The convergence of the mind of Michael Johnson with the World!

Texas Bans Vista

Friday, April 3rd, 2009

Computer World is reporting that “Texas state Senate bans Vista from use in government agencies“.

“We are not in any way, shape or form trying to pick on Microsoft, but the problems with this particular [operating] system are known nationwide,” Sen. Juan Hinojosa said during a Senate session debating the rider Wednesday evening. “And the XP operating system is working very well.”

Wow, I can’t believe I am going to defend Microsoft, but is Senator Hinojosa using the same Vista I am? Since upgrading to Service Pack 1 of Vista, it’s been as reliable as Windows XP.

The article from Computer World goes on to say that some agencies and state offices have already upgraded to Vista. But doesn’t answer the question as to how those migrations went? Did something go terribly wrong that influenced this decision? Or is it just these “known nationwide” problems that Senator Hinojosa speaks of? Which problems are those exactly?

I’m an Apple fan-boy. But even I confess that Vista is an okay operating system. If installed on new hardware and used with new peripherals to avoid driver problems, it’s fine. As fine as XP is. If the Texas State Legislature wants to really make some improvements, have an impact on their budget and not outlaw a single product from one company then why didn’t they pass a law to promote open source solutions? Linux is a perfect solution for many office uses. I’m sure some agencies have some Windows-only software on the client side for server side databases. But they should be moving away from such a proprietary model anyway. That is what is really tieing them to Microsoft.

In 2007, Texas considered a bill to require state agencies to adopt the Open Document Format but that failed. Seems like they should consider that again. Embrass something good, but don’t hate on the misunderstood.

Read the whole article at Computer World:

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&taxonomyName=Operating+Systems&articleId=9130992&taxonomyId=89&pageNumber=2

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Conficker links

Tuesday, March 31st, 2009

Unless you have been living under a rock, then you’ve heard about the Conficker worm and that it’s expected to start communicating with other computers on the Internet on April 1, 2009. Tomorrow! It’s not clear what to expect but the hype is growing. The following is a list of links if you are looking for more info or help.

So if you think you are in trouble then check these links out. But whatever you think, you should always maintain an up-to-date computer, with up-to-date anti-virus and anti-spyware tools. Be careful what you agree to when you get a pop-up from the internet.

Stay safe and happy computing!

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Custom domain name from Microsoft

Wednesday, February 11th, 2009

A few days ago, I wrote an article, Don’t Use Your ISP for Email. At the end, I suggested that you just get a domain account from Google Apps Standard Edition. Today, I was listening to Buzz Out Loud 909: The 404 hacks Natali’s computer and was reminded that Microsoft has a similar offer. Office Live Small Business allows you to have a domain and email and more.

I used it when it first came out a few years ago but prefered Google’s offer. Since then I have just forgotten about it. But if you are looking for an easy and inexpensive place to host your own domain and manage your own email then Microsoft is worth a look too.

And of course DreamHost Apps, can give you some other options and Google Apps.

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Posted in Communication | No Comments »