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China "Sanctions" US, Bans Use Of Windows 8 On Government Computers
Considering the epic production and sales flop that Windows 8 has been, one probably does not need an actual sales ban from preventing anyone sane from using it let alone buying it, however in yet another symbolic step, banning its government employees from using the latest Windows operating system is precisely what China did in retaliation to yesterday's DOJ announcement it was charging five PLA members with hacking offenses against the US. According to Reuters, this latest blow to Microsoft came when the Central Government Procurement Center issued the ban as part of a notice on the use of energy-saving products. So Windows 8 lead to global warming? Who knew...
The implication is clear: if the US charges its hackers, China will no longer condone such porous proxies of NSA activity as Internet routers and, of course, Windows operating systems, which as has been documented in the past, is a stroll in the park for NSA infiltration attempts.
The official Xinhua news agency said the ban was to ensure computer security after Microsoft ended support for its Windows XP operating system, which was widely used in China.
Neither the government nor Xinhua elaborated on how the ban supported the use of energy-saving products, or how it ensured security.
China has long been a troublesome market for Microsoft. Former CEO Steve Ballmer reportedly told employees in 2011 that, because of piracy, Microsoft earned less revenue in China than in the Netherlands even though computer sales matched those of the U.S. Microsoft declined to comment.
Last month, Microsoft ended support for the 13-year-old XP to encourage the adoption of newer, more secure versions of Windows. This has potentially left XP users vulnerable to viruses and hacking.
"China's decision to ban Windows 8 from public procurement hampers Microsoft's push of the OS to replace XP, which makes up 50 percent of China's desktop market," said data firm Canalys.
And while this escalation in Chinese "sanctions" against the US may lead to a modest topline miss for MSFT, one company everyone should be watching is Cisco, which in late 2013 saw its China sales crater when the anger at the NSA was most acute. Now that the animosity between the US and China over cyberhacking has been rekindled, watch for the government to promptly block yet another quarter of sales growth for the switching giant, whose CEO unsucessfully pleaded for Obama to tone down NSA tensions over the weekend, and which should preannounce a weak quarter shortly.
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I already sanctioned Microsoft against putting Windows 8 on any of my computers.
Windows 8 sucks!
Flock U Bill Glates, LOL!
Bullish windows 7
Even more bullish Linux Mint
Globalization bitchez.
One can't want globalization and then apply unilateral sanctions.
If you do that you are basically inserting your middle finger up your own arse
Ubuntu on all my machines. After a month very happy with it. Hope Ubuntu phone will be LTS soon.
It appears China has finally figured out what that little "triangle" in the MS logo means....
I was suspicious of WinXP and Win7 spying on your activity, but I'm fairly positive Win8 does. -Software Engineer
So they will be required to switch to a program they actually have to pay for ???
Just gimme an assembler and a firmware guide. In a "real, fair" (for want of a better descriptor) world, everyone would make their own operating systems. Guess I should look into Linux one day.
Mind you, I don't think I could ever trust a computer again unless I built the whole damn thing myself. How would I know if there was or wasn't an extra spy CPU and modem hidden in the main processor. ( Yes, I know that is tin-foil territory - until it isn't - and I'll never know when it isn't - wheres my CRO and spectrum analyser? ... )
... oh yeah, and don't give me any of that "compatability" BS. I've seen how Visual Basic and Direct X has changed over the last ten years, and tell me again, where is the "Off" button on Windows these days? "Compatability"? What a joke.
Re "So they will be required to switch to a program they actually have to pay for ???" :
Yeah, maybe. But it will still be worth it because the other program will actually work. Costs will be recouped after the first day.
Meanwhile, the rest of the world will have no manufacturing, no "know how" (we'll forget because we have no manufacturing), no capital, no land ( the Chinese will buy it all with the money we keep giving to them - what else are they going to buy with it??? ), and we'll all be totally f**ked because we'll still have Windows 8!!!!!!!
Gentoo bitchez!
(Ironically, I'm posting from my sister's computer as I am house sitting, and it's an Apple. Now she's on all of the watchlists. LOL.)
Does this mean that China was actually paying for Windows software all along?
I am thinking of moving to Arch (from Ubuntu) becauase the ARM support is great....makes a VERY nice low power desktop.
the question is more: does China really want globalization? or, better,... that much globalization? not everybody on this planet answers "yes, please, moar" when asked "do you want free trade?"
