But Joe SixPack will not. He will see this and think "Uh cool it is Windows and I can run my stuff" and then look at the Windows 8 machine next to it that costs twices as much.
Which one will Joe Six Pack at Walmart buy? If you answered the cheap one correct! Then he will wonder why his software wont run.
I mean there is no documentation anywhere. Windows is Windows to consumers and they do not understand how assembly and binary code differ between machines. All they know is software made for a mac will run on and mac and software for a pc will run on a pc.
So was java. How many corporate apps in the office that require Java only work on Windows or IE 6/7? 90% of them.
As long as developers have a target audience they will always insert quirks and proprietary code that only works on platform x, hence same reason intranet software and portals still only work in IE 6.
Slashdot is extremely biased. But that is not a bad thing if you are into Unix and computer science. I thought Slashdot was moderate 10 years ago before I turned more conservative in my views and warmed up to Microsoft as I started working more and more in corporate area. MS and its products really did blow 10 years ago. Today they make sense in certain scenarios. Windows 7 is ok. Notice I did not refer to it as great:-)
Anything with MS is bashed galore here and I have been accused all sorts of names for stating why I switched back to MS Office from LibreOffice as an example.
Neowin is no different. It is filled with those who like Microsoft and those who are neutral as well. I see Android users on there too bash the surface with a few surface trolls go at it back and forth. Nothing like here on slashdot. Hairyfeet is the only user I know who does not get modded to -1 when defending Windows over Linux but he is an exception.
Doesn't the RT version prohibit terminals? I thought I remember MS going after a company for this offering Windows XP support for their tablets by that work around?
Verizon just uses DNS hijacking to record your sites.
So the easy solution is to use Norton, Open, or Comodo DNS. They also offer malware and phishing protection as well. do that and your computer wont be sniffed. The IP addresses do not mean anything without a DNS record to correspond.
Of course since it is a polar opposite of slashdot, you see those who criticize METRO as flamebait and corrected as it is modern which is strange after being here. As well as posts saying Wahoo I can't wait for this Windows 8 tablet!
I read this as well as neowin because I figured the truth is somewhere in between.
The issue always comes back to reading and editing MS Office documents.
An analogy to another MS proprietary product is IE. The fact is when IE 6 had 90% of the market you couldn't win by emulating IE hacks. Therefore, developers only targeted it and users refused to upgrade. People say Mozilla at the time was perfectly compatible most of the time but that 20% of sites that told you to leave Netscape( as they assumed anything non IE was that) otherwise.
Until something was much better users had no reason to leave. Once Firefox started gaining 10 to 15% of the market website developers stubbornly had to write 2 versions of the website and then the world could finally leave.
What does LibreOffice and OpenOffice offer that MS Office does not? Nothing other than trying to re-implement features and be bug compatible with Microsofts formats. Why not just use the real thing and not have to worry about hassles?
You want people to switch you need to make it very fast and include something innovative that is not in MS office. Cloud integration? Another app? Groupware support that doesn't require exchange? Blogging tool? I don't know something worthwhile. Make it a killer app.
I have been turned down for work because my resume looked like crap on their computers but fine on mine.
I switched back to Windows and Office and never looked back after that. IN the business world where you survive on 10% margins of profit a loss of a supplier, customer, or a good employee can have a staggering impact. When you hear on the phone sorry I have Xoffice people will think you are incompetent. It is like saying I do not have email or a fax number. I have a zigatron instead.
We got into similar arguments 10 years ago on slashdot on why Netscape and the beta version of Mozilla was alllll so awesome compared to the new IE 6. Fact is, 90% of the world used IE 6 and if you can't code sites for it you did not belong to rest of the world.
It wasn't until Firefox came along that a real alternative existed and a reason to leave IE behind. Now we have the freedom to use whatever browser because the stranglehold was broke. What does this have to do with office?
Easy. MS Office is still superior, lighter, and owns the standards the world uses to get shit done. Until there is a better product people like myself will continue to pay money for it and use it. I am not a troll here but this is a serious problem. No StarWritter (or whatever the fuck it is called now) is not fully compatible with Word nor its formatting issues.
You want the world to switch you need a lighter and supperior product. StarOffice and OpenOffice 1.2 5 years ago was slow as hell. Most users will just stick to what they know and that is Office.
Or how about just run Firefox and Steam as a standard user? You shouldn't be running as an administrator anyway in this day and age and you are just asking for touble otherwise.
I do this by default on all my Windows 7 installation where I create a Super User account and then last create a regular user account for that person and explain to use that one by default and never user the other admin account unless you are installing a scanner or a new software package.
