Posts by Kris Sweeney

Not even the ghost of obsolescence can coerce users onto Windows 11

{insert expletive of choice} Microsoft!

My Core i7, 32GB, dual SSD rig is still perfectly functional today, I have three 27" monitors, no problem hosting virtual machines, I'm able to play new game releases but according to their "PC Health Check" tool, apparently unable to run the next version of Windows. I'll need a new processor, probably a new motherboard and memory all because the i7-6800K isn't on their supported hardware list.

I will however probably be able to run Windows 11 in a virtual machine albeit with poorer performance and a poorer experience.

Windows 10 is still incomplete, contains numerous privacy violations, ads, needs 3rd party replacements or extensions for key OS UI components, the settings and configuration applets and tools are a conflicting mess from different versions of Windows and if I purposely ignore the restart warnings from Windows Update until they turn red, various components, usually networking though sometimes the graphics drivers just stop working in order to force an update and as soon as the update has been permitted, all of the problems magically disappear.

Since what was a fairly consistent and stable release in Windows 7, Microsoft have stumbled from one arguably bad build of Windows to another and now in their wisdom have again decided it's time to force users of their OS to upgrade their hardware despite incomes remaining static or barely climbing while the cost of living has skyrocketed.

They can't fully finish one version of their OS before trying to force people to upgrade software and hardware, they even have a plan to charge an increasing fee to use your existing hardware with Windows 10, the tactics they now use just leverage the fact they have a massive market share to ransom your existing hardware and "licenced" software.

The adverts creating fear of running an insecure operating system have already started.

WTF is solid state active cooling? We’ve just seen it working on a mini PC

Re: inspired by methods used to cool the leading edges of jet engine components

My first thought reading the article was that this sounds very similar to what Airing (http://www.fundairing.com/) have been trying to do with their CPAP microblowers and may be a very good reason to be cagey about the technology.

Just updated Windows 7? Can't access network shares? It isn't just you

I prefer 7.

The only reason Windows 10 replaced Windows 7 on my desktop is because a windows update completely broke audio output device registration for existing and new devices, a reinstall fixed the issue, a restore from backup fixed the issue however, as soon as i allow windows updates i lose audio again.

If i could do without audio or without certain updates i would still be using 7, no question - I despise using Windows 10 and am actively considering a change of employment as I'm currently a dev writing windows software.

Having my arm round a dirty toilet U-bend is more attractive than the mess that is windows 10.

Yes i'm opinionated and yes you may like windows 10 but I would like an OS that works for me not against me, I'm odd like that.

Microsoft slips ads into Windows 10 Mail client – then U-turns so hard, it warps fabric of reality

Re: WTF?

They might have done better if they had only released windows 10 for mobile and gaming devices rather than trying to force the adoption of an incomplete hash of an OS (mangled for touch only devices) on traditional desktop's.

Of course the Store, Bing and Edge would be optional if they had simply added them into Windows 7, it needed a full new version to really bake them in.

Shiny and New is not always better, especially where Microsoft is concerned, you think they would have learnt from ME, Vista and the IE antitrust cases, sadly there has been a bit of management churn and lessons have been forgotten.

The only reason i'm using Windows 10 now is that I don't have the time to get all my tools working under a linux variant and a windows update borked audio output driver registration. After a backup-restore and windows update, the audio was knackered again so I had the choice of up-to-date and silent or working audio.

Windows 10 Pro goes Home as Microsoft fires up downgrade server

Finally been forced to 'upgrade' to Windows 10 and it gets worse not better the longer i use it!

Now I wish M$ could understand the simple reality that I don't want to use their store, don't want to use Cortana and I will not use edge or internet explorer. It's a shame they forgot the IE antitrust case and baked this crap into the OS.

Forced because a recent windows update + VS 2017 install for work decided to screw with my audio output, corrupt HAL or driver registration only affecting output, plugging in a USB camera/mic registers the input device with no problems.

Rolled back to previous backup, no problems, performed updates again, lost audio again... No combination of uninstall drivers, reinstall last known good from fresh download and multiple reboots worked to resolve the issue so i either sit in silence, run Windows 10 or try and figure out how to get all my usual apps working under emulation on Linux.

So, about that Google tax on Android makers in the EU – report pegs it at up to $40 per phone

Apple and MS

Can we see similar anti-trust cases against Apple and Microsoft for their stores, Siri and Cortana?

Day two – and Windows 10 October 2018 Update trips over Intel audio

Windows 7 is no protection

Running Windows 7 Ult and my audio died with the October update. While recording devices can be installed successfully and stream audio, all audio output devices failed and were marked with an exclamation mark in device manager following a reboot. no combination of uninstall, reboot, reinstall, download latest known good, rinse and repeat has worked.

