Microsoft's recent announcement that it will distribute free antivirus software was unexpected but in some ways it's just an expansion of efforts by Microsoft that have been ongoing for years. In 2006 Microsoft began including the "Malicious Software Removal Tool" in the monthly automatic updates for every Windows computer. Every month, your computer is checked for dozens of specific bits of malware and cleaned if necessary.

In the last couple of months, Microsoft has targeted the fake security programs that are prevalent now - here's my writeup about one variation that presents realistic, professional-looking warnings of viruses and insistently tries to convince you to surrender a credit card number for $49.95 of useless software.

The removal tool runs automatically and silently. It does not need to be run manually, although it's always possible to visit the Microsoft web site for the tool and download it as part of responding to any possible virus or malware attack. It's not a substitute for an antivirus program - it doesn't run continuously watching for threats and it is not directed at all of the malware out there, just a specific set of programs that represent the worst of the current malicious software.

Anonymous data is sent  back to Microsoft so it can track the effectiveness of the tool. In November, the removal tool cleaned bad stuff from almost a million computers in nine days, and in December, it removed the prevalent "Antivirus 2009" malware from 400,000 computers.

As always, the bad guys are getting better at imitating legitimate programs. Read carefully, be skeptical, and be careful out there!

Labels: Microsoft, security, software

posted by bruceb at 1/02/2009 12:05:00 AM | permalink

The headline tells the story of this Microsoft Knowledge Base article:

Severe system performance problems occur on a Windows Vista or Windows XP-based computer after you install HP printer software, version 11 (Microsoft KB960673)

To be honest, I don't know if I've ever seen this problem in the real world. "On a Windows Vista or Windows XP-based computer, you install the HP Customer Participation version 11 software that is included with Hewlett-Packard's new printers. After you do this, you may experience an overall slowing of your computer performance because of an error in this application."

But I know that HP has been doing a terrible job of supplying software with their printers for the last few years, so this is just an extreme example of a bigger problem. HP's installation and uninstallation programs take waaaay too long, they install useless and unrequested services to monitor registration and ink cartridge status and software updates and customer satisfaction and phases of the moon, and if you're lucky you can also print. Typically there are no options during setup to reduce the amount of clutter installed from the CD. Sometimes (but not always) there are simpler drivers on the HP web site for people willing to take manual control of the process.

The result is that I'm not too keen on HP printers lately, because the quality of the hardware doesn't matter if the software brings down your computer. It's not like HP is the only offender - I've spent hours trying to squash a nasty little Epson status monitor that slows things to a crawl if a shared printer isn't online. The biggest reason to prefer Brother printers for the last couple of years is the simplicity of their software.

Remember one of the important rules for being responsible for your computer: always do a custom install of any software and take the time to understand the options and decline items that don't apply to you (especially unrelated products included because one big company paid another big company - Google Desktop/Google Toolbar/Windows Live Toolbar/Open Office and so many more.) You won't avoid all the unnecessary stuff but you can minimize it that way.

Labels: computers, hardware, printers, software

posted by bruceb at 12/23/2008 01:29:00 AM | permalink

On Monday, for one day only, you can pick up a copy of Quickbooks Pro 2009 for free at Staples.

This appears to be a real offer. Staples stores will sell Quickbooks Pro 2009 for $159, after applying a $40 "instant rebate."

There will be coupons in the store to mail in for a $159 rebate.

There are more details in an email from an Intuit representative here. Quantities at the stores will be limited to stock on hand but this isn't a bait and switch deal - the stores have been bulking up their inventory. The same offer will reportedly be available online on the front page of the Staples web site. You can buy it online from the Staples web site. Don't forget to print out the rebate form!

Quickbooks is the only game in town for a small business. If you haven't upgraded recently, this is the time to do it!

Karl Palachuk, one of the best bloggers on small business technology, had this to say recently:

"The undisputed 800 pound gorilla among small business finances is Intuit's QuickBooks. No one loves it. Everyone uses it.

"Overall, QuickBooks does a great job or they wouldn't be where they are. Having said that, their program is amazingly bloated, filled with annoying spam and popups, and they have some of the worst technical support in the history of software.

""Everyone" integrates with QuickBooks. That is to say, everyone does something with QuickBooks. Most of them import and export aggregate data and lose all the detail. As a result, many people who could be "integrating" QuickBooks end up doing double-entry in their line of business application and QuickBooks."

Looking for an alternative to Quickbooks? Microsoft has several accounting programs that might look like contenders. Karl quotes a summary from Ernest Cook of Better Idea Group to clarify the current status of the various accounting programs from Microsoft.

"Due in no small part to the overlay in markets focus and similarity of the names, many people over the years have confused the Small Business Financials, Small Business Accounting and Office Accounting products so let me clarify for the group:

"Small Business Financials is based on the "Great Plains" code base. A quick call to Customer Source today confirmed that I can say publicly that Microsoft has NO plans on creating any more new versions of this product. The LAST version of this program is version 9 and if you have a client on an earlier version and is still current on support they could upgrade to that version. If they are NOT current on support, they need to start planning on what they will migrate to. In short, Small Business Financials is in fact going away +++ DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS PRODUCT TO YOUR CLIENTS +++

"Small Business Accounting - This product was written from scratch in 2004-2005 with a target market of 1-5 users. The only version that has this name is the inaugural edition that was labeled 2006. Due in no small part to the iterative nature of the initial product, a "service pack" came out later in the year but was still called SBA 2006. It had SQL 2000 technology and was based on the .Net 1.1 framework. Anyone that is still running this program and "stuck" on the workflow should, at the very least migrate to Office Accounting 2009 +++ Small Business Accounting is GONE - DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS PRODUCT TO YOUR CLIENTS +++

"Finally...

"Microsoft Office Accounting - The first version of this was in 2007 and was a direct descendant of "Small Business Accounting". The BIG difference is that the 2007 version was based on .NET 2.0 and SQL 2005 technology and Microsoft broadened the offering by creating a FREE "express" version and pushed it thru download sites etc.
In 2008, some bugs were fixed and new functionality was added to the product, most notably the addition of a Spanish language version. The most current version, 2009 was recently published and consists primarily of resolutions to issues that had been brought up by customers and partners for quite awhile.

"As an ISV who has invested a SIGNIFICANT amount of money into my products that need Office Accounting to work, it would be easiest for me to tell you that Office Accounting has a bright future and tell you to recommend it to your clients. I can't do that. I am NOT investing anymore time or money in the Office Accounting product line. Not only that but friends on the list might also be interested in hearing that I am migrating my own company books BACK to Intuit's QuickBooks."

