Windows - Techy Bytes

One argument against Microsoft based software is that they are less 'secure'. Now personally I don't understand the concept of software being less secure, if you're not doing anything stupid you probably won't have to deal with anything nasty.

Having said that I think it is becoming more and more obvious, if Microsoft’s software was ever less secure it was not because of poor software practices but rather the obscurity of its competitors. Unfortunately for the open source community they can no longer just talk as such software as Firefox becomes more and more mainstream.

Now after years of learning from mistakes Microsoft seems to have created a fairly solid package, there is yet to be a major security breach for any of Microsoft’s newer software and all the while the security holes in competing software such as Firefox and Safari to Microsoft's Internet Explorer keep adding and adding.

Many people are switching from Internet Explorer to alternative browsers such as Firefox and Safari. Though that might make them feel more secure, the shift has also opened new doors for bad guys.

Case in point: We have no IE bugs to report this month, but both Firefox and Safari have been hit hard.

Hackers Focus Efforts on Firefox, Safari

Something tells me lots of hobbyist Firefox/Safari fanboy hackers are going to go hard after Internet Explorer to even things up before the month is out. But we'll see.

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Posted By: Ahmed - Category: Proprietary, Windows

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Is It Actualy FAIR to Compare the Two?

April 18th 2008 18:49

WHY? WHY? Can someone please tell me just WHY? Why do people prefer Macs over PCs? Why do people want to pay $700 more for a system that is effectively half as powerful as that of a competitors.

The cheapest Macbook Pro on Apple.com.au is being sold for a whopping $2700, what does it come with? Lets see, 2gb RAM, 200GB hard drive, 15 inch widescreen monitor, 2.4ghz core 2 duo, and the infamous 'super drive' (i.e. dvd burner).

Now Dell on the other hand, for just $2000, is offering an XPS laptop with 4gb RAM, 320GB hard drive, 15.4" widescreen monitor, and a 2.5ghz Core 2 Duo plus a one year warranty thrown in for good measure.

In every single point the DELL completely oblibetrates the Macbook Pro, side by side:

DELL 2.5ghz vs. Macbook Pro 2.4ghz
DELL 4gb RAM vs. Macbook Pro 2gb RAM
DELL 15.4" Screen vs. Macbook Pro 15" Screen
DELL 320GB hard drive vs. Macbook Pro 200gb hard drive.

*DELL, Macbook Pro

HELLO!? Does anyone else not see the friggin price differences? The best equivalent for the Macbook Pro DELL is offering is a $1900 system that has one gigabyte of extra RAM (3gb) and 320gb hard drive, matches the Macbook Pro on all other points.

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Posted By: Ahmed - Category: PC, Macintosh, Windows

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Why Windows Won't Collapse

April 12th 2008 15:38

Lots of people make a living predicting the 'inevitable' end of Microsoft's dominance, indeed long after Microsoft’s honeymoon with the tech community ended an entire new breed of journalists and market analysts have come into being, their sole job is predicting when Microsoft will collapse and just how it will collapse. Fact of the matter is Microsoft won't collapse and Gartner's recent blabber does not change that.

The reason Windows won't collapse is because Microsoft stays ahead of the game, now I know this might not be the correct thing to say considering it is a rule of thumb to 'know' that Microsoft does nothing but copy. Yet, here's the thing, Gartner says that the future of computing will be OS independent, that is everything will run from a browser. He believes Google Docs, which is a direct competitor with Microsoft Word, is an example of how Microsoft will lose its grip in the OS world

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Posted By: Ahmed - Category: Microsoft, Windows

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Apple Sends Mixed Message

March 27th 2008 11:15

Someone actually read the Firefox EULA, wow, and found draconian terms and conditions (who would have thought?).

In using Apple Software Update to slip his Safari browser onto millions of Windows PCs, Steve Jobs didn't just undermine "the security of the whole Web". He's made a mockery of end user licensing agreements.

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Posted By: Ahmed - Category: Windows

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Setting The Record Straight on Windows Vista

November 1st 2007 17:38

Sometimes you get caught up in the little details that you think somehow contribute to the broader picture, you might even think these little details actually mean more than they really do. Microsoft has suffered considerably rumours yet enjoyed considerably more success with Windows Vista than virtually any other of its products in history.

Criticisms involve such things as 'Microsoft is still supporting Windows XP which shows how little confidence they have in Vista' is nothing more than spin. Yes Microsoft still supports Windows XP (with a big update coming) and will probably continue to support Windows XP well into the life of Vista and probably won't stop supporting XP until Vista 2.0 is just around the corner. Windows 98 and 95 recieved the same treatment and few would argue that in hindsight 98 was not a considerable leap over 95 so I'll let that speak for itself

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Posted By: Ahmed - Category: Microsoft, Windows

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Get the RSCPA on PC Worlds Ass!

