Windows 8 Consumer Preview Presentation

**robert** · 2nd March 2012, 17:58

I found this article very interesting and explain to me the reason why so many people are looking into Linux OS.

- Robert

February 29th, 2012
I’m watching the live presentation that’s happening in Barcelona and it looks like Windows 8 is going to be using a cloud based log-in feature that is going to sync settings, and a lot of other stuff, across devices. I have no idea if there’s an opt out to let it function as a standalone client. It reminds me of domain sign on with Active Directory, but with the whole Metro “app” veneer out front.
You know what the purpose of domain sign on is with Active Directory, right? In short, it allows the system to be managed by someone other than the person using it. This is how PCs in corporations are managed. You can login on any PC in the organization and your personal desktop will load, you’ll have access to the same network shares and permission to execute whatever programs the IT people allow you to execute. If management chooses, they can record every keystroke or even capture video of your screen as you work. In other words, when you sign into that thing, everything you do can be monitored, the information that you can access and the programs that you can use can be changed at any time.
This is all old news in the corporate world.
But this Windows 8 presentation is geared toward regular home users…
Considering what we know about the Windows 8 Kill Switch, it’s going to be very interesting to see what else Microsoft is going to be capable of doing on systems that are running this thing.
Is it possible to use this OS without transmitting a whole lot of very personal information to Microsoft?
This entire presentation is very much reminiscent of Apple’s vending machine take on computing in iOS, and increasingly in MacOS. Windows 8 looks a bit different, but the core functions, and dire privacy implications seem pretty similar to me.
Update: The Verge Sums It Up
I love it. This is it, in a nutshell:

choice.jpg

Comment...

One Response to “Windows 8 Consumer Preview Presentation”
Bigelow Says:
February 29th, 2012 at 11:33 pm
Am I really going to have to migrate to Linux just to keep my own *&/#><: computer?

Source:
http://cryptogon.com/?p=27812

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**Odah** · 2nd March 2012, 18:47

i am fine with clowd computing.. but it seem that being forced to do it ..is like having something on your computer that double checks to make sure everything you have is not pirated ..

**VajraYaya** · 2nd March 2012, 19:08

Yeah. I've seen this coming.

I'm still using Windows XP. I'm planning on buying a new system with the release of the laptop I"m looking for this spring. Hopefully it will still have windows 7. Windows 7 will be the last version as far as I"m concerned. I am still a Windows guy at the moment because I have so many applications I use that do not run on Linux.

But, after reading some other threads around here in the last couple of weeks, I have downloaded Ubuntu 11.10 and am getting my feet wet in that world. Maybe there is a way of getting my windows only apps working in this. It'll be a bit of a learning curve and I am not planning on migrating completely, soon, but, Really, I think Linux is the future. Starting to look at Wine too. Lots to learn.

---------- Post added at 13:08 ---------- Previous post was at 13:05 ----------

Originally Posted by Odah

i am fine with clowd computing.. but it seem that being forced to do it ..is like having something on your computer that double checks to make sure everything you have is not pirated ..

Just an FYI.. Something I wrote on another thread..

Originally Posted by VajraYaya

Totally!! I just find it so funny how so easily people buy into the idea of letting some big nasty/Nazi corporate entity like Microsoft or Apple to keep their data "safe" for them. The whole cloud idea and how it is sold smells so much like a huge data mining operation and data control. I imagine them one day deciding not to let you access your data because they, or the govt, or someone has a problem with it. It's also a good was to centrally destroy data too when TPTB decide to pull the trigger on that. Also they try to sell it using the convenience angle. "Use our office app online, let us keep your documents, you will have them available wherever you go". I have a big hard drive in my laptop, why do I need them to do anything for me. I first heard the concept of the cloud uttered by Bill Gates and was immediately suspicious. So whatever Gates and Apple suggest, I run away from.

Next thing you know, in order to push the cloud data control meme, they'll start putting a large tax on hard drives or punishing manufacturers in some way for manufacturing big drives, or banning or taxing optical or other external storage.. media.

**Harley** · 2nd March 2012, 21:06

Just bought a new HP Laptop. The first thing I did when I got it home was to format the hard drive and then I installed Kubuntu (Linux). Kubuntu is a version of the Ubuntu (Linux) O.S. that offers a Windows-Like desktop. It was very easy to install and totally free.

Linux has come a long way for the casual-home user but there is a learning curve, and I guarantee that you will run into some "bumps". But in these instances, if you don't mind spending a little time and learning a little, you will find the answers to literally any problem that may crop up.

Kubuntu-Ubuntu can do anything Windows can do and the stability, speed, and security far surpasses.

And the price? You can either spend a little time in learning . . . or you can continue to fund Gate's Quest to Reduce World Population!

**VajraYaya** · 3rd March 2012, 00:08

Well, my big thing is getting some of my important Window apps going in Linux. Is Wine a good solution for that?

Harley, thanks for pointing me at Kubuntu. I didn't know about that one. Being so used to windows, this might help make a transition easier.

**Odah** · 3rd March 2012, 02:07

if your dealing with info you don't want out there and need safe on one hard drive ..i can see worrying about the cloud .. but honestly for the cloud and the tracking stuff.. i generally just game al look into some other stuff..

i end up having to reformat my hd every year or so.. it is the nasty keyloggers and male ware out there that is harsh ..

everytime you hit enter and send on anything on the web ..it gets saved somewhere and scanned somehow by someone ..and as long as you don't use the same id and login for everything you sign up for ..which so many people do .. your not going to be to bad ..off .. it's not the giovernment you have to worry about or the owners of the cloud.. it's the guys who slip crap onto your computer..or hack your hard drive .. and steal your identity for long enough to do some damage