“LH [Longhorn/Vista] is a pig and I don’t see any solution to this problem. If we are to rise to the challenge of Linux…”
–Jim Allchin, Microsoft
The idiom “lipstick on a pig” was probably made more popular during the 2008 US elections because of a certain “phony” argument. But either way, we have written quite extensively about Windows Mobile and predictions of its doom, e.g. here. As rumours about a Microsoft phone started to swirl (Microsoft seems to be denying it, labeling this mythical phone “phony”), GigaOM, the site owned by a temporary Microsoft Munchkin, once again took a shot at it, saying it would be like “lipstick on a pig.”
When I read an Inquirer piece about Microsoft launching its own branded phone with a Tegra chipset by Nvidia, it struck me that this would truly be putting lipstick on a pig.
Better known for its porky attributes is actually Windows Vista, whose early incarnation was called “a pig” by the manager of the project (a quote is prepended above to serve as proof). It’s looking worse and worse for Vista, based on Glyn Moody’s report.
As someone who has been following Microsoft for over 25 years, I remain staggered by the completeness of the Vista fiasco. Microsoft’s constant backtracking on the phasing out of Windows XP is perhaps the most evident proof of the fact that people do not want to be forced to “upgrade” to something that has been memorably described as DRM masquerading as an operating system.
Microsoft remains with just lies and vapourware at the moment. Even the crown jewel known as “Windows” has become frail in a much more competitive market that favours UNIX/Linux. █
“Every time you use Google, you’re using a machine running the Linux kernel.”
It is probably a good time to share the concerns expressed by Jose X, who asked us to post his remarks below.
The “Technical Merits” Red Herring:
Assuming mono has technical merits that impress or you can’t get elsewhere, here is one argument about how there are more important things than technical merit if you are building for the long haul and want to keep costs under control.
And don’t forget this: a subset of the community can fork mono and then maintain or even improve the “technical merits”. The point would be to diverge from the details of Microsoft .NET.
Novell’s “Interop” Fantasy:
“Interop” with Microsoft .NET, where it would really count, is a pipe dream. Microsoft controls what code ships and updates their customers’ systems. They are not beholden to produce bug-free and standards-based .NET code. They are not beholden to limit themselves to the standard without adding undocumented lock-in. Surely they won’t limit themselves and yield ground if they don’t have to. They are not going to give away key items crucial to keeping their monopolies in place. They are also not going to give up the revenue generator that is their hidden source code as it’s secrets change over time. They are not going to give up their option to change the rules or their option not to renew your NDA contract terms after they are up or not to increase the fees, perhaps beyond the breaking point. [See this article]
Gifting Linux to Microsoft While Saving Microsoft Lots of Money:
“Additionally, in the case of a fork, we test Microsoft’s behavior to forks and to code being develop in areas where they have many patents.”By avoiding .NET or perhaps to a lesser degree by forking mono significantly, we lessen patent issues and the ability of Microsoft to EEE (embrace, extend, extinguish) and to leverage their existing huge investments in .NET. Additionally, in the case of a fork, we test Microsoft’s behavior to forks and to code being develop in areas where they have many patents. Better now then later. Better to learn now than later when we could have much more to lose and to recode.
Microsoft already made the huge investments. Giving them extra bang for the buck spent is the exact opposite of what the FOSS community should want. I’m still waiting for Microsoft to open up their core platforms essentially completely. Until that happens, their monopolies, the dollars they spent to fight real FOSS and Linux, etc, all hurt FOSS and open platforms. To fight such a strong, established, and committed enemy of software openness and transparency and of user and developer freedom, you want to see devalued the assets where they have put their dollars. Don’t help grow mind share in .NET or the .NET ecosystem.
“Mono will just improve the situation for Microsoft by making porting Linux applications to Windows a no-brainer.”
To which I would add that …
(a) “FOSS” on Windows/Vista is not FOSS any more than HTML running on Internet E is FOSS: in both cases the “open source” completely depends on the lower closed source software layer to function.
(b) Microsoft can more easily and subtly sabotage FOSS running on Windows/Vista than they can closed source apps running there. And sabotage (as well as pre-design of “special” API) will happen as the season dictates a beneficial risk/reward ratio for Microsoft.
