Recent Windows Commentary Posts



April 13, 2007

Stupid C5150n Printer Driver, Stupid Windows

We have an OKIDATA C5150n printer in the office. It is a nice printer, even has Bonjour (Zeroconf). Setting it up on the Mac was a breeze, even without using Bonjour. Download the driver, go to Print Center, click More Printers, choose OKI TCP/IP and pop in the printer's IP address, and you are done. Or just use Bonjour and you are done in one step. But I explained the "hard" way to prove a point.

We have a couple Windows XP-based computers in the office. Installing this printer on Windows, not very strait-forward. No instructions or FAQ on the OKI site had a shred of help either. I am not joking.

Continue reading "Stupid C5150n Printer Driver, Stupid Windows" »

March 7, 2007

Microsoft Word 2007 .docx

You know I haven't had a good rant in a while. I think it is time.

I have a beef. I don't have Microsoft Word 2007. I have a PC with Office XP on it And you know what? My PC is dead right now (and I am willing to bet that Office XP will not open a .docx file). But I use a Mac all day. I have Office 2004. It does a really good job of opening .doc files, it allways has.

Why on Earth would Microsoft put some of the GDC fact sheets out in Microsoft Word 2007 .docx format? That is just plain stupid. Frankly, I am a little disappointed in Microsoft over this.

Maybe someone will read this who can post actual word documents, that can be read by any version of Word before 2007 (but I doubt it). I am sure (read: probably not) when Office 2008 ships for the Mac, it will read .docx files, but that is little help to me right now.

Couple this with the fact that the two games I am most looking forward to, and looking for information on (Forza 2 and Mass Effect) both have their fact sheets in .docx format.

How about putting the releases up in PDF format? Wouldn't that be a grand idea? I would have thought PDF was the standard by now.

Thank you Microsoft for making my job of covering your games that much easier.

January 5, 2007

Replacement Motherboard For My Dell

I bought my Dell June 24, 2005. I thought I got the three year warrantee for it. Turns out I only had a one year warrantee. Of course.

Both a friend and the tech. I talked to at Dell think the motherboard is fried. Since this is an out of warrantee repair, Dell charges a flat rate of $199. This covers shipping to and from, and fixes of everything (even the keyboard) but the LCD and the motherboard.

Continue reading "Replacement Motherboard For My Dell" »

November 19, 2006

Zune install screen raises eyebrows

You decide what this image is. Pain, singing, or …orgasm? Newsvine has the story.

September 10, 2006

Sony VAIO UX Micro PC

I want this. This is my next uber-geek gadget. I need to live up to my "Spoiled Little Bitch" name that Jake has bestowed upon me, after all.

Lets do a quick recap:

  • Intel Core Solo CPU
  • 4.5-inch wide SVGA screen
  • integrated keyboard
  • stylus and touch launcher
  • toggle between wireless WWAN, LAN and Bluetooth
  • two built-in cameras (VoIP, still pictures)
  • VGA adapter for projector
  • biometrics fingerprint sensor
  • hard drive shock protection
  • three 2.0 USB ports, Ethernet, VGA, FireWire, AV output
  • docking station
This costs $1,800 and will be available in July. Don't call it a UMPC, because it runs Windows XP Pro.

August 18, 2006

Microsoft Security website shows Apple Mac and says ‘you’re clean’

Checking out Microsoft's website home page of "Microsoft Security" (an oxymoron if there ever was one), MacDailyNews reader "MadMac" noticed that the image Microsoft is using next to the caption "Click. You're clean." is an Apple Mac!
Source: MacDailyNews

And they replaced it with a picture of what looks like a PowerBook without the Apple logo. Nice job!

July 28, 2006

Limited Or No Connectivity

I hate Windows. I think that is well known by now. This is why.

Out of the blue, my Dell laptop will not connect to my wireless network. The last time Sophos was updated was 7:23 on 7/26, so I assume that is the last time the machine was on the network. I know Windows auto updated at that time too.

Now I have a full signal, and "Excellent" connection, but "Limited Or No Connectivity." When Googling this, I find so many links to ways to solve this problem.

That is never good. I see a lot of talk about this being a problem when XP SP2 is installed. This had that on it when I bought it.

