Posts by durbans

FBI iPhone unlock order reaction: Trump, Rubio say no to Apple. EFF and Twitter say yes

Frank Underwood wouldn't stand for this crap. He would beat Tim Cook into submission with the aforementioned wrench until he got the answer he wanted.

Microsoft Office 365: You don't need 27 floppies, but there is desktop friction

Re: 2013 / 2016 / 365 for small businesses

Autodiscover has been the de facto configuration method for an Outlook profile for 3 years now, and has been around for almost 10 years. It's much easier for the user to create an Outlook profile (as long as you've configured autod correctly, and for Office 365 its a simple case of 1 DNS record).

You can deploy Office from a network share/USB drive also using the Click-to-run deployment tool, this is my standard deployment method on all my customers sites. So you don't need to be downloading the files every time and you also don't need an MSI. You can even choose which components to install, which update cycle you want to be on, and whether its silent or not.

On multiple installs when you buy the standalone Office 2016 I completely agree, its an absolute nightmare. Buy the Office 365 version instead and you will have a much better experience as you get the software linked to an Office 365 user, with a lovely option to activate/deactivate based on workstation name.

You can choose which components you would like to install if you use the custom installation configuration.xml file :-)

Microsoft tells resellers to use Office 365 as loss leader

Re: Lock-in

You clearly know very little about the systems you speak of. Almost all consumer services which Office 365 provides work over open standards from a end user point of view and can be used on any device. They also comply to the vast majority of security/compliance standards required in business and have apps which connect to their services available on all 3 major mobile OS platforms. And if you happen to be running something which they don't support, you can just use the web apps available which run over HTML5 with no plugins/extensions required.

Mind you, the above paragraph is probably pointless because you won't touch it if it's not open source. I'll bet your open source software isn't pen tested on a daily basis though.

Post-Profit Prophet RUSSELL BRAND is the HUMBLE CHRIST of STARTUPS

The general populace, unfortunately, doesn't seem to agree that perpetually rising and rather unnecessarily large profits are a bad thing when your average Joe who works for British Gas probably hasn't had a payrise in 3 years or more and can barely feed and clothe his family. (BBC quote re: big 6 energy companies: "Profits from the groups – which provide energy to 98 per cent of homes – rose from £2.15billion in 2009 to £2.22billion in 2010, £3.87billion in 2011 and £3.74billion in 2012.")

People are much more concerned with Mr. Brands employment history and other fascinating things like how many welfare 'cheats' there are in the country or who got knocked out of the Apprentice last week. I feel sorry for the generations who follow us into this dyspotian future. The balance of wealth being created right now is at an almost feudal level.

WHY didn't Microsoft buy RIM? Us business blokes would have queued for THAT phone

Re: same old rubbish

Bit like most of the uninformed comments on El Reg then eh?

Re: Duurh

D3wd u r s0 k3wl.

Have you ever used a Windows Phone? They compliment the market well and add competition, which is much needed in the mobile space. Get off your fanboi seat and look at things objectively for a change. I have no brand loyalty btw and think Android, WinPhone and iOS each have their own pros and cons.

Tim Cook’s 'One more thing': Apple TV rumor-stoker

Complete vapourware....typical of El Reg to report on vapourware as long as its related to Cupertino. No wonder the IQ of your readers is so low.

Microsoft Windows Server 2012: Why Bother?

I didn't see Linux mentioned....

Where the hell have all the Linux trolls on this thread come from? I was hoping for a conversation about the OS in the article in the comments section, but it appears to have been taken over by Linux fanboys who have a complex about Microsoft. Correct me if I'm wrong but I didn't see any mention of Linux in the article. In fact, why would a diehard Linux sysadmin who (judging by the aggresive comments) would rather eat turd than use a Microsoft OS even be looking at the article in the first place?

I really don't get it.

Nokia uncloaks Lumia 620: A 'budget' $249 Windows 8 mobe

Re: Really?

With a joke like that, this guy must be a world famous comiedian hiding behind a rubbish pseudonym. I mean really, no normal person could think of such a witty and intelligent joke.

Microsoft's anti-Android Twitter campaign draws ire, irony

Careful...

