Whenever we lose a loved one, the first anniversary of their death can hit you kind of hard. So here at Computer Geeks, not all of our Geeks are taking it so well that today is the 1 year anniversary of the Death of Windows XP. From 2001-2014 Windows XP was always there for us, and maybe it wasn’t without bugs, or viruses or even the Blue screen of death, but it got the job done. Especially when we were so disappointed in Windows Vista, lets be honest, NOBODY likes Windows Vista. But somehow Vista gets to live. And I know some of you out there are still holding on to your Windows XP computers, since 16.7% of all computers (including Mac) are still running Windows XP. Compare that to Windows Vista at a measly 1.97% or Windows 8 at 3.52%
Now that there is no Windows XP to purchase, and our old machines are dying off, we need to get a new computer, and again we are faced with a new Microsoft operating system that NOBODY wants to use, Windows 8. But I am here to tell you that it is time to move on, we know you can do it! Having Windows XP on your system is dangerous, and in a lot of business settings, like Law Offices, Medical Practices, and Dental Offices, you are out of compliance with your businesses standard practices and can be severely fined. Since there are no service packs or patches available, people have already found a way to hack the firmware of the last edition of Windows XP and can easily steal all of your personal, financial and customer information, and when that happens, your computer is toast.
Moving on from Windows XP
So how do you do it? How can you finally put this Operating System to rest, and move on? You’re NOT going to use that awful tile system that Windows 8 has, that’s for sure. Computer Geeks still has a deal with many of our vendors that will allow us to purchase a new system for you, with Windows 7. Windows 7 holds a 58.04% market share for operating systems. Take it from someone who was dragged kicking and screaming away from Windows XP, I LOVE Windows 7. It is just a shinier, less buggy version of Windows XP, it’s an easy transition, I promise. It’s like your overweight wife dies, but her hot model friend wants to date you now, it may be a big step to move on, but you’ll be happier in the end.
Along with a new computer with Windows 7, we are happy to let you know that Microsoft has told everyone that their new Operating System, Windows 10, will be available FOR FREE to anyone with a Windows 7 or higher OS for the first year only. And trust me when I tell you that Windows 10 shall be light years ahead of Windows 8, bringing back the start bar, and your normal desktop! I have used this new operating system already, and it is great. Not to mention the coolest thing you’ve ever seen in your entire life, Microsoft Hololens! Check out the video below, IT IS AWESOME. If you look at any 1 thing on this blog today, check out this short video, as this product that seems amazing and unreal, will hit the shelves later THIS YEAR and is affordable between $400-$500
In the 1990s, Japanese computer engineers invented Emojis. These are small cartoon like symbols that help express emotions. These symbols include happy faces and thumbs up. But there was one problem.
These emojis seriously lacked diversity. That is, until now. Included in the Apple iOS 8.3 are around 300 more emoji symbols. This will include both genders and more ethnicity and more skin tones. These new images will have different professions. One can even create their own emojis; celebrities like Seth Rogen have done so. And it’s not just races and skin color that’s diversifying. Family dynamics are, too. For example, some of these new emojis include families with two mothers and two fathers as well as the more traditional family. Thirty-two more national flags are in this batch. Despite these changes, there are still some complaints and concerns. Some are saying the yellow emojis may be interpreted as racist and offensive to the Asian community, though it’s believed the yellow images were never meant to represent them. Whether consumers embrace or shun these new images, the people at Apple are standing by this change. One spokesperson says, “Apple cares and supports deeply about diversity…[we’re working] to update the standard so that it better represent diversity for all of us.”
In principal, I think they’re doing the right thing. Obviously, our world is diversifying, and that needs to be better represented through all aspects of culture, not just through emojis. That’s what Apple is trying to do here. But this could backfire. Some may take the images the wrong way. I’ve read on my Facebook page a comment like, “What are they trying to do? Bring back blackface comedy?” But I’m convinced in this hyper uber-correct 2010s world, some people are going to get offended no?matter what. That’s the risk Apple is willing to take. Will you be using these new emojis??
For years, the smartphone race between Apple and Samsung has been like watching a main event pay-per-view wrestling match. It just goes back and forth and both competitors pull all the stops to please their fans. Let’s look at Apple vs Samsung 2015.
