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#1
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Windows Polaris?
Here's a video about what Microsoft is planning on doing to Windows
behind the scenes. It might make you mad, be forewarned. https://youtu.be/F_bPcctTV_Y Yousuf Khan |
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#2
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Windows Polaris?
Yousuf Khan wrote:
Here's a video about what Microsoft is planning on doing to Windows behind the scenes. It might make you mad, be forewarned. https://youtu.be/F_bPcctTV_Y Polaris, as the video states, is for a particular demographic of their customerbase. Is that platform all you need for a computer? Hell, why wait for Polaris when you can have a Chromebook now - if that's all you want for a computing platform. Like the video states, if you're watching the video then you aren't in the demographic that Polaris targets. The same for those visiting this newsgroup. |
#3
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Windows Polaris?
"VanguardLH" wrote
| Polaris, as the video states, is for a particular demographic of their | customerbase. Is that platform all you need for a computer? Hell, why | wait for Polaris when you can have a Chromebook now That's not exactly what he said in the video. He reassures the viewer that it's mainly for people who just need a tablet for email, but that was after he explained that Polaris is the laptop/desktop version of CoreOS wrapper. And CoreOS, while not really defined, seems to basically be Longhorn. They say it's "modular". But modules have to be on top of a base. In other words, you'll be locked out of the system with the intention that you'll use MS services and Metro trinkets. It's not a new, lighter weight core. That's not possible. It can only be a new, more bloated wrapper around the actual core. What Longhorn was supposed to be but failed because their idea of a .Net-wrapped OS was far too bloated for 2005 hardware. (That's not my description. That's what Microsoft said officially in dropping Longhorn to cobble together Vista.) If you have to use Win32 there will *probably, maybe* be some kind of VM wrapper to run that, which could be optionally included as part of an OS install. (For example, Home gets Metro trinkets while Pro can run Win32 in a sandbox.) The versions of the story I've seen also all say something like, "or maybe you can stream Win32 from the cloud." Huh? That makes no sense. Obviously they just want to phase out fully-functional software. The notion of Windows as a software platform, providing a fertile, largely neutral base for software to run on, will be phased out in favor of making the OS itself a services product. This is *not* just a new UI for tablets. If there's any truth to what the tech media are saying then it's a clarification of what Microsoft has clearly wanted to achieve: A kiosk product with a locked- down OS, where you don't access the file system or system API any more than you can at your local ATM. |
#4
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Windows Polaris?
On Thu, 1 Feb 2018 16:33:06 -0500, Yousuf Khan
wrote: Here's a video about what Microsoft is planning on doing to Windows behind the scenes. It might make you mad, be forewarned. https://youtu.be/F_bPcctTV_Y No matter how we look at it, it's a good idea. It will force those users with limited knowledge to get their applications from the Windows Store which will result in a lower number of virus infections and security issues. These applications will also be updated automatically which will prevent those security issues that arise from CONTINUING to exist for an inordinate amount of time. Since those applications will be delivered through Microsoft, it will also increase their profits which is not likely to annoy any of the shareholders. |
#5
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Windows Polaris?
Doomsdrzej wrote:
On Thu, 1 Feb 2018 16:33:06 -0500, Yousuf Khan wrote: Here's a video about what Microsoft is planning on doing to Windows behind the scenes. It might make you mad, be forewarned. https://youtu.be/F_bPcctTV_Y No matter how we look at it, it's a good idea. It will force those users with limited knowledge to get their applications from the Windows Store which will result in a lower number of virus infections and security issues. These applications will also be updated automatically which will prevent those security issues that arise from CONTINUING to exist for an inordinate amount of time. Since those applications will be delivered through Microsoft, it will also increase their profits which is not likely to annoy any of the shareholders. A *lot* of apps will never appear at Microsoft's online store. Microsoft charges much more than Google for an author to get their app into the store. Microsoft then charges a renewing annual fee for the author to keep their app in the store whereas Google does not. Microsoft needs to severely rethink their pricing schedule if they want to lure non-volume non-commercial authors to their store. |
#6
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Windows Polaris?
