With Intel and AMD announcing their new processor chips this past week, Doug turns to you to see which side of the fence you're on:
As a good American, I've always got to support the underdog. I try to use AMD where I can and there isn't much performance cost. It serves us well to have these two competing. Each inspires the other to greater efforts.
-John
I usually go with what seems best when I purchase (or which is more readily available), as I don't believe that one is substantially better than the other.
-Charlie
I prefer a chip that works!
-Bill
I used to sing the praises of AMD but I started getting upset that I had to over clock the AMD based processor to get the speed that they said it was capable of. If I buy a 3 GHz processor it should be a 3 GHz processor without over clocking.
I also can't help but to wonder how much of a 64-core processor we could actually use. We run a grip of statistical analysis software and even of the most advanced applications we have do not know how to utilize 4-cores, let alone 64. Until the software geeks start writing code that utilizes these cores, it looks like we're heading for another case of hardware technology having to wait for the applications to catch up.
BTW my vote is for Intel.
-Christian
On the news of Microsoft extending the trial for Windows 7 until the end of the year, Doug, once again, asks if you are satisfied with the new Windows OS:
Generally I like Windows 7 -- better performance and easy to use. But on my first a few days' use, I noticed that the windows update automatically shutdown my pc without asking -- I feel like Windows 7 is very rude :-) -- does it know that my data/ documents might get lost if it shutdown my pc with brute-force?
-George
I do love many of the new features that make Windows more user friendly, and I certainly love the back-end improvements that allow the same CPUs to run faster than with (choke) Vista. Are there still glitches? Undoubtedly. This is, after all, a Microsoft OS! Come on -- even though retirement draws near for Windows 2000, there are still security patches being released regularly!
-Heidi
I love Windows 7. Best OS Microsoft has ever put out. Vista was a dog -- more like Windows 3.0 than Win 7. I had to keep XP on one machine because Vista was so bad. I've finally converted that one to Win7/64bit and it's been a dream come true.
The new Task Bar is great. The new UAC is a like having Bob disappear.
I've seen a couple minor Win7 glitches:
Outlook e-mails open and flash the body view from the previous e-mail before showing the body. A visual oddity with no apparent harmful effects.
I did some odd drag and drop Windows Explorer stuff that got the system befuddled and my desktop gadgets ended up on top of the application windows. Had to reboot. Minor, difficult to reproduce as I've only seen it once.
-Anonymous
And finally, one reader comments on what the court ruling between the FCC and Comcast means to the average Internet subscriber:
I see a great war coming: an information age war of epic proportions.
On one side, I see an evil alliance of service providers fighting for metered Internet access with ever escalating rates. On the other side, I see cloud proponents like Microsoft, Google and Apple, allied with Internet content providers like NetFlix, Hulu, Facebook and MMO game sites.
Should the evil alliance win, streaming a movie or TV show from the web at $10 per GB would spell economic doom for NetFlix and others. Streaming video would move completely out of the financial reach of all but the richest users. World of Warcraft would end in total destruction. Even on-line stores could face financial ruin.
Should the streaming-cloud alliance win, we will see development of new Internet-based technologies to improve our quality of life, pull us from our current financial doldrums and further shift power from sellers to buyers.
Okay, so it's pretty obvious which side I'm rooting for. Let's look at how the war is going: the streaming-cloud alliance is losing. They are not organized or taking actions to achieve victory. Maybe, in their complacency, they are oblivious to the threat. On the other hand, the evil alliance is a well funded, well organized collection of ruthless conglomerates that share a common goal -- metered Internet service. The first major battle is already lost. The streaming-cloud alliance must win a terrible uphill battle to recover the lost ground. Cellular Internet access, once unlimited, is now limited to 5 GB per month at almost $10 per GB before taxes and fees. With some providers, the cost tops $15 per GB.
As I said earlier, I see a great war coming. It's time to choose a side and dig in for a long, hard fought battle for our future.
-Dr. Dave
Posted by Doug Barney on 04/09/2010 at 1:17 PM2 comments
Vendors say cloud computing is the next big thing, but they are the ones selling, not buying. Almost half of potential cloud buyers aren't buying -- worried that security is not proven.
