Entries Categorized as 'Microsoft'
May 7, 2008
Last night, as I was about to log off the computer, the Windows Update logo pinged on the XP status bar to inform me that there was an urgent update to be downloaded. My heart sank because a) it was close to 3.00am and I wanted to get to bed and secondly I knew what the update was. Sure enough, when I checked, it was Windows Service Pack 3, the Romper Stomper Patch from Redmond.
Lifehacker did a nice summary of the technical advantages of SP3 (which I can barely get my head around). But on the surface, you’ll notice no changes whatsoever really. I don’t understand why people are having multiple orgasms over it, I really don’t. Especially when this morning, when I switched the computer on, Windows tried to revert all my settings back to Windows again. “We notice you’re using Winamp instead of Windows Media Player! Would you like to change back?!”
NO I F**KING DON’T!!!!!
Technorati Tags Microsoft, service pack 3, Windows
Posted in Microsoft, Patches, Security, Windows 
No Comments »
April 17, 2008
March 20, 2008
We’re going to look at some useful keyboard shortcuts and commands that will help you personalize the MS-DOS Command Prompt Window without using the mouse.
You will also learn about hotkeys for executing DOS commands more quickly. The keyboard shortcuts are known to work in Windows Vista and XP command prompt.
read more | digg story
Technorati Tags command, Digg, DOS, Microsoft, prompt, shortcuts, Vista, Windows, XP
Posted in Digg stories, Microsoft, Productivity, Windows, shortcuts No Comments »
March 14, 2008
Say you’re still using your Windows XP taskbar, but wouldn’t it be cool if it had even more features and was more flexible? Welcome to the fourth post in our desktop enhancement series in which I will focus on - you guessed it - the Windows XP taskbar.
read more | digg story
Technorati Tags desktop, Digg, enhancement, features, taskbar, Windows, XP
Posted in Digg stories, Microsoft, Windows, desktop No Comments »
March 1, 2008
photo credit: timailius
As well as writing for tech blogs, I also try to write fiction. I’ve submitted a few pieces to Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, Ellery Queen Mystery magazine and Strand Magazine in the past. I specialise in crime, mystery, childrens stories and the occasional spot of science-fiction. But I haven’t had anything published yet for the following reasons :
(more…)
Posted in Microsoft, Productivity, Writing 3 Comments »
February 22, 2008
This is a test post using Windows Live Writer. I just want to see how it turns out. Just ignore this.
Nothing to see here people, move along to the next post! 
Posted in Microsoft, Windows, blogging, desktop No Comments »
February 5, 2008
I’ve been following the Microsoft-Google lovers tiff with some amusement. I am totally staggered by the amount of irony and hypocrisy flying about the place from the two companies. They’re acting like two spoilt kids who have had their cool toys surpassed by something bigger and better. The whole merger proposition with Yahoo has also lit up the blogosphere. Nothing like Microsoft making unsolicited bids on a rival to get people’s adrenalin levels pumping.
I am a big Google fan but I have to say here that Google is looking really bad with all this complaining. It’s so blatantly transparent that they have considered themselves the untouchable number one company on the internet, with their popular brand name and bottomless bank accounts. Out of all that have come some really amazing products but on the other hand, it has bred arrogance and complacency, the same way that Microsoft was in the 1990’s, after they had crushed Netscape and they were the dominant force on people’s PC’s. Ironically, it was Google who toppled Microsoft off their pedestal back then. Could history be about to finally come full circle with Microsoft exacting their revenge by knocking Google down a peg or two? Could we see that absurd Google stock price tumble just a bit?
Let’s face it, Google is not in a position to lecture anyone about monopolies. They seem to be trying to be all things to all people at the moment. They are indexing everything from books to selling trends. They are buying up smaller companies in a big buying frenzy, as if someone is about to come along and clean out Google’s bank accounts in the next day or two (”EVERYTHING MUST GO!!!“). So who’s creating the bigger monopoly here? Google or Microsoft? It’s hard to tell them apart these days.
But in my view, Microsoft isn’t squeaky clean in this ongoing drama. In response to Google’s complaints of another monopoly coming along, Microsoft retorts with “Google has amassed about 75 percent of paid search revenues worldwide and its share continues to grow“. In other words, “don’t lecture us about monopolies when you’re doing it yourselves”. Fair enough.
