* Posts by Wade Burchette

1251 publicly visible posts • joined 5 Apr 2007

30 years on, Chernobyl wildlife still feeling effects of nuke plant catastrophe

Wade Burchette

Re: Liquidators

I have been to the Ukraine, 14 years ago. I actually met a man who helped clean up Chernobyl. He name is Zenia (although I do not know how to spell his name in English). He spoke English well enough that I could have a conversation with him. He told me the Russian government paid him about $100/month for his service. 14 years ago in Ukraine you could live quite well on $1500/month. My brother's wife is Ukrainian, so I know he is still alive.

Getty Images flings competition sueball at Google Image Search

Wade Burchette

Re: Try Reading ALL The Words People

From my perspective, this is Getty's fault for not putting the high-resolution image behind a paywall. In the Firefox browser, you can click Tools -> Page Info. There is a tab that window that says Media. When you click on that, you can easily download the picture or video. If that is taken away, I can press F12 in IE, Firefox, and Chrome to view the source code. In each browser I can select an element on the webpage. This will quickly give me the link to the image, which I can then copy. If that is taken away, I can use IE, browse to the temporary internet files location, and simply copy the image file from there. If I cannot use that, each browser lets me view the source code, I can simply search for any ".jpg" part and go from there. Google is just making it easy for us to skip a step. It is Getty's fault for not taking the proper steps to protect their intellectual property.

Carders cash out hundreds of millions before USA adopts EMV

Wade Burchette

I have had a 9 digit PIN for several years. I only found one place that wouldn't accept that PIN. What I did is I practiced typing my PIN code on my home keyboard. (You have to remember that your keyboard's top row 7-8-9 but the card terminal's top row is 1-2-3.) I practiced the motions so that muscle memory would take over. Now I can cover the keypad completely and type the PIN code in while have my left hand covering the entire keypad.

Magnitude malvertisers spew 400 attacks from abused Scot ad firm

Wade Burchette

Re: Go on advertisers

This attack vector would die immediately if advertisers follow my rules on acceptable ads, rules that worked once when the internet became a necessity.

(1) Absolutely no tracking, no exception. (2) Absolutely no ad that requires Javascript or a plug-on of any kind, such as Flash or Java, no exception. (3) Absolutely no ad that covers part or all of a website, no exception. (4) Absolutely no pop-up or pop-under ads, no exception. (5) Absolutely no attempts at determining my location, no exception. No "Shocking secret [city name] man discovers!" type ads. (6) Absolutely no autoplay videos except when I click on a link that is clearly for a video. No videos that play while I am trying to read the page.

These rules worked once, they can work again. Follow them, and I will turn off Ghostery and NoScript.

Not OK, Google! FTC urged to thrust antitrust probe into Android

Wade Burchette

"Freezing out third-party apps"

Can someone tell me why it is wrong for Android to block third party apps but perfectly okay, in the eyes of several governments, for Apple to do so?

Intel literally decimates workforce: 12,000 will be axed, CFO shifts to sales

Wade Burchette

Re: Wonder what this kind of news means for AMD

AMD is also getting into the ARM game. They are shooting for ARM based servers.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/01/14/amd_arm_seattle_launch/

Personally, I don't care about AMD or Intel or any other company. What I fear the most is lack of competition.

Wade Burchette

Re: Makes one wonder...

"The X86 business is fading away....."

It wouldn't be if Windows 8 and Windows 10 were more like Windows 7.

Big telco proxies go full crazy over cable box plan

Wade Burchette

Re: Trying to relate this to the UK

There are two nationwide satellite broadcast companies in the US and they too require you to rent the equipment. One of those satellite companies is now owned by AT&T.

Wade Burchette
Childcatcher

Won't someone think of the children!

I see the Cable Co's are using the "think of the children" logical fallacy.

<< "It is simply bewildering that President Obama would come out in support of the FCC's controversial proposal to change the way we watch television at home. The FCC's set-top box proposal raises serious issues about privacy and data collection of children's viewing habits," raves the Digital Citizens Alliance.>>

Are third party set-top boxes going to be programmed to tune to the porn channels all the time? You can already get a TiVo box, and how is that any more or less safe for kids than the TiVo from the cable company? If you want to know the real reason why Cable Co is against this, it is money.

