The unfounded fears about Microsoft Windows Recall

On Monday, May 20, 2024, Microsoft introduced the world to a new feature of Windows called Windows Recall.

Similar to Apple’s MacOS Time Machine, Recall is a continuous system “timeshot” software that uses device-based AI SLMs to help you recall your computing life.

And because it is a Microsoft product, all hell broke loose, with vested interests focusing on a single aspect of the product in order to denigrate the innovative feature.

Basically, Microsoft’s disclaimer with regards to the safety of the screenshooting of passwords and other PIIs.

The image below is from Microsoft’s Copilot FAQ

Upset as well by the seemingly glaring hole in the product, I decided to learn more about it.

This is what Microsoft Windows Recall is, and does:

  1. Microsoft Recall is user-activated.

  2. All SLMs run locally, and all content will be stored locally.

  3. Recall is encrypted to the specific user account on that specific computer. locking your PC user account protects that specific user's account on that specific PC. However, all persons with that user's login credentials will be able to access Recall information.

  4. Recall screenshotting is content-selectable for both apps AND websites.

  5. Recall will not record and store private browsing in Microsoft Edge. However, I don't believe this restriction carries over to other Chromium browsers. That said, I expect browser developers to use Copilot Runtime to enable restrictions for their browsers.

  6. Recall asks for an initial 50 GB on systems with over 256 GB of available storage. You can also set storage limits based on your preference.

  7. You can put Recall on timeout, if you want to pause recording, without having to switch it off.

  8. Recall is only available with new, Copilot PCs.

  9. This is the kicker here: while Recall will snapshot your browsing activity, it DOES NOT granularly restrict what it sees on a per website basis. Meaning, if you are going to be entering confidential data such as PIIs into a dialog box, you might want to pause Recall. In the words of Microsoft, Recall does not “moderate content", and will snapshot everything. Content moderation is the domain of the user. Wield your power.

According to Microsoft, this is how Recall information is stored.

This tempest in a teapot if quite unfounded and is a result of misinformation and disinformation about what Microsoft Recall is.

I actually had a negative kneejerk reaction when someone posted Microsoft's Recall disclaimer, a situation I am embarrassed by. Mainly because I was quite pleased with the promise of Recall, and that revelation rained on my parade, so to speak.

Further readings and a re-watching of the announcement videos, and of Microsoft Build, have led me to my current comfort with Recall.

Coupled with my trust in Microsoft's integrity and transparency around this product, I believe the trepidation on the part of some of the public is unwarranted.

Can Intel regain supremacy in the chip space?

As recently as two decades ago, Intel was 100% focused not only on PC CPUs, but on computing as a whole.

Intel led.

The succession of Intel CEOs since Andy Grove exited have been strategically gormless, listing hither and tither to the tune of Wall Street, and having no strategy other than recklessly trying to maintain "Moore's Law".

They were encircled, and are almost at the point of utter vanquishing by their even former gnat, AMD.

Alas! How are the formerly mighty incumbent fallen!

There are two roads ahead for Intel: a determined will to return to chip supremacy by delivering truly desirable and world-beating CPUs and GPUs, or continue n this slow path to IBM-style irrelevancy.

And NO!, the current line of Intel Iris Xe pieces of merde won't do.

Not at all.

Seeing Intel do the dog-and-pony over Iris Xe is enough to make one feel like reaching remotely across the Internet through one's desktop monitors, and slap the living daylights out of the Intel product presenter.

Or better yet, horsewhip the yum-yum. (Apropos image below.👇🏾)

For a while in the past couple of decades, it always seemed as if Intel was holding back the knockout punch in every generation of x86 chips delivered, while simultaneously ignoring the GPU market.

Now, we, of course know better: Intel had run out of innovation gas as regards x86, and were just treading water. As a result, it could only "iterate" x86 with faster clock speeds, and other minuscule incremental upgrades.

And kept gloating about beating AMD.

Meanwhile, NVIDIA was having a field day, feasting on Intel's exposed GPU flank.

Those GPU profits fueled its AI chip business.

