Microsoft Limits Cortana Search Box In Windows 10 To Bing and Edge Only (venturebeat.com) 361
An anonymous reader quotes a report from VentureBeat: Microsoft has announced a big change for how the Cortana search box in Windows 10 will work going forward: all searches will be powered by Bing and all links will open with the Edge browser. This is a server-side change going into effect today. Once it takes effect on your Windows 10 computer, Cortana will no longer be able to serve up results from third-party search providers, like Google or Yahoo, nor take you to a third-party browser, such as Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox. Ryan Gavin, Microsoft's general manager of search and Cortana, said in a Windows blog post announcing the change, "Unfortunately, as Windows 10 has grown in adoption and usage, we have seen some software programs circumvent the design of Windows 10 and redirect you to search providers that were not designed to work with Cortana. The result is a compromised experience that is less reliable and predictable. The continuity of these types of task completion scenarios is disrupted if Cortana can't depend on Bing as the search provider and Microsoft Edge as the browser. The only way we can confidently deliver this personalized, end-to-end search experience is through the integration of Cortana, Microsoft Edge and Bing -- all designed to do more for you."
Translation (Score:5, Insightful)
Translation: You belong to us, bitches! Now bend over so we can serve you some search results!
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Cortana, Microsoft Edge and Bing -- all designed to do more for you
LOL LOL LOL LOL
I disabled Cortana in the registry. And Edge is so dumbed-down it's useless.
Re:Translation (Score:5, Insightful)
Cortana, Microsoft Edge and Bing -- all designed to do more for you
LOL LOL LOL LOL
I disabled Cortana in the registry. And Edge is so dumbed-down it's useless
We are the customers. We paid for the things that we use. We shouldn't have to be forced to go through all the 'disable the registry' hops in order to get our computer to work
We, the consumers, have given too much 'face' to the tech companies, so much so that right now they, the service providers, get to tell us, their paymasters, what we must do, and not the other way around
This is wrong, very wrong !
It is the customers who should have the final say
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Complain to whoever in the EU. They just successfully went after Google for similar with android. Well, you may want to double check that, EU regulators have been going after Google for several things and I may have that wrong.
I don't care enough to check because I don't use it and likely won't for a long time.
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Yes, at first sight, this story does look like an anti-competition lawsuit just waiting to happen.
Or yet more desperation from Microsoft to lock customers into their ecosystem so they can figure out how to make more money from them later. Take your pick.
Re:Translation (Score:5, Interesting)
Between the failure of Windows Mobile and now XBox winding down combined with falling PC sales, Microsoft has got to be feeling the heat from investors when asked, "where's the growth in 10 years." Right now their revenues are fine but, with no future money making divisions, they risk stagnation which investors see as death.
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Between the failure of Windows Mobile and now XBox winding down combined with falling PC sales, Microsoft has got to be feeling the heat from investors when asked, "where's the growth in 10 years." Right now their revenues are fine but, with no future money making divisions, they risk stagnation which investors see as death.
Microsoft's bread and butter has always been and still is the enterprise. As yet, all of their consumer rivals including Apple and Google have failed to penetrate one iota.
OS, Server and Office licenses make up the bulk of the MS revenue and profit, here it doesn't matter how many PC's are sold because MS charge per license, not OEM for enterprise. Out of this they're bankrolling almost everything else and it's not really making a dent.
Also, most PC makers have been seeing growth in the last two years with
Re:Translation (Score:5, Interesting)
I cannot fathom a reason I'd use Bing. It's a second rate search engine.
I will, however, shut down Cortana and save a few cycles.
Re:Translation (Score:4)
Too bad you can't kill the process. Even if you turn off cortana, the process will still be running. The only way to do it is to boot from a live linux cd and move the executable files for cortana. Problem with doing that is, it also breaks a bunch of other things like local search.
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Breaking local search is not a problem.
Re:Translation (Score:5, Informative)
I do have a list of IP ranges that, if blocked, kill Cortana and all the other spyware. But you can't do them using the Windows firewall - system services are exempt, and there's also a whitelist of hosts that will always be resolved via DNS rather than the hosts file. You have to do it from the router. It'll also block Bing, Onedrive, product activation and pretty much everything else Microsoft.
