OK, I’ll admit that I’m not sure what to make of the news that Sweden is opening an embassy in Second Life. On the one hand, it’s cool that a nation has decided to make use of a new medium to put out information on its land, people, and culture. On the other hand, a nation has decided to open an embassy in Second Life. There are big questions here like, who owns the virtual land on which the embassy sits? Can someone go to the Second Life Swedish embassy and request political asylum? Who will be appointed the nation’s first ambassador to Second Life, and to whom will he or she present diplomatic credentials?

After last week’s Lotusphere on Second Life (for IBM software partners) and the news that Reuters has opened a bureau on (in?) Second Life, I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. For all that, though, I still can’t help but feeling that there are some real-world activities that might not benefit from being converted into avatars. Given the clear need for positive diplomacy these days, an embassy might just be one of those activities.

Categories: Entertainment, General computing
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Everyone’s excited about the midnight release of Vista. It will be interesting to see if there are lines forming to be the first to pick up a copy. (My guess: not many lines, and not very long ones, at that.) While I’m waiting for my Express Upgrade copy to arrive, here’s my list of things I really hope to find in Vista…

1. Networking that works. Microsoft has figured out how to get Active Directory to function reasonably well as an enterprise directory. What we haven’t seen is a way to make the Windows Peer networking work nearly as well or as consistently. I field lots of calls asking why a laptop suddenly can’t see a desktop, or why the corporate laptop is now unable to work with the nework printer at home. Home users shouldn’t have to worry about which machine has been elected Master Browser, and any networking fix that involves invoking Regedit is a non-starter. If Microsoft delivers consumer-grade networking that functions reliably, then Vista has gone a long way towards becoming a Win.
2. Improved Resource Management. I’ve moved to Office 2007. While there are features that will help me in many ways, in Windows XP the Office package is a serious resource hog. My laptop has a Core2  Duo CPU and 2 GB RAM, and it still slows to a crawl when I’m working with more than one application open. Outlook 2007, for all its improvements, is the worst offender. I hear from colleagues that Offie 2007 is much better under Vista, and I’m certainly hoping that’s true.
3. Usable Security. Let’s all agree that Windows XP hasn’t been as easy to make secure as we’d like. For at least three years we’ve been hearing that Vista will be dramatically better for a host of reasons. Unfortunately, recent reports have indicated that much of the security has followed the model of the TSA–convince people that if the security is truly annoying and disruptive, it must be working well. I don’t buy that premise, and I don’t want a security show. I want security that protects against things that might make it through my firewalls, and I want it to be sufficiently non-intrusive that I won’t be tempted to turn it off. That’s not an impossible list of “wants” for security.
4. Recognition of the Way I Work. OK, so I’m willing to admit that I’m probably not Captain Average when it comes to the stuff I do with a computer. On the other hand, I’m no longer writing custom apps to tailor the computer to each quirk and tic of my day. So I want to keep ActiveSynch, OneNote, and Groove all humming merrily along in the background while Google Desktop does its think on the side of the monitor. While this is going on I want Trillian waiting for instant messages from multiple sources and Skype to stand ready to complete my video phone calls. Oh, yes, Outlook should be handling my e-mail and scheduling stuff. And then, I want to get some work done with Word, or Excel, or maybe Adobe Audition. Is this so much to ask? It’s the way we were all led to believe computing would be. Of course, we were led to believe we would be computing like this while we wore our white or gray suits on the way to vacation at L5 (a trip we’d take in the PanAm Space Shuttle), but enough about that. The point is, I want Vista to keep the apps from bumping into each other. Now, working on my computer feels like what I imagine it must be to drive the truck taking a rabid rhino to the vet: we trundle resolutely down the road, but I can feel the angry bumps and thwacks from the cargo box, and I just know I’m going to end up in a ditch with an angry rhinocerous doing a tango on my spleen. I want Vista to take just a little of that particular thrill out of my workday.
5. I want Vista not to disappoint me. This one is hard, but I would like for the product to work as Microsoft has said it will work. I can’t ask it to make me happy, cure my halitosis, or bring back my hair, but I’d really be quite grateful if it didn’t cause the veins to throb on my temples or any more of my Linux-using friends to cluck their tongues in vague disappointment at my obvious stupidity. That last one is really beyond Vista’s abilities–the tongue-clucking will continue as long as I insist on the apostasy of a graphical user interface, but the rest would be nice. Really.

Categories: Consumer, Enterprise, General computing, Software
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If you’re like me, you get a steady drip of e-mail messages offering software at impossibly low prices. So far, you’ve resisted the lure of $29 Vista because you’re possessed of a pure heart, but now comes word of another, less noble, reason to keep a clean system. An article at InfoWorld says that half the “Vista” available for downloading has a significant malware load on its back.

Vista will have enough problems winning the PR wars without large numbers of people with illicit, malware-infested downloads trying to make the system work. Stick with the legitimate copies–if you can’t afford to buy Vista, figure out how to run one of the modern Linux distros or buy one of the cheap Macs. I know it might cost a few bucks, but if you’ve got a few dollars to spend on hardware you migh be ready to make the Mac plunge–see, Vista is spurring competitiont already!

