Breaking 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.

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.

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.

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

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

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!

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

Wasn't that nice of them!

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.

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.

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.

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

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).

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).

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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."

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.

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.

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?

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

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.

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!

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.

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.

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?

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.

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

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?

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.

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.

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.

Now this is just want people want to hear.

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.

$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.

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.

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

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.

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?

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

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?

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?

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...

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.

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.

Thanks to Rob Griffiths for sending me the Inquirer link.

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

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.

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!

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

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.