“Generally, there will be more and better Windows apps if there are more and better .NET apps.”(c) Apps ported to Windows grow the value of Windows. This more so the better these apps are. Generally, there will be more and better Windows apps if there are more and better .NET apps. The more FOSS ports there are to Windows, the more Microsoft can keep their monopolies entrenched by keeping up with Linux/FOSS. Most users won’t bother to go through the hoops and over the hurdles if they can get most of what they want right where they are.
(d) Exclusivity gives extra value to a platform. There will be more and better exclusive Windows apps if there are more and better mono apps BECAUSE Microsoft can more easily embrace and extend open source mono apps to incorporate into their integrated software. They study the code but hide their extra lock-in sauces (thus saving on perhaps 90%+ of the work required). .NET is where Microsoft has an advantage over everyone else. They have invested the most in .NET. They control the direction of .NET.
(e) Novell is contracted to work for Microsoft. Giving copyrights to Novell or helping improve software and systems key to their business (e.g., OpenSUSE), will be helping Microsoft. Microsoft has a better chance of getting the source code you give Novell but with a special proprietary license instead of the GPL. [Such an automatic pact may already be in place.]
Here is another comment titled “On tactics and the nature of Free Software.”
Let me say something positive for Novell. Assuming .NET becomes well-established and the greater Linux FOSS community and Linux commercial players have already suffered, then Novell might be sitting pretty. They can play the lock-in game against Microsoft, essentially through a fork/extension of .NET. Of course, the best lock-in is closed source. Novell has shown they love and likely prefer closed source (Netware). Not to mention that Novell may even fold or be bought out by Microsoft.
Microsoft has stated they will deal with those serious about licensing. Only to those that are serious will they reveal the patents and other details. If you don’t have it, I can look for a link to a recent interview that revealed no less than this much in very explicit terms.
Before closing the book on this, you may want to consider asking something similar from Linux vendors or other vendors. It’s easier to contrast responses this way. See what Red Hat offers the community, and see what Microsoft offers. Actually, we already know what Red Hat offers and what Microsoft offers, and the differences are plenty.
Just like with the benefits Microsoft gains from so-called ‘piracy’, they gain similar and greater benefits from the spread of .NET clones people will use for no charge.
“Novell and everyone that advocates use of .NET or clones are helping to spread Microsoft’s technological “drugs””Novell and everyone that advocates use of .NET or clones are helping to spread Microsoft’s technological “drugs”; however, in this respect, mono is worse than Windows and Office. The extra damage arising from mono and other clones vs. from user level Microsoft “drugs” is that the former are not end products to themselves but propagate as they are used by developers to create apps. Further, a stronger “addiction”/commitment/dependency results from a complex set of API vs. what most ordinary users have to deal with when they use end products. [Do note that most developers limit themselves to a rather small set of projects, languages, etc, because of the large overhead learning curve.] Spreading .NET or clones is a serious win for Microsoft. The battle for developers is very important.
Without an open source .NET clone, Microsoft’s proprietary offerings would be much less attractive to businesses. Most managers and even some developers have some faith that a “second source” is possible. In any case, risks for using Microsoft .NET are lowered if there is something similar enough in the market that is FOSS; thus, mono has increased the attraction from managers to Microsoft .NET.
Mono apps are easier for Microsoft and for anyone to port to Windows. These ports help Microsoft retain their lock-in and levers through the increased value that accrues to Windows. Additionally, it’s easier for Microsoft to gain control (”manage”) FOSS apps than closed apps.
Mono (and other Novell owned code.. assuming they own mono or have a license to sub-license) is even worse than would be a different .NET clone owned by someone else to the degree Novell is already working very closely and is financially dependent on Microsoft so as to be that much more likely to give special non-GPL licenses to Microsoft. Thus, the GPL only hampers/checks everyone except Microsoft — a very clear gain in advantage for Microsoft over everyone else.
Novell developers are not naive enough to think that interoperability is possible. Enough said.
“They also want to weaken the strategic advantages Sun gains from Java and OO.org, thereby making Microsoft’s path to holding and growing the lock-in that much more secure.”Look at the basic facts, Novell is a mostly proprietary company, helping a very powerful monopolist hold and gain ground. They aren’t fooled by the interoperability spiel they push. Novell is more than willing to participate and agree with Microsoft’s deceptive maneuvers (like the patent scare with customers) to grab extra money from clients.
