MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
Well they kept that flippin' quiet!
Their purchase of Minecraft created more head-lines than the launch of a new version of their bread and butter software.
Wut?
Has there been a nine?
Looks like they're renaming 9 as 10.
[url] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-29431412 [/url]
They lost Windows 9 down the back of the sofa!
Awwwww, but nine would have been the usable one.
Trying to catch up with OSX naming scheme, obvs.
Going to be an interesting sell trumping one of you main features being one you took out several years ago.
jinx.
I want nine goddam it :@
it's been so badly received by the testers they though it best to give it an even version number.
Great quote from the guy from Forrester consultancy in that BBC article:
"For Microsoft to continue to be able to get the best and latest technology in the hands of the enterprise workforce all over the world, it has to have a vehicle to do that - and Windows 9 is its best shot."
Lols
Does this mean that the next version s a Spinal Tap themed 11? If so, I am waiting....
Looks more like 8.2 than 10. I mean, I like it, but it's not a quantum leap, is it?
Unless there's cool stuff under the covers.
I absolutely love the MS design theme. It makes MacOS look shit and old fashioned.
molgrips - Member
I absolutely love the MS design theme. It makes MacOS look shit and old fashioned.
God I hope that's a joke.
Do like MS counting skills.
8+1=10
Windows Phone 9 is coming out this year, so Microsoft are aiming to launch version 10 for all platforms next year. Like Jamie says above, another example of Microsoft playing catch-up. I lost faith in Windows Mobile years ago and will never return....but I am happy with Windows 8.1 - once you get used to [ignoring] the Metro interface, it's rock solid.
@DJ if you like 8.1 there is no reason you won't like WP. Things like the people hub work very well across my work PC, my Surface 2 and phone, if I log into a website on my phone and ask it to remember the password when I log in on my desktop it remembers and if MS can deliver universal apps and even tighter integration it will be very good indeed...
Will Windows 10 actually have [u]Windows[/u], rather than full screen apps?
Well Windows 8 did so I don't see why not.
God I hope that's a joke.
No it's an opinion, I'm allowed to have it 🙂
I lost faith in Windows Mobile years ago and will never return
Foolish. WP 7 was shit, always was - WP8 is completely different. Companies can fix things you know, look at Apple. MacOS used to be a joke.
@Greybeard-yes both Modern UI apps and traditional desktop software will run in user scalable windows.
I am probably going to run the developer preview as of today so I'll let peeps now what I think.
Good luck, it's not out til tomorrow I just checked 🙂
Do like MS counting skills.8+1=10
Well Intel once had a CPU that struggled to calculate properly - remember that? One for the old timers!
only with floating point calculations iirc, and it was deterministic too.
multiple desktops apparently. wonder how long before Linux copies that feature? 😉
Marketing sticking their oar in i guess. Windows 7 is really Windows 6.1
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-gb/library/windows/desktop/ms724832(v=vs.85).aspx
Windows 95 was release 4 I suppose and ME 4.x
[i]Wut? [/i]
This !
I'm still using 3.1, the diskettes for which I rediscovered in the house, recently.
molgrips - Member
I absolutely love the MS design theme. It makes MacOS look shit and old fashioned.
😆
You will stand in that corner shouting at us won't you 😆
[i]You will stand in that corner shouting at us won't you[/i]
No way, he'll be busy trying to either decypher the cryptic error messages windows is so good at creating or working out how to get that flippin metro UI to go away.
Windows 95 was release 4 I suppose and ME 4.x
Windows 95 was release 5 if each had their own. W3.1 was really Windows 4, they cocked up the numbering. But Windows 7 etc follows the NT numbering, which is different; they're two different families of OSes which were merged around the Windows ME / 2000 era. So we had NT4, Windows 2000 (NT5), XP (NT5.1 and 5.2), Vista (NT6), W7 (NT6.1), W8 (NT6.2) and W8.1 (NT6.3). Confused yet?
working out how to get that flippin metro UI to go away.
I like it.
[i]I like it.[/i]
I knew you would, you being the Uber Contrarian, innit.
[img] 
[/img]
Cougar - ModeratorWindows 95 was release 4 I suppose and ME 4.x
Windows 95 was release 5 if each had their own. W3.1 was really Windows 4, they cocked up the numbering. But Windows 7 etc follows the NT numbering, which is different; they're two different families of OSes which were merged around the Windows ME / 2000 era. So we had NT4, Windows 2000 (NT5), XP (NT5.1 and 5.2), Vista (NT6), W7 (NT6.1), W8 (NT6.2) and W8.1 (NT6.3). Confused yet?
Yes, yes very 😕
It was so much easier when the OS was in ROM.
I knew you would, you being the Uber Contrarian, innit.
I'm not just saying that to be contrary, I really do like it. I can't be the only one, the people who created it must also like it.
molgrips - Member
look at Apple. MacOS used to be a joke.
