Posts by Comic Book Guy

Theoretically, there should be a way to get to that data without all the song and dance that's gone on. Or, I could be barking up the wrong tree. Or just barking. Try this train of thought:

Assumption 1: The main reason the FBI are pressuring Apple for a custom OS is that they locked themselves out when they reset the iCloud password. This action meant that the phone and the cloud were out of sync.

Assumption 2: Apple has backups. Contained somewhere in these backups is a copy of this specific account in its previous state, with the old password. Yes, I do understand that this record is encrypted.

Assumption 3: That encryption is irrelevent. IF Apple can restore that record to an alternate server, on an isolated network, running its own DNS, with its own WiFi, the only thing needed is for the phone to connect (automatically) to that network, see the old iCloud password, and sync. This may need to be in a shielded room, but I'm sure the FBI (and probably Apple) have several of those.

Change the restored copy's password again, and you have access to the iCloud backup.

Ok... have at it... if I'm wrong, I would like to know why, but please be gentle. :)

Oh look, another Reg article with nothing positive to say about Windows 10.

I did a few upgrades last night.

No, they were not flawless - but the things that didn't work were minor. I didn't hit any show-stoppers at all.

Within an hour of starting the first upgrade, I was able to use the first machine. Office worked. Visual Studio worked. I recompiled several projects, tested them - they all ran as expected, and I'd say some of the bigger ones seemed to start a little faster than before. Skype (boring desktop edition) worked, and my video conference to the USA didn't suffer any problems. I then accessed the corporate VPN via the new client. Guess what? It worked.

After a couple of hours of "being productive", I tried a few games, old and new. Ultima Online worked, and had no lag. It did have a few red PKs, but that's hardly Microsoft's fault.

On the newer end of the scale, Elder Scrolls Online was also as playable as ever.

All the websites I tried via Edge appeared ok, too.

Cortana seems to think that I'm on some other planet, despite setting everything to English (UK), England, and singing Rule Britannia at it. So that's not working. It did tell me to download a language pack, which required the first reboot after installation - but still no chatty assistant.

So, no - not perfect. But I was able to find every app I wanted, as quickly as I ever have. I could work, play, chat, etc. I don't see a problem. And Cortana's a gimick for now, at least for me.

As far as "forced updates" go, despite having a pretty high degree of technical knowledge, I neither have the time or the inclination to set up duplicate test machines for every single driver that comes along - which, lets face it - is the only way to really know if an update is going to have an adverse effect on my system. So, much as I trust the mechanic who services my car once a year - and yes, I'm pretty much forced to accept AND pay for that every year, too - I have to trust the people providing the updates. Stick to mainstream hardware, from providers with a good reputation, and things should (mostly) be ok. Besides, it's a safe bet that most of the people whining about the updates have had Windows update set to the default setting all along anyway.

My car also gets maintained for a fee. But, if a qualified mechanic from an approved garage offered to do it for free, there are very few circumstances under which I'd tell him to get lost.