See you at Staples!

Labels: business, software

posted by bruceb at 12/21/2008 12:12:00 AM | permalink

Lately I've seen this message turn up out of nowhere on Windows XP computers that do not run Outlook Express.

I don't know why it's turning up now after years of staying quiet but it reminds me that Outlook Express is one of several obsolete Windows components that can be safely removed from most Windows XP computers.

Open Control Panel / Add or Remove Programs and click on the left on Add/Remove Windows Components.

I routinely remove some of the items in the list that comes up. If you think you might be using any of them, please do not uninstall them. I don't want any silly mistakes.

• MSN Explorer  This was Microsoft's attempt to create a customized browser that looks like America Online. It's unclear why anyone would want to look like America Online.
• Outlook Express  This is now obsolete and replaced by Windows Live Mail. Look, let me reiterate - if you're using Outlook Express for your mail, don't uninstall it! This is not the same program as Microsoft Outlook, of course; if you're using Outlook, you can safely uninstall Outlook Express.
• Windows Messenger  This is NOT the same program as Windows Live Messenger, the one that most people use. If you have a useless instant messenger icon down by the clock that's always said "Not connected," it's probably a remnant of this program.

Uninstall them by unchecking the box by each item.

You may see an error message about MSN Explorer. I don't know what it means but in my experience it's harmless if you click OK.

Labels: mail, Microsoft, software, WinXP

posted by bruceb at 12/16/2008 01:52:00 PM | permalink

Microsoft has released Windows Live Sync, a free utility that syncs folders among two or more computers and makes it possible to share synced folders with others. It is the successor to Foldershare - and really not much more than a facelift for Foldershare. It accomplishes an important goal for Microsoft, though, by integrating the service with the Windows Live ID authentication that is driving all the other online services from Microsoft. Here's the blog from the Windows Live Sync team.

If you're not familiar with Foldershare, here's some background and an explanation of the basic principles. Windows Live Sync runs continuously on your computer; you can designate any folder and Windows Live Sync will copy the contents of that folder to any other computer of your choice running the software. The two folders will then always be kept in sync - if something is deleted from the folder at one end, the same file will be deleted at the other end, for example.

The program only copies files when both computers are turned on and running the program online at the same time. That can cause confusion - I know people who shut down their office computer at the end of the day, went home and turned on their home computer, and were disappointed that they didn't have their synced files. I was ready to criticize them for being unclear on the concept but what I found was that this is a hard concept and frequently leaves people confused or frustrated. I don't want to dissuade you from trying it! Just plan to give it some attention until you have that "Aha!" moment.

Windows Live Sync closely overlaps the Live Mesh service, but as far as I know the two services run on completely different underpinnings. I have this vision of the two Microsoft teams fighting it out for dominance and we'll find out at some random time which one is the victor and which program will die. Maybe they'll both live forever. Maybe they'll both be renamed and squished together by spring. Who knows?

There's an interesting detail in one blog today: apparently Windows Live Sync will be quietly included with every copy of a new version of Windows Live Photo Gallery due soon. That might just be to help people make their photos available on every computer in the house, or perhaps to make it easy to share photos with friends and grandparents. But I've also seen speculation that it will be set up to automatically copy your photos to the online photo storage space provided for free by Microsoft (which is now tied in to the Skydrive service). This will take careful work - many people are overwhelmed by all the names floating around and are ready to drop out at the first confusing bit.

FOLDERSHARE USERS: You'll be prompted to install this update automatically. There may be some confusing bits - you'll have to associate it with a Windows Live ID (and create one if you haven't done that yet), and you'll have to start from scratch to set up shared folders with others. Let me know if you have any problems!

Labels: file_sharing, Microsoft, photos, software, web_services

posted by bruceb at 12/12/2008 12:42:00 AM | permalink

Ho hum. Another day, another batch of updates.

Microsoft released its regularly scheduled monthly updates last night. Your computer may have restarted automatically last night or it will tonight.

If you are using Live Mesh, there is an update that reportedly improves a number of features. Mesh may prompt you to install it at some point soon - I'm not sure if it's completely automatic.

You might want to take a look at the available updates proactively. Go to the Microsoft Update page. In Windows XP, you'll arrive at a web site where you can click the Custom button; in Vista, you'll open up the built-in update program where you can click on View Available Updates.

In addition to any required updates, you'll likely see some "optional" updates. Some of those are interesting! I found the Live Mesh update listed there today. If you're on Windows XP, you might find Windows Search 4.0, a truly useful tool. Perhaps you never got around to Internet Explorer 7, which is significantly safer to use than IE6.

Be careful installing hardware updates that way. If your hardware is working, you may want to be conservative and not install an updated video driver or network card driver. I have mixed feelings about suggesting that because many of the new drivers can be a significant improvement, but installing hardware drivers through the Windows Update system does not always go smoothly and I don't want you to blame me.

The other optional updates are likely to be safe. See if there's anything you're missing!

Labels: IE, search, software, Vista, web_services, WinXP

posted by bruceb at 12/10/2008 10:51:00 AM | permalink

Let me leave a few notes behind about some of the glitches during the migration from SBS 2003 to SBS 2008. I don't have many answers but perhaps it will help someone to know that I'm able to commiserate with them. (Loyal clients - this is not aimed at you and it won't help you get your work done. I'll be back to general interest topics next week!)

As background: I was migrating an SBS 2003 server with a very basic configuration - no ISA, no use of Sharepoint, a single NIC and external firewall, and no particular pre-existing issues.

MIGRATION WIZARD

Microsoft provides a detailed guide to the migration procedure. (Have you noticed that Microsoft's documentation has been getting better and better lately? There's much less ambiguity about what to click next - each step is described in precise and accurate detail.) The guide was great.

SBS 2008 begins a migration when a USB stick with an answer file is inserted in the new server before the SBS 2008 installation starts. Several people have reported that the USB stick has to be present when the server is turned on or SBS 2008 is likely to miss it. After installation, the first and most important item on the SBS 2008 is the "migration wizard" that leads through all the steps required to be successful.

I was about two-thirds of the way through the wizard when I took a break and installed the Server 2008 updates that were waiting. When the server restarted, the migration wizard crashed with a mysterious error that proved impossible to fix. I researched it and got nowhere. I removed a couple of the updates that conceivably might have unsettled something and got nowhere.

The wizard never came back to life. Fortunately most of its steps only lead to help files that describe the process for actually accomplishing each task by going into AD or MMC consoles or the like. I think - I think - I was able to finish the migration and cover the remaining steps without the wizard. There is still room for some surprise glitch - I'm going to cross my fingers when I demote the source server.

