Windows 8 - Deeper Impressions

[dencorso]

Have any of you ever read Yevgeny (aka Eugene) Zamyatin's "We"? In "1984", Big Brother (or rather his servants) is watching everyone, while in "We" everyone watches everyone else all the time, because all buildings have glass walls! Things like Facebook and the cloud (and maybe tweeter too) do make walls become glass, in a sense... IMO we're much nearer "We" than "1984".

[HalloweenDocument12]

Well, the inernet spurred alternate media and made sh*tstorms possible. On the other hand, it made surveillance and DRMization far more effective. And brought the cloud.

So on the issue of 1984, it's a very mixed bag.

Without the current concept of the Internet, there'd still exist some sort of network, but it would more likely be provided by television or telephone companies and thus less amenable to consumer needs.

[jaclaz]

The real point IMHO is this case should point out just how fragile that stupid cloud is. Your data may exist on reliable hardware, but the weak links make up the entire chain from you to them and back. Your data is subject to the whims of human beings at every juncture. And they all cannot be trusted. Not only is it being snooped, it is also vulnerable to being confiscated at the whim of fickle judges and courts and agencies, and finally is at risk of being wiped off the face of the Earth whenever it is deemed necessary. There is no telling how many family photos and personal documents are now disintegrated. I have always believed that data must be respected because all the other stuff ( CPU's motherboards, etc ) are expendable and replaceable, but the data is the only thing that really matters. Now that's fine for me and my customers, but it won't matter a whit if no-one else acts that way. This is why the cloud must be fought and those that push it as the only future must be ridiculed. It can certainly work in certain circumstances, AFTER carefully planning a multi-prong strategy with perhaps two cloud hosts or mirroring or some other similar redundancy. But we cannot leave this in the hands of the powers-that-be because none of them can be trusted, be it the feds or the cloud server companies or Microsoft itself.

In Italian there is a common saying (mocking a Law article), often used when there is a dispute, to mean that whoever has in his possession the money (or property or *whatever*) already won, will win anyway:

Articolo quinto, chi ha i soldi ha vinto.

Liberally translated into English (to try and keep the rhyme):

Article one hundred and ten, the one with the money wins time and again.

I guess that it's time to replace "money" with "data", when referring both to the "cloud" and to the "prism" surveillance.

jaclaz

[bpalone]

Have any of you ever read Yevgeny (aka Eugene) Zamyatin's "We"? In "1984", Big Brother (or rather his servants) is watching everyone, while in "We" everyone watches everyone else all the time, because all buildings have glass walls! Things like Facebook and the cloud (and maybe tweeter too) do make walls become glass, in a sense... IMO we're much nearer "We" than "1984".

I haven't read the book, but you are correct. The true ramifications of all this Social Media (Facebook, twitter and the like) will only start to show up in earnest 20 or so years from now. People are willingly sharing PERSONAL AND PRIVATE items on these sites. I hear people saying, I have to go onto Facebook to see any pictures of the grand kids.

Now, let's just say that little Johnny is a normal kid and will on occasions do some things that not really the most intelligent. For instance, on a cold winters day he may take a dare to stick his tongue onto the flag pole, and it becomes frozen thereto. Now, the family thinks this is funny, so they post it on Facebook. Now, let's fast forward 25 years and little Johnny is up for a major promotion or heaven forbid, has decided for run for public office. Someone finds this old picture and with the right spin, POOF there goes the promotion or the office.

Most everything in a person's and family's life belongs to be kept private, for family members only and only obtained by nefarious means by parties outside of the family. But, people are far too willing to hand everything over to some third party, so they don't have spend a couple of minutes emailing a photo or two to the grandparents, aunts and uncles.