But Microsoft seems to be overlooking the fact that Google gives users a choice which they could either accept or reject. That’s how they have managed to amass 75% of paid search revenues. Microsoft makes it sound as if there is a law which forces everyone to use Adwords. No-one forces you to use Adwords. Adwords is an excellent advertising platform and that’s why people have chosen to use it. They take one look at Microsoft’s inferior AdCenter and then decide Adwords is much better.
Let us also not forget that Microsoft built up their web browser monopoly by FORCING people to use the Windows operating system. Plus they have been a bit Johnny-come-lately to the paid search game. So I don’t think that it is a very fair statement to say “well Google has 75% of the search revenues so we can do whatever we want”. Google has got there by giving people a choice and being innovative. Microsoft on the other hand doesn’t believe in giving people a choice - they would much rather prefer to shove their products down people’s throats and stifle the competitors.
Then Microsoft comes out with that Redmond wants to buy Yahoo “merely to create a “compelling number two competitor” in search and online advertising“. Talk about Under-statement of the Year 2008! A “compelling number two competitor”? I think a combined Microsoft-Yahoo could potentially become number one and this is precisely why Google is getting their pants in a tangle over this whole episode. Think about it - Windows Vista, MS Office, Flickr, Delicious - all under one roof - and that’s just for starters.
Search Engine Journal speculates that the real reason why Google may be worried is because Microsoft will use their partnership with Yahoo to muscle their Office applications onto the web in direct competition to Google Docs. But what is wrong with some competition? If Google truly believes that their product is better then they should make more effort to spruce Google Docs up and convince us that it is the best. At the end of the day, users will decide which one is the better of the two - Google’s or Microsoft.
Google’s protests are baseless really. Search Engine Watch calculates a combined Microsoft / Yahoo merger to occupy 34.6% of the market while Google will maintain 61% of the market. So a Microsoft-Yahoo merger wouldn’t spell the beginning of the end for Google. It would just set up a powerful rival for the future and Google doesn’t want that.
Really, at the end of the day, the only people who will be really affected by a Microsoft-Yahoo takeover will be the shareholders - they will see a rise or drop in their shareprice. But for everyday internet users like you and me, we may start to see some innovative products come out of all three companies as the battle heats up for the loyalties of users.
But now it seems that the possibility is on the table for Yahoo to outsource some of their search to Google. If that deal goes through, will we hear howls of protest from Redmond?
You know what just popped into my head? That the internet is so full of enormous egos. When one company does something radical, the others complain. Is Google’s real problem that they realise they were not quick enough to jump in there and buy Yahoo first? Is it just wounded pride that’s the problem here?
Technorati Tags acquisition, Google, merger, Microsoft, Yahoo
Posted in Google, Microsoft, Yahoo 2 Comments »
November 18, 2007
When we re-installed the XP disk yesterday, the age of the disk quickly became apparent when I had to then install 102 patches from the Windows Update site. What was really irritating was that the patches came in batches of 15-20 each and each batch required a re-boot of the computer before the next lot could come through. So I would be sitting there patching and re-booting and wondering when it would ever end.
Which led to a joke which I started with Monika’s brother. I was sitting there dreaming into space waiting for the next lot of patches to finish when I suddenly said to him “God, imagine if the Borg in Star Trek had to run on Windows XP - how would they get anything done if they had to stop for patches all the time?!”.
So……
Captain’s Log. We are entering the region of space known to be populated by the Borg. All of the crew are on full alert for any problems.
WORF : Entering Borg space now captain. Photon torpedoes armed and ready.
PICARD : Thank you Mr Worf. Data, are you picking up anything on long range sensors?
DATA : This is highly unusual captain. We are picking up signs of a Borg ship…..but it is just floating there in space. It appears to be in something called “re-boot mode”.
RIKER : “re-boot mode”? What the hell is that?
DATA : accessing data logs. It seems to be a rather archaic procedure initiated by the Microsoft Federation. It seems the Borg made the fatal mistake of reconfiguring their systems and this has led to an endless loop of something called “Important Patches” and then “re-booting”. During this time, the Borg are rendered completely defenseless because they are trying to phone the Microsoft helpline. It appears the automated menus are confusing them.