I'm still one of those old dumb asses who longs for fair trade. I want protection from predatory governments...and predatory multi-national corps.
To deny all this globalism is for the benefit of the few is to deny reality.
I want protection from predatory governments...and predatory multi-national corps.
And who's going to protect you from the latter? Ah yes... the former... an institution that routinely kills thousands of civilians... often at the behest of the latter. Good luck!
Meh - middleman's disease, and it is always fatal.
China has manufacturing, now all it needs is resources. Then why would they need the rest of us???
"Ooooh, we'll starve to death unless round-eye buys all our crap! How could we possibly survive if we make all this stuff but round-eye doesn't buy it?"
Who was the clever fuckwits that shipped all the manufacturing overseas and then decided to piss off the new manufacturers?
:Who was the clever fuckwits that shipped all the manufacturing overseas and then decided to piss off the new manufacturers?"
obongo did promise to fundamentally change our country. It's the one promise he has kept.
It started a little earlier than Obongo. It also happens in other countries over which Obongo does not (officially, if that means anything) preside.
Free trade and globalisation propaganda dates back to the nineties. "It'll make the world a safer, more prosperous place!!! Economies of scale! Comparative advantage! No moar woar!!! Countries that trade with each other do not war against each other! Blah-blah city was built on a river and flourished due to increased trade ..."
I'm waiting for the US to declare war on China, then order 10 000 Chinese-made army Jeeps, Chinese made electronics for their jet-fighters and missiles, and Chinese made army uniforms. After the uniforms don't turn up because they bomb the uniform-making factory, they'll outsource the whole war to Blackwater (because private industry is always more efficient), who in turn will discover that it is cheaper to hire foreign mercenaries - Chinese ones because it minimizes transport costs ...
And since foreign mercenaries don't exhist think of the future savings in veteran benefits
Now that MS has become a crony capitalist NSA affilaited douche, it can no longer see the market clearly. It's own business in the Corporate sector with PC's needs to be sustained. Windows 8 isn't going to do that. In the Mobile and Tablet space, a different approach is needed. You can't do BOTH at the same time. MS has tried to do that on the cheap. I suppose so that Gates can rock on??
Your words, "Now that MS has become," would seem to indicate that you believe that Microsoft's collusion with the NSA is a recent development. That collusion has been suspected since the the late 1990's.
Even more bullish Linux Mint
Yes, Linux Mint!
I agree on the Linux Mint. I prefer it over straight-up Ubuntu.
Just tried Linux Mint 17 RC, very nice and it will be LTS.
What fun is to install Linux on thumbdrive and any computer is yours.... (hint).
Don't be afraid to play with free vmware..... run pesky xp, 7, os 10 in a sandbox
Hitler plans to install Windows 8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLHYOdtfXZE
Hitler is informed he's installed on Windows 8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uT0q9wKQvhg
Hitler rants about Windows 8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0jUPJJC6EM
Hitler won't upgrade to Windows 8 now either!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Hd7tStOghw
And Windows 8 is unusable anyway!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDpwKiRKmZc
Oy, If it is not good enough for Hitler…
Maybe I finally found a decent reason to buy into man-made, man-caused, man influenced, man-handled global cooling,, er warming, er climate change, er climate disruption or whatever thing they are blaming the weather and market on now.
I seem to have a touchy- feely opinion about all this now.
What, bru screen again!? What the herr!
Re: Windows 8 Sucks:
+10,000
Windows 8 is fine. It was a nuisance to need to learn new ways of doing practical things, and reorganize 200 icons, and I haven't used the ipad wannabe mode for months, but once you get used to it it's fine. In fact, the pro version is more than fine -- it's now quite easy to run a web server and development environment in Windows 8.1 pro, and the disk encryption and RDP client are better than before.
As for lost sales, no one in China pays for Windows anyway.
No, it's a fucking goat blow.
I found Windows 8 to be clumsy and difficult to navigate. Moreover, I do not trust MS when it comes to protecting me against well known hackers such as the NSA. I wiped 8.0 off my computer, moved to Ubuntu and find it much better for my purposes. For word processing and spreadsheets, my Mac does just fine.
You trust Apple but not Microsoft? O_o
Use LibreOffice (or OpenOffice) for WP and Spreadsheets. They can be saved in M$FT and PDF Formats among others. For sending/writing printable documents, I suggest saving a copy in .pdf, so the Hardcopy Formats are consistent with the appearance over people using different versions/platforms of M$FT Office and Printer Setttings.
