The Mouse Patch Is Here
Yesterday,
I gave you a heads-up on a patch for a flaw within the Windows animated mouse
cursor. Microsoft felt the hole was severe enough that instead of waiting for
the monthly Patch Tuesday, it
created
a mini-Patch Tuesday, which is today.
Get your mouse fix here.
Online vs. Print Reading Habits
Who reaches the end of more stories: those thumbing through a newspaper or magazine,
or those staring at a shimmering 1024x768 pixel LCD? Apparently, we'd rather
singe our eyes with a computer screen than enjoy the crisp, traditional
look of ink on paper.
I have two guesses as to why this is true. Web stories tend to be shorter than
print, and through smart searching, we can find the articles we actually want
to finish. As for me, I
still love print!
Knowledge = Savings
Want to save money on your next purchase of Microsoft software? No, don't buy
illegal dupes from Bulgaria. I'm not talking about saving 100 percent; I'm talking
about substantial discounts on volume purchases.
Knowing how to negotiate and deeply understand Redmond licensing options is
important, but as licensing guru Scott Braden points out, you can't start to
bargain until
you know exactly what you already have.
Scott also points out that Microsoft itself is pushing new ways to get an
accurate software inventory.
See what Scott has to say in his exclusive monthly column here.
Doug's Mailbag: Do Vista's Numbers Count?
Last week, Microsoft reported selling 20
million copies of Vista in February. But at least one of you thought that
number isn't much to crow about:
I don't know what it is, but it always bugs me when I see a press release
that reads something like this headline: "Microsoft Vista Sells 20M Copies
in Feb." It's kind of like Goodyear saying it sold x-number of tires,
when nine out of 10 car buyers couldn't care less whose tires are on their
new car -- they bought a car, not a set of tires.
Since it's very, very difficult (10 years ago, it was impossible) to
buy a new PC -- excluding Macs, of course -- without Windows on it, a more
accurate figure would be the number of retail copies sold. Let's be generous
and include the number of Corporate/Select licenses, too, on the assumption
they were bought by people who actually wanted to buy Vista.
Now, that would be an interesting number. And probably less than
20 million, don't you think?
-Dexter
Tell me what you think! Comment below or drop me a line at [email protected].
About the Author
Doug Barney is editor in chief of Redmond magazine and the VP, editorial director of Redmond Media Group.