allheart55 Cindy E

Microsoft’s Music Deals app launched in October and it has been a rather impressive way of obtaining music ever since. 101 albums were priced at $1.99 or less initially, and Taylor Swift’s new 1989 release debuted for just $0.99 in a brief promotional period. Now Microsoft is literally giving music away. 100 albums are now free, including hits like Dr. Dre’s 2001, Eminem’s The Marshall Mathers LP2, Rihanna’s Unapologetic, Kanye West’s Graduation, and Lady Gaga’s The Fame. All of the free albums are available as MP3s so you’re free to use them on any device you want, and all 100 are available until December 15th through the Music Deals app and Xbox Music in the US only. There’s even U2’s classic All That You Can’t Leave Behind album available for free, but don’t worry this one won’t magically appear in your iTunes library without you downloading it.

Even though Microsoft doesn’t really take action against all the pirated Windows and Office versions in use out there, the company is ready to go to court when it detects certain usage patterns related to illegal Windows and Office activations. Torrent Freak reports that Microsoft has already filed a complaint against persons behind an AT&T subscription who have activated multiple pirated copies of Windows 7 and Office 10. Microsoft has a cyberforensics team in place that’s tracking such suspicious activities. In this case the team has identified “a number of product key activations from IP address 76.245.7.147, which is presently assigned to ISP AT&T Internet Services,” the complaint reads. These Windows 7 and Office 10 copies have been activated using suspicious keys that have apparently been “stolen from Microsoft’s supply chain, used without permission from the refurbisher channel, and used more often than the license permits,” as the publication points out. Earlier in October, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella addressed piracy, suggesting that the company doesn’t really mind if that’s how certain users get to experience Microsoft products. “Well, we’ve always had freemium. Sometimes our freemium was called piracy,” Nadella said. But the company apparently won’t tolerate pirates activating more than a decent number of illegal products at a time. Microsoft’s full complaint is available at the link in the source section below. https://bgr.com/2014/12/08/microsoft-windows-and-office-illegal-activations/

Microsoft’s Gabriel Aul, one of the most prominent members of the Windows 10 team, announced today that a security update to the current build of the operating system will not install if a user has Office already installed. Instead, users of build 9879 of Windows 10, if they want to install the security fix, may have to uninstall Office, and later reinstall it. Here’s the mini-tweetstorm from Gabe: The company also released a more technical explanation here. Note that you might not have to do the Office dance to get the new code, so try to update without doing so. But if it doesn’t work, this is what to do. Windows 10 is a different sort of project for Microsoft — the company is working on its new operating system quite publicly, soliciting advice earlier than it did in previous versions. Ship code sooner and more rapidly, however, and you have more issues. The above problem isn’t too surprising, or difficult, but it does underscore Microsoft’s current development pace. Microsoft is not releasing a new build of Windows 10 this year, but smaller updates are fair game it seems. Windows 10 will bring all screen sizes, form factors, and app environments for Microsoft if it pulls off its larger vision. The company will unveil a new, consumer-focused version of Windows 10 in January that may detail how the code will handle switches between user input sources. For now, if you’re on Windows 10 (I wrote this post on a Windows 10 machine I’d like to note) and you want to get the latest on the security side, you should check your build number and make sure you’re up to date. http://techcrunch.com/2014/12/09/if-youre-running-windows-10-you-may-have-to-reinstall-office/?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000591

If you're brave or foolish enough to still be using the latest build of the Windows Technical Preview, you won't be surprised to hear that Microsoft plans yet another update fix, this one aimed at fixing a security problem. But there's also a twist: If you try to install this fix with Office 2013 installed, the install will fail. So you'll need to uninstall Office, install the fix, and then reinstall Office. Honestly, given what we've been going through with build 9879, this is a minor inconvenience. And Microsoft's Gabe Aul, who has become the congenial face of the Windows Technical Preview, recommends that everyone testing the build should install this fix. "It's a cumulative security rollup," he wrote on Twitter this morning. "No public [vulnerabilities], but [it's] good to be safe." Here's how Aul revealed the fix on Twitter via four tweets... I just checked Windows Update and don't see this update yet. But I will do as asked and uninstall Office and get that fix installed when it does appear. Also, I should note that last week's fix for the Explorer crashes has done nothing to improve the reliability of Explorer on my desktop PC. I still need to restart Explorer.exe—or the entire PC—several times a day. http://winsupersite.com/windows-10/yet-another-update-windows-10-build-9879-ones-doozy

Microsoft’s Windows 10 operating system is coming next year to a variety of devices, including desktops and mobile devices, with users already having access to a developer’s preview of it. However, the highly anticipated desktop version of Cortana for Windows 10 is not yet included in the Windows Technical Preview, but that didn’t stop WinBeta from scoring some time with it on a Windows 10 machine. Microsoft’s virtual assistant that’s currently available on Windows Phone is coming to Windows 10, and the feature is almost fully functional on the Windows 10 version the publication has tested. Cortana needs to be activated with a button press in this version — it’s not clear whether the final version of Windows 10 will have always-on listening capabilities for Cortana — and once that’s done it can respond to a variety of commands, just like on a mobile device. Cortana on Windows 10 can help you set up “reminders, call people with Skype, check my location/maps, play/pause music, launch apps, check the weather and more,” as WinBeta reports. The virtual assistant isn’t yet connected to all available data bases, and can’t answer “personal” questions, as its Windows Phone alternative does. As for Cortana’s looks on Windows 10, the user interface might also be subject to change, as the current version doesn’t represent the final product. https://www.yahoo.com/tech/s/video-check-one-windows-10-best-features-action-201510130.html

