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One obvious reason that Windows 8 was such a disaster for Microsoft was that a lot of longtime Windows users absolutely hated it. To express their frustrations with Windows 8, many of these users either switched back to Windows 7 or changed computing platforms all together by switching to Macs. One such person was Vivek Wadhwa, the director of research at Center for Entrepreneurship and Research Commercialization at Duke, who fled Windows 8 in terror for Apple before giving Microsoft another shot with Windows 10. Writing in The Washington Post, Wadhwa explains that he recently installed Windows 10 onto his...

At startup and then every few hours I get an error window: "Safer Updater has encountered a problem and had to close." I am running XP. What is this and how can I get rid of it? Thanks.

Climate is complex.This is true both in the conventional “wow, this is hard to figure out!” sense, and in the technical sense that people mean when they talk about “complex systems theory.” It’s so sensitive to the initial assumptions that it’s never feasible to compute exactly how the system will behave. Sometimes this is called “sensitive dependence on initial conditions,” or SDIC.This is basically why we can’t predict if it will rain on Monday, yet we can confidently predict that it’ll be colder in Boulder in December than it was in July.The difference here is between what is exactly true,...

Everyone wants an iPhone. Even those who use Android phones may not want to admit it, but in their heart of hearts, they wouldn’t bat an eye if they were offered an iPhone for free. But not everyone can afford an iPhone. Beautiful and easy to use it may be, the iPhone is still a premium device, like it or not. In fact, some people wouldn’t have been able to afford theirs if not for carrier subsidies (if you can call it that). Without a telco contract, the iPhone price point can be a burden. That being said, have you...

Is the world we live in a computer simulation in the minds of Robotic Overlords who are using humanity as playthings? This is the "scientific" theory put forward by a number of physicists and Oxford University philosopher Nick Bostrom.(1) Bostrom is one of the founders of the World Transhumanist Association. Transhumanism is a blend of revitalized Gnostic pagan and Eastern occult pantheist elements and magic science undergirded by a strong Darwinian impulse. Thus it subscribes to the modern myth of a coming Superman that is actually a counterfeit of the Christian vision of a new and perfected human race spiritually...

Windows 10 is the best Windows yet but Apple has nothing to worry aBout yet. ne’s just been released while the other will be with us in a month or two but which is best if we compare Windows 10 and OS X 10.11 El Capitan? We take a look, comparing features, security, performance, usability and more. OS X 10.11 El Capitan vs Windows 10 comparison Here at Macworld UK we’re mighty excited about the upcoming release of OS X 10.11 El Capitan but that’s not to say that we don't like to keep an eye on rival platforms, such...

For the past couple of days, I have been getting little message windows from Apple offering me a free upgrade to Yosemite from my present Maverick O/S. They tout the Yosemite as being better, more stable, etc. I am sure that there are some FReepers out there who are in a better position to evaluate Maverick vs Yosemite. Should I take Apple up on their offer of the free upgrade to Yosemite, or should I avoid Yosemite like the plague recently found in the park? Thank you for your valuable input.

Subtitle: There are a number of reasons why Macs are worth considering as you migrate to Windows 10. Microsoft's Windows 10 has finally been released and many users are looking for a new computer to take advantage of its new features. While it has been advertised that Windows 10 will perform properly on most laptops currently running Windows 7 or 8, we all know that to get the most of the many features and performance enhancements, you'll want the latest high-end laptops designed for the new OS. As you consider your next PC purchase, here's something else to think about:...

After being denied an en banc rehearing with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit over a prior decision that kept intact Apple's multi-million dollar patent trial win, Samsung has voiced intent to argue the case in front of the Supreme Court. Samsung said in a court filing on Wednesday that it plans to petition the Supreme Court to hear an appeal over damages awarded to Apple in the first Apple v. Samsung jury trial. The decision comes one week after the company saw its request for a full-panel CAFC rehearing shot down. Ended in 2012, the first...

I wrote the first draft of this novel circa 1976 when I was living on West 105th Street in Manhattan. The original title was Crucial Moments. Somehow I got Joe Fox, a huge name at Random House, to look at the opening chapters. He actually called me up to say: not for him. (Imagine this big shot talking to a nobody. Clearly, it was another age.) Probably I did another two or three edits and in 1992 I showed it to an agent. She said: I love it. She took me on as a writer because of this book and...

