Phantom

Not sure if anyone saw this but... http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/mississippi-same-sex-adoption_us_56fdb1a3e4b083f5c607567f Gay couples can now officially adopt in all 50 States!!!!!!

Remember... Most technology issues can be fixed one of three ways: 1. Smacking it till gently until it works 2. Unplugging and plugging the power 3. Running it over and/or throwing it out a window and buying a new one Eric

Hope everything goes swimmingly for our favorite green frog...

Technically speaking it wasn't a forced upgrade, Microsoft installed a nagware update (KB3035583) via Windows Update for both Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 there are many sources online that discussed this and provided steps to get rid of this. Also on another note you can let it sit there and stew without upgrading, you'll just have that annoying icon to see. As for the RTM, Microsoft has had this in development for quite awhile and released a Technical Preview back in February (If I remember) and I had it installed as a secondary operating system. They added features to each update cycle after getting a general idea of what was broken, what worked and what kinda worked. AFIK they did work out most of the major issues before releasing it to the general public but speaking as an IT professional, no matter how much refining you put into a piece of software (Office, Operating Systems, Games, etc.) you'll always have a segment of computers that will just go bonkers with any new software installation. For example awhile back I installed Spotify onto my Windows 7 machine and the next thing I knew my computer blew up and I had to restore it from a backup I made. So a tiny music program basically wrecked my Big OS. Finally as for the upgrade in 6 months, it won't be anything like the upgrade from Windows 8 to Windows 8.1, Windows will continue to offer updates like normal and allow users to upgrade various components of their Operating System with additional add-ons in the future. Even now with it being out for a month (or so) many people do like the upgrade, especially the return of the start menu, and the general consensus is that it's going to be adopted more and more as time passes on. Eric

So far I must say I am intrigued by the synopsis and I'll defiantly be reading this... expect some comments in the review part of the story

As you can see Andy... we have a very diverse and welcoming community here at GA... so I want to extend my welcomes as well and hope you enjoy yourself here Eric

I'm going old school here.... https://www.youtube.com/embed/SRwrg0db_zY For some reason I'm drawing a blank on embedding video... but it's Twisted Sister's I Wanna Rock that I have stuck in my head...

My response to 440 will be posted by Monday... I think I'll take a different route of travel with it

I'm sorry to hear what happened Steve, it seems really horrible GACK! That's just horrible and sounds like something went wacko when your upgrade happened. I think the techs were trying to restore using a windows program however I do believe that you can restore from the recovery partition that should be built into your computer (provided windows 10 didn't overwrite it during install). PM me if you want some help with that and I can see what I can do to help I like to think I'll be a bit more reliable than the Windows Tech People (I've learned from experience that the way to fix something is to do it yourself, because nine time out of ten they're reading a scripted fix that probably works for most people, not all) As for switching to another desktop, should you so choose, now is the perfect time since it's back to school time and there's deals and sales all over the place, from Amazon to Best Buy and beyond. Most computers you buy should still be loaded with Windows 8.1 and there's a way of disabling the nagware that gets installed to tell you to switch to windows 10 (I did that on my gaming computer and there was no ill effect and I'm more than happy to help people who don't want to do the upgrade). When I was testing out Windows 10, me and Cortana had a love-hate relationship, but then again it was still in developer preview and she might not have been all put together yet heh heh. But I agree with the privacy issue out of all the companies out there that you can use and sign up for (Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, etc). Google is the worst when it comes to privacy issues (they even say so themselves in articles you can find on the web). When my contract is up on my phone, I'm defiantly switching from the Note 4 to either a iPhone or a Windows phone (most likely an iPhone) since Android is becoming more and more bloated and screwing up with things, and heck don't get me started on TouchWiz that Samsung forces you to use. Ugh. I will miss the stylus input though when I switch Computers and technology are such a PITA at times... makes me wonder why I'm going into the tech field as a teacher :S

I applaud you both! This is what I love seeing, people taking time to understand what is going on, how it affects them and how to fix the issues and solutions. I love how it can also help others and spark more conversations. I took a read through the articles and found some interesting tidbits myself that didn't occur to me (I tend to over analyze the technobable and allow the simpler stuff to pass by...) and am glad that I got a back-to-school present from my parents in the form of a Macbook Pro yesterday (laptop with Windows 10 was donated after wiping the hard drive to DoD 5220.22-M specs (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_erasure for more info) for non-classified information, so good luck trying to get any information from it haha!). I can see the security and privacy concerns coming out of the woodwork and am glad I was able to jump off Windows 10 and still be able to use Windows 7 as my primary gaming PC (I can still get the upgrade for it but I'm choosing not to until I see what goes down along the line) This thread is quickly turning into one of my favorites