MAIL MIGRATION

I expected the mailbox migration to be slow but was still surprised. The Exchange 2003 mailbox store was about 25Gb after I pruned and archived as much as I could from the biggest mailboxes. The mailbox move took just about ten hours.

PUBLIC FOLDERS

I had no luck moving the public folders, and didn't really expect to, given the reports I had read. That may have been the result of a pre-existing glitch on the source server - this server, like several other of my SBS 2003 servers, throws up an error message when I try to do anything to the public folders in Exchange Server Manager. I've researched that one, too; I've removed the SSL requirement from EXADMIN in IIS, and a few other things suggested in other places, to no avail. I exported the public folders to a PST and stored them for now, since public folders were not being actively used and may not need to be implemented at all on the new server.

BACKUP

The most mysterious problem involves the backup system. The firm had been using ShadowProtect to back up to an NAS and two rotated external Maxtor hard drives. The backup built into SBS 2008 looks like it will be just fine but it does not directly back up to an NAS. I connected a Maxtor drive, formatted it, and ran the backup wizard. Hmm. Error message at the very end.

Since the message says "Cannot configure backup schedule," I started trying every scheduling option - once a day, twice a day - as well as swapping in the other (identical) hard drive, and couldn't get anywhere. I couldn't find anything in the logs at all. I got the flavor that it might be caused by the server disliking the external hard drives.

I'd like to talk to the person who thought it would be helpful to write: "If this problem persists, contact the person who provides you with technical support." It made me irritable.

ShadowProtect claims that the current version will back up SBS 2008 servers. With any luck I'll be able to install that and never know the answer to this one.

PHONE PASSCODES

This isn't a glitch, just something to warn your users about. By default, Exchange 2007 enforces a new passcode requirement on Windows Mobile phones (and iPhones) syncing with the server. Users are forced to set up a four-digit password that will be tapped in every time the phone is used. I'm sympathetic to all the reasons that this is an important security measure, but I'm also sympathetic to the desire to keep my job and not be fired by the attorneys who began flipping out immediately. It's possible to turn the requirement off in Exchange Management Console / Organization Configuration / Client Access / Windows SBS Mobile Mailbox Policy, which then allows it to be turned off on the phones. The iPhone balked and refuses to relax, even after the policy was changed, which apparently is a known glitch.

SERVER CERTIFICATE

I was determined to allow my users to continue to use the familiar URL for remote access, even though it didn't match the naming scheme preferred by SBS 2008. The email domain is www.bigfirm.com, say, and my users have been reaching RWW at www.bigfirmnet.com for years. I have a GoDaddy SSL certificate for www.bigfirmnet.com and heck, I just like it. Plus I've got migrations coming up where I know it will be difficult to work with the web hosting company to set up a subdomain and MX records for the primary domain name.

The Internet address wizard insists on getting the primary address and only allowing RWW to be reached at the same address with a prefix - remote.bigfirm.com or something like it. I had to work around that by lying to the wizard that the primary domain name was bigfirmnet.com, which (in Advanced Settings) would then let www.bigfirmnet.com be the remote access address.

When that was in place, then I could set the primary email addresses back to @bigfirm.com in Exchange Manager / Organization / Hub Transport / Email address policies / Windows SBS Email Address Policy.

ONECARE

Windows Live OneCare has been a trusted friend but it does make me a little crazy sometimes. SBS 2008 expects to get feedback from each workstation about its security status and apparently OneCare isn't set up to let that happen. So far I haven't found the firewall port or other hack that will let the workstations report in, so they're all showing in the server console as "unknown." I can't even find a definitive statement that it's possible or impossible with the standalone version of OneCare. I'm not going to install OneCare for Server so I may just not get good feedback in the console until we switch to Trend Micro. I was hoping to procrastinate on that - everyone has been used to OneCare for a long time - but change happens.

DRIVE MAPPING

Drive mapping is supposed to be accomplished in Group Policy now. I was comforted that other people online said they had trouble with it, because I couldn't make a mapped drive appear on a workstation no matter what I did in Group Policy. After a fruitless half hour of researching and trying things, I put the nice simple logon script in the folder and assigned it to everybody. I feel kind of crude, but it works.

SHARED PRINTERS

Another little headache - it was easy to install 64-bit drivers for network printers and share them from the server. At least, it was easy once I stopped clicking on the "Add printer" button and getting an "Access denied" message when it tried to set up a TCP/IP port. Right-click in the Printers folder and click on Run As Administrator / Add printer - ah, that's intuitive! Sheesh.

Out at the first workstation, I was reminded forcibly that there were no 32-bit drivers around, so I downloaded the corresponding 32-bit drivers for a few of the printers (a couple of HP Laserjets and a Toshiba copier) and went to add them on the server using Additional Drivers on the Sharing tab. The server thought that was a terrible idea - it never agreed that the 32-bit drivers corresponded with the 64-bit drivers. (I read somewhere that it was known problem with some HP drivers but I had the same epxerience with the Toshiba drivers.) So I parked the 32-bit drivers where I could get to them, went back to the workstation, and browsed to the 32-bit drivers when the workstation tried to connect to the shared printer and rejected the 64-bit drivers. Nope! The workstation also didn't agree that it was a match. It was the closest match, trust me - these were the identical 32-bit and 64-bit drivers for the same model running the same PCL level.

Fortunately, we already had reason to be running a Windows XP virtual machine on the second server with Hyper-V. I've shared all the printers from there and I bet it's rock solid.

A migration is a complex project! I think it went smoothly. These are the kind of glitches that happen constantly, every day at every level. Some of them will happen to me the next time, others will come up that are brand new. It's the nature of IT today. With luck I'll bring good instincts and a lot of experience and use them both the next time I come to your office!

Labels: computers, domains, mail, Microsoft, mobile, network, OneCare, printers, SBS, security, software

posted by bruceb at 12/05/2008 12:09:00 AM | permalink

Click here for a list of Adobe Acrobat training videos, focusing on features for lawyers. There are related blog articles for many of the topics, and some videos are still to come - you'll have to check back.

The list covers the basics (including the differences between printing to PDF and the PDF makers in Office programs, which is more interesting than you thought), binders and portfolios, PDF comparison, OCR, security, redaction, Bates numbering, forms, and more.

Labels: Acrobat, law, software

posted by bruceb at 12/01/2008 12:58:00 AM | permalink

Vista's built-in utility for screen shots is just perfect for most people. If you haven't found it yet, click on the Start button, type in Snip, and click on Snipping Tool. It's got all the basic tools to capture an entire window or a region, add some simple annotations, and do something interesting with it - send it by email, save it as a JPG, or put it on the clipboard so you can paste it into another program. Here's my thoughts about the snipping tool, and here's an explanation and some tips from Microsoft.

