allheart55 Cindy E

Did you feel like paying more to Comcast next month to keep using the amount of data you’ve been using for years already? No? Well, if you’re in one of several markets in the southeast, tough cookies: Comcast’s data caps, and their fees, are coming to a cable modem near you this December. DSL Reports has noted that starting December 1, the list of Comcast cities subject to usage-based data pricing is going to get even longer. Several cities in Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Virginia are going to be added to the list, according to Comcast’s official FAQ. Markets newly added to the unfortunate shortlist will face the same base 300 GB per month cap as the other cities in the trial program, with charges of another $10 for each 50 GB over the threshold used. For those who don’t want to pay piecemeal overage fees, Comcast started testing a flat $30 fee for unlimited overages in Florida in October, and a few weeks later launched the same option at a higher $35 price point in Atlanta. According to Comcast’s website, this unlimited data option is also available in the newly data-capped areas as well. Usually, Comcast’s pricing schemes are a matter of “we do what we want because we can,” due to a complete dearth of competition in almost every market. However, this particular pricing change also includes Chattanooga, TN, which famously boasts a comparatively inexpensive, robust, publicly-owned gigabit fiber network that Comcast finally has deigned to compete against. The expansion of usage-based pricing across the nation is, alas, not a surprise. Comcast executive mouthpiece David Cohen said in 2014 that he expected the company to implement broadband data caps nationwide within five years. About 12% of Comcast users are already subject to some variety of Comcast’s data cap thresholds, the Associated Press recently reported. The more Comcast expands the trials, the more likely they are to attract some FCC scrutiny over the matter. Charter, meanwhile, is using its absence of a data cap plan as a selling point to convince regulators that its plan to buy Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks is in the public interest. Comcast is contacting affected customers to let them know they are going to be subject to usage caps going forward. However, if you are concerned or don’t want to wait, you can also check your account number or ZIP code against Comcast’s list of usage-based billing trial areas here. Comcast Dramatically Expanding Usage Cap Areas December 1 [DSL Reports] Source : consumerist

I used Pete's batch file last night. It hurt to do it but it didn't kill me, after all. :D

Great! I use VSS all of the time. :real_anger: Thanks, Pete!

That's seems pretty drastic but I can understand why. My nephew went to everything Mac a couple of years ago and has never looked back. I never get a call from him about repairing a computer any more.

:big_ha::funny:

This makes me glad that I have a Windows phone instead of an Android.

Microsoft has released a fresh new build of Windows 10 to preview members today. That's a fairly regular occurrence, but today's release is the final version of a big new Windows 10 update that will arrive to everyone next week. The update includes a number of fixes and UI changes that were originally planned for the final version of Windows 10. One of the noticeable differences is a new colored title bars for desktop apps. All apps now feel a little more similar to the ones designed specifically for Windows 10, and Microsoft has also improved the context menus throughout the OS to make them a little more consistent. Another big change is the introduction of Skype integration with dedicated Messaging and Skype Video apps. They're both available from the Windows Store, and they're designed to offer basic access to messaging, audio, and video calls without having to download the full version of Skype. Microsoft is expected to deliver this Windows 10 Fall Update next week on November 10th as part of the company's regular Patch Tuesday. Source : theverge

You can pretty much install any operating system on a new computer as long as you have the disk and a license key, Lina.

Another one, huh? Here we go again. Kaspersky seems to have come out with a tool quickly. Thanks, Pete.

Medicinal

I have an ache in my chest.

