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Mortar round hits Vatican embassy in Damascus
Today's Headlines
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Africa North
French Woman Reported Missing in Egypt is Found
[An Nahar] A French woman who went missing during a transit stop in Egypt between flights was found on Tuesday, an official at the French embassy in Cairo said.

"She was found this morning and was offered the required services of the embassy to help her return to La Belle France as soon as possible," the official said, refusing to say any more.

A source close to Egyptian Sherlocks said the 25-year-old had been found wandering in a popular neighborhood of Cairo in a state of "shock".

She had arrived from Ghana on Thursday evening and had been due to fly on to Basel-Mulhouse airport in La Belle France on Friday, airport officials told AFP earlier.

On Saturday, the authorities launched a nationwide search for the woman when she failed to catch her connecting flight.

Asked about her disappearance and whether she had been abused during the four days and nights she was missing, the embassy official said Egyptian police were investigating what happened between the time she checked in at a transit hotel and when she was found.

As is procedure for transit stays of longer than 12 hours, the immigration police kept her passport on arrival from Ghana and she was escorted by security officials to the nearby four-star Baron Hotel for her overnight stay.

But on Friday she failed to board the onward flight to La Belle France.

"She apparently left the hotel on her own," said a source close to the investigation.

Cairo has had a night-time curfew since the middle of August when the authorities cracked down on Islamist supporters of President Mohammed Morsi
...the former president of Egypt. A proponent of the One Man, One Vote, One Time principle, Morsi won election after the deposal of Hosni Mubarak and jumped to the conclusion it was his turn to be dictator...
who was deposed by the army in July.
Posted by: Fred || 11/06/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring

#1  The article really tells us nothing. The "journalist" may have been educated in France?
Posted by: Spereting Tingle4064 || 11/06/2013 5:33 Comments || Top||

#2  Roofies?
Posted by: Caesar Gray1629 || 11/06/2013 10:29 Comments || Top||


Arabia
Saudis round up thousands of illegal immigrants
[Al Ahram] For a second day of roundup by authorities on Tuesday, parts of the capital Riyadh were empty as many forign workers stayed at home to avoid potential arrest
Posted by: Fred || 11/06/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  It seems so easy when someone else does it.
Posted by: Skidmark || 11/06/2013 10:07 Comments || Top||

#2  The king doesn't need their votes.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 11/06/2013 11:27 Comments || Top||


Caribbean-Latin America
Colombia ELN Rebels Prepare to Free Another Captive
[An Nahar] Colombia's leftist ELN rebel group said Tuesday it was willing to free an engineer they have held captive for more than a year, while calling for the Chilean company he works for to leave the country.

In a statement published on its web site, the ELN said it had decided to release Andres Montes on "humanitarian grounds," though it insisted the captive was "in good health."

But the rebel group said it is also waiting for a statement from the Sierra Agricultural Company, where Montes worked, "before forming the humanitarian commission charged with receiving him."

The ELN says the company is of Chilean origin and capital, and that it obtained title to around 22,000 hectares (85 square miles) of land in the northeastern Colombian department of Antioquia through "tricks" and by robbing peasants.
Posted by: Fred || 11/06/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:


The Grand Turk
Europe Rights Court Fines Ankara over Torture Case
[An Nahar] The European Court of Human Rights on Tuesday sentenced Turkey over a case of police torture dating back to 1999, imposing a fine of 20,000 euros ($27,000).

Mesut Deniz, a 38-year-old Turk currently serving a prison sentence, said he was given electric shocks, hanged by his arms, had his genitals twisted and subjected to other forms of torture after his arrest.

Medical reports at the time recorded a large number of injuries but a police officer charged over the torture claims was acquitted by a Turkish court in 2007.