For years, Apple has led this smartphone race. But Samsung is catching up in a hurry. During the December 2014 quarter, it’s reported that Samsung sold somewhere between 71-75 million smartphones, and?over?70% of them the more expensive phones. Apple sold 74.5 million during that same time frame, a record for them. This put them in a virtual tie to close out 2014. Apple CEO Tim Cook credits new big screen iPhones for the record breaking performance. Because of this, and despite Samsung’s high ending sales lately, this is bad news for Samsung. Samsung is losing high-end, high paying customers to Apple. The big screen iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus made record sales last year, which use to be Samsung’s main event spot. Even Tim Cook will tell you that. But they’re also losing steam on the low end market. Competitors like Xiaomi and Lenovo are manufacturing and selling more low end phones than ever before. And since the economy has hardly recovered (I don’t care what anyone says), you know more people are buying low end phones than ever before.
That’s not the only reason more people are buying low end phones. People are tired of having their expensive devices hacked and accounts broken into. With a low end phone, you can’t put that much information on it but you can dispose of it, get a new one for a low price, and still keep the old number. I think this is where Apple and Samsung should put their focus. Yes, still push the big ?products, but concentrate a little more on the little phones. Because the competition sure is. What to you think?
In Cuba, the Internet is mostly banned. And for the small handful who do have access, they have to pay a high price, can only have it at government sponsored Internet cafes, and it is heavily censored. Some young people are doing something about this.
Young Cubans build network that stretches throughout Havana, Cuba’s capital and largest city. With this hidden network, they can chat with friends, play games and keep up with the latest movies and music. They were able to do this by their engineering skills and putting?together?a pool of over 9,000 computers and hooking them up to hidden Wi-Fi and Ethernet cables found all over that city. But their access and connection are still limited, and sources say they’re getting no help from any outside government or any other outside entity. Cuba is one of the least wired nations in the world, and Cuban residents like 22-year-old Rafael Moreno want to change that. He used his electronic engineering skills to help put this network together. He talks about why Cuba needs this underground Internet system. “We really need Internet because there’s so much information online, but at least this satisfies you a little bit because you feel like, `I’m connected with a bunch of people, talking to them, sharing files.”
I’m proud of this group. Leave it up to young adults who are tired of being censored and shut out to find a way to connect to the outside world. And with President Barak Obama working to improve US and Cuban relations, I hope for a day where the Cuban people don’t have to jump over hoops just to use Internet access we Americans virtually take for granted. So Cuba, you want to improve your nation and it’s reputation around the world? Give online access availability to every person in Cuba. Wouldn’t that be a great start?
Anyone who has been hacked before can often trace it to password issues. In many cases, hackers broke pass easy passwords, then got in someone’s account doing whatever they wished to do. Want to stop them?
The first step we can take is avoiding the worst passwords ever! A password security firm called Splash Data has come up with the worst passwords used in 2014, the most likely to get hacked. Many have been on the worst list for years. The worst password of 2014 was ‘123456’. That should come as no surprise because ‘123456’ was the worst password of 2013 too. Rounding out the worst five are ‘password’, ‘12345’, ‘12345678’, and ‘qwerty’. While it’s advised you mix numbers and letters, don’t choose ‘abc123’. That made the worst 25 (#14). Other bad password choices include generic sports like ‘football’ (#10) and ‘baseball’ (#8). Don’t use common names, especially names like Michael (#20). Superheroes won’t come to your bad password rescue either, because ‘Batman (#24) and ‘Superman’ (#21) made this dubious list. When it comes to protecting yourself from hackers, and from other online monsters, it’s a good idea to trust no one. Funny thing, because the password ‘trustno1’ was ranked 25th worst password to use.
When I look at this list, I ask myself, “People are still using some of these passwords?” This is especially true for the top 5. If I were a hacker (don’t worry, I’m not), easy numeric codes are the first thing I would try, following generic sports, common names, and pop culture themes. There are ways to make it harder for them. Instead of just naming a sport, name your favorite sports team followed by a year they did something significant. Don’t just use a common name; use the name plus a milestone date, like first day of school, an award won, first drivers licence or car, high school or college graduation, or wedding or birth of a child. One thing that’s helped me strengthen passwords is using book passages, and mixing numbers and letters like that. What are some of your password tips?
