Well, that's a very good question, and here's another. Why did Steven Sinofski, head of the Windows division at Microsoft, leave just a few weeks after the launch of Windows 8?

To many of us, Windows 8 is a miracle, it's an operating system that takes advantage of touch-screen technology and plants that firmly on your desktop machine or laptop. But that is just the problem! Who has a touch-screen desktop machine or laptop? Not the average Joe on the street so why are Microsoft blowing their trumpet extolling the virtues of something that very few people can make use of.

To the rest of us, it's a miracle that it ever made the light of day it's so bad.

Windows 8 is the new Vista. It does not satisfy the demands of the man-in-the-street with his good old tower system sat under the desk, nor does it help those with a laptop. Windows 8 is actually counter-productive in as much as it takes more clicks to perform an action than it did in 7, Vista or XP and this is called progress.

Ah, but you can always use the desktop function I hear you cry. Well, yes you can but you still can't access a lot of the stuff you could before AND there is no start button to access the programs on your PC. A system designed so you can't access your programs, what's that all about?!?! And while you're on your familiar desktop, try uninstalling a program - you can't; at least not without using the new interface, Metro, or is it Modern UI. You never know, they might call it dominoes next ;-)

Windows 8 is really 2 different systems bolted together in the worst possible way because neither system talks to the other - a bit like Microsoft and Apple I guess. Just launch your favourite internet browser in the Modern UI (that's Metro) and go to a website, any old website, it doesn't matter. Now take that to your desktop and voila; your browser might be open but it's not showing your webpage. Now flick back to Metro and there it is. Now you see me, now you don't. How useless is that!

I have customers who went against my recommendation and bought a laptop with wonderful Windows 8. A month on with much swearing and cursing they've asked me to get rid of Windows 8 and install Windows 7 simply because - Windows 8 does not work well on your standard desktop or laptop machine. Just as I said it would before it was released!

Windows 8 should have been an OS purely for Tablet PCs and Phones; it should have been kept well away from 'normal' PCs altogether and not allowed to become the Frankenstein monster it is. It is so intuitive, in order to scroll to the right, you actually scroll down.       Exactly!

To show you that I'm not alone in this line of thinking, check out this YouTube video here.

For those who've got Windows 8 and are really struggling who would like some normality bringing back to their PC, I'll be doing another article telling you how I sorted out the machine mentioned here.

Bye for now.
This article is personal opinion.
All registered names and trademarks acknowledged.

Well, it seems that seeing as Microsoft now have two messenger programs (Live & Skype) they are going to pull the plug on Live Messenger on March 15 2013.

Well, to be honest, that's no great loss cos it was a pretty bad program anyway but it is better than their alternative in this department, Skype. Why are they forcing this on us, well, they recently spent $8.5 Billion to buy Skype, so they're gonna make you use it whether you want to or not.

Then again, you'll only use it if you don't know that there are a whole lot of equally useful messenger programs out there including called Facebook, Yahoo, Pidgin and a whole lot more. Time and time again I hear that old chestnut "don't like yahoo messenger" (or any other non-microsoft system). When asked why, they don't know because someone else has told them what to think. They are simply passing on other peoples ignorance and prejudice and just don't WANT to try anything else because Fred down the bar says so. Does Fred know about these things? Well, he spends a lot of time in the bar spouting crap and he's the local bar room barrister and he seems to know what he's talking about so I guess he does - not! If Fred had another brain cell, it'd be lonely.

Anyway, back to topic. What's going to happen on "D" day when Messenger is killed off. Here's a few snippets from their FAQ:
“On March 15, 2013 we are retiring the existing Messenger service globally (except for mainland China where Messenger will continue to be available) and bringing the great features of Messenger and Skype together,” the email alert reads, noting that if you “upgrade” to Skype, you can continue messaging your Messenger contacts via the Skype network.

“Messenger will continue to work as you know it today,” the FAQ notes. “If you are signed in with Messenger on your desktop you will see a banner notification to upgrade. When you click on the banner, an installer window will open with the request to upgrade. This will take you through our installer flow to install Skype and automatically uninstall Messenger.” Oh dear!

“After March 15, Messenger users on desktops will not be able to sign in and will only be able to upgrade to Skype,” the FAQ continues. “If you attempt to sign in, a notification will appear, and if you continue, you will be taken through our installer flow to install Skype and automatically uninstall Messenger at the same time.”

Seeing as this must have been in the pipeline for some time, it's curious as to why Microsoft decided to include its' Live messenger program in Windows 8. Perhaps it's because Skype didn't do the messenger part too well or have all the features of messenger. Well, it's closer now than it's ever been but what gets me is Microsoft keep upgrading my copy of Skype even though I have it set up not to upgrade. This must be illegal as they do this against my will and without my permission.

Personally, I've never used Microsofts' messenger program for the same reason I never use Hotmail. It's hacked to death and Microsoft can't secure it. I am constanly getting emails from my clients' hotmail accounts that have been compromised and I've had many clients who have lost their hotmail accounts because someone has broken into it and changed the password. Not normally an issue if you can prove you own the account but the majority had someone else set it up for them and they don't know any of the security information.

Now here's the best part, they then ask me to set a new one up for them. WHY! Because they've suddenly gone from being a clever clogs to a day one novice who knows nothing. Hold on guys, isn't this why you called me in - because somebody else set up your email account and you expect me to know what the passwords are and the answers to YOUR security questions?

There you have it, March 15, 2003 marks the death knoll for Windows Live Messenger.
Windows Live Messenger is dead! Long live Yahoo Messenger!

Just a quick post to let everyone know we will not be taking calls from 5th May 2013 until 21st May 2013 inclusive as we will be on holiday. We will be open for calls again on the 22nd May.

We are having a well earned break, not having done so for over 2 years. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

We will, of course, still be monitoring our telephone networks and will be in a position to remedy any problems should there be any.

Please forgive the repetition of this article but it seems people read it then ignore it because I'm still getting calls from people who should know better.

The Microsoft scam is where you receive an unsolicited call from someone claiming to be from Microsoft, or some firm or other and they may even say they're Microsoft certified or working with Microsoft. THIS IS A LIE! They will go on to say something like your pc is sending them error reports and is about to have a major breakdown and they need to sort it out for you (for your credit card details). Check they're talking about a Windows pc.

One line of defence is to ask them which pc they're referring to as you have 3 running, ask them for the IP address of the one they want to inspect.. Even if they give you an IP address (they generally fall within a certain range but can vary by brand) tell them none of yours has that address. After you've got them tied up with that line you could then tell them that your pc is running Linux Ubuntu, not Windows so they must be wrong.

They are only calling because most people run Windows. 

They might even say they got your phone number from your pc registration but if you brought it from the UK, they didn't - did they!?!?!?!?!?

The best advice I can give anyone getting one f these calls is to tell them your phone isn't near the pc and can they call back on your mobile. Once they've called you on your mobile, just tell them you're going to your pc now and put the phone down somewhere but don't hang up. Leave them hanging on the line clocking up a nice bill.

Please use your intelligence, who is going to ring you up to tell you your pc is about to break down? I don't know of anyone because nobody really knows when your pc is going to break but if you want to pay me €180, I'll sort it out for you just like they will!

Microsoft will never ring you so don't be taken in by Kevin calling from India - he's a liar.

Remember, do not give your details to anyone who cold calls you for ANYTHING, it's probably a scam.

All brand names and registered trade marks mentioned in this article are the property of their respective owners.

It appears a new piece of malware has surfaced that steals passwords from computers running MAC OSX and Linux called Wirenet. 1. Read the full article here.

Article courtesy of PC Advisor magazine.