Categories: Embedded, Security, Software
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Back at the beginning of the month, I wrote about the problems that security holes in Cisco software could present. Now we get word that new vulnerabilities have been found. These latest issues, detailed by US-CERT, could allow outsiders to run your routers. Trust me, if you don’t know why this is very bad, then you don’t need a router.

Cisco has issues a security alert about each of the vulnerabilities, and has made patches available. If you’re in a company with a “we never patch our router” policy, it’s well past time that you changed your policies and procedures. If you don’t have Cisco routers in your infrastructure, don’t get complacent. Cisco is a target for folks looking for vulnerabilities for the same reason Microsoft is a target: it’s where the big numbers are. That doesn’t mean that other equipment doesn’t have vulnerabilities. You should be checking for software and firmware updates to your network infrastructure on a regular basis, whether you’re supporting the network for a large company or a small family. The risks are just too great to let this one slide.

 The CNet story referenced above isn’t the only coverage of this. You might find it interesting to look at ComputerWorld’s take from the IDG News Service; a take from Light Reading; and a view from The Register that ranks the severity of the vulnerabilities.

Categories: Security, Threats
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Well, I did it–went through the process and ordered my Express Upgrade from Windows XP Pro to Vista Business. Now, I just have to fax the fulfillment company a list of answers to personal questions and wait for the mail carrier to run. It’s hard to find words to tell you just how ambivilent I am about this upgrade. On the one hand, it seems that there might be some interesting features in Vista, and I’m curious about just how good the security and search features are going to be. On the other hand, changing (or updating) an operating system qualifies as a major pain in the rear.

I’ve chosen not to participate in the beta program, so I’ll be seeing Vista just like all the other retail customers. In the meantime, I’ve been reading reviews like this one from CNet. Boy, that 7.4 rating really excites me.

I’m already hearing that the real upgrades will come starting with Service Pack 1. There’s some historical basis to that prediction, but I’d hoped that Microsoft would do a better job of rolling out a truly superb product from the get-go with Vista. Oh, I knew that the new file system had been taken out some time ago, and tht a number of other features had been pulled in order to maintain something resembling the originally-stated release schedule, but I truly wanted something to help me feel excited about using this tool once again. We’ll see if it happens, but my expectations have been tempered.

Categories: General computing, Software
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Want proof that the times have changed? Today was Lotusphere Day in Second Life. When IBM conducts part of a partner conference in a virtual world, there’s been a huge shift in the perception of how the world works. I never though I’d see the day when IBM encouraged its resellers and developer to get an avatar, but there it is. If you participated, drop me an e-mail–I’d love to hear about the experience.

Categories: General computing
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When teenagers use social-networking software there’s no news. When IBM decides that social networking has a place in the enterprise, though, it’s big news. At this week’s Lotusphere conference in Orlando, IBM announced that it will bring technology powering on-line applications like FaceBook and MySpace to corporate computing. In the announcement, IBM says that they will “tap the wisdom of crowds”. A New York Times article points out that the IBM product will have five separate modules, and is designed to compete with Microsoft offerings like Groove and SharePoint.

I am a huge believer in the power of electronic collaboration. For most of the last 15 years I’ve worked in an office at least 800 miles removed from most of my colleagues. While I think I’m pretty good at using collaboration tools, I look at the way my 18 year old son moves around a dozen IM screens and social networking sites and realize that I will never grok on-line collaboration the way he does. By building the software platforms now, IBM, Microsoft, and others are positioning the business infrastructure to take advantage of the skills that are just now beginning to enter the workplace. I think it’s a great sign. I also think it’s going to be interesting to watch older, less tech-savvy managers demand the mis-use of these platforms for the next few years until the younger workers force them to catch up.

Categories: General computing, Media
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Vista’s coming out for retail customers next week, and Microsoft is finally admitting that their are going to be issues with the software when it hits large numbers of users. There’s no real surprise in this announcement, or that Slashdot is all over it. Like a Slashdot commenter, I’m of mixed mind on the news that SP1 is already on the timeline. Sure, we all know there will be big service packs, but most of us would like to think that it will take a little time before enough problems are found to justify their release.

Vista will be a commercial success–the licensing agreements with hardware vendors guarantee that Vista computers will flood the market starting in a few days, but Microsoft really needs to feed the perception of excellence if it wants to expand its brand off the desktop. A fumbled rollout (and big problems shortly after the public release will have to count as a fumbled rollout) won’t kill Vista on the desktop, but might well slow Microsoft’s much-needed brand expansion.

Categories: General computing
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If you’ve read more than a day or two worth of posts here, you know how I feel about systems that assume all customers are cheats and thieves. Digital Rights Management (DRM) is the way most of us will come into contact with one of hese systems, and the marketplace is full of truly rediculous DRM schemes. Now, however, comes a report that some record labels might be ready to do the unthinkable and release music without DRM crippleware attached.