The rest, you already know.

So, does Intel pull an IBM, and become the forgotten pioneer?

Or, will it will it start to truly innovate, and deliver not just barely-incremental performance increases across the board in CPUs, and develop or buy its way to dominance in GPUs and AI processors?

One fork in the road leads to greatness. The other fork to, well, Armonk.

Time will tell.

The US allows Microsoft to go ahead with the Activision buy

This quote here said it all:

"It is not a good sign when the judge you’re arguing before has to actively remind you that you’re supposed to be arguing for consumers, not one specific company, Sony."

That was the problem right there.

Everything the FTC did in this case, and everything the FTC argued for, was about how bad the merger was going to make things for Sony.

Consumers weren't mentioned.

Benefits accruing to consumers were explored, or if they were, were not elucidated on.

It was all Sony, all the time.

Source: Three strikes for the FTC

Goldman Sachs cries "No mas, no mas!" and plots exit from Apple Card business

Two things:

1) Shame on Goldman Sachs for not being able to monetize this relationship.

Goes to show that retail MegaBankCo would probably have done a better job utilizing Apple's customer base.

Retail banking certainly isn't Goldman's forte.

2) Another one-sided contract win for Apple.

This one, with a bullet!

I mean, Apple was able to schneider a Wall Street giant into giving them their bank!

Source: Goldman Mulls Exit….

War & Innovation

Silly me.

Prior to the start of the Ukraine war, I believed that large, expensive drones such as the ones used by our military were the way to go, as they could loiter for hours, had excellent standoff weapons delivery, and virtually global range, with refueling.

However, economic and tech realities brought out Ukraine's inventiveness and innovation.

The sad part here is that after this war, Ukraine will become an exporter of armed drones.

You can count on that.

More:
Ground vehicles are the new frontier in Ukraine's drone war

Threads, the Twitter Killer. Release Day 2

Day 2 of Threads and the douchebaggery of Zuck and his band of merry morons is now coming into view.

People, the ease of signing up for Threads is a head fake.

For it hides the millstone that is firmly anchored to the user: the absolute denial of the ability to delete your Instagram Threads account without deleting your main Instagram account!

Right now, only Instagram users can sign up, and only with their accounts.

That instantly populates Threads, as it brings the long tail of existing user networks with them.

However, once they see that it is just the same old shit, i.e., that instead of a pictures-based Instagram, it is now a textual Instagram, so to speak, they can't now leave there.

Meanwhile, Facebook now has a new data source for refining their social graph in order to bring up absolutely irrelevant ads.

And pelting users with shitty ads, mind you, is the end game for all of the horseshit that is Instagram Threads.

Seriously, why do you think that all news outlets and their shameless hacks all creaming themselves over how momentous this entry into our consciousness by Threads is.

No, dumbasses: it isn't.

Threads, as with most manufactured phenomenons, will likely fail.

Because artificial constraints, while indeed serving to goose user numbers initially, cannot replace organic user growth and stickiness.

History bears this out: Facebook has been successful in copying other products that are add-ins to existing products. However, it has failed woefully whenever it tries to recreate an existing product as a standalone asset.

The one thing they could have used to get that incredible FOMO feeling among the (supposed) cognoscenti, a land grab for usernames, cannot now be used because your Instagram ID is your automagic Threads user ID, and activated once you sign in to with your Instagram account.

That favored username FOMO likely won’t work once everyone is let in.

Now, mix in the other crap that Threads does very well: PII vacuuming, algorithmic timelines, and the force-feeding of shameless promotions/self-promotions by and of influencers and so-called celebrities.

It is also mobile-only, app required. I am told that it won’t work on iPad either. Though it has a web/browser component, that is merely a viewing placeholder, just like the Instagram app is.

That is a strategy that worked for Instagram. However, it is destined to fail for Threads because Threads is text-based, and people really do like using their keyboards to compose blasts and rants.

So, this (Instagram Threads) too, will pass away.

Still, you have gotta applaud the absolutely subdolous way Zuck and Facebook did this Threads launch!