Documents show the tech company has skirted regulations for private firms for a year by flying its Project Wing aircraft over private land as part of a deal with Nasa. Google has been quietly testing its drone delivery program in US airspace and is planning further tests in rural California after striking a deal with Nasa, the Guardian has learned. Documents seen by the Guardian also reveal technical details of Google’s drone, which is capable of speeds of up to 100 mph and weighs less than 25kg (55lb). The papers also reveal Google’s safety plans should a drone lose contact...

Microsoft's Windows 10 has easily surpassed the global usage share ascension of Windows 7 six years ago, putting it on track to become the company's most successful OS introduction ever. Windows 10's usage share neared 6.6 percent on Sunday, data from analytics vendor StatCounter showed. That was a 23 percent increase over what the OS logged the Sunday prior, continuing the unbroken stretch of double-digit-or-more, week-over-week increases since Windows 10's July 29 debut. The operating system's usage share increase has comfortably exceeded that of its closest rival, Windows 7, during the latter's first 18 days of availability in the fall...

Video games are hard — unless they're Square Enix mobile releases with built-in cheats that let you focus on the story. Such is the case with Final Fantasy VII, which comes to iOS with some new features in place for those that would prefer to eliminate any challenge from the game. First is the ability to turn off the game's random encounters, meaning you can wander the world without worry and focus only on the major, story-linked battles. Eliminating random encounters breaks the game; you need to fight smaller stuff so that you can level up and take on the...

It's time to have a little fun. Caption Hillary trying to explain how to wipe a server. With a cloth or something.

Transhumanism, the movement which aims to use science fiction-esque methods such as brain uploading, cyborgism, and cryogenics to achieve immortality and/or a higher state of evolution, is strongly associated with atheism. Not only is there a strong emphasis on science, which is often considered to be at odds with religion to a certain extent, but this particular brand of science seems particularly opposed to the notion that God should have control over life and death. But according to transhumanist Micah Redding, there's a growing contingent of Christians in the transhumanist movement who are seeking a slightly different type of eternal...

For the last year, Google’s work force has increasingly been under attack from a herd of unicorns. The unicorns, a class of hot start-ups valued at $1 billion or more, are all aggressively pursuing the best and brightest minds in Silicon Valley with promises of talked-about workplaces and eye-popping payouts. Amid a general scramble for talent, Google, the Internet search company, has undergone specific raids from unicorns for engineers who specialize in crucial technologies like mapping. In particular, Uber — the largest unicorn, with a valuation of more than $50 billion — has plundered Google’s mapping unit over the last...

Plus the five tools you need to make your iPhone footage look cinematic. Shih-Ching TsouTangerine is a movie so vivid and real that you feel like you’re walking the streets of Los Angeles with its main characters. The film takes place on Christmas Eve, which in Hollywood is just another warm day, and the cinematography radiates that heat. But as you trail behind best friends Sin-Dee and Alexandra as they search for Sin-Dee’s cheating boyfriend, you’d never realize that with an iPhone, you too could create that scene. Tangerine director Sean Baker used his iPhone 5s to direct the movie,...

-->Video review on the website: “Siri, are we there yet?” “You should be there in about 25 minutes.”“Siri, please play the top hits from 1990.”“Also, Siri, text Dad and tell him I’ll be there soon.”I take back all—OK most—of the expletives I’ve ever hurled at Siri. Apple’s personal assistant has finally found a place in my life: riding shotgun.For the last week, I have been testing Apple’s CarPlay in a 2016 Corvette Stingray. Oh yes, that’s the brand new model with a 455-horsepower V-8 engine, a camera that can capture your laps around the track (or the New Jersey Turnpike,...

tpwn is a vulnerability that affects OS X 10.9.5 Mavericks through OS X 10.10.5 Yosemite, but does not affect the currently-in-beta OS X 10.11 El Capitan. With tpwn, malicious code on your Mac could escalate its privileges—gain "root" access—and potentially exploit the system. The vulnerability was released without warning—also known as a 0day—and without prior disclosure to Apple. That means Apple learned about it pretty much when the rest of the world did. What does tpwn do? tpwn is a privilege escalation exploit, which means, to use a bad analogy, it's like a thief that can't break into your house...

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office earlier this month found an iPhone design patent successfully leveraged by Apple against Samsung in its first court action invalid on multiple counts, bringing Apple's $548 million damages award into question. Apple's D'677 patent (right) shows a design different from two previous applications. Spotted by FOSS Patents' Florian Mueller, the non-final decision regarding Apple's U.S. Patent No. D618,677, known as the D'677 patent, was handed down by the USPTO's Central Reexamination Division on Aug. 5. The decision follows an anonymous ex parte examination request -- likely filed by Samsung -- calling the design patent's...