Enterprises Chucking Windows Choose Macintosh

“…Windows Vista dissatisfaction and concerns about Windows 7 compatibility and deployment costs have some enterprises looking at alternatives, according to the research. The economy is a factor, too, but more to the benefit of Linux than either Mac OS X or Windows. The number of businesses considering “an alternative to adopting Windows Vista or Windows 7″ is 50 percent, up from 42 percent in 2008, according to the report.” Read the full article on Apple Watch.

A Windows Guru spends two weeks with a Mac

“…I’ve been on the front lines of the Mac-PC war for as long as I can remember. My first work computer was an IBM PC with an 8088 CPU. I liked it so much I forked out the money to buy my own machine: an IBM PC XT clone running an 8086 chip, and bulging with 640KB of RAM and a whopping 20MB hard disk.

Since then, I’ve written dozens of books and hundreds or thousands of articles, columns and blogs about PCs and Windows. Along the way, I’ve earned the unending enmity of plenty of Mac folks.” Read the full article on ComputerWorld.Com

Vietnamese Government won’t be using Windows 7

“…by June 30, 2009, 100% of clients of IT divisions of government agencies must be installed with open source software; 100% of staffs at these IT divisions must be trained in the use of these software products and at least 50% use them proficiently.

IT divisions at government agencies comprise the IT departments of ministries and government agencies, provincial and municipal Departments of Information and Communications.” Read the full story on Vietnamnet.Vn

Vista To XP Upgrade Triples In Price, Now $150 USD

“Dell has tripled the charge to upgrade Vista PCs to XP. Under current licensing ‘downgrade’ agreements, system builders can install XP Pro instead of Vista Business or Vista Ultimate; however, Dell has opted for a surcharge of $150 over the price of Vista for the older but more popular XP Professional operating system. Rob Enderle says the downgrade fees could potentially be disastrous for Microsoft: ‘The fix for this should be to focus like lasers on demand generation for Vista but instead Microsoft is focusing aggressively on financial penalties,” says Enderle. ‘Forcing customers to go someplace they don’t want to go by raising prices is a Christmas present for Apple and those that are positioning Linux on the desktop.’” Read the full story on PCWorld.Com Found via SlashDot.Org

Engadget.Com asks “Which OS do you prefer?”

Head on over and answer their poll.

Poll: What Operating System are you using at home?

“Hey, Dad…Can I have Linux back?”

“My oldest son, creator of flame wars, finally discovered that you can only surf to the nether regions of the Internet so many times before even Vista business succumbs to malware. His computer an unusable mass of pop-ups, spewing traffic over our network actually asked me tonight to reinstall Linux for him.

He still wants a Vista virtual machine since Spore is a pretty fine game and his Zune probably won’t play nice with Linux. However, for everyday use, he’s done with Vista. Not only does it lack the “amusing desktop effects” (which his mother hates, by the way, on her new Linux desktop), but even running Clamwin and Windows Defender, he still managed to infect it with a variety of junk, rendering it useless when he had a term paper to write.” Read the full article on Christopher Dawson’s Blog

An Open Letter to Windows Vista

“We haven’t talked, but I’ve been watching you from afar and feeling your pain as you’ve dealt with more than your fair share of challenges. Eighteen months after your debut, you simply don’t have an aura of success about you. Worse, your aging predecessor, Windows XP, has unexpectedly gained armies of devotees who refuse to give it up. It’s a pretty sad state of affairs-your original marketing tagline may have been “The Wow Starts Now,” but many people remain steadfastly unwowed.

The idea behind Microsoft’s Mojave Experiment was to suggest that those who spurn you do so out of ignorance. It’s true that some Vista doubters base their distaste on what they’ve heard about you rather than hands-on experience. But I don’t know of anyone outside of Redmond who’d maintain that long-term exposure to you turns the average computer user into a raving fan. Sure, you’re better than you were when you first showed up, thanks to Service Pack 1 and improved compatibility with applications and peripherals. But I’ve talked to lots of people who have used you for many months, and while some of them are pleased with you there are plenty whose feelings range from ennui to anger.” Read the full article at technologizer.com

Former Mac hater reflects on his switch to Mac. (Pt. II)

“…What I find interesting after 6 months is the impact buying that little MacBook had not only on the way I handle my personal computing but to a large degree the influence it has had on the way I do my development work. You see after I bought the MacBook I found myself doing more and more with it. I had a Windows XP development / gaming rig parked directly in front of me but I was constantly sliding my hands over to the MacBook.

