Windows 10

If you hate it soo much…

/ DiggsMcGee / Leave a comment

I was reading another article on the Internet and now I’m mad.

“What! An article on the Internet made you mad? How shocking!”

OK, actually, it was the comments that made me mad…

“WHAT! Internet commenters made you mad?! How? Where? Have you even been on the Internet before?!?!”

(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻

Ok, I get it. Reading Internet comments is stupid. They’re full of flamewars, trolls, fan boys/girls, opinionated jerks, and people who are just plain rude.

But here’s the thing I came to realize in my (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻ rage.

(that’s “table flipping” for you non-internet speakers)

This particular article was about a new type of popup in Windows 10. If you don’t use the Edge browser, apparently it will pop up a little notification-bubble-like popup (like a square version of the old bubble notifications in Windows) that tells you how Edge is so much faster and you should give it a try.

Then you click the “X” and it goes away.

Will it ever come back? IDK I use Edge all the time, so it never bothers me. I’m also a Windows Insider so I get notifications all the time telling me about new features and asking me to rate them.

Apparently, however, you can turn off “suggestions” and other similar notifications in Windows 10.

But people aren’t happy about that. According to the Internet, no other software developer shows tips, hints, tricks, or suggestions upon first installing or using the software….

Right.

Even websites will show “tutorials” or “tips” when you first sign up.

But did you know that Windows is constantly communicating with Microsoft servers!

Did you also know that in order for your computer to get updates it has to?

But this guy, man, he turned off all that stuff, and the computer was still sending packets to Microsoft servers!

(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻

Well, first, let’s try and go this route: Microsoft is a big company. They run servers for their own software which includes but is not limited to Windows Updates, Windows Store updates and app updates, Office, Windows Defender, Xbox services, and more.

brb I have to catch this Paras…

… I guess that was pointless, because you’re not reading me typing in real time… but, hey, I caught it!

Besides these services, Microsoft runs Azure servers that many other companies use. There might be a server out there that some program on your computer uses that technically belongs to Microsoft so it looks like your computer is communicating with a Microsoft server, when in fact it is some other program communicating with what happens to be a Microsoft server which is where their information, data, storage, or applications are stored. Not to mention that the computer could be downloading emails, sending usage statistics (that everyone collects, btw), or downloading updates that you just can’t refuse I’m sorry get over it.

This isn’t even the worst of it, though. If you don’t like Windows, I don’t care. Go to Apple, Linux, Chromebooks, or whatever. I really don’t care if you’re one of the idiots who thinks it’s OK to continue to use Windows XP; an operating system that will never get whatever security holes it still contains patched up. You do you.

But the issue is when these people whine and complain about having to use a system with so many “problems” from a company they believe is trying to control their software! How dare they?

The solution is simple: stop using Windows if you don’t want to use Windows!

“But what about all the Windows software I’ve continued to purchase for the last 20 years?”

“I’ve built up a library of programs that I can’t just move to Linux.”

“You’re a butt face!”

(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻

If you don’t like Windows, and you’ve been tired of Microsoft for some time now, why didn’t you move to MAC years ago? Then you wouldn’t have this big library of software that you could only use on Windows machines…

You would have had to purchase a duplicate at some time, maybe. But if you would have switched computers when you upgraded your software, you would have successfully removed yourself from the Windows ecosystem years ago.

The fact that these people stay on Windows, even though they could purchase software for other systems (or put up with the free software you can find for Linux systems, even) tells me that they don’t really care about the OS they use.

They don’t want to move off of Windows. They just want to complain about how bad it is because it makes them feel better. And every time something so small as an unobtrusive popup notification appears, that is just as easily dismissed, that’s fuel for the flamewar.

My point is, if you hate it so much, then why don’t you divorce it?

Don’t tell me how much you think Windows sucks when you keep on buying software for Windows.

-Diggs out

P.S. – (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻

My Fix for UWP

/ DiggsMcGee / Leave a comment

Here’s my fix for everyone’s issues with the Universal Windows Platform:

Don’t use it.

…

Oh, you want more?

Ok, stick with the way you do things already.

What? That’s not enough for you either? Who are you – my English teacher? Ok! Fine. Let’s get into this.

For clarification purposes, UWP is the Universal Windows Platform. This is where Microsoft has been working toward with Windows 10, the universal apps, and software as a service. People are upset that this closed ecosystem is going to ruin their games. But you know what….

First let’s look at Apple’s app ecosystem. It’s completely locked down. You get apps from their store. That’s it.

With MAC OS you can install any software from any developer for any reason and no one cares whether it came from an official source or the guy next door who makes kitten simulators.

This is also the way Windows works, right? Yes. Yes it is… Unless…

Before we get into Windows let’s look at Android. You have to get apps from the Google Play Store, sort of. If you want to sideload apps go right ahead. But don’t get upset if you get hacked or damage the phone. So in a sense, it is similar to Windows: you can install whatever you want. Nobody really cares.

So, Windows… specifically Windows 10. Here you have two options. You can install whatever software you get your hands on. Or you can install apps from the Windows Store. One would think you’d get the best of both worlds, and one would be right, unless one is a big baby who doesn’t understand the idea behind the Universal Windows Platform.

