I know this is Slashdot and it's essentially illegal to say "good" and "Microsoft" in the same sentence but, "good". I don't plan on using Edge any time soon but I still applaud any security based efforts made by mainstream OS vendors, that can help improve things. I know this won't stop idiots downloading "movie.torrent.exe" and running it but at least it will significantly cut down on drive by downloads of malware through hacked ad servers and out of date Flash. That's got to be a good thing.
I see tonnes of scepticism above (which is healthy and fine) and tonnes of sarcasm (which is fine, too). But you know what? I hope they succeed. Good luck to them. We need a cure for cancer, other than cutting it out if it's found early enough.
The difference between Microsoft and many other places trying to cure cancer is Microsoft actually have money. I doubt this will work but why not hope it does?
Jim: "Things are looking bad. We've lost a lot of money. How can we hide it in this presentation?"
Bob: "I don't know. We're so screwed, man! Any ideas, Jill?"
Jill: "Huh? Sorry I wasn't listening. I was watching the iPhone 7 keynote. Did you know they are dropping the headphone jack?".
Bob: "How can you be not paying attention at a time like this! We're screwed! We need to find a way to distract people from.... ummm... hang on. What did you say?"
Jill: "They're removing the headphone jack from the iPhone. I haven't noticed anything else different because that's all I can think about."
Bob: "Perfect! That's the ticket! We'll just include some sensational nonsense in the presentation and no one will notice the terrible news! But what to include...Jim?"
Jim: "Huh? Sorry. I was spaced out watching my Matrix screensaver....".
Actually the guy is a pretty good journalist - unlike most he doesn't just cut and paste from another source and turn up for his paycheque. He's also pretty fearless and done some real investigations. I like him.
Reading through the comments below, I see a lot of people worrying about this. Can I say, as someone from the "rest of the world" (not America), i.e. a place that's had chip based credit cards for several years, they are far more secure and far less likely to be stolen than magnetic strips. Card skimmers still claim many victims, each day off mag strips, but essentially 0 people get skimmed of a chip. Firstly, you need to be basically on top of the card - the card does not have active power, so the range is very small. Secondly, you can only purchase up to $99 without a PIN and thirdly, the code changes after every use - so even if someone did skim your card with an RFID scanner, they could only use it once - and only for $99. Unlike a mag stipe credit card, which can be used with the same info, over and over.
Since moving to a chip only system, credit card theft of this kind (not including online sales at places that don't require a CCV) has dropped to basically zero. I am sure someone will eventually get good at ripping them off again, but at the moment, card fraud is very low.
I have a new startup everyone should checkout called... umm.. Chime. Yes. Chime. That will do, nicely. It's an innovative app that allows you to upload and share 6 second movies...
It's funny - I have never used a MacDonalds or Starbucks wifi (I don't think Starbucks exist where I live and a quick Google confirms there are none in my state and I don't eat MacD's) but now I have this burning desire to go use it and try get around the filter (without a VPN), just to see if I can.
I'm sorry, I'd like to know how this nonsense got posted to Slashdot? This clown has seriously published an article claiming that, and this is a verbatim quote from the article: "That's why I recommend Apple products to people who aren't tech savvy. They just work. When I'm pushing a water cooler down on the CPU while twisting its radiator into place and screwing it into place at the same time, it becomes clear that PCs don't just work."
Some complete clown is comparing a build it yourself bunch of components to a pre-built machine, in the some breath as talking about high end gaming (something you cannot even do on a Mac)? That's like (to use a Slashdot car analogy) complaining that if you buy all the pieces to make your own car, it's harder than buying a Hyundai. No shit, idiot. What a total surprise to see a tech journalist doesn't even have a basic understanding of the topic they're writing about.
So basically we have some guy who doesn't know what he's talking about, doesn't understand the topic of his own article - and yet it's published on Slashdot? Why?
I use MongoDB because it's webscale. I also pipe data to dev/null because it's fast as hell.
But seriously, for web stuff, php/javascript and for Windows server work, believe it or not, VB.NET, because that's what the code I've got to work with was written in.
As I've just replied further down in this thread, because outside of small use-cases and Slashdot, there's many business for whom this is not an option. The example I gave was an accounting firm, who work in the most common accounting packing in Australia, MYOB. About 99% of their clients provide them a MYOB file. MYOB is only available on Windows. MYOB requires a Windows backend server running MSSQL for the accounting practice version (System Release). So how, exactly, do they switch to Linux, SuseLover? Should they invest 10's of thousands of dollars converting MYOB to run on Linux, along with MSSQL (which will one day run on Linux but not yet)? And who's going to do that for them, because they themselves can barely use a mouse, let alone WINE. What about their customers? Or the Internet Explorer only tax portal the Australian Tax Office uses for Accounting practices?
