I bought TurboTax 2018 from Amazon. Then, I discovered that Amazon does NOT allow a direct download. It is necessary to download and install an Amazon program, and then use that to download what you have bought. So, Amazon has apparently arranged control over customer's computers!
I will ask the TurboTax company for the SHA-256 of TurboTax 2018.
In the future, I will be FAR more careful about buying from Amazon.
Quote from the story: "The report adds that the price cuts are expected to last at least through the end of the year."
I'm guessing that means that the prices will be sneakily raised later.
I've seen a lot of insufficient management on Amazon. There are many misleading items on Amazon. For example, this King Size 100% Cotton Sheet Set was advertised as costing $7.45. On Amazon it says "+ $11.55 shipping". The true cost with shipping is $19. The top reviews say that the sheets are not cotton.
Amazon bought "Whole" Foods and extended its business when Amazon managers are not managing the core business well.
1) Grocery stores always supply plastic bags for fruits and vegetables, for example.
When articles say "banning plastic bags", they mean not supplying large plastic bags at the checkout stand.
2) Putting everything in a shopping cart, going to a car, and transferring everything to cloth bags owned by the shopper works well.
Banning plastic bags is supported by paper bag manufacturers. Stores in and near Portland, Oregon stopped supplying plastic bags. The underlying reason appeared to be that International Paper (world map) has a plant near Portland. Grocery stores there don't fill the paper bags because the paper bags are fragile, especially when they get wet in the rain.
Paper is FAR more damaging to the environment. First, a huge truck must go to a place where there are trees. The trees are cut and trucked to a processing plant. The plant uses poisonous chemicals to make the paper.
"CMPC is a Chilean pulp and paper company, being one of the biggest in Latin America.... Revenue: US$ 5.1 billion (2017)"
Another plant: CELCO Valdivia Pulp Mill pollution: "The company had been dumping more dioxins and heavy metals than had been approved by the regulating agencies into the river from a waste tube that had been approved by the authorities. It had also been producing far above levels approved in its Environmental Impact Assessment, and was cited for multiple violations of environmental and health laws."
"In July 2007 CELCO agreed to pay CLP$614 millions to Valdivian tourism companies to avoid legal actions for supposed losses of the tourism sector of Valdivia due to contamination of Carlos Anwandter Nature Sanctuary."
"The Secretary of State for the Environment said that, despite having large financial and technical resources, CELCO had an extremely poor environmental record."
We re-use plastic bags to line wastebaskets, and to throw away wet materials. We always throw paper bags away.
Paper buried in trash areas can eventually degrade, but that usually doesn't happen because there is usually not enough oxygen to support the breakdown process.
How much oil is used to make plastic?: "Although crude oil is a source of raw material (feedstock) for making plastics, it is not the major source of feedstock for plastics production in the United States."
The natural gas used to make plastic bags is less polluting. Still a problem, but not as much of a problem as using oil.
Bill Gates still manages Microsoft: Two years ago, during a Jan. 17, 2017 discussion with Charlie Rose, Bill Gates said he spends "15 percent" of his time managing Microsoft. I interpreted that to mean that Gates is still extremely involved and very influential. Did Gates want the mess that is Windows 10?
From the transcript at that Charlie Rose web page:
08:42
"Bill Gates: I'm there about 15 percent of the time. And I get to work just on the R and D part, brainstorming with people, thinking, OK, how are we going to take this artificial intelligence and make it understand, help you use your time better. It's a very exciting time in software. There's five companies that are, you know, in a really strong position. Microsoft is leading in some really cool stuff so --"
It seems obvious that Bill Gates still has a huge amount of overall influence on the management of Microsoft, even if he mostly focuses on other subjects.
Quote: "Hundreds of thousands of people have poured onto the streets of central London asking to have a final say on Britain's departure from the European Union."
The 2 comments above this one disagreed. I think you are correct. I've done electronic design and computer programming. The entire 737 MAX-8 new system components need re-consideration.
"This is being sold as antivirus, but in reality it'll be a way for Microsoft to start gathering data on MacOS users..."
Microsoft has apparently abandoned the policy of making software that has only the stated goal. Microsoft does not describe updates accurately.
The result is that an update to "Microsoft Defender" can do anything Microsoft wants. An "update" can take control over your computer.
I recently ran Defender on a Windows 7 desktop computer. Immediately after weird things began happening. Is Microsoft trying to discourage the use of Windows 7?
Pale Moon tries to convince you not to use the NoScript add-on, and sometimes deletes NoScript.
Pale Moon also doesn't allow the use of the Ghostery add-on. It is necessary to use the Disconnect add-on, which has both a free and paid version, and has a much-less-useful user interface.
In Windows, you can view the CPU and memory usage using the free Process Explorer.
Mark Russinovich may be the best programmer Microsoft ever hired. My experience is that most Microsoft programmers leave obvious defects in what they write. Do Microsoft programmers do that so that there will always be more work for them to do?
"1) Understated the power of the new flight control system, which was designed to swivel the horizontal tail to push the nose of the plane down to avert a stall. When the planes later entered service, MCAS was capable of moving the tail more than four times farther than was stated in the initial safety analysis document."
