The perils of auto-patching

Friday, October 16th, 2009

I have a rackmounted server in a data center some 50 miles away from me in Huntingdon. It’s a lights-out operation, and I can’t remember the last time I visited the server in person. Everything just works through Terminal Services.

The server has been humming along quite happily for a number of years, which is why it’s running Server 2003 and Exchange 2003 – if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, sez I.

With such a remote server, you have a hard choice to make – do you set it to auto-update when Microsoft issues new patches, or do you bring them down to a local machine, check them out and then apply them yourself, preferably waiting a few days to see if others have problems?

Well, I would always advocate a managed patch implementation for a local network – it can dramatically reduce the download of updates to multiple identical machines, and gives you, the sysadmin, control over when updates are applied. This can be critically important to the business workflow, of course.
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The Microsoft Windows 7 party pack in pictures

Friday, October 9th, 2009

The sacrifices we make. You see, PC Pro went undercover and applied for one of the Microsoft Windows 7 party packs, as advertised in the unmissable video below.

We’re still undecided whether this is a parody or a serious ad; we’d love to believe the latter, but we’re starting to wonder if Microsoft has a sense of humour. Worrying.

Our undercover plan worked, however, and I can now reveal exactly what you get in the box…

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The shame of Microsoft’s Media Center EULA

Thursday, October 8th, 2009

For reasons too boring to relate, I just had to fire up a Windows Media Center installation on an HP touchscreen device – the one that comes with every bell and whistle, and is actually quite a nice box.

In going through the TV setup for a DVB-T TV tuner which is built into the device, you get to this glorious licence screen. There are a half-dozen lines of text in that box, and then sixty-nine, yes SIXTY-NINE pages to scroll through. It’s 67 pages if you maximise the window to full screen on this large, high-res display. (more…)

Can Microsoft Security Essentials beat Norton?

Tuesday, September 29th, 2009

What do Microsoft and Symantec have in common? The obvious answer is that both are offering a new security package. In Symantec’s case it’s Norton Internet Security 2010, which I looked at a few weeks back. Microsoft, meanwhile, is today due to release Security Essentials, its free replacement for OneCare, formerly codenamed Morro.

They’re also both companies dogged by the sins of products past. (more…)

Could people learn to love Microsoft once more?

Monday, September 14th, 2009

It wasn’t so long ago that Microsoft was generally considered a dirty word. Dare defend the company and the outpouring of scorn was enough to leave you wondering whose puppy you’d just shot.

To be fair, the software giant hadn’t done itself many favours. Its response to antitrust investigations stopped marginally short of certifiable paranoia, while Vista turned out to have all the charm of a broken bottle being waved at a bar fight. Office 2007 was brilliant, but conspicuously so among a product list that had come to represent the best cure for insomnia.

Microsoft seemed adrift, bereft of ideas or inspiration as its empire was systematically hacked to bits by Google, Apple and Mozilla. And yet, two years later and the company is once again the toast of the tech press. Windows 7 is good, but one product’s not enough to rescue an enormous company’s reputation. What on earth has happened? Is it really okay to like Microsoft again? (more…)

Windows 7 review: why PC Pro won’t be rushing its verdict

Tuesday, August 11th, 2009

I’ve already received a couple of emails from readers asking why PC Pro hasn’t produced a Windows 7 review now that the RTM is officially out – and the reason is simple. We don’t want to rush to a verdict we may later regret.

To a certain extent, I think this happened with Windows Vista. Back in the hazy days of late 2006, early 2007 we nailed our colours to the mast and the operating system earned a five-star review. If I’m honest, I think we were too forgiving of its foibles, as we were so used to the OS being a beta. (more…)

Why Microsoft doesn’t really care about the UK

Tuesday, August 4th, 2009

Here’s a theory, and I’ll admit it’s a wild one, but here goes: the left hasn’t got a clue what the right’s doing at Microsoft.

Here we are, four days after Microsoft first announced that it wouldn’t be selling the Internet Explorer-less Windows 7 E editions after all, and still the UK arm of the company can’t answer the most basic questions on the topic.

What version will people who pre-ordered the E editions receive? Will we now have upgrade versions in the UK? What about the Family Pack? All of these fundamental questions remain unanswered since Friday evening. (Update at 2.20pm: Microsoft has now confirmed some of these details – click here to read our report).

Why? Because (I suspect) the first Microsoft’s UK team knew of the decision to drop E editions was when they read it on the Microsoft blog, like the rest of us. Microsoft UK may have battalions of “product managers” holed up in Reading and its flashy offices in Victoria, but the company is run out of Redmond. Always has been, always will be.

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Microsoft Office 2010: Word 2010’s print dialog

Monday, August 3rd, 2009

I’ve already blogged today about the excellent new meeting request view in Outlook 2010, so I hope you’ll forgive a second Office 2010 entry for the day. However, I had to share this (note – to get a clearer picture, click on the screenshot):

There are a number of things I like about this dialog, which is what you’ll see if you press Ctrl + P or click File |Print, where File is the new-style Office icon that sits at the top-left of the Word window.

And prime among them is the automatic print preview feature. (more…)

The real reason Microsoft has given in over Internet Explorer

Monday, August 3rd, 2009

So why is Microsoft giving in over Internet Explorer? What’s the true motivation for the so-called browser ballot? It hasn’t been forced into the matter, although it could be argued that this was coming over the hill from the EU.

No, I think there is another reason, but this is pure speculation. I think Microsoft is actually walking away from Internet Explorer because it knows the battle is going to move elsewhere. It’s a kind of inversion, but the logic goes like this. (more…)

Microsoft Office Outlook 2010’s new meeting request view

Monday, August 3rd, 2009

Outlook 2010 is undoubtedly the most changed of all the Microsoft Office 2010 applications, benefiting from the much-heralded Ribbon interface. Although my first reaction on seeing it was slight shock, as you’re presented with a mass of options when often all you want to do is Reply or Delete, I’m already seeing advantages.

Primary among these, so far as I’m concerned, is the new meeting request view. Not so much in the organisation phase – there are no major innovations there – but in the view that’s presented to invited members. (more…)