Blag

Well, Windows 7 launched today, hopefully ending the embarrassing legacy of Windows Vista.

It’s going to be covered to death by the media, so I really can’t be bothered saying anything much – not like I’ll come up with any shockingly new ideas that several million other journalists and bloggers haven’t already thought of.

Apple didn’t quite manage to steal the limelight of the show, as some people predicted – Snow Leopard was launched quite a while ago, and there’s nothing radical in the new lineup of Mac hardware. Microsoft’s launch this time is meant to be low key, with more effort put into advertising over the coming months.

*awaits end of HSC, before buying a copy of Windows 7, 8GB of RAM and a new GPU*

What can I say? Microsoft managed to turn around their Vista reputation and create a product that everyone was interested in, then they blundered and hired the most clueless ad agency in the world.

*cringes*

*ears bleed and eyes shrivel up like prunes*

Really? OK, so Windows 7 Launch Parties is a kinda lame idea, but there’s enough geeky people around to pull it off, and there will be enough media coverage when Windows 7 is officially launched on October 22nd.

Quotes from Twitter include:

“What would compel someone to have a Windows 7 Launch/House Party?…seriously!”

“Got my life size cut out of a nude Bill Gates ready. Oh, I thought you said Windows 7 Raunch Party. Sorry.”

And joy of joys, there is also a dedicated Windows 7 Launch/House party website, so you can upload snaps of you and your friends nerding out over an install of Windows 7. Hosts also get a signature copy of Windows 7, and a party kit including branded napkins, streamers, posters and balloons.

If it makes you feel better, here is an alternate version of the Launch Party video…

$20 says that the 4 actors in the video have no fucking clue what they’re selling.

Oh me, oh my.

A break in the blag update drought.

Actually bothered to create a new post just for this.

Microsoft has been granted IP patent # 7536726 (filed in 2005) for technology used in the crippling of operating systems.

“making selected portions and functionality of the operating system unavailable to the user or by limiting the user’s ability to add software applications or device drivers to the computer’ until an ‘agreed upon sum of money’ is paid to ‘unlock or otherwise make available the restricted functionality”

Oh, when will the fun ever stop.

Meanwhile, Sophos has developed an Anti-Virus program for members of the Klingon Empire!

I’m not even going to bother trying to comprehend what type of shrooms they were smoking when their designers created this, but it’s damn good marketing regardless – it’s made headlines all over the interwebs.

And Microsoft opens the first patch Tuesday of 2009 with a critical SMB bug, which is predicted to leave a similar trail of destruction as the Sasser and Blaster worm. I’m surprised such a blatantly obvious (in hindsite) bug was undiscovered for over 10 years. In any case, anyone with even the most basic firewall is safe, but that leaves corporate networks screwed, as typically, they don’t have firewalls on individual workstations.

More: http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/article/272988/microsoft_patches_super_nasty_windows_bugs?fp=4&fpid=762453&eid=110

Edit: 8 million computers infected so far by the ‘Sleeper Virus”, according to CNN US anyway…  Alss there is a variant known as Downadup or Conficker [F-Secure]. It has the potential to create massive botnets, spewing out fake domains andmass infecting vulnerable web domains. So far, most infections tracked by researchers are coming from corporate networks, but due to NAT, each IP could represent 2 computers, or 2000. The worm dictionary attacks users computers, locking them out of Active Directory.

Time for all the frugal, miserly, el-cheapo diehards (damn, whats the name of that guy in the Christmas story?) to rejoice!

Cheap deals selection for the bored geek:

• $9 TP-Link 5dbi Wifi Antennas
• 50% off Scanpan cookware at Myer
• $79 Norton Internet Security 2009 @ Big W + Further $20 cash back!
• $96 Norton 360 v2.0
• $12 24x 375ml Crate of Coke/Diet Coke/Zero/Fanta/Sprite
• $12 250psi Air Compressor @ Big W and K-Mart
• $0.05 Pack of 5x 64 page exercise books at most stores
• 25% Cash back on Microsoft Hardware
• $11 8GB USB Flash Drives
• $20/30/40 cash back on Symantec software
• $7 Cadbury Chocolate Fondue Sets
• $17 50-pack AA batteries
• $29 Wireless-g USB Adaptors
• $22 Verbatim Spindle 50 DVD+R at Dick Smith Electronics
• 25% off TV Antennas at Dick Smith Electronics
• $29 Ex-demo printers
• $179 Western Digital Essentials 1TB External HDD USB2.0
• $0.89 32 pack Sparklers
• $40 Car (Auto) 12V to 240VAC Inverter 150W
• $39 DVD Player
• CD/DVDs from $2+ at JB Hifi
• $105 Billion 7402VGO ADSL2+ VPN Modem/Router at JMG Technology

Of course, there’s the usual boring stationery/clothing/furniture sales on as well.

Seems like a reincarnation of the Y2K bug has slipped into 2006 30GB model Zune media players. They all bricked themselves on December 31st 2008, but Microsoft reckons that their internal clock should reset and all will be fine within 24 hours, on the 1st January 2009.

Dodgy leap year handling code apparently…

More info:

http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=1784

http://blogs.zdnet.com/hardware/?p=3233

<begin rant>

Don’t get me wrong.

Firefox is my preferred browser. It’s customisable – skins, themes, dictionaries, plugins, it’s more stable that IE6 and IE7, it’s more secure and has much higher performance i.e. it loads much quicker, renders scripts faster can handle a plethora of open tabs and so on.

So when Firefox 3.0 came out, just like other Mozilla zealots around the world, I clamoured to get my hands on their latest masterpiece. And it was awesome. Switching tabs was noticeably snappier, memory usage was reduced significantly, it crashed less, the new add-ons manager was great, and the new URL bar was fantastic.

Months later…

Firefox 3.0.5 just came out.

And now I regret not being sentimental and staying with Firefox 2.0.20.

Sure, its now discontinued, but unlike Firefox 3.0.x, it doesn’t suck donkey balls and laaaag every time a page has flash content on it. It doesn’t get slower and sloower and slooower and sloooower as time goes by. And it doesn’t shit itself when you have multiple tabs and windows open. And the sideways tab scrolling isn’t cunted.  And so on, and so on.

Damn Firefox 3.0.x is annoying. Damn Firefox 3.0.x for being such an improvement in general over Firefox 2.0.xx.

:@

So what now?

Back to Micro$hit Winblows IE7 where it takes a full 13 seconds to open, and another 5 to realise that it needs to load the homepage? Or * shudder * Crapple Safari for Windows, the incumbent bloatware and swiss cheese of security? Maybe the niche user browser Opera? Perhaps any of the other hundred of other hackjob browsers, developed by their respective die-hard user base.

-.-

<end rant>