Bad Windows

It's one thing to make a computer easy to use, but if you're going to do so, you must also make it secure. If you're not going to develop a secure OS, then at least give more thought to your emphasis on "Ease of Use".

A dear old Aunt recently sent one of those stupid chain e-mails – you know the ones, "forward to as many people as possible" – simply because she agreed with the sentiments it expressed. What she obviously never gave thought to was that she just might be passing along a trojan horse to the rest of the family. When I responded that she might be jeopardizing other people's computers, she got upset, responding that she only sent the e-mail because she agreed with it.

She uses Windows. Worse, she uses AOL. A virus on top of a virus. Great. Then she sends out an e-mail, probably with some thought, but not enough to avoid one of my sermons on the evils of spam. I'm convinced that forwarding spam is a violation of the 2nd Great Commandment.

Read more at Blue GNU 

Microsoft has extended its cheap software for education plan, aimed at strangling open source in its crib, to Russia.

CNews, a Russian IT publication, reports Microsoft is working with Intel and a Russian charity on a plan to double the number of PCs in Russian schools, valuing the bundle of Windows XP and Microsoft Office at $3/copy.

The bundle, called the Microsoft Student Innovation Suite, also aims to make present illegal installations in schools legitimate for as little as $14/machine.

The plan is similar to one announced by Bill Gates in Beijing last April, where 90% of Windows copies are pirated. The picture, from CNews, is of Gates with Chinese President Hu Jintao.

CNews is frank in suggesting this was done to head off a Chinese Linux effort dubbed Red Flag Linux, and a similar effort in Russia.

Read more at ZDNet 

So, you just delivered that new PC to your customer and gave them a quick tour of what's new and then watched their eyes glaze over with confusion.

It's simple; you sold your customer a computer with Windows Vista installed, when that customer was somewhat satisfied with Windows XP. The simple solution here would be to just sell XP with all of your systems, but let's be realistic, that is not something Microsoft (and most of the large PC vendors) want to happen. Microsoft and many of the PC manufactures have taken the stance of 1930's mother with a spoonful of cod liver oil, "you'll take Vista and you'll like it—or else"!

Read more at DesktopLinux.com 

 If Microsoft Corp.'s Windows Vista were graded for its first year, its report card would read, "Not meeting expectations," analysts said Friday, a year and a day after the operating system code went "gold" and was sent off for duplication.

On Nov. 8, 2006, Jim Allchin, then the head of Vista development, announced that Vista had gone RTM (released to manufacturing) — the first step toward its release later in the month to businesses and in late January 2007 to consumers. "This is a good day. I am super-happy," Allchin told reporters in a conference call.

While Vista might be a sales blockbuster — Microsoft's last quarter broke eight-year-old records, in large part behind Vista — it hasn't made the kind of progress anticipated in the enterprise world. And if Allchin, who retired as soon as Vista shipped in January, were still with Microsoft, he might not be super-happy now.

"The uptake is much lower than expected," said Michael Silver, an analyst at Gartner Inc. "Organizations really seem to be way behind where they said they would be last year." Silver compared the results of a Gartner survey last month on Vista adoption plans with an identical survey taken in October 2006, and concluded that enterprises are nine to 12 months behind their original expectations.

Read more at ComputerWorld 

After almost a year since Microsoft released Vista to manufacturing, it's time to re-evaluate it and decide if it's finally the equal of the best of the desktop Linuxes.

No, it wasn't. By 1990, a Japanese car model, the Honda Accord, became the first best-selling foreign car in the United States. Today, AMC is long dead. Chrysler spent most of the last few years as a division German-controlled DaimlerChrysler, until it was sold off in August to Cerebus, a private-equity firm specializing in troubled companies. Ford lost only $380 million in its last quarter. Of course that was peanuts compared with GM. America's biggest car manufacturer lost $38.96 billion in its last quarter. Even Bill Gates' piggy-bank would be squealing in pain at that kind of loss.

