One reader breaks down what he wants from the next Microsoft tablet:
Am I looking forward to Windows 8? Well, not really, Doug! I am, however, interesting in seeing a true Windows tablet.
I am not sure that a tablet edition of Windows 8 needs to be identical to the desktop edition of '8' but they must be 100 percent compatible.
For me (and anyone else in an Exchange-based enterprise), Outlook on a Windows tablet must have all of the capabilities of Outlook on the Desktop. Whether that is accomplished via a full Outlook implementation on the tablet or via a 'thin client' to Outlook in the Microsoft cloud, I really don't care as long as the result is indistinguishable from Outlook on the desktop. (No, don't give me Outlook Web Access and try to sell it to me as 'just as good as Outlook on the desktop.' I know better. OWA is the bastard stepchild of desktop Outlook -- everybody knows it!
Aside from Outlook capabilities, I expect my Windows 8 tablet running IE to be able to deliver Web pages that are identical to those from IE on the desktop... AND I expect to be able to view and print my Office documents from the tablet. I do NOT expect to have a fully functional version of MS Office though.
Here's what Microsoft needs to keep in mind for its next line of tablets:
- A Windows-based tablet has to be no heavier than the Apple iPad
- It has to have decent battery life (to last a full work day, 8 hours under constant use)
- It has to cost NO MORE THAN (and preferably LESS THAN) an Apple iPad
- It should be designed to replace the netbook computer in the space between the entry-level Windows notebook and a Windows-based smartphone (as the iPad is positioned between an iPhone and a MacBook).
- Marc
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Posted by Doug Barney on 06/15/2011 at 1:18 PM0 comments
There was plenty of teeth gnashing over the future of OpenOffice after Oracle bought Sun. Many open source fans openly wondered just how interested Larry Ellison was in distributing free software. How many yachts can you buy with those proceeds?
The skeptics were right. There was a bit of a breakdown, and Oracle's lack of support led OpenOffice developers to create a rival group called LibreOffice that is run by the Apache Software Foundation.
Oracle is still not fully involved, but now there is a détente between the two -- The Document Foundation and Libre will work together on common code.
I call this great news. What do you think? Proffer your opinions at [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 06/13/2011 at 1:18 PM1 comments
Here's part two of the discussion on which has a better safety record -- Windows or Mac OS:
Let's say I'm the whiz-bang marketer for a rejuvenated Yugo America. So I start pitching my marketing angle as 'Yugos are the safest cars in America! Only 25 people died in Yugos in the last three years!' Of course, being a marketing person, I'd never mention that only 29 Yugos are still on the road!
Windows was designed and 'built' by humans, as was the Mac OS. Ergo, both are just as vulnerable to exploits. Period. Yes, there may be a difference in exploits based on differences in architecture, but vulnerable nonetheless. It's just a question of focus. If Macs overtake PCs in raw numbers, I guarantee that Macs will be hacked as frequently as Windows, if not more so.
Windows has become, in our culture, the embodiment of the un-cool geek who has to work triple hard as the football player or the star lead on the high school drama team to 'succeed.' Hence, there's a good chance that per feature capita, Windows is possibly even less vulnerable than Macs (and Linux computers).
Of course that's heresy, so I don't expect that I'll ever 'win' that argument in any self-described 'good company.' But I've lived long enough to know that humans are infinitely fallible, and no perfect human creations hase been, or likely ever will be, created. Windows, for all its flaws (and there are many, no surprise there), undeniably 'powers' the world right now. With all the forces of chaos seeking to bring down modern humanity, it's hard for me to believe that Windows is the fundamental disaster that Mac and Linux devotees would have us believe. But then I'm just probably naïve.
-Chris
A dumb user can make any computer, patched or not, a security hole.
-Bruce
I would have to disagree with the statement that Macs are safer. This just is not true. They have as many or more flaws than Windows.The issue is that there are not enough Mac users to justify being hacked, so there are less attempts to hack the MAC.
I have been using Windows computers since Version 3.0 and have not been hacked/infected to date. I guess it's all in how the systems are configured, maintained and used.
