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Monday, December 7, 2015

Microsoft sets stage for massive Windows 10 upgrade strategy

Microsoft has been preparing Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 PCs for a more aggressive Windows 10 upgrade strategy that the company will kick off shortly, according to the developer of a tool that blocks such upgrades.

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"Over Thanksgiving weekend I started getting reports that the Windows Update 'AllowOSUpgrade' setting was getting flipped back on on a number of peoples' PCs, and it keeps re-setting itself at least once a day if they switch it back off," said Josh Mayfield, the software engineer who created GWX Control Panel. The tool was originally designed to make the "Get Windows 10" (hence GWX) applet go away after Microsoft installed it on consumer and small business Windows 7 and 8.1 PCs starting in March, then activated in June.
"This is new behavior, and it does leave your PC vulnerable to unwanted Windows 10 upgrade behavior," he said.
Mayfield has been tracking Microsoft's various moves since last summer to keep his GWX Control Panel up to date with new features required to block the upgrade from appearing on PCs, and from automatically beginning the install process.
The latest update to GWX Control Panel, which shifted the version number to 1.6, added background monitoring so that users did not have to repeatedly relaunch the app to detect changes in Microsoft's upgrade strategy. Mayfield released GWX Control Panel 1.6 -- which is a free download -- on Nov. 24.
Concurrent with the release of GWX Control Panel 1.6, Mayfield began hearing from users that their PCs were being switched from a "do-not-upgrade-to-Windows-10" status to a "do-upgrade" state, often multiple times daily.
In an interview Friday, Mayfield said that the Windows 10 upgrade setting switcheroo on Windows 7 and 8.1 PCs was apparently due to continued updates that Microsoft has shoved onto the older devices. The Redmond, Wash. company has repeatedly re-served its original GWX app to PCs, often with undocumented changes, even if the machine already had the app, or even if the user had managed to uninstall it previously.
"Microsoft has released this update several times," said Mayfield. "It doesn't change the name of the update, but every version is new, with new binary files."
Also in play, said Mayfield, were updates to the Windows Update client on Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 PCs that Microsoft has also pushed to customers: Windows Update was refreshed last week for both Windows 7 and Windows 8.1.
Documentation for the Dec. 1 updates to Windows Update did not spell out all the changes, but did state, "This update enables support for additional upgrade scenarios from Windows 7 to Windows 10, and provides a smoother experience when you have to retry an operating system upgrade because of certain failure conditions. This update also improves the ability of Microsoft to monitor the quality of the upgrade experience."

There's more to those updates than that, Mayfield argued. "They're telling [the PC's] Windows Update client that this computer can be upgraded to Windows 10," Mayfield said. "[The Windows Update client] is constantly checking settings several times an hour. It's fully aware of the Windows 10 upgrade."
The Get GWX updates and the more recent refreshes to Windows Update on Windows 7 and 8.1 are running in tandem, Mayfield said. "They're working together," he argued. "They're laying the groundwork for something."
That "something" is likely the next step in an unprecedented scheme by Microsoft to boost adoption of Windows 10.
In late October, Terry Myerson, the Microsoft executive who runs the Windows and devices teams -- dubbed the "More Personal Computing" group -- outlined how Microsoft would try to convince users of Windows 7 and 8.1 to upgrade to Windows 10. Rather than wait for customers running the older editions to request a copy of the new OS -- the original idea from the summer -- Microsoft will instead begin to automatically send the upgrade to PCs via Windows Update, the default security maintenance service.
The new push will be a two-step process, with the first kicking in this year, the second in early 2016. First, Microsoft will add the Windows 10 upgrade to the Windows Update list on Windows 7 and 8.1 systems as an "optional" item. That list can be examined by users, letting them choose -- or not -- each optional update.
Sometime next year, Microsoft will shift the Windows 10 upgrade from optional to the "recommended" list. Updates on that list are automatically downloaded and installed on most PCs.