I am trying to use System Restore to restore to the 18th, the last System Checkpoint. It has been sitting at the same spot, about 80% done on the progress bar, for at least 30 minutes.

I think my PC is FUBAR now. I hate Windows.

July 23, 2006

Microsoft Makes Virtual PC Free

Microsoft said this week that it will make its Virtual PC software free — not just the older Virtual PC 2004 version, but its upcoming software for Vista, too.
Source: ABC News

I missed this entirely. Nice for Windows users, what about Mac OS X and Virtual PC 7? Oh yea, Parallels took care of that.

January 20, 2006

Engadget Bill Gates Interview

This interview is from this year's CES. I am just now getting through a backlog of links to post ;)

Lots of things covered here, including Xbox 360 and HD-DVD.

December 11, 2005

Microsoft Thanks Google for IE Fix

Google this week rolled out a fix to mitigate the risk from a newly discovered vulnerability in Internet Explorer that puts users of Google Desktop at risk even if they are running a fully updated system. Microsoft developers thanked Google for their work and say they are working on a patch for IE.
Source: BetaNews

Wasn't that nice of them!

August 20, 2005

Do you buy a Media Centre PC, or an Xbox 360?

MICROSOFT'S DECISION to make its Xbox 360 box available for the Yule season is likely to put pressure on PC OEMs, distributors and dealers attempting to sell full blown Media Centre PCs.
Source: The Inquirer

This is a good argument. If you are looking for a Media Center PC, the $400 price tag of the Xbox 360 is surely tempting. It does have a User Interface, although it is just not Windows XP. That might not be such a bad thing. The Xbox 360 will be able to do music, photos and video just like a Media Center PC, plus it can play Xbox and Xbox 360 games. You could go as far as saying that the Xbox 360 is much more a "Media Center" then the Windows XP powered Media Center PCs that are on the market.

August 13, 2005

Another experiment with Windows

I was getting bored. I guess. Never say never. A month ago or so I bought a Dell Inspiron 700m. Yes, it is true, I have gone back to the dark side. And I got some great rebates along the way!

I have flirted with getting another PC for a little while now. After a year (or so) without a Windows box I have come to the conclusion that I need a PC for my business.

Continue reading "Another experiment with Windows" »

Windows Vista Beta 1: A Guided Tour

Scot Finnie takes a long, detailed, and expert look at the features, foibles, and functionality of Microsoft's upcoming OS.
Source: InformationWeek

August 9, 2005

Windows offers new vistas of spending

People wanting to upgrade to Windows Vista are likely to need not only a new computer with more robust hardware, but a new monitor as well.

A US tech consultant says technology in the new version will fuzz protected digital content unless it is viewed on a monitor which has High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP).

Source: Sydney Morning Herald

Subscription Required. My only question is: What does Windows need copy protection of this magnitude for? There are plenty of other ways on a computer to secure content compared to a TV (where this technology came from).

August 5, 2005

First family of Windows Vista viruses unleashed

An Austrian hacker earned the dubious distinction of writing what are thought to be the first known viruses for Microsoft Corp.’s Windows Vista operating system. Written in July, the viruses take advantage of a new command shell, code-named Monad, that is included in the Windows Vista beta code.
Source: MacCentral

Microsoft is its own worst marketing nightmare. Getting people to adapt to XP was tough. I imagine it will be even harder to convince people to adapt to Vista. I really didn't think we would see any Vista exploits this soon in the game.

Oh well, you have to make your name some how.

Here is a radical idea. Buy a Mac.

August 4, 2005

Nonprofits slam Microsoft's Vista name

The VistA Software Alliance and WorldVista, two nonprofit groups that assist American veterans hospitals, nursing homes and clinics with the VA’s VistA software, have denounced Microsoft’s name choice, citing possible confusion between the operating system and the software used to store and manage veterans’ patient information.
Source: MacCentral

Do you ever just think that they wanted to get their name in the news thanks to good old Microsoft?

July 29, 2005

Leo Laporte: The PC and open source will outlive Windows

I really miss Leo, and The Screen Savers, and TechTV. Comcast and G4 can go to hell. Anyways, there is an interview up on Mad Penguin with Leo. Be sure to check it out.

