Microsoft gets a bad rap over security issues, but Dan thinks open source systems shouldn't be left off the hook:
For those who bash the security of Microsoft systems, they might want to subscribe to the National Cyber Alert System from the National Institute of Standards (here's their weekly rundown of "New Vulnerabilities"). Considering that Windows is on 90 percent of desktop systems and that Microsoft spends a lot of time in the cross-hairs of its detractors, I'd say that Microsoft is generally under-representated on this list. The occurence of BIMBO software (Built In My Basement Occasionally) on the list keeps me more afraid of the Linux and open source crowd.
Microsoft isn't perfect, but it tries to fix the vulnerabilities that it has. With each new release of the Windows operating system, Microsoft knows its vulnerabilities and attempts to write the next version better than the previous. Security is a two-edged sword: If it is an easy and flexible environment to program in, then it probably has low security. If it is a more secure environment, then there will be more rules and the violations of those rules will be more severely dealt with. Back in the day, when Big Blue ruled, there was always the "Anything but IBM" crowd. It should have been easy to predict that we'd now have the "Anything but Microsoft" crowd. I guess we'll have to wait longer for the perfect operating system that is piloted by the truly benevolent dictator.
-Dan
Paul shares his thoughts on why Apple's bottom line, and why its computers are priced the way they are:
Marc said on Friday that "Dell and HP 'take a loss' on those entry-level systems but they make it up on very high volumes." I'm sorry but if I sold one computer and lost $1 and then sold a million computers, I would not make a profit but loose a million dollars. Apple has no intention -- nor has it ever wanted -- to sell a cheap computer. Its last price-competitive computer was in the '70s when it was trying to start up the business. Then it released the Lisa and boy, it has not looked back.
If Apple is so great, why can't it sell a competitive computer? Its computers aren't better so much as they are very controlled for the coolness factor. But I would rather have a less cool-looking computer that works and is affordable (comparable to a Dell) than one that looks cool and costs way too much. I think Microsoft is on target when it points out the cost difference. Now, if it could find a good ad company to come up with an ad that rivals Apple's, it would be set. It's all about branding and Apple does that well.
-Paul
Readers chime in on their impressions of Windows 7 so far and how it can be improved:
I have "obtained" a copy of Windows 7 RC1. I had a VM of Windows 7 beta 1 running and wasn't all that impressed; it didn't run very fast in my VM compared to the Win XP Pro that was also running in my VM. It also didn't have too many more features than Vista so I chalked up much of the hype to people who never really tried Vista and had a lot of new features when going from XP to Windows 7.
I installed Windows 7 RC1, replacing my copy of beta 1, and I am now a believer! It now runs FASTER than my XP VM, is stable and compatible with all of my software and hardware! It used substantially less resources than Vista and had a better user experience. I swear the development teams at Microsoft like to play little tricks on us every now and again! I always joked about removing Thread.Sleeps in my code to look like a hero late in the development cycle but I was never serious! Anyway, Windows 7 RC1 is so impressive that I am very tempted to install it over my Vista Ultimate x64 on my home PC.
-Nathan
I think it would be of great help to have a Windows 7 migration map from Vista and XP highlighting the process flow, the code input source, the price and the mode to perform it.
-Ezio
Meanwhile, Esteban's having trouble getting the Windows 7 beta in the first place:
I got the Windows 7 beta and installed it on one of my test bed computers and the hard drive crashed. Nothing to do with Windows; the hard drive was ready to go. When I went looking for the Windows 7 media that I had created, the media and ISO mysteriously disappeared from my office. I was not too happy but I didn't want to fight that fight with my guys so I let it go. I called Microsoft to get the download again and guess what: They will not give us the download again. I told them that I was testing this OS and that I have my CD key, etc., but Microsoft in India will not help me get the download.
It is a shame because we have a lot of say on what goes into our clients' machines and without being able to test it, it is hard to give my clients feedback. I have kept them all on XP because Vista is the little brother of Windows ME, in my opinion. Do you happen to know who I can contact so I can get Windows 7 again and we can put this thing through hell and back and see how it works?
-Esteban
Got any tips for Esteban? How about your thoughts on anything covered today? Leave a comment below or send an e-mail to [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 05/04/2009 at 1:16 PM0 comments
As an industry long-timer (I started covering PCs on June 4, 1984), I well know who Ray Kurzweil is. This pioneer in optical character recognition, text to speech, and synthesizers (where would Yes have been without him?) never stopped inventing. Now Google has tapped Kurzweil to help run a
new Google-sponsored university called Singularity.
