OK, I admit it: I like picking on the (mostly caged) 600-pound gorilla as much as you probably do, and there is certainly a LOT to B&M about when it comes to Me$$y$oft’s software. After all, we’ve been through TWO “patch Tuesday’s” this month and Microsoft is giving folks NO clue about when the DNS vulnerability that’s been actively exploited this week (!) is going to be patched. Yeh, sure, it probably doesn’t affect you directly since you’re probably not running M$ “Advanced” (*heh*) Server 2000/2003… but some of the networks you surf use it (and that might explain some ‘net wonkiness this week–might).
But the Mac ads touting how Macs just don’t need protection from malware are pure hokum, bunk, B.S. Not to put too fine a point on it, such claims are lies.
Apple has released a wide-ranging security update for Mac OS X. It’s the fourth for the year, which has us wondering if the company’s moving to a monthly schedule
Hmmm, that’s what, one fewer than Microsoft has released this year? For a platform that has juuuust about 5% of the users that Microsoft boasts, Apple doesn’t really have to try harder to appear safer. It’s such a small target, it’s little wonder it’s attacked very often, but when it is… well, from my personal experience, a far greater proportion of Mac users are clueless what to do to recover from such attacks than M$ users (or Linux users). And Apple serves its users not at all well by selling the idea that Macs just don’t have to worry about malware, that Macs are inherently secure, etc.
BTW, my month or so experience with PC-BSD has led me to the conclusion that if you really, really want to run BSD with a cool GUI on a computer, you can do it much, much less expensively than buying an Intel computer running Mac OSX (which is really just BSD with the proprietary Mac GUI straightjacket tacked on top). Heck, build the biggest, flashiest honker of an Intel box you want (or even AMD), save the $$$ shakedown from Apple and install PC-BSD for free. “Outa the box” it’s easy to use, easy to find and install apps, etc. And you can even make it look and feel mostly like Mac (a more friendly, more easily configurable) OSX, if you’re feeling particularly masochistic.
*heh*
Just a thought…
Trackposted to The Virtuous Republic, Blog @ MoreWhat.com, Perri Nelson’s Website, The Random Yak, Adam’s Blog, basil’s blog, The Amboy Times, Leaning Straight Up, Cao’s Blog, Jo’s Cafe, Pet’s Garden Blog, Rightlinx, stikNstein… has no mercy, The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns, Pirate’s Cove, The Pink Flamingo, Gone Hollywood, and The Yankee Sailor, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.
David, I’m curious. How many people out there do you think are actually capable of removing their current OS and installing another one?
Yes, I know that for those of us that are “into” technology it’s not that difficult. Even so, there are quite a few people out there that find it challenging enough just to check there email in the morning.
Heck, I’m related to a few.
How many people are capable of… installing another OS? (Notice I didn’t say “removing their OS and installing a new one”)
Darned near everyone, Perri.
Most popular GUI-based Linux distros now come in “Live CD” versions. Simply boot the CD to a live session and test drive it. If you like it, just CLICK the install button.
Seriously.
I have successfully installed Ubuntu Linux alongside Windows XP, 98, and 2000, without removing the existing OS and without doing anything but accepting the default installation options–just answering one simple optional question, did I want to have Ubuntu take over the whole hard drive or install with the existing OS…
Ditto for a couple of other of the newer distros–in fact, Freespirewas even easier and faster than Ubuntu installing on a WinXP box… without disturbing the WinXP install.
PC-BSD? Ditto. In fact, I also installed it on an existing WinXP/Ubuntu box, simply by accepting the defaults.
But Puppy Linux takes the prize for ease of installation The “installation” CD (all 80MB of it) simply boots, loads itself into memory and you’re good to go. When you power down, it asks you if you want to save your session and if you do, it saves it all on a file on your hard drive. That way, any configuration changes you’ve made or software you’ve installed will be there the next time you boot off the CD (or USB thumb drive).
Change OS? Simply not necessary. Pop a CD in the drive and go. Even people who “find it challenging enough just to check there email in the morning” can pop a CD in their drive and reboot.
