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Tech Suggestions #281562
01/09/16 11:39 AM
01/09/16 11:39 AM
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 5,590
Naples, FL
waterbug_wpb Offline OP
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Not being a kool-aid drinker for apple, I'm debating a notebook to replace my aging (yet capable) laptop

Surface vs. whatever apple thing.

Some requirements:
- Work with VPNs
- can use the NAVIONICS app for charts / navigation (as backup to paper charts, of course smile
- useful for typical office applications (word processing, spreadsheets, document handling)
- battery life
- accessories (detachable keyboard, pens, espresso maker, etc)
- weather resistance (not necessarily dunking in water, but salt air)

LOAD THE TREBUCHETS! I can imagine the apple vs. android war starting again over this simple question...


Jay

-- Have You Seen This? --
Re: Tech Suggestions [Re: waterbug_wpb] #281569
01/11/16 12:39 PM
01/11/16 12:39 PM
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Clermont, FL, USA
David Ingram Offline
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I replaced my laptop with a Surface Pro 3, it's windows based (Windows 10) and is literally a PC in tablet form. The battery is ok, the camera sucks and I wish it had more usb ports. It is very difficult to see the screen in bright sunlight, reading a book by the pool isn't really workable. It's fast but from time to time it runs really hot which bothers me a bit.

Overall I really like my Surface and will never go back to a laptop.


David Ingram
F18 USA 242
http://www.solarwind.solar

"Do or do not. There is no try." - Yoda
"Excuses are the tools of the weak and incompetent" - Two sista's I overheard in the hall
"You don't have to be a brain surgeon to be a complete idiot, but it helps"
Re: Tech Suggestions [Re: waterbug_wpb] #281570
01/11/16 02:23 PM
01/11/16 02:23 PM
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Portland, Maine
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ThunderMuffin Offline
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+1 for the surface recommendation. Haven't met someone who hasn't liked theirs.

Although you'll have to be ok with MS knowing more about you than you'd probably care to have them know. Windows 10 is all kinds of sneaky with the information it sends to MS.

Re: Tech Suggestions [Re: ThunderMuffin] #281571
01/11/16 02:44 PM
01/11/16 02:44 PM
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 12,310
South Carolina
Jake Offline
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Originally Posted by ThunderMuffin
Windows 10 is all kinds of sneaky with the information it sends to MS.


What doesn't anymore? Even Google is presenting me with app store reviews that were written by people I know listed at the top of the reviews. Some of those people were relationships that required connecting some dots (a cousin's husband, for example).


Jake Kohl
Re: Tech Suggestions [Re: Jake] #281573
01/11/16 04:31 PM
01/11/16 04:31 PM
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Portland, Maine
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Originally Posted by Jake
Originally Posted by ThunderMuffin
Windows 10 is all kinds of sneaky with the information it sends to MS.


What doesn't anymore? Even Google is presenting me with app store reviews that were written by people I know listed at the top of the reviews. Some of those people were relationships that required connecting some dots (a cousin's husband, for example).


Eh. Google is a bit different. I've always treated them as up front and "honest" about what they collect - just not how they collect it and analyze it. Everything with google is "free" which means if you aren't paying for the product, you ARE the product. The app reviews can be linked by email address in your gmail account being a match for someone with a Gplay account review. You get CC'd on Aunt Edna's Christmas card and all of a sudden Google knows that you're somehow connected with those people - and that connection gets more concrete the more times that the communication happens.

Anyways, its a bit more nefarious in MS' case. Just the latest news from Windows 10 is that it will send MS a copy of your encryption key when you choose to encrypt your hard drive contents. It will also share your private network key with anyone in your contact list behind the scenes (so you know, you don't have to be bothered asking what your friend's network password is when you come over to the house).

