Posts by bombastic bob

US draft bill moots locking up execs who lie about privacy violations

Re: I voted for him.

"more than few corporate shills freedom-loving, sensible people who believe in less government are reading El Reg today."

Fixed It For Ya.

"soon the Republicans will start to legislate these issues"

well I'll have to disagree with you on this one. The current position of the Republican party is SMALLER government and FEWER (better) regulations. Making more is probably NOT the answer, anyway.

That being said, the existing Federal Trade Commission laws may be enough on their own, if properly applied. FTC applies to banking and privacy already. Extending that to intarweb traffic wouldn't be all that difficult, and would provide the _same_ kinds of protection we get against banks selling our information to 3rd parties without our permission.

I suspect that punishing corporations in order to make headlines and pander to left-leaning voters isn't the primary focus of the Republican party (yeah no duh). Anti-trust _HAS_ been important to Republicans, since Teddy Roosevelt, as well as a "fair playing field" for competing businesses. So it'll get done, eventually. But it's not an emergency to rush to legislation with it, not like some of the other issues that have been getting handled over the last 2 years [like recovering the economy, fixing foreign policy, and "draining the swamp"].

Lawyer contributors

Lawyer's contributing to this guy... this is the part that concerns me the most... because my first instinct when looking at this is that "only the L[aw]Yers will profit from it". ACLU-types are NOT working in the best interest of America (as with Demo[n,c][R,r]ats] in general. As such, I mis-trust them instinctively.

And a "do not track" web site will (most likely) be as ineffective as the "do not call list" has been. As much as I like the idea, it's not enforced well enough to stop the problem. I can already see web site operators scoffing at it and making 'token' lookups of "you" on the list, while grossly violating it >90% of the time, and maybe even using it as a 'verified' list of VALID e-mails and identities!!!

And the addition of "teeth" into a "do not track" seems WAY too invasive to companies that might be doing things legitimately [let's say you subscribe to a service that tracks your purchases online in order to comp you with discounts...]. Just hit them where the board members care about it, a combination of their company reputation along with some financial "incentives", like INDIVIDUAL "loser pay" lawsuits they're constantly forced to settle if they engage in bad behavior like that. [it helped with GWX didn't it?]

And they REALLY care about privacy, they should ONLY allow "opt in". "Opt out" doesn't work.

Slabs, huh, what are they are good for? Er, not quite absolutely nothing

Re: But ... but ... they're going to replace consoles and PCs

Don't forget...

IT! WAS! THIS! KIND! OF! THINKING! THAT! BROUGHT! US! WINDOWS! "APE" (8)! and WIN-10-NIC!

You remember - one OS and one UI for EVERY platform, right? It runs on your phone, it runs on your tablet, it runs on your PC, it runs on your GAME CONSOLE, blah blah blah-die blah-blah. And looks like a phone or slab display, because THAT was "the future" for computing.

And then it was "Universal APPS" and the "Microsoft Store" !!! Because you did NOT learn your lesson.

You CHANGED the UI for the OS to match that RIDICULOUS MISCONCEPTION, and the REST of us BEAR THE CONSEQUENCES of it.

(Yeah Ballmer and Sat-Nad, that's looking _REALLY_ _SMART_ right now, isn't it???)

And, thanks for all of the ruined marketing opportunities because of Windows "Ape" and Win-10-nic!!! The entire PC hardware and software industry oughta be at your door with PITCHFORKS and TORCHES over this!!!

Re: You can only bloat so much

"Once you reach a certain point there is really no need for an upgrade."

The entire PC+phone+slab market is *HORRIBLY* misunderstood by WAY too many.

To me, it's simple:

a) phone is a necessity, and everyone already has one (more or less). "new, shiny" needs to be compelling for people to get another one.

b) slab is a luxury, and everyone who wants one already has one. "new, shiny" needs to be even MORE compelling for people to want a new one

c) PC is a necessity, and 10 year old machines with windows 7 on them appear BETTER than new machines with Win-10-nic on them. If a hardware change [new hard drive, more RAM] isn't going to do it, a new PC might, if Win-10-nic doesn't become the reason NOT to get a new one.

OK market "experts", put THAT in your pipes and smoke it [instead of the wacky weed of "wish" and "hope" you've obviously been using up until now...]

icon: a big facepalm for all of those who haven't seen the obvious

Nikola Tesla's greatest challenge: He could measure electricity but not stupidity

Re: The name 'Tesla' has been hijacked

worst car name evar was a GM concept car called "Impact" (also another electric car). Later (when in production) it was re-named 'EV-1' [probably because they realized the implications of 'impact'].

