Tag: microsoft

Windows 10 Endless Update Cycle Sucks

Posted on by John D

Obviously, I had nothing better to do this weekend than to deal with how much Windows 10 endless update cycle sucks.

The endless spiral of death
The endless spiral of death

I keep hearing how “Windows 10 isn’t that bad,” but here is one of my predictions coming true before my very eyes!

The minute I read Microsoft’s pronouncement that you can no longer hide updates, I predicted that someone (not necessarily me, mind you, but so be it) would have a really hard time with this because it would obviously go into a spiral if an update failed. Well, the above screen tells you all.

Now I just need to replace my TV card so I put Linux on this thing. Seriously.

 

Should You Switch to Windows 10?

Posted on by John D

“Should I switch to Windows 10?” is a question a get a lot. Here’s how to find out.

“Should I switch to Windows 10?” For a lot of people who ask this question, they are really asking whether or not they should upgrade their current computer running Windows 7, take the time to learn a new user interface (that frankly is often half-baked) and take a chance that the programs they currently are now using will either no longer work at all or will need an upgrade.

Usually, the answer is, “No,” which Microsoft themselves are making more and more difficult to resist, even sneaking Windows 10 advertisements into “security patches”! However, the answer to whether or not to switch to Windows 10 is not always that easy. Continue reading “Should You Switch to Windows 10?” →

Office and Windows Microsoft License Activation on the Enterprise

Posted on by John D

I’ve actually had dreams (nightmares?) lately about Microsoft license activation, believe it or not, as it is such a pain in the ***. Both Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office can get to the point where they cannot or will not talk to the KMS server and grab a license for one reason or the other. So, this is how to force the issue when you have enterprise versions of this software.

One scenario is where Windows quits talking to the KMS server, goes beyond the grace period and then declares that this copy of windows is not genuine. You can try to activate it, but it will refuse because it is out of the grace period. Of course, it is outside of the grace period because it did not activate, so this causes a bit of a catch-22.

The way to break out of the cycle is to extend the grace period. You do this via the “rearm” command. For example, open a command prompt with elevated privileges and type:

slmgr.vbs /rearm
slmgr.vbs /ato

That will rearm activation, thus extending the grace period, and then activate windows (it assumes KMS is online).

Windows 10 Ad Hidden in Security Patch KB 3139929

Posted on by John D

Microsoft has just made Windows less secure.

Microsoft recently placed a Windows 10 ad hidden in a “security patch”, according to InfoWorld article, “Windows patch KB 3139929: When a security update is not a security update“. This is just plain wrong on so many levels, but not the least is that this will result in even more vulnerable Windows systems in general. Continue reading “Windows 10 Ad Hidden in Security Patch KB 3139929” →

Initial Thoughts on Windows 10

Posted on by John D

Well, I’ve had a chance to play around with Windows 10 on a few machine configurations, and I can honestly say it sucks less than Windows 8. No, that is not a ringing endorsement, but it isn’t a resounding condemnation either, at least as user interfaces go. Having said that, I still have some nagging privacy concerns.
Continue reading “Initial Thoughts on Windows 10” →