87% of businesses refuse to migrate to Vista

Fewer businesses are now planning to move to Windows Vista than seven months ago, according to a survey by patch management vendor PatchLink Corp., while more said they will either stick with the Windows they have, or turn to Linux or Mac OS X. In a just-released poll of more than 250 of its clients, PatchLink noted that only 2% said they are already running Vista, while another 9% said they planned to roll out Vista in the next three months. A landslide majority, 87%, said they would stay with their existing version(s) of Windows. Read more.

MA University to Students: Don’t Use Vista!

…With ITS currently being unable to provide solutions for these issues, and still testing Windows Vista and Office 2007 for yet to be discovered compatibility issues, we have decided to not deploy Vista or Office 2007 at this time and cannot fully support either piece of software via the Help Desk or other Desktop Support services. ITS is encouraging the members of the University to avoid purchasing computers with Vista pre-installed or updating their current systems. Read more.

Acer hates Windows Vista

Acer, the world’s fourth-largest computer manufacturer, has accused Microsoft of making serious mistakes with its new operating system. “The entire industry is disappointed with Windows Vista,” Acer’s president Gianfranco Lanci has told Financial Times Deutschland. Read more.

TIME Magazine: How Apple Does It

This is partly a story about a company called Apple Computer. It’s also partly a story about a fancy new iPod that plays videos as well as music and that could dramatically change the way people entertain themselves. But it’s mostly a story about new things and where they come from, about which there are a few popular misconceptions.

read more | digg story

Windows Guy Tries Ubuntu 7.04: Part 2 – Two Weeks Later

In the end I’ve been very impressed with Ubuntu. After two weeks of banging under the hood and using it as often as I can, it has shown itself to be stable, fast and customizable. Hardware support is solid and application support is good. It is a tweakers paradise. I can work at work and and home. If I had to I could use it as my day-to-day system and not have many regrets. I’m still not as comfortable with it as I am in Windows, but I’m getting there. I may not be a convert yet, but I am a fan. Read more.

Apple Now Worth Double Dell’s Market Value

[On Friday July 27th], in intraday NASDAQ trading, Apple’s market value passed 2 times that of Dell’s, $127.81 billion vs. $63.65 billion. Read more.

Vista Flops, Users “Upgrading” to XP

It’s been about six months since Microsoft launched Vista and complaints over what doesn’t work with the program are beginning to outweigh the positive buzz that once included statements of improved desktop search, security and graphics. Vista now ships with most new computers, therefore it will become the world’s most dominant PC operating system at some point. However, many users for now are ditching Vista and upgrading to XP.  Many of these early complaints from a variety of users may threaten Microsoft’s supremacy in operating systems. Read more.

Windows Vista at Six Months

Today is a notable day in the tech business. Six months ago, Windows Vista arrived in stores after years of development. From here, it doesn’t look like it’s been a great half-year for Microsoft. Vista hasn’t provided any serious boost to the PC market, the Gartner Group reported in late June. In a press release, Gartner analyst George Shiffler said, “Our market data suggests Vista has had very limited impact on PC demand or replacement activity. Read more

Vista Nightmare: The “Oww!” Starts Now.

Dear Microsoft Corporation,

You’ve really done it this time.  And I am leaving and never speaking to you again.  It’s not that I want to dislike you. I was loyal to you for so long.  I stuck with you through thick and thin. From DOS 5.0 through XP. Through decent functionality and through countless crashes.  But this new operating system is the last straw. Read more.

Columnist John Dvorak switches (partially) to Mac

Columnist John Dvorak, who is perhaps the most hated pundit by Mac users because of his constant (andd wuote deliberate) Mac bashing, is now a Mac user himself — and he likes it. “As someone who does recommend gear to people, I have to think to myself, “Should I recommend something that will come back to haunt me, or recommend a Mac with its higher price but lower hassle factor?” The answer is simple. I hate the idea of having to do customer service for people who cannot keep their systems clean, and that’s most people.” Read more.

70% of Zune users plan to switch to iPhone

A new study from the Eagle Research Group says that a whopping 70% of Zune users are actually planning a switch to the iPhone. And perhaps even more revealing, 36% of Zune users say they never would have bought one if they’d have known Apple would produce something as “ground-breaking” as the iPhone. Read more.

Retail Windows’ Dim Vista

I thought I had seen the worst of the new PC-buying situation. I was wrong. On Saturday, we visited friends in Fredericksburg, Va., where I had chance to see, not one, but two miserable Windows Vista PC buying situations. Retailers share the blame with manufacturers and Microsoft, which should never have unleashed Windows Vista Home Basic (aka Windows Basic) on unsuspecting consumers. Read more.

