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Microsoft's Asimov System To Monitor Users' Machines In Real Time 269

SmartAboutThings writes Microsoft will monitor users in the new Windows 9 Operating System in order to determine how the new OS is used, thus decide what tweaks and changes are need to be made. During Windows 8 testing, Microsoft said that they had data showing Start Menu usage had dropped, but it seems that the tools they were using at the time weren't as evolved as the new 'Asimov' monitor. The new system is codenamed 'Asimov' and will provide a near real-time view of what is happening on users' machines. Rest assured, the data is going to be obscured and aggregated, but intelligible enough to allow Microsoft to get detailed insights into user interactions with the OS. Mary Jo Foley says that the system was originally built by the Xbox Team and now is being used by the Windows team. Users who will download the technical preview of Windows 9, which is said to get unveiled today, will become 'power users' who will utilize the platform in unique scenarios. This will help Microsoft identify any odd bugs ahead of the final release.

Comment Re:Yet another out-of-control govt agency (Score 1) 299

Hee hee. That reminds me of the urban legend from way back in MIT's history. The city of Cambridge decided to install parking meters. Some students didn't like that so they went out an bought a parking meter at a junkyard and made sure that they got a detailed receipt for it. Then they stated going around campus hacksawing off parking meters. Whenever a cop saw them walking around with a meter and stopped them, they'd just show the receipt for the junkyard one. Pretty soon, there were no more meters around campus.

Comment Re:Yet another out-of-control govt agency (Score 1) 299

Yep. Our Sheriff's Office Forest Patrol (who legally outranks the Forest Service BTW) refers to the Forest Service as the boulder fairies because they boulders appear during the night. Oh, and there are gates that are supposed to be 50-inches wide to restrict jeeps and large side-by-side ATVs from going through. That would be fine if they didn't mount the hinges on the inside of that 50 inches so you can't get a full 50 when you open the gate.

Comment Yet another out-of-control govt agency (Score 2) 299

For those of you who don't live in Arizona, the Forest Service mandated a certain percentage of permanent road closures in the state. Coconino (basically between I-40 and the Grand Canyon) decided to close down 80% of the roads. Yes, eight zero percent. But here's the catch: They don't physically block off the roads. You're supposed to know which roads are open and which aren't and if they find you on a closed road they can fine you. State Game & Fish and the Sheriff's Offices have already said that they aren't going to enforce this crap. Oh, and search & rescue operations aren't exempt from these rules. Hell, a local search dog unit wanted to hold a national conference and do some training in the forest. The Forest Service demanded an environmental impact study be done. What the hell are they worried about? Dog poop? How is that any different from coyote poop?

Comment Obviously (Score 1) 602

It's part of current business models. Notice how many "products" you use that you don't just buy once but rather require you to pay a monthly fee and one that appears to be inexpensive but turns out to cost a crapload of money over the long term. And how many "products" do you pay for every month whether you use them or not. (I smell a Slashdot poll) We're rapidly falling into the gravity well of not actually owning anything. Now take a look at the TV ads for the Capital One Venture card that claims to have no blackout dates or limited seating and woohoo! double miles. What they don't tell you is that they give you a very low credit limit so that it takes two to four times as long to get one of these free flights. There is ALWAYS a catch somewhere. The consumer rarely, if ever, gets everything they were promised.
I, myself, have started writing the install date with a Sharpie on every bulb I put in so I have some real-world idea of lifespan. "Oh, it'll last 5000 hours...under normal use." What the hell is normal use? "Normal" is not a standardized unit of measure despite the implied definition. Light bulb manufacturing is ultimately a business not a love affair. If they made a bulb that lasted for 10 years "under normal use" and charged the same as an older technology that only lasted a year, that company would find itself out of business. This is also why Wonka's everlasting gob stopper will lose money, too. All joking aside, this is also why home solar panels are more of a scam than anything at this point. Lots of people don't know that they have a limited lifespan and gradually lose their efficiency yet the companies snow people into thinking that they're going to make money by selling energy back to the power company. Maybe. After losing money for 3/4 of the panels' lifespan.
It's mostly smoke and mirrors. Oh, and you need to pay an environmental impact fee for the smoke and are required by law to recycle the mirrors at your expense.

United States

Microsoft On US Immigration: It's Our Way Or the Canadian Highway 365

theodp writes Even as it cuts about 14% of its workforce, Microsoft is complaining that the company might be denied some of the "roughly" 1,000 H-1B visas for foreign workers it intends to seek, and made it clear that the company could shift some work to Canada or overseas if it can't get talent on its terms. "If I need to move 400 people to Canada or Northern Ireland or Hyderabad or Shanghai, we can do that," said William Kamela, a senior federal policy lead at Microsoft, who later explained that about 60% of Microsoft's workforce is in the U.S., yet it makes 68% of its profits overseas (where it also stashes its cash out of IRS reach). Kamela made the statements on a panel at a two-day conference on high-skilled immigration policy, where he sat next to Felicia Escobar, special assistant to President Barack Obama on immigration. The day before the conference, Mark Zuckerberg's FWD.us PAC — which counts Bill Gates as a Founder and Steve Ballmer and Microsoft General Counsel Brad Smith as Major Contributors — posted its "MythBusters" video on H-1B visas.

Comment Why not 65? (Score 1) 478

If this guy is so smart on the subject of aging, why not set the limit at 65? On the plus side, Social Security and Medicare would go away. And if this guy is so eager to drop dead at 75, why not right now? Go ahead, buddy. I have the same feeling towards the wackos who think humans are destroying the planet. Okay, then, go ahead and off yourself. Show us how great the planet will be after you're gone and we'll be right behind you. Go on. Lead from the front.

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