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Windows 8 - Deeper Impressions


JorgeA

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Another step in the right direction:

 

Bill to require warrant for email searches gains ground in House

Critics have long argued that the law governing such data, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) of 1986, is woefully inadequate and outdated. They have noted that the ECPA allows law enforcement authorities and government officials to access emails and other online communications stored by third parties without a warrant.

 

[...]

 

The proposed Email Privacy Act would amend ECPA to prohibit a third-party service provider from divulging a customer's communication records to law enforcement officials without a warrant obtained under the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure or state warrant procedures.

 

--JorgeA

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A follow-up on the post upthread about how government snooping is hurting tech businesses:

 

Microsoft: Future 'bleak' if gov't continues unlawful data collection

 

Speaking Tuesday morning at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC, the company's general counsel, Brad Smith, called on Congress and the White House to stop what he described as "the unfettered collection of bulk data" by the government and argued for the reform of the secret FISA court.

 

"I want law enforcement to do its job in an effective way pursuant to the rule of law," he said. "If we can't get to that world, then law enforcement is going to have a bleak future anyway."

 

[...]

 

In his Brookings appearance, Smith said the technology industry was "fundamentally united" in opposition to the government policies that Snowden's disclosures revealed about the extent of the National Security Agency's cyberspying operations. Beyond the obvious questions about privacy and civil liberties, he also suggested there was a business urgency to fixing the problem sooner rather than later.

 

"We are in a business that relies on people's trust," he said. "We're offering a world where you should feel comfortable about storing (your information) in the cloud...You need to have confidence that this information is still yours."

 

--JorgeA

 

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Unfortunately, by definition, any writing containing the words "Internet of Things" :ph34r: are not worth the time reading it, and I simply stop reading immediately as soon as I find it:

 

 

"By the end of this decade there will be 50 billon devices connected to the Internet of Things around the world," Smith said. "This issue is going to become more important, not less."

 

 

Please - as a confirmation that it is not worth the time - check the spelling for billion in the above article/quote, though it has to be found out if the cnet guys besides not having a basic spell checker run on an article before publication also don' t have a sentient human being proofreading it or if they intentionally left untouched what Brad Smith actually said ;).

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

 

 

jaclaz

Edited by jaclaz
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More tidbits of Windows 8.1 Update 2 and Windows 9 information leaks

 

A couple of tidbits stand out:

 

Windows 8.1 Update 2 is almost finished according to WZOR, and that Microsoft are currently discussing the ways in which they could offer it to existing users. Update 2 will require new license keys, and will offer it to Windows 8.0 users for a small fee. The update will be free for Windows 8.1 Update 1 users of course. The alternative method for Windows 8.0 users would be to update to Windows 8.1 for free, and then to Update 1 and then to Update 2.

 

If there is a way for a Windows 8.0 user to get to 8.1 Update 2 without having to open a Microsoft account (PayPal comes to mind as an alternative), this might be a plus in the eys of those of us who have successfully avoided getting dragged into the MSFT web all these years.

 

 

Now onto Windows 9, Microsoft is currently in the process of developing Windows 9 alongside Update 2. Windows 9 was originally rumored to launch in Spring 2015, but due to the Chinese government's recent choice to ban Windows 8 from government production machines, Microsoft has entered what WZOR is calling "panic mode" which pretty much means the Windows team are a little worried about the fate of Windows 9.

 

What does this mean? Well, it's possible that this choice by the Chinese government has affected the original release date of Windows 9.

 

This choice by the Chinese government may also be the reason Microsoft has postponed the return of the Start Menu. The Start Menu was originally set to arrive with Update 2, but then was pulled for unknown reasons. Microsoft could be saving it for Windows 9 to make it more appealing for the Chinese government, and for marketing reasons too.

 

Not sure how the Chinese government's decision not to buy Windows 8 could affect Win9 so much that it would put Microsoft into "panic" mode. I can see them wanting to move up the release date, but why would this affect its "fate"? Anyone have an insight into this... or at least willing to speculate?  ;)

 

 

Windows 9 is in trouble, Microsoft to make drastic changes to its plans?

