Computer Support Network

For those that support the holiday I wish you and your families a happy and safe Thanksgiving.

- Richard Keene
IT Computer Support of New York
Design and Optimization Department

On Wednesday Microsoft announced that the previously expected end of year release of Internet Explorer 8 would be pushed back into 2009. IE8, which entered public beta in March has undergone scrutiny for compatibility issues but was still expected to be ready for a winter 2008 release. The news that this will no longer happen has unleashed further hostility in the community from those who have adopted Firefox.

Microsoft has touted a number of new features with the release of Internet Explorer 8 but the delay has stressed validity. The problem with many of the features, such as deleting browsing history and enhanced crash recovery is that these features have already been incorporated in competitors browser’s for years. Other features such as Web Slices feel gimmicky and not worthy of holding up a project. The most important upgrades are for security and an improved rendering engine, but again, these features have already been done. Why is it taking Microsoft so long to implement them?

The release of Windows 7 is planned for the second half of 2009 and is expected to ship with IE8. Considering the complications that would arise if the operating system shipped with a broken browser it can be expected that a standalone version will ship prior to the launch. It will be interesting to see if Microsoft can get its act together and release a product worthy of the version update by then.

For years Microsoft Internet Explorer has retained the largest market share of browsers despite falling into last place with performance. In recent years this has begun to fall but the majority of computer users still will not seek out a new browser and so Microsoft remains on top. With the eventual release of IE8 one can only hope Microsoft finally earns that place.

- Richard Keene
IT Computer Support of New York
Design and Optimization Department

Microsoft Office has been the gold standard for business productivity software for more then a decade but Google is once against taking strides to stand out against convention. As most people know Google has become more than just a search engine. One of their many branches has been developing web based productivity tools. Not wanting to lose ground in an online marketplace, Microsoft has recently released new versions of SharePoint and Exchange. To understand the rivalry it’s important to understand which each company has to offer.

The promise of Google Docs is that it is a self contained writing, spreadsheet and presentation tool that can be accessed from anywhere. The mobility factor of being able to access all of your saved documents from any computer with an internet connection has been one of Google’s prime features. The fact that the software is web based means that there is no setup time and no question of compatibility from version to version.

Microsoft has seen this potential and have been releasing online versions of their software. In the case of Microsoft the strategy is slightly different; stressing “software-plus-services” instead of pure web based applications. Microsoft is also offering the option of hosting the software for businesses on their own proprietary servers or to allow businesses to host on their own. This last point brings up one of the biggest detractors of the Google based applications.

Businesses are reliant on productivity software to plan and catalogue private data vital to the survival of the company. With the Google solution, all of this information is contained on servers outside of the security of the client company. This creates two potential problems: First, is the question of possible information theft. As it stands now only the login process of Google Docs is secure, leaving integral data vulnerable to attack. Secondly, being as the data is hosted on Google hosted servers there is no direct backup or failsafe if the Google servers are down.

Until both services can be offered on company side servers it is not advisable for businesses to adopt either productivity solution. Regardless, it will be interesting to see what new developments the Microsoft-Google rivalry spawns in the coming months.

- Richard Keene
IT Computer Support of New York
Design and Optimization Department

With all the news in recent weeks about computer exploits and network vulnerabilities IT Computer Support of New York has started a program to assist businesses. Earlier this week we sent out a notice to our current clients offering our patching service. Patching may not seem like that big of deal, but the truth is that most businesses are running outdated servers and are in danger. Often the problem companies have with patching is that it can be a tedious procedure and if it works you are protected and don’t know you were ever in danger. The failure in this thinking is that if you are not patched and protected the damage you sustain can be crippling.

Another concern with patching is that it is not uncommon for a patch to react poorly with certain hardware configurations. For this reason it is important to have a backup in place before applying new system patches. If a business has multiple servers this can become a daunting project. ITCSNY hopes to simplify this by assuring that not only are the most current patches installed but that your systems are running with optimum performance.

While all patches are important some receive priority; such as is the case with the recent MS08-067. Prior to the patch, systems running Windows Server 2000, Windows XP and Windows 2003 were in serious danger. Microsoft released the update “out of band” (not on the regular Patch Tuesday) which speaks volumes of the threat the vulnerability posed. While not common this sort of occurrence does happen and if your server is not receiving regular attention then you are easy prey to vulnerabilities.

If you are interested in having ITCSNY handle your critical patching please contact us. ITCSNY also has a service available to install patches on a regular basis. This service schedules the application of critical updates shortly after the patches are issued and we will ensure that all updates are handled smoothly.

- Richard Keene
IT Computer Support of New York
Design and Optimization Department

When Windows Vista was released three years ago it was heralded as the second coming of operating systems but instead it was met almost universally with scorn. Since then, however, many people have begun to adapt and even accept Vista as a viable upgrade from windows XP. It’s not surprising that Microsoft was eager to be done with bad publicity but what IS surprising is that now instead of trying to enhance Vista they are eagerly moving on with Windows 7 for a release in 2009.

The oddness of the announcement really stems from the fact that Microsoft has been running PR damage recovery ads for the last few months. After spending the time and money to try to recover from the initial backlash of the launch it seems strange that they would abandon their product. Even more alarming is that those have adapted to Vista will soon find themselves with the problem of upgrading once again.

As I have mentioned before I have been running Windows Vista on my PC for two years now. While some performance issues do exists Vista has received more negative publicity then is really warranted. I bring this up to give perspective to what I’ve seen of Windows 7. Having spent some time with the beta version, Windows 7 feels more like a polished Windows Vista then a truly new operating system. Windows 7 is noticeably faster and has user interface improvements but overall the core components remain the same. The product seems like it should have been released as a Service Pack instead of a full-fledged release. Windows 7 seems more like a publicity stunt: release last year’s model with all the kinks worked out to negate all past negative publicity. Whether this is the case or not it will be interesting to see if Microsoft can learn from their mistakes when Windows 7 is released late next year.

- Richard Keene
IT Computer Support of New York
Design and Optimization Department

Chrome Beta 3 arrived recently to the fanfare of Google aficionados but few others. What is Chrome you might ask? Well for the uninitiated its Google’s news web foray; a proprietary internet browser that they had hoped would surpass IE and Firefox in user base. The promise behind Chrome stems primarily from its pedigree. The Google search engine took the world by storm and has grown to become an everyday household term. Google had hoped to do the same for web browsers.

So have they succeeded? Not quite. When the first Chrome Beta was released they held a respectable portion of the market share but since then users have actually dwindled. Currently Google Chrome has now settled into a holding pattern around 0.7 percent browser market share. The biggest problem facing Chrome is that there is already a competitor doing what they intend. Within the last five years, Firefox has quite literally taken the internet by storm.

As it stands now Chrome is the fastest browser on the market. Chrome is also secure, easy to use and attractive looking. But as for new killer features Chrome has very little to offer. Firefox already has the security, functionality, and higher degree of customization than any other browser on the marketplace. Also, looking at time frame, Firefox overtook Internet Explorer in functionality years ago but did not come close to matching its market share until quite recently. As a secure and reliable platform most people simply don’t see a reason to switch browsers. For this reason it is unlikely that Chrome will make any great leaps in its market share. It is not a bad product; just that for most users, there is no reason to upgrade from something that already works.

- Richard Keene
IT Computer Support of New York
Design and Optimization Department