Re: Tech Suggestions [Re: ThunderMuffin] #281574
01/11/16 04:46 PM
01/11/16 04:46 PM
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 3,906
Clermont, FL, USA
David Ingram Offline
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Geesh... the price of being too clever. It can be disabled: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/06/30/windows_10_wi_fi_sense/


David Ingram
F18 USA 242
http://www.solarwind.solar

"Do or do not. There is no try." - Yoda
"Excuses are the tools of the weak and incompetent" - Two sista's I overheard in the hall
"You don't have to be a brain surgeon to be a complete idiot, but it helps"
Re: Tech Suggestions [Re: David Ingram] #281575
01/12/16 01:46 AM
01/12/16 01:46 AM
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 493
Minnesota
Jeff Peterson Offline
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Minnesota
My theory is to use the oldest operating system that still functions on the internet. If you are that behind the times, no one cares about you enough to exploit you. I'm still using XP, but it is beginning to fail me. I'm considering moving up to Windows 7. Of course, I don't keep any worthwhile data on these "dirtball" computers. The hackers can have their way with me, but they never do. If they did, I'd just re-load. They'd rather take down a Windows 10 or 8.1 system. (If I could run Windows 3.1, I would.)


Jeff Peterson
H-16 Sail #23721
Big Marine Lake, MN
Re: Tech Suggestions [Re: Jeff Peterson] #281577
01/12/16 09:56 AM
01/12/16 09:56 AM
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 5,590
Naples, FL
waterbug_wpb Offline OP
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I thought WIN 10 was free, so it harkens back to Tad's comments.

Who in their right mind thinks the internet is "private" anyway? Even darkweb isn't totally private.. Orweb tries but unless you're a tech dude and can disable any outgoing info transfers from your computer/tablet/phone....

I have a separate laptop with only internet (no e-mail, etc) to online bank (and that's all I use it for). But I presume the best security would be to walk down the road and use the ATM or bank branch.

And social media is in my opinion the biggest sell-out of them all. But you knew that when you started posting pictures of you and Aunt Edna.

Was it "Deep thought" that was Facebook's facial recognition algorithm? That works better than NSA's system now?

So, with the tin-foil hat I propose we all use the postal service (you're paying for it anyway..) and ciphers or double blind-drops.

Sure, there's no reason to panic since most of us have nothing to hide, but it irks me how much money they make on information I volunteer (knowingly or otherwise). Do they toss me a cent or two for the billions they make?

For something funny (and sort-of related), watch the TED talk on the guy who wrote ".Con" about his dialogue with spammers. I wish I was that creative....


Jay

Re: Tech Suggestions [Re: David Ingram] #281578
01/12/16 10:21 AM
01/12/16 10:21 AM
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Portland, Maine
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ThunderMuffin Offline
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Originally Posted by David Ingram
Geesh... the price of being too clever. It can be disabled: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/06/30/windows_10_wi_fi_sense/


Indeed it can - but until someone like you or I tell our wayward friends and family, whose going to know?

Quote
I thought WIN 10 was free, so it harkens back to Tad's comments.


Win10 was free for 1 year from release for people who had windows 7 or 8 licenses. It was seen as much as a "we're sorry for foisting Windows 8 on you" move from MS.

Re: Tech Suggestions [Re: waterbug_wpb] #281579
01/12/16 10:28 AM
01/12/16 10:28 AM
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 1,884
Detroit, MI
mbounds Offline
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Originally Posted by waterbug_wpb
But I presume the best security would be to walk down the road and use the ATM or bank branch.

You would be appalled to know how many embedded systems (like the software on ATMs and medical devices) still run on Windows XP - which hasn't had a security update in almost 2 years. There's a lot of custom software out there (like the service center management used by car dealers) that will not run on Vista, Win7 or Win10 (forget about 8).

Re: Tech Suggestions [Re: mbounds] #281580
01/12/16 10:35 AM
01/12/16 10:35 AM
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Portland, Maine
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Originally Posted by mbounds
Originally Posted by waterbug_wpb
But I presume the best security would be to walk down the road and use the ATM or bank branch.

