Microsoft late last week released an
out-of-cycle
patch for IE that fixes a hole in Vector Markup Language (VML) that could
let a hacker control your machine. Microsoft last month sent out the original
IE patch, but tweaked it to deal with the VML problem. So I guess it's a patch
for a patch.
Posted by Doug Barney on September 02, 20080 comments
Redmond Report readers have probably heard about my sons Nick and David and
their love for Mac laptops. Their older sister Lauren, on the other hand, has
been a real holdout.
Her first machine was a PC laptop -- I never even thought to suggest a Mac.
After that one started to die, I suggested a Mac; it would save me some headaches
and her some heartache. Nothing doing. Another laptop, a Toshiba I think, was
acquired. The screen on this baby died, and once again I pitched Apple, pointing
to her brothers' experience. Nope -- this time, an HP fit the bill. Now it's
two years later, and the HP is getting slower and less trustworthy. Another
PC? No, sir. This time Lauren demanded a Mac.
I blame Microsoft. Some of her college classmates are using Vista, and there's
less than total happiness. And getting a new machine to run an old OS, XP, just
doesn't make sense.
She got her new MacBook to arrive today. But don't cry for Microsoft. We'll
still have to shell out more than a hundred bucks for Mac Office.
Posted by Doug Barney on August 28, 20080 comments
I rarely use Internet Explorer. Sometimes (almost never), a site doesn't work
under Firefox, so I fire up IE, view the page and shut 'er right back down.
Microsoft is trying to entice people like me back into the fold with IE 8,
now in its
second beta. The new browser steals one cool feature of Firefox: When your
browser dies, it will restore your old session, including all the tabs.
For admins, there are new tools to make it easier to deploy, especially if
you're rolling out Vista images.
Are there compelling reasons to use IE over Firefox? If so, what are they?
Answers readily accepted at [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on August 28, 20080 comments
Doug
recently
asked for a show of hands to determine who uses Mac servers for virtual
Vista and XP desktops. Here are your responses:
We don't use Mac servers, and I don't know anyone that uses Mac servers
in an enterprise environment. And using them to drive VM Vista or XP desktops
is even more out there. I'm sure there are a few people out there, but I very
much doubt that it is close to 23 percent, or even 3 percent. They may be
counting non-Windows as a whole as Mac servers (Unix, Linux, BSD, Mac).
-Dustin
I have not seen a single Mac server in an enterprise IT computer room.
Who are these virtual people?
-Anonymous
Well, we sort of use Mac servers. Being that we are a large university,
there is not much control over what the faculty or even tech workers for individual
departments do. I'm guessing that there are about 10 or so, but none in the
datacenter. I don't know of any that are being used to run virtual Windows
machines.
-Charlie
Yes, I use Macs for Hyper-V. I run Win 2003 images on a Dell with Win
2008. However, I have some Win XP and Win NT images that were virtualized
on MS VS 2005. When I migrated them over to the Hyper-V on Win 2008, I discovered
that Hyper-V only supports Vista, Win 2003, and Win 2008 and above. I also
saw that Hyper-V will only support two cores per image on Win 2003 images,
and I can only assign cores in multiples of two.
On my Mac Pro, I run Parallels Hyper-V server for Mac. It runs my Win
XP images just fine. Also, I can assign up to eight cores to any image including
Win 2003 and in multiples of 1. I have a Win 2003 Enterprise image as a TS
assigned with three cores, not possible with Hyper-V. Performance seems to
by equitable between images running on the Mac and the Dell. However, I have
not been able to add Win 2003 images running on Mac to a server farm that
has images running on the Dell.
-Stephen
Is it always true that downgrading to XP costs more than it does
to just keep Vista? A few readers don't think so:
I don't know if I agree with that statement. If businesses have to upgrade
a large amount of their desktop apps due to Vista incompatibility, the costs
can add up quickly. In an economic downturn, businesses aren't willing to
pay to upgrade their expensive, slightly aged, mission-critical desktop apps
(that still get the job done) just to be able to run a not-so-stellar OS.
-Chris
This is so not true if you are a large corp. Large corps spend tens of
millions on testing their in-house apps with new OSes, so why would they want
to spend all of that additional money to test their apps with Vista if XP
is working for them?