"2) Failed to account for how the system could reset itself each time a pilot responded, thereby missing the potential impact of the system repeatedly pushing the airplane's nose downward."
"3)...
I think this is the most important story on Slashdot in a long time.
Slashdot Mirror
I bought TurboTax 2018 from Amazon. Then, I discovered that Amazon does NOT allow a direct download. It is necessary to download and install an Amazon program, and then use that to download what you have bought. So, Amazon has apparently arranged control over customer's computers!
I will ask the TurboTax company for the SHA-256 of TurboTax 2018.
In the future, I will be FAR more careful about buying from Amazon.
Links to articles show Microsoft's VERY poor management.
1) Amazon is being a partner to fraud! The item being sold is not the item being advertised. There are many, many items like that on Amazon.
2) It is unhealthy to engage in personal attacks, as you did.
Quote from the story: "The report adds that the price cuts are expected to last at least through the end of the year."
I'm guessing that means that the prices will be sneakily raised later.
I've seen a lot of insufficient management on Amazon. There are many misleading items on Amazon. For example, this King Size 100% Cotton Sheet Set was advertised as costing $7.45. On Amazon it says "+ $11.55 shipping". The true cost with shipping is $19. The top reviews say that the sheets are not cotton.
Amazon bought "Whole" Foods and extended its business when Amazon managers are not managing the core business well.
1) Grocery stores always supply plastic bags for fruits and vegetables, for example. When articles say "banning plastic bags", they mean not supplying large plastic bags at the checkout stand.
2) Putting everything in a shopping cart, going to a car, and transferring everything to cloth bags owned by the shopper works well.
The stories about plastic in the oceans usually fail to mention that it got there because some countries allow plastic in their rivers! For example: Five Asian Countries Dump More Plastic Into Oceans Than Anyone Else Combined: How You Can Help (Apr 21, 2018)
... Revenue: US$ 5.1 billion (2017)"
Banning plastic bags is supported by paper bag manufacturers. Stores in and near Portland, Oregon stopped supplying plastic bags. The underlying reason appeared to be that International Paper (world map) has a plant near Portland. Grocery stores there don't fill the paper bags because the paper bags are fragile, especially when they get wet in the rain.
Paper is FAR more damaging to the environment. First, a huge truck must go to a place where there are trees. The trees are cut and trucked to a processing plant. The plant uses poisonous chemicals to make the paper.
There are MANY examples of paper plant pollution. Here is a Slashdot story: Chile Becomes First Country In Americas To Ban Plastic Bags.
"CMPC is a Chilean pulp and paper company, being one of the biggest in Latin America.
Another plant: CELCO Valdivia Pulp Mill pollution: "The company had been dumping more dioxins and heavy metals than had been approved by the regulating agencies into the river from a waste tube that had been approved by the authorities. It had also been producing far above levels approved in its Environmental Impact Assessment, and was cited for multiple violations of environmental and health laws."
"In July 2007 CELCO agreed to pay CLP$614 millions to Valdivian tourism companies to avoid legal actions for supposed losses of the tourism sector of Valdivia due to contamination of Carlos Anwandter Nature Sanctuary."
"The Secretary of State for the Environment said that, despite having large financial and technical resources, CELCO had an extremely poor environmental record."
We re-use plastic bags to line wastebaskets, and to throw away wet materials. We always throw paper bags away.
Paper buried in trash areas can eventually degrade, but that usually doesn't happen because there is usually not enough oxygen to support the breakdown process. How much oil is used to make plastic?: "Although crude oil is a source of raw material (feedstock) for making plastics, it is not the major source of feedstock for plastics production in the United States."
The natural gas used to make plastic bags is less polluting. Still a problem, but not as much of a problem as using oil.
"It's more greed than anything else..."
"Greed" is poor management. You gave examples that are due to insufficient management.
We are seeing many examples of insufficient management. (The biggest recent example is Boeing.)
Google has damaged its reputation by allowing abuse associated with its Android operating system, in my opinion.
Cell phone companies want bad operation so they can sell more new cell phones.
The links above, live:
Many Windows 10 Users Unable To Connect To Windows Update Service.
Windows 7 Users Who Installed January Update Report Network Issues; Some Say the Update Has Also Incorrectly Flagged Their OS License as 'Not Genuine'.
Windows 10 Will Reserve 7GB of Your Computer's Storage in its Next Major Release So That Big Updates Don't Fail.
Latest Windows 10 Update Breaks Windows Media Player, Win32 Apps In General
Microsoft Resumes Rollout of Windows 10 Version 1809, Promises Quality Changes.
Microsoft's Problem Isn't How Often it Updates Windows -- It's How It Develops It.
More links to stories showing that Microsoft is VERY poorly managed:
Windows 10 is possibly the worst spyware ever made. "Buried in the service agreement is permission to poke through everything on your PC." (Aug. 4, 2015)
Windows 10 shows you ads while you are trying to work. But, at least at present, you may be able to stop at least some of the advertising: 7 ways Windows 10 pushes ads at you, and how to stop them.
