Did it not state that the vulnerability was within the 'wireless drivers' used by default on the laptop?
Meaning, any other OS would have to have a different driver... unless you want to tell me that somehow the driver that they used happens to be in use on other OSes (which I highly doubt)?
Um... Intel?
It makes sense that now the CPU hardware is Intel... that the/other/ hardware is, well, also Intel. And I'm sure you know Centrino is Intel's technology...
I've been using the Vista beta 2 and before that I had IE7 on Media Center Ed., and I didn't have any issues I would consider a 'problem'. In fact, the only difference I noticed was that in a web page design I was working on, there were very minor cosmetic differences but ACTUALLY, I've found that IE7 displays standards BETTER anyway than IE6 ever did. I was using PNGs with transparent areas and in IE6, the areas don't display as transparent at all. In IE7 and Firefox they did the same thing, show up correctly.
Since I installed Vista I have firefox installed also, but I haven't used it more than a few times for kicks. I'm slowly being brought back to IE and it's only because of my experience with IE7.
NOW -- do I think that IE7 should be pushed to businesses? Hell no! I work IT at a hospital and many of the applications there are web-based and need very, VERY specific browser settings, security, OCX files, etc. and any change (especially a whole new browser) could really screw up a lot of people until the thing is tested like crazy (if it already hasn't been). Since 95% of our PCs it seems run W2k, with the vast majority of the rest of them running XP (all 5% that is) I have a feeling that they're putting it off just as much as they've been putting off XP. I mean, we've GOT XP licenses for EVERY computer we've bought in the past 4 years. They just don't want to face having to move on (which I guess is understandable.) But if you can't even go to XP after it's been out for 4 years, how are they gonna go to IE7?? Is that gonna take 4 years too? It's a combination of making too vast a change at once (and pushing it out) and people being totally resistant to not only that vast, sweeping change, but any change at all. Potential for problem in business is... pretty good. (Good thing that we can block it, apparently.)
I believe Windows' System Restore is basically an imaging utility.
Although, it's probably better to use third-party software to make an image of your whole disk (Norton Ghost comes to mind) because it's not dependent on Windows to use. You can also use that same image on any other PC or hard drive as well. You just need a secondary hard drive to write the image to... (I think, in most cases at least -though there are sometimes ways to arrange this for PC-to-PC over the network).
I don't know, I don't think I've ever used System Restore so I can't really speak about how it works. It may work just fine for all I know.
(They should still give you the damn CD.)
...Well, for starters, an Image is specifically a captured set of all the files from a hard drive or a partition on it (at least, that's the layman's way to explain it..). The files are compressed into one single file, the 'image', and it's different in the way that an image is often bootable, wheras just taking the files out of the filesystem (i.e. copying your C: drive to a DVD) is not. The other thing about it being an 'image' is that it is an exact copy bit for bit, so that the files are not at all altered at the time of copying. It is truly like having an exact clone of the original partition.
How this will simplify installations for the end user is beyond me, but anyone working in IT knows that it's a pain to reformat a machine without having an image to put back on it that has all of the basic software, configuration, etc. on it necessary to run. It can in that respect save a lot of time. The alternative is starting with a new copy of Windows off the CD and thus configuring the OS and reinstalling every piece of extraneous software that will be on every PC in your corporation anyway. (The logic is, if some aspects of the PC will be the same everywhere, simplify the process and make it so that all the PCs start from the same place.)
This used to be more difficult when businesses had different models of machines, i.e. having 3 or 4 different active and commonly used models of Dell Optiplex machines, for example. The drivers for all of them used to be different, because of the varying hardware (even for things like hard drives and integrated video..). There had to be an image for each model or set of drivers. But I guess Vista's goal is to change that and make drivers as little a problem as possible.
On a side note, regarding Vista drivers, the Beta 2 DVD didn't include drivers for my Creative Zen Touch. The Creative website claimed that the commercial release of Vista would have native support for it (but apparently not in Beta 2). Without any other alternative, I loaded up the XP driver that came with it and it worked fine. Not sure how this would pan out to other devices, though.
The fact that most people are Windows users as opposed to being Linux/Apple users (because if you think about it, most people have a Windows PC unless they specifically decided they wanted a Mac and took the initiative to go to the Apple Store or other retailer and buy one, wheras the PCs are more availible, prominent, and cheaper, etc.) means that there are more opportunities for there to be Windows idiots regardless of profession.
You're commenting less on the OS and more on its users, which is somewhat unfair considering that there is a complete range of competencies with computers and specific OSs represented in the Windows user base. There's Windows morons and Windows geniuses, and people that are either can also have varying degrees of success with OSX or Linux.
And so far as OSX stumping people goes, it's simply laid out differently than Windows, has different methodology for certain tasks, etc. I don't consider it to really be easier or harder than Windows (my first PC was a Mac Classic and I had no problems switching to Windows 95 as a 10-year old), it's just different and a bit more aesthetic.
