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Monday, October 21, 2013

Microsoft releases Windows 8.1, a year in making

This image provided by Microsoft shows updated Windows 8.1. Microsoft released its long-awaited Windows 8.1 upgrade as a free download Thursday, Oct. 17, 2013. It addresses some of the gripes people have had with Windows 8, the dramatically different operating system that attempts to bridge the divide between tablets and PCs. Windows 8.1 still features the dual worlds that Windows 8 created when it came out last October. It features a touch-enabled tile interface resembling what's found in tablet computers and there's the old desktop mode where the keyboard and mouse still reign. (AP Photo/Microsoft)

This image provided by Microsoft shows the updated Windows 8.1. Microsoft released its long-awaited Windows 8.1 upgrade as a free download Thursday, Oct. 17, 2013. It addresses some of the gripes people have had with Windows 8, the dramatically different operating system that attempts to bridge the divide between tablets and PCs. Windows 8.1 still features the dual worlds that Windows 8 created when it came out last October. It features a touch-enabled tile interface resembling what's found in tablet computers and there's the old desktop mode where the keyboard and mouse still reign. (AP Photo/Microsoft)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Microsoft released its long-awaited Windows 8.1 upgrade as a free download Thursday. It addresses some of the gripes people have had with Windows 8, the dramatically different operating system that attempts to bridge the divide between tablets and PCs.

Windows 8.1 still features the dual worlds that Windows 8 created when it came out last October. On one hand, it features a touch-enabled tile interface resembling what's found in tablet computers. On the other, there's the old desktop mode where the keyboard and mouse still reign. The update adds some new finger- and gesture-friendly shortcuts for touch-based apps, while restoring some respect for the desktop mode that a billion PC users have become accustomed to.

The release comes as sales of traditional desktop and laptop computers continue to decline because consumers are spending money instead on the latest smartphones and tablets. It also comes at a time of transition for Microsoft as the Redmond, Wash., company focuses on devices and services, not just software. Earlier this month, Microsoft struck a deal to acquire Nokia's phone business and patent rights for more than $7 billion. Microsoft is also searching for a new CEO to replace Steven A. Ballmer, who announced last month that he plans to retire within the next year.

The Window 8.1 update is free for current owners of Windows 8. Downloads started at 7 a.m. Thursday in New York, which corresponded to the start of Friday in New Zealand. Simply go to the Windows Store app to find it. It may take a few hours for updates to reach everyone. Computers with Windows 8.1 already installed will go on sale Friday local time. That's also when people will be able to buy stand-alone copies of Windows 8.1.

The changes range from the cosmetic to improved functionality:

RESTORING RESPECT FOR THE DESKTOP

START ME UP — The Start button is back in desktop mode, although not the way it was before Windows 8 came along. In Windows 7 and before, a click on Start would have brought up programs and important folders in a list. Now, one tap on Start flips you back to the new tile interface, where you can click or tap tiles to open programs. A long press brings up crucial settings such as the Control Panel.

BOOT TO DESKTOP — You can now start up the machine in desktop mode, bypassing the tiles for a short time. That removes some of the headache for companies that want to use Windows 8 but don't want to buy a touch-screen monitor for every employee.

TOUCH AND GESTURE UPDATES

ONSCREEN KEYBOARD SWIPES — The onscreen keyboard now includes the ability to type numbers or punctuation marks by swiping up or away from certain keys on the standard "QWERTY" layout, eliminating the need to toggle between numeric and alphabetic layouts. You can also select from suggested words mid-stream using side swipes and taps on the virtual spacebar.

GESTURE-ENABLED APPS — You can now wave in the air in front of the front-facing camera to get a response. For example, in the new app Bing Food & Drink, a right-to-left wave in "Hands Free Mode" flips through pages of a recipe.

QUICKER TILE ORGANIZING — You can tap and hold Windows tiles with your finger to move them. Another couple taps will allow you to resize them in one of four sizes. In the previous version, you had to go back to the mouse or touchpad and right-click on tiles to do this, and you were limited to two sizes.

EASIER APPS ACCESS — Finding all your apps takes just a swipe up on your start screen, as long as you don't do it from beyond the bottom edge. Before, you had to swipe up from the bottom edge, then tap on the All Apps button.

SMALL CONVENIENCES

AUTOMATIC UPDATES — Apps update in the background, replacing the constant reminders to go to the Windows Store to update the apps yourself.

SMALLER TABLETS — Windows 8.1 now has a home screen that looks good in portrait mode on screens measuring 7 inches to 8 inches diagonally.

LOCK SCREEN ACCESS — You can now answer Skype calls or take photos from the lock screen without having to log in. Just swipe down. You can also set other apps like Twitter to send notifications when the screen is locked.

