Gartner Report: MS-Windows Is Collapsing

Posted: 11 Apr 2008 on nixCraft

Wow, the researchers warn that Windows is collapsing and Linux / OS X replacing Windows:

Calling the situation "untenable" and describing Windows as "collapsing," a pair of Gartner analysts this week said Microsoft must make radical changes to the operating system or risk becoming a has-been.

In a presentation at a Gartner-sponsored conference in Las Vegas, analysts Michael Silver and Neil MacDonald said Microsoft has not responded to the market, is overburdened by nearly two decades of legacy code and decisions and faces serious competition on a whole host of fronts that will make Windows moot unless the Redmond, Washington developer acts.

This article explains why Windows is broken:

Two Gartner analysts said the words that enterprises dread, and that will move alternate operating system proponents to tears of joy: "Windows as we know it needs to be replaced." Microsoft's operating system (OS) development times are too long and they deliver limited innovation; their OSs provide an inconsistent experience between platforms, with significant compatibility issues; and other vendors are out-innovating Microsoft . That gives enterprises unpredictable releases with limited value, management costs that are too high, and new releases that break too many apps and take too long to test and adopt. With end users bringing their own software solutions into the office...well, it's just a heck of a sad story for Microsoft.

Join a Windows Domain From Linux / UNIX Computer Using Samba

Posted: 02 Apr 2008 via nixCraft

An excellent guide; it will give you steps about using Samba server to join to a Windows domain. From the article:

The primary domain controller (PDC) will serve as the password server for the domain. If Samba and winbind services are running, turn them off. I will show you how turn them on after you join to the Windows domain. You should save your files at any point in your “work-in-progress” and restore your originals if you intend to reboot. You should make note of your hard devices listed in your fstab file. Before you start you should ping the server from your intended Linux workstation.

=> Step by Step: Using Samba to join a Windows Domain

Vista Shipped On 39% of PCs In 2007

Slashdot reports on 2008.01.08:

Vista is proving far less popular than XP did with new PC buyers during the earlier OS's first year on the market. This conclusion follows from statements by Bill Gates at this week's Consumer Electronics Show. Gates boasted that Microsoft has sold more than 100 million copies of Windows Vista since the OS launched last January. Based on Gates's statement, Windows Vista was aboard just 39% of the PC's that shipped in 2007. And Vista, in terms of units shipped, only outperformed first-year sales of XP by 10%, according to Gates's numbers, while PC shipments have doubled in the years since XP's release.

Yeah, the 100 million included OEM sales. And I'm sure the numbers above don't include those who had no choice but to buy their new computer with Vista installed, but then uninstalled it upon receipt and placed XP or Linux or some such on instead.

HD Monitor Causes DRM Issues with Netflix

On Slashdot today, Jeremiah Cornelius points us to Davis Freeberg's blog, where he discusses his "nightmare scenario" of losing access to his DRM-protected purchases by upgrading his PC monitor.

"When I called them they confirmed my worst fears. In order to access the Watch Now service, I had to give Microsoft's DRM sniffing program access to all of the files on my hard drive. If the software found any non-Netflix video files, it would revoke my rights to the content and invalidate the DRM. This means that I would lose all the movies that I've purchased from Amazon's Unbox, just to troubleshoot the issue. Because my computer allows me to send an unrestricted HDTV feed to my monitor, Hollywood has decided to revoke my ability to stream 480 resolution video files from Netflix. In order to fix my problem, Netflix recommended that I downgrade to a lower res VGA setup."

Could there possibly be any remaining questions as to why DRM is evil, and benefits only the corporations?

Vista Vs. Gutsy Gibbon

An interesting story ran last week, with one of the best analogies I've heard yet regarding Linux (Ubuntu) vs. Vista. Slashdot gave the account of one Rupert Goodwins writing in ZDNet UK. Goodwins has 7 computers running various versions of Windows and Linux, and explains why he chooses to do most of his work on the Gibbon.

So here's the funny thing. I've used Windows since 1.0. I've lived through the bad times of Windows/386 and ME, and the good times of NT 3.51 and 2K. I know XP if not backwards, then with a degree of familiarity that only middle-aged co-dependents can afford each other... Then how come I'm so much more at home with Ubuntu than Vista? It boils down to one abiding impression: Ubuntu goes out of its way to get out of your way... Vista goes out of its way to be Vista and enforce the Vista way.

Driver Update Can Cause Vista Deactivation

More fun times with Vista, as reported by Slashdot last week:

After weeks of grueling troubleshooting, I've finally had it confirmed by Microsoft Australia and USA — something as small as swapping the video card or updating a device driver can trigger a total Vista deactivation. Put simply, your copy of Windows will stop working with very little notice (three days) and your PC will go into "reduced functionality" mode, where you can't do anything but use the web browser for half an hour.

