Vista an Official Dud

For a normal company, a failure on the scale of Vista would be fatal. But Microsoft's hold on ISVs and OEMs thoroughly protects the Windows monopoly.

What would it take for your shop to move to non-Microsoft desktop operating systems? Answers welcome at [email protected].

Posted by Doug Barney on 03/30/2009 at 1:16 PM0 comments

Mainframes Make News, Episode 2

I looked into the System z and while it's designed to run Linux VMs, I was told by an expert I trust that there was no architectural reason it couldn't run Windows, as well.

Well, one ISV apparently found a way to make it do so. Mantissa Corp.'s z/VM tool is being prepped, and if it works large shops may be able to save massive amounts of electricity by consolidating Windows servers onto mainframes. That should make two monopolies, IBM and Microsoft, very happy. The electric companies may be less pleased.

Do you still care about mainframes? Big answers to this big iron question can be submitted to [email protected].

Posted by Doug Barney on 03/27/2009 at 1:16 PM0 comments

Microsoft Searches for Search Answers

That's exactly why Redmond bought FAST, a Norwegian search company. It seems that Microsoft will tie the FAST search engine to key server apps, such as SharePoint. This is an open system allowing SharePoint developers to include custom search in their apps.

Posted by Doug Barney on 03/27/2009 at 1:16 PM0 comments

Mainframes Make News, Episode 1

Twenty-four years later, I'm more of an old sow than a young buck, but the mainframe is as young as ever -- and so are lawsuits over IBM's monopoly. The old mainframe cloners like Amdahl are long gone, turning a mere monopoly into a sheer monopoly. And IBM will do whatever it takes to preserve its market grip.

Platform Solutions built a tool that let commodity servers run mainframe software, and IBM wasn't too happy. It tried to stop Platform, then bought the company so it could shelve the technology that could've changed the fundamental economics of mainframe computing.

Many in the industry are complaining, including a trade organization that counts fellow monopolists Google and Microsoft as members. My guess: IBM's mainframe grip will remain as strong as Google's and Microsoft's.

Posted by Doug Barney on 03/27/2009 at 1:16 PM0 comments

Mailbag: Thoughts on Vista Capable, IE 8, Windows 7, More

I am surprised we are still talking about this! The Vista Capable specs (800MHz, 512MB of RAM) were no more ridiculous than the original Windows 2000/XP specifications (300MHz, 64MB of RAM). Microsoft has a long history of stating MINIMUM specifications which were technically accurate, but deplorable just the same. Should someone have raised a stink in 2000? Probably, but nobody did. Were the Vista Capable specifications misleading? Well, yes! Practically, though, what was the extent of their damages? If you bought a brand-new low-end machine in January 2007, it was equipped with a 3GHz+ Celeron, 512MB of RAM and integrated Aero-capable graphics capability -- and you paid under $400 for the system. At that time, 512MB of RAM cost about $50, so the REAL damages for a buyer of one of those systems was the cost of a RAM upgrade.

If anyone deserves damages regarding the Vista Capable moniker, it was those folks who went out and bought shrink-wrapped Vista code expecting to install Vista on their (circa 2000) 800MHz, 512MB machine. They paid anywhere from $100 to $400 for Vista expecting it to work on LAME hardware. No amount of hardware upgrades would make such a system "acceptable."
-Marc

IE 8 isn't perfect yet, as these readers point out:

I was glad to see the Compatibility View feature in IE 8 but rather quickly found it doesn't work. I have had numerous sites that haven't worked with IE 8 and have tried CV, which still failed to work. The biggest is my Sovereign Banking account which is more or less due to a bug with the Web site, but Compatibility View should still fix it. I get triple-prompted for my log-in on that site with IE 8, which makes viewing my account online with IE 8 a huge security hole.
-Brandon

I installed IE 8 without a problem on Windows XP SP3. However, it wouldn't run. I kept getting a memory error. I searched the Internet for a solution, but couldn't find one. I then opened up the Control Panel and clicked on Internet Options and went through the tabs. I went through the list in the Advanced tab, and when I came to "Enable memory protection to help mitigate online attacks," I unchecked it, clicked Apply, then OK. I retried IE 8 and this time it worked.

