Today morning as I logged into GMail, the first thing I noticed was the missing beta tag, which was a part of GMail and Google Apps, all these years. Moreover, since I could not find any visible changes in GMail,I checked the Google Blog, but something entirely different caught my attention.
A post by Sundar Pichai titled "Introducing the Google OS" caught my attention instantly. I was excited many folds, and hurriedly went through the post. But frankly, I was left disappointed. Chrome OS seemed nothing but a thin Linux Kernel which will startup with Chrome browser. It may look exciting for a bunch of net addicts who can't wait for a minute or two until the system boots up. But think, you can ONLY surf, nothing else.
So here are 6 reasons, why Microsoft will be more interested in Iran Elections than Chrome OS:
Google is desperate
With Bing creating waves in the search market held by Google for years, they are trying to give Microsoft a slap back. This is further emphasized, when Google hastily removed the beta tag from its WebApps without any apparent changes. And on top of that, two back to back blog posts, one about the beta tag and the next about the new Chrome OS, all within a span of 24 hours. Also, Google did not give any technical details about this new OS, no system architecture, did not name any of the manufacturers' name, which they referred to as "partners", and announced they would launch this within an year. How can they get developers interested within this short span, if they don't provide these details?
Is this a breakthrough Concept by Google? Big No!!
There are many Linux distros which already does whatever Google has mentioned in the blog. And there are many other WebOSes, which are still struggling to make a mark. So, this is a well tried out concept that Google is trying to reinvent. And Google does not have the best tools for that either. Atleast Chrome is not the best browser around!
Where are the Applications?
Are Google Apps, GMail and iGoogle, the applications you want to use all time? What if you want to design a logo with Photoshop or any other image editor? Or if you want to watch you movie? Or what if you want to play some 3d Games? No, you have to wait for few more years maybe, when the Web evolves to support these.
Peers already have a headstart
If cloud computing market is what Google is aiming to capture, they are a tad too late. Because Microsoft already has a very rich and multi-layered Cloud platform called Azure, with a huge developer base, SDKs and beta applications. And it has been almost a year since Ubuntu announced its Cloud Computing plans. And every now and then we hear new WebOSes sprouting from nowhere like G.ho.st and Desktoptwo. So, the race is not going to be easy even if Google has a solid plan.
No huge market to capture
If you look at the OS market, things are pretty much in balance. With Microsoft is holding most of the home and corporate market, Apple is ruling the Multimedia market, and Linux flavours occupying a slice of Servers and Developers. Now, who are the potential end users for Chrome OS? Net Addicts who don't do anything else? And would that come to 0.01% of the market?? I doubt!
No internet, no OS.
From the information released by Google, what we can understand is Chrome OS, will be a packing of a thin Linux Kernel and Chrome running atop. That is, as you start you system, you will see the Google Homepage in a few seconds. And, if there is no internet, you can see a "no connectivity" error. And, OS stops there. Does it look great for home? Enterprise? Maybe, some hobbyists may use this to expand their collection.
Above all these, I feel Google is losing its way. It is holding on to some keywords like Linux, OpenSource, Free, No evil but are failing to impress. They already declared Android will not be restricted to phones, but netbooks also. Today, they have announced Chrome OS and Android will not share anything other than "Made by Google". Also, it has been quite some time, since Google presented something really Innovative.
Maybe, the "Google" tag and the hype created can deliver some business to Google. I don't see anything beyond that.
All said, I might be proved wrong when Google announces more details. Till then, I would say, Chrome OS is a side effect of Bing Success.
-Codevalley
PS: I started a new venture and was busy with that, and could not do justice to my blog. Anyway, I will try to be more regular. If curious about my venture, check these links: ESquare Labs., 24bar7Host
6 Reasons why Chrome OS does not impress me!
Posted by Codevalley Labels: 24bar7host, azure, Chrome, Chrome OS, Chrome OS hype, ESquare Labs, Microsoft, ubuntu, WebOS
User Access Control, a scapegoat?
Posted by Codevalley Labels: Microsoft, UAC, ubuntu, Vista, Windows 7As Windows 7 is round the corner, lets get a little backwards in the time-line. Windows Vista kept us waiting for over six years, since the release of Windows XP, before hitting the retail stores in January 2007. Opening with mixed reviews, with some curiosity aroused by the Aero graphics engine and a new system architecture, the much hyped Vista settled down as a failure. Various reasons were given for the failure, which included the mammoth amount of system resources it required, the slow system performance, etc. But, one of the most cursed feature of Vista was the User Access Control.
