Wapsi Square Forum

Raventhorne wrote:i cant help but wonder how many she needs to upgrade to pixie stick

That may involve energy drinks as opposed to alcohol. Or a combination of the two.

shadowinthelight wrote:

Raventhorne wrote:i cant help but wonder how many she needs to upgrade to pixie stick

That may involve energy drinks as opposed to alcohol. Or a combination of the two.

"Mmmmm.... could be!"

Dave wrote:

shadowinthelight wrote:

Raventhorne wrote:i cant help but wonder how many she needs to upgrade to pixie stick

That may involve energy drinks as opposed to alcohol. Or a combination of the two.

"Mmmmm.... could be!"

I thought you needed vodka or gin for a classic martini.

That just sounds like they poured an Irish coffee in a martini glass...and not a very good one. I'd take the vanilla, a bit of simple syrup add to some heavy cream, and blend until frothy, then mix into the coffee, pour it in an espresso mug, topping with a dollop o' whipped cream and some sprinkles.

That much whiskey without the sweet kills the coffee drinks...unless you like them unsweetened.

Dave wrote:

AnotherFairportfan wrote:

Sgt. Howard wrote:OBAMABOOZE!!!!

I believe that the reference was to a private concern.

Correct... I was alluding to a certain set of policies, being pushed by a certain high-tech company engaged in classic capitalistic commerce.

That's simultaneously a relief but also worrisome. Care to spell it out for those of us who don't really bother with the news?

Gyrrakavian wrote:

Dave wrote:

AnotherFairportfan wrote: I believe that the reference was to a private concern.

Correct... I was alluding to a certain set of policies, being pushed by a certain high-tech company engaged in classic capitalistic commerce.

That's simultaneously a relief but also worrisome. Care to spell it out for those of us who don't really bother with the news?

My apologies... but it does bear a striking resemblance to what has happened with my health care insurance over the past couple of years.

Gyrrakavian wrote:

Dave wrote:Correct... I was alluding to a certain set of policies, being pushed by a certain high-tech company engaged in classic capitalistic commerce.

That's simultaneously a relief but also worrisome. Care to spell it out for those of us who don't really bother with the news?

I was alluding to the privacy issues which have been reported for Microsoft Windows 10. By default, Windows 10 uploads a good deal of "telemetry" information about your system and its use to Microsoft's servers. What's more, Microsoft's privacy policy for 10 has language like:

We will access, disclose and preserve personal data, including your content (such as the content of your emails, other private communications or files in private folders), when we have a good faith belief that doing so is necessary to protect our customers or enforce the terms governing the use of the services.

Many people feel that agreeing to those terms-of-service is the equivalent of signing a very large blank check. It gives Microsoft permission to invade and disclose your own data, at its own discretion, based on a "good-faith belief". Those are things that the police here in the U.S. can't do without a search warrant that requires a judge's signature and a rather stronger standard of evidence ("upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation").

http://www.techrepublic.com/article/win ... -yourself/

I've seen reports that some of the recent "Microsoft Update" hotfixes to older Windows versions (7 and 8) have included modifications which add some of the same "automatic 'telemetry' uploading of information about system use" features to the older operating systems. This was (I understand) done without an explicit "opt-in" being required of the system owners... the changes were included alongside legitimate security-related updates to the operating system.

As to the "glass which can't be used to drink beer" analogy I used: to run Windows 10 at all, your computer has to have a "UEFI" BIOS and boot system which implements "Secure Boot". This is a technology in which the boot BIOS requires that the operating system bootloader have a "digital signature" on it, to show who wrote it and prove that it hasn't been tampered with. The bootloader can then do an additional signature check to decide whether the operating system is "legitimate", and can refuse to boot the OS if it so chooses. Windows 10 will not run on a system with the older PC BIOS and its "open" boot architecture.

The holder of the "key" used to sign the bootloader" is Microsoft. If your bootloader hasn't been signed by Microsoft, and if you don't have an alternative way of adding an "authorized signer" public key to your UEFI BIOS or turning off Secure Boot, you can't boot other operating systems.

When Microsoft started endorsing and requiring Secure Boot with Windiws 8 a few years ago, there was a big outcry. Microsoft agreed to require PC makers using Secure Boot to provide an "off" switch to disable Secure Boot.

