Microsoft recently reported that IE 8 might get bogged down by third party add-ons, but a couple of you aren't holding that against the browser:
IE 8 is just fine. The slow-downs are clearly the result of the add-ons, with Google (surprise, surprise) being one of the biggest offenders.
-Ermine
For me, as a developer, IE 8 has been quite fast. I have had almost zero issues. The only issue came right after installing the AVG package and a few updates: It just stoped working. But yesterday, I got a patch for IE 8 on 64-bit platforms, and apparently it's working again. So thats it.
With Firefox, I have had many different issues, and with Chrome, I have had very few -- but somehow managed to completely freeze the whole new multi-process architecture recently. The thing killed every single instance of the browser that was open, and I have no idea what did it.
-Mateus
Doug asked readers last week for their thoughts on Windows Home Server. Most (but not all) of you have good things to say about it:
Man, WHS is the best product Microsoft has come out with in years. Backing up everyone's PCs without my help? Priceless. The thing just runs. If you have an Xbox 360, then you can exploit it with that, also. One place for pictures, movies, docs -- what is not to love? Yes, buy it.
-Anonymous
I built a WHS RC server and upgraded to the OEM release version. This is a great backup package, although there are still no baked-in features supporting a safe-data copy for off-site storage. I don't use the file sharing repository features. My server may be a wee bit weak to do video serving, according to my experience, but it is just fine for backups.
-Eric
I have been using Windows Home Server since it originally came out. The system has been a life saver since I brought it online. Central storage is nice, if you can get your family to use it instead of saving everything locally or, worse yet, to the desktop. What really makes it a winner is the backup. The system 'wakes on lan' and backs up everyone's computer completely. It cross-references files from one computer to another and, if they are the same, only backs them up once and remembers which computers they are on so considerable hard drive space is saved. Another thing it does well is system maintenance. You can schedule it to 'wake on lan' and run maintenance tasks, all centrally controlled and monitored. The server then notifies users of the network status for all events, letting people know if there is a problem with anything it monitors.
The problem I see with Windows Home Server is it is intimidating to people who don't understand networking, which is really its target market. But if you are a power user who can't afford a full server, it is the ideal solution, especially when using Windows Live OneCare. It does not play so well with Norton 360, as I found out when changing from OneCare. I recommend it to anyone, including a small business, to run backup and maintenance with. Should you buy one? Well, if you have multiple users on your home network who neither backup or do maintenance on a regular basis, I think this is a must.
-Christopher
A couple of months ago, I lost thousands of e-mails on my wife's MSN account during an Outlook Connector upgrade. It was the first chance I really had to use the server. I picked a computer and date, and in a couple of minutes (maybe 5), it loaded all the files (system included) onto a Z drive. Went and found my .OST files. So from that standpoint, it has been very unobtrusive and useful.
The real advantage to me is when we had Hurricane Ike (I live in Houston). I just went and unplugged the server and took it with me. Figured that I had everything I needed in a very easy process.
-John
I have been using WHS to back up two small businesses and it works great. It auto-back-ups the complete client computers! I have tested its restore function twice by replacing a computer's hard drive with a new one. You just insert the restore CD and it restores the computer across the network without you having to even format the drive. I had each computer fully restored in about one hour. It's also smart enough to know that the same file is on multiple computers and only stores one copy of it.
The only downside at this time is you can't back up the whole remote server -- public files can be backed up to a separate drive but the WHS OS and its backups can't be. It was supposed to be in service pack 1 but MS couldn't get the bugs out. You probably could get around this by using a computer with RAID but I have not tried it.
-Roland
I've had a WHS (one of the HP MediaSmart family) since shortly after it first shipped. Between my wife and I, we have several PCs which are now all handily backed up over the network each night. We also both do digital photography and have a shared place to store the photos on the home server. We play slideshows with our DirecTV HD-DVRs around the house pulling the photos off the home server. And I always rip CDs to the home server so I can then import them into my Zune while my wife imports them into iTunes. And we can both play them on our PCs, as well. Honestly, I just bought it to automate the backup problem, but it has proven more useful than that.