I assume you mean OS9. It lacked protected memory and premptive multitasking, yes. It wasn't a terrible OS to use though. A lot of good features in there.
[i]It wasn't a terrible OS to use though. A lot of good features in there.[/i]
It's going to kick-off, we just know it will.
😉
[i]the people who created it must also like it. [/i]
But they're Americans who think Fahrenheit is a really neat way of measuring temperature so not to be trusted 😉
[i]But they're Americans who think Fahrenheit is a really neat way of measuring temperature so not to be trusted[/i]
And their gallons are smaller!
I assume you mean OS9
I mean whichever one wouldn't play videos on my mate's Mac unless you turned off virtual memory. Slick outfit that was 🙂
It wasn't a terrible OS to use though. A lot of good features in there.
It was a terrible OS to support in a business tho. My worst memories of supporting end user networking issues revolve around that horror of an OS. Put it this way, walking around the Wella building in Basingstoke looking for the idiot who had removed their BNC connector was far more entertaining than backporting individual networking components on MacOS.
Thank you for traumatising me with flashbacks to the horrors of Thin Ethernet and no cable testers. I'm going for a lie down.
atlaz - MemberIt was a terrible OS to support in a business tho. My worst memories of supporting end user networking issues revolve around that horror of an OS. Put it this way, walking around the Wella building in Basingstoke looking for the idiot who had removed their BNC connector was far more entertaining than backporting individual networking components on MacOS.
Yep, TCP/IP was a total nightmare. Problematic starting in System 7 and never really fixed. Clusterfsck springs to mind. Half arsed LDAP support as well.
molgrips - Member
I mean whichever one wouldn't play videos on my mate's Mac unless you turned off virtual memory. Slick outfit that was
Technical nightmare no doubt. Again though, compare it 98SE and ME and it's not looking so bad.
The problem was the copland project and it's predecessors failed, so the underpinnings of the OS were massively out of date. That meant the new features had to be added atop the old system software which was really unsuitable.
I still wish they'd use BeOS rather than NeXT as the underpinnings of OSX though. 8)
On the subject of new OSeses, I just the minute got around to installing the latest beta of OSX Yosemite, seeing as it's due for release soon....
Oh....my....god 🙁
I don't like the look of the sad face at the end of your post Jamie - is it that bad!?
I was hoping it would be quicker than 10.9.4 as I find that quite slow.
Not delved into the full workings yet, be doing that tomorrow. The sad face was based on the GUI.
Solo - Member
But they're Americans who think Fahrenheit is a really neat way of measuring temperature so not to be trustedAnd their gallons are smaller!
No they're not. Their 8 pints same as ours.
Their pints on the other hand are only 16oz
Technical nightmare no doubt.
Well it required a significant amount of insight to figure out WHY the video wouldn't play...
No they're not. Their 8 pints same as ours.
An early contender for the STW Pedant of the Day award here folks. Can anyone beat him? Only time will tell!!
An early contender for the STW Pedant of the Day award here folks. Can anyone beat him? Only time will tell!!
Respect is due for out-smartarseing Mikewsmith though. No mean feat.
Back on topic, I was [i]just about[/i] to order a new desktop PC with 8.1.
Obviously this has made me pause, but it's not gonna be coming 'til well into 2015 I guess?
Expected Microsoft to make their next OS free, but then perhaps they need to consolidate their other lines of business before they can take that gamble.
@Molgrips - preview definitely being released today but will be to US time and not GMT.
Pah, AmigaOS was where it was at, proper multi-tasking and multiple desktops in the 1980's 🙂
I'm sure the real Windows 10 version number will be 6.4 and that's because Microsoft have retained the same core code since Vista - which I found was quite decent and far better than XP.
Pah, AmigaOS was where it was at
and OS/2 later 🙂
Funny how both used Rexx as the scripting language as well.
Cougar - Moderator
No they're not. Their 8 pints same as ours.
An early contender for the STW Pedant of the Day award here folks. Can anyone beat him? Only time will tell!!
Why, thank you. High praise indeed given the normal competition on here.
I assume you mean OS9. It lacked protected memory and premptive multitasking, yes. It wasn't a terrible OS to use though. A lot of good features in there.
was horrible to develop for, any (mistaken) attempt to write to the memory address 0x00 would crash the Mac (many many third party apps would also fall foul of this) though the inside macintosh tomes were lovely and console in MPW was superb.
Expected Microsoft to make their next OS free
Interesting this.
MacOS is clearly not free, as you're paying for it in the cost of the machine. However, now that Windows machines are getting stupidly cheap, they could afford a little extra Windows licensing cost and still be good value to consumers.
This could then remove the need for MS to charge for upgrades. After all, it must surely be a pretty small percentage of users who actually buy upgrades or even retail OSes?
Downloading now...