It should be part of your Default Linux Ubuntu or Fedora Installation. If not, download and install.
Also, IIRC, the German Intelligence Agency once complained in Speigel that Win8s were barred from use in their Office since it contained spyware in the OS.
SIDEBAR:
I would suggest TAILS for Secure Browsing "On the Go" (LiveCD or LiveUSB - OS on your Keychain/Disc Case). It uses the TOR system of anonymous proxy web servers - yes, the FBI/NSA hacked it once by installing their own TOR Servers to monitor some traffic flow; but it's better than nothing); and the OS wipes the RAM on shutdown to give the users some privacy.
Paranoia? We're living in the days of Hackers who Spy for Corporate Data, Industrial Espionage, and simply just Foul Play. I've had quite a number of Interviews sabotaged by those who deleted/intercepted emails, wiretapped phone conversations, and meeting crashers who caused a ruckus on site prior to my arrival. (Granted, my Case is a bit extreme, since it involves rabid and ever-stalking Proselytizer Cult dweebs and dumbasses prosecuted/fired by my Federal Whistleblowing(to the Govt Authorities - Kickbacks/Criminal Negligence/Worker Safety/Misappropriation of Funding - if I were still in Uniform, I'd have them hammered in Courts-Martial - and appropriately, some perps involved are conduct and convict cases' friends and family)). Lovely town, this Los Angeles. Even the Air Force Base is compromised by Cult types.
The funny part is, not only do crowds gather to worship anything(e.g., rain patterns on a dirty window pane - that actually made the evening news) that looks like the Mythically-Redux-from-other-Religions-especially-Solar-Mythra-Dionysus-Isis-Horus "Mother and/or Son", some of them are either employed by, partnered with, or supportive of the Regional Subsidy Queen SpaceX and its Sister-and-future-Lithium_hoarding-questionable_combustion-lowered_actual_range_in_hot&cold_weather-and-sales_quantity-valuation-scandal-ridden Tesla/T-Zero.
Though Linux is more secure than Windoze, it's still vulnerable (due to its controlled mob of contributors-of-various-competencies approach). On the other hand, the "Open Source" model allows for problems to be addressed for all to see, solutions to be presented, screened, tested, and available for distribution(via patches using the Distribution's Software/Upgrade Manager) promptly (as in hours in some cases). A Windoze OS Bug may take a month (Patch Tuesday (1st Tuesday of Month)) - or depending on the problem - never, even if the Corporate decision to neglect it gets leaked and complained about.
BTW, Linux Geeks: What's the hype about Mint? It's "based" on Ubuntu, right? Save for a few interfaces and a smaller distro load (for speed), I don't see the "distinguishing factor" worthy of switching. If you're looking for speed and have the RAM capacity, boot the Operating System unto RAM with "toram" tacked on the boot script (type F6 and/or ESC to get to it during the initial boot icons); and watch it fly.
Windows 8 looks like those touchscreens where monkeys learn to communicate with.
NO WAY I WANT MY KIDS TO LEARN A SYSTEM LIKE THAT!!
TELL ME 1 DIFFERENCE!!!
MONKEY vs: HUMANS
NOW WHO IS ACTUALLY EVOLVING???
Not your inner monkey, which still inhabits part of your human brain.
Amazing observation S.D - Windows 8 *DOES* look like those monkey training touchscreens - also like the ones at McDonald's to take your order, and the ones that show up in Idiocracy.
Sounds like its part of a plan!
Can't remember what I saw first - "Idiocracy" or Windows 8. But the two instantly looked related:
http://www.google.com.au/imgres?imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.markdubois.info%2Fweblog%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2011%2F09%2FWin8Initial.png&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.markdubois.info%2Fweblog%2F2011%2F09%2Fwindows-8-with-internet-explorer-10-initial-thoughts%2F&h=790&w=940&tbnid=-zRPQTt52MZWyM%3A&zoom=1&docid=yjRGylcUB7ndUM&ei=Wnx7U4TcNcbDkwXe2YGAAQ&tbm=isch&ved=0CCIQMygaMBo4yAE&iact=rc&uact=3&dur=955&page=11&start=213&ndsp=22
vs
http://www.google.com.au/imgres?imgurl=http%3A%2F%2F4.bp.blogspot.com%2F-BTUtBZPTamw%2FUPUWp3vrzgI%2FAAAAAAAALKE%2FALyWFUFymFk%2Fs1600%2Fidiothospital.jpg&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bitfalls.com%2F2013%2F01%2Fubuntu-is-my-wife-windows-7-is-my.html&h=227&w=450&tbnid=ERWt9Hy6UGCROM%3A&zoom=1&docid=Yxn5TbofHAY9TM&ei=UHt7U4q7OMvbkAX_6oGwAg&tbm=isch&ved=0CFYQMygDMAM&iact=rc&uact=3&dur=3388&page=1&start=0&ndsp=15
Fiat money to buy Fiat Operating Systems. Sounds right to me.