Re:Translation (Score:4, Informative)
https://gateway.ipfs.io/ipfs/Q... [gateway.ipfs.io]
There. I just didn't have them to hand at the time of posting.
Re:Translation (Score:4, Funny)
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This is absolutely 100% true. It brings up whatever filth your sordid mind desires - and shows related filthy searches, so you can travel on a filthy trail to whatever end. It's quite disgusting and fantastic at the same time. Works great for images and videos alike. It's the greatest thing microsoft has created.
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you might have forgotten, Bing has been busted for serving up results found from a Google search.
Not sure how it's setup but on my work pc if you highlight a word in an edge page and rightclick>search with bing it brings up a google custom search page for the results.
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The main difference is google has become very adept at removing clickbaity sites from the first page and Bing has not. I don't think Microsoft is making money off any of those results, they are just not good at removing them.
Re:Translation (Score:5, Insightful)
We are the customers. We paid for the things that we use.
How many times does this need to be mentioned. You are NOT Microsoft's customer, you are their product. They are in the business of selling your browsing habits (and any other personal information they can steal) to whomever will pay them for it.
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We are the customers. We paid for the things that we use. We shouldn't have to be forced to go through all the 'disable the registry' hops in order to get our computer to work
Please, do tell me again how much did you pay for Windows 10? Is it open source? No? Then you're the fucking product, not a cusotmer.
We, the consumers, have given too much 'face' to the tech companies, so much so that right now they, the service providers, get to tell us, their paymasters, what we must do, and not the other way around
Since the begining of the time, a service is usually provided on a 'take it or leave it' base. It's a forced contract meaning you have to agree to the service provider's terms. Of course, you're free to leave if they are changing the terms or you don't want it anymore.
It is the customers who should have the final say
And we do have the final say. We can stop using the service if we don't want. BTW, did you ditch Windows in fa
Re:Translation (Score:5, Insightful)
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How? Cortana refuses to speak to me without a Microsoft account.
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Translation: You belong to us, bitches! Now bend over so we can serve you some search results!
I wish I could say I'm surprised, but I'm not. We should have seen this coming.
I wouldn't be surprised if stuff like Open Office and Libre Office will mysteriously refuse to run under Win 10.
Re:Translation (Score:5, Insightful)
Dear Microsoft,
Hi, are you stupid? Are you deliberately trying to make decisions that make you look as terrible as possible?
I sort of understand the technical reasons for wanting to do this. It's a lot easier to provide consistent results if you control all the pieces to all the tech. But a "consistent experience" is not why people use Windows. If that's what people wanted, they'd already be using a Mac.
Here's an alternative: Propose an open framework that permits intelligent agents to integrate with and work across search engines and other services, and create a useful, open source implementation that shows how Cortana integrates with Bing and Edge. Start creating some innovative software solutions instead of playing in your own little pond with your own toys, and you might actually find yourself relevant to a broader audience again.
It looks like I was right to simply turn off Cortana and internet-enabled searching from that bar as the first thing I did after installing Windows 10. What makes you think this is going to entice me to ever turn it back on? Maybe arrange a little "accident" for my registry settings on the next update, I suppose?
Sincerely,
-A Windows User / Developer
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Translation (Score:5, Interesting)
The only problem is if you're substituting a pretender like Bing for results you would have gotten from Google then you are providing consistently "bad" results. If people wanted to use Bing, they would. People choose Google because it is better and meets their needs. Only through underhanded evil acts such as this can MS trick people into using their search engine. I will be sure to point this out to every person I have influence with regarding computer stuff and that's quite a few people.
I agree. Note that I never said "good" results. I said "consistent", which was absolutely intentional.
For instance, take their "Pizza Hut" example. Say that Pizza Hut pays for a sponsorship with MS. Now, when you say "I want to order a pizza", you might see Pizza Hut as the first result (okay, dammit, now I'm thinking about pizza for dinner). Had that gone through another search engine, they couldn't guarantee those results, and more importantly (to them), they'd lose out on that sponsorship revenue.
Honestly, I don't have a real problem if companies try to earn ad revenue this way. I mean, if I want a pizza, then by all means, suggest a pizza place for me. But don't try to pretend you're doing me some favor by locking out anyone else from doing the same thing simply because they have a better search engine.
