Swifty Knows - InfoTech - ITvelociti.com

When in Doubt, Leave it Out, Windows update Mess

2006-05-25T12:49:00.000-04:00

April Windows update Woes

Here are Microsoft's April Fool's patches, starting with small ones at the top and going to the worst ones below::

• Obscure hotfix for XP SP2 machines, patch 900485 from Dec. 2005, downloaded as a "critical" security patch via Automatic Updates on Apr. 25, two weeks after Redmond's regular Patch Tuesday distribution. Almost no one needs this hotfix, although it seems to have done no harm. It was apparently inserted into the Automatic Updates mechanism by accident, according to some newsgroup comments, although Microsoft still hasn't explained the gaffe.

• Security bulletin MS06-016, released on Apr. 11, makes it impossible for some users of Microsoft's free Outlook Express e-mail program to open the Address Book or reply to e-mails. Microsoft acknowledged on Apr. 26 and published Knowledge Base article 917288. The company describes how to backup, delete, and import the Address Book to fix Outlook Express. But, six weeks later, it hasn't issued a corrected MS06-016 patch to save people from having this problem in the first place.

• MS06-015, released on the same Patch Tuesday as MS06-016, conflicts with widely used nVidia video drivers, some HP printer/scanner/CD/DVD software, Kerio Personal Firewall, and some other applications, as described in KB 918165. The problem caused Microsoft Office components and some other apps to freeze when accessing files in My Documents or My Pictures, interferes with Windows Explorer and Send To, and prevented Internet Explorer from visiting typed-in Web addresses unless they were prefixed with http. The security bulletin was re-released on Apr. 25 users could install a version to correct the problems.

• Windows Genuine Advantage, the Microsoft program that checks users Windows installations for valid licenses, was pushed out as a "critical" security update to the U.S., U.K., Australia, and other countries beginning on Apr. 25. It's impossible to use Add/Remove Programs to remove the GA app, which displays warnings (once per hour after 14 days) if the software considers a copy of Windows to be nonlicensed. (Microsoft explained in KB 905474 how to disable the warnings until the next update is installed.)

What a surprise, this Genuine Advantage download is a major blunder of trust. Microsoft previously said this tool would be strictly opt-in, but these automatic midnight installs flooded companies' help desks with calls from panicking users. Nobody expects Microsoft to give away products for free, but No responsible company, slams its biggest, most legitimate customers with a change like this with little or no notice other than a press release the day before.

In the face of the screwups above, Microsoft has had no explanation. The Redmond company might be filled with thousands of talented developers, but they don't drive the corporation's overall policy. inquiries seeking comment, from a Microsoft spokeswoman : "Unfortunately, we are unable to provide you with an interview at this time due to lack of spokesperson availability."

Maybe home users of Windows (as opposed to advanced users) should keep Automatic Updates turned on. That was when Microsoft assured the public that Automatic Updates would only be used to distribute security updates rated as "critical." Microsoft abused its security upgrade mechanism to stealthily install Genuine Advantage, in addition to these many outrageously buggy patches, is inexcusable, and It's clear that MSFT corporate executives have made a deliberate decision to use Automatic Updates to install software that benefits the company, whether or not it helps users or has any relationship to users' security.

Pros update manually, novices should too

• Advanced users (including companies with full-time IT staff) should never use Automatic Updates. Professionals should first test Microsoft patches — and every other company's patches — on isolated machines. Read the free and paid versions of the Windows Secrets Newsletter that are published 2 days after Patch Tuesday with warnings of problems. Then use patch-management techniques to carefully install the needed upgrades to end users.

• Novice users, who can't or won't read up on reported patch problems before updating their machines, should leave Automatic Updates turned to Automatically Download, and Notify, but Do Not Install. Keep your Anti-Spyware and Antivirus updated, most Beginners have a greater risk of catching a virus than they do of encountering a serious patch need.

And you can disable Autoupdates totally as most Patches should still be installed manually within a few days of release, after a thorough check of news reports for potential Micorsoft screwups or software failures and conflicts.

More view from the Field, Macs do Windows, MSFT scrambles

2006-05-09T15:24:00.000-04:00

OOOH, Me too, Me too, MSFT says Me too to VOIP IM blah blah blah

Oh boy, we better get back on the bandwagon and announce
that MSFT also has a VOIP addition to the Windows OS, how
convenient, another way to get Phishing Dialers, Porn 900
number billings and a virus in your phone. Remember the MSFT
programmable phone product from 5 years ago, that went
nowhere.

Lets see AIM, MSN IM, Google Chat IM, Jabber IM, ICQ IM, Gizmo
IM, Skype IM, or VOIP, so I'm confused....once these pieces of
crap all talk to each other, safely, and easily...then we might
actually have an Open design that allows people to really use
this junk to make a simple phone call.

When was the last time you opened up a cell phone to push the
wrong buttons and got the Web and not a damn phone call you
were trying to make. Putting calling and phones into a PC is way
overboard, especially when the PC is the number one target of ID
stealing, Phishing, scams, viruses, trojans and whatever else can
sneak into the swiss-cheese OS and ruin an otherwise simple
concept. When I need to make a call....I think I will use my
Telephone.

Microsoft proposes joint research with OSDL

This idea would serve no one but Microsoft. Their offer to pay half is chump change for them, since they asked for the meeting they should pay for all of it, from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation funds. They can make it a "true" public service effort, a way to assist companies to lower the TCO, helping US businesses handle soaring costs related to all types of technology & software. There is "no way" OSDL should accept an offer from Microsoft to work together on this study. Is there ANY doubt that Microsoft will handle the information with measures to keep it from being polluted with their "Windows everywhere" mentality. There is no place for a meeting of the minds, when the only results they seek are to eradicate the enemy. Further, any company who has ever shown any technology they built to Bill Gates, soon found their business harmed, by a hacked up, 2nd rate product that was bundled into Windows. Of course you can sue them, or hope they buy you out, but the whole consumer and corporate market suffers when Microsoft bundles more "junk" into the OS, rather than focusing on what THEY need to do, make a better, more secure OS, with less "stolen ideas" mashed in just to corner a new market opened by a more creative company. There is no good sense in showing Bill Gates your attack map, he will steal the ideas and mow over you with his legal hounds. Let them suffer in ignorance and get their facts somewhere else, they wouldnt know a Firewall, W3C standard, or secure and stable OS if they saw one.