The ECHR found that Turkey had violated the European Convention on Human Rights and had denied Deniz the right to appeal and a chance to claim compensation.
Posted by: Fred || 11/06/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:


India-Pakistan
India starts historic mission to Mars
[The Hindu] The nation's prestigious interplanetary mission to Mars, 40 crore km away, got off to a flying start on Tuesday when the Indian Space Research Organisation's trusty Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C25) roared off the first launch pad of the spaceport at Sriharikota at 2.38 p.m. and put the Mars orbiter precisely into its earth-orbit about 44 minutes later.

This was the first crucial and difficult step in the ISRO's Mars Orbiter Mission. However,
ars longa, vita brevis...
the XL version of the PSLV achieved it with aplomb. The elliptical orbit achieved was so accurate that against the predicted perigee of 250 km and an apogee of 23,500 km, it went into an orbit of 246.9 km x 23,566 km.

The spacecraft first going into orbit around the earth signalled the start of its 300-day voyage to the Red Planet. If everything goes well during this complex and challenging journey through deep space, it will be put into the Mars orbit on September 24, 2014.

Mission highlights

Two mission highlights are: it was the longest PSLV mission at 44 minutes -- the previous missions lasted about 18 minutes, and this was the silver jubilee lift-off of the PSLV. Out of the 25 launches, 24 had been successful in a row.

Suspense filled the newly-built Mission Control Centre (MCC) when there was a long coasting phase of 25 minutes between the PSLV's third stage burnout and the fourth stage ignition.

Tension gripped the MCC again for about half-a-minute for it was only 37 seconds after the fourth stage burnout that the spacecraft was put into orbit. But all this was as planned.

The ISRO scientists' cup of joy overflowed when M.S. Pannirselvam, Range Operations Director, PSLV-C25, announced tersely from the MCC, "Spacecraft separation achieved. It has been successfully put into orbit."

Asked later how he felt when he made the announcement, he said, "We had no feeling. We were doing our job."

Applause erupted when ISRO Chairman K. Radhakrishnan, who did not hide his joy, turned towards his colleagues in the MCC and acknowledged their cheers with folded hands. He called the flight a copybook and textbook mission. It was a new and complex mission in design and execution, he said.

Project Director of Mars Orbiter S. Arunan called it an "excellent mission." The primary and secondary panels and the high gain antenna of the spacecraft had been deployed. "The spacecraft is in good heath," he said.

Yash Pal, former Member of the Space Commission, called the successful mission ISRO's "very very special gift to the nation."
Posted by: Fred || 11/06/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Good for them.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 11/06/2013 6:39 Comments || Top||

#2  Is India the most bifurcated country/society ever?

They have the ability to send a rocket to Mars and yet have some of the most backward poverty stricken people anywhere.

I hope that the Mars mission side of the house succeeds in drawing the other side up.
Posted by: AlanC || 11/06/2013 10:36 Comments || Top||

#3  Send all Muslims, and good riddance.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 11/06/2013 10:42 Comments || Top||

#4  They have the ability to send a rocket to Mars and yet have some of the most backward poverty stricken people anywhere.

And there is a very good reason for that. Most Americans, hell most Indians don't want to hear the reason either.

Let alone have a frank discussion about what really needs to happen to turn the situation around.
Posted by: Secret Asian Man || 11/06/2013 12:22 Comments || Top||

#5  SAM, don't want to hear the reason either.

I am very interested in hearing what you think the reason(s) is. I have my own ideas but don't claim any high level of confidence that I'm correct.
Posted by: AlanC || 11/06/2013 12:31 Comments || Top||

#6  There are also people out there who think all that stands between us and a golden age is the 20% of the federal budget we spend on defense.
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain || 11/06/2013 12:43 Comments || Top||

#7  Nirvana will arrive when The One can finally Tax The Rich™ to his heart's content.
Posted by: Bobby || 11/06/2013 12:56 Comments || Top||

#8  I am very interested in hearing what you think the reason(s) is.

The reason(s) are many, and make the Politically Correct squirm.

1. Official population (depending on source) is approximately 1.237 billion people. The reality is more like 1.4 to 1.5 billion.

