[JorgeA]

jaclaz, on 10 February 2013 - 09:50 AM, said:

Question: Where are the clouds?
Answer: They are in the sky*.
Question: Which colour is the sky?
Answer: Blue.
Question: Very good, Timmy, do you know some other names for the colour of the sky?
Answer: Cyan, Azure.

The matter has been established overhearing a fifth grade class.

JFYI, azzurro is not really a shade of blue in Italian, it has it's "own dignity", blu (or blue) corresponds to "navy blue".

jaclaz


*together with Lucy and diamonds

OT, but not much :

Quote

Yesterday you told me 'bout the blue, blue sky soft
And all that I can see is just a yellow lemon riping apple tree

It's amazing that few (if anybody) anywhere, before @CharlotteTheHarlot, did make that connection, which now seems so obvious. Makes you go, "Dang, why didn't *I* think of that?" But the truth is that it wasn't so easy to make the connection, requiring mainly stepping back to take a wider look at the situation.

--JorgeA

[JorgeA]

TheBigBang, on 10 February 2013 - 07:09 AM, said:

Since w3.11, there is no such a numbness BSODs.
Take a look @ the near past:
BSOD,our cousin

..no doubt, culprit must b an Apple looks like, windows navigator

That was funny, I'd never seen that video.

Somebody expert should investigate your issue with all the Windows 8 BSOD's. I would be curious to know what's causing them.

--JorgeA

[TheBigBang]

JorgeA, on 11 February 2013 - 01:07 AM, said:

TheBigBang, on 10 February 2013 - 07:09 AM, said:

Since w3.11, there is no such a numbness BSODs.
Take a look @ the near past:
BSOD,our cousin

..no doubt, culprit must b an Apple looks like, windows navigator

That was funny, I'd never seen that video.

Somebody expert should investigate your issue with all the Windows 8 BSOD's. I would be curious to know what's causing them.

--JorgeA

BSODs r not so frequent, but in regard of w7, they r..
e.g., in W7 BSOD never occurred.
Also, there is no rule, simply it happens without any logical conclusion, i.e. clue .

btw,I expect a 'BLUE' thing or SP1 would b a solution.

This post has been edited by TheBigBang: 11 February 2013 - 08:29 PM

[JorgeA]

MSFN was down all day today (Monday). Gotta wonder if it didn't have something to do with word getting out to Win8 fans over at Neowin about our critique of Windows 8 here...

Hoping it was only a coincidence, but it's the second time this month that we've had SQL problems.

--JorgeA

[JorgeA]

TheBigBang, on 11 February 2013 - 08:24 PM, said:

JorgeA, on 11 February 2013 - 01:07 AM, said:

TheBigBang, on 10 February 2013 - 07:09 AM, said:

Since w3.11, there is no such a numbness BSODs.
Take a look @ the near past:
BSOD,our cousin

..no doubt, culprit must b an Apple looks like, windows navigator

That was funny, I'd never seen that video.

Somebody expert should investigate your issue with all the Windows 8 BSOD's. I would be curious to know what's causing them.

--JorgeA

BSODs r not so frequent, but in regard of w7, they r..
e.g., in W7 BSOD never occurred.
Also, there is no rule, simply it happens without any logical conclusion, i.e. clue .

btw,I expect a 'BLUE' thing or SP1 would b a solution.

I'm no expert on such deep technical issues, but I'll look around and see what turns up with respect to Win8 and BSODs.

--JorgeA

[TheBigBang]

JorgeA, on 11 February 2013 - 11:10 PM, said:

TheBigBang, on 11 February 2013 - 08:24 PM, said:

JorgeA, on 11 February 2013 - 01:07 AM, said:

TheBigBang, on 10 February 2013 - 07:09 AM, said:

Since w3.11, there is no such a numbness BSODs.
Take a look @ the near past:
BSOD,our cousin

..no doubt, culprit must b an Apple looks like, windows navigator

That was funny, I'd never seen that video.

Somebody expert should investigate your issue with all the Windows 8 BSOD's. I would be curious to know what's causing them.

--JorgeA

BSODs r not so frequent, but in regard of w7, they r..
e.g., in W7 BSOD never occurred.
Also, there is no rule, simply it happens without any logical conclusion, i.e. clue .

btw,I expect a 'BLUE' thing or SP1 would b a solution.

I'm no expert on such deep technical issues, but I'll look around and see what turns up with respect to Win8 and BSODs.

--JorgeA

bru,10x a LOT, but..my oppinion, on a such delicate _M$_ issue, wolud b..(as u know)..there is no obligate worrying until SP1 came up.
I believe, all probs. would b settled down then.
In any case..it would b appreciated.