You would be appalled to know how many embedded systems (like the software on ATMs and medical devices) still run on Windows XP - which hasn't had a security update in almost 2 years. There's a lot of custom software out there (like the service center management used by car dealers) that will not run on Vista, Win7 or Win10 (forget about 8).


Not only that, but a system's security is only as good as its weakest link. If you're worried about people accessing your personal information and so you're only going to go to ATM's then you'll be really worried to know that the MST tech that Samsung put into their new phones to use mobile payments without Near Field Technology like Apple and the other Android phones has been hacked so that it can remotely READ credit card stripes as well as transmit them.

Not only that, but those security cameras are capable of reading your PIN number. A simple $200 IR camera attachment for a smartphone can detect which keys you pressed on those metal ATM buttons.

The fact of the matter is that the OLDER the tech is the more insecure it usually is due to the fact that resources aren't being spent keeping it up to date and bug-free since nobody uses it anymore.

Re: Tech Suggestions [Re: ThunderMuffin] #281582
01/12/16 12:20 PM
01/12/16 12:20 PM
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 5,590
Naples, FL
waterbug_wpb Offline OP
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dang... so back to bags of pennies handed to the bank teller.

But maybe if someone steals my credit it will improve my score?

There is that story (unsubstantiated, but still funny) that a dude with the Progressive Insurance plug-in reader got his car stolen, and the "new" driver actually improved his insurance rating...


But if the ATM is hacked, etc. doesn't that fall on the bank to restore? vs. if my phone is hacked and transmits my info?

Last edited by waterbug_wpb; 01/12/16 12:21 PM.

Jay

Re: Tech Suggestions [Re: ThunderMuffin] #281584
01/12/16 10:40 PM
01/12/16 10:40 PM
Joined: Jan 2016
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aaronp Offline
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Originally Posted by ThunderMuffin
+1 for the surface recommendation. Haven't met someone who hasn't liked theirs.


I've used both the Surface Pro 3 and the Surface 3 in an enterprise environment... The core powered Pro 3 is a solid device, but the atom powered surface 3 has been one of the most unreliable devices I've used in the last 5 years. I'd give a thumbs up to the Pro models, but a solid veto of the Atom powered basic models.

Re: Tech Suggestions [Re: ThunderMuffin] #281588
01/13/16 08:38 PM
01/13/16 08:38 PM
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 3,224
Roanoke Island ,N.C.
Team_Cat_Fever Offline
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Originally Posted by ThunderMuffin
Originally Posted by David Ingram
Geesh... the price of being too clever. It can be disabled: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/06/30/windows_10_wi_fi_sense/


Indeed it can - but until someone like you or I tell our wayward friends and family, whose going to know?

Quote
I thought WIN 10 was free, so it harkens back to Tad's comments.


Win10 was free for 1 year from release for people who had windows 7 or 8 licenses. It was seen as much as a "we're sorry for foisting Windows 8 on you" move from MS.


Where do you find it to disable it? I checked settings but no luck.


"I said, now, I said ,pay attention boy!"

The cure for anything is salt water - sweat, tears, or the sea
Isak Dinesen
If a man is to be obsessed by something.... I suppose a boat is as good as anything... perhaps a bit better than most.
E. B. White
Re: Tech Suggestions [Re: Team_Cat_Fever] #281596
01/14/16 09:33 PM
01/14/16 09:33 PM
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 12,310
South Carolina
Jake Offline
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Originally Posted by Team_Cat_Fever
Originally Posted by ThunderMuffin
Originally Posted by David Ingram
Geesh... the price of being too clever. It can be disabled: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/06/30/windows_10_wi_fi_sense/


Indeed it can - but until someone like you or I tell our wayward friends and family, whose going to know?

Quote
I thought WIN 10 was free, so it harkens back to Tad's comments.


Win10 was free for 1 year from release for people who had windows 7 or 8 licenses. It was seen as much as a "we're sorry for foisting Windows 8 on you" move from MS.


