TechTakes

Tools for Windows 7 Rollout

2009-10-20T09:18:39-04:00

On Thursday, Oct. 22 Microsoft's Windows 7 will be publicly available. If you're using Vista and want better performance and to extend the useful life of your hardware, upgrading to Windows 7 is a good thing, and the sooner you do it the more value you'll get from the upgrade. But before you do, you might want to take a look at some tools that will help, especially if you plan on doing an in-place upgrade from Vista rather than a clean install.

Start with Ron Barrett's "7 Must-Have Tools for Your Windows 7 Rollout." The articles includes links to resources for moving from Windows XP to Windows 7, which requires a clean installation – there is no upgrade path to Windows 7 from Windows XP. Home users can skip this step, which is intended for businesses and IT shops, and go directly to Microsoft for their "Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor."

If you find you have programs that you no longer use or need, uninstalling them before upgrading to Windows 7 is a good idea. A highly recommended and very useful uninstaller is the free Revo Uninstaller. It sets a system restore point, removes the application, gives you options to perform a deep clean of leftover registry entries and folders, and has a couple of other utilities for improving your system performance.

Free Antivirus Software from Microsoft

2009-10-15T07:31:26-04:00

Microsoft has released its free antivirus software Security Essentials. If you're still using Windows XP, you can download free antispyware from Microsoft (Windows Defender) and have a complete security solution with no out-of-pocket expense.

Security Essentials replaces Microsoft's Live One Care security, which was a subscription-based product. Windows Defender became the core of the built-in antispyware software that comes with Windows Vista and Windows 7. That's right, if you have Vista or Windows 7 you don't need to pay for a third-party antispyware solution; and if you download Security Essentials from Microsoft you can stop paying for third-party antivirus software.

Microsoft also offers free security support for home users.

Google + Microsoft = Speed

2009-09-25T07:54:33-04:00

Google introduced its Chrome browser a year ago. They still haven't got much market penetration. But they recognized that they could ride the coattails of Microsoft's Internet Explorer and make it IE run faster – 9 or ten times faster. So you can now download the free Google Chrome Frame for Internet Explorer. It speeds up Internet Explorer's handling of the javascript used by many web sites, brings HTML5 support to Internet Explorer, and of course lets IE users take advantage of web sites that have been developed with Google's Chrome technology.

This is good for the consumer – a faster browser that still dominates the market. It's good for Google – they get additional publicity (not that they need much) and a white hat. They also position themselves to have an infrastructure ready for whatever will be next out of their labs, and give Chrome web developers a larger market.

You can download and install the Google Chrome Frame for Internet Explorer 6, 7 and 8 on Windows 7 / Vista / XP SP2 by clicking here.

Cell Phone Radiation Update

2009-09-24T07:26:56-04:00

With the proliferation of laws banning use of cell phones while driving leading to increased use of Bluetooth wireless headsets, many cell phone users have already taken the step the Food and Drug Administration recommends to reduce the impact of cell phone radiation on the cranium.

If you are interested in the latest numbers on radiation emissions by cell phones, the Environmental Working Group has them.

Microsoft’s Free Security Software: Use It and Save Your Money

2009-09-22T06:57:03-04:00

We've all been captive to security software vendors: without anti-virus, anti-spam, anti-adware, anti-this-and-that our computers become paperweights, museum artifacts, and money pits. Microsoft has finally driven a stake through the heart of third-party antivirus vendors.

In recent years, vendors of security software have cut prices dramatically, offering to cover three computers for what they previously charged for one. They didn't do it because they love you. They were pressured, by Microsoft's release of its free Windows Defender for XP (built into Vista and Windows 7 at no additional charge). The much imporived security features of Vista, Windows 7, and Internet Explorer 7 and 8 also contributed to the pressure on competitors.

Microsoft tried to get into the fee-for-service game with Windows Live OneCare and failed. They botched the technical implementation, and found that pricing alone didn't win them enough customers to justify trying to compete against vendors who filled a need in the "early days" before Microsoft got serious about security.

No more. Soon, Microsoft will release its free "Security Essentials" software package and do what they should have been doing since the early days of Windows 3.1, 95, 98, ME, and XP: covering their asses.

