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JorgeA

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Xbox password flaw exposed by five-year-old boy

This kid is going to make a great hacker some day :D

Well, with all due respect for the nice kid :thumbup: it has to be said how the flaw:

The boy worked out that entering the wrong password into the log-in screen would bring up a second password verification screen.

Kristoffer discovered that if he simply pressed the space bar to fill up the password field, the system would let him in to his dad's account.

is actually a flaw that even a 5 year old boy could find.

I mean, what do the good guys at MS that designed that login mechanism have inside their skulls? Popcorn, polystyrene foam or just vacuum? :w00t::ph34r:

jaclaz

That is unbelievable!!

OTOH, if there is a way to call up an Xbox login screen remotely, this flaw would present a handy little technique for snoopers to get into the home of any Xbox owner they want.

--JorgeA

Edited by JorgeA
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The proverbial loophole you can drive a truck through:

How the NSA Used a 'Loophole' to Spy on Americans

NSA performed warrantless searches on Americans' calls and emails – Clapper

The Obama administration's top intelligence official has confirmed that the National Security Agency intentionally spied on the communications of Americans under a law intended to apply only to foreigners.

[...]

The agency sometimes collects Americans' information as it scoops up vast amounts of data on foreigners. In his letter to Wyden, Clapper revealed that the NSA has searched through that database specifically looking for Americans' communications.

Much of the NSA's bulk data collection is covered by section 702 of the Fisa Amendments Act. This allows for the collection of communications – content and metadata alike – without individual warrants, so long as there is a reasonable belief the communications are both foreign and overseas.

The communications of Americans in direct contact with foreign targets can also be collected without a warrant, and the intelligence agencies acknowledge that purely domestic communications can also be inadvertently swept into its databases. That process is known as "incidental collection".

Initially, NSA rules on such data prevented the databases being searched for any details relating to "US persons" – that is, citizens or residents of the US. However, in October 2011 the Fisa court approved new procedures which allowed the agency to search for US person data, a revelation contained in documents revealed by Snowden.

The ruling appears to give the agency free access to search for information relating to US people within its vast databases, though not to specifically collect information against US citizens in the first place. However, until the DNI's disclosure to Wyden, it was not clear whether the NSA had ever actually used these powers.

--JorgeA

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Xbox password flaw exposed by five-year-old boy

This kid is going to make a great hacker some day :D

Well, with all due respect for the nice kid :thumbup: it has to be said how the flaw:

The boy worked out that entering the wrong password into the log-in screen would bring up a second password verification screen.

Kristoffer discovered that if he simply pressed the space bar to fill up the password field, the system would let him in to his dad's account.

is actually a flaw that even a 5 year old boy could find.

I mean, what do the good guys at MS that designed that login mechanism have inside their skulls? Popcorn, polystyrene foam or just vacuum? :w00t::ph34r:

jaclaz

This is absolutely sad. Curious now to see if windows 8 has this security flaw. :sneaky:

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About NSA, what loop hole?

1. HLS/FBI already abuse the "Patriot Act", and record many phone conversations.

2. Services like Yahoo, for example sells information to the government.

3. To make things worst, when you save a message on a virtual answering machine, it is not saved on your phone, but a big server somewhere. What is the difference? Your calls and

emails, are never really erased??? but until months or even years later? By that time, who knows, is browsing through your data?

Remember that officer at the airport, who went on a maniac kill spree, after his co-workers saw his penis ( in down position I assumed ) in the "special" machines, and began to make fun and laugh at him? That is basically what they are doing to emails and telephones recordings.

About X-box....................it is stupid TV toy, meant for children, why the blazes do I need a password, on a stupid thing, I might want to give away or collect for the creamy DLC inside?

This is why I don't like the newer TV toys, because they have TOS, and crap all over the artwork. Videogames went from beautiful big boxes, simular to records, to being tiny CD sized carts. While Japan has practiced this, I am still disturbed.

