210 Topics
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 | I've never been a big fan of American Idol or reality TV in general, but the tit for tat going on between Microsoft and Apple ads reminds me a bit of a reality TV competition with bloggers acting as Simon and Paula and the gang. We watch. Sometimes we laugh. … |
| | It's with more than idle curiosity that I've watched the recent [URL="http://news.cnet.com/microsofts-lauren-ad-follow-up-disses-mac-power/?tag=rtcol;pop"]Microsoft ads[/URL] that attack Apple, subtly suggesting that it's too expensive and that it's all glitz with no real computing power. There is so much wrong with these assertions that it's hard to know where to begin. There is … |
 | If you believe the results of the first annual [URL="http://www.fiascoawards.com/index.php"]Fiasco Awards[/URL] then the answer would appear to be an unequivocal yes considering that Vista got a rather staggering 86 percent of the vote for the worst performing IT product of the year. But then appearances can often be deceiving, and … |
| | According to a recent [URL="http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/11/23/microsoft-to-rebrand-search-will-it-be-kumo/"]TechCrunch article[/URL], Microsoft is planning to rename its Live Search product, Kumar, which means cloud or spider in Japanese. What Microsoft needs to learn, and what the [URL="http://www.apple.com/getamac/ads/"]Get a Mac ads [/URL]have captured so well, is that it's not about PR or branding or the name … |
| | [I]Way down deep it's the same old you Way down deep you ain't hiding the truth Just for a minute you had me confused Baby way down deep it's the same old you ~Tom Petty, Same Old You.[/I] My colleague Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols in his aptly titled [URL="http://blogs.computerworld.com/the_big_windows_7_lie"]Cyber Cynic[/URL] column … |
 | I read an article on Yahoo Tech yesterday that I have to share with you. The title is "[URL="http://tech.yahoo.com/news/ap/20081028/ap_on_hi_te/tec_microsoft"]Microsoft says next Windows won't be as annoying[/URL]". It's funny that Microsoft realizes, and admits, that Windows Vista is a tremendous blunder. They don't say it as strongly as I just did … |
| | You cannot have escaped the fact that this week is the Microsoft PDC2008. Those attending the Professional Developers Conference, only held every other year, were lucky enough to witness the first full public demo of Windows 7. What's more, PDC attendees even walked away with a full pre-Beta build of … |
| | [I]You can do one of two things; just shut up, which is something I don't find easy, or learn an awful lot very fast which is what I tried to do. ~Jane Fonda [/I] Steve Ballmer doesn't seem to have learned Jane Fonda's big life lesson. In fact, dude doesn't … |
| | The second [URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBWPf1BWtkw"]Microsoft-Seinfeld ad[/URL] was released Friday. It had a few funny moments, but once again left most people shaking their heads wondering exactly what Microsoft hopes to achieve. I'm not sure they know. Although they may have a game plan, it's hard for anyone to see exactly what it … |
| | If your plan is to strong-arm customers into offering your products exclusively, you had better give them something people want to buy. With Microsoft and Windows Vista, such is not the case, and Hewlett-Packard isn't taking it lying down. HP, the world's number one PC supplier in terms of volume … |
| | If you have to release a statement explaining your commercial, I think it's safe to say it was a failure. The much anticipated [URL=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tM_72QXCtN4]Microsoft commercial[/URL] featuring comedian Jerry Seinfeld debuted yesterday, and quickly rose in the viewer ranks on YouTube. Not only was the 90-second spot not funny, it left …  |
| | Microsoft has announced a $300M dollar ad campaign, featuring 90s TV star [URL="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098904/"]Jerry Seinfeld[/URL], which according to multiple reports has been designed to save Vista and salvage Microsoft's battered reputation. There is so much wrong with this strategy, it's really hard to know where to start. First of all, the …  |
| | I first heard about the Mojave Experiment indirectly through Daniweb, whilst reading a [URL="http://www.daniweb.com/blogs/entry2870.html"]blog[/URL] post about something different. I also decided to [URL="http://www.mojaveexperiment.com/#"]check it out[/URL] whilst reading through a [URL="http://www.daniweb.com/forums/thread136855.html"]thread[/URL] on here. And I'm glad I did, if only so I could get to share my opinion on it. After … |
| | My colleague Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols recently wrote a piece on his fine Practical Technology blog called [URL="http://practical-tech.com/operating-system/dear-microsoft-thanks-for-the-help-linux/"]Dear Microsoft, Thanks for the help, Linux[/URL] in which he argues that Microsoft’s ill-timed decision to cut off easy access to XP tomorrow (June 30th) combined with its announcement it would be releasing the … |
| | There's an interesting story up at [URL="http://consumerist.com/tag/windows/?i=5010868&t=microsoft-and-the-1632-copy-of-vista"]The Consumerist[/URL] at the moment about some chap called Bill who has been charged $1632 for a single Windows Vista Ultimate upgrade license. It would appear what has happened is that Windows Live Marketplace kept saying to try again later when Bill pressed the … |
