Windows 10?

[Rick Danger]

In her excellent article, "Attempting to answer whether MS is snooping", Susan Bradley sets a plain English, common sense response to the whole question of security:

Read the privacy policies of nearly every major Web service, and you might want to return to paper cups and string for your daily transmissions. Microsoft’s privacy policy raises numerous concerns, but in truth it’s not any worse than Google’s or Apple’s policies. They all say that they give you control over your privacy, but none say what they collect in any detail or in a way that the average human can interpret.

That’s not really acceptable. Most of us are willing to provide personal information to Web services — for mapping, searching, sharing, and so forth — for a better computing experience. But what happens to that information, now that it resides on Internet servers? Many users assume it’s deleted when we no longer need it; but, in fact, we simply don’t know. And that’s what we should be most concerned about — the lack of transparency.

In her summary......

I’m keeping the service disabled on my Win7 (and probably my Win10 systems, too), until I find out exactly what is being sent to Microsoft — or I feel more comfortable with the telemetry process. And I’m keeping a closer eye on all other Web-attached services and software. No matter what you think about Edward Snowden, he made all of us far more aware of how our personal data might be used.

So there it is. What data is being collected? Who has access to it? How will it be used? How long will the data be retained?

Simple questions. Microsoft and other technology providers can quell all the furor over privacy concerns by providing simple answers. Creating documents like the Microsoft EULA that only someone with a law school degree can understand does not provide the transparency that consumers want and deserve.

The solution is in their hands.

[Rick Danger]

Originally Posted by EsotericKnave

I don't watch TV, so I wouldn't know this, but is it ordinary practice to advertise an OS?

As I mentioned, I don't recall commercials for Windows XP, Vista, or 8. Perhaps there were, but certainly not in heavy rotation on prime time TV.

This is the first full spot I saw on TV:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gu6vmNz-PhE

Here's the current prime time commercial. I saw it FOUR times between 8PM and 11PM last night...............

https://youtu.be/ZcSr59GT_so

Like I said, why the expensive advertising for a FREE product? And what's with the kids in these commercials? Trying to convince us that anyone who isn't running Windows 10 is behind the times? Or is it just being creepy?

[Rick Danger]

Windows 10 cumulative update 7, KB 3093266, hit by recurring update failures
There are many reports that the latest Windows 10 patch fails to install repeatedly -- and a few user suggestions to fix the problem

InfoWorld | Oct 1, 2015

Yesterday Microsoft pushed its seventh Windows 10 cumulative update, KB 3093266. If you run Windows 10 RTM, your system probably rebooted overnight. If you're unlucky, the update didn't install, and it will no doubt try to install itself again in the near future. Such is the nature of forced updates.

The Microsoft Answers forum has several reports. One from RCoover states:

After an apparently successful installation through Windows Update, the computer requests to be booted. During the boot, I get a message that the installation HAS NOT BEEN SUCCESSFUL and then continues to boot. Going into Windows Update Advanced, I find that the update did fail. I did this twice and it failed both times.

In a different thread, LeonardoDV says:

I'm at zero for three attempts on two computers to install this clunky monkey. There were no error codes, just "...couldn't finishing installing...." The last "cumulative update" was just as bad. I have a third computer to try (oh boy, another HUGE download on my slow DSL line). Wanna bet it doesn't work on that one either? Microsoft, on what PCs are you testing these updates? Do you only have three or four test boxes?

There's a long list of attempts to fix the problem -- some successful -- on Reddit.

On tenforums, lopedoggie reports:

This update KB3093266 may cause a recurring update failure (12 in my case) addition to your update history logs or in other words, your pc will enter into a continuous update failure loop while using the win10 auto update feature. There exist a myriad of fixes for this issue on the web and I tried several with no positive results. I was however, able to fix this problem, based on earlier experience with other MS OSs on my PC.

Lopedoggie goes on to offer a possible fix that involves deleting the contents of the C:\Windows\SoftwareDistriution\Downloads folder, followed by erasing the Windows Update history files.