Devices have the following explanation as to why the installation fails:

'Windows cannot verify the digital signature for the drivers required for this device. A recent hardware or software change might have installed a file that is signed incorrectly or damaged, or that might be malicious software from an unknown source. (Code 52)'

Thanks Microsoft.

Citation needed: Europe claims Kaspersky wares 'confirmed as malicious'

Damn...

In comparison to other 'mainstream' commercial AV products I've found Kaspersky to be relatively unobtrusive, easy to use, configure and monitor and despite going down the fancy UI route made popular by certain US resource hogs, I've found KNS has has a minimal impact on system resources and performance.

Yet another blow to their business in EU and i suppose GB.

Suggestions for a good alternative?

Microsoft tries cutting the Ribbon in Office UI upgrade

Another Useless Change

Forgive me but i just want my word processor to enable me to create documents and my spreadsheet app to manage figures with the odd graph sprinkled in, i suppose the other apps in the 'suite' have their uses too.

My employer mandates the 'use' of Office 365, quotes because the number of times the Excel UI has decided to stop displaying text, lock up completely or create random versions of documents i'm writing collaboratively with colleagues is at least once per day I have Excel open. Word is not much better, collaboratively working on a long document involves spending a at least 1 of every 5 minutes watching the modern spinning hourglass thing.

I have a Core i7 with 32 GB ram, twin SSD's and a Geforce 1080 card, not a slow machine, this is coupled with a >200mb cable broadband connection and I still spend a considerable amount of time waiting for Office to think about simple tasks like scroll to the next page.

And yes, my drivers are all up-to-date, gone are the days where a product did one thing well, now it seems to be a race to do as much as possible, quality and accuracy be damned.

UK's Just Eat faces probe after woman tweets chat-up texts from 'delivery guy'

Re: I'm failing to see how this is Just Eat's fault

When i use just eat or any of the many alternatives, I expect the details i have provided such as my address and telephone number to be provided to the takeaway, especially if i chose to have my food delivered.

If my details had not been passed on I fail to see how I could expect to receive my order, I suppose the just eat terminal could relay message from the takeaway to the customer if there was a problem with the order removing the need to pass on your phone number but honestly, i'd prefer a direct call...

I'd be more concerned that the takeaway was hiring drivers like this but then, a takeaway doesn't have the cash that Just Eat does...

Brit ISP TalkTalk blocks control tool TeamViewer

scam the scammers

Had calls from the latest bunch.

They were 'Calling from Microsoft' and started by asking me to run 'assoc' and find the zsendto CLSID as confirmation i had been 'hacked'

They provided more evidence in the form of warnings and errors in eventlog (all normal stuff) and asked me to install TV12 and initiate a remote control session then choose to give control over... Faked some networking issues and ended the session when they asked for control and tried to draw things out when they called back in order to report it.

TeamViewer support didn't answer their phones and they didn't respond on twitter. I had the session ID's and had a session open at the time but they didn't seem to care, this might provoke a decent response now.

Windows 10 a failure by Microsoft's own metric – it won't hit one billion devices by mid-2018

Telemetry is not the issue...

I'm sorry to all who's sole concern is hiding dodgy stuff on their computer, but i'm all for some telemetry, especially if it stops the vendor deleting a feature i use regularly or actually improves the function of the software.

That said, in it's current incarnation i would never willingly choose Windows 10 over Windows 7 and would sign up for a lobotomy before being forced to use what (for the way i use my computer and what I want out of my computer - purely subjective) is a downgrade.

Windows 10 in my personal opinion does not provide the functionality i am used to and i require from a personal computing device, it looks bloody awful too.

I'm sure that at least on one of my points i'm not in the minority.

Microsoft's Windows 10 nagware goes FULL SCREEN in final push

Re: Games

I agree, W10/DX12 will be rejected from my house and every computer that i support until there is no choice but submit but I hope and pray W10 will follow Vista (which i actually feel is a vast improvement over 10 which is the first time I have ever considered Vista an improvement).

I play games to relax and also use my computer for work, why on earth would i hobble my computer and make the rest of the time i am using it worse, all to run some new game when there are hundreds of existing games i have yet to play that look incredible and are coming down in price?

I'd rather go back to using a Vic 20 without expansion pack than using Windows 10, alright that might be a little exaggerated but every time i see W10 ask myself how they managed to screw it up so badly.

Windows 10 Anniversary Update draws nearer with Inky preview

W10 install will be over my cold dead body...

