Ian Campbell is to ROI what Roger Ebert is to movies: He knows his stuff and
usually gets it right. Campbell, founder of Nucleus Research (I worked there
for a short stint), also likes to ruffle a few feathers. His latest salvo --
that
moving
to Microsoft's latest browser will cost you money
.
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Posted by Doug Barney on February 20, 20070 comments
Mark me as confused on this one. Microsoft has just posted a sample application
to show how
Software as a Service (SaaS) works
. The Microsoft Web site explains that
"Software as a Service is a new delivery model where companies pay not
for owning the software itself but for using it."
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Posted by Doug Barney on February 20, 20070 comments
This month's
Patch
Tuesday was a doozy
. Even software designed to protect has to be patched,
such as the Microsoft Malware Protection Engine which helps drive no fewer than
nine separate Microsoft security tools!
It would be easy to make a wisecrack about this state of affairs, but at this
point it would be a cheap shot -- since Microsoft's coders are working their
fingers to the bone on security.
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Posted by Doug Barney on February 14, 20070 comments
Daylight-saving time is a few weeks early this year, and this change in schedule
could be
trouble
for some of our computers
!
According to Microsoft, some programs that rely heavily on date and time stamps,
such as punch clock systems and calendars and schedulers, could have problems.
For Windows XP clients, as long as you're on XP2, you should be fine.
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Posted by Doug Barney on February 14, 20070 comments
The
hunk
of code
I told you about
last
week
(and reiterated in the item above) that converts files from Office's
OpenXML to OpenDoc and back is now available from Sun. If you're like me, you've
had your share of file conversion nightmares. So is this conversion any good?
Let us know at
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Posted by Doug Barney on February 13, 20070 comments
Usually, it takes Microsoft three versions to get a product right. That means
Windows Mobile
6
must be pretty darn good!
The new software for smart phones and other small devices supports Office apps,
boasts better synchronization with Outlook and now Vista, and has contacts listed
alongside their call history.
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Posted by Doug Barney on February 13, 20070 comments
The great thing about having a magazine, newsletter or Web site (and I've got
all three!) is you get to complain and people have to listen. Today's beef:
Vonage pop-up ads!
One reason I moved to Firefox (besides wanting my kids to think I'm cool) is
it promises to reduce pop-ups. And it does, except for those coming from one
company -- Vonage. I've got the pop-up blocker active, but to no avail. Vonage
just busts on through!
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Posted by Doug Barney on February 13, 20070 comments
On Nov. 2 of last year, Microsoft and Novell announced a pretty important interoperability
agreement. This week Microsoft offered up a completely non-important update.
The
1,128-word
press release
was so bereft of new information it could have been written
by a congressional intern.
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Posted by Doug Barney on February 13, 20070 comments
Tomorrow is the day IT folks all know and don't love. Yes, folks, it's almost
Patch Tuesday already (seems like the last one was only a month ago, doesn't
it?).
Get your crew ready, as a
cool
dozen bulletins are set for release
. So far, there is no word on whether
we should expect Vista patches, or fixes for the Word and Excel zero-day exploits.
Posted by Doug Barney on February 12, 20070 comments
Microsoft is a bit like the Boston Celtics -- they just can't win. Here Redmond
goes and builds a desktop operating system it believes is as secure as any (well,
maybe not DOS), only to have critics complain that
Vista
can be hacked by attacking third-party programs
. For instance, ARCserve
Backup from CA is just one source of buffer overflow attacks, security experts
say.
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Posted by Doug Barney on February 12, 20070 comments
I'm not a fan of Microsoft's entry into the security market, at least when it
moves into areas that were pioneered by third parties that fixed holes Microsoft
should have plugged in the first place. But it is hard to argue with a complete
solution, no matter who it comes from, and that is what Microsoft's Forefront
is fast becoming.
At the recent RSA security show in San Francisco, Microsoft announced a
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Posted by Doug Barney on February 12, 20070 comments