Wow, don't be too sensible round here, it doesn't go down well. Makes me wonder how many commentards actually work in IT as if they did you would expect some rational thought to be involved in their tech opinions. My guess is most of them are the type who work in an office and reckon they could manage the whole IT infrastructure because they've set up a NAS drive before and rooted/jailbroken their phone.

Everything has pros and cons but people on here are too blind to see that and can only look at the world in black and white.

I just LOVE Server 2012, but count me out on Windows 8 for now

And finally...

For those who like to say that the Modern UI is confusing and users will never figure it out...

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-57536828-71/windows-8-is-easy-ask-this-3-year-old/

Although as the article says, you do require half a brain to figure out how a UI works.

Re: End of the day

Once again....no proof, just your opinion.

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/security/mac-versus-windows-vulnerability-stats-for-2007/758

Quite an old article as it doesn't even include Windows 7 vunerabilities (and it is common knowledge that Win7 is much more secure than any previous Win OS), however you can clearly see that OSX (a *nix derivative) had more vunerabilites identified per month than XP + Vista.

I will check this articles comments tomorrow to see if you can provide any proof to back up your claim.

Get on with it and get over yourselves

Don't like it? Don't use it then...I find it absolutely incredible (and quite amusing) to see how much time people spend moaning and being ignorant about something which they have no intention of using anyway. I understand the concept of liking one thing more than another, for example personally I love Jammie Dodgers. But I'd never be ignorant or stupid enough to say that Party Rings are the worst biscuit in the world and shouldn't be sold because they are not offering me the biscuit I want. The world does not revolve around me, so unfortunately I've got to live with all the other choices of biscuits given to me. Which is lucky, because even though I don't like them, if there were no other biscuit manufacturers then Jammie Dodgers could charge whatever they liked for their biscuits. And I'd front the cash, because I freakin' LOVE Jammie Dodgers.

Don't get me wrong, I'm guilty of moaning about things too. But not about the fact that a product I wasn't planning on using isn't built exactly like I'd want it to be. That's what I'd call a waste of time.

On topic though, It's funny how people are calling Win8 another Vista. Vista was slow, clunky and had serious security issues which also affected usability. Windows 8 is the fastest Microsoft OS ever, is incredibly secure, and has implemented new features which some users don't like. Hardly a case for comparison there. And that is fact.

Ballmer's lightened pay packet is the least of his problems

Seriously? This is news?

I highly doubt that Microsoft are expecting many companies at all to migrate to Windows 8. Migration cycles in business are generally 5-7 years for an OS, so if you've just migrated to Windows 7 (even in the last 2 years) there would be no reason whatsoever to move to 8.

Pointless article written simply so the opposition fanbois can get on their high horse. I'm about ready to give up on The Reg as they seem to post stories just to fill the page. Reminds me of those 24 hour news channels. All filler and no killer.

Microsoft fast-tracks Windows 8 Service Pack updates

Re: twenty dolla

EDIT: 2. It's in the bottom *LEFT* corner of your screen

My mistake.

Re: twenty dolla

All your very intelligent questions have been answered a million times over. I remember when I was 5 years old and thought that if I asked for something enough I would get it. Then I grew up. But just to get the point across...

1. No, the entire OS has been designed to not require said switch.

2. It's in the bottom right corner of your screen. It's called a mouse-over button. That means it appears when you mouse over it.

3. That is purely subjective. I quite like them. If you don't, go download some others. Or use a different OS. Nobody cares what you do in the end.

Amazon UK leaks Windows 8 retail box, TV ads

Re: No thanks

Jesus, I wouldn't be calling my neighbour for tech support if I was IT illiterate and they installed Linux on my machine. Which one of the many installed file explorers did you show them how to copy/paste on? God knows what they would do next....probably try and replace my Freeview box with a Linux HTPC. Because it's like, open source and stuff.

And just to make a point, I don't hate Linux, it's just not that simple an OS.

Re: If they're going to make us want it..

Nobody is going to make you want it. You've obviously already decided. How about you go look at some news articles for products you actually like?