I bought a refurbished TiVo Roamio with lifetime service, a MoCA adapter, and a MoCA filter for $600. You can buy a TiVo Mini for $120. So with 3 TV's, my total cost was $960. Doing this, I cut my cable bill by $25/month. In 39 months, I come out on top. Think about how much money the cable companies would lose if just 1/10th of their customers did what I did. If you want to know why CableCard never took off it is because it was not in the financial interests of the cable companies to make it a success.

Embrace, extend – and kill. Microsoft discontinues RoboVM

Wade Burchette

Microsoft rethinks the Windows application platform one more time

Wade Burchette

It is all about control

One of the great things about Windows is that so many legacy programs work on it and I can put whatever program I choose to put on it. It seems to me that Microsoft wants to break that so they can control what programs you have on your computer. (P.S. Microsoft, they are PROGRAMS not applications. This is a computer, not a tablet or phone!)

Today, I downloaded a driver from HP's website for a Windows 10 computer. After I downloaded it, Win10 would not let me run it. It said the app has been blocked for security. (I do not remember the exact words, something to that effect.) That sounds good, but if Microsoft can selective block insecure programs, what else will they block in the future? "Sorry, that Firefox browser is a security risk. Use our Edge browser instead!" "Sorry, Microsoft Office 2003 is insecure. Use Microsoft Office 2016 instead!" "Dear VLC: nice software you got there. It would be a shame if it didn't run on Windows ... But don't worry, for a small yearly fee we can make sure it will run on Windows."

I still use programs and games that were made for Windows 95.

I do realize that allowing us to install anything we want also allows us to install malware and I realize that Microsoft needs to do something about security. A better approach would be if a program is flagged as possible malware would be to warn the user. You can block it from being run, but provide a clear set of steps to allow it to run. I rather deal with the risk of installing malware than with the risk of Microsoft telling me what I can and cannot install on my computer.

Cash-strapped Sprint to raise $2.2bn by flogging off its network hardware

Wade Burchette

Kicking the can down the road

Sprint has tried everything EXCEPT a better cellular network and better customer service. I see ads on TV all the time about Sprint cutting my Verizon or AT&T bill in half. I rather pay more for a mobile phone that works and doesn't drop calls. Sprint has yet to understand that important concept. Until they do, they will still bleed cash. This is just delaying the inevitable.

Windows 7's grip on the enterprise desktop is loosening

Wade Burchette

Re: But also remember

Today, this morning, KB2952664 and KB3035583 magically unhid themselves yet again. Windows 10 is turning into a bad telemarketer. How many times can I say no before you get the hint?

Microsoft announces Windows 10 Anniversary Update coming this summer

Wade Burchette

"Fantastic! That will certainly help fulfill Microsoft's promise (to itself) that it will exert more control over and, more importantly, take a cut of every bit of software running on Windows.

But even with good features being added, it must be remembered that with automatic updates and the idea of a 'free' OS, what Microsoft giveth, Microsoft can taketh away. One day you will have feature X, the next day it may be replaced with feature Y or gone altogether. Of course, it's likely that features removed will be made available through more dependence on 'cloud' - whether warranted or not."

Microsoft is now calling programs "applications" and "apps", just like a tablet and phone OS does. I believe they are doing this so you will start to think programs should be purchased through their app store. I believe one of the goals of Win10 is to convert a large one-time license purchase into the pay-to-play model that works on phones and tablets. It is a slow process.

One of the great things about Windows is that it is easy to install any program you want. But it is a double-edge sword because it also means it is easier to get junk programs and malware. I can envision a future where the only programs you can install on Windows must go through the app store. It will probably be told that it is for extra security. While controlling which programs can and cannot be installed does provide extra security, the real reason for forcing people to buy through an app store is to make money. "Security" is thrown in to placate you. Microsoft has already partially succeeded: many people are now calling computer programs "apps".

Another problem of forcing people to buy their programs through an app store is that it could also means even legitimate programs are locked out. LibreOffice competes with Microsoft Office -- DENIED! Google Chrome competes with Microsoft Edge -- DENIED! Do not think it cannot happen. Can you download a browser on the Apple app store that does not use the Safari rendering engine? It can and will happen.

Ransomware now using disk-level encryption

Wade Burchette

Proper backups

Isn't it great that Windows 8 and 10 include a full backup program that creates a system image? Oh wait, no they don't. That was one of my requests for Windows 10 that was ignored. I want to know why Microsoft thought removing a proper backup program and disabling F8 by default was a good idea. I want to find the persons who made that decision and I want to smack some sense into them.

