One of the great assets Symantec has is it's band of loyal customers: No matter how buggy, bloated or overpriced their product, these trusting folk keep coming back.
But they seem to be getting their renewal process badly wrong. We get two or three calls a week from customers who couldn't update their subscriptions because of bugs in Symantec's processes.
Yesterday, I got a phone call from a nice lady who's been using Norton Anti Virus for ten years (it was good back then) she found she couldn't activate the renewal she paid for.
So she tried to contact them. The support web site shows the waiting time for live chat and email responses. At the time she tried to start a live chat session it claimed a 30 minute wait and she was 84th in the queue.
90 minutes later she was still 84th in the queue.
It boggles my mind how these businesses are trashing their good name. Symantec is still the market leader in the home desktop security market. Yet they seem determined to fritter this asset away.
Instead of taking over more businesses or getting into silly fights with Microsoft, they need to focus on getting their core products and customer service right. The goodwill they have is being tested. Sooner or later, even their most loyal customers will give up on them.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Computer shoppers don't trust salespeople
According to consumer electronics magazine, Twice, the web is the main source for consumer research. With 25% of consumers using it, beating out word-of-mouth by a mere 2%. The reasoning is interesting.
"Consumers named a number of factors to back up their pre-purchase research process, including their belief that the Web is convenient, available 24/7, includes a broad spectrum of opinions, doesn’t “use pressure tactics,” is unbiased and is free"
"Unbiased"? You have to be kidding me! Many websites, particularly those of some of the bigger IT and consumer magazines, are outrageously biased or downright inaccurate.
It would be interesting to drill down deeper into this. I use web reviews, but I pay more attention to the reader's comments as I do the review. I find if there's a trend in the comments then that trend is worth investigating further.
The weighting consumers give their sources would be worth investigating too. While I'm sure a customer might spend 12 hours researching a purchase on the web, a twenty minute chat with a knowledgeable neighbour or relative will trump the web every time.
I wouldn't write off the "high pressure" salesman at the local computer superstore either. That 19% is low. I despair for the number of times I've told someone to buy a Linksys router or Toshiba desktop only to find the local Dick Smith or Harvey Norman store has talked them into buying a Dlink router or Packard-Bell desktop.
"Consumers named a number of factors to back up their pre-purchase research process, including their belief that the Web is convenient, available 24/7, includes a broad spectrum of opinions, doesn’t “use pressure tactics,” is unbiased and is free"
"Unbiased"? You have to be kidding me! Many websites, particularly those of some of the bigger IT and consumer magazines, are outrageously biased or downright inaccurate.
It would be interesting to drill down deeper into this. I use web reviews, but I pay more attention to the reader's comments as I do the review. I find if there's a trend in the comments then that trend is worth investigating further.
The weighting consumers give their sources would be worth investigating too. While I'm sure a customer might spend 12 hours researching a purchase on the web, a twenty minute chat with a knowledgeable neighbour or relative will trump the web every time.
I wouldn't write off the "high pressure" salesman at the local computer superstore either. That 19% is low. I despair for the number of times I've told someone to buy a Linksys router or Toshiba desktop only to find the local Dick Smith or Harvey Norman store has talked them into buying a Dlink router or Packard-Bell desktop.
Vista sales rely on new PCs
When I read that Windows Vista has sold at twice the rate of XP, I smelt a rat and made a mental note to find out the comparable computer sales figures. Luckily, Ars Technica saved me the work in their "Vista's twofold sales boost" article. To quote,
"In early 2002, ten million new PCs were sold each month, along with 8.5 million copies of Windows XP. If the numbers hold, the first quarter of 2007 will see at least 21 million new PCs sold per month with Microsoft's announced 20 million copies of Windows Vista.
If anything, Vista should sell even more as it's clear Microsoft are starving the channel of systems preloaded with Windows XP. For most people it's Vista or nothing. Although one of my techs was told by Dell they've made more systems available with XP as customers are going elsewhere because they don't want Vista.
"In early 2002, ten million new PCs were sold each month, along with 8.5 million copies of Windows XP. If the numbers hold, the first quarter of 2007 will see at least 21 million new PCs sold per month with Microsoft's announced 20 million copies of Windows Vista.
If anything, Vista should sell even more as it's clear Microsoft are starving the channel of systems preloaded with Windows XP. For most people it's Vista or nothing. Although one of my techs was told by Dell they've made more systems available with XP as customers are going elsewhere because they don't want Vista.
The downside of the Internet
People need to remember what the Internet is really about
The blogosphere is awash this morning that blogger Kathy Sierra has locked herself away because of threats against her in someone else's blog. Uber-blogger Robert Scoble feels physically sick and has gone on strike for a week. Half the rest of the world's blogs rise up in sympathy.
My favourite is the Licence to Roam blog. To quote, "insecure, small mindedness, misogynistic behaviour". That pretty well describes half the Internet.
Guys, get a grip. This-is-the-Internet. The Internet is the greatest medium for insecure, inadequate dweebs to get attention.
And that's what all this is about. Inadequate little creeps saying stuff to shock others, just like some attention deprived twelve year old. In fact, half of those posts probably were by twelve year olds.
Sadly, Ms Sierra's reaction and the mass indignation of the worthy bloggers only encourages these individuals.
The simple fact is the Internet is full of dopes like this. It's why I avoid usenet and web forums. Life is just to short.
I'd suggest Kathy you get on your plane and go to that meeting. The chances of any of these carrying out their threats or fantasies is minimal, their moms or wives won't let them out the house for a start. If you're going let these idiots ruin your life, then it might be best to avoid the Internet.
The blogosphere is awash this morning that blogger Kathy Sierra has locked herself away because of threats against her in someone else's blog. Uber-blogger Robert Scoble feels physically sick and has gone on strike for a week. Half the rest of the world's blogs rise up in sympathy.
My favourite is the Licence to Roam blog. To quote, "insecure, small mindedness, misogynistic behaviour". That pretty well describes half the Internet.
Guys, get a grip. This-is-the-Internet. The Internet is the greatest medium for insecure, inadequate dweebs to get attention.
And that's what all this is about. Inadequate little creeps saying stuff to shock others, just like some attention deprived twelve year old. In fact, half of those posts probably were by twelve year olds.
Sadly, Ms Sierra's reaction and the mass indignation of the worthy bloggers only encourages these individuals.
The simple fact is the Internet is full of dopes like this. It's why I avoid usenet and web forums. Life is just to short.
I'd suggest Kathy you get on your plane and go to that meeting. The chances of any of these carrying out their threats or fantasies is minimal, their moms or wives won't let them out the house for a start. If you're going let these idiots ruin your life, then it might be best to avoid the Internet.
Wireless broadband booms?
"Net users are flocking to wireless broadband" gushes Lia Timson in today's Sydney Morning Herald. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, wireless broadband use grew 400% in 18 months.
The figures deserve a closer look. The overall market grew 11% in that period to a total of 6.65 million subscribers, of that 186,000 were wireless. That's actually 2.8%, not the 5% reported in the SMH report and the ABS media release the article is based upon.
The figures need to be further taken with a grain of salt by a number of market factors that were happening over that 18 months. The biggest wireless broadband providers, iBurst and Unwired were marketing heavily in that period. In regional areas, local providers such as Wirefree and Cirrus Communications were using wireless in areas where ADSL isn't feasible.
Looking at our customer base, 3% is about right. Despite the hype, wireless broadband isn't for everyone. ADSL and cable are far cheaper and more reliable alternatives.
Wireless broadband does have a role to play. For people moving around and those in difficult to reach areas it's the most feasible option. I can see this niche being up to 15% of the market over time as more service companies, sales people, taxis, couriers and the like start using it.
It's just a shame the SMH and press release writers at the ABS have to hype up the figures. The growth is impressive, but it's started off a low base. I pity investors who get into these ventures without understand the figures or the market.
The figures deserve a closer look. The overall market grew 11% in that period to a total of 6.65 million subscribers, of that 186,000 were wireless. That's actually 2.8%, not the 5% reported in the SMH report and the ABS media release the article is based upon.
The figures need to be further taken with a grain of salt by a number of market factors that were happening over that 18 months. The biggest wireless broadband providers, iBurst and Unwired were marketing heavily in that period. In regional areas, local providers such as Wirefree and Cirrus Communications were using wireless in areas where ADSL isn't feasible.
Looking at our customer base, 3% is about right. Despite the hype, wireless broadband isn't for everyone. ADSL and cable are far cheaper and more reliable alternatives.
Wireless broadband does have a role to play. For people moving around and those in difficult to reach areas it's the most feasible option. I can see this niche being up to 15% of the market over time as more service companies, sales people, taxis, couriers and the like start using it.
It's just a shame the SMH and press release writers at the ABS have to hype up the figures. The growth is impressive, but it's started off a low base. I pity investors who get into these ventures without understand the figures or the market.
Monday, March 26, 2007
The curse of the middleman
I'm a regular reader of Mark Fletcher's Newsagent Blog and Jackson Wells Morris' Corporate Engagement Blog. While neither have much in common with my business or each other, their commentary and general business lessons make both worth reading. So I was delighted when I found one referring to the other on Saturday.
I should declare an interest on the subject. For many years I was a paperboy delivering the Melbourne Age and Sun on my bike. In cranky middle age I stopped dealing with both my local Sydney newsagents because of their incompetence and dodgy billing practices.
All of these subjects are related. The problem for newsagents is they are middlemen. And the modern big business mantra of relentlessly shaving costs means they are the meat in a very thin, stingy and mean sandwich.
In my case, my old newsagent lost my business when they started charging a 5% credit card payment fee. This in itself not a problem if you've been warned, but trying to sneak it past you in the bill, refusing to discuss it and lying about the cost of credit cards (guys, you're not the only people who have a merchant agreement). They decided that $5.00 surcharge was more important than a $100 a month account that had been with them for eleven years.
So I tried to take my business to the nearest newsagent, while closer they aren't quite as convenient as the old place. We hadn't bought anything through them since we dropped our newspaper deliveries because of regularly late and often incomplete deliveries. They refused to set up an account and left me feeling embarrassed and humiliated.
Mark has complained about the margins for newspaper deliveries, phone cards recharges and the lousy treatment at the hands of the magazine distributors. Here in New South Wales, we see the government slashing fees for public transport tickets and big business cutting distribution costs by using newsagents as fee-free alternatives.
The common denominator in all of these issues are that margins, fees and commissions are determined by large organisations. When these outfits find themselves under pressure to cut costs or increase profits, the easiest course is to cut the payments to their middlemen. That's the newsagents in these cases.
Increasingly I'm avoiding newsagents. The main reason is I find service indifferent and the queues of people buying things like lottery tickets, phone recharges and lord knows what else silly so I tend to buy my newspapers and magazines from service stations and supermarkets. Funny enough, the queues of people buying stuff that should be sold by the local newsagent or K-Mart is the reason I avoid Australia Post as well.
As Mark correctly points out, the changes to the newspaper industry mean great challenges to the local newsagent. The problem for most newsagents is they are trapped in low yield, low turnover, high overhead industry segments. In turn, this means their service will decline.
Until they start standing up to the magazine distributors, newsagent publishers, phone companies and brain damaged governments they're going to continue being ripped off. The stupid thing is if newsagents are allowed to decline, governments and big business will find their most economical distribution network gone.
I guess though I'm being old fashioned. Expecting long term thinking from the big end of town is like expecting to be able to buy stamps quickly and easily at your local post office.
I should declare an interest on the subject. For many years I was a paperboy delivering the Melbourne Age and Sun on my bike. In cranky middle age I stopped dealing with both my local Sydney newsagents because of their incompetence and dodgy billing practices.
All of these subjects are related. The problem for newsagents is they are middlemen. And the modern big business mantra of relentlessly shaving costs means they are the meat in a very thin, stingy and mean sandwich.
In my case, my old newsagent lost my business when they started charging a 5% credit card payment fee. This in itself not a problem if you've been warned, but trying to sneak it past you in the bill, refusing to discuss it and lying about the cost of credit cards (guys, you're not the only people who have a merchant agreement). They decided that $5.00 surcharge was more important than a $100 a month account that had been with them for eleven years.
So I tried to take my business to the nearest newsagent, while closer they aren't quite as convenient as the old place. We hadn't bought anything through them since we dropped our newspaper deliveries because of regularly late and often incomplete deliveries. They refused to set up an account and left me feeling embarrassed and humiliated.
Mark has complained about the margins for newspaper deliveries, phone cards recharges and the lousy treatment at the hands of the magazine distributors. Here in New South Wales, we see the government slashing fees for public transport tickets and big business cutting distribution costs by using newsagents as fee-free alternatives.
The common denominator in all of these issues are that margins, fees and commissions are determined by large organisations. When these outfits find themselves under pressure to cut costs or increase profits, the easiest course is to cut the payments to their middlemen. That's the newsagents in these cases.
Increasingly I'm avoiding newsagents. The main reason is I find service indifferent and the queues of people buying things like lottery tickets, phone recharges and lord knows what else silly so I tend to buy my newspapers and magazines from service stations and supermarkets. Funny enough, the queues of people buying stuff that should be sold by the local newsagent or K-Mart is the reason I avoid Australia Post as well.
As Mark correctly points out, the changes to the newspaper industry mean great challenges to the local newsagent. The problem for most newsagents is they are trapped in low yield, low turnover, high overhead industry segments. In turn, this means their service will decline.