Novell wants to eliminate Red Hat competition with full battle guns, again, helping to give a very significant strategic gain to Microsoft. They also want to weaken the strategic advantages Sun gains from Java and OO.org, thereby making Microsoft’s path to holding and growing the lock-in that much more secure.
The list can go on and on. I have to expect a lot of the developers defending Novell, e.g., those developers posting here, many of whom have read all of this before, are well aware of the details… yet they continue to defend Novell. █
Grammar check optional for Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer
Newly-released emails in the Microsoft ‘Vista capable’ lawsuit not only demonstrate that Microsoft managed to piss off HP as well as Dell with its confused approach, but that people who are running busy companies don’t have time for full stops.
[...]
Quite frankly, this reads more like an MSN chat transcript than a CEO trying to resolve a potentially major partner crisis. Memo to Steve:
* Full stops can make it much easier to read sentences.
* Please avoid meaningless phrases like “I am not even in the detail of the issues”.
* Outlook has had a spelling and grammar checking facility for some time; using it more often might be sensible. After all, you never know when internal email might end up in a court document these days.
Windows Vista is still being rejected and GNU/Linux chosen for the server, according to this survey.
This survey continued the trend with 64% of users preferring to evaluate on Windows. Of interest is that 91% do not intend to use Vista but instead are staying with XP or Windows Server 2003. The logical conclusion from the analysis is the open source community either deploys on Linux, or stays with the Windows operating systems it has, not moving to Vista.
Eric Raymond, citing the Vista trouble, talks of Microsoft as a falling empire. He explains why in his personal blog which recently returned to life.
There’s another problem. Vista is so dead that Microsoft is already touting its successor “System 7″. Not end-of-lifing XP on schedule means they’ll actually have to support three different operating systems for at least the years until System 7 ships, and some time afterward. Even Microsoft is going to feel the strain, and ISVs are likely to play safe by writing to the minimum (XP) specification.
Microsoft has positioned itself at the top, a top that is targeted by hundreds if not thousands of companies. They have spread themselves from their core identities and they are opening themselves up for a loss of market share. For this article market share is defined as a broad term where Microsoft will lose users from its user base to its competitors.
Readers respond to this almost angrily.
Windows Vista 7 [sic] is not in a better position and according to the editor of The Inquirer, all that vapourware strategy might do a lot to lift GNU/Linux.
Microsoft CEO, the shy and retiring, softly spoken Steve Ballmer admitted that this was happening and seems to be slowly walking away from Vista.
[...]
It could be that this will be the moment for Linux to make its long awaited rise to fame. If firms want to cut costs but upgrade hardware then Linux ideas are probably the only way to go forward. Indeed some companies will be able to keep their older hardware for a bit longer.
Yet when InfoWorld gave Windows 7 a through benchmarking and shakedown, the result was the same ill foreboding that accompanied pre-release Vista (and proved all too accurate).
Online Business
We mentioned Jerry Yang earlier in the day. As everyone probably knows by now, he was pressured out, essentially giving room to Microsoft cronies who accommodated the company’s highest ranks (even Board of Directors) over the course of the past few months. Meanwhile, others pounded on Yang with Microsoft’s encouragement.
Yahoo has been struggling for months to improve its financial performance, but things have gone from bad to worse for the company this year, and its stock has sunk to a closing price of $10.63 on Monday. First, the company thwarted Microsoft’s unfriendly attempt to acquire Yahoo outright, and later just its search business, though Yahoo appeared to grow more interested in a deal even as Microsoft grew cooler. At one point, Microsoft offered to acquire the company at $33 per share.
Observers must be wondering whether, in internet economics, a negative added to a negative gives a positive. In other words, whether two losers getting together can do something against the apparently overwhelming competition from Google. The failure of Microsoft’s takeover bid for Yahoo this summer has already drawn criticism, in view of both Microsoft’s rather luckless efforts at internet search and Yahoo’s weak position. It is equally questionable whether an amalgamation between the troubled Yahoo internet group with Time Warner’s wobbly online subsidiary AOL, has any better prospects of success. According to German press agency DPA, Yahoo is negotiating a takeover of AOL.
According to the latest surveys, Google continues to gain, so there’s no real effect on them.
