I miss you guys.
Talk to me.
Consider this an open thread. But please be nice to one another.
Also, for those who need a refresher: How to Disagree.
Update: If you’ve never commented here before (or even if you have), your remarks might get stuck in my spam filter briefly. Sorry about that. I try to clear them as quickly as possible.
Ed Bott (@ wordpress.com) 
Welcome back, Ed!
How in the world is Microsoft going to present Windows 8 with the “Metro” and “Classic” layers to both ARM-based tablets and full-blown computers? It seems like the OS would have to recognize the ARM hardware and disable the “Classic” layer. Otherwise release two products?? (one with only Metro, one with both?)
@Dana: ARM tablets will be running an OEM build of Windows anyway. It would be a simple matter to ship an OEM-only build with the desktop stripped out or disabled.
XP Tablet Edition, Media Center Edition, and all the EU-crippled builds of Windows were OEM-only and not available at retail.
Another precedent would be Windows 7 Starter Edition, which was only available to OEMs and was priced lower. It was also initially supposed to be limited to 3-application multitasking. It would make sense for a Metro-only version of Windows to be priced lower to get OEM buy-in and reflect the lack of desktop apps. (Microsoft gets to recoup the difference through app purchases.)
The real question is what the ARM build will be called. Sinofsky has hinted that there will be a clear differentiation in the branding, so that consumers do not get confused about what software will run where.
don’t really have a comment, but i’d never post one to twitter because i don’t have/want a twitter account.
I haven’t heard much lately about the protogon file system. Did MS make any announcements at Build about this?
Glad to see you opened comments. I read about that stupid troll that was funny! You were my first person I followed on Twitter. Always enjoyed reading your articles.
As for Windows 8, I am not sure its going to go well. It looks like they are trying to make a tablet interface on a desktop when there shouldn’t be one. I might be wrong, I have yet to test it. But I don’t like the layout I have seen.
Your willingness to engage in healthy banter is the reason I stuck with you after I WAS disgusted with what goes on at ZDnet.
Cheers !!!
And welcome back!!!!
What? The comments were gone?
Seriously though, thanks for allowing them back Ed.
You mention spam, and I feel compelled to share with you the solutions that have set me free from having to deal with 99.5% of all spam on my WordPress blog…..I mean, I don’t have to mark anything as spam any more, ever…
Step 1 – kill Akismet, dead.
Step 2 – install the G.A.S.P. plugin from GrowMap http://www.growmap.com/growmap-anti-spambot-plugin/
You’ll learn a lot about WordPress, spam, crowd-sourcing and other topics to boot!
I couldn’t find a way to contact you on the ZDnet site, but figured I’d give this a shot. On your recent article about linux fanatics, FUD and the UEFI lockdown, you didn’t mention the real reason for it and I was curious why, as it’s common knowledge in my circle of the
IT world. The bootloader lockdown everyone is going apes* over is to prevent the one method of piracy they haven’t been able to stop since Vista first came out, the OEM bios SLIC bootloader hacks. Microsoft could to a lot of things to increase it’s general security that would be more effective than the bootloader stuff, but nothing could help stop piracy over the next decade more. Even if some motherboard manufacturers agree to offer a toggle switch in BIOS to allow linux (and pirating MS) users to install unsigned boot code, you can bet a lot of the big name companies like Dell, HP, Lenovo, etc won’t, and that is what MS is banking on.
A belated “I told you so” (grin) [May 11, 2010] that Norton Internet Security was good.
(Regarding your August 11, 2011 change of mind on ZDnet.)
Anyway, I’m glad that comments are back, and promise not to be a pest. 🙂
Hi Ed,
I saw your post on Google+ declaring you were moving on from there. Was curious to know what was behind that decision. Lack of time? Too many other social networks already?
I’ve been doing a social media detox lately. I’ve pruned back my Facebook friends list, and the number of other services that were tied to my Facebook profile. I also closed and deleted a load of accounts that I no longer use – including Klout, Quora and most recently Spotify. Some services make this fairly easy (after getting you to confirm that it is you doing it, and you’re absolutely certain) – Spotify fell into the latter camp, where I had to resort to email to get my account deleted. Something to bear in mind…
All the best!
Alan
Just read your recent blog post about Dropbox. Lots of users are making use of AdWords (free credits) to advertise their Dropbox affiliate links. If you clicked on an ad at some point of time (The cookie with the affiliate link should be valid for at least 15 days) you probably got in with the invitation of that link’s owner.
I’m no expert, but I see this possibility. Correct me if I’m wrong.
Hey Ed, saw you on TWIT. What were you going to say about Alabama (football)? I was just wondering because the sound dropped out. New Mexico is beautiful isn’t it? I used to live in Portales… lots of weeds… lots and lots of weeds… did I mention there are weeds?