IT folks are used to battening down their own IT hatches, and don't yet trust a service provider to do it for them, at least according to a survey by the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA).
While 45 percent have real security fears, only 17 percent are gung ho about the cloud, and of these only 10 percent will put critical apps in the cloud. Nearly 40 percent aren't too concerned or too excited.
What will it take to prove the cloud is secure? Do you fear the cloud will eliminate IT jobs? Send your answers through the ether to [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 04/09/2010 at 1:17 PM3 comments
The Itanium processor is a curious thing. It was designed by Intel to be the next big thing. But Intel had its own next big thing -- powerful x86/64 chips that weren't only fast but backwards-compatible. Intel nearly killed its own creation.
But Itanium fans, in particular HP, never gave up and the processor kept moving forward. Like IBM's Power6, Itanium drives high-power, high-capacity data center servers largely running Unix and Linux. (I recently interviewed the head of the Itanium Solutions Alliance and got a fascinating look at where the chip stands.)
But unlike Power6, Itanium could run Microsoft apps. That won't be the case forever as Microsoft will be discontinuing Itanium versions of Windows Server 2008 R2, Visual Studio 2010 and SQL Server 2008 R2. Microsoft is giving plenty of warning: Extended Support for Windows Server won't end for more than eight years!
Do you use Power6, SPARC or Itanium? Tell us why at [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 04/07/2010 at 1:17 PM2 comments
The FCC's hopes to enforce Net Neutrality got a vicious slap from a federal appeals court which ruled that Comcast has the right to regulate what happens on its broadband network. In effect, this gives Comcast the right to punish those who use too much bandwidth such as BitTorrent users.
If the decision stands, ISPs will be able to do nearly whatever they want, meter usage and charge per use. Who knows what else?
This is a pretty scary deal except for one little thing -- competition. In my area, I can use Comcast, Verizon, mobile broadband or satellite. Hopefully this will keep ISPs from abusing their newfound rights.
Are you worried about what could be the end of Net Neutrality? Thoughts welcome as always at [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 04/07/2010 at 1:17 PM8 comments
In the April issue of Redmond magazine, Doug discussed the impact of Microsoft's ribbon interface and asked your thoughts:
I think Microsoft's ribbon is a disaster. All the products (Microsoft Office) for which the ribbon was introduced are failures. A product is a failure when users go shopping on the Internet looking for add-on tools to make the new ribbon looks like the classic interface.
The human brain prefers productivity; previous tasks -- such as cut, copy, paste, bold, italics -- now requires several clicks of ribbons. That is unproductive and inefficient. Microsoft doesn't get it. With all the money they have, they can not hire PHDs in artificial intelligence to tell them how the human brain works.
Microsoft have completely lost its credibility. Its new product launches are taken with a grain of salt. It's almost like, as Apple's Steve Jobs put it, "They have no taste."
- Duro
I'm not sure I agree with your conclusions, based on the fact you only received 30 letters, with no statistically correct sampling.
You were bound to get more angry, unsatisfied users, and not hear from most of us, who actually like it (my opinion, not a scientific poll). From what I know, the ribbon was not created by MS alone -- it was the result of an extensive usability research. Besides, complaining that UI changed is pointless. I'm actually glad that finally something new came to the Office UI.
If people spent a fraction of the time they spend complaining in learning the new features, they would gain more. Classic menus would not be able to contain all the new features, and if you don't want to change, just stick to the old version.
- Wanderlei
When I first installed Office 2007, I thought the ribbon was a pain. I could not understand why they needed to change things again. If you remember, the ribbon has changed with each of the releases of Office since Office 1997.
One of my first complaints was that there is nothing to inform you that the Office log in the upper left-hand corner actually did something. Once you figure that out, a lot of the major issues with Office goes away. My biggest epiphany was when one of our administrative people pointed out that you can basically do a right-click on almost anything to get to the dialog boxes that you are trying to find.
