Windows 8 - Deeper Impressions

[Formfiller]

Thurrott's bribes didn't arrive, so he turned a 180:

http://winsupersite.com/windows-rt/surface-rt-users-no-ethernet-you

Thurrott is bashing Microsoft, and fights with the fanboys in the comments! He even counters the "not affected; don't care" "argument": "But empathy requires you to see past your own needs. Something we should all try."

By the way, the issue it's all about is completely ridiculous, and proves once again that Microsoft has reached the loony bin: Microsoft apparently has purposely removed the drivers for Ethernet adapters from Windows RT, even though they seem to work. And they seem to actively block third party drivers for Ethernet too. It's an effort to kill Ethernet in favor of WLAN. Read the comments - some commenters posted links where manufacturers claim that they were asked by Microsoft to pull Ethernet-adapter drivers for RT!

My theory why they are doing this, is because Ethernet gives too much control to the users: You can simply pull the cable if all the phone home gets too much. With Wi-Fi it's more difficult, - some devices don't even have a turn-off button for Wi-Fi connections anymore.

Edited July 7, 2013 by Formfiller

[Formfiller]

Expanded post about the Ethernet issue:

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/windows/en-US/ce00d36d-b97c-4f2e-817c-0484cff439be/beginning-with-windows-8-microsoft-wages-war-against-ethernet-connections

Edited July 7, 2013 by Formfiller

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

Thurrott's bribes didn't arrive, so he turned a 180:

http://winsupersite.com/windows-rt/surface-rt-users-no-ethernet-you

Thurrott is bashing Microsoft, and fights with the fanboys in the comments! He even counters the "not affected; don't care" "argument": "But empathy requires you to see past your own needs. Something we should all try."

By the way, the issue it's all about is completely ridiculous, and proves once again that Microsoft has reached the loony bin: Microsoft apparently has purposely removed the drivers for Ethernet adapters from Windows RT, even though they seem to work. And they seem to actively block third party drivers for Ethernet too. It's an effort to kill Ethernet in favor of WLAN. Read the comments - some commenters posted links where manufacturers claim that they were asked by Microsoft to pull Ethernet-adapter drivers for RT!

My theory why they are doing this, is because Ethernet gives too much control to the users: You can simply pull the cable if all the phone home gets too much. With Wi-Fi it's more difficult, - some devices don't even have a turn-off button for Wi-Fi connections anymore.

I was going to post this later today myself, great minds...

You read it exactly as I did. Thurrott had a rare moment of common sense criticizing the lockout of Ethernet from Surface RT ( maybe all WinRT or just everything on ARM ) and his fanboys showed they are MicroZealots first, incapable of criticizing Microsoft under any conditions.

It is pretty crazy making the thing wireless or sneakernet only. If someone has Wi-Fi in their home then they have a router. If they have a router it has Ethernet ports ( God forbid they ever become Wi-Fi output only ). The only easy way to sling various random devices into your router network temporarily is a quick wired Ethernet connection. The only two Wi-Fi methods are {1} granting them normal access by giving them the security passphrase which is a bad idea because it will remain in the device, or {2} letting them use a restricted Guest login ( if the router firmware even has it ) but that can be a bit of a hassle ( of course I am talking about the situation where the wireless security is actually turned on, the way things are going with Microsoft they will end up telling everyone to leave the security turned off for easy access ).

So Paul was right this time and I suspect he does the same thing many of us do, which is you leave an Ethernet wire hanging out of the router and that wire is available for quickly hooking up anything from a PC you are fixing, a laptop, any random device that you want to temporarily get maximum speed internet access ( Windows Updates, etc ) or local network access. It is hysterical to read about his fanboys scratching their heads over this. Here is a non MicroZealot and I liked his comment very much ...

I had to read this article three times to be sure of what I was reading--I *think* I've understood the enormity of the mistake Microsoft has made here...(but it still feels somehow like a Bizarro-world product guide. Unreal.)

I cannot imagine who would use 3G if he has wired Ethernet as an alternative...Ethernet is going to be faster (often far faster), is often far less expensive (understatement), is far more secure and reliable (unquestionably)--and my gosh--no one but an ignoramus is going to pay those sucker carrier fees for a 5GB data cap and then $10 more for every GB downloaded after that! (Sucker bait if there ever was such a thing.)