This wont fully protect you as a buffer overflow or priveldge escalation can get around this but it adds another layer and another annoying step for the hackers. Most hackers know people are stupid and run as admin at home so you should be safe from this.
Another recommendation is to drop Firefox totally. I know I may piss some people off reading this but IE and Chrome have sandboxing built in. FF is behind in this area and require noscript and other disruptive add-ons to achieve the same security. I hated Sandboxie before I started using Chrome.
Which is why the old adage DO NOT RUN AS ROOT is applicable.
When I install a fresh copy of Windows 7 I create the user name God or Super User and then after everything is patched and software is installed I add a second account with just standard/limited permissions.
Windows 8 goes a step further and limits your account to regular user by default. You get a UAC everytime if you want to change something. I should be fine iwth this since I only have read-only access to any settings as I only run as a standard user.
I wish more Windows XP/7 users did this. Running as a non standard user is not asking for trouble. While it wont protect you from rootkits, buffer overflows, or priveldege esculation attacks, it will surely protect you from exploits. Still the URL is entered by the hackers so you will be vulnerable if you run as admin so be warned.
Only IE 6 is supported and certified for use with the equipment and software. Not to mention there is no sense upgrading $300,000 equipment which is now certified with the all uber secure IE 7 when the older works just fine according to the accountants.
What could possobly go wrong! FYI no updates after May 2009! They are not certified for medical use yet
Tell him he can use the knowledge to brew alcohol, make drugs and bombs. It really is taught in the most boring way possible. Learn the boring bits to make the exciting bits happen.
Yeah I am sure the school administrators and parents would looove that!
Advancing your career is what I am referring too. Not sitting at ones desk to impress the boss while playing solitaire. Check in with me in a few hours. Hopefully. I will be making up to 50k a year and living the dream out in the wilderness in Alaska, Colorado, or Montana and teaching algebra in the day during the winter months.
My employer expects those hours and I am happy to do it. I know I will not do it forever, but to be a good middle school math teacher I need to learn more than just algebra. In return I get a life I want. Notice I did not get paid that much. But in reality if I do not do it they will find someone else who will. My other option is to go sell crap at BestBuy. Is that what I want? Hell no.
My example above is for training I did for Exchange recently. You have any idea how much an Exchange consultant makes? 6 figures easily! You want to work at help desk all day for 30k a year? Or do you want to make 90k a year and be respected?
Respect is earned and you are correct. I am not respected yet. I didn't do the time to earn it yet. My goal is to work my ass off and be the best damn teacher and get a recommendation so in 2 years I can go live in Alaska and go kayaking, camping, hiking, in the summers off and make a more decent wage during the winter. This is what is required of me to get there now in the crappy state I am in.
Yes being ok is not good enough anymore. A demanding customer and boss wants the best and people should also be willing to better themselves. Maybe I may go for a masters in science (my dream job) after a few years of teaching and then just move into the college environment.
Easy to reduce costs and PHB can get their real time reports. If you have lets say 45 oil wells out in the field over a 700 mile area it is much more cost effective to have them on the internet where Bob with IE 6 with is all secure non signed activeX control, can work on each of them and check settings etc.
In the old days you would need 20 people doing Bob's job driving to oil well after oil well doing work, shutting off leaky valves, and documenting paperwork. Nuclear powerplants love internet enabled controls because it reduces the personnel in potentially dangerous areas.
These are targets Iran would love to attack and the State department said are in the process of doing. It seems retarded for safety reasons but it can cut on costs and automated software and do things like shut down values on leaky oil pipes. The PLC in the SCADA can easily destroy the equipment as they instruct the motors what to do.
Then someone will find another. The point is exploits do exist and the best solution is to focus on the problem. Not the symptoms. That is access. A more secure app or OS just reduces the symptoms that are totally preventable.
Power, telecommunications, water, nuclear, and oil/gas need regulation as dirty as that word is in the US because of idiot managers who love real time reports and remote manageability to cut down on costs. Something horrible will happen one of these days and it will be a very expensive problem to fix.
I do not trust kaspersky as I am sure Russia would love to have its own STUXNET as well.
If you want to get ahead the answer is easy. WORK! - Larry Winget (mentioned here.
I am not affiliated with him in anyway nor promoting him other than I am a fan. The fact is you get rich and success by working hard. Does that mean 80 hours a week forever? No. But for 2 years yes. I plan to work 60 - 80 hours a week just for a 38k a year teaching job this January. I have too to get ahead to pass all my exams and courses as well as teach at the same time for a special program. I have classes at night and the weekends which are 2 years worth of teaching classes for non education majors crammed into 9 months!
