Firefox Strikes Back

In a move to counter Microsoft's underhanded attempt to distribute updates through Firefox, Mozilla has decided to make users aware of the malicious code Redmond has installed.

First you see this popup:


which shows you somebody has been up to no good.

This is part of their new blocklist for plugins:



Way to go, Firefox. Help us get rid of this nasty plugin.

5 Tips for Hosting Your Windows 7 Launch Party

From the video:



A few tips they point out (and my take)

Install Windows7 2 days ahead of time
This is going to take a long time and be frustrating. Upgrading from XP won't work. If you try to install at the party, the guests will leave before you are done.

Play with Windows7 before the party
Once again, everything will have moved. If you haven't figured out where everything is, you'll embarrass yourself in front of your guests.

Print out the activity host notes ahead of time
Interesting they didn't say you could browse them during the party. Microsoft has a history of a corruptible IP stack, and still doesn't know why.

Bonus activities won't work for everybody
Like Vista, there will be many device incompatibilities. Making hardware work with the OS is not their job, its yours.

Hosts should check out help for activities
Microsoft has not yet read Getting Real, and simply can't bear to make anything simple. You won't know what to do just by using it.

Dear Ray

Mr Ozzie,

I read in a recent Wired article:

According to Microsoft, one example of a successful service is Windows Update, which automatically installs patches and bug fixes on users' operating systems

How do you define successful? Is it that

• the patches successfully get downloaded to my machine?
• the little shield icon in the tray tells me there are updates to install?
• or the cute bubble telling me there are new updates to install?
  

Here are the ways in which Windows Update is unsuccessful

• Features in remote desktop sessions stop working
• Attempts to install updates hang the machine (Windows is installing new updates...)
  
• Third party vendors can't (or don't) use windows update to update their software (how many of your processes are update daemons?)
  
• The machine shuts down without warning (telling you afterward doesn't count)

In short, the easy part, which any company could do, and saves us a single click on a web site, works really well. The hard part, which is critical to our every day experience as desktop users, has major problems. Have you googled "windows update problems"?

This is a head-in-the-sand success. Keep it up, and we'll all be on Macs.

Love,

The Schmitzer