* Posts by Tristan Young

102 publicly visible posts • joined 24 Apr 2008

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Mozilla locks nosy Avast, AVG extensions out of Firefox store amid row over web privacy

Tristan Young

The makers of Avast became dodgy bloatware creators. I kicked Avast's ass to the curb years ago. Their software was slowing down PCs and even created some unexpected reboots and lost Windows system files during its time protecting against malware (but not protecting against itself). The very thing that was supposed to keep our computers safer became the very problem we desired to avoid.

Best practices have kept our systems malware-free. Avast was purely a drain. Not surprised that they were slurping more data than was truly necessary through browser plugins, and kudos to Firefox for removing them from the addon store. This should extend to existing installs by way of an election page explaining things to the user, and giving them the option to remove the offending addons.

Microsoft flings the Windows Calculator source at GitHub

Tristan Young

Configurable multiple instance - single instance

Please, someone fix this blasted calculator. I know, this is not the right forum to request, so I'll explain what I find wrong with the calculator (besides it being way too huge). I'll look elsewhere for someone who can fix it.

There are times when you might want to spawn a second instance of the calculator, and sometimes you might want only a single instance, brought to the front of all other windows.

In Windows 10, each time you run the app (I have a calculator button on my keyboard), a new instance is launched, This is the default behaviour.

In Windows XP, each time I pressed the calculator button, it either launches the initial instance, or brought the existing instance to the front. This is the default behaviour.

In the work I do, I need always single-instance, as I'll be plugging in values from different programs. Pressing the calculator button (or a hotkey) could bring the calculator to the front, so I could enter values, before going on to the next program to add more values.

I would love to be able to configure the calculator for single-instance mode, with a button in the upper-right to create a second instance when required.

Atari accuses El Reg of professional trolling and making stuff up. Welp, here's the interview tape for you to decide...

Tristan Young

Re: Hahashahahahahahaahah!

Atari needs a good kicking. As a former retail salesperson of Atari computers (520ST, 1040ST, Mega, TT, Falcon, Lynx handheld console), yeah, a good kicking, A) to see if they are still alive, and B) to encourage them to progress. Don't show up to a meeting in order to provide lots of, "Um, I don't know" and "I can't tell you" statements. No one cares about I don't know and I can't tell you. Successful hype isn't built on uncertainty.

'Your computer has a virus' cold call con artists on the rise – Microsoft

Tristan Young

I've tried telling scammers I don't have a computer. Not taking that for an answer, they usually respond with, "What about your laptop?". (sigh)

Next time, I'll tell them I need a few minutes to enter the bootstrap code via toggleswitch, because my punchcard reader won't arrive till next Tuesday.

Firefox bookmark saving add-on gives users that sync-ing feeling

Tristan Young

Xmarks hasn't been relevant for a few years now. Firefox Sync is built-in native bookmark backup/syncinc that actually works.

It gave me great joy to uninstall Xmarks. Making Firefox leaner is always a good thing.

Revealed: The naughty tricks used by web ads to bypass blockers

Tristan Young

The problem I have with ads these days is it has grown worse, not better. Advertisers and crappy/dodgy website operators have seeded the net with filthy websites - I'm talking about click-bait pollution.

You know, someone shares what initially seems like an interesting post on social media, so you click on it, only to find out in order to read the content you get served a half-dozen ads, with the content intermingled between the ads. You have to continuously click NEXT to load the next page to continue the story, which is again contaminated by a half-dozen ads. After following 4 or 5 NEXT pages and viewing 24 to 36 ads, you are sadly disappointed and regret wasting your life, realizing that's 5 to 10 minutes you'll never get back of your life. A post so low in quality that you start to question your friend's intelligence, perhaps even accusing them of not reading the article themselves and habitually clicking SHARE because, well, that's the in-thing today, oh and you can practically feel your brain growing more dumb as you fall for it.

This is one example of ads run amok, and I'm sure there's few fans of this, except those that sit back and collect ad revenue.

