Microsoft gets a bad rap over security issues, but Dan thinks open source systems shouldn't be left off the hook:
For those who bash the security of Microsoft systems, they might want to subscribe to the National Cyber Alert System from the National Institute of Standards (here's their weekly rundown of "New Vulnerabilities"). Considering that Windows is on 90 percent of desktop systems and that Microsoft spends a lot of time in the cross-hairs of its detractors, I'd say that Microsoft is generally under-representated on this list. The occurence of BIMBO software (Built In My Basement Occasionally) on the list keeps me more afraid of the Linux and open source crowd.
Microsoft isn't perfect, but it tries to fix the vulnerabilities that it has. With each new release of the Windows operating system, Microsoft knows its vulnerabilities and attempts to write the next version better than the previous. Security is a two-edged sword: If it is an easy and flexible environment to program in, then it probably has low security. If it is a more secure environment, then there will be more rules and the violations of those rules will be more severely dealt with. Back in the day, when Big Blue ruled, there was always the "Anything but IBM" crowd. It should have been easy to predict that we'd now have the "Anything but Microsoft" crowd. I guess we'll have to wait longer for the perfect operating system that is piloted by the truly benevolent dictator.
-Dan
Paul shares his thoughts on why Apple's bottom line, and why its computers are priced the way they are:
Marc said on Friday that "Dell and HP 'take a loss' on those entry-level systems but they make it up on very high volumes." I'm sorry but if I sold one computer and lost $1 and then sold a million computers, I would not make a profit but loose a million dollars. Apple has no intention -- nor has it ever wanted -- to sell a cheap computer. Its last price-competitive computer was in the '70s when it was trying to start up the business. Then it released the Lisa and boy, it has not looked back.
If Apple is so great, why can't it sell a competitive computer? Its computers aren't better so much as they are very controlled for the coolness factor. But I would rather have a less cool-looking computer that works and is affordable (comparable to a Dell) than one that looks cool and costs way too much. I think Microsoft is on target when it points out the cost difference. Now, if it could find a good ad company to come up with an ad that rivals Apple's, it would be set. It's all about branding and Apple does that well.
-Paul
Readers chime in on their impressions of Windows 7 so far and how it can be improved:
I have "obtained" a copy of Windows 7 RC1. I had a VM of Windows 7 beta 1 running and wasn't all that impressed; it didn't run very fast in my VM compared to the Win XP Pro that was also running in my VM. It also didn't have too many more features than Vista so I chalked up much of the hype to people who never really tried Vista and had a lot of new features when going from XP to Windows 7.
I installed Windows 7 RC1, replacing my copy of beta 1, and I am now a believer! It now runs FASTER than my XP VM, is stable and compatible with all of my software and hardware! It used substantially less resources than Vista and had a better user experience. I swear the development teams at Microsoft like to play little tricks on us every now and again! I always joked about removing Thread.Sleeps in my code to look like a hero late in the development cycle but I was never serious! Anyway, Windows 7 RC1 is so impressive that I am very tempted to install it over my Vista Ultimate x64 on my home PC.
-Nathan
I think it would be of great help to have a Windows 7 migration map from Vista and XP highlighting the process flow, the code input source, the price and the mode to perform it.
-Ezio
Meanwhile, Esteban's having trouble getting the Windows 7 beta in the first place:
I got the Windows 7 beta and installed it on one of my test bed computers and the hard drive crashed. Nothing to do with Windows; the hard drive was ready to go. When I went looking for the Windows 7 media that I had created, the media and ISO mysteriously disappeared from my office. I was not too happy but I didn't want to fight that fight with my guys so I let it go. I called Microsoft to get the download again and guess what: They will not give us the download again. I told them that I was testing this OS and that I have my CD key, etc., but Microsoft in India will not help me get the download.
It is a shame because we have a lot of say on what goes into our clients' machines and without being able to test it, it is hard to give my clients feedback. I have kept them all on XP because Vista is the little brother of Windows ME, in my opinion. Do you happen to know who I can contact so I can get Windows 7 again and we can put this thing through hell and back and see how it works?
-Esteban
Got any tips for Esteban? How about your thoughts on anything covered today? Leave a comment below or send an e-mail to [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 05/04/20090 comments
As an industry long-timer (I started covering PCs on June 4, 1984), I well know who Ray Kurzweil is. This pioneer in optical character recognition, text to speech, and synthesizers (where would Yes have been without him?) never stopped inventing. Now Google has tapped Kurzweil to help run a
new Google-sponsored university
called Singularity.
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Posted by Doug Barney on 05/04/20090 comments
So the last item has you thinking about Windows 7. Want to try it? You can, and not just a beta, but a nearly done release candidate. RC1 has been
out through BitTorrent
for a while, and I even snuck a peek at it this week in Las Vegas (what software goes in Vegas stays in Vegas).
You can now go the official route and get the RC direct from Microsoft. If you subscribe to MSDN or TechNet, the software is all yours. If not, just wait 'til next Tuesday when there will be an overall public beta.
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Posted by Doug Barney on 05/01/20090 comments
OK, so you're excited about XP Mode and ready to download the Windows 7 RC. But what you really want is a replacement for your dull XP or less-than-satisfying Vista. What you want is a final version of 7.
Can you wait 'til October? That's when the rumor mill predicts a release. One piece of evidence? Acer plans to ship a Windows 7 box on Oct. 23.