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_EV1

considering its eventual fate, the original name was _SO_ appropriate, foreshadowing, etc..

Google logins make JavaScript mandatory, Huawei China spy shock, Mac malware, Iran gets new Stuxnet, and more

Re: So not, Google

and if I _DO_ use google, it's with javascript TURNED OFF. I don't need their SLURP or TRACKING, either.

Whatever clueless DIM BULB up at Google headquarters *FELT* that the world *MUST* bow to their demands, and enable scripting _JUST_ for _THEM_, deserves the backlash. And that includes *ANYTHING* that uses 'google metrics' or any OTHER such CRAP.

If for some reason I _MUST_ use a web site that has this *GOOGLE* *SCRIPT* *SLURPY/TRACKY* *CRAP* in it [after sending a nasty complaint letter] I _ONLY_ do so in a browser that _ERASES_ _ALL_ _HISTORY_ _AND_ _COOKIES_ _AND_ _OFFLINE_ _DATA_ after I close the window.

'googleanalytics' - who needs that again?

In memoriam: See you in Valhalla, Skype Classic. Version 8 can never replace you

*EX-TER-MIN-ATE*

The daleks at Micro-shaft have completed their process. Embrace. Extend. Extinguish. *EX-TER-MIN-ATE*

Now Europe wants a four-million-quid AI-powered lie detector at border checkpoints

Re: What are they going to train it with?

how about "the caravans" currently traversing Mexico?

just have it focus on the key words and tricky phrases they're taught by the coyote's and "advocate" lawyers. Some good "lie" examples there, at any rate.

troll icon, because, obvious

"..and the anal probe, fecal sample, urine sample, saliva sample, blood sample, and one of your kidneys..."

you forgot one.

This revolution will not be televised – but it will be sanctioned: Googlers walk out over 'sex pest' executive scandals

"Feeling Googly"

/me starts humming the '59th street bridge' with a slight lyrics change...

na-na na-naaah nah nah nah... Feeling Googly

(I should be careful with the word 'feel' in there, and Google won't pay me when they use it for advertisement)

yes, Google discriminates - remember last year?

"only discriminates on opportunity according to how able you are."

except for AFFIRMATIVE ACTION 'discrimination', such as what James Damore pointed out a year or so ago... (and was apparently FIRED for doing it)

Fox News Article

Re: Googlers walk out over 'sex pest' executive scandals

From the article: "male executives accused of sexual harassment."

Has anybody ELSE asked: How many of these 'accused male executives' were actually GUILTY of what they were accused of? (enough to fire them for it, at any rate)

The million dollar golden parachutes were probably CHEAPER than the potential legal costs involved, regardless of actual guilt, from ALL perspectives.

US Republicans bash UK for tech tax plan

Re: International norms

"all the big companies move their profits to tax havens and pay very little tax anywhere in the world."

Wouldn't ANYONE who COULD do this, do this?

Yeah I'll just VOLUNTARILY bend over and take it, enjoy it, etc. because taxes are used SO wisely by governments. Hell, just write a check for EVERY SPARE BIT OF CURRENCY... [yeah NOT happening]

There are basically two alternative philosophies on this one:

a) punish corporations for acting in their own interests,

- or -

b) make it so EVERYONE can benefit by lowering tax rates across the board, and no need to shop for a 'tax haven' to prevent losing a big chunk of your money

just sayin' - gummints get too much of our money anyway. let THEM budget and cut back for once...

Welcome back, 'ping of death', it has been... a few months. Now it's Apple's turn to do the patching

so 90's

just HOW long has this bug been in the iKernel ?

We (may) now know the real reason for that IBM takeover. A distraction for Red Hat to axe KDE

Re: Yep

I think the debate on the UI is more of "why did you CHANGE it into *THAT* it when I LIKED IT THE WAY IT WAS???" And THEN, make it so I CAN NOT GET THE OLD ONE ANY MORE!!!

Yeah, same thing done to Windows, too, after Win7.

How soon people forgot how Windows 3.0 sold Windows as a UI _BECAUSE_ it was 3D skeuomorphic as well as being intuitive, unlike Windows 1.x and 2.x before it.