Andy Marken's Content Insider #803 – Biz Matters

Money is Important but there are also bigger issues

By: Andy Marken
andy@markencom.com

"I'll need to see all those books for the past ten years. Bank statements, complete list of clients and vendors. Hard copies printed out, my eyes only. All the information's right here." – Christian Wolff, "The Accountant," Warner Bros, 2016

Somehow, in the M&E industry, it feels that there are those that get ... and those that get got.

After a few insanely great barnburner films being shown in large, darkened rooms, theater owners are telling everyone who will listen that life is returning to normal, and people are rushing (begging even) to put their seats in seats.

Streamers are greenlighting projects in almost every country around the globe to keep their show/film rosters fresh, so folks don't rotate into/out of their services.

New studios are booked even before construction is complete.

Senior studio executives are getting major bonuses for streamlining/restructuring their organizations (firing folks), renaming their streaming services (new lipstick, same hog), cheerleading the idea of bringing back old stuff as a giant step forward and other great ideas just to get back to the position where they can pay shareholders dividends.

Let's get something straight at the outset here.

We're not returning to normal.

This is not the new normal.

It is simply normal ... just different!

Studios are pushing to make a profit pedaling their content everywhere possible – theater, pay–tv, streamer, TVOD (direct transaction), DVD, you name it.

Pay–Tv (day/time home entertainment) is struggling to keep its bundled customers even as people cut their bundled bill to select subscription/ad–supported/FAST services they want to watch on their personal/home screen.

The global streaming services – Netflix, Amazon, Disney, WBD, Apple, Paramount, Hulu, Google YouTube, Pluto, Tubi, Tencent, iQIYI – and more than 200 national, regional and specialty services are focused on getting their unfair share of the market which was valued at $90B last year and growing at a projected rate of 22 percent annually.

Studio and streaming bosses are telling Wall Street analysts that they are very focused on creating/delivering a steady stream of content and will profitably deliver the video entertainment people want as well as superior shareholder profits.

The picture they're painting is so rosy that directors/talent and trade guild officers are saying that their lawyers/accountants want a closer look at the books.

For some reason, they feel their clients/members aren't being properly paid for their long hours, expertise.

At the same time, the creative production team wants to address how some of the new technologies that are being introduced will affect their professional future.

According to data from internationally recognized entertainment guru, Bruce Nash (www.thenumbers.com), the US led video content production with nearly 24,000 projects last year with an average production budget of slightly more than $37.5M per project.

It's a big business that employs more than 45M people, which is down over 4 percent over the past five years, even as demand and volume have remained strong.

Professionals in Nollywood, Bollywood and the other "woods" are reaping the benefiting from:

  • Their countries' regulations governing how many locally produced films/shows must be offered to streaming customers compared to international fare

  • The economics of producing content there for viewing here

  • The rising demand for content genre variety – drama, sci–fi, horror, thriller, romcom, crime, etc. – studios, networks, distributors, streamers can show locally, regionally and globally

As a result, US producers/talent agents and guild officials feel...

The challenge is, it's difficult to impossible to determine exactly if or how profitable films/shows really are because the most creative people in film/show houses are probably accountants.

That doesn't matter much except to directors and major talent who base their pay on a mix of front–end or agreed upon initial salary – and back–end payments based on global receipts as well as residuals based on reruns of the project. Or, it can be simple negotiated salary for the show/film ... done and done!

And of course the WGA, DGA, SAG–AFTRA (writers, directors, screen actors – American Federation of Theater and Radio Artists) folks have something to say about it so ... it's complicated!

The mind–boggling formulas have been the basis for countless lawsuits and settlements over the years.

It's so complicated that even Lion King's Rafiki has a hard time in reaching a settlement that both sides feel is equitable.

Stephen Follows, film industry researcher/guru, has done a very good job of explaining the mind–boggling (dry) economics of Hollywood.

Profit Odds – Based on a lot of detailed research it seems that about 50 percent of the films/shows will show a profit.