If Microsoft was serious about trying to improve the customer experience, I'd be able to simply dictate to Cortana:
Me: Cortana, I'd like to order a pizza. ... (blah blah)... Shall I order this for you now?
Cortana: Would you prefer Papa John's or Pizza Hut? (note: the two places I actually order from)
Me: Papa John's. The usual.
Cortana: That would be a Papa John's large pizza with
Me: Yes.
Cortana: Your pizza has been ordered, and should arrive approximately 40 minute from now.
When a digital assistant gets that useful, I'll think about turning it on again. But WTF Microsoft... is it that hard to open a web browser and type "pizza hut"? Does anyone need help figuring out how to shop for a black dress on Amazon? It feels like they're shooting so low right now it's utterly pathetic.
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For instance, take their "Pizza Hut" example. Say that Pizza Hut pays for a sponsorship with MS. Now, when you say "I want to order a pizza", you might see Pizza Hut as the first result (okay, dammit, now I'm thinking about pizza for dinner).
But how did talking about Pizza Hut cause that? They don't even offer pizza, just some weird cardboard cutout.
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Only through underhanded evil acts such as this can MS trick people into using their search engine.
No, people don't care what search engine it uses. If it gives them good results they will keep using it, if it doesn't then they won't use it and Microsoft ends up killing its own product.
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I'm sure the #1 query on Bing is 'google.'
And #2 is 'facebook.'
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Only for people dumb enough to use Cortana.
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Does Edge support plug-ins, like adblock and noscript? If not then it's a broken browser.
And what problems in Windows 8.1 are fixed? That's what I'm running and it fixed stuff in Win8. I don't care about the stupid start menu anymore, I learned to live wihtout it and I don't want a stupid wannabe start menu that shows Metro apps.
What about all the problems and misfeatures that Windows 10 added? Cortana, pure idiocy (hey, if we copy Siri badly we can be rich too!). Forced acceptance of all upgrades, idi
Re:I'm actually happy with Windows 10 and Edge (Score:2)
Pfffft!
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I know I'm replying to an AC, but what the hell, it's Friday
The surface is both a poor tablet and a poor laptop. If you absolutely have to have a single device that can be both, it's adequate. No more. Windows 10 is nowhere near as good a tablet experience as either Android or iOS - there's still too much desktop getting in the way. For example, if you want to open a file in a universal app you get the good old classic Windows file selection dialog which is fiddly and awkward to use in tablet mode. Most of
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Even if you force me, I won't Bing anything. (Score:5, Informative)
Seriously, stop trying. Accidentally Binging something is terrible, but even with the results right there in front of me... I still closed it down, went to google and typed the same search over again.
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That makes two of us then! You know why? Because, let's face it, Bing sucks. Because the one job it has it can't do. Give me quality results on the SERP page. Bing results suck. Period. Until they fix that fatal flaw, people will run, not walk away from it. Of course, why fix your product when you can just shove it down your customers' throats? Monopolistic megacorp motherfuckers.
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Everyone remember where exactly Google came from, cooked search results where the first bunch of 'PAGES' of results were all paid for and often had absolutely nothing with what you were looking for. So type in a search, results come up and immediately click on page 3 of the results and somewhere between page 3 and page 7 of the results would be what you were actually looking for and MSN search was just as bad as asta la vista (altavista). Welcome to the same old bullshit and the bullshit to try to cover up
Re:Even if you force me, I won't Bing anything. (Score:4, Interesting)
Wow, that's got to be the most irrational position on a search engine I've ever heard. Blind devotion to one particular engine is foolish enough, but intentionally wasting your *own* time instead of using the results in front of you? That's just stupid.
I use Bing. I use Google. I use DuckDuckGo. I use at least two of them on almost any given day. Many days I use all three. Absent situations where I know the results will be off because I used (or failed to use) site-specific syntax in my search, I don't care much which one I'm using. DDG for sensitive-ish stuff (default on my work machine) but it's annoying otherwise because opening its links is slow. I use Bing and Google pretty much interchangeably beyond that. Some searches produce better results in the one, some in the other. It doesn't make a difference.
Hell, I'd probably even use Yahoo if I had any reason to. I replaced Firefox with Pale Moon, though, and seem to therefore not have any browsers configured for Yahoo (and I'm not going to bother changing that).
