September 2015

Windows 10 Big Mistakes

I both love and hate Windows 10. The story of Microsoft’s new operating system – both the build -up, launch and indeed the following month, has been a mixed one to say the least. From the start, there was an undercurrent of mistrust between enthusiasts and journalists like myself and Microsoft, for the simple reason that so little information was being offered about various aspects of the OS. Forbes’ Anthony Leather examines where Microsoft went (and continues to go) wrong with Windows 10.  

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Thunderbird 38.3.0 Released

Mozilla released the next scheduled update for the Thunderbird 38.x branch with 38.3.0 on September 29, 2015. There have been some changes to this version for increased stability. NEW: Saved files tab now implements Search field and Clear button. FIXED: (Right-)Clicking on a newsgroup now allows directly composing a message again FIXED: Importing to the address book from CSV now works with international characters FIXED: Thunderbird no longer crashes when executing filter rules when using maildir FIXED: When using the maildir storage format, the INBOX folder is no longer deleted FIXED: Emails with long References headers are now decoded correctly FIXED: Checking for new messages correctly works after…

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Firefox 41.0.1 Released

Mozilla release an emergency update for the Firefox 41 branch on Wednesday, September 30th with Firefox 41.0.1 release. This release addressed the following issues: Startup crash in mozilla::layers::CompositorD3D11::GetTextureFactoryIdentifier() Changing properties of a new bookmark while adding it acts on the last bookmark in the current container Firefox hangs with flash plugins Startup crash in nsStyleSet::GatherRuleProcessors(nsStyleSet::sheetType) possibly related to Yandex toolbar and Adblock Plus Crash in mozilla::gl::GLBlitHelper::BlitImageToTexture User should be prompted to update or can do so manually via Help > About Firefox or download and install the latest version viagetfirefox.com. The next planned release is Firefox 42 on November 3rd.

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Firefox 41 Released

Mozilla release the next update to Firefox on Tuesday, September 22nd with Firefox 41.0. This release included many fixes, updates and changes which can be reviewed in the release notes. Also note: Extension Signing Validation can still be disabled in this version by changing xpinstall.signatures.required to False in about:config. There is not an official Windows 64-bit (Win64) version of Firefox 41, this is currently planned for Firefox 42. User should be prompted to update or can do so manually via Help > About Firefox or download and install the latest version via getfirefox.com. The next planned release is Firefox 42 on November 3rd….

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Hibernation Bugs Fixed for TBird 38.3.0 Release

The “Hibernation Bugs‘ which affected Thunderbird’s ability to fetch new mail as well as Lightning after coming out of hibernation (or sleep) have been fixed and will be included in the Thunderbird 38.3.0 release on Tuesday, September 22nd.

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Windows 7/8.1 Users: Microsoft is Watching You!

Okay, maybe not ‘watching you’, but they are spying on you. Seems that Microsoft MSFT 417,32 +0,90 +0,22% was not content with just spying on Windows 10 users. They have pushed through some ‘Telemetry’ updates on Windows 7 and 8.1 which allow Windows to collect and send data back to Microsoft. Keep in mind if you have opted-out of previous ‘feedback/telemetry’ programs with Microsoft, these updates undo all that (including user privacy settings in the Windows hosts file). …(the updates) all add “customer experience and diagnostic telemetry” to Windows 7 and Windows 8. This is shorthand for monitoring how you use Windows…

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Mozilla: Windows 10 and Users Choice

Mozilla Future Releases has published the article Windows 10 and User Choice, which talks about some the changes that have occurred with Firefox as a result of Windows 10. Besides Windows 10 making Edge your default browser (unless you do a custom install), web searches using Cortana are done though Bing. The article goes on to explain how they have been able to workaround some these changes. But first, they talk about the UI change in regards to the search feature for the Windows 10 version of Firefox: User choice is a core principle with which we design our products….

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Take Ownership Registry Script

This registry script works for Windows Vista and newer and adds a ‘Take ownership’ (Administrator) option to the context (right-click) menu in Windows (File) Explorer. Very useful for removing crap Microsoft has sneaked onto your computer such as the Get Windows 10 (aka GWX) propaganda as well as Windows 10 itself. You can run this script on files and/or folders which will give the Administrator ownership privileges to be able to delete said files and/or folders. Installation is simple, download and open the zip file then run the Take Ownership – Install.reg file. You will be presented with a couple prompts accept…

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Microsoft Wants You To Have Windows 10 (even if you don’t)!

Okay, this is getting out-of-hand. All the Get Windows 10 propaganda (App in Windows 8.1, System Tray Icon and in Windows 10) that Microsoft MSFT 417,32 +0,90 +0,22% is bombarding Windows 7 and 8.1 users is bad enough. However, even if you declined the upgrade to Windows 10 and in some cases even if you removed the Windows 10 upgrade offer KB3035583, Windows 10 may already be on your computer…just waiting for you to (accidentally) install it. Yes, you read that right! Microsoft has taken it upon itself for those users in Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 who are running Windows Updates…

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