2. Official literacy rates are laugh out loud ridiculous nonsense. The illiteracy rate in India is at least 65% if not more. Up to the 8th Standard (8th grade) there isn't any testing or grading. All students are passed through to the next Standard regardless of whether they understand the material.

Most of the illiterate unskilled laborers will tell you they've studied to the 8th Standard. It's quite the common refrain. Truth is they can't read or write.

3. Indian, is a Nationality, not an ethnicity. India recognizes dozens of distinct Tribes and Ethnic groups. A lot of these groups are just plain stupid by anyone's standards. You see, if you belong to one of these groups and your diet is 90% rice with a few vegetables, you're handicapped from the moment of conception.

4. Stupid begets stupid. Expanding on the last sentence in bullet (3), a huge percentage of India's population are sub 70th percentile in IQ. This comes from malnourishment from conception and continues through to their death. You have low IQ people bearing low IQ children. Carry that backwards into mists of antiquity, generation upon generation. These dietary issues are mostly due to "culture" and religion. But the effects are real.

5. No real desire to get educated. The chronically poor have been that way generation after generation, and most of them just don't want to go to school. What I hear most is: "My parents didn't go to school, why should I?".

There is a Hindi word; jhuggie. Means slum. The people who live in the jhuggies steal their electricity, have ration cards from the government and a lot of other gimmees. What money they earn they don't pay taxes on. So they get buy pretty well from their perspective, and, they're used to it. They've lived that way for generations. So, no real reason to do anything else.

In Summary:

  • Excessive population.

  • High illiteracy rate.

  • High incidence of low IQ people.

  • Cultural/Tribal norms preventing assimilation into modern society.

  • No motivation to improve their situation.

  • See no value in education.



For sure, this isn't an exhaustive list of the reasons, but it covers the high points.

My background. Married to an Indian National, LOTS of time in India living like an Indian with the Indians. Lots of exposure and contact with the impoverished segment of society.
Posted by: Secret Asian Man || 11/06/2013 14:00 Comments || Top||

#9  SAM, thank you for your comment.

A couple of the items you mentioned I had considered but not all of them and not together as a whole.

The main new factor for me was your point about malnutrition and its mass long term effects.

The most disturbing point you mentioned was your description of jhuggie life. Is it only me or did anyone else see pictures of Obama phones, EBT cards and gov't cheese?

Is India the mean to which we are regressing?

Posted by: AlanC || 11/06/2013 16:10 Comments || Top||

#10  Think of jhuggies as shanty towns or areas. The polite term is encampment. But the people that actually live there refer to them as jhuggies.

These encampments are setup wherever the squatters can get established. In some cases the local governments will set aside plots of land that would be difficult to develop just for the jhuggie walla's.

There is a constant flow of people from the villages in the countryside into the cities. They work for some period of time then go back to the village. And, then come back to the cities.

Also, illegal aliens. From Bangladesh, Nepal and other places. Life is much harder for them than our illegals.

As you can imagine, local politicians pander to this constituency for bribes. And bribery is much more open there than here, it's been "the way" since time immemorial.

No Obama phones or EBT cards. They get ration cards and they steal electricity. If lucky, a water tanker with clean water shows up regularly and they fill their containers. Paid for by the taxpayers...natch.

Will we regress to that state? God, I hope not. If we do not stop the Left, then it is possible considering they want to import hoards of 3rd world uneducated people to our lands. Imagine the U.S.A. with a Billion plus people.

There will be no saving this Republic at the ballot box though, too late for that.
Posted by: Secret Asian Man || 11/06/2013 16:47 Comments || Top||

#11  Oh, if you want to see what a jhuggi looks like, just enter the term in Google images.
Posted by: Secret Asian Man || 11/06/2013 16:49 Comments || Top||

#12  I nominate comments by SAM for the Classics.
Posted by: Shipman || 11/06/2013 17:36 Comments || Top||

#13  I went and looked, clicked on images.

Hummm.... I like a Mars Mission like anyone, maybe there will be some uplifting by proxy, dunno. But at first cut, looks like the money might have been better spent on Public Privys.
Posted by: Shipman || 11/06/2013 17:39 Comments || Top||

#14  Thanks for the information from an insider's perspective, S.A.M.

