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
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Posted by Doug Barney on 07/27/20090 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
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Posted by Doug Barney on 07/24/20090 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.
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Posted by Doug Barney on 07/24/20095 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.
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Posted by Doug Barney on 07/24/20098 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.
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Posted by Doug Barney on 07/24/20098 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.
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Posted by Doug Barney on 07/22/20091 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.
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Posted by Doug Barney on 07/22/20093 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.
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Posted by Doug Barney on 07/22/20090 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
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Posted by Doug Barney on 07/22/20090 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
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Posted by Doug Barney on 07/20/20090 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."
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Posted by Doug Barney on 07/20/20093 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.
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Posted by Doug Barney on 07/20/20093 comments