I may have missed it, but I don't think anyone has commented on this line from the article: " ... according to an analysis for The New York Times by Mint, the online budgeting tool owned by Intuit, using data from millions of its users." How deep into the EULA do you have to go as an Intuit customer to discover that they can mine your financial transactions, then sell the analysis to third parties? That is a far larger issue than how much you pay for entertainment.

I haven't seen Ryver mentioned as an alternative to Slack in this conversation. I have tested it with a tech group that I run and I plan to take down our website and switch to Ryver for our communications. The price is right - free - and it works well as an alternative to Slack, at least for me.

The Windows blog has the official announcement about this change and you can restore the command prompt if you so desire. Here is what they posted: PowerShell in the Shell: In an effort to bring the best command line experiences to the forefront for all power users, PowerShell is now the defacto command shell from File Explorer. It replaces Command Prompt (aka, “cmd.exe”) in the WIN + X menu, in File Explorer’s File menu, and in the context menu that appears when you shift-right-click the whitespace in File Explorer. Typing “cmd” (or “powershell”) in File Explorer’s address bar will remain a quick way to launch the command shell at that location. For those who prefer to use Command Prompt, you can opt out of the WIN + X change by opening Settings > Personalization > Taskbar, and turning “Replace Command Prompt with Windows PowerShell in the menu when I right-click the Start button or press Windows key+X” to “Off”. The full announcement is available at https://blogs.windows.com/wind.... Fact-checking is a wonderful thing. :>)

I didn't have time to read every comment, so please excuse this post if it is a duplication. Microsoft has extended the Windows 7 downgrade program for OEM manufacturers through October 31, 2017. As a Lenovo partner I verified this with their system engineering team last week and I also saw a letter from Panasonic to its partners confirming the same information. Retail establishments will not have access to Windows 7 systems as a general rule. Only OEM partners that purchase downgraded systems directly from the OEM manufacturers or through channel distributors will have access to Windows 7 systems for an additional year.

I urge everyone in the IT community to download and read S.773 - The Cybersecurity Act of 2009. This bill contains a number of troubling provisions beyond the most obvious one, which is Presidential ability to control the Internet by preventing its use when he deems it necessary to do so. It would require the President to establish a Cybersecurity Advisory Panel without requiring any approval of the members of such panel by Congress. It also requires the Secretary of Commerce to assist the panel with the creation of Regional Cybersecurity Centers that must be affiliated with a non-profit organization or consortium, funded by the panel. Per my reading of the bill, all of this is to be done by people who not been vetted or approved by Congress in any way. It places all of that power in the hands of the President and certainly creates an opportunity to politicize the entire process. Within one year, the Secretary of Commerce must develop a national licensing, certification and recertification program for cybersecurity professionals. Beginning three years after the bill is passed, "it shall be unlawful for any individual to engage in business in the United States, or to be employed in the United States, as a provider of cybersecurity services to any Federal agency or an information system or network designated by the President, or the President's designee, as a critical infrastructure information system or network, who is not licensed and certified under the program." Ask yourselves, please, who gets to define what is or isn't a critical infrastructure information system or network. That's correct. It's the President (or his designee). But wait ... there's more. Within one year after the bill is passed, the President (or his designee) gets to tell Congress if he wants to require cybersecurity to be a factor in all bond ratings (presumably only for private-sector companies and not federal bonds), Here's where it really gets good. "The term "cyber" means - (A) any process, program, or protocol relating to the use of the Internet or an intranet, automatic data processing or transmission, or telecommunication via the Internet or an intranet; and (B) any matter relating to, or involving the use of, computers or computer networks." Let's see if they left any possible use of computers out of that definition. Nope, they even seem to have VOIP covered. The President can control every computer in the country under that definition, irrespective of whether or not it is part of critical security infrastructure. The point here is that this bill is seemingly titled to make people think that it is a well-intended way to protect our country. When you dig deeper into the bill it clearly spells out command and control of potentially every computer in the country by ... the President. Forget about the person who is in office now. This is a dangerous consolidation of power in the hands of whomever is in the office of President. Read the bill and decide for yourself if this is the path the United States should continue going down - consolidating more and more power in the hands of one man (or woman). Then make your feelings know to your U.S. senators ASAP.

I urge everyone in the IT community to download and read S.773 - The Cybersecurity Act of 2009. This bill contains a number of troubling provisions beyond the most obvious one, which is Presidential ability to control the Internet by preventing its use when he deems it necessary to do so. It would require the President to establish a Cybersecurity Advisory Panel without requiring any approval of the members of such panel by Congress. It also requires the Secretary of Commerce to assist the panel with the creation of Regional Cybersecurity Centers that must be affiliated with a non-profit organization or consortium, funded by the panel. Per my reading of the bill, all of this is to be done by people who not been vetted or approved by Congress in any way. It places all of that power in the hands of the President and certainly creates an opportunity to politicize the entire process. Within one year, the Secretary of Commerce must develop a national licensing, certification and recertification program for cybersecurity professionals. Beginning three years after the bill is passed, "it shall be unlawful for any individual to engage in business in the United States, or to be employed in the United States, as a provider of cybersecurity services to any Federal agency or an information system or network designated by the President, or the President's designee, as a critical infrastructure information system or network, who is not licensed and certified under the program." Ask yourselves, please, who gets to define what is or isn't a critical infrastructure information system or network. That's correct. It's the President (or his designee). But wait ... there's more. Within one year after the bill is passed, the President (or his designee) gets to tell Congress if he wants to require cybersecurity to be a factor in all bond ratings (presumably only for private-sector companies and not federal bonds), Here's where it really gets good. "The term "cyber" means - (A) any process, program, or protocol relating to the use of the Internet or an intranet, automatic data processing or transmission, or telecommunication via the Internet or an intranet; and (B) any matter relating to, or involving the use of, computers or computer networks." Let's see if they left any possible use of computers out of that definition. Nope, they even seem to have VOIP covered. The President can control every computer in the country under that definition, irrespective of whether or not it is part of critical security infrastructure. The point here is that this bill is seemingly titled to make people think that it is a well-intended way to protect our country. When you dig deeper into the bill it clearly spells out command and control of potentially every computer in the country by ... the President. Forget about the person who is in office now. This is a dangerous consolidation of power in the hands of whomever is in the office of President. Read the bill and decide for yourself if this is the path the United States should continue going down - consolidating more and more power in the hands of one man (or woman). Then make your feelings know to your U.S. senators ASAP.

I've been a D&H customer for years, I personally know several members of the family that owns the majority interest in the company and based on my firsthand knowledge and experience, I sincerely doubt that D&H is buying gray market product as was suggested. They have way too much at stake to do such a thing and they have been a very ethical company for too many years to throw away the keys to their success like a mom and pop shop located in a strip mall might do. The story that was referenced at http://hardocp.com/article/2010/03/05/newegg_selling_fake_intel_cpus is based on "sources". Here is a word of caution. Unless the person who reports things from "sources" has independently investigated and corroborated what they heard as hear-say, they are treading on very thin ice by making the statements that are posted at that link. It is unwise to besmirch someone's reputation unless you can prove what you say. Something very wrong occurred here without a doubt. I think we can speculate about it until the cows come home, but unless we get a definitive and honest statement from Newegg, there is likely no one on this thread who can shed light on what actually happened.