Bill Gates is long out of the game and left the shitty years ahead to Steve Ballmer.
Nope new CEO is Satya Nadella..... scary looking geek
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/ceo/index.html
Lol. Hollow fiat. As is anybody uses Win8.
Biggest turd that ever came out of Bill Gates ass
I thought that 'honor' belonged to Windows ME.
According to Doctor Michael Persing of the Laurentian University, using the Windows operating system to run the "God Helmet" software on renouned remote viewer Ingo Swan, "SHUT HIM DOWN COMPLETELY."
I think this might be the presentation he shares the info: 2011 Remote Viewing by Michael Persinger
Nice move. Instead of buying carbon-offset...paper...a more positive stride towards reduction of C02 emissions was communicated from Beijing. A ban on Windows 8.
A kinda kung fu thing using the adversaries own argumentation against him. Hit him where it hurts. In the wallet. Maybe a way of handling Buffet and Gates also in west and the ConUs. Ban use of all products associated with them on the basis of emission reduction and improvement of global climate change. Since it really doesn´t exist (global warming) or at least can´t be measured or detected it´s one of those wonderful "proof of negative" arguments. Like Saddam who had to show that he was dismantling his non-existent WMD´s. A huge challenge. As long as Buffet is calling for increased taxation of the few productive middle-class people that´s left - hit him with a blockade on all his products until he can prove that he´s not behind the global climate change. Which he can´t - ever.
Looks like the Chinese learned that old Congressional 'rider' trick.
An ellol has occulled.
nothing like a bunch of rational communists doing your thinking for you
the communists hack (steal) most of their software, so not sure how this affects MS
Finally, something we can all agree with China about. Windows 8 sucks.
Starting from Windows 8, there is a backdoor. I guess this is not something new.
I'm told Windows 3.11 is pretty solid.
Yellow screen of death.
This whole hacking thing from the US side is pure hipocrisy and hilarity. I am pretty sure the Chinese use the security holes the NSA leaves in everything. The idea that China is the hacking problem is pretty GD funny. And now look at the blowback the Obama admin is causing everywhere. Maybe Smoot Hawley is just the natural progression and cannot be avoided.
I have stated time and again, if it's accessible by one, it's accessible by all.
China and every other nation in the world is now aware that Windows (any version since XP) has a built-in NSA back door. So banning Win 8 is strictly an economic issue unrelated to the US spying program. And don't think for a minute that any commercially available consumer software that connects to the Internet doesn't also have a NSA back door....including your anti-virus software.
Remember when the DOJ went after Microsoft about their 'embedded' Internet Explorer, a entirely stupid legal challenge? I have no proof....but I suspect the consent decree Microsoft agreed to in order to make it go away was to allow the NSA backdoor.
"including your anti-virus software."
Not true of Kaspersky, made in Russia!
kapersky lab tracked down stuxnet
http://spectrum.ieee.org/telecom/security/the-real-story-of-stuxnet
LOL
Maybe. Or just maybe you have the Russian "NSA" version of their spy 'service' back door on your computer.
<Wait! Sorry, the Russions would never do something like that. They are so much 'better' than the USSA.>
XP SP2, Firefox version 12 with Adblock (the last one that really worked), Better Privacy and NoScript, Office 2000 (Open Office for the newer stuff). Rock solid, though slow.
Micorsoft Office has always phoned home... no matter what version.
The only 'safe' computer is the one not connected to the Internet locked away in a Faraday cage. :)
The only true firewall is a pair of scissors.
The only safe computer is an abacus.
The period 2700–2300 BC saw the first appearance of the Sumerian abacus, a table of successive columns which delimited the successive orders of magnitude of their number system.