-Earl
After several years of using several Macs, and decades of using and developing software for PCs, my experience is that Macs always work, while PCs often do not work. At home I have one PC (multi core, Win 7 64 bit, lots of RAM), 3 Macs, an iPad and an iPhone. I spend far more time maintaining the PC than I do all the other Apple equipment combined. And the Macs get 10 times the use of the PC.
I trust Macs more. Schmidt's statement may have been a gaffe, politically, but that does not mean he was wrong.
-Ed
I use a Mac for work and it's not really any more or less reliable than Windows. The main problem with Windows is with third-party apps (some of which are from Apple). But Mac has the same issues. Just this past week alone I've had to hold the power button on my Mac to turn it off because it locked up (I forgot my phone charger and left the Macbook Pro on overnight with my phone plugged in via USB) at least four times.
I've always had pretty good success with my Windows systems, notable exceptions include hardware-related issues. But taking those out of the mix, I don't have the same problems that some people profess to have.
-Anonymous
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Posted on 06/13/2011 at 1:18 PM0 comments
One thing I love about Bill Gates is the guy barely changes. I first met him in 1985 and his personality has pretty much stayed constant. What has changed is his focus. This is one super-driven guy. For a few decades it was all about Microsoft. Now it is all about the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Bill promised to give at least 90 percent of his wealth away -- but only after he left Microsoft. He needed to have time to figure out the best way to spend all that money. Some thought he was shirking, but I felt in my heart that he meant what he said. And boy, did he. The coolest thing is he inspired other billionaires to do the same.
The Daily Mail sat down with Bill as he discussed his thinking process. For Gates followers, there was nothing really new here. But for most of us, it revealed a lot about how the once richest man in the universe decided to use all that dough for good.
Posted by Doug Barney on 06/13/2011 at 1:18 PM0 comments
Microsoft will be throwing a sweet sixteen party next Tuesday. No, Bill Gates' daughter isn't having a birthday. On that day Microsoft will release a whopping 16 patches. Time to celebrate! Whoopie!
Nine of the fixes are critical, and all 16 patches reportedly involve a full system restart. Best get that coffee brewing or those Red Bulls chilling.
Like most batches of patches, this one focuses largely on remote code execution attacks, though some denial-of-service and elevation-of-privilege have been thrown in for good measure.
RCE fixes are for all current versions of Windows, Silverlight, IE, Forefront (fixing a security hole in a security product sure is ironic) and .NET.
Posted by Doug Barney on 06/10/2011 at 1:18 PM2 comments
Many of you wrote in with your thoughts of which is safer -- Windows or Mac OS. Here's the first batch of your responses:
I firmly believe that a Windows 7 PC is as safe as any other client PC operating system out there. If you leave the Windows Firewall in its default configuration, leave UAC enabled and install a good antivirus application, you should be as safe on Win 7 as you are on any other OS -- and maybe even more so. Of course, this presupposes that the user will not take any action to shoot him or herself in the foot, such as approving a UAC prompt to install an unknown application. There are some user actions that the best OS imaginable cannot protect against.
I don't have much sympathy for those who continue to run a 10-year-old operating system with expired antivirus, and then blame Microsoft for their problems. It's not possible to elevate Windows XP to be as secure as Vista or Win7, and it's not reasonable for XP users to expect their operating system to be as secure as one two versions newer. The 2000 car I just traded in was not as safe as the new one, despite the fact that they are otherwise very comparable.
-Dave
Isn't the biggest reason why Windows gets hacked due to the proliferation of Windows, as well as the hatred of Microsoft, which make the hackers focus their attention on Windows?
We are definitely seeing a significant shift in vulnerabilities. The vast majority of vulnerabilities is being found in Oracle, open systems, Google Chrome, Red Hat, etc. The number of Windows vulnerabilities now can't compare to a few years ago. Maybe it is just me, but I like the fact that there is someone 'minding the store' -- constantly patching and updating. Who is doing that with the open source OS?
Macs still have the issue of cost and compatibility. Until that is more even, they will not be likely to overtake the market in the corporate world. Some think it is trendy to own a Mac, and others genuinely like the features better. It is true that not everyone can own a PC...