Windows Vista disappointment drives longtime ‘Microsoft apologist’ to Apple’s Mac OS X

For most of the last two decades, I have been a Microsoft apologist. I mean, not merely a contented user of the company’s operating systems and software, not just a fan, but a champion. I have insisted that MS-DOS wasn’t hard to use (once you got used to it), that Windows 3.1 was the greatest innovation in desktop operating systems, that Word was in fact superior to WordPerfect, and that Windows XP was, quite simply, ‘it’ Read more.

Microsoft Software: Rent Me

What if Microsoft gave your business no choice about how it buys software? Vista licensing changes foreshadow what could come in just a few years. Since May 2001, Microsoft has methodically reduced customer software purchasing options. Licensing 6 did away with popular off-the-shelf upgrades, replacing them with two- or three-year “Software Assurance” contracts. Rather than upgrade when they want and pay at time of purchase, businesses looking for discounted upgrades must pay 29 percent of the software’s cost upfront annually for desktop products and 25 percent annually for server sofware. Read more.

Windows Vista successor due in 2010

Microsoft officials told MGX attendees that the company is currently internally planning Windows Seven. So far, the company has determined Windows Seven [previously codenamed "Vienna"] will come in both 32- and 64-bit flavors. No word on how many SKUs or any kind of guidance on features was provided, but Microsoft did say it would address both consumer and business segments with Windows Seven. Read more.

71,000 Windows Viruses – 0 Mac OS X Viruses

Every time a new Windows virus hits the news (and the PCs), Mac users smugly go about their business and crow about how there’s “hardly any” viruses for the Mac as opposed to the “thousands” of Windows-based viruses…but are often at a loss to pinpoint the exact evidence to support their claims.  Supposedly, “everyone knows” that Macs have fewer viruses, but just how few has always been a bit of a mystery. In light of this, I decided to run a quick check on the exact numbers involved. Read more.

[Found on SwitchingToMac.Com]

The Ow Starts Now

If you’re thinking of taking the plunge I’d stay well away until Service Pack 1 arrives and is fully out and tested. It’s rumored for an imminent beta release with a final version coming in November. That could mean waiting till next year, but if you can hang on that long (to play Crysis in DirectX 10, I expect) you could be saving yourself a lot of hassle. People are getting fed up – they just want their OS to work. Message to Microsoft – don’t screw Service Pack 1 up – it could be your last chance.

read more | digg story

Wal-mart to offer low-cost Linux PC as Vista alternative?

Wal-Mart will sell a sub-$300 “back-to-school” PC this fall pre-loaded with Microsoft Windows Vista and OpenOffice.org productivity software. The Everex GC3502 PC is based on a 1.7GHz Via C7-D processor, and will be available later this year preloaded with Ubuntu Linux.

read more | digg story

Windows Vista Helps Boost Sales Of… Windows XP!

During a conference call with analysts following the earnings results release yesterday afternoon, Chief Financial Officer Chris Liddell said the company has changed its fiscal year 2008 forecast from an 85/15 split in sales between Vista and XP to a 78/22 split. Windows XP sales will, in other words, be nearly 50% higher in the next 12 months than Microsoft had estimated earlier.

read more | digg story

Mac Attack! An Enterprise PC shop switches to Apple

It’s little things like the small silver Apple logo on CIO Dale Frantz’s crisp white shirt that signal the sea change in the works at Auto Warehousing Co. Over the next 60 days, AWC will begin systematically pulling the plug on all Windows-based PCs in its cavernous auto processing shop and power up Macs to execute virtually all of its revenue-generating operations. The move comes on the heels of a quiet wholesale replacement of Windows-based servers for data storage and Web operations, which are now running on Apple Inc.’s Xserve RAID machines. Read more.

Apple’s Sales Up 26.1% From Same Q. Last Year.

IDC released marketshare numbers for the top U.S. and worldwide computer brands. Apple’s 2nd Quarter 2007 U.S. marketshare was up to 5.6% of U.S. shipments. This tied Apple in 3rd place with Gateway for U.S. marketshare for this quarter. Dell and HP were well ahead at 28.4% and 23.6% respectively. Read more.

How to make Windows XP last for the next seven years

Windows Vista may be shiny and brand-new, but as plenty of PC users will tell you, sometimes newer isn’t better. Many PCs simply don’t have the horsepower to run the new operating system, and even those that have the juice may get bogged down by processor-and RAM-hungry Vista. If you’ve got Windows XP, worry not — you can keep it running on your hardware for years to come. Read more.

Rumor squashed: No AT&T plans for Canada’s iPhone hopefuls

A while back I had heard a suggestion from a computer store salesman that a Canadian could obtain an iPhone by travelling across the border and signing up for the AT&T “North American” plan which would cost $100/month. I took it upon myself to put a call into a Bellingham WA, AT&T store to inquire.

