VMware Numbers

This all beat expectations -- expectations that were modest due to the tough recent economy. In a brutal market yesterday, VMware only lost $1.33 a share. For a day like Wednesday, that's a major victory.

Posted by Doug Barney on 10/23/2008 at 1:16 PM0 comments

Mailbag: Microsoft Cleans Up Gaming, Piracy Protection Rants, More

Great! Especially if they can apply it to the game characters, as well. There are actually some people out here who enjoy a good, violent game but can't stand the gratuitous profanity. We still watch our language and have found ourselves having to avoid whole game franchises because the swearing is so prevalent for absolutely no good reason.
-Steve

I like the "censors on the fly" idea for gaming. As an educator in a community college, I use gaming as an educational tool. My classroom is aimed at PG-rated content. When I do not have such confidence, I avoid using the games.
-Jack

I'm all for it. A technology used to be available for doing that based on the closed caption stuff and built into certain models of TVs. I think it's a great idea but they killed it due to altering copywritten material. If we could edit it out, then we would watch a lot more of the trash they put out and play more games, but due to the language, I don't want or let my kids play it and can't even do it myself. I'd spend more money if this were available.

Then again, they could just clean up the language in that stuff in the first place instead of making us buy a technology to do it for us.
-Ernie

The danger I could see in such a technology (and now that it has been invented, it will be deployed by someone) is not in using it to censor out objectionable words, but to insert objectionable words of a different sort. We are in the last days of a presidential election. Each election has become more contentious, more strident and more divisive. If we currently have even a few people so worked up that they are publicly threatening to kill one candidate or another, what will we have when spin masters can use software to change "on the fly" live statements by the candidate they oppose by substituting incendiary words for innocent ones? Will anyone hear or care about corrections made after the fact when they have heard with their own ears a "live" statement which confirms the fears whispered to them in earlier ads? We should be very afraid.
-Gary

A person's free speech rights allow them to say anything they want. I support that. They do not, however, have the right to force me to listen to it. I reserve the right to flip a switch and turn off what they are saying within my own domain. As I understand it, that is what the Microsoft real time censor tool provides.
-Dana

There's been a lot of buzz lately about Microsoft's Hyper-V, but Jonathan isn't wowed:

I went to an MS presentation the other day on Hyper-V and I am afraid I saw nothing which made me want to use it. One, it's not free -- it just comes with Windows 2008, which you have to pay for. Two, the VDisks are just files on the host's NTFS file system. They haven't been bothered to develop a dedicated file system. So you have defrag problems and all. Three, the management console (SCOM) is hopeless; it crashed twice during the demo I went to. Four, you can't migrate virtual machines live between hosts, which you have been able to do with Xen for years.

In short, there is no reason to use it. If you want something free, Xen performs and is reliable. There are even GUIs around if you really want one. And if you want all the features as well, there is VMware. It's expensive but if you have a lot of VMs (and we are running at around 10 per host) it does not work out as much per VM.
-Jonathan

Mike's still looking for the bright spot in the midst of Yahoo's slump:

I bought Yahoo at $26. They say buy on bad news; I did and unfortunately it's still bad news. Maybe Time Warner will offer them $14 per share?
-Mike

Earl thinks that the pricier, the better -- when it comes to Apple products, anyway.

Apple is right to only sell high-end products. Only selling their computers with top-quality hardware makes Macs more stable. Not making new operating systems backward compatible makes Macs more stable. Limiting hardware choices makes Macs more stable. Keeping market share low makes Macs less inviting to exploiters, adware, viruses and spyware.

Apple's pricing maximizes profits and limits complaints. It is a great business model.
-Earl

In the spirit of Microsoft's Anti-Piracy Day, Dennis shares his thoughts on piracy protection, including a run-in with the piracy police that did more harm than good:

I too have found that the "cure" for software piracy can be worse than the illness. I think there is a need for some sort of software police. However, I also think the folks doing the software licensing enforcement should be free of any conflict of interest that may affect their due diligence during the process. I also think whatever organization is involved should be aware of the software licensing models so they can correctly assess the information they are given. I think at the very least, it's unprofessional to not be knowledgeable about the licensing models that you are purporting to protect.