-William
We all know that Macs are attacked far less often than Windows systems because, with less than 10 percent of the market share of Windows, they are simply a dramatically smaller target. Also add the fact that far fewer people are trained in Apple internals each year than those seeking professional Microsoft Certification -- that's a big reason why the Macintosh is less vulnerable.
All Apple 'security' comes at a price -- a price far too high for the bulk of the market:
- Higher cost of entry: Complete Macintosh systems start at $999, $699 without keyboard, screen, or mouse. Complete Intel systems start $400 (laptops), with complete desktop systems starting at $450.
- Few choices: Apple offers few optional upgrades on a limited number of models. With Intel, the options are limitless.
- Apple technical support is exceedingly limited. Intel OEMs offer a variety of support options.
- Safari is not 100 percent compatible with public Web sites -- you MUST download a third-party browser to get that compatibility back.
By installing one of the many free AV solutions available on the Web, almost all threats to Windows can be easily mitigated.
So no, I do not trust Macs more than I value what Windows has to offer me.
-Marc
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Posted by Doug Barney on 06/10/2011 at 1:18 PM1 comments
Microsoft has been in the thin client space for as long as I can remember. Windows Terminal Services (since being renamed to remote desktop services) lets you run Windows desktops off a Windows Server. Since entering the market, Microsoft has bought an array of desktop and application virtualization tools. It has so many products in the same space that it's hard to figure which does what.
One tool is Windows Thin PC, now being released to manufacturing -- which means the code is basically frozen. This is based on Windows 7, and, like the old Terminal Services, serves up apps from a Windows Server. In this case, Win 7 apps and its interface can be accessed by older PCs that could never run the OS from their own hard drives. This is a nice lifeline for decrepit machines that otherwise would be in a dump in China.
Posted by Doug Barney on 06/10/2011 at 1:18 PM1 comments
Microsoft's cloud platform Azure now has three major OEMs behind it. Both HP and Dell have promised to field Azure services. And now Fujitsu , which just announced a new cloud service based on Microsoft Azure, is set to beat the two American companies to market.
One neat little Microsoft trick is the Azure appliance, which Fujitsu plans to make full use of. The appliance includes servers, storage and network hardware from a variety of firms, pre-installed instances of Azure and a cloud-ready version of SQL Server. These appliances are available to OEMs, service providers and IT shops.
Have you looked at Azure? If so, share your opinion at [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 06/10/2011 at 1:18 PM0 comments
Here are a few responses on the unveiling of the upcoming Windows OS:
I have a client I moved off their old 'coal fired' XP machines and onto (at the time) the new Dell Vista Business machines. Ever since, they have tried to remove a pound of flesh from me every other week. I want to get them onto Windows 7, but if I am wrong and they don't like Win7 I will lose a valuable client.
When Microsoft does release Windows 8, it had better have built something as reliable and likeable as XP or their reputation and those of many of us partners could easily be toast in many customer shops. Just because an OS is branded with the name 'Microsoft Windows' does not mean it will immediately be liked and accepted.
-Marsh
Microsoft doesn't even have Windows 7 well done yet and now it is doing Windows 8?
And it's changing the UI AGAIN? Is Microsoft totally NUTS?
In my mind this is nothing more than a way to sell new software. It could have done the new GUI or GUIs in a SP.
Microsoft just don't get it. My next tower will NOT be run by Windows -- it will be run via Linux or a Mac.
The above is a personal opinion and may or may not reflect the opinion of anyone else at my company.
-Bruce
One reader shares his Linux market share thoughts:
Even at .81 I think Linux still has a place, primarily in the low-end PC market or recycled PC market.
I will often repurpose older hardware to people who can't otherwise afford a new system.
And in this case, I will not buy new OS licenses (I'd go broke) and find that desktop Linux, normally Ubuntu, works nicely as a replacement.
But do I think desktop Linux has a real place in the consumer market? No.
-Ben
Share your thoughts with the editors of this newsletter! Write to [email protected]. Letters printed in this newsletter may be edited for length and clarity, and will be credited by first name only (we do NOT print last names or e-mail addresses).
Posted by Doug Barney on 06/08/2011 at 1:18 PM2 comments
Happy World IPv6 Day! Well, it's mostly happy, except for the 0.05 percent predicted to experience Internet connection problems today.