Oh, and the advert is obviously showing off WinRT features which a WinRT tablet might use, so really your second paragraph is pointless. The iPad sure as hell can't show you 2 apps on screen simultaneously. Glorified smartphone or slimmed down Desktop OS? I know which one I would choose.

Windows 8 and you – So, what's next?

Re: Is anyone bothering with Windows 8 deployment.

"Developers have jumped shipped to more lucrative platforms."

You must mean that platform which has 90% of the desktop market share....oh wait....

Re: Doomed to repeat it...

Sounds like you want Windows XP. Whats stopping you? I'm pretty confident that you haven't even tried Windows 8 anyway, as you haven't given one actual reason why you don't like it. And saying 'they got rid of everything I liked' doesn't really consitute a fair argument, unless you were one of the 10 Windows Media Center users...

Also, 'every old version of Windows emulated'....do you realise that Microsoft are no.1 bar nobody on backwards compatibility with their OS'es? It's also worth noting that I can still play Full Throttle (1995) on my Windows 8 64-bit machine without any issues. I also ran Theme Hospital recently and Sim City 3000. No problems. Perhaps the software you are trying to run wasn't coded as well as you thought?

Re: Appeal to teenagers, dual screen, low spec machines

No, he bought it. And he liked it. And as he has a teenage daughter, I would guess that he is probably part of the group who are the perfect market for expensive gadgets.

There is life after the death of Microsoft’s Windows 8 Start button

Re: Waste of my time

Group Policy Objects are your friend. And user training is always appreciated, be it new LOB application or new OS. Or new business practice, or anything else that significantly affects the business.

Besides, if you've already migrated to Windows 7, you can skip Windows 8 and everybody will be used to the new UI on their home PC's by the time Windows 9 arrives!

Re: Waste of my time

How about I suggest a completely unrelated and pointless analogy and use it to try and prove that I am right?

We all have to learn new skills in life. Get over yourself. Shitting on somebodys lunch is just not nice and won't help anybody.

We'll never see a Minority Report UI at this rate....

So apparently releasing a new operating system with a different UI is exactly akin to changing, in one fell swoop, the side of the road which 30 million vehicles and their drivers drive on. A fascinating insight into your mind for sure.

The real shame is that with so many people like yourself refusing to learn any new skills, at this rate we will never get the chance to use a Minority Report style user interface. This makes me a sad panda.

'Apple's iOS 6 maps app is SHOCKING, rushed and half-baked'

Re:

I don't think Balmer has missed anything in this case. Microsoft are releasing a premium tablet device which will be priced comparatively with other premium tablet devices. It's not a laptop, it's a consumption device.

Plus I've never seen a new laptop for £200. And you won't find one in the UK. And if you mean a netbook then 'facepalm' is all I have to say. I found one online for about £250 (a proper laptop that is), but I've used sub-£300 laptops before and it's never a good sign when the screen bends considerably when put under any stress.

WinRT tablets aren't designed to replace laptops. The Surface Pro and other similar tablets may help pave the way for this, but again, these are premium devices that you will not be able to pick up for £200. Not a cats chance in hell.

All in all, I'm not sure what you are moaning about. Did you expect MS to offer you a £200 Surface Pro so you can replace your cheap Tosh £250 laptop?

Re: Biggest thing??

> "What is Balmer smoking? Windows 95 the biggest thing in what?"

In Microsofts history. You've taken the quote completely out of context. Of course Windows 95 wasn't the biggest thing in computing in the last 20 years. Even Ballmer isn't mad enough to believe that (although I'm sure a few of the Reg readers wouldn't agree with me). I can see where he's coming from with the quote in context though. It's easily the biggest UI shift in Microsofts history since Windows 95.

Smiley face for you my friend. Context is a wonderful thing.

Windows 8: Never mind Office, it's for GAMING

Re: So now it's official?

Hey, look here everybody....we've got a funny guy!

Re: No

I think it's hard for you to tell what's a server and what's a PC.

Re: Alternate Enterprise/Domestic Windows releases.

It's amazing that more people haven't figured this out....I salute you sir!

Ballmer: Win8 'certainly surpasses' Win95 in importance

Re: "Not a chance, too many businesses require Windows software."