And on the backup front: My wife has a notebook whose hard drive is failing. I just need to replace that drive and then boot the system restore CD and it will bring her notebook right back to where it was at the last backup. That will be the easy part (the hard part being finding instructions for replacing the hard drive itself). One event like this makes the entire WHS investment worthwhile.
-Hal
I have used WHS (for backups) since it was released. However, even after many attempts and frustrations, I have NEVER been able to get the remote feature working. Qwest, Microsoft, Cisco (maker of the modem in use) have all ended up pointing fingers at each other and the result has been that it has never worked. Good luck if you try it.
-Dick
Windows Home Server is not that great. It is basically like a giant front-end that is on top of Windows Server 2003. I tried the trial and had it on my computer for less than a week. Microsoft tried making Windows Server 2003 easier and simpler for home users to use and they did a decent job, but I had a lot of issues trying to connect my devices to the server. Microsoft provided a tool for this but it did not work with, let's say, 64-bit devices. It also did not work through firewalls and routers that easily.
I would have rather just installed a cleaned-up copy of Windows Server 2003 and configured it from there. The concept was good but the application of it was terrible. Maybe Microsoft will release Windows Home Server for 2008 and make it better down the road. Or maybe not.
-Bill
And finally, Dennis muses about the obstacles facing Windows 7 when it comes to enterprise adoption:
Reading the latest Mailbag posts about Windows 7 deployment and whether it's going to be a tidal wave or ripple, I couldn't help but think about my own company's deployment of Vista: there wasn't one. We got 22 new systems back in 2007, each with Vista Business installed. We used our downgrade rights under the license to install XP on these systems, and that's what we've been running since. Since we run a variety of software packages, some of which only occasionally get updated, compatibility is a major consideration. In contrast to work, though, I run Vista almost exclusively at home, where I don't have the compatibility issues that I experience at work. My only use of XP now is on my netbook, which I dearly, dearly love.
My testing of Windows 7 leads me to expect that it will face the same kinds of issues that Vista experienced. There are plenty of small- and medium-sized shops that \ don't have the financial means to upgrade their hardware and software simply to be up-to-date with the latest OS from Microsoft. As long as they're able to meet their business needs, I suspect that will keep them from migrating to Windows 7. And as I've said before, I don't really think Windows 7 is that big a departure from Vista, except that stuff has once again been moved around and changed just enough so that you have to re-learn habitual behaviors.
-Dennis
Wednesday, readers share their thoughts (both good and bad) about the Office ribbon. Meanwhile, share your own thoughts by commenting below or sending an e-mail to [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 07/27/2009 at 1:16 PM0 comments
After the generally negative (over)reaction to a recent ScriptLogic survey that showed most participants don't have "current" plans to switch to Windows 7, Doug decided to ask readers if, when and why they're making the move:
We will probably upgrade one or two information systems computers to Windows 7 to start looking at application and device compatibility. The rest of the computers at the office will NOT be upgraded to Windows 7.
New computers may probably come with Windows 7.
-Eduardo
As a small business, we don't have the funds, resources or inclination to upgrade all systems to any new OS. We simply buy the OS of the day with any new PCs as they are purchased, for the simple reason that we will need the new OS eventually. My take is simple: Test the new OS, and if it works fine with the small group of software packages we run, we get it on the new PCs. Otherwise, we buy PCs with the new OS' license and use our downgrade rights for a while. We have always done this; Windows 7 will be no different. Yes, this leads to a mish-mash of different OSes, but honestly, MS has done a fine enough job making them similar that it doesn't really cause any significant headaches.
I think the problem with the surveys like ScriptLogic's is that the majority of folks that participate are from Fortune 500 and other large corporate entities. I think this may skew the numbers away from how most businesses feel about any given new OS. Since small business is king in the U.S. economy, it really would not surprise me if my ultra-simple approach is more the rule then the exception on how the majority of businesses treat new OSes.
-Dennis
The only reason we're deploying Vista (this week, as a matter of fact) instead of Windows 7 is that we spent a bunch of money getting ready for a Vista deployment over the last couple of years. I'm told we don't want to repeat the expensive testing cycle with Vista even though everyone agrees it is a better OS.