Where do you find it to disable it? I checked settings but no luck.



If you are talking about the incessant pestering adds to upgrade to 10, you have to uninstall a windows update and then hide the windows update in the list of updates windows tries to apply. I had to do this to my PCs because a lot of our equipment isn't supported on 10.

http://www.howtogeek.com/218856/how...-10-icon-shown-in-the-notification-tray/


Jake Kohl
Re: Tech Suggestions [Re: waterbug_wpb] #281598
01/15/16 09:27 AM
01/15/16 09:27 AM
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 733
Home is where the harness is.....
Will_R Offline
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Home is where the harness is.....
If I could get away with it, I'd run Mint Linux as my daily driver, but... too many challenges running certain MS Apps.

Re: Tech Suggestions [Re: Jake] #281601
01/15/16 11:20 AM
01/15/16 11:20 AM
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 3,224
Roanoke Island ,N.C.
Team_Cat_Fever Offline
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Originally Posted by Jake
Originally Posted by Team_Cat_Fever
Originally Posted by ThunderMuffin
Originally Posted by David Ingram
Geesh... the price of being too clever. It can be disabled: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/06/30/windows_10_wi_fi_sense/


Indeed it can - but until someone like you or I tell our wayward friends and family, whose going to know?

Quote
I thought WIN 10 was free, so it harkens back to Tad's comments.


Win10 was free for 1 year from release for people who had windows 7 or 8 licenses. It was seen as much as a "we're sorry for foisting Windows 8 on you" move from MS.


Where do you find it to disable it? I checked settings but no luck.



If you are talking about the incessant pestering adds to upgrade to 10, you have to uninstall a windows update and then hide the windows update in the list of updates windows tries to apply. I had to do this to my PCs because a lot of our equipment isn't supported on 10.

http://www.howtogeek.com/218856/how...-10-icon-shown-in-the-notification-tray/


I upgraded to 10 already just wanted to know about the Wifi sense/sharing thing. Not keen on that


"I said, now, I said ,pay attention boy!"

The cure for anything is salt water - sweat, tears, or the sea
Isak Dinesen
If a man is to be obsessed by something.... I suppose a boat is as good as anything... perhaps a bit better than most.
E. B. White
Re: Tech Suggestions [Re: Team_Cat_Fever] #281617
01/18/16 09:58 AM
01/18/16 09:58 AM
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 5,590
Naples, FL
waterbug_wpb Offline OP
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why not just turn off the wi-fi when you're leaving "safe" networks?

Saves battery too...


Jay

Re: Tech Suggestions [Re: Team_Cat_Fever] #281628
01/19/16 01:58 PM
01/19/16 01:58 PM
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Posts: 3,906
Clermont, FL, USA
David Ingram Offline
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You block the feature at your WiFi router by naming it with the suffix _optout. It doesn't look you can disable it at W10 you can just keep W10 from sharing your wifi info with everyone in your contacts list.

Quote from the link:

In an attempt to address the security hole it has created, Microsoft offers a kludge of a workaround: you must add _optout to the SSID (the name of your network) to prevent it from working with Wi-Fi Sense.

(So if you want to opt out of Google Maps and Wi-Fi Sense at the same time, you must change your SSID of, say, myhouse to myhouse_optout_nomap. Technology is great.)


David Ingram
F18 USA 242
http://www.solarwind.solar

"Do or do not. There is no try." - Yoda
"Excuses are the tools of the weak and incompetent" - Two sista's I overheard in the hall
"You don't have to be a brain surgeon to be a complete idiot, but it helps"
Re: Tech Suggestions [Re: David Ingram] #281629
01/19/16 04:22 PM
01/19/16 04:22 PM
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 5,590
Naples, FL
waterbug_wpb Offline OP
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so you need to do this even if you aren't personally using W10? So the router doesn't send info to someone wandering by who is using W10, right?

dang you, techies!


Jay

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