Edited by ROTS
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About X-box....................it is stupid TV toy, meant for children, why the blazes do I need a password, on a stupid thing, I might want to give away or collect for the creamy DLC inside?

Its also meant for teens too. The password stops them from games above their accounts ratting limit (Like M rated for example). Also you can have a time limit if you want too. Mr. Gates envisioned the xbox to be a family entertainment toy with everything. That is what happened, and that is why there is kinnect.

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Last call at the Windows XP FUDpocalypse ...

Windows 7 is Growing Too Fast for Windows 8 to Catch Up ( Maximum PC 2014-04-02 )

One week before supports ends, Windows XP still installed on 27.69 percent of PCs ( NeoWin 2014-04-01 )


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I stopped believing these numbers at the red line. Microsoft has many times paid companies to spread propaganda, I think they are doing it again.

Great comment at NeoWin by someone that has verified what I myself also have done for several years ...

I have Windows Update disabled for years and my Windows XP is running smoothly.


Naturally the NeoKids can't process this outside-the-MicroBox thinking and panic like a herd of birds ...

At the very least, you should get on and manually apply all applicable updates before the end-of-support date.

After the end-of-support date you should ensure your XP machine is not connected to the internet in any way if you wish to continue using it.


There's a good little sheep. Disconnect from the Internet, oh my! Baaaaahhhhhhhh!

This just clarifies why there are so many XP machines still in active use... We know that the majority of the population is stupid, and your comment just shows either your IT stupidity, or ignorance, for not even updating XP over the years. Your actions are like the worst IT sin.


Stupidity? :no: He ( and I ) are busy documenting that you and your FUD are wrong, have been all along. You are full of robotic responses, you have nothing to back up your fear with, you are actually trying hard to yell 'fire' in a crowded theater, and help sell more copies of Windows while you're at it. That's a good little MicroBoy. Now off to bed so mommy can tuck you in and keep you safe from all the monsters under your bed.


Dropping Support for Windows XP Could Drive Users to Chromebooks ( NeoWin 2014-04-02 )

So just now they're catching on? Hmmmm, I wonder why ...


London Borough ditches Windows XP in favor of Google Chromebooks ( TechSpot 2014-04-02 )

London Borough of Barking and Dagenham is all set to roll out Google Chromebooks in the wake of Microsofts Windows XP support cut-off, according to a V3 report. The council, which was previously using 3,500 Windows XP desktops and 800 XP laptops, is in the process of rolling out 2,000 Chromebooks for employees and 300 Chromeboxes for reception desks and shared work areas.

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The photo Microsoft used for the Windows XP default wallpaper is (mostly) untouched ( NeoWin 2014-04-01 )

Not a FUD piece, just a trip down memory lane with the old Bliss wallpaper. Funny thing is one of the chief MicroTards can't help but to open mouth and spew nonsense ...




Seeing this wallpaper reminds me of the Teleatubbies version that was so popular.

This was at a time when everyone still hated XP and all its 'horrible' UI changes. (You know, exactly the same response people had to Metro design concepts just a couple years ago that everyone is adopting.)

What is old is new and what is new is old.

Side Note with regard to early XP hate: I can still remember users being furious that they couldn't install their soundcard and modem on the same IRQ with WinXP, when it 'worked just fine' under Win9x. Of course they didn't understand why Win9x locked up when they were playing music and connecting to the Internet. (Sometimes users have to be forced to do things the right way, even if they scream and kick and don't understand why it is better.)


The first whopper there is intentionally confusing the Windows XP theme with the Windows 8 Playskool GUI. I repeat, theme versus GUI. Windows XP could be only called 'Fisher Price' by the most unintelligent of users, the proto-sheeple that ironically love the retarded Metro. There were no GUI changes from Win9x to WinXP, the theme just decorated the GUI and that was a click away to change. The whole theme was just settings in single visual style file with that green and blue color scheme and the separate bliss wallpaper. The GUI did change however in Vista+ and it was substantially mangled in Microsoft Tiles.