UAC as it is commonly referred to as, is actually a feature which Microsoft added to Vista to enhance its security, by asking the user's confirmation before allowing any program to perform any serious (sometimes trivial) operation. People even went to the extent of rebranding UAC as User Annoyance Control. Norton noted that, "The more a user is prompted, the more likely it is that he or she will dismiss the prompt without reading it, and hence it is a false security model." And UAC became the easy target for Microsoft bashers and Windows haters.
But, is it really an annoyance? I personally felt it is not. Spending a few extra seconds reading a popup is always an easier option than installing a multi-megabyte antivirus software. Atleast you know whatever is happening in your system. Which all applications are trying to execute. I know each time my pendrive is trying to autoplay. It has helped me many a times from getting infected from external media.
After all is'nt this the very same security model followed in the Linux systems? Does'nt it ask for admin rights each time we try to do some system operation? In fact I have felt the frequency of popups more in my Ubuntu than in my Vista. I was rather disappointed when I heard Microsoft has partially removed the UAC from Windows 7. Though Vista may well be a below par product from Microsoft, I think the criticism on UAC was rather unfair. But, well that is MY opinion. You can have your say.
-codevalley
Ballmer calls up Gates after Yahoo! Deal call off!
Posted by Codevalley Labels: comedy, Microsoft, satire, Stever Ballmer, yahooNote:This is an imaginary comic article. This is just a satire and contains no facts.
After the Yahoo! Deal was laid off, the whole Microsoft felt deceived and upset. On January 31st 2008, YHOO stocks closed at 19.03$. And a day after, the Microsoft announcing its interest to takeover the internet giant, its stock prices shot up to 28$ in a single day and even reached 30$ at some point of time. But because of the indifferent approach of Yahoo! Board, Microsoft had to call off the deal. Post Yahoo!, an upset Gates calls up Ballmer.
Gates: What is this, Steve? I expected more from you. You should have gone for the proxy fight. Why did you give up?
Ballmer: No dear. There’s no point in it. They were asking for too much. And moreover they will anyway tie up with Google; there is no point in taking over in that case.
Gates: What can we do now? How do we save our face? I am not able to concentrate on my philanthropy 'business', you see.
Ballmer: Even I am thinking about it. I tried my luck on Facebook, MySpace, but they did not budge. Then tried revamping Live.com, no one is even visiting it. Now after Yahoo! I see no way out.
Gates: Why don’t we take our fight to our old friend, Apple? Can we announce a iPhone killer?
Ballmer: Not a bad idea! We can in fact. We can use the Zune hardware, with an Xbox processor and put Vista in it….
Gates: Vista? Will it fit in? The kernel itself is 3 GB!!
Ballmer: Bill, why are you talking like a child! We can always revamp it. As we always used to do! We will remove the security module, Aero, the file system, the boot loader and…yeah, the multimedia too.
Gates: What will be left then?
Ballmer: The DOS kernel!
Gates: Still the DOS kernel? I thought we developed a new kernel for Vista?
Ballmer: Yeah, we did. Who said otherwise? We rewrote the whole DOS kernel from C to C#.
Gates: How innovative! I am impressed. Now what we will we name our new product? It should really be something people can easily recognize. Something like iPhone…how about oPhone?
Ballmer: I am afraid, O2 might complain….what about GPhone?
Gates: Its already there you homie…Google Phone, so are the SPhone, KPhone etc. All patented.
Ballmer: No alphabets left? Oh, hey! How about xPhone? That adds an x-factor... oh heavens.. I am amazed on my own creativity!!!
Gates: Dude, watch out, x rating your product won’t help. I think we should go in our Windows line, 98, Millenium, 2000, XP, Vista….why don’ we name it Pista?
Ballmer: Oh, you better name it some Chocolate or strawberry…ha ha
Gates: Hey! You said it! Strawberry! We can also challenge blackberry with it! You are a genius! I am convinced.
Ballmer: thanks (blushing).
Gates: So, when can we have the press conference?...
when technology gets advanced, people get silly.
codevalley
Yahoo! to bid for Microsoft???
Posted by Codevalley Labels: Balmer, bid, Google, merger, Microsoft, Spielberg, spoof, Warner Bros, yahoo
After more than two months of speculation, negotiation, round tables, press conferences and ultimatums it seems both Microsoft and Yahoo! have said they have enough of the drama. Microsoft spokesperson on the press conference said that, "This is what we both wanted, to be in the front cover of all the business journals and portals, rise in share values and publicity. This was the biggest form of advertising both we and Microsoft could get and the master plan has really paid off!". He also noted that at the end we wanted to call an end to this drama, as we found the drama is losing its charisma.