Before going to all this effort, you might ask what does KB 3093266 actually patch? Good question. As usual there's exactly zero worthwhile information in the KB article. A close approximation of what the KB article says is, "We're from Microsoft and we know what's best. Trust us."

However, "MSFT champ" jenmsft -- who appears to be a Microsoft employee posting on Reddit -- says:

This update contains more improvements for anyone who's been seeing issues with start menu reliability or the critical error dialogs mentioning start and/or Cortana - def jump on it if you're one of those impacted.

Team continues to actively investigate other underlying causes for these issues, we appreciate your patience.

That's the closest thing I can find that resembles an official announcement about the contents of the patch.

Ben Oostdam posted a YouTube video about the patch, in which he claims:

It seems to be related to the ESET Smart Security protocols as far as I can see in my archives, but investigations are still running and in progress… It is now definitively related to ESET components, as the update has to be re-installed after installing an additional language pack, as stated and mentioned in the Microsoft KB Article. Be aware that a high technical Microsoft experience is needed to read, and read between the lines of the changed file sizes, and version numbers. so again,..

If you're feeling frustrated, imagine what it's like pushing the cumulative update out on a corporate network, where your job's on the line.

Patching: Windows 10's Achilles' heel.

[Rick Danger]

I said it was unlikely that Microsoft would release a Windows 10 version without Cortana, Edge, etc.

I was WRONG. The perfect Windows 10 is coming out. It's called Windows 10 Enterprise Long Term Servicing Branch (LTSB):

Regarding in-box applications, Windows 10 Enterprise LTSB does not include all the universal apps that are included with other Windows 10 editions. This is because the universal apps included with Windows 10 will be continually upgraded by Microsoft, and new releases of in-box universal apps are unlikely to remain compatible with a feature upgrade of Windows 10 Enterprise LTSB for the duration of its servicing lifetime. Examples of apps that Windows 10 Enterprise LTSB does not include are Microsoft Edge, Windows Store Client, Cortana (limited search capabilities remain available), Outlook Mail, Outlook Calendar, OneNote, Weather, News, Sports, Money, Photos, Camera, Music, and Clock.

Windows 10 Enterprise LTSB does include Internet Explorer 11, and is compatible with Windows 32 versions of Microsoft Office.

What essentially Windows 10 Enterprise LTSB does is to provide companies a controlled update path for approximately TEN YEARS. In a sense, the update path would be limited to essential (I read this "security") updates only, not the continual "feature" upgrades associated with Windows 10 core and universal apps. So to insure this, Microsoft is providing enterprise customers with a chopped version of Windows 10 without these core and universal apps.

Yes, the PERFECT Windows 10. Unfortunately, Mr. and Mrs. John Q. Public will probably never get their hands on a copy! SIGH!!!!!

You can read this TechNet article, "Introduction to Window 10 servicing" for yourself.

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/...or=-2147217396

[Rick Danger]

ZDnet.com has a new webpage called "Zero Day Weekly". It goes across the web to summarize this week's security related stories worldwide.

Trust me, this was a BAD week. Read for yourself!

Here:
http://vintage-erotica-forum.com/sho...5&postcount=36

or here:

http://www.zdnet.com/article/zero-da...rars-bad-week/

[DTravel]

Originally Posted by EsotericKnave

I don't watch TV, so I wouldn't know this, but is it ordinary practice to advertise an OS?

Only for Apple.

[Rick Danger]

If this weren't so sad, it would be funny. I literally see a once great company sinking into the Pacific Ocean because it can't seem to get out of it's own way.

Last month I posted an article about a ZDnet columnist who's Surface Pro 3 got bricked by a Windows 10 update. By way of follow up, of course he got a call back from a support tech (who was probably in a room with a team of system engineers and corporate suits) and all his problems were resolved. If that were you or I, we'd probably be using our Surface Pro to prop up a leg of our dining room table.

That's OK. A new day, a new opportunity for Redmond to SCREW UP yet again. And again, Microsoft can't blame third party hardware or software for this latest debacle.

Oh, by the way. Microsoft announces their new Surface Pro 4 tablets tomorrow. You just can't make this stuff up!