Yet this MetroTard intentionally confuses the two completely different cases, probably in an effort to rationalize away the fact that so many can see the nonsense in Windows 8 that he cannot see. This is one of those classic lies used by MetroTards, it is as big a whopper as the lie about resistance to the new Win95 GUI. What do yo expect I guess. Liars lie.

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That second part about IRQ's does not ring any bells with me, so I suspect this 'Tard is actually one who was too young to be a foot soldier in those days and just makes up past memories to fill the gaps in his obviously Vista+ era CV. What I do remember was people wanting to use the same exact *differing* IRQ's in WinXP when the OS would combine them on its own, sometimes piling four devices onto the same IRQ whereas in Win9x they could be forced onto separate ones after much fiddling. In effect here the 'Tard has it totally backwards as no-one wanted to pile them together on purpose. Why would they? Like I said, a fake Windows veteran who is busy impressing his easily impressed fellow MetroTards with his fake memories.

EDIT: typo

Edited by CharlotteTheHarlot
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Windows 8.1 Update 1 launches April 8, Start Menu returns in later update ( TechSpot 2014-04-02 )

Microsoft bringing Start menu back in future Windows 8.1 update ( NeoWin 2014-04-02 )

Microsoft is Bringing Back the Start Menu and Catering to Mouse and Keyboard Users ( Maximum PC 2014-04-03 )

Microsoft provided a sneak peak at a future update to Windows 8.1 that will bring back the Start Menu. Pictured above is a prototype version of the Start Menu that will be seen in the update, showing a mash-up of the Windows 7-style desktop apps list with the Windows 8 Start Screen's Live Tiles.

The update will also bring the ability to run Modern apps in windows on the desktop, as shown through the same demonstration. Neither of these features will be available in Windows 8.1 Update 1, but Microsoft says it will come in an update sometime later this year.

2014-04-02-image-17.png

( Image Source: TechSpot )

And as Formfiller suggested, most of the 'Tards are turning right around and agreeing with the decision. There are a few who are angry, and of course Dot MetroTard is busy posting fantasies to erase the "it will never happen" predictions he has spouted for about two years now.

Mentioned above by Jorge ...

Microsoft: Start button was 'warm blanket' taken from Windows 8 ( NeoWin 2014-04-03 )

In an interview with CNET, Chaitanya Sareen, principal program manager lead on Windows, said that when the team was first developing Windows 8, there was lengthy internal debate about whether or not the desktop Start button would be included. He said: "It's not like someone sits there and says, 'There will be no start button.' It's a long discussion. A very, very long discussion."

Ultimately, the decision to ditch the Start button was one that many, perhaps most, of the people who used Windows 8 felt was a mistake. Sareen compared the feeling to that of a "warm blanket" that is suddenly taken away from a person. He added, "There are some times when you have to take a bet, and there are times when you have to adjust what you're doing."

Kinda funny to hear this half-hearted mea culpa ( still not doing it right though :no: ) from Chaitanya Sareen. We here in this very thread have discussed him several times when he was featured defending this abomination. See Post #575, and Post #3443.

In the comments as usual we get a glimpse into the minds of the short bus riders, this one lecturing on why the Start Menu is bad ( so many clicks! ) ...

The scrolling takes less effort and movement than click-click-clicking through the submenus. Less effort required = more efficient = better for mouse users.

I can find anything I need on the screen in a fraction of the time it took on the menu. Rolling the scroll wheel a bit is a small price to pay for more productivity.

Ignoring the fact that "productivity" means checking Twitter and Facebook and Xbox game stuff. What I'd really like to know is where on Earth did this lie about clicks come from! Seriously, I count NOT multiple clicks, NOT even one click, I count 1/2-click to anywhere into any and all flyout submenus. Can someone else verify this please, do the following: Click on the Start Button and keep holding it down, now you can move straight into and out of any submenus ( including Control Panel or even All Programs ) to anywhere, and then you finally release the button to execute or open your choice! One half-click to anywhere, one click in total to do anything ...