It's one thing to offer both wired and wireless network connectivity in a Windows box--but forcing a customer to use wireless only? The only possible, rational excuse for doing it in Surface RT is to save the few pennies/dimes/quarters per unit that would have been spent on an Internal Ethernet adapter. Contrast that with the thousands of dollars lost because of the lost sales due to the omission of an internal Ethernet adapter. Microsoft isn't Apple and Microsoft customers are not accustomed to paying more for less and will not be placated by silly marketing talk attempting to convince them that paying more for less *is* better...

Still, I feel as though I've misunderstood something basic here...(understatement.) The only other thing I can think of is that USB requires cpu cycles to run and maybe after running its stripped-down version of Win8 for Surface RT, the little ARM cpu doesn't have enough power left to operate a USB Ethernet adapter reliably. Eh? Why didn't Microsoft simply integrate Ethernet into the RT's motherboard? I don't get any of this at the moment.

100% agree

And the reason for this mess must be either ... an ARM related issue they themselves messed up in the operating system ( other ARM devices can and do have Ethernet so it is not technological or legal ) ... or ... yet another case of product differentiation, which is another form of planned obsolescence but occurring in the present ( they want the Surface Pro flagship to have the capability but not RT ).

Another day, another MicroCrisis.

[jaclaz]

I would add that (last time I checked) a plain 100 Mb Ethernet was at least twice or thrice as fast as a (fast) Wlan connection and if you go for the 1 Gb Ethernet it obviously blows wi-fi away (talking of 802.11g, but the 802.11n is still - at least here - not very common).

Still, if you are going (in the perverted mind of the good MS guys geniuses) to work on the cloud ("their" cloud of course) you are anyway seriously capped by your DSL speed.

Even a very fast/wide connection to your ISP will of course clog if every computer in an office is dumbed down to a "terminal" and you use this not to transmit plain or compressed "textual" data, but instead to transmit "feature rich" contents, comeon, nowadays the stupidest file you can make is - say - 1 Mb and if you transmit this same file forth and back on 100 computers you need a faast connection.

jaclaz

[JorgeA]

Two items of interest:

Microsoft: Xbox One advertising will integrate with Kinect

So, Xbox One purchasers will be asked to pay $499 (note that there's no decimal point there, as in $4.99) for the privilege of getting advertisements served to them. Good luck making the argument that they'd be paying even more, were it not for the ads.

Report: Windows division’s Julie Larson-Green to head up Xbox division

JLG goes for a threepeat after destroying the Office and Windows interfaces. Unfortunately for her, in this case she cannot destroy the UI because that work's already been done (see first link above).

--JorgeA

Edited July 7, 2013 by JorgeA

[JorgeA]

More about the integration of Bing with local search:

Windows 8.1 also brings integrated Bing searches to Windows

In Windows 8.1, desktop search is FULLY integrated with Bing.

With the Search charm powered by Bing, Microsoft are saying that there’s a better way to find what you’re looking for, regardless of where it’s saved–you’ll quickly find it, whether it’s a document on your PC, photo on SkyDrive, app in the Store, or a website.

Some Win8tards are rationalizing the inclusion of advertisements in Bing Search with the excuse that the service needs to be paid for somehow. Except that this is a service I do not want. If I want to search for something on my PC, I want the results to reflect what's on my PC, not millions of irrelevant results from the Web. And if I want to look for something on the Web, I can well launch the browser on my own, thank you very much. So I am being made to see advertisements that I don't want, to subsidize a "service" that I don't want. How's that for customer-friendly cuddliness?

Aside from all that -- I wonder if it will be possible to change the search provider -- say, to an engine offering greater privacy such as Ixquick or DuckDuckGo. Or must Windows 8.1 users submit to Bing/Microsoft/NSA getting wind of all their searches, plans, and areas of interest? :angrym:

--JorgeA

[JorgeA]

MSFT is still crippling itself in the competition with Android tablets, by its reluctance to lower Win8 licensing fees:

Small Tablet Makers Reportedly Not All That Impressed By Windows 8.1

Word is that the high final price tag of a device running Microsoft’s latest operating system is one of the main reasons that are keeping manufacturers away. Licensing costs, obviously, factor into all this as the costs of software licenses and hardware elements like Intel Atom processors add up.