NOW everything's going BACK to Windows 1.x and 2.x because *IDIOTS* are jumping on that bandwagon with NO good reason, and TAKING! AWAY! ALTERNATIVES!!!

WHAT the FEEL, right???

Re: But I LIKE KDE!

past-tense on the LIKE - those FLATSO looking 'Plasma' screenshots NAUSEATE me. It's exactly why I would have choosen "the OLD KDE" over so-called "modern" GUIs.

https://www.kde.org/screenshots/

as the version gets OLDER, the skeuomorphism INCREASES. What the *FEEL* are they *THINKING* ???

OK if they're "feeling" they're NOT thinking, and that's the point...

the last screenshot I saw of "new, shiny" KDE looked NOTHING like what I was accustomed to seeing, all 2D and FLATSO and "Gnome 3-ish"... like they drank the 2D FLATSO coolaid or something.

I'll stick with Mate, which should still be "installable" on RH, or something lighter like lxde. No need for 2D FLAT "looks like Chrome/Australis/Win-10-nic" instead of something I _liked_ from 5+ years ago, almost BRAG-worthy even.

"Up"-grading. SOOOO overrated!!!

If KDE had _NOT_ swallowed the FLATSO+Wayland 2-fisted GAGGER (aka 'plasma'), maybe it'd be "different enough" that people would WANT it more!!!

(you really DO have to make your product "different enough" when everybody ELSE is heading over the cliff, to keep your customers from doing a 'Mate' or 'Devuan', ya know??? Otherwise, your "new, shiny obsessed" out of touch "developers" who *FEEL* as if it's "OUR turn, now" to make DESKTOP COMPUTERS look like PHONE SCREENS will *RUIN* *EVERYTHING*!!! [whoops, too late]

'Privacy is a human right': Big cheese Sat-Nad lays out Microsoft's stall at Future Decoded

Re: "Privacy is a human right"

the epitome of Irony, when Micro-shaft (inventors of Win-10-nic) says that.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irony

"what appears, on the surface, to be the case, differs radically from what is actually the case. "

the robot devil would be proud!

'He must be stopped': Missouri candidate's children tell voters he's basically an asshat

Re: words or actions.

you can't really be 'kicked out of the party'. unfortunately he won a primary. having the rest of the party denounce or condemn you is about as much as they can do.

I wish wacky Demo[n,c][R,r]ats would get "similar coverage" with THEIR wackies. or maybe it's a testament to the Republican party, in general, that when some racist [etc.] claims to be Republican, and maybe even wins a primary, not only does the rest of the party denounce/condemn etc., it becomes "a news item" because it's so INFREQUENT.

The press won't "cover" for a Republican. For a Demo[n,c][R,r]at, it seems they DO.

I'm glad I'm not in that guy's district. Moral dillema: vote for a) racist Republican, b) Demo[n,c[[R,r]at...

[it's bad enough I have to pick between 2 'D' senators, one being Feinstein, and in my opinion, she's the lesser of the two evils, and I'll have to hold my nose and choke back the bile on that choice, and maybe lose some sleep over it, because a NON-vote is half a vote for 'the other one']

Boffins have fabricated microscopic sci-fi tractor beams for real

Re: Carbon nanotubes?

interesting idea, but would it be an economically practical/viable process?

Re: using beams of light to manipulate atoms.

right, with momentum and velocity = speed of light, you can calculate an effective mass or 'rest mass' using the e = m * c^2 formula when the energy of the photon [related to frequency] is known

photons are like a 5th state of matter, one step beyond plasma, matter converted into pure energy. a 6th state would be the 'atomic particle mush' you'd find within a black hole

US government charges two Chinese spies over jet engine blueprint theft

Re: Not the first time

very little (if any) response, most likely.

'Most Enabled Nation' status.

Microsoft claims Office 364 back to business as usual. Oh no it isn't, say suffering sysadmins

canary group

to Micro-shaft, that's the 'home' users; i.e. pay EXTRA to NOT be 'a canary'

Re: Active reproduction?!?!

new product idea: Micro-shaft Lube

Apple's launch confirms one thing: It's determined to kill off the laptop for iPads

Re: My point is the finger point

the problem here is that when you measure "user base" according to "new item sales", instead of "what they're using", you get a distorted picture of what the customers want and use.