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An extra 6 seconds or so is time well spent given that it would take me longer than that to fish through the feces that are Bing's search results. I'm gaining time. It's efficiency rather than irrationalism. Getting a false lead can suck down a solid minute. I am at a loss as to how anybody could think those 6 seconds are poorly spent.
Re:Even if you force me, I won't Bing anything. (Score:4, Insightful)
Did MS learn nothing from their antitrust rulings in the early 00s?
And yes, bing is a terrible abhorrent creation. MS should be ashamed.
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Bing - that's a carburetor for mopeds and motorcycles. Or a deragotary name for people that are morons.
Antitrust violation? (Score:2, Interesting)
It sure seems like this is anticompetitive and probably should land Microsoft in some hot water with the DOJ.
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I suggest https://www.webcrawler.com/ [webcrawler.com] or Altavista or even gopher://gopher.floodgap.com/1... [floodgap.com]
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In Siri's case, I can say, "Hey Siri, Google kumquats." It will launch Safari and give me back info on kumquats. If I say, "Hey Siri, Bing kumquats," it will return the results inside Siri. If I say, "Hey Siri, DuckDuckGo kumquats," it will return the results of a Bing search for "DuckDuckGo kumquats."
So, yeah, Siri is kind of tied to Bing.
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Ha! That's a pretty funny set of results. Would installing a DDG app help with that last case, perhaps?
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limp dick DOJ wont do anything, EU EC on the other hand fined Microsoft cool >$2B since 2004, and is eager to do it again because of windows 10.
Re:Antitrust violation? (Score:5, Insightful)
Nothing is preventing you from using any browser and search engine you want. Typing something into Cortana doesn't get you anything you can't get by typing the same thing into any search engine.
Bundling Internet Explorer with Windows is what got them into trouble in 2001 [wikipedia.org]. Nothing stopped users from downloading some other browser but that argument didn't prevent Microsoft being found in violation of antitrust law.
I'm amazed at how blatantly they're ignoring history.
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I'm amazed at how blatantly they're ignoring history.
They didn't have lobbyists back then. Now MS have learned from other big companies and have bought and paid for politicians, and these investments pretty much guarantee there shouldn't be a repeat of what happened in 2001.
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Except, so far as search goes, they no longer have that dominance. When it comes to surfing these days, the world is overwhelmingly Android.
This might have meant something even five years ago. Now it's just a has-been monopolist who still can't figure out that they're dying on the consumer side.
Fine with me, for now (Score:5, Insightful)
First thing I do when installing windows 10 is to disable cortana, and limit search to the local computer only.
I don't need or want desktop search to go out on the internet; that's what the search in my browser is for.
The is emblematic of the entire issue with cortana on the desktop. There needs to be desktop search. When I want to search my computer for a file that starts with 'kid' i just want results from my computer. I don't care about Nicole Kidman's latest movie, i don't care about 'kid friendly meals'.
I get that microsoft wants to be able to get you to search from the desktop with Cortana... and that's fine I guess for people who want that. But I still need desktop search, and right now, cortana and web results gets in the way of that. If it was a separate UI, I migth leave it on and use.. but its not. So I disable cortana and I disable including web results.
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Its hard to imagine windows 10 getting any traction in the business world if you couldn't turn this consumer nonsense off.
If I'm running a call center, or retail outlet, the PCs are all but kiosks.
If I'm running a law firm or medical practice, there's no way the same user interface i might use to locate client/patient files is going to be sending them out as bing queries at the same time. Or even there as an option.
Cortana never actually goes away even when disabled its still running.
The explanation for this is pretty simple and somewhat reasonable. Cortana is essentially als
Windows 10 != Windows 10 Enterprise (Score:3)
Its hard to imagine windows 10 getting any traction in the business world if you couldn't turn this consumer nonsense off.
Microsoft doesn't want Windows 10 "getting any traction in the business world". It wants the more expensive Windows 10 Enterprise "getting any traction in the business world".
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Guess what Windows Insiders just discovered you can't do in Windows 10 rs1_release 14332?
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Please elaborate!
Not sure what you refer to, is it the software package "RS/1" or???
Re:Fine with me, for now (Score:4, Informative)
Redstone or rs1 is the codename for the next rolling release of Windows 10.
Build 14332 was pushed out to the fast ring of the Windows Insider program 3 days ago.