My only contact with Indians is with the people I meet here through work or in social settings - engineers, doctors, lawyers, etc. I don't pretend to know anything about the country or the culture (except it's probably hard to get a hamburger most places). I appreciate the information; I'm sure we all do.
Posted by: Barbara || 11/06/2013 18:06 Comments || Top||

#15  But at first cut, looks like the money might have been better spent on Public Privys.

I doubt it's a situation where they could have just foregone the Mars Mission and just gotten another ten thousand porta-potties instead.

Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain || 11/06/2013 18:32 Comments || Top||

#16  About 8 years ago I made a series of visits to India - one or two weeks at a time, mostly to Bangalore ("The Silicon Valley of India") as a contractor for IBM. Most of the people I dealt with were IT people. About the only "regular" people I dealt with were beggars and the autorickshaw drivers.

I found India fascinating, in a way. I didn't get out into the country, but in New Delhi I saw people living under tarps across the street from a four star hotel. In Bangalore, I saw people living in corrugated metal shacks next to a stream that was basically an open sewer.

I have recommended that Americans go to India to see what real poverty is. In America, poor people complain that they only get 200 channels on their cable TV, and their EBT cards only give them three meals a day without enough left over for snacks, booze and other necessities. And I apparently did not get to see the real poverty in India.

SAM's article pointed out many people in India don't want to improve their lives. I fear that in America we are developing an underclass like that - dependent on the government, with no desire to get off welfare and make things better for their kids if not for themselves. You used to hear stories from people whose mother scrubbed floors for years so they could go to college. I wonder if we will hear those stories in the future.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia || 11/06/2013 18:33 Comments || Top||

#17  (except it's probably hard to get a hamburger most places)

Nah, Chilies and TGIF both sell "Buffalo" burgers and steaks. Wink, wink! Tastes just beef. Hard Rock Cafe too.

The rich and middle-working class live pretty well by most respects. Trades like plumbing, electrician and so on are passed down through apprenticeships. Tradesmen are looked down upon by the aforementioned classes.

As Ramble said, you'll see people living under a tarp across from 4 Star hotels. It's the big encampments where the real misery lives.

I'd love to drag these whiny Leftists and Welfare mooches of to India for a nice stay in a jhuggi. They might come back with a whole different attitude.
Posted by: Secret Asian Man || 11/06/2013 19:30 Comments || Top||

#18  But at first cut, looks like the money might have been better spent on Public Privys.

They have them, they're on trailers. They won't use them and they get destroyed rather quickly. Dismantled and peddled off as scrap.
Posted by: Secret Asian Man || 11/06/2013 19:37 Comments || Top||


CII declares human cloning, gender change un-Islamic
[Dawn] The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) Pakistain Tuesday declared human cloning and changing of gender as un-Islamic acts while announcing its recommendations on a range of issues.

Addressing a presser, Chairman CII Maulana Muhammad Ali Sherani said the council in its 193rd meeting discussed different issues.

He said research and thinking were not banned in Islam and new innovations were allowed but within the limits of the religion.

The council declared human cloning as un-Islamic while maintaining its recommendations given in a previous meeting, Sherani said.

He said that changing of gender was also un-Islamic for both males and females, however, he added that a person could be operated upon if he/she has characteristics of both sexes. The procedure should be done within Islamic injunctions though, he added.

The Islamic council allowed test tube babies under certain conditions, said Sherani.

Gender selection was not prohibited in Islam and it can be done with the limits of the Shariah, however, it could not be used as a common practice.

The chairman said that "mother milk banks" should not be permitted as use of milk from there would complicate family life and it would also not be a healthy practice.

He said use of secret recordings for court cases should not be part of a general policy but it should only be done in specific cases. Evidence gained from secret recordings should be used as supportive evidence according to the Shariah law, he added.