@AC

Off topic really, but I've done hundreds of Windows 7 upgrades in all sorts of different businesses and only had 1 or 2 with post installation issues (due to 3rd party drivers I might add). None failed. Have you considered the possibility that your IT staff are better trained to migrate Linux than Windows OS? Does your IT team have MCP's in Windows 7 Deployment or do they just 'know it all'? You can't blame the product for a crappy upgrade/migration process.

Also never had problems with Windows Updates 'breaking anything' in my 4 years in IT. These are all issues you fondly remember from the 90's I'm sure, but things have changed since then....

Microsoft urges devs to 'lead Windows 8 app land grab'

Re: This will be the equivalent...

Could you provide an example in the last decade of Microsoft "stealing intellectual property and squashing the originators" please?

Listen up, Nokia: Get Lumia show-offs in pubs or it's game over

Re: Consumers, not techies, are what really counts...

OK, I've just found this quote from Redmond....

"New applications compiled specifically for Windows Phone 8 will not be made available for Windows Phone 7.x devices."

I stand corrected. Apologies, I obviously got myself mixed up with the forwards compatibility from WP7.x to WP8. This is definitely a problem for existing users, depending on their needs and app requirements. I hope the major app providers will continue to update the WP7.x apps for the average replacement cycle of a smartphone (2 years-ish in my case).

And fair enough on the second point, but what other interesting features are coming to WP8 that aren't hardware related?

Consumers, not techies, are what really counts...

We all like to debate the pros and cons of various mobile OS'es, and we all love/hate a particular brand and get up on our fanboy pedestal to promote our favourite platform.

It's worth mentioning however that we are probably less than 1% of the total consumer base for smartphones. The vast majority of people want a phone that 'just works' (to quote a famous fruit) and looks good to their eye.

My girlfriend bought a Lumia 800 (sim-free) a few months back to replace her aging iPhone 3G. She is in her late 20's and is your average consumer when it comes to tech. She started showing her friends the Lumia she'd just bought and told me yesterday that now, 5 of her friends are using a Lumia 800, and another is planning on upgrading soon to a Lumia. That is the power of consumerism.

Now I can already imagine the replies saying they've bought a dead platform, blah blah blah. You know what? They either don't know or don't care. My better half was upset when I told her that Windows Phone 8 will not be coming to her phone, but soon stopped caring when she realised that she would get the 7.8 update, which essentially is all the new features of WP8 which her hardware can support. Including full support for all WP8 apps (that don't use the new WP8 hardware features). In reality, she is missing out on nothing.

Windows Server 2012: Smarter, stronger, frustrating

But nitpicking aside.....

Server 2012 looks fantastic...

Exchange 2012?!

"The new Server Manager is in many cases a wrapper for PowerShell, something that will be familiar to Exchange 2012 administrators."

I'm going to assume that you meant Exchange 2010, which would make perfect sense :-)

Microsoft: It's not Metro, it's Windows 8

Have you even tried it?

Have you even tried using Windows 8? Something tells me you haven't. How about 50% boot times over Win7. How about less clicks to get to almost everything I do on a daily basis as a Sysadmin? That equates to 'faster' to me.

People who think they are good at IT are doomed to failure if they cannot move with the times. And jumping on a bandwagon only serves to make you look like you can't make an objective descision for yourself. Personally I'd like to see somebody who can actually give a logical, reasoned argument as to why Windows 8 sucks so bad. It reminds me of ridiculously devout religious people.

Me: But it's been proved by scientists the world over that dinasours existed.

You: But they don't. The bible tells us so.

Windows 8 'bad' for desktop users - Gartner's one-word review

Re: History repeats itself

"Add up the Metro lock in (read: MS tries to get all 3rd party software cut off and instead channelled through their marketplace) and one has to wonder how much of a desktop OS is really left ?"

Ermm.....how about the whole desktop OS, which is still there? Unless you're planning on getting a Windows 8 ARM tablet, in which case just like every other mobile OS, you can only install the apps from the 'App Store'. Are you not aware that Windows will come in WinRM (for ARM) and Windows 8 (for x86/amd64) variants? It's either ignorance or stupidity which leads you to the belief that the desktop OS has been abandoned.