[jaclaz]

JorgeA, on 11 February 2013 - 11:09 PM, said:

MSFN was down all day today (Monday). Gotta wonder if it didn't have something to do with word getting out to Win8 fans over at Neowin about our critique of Windows 8 here...

Hoping it was only a coincidence, but it's the second time this month that we've had SQL problems.

--JorgeA

Yeah, sure, dont' forget to put your tin-foil surprisingly better hight tech material hat on.
http://reboot.pro/to...ielding-device/

jaclaz

[JorgeA]

jaclaz, on 12 February 2013 - 05:56 AM, said:

JorgeA, on 11 February 2013 - 11:09 PM, said:

MSFN was down all day today (Monday). Gotta wonder if it didn't have something to do with word getting out to Win8 fans over at Neowin about our critique of Windows 8 here...

Hoping it was only a coincidence, but it's the second time this month that we've had SQL problems.

--JorgeA

Yeah, sure, dont' forget to put your tin-foil surprisingly better hight tech material hat on.

Nice try, jaclaz.

--JorgeA

This post has been edited by JorgeA: 12 February 2013 - 03:07 PM

[ciHnoN]

CharlotteTheHarlot, on 09 February 2013 - 11:44 PM, said:

...

My apologies for being totally off topic, dear CharlotteTheHarlot, how can I reach you outside this forum? I'm thinking, email. Is it possible? The reason will remain unknown for now.

[JorgeA]

One way to try making contact would be via a private forum message -- assuming that the Forum isn't down...

Check out the gray convex stripe, near the top of the page, that starts across where it says you're "Signed is as _____"

Hope this helps!

--JorgeA

This post has been edited by JorgeA: 12 February 2013 - 05:36 PM

[ciHnoN]

JorgeA, on 12 February 2013 - 05:35 PM, said:

One way to try making contact would be via a private forum message -- assuming that the Forum isn't down...

Check out the gray convex stripe, near the top of the page, that starts across where it says you're "Signed is as _____"

Hope this helps!

--JorgeA

Thanks! Although, I did that but I don't think it worked. hehe.. did not get a reply back.

[JorgeA]

ciHnoN, on 12 February 2013 - 06:10 PM, said:

Thanks! Although, I did that but I don't think it worked. hehe.. did not get a reply back.

Time will tell. I know that I don't always answer right away (and sometimes the system doesn't even tell me that I have a PM in my box).

I just hope I didn't tick Charlotte off with my sentence about "great deductive work, Sherlock." Which was meant in all sincerity as praise for a great piece of detective work, but later that night I realized to my horror that it could be interpreted sarcastically, and I went back to clarify.

--JorgeA

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

ciHnoN, on 12 February 2013 - 06:10 PM, said:

Thanks! Although, I did that but I don't think it worked. hehe.. did not get a reply back.

Didn't get it. Send another PM please.

JorgeA, on 12 February 2013 - 06:52 PM, said:

Time will tell. I know that I don't always answer right away (and sometimes the system doesn't even tell me that I have a PM in my box).

I just hope I didn't tick Charlotte off with my sentence about "great deductive work, Sherlock." Which was meant in all sincerity as praise for a great piece of detective work, but later that night I realized to my horror that it could be interpreted sarcastically, and I went back to clarify.

What, no! Just busy. I got the Sherlock reference naturally. I should point also out that it wasn't just me, some of the Register commenters have picked up on this not-so-veiled Blue=Cloud mystery.

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

Could Microsoft be working on a full Surface laptop? ( NeoWin 2013-02-12 )

Maybe it occurred to Microsoft that a 10" laplet for $1000 is crazy, therefore they will create a $2000 desklet. Great thinking. Seriously though, cannot wait to see the price point and specs. It will be interesting to compare back to this ...

Spoiler

Nokia sells Oulu campus for $40.8 million ( NeoWin 2013-02-12 )

One of the commenters dutifully says: 'But Nokia has returned to profitability!'. Another commenter mentions something that I wasn't aware of: 'While it's true that Nokia returned to profitability in the final quarter, in order to do so it didn't pay a dividend to shareholders - that's the first time in 20yrs'

So despite all the countless fluff pieces at NeoWin about Nokia with their Lumias running Microsoft Tiles, these guys are in quite a pickle. They are the foremost example of a company betting everything on Microsoft and its Windows 8 abomination. Just for the record, here are the not-so-positive stories that have also ran just since September just at NeoWin, and the picture ain't pretty ...