My entire development platform-at the time Visual Studio-was completely set up and I had my after-market libraries installed and was using it to build my next online service business. Even with all of my development experience being Windows based I constantly found myself pushing away from my XP system and over to the MacBook.” Read the full story on David Alison’s Blog

Linux is easier to install than XP

When you buy a new PC today, unless you hunt down a Linux system or you buy a Mac, you’re pretty much stuck with Vista. Sad, but true.

So, when I had to get a new PC in a hurry, after one of my PCs went to the big bit-ranch in the sky with a fried motherboard, the one I bought, a Dell Inspiron 530S from my local Best Buy came pre-infected with Vista Home Premium. Read the full article on Practical-Tech.Com

One customer’s nightmare getting a refund on Vista.

My laptop was stolen, so I went down to Best Buy and picked up an HP dv6815nr since it was on sale for $599.99+tax. After powering it up, I was confronted by the Microsoft Windows Vista EULA and the HP EULA.

If you take the time to read the Microsoft EULA it is disturbing to say the least. But I won’t get into that here – many others have bashed this EULA to bits. Notice that there is no option to not accept their terms – you agree, or else… Or else what? I stared at the screen, and decided it was time to take the leap to Linux.

I found an 800 number on the HP website and made Phone Call #1 Read the full story on Equiliberate.Org

Microsoft: Don’t like Vista? Turn it into XP

 

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, responding to a question about the support for XP off the shelf, said that customers can buy Vista, then downgrade to XP for free. “I don’t know how you can do better than getting both,” Mr. Ballmer said Tuesday in Washington D.C.

According to InformationWeek on Wednesday, Mr. Ballmer’s comments suggest that Microsoft doesn’t see the license provision as a loophole to be exploited by disgruntled customers but, in fact, is endorsing a program to spur sales of Vista.

Despite Microsoft’s claim that 140 million copies of Vista have been sold, enterprise customers have had problems with Vista’s onerous hardware requirements, incompatibilities with older applications and driver issues.

According to Paul McDougall with IW, this raises the question of how many copies of Vista are actually in service because of the special licensing provision. Some PC makers, including Dell, have “pre-downgraded” the PC from Vista to XP before delivering the PC to the end user. Read the full story on InformationWeek.Com Found via TheMacObserver.Com

 

Former Mac hater reflects on his switch to Mac

“…While I am not a card carrying Mac fanboy (it does have issues like any piece of technology), I wanted to try and summarize why I like the Mac so much now that I’ve been using it heavily for the last two months.

I have been a Windows user and software developer since 1992, and a DOS user and developer since 1984. I used to hate Macs and as recently as 9 months ago my avatar on one of my forums was John Hodgman (the PC guy from the Mac ads).

Now I really enjoy using my Mac and am drifting away from Windows as a platform. Here’s why:

Read the full story on David Alison’s Blog found via SwitchingToMac.Com

Business Open Source Use Up 26% in One Year

CBR is reporting that open source use in the workplace is continuing to grow at an astonishing rate. Up 26% since last year, businesses are using 94 different open source tools to get the job done.

“[OpenLogic's] breakdown of licenses for the top 25 packages found that Apache, not the GPL, is the most common license. 62% of the packages use Apache, 27% use some variant of GPL and 4% each use BSD, CPL, Eclipse, MPL and Perl licenses (since packages may be released under two or more licenses, percentages total to more than 100%).”  Read the full story on CBROnline.Com found via SlashDot.Org

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

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)

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 

Wal-Mart’s $199 Linux PC back in stock.

Wal-Mart introduced the gPC earlier this month but it quickly sold out online. It’s “been one of the top performing desktop computers on Walmart.com,” a spokesman for the company told InformationWeek last week.

Asus’ Window Alternative Notebook sells out, Makes #1 on Amazon’s Best seller list

Asus’ Eee PC has been in the news a lot lately. It’s a tiny $400 USD laptop that’s sold preloaded with a Linux OS instead of Microsoft Windows and loaded with free software that accomplishes virtually everything your average notebook buyer would want to do. 

IT Pros: If Not Vista, Maybe Macs

Vista can’t seem to get a break. Yet another survey points to large numbers of businesses with no adoption plans. Oh yeah, Vista malaise may benefit Mac OS X.  44 percent of the IT professionals said that they had considered deploying a non-Windows operating system. Ninety percent of all respondents had concerns or reservations about Vista migration. Among those IT professionals considering alternatives, 9 percent had already started non-Windows deployments, with another 25 percent planning to do so within a year. Read the full article on Microsoft-Watch.Com

Hacker puts Mac’s OS X on Asus’ Windows Alternative PC.

This isn’t legal but apparantly that didn’t stop one hobbyist from loading Apple’s Mac OS on to the sub $500 Asus Eee PC.