Mud sticks: Microsoft, Windows 10 and reputational damage

Wade Burchette

Windows 10 was not a "democratic design"

The most requested feature for Windows 10 was Aero. Guess what was not put back in Windows 10?

Windows 10 feedback was really nothing more than a way for Microsoft to find bugs (and they didn't find them all before their hard-and-fast launch date) and to confirm their vision for the future. I and many people requested a logical, customizable, hierarchy based start menu like the one found in Windows 7 and Classic Shell. That was ignored. Feedback that suggested improvements to the mini-metro start menu were implemented. I and many others requested all tracking to be disabled in the final build. I even submitted my complaint, not as feedback, but as a problem because telemetry is a problem. Ignored.

So long as the feedback aligned with Microsoft's vision for Win10, it was listened to. They were not looking for democracy, they were looking for affirmation.

Microsoft will rest its jackboot on Windows 7, 8.1's throat on new Intel CPUs in 2018 – not 2017

Wade Burchette

Re: Planned obsolescence

Retiring Windows 7 is not a bad idea, provided there is something better to replace it with. Microsoft still does not realize that people are holding out because the user interface in Windows 7 is superior in every way over Win8 and Win10. Most people don't know anything beyond what they see on the screen, and what they see on the screen is ugly and hard to use.

One in five PCs will be a tablet with detachable keyboard by 2020

Wade Burchette

Re: IDC and Microsoft

Yogi Berra said that predictions are hard, especially about the future. These are the same group of individuals that said PC's are dead, tablets are the future. A few months later, tablet sales started to drop. These paid analysts always assume that past trends = future trends. They do not account for things like a horrible version of Windows followed by a horrible horrible version of Windows, market saturation, and fads.

IDC has a sweet job. Like meteorologists, they can be spectacularly wrong a few days out but yet people will still pay for their opinion.

Swedish publishers plan summer ‘Block Party’ to thwart ad blockers

Wade Burchette

They don't understand

While I disagree with the adblock plus "protection racket", these publishers are going about it the wrong way. They still don't understand why people use adblockers. For most, it is not because they don't want to see ads. They are annoyed with pop-up/pop-unders, tracking with ads, obtrusive ads, auto-playing videos, ads that attempt to learn your physical location, and ads that deliver malware or redirect your browser to scam websites.

If publishers want people to turn off adblockers, return the advertising model to the days when the internet first became a necessity of life, the days when the above rules were the de-facto standard. Until then, no matter what step you take, adblockers will just keep growing.

Obama puts down his encrypted phone long enough to tell us: Knock it off with the encryption

Wade Burchette

Hypocrites

Like many politicians and elitists there are rules for thee and rules for me.

"We must protect the sanctity of marriage!" "But Mr. Politician why were you having an affair with one of your staffers?" "Stop driving your SUV or the earth will die. Now excuse me while I fly to another conference to make the same speech."

Don't ask me to do something you will not first do yourself. Lead by example; if the problem is real, then prove that is real by following the rules you tell me to live by.

Microsoft adds 'non-security updates' to security patches

Wade Burchette

Re: I'll jump in before everybody starts to state the obvious....

I have had two people call me up and ask me why Windows 10 was installed on their computer. I never told them anything about Windows 10, the stink on it came from others. Windows 10 installed without their permission and since they ran a business, it cost them valuable time reverting back. Two other people told me she had a message saying that Windows 10 was going to upgrade in 30 minutes. In all 4 cases, GWX Control Panel to the rescue!

I ask people one simple question: "Why would a multi-billion dollar want, in fact demand, you take something expensive from them for free?" The people in my generation and younger still say "so what" when I ask that question, as if they have given up. They take to the streets to protest the FBI wanting to unlock an iPhone but happily turn around and give all that information to Facebook, as if one is better than the other. When I ask that question, the older generation gets it immediately. I have to tell them what Microsoft is doing, but that one question immediately makes them realize something is not right.

Stop whining, America: Your LTE makes Europe look slow

Wade Burchette

Coverage

"I was shocked upon first moving here just how poor the coverage was in rural areas."

The size of Europe is 3.9 million square miles. The size of the contiguous US (everything except Alaska, Hawaii, and its territories) is 3.1 million square miles. In Europe, 100 miles is a holiday. In the US, 100 miles is a daily commute. In the plains of the central US you can drive for miles and miles and only see corn. There is a lot of area to cover in this country. This is why rural coverage is so poor.