"We are now thinking of bidding for Microsoft for maybe, 150 billion. I know we don't have that much funds with us. But we have asked Warner Bros. to sponsor this soap, and they have agreed to the same. They have their own publicity plans regarding the same, we will have a weekly show in BBC and CNN to get more publicity." When asked about how many months this new drama is going to last, Microsoft's Balmer said, " I don't have the clearest idea, but it could last for 2-3 months, depending on the publicity and popularity. Spielberg is in charge of the script and direction". "We are sure, both us and Yahoo! can tip Google from the top spot, with this kind of slick marketing. "
-Codevalley
This is a spoof and not real news. Don't run to buy some MSFT, YHOO shares half reading the article. I am not responsible for any loss occuring in such cases.
posted in sillytech on May 05, 2008
Microsoft ambitious about the Azure Cloud!
Posted by Codevalley Labels: azure, cloud computing, Live Mesh, MicrosoftRemember the famous Windows 98 boot screen and wallpaper? The windows product name etched in a background of bright blue clouds. I am not sure who was behind that idea, but definitely he would have never thought the cloud, would mean so much to Microsoft over a decade later.
Azure as it has been christened, the next generation of Computing is getting ready for take off. The Microsoft Chief Software Architect, Ray Ozzie was all excited to announce the possibility of a Windows that runs inside Internet. Azure will go beyond the existing paradigms and create a Distributed Operating System Model hosted under Microsoft's Data Centers. And the services could be accessed through existing protocols like HTTP, REST, WS* and Atom.
The Azure platform will provide various Azure Services like Windows Azure, .NET Services, SQL Services and Live Services. Developers can write applications on the Azure platform and make it available to the users all around the world.
With Azure, Microsoft also makes a genuine Openness Promise, to support all technologies impartially over the Azure cloud. This means an Azure app could be running on a PHP application or use OpenID authentication.
Other Azure highlights are the possible subscription model of licensing that Windows Azure and the hosted apps may follow. The Azure network's fabric controller that manages the services and the ready availability of data which is spread over many data centers.
Azure seems to be the Logical evolution of Operating Systems, and when the leader of Operating Systems is initiating it, expectations are running high.
Though this looks like a promising step ahead, Azure is still in a very nascent stage and there is a long way to go until we get something that has a business value. For now, Microsoft has a limited Developer preview and some SDKs for the developers to play with. PDC 2008 also witnessed some small sample applications developed over Azure.
"It's a transformation of our software and a transformation of our strategy" Said Ray Ozzie, in the PDC speech. He was probably right, as web is the next home. And we will have to wait and see who will be the first to conquer this kingdom.
Azure Home
Azure Coverage on CNET
Codevalley
Google Chrome, reinventing the wheel?
Posted by Codevalley Labels: Chrome, firefox, Google, Internet Explorer, Microsoft, mozilla, osoft
Just over a week after Microsoft Internet Explorer Beta 2, Google has come up with its own new offering christened Chrome. The whole release episode itself was in a bizzare fashion. A day before the release, the whole internet talk about some leaked Google comic book talking about the new Chrome browser, and just a few hours later Google announce that they aill release the beta the very next day.
Yahoo! divorce’s Microsoft for Google.
Posted by Codevalley Labels: Anti-trust, buyout, Google, Icahn, Microsoft, search market, yahooRecap
It looks pretty much like a prime time soap. For month’s Microsoft had been negotiating and proposing to Yahoo!, first came with a 31$ buyout offer, later raised it to 33$ trying to make ends meet. But finally Yahoo! pulled off. Again with the help of Icahnn, Microsoft tried to acquire the strategic search portion of Yahoo! The final talks happened on Thursday, and reportedly, Yahoo! were ready to accept the earlier 33$ whole buyout, which Microsoft were no more interested in. Instead, Microsoft were willing to pay 35$ a share for a 16% on Yahoo! to get the search market portion. This Yahoo! found unacceptable and were not even willing to think about. Yahoo! quoted in a press statement “...that such a transaction would not be consistent with the company's view of the converging search and display marketplaces, would leave the company without an independent search business that it views as critical to its strategic future, and would not be in the best interests of Yahoo stockholders.” (The trademark “interest of shareholders” argument).
Yahoo! also noted that it was Microsoft who has now moved off the full buyout bid, even at the earlier quoted price. And this followed a heavy 12% dip in Yahoo’s share closing at over 23$.
The Twist
A little while later, Yahoo! announced its new fiancée, Google. It had already struck a 10 year deal with Google to divert some of Google’s search traffic to Yahoo! and is expecting an additional 800$ million revenue this year. But is this the forbidden Apple that Yahoo! is trying to have? Subsequently the story could go such a way that, Yahoo! will become more and more dependent on the Google’s cash, and will not be able to survive without it. Is Google playing the Wolf in the lamb’s skin? We all know Google’s motto of “don’t be evil”, will they keep that word? Only time can tell.
