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A while back, I posted the Bye Bye Windows article, which got the most views and unique comments so far. The problem I had was that suddenly, my computer went on restarting every few minutes. I had no time to update, backup or do anything. Even Check Volume for errors could not finish successfully for most of the time. I am still looking for Leopard release of Mac Book Pro to move away from Windows, however for people who will keep using Windows, I got my part of the story to share for end user benefit. After several attempts of restore, and update, Windows Error Reporting finally gave back useful hints. I think they had it with my Send Error every few minutes so they decided to help me out. The problem turned out to be a conflict with my ATI Radeon X600 PRO video card. There was an optional update on Windows Update that was more crucial than all other critical updates, at least to me, and possibly other thousands of users around the world. Getting the update, after knowing it was tough by it self, since my PC kept restarting all the time, until I managed to get it right, and after then everything went fine.

This is awkward however. I had this PC for almost two years with no such incident, not that obvious at least. Why all of a sudden it started hammering me? Was it something I installed? Not manually definitely for the past few weeks. Checking the logs I noticed that one week back, Windows had two automatic mass critical updates, and logic conclusion is that, only those updates must have caused the problem. I had a habit of disallowing automatic updates, but using Firefox seems to have kept me safe so I let it go this time, and this was the result. The problem is, the only critical updates are Microsoft security patches, and Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA), which is an anti-piracy program for Microsoft products. Question mark on why is that marked as critical, big question mark. They even give you an option to show you why this is useful upon installation! Anyhow, the problem is that, those critical service affecting updates are not marked by Windows as critical, but rather as optional, which most people will ignore. Specially those who has Windows set on automatic update. Right now, I switch it back to alert before install. I suggest all users to check all updates before installation, and see what they might affect. See also if there are related optional updates that might be needed.

The funny side of the story is, once I restored my PC to a working state, and had automatic Windows update disabled, Windows started threatening me that your computer might be at risk. Well I prefer to be at risk rather than safely offline!

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You have something to say, say it in the face. This is the message the Linux community is giving to Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft. Since Microsoft made the deal with Novell, Steve Ballmer has been making silent claims here and there that Linux are violating Microsoft’s intellectual property, and that Microsoft should be paid for those license. Now, the Linux community is not afraid and is challenging Microsoft and Steve Ballmer to Show Us The Code. As they state in their site: “Publicly pledge your support for Microsoft showing the public the code within Linux that violates their intellectual property by May 1st, 2007″. ShowUsTheCode are saying basically, that if by the appointed date, Microsoft can show the part of the code where Linux is violating their intellectual property, this will allow Linux developers to address the issue and modify the part of the kernel or operating system. If Microsoft however cannot prove anything by the appointed date,  being a bluff will be a word that will hunt ballmer you for the rest of your life. More on Slashdot.

I am not really fully aware of all the details of the story, and how the Microsoft-Novell agreement does make Linux violating the intellectual property, but that call today made it clear. Linux are not afraid, and even if there are property violations, they are going to address it, and Ballmer’s dream of a world FREE of open source OS is not going to happen. I believe that’s why Ballmer didn’t want to go in the face in the first place, he doesn’t want them to resolve the issue, and rather wants to make Linux pay Microsoft shares. I will be waiting eagerly for that 1st May.

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Soon, by God’s well, I will be using a new laptop. A laptop that does not have Windows in it. It will be a bit dark, I will no more see the BLUE sky. My visitors will also have to use the front door. Windows are no longer there for sneaking behind, and my Guards will also have more time to rest. It will be more solid as a rock, and I won’t need to call for help repairing my broken Windows. It will also be more quite and cold, without Windows hard workers noise will not reach my ear, and the heat will not step through my door.

