Posts by ShelLuser
1479 posts • joined Sunday 19th December 2010 15:08 GMT
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Not much to discuss or see here...
I have to admit that MS does one thing right; trying to pay as little attention to the desktop users as possible. Touch, move, display and all those buzzwords. For example; with the introduction of Windows 8 and the several demo's how many days into that presentation event did it take for them to finally mention the fact that the start menu was gone for desktop users ?
So quite frankly I doubt critics like myself (who only have the desktop in mind) will get any wiser here. I've said it many times; would I get myself a tablet then I'd definitely be looking into Windows 8. The demo's look good, Metro makes fully sense within that context and from what I've seen so far the friendliness seems pretty slick.
What does keep me wondering is if they'll extend their functionality in Windows phone 8. Considering how a tablet with Win8 can utilize networking (so I assume) and as such access other Windows computers across a network (wifi?) it will be interesting to see if they finally made that possible with Windows phone as well. At the very least it would bring some functionality back to the level which WM6 had.
I really think that feature could be a winner here.... "Too big to mail you say? Oh, I don't have a memory stick with me right now... Nah, you don't want to put that stuff onto Skydrive, who knows WHAT MS might do with it. I know; put it into your shared docs, I'll grab it with my phone instead...".
No fun intended here but I know I'd be /seriously/ looking into a Windows phone upgrade when that would be possible!
@Jim
I know we've been trolled, but for the sake of discussion he does have a small point (as trolls always do) that first versions usually leave some issues open. Those will eventually get fixed by an update or worse (service pack).
But apart from that I wholeheartedly agree with you with XP and Windows 7 in mind.
And there's also the issue of people running rather peculiar applications and eventually blaming the OS for its failures. For example, running WinGPG on a localized version (Dutch) of Windows 7 is unfortunately not the best of ideas (if you use Office apps. such as Excel or use Windows' backup). Due to the incompatibility it tries to change locale settings, which can make Windows complaint when it gets a . where it expected a ,.
@Miguel
You actually married a snow woman?
(sorry, couldn't resist!)
@boltar
Since we're stereotyping I'm gonna chip in too...
To be honest it wouldn't surprise me if the US would plant several explosives and eventually blow the entire thing open, beats the time of drilling after all....
Back to reality; I think you're giving the Russians way too little credit than they deserve. "Dictator Putin"? While I agree that their life style doesn't match our ideas of freedom I'm pretty confident than most Russians enjoy more freedom than your average Iraqi in the current "liberated" Iraq.
Very disturbing and illogical move.
The reasoning behind this change makes some sense IMO. If you cannot rely on the CRL distribution points being available then it makes sense to try and solve this problem. We all know that Google has bandwidth to spare here.
However; this also poses the question how these certificates got into Chrome in the first place. Or maybe even raises the question why they haven't been removed as soon as it became apparent that these CA's used unreliable CRL distribution points?
This is a disturbing move from Google because it totally negates the intended effect of these CRL lists in the first place. Namely: giving CA's a 'last resort' to revoke certificates ASAP. As soon as a CA discovers a major hole somewhere then there is no time to wait for a browser manufacturer to push its next update. We need those warnings instantly!
A lot of people are full of talk when it comes to internet security, but when the big bucks start talking it all becomes different again... How surprising indeed!
Instead of working around these problems I think Google would have been better off by enforcing their security policies. If your aim is security and someone involved doesn't meet the required expectations then normally you don't lower your standards; you tell the involved parties to stick with the program instead!
@AC
Actually there's more to that story than you're sharing.
Yes, Win7 runs happily on such hardware, question here is "how?". MS always shows Win7 with Aero features enabled, because that's the 'Windows 7 experience' (note that I wholeheartedly agree with that).
However, because that was portrait as such people expected just that on their older PC's. Because "Win7 could run on older hardware". End of the story is that eventually even Microsoft agreed that they may have been a little too optimistic and would change their advertisement accordingly; because Win7 doesn't always run as expected on older hardware (put differently; sometimes there's not enough juice for Aero and such).
Your argument would apply with Windows Vista vs. Windows 7. But when looking at XP its a fact that Win7 is more resource hungry.
