Microsoft has used virtualization for years to ensure compatibility. Windows NT ran on RISC chips like Alpha, even though it was native to Intel. The solution was the Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL), a thunking layer that more or less let NT run on different processors.
Some gurus saw this approach and thought a somewhat similar approach could work with Windows 7 to help it run the software and drivers Vista failed to support. The idea was to use a virtual layer that mimics older OS architectures. The newest OS -- say, Windows 7 -- would be the leader and underneath would run the virtual layer. If done elegantly, you wouldn't even know the virtual layer is there.
Microsoft hasn't chosen this approach with Windows 7, and so far the compatibility reports are pretty good. These virtual pundits may be smart, but the Windows 7 dev team may be even smarter.
Posted by Doug Barney on 03/16/2009 at 1:16 PM0 comments
I wrote a two-part series arguing that Windows 7, still in beta, is already better than Vista. Microsoft apparently agrees, letting slip that
Windows 7 runs many apps that Vista chokes on.
I always felt that Windows 7 needed a whole new kernel. Yet even with the old Vista kernel, it's far more compatible and way faster. I guess the problem is with the millions of lines of code that surround the kernel, not the core itself.
Of course, I could be wrong, and the production version of Windows 7 may well disappoint. Let's hope not!
Posted by Doug Barney on 03/13/2009 at 1:16 PM0 comments
Bill Gates may be brilliant, but he's not immune to the collapse of capital. In the latest Forbes 400, Gates is still
ranked the richest person in the world, but he lost enough money to support Bernie Madoff's lifestyle for a year. In one year Gates went from $58 billion to $40 billion, and I'm sure his family has made some tough economic sacrifices. I don't think he's at the point where he serves Two-Buck Chuck and Old Milwaukee to Bono, but he may be putting off that new Lexus.
What's really interesting is that Gates, in terms of proportion, lost far less than pal Warren Buffet, a professional investor. Gates is only No. 1 because his foundation gives its money away carefully. Every disbursement is researched to the fullest; there are no earmarks or fluff in how The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation spends.
If this style of smart charity interests you, and if you use your IT skills for good, I want to hear from you at [email protected]!
Posted by Doug Barney on 03/13/2009 at 1:16 PM0 comments
Microsoft has been
touting IE 8 as the next big browser, particularly for enterprises, but these readers think it still has a long way to go:
I had nothing but problems with IE 8. It crashed too many times for me. I love IE but I could not bear IE 8 on Vista. I got so frustrated with that browser, I decided to go back to Mozilla and uninstall the update. I think the most annoying thing was seeing that stupid box that says IE has stopped responding. I just couldn't bear that error message and how slow it was over anything.
Until they fix IE 8, forget it. IE 7 is much better.
-Michael
I used the beta version of IE 8 and found one of the banks I use did not support it. Then it was a nightmare to remove IE 8 and go back to IE 7. Once IE 8 gets its foot in, it doesn't like to be removed!
-Joe
IE 8 in 64-bit is awful. I have to use the 32-bit version, installed side-by-side, as the 64-bit version crashes 99 percent of the time (on Vista SP2 and Win 2008 Sever).
-Russ
My biggest complaint about IE 8 is how it "fixes" sites for you. So far, I've only run into a couple of problems, but guess what one of them is? Gmail. Coincidence? If I have 'Compatibility View' turned on, the page constantly refreshes...never to load. If I turn it off, it acts like I'm running Netscape 2.0 and shows me the Gmail footer in italic Times New Roman. I have to use the dumbed-down HTML view for Gmail whenever I'm running IE 8 now.
-Sharon
Share your thoughts with us! Leave a comment or send an e-mail to [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 03/13/2009 at 1:16 PM0 comments
Remember the "Grapes of Wrath"-style truck the Three Stooges always drove, where the tires were patched and then the patches patched? That's what a
DNS patch from Microsoft this week looks like, once its own holes are blocked up.
This patch only works if the server hasn't already been attacked. If so, the patch doesn't remedy the problem or offer protection. The only solution? Patch your systems fast, before they're compromised.
So who's your favorite Stooge (besides Iggy Pop)? I think Shemp is the only Stooge with true sophistication, and I never got the simplistic humor of Curly. Send in your votes for Moe, Larry, Curly, Shemp, Joe Besser or Curly Joe at [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 03/13/2009 at 1:16 PM0 comments
Steve Ballmer has far more nice things to say about the economy in one speech than Barack Obama has in a dozen. While the president's teleprompter has doom and gloom down to a science, Ballmer sees the tech sector
continuing to innovate. Ballmer argues that innovation from startups and large concerns will continue, and that Microsoft will still pour billions into R&D.
In my opinion, tech -- especially software -- is far more agile than car companies or banks with trillions in suspect loans. Do Ballmer and I have a right to be at least a little bullish, or should we go back and reread Paul Samuelson? Your best macro or microeconomic analyses welcome at [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 03/11/2009 at 1:16 PM0 comments
Readers share their thoughts on Vista, including how
SP2 stacks up and what it might mean for Windows 7:
Ladies and gentlemen, Windows 7 is Vista SP3. It's OK, breathe.