Woody on Windows
By Woody Leonhard

Stealthy Microsoft Surface Pro 3 firmware update brings BSODs, mayhem
Microsoft has issued 19 separate firmware updates for the Surface Pro 3 in the past 15 months



InfoWorld | Oct 5, 2015

Microsoft released a firmware update for the Surface Pro 3 on Sept. 29 with no warning or explanation. It came out the Windows Update chute, which means Windows 10 users had no choice but to install it. By noon on that day, complaints started pouring in. Nearly a week later, we still have no definitive solutions and no official acknowledgment from Microsoft, posted patches don't work, and SP3 owners are fuming once again over yet another botched firmware patch.

After applying the update, Surface Pro 3 owners reported:

Blue Screens with the message "Attempted write to read only memory surface driver (surfaceintegrationdriver.sys)."
Failure to boot.
Able to boot but no wireless or unreliable wireless. Apparently this update requires two reboots in order to complete. Some -- but not all -- customers were fine after the second boot.
Failed firmware upgrade in update history.

A description of the firmware update appeared on the Microsoft Answers forum on Sept. 30. On Oct. 1 -- two days after the patch was released -- Microsoft finally added details about the firmware update to its official Surface Pro 3 changelog site.

Barb Bowman, (a) Microsoft Windows Experience MVP, Answers Forum Community moderator (a volunteer), and owner of the Digitalmediaphile site, puts it like this:

I knew something was wrong immediately and started sending emails mid morning Sept 29. I don't think Microsoft thought they had a serious problem until nearly 36 hours after the patch was rolled out. Even then I don't think they reacted fast enough.

Bowman posts on her Digitalmediaphile site:

The Sept 29 firmware was unexpected as there had been one on Sept 15. I installed it and rebooted and the wireless was MIA. I rebooted a second time and had connectivity, but it was intermittent, slow, and unreliable. Fortunately, I had the older zip files and drivers and was able to re-install the .193 driver and regain my great connectivity.

But this was not the case for others. Reports started appearing on the Surface Answers Forum and customers were reporting loss of wireless, BSOD loops and failed firmware updates in Windows Update history.

I sent emails to Microsoft on the issues and was forwarding threads for several days. The update was pulled on Friday (Oct 2) I believe. A couple of bad files were posted for SP3/W10 -- both a zip and MSI file -- neither of which contain wireless or bluetooth drivers for the SP3. This means there are no drivers posted on Microsoft's site officially for Surface Pro 3 owners running Windows 10. I've always thought (and asked) that Microsoft should post all the drivers and leave older drivers available for those that need them.

Word came down that doing a system restore should get people up again followed by running the MSI to get the firmware/drivers installed, and the Forum owner posted that after doing a system restore, running the MSI file would take care of the issues. This has not been the case for many. And even getting to System Restore has been a problem for some.

Microsoft posted two files for Sept 29. I looked inside and there are NO drivers for wireless or bluetooth. As of right now, Microsoft's official Surface Pro 3 firmware and drivers download site has two files you should not use: SurfacePro3_Win10_150929_1.msi and SurfacePro3_Win10_150929_1.zip.

Bowman wrote to me, "The only thing that really works as of this weekend is doing a system restore to a point before the Sept 29 update was installed. If the customer can get to System Restore and get this done, they should be ok. I'm trying to get that message out in the forum."

As of late Sunday afternoon, the update was available once again, at least on my Surface Pro 3.

The Microsoft Answers forum is rife with complaints: Repeated BSOD after firmware update - Surface pro 3, Windows 10; 9/29/2015 firmware caused wifi "device cannot be started"; many more. There are several Reddit threads and miscellaneous posts all over the Internet in many languages.

That said, there is also a success story. Rexx_3270, who posted his tale of firmware update woe on the Microsoft Answers forum, took Bowman's advice and schlepped his Surface to the nearest Microsoft Store.

I went into the [Microsoft] store and spoke with the tech and store manager there. They initially tried fixing the BSOD but the USB port wouldn't work which they said has been a common issue since the bad firmware went out. After that they replaced my Surface with a brand new one and have had no issues… If they had told me in the first place that they would swap it out I would have gladly driven the 1+ hour trip earlier rather than waiting for support to call me back, which they never did.

