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@SilverlightWpfXAML: And the console in the following looks suspiciously like an xbox

I just love a good bit of conspiracy/mystery/rumour!

I don't doubt that Microsoft did this deliberately. People won't miss what they haven't had, but what they've had and had taken away from them, that's a different matter. Microsoft are using their customers to apply pressure to Google. And, quite honestly, Google are at fault here - it's no secret they've been blocking any release of a decent YouTube app for WP (written either by themselves or by Microsoft). Microsoft respond by releasing one with features that act as sticking two fingers up at Google (knowing that Google will block it). They're trying to force a "compromise" to what they wanted in the first place. And, as a WP user, I wish them every success. (Google can save face by "forcing" Microsoft to remove these features while appeasing the angry mobs by allowing MS to release a YouTube app for WP.)

8 hours ago, evildictait​or wrote

@GoddersUK: Bah. Missed out 2k. Also 2k3 == Windows XP == NT 5.0 And you missed out 7. But yeah.

hmm... but from an end user perspective 7 is just Vista with a few performance enhancements and a shiny new skin. Anything that works on one should work on the other. It was basically an iterative release with a skin to trick people...

My rationale was that 2k and xp are brothers (as per their NT version numbers 5.0 and 5.1) while their cousin (2k3/2k3R2) served as the father of another set of brothers Vista, 7, 8 and 8.1 (again: NT 6.0, 6.1, 6.2 and 6.3). I guess you could argue that I should start that family with Vista and lump 2k3 with the other NT 5 systems, though. (Although I'm aware that from 7 onwards MS are too worried that changing the major NT version number will break too many third party apps so that may not be a reliable guide, the fact they match with my analysis is more coincidence than anything.)

It's also true that there are major differences between 8.1 and Vista, the problem is pinpointing the major upgrade - it's a result of the sum of a series of more incremental changes, with no obvious "major" candidate. So while I think 7 is basically Vista and 8 is basically 7 I don't think 8 is basically Vista.

Anyway, I just realised the metaphor I used above makes me look like a retard...

10 minutes ago, evildictait​or wrote

NT4 -> XP -> XP SP2 -> Vista -> 7 -> 8 -> 8.1

NT4 -> 2000 -> XP SP2 -> Vista (or, perhaps 2k3 here)  -> 8 surely? Then again it all depends how you define a major version - marketting, method of release, adoption/life cycle, NT version number, UX or internal changes?

EDIT: In fact I think I'd go for:

NT 4 > 2000 > 2K3 > (8?)

http://www.windowsphone.com/en-gb/store/app/bbc-iplayer/4ca944d4-2c9d-47a0-a153-731b67b69b80

Well that was unexpected. Although the BBC have stated that one of the things holding an iPlayer WP app back as a bug in WP7 they hoped would be fixed.

(Note: It's not listed as published by the BBC and I can find no mention of it on their site, but it was being pushed on one of the official Microsoft facebook pages so I'm going to assume it's fairly legit, if unofficial. Also I only have WP7 so I can't vouch for it).

http://blogs.windows.com/windows/b/bloggingwindows/archive/2013/05/14/windows-keeps-getting-better.aspx

Windows Blue will be called 8.1 and be a free update delivered through the store. How exciting!

Not really much else to say as that blog post doesn't carry much more information.

1 hour ago, evildictait​or wrote

*snip*

Ah yes, but it is not serviced by IBM. 

Also I'm not sure hardware counts for the purposes of this challenge. (Otherwise you could claim that, for example, a number of bridges have been maintained for longer than 10 years, but that's an unfair comparison).

The programme run is still the same too

35 minutes ago, evildictait​or wrote

*snip*

Find me any computer program - by any company - that is in general use with an meaningful in-service arrangement that is longer than 5 years - never mind the 10 that XP has been in service.

Challenge, accepted!

http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/13/04/25/1610244/texas-companys-antique-computers-are-for-production-not-display

It's even still serviced by an IBM trained technician!

Why is everyone so obsessed with the Start screen? It's just a full screen start menu

Yes, Windows 8 does carry a learning curve. No, it's not intuitive (but is any software if you put it in front of someone who's never used a computer... that's simply not the target market), but that's not necessarily a bad thing. What's important is how efficient it is when you know how to use it and how easy it is to learn. For the most point Windows 8 only falls down on the last point where, if you don't RTFM, you may take a while to learn about things like the charms bar. (The only big issue that comes to mind for the penultimate point is running Metro apps in a window.)

6 hours ago, Bas wrote

*snip*

Don't they? OEMs aren't just rolling a bunch of dice and then buying whatever number comes out of that times a million.

They must be pretty epic dice if they can roll 100...