VeeshanVault

/insert obligatory "Install Windows 7" reply

Other than that I got nothing. Sorry!

German Government Warns Windows 8 Is an Unacceptable Security Risk

http://translate.google.com/translate?s ... dows-8-nsa

They're concerned about it's interaction with TPM 2.0 chips which they believe has a backdoor built-in. Not Windows 8 itself. YOUR govt could add the same TPM code in any pre-compiled Linux distro to the same effect.

But that doesn't sound nearly as entertaining

I don't think there's any consumer boards with TPM chips, headers yes, chips no. They cost money, a tiny tiny percentage of consumers use full disk encryption, so are only standard on server boards.

I'm pretty sure that they're not in desktops but aren't TPM chips in most laptops?

Animalor wrote:I'm pretty sure that they're not in desktops but aren't TPM chips in most laptops?

I would say "no" to "most".

I think the whole issue is overblown. If you trust MS to supply a completely closed source operating system and they have established a pattern of traffic back to Redmond as "normal"; they already own your computer, TPM doesn't change any of that. The meat of that article was crap about them pulling an Amazon/Apple and retroactively banning/removing shit from your computer, but again they've had the ability to do so for 10 years....

Oh yes, and http://www.economist.com/blogs/schumpet ... merbowsout

"Decided to retire" ho ho ho.

Today, Microsoft released version 8.1 of its Windows operating system.

Crucially, the upgrade is a move the software giant really didn’t want to make: it's effectively stepped back from the original Windows 8 blueprint.

The staggered release comes five months after Microsoft revealed it was doing a U-turn on “key elements” of Windows 8.

That U-turn transpired to be the ability to boot to the classic Windows desktop rather than simply forcing everyone into the new touchscreen-driven Metro UI – as well as the return of a Start button. The Start screen that tried to replace it is now an application launcher.

On the application design side, things have become more flexible as users can now resize and layer apps, whereas before they were set to a fixed size and apps had to be locked side-by-side.

Despite these concessions, and no matter how many flips and twists Microsoft makes, the omens for Windows 8.1 remain bleak.

Windows 8.1. Still blows.

If anything it's worse...

Doesn't even allow you to log in once the install has finished, instead it forces you to link to a MS account. I made a new one that will never be used.

It's a 4 page process to make a new one, and the entries on page one are checked after you fill in the other pages including a captcha which naturally changes every attempt. It couldn't even check the email address you wanted first.

It told me I couldn't use mother's birthplace as a security answer because the town she was born in is less than 5 characters long.

It told me the BS name I made up for the account had an unacceptable surname.. I know people with real surnames on the "bad word" list.

It then wanted to send me a security code to the email address that I had just created and couldn't access because it was not allowing me to log into my computer until I created a second account.

Then it wanted to fuck about with Skydrive...

Fuck MS, fuck them in their stupid faces.

Looks like I'm doing an Acronis restore this weekend.

Zaelath wrote:
Looks like I'm doing an Acronis restore this weekend.

Best software ever!

I had to do a restore a few days ago. My second 46" monitor has an old HDMi compatibility version and there's an optional update for windows that wipes out support for it. Pretty lame. Not sure if it's an nVidia or Microsoft issue but thinking nVidia.

Acronis, as usual, worked like a charm and hella fast.

Winnow wrote:

Zaelath wrote:
Looks like I'm doing an Acronis restore this weekend.

Best software ever!

Sounds like you got lucky, many users flat out blue screened and can't do anything. Read about it this morning, they've known of the issue since June and released anyway.

Aabidano wrote:

Winnow wrote:

Zaelath wrote:
Looks like I'm doing an Acronis restore this weekend.

Best software ever!

Sounds like you got lucky, many users flat out blue screened and can't do anything. Read about it this morning, they've known of the issue since June and released anyway.

I haven't updated to Win 8.1. Although Acronis works great if you get a blue screen of death as well. (unless you have a hardware failure which isn't what it's designed for.)

No complaints at all against Acronis, though they the interface has gone downhill in the last couple revs.

Zaelath wrote:If anything it's worse...

Doesn't even allow you to log in once the install has finished, instead it forces you to link to a MS account. I made a new one that will never be used.

It's a 4 page process to make a new one, and the entries on page one are checked after you fill in the other pages including a captcha which naturally changes every attempt. It couldn't even check the email address you wanted first.