Doomsdrzej wrote:
On Thu, 1 Feb 2018 16:33:06 -0500, Yousuf Khan wrote: Here's a video about what Microsoft is planning on doing to Windows behind the scenes. It might make you mad, be forewarned. https://youtu.be/F_bPcctTV_Y No matter how we look at it, it's a good idea. It will force those users .... to sit in the corner and suck their thumbs. It's like selling a car with engine and wheels and no drive train. Where you roll down the windows and pretend you're on vacation, with the breeze blowing in your face and so on. And when the *victims* of these computers are unhappy with being taken advantage of, they're going to throw those computers straight into the landfill. And if it's one thing that landfill needs, is more LCD panels, lithium batteries, and cheap plastics. Now, like the grocery store, you're at the computer store and you're standing in front of their "melon stand". There will be different computers, whirling and blinking. How will the consumer pick up a melon, knock on it with their knuckles, "to detect a good one" ? Will Microsoft stick a paper band across the Polaris ones that says "this machine is ****" ? I don't think so. Instead, the computer store will have a steady stream of returns "um, I didn't know this melon wasn't ripe" and so on. And why will this happen ? Consumers buy on price alone. They see the blinkin lights, they assume the platform on the device is usable, "and it's only $100". And off they go with their half-ripe melon, only to return it the next day. And then the staff have to restore it, put all the docx back in the box, and put it in the "refurbished" pile. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edsel "Marketing experts hold the Edsel up as a supreme example of the corporate culture's failure to understand American consumers." Paul |
#7
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Windows Polaris?
On 2/1/2018 8:36 PM, Doomsdrzej wrote:
On Thu, 1 Feb 2018 16:33:06 -0500, Yousuf Khan wrote: Here's a video about what Microsoft is planning on doing to Windows behind the scenes. It might make you mad, be forewarned. https://youtu.be/F_bPcctTV_Y No matter how we look at it, it's a good idea. It will force those users with limited knowledge to get their applications from the Windows Store which will result in a lower number of virus infections and security issues. These applications will also be updated automatically which will prevent those security issues that arise from CONTINUING to exist for an inordinate amount of time. Since those applications will be delivered through Microsoft, it will also increase their profits which is not likely to annoy any of the shareholders. Getting programs from the MS Store is no guarantee that there will be no virus. What this really does is limit competition, which MS has been attempting since the DOS days. -- 2018: The year we learn to play the great game of Euchre |
#8
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Windows Polaris?
On Thu, 1 Feb 2018 20:23:02 -0600, VanguardLH wrote:
Doomsdrzej wrote: On Thu, 1 Feb 2018 16:33:06 -0500, Yousuf Khan wrote: Here's a video about what Microsoft is planning on doing to Windows behind the scenes. It might make you mad, be forewarned. https://youtu.be/F_bPcctTV_Y No matter how we look at it, it's a good idea. It will force those users with limited knowledge to get their applications from the Windows Store which will result in a lower number of virus infections and security issues. These applications will also be updated automatically which will prevent those security issues that arise from CONTINUING to exist for an inordinate amount of time. Since those applications will be delivered through Microsoft, it will also increase their profits which is not likely to annoy any of the shareholders. A *lot* of apps will never appear at Microsoft's online store. Quite possible but the fact that they will be forced to go through it to be able to reach Windows customers might change the author's opinion of the Windows Store really quickly. Microsoft charges much more than Google for an author to get their app into the store. Microsoft then charges a renewing annual fee for the author to keep their app in the store whereas Google does not. Microsoft needs to severely rethink their pricing schedule if they want to lure non-volume non-commercial authors to their store. Honestly, I doubt Microsoft cares about being decent. Rather than do the right thing, they will manipulate the market into accepting whatever tyrannical set-up benefits them most. |
#9
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Windows Polaris?