FUNCTIONAL CHANGES

BETTER MULTITASKING — In Windows 8.1, you can run up to four apps at once side by side, double the previous amount, though you need a large, high-resolution monitor to do so (On their own, Microsoft's Surface tablets are not big enough for more than two). You can resize panes using a slider that moves side to side, instead of being limited to one larger window and one slender one. This is still not as capable as Windows 7 or in desktop mode, where you can open dozens of items in windows that can be resized horizontally, vertically and diagonally. And many app makers have yet to adapt, meaning some apps still appear as a thin sliver, even if you want them to take up half the screen.

GLOBAL SEARCH — Typing while on the tile-based start screen will pull up multiple search results — if applicable — from your computer, the Web and the Windows app store. If you're searching for a musician, you'll see a list of popular songs you can play using Xbox Music, and if it's someone famous (like President Barack Obama) you'll see biographical details, videos and other information. Before, you had to choose where to search: in apps, settings, computer files or on the Internet.

EMAIL UPDATE — The standard-issue Mail app now has a "power pane" on left-hand side with folders for updates from social networks like Facebook, messages from favorite contacts and newsletters. Some of these features work only with Microsoft accounts such as Hotmail and Outlook.com, though. A new "sweep" command deletes multiple messages with a couple taps.

BETTER BROWSING — No longer are you limited to 10 open tabs in the tile version of Internet Explorer. Before, Web pages automatically closed without prompts when you try to open more. You can open as many as you want now. Better yet, you can have two different websites displayed side by side, the way you've long been able to before Windows 8 came along.

FUN STUFF

XBOX MUSIC REFRESH — The music streaming app now optimizes playback over discovery with a layout that has more lists and smaller photos. It also adds the ability to create playlists from any website with a couple taps. When on a website featuring artists, swipe in from the right edge and tap the Share button followed by the Music button. It will create a song playlist based on those artists, which you can then stream for free.

PICTURE EDITING — A picture editor with pre-set effects comes with the update, allowing for photo touchups, cropping, contrast changes and other features.

XBOX ONE INTEGRATION — You can pick up where you left off if you start playing a video purchased on Xbox Video on a tablet and then watch the rest on Microsoft's upcoming game console, Xbox One.

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Follow Ryan Nakashima on Twitter at https://twitter.com/rnakashi

___

Online:

http://windows.microsoft.com

Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2013-10-17-Microsoft-Windows%20Tuneup/id-12c7ebe907be4c6195358ec1f9ffaff0
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For Obama, a frustrating health care rollout

File- Thgis Oct. 17, 2013 file photo shows President Barack Obama speaking in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington. Administration officials say about 476,000 health insurance applications have been filed through federal and state exchanges, the most detailed measure yet of the problem-plagued rollout of President Obama's signature legislation. However, the officials continue to refuse to say how many people have actually enrolled in the insurance markets. Without enrollment figures, it's unclear whether the program is on track to reach the 7 million people projecting by the Congressional Budget Office to gain coverage during the six-month sign-up period. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Last week, President Barack Obama gathered some of his top advisers in the Oval Office to discuss the problem-plagued rollout of his health care legislation. He told his team the administration had to own up to the fact that there were no excuses for not having the health care website ready to operate on Day One.

The admonition from a frustrated president came amid the embarrassing start to sign-ups for the health care insurance exchanges. The president is expected to address the cascade of computer problems Monday during an event at the White House.

Administration officials say more than 476,000 health insurance applications have been filed through federal and state exchanges. The figures mark the most detailed measure yet of the problem-plagued rollout of the insurance market place.

However, the officials continue to refuse to say how many people have actually enrolled in the insurance markets. And without enrollment figures, it's unclear whether the program is on track to reach the 7 million people projected by the Congressional Budget Office to gain coverage during the six-month sign-up period.

The first three weeks of sign-ups have been marred by a cascade of computer problems, which the administration says it is working around the clock to correct. The rough rollout has been a black eye for Obama, who invested significant time and political capital in getting the law passed during his first term.

The officials said technology experts from inside and outside the government are being brought in to work on the glitches, though they did not say how many workers were being added.

Officials did say staffing has been increased at call centers by about 50 percent. As problems persist on the federally run website, the administration is encouraging more people to sign up for insurance over the phone.

The officials would not discuss the health insurance rollout by name and were granted anonymity.

Despite the widespread problems, the White House has yet to fully explain what went wrong with the online system consumers were supposed to use to sign up for coverage.

Administration officials initially blamed a high volume of interest from ordinary Americans for the frozen screens that many people encountered. Since then, they have also acknowledged problems with software and some elements of the system's design.

Interest in the insurance markets appears to continue to be high. Officials said about 19 million people have visited HealthCare.gov as of Friday night.

Of the 476,000 applications that have been started, just over half have been from the 36 states where the federal government is taking the lead in running the markets. The rest of the applications have come from the 14 states running their own markets, along with Washington, D.C.

Americans seeking health coverage through the Affordable Care Act must fill out applications before selecting a specific plan. The forms require personal information, including income figures that are used to calculate any subsidies the applicant may qualify for. More than one person can be included on an application.

The White House says it plans to release the first enrollment totals from both the federal and state-run markets in mid-November.