“Vision is the art of seeing the invisible.”
Jonathan Swift

Simple to get, simpler to give away. Avoid the MSFT lie
Reader post by: Jonathan Swift

Story: Microsoft tries new tack with small firms

Simpler to get, simpler to give away. Save the costs of doing
business with Microsoft products, the only company that gets
more profit is them, your company is meanwhile muddled in
upgrade hassles, file incompatiblity, and insecure Internet
access technology that makes you more vulnerable to data and
identity theft.

The list of features that are harmful to your business, and the
economy, are not mentioned in Steve Ballmer's notes. Just hot
air, from a Procter & Gamble-ized "new and improved" promise
that will merely choke the worlds businesses out of more money
and man-hours, while MSFT tries to strangle another sector,
company, or great idea.

The best thing you can do is short MSFT stock with the money
you wouldve spent on their software, and instead buy some
Linux systems for a much lower cost, bringing TCO in line, and
letting your money work for you, rather than having to work for
the money, and the poorly built software MSFT sells for too high
a cost.

They still have not learned how to listen to the customer or the
market, we want secure, easy to use software, without the
constant barrage of enticements to join MSN, Hotmail, or get a
Passport. Do not buy windows, give it away and turn to
Macintosh or Linux, you will find it is the best decision you will
ever make. There are thousands of users who can attest to this,
and all they can say is "why didnt we do this move off MSFT
sooner".

Google is Laying Golden Eggs while MS is laying WMF mines

2006-01-12T11:00:00.000-05:00

Beta Products or Not, they make Information FREELY available

Reader post by: Jack Sprat www.itvelociti.com
Posted on: January 12, 2006, 7:54 AM PST

Story: A surprising bear on Google

The Gist of Googles success is turning the Advertising and
Computer industry "On its Ear" because Google has figured out
how to give the customer what they want, cheaply, quickly, and
deliver it with better speed and dedication to making unique
products with a differentiation.

They call them Betas, maybe, BUT they WORK, they are not
making things riddled with bugs, or following a sloppy, greedy,
quick to copy and market the idea type of business strategy.

What company do WE Know who does this evil deed most often,
hint, its NOT Google, most of the time we are paying microsoft
for a beta quality product that IS never ready for prime time, its
one bug fix after another. And once they have a sufficient
number of bugs fixed, rather than give the fix away, they make
you pay more money for this "NEW" version, also with new bugs.

Not to mention the fact that Googles ideas are often unique, or
just "me too" enough to garner attention, but then mixed with a
little twist that makes someone say "wow, finally, a search
engine that suggests IF I didnt spell a word right in my search
request" How long did it take the others to add that?

Some people don't know when they've got it good. Quit trying to
kill the golden Google, it is laying Eggs for everyone, freely
opening the Information Highways' Toll Roads, and preventing
Microsoft from scrounging every last penny from us for shoddy
products and stolen bolt-on ideas.

They and Apple are the 2 breaths of fresh ideas and innovation
that the rest of the computer industry relies on to sparkle and
shine.

Heads are gonna Roll, the ship is unstable, Good News

Reader post by: Jack Sprat

Story: Microsoft to reorg; Allchin to retire

Well for once they might actually be doing something to produce
positive results. Shortening the line between the customer and
the honchos at the top would be a good start, too bad they didnt
try this sooner. Keeping Jim Allchin til Vista is a sendoff that
should happen much sooner however.

This guy doesnt know his customer, or his product; when I read
his numerous interviews in eWeek and InfoWorld, he says
nothing that indicates he is even in the software business, he
sounds mostly political, like a cheap salesman in that regard.

I guess this news is more about the way those at the top of MS
are scrambling to man the ship with a new look, doing anything
they can to make some news, otherwise Google gets all the
attention.

While MS is not in danger of disappearing soon, they have hit
their peak and now must accept that they are old news, and we
customers are tired of the sloppy products we get.

Geeking with Greg: MSN Screensaver

2006-01-07T16:40:00.000-05:00

Geeking with Greg: MSN Screensaver

Google & Microsoft want their turn at making news, step aside Apple

2005-09-20T21:15:00.000-04:00

News Discussion: Google offers clues to its own Wi-Fi service

This is what I would expect from them, skip Dialup totally

As proof that these guys think ahead, rather than "me too" like
MSFT, they are going after wireless service on a nationwide
scale. It is surely where the money is going to be in a few years,
once Dialup, and wired broadband have made their final push.

The fact that Google has already gotten experience in wireless
with the employee bus they setup with wifi for commuting,
shows they are not one to be taken lightly. These people direct
their energy to places where the pain in computing lies, rather
than where they can make the next fast buck like Microsoft
does.

I wont be surprised if they come out with a truly secure Win32
API knockoff OS that is actually secure enough to use on the
Internet, something MSFT has been loathe to do, since that
would mean that Bill Gates made a mistake when he put the
browser into the OS in the 1st place.

Show us how its done Google, and while youre at it, smack Bill
Gates, and make Steve Ballmer lick your heels.

News Discussion: Google invites 400 to secret event

All that I have seen, makes me believe in All I have not yet seen

For a company that is rolling fast and tight lipped, this is par for
the course, why would they want to open the playbook for the
loose lipped journalists, until game day. The fact that Microsoft
is losing sleep over Google is reason enough to not allow all
comers to write and rumor-mong the web, you know that this
company is hands-down the best hope we have of stomping on
the lackluster greedy geeks of Redmond.

If they have a desire to not tell all, prior to the meeting, then isnt
that their right to choose? After all they are the ones with the
good ideas, and the money, and "stones" to go up against the
status quo, like cutting off ZDnet and CNET stories. I for one do
not feel the media is a truth telling bunch, more often they seek
self aggrandisement by acting as though they discovered a
story, when all they did was fabricate one.