The Surface Pro 3 has been dogged by bad firmware and even worse firmware updates since it shipped in June 2014. If I count correctly, there have been 19 separate firmware updates in the past 15 months. Even now, the situation seems to be getting worse, not better.

That has to be a record of some sort.

If you're thinking about running Windows 10 on your Surface Pro 3, take note.

If you're thinking about ordering a Surface Pro 4, take a larger note.

[Rick Danger]

Believe it or not, here's a Microsoft employee presenting his "Top 5 Reasons To Not Upgrade to Windows 10"............................

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOSLCxMUM6Y

[Rick Danger]

Would the capability of connecting your smartphone to a monitor, keyboard, and mouse and being able to use it like a laptop appeal to you?

Our friends in Redmond apparently believe so. Hence the new Lumina phones announced today take advantage of the Windows 10 Continuum feature to allow this capability. This despite past attempts by Motorola and Microsoft to introduce such features in the past.

So this is nothing new. Could it possibly catch on this time?

Smart User
By Galen Gruman

Windows 10 revives the old smartphone-as-PC idea
The portable PC notion was very appealing four years ago, but technology advancements have since passed it by

InfoWorld | Oct 6, 2015

Microsoft today let the other shoe drop on Windows 10 -- the mobile shoe. After announcing new Lumia smartphones with features you'd expect in any current smartphone, Microsoft showed off the Continuum feature, which lets a phone be a PC when connected to a monitor, keyboard, and mouse.

What appeals to me about the Continuum notion is that I could plug my smartphone into someone else's PC setup and have my PC with me. The smartphone is a portable brain that blooms into a PC when connected to the right stuff. It's "just" a smartphone the rest of the time.

That's not a trick you'll see in Android and iOS. Although both can send their screens to a monitor, the user interface and apps don't scale up to be real PC apps; all you get is a blown-up version of the smartphone screen. Continuum makes your smartphone into a portable PC that acts like a regular smartphone when operating by itself.

Continuum uses the Universal apps capability in Windows 10 to enable apps to scale to their current hardware, from smartphone to tablet to PC.

But does that notion actually make sense? In early 2011, I thought it did. At the time, Motorola Mobility had delivered its Atrix 4G smartphone and Lapdock device that together let the Android smartphone become a Firefox terminal on your TV or monitor when you connected a mouse and keyboard into the Lapdock. This way, you had a true full-screen browser experience when at a desk -- and you could run the Android part on your big screen, though only in a scaled-up window.

Despite their promise, the Atrix and Lapdock flopped, and technology advances seem to have made them irrelevant since then. Now Microsoft is trying to revive the idea with Windows 10 and Universal apps, taking it to the full Windows experience.

I liked the idea in 2011, but I'm skeptical in 2015, for two reasons:

First, the apps and functionality available on smartphones today are light-years ahead of what existed in 2011. You can use the full Microsoft Office or Apple iWork on a smartphone today; in fact, there's little you can't do on a smartphone that requires you to use a PC when away from your desk. Smartphones today are way more capable than they were in 2011 -- and we have tablets like the iPad that are becoming laptops in their own right.

Microsoft's other foray into a portable PC, Windows 8's Windows to Go, has gained very little traction in its several years of existence. With Windows to Go, you plug a thumb drive into a PC to make that PC a thin client of the Windows environment stored on that thumb drive. Windows 10's Continuum makes your phone that thumb drive, in a sense.

Second, if you need more screen size and peripheral support when working away from your desk, chances are you have a tablet and/or laptop with you anyhow. The need to make someone else's PC a thin client to your smartphone simply isn't that strong. Although I would love it if my iPhone's apps scaled to Mac dimensions when I streamed my iPhone screen via AirPlay to my TV or monitor, the truth is I would want or need that capability only once in a while.

Continuum is a minor convenience that happens to be cool. But I certainly wouldn't abandon iOS or Android to get it.

[Rick Danger]

Microsoft introduced some interesting - if not pricey hardware today. Can't help but think I'm looking at Redmond's version of Mac hardware.