Ad blockers are a natural result of disease-infested net-based advertising. Wait till we start pushing AI into ad-blocking. Eventually AI will intelligently cut out the ads, and their sourcecode all together without ANY human interaction, even if they are served from the same domain and employ obfuscation technologies. I equate this to being similar to the way AI can key out a specific vase within a busy picture containing many vases, flowers, books, fruit, and furniture with a high degree of accuracy.

I don't mind non-invasive, easy-on-the-eyes (aesthetically pleasing), tasteful, random ads that aren't steered by the type of websites I visit, or the types of search queries I make. I actually like picking apart ads to see what advertisers are doing - all the right and the wrong contained within their ad. Helps me be a better website operator.

Flash... Nu-uh! Tech folk champing at the bit to switch off life support

Tristan Young

Flash is dead to me

All our home systems have been flash free for the last couple of years. All new systems I'm building are flash-free. By flash-free, I'm referring to not installing flash AND not using Microsoft's Edge browser with pre-installed flash. They are better for it, a little bit safer, less vulnerable. Reducing attack vectors while improving reliability is important.

Surely someone will come out with a flash emulator to help scientists. We shouldn't need the flash plugin installed in billions of machines in order to be able to interact with a flash script. If I can play Moon Patrol and Joust over at the Internet Archives, surely I can also play a flash script the same way.

The demise of flash has been slow in coming, and predictable, lots of time to come up with a game plan.

I had an issue over the last few days where a work machine being used for shipping was thrown into a refresh loop on account of Adobe flashplayer, couldn't log in or do anything. FedEx has a stupid flash ad banner on their front page and something went wrong - clearing the cache and resetting things wouldn't solve the problem. I ended up circumventing this bug by installing an ad blocker and blocking the flash element. I won't miss flashplayer one bit. Good riddance to yet-another example of Adobe's terrible coding.

Bixby bailout: Samsungers bailing on lame-duck assistant

Tristan Young

Digital assistants - don't really care about them, just as long as I can disable them.

They've always been fadish, just like Microsoft's good ol' pal Clippy.

Has Canadian justice gone too far? Cops punish drunk drivers with NICKELBACK

Tristan Young

It's not up to police to punish someone, and the method - threatening a punishment and relating it to torture is them overstepping in a big way. Indecent.

That being said, There is a lot of bad music out there, with entire genres that would be more torturous to play, I think the police went too far in insinuating that Nickelback is bad (not saying it is or isn't true BTW), and hopefully Nickelback hits back at them with a successful lawsuit for defamation, misuse of their intellectual property, public performance of copyrighted work, etc.

Honestly people, don't drink and drive. And police.... I doubt your threat will help.

Ludicrous Patent of the Week: Rectangles on a computer screen

Tristan Young

Awarding patents like this is a sure-fire way to make yourself look like an incompetent, inept, rather idiot and useless person or organization.

Can we vote to send the entire USPTO to represent the Earth on Mars? I hear it could be a one-way trip.

Ad flog Plus: Adblock Plus now an advertising network, takes cash to broker web banners

Tristan Young

I use ad blocking to hide intrusive ads, and elements which are hugely problematic, such as video boxes which play when you accidentally (or on purpose) mouse over them.

I generally block sports-related video boxes from news sites, because I have absolutely no interest in sports. I also use it to block elements which open up and block other elements.

Today I began uninstalling adblock on all my machines, and am switching to ublock origin. So far, I'm impressed. I had some problems with Adblock Plus, and find blocking the right elements much easier in ublock.

So Adblock Plus - you've been kicked the f**k out of my life.

Adobe reverses decision to kill NPAPI Flash plugin for Linux

Tristan Young

Flash is dead, give it a proper burial

Let's put it another way... Sure, you can polish a turd, but it's still a turd, and it still smells like Adobe's crap. The best thing that anyone can do is drop a flash in the toilet.

I've been flash-free for a while now, don't miss it one bit,

Yahoo! is! not! killing! Messenger! today!, just! the! desktop! client!

Tristan Young

Goodbye Yahoo IM. I shuttered my account recently after more than a few years of inactivity. Yahoo has had a terrible security track record. Now that everyone I know has abandoned it, there was no point to keeping an account.

One day my friends and I will sit around and laugh about the abominations that were AOL and Yahoo!. We might even throw ICQ a quick mention.