• Nokia stock down 15% following Windows Phone announcements ( NeoWin 2012-09-05 )
  
• Nokia apologizes for misleading Lumia PureView video ( NeoWin 2012-09-06 )
  
• Nokia CEO: "No indications" Microsoft is making its own phone ( NeoWin 2012-10-02 )
  
• Nokia confirms sell off Finland HQ buildings [Update] ( NeoWin 2012-10-03 )
  
• Major bank downgrades Nokia again, recommends break-up and sell-off ( NeoWin 2012-10-04 )
  
• Nokia's VP of Product Marketing departs, investors dissapointed with 920 announcement ( NeoWin 2012-10-07 )
  
• AT&T Lumias get reduced battery life estimates ( NeoWin 2012-10-07 )
  
• Nokia reveals Euro pricing for Lumia 920 / 820 and accessories ( NeoWin 2012-10-12 )
  
• Nokia to raise cash by selling its headquarters ( NeoWin 2012-12-04 )
  
• Lawsuit that claimed Nokia lied about Lumia sales resolved ( NeoWin 2012-12-13 )
  
• Nokia may pull out of CES to focus on MWC ( NeoWin 2013-12-18 )
  
• Nokia will be at CES but has "scaled back" for the 2013 show ( NeoWin 2013-12-18 )
  
• Nokia is committed to Windows Phone, full stop ( NeoWin 2013-01-07 )
  
• Nokia accused of $545m tax evasion in India; offices raided in investigation ( NeoWin 2013-01-08 )
  
• Nokia's Asha range outselling Lumias 2:1 ( NeoWin 2013-01-13 )
  
• Nokia slashes another 1000 jobs in Finland ( NeoWin 2013-01-17 )

I would hate to see them go but by allowing a Softie to infiltrate the company like Carl Icahn or someone out of "Wall Street" or "Barbarians at the Gate" I wonder what exactly they were thinking would happen. Ah well. Bet he still gets paid if Nokia assets get sold off at fire sale. Or Microsoft buys it and we see MicroNokia.

[ciHnoN]

CharlotteTheHarlot, on 12 February 2013 - 07:22 PM, said:

Didn't get it. Send another PM please.

It seems that my messenger was disabled in my settings here for some reason. I have sent a test now. Thanks.

[JorgeA]

The Forum was down again for a while today. What's going on?

I'm concerned that the habit of visiting will be broken and some people may stop seeing our posts as a result.

--JorgeA

EDIT: Explanation here.

This post has been edited by JorgeA: 13 February 2013 - 08:00 PM

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

HP working on Android tablet, considering smartphone, too ( TechSpot 2013-02-13 )

I wonder if the pending MicroDell deal is already causing unintended consequences? HP was famously in the Windows 8 camp, playing hardball for their Redmond overlords ( HP won't support Windows 8 to 7 downgrade on consumer PCs ). I'd say maybe they are having a hard time making any real money shipping units with Microsoft Tiles so they are ready to start hedging their bet.


Nokia Announces Dual-SIM Asha 310 Smartphone ( Tom's Hardware 2013-02-13 )

Speaking of hedging bets. Nokia knows what sells ( Nokia's Asha range outselling Lumias 2:1 ( NeoWin 2013-01-13 ) ). They are now supposedly shutting down their remaining Symbian units, so what happens at Nokia over the next year with WP vs the Asha "other" phones should tell quite a tale.


Office 2013 EULA says the software is bound to one PC forever ( TechSpot 2013-02-13 )

Quote

If you purchased a retail edition of Office 2010, the end-user license agreement (EULA) permits you to install the software on up to two devices at once (a desktop and a laptop) and if you retire one or both of those systems, your license is transferable to new machines.

Neither of those permissions exist with Office 2013. Microsoft's updated EULA only lets you install the boxed editions on one computer, and only that computer -- forever.

Oh this is gonna go over like a ton of bricks. Hey if you don't like it, tough. Get Office 364. Go to the cloud! This is from TechSpot, it is not yet over at NeoWin. Looking forward to see the creative rationalizations from the MicroZealots.


Yahoo CEO: Bing deal isn't working well ( NeoWin 2013-02-13 )

Quote

According to Mayer, [Yahoo CEO] the deal hasn't given the technology company the kind of results it expected when it entered into 10-year a partnership with Microsoft in 2010. The problem, Mayer said, was that Yahoo hasn't benefited financially from the deal, and the company has also seen its market share decrease.