PICARD : This seems to be a good opportunity to crush them. Mr Worf…..prepare to…..
DATA : Captain, wait. The downloads and re-boots seem to have stopped……but…..
PICARD : but Mr Data?
DATA : Sorry Captain. I was just analysing the data. It seems they have now accidently accessed a program called “Spider Solitaire” and they are now stuck on that. Once they have finished the game, they can’t stop starting another one.
RIKER : Spider Solitaire? What in God’s name is that? Sounds really evil.
PICARD : Yes, I have heard of this phenomenon. It appears to suck your life energy by making you play over and over again in the misguided perception that winning a game is more important than feeding yourself or washing yourself. I have seen humans stuck for days in the “solitaire trap”
RIKER : I hate to say this captain….but if this spider solitaire makes it over to the Enterprise…..we’re screwed!
Technorati Tags borg, humor, Humour, Microsoft, Patches, star trek, Windows, XP
Posted in Humour, Microsoft, Offbeat, Patches, humor No Comments »
November 15, 2007
Just a quick heads up for those of you who use Office 2003 and who haven’t checked for Microsoft security patches recently. Mr Gates is now providing Service Pack 3 for Microsoft Office 2003 which is a huge security patch. You can download it from the Microsoft Update page.
As usual, you have to re-start your computer afterwards so make sure you’re not doing anything really important at the time that can’t be saved first!
Technorati Tags 2003, Microsoft, microsoft office, patch, service pack 3, update
Posted in Microsoft, Patches, Security No Comments »
November 6, 2007
This is a good site which was passed onto me. If you are missing any DLL files on your computer then here is a website where you can download new copies. Very useful.
afreeDLL
Technorati Tags DLL, download, Microsoft, Windows
Posted in Microsoft, Windows No Comments »
November 2, 2007
I’ve been away the past couple of days re-installing Windows XP on my computer which, as anyone else who has done it will testify, is a huge task. Not only do you have to re-install Windows but you also have to re-install the browsers, the drivers, the printer, scanner, USB devices and software. So this blog had to be put to one side for a couple of days.
I’ve known for a while that I had to do a XP re-install but I thought I could wait a bit while I caught up with the multitude of other tasks clogging up my to-do list. But the other day, while I was having my fifth cup of tea of the day, the computer did a Borg on me. It started deactivating all my sound drivers and printer drivers. The start menu preferences were all changed and programs started booting up and shutting down, and then XP started shutting down. I half expected the speakers to start droning “we are the Borg….put down your cup of tea and prepare to be assimilated. Resistance is futile!”
So to quote Tom Hanks - “Houston, we have a problem!”. Time to re-install! 
But everything seems to be OK now. It’s times like these that you realise how valuable Google is in your life. Without Google, I would never have found the right driver for my old antique deskjet printer or how to re-install the sound driver.
I have a huge backlog of stories I want to get through here. I’ll be back later with the first of them.
Technorati Tags borg, driver, Microsoft, windows XP, XP
Posted in Google, Microsoft, Windows 1 Comment »
October 26, 2007
I’ve been kind of following the goings-on with Facebook this week and Microsoft’s triumphant mighty expensive victory over Google. But Microsoft’s payout of $240 million has got me wondering what the parameters are for deciding the worth of a website.
I was discussing this the other day with the guy behind Google Tutor and he immediately replied “the number of users” and the “number of visits to the site”. OK, that much is clear but how does an accountant decide the dollar value of one user? The accountants putting together the Facebook-Microsoft deal must have got together and said “OK, Facebook has x number of users which means that the company is worth $15 billion”.
But how did they arrive at $15 billion? How do you calculate the worth of one Facebook user to arrive at the eventual figure of $15 billion? Is this some random figure plucked out of the air or is there some actual logic behind it?
Maybe it’s obvious and I’m being stupid today (I have those days) so if anybody has a really simple answer for me, please enlighten me, because I personally think that $15 billion is an obscene amount of money for a social engineering site such as Facebook. Yes, the site is good and I use it all the time, but come on…..$15 billion?
Whatever the accountants are smoking, I want some too.
Technorati Tags Facebook, Microsoft
Posted in Facebook, Microsoft 3 Comments »