We were "turned in" to the BSA, the self-appointed software piracy police, for non-existent infractions by a former employee that was terminated. The former eployee accused us of using 16-plus copies of Autodesk and several MS Server software packages in a manner that was out of compliance -- which we were not. Over the next three months, I was in close contact with the BSA attorney regarding this matter. It was very apparent that they didn't really care whether the software we had was in compliance. They were righteous when we were out of compliance and got upset, bordering on verbally abusive, when we reported that we owned licenses that they assumed we did not. In my verbal communications, I was never offered any help from a BSA representative regarding how the licensing should be set up. I was only given the opportunity to speak with my assigned attorney. Their entire focus from beginning to end was on what they would collect.
-Dennis

And finally, in the Reader Rant of the Week, John shares his experiences navigating Microsoft's various software authentication hoops:

Piracy protection...bah! I've had it up to here with being treated like a criminal, being made to prove the legitimacy of my ownership (or should that be licenseship/rentalship/bent-over-ship?) by everyone that writes code for the Windows landscape.

You buy Windows. You install it. You jump through the hoops of activation to prove it's real and authentic, and that you actually purchased the real deal. That should be the end of it. But, no! Want to update? Prove it again. Want to download something from MS for Windows? Prove it again. Et cetera, ad infinitum. And as if that wasn't bad enough, if you want to use MS's update site but you don't like exposing your genitals to the world by using Internet Exploiter, too bad. You absolutely must use Internet Exploiter, the single greatest exploit gateway in the known universe, to utilize their update system. Want to download something from MS but don't want to use Exploiter? Prepare to jump through flaming hoops while wearing gasoline-soaked shorts with your legs tied to your shoulders, all because you have to prove, again, that the copy of Windows installed on your machine for the last couple of years, the copy that has been activated, the copy that has been authenticated as genuine countless times, is -- you got it -- genuine.

Or, another scenario: The newest game comes out in your favorite series. You rush to the store, plunk down your left one, break traffic laws getting it home, tear into the packaging and...damn! A 652-digit product installation code. So you get it installed, bang the icon and up pops the registration program. Damn, part two! I don't want to register! Close! Bang the icon...registration. AAARGH! OK. My name is...address is...phone number is...date of birth is (why do they need that?)...mother's original hair color? What the? Finally, the game's loading. Yes! No! It won't go into the game until it's checked for updates. It won't complete the check for updates until I create an account and register it on the game's update server. My name is...username already in use?! Somebody else already used "BiteMeUAnnoyingBastards"?

Microsoft, Adobe, Ahead, Roxio, Intuit and a host of others are, bit by bit, shoving me ever closer to the Linux camp. These companies made hundreds of billions of dollars by giving pirates a wink and a nudge, using them to increase their market share. Sure, some of that share was illicitly acquired, but the overall outcome was an increase in purchases and revenues. Now that they're big enough and famous enough, they think they can get along without the wink/nudge approach, resulting mainly in pissing off the hand that's fed them all along: the paying, legit customer. They haven't stopped the pirates, or made much of a dent in piracy. All they've done is piss the rest of us off. In fact, the only people who don't seem to be affected by these anti-piracy annoyances are the pirates. They hack 'em out and never think about 'em again.
-Dr. John

Need a place to vent? Do it here! Leave your comment below or send an e-mail to [email protected].

Posted by Doug Barney on 10/23/2008 at 1:16 PM0 comments

Win 7, I'm Confused: Can PDC Help?

I became instantly less excited about Windows 7 when Microsoft seemed to say it would be based on Vista. That means a big client using an old kernel. Recent rumors (fueled at least in part by Microsoft itself) point to a new, much smaller kernel based on something called Midori, which may or may not be based on Singularity (a new kernel coming out of Microsoft Research).

Microsoft should end this confusion. The underlying architecture of Windows 7 is critically important for IT planning. Another big issue: If Windows 7 has an all-new kernel, no matter how small, it could dramatically lengthen the wait for this OS.

Of course, the big question is: For how long will PC operating systems be a cause of excitement? Here, there are two countervailing trends. One, client OSes are getting richer. With media extensions and add-ins, we can actually spend more and more time using what comes already installed on our machines.

On the other hand, more processing is moving to the Web, the cloud, Software as a Service and all the other terms we use for big-time remote computing. Here, all we need is a browser and enough local CPU to drive our displays and networks.

Next week, Microsoft is hosting its Professional Developers Conference and will give attendees some pre-release Windows 7 code. Maybe then we'll have our answer!

Posted by Doug Barney on 10/23/2008 at 1:16 PM0 comments

Microsoft To Censor on the Fly

Microsoft now has a patent that could allow online gaming dialogue to be cleaned up on the fly -- without need for an expensive Hollywood video and voice editor.

What has the free speech folks up in arms isn't so much the censorship, but the fact that the curses are replaced on the fly, and that those listening may be deceived into thinking those are the real words.

Is this invention a great move toward a more polite society, or an invasion of our rights? And how would you use such a thing in your home, office, the subway or maybe a professional football game? Keep it clean and send your answers to [email protected].