My computer has decided it doesn't like the snipping tool. About half the time I get this message:

As always, there are lots of people online with the same problem and the usual mishmash of advice and abuse and digressions. For many people, the problem can be cured at least temporarily by running "Office Diagnostics" from the Options / Resources menu in an Office 2007 program. No one seems quite sure why that works. It worked for me sometimes but it never lasted and I couldn't find a permanent fix.

I tried an inexpensive screen clipping program, Window Clippings, which worked fine but left me unsatisfied. It was kind of uninspiring - each thing I looked into wasn't quite as elegant or simple as I was hoping, and all the dialogs said "Kenny Kerr's Window Clippings," which looked silly. I know, that's not a big deal, but I kept looking at "Kenny Kerr" and wishing it didn't say that. What can I tell you? I'm shallow.

So I revisited a name I hadn't looked at for years, SnagIt, screen capture software that was first used on adding machines, or possibly abacuses, I think. It's been around forever.

It's expensive, $49.95 (free 30 day trial), and just wonderful. While I wasn't looking, SnagIt turned into a beautiful, full-featured office application. There are a variety of ways to capture screen shots - all the ones you'd expect plus a few you might not think of, like capturing an entire web page including the part that is scrolled off screen. An editor opens up to work with the snips with many of the features of a full-fledged graphics program, so it's a single click to add shadows, pointers, annotations, or more. It's a very pretty design and I'm finding the controls to be thoughtfully laid out and intuitive.

I'm going to pay the money and send you all screen shots bristling with arrows and circles, just because I can.

Labels: software, Vista, WinXP

posted by bruceb at 11/26/2008 01:44:00 AM | permalink

That rumbling you feel is a seismic shift in the field of security software. This will affect every single one of you and cause major changes in the entire industry.

Microsoft announced today that it will deliver free antivirus and anti-spyware software for all Windows computers, beginning in the second half of 2009.

Windows Live OneCare will be phased out and it will no longer be sold after June 30, 2009.

From the press release:

"Code-named "Morro," this streamlined solution will be available in the second half of 2009 and will provide comprehensive protection from malware including viruses, spyware, rootkits and trojans. This new solution, to be offered at no charge to consumers, will be architected for a smaller footprint that will use fewer computing resources, making it ideal for low-bandwidth scenarios or less powerful PCs. As part of Microsoft's move to focus on this simplified offering, the company also announced today that it will discontinue retail sales of its Windows Live OneCare subscription service effective June 30, 2009."

Here's the Microsoft press release, and the post on the OneCare blog. There are a few more details in this interview with Microsoft's senior director of product management.

As far as I know, this is completely unexpected. No one seems to have had a clue it was coming. There have been rumors about an imminent new version of Windows Live OneCare; now there's no word whether it will ever be seen. When Microsoft officially released Small Business Server 2008 last week, one of its features was a new product, Windows Live OneCare for Server, and central management for up to 25 workstations running OneCare. To me, that was one of the compelling features of the new SBS, but it is now dead on arrival; it should not be installed and will not be supported after June 30, 2009.

I can easily imagine that Microsoft is frustrated. Windows is frequently blamed for the onslaught of viruses and malware but computer users around the world have resisted buying subscriptions to security software for a variety of reasons: they can't afford it; they don't understand that it's necessary; they don't keep it current or they never activate an expired trial subscription; or their computers are underpowered for the security suites that are currently available. It's a particular problem outside the United States, where the percentage of unprotected computers is much higher. The press release suggests that Microsoft particularly wants to provide protection for emerging markets and the new low-powered netbooks and OLBCs.

Microsoft claims that it will deliver new software (not a repackaged version of OneCare) which includes only the security protection, with the simplest, least intrusive, and smallest footprint possible. It will not be automatically included with every copy of Windows but it will be free and presumably so easy to obtain that it might as well be built-in.

I assumed that Microsoft had not done this up to now because it would be attacked as "anticompetitive" by the other security software companies. Apparently Microsoft thinks it can avoid those claims - or who knows, maybe it thinks it's the right thing to do and is willing to see how it plays out. Norton, McAfee and the rest will have to adapt - maybe by criticizing Microsoft's software, maybe by adding value to it with other features, maybe by exiting the field and finding something else to do.

ONECARE SUBSCRIBERS: Do not let your subscriptions lapse! OneCare will be fully supported and updated through June 30, 2009 and we will have much more information before then about our options. If your subscription expires on April 30 and you have to pay $49.99 for two months of updates, I'm going to insist that you renew without hesitation. I don't want anyone running a PC without current anti-malware protection - this is not an excuse to procrastinate!

COMPUTER BUYERS: If you buy a new computer, get it protected! If you have to pay $49.99 for OneCare and you don't get a full year out of it, so it goes. You'll get three months or six months or eight months, and that's just fine. Or get another product, I don't care. As long as your security, backup and update needs are covered, I don't care - but this is not an excuse to procrastinate.

[Update 11/20: It's likely that Microsoft will keep OneCare updated for the entire subscription term. See this post and watch for more information to follow.]

A few more points:

Microsoft Equipt was the ill-fated subscription package bundling OneCare with Microsoft Office 2007 Home and Student Edition, sold only through Circuit City. Microsoft never committed to it, Circuit City is defunct, and Equipt is being withdrawn from the market.

How could this major decision be made with so little notice that it kills a key feature of a major product launched last week? Is the SBS team angry, embarrassed, or resigned?

OneCare includes features that its users depend on - printer sharing, backups, system maintenance, attention to Windows and other Microsoft updates, control over the firewall, and control over startup programs. Everything that needs attention is reported by a single icon, and necessary actions are described in a consistent interface. If OneCare is discontinued, will something else be developed to provide those functions? Don't tell me that products from third parties will take over - I'll cry, really I will.

Will the new software run on servers? Small businesses really need easy software to protect servers and provide centralized security management. The choices now are difficult and expensive.

This is a remarkable change that will affect all of us. I hope it's for the better but boy, are there a lot of questions left to be answered. More to come!

Labels: computers, Microsoft, OneCare, SBS, security, software, Vista, WinXP

posted by bruceb at 11/19/2008 12:05:00 AM | permalink

Microsoft is updating and integrating all of its "Windows Live" services. The results are overwhelming and quirky but the changes  include some things that are even attractive for cranky old folks like me that have no idea what to do with a "social network." (I'm not sure but I think it requires friends, so I have no reason to go there.) In particular, Windows Live Skydrive is getting some exciting new features but there is still some confusing overlap in Microsoft's services for storing and sharing files online.