Here's what the rumor mill doesn't understand: Software isn't like cheese, where it ages a certain amount and is ready that day. Software (should) only get released when it's ready. How on earth would Microsoft know with exactitude that it can incorporate the feedback of all the release candidate testers into a product that ships in a particular month?
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Posted by Doug Barney on 05/01/20090 comments
Microsoft has been
talking up the so-called "Mac tax"
to dissuade people from moving to Apple. Marc thinks it's a little disingenuous to call it that:
For what it is worth, the "Mac Tax" is not real! If you want, you can configure a Dell with specifications virtually identical to any Macintosh in the Apple product line and come up with very nearly identical pricing. The catch, of course, is that an Apple Macintosh is severely overpowered to meet the needs of most folks. Most folks can meet their computing needs with a $500 to $800 Dell, or they can go overboard and spend $1,000 and get a "fully loaded" Dell that will last them a good five years. Or, they can buy a "bottom-of-the-line" MacBook.
The truth is that if Apple could sell as many computers as Dell or HP, they could afford to sell low-end $500 computers, but because they don't sell a large enough number of computers to tolerate the extremely narrow profit margins Dell and HP get on those $500 systems, Apple simply cannot afford to do so. Dell and HP "take a loss" on those entry-level systems but they make it up on very high volumes and the occasional sale of $1,000-plus systems. All of Apple's systems must be $1,000-plus systems for them to stay in business.
-Marc
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Posted by Doug Barney on 05/01/20090 comments
If you aren't interested in Windows 7, you might want to skip down to our
letters section
and pass over the next three items 'cause they're all about 7.
Earlier this week we talked about an XP compatibility mode tossed into Windows 7 at the last minute. Even though 7 seems pretty dang compatible, the XP Mode news was good. Then the doubts crept in: Would XP Mode be only for well-heeled Software Assurance customers?
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Posted by Doug Barney on 05/01/20090 comments
I may have been wrong, very wrong about Windows 7. I interviewed dozens of Windows 7 beta testers, and no one said a word about a virtual XP compatibility mode. When I suggested that Microsoft give Windows 7 a virtual layer to mimic or even fully include XP, it wasn't an entirely original thought; some analysts, including from Gartner, made a similar argument.
Apparently, behind the scenes, Microsoft felt the same way. Word is now leaking out that at least some versions of Windows 7 will run XP apps in this virtual compatibility box.
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Posted by Doug Barney on 04/29/20090 comments
Microsoft may be in the process of
laying off 5,000 workers
, but there's one area where Redmond can't get enough new employees:
Windows 8
.
The job postings reveal a smidge about new features, including clustering and replication. The replication is interesting as Notes creator Ray Ozzie is considered the father of modern replication. The ads also mention that "the core engine is being reworked," which is a very good thing. Some experts, however, are focusing on the term "rework" and believe there won't be a new core.
Posted by Doug Barney on 04/29/20090 comments
During last week's big
Oracle-Sun hoopla
, Doug asked readers what they think Oracle should do with Sun's portfolio. Here are one reader's suggestions:
Here is my wholly unqualified opinion on the subject from the perspective of what I could see being the most valuable/sensible actions for Oracle: Sun hardware, along with Solaris, becomes a pre-packaged Oracle database solution complete with storage, software and hardware optimization (sort of a database appliance, if you will). NetBeans and Java, including the recently released JavaFX, get packaged and sold together (to IBM, perhaps?). MySQL becomes an Oracle-backed open source project with the goal of pushing the envelope and proving concepts that will get refined and optimized into Oracle. OpenOffice gets released to the public domain and/or Open source community to thrive or die. VirtualBox goes one of two ways -- either the whole xVM project gets placed in its own division to survive or die as a strategic counter to the other virtualization solutions Oracle is able to run on (in theory), or the xVM project gets scrapped and sold or left to die on its own.
Is this what will happen? Who knows. Is this what I would like to see? No. I like Sun the way it was (well, except for the nearly non-viability of the operation). What I want to see is marketing and business operation consolidations between the companies and the rest left alone. I just have never seen any buy-out like this happen that way.
-Thomas
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Posted by Doug Barney on 04/29/20090 comments
What kind of software does pretty much every PC have? Yeah, an operating system. But they also have a browser, especially as Microsoft still largely considers the browser and OS as one and the same. That, and the fact that the browser is the most Internet-facing tool, make it a
perfect target for hackers
.
But there's another factor making browsers so vulnerable: the features war that has us upgrading browsers faster than Donald Trump switches girlfriends. As we move to more Web-based apps, we best start battening down our browsers.
Posted by Doug Barney on 04/29/20090 comments
A few months ago, I got hammered when I mentioned a certain non-public Microsoft beta was available on BitTorrent. A reader or two complained that these were unauthorized downloads and I was an unwitting accomplice.
So now I will report that the Windows 7 release candidate is
up on BitTorrent
, but will refrain from advising you to try it.
Posted by Doug Barney on 04/27/20090 comments
One reader takes issue with the description of Microsoft as having had "
two straight losing quarters
":
Microsoft doesn't need me to defend them, really, but your choice of words, "two straight losing quarters," is deceptive, misleading or even untrue in that it implies that Microsoft lost money. A more accurate choice of words would have been "two straight quarters of declining earnings growth," which is still a critical business indicator, just not deceptive.
Upon further reflection, you could even say "declining earnings" without the "growth" if earnings are actually lower than the prior period. But it's still not losing when they're still profitable.
-Anonymous
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Posted by Doug Barney on 04/27/20090 comments