As for the cloud, it isn't meant for anything of a private nature, unless heavily encrypted and then only for the brief time it takes for it to be picked up by the other party or parties. Of course you could host your own cloud, but then you have to be sure that your security is up to snuff, or you are likely to have a data breach. So, I still support the sneaker net.

bpalone

[MagicAndre1981]

Microsoft launches revamp of its MSDN forums ( NeoWin 2013-06-19 )

MS ruined the MSDN/Technet forums completely it is UNUSABLE.

[Aero7x64]

Don't expect too much real change before Windows 9. Windows 9 has been rumored to come at earliest 2015. More likely is that it will come in 2016 or 2017. If Windows 8.2 is really going to be developed in the future like some rumors indicate it won't really change much. Microsoft need time to see lost of plenty of money before they realise that current direction is wrong. And yes new MSDN forum look ugly and is in line with Modern UI.

By the way about start menu,yes it is better way in desktop and I prefer it over start screen as it way more natural and feels better when you use desktop PC. Start menu should indeed be option in future, however start screen should remain to be optional in future for those that want use it. Some people genuinely like start screen and don't want restrict others options like some hardcore Windows 8 fans.

[JorgeA]

Have any of you ever read Yevgeny (aka Eugene) Zamyatin's "We"? In "1984", Big Brother (or rather his servants) is watching everyone, while in "We" everyone watches everyone else all the time, because all buildings have glass walls! Things like Facebook and the cloud (and maybe tweeter too) do make walls become glass, in a sense... IMO we're much nearer "We" than "1984".

I read it, more moons ago than I care to admit. I remember feeling even more depressed at the end of that book than after "1984," but I'd forgotten the detail that you report. Maybe it's time to read it again.

--JorgeA

[JorgeA]

In Italian there is a common saying (mocking a Law article), often used when there is a dispute, to mean that whoever has in his possession the money (or property or *whatever*) already won, will win anyway:

Articolo quinto, chi ha i soldi ha vinto.

Liberally translated into English (to try and keep the rhyme):

Article one hundred and ten, the one with the money wins time and again.

I guess that it's time to replace "money" with "data", when referring both to the "cloud" and to the "prism" surveillance.

I'm not sure if this carries the same meaning that you want to convey, but in the U.S. legal system there's a maxim that says, "possession is nine-tenths of the law."

Nice translation BTW, keeping the basic meaning and the rhyme.

Regarding the possession of data, I always say that the safest cloud data is the one that doesn't exist.

--JorgeA

[JorgeA]

Have any of you ever read Yevgeny (aka Eugene) Zamyatin's "We"? In "1984", Big Brother (or rather his servants) is watching everyone, while in "We" everyone watches everyone else all the time, because all buildings have glass walls! Things like Facebook and the cloud (and maybe tweeter too) do make walls become glass, in a sense... IMO we're much nearer "We" than "1984".

I haven't read the book, but you are correct. The true ramifications of all this Social Media (Facebook, twitter and the like) will only start to show up in earnest 20 or so years from now. People are willingly sharing PERSONAL AND PRIVATE items on these sites. I hear people saying, I have to go onto Facebook to see any pictures of the grand kids.

Now, let's just say that little Johnny is a normal kid and will on occasions do some things that not really the most intelligent. For instance, on a cold winters day he may take a dare to stick his tongue onto the flag pole, and it becomes frozen thereto. Now, the family thinks this is funny, so they post it on Facebook. Now, let's fast forward 25 years and little Johnny is up for a major promotion or heaven forbid, has decided for run for public office. Someone finds this old picture and with the right spin, POOF there goes the promotion or the office.

Most everything in a person's and family's life belongs to be kept private, for family members only and only obtained by nefarious means by parties outside of the family. But, people are far to willing to hand everything over to some third party, so they don't have spend a couple of minutes emailing a photo or two to the grandparents, aunts and uncles.

As for the cloud, it isn't meant for anything of a private nature, unless heavily encrypted and then only for the brief time it takes for it to be picked up by the other party or parties. Of course you could host your own cloud, but then you have to be sure that your security is up to snuff, or you are likely to have a data breach. So, I still support the sneaker net.