Until they start standing up to the magazine distributors, newsagent publishers, phone companies and brain damaged governments they're going to continue being ripped off. The stupid thing is if newsagents are allowed to decline, governments and big business will find their most economical distribution network gone.
I guess though I'm being old fashioned. Expecting long term thinking from the big end of town is like expecting to be able to buy stamps quickly and easily at your local post office.
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Vista is most reliable version of Windows?
While writing the previous post I was listening to the Microsoft Channel Nine interview with Mark Russinovich, the founder of Wininternals who is now employed by Microsoft since they took over his company and incredibly useful website.
What struck me during the interview was the insistence of the interviewer that Vista is Microsoft's most secure operating system yet. In the first half of the interview he must have repeated it a dozen times.
To emphasise how secure Vista is, Mark did a good job of trashing the "non-existent" security in Windows 95 and 98. It's probably best to keep quiet about the mess Microsoft created by not following the rest of the industry and giving normal users limited restricted accounts in Windows 2000 and XP.
It's funny how they keep insisting how secure Vista is. I guess if you keep repeating it, it will make it even more secure.
What struck me during the interview was the insistence of the interviewer that Vista is Microsoft's most secure operating system yet. In the first half of the interview he must have repeated it a dozen times.
To emphasise how secure Vista is, Mark did a good job of trashing the "non-existent" security in Windows 95 and 98. It's probably best to keep quiet about the mess Microsoft created by not following the rest of the industry and giving normal users limited restricted accounts in Windows 2000 and XP.
It's funny how they keep insisting how secure Vista is. I guess if you keep repeating it, it will make it even more secure.
Malicious Skype trojans
A friend of ours has been warning of the risks of SPIT, SPam over Internet Telephony, for a couple of years now so seeing the news of the latest Skype trojan doing the rounds caught my attention.
The interesting things about this little nasty uses the Skype contact list to spread. Which means our initial advice to restricting Skype chats to contacts won't do too much. It comes back to running the system as a limited user with an up to date virus checker.
Of course, not clicking on anything that says "click here" is a good idea too.
The interesting things about this little nasty uses the Skype contact list to spread. Which means our initial advice to restricting Skype chats to contacts won't do too much. It comes back to running the system as a limited user with an up to date virus checker.
Of course, not clicking on anything that says "click here" is a good idea too.
Monday, March 19, 2007
Is IT an "extravagent indulgence"
I stumbled on the Age's Enterprise blog over the weekend. What a depressing read this post was.
Quite simply, the idea that getting IT support is an "extravagent indulgence" is silly. It's like saying your rent or car maintenance is an optional extra. It's not, it's a real business cost.
One of the biggest mistakes small business makes is to keep their IT in house. It ends up soaking hours of the owners valuable time. In the worst case it costs ten of thousands in lost time.
The worst case we've ever seen is a network where all the computers had to be rebooted every time someone wanted to print. A typical print job would involve the user warning everyone they were about to print, the other five staff would save their work and troop out for a smoke.
Once the print job had finished, the user would reboot his computer and wander out to have a smoke with the others.
Every print job was costing the business a man hour of work. Over a year we estimated it was costing the business over $30,000.
Small business owners have to understand that IT is essential to most businesses. The cost involved are a natural cost of doing business. Not factoring for these costs is like not factoring for insurance.
Quite simply, the idea that getting IT support is an "extravagent indulgence" is silly. It's like saying your rent or car maintenance is an optional extra. It's not, it's a real business cost.
One of the biggest mistakes small business makes is to keep their IT in house. It ends up soaking hours of the owners valuable time. In the worst case it costs ten of thousands in lost time.
The worst case we've ever seen is a network where all the computers had to be rebooted every time someone wanted to print. A typical print job would involve the user warning everyone they were about to print, the other five staff would save their work and troop out for a smoke.
Once the print job had finished, the user would reboot his computer and wander out to have a smoke with the others.
Every print job was costing the business a man hour of work. Over a year we estimated it was costing the business over $30,000.
Small business owners have to understand that IT is essential to most businesses. The cost involved are a natural cost of doing business. Not factoring for these costs is like not factoring for insurance.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Another burning laptop
Matt from Melbourne woke up to his housemate screaming. His Macbook was on fire. Luckily he was able to put it out.
Luckily for him, and us, he took photos and posted them on a discussion forum.
It's sad that we have so little trust of big IT companies that it's necessary to post first and then ring the company. But that lack of trust has been well earned.
It's going to be interesting to see how Apple deal with this. According to Matt, his laptop wasn't on the Mac recall list and is still under warranty. It looks like we might have another battery recall approaching.
Luckily for him, and us, he took photos and posted them on a discussion forum.
It's sad that we have so little trust of big IT companies that it's necessary to post first and then ring the company. But that lack of trust has been well earned.
It's going to be interesting to see how Apple deal with this. According to Matt, his laptop wasn't on the Mac recall list and is still under warranty. It looks like we might have another battery recall approaching.
Monday, March 12, 2007
OneCare is bad news
Those of us in the industry with long memories stroked our beards sagely when Microsoft announced OneCare, we remember how well previous attempts by Microsoft performed.
So it wasn't surprising when the news came out that OneCare eats email files. It appears that the program correctly identifies infected attachments within an Outlook pst or an Outlook Express mbx file, finds it can't repair it and so deletes the whole file.
I'm glad we haven't encountered this. It sends a cold chill of horror through my blood just thinking about the cranky, distressed customers.
The silly thing is OneCare isn't particularly good at identifying viruses. It's another reason why Microsoft should stick to making their core products more secure rather than messing around with products like Defender and OneCare.
So it wasn't surprising when the news came out that OneCare eats email files. It appears that the program correctly identifies infected attachments within an Outlook pst or an Outlook Express mbx file, finds it can't repair it and so deletes the whole file.
I'm glad we haven't encountered this. It sends a cold chill of horror through my blood just thinking about the cranky, distressed customers.
The silly thing is OneCare isn't particularly good at identifying viruses. It's another reason why Microsoft should stick to making their core products more secure rather than messing around with products like Defender and OneCare.
Friday, March 02, 2007
Refreshing scepticism
I was pretty cranky when reading some of the reviews for the new Norton 360 product. Norton have been the by-word for bad software over the last five years. So I was less than impressed reading sycophantic press reviews and dopey user comments about the new product.
The new Norton is going to have to be a far slimmer product than anything they've recently put out to convince me. The Norton Anti-Virus 2007 certainly isn't.
It's good to see I'm not alone in this. ZD Net Australia shares my view. While all technology vendor's claims should be treated with suspicion, Symantec's press releases are least reliable source.
The new Norton is going to have to be a far slimmer product than anything they've recently put out to convince me. The Norton Anti-Virus 2007 certainly isn't.
It's good to see I'm not alone in this. ZD Net Australia shares my view. While all technology vendor's claims should be treated with suspicion, Symantec's press releases are least reliable source.
Fat kids in England
According to the Kimbofo blog, fat kids are the current UK tabloid fad.
Now feeding your kids twenty chocolate bars a day might be child abuse, but I'd suggest letting a Sun reporter near your children is far more damaging to their well being.
While these parents are negligent. I'm not sure naming and shaming them and holding their kids up for ridicule is actually productive. But let's not let the interests of the kids get in the way of a good tabloid story.
Now feeding your kids twenty chocolate bars a day might be child abuse, but I'd suggest letting a Sun reporter near your children is far more damaging to their well being.
While these parents are negligent. I'm not sure naming and shaming them and holding their kids up for ridicule is actually productive. But let's not let the interests of the kids get in the way of a good tabloid story.
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Vista Activation problems
It's a shame Microsoft persist with the intrusive and buggy Windows Genuine Activation program. It seems to go from bad to worse. The latest problems with Vista show this is going to be a pain for those affected.
At least Microsoft have acknowledged the problem in their knowledge base. But the real concern is that a game can cause this problem. Isn't Vista supposed to stop things accessing critical system files?
The real disappointment is that Microsoft insist on treating their customers like thieves: A critical system file changes? Well, you must be try to hack our software.
The only comforting thought about this is it will tie up a few millions of Microsoft's money in supporting users who want to reactivate.
At least Microsoft have acknowledged the problem in their knowledge base. But the real concern is that a game can cause this problem. Isn't Vista supposed to stop things accessing critical system files?
The real disappointment is that Microsoft insist on treating their customers like thieves: A critical system file changes? Well, you must be try to hack our software.
The only comforting thought about this is it will tie up a few millions of Microsoft's money in supporting users who want to reactivate.
More Vista hall of shame
Australian Personal Computer adds to the Vista hall of shame with it's list of mobile phones that don't support Vista, which is pretty well every single brand with the exception of iMate and Palm.
It really is a joke.
It really is a joke.
Wasting taxes on technology
The state government is accused of wasting $100 million on a defective email program for NSW school students. It's a shame politicians have to waste scarce funds on gimmicks like this. There's a thousand other things this money could have been spent on in our state schools.
Computers and the Internet are useful educational tools. But they are not substitutes for good teachers or well resourced schools. It's far more important for kids to be taught to read and write rather than just learning powerpoint and how to rip stuff off Wikipedia.
The real problem is that parents and voters are easily impressed by this stuff. Politicians know it wins them votes and school administrators know it allows them to get away with higher fees. We all need to question these people more on what exactly they intend to achieve with technology.
Computers and the Internet are useful educational tools. But they are not substitutes for good teachers or well resourced schools. It's far more important for kids to be taught to read and write rather than just learning powerpoint and how to rip stuff off Wikipedia.
The real problem is that parents and voters are easily impressed by this stuff. Politicians know it wins them votes and school administrators know it allows them to get away with higher fees. We all need to question these people more on what exactly they intend to achieve with technology.
It's the Active X stupid!
The US CERT advisory that common support tools have security problems is barely a surprise. Anything that uses ActiveX is a risk to the computer. It's no surprise that much of the malware that causes us so much grief uses it to infect victims.
While thinking that Firefox, Opera and other browser users are totally immune from bugs is a mistake, Internet Explorer's inbuilt support for ActiveX makes it by far the biggest and easiest target.
Why support companies have to use ActiveX based programs is beyond me. Given the known problems and prevalence of spyware you'd think they would avoid them. Instead they seem to rely on them.
The biggest joke is Symantec, where their Norton products are ActiveX dependent. When a Norton machine is infected with ActiveX based spyware, Norton crashes which in turn crashes the computer. To add insult to injury, the damaged system won't even let you uninstall Norton properly because, surprise, it requires ActiveX.
It's really time for ActiveX to get the flick, it's buggy, slow and vendor specific. Programmers and website designers who use it are lazy and letting down their users.
While thinking that Firefox, Opera and other browser users are totally immune from bugs is a mistake, Internet Explorer's inbuilt support for ActiveX makes it by far the biggest and easiest target.
Why support companies have to use ActiveX based programs is beyond me. Given the known problems and prevalence of spyware you'd think they would avoid them. Instead they seem to rely on them.
The biggest joke is Symantec, where their Norton products are ActiveX dependent. When a Norton machine is infected with ActiveX based spyware, Norton crashes which in turn crashes the computer. To add insult to injury, the damaged system won't even let you uninstall Norton properly because, surprise, it requires ActiveX.
It's really time for ActiveX to get the flick, it's buggy, slow and vendor specific. Programmers and website designers who use it are lazy and letting down their users.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Why you shouldn't inherit office computers
I've spent the last three weeks struggling with a neighbour's dead computer, what started as a simple dead hard drive has turned into a nightmare as the thing was supplied by the neighbour's ex-employer.
This means everything is based upon it being on a corporate network: Windows Updates, anti-virus, security, admin passwords and installation folders. It's turned a six hour pain in the backside into dedicated trench warfare. And I still can't get the #$%^ing Microsoft Office source location fixed.
We've always recommended not buying second hand computers. But corporate computers are even worse. It's a shame customers don't listen to us before buying these things.
This means everything is based upon it being on a corporate network: Windows Updates, anti-virus, security, admin passwords and installation folders. It's turned a six hour pain in the backside into dedicated trench warfare. And I still can't get the #$%^ing Microsoft Office source location fixed.
We've always recommended not buying second hand computers. But corporate computers are even worse. It's a shame customers don't listen to us before buying these things.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Big business and Vista
A neighbour had to buy a copy of XP to repair a computer that came without a disk. Almost every large IT outlet claims "Microsoft don't sell XP anymore". This wasn't one shop, this is a number of places, all big outlets.
He eventually got one, but was told "you were lucky, Microsoft don't sell this anymore."
What's going on here? Tech Pac seem to have plenty of copies in stock and Microsoft have made no formal announcement. Where is this line coming from?
He eventually got one, but was told "you were lucky, Microsoft don't sell this anymore."
What's going on here? Tech Pac seem to have plenty of copies in stock and Microsoft have made no formal announcement. Where is this line coming from?
Monday, February 26, 2007
Microsoft's list of Vista compatible apps
Information Week reports on Microsoft's list of software that's achieved the "Certified for Vista" or "Works with Vista" logo. In picking that all current Microsoft products qualify, they miss the point that many of their older products miss out.
This is going to be one of the biggest barriers for many users adopting Vista. Along with the cost of a new system, they will be looking at spending another $300 on a new version of Office. That's a big reason for holding back.