I still haven't figured out why having that checked caused a problem.
-Neil

Meanwhile, Windows 7 is still looking promising:

I've been using the Windows 7 beta on a personal notebook, and I am very pleased with it. It's more stable than Vista, seems to be faster and some apps that will run on XP but not on Vista seem to work fine on Windows 7. Hardware compatibility is at least as good as Vista. I have found that MS Office applications frequently die for no good reason in Vista, but not in 7. Nothing I have tried has been less reliable in 7 than in Vista, and several things have run better. At this point, I would not advise anyone to buy a new Vista PC or a Vista upgrade; I would suggest that they wait for Windows 7.
-Anonymous

I am so impressed with Windows 7 that I have loaded it on most everything I can. Being that this is still beta code, I am wondering what the final release will bring. Even as just an end user, I find very few compatibility issues, no lock-ups, and I even see that disk defrag runs on its own schedule! From what I have seen so far, Windows 7 even works better than OS X Leopard. Hell, I am even running Win 7 on my MacBook!
-Mike

Speaking of Windows 7, Gartner recently sent out some mixed signals about the new OS, prompting Doug to ask readers if they trust the opinions of IT research firms. The answer was a resounding "no":

Neither use nor trust them. I believe they are bought and paid for by vendors.
-Anonymous

Every good analyst should know that if you pay the Gartner Group enough, it will say what you want it to. That is what our company found out, anyhow. I would rather read your column and other blogs than trust what they say.
-Kenneth

IT research firms are essentially useless. I have never seen a good example of their research providing useful information, but I have seen several examples of their work being used to support the decision someone has already made. If you look, you can find "research" to support pretty much any position.

I have read many of Gartner's pronouncements over the years, and they seem to fall into one or another of these categories: 1) so obvious that nobody will actually learn anything, 2) essentially meaningless because the writer has hedged so much, and 3) just plain wrong. This is not limited to IT, but I think IT research firms are especially prone to it.
-Anonymous

Maybe I have become jaded in my not-so-old age, but I have come to trust research firms like used car dealers. Avoid them if at all possible, but if not, take everything they say with a grain of salt.

Every time I have asked for one-on-one time with an analyst, I usually get a "handler" and an analyst. I believe the handler reports if the analyst doesn't mention at least three companies (clients, of course) that provide services in the area that you are looking at. Research firms are businesses; they live and die by the revenue they generate. I am not saying that they would be partial, but like with print media, subscriptions alone cannot pay the bills.
-Joe

Tyler shares his thoughts about why the press can sometimes, well, stink:

I blame the degradation of quality within the media on shorter and shorter cycles with editors simply not doing their job. There was a time when editors rode herd on their writers and insisted on quality, second sourcing, fact checking, etc. Now they're just as desperate as the writers to get the story out and pray for a few readers.

Which leads me to the second reason quality is in the crapper: Sturgeon's Law.
-Tyler

But one thing that hasn't degraded in quality is Doug's vivid similes, which regular readers are quite familiar with:

How do you come up with these comparisons that are more colorful than a psychedelic dream sequence?
-Jeff

Watch this space for more reader letters next week! In the meantime, share your own thoughts by commenting below or sending an e-mail to [email protected].

Posted by Doug Barney on 03/27/2009 at 1:16 PM0 comments

Microsoft Crawling All Over IE 8 Bugs

You can actually search the bug database to see if your particular problem is on the list. If not, time to stand up and shout. For the minority that have big enough problems to warrant a full de-install, Microsoft has posted instructions on how to remove the offending browser.

Posted by Doug Barney on 03/25/2009 at 1:16 PM0 comments

Mailbag: Why Sun, More Thoughts on IE 8

I agree that IBM may not be gaining a lot in a buy-out of Sun, but Sun would certainly benefit from IBM's considerable clout in the marketplace.

What Sun does have to offer IBM, though, is considerable intellectual property rights to Unix, which IBM lacks. As a co-developer of Unix System V (along with AT&T), Sun's IP rights to Unix are equal to Novell's. Buying Sun could free IBM from threats of any future potential Unix litigation. Sun also has considerable x86 assets with Solaris x86, as well as open source x86 assets with OpenSolaris.
-Marc

Bruce thinks virtualization has its uses, but issues a word of caution:

I think virtualization can be a valid tool in IT. What it can be used for is what I call "junk servers" -- those servers that run a small application or handful of users you don't want interfering with the file, database, mail server, etc. It keeps the cost of both rack space, hardware and power costs down.

