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Profile Gary Charpentier
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Message 63154 - Posted: 21 Jul 2015, 17:42:20 UTC - in response to Message 63149.  

I've just run MS netmonitor and am astounded as to how much my Smart TV accesses the net ........

It has a lot of personal information about you to deliver to lots of scummy advertising people ....
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Message 63157 - Posted: 21 Jul 2015, 18:20:03 UTC

What I know from the thing my mom has, these smart TVs have internet capability, Skype, it'll check daily for new firmware/software updates, and it'll send your TV watching habits back to your ISP. All stuff that you should be able to cull and kill in the options in the TV, but have to dig deep for as they're on by default, but difficult to disable.
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Profile Gordon Lowe
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Message 63309 - Posted: 30 Jul 2015, 13:54:21 UTC

I'm waiting for Apple to do an iTV.
The mind is a weird and mysterious place
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Message 63494 - Posted: 11 Aug 2015, 18:22:26 UTC - in response to Message 63489.  
Last modified: 11 Aug 2015, 18:22:34 UTC

..it is future proofed as and when that does happen.

LOL, betting they manage to use a new format then which goes on to be the standard, flipping the finger at all those other formats up till then.

They did so with Blu-Ray...

...as all they had were Blu-ray 3D stuff...

Yes, because that's the standard format on which the 3D stuff can be stored. It takes quite a bit of space to store all those 3D polygons in a format that can be decoded on the fly by the player and possibly the hardware in your TV.

Normal DVDs have a maximum storage capacity of just 4.7GB, dual layer DVDs (needing special players that can read dual layers) can store up to 8.5GB.

A single layer Blu-ray can store 25GB, dual layer 50GB, triple layer 100GB, quadruple 128GB. These are the sizes you need for 3D motion picture films.
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Message 63508 - Posted: 11 Aug 2015, 20:30:41 UTC - in response to Message 63494.  
Last modified: 11 Aug 2015, 20:31:16 UTC

A single layer Blu-ray can store 25GB, dual layer 50GB, triple layer 100GB, quadruple 128GB. These are the sizes you need for 3D motion picture films.

Recent development by Pioneer has pushed the storage capacity to 500GB on a single disc by using 20 layers.
~johnnymc
Seti@Home since Wed, 05 May 99 16:27:34 -0400
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Message 63548 - Posted: 12 Aug 2015, 16:44:18 UTC - in response to Message 63503.  

Hmmm bit of a con really isn't it!

A lot features advertised on televisions could be construed as just that, since most of the "advanced" features are not used by current broadcast technologies. The up-sampling to 120 Hz or more is one that really annoys me, because it is rarely consistent and looks pretty terrible IMHO. I also opted out of the "Smart" TV thing; how long will they provide software updates to keep the apps working? I simply connect my TV to a PC, which is much easier to upgrade.
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Message 63553 - Posted: 12 Aug 2015, 20:02:41 UTC

Google recently disabled/discontinued the YouTube app that was included in my $400 Panasonic 3D Blu-Ray player. :-( (OK, it was $400 a few years ago, it's not worth that much anymore...)
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eckley

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Message 63569 - Posted: 12 Aug 2015, 23:37:52 UTC - in response to Message 63553.  

For smart TV features I use a chromecast, cost a whole $45 so not too concerned about future proofing and allows me to play pretty much anything I want on the TV using my phone as a remote.
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Alex
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Message 63646 - Posted: 15 Aug 2015, 16:14:53 UTC - in response to Message 63569.  

For smart TV features I use a chromecast

I've got one of those, but I prefer the Amazon Fire Stick. Same price, and it does all the major video providers without needing an external computer. The complaints I had about losing software support may end up being true in the future, but for $39 that's a risk I'm willing to accept over my $700 TV.
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Message 64790 - Posted: 9 Oct 2015, 9:21:07 UTC - in response to Message 64768.  

Talking of lappies I've just fixed the FOURTH one this year because of the same problems. 3 month free trial of XYZ AV software runs out, they want £50 for a years subscription, so people don't bother, therefore no working AV so riddled with rubbish.
--snip--
Toolbars by the dozen, tune up programs by the dozen, search engines by the dozen etc etc.

I see it ALL the time when I put on my "Sherlock Holmes hat" and do my part-time tech-support as an independent contractor... I can make some good $$$ off these Luddites especially on multiple REPEAT visits! When I have to come back for a second, third or on rare occasions [so far] a fourth visit for same or similar issue(s), my rates go up exponentially.

