New Laptop Cheaper than Used

At this price, it could be a nice little toy or a machine just for travel. If you have enough of your files in the cloud, you could get all your work done cheaply. And if it gets lost or stolen, a new machine is only a Benjamin away.

Posted by Doug Barney on 09/15/20080 comments

VMware's Version of Patch Tuesday

Ultimately, holes in a hypervisor are more dangerous than a hole in an OS or application, as a single hypervisor supports many operating systems and applications.

Do you worry about hypervisor security? Fears and answers welcome at More

Posted by Doug Barney on 09/11/20080 comments

Calling All Vista Gurus

Then again, the word "guru" might be a little strong. If you're hiring hundreds of people to work in big electronics stores, you're not going to find too many true gurus. Trust me, I've met some Mac geniuses and their IQs are far from Mensan.

Posted by Doug Barney on 09/11/20080 comments

Oh, My. Microsoft Rejoins OMG!

Now, on the software development side, Microsoft just rejoined the Object Management Group More

Posted by Doug Barney on 09/11/20080 comments

Mailbag: Readers Review the Seinfeld Ad, More Thoughts on Chrome

You are absolutely right. It is a total bomb. When I saw it, my reaction was, "And?" I think it is about as big a non-ad as has ever wasted money and time. I've been a Windows user almost since Day One. That would be when I stopped using CP/M. I look for much more in my operating system and I want to see good ads, too. I am totally disappointed.
-John

I enjoyed the TV ad and thought that Gates was as good a comic straight-man as some well-established comics. IMO, Gates trumped Seinfeld, indeed.
-Ron

It made me want to go out and buy a pair of Conquistador shoes with Windows in the toes!
-Charles

That commercial makes as much sense as the first release of Vista. Of course it's Microsoft's money, so if you don't like it, don't buy the stock.
-Geo

I've heard and read a lot about the commercial being a flop, but I'm not so sure. I agree that the jokes were a bit flat. However, I think the ad brought a bit more human-ness to Gates and, with Seinfeld in the mix, makes Microsoft appear a lot more accessible/friendly to the general populace. To the audience it was geared (average Windows consumer), I believe it can probably be considered a success.

The simple image of Gates wiggling his rear end is something I could have gone without. The "good" of the commercial is that it is memorable; I won't forget Gates trying on shoes in a discount shoe store.
-Kevin

The moist cake is a reference to the Drake's Coffee Cake from the "Seinfeld" show. Same with the showering with clothes on; Kramer made his meals in the shower in one episode. For those that watched "Seinfeld," it was a great commercial. Bill Gates was funny, too.
-Anonymous

I normally do not comment about anything that I see on the Web, even when asked. But I actually viewed that ad and have never seen anything more stupid in my life in regard to an advertisement for anything relating to a computer -- whether hardware or software. It was a better ad for shoes than anything else.
-Anonymous

The commercial was horrible and was painful to watch, and I really did not get the point. I never thought Seinfeld was funny in the first place. That being said, I don't find the Mac commercials funny either (only dorky Mac users find them funny), but I must admit that they are very clever and are effective in giving PCs (and of course Windows) a perception that they are inferior to the Mac. Microsoft should probably hire the same people who market for Apple, whom I must admit have been very good at selling a "perception."
-Asif

As for the ad, it's definite NYC humor, and since I'm from the other side of the Hudson, I get it. Friends in England and Ireland don't have a clue, but to them I just say, "NO SOUP FOR YOU."
-Anonymous

A complete, total, stunning waste of money, time and talent. Pointless.
-Lin

I would just like to say, "Where is the message?" What a waste of talent and money!
-Harry

I thought it was really bad. I saw it twice before I even figured out what it was for. I thought maybe after Bill stepped down he needed a little extra cash so he moved to doing commercials.
-Anonymous

I thought the ad was amateurish at 1:30 minutes. But I'll bet it will rock at 30 seconds once the lame parts are removed.
-Dan

Since I'm not a fan of Seinfeld, my approach to the campaign is a great, big yawn. I am neither excited nor disappointed. To put it another way, I couldn't care less.
-Charlie

Clinical psychologists learn a lot about their patients by discerning what the patient finds funny or sad. I cannot understand what the fuss is all about.
-Roger

Posted by Doug Barney on 09/11/20080 comments

Remembering 9/11

We were sitting in a building with over 10,000 people directly across from the CNN center. We could have been a target. Wisely, we left the building and went back to our hotels, walking past hundreds of shocked Atlantans.