The updates are a bit of a blur, really - it will mostly be people under 25, I think, that have a lot of names in Windows Live People and sort them into Windows Live Groups so it's easier to send them invitations to Windows Live Events that are tracked on Windows Live Calendar, with RSVPs sent using Windows Live Messenger and photos shared afterward on Windows Live Photos. Honest, those are all names of interlocking pieces of this big social network, which is all free and all tied together, and that's just the half of it - there are pieces that will run on mobile phones and pieces that will interact with other online social networking sites and a toolbar for Internet Explorer and a piece that will deliver pictures straight from your cell phone to a digital picture frame (honest!) and on and on. Here's an article about the upcoming new releases, and here's a press release that runs through most of the highlights.

Let's focus on Windows Live Skydrive, a free place where you can store files online that can be accessed from anywhere. You're required to have a free Windows Live ID to get started but that's nothing new - all these services are built around your Windows Live ID. You can have private folders on Skydrive, or you can share folders with specific people, or you can have folders that are open to anyone. Skydrive is one of the services that I strongly recommend you become familiar with! It will quickly become a tool that you use routinely.

When Skydrive is updated, everyone will be able to store up to 25Gb of files online, up from the current limit of 5Gb. That's a lot of space! There are big improvements to the way photos can be stored and shared, with bigger thumbnails and instant slideshows and tighter integration with Windows Live Photo Gallery. Right now it's clumsy to move files around on Skydrive; the update will make it possible to move and copy files between Skydrive folders.

And in one welcome improvement, apparently it will be possible to share files with people even if they do not have a Windows Live ID. That's been a stumbling block, since many people aren't ready to figure out the Windows Live ID concept.

One change to Windows Live Skydrive leaps out at me from this screenshot of the update - Microsoft has decided to put really big advertisements on the web pages for some of these services. Oh joy!

Now for the confusing part. Look at this list of Microsoft services.

• Windows Live Skydrive lets you store files online and share them with others.
• Windows Live Sync will be the new name of Foldershare, which syncs folders among several computers, either your own or shared with others.
• Live Mesh lets you store files online, share them with others, and sync folders among several computers, either your own or shared with others.
• Office Live Workspace lets you store files online, share them with others, and open them directly into Microsoft Office programs.

The overhaul of the Windows Live services announced yesterday does nothing to simplify that lineup. If Live Mesh lives up to its potential, it can absorb and duplicate all of the other services; perhaps that's the ultimate goal and the other services are only temporary, since it will take several years to build out Live Mesh and the framework it rests on.

While we wait, go start using Skydrive and Live Mesh. They're worth knowing about!

Labels: file_sharing, Microsoft, mobile, photos, software, web_services

posted by bruceb at 11/14/2008 01:06:00 AM | permalink

"Windows Azure" is a terrible name but you need to be aware of it anyway. Windows Azure is a breathtakingly ambitious platform outlined by Microsoft at last week's Professional Developer Conference, another attempt by Microsoft to position itself to profit from a paradigm shift that will be just as important as the move to the Internet in the 90s.

Yesterday I used word processing as an easy example to imagine what it would be like if you had universal access to your files with the ability to open and edit them from any computer. Of course, it's just as easy to imagine having easy access from anywhere to your Excel spreadsheets and Powerpoint presentations, with the programs running in a browser if you don't have a copy installed on the computer nearby.

Okay, now stretch a little bit. Imagine that you could have something like the same experience on your phone - Windows Mobile can sync folders using Live Mesh and it runs little tiny versions of Word and Excel. Photos can be moved around from computer to computer and/or stored online, too, so you might not be surprised by this anecdote from someone who tried using Live Mesh on his phone to sync the folder where the phone stores pictures. There were the pictures on his computer a few minutes later with no muss, no fuss, no action required at all. The camera on the phone looks a lot more usable all of a sudden!

But now let's take a big step. Windows Azure is a platform that will allow you to run programs that are identical to programs installed on your computer but which are actually running from Microsoft's online servers. Microsoft's goal is to have all of its programs run from Microsoft's data centers in such a way that you cannot tell the difference between a program hosted online and a program on your computer. The developer tools will allow all the other software vendors to do the same thing.

Some of you already have experience with that. Businesses running on Small Business Server use Outlook to connect to mailboxes stored in Exchange Server. At the office, people open Outlook to do their work; away from the office, they might use Outlook on their notebook computer, or they might check their mail or calendar on their Windows Mobile phone, or they might use Outlook Web Access to display their Outlook folders in a web browser. Outlook Web Access is already significantly improved in Exchange 2007 so it more closely resembles Outlook, and it only takes a small leap of faith to imagine the experience being identical to using the full program.

The Azure framework is intended to give developers the ability to present their programs to you over your Internet connection so that virtually all the hard work is done by the online servers. Microsoft or Google or Amazon have responsibility for holding the data and backing it up; when a program is updated, the updates are applied at the source instead of requiring you to take steps to install updates on each of your computers.

I'll be writing more about Live Framework, the unified underpinning of the various Windows Live services as they become increasingly integrated, and Microsoft Online Services, which will introduce hosted online Exchange mailboxes to many of my clients. They're early signs of this movement to online services that will change your life, whether you're ready or not. There are many miles and many competitors and the future is not assured for Microsoft, but make no mistake - the company has staked its future on this ambitious transformation.

Here are some more early comments on Windows Azure: Dan Farber on "Microsoft's Manhattan Project"; Robert Scoble says not to underestimate Microsoft's ability to turn a corner; CBS News on the Azure launch; and Joe Wilcox on the significance of the project:

"I simply cannot overstate how enormous an undertaking is Azure. Microsoft plans to support cloud services in every product. Azure is hugely ambitious and will transform Microsoft, whether or not the vision stated on Monday makes it to market. As such, Azure is enormously risky and its success as envisioned is uncertain."

Labels: business, computers, file_sharing, Google, Internet, mail, Microsoft, mobile, Outlook, photos, software, web_services

posted by bruceb at 11/04/2008 12:05:00 AM | permalink

There are lots of projects intended to move our computing lives online. Let me try to paint a picture of where our world is heading over the next 5-10 years. I'll use Microsoft projects as examples but keep in mind that other companies have similar projects and goals.

Start with hundreds of thousands of high-powered servers all over the world, run by big companies, providing storage space and computing power to do interesting things. Amazon and Google are already in that business, and one of Microsoft's big announcements at last week's conference was that it intends to commit the future of the company to providing services from its own global network. Assume that the companies are doing what it takes to convince you that they have the resources to keep things safe and working at full speed.