Only 40 students will be accepted each term, and instead of book-learning, pupils will work on projects that could change the world, like solving food shortages, addressing global warming and fighting disease.
But if you thought Wharton or MIT or Bennington were expensive, get a load of Singularity. It costs a cool $25,000 for nine short weeks.
Posted by Doug Barney on 05/04/2009 at 1:16 PM0 comments
So the last item has you thinking about Windows 7. Want to try it? You can, and not just a beta, but a nearly done release candidate. RC1 has been
out through BitTorrent for a while, and I even snuck a peek at it this week in Las Vegas (what software goes in Vegas stays in Vegas).
You can now go the official route and get the RC direct from Microsoft. If you subscribe to MSDN or TechNet, the software is all yours. If not, just wait 'til next Tuesday when there will be an overall public beta.
With moves like XP Mode, the dirt-cheap pricing of PCs, and the stability and performance, Windows 7 is a far better bet than any I made in Vegas.
Posted by Doug Barney on 05/01/2009 at 1:16 PM0 comments
OK, so you're excited about XP Mode and ready to download the Windows 7 RC. But what you really want is a replacement for your dull XP or less-than-satisfying Vista. What you want is a final version of 7.
Can you wait 'til October? That's when the rumor mill predicts a release. One piece of evidence? Acer plans to ship a Windows 7 box on Oct. 23.
Here's what the rumor mill doesn't understand: Software isn't like cheese, where it ages a certain amount and is ready that day. Software (should) only get released when it's ready. How on earth would Microsoft know with exactitude that it can incorporate the feedback of all the release candidate testers into a product that ships in a particular month?
October sounds about right to me, but who knows what will happen when hundreds of thousands of people pound on millions of lines of code?
Posted by Doug Barney on 05/01/2009 at 1:16 PM0 comments
Microsoft has been
talking up the so-called "Mac tax" to dissuade people from moving to Apple. Marc thinks it's a little disingenuous to call it that:
For what it is worth, the "Mac Tax" is not real! If you want, you can configure a Dell with specifications virtually identical to any Macintosh in the Apple product line and come up with very nearly identical pricing. The catch, of course, is that an Apple Macintosh is severely overpowered to meet the needs of most folks. Most folks can meet their computing needs with a $500 to $800 Dell, or they can go overboard and spend $1,000 and get a "fully loaded" Dell that will last them a good five years. Or, they can buy a "bottom-of-the-line" MacBook.
The truth is that if Apple could sell as many computers as Dell or HP, they could afford to sell low-end $500 computers, but because they don't sell a large enough number of computers to tolerate the extremely narrow profit margins Dell and HP get on those $500 systems, Apple simply cannot afford to do so. Dell and HP "take a loss" on those entry-level systems but they make it up on very high volumes and the occasional sale of $1,000-plus systems. All of Apple's systems must be $1,000-plus systems for them to stay in business.
-Marc
And one reader chimes in about an anecdote Doug told a few weeks ago about his daughter forgoing a cheap PC for a Mac:
Interesting story about Lauren, but it assumes everyone can just plop down a grand or more for a Mac and are just too cheap or stupid to do so. Personally, my home laptop isn't important enough to me to lay out that kind of cash. I've purchased laptops for myself and both my daughters for less than any single Mac I've seen on sale here. My $300 Toshiba running Vista hasn't given me one problem. (Low-dollar laptops running Vista. Goodness! How anti-geek of me.) The same can be said for my daughters' HP and Acer. Plus, if they lose them, I can afford to replace them. When I have to replace a PC it is far less painful than replacing a $1,500 Mac. The truth is that many many people just can't afford an overpriced, almost criminally proprietary computer.
I should make clear that my rant concerns only the Mac and the situation with replacing cheaper systems with the Mac. I'm not disparaging your daughter, who is probably a complete adorabloid and, like all little girls, deserves to be spoiled rotten by their daddy. I know mine do.
-G.
Tell us what you think! Leave a comment below or send an e-mail to [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 05/01/2009 at 1:16 PM0 comments
If you aren't interested in Windows 7, you might want to skip down to our
letters section and pass over the next three items 'cause they're all about 7.
Earlier this week we talked about an XP compatibility mode tossed into Windows 7 at the last minute. Even though 7 seems pretty dang compatible, the XP Mode news was good. Then the doubts crept in: Would XP Mode be only for well-heeled Software Assurance customers?
We have the answer. XP Mode is only for semi-well-heeled Windows 7 Ultimate, Enterprise and Professional customers.