Is there anything left to ask Bill Gates? (Other than gissus a million?)

Wade Burchette

My questions

"Could you please convince the Microsoft brass to throw Windows 8 and Windows 10 in a sack, throw the sack in a safe, and hurl the safe into the sun? And could please convince Microsoft to make a Windows 11 that is exactly like Windows 7 -- complete with an Aero option, a proper backup, a working pre-boot F8 key*, and a customizable start menu organized into a hierarcy -- except with the performance enhancements of Windows 8 and nothing else? And when will Microsoft remove the 'no-right-to-sue' clause and 'Windows is licensed not owned' clause in the terms of the OS?"

*(Who ever thought disabling a pre-boot F8 key should be smacked hard in the head every day for the rest of his life. I have seen several Win8 machines go into a pre-boot BSOD loop and would never go into automatic repair. You couldn't get into the UEFI to boot to a DVD because the key to enter was disabled unless you were in the recovery console, which you could not get into unless you successfully booted, which it would not do because of a problem. Removing the hard drive did not suddenly allow me to get into the UEFI console either.)

McAfee gaffe a quick AV kill for enterprising staff

Wade Burchette

Re: Some confusion here

I was confused too. However, I was wondering would anybody be able to tell McAfee detection was turned off since it couldn't find water standing knee deep in the ocean. And, like walking in the ocean, it slows you down to a crawl, on or off.

Microsoft wants to lock everyone into its store via universal Windows apps, says game kingpin

Wade Burchette

Re: @Shadmeister - Can you see what it is yet?

"What is puzzling, though, is how so many clued-in people are also seemingly oblivious. Or doesn't anyone care anymore?"

I find people in my generation or earlier to have the attitude of "so what?" I find the attitude of people of the older generation to be of shock and awe. The generations that say "so what?" will also cry and complain and protest about the government wanting to slurp all our data, but then they turn around and have no complaints about a corporation doing the same thing. They cry about the warrantless tracking but turn around and tell Facebook where they are and where they are going. Neither the government nor the corporation looks out for our best interests. It is wrong for our government to do it and it is equally wrong for businesses to do it. Software companies can make a good profit not gulping down all our data. They did it once, they can do it again.

Who hit you, HP Inc? 'Windows 10! It's all Windows 10's fault'

Wade Burchette

"Windows 10 is a tremendous operating system platform"

I knew Dion Weisler was lying right there.

Feds spank Asus with 20-year audit probe for router security blunder

Wade Burchette

I have the Asus RT-AC66U

And I discovered that with the Merlin firmware and a SSH program, you can block all of the Windows 10 tracking. Block telemetry at the router level and there is nothing Microsoft can do to unblock it on your computer. If your Asus router supports Merlin and DD-WRT, then this trick can be done. I posted the instructions on my rarely updated blog.

This all came about because I knew DD-WRT allowed dnsmasq settings. Using dnsmasq, I simply add a line that says address=/bad.website.com/0.0.0.0 to block a website. I was looking to put DD-WRT on my router just for that purpose. Then I accidentally discovered that Merlin firmware lets you add dnsmasq settings. It just a matter of figuring out how to do it using the limited help on the Merlin firmware website.

Reminder: How to get a grip on your files, data that Windows 10 phones home to Microsoft

Wade Burchette

Steps to get a grip of your files, data that is phoned home to Microsoft

Step 1: Install Windows 7

Step 2: Disable telemetry updates

Step 3: Enjoy!

Alternative --

Step 1: Install Windows 8.1

Step 2: Install Classic Shell

Step 3: Disable telemetry updates

Step 4: Enjoy!

Another Alternative --

Step 1: Purchase Mac

Step 2: Enjoy!

Another Alternative --

Step 1: Download a Linux distro

Step 2: Install that Linux distro

Step 3: Enjoy!

Ransomware scum add Joomla to their list

Wade Burchette

This can all be prevented easily

Advertisers just need to follow my rules, rules which were being followed once when the internet took became a life's necessity. If they worked once, they can work again.

(1) Absolutely no tracking, no exception. (2) Absolutely no ad that uses a plugin, such as Flash or Java, or Javascript, no exception. (3) Absolutely no pop-up or pop-under ads, no exception. (4) Absolutely no auto-play videos except when I click on a link to a clearly labeled video. (5) Absolutely no ads that attempt to determine my location; i.e. no "Shocking secret [city name] man discovers" type ads. (6) Absolutely no ads that block part or all of a webpage, no exception.

