The software business is a non-stop treadmill of new releases and forced upgrades. Also inevitable is when support ultimately ends, leaving you holding the bag for broken or cracked software.
With that in mind, news is coming out about slight refinements to the end-of-life policies for Windows Vista and Win 7.
Here are the pertinent dates: Vista SP2 mainstream supports disappears this April, while extended support labors on for five more years.
Similarly, Windows 7 loses mainstream support in January 2015, with extended support pressing forward till the start of 2020.
For an in-depth look at supporting old software, largely driven by you, the Redmond Report reader, click here.
Posted by Doug Barney on 02/29/2012 at 1:19 PM0 comments
Readers discuss the future of Microsoft Office and how the company handles a product unveiling:
We moved straight from Office 2003 to Office 2010. The Ribbon and its associated menu systems were a major step backwards. Let's hope future iterations of Office restore a 2003-like menu system -- or at least the option to switch between the 2003 and 2010 standards.
-John
I'm sticking with Win 7 and Office 2003 on my own equipment right now. I'm agnostic about Win8... I doubt I'll find a need for it myself. Getting a bit tired of reworking my platforms just because a new one is released.
-Max
Apple is about control, it controls everything -- including announcements. Microsoft is about appealing to the masses (as most people use Microsoft products in some way). To this end Microsoft has released a beta version of Windows 8 to everyone (not just developers).
I think this was so Microsoft could test the waters, get feedback and have people get used to the new ideas. This has resulted in some misinformation and changes in plans and directions of the released product. At least I feel a sense of involvement in the Microsoft process this time, even if I can’t really do much to change anything.
-Craig
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Posted by Doug Barney on 02/29/2012 at 1:19 PM0 comments
Remember Internet time, when everything had to ship fast and change constantly or else you were dead? Well Symantec's pcAnywhere goes by a different clock. Remember when the hacker group Anonymous stole the Symantec source code? Turns out the stolen source code has been analyzed and the product hasn't really changed in a decade.
For many this is an affront to modern software development. Imagine charging for such an old product.
On the other hand, newer code leads to new exploits, is often bloated and simply isn't as good as the old stuff. When was the last time you have to replace a power window motor in a 57 Chevy?
And let's face it, Â in the age of LogMeIn and others, pcAnywhere wasn't going anywhere!
Posted by Doug Barney on 02/29/2012 at 1:19 PM0 comments
Today is Leap Day and even though I've written this newsletter far longer than four years, I don't think I've ever written one on Leap Day before. This time I have the honor, and hopefully I'll still be writing Redmond Report in 2016, which will contain the next Leap Day. All I have to do is cut out a little salt (and take all the laundry off my exercise bike) and I'll surely make it!
I'm not the only one celebrating. It seems that Microsoft is marking this occasion by rolling out the consumer preview of Windows 8.
As with all Microsoft products, there are multiple launches before the actual launch -- and then you have to announce the shipment. This, to me, is Win 8's second launch. The first being the developer code that was released at last year's Build Conference.
I should have far more on Win 8 and the next rev of Visual Studio  on Friday.
Posted by Doug Barney on 02/29/2012 at 1:19 PM0 comments
Microsoft created a lot of uncertainty when it began showing Windows 8's distinctly different interfaces -- the older "desktop" style and the new touch-based Metro interface.
If that isn't confusing enough, we now have "Office 15" on the way. The big unknown is how Office 15 will work on ARM machines, which requires Intel-based code to be rewritten.
The latest stance is that Office will run in the desktop mode. The company has yet to commit to a Metro port on ARM chips.
To keep touch fans satisfied, Microsoft is now talking about adding some touch tweaks including a special touch mode. Right now that mode doesn't appear to be operational on current Office 15 test versions.
My view is Microsoft should come as clean as it possibly can on these issues. If you're like Apple and you don't talk about anything 'til it ships, that's fine. But if you are like Microsoft and have already been spilling the beans, you might as well pour out the whole jar.
How do you feel about how Microsoft discloses upcoming products? Sound advice always welcome at [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 02/27/2012 at 1:19 PM3 comments
One reader gives his opinion on how Microsoft is doing with its monthly patch rollout:
Microsoft has vastly improved its patches over the past decade. It does a pretty decent job over all. However, I'm terribly annoyed/disturbed that it has so many patches to release in the first place. Has Microsoft never heard of quality control? Does it not understand the type of critical data that exists on their platform (from private health information, to banking, all the way to national security)?
If you purchased a car and there were 300 to 400 recalls, would you accept that? If you had a TV that required 300 to 400 "patches" to correct various issues with the it, would you accept that? It makes me want to scream that Microsoft can't calm down and take the time for a little QC for its products instead of rushing them out the door as fast as possible -- in all of its vulnerable 'glory.'