Incidentally, my boss and his wife use yahoo for their email. I receive spam in their name, with a long list of email addresses that have been slurped from their contact list/phone book,. Had to block all their emails, and so far they have chosen to ignore the problem. Sigh.

Wannabe Prime Minister Andrea Leadsom thinks all websites should be rated – just like movies

Tristan Young

... and I think all politicians should be rated by the citizens and thrown in prison if they are determined to be crooks, thugs, liars, cheats, deceivers, enter into really bad deals and contracts, waste our money, etc.

Awe, screw the rating. They all deserve life-long prison sentences. Maybe a little Minority Report style look-ahead so we can catch these scumbags before they manage to reach office.

Win Phone to outgrow smartmobe market for next four years

Tristan Young

Sounds like wishful thinking

I work in an environment where everyone shows everyone else the latest technology, the latest must-have apps, and the customers are very tech-savvy.

I've never seen a WinPhone owner show off some cool app to everyone. I've never heard anyone say it's an absolute delight. What I do hear is how people just wanted a phone, and didn't care what OS it had, but if they could do it again, they'd buy an Android or iPhone.

People who I thought would be long-time Blackberry users ended up switching, but not to WinPhone or iPhone as I would have thought - almost always to Android.

The epic failure of bluetooth in Lollipop 5.0.2 aside, today's Android phones work pretty slick. With an ever-increasing hatred for Microsoft, it will be difficult for them to get the numbers they're anticipating. That's why it's not called guaranteed. Making millions of phones and selling them to dealers is not the same thing as getting them into the hands of customers, and Microsoft will find that latter part very difficult.

Meanwhile customers that are already using android or iphone have probably amassed a bunch of paid apps they really enjoy, and won't want to re-purchase for a different platform. If not for that point alone, maybe they just don't want to mess with a winning formula - if it ain't broke, don't fix it by switching to a platform you're not familiar with. As stats go - many other people aren't familiar with either.

Cram my freebies into Android phones and get a royalty discount, says Microsoft (allegedly)

Tristan Young

Just waiting till a safe root is produced that doesn't trip KNOX (or fixes it), and then I'll be jettisoning Microsoft's crapware from my phone. Honestly, If I wanted Microsoft's apps on my phone, I would install them myself. I don't ever plan to use them. For now, they have been disabled or hidden.

Zuckerberg asks the public to tell him where to go in 2015

Tristan Young

Mark Zuckerberg can go zuck himself.

All we want is a dislike button. Instead this mother zucker continues to give us crap, while contaminating our news feeds with more crap. Meanwhile half of our friend's more important status updates get filtered out.

Yahoo! Says! Chrome, IE Users! Should! 'Upgrade'! To! FIREFOX!

Tristan Young

Re: Cheeky buggers...

I'm in Canada, and the default search (and my chosen search) was changed to Yahoo! US only? I wish. Mozilla's firefox has pretty much exhibited malware-like behavior by surreptitiously altering my settings - I almost thought I was using IE again, and somehow had a BHO installed without my permission.

Firefox is the new IE? Hehehehe

Tristan Young

I! changed! my! default! search! provider! back! to! Google!

Why?

Many MANY years ago I fired Yahoo, over almost non-existent security, irrelevant search results, and an email system that was brain-dead dumb at best. Since firing Yahoo! I have seen improved search results, don't regret Google's focus on security, and run my own email server which has never let me down even once.

Dear Yahoo!

You're fired again. I've changed 9 systems back to Google, and this count will only increase.

Sincerely,

A Yahoo! user never-again.

Like AOL and a bad fart - Yahoo keeps hanging around, stinking up the internet. The best thing you can do is leave the room, and hope it doesn't follow you.

One Windows? How does that work... and WTF is a Universal App?

Tristan Young

Why would I want to get my apps from one place (Windows app store)? I don't even like buying my beer and spirits from our local government-owned monopoly.

I don't even trust Microsoft, so why would I continue to go back to Microsoft for apps?

There is only one thing I want from Microsoft, a great-looking, well-running, secure OS. I don't want to go back to Microsoft for anything else. I hate Microsoft overall. I use Microsoft Windows because I can't find the same software I need on Linux, and my hatred for Microsoft is shadowed only by my hatred for Apple.