In other words, it's little wonder that Hollywood's green shade, pocket protector folks are so well paid.

But for the majority of the people in the industry, it's less complicated because the project budget is the project budget.

The big question is where and how will that budget be spent.
While many producers and talent prefer location shooting, studios and streamers are finding that virtual production – regardless of the country where the project is produced – can deliver significant time and money savings.

Virtually – To control the cost and quality of films, shows and ads, nearly every production facility around the globe has or is planning a virtual production facility and they are booked long in advance by studios and streamers.

Nearly every studio around the globe has or is planning to install a virtual LED video wall for film/show production.

The versatile facilities can slash such costs as travel, accommodations, set production/tear–down/disposal, lighting/audio and deliver savings in almost every area and aspect of the project.

Fast Turnaround – Producers, directors, talent and cinematographers are able to more quickly and economically deliver finished films/shows when multiple locations aren't required.

Whether the studio housing the production is located in England, Nigeria, Canada, Indonesia, South Korea or Hollywood, the work is the same just the people signed up for the work could be different.

The uncertainty of guild negotiations/actions has already had production/distribution firms determining where upcoming movies/shows will be produced because the last thing they can afford is the disruption in delivering new, unique content to theaters and their service libraries.

Of course, the studios/streamers also have the option of using more of their production budgets to acquire the rights to projects that are already completed and can use advanced subtitle and dubbing technology to quickly and economically "Americanize" the films/shows for their audiences.

Since the last major industry strike in 2007/08, both sides of the US bargaining table have realized that folks in the US have come to enjoy/appreciate non–American shows/films.

Imports such as Narcos, Dark, Squid Game, The Bridge, The Bureau, Schitt's Creek, Tin Star and hundreds of other shows/films once considered local or niche market content have helped American audiences realize that good video content is good video content regardless of where it's produced and the actors happen to have a unique way of saying things, drive on the wrong side of the road and enjoy a different cuisine.

Work – Sure, everyone on the film/show production crew would prefer long breaks but they also know schedules need to be kept and time is money.

No one ever really benefits from work stoppages because lost income can never be recovered, nor can studios/streamers make up for missed ticket/subscription opportunities.

Right now, everyone is benefiting from a production/demand boom after finally emerging from a tough lull in global content completion.

However, the pause/forced vacations will have a short–term impact on a lot of people whether it's a micro or tentpole production.

It Depends – Only a precious few films/shows have seemingly endless budgets and crews to match but even then, the percentage of specialists working on the projects will remain relatively constant.

Depending on the film/show scope and budget, the Hollywood discussions could impact folks; but more importantly, they can present an opportunity for both sides to clarify the guidelines for the use of new technologies that are being used and are on the horizon.

On–set, in–camera editing has become increasingly common for crews to speed production completion. Camera to cloud to post storage has significantly reduced cost and production timelines.

Major automation advances have been introduced in products from Adobe, Autodesk, DaVinci, Apple (Final Cut) and Frame.io as well as screenwriting and budgeting/scheduling tools to reduce production time, increase production quality and reduce staffing requirements.

AI (artificial intelligence) is being used and discussed/planned for almost every aspect of film/show project work including automated script writing, animation, CGI, seamless dubbing, de–aging actors and yes, even bringing folks back to the screen who have long been deceased.

Frankly, bringing people back for an encore performance is not just spooky, it's d*** spooky and no matter what techie programmers say, it's just plain creatively/professionally wrong!

No, we're not a neanderthal who wants to cling to the "good ol days" because honestly, they weren't that good.

However, somewhere in the back of our mind there is this gnawing reality that HAL 9000 in 2001: A Space Odyssey will cut us out of the loop by saying, "I'm sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that."

Besides, we'll bet that some of the best creative work that has been produced started out as a mistake.

Even more were the result of folks faking it till they made it.

Then they proudly proclaimed, "Yep that's the way we planned it."

Beyond the parties financial negotiations and rush to replace people talent with AI maybe executives need to spend a few hours with Matt Damon's Air.