However, I've used Windows 7 at home since its release for beta testers, and I love it.
-Don
Microsoft recently tweaked its volume licensing strategy, but it's still pretty confusing. Dave thinks the trick is not what you know, but whom:
I don't know about enterprises that are able to deal with MS directly, but for small businesses, the trick is to find a trusted and knowledgeable open license vendor and stick with them. The programs are complex enough and change frequently enough that it's worth dealing with an expert rather than trying to figure it out for yourself. It's best if you can find someone who is small business-oriented, as often the bigger players won't want to put any effort into a sale of only five or 10 licenses.
After getting treated as an afterthought by some of the bigger vendors, I settled on SoftwareONE. Their sales reps are MS-certified and they've never steered me wrong.
-Dave
And finally, how much time do you spend staring at all the "glowing rectangles" in your life?
Six hours in front of the computer at work. Seventy-five minutes in front of the TV on work nights, two hours per day on weekends. So, about 35 percent of my waking hours.
-Bob
So, is IE 8 slow, or what? Check in on Monday to see what readers had to say. Meanwhile, send in your own thoughts to [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 07/24/2009 at 1:16 PM0 comments
Jonesin' for Windows 7? This puppy is one step closer, having made it to the release-to-manufacturing (RTM) stage. This means it just needs to be packaged up and sent off to OEMs.
I'm not surprised. I've been using 7 as my exclusive OS for the last month. In my opinion, the Windows 7 release candidate isn't quite finished -- but it's way more finished than XP! Yeah, 7 crashes (I recovered from a crash 10 minutes ago and had to use a recovered version of this very file), but it crashes far less than XP, and is way, way, way faster. And I'm using beta software.
Windows 7's server counterpart, Windows Server 2008 R2, also made the RTM grade. Speaking of which, this whole "RTM" thing frustrates me. It means the OS is done, but systems aren't yet available.
Dang, I want a Windows 7 netbook in the worst way. That way, I can pretend to work anywhere there's a hotspot (don't tell my boss!).
Posted by Doug Barney on 07/24/2009 at 1:17 PM5 comments
The concept of Windows Home Server is pretty cool. Instead of setting up your own server, just have a pre-configured unit that lets the fam share files. Even better, if you keep your files there, you can get at 'em no matter where you are, or what device you have. Forget synchronization -- just store files on the server and back them up. Case closed.
The concept is so good, Microsoft is now aiming it at businesses -- not big businesses, but small businesses and perhaps remote offices and departments.
I'm intrigued. Have any of you used Windows Home Server? Should I buy one? Your advice welcome at [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 07/24/2009 at 1:17 PM8 comments
As a recent Office 2007 convert, I now have first-hand knowledge of the ribbon interface. In some ways it's easier; commands are organized in clusters, and it's easier to customize how commands are presented. But after a month of solid use, I'm still often befuddled. (But even after 20 years of Office use, the old interface is pretty befuddling, too!)
If you want to stick with Microsoft, you best get used to the ribbon. Office 2010 contains a revised ribbon and Office online apps will also sport the controversial interface.
Do you love or hate the ribbon? Cast your votes at [email protected]. And here's a trivia question: Where does the line "Who, who will not wear the ribbon?" come from? Answers can also be sent to [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 07/24/2009 at 1:16 PM8 comments
Microsoft this week released some 20,000 lines of driver code to the open source community, all to help Linux run efficiently under Hyper-V.
Before you start thinking Microsoft is a true-blue open sourcer, the move is a strategic one aimed at boosting Hyper-V relative to VMware. What's different here from other MS open source moves is that this time, the code is fully in compliance with open source licenses.
What should Microsoft do in the open source world? Send your best advice to [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 07/22/2009 at 1:16 PM1 comments
After hearing complaints that IE 8 can be slow, Microsoft code jocks took a look and now claim that IE 8 isn't slow -- but third-party add-ons sure are!
A lot of these add-ons, such as toolbars (don't you love how these install themselves, but make you jump through hoops to get rid of them?), are invoked in each and every tab. Other performance culprits? Security software and Skype.