October 30th 2007 18:46

Your Typical PC World Writer - Note Species and Typewriter

PC World have declared that the $2419 USD Mac Book Pro is the fastest Vista laptop they have ever tested which is, if anything, a clear indication the head honchos up at PC World HQ have been feeding illicit drugs to the monkeys who work for them.

The fastest Windows Vista notebook we've tested this year is a Mac. Try that again: The fastest Windows Vista notebook we've tested this year--or for that matter, ever--is a Mac. Not a Dell, not a Toshiba, not even an Alienware. The $2419 (plus the price of a copy of Windows Vista, of course) MacBook Pro's PC WorldBench 6 Beta 2 score of 88 beats Gateway's E-265M by a single point, but the MacBook's score is far more impressive simply because Apple couldn't care less whether you run Windows

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Posted By: Ahmed - Category: Macintosh, Windows

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No Thinly Veiled Bias Here

October 5th 2007 03:41

None whatsoever, it's so blatant one can't help but wonder how the hell APC can be taken seriously considering some of its articles. Angus Kidman and his fantasticly ambiguous question 'Can IE's architect explain why it's so bloated?' is of particular note, which he kicks off by completely blowing his credibility:

My attempts to interview Chris Wilson, Microsoft's platform architect for Internet Explorer, appear threatened by technical difficulties even before the discussion begins. His temporary-conference-visitor speaker phone in Sydney won't work, then my computer crashes just before the interview starts, which in the sub-planet of Vista I'm forced to inhabit means a ten-minute reboot time.

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Posted By: Ahmed - Category: Business, Proprietary, Microsoft, Windows

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Consumer Groups Go Anti Competitive On Microsoft

September 19th 2007 04:01

Microsoft has always been the best friend of the programmer, in fact when compared to the likes of Apple or IBM it looks like they're in another entire business altogether. Just what has gotten into the minds of the morons up in the EU who seem to beconvinced of Microsoft’s dastardly plans like some moronic Linux fanboy?

What’s even more disgusting is the fact the EU is charing Microsoft with the same behaviours companies like Apple make an actual business model out of. Microsoft is being asked to reveal its 'secrets' to allow third party developers to better compete with them on their own OS

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Posted By: Ahmed - Category: Business, Proprietary, Microsoft, Windows

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Firefox is Proof Open Source is Failing

September 16th 2007 09:12

The general consensus is that the open source isn't gaining traction is because Microsoft is doing what it needs to from a business standpoint to buy out/take hostage the consumer. However the massive popularity of Firefox is proof enough that this simply can't be the case.

When it comes down to it all you just have to look at it in perspective. Every Windows machine ships with a copy of Internet Explorer for free, yet consumers are actively finding and download Firefox. What of Word Processing software? People pay money for Microsoft Office, and it sure isn't cheap, it doesn't even necessarily come with every Windows PC and additional components will invariably cost more (such as Excel, PowerPoint, etc

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Posted By: Ahmed - Category: Business, Proprietary, Microsoft, Windows

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Microsoft Updates Windows PCs Without User Consent

September 14th 2007 14:37

Depending on which end of the fence you're on you can see this as yet another evil attempt by Microsoft to take over the world or that Microsoft is simply tired of having users stuff up their operating system because they don't update. On the other hand it could just as well be have been a lazy programmer forgetting to include there is an update being downloaded.

The 'update' itself is small and centers around the actual Windows Update feature. While people have already started accusing Microsoft of acting immorally I believe the reasoning behind it is simple. First of all, Microsoft is under no obligation to inform users it has upgraded the software but it does so anyway. Secondly, the reason for this update seems to have been centered around the update software itself and nothing else

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Posted By: Ahmed - Category: Windows

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Yet Another Massive Windows Vista Bug...

August 29th 2007 16:18

Another one of those bugs that could only be found on a Windows operating system, given how many people actually use it finding absurd errors in it becomes the norm rather quickly. So whats the latest?

Well Windows Vista prioritizes media playing to ensure it's always smooth irrespective of the load on the computer. Anyway, this bug is related to this system Vista uses to play media, basically if you have a 1GB NIC and a 1GB networkand another interface running on the same computer if you play Music on it and try to transfer files between PCs through the network you lose about 20% of the bandwidth

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Posted By: Ahmed - Category: Windows

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Leaving Behind Google and Mozilla...

May 12th 2007 08:53

When Firefox 2.0 was released it met an extremely warm reception, as if Internet browsing took an evolutionary step up the tech ladder. Though no one cared to look at IE7, it was branded the bastard son of a goat and cow before it ever was released.

I admit I never have actually used IE7, until just two days ago. Having installed Vista on a seperate partition I was worried it would be difficult to move all my work over, especially with rumours circulating of all the bugs and evil souls hidden behind Vista's pristine graphics

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Posted By: Ahmed - Category: Windows

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