Oddly enough, this is a question I'm asked very regularly: If one were to participate in the Windows Technical Preview, would they be able to upgrade to the final, RTM version of Windows 10 when that becomes available? This week, Microsoft actually answered that question with a qualified yes, which is somewhat surprising in its own right. But my advice is to not worry about such things: When the RTM version of Windows 10 comes out, you'll want to do a clean install anyway. The background: On December 5, someone asked Microsoft's Gabe Aul—he's emerged as the face of the Windows Technical Preview—whether testers would be "able to update to the RTM version [of Windows 10] when it ships? Mr. Aul responded in the affirmative: "Yes, that is our intent." This is interesting on a few levels, the most obvious being that Microsoft has never officially supported upgrading from pre-release versions of Windows to shipping versions. But if you've been upgrading from build to build in the Windows Technical Preview, it's fair to say that the RTM version is just another build. So, yeah, you should be able to upgrade. Aul's use of the word intent is likewise of note because, well, you never know what might go wrong. He can't just say yes. My contention, however, is that none of this matters. And that to get an accurate view of Windows 10, you will need to do a clean install of the OS, or upgrade from a supported previous version such as Windows 7 or Windows 8.x. Upgrading from a prerelease Windows 10 version isn't just bad from a feedback perspective—I mean, seriously, who cares?—but it can create weird problems in its own right. Problems that Microsoft shouldn't be expected to fix. The reason I think this question is odd is because it's so common. You'd think that people running pre-release Windows 10 versions would be technical enough to handle disasters and be able to reinstall Windows and their apps—and resuscitate their data—should anything go truly south. My recent issues with build 9879 are a great example. It was a pain in the butt, but I didn't lose anything. I set up things so that's never a worry, and I use pre-release software on my daily-use PCs with abandon. One thing I've learned over the 21 years of writing professionally about technology is that you should always be ready to recover your PC, and these days that's easier and quicker than ever thanks to advances in Windows (OneDrive integration for documents and data, settings sync and so on) and the steady move away from heavy, desktop-based application installs. When Windows 10 RTMs, I'll be nuking every one of my PCs from space—i.e. doing clean installs of Windows 10—and so should you. I'm not going to belittle anyone that does want to upgrade from the preview to the RTM version of Windows 10. Honestly, Microsoft needs average users testing this product more than it needs technical users. But for the crowd reading this site, come on. You're better than that.

:funny:

In the Device Manager, what is the hardware ID and the vendor number?

Thanks, Bob. Looking good.

Do you have bangs in the Device Manager? Is the CD/DVD drive not working?

What's the service tag, Mike?

Is this a CD/DVD ROM, Mike? What OS and what model Dell? The drivers for these optical drives are all pretty much generic.

Rod always parks out in LaLa land too. So far out that the security camera's didn't pick it up. The auto body shop expects to have his vehicle for two weeks. He has to drop it off on Tuesday.

I figured you might have or you wouldn't have posted it. :D

Talk about not having any Christmas spirit.... Last night while at Shop-Rite, someone keyed my husbands Chevy Tahoe, front, back and along both sides. He just got back from seeing Allstate's insurance adjustor. $4,038. worth of damage. Bah, Humbug! :real_anger:WTH is wrong with people? I don't get it!

Have you ever used Discount Mountain before, Rich?

This week, Microsoft COO Kevin Turner provided a more detailed view of the schedule for Windows 10, reiterating that the firm planned to ship the final version of the OS sometime in late 2015. But Mr. Turner also provided a bit more information about interim milestones for Windows 10. Unfortunately, much of this contradicted the previously understood schedule. As you may recall, Microsoft revealed Windows 10 at a short press conference in San Francisco on September 30 and released the first pre-release milestone, the Windows Technical Preview, on October 1. During the Q&A after the announcement, Terry Myerson said that Microsoft would ship a consumer-oriented milestone and detail new user experiences in early 2015, reveal the Windows 10 developer story at BUILD in April 2015, and then ship Windows 10 "later" in 2015. During an appearance at the Credit Suisse technology conference, Mr. Turner provided more details about this schedule, much of which doesn't correspond to what we heard earlier. But the bad news is that "later" in 2015 could have meant May or June, and from Mr. Turner's comments it appears that late 2015—September/October perhaps—is far more likely. Turner said that Microsoft plans to talk about the end user/consumer features in Windows 10 in "early spring," well past the planned January timeframe. This is most likely incorrect, as Mary Jo Foley's sources have indicated that the actual consumer event is planned for late January in Redmond.) Early spring is almost certainly a reference to Build.) Mary Jo also reports that this release is now called the January Technical Preview (JTP), which is of course a laughably bad name. After that, Turner said, Microsoft will offer a developer preview of Windows 10 in "early summer." Again, this timing is almost certainly incorrect: The developer preview will ship at Build in April (which is actually "early spring.") But that makes me wonder if there isn't an "early summer" milestone. Perhaps he means "code complete"? Finally, Mr. Turner said that Microsoft would ship Windows 10 (GA, or general availability) in summer or early fall. That suggests September/October, as noted. These changes shouldn't really be surprising: The history of Windows is littered with examples of products that didn't ship until well past their originally planned launch date. And let's not forget that Microsoft originally planned to ship the final version of Windows 10—then called Windows 9—in April 2015. So this isn't even a big change compared to the original schedule.