If those rules were being followed, malvertising would stop immediately. The web ad business model was successful once when they obeyed my rules, they can be successful again. My privacy and my security are more important than your money. I want you to make money, but not at the expensive of something far more valuable than money.

Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge: Betting on VR with a dash of Vulkan

Wade Burchette

My desire for a removable battery has nothing to do with fast charging. I sometimes find myself working in a wireless signal-hating metal building. Since my cellular signal is weak, my phone works extra hard to maintain a signal. That means a quick battery drain. Having a spare to insert would help me out a lot. I also frequently take long trips and don't have access to a charger. That means a lot of fiddling with my mobile phone. That means a spare battery sure would be nice when, not if, my battery goes weak.

FCC clicks off the safety, fires at America's great cable TV box rip-off

Wade Burchette

Re: Don't we kind of have this now with TiVo?

"Cable card has been a failure."

CableCard has been a failure because cable companies want them to be a failure. The rental fee of a CableCard is much less than the rental fee of a cable box.

I bought a refurbished TiVo Roamio on sale with a lifetime subscription and a TiVo Mini for $600. For my cable company, a DVR is $14/month and a cable box is $7. They offer TiVo rentals, and the prices are the same for the corresponding devices. A CableCard is $6 for the first, $4 for each additional. So I saved $15/month, which is $15 less for my cable company. In 40 months, or 3 years 4 months, I will come out positive.

Since then, I have bought two other TiVo mini and a MoCA adapter and a MoCA filter because I had another TV without a nearby network adapter. Because I shopped around, all that cost me $280. So, instead of $35/month ($14 + $7 + $7 + $7) for 4 TV's, I now pay $6 month with $820 in equipment. My cable company is $29 poorer each month because of this. And now, in 29 months I come out positive.

Let us pretend that the average user for my cable company is somewhere in between, say 3 TV for $28/month. If 1,000 people did what I did, the cable company would make $22,000 less each month. If only 1,000 people did what I did, the cable company loses a lot of money. Now imagine if 10,000 people did. Do you see why the cable companies wants CableCard to be a failure? Do you see why they want to bribe politicians to block this?

Samsung S7 tease suggests phone likes it hot and wet

Wade Burchette

Re: No innovation

The beautiful thing about Apple is that they could sell overpriced iDirt and the Apple zealots would buy it and swear it is better than regular dirt. You cannot say what Apple does is what the market demands because Apple tells their market what they want.

I have had a need to replace a battery in my phone. I kept it so long the battery life was greatly reduced. I need a removable battery. Occasionally I am in a signal-killing metal building which rapidly drains the battery on my phone. With a removable battery, I can keep a spare in the car.

Shopping for PCs? This is what you'll be offered in 2016

Wade Burchette

Performance per watt is different than actual wattage. Yes, I care about the wattage. But on a laptop, I have more things I care about than the performance. The tasks I do on my desktop are different than on my laptop, so I don't need the extra performance of Intel CPU's on my laptop. My desktop will be Intel. Unless AMD Zen is a game changer.

However, what I worry about most is lack of competition.

Wade Burchette

Windows 7 cut off date is October

I plan on buying a new laptop before October when Windows 7 is no longer available to OEM's. I will not get Windows 10, ever. I read the terms of service, I will not agree to them. If I pay money for software, I want to own that software. But the terms of service of Win10 says that it is not owned, only licensed. It also says that most but not all of the anti-privacy settings can be disabled. Whenever a company says "we value your privacy", they don't mean they respect your privacy, but that your privacy is valuable to them.

But Microsoft can win me back real quick. Make Windows 11 a clone of Windows 7 except with the performance improvements of Windows 8. That means, bring back the option for Aero, don't disable F8 ever, have a proper backup program, a logical and customizable start menu that doesn't try to force me to use your app store, no tracking, no forced updates, and I own the software. Seriously, the person who thought it was a good idea to disable F8 by default needs to be smacked in the head every day for the rest of his life.

Wade Burchette

For laptops, the AMD Carrizo (A-8000) CPU would be my first, second, and third choice. On a laptop, I really don't care about performance per watt. I won't be encoding any audio or video on it. What the Carrizo does that Intel cannot is full H.265 decoding. I want my laptop to be good enough for casual gaming and watching movies when I'm on the go.