Google Inc.’s lead widened in the U.S. search market over Yahoo Inc. and Microsoft Corp. in October, a report shows.
Motivated by Boycott Novell, InformationWeek published this article about Microsoft’s latest attack on Google (via former seniors):
Two of ClickStream’s employees, CEO and co-founder Cameron Turner and senior research analyst Kim Anderson, used to work at Microsoft.
ComputerWorld covered this too, citing Boycott Novell as its source.
Mobile
On the face of it, Windows Mobile continues going the way of the dodo. Here are some of the latest reports which are left to readers’ judgment:
Against this background, Microsoft’s continued tardiness in developing its own mobile strategy gets more worrying. At the company’s Professional Developers Conference recently, Windows Mobile was notable by its absence — and not for the first time. No clear guidance has been given for the next major revision of the software, and the trends are not good. It is now commonplace for flagship Windows Mobile handsets to come with a non-Microsoft web browser — a sign that something is badly broken.
Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer – in Sydney the other day for a software developers conference – was quick to pour scorn on Google’s new Android mobile phone system when he turned up at a Telstra investor briefing.
Microsoft has patched a Windows Mobile 6.1 bug that left some users unable to send messages until they deleted and recreated their email accounts. The “Windows Mobile 6.1 POP and IMAP Send Mail Patch” is downloadable now, the company says.
This belated fix is also mentioned here. These are almost signs of neglect.
Failing Hardware Businesses
Microsoft’s CEO recently called Zune and XBox360 “funny products” because the company is unable to derive profit from them. Microsoft is now “hiding from the Zune,” as Matt Asay puts it.
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer spots – or, rather, doesn’t spot – the Zune in Microsoft’s new advertising for that uber-social iPhone “competitor.” According to Zune marketing director Adam Sohn, this is on purpose: “We’re trying to funnel people from the software side….You don’t have to buy the device immediately.”
Regarding XBox360, same old, same old. Microsoft’s servers are probably down again. There’s malfunction.
This weekend, Xbox Live is experiencing connectivity issues again and the company can’t find a solution yet. Larry Hryb, known by the pseudonym Major Nelson, said in his blog that these issues were resolved on Friday, only to correct himself on Saturday and reveal that “some folks are still having issues” and that “the Operations center is investigating.”
Hype Factor
The main thing going for proprietary software vendors is marketing. Lots of marketing! Just how much? Almost half a billion dollars for Apple, per annum. It’s about the same as Vista, which is a product, not a company. For Microsoft, it’s well over a billion overall.
Update: Microsoft spends more on advertising across all of its combined businesses than Apple does, but its Windows business is what competes most directly with Apple. Microsoft’s total advertising budget across all of its businesses, including Windows, Office, Xbox, and all the enterprise stuff, was the following (from the 10K): “Advertising expense was $1.2 billion, $1.3 billion, and $1.2 billion in fiscal years 2008, 2007, and 2006, respectively.”
Apple spent $486 million on ads last year, up from $467 million the year before, and $338 million in 2006, according to a filing with the SEC. The ‘Get a Mac’ campaign was launched in mid-2006.
I’m a Microsoft critic, but it’s depressing to watch the company make such a lame attempt at creating its image as trucker “I’m a PC” hats. It can and should do better.
Microsoft Using Apple’s Macbook Pro In Promotional Material?
[...]
[S]ometimes one encounters stuff that is just too good to pass. So that other day my dad bought a new HP Pavilion desktop, and since I am the geek in residence I ended up setting it up for him.
Priceless. Almost pathetic in fact.
Security
Quite a huge mess in the past week. Here is a quick roundup.
A flaw in Vista’s networking has been found that can crash the system, but no fix is expected until the next service pack
Microsoft recently admitted that it took it 7 years to fix a bug, but now it’s coming up with excuses. A reader wrote to us about it, claiming that “the liars spinning press releases for Redmond claim that the patch was 7 years in the making because it would disrupt existing services. Contrast that to what they did with XP SP2, broke darn near everything…
This marks the first time since April 2007 that Microsoft has released a fix outside of its normal Patch Tuesday cycle; it was sparked by lessons learned from worm epidemics like Blaster and Slammer, which cost users billions of dollars to disinfect in 2003.
They also did this in Christmas. All versions of Windows had a “Critical” flaw which required an emergency patch..
