Who said you had to switch distros to have the carpet pulled out from under you? In a desperate effort to keep up with the latest fashion trends, Linux distros redesign their UIs on a whim.
Just today I downloaded the Mozilla Build VM based on Ubuntu. After maximizing a window (which is now the same as going fullscreen), it took me a minute to figure out how to return it back into a regular window again. Ubuntu got the bright idea of making the window control gadgets invisible after maximizing the window, so you have to mouse over the window name (now on the system menu) to see them. Both the functionality and location of the window gadgets are inconsistent and make no sense whatsoever. 5 more minutes with that VM image left me banging my head on the desk, not only because it was so illogical, but because it didn't even resemble the copy of Ubuntu I tried a couple years ago. Don't even get me started on the scroll bars. After 25 years of scrollbars being a staple of desktop UI design, I found myself asking, "How do these scrollbars work?"
After 12 years of dabbling with Linux out of curiosity, Windows10 has convinced me to make a serious effort to make the switch. Unfortunately, I've got a pile of ISOs on my desk reminding me how difficult that is. Thank goodness VirtualBox makes it easier, or else I'd have given up at this point.
There are an unbelievable number of white houses, but only one White House. I can dig up lots of earth from my backyard, but could I destroy Earth? We're obsessed with medicine and pills, but only one has the distinction of being The Pill.
I've always been amused by generic-sounding names and whether they should be proper pronouns or not. If geeks decide to ignore the AP's guideline, perhaps we should offer them a Kleenex? Or would that be kleenex?
And yet, every web browser is in a war over the speed of their Javascript engine, while many web [app] pages run at a crawl and seem to get slower every day.
At least people who write natively-compiled software got the message that computers aren't getting faster by leaps and bounds every year.
While we're at it, how about we insist web pages stop trying to act more like "apps?"
I can't tell you how many web sites refuse to respond properly to the "Back" button thanks to all the AJAX baloney. Web pages should be stand-alone as well!
I'd upgrade my PC more often if Windows didn't throw a hissy fit every time I replaced my motherboard. What killed my enthusiasm for upgrades was Product Activation, especially after my first hardware upgrade with XP and having to call Microsoft and ask for permissions to use my PC again.
Which is another thing with iPads: Not only do many of the original models work just fine, but every user that upgrades essentially puts another one on the market and takes out another potential buyer.
When old products retain their value, this suggests the new ones aren't good enough, not that the old ones work just fine. Decades of tech have always shown that even terrific products go on sale after a year... once the new models are released.
...people having loud animated conversations on their cell phones in crowded public spaces are rude.
I think trains and planes are about the only crowded public spaces where people don't regularly have loud, animated conversations. Ever been to a restaurant?
Lately, MS has gotten into the habit of including the phrase, "on some computers" to many of their updates.
No wonder people have been reporting inconsistent results. Nothing annoys me more than when I have a problem, and some sheep rises up and shouts, "Well, it works fine for ME!"
This is why we need proper documentation. "Resolves a problem in Windows" is simply not good enough.
It's worth pointing out that Windows10 isn't free. If you're buying/building a new PC, you need to buy a license. Given that almost all of MS's sales come from OEM bundles with new computers, its unlikely that giving it away for free to people with existing computers will hurt their bottom line.
Besides, against my recommendation, my dad insisted that I install the free update to Windows10 on his media center. The compatibility tools said the PC was compatible with Win10, but after the update hardly anything worked. Apparently the PC is too old and Win10 drivers are lacking. If we weren't into building out own computers, I supposed the logical next step would be to buy a new PC with a new Windows10 OEM license. What has MS to lose?
If there were a documented way to turn off all the data harvesting in Windows 10 (and have it stay turned-off), I'd have moved to Windows 10 weeks ago.
Even that wouldn't be good enough for me anymore.
First, it's pretty obvious that if a company has the gall to collect personal data in the first place, they are just testing the waters to see how far they can go before people complain. It's only a matter of time before they go a little further. Like most applications that slowly hide features and allow you to "restore" them with a simple config file change, you know it's only a matter of time before the features and config settings will be removed entirely due to the fact that, "According to our telemetry, nobody uses that feature."
