MacInSchool

Windows Issues

• General
• Windows NT/Windows 2000
• Windows 95/98/ME
• Windows 3.1

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 OrangeMicro 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

• Death of Windows 3.1, ZDNet, 2/3
• Win 3.1 first casualty of Y2K compliance, InfoWorld Electric