More about Windows announcements...and the latest ebola stuff

Windows 8.1 Update 1 and some more Windows 9 stuff.

Microsoft post-Ballmer is doing pretty well. Microsoft needs to make a big splash and next week they are likely to do just that. Microsoft has much more to worry about from the Google camp than from Apple. Everyone that is not Google and is in the consumer electronics business has much to be concerned about from the Mountain View group.

I am not certain that 8.1 Update 1 is going to happen. No one is other than those inside the working group. Given the way too slow uptake of Windows 8.1, I would not be greatly surprised if Microsoft dropped the 8.1 update, and offered Win 8 users Windows 9 for free or for a token sum. I had the opportunity to buy Windows 7 Pro DVDs all wrapped up in official Microsoft packaging for $29.99 earlier this week. Even retail there was vendor offering Win 7 64 bit Home for approximately the same price after mail-in rebate but it was kind of a sticky situation. Still, $30 for a full Win OS at retail is not commonly found these days.

I expect Microsoft to do most things correctly when Windows 9 is released.

Ebola, you are up!

MSNBC is now reporting that West African ebola is now an "exponential crisis". The reporter cites the 1.4 million cases as evidence. But it is not evidence. It is the current worst case scenario. Be careful about opeing the link. It is direct to an autoplay video that is very slow to load. I am on a 105mbps connection, and it was still slow to load.

The WHO has released new confirmed ebola fatality numbers, and as of this moment that number is 3,133 confirmed. The report also notes that in excess of 6,500 people have been, or are currently, infected. I will wait until Sep. 30 to update my chart. I am going to use graphing software to make it appear that I know just how to plot things along an x and y axis.

Meanwhile, at the UN....

Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete told the general assembly some obvious things. Here is a bit:

"Help Africa, so that the stigma that is developing against the continent because of Ebola is stopped. Reports that people from other parts of the world are shying from visiting Africa will kill the tourism industry, trade and investment to Africa," he said. Amid applause, he observed: "Many people are now shying away from Africa.

Let the UN help tell the world that Africa is a continent of 54 countries and not provinces," he said. He noted that the affected countries are closer to Europe than they are to countries in East Africa such as Tanzania or Kenya. "To cancel travel to Africa because of this is gross injustice," he said.

This is going to be lost on the American public for two reasons. The first is that Joe Average has no real sense of the geographic spans involved, and the second is that when Josephine Average hears the word "ebola" she freezes from fear. It is hoped that the reader of this blog has a much keener sense of the size of Africa, and reasons through the ebola issue rather than experience paralysis due to a reflexive emotional response.

A report from Russia stating that conspiracy "theories" are aiding ebola's spread. Africans are not seeking medical help because of talk that those that enter clinics are being killed by doctors. As a person living in the what is likely the fear ridden Western country, I can easily see how occurs.

The Muslim Hajj is even being affected due to pilgrims from the ebola region of West Africa and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome(MERS). In what might prove fascinating to my fellow US citizens, the Arabs are taking direct cues from the WHO and the CDC. Yes, this is Saudi Arabia that is following the guidelines suggested by the two health organizations. People are people first. A notion that many of my fellow citizens should take to heart.

Until the various vaccines are sorted out, and post-infection drugs are approved this is likely to be the best bet for the ebola infected. A bit:

Technical guidance for experts

Early next week, WHO is issuing new interim guidance on Use of convalescent whole blood or plasma collected from patients recovered from Ebola virus disease for transfusion during outbreaks.

The document is addressed to national health authorities and blood transfusion services.

I am certainly no expert, but I can post bits of pieces found in my RSS feed. Next week should prove interesting on many a front.