Here is another new flaw that affects Microsoft Communicator and is highlighted in several Web sites right now.
Researchers at VoIPshield Labs have pinpointed a wide range of denial-of-service vulnerabilities in Microsoft Communicator, the unified communications that features business-grade instant messaging , voice, and video tools.
Known by the online handle of Dshocker, the 17-year-old Massachusetts hacker also admitted he breached multiple corporate computer systems, called in bomb threats and engaged in credit card fraud. The defendant, who was identified only by the initials N.H., pleaded guilty to charges in court documents that included one count each of computer fraud and interstate threats and four counts of wire fraud.
Symantec is warning of a sharp jump in online attacks that appear to be targeting a recently patched bug in Microsoft’s Windows operating system, an analysis that some other security companies disputed Friday.
Symantec raised its Threat Con security alert level from one to two because of the attacks, with two denoting “increased alertness.” But other vendors, including Arbor Networks and McAfee, said they were seeing no such activity.
Fake Windows “Antivirus” Code Infected 1 Million Computers
Even with Windows 7 in pre-Beta stage, Microsoft is emphasizing the need for end users to run security software with the operating system, indicating that it is working with members of the industry in order to have the first antivirus products tailored for the Windows client as early as the Beta development milestone. Fact is that the necessity to install security solutions is valid for all Window operating systems, not just Windows 7, but at the same time, there are some antivirus products that users need to steer clear of. Just in November, Microsoft contributed to removing malicious code posing as Windows antivirus solutions from approximately 1 million computers worldwide.
Known as Kardphisher and “in the wild” since April, 2007, last week the malware author of this trojan horse mimicking the Windows XP activation interface while collecting the credit card details the end user has submitted, has made significant changes to visual interface and usability of the trojan, consequently improving its authenticity. Guess what happens when a gullible end user falls victim into this social engineering attack?
The software giant debuted on the list earlier this month at number 9 (one being the worst), and has slid over the past few days down to number 5. Spamhaus says spammers and scam artists are abusing Microsoft’s live.com and livefilestore.com properties to redirect visitors to sites that peddle fake pharmacy products, porn and Nigerian 419 scams.
Due so so many compromised machines, espionage and DDOS attacks ensue:
“We have detected a global virus for which there has been alerts, and we have seen some of this on our networks,” a Pentagon official told FOX News. “We are now taking steps to mitigate the virus.”
[...]
Military computers are often referred to as part of the Global Information Grid, or GIG, a system composed of 17 million computers, many of which house classified or sensitive information.
Online networks suffered their heaviest brute force attacks to date this year, with more sites than ever coming under sustained assault.
With so much trouble around, what would Microsoft do? Maybe ‘pull a Netscape’? It has just decided to bundle its security products with Windows, thereby gaining unfair advantage over a more advanced competition. Below we have some selective coverage.
Rivals: Low share led to drop of OneCare”
[...]
In a statement, Rowan Trollope, the senior vice president of consumer business at Symantec said:
We view this announcement as a capitulation by Microsoft, and a reinforcement of the notion that it’s simply not in Microsoft’s DNA to provide high-quality, frequently updated security protection.
Well, Symantec’s CEO has just announced his retirement/exit.
Microsoft will also likely contend with a severe backlash from dissatisfied channel partners, whose margins and unit sales will be negatively impacted as a result of the free product offering, AVG believes.
Microsoft’s Morro, its new free antimalware software scheduled to be released next year, will probably not be a threat in the long run, major security companies say.
Microsoft’s Equipt — which Microsoft launched in July of this year — is dead and Microsoft is having to go back and pull copies of Equipt from the channel (Circuit City in the U.S. and DSGI in the U.K.). Microsoft is offering customers a pro-rated refund for the service and allowing purchasers to keep Office Home & Student edition for free forever, Microsoft officials said.
I wrote about Microsoft Equipt some months ago, and now that people are starting to buy it, they’re pulling it from the ranks. They’re pulling the product from all shelves, online and offline, but on the plus side, they’re allowing subscribers to get a pro-rata subscription refund and they’re letting you keep the Office Home & Student edition for free, forever.