"Paul" wrote
| It's like selling a car with engine and wheels and no drive train. | Where you roll down the windows and pretend you're on vacation, | with the breeze blowing in your face and so on. | But on the bright side, you can ask Cortana to order pizza. Then an Amazon drone will fly it to your car window. Probably for under $30 plus shipping. OK, it will be cold and oddly cardboardish, but it's pizza delivered to your hand. That's futuristic. It doesn't have to taste good. And... have you seen Cortana? She's a beautiful young woman who just won a wet t-shirt contest. That prissy Siri, with her holier-than-thou tone of voice, always seems to be saying, "Why aren't you out buying Apple stuff, you loser? Who cares what the capital of Alabama is? Alright. It's Montgomery. Happy now?" I've never heard the Cortana voice, but from the picture I'd guess that everything she says comes out as, "Take me now, you Viking!" Now, does that beat word processing and examination of PE file headers, or does that beat word processing and examination of PE file headers? |
#10
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Windows Polaris?
"Keith Nuttle" wrote
| What this really does is limit competition, which MS has been attempting | since the DOS days. | Better than limiting the competition. If they play their cards right they usurp general computing, inserting themselves as middleman in the vast majority of computer uses. *All* software authors have to give them a kickback. Ads and subscriptions will charge you for using what you already paid for. But if you're using Win10 then you are actively helping them to get there. Polaris isn't something coming down the pike. It's a step in a long process. I just read that Office 365 subscriptions are increasing and MS is refusing to allow the latest MS Office to run on anything but Win10, in order to force either buying more Win10 or renting more Office 365. People will pay because they're too lazy and too afraid to try Libre Office, or to come up with another system for writing business letters. The white collar world lives in terror of looking second class by not having the latest MS Office, no matter the cost. |
#11
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Windows Polaris?
On Fri, 2 Feb 2018 07:33:36 -0500, Keith Nuttle
wrote: On 2/1/2018 8:36 PM, Doomsdrzej wrote: On Thu, 1 Feb 2018 16:33:06 -0500, Yousuf Khan wrote: Here's a video about what Microsoft is planning on doing to Windows behind the scenes. It might make you mad, be forewarned. https://youtu.be/F_bPcctTV_Y No matter how we look at it, it's a good idea. It will force those users with limited knowledge to get their applications from the Windows Store which will result in a lower number of virus infections and security issues. These applications will also be updated automatically which will prevent those security issues that arise from CONTINUING to exist for an inordinate amount of time. Since those applications will be delivered through Microsoft, it will also increase their profits which is not likely to annoy any of the shareholders. Getting programs from the MS Store is no guarantee that there will be no virus. It's not 100%, but it's better than downloading from a website. The Windows Store has an obligation to be safe for the customers and that includes verifying any submission for all sorts of malware. It's the same with Google Play and the App Store though Google sseems to be pretty bad at it nowadays. What this really does is limit competition, which MS has been attempting since the DOS days. Just about every company on the planet tries to eliminate competition once it gets to a certain size. It's in the very nature of competition. We can whine and bitch all day about what those corporations did but we have to be reasonable with ourselves and admit that we would likely do the same thing in their position no matter how evil it is. Only the open-source world allows for a perfectly competitive system but that also prevents any software developer from making a significant amount of money since open-source means that your software can always theoretically be available free of charge. Laws can only delay the inevitable. If Microsoft were to kill off the Windows Store and remain in the status quo by asking customers to download applications from websites, they'd not only be making it harder for new computer users to purchase/obtain software (a legitimate problem) but also forcing those customers to get anti-malware since there would be no way for them to guarantee that something they obtained is free of something nefarious. It's great for the software developers who want to maximize profits and allow for a competitive marketplace, but bad for everyone else who just want to turn on their computer and use it. When you think about it, even Linux technically has a sort of Windows Store problem. While they will allow a user to download something from a web site and compile it for themselves, a user who is unwilling to do so is forced to use what's in the repository. If that repository doesn't have something like Vivaldi and the developer didn't make the source available (but only .rpm and .deb packages as most do), you're out of luck. |
#12
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Windows Polaris?