I have had my technical experiences personally misquoted and
bastardized by the Wall Street Journal, so much that the actual
events in that story were not only wrong, they were outright lies.
I wouldnt trust a web journalist any further than a wifi link back
to an access point, they are not telling news, they are "making"
it.

I certainly hope Google has something great to share with all
those honchos in attendance, there will be a lot of "high dollar
brainpower" at that meeting, it will be interesting to see what
comes of it.

http://news.zdnet.com/5208-9588-0.html?forumID=1&threadID=13516&messageID=270543&start=-1

I always wondered who to thank for IE 4.0 borking Windows 95A B

Posted by: Jack Sprat

Story: Allchin legacy seen in Windows

It was about 1997 that the email from Jim Allchin showed up on
Bill Gates desk, and thereabout IE 4.0 was rendering upgrades to
Windows 95A & B poorly or worse, most were reformatted. It was
the beginning of the second forced upgrade to windows 98, as it
had IE 4.0 in the shell natively.

Jims help in the decision to cut off other OS support in IE, and to
further sink the browser into the Windows OS is the lagacy
(lagacy-thats a new word) of Jim Allchin.

So now you know who else to thank for the brilliant idea of
mashing the browser into the OS, clogging the internet arteries
with bots, and further serving ads and traffic we dont need.

it would have been nice for someone to get the early bright idea,
that....Gee, we are hooking up to the whole unknown world, I bet
we ought to check it out carefully?

Nope, now they have opened pandoras box, they musta said
shoot first ask questions later.........

Humm,?! Sounds better than Vista, Windows Pandora.

Thanks

Jim

http://news.com.com/Allchin+memo+The+place+to+be/2100-1016_3-5875171.html?tag=nl

News Discussion: And now, without further adieu: the Google PC

TalkBack 36 of 38:

This couldnt happen too soon, turn off Windows

The sooner the Windows Registry would dry up and blow away,
the sooner we could get some work done. It might be nice to
have a 'puter all to one's self, but lets keep it off the network, at
the rate Windows keeps polluting the Internet it wont be long til
we have to hire BFI to come around and scoop up dead PCs at
the doorstep.

Something in the saying Hasta la Vista brings joy to my mind,
and probably a death knell to MSFT and the continued FAT client
mantra they cant seem to kick. These guys cant innovate
themselves out of a wet paper bag, much less give the world a
new computing paradigm; time to bring in the Think Different
crowd, someone who can actually shake up the industry with
profound thinking, rather than more "me too" windows, IM, CRM,
VOIP & other copycat software turds to step in.

Innovation is dead in Redmond, its about time for Google,
Apple, Oracle, (funny they all end in "le") to bring us some fresh
ideas, or at least reconstitute the Client-Server, Green screens of
yesterday, you know, the ones that worked 24/7, bland but
efficient. For our work systems, thats all one really needs
anyway.

Posted on: 09/20/05

http://www.zdnet.com/5208-10532-0.html?forumID=1&threadID=13520&messageID=270656&start=-1

David Filo from Yahoo does good deed, MSFT does NOT

2005-09-15T20:44:00.000-04:00

David Filo is right on, note Open Source Kiosks, but FEMA uses IE, duh!

Posted by: Jack Sprat
Posted on: September 15, 2005, 5:42 PM PDT

Story: Yahoo founder takes personal interest in locating Katrina victims

The idea of a storm focused search engine thats tweaked to help
victims is a great place for David Filo to make a mark for Yahoo
in this time of need. I went to High School with him in LA, his
whole family is a group of bright and helpful people, this seems
like a genuine gesture of goodwill.

I also recently got hold of a Web Kiosk Linux distro that you can
download and burn to a bootable CD for PCs, it goes right to a
helpful page of links for survivors etc to find help.

Typical of the lack of web standards, and Microsoft high-jacking
the Internet, the Kiosk does not interface with the FEMA
assistance site; the Governemt in its infinite wisdom, went with
Microsoft Internet Explorer ONLY technology, letting Microsoft
sideline the web for the good of all.

Shortly after this event has stabilized it would be good to haul
MSFT back to court and exact some money, fines and
adjustments to the browser, their attempt to OWN the Internet
has grown way out of proportion. We can only hope a typhoon
comes over Redmond and impacts them, then they can
understand what OPEN ACCESS really means.

Thank you David Filo for stepping up to the plate and helping
others, they appreciate it I am sure.

CNET Macintosh & Windows notebook forum

2005-09-15T16:41:00.000-04:00

Everyone has opinions, & "hineys", Macs are better than PCs

If you go to www.apple.com/education you can find lower cost student deals including a Red Tag sale area in the Student Online store at Apple, often saving up to 40% off. The iBook will run at least 4 hours, and a Powerbook at least 3.25 hours on a charge, and there are longer life high capacity batteries available.

The centerpiece of this discussion is really about 2 things, how much money you can spend, and how much time you have to waste. Macintosh OS X Tiger is so different than prior Mac OS X systems, and leaps and bounds better than Windows XP that you will find you actually get more done on a Mac. a PC will have you doing spyware killer updates, DLL & Registry fixes, virus repair and monthly Microsoft Critical updates that the Mac users really dont need to bother with EVER.

I have sold and supported Windows and Macintosh for over 12 years, the number of problems on Windows is absolutley higher, more time consuming and full of new Microsoft gotchas, as they try to force users thru an upgrade path that is based on them making money and You spending more time & $, the real goal of Windows is to be like a Mac OS X system, but they are years behind in that regard.

The level of integration and ease of use, reliability, and form and function is hands-down better on Apple, you really do get what you pay for. I know everyone has an opinion, we all have "butts" too, but the XP system will never be the level of quality that OS X is, Microsoft just does not work that way. MSFT is a least common denominator product, whats good for the masses must be good enough for you too, that is how MSFT works, and upgrades.

