Power to the People - Microsoft get the message!
Good to know that the consumer still has some power. It's easy to believe that a company like Microsoft just force feeds product to us, and to certain degree it's true. They can develop only a relatively few products that we either buy or not.
Many of us have chosen not to buy and that's got Microsoft attention. Vista is the worst version of Windows I can remember (and I remember them all). So many consumers have made the choice against Vista that Microsoft has been forced to continue sales of XP until summer 2008. Believe me, that was not Microsoft's original plan. Hooray for the free market! Our voices have been heard! And without government intervention!
Dr Dave
The Best of Dr Dave's Weekly Radio Show
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Now Qualcomm Is Under EC's Microscope
Slaying the Dragons of Market Inequity
We talked with Morgan Reed of the ACT about this very phenomenon on last weeks show. The DOJ and European Union are going after big companies that have innovated in the marketplace, and are forcing them to give their competitors that didn't innovate, their advantage. The slide down the slippery slope to multinational governmental control of markets continues.
The EC is angry because Qualcomm isn't giving competitors the same product for the same price as their customers. Da? This is called competition, guys! It's not Qualcomm's job to give their advantage away. What kind of Utopian lunacy is that.
The biggest challenge for the EC (European Commission) is going to be defining fair and quantifying the advantage. No matter, they will make an arbitrary decision and hammer Qualcomm to the unending joy of Nokia, Sony/Ericcson, Panasonic and the other tiny, defenseless innocent victims.
As a result, Qualcomm will have to raise it's prices to consumers, to make up for the competitors discount, and we'll all be better for it! Riiight!
Dr Dave
We talked with Morgan Reed of the ACT about this very phenomenon on last weeks show. The DOJ and European Union are going after big companies that have innovated in the marketplace, and are forcing them to give their competitors that didn't innovate, their advantage. The slide down the slippery slope to multinational governmental control of markets continues.
The EC is angry because Qualcomm isn't giving competitors the same product for the same price as their customers. Da? This is called competition, guys! It's not Qualcomm's job to give their advantage away. What kind of Utopian lunacy is that.
The biggest challenge for the EC (European Commission) is going to be defining fair and quantifying the advantage. No matter, they will make an arbitrary decision and hammer Qualcomm to the unending joy of Nokia, Sony/Ericcson, Panasonic and the other tiny, defenseless innocent victims.
As a result, Qualcomm will have to raise it's prices to consumers, to make up for the competitors discount, and we'll all be better for it! Riiight!
Dr Dave
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Breaking in to large corporate and government network not as difficult as you might think.
Interview With A Convicted Hacker: Robert Moore Tells How He Broke Into Routers And Stole VoIP Services
It's amazing to me that really sophisticated technology companies and system administrators make the same old lazy errors the newbies do. I get irritated when my clients and listeners don't do what is necessary to secure themselves, their families and businesses, but many of the most high powered, high paid tech people don't do it either.
Have passwords. Make them long and difficult to crack. No dictionary words or pet names. Take the time and trouble to learn what you need to do, or hire someone you can trust to do it. Even when it seems like too much trouble. Or else!
It's amazing to me that really sophisticated technology companies and system administrators make the same old lazy errors the newbies do. I get irritated when my clients and listeners don't do what is necessary to secure themselves, their families and businesses, but many of the most high powered, high paid tech people don't do it either.
Have passwords. Make them long and difficult to crack. No dictionary words or pet names. Take the time and trouble to learn what you need to do, or hire someone you can trust to do it. Even when it seems like too much trouble. Or else!
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
The Official Palm Blog: A Message to Palm Customers, Partners and Developers
The Official Palm Blog: A Message to Palm Customers, Partners and Developers
Palm CEO makes the tough decision on Foleo.
I'm not surprised by the decision made by Palms CEO. I am surprised that they went so far with the Foleo. It never was clear what the Foleo did besides make more for customers to buy and carry. I'm glad they will be able to concentrate on what makes Palm superior: practical usability performance and value.
Just as Apple hit a home run with the iPhone, Palm needs to promote it's interface superiority. They do not need to create a new market segment (Smartphone Mobile Companion? Come on!)