If the NSA was around back then they would be screwing with beads. (they're anal... snark)
Funny thing is, 99% of the time, 99% of the population are just swapping text, images and AV. No need to worry about viruses if you aren't downloading and running executables (You might get them on your computer, but they won't do anything.) And you don't need a credit card for purchases if you can send money orders instead. Of course, that still allows the spying so it is not perfect. Point being, a lot of the "worry" people have over their computers is completely unnecessary. It is deliberately put there in order to maintain a "consumer experience" for the dumbest of users. And the computer industry really prefers their consumers to stay dumb. They want you really dumb. Otherwise you'll very quickly learn to bypass pop-ups and ads, and that is just for starters.
XP isn't supported anymore, I wouldn't surf the web with it. I dual boot XP SP3 off the web and PCLinuxOS 64 on the web.
I'd rather surf with XP, with other firewall than MS provided, behind a DD-WRT router.
If you do, create a limited user account to reduce the possiblity of software being installed that you didn't intend.
If you REALLY want to continue running XP run it in a VM.
LOL
Maybe. Or just maybe you have the Russian "NSA" version of their spy 'service' back door on your computer.
<Wait! Sorry, the Russions would never do something like that. They are so much 'better' than the USSA.>
Frankly, I'm more afraid of 'my' government than Russia's. Of course, if I lived in Russia, it would be the other way round... hmmm... maybe not.
Not true of Kaspersky
Kaspersky is probably the worst, followed by McAfee. They are enemies of privacy.
KGB agents and crazy men... what's not to like?
McAfee is Intel's antivirus.
McAffee sucks noodles.Norton REALLY sucks noodles. I use AVG, but they probably all have NSA backdoors by now.
Windows ate came out of the closet?
The dingo Windows ate my baby.
"A glate day for Rinux..."
and how will those government worker play sollitaire now?
I can't even stand playing Free Cell on Windows 8. I much prefer the XP version. I used to play it alot while waiting for the computer to do other things - eg, finish booting up or waiting for downloads. When I could play Free Cell properly without it pausing all the time, I knew the computer was finally "properly turned on" and I could use it to do everything else.
... and I still haven't worked out a decent way of looking at email on the new machine. Still use the old machine for that. When it dies, I'm stuffed.
They probably mean mental energy. They don't want to waste mental energy trying to fuck with Windows 8 and making it look less retarded.
Another day on crazy rock.
It is still used to operate the public toilets in Poo Dung
The saga continues. Walmart will be in deep shit soon.
Probably a blessing they don't use Windoze 8.
My step-daughter bought a 'last gen' Sony Vaio laptop a few months ago, with Windoze 8 pre-installed. We couldn't even to get it to boot up! But since I had a bootable version of Ubuntu Studio on a USB stick, I decided to give it a go with that. Installed in a few minutes and booted right away. So there was nothing wrong with the hardware, just that Windoze 8 wouldn't work on it. Fucking pathetic in this day and age. Not like it was some esoteric custom machine for a weird industrial application, that they only made a couple hundred of.
Mi Madre, who worked 35+ years in software development, was giving up her old work laptop to get new one for when she retires.
Bought a Dell, Windows 8. She couldn't even figure out how to install Office on it or start automatic updates which took a guy in Bang-the-desk 5 hours to do through remote connection and phone. Set up email pop server? Yeah right.
Just wipe it and install Linux Mint.
And make sure it doesn't have the TCM chip.
Did you mean TPM? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trusted_Platform_Module
Criticism: The Trusted Computing Group, who developed the specification, have faced resistance in some areas to deploy this technology, especially in academia, where some authors see possible uses not specifically related to Trusted Computing, which may raise privacy concerns. The concerns include the abuse of remote validation of software (where the manufacturer — and not the user who owns the computer system — decides what software is allowed to run) and possible ways to follow actions taken by the user being recorded in a database, in a manner that is completely undetectable to the user.[16].
LOL
I had the opposite issue. I couldn't get it to turn off without pulling the plug. One has to wonder who thought it was a great idea to not do any real world consumer testing before putting this out. All the stuff I used to be able to do, I could no longer find. What a waste of time.
Windows was like knowing how to speak Spanish. Once you got it, you could move from version to version without great difficulty. Then, some idiot decides that it should be in Portuguese instead.
Congratulations to China for leading the way. Windows 8 should be boycotted everywhere. It's a dog's breakfast.
Be nice! Dogs deserve better!!
I agree. The poor things. Every time they take a byte, they get bits in their mouth ;-)
China should develop their own OS.