Apple on the other hand is an "experience" company....they make sure that the Apple product gets out of the way of your creativity, and the OS is not the centerpiece of the system, the user IS. Windows is nothing like this in that regard, it is a true co-dependent relationshop, requiring numerous nights and weekends to maintain it.

You might spend more $ on a Mac up front, but it will be the last money you have to spend on babying the system. Windows will keep "milking" you for years to come.

As for the next Apple OS X upgrade, Leopard, it will be out next year, ahead of Vista, and will be better still. Vista will be trying to catch up to Tiger, by then Apple will have raised the bar again, Vista is a follower, it is not a leader, and right now Vista is nearly vaporware.

I suggest you go look at Apples, ask people who own them, and if possible compare them side-by-side. The video, battery life, weight, ease of using the keyboard, drives etc will all be clearly evident when you can touch them both.

In summary, a Windows XP system is a "computer" whereas the Apple Macintosh is an "instrument", it really is a precision product that is built to help a user be more productive beginning from the out of box experience, you will be pleased with Apple, and the numerous applications such as iLife and MS Office for Mac, there is nearly every feature you will need in OS X.

And dont blind yourself with the Intel, Mac switch on processors...if you wait to buy one til then, you will miss a lot of great things you can be doing while the markets finally shift, and you dont really want to be buying the first version of any Man-made product no matter who makes it, Apple, Intel or Microsoft. Thus Vista will be a chance to place your bets. OS X Tiger is truly the best OS for your needs. Go with Apple.

windows Mista, they really dont get it, other than your $$$

2005-09-14T07:59:00.000-04:00

True to form, MSFT takes a simple idea, and BLOWS it again. All the windows users of the world unite when saying how common it is in businesses, noting the interoperability. Thats all "well and good" except that the great corporate OS is the absolute BIGGEST RISK, to corporate and private users Worldwide, its a piece of Junk for web use. NO, MSFT missed the chance to do what they should have done from the start.

Bill Gates, unable to grasp the concept of "the road ahead" early in the game, got caught with his pants down by Netscape. So rather than give his customers something new, and REALLY improved, he just bastardized windows by mashing in IE. He did not care about his users, the corporations, or their data.....he wanted to cut off Netscape's air supply...period. In so doing,, IE opened ALL the great business software interoperability "hooks" and left us NONE of the security it sorely needed.

Customers be damned, full speed ahead....and the world has been paying for it ever since. Oh sure, you got a web browser in Windows, but why couldnt it be ON windows, not in it? Well because "smart Bill" hahaha couldnt see the web coming, and he couldnt see the risks of opening the OS to the web. Now you get to spend the next 10+ years, cleaning up after him, while he spends it counting "YOUR" money. He is worth $50 billion, that is about what the virus, spyware, and patch labor cost businesses last year.

So to make my point: they had a chance now to build a truly new, and secure OS, maybe they call it Vista; make it small, tight, useful, and faster...by tossing out the lame amalgamation of consumer garbage they keep bundling in.

Could they do this, think outside the box, give us what we need....a small, fast OS that "works" rather than a bloated code morass that keeps clogging the internet and emptying wallets. Nope, they just keep piling it on, and we know what they're piling up dont we? crap.

It wouldve been best to build a Windows "slim" so it had no IE, no MediaPlayer, no IM, no Passport, just the business essentials. Then fragment and cater to the market's tastes, offering Add-on packs to give users the functionality they want to merge onto windows.

They couldnt do that for 2 reasons:

1. they dont think like that, and would never admit their mistake of "bundling" the browser into the OS.

2. The merging of the business and consumer code base of Windows 2000, or XP, was their goal to reduce costs and disparate OS pieces, making it better for them, but worse for the users.

You see consumer and corporations have totally different needs, and security concerns. A Company cannot afford to allow their information to escape, whereas an unknowing consumer is less likely at risk, other things being equal. Instead, we still have IE, mashed into the OS, and now we have 7 versions of Vista, none of which is really the secure OS, that does NOT have the web framework open for hacking underneath.

It would serve the market and MSFT much better had they really innovated...simplified, improved the OS by adding stability. Putting more "cards" on top of the already shaky cards that are up, is no way to build a new OS. But my breath is wasted on the dim witted, unknowing mass of users who will "flock" or whatever lemmings do, when they run out to buy the next windows, only to find it is just as much a tossed salad as it ever was, and it needs a few more "bolt-on" security components made by other manufacturers to try to keep the pests out.

Nothing like building it for the long haul.

If MSFT had made bridges, airplanes, buildings, cars, or some sort of real, tangible product, many users would have long ago realized they bought a cheapo imitation, after seeing it fall apart on the web.

But since many cant begin to understand proper software coding, and security practices, you keep buying the Winblows OS that works like a Ford Pinto "fireball", or the Firestone "maypop", when what we really needed was the J&J Tylenol "tainted" product pull, and rethinking their strategy.

If you dont understand, I cant explain it to you any better....the OS was not built for the user, it was built for MSFT to make more $$ at your expense.....get used to paying for the true definition of "slack" ware... should be called MSFT Mista. They Missed-a chance to do the right thing and make it secure.

A Little more Fire: September observations on Tech

2005-09-13T08:40:00.000-04:00

Steve, Bill, and Patsy

Story: Microsoft to release fixes for Windows flaws

Windows is JUNK. I use it weekly, turn it off and on daily, and
listen to my users tell me how much trouble they
have...wondering what they can do? I tell them to buy a Mac and
learn there is a better way. It is truly amazing when I hear some
of them finally gave up the futility to keep windows, and they
got a Mac, they are pleasantly shocked at how much better Mac
is. Then they get the same "religion" that other PC users
complain that Mac people have.....it is because they find out how
all along they had been unknowingly going along with the
masses, without the M.

A windows user, er loser, will swear his junk is OK, to make
himself feel better in his ignorant decision to keep patching and
lying. It suits them just fine to be part of the largest
unproductive group of people who must prop up the "house of
cards" once again.....its never gonna end, let them wallow in
ignorance, it has to be that way, you see Bill, and Steves plan
relies on Patsy too.