@mittfh
"People have been predicting the demise of the desktop PC for years (decades?) and it hasn't came about, at least partially because the platform (while static) is far more customisable (for both OEMs and power users) than a tablet"
That's why we now get Windows 8. If this doesn't kill the desktop and make people scream for touch enabled input then nothing will!
Just too bad that MS hasn't considered the other alternative: people staying on Win7 (maybe even XP) and/or trying to find other alternatives to do their work.
The things look now I'm pretty confident that I won't be upgrading any time soon.
You use either voice control or the new Kinect controller...
Either you yell "shut the f* down" and presto; Win8 will shut itself down. With Kinect support you can even program key gestures. So for example, give it the finger and watch the OS cleanly shut itself down.
No need for confusion and it even relieves you of some stress at the same time!
@AC
You'll run classic right until that moment when you hit start again, which is my main complaint.
I mean; even if you are 90% on the desktop, why do they need to take you completely away from said desktop only to end up firing up an application which puts you right back ?
Even if all you want to do is to look and fire an application you're faced with Metro, there is no way around it.
Well, apart from putting your desktop & taskbar full of icons I suppose, but that doesn't really sound appealing to me. I tend to keep those 'space gobblers' to an absolute minimum.
Well, I know your jesting but when MS' Virtual PC will remain embedded as it is now in Win7 then such a scenario wouldn't surprise me at all.
SO; people start Win8, click on the start icon to start a virtual Windows XP (full screen) and then continue to work with that.
Its already being done on a smaller scale; for example people who hate Windows Live mail and who want to keep Outlook Express. Some simply use Win7's "XP mode" to start the OE version within it.
I got a vision!
You hit the nail on the head...
The maya's must have been right after all... This cycle of doom will continue until Windows 2012 which will be the end for all of us!
@John
Nice words but then the big question becomes what you consider to be progress ?
If by progress you mean better looks yet lesser functionality then by all means. Most people here aren't grumpy. In fact, they might care more for Windows than you may realize.
Most people don't use Windows for fun but to get some work done. And if things start to look as if those tasks will get even more tedious on the new version then is it really so hard to imagine that some people will start to complain ?
Quite frankly; us grumpy people have been here before youngster ;-) This is very comparable with Windows 95 / 98. Microsoft missed the boat to the Internet /big time/ just like they've been ignoring touch enabled devices so far.
And just like is happening now they also started to jump into the Internet face first, without any regard what so ever when it came to functionality. Internet and connectivity was key. So they turned the desktop into an "Active desktop" by default. Meaning that it could display webpage snippets ("active contents") and keep that updated.
Of course; the first versions (iirc this was 95, but could be 98 as well) had one side effect; placing program icons on the desktop would no longer work. Yes; that made "grumpy people" call out as well to ask MS WTF they had been smoking.
Result should be obvious; even in Win7 you can still place icons on the desktop.
Microsoft has an history where they focus on features and gizmo's and lose perspective when it comes to friendliness (or plain out usability).
THAT is why some people may seem very annoyed. "Been there, done that, when are they ever going to learn?".
A trick!
I bet this is a hoax, all setup by Symantec in order to try and stimulate their (IMO:) lame PGP products a little more.
Dumb move if you ask me...
With this move I think Microsoft is going to alienate a /lot/ of users, more than they might realize. Giving desktop users (so people using a mouse or trackball) an environment which was optimized for touch enabled devices is not in their best interest.
My main problems with Win8 (from the looks of it) as missing Aero (when in Metro you can no longer see icons which give you a status update on current operations) and the start menu. For example I've also grown fond of jumplists...
For example; I click start.. wait a sec.. Do I go to the 'virtual pc' to optimize its disk, do I click the 'Downloads' link to check up on that zipfile or shall I update my Word document ? Ok; green bar not fully full on both virtual PC (shutdown process) nor Seamonkey (yes, it fully supports Aero!). SO Word it is.
From what I've heard and read so far; Metro doesn't do this. Sure, we get 'some' desktop-like application but the moment you click start again you will no longer see what's going on.