Microsoft should buy discovered security exploits

“WabiSabiLabi generated some controversy recently by announcing their eBay-like site for security researchers to sell security exploits to the highest bidder. But WabiSabiLabi didn’t create the black-and-grey market for security exploits, they merely helped draw attention to it. There’s nothing that companies like Microsoft can do about the black market where security exploits sell for tens of thousands of dollars, but there’s one obvious thing they can do to help protect users: offer to buy up the security vulnerabilities themselves. Read more.

Man throws computer out window. Police empathize.

BERLIN (Reuters) – A German man who startled his neighbours when he hurled his computer out of the window in the middle of the night, was let off for disturbing the peace by police who sympathised with his technical frustrations.

Police in the northern city of Hanover said they would not press charges after responding to calls made by residents in an apartment block who were woken by a loud crash in the early hours of Saturday.

Officers found the street and pavement covered in electronic parts and discovered who the culprit was.

Asked what had driven him to the night-time outburst, the 51-year-old man said he had simply got annoyed with his computer.

How Apple Can Win The PC Battle

Let’s step back and analyze why Apple’s market share is increasing. Apple’s endless passion for speed, elegance and simplicity runs through their entire product line. In the last few years, Apple has created a line of iMacs with gorgeous displays. They also basically made the hard drive fit into the display, released the Mac mini, ported to Intel – just to mention some of the Mac changes. Read more.

Best Buy Canada quietly removes iPhone page.

The earlier reported iPhone page on Best Buy’s Canadian site has been quietly removed. Let the speculation begin.

digg story

Anti-Theft: Hide your iPod or iPhone inside a gutted Zune!

We’ve all heard the stories about iPods being targets for theft. What if you could disguise your iPod as something people wouldn’t want to steal? Put it in a $30 Hide-a-pod, carefully constructed from a Microsoft Zune. Hide-a-pod is also available for your iPhone. Read more.

Vista Update Removes Uninstall functionality

Possibly after one of the latest updates in Windows Vista, two strange things happened: first, the Uninstall option is no longer available in the Control Panel when you right-click on older programs (most likely, those installed prior to the update in question, because uninstall works fine for recently installed programs – the Uninstall button is also missing on the toolbar at the top); second, some programs are no longer shown on the applications list in Control Panel (e.g., Yahoo Messenger). Read more.

Hacking Vista… Easier than you think [video]

Local hackers who’ve gone legit show how even Windows Vista is prone to security breaches. PC security experts from eEye Digital in Aliso Viejo demonstrate how and warn the rest of us to patch our software…

[via firebug.co.za]

Top 10 Reasons Why Internet Explorer 7 Add-Ons Suck

Initially we wanted to check out the Add-Ons for Internet Explorer page to see the available offerings and try to create a “Top 10: Best Add-Ons for Internet Explorer 7″. We browsed through most of the available Add-Ons and we barely managed to find some that are good enough to be included in a Top 10. However, we found lots of bad Add-Ons with little or no functionality and many other issues. This is why we decided to cancel our “Top 10: Best Add-Ons…” and create “Top 10: Reasons Why Internet Explorer 7 Add-Ons Suck” instead. Read more.

Vista: 150 problems, 0 solutions

Microsoft likes to boast that Vista is better than ever at logging difficulties with software and suggesting solutions through its Problem Reports and Solutions feature – but for an OS that’s been in final release for six months, the number of actual solutions is a tad on the minimal side. Here’s the sorry evidence of what actually happens when you try and get Vista to heal itself. This is a true story, and none of the names have been changed. Read more.

MSNBC: Six months on, Vista users still griping

Nearly six months after it launched, gripes over what doesn’t work with Vista continue, eclipsing positive buzz over the program’s improved desktop search, graphics and security. With Vista now shipping on most new computers, it’s all but guaranteed to become the world’s dominant PC operating system – eventually. For now, some users are either learning to live with workarounds or sticking with Vista’s predecessor, Windows XP.

16,000 Linux computers delivered – For free

James Burgett is a great guy. He is collecting old computers from companies and individuals, checks and in some cases repairs them, and then gives them away to those who cannot afford to buy. He’s done it for 12 years, and each system is delivered with a free OS. Read more.

Bach Sold Stock as Xbox Problems Mounted

Market Watch reports that filings lodged with the Securities and Exchange Commission show Bach sold $6.2 million in stock between May 2 and last Thursday when Microsoft officially acknowledged it would be necessary to fork out around $1.15 billion to cater for an “unacceptable” number of Xbox repairs. Bach had sold no stock for eight months prior to May. Read more.

Vista requires more RAM. RAM Manufacturers thrilled

Windows Vista is also a factor in driving up memory usage, said Kilback. “Vista, unlike past operating system revisions, really takes advantage of more memory,” he said. The amount of DRAM going into PCs is expected to increase next year to about 1.5GB. “That’s basically driven by Vista,” said Kilback. Although buyers can still find systems with 512MB of system memory, many PC vendors are recommending 2GB for use with the OS. Read more.

