Windows Issues
General
-
WinME tops out at 512 MB, MacSlash, 11/26. Macs and the Mac OS have
supported a full gig of RAM since at least 1995.
- Going Wintel, Week 2, Steve Wood, View
From the Classroom, 4/3. "It only helps a little that the computers I'm
using are Macintoshes with Orange Micro PC cards in them."
- Going Wintel - for a month, Steve Wood,
View from the Classroom, 3/29. Once a year he has to use Windows. Good
thing it's only once a year.
- Windows
is dead, says columnist, Charles Moore, Applelink, 11/18.
"...Microsoft has tried so hard to make Windows 2000 make your life
easier, that it has succeeded only in complicating things."
- Reassessment, Eric DeStafano,
Mac Metamorphosis, 11/18. "The Windows platform is dead, and Windows
2000 is going to be the final nail in the coffin."
-
Why Microsoft really does suck, Salon, 11/15. "I got a fresh view
of why Microsoft bugs me a couple of days ago, after I bought a new
laptop."
-
Operating systems rated, deja.com. Mac OS 9 currently #1, OS 8 at
#3, and Windows way down the list.
-
The Rare Glitch Project: Searching for a stable version of Windows,
CNN, 11/3.
- The Beginning of the End, Eric
DeStefano, Mac Metamorphosis, 9/27. What happens when a PC user has to
support a Mac? In this case, he gets hooked.
-
Scientist finds "back door" in Windows, CBS MarketWatch, 9/3. Two
"signing keys" in Microsoft allow full access to supposedly secure
machines.
- Microsoft says
security speculation "inaccurate and unfounded," PRNewswire, 9/3.
Microsoft admits presence of key, denies sharing it with NSA.
- Microsoft
bites it on 64-bit microprocessors, Slashdot, 8/26. Seems Microsoft
can't get Windows working on either the 64-bit Alpha or Intel's
forthcoming 64-bit Merced CPU.
- Throw away
Windows? When (and whether) to switch to Linux, Jesse Berst, ZDNet,
8/11. "Why am I finally endorsing Linux as a business solution?"
- Apple
ranked number one brand in education study, MacCentral, 7/12.
- My First Mac: Avoiding Wintel
Nightmares, Alexander Stuart Robinson, 7/12. "When my Mac crashes,
a quick restart sorts out the problem - but crash a Wintel PC, and you
end up messing with config.sys files and command.com."
-
Have I told you lately that I hate Windows, Stewart Alsop, Fortune.
"Microsoft's operating system is what has led to our loss of control
over computing."
- Reinstalling
Windows, a whole new reason to hate your life, Computer Currents.
"Windows is a fertile, life-sustaining environment. Bugs multiply
there."
-
Mentality of the OS upgrade, osOpinion. "If you greet crashes with
resignation, then Windows is most suited to your temperament."
- Mac OS and
Windows Evolution, MacKiDo, 5/25. "People noticed Microsoft changes
because they were inconsistent and dramatic - but the goal of good
interface is consistency and nice smooth (subtle) evolution."
- Primary,
secondary, slave: It does make a difference, Jerry Pournelle,
Byte.com, 5/24. The kind of Wintel nightmare stories only Jerry
Pournelle can write.
- The
trouble with Windows, FamilyPC
-
Windows -- and bugs - everywhere, Cathryn Baskin, PC World
- Windows licensing fees, Charles W. Moore, MacTimes
- The
big Windows lie, Scott Kelby, Mac OS Rumors
Windows NT 4.0, 2000
- "Hidden"
licensing fees could cost Windows 2000 buyers plenty, Applelinks,
2/18. Up to $190 additional for "client access fees" which are
required for Win2K users who need to access Win2K servers. (more
on Cnet)
- How
many bugs?, John Farr, Applelinks, 2/11. Win2K has 63,000 known
bugs.
- Windows
2000 virus detected, Cnet, 1/13. "Windows 2000 won't come out for
another month, but anti-virus software makers say they've found the
first virus...."