(the article gets it right, though, from what I read)

much like the PC market, yeah. Slabs seem to be improving enough to sustain the 'new, shiny' demand. For now. But not so much for desktop/laptop sales. People hang onto what they have.

Unsure why you can't log into Office 365? So is Microsoft

Re: Have they tried turning it off and on again?

THIS one really needs 30 seconds in the microwave

Re: Come El Reg we know you want to say it...

"It has gone a bit TITSUP"

oooh you can't say that, because it implies something similar to 'NIPpleS'

/me runs and hides, now

50 ways to leave your lover, but four to sniff browser history

run NoScript

problem solved

GitHub lost a network link for 43 seconds, went TITSUP for a day

re: Why did GitHub take a day to resync

"Demonstrating the potential instability introduced by excessive complexicity in a system"

The term I'm thinking of starts with 'cluster' (how aproh-pooh)

Admittedly, I've never had to set one of these up. I would think that a transaction-based system could simply apply the backlogged transactions, right???

[you know, like taking a failed RAID drive off-line and swapping in a new one]

Microsoft teaches a 10-year-old Red Dog new tricks and the Windows 10 1809 delay hits Exchange 2019

Re: “lose the trust of developers for a generation.”

the 'latest generation' of developers seems to have started with windows "Ape" and gnome 3 and systemD.

That would be 2010-ish as I recall, shortly after the widespread sigh of relief when Windows 7 released... [2010 would be the beginning of the development cycle, more or less, confirmed by systemd's history on the wikipedia page]

It began with the release of gnome 3 in 2011. Linus' response to it was *PERFECT*. Gnome 3 has angered users AND developers for changing the rules and cramming it down our throats, among other things.

It more or less coincided with the release of systemD. That, too, has angered devs and users alike, for similar reasons.

Then, it culminated with the release of Windows "Ape", with Sinofsky taking the heat for a design made by THE SAME PERSON THAT INVENTED THE RIBBON, along with a 2D FLATSO look that just hasn't gone away (like it should have) in Win-10-nic.

And let's not forget Chrome and Firef[u,o]x - 'Australis' was the official encircling of the drain for the UI.

Strangely, this period ALSO corresponds (astrologically) to the entry of Pluto into Capricorn, and the election of Barak Oba[k,m]a. [last time Pluto entered Capricorn, it was the 1770's, and the U.S. revolution happened]. [for a brief pause for thought, consider that tidal bulges on the sun are relative to planetary positions as seen from Earth, in their effect of solar output on the Earth - tidal bulges would alter the reactivity of the nuclear furnace - and for what it's worth, if it has an effect on the psychology of the human mind, it makes sense - not as a way of predicting the future, but as a means of explaining generational trends, etc.]

For good or ill, this astrological 'coincidence' seems more compelling than otherwise. If the pattern is to be believed, it covers "a generation", marked by the following: for the first 1/3 or so of the period, there is a general overreach and upheaval of the institutions (governments, banks, corporations) that motivate their overthrow (2nd 1/3), followed by the re-establishment of something new (final third). This is my opinion but I'm sticking with it anyway.

It suggests that the current generation of developers, who are responsible for things _LIKE_ windows 8/10, gnome 3, and systemD, are in fact, shooting their own feet. Their actions (like the presidency of Oba[m,k]a] motivates a YUGE rebellion (electing Trump), which is then followed by "something else to replace it" (referring to gummint policies as one example).

For the software developer 'generation' effect, it could be a restoration to old ways, such as going back to the WIMP interface with 3D skeumorphic appearance and System V 'init' [such as releases like Devuan, desktops like Cinnamon and Mate, etc.]. It could be a return to "customer-centric".

in any case, it'll be the kind of "STOP; go back" revolution, followed by an "even more of THAT, thank you".

/me removes tin foil hat now, and grabs popcorn.

or don't pay ANYTHING, then download/install Libre Office. *FIXED*. You're welcome.

(yes to going back to recommend libre/open office)

Apple might be 'collateral damage' in US and China trade dust-up

Re: 3D Printing reply

yeah 3D printing has costs involving nozzles and filament, plus the time it takes to 3D print something vs molding. building 10's of units, 3D printing is reasonable. Building thousands, molding makes more sense.

And if it's under $100 to make a mold, the cost viability point is even smaller than I thought.

Re: Shooting onself in the head

well, unfortunately it seems your company has (apparently) invested in infrastructure inside China. I suggest looking at Mexico instead.