The problem with that is, that there is also a BD (back door) at the HW level. Ever heard of "Intel inside"?
That's the reason they are/were developing their own CPU to replace the US-designed CPUs from AMD and Intel. The rumor mill has it that its entire development team of lead architects (5 guys) was on that fateful flight 370 that disappeared. Remember yesterday's ZH post about the Malaysian ex-PM pointing the finger at the CYA and Boeing?
You getting the JPG?
China can develop its own hardware and software.
Their engineers and computer scientists are capable.
Reliance on US product is a liability.
The competition may actually benefit all users.
I can't believe the Chinese haven't come up with decent processors yet. They are amazing at reverse-engineering tech. Same with the Japanese.
A company by the name of Shanghai Liantong has joined forces with the ISCAS (Institute of Software at the Chinese Academy of Sciences) and the government to launch COS, which simply stands for China Operating System.
Apart from the open-source code, this Linux-based OS is said to be developed "entirely independently," in the hopes of breaking the foreign software monopoly, as well as providing better localization for the likes of language input, cloud services and monetization. At yesterday's launch event, the head of ISCAS criticized iOS for being a closed ecosystem, while Android has the infamous fragmentation problem, and both Windows plus Android are let down by poor security.
http://www.engadget.com/2014/01/16/cos-china-operating-system/
This may get the attention of the NSA...you know, since they have backdoors built into wintel machines for them and all.
That's why I only use AMD. I imagine AMD has backdoors as well, but they are probably slower and don't work as well. :p
Man, that's cold.
It's ok, they know I love 'em.
Am building a couple new puters with Gigabyte MBs. Anyone have any info about backdoors in Gigabyte's stuff? Thx.
http://www.gigabyte.us/products/main.aspx?s=42
Not specifically, but my SMC router keeps moaning about an open port, despite me repeatedly telling it to block it. So either the router has a port that it's been told to periodically unblock, or the Gigabyte MB in my machine is telling it to. I'll note what port it is, next time it happens, but 3083 rings a bell currently. And a quick search suggests that at least some may not think it's as secure as it might be, so....
dupe, sorry
Windows 8 is good for touch screen devices like phones and tablets but not so much for desktop work machines. Marketing Windows 8 in desktop/workstations was a greed motivated mistake by MS.
I tried Windows 8 RC on a partition on my non touch screen desktop and did not like it. I have a Windows phone now and the start screen tiles are far more useful.
On a side note, I wonder how much internet bandwidth is confiscated by government hacking and surveillance supercomputers that monitor internet activity 24/7/365? If government surveillance and monitoring was shut down or even scaled back, internet connections would be much faster and the internet in general would be far more useful.
Remember back in the nineties and all the telecom carriers were stringing extra fiber because the cost of doing so was trivial compared to excavation and other civil engineering work required? Then they figured out how to push like a hundred-fold more data down a single strand via wavelength division multiplexing... Well now we know how they generated some marginal revenue from all that (otherwise) dark fiber. The only internet bandwidth restrictions in major urban markets that exist are those of the 'last mile' provider. Some data centers don't even meter incoming network bandwidth, and a few don't charge for outgoing (instead they meter by cpu load and disk access).
That said, depending upon an access provider's peering arrangement, there can be serious degradation if a path requires a transcontinental circuit. Even so, there is obviously a lot of spare capacity available seeing that ~ 10% of worldwide traffic was hijacked to pass through China at one point...
http://arstechnica.com/security/2010/11/how-china-swallowed-15-of-net-tr...
Who would pay for a broken OS when so many great ones are available for free?
Every 3rd or 4th iteration of Windows is okay. I liked NT 4, XP and 7. Probably a smart move banning 8; its interface is klunky.
You're not far off IMHO. However, I actually prefer Vista to 7. I'm also in the mood for being junked today (clearly).
p.s. Knee-jerk down-voters: Have you actually TRIED an up-to-date Vista install on a computer with decent hardware (4GB RAM is essential)? Or are you just brainwashed by all those negative Apple ads?
Yes, actually. It still sucks compared to XP, at least for audio/video editing.
Windows the virus masquerading as an OS.
...another vote here for LINUX Mint
deflator : Windows 8 is good for touch screen device.......
Windoze 7 has touch screen capability too.
Windows 8 was specifically designed for touch screen devices. Forcing Windows 8 on non-touchscreen devices was a greed motivated marketing mistake.