We holler to the evacuees, grab the lifeline, but to no avail

Story: Microsoft to release fixes for Windows flaws

You cant rescue the lost and deaf, if they just dont want to be
helped. It is merely human nature to try to save someone from
undue hassle, losses, and strife, at least in a natural, non-
business mind. It would be better if those Mac users were able
to actually gain something by telling others about Macs, but they
dont get one dime, or any gratitude, until a PC user comes to
own a Mac and then they are offered thanks and it finally pays
off.

The feeling one has when they rescue a lost pup, or wounded
bird is what a Mac person feels when he is told "Thank you" by
the recovered windows dude that has been brought to safety. It
cant be described in a better way than that, humanitarian aid.

In an "intervention" the drunk, drugged people will swear that
everyone is just nosing into the life of a smart, determined,
successful individual, although they are the ones who are
getting damaged. The tech environment is a true eco-system,
we all have to "pay" for the choices each makes, and everyone
has to pay for the sloppy windows programming, security risks,
and misguided groups that have windows.

Not a day goes by that a bank, call canter, airline, oil company,
insurance or financial services firm, and especially the
government is not hampered by the errant use of a "hole" in
windows that causes a delay, loss, theft, or misuse of our data
and time.

It is something WE all pay for, so while we try to get the kids off
crack, and we also try to get the PC users "on track", its just a
good natured thing to do, no matter how much it angers those
who think they are OK. Not because we are superior, just that we
discovered an answer and want to share it...plain and simple.

Summary, an Eco-system has all things, but the mix can be fixed

Story: Microsoft to release fixes for Windows flaws

I hear you. When considering how there is a lot of work and
infrastructure that runs on windows, so be it, it must stay that
way, in some cases.

It is my proposal, albeit rather strongly worded, that adding in
the use of Macs would serve to improve your daily use of time
and resources for better jobs, other than patching ANOTHER
windows issue, you know they are going to continue.

As much as there are die-hard windows users, there are surely
the same in Unix, Mac, Linux, IBM etc camps, the world over. It
is not a supremacy thing, its really not; I put it more along the
lines of educating and exposing something worthwhile. There
might be a constant rant in my posts, to be sure, but it is no
more common, than as a counter to the daily news that a
company like MSFT makes, and I can be their devils advocate,
pardon the pun.

I use windows, I use Mac, & Linux; I also have a car, and a truck,
and even a tractor. That really is the most fair, and humanly
centered comparison to daily life that computer OS's can have
for this discussion. I find utility in all of them, none of which the
other can match in this idea. So when I hear that people are
using "trucks" like windows, to do the daily run to the store, Dr,
bank, newstand, or cross country, I wonder how come they dont
get a smoother car, and Mac Out, to "enjoy" doing something,
rather than fixing the truck first.

This is my biggest gripe about my PCs, its a codependent
relationship, with an seemingly abusive mate, who promises
they will clean up their act, and be faithful, only to KEEP showing
me they have not really changed. Soon we are chasing our tails,
in circles, doing the monthly patch, when we could be having
time for other things. A Mac can give you that time, especially
when used online where windows trucks hit potholes, and the
Mac cars just slide on by. Hope that helps.

Sept. observations on Microsoft, How can I resist?

2005-09-07T20:47:00.000-04:00

Here we go again, strangle markets, ignore Windows flaws

Story: New Microsoft package targets Intuit

This company is wildly out of control, doing anything, anytime,
to anyone, anywhere, for any reason, or none at all. There needs
to be another monopoly suit brought against them, maybe by
China or India, and Canada, and then the US can wise up and go
after them and this time prevail.

Windows is brokenware, it has been on the scrapheap of
innovation for over 5 years. It was in its heyday when 95 came
out, after the IE browser was mashed(integrated) in the OS, its
been downhill ever since.

While MSFT carves up new markets that are the last stand for
many poor company's, it leaves their ISV's to not only compete
against each other, but also big Momma Microsoft for their
customer dollars, talk about eating your young. How considerate
of them, roll over the world, at your leisure.

And how strange it is that there are so many "patsys" that fall
right over for them, even making excuses and apologies, and
fantasy proclamations about how good they are. It is absolute
heresy to allow this group to evade responsibility for their
negligence and substandard software, while at the same time
letting them invade new areas that are clearly well covered with
superior products.

Especially software that handles finances; this is something I
would be loathe to ever give them my personal or business
information in any form. MS Passport was intrusion enough
while it lasted, the new levels of infiltration, labeled as
integration that they propose with other apps is useless for
most, and a weakness of the highest order for all who go there.
The whole country pays daily for every delay, repair, reboot,
update, restore, and security break they allow in Windows, its
time for a class-action suit from consumers to recover losses of
billions of $$$. Sayonnara to Small Biz server, accounting, or
whatever it was they want to name it, just call it expensive JUNK.

Yea, they should go to court, they have nothing better to do

Story: Courtroom showdown for Microsoft and Google

Instead of FIXING WINDOWS and focusing on the crud they have
smeared across the earth with IE, they ignore this GROSS flaw-
ware known as XP, and go sue Google in court. Heaven forbid
that other products and companies are better than they are, they
will get in those markets and crud them up too.

I expect they will lose the case, knowing the scope of a total
China NDA, and noncompete is far to large a landmass to cover.
What would be good is if Lee just hightailed back to China and
went to work for himself there, selling his brains to Google. That
would conveniently sidestep all this USA based baloney of a
court case.

Gates tactic here is not really about the theft of ideas, as much
as it is to tie Google up "on the ropes" of the court, and burn up
some of the goodwill they have, just like he learned as MSFT
stock has been beaten down to levels that more closely resemble
their skills and quality. Hopefully the judge will have the
foresight and "stones" to rule in Google's favor.

Strategy

http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,68784,00.html?tw=rss.TOP

When the Generals at MSFT start to make mistakes, they blame the little guys. Cussing out your employees is not a given right just because you have over a billion dollars. The lack of precision, humanity, class, and morals is going to take Bill and Steve into the toilet with their poor ethics, and potty mouths. The days of MSFT being number one are about to be over....they cannot sustain progress by intimidation, this is not the era of Napolean, or Attilla the Hun. People in China are ripping off MSFT because they KNOW MSFT ripped off everyone to get where they are, the Chinese are no dummies, they are gonna give MSFT back what it gives.