Read more at DesktopLinux.com 

1. Frequently asked questions about Vista.  No 1 Question – How do I get my money back?  (Fact is stranger than fiction)
2. This will end your Vista session. Do you want to play another game?
3. Kennel stack overflow problem.  Your new Patch is now available.  Call at the vet and collect your dog.
4. BREAKFAST.SYS halted… Cereal port not responding.
5. Suggested Action.  Emigrate.
6. Upon completion of this investigation, Microsoft will take action to help solve your problem.  This will involve remote execution of the user.
7. The media is corrupt.  Therefore, don't read the manual – bribe a reporter.
8. Windows Update Service Problem.  Waitress is sick.
9. A problem has been detected and Windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer.  Smash forehead on keyboard to continue.
10. Path not found.  Try the grass shortcut.
11. An operations error occurred. Enter any 11-digit prime number to continue.
12. Press any key to continue, or any other key to quit.
13. Press any key except… no, No, NO, NOT THAT ONE!
14. Press Ctrl-Alt-Del now for IQ test.
15. Vista object doesn't support this property or method. Close your eyes and press escape three times.
16. Bad command or file name! Go stand in the corner.
17. User Error: Replace user.
18. No network provider accepted the given network path.  In plain English, we have not got a clue what's wrong.
19. Vista message: "Error saving file! Format drive now? (Y/Y)"
20. 'Known issue' – it's just the solution that is unknown.
21. This network connection does not exist, and neither does any help.
22. This is a message from God Gates: "Rebooting the world. Please log off."
23. Object already non-existent. Are you sure you still want to delete?  (N/N)
24. The network location cannot be reached. To 'shutdown' your system, type 'WIN.'
25. COFFEE.SYS missing… Insert cup in cup holder and press any key.
26. CONGRESS.SYS corrupted… Re-boot Washington D.C? (Y/N)
27. File not found. Should I fake it? (Y/N)
28. Bad or missing mouse. Spank the cat? (Y/N)
29. Runtime Error 6D at 417A:32CF: Incompetent User.
30. Error reading FAT record: Try the SKINNY one? (Y/N)
31. Vista_error 16547: LPT1 not found. Use backup. (PENCIL & PAPER.SYS)
32. Workaround.  The workaround does not work, but it makes us fell better to include it.
33. Windows VirusScan 1.0 – 'Windows Vista found: Remove it? (Y/N)'
34. Welcome to Microsoft's World – Your Mortgage is Past Due…
35. If you are an artist, you should know that Bill Gates owns you and all your future creations. Doesn't it feel nice to have security?
36. Your hard drive has been scanned and all stolen software titles have been deleted. The police are on the way.
37. We are reading your error report, but we are not understanding.
38. Hold down the Numb Lock. Phone 555-1212-4590 and ask for Lulu.
39. You can provide feedback by completing the form.  However, you are wasting your time because it goes to a sink account that we never read.
40. Disclaimer: We would like to thank Bart Simpson, who had the least to do with these solutions and was therefore of the most help.

Linux vendor Mandriva SA thought it had signed a deal with Nigeria's government to equip elementary schools in that country with new PCs running the open-source operating system as part of a pilot project. But then Microsoft Corp. threw a wrench into the works, according to Mandriva CEO Francois Bancilhon.

Bancilhon said today that Paris-based Mandriva agreed three weeks ago to supply a customized version of its namesake Linux distribution to run on 17,000 of Intel Corp.'s Classmate PCs, which are ruggedized laptops designed for educational uses in developing countries. On Tuesday, Mandriva posted a press release about the contract on its Web site.

Now, though, Nigeria has decided to strip the Linux operating system from the Classmate systems and install Microsoft's Windows XP instead, Bancilhon said. "It is clearly a disappointment," he added. "We do feel the power of somebody much stronger than we are."

Read more at ComputerWorld 

This is test

One of the oft-mentioned weaknesses of Linux, fragmentation, just happens to be one of its greatest strengths. A broad range of choices in an immature market is a good thing. Of course, choice does come at a cost. For example, there may be no standard way to do a particular task. Further, development resources will sometimes be split among two or more projects. However, these are weaknesses in the short term only.One could similarly argue that evolution of species suffers from the same ‘weakness’ of fragmentation. However, in the long term, the survival and consolidation of the best traits results in an improved breed. Eventually, one of the many approaches to some desktop task will rise to dominance and show the market the right way to do it, and, at the same time, reduce the fragmentation problem.Based on my observations, business continuity considerations are starting to place more emphasis on portable data formats and protocols. Relational databases, contrasted with the counter examples provided by Microsoft formats, are helping to raise awareness of the value of portable data.

Read more at Bluemango