Pawnstars scroogled advert not a laptop

[Feathers McGraw]

I will only say that I do not scoff at people who disagree with me on software choices. That seems a bit extreme to me.

That's not what I said, though.

EDIT: Just to clarify: when I said "if they remain wilfully ignorant" I didn't mean "if they don't agree", I mean if they are aware that there is something else out there but they deliberately avoid considering whether it might be better for them.

That kind of closed-mindedness is ridiculously stupid.

[richb]

I will only say that I do not scoff at people who disagree with me on software choices. That seems a bit extreme to me.

[Feathers McGraw]

On the other side of the coin, some Open Source and Linux users are elitists and consider anyone using something else as ignorant and scoff at them.

True. Most people just don't know why we use free software though. It's not their fault they don't know. If they know and have decided it's not important to them, that's fine too, and we can have an interesting conversation about it. If they remain wilfully ignorant, it's fair to scoff at their wilful ignorance.

EDIT: I also do not subscribe to an argument that because we do not raise sheep and grow our own crops modern man is not as intelligent as our forebears. Skills are different that is all.

Also true - we're just more highly specialised. Nobody can be an expert in everything, especially considering the amount of detail you need to know to be good at something now.

[richb]

On the other side of the coin, some Open Source and Linux users are elitists and consider anyone using something else as ignorant and scoff at them. I decry such an attitude.

EDIT: I also do not subscribe to an argument that because we do not raise sheep and grow our own crops modern man is not as intelligent as our forebears. Skills are different that is all.

[charles052]

So far, Win8 sales are way below projections because they have failed in the market place. The ad itself isn't any different than any of Microsoft's other ads -- just as deceptive and with lots of disinformation. Microsoft is notorious for tracking people's personal info. There was a website devoted to it called f***kmicrosoft.com which detailed how Microsoft created a hidden folder and stored in it logs of all your offline and online activities. Those logs were uploaded to Microsoft every so often and then reset. After that website revealed how to eliminate Microsoft's tracking of your activities Microsoft made the creation of those hidden files part of the boot up process, if they had been deleted, so that the everyday user could not defeat the snooping. Combine that with Microsoft's GUID, unique to each PC/USER, and which is added every document created on Windows, including Office document and emails. That allowed Microsoft to track who created documents or sent emails, and many other nefarious things.

I've been looking into that and they've been doing it for quite a while now, like Windows 98 or ME? I'm now seriously considering putting Linux on my laptop instead of 7. Yeah, I kinda figured they were doing stuff like that but it's funny that you can know something without really knowing.

As for Win8, I find it very interesting that 8 is such a failure because it's mostly because of Microsoft putting the Start screen 1st and lack of the start menu. This is very, very easily rectified. But consumers still don't want to touch it, probably due to horror stories and mass paranoia. Such is the public mindset, which makes me wonder about the future of the Linux desktop and whether it will ever achieve it rightful place as the top OS of personal computers? I think not. Linux, due to it's very nature of being more secure and customizable, works against it. People want easy. Not just easy, ridiculously easy! They literally want their hand held while their surfing the web or whatnot. For a Linux OS to ever be nearly as popular as Windows, it would have to set itself up entirely, getting it right on the 1st try and never require any kind of configurations or fixing/installing packages via command line... and it would have to look and act exactly like Windows 7.

The more and more I study people, the more and more I'm certain that they aren't as bright as older generations. Sure, we have a far wealthier resource of information thanks to the internet and so many various devices to access it, but how many are doing so instead of looking up porn, checking their facebook status, tweeting, or watching the latest Youtube vids? People used to make their own clothes, build their own houses, harvest their own crops, make their own butter, etc... Sure, none of it was as refined as it is today (which might actually be unhealthier for us, but that's a whole other topic) but they still knew how to do such things. How many people do you know can even come close to that skill level of survival and thriving on their own sweat and blood? Likely none or just 1 or 2 people. And yet, most people think that we, as a society, are more intelligent than those of yesterday. I see no evidence of that.

Furthermore, unless you're a conformist, you're all too often looked upon as a nutcase, a Linux/Apple fanboy, or some other sort of extremist. I know everyone one of you has experienced this at one point or another. It's a silly, childish tactic... and it's one that works brilliantly. Most people, deep down inside, really don't want to be different. This society screams and hollers everytime their individuality is compromised but that's a joke for the most part because most of us want to be just like the Joneses, drive that big SUV, have that Toyota Prius, get that Iphone 5, and they all shop at Walmart. It's the reason why we search out for others like us, so that we can find comfort and understanding from them.

