Microsoft

Microsoft Edge is Getting More Intrusive

Last week, I turned on my PC, installed a Windows update, and rebooted to find Microsoft Edge automatically open with the Chrome tabs I was working on before the update. I don’t use Microsoft Edge regularly, and I have Google Chrome set as my default browser. Bleary-eyed at 9AM, it took me a moment to realize that Microsoft Edge had simply taken over where I’d left off in Chrome. I never imported my data into Microsoft Edge, nor did I confirm whether I wanted to import my tabs. But here was Edge automatically opening after a Windows update with all the Chrome tabs I’d been working on. I didn’t even realize I was using Edge at first, and I was confused why all my tabs were suddenly logged out.

This is incredibly bad. Total dick move.

January 31, 2024 by Mike Microsoft

Microsoft Strikes Again

What you see below is something that should never be seen.

MicrosoftTeams image

It is Chrome. When I fire up the browser in Windows 11 after the computer has been off for a bit, this happens.

Annoying. For sure.

October 16, 2023 by Mike Microsoft

Change or Get Out of Way

From an article in Engadget…

Microsoft is trying to nudge more people toward newer Windows versions. As Thurott reports, Microsoft has warned that the OneDrive desktop app will stop syncing with personal Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 computers on March 1st, 2022. The software will no longer receive updates from January 1st onward. You can still use the web to manually transfer files, but that’s clearly a hassle if you routinely access cloud files from an older PC.

Microsoft wants to move people away from their older operating systems. I get that. Doing something like this isn’t a gentle persuasion or even a soft nudge if those folks rely on One Drive. This is a shove.

The basic human reaction when someone is “told” to do something is to rebel against it. People don’t like being forced to do anything.

I completely understand that users need to keep moving forward and Microsoft wants to get out of the business of supporting unsafe legacy applications.

Someone at Microsoft probably looked at how many users were on version 7 or 8 and using On Drive and thought this would be a significant chunk of users to “nudge.”

This could also backfire. There are other storage options out there and all one needs to do is to set up a Dropbox account. They don’t care what version of Windows you are running.

I applaud Microsoft for shedding the idea that “you must support legacy software until your dying breath.” This is a big step away from that position.

November 7, 2021 by Mike Microsoft

Windows Development

I downloaded Visual Studio 2019 yesterday to test it out on Windows 11.

The first thing that jumped out at me was the Visual Studio 2019 release. Why not 2021?

The second thing I observed was that VS 2019 doesn’t contain any Windows 11 SDKs.

It is possible that the paid versions of Visual Studio support the new Windows environment which leads me to point out the major important differences between Microsoft and Apple.

Apple gives the developers the tools they need to write new applications at the exact same time they release the operating system. The two things go hand in hand which makes perfect sense when you think about it.

Windows has no such synergy between an OS release and the software you need to develop applications for it. This article makes it sound like Microsoft is really catering to developers but just by reading the article, I’d say otherwise. There are several programs used for different things instead of the single environment the apple provides.

The article mentions gaming and web development and even tools to tweak existing Windows 10 builds but nothing about straight application development. It doesn’t even mention the existence of Visual Studio at all.

I’ve been an Apple developer for a very long time so I guess I’m just probably spoiled.

July 8, 2021 by Mike Apple Microsoft

Microsoft Windows 11

Here is a breakdown of what you need to know.

By the time Microsoft actually releases it, you will have totally forgotten all about it.

That pretty much sums it up.

Coming sometime in 2022.

*Update: I got an email from Microsoft telling me that I am being moved to the Release Version channel because I can’t run the beta of Windows 11. My computer apparently doesn’t have enough whatever. Windows is always pretty good about driving people to buy ever increasing hardware to support their software. I think they get that wrong too.*

June 25, 2021 by Mike Microsoft

Why Microsoft Why?

Why doesn’t Microsoft just have (1) game? Why don’t you just put everything into (1) game? Why do you insist on having (3) different versions?

If they are making hard copies or DVDs, it is more environmentally friendly to just have (1) version.

Screen Shot 2020 07 13 at 10 53 41 AM

Just venting.

July 13, 2020 by Mike Microsoft

Microsoft Edge Being Forced on Users

Sad. But true. I can’t believe this is still happening in 2020. This article mentions that Microsoft had a bad experience with forcing users to use their product before. It is shocking that they would try to do this again. Especially when Apple is now doing the exact opposite.

And I’m not surprised that some angry Windows users are already railing against the fact that this came as part of a forced Windows update, which Microsoft has already had a damn hard time justifying without invading people’s desktops as well. It’s going to be harder to buy the argument that forced updates are necessary for security when they’re pulling double-duty as an intrusive marketing tool.
via The Verge

July 2, 2020 by Mike Microsoft

Outlook 2019

I have been trying to get the new version of Outlook to work on my MacBook Pro for about as long as I can remember. We use an older version where I work and I have always wanted to try the newer shinier version. You know, because I am a geek.