Welcome to the live blog of the Window’s 10 Event. This is my first live blog so hopefully I will not lose you in all this excitement.
12:02PM
Opening up with Windows 10. They are going over what is to come on this Windows 10 showcase. They say it will be a seamless transition from Windows 7 and 8 and the best enterprise os ever. Windows 10 to be place on tablets, phablets and phones. One platform and one store is what Microsoft is pushing.
12:06PM
They are now showing a video about the Windows Insider program. Microsoft thanks all insiders and you can sign up for free.
12:10PM
More personal computing:
Mobility of Experience- The amount of devices that can transition from device to device with ease.
Trust- Protecting your privacy.
Natural interactions- Getting more out of your devices with gestures, looks and pens.
Now they are showing a workplace with multiple people working on the same item. Now they are talking about how they are bring more personal computing to the workplace.
Home set up is showing wearable devices, with projections of images in the living room:
12:16PM Free upgrade to Windows 10 with devices running windows 8.1 and and Windows Phone 8.1. They will also down the line upgrade Windows 7 to Windows 10 as well. All within the first year of Windows 10.
12:18PM
Windows 10 will change the rules of the game of computing. They are bringing up leaders of Microsoft to show off Windows 10 for PC, tablets, ect. Joe Belfiore is now up to show off Windows 10.
They are now demoing Windows 10 on the PC. The start menus has a new visual interface and start it up full screen or you can let it be in small mode that makes it look more like Windows 7. Now when panning in from the right you can now check notifications and quick links.
The setting experience will be easy and control panel and settings will be all in one. Now on his Surface he removes the screen from the mouse and keyboard and now it moves to tablet mode. When snapping back into the keyboard it will be back to PC mode.
Now they are showing Windows 10 on a tablet device. He is showing off his apps at the same time and can go from tablet mode to PC mode on a tablet very naturally.
12:26PM
Joe is demoing new items in Windows 10 and said to expect glitches. The first new feature that they are showing off Cortana and is speaking to her. She is responding to his questions. Cortana is labeled a personal digital assistant. She is now doing impersonations of Yoda. Cortana is now going to be on the PC in Windows 10.
He is now showing an early build of Cortana on an actual PC. He is asking Cortana about being on a PC and she is feeling groovy. Using “hey Cortana” he is asking questions and she is responding seamlessly. As the personal digital assistant she is learning from you. You can go into the notebook to see what Cortana knows about you. You can add new things and remove things from her notebook.
Joe is showing off his homepage experience through Cortana. (currently the feed is buffering will get back to it as soon as it is up.)
12:37PM
Cortana is still being talked about. She will be able to handle many PC tasks.
12:39PM
Windows 10 Phone and tablets are being discussed now. He is showing off the phone and the settings section to make things easier. He is now getting a text message and he is showing off responding to the text message on the wordflow keyboard and moving the keyboard around the screen. Now he is using talk to text. Showing off the speech system which was seamless.
12:43PM
They are now showing off text messaging with the ability to jump right to Skype. That build is not complete yet but coming. They are now showing apps that can work between the phone and PC. First off is MS office. He is now showing Word, Excel, and Powerpoint on the phone and they will come with the phones and small tablets. He is now showing how easy it is to change tabs right on the phone to handle documents. Now he is showing off Powerpoint and showing off the office ribbon again. Now he is showing off an actual Powerpoint presentation on a cell phone. The slide show is running very well. You can also mirrorcast the presentations and wirelessly print as well.
Now they are showing Outlook mail that will be on the phone, tablets, and on the PC. He is showing the app bar on the phone and getting the same Word formatting ribbon to make Outlook easy to use on the phone. Now he is showing off the inbox to show swiping your emails to delete them or flag them. Now he is switching over to the Surface and it has all synced up and works the same exact way. Now he is going to do a two handed demo using the phone and pc.
Showing off the Microsoft calendar on both the Surface and the phone. Very easy to use and seamless just like all apps.
12:54PM
He is now showing off the Photo apps. He is now showing off the album view for both pc and phone and now showing off the map application that is another universal app.