You mean you got snookered? Guess ya should'a took the $45 billion that Ballmer wanted to flush down the toilet buying your company ( okay, I don't think she was CEO yet ). Speaking of MicroZealots, I see a few posts over there snipped for "sexist" language Wanna know why? The Yahoo CEO is female and she made the mistake of criticizing Microsoft. You don't do that and get away with it! So how is your board looking these days Steven? Told ya you have to keep an eye on the children.


Microsoft Surface Pro gets worst possible reparability rating from iFixit ( TechSpot 2013-02-13 )

Surface Pro gets autopsied, don't even think about trying to repair it ( NeoWin 2013-02-13 )

The dissection has been done, and no surprise, these laplets are even worse than laptops for accessing components. They are pretty much completely unserviceable throwaway units once the warranty is expired. Can't blame Microsoft here because no-one is going to create one that is accessible. But I am not agreeing with the high-quality arguments after seeing the photos of all the crap on the inside. This is just typical slapped together adequate parts manufactured by the lowest bidder and you are buying the name on the front, Microsoft or Apple. Big whoop.


Xbox co-founder says the last five years have been painful to watch ( TechSpot 2013-02-13 )

Former Microsoft Xbox team member slams current state of Xbox 360 ( NeoWin 2013-02-13 )

Quote

The former employee has a laundry list of activities where Microsoft is going wrong and believes that Apple could kill console gaming as we know it if they wanted to.

More Xbox criticisms, this time from an ex-Softie who was present in the early Xbox development ( but left before the product shipped ). He is credited with naming the device. Interesting line about Apple. It mirrors what another ex-Softie Gabe Newell ( from Valve ) has been saying. I'm gonna watch this closely now, because Apple's next move as the iPhone craze dies down should be strategic and I suspect it will come at Microsoft's expense. Also note, as with the previous stories, the MicroZealots are not happy with this latest "attack" on their Saviour. How dare another ex-Softie criticize their prophet! Why does this suddenly remind me of the Jim Jones attacks on the de-programmed escaped cult members when they began talking prior to the mass suicide?


EA exec: It's unlikely 'next Xbox' will play Xbox 360 games ( NeoWin 2013-02-13 )

And yet another bit of Xbox news or rumor if you will. This from an Electronic Arts executive that says all new consoles including the next Xbox and Sony's PS will eliminate backwards compatibility ( they are supposedly changing microprocessor families ) and will not provide any form of emulation, meaning that games for the older consoles are dead on the new one. Uggh. Stupid. And transparently self-serving, but also self-defeating because it might just restrain sales of the next release which will impact developer incentive. I am thinking that Gabe and the ex-Softie from the previous stories are onto something by worrying about Apple instead of Microsoft.


( off-topic, and not a story I really wanted to see ... )

Opera switching to Webkit engine in 2013, browser will be based on Chromium ( TechSpot 2013-02-13 )

Opera now has 300 million users; moving to WebKit engine ( NeoWin 2013-02-13 )

Ugggh. I really hope they aren't selling out now. I have all but given up testing Chrome, it is as dumbed down as Windows 8 with respect to configuration and options and is too cloudy for my tastes. Yeah, this change so far only involves the rendering engine, and Chrome's engine gets high marks so a best-case scenario could be constructed that this will help Opera by offloading the added task of constantly working on the guts and will be now free to concentrate on the bells and whistles, but I just am going on instinct and it tells me to worry. ~sigh~ Fingers crossed!

[ciHnoN]

CharlotteTheHarlot, on 14 February 2013 - 02:40 AM, said:

...
Ugggh. I really hope they aren't selling out now. I have all but given up testing Chrome, it is as dumbed down as Windows 8 with respect to configuration and options and is too cloudy for my tastes. Yeah, this change so far only involves the rendering engine, and Chrome's engine gets high marks so a best-case scenario could be constructed that this will help Opera by offloading the added task of constantly working on the guts and will be now free to concentrate on the bells and whistles, but I just am going on instinct and it tells me to worry. ~sigh~ Fingers crossed!

I used to be die hard IE fan until I tried Opera. *lol* ...I hope they don't go the Chrome route and dumb down this thing because without all the customization, Opera will effectively just be dead. As far the engine, I don't care what runs under the hood although Opera was/is one of the most secure browsers so we'll see how things turn out. I'm so so so sick of dumbing down stuff that I'm worried they ruin Opera too.


Back to topic, I also read rumour, I think maybe NeoWin or something MS is coming out with 5", 7" inch Windows 8... loooooool... wtf, why not slapp the Windows Phone 8 on it instead of Win8 is beyond me. The soul reason I got an Android tablet is that I can also make calls with it but Ballmer would never understand this.

[Win2k3EE]

Start Screen is sending info to MS about software you have installed on your PC, so security and privacy are down the drain...