Value Added Resellers not recommending Vista

This really is bad news for Microsoft, as it was hoping adoption rates would be much higher. No matter what it claims, independent results show that adoption is very slow in the business community, and the majority of non-business users are in the Vista fold because the new PC they use was so equipped.  Read more. [via Hasta La Vista, Vista]

iPhone a True Threat to Windows Mobile

Microsoft has reason to fear the iPhone, both for its sales potential and its disruption of Microsoft’s traditional business model of proprietary protocols and customer lock-in, a Blackfriars Marketing analyst wrote Monday. Read more.

Xbox 360 class action lawsuit filed

We knew it was only a matter of time until someone brought a class action lawsuit against Microsoft and the Xbox 360, but we thought it would be related to failure rates and the red ring of death, not scratched discs. But, here it is before the ink is even dry right after being filed in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The plaintiff and his lawyers are seeking more than five million dollars. Read more.

Best Buy claims iPhone on its way to Canada

In a posting to its web site, the leading US and Canadian specialty electronics retailer claims that “iPhone will be coming to Canada” and promises to keep customers updated on Canadian iPhone developments as they’re announced. The retailer allows shoppers to sign up to its weekly newsletter with an option to be updated “on all Canadian iPhone Elements.” Read more.

Report finds Microsoft customers increasingly leery of Software Assurance

Microsoft subscription maintenance program for its volume licensees has never been overly popular. But according to a new report from Forrester Research, Software Assurance is looking like even less of a good deal to Microsoft customers than before. Read more.

Apple Store coming to Vancouver, BC (FINALLY!)

Like Cinderella waiting in breathless anticipation to try on the glass slipper, Mac and iPod aficionados in Vancouver are hoping the signature glass staircase of an Apple Inc. flagship store will soon be coming to downtown. Their interest was piqued by recent comments by Apple’s senior VP for retailing Ron Johnson who, when asked at the company’s recent AGM when Vancouver would have its own Apple store, teased shareholders with the reply: “Patience is a virtue, and your patience will be rewarded soon.” His comments re-ignited an online guessing game that alternatively has a new Apple store opening at Holt Renfrew’s former location in Pacific Centre, in Gastown, or other potential spots.Registration required to read more.

[Nov 19th 2007 Update] The Vancouver Apple store is now confirmed by Apple to be opening in Pacific Center Mall. No word on date yet.

Next-generation iMac tracking for August

Apple’s next iMac revision is currently tracking for release in August, sources say. The iMac, which will be based on similar internals as the recent MacBook Pro revision, will sport a brushed aluminum enclosure and will measure just two inches thick. The elegant new enclosure will somewhat resemble the current white iMac but is said to feature a shorter space below the actual display, where most of the internals are housed. Read more.

Peter Moore discusses new three year Xbox 360 warranty

Peter Moore discusses the new plans for Microsoft to extend the warranty for all Xbox 360 consoles from one year to three years, and discusses reimbursement for all who’ve had to pay for warranty repair due to the the three red lights error.

read more | digg story

‘DVD Jon’ Cracks iPhone Activation

Hacker Jon Lech Johansen, known widely as “DVD Jon,” has cracked Apple’s iPhone activation, or so he claims, meaning that iPhone buyers will be able to activate and use the new handset without having to commit to an AT&T wireless contract.

read more | digg story

Dell warns of Vista upgrade challenges

Dell has taken the unusual step–for a PC vendor of its size–of toning down its sales pitch for Microsoft’s Vista operating system and warning businesses of the migration challenges that lie ahead for them. The step is particularly unusual because one of the issues the hardware vendor is warning business about is the extra hardware they will need to buy.

read more | digg story

Bill Gates causes Hometown Clerk’s office to switch to Linux

When Bill Gates was building his house in Medina, WA, the sheer volume of permits it required forced the County Clerk’s office to move to a Linux based operating systems. The town looked into using NT to go with their Windows LAN, but went with Caldera’s Linux instead.

read more | digg story

The Blue Screen of Death BSOD

Microsoft calls it a system stop error. Most computer users call it terrifying. Programmers call it the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD). Causes of the blue screen vary and while the blue screen details information on memory locations in your computer that are probable causes, often they are only symptoms.

read more | digg story

Microsoft to open Software Development center in Vancouver, BC

U.S. technology giant Microsoft Corp. will skirt Washington’s tough stance on immigration by opening a new software development centre in the Vancouver area this fall.  The Microsoft Canada Development Centre will serve as a base for the company’s core business — software development. When the company initially opens its doors, likely in September, it plans to hire between 200 and 300 people from around the world.

read more | digg story

Survey: Windows loses ground with developers

Microsoft’s Windows platform is losing traction as a target for application developers in North America but still is the dominant platform, according to Evans Data survey results being released on Tuesday.

read more | digg story