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Lots of extra clicks my butt. It's one click to get anywhere, and one release to execute it. MetroTards apparently can't even use a mouse without getting confused. They must be clicking madly on everything just as one might expect from n00bs. :yes:

The only thing that I can think of is that what we have here is the 3rd "big lie" perpetrated by these GUI propagandists. ( The 1st was the Win95 "resistance" to change, the 2nd is the WinXP "Playskool GUI vs Theme" nonsense ). What we also have here are liars who not only weren't around during the Win95 or WinXP transitions, but they haven't really even used WinXP or else they couldn't possibly believe there are multiple clicks to navigate through the Start Menu. Just how n00bish can these sheeple'tards be to be this mistaken after all this time!

From The Forums: The Start menu's return ( NeoWin 2014-04-06 )

"Dot Matrix" also thinks that Microsoft should break away with the Start menu UI, citing its tie-ins with older versions of Windows. He stated:

"This proves that Microsoft isn't going to get anywhere, in making changes to the OS. Half of this code dates back to the 90's... Why are we still trying to hold onto it? Times have changed, operating systems have changed, it's more than time to let some of this backwards functionality go. Windows is a mess of code, registries, and other assorted outdated paradigms. Metro was that clean break to start over."

Poor Dot MetroTard making a fool out of herself throught the thread and in the forum. Thing is, this Playskool toy operating system is now getting a little long in the tooth. It was first shown to the press THREE years ago in early 2011 ( see Post #3248.) Ironically that exactly matches the three years that Windows 7 existed before being dumped for Windows 8. :lol: It's time for a change Dot MetroTard! Stop resisting you Luddite.

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Touch-friendly Office coming to Windows, demoed at BUILD ( NeoWin 2014-04-02 )

Much like Microsoft has done for iOS, Office will be coming to Windows in a touch-friendly variety and it was demoed at BUILD.

Must be wonderfully painful for the MetroTards to watch Microsoft roll out a native build for iStuff *before* making versions for their beloved Microsoft Tile Toys. :lol: Anyway, Microsoft has now promised them the check in is the mail. Please begin holding your breath now.

Microsoft: Office for iPad surpasses 12 million downloads ( NeoWin 2014-04-03 )

Similarly, the apps generated significant sales figures, with Word, Excel and PowerPoint ranking in the top 30 of the largest-grossing apps chart; OneNote didn't appear on the chart as it is entirely free and features no subscription model. All the apps are free to download, though Word, Excel and PowerPoint will only allow users to view files without an Office 365 subscription. With a subscription, they can also edit files with the apps.

If you're a MetroTard, how do you even process this news? 7 days and 12 million downloads. There is no easy way to swallow this unless you now only care about number of devices out there potentially using the Microsoft store. You certainly no longer have any hope that the iSheep will drop Apple stuff and switch to Windows. No chance of that whatsoever now. :no: In fact this could actually do the opposite and add some switchers to Apple from those disillusioned Windows users who are still hesitant to pull the trigger on an iPad or iPhone because of the missing Office that they are familiar with. Hehehe :lol:

Microsoft Store site selling Surface Pro 2 with free Xbox controller and two games ( NeoWin 2014-04-03 )

While we keep waiting for Microsoft to release an Xbox gaming version of its Surface tablets, the company is now offering a way to buy a new Surface Pro 2 with a free controller and two games. The special promotion is now running exclusively on the Microsoft Store website.

Another firesale for MicroStuff that the MicroTards keep insisting are selling fine and in no trouble at all.

Microsoft officially makes Windows free for devices under 9 inches ( NeoWin 2014-04-02 )

This move by Microsoft is clearly designed to get Windows installed in more devices, similar to how Google makes Android free for use in third party smartphones and tablets. It remains to be seen if there will be any additional conditions to this deal, such as licensing Microsoft apps like Skype and Bing for use in those smaller hardware products, but this will likely be a "win-win" for both Microsoft and device makers.

