Not too bad for Microsoft, that is. Some experts were actually impressed that the browser held out for two minutes in the
Pwn2Own hacking event. Good to know where that bar is set, then.
Posted by Lee Pender on 03/29/2010 at 1:22 PM2 comments
BeyondTrust dropped in this week to tell us that eliminating administrator rights for end users can eliminate a lot of the vulnerabilities in Windows 7. It's handy information to have...except that BeyondTrust said just about the exact same thing a year ago. Well, at least we know that nothing has changed.
Curious to know what Microsoft thought about this, we contacted the company and got this official (and not especially brief) statement, which we quote verbatim:
"Before User Account Control (UAC) was introduced, most Windows consumer and enterprise users ran with administrative rights, which meant that ISVs could inadvertently make their applications dependent on administrative rights. Applications running with administrative rights have the ability to tamper with all user and Windows system data, including the ability to disable anti-virus and other security measures. Introduced in Windows Vista, UAC is a set of technologies that helps legacy applications to run with standard user rights and ISVs to adapt their software to work well with standard user rights. This gives users a more compatible choice to secure their systems by running with standard user rights instead of administrator rights.
"We believe that running users as standard users is good for Windows, the ecosystem, and all of our users. Configuring users as standard users enables parents to more securely share family computers with their children and enterprise administrators to configure standard user accounts for employees, lowering TCO and improving security. It is our hope that with the help of UAC that ISVs will continue to adapt their software to work well with standard user rights."
So...there you go. Standard user rights are the way to go.
Posted by Lee Pender on 03/29/2010 at 1:22 PM1 comments
If you've been to a grocery store--and it's hard to imagine that you haven't--then you've seen the tabloid headlines. Some Hollywood star, usually a washed-up sap whose fame flickered out 20 years ago, sadly succumbs to some awful affliction, and the tabloids at the supermarket checkout counter chronicle his or her journey into that good night.
Almost inevitably, the tabs use the headline "Brave Last Days." Presumably, anybody who was ever even mildly famous is "brave" as the clock winds down. But we digress...and this is getting a little morbid. The reason we bring up the "brave last days" meme, though, is because we're reaching that point for an old, trusted friend: Windows XP.
Oh, sure, XP is alive and well on my netbook and on the PCs of the majority of computer users. It ain't dead yet, you might be thinking (presumably in a Texas accent, which was what I just used to enunciate that sentence). No, it ain't dead yet. But it is dying. Microsoft is killing it softly.
This week, Redmond magazine columnist Mary Jo Foley revealed that the Windows Live Wave 4 application suite will join IE9 in not supporting XP. There will be more stories like this, obviously, as Microsoft rolls out new product and initiatives.
And Microsoft has to do this. It's not just because of profits or market share, although those are obviously big factors in Windows XP's forthcoming demise. It's also because Windows XP is nearly a decade old, and it really won't be able to handle some of the products Microsoft is about to release. One Windows expert told RCPU in passing a few months ago that Windows XP is a child's toy compared to Windows 7, or something to that effect. Having now used Windows 7, we believe it.
Migration to Windows 7 is a matter of time at this point. OK, so Microsoft didn't provide an upgrade path from XP. That was a mistake. But plenty of third parties are stepping in to fill that breach now. Partners, your customers can either get a jump on everybody else by taking advantage of everything Microsoft offers with Windows 7, or they can stagnate with XP until the old OS is finally pretty much useless. The evidence behind that statement is just going to get stronger, no matter how courageously old XP faces extinction. These are XP's Brave Last Days; it's time to fondly remember the old OS and move on.
We've had some good e-mails about this, but we want more: What's your take on leaving XP and moving to Windows 7? Send your thoughts to [email protected].
Posted by Lee Pender on 03/29/2010 at 1:22 PM13 comments
Never count Microsoft out. We've said it here many times before, and partners know what we're talking about. Sure, Redmond slipped big time with Vista, but Windows 7 looks like a winner. Yeah, Microsoft had a few rough financial quarters, but its last earnings report was pretty spectacular. Again and again, pundits want to write Microsoft off, to say that the Redmond giant is on its last legs.
It's happening now with Windows Mobile (including in this space, sometimes)--or, at least, it was until Microsoft started talking about Windows Phone 7. Now, the Web is spinning about the new operating system that could put Microsoft right back in the exploding mobile game. Windows Phone 7 has some intriguing characteristics, which should differentiate it from the much-maligned Windows Mobile 6.5 (which, by the way, will live on post-Windows Phone 7), as well as help Microsoft stand out in a crowded mobile OS market place.