And on the subject of tablets, with Win8 you can have a full desktop OS on a desktop or a tablet (x32/amd64), or a tablet OS (ARM) on a tablet. People seem to assume (remember: assumption=mother of all cock ups) that MS are only releasing the WinRM (tablet) version of their OS, and not giving the tech world the worlds first tablet running a fully fledged OS. Every other tablet ever released has been a consumption device, WinRM will provide the first tablet device for production use with no 'Metro lock-in'. Show me another tablet OS which doesn't lock you in to their App Store...rooting doesn't count.

Re: Fixed with a fracking start icon

Weird, I only ever see all my applications when I want to run an application and click the Start/Metro button (you know, the one that appears when I move my mouse to where Start 'used to be' (read: still is). Oh, and my most used Internet Favourites (which I pinned to start). Oh, and my most used documents (which I pinned to start)... Have you not figured out how to move/remove the 'Apps' yet and pin things to Start?

Microsoft posts first-ever quarterly loss

Re: Past the peak

You've managed to completely contradict yourself there...

"You can be as productive on Office 2003 and XP."

"MS is looking at rapid decline as their own systems have poor legacy compatibility and a minority need it."

Office 2003 and XP are legacy systems so these 2 statements are in direct contradiction....and I and most people (except those who cannot deal with change) will tell you that Win 7 and Office 2010 give you a big productivity boost.

Also, have you used Win 8? If not, you can't pass comment on how 'rubbish' they are trying to make it.

Microsoft 'didn't notice' it had removed Browser Choice for 17 months

Re: I didn't notice either.

*blatantly

Fixed that for you. Get over yourself and go compain to your mirror. I haven't had any issues with my own Windows OS install (XP, 7 or 8 Preview) for over 5 years now. I do work in IT support though and plenty of people manage to cock up their OS by thinking that they know everything and doing things which they don't completely understand. It's called user error.

UK's brazen copyright land grab sneaked into Enterprise Bill

Re: And about bl***dy time ...@El Presidente

Sounds like a good look to me, and I'm not remotely creative!

Microsoft to lob out Windows Server 2012 by September

Re: Metro...

I don't remember calling it headless. And I wouldn't call a command prompt on a blue background a GUI. I'd call it a command prompt.

Re: Metro...

You make the optional GUI sound like a bad thing! Why would I want to waste valuable system resources on a GUI when I can fully manage my servers from one Windows 7/8 machine or one management server? Especially considering that I can just reinstate the GUI if I need to.

Oh, and just to clarify, you can choose from no GUI, limited GUI and full GUI. And you can change this at any time post-install. This is why there is no datacenter edition. Sounds bloody fantastic to me.

Re: Is there a start button?

Exactly.....the only reason people don't like Metro is that they can't deal with change. We are all looking at at least one less button click to open an application, and all people seem to be doing is throwing toys out of their prams. Plus with the right-click power tools (and if you don't know about these then you cant talk about Windows 8/Server 2012 because you obviously haven't used them), all the main tools a sysadmin needs are literally 2 clicks away.

Oh and another point. The GUI is optional, true, and this can be changed post-install whenever you want. So now I can build a server with a GUI, get it exactly how I want it and then remove the GUI so that my server isn't wasting resources. Oh, and did I mention that I will be able to fully manage this server and my entire server estate from 1 management server, or even my Windows 7/8 client?

You'd think the IT community would be more accepting of change considering we work in the fastest changing industry there is. Get over yourselves and learn the new features, unless you are a complete muppet it will take you less than an hour.

Retina MacBook Pro nukes Apple's green credentials

Re: Dichotomy, eh?

The batteries that wear the most are the ones that are constantly plugged in. If you charge and then use your battery off charge it is likely to last much longer. Btw I have a 5 year old laptop whos battery is still good for 2 hours (made by HP) and only costs £50 to replace, which is a job I can do by myself in 2 minutes. Rather than paying £200 for the pleasure of going to an Apple store and having an Apple 'Genius' do it for me. Whilst trying to sell me their latest and greatest kit of course. Sounds like fun.