This is pretty big news. It is as close to an admission of failure as we're likely to ever see. Microsoft turned the computer industry upside down to sell Windows 8 and related turds and now they are trying something new yet again, copying Android! You know this means one thing - they have looked at the sales figures up and down and finally become convinced they lost big and can never catch up or even compete. The question is this: what on Earth do they do once giving it away for free still does not interest the consumers?

Naturally the NuMensa members at NeoWin ( requires an IQ below 100 ) have cheered themselves up with daydreams and fantasies ...

RIP Android

-------

Once they catch up a little more with the apps there will be zero reason to pick Android over Windows. Add to that full blown Office suite, Outlook, etc and Android will have very little to offer

-------

Bye, bye, Android.

Nothing can penetrate their madness. Nothing. :no:

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Microsoft's new Xbox leader admits team made some early "wrong decisions" for Xbox One ( NeoWin 2014-04-06 )

In the video interview, Spencer stated:

"There is a lot of learning that I did as a leader in the organization, when I just heard how our message resonated with people and some of the decisions that we made, that I think were actually the wrong decisions, and we had to revisit those decisions."

The interview also had Spencer stating that the anger some gamers had towards Microsoft during that time was upsetting to him, stating that it "kinda hurt me personally so much".

These guys are terrible at mea culpas and apologies. Terrible. It's like everything they say comes directly out of a sterile human resources textbook written by a committee of eggheads that never even saw a customer in real life.

Unreal Engine creator: 'I genuinely worry about the future of Microsoft' ( NeoWin 2014-04-01 )

Epic Games co-founder Tim Sweeney, who also created the Unreal Engine and still leads its development, said in a new interview he is concerned Microsoft may try to make future versions of its Windows OS a closed platform.

In a chat with Polygon today, Sweeney stated:

"I genuinely worry about the future of Microsoft. They've locked down this Windows 8. They say future app developers should focus there, but you can only ship that with Microsoft's permission and Microsoft's approval through Microsoft's store. And that sucks compared to the open nature of the PC platform before."

Sweeney added that if Microsoft continues to move towards a closed platform model for Windows, developers could decide to switch to Android or Valve's Linux-based SteamOS for their game titles. In fact, Sweeney says that SteamOS and the upcoming Steam Machines that will use the operating system "will be probably the most open high-end gaming platform ever created."

In the comments the slow cooking frogs have no idea the water is heating up and their ultimate fate. But at least there are a few there that seem to understand what the guy is trying to say.

Unreal Engine 4.1 update includes support for Linux and SteamOS ( TechSpot 2014-04-04 )

Epic Games Unreal Engine 4.1 update is coming later this month with a healthy helping of new features and bug fixes. Chief among them is support for Linux and Valves SteamOS / Steam Machines according to a recent blog post from Mike Fricker, lead tool editor for Epic Games.

Well it's safe to say the 'Tards are going to have to begin hating Epic and Unreal. This is a really great thing for Linux/Valve though. :yes:

Microsoft's anti-malware team to have new adware rules July 1 ( NeoWin 2014-04-05 )

In a blog post, Microsoft stated that online ads start to cross over into adware territory if they run programs on a user's PC and create "notifications promoting goods or services in programs other than itself." If that occurs, Microsoft states there must be a clear way to close such an ad, like a prominent "X" or a close button in, for example, pop-up ads.

Ads that show messages such as "Your PC performance is poor" must also clearly mention they are ads and not suggest they are in fact warnings generated by a PC, under the new rules. Finally, if a program is installed via an online ad on a computer, there must be a clear way to uninstall it. Also, the name of the program in the uninstall listing must exactly match the name that's shown in the ad.

The new adware policies will go into effect on July 1, in order to give online ad companies time to change their programs. After July 1, if an ad is detected by Microsoft's online security programs that is considered adware, it "will immediately stop the program and the user will be notified. The user then has the ability to restore the program if they wish."

