General Discussions

Yeah. Here's the image MS used showing all QA rings:

Link

Looks efficient, after reading your updates let me guess you're in the last ring..
Please keep updating.

I probably don't have time to test exciting stuff (gaming). I did note a new S508 defect with this build though.

When using NVDA, when prompted by UAC, the screen reader only announces "Secure Desktop" then remains silent. Any interaction with the dialog box is not announced either leaving a disabled user in the dark. In the previous build and in Windows 8 / 8.1, NVDA was able to announce the dialog box properly meaning it's a regression issue.

Windows 7 this was bugged and would not announced properly so if you use Windows 7, you won't be able to reproduce the expected result. It was one of the few things fixed in Windows 8.

Microsoft is planning to do a major overhaul with how IE renders websites and a preview edition is available on Windows 10 with the new functionality trickling down on a select basis (you are allow to enable it early though). Cheat Happens does not load with this new technology when logged in. Current workaround is to use another browser.

Behavior shows the site loads normally logged off and you can browse around the site and view forum posts or window shop trainers. Upon a successful log in, the page seems to never load anything beyond the banner. No idea the cause behind it or if I'm stupid and can't internet.

A defect report was logged to Microsoft for them to take a look at it.

Microsoft blogged about the new changes here for the interested:
Link

[Edited by Neo7, 11/19/2014 10:18:41 PM]

P.S - For those whom take security seriously, the preview versions of IE (Windows 10 and DC versions) are still vulnerable to the POODLE attack. Firefox and Chrome are both not.

[Edited by Neo7, 11/19/2014 10:28:54 PM]

P.S.S - Microsoft has issues a security bulletin which does include workarounds to make the vulnerability go away: Link

[Edited by Neo7, 11/19/2014 10:36:17 PM]

Lol another future headache for PW and NM..

I abandoned IE not long ago and switched to Chrome, and I must say with Adblocker it's a delight.
I feel like Microsoft is constantly trying to improve IE because of the loss of users which is a good thing but they dont have any major or noticeable successes on that field.
Take a look on the following chart: Link Idk how accurate it is but it sure looks like a logical assessment .

I'm a web developer so I work with all the main stream browsers and know many things about them the common user does not. Every browser has their quirks. Here's some stuff you may or may not know about each (mostly negative stuff):

Internet Explorer: Limited customization. No extensions are available and leaves developers in the dark. IE12 is rumored to bring in extensions. Also because of the limitations, IE11 is extremely light on resources and gives the best battery life (Mozilla comes in close 2nd place. Others are much worse than these two). IE's development tools used to suck hardcore until it's major redesign in version 11 (actually pretty good).

Safari: Abandoned Windows and several users. Very wall gardened approach in that you need a Mac to have the latest (same can be said for IE but Windows trumps Mac in terms of user base so it's less of a problem there). This browser has limited customization (per Apple philosophy on UX design) but has decent extension support. This browser is unrivaled in power consumption on a Mac due to the insane amount of control Apple has on the software and hardware stacks.

Fun Fact: IE and Safari are currently the only two browsers that have built in tracking protection directly built into the browsers. Other browsers you need extensions to do this. Shows how much weight these two have in telling advertising companies to shove it up theirs (and should be taken as very important). Using this feature with attention to detail yields a built in ad blocker as well (with the caveat being it doesn't remove the space reserved for them leaving lots of white space).

Chrome: Made by Google. Google collects a metric ton of information from you whether you like it or not. There is no way to turn this collecting off since it's built into the software. Chromium is a bit of a safer alternative. So is Opera after version 15. Their app store is riddled with questionably malicious add-ons that get a by because they mention it in their privacy or EULA (that nobody reads). Google has a habit of coming up with new technology for the web then force it as a standard (kind of like a forced meme). This has had very poor results thus far (and not well liked by other browser vendors).

Firefox: Not multi-threaded (other than the separate plug-in). This means that if one tab goes boom, all tabs and windows go boom. Also means that if you have lots of tabs/windows open, expect slow down. This is the browser/company that cares the most about your privacy. They have recently partnered with Disconnect to bring tracking protection directly built in joining the ranks of IE and Safari (possibly in Nightly right now). Firefox is the only browser to rival IE in terms of power consumption (assuming no extensions installed). Their web dev tools are still lacking behind Firebug although improving.

Opera: Since version 12, Opera has taken a massive step backwards in how advanced they were as a result of their shift from Presto to Blink. They have been recovering bit by bit with some new stuff but it's not even close to what it once was. Opera suffered a huge decline in even it's loyal user base due to this move. As time marches on, the last Presto based version shows more and more defects as new web technology becomes standard.

Fun Fact: Chromium based browsers (Opera, Chrome, Chromium) do not respect ClearType rendering. It's a preference but if you like it, these browsers are not for you. Firefox has better but limited support. IE and Safari were the only ones to respect ClearType's settings.

Fun Fact: Opera (v15+), Safari, and Chrome all use the same web dev tools (based on WebKit).

[Edited by Neo7, 11/20/2014 6:58:44 PM]

[Edited by Neo7, 11/20/2014 6:59:54 PM]

Thanks for the valuable infos Neo7

Great post.
This is why I keep several browsers available for different purposes.