Meant as a Windows Vista alternative for Best Buy shoppers it’s been converted into an inexpensive way to run OS X without the Apple hardware.  “…So, ever since I got the eeePC I’ve loved how easy it is to tinker with. Since I’m not a Linux guy, I dumped the Xandros preload and opted for Windows XP so I could [use] my EVDO USB datacard and blogging software easier, but I wondered could I install OSX on it? And, after trial and error – you can!” Read the full story on UneasySilence.Com (found via Gizmodo.Com)

Asus Eee PC a win for Intel and Linux, at Microsoft’s expense.

Thanks to its combination of Intel hardware and a non-bloated Linux install, reviewers found that Asus’s little laptop performs just as well as much larger and more expensive Windows notebooks. And the company spent enough time tweaking the unit’s default Linux distro that Windows users will supposedly feel right at home. The device does support Windows XP, but Linux seems to be the OS of choice for all of the reviewers for performance and ease-of-use reasons.

In this respect, Microsoft has well and truly blown it, because this device is poised to introduce a few million Best Buy shoppers to a pleasantly usable, non-embedded Linux distro. Even more ominous from Redmond’s perspective is the fact that the Eee PC is just one of a breaking wave of Linux-powered portable devices that will reach consumers in the coming year, and that it’s the hardware makers that are driving the Linux push. Read the full article at ArsTechnica.Com

Wal-Mart now carrying Linux PCs for $198.00

The Everex Green gPC TC2502 includes popular applications from Google, Mozilla, Skype and OpenOffice.org. It runs gOS Initial G, which in turn is based on Ubuntu Linux 7.10 The gOS operating system features a simple and intuitive Linux Enlightenment E17 desktop interface with a Google-centric theme. The system comes with a lifetime of free updates and revisions.

At the heart of the gPC TC2502 is an energy-efficient 1.5GHz, VIA C7-D processor. This CPU draws less than 2W on average (with a maximum of 20W). Operating at a mere 28dB, the gPC also ranks as the quietest Everex desktop computer ever produced. It also includes 512MB of system memory, 80GB hard disk drive and DVD-ROM/CD-RW optical drive. The system also comes with six USB 2.0 ports; an RJ45 Ethernet port; an RJ11 port; and a serial and parallel port. Read the full article on DesktopLinux.Com

UK Schools warned off Microsoft deal.

The UK computer agency Becta is advising schools not to sign licensing agreements with Microsoft because of alleged anti-competitive practices.

…a spokesman for Becta said the problem was that Microsoft required schools to have licences for every PC in a school that might use its software, whether they were actually doing so or running something else. Read the full article on BBC News (via Slashdot)

All schools in Russia to use Linux-like OS by 2009

Russian OS is to be installed on every school computer in Russia by 2009. Furthermore, every pupil will get the opportunity to operate the applied software produced in Russia, Leonid Reiman, acting Minister of Communication stated at a press conference. Experts and market participants consider the terms within which software is to be developed quite reasonable. According to Mr. Reiman, that might significantly reduce Russian dependence on foreign software. Read the full article on CNews.Ru

C|Net News: Windows XP good, Vista bad

“…It saddens me to think of all the ill advised people buying new computers running Windows Vista, when they could have chosen XP. As Mr. T was fond of saying back in the 1980s, I pity the fool. Let me be clear, my point is only about the choice between XP and Vista and has nothing to do with Macs or Linux, many of whose devotees feel this way about all Windows users. I’m also not here to defend Windows XP, whose faults are many. My point is simply that if you are buying a new computer to run Windows applications, XP is the right choice; Vista is the wrong choice.” Read the full article on C|Net News.

OpenOSX Office 2.0 adds finance software

Want a low cost, yet powerful alternative to Micrsoft Office for your new Mac? OpenOSX has released v2.0 of OpenOSX Office, a Mac OS X equivalent of the GNOME Office suite for Linux systems. All of GNOME Office’s applications are bundled together, among them AbiWord, the Gnumeric spreadsheet, and the Gimp image processor. The second edition is native to both Intel and PowerPC (new and old) Macs, but most importantly introduces Gnucash, a financial program that tracks accouns, stocks, incomes and expenses. More info. [via MacNN]

Internet statistics reveal Vista’s lack of acceptance.

So how is Vista’s real world usage doing? According to W3Counter – An internet traffic monitoring site, the operating system has only picked up 3% of the market and lags far behind XP. See the chart.

Entire city of Vista users can’t access the internet

People in the city of Lund in Sweden that use the Microsoft Vista OS can’t connect to the Internet. According to this local newspaper, the reason is because Lund is a Linux city which has a a Linux server that doesn’t like Vista. Lundis Energi blamed Microsoft because Vista has got a bug and it isn’t going to change the configuration of the server just to cope with the flaw. A local Microsoft rep said it could probably fix the problem if Lundis Energi got in touch with it. [via The Inquirer]

Yelvington: I hate Windows Vista

…She managed to find Google, run a search for Firefox, and click on all the right link to make the download happen. But Vista won’t let her install it, popping up an alert that it’s not digitally signed by Microsoft.