When was the last time you saw a Palm ad? Anywhere? For many potential customers the first time they hear about Palm, is at the phone store at the time of purchase. Motorola, Samsung, Nokia, Sony, these are companies that have name recognition and consumer market presence. Palm better build some for themselves, or no one will care about the Foleo or Foleo II or anything else that Palm creates. They could have gotten some real benefit out of that 10 million dollar write off on the Folio, by spending it on promoting their existing product line.
I'm a huge Palm fan, I hope they can do what's necessary to provide real excitement in th market and real productivity gains for the users of their next generation products.
Dr Dave
Palm CEO makes the tough decision on Foleo.
I'm not surprised by the decision made by Palms CEO. I am surprised that they went so far with the Foleo. It never was clear what the Foleo did besides make more for customers to buy and carry. I'm glad they will be able to concentrate on what makes Palm superior: practical usability performance and value.
Just as Apple hit a home run with the iPhone, Palm needs to promote it's interface superiority. They do not need to create a new market segment (Smartphone Mobile Companion? Come on!)
When was the last time you saw a Palm ad? Anywhere? For many potential customers the first time they hear about Palm, is at the phone store at the time of purchase. Motorola, Samsung, Nokia, Sony, these are companies that have name recognition and consumer market presence. Palm better build some for themselves, or no one will care about the Foleo or Foleo II or anything else that Palm creates. They could have gotten some real benefit out of that 10 million dollar write off on the Folio, by spending it on promoting their existing product line.
I'm a huge Palm fan, I hope they can do what's necessary to provide real excitement in th market and real productivity gains for the users of their next generation products.
Dr Dave
Monday, August 27, 2007
Why Windows Vista is not Ready for Prime Time
Windows Vista is one of Microsoft's biggest flops. Bob was silly, ME was unreliable, but Windows Vista may be irreparable. Here are a few of the lowlights:
1. The security improvements in Vista are not what they were hyped to be. User Access Control (UAC) is so intrusive that users simply deactivate it. So much for benefits of that feature. Jim Allchin (before he left Microsoft) actually said Vista is so secure that he didn't even have anti-virus software installed on his seven year old sons computer. He is either a fool or a liar. He couldn't possibly have believed that. Most of the additional security features in Vista are available as free downloads for XP. Nearly all are superior to their Vista built in equivalents.
2. There are about 10 or 12 or 15 different versions of Vista. All are overpriced and the low end versions don't offer as many features as XP Home. It's nearly impossible to figure out exactly which Vista version would be right for you. Microsoft went from a plan to integrate all Windows into one version, to breaking out Windows into too many confusing versions with no practical reason for the breakout other than profit maximization.
3. Vista is a resource hog on even high end computers. The fun GUI stuff that makes Vista neat looking, is being disabled by many users to speed things up. If you like the neat GUI look, just use XP and Stardock's Object Desktop Suite. Save time, money, computer resources and avoid all the bizarre baggage of Vista.
4. Vista is still having trouble with VPN's, network drag and drop copies, and even Microsoft's own product: IE7. Give me a break! You may be able to blame some of the hardware issues to poor drivers on the part of third party developers, but IE7 is Microsoft's own product, and they havn't been able to get that right.
More computer manufacturers are allowing buyers to "upgrade" Windows Vista to XP. If you can - do it. Off the shelf computers generally have Vista pre-installed and don't allow the no charge upgrade. In that case it is worth it to budget the purchase of Windows XP Pro and replace it as soon as you setup and install the computer.
I don't know if Vista is even fixable. So many of the problems seem to be fundamental to the design of the OS. I hope I am wrong. XP won't be around a whole lot longer, so users will eventually have no choice in the matter. It may take several Service Packs at best so lets hope Microsoft is taking some staff off the development of the new Windows to get this taken care of. On second thought, perhaps they need to allocate more staff to the new Windows to get it out sooner, rather than wasting time on service packs.
Whatever the solution, Microsoft needs to get it right soon. For the sake of the users, computer manufacturers, the software industry AND Microsoft.
1. The security improvements in Vista are not what they were hyped to be. User Access Control (UAC) is so intrusive that users simply deactivate it. So much for benefits of that feature. Jim Allchin (before he left Microsoft) actually said Vista is so secure that he didn't even have anti-virus software installed on his seven year old sons computer. He is either a fool or a liar. He couldn't possibly have believed that. Most of the additional security features in Vista are available as free downloads for XP. Nearly all are superior to their Vista built in equivalents.