The saying, what goes around...comes around, speaks volumes about where this company is headed. I for one will help them down as often as I can. Ill-gotten gains, by classless businessmen is a standard I cannot subscribe to, nor should anyone who makes big decisions about software in the USA. Its time to help take MSFT down about 10 pegs. While the rest of the world and economy has troubles with higher business, worker & healthcare costs, Bill Gates thinks he can squeeze a few more dollars out of our pockets, so they can claim profits of more than $1 billion a month, something is wrong with this picture. And to add insult to injury, every week Windows is found to be insecure again, and all we get is "lip service" from a spokesperson who neither admits nor denies it. Meanwhile they dont fix, or rewrite the OS from scratch.

No, they enter new markets: Games, Online, Search, Phones, chat, anything to keep them spreading like a virus on the earth, a true parasite. Buying Macintosh, using Linux, and giving away XP are sure to help put a dent in their flawed logic and attitude. I hope they lose big time.

Simpler to get, simpler to give away. Save the costs of doing business with Microsoft products, the only company that gets more profit is them, your company is meanwhile muddled in upgrade hassles, file incompatibility, and insecure Internet access technology that makes you more vulnerable to data and identity theft.

The list of features that are harmful to your business, and the economy, are not mentioned in Steve Ballmer's notes. Just hot air, from a Procter & Gamble-ized "new and improved" promise that will merely choke the worlds businesses out of more money and man-hours, while MSFT tries to strangle another sector, company, or great idea.

The best thing you can do is short MSFT stock with the money you wouldve spent on their software, and instead buy some Linux systems for a much lower cost, bringing TCO in line, and letting your money work for you, rather than having to work for the money, and the poorly built software MSFT sells for too high a cost.

They still have not learned how to listen to the customer or the market, we want secure, easy to use software, without the constant barrage of enticements to join MSN, Hotmail, or get a Passport. Do not buy windows, give it away and turn to Macintosh or Linux, you will find it is the best decision you will ever make. There are thousands of users who can attest to this, and all they can say is "why didnt we do this move off MSFT sooner" Amen.

Posted by: JSO at September 7, 2005 01:50 PM

Fast Company Rants and Raves

I moved my family, myself, and many of my clients to a new operating system, Macintosh OS X, it has been the best move we have ever made in regards to computers. We had been using several types of Microsoft Windows thru several years, upgrading and patching them weekly, and monthly, but things just never seemed to stabilize, always a new feature, security risk, or virus.

We wondered how anyone could get any work done without constantly "babying" Windows. I would have to label windows as one of the most time consuming software systems, needing constant attention, upgrades and expense that are not necessary on the Apple systems we now use. It has been a blessing to find the Apple systems are more reliable, easier to use, easier to fix and update, and that they carry none of the security weaknesses that daily plague consumers and businesses the world over.

It would be great if more users would turn away from Microsoft, then we might find that we will hear less of the call center employee saying "please wait a moment, my system is slow and I need to reboot it". What a waste of time and money windows was, I am glad to be done with it, you should try Apple too. www.itvelociti.com

Rants and Raves from August 2005 Postings

2005-08-31T21:16:00.000-04:00

The scope of non-compete in China, 1.5 bill pop is too broad

Posted by: Jonathan Swift
Posted on: August 31, 2005, 8:40 PM PDT
Story: Google: Microsoft suit could crimp China efforts
There is no precedent for granting a non-compete on such a
large scale as 1.5 billion people and a land mass the size of
China. A similar agreement in the US would have limits on the
states and length of time, usually a year but not covering all
business activity a person performs, even if it closely parallels
the current job he had with the old company. To see Microsoft
try to use the court to "hold up" another company, is laughable,
these guys break rules left and right, step thru any loophole,
and steal employees, I.P. and ideas from numerous others. To
have them suddenly want to get protection from the laws that
they so blatantly break is humorous. What a bunch of lackies.

If they cant make the OS safe, then direct attention elsewhere

Typical of the smokescreen and n'er do wrong appearance that
Microsoft tries to put on, they set up an Internet "sting'
operations center designed to help police catch the people that
are using windows holes to get into networks & systems to steal
data etc. Yeah, we trust Microsoft to build a secure OS, but since
they can't, we will accept gifts and bribes, to look the other way,
rather than focusing on the ones who made the swiss cheese OS
in the first place. Lets let the wolf into the henhouse shall we?

How about a Get The Facts campaign about the number of
dollars and hours wasted, fixing windows, securing windows,
chasing bad guys who find the holes in windows, downloading
updates for windows and so on. There should be a metric for
how much this software has crippled businesses and consumers,
while in the guise of helping them. Kinda like booze, and
cigarettes, we know people like them, but we also let them know
its fun, but its gonna be a killer later on. time to put a warning
label on Windows.

Bill Gates could care less about his Ignorant user base

Posted by: Jonathan Swift
Posted on: August 30, 2005, 4:46 AM PDT
Story: Hollywood, Microsoft align on new Windows
Since PC users keep buying his junky software then he can keep
looking for ways to grab money from another source since he
has already got that 90% of the world fooled. He isnt going to fix
windows, he is going to side up with Hollywood and waste some
of their time and money next. It would really be in everyone's
best interest to buy American: get a Mac, just like Mom and hot
dogs and baseball. The time to dump Windows is NOW, its just
plain useless to hope it will get better, 10 years have shown you
it WONT. What a shame PC users are stuck like this. A shame
the government didnt sue these hucksters at Microsoft long ago,
maybe the terrorists will use MSFT against us sometime soon,
and THEN "Maybe" many of PC users will get smart and get
off windows for good. it just plain sucks.