For my desktop ... I am excited about the new video cards coming from AMD and NVidia.

Sick and tired of modern Windows? Upgrade to Windows 3.1 today – in your web browser

Wade Burchette

I remember those days. I worked hard to free up an IRQ for my SoundBlaster all the while wishing I had a Borland MIDI card. Then I had to remember which DMA address I used. All this just so I could play Little Big Adventure and the sequel Twinsen's Odyssey.

Wade Burchette

"As a consequence I always associate Windows 3.11 with dental work."

Funny. I associate Windows 10 with my proctologist.

Norks uses ballistic missile to launch silent 'satellite'

Wade Burchette

Re: National Insecurity

"It's not like he has evidence for anything else he claims to believe."

And that is different than the other candidates how?

However, I will say this. Ted Cruz punked the Sierra Club bad in a senate meeting.

BT blames 'faulty router' for mega outage. Did they try turning it off and on again?

Wade Burchette

Reason #1,063 as to why the "cloud" and SaaS is a bad idea

Outages can and will happen. If all the important work you need to do is in the cloud and there is an outage, you are screwed.

Ban internet anonymity – says US Homeland Security official

Wade Burchette
Childcatcher

When I think of it

You know, cameras should regulated too. After all, you cannot have child pornography without first taking a picture. And terrorists use video messages to spread their hate. So, every picture and movie should require you to enter your ID before it can be operated so that a watermark can be embedded in the images. You shouldn't mind. After all, if you have nothing to hide ...

(Maybe I shouldn't be given these bureaucracies ideas.)

Death to clunky, creaky rip-off cable boxes – here's how it will happen

Wade Burchette

Re: thankfully not new for me

Same here. I bought a TiVo on sale. When I bought it at tivo.com, the price for it and lifetime service was under $600. Even when I factored in the CableCard rental fee, the MoCA adapter (which was not required but TiVo works much better with it), the MoCA filter, and extra TiVo minis, my return-on-investment was 3 years. A DVR I turned in was 8 years old. So I expect this TiVo to last at least that long. Plus, there is a free Java program that lets me download recorded TV shows off it.

Five technologies you shouldn't bother looking out for in 2016

Wade Burchette

Re: Five technologies you shouldn't bother looking out for in 2016

Linux will become mainstream when, and only when, businesses start to switch to it en masse. When the businesses start to use it, more programs will be made for it. And the businesses will start to train their employees on how to use it. After that, when the employees go to look for a computer, they will want one like the one they were trained on at work.

Large businesses are where it is at. Lose them, and they lose the war. The majority of home users will just buy what they are used to at their jobs, and Microsoft knows that. The problem is, with Windows 10, Microsoft is angering many businesses.

Will it be enough anger to switch to Linux? I don't know. I am very confident that if the anger over Win10 is not enough to push businesses away, then the stupid inept leadership at Microsoft will do something else to make people angry. If I burgle your home and you don't call the police, then that just gives more confidence to do it again to you. SatNad is smart but not wise. He will keep making people angry at Microsoft over different issues and eventually the dam will break. This is not inevitable. SatNad could become wise by listening to people more experienced in the real world than he or he could be fired, sacked, canned, or let go. The thing about predictions is that they are hard, especially about the future.

West Virginia mulls mother of all muni networks – effectively a state-wide, state-run ISP

Wade Burchette

Excellent idea

West Virginia is a very poor state. Their economy is very dependent on coal mines, which are being strangled by eco-zealots and the EPA with new rules on pollution. There are not many industries because it is in the heart of Appalachia. There are a lot of mountains. We do get a lot of natural gas from West Virginia, and the people have mineral rights to that when it is on their property. There is some tourism because it is beautiful and there is the Green Banks radio telescope. But that is not enough.

Now imagine if every town had 25+ meg internet. High tech jobs that don't really need trucks to come and go could be located in one of those beautiful mountain town way off the interstate. The economy wouldn't be dependent on coal. This could really bring in a lot of jobs. It could also encourage people to buy retirement or vacation homes, thus helping the economy even more. This project would be a worthy investment for the mountain state.

Someone please rid me of this turbulent Windows 10 Store

Wade Burchette

Re: Perhaps the problem is...

SatNad reminds me of a person who has book knowledge but absolutely no understanding of how the world really works. Combine that with Microsoft's fetish for copying other people's ideas and you have Win10.