It removes the ability to disable Cortana (you can still hobble the bastard by removing permissions) and removes the ability to turn off web search. Currently it performs web search with the users default web browser and search engine, but that is obviously going to change.
They also made the Start menu even worse.
Re: (Score:2)
Wait a sec. Doesn't Apple have a patent on searching the local computer + the Internet at the same time? (Not saying such a thing should be worthy of a patent. I just distinctly recall the feature being pulled from Android when Apple started waving the patent bat around.)
Re:Fine with me, for now (Score:4, Interesting)
Microsoft's strategy now is to copy everyone else in vains hopes to make something work. Cortana is a crude mixture of Siri and the much hated Google search bar what would install itself on your browser when you weren't looking. Why? Monetization. The only thing they care about their users anymore is monetization.
The Metro style apps, a vain attempt to strike it rich in the apps store market (like very other wannabe developer on the planet who thinks apps will help with early retirement). A microsoft ID, a vain attempt to spy on what their customers are doing and buying. Customers start to move towards phones and tablets and Microsoft stupidly decides to switch everything to a touch screen oriented device and fails badly; fires the VP in charge of that and replaces him with the moron that gave us Windows 10. In desparation they decide to surreptitiously install Windows 10 on computers when no one is looking.
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First thing I do when installing windows 10 is to disable cortana,
Same here. this should be a non-story for most people, and for the rest it will be the end of Cortana and Edge.
Google and Firefox will be loving this move.
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Just because you do not use a feature doe not make it useless. Personally I have never had an airbag deploy. Do I call for their removal from cars to save cost?
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My films and tv shows are organised into folders alphabetically by title (then by season for tv shows), which is great for DLNA browsing via my TV. But if I'm on my PC and I know what I want to watch, why would I click through subfolders then scroll through hundreds of titles when I can just type 3 letters and get there fairly instantly?
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Why have search for local computer?
I mostly use it for launching 2nd tier applications. (ie stuff I use frequently but not daily) Everything from internet explorer to notepad++ to regedit to powershell to my vpn client, ... where I'll just hit the windows key or click in the search box and type a few characters of the name.
I also use it to quickly launch control panels.
I use it for documents occasionally. Again, I know where they are, but its faster to search by name than to navigate to them.
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Yep. Launching programs (including control panel / MMC snap-ins) is much faster via Start search than via any other means short of Quick Launch (which is all that "pin to taskbar" in Win7+ really is). So yes, the most commonly-used stuff gets pinned, but I try to keep the count of pinned items below 10 or so, and I use a *lot* more than 10 programs.
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Do you not have any data files? I have records of several thousand students over the past decade for whom people occasionally ask me about their grades or for a reference. My partner has over 300 clients who maybe ask about a certain part of their website once a year. I had to do a local search today to find the particular class in which I referenced Noam Chomsky two years ago. People actually using their computers to do stuff over several years do this all the time.
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Like who? I have never used it because the search don't yield the results I want and the indexer is turned off because it slows the computer down.
The few times I do need to make a search I open a command window and run either "dir /s" or use the cygwin package with "find" and "grep".
Microsoft has failed.
Here we go (Score:5, Insightful)
"Unfortunately, as Windows 10 has grown in adoption and usage, we have seen some software programs circumvent the design of Windows 10 and redirect you to search providers that were not designed to work with Cortana. The result is a compromised experience that is less reliable and predictable. The continuity of these types of task completion scenarios is disrupted if Cortana can't depend on Bing as the search provider and Microsoft Edge as the browser. The only way we can confidently deliver this personalized, end-to-end search experience is through the integration of Cortana, Microsoft Edge and Bing -- all designed to do more for you."
Unfortunately, as we have continued to sneak Windows 10 onto unsuspecting users systems, we have seen some software designed to disrupt the malware like experience of Windows 10 and redirect you to search providers that were not designed to collect all of your information and send it to Microsoft. The result is a compromised user database that is not worth as much as an ad platform as we had hoped. The completeness of our database is crucial to us, and is disrupted if CompTelRunner, Cortana, and other subsystems cannot use the MS backend for data collection. The only way we can plan on how to pillage further and make our database more valuable to other entities (NSA) is through the integration of Cortana, Edge, and Bing. -- All designed to capture more for us."