This is going to be one of the biggest barriers for many users adopting Vista. Along with the cost of a new system, they will be looking at spending another $300 on a new version of Office. That's a big reason for holding back.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Alexander Ponosov acquitted, but the Julie Amero gets sillier
The Russian teacher accused of software piracy is acquitted. Which is a victory for common sense. Even the Vladimir Putin described the case as utter nonsense.
The man himself announced he was off to drink champagne. Having faced a penalty of up to five years in a Russian prison, that would be the least I would do.
Things have come to a pretty low state of affairs when the Russian legal system is showing the US an example of common sense and justice. Because the Julie Amero case just gets more stupid.
PC World claims to have an email from a juror on the case where the juror says she was convicted because ""she made no effort to hide or stop the porno, not just because she loaded the porno onto the machine. Going to the history pages it was obvious that the paged were clicked on they were not the result of pop-ups."
If this is the case, that the jury felt she didn't do enough to stop the kids looking, where does this leave the school principal, the teacher who normally used that computer and the administrators of the network. These people knew the machine was compromised and did nothing to protect the students either. Surely the brave protectors of Connecticut justice should now prosecute them for the same crime.
Even more disturbing is the comment, "If a 40 year old school teacher does not have the sense to turn off or is not smart enough to figure it out, would you or any other person wanting her teaching your child or grandchild?"
So they even convicted her for being dumb and ignorant of computers. Where does that leave the jury, defense, judge, prosecution and the "expert" police prosecution witness? If stupidity is a crime, these people are looking at life.
I really hope this email to PC World is a hoax. If this really was the reasoning of the jury, then the case is an even bigger debacle. This is truly starting to look like a witch hunt.
The man himself announced he was off to drink champagne. Having faced a penalty of up to five years in a Russian prison, that would be the least I would do.
Things have come to a pretty low state of affairs when the Russian legal system is showing the US an example of common sense and justice. Because the Julie Amero case just gets more stupid.
PC World claims to have an email from a juror on the case where the juror says she was convicted because ""she made no effort to hide or stop the porno, not just because she loaded the porno onto the machine. Going to the history pages it was obvious that the paged were clicked on they were not the result of pop-ups."
If this is the case, that the jury felt she didn't do enough to stop the kids looking, where does this leave the school principal, the teacher who normally used that computer and the administrators of the network. These people knew the machine was compromised and did nothing to protect the students either. Surely the brave protectors of Connecticut justice should now prosecute them for the same crime.
Even more disturbing is the comment, "If a 40 year old school teacher does not have the sense to turn off or is not smart enough to figure it out, would you or any other person wanting her teaching your child or grandchild?"
So they even convicted her for being dumb and ignorant of computers. Where does that leave the jury, defense, judge, prosecution and the "expert" police prosecution witness? If stupidity is a crime, these people are looking at life.
I really hope this email to PC World is a hoax. If this really was the reasoning of the jury, then the case is an even bigger debacle. This is truly starting to look like a witch hunt.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Apple join the ranks of the shamed
In checking my facts for the previous post, I stumbled on this gem.
No Mac product has been updated for Vista compatibility?
None, nada, zilch, zip?!?
According to their web page, updated on February 2, 2007 not one product is Vista compatible.
I know flogging vapourware to the ranks of adoring kool-aid drinkers is fun, but Steve, how about getting your minions to do some work making their products fit for purpose?
No Mac product has been updated for Vista compatibility?
None, nada, zilch, zip?!?
According to their web page, updated on February 2, 2007 not one product is Vista compatible.
I know flogging vapourware to the ranks of adoring kool-aid drinkers is fun, but Steve, how about getting your minions to do some work making their products fit for purpose?
Apple reseller blues
Local Apple reseller Total Recall Solutions has gone to the wall. This is a great shame as Adam ran the best Mac shop in the district. In my experience most of the Apple resellers around Sydney give service that ranges from mediocre to abysmal.
In fact, using the word "service" in the same sentence as "Apple reseller" makes me uneasy.
With the looming opening of the Sydney Apple Store many of these guys are going to find their business models under a lot of pressure. Ben Morgan, the proprietor of Sydney's biggest single Mac shop, has been less than enthusiastic about Apple's plans. Australia's biggest Apple reseller, Next Byte, is a bit more relaxed.
Next Byte will take a hit from the Apple Stores in their four Melbourne and Sydney city stores, but having stores all over Australia will cushion the overall blow. Academy's a bit more vulnerable, but their Eastern suburbs location makes them far more attractive to the cashed up locals who loathe travelling into town. I'd say both are probably pretty safe, unlike smaller stores.
The real question though, is who would be an Apple reseller? Charles Wright in his sadly defunct Melbourne Age column asked this question nearly five years ago. If anything matters have got worse since then for Apple resellers with declining margins, your main supplier opening stores to compete with you and not even being able to use the Apple name.
It's a tough industry flogging computer hardware. Apple certainly don't make it easier for their people.
In fact, using the word "service" in the same sentence as "Apple reseller" makes me uneasy.
With the looming opening of the Sydney Apple Store many of these guys are going to find their business models under a lot of pressure. Ben Morgan, the proprietor of Sydney's biggest single Mac shop, has been less than enthusiastic about Apple's plans. Australia's biggest Apple reseller, Next Byte, is a bit more relaxed.
Next Byte will take a hit from the Apple Stores in their four Melbourne and Sydney city stores, but having stores all over Australia will cushion the overall blow. Academy's a bit more vulnerable, but their Eastern suburbs location makes them far more attractive to the cashed up locals who loathe travelling into town. I'd say both are probably pretty safe, unlike smaller stores.
The real question though, is who would be an Apple reseller? Charles Wright in his sadly defunct Melbourne Age column asked this question nearly five years ago. If anything matters have got worse since then for Apple resellers with declining margins, your main supplier opening stores to compete with you and not even being able to use the Apple name.
It's a tough industry flogging computer hardware. Apple certainly don't make it easier for their people.
Monday, February 12, 2007
More disgraceful Vista support
More outlets are picking up on the disgraceful state of Vista support.
Smarthouse discover Logitech have no intention of supporting their equipment. They also mention Abode, Creative and nVidia. A good point is how empty this talk of "convergence" with home hi-fi is when the stuff doesn't work.
Over at Eastwood Hi-Fi, they've found that not only Yamaha have problems, but the Panasonic website won't even work for Vista users. I find Steve Niell's naivete about the professionalism and planning of the IT and electronic industries rather touching. He should try dealing with ISPs.
Australian Personal Computer has a rundown on ISPs and their hardware vendors. Taking the cake are the country's two biggest Telcos: Bigpond won't connect Vista users while Optus take the cake with the comment they "already supported six operating systems but "only recently learned that Vista brings with it some elements that require us to change our systems."
Truly breathtaking. You'd think Vista suddenly appeared out of the ether and onto computers. The contempt vendors and ISPs have for their customers is disgraceful.
Smarthouse discover Logitech have no intention of supporting their equipment. They also mention Abode, Creative and nVidia. A good point is how empty this talk of "convergence" with home hi-fi is when the stuff doesn't work.
Over at Eastwood Hi-Fi, they've found that not only Yamaha have problems, but the Panasonic website won't even work for Vista users. I find Steve Niell's naivete about the professionalism and planning of the IT and electronic industries rather touching. He should try dealing with ISPs.
Australian Personal Computer has a rundown on ISPs and their hardware vendors. Taking the cake are the country's two biggest Telcos: Bigpond won't connect Vista users while Optus take the cake with the comment they "already supported six operating systems but "only recently learned that Vista brings with it some elements that require us to change our systems."
Truly breathtaking. You'd think Vista suddenly appeared out of the ether and onto computers. The contempt vendors and ISPs have for their customers is disgraceful.
Mark Curban doesn't understand spam
As a subscriber to Crikey's newsletter I enjoy their daily links to blogs that have caught their reader's attention so I visited Mark Curban's comment on Donald Trump sending him spam.
Ummm Mark, that spam is as likely to have come from your granny as it was from Donald Trump. See my previous post on compromised computers.
Ummm Mark, that spam is as likely to have come from your granny as it was from Donald Trump. See my previous post on compromised computers.
Home PCs attack the Internet
Last week's attack on the Internet root servers is being blamed on botnets of zombie computers. And why not, the number of computers being compromised by spyware is horrendous. We see a half a dozen each week.
Convergence is a buzz word in the IT industry. The worrying thing about the malware epidemic is how the bad guys are converging: Spammers, phishers , spyware, phishers and virus writers are all coming together and sharing tactics and compromised machines.
The spam epidemic is a good example. One of the best protections from spam were the black lists of compromised servers and open relays. The problem now is that we have hundreds of thousands and possibly millions of compromised home PCs.
Unsecured wireless networks are also to blame. One client of ours was getting regularly disconnected for abusing their service. It turned out their wireless router (not setup by us) had no security and someone was using it to send spam.
The lesson, as the EETimes article linked above says, is that all computer users have a responsibility to secure their computers. If they don't, they may be responsible for spam, phishing scams and attacks on the Internet DNS servers.
Convergence is a buzz word in the IT industry. The worrying thing about the malware epidemic is how the bad guys are converging: Spammers, phishers , spyware, phishers and virus writers are all coming together and sharing tactics and compromised machines.
The spam epidemic is a good example. One of the best protections from spam were the black lists of compromised servers and open relays. The problem now is that we have hundreds of thousands and possibly millions of compromised home PCs.
Unsecured wireless networks are also to blame. One client of ours was getting regularly disconnected for abusing their service. It turned out their wireless router (not setup by us) had no security and someone was using it to send spam.
The lesson, as the EETimes article linked above says, is that all computer users have a responsibility to secure their computers. If they don't, they may be responsible for spam, phishing scams and attacks on the Internet DNS servers.
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
When the rivers of gold stop flowing
"Rivers of gold" was the term to describe the profitable classified advertising businesses of the Sydney Morning Herald and Melbourne Age. There's been another river of gold in the Sensis monopoly of directory advertising. If anything, the Yellow Pages has been far more profitable for Sensis/Telstra than the classified have been for Fairfax.
The launch of Google Maps Australia is direct threat to both these rivers of gold. By linking into the News Limited classified system, it threatens Fairfax's advantages. For Sensis/Yellow Pages, their monopoly is threatened by a viable alternative directory.
Google certainly does the job better than Yellow pages. I searched "Computer Repairs" and "Neutral Bay", Our business came up first and there was only one paid ad above us, all the other listings were in the immediate area. The map was clear and concise.
The same search on Yellow Pages Online didn't take us directly to the listings. We first went to a category page. Multiple categories for the one business type is another Yellow pages tactic to get more money out of us.
Once we were in the correct category there were SEVENTEEN premium ads ahead of us. To add insult to injury, almost all the listings ahead of are the "may not be located in the area" type. Many of them are on the other side of Sydney, which makes specifying a suburb stupid and pointless.
On those results, it's difficult to see why a small IT shop would bother with anything more than the basic Yellow Pages listing. Given the price of a single Yellow Pages category listing, let alone four or five, is prohibitive and you'll always be outgunned by bigger advertisers it's barely worth it. Even more discouraging is the fact Yellow Pages own one of your competitors.
The biggest threat to Sensis though is that Google have tied up with News Limited's True Local service. Being able to combine online listings with local and metropolitan newspaper advertising is a pretty formidable selling proposition. If News and Google don't get greedy then Sensis has a serious problem.
It's ironic that the Australian Google Maps appears the same week Fred Hilmer released his tale of being the Fairfax CEO. The tie up between Google and News illustrates how badly Fred got it wrong with separating the Australian Cityseach from the Fairfax newspapers. Had Fred got it right, Google might have been partnering with a dominant Fairfax.
Fairfax and Sensis should be very worried about the Google Maps-News Limited partnership. This really has the potential to divert much of the "rivers of gold" away from the established players. It's going to be interesting to see how Fairfax and Sensis respond.
The launch of Google Maps Australia is direct threat to both these rivers of gold. By linking into the News Limited classified system, it threatens Fairfax's advantages. For Sensis/Yellow Pages, their monopoly is threatened by a viable alternative directory.
Google certainly does the job better than Yellow pages. I searched "Computer Repairs" and "Neutral Bay", Our business came up first and there was only one paid ad above us, all the other listings were in the immediate area. The map was clear and concise.
The same search on Yellow Pages Online didn't take us directly to the listings. We first went to a category page. Multiple categories for the one business type is another Yellow pages tactic to get more money out of us.
Once we were in the correct category there were SEVENTEEN premium ads ahead of us. To add insult to injury, almost all the listings ahead of are the "may not be located in the area" type. Many of them are on the other side of Sydney, which makes specifying a suburb stupid and pointless.
On those results, it's difficult to see why a small IT shop would bother with anything more than the basic Yellow Pages listing. Given the price of a single Yellow Pages category listing, let alone four or five, is prohibitive and you'll always be outgunned by bigger advertisers it's barely worth it. Even more discouraging is the fact Yellow Pages own one of your competitors.
The biggest threat to Sensis though is that Google have tied up with News Limited's True Local service. Being able to combine online listings with local and metropolitan newspaper advertising is a pretty formidable selling proposition. If News and Google don't get greedy then Sensis has a serious problem.
It's ironic that the Australian Google Maps appears the same week Fred Hilmer released his tale of being the Fairfax CEO. The tie up between Google and News illustrates how badly Fred got it wrong with separating the Australian Cityseach from the Fairfax newspapers. Had Fred got it right, Google might have been partnering with a dominant Fairfax.