15 Free CD/DVD burning alternatives to Nero

From another blogger, "instant fundas" (looks like a fun blog, I'll have to peruse it some more):

When it comes to CD or DVD burning, the software most people tend to use is Nero. But Nero isn't the be all and end all of CD burning solutions. There are other softwares as well that perform much better than Nero in terms of resource usage and speed. Here is a list of 15 free burning softwares that you can use in place of Nero.

Microsoft Should Abandon Vista?

An editorial written by Don Reisinger over at CNet's News.com takes Microsoft to task for the outright failure of Vista. He suggests that Vista may be the downfall of the company as, despite years in development, Vista was delivered to market too early. His suggestion? Support those who are running it, but otherwise ditch Vista and move on.

'Never before have I seen such an abysmal start to an operating system release. For almost a year, people have been adopting Vista and becoming incensed by how poorly it operates. Not only does it cost too much, it requires more to run than XP, there is still poor driver support ... With Mac OS X hot on its tail, Vista is simply not capable of competing at an OS level with some of the best software around. If Microsoft continues down this path, it will be Vista that will bring the software giant to its knees--not Bill Gates' departure.'

My wife's new Dell laptop came with Vista. I helped her get some of it set up, but the basics of navigating around ("Where'd Windows Explorer go?") has proved increasingly frustrating to her. Not to mention the damnable prompts every time you try to run something ("Are you sure you want to run this?"). I'm about ready to wipe it and start over with my copy of WinXP Pro. At least her old laptop, now mine, I can install Ubuntu on and have a decent experience.

In related news, Microsoft has decided to extend XP's life by 6 months.

Despite Microsoft releasing Windows Vista more than nine months ago the adoption rate has not been as Microsoft hoped. Bowing further to pressure from OEMs and consumers, Microsoft has extended the life of Windows XP, which was due to end sale by OEMs on January 1 next year, to a new date of June 30. Asked if this was an indication of a strong demand for XP, a Microsoft representative sought to downplay the extension, stating 'We wouldn't term it strong, we would describe this as accommodating a certain element who needs more time.'

Pah, yeah right.

PC Makers Offering a Bridge Back To XP

Slashdot article on how the Telegraph is reporting on efforts by PC manufacturers to give customers buying systems pre-installed with Windows Vista a much-sought way to downgrade to Windows XP. ( A few months back Slashdot discussed Microsoft's similar concession for corporate customers.)

"It took took five years and $6 billion to develop, but Microsoft's Vista operating system, which was launched early this year, has been shunned by consumers — with computer manufacturers taking the bizarre step of offering downgrades to the old XP version of Windows."

Top 10 Windows Freeware

It's always a shame when a great program is not heard about by most people - especially when it's free. Here are the top 10 freeware software that many people still haven't tried, but definitely should.

Firefox Lite And Old PCs Could Crush IE

Article gleaned from Slashdot over the weekend:

A recent CNet article suggests that Mozilla should pipe a lite version of Firefox into older PCs to further attack IE's dominance: 'Firefox supporters, take note. A bare-bones Firefox will get the browser into more houses, increasing the Fox's market share and keeps it in novice users' eyes for when they get a new PC ... a truly great super-lightweight browser would have the security of Firefox, without the add-ons, without the tabs, yes, even without favourites, history lists and customisability. The Firefox name is synonymous with security and Web-browsing vigilance. Why not give this to the processing lightweights of the PC world?'

After Ubuntu, Windows Looks Increasingly Bad

Sys-Con has a look at some advantages of using Ubuntu over Windows. 'My recent switch to a single-boot Ubuntu setup on my Thinkpad T60 simply floors me on a regular basis. Most recently it's had to do with the experience of maintaining the software. Fresh from a very long Windows 2000 experience and a four-month Windows XP experience along with a long-time Linux sys admin role puts me in a great position to assess Ubuntu. Three prior attempts over the years at using Linux as my daily desktop OS had me primed for failure. Well, Ubuntu takes Linux where I've long hoped it would go — easy to use, reliable, dependable, great applications too but more on that later. It has some elegance to it — bet you never heard that about a Linux desktop before.' (Taken from Slashdot back on June 6th.)

Microsoft oPhone

Microsoft's crazy design for a new mobile phone, one that is sure to knock Apple's iPhone out of the water.