All excellent points, not to mention the many possibilities that putting your life on the Web presents for blackmail.

When online storage services started popping up, it was kind of exciting: "Cool, a backup medium that doesn't depend on my house not burning down." I even enjoyed calculating how many GB of free storage I might be able to accumulate by opening accounts in various places. But then when I sat down to think about what to put into those online GBs, I realized that I didn't have anything that I wanted to be available for prying eyes to see!

--JorgeA

Edited June 20, 2013 by JorgeA

[JorgeA]

Interesting perspective on the mobile computing craze, echoing some of the things we've said here:

The Post-PC world is too slow for me

It appears every time a PC manufacturer announces a new tablet, desktop, hybrid or laptop these days it’s all about the touch screen, the way the device folds, the material it’s made from -- ooh carbon fiber! -- with the actual performance mentioned almost as an afterthought.

The Post PC world that everyone talks about seems to me, to be a world where everyone is forced to work at a fraction of the capacity they are capable of. I see people in coffee shops prodding at screens like chimps, single tasking, and I know when I dig out my iPad that I’ll be similarly constrained.

I used a Surface RT tablet just before Christmas and I liked it. I’m thinking of getting a Surface Pro (with Windows 8.1) to replace my iPad so I can get more done when away from home, but I know it will still drive me crazy with how slow it is compared to how fast I want it to be.

The Post-PC world is one where we’ve gone backwards and replaced power and possibilities with portability, prod-ability and pointless frippery… look at how this PC can be three different things -- a laptop, a tablet, a desktop!

--JorgeA

[dencorso]

[...] Zamyatin's "We"? [...]

[...] Maybe it's time to read it again.

I'd say so. Penguin's got a 1992 translation by Clarence Brown that's really great, and easy to find. But I'm sure you'll find it much more depressing nowadays... although this is the right time to read it.

[...] The true ramifications of all this Social Media (Facebook, twitter and the like) will only start to show up in earnest 20 or so years from now. People are willingly sharing PERSONAL AND PRIVATE items on these sites. [...]

[...] But, people are far to willing to hand everything over to some third party, [...]

All excellent points, not to mention the many possibilities that putting your life on the Web presents for blackmail.

Sure. Those are the main points. On the long run it means less, not more, freedom.

[sparkles]

Coming out of lurkdom to give my $0.02 on this 1984/internet discussion...

First, the positive: My first "internet" experience was back in 1993 when my department at a local hospital got hooked up to the local network -- email, shared network drives, etc. It blew me away, especially the shared network drives (upload your file at your desk, go off to a computer in another building, download your file and continue working...wow, I said, the future is here!). Years later I don't know how I would get my job done without having access to sites like stock media, statistics, annual reports, etc...

The negative, part #1: I am fully disheartened by what the ability to comment anonymously behind an faceless keyboard does to people. I pretty much quit the world of online comments and forums years ago after being thoroughly disgusted; yes, I read this forum regularly, but I rarely comment...a few times I began typing a response to a few posts but always chicken out and discard it, even now I am dreading hitting the "add reply" button for fear of what kind of verbal burning-at-the-stake I'm going to receive (call it post traumatic cyberstress disorder).

I've often said the internet makes me like people less every day. Can you image if people spoke to your face what they say to you online? And this is what I want to know: How is this a "good thing?" To be able to call someone a [bleep] with no consequences?

#2: There's an oft-repeated quote misattributed to Joseph Goebbels, "If you repeat a lie often enough, it becomes the truth." I see this happen every single day courtesy of the internet and, in particular, Facebook who for no monetary charge at all gives a voice to every stinking raging lunatic on the planet who can post some fake meme full of nonsense (or, my favorite, the made-up famous dead person quote), and before you know it, a million people have "liked" and believe the fake meme. I'm not going to cite specific examples because I don't want to soil this area with politics, but, again, I have to ask, how is this much disinformation a good thing?

And we can't blame any government entity for this; we can only blame ourselves.