One of the biggest annoyances to me is that once you get to the dialog box you are looking for, it looks just like the Office 2003 dialog box. So what did Microsoft spend all of their time on? Apparently making Word and Excel more difficult to use for the person that had experience.
The ribbon has made Word and Excel easier to use for the newbie; however, for the person that has been working with Word and Excel for years and years, the ribbon has become a big pain in the neck to deal with, as you have to go hunting down things as to where Microsoft thought they made the most sense to place them. One of the biggest complaints I have heard from our administrative people is wondering why Microsoft hid some of the dialog boxes. They tell me that there are some dialog boxes that are so well hidden that you really have to go digging to find them.
However, the biggest problem we have come across is the Microsoft implementation of OpenXML for Word (i.e., DOCX format). When you use Change Tracking Mode with DOCX, there seems to be a problem with Word determining which changes are the current changes, depending on the user viewing the document. I was editing two large reports right after we converted and had instances with both where the changes I made were not seen by the administrative person. We were on the phone and what I was looking at and what they were looking at were two different things. We used DOCX for about two weeks until we realized that Word documents were getting corrupted and switched back to DOC formatting. This seems to be a hidden secret with Microsoft that this does not work. It will sure be nice when Microsoft gets this fixed.
- Jeff
Seems to be a good idea but Microsoft introduces new technologies and leave us (old tech guys) behind. Most of users get lost and can't find what they want until tech support does the research on it.
As you mention before, how hard would it be to leave the old clunky menu with the ribbon for 2007 and then phase out the old menu on 2010?
- Anonymous
Last week, Doug ask if you trust Internet Explorer's aggressive push to fix known problems:
I don't trust IE because it doesn't follow W3C standards -- Firefox does. In addition, Firefox gives me a plug-in that gives me a debugging platform for Web development with Javascript, CSS, Ajax, Prototype, etc.
- Richard
When I am using IE 8 and Win 7, IE 8 freezes almost nonstop. Once it stops, it's almost impossible to use without reboot. I didn't get that with XP nor do I have the same problem with other browsers, such as Mozilla and Opera. Thanks for letting me vent.
- Mitchell
Share your thoughts with the editors of this newsletter! Write to [email protected]. Letters printed in this newsletter may be edited for length and clarity, and will be credited by first name only (we do NOT print last names or e-mail addresses).
Posted by Doug Barney on 04/07/2010 at 1:17 PM0 comments
There will be a new version of SQL Server 2008 R2 custom-made for the most data intensive shops. The Parallel Data Warehouse edition, now in test mode, can handle terabytes numbering in the hundreds.
The scalability comes from DATAllegro, a company Microsoft bought two years ago.
Three version of SQL Server 2008 R2 will ship next month: Standard, Enterprise and Datacenter. The Data Warehouse rev has no specified release date.
Posted by Doug Barney on 04/07/2010 at 1:17 PM0 comments
I Recently spoke with Alex Eckelberry, CEO of Sunbelt, about new products. Alex reminded me how I make him feel old since we first met around 1988 when he was an Amiga software exec with Aegis Development and I was editor-in-chief of AmigaWorld magazine (in the process he made me feel old right back).
Sunbelt has some pretty cool new products, but we spent way more time talking about the effort the company puts into security research and making sure its tools are truly unique. Sunbelt puts a ton of effort into security research so it can track and prevent the latest infestations.
On the product side, Sunbelt is all about lean and mean, so its security software isn't bogged down by bloat, blogging your machines down with the same boat.
Its core product line is Vipre, which protects against malware in all its forms.
Recently the company announced an upgrade to the core that drives all the Vipre products. Vipre 4.0 includes a new management console that tracks all the tools, and their premium edition, Vipre Enterprise Premium 4.0, includes Web filtering and Host Intrusion Prevention that acts as a two-way firewall and IDS.
Are you a Sunbelt customer? If so, send your thoughts to [email protected]. Third-party news also welcome at [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 04/05/2010 at 4:59 PM1 comments
Competition is a great thing. In the case of microprocessors, AMD keeps Intel on its toes and we all benefit. Competition is the thing that actually enforces Moore 's Law.
