Dell brings back XP on home systems
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I love this. Incredible disaster of “open system” architecture.
C/net says…“Amid significant customer demand, the computer maker said
on Thursday that it has returned to offering the older Windows version as an
option on some of its consumer PCs.”
Why do you “love it”?
You seem to take perverse pleasure in other people’s misfortunes. Frankly I
hope MSFT gets it straightened out soon. I’m a technology neophyte, but I
think there’s a great many possibilities in open architecture.
As a self-described “neophyte” you really should refrain from commenting
on a subject that is beyond your level of understanding. If I were you, I’d just
follow Mossberg’s column in the WSJ.
Having said that, I am intrigued how a company which controls 93% of all
computers in the world, run by some of the smartest, richest people can
utterly botch a core product launch after 5 years in development.
Reminds me of Coke’s re-formulation fiasco after loosing to the “Pepsi
Challenge”.
I don't have Vista.
I'm no fan of MSFT.
Theologically, I'm more an Apple guy, although I don't/won't own apple stuff. I think the Ipod is nothing new and has a really stupid business plan. OTOH, plenty of stupid people are paying stupid prices to fill up their ipods, so I don't short American stupidity either.
Vista has a different problem though. Vista has a corporate problem.
Corporations have many more employees that work from their off site computer. This is a huge undertaking especially given the level of technical expertise that many laptoppers have (By laptoppers, I mean those working off site.) Most don't even know not to open up a viral e-mail.
Before corporations allow their employees to upgrade to the new operating system, they are going to want to be damned sure that their software can run with Vista and that there aren't any hacks in vista that would allow malware or worse to gain entry to the corporate system.
Imagine if you are GM and one of your employees somehow lets in a trojan horse that allows them to steal your client lists and the social security numbs of all your GMAC clients.
They are just not going to take the chance until they are sure. Then they'll approve it and computer buyers will buy Vista.
It's the success of the PC that is holding the operating system back for right now.
speaking of which...
04/23 05:51PM DJ Report Finds 38,700 Social Security Numbers Exposed By USDA
WASHINGTON (AP)--A final review concluded Monday that the Social Security numbers of 38,700 recipients of U.S. Agriculture Department grants had been posted on a government Web site since 1996. Federal officials initially feared that as many as 150,000 Social Security numbers had been exposed by the security breach, discovered by Illinois farmer Marsha Bergmeier. The numbers were promptly removed after she reported her find to the government on April 13. Federal officials said they weren't aware of any identify thefts using the posted numbers but are offering a year of free credit monitoring to affected individuals. Rep. Zack Space, D-Ohio, asked the House Agriculture Committee to conduct a hearing into why the breach occurred and what steps are being taken to minimize any harm and prevent a recurrence. There was no immediate response from the committee chairman, Rep. Collin Peterson, D-Minn. The numbers weren't identified as Social Security numbers on the Census Bureau Web site that posts federal grants and their recipients, but the nine-digit Social Security number of individual recipients was incorporated in 15-digit grant identification numbers used by two Agriculture Department units. Reviewing the postings since 1996 to determine how many people showed up more than once and how many grants weren't to individuals, the department was able to narrow the potential list to 63,000 individual Social Security numbers by late last Friday and to 38,700 when the review was completed Monday. Agriculture said about 35,000 of those people received grants from its Farm Service Agency and another 3,700 affected individuals received grants from USDA Rural Development. Agriculture is sending registered mail to these people with instructions on how to register for free credit monitoring. Grant recipients with questions can visit http://USA.gov or call 1-800-333-4636 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. EDT Monday-Friday.The only difference between SSNs being stolen by being copied and hacked
from a computer is that at least with the computer, you know that they’ve
been stolen.
Well, not really.
The number of SSNs you can physically carry is limited but the number that you can have electronically is nearly infinite.
I had a set of discs once that was every phone residential (listed)number in the country and every business phone number in the country. It was about 8 discs.
I could carry them easily. (I'm strong).
This information, in phone book form would have filled a large room.
Another thing is that electronic data can be copied infinitely with no degradation and can be sent instantly to an infinite number of end users.
[quote=Whomitmayconcer]
Well, not really.
The number of SSNs you can physically carry is limited but the number
that you can have electronically is nearly infinite.
I had a set of discs once that was every phone residential (listed)
number in the country and every business phone number in the country.
It was about 8 discs.
I could carry them easily. (I’m strong).
This information, in phone book form would have filled a large room.[/
P]
Another thing is that electronic data can be copied infinitely with no
degradation and can be sent instantly to an infinite number of end users.
If that were so, why then did the thieves take only 37,500 SSNs
mentioned in the article that you cited?
No, Whomit, you’re off target there.
My bad.
Actually, now that I read the article more closely, we're both wrong.
It wasn't a hack it was a matter of posting SSNs on a public site where others could see your number. It was an issue of putting up too much information.
The 38,700 number is the final count of the number of unique 15 digit Grant Identification Numbers having been posted over the time frame in question. If you didn't know that the ssn was in the 15 digit GIN the number wouldn't have meant anything, but I guess when the lady saw her ssn in the middle of the GIN she figured that it was no co incidence.
But it's mistakes lke that that the corporations want to make sure are plugged before they let their employees have access to the mainserver. And that's why Vista will take off in about a year or so (just in time for the next upgrade to the operating system!).