Take a step forward from where we are now (a small step, really) and imagine that when you click on File / Open in Microsoft Word and see a list of the files in your Documents folder, you're seeing a list that is the same regardless of where you're sitting or what computer you're using. Your documents are listed when you're at your desk, but the same list appears when you're at a friend's house or at an Internet cafe in Paris. You don't give that a second thought - you expect it to happen and it works.

Well, it doesn't work yet but you might be surprised at how many steps you can take right now toward that goal.

• You can store documents in Office Live Workspace; on your own computer you can open them from within Word after installing a little plugin, and from any other computer you can access them in a browser and open them in Word if it's installed on that computer.
• If you set up Live Mesh, you can have local copies of your documents on all the computers you use regularly, appearing in your Documents folder when you click File / Open in Word, plus you can access the same files online by logging onto the Live Mesh website.

Those services are still in their early stages of development and will become easier to use. I have some criticisms of the way some Office Live Workspace features are designed and those will be addressed, but I've also seen references to the likelihood that Live Mesh folders will be accessible in Office Live Workspace and you'll just have to trust me - that moves us a huge step closer to that picture I painted up there of universal, easy access to your files from anywhere.

The bigger picture goes far beyond the basic ability to store files online - there are lots of ways already available to store documents online. The future lies in whether you can create and edit your files from any device.

So let's add one more element. Microsoft announced that you'll be able to use online versions of Word, Excel, Powerpoint and OneNote to work on your files if you're sitting at a computer where those programs are not installed. There are many, many details to be worked out about price, features (these will start out as "light" versions of the programs), and integration with your online files, but the concept immediately makes sense. Here's a screen shot of Word running in Internet Explorer - click through for shots of other programs:

Imagine that the experience of using Microsoft Word is identical regardless of whether you're using the copy installed on your computer or the online version, and you can open the same files regardless of where you're sitting. Under the hood, let's say Microsoft has done the heavy lifting to ensure that security precautions are observed for businesses. Interested yet?

Let's stop there for today. Tomorrow we'll take that a step further and try to understand just how wildly ambitious the plans are that Microsoft outlined last week.

Labels: business, file_sharing, IE, Internet, Microsoft, mobile, Office, software

posted by bruceb at 11/03/2008 12:33:00 AM | permalink

Windows Live Mesh has just been updated, as of about noon on Thursday 10/30. If you are using it already, you will be notified to install the update; it will stop working until the update is installed on each computer running it. If you are not using it yet, it has been fully opened up to everyone - read about it, make sure you have your Windows Live ID set up, and you are free to sign up.

Windows Live Mesh is a place to store files online, a program that runs on your computer to keep folders in sync on multiple computers, and a way to get remote access to your computer from anywhere. Live Mesh now supports Macs, and limited testing has begun for Windows Mobile devices. (Click here for more information about the Windows Mobile client.) You will be able to take a picture with your cell phone and have the photo show up immediately on your PC and your Mac, or share files with anyone by sharing a Live Mesh folder so they can access it online or synced to their own computer.

The remote access is extremely well designed and will make it unnecessary for most people to pay for a subscription to LogMeIn or GoToMyPC. Connecting from one computer in your Mesh to another one is a single click - hover over the Mesh icon and click on "Connect." Files can be transferred between the local computer and the remote computer by dragging and dropping copying and pasting them.

[Addendum 10/31: Although files can be transferred between the local and remote computers by copying and pasting them, Live Mesh does not currently support dragging and dropping them. Live Mesh Remote Desktop also apparently does not implement any support for printing at all, so you can work on your remote computer but you can't print something directly on your local printer. Those will be compelling reasons for some of you to use LogMeIn Pro instead of Live Mesh for remote access!]

Other updated features:

• Tips for new users.
• Better support for large monitors in remote sessions.
• Permission levels for shared folders - creator, owner, contributor, reader.
• Drag and drop files between your PC and Live Desktop.
• Multiple file upload to Live Desktop.

Microsoft showed only a couple of applications built on the Mesh framework at the PDC this week. The BBC demonstrated a Meshified version of its iPlayer, an extremely popular service in England for watching TV shows online. The Mesh version will remember what you've watched and spread that information to all your devices. If you watch part of a show on your computer, the episode will start where you left off when you tune in on your cell phone or on another computer.

But that's just a taste of what's coming. Under the hood, Live Mesh has been moved to the Windows Azure framework that Microsoft announced at the PDC underlying all of their upcoming web services, and it's powerful stuff indeed. You are watching and taking part in a transition that will affect you just as deeply as the initial shift to the Internet. I'll write more about that in the next few days!

Labels: Apple, file_sharing, Internet, Microsoft, mobile, remote, software, Vista, web_services, WinXP

posted by bruceb at 10/30/2008 12:51:00 PM | permalink

Access everywhere! Lots of interesting services are being set up to make it easy for you to have access to files, folders, photos, and computers from anywhere, whether it's working on an office computer from home or bringing up pictures from your home computer on a mobile phone.

The latest entry comes from Dell, strangely enough. Dell just introduced Dell Remote Access, a ten dollar per month service for a number of tasks loosely related to "remote access." It's designed to be extremely easy to use. You'll install some software on the computer to be controlled; the software will run continuously and periodically check in with Dell Server Central Command. Then when you go to my.dellremoteaccess.com and log in, you can control your computer remotely as if you're sitting in front of it. That's not all, though! You can stream music and photos to your remote device or upload files to the computer running the Dell software. Plus one more interesting feature that I haven't seen before - you can send a link to someone by email that gives them an encrypted connection to a folder on your computer, so they can look at pictures, say, with very little fuss.

Here are a couple of places where people say nice things about the new service. The people saying those nice things work for Dell. Haven't seen much feedback from the real world yet.

That's pretty cool stuff, and you might want to try it, but I'd offer two thoughts before you jump in.

This is an increasingly crowded field. You have alternatives to choose from at a range of prices, with simple or difficult interfaces, and with similar or different features. You can jump into whichever one gets your attention first - just be aware that's what you're doing. LogMeIn will let you run its software and connect remotely to a single computer for free; its paid subscription adds very easy file transfers and the ability to email a link to a single file on your computer. GoToMyPC is slightly more expensive and aimed more at business users. Windows Live Mesh is a free service from Microsoft that will let you connect remotely to a number of computers, along with file and folder sharing and syncing and more to come; it's a little complicated to get started but might be worth the learning curve for its extra capabilities. Windows Home Server sets up remote access and photo sharing along with its file storage and backup features. Businesses running Microsoft Small Business Server already have remote access to their office computers using Remote Web Workplace.