Microsoft has now indicated that they're planning to eliminate that requirement. Hardware which is advertised as "Designed for Windows 10" will not have to have a "disable" switch for Secure Boot. Manufacturers which choose this option will be selling computers which will be unable to run anything which doesn't have a bootloader signed by Microsoft.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2901262/ ... linux.html

It's not quite that dire, since Microsoft did agree to sign a generic Linux bootloader using the Microsoft key, so that even locked-down Secure Boot systems will boot Linux distros that use this bootloader. Whether Microsoft will continue to extend this olive branch, in the future, is anyone's guess.

So, if you're planning to buy a new PC, and you think you might ever want to run something other than Microsoft's latest Windows offering on it, make sure it allows you to turn off Secure Boot!

Gyrrakavian wrote:

Dave wrote:

AnotherFairportfan wrote: I believe that the reference was to a private concern.

Correct... I was alluding to a certain set of policies, being pushed by a certain high-tech company engaged in classic capitalistic commerce.

That's simultaneously a relief but also worrisome. Care to spell it out for those of us who don't really bother with the news?

From my "Windows 10" thread in the pub room:

lake_wrangler wrote:And now, Microsoft wants to con, err, I mean, "encourage" more people to upgrade to Windows 10...

So basically similar language to what's in the various leaked iterations of the Trans Pacific Partnership for what ISPs will be allowed to do for “self-policing" their customers' internet activity.

Great.............


Note to self: if buying a new computer, rip out WiFi modem and make it a stand-alone.

Gyrrakavian wrote:

Dave wrote: Correct... I was alluding to a certain set of policies, being pushed by a certain high-tech company engaged in classic capitalistic commerce.

That's simultaneously a relief but also worrisome. Care to spell it out for those of us who don't really bother with the news?

Well, what version of Windows are you running at the present time?

Care to guess what it'll be before 2018?

jwhouk wrote:

Gyrrakavian wrote:

Dave wrote: Correct... I was alluding to a certain set of policies, being pushed by a certain high-tech company engaged in classic capitalistic commerce.

That's simultaneously a relief but also worrisome. Care to spell it out for those of us who don't really bother with the news?

Well, what version of Windows are you running at the present time?

Care to guess what it'll be before 2018?

7 on a Logitech T60 laptop.

What's worrisome is the fact that people are allowing them to do this and willing sacrificing their privacy. All in the name of “security" and “stopping crime". Not that those who need taking down the most will ever be touched.

shadowinthelight wrote:

Raventhorne wrote:i cant help but wonder how many she needs to upgrade to pixie stick

That may involve energy drinks as opposed to alcohol. Or a combination of the two.

I've had a Monsterita before (magarita where the parts of the mix that aren't alcohol get replaced by a can of Monster because you're too drunk to drive to the store to buy more). It tasted like nothing. Literally. None of the icky Monster flavor (I dislike most energy drinks) and none of the "holy shit you over did the alcohol on this one" burn that should have been there considering how sloppy we were at measuring at that point. Both disappointing (because I wasn't craving water) and dangerously interesting (because holy crow the drunk that snuck up on us).

In any event, I'm pretty sure I did not get upgraded to pixie stick off that, so you'll have to come up with another upgrade solution.

Gyrrakavian wrote:So, what's the next step up from swizzle stick?

The next morning, it's probably coffee stir...

Morning after- flavor your coffee with mylanta...

(note to self; Kill Dave...) razzza-frazza-grazza-MESSENGER-grumble-rumble-tumble...

oldmanmickey wrote:If they just didnt have snakes, shudder

Hey, how many other individual gals can you think of who can kiss you a dozen times simultaneously?

Catawampus wrote:

oldmanmickey wrote:If they just didnt have snakes, shudder

Hey, how many other individual gals can you think of who can kiss you a dozen times simultaneously?

As well as nibbling on both of your ears, simultaneously.

David, I have had that unfortunate mark placed upon your head rescinded, after all the doings in Redmond are hardly your fault after all. (sniff)

And besides, you have a delightful imagination, both ears indeed...

TazManiac wrote:David, I have had that unfortunate mark placed upon your head rescinded, after all the doings in Redmond are hardly your fault after all. (sniff)

Most kind of you, sir! I'll tell my volunteer squad of defenders that they can stand down.

A bit of a shame, though. They'd decided to take a page out of Spider Robinson's "Silly Weapons Throughout History", and had armed themselves with a scary collection including a large dogapult, studded mice, and a ("disgusting but effective") snotgun. Now they won't get to use 'em.

And besides, you have a delightful imagination, both ears indeed...

Hee hee!