Its going to be ironic IMO. MS is currently presenting their Windows phone with speed tests ("I can get a picture quicker on facebook, I can quicker get navigation directions from here, I can quicker lookup someone in a picture, etc, etc.). So basically; a guy claims he can perform certain tasks faster with his winphone than you on your own phone.
I wonder what will happen if we put Win7 & Win8 on the desktop to that test. As mentioned above; accessing your programs can be 2 clicks and a few inch drag away. In Metro you'll need that same drag amount to even get to the first tile!
Microsoft has a strange way of "price tagging"...
Years ago I I purchased Dreamweaver 4 (iirc, came with Fireworks 4 as well) in order to maintain several (semi-commercial) websites. The program wasn't all that bad IMO but when looking back it obviously left much to desire.
Now; Microsoft also has an HTML editor; Expression Web. I demo'd version 4 last year and decided that this was actually pretty nice. Expression Web 4 came with Expression Design 4 which basically gives me the same "Dreamweaver 4" like toolbox but supporting modern standards (obviously it can do php, asp, etc.). Funny thing is that even the color scheme of the splash screens somewhat matches (green & red).
SO; I go to the Microsoft store, the Dutch counterpart, and there is was: "Expression Studio Professional", available only in English (which obviously isn't a problem) and 'only' E 189,-, whether I pick the boxed version or the downloaded version. That alone is a bit odd, but ok...
And so I go to the US store. Easily done with the click of a mouse button (change your country; in my case from 'Nederland' to 'United States').
Guess what? NOW Expression Studio Professional only costs $149,95 and is available as a download only. So that's E 115,-.
So quite frankly such news doesn't surprise me at all!
@AC
Yes and no. Because I also recall that they were called back by a Judge and ended up having to pay damages. In the mean time Amazon also openly admitted that deletion wasn't the best of ideas and they would avoid doing so in the future.
Quite frankly I don't see Apple ever doing that because they have a tendency not to care too much about public opinion and sometimes even the law.
Nostalgic...
Suddenly I get the urge to pick up a copy of NT4 somewhere (TechNet) and slap it onto a VM. Simply because I can, and its sometimes actually fun to see how those older OS's worked out.
Having worked with NT4 (client) I have to say that for the stuff it did it wasn't all that bad back then.
Anyone remember the 'server hack' ? With a simple registry key change (and copying a splash screen over) you could actually change Windows NT4 client into a server.
Hmm, makes you wonder if they'll port that one over as well :-)
@Jimmy
Agreed!
Its the one thing I can't understand; Ballmer keeps shouting "developers, developers, developers...", maybe even to rock himself to sleep. But when it comes to introducing a new platform those developers are all of a sudden held at bay (to some extend).
Sure; the tools and information is all freely available. But if people want to use their apps on their own phone then they need to pull out their creditcards first.
You can say about Android what you want, but at least they managed to get this issue sorted out; stuff goes through the marketplace /but/ if users opt-in for "insecure" applications then you can also supply apps. through http or e-mail.
And that is much nicer on the home-developers. Which IMO should be key considering how they are most likely the ones who may eventually fill up the marketplace.
Posted in Windows Phone 8 to get NFC, HD and Skype
@hplasm
Of course your guess is as good as mine, but it wouldn't surprise me either if MS would simply pull all WM7 devices in order to have these replaced with WM8.
After all; it's what they do with Windows.
Posted in Windows Phone 8 to get NFC, HD and Skype
@Jim
" I've heard it not multitasking even."
You heard wrong
No, he heard right. The first model did not support multitasking, nor other common features such as using your own mp3 file as a ringtone. You can even read this in MS' official phone specs; not being able to multitask was actually considered a key feature in order to enhance security.
So the right answer is: "Yes you're right, but Microsoft has fixed this in the latest update."
Posted in Windows Phone 8 to get NFC, HD and Skype
The only problem...
Is that this is a new device and OS release thus its no doubt coming with its own share of ickyness or lackings. As we have seen with the Windows phone itself; the first version left /many/ things to desire, and the reason I mention this is because this included features which were plain out common for phones.
The Mango update solved a lot and IMO it looks pretty impressive in its own.
Yet I have to wonder.. Why not continue with the current line instead of walking down the road with possible problems again ?