I attempt to "educate" these Luddites a bit (enough to be dangerous to themselves) on my service calls, but you can not always fix the "dumber than a box of rocks" ones and sometimes you just have to let them "feel the pain" in their wallets for it to (hopefully) sink in and take effect (see link below for some other people's real-world tech examples).

The one I just fixed was an HP touch screen with win 8.1 that was virtually unusable....
---snip---
Windows 8 & 8.1 is the most obnoxious OS that has ever been foistered upon the general public, M$ should have their arse sued off to kingdom come. If I ever meet the man that designed it I will rearrange his face permanently.
---snip---
Why do people buy this junk???

Because the average Luddite does not know any better.

Along with M$ shoving a Win 10 "free upgrade" on the unsuspecting and clueless that are using Win 7 and Win 8.1 PC's. M$ thinks they know better than the average user of their software.

** If I WANTED Win 10 (and it's spyware), I would of downloaded and installed it.... don't just force it on me! **

My fist read along with my morning coffee during the week.. Computer World: SHARK TANK
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Message 64799 - Posted: 9 Oct 2015, 17:26:25 UTC

Thanks for the Shark Tank link, Dr Who Fan!
Many LOLs there....new bookmark for the kitties.
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Message 64843 - Posted: 12 Oct 2015, 9:49:01 UTC

The latest installment of Sven Krumrey's musings about tech life in the ashampoo blog:

I recently saw a woman get interviewed on TV about her son-in-law. What kind of a person he was, if they were getting along and whether she approved of her daughter's choice. After an agonizingly long pause she remarked: "Well, he knows his way around computers. That can come in handy." That's the good thing about knowing your way around computers. At least you can make yourself useful every once in a while, forget about character. Computer specialists are the unsung heroes even if all they do is reboot a machine, terminate a process or perform a Flash update. Savor these moments because there's a (incredibly annoying) downside to all of this!

No good deed goes unpunished
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Message 64857 - Posted: 12 Oct 2015, 22:35:49 UTC

I've been giving Windows 10 a spin on my laptop and a tablet, and unless they fix some of the functionality issues (settings that are in obscure places or nowhere to be found, such as "forgetting" a wireless network) I may go back to 7 on that. I'm also not very happy with it on my tablet either; I would liken 10 more to 7.5, in that it's in-between the traditional desktop setup and the full-screen tablet UI that was most of Windows 8. So, I may be going back to 8.1 on that.

I don't think the term "Luddite" is appropriate either; there are a number of us out there who use older technology on purpose because there's no compelling reason to pitch the money in for an upgrade. In some cases, the older stuff is even better.
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Profile Jord
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Message 64879 - Posted: 13 Oct 2015, 22:17:37 UTC - in response to Message 64863.  
Last modified: 13 Oct 2015, 22:19:41 UTC

As we speak, somewhere in Redmond there are teams already working on Win 11 and Win 12, it takes 3 years to develop a new system.

{snip}

Roll on Win 11 :-))

Without Windows 10 you will never get the next Windows.
Windows 10 will become Windows as a service, meaning that all future versions will install themselves automatically, be it as a full OS install, or as major patches. Soon after that, the version number of Windows will drop off as well.

That is why Microsoft wants everyone to fall in line and install it for you, reserved or not.

But at least a next Windows 10 - at the moment the Preview Build - allows you to clean install Windows 10 and then activate it with your Windows 7, 8 or 8.1 license key. That's not possible yet at this moment, without the installing Win10 over your present build, then activating it. Only then can you do a clean install.
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David S
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Message 64887 - Posted: 14 Oct 2015, 17:07:42 UTC - in response to Message 64805.  

M$ ultimate aim is to have ALL devices being used the same way with touch screens e.g. iPhones, smart phones, iPads, laptops, desktops, e-readers, the whole lot of them across the board. The idea being that if you can use one you can use any of them, one learning curve instead of many. Sounds OK in practice but remember, that if M$ corners the market in a common OS for all of them they rule the world, even more than they do now.

This sounds eerily like the description of The Circle : a novel by Dave Eggers. (I haven't read the book, just the description here at work.)

I have also added Shark Tank to my daily reading. Thanks.
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Message 64893 - Posted: 15 Oct 2015, 14:55:55 UTC
Last modified: 15 Oct 2015, 14:56:28 UTC

As I posted at Seti as well:

Great news! Windows 10 updates are now being enforced on people's systems.
From GHacks.net:

****
Two new types of Windows 10 upgrade messages appeared lately on systems running previous versions of Windows. The first displayed as a timer counting down from 60 minutes giving users options to start the upgrade process or reschedule it (but not disable it).