Okay then, someone has got to ask: if this is their NEW rule, does that really mean that the current rule ALLOWS fake dialogs without X buttons and no uninstall entries? Who allowed this stuff to be considered legitimate software for all this time? Someone did. Actually I knew this for a long time as I see MANY computers with MSSE happily running ( green icon ) while spyware and/or viruses run in plain sight. It has been perfectly obvious to me they do block very little if anything at all.

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Yahoo Makes HTTPS Default on Most Company Sites ( Tom's Hardware 2014-04-03 )

Yahoo strengthens encryption between data centers, says encrypted Yahoo messenger coming soon ( TechSpot 2014-04-03 )

Moving ahead with an announcement made late last year, Yahoo has said that all traffic moving between its data centers is now fully encrypted, and the company is also planning to introduce additional security to other services, including Yahoo Messenger.

Do they seriously believe that these baby steps will impress anyone other than the most complacent and ignorant sheeple?

Facebook Could Go Anonymous (Report) ( Tom's Hardware 2014-04-04 )

Facebook may be feeling some backlash for its lack of privacy and anonymity, both of which users are enamored with, as evidenced by the rapid popularity of anonymous social apps such as Secret and Whisper.

According to a report from Re/code, Secret and Facebook may be in talks about how they can work together. One rumor points to an offer of $100 million from Facebook to buy Secret outright.

Wow, that'll totally convince everyone it's safe, secure and private. You're really good at this Zuck!

U.S. knocks plans for European communication network ( Yahoo! News 2014-04-04 )

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Friday criticized proposals to build a European communication network to avoid emails and other data passing through the United States, warning that such rules could breach international trade laws.

No word on whether the USTR spokesmouth made this statement with a straight face!

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I am sorry all this information is nice, but what about the root of the problem that is affected internet users. Right of privacy, freedom of speech, freedom of the press? These companies can sell your private information, and facebook making a new program/app just for the sake of attracting more stupid users. They want something bad to occur, like "Craigslist bad" ( good place but using it as example ), so they can look like a crime fighting tool, when they are, an anti-privacy tool, meant to get people in trouble with the law.

When I see the headline reads "facebook, Microsoft, Yahoo, Google, AOL, Twitter, and various land line companies, all go to court to stop invasion of privacy laws, that does not involve physical, contact between human parties", that is when I will join these networks. Like recently their has been many "stalkers" on facebook, taking advantage of people, to get people to do things. Instead of going after those people, and seeing what they are about, they are going after people, who are not even communicating with anybody at all.

Like a car accident waiting to occur, just so somebody could go after the insurance money. But this is people who privacy is being violated.

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Well I get your frustration, all except for the most mindless of sheeple will get it, but it will take more than : "When I see the headline reads "facebook, Microsoft, Yahoo, Google, AOL, Twitter, and various land line companies, all go to court to stop invasion of privacy laws ..." in my opinion. Much more.

I think if nothing else we have illustrated through this selection of security articles one thing - the infiltration is pervasive, thorough and perhaps complete. In a sense we have had a paradigm shifting revelation since the spook leaks and it will be a long time for the sheeple grazing on this round rock to realize it isn't flat or stationary at the center of the universe. That revelation has completely inverted what we thought we knew before. Previously the expectation was that people were mostly secure and private but subject to rare and specific cases of scrutiny. It is completely and truly the exact opposite and it was that way all along - we have nearly zero effective security and privacy, the rare circumstance is actually being secure and private and that is achieved only after massive amount of effort and money.

These companies will never care about user privacy or concerns because the managers and directors involved are in fact safe and secure themselves in their limos and gated castles with security companies ( tech and physical ) watching over them. They are the feudal nobility and have never been known to side with the serfs over the government ( royalty, elected, totalitarian, whatever ). Sure they have been trying to announce these little baby steps to appease us but it means nothing IMHO.