I've been quite cynical about the WM and it turns out most complaints involved the first release.
My only gripe with WM7 / WM8 at this time is the lockdown. They provide the SDK and everything you need to write programs for free, but the moment you want to put your own software onto your own phone you have to cough up E100,-/year. If only it would support Java ME....
Does this mean total "lock down" ?
I've been using Windows 7 for a while now and because I like tinkering a bit also grabbed the Express (free) versions for VB and C#. Quite frankly I like it, it allows me to do some .NET tinkering, and I can even utilize all this stuff for other environments as well, like Powershell for example which I've also grown to appreciate. In short: I can create my own applications and use them at my leisure on my computer. So far, so good.
SO... With all the talk about WM7 going on I decided to check up on it a little more. Right now I own a 2 year old Samsung Jet for which I've done some (minor!) development using Java ME as well as Samsung's own "widgets". I like being able to run my own apps on my own phone, its fun. Nothing more, nothing less.
After grabbing the WM7 SDK I played with it a little and so far it doesn't look that bad. Comes with VB & C# support, has its own WM7 emulator and you can easily build some basic applications. So far, so good.
BUT... Say I actually own a WM7 device and would now like to put my application onto my phone. Well, that isn't going to happen easily. No sirree; I first need to register myself on their "App Hub" in order to register my phone as being a development environment. Which by itself is understandable; safety first. What I don't understand is that I have to pay E 99,-/year for that subscription. Sure; I now also get to use their marketplace and whatever more. I don't want that; all I want is to run MY applications on MY phone. How hard can it be ?
Yet; not going to happen without coughing up even more dope, after I already paid for my hardware and software. WTF?
As such: would this mean that in Windows 8 I can also no longer easily add my own (Windows / .NET) applications any longer without having to get some dumb subscription first ?
Posted in Sysadmins: Don't get in your own way
Nice article!
Quite frankly I think I got every bit of what the article wanted to get across and personally I fully agree. And although others have a very fair point when it comes to big businesses (techies vs. mangies) there are more aspects to such situations. I've also witnessed situations in which the mangies suggested certain solutions or preferences to the techies only to be met with immediate disdain. Its been a while, but iirc something in the likes of wanting to use Outlook instead of GroupWise. Also because they were already using Office (95 iirc). "Completely impossible" was the immediate verdict. Note that the talk was only about e-mail, nothing related to agenda sharing and such.
In general I too think many developers who are involved with bigger projects are losing perspective of what the end user wants and only stare themselves blind on the project. Its a common trend IMO. Windows 8 ditches the start menu for Metro? Ugh! Why not both? Ubuntu coming up with the "ultimate" GUI; a menu where you type in your options? (and of course no way to go back to the normal menu).
One of my servers runs CentOS 6 which came with a new Midnight Commander.. When I need to search for a file I press F9 - C - F, followed by 'tab' if I need to search for contents (which happens most of the time because filenames are quicker found using 'find' or 'locate'). This is on '2006-09-25-14'.
The new version (4.7.0.2): F9 - C - F, followed by 'tab' because I want to search for contents. Hey, where did the asterisk go which was always put there by default? So now I have to press F9 - C - F, then look for the * and then press tab to start typing what I need. Yeah, MUCH easier NOT!
Those are very STUPID design changes because it makes working with the product actually harder and not easier. And of course all of these examples have no way which allows me to bring back the behavior I've been used to for many /years/ so far (12 years at least when looking at Midnight Commander!!).
The real problem is the legacy
As with a lot of Microsoft software the first version wasn't quite the exciting phone as they proclaimed it to be. Even very simple common tasks such as multitasking or using your own music file for a ringtone wasn't possible. Of course Microsoft has fixed this with the latest upgrade called 'Mango' but many people will only remember that first "horrid" version and as such won't bother trying out new versions for quite some time to come.
And what about those people who may be tempted anyway? Well; in the mean time a new dilemma was created by changing the policy in which the updates are provided. Everyone who works with Windows (or Microsoft software in general) and kept up a little knows that in many cases Microsoft software tends to starts out poorly but eventually does manage to catch on.
So; apply the update (usually done by using 'Windows update') and you're home free.