Posted by Doug Barney on 10/22/2008 at 1:16 PM0 comments

Yahoo or Yikes?

Moves like this have driven Yahoo's stock down to the point where it's almost affordable. In fact, shareholders are pining for the days when Microsoft offered almost $45 billion for the company. The offer was for $33 a share. Yahoo, last time I checked, was trading for around 12 bucks. Yikes!

So does this mean Microsoft should offer $15 billion now for Yahoo? Even at that price, I think it's a bad idea, a me-too play aimed at Google but one that lacks innovation and punch. Is a $15 billion Yahoo a bargain? Financial acumen welcome at [email protected].

And you can find the LA Times story on Yahoo's woes posted at our new Web site, RedmondReport.com.

Posted by Doug Barney on 10/22/2008 at 1:16 PM0 comments

Microsoft Virtualization Tool Done

This rev of System Center has a familiar MO: It can manage both physical and virtual servers, something virtually every systems management vendor has told me in the last six months. The Microsoft tool can also oversee ESX VMs.

VMware should take heed. I believe the company must adopt all its tools to work across all major hypervisors -- and not just its own. If not, VMware could ultimately become a marginal player. If it goes multiplatform, the sky is still very much the only limit.

Does VMware need to support Hyper-V and Xen to survive? Business advice welcome at [email protected].

Posted by Doug Barney on 10/22/2008 at 1:16 PM0 comments

Mailbag: OpenOffice.org Thoughts, More

I have been using OpenOffice since its inception (actually, before that with StarOffice) and I like it. I use Microsoft Office 2007 in the workplace as that is the business standard, and I use OpenOffice 3 at home as it can do everything I need and more. Your beef that it's big, complex and not exactly fun may be true, but when has an Office suite been fun? Free, useable and does 90 percent of what MS Office does sounds very, very good to me.
-Craig

I have used it for years in an effort to decrease spending in our IT department. So far, everyone has adjusted well for their needs. I would like to see more VBA or macro support. I give it two thumbs up!
-Anonymous

I've recommended OpenOffice for both home and office use with good results. My only caveat is "it's better than Office, but it ain't Office." If you require total compliance with a bit of VBA code thrown in, then pony up for Office. If you're interested in getting the job done and don't have the compatibility worries, OO is more than capable.
-Gregg

A number of years ago, when I had retired from Microsoft, I took a serious look at the desktop Linux efforts and OpenOffice. What bugged me in general about them was that they were so busy trying to emulate Windows and Office that they weren't doing anything innovative. Their value proposition is "You don't have to pay Microsoft a licensing fee," and that's about it. And note that I didn't say they were free or even cheaper, since training, compatibility and other cost of ownership issues far outweigh licensing costs. From my perspective, they just totally blew the opportunity.

So what is the opportunity? It was to create completely different and more compelling experiences than what Microsoft had done. Where was the new thinking in UI? Where was a new paradigm for information work? Basically, the open source community shows a complete lack of imagination and innovation on the desktop. The world doesn't need cheaper software -- it needs revolutionary software.
-Anonymous

With each release, OpenOffice has grown and matured and got better. OK, so it doesn't have all the features of MS Office, but the features it does have generally work as you expect. It doesn't have as many dedicated books as Office 2007 (but, hey, I don't need a book to use it). Office 2007 has thousands of features...but once I can type text, insert images, put in a table of contents and print out labels for my Christmas cards, I'm happy. If it can open my late 1980s files, it's good (newer versions of Word forgot the backward-compatibility thing). If it can do a PDF, better (and I have a utility for that, anyway). If I can open a 60-page .DOC, put comments on it, e-mail back to the sender, I'm delighted (with 3.0, commenting works more like Word 03 so that box is now ticked).

The negatives: PowerPoint import can be tempramental (for me, this is not an issue but I can see how it will affect some). ODF is not fully supported at work (so I save as PDF/DOC). Sometimes -- and far less than before -- complex DOC formatting is a bit messy. There's still an expectation in business that DOC/XLS files will be exchanged and businesses may pay for the security of knowing MSO will open/close these 100 percent of the time.
-Clarke

For me, it's a simple choice. In my company I use Microsoft OS products to run critical applications -- but we are not wed. I'm grateful to the Microsoft market for generating work for me. I run a virtual or real Windows OS (or two) to support some critical products (mostly Adobe) and run Linux and Mac OS X for everything else.