Maulana Sherani said the council, in its next meeting, will take up the issues of Christian and Hindu marriage and divorce, decision of Federal Shariah court regarding Zakat deduction, Shariah veil, status of installing statues in museums and public places and report on national and international agreements.
Posted by: Fred || 11/06/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan

#1  Identical Twins to be put to death?
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 11/06/2013 8:18 Comments || Top||

#2  Pretty much everything 'crept 'sploding in the mosque or marketplace is "unislamic..."
Posted by: M. Murcek || 11/06/2013 15:49 Comments || Top||


Indian minister likens rise of PM candidate Modi to Third Reich
[Dawn] The Indian government stepped up its criticism of leading opposition prime-ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on Tuesday, painting him as a dangerous hard boy and comparing his rise to the birth of Nazi Germany in the 1930s.

Modi's critics have long sought to associate the Hindu nationalist leader with fascism
...a political system developed in Italy symbolized by the Roman fasces -- thin reeds, each flimsy in itself but unbreakable when bound into a bundle. The word is nowadays thrown around by all sorts of people who have no idea what they're talking about...
and blame him for anti-Moslem riots in 2002 that killed at least 1,000 people. He denies any wrongdoing in the riots and a Supreme Court investigation found no evidence to prosecute him.

The broadsides from two senior ministers follow a series of large political rallies by Modi and a string of opinion polls forecasting a poor performance by the government in state elections starting next week and a general election expected by April.

The ruling Congress party's own campaign has yet to pick up much steam.

Jairam Ramesh, a senior cabinet minister close to the leadership of the Congress party, said Modi's career reminded him of the rise of the Third Reich, the strongest comments yet by a minister of his rank.
Posted by: Fred || 11/06/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Findings of Arafat Death Probe Handed to Palestinians
[An Nahar] Paleostinian authorities have received the reports of Swiss and Russian forensic investigations into the 2004 death of Yasser Arafat, an official said Tuesday, without disclosing the findings.

"The report was delivered" by the Swiss laboratory, Tawfiq Tirawi, who heads the Paleostinian investigation into Arafat's death, told Agence La Belle France Presse.

Official Paleostinian news agency WAFA said that a Russian team appointed by the Paleostinian Authority also handed in its report on November 2 and that its conclusions would be made public in due course.

Some 60 samples were taken from the remains of the late Paleostinian leader in November last year for a probe into whether he was poisoned by polonium.

The samples were divided between the Swiss and Russian Sherlocks and a French team carrying out a probe at the request of Arafat's widow Suha.

Arafat died in hospital in La Belle France on November 11 2004 at the age of 75, but doctors were unable to specify the cause of death.

No autopsy was carried out at the time, in line with his widow's request.

Arafat's remains were exhumed from his tomb in the West Bank city of Ramallah in November 2012 and samples taken, partly to investigate whether he had been poisoned -- a suspicion that grew after the liquidation of Russian ex-spy and Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko in 2006.
Posted by: Fred || 11/06/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: PLO

#1  Findings of Arafat Death Probe Handed to Palestinians

"Here, hold this"
"Ewwwwwwwww!"
Posted by: Frank G || 11/06/2013 8:02 Comments || Top||

#2  Guardian via Al Jazeera: David Barclay, a British forensic scientist who had studied the report, told al-Jazeera: "The report contains strong evidence, in my view conclusive evidence, that there's at least 18 times the level of polonium in Arafat's exhumed body than there should be." He said the report represented "a smoking gun"...(Suha) With Zahwa, 18, her daughter by Arafat, she said she suspected a "conspiracy to get rid of him", adding: "My daughter and I have to know who did it. We will not stop in our quest to find out. I hope the Palestinian Authority goes further on it, searching every single aspect of it. It is of course a political crime." She said: "This is separate from the peace process or talks. Any judicial investigation is separate from the peace process."
Posted by: Flaiger Uneamp8181 || 11/06/2013 15:04 Comments || Top||

#3  My sources tell me he was very fond of rugulah.
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/06/2013 15:10 Comments || Top||

#4  I am not going to Google rugulah, I haven't cooked yet.
Posted by: Shipman || 11/06/2013 17:42 Comments || Top||

#5  It's actually pretty good, Ship.