I tried sidebar, Copernic, MSN etal, Google is better

Posted by: Jonathan Swift
Posted on: August 30, 2005, 4:33 PM PDT
Story: Google gets better. What's up with that?
For built in search capabilities I had been using Copernic since it
started years ago and was both a Windows and Mac app. It was
great how it hi-lites in yellow the search term results, and it
integrated into IE pretty good too. When I saw the Widgets in
Apple OS X made by the original widget makers Konfabulator, I
recalled they had one for slide show of pictures in a frame on
your Mac desktop. The new Google sidebar does this now too,
and many more things, I consider it a nice aggregation of many
of your frequently used OS needs and easy access to files,
folders, search, and these Photos if you like a randomly
changing assortment of interesting things floating on the
desktop. At least Googles features are based on several "human"
interface ease-of-use designs that Windows has sorely lacked
forever. It brings some nicer Mac like workflow improvements
that the rest of the world can enjoy, for free. We can only hope
as they evolve that they stay more true to form than the errant
empire Microsoft has turned into.

We decided between Build or Buy, & Teleo seemed a good fit

Posted by: Jonathan Swift
Posted on: August 30, 2005, 7:16 PM PDT
Story: MSN buys into Net calling future
Not one to be caught "late to the party" once more, with no
options other than buy and "bolt-on" another bundled feature
for Windows users. If you can manage to shut down the MSN
Messenger I guess you will be able to use another VOIP/SIP chat
client, but if history serves us a reminder, MSFT will make all
other chat apps be 2nd rate citizens on Windows. Of course
youll be offered the option to Join MSN at least 5 times, as it
does in a new XP install, but somehow I bet they will more
tightly tie users options to MS or None. They decided to buy,
knowing full well they cant build it, and whatever they can learn
about VOIP/SIP will be at the expense of Teleo, who had a nice
app until it gets ravaged by the collage of other bolt-ons that
will drag it into oblivion and probably disconnections galore. Wonder
when the first auto-dial virus will spring to life running up nasty
phone bills, sex dialers will have a field day.

Software architect: Trustworthy Computing,XPSP3,Vista,CRM,MSN ,Search,SQL 5

Posted by: Jonathan Swift
Posted on: August 30, 2005, 12:21 PM PDT
Story: Something fishy's going on
When you have 20,000 programmers you can throw a lot of
ideas up in the air and see where they come down. As the chief
designer of , Gates has his hands full trying to plug a leaking
ship...meanwhile the rest of the confused programmers are busy
trying to corner the market on CRM, MSNSearch, Office, SQL
Server, Groove, BizTalk, Vista, and whatever number the next
Service Pack for XP will be 3, 4, 5. Any chance this company has
more things to do than it has eyes, ears, and hands to do them?
When you make one bad product you usually concentrate and fix
it, when you make a dozen, where do you begin? A company
with this much money has but one mind, make more cash, crush
more companies with better ideas, cheat and steal a few more
good technologies, and try to corral your user base into forking
over their hard-earned money for half baked junk made with
"ADD" fixated groups of mishmashed products. Soon this gorilla
will choke, or better yet wither away when something plugs up
its rear end from letting out half-a**ed crap.

Lee's Contract is too restrictive on the scope of his area

Posted by: Jonathan Swift
Posted on: August 30, 2005, 3:18 PM PDT
Story: Google asks court to void Lee's Microsoft pact
It is likely this will be thrown out of court once they get to the
part about how extensive Lee's contract is regarding the area
(geographically) that it covers. He was hired in WA, to work in
China, and is being lured away to work in CA, regarding China.
To prevent a man from working in a country with over 1.5 Billion
people because the scope of his non-compete is China, is beyond
precedent. In desperation, MSFT wants to tie up Google with
some legal wrangling. This is what Gates has learned the hard
way....legal hassles will distract company focus, and chip away at
goodwill. The fact that there is a lawsuit is more about Gates
poker or "war" strategy to tie up google on the ropes for a bit, in
hopes they might stop Out-Innovating Microsoft, which is not
hard to do, even with one hand tied behind your back.

Bill Gates has experience in raiding other companies employees,
witness the Procter & Gamble-ization of all Microsoft
products.....bright colorful packaging, "New & Improved"
promises, bundled offerings, add-ons, upgrades; its apparent
where he gets his marketing ideas from.

Then look at where DOS came from, QDOS which Gates didn't
own at the time he offered it to IBM, thanks to his Momma's
connections via her sharing United Way board seats with IBM C-
Level members in talks for a PC OS. Then take a gander at the
story behind NT, at

http://www.windowsitpro.com/Article/ArticleID/4494/4494.html

documenting NT as a hack from Digital that Gates also stole,
and reworked, bugs and all, into a product for the unknowing
corporate masses of guinea pig testers: MIS, CIO, and IT staff. I
hope Google stomps on Bill's toes in Court, and that Mr. Lee is
actually worth the trouble.

Yeah, I want to give up my TV that works, for a PC? No way

Posted by: Jonathan Swift
Posted on: August 30, 2005, 4:52 AM PDT
Story: FAQ: Vista's strong, new antipiracy protections
When was the last time you wanted to sit in front of your PC and
answer DRM questions and wade thru security features to watch a
video. As if we really want to cuddle up to our suck-as* PC and rely
on it to give us easy & reliable entertainment. It will be the downfall of the
living room if that room also gets infected by having a PC in there as a TV.
Hopefully the world will be smarter than that, Microsoft could
better serve everyone by FIXING windows security and leave the
TV, video and Music to smart machines that only require a simple On &
Off button to operate.

HAHAHAHAHA Can I laugh at Windows users much more?

Posted by: Jonathan Swift
Posted on: August 30, 2005, 4:04 AM PDT
Story: Microsoft investigates another IE flaw report
You guys must feel like pincushions by now, no other product in
history has taken so much out of society's pockets, and ruined
their days off, fixing more crap. The solution is not to stop using
IE, it is to STOP using Windows. Microsoft sucks, can I say it any
louder for you who cant say "SH*T" with a mouthful....WINDOWS Sucks,
get over your lame professions that this OS is Ok, and that
smart users "patch" their systems.

