The Gadget Blog » Windows

How OS Fanboys See the World

Rico Mossesgeld — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 11:17:08 +0000

As a life-long Windows user, with a smattering of System 9 and OS X experience, the following table is so true:

For those who can’t get the symbolism presented (or for those who see the world with their five other senses, and thus need text for their parser to interpret) here’s a boring text-only version:

Linux	Windows	Mac	As seen by…
Boring plain vanilla workstation	Blue Screen of Death	Awesome multi-display workstation	Mac Fanboys
Hard-to-understand terminal	Awesome multi-display workstation	A toy for kids, with limited capability	Windows Fanboys
A laptop that’s literally the center of the universe	Microsoft screwing Windows users over	Steve Jobs holding up a wad of cash	Linux Fanboys

What do you think? Is this OS fanboyism table true or false for you? Credit to Geeks are Sexy!

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Thousands of Hotmail Accounts Allegedly Hacked

Rico Mossesgeld — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 14:45:57 +0000

Can hotmail users confirm this? According to Neowin, someone posted on pastebin a list of ten-thousand hotmail accounts—complete with corresponding passwords. The list is helpfully sorted from A to B, which for some reason according to Neowin, suggests that other lists are stored somewhere online.

Even if this report turns out to be false, it’s still a good reminder to change your web email password now, regardless of what service you’re using. For something that’s literally the foundation of the online existence of millions, it’s amazing how few practice good security and change it on a regular basis. For hotmail users, may I also remind them not to accidentally visit hotmale.com?

Which accounts are affected? According to Neowin: “Currently it appears only accounts used to access Microsoft’s Windows Live Hotmail have been posted, this includes @hotmail.com, @msn.com and @live.com accounts”. The site has done the right thing and contacted Microsoft PR reps in the US and UK to keep them in the loop and possibly elicit feedback regarding the situation.

Technology Viewer suggests that, after those who are allegedly affected change their passwords, they should switch to Gmail ASAP. Personally, I find that sound advice, but I’m not sure what can be done for online services that don’t allow email changes.

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Classic: “Gates Made Ctrl+Alt+Del Famous”

Rico Mossesgeld — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 16:30:18 +0000

The quality betrays the following video’s age, but dissing Microsoft for coming out with unreliable OSes is a timeless practice. Here’s how David Bradely, inventor of Ctrl+Alt+Del, gave Bill Gates the rhetorical smackdown, during the 20th anniversary celebration of the IBM PC:

I honestly wonder what was going through Gates’ head, after Bradely joked that the Microsoft founder was responsible for making the key combination famous (implying of course, the numerous crashes that necessitated Ctrl+Alt+Del)? Was he the socially awkward geek unable to produce a witty comeback? So like yours truly, except for the billions of dollars in net worth of course! All I know is that “we are not amused” would have been really fitting.

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Chrome OS = Diapers for MS and Apple

Rico Mossesgeld — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 13:00:24 +0000

Courtesy Joy of Tech

True or false?

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Free Windows 7 Upgrades for OEM PCs

Rico Mossesgeld — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 13:00:55 +0000

Basically, if you’ve bought a PC that came with certain versions of Vista installed, from June 26, 2009 to January 10, 2010, you get an upgrade to Windows 7 for free! According to the Microsoft Press Release:

“There is a lot of excitement for Windows 7 in the marketplace today. However, many consumers need a new Windows PC for school, work or home before October 22,” said Brad Brooks, corporate vice president, Windows consumer marketing at Microsoft. “So starting June 26th, any customer who buys a PC from a participating computer maker or retailer with Windows Vista Home Premium, Business or Ultimate will also receive an upgrade to the corresponding version of Window 7 at little or no cost.”

In other words, only Vista Home Basic users are exempted from this program. Micro Center has compiled a list of manufacturers included in the program, with relevant links:

Windows 7 OEM Upgrade Info

Acer
Upgrade Info

Averatec
Upgrade Info

Compaq
Upgrade Info
Support Info

Dell
Upgrade Info
Support Info

eMachines
Upgrade Info

Fujitsu
Upgrade Info

Gateway
Upgrade Info

HP
Upgrade Info
Support Info

Lenovo
Upgrade Info
Support Info

Retail Box Upgrade
Upgrade and Support Info

Sony
Upgrade Info

Toshiba
Upgrade Info

Velocity Micro
Upgrade and Support Info

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Lauren 2.0 Debuts on Own Laptop Hunters Ad

Rico Mossesgeld — Thu, 21 May 2009 03:21:13 +0000

Is it just me, but is the second Lauren Laptop Hunter (the one with mom) cuter than the first?

Video: Laptop Hunters $1700 – Lauren and Sue get a Dell XPS 13

Video: Laptop Hunters $1000 – Lauren Gets an HP Pavilion

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Laptop Hunter Ads: What do You Think?

Rico Mossesgeld — Fri, 01 May 2009 15:27:17 +0000

Here’s the latest one, showing “Sheila” supposedly spending $2,000 of Microsoft’s money to find the perfect laptop for video editing:

Microsoft’s Laptop Hunter ads have attracted attention online for its subtle attacks on Apple, and as more proof that Microsoft is taking marketing more seriously. Personally, I can easily point out flaws in the Laptop Hunters’ messaging (which is not helped by its simplistic presentation of computer realities), but I doubt if anyone can. The fact remains that Microsoft is starting to become more concerned with appearances, rather than just the cold, technical specs.

Sure, Sheila glosses over the realities of her laptop hunt. But that was for the sake of cramming everything into a minute. Besides, how boring would it be for her to boast “Oh wow, it’s got workstation-quality dedicated graphics?!?”. This new appearance-oriented approach apparently extends even to Windows 7, with Gizmodo reporting in its Windows 7 RC 1 benchmarking post:

What’s really interesting is that in regular usage, Windows 7 still feels faster and more responsive than Vista, even though the objective numbers say otherwise. It’s more than just a simple “hey, it’s not Vista” placebo effect: It points to a slicker, refined user experience that makes you feel like the OS responds more hastily or smoothly to your whims. And that’s what really matters, more than the numbers.

Amen.

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So Hypocritical Apple!

Rico Mossesgeld — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 10:35:37 +0000

So you come out with a new ad, in response to your competitor’s attempts to change perceptions over a much-maligned product. Do you concentrate on your strengths, re-highlight your competitor’s weaknesses, or simply go with a cleverly-worded lie?

Reportedly, Apple decided to go for the latter. In a recent ad, they implied that Microsoft spent more money on marketing their products, rather than improving them. According to WinGeek: “…since Apple brought it up, they spend only .7 cents less per sales $1 on Advertising than Microsoft and spend a fraction of what Microsoft spends on improving its products.” For every dollar Microsoft makes, it spends 13.9% on R&D, compared to Apple’s 3.3%.

The full dirt—as well as the sources of WinGeek’s research—are available here.

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