The problem comes in when too many servers or hardware-intensive services get put on one system. This may work fine under "normal" conditions, but have the usage on three of four VMs spike and watch them all slow or crash. Don't think you're safe having two VM servers and putting half on each one, depending on failover to keep things running. Make sure one VM server can handle the load of two. Care must be taken to not over-virtualize servers and maintain the balance between cost-effectiveness and reliable, usable server environment.
-Bruce

And here are some more of your takes on IE 8:

IE 8 is dog sloow. How can you seriously call it fast?
-Phil

I did not use the beta or RC versions of IE 8 but installed the RTM version last week when released. I seems much faster than IE 7 and at least as fast as Firefox. I did just have a tab crash but only that tab (my Live.com homepage, believe it or not). I'll give IE 8 a "thumbs up" for now.
-Jim

IE 8 needs a good ad blocker. IE 7 Pro is inferior to Adblock Plus when it comes to ad blocking. Occasionally, there are Web sites that are completely incompatible with Firefox and for those, we'll have to use IE, but it's Firefox for everything else until further notice. I wonder if Steve B. at Microsoft understands that issue.
-Tom

I would have to agree that IE 8 is very stable, and much better and faster than IE 7. I have been evaluating the release version since its release on several different machines, and so far I am very happy with it, and prefer it to Firefox or Chrome. IE 7 used to freeze up frequently for no known reason and I had to constantly end the IE process. So far, IE 8 has not frozen up, but I am keeping my fingers crossed.
-Asif

While IE 8 seems quite solid on my Vista SP1 system at home, it was dying on virtually every URL I clicked on my work XP Pro SP3 system. I quickly removed it. As a beta tester of Win 98, XP and Vista, as well as VS 2005 and VS 2008, and VFP 7.0, 8.0 and 9.0 -- and an MS MVP for four years -- I know beta software when I see it, and IE 8 on XP just doesn't appear to be ready for primetime!
-Rick

You surely must have heard about the sidebar clock provoking a serious hang-up of the processor after IE 8 installation. But I experienced on another machine screensavers refusing to start -- in particular the Microsoft American flag screensaver and most of the Microsoft Plus screensavers. There was also the sudden appearance of unwanted full-page pop-ups (that did not happen at all in IE 7).

I am so scared now that I stopped installing IE 8 on my grandchildren's computers.
-Jost

I found IE 8's performance to be excellent -- better than IE 7. I found two incompatibilities, though: eRoom would not execute and one of our Web applications would not function as expected.
-John

IE 8 is not compatible with a number of real estate programs, e.g., Zillow.com. When you go to pictures, it comes up with errors.
-Dan

As it becomes more important to tighten spending everywhere, there will be more emphasis both at homes and in the marketplace to reduce costs. I am hearing more interest in Linux than I have heard in some time. While that doesn't affect IE directly, show me a Linux distribution that comes with a copy of IE on it.

While I have downloaded IE 8, I am too busy working with Linux to even look at it.
-Anonymous

Finally, Paul ran into a snag when installing IE 8. Any explanations from Redmond Report readers in the know are welcome:

I tried to download IE 8 to my Windows Ultimate machine, and it said I do not have a compatible OS for it. What can you tell me about this?
-Paul

Got an answer for Paul? Or have another comment you'd like to share? Leave it below or send an e-mail to [email protected].

Posted by Doug Barney on 03/25/2009 at 1:16 PM0 comments

Gartner Windows 7 Advice Not as Good as Yours

In my last item, I explained how most of you are having a good experience with the final release of IE 8, with a handful of exceptions. I also learned enough about Windows 7 from you that I wrote a two-part series, the first appearing on the cover of the March issue of Redmond magazine with part two running in April.

Here's what I heard: Windows 7 is 10 times better than Vista, and many shops will move ASAP to the new OS based on current test results. Now Gartner is jumping on the Windows 7 bandwagon with a somewhat confusing report. First, the analyst group argues that IT need not wait until the first service pack to move to Windows 7. That's because Windows 7 is really just a small upgrade to Vista, the opposite of what most of what you told me.