How do you unravel PRISM when Microsoft joined it first as the primary partner? This was back when the only products of note were Windows and Office and Server ( no mobile, no cloud ). What exactly did they need Microsoft for in 2006? You can't think of today's Microsoft when asking what the feds wanted in 2006. How do you ever get faith in Yahoo when their fashion plate CEO is cowered by the federal spooks and fears jail for not bending over whenever they ask. She's said as much. Same goes for all of them. Some bend over very easily, others needed persuasion, threats or bribes. Fighting for freedom is hard work, and it very rarely happens that high profile people with lots to lose join the peasants, lend their gravitas and do what's right ( Ben Franklin comes to mind and believe me there is no trace of him to be found in Bill Gates or Ballmer or Zuck or any of them ).

The bottom line is that the spooks are on a long term plan to have multiple redundant points of instant access to any and all technology, at will. Every possible stone is being turned over. Getting whatever they got from Microsoft back during the XP to Longhorn/Vista rewrite ( source code no doubt, and the ability to slip in "enhancements" as updates ) were just the preliminaries. The goal is that if you are a spook and you are handed a task ( whether it is a computer HDD or communication to access and decrypt ) they are building the tools and infrastructure to do it, and there appears to be no line they will not cross. Suddenly Orwell looks like a generous optimist.

BTW, I like to distinguish between the amazing codebreakers from the early 20th century up until World War II, and those phony codebreakers and their criminal bosses that are present ever since. The shift from math skills, logic and creative thinking that dominated the early period when this was a respectable field died when a certain agency was given big desks, big buildings and big budgets to keep themselves occupied. Inevitably they wound up doing exactly what the very enemy they fought against did, building a Gestapo/KGB clandestine service that specializes in spying on its own citizens and is effectively existing to preserve the government from being changed by those citizens.

We should start by calling them what they are: Gestapo/KGB. The only real difference is that we in the modern west structure them with a division of labor rather than the more efficient German/Russian models of yore. Ours still have all the same potential, they spy at will, carry weapons, wear snazzy uniforms, jackboots, body armor, drag people off, lock them up, confiscate their possessions, shoot them, kill them, except we assign different people to different aspects of that. We are very civilized you see. So again, I say we should at least begin by calling them what they are, it is effective as ridicule and every so often you strike a nerve in a few of them. I don't care what they or anyone thinks, I'll go down with the First Amendment. When I see the part of the Constitution that says the People and the several States granted the power to the federal government to spy on its very own citizens and lock them up or execute them then I'll shut up ( or support an Amendment to remove it ). But it does not exist, it never happened, and I have read the Federalist papers many times. We're now in an extraordinary situation with a government acting far outside its parameters and defined duties. When a software program does that its a bug not a feature and gets deleted. Time to reformat.

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Just thought of something ...

Microsoft officially makes Windows free for devices under 9 inches ( NeoWin 2014-04-02 )

This move by Microsoft is clearly designed to get Windows installed in more devices, similar to how Google makes Android free for use in third party smartphones and tablets. It remains to be seen if there will be any additional conditions to this deal, such as licensing Microsoft apps like Skype and Bing for use in those smaller hardware products, but this will likely be a "win-win" for both Microsoft and device makers.


This is pretty big news. It is as close to an admission of failure as we're likely to ever see. Microsoft turned the computer industry upside down to sell Windows 8 and related turds and now they are trying something new yet again, copying Android! You know this means one thing - they have looked at the sales figures up and down and finally become convinced they lost big and can never catch up or even compete. The question is this: what on Earth do they do once giving it away for free still does not interest the consumers?

Take a look at exactly what Microsoft has accomplished here ...

- Played patent games to lock down use of file systems.

- Then they use that IP to extort money from other companies, like those using Android.

- Then they release an alternative OS to this market - and then make it free.

- OEM decision: Android costs money but Microsoft Tiles is free!


Familiar pattern?
Stripped down from all the fanboy remarks it resembles EEE once again. You know this was hatched in a meeting in Redmond. Sure hope they archive their emails and memos for the Congressional investigation because Google has much deeper pockets than Netscape did.

