Gizmodo Tests XP vs Vista vs Vista SP1. (Vista still sucks)

“…we noticed with Windows Vista was when we tried to transfer a large folder full of files over our 100Base-T network. While XP was able to transfer the 1.37GB folder containing 2606 items in a quick 3:37 (minutes/seconds), the Vista transfer seemed to hesitate at the end, taking a leisurely 12:58 to perform exactly the same copy from one PC to another over our network. Then when we compared the current shipping version of Vista with its upcoming service pack, there wasn’t much difference, with the Service Pack speeding things up by 0.865% in the PCMark tests.

The only part of it that’s bugging us is the network file transfer speed got even slower in the SP1 release candidate. Also continuing that bothersome disk speed problem is the way Vista couldn’t read and write on that speedy 15,000rpm SAS drive anywhere near as fast as XP did.” Read the full report (with a tiny bit of good news) at Gizmodo.Com

Windows Home Server corrupts your files.

Microsoft Corp. has warned Windows Home Server users not to edit files stored on their backup systems with several of its programs, including Vista Photo Gallery and Office’s OneNote and Outlook, as well as files generated by popular finance software such as Quicken and QuickBooks.”When you use certain programs to edit files on a home computer that uses Windows Home Server, the files may become corrupted when you save them to the home server,” Microsoft said in a support document posted last week. Read the full story on ComputerWorld.Com

US Army: We’re switching to Macs.

“…Wallington, a division chief in the Army’s office of enterprise information systems, says the military is quietly working to integrate Macintosh computers into its systems to make them harder to hack. That’s because fewer attacks have been designed to infiltrate Mac computers, and adding more Macs to the military’s computer mix makes it tougher to destabilize a group of military computers with a single attack, Wallington says.

This past year was a particularly tough one for military cybersecurity. Cyberspies infiltrated a Pentagon computer system in June and stole unknown quantities of e-mail data, according to a September report by the Financial Times. Later in September, industry sources told Forbes.com that major military contractors, including Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Raytheon had also been hacked.” Read the full story on Forbes.Com

PC World: Vista The Biggest Tech Disappointment of 2007

Hot on the heels of C|Net declaring Windows Vista the Worst Technolgy Product of the last 21 years, PC World has chimed in declaring Windows Vista the number one biggest technology disapointment of 2007.

“…No wonder so many users are clinging to XP like shipwrecked sailors to a life raft, while others who made the upgrade are switching back. And when the fastest Vista notebook PC World has ever tested is an Apple MacBook Pro, there’s something deeply wrong with the universe.

We have no doubt Vista will come to dominate the PC landscape, if only because it will become increasingly hard to buy a new machine that doesn’t have it pre-installed. And that’s disappointing in its own right.” Read the full list here. Or jump straight to the #1 disappointment spot.

Gauging Windows user’s reactions to Vista with Google

Ever wonder where I find some of the articles I post here? A lot of comes from being spotted in customized .RSS feeds from technology websites but a lot of it is also found with Google’s search. Thanks to the amazing “quotes” and “&” feature it’s always easy to find relevant information and/or an exact phrase. Here are some of my favorite Google Searches and the enlightening consumer consensus they reveal about Windows Vista…

Soviet Microsoft: How Resistance to Free Markets and Open Ideas Will the Unravel the Software Superpower.

“…Somewhat ironically, one of the most financially successful capitalist companies of the 90s has positioned itself as a modern counterpart to the old communist Soviet Union. Microsoft’s ideological contempt for and resistance to free markets and the open expression and propagation of fresh ideas and technologies is not only a close parallel of the old USSR, but also a clear reflection of why Microsoft is currently failing and why its troubles have only just begun. Here’s a comprehensive look at why this is the case.” Read the full article on RoughlyDrafted.Com

USA Today: Thinking of switching to a Mac?

Most consumers seeking a new computer this holiday season will buy a Windows PC. And yet judging by the questions I get, many would-be buyers are considering a Macintosh for the first time, possibly because they’re smitten with the iPod, or because of Apple’s clever Mac guy/PC guy TV ads.

I’m a Mac guy, too, though not one who believes bashing Windows is a prerequisite. So consider this column a primer on switching to the Mac. Read the full article on USAToday.Com

Adventures in public printing (Windows security)

A little side note today about an experience of mine from yesterday. I found myself needing to print a few PDFs from my Gmail account while I was out and about. Hmm where to go for printing that’s along my journey? My first stop was the internet cafe in the local London Drugs 

After paying for a 15 min slot of time I sat down at the XP computer, logged into my Gmail, found the e-mail, and clicked the attachment. But much to my surprise 

Picture of the Day

Found via Gizmodo.Com

One year later: Where are the killer Vista apps?

“At the Consumer Electronics Show last January, Microsoft and Yahoo made a big deal out of a Vista-optimized version of Yahoo Messenger that was supposedly one of many compelling Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) apps in the pipeline.

On December 6, one year later, Yahoo announced a pre-beta of its Vista instant-messaging app. And still no word on what took so long or when Yahoo will get the final version out there.

What gives? Aren’t applications supposedly what sell an operating system? If so, where are the must-have Vista apps built to take advantage of the Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) graphics, the Windows Communication Foundation WCF) communications and Windows Workflow (WF) underpinnings of Vista?” Read the full article on All About Microsoft 

California school district getting 1,000 Asus Eee PCs

Seems everyone is loving these new Asus Windows-less laptops these days…

“Students in California’s Fresno Unified school district have a little something to be excited about this week, as officials have just invested $650,000 in 1,000 Asus Eee PCs, set for classroom deployment over the next few weeks. The concept is to use the miniscule laptops alongside good, old-fashioned textbooks, with each student being given the chance to create a “digital portfolio” of essays, drawings, and whatever else they can get away with. The computers will remain in roughly 60 classrooms, and will be shared by students.” Read the full article on Engadget.Com