Posted by Doug Barney on 05/01/2009 at 1:16 PM0 comments
I may have been wrong, very wrong about Windows 7. I interviewed dozens of Windows 7 beta testers, and no one said a word about a virtual XP compatibility mode. When I suggested that Microsoft give Windows 7 a virtual layer to mimic or even fully include XP, it wasn't an entirely original thought; some analysts, including from Gartner, made a similar argument.
Apparently, behind the scenes, Microsoft felt the same way. Word is now leaking out that at least some versions of Windows 7 will run XP apps in this virtual compatibility box.
Turns out, I wasn't such a dunce, as none of the test versions have this feature. It's strange that something of such significance would show up so late. And there's another worry, at least according to Redmond magazine columnist Mary Jo Foley: It may be that the XP Mode will only be for Software Assurance customers. Well, they should get something sweet for all that dough!
Posted by Doug Barney on 04/29/2009 at 1:16 PM0 comments
Microsoft may be in the process of
laying off 5,000 workers, but there's one area where Redmond can't get enough new employees:
Windows 8.
The job postings reveal a smidge about new features, including clustering and replication. The replication is interesting as Notes creator Ray Ozzie is considered the father of modern replication. The ads also mention that "the core engine is being reworked," which is a very good thing. Some experts, however, are focusing on the term "rework" and believe there won't be a new core.
Posted by Doug Barney on 04/29/2009 at 1:16 PM0 comments
During last week's big
Oracle-Sun hoopla, Doug asked readers what they think Oracle should do with Sun's portfolio. Here are one reader's suggestions:
Here is my wholly unqualified opinion on the subject from the perspective of what I could see being the most valuable/sensible actions for Oracle: Sun hardware, along with Solaris, becomes a pre-packaged Oracle database solution complete with storage, software and hardware optimization (sort of a database appliance, if you will). NetBeans and Java, including the recently released JavaFX, get packaged and sold together (to IBM, perhaps?). MySQL becomes an Oracle-backed open source project with the goal of pushing the envelope and proving concepts that will get refined and optimized into Oracle. OpenOffice gets released to the public domain and/or Open source community to thrive or die. VirtualBox goes one of two ways -- either the whole xVM project gets placed in its own division to survive or die as a strategic counter to the other virtualization solutions Oracle is able to run on (in theory), or the xVM project gets scrapped and sold or left to die on its own.
Is this what will happen? Who knows. Is this what I would like to see? No. I like Sun the way it was (well, except for the nearly non-viability of the operation). What I want to see is marketing and business operation consolidations between the companies and the rest left alone. I just have never seen any buy-out like this happen that way.
-Thomas
Sure, Microsoft's Q3 earnings report was kind of a downer, but James thinks the company can learn something from it:
Is this the beginning of the end for Microsoft? No, I don't think so. What I do believe is that if MS continues laying eggs like Vista, then yeah, they might as well fold up shop and retire as millionaires or maybe become reclusive hackers. But I don't think that is really going to happen.
Hopefully, this will make Microsoft realize that they can't just throw out software that nobody really likes and expect people to blindly buy it and rejoice in it. Without getting into who's fault, the bottom line is that Microsoft paid for it. Now, will people that still use MS move to Windows 7 or bail for good? I guess that is something that we will have to watch for in the coming quarters. Keep watching those MS headlines...maybe the next one will be "Microsoft Rebounds from 32% Q3 Loss."
-James
Chris wonders whether VMware's vSphere is actually a cloud, and why localized clouds aren't a bigger deal:
Is it a cloud? I don't know, but I do know that we need localized clouds. Localized clouds need to become the replacement for SANs. For example, in the database space, the vendors all need to support having clients connect to a virtual IP that front-ends a database, but allow the data in the database to be moved between different instances inside a locally managed database cloud. They also need to let us specify where to store different pieces of the data, including which pieces should be stored on multiple instances (and how many instances). Then they need to give us the ability to move the data from one instance to another so that individual instances can have service packs and patches applied.
Some vendors support this kind of vision partially, but Microsoft needs to get into this game in a large way. Otherwise, they run the risk of losing market share to other products that are less capable from a data query, modeling and management point of view for two reasons: first, proponents for those other data platforms are being very vocal about their benefits; and second, because Microsoft is being too slow to deliver on this kind of model with SQL Server.