It told me I couldn't use mother's birthplace as a security answer because the town she was born in is less than 5 characters long.

It told me the BS name I made up for the account had an unacceptable surname.. I know people with real surnames on the "bad word" list.

It then wanted to send me a security code to the email address that I had just created and couldn't access because it was not allowing me to log into my computer until I created a second account.

Then it wanted to fuck about with Skydrive...

Fuck MS, fuck them in their stupid faces.

Looks like I'm doing an Acronis restore this weekend.

You can create a local account without the Microsoft account. It is a bit obfuscated during the setup though. It's one of the text links near the bottom and not a button.

I think it's too late! even the 'fix' to the crappy version of Windows is terrible. Microsoft really doesn't know what the customer wants anymore.

A co-worker of mine who is going back to do some schooling this fall went into Best Buy with a friend intent on buying an iPad for school earlier this year.

She looked around, spoke to a sales rep who wass insistantly pushing ipads as well and ended up walking out with a Surface RT!

I've been keeping up with her and she LOVES the thing. I'll have to check with her to see if she's put in 8.1 yet.

Animalor wrote:You can create a local account without the Microsoft account. It is a bit obfuscated during the setup though. It's one of the text links near the bottom and not a button.

And the MS Store breaks, so you can't load the basic programs that should've come with the OS. You have to have an MS account too.

Aabidano wrote:

Animalor wrote:You can create a local account without the Microsoft account. It is a bit obfuscated during the setup though. It's one of the text links near the bottom and not a button.

And the MS Store breaks, so you can't load the basic programs that should've come with the OS. You have to have an MS account too.

Did not upgrade, but yesterday my computer started some random, diagnosing computer problems loop, cannot get it to start. This is the second computer. I returned the other one and got a new version, removed the HP Connect music and Itunes started working, but the windows 8 program sucks. Seems like my issue has happened to lots of people and honestly not sure what to do to fix it.

There was a bad 8.0 patch recently, system restore fixed it for me.

Honestly you should see if that computer qualifies for the free downgrade thing that I mentioned previously. Then just get Windows 7 on there and be done with it.

Fairly sure that you can update the but in apps without a life account. Definitely can't download new ones thought.

8.1 is fine. Improvement over 8 overall.

If it's mostly desktop you want, change your boot to go to desktop and change the default when you hit the windows key to go from the start screen to the all apps screen. Then you can change the apps that show up first in the list to be your desktop applications instead.

BTW - All those settings can be found if you search for Navigation Properties and select most of the check boxes in the lower part of that properties window.

I don't have a problem with it aside from having to update all of my drivers afterwards. I actually like a lot of the changes that they put into it, and since I don't have a touch screen, they definitely tailored it more for me.

I really like that when you're using the charms and hit the hot corner either at the lower right or upper right side of the screen, the charms shift up or down so you have to travel the mouse less.

Apparently I'm not alone in thinking Windows 8 blows

Windows 7 gains more market share than Windows 8 and 8.1
More masochists are using Windows Vista than Windows 8.1

Microsoft's Windows 7 still holds more market share than Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 combined. Even more disturbing, for Microsoft, is that Windows 7 has actually gained more market share that the newer versions of Windows.

Statistics provided by Netapplications in its Netmarketshare report for November show that Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 have gained a mere 0.05 percent, with Windows 8 reaching a satanic 6.66 percent.

This is hardly market saturation 13 months after release. Compare that to Windows 7, which despite being over four years old and just 18 months from End of Life still has 46.64 percent of the market. That's just a tiny increase of 0.22 percent, but it's a clear demonstration that most most PC users are avoiding Windows 8.

The breakdown is as follows:

Windows 7 46.64 percent
Windows XP 31.22 percent
Windows 8 6.66 percent
Windows Vista 3.57 percent
Windows 8.1 2.64 percent

"Upgraded" two PCs to 8.1. Didn't look hard but the only obvious change form 8 is to add a "start button" that launches you into the PoS Metro menu.

So think fixed the thing people hated the most by making it easier to get to?

Did fix a packet delay issue I'd been having on one PC.

What the Heck is Happening to Windows?

The reason this happened is that while Sinofsky had the maniacal power and force of will of a Steve Jobs, he lacked Jobs' best gift: An innate understanding of good design. Windows 8 is not well-designed. It's a mess. But Windows 8 is a bigger problem than that. Windows 8 is a disaster in every sense of the word.