12:59PM
They are showing off one more app experience. He is about to show off a new browser. Code name project Spartan for Windows 10. It is a total new look and feel for sure. They are showing off the browser on the Windows 10 Surface. He is now showing off the Spartan with a pen and marking up a website, and adding notes to the web page on a little sticky type note.
1:06PM
Cortana will be built right into Spartan. Cortana will be able to help you with all things on your pages. So he is on a restaurant site, Cortana is popping up to tell him that she has directions, yelp ratings, booking reservations and check out the menu quickly without having to run through the actual site. He can also ask questions about the menu and she will give information about the dishes.
1:10PM
These items will be available to insiders over the next few months to test. Now they are moving over to the entertainment part with Phil Spencer.
Now we are talking about the gaming aspect and the Xbox can now be a personal experience. Over 50 million members on XBox Live. Now he talking about the idea of Xbox and PC becoming one. Gaming on Windows 10 will now be more social and interactive. The Xbox app is now being shown off. You can access your friends list, messages and the activity feed.
He is now showing off an Alienware PC with Windows 10. The Xbox app is now available with all Windows 10 systems. He can voice and text chat on the PC to friends on Xbox live. Now he is showing off a clip a friend on his list on Windows 10 PC. Now he is able to share and post the comment right on the Xbox app. One thing to note: Phil Spencer is wearing a battletoads shirt.
They are now showing off Steam and how to record the last 30 seconds of game play and share it. This is on Windows 10 and not through an Xbox but people playing on Xbox will be able to see it.
1:18PM
They are now showing a comparison between Direct X 11 and X 12. The new Direct X will now be able to function much better with GPU’s and CPU’s to make games much smoother. Now he is talking about battery life and how laptops can now cut the power usage in half. Now they are discussing the seamless and connected parts of the Windows 10 and Xbox One. They are now playing Fable Legends between an Xbox One and Windows 10 PC. Phil has now jumped into the Xbox One game even though he is playing on his PC while she plays on his PC. This is what people have been wanting for some time now.
Windows 10 will be able to stream Xbox One games on your network. This will be amazing if you can jump from Windows 10 device playing Xbox One through a stream. He has now connected Forza streaming from Xbox One to a Surface Pro 3. He just showed shutting down the Xbox One from the tablet.
They are now showing off a video of Windows 10 experience with the Xbox One.
1:31PM
They are now showing off how groups of people can work together. They are showing the Microsof Surface hub. It is a 84″ display with NFC displays.
They are showing off the whiteboard feature which when she picks up her pen the ink flows right on the screen. She can even move the words around the entire whiteboard.
Now they are opening up a 3D model of the Surface Hub. Now they are showing the 3D model on the side with the white board and move the image to the whiteboard app and write on it. Now they are showing off the meeting features on the hub. This is Skype for business:
1:36PM
Now they are showing how to end the meeting. Just hit the start button and hit end and it will share the meeting with all of the members.
1:38PM
Now Alex Kipman is on stage to show off new technology. They are showing off Windows Holographic. A digital holographic rendering into your living room. It is using a device on your head to interact with everything. The Holographic looks like the Occulus device running with Windows 10. They are showing off all different types ways the Holographic will work. Microsoft Hololens will be wireless.
They are talking about how they invented a new holographic processor. They are now showing a video about the Hololens. The tag line is transform your world with Windows 10.
1:53PM
They are now showing Hololens Holostudio to be able to 3D print items you create. They are showing a screen where you can see what she is seeing. They are showing a functional hologram. They created a 3D model and printed it. The actual print actually worked.
Here is the video they showed off at the conference of the HoloLens.
2:02PM
They are now showing a video with the Hololens using a rover to experience Mars itself. Now they are discussing the future of Windows 10 and how all of what we learned today can revolutionize the world.
2:17PM
They are closing out the Windows 10 going over all of the conferences ending in April with all that we have seen here. The April Conference is a must see conference says Microsoft. They closed with no release date but have said that it will be out later this year.
So that is the conference. What do you think? Are you impressed. I have to say I was and if they pull this off it will be amazing. What I saw today I never expected to see in my time. Some of these things have only been seen in movies but now they are real. The only thing I am disappointed in is that there is no exact date. Thank you for joining me today!
