Tag: iTunes

06Aug15 – Digame Site Update, News and Win 10 Info

Posted on by doctorlaptopstips

Digame Site Update – 06Aug15
Today I recovered all 4099 Digame subscriber email addresses! Then I debugged Feedburner and Blogspot/Blogger. It seems that updates to the software scrambled the settings. And there may be remaining compatibility issues lurking. Thanks for that Google. Jane will be sending out a test edition of Digame tonight to see if normal operations have been restored. If this fails we will be working thru the weekend to setup a new home for Digame, using all the updated services now available. Thank you for your patience while we work thru this.
Regards, Naythan

********************************************************************************

iTunes is NOW Illegal Under UK Copyright Law

It is now unlawful to make private copies of copyright works you own, without permission from the copyright holder – this includes format shifting from one medium to another. Copying a CD to an MP3 player is not permitted. This means that iTunes’ popular ripping feature, which Apple actively promotes during the software’s installation, is illegal. Simply copying a song in an automated computer backup or storing a copy on a private cloud hosting service is also against the law.

“…it includes creating back-ups without permission from the copyright holder as this necessarily involves an act of copying,” we were informed by the Government spokesperson.

Strictly speaking this means that UK citizens are not allowed to make a backup of their computer. After all, pretty much every computer contains copyrighted media. Needless to say, this turns almost the entire country into ‘outlaws’.

Read full article here: https://torrentfreak.com/itunes-is-illegal-under-uk-copyright-law-150805/

**************************************************************************

Windows 10 Starts Charging For Missing Features

Surprising as it might seem, Microsoft has announced it will actually charge users a monthly subscription to play Solitaire – a free staple of Windows releases since Windows 3.0 in 1990.

Another feature removed in Win 10 is the venerable Windows Media Center. WMC was long in the tooth, but beloved by those who still used it and in conjunction with its removal from Windows 10 the lack of even a basic DVD player in the new operating system was something of a mystery.

Not anymore. Microsoft has now announced the launch of ‘Windows DVD Player’. It is no WMC replacement and its full feature list is simply:

  • Plays DVDs on your PC
  • Simple controls for disc navigation

Windows DVD Player also won’t play Blu-ray discs nor DVDs from file backups, it is 100% optical discs only. All of which makes it pretty limited, but this is just the start. Microsoft states Windows DVD Player will only be “free for a limited time” but doesn’t say how long this will be. The player’s FAQ simply says “The timing has not been finalized yet. It will end at or before the free Windows 10 upgrade offer.” Great. After that unspecified time Microsoft will charge a hefty $14.99 for Windows DVD Player, a ludicrous decision when far more powerful and accomplished players like VLC are free. What’s more, even if you grab Windows DVD Player for free now, you may have to pay for it later.

Digging further into the player’s FAQ page, Microsoft states only upgraders from Windows 7 or Windows 8 will get it free and users who perform clean installations of Windows 10 will not. Furthermore if users ever need to reinstall Windows 10 (for example, due to problems) then Microsoft doesn’t count that as coming from Windows 7 or Windows 8 and again you lose free access to Windows DVD Player unless you first install Windows 7 or Windows 8 then upgrade to Windows 10.

Yes, this is bonkers. It also asks a bigger question: where is all this headed? At this point it is important to state that Solitaire and Windows DVD Player alone cannot be held up as indisputable proof of an evil Microsoft master plan to trick users out of their money via a mass of tiny, expensive additions. That said both are clear indicators of how the company’s business model is evolving.

Full article here: http://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonkelly/2015/08/05/windows-10-charging/?utm_campaign=yahootix&partner=yahootix

 

0