Posted by Doug Barney on 09/11/20080 comments

Mailbag: Who Could've Imagined the End of the World Was So Interesting?

I am a science buff, not a scientist, so I can't "do the math" on the risk of black holes going postal. I doubt that anyone can. Arguments against permanent black holes are persuasive but they are anecdotal, not objective. Picture the Manhattan Project with massively (no pun intended) greater energies involved. I did not sleep very well last night.
-Jim

The same henny-penny scenario was discussed when the first fission experiments happened under the University of Chicago in the '40s. Look how well that turned out!
-Brian

Wouldn't it be the ultimate irony if the scientists, the same ones that have been telling us that we are destroying the planet through global warming, beat us to the punch?

But it won't happen. Technically (if I understand it correctly), all black holes are much smaller than microscopic. They are infinitesimally small points of mass. It is the size of their gravitational influence that grades their size. If their gravitational influence is microscopic, then the likelihood of them swallowing anything is as unlikely as the black hole at the center of our own galaxy reaching out and swallowing us. These things will most likely disappear as quickly as they are created. The scientists' biggest problem will be to pull useful data from them before they do disappear. I'd be real interested in hearing from someone with the proper credentials on this topic.
-T.W.

Want to see what the experts think? Go here. Anyway, if one of the scenarios listed there or some unknown scenario occurs, we probably won't be here immediately afterward.

I'd be more worried that after all that money has been spent, humanity is no closer to understanding how the universe is put together at the subatomic level. We should all hope that new understanding is gained from the CERN experiments. Nine thousand physicists could be wrong, but what are the odds of that?
-Mike

The collider has the potential to create microscopic black holes. It's not worth the risk of destroying a billion-plus people on the Earth because a very small minority wants to be God. It's totally ridiculous.
-Ken

It's just a bunch of people practicing their religion, nothing more.
-Anonymous

I think there's an opportunity to see the bright side on this one. If we're ever going to get the chance to see the inside of a black hole first hand, it'll be tomorrow. Certainly no one wants the Earth to be swallowed up, but at least it would be a more interesting demise than many alternatives -- like being hit by a bus. Eat, drink and be merry (and you know the rest).
-Dave

Posted by Doug Barney on 09/10/20080 comments

What's the Deal with the Seinfeld Ad?

Jerry showed flashes of his former brilliance, and Gates was pleasantly goofy (as the script called for). But man, oh man, were the jokes flat. Jerry had a groaner about taking a shower in your clothes (you're dressed, and you're clean; open the door and go about your business), and the piece ended with Jerry's dream of a moist and chewy PC you could eat like cake. That line was as big a bomb as Windows ME, Bob and the Yahoo deal put together. Interestingly, Gates was funnier that Jerry!

Posted by Doug Barney on 09/10/20080 comments

Four Patches Proffered

A hole in Windows Media Player that could let someone use a media file to take over your machine got plugged. The Windows graphics engine, GDI+, also got a hole filled that affects everything from SQL Server to Office. This hole is one analysts expect to be heavily attacked, so patching is of the essence.

Posted by Doug Barney on 09/10/20080 comments

Greene's Beau Leaves VMware

My guess is that Rosenblum's departure was only a matter of time. I think he was mentally ready to leave after his wife was ousted, but out of loyalty to his troops he stayed on to ease the transition.

Posted by Doug Barney on 09/10/20080 comments

Mailbag: Microsoft and Standards, More

I had a nightmare this past weekend. I dreamed that Office 2007 would not read all the old Microsoft Word documents. This was particularly terrifying, because I work at a courthouse and we have more than 10 years of historical and legal electronic documents from various Word versions that we may have to read and print. If the most recent version of Word won't do this, we will have to keep older systems and software versions for that purpose.

For 10 years, I have been telling people to move to a paper-less world, but the threat of unreadable electronic documents scares me. There has been a lot of noise in the past few years about electronic document standards. Microsoft seems resistant to the idea. The threat of having unreadable electronic documents in the public or private sector is very real and should scare people to think about standards. I have been using personal computers for almost 30 years and have many documents at home on hard-sectored 5 1/4-inch and 8-inch floppy disks. I suspect I may never see these documents again. Already, the 3 1/2-inch floppy is fading from use, but how many home computer users have photos and documents on such disks? New technology is great, but we must have a backward eye for both legal and personal reasons.
-John

Posted by Doug Barney on 09/09/20080 comments

Supercollider To Clobber Earth?

My take? The thing is probably safe, but when you're manipulating the very structures that created the universe, you better be darn sure you know what you're doing.

Posted by Doug Barney on 09/09/20080 comments