But this is what Google CEO Eric Schmidth had to say, “This agreement will preserve the competitive and dynamic online advertising space.” But how? Hope we find an answer soon.
Now, Google, the new found friend of Yahoo! is also sharing there IM circle with Yahoo! and Yahoo! chat can support Google buddies, clearly an advantage Google deal.
Already the Anti-trust authorities are scrutinizing the deal and pretty skeptical over the happenings.
So what will Google do with this new found friend? Is Yahoo! falling into bigger trap to waiver off immediate slaps from Icahn and Microsoft? How will Microsoft react? What can Icahn do? Wait for the next episode.
-codevalley
D conference, 6th edition of digital Pandora's box!
Posted by Codevalley Labels: Bill Gates, D6, Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, Microsoft, Stever Ballmer, Wall street, yahoo
All things Digital is the yearly conference of the tech world, hosted by Wall Street Journal and has been going on since 2003. Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher shoot questions mercilessly at the opponent, be it the richest man on earth, Bill Gates, or his most innovative counterpart Steve Jobs.
The D6 or the 6th edition, was held from 26th to 29th of May and was eagerly watched over by the Geeks. It was really a Pandora’s box which opened Microsoft's ideas for Windows 7, Yahoo's own Jerry Yang's confessions, Facebook's Toddler CEO Mark Zuckerberg's amateurish answers. You have all that. It a complete, 3 day long soap for techies.
Last 3 days I was doing no work in office, but following the whole D thing. And thanks to the D6 website, I could get nice video highlights, and transcripts of the happenings. I wish I were in California rather than in some remote town in India, so that I could also get to see these things live.
Nevertheless, the 6th edition was pretty interesting to watch, it kept up with its tradition. Remember the Bill Gates- Steve Jobs sharing the podium in last year’s version? That is the best thing about the D. There are no cuts, no second takes, no cover ups. The sharp tongues of Kara and Walt battle with the big corporate legends, and even audience get their chance. It foams out so much information.
I will brief some of the highlights of this year, before I write separate blogs for those which I feel are very much interesting and useful.
First and foremost, as always the Microsoft, wherever they go they pull crowd. This time it was Bill Gates along with his long term partner and CEO Steve Ballmer, and discussed about the Yahoo! deal, the Vista debacle, and more interestingly the first sneak peaks on Windows 7.
Then you had Jerry Yang along with Yahoo! President Sue Decker almost struggling to put up a smiling face and say Yahoo! is not dead! Yahoo! is rising.
Also, the sandal CEO, Mark Zuckerberg at last shed his habit of wearing sandals for public meets! No that is not the big news, he along with Sheryl Sandberg opened up about what is actually Facebook, “Share, share, share, share…” he kept on saying this so many times. It was clear, though he is too good a techie, not yet trained completely for the public speech. And between share, he also said, Facebook is not interested in Microsoft deal or an IPO right now.
We had Melinda Gates talking about pulling Bill out of Microsoft for more efforts on philanthropy, and their plans on how to make the world a better place.
Apart from that there were many others like Rupert Murdoch talking about news in general and news.com in particular. Amazon.com’s own Jeff Bezos and much many. But I will end this blog with some interesting quotes.
“No product we have shipped including Windows 95 has given 100% of what i wanted in that product…” Bill Gates, when asked whether Vista was able to achieve what it expected to.
"I do think I'm the best person to run Yahoo. Not only because I bleed purple, and bleed Yahoo..." Jerry Yang, when attacked asking whether he should actually remain Yahoo's head.
"Eric (Schmidth) and Larry (Page) came over to my apartment, but I didn't have enough furniture, so Eric sat on the floor.." Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, when asked about his relationship with Google.
"we have a culture that is very much about "we need to do better". Vista has given us more opportunities to exercise the culture than some other products we have shipped." Bill Gates, again on the Vista failure.
"Kara:Do you use MySpace? Murdoch: No. Kara: Facebook? Murdoch shakes head: No", media veteran, and news Corp. head Rupert Murdoch.
That will all in this coverage I suppose, I will come back again with the individual events, which I found interesting, till then here is link for you to feed upon.
All things Digital website.
Also check out my tech blog with a sense of sattire and humor, sillytech.
codevalley
Post Yahoo!, Cashback challenge from Live.
Posted by Codevalley Labels: Adsense, cashback, Community Clips, Google, Live, Microsoft, Search, TaskmarketPost Yahoo! debacle ( I don't consider it a debacle though), Microsoft is working hard, it seems. Their creative brains are being squeezed to get innovative and useful ideas for the net. This time around I would try to cover some of the new innovations and improvisations by Microsoft.