FTFY
Disclosure, sent from a Win 10 box. Hypocritical I know.
money money money (Score:2, Insightful)
Replace Cortana with Clippy (Score:5, Funny)
Comment removed (Score:3)
Bend Over Google (Score:5, Interesting)
Remember, this is not yet one week since Microsoft & Google announced a "no complaint" to regulators pact:
https://tech.slashdot.org/story/16/04/22/1421201/microsoft-google-agree-to-stop-complaining-to-regulators-about-each-other [slashdot.org]
In classic Microsoft fashion, they forge an agreement with someone and then screw them over in the most mean-spirited, legalistic way possible. Google should have known better on this one.
Comment removed (Score:3, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
Edge, AKA the Little Browser that Couldn't (Score:4, Insightful)
I had to use Edge at work for a couple of months and it would frequently crash while trying to render Slashdot. Maybe as much as 50% of the time it would freeze or pop up a message saying that "Edge has stopped" and then it would try and restart.
Does anyone really use this? (Score:3)
The first thing I do in windows 10 is hide every visible thing about Cortona I can. I'm sure my co-workers would just love hearing me repeat myself to my computer over and over as it attempts to find anything useful on bing.
Sounds familiar... (Score:2)
Serious question... (Score:5, Interesting)
So what I'd like to ask is how do I disable everything I don't need? Can someone point me to a "minimum Windows 10 for dummies" kind of thing? I've been through all the interface that I can see, but I suspect I'm only scratching the Surfaceâ, because it still acts somewhat intrusively, even interrupting a Dirt Rally session mid-stage the other day to tell me it needed to restart to install an update (and DR's design meant the stage was voided). I despise that behaviour - it must be possible to set things up such that I'm in charge of it, and not the other way around? Any tips or help appreciated!
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I never left Windows 7. Download and run (in monitor mode) GWX control panel [ultimateoutsider.com] to really lock out the Windows 10 downgrade.
Colour me surprised (Score:2)
I never thought Microsoft corporation would do this.
Just like I'm positive they will never ever require Intel hardware to force UEFI Secure Boot to qualify for Windows stickers.
Microsoft Consent Decree expired (Score:5, Insightful)
Could it be that the settlement against Microsoft established in 2002 [wikipedia.org] which, amongst other things, required them to open their browser to competition, was preventing them from eliminating competing search engines? The only reason Microsoft permitted other browsers, and by extension, search engines in the browser, was because of this case. I suspect that they just forgot that they can now be evil again.
Further limiting Cortana into pointlessness. (Score:5, Interesting)
Cortana.
Where do you want to go today?
Well you CAN'T! FUCK YOU!
Instead of turning the Cortana interface into a useful tool, they've basically hamstrung it.
Can it search all of Office365 as well? (Score:2)
He went on to say... (Score:3)
"Unfortunately, as Windows 10 has grown in adoption and usage, we have seen some software programs circumvent the design of Windows 10 and redirect you to search providers that were not designed to work with Cortana. The result is a compromised experience that is less reliable and predictable"
The Microsoft stooge went on to say:
"Of course, we /could/ have created a framework that incorporated the ability to use different search providers, since this is obviously something in which some customers are interested. But instead, we have decided to further limit customer choice, breaking third-party applications, so we can bolster the diminishing market-share of the financial black-hole that is Bing, while pretending it's all in the name of "improving" the customer experience. And then we'll look around all confused as people stop buying our products because we've stopped providing them something that works for /them/ in lieu of offering something that works for /us/."
like Android maps (Score:3)
Linux on desktop (Score:3)
If now is not the time, it will never be. Windows 10 is essentially only good for gaming. For every other task, a Chromebook or a MacBook, depending on your budget and preferences, does the job better while being less annoying. Yes, they also have frequent software updates, limitations and analytics. But they are not obnoxious in normal daily use. Every time I want to use my gaming box, it has logged me out and I have to sit through 10 minutes of "working on updates" until I can start Portal.
Video card and game manufacturers should partner with distributors like Steam and commit to same day Linux releases for titles and drivers. Invest in Vulcan and whatever is the most promising replacement for X11 until performance/stability is as good as DirectX. Then there will be no more reasons for people to get abused by their computers.
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At this point, it might be cheaper to just get a supported scanner instead. It's not as if scanners are really that expensive any more.