This platform, which I will be calling UWP from now on (which in my head I will always hear “UnderWear Protection”) is meant to be one that covers Windows 10 on PCs, Windows on mobile devices, Windows on IoT devices, Xbox One, and Hololens. There are many perks in using this platform:

  • You get featured in the Windows store from time to time
  • You can easily setup your app to run on one or all device types
  • You get to integrate your app or game into Xbox Live
  • Other perks I don’t know about because they haven’t released all the infos

The problem I keep hearing about is how people are upset that the UWP, and by extension the Windows Store, is a closed ecosystem. And yes, it is. But there’s purpose in that. If you’re just upset that your PC game won’t be able to use mods then don’t make your game a UWP app. Just keep doing what you’ve been doing. Your Xbox version can’t use mods either. You think Microsoft is going to open that up for you? Think again. And until you see Sony allowing PC versions of games running on the PlayStation to use PSN and their achievement system, quit your complaining about not being able to integrate Xbox Live unless you use the UWP. Just quit. Seriously. You’re a baby.

Now, I’m not a game developer. However, I do have both Minecraft for PC and Minecraft for Windows 10 Edition (aka Minecraft Pocket Edition running on Windows, since, you know, Microsoft owns Minecraft, so… why not?).

Minecraft for PC (which I will call Minecraft) is great. It is the original, but it is also running on a platform that is nearly universal (or at least used to be): JAVA. This allowed people to mod the game, which led to Minecraft becoming even more popular. Add in multiplayer over LAN and servers plus all those mods and plugins and you’ve got an awesome game. Then there’s Minecraft for Windows 10 Edition (or Minecraft PE, which I’ll just call MCPE). MCPE is basically vanilla Minecraft, a few versions behind, missing features, and without the ability to install mods or plugins. But you do get to use Xbox Live. So that’s a plus. However, there is the question of “What was the point?” There was already Minecraft PE for Windows Phone. They didn’t make that a Universal app, though. They made another version of Minecraft just for Windows 10 (on desktops, laptops, and tablets – not phones). All of those devices (well, not all tablets are that powerful…) can already run Minecraft (and you don’t even need to install JAVA first, anymore). If you already had Minecraft on the PC, why make a MCPE app for PC, which is different than the Minecraft PE app for Windows phones?

Minecraft for Windows 10 Edition (or MCPE for Windows 10) actually runs very smoothly, more so than the original Minecraft. It looks beautiful, runs well, and can play LAN games with MCPE for Windows Phone, iOS, Android, and of course Windows 10. It cannot run mods and plugins, but it can connect to servers which are running custom mods. So you can still play some cool games. You also get to connect with Xbox Live. Using Xbox Live you can make screen recordings to share with friends, and you get achievements. Even with all that, Minecraft for PC still exists… and it just got a new update… so…

Minecraft for Windows 10 Edition did not replace Minecraft for PC. And it won’t. So, what makes these developers think that a UWP version of their game (if they even choose to make one) would replace the Win32 version of their game? Especially when THEY ARE IN CONTROL OF MAKING THEIR OWN GAMES!

That’s the point I really wanted to make. If I was a game developer I definitely want to go where my audience is playing games. But if my game is an iOS game, then it makes perfect sense to make a Windows 10 UWP game. However, if my game has always been a Win32 application, then I’ll probably just stick with that. That is, unless my game doesn’t do anything all that special and never utilizes mods, plugins, and other customizations… Then, why not make a UWP version and prep it to work on Windows 10 tablets, desktops, phones, the Xbox One, and possibly even HoloLens?

So basically, like I already said, if you have an issue with the UWP

DON’T USE IT!

-Diggs out

Dear Internet Explorer Team

/ DiggsMcGee / 1 Comment

Dear People Responsible for Internet Explorer,

You suck. You have no idea how much I have tried to incorporate IE into my daily routine. You have no idea how hard I have worked to convince people that IE is actually a good web browser. You have no idea how much I want to use IE. And most importantly, you have no idea how many times IE has let me down.

I understand that some devs choose a platform and stick with it. They will pick something like the Blink engine Chrome uses, dig into Chrome and Google APIs, and incorporate other snippits and code bases that all work well together. Then, all their web apps, web pages, and other documents will be coded as such. But for the love of Pete! Why does everyone support Chrome, and only Microsoft supports IE?

I’ve run into at least 4 websites that just don’t like IE in the past week alone. These aren’t super apps or technical previews either. These are simple websites, on which something as mundane as a text field is completely useless. I click in the text field but nothing happens. I type in the text field and instead of typing in the text field, either nothing happens or the web page has a seizure. Sometimes links don’t act properly, with menus and navigations structures fluctuating or simply not working.

The thing that irks me the most is how EVERY ONE OF THESE WEBSITES WORK JUST FINE IN GOOGLE CHROME! So what the hell are you doing, Microsoft? Why does IE suck so much? If IE is based on the same web standards as every other web browser out there, why does yours suck the most? IE is on the most computers in the world! Of course, it has sucked so bad in the past most of the people with a Windows computer has replaced it with something else…

Sincerely,

Every IE user who has had to switch to another browser for at least a handful of websites

P.S. – I really do love IE. Why can’t it just fricken work?!?