Windows isn't just a big part of the system. Windows *IS* the system.
Microsoft is already doing this. Shops can set up as resellers of Office365 - we have done this - and I kid you not - we make a grand total of $0.09 per month off each user we sign up. Nine fucking cents. So guess how much effort we put into it? I can promise you, everyone in the channel, from the large resellers, to channel partners, to the small shops fully understands that the end is coming for being able to sell OEM Office, Windows, Exchange, etc. SBS is already dead - it no longer exists and can no longer be purchased.
It's also a typical Slashdot response to say "selling people their own non-Microsoft based...." but it's also, with all due respect, completely out of touch with reality.
We don't really deal with small companies and their IT a lot - unless we have a reason to (for example, we look after a small accounting firm, because they're our accountants and I'm socially friendly with them) however here's them as an example. They require specific software for their business to function - there's no Mac option, there's sure as hell no Linux option - they need to use MYOB and Quickbook and System Release. Need to. Not want to. Not choose to. Need to. EVEN if they wanted to change, which they absolutely do not, every single one of their end customers would need to stop using MYOB. So they absolutely have to use Windows. There's no OSS accounting software they can use and they can't force all their customers to use it, so MYOB it is. System Release, the software which allows accounting practices to manage multiple MYOB clients, certainly doesn't have a Linux option on the table.
So how do you propose these people, and the literally millions of people like this, just change? Coz its just oh-so-easy to switch, here on Slashdot.
So not to get too sidetracked - I fear for those companies who still rely on pushing tin and selling Windows and Office to survive because Microsoft is going to go Full Apple on them, eventually and cut them off from the feeding trough.
I'm not assuming Windows Store will be the only official way to buy Windows Software - I am assuming Office365 will be the only way to buy Office. And it will be the only way to get Exchange email (Hybridised at the very minimum). I'm not talking about desktops here - I am talking about Microsoft deliberately killing small IT shops who peddle SBS style solutions (and one may argue they should be killed - but that's a different story). As Azure and Office365 and OneDrive are more and more baked into Windows and Windows Server, the need for your own Exchange will be diminished and the availability of having it will be taken away - if you want it, you will have to use Office365. So instead of selling a customer say a $6,000 server, Office licenses, SBS licenses, etc. the small IT company will instead have to make do with $0.50 a user, per month, for Office365 tailings... and thus many will go out of business.
No, Microsoft are not screwed. Microsoft's partners are screwed.
If Microsoft starts pushing out equipment that people want and emulates Apple - then there's no need for Dell. Anyway, who is Dell going to get an OS from? Apple? Dell has to keep selling Windows because its consumers need it (enterprise and business). Linux is not an option.
It's not just hardware partners Microsoft is screwing over - channel partners are in deep shit, too. All those millions of little IT shops days are numbered, too. Office 365, Azure integrated AD, etc. All spells a lot of trouble for people who have spent the last 10 years selling SBS boxes and PCs to small businesses.
The good thing about buying LinkedIn is you don't need to ask them to transfer any their user database over to you - you can just go download the torrent!
Every time I read a comment like this on Slashdot I take a little step closer to never coming back. Anyone that doesn't blindly and irrationally hate Microsoft must be a shill, because hey, "if someone thinks differently from me, they must be paid to do so or stupid". Yes. Because only your opinion is valid. All other opinions must be wrong, because, after all, they're not your opinion. And that's all that matters.
Fortunately, I occasionally remember despite the large number of comments like this, here, individuals don't really represent the group.
You know what, years back I worked at a place that used Symantec Endpoint Protection - and you're actually correct. Management absolutely loved Gartner. The CTO even had a Gartner Magic Quadrant of innovative companies on his wall. Every IT meeting (which was a monthly 2 hour snooze fest) started with an update from Gartner.
Slashdot Mirror
I know this is Slashdot and it's essentially illegal to say "good" and "Microsoft" in the same sentence but, "good". I don't plan on using Edge any time soon but I still applaud any security based efforts made by mainstream OS vendors, that can help improve things. I know this won't stop idiots downloading "movie.torrent.exe" and running it but at least it will significantly cut down on drive by downloads of malware through hacked ad servers and out of date Flash. That's got to be a good thing.
