and month in my area. The newspapers eventually counted and covered over a dozen locals caught in the buildings and the services seemed to occur all the time. Many people were affected around here and I have a few close connections, a mere two degrees of separation.

As bad as that tragedy was, and also the subsequent strikes and later events, nobody could possibly have suspected that the real triumph of Bin Laden would be the complete dismantling of the Internet and the liberty and privacy for billions of people around the world. Thanks a lot *sshole, I trust you are enjoying yourself rotting in hades.

( original photo )

It should be mentioned that a certain operating system had just gone RTM ( for real, not the phony kind we have now ). CDROMs were being pressed with files dated 2001 August 18 to 23 ( depending on your version ). General release was a dodgy event in late October, while the fires were still burning at the WTC site and the body count was rising. This is something that the MetroTard fanatics never mention when talking about Windows XP having a "slow start". If such an event had accompanied the Windows 8 launch they would now all be using it as an excuse though.

If you read that bit in the earlier post about the NIST backdoor definitely placed into Vista, it is really starting to look the only perfectly "safe" OS is Windows XP RTM taken right off the original distribution disc. Unfortunately that version was not 48-bit LBA so it is unsafe with HDD's over 120 GB.

All in all, I have to admit that I was a bit too critical of those "conspiracy nuts" that have always maintained that anything developed post-9/11 is suspect. The passage of time, and a big assist from Snowden has proved them right, and me wrong. Mea Culpa.

Much more to come, I'm sure.

EDIT: formatting, (*) not sure now about Otis AFB

Edited September 13, 2013 by CharlotteTheHarlot

[351837]

Interesting story

http://www.androidauthority.com/nokia-android-phone-newkia-264160/

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

Windows 8.1 program kills the Start button because no one can ever be happy ( NeoWin 2013-09-12 )

In a post on the Neowin forums, Sergey of Winaero wrote how he isn't pleased with Microsoft's decision to bring back the Start button but not the Start menu in Windows 8.1. So how is Sergey going to solve the problem? By getting rid of the Start button entirely with a new program.

"After release of Windows 8.1 I found its Start button useless," he wrote. "Seriously, there are no issues for me if that button is not shown on the taskbar. Sure, I miss the old good Start menu."

In his new "StartIsGone" program for Windows 8.1, Sergey provides users with the option of removing the Start button, which he notes will give users additional space on the taskbar. The program can be downloaded from the Winaero website, with versions available for both 32- and 64-bit Windows 8.1 variants.

You gotta love it because the app will do precisely what the MetroTards claim they want done ( NO Start Button even if it is connected to Metro ) but is authored by someone they can only hate!

The commnts are ... as expected ... a degenerating hatefest for the desktop and classic Windows but with a sense of foreboding of what the new management is going to do. Just in case they come to their senses and offer a classic Windows I suggest that all the parents of those MetroTards PLEASE make sure your firearms and prescription medication is locked up in a safe place in your home.

Microsoft to offer masters-level certification exams until late December ( NeoWin 2013-09-11 )

Another ~slight~ backtrack here, postponing the deadline two months. What is interesting is that we have another clear case of telemetry driven strategy. They say only 150 grads per year came of this program! Cane we now check the telemetry for Microsoft Tiles? Pretty please?

Windows 8.1 RTM's MSDN/TechNet release came after an intense internal struggle ( NeoWin 2013-09-12 )

Internally at Microsoft, the battle for when to release Windows 8.1 was apparently a highly sensitive subject. There were teams fighting to hold back the platform, mostly for political reasons from what we were told, and then there were groups pushing to get it out as soon as possible, comprised mostly of the developer channels at Microsoft.

[...]

Neowin was told that release of the platform was directly related to the feedback from the Microsoft community and our source wanted to make it clearly known that Microsoft does listen and this is the result of the outreach by developers.

Speaking of backtracking, even getting the so-called RTM into the hands of software developers was apparently considered controversial! However, this story is short on references and is by Brad Sams who is a fanboy himself, so we cannot be sure what is really going on here. It actually sounds a little like a publicity stunt pleading with developers to not hate them.