Re: collateral damage?

the thing is, the value ADDED to things made in China typically makes up a LOT more of the cost of goods sold than does the price of things they make.

So if there's a 25% increase in cost of things made in China, it won't translate to a 25% increase in the PRICE of that item. It's more likely going to be a lot less, maybe 5%. Apple's branding has MORE value than the price of the unit made by Foxconn, in other words. And there's the software, etc. which [as I understand it] is done within the USA. Without _THAT_ the iGoods are nothing more than expensive paperweights.

Also imports to China should increase if they STOP VIOLATING OUR PATENTS AND COPYRIGHTS as part of any future 'trade deal'.

Official: IBM to gobble Red Hat for $34bn – yes, the enterprise Linux biz

Will systemd become standard on mainframes as well?

doubtful. I think the 'culture' that produced things *LIKE* systemd aren't in line with IBM's way of doing things...

IBM really is about giving customers what they want. If customers DO NOT WANT systemd, they won't have to use it when IBM gets its way.

Think "sales and marketing" meets "engineering". The reality is that engineering needs sales/marketing, even if they're irritating as hell and drive the process too often, because it's the CUSTOMERS, and not the whims/wishes/unicorns-and-rainbows of the engineering team that get the development time assigned. no more "because we *FEEL* and people MUST accept it" (the attitude behind things *LIKE* systemd and gnome 3) is what I expect in the future... from IBM's hand in the mix.

After all - IBM has invested their future in Linux. No doubt they want THAT to continue.

Re: At least is isnt oracle or M$

If it were Micro-shaft, we could look forward to the 'Extinguish' part of 'Embrace, Extend, Extinguish, *EX-TER-MIN-ATE*' in a short period of time.

IBM is likely to put something into RH that they didn't have before: CASH

They are also likely to REMOVE some of the more irritating 'cultural' things, maybe even systemd and (on its way to becoming, if Ubuntu is any indication) 2D FLATSO gnome 3 [I still have hope!]

I can also see the possibility of IBM seriously considering a GENERAL USE LINUX DESKTOP to compete with Micro-shaft, even if it's only out of spite over the OS/2 vs Windows thing.

Too many people assume that "corporation" equals EVIL. You forget that you most likely work FOR a corporation, and that a corporation is PEOPLE. Many of those people have retirement funds with stock portfolios that include those "evil" corporations. Although some of them (Micro-shaft, Google, etc.) may be engaging in questionable and/or outright ILLEGAL and IMMORAL behaviors and policies, it's the people running the place, not the corporation itself, that are *EVIL*.

I am actually pretty happy IBM is doing this. I see it as a move in the right direction for Linux.

Imagine what could happen if GOOGLE purchased RH...

Our brave El Reg vulture sat through four days of Oracle OpenWorld to write this cracking summary just for you

Re: Oracle has no future

by automating the DBA side of things, I wonder if they're quite literally undermining their potential "unofficial" sales staff, who would be willing to advocate "more Oracle solutions" to solve problems that can't be solved by a few minutes/hours/days of actual effort...

Oracle aims pistol at foot, claims it will reduce the "cost footprint" of ownership...

I'm a fan of PostgreSQL anyway. I've DL'd older versions of Oracle (9i I think was the last one I DL'd) in the past, thinking that learning their system would somehow benefit me. I still prefer PG, although the Java-based admin tools WERE convenient.

'mainframe' thinking like "cloud-based" just doesn't fit with a distributed mindset anyway. It's *STILL* a single basket, in which all eggs are placed. Right, google? Right, github? Yeah, we *NEVER* have "outages" now do we???

This ALSO reminds me of Micro-shaft jumping on the "fondle-slab and phone" bandwagon way too late. By then the wagon was nearly out of gas, but we ended up with "The Metro" Windows 'Ape' and Win-10-nic anyway... because "all computers" were PHONES, now, according to THAT kind of thinking!

"All databases" are *NOT* cloud infrastructures. Oracle needs to remember that.

China tells Trump to use a Huawei phone to avoid eavesdroppers

Re: Wise move

'full of libtards who support Hillary' - actually, no. Just a handful at the top are like that [the sleazy types that slither their way to the top of ANY kind of organization, actually]. Rank and file FBI are like regular citizens, some support Democrats, some Republicans, and they keep their politics out of their jobs (as they should).