 

Some more info from the same blogger. China's anti-Win8 decree

has knocked Microsoft off their feet, and they are currently considering changing their plans regarding Windows 9. So far, the rumors claim that the ban has already put the original release date of Windows 9 in jeopardy, and Microsoft could be planning to make even more drastic changes to one of its SKU's.

 

Mary Jo Foley has proclaimed that Microsoft will release Windows 9 in three different variants, a normal traditional SKU, a touch based SKU and an Enterprise Edition SKU. We don't know much about the first two SKU's, but rumors are claiming that the Enterprise Edition of Windows 9 will be the one that is hit with Microsoft's drastic decision making the most.

 

According to WZOR, Windows 9 Enterprise Edition could potentially see the removal of cloud-based integration within the operating system, along with the ability to completely disable the Modern UI 2.0.

[emphasis added]

 

If WZOR is right, then China may have done a favor to Windows users all over the world!

 

--JorgeA

 

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Unfortunately, by definition, any writing containing the words "Internet of Things" :ph34r: are not worth the time reading it, and I simply stop reading immediately as soon as I find it:

 

 

"By the end of this decade there will be 50 billon devices connected to the Internet of Things around the world," Smith said. "This issue is going to become more important, not less."

 

 

Please - as a confirmation that it is not worth the time - check the spelling for billion in the above article/quote, though it has to be found out if the cnet guys besides not having a basic spell checker run on an article before publication also don' t have a sentient human being proofreading it or if they intentionally left untouched what Brad Smith actually said ;).

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

 

 

jaclaz

 

That's pretty funny. The quality of the writing online is generally not up to newspaper standards. And even in newspapers, in recent years I've noticed an increase in the number of typos, misspellings, and just plain bad writing, so maybe the trend is broad and doesn't have anything to do with "professionals vs. bloggers" or "print vs. online."

 

Still, I do like it that Microsoft is campaigning for government to keep its hands off people's private data. As to whether they'll succeed, or whether it's just a PR ploy for public consumption ("we've got your back"), we can't know for sure.

 

--JorgeA

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A couple of threads on an amateur radio forum I frequent

 

http://www.eham.net/ehamforum/smf/index.php/topic,97169.0.html

 

http://www.eham.net/ehamforum/smf/index.php/topic,96895.0.html

 

Anyone for a game of "Spot the Fanboi"?

 

I also hope Charlottte's OK, I always have a chuckle at some of his comments.

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According to WZOR, Windows 9 Enterprise Edition could potentially see the removal of cloud-based integration within the operating system, along with the ability to completely disable the Modern UI 2.0.

 

Ooh, crystal clarity (no clouds)!  We'll have to figure out how to license one seat for Enterprise Edition...  Maybe a group buy?

 

-Noel

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A couple of threads on an amateur radio forum I frequent

 

http://www.eham.net/ehamforum/smf/index.php/topic,97169.0.html

 

http://www.eham.net/ehamforum/smf/index.php/topic,96895.0.html

 

Anyone for a game of "Spot the Fanboi"?

 

LOL  :thumbup

 

They do stick out like sore thumbs, don't they?  ;)

 

Long threads those are, but there were a refreshing number of opinions on the other side, "balanced" largely by sarcasm and non-sequiturs on the pro-Win8 side.

 

I've said this before -- it's amazing to still see some folks speaking up for Windows 8, even after Microsoft itself implicitly admitted they lost the debate, flushed the perpetrators down the drain, and started backtracking on most of their UI changes.

 

 

I also hope Charlottte's OK, I always have a chuckle at some of his comments.

 

+100

 

--JorgeA

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According to WZOR, Windows 9 Enterprise Edition could potentially see the removal of cloud-based integration within the operating system, along with the ability to completely disable the Modern UI 2.0.

 

Ooh, crystal clarity (no clouds)!  We'll have to figure out how to license one seat for Enterprise Edition...  Maybe a group buy?

 

-Noel

 

 

 

Windows_SA.PNG

[source]

 

 

:o

 

Still... if I had to, I'd gladly pay that unit amount for a Windows 9 license just to avoid the Bing Search and cloud integration and whatever other Metrofied cr*p they're throwing into the other editions.

 

But then, we wouldn't be so lucky that Microsoft would sell us a single-unit Enterprise license, or would we?