But the forthcoming OS has done more than just catch the attention of market-share watchers and gadget freaks. It has also cranked up a nice little rumor mill, with speculation that it might be in Microsoft's best interest to buy Palm, or, quite to the contrary, that Microsoft is heading down a path similar to the one that has led Palm to near disaster.
And then there are the inevitable conflicts and problems with third parties, the first of which has occurred with Mozilla. Firefox for Windows Mobile is in a coma at best and dead at worst, meaning Microsoft has already managed to tick off one developer with Windows Phone 7 and might be on the way to angering a few more. That's not unusual, though, and it has rarely hurt Microsoft in the past. Plenty of third parties will want to jump on the Windows Phone 7 bandwagon if the platform is even mildly successful. Plus, Microsoft does have a browser of its own (or so we hear...).
So, there's a lot to think about and observe with Windows Phone 7, but we at RCPU know this much: Microsoft has historically been pretty darn good at selling operating systems. And if the company and its partners are making Windows Phone 7 a real priority--and we think they are--then we're not ready to count Microsoft out in the mobile OS market. Windows Phone 7 might never be ubiquitous the way Windows XP is (and Windows 7 will be) given Microsoft's current position in the market and the competitors the company faces, but is it safe for partners to invest in Windows Phone 7? We're thinking that it is safe--and probably smart, too.
What do you want to see from Windows Phone 7? How successful do you think it will be? Answer at [email protected].
Posted by Lee Pender on 03/25/2010 at 1:22 PM3 comments
After July 1 of next year, Select Licensing
will give way to...Select Plus (which isn't actually new at all). Well, it at least sounds better, doesn't it?
Posted by Lee Pender on 03/24/2010 at 1:22 PM0 comments
Symantec is saying that
its new hosted manage service can catch malware attacks right as they're happening, rather than after they've done their damage -- and, in some cases, before they even hit. Interesting stuff here (if we do say so ourselves...).
Posted by Lee Pender on 03/24/2010 at 1:22 PM0 comments
After last week's nearly $106 million patent-infringement verdict against Microsoft, plaintiff VirnetX wasted no time in
hitting Redmond with another lawsuit. This time, Windows 7 is in the crosshairs.
Posted by Lee Pender on 03/22/2010 at 1:22 PM0 comments
Microsoft is getting ready to give pricing advantages to Software Assurance customers for Virtual Desktop Infrastructure access to Windows, and it's also
boosting its partnership with Citrix to improve Redmond's desktop-virtualization capabilities. All of this is good news for partners who are looking at desktop virtualization as a way to get people away from XP and on to Windows 7.
Posted by Lee Pender on 03/22/2010 at 1:22 PM0 comments
A
hole in Microsoft's Virtual PC hypervisor? Surely not, says Redmond... It's more of an
unlocked door, really.
Posted by Lee Pender on 03/22/2010 at 1:22 PM0 comments
The first salvo might have missed, but the gates to the castle appear to be open. Novell has rejected a $2 billion acquisition offer from a New York-based hedge fund, but the bidding for the company might have only begun.
The company turned a cold shoulder on Elliott Associates, but it is now considering its options -- in other words, probably looking for a buyer. Check out this bit from a Novell statement quoted in Jeff Schwartz's RCPmag.com story:
"These alternatives include, but are not limited to, a return of capital to stockholders through a stock repurchase or cash dividend, strategic partnerships and alliances, joint ventures, a recapitalization and a sale of the company," the company said.
So, it's on now. The question now is: Who wants Novell? And for how much? (OK, that's two questions...but they're both relevant.) Elliott Associates is still in the game, apparently, but who else might be? Novell is a big buddy with Microsoft now after years of feuding, but there's no way Microsoft buys a vendor that large or with that much influence on the Linux community.
Surely, the SEC and EU would step into that deal faster than a teenage girl lining up to buy one of those Twilight books. Besides, Microsoft already has a patent agreement with Novell for SuSE Linux and therefore has what it needs from the Waltham, Mass.-based vendor. Who else would be in the mix, then? Novell has SuSE Linux to offer as well as a huge portfolio of services. But at a starting bid of $2 billion-plus, it won't be a cheap buy.
Maybe Elliott Associates will get its prize after all, and maybe there's no other vendor out there that wants to swallow Novell. That sure wouldn't be very exciting, though. We're hoping for an old-fashioned battle here. Let the siege begin!
Who would you like to see buy Novell and why? Sound off at [email protected].
Posted by Lee Pender on 03/22/2010 at 1:22 PM1 comments