With that as context, I don't find the features offered by MS Office worth the license fee. Looking forward, I prefer the product that will do what I need and save documents in a format that conforms to an open standard. I'm really tired of the format lockdown game. My impression is that Microsoft adopts standards only after every means to thwart them are exhausted.
-Anonymous

One reader thinks not enough has been said about the price of Microsoft Office:

Hmm...for some who regularly gripes about the price of a Mac, I am surprised you have not commented on the price of Office. Oh, that's right, you probably got someone else to pay, so it did not occur to you that the rest of us have to actually buy it.

I have to admit, I've never actually paid for it either, as I have always managed to wrangle a copy from my employer, and did experience sticker shock when I saw the price. At a suggested retail of $400, that's almost half the price of an "overpriced" Macbook.
-Anonymous

Speaking of "overpriced" Macbooks, this reader thinks that as long as people keep buying, Apple shouldn't change a thing:

I think Apple has one of the smartest marketing strategies in the free enterprise system! It is no wonder that all Apple users are thrilled with their platform. Why wouldn't they be when, for less money, they can switch to the alternative? That pretty well ensures that all Apple users will be happy, loyal customers. How many other companies wish they could be in that situation?

As long as Apple is meeting its profit goals and, at the same time, ensuring a base of 100 percent-satisfied customers, why should it change? Cadillacs are just Chevys in fancy clothes, but Chevys take heat all the time. When was the last time you heard anyone complaining about a Cadillac?
-T.W.

More reader letters coming tomorrow! In the meantime, leave us your thoughts by writing a comment below or sending an e-mail to [email protected].

Posted by Doug Barney on 10/22/2008 at 1:16 PM0 comments

Ballmer on Cloud Nine and Windows 7

Case in point: At a recent Gartner event, Ballmer talked in general terms about Microsoft's upcoming cloud OS, one that will host Microsoft apps running over the Internet. He was more specific about Windows 7, indicating that it's really an extension of today's Vista but focusing on performance and what he calls "cleanup."

He added, "Essentially, the way I'd characterize it -- it's Windows Vista, a lot better. Windows Vista is good. Windows 7 is Windows Vista with cleanup and user interface, improvements in performance."

Posted by Doug Barney on 10/21/2008 at 1:16 PM0 comments

Social Net-Hacking

I'm pretty savvy about computers, but there's a tiny part of me that's tempted to click on these links. I even had a boss that once clicked on an "I Love You" message...and you probably know the rest. The whole organization was infected with the "I Love You Virus."

These tricks will continue to work, which means anti-virus/anti-malware defenses have to be strong.

Posted by Doug Barney on 10/21/2008 at 1:16 PM0 comments

Microsoft Celebrates Anti-Piracy Day

I don't agree with committing software piracy, but I find that sometimes the cure is worse than the illness. How many times have you tried to rebuild a system only to be stymied reinstalling software you already paid for?

What do you think about piracy and piracy protection? Shrieks, howls and common sense all welcome at [email protected].

Posted by Doug Barney on 10/21/2008 at 1:16 PM0 comments

Mailbag: Apple Prices, Vista Problem, More

You say that you find it an outrage, in this economy, to charge such a premium. While I respect your personal convictions, that statement is a little too broad for my liking. The Declaration of Independence cites life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness as inalienable rights, not low-cost Apple computing. What Apple charges for a laptop is Apple's business. That's the free market. If we find that we are willing to pay that premium, we can join the exclusive club. If not, then we don't. We have no right to anything at any cost other than what the market will bear and what the business will sell for.

Could Apple have greater market share in personal and enterprise computing? I firmly believe so. Do they care? I am not sure, but I would suspect that Apple, marching to the beat of its own drum for decades, has its own version of success. PC computing is definitely the more economical way to go, but it's nice to have the option to drive a Cadillac if you really want one and can afford it.
-Kurt

Your comment about Apple not being interested in matching prices with PCs got me to thinking that maybe it has something there. All of the Mac users I know are competent computer users; I can't say that of all of the PC users I know. The Mac users I talk to are usually asking for help on the PC they need to use at work, not their personal Mac. After 10 years of PC support in a public school district, I am of the opinion that most people have no business using a computer!
-Anonymous

It took a lot of convincing to get my wife to go along with getting our Macbook Pro back in February. And I am glad that we made the investment. Looking at the new models and stuff now, it would be great to get another one to take advantage of that extra video memory horsepower and overall performance.