While the Windows 10 upgrade delivered as a recommended update will automatically begin the installation process, the user will be able to refuse the OS change early in the process. "Before the upgrade changes the OS of your device, you will be clearly prompted to choose whether or not to continue," Myerson promised in October.
Microsoft is counting on a large portion of users to allow that upgrade to proceed.
Many Windows users, however, are not yet ready to upgrade to Windows 10, and are tired of being bombarded with the nagging messages to change operating systems. That includes Mayfield, who wants to remain on Windows 7, a desire that prompted him to create GWX Control Panel.
Because he's been closely monitoring how Microsoft force-feeds the upgrade to Windows 7 and 8.1 devices -- necessary to keep his app in step with Microsoft's changes -- he's become an expert on what the company has been doing, often surreptitiously, to prepare PCs for Windows 10 and execute its "get-Windows-10" game plan.
By monitoring his own test PCs -- eight all told -- and from the reports he's received from GWX Control Panel users, Mayfield has concluded that Microsoft is manipulating Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 PCs with behind-the-scenes changes, part of its effort to ensure Windows 10 ends up on as many devices as possible.
Microsoft's original GWX app, for example, does more than just display an icon in the Windows 7/8.1 taskbar and let customers "reserve" a copy of the Windows 10 upgrade. "It's pushed down three different processes that each had different jobs and were unrelated to the icon," said Mayfield Friday. Currently, his GWX Control Panel monitors 10 different Windows settings that may leave a Windows 7/8.1 PC "potentially vulnerable to unexpected Windows 10 upgrade behavior," Mayfield wrote in a Nov. 26 guide to his app.
Microsoft keeps changing those settings, sometimes adding new ones, without the user knowing, Mayfield said. For example, users have reported that their prior GWX Control Panel settings have been overridden by recent updates from Microsoft. In some cases, even Mayfield has been unable to figure out which components of Windows 7/8.1 were responsible.
It's unknown whether Microsoft has, in fact, begun placing the Windows 10 upgrade on older OS-powered devices as an optional item in Windows Update. Microsoft has declined to provide more information than what Myerson gave out on Oct. 29 about the timetable for the upgrade hitting Windows Update. "We will soon be publishing Windows 10 as an 'Optional Update' in Windows Update for all Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 customers," Myerson said five weeks ago [emphasis added]. "Early next year, we expect to be re-categorizing Windows 10 as a 'Recommended Update.'"
The lack of reports online, including on Microsoft's own Windows 10 support forums, argues that the company has not yet started adding the upgrade to Windows Update on Windows 7/8.1 PCs.
The first move may happen as soon as Tuesday, Dec. 8, which is the month's already-scheduled "Patch Tuesday," the day Microsoft historically serves up security updates. Microsoft often uses Patch Tuesday to deliver other, non-security updates.
In Mayfield's eyes, the background machinations conducted by Microsoft's GWX app and the recent changes to the Windows Update client on Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 systems are clues that the company is preparing for the upgrade reaching the optional list.
The GWX Control Panel app can be downloaded from Mayfield's website. While the app is free, Mayfield does accept donations from appreciative users via PayPal. But he's not getting rich from those donations. "I get a donation from about one in every thousand downloads," he said Friday.
When users allow GXW Control Panel to run in the background, what Mayfield called "Monitor Mode" -- and which debuted in version 1.6 -- the app detects any behind-the-scenes changes Microsoft makes to Windows 7 or 8.1 to grease the wheels for the Windows 10 upgrade. Users can then use GWX to restore the PC's settings to a "do-not-upgrade" state.

GWX control panel with alert — GWX Control Panel detects any changes to a Windows 7 or 8.1 PC that Microsoft has made to enable an upgrade to Windows 10. Version 1.6 now watches in the background for those changes.

Make Your iPhone Run Faster With This Simple Trick

An Apple fan has spotted an ingenious way to speed up any iPhone with one simple trick.

The neat workaround uses just one button press to increase the running speed of the phone, without the the need to reset it.

All iPhone users need to do is make sure their iPhone is unlocked and hold down the power button until ‘Slide To Power Off’ appears on the screen. Then they simply carry on holding the power button down for around five seconds until the apps screen comes back.

The trick speeds up the phone by clearing out the RAM memory shutting down any processes that may be slowing down the handset.

iPhone enthusiast Marc Forrest explained in a blog post: “A few people have asked about the benefit, and from my understanding it clears the unused RAM on the phone.

“I have done a number of tests to see if it works and I can promise it helps speed the phone up, a LOT!”.

Adele Dropped '23' -- And You Didn't Even Know It!

While fans continue to buy up every copy of 25, her first album in four years since the release of 21, they may be surprised to learn that Adele had already kinda, sorta dropped 23.

During her concert special at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, which will air on Monday, Dec. 14 on NBC, the singer revealed that "Skyfall" actually filled the void between albums.

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"I was 23 at the time," Adele says, adding that since Skyfall was the 23rd James Bond film, it made sense for her to write and record the titular theme song that earned her an Oscar for Best Original Song.

The now 27-year-old also reveals she was pregnant with her son, Angelo, when she recorded the track -- changing the register in her voice. "My voice was really low," she says, admitting it's hard for her to perform the song live. Her son was later born on Oct. 19, 2012, just two weeks after the song was officially released.

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In fact, the special was only the third time she ever sang "Skyfall" live following a performance at the 85th Academy Awards in 2013 ("That was a laugh," she jokes about the ceremony) and another during a BBC concert special that aired this past November.