Windows 8 GUI is fairly intuitive when used with a touchscreen, with a mouse and keyboard it is not only counter intuitive but is annoying.
The United States is comparable to a once drop dead gorgeous woman who has slammed into the wall in her thirties. Now she is fat and ugly and she just can't understand why they shit she used to get away with all the time now results in her being put down hard by anyone and everyone.
I'd be perfectly happy with the old hooker with a heart of gold.
I prefer the young hooker together with the old hooker with a heart of gold.
there's a Hillary voter in every crowd
Men age like fine wine, whilst women age like milk.
Let's clarify something first.
Pirated Windows is so prevalent in China that it's even widely in use at official government offices. China basically admitted this 1-2 years ago when they said they'd make an effort to discourage this practice.
In other words, who cares if they ban W8? They're not paying for W7 anyway!
If you're actually paying for Windows anything you're an idiot anyways..
Win3.1 - Solid
Win95 - Utter crap
Win98 - Decent, as long as you reinstall every 3 monhts
WinMe - Such utter crap that everyone pirated Win2k
Win2k - Solid stuff with high enough adoption that it nuked the "consumer" line and forced them to focus on NT
WinXP - Utter crap before SP2, SP3 made it solid
Vista - lol, what was that?
Win7 - Actually decent, once you disable everything and use a custom install
Win8 - hahahahaha, oh such utter utter crap.
Torrent and use one of many many activation methods out there on the market, save your money because paying for software is for idiots.
"Win3.1 - Solid"
Really can't agree with that one.
I think they mean a solid blue screen.
laomei - agree totally.
Also, Classic Shell
http://www.classicshell.net/
and
God Mode
http://howto.cnet.com/8301-11310_39-10423985-285/understanding-windows-7...
make Win7 way more tolerable.
Ahhh, my man. I worked for 5 years in user support for a Fortune 500 and you what you wrote comes from someone that knows EXACTLY how Microsoft works.
Vista gave me sleepless nights and I wanted to either kill myself, the user or Bill Gates. Such a waste of human energy. Greedy money grubbers.
If you where to calculate what economic damage Microsoft created to many companies (use IT man hours to update, install and then fix things up), you would come to the conclusion that they should be sued for their crappy product - just like GM has to pony up because of their crap cars.
But hey, we live in a world where people become billionaires with stolen software code, or becoming famous for being a girlish looking "boy" singer or for creating Fcukbook. I guess we all deserve this.
He say you under wrong perception.
This is a nothingburger kabuki public theater stunt.
This is from last year
http://www.zdnet.com/chinese-government-builds-national-os-around-ubuntu...
The China Software and Integrated Chip Promotions Centre (CSIP), part of the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, on Thursday announced that Ubuntu would be a new reference architecture for an OS targeted at the Chinese market.
Working with Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu, the CSIP plans to release the Ubuntu 13.04-based Kylin desktop OS in April this year, with plans to extend the Kylin OS to other platforms at a later date.
"This collaboration will bring local investment and participation to ensure that the platform is relevant for the Chinese market, and close coordination with the global Ubuntu project ensures that it is familiar to software and hardware vendors, and useful for export products made by Chinese companies as well," Jane Silber, CEO of Canonical, said in a statement.
...
The Ubuntu Kylin team is working with WPS, the most popular office suite in China, and is creating photo editing and system management tools which could be incorporated into other flavours of Ubuntu worldwide.
The CSIP, Canonical and the National University of Defense Technology (NUDT) have also formed the CCN Open Source Innovation Joint Lab in Beijing. The joint lab hosts engineers from each organisation who will accelerate the development of a China-focused version of Ubuntu for desktop, cloud and mobile devices.
...
They were already moving in this direction, this announcement conveniently timed is just a step along the way. This is just misdirection by the Chinese for the reason to dump Windows 8.
They've tried this before: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Flag_Linux
They kept working on it more-or-less halfheartedly, but they also tried to make it look as much like Windows XP as possible, suggesting that really no one wanted anything but XP. Plans back in the late 90's, though, were for Red Flag Linux to be versatile enough to run toasters and refrigerators too: the "Internet of Things" was part of the Chinese Linux push way back then.
I'm really surprised that the Chinese didn't put effort into developing a home-grown OS, built around the Chinese language and embracing top-to-bottom script in beautiful, calligraphic characters rather than enforcing horizontal writing with ugly pixellated fonts that look like an afterthought to western production primacy.