Microsoft Says Other OSes Should Imitate UAC

I find this incredibly amusing. From Slashdot on Tuesday May 01:

Many Vista adopters find User Account Control irritating, but Microsoft thinks it's an approach other OSes should emulate. Microsoft Australia's Chief Security Adviser Peter Watson calls UAC a great idea and 'strategically a direction that all operating systems and all technologies should be heading down.' He also believes Microsoft is charting new territory with UAC. 'The most controversial aspect of Watson's comments all center around the idea that Microsoft is a leader with UAC, and that other OSes should follow suit. UAC is a cousin of myriad "superuser" process elevation strategies, of which Mac OS X and all flavors of Linux already enjoy. The fact is that Microsoft is late to the party with their Microsoftized version of sudo. That's really what UAC is, after all: sudo with a fancy display mechanism (to make it hard to spoof) and extra monitoring to pick up on "suspicious" behavior.'

The latter part of the above quote is from the ArsTechnica article author, Ken Fisher, and completely nails it on the head. Good read if you have a minute, and understand a little about how privileged user access works in the *nix world. Ubuntu, as comparison, comes with sudo access already enabled, and no root password - actually defaults to no root login. You do everything from your own account, and when you try to access something that may actually AFFECT THE SYSTEM (i.e. not just changing the freaking font) then it prompts for a password. Oh, and if you've entered a password for sudo access recently it won't prompt again. The root user can be enabled by providing it with a password if you so desire.

And funny how this capability has existed within Linux and even Unix for far longer than Windows Vista has, or even Windows NT... yet this is "charting new territory..."

Is Windows Vista in Trouble?

Surely not!

The Inquirer.net is running a story about what they consider two powerful indications that Vista is failing in the marketplace. One, Dell has reintroduced PCs running Windows XP on its website due to customer demand. Two, Microsoft is conducting a worldwide firesale on a bundle of Microsoft Office 2007/WindowsXP Starter Edition. According to Inquirer.net, at least, these are signs of serious problems selling Vista. Are we seeing the stumbling of the Microsoft Juggernaught with the slow adoption of Windows Vista?

Slashdot on Vista

Just a pair of interesting Vista articles I found on Slashdot, as I wrap up the news before I go on vacation.

Hardocp.com has published "30 days with Vista" — with the same author from "30 days with Linux" doing the evaluation. And he doesn't like it. From the article: 'Based on my personal experiences with Vista over a 30 day period, I found it to be a dangerously unstable operating system, which has caused me to lose data [...] Any consideration of the fine details comes in second to that one inescapable conclusion. This is an unstable operating system.'

And the bad news for Microsoft continues to mount, as a new survey finds that few intend to migrate to Vista.

A recent Harris Poll has found that while most online computers users are aware of Microsoft's Windows Vista, few are intending to switch over to the new operating system anytime soon. The Harris Poll of 2223 US online adults in early March found that 87% were aware of Vista. Unfortunately for Microsoft, only 12% of Vista-aware respondents were intending to upgrade to Vista in the next 12 months.

I think I'll stick with my home-brew machines for now. Unless I get a laptop sometime in the near future. Then again, those new MacBook Pros look pretty sweet...

Top 12 Operating Systems Vulnerability Survey

Also posted yesterday on Slashdot:

Have you ever wondered how vulnerable your computer is from the first bit you write to the hard drive all the way until you have a fully patched system? If so, Matthew Vea has posted a concise summary of security strengths and shortcomings for twelve of the major operating systems of 2006/2007. In his summary, Matt tests each OS with widely available tools like nmap and Nessus, and notes responses at install, pre-patch, and post-patch times for each system. After the tedious job is done, he produces results that will make both the Apple and Windows communities cringe with regards to security. From the article: 'As far as straight-out-of-box conditions go, both Microsoft's Windows and Apple's OS X are ripe with remotely accessible vulnerabilities ... The UNIX and Linux variants present a much more robust exterior to the outside. Even when the pre-configured server binaries are enabled, each [Linux] system generally maintained its integrity against remote attacks.'

A lengthy but fascinating read. They did include Vista in the roundup as well as Mac OS Classic (as opposed to OSX which is FreeBSD-based). Also tested were Fedora Core 6 and the most recent Ubuntu 6.10 version. For those of you unwilling to read through all the technical info, here's the nutshell conclusion:

When it comes to business, most systems have the benefit of trained administrators and IT departments to properly patch and configure the operating systems and their corresponding services. Things are different with home computers. The esoteric nature of the UNIX and Linux systems tend to result in home users with an increased understanding of security concerns. An already "hardened" operating system therefore has the benefit of a knowledgeable user base. The more consumer oriented operating systems made by Microsoft and Apple are each hardened in their own right. As soon as users begin to arbitrarily enable remote services or fiddle with the default configurations, the systems quickly become open to intrusion. Without a diligence for applying the appropriate patches or enabling automatic updates, owners of Windows and OS X systems are the most susceptible to quick and thorough remote violations by hackers.