Microsoft's current answer is to use Process Monitor to see which add-ons use the most processing and then disable them. Firefox and Chrome proponents have another answer: Disable IE!
I'm using IE 8 and despite a minor glitch or two, I've had no problems. Then again, I tend to stay away from most add-ons. Is IE 8 fast or slow? Let me know at [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 07/22/2009 at 1:16 PM3 comments
One reason the Mac is a semi-viable corporate machine is its support of Microsoft Office. For better or worse, the latest rev of Mac Office doesn't have the new ribbon interface. (As a new ribbon user, I'm torn; some parts are better and some parts are just frustrating.) Nevertheless, Mac Office is still pretty current, even more so with this week's release of Service Pack 2 for Office 2008 for the Mac.
So what do you get for your download? Besides security and performance tweaks, Microsoft is tossing in Web-based document sharing through Office Live Workspace. Microsoft is also touting integration with SharePoint, now the holy grail of Microsoft collaborative computing.
Posted by Doug Barney on 07/22/2009 at 1:16 PM0 comments
Like Doug, most readers are mixed about Office 2007:
I like the fact that Microsoft Office 2007 is not trying to cram more features down our throats. The ribbon is a major improvement once you get used to it. In training, it's much easier if someone had no experience at all using Office. A fresh user will love the interface, in my humble opinion. And at least Clippy is dead and buried. We can all be happy about that.
The worst thing about Office 2007 is how inconsistent it is. Some products have the ribbon, a couple do not (Outlook, Publisher). For Office 2010, Microsoft, please keep things simple and realize there are more people experienced with office than those who are not.
-Anonymous
While a newbie might actually like it, those of us who hated Office when we were forced to leave WordPerfect have found little to really like in Office 2007. One of the things I truly miss is the built-in scanner interface. Office 2007 forces you to leave it, create your scan, then return to import it -- lots of work and no gain over 2003. In addition, 2003 is still resting under it, as evidenced by the ability to find the old 2003(ish) menus under the font and paragraph bars (click the tiny X). So, Microsoft, why not give us the option of going back to the 2003 GUI?
I could go on. I teach this stuff on the high school level and have to get my students to translate between what they may be using at home -- often 2003 and sometimes WordPerfect -- and Office 2007 (Microsoft no longer includes help for WordPerfect users).
-Mitch
I've been using Office 2007 since spring of 2007 and love it! It was hard to get used to the new interface at first, but it's second nature now. I keep meaning to build my own ribbon so that I have all the buttons I usually use on one, but haven't gotten around to it. It's supposed to be easy to do even or a non-tech person.
Interesting note: My brother-in-law works at an investment firm where they practically live inside Excel. They still have 2003, which has a severe limitation of something around 10,000 rows. They have to sort their accounts/transactions/funds then paste parts of them into different spreadsheets in order to look at what they want. What a nightmare! From what I understand, Excel 2007 has an almost limitless row number. I'm sure the IT guys are saving money by not rolling the new product out, but how much time is spent by the analysts, sales and support staff trying to do their jobs?
-Sharon
I'm an Army Microsoft user, now using Office 2007 at home and at work. I like the Outlook views with the calendar sidebar; I find it very helpful and try to play that up to our users faced with moving to Office 2007.
But I am struggling to find the logic behind the placement of some features in Excel and Word. I am not by any means a "power user" of either, but common sense would say that the simple user functions would remain the same. NOT! I just tried to insert a row into a spreadsheet and finally gave up and just added the line, using "sort" to get it in the proper order. And until I set up my printer on the Quick Access Toolbar, it took three or four clicks just to print a document. Madness! Then, of course, there's the SNAFU with Office 2007 and Silanis ApproveIt, the software used for digital signatures. Awful! But there I blame the Army for forcing us to new software before testing all the requirements. Just as they've done with Vista...but that's a story for another day!
-Diane
For me, Office 2007, like its predecessors, required a steep learning curve and a number of custom macros. After mastering (and I use that term somewhat facetiously) the new interface, command locations and ways of getting things done, I achieved a decent level of productivity. I'm even willing to stipulate that I am somewhat more productive with the new system.
