Microsoft ousted, 23,000 Linux PCs For Filipino Schools

“Providing high school students with PCs is seen as a first step to preparing them for a technology-literate future, but in the Philippines many schools cannot afford to provide computing facilities so after a successful deployment of 13,000 Fedora Linux systems from a government grant, plans are underway to roll out another 10,000 based on Ubuntu.”

“We wanted to use Fedora 5 and it went all the way to office of [the Filipino] President and they kept passing it around saying ‘why would they offer something for free, and how would they support and teach it’,” Gonzalez said. “The project dragged on for four to five months to a point where Microsoft matched the price by offering Windows XP for $US20 a copy and throwing in Office for $US30, but we still came out cheaper. Microsoft was also providing free training to high school teachers.” Read the full article on ComputerWorld.Com found via SlashDot

Windows Core Programmer Calls it Quits

“…Short was a key member of Microsoft’s Core Operating System Division (COSD) team. COSD is charged with “the design, development and testing of the core components of the Microsoft Windows operating system: the operating system core, virtual machine technology, input/output subsystems and the core device drivers,” according to Short’s (still-existent) bio on Microsoft’s corporate Web site.COSD was created in December 2003 under former Microsoft President Jim Allchin’s watch to ensure Windows “engineering excellence.” In forming COSD, Allchin hand-picked a team, almost all of whom were Windows client and/or server veterans with impressive and lengthy pedigrees, to focus on improving the core components of Windows. Specifically: the kernel, I/O (input/output) system; core devices; setup; and all the build properties.”

(Ironically, Jim is also the fellow who quit Microsoft the day Vista was released and had warned Gates that Vista sucked in Comparison to Apple’s OS X) Read the full story at All About Microsoft

Legal IT Consultant: Vista = My Own Personal Hell

“…My conclusion is now that NO ONE who values their sanity, their time, their psyche and general sense of well-being should use Vista. At all. Under any circumstances. In fact, after giving it more than a fair shake over 11 months of daily use, I know think it deserves to be classified internationally as a Weapon of Mass Data Destruction. In fact, perhaps the best way to defeat Al Quaida or any other terrorist group would be to send them free copies of a particularly brain-dead version of Vista like “Home Basic” – it would stop them in their tracks, as it has done with me and so many others.”

“Vista is the #1 reason Apple has been so successful in the overnight turnaround of its Mac product line. The best feature of the Macbook and iMac series is they DON’T have Vista, not the fact they now have Leopard.” Read the full post on Rossipsa.Com

Bill Gates: ["Vista Sucks"] [video]

Gizmodo recently interviewed Bill Gates at CES. They posed a carefully worded question to the man and got a surprisingly frank answer…

Wow. See more of the interview at Gizmodo.

David Letterman on Bill Gates retirement. [video]

CES: Where Vista Wasn’t

“Windows Vista was everywhere-and yet nowhere-at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show.Vista was everywhere because the operating system was on most PCs. But it was nowhere in terms of branding and marketing. Microsoft banners and other promotional material reverted to “Windows” branding with no “Vista.” Where Microsoft had Vista, something else accompanied it, like Windows Live, Media Center or Windows Media Extender.

Now what does that say about Vista, the brand, and Microsoft’s commitment to Windows XP’s successor? Has Microsoft given up on Windows Vista-as a brand, at least? The answer is perhaps yes.” Read the full article on Microsoft-Watch.Com

Best Buy focuses on selling more Macs this year.

“Leading U.S. electronics specialty retailer Best Buy said this week it plans to increase the number of stores carrying Apple Inc.’s Mac computer line twofold in the next several weeks, signaling robust demand for the Windows PC alternatives in the broader consumer market.The comments came courtesy of Best Buy executives who held a session at this week’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, where researchers from investment bank UBS were in attendance.

Following the meeting, analyst Ben Reitzes relayed a note to clients explaining that the executives were “very upbeat” about their ongoing relationship with Apple, adding that 500 of the company’s 900 electronics stores could be selling Macs come the end of February.

The plan would effectively double the number of Best Buy stores carrying Apple’s computer line at the end of 2007, where rough figures placed a healthy array of Macs in approximate 230 to 270 locations.” Read the full article on AppleInsider.Com

Hi, I’m a Programmer. I’m In love with my new Mac because…

“…I’m just like you, seriously! I’ve been using Microsoft stuff since 1992! That’s right, I’ve been a windows user most of my life. I remember 3.1, NT, 95, 98, 2000, ME (fucking stupid, 2000 in a different box, right?), and then on to (OOooOOoo) Windows XP. Luckily for me, the buck stopped here.

It’s about here that I meet Jay Phillips. Jay, a fellow hacker, is the creator of a very successful Telephony application called Adhearsion. He will be the first to tell you owes some of his coder success to his MacBook. Honestly, Jay even looks like the Mac guy on the commercial (see right). Anyway I was in the mood to debunk this obviously misguided coder (because coders need TECH machines, not pretty toys, right?) and I can honestly say from the deepest techie place in my heart: I got PWWWWWWND. This is why: Read the full post on SiKaNrOnG.com (found via SwitchingToMac.Com)

Newspaper: Window Vista can clear out a medicine cabinet

“…A year ago, I picked up a computer on Boxing Day. Because Windows Vista didn’t come out until a few months later, the computer had the option of a free update to the new Microsoft operating system.

I never got around to doing the upgrade. And now, I’m glad I never did.

This Boxing Day, I once again picked up some bargain basement computers. This time, they were all loaded with Vista. It’s a good thing I don’t get headaches, because now, a week later, I would have run out of Advil, Motrin, Tylenol, Tylenol Extra Strength, Tylenol Quick Release, Aspirin, and maybe even Children’s Tylenol. I might have even raided the first aid kits in the cars.

The first headache was networking. As these computers are all meant to work together for my hockey photography shoots, so it is imperative the networking works.