Then Gartner argues that it will take a year or more for ISVs to have their apps prepped for Windows 7. Here again, your views were different; nearly everything you had seems to run fine on Windows 7.

Finally, Gartner advises waiting about a year-and-a-half before migrating -- which is precisely when the service pack should be out!

Rather than buying an expensive Gartner subscription, I'll just keep getting my insights from you! Do you use and trust IT research firms? Send me the skinny at [email protected].

Posted by Doug Barney on 03/25/2009 at 1:16 PM0 comments

Microsoft Dribbles Out Open Source

What's less clear is whether Microsoft itself should release open source software. So far, there has been little more than dabbling and dribbling. A prime example is !exploitable Crash Analyzer, an open source tool to help programmers figure out why their software is crashing and how to fix it. It can also prioritize crash causes so you can fix the worst culprits first.

What should Microsoft do about open source? Advice always taken at [email protected].

Posted by Doug Barney on 03/25/2009 at 1:16 PM0 comments

Mailbag: Cheers (and Some Jeers) for IE 8

I loaded IE 8 on my PC at work. No compatibility problems so far. It's pretty peppy, and I love the "Accelerator" feature (e.g., highlight a word and launch a Google search in a new tab). Another nice organizational feature is coloring related (spawned) tabs.

I also loaded IE 8 64-bit at home on my dual-core Vista 64. Very quick Web action!
-Elgin

Since the release of IE 8, I have done additional testing at work and home and I have found the released version to be quite good. I have noticed a speed improvement -- not by leaps and bounds but something noticeable. I have not had a single crash or freeze. I have tested many sites and tried to focus on some of the problem sites. However, all is well. Overall, I'm quite happy with IE 8.
-Craig

For the past few months, I've been using Windows 7 (build 7000) for my primary workstation, with IE 8 as my primary browser. Under XP, I used Firefox because of speed and security; I avoided IE 7 except for those sites that didn't render properly in Firefox.

On my Windows 7 install, I haven't even installed Firefox. For one site that I've had problems with, I use a portable version of Firefox. This may also say something for the unbundling proponents.
-Yehoshua

I downloaded IE 8 last Friday. My primary driver was that some change on my system had introduced a bug into IE 7 about a week before, so I was hoping that IE 8 would resolve it. IE 8 reported that one of the HP add-ons was incompatible, so I disabled that. It's running fine with no problems.

The concepts in IE 8 are great. Accelerators are a great way to get things done quickly. Group tabs are cool. I haven't noticed a huge difference in speed of presentation of pages -- maybe a slight edge but the real issue is speed of Internet connection and that varies quite a bit. Web Slices will take time to come of age but the concept is good. The SmartScreen Filter is probably helpful for casual users. No stability issues. For me, IE 8 is a mature version of IE 7 and group tabs are a sensible development. Glad to have it and I expect that a rich set of accelerators and Web Slices in due course will be a great improvement. I'm also glad that my IE 7 bug is gone.
-Joe

I got the final release yesterday night on Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1, updated using a very slow Acer 5103WLi Laptop connected to a Wi-Fi network at 2Mbps. The effect was immediate: IE 8 transformed my machine into a FERRARI! Thank you, Microsoft!
-Rainer

I moved from the beta to the final version yesterday. Even in beta, I did not find any issues and IE 8 is and will be my default browser. The installation and automatic removal of the previous version was very smooth.
-Narayana

After countless problems with both beta versions, the version released Wednesday hasn't crashed one single time. I am amazed at the difference in speed and reliability this has over the beta. I think the biggest problem was that add-ons on IE 7 didn't work in IE 8. Best way to use this new IE 8 is to uninstall all add-ons before you download, and wham! It runs like a jewel. I even changed my default back from Mozilla to IE 8, if you can believe that.
-M.

I downloaded twice yesterday, once for Vista Ultimate and once for XP Pro. The downloads were very fast on my slow DSL. IE 8 installed well on both machines and works well on both machines.

I had a little trouble with adding favorites. I looked for the old icon and didn't notice the text line in the favorites drop-down. I accidentally wound up at the Windows Live Favorites, an idea that is pretty cool but I'll look into it in greater detail later. I always seem to choose search terms for Help that don't help me much but after a few tries I found out how simple it now is to add a favorite...to the local list. So far, IE 8 is great. No problems. I am happy.
-Eric

But a couple of readers report that there's still some work to be done on IE 8:

This "improvement" isn't. I lose a significant amount of time trying to close stalled windows that didn't load properly and the app crashes far too often. If one gets too close to an ad, the ad opens and takes precedence over where you are legitimately trying to go.