For anyone who wants to defend this by citing the tired excuse of 'millions of lines of code,' I would submit that Microsoft should either scale it back, or hire enough people to thoroughly examine those millions of lines to be stable and secure. Either one is fine with me -- but Microsoft does neither, and I feel that is unacceptable.
-Todd
Here's an IT veteran's take on the cloud:
I am a 50-year-old IT professional that successfully survived a downsized 23-year corporate career by first transitioning to private consulting and then joining a large regional consulting firm.
As a Microsoft Gold Partner in ERP and Server spaces, my company and I have been watching Microsoft's Cloud push develop over the past three years. Microsoft's direction has been quietly evident the past few years and will, IMO, reach in-your-face volume when it comfortably feels it has let enough water under the bridge for it to be safe to sell against its future wave of products.
Some of that is happening already. We are not only a Microsoft ERP VAR but also have a very successful CRM practice. A customer copied me on an e-mail from their Microsoft Redmond representative that was soliciting CRM online -- a conversation we would have otherwise been unaware of. So yes – the cloud already has an impact to our business.
The 50-person regional consulting firm I work for is getting steady work with small- to medium-sized business virtualizing 2003 implementations of server, e-mail, and application solutions. The conversations are simple, direct and rarely go awry. I expect that within the next five years the cloud will be viable enough that our opportunity will have shifted from virtualization to cloud integration.
As a result, I've begun shifting my 'free-time' from working with physical solutions to working with our development team where we are integrating Agile processes into our .NET C# solutions. I just had a 'where do you want to focus your career' conversation with our Senior Partner this morning. I had to put my money where my mouth is and say 'not infrastructure.' We begin mapping out a career path after a break in Spring.
-Eric
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Posted by Doug Barney on 02/27/2012 at 1:19 PM0 comments
Recently it was reported that Google bypasses the security setting in Apple's Safari so it can more easily track users. Microsoft read the report and had a funny thought: What if Google was doing the same thing to IE?
Turns out it is.
IE now has a feature where only third parties that have given the W3C a P3P Compact Policy Statement are allowed to use tracking cookies. Google, in essence, works around this and collects information without disclosing what it plans to do with it.
Google claims the P3P spec is out of date, and it is open about how it handles privacy.
Posted by Doug Barney on 02/27/2012 at 1:19 PM0 comments
Many in IT have been happily pounding away on Win 8's "developer preview" since last October. This Wednesday regular consumers will get the same opportunity.
The next test version is expected to be more stable and feature-rich than the one out now, though I haven't heard many complaints for current testers.
What's your experience so far with Win 8, and how do you like Metro? Share your opinions at [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 02/27/2012 at 1:19 PM4 comments
Early this year I complained about the Netbooks at Best Buy -- they were all frozen or somehow inoperable. Around the same time I stopped at Staples to look at laptops and netbooks. It didn't have any -- none of its customers seemed to like them. And a friend of mine got all his employees netbooks for when they were on the road, but the performance was so lame they ended up in desk drawers.
After posting these findings a bunch of you wrote to set me straight. Being smart IT folks, you generally upgraded the RAM and opted for a higher-end version of Windows 7.
Reader Eric did the RAM upgrade, then got rid of the extraneous applications -- the "crapware," as he calls it. For Eric, an iPad is all well and good, but can't handle content creation like his netbook.
A handful of reader love their ASUS and Acer machines, so kudos to those companies for making Redmond Report readers rejoice.
Another reader, Dave from Philly, didn't feel true netbook love 'til he swapped Windows 7 Home for Ubuntu. Now he and his daughter both use Ubuntu on their respective netbooks.
And reader Ricky has eight netbooks in his shop and nine iPads. The netbooks work great. But he is constantly fielding calls about how to get iPads to work with corporate systems.
Posted by Doug Barney on 02/24/2012 at 1:19 PM3 comments
After nearly 37 years in business, Microsoft has amassed quite the array of products. As fast it kills one off, two more come in to take its place. For some, tracking Microsoft products is a hobby. For journalists, it can be a calling. For IT pros will volume licenses, especially Software Assurance (SA), it is a must.
That's because with SA you pay every year for the right to upgrade to the newest version. If an upgrade doesn't ship during the contract term, you pretty much paid for nothing. Knowing when something is liable to ship, and whether the software is compelling, can make the most of your software budget.
Gladys Rama, site editor of Redmond Channel Partner, whipped up another fine example for 2012. In it Gladys covers everything from Windows 8, expected later this year, to Office 15, due by Christmas. Other highlights: Windows Server 8 may be arriving late this year or early next, and SQL Server 2012 is projected for the first half of the year it's named after.