Fairfax and Sensis should be very worried about the Google Maps-News Limited partnership. This really has the potential to divert much of the "rivers of gold" away from the established players. It's going to be interesting to see how Fairfax and Sensis respond.
Who'd be a teacher?
I'm not wholly convinced about the use of computers in class rooms. I don't believe any computer is a substitute for a competent teacher. As a taxpayer and someone who supports these evil things for a living, I'm not even convinced it's a good investment of my tax dollars.
Now teachers might agree. First we had the Julie Amero case where a Connecticut school temporary is facing 40 years in jail for a spyware infected computer. Now we have the Alexander Ponosov case where a Russian school teacher is facing a spell in Siberia for buying computers with pirated software.
The injustices in both of these cases is breathtaking. In the Ponosov case, the spectacle of provincial school teacher being used an example so Russia can prove it's worthy of joining the WTO is a digrace. I'd like to know what happened to the people who sold him the computers.
Julie Amero's predicament is also disgraceful. The real villains in this are the local school board who allowed filters to expire and accepted pop-up ads on classrooms computers as being normal. It really seems the charges were only a butt-covering exercise by these incompetents.
Incompetent is the best description of the prosecution's "expert" witness, Detective Mark Lounsbury who claimed Amero musts have "physically clicked" on pornographic links. The frightening thing is Detective Lounsbury recieved training from the FBI in basic network intrusion and advanced network intrusion in Unix. He admit even admits he's not an expert and relies on Computer Cop software.
It surprises me that more schools and businesses haven't fallen foul of the law because of malware infested PCs. Given it's considered sexual harrassment to have a girly calendar on an office wall, hard core porn on a computer desktop must beyond the pale. Every office and school should have proper filtering and spyware protection and policies to deal with the unexpected.
Now teachers might agree. First we had the Julie Amero case where a Connecticut school temporary is facing 40 years in jail for a spyware infected computer. Now we have the Alexander Ponosov case where a Russian school teacher is facing a spell in Siberia for buying computers with pirated software.
The injustices in both of these cases is breathtaking. In the Ponosov case, the spectacle of provincial school teacher being used an example so Russia can prove it's worthy of joining the WTO is a digrace. I'd like to know what happened to the people who sold him the computers.
Julie Amero's predicament is also disgraceful. The real villains in this are the local school board who allowed filters to expire and accepted pop-up ads on classrooms computers as being normal. It really seems the charges were only a butt-covering exercise by these incompetents.
Incompetent is the best description of the prosecution's "expert" witness, Detective Mark Lounsbury who claimed Amero musts have "physically clicked" on pornographic links. The frightening thing is Detective Lounsbury recieved training from the FBI in basic network intrusion and advanced network intrusion in Unix. He admit even admits he's not an expert and relies on Computer Cop software.
It surprises me that more schools and businesses haven't fallen foul of the law because of malware infested PCs. Given it's considered sexual harrassment to have a girly calendar on an office wall, hard core porn on a computer desktop must beyond the pale. Every office and school should have proper filtering and spyware protection and policies to deal with the unexpected.
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Busted by Youtube
The SMH reports three train vandals were caught because of the clips they uploaded to youtube. Talk about stupid.
DJ's McLibel moment
The David Jones department store chain were furious when the Australia Institute cited their advertisements as examples of "corporate paedophilia". So they've decided to sue. I can't help but think this is a big mistake for DJs.
The first thing to come to mind is the parallel with the McLibel case. While DJs isn't as big as Maccas and the Australia Institute as small as a pair of penniless activists, it's still very much a David and Goliath fight. We have a tendency to side with small guy.
Another parallel to the McLibel case is the case will give the original report far more circulation than it would have otherwise had. If DJs had left it alone, it would be forgotten by now. As it is, there's currently 32 current hits in Google News and there will more as the story circulates.
To really tick those of us who have some sympathy for free speech, David Jones has decided to use the Trade Practices Act. Misusing the TPA has been tried before; The Australian Wool Industry is having trouble to using it against PETA at the moment. It strikes me, and I'm sure a lot others, as an abuse of a law designed to protect consumers.
In my view the worst mistake is the risk that the definition of "corporate paedophila" might be tested in court. While DJs might well be innocent of this, there's a lot of marketers who aren't. As a parent I'm often disturbed by marketing aimed at pubescent kids.
The topic raised is important and deserves debate. Many marketers are at the least pushing the bounds of good taste and the sexualisation of children is an issue that worries many of us. It would be terribly wrong if that debate was chilled by a case like this.
AT every turn, it appears this decision to sue is a "what were you thinking" moment. While DJs might prevail in court, they've dealt themselves a lose-lose hand. All they can hope for is the Australia institute quietly withdraws the article and settles.
The first thing to come to mind is the parallel with the McLibel case. While DJs isn't as big as Maccas and the Australia Institute as small as a pair of penniless activists, it's still very much a David and Goliath fight. We have a tendency to side with small guy.
Another parallel to the McLibel case is the case will give the original report far more circulation than it would have otherwise had. If DJs had left it alone, it would be forgotten by now. As it is, there's currently 32 current hits in Google News and there will more as the story circulates.
To really tick those of us who have some sympathy for free speech, David Jones has decided to use the Trade Practices Act. Misusing the TPA has been tried before; The Australian Wool Industry is having trouble to using it against PETA at the moment. It strikes me, and I'm sure a lot others, as an abuse of a law designed to protect consumers.
In my view the worst mistake is the risk that the definition of "corporate paedophila" might be tested in court. While DJs might well be innocent of this, there's a lot of marketers who aren't. As a parent I'm often disturbed by marketing aimed at pubescent kids.
The topic raised is important and deserves debate. Many marketers are at the least pushing the bounds of good taste and the sexualisation of children is an issue that worries many of us. It would be terribly wrong if that debate was chilled by a case like this.
AT every turn, it appears this decision to sue is a "what were you thinking" moment. While DJs might prevail in court, they've dealt themselves a lose-lose hand. All they can hope for is the Australia institute quietly withdraws the article and settles.
Monday, February 05, 2007
Telcom NZ trials Vista
When I first saw the Australian ZDNet headline TCNZ adopts Vista, I thought "oh no, they've lost the plot again".
But when I read the article it makes complete sense. Putting Vista on 500 desktops, about 7% of their fleet, allows their IT and consulting arms to get practical experience in running Vista. It certainly gives their service division an advantage over their competitors.
Another article in ZDNet though should worry TCNZ; AAPT continues to lose customers. The investment in AAPT has to be one of Telecom NZ's great failures. The fact they are considering taking over Powertel only shows they haven't learned many lessons.
As someone who's had to deal with AAPT on a business level, I'm amazed anyone's still with them. Their account management and record keeping has been terrible. The only thing going for them has been the reliability of the old Connect network.
It baffles me how telco executives get the Internet so wrong. We all think the two industries should be complimentary, but the TCNZ debacle and the poor management of Bigpond and Optus' Internet services show just how wrong they can get it. We sold our TCNZ shares years ago, TCNZ should consider selling off a few shares of their own.
But when I read the article it makes complete sense. Putting Vista on 500 desktops, about 7% of their fleet, allows their IT and consulting arms to get practical experience in running Vista. It certainly gives their service division an advantage over their competitors.
Another article in ZDNet though should worry TCNZ; AAPT continues to lose customers. The investment in AAPT has to be one of Telecom NZ's great failures. The fact they are considering taking over Powertel only shows they haven't learned many lessons.
As someone who's had to deal with AAPT on a business level, I'm amazed anyone's still with them. Their account management and record keeping has been terrible. The only thing going for them has been the reliability of the old Connect network.
It baffles me how telco executives get the Internet so wrong. We all think the two industries should be complimentary, but the TCNZ debacle and the poor management of Bigpond and Optus' Internet services show just how wrong they can get it. We sold our TCNZ shares years ago, TCNZ should consider selling off a few shares of their own.
iTunes doesn't run on Vista
Another reason for not upgrading to Vista. iTunes doesn't work. This joins a long list of vendors who aren't quite there yet.
While we expected quite a few difficulties with Vista, you have to wonder what these vendors have been doing for the last five years. It beggars belief so many have aren't Vista ready.
I've been very critical of Microsoft and their failure to introduce Limited Users as the default in Windows XP. But the scale of compatibility problems shows why they didn't. Is it really that hard to design programs that can run in Windows restricted profiles?
While we expected quite a few difficulties with Vista, you have to wonder what these vendors have been doing for the last five years. It beggars belief so many have aren't Vista ready.
I've been very critical of Microsoft and their failure to introduce Limited Users as the default in Windows XP. But the scale of compatibility problems shows why they didn't. Is it really that hard to design programs that can run in Windows restricted profiles?
Thursday, February 01, 2007
Vendor disgrace
Windows Vista's now out, yet some vendors still don't have drivers available.
To say this is a disgrace is an understatement. The final version has been around for months. We've been playing with betas for years.
You have to ask what these lazy idiots have been doing for the last two years.
Any mainstream vendor that isn't Vista ready has lost the plot.
To say this is a disgrace is an understatement. The final version has been around for months. We've been playing with betas for years.
You have to ask what these lazy idiots have been doing for the last two years.
Any mainstream vendor that isn't Vista ready has lost the plot.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Symantec does it again
Symantec have taken over another company, this time Altiris who supply asset management software.
Our first reaction is "fix your existing problems before buying more". Symantec's core products, notably Norton Anti Virus are failing badly and losing market share. It appears Wall Street agrees with us according to Australian IT.
One has to wonder what parallel universe these executives live in. It seems inconceivable they can be ignorant of how badly their brand is being damaged in the market place. Yet, instead of fixing the problems, they just blindly continue.
Our first reaction is "fix your existing problems before buying more". Symantec's core products, notably Norton Anti Virus are failing badly and losing market share. It appears Wall Street agrees with us according to Australian IT.
One has to wonder what parallel universe these executives live in. It seems inconceivable they can be ignorant of how badly their brand is being damaged in the market place. Yet, instead of fixing the problems, they just blindly continue.
Friday, January 26, 2007
Maintaining computers
Google's VP of Enterprises, Dave Girouard, claims the "complexity" of IT is stunting innovation. He reckons 75% of IT budgets are spent on simply maintaining the systems. If everyone outsourced their apps to Google, all would be better.
While I have a degree of self interest in this, I think this is a load of bull. Computers are machines and machines need to be maintained. Of the cost of a running a car, at least 75% is keeping it running.
The idea that IT should be like electricity is stupid. Sure, in the developed world you normally don't worry about your electricity supply. But electricity is more than just running a cable into your house where it lies on the floor giving passing pets and toddlers the odd shock.
Once you've got electricity, it has to be metered, protected and cabled through the house. Once you've installed the pretty outlets, you then plug stuff into those outlets. That stuff; toasters, fridges, washing machines and hi-fi's need maintenance as well.
Then you've got the cost of electricity. My guess is the average business or home electricity bill dwarfs their annual IT bills.
The people at Google are some of the brightest people on the planet. But it doesn't mean they can't come up with stupid ideas.
While I have a degree of self interest in this, I think this is a load of bull. Computers are machines and machines need to be maintained. Of the cost of a running a car, at least 75% is keeping it running.
The idea that IT should be like electricity is stupid. Sure, in the developed world you normally don't worry about your electricity supply. But electricity is more than just running a cable into your house where it lies on the floor giving passing pets and toddlers the odd shock.
Once you've got electricity, it has to be metered, protected and cabled through the house. Once you've installed the pretty outlets, you then plug stuff into those outlets. That stuff; toasters, fridges, washing machines and hi-fi's need maintenance as well.
Then you've got the cost of electricity. My guess is the average business or home electricity bill dwarfs their annual IT bills.
The people at Google are some of the brightest people on the planet. But it doesn't mean they can't come up with stupid ideas.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Losing the spyware war
Reading the PC Doctor's blog about reinstalling Windows rather than bothering with spyware makes me reflect on how we've lost the spyware war.
A year ago, I would seriously doubt the competence of any tech who zapped and reinstalled more than three machines a year. But midway through last year, we realised we were losing. The infections were getting harder to remove.
Spyware's a frustrating, soul destroying part of the business. Now we're finding our tools and procedures aren't working. The spyware guys have won.
We're now in the reformat camp. If you have spyware on a machine we visit and we can't wipe it in the first hour, we recommend reformatting. So you better have your passwords, system disks and data backup.
A year ago, I would seriously doubt the competence of any tech who zapped and reinstalled more than three machines a year. But midway through last year, we realised we were losing. The infections were getting harder to remove.
Spyware's a frustrating, soul destroying part of the business. Now we're finding our tools and procedures aren't working. The spyware guys have won.
We're now in the reformat camp. If you have spyware on a machine we visit and we can't wipe it in the first hour, we recommend reformatting. So you better have your passwords, system disks and data backup.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Vista Service Pack already?
Well, this is a great vote of confidence in a new operating system.
It makes sense to plan for service packs. All software needs patching and the complexity of computer operating systems mean service packs and major upgrades and inevitable. But publicly planning this early for a service pack is pretty ordinary.
To run insult into injury, the next XP service pack is not scheduled for another year and even that date is preliminary. As Brian Krebs points out, we're currently looking at over a hundred patches to an XP system. It may well be 150 by early next year.