'Windows 9' LEAK: Microsoft's playing catchup with Linux

Tristan Young

If these videos reflect how Windows 9 is going to look, I'm going to avoid Windows 9 as well as Windows 8.

I really don't mind staying with Windows 7 for another 5 years.

This new flat-boring appearance is absolutely horrid. I hate tiles, no matter how Microsoft implements them. I know there are people out there that love this stuff, but I very much prefer a GUI that looks more exciting.

New leaked 'Windows 8 screenshot': The Start Menu strikes back

Tristan Young

The Start Menu is only a small part of what I don't like about Windows 8.x. Fixing it the way they are planning just makes me want to avoid it some more.

I'm not a fan of the tiled interface, and I don't really want to see it at all. The overall Win 8.x appearance forces a flat and boring appearance on users. Some may like it, but I don't.

There is a way to bring back the Windows 7 theming style, but I don't know how this will work with this uglier Start Menu. I just wish Microsoft had some true artistic vision for their OS.

This changes everything: Microsoft slips WinXP holdouts $100 to buy new Windows 8 PCs

Tristan Young

Absolutely not interested in any hardware Microsoft has to offer, and also not interested in Windows 8.x. Giving Windows 8.x away for free is no-where near enough compensation for me.

I think Microsoft needs to realize, Windows 8 is junk. Sure, the kernel may be better, but overall the OS looks like crap - it's flat, and very boring. If I have to stare at a glowing screen all day, it had better look sweet. Windows 7 works VERY WELL on my existing hardware. Windows XP is being run on a total of two of my own computers, until I can muster enough free time to install Windows 7. I would buy a computer running Win 7, but again, never from Microsoft's website.

I would go back to Vista before turning to 8.

Ubuntu unleashes dual boot tool for Android mobes'n'slabs

Tristan Young

Cool idea, not that dual-booting is a new concept.

I can't think of any good reason to boot into anything Ubuntu/Canonical. I'm so fed up with Ubuntu and Canonical.

Apple patents facial recognition tech for mobile log-in

Tristan Young

Prior art. It's time Apple stopped trying to patent the world and everything in it, and actually got back to innovating.

Stealing other people's ideas, and even patenting ideas which are already in play is generally a bad business model, and one which not only makes me hate Apple, but continues to push me away from Apple products.

The apple is filled with poison. I'm not a big fan of poison.

Windows 8.1: A bit square, sure, but WAIT! It has a Start button

Tristan Young

I am more committed than ever to avoid the entire Windows 8.x branch. The changes Microsoft has instituted are insufficient. There is much left that is disliked.

I can't stand the overall appearance of the OS. It boggles my mind how Microsoft was starting to get on the right track with XP, then Windows 7, the totally botched up Windows 8. It's flat and boring. This is not how I want my workspace to look. If I want flat and boring, I'll go back to sticking post-it notes everywhere.

Windows 8 is a disaster. The sooner Microsoft realizes that, the sooner they can get back to producing something lean, mean, and compelling. The only thing compelling about Windows 8 is the intense desire to defenestrate computing devices running Windows 8.

I'm stuck with Windows 7 until Microsoft smartens up, or Linux matures as a music production and gaming platform.

Ubuntu 13.10 lands on desktops, servers and (er, some) phones

Tristan Young

I will never go back to Ubuntu. Mark Shuttleworth and company have ruined Ubuntu, and it is no longer worthy of the computers I administer.

Ubuntu brought me to Linux with v6.06, and it made me very happy. Around v9.06 it was really starting to pissed me off, and by v11.11 I was so completely fed up with the BS bugs and changes that I dumped that crap and installed Windows 7 Pro, and couldn't be happier.

I might return to Linux someday, especially now that gaming is starting to come to Linux in a more serious fashion. But hell, it won't be a Canonical distro. I absolutely hate Ubuntu. I would go with some other one.

Microsoft wants to 'move beyond' the Cookie Monster

Tristan Young

What, Microsoft wants to give users more reasons to AVOID Microsoft products?

Isn't Internet Explorer crappy enough?

Haven't they lost enough respect in the world?