People who know me know I am not a guy of luxury. I would spend however a lot of money for efficiency. Being a developer means I go playing with softwares all day long, configuring my development environment once and get going after then. The nightmare however keeps haunting me. Someone is going to jump right through my Windows, and I won’t be able to get him out, unless I build the whole house from scratch again. I buy the best piece of hardware, and be so careful with software. Yet, Windows keeps amazing me how fast it can make me cry. It is less than two years of careful PC usage and my Windows keeps restarting every few minutes. I tried everything from check disk, to disable all hibernate, sleep mode, and even Automatic Restart on Failure. They all failed. System Restore is another mystery from Windows that didn’t seem to make it out of Alpha. I don’t think I will live the day to see it working! I had it enabled with full Disk Space usage (I gave it faith) and it still fails to restore to any point. It does not give the single point of hint why it failed, and just asks you to try until you die. The Error Reporting is another disaster. The only time I got a reply was when a video player crashed, I sent the report and immediately got the response. Error Cause was that Video Player, resolution was to uninstall it!

Well Microsoft, what goes around comes around. The cause of failure is Windows and I am leaving it behind. I am welling to pay few bucks more than to live a slave for my PC. Within the last year, I got my brothers buying Toshiba laptop each as the best choice in the market, one of them had to format within a month to overcome a virus, and the other is already getting the blue screen in less than 3 months time of use. Linux was my second choice, but from what I’ve seen Mac is so much powerful and faster. That’s what I want. Recently, I have got Apple MacBook Pro for two of my friends, and I just can’t see them any happier. The difference in price is considerable, but if you are a heavy user, have lot of work and hate to hear those cranking sounds and wait few seconds just because you clicked My Computer, then it’s worth it. I will keep my computer running Windows for the family, testing, use it for some of the stuff that does not run on Mac, like video games (I just can’t quit adventure games that easy), but my real work is going to be residing on Mac. Here is the laptop I got my eyes on for your interest.

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My brother in-law forwarded an email to me that he received from Epocrates, a mobile drug guide used by doctors. The email was a proactive information to the end user that currently Palm OS and Windows Mobile (Pocket PC) OS software applications, including the Epocrates applications cannot be installed or synced with Windows Vista computers as of now. The email urges users to postpone upgrade of Windows Vista until a solution is in place. The company also says they cannot commit to a deadline as the fix requires changes from both Palm and Microsoft. Below is a copy of that email:

” Dear …,
We think it’s important to let you know that many Palm® OS and Windows Mobile® (Pocket PC) OS software applications, including all Epocrates products, cannot at this time be installed or synced via computers with the new Windows Vista operating system.

We strongly recommend that if at all possible, you postpone installing Vista or upgrading to a new PC with Vista installed.

Since resolution of this problem depends upon software changes by both Palm and Microsoft, we regret that we cannot give you a firm date for a fix.
If you are already using Windows Vista, please review our FAQ for the latest recommendations from our customer support and engineering teams. Read FAQ »

Thank you for your patience and understanding.
Sincerely,
The Epocrates Team”

This is a really bad image for the new OS. New OS should be backward compatible as much as possible, and I do understand sometimes change is unavoidable. But with Windows Mobile, they should be more proactive to avoid such messages. Same thing happened with XBox 360 which was not backward compatible. I heard there are ways to make old games run, but still, it was not ready by it self to do so.

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Following the funny video ads that went on Apple site against Windows Vista, Bill Gates did not feel overwhelmed at all and is now enforcing the purchase of an expensive version of Vista to legally install it on Apple. While technically, you can use the Home Basic and Home Premium, and probably most people will anyways, you are legally not allowed to do this. More…

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While Bill Gates him self made fun of the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) to the press, he did not like at all the Mac Video Ad making fun of Windows upgrade to latest Vista. The ad shows a person on going a surgery for the upgrade, and he is afraid he just won’t make it out of it alive, and tells his will for the Mac guy. Bill Gates got so angry and fired at Macintosh in an interview with Daily News. Will Mr. Gates, guess what goes around one way or another, does come around. Read the interview here. And don’t forget to see the Ad it self.

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From the begin of the Windowing systems, people claim that Bill Gates copied Apple interface and credited it for him self. Now with Vista soon going in for public, many are also saying it’s a copy of Mac OS X, while the Microsoft fans are talking in pride about the innovative Vista interface.

New York Times have this video demonstrating the clear differences between the two, for you to watch and judge. Click here to watch it. Enjoy.

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