2. There are about 10 or 12 or 15 different versions of Vista. All are overpriced and the low end versions don't offer as many features as XP Home. It's nearly impossible to figure out exactly which Vista version would be right for you. Microsoft went from a plan to integrate all Windows into one version, to breaking out Windows into too many confusing versions with no practical reason for the breakout other than profit maximization.
3. Vista is a resource hog on even high end computers. The fun GUI stuff that makes Vista neat looking, is being disabled by many users to speed things up. If you like the neat GUI look, just use XP and Stardock's Object Desktop Suite. Save time, money, computer resources and avoid all the bizarre baggage of Vista.
4. Vista is still having trouble with VPN's, network drag and drop copies, and even Microsoft's own product: IE7. Give me a break! You may be able to blame some of the hardware issues to poor drivers on the part of third party developers, but IE7 is Microsoft's own product, and they havn't been able to get that right.
More computer manufacturers are allowing buyers to "upgrade" Windows Vista to XP. If you can - do it. Off the shelf computers generally have Vista pre-installed and don't allow the no charge upgrade. In that case it is worth it to budget the purchase of Windows XP Pro and replace it as soon as you setup and install the computer.
I don't know if Vista is even fixable. So many of the problems seem to be fundamental to the design of the OS. I hope I am wrong. XP won't be around a whole lot longer, so users will eventually have no choice in the matter. It may take several Service Packs at best so lets hope Microsoft is taking some staff off the development of the new Windows to get this taken care of. On second thought, perhaps they need to allocate more staff to the new Windows to get it out sooner, rather than wasting time on service packs.
Whatever the solution, Microsoft needs to get it right soon. For the sake of the users, computer manufacturers, the software industry AND Microsoft.
Monday, June 11, 2007
Important webmaster security tool...
Until recently hijacked web sites have been relatively rare. Now bad guys are using web sites to spread malware to browsers without the webmaster or browser knowing it. This little tool makes it easier to check the links in your site for mal-"ability", if you know what I mean. Makes being a responsible webmaster much easier and less stressful. Price is right, too!
Dr Dave
Dr Dave
Saturday, June 09, 2007
Free Powerpoint training video...
This is one of the finest Powerpoint training videos ever produced. So good in fact,that people who never use Powerpoint are just as likely to benefit from viewing it. Incredibly brief and effective. About 3 minutes...
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Slinging Success to Streaming Sports
Traditional media companies are scared to death about Sling Media's agreement with the NHL to allow video clips to be shared on Sling's web site. New uses and distribution of media continue to complicate the traditional copyright and legal use landscape. I think the Slingbox is one o the more exciting pieces of hardware in the last few years. In a rare coup, the NHL is ahead of the game instead of behind or completely OUT of the game.
Monday, November 13, 2006
Garmin GPSMAP 60 CSx - Wal-Mart
Those of you looking for a VERy good handheld GPS, check this out:
Garmin GPSMAP 60 CSx - Wal-Mart
Includes a beautiful 2.6-diagonal, 256-color, transflective TFT screen, altimeter and 18 hour battery life. Great gift for dad, although he never needs it because he's never lost.
Garmin GPSMAP 60 CSx - Wal-Mart
Includes a beautiful 2.6-diagonal, 256-color, transflective TFT screen, altimeter and 18 hour battery life. Great gift for dad, although he never needs it because he's never lost.
Thursday, October 12, 2006
YouTube news you'll not hear elsewhere
Rather than repeat my blog entry, I'll just refer you to to
my "TruthBlog". Funny how much much some fight
censorship, until someone disagrees with them...
my "TruthBlog". Funny how much much some fight
censorship, until someone disagrees with them...
Monday, October 09, 2006
BBC test prove computer vulnerability...
The BBC has done informal test of computers on the Internet to see how often they were attacked. Seems their results are about once an hour. My experience has shown that a new computer will be attacked within about 3 or 4 minutes of it's connection to the Internet.
In any event, PROTECT YOUR PC! I don't care what or why you are using the PC. I don't care how unimportant and insignificant you and your Internet use are. Even if you don't care about the computer or your data, you don't want the PC used for illegal purposes by organized crime in Russia, or elsewhere. You could end up with the FBI at your doorstep because your computer was unknowingly used by an indentity theft ring based overseas.