In a new post over on the OneDrive blog, Microsoft has revealed that a small number of users have been abusing the cloud storage service since the Redmond company began rolling out unlimited storage for Office 365 subscribers late last year. Some of this abuse resulted in these users storing in excess of 75 TB, yes terabytes, of data in their accounts that included complete music, DVD, DVR recordings and backups for multiple PCs. According to Microsoft, this small number of users were taking up over 14,000 times the average storage that was used by others users on the service. If you do the math that means the average user on OneDrive is storing approximately 5.4 GB of files on the service. It was just over a year ago when Microsoft's Julia White, who at the time was the Office 365 General Manager, announced that all Office 365 subscribers would ultimately get unlimited storage at no additional cost. Of course, an offer like this was very well received and they began the roll out immediately however, sometime earlier this year the process of upgrading Office 365 Home, Personal and University accounts ground to a halt without any explanation. As of tonight it appears that with this update from the OneDrive team, we know exactly why those upgrades to unlimited storage stopped being applied to accounts on the cloud storage service. The unlimited storage for Office 365 customers is not the only area that is going to change either. According to the the OneDrive team the following storage options will be modified: 100 GB and 200 GB subscription plans are being discontinued and will be replaced with a 50 GB option for $1.99 per month. This will happen in early 2016. The 15 GB of free OneDrive storage, which everyone with a Microsoft Account receives, will be reduced to just 5 GB for all current and new users. Those changes also roll out in early 2016. The 15 GB Camera Roll bonus has been offered for sometime with Windows Phone devices and was even a marketing ploy when iPhone users did not have enough space to upgrade their phones to the latest iOS version. At the time, Apple recommended that users delete photos in order to free up space so Microsoft offered the free 15 GB Camera Roll to them instead. This free 15 GB of space for photo storage will be discontinued in early 2016. Office 365 subscribers will still receive 1TB of storage with their subscription instead of the previously offered unlimited option. Microsoft states they want to make this transition as easy as possible for customers and will implement it as follows: Any Office 365 customer using in excess of 1 TB of storage will be notified directly and be allowed to keep the extra storage for at least 12 months. Office 365 customers who feel the 1 TB storage offer with their subscription no longer fits their needs will be offered a pro-rated refund for the balance of their subscription. If you are using more than the 5 GB of free storage you will retain access to all of your files for 12 months after these new changes go into effect. Those users will also be offered a free one year subscription to Office 365 Personal (credit card required to sign up) to increase that storage to 1TB for the following 12 months. In order to retain that level of storage the same users will need to renew their Office 365 Personal subscription at a cost of $69.99 when the free subscription expires. Current subscribers of the 100 GB and 200 GB storage plans are unaffected and will be allowed to maintain these subscriptions. In all of these situations if your storage allowance is lowered you should not lose access to your files on the service however, you will be unable to store any new data on OneDrive until you remove enough files to drop below your new storage allowance. This is how OneDrive has always worked in the past and handled overages in a storage account. Responsible users of OneDrive are going to be upset at this news and rightly so. A promise was made to deliver unlimited storage if those users subscribed to Microsoft Office 365 offering and that is now being pulled out from under those same loyal customers. The offers of pro-rated refunds are fine but this is more than just offering refunds. It is never a good thing to punish the majority of users for the actions of a few inconsiderate ones and the backlash from this unexpected announcement is going to put a dent in any good will Microsoft has recently been earning with its dedicated customers. What do you think about these sudden storage changes? Source : winsupersite

Microsoft is planning to make sure PC makers only install Windows 10 on new machines next year. On October 31st 2016, OEMs like Dell, HP, and Lenovo will all have to stop shipping new PCs with Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 pre-installed. Instead, Microsoft wants all new machines to ship with Windows 10. ZDNet points out that this is a little sooner than usual, as Microsoft normally sets an end-of-sales date for older versions of Windows two years after the launch of a new version. Microsoft extended that policy during the Windows 8 era to allow PC makers to continue to pre-install Windows 7. HP used the extension as a marketing effort to bring Windows 7 PCs back "by popular demand." At the time the software maker said it would give OEMs a year's notice, and it's clear that Microsoft feeds confident enough with Windows 10 to push PC makers to preinstall it next year. It comes alongside Microsoft's move to automatically download the Windows 10 install files to Windows 7 and Windows 8 machines next year. Consumers will still have a choice to upgrade, but Microsoft is being a lot more aggressive in its approach to reach 1 billion devices running Windows 10. Source : theverge

Sounds like what we used to call a Service Pack.

You're absolutely right, Pete. People even take pictures of what they made for dinner. I started using facebook about a year and a half ago but I use it mostly to keep up with family and friends. I love seeing pictures of the kids and grandkids. There's also the occasional facebook drama which I always stay out of. :D

This was a fascinating article! Thanks, Lina.

So far, so good!