This morning I had a revelation concerning settings and I tried it.

It worked.

The new version seems pretty cool.

Now, if we could only do something about Communicator…

February 7, 2019 by Mike Microsoft

The Problem with Using One Note for Work

The caveat – I love using One Note. I think it is one of the best apps that Microsoft ever made.

The problem – Microsoft does not understand sharing, what it truly means, and why clamping the file down to the computer that created it is a bad idea.

I’ll elaborate. There are certain times when I do not want data I create for work purposes to be solely on the work machine I created it on. Why not, you may ask? Excellent question. Sometimes it can be a security issue where I may not entirely trust our IT department to back up the data or more often than not, I just want to have access to that information from various devices. I could be out at the mall and get a call from work that requires that I look at some of my data. It has happened more often than one might expect.

One Note is not friendly to this type of use. I cannot create the notebook in Dropbox and then use their app to see that notebook across platforms. That is not sharing. For instance, I’ve created a great notebook on my work computer which is a Surface Pro but I can’t access that notebook on my MacBook Pro. I know that I should be able to. That isn’t the reality.

I’m sure tons of techie folks will challenge what I’ve said. Whatever you suggest will never make One Note work the way I think it should.

Edited with BlogPad Pro

November 19, 2017 by Mike Microsoft One Note

Microsoft Outlook Kudos

I noticed a small issue with Outlook 2010. I use it at my day job. If I compose a message but decide not to send it, I’ll choose to delete the draft. Outlook marks the message as “unread” and then puts it in the trash.

Because I may suffer from a touch of OCD, seeing that there was an unread message in my trash bothered me.

I tweeted about it.

The Outlook team responded.

That is strange! Please send us a DM so we can figure this out. https://t.co/IUcFK9Ejgw

— Outlook (@Outlook) July 28, 2017

That is cool.

August 16, 2017 by Mike Microsoft

Minecraft Weirdness

The follow picture is a building I have constructed in Minecraft. I sealed up the building when I created it. The only way inside is by going through doors you have to open (they are not automatic). My question is how do horses end up on top of my structure? There is no logical way for them to be up there and yet, there they are.

Edited with BlogPad Pro

July 31, 2017 by Mike Microsoft Minecraft

Project Scorpio

Of course, I am keeping my eyes on this one. The official release of the new xbox gaming console will be later this year. Novemberish? Microsoft has an official site.

There are a few sites that are offering up more details. Links below.

TechRadar

Pocket-lint

Digital Trends

April 23, 2017 by Mike Microsoft Project Scorpio xBox

Windows 8 Versus Mac OS X Thought

Macintosh OS 9

The Mac operating system has changed over the years but not in very dramatic ways. In fact, anyone who has used OS 9 will know exactly how to use OS X. If you have used Tiger (10.4) then you can use Mountain Lion (10.8) without much todo or fanfare.

Steve Jobs knew that tablets were the future of computing and built the entire Mac eco-system around that idea. The features you find in iOS are readily becoming available in Mac OS X. This is deliberate.

What Microsoft is doing with Windows 8 is try to bridge a gap that has been building over a period of years. They are trying to jump ahead to a point that they were not preparing for. While Windows dabbled in touch screen interfaces, they saw something that was really “cool” but didn't really know how to apply it and use it to their advantage. I remember seeing Vista for the first time and listening to Microsoft tell me how awesome it was and was going to become. I also remember yawning and noting that all of those “cool new features” had been in Mac OS X for months or even years.

I am willing to bet (without having read the entire Steve Jobs biography) that Steve saw an episode of Star Trek The Next Generation's use of the PADD and snapped his fingers. I don't doubt that for a second because after watching the show, I myself wanted such a device. Man, the things you could do with a tablet computer! Steve Jobs did the same thing with the Xerox interface. While Xerox may not have fully understood what they had, Steve Jobs did. That is vision.

That is what Microsoft doesn't have.

This version of Windows is such a big jump from Windows 7 and so confusing to such a large base of users that this whole thing simply “smells” bad. Big jumps in OS are usually bad for consumers. I haven't even mentioned IT folks that may end up abandoning Windows in the workplace all together. They will have to weigh training hours, troubleshooting time, and costs against other alternatives that are much cheaper and offer less of a shock to their users. Let's face it. Windows in the workplace is expensive.

Windows 8 is such a big jump that it would be like paying someone to shoot you in the face if you are an IT guy.

Just. Sayin'

August 29, 2012 by Mike Apple News mac os 9 mac os x Microsoft windows 8