Microsoft Ads Hit Rock Bottom

At this point, there is no reason to continue railing on Microsoft for it’s ads or buggy software. Quite frankly, I do not believe that they can do anything correctly, with the exception making good mice and keyboards.

• The Xbox 360 (my console of choice) is so freaking buggy that the company has blown millions and millions of dollars on replacing broken systems (mine included).
• Their public image sucks.
• Their software is bloated, buggy, and all too often ignores the user experience.
• Their advertisements are a disaster.

This is the latest and then quickly killed Microsoft ad for Internet Explorer 8.

(It is repulsive… you might not want to watch it)

Look… everyone knows what “private mode” is for. Additionally, it isn’t a unique selling feature because every other current browser offers the exact same thing (Apple Safari, Mozilla Firefox, & Google Chrome), so why bother making an issue of it?

Microsoft has so much money that if it had a good product that was worth selling, someone would be able to make an ok advertisement for it… but they don’t… except for their mice and keyboards (which they don’t advertise).

And then there is this browser comparison chart that Microsoft pushed out of its rear:

If it isn’t obvious, this is a big lie.

Practice safe computing by using Firefox, Safari, or Chrome.

Mac Update: Snow Leopards, Laptops, and Guitars Oh My

Apple has revealed a number new improvements and adjustments to their products at WWDC, here’s the rundown.

Snow Leopard

I was going to write a summation of Apple’s announcements regarding the new operating system updates, but a great one already exists (and I’m very tired). Check with Gizmodo to learn all of the nifty upgrades Snow Leopard will give you for a mere $29.00 come September 2009. Nothing is Earth-moving, but it’s all good stuff.

Safari 4

The new browser has been spotted in the wild with a new look, and boasting the title of “fastest browser on the web.” That is until Google Chrome leapfrogs them again in a few months – isn’t competition great?

MacBook Family

• Price cuts pretty much across the board
• Non-removable batteries that are assured to last a long time across the board
• ExpressCard slots go the way of FireWire (Except for the 17-inch MacBook Pro) – they are replaced with SD slots
• A lot of boosted specs
• The solid state hard drive model of the MacBook Air dropped $700 making it almost reasonable at $1,799

I’m not sure ExpressCard slots were ready for retirement, and I’m not crazy about the non-removable batteries – this just seems like an unnecessary hassle for users. Otherwise, the refreshed machines look good – Skynet will be pleased.

For a complete rundown of the MacBook changes check with Engadget.

New iPhones

I am by no means an authority on iPhones. So if you care to learn more about the new incarnations of the popular device, you may have a gander here.

Control Your Guitar & Amp with Your iPhone

Apple, Amp manufacturer Line 6, and general musical gadget brand Planet Waves are teaming up to offer an iPhone app that will allow you to control your guitar and amp’s sound. More on this as better details arise.

Shattering the Apple Fortress Myth in Seconds

I have two Macs, but I despise the myth that Apple has created an impenetrable and completely secure system. The “it just works” crowd drives me up the wall because while I like Macs and they are considerably more safe and stable than their Windows-based counterparts, they are far from perfect.

Yesterday at the CanSecWest Pwn2Own 2009 in Vancouver, Charlie Miller entered a Apple Safari hacking contest that began at 3:15 pm and won it before the clock struck 3:16. He fed the Mac a link and once it was clicked, he took control of the target machine. Simple as that.

Charlie won $10,000 and the Mac that he conquered. 

A patch will be issued at some-point in the future to remedy the weakness. 

For the record, later at the same contest, someone who goes by “Nils” defeated Microsoft’s future browser, Internet Explorer 8 (which hasn’t left Beta) and Mozilla’s Firefox.

The lesson to take away from this is that no one should assume that a platform is unbreakable. If you own a Mac and have developed a case of Apple arrogance, give yourself a reality check. That arrogance is putting your computer and your data at risk.

Always install security patches and practice safe computing.

Apple, WTF? *UPDATED

Apple’s App Store, the place that makes iPhone applications available to the public likes to play censor every so often. Today they rejected the latest version of the Twitter client, Tweetie because the application may contain obscenity. 

The basic idea of rejection because it may contain obscenity is pretty insane, but I haven’t actually told you the crazy part yet.

 

Brace yourself…

 

Here it comes…

 

The application does not contain obscenity.

It has been rejected because it searches the micro-blogging site Twitter, and Twitter’s posts may contain obscenity.

The decision is remarkable. By that standard Apple’s own web browser Safari also contains obscenity, and porn… hell, it even contains child porn because it contains anything that the Internet contains. 

Here’s what’s going to happen - Everyone online will go nuts over this (especially the Twitterati) until Apple reverses its decision. 

As Apple grows and gains market-share their penchant for censorship and absolute control will become exceptionally threatening. 

To my knowledge, big, bad, monopolistic, Microsoft never pull this kind of shit (note the intentional obscenity).

Update:

Apple has resolved this properly and allowed Tweetie. However allowing the application doesn’t resolve the larger problem of Apple exercising excessive control over users and developers.

Please Apple, He’s Our President Now!

A little over a month ago I wrote, “Dear Apple, Please Update Safari’s Spellchecker” after I noticed that the Safari spellchecker marks the name “Obama” as a misspelling. Over a month, an one inauguration, and many Google searches, they still haven’t updated their spellcheck dictionary!

Apple, please make the change. This is exceptionally dumb.

Private Time with Your Computer

“Private Browsing” was first induced on Apple’s Safari browser quite a few years ago. When activated by a user, private browsing prevents your web browser from retaining and cacheing information. Typically when you surf the Internet, your browser saves a lot of information including:

• History – a list of pages you have visited.
• Cookies – text files that are sent to your computer via your browser, from the server of the web site you are using. These can be sent for purposes such as authenticating your computer or for tracking your behavior. They are not bugs, malware, worms, or viruses, contrary to popular belief. 
• Temp files & other cached items - Which could be anything from text to images, to code. It is possible for evil programs to hide in some of these. 

Basically, private browsing stops your computer from recording your history, cacheing, saving cookies, or temp files. For all intents and purposes, if someone were to look at your browsing history, it would appear that you did not go anywhere.

You should be aware of private browsing because it is about to become a ubiquitous feature for web browser. Some form of private browsing is already part of Apple Safari, Google Chrome, and the latest beta of Mozilla Firefox. It will also be a feature in Microsoft Internet Explorer 8.

*Private Browsing is not a default. You must turn it on each time you begin a browsing session.

*This is the most important part about private browsing, and the reason I wrote this post…

It will not protect your computer from viruses, malware, worms, or other forms of evil code!!!

This is crucial to understand because porn and other illicit sites that you may not want other people seeing you visit are among the most frequent carriers of viruses, malware, and worms.

 

Some other names for private browsing are:

• Incognito (Google Chrome)
• Stealth mode (the alleged final name for Mozilla Firefox)
• InPrivate (Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 )
• Porn mode (because that’s what it’s used for)
• Privacy mode

This mode of browsing does have other uses than watching illicit material. It can be good to enable when checking your email on someone else’s computer. It might also come in handy if you are shopping for a gift for a special someone who uses your computer often. It is also a favorite of privacy freaks, regardless of what they are browsing. Some people just don’t like having a record of their actions.

Practice safe computing, even in porn mode.

Dear Apple, Please Update Safari’s Spellchecker

Dear Apple,

Please update Safari’s spellchecker in your next patch.

While I understand not including the brand names of your competitors products, it is really sad that you do not have our next President’s name included in your spellcheck dictionary.

Cordially,

David Spira
The Geek Whisperer