Live Search Cashback
How did Google own the web? Search engine and ads related to that. Yes, and this is what Microsoft tried to rip apart with a Yahoo! takeover. But when Balmer said, we have different strategies, he was not bluffing.
The mastercard ad says "there are somethings money can't buy, for everything else, there is mastercard" The same will apply for Live search cashback. The basic idea is, you search for the goodies you want to buy online using live search. You get the list of shoppers' who sell the item and the price each of them offer. And once you choose a shopper and go forward for the deal, Microsoft will pay you a bonus, for using their search system. Yes, they are sharing the revenue directly with the consumer. Nice idea. And they are not keeping anything back. They are sharing the FULL profit to the customer. That is indeed a bold decision. No, that is not the only reason why you should opt for Live cashback. It offers innovative features like bottomline price, where you get the actual price you will have to pay, after tax, shipping etc. So you won't be fooled to go all the way to the merchant site, add to cart etc and at the end find a different price.
Also, enrolling is a breeze, just submit your mail id and go ahead with your purchase, you get the incentive and in the subsequent purchases, the cashback account accumulates the money. Once it reaches 5$ you can request payout.
I tried with searching for "windows vista ultimate" and I got a couple of hundred deals, it was easy to choose one from the list, as each search entry had details of base price, product details etc. I went ahead with my choice, and enrolled to Live search cashback. The price of the product was 180$ and I got a cashbak of 10$. Yeah! it is that huge!! I would whole heartedly recommend this, not just because of the cashback, but the genuineness of the idea. (Don't get baffled by the low price, I bought an OEM version).
Community Clips
You already have your Youtube for videos, but Microsoft is bringing up this new portal for people to post help videos on Microsoft Products like Word, Excel, powerpoint etc. You can join the community, post your videos, share information, rate videos, etc. Looks nice. It is still in the Officelabs, waiting for it to come public.
TaskMarket
Again another labs product. Not much of a breakthrough idea in this, there are many sites like Rentacoder, getafreelancer, etc doing the same. The basic idea is, you post a job; logo design, article proofing, small webdesign project etc. And coders bid for it, you choose your coder and get the job done. Nothing new, except that it is a Microsoft's!
Live Search Cashback
TaskMarket
Community Clips
codevalley
Here is a blog which gives you a funny view of the Microsoft-Yahoo! deal, in fact the spoof is about Yahoo! bidding for Microsoft. Makes nice reading.
Yahoo! to bid for Microsoft???
CodevalleyLive Mesh, seamless sharing across devices.
Posted by Codevalley Labels: Live Mesh, Microsoft, share, Web 2.0
Think about this, you have a new business idea, and you create a rough plan from your home PC, then while travelling you refine the plan from your PDA and simultaneously your colleague also adds his ideas to the document and it instantly reflects in your versions. I am not presenting you my new idea, but this is what Microsoft presented in their latest Web 2.o conference, and they called it the Live Mesh.
Using Live Mesh, you can share documents, files, folders etc across your PC, notebook, Mac or even PDAs. It does not end here, once you add devices to your "ring", you can ev
en run programs across the devices. There is a central web based control panel called Live Desktop, which lists all your shared devices, folders etc. You even get 5GB free space in your Live Desktop to store the files.
It goes even beyond this, you can even colloborate with your partners using Live Mesh. Using your Live ID you can see who all are accessing your shared files, and on your desktop you even get the notifications on latest changes in your documents. At the extreme, you can live chat with the people who are working on your files. All you have to do is download the Live Mesh software to your desktop and presto! Your ready for the seamless colloboration and sharing.
Now, that is what Microsoft means by Live Mesh. It is not completely ready as yet. The sharing across desktops, and working with other users is ready by now. But Live Mesh for devices and Macs are in the pipe. Also, whatever is available, is available through invites only for developers. So you have to wait for some more time until you can lay your hands on this.
codevalley
Road "Vista to Vienna", begins from Mini Kernel...
Posted by Codevalley Labels: Kernel, Microsoft, Minwin, Vienna, Vista, WindowsSounds too cryptic? First of all my apologies for my absence for over 100 days, my life shifted gears as I am now a Software Engg. in Bosch. So was busy with the new seat.
Anyway, let me unlock the riddle. Most of you know that Vista is the latest buzzword in the desktop market (I agree it was a damp release). Now, the successor of Windows XP, took almost half a decade to hatch out, after a bunch release dates and revises, when it did come out, it was not really welcomed as hyped by the market. All this is history. Vista is already there, what next?
Oh, the Vista Service Pack v1? That will be out in an year, don't bother about that, nothing really hot in that to fill up a whole article. So, Vienna? Yeah, Vienna is the successor of Vista, to be more precise, it is now called Windows Seven. The next release of Windows. The projected timeline is by 2010, but the exact details are yet to be known.
