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Microsoft Abandons Windows 8.1: Take Immediate Action Or Be Cut Off Like Windows XP
Forbes ^ | 4/15/2014 @ 7:24AM | Gordon Kelly

Posted on 04/16/2014 12:16:29 AM PDT by Olog-hai

Microsoft has been on a roll lately. Office for iOS (and soon Android), free Windows licenses for small devices, universal Windows and Windows Phone apps, Siri rival Cortana, even a promise to eventually return the start menu before Windows 9. But when it comes to Windows 8, it seems the company has a permanently loaded pistol aimed squarely at its feet.

So it fits that just one week on from the launch of “Windows 8.1 Update 1” (the smart upgrade mouse and keyboard users have long awaited) stupidity would strike once again.

“Windows 8.1 Update is a cumulative update to Windows 8.1,” said Microsoft Senior Product Marketing Manager Ben Hunter in an apparently innocuous blog post aimed at IT professionals. Then came the clanger: “It also becomes the new servicing baseline for Windows 8.1, so next month’s security updates (on May 13th, the next ‘Patch Tuesday’) will be dependent on Windows 8.1 Update.”

In English: If you have not installed Update 1 by 13 May, then Windows 8.1 will no longer receive security updates until you do. This is your 4 week countdown warning. …

(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Chit/Chat; Computers/Internet; Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: microsoft; technightmare; windows8; windows8point1
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To: newfreep
At times I use a WiFi spot that offers 512Kb - plenty fast for my Win8.1 including downloading 200MB files with no problem.

OK so do I carry the desktop to Mickey D's?

What really chaps me is yes I could go somewhere with my laptop and have the needed update in less than an hour, bring it home and put it in the desktop via thumb drive. However MS the paranoids they are at extra double sure cross your heart hope to die making certain everyone has an authorized MS product will only allow the download upgrade to the specific machine. You'd think they would have a secondary way you could validate it but Oh no not Microcrap. That makes too much sense.

41 posted on 04/16/2014 12:49:55 PM PDT by cva66snipe ((Two Choices left for U.S. One Nation Under GOD or One Nation Under Judgment? Which one say ye?))
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To: Olog-hai

And I care why? I’m using Windows 2000 SP4. I patch it myself.


42 posted on 04/16/2014 12:52:13 PM PDT by Windcatcher (Obama is a COMMUNIST and the MSM is his armband-wearing propaganda machine.)
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To: Windcatcher

Commendable; in fact, sticking with MS is commendable in general. How powerful is your setup overall?

Now I’m wondering if anyone is still running Win 3.1 and doing the same thing.


43 posted on 04/16/2014 1:02:06 PM PDT by Olog-hai
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To: Olog-hai

I run it on an HP 8710w laptop, T9500 CPU, 4Gb RAM. It runs great.


44 posted on 04/16/2014 1:07:23 PM PDT by Windcatcher (Obama is a COMMUNIST and the MSM is his armband-wearing propaganda machine.)
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To: cva66snipe

Guess you shouldn’t try to live with a 21st century OS and 20th century connection. If you’re only getting 20MB an hour then even basic security updates take forever, best to turn off updates, in which case you don’t care if they’re not making updates for your non-updated version.

They’re no more obsessed than any other company. The OS is their primary product, so they work on it. That’s the job. At my company we’re working on an FP for the new version of our product, which shipped in October, this FP should ship at the end of June, then we’ll start working on the next FP, or next .version, or major release (I’m not privy to plans). That’s the job. Windows 8 isn’t a mess, it’s just got a different way of thinking. It’s got the same kind of lumps for user education that 95 had, the only real difference is 95 was replacing a version with a crappy UI and 8 is replacing a version with a really good UI (oddly enough the basically the 95 UI which nobody liked 20 years ago).


45 posted on 04/16/2014 1:38:08 PM PDT by discostu (Call it collect, call it direct, call it TODAY!)
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To: Olog-hai

Very poor communication by Microsoft and a sensationalist press that likes to present things in their worst light. This is a mandatory patch. That’s it. Mind, it’s a little disconcerting to read that if you don’t have it you won’t receive any more security updates, but cut through the fog and you figure out pretty quickly that Microsoft is establishing a new baseline with the thing, and that further security patching to the OS begins here. Why somebody couldn’t just have said so in so many words is a bit of a mystery. Win8.x already has enough of a bad press to warrant a little extra care with the press releases. IMHO.


