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04 Feb 2010 21:10

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Tech: Former VP: Microsoft’s shooting itself in the foot, big time

  • What happened? Unlike other companies, Microsoft never developed a true system for innovation. Some of my former colleagues argue that it actually developed a system to thwart innovation.
  • Former Microsoft Vice President Dick Brass • On why Microsoft’s internal structure is hurting its abilities to create future innovations, forcing them to coast on prior victories such as Windows and Office. Basically, he claims that there is a strong system of corporate competition in the culture, one that has the effect of stifling innovative ideas. Their successes led to them limiting risk. He knows, because he was pushing e-Books and tablet PCs years ago, long before Apple made a big deal about it. One of his team’s most innovative ideas, ClearType, was prevented from being fully implemented in Windows for years because other teams held it back. These sorts of image issues don’t help Microsoft’s long-term cause. source

29 Jan 2010 11:37

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Biz, Tech: Windows 7 win: Microsoft all high-fives after record quarter

  • $6.7B size of Microsoft’s profits in their second quarter – that’s way above analyst estimates
  • 60% increase in profits between the first quarter and second, despite some lagging divisions
  • 60M number of units Microsoft sold of its Windows 7 OS – it’s a massive freaking hit source

17 Oct 2009 11:43

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Tech: Microsoft screwed over Firefox users with a sneaky update

  • While the vulnerability is in an IE component, there is an attack vector for Firefox users as well. The reason is that .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 installs a ‘Windows Presentation Foundation’ plug-in in Firefox.
  • Microsoft engineers on the company’s Security Research & Defense blog • Describing how a vulnerability which would usually only affect Internet Explorer users also affects IE users, too. The reason? Well, some genius thought it’d be awesome to stealthy foist a Microsoft-centric feature onto Firefox users without them asking – essentially bringing Firefox’s security quality down to the same level as IE. Way to go knuckleheads. • source

28 Sep 2009 08:40

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Tech: Windows4All: Microsoft Silverlight brings you full-fledged … Solitare

How powerful is Microsoft’s Flash competitor, Silverlight? It can handle a full-featured Windows-styled operating system. Click here to try it. source

25 Jul 2009 10:24

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Tech: Walt Mossberg sez upgrading to Windows 7 a pain in the butt

  • If you use XP, it forces you to do a clean install. Mossberg, who otherwise praised the new version of Windows, noted that the OS had a requirement unlike any of its previous versions: If you’re on XP, you need to do a clean install, which will force you to lose all your programs and possibly any personal data. In fact, MS recommends that you just bite the bullet and buy a new computer with Windows 7 installed. Oh, how convenient that they’d recommend that! source

14 Jul 2009 10:21

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Tech: Microsoft might again offer a Windows upgrade companies don’t want

  • 59% of companies don’t plan to upgrade their machines source

02 Jul 2009 00:32

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Tech: The world needs more vomiting in Internet Explorer ads

  • However, this ad does it all wrong. The vomiting should not convince you to use Internet Explorer 8. Rather, it should convince you never to use IE8 ever again. OK, Dean Cain?
 

04 May 2009 11:34

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Biz, Tech: Vista may leave store shelves as soon as Windows 7 arrives

  • It’s been a long time since we’ve had a version of Windows that will actually run better (than the previous version) on the hardware that most customers have.
  • Mike Nash • Microsoft’s vice president of the Windows product management group. MS appears to be ready to give up on the unpopular OS. Vista may stop shipping with new computers as soon as Windows 7 shows up, according to a company-wide memo. But … but … what would Lauren say? • source

26 Apr 2009 23:11

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Tech: Here’s a collection of Windows error messages. (It’s huge.)

From Windows 95 to Vista, the history is long and depressing for Microsoft’s cash cow. BSODs ahoy! source

15 Apr 2009 04:37

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Tech: This quote by an Microsoft exec about Vista gives us pause

  • Vista today, post-Service Pack 2, which is now in the marketplace, is the safest, most reliable OS we’ve ever built. It’s also the most secure OS on the planet, including Linux and open source and Apple Leopard. It’s the safest and most secure OS on the planet today.
  • Microsoft Chief Operating Officer Kevin Turner • Who just claimed Vista was the most reliable operating system on the market. Yeah, sure. It’s that kind of talk that makes our dreams of a real relationship with Lauren near-impossible. • source