Having said that, we are in a similar situation and our household still has a single Windows 8 machine. The rest is Linux, ChromeOS and a Macbook that for all practical purposes might as well be a Chromebook; it's not as if it ever does anything other than Chrome.
The Windows machine is needed for Photoshop. If there was a viable Photoshop clone for Linux, we would not have a
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Meh, Photoshop is close to running on Linux. I have CS5 (32-bit) running in Crossover Linux...it seems to just crash on Windows created PSD files for some reason (but any other file format it is fine with...or Linux-created PSD files (I haven't tested how complex)).
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For the curious: http://imgur.com/a/mMrHJ [imgur.com]
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The O'Really Windows DLL parody is hilarious. Source?
(The goog gives me nothing, and bing just stares off into space....**)
** So I suppose that's exactly the problem:
Google gives answers that range from [precisely-right] --- to --- [not-quite-relevant-but-i-see-where-you-were-going]
Bing gives answers ranging from [didn't-understand-the-question] --- to --- [utterly-random-shit-the-bed-schizophrenic].
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You should have look at his screenshot more closely, the hint was in the title: d8PTVnL [imgur.com]
Re:Oh well (Score:5, Informative)
This.
Often people are surprised at how well scanners work on Linux in general. For example, I was in the office recently and needed to scan a lengthy document, so I borrowed one of those nice Fujitsu scansnap-style scanners. The owner cautioned me that the software and drivers were a 300+mb download for Windows, and was astounded that it was fully supported in xSane and SimpleScan with *no* driver download. I have a similar one at home and knew the drill, but it was fun to see someone really take in how bad the experience is on Windows these days. I plugged in the USB cable, started xSane, threw 50+ pages into the feeder, clicked just a couple adjustments, and saved the project as PDF with no fuss, no driver fuckery, etc etc. Works better, faster, cheaper in Linux than the "fully supported" Windows config.
Otoh, there's no convincing some people, and I'm not the geek evangelist I used to be. More for me, I guess.
(Oh, and Hi there, fellow 2K slashdotter... )
Re: (Score:2)
... fully supported in xSane and SimpleScan with *no* driver download
And not only that - the SANE daemon makes it easy to build a networked scanner (see http://www.linux-mag.com/id/16... [linux-mag.com]); one that you can access from any system on your network. I use that at home - bought an HP scanner/printer in a car boot sale for £5, set it up on a RaspberryPi, and now we have a neetworked scanner and colour printer. And it is very good scanner too. I only use it from Linux; there is a way to do it from Windows, which I tried, but I don't use Windows for anything, so I don't
Re: (Score:2)
This used to be a problem for me (I do a fair amount of scanning/OCR). But in the last little while, xsane backends have gotten better, and there are decent OCR interfaces to decent engines like Tesseract. I find I'm able to scan/OCR without having to leave Linux, and I'm getting results about as good as I got with Windows and commercial software.
Re: (Score:2)
Except that in the 1990s Redmond had the clout to stand on competitors throats and choke the life out of them. In and Android-iOS universe, what the fuck does Cortana even matter?
Re: A proper API maybe? (Score:2)
What is it they say about turnabout?
Re: (Score:2)
I wouldn't use non-Windows MS stuff
Hey, their Microsoft 2.0a mice were awesome (in the days of ball mice). Also Consolas, a font they bought, is the best programming font I know -- even if you need FreeType instead of whatever Windows uses for rendering to make it look good.
All the rest of their products, though...
Re: (Score:3)
They seem to have forgotten the requirement to have the browser selection screen to handle the anti-competitive behavior.
Re: (Score:2)
AltaVista before it was hijacked by Yahoo was actually good.
Re: (Score:3)
MS is going nuts over us disabling all the spying telemetry that 'makes' bing works? Yes, I know I got a free upgrade going from windows 7 to windows 10,
No, you got a major downgrade. You lost the interface that works, the OS that uses practically no resources, and the right to turn off telemetry. Meanwhile, Windows 7 runs all the same software, at least, everything meaningful. You got raped, not upgraded.
Re: (Score:3)
Do you need standing to complain to the EC? Because if so, the only one likely to complain is Google, and conveniently they just signed an agreement with MS not to complain to regulators. I'm sure the timing of this announcement so shortly after that agreement was signed is a mere coincidence...
Re: (Score:3)