-Chris
More letters coming on Friday, including thoughts about Microsoft's latest ad campaign, the so-called "Mac tax" and more. Meanwhile, coment below or send an e-mail to [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 04/29/2009 at 1:16 PM0 comments
What kind of software does pretty much every PC have? Yeah, an operating system. But they also have a browser, especially as Microsoft still largely considers the browser and OS as one and the same. That, and the fact that the browser is the most Internet-facing tool, make it a
perfect target for hackers.
But there's another factor making browsers so vulnerable: the features war that has us upgrading browsers faster than Donald Trump switches girlfriends. As we move to more Web-based apps, we best start battening down our browsers.
Posted by Doug Barney on 04/29/2009 at 1:16 PM0 comments
A few months ago, I got hammered when I mentioned a certain non-public Microsoft beta was available on BitTorrent. A reader or two complained that these were unauthorized downloads and I was an unwitting accomplice.
So now I will report that the Windows 7 release candidate is up on BitTorrent, but will refrain from advising you to try it.
Posted by Doug Barney on 04/27/2009 at 1:16 PM0 comments
One reader takes issue with the description of Microsoft as having had "
two straight losing quarters":
Microsoft doesn't need me to defend them, really, but your choice of words, "two straight losing quarters," is deceptive, misleading or even untrue in that it implies that Microsoft lost money. A more accurate choice of words would have been "two straight quarters of declining earnings growth," which is still a critical business indicator, just not deceptive.
Upon further reflection, you could even say "declining earnings" without the "growth" if earnings are actually lower than the prior period. But it's still not losing when they're still profitable.
-Anonymous
Sharon airs a couple of her grievances about the Office ribbon:
Honestly, the Office ribbon is just one of those things that's going to continue to change as new versions are released. It's easier for those learning Office apps to see the icons for what they need.
My complaints: One, why is inserting a hyperlink not on the "Home" tab? Other than text formatting -- I do that more than anything else. Two, why are the same commands in different locations depending on which app you're using? Look for the hyperlink button in Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Outlook (the four apps I use most often in communicating with others at work). At least they're all on the "Insert" tab. PITA! And before anyone says anything: Yes, the quick key is CTRL+K across the board; just using this one as an example.
-Sharon
One reader likes what he's seen so far from Windows 7, but another reports that it's still not without its problems:
I am very excited by the release of Windows 7! If the beta is any indication of what type of product Windows 7 will be, I am truly impressed. Windows 7 in its beta form boots in less than half the time of Vista, and I have found that it is fully responsive in 30 to 40 seconds from the time Windows starts to boot to when the desktop becomes available (although booting from a machine joined to the Windows domains takes probably an extra 15 to 20 seconds). I am excited and hope it is released soon!
-Asif
Using Windows 7 has been an experience. However, during my time using it, I have found that if you find yourself not being able to run some of your favorite installed software on the system, you probably have Windows Event Log stopped. I then found there was no way to start it. Had to format the drive and start over. Hope Microsoft finds a cure for this because it has also happened in Vista. No cure found to date.
-Geff
Robert isn't buying into the recently released Windows Server 2008 Foundation, a server targeted at really small businesses:
I can only imagine the conversations I am going to have with future prospects who buy into this useless product. Is Microsoft trying to make it more difficult for me to sell their solutions? SBS is FAR superior in terms of benefits, features and scalability. Sure, Foundation is a bit cheaper, but the total cost of an installation and the ongoing maintenance of a system is not affected much by the initial price of the OS.
The SMB owner will be greatly disappointed once I inform them the guy at Dell pushing this cheap OS (just to make a hardware sale) didn't really sell them a viable solution. The cost to "fix" it with a retail or volume license of SBS plus our installation services doesn't do anyone much good. Yes, honestly, I don't want that business -- I want to engage prospects strategically, not reactively. I'm shocked (actually, not really) that Microsoft would create a product to confuse an already chaotic market and undermine the countless and loyal SBS-ers out there.
-Robert
And Phil says thanks, but no thanks to Microsoft's desktop virtualization product, MED-V:
I would use MED-V if it did not require SA. I played with Altiris SVS when I was trying to get Vista to play nicely with some apps we have to use. They were 16-bit, or at least had 16-bit installers. It worked great, and would have allowed centralized app configs and updates. I could not package a couple of programs, but the software was beta and free-ish before Symatec purchased it.
-Phil
Watch this space for more reader letters on Wednesday, including thoughts on what Oracle should do with Sun's portfolio, VMware's virtualization plans, and more. Meanwhile, submit your own comment below or send an e-mail to [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 04/27/2009 at 1:16 PM0 comments