More on Hotmail phase-out (and other things too)

Items of Interest

* As I wrote about recently (see, The End Of Hotmail) there is/are change(s) coming to Microsoft products. For those of you who have a Microsoft “Live ID”, or Hotmail account, the following article is a ‘must read’: Microsoft’s Hotmail phase-out: What’s a user to do?

“Microsoft is moving all of its Hotmail users to Outlook.com by this summer. Here’s what the hundreds of millions still using Hotmail need to know about the transition.” Read more..

[oh, and btw.. Outlook.com outage leaves users locked out of accounts

“Numerous users of the online email service Outlook.com were locked out of their accounts on Monday after a service outage.” Read more..]

Further, Microsoft Office is changing/has changed, too: Office 2013 licensing changes increase IT angst

“It has been about a month since Microsoft released Office 2013 and Office 365 under a new licensing regime. Unfortunately, this new scheme has raised a few eyebrows among users and IT professionals alike. Let’s see if we can figure out what it means.” Read more

* I don’t normally point out good deals, but.. this one is kind of amazing.. a WD 4 TB, USB 3.0 external harddrive unit (w/automatic backup) for $169 (plus free shipping) .. see it here.

* On the tablet front.. Ubuntu’s Touch OS preview released for Nexus tablets and phones

“Ubuntu Touch is here, but users have been warned not to run it on their primary device, as it has number of kinks still to be worked out.” Read more..

and Hands-on with the HP Slate 7

“How can a tablet that feels so good be so … not good

What do you do if you’ve long since past being a laughingstock in the mobile business? You failed at Windows Mobile. You bought Palm and put webOS out to pasture. And now, if you’re HP, your first real foray into Android is a tablet that’s nice from afar, but far from nice. Such is the HP Slate 7.” Read more..

* For those waiting on more of my Working With Apple series, sorry for the gap. More will be more coming; but the only thing I really have to say right now is, I’m finding more bugz and glitches than I would have suspected… but it’s been a mildly boring “shift” otherwise.

* I really cannot believe as many people think “clumping” cat litter is no bargain as don’t …

* Mondays are busy days, so.. that’s all I’ve time for today. Have a good one everybody!

Today’s quote: “If you wish to succeed in life, make perseverance your bosom friend, experience your wise counselor, caution your elder brother, and hope your guardian genius.” ~ Joseph Addison

Copyright 2007-2013 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

---

>> Folks, don’t miss an article! To get Tech – for Everyone articles delivered to your e-mail Inbox, click here, or to subscribe in your RSS reader, click here. <<

---

All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.

Leopard wins title of "best"

You might be aware of the long-running debate known as Mac vs. PC (personified by Justin Long + John Hodgman on the humorous “I’m a Mac” commercials). And you may be aware that there’s a debate whether XP isn’t a better OS than Vista. And, you may be aware that there’s a free OS, known as Linux, which has a few proponents who claim theirs is the best.

Which one’s the best? There’s an awful lot of opinions out there (and if you agree with mine, you’re really smart!), but has anyone every done a true, impartial test to determine which one really is the safest/fastest/most features/cost-effective/easy-to-use operating system today? Well yes, someone has– and the latest comes from PC Magazine‘s March issue.
[Yes, PCMag has long been accused of being a Microsoft puppet and/or shill. Look at the name, though: it’s “PC”, not “Mac Magazine” (and, yes, there’s one of those, too). But how do you write about personal computers and NOT write about Microsoft? Hmm?]

The article compares Mac OS 10.5.1 (the latest “Leopard”), Windows XP SP2, Vista, and Ubuntu 7.10 , and it compares them in these areas:
*Price
*Installation (ease)
*GUI (the graphical ‘look’)
*Bundled Software
*3rd Party Software
*Drivers/Hardware
*Networking
*Security

As you might expect, each OS won some categories, and lost in others; for example, Ubuntu is free, so it will clearly win the Price category, and since it doesn’t have a huge budget for graphic artists (and Linux folk aren’t afraid of the command line) it loses the GUI category. To see the results chart, click here.

The scores in each category were totaled to produce a winner, and the “Microsoft shill”, PC Magazine, proclaims Leopard the winner. (And, perhaps more interestingly, XP and Vista tied.)

My two cents: There are a few flaws in this comparison ‘test’ that shouldn’t be overlooked.
*Vista was tested before Service Pack 1
*The first three categories are largely non-factors: Price and Installation are largely irrelevant to most people. Most people buy a new computer, not an OS Install CD/DVD. And a GUI is a GUI– how pretty it looks has nothing to do with your computer’s operation.

I believe the most important factors are Security and 3rd Party Software.. followed by Drivers/Hardware.
In Security: Leopard wins.. not because its armor plating is more bulletproof, but because less than 3% of the world’s computers are running it and so hackers ignore it.
In Drivers/Hardware: XP SP2 wins.. but time will move Vista ahead as more drivers get written and pass MS’s WHQL.
In the all-important 3rd-Party Software category: XP SP2 wins.. but again, time will move Vista into the lead.

So clearly PC Magazine is wrong. XP SP2 is the better OS.. for now.

How can I say that? Games, baby. Games. There aren’t any for Macs.
And of course.. other programs. Walk into a store that sells software some time and look at the size of the Mac section and then the size of the PC titles. That tells you all you need to know.

OS’s and you: But which one is best for YOU? I agree totally with the author of the article in PC Mag (Eric Griffith): it depends on what you use your computer for.
If all you do is surf the Web, and you’re on a budget, Ubuntu is probably your best choice. If you’re a cutting-edge gamer, you probably will have to struggle with Vista for Direct X 10 titles. If you’re a network admin.. Red Hat is probably your OS (are you ready for Server 2008?).

But the fact remains, the OS you use will be the one that came with your computer. And as I mentioned in “Mac Myths“, which brand you decide to buy will probably be decided by which ‘camp’ you joined.. way back in the early days.

Copyright 2007-8 © Tech Paul. All rights reserved. post to jaanix

Share this post :