If Vista SP2 rocks, imagine it on Red Bull and Mountain Dew after just winning the lottery!
-Rob
I have been using the RC version of Vista SP2 for four days now and it makes a big difference for me. All of my programs load quicker and boot times are faster. Being the avid gamer that I am, I generally notice performance, compatibility and stability changes faster than the average user. Anyone still having issues with Vista needs to have their computer checked by someone who knows what they are doing as there is a good chance that person's issues are self-inflicted.
Vista is not a good choice for the average user as it tends not to be user-friendly. After installing Vista, there are a few system services that need to be turned off as it helps with resource usage and speeds up the OS considerably (UAC, System Restore, SuperFetch, ReadyBoost and Volume Shadow Copy). Turning off these functions freed up 40 percent of my RAM and slowed my initial processor and hard drive usage by more than 75 percent -- not to mention I freed up several gigs of hard drive space.
-Anonymous
Speaking of turning components off, Windows 7 will apparently let you do that to even IE. And Marc thinks he knows why:
Of course you realize that Microsoft has really done nothing more than add a switch to make the iexplorer.exe executable user-accessible. It's the same with WMP and the other applications that will be "de-selectable."
All the underlying code is still there. The APIs are still there.
All Microsoft has done is make it possible for it to leave users (and, more importantly, clueless legislators) with the impression that it has unbundled whatever the EU (or DoJ) asked it to unbundle. Since one can upgrade to another version of Windows 7 with a simple upgrade of the license key, Microsoft no longer needs to distribute multiple kinds of media, and it gets to sell these upgrades without profit-taking by the middleman. It's all smoke and mirrors -- the EU gets what it wants, users get what they want, Microsoft gets what it wants. There is more than one way to skin a cat.
-Marc
And Charles thinks he there might be a correlation between a story about the Gates family being Apple-free...and something else:
Regarding the article on Bill Gates banning the use of iPhones in his premises, it should be noted that on the same day that hit the Internet, there was another article on a former Taliban mullah getting up to-speed online with an iPhone. Is this irony or cause and effect? If the latter, which is the cause and which the effect?
-Charles
Tell us what you think! Leave a comment below or send an e-mail to [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 03/11/2009 at 1:16 PM0 comments
Redmond magazine's online news editor Kurt Mackie and I just
talked to Mike Nash, corporate vice president for Windows product management, about IE 8.
I had my own opinion of IE 8 based on over 50 Redmond Report readers who wrote me. My take based on your take is that the beta and release candidate are far from primetime and that many of the new features were pioneered by other browsers, but if stability issues are resolved, it could be a solid enterprise browser.
Nash was obviously far more bullish, arguing that IE 8 should not just be an enterprise browser, but the enterprise browser. He argued it has the best security, is easiest to manage (many of you agree here) and has usability tweaks that make it fun and efficient. Tell me where Nash or I are wrong at [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 03/11/2009 at 1:16 PM0 comments
Yesterday was a light Patch Tuesday with only three fixes, but Excel users may have preferred four. It seems that a publicly disclosed Excel RCE hole is
still wide open.
This is particularly troubling, argued BeyondTrust CEO John Moyer, because Excel is in high use due to the tax season. So far, the attacks are limited. Let's hope they stay that way.
Posted by Doug Barney on 03/11/2009 at 1:16 PM0 comments
Tomorrow, Microsoft will release a meager
three patches. Two address spoofing attacks and the third goes after remote code execution.
While it seems like a like minor Patch Tuesday, remember it only takes one unfixed hole to swallow your network.
Posted by Doug Barney on 03/09/2009 at 1:16 PM0 comments
Forrester Research now claims that the majority of large and SME shops
now use or plan to use some form of server virtualization. Of those that already virtualize, a bit over half use VMware. Hyper-V comes in between 18 and 22 percent. Not bad for a nearly new product.
This is just the beginning. As the economy tightens and power costs soar, virtualization and even cloud services will take hold. The good news is these virtual tools are getting better all the time and putting important apps on them is less risky.
Do you use virtualization to save energy? Have you pushed any other green initiatives? Are there ways to use Microsoft software more efficiently, and has Microsoft told you about them? Help me spread the word by writing [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 03/09/2009 at 1:16 PM0 comments
Microsoft got in a whole heap of trouble with the U.S. Justice Department (which died down during the last administration) and the European Union. The beef was over the bundling of IE and other tools with Windows.
Microsoft's counter was that the integration was critical and that IE was so intertwined, it couldn't be extracted from the OS. We've looked at the issue and concluded that pulling IE from XP is possible, but it takes quite a bit of effort.
Microsoft apparently figured it all out and Windows 7 users can remove IE 8, Media Player and Media Center, Windows Search, and fax from the operating system. There are likely two motivations behind this. For one, users like the ability lean out the OS by removing bits they don't use. A bigger reason? The EU is still all over Microsoft for bundling.
Posted by Doug Barney on 03/09/2009 at 1:16 PM0 comments