October 24th, 2008

Posted by Ed Bott

As I noted earlier this week, I’ve begun using a MacBook (the basic white model) and keeping a log of my experiences.

Yesterday, I received the adapter cable I needed to hook this machine to an external monitor so that I could use it in a desktop configuration. (A note to the thrifty: Don’t pay Apple $29 for this mini-DVI cable. Instead, go to Monoprice.com and pick up the generic adapter for $9.96. With shipping, it was still under $12, and it works just fine.)

Now that I have this system up and running on a full-sized screen, I’m ready to make some head-to-head comparisons with Windows. Because this system has a mere 1GB of RAM, I was curious to get a sense of how thrifty OS X Leopard is when it comes to memory usage. I was especially curious to see how Leopard compares to Vista, which as been slammed by critics as a resource hog.

To get started I opened Safari and opened a single web page, then began playing an MP3 track in iTunes. With those tasks running, I checked the results from Activity Monitor:

As you can see, the OS reports that 581MB is in use, with 430MB free.

Next, I launched a similar set of tasks on a system running Windows Vista Ultimate. To make the comparison fair, I used the System Configuration utility to disable all but 1024MB of memory in the system, which has 4GB of RAM. This system is using the full Aero interface (disabling it had no significant impact on the RAM footprint). I opened Windows Media Player and Internet Explorer, began playing the same MP3 tune and browsed to the same page cialis 2.5 that was open on the Macbook. Here’s what Task Manager showed for memory usage:

For those keeping score, the Vista machine is using 594MB of RAM, which is roughly 2% more than its Mac counterpart running the same set of tasks.

Vista gets a bad rap for lots of things, including its reputedly voracious appetite for memory. As you can see, Vista compares favorably to OS X in this regard and doesn’t deserve that reputation.

October 15th, 2008

Posted by Mary Jo Foley

The Windows team is readying second service packs (SP2) for Vista — and for its server complement, Windows Server 2008 — and is aiming to deliver these SP2s before it releases Windows 7, according to my sources.

I’m hearing that Microsoft already has delivered a beta of at least Vista SP2 to select hardware and software partners, the same way that it has been providing a hand-chosen few with early builds of Windows 7. I noticed that Microsoft has put up a place holder Knowledge Base article on October 2 regarding the forthcoming SP2 betas. (I see a couple of other bloggers saw this, as well.)

I haven’t heard details from any testers regarding any of the features due in Vista SP2 or Windows Server 2008 SP2. But here are some tidbits of what I cheap cialis professional have heard from my sources:

• Microsoft’s goal is to deliver both SP2 releases before it delivers Windows 7 in order to lessen confusion among users as to whether to deploy Vista and Windows Server 2008 — or to wait for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 (a k a Windows 7 Server). Currently, Microsoft is believed to be attempting to RTM Windows 7 in the second half of 2009. The Softies have said Windows Server 2008 R2 is on track for 2010.
• Because Microsoft is trying to keep Windows client and server code in lock-step, Windows Server 2008 was built around the Vista SP1 codebase. That’s why the first standalone service pack for Server 2008 is being called SP2. As many customers still are reticent to deploy a new OS until the first standalone SP goes out, Microsoft also is pushing to get SP2 for server out there to convince these users to consider upgrading.
• The biggest deliverable in SP2 for Windows Server 2008 will be the integration of the Hyper-V bits with the server OS.

(I’ve asked the Windows client and server teams for comment on their respective SP2 features/timing and will update this post if and when I hear back. Given how tough it was to get info out of Microsoft on Vista SP1, I am not holding my breath….)

Update: Here’s all the Vista team will say, courtesy of a spokesperson: “Microsoft is working on a second Windows Vista service pack (Windows Vista SP2) and will share more details in the coming months.”

Update No. 2:  From the server team, via a spokesperson: “(T)he comment (above) serves for Windows Server as well; Microsoft is not commenting further on the timing/release plans for the WS08 SP2 at this time, but will share more details in the coming months.”

Microsoft is expected to release a public Beta 1 of Windows 7 in mid-December, according to internal schedule information from sources. I haven’t yet heard when Beta 1 of Windows Server 2008 R2 is due, but I would bet it will be in the next month or two, as well. If Microsoft really is hoping to get Vista SP2 and Win Server 2008 SP2 out first, that doesn’t give the Redmondans a whole lot of time to test and deliver its pair of SP2s.