(I don't think B's comment was about the polonium - rugulah (rugulach) is usually considered a Jewish pastry.) ;-p
Posted by: Barbara || 11/06/2013 18:11 Comments || Top||

#6  Interesting that the Swiss and French said "Yep, its polonium alright" and the Russkies are saying "Nope, ain't no polonium here."

So who had the most to gain by bumping off Arafat?

I say it is the Iranians. The Israelis really had nothing to gain from killing him.
Posted by: Bill Clinton || 11/06/2013 20:44 Comments || Top||

#7  The official report will only be given when there is a rigorous forensic audit of Palestinian financial records and where the billions went.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 11/06/2013 21:09 Comments || Top||

#8  "He said that last boy from Gaza was hot. Turns out he was right"
Posted by: Frank G || 11/06/2013 21:50 Comments || Top||


Science & Technology
Microsoft Needs to 'Start up again', Says CEO
[An Nahar] Microsoft
...producers of Windows, Office, and the late Microsoft Bob, contributed $852,167 to the 2008 Obama campaign...
chief executive Steve Ballmer on Tuesday said the computer giant had to reinvent itself to avoid being "old and tired" as his company struggles to keep up in the mobile devices sector.

"We're finding ourselves having to start up again," Ballmer said at a conference in Rome where he announced Italia had become the first country in which Microsoft phones were outselling iPhones.

"Unless you're constantly inventing something new, you're old and tired. Today we're having to remake ourselves," Ballmer told his audience.

Referring to the success of Microsoft against rival Apple's iPhone in Italia, he quipped: "I don't know how long it's going to last."

Ballmer was a classmate and friend of Bill Gates from their days at Harvard University
...home of the Best and the Brightest, contributed $878,164 to the 2008 Obama campaign. Is there a reason universities are among the top financiers of political campaigns?
in the 1970s.

He took over from Gates in 2000 but earlier this year said he will step down by August 2014.

When Ballmer took over, Microsoft was the undisputed tech sector leader, and the world's largest company in market value. But in recent years it has struggled as consumers began to move from desktop and laptop PCs to mobile devices.
Posted by: Fred || 11/06/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "Unless you're constantly inventing something new, you're old and tired. Today we're having to remake ourselves,"

How about stopping the techies in house who operate with an attitude 'This is what we're forcing on you whether you want it or not'? After years and years of bloatware that has to be constantly upgraded because of ever more 'security' issues or glitches for a one-size-fits-all product, maybe the arrival of competitive technology is allowing a lot of the customer base to move away from that 'we know what is better for you' mindset.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 11/06/2013 5:08 Comments || Top||

#2  Anyone using Windows 8.0/8.1 by choice? There's your problem. That whole UI was a "Who asked for this" moment. They finally got things right with Win7 - stable, fast, and familiar. So they dumped it all for this ugly flat boxy garbage.
Posted by: OldSpook || 11/06/2013 6:04 Comments || Top||

#3  Always interested in the hatred for the Metro interface. If you are on a desktop machine, the familiar Desktop interface is only a click away, and since 8.1, you can configure yourself to start up there and mostly stay there. I've been using a Surface Pro since it came out, and I'm already mentally and physically retrained to expect a touch interface. I routinely try to touch screens I already know are not touch enabled. Touch is the future, it's not going away...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 11/06/2013 9:43 Comments || Top||

#4  I'd like an 8 inch Windows 8.1 tablet with a Horus Vision app, that'd be handy...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 11/06/2013 9:46 Comments || Top||