I tried to go back to 7 but short of F-disk, I couldn't get there. Will MS ever learn?
-Anonymous

I tried IE 8 again and the same issue that prevented me before is still active. Our fundraising software, GiftWorks, depends on all the little MS pieces working together and IE 8 breaks those little pieces. Perhaps in time they will patch the software so that I can try again but at the moment the fundraising trumps my trials of other stuff. Good luck with that review.
-Angus

Adobe Flash Player still will not install on IE 8.
-Dennis

I installed IE 8 at home last Thursday and soon found Web sites it would not connect to (for example, http://www.richersounds.co.uk and http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002).
-Mike

I have downloaded the RC and that worked great. Yesterday, I downloaded the final version...huh. It keeps logging in and logging out continuously. What a pain! Logs me in and out every three seconds.
-Anonymous

Irritated by a non-story that made headlines last week about Microsoft definitely not buying The New York Times, Doug asked readers how they feel about the news media. Here are your responses:

In the interest of being fair to real journalists, I think what they do in terms of exposing government flaws cannot be accomplished by the average citizen. My local newspaper does some pieces yearly that keep the public informed in a way that your average blogger or paparazzi-style journalist can't touch. For instance, they publish all the local government employees' top money earners -- county, cities, the local air base. You might be surprised to know that our county administrator makes twice as much as the president of the United States. What blogger or paparazzi could dig up that kind of information? Another of their more valuable exercises is to expose the extent to which government agencies comply with the Freedom of Information Act. Many local agencies have taken taken steps to improve their ability to provide the public with public records.

Apologist? I don't think I am. Journalists are humans and have their faults. But I think we are going to lose a valuable service when all the print journalists aren't in business anymore.
-Pamela

Personally, I think the news media is whatever the consumers choose to make it. If enough people give their attention to biased, sensationalist, inaccurate or just poor reporting, then the advertisers will take note and they will give the people all they want. It is the consumer's responsibility to find a journalistic source that is credible.

My other thought is that a lot of this has come about because of 24-hour news shows. You have to fill the space with something and the more viewers, the better.
-Clyde

Because of all the "spin," I believe very little of what media alleges. Only after confirmed by other reports (not by the name publisher) will I begin to pay attention.
-Francene

I generally find your thoughts to be cogent and responsible. However, in last Friday's newsletter, you wrote: "I defend the press often. When readers complain of spelling errors, I point out just how many words the average editor processes per day."

Isn't this akin to saying that coding errors by programmers should be overlooked due to the number of lines of code written? Or that errors in manufacturing or assembly should be forgiven when you consider the number of products produced? If writing is your craft, I find little excuse for spelling or grammatical errors. (And let's not even start on the questions of clarity, style or accuracy.)
-Jim

Tell us what you think! Leave a comment below or send an e-mail to [email protected].

Posted by Doug Barney on 03/23/2009 at 1:16 PM0 comments

IE 8 Pulled Out of the Fire

This probably isn't enough to sway Firefox and Chrome fans, but for IE shops it looks like a nice step forward. With IE 8 looking solid and Windows 7 on the way, Microsoft is looking at a major desktop redemption. Tell me where I'm wrong at [email protected].

Posted by Doug Barney on 03/23/2009 at 1:16 PM0 comments

'Vista Capable' Ruled a Loose Term

Now, I'm no fan of most class-action actions because each plaintiff usually pockets pennies while the lawyers walk away with millions. But in this case, a class action is the only option. If each plaintiff only suffered tens or hundreds of dollars in damages, it's hard to pay for a lawyer good enough to take on Microsoft.

Even without class-action status, the suit dragged on -- only to encounter another setback when the same judge, Marsha Pechman (likely an XP user), denied a proposed summary judgment that would've declared the proposed Vista requirements deceptive.

The ever-weakening lawsuit continues, but with this judge's attitude Microsoft may as well pop the champagne corks now!

Posted by Doug Barney on 03/23/2009 at 1:16 PM0 comments