Mayayana wrote:
"Paul" wrote | It's like selling a car with engine and wheels and no drive train. | Where you roll down the windows and pretend you're on vacation, | with the breeze blowing in your face and so on. | But on the bright side, you can ask Cortana to order pizza. Then an Amazon drone will fly it to your car window. Probably for under $30 plus shipping. OK, it will be cold and oddly cardboardish, but it's pizza delivered to your hand. That's futuristic. It doesn't have to taste good. And... have you seen Cortana? She's a beautiful young woman who just won a wet t-shirt contest. It's just a circle. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cortana Since I don't leave microphones connected to the computer, really Cortana has next to nothing to do. I don't think I've even received a gratuitous weather report yet. Let alone a cardboard pizza. At least this idea has led to a never ending line of speakers with LEDs. This one, for example, has *seven* microphones and uses beam forming. If they'd shaped it a bit better, it could have made a dandy ashtray. https://www.wired.com/review/review-...-with-cortana/ That's on my long list of "things you won't see at my house". That goes on the list with the X10 and Hue Lightbulbs. [A $20 lightbulb, that needs yet another box to turn it on and off.] https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/p.1000847539.html Paul |
#13
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Windows Polaris?
"Paul" wrote
| And... have you seen Cortana? She's a beautiful | young woman who just won a wet t-shirt contest. | | It's just a circle. | | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cortana | Maybe in your family-friendly version.... The one I've seen is a cyber sex doll. She obviously wants me bad. https://cnet1.cbsistatic.com/img/luw...5d/cortana.jpg https://www.cnet.com/news/many-faces...woo-the-world/ Here's another: http://www.g1440.com/wp-content/uplo...ft-Cortana.jpg Here are some r-rated version: https://jxbp.deviantart.com/art/Cortana-390196253 So you can stick with your circle, but I'd call that perverted. |
#14
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Windows Polaris?
Doomsdrzej wrote:
VanguardLH wrote: A *lot* of apps will never appear at Microsoft's online store. Quite possible but the fact that they will be forced to go through it to be able to reach Windows customers might change the author's opinion of the Windows Store really quickly. It won't change the financial ability, though. Lots of freeware is written at the expense of the author but that author cannot afford the continuing costs of a web hoster to provide a site to download their wares or to pay Microsoft for effectively the same webhosting service. Maybe the only software you install on your computer is commercial payware that sells in volume to qualify the expense of webhosting (whether for the author's own site or to use an e-store). That's you. The rest of the user community likes freeware so that author gets no recompense for his efforts or to offset the costs for webhosting. Microsoft charges much more than Google for an author to get their app into the store. Microsoft then charges a renewing annual fee for the author to keep their app in the store whereas Google does not. Microsoft needs to severely rethink their pricing schedule if they want to lure non-volume non-commercial authors to their store. Honestly, I doubt Microsoft cares about being decent. They're also not interested in being competitive (with Google) since they have yet to match Google's pricing. Microsoft has been long known to be far after the curve. They're always trying to catch up. Rather than do the right thing, they will manipulate the market into accepting whatever tyrannical set-up benefits them most. Not when their marketshare remain stiffled by Android. They'll remain a smaller e-store. That's not to say that some employee at Microsoft won't continue ignoring the market while continuing to collect a salary from Microsoft. Marketing folks are often illogical. "Greed is good. Greed is right. Greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms - greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge - has marked the upward surge of mankind." (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVxYOQS6ggk) .... but not when exercised by a deliberately blind or mentally slow boob. Microsoft is coming late to the party. That's old news. They'll be late with their pricing reschedule, too. Then there's the flip side: Google might get greedy and up their pricing schedule. So Microsoft ends up ****ing over everyone, even outside their own market, especially for the consumers who will have less choice because freeware authors cannot afford out-of-pocket expenses for which they are never recompensed. Microsoft shoved Defender (and Windows Live Essentials) at their customers. Do YOU actually rely on Defender or did you employed something better? Microsoft trying to shove a new marketing scam doesn't mean it will survive. It could, it might not. With them coming in so late to the mobile device computing market, I doubt they'll upset the other players. They can only hope their experiment survives long enough so newborns become new users and were weaned on how Microsoft does things hence why Polaris is targeting, as per the age-old ploy, the educational market. Get 'em while they're young and bend their minds. Worked for churches for centuries. Works with other schemes, too. Incrementalism is also a long-time favorite to move a populace. |
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