 

--JorgeA

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... According to WZOR, Windows 9 Enterprise Edition could potentially see the removal of cloud-based integration within the operating system, along with the ability to completely disable the Modern UI 2.0.

 

^ Sounds too good to be true, we're speaking of MS after all. I'll believe it if and when I can see it.

 

 

If WZOR is right, then China may have done a favor to Windows users all over the world!

 

elderly_man_wearing_traditional_chinese_

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The future of the Desktop in Windows 9: What can we expect?

 

There's less than meets the eye in that post, and the writing is somewhat disjointed, but it makes for interesting reading anyway.

 

Based on what we are hearing from various reports, tablet users will see the demise of the desktop in Windows 9, yes you heard us correctly. Microsoft is set to replace Win32 applications with Modern UI alternatives in Windows 9, meaning Windows is set to get a full on Modern UI facelift when it rolls around next year. The desktop will no longer have a place for tablet users running Windows RT (which by the way, is not dead), however the desktop isn't going away for everyone, even for Windows RT devices.

 

We've heard the rumors regarding Windows Phone and Windows RT becoming one operating system, that's no lie. Microsoft are planning to have Windows Phone devices and Windows RT tablets run the same operating system, which further confirms the removal of the desktop. But if hardware requires it, the desktop will be available, and will definitely be limited compared to the normal desktop.

 

"Why are Microsoft allowing this?" you may ask, it's simple. Microsoft are planning to take on the likes of Chrome OS with Windows 9, and with Windows Phone being free, and Windows RT being merged with it, Microsoft will use this SKU as the cheaper alternative for OEMs to sell not only tablets, but laptops too. These laptops will run apps from the Windows Store only, which is what makes these laptops as cheap as they are. Just like on Chrome OS, which is limited to Chrome OS apps, the Windows Phone/RT devices will be limited to Windows Store apps. This lines up with other reports too, which makes this rumor a little more plausible.

 

--JorgeA

 

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Idiocracy keeps advancing:

 

Apple kills Aperture -- continues to dumb down its software

 

Apple makes some wonderful hardware, like MacBooks, iPads and iPhones to name a few. Plus, its OS X and iOS operating systems are well-designed and rock solid. However, the company's apps and programs are rather hit or miss.

 

iWork used to be a very capable office suite. Sure, it was not as good as Microsoft Office, but it got the job done. Last year, Apple updated iWork and while it looked pretty, much of its functionality was removed. The same was done to Final Cut Pro X in 2011. In other words, Apple seems to be focusing more on casual users than professionals. Today, the company kills popular photography program Aperture which continues this trend of dumbing down its own software.

 

[...]

 

While Apple makes beautiful and easy to use computers, it is clear that it does not have professionals' interests in mind. All computer users deserve more respect than this -- the oversimplification of programs not only limits the usefulness of the software, but the creativity of the user too. One has to wonder if the destruction of these once-great programs would be happening under the watch of Steve Jobs.

 

--JorgeA

 

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Fabulous, let Google and the NSA know when you're home:

 

Google's move into home automation means even less privacy

 

Plans by smart thermostat maker Nest Labs to soon start sharing some customer data with corporate parent Google means the search engine giant will be fending off privacy concerns as it expands into the home automation market.

 

[...]

 

The goal is to help users create a fully connected home in which a multitude of devices and appliances can communicate securely with each other to manage energy consumption and enhance safety and convenience.

 

For instance, a fitness band that's integrated with Nest could alert a home thermostat when the person is awake to turn the heat up or down. Or a car that can interact with the Nest platform would alert the thermostat when the driver gets home or is away and set the temperature to an appropriate level or turn lights on or off.

 

 

What a great idea, I can't imagine how spooks and burglars and cops and stalkers could possibly have any interest in the growing use of this technology.

 

Smart home = dumb homeowner

 

--JorgeA

 

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Office 365 was rechristened Office 364 by Charlotte. Maybe now we should knock that down to Office 363  ;)  :

 

Microsoft explains roots of this week's Office 365 downtime

 

It wasn't a good week for a number of Office 365 users in North America this week.

 

On Monday, June 23 Lync Online was down for a number of users for several hours. On Tuesday, June 24, Exchange Online issues resulted in some users being unable to sign in and/or get their email in a timely manner for most of the day.

 

--JorgeA

 

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