- Memory
makers salivate over Win2000, The Register. Microsoft recommending
128 MB minimum for bloated OS.
- German Win2K
bug: Scientology, Wired, 12/21. "For years, German officials . . .
have pursued what they see as consitutional threats posed by the Church
of Scientology." (More on Scientology)
- Microsoft
web site hacked, ABC News, 10/26. "All the sites [hacked by flipz]
were running on Microsoft Windows NT software...."
-
Microsoft sets date for Windows 2000, Infoworld, 10/26. First fully
Y2K compliant version of Windows NT promised for February 17,
2000.
- Microsoft
Windows 2000 beta 3, PC Magazine. "...the folks at Microsoft seem
to have put a lot of effort into improving both reliability and
security."
- Microsoft
downplays Win2K scalability, TechWeb, 10/15. "Microsoft had
previously promised that Windows 2000 would be as scalable as its Unix
rivals."
- Army
web site more secure, ArmyLINK News, 9/9 [MacFixIt]. U.S. Army switches from
Windows NT to Mac OS web server.
- Windows
2000 adoption to cost a pretty penny, Infoworld, 9/9. "According to
the Gartner Group's numbers, it will cost between $1,250 and $2,050 per
desktop to migrate from Windows NT Workstation 4.0 to Windows 2000
Professional. The cost of moving from Windows 9x to Windows 2000 will
be even higher, according to the report - between $2,015 and $3,100 per
PC."
-
Computer labs out of order, classes stopped, Metropolitan State
College of Denver [MacCentral]. Switching PCs to
Windows NT shut down 12 computer labs, leaving Macs the only working
computers.
- Microsoft
fixes major email security breach, Yahoo/Reuters, 8/31. Moving 50
million Hotmail accounts to Windows NT probably wasn't a good
idea.
- Hotmail
hackers: "We did it," Wired, 8/30. "...we want to show the world
how bad the security on Microsoft really is...."
- Huge
Hotmail security flaw reported, ZDNet, 8/30. Probably the biggest
email security breach ever.
- Microsoft admits
NT has serious security flaws, TechWeb, 8/26. "Microsoft has
acknowledged a serious security flaw in NT when used with Service Pack
4 - probably the most commonly deployed version of its operating
system."
- Microsoft
bites it on 64-bit microprocessors, Slashdot, 8/26. Seems Microsoft
can't get Windows working on either the 64-bit Alpha or Intel's
forthcoming 64-bit Merced CPU.
- Throw away
Windows? When (and whether) to switch to Linux, Jesse Berst, ZDNet,
8/11. "Why am I finally endorsing Linux as a business solution?"
-
Microsoft's Win2K "crack this!" challenge stopped when server
crashes, Mac Observer, 8/5. "...the attempt has clearly not shored
up Microsoft's web server reliability image."
- Microsoft
to hackers: Crack this!, ZDNet, 8/4. More ironic than Bill Gates'
blue screen of death demo, the Win2K server crashed before hackers
could even attempt to crack it.
- Coming
soon: Back Orifice 2000, Wired News, 6/30. "This will demonstrate
that Microsoft's operating systems are completely insecure and a bad
choice for consumers and businesses who demand privacy."
- Why Windows
2000 is already a failure, ZDNet, 6/22. "It is too much for
consumers. And too little for mission-critical business
environments."
- What
Windows users will put up with, Bryan Chaffin, Mac Observer, 6/18.
"What has stunned and amazed me time and again are the things that
[even experienced] Windows users will put up with."
- Firm
exposes WinNT security hole, ZDNet, 6/16. "Nearly every Windows
NT-based Web server on the Internet is vulnerable to a newly discovered
security hole...."
-
Windows 98 SE, the phantom upgrade, Salon, 6/11. "...this version
of Windows wasn't supposed to exist at all."
- At
last, Microsoft reveals Win2000 date, TechWeb, 6/9. Pencil in
October 6, 1999.
- Quad Xeon processors running NT are a weak value proposition, Linux
Today, 5/6. "...poor options for upgrades make it a dead end
system."
- Springtime
is here, and so are all the bugs, Internet Week, 5/3. "Considering
that lack of stability is one of NT's most notorious problems as a
serious enterprise server platform, you'd think Redmond would be
putting more effort into changing that perception."
- U.S.