Is Microsoft deranged? Mentally unfit?

Microsoft relents: 'Go ahead, install Windows 8.1 on clean PCs'

Tristan Young

As long as Windows 8.x looks like crap, I don't want it. I would love the improved Kernel, and some of the other aspects, but Windows tablet/smartphone interface, the overdone start menu, and the flat and boring desktop mode theme will not be gracing my machines.

I still feel Microsoft took a giant step backwards in terms of style. I skipped Vista, and I'll skip Windows 8.x.

BING! Microsoft plants Xbox Music flagpoles in Android and iOS

Tristan Young

Why exactly would I want Microsoft XBox Music on my non-Microsoft devices?

I'm in a process of divestiture, in terms of Microsoft's products and services. I have decided that I can live with Windows XP and Windows 7, but there is nothing compelling in Windows 8. There is no other software or service I want from Microsoft. I certainly wouldn't play Microsoft XBox Music through my android device. I went Android, and have avoided Windows Phone, so I don't have to put up with Microsoft's BS. I certainly don't want Microsoft being the gatekeeper of media I want to play.

Microsoft has had a chance to innovate over the last couple of years, and they wasted their opportunity.

More brutal PC numbers from Dell as revenues stay flat, profits sink

Tristan Young

What, Dell is still around?

I would never buy a Dell. I wouldn't even take a free one. I've used Dell computers, and I absolutely dislike them. Custom-built PC all the way.

Xbox 180: Microsoft scraps mandatory Kinect policy

Tristan Young

Too bad for Microsoft, a huge swath of gamers have already earmarked their money for Sony's PS4.

Personally, I don't trust Microsoft anymore. They could say the sky is blue, and I'd call it into question. They could say their stuff won't eavesdrop, but for all I know, their hardware will get up and walk over to the side of your bed, apply a liberal amount of lube, then have a go at your behind while saying, "my precious" in a gollum-like voice.

XBox One - Playstation Four, therefore Playstation wins ;)

There she blows! Mid-October release date for Windows 8.1 sighted

Tristan Young

Microsoft isn't really fixing all the problems users are having, only making some concessions.

The problem is more than what Microsoft is fixing.

I won't be switching to Windows 8.1 because it's too ugly for me. It lacks any sort of draw to me, aside from kernel-level stuff. If Microsoft were to include the kernel improvements, and security enhancements into Windows 7, I'd be far more happy with Microsoft.

It hasn't grown on me. It has made me bitter towards Microsoft and their designers. Bitter is not even a strong-enough word.

Adobe CEO admits need to 'tweak' Creative Suite's cloud-only policy

Tristan Young

No love for Adobe

Adobe has more problems than designing, and defending a cloud-based creative suite.

Adobe's software is terribly buggy at the best of times. I'm not focusing on Photoshop specifically, but all of their software. On a daily basis, I get errors like "Error copying to clipboard" only with Adobe's software. I've never had clipboard copying errors with any other program.

I refuse to pay for Adobe's software. I'd rather use the free alternatives, heck no, I would rather pay for the free alternatives, such as GIMP, than use Adobe's software - even if Photoshop was free.

Terrible coding. Lots of bugs. And they want to send us to the cloud for what... so we can get new bugs sooner?

Exclusive Halo game coming to Windows 8 and WinPhone 8

Tristan Young
FAIL

F**K IT. Halo isn't worth it. I'd rather just give up computers and gaming than be coerced into running Windows 8.

Microsoft: 'Facebook Home just copies Windows Phone'

Tristan Young

Put people first. Is that what Microsoft was thinking when they made Windows 8 so crappy for desktop and laptop users?

How about declaring that the new XBox will require a full-time internet connection?

Personally, I don't want a phone that puts people first. I want a phone that puts the many apps I enjoy using first.

When I really want to socialize with people, I'll call up an app to do it.

If the only choices in phones were between a WinPhone, or a Facebook phone, I would chose whichever phone had the best system specs, then I'd wipe out the Windows or Facebook (Android) OS and install Android.

Next from Microsoft: 'Blue', the Windows 8 they hope you don't hate

Tristan Young
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Windows Blue - as in BSOD?