/end of rant

[MagicAndre1981]

The Post-PC world is one where we’ve gone backwards and replaced power and possibilities with portability, prod-ability and pointless frippery… look at how this PC can be three different things -- a laptop, a tablet, a desktop!

good point. I can't understand why going 20 years back in productivity should be an improvement.

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

Xbox One DRM policy reversal appeases GameStop overlords ( NeoWin 2013-06-20 )

Like I said, they are not happy. There is so much vitriol aimed at GameStop that it is stunning. Witness this genius ...

Do not buy used games, sell games, or trade games at GameStop/Game. They were/are the problem that caused all this **** in the first place.

They do not offer you good value. Trade between your friends, on forums, ebay, Craigs List, whatever, but do not line the pockets of these rip-off merchants. They are the used car salesmen of the gaming industry.

You have a company that buys used games and resells them. Counterfeiting is not even a consideration, just resale. Can you imagine if these 'Tards had their way? Think of that show "Pawn Stars". So much profit being ripped-off by middlemen. I can see the gun and toy and jewelry manufacturers lining up to get their slice of those 2nd and 3rd and 4th (...) sales from Rick and the gang.

( Image Source )

Rumor: Xbox One family sharing was limited to 60 minutes ( NeoWin 2013-06-20 )

Anyone reading these Zealot sites knows how angry they are. The thing they have latched onto is the Family Sharing plan that supposedly would be brought forth in the new Xbox. Well until the Xbox 180 that is. They are blaming gamers and GameStop for causing the about-face and the subsequent cancellation of the "Family" sharing. But then we see this story ( NB: it is currently only a rumor started by a PasteBin message ). Anyway, if the rumor is true, the Family plan was going to be more like a try-before-you-buy scheme, where your family member gets to play for a bit and then gets hit with a prompt to purchase.

There are lots of angry fanboys venting now on those two threads. They talk of a vocal minority ( what! ) that caused them to lose their baby. They have no clue that they are the actual minority, a subset of gamers who are fanboys and zealots who actually desire removal of physical disc capability and insist on being burdened with DRM ( I kid you not ). Some commenters are smart enough to suggest that Microsoft could have designed Xbox with a dual-strategy of DRM when using downloads but normal discs in DRM-free mode. The NeoWhiners say that is too difficult for Microsoft to accomplish.

However no-one suggest the obvious answer - sell two different models! God knows they have made countless different models of the previous generation. All they needed to do ( if a dual-purpose Xbox is too difficult ) is make Xbox Cloud and Xbox Legacy. The Cloud model could be discless and riddled with DRM and can phone home all day long to keep the fanboys happy. The legacy model would just keep gamers busy playing games. Simple. Of course everyone knows why this did not happen - the Xbox Cloud model would have been a sales disaster, so Microsoft willingly decided to destroy their one and only model. Remind you of something? Sure does, it identically mirrors the Windows 8 fiasco ( and the reason it's here in this thread ). This is the evil in Microsoft. Don't feel sorry for them now, they deserve no sympathy. The pressure must be kept on them and in fact increased.

UPDATE: Microsoft apparently denies this.

Help Microsoft find bugs in Windows 8.1 Preview and earn up to $100,000 ( TechSpot 2013-06-20 )

Found one! Aero is broke. Found another! The Start Menu button brings up a big mess of icky Playskool tiles. That's two gigantic bugs so make out two gigantic checks of $100,000 each. Make one out to Xper at MSFN.org and send the other to EFF.org.

EDIT: photo credit, rumor update

Edited June 22, 2013 by CharlotteTheHarlot

[Tripredacus]

Microsoft launches revamp of its MSDN forums ( NeoWin 2013-06-19 )

MS ruined the MSDN/Technet forums completely it is UNUSABLE.

I'm fairly new to those but I was also surprised. I think the biggest problem is that it is difficult to identify with the responders because their user names are below their post, it is very small and their avatars are very small.