Given the timing, I’m wondering whether Microsoft might decide to deliver any of the tweaks or features it is building into Windows 7 via Vista SP2. Are there any fixes or tweaks you are hoping Microsoft delivers as part of Vista/Win Server 2008 SP2?

October 7th, 2008

Posted by Dan Kusnetzky

Considering my background, it’s not at all hard to understand how I’ve become the tech support helpdesk for family, friends and the neighborhood as a whole. I’ve done my best to accept my lot in life with grace and courage. This time, my Grandson, Steven, was trying to complete a homework assignment, to create a presentation on Gettysburg and the Civil War. He had completed nearly a half of his assignment when it was time to go home. So, he copied his PowerPoint 2007 deck to a thumb drive and brought it over to our home so he could finish it up after a family dinner.

He appeared to be getting more and more frustrated with something and my daughter, Lori, suggested that I go over and see if I could help.  He couldn’t get OpenOffice to open the PowerPoint deck. As I’m able to do that magic trick with the version I have on my Windows, Linux and Mac systems, I was pretty sure that he merely needed to download a recent update.

<start ominous sound background music>

As I approached the Acer laptop we purchased for Steven as a birthday gift, I remembered that his machine came loaded with Windows Visita. Since I’ve done my best to avoid that operating system, I sat down at the buying cialis without a prescription machine with some trepidation.

Although it was a bit difficult, I was able to find all of the usual functions even though some of them had been renamed and could be found in different places. I guess the folks at Microsoft thought that folks using their systems would enjoy a treasure hunt while working with the system.

The next thing I noticed was how poorly the machine performed doing simple tasks. Steven’s laptop has a similar processor, memory and storage configuration to my infamous Dell laptop that runs Windows XP, I expected to see similar performance. It was like trying to get something done in slow motion.

I was finally able to get the Web browser pointed at the openoffice.org website and tried to find and then download the required update. Every time I tried to do something a string of system messages popped up asking me if I really wanted to do what I just told the machine to do. Even though I clicked through the messages, I was never able to get anything to download.

So, I did what anyone else would do including, sending curses to the folks who designed the user interface and security protection for Windows Vista and then spoke with my daughter about reloading Steven’s system with Linux. Then I did something that most could not do – I took the thumb drive over to one of my office systems. I was easily able to open the slide deck, save it in an earlier PowerPoint format and make the presentation work with the software on Steven’s system.

<Turn off ominous sounding music>

What do you suppose a typical parent would do when these issues came up? Most don’t have a home office containing so much computer equipment and different types of software.

Have you run into this problem?

September 21st, 2008

Posted by Ed Bott

In the Talkback section to another post, a reader asks a question about when Microsoft plans to drop support for Windows Vista. I hear variations on this one all the time, so I figured it’s worth covering here:

If MS is pushing up Win 7, what is going to happen to all the Vista users? Are they going to get screwed by a short term OS? It seems that MS is stuck between a rock and a hard place on this one. If Vista becomes a speed bump, then the Vista users will be angry. If they don’t then all the people who hate Vista will be angry. While in total numbers Vista users are small in number now it still is a large number of people.

I might quibble with the characterization that the total number of Vista users is small. Even if you discount Microsoft’s numbers by 50%, you still have 100 million people using Vista today. That’s a huge number by almost any standard and is only small when you compare it to the billion or so Windows machines in existence. So, are those millions and millions of customers out in the cold when buy tadalafil cialis Windows 7 comes out?

In a word, no. Microsoft has a well-documented support lifecycle for its software products. It’s part of the agreement that the company makes with everyone who installs Windows, especially business customers who want some assurance that they’ll be able to get updates and support for operating systems and applications even if they choose not to upgrade to the latest and greatest. Here are the high points and how they relate to Windows Vista.