The Windows Seven is supposed to sport some complete new hood and internals. The first step for it being a fresh trimmed down kernel. It seems Microsoft is feeling the heat of the market, very unlike their style that they have put up a video about their new kernel for the public, which shows Eric Traut, a distinguished engineer, seen describing the new offing at the University of Illinois.
The kernel is codenamed MinWin, after a release where the Vista kernel would almost suck up 4gb of physical storage, the MinWin kernel megazips this to 25MB, or even less, according to Traut.
"That's kind of proof that there is actually a nice little core inside of Windows," Traut said. "A lot of people think of Windows as this really large, bloated operating system and that's maybe a fair characterization, I have to admit. It is large. It contains a lot of stuff in it, but at its core, the kernel and the components that make up the very core of the operating system actually are pretty streamlined."
He also mentioned that this kernel might be used for various purposes ranging from the Desktop to the embedded scenario, conveniently adding layers over it, still keeping the actual core slim. "This is an internal only (thing)...You won't see us productizing this, but you can imagine this being used as the basis for products in the future. We're definitely going to be using this internally to build all of the products that are based on Windows," he said. "We build a lot of products based on this kernel...It's still bigger than I'd like it to be" Traut said. Seems Microsoft is trying the Stephen Hawkings way, attempting for the Universe in a Nutshell.
Some say that project Vienna actually called Blackcomb earlier, was started as early as 2000, and was supposed to be the successor of XP and Vista just an interim release, but the hype and other reasons made Vista a full release by itself and eventually caused its flopped release. Vienna might well be the last of the Windows era, or may even be first of the new era.
Here are the 7 Windows Seven picks for you,
Windows Seven news
Windows Seven Blog
Windows Seven Transormation Pack
Windows Seven UserInterface Video
Windows Seven Wallpaper 1
Windows Seven Wallpaper 2
Windows Seven Skin Screenshot
Wishing all the best for the new W7, (7 being my own lucky number).
codevalley
More Vista WoWs!
Posted by Codevalley Labels: Bugs, cursor, lawsuit, Microsoft, patch, Vista, WindowsSorry, I meant woes. Vista has been released under much hype and expectations and Microsoft had a very hefty campaign to get it to the mass, the "wow" being their advertising keyword. But, it has not been all that smooth for them with over a month and a half after Vista's release, it is still not on track.
Animated cursor? I am afraid of it.Those who have been closely watching the Microsoft the earlier versions of Windows, this might not a new issue. Right from Windows 98 through Windows XP SP2. this issue has haunted the software giant. Buffer overflow can be caused by a simple, malfunctioning .ANI file, putting the system in a crash-restart-crash loop. This was partially fixed in Windows XP SP1, but this recurred in SP2 and now in Vista too. This is simply ordinary stuff from Microsoft.
Security engineers at McAfee's Avert Labs confirmed today - and posted the video to prove this. When the system detects a crash because of the faulted cursor, it tries to save the vital system information before restarting, one of the new features of Vista, but this causing system to keep trying to load Windows Explorer each time and fail. The only remedy being to switch the power off. Many hacker circles are already exploiting the flaw to jeopardize Vista systems.
It seems Microsoft is not ready to take the embarassment, they announced last week that they would release the patch sooner, than the earlier announced date of April 10. "Since testing has been completed earlier than anticipated, Microsoft has released the update ahead of schedule to help protect customers", a Microsoft representative said in an e-mail. Customers can manually download the patch, or if the Automatic Update feature is turned on, it would be automatically patched.
Lately news have rolled out that the patch has been more of a thorn for many users as it is having conficts with the audio and networking drivers. Many lost all their ethernet and audio functions once they installed the patch, and regained as they removed the update and used the system restore. The funniest part is that Microsoft admitted they knew this Realtek driver issue. They had released a support article about that and later another patch for this, along with the cursor patch.
Avert Labs video
Microsoft Advisory
Lawsuit over low-end Vista
The "Vista Capable" sticker has proved to be costly for Microsoft, a Washington State woman has filed a class action action suit against Microsoft, complaining about this. Her system would not run the full version of Vista (read Ultimate) despite of her system having the sticker.
Her lawyers argue that Vista Basic lacks many features showcased in Microsoft's marketing campaign, the company has fooled the customers. This might not be a big case that would bring Microsoft to bankruptcy, but still this has scarred their reputation.
Microsft Vista campaign
The lawsuit
technorati tags:Vista, lawsuit, cursor, patch, bugs, Microsoft, Windows
WoW! Vista bugfixes start to flow in.
