The Computer Thread

8.1 is great if you never got to grips with 8, and you're still more comfortable with 7, or every other Windows for that matter.

All I want to know is: how long before Windows 7 becomes useless?

It's not so much the upgrade I object to, its the incredibly irritating way they did it remotely and without giving me any choice in the matter. The reason I held off is because Microsoft updates have, on occasion, screwed the sound system on my Acer. Thankfully this doesn't seem to have happened this time.

I'm just glad windows 10's gonna be free for those with 8. You can believe i'm going for that.

Stanford Libraries unearths the earliest US website

Obama has come out in support of the FCC reclassifying the internet as a utility.

US Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) has called Net Neutrality the "Obamacare" for the internet.

Of course, Ted Cruz also thinks committing to an annual budget for the government is Obamacare for the Federal government, so fuck that guy.

Texas politicians are far from the best about this shit. Freakin' SOPA was introduced by Lamar S. Smith, who has been the representative for the state's 21st congressional district since 1987.

The government is the last org I'd trust with the keys to the internet. From 90-93 there was no commercial activity allowed on the internet at all. As the web was launched, the only thing the FCC really did was keep phone companies from classifying dial-up calls as interstate calls.

Hungary just has massive protests over a proposed internet tax, our congress keeps toying with the idea.

It's not about the government running the internet. It's about making sure that Comcast doesn't run the internet.

^ Which is silly hyperbole... and almost, but not quite, entirely unlike on-topic for this thread.

Getting back on topic:

• "Ubisoft games removed from steam".

• "Exhumed Atari Cartridges from New Mexico Dig Site Land on Ebay"

• "Minecraft Developer Mojang Officially Owned by Microsoft"

• "MaximumPC No BS Podcast #235: Alienware's New Hardware, Chromebooks, and Gordon's Farewell by Gordon Mah Ung"

I was a loyal MaximumPC reader from 1998 till 2005. It's sad to see Gordon go, but sic transit gloria mundi.. Godspeed you PC building mofo!

edited 10th Nov '14 10:17:39 PM by TairaMai

: I agree with . Comcast doesn't even operate outside the USA.

Bandwidth-borrowing handsets are in the wings: "Given that data usage is predicted to increase by a factor of 12 by 2017, it's time to re-think the way networks work." That is the message from the Austin, Texas-based company M87 along with some more general messages on their site about their solution. They say they have the world's first carrier-grade device-to-device network. "M87 software flips the traditional network's power structure upside down – shifting network intelligence to the mobile device." The result is that the smartphone can always seek the fastest path to the network."

Anyone know if it's possible to create a legend for a table rather than a chart in MS Word? Or at least color boxes similar to the ones used in legends, like here? Google-fu isn't helpful with this issue; all I got is how to make them for charts.

SpaceX Will Soon Be Launching Satellites For “Unfettered, Low Cost” Internet: "SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk took to Twitter on Monday to confirm rumors that his company plans to launch a fleet of micro-satellites that will provide high-speed low cost, unrestricted internet access. Musk also stated that more details would be available in a formal announcement to come in two or three months."

Verizon injecting tracking headers into all unencrypted mobile traffic.

'Green' data center option makes efficient use of server heat: "Say what? Cloud computing servers installed in our homes? On Thursday, Evan Ackerman in IEEE Spectrum recalled a bold idea from Microsoft Research and University of Virginia authors in their paper "The Data Furnace: Heating Up with Cloud Computing," exploring the use of cloud computing servers installed in homes and offices to provide heat and hot water, inexpensively and efficiently."

Microsoft rolls out Skype for web browsers: "Microsoft on Friday released a test version of Skype that lets people make Internet calls from web browsers, eliminating the need to install special applications."

The part they didn't mention.

So there's no real news right now, but they are planning to do a true web based version once IE gets its act together.

edited 14th Nov '14 7:51:04 PM by storyyeller

Not surprising. Google Hangouts requires the same to be done.

After a bit of financial issues, I'm getting back to the new vidcard thing, to replace my GT 610.

I decided to go a little over the $100 limit I mentioned before, getting me a non-refurb GTX 750 Ti vs my original intent of a 650. Definitely overkill most of the time, but like with a parachute, when you need it you can't just go down to the corner convenience store and pick it up.

Speaking of cards, I need one for a general purpose gaming rig, no overclocking. Which would you guys say is better between the R9 280x and the GTX 760?

I'd go for the 280X, unless you can get a major discount on the GTX 760.

OK, thank you.

@Sivartis: Wait for the 960. Or if you can, maybe stretch your budget a bit to the 970?

edited 17th Nov '14 7:14:38 AM by entropy13