If MSFT's "we want it all" attitude contributes to the ultimate commercial failure of Windows 8 and Win8 devices, that won't be such a bad thing...

--JorgeA

Edited July 8, 2013 by JorgeA

[JorgeA]

From the "let them eat cake" department:

Microsoft Defends Screen Space Wastage In Metro Apps

A report by PC Pro that cites a high profile company executive claims that Microsoft has taken notice of this problem. The software titan actually recommends users to try out a larger display, as that would lead to a greatly improved experience.

Chaitanya Sareen, the principle program manager lead on Windows said:

“When you get to large screens the experience could be better. There are different ways to solve that. Developers can put more content on the canvas – there are certainly no guidelines on size of text. Also you solve that by changing the amount of windows you can have on one screen.”

So, when can Windows 8 users expect a more information-filled screen than the virtual desert offered by Microsoft's own "modern" apps, like mail?

As the commenter at the bottom wrote,

"The software titan actually recommends users to try out a larger display". Is Microsoft going to be paying for this "Larger Display" for me to try out?

And, what does this say for Microsoft's chances in the increasingly popular "small tablet" market?

This whole "modern UI" thing is misconceived from beginning to end.

--JorgeA

[Aero7x64]

You can create local account in Windows 8.1 preview and to do so you need write someone@example.com and wrong password to Microsoft account then it will suggest you that you can create local account. Option is hidden obviously. Microsoft indeed is trying to get users to use Microsoft account by hiding this option but it is still there.

Edited July 8, 2013 by Aero7x64

[jaclaz]

You can create local account in Windows 8.1 review and to do so you need write someone@example.com and wrong password to Microsoft account then it will suggest you that you can create local account. Option is hidden obviously. Microsoft indeed is trying to get users to use Microsoft account by hiding this option but it is still there.

A small step for a company, a giant leap for society (BOTH in the wrong direction).

This however settles the issue about it being compulsory, the stupid online account is compulsory but it is possible to workaround it.

jaclaz

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

Microsoft: Xbox One advertising will integrate with Kinect

So, Xbox One purchasers will be asked to pay $499 (note that there's no decimal point there, as in $4.99) for the privilege of getting advertisements served to them. Good luck making the argument that they'd be paying even more, were it not for the ads.

Somewhat heartening to have made it through two long pages of comments over there with no obvious shills stinking up the place so far. That's pretty frickin' unusual for Ars Technica these days. The sheeple over there are still lagging way behind us in the Windows camp though, only recently having had had their own Ox gored - their precious Xbox. What strikes me though is the undercurrent ( maybe 10% of the ones I read ) who keep saying "Microsoft needs better marketing" or "They should have released and said nothing". Kinda missing the whole point, ya know?

[TELVM]

Great comments to that article :

... Good thing the new Kinect can recognise individual fingers; I can show them one ...

... It starts to sound more like a Voight-Kampff machine than a gaming console ... ...

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

Dell has sold 'hundreds of thousands' of Windows 8/RT tablets; could make wearable PCs ( NeoWin 2013-07-04 )

Dell has released just two tablets with Microsoft's latest operating systems; the Windows 8-based Latitude 10 and the Windows RT-based XPS 10, shown above. Today, a Dell executive said in an interview that so far the company has only sold 'hundreds of thousands' of those two tablets since they launched in late 2012.

Wow, that's almost enough to equip a whole city. But it begs a huge question ... how many of the Windows RT devices were returned because the victim confused the word Windows with the word Windows?

DirectX 11.2 said to be a Windows 8.1 / Xbox One exclusive ( NeoWin 2013-07-04 )

I'm shocked. Shocked I tell you. Not really. Microsoft simply continuing their evil ways here with planned obsolescence. What's ironic is listening to the fanboys over the past few months decrying the state of PC gaming, insisting that this makes Xbox such a great idea. But the truth of the matter is that Microsoft itself has splintered and fragmented PC gaming intentionally and maliciously over the years ever since DirectX 9. Let's just cut to the chase here ... Microsoft showed their malice towards the PC right at the end of the WinXP era. Sometime during the MCE years is when their future plans were hatched, plans that meant scrapping the free and open x86 platform and transitioning to a locked-down fiefdom. Vista was merely the alpha step, Windows 7 the beta, and well, here we are at Walled-Garden.RTM with SP1 waiting in the wings. It won't be much longer waiting for MicroApple.