This is another example of Microsoft losing it: Both XP Service Pack three and Vista are way overdue. The fact MS has to look at an SP so early only indicates Vista is being rushed to market without all it's features or with known bugs.
What I find bizarre is the world's biggest software company has found itself in such a hole. Perhaps it's time for a change in management.
It makes sense to plan for service packs. All software needs patching and the complexity of computer operating systems mean service packs and major upgrades and inevitable. But publicly planning this early for a service pack is pretty ordinary.
To run insult into injury, the next XP service pack is not scheduled for another year and even that date is preliminary. As Brian Krebs points out, we're currently looking at over a hundred patches to an XP system. It may well be 150 by early next year.
This is another example of Microsoft losing it: Both XP Service Pack three and Vista are way overdue. The fact MS has to look at an SP so early only indicates Vista is being rushed to market without all it's features or with known bugs.
What I find bizarre is the world's biggest software company has found itself in such a hole. Perhaps it's time for a change in management.
Saturday, January 20, 2007
mis-typing Google
You Tube has a chilling video of what happens when you get the letters wrong in the word "google". The resulting spyware infection isn't pretty. While teenagers looking for music are the prime target for these scammers, anybody can mis-type a word.
Once infected, not only is a computer alive with advertising and spyware, it can be used to send spam and all the passwords, banking details and passwords can be stolen. These problems are causing banks and their customers all manner of damages. This is why we recommend surfing the net only in a limited user profile.
Who comes up with these numbers?
So IDC and Microsoft reckon Vista will generate $9.5 billion for the New York and New Jersey IT industries in 2007?!?
Yeah, right.
The study itself is available on the Microsoft website.What I find intriguing is they claim every dollar spent on Vista will customers will also spend $9.75 in hardware, 4.60 in software and 3.65 in services. These numbers are right on for a new PC.
Looking at our cost breakdown for a new system, these proportions are about right. If you throw in monitors, printers and other peripherals then the proportion of hardware increases. So really all IDC are saying is they expect 9.5 billion to be spent on new systems this year in those two states.
I've got no idea how many systems are sold each year in New York and New Jersey so maybe they are right. But the figures are misleading as most of these systems would have been sold anyway. The real question is how many new systems will Vista sell, and my guess is it won't make much difference.
A big problem I have with triumphant press releases like this is it confirms in many people's minds that the IT industry just tries to perpetuate business for itself. If I were the cynical type, that's what this story would make me think. It certainly won't encourage business owners to buy Vista.
There's no doubt about the fact we'll get a boost in turnover from Vista. The early adopters are going to bleed badly as they do with every new operating system, but it's not going to be a massive part of our turnover. We recommend our customers steer clear of Vista until late in the year.
Yeah, right.
The study itself is available on the Microsoft website.What I find intriguing is they claim every dollar spent on Vista will customers will also spend $9.75 in hardware, 4.60 in software and 3.65 in services. These numbers are right on for a new PC.
Looking at our cost breakdown for a new system, these proportions are about right. If you throw in monitors, printers and other peripherals then the proportion of hardware increases. So really all IDC are saying is they expect 9.5 billion to be spent on new systems this year in those two states.
I've got no idea how many systems are sold each year in New York and New Jersey so maybe they are right. But the figures are misleading as most of these systems would have been sold anyway. The real question is how many new systems will Vista sell, and my guess is it won't make much difference.
A big problem I have with triumphant press releases like this is it confirms in many people's minds that the IT industry just tries to perpetuate business for itself. If I were the cynical type, that's what this story would make me think. It certainly won't encourage business owners to buy Vista.
There's no doubt about the fact we'll get a boost in turnover from Vista. The early adopters are going to bleed badly as they do with every new operating system, but it's not going to be a massive part of our turnover. We recommend our customers steer clear of Vista until late in the year.
Saturday, January 13, 2007
The iPhone hysteria
One of the big differences between Windows users and Mac fans is the willingness to fall for hype.
Imagine if Microsoft released a phone. Most Windows users would shrug and get on with things. Even hard core Microsoft fanbois would take any claims until they actually saw and used the things.
On planet Mac, you'd think the iPhone was the greatest piece of technology ever. Reading the blogs and the press reports you wouldn't know this phone hasn't been released. In fact it hasn't got regulatory approval and even it's name isn't certain.
Reading Steve Job's comments at the Macworld keynote, it seems to me the iPhone is purely designed for the US market. A lot of it's features are old hat compared to other phones and what foreign networks offer. Not to mention the corporate features Microsoft offer smartphone users.
I still find it funny that the Macolytes seem to have buried Nokia, Motorola and all the other mobile phone manufacturers on the strength of a prototype.
Imagine if Microsoft released a phone. Most Windows users would shrug and get on with things. Even hard core Microsoft fanbois would take any claims until they actually saw and used the things.
On planet Mac, you'd think the iPhone was the greatest piece of technology ever. Reading the blogs and the press reports you wouldn't know this phone hasn't been released. In fact it hasn't got regulatory approval and even it's name isn't certain.
Reading Steve Job's comments at the Macworld keynote, it seems to me the iPhone is purely designed for the US market. A lot of it's features are old hat compared to other phones and what foreign networks offer. Not to mention the corporate features Microsoft offer smartphone users.
I still find it funny that the Macolytes seem to have buried Nokia, Motorola and all the other mobile phone manufacturers on the strength of a prototype.
Friday, January 12, 2007
The reality distortion field
If you ever wanted an example of Steve Jobs' reality distortion field, the iPhone lawsuit is a classic. The number of Mac fanbois in denial about the fact Cisco has the US trademark for "iPhone" is remarkable. Some of the posts and blogs are terrific, the comments on this article are typical.
It's amazing just how far some people will go into denial. I'm wondering though if some of the Macolytes seriously don't know who Cisco are or believe that Motorola's only product is the Razr.
More serious is Apple's attitude. They've been in negotiations to use the iPhone trademark but instead of concluding their negotiations in a timely manner, they just ignore the problem and go ahead anyway. Now they call Cisco's claim silly.
All this from a company that sets it's lawyers onto bloggers when it thinks it's intellectual property or marketing plans are threatened.
It's amazing just how far some people will go into denial. I'm wondering though if some of the Macolytes seriously don't know who Cisco are or believe that Motorola's only product is the Razr.
More serious is Apple's attitude. They've been in negotiations to use the iPhone trademark but instead of concluding their negotiations in a timely manner, they just ignore the problem and go ahead anyway. Now they call Cisco's claim silly.
All this from a company that sets it's lawyers onto bloggers when it thinks it's intellectual property or marketing plans are threatened.
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Active X is a security risk
Brian Krebs makes a comment about Acer's use of Active X being a security risk in today's Security Risk column.
While Acer should be criticised for the sloppy use of this tool, Active X threats are the most common problem for Windows users. Unfortunately, many programmers and web site designers use Active X. Norton products are probably the worst for this.
Like Symantec, spyware writers have been the most enthusiastic users of Active X controls. This is why spyware is such a problem for Internet Explorer users and why a spyware infected machine running a Norton product will be reduced to a quivering heap. Active X is the number one path for infecting a computer.
To avoid all of this, we recommend surfing the net with Firefox, which doesn't use Active X, and in a limited user account, which prevents system changes.
Once again, this is an example of Microsoft's cavalier attitude to security. Windows users should assume their systems are not secure and be very careful about what they do on the net and the profile they do it in.
While Acer should be criticised for the sloppy use of this tool, Active X threats are the most common problem for Windows users. Unfortunately, many programmers and web site designers use Active X. Norton products are probably the worst for this.
Like Symantec, spyware writers have been the most enthusiastic users of Active X controls. This is why spyware is such a problem for Internet Explorer users and why a spyware infected machine running a Norton product will be reduced to a quivering heap. Active X is the number one path for infecting a computer.
To avoid all of this, we recommend surfing the net with Firefox, which doesn't use Active X, and in a limited user account, which prevents system changes.
Once again, this is an example of Microsoft's cavalier attitude to security. Windows users should assume their systems are not secure and be very careful about what they do on the net and the profile they do it in.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
The dumbest article ever written
Is this the dumbest article ever written?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/08/AR2007010801352.html
For years, rumours have been around that the NSA has a back door into Windows, this only encourages the tin foil hat brigade.
But what I really like is the idea that the NSA has a clue. This is the agency that's got everything from the Bay of Pigs to Iraq's weapons of mass destruction wrong. They totally missed the collapse of the Soviet Union and the September 11 attacks.
The kicker is this paragraph.
Microsoft said this is not the first time it has sought help from the NSA. For about four years, Microsoft has tapped the spy agency for security expertise in reviewing its operating systems, including the Windows XP consumer version and the Windows Server 2003 for corporate customers.
Gee, they did a good job on Windows XP.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/08/AR2007010801352.html
For years, rumours have been around that the NSA has a back door into Windows, this only encourages the tin foil hat brigade.
But what I really like is the idea that the NSA has a clue. This is the agency that's got everything from the Bay of Pigs to Iraq's weapons of mass destruction wrong. They totally missed the collapse of the Soviet Union and the September 11 attacks.
The kicker is this paragraph.
Microsoft said this is not the first time it has sought help from the NSA. For about four years, Microsoft has tapped the spy agency for security expertise in reviewing its operating systems, including the Windows XP consumer version and the Windows Server 2003 for corporate customers.
Gee, they did a good job on Windows XP.
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
The Sydney property shortage
The Sydney Morning Herald today repeats the claim by the real estate industry that Sydney rents are about to soar. It's interesting the forces behind this claim. I can't help but think this is a self serving beat up by the real estate agents in the run up to the state election.
Sydney's problem is simply that property, in relation to income, is way overpriced. This is a combination of Sydney's geographic and economic advantages, Australian's historical preference to invest in property and an income tax system that favours property (and other passive) investments. To make matters worse, we have interest rates at the lowest in a generation and a Federal government that happily ramps the property market for it's short term gains.
The result of these factors is that the cost to buy is outrageous. It also means that more and more Sydneysiders can only afford to rent. As the demand side of rents is a function of wages, rents have stayed comparatively low as wages haven't grown the same way property prices have.
Fifteen years ago, the rule of thumb for Sydney rents was to knock three zeros off the market value to get the weekly rent. That 5% yield is now less than 3 and dropping fast. Compared to other investments, that's a lousy return and super now has better tax advantages.
I suspect the real estate agents are trying to encourage landlords to stay in the market with the promise of better returns. The problem is a 20% increase would still only leave yields around the 3% mark. Their other motive is to panic the state government into releasing more land and easing zoning rules.
But let's say the agents and their pet economists are right. A 20% hike in rents will be a disaster for Sydney. We'll either the Sydney economy go into a nose dive, or see inflation break out.
As an employer, I already have serious trouble finding techs who live East of Strathfield. Put another 20% on their costs and I'm going to have to pay more to cover either their higher cost of living or their increased travelling costs. A spike in inflation means higher interest rates.
The alternative is my view more likely; a 20% increase in rents will kill the Sydney economy stone dead. In many inner suburbs more than 50% of the residents are renters. Take a fifth of their after tax income away and suddenly they can't afford lattes, plasmas or nice cars.
Either scenario means the same thing: Sydney property prices drop. Sydney's real estate agents and their tame economists should be careful what they wish for.
Sydney's problem is simply that property, in relation to income, is way overpriced. This is a combination of Sydney's geographic and economic advantages, Australian's historical preference to invest in property and an income tax system that favours property (and other passive) investments. To make matters worse, we have interest rates at the lowest in a generation and a Federal government that happily ramps the property market for it's short term gains.
The result of these factors is that the cost to buy is outrageous. It also means that more and more Sydneysiders can only afford to rent. As the demand side of rents is a function of wages, rents have stayed comparatively low as wages haven't grown the same way property prices have.
Fifteen years ago, the rule of thumb for Sydney rents was to knock three zeros off the market value to get the weekly rent. That 5% yield is now less than 3 and dropping fast. Compared to other investments, that's a lousy return and super now has better tax advantages.
I suspect the real estate agents are trying to encourage landlords to stay in the market with the promise of better returns. The problem is a 20% increase would still only leave yields around the 3% mark. Their other motive is to panic the state government into releasing more land and easing zoning rules.
But let's say the agents and their pet economists are right. A 20% hike in rents will be a disaster for Sydney. We'll either the Sydney economy go into a nose dive, or see inflation break out.
As an employer, I already have serious trouble finding techs who live East of Strathfield. Put another 20% on their costs and I'm going to have to pay more to cover either their higher cost of living or their increased travelling costs. A spike in inflation means higher interest rates.
The alternative is my view more likely; a 20% increase in rents will kill the Sydney economy stone dead. In many inner suburbs more than 50% of the residents are renters. Take a fifth of their after tax income away and suddenly they can't afford lattes, plasmas or nice cars.
Either scenario means the same thing: Sydney property prices drop. Sydney's real estate agents and their tame economists should be careful what they wish for.
Monday, January 08, 2007
Does Microsoft have corporate ADD?
After watching Bill Gates' CES keynote, I'm convinced Microsoft has ADD.
They have too many products for a start. But another thing that makes me think they have Attention Deficit Disorder is the way they let products rot. Windows Defender is an example.
Giant AntiSpyware was a good product when MS bought it. Over time, Microsoft fiddled and tinkered with it until it had a totally different interface, although one that still didn't mesh with the rest of Windows. Then it stopped working.