Best advice ever!! I love it when an author lulls you into a false sense of security then POW! straight in the kisser! Though sometimes authors do use the 'Deus Ex Machina' one to may times when they peak in or during conflict that can get old. Once if fine, twice is pushing it, three times is dull. Just my thoughts Eric

Nope you didn't jinx yourself and you're not alone with programs getting wiped out or disappearing. Many reports on the web that I've been seeing are saying the same thing. Since Windows 10 stagnated the release of it's OS, you'll start to see more and more reports and complaints similar to yours I forgot about the upload bandwidth. DOH! That said Windows 10 is being transitioned more as a service platform than a single platform, meaning that as times goes by they'll add different features to it rather than stick with Windows 10 and release a new edition later on (think of Apple's OSX and how they are keeping the same platform but adding different upgrades to the base OS). So while you may not see a real uptick now in used bandwidth, reason stands that you may in the future. That all said I still can't believe I forgot the bandwidth! Goes to show I was looking it mainly as a IT professional in a large company where bandwidth and speed doesn't really matter Yes. Microsoft is an egomanical and ecomanical bastard at times. I'm still irritated that they won't release DirectX 12 to 'older' systems. I'll be damned if I upgrade my gaming rig to Windows 10. My laptop, I don't mind since I just use it for school, writing and basic mundane stuff but come between me and my baby and well, it won't be pretty

Its similar to using a torrent in that instead of using one source and having a slow bottleneck end connection, this option allows for Microsoft by way of Windows 10 to gather pieces of updates from everyone and speed up the update process. I'm a little on the fence with this option myself but I can see more pros than cons to this. That said though, security conscious people might disable it in case there's an exploit that can be used.

This one is an inspirational one to me, though it can be very tongue in cheek as well... Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go - Oscar Wilde You can find it on my signature here on GA and taped to my monitor at home remind me to be humble

Remember this one thing that all IT professionals know... anytime there is a massive upgrade of a system, there's something that will always go wrong no matter what. In this case Windows 10 has put security above everything else and sadly it can lead to issues like DavidAB had. The one thing I recomend to both my friends and students is that when you upgrade your operating system (no matter if it's OSX, Windows, Linux, etc.) take time to read the literature about it, research what people are saying about it on the web and never take one person's word that 'it works wonders' as the go ahead to upgrade. In the professional IT world, there's a lot and I mean A LOT of testing that goes into seeing if programs are compatible, how the end-user adapts to it, etc. and that takes a year or so after the initial release of said system before it goes live in the business. So a private individual like us has to do our own research, testing if we know how and above all read reviews that normal everyday people write and take the articles written by publications with a grain of salt. Eric

No problem... happy to help

Ditto with what JamesSavik said about waiting. I have 1 computer running Windows 7 (my gaming rig) and will probably update to Windows 10 once all the kinks are worked out. Meanwhile my laptop is running 10 and honestly I'm not overly thrilled with the finished product (I've been beta testing it since February this year). There are still a lot of glitches I encountered during beta testing that don't seem to have been resolved in the release, nothing major mind you just minor annoyances here and there, and the only reason I would upgrade is because of the DirectX 12 that's being released on the Windows 10 platform (DirectX = better gaming at times). Still I could go on and on about it but let's just say for the common user there is no issues or anything to be worried about. In fact some people might relish the return of the start menu, no matter how badly butchered it looks...

I had a second scary word today "Federal Judge"

No problem. The save button is your friend

Oops. Windows has encountered an error and must restart (when doing a term paper and forgetting to save because you were on a roll)