The idea of a basketball player getting a piece of the action from every shoe sold is no different from people on the total production team getting a fair share of the income for every film/show presented on every screen...regardless of its size.

Tastes Change – What movies/shows people prefer to watch constantly changes and people in different countries like certain genre over others.

People's taste in films and shows constantly change and usually for completely illogical reasons.

In addition, content tastes are different from one region/country and another.

In other words, for the time being and hopefully well into the future, creative people not AI or accountants will be responsible for producing the films/shows we search for, put our seats in seats and sit in front of our home screen with fresh popcorn to watch and enjoy.

Yes, it's unfortunate that at times, the industry has to hit pause and take a long/hard look at where we're at, where we're going and how we'll get there.

But then maybe, just maybe, everyone involved in the film/show industry needs to realize they're like Christian Wolff in The Accountant when he said, "I have a highly functioning form of autism."

It still takes people – professional, slightly different people – to create the content folks want to have, watch.

Whether it's an athlete or filmmaker, there's something to the way Air's Sonny Vaccaro led his life and pursued his career. Profit participation provides the incentive provides the incentive for everyone to do the best possible for every project.

Then everyone benefits...especially the folks who pay to put their seats in seats wherever they're located.


Andy Marken – andy@markencom.com – is an author of more than 700 articles on management, marketing, communications, industry trends in media & entertainment, consumer electronics, software and applications. An internationally recognized marketing/communications consultant with a broad range of technical and industry expertise, especially in storage; storage management and film/video production fields; he has an extended range of relationships with business, industry trade press, online media and industry analysts/consultants.

A "Valerian & the City of a Thousand Planets" remake would be great

I would love to see a remake of "Valerian & the City of a Thousand Planets" (2017) but with real acting, a Valerian and Laureline that actually have real and palpable chemistry for each other, more drama and less silly CGI or whatever that shit was, and better everything.

The plot works.

Heck, whatever happened to the Luc Besson who wrote "The Fifth Element" (1997)?

Palaces and more palaces

While annoying and true, this madness isn't new.

Royals have always built palaces for themselves, with the summer and winter palaces of the Russian tsars coming to mind.

If you remember, even the British royalty still own the several palaces built to accommodate their greed.

And, at least, they lived in them. Albeit infrequently.

This is the new dementedness here: the Ferengi-like acquisition of these monuments to ego that serve no other value but to say "My schlong is bigger than yours.".

Some sites keep shilling for crypto

Once in a while, a website publishes an article that makes you lose all respect for that website.

For #MoneyWeek, this is that article.

To wit:

"USD Coin (USDC) is a type of stablecoin. 1 USDC is always worth the same as US$1, because it’s pegged to the US $$."

or

"USDC is backed by dollar reserves that are equal to the USDC in circulation."

WTF, right?

Mind you, this silly article was written AFTER the FTX implosion.

How can you now trust them after such drivel?

Yes, that is the RIGHT approach in Africa

This article shows that the writer, and by proxy, the magazine, is rather unaware of how presidential politics plays out in Africa, and is taking a colonial view whereby bureaucrats lead such talks.

The bottom line: presidents will only respect, and talk substantively with their peers, not their underlings.

Never their underlings. Using underlings is a purely Western approach.

Former African leaders' mediation efforts under scrutiny

Nigeria would consider China's C919 plane for new airline? Seriously?

This is how Nigeria does corruption.

In the attempt to reboot their national airline, the government of Nigeria is again going to go with aircraft from Boeing, Airbus, and now….China.

On the surface, it might look merely insane.

However, the truth is much more invidious: it is a money grab.

This way, all three countries have a dog in the fight, so to speak, and would allow the bloated sale contracts to be funded, and be on the gravy train for the next decade and more.

Moreover, by divving up their number of airplane suppliers, the corrupt officials there are baking in inefficiencies by design, and ensuring that anti-corruption authorities in the US, the EU, and China would look the other way once expected monies from bribes are shared.

Meanwhile, the people of Nigeria keep suffering.

Original story:

Nigeria would consider China's C919 plane for new airline

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