Did you know Leo has a podcast? He has been publishing his radio broadcasts on his site for years. But now with the podcast balloon Leo's podcasts have become more popular.

June 25, 2005

Switching to Mac Easier Than You Think

With Longhorn still at least 18 months -- if not longer -- away from a final release, I decided now was as good a time as ever to try out the Mac OS X operating system.
Source: BetaNews

Another defector to the Apple camp. I love reading these stories. Its all about one thing: frustration.

PC makers, distributors pass on Windows XP N

PARIS, France (AP) -- PC makers and distributors are holding back from buying the new alternative version of Windows XP that Europe's competition commissioner ordered Microsoft Corp. to offer as part of the punishment in the software maker's long antitrust battle with the European Union.
Source: CNN

Yea. "Windows XP Pro N" sounds so much better then "Windows Reduced Media Edition." With "Windows XP N" costing the exact same, add to the fact that the buyers are going to (have to) download Windows Media Player anyways, I do not see the point.

Its great the the EU has bigger balls then the DOJ, and was able to actually get Microsoft to change part of their OS, but come on. Taking Windows Media Player out of Windows breaks more things then it "fixes."

If I were upgrading to XP, why would I want a copy that made me download multimedia software to make things work correctly. Lets face it. Windows Media is the standard on Windows. Lets just call it the QuickTime of Windows, because that is what it is.

I can see why PC vendors big and small are not selling and pre-installing Windows XP N.

Stupid. Just plain stupid.

June 23, 2005

Indian cracks Microsoft's anti-piracy program

An Indian researcher has breached the much-touted "impenetrable" Windows Genuine Advantage of Microsoft.

Bangalore-based Debasis Mohanty has cracked WGA through an "easy-to-exploit" weakness in the software for generating illegal copies of the Windows XP programme.

Microsoft confirmed the claims of Mohanty, but sought to downplay it saying, "It represents very little threat."

Source: rediff.com

May 7, 2005

Microsoft to publicise new Windows operating system through bloggers

LONDON - The involvement of blogging in marketing has taken a step up with the news that Microsoft is recruiting a team of bloggers to help generate a buzz for the next generation of its Windows operating system.
Source: Revolution

I guess they are banking on the readership. What if it backfires? I am sure at least one person is going to have problems, or just simply tell it like it is and talk bad about it.

But since they will be signing a NDA, I don't really see the point.

April 20, 2005

What can PC makers learn from Apple?

These days Apple is generating more buzz than a swarm of African killer bees. Of course, we PC users can sit back and watch the hoopla about the Mac Mini and its brethren with detached interest, right?
Source: MacCentral

PC columnists do a really good job of selling people on Mac computers. Its amazing. Great points indeed.

April 7, 2005

Beware unplanned SP2 downloads on April 12

On Tuesday, April 12, Microsoft will turn off the blocking feature that has made it possible for some enterprises to block Windows XP Service Pack 2 downloads by employees who use Automatic Update. That means in companies that used the blocking tool, SP2 will be downloaded automatically to desktop computers that use Windows' Automatic Update feature.
Source: InformationWeek.

Enterprise Windows customers must be thrilled. As if their IT staffs don't have enough problems. Thanks to Matt for the link. And if you are a home user and don't know about it, guess what? You are getting SP2 on the 12th. Hurray!

April 2, 2005

Microsoft OKs 'Windows XP N' name

SEATTLE — Microsoft (MSFT) said it will use a product name that antitrust regulators insist upon, and make other changes, as it moves to supply Europe with a version of Windows stripped of its media player.
Source: USA Today

I guess Reduced Media Edition was not a very catchy name.

And please tell me: How is it that the EU can get MS to do things that our DOJ cannot? Didn't the DOJ try and get MS to take Windows Media Player out of Windows? And now years later the European Commission has done just that, made them take it out? That makes no sense to me whatsoever.

March 31, 2005

Longhorn could be tough sell for Microsoft

Longhorn has already survived several major delays, intense scrutiny from the industry and a radical redesign of its features.

But the toughest test for Microsoft's next release of Windows is still to come: Will anyone buy it?