The lifecycle includes two main phases:

• The Mainstream Support phase includes security updates, non-security hotfixes, no-charge incident support, paid support, warranty claims, design changes and feature requests, and access to online resources such as the Knowledge Base and Microsoft Help and Support.
• In the Extended Support phase, Microsoft continues to provide security updates, paid support, and online information. Customers who want hotfix support can purchase an extended agreement within 90 days of the end of the Mainstream Support phase.

After the Extended Support phase ends, you can continue to use online self-help resources, but all other support has to be provided through third parties or through custom support agreements such as those enjoyed by some large corporate customers.

So how do these support options map for you? That depends on whether you’re using a business or consumer product.

• For Business and Developer products (which includes Business, Ultimate, and Enterprise editions of Vista), the Mainstream Support phase runs for a minimum of five years or two years after the release of the next edition of the product, whichever is later. Assuming that Windows 7 ships in 2009 or 2010, that means Vista will enjoy mainstream support until at least November 30, 2011. The Extended Support phase runs for an additional five years, so you can count on security updates for Vista until at least November 30, 2016.
• For Consumer products (which includes Vista Home Basic and Home Premium), Microsoft provides Mainstream Support only. Because the launch of the consumer version of Vista was two months later than the business launch, the support lifecycle provides for full support until at least January 30, 2012, or two years after the release of Windows 7, whichever is later.

Good news for consumers is that security updates apply to all Windows versions, so any Vista security updates made available via Windows Update should be delivered to consumers and businesses alike, even during the Extended Support phase. So your copy of Vista Home Premium will continue to receive security updates for at least eight more years.

And what about XP? When Vista came out, conspiracy theorists were quick to predict that Microsoft would abandon it and force customers to switch to Vista. I debunked that notion shortly before Vista shipped. A few months later, in January 2007, Microsoft officially expanded its support terms for XP, covering home editions under the Extended Support phase (see “XP gets a new lease on life”  for details). So, if you use any XP edition, you’re covered through April 2014.

By that time, of course, Windows 8 will probably have been released, which means that Microsoft will be actively supporting four separate desktop editions of Windows.

October 3rd, 2008

Posted by Mary Jo Foley

Microsoft is sending some very confusing signals about Windows Vista — the latest of which it issued via a statement on October 3.

The Register reported on October 2 that Microsoft was going to extend again the date until which PC makers would be allowed to continue to offer Windows users “downgrade rights,” enabling them to switch from Vista to XP on new machines. The Reg said Microsoft had moved the downgrade cut-off date from January 31, 2009 to July 31, 2009.

I asked Microsoft about the Reg’s report and got this statement, via a company spokesperson:

 ”As more customers make the move to Windows Vista, we want to make sure that they are making that transition with confidence and that it is as smooth as possible. Providing downgrade media for a few more months is part of that commitment, as is the Windows Vista Small Business Assurance program (available in the U.S. only), which provides 1-on-1, customized support for our small business customers.”

buy real cialis online align=”justify”>In other words, the Reg’s story was correct.

The spokesperson sent further clarification:

“What’s changing is Microsoft is giving six more months where it will provide downgrade media for XP Professional for OEMs and system builders to provide to their customers who purchase Windows Vista Ultimate and Business editions – (which the company figures will be) largely going to be small businesses since that’s the audience that would want/use XP Pro. So it’s the same old downgrade right thing that was in the EULA (End User License Agreement) before; it’s just Microsoft is providing the media to partners a few months more.”

“The same caveat  with providing the downgrade media as before applies, which is OEMs and system builders don’t have to do so if they don’t want – it’s their business decision to make.”

Microsoft has extended XP’s end-of-life date before. In Apri 2008 l, Microsoft officials said the company was not going to extend again the date on which it required OEMs to stop preloading XP on new machines. That date was June 30, 2008. Microsoft did say that system builders, a k a white box vendors, would be allowed to continue to preload XP on new systems until January 31, 2009. OEMs and system builders both were OK’d to continue preloading XP on new ultra-low-cost systems through 2010, as many of those systems were and are incapable of running Vista.

Bottom line: Even though Microsoft is maintaining publicly that Vista is finally ready for prime time, it is allowing PC makers to continue to offer customers XP. So what’s a user to believe? Is Microsoft really standing behind Vista? And if it’s not — but instead is doing what customers really want (while simply giving lip-service to Vista’s readiness — is that still a positive?