-Nicholaus
On the topic of Vista, Scott shares his thoughts on where
the OS is falling short:
Just wanted to give my two cents on Vista: I just bought my wife a new
computer with Vista installed and we both love it! I think a majority of the
problems Vista is experiencing is due to familiarity; people like what they
know and don't embrace change just for the sake of change. I'm guilty of that
at times, too.
I think it's also due to hubris (and a little ignorance) on the part
of Microsoft and its OEM partners. Vista does require some good hardware to
run and selling Vista Ready vs. Vista Capable PCs was a mistake when all it
was going to do was confuse customers. Vista on a Celeron with 1GB RAM and
a 128MB video card -- c'mon, they should know better; a dual core 2GHz CPU
with 2GB RAM and a 256MB video card should be MINIMUM specs for installing
Vista (that and good drivers). After all, you want your customers to enjoy
their experience, not ponder why it's so slow and unresponsive compared to
their XP machine.
-Scott
Speaking of Vista's appeal (or lack thereof), Jeremy has one suggestion to
fix it:
Someone in recent Mailbag section mentioned the nerdy Mac guy from the
Apple spots. Does he have a non-compete clause or could Microsoft throw an
obscene amount of money at him to switch? Maybe have PC guy kidnap him from
a brainwashing cult to realize Vista is good.
-Jeremy
And finally, Dean shares his thoughts on the recent
passing of longtime InfoWorld writer Ed Foster:
I have been a fan and avid reader of Ed's work for many years. It was
a real shock to get the e-mail from Jeff Foster saying that his father had
passed away. Ed was a very vocal advocate for those that did not have the
media platform to bring issues to a wide audience. He was not shy about taking
on the "big guys," whether it be for one person or a whole class
of people, and that won him the admiration of us all. We all lost a friend
and leader at his passing.
-Dean
Tell us what you think! Leave a comment below or send an e-mail to [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on August 28, 20080 comments
Vista has more features, and is far newer than XP. And it actually costs money
to remove the new Vista and install the seven-year-old XP.
So why would over
a third of new PC customers go through the trouble and expense of downgrading
to XP? Because XP works!
There are many people that like Vista -- even some that really like it (though
I have yet to hear the word "love" used). But for way too many, Vista
is slow, unpredictable and incompatible. Microsoft needs a Manhattan Project
to fix or replace Vista tout de suite. After all, as Bill Gates used
to say, "It's only software."
How would you fix Vista? Send your best to [email protected].
Hopefully, Microsoft will be reading.
Posted by Doug Barney on August 28, 20080 comments
At the risk of sounding like a broken record (or a skipping CD), there's good
news about IT spending. I've written about several reports pointing to higher
IT budgets. Research powerhouse Gartner is weighing in, reporting that overall
spending is
up
around 8 percent.
What are you spending money on? Security? Services? New apps? Or just keeping
things running? Details may be sent to [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on August 27, 20080 comments
A week or two ago, Forrester Research raised a stink with a report saying that
enterprise uptake of Vista was
more
anemic than a German POW. Microsoft spat back that other Forrester analysts
have a more upbeat view of Vista. Funny thing was, a Microsoft exec blogged
about the company's misgivings and got
hammered
in comments from real Vista users.
Now Forrester has a new
report from a different analyst with a different perspective. Analyst Benjamin
Gray blames the economy for poor Vista adoption, an argument I don't understand.
As I mention in my next item, it costs more money to buy a new machine and downgrade
to XP than it does to just keep Vista.
Gray expects more corporations to make the Vista move due to better security,
and suggests that IT "migrate to Vista sooner rather than later."
Is Vista ready now? Is Gray on to something, or just on something? Thoughts
welcome at [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on August 27, 20080 comments
I've been meaning to write about this for a while, but kept putting it off.
It's not easy or fun to write about a loss. An old boss of mine passed away.
You may ask what that means to you. Well, that
boss was Ed Foster, creator of InfoWorld's Gripe Line, a column that
took vendors to task for rampant rip-offs, poor products and shoddy support.
Foster wrote this column for years, crafting countless words and putting vendors
on notice. Ed left us late last month.
Were you a Foster fan? Is there anyone else that is filling this large void?
Thoughts welcome at [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on August 27, 20080 comments
Readers share their thoughts on open source security in general, and the recent
Red
Hat hack in particular:
I think that Red Hat getting hacked was a good thing. I am a die-hard
Linux user, but I do not go with the crowd that thinks that if you are using
any non-Microsoft OS, then you are safe from bad ware. Humans make mistakes;
the software that we create will have bugs, and bugs lead to holes, and holes
are how the bad boys get in. The sooner everyone starts thinking about security,
the better.
