Thursday, March 15, 2012

The Other Side of the Coin–iPad Bad…Windows 8-Good

In my last blog, I hammered Microsoft and Windows 8 pretty hard…and at the same time, implied good things about the new iPad. Well my feelings haven’t changed a lot, mostly because I have stayed away from Windows 8 in the last couple of days.

But in the interest of fairness, I thought I would publish a couple of articles about why you should not buy an iPad and why Windows 8 is what we need to get our work done. I have also included a new article how to safely install Windows 8, using a virtual system powered by Oracle’s VirtualBox (free). It is a safe way to try out Windows 8 without actually installing it as part of your computer system. I have not tried it yet, but am willing to give it a go, now that I’ve calmed down a bit.

In other news, Firefox has come out with a new version; Patch Tuesday has come and gone with some minor changes (except for one really big one); and a new search engine that looks very promising without all the screen garbage that Google uses. I will be checking that one out also.

So in the words of the immortal Jackie Gleason, “…and away we go!” – JCR

16 reasons NOT to buy a new iPad

Every other tech pundit and reviewer in the business will be out there trying to tell you why you should buy an iPad. Not me. I've had my fill of Apple PR reps, back when I headed up some Apple projects and later as a member of the press.

Why Windows 8 matters for real work, and so will Windows 9

The bottom line is this: to do real work with real computers you need a real operating system. You need Windows. Nothing else, really, will do.

Step by step: How to safely test-drive Win8

Using safe, free virtual PC software, you can set up and run the Windows 8 Consumer Preview inside your current PC without affecting your other programs or your installed version of Windows. This method lets you test-drive Windows 8 without having to make potentially risky changes to your current setup. There’s no need for dual-booting, special partitions, and so on.

40% of U.S. Government Web Sites Fail Security Test

Approximately 40% of federal government agencies are out of compliance with a regulation that requires them to deploy an extra layer of authentication on their Web sites to prevent hackers from hijacking Web traffic and redirecting it to bogus sites.

Microsoft Issues Scary Warning in Otherwise Light Patch Tuesday

Microsoft on Tuesday issued its standard monthly set of software patches, and by all accounts it was a relatively uneventful month, with six patches, only one of which is rated as Critical. But that Critical fix is a big one, a remote desktop flaw that the software giant essentially promised would result in attacks within the month.

Firefox 11 Adds Add-On Sync, Solves Add-On Compatibility Issues

Windows/Mac/Linux: The latest version of Firefox is available for download, and with it comes the ability to synchronize your extensions across desktops and operating systems with add-on sync

Get Organized: 11 Tips for Managing Email

With a few very simple organizational tricks, you can be more efficient with email. Some of these tips utilize functions found in most email programs, but many of them are ways that you can change your own habits to affect your email workflow.

A Promising Alternative Search Engine

Google has been my search engine of choice for years but I am growing less and less satisfied with its search results. They are full of search engine optimized chaff. I have tried a number of computer related searches lately and I like DuckDuckGo's results better. It is free of the clutter that Google now has and does not have all those paid ads masquerading as search results that Google displays.

How Can I Sync My Files Without Having To Store Them Online?

Thankfully, there are several tools you can use to sync your computers directly, bypassing the need for you to use an online server as a middleman. Here's an overview so you can choose the best one for your needs:

No comments: