Windows

Blogs were buzzing this week with reports that Windows users who thought they had automatic updates set to either not install or get permission before installing nonetheless had their machines patched and rebooted.

Friday afternoon, the company posted a response to its Web site saying no changes were made to the automatic update mechanism nor did any recent updates change AU settings. The company is looking into whether customers might have actually had their settings changed by Microsoft Office or Windows OneCare, two programs that do have mechanisms that will change a computer's automatic update preference settings.

"We … Read more

One of the advantages of Apple Macintosh computers is that simply by not being Windows, they are immune to the plague of malware (malicious software) that constantly strikes at Windows based machines. Linux has this advantage too, plus it's cheaper. A computer running Linux can cost around a fifth as much as a Mac (more on this later).

The classic knock on Linux, when compared to Windows and Macs, has always been that it was harder to use, and indeed it was. But release after release it kept getting easier. How easy is it, now, for a Windows user … Read more

In the September 25th issue of the WXPnews newsletter, the editor, Deb Schinder wrote an article (Don't Find Vista Guilty Until Proven Innocent) in which she attacked the people attacking Windows Vista. "In way too many cases, people condemn operating systems or applications that they've never even used..." she says.

That's me. Here in this blog, I recently advised that anyone buying a new Windows based computer, should opt for XP as opposed to Vista.

Certainly, Deb's point sounds reasonable, but, if a tree falls in the woods, no one has to have been … Read more

Networking companies are beginning to deliver the new Vista-friendly Media Center Extenders that Microsoft outlined earlier this month. D-Link's entry in the race is the DSM-750. Like competing models, the DSM-750 attaches to a TV (standard or high-def) and streams live and recorded TV, video, music, and photos from networked Media Center PCs located elsewhere in the home. An update of the older DSM-520, the 2007 model adds dual-band 802.11n wireless (which has the speed and bandwidth for optimal streaming of HD video) as well as compatibility with the popular DivX and XviD video file formats. Unlike similarly … Read more

While Vista was originally touted by Microsoft as the operating system savior we've all been waiting for, it has turned out to be one of the biggest blunders in technology. With a host of issues that are inexcusable and features that are taken from the Mac OS X and Linux playbook, Microsoft has once again lost sight of what we really want.

As we're more than aware, Vista Ultimate comes at a premium. For an additional $160 over the Premium SKU price, Ultimate gives you a complete backup and restore option, BitLocker Drive encryption, the ever so popular Windows Fax & Scan, and the "Ultimate Extras." But what started with a promise of "Extras" by summer, quickly turned into an apology from Microsoft and the eventual release of DreamScene and Windows Hold 'Em (among others) today. And while each of the "Extras" runs just fine, Microsoft's "Extras" blunder is just another reason why the company must abandon Vista before it's too late.… Read more

Back on September 2, I wrote about why I think someone buying a Windows computer should opt for XP rather than Vista. More and more, Microsoft customers are opting to hold off on Vista.

In April, Dell reversed reversed it's Vista-only stand and started offering Windows XP again to consumers.

Gregg Keizer of ComputerWorld reported in July about two surveys by PatchLink (now known as Lumension) of their business customers. The first survey, in December 2006, found that 43 percent of businesses were planning to move to Vista. By July of this year, a similar survey showed that 87 … Read more

Microsoft said Monday that it has finished a planned update to its Windows Home Server software, paving the way for Hewlett-Packard to finish its product based on the new operating system.

HP, which had expected to be one of the first to offer a home server based on Microsoft's software, earlier said that it would wait for this update before releasing its MediaSmart Server. The changes are designed to improve the products "usability and out-of box experience," Microsoft said.

The software update is also being made available to other Windows Home Server customers via Windows Update. More … Read more

Microsoft on Monday said it has released a beta version of the first service pack of Windows Vista to about 12,000 testers.

Microsoft had said back in August that it expected to start private testing of the service pack within a few weeks. The update is largely a collection of bug fixes and performance and compatibility improvements, but includes some minor new features such as support for the ability to encrypt multiple hard drive partitions using Vista's BitLocker feature.

In another expected move, Microsoft said that it has completed its first near-final "release candidate" version of … Read more

There is an interesting article in the New York Times today (September 16th) that anyone involved with personal computers should read. It's called "A Window of Opportunity for Macs, Soon to Close" and it was written by Randall Stross, a professor of business at San Jose State University.

The main point of the article is that Apple should be selling many more Macintosh computers than it is. I agree completely.

The author points out that the release of an obviously half-baked version of Vista provided Apple with a golden opportunity to sell computers to people who don'… Read more