Second, it's been brought to my attention that Windows10 is locking certain settings if they OS thinks you are abusing them. Win10 allows you to defer updates rather than install them right away, but if you defer updates too many times, the OS will lock out the control panel option to defer updates, forcing you to update on a schedule determined by the OS. Yes, the option in the control panel is actually greyed out and won't allow you to change it anymore. Do you really have a choice if that choice has an expiration date or will only work a limited number of times?
The FBI is getting this case in the news and will use it to write new laws which will force companies to comply. Apple is getting tons of positive publicity as they are still within the letter of the law.
Both will be winners in the long term, and I find it rather unlikely that there will be any hard feelings when all is said and done.
Sure they do. Designers now make their pages behave like "apps" with AJAX everywhere, loading content on demand to reduce overall traffic!
Of course, the actual effect is that the "Back" button and all other standard navigation breaks, URLs don't update, scroll bars get fucked up, direct links are impossible, and browser memory usage balloons, making the site feel more like a Flash-based page from the 1990's.
I don't understand the logic of sacrificing storage capacity for seek time. In which case, you merely end up with an incompetent SSD, an defeat the whole purpose of having a HHD in the first place.
Wouldn't it make more sense to leverage the whole advantage of a HHD and go strictly for capacity, and use more intelligent caching or more hybrid technology to reduce seek time? You can already fit a lot of platters into the 3.5" format, and stuffing more hardware into a single enclosure will probably result in too many other trade-offs to be worth it, like reduced reliability. That's especially true if the new drives are made in such small quantities that economy of scale makes the 3.5" format a better choice in the end, anyway.
Seems like another attempt to force a new format on the market, whether it's needed or not.
Google will not retain any of the data beyond two weeks, and then only in aggregated form and only for the purpose of improving the shield service.
I'd like to see someone prove this.
I recently got an invoice from my new health insurance provider, and was shocked to see that for my convenience, the password for my online account was printed in clear text on the bill. My first reaction was, "that can't possibly be legal, can it?"
No corporation, no matter how large, can be trusted with your data once they have it in their possession. They can claim that they aggregate the data and keep it for only two weeks, but there's no way I'll believe that.
The sad thing is that people don't need to be paid to shill.
When I discuss what Win10 is doing with ordinary non-geeks, the reactions usually vary from, "It's not a big deal", to "Oh, I doubt they're doing that". Almost everybody agrees that the control panel options to disable the spyware actually do work, so there's no reason to worry. There doesn't really need to be an excuse for what MS is doing, because even when people are informed about what's happening, they still don't see why there's anything wrong and see us nerdy weirdos as paranoid. Interestingly enough, every day I keep finding more and more people that support Windows10 and actually like it. Hey, it's free, so why not?
I don't like Linux and have always had trouble when experimenting with various distros over the last 12-or-so years. Nonetheless, I am very thankful that it exists and will be switching my workstation to it shortly. My game machine runs Win 7, though, and I honestly have no idea what to do when that OS no longer runs the newest games.
Then perhaps the best policy is to inform the user so they can make an educated decision.
But, you know, information these days is dangerous. Decision paralysis and all that. Might as well make things easy and just disable everything, just to be safe.
Microwaves and other electronics will frequently have tamper avoidance measures built into them for safety reasons
...meant for people who don't know what the hell they're doing. Whether the anti-tamper measure is meant to prevent repair is a separate issue. Laws are supposed to take intent into account when regulating corporations.
does that mean you don't own your microwave?
Of course not. The repairman doesn't own your device, either. As the owner, it should still your choice who you pick to do the tampering on your behalf.
A biometric sensor may be tamper-proofed for security reasons (which is exactly what happened here)
Well, technically yes, but the security was meant for the manufacturer, not the owner.
If you don't already have a previous versions of Windows installed and you want Windows 10, you need to buy a new copy at full price. That's $140 for the OEM "Pro" version.
Unless MS is offering a "Windows7 mode" that I don't know about, you're not getting two for the price of one.
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Who said you had to switch distros to have the carpet pulled out from under you? In a desperate effort to keep up with the latest fashion trends, Linux distros redesign their UIs on a whim.