Here's some customer feedback ...

Report: Microsoft to now include headset with Xbox One [update: It won't] ( NeoWin 2013-07-04 )

Back and forth again on yet another recent Xbox issue ( see Post #3387 ). This story made the rounds that Redmond would relent and include a cheap headset, which according to those earlier stories, is suggested as a must-have accessory. But no, this alleged about-face were merely rumors, they will NOT include a headset, buy one yourself! But don't worry though, they will be including the rather expensive Kinect device for free! ( Man, they really want this thing in living rooms, eh? ). Marie Antoinette Baller says, let them eat Kinect.

Here's some more customer feedback ...

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

UK asks Google to revise privacy policy or face enforcement action ( TechSpot 2013-07-05 )

UK government gives ultimatum to Google to change privacy policies ( NeoWin 2013-07-05 )

UK Demands Google to Change Privacy Policy ( Tom's Hardware 2013-07-06 )

How do you spell hypocrisy? G-o-v-e-r-n-m-e-n-t, that's how. What industrial strength chutzpah is going on here. And it is not exclusive to the UK either, we have had similar hypocrisy by pompous asses in our own Congress and the White House too. These hypocrites are {1} actively spying as a matter of standard operating procedure, but most stunningly they are {2} using Google as one of its "partners" just the same as Microsoft, the first government partner. One must wonder if those stories about Google ( and Twitter as well ) challenging the government program lately are actually true and this is a form of payback or intimidation.

Note that at the NeoWin link they use a different Google logo in the article, this one is red instead of multicolored, and sports a pair of horns like the devil. The site full of MicroZealots and MetroTards that root for Scroogle campaigns and defend everything that Microsoft does considers Google the Devil, but sends boatloads of love to Microsoft, the first partner with the government spy program.

In Secret, Court Vastly Broadens Powers of N.S.A. ( New York Times 2013-07-06 )

Now I'm regularly reading newspapers that I normally wouldn't touch with a 10-foot pole ( you have to live here and have grown up here to understand ) but there is no question they are producing real information on this story. This one is chock full of hardcore details of the star-chamber secret court, how it began and how it works today. Basically this is like the epitaph being etched on the tombstone of privacy and freedom. It's a short jump from here to every bad nightmare that was ever dreamed by free people. Read this story to get a rough idea of what is occurring today as we speak. But if you want to get really depressed then ponder this: should one more large scale terrorist attack occur despite all the spying ... just imagine what will become standard operating procedure five minutes later.

Federal authorities seize Bitcoins for what may be the first time ( NeoWin 2013-07-07 )

Naturally. The Fourth Amendment is being stomped on daily. When "authorities" come for a visit, whether it is random crime, drug war or terrorist related, or simply at the behest of the RIAA or MPAA or BSA ( still terror related, especially for that grandmother they thought downloaded songs ) they take a whole lot of private property. Everything from phones to computers to paper records, everything except your neighborhood library card because that would be prying. So why not take the money too. I would say that eBay PayPal would be next, but that's just plain ridiculous, everyone knows they will just hand it over to whoever asks.

EDIT: typo(s)

Edited July 8, 2013 by CharlotteTheHarlot

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

Facebook and Flickr photo integration dropped from Windows 8.1 ( NeoWin 2013-07-03 )

Microsoft has killed the integration of Facebook and Flickr photos into the Photos app in Windows 8.1, claiming that apps available in the Windows Store are now good enough that the functionality is no longer needed.

This would be like removing CD Burning because there are 3rd party burners. I was gonna say it would be like removing the DVD playing, but, well, they already did! That's some operating system we got here. Lots of ticked off MetroTards in the comments showing that Microsoft isn't quite through yet reducing the size of its fan base. Naturally there are some MicroZealots there as well, repeating the mantra that there are good enough replacements, so no worries mate! Be happy. Thank God all these enablers didn't exist years ago because Windows would have never survived even this long.