Maybe the last login date will be the 5th of March, 2001?
I see tonnes of scepticism above (which is healthy and fine) and tonnes of sarcasm (which is fine, too). But you know what? I hope they succeed. Good luck to them. We need a cure for cancer, other than cutting it out if it's found early enough.
The difference between Microsoft and many other places trying to cure cancer is Microsoft actually have money. I doubt this will work but why not hope it does?
Jim: "Things are looking bad. We've lost a lot of money. How can we hide it in this presentation?" .... ummm... hang on. What did you say?"
Bob: "I don't know. We're so screwed, man! Any ideas, Jill?"
Jill: "Huh? Sorry I wasn't listening. I was watching the iPhone 7 keynote. Did you know they are dropping the headphone jack?".
Bob: "How can you be not paying attention at a time like this! We're screwed! We need to find a way to distract people from
Jill: "They're removing the headphone jack from the iPhone. I haven't noticed anything else different because that's all I can think about."
Bob: "Perfect! That's the ticket! We'll just include some sensational nonsense in the presentation and no one will notice the terrible news! But what to include...Jim?"
Jim: "Huh? Sorry. I was spaced out watching my Matrix screensaver....".
I think it's fair to say the Lumia brand is already dead.
Actually the guy is a pretty good journalist - unlike most he doesn't just cut and paste from another source and turn up for his paycheque. He's also pretty fearless and done some real investigations. I like him.
Windows Phone users are protected from vulnerability in the same way Santa Claus is protected from vulnerabilities. Neither exist.
Think of all the people they're protecting from unauthorised web cam snooping!
"People Ignore Software Security Warnings Up To 90% of the Time*"
- *Study has a 10% margin for error...
(I'm joking but.. you know).
Reading through the comments below, I see a lot of people worrying about this. Can I say, as someone from the "rest of the world" (not America), i.e. a place that's had chip based credit cards for several years, they are far more secure and far less likely to be stolen than magnetic strips. Card skimmers still claim many victims, each day off mag strips, but essentially 0 people get skimmed of a chip. Firstly, you need to be basically on top of the card - the card does not have active power, so the range is very small. Secondly, you can only purchase up to $99 without a PIN and thirdly, the code changes after every use - so even if someone did skim your card with an RFID scanner, they could only use it once - and only for $99. Unlike a mag stipe credit card, which can be used with the same info, over and over.
Since moving to a chip only system, credit card theft of this kind (not including online sales at places that don't require a CCV) has dropped to basically zero. I am sure someone will eventually get good at ripping them off again, but at the moment, card fraud is very low.
I have a new startup everyone should checkout called... umm.. Chime. Yes. Chime. That will do, nicely. It's an innovative app that allows you to upload and share 6 second movies...
but last time I booted it up, it upgraded itself to Windows 10
It's funny - I have never used a MacDonalds or Starbucks wifi (I don't think Starbucks exist where I live and a quick Google confirms there are none in my state and I don't eat MacD's) but now I have this burning desire to go use it and try get around the filter (without a VPN), just to see if I can.
Because it's cheaper to buy a game on Steam if Steam thinks you're in Russia (really).
I'm sorry, I'd like to know how this nonsense got posted to Slashdot? This clown has seriously published an article claiming that, and this is a verbatim quote from the article: "That's why I recommend Apple products to people who aren't tech savvy. They just work. When I'm pushing a water cooler down on the CPU while twisting its radiator into place and screwing it into place at the same time, it becomes clear that PCs don't just work."
Some complete clown is comparing a build it yourself bunch of components to a pre-built machine, in the some breath as talking about high end gaming (something you cannot even do on a Mac)? That's like (to use a Slashdot car analogy) complaining that if you buy all the pieces to make your own car, it's harder than buying a Hyundai. No shit, idiot. What a total surprise to see a tech journalist doesn't even have a basic understanding of the topic they're writing about.
So basically we have some guy who doesn't know what he's talking about, doesn't understand the topic of his own article - and yet it's published on Slashdot? Why?
I use MongoDB because it's webscale. I also pipe data to dev/null because it's fast as hell.
But seriously, for web stuff, php/javascript and for Windows server work, believe it or not, VB.NET, because that's what the code I've got to work with was written in.