Source: C|Net News.com

That is a good question. I have another one: With no WinFS in Longhorn, what makes it worth buying? It is not out yet, but it seems they have cut more features from Longhorn then they have told us about.

March 19, 2005

Will Longhorn be short on features?

Microsoft's much anticipated and frequently postponed OS may ultimately lack compelling reasons for customers to upgrade.
Source: Yahoo News

Déja Vu? Lets rewind to when XP was first announced and then shipped. Many people were asking why they should upgrade. They had Windows 2000 Professional, what did they need XP for? For the most part this is a very relevant question.

Not that I am going to be buying another PC, but I was really looking forward for the largest change of all in Longhorn: WinFS. So much for a new file system.

So I have the same question to pose now, and we will see if it is relevant in 20XX when Longhorn ships: Why should I upgrade from XP to Longhorn?

March 6, 2005

Open source underlying MSN?

Could open-source tools be behind Microsoft's own MSN service?

An image posted online indicates that some of Microsoft's own developers apparently prefer open-source products to build Web pages than Microsoft's own proprietary software.

Source: C|Net News.com

What? You mean that ASP and SQL Server isn't used for all Microsoft sites? Heaven forbid that LAMP be involved. My guess is that this site is outsourced and these subcontractors don't really like Microsoft's web tools. Or is the image just a hoax. Either way, its pretty funny. Especially since Microsoft has a passion for hating on Open Source.

February 24, 2005

Fooling XP SP2

Microsoft says its Service Pack 2 update adds an additional layer of security to Windows XP based PCs. However, recent PC World tests seem to show that at least two major security suites are crippling SP2's ability to offer users accurate security information.
Source: Yahoo! News

Now this is just want people want to hear.

Dell hit with class-action lawsuit in S.F.

Two San Francisco residents have filed a class-action lawsuit against computer manufacturer Dell, alleging the company regularly uses bait-and-switch techniques, and promises favorable financing terms that it doesn't deliver.
Source: SiliconValley.com

$1,300 for a laptop and a printer? That sounds like Apple not Dell. $599 for a laptop and $89 for a printer (just a word of warning people, never buy Dell printers) should not equal $1,300, even if you finance it. Thats even worse then Apple's finance options (another word of advice, if you use Apple financing, never only pay the minimum. I have had friends that do that, they payed out the nose.)

Another person bought two computers but received "lesser-quality computer systems at the price at which Dell agreed to sell the higher-quality systems."

I feel sorry for these people. There is nothing worse then problems before you get the computer. I thought Dell was a reputable dealer.

February 12, 2005

A Look At Windows XP Reduced Media Edition

What do you get when you strip Windows Media Player from Windows XP? Windows XP Reduced Media Edition. After EU courts ordered Microsoft to remove Windows Media Player from their Windows Operating System, Microsoft fired back by branding the “new” OS with what they believe it now is: a Reduced version of Windows XP.
Source: Flexbeta

Windows without WMP? What is next, Windows without IE?

February 10, 2005

Microsoft Will Buy Anti-Virus Program Maker Sybari

The purchase, Microsoft's second in three months, underscores the company's urgency to release its own anti-virus products to protect its Windows and Internet programs. Virus attacks rose more than sixfold from 2000 to 2003, and some Microsoft customers are considering competing software such as Linux. The company wants its own security products to challenge Symantec Corp. and McAfee Inc.
Source Bloomber.com

If people have already figured out how to disable AntiSpyware...

So when will we see Microsoft AntiVirus, and will it be free? Will it protect Outlook? Will its technology be built in to Outlook?

Trojan attacks Microsoft's AntiSpyware

Virus writers have created a malicious program that can disable Microsoft's new anti-spyware application, security experts warned on Wednesday.
Source: ZDNet

I guess it really is a good idea to stick with Spybot Search & Destroy!

Would this compromise happened if AntiSpyware was still by GIANT and not Microsoft?

February 5, 2005

Why Does Windows Still Suck?

Here is your brand new car, sir. Drive it off the lot. Yay yay new car. Suddenly, new car shuts off. New car barely starts again and then only goes about 6 miles per hour and it belches smoke and every warning light on the dashboard is blinking on and off and the tires are screaming and the heater is blasting your feet and something smells like burned hair. You hobble back to the dealer, who only says, gosh, sorry, we thought you knew -- that's they way they all run. Enjoy!