I've used most versions of Windows from 3.11 onwards and my experience from a usability perspective and omitting VISTA, a positive one. I looked forward to new versions of the OS and despite a couple of hiccups along the way, 7 ticked all the boxes and performed above my expectations.

Unfortunately my positive feelings died with the release of 8. Given the number of years I have used Windows, I'm used to things moving around a bit, names changing for no good reason (at least that I can determine) and API's gaining and losing random functions and events. But 8 and each version (minor or major) since have been a total clusterf***.

Windows 10 may be quicker (at some things) but I the list of 'features' that are jarring, badly designed, difficult to identify (given the awful flat design), and simply incomprehensible mean that I will never willingly allow 10 onto a system that I have any control over.

My father passed away very recently and I received his shiny widescreen 3 month old laptop, it runs Windows 10 and to my disappointment there are no drivers available for Windows 7 - it's now sat in a cupboard waiting for MS to see sense and release Windows 11 which will be a shinier even more stable version of 7, that or me to see sense and install Ubuntu.

I truly prefer my outdated 2GB Dell D620 which is on it's second battery and third case, the first after being dropped down the stairs and the second after it was stood on by my kid, it also happily runs W7.

Disconnection phone scam targets UK consumers

BT disconnect delay

BT will keep a line open for two minutes to allow the called party to move to another room and pick up a different handset - caused major problems with an important client when i was working with predictive diallers as their previous vendor had fudged all the figures and convinced them they could disconnect a call immediately - untill we compared results with a side by side comparison using identical data.

Small outsourcing company 1, large dialler vendor 0 :)

BOFH: Trussssst in me

iron filings

I remember the original 'trust' excercises involving waffle irons, iron filings and apeasement engineers or that the saline in saliva will clean the contacts on a kettle lead - would i ask you to do that if it were live :)

Keep up the good work simon...

Apple squeezes video camera into iPod nano

Before you all start

"instantly usable by someone for whom the Windows start button can pose problems."

"I'm sure this board will at some point descend into the Apple vs Windows vs the world camp, but having tried a few alternatives, I reckon the Apple iPod Nano/Touch combined with iTunes on an inexpensive Windows machine is hard to beat for all round everyday usability."

Please consider the rest of us poor readers that have to wade through a stagnant pool of infantile exclamations that reek of the playground and arguments that used to start 'My dads better than your dad...'

Some people like Apple products and some like Microsoft and others, shock horror, like Linux - intelligent people will also admit that even though they disagree with someones choices it doesn't mean the other person is a complete idiot. Unfortunately the fanbois of whatever flavour have an almost religious belief they need to convert the heathens...

You like a product, thats nice for you - i'm not interested!

Airbed-fixing German blows up mattress flat

@Mythbusters

'what an air mattress full of gunpowder can do in a fit of pique' - new keyboard please...

Staten Island manhole swallows texting teen

Sanity Check...

Sorry but lets get this straight... she was so engrossed in texting that she missed a bloody great hole in the pavement/road - how would placing another obsticle there for her to trip over help?

If she had gone down the hole head first she may not have been able to walk away... Same goes for a visually impaired person.

If i happened to fall down a sewer (due to my own lack of attention) I would rather do it feet first!

Tiscali pulls plug on 186K

186K

also read as 186,000 - how the hell did they end up using that as a company name?

Firm touts anti-radiation chip for phones

hmm

just leave copies of the artice lying round the office and remind anyone you see with a green sticker on their phone about that £10 they owe you...

Fraunhofer boffins: Laser printers safe after all

@TeeCee

I read Chris's comment as a top tip from a helpful BOFH to a user burning toast in the breakout room...

I'd have asked the user to ensure his hand was wet first 'to help protect from the heat'

BBC's TV detector vans to remain a state secret

@Master Baker

Sir, you owe me a new keyboard and monitor...

Seriously though the government and bbc need to wake up and realise that its 2008 if advertising revenue is good enough for 99.99% of channels around the world why does the UK need publicly funded channels - especially those that the majority of people with a telly in the UK no longer watch!

Yes i'm licenced but no i have not watched the BBC (or listened to their radio broadcasts) for several years - mainly because the quality of programming has gone down and the fee has gone up.

Counting up the number of people in my family that i know can state the same comes to 38 of 42 people - its futile but WAKE UP BBC you have lost and are continuing to lose viewers...

This emergency alert has been cancelled by Hotmail

Received by Hotmail...

The article states emails received by hotmail not sent via...

It appears the problem is end users who have a hotmail account. Whether right or wrong they chose M$ and it seems M$ to have decided they know what their users should be reading!