Obama will directly address the technical problems with the health care websites Monday morning during an event in the Rose Garden, according to the White House. Officials said the president finds the glitches unacceptable and will outline for the public steps the administration is taking to address the troubles.

Obama will be joined during the event by people who have already enrolled in insurance programs through the new exchanges. The administration has not said how many people have enrolled during the first three weeks of sign-ups.

An internal memo obtained by The Associated Press showed that the administration projected nearly a half million people would enroll for the insurance markets during the first month.

Officials say they expect enrollments to be heavier toward the end of the six-month sign up window.

Problems with the rollout were largely overshadowed by Republican efforts to force changes to the health care law in exchange for funding the government. That effort failed and the government reopened last week with "Obamacare" intact.

Some Republicans are now calling for the resignation of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. The White House says it has complete confidence in her. House Republicans have scheduled a hearing next week to look into the rollout problems.

White House allies say they're confident the problems are being addressed.

"There's no question the marketplace website needs some improvement," said Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., one of the architects of the law. "The administration needs to fix the computer bugs and I'm confident that they're working around the clock to fix the problems."

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Associated Press writer Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar contributed to this report.

___

Follow Julie Pace at http://twitter.com/jpaceDC

Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-10-20-Obama-Health%20Care/id-68dc16340ffb4b53bc3ac1ead8543cab
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Mickey Rooney's Stepson SETTLES Elder Abuse Suit for MILLIONS

Mickey Rooney
Stepson Settles Elder Abuse Suit
FOR MILLIONS

Exclusive

Mickey Rooney's stepson now concedes he owes the famed actor $2.8 million for allegedly siphoning off a ton of money from Mickey's financial accounts, but there's a GIGANTIC catch.

Christopher Aber and his wife, Christina, have just settled with Mickey's conservators, after allegations they played funny with Mickey's money. There were also allegations the couple deprived Mickey of food, meds, and even blocked him from leaving his home.

The whole thing escalated when the 93-year-old actor testified before Congress on elder abuse.

So now Christopher and Christina -- who have declared bankruptcy -- have folded. So how, you ask, can Mickey get $2.8 mil? Well under the settlement, Christopher and Christina have a homeowner's insurance policy that arguably covers this type of wrongdoing. So Mickey's lawyers think they can use the settlement to go after the insurance company and get their dough.

Here's the rub. The insurance company has already made it clear ... it's not paying anything because the alleged abuses were intentional, and that's not covered under the policy.

So Mickey's lawyers are now going to sue the insurance company and demand not only the $2.8 mil but also punitive damages for bad faith denial of coverage.

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Source: http://www.tmz.com/2013/10/16/mickey-rooney-settlement-lawsuit-elder-abuse-insurance/
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Verizon is trying out a scheme where it'll offer same-day delivery for phones ordered online--first

Verizon is trying out a scheme where it'll offer same-day delivery for phones ordered online—first in Philadelphia, then hopefully in NYC, Dallas, San Francisco and Pittsburgh. Just in case you really, really need that new handset right now.

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Apple Pushes New Version Of OS X Mavericks GM To Quash Last Minute Bugs

The consensus is that Apple currently plans on announcing the details of OS X Mavericks availability and pricing during this week’s event in San Francisco. We’re hearing that, in order to kill some last-minute bugs, a quiet update has been made to the Gold Master version of Mavericks previously shipped out to developers.

Apple has pushed out updated “Gold Master” versions of its OS before, but it does so very rarely. Once an OS goes to a GM build, it’s a statement that the bits are pretty much ready for public consumption. Most of the time they do not change at all until release. At this point only bugs that could affect first-run experiences or upgraders are likely to be the cause of such a new release. We don’t know exactly what the bugs are, just that this was not a “planned” update and that some last-minute patches were the cause, but that it was also not a mistake. Apple is just getting Mavericks in ship-shape.

The Mark Gurman at 9to5Mac noticed the build number change earlier today, which went from 13A598 to 13A603 if you’re interested in that sort of thing. We had heard that a “new GM” build of Mavericks was inbound, but had assumed it would be a full-on push through Apple’s developer portal. In this case, it has apparently simply changed the build that it’s offering from its servers to the new edition. That would fit with bug fixes that could affect upgraders, as they’ll simply get the new version from the MAS.

All of this points to Apple being fairly prepared to announce Mavericks at Tuesday’s event and ship it out to customers fairly shortly thereafter.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/GTVdGWjjuSQ/
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As Life Goes On

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We were on a cruise ship. Something went very wrong, we are now stuck on a small island with little supplies

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This topic is an Out Of Character part of the roleplay, “As Life Goes On”. Anything posted here will also show up there.

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Did You Know Mother Nature Had Missiles Before We Did?

Plants have evolved all kinds of wonderful mechanisms that let them disperse their seeds and reproduce, from puffy dandy lions to maple keys that spin their way to the ground. But none are quite as impressive as the squirting cucumber, which launches its seed pods like tiny high-speed missiles.