This marks the death of yet another Microsoft product/service, this time the short-lived Equipt. It was Symantec’s CEO (or someone equally senior) who warned that without competition in this area, products will become very poor yet irreplaceable. This is a recipe for further problems where defenses are predictable, uniform, universal and therefore easier to consistently defeat. It’s not good for anyone. According to today’s BBC article, on-line crime is now estimated at billions, but should this be surprising at all? █
Update: Pamela Jones at Groklaw writes: “Enderle sending emails to Steve Ballmer (“Anyway it was still good to see you the other day and still think Scott is a jerk, travel safe!”), advising him on matters puts Enderle’s endless attacks on me and Groklaw in the first years of the SCO saga in a brand new context, I must say. It also puts my … um… admiration for Microsoft’s savvy at a new low.”
WHILE SOME people lose their jobs, others are suffering reduction in wage due to Microsoft Windows Vista, which imperils workflow.
TIGHT ARSED employers are refusing to pay employees for the 20 or so minutes it takes for their computers to boot-up or shut down.
Apparently it has become an issue since the introduction of Windows Vista where boot up and log out times are a lot longer. Several outfits – including AT &T, United Health Group and Cigna – have refused to stump up for time that their employees are idle waiting for their computers to get in the mood to do some work. It could only happen in America and since the companies are in the Land of the Free they are also now being hit by some serious class actions.
In a short new article on the same subject , Sam Varghese points out that GNU/Linux suffers from none of the same problems.
Incidentally, GNU/Linux doesn’t take even half that amount of time to boot up and shut down. PCs running GNU/Linux can be left running safely overnight as they generally only need rebooting when a major software change like a kernel upgrade is done.
In a correspondence with a reader, yesterday we were told: “I’m thinking that it would be timely to bring up the observation that when people or organizations are able to buy hardware without Windows, they have generally used the savings on additional or better hardware.
“Case in point is when schools roll out LTSP-based classrooms, the extra money gets used for really nice displays.
“Those extra sales provide a boost to the economy both directly through the sale itself as well as indirectly through improved skills and/or productivity.”
Appended below are references arguing for (if not proving) GNU/Linux productivity advantage [1-7] with some examples from KDE [8-11], some from Compiz [12-16], some from *buntu [17-20] and opposite examples from Windows Vista [21-22]. █
We hear it all the time: computers are too hard to use and need to be easier. Put everything behind a shiny colorful GUI, and reduce complex tasks to a few simple obvious mouse clicks. At first this doesn’t sound too daffy. After all, good tools are supposed to make our lives easier. But there is an awful lot of muddled thinking going on here.
What most folks really want is not a better tool, but a magic wand. They buy Quicken and Quickbooks thinking that will give them instant magical accountant skills. They think PowerPoint turns them into publishers, Photoshop turns them into artists, and having a word processer confers great writing skills. They’re under the delusion that paying thousands of dollars and cramming for a few weeks to acquire a certification means they’re skilled IT professionals. Look how many people can’t compose a decent business letter in an email with a proper salutation, body, and signature (or even with actual sentences), and who look at you like you’re an annoying homeless person when you try to show them how to delete all the annoying bits from that ten-times forwarded stale joke, or use the BCC line. It’s like the guy who collects the finest power and hand tools but has no idea what to do with them. He might as well stand over that shiny 800-piece Snap-on tool set and order it to fix his car. If it doesn’t obey the first time, talk louder.
There are positively addictive productivity apps available for Linux, along with tools to make switching between Linux and other systems easy, or just running Windows programs themselves if you need to. Today we’re detailing a Linux desktop that helps you move quickly, work with Windows, and just get things done; read on for a few suggestions on setting it up.
One of the essential ingredients to running a successful business is maintaining an advantage over your competition. Many different types of computer software can significantly enhance performance at the workplace, or in the home. A polished office suite, a reliable backup system, an intuitive desktop environment, even a welcome break from reality with an immersive game all have their part to play in helping users achieve their maximum potential.
Use Terminator: Terminator is a nice way to free your valuable screen space from multiple terminal windows. Instead of using one terminal window for each task, divide an existing window horizontally or vertically each time you need a new terminal window. So if you find yourself using 8 terminal windows, you can use Terminator and pack your terminals into 2 windows.
It might sound a bit weird but the kind of Operating System you’re probably using may affect your productivity at work! Though, a user is a more responsible entity when it comes to productivity, but somewhere down-the-line, we can hold your operating system responsible for the same.