I have to admit that I do feel safer using Linux and Firefox while I
am surfing the Web, just as the people in the Twin Towers felt safe on Sept.
11, 2001, just before the planes hit.
-Raymond
I have countered for years that Mac and open source operating systems
are not targets -- not because they are so secure, but because there were
so few of them. The more that are out there, the more they will be hacked.
The hackers want quantity. It only makes sense that they will concentrate
their efforts where they will get the most results for the least amount of
work.
-Bernie
It is Microsoft's licensing that really burns me up, not so much whether
it has a better product than others. I'm not sure why those who clamor around
Microsoft don't get that. While there have been some who have made silly claims
about open source and its security, at least a company that uses FOSS or OSS
can hire someone (if they don't possess in-house talent) to review code to
ensure that everything is up to snuff. I have a few clients who have done
just that with Internet-facing Linux systems -- and it is one thing you cannot
do with closed source, no matter who it is. And that is the difference and
is why I will always look for an open source alternative for anything I use
and recommend.
-Anonymous
And Doug's dad gets the final word on professors teaching
students how to hack:
Interesting comments on the hackers. Although I consider hackers and
scammers the enemy, you do have to understand the enemy if you want to have
a chance to defeat him. However, one area which seemed to be ignored was the
use of information gained by hacking. Helping riders get free lifetime transportation
on the T is certainly not an appropriate use. When we discovered weaknesses
in military installation security, we went to the responsible organization
so they could correct them.
-Dad
Check in tomorrow for more reader letters! And if you want to share some of
your own comments, fill out the form below or send an e-mail to [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on August 27, 20080 comments
Readers share their methods for dodging Vista:
As long as I was being forced to buy a new system to upgrade the OS,
I went and bought a iMac. Parallels gets me the few XP Windows apps I need
to use; for the rest I use Mac-based programs. Love the new Mac. It's a lot
easier to use and maintain than Windows. For supporting Mac users, iChat is
great and the built-in mike is live during screen-sharing sessions so we can
hang up the phone. XP is still in use in the corporate environs I haunt, no
change expected there.
-Eddie
For any of you who want to see what is involved in removing Vista, see
this
thread at CR4.
-Ari
But Jim chimes in with a defense for Vista:
I have been surprised by all the Vista bashing that has been going on.
I have been using Vista since RTM and have no issues at all. Even Mac users
did not complain this much when they had to learn a new OS. The early versions
of OS X were terribly slow and had major issues with applications and driver
support. I never heard such vocal complaints about having to buy a new machine
because it would not support the latest version of OS X. I guess it is all
love for Apple now; they can do no wrong.
Microsoft definitely needs to fix the bad publicity that surrounds Vista.
Sure, Vista is different than XP but if it wasn't the same folks would still
be complaining. Vista should not be expected to run on a five-year-old machine
just like you wouldn't expect Leopard to.
-Jim
And William weighs in on Microsoft's new ad campaign, featuring -- for starters
-- Jerry
Seinfeld:
I just went to the Reuters link in your story to read the article on
the new Microsoft ad campaign. The one thing that stuck out was that the only
names other than Gates were comedians. You know, those people that are used
to standing in front of a crowd and making a fool of themselves. Maybe that
nerdy guy in the Apple campaign will actually help Microsoft's image after
the new campaign.
-William
Tell us what you think! Leave a comment below or send an e-mail to [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on August 26, 20080 comments
A
recent report from
the Yankee Group about virtualization has some reasonable findings, such as
the fact that 75 percent of companies plan to use virtual wares in their datacenters,
and that 40 percent of current virtualization customers mix and match technologies
from different vendors. That all makes perfect sense.
Here's the shocker: Some 23 percent of enterprises use Mac servers to drive
virtual Vista and XP desktops. That is so unbelievable, I actually don't believe
it!
What do you think? And do you use Mac servers? If so, how? Share the deets
by writing [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on August 26, 20080 comments
Kidnappers in Mexico might soon find the
federales breaking down their
door. It seems that more and more affluent Mexicans are taking drastic steps
to be recovered in the event of a kidnapping -- like having transmitter chips
planted
in their bodies. If they go missing, a satellite can pinpoint the location.
Posted by Doug Barney on August 26, 20080 comments