Posted by Doug Barney on 02/24/2012 at 1:19 PM0 comments
Readers give their suggestions on what needs fixing in corporate patent laws:
I do not believe we can fix the legal system. We have reached a point where we elect lawyers to go to Washington to write laws that only lawyers can read. No one wants to admit to being immoral so we have to accept that every company is working on the right hand of god. Perhaps someday Microsoft will learn to be creative and imaginative again but it will be after most of us are dead. Monopolies never create anything. They will always give you the substandard version and charge too much for it. Perhaps if they spent as much on R&D as they spend on lawyers and marketing, they could actually make a real name for themselves as innovators.
Instead we get the great pretenders and phones that work poorly and tablets (Microsoft told us they would never matter 10 years ago) that are garbage. This is a company that openly and freely uses the legal system to crush competitors it does not know how to beat. If you do come up with a better way to do something, it is not in your best interests to market it because the mindless minions from Redmond will come and crush you with legal expenses. Even if you win, it will tie you up 'til you go broke. This is how we do business in this country now.
-Anonymous
A company that is trying to survive through patent suits instead of making great products is already dead.
But you already knew that.
-Christopher
I actually interpret what has occurred  between Microsoft and Google as a very good thing. First, I don't want to see the free market stymied in any capacity (God knows it already has been enough). So creating additional regulations on why patents are purchased or how they are used would not be a good thing in my opinion.
Second, and more importantly, Google actually proves my first point for me with how it handled this situation. If you recall, Microsoft actually contacted both it and Apple about going in together on purchasing these patents so they could all protect themselves from patent claims. Google essentially told Microsoft to get lost (then denied it, but Microsoft released the original e-mails that exposed Google in its lie).
In free markets, the cream rises to the top. Google's awful decision to ignore Microsoft's offer has come back to haunt it in a big way. Meanwhile, Microsoft is being generously rewarded with its great decision to purchase all of these patents – its products are all protected from claims on infringement, while, at the same time, it can generate revenue from its competitor's products and help drive that product out of the market.
Bottom line, this wasn't an issue of deep pockets (certainly Google's pockets are just as deep as Microsoft's). This was an issue of good decisions vs. bad decisions -- and as always, good decisions has won. I would really hate to see another instance of good decisions punished by the government and bad decisions rewarded by the government in the form of some government 'patent regulation.'
-Todd
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 02/24/2012 at 1:19 PM0 comments
A reader shares his rocky past with the mobile platform:
I too am a BlackBerry geek -- since 2004. My seventh! (I hated the Storm – traded up early, then traded up early to get the new Torch.) I started on Verizon Wireless and have found no reason to switch. (The folks at my local store have gone 'above and beyond' more than once for me.)
Like you, my strongest draw to BlackBerry is the BlackBerry Enterprise Server. And from my Experience with the iPad, ActiveSync is just too limited compared to BES -- which seems to duplicate every capability found in MS Outlook.
But I am getting very frustrated with BlackBerry.
When I got my first BlackBerry, I could walk out of the VZW store with a brand-new device, go home and create a BIS account. I could even access this unique account via a Web client. Then I went to the Verizon web page and discovered that I had to create another account/password to see my Verizon Account. Frustrating, but manageable. The next step was to activate my BES account via my employer. That was a piece of cake. For my next several devices, I simply went back to my BIS account to change the PIN and resent the 'service books' to the new device. And I could keep all my critical passwords in the Password Keeper which is part of BES. Sweet!
Since upgrading first to version 6 (and now to version 7) of the BB OS, all of this has become a nightmare!
When you first activate your phone, you have to (first create and then) login to yet another account called a BlackBerry ID. Then it wants to connect it to your login. (Does it want a username or an e-mail address? Which username? Which e-mail address?)
It wouldn't be so bad if you could get to your Password Keeper. But ALAS, until you can activate the device you cannot activate BES and you cannot get to your password keeper. Since you only do this every couple of years or so, no matter what you figure out now, you are starting over again next time because you won't remember what you did.
Making matters worse, every now and then your device will want you to update itself. It knows who you are when the process starts but doesn't warn you that it has forgotten who you are by the time that the update is finished! So here you are again, without access to your Password Keeper -- and the process starts over again. Hopefully, your spouse also has a BB and you both keep all of your stuff in Password Keeper. Otherwise, you are simply hosed!
Next time around (by which time a NEW BB OS will be out), I am going to have to have to think long and hard about staying with BlackBerry. But, before then, I am going to have to find a new password keeper (and transfer everything in there BY HAND) so that I can access all my passwords from multiple devices -- not just my BlackBerry! Sorry BlackBerry.
Now, aren't you sorry you asked?
-Marc
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 02/22/2012 at 1:19 PM2 comments