Microsoft may aggressively sell against open source, but it does play -- just a
bit -- in this world.
Redmond's interoperability efforts are well-known, and generally well-done.
But Microsoft has also released a decent bit of code into the public domain.
The latest installment is Oxite, a developer-oriented content management system built
by Redmond code monkeys to test out ASP.NET MVC. Microsoft now wants to show
the entire development world just how cool Oxite and ASP.NET MVC are.
Posted by Doug Barney on December 11, 20080 comments
Netflix recently moved to Silverlight as its standard Web video player -- and
the ROI was immediate. Because Silverlight is so darn good, Netflix
fired 50 customer help-desk techs!
I wonder if Microsoft has any software that can help U.S. banks and
automakers?
Posted by Doug Barney on December 11, 20080 comments
We don't export like we used to. Koreans buy Kias, the Japanese purchase
Nissans, Swedes get Saabs, and the rest of the world...well they just go for
Toyotas.
But there's one area where we Americans apparently shine: malware. According
to WhiteHat Security, U.S. servers now host more
malware than anyone else. Guess it's time to finally stop blaming Bulgaria
for all our security woes!
Posted by Doug Barney on December 11, 20080 comments
Readers opine about Microsoft's coolness, what snappy slogans the company
should use for its
new
line of T-shirts...and wish Doug a happy birthday:
Hey, happy (belated) birthday! Microsoft T-shirts? I can see Microsoft
bringing back its old "Where do you want to go today?" ad on a T-shirt,
followed by the beloved "C:\>"!
-Dan
I do think Microsoft is cool. Back when .NET was relatively new, I
remember I paid for a big sticker of the .NET logo and put it on my car. Not
because I consider myself as a geek, but because of the impact that this kind
of technology has on the people.
It's funny to watch people that really understand technology grin when
they check out your shirt.
-Armando
First, DOS=MSDOS is a myth. Mac OS, Linux, Unix, etc. are all flavors
of DOS. Second, I'd be more likely to purchase a T-shirt with Linus Torvalds'
name and "LINUX" written under it than one with Gates and DOS. I love the
GNU/GPL.
-Earl
I'd buy one that said something like "DOS? Who needs DOS when you can use Unix?" or "DOS is for sissies. Real geeks use Unix."
-Cheryl
Bet they'll try to keep the "Blue Shirt of Death" quiet. Plus, we can
plug any dangerous holes in our clothing on "Patch Tuesday." I'll be here all
week. Try the veal.
-Joseph
Happy (belated) birthday to you and Nick. The kid has good taste in
game machines. Yes, I would buy and wear the Microsoft line of nostalgic
T-shirts. They are cool, and hearken to the days of being a true geek.
-Steve
Since you mentioned it was your birthday, I thought I would wish you a
belated happy birthday. My son turns 36 on Dec. 11 and I believe he has
nearly all of the gaming systems that have been made over the last 20-plus
years (but thankfully, I have not been the one that has had to buy them!). I
do have the Sony PS3, but only because it was a good way to get a Blu-ray
player at the time.
Although I have been in the computer field forever, it seems I have
never developed an interest in playing games on the computer. Now that I am
pushing 65, I think more about embracing retirement than embracing new
technology!
-Dean
Share your thoughts with us! Write to [email protected] or leave a
comment below. Letters printed in this newsletter may be edited for length and
clarity, and will be credited by first name only (we do NOT print last names or
e-mail addresses).
Posted by Doug Barney on December 11, 20080 comments
A day after Microsoft publicly fixed 28 holes (including four Internet Explorer flaws), a researcher found that hackers
already have an attack for IE 7.
The exploit delays the processing of XML tags, can crash the browser (though
IE and Firefox do a great job of crashing on their own, at least on my aging
Latitude D520) and can then inject malicious code upon browser restart.
There may well be a fresh patch to beat back these attacks. We'll keep you
posted.
Posted by Doug Barney on December 11, 20080 comments
Multi-core processors have such promise. Imagine: Instead of one CPU, you
have two, four, eight, 16 or perhaps many more. Why, your performance would
multiply! But performance increases aren't linear -- not even close.
I looked
into this subject and found it stunningly complex. The bottom line is that
unless a program is specifically designed for cores, there isn't a huge
performance increase. Sometimes, apps even run slower because the clock speed
on the multi-cores is slower.
Now there's another issue holding back multi-core: It seems that multi-cores
can't efficiently
use memory. The CPU may be ready to grind away, but the memory can't
respond fast enough. One solution? Putting memory right on top of each CPU.