    It's almost time for your upgrade

    Save your work and leave your PC plugged in and turned on. Your PC might restart several times during the upgrade and it might take a while. We'll let you know when it's done.

    Starting the upgrade in


The second displayed only the option to start the Windows 10 upgrade process after searching for updates using Windows Update (again with no option to stop the process).

    Your upgrade to Windows 10 is ready.

    You need to restart your Pc to being the installation. This might take a while, but we'll let you know when it's done.


Both are reported by the creator of GWX Control Panel, a free program for Windows to block the upgrade to Windows 10 on user systems.
****

****
Workarounds

There is a couple of things that affected users can do to prevent the upgrade from happening in first place.

1. Stop the Windows Update Service. While this blocks the upgrade for the time being, it is not the best solution as it blocks you from receiving updates for your operating system.
2. Use System Restore to revert back to a previous system state. This is one of the better options provided that a System Restore point is available. To run System Restore, tap on the Windows-key, type cmd and hit enter. Type rstrui.exe and hit enter again to open the System Restore interface on the system. System Restore is not turned on by default on newer versions of Windows.
3. Restore a backup or system snapshot that you have created with third-party programs.

So why is this happening?

It is unclear right now how widespread the enforcement of the upgrade is and whether it is a bug, test or on-purpose turning of the screws by the company in an effort to get more systems upgraded to Windows 10.

To give Microsoft the benefit of the doubt, it is possible that this is a bug that is affecting only some systems. While that is not really reassuring to affected users, I find it unlikely that Microsoft enforces upgrades to a new version of Windows without user consent.
****

Also at ZDNet:
I've come across unconfirmed reports that using System Restore to take the system back to a point before September 15 will get people out of the jam, although the fly in the ointment here is that Windows 8.1 no longer generates automatic restore points by default, and they can only be created manually.

Only last month it was revealed that Microsoft was quietly downloading the Windows 10 installer files -- many gigabytes in size -- to users who had not asked for the, just in case they decided they wanted to upgrade.

It seems that Microsoft is desperate to get laggards who are still running Windows 7 and Windows 8 onto Windows 10, but there's a fine line between being enthusiastic about a new operating system and behaving like you own every PC running Windows, and I think that in this case that line has been crossed.

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Message 64895 - Posted: 15 Oct 2015, 15:24:27 UTC - in response to Message 64894.  

Do not install (KB3035583) (GWX), again, or it will change back the regkeys to allow W10 upgrade again.

Actually, half of those registry keys aren't installed by KB3035583 but by others. I know, because even though I have the 11th version of KB3035583 installed, I have nothing in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WindowsUpdate\OSUpgrade

I do have OSUpgradeState (value 1) and OSUpgradeStateTimeStamp in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WindowsUpdate\OSUpgrade\State

Also, if you truly do not want to have the Windows 10 installation, you'd better use KB3083710 (update for KB3065987) on Windows 7 or KB3083711 (update for KB3065988) on Windows 8.1 to add the Turn off the upgrade to the latest version of Windows through Windows Update option in Local Group Policy Editor->Computer Configuration->Administrative Templates->Windows Components->Windows Update.

Enables or disables the upgrade to the latest version of Windows through Windows Update.

If you enable this setting, Windows Update will not offer you an upgrade to the latest version of Windows.

If you disable or do not configure this setting, Windows Update might offer an upgrade to the latest version of Windows.

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Message 64897 - Posted: 15 Oct 2015, 16:23:23 UTC - in response to Message 64896.  
Last modified: 15 Oct 2015, 16:24:17 UTC

Could you please not quote the whole text to then add a little ditty at the bottom? Totally unnecessary since you're the next person answering. Please cull your quote, or use the Reply button instead. Any next such posts I will remove.

As for Home editions not being able to use gpedit, they can add the register key directly into the register.

To do so, open regedit from the Windows Search.
navigate to HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate and add a Dword (32bit) value named DisableOSUpgrade, value 1. The name requires the capitalization within the word.
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Message 64899 - Posted: 15 Oct 2015, 16:44:13 UTC - in response to Message 64898.  
Last modified: 15 Oct 2015, 16:46:49 UTC

As if I didn't know how to use regedit.

There are more people reading here than you. And they may not know what to do with regedit.
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David S
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Message 64900 - Posted: 15 Oct 2015, 17:01:59 UTC - in response to Message 64899.  

As if I didn't know how to use regedit.

There are more people reading here than you. And they may not know what to do with regedit.

I know what regedit is, but I'm not about to go messing with it on my own. I want very specific and clear instructions, and then I will apply my judgment.
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