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

Dell cleared for $25 billion buyout, will remain committed to PCs ( TechSpot 2013-09-12 )

Dell Goes Private As Shareholders Approve $25 Billion Deal ( Tom's Hardware 2013-09-12 )

Dell shareholders approve plan to take the company private with Microsoft's help ( NeoWin 2013-09-12 )

Dell Shareholders Approve $24.9 Billion Sale to Michael Dell and Silver Lake, What's Next? ( Maximum PC 2013-09-12 )

Apparently for $25 billion the company will be going private again. Lucky thing for Microsoft that they bought in for a reported $2 billion. You never know what a Dell Computer unencumbered by Wall Street Analysts might do to regain marketshare from Lenovo. They just might have dumped the Playskool Microsoft Tiles albatross hanging around their neck.

Dell shows 8-inch Venue tablet sporting Windows 8.1 ( CNet 2013-09-11 )

Dell announces Venue Tablet with Windows 8.1 ( NeoWin 2013-09-11 )

( original photo )

Where did the Playskool Metro tiles go?

Hey look everybody, another new Windows 8 device that for some strange reason doesn't show Windows 8! I wonder why? Anyone else noticing this trend because I'm even seeing it in the weekly sales flyers in the newspaper.

Microsoft posts a behind-the-scenes look at recent Nokia Lumia 1020 TV ad ( NeoWin 2013-09-12 )

Speaking of hiding the Microsoft Tiles Playskool interface, I mentioned the Nokia ads a few posts back. Here is further proof of their sudden shyness. If Microsoft didn't make this video and have their logo tacked onto the end of this and on those TV ads you really would be forgiven for thinking this Lumia 1020 was an Android handset, which it should have been. Ah well, too late now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Y3cOkZ8zEU

Microsoft Store offers at least $200 gift card for old iPads ( NeoWin 2013-09-12 )

While the gift card can be used to buy anything Microsoft has in its store locations, the company clearly wants people to consider using the card to buy a Surface tablet. With the recent price cuts in both the Surface RT and Surface Pro versions, people who have been waiting to buy one of Microsoft's own tablets who already own an iPad just got another reason to take the plunge.

Don't you just love the smell of napalm desperation in the morning. This is quite an original new business model of buying marketshare. Literally they buy the competition devices and remove them from the public! Can't figure out how the financial math works though.

Microsoft: Activations for Windows 8 in August were the highest so far ( NeoWin 2013-09-12 )

Sorry, numbers or it didn't happen.

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

Microsoft wants feedback on what to add to Excel Web App ( NeoWin 2013-09-12 )

The end of the blog entry contains a link to an online survey which asks anyone which feature they would most like to add to Excel Web Apps and why. The feature can come from the above list or users can also choose to add their own suggestions. The blog did not state when we can expect to see any of the features on the list added to Excel Web App.

( original photo )

Okay, I got a suggestion ... why don't you add some more ribbon height and toolbars to that God awful ugly thing.

( original photo )

InFocus launches a 70-inch touchscreen Windows 8 PC; will set you back $8,999 ( NeoWin 2013-09-12 )

Like the 55-inch version, the 70-inch screen on the BigTouch supports up to five fingers at once with a resolution of 1920x1080. It has an Intel Core i5-2520m processor inside, 4GB of RAM, a 128GB SSD and seven USB ports. If you want one of these for your living room or office, be prepared to pay; InFocus is asking for $8,999 for the 70-inch BigTouch.

Joke of the day nomination. It's pretty much a giant laptop with touch capability. An LED TV at this size is less than $2000 and you can buy a good laptop for half that and mirror it to the TV, the only thing missing is the one hand touch capability which is not worth the extra $6000 you would save.

In the comments it is made clear that this is targeted at corporate boardrooms and naturally, education. Personally any administrator that dumps our tax dollars on this toy should be fired and then deported.

Xbox is in the news again ...

Microsoft acquires the "Xbone.com" domain, even if it doesn't like the term ( NeoWin 2013-09-12 )

Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb, the head of Xbox Live programming at Microsoft, wrote a message board post on the NeoGAF forums a few days ago that expressed his opinion of the "Xbone" term:

I don't like it...it disrespects the teams that have put in thousands of hours (already) into the development of the product. Sure, it's cheeky but I don't care for it myself.

Too easy. I wonder if they also bought Xbox 180 too.