When you read the article, it’s obvious that this isn’t a move that’s going to happen tomorrow, but as I said in an earlier post, when the record companies feel pain, they’ll look at changing their strategies. There’s nothing like a sales number lower than the one you expected to cause pain in the halls of the record companies, so there’s reason for hope–and reason to keep supporting the artists and record companies that have already taken a listener-friendly approach to distributing their music.

Categories: Entertainment, Media
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I’ve been doing this long enough to remember when it was cool to overclock your 8088 from 1 MHz to 2 MHz. You had to be a little careful, because some applications couldn’t handle the shorter timing loops. Now, a group has overclocked a Pentium 4 to 8 GHz. I don’t know about you, but I don’t tend to keep liquid nitrogen around the house, so I think it will be a while before I try duplicating this particular feat. With that said, I suspect that this machine might actually get snappy performance out of Outlook 2007…

Categories: General computing
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Thanks, Professor, for the link. If you’re here for the first time, take a moment to look around. I hope you’ll find a reason to come back.

Categories: Housekeeping
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…then you might not want Vista running your Media PC. The issue is whether or not you’ll see a true HD image from an HD DVD or BluRay disc played under Vista. If the disc in question is a commercial, copy-protected program, then the answer is…no. You’ll see regular old television quality. The Team Vista Blog has a 20-questions FAQ. One of the exchanges says:

Will the playback quality be reduced on some video output types?

Image quality constraints are only active when required by the policy associated with the content being played, and then only apply to that specific content — not to any other content on the user’s desktop.  As a practical matter, image constraint will typically result in content being played at no worse than standard definition television resolution.  In the case of HD optical media formats such as HD-DVD and Blu-Ray, the constraint requirement is 520K pixels per frame (i.e., roughly 960×540), which is still higher than the native resolution of content distributed in the DVD-Video format.  We feel that this is still yields a great user experience, even when using a high definition screen.

From my point of view and, I think, that of many other consumers, the issue isn’t whether the delivered resolution is better than a standard DVD. It’s whether the delivered resolution is what we expect it to be when the format promises an HD image.

I gave my opinion of Stupid Copy Protection a couple of posts back. I don’t really blame Microsoft for this–they’re doing what the big studios tell them they must. I have to say, though, that I agree with Glenn Reynolds when he says that the ultimate result might well be to drive more people to pirated programming–which will come without the bits of software that assume every user is a thief.

It’s a vicious cycle, and ultimately the biggest losers are honest, legitimate users, and the artists who try to give them a good show to watch. Unfortunately, there won’t be real incentive for change until the studios and software companies see themselves as coming up with the short end of the stick.

Categories: Entertainment, General computing, Media
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David Pogue of the New York Times has a very good article on Office 2007. He’s impressed with the same things I am, though he’s more forgiving of the quirks. I’m grateful to him for one important thing: He told me where the “Print” menu is hidden. There’s a Windows logo in the upper left-hand portion of the screen. Press it, and a “File” menu appears. Glory be.

Having pressed the magic button, it’s very nice, but I still fault Microsoft for not having something obvious to tell you, at least once, that the menu is there. I’m growing more comfortable with Office 2007, and I’m even willing to say that it’s an improvement over Office 2003. There are a number of decisions that the designers made–and force users to live with–that I suspect will become options in future versions. An example, you say? Try this: I don’t do mail-merge documents. I haven’t used the mail merge features of any word processor in, oh, 15 years. The mail-merge tab is one of the seven permanent features of Word, so it will be up there taking up space from now on. If I could replace it with another, more frequently-used group of functions, I wouldn’t complain. But I can’t. So I will. 

Categories: General computing
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The Apple iPhone was introduced to great fanfare last week. This week, the articles on how the introduction was blown have started, along with general criticisms of a phone that most folks have seen only in presentation slides or on-line ads.

Mike Elgan at ComputerWorld has one of the more cogent critiques of Apple’s timing and Jobs’ speech. It will be interesting to see whether the great Apple marketing machine can make a winner of this phone.

Categories: Mobile
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When I read the name “Storm Worm” my thoughts run to Dune, but the news out of Europe doesn’t have a noble component. The malware writers have become more aggressive and more timely with a worm that’s hit hundreds of thousands of users in the last 24 hours.

The Storm Worm hit European users on the heels of a severe winter storm. Attached to an e-mail message with the subject “230 Dead as Storm Batters Europe”, the worm will turn an infected computer into a zombie on a botnet, or allow personal data to be storlen from the system. Time worked to the advantage of most North American computer users–many system administrators had placed the subject and payload into blocking filters by the time the Atlantic Seaboard hit office hours.

What’s the takeaway? This worm, like so many others, relied on social engineering, rather than a flaw in the operating system or application, to compromise a computer. Anti-malware software can help, but computer security begins with understanding how the bad guys will try to use a weakness in front of the keyboard to gain access to a computer. Don’t open attachments or click on links in an e-mail message if you aren’t absolutely certain about the orginator. Pick up the phone to call and verify if you need to–your computer, and those of many other users, will thank you for the effort.

Categories: Security, Threats
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