General Gaming Article

General Gaming Article

Cisco Introduces Invasive Cloud Connect Firmware, Backs Down Immediately

Posted: 08 Jul 2012 11:13 AM PDT

Cloud ConnectCisco faced a bit of consumer backlash last week when it pushed out a Firmware update that not only took away much of the advanced control users have come to expect, but actually forced them to agree to a list of anti-porn and anti-piracy clauses. Anyone with automatic updates turned on woke up Thursday to find not only could they not access their router locally, they needed to sign in through Cisco Cloud connect just to access the basics. Cisco has since backpedaled on the incident, and is in full on damage control with a new blog post. 

In summary, here is what Cisco is promising:

1.) Linksys customers are not required to sign-up for the Cisco Connect Cloud service and they are able to opt-out of signing up for an account
2.) Customers can set-up and manage their Linksys router without signing up for a Cisco Connect Cloud account
3.) Cisco will not arbitrarily disconnect customers from the Cisco Connect Cloud service based on how they are using the Internet.
4.) Cisco Linksys routers are not used to collect information about Internet usage.
5.) Cisco only retains information that is necessary to sign up for and support the Cisco Connect Cloud service
6.) Cisco will not push software updates to customers' Linksys routers when the auto-update setting is turned off.

These are all great declarations to make, but it's shocking that these would ever be in question. It amazing that so few router manufacturers have come close to matching the firmware quality of open source projects such as Tomato or DDWRT, and it certainly doesn't shine a positive light on Linksys/Cisco. 

 

Mozilla Transitions Thunderbird to Maintenance Mode, Leaving its Fate to the Community

Posted: 08 Jul 2012 10:32 AM PDT

ThunderbirdWebmail clients have pretty much advanced to the point now where we aren't wishing for much more. Outlook still plays an important role in the Enterprise helping to tie together contacts, calendar, and mail into one application, and for everyone else with offline needs, there is Thunderbird. Thunderbird as an open source project has always been the gold standard on the PC as a free alternative to Outlook, even though it has never enjoyed anywhere near the same market share as Mozilla's other open source baby. You may have heard of Firefox perhaps?

Today however, Mozilla announced that key resources from Thunderbird project are being moved to other areas, and aside from bug fixes and security updates, no new improvements are being planned going forward.

The market for offline email capabilities may be on the decline, however it's still unfortunate to see another high profile player bite the dust. Thunderbird will continue to be available for the foreseeable future, but without any improvements being planned, it might be prudent for users to start investigating alternatives. The beauty of open source is that improvements are still possible from community driven fork projects, but we will have to wait and see if these ever materialize. 

Mozilla claims that nothing is set in stone, and a final plan should be released sometime in early September. Those looking for immediate alternatives should check out Postbox, Seamonkey, or even the fairly competent Windows Live Mail. 

Acer’s Founder Recommends Microsoft Stick With Software

Posted: 08 Jul 2012 09:43 AM PDT

StanThe entire Fourth of July week is a bit of a write off news wise when it comes to the US tech industry, but while the boys in Redmond were enjoying some well-deserved R&R, Acer was on the attack. Company founder Stan Shih went on record with his thoughts about the Microsoft Surface, and lets just say they weren't the most diplomatic. 

"I think Microsoft's getting involved in the hardware business is designed to promote its Windows 8 [operating system]," he said, echoing a similar comment made back in June. "But I sincerely recommend they withdraw from the hardware market when they get what they want." Shih further clarified by saying Microsoft shouldn't be competing with hardware partners, especially because they are their biggest business partners. "I think they will consider and decide the best solution for themselves," he said.

Shih comments were part of a larger interview discussing the state of the PC industry, and was partially an attempt to explain sluggish PC sales at the expense of a budding tablet market. Shih acknowledged that the market is changing, but claims Acer laptops will always have a place on the market. "For students, laptops with keyboards will still be the best choice," Shih said.

Microsoft's decision to release hardware is a bolder than usual move for the gang in Redmond, and it will be really interesting to see how it plays out. At the end of the day hardware partners might feel a bit betrayed, but Microsoft it would seem has the stronger hand. Linux has its fan's, but let's face it, Acer is going to be using Windows for the foreseeable future, regardless of what Microsoft releases now or in the future. 

Windows 8 $39.99 Upgrade Offer Will Support the Release Preview

Posted: 08 Jul 2012 08:57 AM PDT

Windows 8 LogoIn the past using a pre-release version of a Microsoft OS was a one way ticket to nowhere. Sure you got a chance to test out the latest and greatest version of Windows months before it launched, but the final version typically involved doing a clean install, wiping out all your data in the process. To make matters worse, if you were buying the "upgrade edition", this sometimes also involved re-installing the older version before moving to the final release. Most of us assumed this would still be the case with Windows 8; we were wrong.

Microsoft has confirmed to ComputerWorld that the Windows 8 $39.99 upgrade offer will work with the Release Preview, as long as a version of Windows XP or newer was present on the drive when it was installed. This doesn't mean the transition is seamless however, and the process still essentially blows away the release preview, along with your settings. Data on the other hand "should" copy over automatically. 

While it wasn't specifically mentioned, it's safe to assume users of the 2011 Developer Preview, along with the February 2012 Consumer Preview are out of luck. Presumably anyone who falls into this category will need to reinstall a copy of Windows XP or newer back on the machine if they plan to take advantage of the $39.99 upgrade offer. 

We are impressed Microsoft is actually taking the time to consider users who have helped them beta test over the last several months, rather than leaving them in the dust. We would be more impressed if the upgrade was a more seamless process that preserved settings, but we'll take what we can get I suppose. 
Posted by Shri Krishna

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