| | [URL="http://www.slipperybrick.com/2008/05/iphone-runs-windows-vista-kinda/"]Slippery Brick reports[/URL] that it is now possible to run Windows Vista on your iPhone, well after a fashion at any rate. In fact what you get is a Vista emulator called VistaPerfection 2.0 which provides your iPhone with "wallpapers, sliders, sound effects and over 90 Vista-themed icons for everything … |
| | Before I tell you about Bill Gates’ speech at CEO Summit 2008 today, I’d like to share one more story from my trip to Orlando for STAR EAST last week. And then I’ll tie the two together. In [my May 10 post](http://www.daniweb.com/blogs/entry2434.html) from the conference, I mentioned “Testing Dialogues—In the … |
| | Microsoft has put the brakes on Windows XP Service Pack 3, which was supposed to be available yesterday through the [URL=http://update.microsoft.com/windowsupdate/v6/default.aspx?ln=en-us]Windows Update Website[/URL]. A [URL=http://forums.microsoft.com/TechNet/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=3262170&SiteID=17]Tuesday post[/URL] on its TechNet site said a “compatibility issue” between Microsoft’s Dynamics Retail Management System point-of-sale application and SP3 has caused the delay. The same … |
| | With the lackluster adoption of Vista, perhaps Microsoft plans to migrate XP users by attrition—one service pack at a time. The company today released Windows XP SP3, which enables in XP a slew of features, many native to Vista. Available now as a stand-alone [URL="http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=68c48dad-bc34-40be-8d85-6bb4f56f5110&displaylang=en"]installer pack[/URL], the update brings XP …  |
| | I'm no Microsoft basher, but I've never hidden my personal loathing for Vista. Yet even I was surprised to learn this week just how cynical Microsoft appears to be regarding Vista. It started the other day when a Steve Ballmer speech to the [URL="http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/"]Microsoft MVPs [/URL]leaked out. According to several … |
| | According to [URL="http://www.news.com/8301-13860_3-9911470-56.html?tag=cnetfd.blogs.item"]reports[/URL] it looks possible that the next big upgrade to the Windows OS, the fabled Windows 7, could arrive much earlier than expected. Within the next 12 months even. And who is responsible for making this prediction? None other than Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates himself, apparently. If this … |
| | It should come as no surprise that the upcoming 'Patch Tuesday' from Microsoft should include critical patches covering the likes of VBScript and Jscript implementation in Windows 2000, XP and 2003. However, [URL="http://www.itpro.co.uk/news/184764/not-even-vista-sp1-escapes-next-patch-tuesday.html"]some reporters[/URL] have expressed just a little astonishment that both Windows Server 2008 and Vista SP1 are also … |
 | Hello! Since installing the shiny new Vista first service pack; I had been getting some problems browsing - although I hadn't actually changed anything apart from installed SP1. It was mainly websites that were running on flash or those that used ActiveX controls that seemed to be having problems loading. … |
| | [URL="http://www.itpro.co.uk/news/181083/microsoft-offers-free-vista-sp1-support.html"]According to IT Pro[/URL] Microsoft has done a u-turn when it comes to charging users for installation or compatibility support with regard to Vista SP1. It says that Microsoft is now "offering free support to any Windows Vista SP1 user experiencing problems." Quoting Microsoft MVP Brandon LeBlanc, it reports "you … |
| | Evening everyone! As most of you will proberbly already be aware that the first service pack for MS Vista is looming. Although the final version won't be available on MS update until proberbly next month - it is available as a download (roughly about 450Mb) direct from MS. I decided …  |
| | Ever wondered just how smart a smartcard is, from the security perspective? Obviously there are problems as detailed in a DaniWeb blog posting last month which described how hackers can [URL="http://www.daniweb.com/blogs/entry2115.html"]exploit hardware RFID weaknesses to access credit card account data[/URL] for example. But now a former member of the team … |
| | Oh the irony. Windows Vista Service Pack 1 is, quite rightly, being pushed hard on the merits of the numerous security improvements over the original release. However, despite the fact that Vista SP1 will not be made available to end users until March, because it has just been released to … |
| | I've long been a loyal Windows user, even as I've watched people I know (my wife included) switch platforms over to Apple. They talk of happier times with much less crashing and easier to use interfaces. Yet I still grudgingly hold on to Windows like a dog guarding his bone. …  |
| | According to a [URL="http://www.gartner.com/DisplayDocument?doc_cd=150624&ref=g_homelink"]statement[/URL] from IT research company [URL="http://www.gartner.com"]Gartner[/URL] Windows 7 is just three short years away from fruition. In response to an enquiry following a CNET News story reporting a sales meeting of the Seattle software giants where the three year figure was supposedly mentioned, Gartner cites a Microsoft …  |
| | The first interesting missive to arrive in my inbox came courtesy of the words of Microsoft COO, Kevin Turner, speaking at the July 26th Microsoft Financial Analyst Meeting 2007. Turner decided to focus his attention on Vista security, rolling out the usual 'most secure Windows operating system ever' company line …  |
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