To start a business... need I say more? To be a lawyer how many hours? In this economy you are expected to work these hours if you want to keep your job or be first to let go when the next recession hits. I am not saying it is right. I am just stating reality. To be truly excellent at what you do you need to put in serious effort. If you do that you will get ahead regardless of your career path. Same is true in IT which most slashdotters do for a living. Exchange 2013 is very different from Exchange 2003. It will take a good several months at 15 hours a week minimum on top of your sys admin job to really start to get a handle on it. If you are not willing to do it then you are incompetent.
Just like the nuclear powerplant disaster in Japan the PHBs and cost accountants only care about costs as in have it all wireless so we can have 1 guy do the work of 20 by having it on the internet instead instead of having someone there.
This should be regulated if SCADA is used for any public infrastructure and one of them is no networking. Even a fiber link can get spliced. It is more difficult and expensive to do but Iran has the dough to do it and would be a target.
For one I can install a network sniffer on it to gain passwords. Then upload my own program to interact with the SCADA and destroy your equipment. With slashdot's earlier story of Iran planning a 9-11 like attack on American Infrastructure this is a very real concern.
Even Linux has security holes. They are not exploited on the net like Flash or Java ones but a rogue government or terrorists can use them to gain access.
Make the client OS use DNS SEC and encrypted traffic for a secure network that is not physically connected to the internet or any network with a gateway to the internet. Why is this so hard?
This secure OS will eventually get compromised too if it has USB ports enabled, physically access to the machine, or be on a network.
The x86 version can join a domain. The RT version can use AD policies through Exchange 2013 and get uploaded that way through your corporates email address account.
I have not tried it yet but arstechnica.com showed how to do it earlier this year and it can even upload corporate apps and encrypt on the fly. When you are done with work you log in with your hotmail account and the corporate apps are hidden and encrypted away.
I am kind of in favor of killing AD. It is not dynamic nor event driven and designed for desktops in a physical location with a physical lan. VPN is an ugly hack and I have seen sales people without admin rights getting all bitchy about issues related to it.
I am not defending it over an IPAD but MS maybe on to something we can look forward to in Windows 9 with roaming profiles.
Slashdot Mirror
But Joe SixPack will not. He will see this and think "Uh cool it is Windows and I can run my stuff" and then look at the Windows 8 machine next to it that costs twices as much.
Which one will Joe Six Pack at Walmart buy? If you answered the cheap one correct! Then he will wonder why his software wont run.
I mean there is no documentation anywhere. Windows is Windows to consumers and they do not understand how assembly and binary code differ between machines. All they know is software made for a mac will run on and mac and software for a pc will run on a pc.
So was java. How many corporate apps in the office that require Java only work on Windows or IE 6/7? 90% of them.
As long as developers have a target audience they will always insert quirks and proprietary code that only works on platform x, hence same reason intranet software and portals still only work in IE 6.
Slashdot is extremely biased. But that is not a bad thing if you are into Unix and computer science. I thought Slashdot was moderate 10 years ago before I turned more conservative in my views and warmed up to Microsoft as I started working more and more in corporate area. MS and its products really did blow 10 years ago. Today they make sense in certain scenarios. Windows 7 is ok. Notice I did not refer to it as great :-)
Anything with MS is bashed galore here and I have been accused all sorts of names for stating why I switched back to MS Office from LibreOffice as an example.
Neowin is no different. It is filled with those who like Microsoft and those who are neutral as well. I see Android users on there too bash the surface with a few surface trolls go at it back and forth. Nothing like here on slashdot. Hairyfeet is the only user I know who does not get modded to -1 when defending Windows over Linux but he is an exception.
NPR.org is the left. MSNBC is moderate.
Doesn't the RT version prohibit terminals? I thought I remember MS going after a company for this offering Windows XP support for their tablets by that work around?
Verizon just uses DNS hijacking to record your sites.
So the easy solution is to use Norton, Open, or Comodo DNS. They also offer malware and phishing protection as well. do that and your computer wont be sniffed. The IP addresses do not mean anything without a DNS record to correspond.
Try neowin? It is the anti slashdot of the internet.
Of course since it is a polar opposite of slashdot, you see those who criticize METRO as flamebait and corrected as it is modern which is strange after being here. As well as posts saying Wahoo I can't wait for this Windows 8 tablet!
I read this as well as neowin because I figured the truth is somewhere in between.
The issue always comes back to reading and editing MS Office documents.
An analogy to another MS proprietary product is IE. The fact is when IE 6 had 90% of the market you couldn't win by emulating IE hacks. Therefore, developers only targeted it and users refused to upgrade. People say Mozilla at the time was perfectly compatible most of the time but that 20% of sites that told you to leave Netscape( as they assumed anything non IE was that) otherwise.