As I've just replied further down in this thread, because outside of small use-cases and Slashdot, there's many business for whom this is not an option. The example I gave was an accounting firm, who work in the most common accounting packing in Australia, MYOB. About 99% of their clients provide them a MYOB file. MYOB is only available on Windows. MYOB requires a Windows backend server running MSSQL for the accounting practice version (System Release). So how, exactly, do they switch to Linux, SuseLover? Should they invest 10's of thousands of dollars converting MYOB to run on Linux, along with MSSQL (which will one day run on Linux but not yet)? And who's going to do that for them, because they themselves can barely use a mouse, let alone WINE. What about their customers? Or the Internet Explorer only tax portal the Australian Tax Office uses for Accounting practices?
Windows isn't just a big part of the system. Windows *IS* the system.
Microsoft is already doing this. Shops can set up as resellers of Office365 - we have done this - and I kid you not - we make a grand total of $0.09 per month off each user we sign up. Nine fucking cents. So guess how much effort we put into it? I can promise you, everyone in the channel, from the large resellers, to channel partners, to the small shops fully understands that the end is coming for being able to sell OEM Office, Windows, Exchange, etc. SBS is already dead - it no longer exists and can no longer be purchased.
It's also a typical Slashdot response to say "selling people their own non-Microsoft based...." but it's also, with all due respect, completely out of touch with reality.
We don't really deal with small companies and their IT a lot - unless we have a reason to (for example, we look after a small accounting firm, because they're our accountants and I'm socially friendly with them) however here's them as an example. They require specific software for their business to function - there's no Mac option, there's sure as hell no Linux option - they need to use MYOB and Quickbook and System Release. Need to. Not want to. Not choose to. Need to. EVEN if they wanted to change, which they absolutely do not, every single one of their end customers would need to stop using MYOB. So they absolutely have to use Windows. There's no OSS accounting software they can use and they can't force all their customers to use it, so MYOB it is. System Release, the software which allows accounting practices to manage multiple MYOB clients, certainly doesn't have a Linux option on the table.
So how do you propose these people, and the literally millions of people like this, just change? Coz its just oh-so-easy to switch, here on Slashdot.
So not to get too sidetracked - I fear for those companies who still rely on pushing tin and selling Windows and Office to survive because Microsoft is going to go Full Apple on them, eventually and cut them off from the feeding trough.
I'm not assuming Windows Store will be the only official way to buy Windows Software - I am assuming Office365 will be the only way to buy Office. And it will be the only way to get Exchange email (Hybridised at the very minimum). I'm not talking about desktops here - I am talking about Microsoft deliberately killing small IT shops who peddle SBS style solutions (and one may argue they should be killed - but that's a different story). As Azure and Office365 and OneDrive are more and more baked into Windows and Windows Server, the need for your own Exchange will be diminished and the availability of having it will be taken away - if you want it, you will have to use Office365. So instead of selling a customer say a $6,000 server, Office licenses, SBS licenses, etc. the small IT company will instead have to make do with $0.50 a user, per month, for Office365 tailings... and thus many will go out of business.
No, Microsoft are not screwed. Microsoft's partners are screwed.
If Microsoft starts pushing out equipment that people want and emulates Apple - then there's no need for Dell. Anyway, who is Dell going to get an OS from? Apple? Dell has to keep selling Windows because its consumers need it (enterprise and business). Linux is not an option.
It's not just hardware partners Microsoft is screwing over - channel partners are in deep shit, too. All those millions of little IT shops days are numbered, too. Office 365, Azure integrated AD, etc. All spells a lot of trouble for people who have spent the last 10 years selling SBS boxes and PCs to small businesses.
I have to say, I am actually pretty surprised by this news. I had no idea boingboing was even still going...
The good thing about buying LinkedIn is you don't need to ask them to transfer any their user database over to you - you can just go download the torrent!
Every time I read a comment like this on Slashdot I take a little step closer to never coming back. Anyone that doesn't blindly and irrationally hate Microsoft must be a shill, because hey, "if someone thinks differently from me, they must be paid to do so or stupid". Yes. Because only your opinion is valid. All other opinions must be wrong, because, after all, they're not your opinion. And that's all that matters.
Fortunately, I occasionally remember despite the large number of comments like this, here, individuals don't really represent the group.
To be fair, Symantec and Norton are not at all the same thing.
You know what, years back I worked at a place that used Symantec Endpoint Protection - and you're actually correct. Management absolutely loved Gartner. The CTO even had a Gartner Magic Quadrant of innovative companies on his wall. Every IT meeting (which was a monthly 2 hour snooze fest) started with an update from Gartner.