Recently both AMD and Intel have upped the chip ante. AMD released new eight- and 12-core processors aimed at high-end servers, systems that seem perfect for virtualization.
Intel, at nearly the exact same time, unveiled the Xean 7500 series that go from eight to 64 cores. Now that's cooking!
Which chip vendor do you prefer? Answers welcome at [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 04/05/2010 at 1:17 PM6 comments
Curious if Windows 7 is as good as Microsoft says it is? Under a free enterprise trial program, you can play with Windows 7 all year long -- for free. The already existing free trial offer has been extended to Dec. 31, 2010.
If you are serious about Windows 7, you might be better off just buying the darn thing. If you like the trial version and want to buy the real thing, you have to do a clean install.
Meanwhile Windows 7 RC users are starting to get shutdown notices. The RC expires June 1.
Do you love Windows 7, or are there still glitches? Send praise and error reports to [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 04/05/2010 at 1:17 PM2 comments
Kids can't resist a good April Fools' joke, and neither apparently can those that run today's top Web sites. Here's a smattering of stunts from yesterday:
You've probably heard that Topeka, Kan. changed its name to Google, prompting Google yesterday to change its name to, you guessed it, Topeka. In more Google news, the New Zealand edition of PC World claimed Google is buying Microsoft for $2 billion. If they said $200 billion it would be more believable.
Meanwhile ITWire ran the lame excuse for a prank claiming Linus Torvalds is helping Microsoft build the next version of Windows.
What was the best April Fools' you've either pulled off or were victim of? Send your stories to [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 04/02/2010 at 1:17 PM1 comments
Tom Kemp is not just CEO of Centrify, he is also one of 12 Windows gurus profiled three years ago in Redmond magazine.
Centrify, in essence, allows IT pros to use Active Directory to manage Linux, Unix and Mac computers. The idea is that nearly every shop has Windows Servers and thus has AD. Why not use that knowledge to manage everything else? Microsoft sure doesn't mind since it makes Windows the center of the data universe. Now that it has a few years under its belt, the still young Centrify has a full suite, including two brand new tools. Here's the rundown:
- The suite starts with DirectControl, which is actually required to use the other pieces. DirectControl allows AD to control access and authentication across heterogenous systems.
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DirectAuthorize controls authorization based on roles.
- DirectAudit aids in compliance by tracking and reporting on what users do, whatever system they're on.
- DirectSecure, a new tool, encrypts data and isolates systems from one another.
- DirectManage, another new tool, lets AD manage heterogeneous systems almost as if they're Windows.
Back in its early days, Centrify competed with Centeris. Alleviating market confusion, Centeris is now called Likewise.
Have you checked out Centrify? Shoot your thoughts to [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 04/02/2010 at 1:17 PM4 comments
One reader discusses that the IE security breech patched this week may not be the fault of Microsoft:
The issue is not just with browsers, but with us Web designers and developers.
We keep making our sites to require scripts and ActiveX controls. We keep using Flash, Silverlight and any other "cool" graphic appeal we get out hands on. We throw everything, including the kitchen sink, on the front-end just because we can.
All of these add to the security problem. Most of the security hacks are not from IE or any other browser, but from the junk we add. Our sites are totally unusable if one does not allow scripts, ActiveX, etc. So users must leave their browsers open to hackers.
Don't blame the browsers, blame ourselves.
-Anonymous
After Doug recently blogged about hackers cracking IE 8 in two minutes, one reader calls him on singling out only Internet Explorer:
I've read a few stories now on this hacker event and how they cracked IE. Not only was IE hacked but so were Firefox, Safari and Opera. In fact, the only one that wasn't hacked (Google Chrome) had just gotten a big round of patches the day before the event. That way the hackers didn't have any time to plan their attack. My guess is that Chrome would fail too.
I'm with Microsoft on this one. Even a locked steel door can get broken into if someone wants in bad enough.
-Richard
While the industry is still raving and ranting about Windows 7, one reader has had enough:
I am really getting sick of hearing about Windows 7. It is OK but it's just an evolutionary step from it predecessor -- not god's gift to the computer world.
