The Old Folks Home

[vehve]

I like 10 myself, it's pretty ok to use. From an usability POV it's miles ahead of 8 or 8.1. But the information gathering is a bit worrying, not that I really care about what they gather, and a lot of the information is mainly used to improve the software through analyzing it. But the fact that it can't be turned off is not good. 7 is pretty nice to use, and it's mostly stable. I know a lot of people who didn't want to upgrade to 7 from xp either, but at some point using the outdated OS becomes more of an risk than using the newer version, even though it spies on you a bit.

 

[Wisher1000]

Usually when the tech talk starts, I zone out, but I have a question. We use the AOL. news site as our homepage. There is this carousel of featured articles to suck you into browsing, and it works. The problem is, if I click on one, the video that is included starts to play, usually in a smaller window in the upper right corner of the screen and the computer locks up. Is that a Win10 issue?

 

[ronott1]

Usually when the tech talk starts, I zone out, but I have a question. We use the AOL. news site as our homepage. There is this carousel of featured articles to suck you into browsing, and it works. The problem is, if I click on one, the video that is included starts to play, usually in a smaller window in the upper right corner of the screen and the computer locks up. Is that a Win10 issue?

It is more likely to be a flash problem.

If you are using the new Browser, Edge, then install Google Chrome and use it instead. Internet Explorer is gone for Win 10.

Then go to adobe and verify flash.

 

[Beer can]

Windows 10 sucks your personal data up, and spews it all into the web.

Does that mean if I happen to get on 'adult' websites (accidentally of course), and erase history/cookies etc, that we, wife kids, will get 'adult' pop ups/emails ??
That wouldn't be good...

 

[getaclue]

vehve, Dh likes 10 too, but the information gathering has not really come into play yet. The information gathering that 10 is aiming for will include EVERYTHING you do on your computer, and in most cases, your phones, and tablets as well. All will sync up. Businesses will pay Microsoft for advertising, which you can't control, targeting the most likely groups of people that would buy their products, and/or services base on the data they've collected. This goes for everything from the grocery stores, to hardware stores, to doctors, to Amazon. In addition, all software will eventually have to be obtained through their online store, and it's app based, just like on smart phones, most of which is going to be geared towards subscription based usability, sort of like Microsoft office is now. That doesn't seem so bad for now, but given time, and this too will evolve into monthly payments, since it's easier to collect smaller amounts of money more frequently, than larger amounts yearly, but it will total up to a lot more than buying the software the way we have been able to until now. Example: In 2007 I got the Enterprise version of Microsoft Office, with everything. (I hate Word, but love Publisher). I was about to buy the latest version, when they switched to subscription based services. Dh has to renew his yearly, whether the timing on the money is right or not, otherwise he's out of luck. Let the car break down, or an emergency crop up around the time the subscription needs renewing, and tough luck. Mine works perfectly, and I don't have to worry about renewing it. As to how the latest and greatest does so much more....more often than not it's a "facelift" so it looks different, but nothing exciting has really been added to the program itself. I usually buy a new version of Nero every 2-4 years for the same reason, unless something really great has been added. I was first in line for a new version when they added HD, Blu-Ray, and Surround Sound capabilities (not in that order). BUT let's not forget the information collecting, and advertising. Let's say I've paid for a yearly subscription to Nero. During the year, especially around renewal time, I will be flooded by ads from Nero competitors. Do you really think the Microsoft Store is going to allow an ad blocking app? It would cut into their money making abilities if they did, so it's doubtful they would allow an ad blocking app. Next come the symbols you find on products in the stores. For now, you can scan those and it takes you to the webpage with information about the product. This can be automated when they get everything in place at the Microsoft Store, so you are at Wal Mart, or the mall, and everything you approach to look at, or pick up is automatically registered. It's not about computing anymore, it's about marketing. Climbing off my soapbox now.

 

[bruceha2000]

As I understand it, they are gonna' soon stop providing service for Windows 8.0 and 8.1... Don't take that to court but I have heard that!!! And that's the truth.

They will at some point because it costs a ton to support multiple versions. The only reason XP was supported so long was a LOT of big companies were using it and even MS can't afford to piss off the "big guys". For a number of years, the support and updates were only for security issues. Amazing how many were still being fixed after they weren't adding any functional changes at all.

Usually when the tech talk starts, I zone out, but I have a question. We use the AOL. news site as our homepage. There is this carousel of featured articles to suck you into browsing, and it works. The problem is, if I click on one, the video that is included starts to play, usually in a smaller window in the upper right corner of the screen and the computer locks up. Is that a Win10 issue?

My home page is Google. The portals have people thinking they can't do anything on the net without starting at portal site. Then you get all the ads and such. Articles and links about people who are famous for being famous. Lots of other stuff you really don't care about.

You can use the mail handler on your computer to get mail from pretty much any email account. Google when you want to find something. You can still get lost for hours in the net, but at least the detour is your own fault

Does that mean if I happen to get on 'adult' websites (accidentally of course), and erase history/cookies etc, that we, wife kids, will get 'adult' pop ups/emails ??
That wouldn't be good...

You might want to change your homepage to something that isn't an "adult" site

For real, there are lots of things that are saved deep in the file structures even when you clear cache and cookies. I'm not sure how well the "private" or "incognito" windows protect against that. I doubt any of you would get inappropriate emails (assuming you aren't accidentally putting your or their email addresses into one of those accidently accessed "adult" sites).

Funny thing was that I used to get a LOT of "business inappropriate" spam email on my account at work even though that email was "hosted" on company mail servers and accessed only at work from behind a firewall with virus checking done at every bootup (and with Win, you have to do that WAY too often) and the virus database was updated weekly. The email address would have been visible only in "trade" type websites - programming forums and the like, many of them internal or company sites open to all but requiring membership.

"Someone" sure thought I would be interested in Viagra and online dating. I have no idea how that stuff got past the company filters. We are talking an international technology company with over 400K employees, not a little "mom and pop" that wouldn't have the resources to deal with heavy duty filtering. Hardly ever got that stuff on my personal email account and still don't.

vehve, Dh likes 10 too, but the information gathering has not really come into play yet. The information gathering that 10 is aiming for will include
.....
It's not about computing anymore, it's about marketing. Climbing off my soapbox now.

Paragraphs, getaclue, PARAGRAPHS!

 

[Beer can]

That's what I meant on emails, dirty dating site spam. We were getting them, wife thinks I got on adult sites is why. I never got on any adult sites...
We don't give out email to anyone. So where's that stuff come from?

 

[1kluckychik]

It knows what you are thinking BC

 

[chickisoup]

That's what I meant on emails, dirty dating site spam. We were getting them, wife thinks I got on adult sites is why. I never got on any adult sites...
We don't give out email to anyone. So where's that stuff come from?

I had a problem a couple years ago. Thought I had everything secured and I am ALWAYS super careful with my emails, contacts, etc. but all at once I was bombbarded with really filthy garbage. Did some digging and was finally able to backtrack the source (took some sleuthing) and found out that somebody had grabbed the contacts list off my daughter-in-law's computer. (Warned her about letting her little girl play on the thing when no one in the house was actually computer savvy.) Of course I couldn't just dump that account because it was the primary for my ISP so I finally had no choice but to isolate that address and set up a completely new account. I now have some decent security right thru my phone company/ISP provider and have been actually back off some the system bogging security I had on my laptop (but not all, not an idiot). I did add another layer recently tho with Dashlane.

 

[getaclue]

My AOL account got hacked, and sent nasty emails to everyone on my contact list. Of course, it locked me out, so I couldn't stop it until I called tech support. All of that is stored on AOL, so it was actually them that got hacked.