Microsoft vs. Google (vs. Apple)

This is certainly shaping up to be an epic battle of major proportion and of having grave (or great) consequences for the end user, namely you and me.  On one side, you have Google, the advertising and search titan of the internet.  The other side, you have Microsoft, the software giant who has given us the operating systems in which the majority of all people, on this great planet, are utilizing for their computer and web interactions.  For the most part, the two of them have been pretty content to leave the other alone.  But in these changing times, like a lot of things, this distant relationship between the two is changing.  For better or worse, it appears that the two technology “Gods” are now butting heads.

Let’s start with Microsoft.  Their web browser, Internet Explorer, has been winning the lion’s share of the browsing market for, what seems like, forever.  Between all the different iterations of their browser, they have been eating up almost 70% of all browser use.  It is true that their current version (IE8) is not gaining, in fact it is losing to other browsers, like Firefox, and Safari.  Well, in steps Google.  Seeing a vulnerability, Google launches a new browser…..Google Chrome.  This browser is innovative, and quite frankly, kicks Internet Explorers “nether areas”.  Chrome has revolutionized the way tabbed browsing is supposed to work.  It’s tabs are created in a way so that if one crashes, it will not bring down the entire browser, but only the tab that has crashed.  Along with that, Google Chrome’s JavaScript rendering engine is second to none, making it the fastest browser on the web.  It also incorporated a cool feature in which the “Search Bar” and the “URL Bar” are combined into one field.  Meaning Chrome will distinguish whether you are typing a general search or a specific URL all within the same field. So who has won the battle between Google and Microsoft in the terms of browsers…….I give this one to Google.  Don’t count MS out though, as they know there is a problem……look for “Gazelle” in 2010.

Windows has dominated the Operating System market for as long as I can remember.  Now, in it’s early stages, it was a really difficult thing to make work.  Windows 95 was problematic at best.  Win98 was better, but not great.  Windows 2000 was, by far, their best OS of the time.  Then came Windows ME, this was kind of a push to get XP released and Microsoft seems to have just thrown something out there, so as to get a new release.  It was a disaster, probably the worst release they ever made.  Then came XP, even with all it’s shortcomings, it was not a bad OS.  Notice I said “was” as, although a lot of people are still using it, is really now obsolete.  So, five years later came the new shining star….Vista!!!  Well we all know what happened there.  No driver support, installation problems, and crashing.  Two years later, Microsoft finally got all of the bugs worked out, but at what cost.  Vista had gotten such a bad rep, that no one wants to use it.  People were sticking with XP.  Now Vista turned out to be a “Not So Bad” operating system once everything was said and done.  My only issue with it is the amount of resources that it needs, the thing is a hog.  Up and coming is Windows 7, and I have been running this on my Mac, and it really seems pretty clean.  Granted I have not really checked driver support for this release, but the reviews have been pretty good.  In fact, I have heard reviews, that have stated, that this is “The Best” version that Microsoft has ever released.  OK, so how does Google fit into all of this.  Well, Google entered the OS market with it’s release of their Android OS.  This is a very light OS that is meant to run on small devices like Smart Phones and Netbooks.  Currently, the reviews have been good but it seems like the hardware is holding it back.  Battery power, on the G1, is terrible and is only available through T-Mobile which also may also be holding it back.  But, even more important than that, is Google’s announcement of their new browser based OS which has no release date as of now.  This new system is named Chrome OS, based on that it will boot directly to the browser.  All though I have not seen this, it appears that Google is aiming this OS as a web based operation and not activities that are run natively on the computer. This means to me, that Google is aiming this new OS towards the “Cloud”.  If you are not familiar with “Cloud Computing”, check out my post HERE.  So, who wins the Operating System segment…….Microsoft still has a huge advantage!!!

Now we just talked about “Cloud” computing, and this may be the future.  In fact Microsoft has seen this.  Google has had “Google Docs” available, for free, for quite a while now.  What is Google Docs?   Google Docs is a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation, and form creator software suite that is, on the “Cloud”, for free.  And based on personal use, is actually very good.  You can open any Microsoft Word, Excel, or Powerpoint file and edit, save, and share these documents.  You can also create new documents, from scratch, and save them to your computer, which can be opened and updated at a later date.   It is a free office suite.  Now Microsoft seems to have been avoiding this but the popularity of Google Documents is growing.  So how will Microsoft respond…..they already have!!!  Microsoft has announced that they will have a version of Office 2010, including Word, Excel, and Powerpoint, which will be available on the cloud.  Will it be free remains to be seen, but if they are going to do this, it better be.  So, as far as the “Cloud” goes, who is winning…….Google has a wide margin, however watch to see what Microsoft does in the near future as this gap may narrow.