AMD accuses Intel of VW-like results fudging

Wade Burchette

I am very interested to see if the AMD Zen has up its sleeve. Right now, for desktops I would only go with Intel. But for a laptop, I would only go with the AMD A-8000 (Carrizo) series. The reason is I don't need the extra performance of Intel on a laptop. What the AMD Carrizo does well is 4K HEVC decoding and gaming, two things I rather have in a laptop.

We need both AMD and Intel in the CPU space. We need both AMD and NVidia for video cards. Competition means lower prices and better quality. I am also very interested in the next generation of AMD and NVidia video cards. It looks like both will have a giant leap forward in quality.

Adblock Plus blocked from attending ad industry talkfest

Wade Burchette

Rules for advertisers

I have a few rules advertisers must follow before I will disable Ghostery and NoScript. These rules are not too difficult because the internet once thrived when my rules were being followed, except for rule 6. If it was successful once, it can be successful again.

(1) Absolutely no tracking in any way, no exception.

(2) Absolutely no autoplay videos of any kind except when I press play on a video or when I click on a link for a video (and not a link for a story).

(3) Absolutely no ads that cover part or all of a website.

(4) Absolutely no ads that try to use my location. No "Shocking secret [city name] man discovers!"

(5) Absolutely no ads that use Flash, Java, or Javascript, no exception.

(6) Since you took the money, you are financial responsible for vetting your ads. If you ads injects or attempts to inject malware, you must pay a fine.

Hot Swedish nurses in charity calendar rumpus

Wade Burchette

My eyes! The goggles do nothing!

(Too bad we can't embed img tags.)

No escape: Microsoft injects 'Get Windows 10' nagware into biz PCs

Wade Burchette

I had another update unhide itself

I hid KB3035583 hidden. A few weeks later, there it was, unhidden and checked. Thankfully, I manually install updates because several security updates interfere with Windows Sever Essentials Client Restore. (So far, the ones I've identified are: 3033929, 3035131, 3042058, 3045999,3046049, 3057154, 3060716, 3061518, 3067505, 3071756, 3080079, 3081320, 3088195, 3101246, 3101746. I think it is very annoying how Microsoft's own updates break a Microsoft product.)

Today, several new updates were in my Win7 update queue an lo and behold, one was unhidden yet again, but this time not checked. KB2952664. My vigilance to stop Win10 on my machine is eternal.

Wade Burchette

@ a_yank_lurker

"US law mandates all back and liquidated damages are owed to each employee if a company misses a payroll. Now if this can be traced by to Slurp and W10 this could make for an interesting lawsuit with the possibility of punitive damages."

One problem. Read the terms-of-service you agree to when you install:

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10. Binding Arbitration and Class Action Waiver if You Live in (or if a Business Your Principal Place of Business is in) the United States.

We hope we never have a dispute, but if we do, you and we agree to try for 60 days to resolve it informally. If we can’t, you and we agree to binding individual arbitration before the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) under the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”), and not to sue in court in front of a judge or jury. Instead, a neutral arbitrator will decide and the arbitrator’s decision will be final except for a limited right of appeal under the FAA. Class action lawsuits, class-wide arbitrations, private attorney-general actions, and any other proceeding where someone acts in a representative capacity aren’t allowed. Nor is combining individual proceedings without the consent of all parties. “We,” “our,” and “us” includes Microsoft, the device manufacturer, and software installer.

a. Disputes covered-everything except IP. The term “dispute” is as broad as it can be. It includes any claim or controversy between you and the manufacturer or installer, or you and Microsoft, concerning the software, its price, or this agreement, under any legal theory including contract, warranty, tort, statute, or regulation, except disputes relating to the enforcement or validity of your, your licensors’, our, or our licensors’ intellectual property rights.

b. Mail a Notice of Dispute first. If you have a dispute and our customer service representatives can’t resolve it, send a Notice of Dispute by U.S. Mail to the manufacturer or installer, ATTN: LEGAL DEPARTMENT. If your dispute is with Microsoft, mail it to Microsoft Corporation, ATTN: LCA ARBITRATION, One Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA 98052-6399. Tell us your name, address, how to contact you, what the problem is, and what you want. A form is available at (aka.ms/disputeform). We’ll do the same if we have a dispute with you. After 60 days, you or we may start an arbitration if the dispute is unresolved.