Until something was much better users had no reason to leave. Once Firefox started gaining 10 to 15% of the market website developers stubbornly had to write 2 versions of the website and then the world could finally leave.
What does LibreOffice and OpenOffice offer that MS Office does not? Nothing other than trying to re-implement features and be bug compatible with Microsofts formats. Why not just use the real thing and not have to worry about hassles?
You want people to switch you need to make it very fast and include something innovative that is not in MS office. Cloud integration? Another app? Groupware support that doesn't require exchange? Blogging tool? I don't know something worthwhile. Make it a killer app.
I have been turned down for work because my resume looked like crap on their computers but fine on mine.
I switched back to Windows and Office and never looked back after that. IN the business world where you survive on 10% margins of profit a loss of a supplier, customer, or a good employee can have a staggering impact. When you hear on the phone sorry I have Xoffice people will think you are incompetent. It is like saying I do not have email or a fax number. I have a zigatron instead.
We got into similar arguments 10 years ago on slashdot on why Netscape and the beta version of Mozilla was alllll so awesome compared to the new IE 6. Fact is, 90% of the world used IE 6 and if you can't code sites for it you did not belong to rest of the world.
It wasn't until Firefox came along that a real alternative existed and a reason to leave IE behind. Now we have the freedom to use whatever browser because the stranglehold was broke. What does this have to do with office?
Easy. MS Office is still superior, lighter, and owns the standards the world uses to get shit done. Until there is a better product people like myself will continue to pay money for it and use it. I am not a troll here but this is a serious problem. No StarWritter (or whatever the fuck it is called now) is not fully compatible with Word nor its formatting issues.
You want the world to switch you need a lighter and supperior product. StarOffice and OpenOffice 1.2 5 years ago was slow as hell. Most users will just stick to what they know and that is Office.
Or how about just run Firefox and Steam as a standard user? You shouldn't be running as an administrator anyway in this day and age and you are just asking for touble otherwise.
I do this by default on all my Windows 7 installation where I create a Super User account and then last create a regular user account for that person and explain to use that one by default and never user the other admin account unless you are installing a scanner or a new software package.
This wont fully protect you as a buffer overflow or priveldge escalation can get around this but it adds another layer and another annoying step for the hackers. Most hackers know people are stupid and run as admin at home so you should be safe from this.
Another recommendation is to drop Firefox totally. I know I may piss some people off reading this but IE and Chrome have sandboxing built in. FF is behind in this area and require noscript and other disruptive add-ons to achieve the same security. I hated Sandboxie before I started using Chrome.
Which is why the old adage DO NOT RUN AS ROOT is applicable.
When I install a fresh copy of Windows 7 I create the user name God or Super User and then after everything is patched and software is installed I add a second account with just standard/limited permissions.
Windows 8 goes a step further and limits your account to regular user by default. You get a UAC everytime if you want to change something. I should be fine iwth this since I only have read-only access to any settings as I only run as a standard user.
I wish more Windows XP/7 users did this. Running as a non standard user is not asking for trouble. While it wont protect you from rootkits, buffer overflows, or priveldege esculation attacks, it will surely protect you from exploits. Still the URL is entered by the hackers so you will be vulnerable if you run as admin so be warned.
Only IE 6 is supported and certified for use with the equipment and software. Not to mention there is no sense upgrading $300,000 equipment which is now certified with the all uber secure IE 7 when the older works just fine according to the accountants.
What could possobly go wrong! FYI no updates after May 2009! They are not certified for medical use yet
Tell him he can use the knowledge to brew alcohol, make drugs and bombs. It really is taught in the most boring way possible. Learn the boring bits to make the exciting bits happen.
Yeah I am sure the school administrators and parents would looove that!
... I meant years. UGH ... not hours.
Advancing your career is what I am referring too. Not sitting at ones desk to impress the boss while playing solitaire. Check in with me in a few hours. Hopefully. I will be making up to 50k a year and living the dream out in the wilderness in Alaska, Colorado, or Montana and teaching algebra in the day during the winter months.
My employer expects those hours and I am happy to do it. I know I will not do it forever, but to be a good middle school math teacher I need to learn more than just algebra. In return I get a life I want. Notice I did not get paid that much. But in reality if I do not do it they will find someone else who will. My other option is to go sell crap at BestBuy. Is that what I want? Hell no.
My example above is for training I did for Exchange recently. You have any idea how much an Exchange consultant makes? 6 figures easily! You want to work at help desk all day for 30k a year? Or do you want to make 90k a year and be respected?