So how does Apple fit into this mix.  Well, they really do not fit into this mix at all.  True, they have launched iWorks, which is an Office Suite that is available on the “Cloud”, but it is not free and is buggy.  Apple relies on innovation.  Their Macintosh computers are the envy of almost every PC user, well at least those that know the difference.  The iPod player revolutionized the way that we listen to media, whether it be music, movies, podcasts, etc.  The iPhone has changed the way that we get this media…..not only is it a phone, but it is also a small hand-held computer.  Their design has been copied and manipulated by companies like RIM (Blackberry), Palm (Pre), and just about every other cell phone manufacturer.  Yes, I know it is true that Apple did not create the first “Smart Device” as Palm did that with the Pilot, but Apple made it work and advanced it’s technology to the pinnacle that it is at today.

So who will win this battle.  Certainly not Apple, although if they come out with the Tablet Computer, that all the “seers” are saying is going to be the next new thing from Apple, may be another new innovation that will change the way we do computing.  But that aside, I have always said that Google has the resources to give Microsoft a run for it’s money.  Up until now, it seems that Google is content to sit and do what they do best…..advertising.  However, with the new innovations that Google is implementing and their commitment to “Cloud” computing, they seem to be forcing Microsoft into the game.  At this place in time, Microsoft is still on the top of hill….overall, but here is my advice to you Microsoft, do not let your gloves down, Google is invading your territory and is coming. No only that, Google brings a different look that Microsoft does not have!!!!!

What do you think????

Wicked Cool Site #11

Ever wished that you could easily edit a screen shot, or just easily take a screen shot of the web page that you are viewing? Well this website will do both.  Aviary.com is a site in which you can open up a screen shot of any web page, make changes such as adding text, borders, adding arrows, and a myriad of other options.  By clicking on the Advanced Editing settings, you can do things that only downloaded photo editors could accomplish.  In order to take a screen shot of the web page you are viewing so that you can edit it, all you need to do is type “Aviary.com/” (no quotes) in front of any URL and it will upload the image to their site so that you can make edits.  The following screen shot was made simply by typing “aviary.com/http://www.google.com” (again, no quotes) into the URL bar.  Aviary then uploaded the image and I made a few simple changes to show what it can do.

Another way to use Aviary.com is to visit their website.  Once there, you can upload your own images and make edits to them.  If you create a free User Account, Aviary can become a little social networking site, as you can create a profile, share images that you have created, and view other images created by other users. Some of the work is really pretty cool.  If nothing else, Aviary.com is a fun place to spend a little time and play around.

You can visit Aviary by clicking HERE

Internet Explorer…..oops, We did it again!!!!

Microsoft has just announced a hole in it’s Internet Explorer browser.  This is a “Zero Day” exploit which means that Microsoft discovered this hole after it had already been effecting computers in the “Wild”.  Microsoft deems this exploit as being “critical”.  This is a Video Active X exploit which would enable a hacker to take complete control of your computer simply by having you visit a malicious website or a legitimate website that has been compromised.  Microsoft has stated that  “An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could gain the same user rights as the local user. When using Internet Explorer, code execution is remote and may not require any user intervention,”  The weird thing about this is that this Active X control that has been left over from past versions of IE is of absolutely no use.  Even Microsoft admits that it has no reason why this file is even there as there is no current application that would need it.  Now to Microsoft’s credit, they have released this notice, which is out of character for them, and a leftover .dll file is something that could easily happen, due to the tremendous amount of these libraries that “litter” windows. Even though Microsoft is aware of this exploit, it is doubtful that a fix will be available anytime soon, almost certainly it will not be available on “Patch Tuesday”, July 14th.  However, I would keep my eyes open for an out of sequence update to Windows to come later in the month.

Now Microsoft claims that this exploit only effects their Windows XP and Server 2003 systems, however being that this Active X application does absolutely nothing, it is probably prudent to disable it even if you are using Vista or the Windows 7 RC.  Read on to find out how.

Symantec has also said that it only effects IE6 and IE7.  Meaning, according to them, you are safe if you are using IE8.  I don’t know if I believe that though as this Active X is still in IE8 and you would think that the vulnerability could be exploited.

To read Microsoft’s Security Advisor (972890) you can click HERE……

Now one thing nice that Microsoft has done which enable user’s to easily fix problems that are discovered in Windows is their “Fix It” buttons on their “Help and Support” pages.  All you need to do is click HERE to go to their “Help and Support” page and click on the “Enable Workaround” option to disable this Active X.

In my humble opinion, the easiest way not to subject yourself to this exploit is to simply use a more secure browser.  I recommend Firefox and you can download it for free HERE.  It is faster, and as I stated is more secure than Internet Explorer.  Really, the only reason that you should need IE is to get Windows Updates. The masses are starting to realize this as Firefox is fast gaining market share on Internet Explorer.  Click HERE to see browser stats.