46 posted on 04/16/2014 1:48:09 PM PDT by Billthedrill
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To: Billthedrill

I would think that MS would or should update any computers that lack the patch itself automatically?


47 posted on 04/16/2014 1:52:03 PM PDT by Olog-hai
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To: Olog-hai

No, you have to enable automatic patching from the client side. The worst they can do is shout at you in capital letters. ;-)


48 posted on 04/16/2014 1:52:56 PM PDT by Billthedrill
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To: Olog-hai

They won’t do it automatically unless you’ve left autoupdate enabled. What’ll happen is anybody that has turned it off and doesn’t get Update 1 will eventually when they try to do updates manually is that Update 1 is the only update available. And then when they install that a whole bunch of others will be available. We saw the exact same thing with every single SR for XP, Vista, 7 and their server versions.


49 posted on 04/16/2014 2:21:10 PM PDT by discostu (Call it collect, call it direct, call it TODAY!)
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To: discostu
I don't let any program but my Anti Virus Program update automatically. I bought it just over a month ago with 8.1 and it still had to have 300MB of updates out of the box. But not one single update was over 75 MB so it wasn't a huge issue or one to get angry over.

This new 8.1 Update put out about 3 days ago is nearly 900MB single stand alone update and no it can not be split. What kind of Idiots came up with that bright idea? Again I remind you although many do have High Speed Internet many of the so called 93% have very limited monthly usage. You can but a cell phone with web capabilities and that is included in the figures of persons having high speed Internet. I had a cell phone that had internet capability. Darn text was so small I could not read it. But yes it would qualify as high speed.

Hughesnet the only alternative for rural users is outrageous & only gives you 10 GB a month usage and 5 GB of that has to be in about a 5 hour window late at night. Cell companies are even more restrictive and cost prohibitive.

MS could have made a lot of improvements. The ability to disable and even uninstall Cloud would have been a huge start. That is what puts the most drag on dial up use. Can you justify Mandatory Cloud? Oh I bet you have a Whopper of one for that. I can back my own system up. I have a TB of HD for that both in machine and portable.

W-8 is the lowest rated OS in Microsoft and it's numbers are diving. As I was typing this post the highly annoying disappearing typed text Bug showed up again. On XP that issue was fixed years ago. What I am describing is this. You are typing a post and notice an error so you put the Mouse up to the error and back space to erase it. Then you begin typing the correction but the program is not only typing what you are keying in but is typing over the rest of your work and erasing it. I hadn't seen that bug on XP in years.

I post the downfalls and issues of W-8 so some other person doesn't shell out money for this CrapWare. The only way to make MS fix their pathetic OS is to bad mouth it and low rate it enough to where it hits sales hard and obviously people who have bought it and gotten pissed trying to use it are doing just that.

This best describes W-8 IMO. WINDOWS RG

Last comment. Not all businesses are in the city. Rural areas have services such as stores, shops, etc all needing internet access. Most of them likely got buy with dial up on XP or even 7. If MS keeps this up they will be LINUX biggest boost ever. I've used MS products since WEB TV and 98/2 was my first desktop. The only other OS I had issues with was ME which for some reason would not me to Defrag or Disk Scan even in start up. I uninstalled it and went back to 98/2.

I've had 3 XP machines {one bought the month it came out} all of which ran great and still do. Of three machines only one had to be reformatted. That is quality. In about an evenings time I had XP doing all I wanted. That's called User Friendly. Terms of which MS Corp has no concept of as of late.

Consumers aren't destroying MS the company is doing that all by itself these days. If W-9 stinks as bad as 8 that will likely be it for MS. They took what they did best before W-8 and tossed it out the window how ironic.

50 posted on 04/16/2014 9:09:52 PM PDT by cva66snipe ((Two Choices left for U.S. One Nation Under GOD or One Nation Under Judgment? Which one say ye?))
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To: discostu

Why as in cases before where MS issued SP’s can they not put this one on a disk? Giving your License code should suffice as proof of ownership. Name me one previous MS OS system update this large. It’s their stupid planning casing contempt for their product.


51 posted on 04/16/2014 9:18:50 PM PDT by cva66snipe ((Two Choices left for U.S. One Nation Under GOD or One Nation Under Judgment? Which one say ye?))
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To: cva66snipe

Because the world has changed. Back in those days most folks had dialup connections if they were connected to the internet at all, so there was a large percentage of their customers who were going to have a difficult time getting a large patch. Now the vast majority of people have high speed internet, there is no longer the large contingent, most folks can bring down that file size in under an hour. There isn’t another patch this large, but things grow, and as the computing world changes so does the definition of large. In the modern world almost a gig isn’t large, it’s the size of a 1 hour TV show on Netflix, people download this much data all the time now. It’s 2014, there’s nothing stupid about them expecting their customers to have a 21st century internet connection.