Which leads to a point that gets more important all the time. A new program or service requires a commitment! Do not install programs or sign up for services on a whim! Each program will require time to learn its features and its quirks; it will require periodic attention to keep it up to date when security issues inevitably appear; if it's a good choice, it will require time to figure out where it fits in your life or your business. You'll likely have another web page address to memorize and another login name and password to add to the notes you can never find when you need them.

There are exciting new services out there! Choose them wisely and stick with the ones you choose so you can make them work for you. If you flit from one new thing to another, installing programs and abandoning them quickly,  you'll wind up talking to me about why your computer is slow and programs are crashing. You'll be depressed when I click on your Start menu and nod my head sadly and give you an economics lesson in the cost of cleanup versus the cost of a new computer.

With that in mind, get connected remotely! You don't have to leave computers behind any more.

Labels: computers, Internet, Microsoft, mobile, phone, photos, remote, SBS, software, web_services

posted by bruceb at 10/21/2008 01:36:00 AM | permalink

Adobe released Flash Player 10, a new version of its ubiquitous software for displaying video clips and special effects in a web browser. You're using Flash every time you watch a YouTube video. There's a long list of new features on the Adobe web site, although really all that matters is whether it will stream higher-quality video without stuttering. Supposedly the new version will do better at that.

So I scurried off to install Flash 10, since I live for things like this - went to the web site and clicked on the "Get Flash Player 10" button and watched in excitement as a setup dialog appeared, followed by a couple of quick glimpses of setup windows coming and going, followed by the thrilling conclusion!

Hmm. Now Flash is broken.

I'm not discouraged! Back to the web site, click the setup button again! The computer whirs and belches and eventually the animation appears and I get the confirmation that installation was successful!

Version 9? Not quite what I was expecting.

Okay, fine. Let's get tough.

Off to Control Panel to uninstall Flash. There are two Flash programs listed, one of them for Flash 10 plus another one that probably was supposed to have been removed by the Flash 10 setup program. Uninstall them both.

Then back to the Flash web site, click the setup button, computer clanks and beeps, and wow, I've got Flash 10! Great!

I have no idea what difference that makes but perhaps it will be clearer after developers and web sites with video begin taking advantage of the new features.

Our experience with online video will steadily improve and this is one of the incremental steps forward. Microsoft just released Silverlight 2, Microsoft's competing technology for online video, which Microsoft hopes will chip away at Flash's commanding lead in the market. I don't care much who wins, but wouldn't it be nice if you could install useful tools without this kind of exercise?

Labels: IE, software, video

posted by bruceb at 10/17/2008 12:05:00 AM | permalink

Some of you are running into unnecessary software included with many USB flash drives. The U3 Launchpad probably seemed like a good idea but I'm not aware of anyone who uses it, and I know a lot of people who find it irritating.

The U3 software is included with many popular models of USB thumb drive, including the SanDisk Cruzer series, some Kingston models, and a host of others. It is occasionally advertised as a feature (the "Kingston U3 DataTraveler"); other times it turns up unannounced.

When a USB drive with U3 is plugged in, the software autoplays and adds an icon by the clock to start the U3 Launchpad, which theoretically allows programs to be run from the USB drive without making any permanent changes to the computer. A U3 device shows up twice in the computer even if the U3 software is not run, identified once as a USB drive and separately as a CD drive for reasons that must make sense to somebody smarter than me.

Theoretically there are some advantages to the U3 features - data can be secured in interesting ways, programs can be run that already know all your favorite settings, and you can use your favorite software without the bother of installing it on strange computers.

Except you can't. Programs won't run on U3 devices unless they've been specially written for that purpose, and the selection is none too compelling. A special version of Firefox will run and there's a U3 version of Roboform, one of the most popular programs for keeping track of passwords and the content of web forms. Actually, there's a good case to be made for carrying the Roboform information with you in a secure way that's easy to access, so Roboform users might want to consider getting the U3 system to work. There's nothing compelling for the rest of us.

There are a handful of reports of problems. Well, more than a handful.

• The extra drive letter is annoying!
• The platform is proprietary, the programs designed for it cost too much, and it hasn't generated enough interest to attract developers.
• Some computers lock up, freeze, or crash to a blue screen (!) when the U3 software is run. The U3 support page helpfully lists six or eight programs you might want to uninstall if your computer explodes when you run U3.
• If you don't have local administrator privileges on the computer, you'll have nothing but trouble and might not be able to properly close programs before pulling out the drive.
• Many people report that the U3 software makes the drive slower, affecting the data transfer speeds. The company denies it and claims to feel just terrible that people are so unfair.

There are lots more criticisms listed here.

The U3 software (and the extra partition on the USB drive) are almost impossible to delete manually. If you just want a USB drive without any of this stuff in your way, you'll have to use the uninstallation tool from U3 (or this specialized removal tool for Sandisk drives.)

Be careful - you'll lose any data on the USB drive when the U3 software is uninstalled and there's no way to reinstall the U3 software later.

You know what? I don't think you'll miss it.

Labels: hardware, software

posted by bruceb at 10/15/2008 01:35:00 AM | permalink

I routinely set up a Windows Live ID for my clients when they get a new computer. There are many programs and online services in the world; Microsoft's programs and services under the Windows Live name are well designed, free to explore, and reasonably simple - a good choice for people who want to do some new tricks without being overwhelmed.

Here are the steps to get started.

Windows Live ID is a single sign-on service from Microsoft that allows people to log into many websites and services with one account. A Windows Live ID is an email address and a password stored in Microsoft's servers. It's free. Follow the instructions here to log in with your Windows Live ID, or set one up if you don't have one already. If you're at your own computer, check all the boxes to sign in automatically and remember your password - the services will then work automatically.

Download and install Windows Live Photo Gallery, a free program for viewing and editing your photos. It's an upgrade for the version of Windows Photo Gallery included with Vista, and also runs on Windows XP. It includes an easy way to share photos online for free. Here's more information about Windows Live Photo Gallery.

• Be careful when you install Windows Live Photo Gallery! You'll have the option to install other Windows Live programs; only install the ones that you are genuinely interested in. Watch the checkboxes on the right - if you're not careful, your Internet Explorer home page will be changed and you'll get an unnecessary extra toolbar.

Explore Windows Live Skydrive, a free place to store and share files online. It is a genuinely useful service, completely free and very easy to use! You'll have access to the files stored in Skydrive from any computer, and you can set up easily that can be shared with someone else, or left open for anyone. Once you're familiar with it, it can be very handy! Here's more information about Windows Live Skydrive.