#5  That ugly, flat, boxy garbage is because the tip of your finger is a lot 'fatter' than the tip of a mouse pointer. You need big boxy icons to be able to grab them with your fingertip.
I use a big desktop 24" display with a mouse and an iPad using my fingers. Both have their uses. The iPad is great for mobility and meetings and the like - but I wouldn't want to write code on one. The iPad is also good for Facebook or email and most if not all of what a typical 'consumer' would use one for.
Having a 'big boxy design' on a desktop is a waste of real-estate. Do you think people are going to sit (or stand) with their arms extended all day to move things around a 24" 'touch' monitor? A mouse (and mouse pointer) is much more precise and easier (at least so far).
I also have a smallish laptop with multitouch and Windows 8 (not 8.1 - problems upgrading) and I use both mouse, keyboard and 'touch' - usually on the desktop and not metro.
Posted by: CrazyFool || 11/06/2013 10:31 Comments || Top||

#6  I use the Desktop almost exclusively on my, uh, desktop machine. QuickBooks Pro and Corel Draw are probably never going to be touch applications. On the Surface, I rarely use the desktop at all. Once you find your way around the Metro apps, you get used to them quickly. Point is, there is NOTHING about Metro that prevents a user from living on the Desktop with a mouse. Nothing...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 11/06/2013 10:46 Comments || Top||

#7  Hmm.
Posted by: newc || 11/06/2013 11:09 Comments || Top||

#8  The modern touch interface on Win 8.1 is pretty much all I use anymore.
Posted by: Omineque Glaise1236 || 11/06/2013 11:42 Comments || Top||

#9  They need to start up again, but they can't find the start button.
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain || 11/06/2013 15:36 Comments || Top||

#10  My next laptop will be a chromebook.

My 2c worth, is forcing all the manufacturers to preload Win8 and not provide the option of buying Win7 will prove a collosal error, which Google will exploit.
Posted by: phil_b || 11/06/2013 17:20 Comments || Top||

#11  I've still got XP (and a desktop - laptops are too small for me to read, and hard to type on).

We're changing at work to whatever the next thing is, and I guess after I've been trained on it I'll have to get that too, since Gatesville won't support XP anymore.

I'm like many people - I don't want to be a techie (I don't understand what most of y'all are talking about, nor do I want to); I just want the damn thing to WORK.

As I explained to a tech guy at work, I don't have to know how a car is built or how to make repairs on it in order to drive it. Think of me as a computer driver. And I'm not alone. >:-(
Posted by: Barbara || 11/06/2013 18:01 Comments || Top||

#12  Windows 8 My Lunch.

Wuz setting up a computer for a customer. Wuz like hopping into the grocery to grab a loaf of bread and finding it was now the detergent aisle, spent two work hours walking the aisles.

I will concede that a touch screen would probably made it alright, and eventually everything would be found and re-learned - but that is time I could actually be working.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 11/06/2013 18:57 Comments || Top||

#13  Barbara - FWIW, Microsoft stops supporting (upgrades for bugs & other patches) in April of 2014.
Posted by: Raj || 11/06/2013 19:30 Comments || Top||



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Wed 2013-11-06
  Mortar round hits Vatican embassy in Damascus
Tue 2013-11-05
  152 soldiers sentenced to die for mutiny in Bangladesh
Mon 2013-11-04
  Blast inside Quetta seminary leaves two injured
Sun 2013-11-03
  Gunmen kill 30 in suspected Islamist attack on Nigerian wedding convoy
Sat 2013-11-02
  Egypt army arrests head of Sinai radical militant group, dozens others
Fri 2013-11-01
  Pakistani Taliban chief killed in drone strike: sources
Thu 2013-10-31
  Israeli warplanes strike shipment of Russian missiles at Syrian port: officials
Wed 2013-10-30
  Suicide blast in Tunisian resort of Sousse
Tue 2013-10-29
  Somalia's al-Shabab commanders 'killed' in strike
Mon 2013-10-28
  Bomb blast kills 18 wedding guests in Afghanistan
Sun 2013-10-27
  Bombings in Baghdad, Mosul kill at least 49
Sat 2013-10-26
  Nigeria says kills 74 'Boko Haram' Islamists in ground, air assault
Fri 2013-10-25
  Algerian troops find huge arms cache on Libyan border
Thu 2013-10-24
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