According to the Internet Society, the organizers of World IPv6 Day, those experiencing problems today likely will have misconfigured networking equipment, and they'll likely be home users. Thanks, Internet Society, for taking the suspense out of a day that could have been an unmitigated disaster.
If you do have an Internet connection problem today, it might be due to "IPv6 brokenness." The current 32-bit IPv4 system and the forthcoming 128-bit IPv6 are not compatible and use a different numbering-block sequence to specify an IP address. Many new Internet routers use a so-called dual-stack approach (IPv4 and IPv6), but you can easily buy equipment today that doesn't support IPv6.
While today the switch will be turned to IPv6 for just one day as a test by participating organizations, someday we'll all be experiencing the benefits of IPv6. The most profound benefit will be the ability of individuals and organizations to set up new Web sites, since IPv4 addresses are fast running out. A big country like China already has a border-to-border IPv6 network in place called the Chinese New Generation Internet, according to a 2009 Microsoft Channel 9 presentation with IT pundit Mark Minasi. The CNGI is the result of one of those five-year plans.
Meanwhile, the rest of the world appears to be waiting to see if everyone else is IPv6 compliant first. It's a chicken-and-egg kind of dilemma.
A blog by London-based cloud service provider ElasticHosts notes that "IPv6 still only accounts for 0.03% of the Internet's traffic." The blog argues that "it makes no sense for you to move your website from IPv4 to IPv6-only at present." Instead, Web site owners should make the switch when IPv6 is more prevalent, which happens when all ISPs have upgraded to IPv6, the blog argues.
Microsoft uses IPv6 for peer-to-peer networking technologies in Windows. Supposedly, Microsoft has had your back on Windows IPv6 compliance since Windows XP Service Pack 1. So, no worries there, but if something does go amiss, Microsoft offers a "Fix it" solution to temporarily roll back to IPv4 today.
So, what about you? Did you build a bunker and save up rations? Are you experiencing problems now in the shadow of World IPv6 Day? Tell Doug your survivalist stories, or just send him a big yawn, at [email protected].
--By Kurt Mackie
Posted by Doug Barney on 06/08/2011 at 1:18 PM7 comments
While also announcing iOS 5, Apple's newest mobile platform, Apple pulled the curtain back on iCloud (who saw that name coming?) at this week's Worldwide Developer Conference. The iCloud is a service that allows documents, applications and media to be stored in the Internet cloud.
The service looks to battle Amazon's Cloud Drive, Google's cloud storage via Google Docs and Microsoft's SkyDrive by providing 5 GB of free storage that can be shared to 10 iOS devices, PCs and Macs. Also, any music, digital books and applications purchased through Apple can be stored using the service without taking away from the allotted 5 GB.
Those with a non-Apple smartphones and tablets are out of luck when trying to access any of the content. But with multiple options for free cloud-based storage, it's not hard to find competing products that will work on whatever device you have.
While this service looks to be optimal for those who have purchased the majority of their media through iTunes, Apple's entry into consumer cloud storage doesn't seem to look too appealing for those who buy or obtain their media from other sources. Chances are, they've already found a suitable option, and there will be little benefit to go through the uploading process once again.
Do you use any of the free cloud storage services available? What's your favorite? Let Doug know at [email protected].
--By Chris Paoli
Posted by Doug Barney on 06/08/2011 at 1:18 PM4 comments
Even though I don't own one I am a fan of Mac laptops. Why? Because three of my kids have them and have never had software problems. Hardware is another issue. Whatever you do, buy AppleCare. You'll need it!
Now there is another reason to love these little lappers. They are excellent law enforcement devices.
Recently Josh Kaufman returned to home to find his apartment ransacked and his precious Apple purloined. Fortunately he had just installed spy software that uses the camera to film whoever is using the machine and GPS to track the machine (and the thief) down.
The information is stored on the Web, so you just log in and watch what your machine is watching. And yup, Josh got his laptop back.
This is great news -- but there may be a sinister side to this software. One could use the laptop to invade another's privacy. Predators and other creeps could have a field day leaving their laptops lying around. Who would suspect that innocent MacBook is watching your ever move?
How do you see it: good or bad? Answers welcome at [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 06/06/2011 at 1:18 PM2 comments