Just today I downloaded the Mozilla Build VM based on Ubuntu. After maximizing a window (which is now the same as going fullscreen), it took me a minute to figure out how to return it back into a regular window again. Ubuntu got the bright idea of making the window control gadgets invisible after maximizing the window, so you have to mouse over the window name (now on the system menu) to see them. Both the functionality and location of the window gadgets are inconsistent and make no sense whatsoever. 5 more minutes with that VM image left me banging my head on the desk, not only because it was so illogical, but because it didn't even resemble the copy of Ubuntu I tried a couple years ago. Don't even get me started on the scroll bars. After 25 years of scrollbars being a staple of desktop UI design, I found myself asking, "How do these scrollbars work?"
After 12 years of dabbling with Linux out of curiosity, Windows10 has convinced me to make a serious effort to make the switch. Unfortunately, I've got a pile of ISOs on my desk reminding me how difficult that is. Thank goodness VirtualBox makes it easier, or else I'd have given up at this point.
Modern marketing: because claiming "fair use" doesn't cut it.
There are an unbelievable number of white houses, but only one White House. I can dig up lots of earth from my backyard, but could I destroy Earth? We're obsessed with medicine and pills, but only one has the distinction of being The Pill.
I've always been amused by generic-sounding names and whether they should be proper pronouns or not. If geeks decide to ignore the AP's guideline, perhaps we should offer them a Kleenex? Or would that be kleenex?
This is probably closer to what Mozilla would have in mind: Lightspeed
To amend your point, I have one phrase: "Single point of failure"
According to rumors, Apple intends to solve this by using a curved glass, ensuring that a glossy screens will always glare at any angle.
RISC OS? Cool. For a long time, I thought only the Amiga had that feature, and I absolutely loved it.
And yet, every web browser is in a war over the speed of their Javascript engine, while many web [app] pages run at a crawl and seem to get slower every day.
At least people who write natively-compiled software got the message that computers aren't getting faster by leaps and bounds every year.
While we're at it, how about we insist web pages stop trying to act more like "apps?"
I can't tell you how many web sites refuse to respond properly to the "Back" button thanks to all the AJAX baloney. Web pages should be stand-alone as well!
I'd upgrade my PC more often if Windows didn't throw a hissy fit every time I replaced my motherboard. What killed my enthusiasm for upgrades was Product Activation, especially after my first hardware upgrade with XP and having to call Microsoft and ask for permissions to use my PC again.
I really wish Linux were an option.
Which is another thing with iPads: Not only do many of the original models work just fine, but every user that upgrades essentially puts another one on the market and takes out another potential buyer.
When old products retain their value, this suggests the new ones aren't good enough, not that the old ones work just fine. Decades of tech have always shown that even terrific products go on sale after a year... once the new models are released.
...people having loud animated conversations on their cell phones in crowded public spaces are rude.
I think trains and planes are about the only crowded public spaces where people don't regularly have loud, animated conversations. Ever been to a restaurant?
Lately, MS has gotten into the habit of including the phrase, "on some computers" to many of their updates.
No wonder people have been reporting inconsistent results. Nothing annoys me more than when I have a problem, and some sheep rises up and shouts, "Well, it works fine for ME!"
This is why we need proper documentation. "Resolves a problem in Windows" is simply not good enough.
It's worth pointing out that Windows10 isn't free. If you're buying/building a new PC, you need to buy a license. Given that almost all of MS's sales come from OEM bundles with new computers, its unlikely that giving it away for free to people with existing computers will hurt their bottom line.
Besides, against my recommendation, my dad insisted that I install the free update to Windows10 on his media center. The compatibility tools said the PC was compatible with Win10, but after the update hardly anything worked. Apparently the PC is too old and Win10 drivers are lacking. If we weren't into building out own computers, I supposed the logical next step would be to buy a new PC with a new Windows10 OEM license. What has MS to lose?
If there were a documented way to turn off all the data harvesting in Windows 10 (and have it stay turned-off), I'd have moved to Windows 10 weeks ago.
Even that wouldn't be good enough for me anymore.
First, it's pretty obvious that if a company has the gall to collect personal data in the first place, they are just testing the waters to see how far they can go before people complain. It's only a matter of time before they go a little further. Like most applications that slowly hide features and allow you to "restore" them with a simple config file change, you know it's only a matter of time before the features and config settings will be removed entirely due to the fact that, "According to our telemetry, nobody uses that feature."
