Windows 7 and IE8

Windows 7 Beta shipped with a version of Internet Explorer 8, The final release of Windows 7 will ship in Europe without Internet Explorer in order to satisfy EU competition rules. Read more here

The reasoning goes that Microsoft gains unfair advantage by integrating its own browser with the operating system. Fair point, you might think. Until you think some more.

Imagine the ordinary Joe (or Jill) who installs Win7 and tries to access the internet. No browser. No problem, he (or she) can download Firefox, Opera, K-Meleon or any one of a number of independent browsers.

Except it is a little difficult to download a browser when you have no browser to access the internet ...

Windows 7 Beta and Windows 7 RC both shipped without an email client. No problem there, I had the choice of installing Outlook (from the Office 2007 suite) or an independent program. I chose Mozilla Thunderbird. That was easy because I had a web browser (IE8) installed.

The inclusion of IE8 (which isn't a bad browser by any means) would allow people who use a computer in the same way as a DVD player or a TV set to surf the net. Anyone with a little knowledge will realise they can install a different browser (or indeed any number of browsers) should they so choose.

And here is a little secret many IE bashers seem to forget. There is no need to jump through hoops trying to uninstall Internet Explorer. You just don't use it. Simple as that. It takes up no resources apart from a bit of disk space but it's still there should you ever need it.

As I said above, I set up Thunderbird for my email, but I know many people who wouldn't know where to start searching for a program, downloading it, installing it, configuring it and then teaching themselves how to use it. They just want a simple, familiar solution.

Though I sincerely believe Windows 7 is by far the best version of Windows yet, I can't help thinking it will lack something in the usability stakes for the non-technical user.

Windows 7 Release Date

22 October 2009

That is the date put out by Microsoft's Steve Guggenheimer. Upgrading from Vista will be an option but, to be perfectly honest, I would recommend a fresh install (after a full data backup, of course).

Microsoft have a track record of pushing operating system release dates back as the time approaches, but I feel they will hit this one - the product is good, there has been an unprecedented beta testing phase and (in my experience) the only problems may come with old hardware that perhaps should be replaced anyway. System requirements are reasonable so most systems running Vista at present should cope with Win7.

Read more:
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/features/2009/Jun09/06-02SteveGuggenheimer.mspx

Living with Windows 7

So I finally took the plunge and installed Windows 7 RC as the operating system on my main computer. The verdict? Fantastic! Obviously there are a lot of things to get used to, but overall it is very good.

I imaged my drives and reformatted the C: drive, did a clean install and then set about re-installing drivers and software. Not too painful on the whole and it was the perfect opportunity to clear out the junk I never used.

Good Points
*Taskbar previews of running programs
*Aero snap-to when using 2 windows (brilliant!)
*Ultra quick startup and shutdown
*One click shutdown

Bad Points
*ATI Radeon graphics card only went to 1024 x 768 resolution. Swapped to a cheap NVidia model and immediately got 1280 x 1024
*A couple of programs (Terrapin FTP and Quicken accounts) play up under Windows 7 - Terrapin just won't work, Quicken doean't always behave. Not really surprising as they were both written around the time of Win 98. Alternatives are easy to come by so not a big deal
*Ctrl + Alt + Del brings up a menu to start Task Manager. There is probably a way to cause that key combination to start Task Manager immediately, I just haven't found it yet.
*Firefox uses too many resources (up to 90% CPU and 100,000MB+ memory. This is my only big niggle but I'm working on it.

So overall I'm really pleased with it - Microsoft certainly have a winner here!

Windows 7 RC is Coming!

Windows 7 RC (Release Candidate) is due out 5th May, according to Brandon LeBlanc on his blog. This is earlier than I expected (September would have been my guess) and is most welcome news.

I have been testing Windows 7 on a spare machine and have been very impressed. Enough to have decided to take the plunge and install it when it is released, replacing Windows XP. The massive Beta testing program has been hugely successful. At the busiest time, Microsoft were recieving a feedback report every 15 seconds - that's over 40,000 reports in that one week!

Looks like I'm going to be busy sooner than I thought.

Just Phill in the Phorm

Phorm seems to be stirring up a right controversy. Phorm is a way of serving up relevant advertisements to surfers. Not a bad thing, you may think. But consider how it does this.

How much privacy intrusion is needed to serve an advert tailored to someone? Certainly a history of surfing habits would be the minimum. And perhaps records of online purchases. And why not get the IP as well. Then store all that data for when it's needed.

I put this on a level with cold callers. If I want to buy stocks and shares, windows, conservatories, electricity and so on then I will research the subject myself. I would never buy from a stranger on the phone offering these sevices. The same with online purchases - I research the subject and decide where I want to buy from.

Recently, Amazon requested Phorm stay away from their sites. Now Wikipedia has done the same. Three thumbs up to these guys - it is not necessary and is probably against EU law anyway.

If the default option is to opt-in if it is wanted then it might just be bearable (and ignoreable). If we are all in by default then it is a gross intrusion of privacy and should be resisted.

The Conficker Awakes

http://news.zdnet.co.uk/security/0,1000000189,39640215,00.htm

It seems conficker is starting to reveal its true purpose - making money. One method is to display a fake warning that a system is infected and can be cleaned using Spyware Protect 2009. Needless to say, this is a scam. You pay up, your credit card details are logged and you end up paying a damn sight more than the £35 asking price

Check for signs of conficker infection here or here.

And practice safe surfing!

April 1st 2009

It is widely thought that the pain-in-the-arse Conficker worm will start doing it's stuff on April 1st. No one really knows what that stuff may be - anything from data theft to recruiting machines to a zombie farm. It may even be just a scam for publicity (though I doubt it).

Every machine that is infected represents a threat to eveyone else connected to the internet. Please make sure you run Windows Update this week.

Better safe than sorry!