Would you not be, like, that is the goddamn last time I buy a Ford?

Source: SF Gate

He has a point, but a lot of people in the PC (and I mean personal computer) world are a glutton for punishment. But that is their fault, not mine. I'll use my Mac, and you can go deal with adware and malware and viruses and Windows Update and...

January 15, 2005

Windows Longhorn to make graphics card important

MAJORITY OF USERS don't care about a graphics card because this majority uses only 2D operations, or should I say they need it just to draw and show picture on displays...

Believe it or not, your Windows performance will depend on the quality of graphics card you have. A faster card might draw something faster than a slower mainstream or entry level card, meaning that even some Office software might perform better if you have a faster 3D card.

Source: The Inquirer

Read it and weep fellas. All you Windows users who have laughed at us Mac users with our slow screen redraw in OS X, just you wait until Longhorn.

This mainly happened to OS X when Apple introduced Quartz Extreme. (Screen redraw has always been a problem in OS X, Quartz Extreme fixed that in 10.2.x) Any Mac that did not have 32 MB of GPU was left in the dark, so to speak. Quartz Extreme offloads the compositing of the GUI to the GPU, and frees up the CPU from those mundane calculations. I was miffed when my 500 Mhz PowerBook could not handle Quartz Extreme, it only has a 16 MB GPU.

This same thing is going to happen with Longhorn hits shelves in 2006, or whenever it is released. Your low end or mid-ranged GPU's are not gonna cut the mustard. And the GPU you have in your year old PC surely is not gonna be the best for this new Windows Graphic Foundation calculations.

Interestingly enough Apple is doing the same thing again with Tiger, with the introduction of Core Image.

For computers without a programmable GPU, Core Image dynamically optimizes for the CPU, automatically tuning for Velocity Engine and multiple processors as appropriate.
I wonder if anyone will pitch a fit when their GPU cannot take advantage of Core Image. I assume the cut off mark of a "programmable GPU" will not be as bad as the cut off mark for Quartz Extreme.

Thanks to Rob Griffiths for sending me the Inquirer link.

November 9, 2004

Free Prescott ready Soyo motherboard (after rebate)

Ooooh. I don't really care, but some one might. Click.

November 8, 2004

Exploit code makes IE flaw more dangerous

The threat posed by a critical flaw in Internet Explorer has been ratcheted up by the release of a program designed to exploit the vulnerability, security researchers warned on Thursday.

Security information provider Secunia raised the buffer overflow flaw to its highest rating in a new advisory. The vulnerability, which was made public on Tuesday, could be used to make Internet Explorer trigger a malicious program when the Microsoft browser loads a specially formatted Web page. The flaw does not affect Windows XP Service Pack 2, Secunia said.

Source: C|Net News.com

Does this sound like a broken record yet? Attention PC Users: Install Firefox! Set your default browser to Firefox! Do not launch Internet Explorer! Go home happy!

September 16, 2004

Sun-Microsoft deal raises Open Office questions

Microsoft Corp. on Wednesday said that it is looking for ways to work more closely with developers of the Open Office open source project, while at the same time, apparently reserving the right to sue them, according to a legal agreement between Microsoft and Open Office's major sponsor, Sun Microsystems Inc., made public this week.

The agreement in question was signed in April of this year as part of Sun and Microsoft's landmark multibillion dollar settlement. It was released as part of Sun's annual U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings Monday...

Source: MacCentral

September 7, 2004

A Faster, Better Behaved Windows XP

If you've been hunting around for stuff on Windows XP lately, you've surely noticed that there are about 500,000,000 web pages with material on the subject. maybe 500,000,000 and 1... but that might be stretching it.  Why then am I adding to that number?  I'm not in this just for the cheap thrill of building a new web page; I have a suspicion (now confirmed by some emails I've gotten) that the effort will turn into something worth the while of someone other than the author.  Then too, I like to gab about computers, Windows in particular, and I don't get to do a lot of it in real life.  So here is where I will talk about Windows XP and imagine that someone is listening.  And you are (you're here after all, right?:)), so thanks for dropping in... Source: Gord Braun