This is good news for you, if you have a Windows based computer. Stop paying third-party vendors. Now. Microsoft will be on the hook for technical support and fixing your computer if it breaks. Look for the public availability of Security Essentials in the next few weeks, and save your money.

Network Neutrality A Winner

2009-09-21T09:27:40-04:00

By the time you read this it's likely that FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski will have delivered his speech announcing that the Federal Communications Commission will develop rules to ensure that the internet and wireless telephone networks must be open to all. Service providers and network operators will be forbidden to block certain applications or competitors, and will have to run the network as a utility function.

This means, for example, that wireless network providers won't be able to prevent you from using Skype to make international calls at local call rates using the minutes on your calling plan. Internet service providers won't be able to deny you access to bandwidth-intensive file-sharing applications. Providers won't be able to cut sweetheart deals with certain application developers (mobile traffic reports) and then freeze out competitors.

If the FCC follows through on the hardware side, you should be able to take your mobile phone with you if you change wireless providers rather than having to buy a new phone. More competition means more choice and lower costs for consumers. It creates opportunities for new businesses to start up and grow, creating jobs and tax revenues.

It may also mean the end of the one-price-fits-all for consumers and the rise of pricing plans that charge heavy users more than those who just check email occasionally. That's only fair: drivers who spend more time on the road pay more for fuel and vehicle maintenance. Those who leave the lights on and are heavy users of electricity pay more for their power consumption. In some parts of the country, municipal water is charged on a usage basis rather than at a flat rate. Internet service providers already have different pricing tiers for network speeds – if you want higher speeds you pay more. We'll have to wait and see how network operators respond to the FCC rulemaking (and a law in Congress in support of net neutrality that may pass) with respect to differential billing based on usage patterns.

Goodbye Windows Server 2000 and Server 2003: Microsoft Says Upgrade Now

2009-09-17T09:06:10-04:00

Microsoft continues pulling the plug on core server systems. It's time run the number and make choices: either upgrade servers to Windows Server 2008, and put Windows 7 on the desktop, or choose different operating systems and leave Microsoft behind.

ComputerWorld published concise summary of Microsoft's end-of-support for Windows 2000 next July, and putting its Server 2003 products on life support (meaning you have to buy a service contract or go it on your own).

The terse statement from Microsoft is online here. The message is clear: if you are running Windows XP on the desktop, or Windows Server 2000/2003, you should be budgeting for upgrades during 2010. Delaying upgrades will push upgrade costs into the future, but will expose you to higher support costs and business interruption when systems fail.

There are many ways to move forward within the Microsoft environment. Server hosting, virtualization, and terminal server licensing for desktops offer differing advantages (and trade-offs). But now is the time to ask and answer these two questions: 1) Microsoft or something else (Unix/Linux/Macintosh) and 2) How soon?

Windows XP and Server 2000 Leave You Twisting In The Wind

2009-09-15T13:06:36-04:00

If you're running XP or Server 2000, Microsoft is cutting your lifelines. They've decided not to issue security patches for known vulnerabilities because in their words, "It's infeasible." Don't panic just yet; Microsoft is still issuing some security patches for these operating systems – but they have thrown down a marker that says future patches will be discretionary and that it is time to move forward.

So no matter what the availability of Windows XP is on the street, or how much you like it, be warned. The time to make upgrade plans is now, yesterday. If that means going to Linux or Apple, those options are certainly available to you. If not, Windows 7 on the desktop and Server 2008 are next on your horizon.

Don’t Click On That Antivirus Warning!

2009-09-14T09:24:49-04:00

The old remains new. Today the New York Times is warning that an ad on its site purporting to save your computer from being infected is really malware, and will infect your computer if you click on it. The story was reported by ComputerWorld, which published more details on how prevalent this kind of attack is. The bottom line is never, never, never, click on a pop-up ad that claims to be your best friend trying to save your computer from a deadly disease.

Keeping Software Expenses Down

2009-09-12T08:32:02-04:00

Here's a great article by Amit Agarwal, whose Digital Inspiration blog is one of my favorites.