Archive for the 'Microsoft' Category

Giving your computer to hackers

If you use the Internet, and want a better life, look in the mirror, and repeat this mantra 3 times daily:

“Stop using Internet Explorer.”

Even the US Computer Emergency Readiness Team has said, “Use a different web browser” in reference to Internet Explorer. With as many flaws that this browser contains, it is no doubt the best decision you could make in regards to your browsing habits.

Think bugs, spyware, popups, viruses, trojans, fraud, identity theft and all of the other bad words that are related to Internet use. Yeah, that may go a bit overboard, but you get the idea… Internet Explorer does not adequately protect the user from the invasion of cyber-theives on the prowl. And yes there are others that do. For example, Opera and Firefox.

So… after saying all of that, read this: Internet Explorer currently has a flaw in it, that Microsoft has known about for some time that has no fix for it yet. Even in fully patched Windows XP SP2 systems. All you have to do is browse to a specially crafted website, and hackers can launch what ever program on your computer they feel like.

I will say that again… all you have to do when using Internet Explorer is click a link, and you could be infected. There are no known sites currently implementing this hack, but as in the past, it could only be a matter of days.

eWeek has an article on it: Zero-Day Exploit Targets IE.

Posted by Karl Herrick on November 21st, 2005 in Microsoft, Firefox | No Comments »

Free Office Suite

Here it is, OpenOffice has just released version 2.0.

Some of the exciting features it has:

Most importantly it is free and standards compliant.

Download it:
http://download.openoffice.org/2.0.0/index.html

Read about it:
http://www.openoffice.org/dev_docs/features/2.0/index.html

See it:
http://www.openoffice.org/screenshots/ooo20/index.html

For more information:
http://marketing.openoffice.org/2.0/featureguide.html
http://www.openoffice.org/

Posted by Karl Herrick on October 20th, 2005 in OpenOffice, Microsoft | No Comments »

.doc and why it should go

Here is a beautiful example of why .doc should go the way other file formats have gone before it. It’s proprietary.

During the… Open Format Meeting that was held in Massachusetts by the Mass Technology Leadership Council in regards to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts adopting the .odf document format for official state business…

Microsoft National Technology Officer Stuart lectured Secretary Kriss on how Microsoft’s intellectual property is key to the company’s revenue generation and tax payments and then asked Kriss “Are you talking about extinguishing IP rights?” Responded Kriss:
Of course not. IP is extremely important, but when it comes to this specific issue and the definition of a file format, you can always make the claim of IP to the definition of a file format and that is any corporations or any individual rights to do so.. Its just that doesn’t serve the needs of a sovereign state. Here we have a true conflict between the notion of IP and the notion of sovereignty. I would say 100 percent of the time in a democracy sovereignty trumps intellectual property.

Okay, but what about in a business or a school? I do not think we should always strive for the easiest solution in the short run, because in the long run it can come back to haunt us. Think forced upgrades, information loss due to outdated file formats, inability to control the information contained in the file format, etc, etc…

This weblog article has a good summary:
Microsoft vs Mass.: What ever happened to ‘The customer is always right’?

For extended reading on the topic:
Carr gives Microsoft a taste of its own OpenDoc medicine (and I pile on)

Posted by Karl Herrick on September 23rd, 2005 in Microsoft, Culture | No Comments »

Still using Microsoft Word?

Yeah, I know, I like grammar check too. I also, enjoy… wait a second, I think that is all I miss when I use programs other than Word, say OpenOffice. It is well beyond my understanding why people perpetuate vendor lock-in by continuing to use a program that has been made a commodity.

Think generic drugs. Does anyone buy Tylenol when they know they can get the same thing cheaper. It’s called Acetaminophen. Well, I don’t anyway… I guess you could buy specially packaged, elderly friendly, long lasting, Tylenol gel tab, eh… back to word processors… :-)

Anyhow, why pay the extra? In this case it is 100% more expensive to buy Microsoft Word, than to download OpenOffice. And, there are others who are tired of Word… and not just because it is expensive. John Dvorak of PC Magazine fame seems to think it is time to ditch the software.

And while you are at it, check out OpenOffice Impress. Think of all of those times you have used “Power Point” as an noun… “I am going to make a Power Point”… how about we change that to, “I am going to make an Impress Presentation”…

Yeah, it doesn’t sound as catchy, but I can still hope someday it will change. :-)

Posted by Karl Herrick on September 13th, 2004 in OpenOffice, Microsoft | No Comments »

Browser Switch

Okay… I have hammered this subject a lot lately, but I thought I would throw out an interesting article. Microsoft’s online magazine Slate has published an article praising Mozilla Firefox as a step forward in web browsing, security, and usability.

View the article, then install Firefox, then add a few extensions to the browser.

Yes, I know it sounds -EXTREMELY- scary to install a new program… but your online security depends on it. If you don’t trust me, then trust Microsoft (via Slate magazine) and the US Government. They recommend a switch too.

What’s even better is you can use the same browser on Windows, Linux and Macintosh! It’s available on all three!

Oh, and if you are into Macromedia Flash, Java games, or other plugin trickery, you will want to read this little document on how to get those functionalities into Firefox. No, it really isn’t a big deal.

Posted by Karl Herrick on July 6th, 2004 in Microsoft, Firefox | No Comments »