Capitol v. Thomas

This is an issue in which the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has been hoping would happen for a real long time.  However, after all of the hoopla, it appears that this whole thing may be backfiring in their face.  The recording industry has had a long going paranoia about stealing music, thus the DRM (Digital Rights Management) that had been poisoning our recordings for a long time.  DRM is nothing more than copy protection, but quite frankly, the only people who get hurt are the ones who are legally downloading and PAYING for their music.  People who are “pirating” music can by-pass the copy protection almost as fast as they release.  Apple has had on going “discussions” about removing the DRM from music that is downloaded from iTunes.  Finally, the recording industry ceded and allowed Apple to sell music from iTunes without DRM, but Apple had to concede something too, thus the tri-leveled pricing structure now found on iTunes.  Frankly, I will gladly pay a few more cents for songs without the copy protection.

Now enters Jammie Thomas, a Native American single mother of 4 children from Brainerd, Minnesota. Thomas was visiting the popular sharing site Kazaa and downloaded 24 songs illegally from the site. In steps the RIAA and decides to sue Jammie for copy protection infringement.  Normally in cases such as this, most people concede to the RIAA and settle out of court by paying a few thousand dollars, but Thomas decided to fight this.  Well, the case did not go too well for her as the court ruled her of being guilty and fined her an astounding amount of $222,000 in infringement penalties.  Well, things changed when the judge ruled that he had been misinformed about whether the law read that merely “making available” evidence that constituted guilt or whether the actual data would have to be presented.  Thomas had surrendered her hard drive which contained no evidence of Kazaa or the music files in question.  The judge had informed the jury that the actual files did not need to be presented as evidence.  Because of this misinformation the judge proclaimed a mistrial and the process started all over.  Thomas probably felt that things were going her way at this point.  Well, along came the retrial with a new jury, well guess what? They found her guilty again, but this time ruled that she should pay damages to the tune (forgive the pun) of $80,000………PER SONG or $1.92 million dollars.  This may sound like a victory for the RIAA, but as it turns out, it is fast becoming egg on their face.  First of all, Jammie Thomas, remember she is a single mother of 4, is never going to be able to pay the ridiculous amount.  The recording industry knows this as they have been trying to negotiate a settlement, but to date, Thomas is not interested. I think the artists whose songs were illegally downloaded have got to be embarassed by this publicity.  Now let me make something clear, the suit was filed not by the artists, not by the recording studios who make the recordings, but by the distribution company that delivers the CD’s to the stores from which they are purchased. They are so afraid of “sharing” music as they have not been able to keep up with the newer technologies and are cornered, so instead of concentrating on the real “pirates”, they go after the Thomas’ of the world.

Now all this being said, Jammie Thomas was definitely sharing copy protected music on her computer, which is something that I do not condone.  However, $1.92 million for 24 songs seems a little much.  How about a slap on the wrist, let’s not make an example here.  After all, haven’t we all used Limewire, Kazaa, Poisoned, and other torrent sites at some point or another.  The warning that I am giving here is that the RIAA is not going after people who download the music, but instead concentrating on people who are redistributing it.  Anyone who knows anything about these sights is that you are doing this automatically when you download music from them.  These files go into a special folder and are then available to anyone who wants to download it from you and many others who share the same file……this is how Bit Torrents work.  Unless you tell the sight that you do not want to share your files with others, it is done automatically.  This is where you can get yourself into trouble, just like Thomas.  Whether or not she was willingly distributing the songs to other people is not the issue here.  She is small time, just like you and me would be.  My warning……beware of Sharing and Bit Torrent sites, like Limewire and Kazaa as aside from the risks of also downloading malware with your music, you also could face the risk of receiving the dreaded letter from the attorney’s of the RIAA.

What are your thoughts?????  Comments???

Anti-virus Scan Scam

This may be old news to some of us, but recently I have come across numerous Windows computers that have fallen victim to this scam.  A pop-up appears on your computer, looking very official stating that your computer is infected with malware.  Now this sight will look very official, it may have the Windows insignia, it may look like Norton 360, or a myriad of other looks.  Well, this is a complete scam, it will tell you to to use their online scanner to clean your computer.  Looking very official, naturally you click on it.  Now low and behold, the scan finds numerous infections on your computer and offers to clean them for you, for the bargain basement price of around $49.95.  This is bogus, it does nothing.  First off, let me make one thing clear…. There is no website out there that can tell whether your computer is infected. So any pop-up that you get from a web site is bogus.  Do not get confused with pop-ups from the anti-virus software that you have installed locally on your computer, as those are different.  This scam is known as Antivirus 2008, and is a serious threat.  Many people are paying for this and getting nothing.  And if that is not bad enough, this scanner is malware itself, and can hold computers hostage.  This pop-up will become relentless until you pay them, it will shut down current AV’s and anti-malware software on your computer so that it cannot be detected.  It can also terminate any kind of downloads that you may attempt in order to get rid of it.

