Thurrott Daily: March 9

(More than) a few tidbits from around the web.

3/9/2016 8:21:45 AM

Teens react to Windows 95

This video is worth watching, if only for a few minutes: Teens react to Windows 95 and the ancient and yellowing Dell computer on which it runs.

“It’s a lot louder,” one notes. “More beeps.” “It’s prehistoric,” another adds. Correctly. And sadly. Enjoy.

Microsoft is testing a Windows 10 Mobile app that will let you sign-in on your PC

Thanks again to WalkingCat on Twitter, who found this little gem: Microsoft Phone Sign-in Beta, a new app for Windows 10 Mobile.

This is a Beta version of the Authenticator app and is only intended for internal testing purposes.

The first step towards a world without passwords! After a quick Bluetooth sync, use this app to unlock your Windows 10 computer at work. Just open the app and tap on a nearby computer.

Note: This app is still in beta. Future versions will include support for Microsoft account, a sign-in solution for browsers and VPN, one-time passcode generation, and MFA approval through notifications.

Halo sale

The Halo games for Xbox One are all $20 off at the Microsoft Store today.

Bill Gates does another Reddit AMA

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates appeared on Reddit yesterday for an AMA (Ask Me Anything). Aside from recreating a famous Bill Gates photo from 40 years ago, he made a few semi-interesting comments. Among them:

He supports Microsoft’s move into Linux.

Satya is looking at how the market is changing and [is] willing to change how things have been done. His embrace of the cloud and mobile including doing software on other people’s mobile platforms are also great examples of that.

He’s using a Surface Book now.

I just recently switched to the Surface Book. I only detach the screen a few times a week and I like the keyboard better than my previous Surface.

He’s OK with the terrible TV movie Pirates of Silicon Valley

Pirates of Silicon Valley was a reasonable recapitulation of the early days of the PC industry.

He hasn’t changed his stance on Apple and encryption despite a few attempts at doing so publicly.

I think there needs to be a discussion about when the government should be able to gather information. What if we had never had wiretapping? Also the government needs to talk openly about safeguards. Right now a lot of people don’t think the government has the right checks to make sure information is only used in criminal situations. So this case will be viewed as the start of a discussion. I think very few people take the extreme view that the government should be blind to financial and communication data but very few people think giving the government carte blanche without safeguards makes sense. A lot of countries like the UK and France are also going through this debate. For tech companies there needs to be some consistency including how governments work with each other. The sooner we modernize the laws the better.

Maybe [Apple] could propose an overall plan for striking the balance between government being able to know things in some cases and having safeguards to make sure those powers are confined to appropriate cases. There is no avoiding this debate and they could contribute to how the balance should be struck.

(That’s what I’ve been arguing for, by the way.)

He likes mixed reality (HoloLens) better than VR because VR is too “extreme,” with no real world objects.

Mixed systems which seems like VR but when you might hit something it shows you that seem better than pure VR. I don’t think these two things will stay as separate.

Microsoft updates its OneDrive for Business roadmap

Mary Jo has a nice recap of Microsoft’s OneDrive for Business roadmap.

It’s been a while since Microsoft provided an update to its OneDrive cloud-storage roadmaps. (I think the last full-fledged one I saw was in May 2015.)

However, at a recent Microsoft cloud roadshow event, company executives shared an updated look at where the company is with various new user and IT features for OneDrive for Business.

“Microsoft Lumia 650 second impressions: an affordable flagship?”

No. It’s no flagship. But it is a surprisingly nicely-made (and thin and light) handset … with crap internals. In other words, a lot like the phones Microsoft shipped throughout most of 2015.

Google launches Destinations feature on the web and mobile

Google edges ever more deeply into the vacation planning and booking world:

Destinations on Google, which helps you discover and plan your next vacation, right from Google Search on your phone.

Search with Google on your mobile phone for the continent, country, or state you’d like to travel to and add the word “destination” to see an easy-to-browse collection of options. Destinations integrates a deep understanding of all the places in the world with Google Flights and Hotel search, so you can see available flight and hotel prices instantly. So instead of jumping between a dozen links or tabs to get the information you need, you can sit back and scroll—and leave the heavy lifting to us.

I wasn’t able to get this to work with the Google app on iOS earlier today but I’ll check back later given my interest in travel.

Google Nexus 5X is about to get faster

I recommended the Google Nexus 5X (with Project Fi) yesterday. But if you do own (or will soon own) this handset, here’s some good news:It’s about to get even faster.

I know there has been some discussion here about the 5X-specific factory images that were posted yesterday on the developers site. I wanted to give some clarification around this, and specifically let you all know that an OTA update will begin rolling out today for the Nexus 5X. We have listened to your feedback, and this update includes a number of bug fixes that will improve overall stability, connectivity, and performance on the Nexus 5X. The March security update will be included with this OTA for the Nexus 5X.

Orrin – Nexus Community Manager