Well in my last blog I talked how I had a bad reaction to some medicine and to recap, made me dizzy and loose balance which in turn caused be to fall down the stairs since it was a really bad spell, and in the process, destroyed my tablet and forcing me to get a new one. Now back to our regularly scheduled blog... The new tablet I picked up was the iPad mini 3 (Apple's newest edition) since I needed a tablet that was small but could run the eTextbook program and still keep me in the tech loop (if you haven't guessed I'm a technogeek with aspirations of being a computer teacher). Now I could have easily picked up a replacement tablet at a fraction of the cost and still display my textbooks just as well but I didn't and went with the Apple option. Now going with the Apple option makes my world a little more interesting since I now have my iPad, a Samsung Note Pro (10.1 inch screen with handwriting stylus) and Samsung Note 4 phone (both Samsung devices run Android) and my Desktop/Laptop running Windows 10. If you lost count that's three separate operating systems that, on a good day, don't interact well with one another. Windows and Android both sync through my Office 365 account and on my iPad I'm running Outlook as well to keep things synced. With web browsers, I'm running Google Chrome on all three so my bookmarks are all synced as well. So, you maybe asking yourself, why is Eric complaining if everything is working? Well the reason is I'm transferring information across three different environments and I like keeping everything consolidate to one system BUT currently I can't for reasons I just wrote previously. I used to be a huge Apple fan a couple of years ago, but switched to PC/Android when I got frustrated with the lack of innovation and the closed system that Apple runs. That said, I got rid of all my Apple products and built myself a nice super powered Gaming Rig (I could go into details with the specs but to save you the headache of trying to figure out the technobabble, let's just say it's a monster of a computer that won't need upgrading anytime in the near future haha) and got myself into the Android system with my phone. Now here we are about three or so years later and I'm locked into this tug of war between three different systems. All of them have there pros and cons but it's frustrating to me that I have my information spread out like I do, where Apple, Google and Microsoft have my info stored on the cloud. In some ways I wish I just stayed with Apple and gone from there but then I wouldn't have my gaming PC and be able to play games like I can. Also I'm regretting getting a Samsung S Watch since it's locked into Samsung Only phones which means I can't get an iPhone or Windows phone without loosing a heavy investment into my wearable tech. With that I feel stuck in a situation that makes me uneasy and irritated with closed systems, conflicts when syncing information and finally having my information spread across three systems, one of which is notorious for looking into your stuff and making ad's based off of it. I'll probably come up with a solution down the line and hopefully be happy about it. Now for the idea part and no it has nothing to do with computers, I Just wanted to bitch about it haha. My idea is actually a story idea that has been rattling around in my head for a while now, and it's a genre that I'm well versed and theory I have a good standing in as well. It's a Pre/Post-Apocalyptic military story that'll take place in seven acts. Now I'm not saying it's going to be posted all tomorrow or very soon (Well maybe the prologue) but it'll be posted in the near future under the title "Cocked Pistol" which, to some, has some meaning, to others well, you'll just have to wait and see why it's titled that. That's all for now and keep reading children since I might put snippets of my story in my blog to see reactions and the like. Eric

Figures, the goat is having us hanging off a cliff awaiting his return...

Ugh. The past few days have not been fun at all. My back's been acting up since Thursday after Physical Therapy and the muscle relaxer they had me on was not helping at all. Instead it started to make things worse up until yesterday where all the excitement happened. I've been on this med for just over two weeks now with no effect so the doctor ordered the dose to be raised a level. Well that was last Monday. Since then I experienced all the wonderful side-effects the medicine could offer (dizziness, nausea, lack of balance, and some other 'fun' effects that I won't get into). That is until yesterday when I was at home going downstairs I got hit with a wave a dizziness to the point I fell and went down a few steps before stopping. Now the fun didn't stop there because I also happened to be carrying my tablet as well. Well, you know what they say about applied force, gravity and tablets right? Mix them together and it never works out well. My tablet was no exception and needless to say I was a little more than angry once I recovered from my fall. I ended up having my roommate drive me to Best Buy to get a new tablet (my only portable workstation and link to the world when traveling or in my room or at school cus duh. Digital Textbooks). It was a good thing to because I was ready to call my doctors office and leave a scathing message for them to call me back and get me off that damn med. Well today arrived and I called since I felt calmer and better then I did yesterday (a morning sitting outside having a cup of coffee and reading the news in the sunlight seems to have that effect on me). The nurse who took down my info called me and literally 10min later my Doctor called and was very concerned when I explained what happened (RIP Tablet) and now has me tapering off the med and put me on a new med that should do better. Well I hope it does and this time I'm not going to take any chances. If I don't like the med I won't wait until something happens to tell someone, I'm gonna dame well say something then and there. So. The moral of the story is, if a medicine makes you feel icky, tell someone or something bad could happen. PS: Screw You Gabapentin... you owe me a new tablet...

They also didn't have Wikipedia as well!!

Glad I was born in the 80's and never had to suffer that fashion or hair style (not that I have much hair left hehe).