Quote

157.54.0.0 - 157.60.255.255

I did an IP address lookup etc.

Whois record :
MarkMonitor is the Global Leader in Online Brand Protection.
Domain Management
MarkMonitor Brand Protectionâ„¢
MarkMonitor AntiPiracyâ„¢
MarkMonitor AntiFraudâ„¢
Professional and Managed Services

and

OrgName: Microsoft Corp
OrgId: MSFT
Address: One Microsoft Way
City: Redmond
StateProv: WA
PostalCode: 98052
Country: US
RegDate: 1998-07-10
Updated: 2011-04-26

So it seems to me Microsoft is monitoring my internet connections through a third party.

Quote

Update: According to Microsoft, SmartScreen sends a hash of the app installer and its digital signature, if any. A combination of the hash and the user’s IP address is still enough to identify that IP address x attempted to install software y.

I’ve recently been using the final, Released to Manufacturing version of Windows 8 on one of my computers, to much delight. I’ve been very impressed by how fast, well-designed, functional and capable this latest iteration of Windows is. However, my tinkering around from a security/privacy perspective has left me concerned.

Windows 8 has a new featured called Windows SmartScreen, which is turned on by default. Windows SmartScreen’s purpose is to “screen” every single application you try to install from the Internet in order to inform you whether it’s safe to proceed with installing it or not. Here’s how SmartScreen works:

You download any application from the Internet. Say, the Tor Browser Bundle.
You open the installer. Windows SmartScreen gathers some identifying information about your application, and sends the data to Microsoft.
If Microsoft replies saying that the application is not signed with a proper certificate, the user gets an error that looks something like this.

There are a few serious problems here. The big problem is that Windows 8 is configured to immediately tell Microsoft about every app you download and install. This is a very serious privacy problem, specifically because Microsoft is the central point of authority and data collection/retention here and therefore becomes vulnerable to being served judicial subpoenas or National Security Letters intended to monitor targeted users. This situation is exacerbated when Windows 8 is deployed in countries experiencing political turmoil or repressive political situations.

This problem can however get even more serious: It may be possible to intercept SmartScreen’s communications to Microsoft and thus learn about every single application downloaded and installed by a target. Here is my analysis:

A quick packet capture showed the following activity happening immediately when I tried to install the Tor Browser Bundle:

Click for full size and notes.

SmartScreen appeared to connect over HTTPS to a server in Redmond (apprep.smartscreen.microsoft.com, 65.55.184.60, run by Microsoft) in order to communicate information about the application I was trying to install.

After running some tests on this Microsoft server, I discovered that it ran Microsoft IIS 7.5 to handle its HTTPS connections. The Microsoft server is configured to support SSLv2 which is known to be insecure and susceptible to interception. The SSL Certificate Authority chain goes down from “GTE CyberTrust Global Root” to “Microsoft Secure Server Authority.” The Certificate Authority model is itself susceptible to some serious problems.

I haven’t checked whether Windows SmartScreen does in fact use SSLv2, but the fact that the Microsoft servers support it is concerning. Furthermore, SmartScreen is not easy to disable, and Windows will periodically warn users to re-enable it should they attempt to disable it.

To recap, here are the concerns posed by SmartScreen in Windows 8:

Windows 8 will, by default, inform Microsoft of every app downloaded and installed by every user. This puts Microsoft in a compromising, omniscient situation where they are capable of retaining information on the application usage of all Windows 8 users, thus posing a serious privacy concern. The user is not informed of this while installing and setting up Windows 8, even though they are given the option to disable SmartScreen (which is enabled by default.)
Windows 8 appears to send this information to Microsoft to a server that relies on Certificate Authorities for authentication and supports an outdated and insecure method of encrypted communication. It is possible that these insecurities could allow a malicious third party to target a Windows 8 user and learn which applications they are using. This allows them to profile the user and decide how to best exploit their personal selection of applications and their computing habits.

I find Microsoft’s decision to design SmartScreen in such a privacy-free fashion to be a very bad choice, and I really hope that these concerns regarding SmartScreen will be addressed in near-future updates.

[jaclaz]

Win2k3EE, on 14 February 2013 - 03:09 AM, said:

Start Screen is sending info to MS about software you have installed on your PC, so security and privacy are down the drain...

Well, not really "news" , already talked to death around here:
http://www.msfn.org/...65#entry1008965

Your quote is from the mentioned blog by Nadim Kobeissi:
http://log.nadim.cc/?p=78
seemingly from an earlier version, missing Update2 and Update3.

jaclaz