c. Small claims court option. Instead of mailing a Notice of Dispute, and if you meet the court’s requirements, you may sue us in small claims court in your county of residence (or if a business your principal place of business) or our principal place of business-King County, Washington USA if your dispute is with Microsoft. We hope you’ll mail a Notice of Dispute and give us 60 days to try to work it out, but you don’t have to before going to small claims court.

d. Arbitration procedure. The AAA will conduct any arbitration under its Commercial Arbitration Rules (or if you are an individual and use the software for personal or household use, or if the value of the dispute is $75,000 USD or less whether or not you are an individual or how you use the software, its Consumer Arbitration Rules). For more information, see (aka.ms/adr) or call 1-800-778-7879. To start an arbitration, submit the form available at (aka.ms/arbitration) to the AAA; mail a copy to the manufacturer or installer (or to Microsoft if your dispute is with Microsoft). In a dispute involving $25,000 USD or less, any hearing will be telephonic unless the arbitrator finds good cause to hold an in-person hearing instead. Any in-person hearing will take place in your county of residence (of if a business your principal place of business) or our principal place of business-King County, Washington if your dispute is with Microsoft. You choose. The arbitrator may award the same damages to you individually as a court could. The arbitrator may award declaratory or injunctive relief only to you individually to satisfy your individual claim.

e. Arbitration fees and payments.

(i) Disputes involving $75,000 USD or less. The manufacturer or installer (or Microsoft if your dispute is with Microsoft) will promptly reimburse your filing fees and pay the AAA’s and arbitrator’s fees and expenses. If you reject our last written settlement offer made before the arbitrator was appointed, your dispute goes all the way to an arbitrator’s decision (called an “award”), and the arbitrator awards you more than this last written offer, the manufacturer or installer (or Microsoft if your dispute is with Microsoft) will: (1) pay the greater of the award or $1,000 USD; (2) pay your reasonable attorney’s fees, if any; and (3) reimburse any expenses (including expert witness fees and costs) that your attorney reasonably accrues for investigating, preparing, and pursuing your claim in arbitration. The arbitrator will determine the amounts unless you and we agree on them.

(ii) Disputes involving more than $75,000 USD. The AAA rules will govern payment of filing fees and the AAA’s and arbitrator’s fees and expenses.

(iii) Disputes involving any amount. If you start an arbitration we won’t seek our AAA or arbitrator’s fees and expenses, or your filing fees we reimbursed, unless the arbitrator finds the arbitration frivolous or brought for an improper purpose. If we start an arbitration we will pay all filing, AAA, and arbitrator’s fees and expenses. We won’t seek our attorney’s fees or expenses from you in any arbitration. Fees and expenses are not counted in determining how much a dispute involves.

f. Must file within one year. You and we must file in small claims court or arbitration any claim or dispute (except intellectual property disputes - see Section 10.a.) within one year from when it first could be filed. Otherwise, it’s permanently barred.

g. Severability. If the class action waiver is found to be illegal or unenforceable as to all or some parts of a dispute, those parts won’t be arbitrated but will proceed in court, with the rest proceeding in arbitration. If any other provision of Section 10 is found to be illegal or unenforceable, that provision will be severed but the rest of Section 10 still applies.

h. Conflict with AAA rules. This agreement governs if it conflicts with the AAA’s Commercial Arbitration Rules or Consumer Arbitration Rules.

i. Microsoft as party or third-party beneficiary. If Microsoft is the device manufacturer or if you acquired the software from a retailer, Microsoft is a party to this agreement. Otherwise, Microsoft is not a party but is a third-party beneficiary of your agreement with the manufacturer or installer to resolve disputes through informal negotiation and arbitration.

Microsoft’s Get Windows 10 nagware shows signs of sentience

Wade Burchette

Re: overstepping the mark

Here are some highlights from the terms of service you agree to when installing:

* The software is licensed, not sold.

* Your privacy is important to us. Some of the software features send or receive information when using those features. Many of these features can be switched off in the user interface, or you can choose not to use them. (Notice, many but not all can be switched off.)

* We hope we never have a dispute, but if we do, you and we agree to try for 60 days to resolve it informally. If we can’t, you and we agree to binding individual arbitration before the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) under the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”), and not to sue in court in front of a judge or jury. Class action lawsuits, class-wide arbitrations, private attorney-general actions, and any other proceeding where someone acts in a representative capacity aren’t allowed. Nor is combining individual proceedings without the consent of all parties.

That last bullet is reason enough to not install. Thankfully, I haven't. So I am not bound by a corrupt mandatory "neutral" arbitration.