I have two part-time jobs. One is as a consulting project manager for the prime contractor to a government organization. In this capacity, I design and create MS Access clients to Oracle databases. The organization is still using Windows XP and Office 2003 products and is happy with the capabilities and performance. Everything is centrally controlled and to even get Framework installed in my profile, I need the approval of my task manager. People complain but the help desk does a good job and is very responsive and knowledgeable. We have been working on transitioning some of our applications to Office 7 but it is difficult because most of our simulation software has embedded calls to Windows 2000 applications. Very talented people are working on this but it seems like a waste of resources to spend this money so Microsoft can make money by selling new products because they weren'tsmart enough to get all of us to subscribe.
In my second job I support very small businesses, generally doctors' and dentists' offices. These are peer-to-peer networks of six to eight Windows XP computers with one being a "server." All applications run on XP, Vista or 7, but everyone is happy with the installed XP versions. There is no desire to upgrade to Windows 7 especially since they would need to do a clean install on their existing computers and would have to upgrade all of them at the same time. When a new computer arrives with Windows 7 Pro, I set them up to run in XP.
I see no movement on the part of the government contractor to switch to 7. However, it will happen sometime. As to the doctors and dentists, they will not move until they have to. Probably when their applications are only available for Windows 7. Meanwhile I have to listen to the same old Windows 7 hymn.
That felt good, time to go jog and then have a beer.
-Bill
An industry administrator comments on what makes Lieberman Software so great:
We have been running RPM in our environment now for over two years and have nothing but good things to say about it. We leverage RPM to randomize all of our Managed Desktops and Production server local administrator passwords. This is to remain inline with our internal password compliance standards. We are managing roughly 2500 clients with very minimal system overhead. The server runs in our VMware ESX environment with the database residing in our production SQL cluster. All in all the system takes up very little resources because it is agent-less and accesses machines via the RPC shares in windows. We have a heterogeneous environment and since RPM looks at the RID IDs of the accounts, users can rename the local administrator account to whatever they feel like. However, RPM will still find the account and change the password when the job runs -- a very nice feature. The other great part of RPM is it's not tied down to one specific OS. We manage all of our Windows (XP, Vista, 7) machines as well as our managed Apple (10.5, 10.6) computers with the same system and service account. A very unique feature in today's marketplace.
Our help desk also likes the Web interface for accessing all of the managed desktop passwords. It's AD integrated and allows you to add users or groups for permissions delegation, bypassing the need to engage in the tedious task of create new users accounts for everybody. Their main use of the Web interface is, for instances, where they need local administrator access for software installations and general troubleshooting. Our security team also taps into the Web interface for forensic purposes.
The product is a breeze to set up and the documentation is very detailed, walking you through all aspects of the product. I have had one or two odd issues with the product since implementing it, and when I call in for support I always get top-notch service and very knowledgeable people.
We are looking to implement the upgraded version of this product ERPM, which you talk about in your article. We think this will save us a ton of time in our service account management and also remain in compliance.
-Jimmy
Finally, while one reader uses Microsoft's Bing, he knows it's far from perfect:
I like Bing, and use it more than Google these days.
At first, my main criticism was that it gave too many results that were randomly using one or another of the keywords, and were not targeted to sites with all of the keywords. That seems to have gotten better over time, but it took a long time.
Also, it often suggests words that are similar, but have no connection to the keywords used.
A third criticism is that leading returns on the searches often seem to be paid advertisements -- again, only remotely or not at all connected to the search.
That said, I believe that it is giving Google a run for its money. At the moment, I use Bing slightly more than Google, just to give them a boost. I like to see competition in technology. If they make it better, I may give up Google altogether -- I think that they have gotten too smug and take users for granted.
-Bernie
Share your thoughts with the editors of this newsletter! Write to [email protected]. Letters printed in this newsletter may be edited for length and clarity, and will be credited by first name only (we do NOT print last names or e-mail addresses).
Posted by Doug Barney on 04/02/2010 at 1:17 PM0 comments