All the Vista You Can Eat...

...or at least stomach... Here's the roundup from Slashdot on the Vista news over the past week or so. Seems to be a regular plethora, and most of it still not encouraging me to consider an upgrade anytime soon...

4 GB May Be Vista's RAM Sweet Spot 2007.02.20
David Short, an IBM consultant who works in the Global Services Division and has been beta testing Vista for two years, says users should consider 4GB of RAM if they really want optimum Vista performance. With Vista's minimum requirement of 512MB of RAM, Vista will deliver performance that's 'sub-XP,' he says. (Dell and others recommend 2GB.) One reason: SuperFetch, which fetches applications and data, and feeds them into RAM to make them accessible more quickly. More RAM means more caching.

Vista Security — Too Little Too Late 2007.02.21
Thomas Greene of The Register has a fairly comprehensive review of Vista and IE7 user security measures. The verdict is: better but not adequate, and mostly an attempt to shift blame onto the user when things go wrong. From the review:

"[Vista is] a slightly more secure version than XP SP2. There are good features, and there are good ideas, but they've been implemented badly. The old problems never go away: too many networking services enabled by default; too many owners running their boxes as admins and downloading every bit of malware they can get their hands on."

Software Missing From Vista's "Official Apps" 2007.02.22
Microsoft has just released a list of 800 applications it says are 'officially supported' on Windows Vista. What's special about this list, however, are the programs that are not included: 'Popular Windows software that is conspicuously missing from Microsoft's list includes Adobe Systems Inc.'s entire line of graphics and multimedia software, Symantec Corp.'s security products, as well as the Mozilla Foundation's open-source Firefox Web browser, Skype Ltd.'s free voice-over-IP software and the OpenOffice.org alternative to Microsoft Office.' Another area in which Vista has found to be lacking is gaming, as discussed earlier on Slashdot.

Windows Vista - Still Fresh After 19 Months? 2007.02.23

"ZDNet blog Hardware 2.0 looks at the effect of having used Windows Vista for over 18 months. It Windows Vista the indispensable upgrade that Microsoft wants you to think it is? Writer Kingsley-Hughes says 'Having been using Vista for over 18 months I believe that it's a huge improvement over XP and even though I still use XP I find that I miss many of the features that Vista offers.' Just the same, he goes on, 'I wouldn't call any of the changes earth-shattering. When I'm using XP systems I miss some of the features but not so much that they push me to upgrade any faster.' He then goes on to give a feature-by-feature breakdown of all of the improvements Vista has over XP, and what long-term use of these features can net."

A possibly useful guide for gamers or administrators thinking about upgrading sometime soon.

And finally, on a more humorous note...

What Vista Is Really Like 2007.02.24
This waking dream has been making the rounds: what if you woke and found a strange and beautiful woman in your bed, and she was inscrutible, unpredictable, and dangerous... but oh so beautiful? That's Vista for you.

If you click on no other link, please do read that last tidbit. It is absolutely hysterical. Spoken like a true Windows user.

Vista Indicates A Shift in Microsoft's Priorities

Oh good, came across an article on Slashdot which reflected my ponderings of late...

After hundreds of hours of testing Vista, Scot Finnie is supremely tired of it. And of Microsoft. Although 80% of the changes in Windows Vista are positive, there is nothing about Vista that is truly innovative or compelling; there's no transformational, gotta-have-it feature in Vista. But the real problem isn't with Vista. It's with Microsoft itself. His opinion is that Microsoft has stopped focusing on end users. They 'now seemingly make many decisions based on these two things: 1. Avoiding negative publicity (especially about security and software quality) 2. Making sure the largest enterprise customers are happy.'

From the Computerworld article itself:

At least 80% of the changes in Windows Vista are positive. Microsoft took the extra time to smooth over some of the speed bumps noticeable in the prerelease builds of the OS... The single best advantage of Vista is that ergonomically, it's easier and just plain more satisfying... to use.

On the other hand, nothing about Vista is truly innovative or compelling. With the exception of security... there's no transformational, gotta-have-it feature in Vista.

He also links to another interesting article concerning how Microsoft snuck in a variety of copy-controls. Read it in Vista and Beyond: Piecing Together Microsoft's DRM Puzzle by Matt McKenzie. Computerworld's IT BlogWatch has also collected a series of Vista DRM-related commentary on the Internet, Vista DRM Diatribe. See, it's stuff like this that makes me perfectly content to sit back with XP.