This is not open to debate, is not part of some cute imaginary world where everyone's opinion is equally valid or whatever. Windows 8 is a disaster. Period.

While some Windows backers took a wait-and-see approach and openly criticized me for being honest about this, I had found out from internal sources immediately that the product was doomed from the get-go, feared and ignored by customers, partners and other groups in Microsoft alike. Windows 8 was such a disaster that Steven Sinofsky was ejected from the company and his team of lieutenants was removed from Windows in a cyclone of change that triggered a reorganization of the entire company. Even Sinofsky's benefactor, Microsoft's then-CEO Steve Ballmer, was removed from office. Why did all this happen? Because together, these people set the company and Windows back by years and have perhaps destroyed what was once the most successful software franchise of all time.

...

You can't please everybody, Microsoft. So stop trying. It's time to double down on the people who actually use your products, not some mythical group of consumers who will never stop using their simpler Android and iOS devices just because you wish they would.

Can't say I disagree!

Animalor wrote: You can create a local account without the Microsoft account. It is a bit obfuscated during the setup though. It's one of the text links near the bottom and not a button.

I tried this shit again because I got sick of "OMG, you can update to WINDOWS 8.1 FOR FREE" every week.

The "bit obfuscated" was that I had to say "I'm not Mike" and then it didn't force me to create an account. So, yeah, I had to lie to my computer.. that's ridiculous.

Zaelath wrote:

Animalor wrote: You can create a local account without the Microsoft account. It is a bit obfuscated during the setup though. It's one of the text links near the bottom and not a button.

I tried this shit again because I got sick of "OMG, you can update to WINDOWS 8.1 FOR FREE" every week.

The "bit obfuscated" was that I had to say "I'm not Mike" and then it didn't force me to create an account. So, yeah, I had to lie to my computer.. that's ridiculous.

One thing that does bother me about Windows 8.x is that I like to run using the Admin account (spare me the lecture) and you can't use Win 8 Apps when you are using an Admin account. It's not hard to switch over to a Microsoft Live account but I don't really want to so mostly I don't use Win 8 Apps which isn't much of a loss at this point.

Windows 8 remains the best/most stable version of Windows I've ever used. I run in desktop mode 100% of the time and laugh at the clowns that complain about Metro all the time.

Winnow wrote:Windows 8 remains the best/most stable version of Windows I've ever used.

"As good as" XP post SP3 and 7 anyway, both were solid and reliable; users were the biggest problem.

Winnow wrote:I run in desktop mode 100% of the time and laugh at the clowns that complain about Metro all the time.

Metro is pointless, I log in and go to the desktop just like everyone else. Every time I start the PC. The entire user base needing to make that extra effort every single time is a sure hallmark of a system designed by idiots.

Aabidano wrote: Metro is pointless, I log in and go to the desktop just like everyone else. Every time I start the PC. The entire user base needing to make that extra effort every single time is a sure hallmark of a system designed by idiots.

"Idiots" that are raking in billions of dollars a quarter. Microsoft gets the "idiot" tag a lot from the general public. I don't think that word means what you think it means!

Windows 8 is a disaster. It can't even be denied. That's why nearly everyone involved with it has been fired. Even Ballmer himself!

Aslanna wrote:Windows 8 is a disaster. It can't even be denied. That's why nearly everyone involved with it has been fired. Even Ballmer himself!

Ballmer is considered a failure yet Microsoft had its most profitable quarters ever over the past year and a half. Like Apollo 13, he could be thought of as the "successful failure".

Winnow wrote:Ballmer is considered a failure yet Microsoft had its most profitable quarters ever over the past year and a half. Like Apollo 13, he could be thought of as the "successful failure".

You do know they make other products than just Windows 8... Right?

Aslanna wrote:

Winnow wrote:Ballmer is considered a failure yet Microsoft had its most profitable quarters ever over the past year and a half. Like Apollo 13, he could be thought of as the "successful failure".

You do know they make other products than just Windows 8... Right?

And Ballmer was CEO of all of them not just Windows 8. If on top of making Microsoft assloads of money (the most they've ever made) he also made Windows 8 a success, he'd be a god. Instead, he's just a very successful CEO with piles of cash (and growing) that only Apple can best.