"How does bullshit and bluster translate in to Chinese and Russian these days"

It just sounds a lot like what Demo[n,c][R,r]ats say. Shouldn't be any of THAT coming from Trump's phone.

(yeah anti-Trump'ers go ahead and downvote me, it's a badge of honor)

funny joke about the Huawei phone, though.

Fujitsu: Closes director's gate to Tait, 9 execs abdicate, and for German workers – a crap Weihnachtszeit

Re: dead horse

Fujitsu is a lot like HP and IBM in this regard, I guess. I used to work for them (as an I.T. contractor) a long time ago. Not a bad company, really. I suspect 'old school' thinking in the wrong places, though (and maybe NOT in the RIGHT places).

And they _do_ need to be a bit more competitive on pricing.

The D in Systemd stands for 'Dammmmit!' A nasty DHCPv6 packet can pwn a vulnerable Linux box

Re: Old is good

"refusal to accept patches to let it work on non-Linux Unix"

"likely a big sigh of relief for users of those other Unix variants."

YESSSSS!!!!!!!!

Re: Meh

clean reinstall, or at least home dirs from a tarball backup.

If the only things you're really re-installing are system stuff and configs [that will need re-doing anyway], might as well go for it. I've done this route a few times over the years, even when cloning a system onto other boxen or into VMs. works for me. Also works to clean install "that way" when replacing a hard drive.

/me notes that when you've replaced a hard drive more than once on the same box, it reflects the age of your hardware. Some Most of mine dates back to mid-to-late noughties.

Re: Old is good

"Poettering seems to want to build a Cathedral rather than a Bazzar."

a road side fruit/veggie stand would be adequate in this case. or a convenience store.

The gift that keeps on giving (systemd) !!!

This makes me glad I'm using FreeBSD. The Xorg version in FreeBSD's ports is currently *slightly* older than the Xorg version that had that vulnerability in it. AND, FreeBSD will *NEVER* have systemd in it!

(and, for Linux, when I need it, I've been using Devuan)

That being said, the whole idea of "let's do a re-write and do a 'systemd' instead of 'system V init' because WE CAN and it's OUR TURN NOW, 'modern' 'change for the sake of change' etc." kinda reminds me of recent "update" problems with Win-10-nic...

Oh, and an obligatory Schadenfreude laugh: HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The end (of the flash boom) is nigh! But not before SK Hynix tallies up its record revenues

SK Hynix has over half of their semiconductor plants in S.Korea

according to the wikipedia page:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_semiconductor_fabrication_plants

more than half of SK Hynix's plants are inside S. Korea, with 2 under construction and one more planned. Seems they ALSO see the future NOT being '100% located in China'. Just worth pointing out.

Microsoft promises a fix for Windows 10 zip file woes. In November

Re: Search?

there used to be 'FIND.EXE' but using it was worse than cumbersome.

a) install cygwin

b) use 'find' and 'grep' together. works for me, is usually very fast, does not need to index the entire universe just to actually "find something" and DOES NOT announce EVERY LOCAL SEARCH to bing's slurpage with your Micro-shaft "cloudy" logon attached.

Re: I wonder...

"Win10 sucks so hard it makes black holes look like they're ejaculating."

it's worth having to clean up my keyboard after seeing that...

It begs for a top 10 list, too.

Re: Upgrade

'95 ran more efficiently than Win-10-nic, and didn't slurp nor advertise to you.

And it was RESPECTABLE in its appearance, a nice 3D skeuomorphic appearance without being excessive about 3D-ness [some people thought XP was 'bulbous', but I'd rather have 'bulbous' than FLATSO]. XP could still have the '95-ish look (mostly) with the 'windows 2000' option for the start menu.

Re: Windows Search

to HELL with the micro-shaft 'search the universe' indexer anyway. DISABLE THE DAMN THING!

I find that searches are FASTER using grep on POSIX machines. There are no inefficient Micro-shaft "lack of cache" issues on Linux or FreeBSD!

I mean how often do I need to search EVERY EXECUTABLE BINARY for the text "Hi Mom!" - or an SQL database, for that matter.

a) run cygwin

b) use find 'whatever' | grep "whatever" instead.

much better. eliminate searching files that you know are NOT the ones you want. Faster, better, doesn't give Micro-shaft an excuse to slurp your file system for whatever they want to look for and report it back to Redmond...

Besides, Cortana ALWAYS 'hits the web' with whatever you're looking for. the cygwin method does *NOT*