Navy does Windows, Applelinks, 4/29. "Using Windows NT, which is
known to have some failure modes, on a warship is similar to hoping
that luck will be in our favor."
- Microsoft
is not done: Gratuitous API changes can be hazardous to your
program, Byte.com. "Microsoft can afford to sacrifice the
reliability of its OS, where it has little competition, in order to
expand its share of the applications market, where it does face
competition."
- Ready
or not, Windows 2000 on its way, ZDNet, 4/12. "Microsoft's latest
tactic: Ship the beta as if it were finished code."
- How big is
Windows 2000?, Windows Magazine. "...I can't help thinking that a
system that requires over 350 MB for the system disk files is bound to
be more complicated--and less reliable--than one requiring 173MB. And I
don't know too many people who were satisfied with NT 4.0's
reliability."
- Why
consumer Windows NT will never happen, ZDNet, 2/4
- Windows 2000
slips again, ZDNet, 1/18
- Windows NT 5.0: vaporware of the year, MacTimes, 12/30
- Microsoft
renames unreleased Windows NT 5.0 as Windows 2000, ZDNet. Promising
1999 delivery, Win2000 will be available in separate Server,
Professional (single user), and Advanced Server versions.
- Gartner
Group cautions users against Windows NT, Internet Week
- Windows NT Server
problems with Mac clients, MacWindows
- G3 servers,
NT killers, selling fast, MacCentral
- Secrets in the war against Windows NT, MacOS Daily
-
Microsoft NT 5.0 beta 2: not ready for prime time, ZDNN
Windows 95/98/Me
-
WinME tops out at 512 MB, MacSlash, 11/26. Macs and the Mac OS have
supported a full gig of RAM since at least 1995.
- What's
up with Win98 Second Edition?, Fred Langa, Windows Magazine
[Slashdot]. Langa lists seven
variations (and they're not all the same): OEM, full retail version,
upgrade from 3.1 or95, upgrade from Win98....
- Windows 95
remains most popular operating system, Cnet, 7/20. "Despite the
hoopla and expectations that accompanied the launch of the Windows 98
operating system, research shows that its predecessor remains the
popular choice."
- Another
Win98 bug, Microsoft, 6/23. System File Checker may restore wrong
cabinet file, making system unbootable.
- One
more Windows 98, Jerry Pournelle, Byte.com, 5/10. "You will recall
a few years ago, Microsoft announced Win 2000 would take the place of
both Win NT for offices and servers, and of Win 98 for consumers."
- Windows 98 SE
(second edition) released to PC makers, Cnet, 5/5. "Microsoft has
been criticized in some circles for charging users for what is
essentially an OS update, especially as it is a departure from past
practices."
- Windows 95 Y2K
fix kept from users, Computerworld, 5/3 (thanks, Slashdot). "For almost a year, Microsoft
Corp. withheld from its 125 million corporate users of Windows 95 the
information that a software patch was in the works to make the desktop
operating system fully year 2000-compliant...."
- New
Windows 95/98 email virus, boa.exe, ZDNet, 4/9. "It's nowhere near
as annoying - or potentially damaging - as the Melissa virus...."
- Microsoft preparing Y2K update for Window 95, PC Week, 4/1. Patch
will let Win95 properly display dates from 2000 to 2034.
-
Reaction to 49.7-day Windows 95/98 glitch, Cnet, 3/3
- Microsoft
to patch privacy peephole this summer, Wired News, 3/7
- Windows
98 needs update for Y2K compliance, Microsoft TechNet
- Windows 98 can't
recognize Pentium III, Cnet, 2/10
- Win98
has "minor" Y2K problems, Cnet, 12/7
- 95 days
with Windows 95, Family PC - half the test group gave up on Win95
during testing period.
- Cheap
(sub-$1K) PCs are no bargain, CNNfn
-
Windows is a grief-causing kludge, PC Computing
-
Windows 98 1/1/2000 date bug, Reuters
- Windows
98 suffering from its rush to market, San Jose Mercury News
-
Win98: users complain - early and often, ZDNet
- Jesse's Win98
Service Pack, ZDNet AnchorDesk
Windows 3.1