Which company looks the most balanced and can handle a hit to their primary revenue pie piece?



Windows 8 sales are picking up in Asia since Ballmer went with the Anime girl marketing campaign.

Rather than adding new features to the operating system, DSP, short for Japanese Delivery Service Partner, edition is a Japan-exclusive Windows 8 Pro 64bit launch bundle that comes in two different character versions: Yuu Madobe and Ai Madobe.

The last name Madobe means “by the window,” and the names Yuu and Ai are a play on the English “you” and “I.” The girls are sisters, with Ai (on the left) the eldest and Yuu (on the right) the youngest.

Both versions include custom theme pack wallpaper, sounds using the respective character’s “voice,” and a Microsoft Wedge touch mouse.

The bundles are being sold in limited quantities at select electronics stores in major cities across Japan and cost 18,000 yen (about $200 US).

Special regional editions, exclusive to Tokyo’s Akihabara district and Osaka’s Nipponbashi district, are also being sold in even more limited quantities and come with special gold (for Akihabara) or leopard print (for Nipponbashi) packaging, as well as a few bonus goodies featuring Yu and Ai.

Genius!

Fancy pie charts and all.. But totally doesn't address the point I made.

Winnow wrote:"Idiots" that are raking in billions of dollars a quarter. Microsoft gets the "idiot" tag a lot from the general public. I don't think that word means what you think it means!

Or that the two don't have anything to do with each other? MS success has never been based on producing a quality, usable product.

Great marketing put them in their position and they've been able to ride the wave with ~85% margins for the last ~20 years, having no realistic competitor to their space.

Great marketing put them in their position and they've been able to ride the wave with ~85% margins for the last ~20 years, having no realistic competitor to their space.

There's Apple (and Linux/Android/Chrome, lol)

While people focus on Metro which ultimately is meaningless with the push of the Windows Key, they tend to miss the fact that Windows 8 is a rock solid platform and improves on Windows 7 and XP. It's a shame that people can't see past what the bloggers spazzed out about (proven time and again that they were just being retards when they claimed they couldn't figure out Windows 8...simple keyboard commands in place that they were just too lame to take ten minutes to review)

Windows 8 is not a bad product. The only thing bad maybe is the marketing. Microsoft should have defaulted to the desktop and put the dumb start button in the corner and 99% of the people would have gone about their lives happy as pigs in shit. As it stands, many are missing out on a great product.

It's not a big deal. Microsoft will get their money. Windows 9 will roll around and everyone will proclaim it's (every other release) greatness and buy it up. The point is that Microsoft is absolutely ROLLING in cash and acquiring more of it in record fashion so it's not the end of the world if end users feel like waiting until Windows 9. Even Microsoft knows the "every other release" trend for Windows releases. In this case Windows 8 was the best release yet but whatever makes the consumer feel like they "showed them!". Microsoft probably added the Metro screen to fuck with en users so they'd this their pants in happiness for windows 9 simply with it removed. Genius!

Winnow wrote: While people focus on Metro which ultimately is meaningless with the push of the Windows Key

You know that's bullshit, everyone on this board knows it's bullshit, and everything I read about 8.1 update 1 suggests Microsoft know it's bullshit. In fact, it seems they're backpedaling as fast as they can to make Windows 8 and metro apps more desktop friendly instead of just telling their customers they're stupid.

But troll on, it's cute.

Apple's only foothold into the mainstream business market will be with BYOD hippies willing to bear the extra costs themselves.

They've priced themselves out of that market; not that it seems to be hurting them at all.

I know that Microsoft forced it on everyone instead of just touchscreen-enabled machines to boost developer interest in the platform but not having an option for someone to be able to fall back to the old was something they've never done, and that is what is hurting them now.

Animalor wrote:...and that is what is hurting them now.

Don't suspect it's hurting them that much, OEMs are shipping it and consumer upgrade licensing couldn't be that large a percentage? At worst they might get some people moving to Apple that were on the threshold anyway.

They hit a threshold with XP, there was no real reason for businesses to upgrade anything. Not that anyone who'd use it on a mass scale would pay a cent more or less whether they go to 8 or wait for the next rev as they did with Vista.