Microsoft's Intolerable Windows 10 Aggression (May 27, 2016)
Microsoft is infesting Windows 10 with annoying ads (March 17, 2017)
Microsoft, stop sabotaging Windows 10. (March 21, 2017)
Bill Gates still manages Microsoft: Two years ago, during a Jan. 17, 2017 discussion with Charlie Rose, Bill Gates said he spends "15 percent" of his time managing Microsoft. I interpreted that to mean that Gates is still extremely involved and very influential. Did Gates want the mess that is Windows 10?
From the transcript at that Charlie Rose web page:
08:42
"Bill Gates: I'm there about 15 percent of the time. And I get to work just on the R and D part, brainstorming with people, thinking, OK, how are we going to take this artificial intelligence and make it understand, help you use your time better. It's a very exciting time in software. There's five companies that are, you know, in a really strong position. Microsoft is leading in some really cool stuff so --"
It seems obvious that Bill Gates still has a huge amount of overall influence on the management of Microsoft, even if he mostly focuses on other subjects.
Mass London protest demands second referendum on Brexit. (Mar 23, 2019)
Quote: "Hundreds of thousands of people have poured onto the streets of central London asking to have a final say on Britain's departure from the European Union."
In some ways, RMS lacks social ability.
Everything I've been able to learn has indicated that there are major design errors in the guidance system of the Boeing 737 MAX-8.
What is the EU and how does it work? An un-dated explanation by the BBC. (Before the end of 2017.)
I posted this comment. It has been modded down: The British government is VERY poorly managed.
One example: The EU leave campaign has dishonesty at its core-- and it hasn't convinced us. (Mar. 11, 2016, not 2019)
Brexit: All you need to know about the UK leaving the EU (Jan. 31, 2019)
In general, the British government has presented low-level details, and not generally helped citizens have a serious, in-depth understanding.
More than 4 million sign Brexit petition to revoke article 50.
See the Petition. 4,392,160 signatures at Saturday, March 23, 2019, 09:11 am Pacific Time.
"Boeing should just scrap the design."
. (Mar. 20, 2019)
The 2 comments above this one disagreed. I think you are correct. I've done electronic design and computer programming. The entire 737 MAX-8 new system components need re-consideration.
Others agree. For example: Boeing 737 MAX-8 Scandal Grows: Doomed Lion Air Flight Should Never Have Flown. (Yesterday, Mar. 21, 2019)
FBI joining criminal investigation into certification of Boeing 737 MAX
Pentagon to probe if Shanahan used office to help Boeing. (Mar. 20, 2019) "Shanahan, 56, joined Boeing in 1986, rose through its ranks and is credited with rescuing the troubled Dreamliner 787 program."
Boeing has a history of flawed management: A flawed missile defense system generates $2 billion in bonuses for Boeing (Sept. 2, 2016)
"This is being sold as antivirus, but in reality it'll be a way for Microsoft to start gathering data on MacOS users..."
Microsoft has apparently abandoned the policy of making software that has only the stated goal. Microsoft does not describe updates accurately.
The result is that an update to "Microsoft Defender" can do anything Microsoft wants. An "update" can take control over your computer.
I recently ran Defender on a Windows 7 desktop computer. Immediately after weird things began happening. Is Microsoft trying to discourage the use of Windows 7?
The British government is VERY poorly managed.
Britain is exiting the European Union: Brexit. The idea was presented in a dishonest manner to get people to approve: Brexit is not the will of the British people -- it never has been.
(There are many ways in which the U.S. government is poorly managed, also.)
Thanks! I'm using an old version of Firefox because I need the add-ons.
Soon I will try to find add-ons I need that work with the newest version. Hours of work.
Pale Moon tries to convince you not to use the NoScript add-on, and sometimes deletes NoScript.
Pale Moon also doesn't allow the use of the Ghostery add-on. It is necessary to use the Disconnect add-on, which has both a free and paid version, and has a much-less-useful user interface.
In Windows, you can view the CPU and memory usage using the free Process Explorer.
Mark Russinovich may be the best programmer Microsoft ever hired. My experience is that most Microsoft programmers leave obvious defects in what they write. Do Microsoft programmers do that so that there will always be more work for them to do?
"... some websites ... make Firefox run at 100% cpu."
I see that problem, also. It seems that, after many years, that would have been fixed.
Also, why does Firefox consume CPU power and add to memory usage when you are viewing something else?
ANOTHER example of poor management at Boeing: Boeing tanker jets grounded due to tools and debris left during manufacturing. (Feb. 28, 2019)
The safety analysis:
...
"1) Understated the power of the new flight control system, which was designed to swivel the horizontal tail to push the nose of the plane down to avert a stall. When the planes later entered service, MCAS was capable of moving the tail more than four times farther than was stated in the initial safety analysis document."
"2) Failed to account for how the system could reset itself each time a pilot responded, thereby missing the potential impact of the system repeatedly pushing the airplane's nose downward."
"3)
I think this is the most important story on Slashdot in a long time.
The article linked by Slashdot is the best, deepest story in a long time: Flawed analysis, failed oversight: How Boeing, FAA certified the suspect 737 MAX flight control system.