In the last few months we've seen a lot of spyware slip past Defender. To add insult to injury, our friends at 180 Solutions seem to have done a deal that their spyware is marked as not to be deleted. It appears they weren't the only ones.
This month, we're telling our subscribers not to uninstall Windows Defender, the AVG free spyware product is better. It's this failure of Microsoft to stick with a product that makes me wonder if they do have ADD. That would also explain why products are so late to market.
They have too many products for a start. But another thing that makes me think they have Attention Deficit Disorder is the way they let products rot. Windows Defender is an example.
Giant AntiSpyware was a good product when MS bought it. Over time, Microsoft fiddled and tinkered with it until it had a totally different interface, although one that still didn't mesh with the rest of Windows. Then it stopped working.
In the last few months we've seen a lot of spyware slip past Defender. To add insult to injury, our friends at 180 Solutions seem to have done a deal that their spyware is marked as not to be deleted. It appears they weren't the only ones.
This month, we're telling our subscribers not to uninstall Windows Defender, the AVG free spyware product is better. It's this failure of Microsoft to stick with a product that makes me wonder if they do have ADD. That would also explain why products are so late to market.
The new Windows Home Server
Well, the rumours were right, Bill Gates announced Microsoft's Windows Home Server.
The whole thing raises some serious questions: Will it be restricted to HPs running AMD chips or will there be more products? Will it's advanced features such as automatic backup work on Vista or will it be XP compatible? Will it really ship at the end of the year?
It's also a concern on if it will distract from the launch of the domestic versions of Vista.
As a tech, another concern is there are too many versions of Windows kicking around. These are the Windows domestic and small business systems that will be in common use later this year.
Windows Server 2003
Windows Small Business Server 2003 Standard
Windows Small Business Server Premium
XP Home
XP Pro
XP Media Centre
Windows Home Server
Vista Home Basic
Vista Home Premium
Vista Business
Vista Ultimate
All of the Vista versions may or may not have the Aero interface and other features enabled.
And then there's Windows 2007, should it be released on time.
Really, this is a support nightmare.
The whole thing raises some serious questions: Will it be restricted to HPs running AMD chips or will there be more products? Will it's advanced features such as automatic backup work on Vista or will it be XP compatible? Will it really ship at the end of the year?
It's also a concern on if it will distract from the launch of the domestic versions of Vista.
As a tech, another concern is there are too many versions of Windows kicking around. These are the Windows domestic and small business systems that will be in common use later this year.
Windows Server 2003
Windows Small Business Server 2003 Standard
Windows Small Business Server Premium
XP Home
XP Pro
XP Media Centre
Windows Home Server
Vista Home Basic
Vista Home Premium
Vista Business
Vista Ultimate
All of the Vista versions may or may not have the Aero interface and other features enabled.
And then there's Windows 2007, should it be released on time.
Really, this is a support nightmare.
Thursday, January 04, 2007
The Taiwan Earthquake and the Internet
The disruption to East assess Internet connections because of an earthquake in Taiwan is disturbing. This is a network originally designed to survive a nuclear war, and yet a single point of failure is causing massive disruption. It appears that the East Asian telecoms companies will have to seriously review their infrastructure.
An important lesson from this is that relying on one technology is dangerous. While relying on the net is risky, a far more risky proposition is relying on the mobile phone network. As we see here every bushfire season, the mobile phone network is quickly swamped in an emergency.
The worst example is the September 11 atrocity in New York. Taking out the World Trade Centre towers crippled New York's mobile phone and Internet networks as well as taking a number of TV stations off air. Even before the collapse, the web had pretty well choked.
We really have to remember that in an emergency too much reliance on mobiles and the net could well make a disaster much worse. Probably the best emergency communication technology is still radio. Don't throw away that transistor radio yet.
An important lesson from this is that relying on one technology is dangerous. While relying on the net is risky, a far more risky proposition is relying on the mobile phone network. As we see here every bushfire season, the mobile phone network is quickly swamped in an emergency.
The worst example is the September 11 atrocity in New York. Taking out the World Trade Centre towers crippled New York's mobile phone and Internet networks as well as taking a number of TV stations off air. Even before the collapse, the web had pretty well choked.
We really have to remember that in an emergency too much reliance on mobiles and the net could well make a disaster much worse. Probably the best emergency communication technology is still radio. Don't throw away that transistor radio yet.
Tech reviews
As we deal on a regular basis with computers that have been messed up by poorly designed and over-bloated security packages, I read with interest the Sydney Morning Herald's review of the more popular ones.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/reviews/net-nasties-face-onestop-blocks/2007/01/02/1167500118494.html
One of my criticisms of newspaper, and many magazine, reviews is the reviewers often seem to have only read the press pack rather than actually try the products. In this case, it appears Adam Turner did at least try McAfee, and it irritated him. If he did try Norton then he either had a clean machine with 2Gb RAM.
Norton 2007 is awful. Thankfully I've only seen it once and that system was reduced to a crawl. Uninstalling it was a nightmare as it refused to run the wizard while Live Update was running, and Live Update didn't want to stop. Is it really that hard to stop a service when you want to uninstall the product.
Given the sheer weight of problems Norton products have created for users over the last five years, it would be nice for reviewers to at least acknowledge the problems. Reviews like this only encourage customers to continue making the wrong decisions. It also lets these companies get away with selling poor products.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/reviews/net-nasties-face-onestop-blocks/2007/01/02/1167500118494.html
One of my criticisms of newspaper, and many magazine, reviews is the reviewers often seem to have only read the press pack rather than actually try the products. In this case, it appears Adam Turner did at least try McAfee, and it irritated him. If he did try Norton then he either had a clean machine with 2Gb RAM.
Norton 2007 is awful. Thankfully I've only seen it once and that system was reduced to a crawl. Uninstalling it was a nightmare as it refused to run the wizard while Live Update was running, and Live Update didn't want to stop. Is it really that hard to stop a service when you want to uninstall the product.
Given the sheer weight of problems Norton products have created for users over the last five years, it would be nice for reviewers to at least acknowledge the problems. Reviews like this only encourage customers to continue making the wrong decisions. It also lets these companies get away with selling poor products.
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Free Wi-Fi
Why am I cynical about the NSW government promising free wireless broadband?
http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/communications/soa/Iemma_NSW_CBDs_will_get_free_Wi_Fi/0,130061791,339272442,00.htm
Advertising supported?
Decision in the second quarter of next year?
Hmmm, just after the March election. I guess by then we'll have all forgotten about this.
What's disappointing about stunts like this is that it shows the politicians know this stuff is important. But rather than put in place sensible policies that encourage the development, use and growth of new technologies, they just engage in pointless gesture and stupid promises.
They say we get the politicians we deserve. What did we do to deserve the current crop?
http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/communications/soa/Iemma_NSW_CBDs_will_get_free_Wi_Fi/0,130061791,339272442,00.htm
Advertising supported?
Decision in the second quarter of next year?
Hmmm, just after the March election. I guess by then we'll have all forgotten about this.
What's disappointing about stunts like this is that it shows the politicians know this stuff is important. But rather than put in place sensible policies that encourage the development, use and growth of new technologies, they just engage in pointless gesture and stupid promises.
They say we get the politicians we deserve. What did we do to deserve the current crop?
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Beating the MS Drum.
Who says Apple has all the fanbois?
http://www.arnnet.com.au/index.php?id=684413783&eid=-4152
The simple fact is customers don't need Vista. Right now, there is little compelling reason for consumers to run out and buy Vista. Businesses have even fewer reasons.
Vista will be a success. But only because every new machine from mid year onwards will come with it preinstalled. The simple replacement cycle will make sure Vista sells.
The funny thing is the analyst, David Mitchell, actually admits this when saying why Office 2007 won't have the same take up rate: "You don't get the OEM drag effect. If you buy a new PC, you get a copy of Vista. You don't necessarily get a copy of Office."
The funny thing is that he's probably wrong there too.
http://www.arnnet.com.au/index.php?id=684413783&eid=-4152
The simple fact is customers don't need Vista. Right now, there is little compelling reason for consumers to run out and buy Vista. Businesses have even fewer reasons.
Vista will be a success. But only because every new machine from mid year onwards will come with it preinstalled. The simple replacement cycle will make sure Vista sells.
The funny thing is the analyst, David Mitchell, actually admits this when saying why Office 2007 won't have the same take up rate: "You don't get the OEM drag effect. If you buy a new PC, you get a copy of Vista. You don't necessarily get a copy of Office."
The funny thing is that he's probably wrong there too.
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Thinking before you send (again)
It's a shame Katrina Jorgensen lives in New Zealand. I'd like to hire her as my accounts payable manager. Unfortunately her all too direct email got her sacked by her own husband.
Again we see why it's important to think before you send. The line "Why don't you stay within your class level and buy something from payless plastics instead." is priceless but it really isn't something you'd like to see sent around the world. Again, don't send something you would like to see next to your photo on the six o'clock news, or the NZ Herald in this case.
A greater sin of the Great Marquee company is the use of sound on their website. Now that's a hanging offence. Incidentally, $NZ30,000 is a bloody cheap wedding so maybe Katrina does have a point.
Another offence is the shameless pinching of the story by the Sydney Daily Telegraph, right down to the photos. It's surprising the Tele couldn't find a story today given the circus that our state politicians are performing in.
The morals of this story are, spend more on weddings if you don't want to be insulted, don't read the Tele, don't imbed boring music in your website and never send an email you've written in anger.
Again we see why it's important to think before you send. The line "Why don't you stay within your class level and buy something from payless plastics instead." is priceless but it really isn't something you'd like to see sent around the world. Again, don't send something you would like to see next to your photo on the six o'clock news, or the NZ Herald in this case.
A greater sin of the Great Marquee company is the use of sound on their website. Now that's a hanging offence. Incidentally, $NZ30,000 is a bloody cheap wedding so maybe Katrina does have a point.
Another offence is the shameless pinching of the story by the Sydney Daily Telegraph, right down to the photos. It's surprising the Tele couldn't find a story today given the circus that our state politicians are performing in.
The morals of this story are, spend more on weddings if you don't want to be insulted, don't read the Tele, don't imbed boring music in your website and never send an email you've written in anger.
Saturday, November 11, 2006
Vista won't need anti-virus?
Microsoft suggest Windows Vista won't need an antivirus. Who are they kidding?
Co-President of Microsoft, Jim Allchin, is reported to have claimed Vista won't need an anti-virus. His seven year old surfs the net all the time and using the parental controls feature, Jim doesn't have to worry about AV. If he believes that, he's kidding himself.
My kids surf the net all the time using an XP computer. It never gets viruses because they use Firefox and they run as restricted users. When they go to virus or spyware infected sites, the malware simple cannot run.
That's not to say the malware sites don't try. AVG constantly picks up trojan attempts in the cache file. But they simply don't get on the system.
Vista almost certainly will be more secure than XP, just as XP was more secure than 98 and ME. However XP could have been as secure as the Mac had Microsoft not decided to make all users Administrators by default. Make the users limited and the bulk of the problems go away, thankfully Vista appears to do this, although in practice it might be different.
We'll see how secure Vista is in the next few months. But right now it's sounding like we have a lot of complex kludges like parental controls and Address Space Layout Randomization. All these seem nice ideas, but they are just adding to the complexity of an already complex system.
The real solutions to Windows' security problems are for normal users not to have administrator rights and to deny access to the registry and system 32 folder. There is no reason why any program should have to write to either for normal usage. Until this is done, then Windows will continue to have problems.
It's a shame someone like Jim Allchin would make such a silly statement. Of course Vista will still need an anti-virus. I doubt even the stock brokers and analysts are fooled by this sort of talk.
Co-President of Microsoft, Jim Allchin, is reported to have claimed Vista won't need an anti-virus. His seven year old surfs the net all the time and using the parental controls feature, Jim doesn't have to worry about AV. If he believes that, he's kidding himself.
My kids surf the net all the time using an XP computer. It never gets viruses because they use Firefox and they run as restricted users. When they go to virus or spyware infected sites, the malware simple cannot run.
That's not to say the malware sites don't try. AVG constantly picks up trojan attempts in the cache file. But they simply don't get on the system.
Vista almost certainly will be more secure than XP, just as XP was more secure than 98 and ME. However XP could have been as secure as the Mac had Microsoft not decided to make all users Administrators by default. Make the users limited and the bulk of the problems go away, thankfully Vista appears to do this, although in practice it might be different.
We'll see how secure Vista is in the next few months. But right now it's sounding like we have a lot of complex kludges like parental controls and Address Space Layout Randomization. All these seem nice ideas, but they are just adding to the complexity of an already complex system.
The real solutions to Windows' security problems are for normal users not to have administrator rights and to deny access to the registry and system 32 folder. There is no reason why any program should have to write to either for normal usage. Until this is done, then Windows will continue to have problems.
It's a shame someone like Jim Allchin would make such a silly statement. Of course Vista will still need an anti-virus. I doubt even the stock brokers and analysts are fooled by this sort of talk.
Friday, November 10, 2006
Telstra's ADSL2 pricing
Telstra has finally released it's ADSL 2 service, but it continues to offer poor value compared to the competition.
ADSL 2 has been available from many ISPs for the last year and Telstra has been installing this equipment without making it available to customers. Now they have finally released their ADSL2 service. The shame is that it is lousy value.