However, I'm not sure cost savings incurred from the increased productivity outweighs the high cost of developing mastery of Office 2007 to the same level I enjoyed with its predecessor. Maybe the hidden benefit is that the mental challenge of the effort exercises my mind and staves off degeneration of my mental faculties. Maybe that was Microsoft's plan all along. It could happen.
-Dave
Meanwhile, Asif tries to clear up some of Doug's Windows 7 problems:
I can answer all your Windows 7 questions with one statement: beta! The bottom line is that this is beta software, and if you are using Windows 7 for regular use, I would really reconsider.
But to answer each of your questions, the reason Flash won't run in Firefox is probably partly because Windows 7 is still in beta and partly because the current version of Firefox was not designed for Windows 7. As for why your network and VPN connection die when Windows 7 goes to sleep, it's simple: When going into sleep mode, the network adapter is powered down, which shuts off your network connection. Now, if the problem continues after waking up the PC, then the problem is most likely in the driver, which is not bringing the network adapter back online. Again, this could be related to the product or the driver being still in beta. As far as Windows 7 crashing, I am running it on two different laptops and have not experienced any crashes on either laptop in three months. Again, the problem may be the drivers. As far as the printer problem you are having, this is most likely an HP driver problem. HP print drivers are horrible; they are notorious for causing other problems such as blue screens -- just Google it.
-Asif
Finally, July's Patch Tuesday raised plenty of alarms over DirectX and ActiveX security. Dan thinks constant patching isn't enough:
When it comes to DirectX and ActiveX, I wonder if Microsoft shouldn't just sit down and redesign both from the ground up. I'm really tired of the endless patch circus we've been living with these past couple of years -- and not just from MS. It has taken a lot of the fun out of personal computing and it keeps our corporate systems constantly late with the updates because every patch has to be tested before being deployed.
I'm still waiting for MS to write a completely new OS that drops ALL legacy code, that would run in parallel with existing OSes until everyone has migrated to the new, leaner, safer, smarter, faster OS...OUCH! Oh, I was dreaming.
-Dan
Check back on Friday for more reader letters. Meanwhile, share your own thoughts by writing a comment below or e-mailing Doug at [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 07/22/2009 at 1:16 PM0 comments
Doug listed his questions about IE 8 last week and asked for your help troubleshooting. Readers wrote in with solutions for how to open links in new tabs:
If you click the center mouse button (scroll wheel) on a link in IE 8, it opens in a new tab. The same applies to Firefox. Links that don't show the option of opening in a new tab with a right click still open in a new tab with a center click. The center click also opens in new tabs on my Yahoo page in Chrome, but not my Gmail page. The center click works in some sites on Safari, but not others.
-Earl
...how to set IE 8 as the default browser:
If you open Control Panel, Add or Remove Programs, select Set Program Access and Defaults. Expand the Custom double-headed down arrow. Under Choose a default Web browser, select IE (if you must). You can also disable the access to other browsers if you feel so inclined.
-Peter
For setting your default browser, in IE 8 go to Tools, Internet Options and click on the Programs tab. There's a button there to make IE your default browser.
-Michael
...how to quickly copy and paste links:
I have the habit, learned years ago with Netscape, of using CTRL-L to bring up the open URL dialog box, or to activate the address bar in Firefox. It's worked throughout the years in IE as well, but with IE 8, more often than not it doesn't. I either have to use CTRL-O or the File > Open menu item. Not a horrific bug, but annoying after years of habit-reinforcing behavior.
-Greg
...and how to scroll using the arrow keys and not the scroll bar:
From my experience, you have to have the browser on focus, and yes the area of the page also has to be in focus. If the page load area is not in focus, there is no way the browser can know that you want to scroll that area. If the page has pop-ups, for exemple, the pop-ups opening causes you to lose focus on the main area. Close the pop-up, and you still don't have focus on the area.
Maybe Firefox just had a diferent approach to this problem by saying, well, if this window is in focus, then the page area is in focus, as well, but I wonder how that would work in all situations.