Quite an amusing story over at [url= http://gizmodo.com/windows-10-may-have-gotten-its-name-because-of-lazy-cod-1641383218 ]gizmodo[/url] on why MS may have skipped Windows 9.
molgrips - Member
Downloading now...
Tell us how it goes, what it looks like from a Molgrips POV..
No they're not. Their 8 pints same as ours.Their pints on the other hand are only 16oz
They're 8 pints, the same as ours.
Their 8 pints are less than ours.
Quite an amusing story over at gizmodo on why MS may have skipped Windows 9.
I would be stunned if anyone did version checking in that manner, ever. That's just odd.
I still reckon it's to align Windows Phone and Windows Desktop product numbers.
I would be stunned if anyone did version checking in that manner, ever. That's just odd.
However the code search threw up thousands of hits. they seem to be mostly Java though searching the OS name - you'd expect Windows apps to use the API version number...
I would be stunned if anyone did version checking in that manner, ever. That's just odd.
I've reviewed an awful lot of code over the past 20 years... I would not be at all stunned.
you'd expect Windows apps to use the API version number
You'd really hope so, wouldn't you...
I'll bet that it's not though. Real world and all that...
Yeah, fair comments. (-:
MacOS is clearly not free, as you're paying for it in the cost of the machine. However, now that Windows machines are getting stupidly cheap, they could afford a little extra Windows licensing cost and still be good value to consumers.This could then remove the need for MS to charge for upgrades. After all, it must surely be a pretty small percentage of users who actually buy upgrades or even retail OSes?
I was thinking more of Google / Android as their most threatening rival, but you've got a good point.
I've got to pay £80 or so for the OS on my new machine, it does seem a bit steep considering the low cost of the hardware and that I'll need to purchase further productivity software.
I'll get back at them by using Open Office though.
I've reviewed an awful lot of code over the past 20 years... I would not be at all stunned.
Only been a professional software engineer for a few years and I wouldn't surprised either.
Take this, [url= http://www.polygon.com/2014/9/24/6839135/fifa-bug-turns-soccer-into-a-farce ]Fifa PC Name Bug[/url], last week for example, very weird, but definitely out there in production code.
Any more info on what the FIFA bug is caused by? Obv computer name is part of it but what code is using the computer name (presumably only the characters after the first four if it's not working) and how does that lead to the running to the centre part?
Personally, given my experience of reviewing code I'd be surprised if they hadn't done that.
aracer... 🙂
Any more info on what the FIFA bug is caused by? Obv computer name is part of it but what code is using the computer name (presumably only the characters after the first four if it's not working) and how does that lead to the running to the centre part?
Speculation among my colleagues was that it was possibly being used as a seed for a shoddy random number generator. Not enough randomness results in everyone doing that same thing. Just a guess though, not seen anything more official.
LOL... I suppose that could work but I'm not sure why you'd not just hardcode a seed since the randomness should avoid consistent output.
Has there been a nine?
It was so rubbish they decided not to release it ?
I am surprised they just didn't go straight to 11, the Spinal Tap release 8)
As for the comment that Minecraft acquisition got more press. That's because that's more important / relevant to most people including investors. Games and Office are more important than OS for Microsoft now.
Speculation among my colleagues was that it was possibly being used as a seed for a shoddy random number generator. Not enough randomness results in everyone doing that same thing. Just a guess though, not seen anything more official.
Really, even when I was writing code in the 1970's we where told to seed the random number generator using output form the clock-chips for example.
I'm not sure why you'd not just hardcode a seed since the randomness should avoid consistent output.
Because most random number generator algorithms will give the same "random" numbers every time if you start them with the same seed.
even when I was writing code in the 1970's we where told to seed the random number generator using output form the clock-chips for example.
Perhaps they have done something daft like:
[code]rng_seed = mouseZ * mouseY * clock * hash(computername)[/code]
But they have a crappy hash that always produces zero for names less than 4 characters.
Because most random number generator algorithms will give the same "random" numbers every time if you start them with the same seed.
I'm not sure that's really true Graham, at least not for current computers.
That said, your formula could be the sort of thing causing it though I can't think why you'd use the computer name still.
EDIT - actually of course if you're using a seed then by definition it's pseudo-random so you're right - I was thinking more that computers can generate random numbers without a seed. I STILL don't get why you'd use computer name though 🙂
I can't think why you'd use the computer name still.
To generate a different sequence on every computer?
I'm not sure that's really true Graham, at least not for current computers.
Yeah it's still true and it can actually be quite a useful property being able to get the same sequence of "random" numbers every time by using the same seed.
This is from the C# documentation on the Random class:
If the same seed is used for separate Random objects, they will generate the same series of random numbers. This can be useful for creating a test suite that processes random values, or for replaying games that derive their data from random numbers.
...
To produce different sequences of random numbers, you can make the seed value time-dependent, thereby producing a different series with each new instance of Random.-- http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.random%28v=vs.110%29.aspx