Australian Personal Computer has a good comparison of the various ADSL2 offerings. Telstra doesn't compare well. To add insult to injury, APC also points out that Telstra has decided to use different equipment to most of the competition, which means more compatibility problems.
Once again, we see good reasons why consumers need to shop around. What's more, it's another example of why Telstra should be split into a wholesale and retail providers. Sadly, we won't see this under the current government or opposition.
ADSL 2 has been available from many ISPs for the last year and Telstra has been installing this equipment without making it available to customers. Now they have finally released their ADSL2 service. The shame is that it is lousy value.
Australian Personal Computer has a good comparison of the various ADSL2 offerings. Telstra doesn't compare well. To add insult to injury, APC also points out that Telstra has decided to use different equipment to most of the competition, which means more compatibility problems.
Once again, we see good reasons why consumers need to shop around. What's more, it's another example of why Telstra should be split into a wholesale and retail providers. Sadly, we won't see this under the current government or opposition.
The spam explosion
Spam is increasing again. Is it all worthwhile
The last couple of months have seen a massive increase in spam. We're increasingly being asked how to control it and we're having trouble with the answers. The problem is the spammers have become smarter.
A spam message traditionally had content along the lines of "get rich quick" or "grow your hair" and it was comparatively easy for spam checking programs to find most of these messages. The new breed just jumbles together commonly used words or phrases. This is why so much spam looks like gobblygook.
To get their message across the spammers have started putting their messages in an image file. So we have a picture of the spam message. The spam detector can't read the image.
The final nail in the spam checker is that they traditionally used blacklists of known spammers or compromised servers to check where the spam was coming from. A larger proportion of spam now comes from infected computers or unsecured wireless networks so blacklists are harder to maintain.
While the spam checkers are getting better, this is a curse we are going to have to put up with until we see fewer compromised computers and networks.
The last couple of months have seen a massive increase in spam. We're increasingly being asked how to control it and we're having trouble with the answers. The problem is the spammers have become smarter.
A spam message traditionally had content along the lines of "get rich quick" or "grow your hair" and it was comparatively easy for spam checking programs to find most of these messages. The new breed just jumbles together commonly used words or phrases. This is why so much spam looks like gobblygook.
To get their message across the spammers have started putting their messages in an image file. So we have a picture of the spam message. The spam detector can't read the image.
The final nail in the spam checker is that they traditionally used blacklists of known spammers or compromised servers to check where the spam was coming from. A larger proportion of spam now comes from infected computers or unsecured wireless networks so blacklists are harder to maintain.
While the spam checkers are getting better, this is a curse we are going to have to put up with until we see fewer compromised computers and networks.
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
The porn case
What are the lessons from the Budlong porn case?
On the face of it, the NSW Industrial Relation Commission's ruling that being sacked for possessing porn is unreasonable is worrying. But like all these things a reading of the judgment reveals there's a lot more to the case. It appears NCR were inconsistent and made a number of mistakes.
The biggest mistake NCR made was inconsistency. Another staff member had been counseled for inappropriate email usage, she was sacked after continuing the behaviour. Budlong wasn't given counselling before being sacked.
A more striking problem for NCR was their Acceptable Usage Policy. The "air of automation" comment by the commission was my biggest worry, but it turns out the policy was FIFTY pages long. It clearly wasn't readable, the commission also hints that not all staff had signed it.
The third and, in my view, most dubious point against NCR was the lack of a firewall. While I'm surprised a company like this didn't have one, the commission took it as indicating the company didn't seriously enforce it's policies. It shows a business has to take positive steps to prevent this happenning.
This case has presented a few lessons for businesses and IT departments. While the specific case is only applicable to New South Wales, the lessons can be taken on board by most companies. Those lessons are.
1. Have a clear and concise policy on inappropriate usage.
2. Act decisively, fairly and consistently when it is breached.
3. Do not rely on an AUP, install filtering and monitoring equipment to stop these things coming into the network.
From a purely mercenary point of view, this is an excellent opportunity for IT businesses to push filtering and AUP policies.
On the face of it, the NSW Industrial Relation Commission's ruling that being sacked for possessing porn is unreasonable is worrying. But like all these things a reading of the judgment reveals there's a lot more to the case. It appears NCR were inconsistent and made a number of mistakes.
The biggest mistake NCR made was inconsistency. Another staff member had been counseled for inappropriate email usage, she was sacked after continuing the behaviour. Budlong wasn't given counselling before being sacked.
A more striking problem for NCR was their Acceptable Usage Policy. The "air of automation" comment by the commission was my biggest worry, but it turns out the policy was FIFTY pages long. It clearly wasn't readable, the commission also hints that not all staff had signed it.
The third and, in my view, most dubious point against NCR was the lack of a firewall. While I'm surprised a company like this didn't have one, the commission took it as indicating the company didn't seriously enforce it's policies. It shows a business has to take positive steps to prevent this happenning.
This case has presented a few lessons for businesses and IT departments. While the specific case is only applicable to New South Wales, the lessons can be taken on board by most companies. Those lessons are.
1. Have a clear and concise policy on inappropriate usage.
2. Act decisively, fairly and consistently when it is breached.
3. Do not rely on an AUP, install filtering and monitoring equipment to stop these things coming into the network.
From a purely mercenary point of view, this is an excellent opportunity for IT businesses to push filtering and AUP policies.
Monday, November 06, 2006
Office 2007 pricing.
MS have announced their office pricing. Will people bother?
The Office 2007 pricing has been released and it's a clear indicator of where Microsoft want to sell. The OEM and family markets are the focus. With an interesting offer for business customers.
The home edition doesn't include Outlook while the OEM edition does. This clearly fits into the strategy of selling Windows into the home and small business markets. Coupled with the OEM prices for Small Business Service it becomes a pretty compelling sell to small businesses.
MS need a hook for people to buy. Most users are happy with Office 97 and, with the exception of improvements to Outlook, there's little difference to most Office users.
The Office 2007 pricing has been released and it's a clear indicator of where Microsoft want to sell. The OEM and family markets are the focus. With an interesting offer for business customers.
The home edition doesn't include Outlook while the OEM edition does. This clearly fits into the strategy of selling Windows into the home and small business markets. Coupled with the OEM prices for Small Business Service it becomes a pretty compelling sell to small businesses.
MS need a hook for people to buy. Most users are happy with Office 97 and, with the exception of improvements to Outlook, there's little difference to most Office users.
Thursday, November 02, 2006
Reseller motivations
Are resellers solely motivated by margins?
Webroot Software sees an opportunity pitching to resellers who find themselves cut out of vendor's renewal programs. Basically what they are saying is we can make more money out of their renewals than, say, the nothing we get from Norton or McAfee.
To me, this misunderstands why we recommend products. The money we can make is a factor, but a much more important factor is how good the product is. We don't want to foist crook products on our customers, they pay us for good advice.
We can make good margins on products like Norton AntiVirus, the reason we don't recommend it is because we see too many computers screwed up by this product, the money is irrelevant.
Webroot would be much better off making sure their software is well written and effective. Pricing their product slightly cheaper than Symantec's equivalent and giving us a decent margin will help. But the most important thing is to deliver software that works and doesn't mess up the customer's system.
Webroot Software sees an opportunity pitching to resellers who find themselves cut out of vendor's renewal programs. Basically what they are saying is we can make more money out of their renewals than, say, the nothing we get from Norton or McAfee.
To me, this misunderstands why we recommend products. The money we can make is a factor, but a much more important factor is how good the product is. We don't want to foist crook products on our customers, they pay us for good advice.
We can make good margins on products like Norton AntiVirus, the reason we don't recommend it is because we see too many computers screwed up by this product, the money is irrelevant.
Webroot would be much better off making sure their software is well written and effective. Pricing their product slightly cheaper than Symantec's equivalent and giving us a decent margin will help. But the most important thing is to deliver software that works and doesn't mess up the customer's system.
Saturday, October 28, 2006
What the hell is it with lawyers?
You'd think lawyers would be the people most aware of the risks of sending dodgy emails to all and sundry, yet once again we have a story of lawyers passing on a silly email to all their mates.
The lesson, once again, is if you don't want to see the text next to your picture on the six o'clock news, then don't write it.
But I continue to wonder why I hear so many stories about lawyers and dumb Internet usage. Over the years I've heard stories of sexual harassment, dissing clients and all manner of inappropriate behaviour. Is it because they believe they are untouchable?
The lesson, once again, is if you don't want to see the text next to your picture on the six o'clock news, then don't write it.
But I continue to wonder why I hear so many stories about lawyers and dumb Internet usage. Over the years I've heard stories of sexual harassment, dissing clients and all manner of inappropriate behaviour. Is it because they believe they are untouchable?
Monday, October 23, 2006
Bigpond drop the word "unlimited"
Quietly in the last few weeks, Bigpond have renamed their "Unlimited" plan to "Liberty".
This label was always misleading. The plans were never unlimited. Once you reached the limit, you were capped to slower speeds.
While misusing the word "unlimited" is typical IT industry behaviour, it's preferable to the alternative, a massive excess use charge. The 200, 400 and 500Mb plans are designed to hit customers with excess bills. The 200Mb plan would end up costing the typical family over $70 a month.
It worries me when I hear schools bullying families to get on to the net. Too many of those families will sign up with Bigpond and opt for the cheapest possible plan. Throw a couple of kids surfing for free music on that machine and a 29.95 plan could easily become a $29,950 plan.
This label was always misleading. The plans were never unlimited. Once you reached the limit, you were capped to slower speeds.
While misusing the word "unlimited" is typical IT industry behaviour, it's preferable to the alternative, a massive excess use charge. The 200, 400 and 500Mb plans are designed to hit customers with excess bills. The 200Mb plan would end up costing the typical family over $70 a month.
It worries me when I hear schools bullying families to get on to the net. Too many of those families will sign up with Bigpond and opt for the cheapest possible plan. Throw a couple of kids surfing for free music on that machine and a 29.95 plan could easily become a $29,950 plan.
Saturday, October 21, 2006
XP Service Pack 3 delayed
It appears the next Windows XP service pack will not be released until 2008. This means it will be almost four years between service packs two and three. This is not acceptable.
Already a new machine with SP2 requires over sixty updates to get up to date, it boggles my mind how many we'll need by 2008.
Not good enough.
Already a new machine with SP2 requires over sixty updates to get up to date, it boggles my mind how many we'll need by 2008.
Not good enough.
Friday, October 20, 2006
HP overtakes Dell
Gartner and IDC are reporting HP has regained the lead over Dell in worldwide PC shipments this quarter.
The frightening thing for Dell is the fall in US market share: IDC report 6.7% and Gartner 7%. A fall like that is a serious matter.
The problem for Dell is that they are now firmly stuck in the low margin, cheapo market. It's going to take a lot of work for them to break out of that niche. If they don't, though, they are doomed.
The frightening thing for Dell is the fall in US market share: IDC report 6.7% and Gartner 7%. A fall like that is a serious matter.
The problem for Dell is that they are now firmly stuck in the low margin, cheapo market. It's going to take a lot of work for them to break out of that niche. If they don't, though, they are doomed.
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Apple defenders come out
When Choice named iPods as among the ten shonkiest products of the year, I expected the fanboys to come out snarling. In the next few days we'll see the usual sqwarking and attacks on everyone concerned. I certainly didn't expect Smarthouse News to be questioning Choice's integrity, however.
While I agree the Australian Consumers Association can be hysterical at times, and I disagree with their view that computers should be as reliable as toasters and fridges, their comments about Apple's disgraceful iPod return policy are quite right.
What I find interesting in the Smarthouse article is the quote from Harvey Norman's Rutland Smith: "The claims by Choice surprise me as we have no problems with iPod returns and we sell thousands"
It's amazing that there are two Rutley Smiths working at Harvey Norman. A month earlier another Rutley Smith told Australian Personal Computer,
Harvey Norman had repeatedly asked Apple to change its iPod return process which instructs customers to return faulty iPods directly to Apple by post.
While I agree the Australian Consumers Association can be hysterical at times, and I disagree with their view that computers should be as reliable as toasters and fridges, their comments about Apple's disgraceful iPod return policy are quite right.
What I find interesting in the Smarthouse article is the quote from Harvey Norman's Rutland Smith: "The claims by Choice surprise me as we have no problems with iPod returns and we sell thousands"
It's amazing that there are two Rutley Smiths working at Harvey Norman. A month earlier another Rutley Smith told Australian Personal Computer,
Harvey Norman had repeatedly asked Apple to change its iPod return process which instructs customers to return faulty iPods directly to Apple by post.
“We’ve instructed our stores to resolve problems in accordance with the Trade Practices Act and handle stock problems with Apple at a later date. But so far we’ve found Apple to be particularly uncooperative.”
So it seems we have two Rutley Smiths at Harvey Norman. One thinks Apple are terrific and one seems to have a similar attitude to Choice Magazine. What a strange world we live in.iPod wins shonky award
Choice Magazine has nominated Apple's iPod for their Shonky awards.
Apple's iPod has won a Shonky, the Australian Consumers Association award for "unsafe, unethical, dishonest or plain hilarious products". The main point against the iPod is Apple's disgraceful, and possibly illegal, return policy.
Then again, what more can we expect from a company that blames Microsoft when it ships a product with a virus?
I also love how Apple link their advisory to two of the buggiest antivirus products on the market.
It's way beyond time that the ACCC and various state consumer protection authorities start doing their jobs and prosecute a few vendors for breaching the Trade Practices Act and various state laws.