July 13, 2004

Microsoft XP SP2 and WUS delays confirmed

WROUGHT IRON SPECIALIST Microsoft has announced that its Windows Update Services release will now be delayed until early next year and its much awaited SP2 upgrade will stay in purdah until August. Windows Update Services (WUS) was supposed to ship at the end of Autumn with its beta supposed to arrive sometime about now. Apparently the final beta will not appear until later in the year. SP2 which was supposed to be out in June now has a release date for August. Spinsters at Vole apologised for the delay and regretted the inconvience caused... Source: The Inquirer And you people wonder why I finally gave up on Windows and sold my PC. August huh? What happened to Q1 2004? Which will come out first, SP2 or OS X Tiger?

Internet Explorer Multiple Vulnerabilities

4 new holes were found in IE today, allowing malicious people to bypass security restrictions and potentially compromise a vulnerable system. How fun. It never stops does it? What if Apple released Safari on Windows? Would it make a dent in the Internet Explorer stronghold? No, but it would make the few Windows geeks who know what Safari is happy. I think it is the greatest feeling when I turn someone on to Mozilla or Firefox, and they find out for the first time how much better those browsers are compared to IE. Source: Secunia

July 11, 2004

The Experiment has failed

I sold my Alienware PC today. The new owner, one of my digital art professors, will make good use of it in her multimedia studio.

I would have got a lot less for my PC if I would have sold it on eBay. I got $1500 for the PC and I threw in the monitor as well. I won't need it anymore anyways (more on that later).

So even thought the original purpose of this site has been hazy at best lately, I still had a PC. Now not only do I not have a PC but this site no longer has to do with my life with my PC. Luckily for this site, it has branched out in other directions, and the site has not had much to do with my PC in the past few months.

The slogan is going to have to be modified. Maybe it should be something like "A Mac User back in the Mac world" or "A Mac user who tried to function in a Windows world but came back to the Mac because of frustration." That last one might be a little long.

I got my PC in January 2003, see Every story has a beginning, I started using Windows for web and media work for the first time. Not the first time I have used Windows by far, but it was the first time I had used one for an extended period of time for critical work. Well this journey has ended.

I had problems out of the box, the audio card would not work correctly and the two ethernet ports were conflicting (the one was not turned off in the BIOS like it should have been). Alienware tech support had me switch out every PCI card and put it into a different slot. This miraculously fixed the audio problem. Let me tell you, that was a pain in the ass. They don't make PC cases as nice as Apple cases, that was not fun. And it was not the last time that tech support had me do that.

The transition to doing work in Windows was not very difficult, and I just dealt with the annoyances because I wanted to give Windows a try for at least a year. You can check out the early Windows Commentary archives to see the worst annoyances I encountered.

In October 2003 my PC's HD died. For this I had to send my PC to Alienware. I got my PC back in December, and it still did not boot up. They scratched the case, how nice of them. After tearing the PC apart again and not only reseating the PCI cards, but reseating the HD and other drives, it finally was in working order again. The Promise RAID card never was the problem (I took the time to check box RAID cards and they both worked just fine).

I had a lot of hardware issues with my PC that I have never had to deal with in my long history of using many Macs. I didn't expect all the manual work I had to do on my PC. But I have been told that is the norm. Forget that.

I defended my PC and decided not to sell it in the past, I made excuses for the idiosyncrasies of Windows because I wanted to give it an entire year. Well I made it 5 months longer then that one year period I had set for myself. I stopped using my PC for critical work over 6 months ago though. I went back to doing critical work on my slower PowerBook, and getting the work done - minus the frustrations.

For those of you say you can work faster in Windows or faster on the Mac are full of dookie. I can work just as fast in WIndows as I can in Mac OS X. The only problem is the use of the Control key as the main modifier key on Windows, and the placement of that key on Windows. TradeKeys fixes this problem though. Once I had Control on my PC where Command on my Mac is everything was good again. Now that I have experienced Windows for over a year, I will not put up with people whining to me about how hard or how much easier it is to use then the Mac OS. I had no problems. The final straw was however Windows just being Windows. I just had it up to my eyeballs. I give up.