But it's kind of a non-sequiteur to bring up anything about Windows users having a tough time on OSX. It involves breaking what are, for some people, 10-year old habits in ways of doing certain things. Just because it's prettier, too, doesn't mean that it's necessarily 100% intuitive, especially if you've learned on something totally different. And obviously, if they learned on Windows, which Mac users usually claim is the harder-to-use OS, they can't be that stupid;)
And as far as Linux goes, I TOTALLY agree with the article. I have been a long-time computer user and I have worked mostly with Windows and occasionally with Mac and Linux. However, I would never dream of switching entirely to either, not only because almost all the applications I use (FL Studio being the big one) are Win-exclusive for the forseeable future, but because, for example, Linux is a major pain in the ass to use as a desktop OS. Installing software can sometimes be a futile quest, depending on the quality and robustness of the software-installation mechanism on your distribution. If it's not availible through that then forget it. Why spend hours tracking down dependency after dependency when you could use Windows and have everything install for you automatically with the program's installer...? I don't know, it never really 'worked' for me the way I wanted it to..
I have a strong feeling that the poster of this comment thinks that an iPod is the same thing as an iMac.
For clarification, an iPod is an MP3 player, and an MP3 player ONLY unless you do something crazy and install ucLinux on it. an iMac, iBook, Macbook, powermac, mac mini, etc. is a computer.
There, enough said about that.
As more of a response to previous posts in Sony's defense:
Hmm, I think that sometimes evil can be construed as "endless propagation of proprietary formats (minidisc, UMD, ATRAC, etc.) and encouragement towards infinite sequels and, in the case of the PSP, watered-down ports as well as progressively-restrictive and forced firmware updates"
It's as if they don't really care about their customers because they have such a huge market share (in the games market anyway) that they can release sequel and port after another while limiting what people can do with their purchased hardware without fearing diminishing market presence.
That being said, I love dearly my PSP. I (and a good contingent of other PSP owners, that I'm aware of anyway) simply dislike Sony.
'Evil' might be a strong word, but they're not the best and most wonderful company around, either. Not that MS, Nintendo, Apple, etc. or anybody else is.
Oh how I love thee, wall...
It sounds cold, flat, and hard. I think we're going to have to wait on holographic projection and tangibility generation* before we worry about that...
*I made this up, but it sounds like it should be a word.
Virtual Boy!!!11!!1
Whether or not the ISU C6 will be able to topple the Virtual Boy as the top gateway into the 3D world is still yet to be seen. Where's the side-by-side comparison tests?
I imagine that the possibility of emulating the Virtual Boy will, while being illegal under most circumstances, improve the sales of the C6 drastically, since owners of the C6 will be killing two birds with one stone. Look at what console emulation has done for the PSP scene...
Slashdot Mirror
Mod parent up plzkthx! Agreed and... agreed! Why /don't/ we just remove all dynamic functionality from the web? *tounge firmly in cheek*
Did it not state that the vulnerability was within the 'wireless drivers' used by default on the laptop? Meaning, any other OS would have to have a different driver... unless you want to tell me that somehow the driver that they used happens to be in use on other OSes (which I highly doubt)?
Um... Intel? It makes sense that now the CPU hardware is Intel... that the /other/ hardware is, well, also Intel. And I'm sure you know Centrino is Intel's technology...
I've been using the Vista beta 2 and before that I had IE7 on Media Center Ed., and I didn't have any issues I would consider a 'problem'. In fact, the only difference I noticed was that in a web page design I was working on, there were very minor cosmetic differences but ACTUALLY, I've found that IE7 displays standards BETTER anyway than IE6 ever did. I was using PNGs with transparent areas and in IE6, the areas don't display as transparent at all. In IE7 and Firefox they did the same thing, show up correctly.
Since I installed Vista I have firefox installed also, but I haven't used it more than a few times for kicks. I'm slowly being brought back to IE and it's only because of my experience with IE7.
NOW -- do I think that IE7 should be pushed to businesses? Hell no! I work IT at a hospital and many of the applications there are web-based and need very, VERY specific browser settings, security, OCX files, etc. and any change (especially a whole new browser) could really screw up a lot of people until the thing is tested like crazy (if it already hasn't been). Since 95% of our PCs it seems run W2k, with the vast majority of the rest of them running XP (all 5% that is) I have a feeling that they're putting it off just as much as they've been putting off XP. I mean, we've GOT XP licenses for EVERY computer we've bought in the past 4 years. They just don't want to face having to move on (which I guess is understandable.) But if you can't even go to XP after it's been out for 4 years, how are they gonna go to IE7?? Is that gonna take 4 years too? It's a combination of making too vast a change at once (and pushing it out) and people being totally resistant to not only that vast, sweeping change, but any change at all. Potential for problem in business is... pretty good. (Good thing that we can block it, apparently.)
I believe Windows' System Restore is basically an imaging utility. Although, it's probably better to use third-party software to make an image of your whole disk (Norton Ghost comes to mind) because it's not dependent on Windows to use. You can also use that same image on any other PC or hard drive as well. You just need a secondary hard drive to write the image to... (I think, in most cases at least -though there are sometimes ways to arrange this for PC-to-PC over the network). I don't know, I don't think I've ever used System Restore so I can't really speak about how it works. It may work just fine for all I know. (They should still give you the damn CD.)