Open source software has become quite popular lately and I think it’s awesome that free software like Amarok, Open Office, GIMP and so on, are becoming so good that they not only rival their paid counterparts, but surpass them in many ways.
Because of Linux I hardly have to lift a finger anymore, and because of it my health is suffering. I rarely hop up and down in a fit of temper, I don’t have to drive to the store to buy software, and I don’t get the aerobic benefits of spending hours on the phone with tech support, breathing hard and accelerating my heartbeat. I rarely make site visits anymore. I don’t even leave my chair, because I log in and do fixes and admin chores from home. I even have my remaining tiny herd of Windows users (close relatives only who bribe me handsomely) set up with VNC over SSH, Cygwin/SSH, or rdesktop. I alone have the passwords, mwahaha.
I have looked at several features that KDE?s Konqueror has but that WinXP’s Explorer doesn’t have. I have also mentioned a few of the things I don’t like about Explorer and often why I think Konqueror’s way of doing it is better. You may have noticed that there is nothing positive about Explorer. That is true and it is not for lack of trying. The fact is, for me, the way I work, there is just nothing special about Explorer. I didn’t find any feature that struck me as being especially cool or useful that Konqueror didn?t also have.
Switching from KDE to WindowsXP at work has seriously impaired my productivity.
Katapult not only does programs it also does your browser bookmarks as well. Not just Konqueror but Firefox too. Just slingshot katapult into action with the changable key combination and start typing the name of your desired bookmark. Katapult again does its autocomplete magic and brings up your closest matching browser bookmark.
One of the biggest navigational issues with any operating system is using program menus. Windows users have to open the Start Menu, scan for the program, realize that the program is probably in the subfolder under the programmer?s name, scan the appropriate subfolder, and then click on the program?s icon. Macintosh users must open Finder, find and click on the Applications folder, and then search for the program’s name. GNOME and KDE users have an advantage: they have categories in their respective Applications and K menus.
The cube is perhaps the most hyped feature of the 3D desktop. And, surprisingly, I found that once you actually start using it Cube is actually quite useful, and not just flashy. When cube is enabled you can use the Ctrl-Alt key combination together with mouse to rotate the cube and display all the desktops you have active. It is remarkably easy to use and actually makes it easier to switch through desktops rapidly.
I’ve been working on a new Compiz Fusion plugin currently known as Shelf (it was named miniwin2 for a brief period, more on this further down). This is a fairly straight forward idea, and I’m doing this as a bounty for Canonical.
I removed the standard Gnome Window List in favor of Beryl’s Scale plugin. Beryl’s Scale functionality resembles OSX’s Expose functionality. Because the Scale plugin displays all the windows currently open and unminimized at a keypress, I can quickly find the window I want visually and select it either with the mouse or with the arrow keys.
Problem is, I spread my applications across all 4 desktops, so that things feel uncluttered when I’m working on an application. However, when you want to keep an eye on several applications at a time, it’s impossible – except, if you have beryl. What I do is set one of the corners of my desktop to activate the scale plugin to show all windows from all desktops (see here for a more detailed explanation). I also make sure that it shows minimised windows.
For productivity, Linux can compete with Windows and Mac as Linux has a great set of productivity applications. While some applications run on all platforms, there are others just available exclusively on Linux. Here is a list of 10 apps that are focused on getting things done quickly and effectively.
So, what is the point? It is that, for non technical users, as I am, Kubuntu have reached a point where I’m able to do with linux everything I used to be able to do in windows, install it, make partitions, configure a network, install apps, share printers and directories, configure wifi devices, create users, etc. very easily. In fact, I can do more things now that I could in windows.
We can improve a lot though, but it has been a confirmation of what I already knew (we all know). With linux I’m more productive, even in tedious actions like the ones I’ve done these days.
During a recent podcast appearance with Senors Asay, Rosenberg, and Vance, Canonical’s Mark Shuttleworth discussed the 3D desktop capabilities offered in the latest iteration of Ubuntu, Gutsy Gibbon. Given that I’ve been using Gutsy for a few months, and using said 3D functionality off and on I had a special interest in his comments. Among other things, he expressed his hope that the various communities that provide and consume the functionality would seek ways to apply the new capabilities to the task of making the user more productive.
