Is Microsoft on the right track with Windows 8.1?

Only time will tell, but here is one take.

Historical precedence and my gut tell me that Microsoft is on the right track with Windows 8.1. And that’s neat, since many future releases—not just of Windows but of all major Microsoft platforms—will be minor updates, not major milestones. If Windows 8.1 is representative of what we can expect every year from these folks, then we’re entering an era I can only describe as a Microsoft Renaissance.

Full article: http://winsupersite.com/windows-8/windows-81-21st-century-windows-31

 

[strollin]

Do you guys realize that this thread was from 18 months ago?

 

[popeye]

Did you see my necro comment?

 

[Atomic77]

Yep I did see that comment.

 

[popeye]

Yep I did see that comment.

Was talking to strollin but I kind of like raising the dead every so often.

 

[eatup]

Win 8.1 may be slower than 7 (not counting fast bootup). But it has one thing 7 (Home Premium) doesn't have: The ability to boot from a vhd file. You guys don't realize the implications of this. You can potentially have an infinite copy of 8.1 running on the same license on the same machine. One of them gets infected? You just delete that single vhd file and restore from a backup. No headaches dealing with 3rd party imaging softwares like Macrium. You can even zip that vhd file to get something more compact for archival purposes.

Native booting only works with 7 Ultimate/Enterprise, but all editions of W8.1 including Pro! And, in so far as I can tell W8.1 all apps "start" menu seems to be a lot more useful than the current w10 hybrid start in the TP's...

 

[Lee]

Boy, talk about bringing back an oldie, but goodie. . .never have like the idea of putting my info on or in the cloud, thus to this day I still don't, albeit I also will not bore folks with my reasons. . .

 

[Cliff S]

The only things I have in the cloud are my wallpapers, batch files, information on different OS fixes, scripts, tools. and of course Windows 8.1 & 10 settings, so I can access them from any PC. If I'm helping someone fix his PC and I don't happen to have my tools USB at hand I can just sign in using In Private(IE) or Incognito(Chrome) and download them. The only thing "Personal" is my Updated Job Resume , and here in Germany it doesn't contain any SSN#'s or financial info's just contact info.

 

[pparks1]

I have tons of stuff in the cloud these days. And I will be honest, a lot of it happened without conscious effort on my side.

Gmail: all of my email is here, not on my local computer anymore. I can access from anywhere on nearly everything.

Chrome: all bookmarks are in the cloud. I can share them on all of my devices, and never have to back them up on my own machines.

Music: I buy everything from Amazon MP3. Its all available on any of my devices, but it's in the cloud.

Books: I buy everything on my Amazon Kindle. My books are not physical, but rather available on many of my devices through a download from the cloud.

Apps and software: most of what I buy are now apps for my smartphone, or tablets. I don't physically have the install media, its all available in the cloud.

Dropbox and Onedrive: nothing really personal here, but these are the documents, notes, and files that I use everyday. They are synced on multiple devices, so my data is duplicated and will never be truly lost.

Passwords: stored in dropbox, in an encrypted folder and inside of an encrypted keepass database. Because I often need these from remote locations, and cannot afford to lose them. Since its dropbox, its replicated to many of my devices. I will never lose all copies.

This has all just happened over time. Its the way things are done today.

 

[KYHI]

Then you are a very trusting sole.. I look at the cloud above everyday, wondering when it is going to rain..
I can't hold them, touch them or feel them, so it leaves me wondering how many other people are looking at the cloud..

 

[Cliff S]

Then you are a very trusting sole.. I look at the cloud above everyday, wondering when it is going to rain..
I can't hold them, touch them or feel them, so it leaves me wondering how many other people are looking at the cloud..

Damn Jimmy! You're a poet too?Here's something I made for you to hang on your wall over your PC(stitch it or print it)

 

[pparks1]

Then you are a very trusting sole.. I look at the cloud above everyday, wondering when it is going to rain..
I can't hold them, touch them or feel them, so it leaves me wondering how many other people are looking at the cloud..

I'm just adapting to the changing market. Years ago, we ran servers in house. Then we virtualized everything. Now we are moving towards containers (docker), on cloud based hosting providers like Amazon.

As an IT guy, we have to either embrace these things or face lack of jobs and desired skills as this is where stuff is going.

We are realizing at work, that Exchange 2013 is most likely the last on premises setup we will have. MS is making the 365 offering too appealing with features that will only be made available in 365. And they will continue to mark up the on premises price to the point where its not financially advisable to run it any longer. Office365 for business is offering unlimited storage per employee. I'm not sure how they can even afford to do it, for the price they charge..but they do it.

 

[Cliff S]

Something I just read that basically say's keeping the data in house is just as safe/unsafe as the cloud:

American Sleep Medicine Loses Hard Drive with Patient Information

[FONT=museo_sans_cond]Personally identifying information belonging to patients of American Sleep Medicine involved in sleep studies carried out in 2012 has been exposed after a hard drive was stolen from a server room[/FONT]

[FONT=museo_sans_cond].

Source[/FONT]

 

[pparks1]

Anybody ever lose a flash drive?

 

[Cliff S]

Anybody ever lose a flash drive?

Probably even more dangerous-"Anybody every find a flash drive... and look to see what's on it?"

 

[msdos622wasfun]

I keep all my backup hard drives in the vegetable crisper ... people generally don't think to look there, considering our obsession with fast food in America.

 

[popeye]

Anybody ever lose a flash drive?

Probably even more dangerous-"Anybody every find a flash drive... and look to see what's on it?"

Anybody ever lose a flash drive?

I keep all my backup hard drives in the vegetable crisper ... people generally don't think to look there, considering our obsession with fast food in America.

Thanks for the laugh guys!

 

[popeye]

I keep all my backup hard drives in the vegetable crisper ... people generally don't think to look there, considering our obsession with fast food in America.

Or in a book.

 

[pparks1]

I usually store my external backups in the CD racks at Best Buy.

 

[Cliff S]

Floppy disks. Nobody in their right mind would think to look there, plus a couple of TB would probably require a 75710 the first 496-ton mining truck made to carry them away

 

[msdos622wasfun]

We're on a roll here!