52 posted on 04/17/2014 7:55:28 AM PDT by discostu (Call it collect, call it direct, call it TODAY!)
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To: cva66snipe

Most of your problems are because you’re an outlier. You’re still on dial-up. Others of your problems are misconceptions.

The cloud is NOT mandatory. I’m sitting at an 8.1 box right now and NOTHING goes on the cloud, I have locally installed apps accessing locally (or local network) stored data.

Netflix and Hulu can attest to the fact that no most folks don’t have very limited monthly usage. What limitations most folks have are quantities of data once considered unimaginably huge. My connection has some sort of data limit that I’ve never run into, even when streaming multiple seasons of shows in a single week.

That bug you’re describing is probably an application problem not an OS problem. I’ve never run into it. Not on XP, 7, 8, or 8.1.

The “downfalls” you’re posting about are self inflicted wounds. Yourself.

Most of the world has high speed internet now. And if they don’t they can stay on XP. Or realize that their machines probably aren’t terribly at risk and not worry about staying current on their patches. Even the sticks have high speed now, my mother-in-law in Alamogordo NM has high speed, my co-worker who lives in Sierra Vista has high speed, my wife’s friends in Green Valley have high speed.

Nobody is destroying MS, their numbers are great. None of your complaints are terribly new. Most of them were lodged about 95. Some people just don’t like change. It’s funny how many of them are early adopters. Apparently they just like to suffer.


53 posted on 04/17/2014 8:07:10 AM PDT by discostu (Call it collect, call it direct, call it TODAY!)
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To: discostu
I stand by all I've posted. I can't find any means to disable "Cloud" Before I FINALLY after a night or two of search found the well hidden in a obscure place about 6 layers deep by accident "Metered Usage Option" the machine was "CHATTING" at about 75-100mb a day with whoever.

Many rural users with valid legitimate need still use dial up. Small Businesses, Farmers, At Home Sellers on EBay or Amazon etc. just to name a few. Netflix and Hulu customers are persons in areas with cable of who have in a rural area a fiber optic cable near by running to their TELCO SLICK System or up their street. Other than that it's 3.5 miles from the Central Office limits on DSL. I doubt may on say Hughesnet download more than a couple movies a month.

I'm making valid points point out valid issues. I've posted about how great MS earlier OS were. But when posting to a MS Shill it's never ever MS Corps fault. You'll love their crap or else. When TECHs are posting ill about W-8 the ones that have to clean up the messes that says a lot more than the typical poster.

Most of the world has high speed internet now.

Oh come on now LMAO Yea right sure. They have in in limited places. We have world wide phones as well. Wanna pay for satellite phone service? LMAO. While technically you are right on that functionally you are wrong. You don't seem to understand the huge difference.

Post 38 told me your knowledge is limited LOL. Any Tech would not have posted that and would have known 50K connect speed on dial up can not download 900 MB in 4-5 hours.

54 posted on 04/17/2014 10:13:36 AM PDT by cva66snipe ((Two Choices left for U.S. One Nation Under GOD or One Nation Under Judgment? Which one say ye?))
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To: discostu
Now to set you straight on the future of communications including Internet Service. AT&T the nations largest carrier IS NOT UPGRADING LAND LINE SERVICES except short term growth demand for land lines. They are barely even maintaining their land line grid and I do know well of what I am saying on that.

AT&T will simply be the Central Office Switching to Cell Tower or Over The Air Communication Service. The still ongoing opening of new frequency spectrum assignments brought about by digital technology communications will mean most communications even in TV, phone, and Internet, will be Cell or over the air service. The second option Electrical Utilities have already deployed for self use is the power grid but too many issues for wide scale use. They use it to communicate with their system including house meters.

So what's the problem here? This is still about a decade from reality from being put into place. Cell Companies are getting there but have low Caps still. Within 20 years landlines into homes will be gone. Then and Only then will 93% plus in the US have true high speed service. We aren't there yet and companies like MS need to work within the capabilities now.

55 posted on 04/17/2014 10:30:56 AM PDT by cva66snipe ((Two Choices left for U.S. One Nation Under GOD or One Nation Under Judgment? Which one say ye?))
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To: cva66snipe

The above post applies to Cable as well. Their days as a service are numbered they know this and this no expansion of wired services are happening.