In any event, PROTECT YOUR PC! I don't care what or why you are using the PC. I don't care how unimportant and insignificant you and your Internet use are. Even if you don't care about the computer or your data, you don't want the PC used for illegal purposes by organized crime in Russia, or elsewhere. You could end up with the FBI at your doorstep because your computer was unknowingly used by an indentity theft ring based overseas.
Palm Treo series must have...
One of the little things that is a pain about the Palm Treo series of
PDA phones, is the 2.5 mm audio connector. Here's a cheap easy
way to get around that and open up a whole new world of headset
options. Best of all it's priced right!
PDA phones, is the 2.5 mm audio connector. Here's a cheap easy
way to get around that and open up a whole new world of headset
options. Best of all it's priced right!
Saturdays guest - Lance Cotrell, founder Anonymizer.com
Next Saturdays guest is Lance Cotrell, Founder and chief scientist of Anonymizer.com.
He's a brilliant guy and we'll have a blast with the interview I'm sure. Anonymizer has some new products and special projects that you really need to know about.
I hope you'll join us this Sturday for ComputerTalk with Dave Mason and Lance Cotrell of Anonymizer.com.
He's a brilliant guy and we'll have a blast with the interview I'm sure. Anonymizer has some new products and special projects that you really need to know about.
I hope you'll join us this Sturday for ComputerTalk with Dave Mason and Lance Cotrell of Anonymizer.com.
Friday, September 29, 2006
Tools for troubleshooting Internet Issues
So much of the time Internet problems result in vendors
pointing fingers at each other, while you try to figure out
what's really going on. DNSstuff.com is packed full of tools
that can help you decide where the blame should be
targeted. It's not real intuitive, but with a little playing
around and researching your results on the web, you
can get a feel if your results indicate problems. I'm
surprised how often I find bad DNS servers. It's one of
the major factors in Internet performance for the user.
pointing fingers at each other, while you try to figure out
what's really going on. DNSstuff.com is packed full of tools
that can help you decide where the blame should be
targeted. It's not real intuitive, but with a little playing
around and researching your results on the web, you
can get a feel if your results indicate problems. I'm
surprised how often I find bad DNS servers. It's one of
the major factors in Internet performance for the user.
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Good free disk data destroyer
Any time you give a computer to charity or dispose of it in any way
for that matter, you need to wipe the hard disk(s). The best free software for this pupose that I have found is Killdisk.
I couldn't explain any better than they do at the killdir.com website:
"This is security software for unrecoverable data elimination for any computer capable of booting in DOS mode from floppy drive. It uses access to the drive’s data on a physical level via BIOS bypassing logical drive structure organization, thus it does not matter what operating systems and file systems located on the machine.
It can work with DOS, Windows 95 / 98, Windows NT / 2000 / XP / XP Professional x64 / XP Home x64/ 2003 Server x64, Linux, Unix for PC."
Do I need to mention that you need to be very, VERY, VERY sure you have all the data you need off of the drive, first?
for that matter, you need to wipe the hard disk(s). The best free software for this pupose that I have found is Killdisk.
I couldn't explain any better than they do at the killdir.com website:
"This is security software for unrecoverable data elimination for any computer capable of booting in DOS mode from floppy drive. It uses access to the drive’s data on a physical level via BIOS bypassing logical drive structure organization, thus it does not matter what operating systems and file systems located on the machine.
It can work with DOS, Windows 95 / 98, Windows NT / 2000 / XP / XP Professional x64 / XP Home x64/ 2003 Server x64, Linux, Unix for PC."
Do I need to mention that you need to be very, VERY, VERY sure you have all the data you need off of the drive, first?
New Palm phone expected soon
There is a new Palm OS based Palm GSM phone in testing on the Cingular system as I write. Rumored to be in RC1 (release candiadate 1) stage, it is expected sometime in October. With a form factor similar to the Palm Treo 750v it is designed as a low end smart phone option.
The Palm Treo 680 AKA "Nitro"...
Runs Palm OS 5.49106 (Garnet)
GSM Compatible
SD Card, slot on the right of the device
No external antenna (like the 700w/wx)
64 MB RAM
Keyboard layout similar to the Treo 700p
1200 mAH battery (compared to Treo 650's 1800 mAH)
VGA (640 x 480 resolution) camera
No infrared
No high-speed (3G) connectivity
Could be a good alternative for those who don't do a lot of data transfer, and have no need for infrared transfer. The 64MB RAM is a plus.