Second, it's been brought to my attention that Windows10 is locking certain settings if they OS thinks you are abusing them. Win10 allows you to defer updates rather than install them right away, but if you defer updates too many times, the OS will lock out the control panel option to defer updates, forcing you to update on a schedule determined by the OS. Yes, the option in the control panel is actually greyed out and won't allow you to change it anymore. Do you really have a choice if that choice has an expiration date or will only work a limited number of times?
The FBI is getting this case in the news and will use it to write new laws which will force companies to comply. Apple is getting tons of positive publicity as they are still within the letter of the law.
Both will be winners in the long term, and I find it rather unlikely that there will be any hard feelings when all is said and done.
Sure they do. Designers now make their pages behave like "apps" with AJAX everywhere, loading content on demand to reduce overall traffic!
Of course, the actual effect is that the "Back" button and all other standard navigation breaks, URLs don't update, scroll bars get fucked up, direct links are impossible, and browser memory usage balloons, making the site feel more like a Flash-based page from the 1990's.
To me, that sounds less "pretty much safe" and more "Black-Friday safe."
I don't understand the logic of sacrificing storage capacity for seek time. In which case, you merely end up with an incompetent SSD, an defeat the whole purpose of having a HHD in the first place.
Wouldn't it make more sense to leverage the whole advantage of a HHD and go strictly for capacity, and use more intelligent caching or more hybrid technology to reduce seek time? You can already fit a lot of platters into the 3.5" format, and stuffing more hardware into a single enclosure will probably result in too many other trade-offs to be worth it, like reduced reliability. That's especially true if the new drives are made in such small quantities that economy of scale makes the 3.5" format a better choice in the end, anyway.
Seems like another attempt to force a new format on the market, whether it's needed or not.
Google will not retain any of the data beyond two weeks, and then only in aggregated form and only for the purpose of improving the shield service.
I'd like to see someone prove this.
I recently got an invoice from my new health insurance provider, and was shocked to see that for my convenience, the password for my online account was printed in clear text on the bill. My first reaction was, "that can't possibly be legal, can it?"
No corporation, no matter how large, can be trusted with your data once they have it in their possession. They can claim that they aggregate the data and keep it for only two weeks, but there's no way I'll believe that.
The sad thing is that people don't need to be paid to shill.
When I discuss what Win10 is doing with ordinary non-geeks, the reactions usually vary from, "It's not a big deal", to "Oh, I doubt they're doing that". Almost everybody agrees that the control panel options to disable the spyware actually do work, so there's no reason to worry. There doesn't really need to be an excuse for what MS is doing, because even when people are informed about what's happening, they still don't see why there's anything wrong and see us nerdy weirdos as paranoid. Interestingly enough, every day I keep finding more and more people that support Windows10 and actually like it. Hey, it's free, so why not?
I don't like Linux and have always had trouble when experimenting with various distros over the last 12-or-so years. Nonetheless, I am very thankful that it exists and will be switching my workstation to it shortly. My game machine runs Win 7, though, and I honestly have no idea what to do when that OS no longer runs the newest games.
Then perhaps the best policy is to inform the user so they can make an educated decision.
But, you know, information these days is dangerous. Decision paralysis and all that. Might as well make things easy and just disable everything, just to be safe.
Microwaves and other electronics will frequently have tamper avoidance measures built into them for safety reasons
...meant for people who don't know what the hell they're doing. Whether the anti-tamper measure is meant to prevent repair is a separate issue. Laws are supposed to take intent into account when regulating corporations.
does that mean you don't own your microwave?
Of course not. The repairman doesn't own your device, either. As the owner, it should still your choice who you pick to do the tampering on your behalf.
A biometric sensor may be tamper-proofed for security reasons (which is exactly what happened here)
Well, technically yes, but the security was meant for the manufacturer, not the owner.
If you don't already have a previous versions of Windows installed and you want Windows 10, you need to buy a new copy at full price. That's $140 for the OEM "Pro" version.
Unless MS is offering a "Windows7 mode" that I don't know about, you're not getting two for the price of one.
The test results don't make sense, anyway. Wouldn't it be better to collect information into a log and then send that log once a day with a scheduler?
Who needs to worry about thousands of connections when only one is needed?