The NBC special also features performances of several new songs, including the mega-hit, "Hello," and her latest single, "When We Were Young," which she says is her favorite that she's ever written.

Adele: Live in New York City airs Monday, Dec. 14 at 10 p.m. on NBC.

The 7 Best And Worst Baked Goods You Can Get At Any Coffee Shop

Most baked goods (even the healthy looking ones made with nuts and seeds) are packed with refined flour and sugar—and completely devoid of fiber, protein, vitamins, and minerals. And the baked goods you get from coffee shops or restaurants are often far worse than homemade efforts, partly because they come in enormous portion sizes, but also because they’re often loaded with additives to improve texture, color, and shelf life.

We get it, though: Sometimes, nothing will suffice but a warm baked good straight out of the glass case. But you can still save hundreds of calories and dozens of grams of sugar by choosing one kind of goodie over another. Here are 7 treats to avoid and the slightly better swaps to make in their place.

By Caroline Praderio

Telenovela Review: Eva Longoria's Soap Spoof Is Dumb-Dumb-Dunnnn

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Don’t get me wrong: The Desperate Housewives vet (who also executive-produces her new series) still possesses the ability to score huge laughs. Unfortunately, those rare moments in Telenovela mostly happen when Longoria has no dialogue, and is instead silently staring down her ex-fiancé or hilariously suppressing her gag reflex as a couple of old-friends-turned-sex-partners share the details of their recent tryst. (The latter, a running gag in Episode 2, serves as a cruel reminder of Longoria’s strength at broad comedy — especially since those muscles rarely get a workout from Telenovela‘s achingly banal scripts.)

The setup is a familiar, albeit not unappealing one: Longoria’s Ana Sofia, the titular star of the long-running Las Leyes de Pasion, is thrown a curveball when the network’s new boss (Chuck‘s Zachary Levi, utilized about as well as a filet mignon at a convention of vegans) casts her ex-husband as her male lead — without so much as a word of warning. Despite support from her costume-designer BFF Mimi (Diana Maria Riva) and insecure gay castmate Gael (Jose Moreno Brooks), Ana Sofia starts spiraling, flashing back to a breakup that left her in a bathtub filled with tissues, listening to “All By Myself,” then eventually throwing a trashcan-overturning tantrum in front of a wall of autograph-seeking fans.

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Trouble is, there’s not a single surprising twist on any of the threadbare inside-showbiz tropes, and even worse, every single zinger feels like it’s from a hastily assembled first draft. “I thought marriage was between a man and a woman,” Ana Sophia says of her failed union, “not between a man, a woman and Shakira.” Longoria and her castmates gamely try to breathe some life into the material, but you can’t inflate a balloon that’s peppered with holes.

Episode 2 of Telenovela introduces the evil twin of Ana Sophia’s co-star Isabella — a woman who returns after years of self-imposed exile with revenge fantasies on the brain. In my mind, I’m hoping that somewhere out in the world, Telenovela has a heretofore unseen twin, too, and that perhaps it’ll emerge from the shadows this time next year, giving Longoria a showcase worthy of her talents.

The TVLine Bottom Line: Telenovela is a holiday-season preview that’s better left unwrapped.

Turkey Sends Troops And Armor Into Iraq Without Approval In Mysterious Move

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Late last week, hundreds of Turkish troops and about 20 tanks made their way across the Iraqi border, and south to the town of Bashiqa, located just a dozen or so miles northeast of ISIS-held Mosul. The Iraqi government was caught seemingly totally off guard by this move. As a result the Iraqis have demanded Turkey pull their forces out within 48 hours or they will take their case to the United Nations.

Khaled al-Obeidi, Iraq’s defense minister, made it very clear that Turkey’s sudden escalation into the ground conflict in Iraq was not invited, planned, nor even announced. He’s quoted in RT.com thusly:

“No matter the size of the force entering Iraq, it is rejected. It was possible to undertake this sort of prior coordination without creating circumstances which contributed to a crisis between the two countries.”

Turkey claims the base near Bashiqa was set up at the request of Mosul’s governor and in coordination with the Iraqi Ministry of Defense. They also say it has been operational for years. Some sources state that a small group of Turkish military instructors at the site have been training a group of “Hashid Watani,” also known as the National Mobilization Force, which is made up Sunni ex-police and soldiers. Other sources state that the site is being used to train Kurdish fighters.