Fortunately back in October 2008, Microsoft issued a fix for this hole with it’s update to the Malicious Software Removal Tool (MSRT).  Unfortunately though, many people do not install Windows updates regularly and cannot get rid of this worm.  Now, even though many people do get their Windows updates on a regular basis, running the MSRT is a riddle in itself…….Thank-you Microsoft.  You may have the tool, but have no idea how to use it.  Well it is actually very easy.  This holds true for both XP and Vista.  Go the the Run dialog box and type “msrt” (without the quotes)……..oops, that’s not right (thanks again Microsoft).  It is not “msrt” but only “mrt”.  So click Start>Run and type “mrt” (no quotes)  in the open dialog box, then press Enter, and that will launch the tool.

Another effective way to get rid of this annoyance is a software named Malwarebytes (aptly named….don’t you think?).  It can be found HERE and is free.  Download, install, update the definitions, and scan your whole computer.   It is easy to use and understand.  It is not limited to picking up this malicious entity either, as it will help with other infestations that you may have too.  I highly recommend this software.

Hopefully you have not fallen victim to this scam, as many have, but running the above software will repair and get rid of that annoying pop-up.

Good Luck!!!!

Downadup

Here is a case in point as to why it is so important to make sure that the software on your computer is updated regularly.  Remember Sasser…..Melissa…..well now we have another one, Downadup (aka Conficker) and this one has the potential of being much worse.  Already, as many as 9 million computers have been infected, mostly in Europe, the U.S. and Asia.  So far, the worm has not done any damage, but it kind of makes me wonder as to whether this is a ticking bomb.

According to Mikko Hypponen of the security software company F-Secure, on Tuesday 2.5 million computers were infected, on Wednesday 3.5 million and today Friday 1/23, there are 8 million infected and it is not slowing down.  Panda Security estimates that 1 in 16 computers may already be infected and fear that it may go as high as 1 in 3 computers.  Most of the infected computers are on corporate networks, and not personal home computers. The scary thing according to Hypponen, is the “phone home” design of this worm. This leads me to believe that it has a more sinister agenda, just waiting to be implemented.

How do I catch the Worm?  This one is not spread by traditional venues, like email or the web.  Rather it is caught when infected computers or external memory devices (like flash drives) are plugged into a network.  Then, according to Microsoft, it will embed the worm in an executable file called ‘”services.exe”.  Eventually, it will be able to “phone home” and download files from the hacker’s site.

How do I get rid of it?  Fortunately, this is one that can be fixed.  First off, the best offense is a good defense.  Make sure you get all of your Windows updates.  You can check by going to http://www.update.microsoft.com. You need to make sure you have update MS08-067 and KB958687 especially.  Remember, you have to use IE 5 or better in order to get updates, you cannot get them using Firefox, Safari, or any other browser.  You can also go to F-Secure and download a free scan for this virus.  The scan is still in beta, so make sure you read the included text (.txt) file in order to decide whether you want to scan with it.  I scanned and had no issues.  The installation of MS’s Malicious Software Removal Tool, which has also been updated to scan and clean Conficker, is highly recommended.

This is a bad one, so keep your eyes open, your firewalls up, your anti-malware, OS, and browsers updated and you should be fine.

Google Chrome

Update: The update is now available. However, it is not an automatic update.  In order to get any updates for Chrome, you need to click on the “Customize and Control Google Chrome” button.  This is the button to the far right that looks like a wrench. In the drag down, click on the “About Google Chrome” option.  Any available updates will display there. The newest version is currently Version 0.4.154.25.

Within the next couple of days, all of you who use Google Chrome Beta as a browser should be expecting an update.  Google is addressing a number of issues, one that involves privacy, which is always welcomed.  However, the one thing that they are updating, which in my opinion, is desperately needed, is in Chrome’s Bookmarking Manager. Chrome’s method of bookmarking is currently terrible.  According to Google, users will now be able to Create New Folders, Search Bookmarks, and Drag and Drop Bookmarks to different locations. Great News!!

Read the full article HERE….

I currently like to use Chrome as it is very fast, along with Firefox.  Which one is my favorite though??  I am still sticking with Firefox on my Windows machine and Safari and Firefox on my Mac.

Which brings up another question….When is a Mac version of Chrome going to be introduced?

Apparently work is underway, although a release date has not been set.  It seems like it is a ways off though.  The good news is that the wait may be worth it, as Google claims that Chrome for Mac will be even faster and more robust than the Windows version.  Good news for OS X users.

Click HERE to read the entire article…

However, how many of you are actually using Chrome.  Let’s find out in this new poll.