So, while Microsoft's ads are misleading and dishonest, they do work brilliantly. H. L. Mencken, who while referring to tabloids trying to become more respectable and reaching out to a smarter audience (which he believed was mistake) made a statement that sums up this post near perfectly: “No one in this world, so far as I know — and I have searched the records for years, and employed agents to help me — has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people. Nor has anyone ever lost public office thereby.”

[GreyGeek]

Very well said.

I'm not sure which I'm more concerned about: being spied on by big corps for profit, or being spied on by my own government, without my consent.

I hate the former because it's all part of of them trying to subconsciously control people, and I hate the latter because it makes a bit of a mockery of democracy.

Add to that mix corporations using big $$$ to bribe lawmakers into passing laws that exploit or deprive citizen of their rights and you have an awful brew.
Case in point: the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade "negotiations" that are going on right now.

[richb]

If you use Android, check out APG with K9 Mail, the two work seamlessly together.

Thanks FM, I will.

[Feathers McGraw]

I do the opposite GG, forward my ISP mail to Gmail. I have two Gmail accounts, one I consider a throwaway I use for certain site registrations. I do not generally send personal information in any of my emails. I have not used encryption, but will look into it in case I need to send personal information.

If you use Android, check out APG with K9 Mail, the two work seamlessly together.

[richb]

I do the opposite GG, forward my ISP mail to Gmail. I have two Gmail accounts, one I consider a throwaway I use for certain site registrations. I do not generally send personal information in any of my emails. I have not used encryption, but will look into it in case I need to send personal information.

[Feathers McGraw]

Microsoft and Apple should behave. They live in glass houses and there are plenty of bricks lying around.

Very well said.

I'm not sure which I'm more concerned about: being spied on by big corps for profit, or being spied on by my own government, without my consent.

I hate the former because it's all part of of them trying to subconsciously control people, and I hate the latter because it makes a bit of a mockery of democracy.

[GreyGeek]

For the record, I use Gmail exclusively.

So do I.
When I first connected with GMail and G+ I read their TOS's. That's why I never post my personal information, beyond my name, a small bw photo, or my personal info. My gmail address is how the public email's me because it is independent of any particular ISP, which I change when ever I feel like it.
My GMail is set to forward the email it receives to my ISP. I have KMail pointing at my ISP. When I send private messages to my family and friends I send it via my ISP, which probably isn't any more secure, is probably also being scanned, so I never send email containing information that I want to keep private unless I send it as an encrypted attachment.

When Microsoft bought Skype they also changed their P2P node arrangement. Now they use a Linux server farm running their patented "Legal Intercept" spyware, which inserts itself into the Skype audio stream (video as well?) so that it can be recorded by anyone with access to the Linux servers or a VPN connected to them. THAT is being scroogled! So, when you use Skype, don't say anything you wouldn't say in a court of law under oath, or that is where you may find yourself. So much for free speech.


Apple used iPhone's GPS to keep of record of the travels of its customers, until someone discovered it and blew the whistle. To track someone's travels all that had to be done was access the iPhone's logs and download them. While most juristictions require a warrant from a judge to plant a GPS tracker on a car, by using the suspect's iPhone a warrant was bypassed.

Microsoft and Apple should behave. They live in glass houses and there are plenty of bricks lying around.

EDIT: I forgot the reason why I posted this -- Google's free apps (Maps, Hangout, 25GB GDrive, Trend, Scholar, etc...) are excellent and OS neutral.

[Feathers McGraw]

Pahaha

[Buddlespit]

beat me to it

You don't fancy tearing your hair out trying to configure your own email server, then?

He has no hair.

edit: you beat me to it

[richb]

You don't fancy tearing your hair out trying to configure your own email server, then?

No hair here. I just find Gmail serves all my needs, has very good spam filtering, and I do not receive unwanted emails from any merchants. So if they are tracking my activities they are not making very good use of them.

[Feathers McGraw]

For the record, I use Gmail exclusively.

You don't fancy tearing your hair out trying to configure your own email server, then?