Signed by Microsoft?

As has been noted, that’s not security. It’s business terrorism — frightening the user in order to protect Microsoft’s business interests. Read more.

PC Mag Editor Throws in the Towel on Vista

Maybe it was something in the water? I’ve been a big proponent of the new OS over the past few months, even going so far as loading it onto most of my computers and spending hours tweaking and optimizing it. So why, nine months after launch, am I so frustrated? The litany of what doesn’t work and what still frustrates me stretches on endlessly.

I could go on and on about the lack of drivers, the bizarre wake-up rituals, the strange and nonreproducible system quirks, and more. But I won’t bore you with the details. The upshot is that even after nine months, Vista just ain’t cutting it. I definitely gave Microsoft too much of a free pass on this operating system: I expected it to get the kinks worked out more quickly. Boy, was I fooled! If Microsoft can’t get Vista working, I might just do the unthinkable: I might move to Linux.

read more | digg story

If Not Vista Enterprise, Then What?

I had wondered if the steep cost of Software Assurance would drive some businesses to adopt Linux or even Mac OS X as alternatives. Vista Enterprise includes crucial networking and security features not available in Vista Home, Premium or Business versions. Additionally, essential Vista deployments are now only available through Software Assurance.  Read more.

Microsoft: These are our Competitors…

Microsoft succinctly and clearly identifies many of its major competitors. Why should anyone outside of Microsoft or among shareholders care about this information? Partners can identify areas of Microsoft strength or weakness that could impact their businesses. For IT organizations, Microsoft loosely identifies alternatives to its own products through its list of competitors. Read more.

Dilbert [comic]

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

Microsoft admits Vista failure

[Microsoft] is at a dangerous crossroads, if its software bumps up the price of a computer by 100 per cent, people might look to alternatives. That means no [Vista] DRM infection lock in, no mass migration to the newer Office obfuscated and patented file formats, and worse yet, people might utter the W word. Yes, you guessed it, ‘why’. People might ask why it is sticking with the MS lock in, and at that point, it is in deep trouble. Read more.

IT Manager: Vista’s failures explained

Microsoft faces an uphill battle to convince IT managers like me that they are relevant in the face of Google and Linux. If [Vista] is your best response, well, it hasn’t been all that nice knowing you. Read more.

Amazon.Com: Ubuntu outselling Vista

“If you guys want free chairs, you should check out the Redmond parking lot.” Amazon’s numbers show more people are buying the DVD version of the free Ubuntu Linux than Windows Vista. Yet more validation of the statement Vista sucks. Read more.

Microsoft Is Counting Bugs Again

There are some things you count and compare, and some things you don’t. Security flaws should be in the “don’t” category, not that Microsoft seems to get it. For years, the company has used number of flaws as a measure for touting security improvements. Counting is a great security by PR approach, but little more. Read more.

The Guide to 100%-Linux/KDE/Desktop-Success (The Linux manifest)

This is a guide on how Linux and especially the KDE desktop could revolutionize the world of computers and operating systems and bring a major breakthrough so Linux would go mainstream. Read more.

Now three Linux vendors won’t sign patent deals with Microsoft

For a while, it was looking like Microsoft threats (and money) would convince a substantial number of Linux distribution providers to sign “interoperability and IP protection” pacts with Redmond. But as of today, the “deal/no deal” count is even. Read more.

Windows Marketplace Presents: Ubuntu

Ubuntu had been hosted on the Windows Marketplace. Although it’s listing doesn’t seem to be counted when sorting by popularity. It fixes most of the bugs present in Windows and adds some extra functionality.

I wonder if it will do as well on Windows Maketplace as it’s doing on Amazon?

read more | digg story

Linux-Based Websites Beat Windows-Based Sites

Linux websites have better uptime and load faster than Windows-based websites. Research by WatchMouse, a website monitoring company, also shows that web server platform Apache outperforms the Microsoft IIS platform.

read more | digg story

Five Ways Intel Will Weaken Microsoft

Intel has opened its wallet again for open source, this time pumping money into Centric CRM. Intel’s open source interests reveal five key trends that should worry Microsoft and other closed-source software providers. Read more.

Spice up Windows – Replace it with Linux

Alex writes on his blog: “I decided to write a series of essays about moving from Windows system to a Linux one. There are plenty resources online that can help with this transition. I just thought to make an easy one and with explaining each step of doing so.” Read more.