I gave Windows a try. I really wanted to see how it would go. This was an experiment. And experiment to see if I could work faster on a much faster machine that cost less then a Mac. The answer to that is a NO!

I just bought a Dual 2.5 Ghz G5 and payed less for it then I payed for my Alienware PC. If I would have bought a G4 in January 2003 I would have actually payed more then what I spent on my G5 or my Alienware. So Apple's pricing is getting much better IMO.

In response to Dave M's comments:

I have absolutely no idea why people have such a negative bias about Alienware. Their system is no different, or more expensive then a Dell, Gatway, whatever.

I priced a DIY, then I priced a Dell, Alienware, and a couple other vendors. I simply refuse to buy anything Dell. I have heard bad things. I am very happy with the Alienware tech support, which I have said in the past on this site. They back their hardware. Despite Indian tech support, I have no problem with them at all.

In the end Dell and Alienware were costing the exact same thing give or take $100. To prove my point I just priced out a Dell and an Alienware with the exact same specs. The Dell cost $2,346 and the Alienware cost $2,488.00. Aesthetically speaking the Alienware case is a lot nicer. And given that I refuse to buy anything Dell, I will take difference and give Alienware $142 (if I were in the market for my second PC).

And PLEASE! It is not the hardware I am judging. I am judging Windows, Microsoft Windows. I don't really care what name is on the hardware.

If you want to say I am "dissing" anything, I am dissing the fact that you cannot use an Operating System to get reliable critical work done when that Operating System has so many holes, and their are so many morons out their that think it fun to take advantage of those holes. It is not my fault that that portrait happens to be a painting of Microsoft Windows.

As for pricing, Apple's hardware will always be more expensive. It has improved. It will always be more expensive because it is not made by everyone and their mother. In some cases this means Apple hardware is of higher quality.

Sorry to hear about your G4 problems. Shareware programs on Mac OS seem to really mess things up. This is sometimes because the shareware community has to hack or reverse engineer things. OS X has made it a little nicer, but its still bad if you go hog wild with shareware on the Mac.

I will say this with an asterisk. Mac people should stick with Macs and Windows people should stick with Windows. The asterisk is for those people who are not afraid of trying things out on the other side of the fence. I am not sad that I bought a PC. I am very glad I did. I have gained so much knowledge from my Windows experience that will help me out in my current and future work.

July 6, 2004

Microsoft's win on keyboard patents reversed

Microsoft Corp. faces a trial over patent infringement charges related to its ergonomic keyboards after a federal appeals court on Tuesday reversed a lower court's decision that invalidated the patents. TypeRight Keyboard Corp. sued Microsoft in July 1998, claiming that Microsoft's ergonomic keyboards violated its patents. The Microsoft Natural keyboards feature V-shaped designs with keys in separate clusters for the left and right hands and have a large wrist rest. Source: MacCentral If its not the EU its something else, isn't it?

July 5, 2004

Renewed calls for alternative browsers

NEW YORK (AP) -- It's been a bad week for many users of Microsoft Corp.'s nearly ubiquitous Internet Explorer browser. A pair of virus attacks exploiting its vulnerabilities had led security experts to recommend that Web surfers consider such alternatives as Mozilla and Opera. Source: CNN A bad week? How about a bad year! Just download Mozilla or Firefox. People won't though, they just cannot ween their self off of their need to use Internet Explorer. I see this in OS X as well. IE is dead on the Mac, not being developed any more. Internet Explorer "is" the internet, just like AOL "is" the internet to so many people. It does not matter that Safari and Firefox are more secure and way faster then Internet Explorer. How do we fix this problem?

July 1, 2004

Apple's Rendezvous comes to Windows, Linux, Java

Since Mac OS X v10.2's release, Apple has promoted a zero-configuration networking technology it calls Rendezvous. Now Apple is further promoting the standard more with the release of Rendezvous technology for Java clients, POSIX platforms including Linux, Solaris and FreeBSD, and a "technology preview" for Windows. Developers for those platforms interested in finding out more can do so on Apple's Developer Web site... Most of the software available for download from Apple's developer Web site is primarily intended for developers who can then incorporate the source code into their projects to make them Rendezvous-aware, but the Windows preview release also provides a Microsoft Internet Explorer plug-in and prin