But what about the Windows phone? Recently Microsoft has announced that updates will now be a responsibility for the network providers; Microsoft itself won't supply any updates themselves anymore.
So here's my dilemma; what if I do buy a Windows phone but end up with a network provider which doesn't provide any updates because "the phone is good as it is" ?
Quite frankly I wouldn't be surprised at all if many people simply played it safe; why risk running into possible problems which are very likely never going to be addressed (due to no updates being provided by the operator) vs. a phone where you have a certain guarantee ?
And as allways...
The solution to the issue is that you simply should not overdo things. Trying to stay healthy by fully limiting yourself to "healthy food" isn't good. Just like eating only unhealthy food such as hamburgers and such all the time is likewise an issue.
Simply make sure that you get enough from both sides of the border. There is no problem with eating unhealthy as long as you make sure that you also get plenty of healthy food. Variation to the things you eat is key here. Which also helps you to stay a little healthier.
Still... You know what's also good for your health? Not reading studies like these and as long as you're happy with your current eating habits simply ignore studies like these entirely. One moment its healthy to drink a glass of wine every now and then, and half a year later studies conclude that drinking wine may actually cause heart problems. Only to be "superseded" by another research which determines that wine is actually good for the brains.
Don't listen to studies; listen to what your body is telling you instead.
They make it easy
To be honest.. Google does provide a very easy target right now. For example, just go to their new policy page and read through it, here:
http://www.google.com/policies/privacy/preview/
Notice anything odd? No? Ok, here's a hint: "Last modified: March 1, 2012 (view archived versions) ".
errrr, its like the first of Februari today (time of writing) wtf ?
Posted in NASA: Solar system may have alien origin
@Mystic
Thats space balls :-) You can recognize them when we suddenly see a giant robot maid in the sky who's coming to suck away our air.
'Virtualization'
Personally I consider "year of the visualization" to be a much better description. The whole "cloud" thing simply sounds too vague and is often based on hype and false assumptions.
The walls come tumbling down...
Before we start taking it up for the "little man" I think its important to mention that Microsoft isn't the only party involved here. It seems some divisions with MS know their strengths and weaknesses, thus they sought help from partners Kasperski and Kyrus. So its definitely not the case of "the big bad US company harassing the Russian nerd".
What I also consider peculiar (or remarkable) is the way the whole case proceeds. When it comes to botnets and such we're talking about a serious threat to the Internet. A threat which could seriously harm all of us. I'd think that such threats would justify some swifter action. Note that I'm not saying we should throw away the lawbooks and "go get them". But this whole thing started in September last year, now almost 5 months later.
Yet when it comes to alleged copyright infrictions (Megaupload for example) then all of a sudden people can get arrested right on the spot. Heck; whole arrest teams are easily dispatched to get the "notorious criminals".
Now, I'm not complaining because in the end I think the most important thing here is that no innocent people get involved here. But as said I do think it to be a little peculiar. Especially since botnets pose a far bigger (and /real/) threat than sharing movies or music. IMO of course.
@Gav
Eventually it is, but not shortly after its being launched. Because in the first stages the rocket will go up, no matter where its destination lies. If the target is on earth it will eventually change its course and fly in the right direction.
However; most countries would already be on full alert even before the rocket has changed its course. Because the quicker you can intercept such a missile the better. And that's not even mentioning retaliation.
@LarG
Maybe, maybe not. I dunno but it is possible to keep an eye out for this. I've read (and then noticed) that dotcom held the leading position in the online FPS game Call of Duty. If he's released I'd imagine that he'll pick up right where he left off.
Pre-emptive warning
Meh, instead of complaining we should be thanking Microsoft ;-)
Isn't it obvious? People used Megaupload for legitimate uses too yet they (most likely) lost all their files. So now MSIE will actively warn us before we're trying to upload our files onto any internet location which isn't Skydrive.
Safety first!
Posted in Dumb salesmen are hurting us – Nokia CEO
It never stops to amaze me...
When there is something going wrong in a big(ger) company its never the CEO or board of directors, but always the "working floor" which is to blame.
Yet when the company is coughing up some big profits then its "remarkable leadership" which has been the cause.
