microsoft

Microsoft Edge is Getting More Intrusive

Found this little gem via Slashdot.

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 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 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 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 Microsoft

Bad Windows 10

Windows 10 is installing and rebooting without user consent for apps other than upgrades or security patches.

The apps take up no storage or other resources. Until now, though, installing Office web apps was optional. Windows isn’t asking for your permission, let alone informing you of what’s about to happen. Microsoft is potentially disrupting work or other important tasks to promote its online productivity suite.

I have Windows 10 in the form of a virtual machine that is made to behave because it resides in a computer sandbox. It is sad that I HAVE to do that.

October 17, 2020 by Computer Fuckery

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 Microsoft

EU is a Big Fat Bully Who Wants Your Lunch Money

I equate the European Union (EU) to the bully at school that beats kids up and takes their lunch money.

Follow the Google link below for the latest bullying tactic.

They have fined Apple, Google, and Microsoft just to name a few. The reasoning is pretty weak and they just seem to be using their bullying tactics to extort money from the wealthy American companies. I’m pretty sure they care more about the revenue stream than protecting the rights of the downtrodden.

The EU declares war on American companies pretty much the same way that the small country did in the movie “The Mouse That Roared.” The whole premise of the movie was that if this small country could declare war on the United States and lose — the United States would pay them reparations which would boost their economy. My guess is that the officials in the EU have seen that movie and have taken it to the next level.

Engadget has a pretty good article giving you the background on the latest round with Google. The whole idea that Google is a bad guy for trying to get you to use its content is counterintuitive. Of course Google wants you to use its services. In case you missed it, that is how they make money. Taking that money from Google is how the EU makes money.

Getting out of the EU is probably the best thing Great Britain ever did. No-one wants to be associated with a bully when you want to make friends.

I think it would be awesome if the United States sued the EU for extortion.

They are a criminal organization that deserves NO less.

Update: 07.23.2018 – This little snippet from Engadget is extremely telling…

Google reportedly offered to make changes to its Android policies in August 2017, not long after it received an EU antitrust penalty for its product search practices. Although Google didn’t dive into specifics, it had offered to “loosen restrictions” in Android contracts and had considered distributing its apps in “two different ways.”

The EU wasn’t having it, according to the sources. Officials reportedly said only that a settlement was “no longer an option,” and that Google’s offer was “too little too late.” It couldn’t even mention the possibility of paying a fine as part of an agreement — regulators had effectively locked in their course of action.

July 18, 2018 by Official Rant Opinion

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.

November 19, 2017 by Microsoft One Note

Microsoft Word to OneNote

I have been using Microsoft Word to keep a master document of everything new I learn about my job. It was an idea that I got from someone I used to work with and it was a great idea at the time.

As of this writing, my little document has grown into something a lot less managable.

I’m going to start converting my documentation over to OneNote. I saw a co-worker using it the other day for the exact same thing I do and it looked like it worked much better. I also believe the search function is a bit more advanced.

I don’t know why I’m posting this on my blog.

Talking to myself, I suppose.

November 3, 2017 by Life Lessons 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 cool.

August 16, 2017 by Microsoft

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 Apple News mac os 9 mac os x Microsoft windows 8
Mike Williams
My name is Mike or in some cases Mick depending who you ask. I love programming, science fiction, audiobooks, cats, dogs, and writing. I do not filter on this website so you may see nudity, cursing, or other profanity as required. I apologize for none of it.

CaptainNukko on X

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