Respect is earned and you are correct. I am not respected yet. I didn't do the time to earn it yet. My goal is to work my ass off and be the best damn teacher and get a recommendation so in 2 years I can go live in Alaska and go kayaking, camping, hiking, in the summers off and make a more decent wage during the winter. This is what is required of me to get there now in the crappy state I am in.
Yes being ok is not good enough anymore. A demanding customer and boss wants the best and people should also be willing to better themselves. Maybe I may go for a masters in science (my dream job) after a few years of teaching and then just move into the college environment.
Easy to reduce costs and PHB can get their real time reports. If you have lets say 45 oil wells out in the field over a 700 mile area it is much more cost effective to have them on the internet where Bob with IE 6 with is all secure non signed activeX control, can work on each of them and check settings etc.
In the old days you would need 20 people doing Bob's job driving to oil well after oil well doing work, shutting off leaky valves, and documenting paperwork. Nuclear powerplants love internet enabled controls because it reduces the personnel in potentially dangerous areas.
These are targets Iran would love to attack and the State department said are in the process of doing. It seems retarded for safety reasons but it can cut on costs and automated software and do things like shut down values on leaky oil pipes. The PLC in the SCADA can easily destroy the equipment as they instruct the motors what to do.
Then someone will find another. The point is exploits do exist and the best solution is to focus on the problem. Not the symptoms. That is access. A more secure app or OS just reduces the symptoms that are totally preventable.
Power, telecommunications, water, nuclear, and oil/gas need regulation as dirty as that word is in the US because of idiot managers who love real time reports and remote manageability to cut down on costs. Something horrible will happen one of these days and it will be a very expensive problem to fix.
I do not trust kaspersky as I am sure Russia would love to have its own STUXNET as well.
A real reality check on life.
If you want to get ahead the answer is easy. WORK! - Larry Winget (mentioned here.
I am not affiliated with him in anyway nor promoting him other than I am a fan. The fact is you get rich and success by working hard. Does that mean 80 hours a week forever? No. But for 2 years yes. I plan to work 60 - 80 hours a week just for a 38k a year teaching job this January. I have too to get ahead to pass all my exams and courses as well as teach at the same time for a special program. I have classes at night and the weekends which are 2 years worth of teaching classes for non education majors crammed into 9 months!
To start a business ... need I say more? To be a lawyer how many hours? In this economy you are expected to work these hours if you want to keep your job or be first to let go when the next recession hits. I am not saying it is right. I am just stating reality. To be truly excellent at what you do you need to put in serious effort. If you do that you will get ahead regardless of your career path. Same is true in IT which most slashdotters do for a living. Exchange 2013 is very different from Exchange 2003. It will take a good several months at 15 hours a week minimum on top of your sys admin job to really start to get a handle on it. If you are not willing to do it then you are incompetent.
Just like the nuclear powerplant disaster in Japan the PHBs and cost accountants only care about costs as in have it all wireless so we can have 1 guy do the work of 20 by having it on the internet instead instead of having someone there.
This should be regulated if SCADA is used for any public infrastructure and one of them is no networking. Even a fiber link can get spliced. It is more difficult and expensive to do but Iran has the dough to do it and would be a target.
For one I can install a network sniffer on it to gain passwords. Then upload my own program to interact with the SCADA and destroy your equipment. With slashdot's earlier story of Iran planning a 9-11 like attack on American Infrastructure this is a very real concern.
Even Linux has security holes. They are not exploited on the net like Flash or Java ones but a rogue government or terrorists can use them to gain access.
Make the client OS use DNS SEC and encrypted traffic for a secure network that is not physically connected to the internet or any network with a gateway to the internet. Why is this so hard?
This secure OS will eventually get compromised too if it has USB ports enabled, physically access to the machine, or be on a network.
I would take that over squirting diarrhea anyday
The ones highly tied to MS also run outdated software. PHBs may want to try it but I bet their sharepoint still only works in IE 6.
The x86 version can join a domain. The RT version can use AD policies through Exchange 2013 and get uploaded that way through your corporates email address account.
I have not tried it yet but arstechnica.com showed how to do it earlier this year and it can even upload corporate apps and encrypt on the fly. When you are done with work you log in with your hotmail account and the corporate apps are hidden and encrypted away.
I am kind of in favor of killing AD. It is not dynamic nor event driven and designed for desktops in a physical location with a physical lan. VPN is an ugly hack and I have seen sales people without admin rights getting all bitchy about issues related to it.
I am not defending it over an IPAD but MS maybe on to something we can look forward to in Windows 9 with roaming profiles.