Sorry, but I'm not interested in Windows 8, Windows Blue, or any Windows (or gadget) which insists on using Microsoft's [pathetic and really old, antiquated, ripped-off] tile interface.

There's a really good reason why no-one I know uses Windows 8. Those freakin' ugly tiles.

Ubuntu 13.04 beta touts search privacy - before it hooks in eBay, IMDb etc

Tristan Young
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Ubuntu

No thank you.

Ubuntu sucks. I've pretty much had it with the Ubuntu distro. I grew tired of having to fix things with every release. It went from working well on my laptop with no problems, to progressively worse problems that required me to fix Ubuntu's junk.

An OS that needs fixing for brand-new installs is just completely stupid. Ubuntu had the winning formula between v6.06 and 9.10. After that, it went downhill.

Microsoft acknowledges the long and winding road ahead

Tristan Young

I can't see my screen!

I hate touchscreens. I'm already having to clean fingerprints off my LCD at work because people insist on pointing to things on the screen, like touching it will make it do something.

I really f**kin' hate fingerprints on my screens.

Ear-smudge and finger flack gets in the way of me showing off my shiny smartphone. It constantly requires cleaning, it's almost as bad as low-low toilets where the crap doesn't flush down and sticks to the bowl above the water line.

Microsoft can blame themselves for a change. I'm tired of the "it's everybody else" blame game. Ballmer is an absolute moron, and it's time Microsoft kicked him to the curb.

Apple is granted a patent on the rectangle. No, really

Tristan Young
WTF?

Apple would have a difficult time seeking compensation for this patent.

There is so much prior art, that whomever allowed this patent to even be submitted must have been comatose when they rubber stamped it.

Any court, when faced with the plethora of prior art, would invalidate Apple's patent. It probably wouldn't even cost that much money. Give the courts a box full of thin rectangular devices with rounded corners that were invented before Apple applied for the patent, and ask them to chose one at random.

Hint: almost any episode of Star Trek TNG would suffice.

Nobody knows what to call Microsoft's ex-Metro UI

Tristan Young

How about calling it..... "The UI", which stands for The Unimaginative Interface.

Or we could call it "the most boring product Microsoft has put out to date, that wasn't Windows XP or Windows 7".

Whatever Microsoft wants to call it, it's the ugliest UI I've ever laid my eyes on. I wish Microsoft wouldn't cram crap tablet/phone UI's down desktop users throats. If I actually wanted a serious change from Windows 7 or XP, I'd switch back to Linux.

IE10 coming to Windows 7 sometime, maybe

Tristan Young

But who would use IE 10?

Everyone I know has an inherent distrust for Microsoft software (well, except one person I know, but he's in denial). Who would be daring enough to use IE10? There are so many better choices today, that are more conformant to open web standards, and don't leave the computer open to attack.

I would upgrade to IE10 only to make sure that if a program, or a guest user comes in and finds a way to visit web pages through IE10 or employs the rendering engine (Trident?), then I might be (a big MIGHT) a bit safer over older versions (and I don't honestly believe that, probably why I don't let outsiders use my computers).

Windows 8 pricing details announced as preorders begin

Tristan Young
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$Free is too much for Windows 8

I wouldn't pay a red cent for Windows 8.

We are swearing off Windows 8. We don't want our user interface experience changed. The changes only work to slow down our work day and play time. They will bring annoyances to Windows. The only two ways to circumvent Microsoft's unimaginative designs, and careless behavior, and still be able to enjoy the sizable investment we have in Windows software, is to f**c Windows 8 up by running 3rd party utilities to fix Microsoft's terrible mistakes, or to just skip Windows 8. We've chosen to skip it.

Windows 8 is a tablet/phone OS. No amount of false advertising, or convincing on Microsoft's part will change that. Why Microsoft is insistent on forcing Windows 8 down Desktop user's throats is beyond me.

I really hope that Linux takes off for gaming, because once that happens, and it's reliable, Microsoft will be well on it's way to losing the battle.