56 posted on 04/17/2014 10:33:18 AM PDT by cva66snipe ((Two Choices left for U.S. One Nation Under GOD or One Nation Under Judgment? Which one say ye?))
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To: cva66snipe

All I had to do to not use Skydrive was not login with my MSN account. If that won’t work for you these directions: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2111442/how-to-disable-windows-8s-deep-cloud-integration-piece-by-piece.html look pretty simple.

Yes there are still people using dial-up. And they should probably stay on older OSes that aren’t geared towards the always-connected-always-high-speed world most of the rest of us live in.

They aren’t really valid issues. You’re an outlier, 8 and 8.1 are simply NOT aimed at outliers. You chose an OS that is specifically geared towards people not you and are complaining that it doesn’t work for you. Techs are ALWAYS posting ill about the new stuff, that’s why I keep mention 95, back when the internet was just techs people whined incessantly about the Start menu and broken downward compatibility, and the tight integration with IE, and the putting all the apps in a folder that broke 8.3 and was a pain to navigate in DOS. Every generation generates a raft of complaints as people don’t want to learn the new stuff. Even the now much beloved XP generated this grief. Just like a new Dr Who, every hates him all the way up until he becomes the old Dr Who then everybody loves him so they hate the new new Dr Who.

93% of America, by your own admission, have high speed to some level. Now how high is high depends on where you are. And yes there is still that lagging 7%. But the upper 4 sections of the bell curve have internet connections high enough in speed to not run into the problems you’re having.

Sorry but if you think post 38 shows I lack technical skill then you’re the one lacking the technical skill. Connection speed is measured in seconds, 50Kbps * 60 = 3000K (a bit under 3M) a minute, * 60 again = 180,000K (180M) an hour, * 5 gives 900M and you get the patch. Not my fault you mis-wrote your down speed.


57 posted on 04/17/2014 10:40:01 AM PDT by discostu (Call it collect, call it direct, call it TODAY!)
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To: cva66snipe

You’re moving goal posts. They ARE working within the speeds we have. I can get that patch down in under an hour, probably under half an hour. We have high speed, we don’t have the HIGHEST speed, but that’s quibble.


58 posted on 04/17/2014 10:43:00 AM PDT by discostu (Call it collect, call it direct, call it TODAY!)
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To: discostu
Oh No you don't I misrepresented nothing TROLL.

Post 6 by me.

Let’s see 890 MB of a continuous download at the connect speed of 49K should take what 4-5 days? I’ve got a W-8 Paper Weight. Thank you MICROCRAP.

You in post 36 stated Actually it equals 5 HOURS. Pretty easy overnight/ at work update.

IOW you are not a TECH you actually know little about it and you're simply a MS Shill Trolling. Any Tech would know 50 K connect is not the download speed. At 50K under good conditions meaning no virus updates etc the rate to the update would average about 5 KBS

And again like a TROLL You Twisted my words. Access to High Speed If you say 93% is also ones on cell phones with strict caps some as low as 500MB a month. Tops IIRC is 5 GB a month.

59 posted on 04/17/2014 11:00:42 AM PDT by cva66snipe ((Two Choices left for U.S. One Nation Under GOD or One Nation Under Judgment? Which one say ye?))
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To: discostu
You’re moving goal posts. They ARE working within the speeds we have. I can get that patch down in under an hour, probably under half an hour. We have high speed, we don’t have the HIGHEST speed, but that’s quibble.

I'm not moving anything. I was saying where Internet service, TV, and telcom, was headed too. When this happens and only when it happens will the nation actually have 93% plus true high speed functional for everyday usage internet service. It's not there yet and is still about a decade or more away. So what you might say? So putting out OS which are high bandwidth dependent and doing away with what others must still use is insane. I'd bet 7 will be gone in two years if MS puts out another OS based on W-8 concepts.

Not many in the business sector were ready for W-8 nor had the means to adapt to it. Same thing in Medical fields Multi million dollar machines dependent upon the XP Program. Those who need it T.S. unless you are the federal government or a bank. MS is done with you unless you upgrade to a program you can not use. Fine that usually in the end brings demise of such companies who abandon their customers. People learn to stay away.

60 posted on 04/17/2014 11:11:07 AM PDT by cva66snipe ((Two Choices left for U.S. One Nation Under GOD or One Nation Under Judgment? Which one say ye?))
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