Perhaps if they did, these outfits would stop treating users, customers and resellers with contempt and start shipping products that did what they promised.
Apple's iPod has won a Shonky, the Australian Consumers Association award for "unsafe, unethical, dishonest or plain hilarious products". The main point against the iPod is Apple's disgraceful, and possibly illegal, return policy.
Then again, what more can we expect from a company that blames Microsoft when it ships a product with a virus?
I also love how Apple link their advisory to two of the buggiest antivirus products on the market.
It's way beyond time that the ACCC and various state consumer protection authorities start doing their jobs and prosecute a few vendors for breaching the Trade Practices Act and various state laws.
Perhaps if they did, these outfits would stop treating users, customers and resellers with contempt and start shipping products that did what they promised.
Techs pushing Vista
Are techs mad to be pushing Vista right now?
I received a competitors newsletter yesterday which was mainly an exercise in pushing Windows Vista. It's not something I would do.
Vista will eventually take over from XP, however we'll see a lot of teeth gnashing as the early adopters work they way through the many incompatibilities and bugs that we'll find. It's a brave tech that would tell their customers to upgrade three months after the release, let alone three months before. We're advising to wait until this time next year.
The notable thing about this company is they have a "no fix-no fee" policy. I suspect this advice might become very expensive in the new year.
I received a competitors newsletter yesterday which was mainly an exercise in pushing Windows Vista. It's not something I would do.
Vista will eventually take over from XP, however we'll see a lot of teeth gnashing as the early adopters work they way through the many incompatibilities and bugs that we'll find. It's a brave tech that would tell their customers to upgrade three months after the release, let alone three months before. We're advising to wait until this time next year.
The notable thing about this company is they have a "no fix-no fee" policy. I suspect this advice might become very expensive in the new year.
Germany proposes a computer tax
In countries like Germany and the UK where televisions require a license it was inevitable that applying these taxes to computers would be proposed.
I'm surprised the record companies and movie studios haven't suggested a similar levy to compensate for the billions they claim to lose to piracy.
What this really illustrates is how flawed comparisons between computers and household appliance are. A TV can only do one thing: Watch TV (although the picture can come from a VCR or satellite dish). Computers on the other hand can do untold number of things.
This is why I get cranky at the Consumer Association's constant assertion that computers should be as reliable as toasters. I don't see too many viruses written for toasters or teenagers trying to share raisin toast in return for muffins. I also don't see too many home based businesses using a domestic toaster to run a cafe.
I'm surprised the record companies and movie studios haven't suggested a similar levy to compensate for the billions they claim to lose to piracy.
What this really illustrates is how flawed comparisons between computers and household appliance are. A TV can only do one thing: Watch TV (although the picture can come from a VCR or satellite dish). Computers on the other hand can do untold number of things.
This is why I get cranky at the Consumer Association's constant assertion that computers should be as reliable as toasters. I don't see too many viruses written for toasters or teenagers trying to share raisin toast in return for muffins. I also don't see too many home based businesses using a domestic toaster to run a cafe.
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Cutting down peer-to-peer
Extel's decision to slow peer-to-peer traffic is hardly surprising.
Given that probably thirty percent of household computers we see currently have P2P software on their computers, and most of them have sharing enabled, the amount of data being pushed around by these programs is huge. The costs to ISPs must be massive.
The importance of the Internet to so many businesses and households means priortising other traffic is fair enough. Also, the market for ISPs like Exetel is largely price driven they just can't afford these sort of costs.
Users have to decide if they want cheap or capacity. They can't have both. Mind you, if some of the complaints are true, then I would be a cranky customer too.
It's industry practice to allow customers to terminate a contract without penalty if terms are changed during the term. The talcum Industry Ombudsman has a checklist for dealing with customer complaints.
Given that probably thirty percent of household computers we see currently have P2P software on their computers, and most of them have sharing enabled, the amount of data being pushed around by these programs is huge. The costs to ISPs must be massive.
The importance of the Internet to so many businesses and households means priortising other traffic is fair enough. Also, the market for ISPs like Exetel is largely price driven they just can't afford these sort of costs.
Users have to decide if they want cheap or capacity. They can't have both. Mind you, if some of the complaints are true, then I would be a cranky customer too.
It's industry practice to allow customers to terminate a contract without penalty if terms are changed during the term. The talcum Industry Ombudsman has a checklist for dealing with customer complaints.
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
McAfee complains about Vista
McAfee has joined Symantec to complain about Vista's security and lack of access to kernal.
What a laugh. Both of these products would work better WITHOUT access. All too often we see machines dragged down by them.
These programs shouldn't be allowed access to key operating files. Nothing should. The main reason for XP's diabolic security problems is the ease programs can write to the registry and system folders.
What a laugh. Both of these products would work better WITHOUT access. All too often we see machines dragged down by them.
These programs shouldn't be allowed access to key operating files. Nothing should. The main reason for XP's diabolic security problems is the ease programs can write to the registry and system folders.
Thursday, September 21, 2006
More exploding laptops
More battery problems.
On top of the exploding Lenovo laptop at Los Angeles airport, a Dell catches fire at the Yahoo! head office.
Toshiba are now recalling over 300,000 batteries. Apparently the problem is to do with corrosion, not fire risks. But the batteries are still Sony.
It seems Sony have some serious problems.
On top of the exploding Lenovo laptop at Los Angeles airport, a Dell catches fire at the Yahoo! head office.
Toshiba are now recalling over 300,000 batteries. Apparently the problem is to do with corrosion, not fire risks. But the batteries are still Sony.
It seems Sony have some serious problems.
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Is free security software worse?
Is free software worst than paid?
The SMH today looks at the pros and cons of free security software. While their conclusions are fair, that free software often requires more work from the user and sometimes lacks features, the comments from vendors are breath-taking.
I particularly like the Computer Associates spokesperson saying "They think they have something that's fully protecting them, when in reality they don't protect in a way they might need."
Priceless.
It's actually the commercial, full featured packages that leave users with a false sense of security. The number of times we discover users with damaged, disabled or out of date brand name security products is depressing.
The simple fact is the worst offenders are McAfee and Symantec.
Symantec suffers mainly because it relies on the Windows Scripting Host. This means a spyware infection will often drag a Norton product and Windows down with it. Their products is too complex and their licensing puts users at a disadvantage.
McAfee's problems start with their licensing obsession. Their registration system is so convoluted and prone to failure that many users are never properly covered. Like Symantec, their products are too complex and are even more difficult to fix when a problem arises.
While free products do have drawbacks and require more user intervention, most of them are far simpler and less prone to failure.
Software is always going to be complex, but the problem with most large software houses, including Microsoft, Symantec and McAfee, is they make their products even more complex than is necessary.
The SMH today looks at the pros and cons of free security software. While their conclusions are fair, that free software often requires more work from the user and sometimes lacks features, the comments from vendors are breath-taking.
I particularly like the Computer Associates spokesperson saying "They think they have something that's fully protecting them, when in reality they don't protect in a way they might need."
Priceless.
It's actually the commercial, full featured packages that leave users with a false sense of security. The number of times we discover users with damaged, disabled or out of date brand name security products is depressing.
The simple fact is the worst offenders are McAfee and Symantec.
Symantec suffers mainly because it relies on the Windows Scripting Host. This means a spyware infection will often drag a Norton product and Windows down with it. Their products is too complex and their licensing puts users at a disadvantage.
McAfee's problems start with their licensing obsession. Their registration system is so convoluted and prone to failure that many users are never properly covered. Like Symantec, their products are too complex and are even more difficult to fix when a problem arises.
While free products do have drawbacks and require more user intervention, most of them are far simpler and less prone to failure.
Software is always going to be complex, but the problem with most large software houses, including Microsoft, Symantec and McAfee, is they make their products even more complex than is necessary.
Monday, September 18, 2006
Attack of the giant laptops
We thought the Toshiba Qosmio took the cake when it came to portable computers, but the Dell M2010 surely takes the cake.
With a screen sizes between 17 and 21" and weighing in over 9ks, these beasts push the definition of portable. Laptop magazine has an amusing story on one of their writers travelling around New York with it. I certainly wouldn't want to be sitting next to someone using an M2010 in economy.
In fact, it's unfair to put them in the same category as laptops and portables. These are genuine desktop replacements. Usually home based business people with restricted space or who move between two locations buy desktop replacements.
The fact these systems come with remote controls and Windows Media Centre show the intended market is not the small business owner. These are firmly aimed at the home entertainment market.
Unfortunately at over $6,000 the prices will lock them out of most home users' budgets. These are strictly aimed at the top of the market.
With a screen sizes between 17 and 21" and weighing in over 9ks, these beasts push the definition of portable. Laptop magazine has an amusing story on one of their writers travelling around New York with it. I certainly wouldn't want to be sitting next to someone using an M2010 in economy.
In fact, it's unfair to put them in the same category as laptops and portables. These are genuine desktop replacements. Usually home based business people with restricted space or who move between two locations buy desktop replacements.
The fact these systems come with remote controls and Windows Media Centre show the intended market is not the small business owner. These are firmly aimed at the home entertainment market.
Unfortunately at over $6,000 the prices will lock them out of most home users' budgets. These are strictly aimed at the top of the market.
Friday, September 15, 2006
Hackers in the system
One thing that always raises a smile from computer techs is when a user cries "there's a hacker in my computer."
While I'd never discount the real threat of hackers, the reality is usually far more mundane. Usually the "hacker" turns out to be a virus or spyware. If it is a person, that person is usually a family or staff member.
So a phone call from a client saying Bigpond had blamed her high Internet bill on hackers made us raise our eyebrows. The usual thing we ask when we get such a call is "do you have a teenager in the house?" Sure enough, one of her sons had moved home a few weeks previously.
A quick inspection of the computer found Limewire with the default file sharing settings enabled. The prodigal son denied all knowledge.
It must have been a hacker.
While I'd never discount the real threat of hackers, the reality is usually far more mundane. Usually the "hacker" turns out to be a virus or spyware. If it is a person, that person is usually a family or staff member.
So a phone call from a client saying Bigpond had blamed her high Internet bill on hackers made us raise our eyebrows. The usual thing we ask when we get such a call is "do you have a teenager in the house?" Sure enough, one of her sons had moved home a few weeks previously.
A quick inspection of the computer found Limewire with the default file sharing settings enabled. The prodigal son denied all knowledge.
It must have been a hacker.
Thursday, September 14, 2006
More battery woes
I'm wondering just how wide the Sony battery problems are.
My new Sony Ericsson M600 has been playing up since I bought it four weeks ago. Yesterday I took it back to find there is a battery recall.
I'm not sure the problem is related to the laptop recall, but it wouldn't surprise me.
Given battery problems are the most common complaint of laptop users, it seems manufacturers need to have a good look at the technology they are putting in these things.
My new Sony Ericsson M600 has been playing up since I bought it four weeks ago. Yesterday I took it back to find there is a battery recall.
I'm not sure the problem is related to the laptop recall, but it wouldn't surprise me.
Given battery problems are the most common complaint of laptop users, it seems manufacturers need to have a good look at the technology they are putting in these things.
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Norton slows computers
So what does slow a PC down?
The Spy PC Blog looked at what slows a Windows computer down. They tested a number of programs to see which would be the worst offender. Norton Internet Security won by a long shot.
While not being scientific, it certainly does match our experiences in the real world. Removing NAV is often the best boost a computer can get. It's usually the first thing we do.
In the real world, the situation is more complex. While Norton Internet Security may be the biggest single culprit, the cumulative effects of a spyware infection will slow a computer even more.
To complicate the picture even more, a spyware infection will mess up the Active Scripting functions, which in turn will bork Norton products, which in turn will reduce the whole computer to a quivering wreck.
I'm sure Symantec's spin doctors will be able to portray the Spy PC tests as being unrepresentative. The fact is Norton products have serious problems. They need to fix them.
The Spy PC Blog looked at what slows a Windows computer down. They tested a number of programs to see which would be the worst offender. Norton Internet Security won by a long shot.
While not being scientific, it certainly does match our experiences in the real world. Removing NAV is often the best boost a computer can get. It's usually the first thing we do.
In the real world, the situation is more complex. While Norton Internet Security may be the biggest single culprit, the cumulative effects of a spyware infection will slow a computer even more.
To complicate the picture even more, a spyware infection will mess up the Active Scripting functions, which in turn will bork Norton products, which in turn will reduce the whole computer to a quivering wreck.
I'm sure Symantec's spin doctors will be able to portray the Spy PC tests as being unrepresentative. The fact is Norton products have serious problems. They need to fix them.
Monday, September 11, 2006
Exploiting tragedy
I've heard a number of marketing and advertising gurus advise exploiting 9/11 to sell disaster recovery and backup services.
Personally, I think it's bad taste. I suspect many people will agree with me. So we didn't do it.
The point's valid, but to tie a terrorist atrocity into selling your wares seems to be asking for trouble.
One of the most important rules in running a small business is: If your gut says no, then don't do it.
Every time I've ignored that rule, I've regretted it.
Personally, I think it's bad taste. I suspect many people will agree with me. So we didn't do it.
The point's valid, but to tie a terrorist atrocity into selling your wares seems to be asking for trouble.
One of the most important rules in running a small business is: If your gut says no, then don't do it.
Every time I've ignored that rule, I've regretted it.
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