Turkey has ongoing relations with Iraqi Kurds and their “Peshmerga” militia, which are based primarily out of nearby Erbil, in northern Iraq. Kurdish PKK in Syria and parts of northwestern Iraq are viewed as terrorists by Turkey and are bitter enemies of the Turkish state. This is the same Kurdish faction that Turkey has been actively bombing in Syria and Iraq after entering the air war against ISIS.
Reuters quoted one Turkish official as saying “our soldiers are already in Iraq. A battalion of soldiers has gone there. Training was already being given in that region for the last two to three years. This (the deployment) is a part of that training.”
Regardless of who is being trained at the complex, the area has been in flux over the last year and a half, with ISIS holding many nearby towns at one time or another. How exactly this fits into Turkey’s claim that the base has been operational for so long is unclear. Even if the base has been in Turkish hands for even just a matter of months, not years, the recent arrival of heavy armor and a massive increase in troop strength at the site is puzzling; for the Iraqis, it is very alarming.

Turkey has responded to Iraq’s claims that their movement of troops by saying they would not send in any more forces. Yes, you read that right: they did not say they would withdraw the forces they just sent into the country, just that they would not augment this already beefed-up garrison at Bashiqa any further.
This obviously isn’t going to go over great with the Iraqi government, nor with the ever more powerful Iranian-backed Shiite militia cohorts also operating in the area (watch this 60 Minutes segment for a quick overview on the Shiite militia situation in Iraq by clicking here). The U.S. supposedly knew of the training operation and of Turkey’s move to build-up its end-strength drastically at the site, although Washington says it had nothing to do with it directly.
Turkey may have decided to add the couple hundred troops and 20 or so tanks to its Iraqi training operation out of concerns that the looming “Mosul offensive,” the long-awaited operation by Iraqi allied forces to take the city back from ISIS once and for all, may push enemy fighters their way. Under such circumstances a heavy force protection posture may be a necessity. (Although one would think ISIS fighters would attempt to run west, toward Syria, not east, deeper into Kurdish dominated territory.)
Like some of Turkey’s other military moves as of late, namely shooting down a Russian attack jet for straying into Turkish airspace for mere seconds, this latest action, at least at face vale makes little sense and leaves many questions unanswered.
Why would Turkey want to get involved at this level with the nasty ground conflict in Iraq, especially without coordination with the Iraqi government? Why is the Turkish training base so close to a massive ISIS stronghold? What does the Kurdish government in Erbil say about all this? Additionally, would it not have been far easier and less politically sensitive to move the relatively small training operation instead of putting so many forces at risk and causing an international incident in the process?
Above all else, Turkey’s little excursion into Iraq is just another reminder of how the whole geopolitical and military situation in the region has become something of a free-for-all. Without a plausible and comprehensive strategy, with clear and incremental goals, put in place by the U.S. to take the fight to ISIS, the situation will only get worse, not better.
As the fight against ISIS in Iraq becomes more complex and the various players become more deeply entrenched and invested in it, it will become harder and harder to have peace should it actually end. In other words, if things don’t change soon, even if ISIS is purged from Iraq, a bloody civil war would likely follow.

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As for President Obama’s Oval Office speech last night (from a lectern in and empty room, in front of an oddly empty Resolute Desk, how strange was that?), we have absolutely nothing new to talk about.
Obama’s “strategy” for defeating ISIS is really just a very expensive shot clock that will turn blood red and buzz loudly in 410 days. The worst part is that for every day that goes by where a clear and plausible strategy is not established, it will be much tougher for the next Commander-in-Chief to do so.

Paedophile Ian Watkins Credited For Taylor Swift Songs

aylor Swift famously removed her music from streaming site Spotify after kicking up a fuss about it preventing fans from purchasing her albums.

Now it looks as though somebody has managed to find a loophole in Spotify’s system - uploading Taylor’s music and giving the copyright to another artist.

Although in a rather sinister turn of events, the artist that they have chosen to credit is convicted paedophile Ian Watkins, who was the frontman of British rock band, Lost Prophets.
Watkins was imprisoned after he was found guilty of twelve sex offences and the attempted rape of a baby, with the rest of Lost Prophets immediately disbanding after they found out what he had done.

Now Taylor’s hit single ‘I Knew You Were Trouble’ has been linked back to the criminal, and a spokesperson for Spotify admitted that they would be investigating the case very seriously.
Speaking to The Metro, they explained: “The track in question was delivered to us by a provider, whose responsibility it is to ensure that content delivered to Spotify is fully licensed and in compliance with our Infringement Policy.
“We take the integrity of our catalogue very seriously, and will immediately remove any content that is found to be incorrectly licensed or attributed to the incorrect artist or composer.

“The track was taken down as soon as it was discovered (3 days after it was delivered), and we will be taking the matter further with the provider who delivered this track.”
YouTube user Jared Brown has also uploaded the single to his YouTube account, again crediting the artist as Lost Prophets alongside the tagline: “The last song they ever recorded”.
Taylor Swift has not commented.