Posted by Codevalley Labels: Bugfix, Bugs, Microsoft, Service pack, Vista, WindowsMicrosoft holds its tradition once again, this time with mega release of Windows Vista. Even before it was officially out on January 30 earlier this year, a number of bugs were found out by many product watchers and analyst. Now it is their turn to bring out the bug fixes. This is the pattern, at first they give you the fixes for free. After some time, they begin to call them as the Service packs and charge for it. May be I am being anti- Microsoft here. I am sorry, I was just kidding. Hope they fix all the bugs soon. And hope new bugs sooner.
I am not sure how many out there following my blog has already using Vista, I would not, at this very early stage, I want to get everything stabilized, before I make the payment for my copy. Anyway for the unfortunates, here are the fixes, you can download them right away.
- Update for Windows Vista (KB931671)
Update for Windows Vista for x64-based Systems (KB931671)
Install this update to resolve an issue where an error message is received when placing a Windows Vista system into a sleep state while a PPP connection is active. - Update for Windows Mail Junk E-mail Filter [March 2007] (KB905866)
Update for Windows Mail Junk E-mail Filter for x64-based Systems [March 2007] (KB905866)
Install this update for Windows Mail to revise the definition files used to detect e-mail messages that should be considered junk e-mail or thatmay contain phishing content. - Update for Windows Vista (KB931174)
Update for Windows Vista for x64-based Systems (KB931174)
This update configures the Windows Customer Experience Improvement Programt o improve the quality of software information sent to Microsoft. - Update for Windows Vista (KB932649)
Update for Windows Vista for x64-based Systems (KB932649)
Install this update to resolve an issue where poor video quality may be experienced when configuring video to interlaced mode on a system running Windows Vista. - Update for Windows Vista (KB933824)
Update for Windows Vista for x64-based Systems (KB933824)
Install this update to resolve an issue where an Apple iPod may be corrupted byusing the Safely Remove Hardware feature on a system running WindowsVista. - Update for Windows Vista (KB932988)
Update for Windows Vista for x64-based Systems (KB932988)
Install this update to resolve an issue where when adding metadata to RAW images from Canon EOS-1D or EOS-1Ds cameras, the file is truncated andthe image is permanently lost.
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technorati tags:Windows, Vista, Microsoft, Bugs, Bugfix, Service-pack
Youtube under fire!!!
Posted by Codevalley Labels: Google, lawsuit, Microsoft, viacom, video sharing, youtubeYoutube has been one of the most popular video sharing sites available over the internet, and much more dearer than its rivals like Google videos, metcafe etc. But Google to noticed this very early and bought Youtube for a mammoth price of 1.65$ billion. Since then, many software giants(did I mean Microsoft?) have had sleepless nights and are fearing Google getting closer to invading the cyberworld. I am sure if this had anything to do with Youtube, maybe it is because Google did make Youtube a lot better and popular, attracting jealousy. But since the time Google took over Youtube, it is having a really hard time. You will find why.
A lot of criticism had been raised over Youtube's unconditional hosting of videos and many issues like no restriction on explicit content, copyright infringement etc were accused against Youtube's policy of free hosting of videos. Some even went to the extent by saying Youtube is the next napster. Here are the latest woes.
Viacom gets into the picture
Latest to run riot into Youtube is Viacom, they have sued Youtube ( and Google, of course) over a 1$ billion lawsuit for Massive International Copyright Infringement and have asked for compensation, and also has asked to stop the infringement. In fact, Google had agreed to add filters and checking of videos for any infringement, but has not moved a toe in the direction.
This fight is seen as the act of desperation by Viacom after Google turned down their offer to pay for the alleged 160,000 videos (100,000 owned by Viacom) that violate copyright. Now, Google has reverted their stand and say they are not doing anything illegal and are going by shielding themselves from liability on a 1998 law called the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Anyway Google has negotiated with many entertainment companies, including Warner Music Group, CBS and most recently, the BBC.
"YouTube's brazen disregard of the intellectual-property laws fundamentally threatens not just plaintiffs but the economic underpinnings of one of the most important sectors of the United States economy."
"YouTube has deliberately withheld the application of available copyright protection measures in order to coerce rights holders to grant it licenses on favorable terms,"
Viacom isn't the only entertainment conglomerate yet to partner with the Google division. Some executives have been very critical of YouTube's practices, includeing Jeff Zucker, CEO of NBC. He though, refused to comment on the new lawsuit.
TV networks out with "Youtube Killer"
Adding fuel to the issue, now the Television networks are coming with another Video sharing site, which will be promoted by MSN, Yahoo, AOL, MySpace to name a few. This seems to be a collective war to end the Google's smooth voyage. Not surprising, Jeff Zucker, CEO of NBC along with Mike Arrington, Peter Chernin (COO News Corp.) have announced the idea, which would be backed by two major film studios and over a dozen TV networks, branding it as the largest video distribution network ever assembled.