How this will simplify installations for the end user is beyond me, but anyone working in IT knows that it's a pain to reformat a machine without having an image to put back on it that has all of the basic software, configuration, etc. on it necessary to run. It can in that respect save a lot of time. The alternative is starting with a new copy of Windows off the CD and thus configuring the OS and reinstalling every piece of extraneous software that will be on every PC in your corporation anyway. (The logic is, if some aspects of the PC will be the same everywhere, simplify the process and make it so that all the PCs start from the same place.)
This used to be more difficult when businesses had different models of machines, i.e. having 3 or 4 different active and commonly used models of Dell Optiplex machines, for example. The drivers for all of them used to be different, because of the varying hardware (even for things like hard drives and integrated video..). There had to be an image for each model or set of drivers. But I guess Vista's goal is to change that and make drivers as little a problem as possible.
On a side note, regarding Vista drivers, the Beta 2 DVD didn't include drivers for my Creative Zen Touch. The Creative website claimed that the commercial release of Vista would have native support for it (but apparently not in Beta 2). Without any other alternative, I loaded up the XP driver that came with it and it worked fine. Not sure how this would pan out to other devices, though.
The fact that most people are Windows users as opposed to being Linux/Apple users (because if you think about it, most people have a Windows PC unless they specifically decided they wanted a Mac and took the initiative to go to the Apple Store or other retailer and buy one, wheras the PCs are more availible, prominent, and cheaper, etc.) means that there are more opportunities for there to be Windows idiots regardless of profession. You're commenting less on the OS and more on its users, which is somewhat unfair considering that there is a complete range of competencies with computers and specific OSs represented in the Windows user base. There's Windows morons and Windows geniuses, and people that are either can also have varying degrees of success with OSX or Linux. And so far as OSX stumping people goes, it's simply laid out differently than Windows, has different methodology for certain tasks, etc. I don't consider it to really be easier or harder than Windows (my first PC was a Mac Classic and I had no problems switching to Windows 95 as a 10-year old), it's just different and a bit more aesthetic. But it's kind of a non-sequiteur to bring up anything about Windows users having a tough time on OSX. It involves breaking what are, for some people, 10-year old habits in ways of doing certain things. Just because it's prettier, too, doesn't mean that it's necessarily 100% intuitive, especially if you've learned on something totally different. And obviously, if they learned on Windows, which Mac users usually claim is the harder-to-use OS, they can't be that stupid ;)
And as far as Linux goes, I TOTALLY agree with the article. I have been a long-time computer user and I have worked mostly with Windows and occasionally with Mac and Linux. However, I would never dream of switching entirely to either, not only because almost all the applications I use (FL Studio being the big one) are Win-exclusive for the forseeable future, but because, for example, Linux is a major pain in the ass to use as a desktop OS. Installing software can sometimes be a futile quest, depending on the quality and robustness of the software-installation mechanism on your distribution. If it's not availible through that then forget it. Why spend hours tracking down dependency after dependency when you could use Windows and have everything install for you automatically with the program's installer...? I don't know, it never really 'worked' for me the way I wanted it to..
I have a strong feeling that the poster of this comment thinks that an iPod is the same thing as an iMac. For clarification, an iPod is an MP3 player, and an MP3 player ONLY unless you do something crazy and install ucLinux on it. an iMac, iBook, Macbook, powermac, mac mini, etc. is a computer. There, enough said about that.
Unions = a massive wave of increased slashdotting
We're not talking about MS here.
As more of a response to previous posts in Sony's defense:
Hmm, I think that sometimes evil can be construed as "endless propagation of proprietary formats (minidisc, UMD, ATRAC, etc.) and encouragement towards infinite sequels and, in the case of the PSP, watered-down ports as well as progressively-restrictive and forced firmware updates"
It's as if they don't really care about their customers because they have such a huge market share (in the games market anyway) that they can release sequel and port after another while limiting what people can do with their purchased hardware without fearing diminishing market presence.
That being said, I love dearly my PSP. I (and a good contingent of other PSP owners, that I'm aware of anyway) simply dislike Sony.
'Evil' might be a strong word, but they're not the best and most wonderful company around, either. Not that MS, Nintendo, Apple, etc. or anybody else is.
Oh how I love thee, wall... It sounds cold, flat, and hard. I think we're going to have to wait on holographic projection and tangibility generation* before we worry about that...
*I made this up, but it sounds like it should be a word.
It's a tactical simulation, not an Xbox 360 game. But I don't disagree. Who needs to see paper airplanes in high-res?
Virtual Boy!!!11!!1 Whether or not the ISU C6 will be able to topple the Virtual Boy as the top gateway into the 3D world is still yet to be seen. Where's the side-by-side comparison tests? I imagine that the possibility of emulating the Virtual Boy will, while being illegal under most circumstances, improve the sales of the C6 drastically, since owners of the C6 will be killing two birds with one stone. Look at what console emulation has done for the PSP scene...