-Mateus
But a couple of readers had even more IE 8 problems to report:
The problem I have with IE 8 is at the HP business store. The text shows up in 4-point and I haven't found a way to make it bigger. It opens just fine in Firefox or IE 7.
-Michael
I've had nothing but problems with IE 8. I contacted the IE 8 team with my bug list and got mixed results. The biggest bug is that on some sites, particularly where you are allowed to enter rich text, the interface only catches around every other letter I type. I've gotten in the habit now of opening Notepad, typing my info and then pasting it into the Web form. This happens on Facebook and internal SharePoint sites most often. When the tech team contacted me about this bug, they had me launch IE 8 without add-ins (there was a command line they had me type that I'd have to look up again). That worked, but I'm not going to launch my browser without add-ins because so much of the interface IS an add-in these days. By the way, I had not installed any add-ins that did not specifically already come with IE 8.
I've found many pages that crashed my browser without fail. When I pointed them out, the tech team said something must be wrong with my system because they couldn't reproduce the problem. I ended up installing the latest version of IE 8 last week and have not had that problem since. When a crash does happen, or a page goes out of control and you try to stop it, it is nice that you can go to Task Manager and shut down just that one tab. I sort by which process is using the most memory and shut that one down. Problem though: sometimes IE interprets that as a failure and instantly tries to open a new tab and take you back to that page. The page spins out of control again, repeat, repeat, repeat. You eventually have to shut down all IE instances and start over.
I started using Firefox again because of these issues. In my opinion, WORST product launch ever! I'd like to talk to the person who approved the release!
-Anonymous
At least Joe doesn't seem to have had the same Windows 7 problems as Doug:
You asked, "Why doesn't Firefox support Flash on Windows 7 yet?" Um, I don't know -- did you try asking Mozilla or Adobe? "Why does my Internet connection and VPN die every time the machine goes to sleep?" You have crap hardware. "Why does Windows 7 still crash once or twice a day?" See previous. "Why can't I install a printer driver for an HP LaserJet 1000?" See previous and the one before that.
Seriously, I have been running Windows 7 since early betas and don't have the issues you have. You've got other problems, my friend. Maybe your Mac kids are sabotaging your hardware.
-Joe
Next time, readers offer their Office 2007 tips and thoughts on DirectX/ActiveX security. Want to share your thoughts? Leave a comment below or send an e-mail to [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 07/20/2009 at 1:16 PM0 comments
I love The Onion. The satire is odd, biting and mostly clean. Here's my latest favorite high-tech missive, and I'll quote directly:
"A new report published this week by researchers at Stanford University suggests that Americans spend the vast majority of each day staring at, interacting with, and deriving satisfaction from glowing rectangles."
The article satirically claims we "spend 90% of our waking hours" in front of these screens, be they TVs, laptops or mobile phones.
The Onion may be overstating things, but by how much? How much time do you and your family spend staring at some kind of tube? I know for me, it's way too much. Send your hours and feelings to [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 07/20/2009 at 1:17 PM3 comments
I had lunch with Nick Cavalancia, vice president of Windows management at ScriptLogic, at Legal Sea Foods near Boston last week. Over fried clams, chowder, lobster rolls and tuna melts, we talked about the market and then moved to a survey ScriptLogic just conducted about Windows 7.
The survey shows what seems to be slow adoption of Windows 7, with almost 60 percent of respondents having no "current" plans to adopt 7. Around 34 percent plan adoption next year. Nick thinks this shows that IT will be using XP and Vista for some time to come.
Many in the press are overreacting, arguing that 66 percent of IT pros will "skip" Windows 7. But as a Computerworld blogger points out, having no "current" plans does not equal "skipping"; that just means people aren't moving to Windows 7 all that soon.
An old friend of mine and Microsoft expert Ed Bott has an interesting take. Bott argues that having over a third of all IT customers adopt a new OS in its first year is pretty dang good -- three times better, in fact, than XP in its first year.
When will your shop make the Windows 7 move and why? Tell me at [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 07/20/2009 at 1:16 PM3 comments