No surprise to me, nor in what I think. I have said many times before: Microsoft should be broken up, period. Should have been long ago because the OS portion needs a firewall between them and everyone else. Microsoft cannot self-regulate :no: . They are incapable of it. Given any opportunity they will flaunt the rules and regulations and try to kill other things that live in the same space or exist in new spaces they want to invade. It started with Bill Gates and has now matriculated into the corporate DNA. Microsoft is truly like a child carrying around a toy gun who cannot help but to shoot everything he sees, but this IP gun is no toy. In this case using file systems to fleece money from OEMs. If there had been a sane patent system or some good judges this would have been tossed out long ago.

One must wonder if Bill Gates really should be the richest monopolist on Earth, or should it instead have been Tim Paterson. Pretty amazing feat that was. Snaking away something he created and using it to rule the world. But that's another story.

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The scrolling takes less effort and movement than click-click-clicking through the submenus. Less effort required = more efficient = better for mouse users.

I can find anything I need on the screen in a fraction of the time it took on the menu. Rolling the scroll wheel a bit is a small price to pay for more productivity.

Ignoring the fact that "productivity" means checking Twitter and Facebook and Xbox game stuff. What I'd really like to know is where on Earth did this lie about clicks come from! Seriously, I count NOT multiple clicks, NOT even one click, I count 1/2-click to anywhere into any and all flyout submenus. Can someone else verify this please, do the following: Click on the Start Button and keep holding it down, now you can move straight into and out of any submenus ( including Control Panel or even All Programs ) to anywhere, and then you finally release the button to execute or open your choice! One half-click to anywhere, one click in total to do anything ...

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Lots of extra clicks my butt. It's one click to get anywhere, and one release to execute it. MetroTards apparently can't even use a mouse without getting confused. They must be clicking madly on everything just as one might expect from n00bs. :yes:

The only thing that I can think of is that what we have here is the 3rd "big lie" perpetrated by these GUI propagandists. ( The 1st was the Win95 "resistance" to change, the 2nd is the WinXP "Playskool GUI vs Theme" nonsense ). What we also have here are liars who not only weren't around during the Win95 or WinXP transitions, but they haven't really even used WinXP or else they couldn't possibly believe there are multiple clicks to navigate through the Start Menu. Just how n00bish can these sheeple'tards be to be this mistaken after all this time!

Another aspect of the Start Menu that's missing from the Metro Start Screen is that you can open recently used files with just two clicks by selecting "Recent Items." (And yes, you can hover over "Recent Items" and the list of recently opened files will fly open, even in Vista and 7.) No search or typing of filenames needed. Moreover, in 7 you can also hover over, say, MS Word in the Start Menu, and a list of recent documents will fly open. These features are useful if, as for me, your work tends to involve working on the same set of files for weeks at a time.

In addition, of course, the Start Menu in any of its flavors will also automatically provide you with a list of frequenlty used applications. for quick opening, you don't have to manually move them to the first screenful as in the Start Screen.

Another thing that the Start Screen's defenders neglect is that, due to the much lesser information density of the tiles vs. a Start Menu list, it takes longer for the eye to find what you're looking for. With the Start Menu, I can take in all the items in a "screenful" at once, whereas with the Start Screen my eyes would have to scan up and down and left and right to absorb all the listings.

BTW, I can confirm the XP Start Menu behavior that you describe. You don't even have to click on "All Programs," just hovering over it will open that list and any submenus for you.

--JorgeA

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Last call at the Windows XP FUDpocalypse ...

Windows 7 is Growing Too Fast for Windows 8 to Catch Up ( Maximum PC 2014-04-02 )

One week before supports ends, Windows XP still installed on 27.69 percent of PCs ( NeoWin 2014-04-01 )

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For me, the salient data point is just how slowly Windows 8/8.1 is inching up the scale, up a measly 2.41% over the past six months (8.89 --> 11.30). Way to succeed, Softies.

Nice "Cognitive Dissonace" graphic, BTW. :thumbup

--JorgeA

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