The Palm Treo 680 AKA "Nitro"...
Runs Palm OS 5.49106 (Garnet)
GSM Compatible
SD Card, slot on the right of the device
No external antenna (like the 700w/wx)
64 MB RAM
Keyboard layout similar to the Treo 700p
1200 mAH battery (compared to Treo 650's 1800 mAH)
VGA (640 x 480 resolution) camera
No infrared
No high-speed (3G) connectivity
Could be a good alternative for those who don't do a lot of data transfer, and have no need for infrared transfer. The 64MB RAM is a plus.
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
New Opera 9.02, best browser on the 'net
I've been a fan of Opera for some time now. It includes a very good email client
that doesn't get much press, a built in BitTorrent client, Widgets and
the now ubiquitous tabbed browsing.
The best feature is it's speed.
I love it! You will too.
http://www.opera.com/products/desktop/
that doesn't get much press, a built in BitTorrent client, Widgets and
the now ubiquitous tabbed browsing.
The best feature is it's speed.
I love it! You will too.
http://www.opera.com/products/desktop/
More than a viewer...
Irfanview is one of my favorite graphics management programs. Most know it's
a great viewer, but it's also a fantastic converter, batch processor of multiple files, image file optimizer and more.
It must be in your software toolbox if you ever do anything with images!
Get it here!
http://www.irfanview.com/
a great viewer, but it's also a fantastic converter, batch processor of multiple files, image file optimizer and more.
It must be in your software toolbox if you ever do anything with images!
Get it here!
http://www.irfanview.com/
Monday, September 25, 2006
Apple's confiscation of language
Apple has sent several "cease and desist" letters to those who use the word "pod" in various product and service names.
Companies often have an aggressive stance against trademark and patent infingement to protect future defense. However I beleive this is an action that will backfire on Apple.
They did not trademark pod, they trademarked iPod. They will have a hard time proving consumer
confusion and weakening of thier brand when the products and services using pod in their name are totally different than Apples MP3 player. Pod has so many other meanings that can be the root of the selection of pod as a source for products and services. For example: a jet engine pod, a pea pod, a pod of whales, and ad pod on TV or radio.
It's awfully arrogant of Apple to believe that it is THE source of the word pod, and THE reason that companies select that word as part of a product or service name.
Who's next, the Washington Apple Growers Association?
Well, that's all for now in the DavePOD, live from the ComputerTalk with Dave Mason BroadPOD.
Companies often have an aggressive stance against trademark and patent infingement to protect future defense. However I beleive this is an action that will backfire on Apple.
They did not trademark pod, they trademarked iPod. They will have a hard time proving consumer
confusion and weakening of thier brand when the products and services using pod in their name are totally different than Apples MP3 player. Pod has so many other meanings that can be the root of the selection of pod as a source for products and services. For example: a jet engine pod, a pea pod, a pod of whales, and ad pod on TV or radio.
It's awfully arrogant of Apple to believe that it is THE source of the word pod, and THE reason that companies select that word as part of a product or service name.
Who's next, the Washington Apple Growers Association?
Well, that's all for now in the DavePOD, live from the ComputerTalk with Dave Mason BroadPOD.
Laptop combustion spreading
Turns out Dell and Apple are not the only laptop companies victimized by Sony's lapse in quality control in manufacturing laptop batteries. In LAX a couple of weeks ago, a Lenovo laptop overheated and smoked.
Since LAX is a non-smoking area, the laptop was arrested and fined. It is due to appear in Los Angeles County Court to answer these charges later this month.
Many have thought that Dell and Apple's charging systems may have contributed to their problems, since no other laptop manufacturers seemed to experience the same problem. This new occurance with another brand may indicate that the problem is solely the Sony battery.
Lenovo and Sony are both cooperating in investigating the cause of the incident. Another recall may be coming...
Since LAX is a non-smoking area, the laptop was arrested and fined. It is due to appear in Los Angeles County Court to answer these charges later this month.
Many have thought that Dell and Apple's charging systems may have contributed to their problems, since no other laptop manufacturers seemed to experience the same problem. This new occurance with another brand may indicate that the problem is solely the Sony battery.
Lenovo and Sony are both cooperating in investigating the cause of the incident. Another recall may be coming...
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