Dear Microsoft,

You didn't have to piss us users off. All you had to do was listen to us, and give us what we want. That's how you make money. Selling something that isn't wanted by the masses, well, that's just plain ignorant. I don't like Apple's products, but you know, you deserve to lose out to Apple. Apple's not a whole lot better, but at least users can chose to stick it to Microsoft. Users have other options to get screwed. The centre of the computing universe is no longer over Redmond. It has moved a lot closer towards Android, Linux and Apple.

You are losing our trust, and that is the consequence of not paying attention to the market, and the desire of users.

Apple files disappearing-feature iPhone patent

Tristan Young
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Apple owns the USPTO

How can Apple get a patent for technology which already exists, and has already been deployed?

Whether it's a window which turns opaque, a little sliding door, or friggin' curtains, it's the same concept that's been used on all-in-one cameras for many years. All Apple has done is take someone else's idea, and move it one tiny step forward, by changing the type of material the cover is made from. I've seen this tech in TV shows and movies, where hidden controls on a touch-based interface suddenly reveal themselves, like a fingerprint reader.

It doesn't even solve the problem of fingerprints on the window causing a loss of contrast and clarity for the camera sensor. In cases like this, a moveable door (motorized or otherwise) would still be better.

Patents like this are proof the USPTO is a corrupt organization, that is owned by large, unfriendly corporations such as Apple.

Microsoft picks October 26 for Windows 8 launch

Tristan Young
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Windows 8 Metro, it's really just Vista reincarnate

Just when I thought Microsoft had learned a lot of really, REALLY important lessons after the whole Windows Vista fiasco, Microsoft shows the world that it has a very, VERY short memory, and likes to make REALLY BAD mistakes over and over again.

Boycott Windows 8, and show Microsoft that the user still holds the key to Microsoft's success.

Metro, may as well call it Malware.

Microsoft to announce new Office version on Monday

Tristan Young

Who cares about Microsoft Office anymore? People are asking to have it installed on their machines in droves. No one asks me to install Office anymore. Everyone we know uses alternative office suites.

Microsoft's future vision is one many don't subscribe to.

Microsoft != relevance

Windows 8 Release Preview open for download

Tristan Young
FAIL

I hate Metro. It's the ugliest interface I've ever used.

Microsoft has truly lost the innovation spirit. Rather than create exciting, compelling interfaces that permit easy use of more than two programs on-screen at once, they've gone to an interface that looks it was designed by someone who hates users, is totally not interesting and has no redeeming qualities.

I won't use an OS/Interface that makes me feel dumb.

Very ugly.

Windows 8 - it's Vista 2.0!

Microsoft corrects itself: 'We expect fewer people to use Windows 8'

Tristan Young

Count me out on Windows 8

Microsoft, you can subtract the hundreds of computers I administer from your Windows 8 adoption.

We've voted unanimously to avoid Windows 8. We'll seriously consider Windows 9, especially if you make Metro a second-class citizen on your desktop OS. If not that, Windows 10, or Windows 11. We'll avoid however many versions it takes till you get back on track to producing an OS for us, rather than an OS for yourselves. If it means adopting Macintosh computers, then so be it (and I absolutely hate Mac, so show me the love).

Never forget your target audience. Never alienate your target audience. Don't make radical changes that cause lost productivity in your target audience.

Microsoft to devs: Don't ruin Win 8 launch with crap code

Tristan Young
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Sigh.... black pot, meet kettle.

Only Microsoft would tell developers to not do the very thing Microsoft has done with Windows 8.

Case in point: Metro

Hypocrites.

Sony stock slides to 30-year low after record loss

Tristan Young

Sony - Abysmal failure is their own fault

Perhaps if Sony would stop screwing its customers....

While I love my PS3, it is certainly a cheap piece of crap. The first one I had failed thanks to Sony's bad computer engineering and overall product design. The constant erosion of our legal rights through forced changes to their terms of service, and the elimination of core features from the product didn't help me feel like Sony had it out for users - never a good thing in business. Make peace with your customers, not war, you idiots!

I won't touch their TV's, stereos, speakers, desktop/laptop/tablet/smartphone computers, or anything else Sony. I've pretty much stopped buying movies and music that are under the Sony label.

When they stop trying to screw us, and when they start putting out quality again, then maybe..... naw, screw Sony. They will never change.

Sony - losing customers hand over fist, because that's what they're best at.

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