Windows 8 sales pass the 200 million mark, still trail Windows 7's success

BY Sarah Silbert @sarahsilbert February 13th, 2014 at 4:32PM ET

Today the company reported shipment of more than 200 million Windows 8 licenses. As usual, Microsoft didn't specify whether or not that figure includes Windows RT licenses as well.

Naturally, those numbers mean nothing without context. Compared to Windows 7 sales a few years back, the latest-gen operating system is lagging. Windows 7 passed the 240 million mark within its first 12 months on the market, while Windows 8 is just hitting 200 million after more than 15 months of availability. Several reasons factor into Windows 8's slower pace -- among them lackluster sales of Microsoft's Surface tablets and a shortage of touch- and tablet-optimized apps. The company hasn't said much about the upcoming Windows 8.1 Update 1, but rumors point to better compatibility with budget tablets and an interface that favors the classic desktop over the Start screen. Look for that update to hit the market in April.

Not selling as fast as windows 7 did, but 8 is doing fine. In general, people are upgrading to new PCs at a slower rate as well.

More worryingly for Microsoft, the number of people actually using Windows 8 is persistently low. While many businesses technically have purchased Windows 8 licences, few have installed the system on office machines

Mmmm

That said, it might actually be close to what it should have been after Update 1... their desire to get Google levels of spyware on the system with Microsoft prices though... yeah. I assume corporates have interesting block lists.

Winnow wrote:

Windows 8 sales pass the 200 million mark, still trail Windows 7's success

Not selling as fast as windows 7 did, but 8 is doing fine. In general, people are upgrading to new PCs at a slower rate as well.

Which means nothing as far as what customers actually want. They get Windows 8 because that's what comes on their new computer. So all in all a pointless metric other than to show that if the number is down it probably means the number of computers sold is down.

Microsoft has revealed that the company managed to sell 200 million licenses of its latest Windows 8 operating system. The number consists only of licenses that Microsoft sells to OEMs to install on their system and not fresh copies that customers can buy off the shelf or online

Aslanna wrote:
Which means nothing as far as what customers actually want. They get Windows 8 because that's what comes on their new computer. So all in all a pointless metric other than to show that if the number is down it probably means the number of computers sold is down.

I don't really care what the general customer wants. What I care about is Microsoft continuing to sell licenses so I can use an outstanding product (Windows 8 ) despite the tantrums about the Metro interface. I'm fine with however those licenses are sold. Whatever happens regarding the start button and default to desktop changes also don't matter to me as "Metro" is a non factor to anyone that knows how to push a single button and Windows 8 will remain a great interface for tablets and phones as is.

How does that change the fact the interface is inconvenient for what is effectively their entire user base?

It's like optimizing a car to "natively" fuel at 1 out of 100,000 gas stations, otherwise the user has to walk around the car counterclockwise 3 times before filling up.

Not a crisis, just a crappy design for the bulk of their customers.

Aabidano wrote:How does that change the fact the interface is inconvenient for what is effectively their entire user base?

It's like optimizing a car to "natively" fuel at 1 out of 100,000 gas stations, otherwise the user has to walk around the car counterclockwise 3 times before filling up.

Not a crisis, just a crappy design for the bulk of their customers.

The interface is essentially the same as it's always been after you hit the windows key. (or now set to default to desktop)

As much as old school people like to think the desktop will remain forever, touch screens and tablets are ruling the day and becoming dominant along with voice commands. Fuck the general consumer if they are too stupid to hit a single key. Microsoft is doing the right thing in focusing on touch. Thankfully we have incredibly successful companies like Microsoft that can wait out the public's ignorance because they are making tons of money anyway. A company desperate for revenue would crumble and cater too the visionless.

Same goes for Apple. They can say fuck you to those that whine about a "walled garden" which turns out to be the best format considering the horrible virus, low developer profit mess of an app store that Android has (let me know if you want me to break out the stats on that again). iOS is an environment great for both developers and consumers backed by the best tech and development resources on the planet.

Microsoft experimenting with free version of Windows 8.1

Windows 8 (and Bing, lolz) is so hated by nearly everyone that Microsoft has to resort to giving it away for free just to get people to use it (and inflate their user base count). How sad! How about just designing a product that doesn't suck and people want to use.

And MSFT is still raking in unbelievable amounts of cash. Consumer Windows is a gateway drug to make sure the little people are using the same OS that the license paying companies use.

Windows 8 remains the best/most stable version of windows I've ever used.