Jun 11, 2006 | blog
Now I read PPCT a lot, they’re always a good source of info, commentary and the like, but once in awhile one of the mods goes off topic and starts a thread that simply shows how ignorant the population can be.
Ed Hansberry rants on how Microsoft’s Windows Genuine Advantage tool is akin to “big brother” and whimpers about about Microsoft trusting him not to be a criminal one day and not the next.
Good God, there are more important things that Microsoft is not doing to bitch about.
UPDATE: Microsoft Watch has a great Q&A on Windows Genuine Advantage that tries to clear the FUD on WGA.
May 25, 2006 | blog
Ok, there is this anonymous commenter on the ‘Activation servers overloaded at Microsoft‘ post on Scobleizer that really dishes it out, but fails to link back to anything of substance, or to give an actual name. I was going to post the following on the comments there, but decided I did not really want to start a flame war in Robert’s comments, so here is my post that I’ll trackback to that post.
Hi Mac User,
I’m glad you have passion for the OS that you prefer – it makes computing fun.
My issue with your long post here, is simply that you posted anonymously. Without any links to more discussions you may have had on the topic, or to back up your points with supporting data.
Your long-winded post falls on deaf ears if you don’t have the guts to mention your real name, or point to your site or supporting documentation.
Ugh, I really dislike anonyous posters, they don’t have any credibility, but obviously have a lot of time on their hands.
May 24, 2006 | blog
Hey, I just want to point out to anyone who is trying to download either Windows Vista Beta 2 or Office 2007 Beta 2 that the download servers are getting hit hard. I’ve read some comments around the blogosphere that MS did not plan well for the release, that there should have been more servers dedicated to the release.
Well that’s all well and good to whine & complain express your viewpoint, but I’d like to see most any project manager try to gauge the market interest in beta software and plan accordingly. Especially when there are so many people talking trash voicing their concern about your products; it gets hard to scope out the potential number of downloads, times, d/l rates, the increase in broadband connections from the last major d/l offered, etc… There are dozens of constantly changing variables in planning for a release like this, and it is nearly impossible to get it 100% at the ‘launch’ – I don’t care who you are or what you produce and sell.
You know, for so many people criticizing Microsoft on their disappointment in the Vista feature set, or their business practices, or whatever other ‘evil’ is credited to them, it is impressive that there are so many people trying out the next versions of their core products. Myself, I’m not surprised – Microsoft has made several significant changes in the last few years. I’ve seen it in the quality of software, timeliness of security patches & updates, the openness of the company, and the helpfulness of the employees that I’ve worked with on a few projects.
Now that so many people are getting Office B2 and Vista B2 to ‘test’ – here is my $.02 for you. This is your chance to improve the product. The next few months while Beta 2 gets polished into release candidates, and ultimately RTM – you have the chance to improve the product.
Do you remember all the things in XP, 2000, or NT that drove you nuts? What if you would have had the chance to at least point them out to MS, so there may have been some focus on the issue before you bought the software. Take this opportunity to submit your feedback to MS – all the contact info is on the Office Beta 2 and Vista Beta 2 websites.
Now… enjoy!
May 15, 2006 | blog
Well its nice to see a little common sense prevail. Check out the news at TechWeb:
U.S. Dismisses Google Complaint, Says IE 7 Plays Fair
I’ve been following this silly attempt of Google’s for the past few weeks and it really disappointed me that they would sink to that level Google has brought some innovative products to market, and have injected a lot of excitement and attention to the ‘Web 2.0’ world. But their cry-baby routine about the defaul search settings in a browser that they don’t own simply sours my opinion of the cocmpany.
Hopefully they will not attempt anything more insulting, like litigation about this. There are so many other areas to focus on, and changing a default search setting in a browser is not going to make/break their search revenues.
Google does occasionally come across like the “big bad” Microsoft many people are concerned about. While I think MS has turned the corner on that behavior, I’m sure that some corners of the company may still harbor that “attack mode”, if you will.
At any rate, the current squabble is rediculous and is best settled by this US DOJ report.
May 9, 2006 | blog
Its amazing how one new individual added to a team can start to disolve the well understood relationships within. This is happening at work, and unfortuntely, I don’t think I can work with the result. We’ve added a new manager for one are of our department, and he seems to be too intent on playing the role of “manager” than being a team member.
The approach is quite remenicent of isolationism than anything else I’ve seen recently, and is really rubbing a number of other groups the wrong way. Too bad, because he has the ability to shape his group in a whole new way, but I don’t know if he’s going in the right direction yet. He sure pissed me off – ’nuff said (for now).