However, the price this time around is not going to work. Apple does need to reduce the cost of its hardware by a large amount if it is going to continue to grow and prosper. Our economy now will more than likely hurt Apple if it does not do something soon. It would be a darn shame to see the current crowds at the Apple store where to be reduced to one to two window shoppers that would briefly stop in.
-Albert

Apple has no place or desire to exist in the enterprise. It uses a tailored version of Unix at the core of its OS, but that does not make it comparable to *nix clients or servers. It is a consumer-grade device provider, in that it gives you a shrink-wrapped phone, media player, laptop, 1U server, etc. with bells and whistles. It does not give you the utility that is a machine of your own. I would not start buying T-Mobile routers if they started making them.

Standard or branded PC hardware running Windows or *nix will give you far more customizability than Apple will ever offer, which is the first foot into the door of any serious enterprise. Its computers are "pretty" versions that try to do the exact same thing, but seriously fall short. Any hardware running XP, Vista or *nix will beat a Mac hands-down in every enterprise usability test you can throw at it.
-Jeremy

There are a number of companies that do not market to the low end of the market. Not sure why you are thinking that Apple needs to be all things to all people. Also, way too often reviewers do not look at all the differences in the systems (i.e., the mag attached power cord). Mac has a lot more going for it than a Windows system in a lot of ways. Most people can use a Mac and not look back to Windows. If you are doing any multimedia, then Mac rules. For those that must have Windows apps they can get them with Parallels, and it is seamless.

I think that although the laptops are a bit pricier than Windows laptops, Apple is right on for being a very profitable company. It is moving up in market share consistantly. I am seeing more and more Mac laptops in public. I know of a lot of people that are migrating to Macs also. And I know a very large number of people (like myself) that are network engineers of one sort or another that have moved to Mac for their personal systems because we are just tired of the Windows crap. Macs just work, pure and simple.
-Anonymous

What hasn't been working, at least for this reader, is Vista. More specifically, older apps that worked fine in XP but fail in the new OS:

About two months ago, I bought a new laptop with Vista Home Premium on it. I am getting used to the new interface, but have been having a little trouble with two older applications. Other than e-mail and Internet browsing, these two are my primary uses for the laptop.

Sometimes the applications will just stop. The mouse doesn't seem to work and I have to use Ctrl-Alt-Del to get to Task Manager and end my "not responding" task. When I get to Task Manager, the mouse is responding again, but not the application. Is this typical Vista execution or what? I have been using the apps under XP for at least four years and they work fine, but now that they are installed under Vista, they seem unreliable. What's up?
-John

But John's problem notwithstanding, at least one reader still thinks Vista is just as good as a Mac:

Put 64-bit Vista (other than Vista Home or Basic) on a computer with a quad-core processor, 4GB RAM and only Microsoft-approved applications, and it will cost and operate similarly to a Mac. It will perform well and applications will be expensive and limited. On the plus side, it will be easier to find qualified people to support it and networking is much simpler than on a Mac. Put it on a low-end computer and it will "suck." This is a classic case of "you get what you pay for."

Example: Sit at a Vista computer and try to share resources. The Help menu is easy to find and easy to follow. Try the same thing on a Mac. You will find out how to connect to shares on other computers. Getting help for a Mac is easier using a Web search than using its documentation. Our local Mac store offers free training for purchasers of new Macs. If the system is that easy, why do users need the training?
-Earl

And finally, Stephen's not so impressed with Chrome. Here's why:

If you're still collecting "Chrome Woes," may I add a few? One, this site took five minutes to load in Chrome, whereas I was on the page in two seconds in IE 7, browsed the entire week in photos, voted and closed out before Chrome had rendered anything more than the banner and left-nav. Two, we use an open source Web-based product, Gemini, to track our internal development projects. It has a RAD Editor component that in IE behaves fine, but in Chrome the Ctrl+ shortcuts are ignored.

Three, signing in to see my iGoogle page took me to a blank page that was "redirecting" for fully a minute. Maybe those guys at Google really need to talk to each other before they dink around with the main pages. For some reason, after 10 minutes, the page was still "loading," as evidenced by the spinner on the tab title. "What's it doing?" one may ask.
-Stephen

Check in tomorrow for more of reader letters! In the meantime, share your own thoughts by leaving a comment below or sending an e-mail to [email protected].

Posted by Doug Barney on 10/21/2008 at 1:16 PM0 comments

OpenOffice.org 3 Times as Good?

Meanwhile, Office is maintaining the kind of market share that would make my local electric company proud.

OpenOffice.org gets a lot of backing from Sun, which just released OpenOffice.org 3. This new release includes better multi-page document viewing, the ability to import Office 2007 files (but not export them back) and native Mac OS X support.

What do you like and hate about OpenOffice.org? Is it too much like Office, or not enough? Votes counted at [email protected] -- and you don't even have to register.

Posted by Doug Barney on 10/20/2008 at 1:16 PM0 comments