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About me

My posting summary

1 to 4 of 4

My comments

• Wow. The amount of ignorance in these comments is astounding.
  
  As a veteran in the IT industry who has serviced thousands of computers, and is licensed by Dell, HP, and Sony, let me chime in with some 0.02.
  
  OEM software is complete junk. All of it. Over several generations of PC lines across every major manufacturer, the OEM software has never been more than junk. You couldn't build a computer fast enough to handle all the crap that each OEM puts on their own machine.
  
  Dell tries to pander every one of their half-ass services through your brand new machine, and nag you constantly about how *tip-top* your computer is running, while their poorly written code eats up all your expensive, $80-a-stick Dell original memory. Their printers actually install trial photo software(Corel Snapfire) that hold your photos ransom in exchange for purchasing their software, or otherwise figure out how the uninstaller works. HP computers are literally like trial-software time bombs; half your software is ticking down to expiration while nagging you the entire way. After 30-60 days, your software begins to systematically turn against you, lock out your office documents(Microsoft Office Trial), and threaten your computer with virus infections(Norton Anti virus). Sony is the worst offender of all, installing upwards of 80, yes e-i-g-h-t-y meaningless programs onto your fresh computer, along with a sea of trial software. The funny part? They offered to sell their computers without the extra crapware, but it cost an extra 'fee' to do so.
  
  When the average Joe(or Jane) buys a new computer, and receives a crapware-infested machine, who do you think they blame for it? They blame Microsoft. Yes, that's right. The average person doesn't know anything about OEM bloatware or third party trial peroids; they simply bought a brand new Windows machine and it runs like crap. It might say Dell on the side of the case, but it will always say Windows when you login to your desktop, and that is what the average person pays attention to.
  
  When Microsoft released Windows Vista, their biggest mistake was the hardware requirements. Were the requirements too low for Vista by itself? No. But were the requirements too low for Vista *and* all the extra OEM crap added on top? Hell yes, and the average consumer doesn't know the difference.
  
  The reason why Macs have such a great image, is because Apple has control over the entire user experience. Third-party developers have to follow a very strict guideline when writing software for OSX, down to the Tee. Microsoft does not impose these restrictions on their own third-party developers, and it has been their worst mistake in company history: Rampant admin access, Titanic-sized memory leaks, decades-old legacy issues, a plethora of security holes and the infamous BSOD, all in part contributed by lazy programmers and hardware makers.
  
  Microsoft is finally waking up and realizing their biggest mistake, and that is lack of control. They had absolutely no control over the development standards for Windows XP. Implementing UAC in Vista, annoying as it was, became a big step in reversing the bad habits of unrestricted admin access. Microsoft needs to go a step further; to hold OEMs and other third-party developers accountable for writing crappy code, and enforce a higher standard for their O/S.
  
  There is no conspiracy here. Microsoft is offering an incentive for OEMs that are willing to drop their bad habit of crappy bloatware, and hold themselves to a higher standard. Introducing less quantity, and higher quality software onto OEM machines = a better Windows experience, and that is a win for both Microsoft and the consumer. We should be embracing this.
  
  0.02 In reply to: "Vista marketing draws antitrust complaints"

  January 28, 2009

  3 replies

• Somebody was comparing a shorter robots.txt file to greater political transparency? Whaaat?!
  
  Man, the Obama fanaticism is insane. Even Jesus is starting to feel jealous. In reply to: "Much ado about Whitehouse.gov's new openness"

  January 21, 2009

  1 reply

• Skype 'is' available for the iPhone through an application called IM+. It uses a web portal instead of an actual application, therefore bypassing the application restrictions. However, major cell carriers will continue to do everything they can to block Skype from penetrating their mobile bandwidth, even if it means sniffing VOIP packets out of your data stream and dropping them.
  
  Cell companies want to keep their monopoly and continue to gouge people for inflated voice/data rates and long-term contracts. If Skype were ever allowed to gain a real foothold as an alternative mobile service, large companies like Verizon and AT&T wouldn't be able to compete. This is one of the major reasons why Google is being attacked on every front for pushing the FCC to open a portion of the wireless spectrum for free WiFi access to anyone in the U.S.A. The internet is already providing better, cheaper alternatives to every source of communication. Give people free access to it, and every traditional voice, television, and internet provider in the country would go bankrupt.
  
  Let's hope the next internet revolution comes sooner rather than later! In reply to: "Skype thrives amid tough economy"

  January 9, 2009

  0 replies

• I love Limewire!
  
  Actually I hate it as a p2p program, but I thoroughly enjoy how Limewire seems to bring naive users together with malware infected files like moths to a flame. As an independent contractor in the IT industry, nothing brings me more customers than a machine ransacked with malware, usually bestowed upon them by a bogus file downloaded through Limewire, or a lovely variant of "Anti-Virus 2008." The only time I've seen Limewire on a machine is when a person is taking their first baby steps into p2p piracy, mainly to download and steal music. Unfortunately, these people think they can download the latest souljahboy.exe and listen to it on their computer, and don't even know what a data backup is.
  
  While I'm sure there are many people who will find great usage out of linking p2p with social networking, I see the average users still downloading plenty of porn and illegal music; now using their facebook login instead of an anonymous IP. ^_^ In reply to: "LimeWire mixing social networking, P2P"

  January 9, 2009

  1 reply