@yossarianuk
I am nitpicking here BUT....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Counterfeiting_Trade_Agreement
If you want to give people evidence of something "bad" then give them the whole story. NOT merely the part of what you want them to read. (I know they can scroll up and read; as said I am nitpicking here).
There is a risk but quite frankly I think there's an even bigger risk with all the contradicting protests. One claims that "the current draft of ACTA would profoundly restrict the fundamental rights and freedoms of European citizens, most notably the freedom of expression and communication privacy" while the other claims that: "ACTA would create unduly harsh legal standards that do not reflect contemporary principles of democratic government, free market exchange, or civil liberties. Even though the precise terms of ACTA remain undecided, the negotiants' preliminary documents reveal many troubling aspects of the proposed agreement".
'Freedom of expression' or a statement which doesn't 'reflect contemporary principals' ?
issues like these have very little public interest unfortunately. And when several groups start spouting several opinions which all end at the same place its only more damaging that doing good.
We have seen this happening with the "European vote" for personal encryption some years ago. Why haven't we learned anything from that yet still think we have what it takes to address major topics ?
Posted in Two Megaupload execs bailed
@AC poster
The way I see it 'the people' (sic) will be all too willing to drop all charges as soon as the terrists (sorry; suspects) are willing to tick in $10K / month for the upcoming 30 years.
Justice isn't served here; greedy boffins are the key beneficials here.
Two things which really upset me in this case... First; what about the people who used the Megaupload servers for legitimate contents? What about their rights ?
Second; if this endeavor was the huge threat as some groups portrait it to be; how come that the music & move industry has seen a /major/ increase in profits on digital media ?
Sure; one can easily argument that "without Megaupload there would have been MORE profit" but honestly.. Isn't the ongoing argument that the income of the authors is plain out threatened with "digital pirating" ?
Question... If the licensing /agency/ (so /not/ the artist!) manages to increase their profits while said artists are on their payroll.... How is this damaging the income of said artists exactly ?
Repeating myself but; this isn't about justice.
Misinformation
I think these people (Virgin Media customers) have every right to be upset, I would too most likely. Just check out their website (virginmedia.com), you won't find anything saying something about e-mail. The packages basically include "broadband, tv, phone, mobile". This isn't even mentioned in their faq's.
Only if you check things yourself will you find that....
[xxx@smtp ~]$ dig virginmedia.com mx
<cut>
;; ANSWER SECTION:
virginmedia.com. 3352 IN MX 10 aspmx3.googlemail.com.
virginmedia.com. 3352 IN MX 1 aspmx.l.google.com.
virginmedia.com. 3352 IN MX 5 alt1.aspmx.l.google.com.
virginmedia.com. 3352 IN MX 5 alt2.aspmx.l.google.com.
virginmedia.com. 3352 IN MX 10 aspmx2.googlemail.com.
'nough said I think. I know I'd be outraged.
Still; some people make valid points above. Don't rely on the ISP's e-mail services for your main address(es). Because what happens if you should decide to switch providers? Right now I think you're better of using a free provider (Yahoo, Hotmail) or maybe even a commercial one (Godaddy provides free e-mail with a domain registration for example).
That way you'll be sure that you're entitled to /some/ sense of privacy and should you ever change ISP's then you won't have to manually inform all of your friends & family.
Cool stuff, BUT...
I own one of the first 'MyBooks' (the blue ring thingie which is only accessible through Window shares), a 'WorldBook' (the critter with the 'white stripe' and the 'Twonky' media server) and a 2Gb yet RAID1 setup WorldBook.
Quite frankly I think the hardware is pretty solid and nifty, yet it has one flaw... These drives seem to have this in common; when something starts to fail you're not really notified of it. The only reason I noticed that my mybook was having problems (after approx. 5 - 6 years of usage) was because some network connections started faltering. One moment a share was available, the other moment it was gone again.
I hope they also addressed this issue in the mean time. Because apart from that I've been extremely satisfied with WD's "My Book" series.
Running after the facts... again!
Solely looking at numbers here there is a good reason why Amazon's EC2 has more users than Googles application cloud. Its not about "good" vs. "bad", its simply that having a full OS under your fingertips is much more versatile (thus appealing) than merely hosting applications. The latter has its uses too, sure, but the people interested in such services won't hold the same amounts.