Interesting.
Do you have a dual- or multi-core machine? And if so, how does it work?
Share your experience at [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on December 10, 20080 comments
Mac bigots (three of my kids easily qualify for this label) love to make fun
of PC users for all the viruses and malware we encounter. But not so fast,
buckos! The Mac needs anti-virus too -- and not just one tool, but multiple
anti-virus apps. Who said such a thing? Bill Gates, the girl Steve Jobs dumped
30 years ago? Nope. It was
Apple
itself.
This is great advice. Microsoft comes clean the second Tuesday of every
month with a public list of its flaws. I'm glad Apple came a little bit clean
on its potential flaws. Here's why it's so important: Many Mac users are so
confident that they pile up gigabyte after gigabyte of personal documents,
photos, data and songs. If a virus hits, they have lots to lose, and often
haven't taken as many precautions as their PC brethren.
Has your Mac ever been hit by malware? Horror stories and bragging about
your uninfected machines both readily accepted at [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on December 10, 20080 comments
Usually when you set a record, there's celebration, champagne, press
releases and fanfare.
None of that happened for Microsoft this week when it set a high mark for fixing no less than
28 bugs. The patches came out yesterday and fix remote code execution as
well as graphic device interface flaws. All of the patches, save one, are aimed
at clients.
The number of bugs is due to the sheer complexity of Microsoft operating
systems and applications, and the fact that Microsoft publicly fixes as many
flaws as it can. And you thought you were in for a nice holiday break!
Posted by Doug Barney on December 10, 20080 comments
Many assume that Obama, as a liberal intellectual, would be an Apple guy all
the way. Turns out that our president-elect
uses
a Zune -- or so say those who spotted the Microsoft device attached to Obama's
body at the gym.
What about Vista, you ask? Barack is apparently on record as a Mac user.
Posted by Doug Barney on December 09, 20080 comments
Is Microsoft cool? The answer ain't easy. Back when geeks were geeks, Microsoft
was only cool with...well, geeks!
But geeks are now cool. They're smart, can make tons of money and change the
world -- all at the same time! And let's face it: The Xbox is now the
game machine to have. How do I know? I was forced by my son Nick to buy the
$300 version for his 13th birthday yesterday (my birthday is today, but somehow
I don't think he'll be returning the favor).
But is Microsoft cool enough to support a clothing line? We'll soon find out
as Redmond is set to launch
"Softwear" T-shirts. You can get a shirt with Bill Gates' mug
shot or one that simply says "DOS."
So is Microsoft cool? Would you buy a DOS shirt? Your thoughts welcome at [email protected].
Slogans for these shirts also readily accepted.
Posted by Doug Barney on December 09, 20080 comments
Last
week, we discussed whether open source can support one of the tenets of
capitalism: profit. One guru, Stuart Cohen, argued that the only way to make
money on open source is to sell support -- but the software is so darn good,
it doesn't need much support.
Meanwhile, IBM is arguing that its new open source desktop is just the ticket
for this bad economy. Imagine my surprise when Microsoft publicized that one
of its customers claims open source is the one that chews up precious support
dollars. That's why Speedy Hire (the U.K. equivalent of Rent-a-Center), dumped
open source and paid for Office, SQL Server and Dynamics AX instead. The
company claims the move will save about a million-and-half dollars over the
next half-decade.
The rationale is pretty compelling. Open source may be cheap, but the little
things -- different UI elements and incompatibilities -- are what rack up so
many help desk dollars. Make sense? If so (or if not), please reply to [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on December 08, 20080 comments
As the beta for Windows 7
approaches,
one reader looks forward to trying it out, while another wonders about its multi-core
support:
I'm hoping Windows 7 will be better than Vista and will work with much
less RAM. I'm hoping to be able to get a copy of the beta version of Windows
7 to run on one of my test machines I have at the house.
I'm a contractor working for the Navy and U.S. Marine Corps building
systems to send to troops around the world. We have access to an MSDN subscription
and I've already gotten calls about getting the beta version of Win 7 when
it comes out to test for possible deployment later on. Time will tell.
-Bob
With all the talk lately about Windows 7, the one piece I don't recall
seeing anything about is (better) support for multiple CPU cores. Do you have
any information about this? My understanding is that even Vista, developed
during the launch of multi-core CPUs, didn't have great support (outside of
the server, anyway). Any information about how Windows 7 fares?
-Dave
What do you think? Leave a comment below or send an e-mail to [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on December 08, 20080 comments