But here's the burning question: with the already well documented problems with firmware and Windows 10 updates to existing Surface Pro 3 hardware, are you going to trust Microsoft not to brick your brand new Surface Pro 4 (base model $899) or Surface Book (base $1499) ?

When you launch a new ship you certainly don't expect it to be sunk by a torpedo from your own submarines!

If I woke up one morning to find my fully tricked out $2700 Surface Book blue screened by a forced update (that of course I CAN'T prevent) I'd be totally psychotic!

Good luck with that!

Woody on Windows
By Woody Leonhard



Surface Book: Finally, exciting hardware from Microsoft
Is a laptop with a removable keyboard the new laptop -- and tablet? Microsoft is betting on that proposition with the Surface Book

InfoWorld | Oct 6, 2015

Analysts like to describe product advances in terms of “tick” and “tock.” Intel and Apple, in particular, seem to run out ahead with a passel of new features -- the “tick” -- and follow that up a year or so later with incremental improvements: the “tock.”

Microsoft's Surface Pro models have been one tock after another since the original was introduced in early 2013. But today, at Microsoft's gala event in New York, we heard a very loud tick in the form of the Surface Book, a new convertible laptop that corporate vice president for Surface Computing, Panos Panay, proudly unveiled as “the thinnest, most powerful PC ever created.”


Panos Panay, corporate vice president for Surface Computing, shows off the Surface Book to the crowd.

The Surface Book could finally make Microsoft a laptop player to be reckoned with. This is one sexy piece of hardware. Think of it as a Surface Pro with goosed performance and a real, hinged, attached keyboard that can be removed easily.

The cutting-edge design of the Surface Book is unique. The 13.5-inch screen can be detached and used as a tablet -- or popped out, rotated 180 degrees, and folded back down over the keyboard. The net result is a flop-over screen like that of the Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro, except that you can also carry the very thin screen all by itself.


The special hinge on the Surface Book can perform all kinds of interesting tricks.

Microsoft offers an optional Nvidia GeForce GPU that plugs in the keyboard base and helps drive the Surface Book's performance to Tesla-ludicrous levels. Buy the GPU and you get an extra battery in the keyboard. As with the Surface Pro 4, the screen runs at 267 PPI. There are two USB 3 ports and a full-size SD card slot, all in the keyboard base. The backlit keyboard has 1.6 mm throw (yes!) and a big glass trackpad. Microsoft claims 12 hours of battery life. It also says there’s a Hello-capable face recognition camera. We shall see.

The Surface Book with an i5 CPU, Intel HD graphics 520, 8GB of RAM, and 128GB of storage lists at $1,499. Up that to 256GB storage for an extra $200, or go all the way up to an i7 with 16GB memory and 512GB of storage, and the Nvidia GeForce processor puts you in nosebleed country at $2,699.

Of course, we won’t know for sure if the Surface Book can live up to its promise until we’ve had a chance to review the real, final product.

Ironically, today’s announcement began with the Surface Pro 4, which fell into the same-old, same-old category. The Surface Pro 4, with a Skylake class processor, apparently drops the SP3’s fan -- not exactly an improvement in the “tick” category. The screen size went from 11.6 inches to 12.3 inches without increasing the size of the case, at a sub-Retina density of 267 pixels per inch or 2,736 by 1,824. There’s a new stylus with an “eraser” on the back and one year battery life; the stylus is magnetic, so it sticks to the Surface without a loop. There’s one USB 3 port (the i5 and i7 machines have a USB charging port and a larger battery) and a MicroSD card reader. A lighter, thinner cover with 1.3 mm throw (ho-hum), larger, glass trackpad and fingerprint reader on the right round out the tock-tock-tock evolutionary nature of the Surface Pro line.

Surface Pro 4 comes with Intel Core M, i5 or i7 processors. The basic M3 with 4GB of RAM and 128GB storage costs $899. The full-tilt i7 with 16GB of RAM and 512GB storage ramps up to $2,199, plus the $130 keyboard, of course.

You can order the Surface Pro 4, the new Type Cover, and the Surface Book on the Microsoft site right now, for delivery starting Oct. 26.