Windows Live Mesh is (a) a place to store files online, (b) a program that runs on your computer to keep folders in sync on multiple computers, and (c) a way to get remote access to your computer from anywhere - and in the future it will do more! It's a little more complex to get started with but it's already one of the most interesting services available. There's basic information about the service here, and notes about how to get started here. (If you get a message that the Mesh service is not available in your country, it's a glitch - the instructions to solve it are here.)

The world is already flooded with online services, and this is just the beginning of a very big transformation indeed. We're moving from complete dependence on our usual computer, to a much more amophous relationship with a number of computers and other devices that communicate with each other and a mix of locally installed software and services running up in the cloud. Stay sharp! Things are changing.

Labels: file_sharing, Internet, Microsoft, photos, remote, software, web_services

posted by bruceb at 10/13/2008 12:49:00 AM | permalink

I've set up more new computers in the last few months than in the year before that. A lot of you are retiring your trusty Windows XP computers and sitting down to Vista for the first time.

Welcome to Vista! It's a great operating system.

You'll be able to get started right away. These are the new features that I point out to my clients - things that set Vista ahead of Windows XP that you might not discover right away. Go read about each one!

Vista's Favorites list can be made into your best friend, a customized list for one-click access to the folders you use most often. It's so easy to customize that it would be a shame not to use it.

"Breadcrumbs" give you an easy, intuitive way to move through folders and subfolders, a huge improvement over the folder navigation in Windows XP.

The snipping tool is a built-in utility for quick screen shots that can be dropped into an email or document or photo.

Shadow copy is a feature in Vista Business and Vista Ultimate that automatically makes extra copies of your folders twice a day and tucks them in a safe place. You can restore files as they existed in the past, regardless of whether they've been edited or deleted in the meantime.

Don't hunt for programs - search for them! When you click the Start button, your cursor is immediately blinking in a search bar. Start to type in the name of a program! You'll see it immediately appear at the top of the Start menu. It's far faster than looking for a program by combing through the "All Programs" list.

Have fun!

Labels: software, Vista

posted by bruceb at 10/10/2008 12:42:00 AM | permalink

Apple's software for Windows has been causing problems on more and more of my clients' computers. I've been wrestling with bluescreens caused by iTunes, file extensions hijacked by Quicktime, and now I'm suspicious that an uninvited service has been causing problems in Outlook.

An iTunes installation includes far more than a music library that syncs to your iPod. There are multiple services and kernel mode drivers and program addins, with very little of it included in any disclosure or presented with any options. Apple also installs its "software update" framework, which it has used to install additional unrelated software without adequate disclosure, notably when it used the update service to install its insecure Safari web browser a few months ago.

The last few releases of iTunes install "Bonjour," a service that's only used if you share iTunes libraries across a network or use AppleTV. You don't do that. Why is that running on your computer without your knowledge?

You've also got "Apple Mobile Device Support," which syncs with iPhones and iPod Touch. If you don't have one of those devices, you don't need that software.

And if you're running Outlook and iTunes, you're probably running an Outlook addin named "iTunes Outlook Addin" or "Outlook iTunes Sync Addin." Take a look! In Outlook 2003, click on Tools / Options / Other / Advanced Options / COM Addins. In Outlook 2007, click on Tools / Trust Center / Addins, and click on "Manage COM Addins / Go" at the bottom. Now how did that get there! Make it go away. I suspect it of causing Outlook problems for several clients in the last few months.

There is a way to install iTunes without most of that unnecessary bloatware but be warned - it's not for the faint of heart. If you have to install iTunes, this guide will lead you through the process of locating the installation files for its individual pieces, so you can install only iTunes (and Bonjour if you need it), and leave the rest of it behind.

It doesn't help that the latest version of iTunes breaks the connection between J River Media Center and iPods. You're now forced to install iTunes if you get one of those devices, because Apple creates closed, unfriendly platforms and fiercely locks out potential competitors. Here's more info about that.

I hope my iPod Classic doesn't break - it connects to J River Media Center and I will never install iTunes or Quicktime on my computers. Apple is moving way up on the list of vendors helping send my kids to college.

Labels: Apple, audio, mobile, Outlook, phone, software

posted by bruceb at 10/07/2008 12:13:00 AM | permalink

I set up a new Dell Inspiron 518 desktop computer today - a nice home computer, a lovely case bristling with USB ports and shiny black plastic that will attract dust like nobody's business, fast and well-equipped, shipped with the correct configuration and working out of the box, as usual with Dell.

Dell ships computers with less preinstalled software than most other manufacturers, even from the Home & Home Office division, so setup is easy. There were a handful of third party apps to take off - Google's cluttered "Google Desktop" widget/search program and the rarely used Google Toolbar, one or two others. Dell is starting to load on more of its own homebrewed applications, though, so new Dell computers still have too many helpful startup screens and popup windows and balloons and taskbar icons. I remove most of them right away - in my experience, more people are annoyed than helped by the incessant notices from the "support center" and the well-meaning advertisements for services like Dell's online backup and the rest.

Maybe it's just me but I don't like the "Browser Address Error Redirector," licensed by Dell from Google. If you try to go to a nonexistent web page - a typo in the address, say - this redirects your web browser to keep you from seeing a "page not found" message. Instead, you'll get suggestions for what you might have been looking for, along with lots and lots and lots of advertisements (sample on the right).

I'd rather see a "page not found" message. I uninstall it.

The latest Dell software was introduced a few months ago - a dock that parks itself at the top of the screen to fool you into thinking you bought a Mac by mistake.

Programs are grouped, so a click on the applications icon might provide access to Word, Excel and Powerpoint. (Umm - which one of those icons would that be again?) The dock is intended to scoop up the normal desktop icons so the rest of the desktop is pristine. Here's a writeup with a few more details about the Dell dock. If you have a Dell computer running Vista and a dock would make your life complete, you can reportedly download and install it from this page.

Who uses things like this? Is there such a demand for an enhancement to Vista's desktop and menus that this is a great addition to every home computer shipped by Dell? I don't get it. I'm an old fogey. Don't get me wrong, I'm not insensitive to how personal some of these choices are. You can use the Dell dock and I'll be happy for you. Lots of people love their Macs and feed them special treats at dinner and put them to sleep on a little pillow and apparently nobody feels the same way I do - when I look at a Mac screen, I see a stupid, juvenile design that makes me so happy that I work in a PC world.

Labels: Apple, computers, Google, software, Vista

posted by bruceb at 10/03/2008 01:11:00 AM | permalink