Windows 8.1 preview removes Windows Experience Index ( NeoWin 2013-07-07 )

Poof goes another feature. Check out the thought progression of the NeoWin writer, this style skeleton gets a lot of use over there ...

Windows 8.1 may add a number of new features to Microsoft's latest OS, but it is also removing some features as well, such as the Messaging app.

Now it appears the public preview of Windows 8.1 has put an end to a feature that was originally put into Windows Vista back in 2007.

[...]

In practice, however, there was very little use of the Windows Experience Index by outside software makers, who ...

First they butter you up with fluff about some added features, then drop the hammer telling you a certain thing has been killed, then they finally slip in the official propaganda, this time a strawman about "outside software makers" not really using it ( wait, what? ) to shelve the whole story for good. Needless to say that the point of that benchmark was not for "outside software makers" at least not that I can recall, but as a basic layman diagnosis for weak points in performance for the purposes of hardware upgrading, and also as a rough estimate of the entire system rating. One does wonder though why they would remove it at all? It was working, now it is not. Why kill it? Battery life again?

What it tells me is that as we said long ago they should have forked the OS for mobile and workstation. But we know they tied it around Windows neck like an albatross in order to save Metro from failing as it would all by itself. Then they proceed to strip down Windows "workstation" until it matches the original design of "mobile", that means kill Windows, period. ( Fanboys just STFU now! ) I've said it before and I'll say it again - their vision for a mobile OS is nothing more than a ripoff of common consumer electronic firmware ( those little menus that overlay the screen when you use a DVR or DVD or Camera or whatever ). It is not Windows. It was never going to be Windows. Microsoft is leaving the Windows business and going into the firmware menu business. The name Windows attached to this abomination is merely a distraction.

Don Mattrick could get $50 million with move from Microsoft to Zynga ( NeoWin 2013-07-05 )

That's a big wow. Whether this guy is worth any of that money doesn't concern me at all. But wow. I find it hard to believe that Zynga could possibly offer this deal and still face their stockholders and customers. This is a real reinforcement to the stereotype of an out of touch Wall Street mentality. It also tells me that Zynga is quite possibly in trouble ( more than we thought ) before hiring him because it sounds like a "this is it" moment, meaning "If this guy can't turn us around no-one can". But hey, there's no law against it, more power to him for nabbing this offer. It would have probably been cheaper to just sell the company to Microsoft though, rather than bring an Elop type invader into the fold. And why bring a Softie in anyway? Zynga isn't exactly a Windows stalwart. ... Yet.

Nokia credit rating downgraded again amid cash concerns ( NeoWin 2013-07-05 )

Today, leading ratings agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) downgraded Nokia amid concerns over the company’s financial health, and in particular, its cash reserves. Earlier this week, the Finnish company announced plans to buy out its partner in the Nokia-Siemens Networks (NSN) joint venture for $2.2bn, a move that was broadly supported by the markets. But S&P believes that that move, coupled with the continued difficulties in Nokia’s device business, could put considerable strain on the company’s cash pile. Reuters quotes S&P as saying: “We now anticipate that Nokia’s net cash could be as low as €1.3bn EUR ($1.67bn USD / £1.12bn GBP) at the end of 2013.”

[...]

One has to wonder just how much worse things can get for Nokia before it hits the fan – or, perhaps, before the company gives up on its device business entirely. A recent report indicated that Microsoft held advanced talks last month with Nokia to negotiate terms for acquiring its handset division, but that these discussions apparently collapsed over a failure to agree on price. Nokia's renewed interest in network infrastructure through the NSN acquisition could be the first step towards offloading the device business completely. Time will tell.

Oh man, there are some real dead-ender type MicroZealots in that thread denying the undeniable. They got their little WP8 handset so therefore all is right with the world. You know there is some scrambling going on up in Redmond. They almost blew $45 billion on a crazy urge to buy Yahoo, but they seem willing to let Nokia flounder and won't ante up enough cash to buy them. That should tell us one thing - even Microsoft doesn't have enough faith in the WP product to put their money where their mouth is. I hope they don't buy them, Nokia should be independent and viable. But one of two things is going to occur, either Microsoft does buy them or the phone device business, or, Nokia breaks the pact with the devil and offers an Android line in addition to WP in order to get its head above water.