This seems to be impressive, they are trying to knock out Google from many angles. But they have left lot of details missing, about this new venture. But will they be able to get the fan support and community that Youtube has? Only time will tell. In the meantime here is a part from the press release.
At launch, full episodes and clips from current hit shows, including Heroes, 24, House, My Name Is Earl, Saturday Night Live, Friday Night Lights, The Riches, 30 Rock, The Simpsons, The Tonight Show, Prison Break, Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader and Top Chef, plus hits from the studios’ vast television libraries, will be available free, on an ad-supported basis, within a rich consumer experience featuring personalized video playlists, mashups, online communities and video search. Plus, the extensive programming lineup will include fan favorite films like Borat, Little Miss Sunshine, Devil Wears Prada, The Bourne Identity and Bourne Supremacy with bonus materials and movie trailers.
Courtsey: zdnet.com, news.com.com
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Reason#1001 to port to Vista...
Posted by Codevalley Labels: dreamscene, Microsoft, Vista, wallpaper, Windows XP
Everyone is geared up to face it...The underground brought it way back in December 2006, the official OEM version was already with the vendors a few fortnights back, if you are not interested in any of those, then you can buy a retail license for yourself, it was released last week. Obviously, I am talking about Windows Vista. I don't think it is unfair to say the wait has been little bit too long, but hey! it is almost over. The most printed letters on the desktop screen.. X-P- will cease to exist soon and will be replaced by clearer..glossier...vivid letters V-I-S-T-A.
Now there would be very few people who's not heard of the blazing features of Vista.. the Aero's visual delight...3d cascading of windows...are just a few of them. But here is one of those which you might not have heard about. But sure you are gonna love this one.
The concept of Wallpaper is pretty old, the practice of covering the walls with beautiful paperwork is centuries old, but it was Macintosh which actually bought it to the computer "desktop"and Windows made it popular. Now every computer desktop has a wallpaper but our conventional walls are decorated by razor thin plasma televisions. Maybe that is what made Bill think over it and give decade old wallpaper concept a break.
If that seems too poetic, I can't help it. That is how much "poetic" my technical mind can go, anyway, the news that got my jaws hitting the basement is that Vista is
But I am not surprised. When Microsoft came up with Windows 98, they added the feature where you could put a webpage as your wallpaper. Now, this is one step ahead, though, I must agree that the step has been rather steep.
Here is the rest of the story.
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The news doing rounds over the web is that Microsoft has applied for patent over RSS protocol and file format. I you have your jaws hitting the ground with a thud! mind you are not the first one. I searched over the Internet for the contribution of Microsoft for the creation or development of RSS format, but to put it simple, their contribution has been almost ZERO, except for a trivial Channel Definition Format, part of Internet Explorer 4.0, which never saw light. Apart from that in 2005 nov, they have proposed Simple Sharing Extensions for RSS feeds. Ironically SSE was put under Creative Commons License.
Anyway the news will rather be a shock to the Bloggers all around the world and the millions of the websites using RSS feeds. Think if you have to fill Microsoft's pocket everytime you read my blog! Now that's not all, though unconfirmed I heard that the US Patent and Trademark Office, has already granted Microsoft the patent. Though the USPTO website database does not show any such thing. This could create further issues as the equally populer Atom protocol (blogger.com also supports Atom) and the RSS have many in common. So the patent will Atom infringing Microsoft patent.But Atom has the option to patent their own protocol, which would make both the protocols mutually infriging, so the only option I see is to keep RSS copywright open. There is so much prior art in this issue and I don't think USPTO could ever find it easy to allow this to be patented.
I found Tim Bray who was deeply involved in Atom, quoting in somewhere in the Internet,
"It will be interesting to see if the USPTO shows any evidence of having overcome the problems that resulted in their track record of obliviousness to prior art"
For now, once again Microsoft is stepping up the gear and getting into the forbidden zone, hope they don't find themselves in trouble, or rather put millions of websites and blogosphere into a fix either.
In the meanwhile I will give you a one final shock
Check this link out
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Vista still not ready - Symentac
Symentac claims to have found many security holes in Vista, and were bold enough to announce that in some parts, Vista is more vulnerable than Windows XP, especially in some parts of networking code.
They say that Vista uses fresh written code , replacing most of the tested an tried code, so new bugs and errors are bound to be there. So a bumpy road is ahead for the near future atleast until the code is stabilized.
Microsoft is not taking any chances and are rigorously beta testing the operating system, which is going to be the world's most used one. Already Symentac has announced that some of the holes reported by them have been removed in the RC2 of Vista, and many would vanish in the final release. Who would not listen to a company which has a tradition of 24 years in computer security?
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