Have you not learned by now that its not going to end. Lets see,
I patched the Apple PowerBook once or twice a month, does it
get bitten weekly by bugs, viruses, worms, or trojans NOPE!!! In
this world, Trojans are for when youre having "safe" fun, but for
PC losers its the sign of bad birth control, Bill Gates birthed a
"lemon" on the world. Go ahead, admit you bought junk.
You really should buy a Macintosh and then you can learn what
stability and trouble free computing is all about. Instead youre Poor suckers.
Bill Gates loves you though, I am sure he's got a big present for
you this holiday, keep waiting for it, its in the mail.......

Corp users with SP1 are not affected IF, theres a domain

Posted by: Jonathan Swift
Posted on: August 23, 2005, 7:39 PM PDT
Story: Zotob worm hole also affects Windows XP
So according to Ms. Fry at MSFT, the XP users who are to be
concerned would only be those who had Sys Admins who had
updated them to SP1, but of course wouldnt go up to SP2, and
are hopefully behind a domain. While they say the home users
would not be as likely to be affected because all the "smart"
home users had beaten the Corp. Sys Admins to the punch and
installed SP2 on their own, yeah right! According to MSFT, who
learned of this new XP hole from Symantec, there is not a big
window of vulnerability on XP, so long as youre in a domain, or
using SP2; thats for this week. What lies ahead for next week,
and next month on patch Tuesday is anybody's guess. Someone
ought to figure out a way to sue MSFT for negligence, they make
no effort to build a secure system, and check it themselves,
rather leaving it to the guinea Pigs, i.e.: Windows users, and
Symantec. Scary. MSFT would argue that with millions of lines of code
it is hard to "be sure" there is not a bug in there, and that they should not
be liable for them. How soon would you stop flying on Boeing Jets
if Boeing suddenly says: Look, we have over 3 million parts on a 747,
some opf them might be rusty, broken, or mismatched, but we think you
are Ok to fly on it. AND, if our plane crashes, we are not to blame, since
there are just way too many features, and parts for us to check first.
Its time for a liability lawsuit against Microsoft, they cost us billions, plus
lots of lost productivity, and possibly some loss of life too.

What kind of Computer, was it Windows again?

Posted by: Jonathan Swift
Posted on: August 30, 2005, 6:16 AM PDT
Story: Computer fault grounds airplanes
I wonder what OS they ran on this computer. Something tells me it
might be Windows helping to run the world more securely, sure!

My keyboard is getting a workout, bashing Windows

Posted by: Jonathan Swift
Posted on: August 24, 2005, 1:46 PM PDT
Story: IM worm speaks your language
As if I havent had enough fodder for flogging Bill Gates and his
lousy group of software packages, Windows, IE, and of course
MSN Messenger, or is that just MESS for short?!! Haha. No
sooner than I have submitted a post on CNET or ZDNet, good old
MSFT gives me another chance to extol the virtues of Apple Macintosh, and
reveal once more, the absolute mindless lemming-like following
of Windows users, as they hope the next Windows actually comes
close to being like OS X.

If you would quit buying a PC then MS would get smarter and
maybe improve the OS by rewriting it from scratch. Maybe theyll get
rid of the idiotic thing called the Registry, and build in more
security and less whistles and bells. You know, features that
would make the whole Web experience better for all Internet
users. But so long as the average, I did mean average, user
continues to buy another PC, and another, then Bill will be smart
and keep laughing on the way to the bank with another
"suckers" money. They dont need to change the software if the
user base is ignorant enough to keep making excuses for it, do
they? Theres one born every minute, step right up.

Messenger Registry OS from scratch, my facts, your fiction

Posted by: Jonathan Swift
Posted on: August 25, 2005, 7:25 AM PDT
Story: IM worm speaks your language
Mac OS has no Registry, NetInfo is nothing of the sort, any
application that comes into OS X resides in 3 places, the
Applications folder if you installed it there, and 2 library folders
which have reasonable names that you can identify, not
something like Regserv234856265A-23644621GH291968274
ala Windows Registry. No I guess OS X isnt from scratch, it does
ride on FreeBSD, known as secure and reliable as the foundation,
whereas Windows rides on nothing of the same sort.
Disingenious at best, and offered to the unknowing masses as
more than it is. They dont know any better. And MSN Messenger
isnt Windows, no it isnt, BUT it is taking the weakness of the
host platform and allowing more infiltration into the wonderful,
secure OS that some IT guys feel so confident about "working" to
keep propped up. If you guys did your job as bad as Bill Gates
and MSFT, I would have fired you long ago. I let my PCs sit in
the OFF position, or was that the Hibernate, or StandBy position,
jeez so many choices, how about making life simple, so you can
have a life. Well I will take the day off and get on my way to the
beach to tan my bony knuckles, and play some games with the
beach bunnies. While you go patch a PC.

This was one of the best posts, funny too.

Posted by: Jonathan Swift
Posted on: August 29, 2005, 5:36 PM PDT
Story: Flaw may hide malicious software
I had to read all the posts to get a feel for what the community
was feeling with this latest news. I find the internet full of
"weather" like we have with hurricanes lately, interesting and
always changing. I realize that the tide is swayed by daily,
weekly mutations of attacks on Windows, its scary that we rely
on this software so much. God help us if there are any "more
mission critical systems" out there than DMV or banking.

AirTraffic, Fire and Police Rescue spark the mind to wonder what the
"real cost" of a Blue Screen of Death really is. I would guess that
there are numerous instances of it happening already in our
world, but its suppressed, or left out of the news. To keep
letting Microsoft "off" with shoddy designs, blatant idea theft,
exclusive bundling, and poor business ethics is bordering on the
"Ford Pinto" debacle, if their past, is any indication of the future. I
think that many IT staff are hamstrung with the fact they use
it, and are required to go along with it, but surely after years they
would have heard, or seen other options besides Windows. I can
see how they can be "codependent" with their career worth as a
patch-master for propping up Microsoft's weaknesses, theres
certainly a future in that for them. Thanks Carl for the many
insightful posts.