The most exasperating thing about Vista, though, is the security feature called User Account Control. UAC, satirized in an Apple ad as a security guy who constantly interrupts a conversation, appears as a pop-up asking permission before Windows…
Well, it seems final now. Microsoft’s CEO will be deposed, having been pretty much proven an involved party in this massive collusion, which helped Intel make billions of dollars at the expense of innocent customers who followed Microsoft’s fraudulent guidance.
A federal judge ordered Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to testify in a class-action lawsuit revolving around Microsoft’s marketing prior to the launch of its Windows Vista operating system.
This is also covered here. The litigators will hopefully tape this one and the plaintiffs share this too. It’s the victim’s (public) right to be made aware of all evidence.
IDG is covering this too. It shows that not only customers are pissed off; Microsoft has severely wounded its relationship with OEMs.
Microsoft Corp. asked a federal judge yesterday to end the class-action lawsuit that has been the source of a treasure trove of embarrassing insider e-mails that have showed the company bent to pressure from Intel Corp. and infuriated longtime partner Hewlett-Packard Co.
This may explain why Hewlett-Packard has proceeded to developing its own GNU/Linux distribution. It happened more recently, after the company had dumped Novell's SUSE as it should have [1, 2]. Like many others, H-P looks ahead and sees what’s coming. Vista 7 is just another scam and claims that it is thinner than its brother Vista might return Microsoft to the same trouble they face court for at the moment. █
“People disagree with me. I just ignore them.”
–Linus Torvalds, regarding the use of C++ for the Linux kernel.
More internal Microsoft e-mails were unsealed today in the Windows Vista Capable lawsuit, detailing the wrangling that took place inside the company and across the industry before and after the operating system’s January 2007 launch. The plaintiffs are using the messages to support their contention that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer was involved enough in decisions to warrant a deposition.
Recent evidence from the plaintiffs traces back to Microsoft’s CEO. Did Steve Ballmer lie about his level of involvement? Lies are not uncommon at Microsoft.
Documents turned over in the case show Microsoft executives opposing a decision to lower the standards for the Vista Capable designation, with former Windows chief Jim Allchin saying in one e-mail that he believed the Vista Capable program would mislead consumers.
According to some newly released court documents in the “Vista Capable” class-action lawsuit, Microsoft was worried about comparisons between its newest OS and the Mac OS before Vista was even out, and before Apple starting joking about it (“Redmond, start your photocopiers.”)
Innovation in this case is typically a lie because Microsoft was caught systematically learning from and copying Apple. In general, Microsoft typically claims credit for other people’s inventions [1, 2] by framing patents and putting them up on the wall.
In an e-mail message after Windows Vista’s release, Hewlett-Packard Chief Executive Mark Hurd complained to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer about the computer maker’s “call lines being overrun” with customers’ Windows Vista upgrade problems, according to a court filing made public late Wednesday in the Windows Vista Capable lawsuit.
It is far from a closed case and there are hundreds of pages of evidence, which are worth digging for secrets from inside Microsoft. It’s getting rather ugly, so it’s hardly surprising that Microsoft tries to end it as soon as possible. █
“I receive an e-mail from Julie McCormick at Waggener Edstrom in which she extends a “special save-the-date” invitation to attend a “unique, invitation-only” event being hosted by the Windows Client team. She labels the subject matter as “confidential”…”
AS we stressed many times before, Microsoft’s interference with Web coverage is rarely done directly. Microsoft hires one of its several marketing agencies that are not tied to Microsoft, which makes them look relatively innocent [1, 2, 3, 4].
In the case of Waggener-Edstrom, we have already seen how they “plant” stories in the news. This is well documented, with court evidence in fact [1, 2].
It has just come to our attention that this year's laptop bribes (for Vista 7) came from Waggener-Edstrom, not Edelman like the last time (bribes for Vista reviews). Edelman was almost boycotted by PCWorld for that incident, so why not Waggener-Edstrom? █
“I’ve been thinking long and hard about this, and the only conclusion I can come to is that this is ethically indistinguishable from bribery. Even if no quid-pro-quo is formally required, the gift creates a social obligation of reciprocity. This is best explained in Cialdini’s book Influence (a summary is here). The blogger will feel some obligation to return the favor to Microsoft.”
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