WiNdoz8: The metrosexual operating system that lost luster.
I don't know when a headline has made me happier than to see Eugenicist Gates take a poke in the whiskers for the team at such a monumental scale!
hahahhahahahahaaah
"Bans Use Of Windows 8 On Government Computers"
That's no sanction, that's just self defense.
The Chinese use Windows 8? LOL!!
No WONDER they're pissed-off at us! NOW it all makes sense...Omg, I wonder if they had as much trouble as I did finding the 'start' button...I went to Microsoft's websites, and a bunch of "tech geek" sites, asking anyone "Where is the search button?"
I got convoluted instructions to do this and that, some posted links where I could download 'stuff' that would...do something...etc. Then I accidently discovered that I had to "bounce" the cursor off the side to get it to pop up. THAT'S all I had to do, and not a ONE of those folks could TELL me that!!! Seriously...that's all I had to do, so why the FUCK couldn't one of those 'geeks' TELL me that?
And no doubt our Chinese friends had ALL kinds of fun with the "Now the text is BIG...now the text is SMALL" feature, the 'freezing cursor' and epileptic scroll bar, the arbitrary 'go back to the previous page' feature...
I understand it was designed for touch-screens. So why do they install it on regular computers? All it seems to do is confuse the computer...
Me: "God! Stop DOING that! You're not a touch-screen computer!"
Computer: "Well, then stop TOUCHING me!"
Fuck you Windows 8!
I guess I'm in the vast minority that I acutally like windows 8. You guys do realize that under the hood, Windows 8 is basically Windows 7 but with 4 years of extra development, meaning that it actually performs better in most instances? My windows 8 desktop boots in under 5 seconds from power on.
If you don't like the Windows 8 app screen you can just boot to desktop and never look at it again. They probably should have kept the start button, but really there are plenty of ways around that.
Goes to show how resistant to change people are.
Windows 7 is shite. Linux Mint or Ubuntu !!!!
No, it just goes to show how retarded and hubris-filled Microshafted really is. There is zero reason to show the touch interface at all, unless someone employs a touch screen. Forcing existing clients to 'explore' UI features they don't have/need/want to employ is pretty. damn. retarded.
While it’s certainly hubris, MS forcing their new interface on us is very much intentional. They are predicting / promoting that as the future and want people to start getting used to it.
With major interface updates, MS seems to go on a two-OS cycle. They release one “shitty” OS that everyone hates with a new interface, and then follow it up with a second OS on a similar interface that everyone loves.
People hated ME, loved XP. Hated Vista, loved 7. Hated 8, will love 9.
If cars were like Windows then every year the gear stick would be in a different position and different controls would control your steering - one year a steering wheel, the next year a joystick - hidden behind the dash, the next year foot pedals - dropping from the ceiling ... and every week, for no apparent reason, your car would suddenly ignore you and drive itself to the nearest mechanic shop, and stay there for an hour or two, running the whole time so by the time you regained control of it, you often have only a few litres of fuel left in the tank ...
In Russia, system operates YOU!
WTF I thought Windows was a Virus ?
So does this mean they'll also stop pirating the stuff too?
Comrades! As US citizens, it is your patriotic duty to USE Windows 8 for all personal computing. You may rest assured that Windows 8 is safe and free from government spying and data collection efforts. As such, those who migrate to Windows 8 in 2014 will receive generous tax credits for the 2014 tax year. Those who don't will receive significant fines.
This migration is not mandatory; if you like your current operating system, you can keep your current operating system.
~Now gimme a Nobel Prize, and get one for yourself too.
Funny, in China nobody pays for windows except Americans.
So Windows 8 lead to global warming?
Fuck ya.
I don't know about the rest of the former MSFT users, their "start up scan" and "update downloads" took more time than I actually used the computer for MY PURPOSES.
Seriously they have no regard for electrical usage, might as well keep their machines on indifinitely and shutting down, I've made women orgasm faster than it takes to shut down a msft computer.
And buying a new one? LOL, buy 2 weeks before you need it, then hire a technician to download the updates, then when you need your computer to actually use, it still wont be ready, because it will always need updates.
Besides you really didn't want WIN8 anyway, or W9 you want WIN-10 or "WIN-X", WIN X will be secure, I promise :P, now bend over and open wide.
Win 8 is proof that Microsoft is an out-of-control monopoly with way too much power.
"Windows-An outdated and antiquated OS" WSJ, Walt Moss