When I think of all the trials and tribulations I went through the first time I FDISKed/Formatted/installed a new OS or set up a dual boot configuration, then look at the ease and simplicity of some of these new distros, I am amazed. As I said, even playing Newbie Naif (with my cerebral cortex firmly tied behind my back) and accepting defaults, the newer distros of some alternate OSes have been Aunt tilly easy. Maybe not Bubba (Pinhead) Gomer easy, but close.
And all of them have been easier and faster than fresh installs of recent Windows versions. *sigh*
Yeh, one or two computers with weird hardware have stumbled a bit, taken a little longer to complete installs, but the most recent distros have seemed to solve even those issues for me.
Fun.
That sounds pretty cool. I might give one of those a try, as long as I don’t lose my existing OS and data.
I refuse to go through another installation like I went through with Vista. I ultimately had to undo all of that to get my computer back into a usable state.
Still, I think that there are quite a few people that have a hard enough time working with their computer that even the Pop a CD in the drive and go could be a problem. My mother in law comes to mind.
Well, Puppy Linux is especially friendly, but “My mother in law comes to mind” compels me to confess that I know one particular user that would find “Aunt Tilly friendly” to be a challenge. *heh*
Yeh, there are always those who would do better living in an “assisted computing facility” where they could have Computing Aides to say, “Here, dearie, let me make that mouse click for you… “–and I’ve known more than my share (at least I hope it’s more than my fair dhare! *heh*) of those kinds of users.
😉
“Here, dearie, let me make that mouse click for you…”
Now THAT I find incredibly funny. I love it when someone can make me laugh out loud.
Happy to be helpful, Perri, as long as it didn’t make you snort coffee through your nose onto your keyboard… (But, if you have a spare, that wouldn’t be too awfully terrible, cos most keyboards can just be popped into the top rack of the dishwasher and cycled through–no soap, no heat dry).
So have you seen this yet?
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20070420/092217.shtml
It seems that Microsoft has a few other people (other than me) that aren’t too happy with Vista. I don’t think it has too much to do with the setup process either…
And thanks for the tip about the keyboard by the way. I may just try that one… With an older keyboard first.
Several things to say ’bout last few posts:
Best I can do at the moment is some quotes from my “various” sig files:
1) ___________________________________
“War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling that thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.”
— John Stuart Mill.
2)
__________________________________________
For all the ANTI Second Amendment gun control freaks who falsely claim that guns are “responsible” for killing people–
Does that mean that pencils and keyboards are responsible for all the spelling and grammar errors one sees?
(–Idea “borrowed” from Larry, the Cable Guy, comedian)
3)
________________________________
Rancher’s rule:
“Shoot, shovel and shut up.”
(relative to various varmints–protected or otherwise)
4) ________________________________
Lesson from “Jonah:”
Even a big fish can’t stomach a bad preacher.
5) _____________________________
“Life is complicated, people are complicated, and most of us are a jumble of virtues, flaws and contradictions.”
— Peggy Noonan, WSJ, 12-02-04
6) ________________________________
“‘Don’t understand me too quickly.'” Don’t categorize me; don’t decide you broke the code. Sit back and watch; it’s more interesting than you may know.”
— Peggy Noonan, WSJ, 12-02-04
7)
_____________________________________
“Don’t get stuck on stupid . . ..”
— Lt Gen Russel Honore
[response to idiot reporters between Katrina relief & preparations for Rita]
8)
_________________________________
I want the Democrats out of my living room;
the Republlicans out of my bed room;
AND, both to get their hands out of my pockets!
–Me
9) NEXT??? 😉
hth
Perri,
A little further info on keyboard cleaning:
1.) Do NOT clean a wireless keyboard this way… I’ve not cleaned my wireless kybds this way, so I can’t vouch for that. (OTOH, I have something like–at last count–17 “spare” working keyboards, so I have done this some few times)
2.) AIR dry after shaking excess water out and using canned air to blow any small droplets that may remain. Dry for at least 24 hours–I’ve never let mine dry for less time than that.
Good ones, Hugh.