IMO Microsoft should have realized this up front. Especially since Microsoft entered a market in which they were hardly noticeable yet. Speculating here: could it be that MS aimed at the "application cloud" because that's what Google was doing and Google is the 'mortal enemy' of Microsoft? If so it shows a major flaw in their business model right there. Google already had a massive Internet presence (dunno why, but somehow they are hard not to notice) yet Microsoft's key strengths lies with operating systems (lets ignore the problems with Windows for now). They have a Net presence, sure, but hardly comparable. Heck; people even use Bing to "google a topic". "Google? Yeah, I googled it with Bing!".
And although I think MS is on the right track here I have to wonder; why Linux ? This is once again a market which others have already explored and exploited. MS would once again enter a market where they have little to no presence...
Why not focus on key strengths? Put Windows servers in their Azure cloud instead, and then provide these for the (SOHO) market? MS is already supplying some (IMO:) excellent clouding services, just take a look at how Skydrive is fully embedded with their Office 2010 product.
So why not provide virtual "Azure powered" Windows servers for, say, the SOHO market? Sure, there are also more players here; many hosting providers already provide virtual Windows. But Microsoft has one advantage here which the others don't. I dunno why, but for some reason "Microsoft" seems to be an important name with this "Windows" thing.
If you can't trust Microsoft to host a virtual Windows server, then who can you? I know; dangerous statement and probably not fully true at this time. But I am sure that should MS provide virtual Windows servers for a decent price then /this/ is where they /WILL/ get a certain upper hand.
Stop running after the facts and take some initiative guys!
Posted in HUD's up! Ubuntu creates menu-free GUI
@AC
3) It just takes longer - if you know where the option is in the menu, you can get to it quicker than typing it in, unless it's 5 layers down or something.
Unless you're using the excellent program Gimp. Then you simply pin the deeply embedded menu which items you plan to use a lot. And all of a sudden you can simply select the option(s) with a /single/ click of the mouse.
Posted in HUD's up! Ubuntu creates menu-free GUI
@James
Yes and no... I mean; I wouldn't call chance by itself innovative perse. Because in the end innovation /also/ implies a form of improvement. Making things better or easier to use.
Well, considering the amount of negative responses in this forum alone I wouldn't exactly consider it a widely accepted improvement.
otoh... What doesn't work for me may just as well easily work for you. So in that sense I guess you do have a point. Because trying to judge innovation by quantity is also not the best approach.
Posted in HUD's up! Ubuntu creates menu-free GUI
@Doug
Correct. OS/2 4.0 aka "Merlin" was shipped with a headset and could indeed be voice controlled. And truth be told it did quite a good job too (IMO). I even managed to surf the Net while only using my headset.
However; the major advantage it had (IMO of course) was that the system was never intended as some form of replacement or anything, even though it was quite usable. The idea was basically adding to what you could already do with OS/2.
So say I'm using my mouse and selected a file. Then instead of right clicking and selecting 'copy' I could just have said "copy" (if I had assigned this command with the 'copy to clipboard' action of course). Or "copy to" after which I could use my mouse again to select a destination.
All in all; IBM knew like no other that voice commands were by far enough to replace the menu structure (Merlin had a "Win98-like" start menu), but could seriously enhance it.
Posted in HUD's up! Ubuntu creates menu-free GUI
What is it with GUI designers these days?
This is the dumbest design I've seen.
Because of several reasons.. First of all we're talking about a GUI here, a /Graphical/ User Interface. Graphical means that most navigating will be done using a controlling device such as a mouse. You can see this put to use in the demo itself; in an internet browser you don't press tab a dozen times before the right link is selected, you use the mouse to click on it. In a drawing program you don't use the cursor keys but the mouse to navigate and select (parts of) your work.
So why would I want to move my hands back to the keyboard if one hand is already sitting on my mouse? Another problem; I can type blindly with both hands, not with one. Worse; when I'm using the telephone I keep it in my left hand after which I can do some one finger typing with my right. But the other way around? During my work I use the right hand for my trackball... I can't type easily with my left hand alone. Then what ?
Another problem is the difference between developer and end-user. What the developer may consider to be the perfect logical name for an option may be totally lost on the end user. So how is the end user ever going to find the option required ?
Finally; related options don't always share the same name. What if I need to do some copy / paste or cut / paste while I'm not too sure anymore what Ubuntu uses for key shortcuts (everything seems to change in Ubuntu on a whim, so why would I assume these options to be the same) ?
Select one file, get the menu, type copy', then select the option. Then back to the mouse again, go to the right folder, then get the menu again. Type 'paste'.... This is indeed really the future. This is SOOO much quicker than selecting a file, clicking the (always visible) "copy" icon, then moving to the right location and then click 'paste' again.
Geez, and I thought Metro was a bad idea.
What happens with the peers?
There is one thing which has puzzled me ever since we read stories about certain companies put the heat on botnets... What happens with the peers ?
I mean; I really admire and totally respect the effort companies put in all this. Botnets are a menace for all of us. But so far most of the stories I read all tell how they're taking out the leaders or 'controllers'.
SO far so good, but if you leave all those affected peers for what they are, how likely is it that someone else will easily pick up where the previous owner(s) left off ? And then what ?
Like people for who they /are/
I think forcing people to use real names an utter fail for many reasons. First the obvious; protecting people from themselves. Sure; if they want to use their real name then by all means; let them. But also allow people to remain aliased.
Why? How many times have we already read about people who put certain information online, only to have it haunt them later on? Sure; in some cases people should know better, I totally agree. But on the other hand... On the Internet a small slip of the tongue will have drastically more effects and impact than in real life. Yet with these rulings you're more and more making people treat the Internet (social media) as if it were real life. Epic failure right there; its not and it never will be!
Second.. Why can't we like people for who they are, no matter their names? I've grown to like many people who I met on several IRC channels. A lot of those I now also know by name, even know where they live. Yet guess what? We still continue to use our aliases, even in e-mail. Because that's the way we know each other. We don't know each other in real life, thus we don't use our real life "aliases". Pardon me but I fail to see the problem with that.
Here I'm known as 'ShelLuser' and that suits me fine. Its an alias I also use on some of my favorite (synthesizer) based fora as well as my Windows Live alias. Whats the problem ?
Does not knowing my real name suddenly make my entries lesser meaningful or something?
@AC
If you're going to put the blame on someone then please do it right. Blair didn't plain out -lie- against the UN, that was Colin Powell. If anything you can blame Blair and other politicians to be far too trustful of the US.
Posted in Starship Voyager dumped into skip
Could have seen this coming...
Yes, I'm sorry to see this going on and I can absolutely understand that this is an emotional blow for the fellow. But seriously... Its not as if he couldn't have seen this coming. I mean; you don't go bankrupt over one night.
IMO this looks like a classic example of overdoing it. You cannot cast certain responsibilities aside for the sole purpose of following your dream. That is; unless you can afford it and it seems he could not.
Still... All cynicism aside I have to wonder; there are more people in the world who love Star Trek, Surely the pair should be able to sell or rent the condo as it is now ? I bet you could get more for a "themed flat" than a regular one, especially amongst fans.
And if you managed to rent it you may even setup a steady cash flow.
"The ongoing Rise of the Machines to their inevitable dominance over humanity faltered last week"
No it didn't. This was the turning point where the machines have learned about their own weaknesses and how they should exploit ours. Just wait and see; the next time it'll be different!
...at least that's how it always goes in the movies ;-)
Posted in Fans teased with Doc Who PS3 promo
Prince of Persia ?
I'm no die-hard 'Who fan' and a casual games on top of that. Still, when looking at the trailer I can't say it even remotely appeals to me. How many platform / jumping games are there already ?
A sort of 'who themed prince of persia' if you ask me. Dr. Who is about riddles, mysteries and oddities. Personally I would have expected a game in the likes of 'Heavy Rain'. A game which has its mystery and puzzles as well as action moments.
Conspiracy
"We don’t want the man to just step on the Moon,”
And what about the woman ?
Could we keep this secret from Japan?
Their tentacle approach is disturbing enough, thanks ;-)
