Microsoft announced Thursday that starting next month, it will begin automatically upgrading its users to the most recent version of its Internet Explorer browser.
Customers on Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7 with automatic updating enabled via Windows Update will be bumped up to the latest version of IE in the coming months. For Vista and Windows 7, that's IE9, and for XP, that's IE8. The upgrades will start for customers in Brazil and Australia, and roll out gradually to the rest of the world, Microsoft said in a blog post.
If you want to upgrade at your own pace or keep your current browser, Microsoft has an IE8 and IE9 Automatic Update Blocker toolkit, which prevents automatic browser upgrades. There's also the option to block the full upgrade.
If you've declined a previous installation of IE8 or IE9 via Windows Update in the past, meanwhile, you will not receive the auto-update. There's also the option to uninstall updates and return to the browser that came with your copy of Windows. Future versions of IE will also allow an opt-out for automatic upgrading.
Why does this even matter? Basically, having an up-to-date browser is the safest way to surf the Web. Updates include security patches and fixes for bugs that might make your browser vulnerable to attacks. But many people don't take the time to update their browser or, in some cases, even realize such an option exists. That's one of the reasons why so many people are still running IE6, despite Microsoft begging for people to ditch the aging browser.
Google's Chrome provides automatic upgrades for its users, usually with regular, incremental updates. Mozilla's Firefox recently switched to a more Chrome-esque fast-release cycle, and back in May, it automatically upgraded Firefox 3.5 users to 3.6.
Microsoft announced Thursday that starting next month, it will begin automatically upgrading its users to the most recent version of its Internet Explorer browser.
Customers on Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7 with automatic updating enabled via Windows Update will be bumped up to the latest version of IE in the coming months. For Vista and Windows 7, that's IE9, and for XP, that's IE8. The upgrades will start for customers in Brazil and Australia, and roll out gradually to the rest of the world, Microsoft said in a blog post.
If you want to upgrade at your own pace or keep your current browser, Microsoft has an IE8 and IE9 Automatic Update Blocker toolkit, which prevents automatic browser upgrades. There's also the option to block the full upgrade.
If you've declined a previous installation of IE8 or IE9 via Windows Update in the past, meanwhile, you will not receive the auto-update. There's also the option to uninstall updates and return to the browser that came with your copy of Windows. Future versions of IE will also allow an opt-out for automatic upgrading.
Why does this even matter? Basically, having an up-to-date browser is the safest way to surf the Web. Updates include security patches and fixes for bugs that might make your browser vulnerable to attacks. But many people don't take the time to update their browser or, in some cases, even realize such an option exists. That's one of the reasons why so many people are still running IE6, despite Microsoft begging for people to ditch the aging browser.
Google's Chrome provides automatic upgrades for its users, usually with regular, incremental updates. Mozilla's Firefox recently switched to a more Chrome-esque fast-release cycle, and back in May, it automatically upgraded Firefox 3.5 users to 3.6.
The oft-lampooned and frequently confusing Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) will get a new look with Microsoft's next release of its operating system. The BSOD indicates a critical, non-recoverable error, and thus far has displayed an arcane (at least to most end users) set of text (seen above).
The new BSOD seems to take its inspiration from the snarky "Aw, Snap" error shown when a Google Chrome tab crashes. Fortunately, that Chrome tab crash can be fixed, in general, with a reload of the one tab.
A Windows 8 BSOD shows a "sad face" and the error message "Your PC ran into a problem that it couldn't handle, and now it needs to restart." It's much more concise and to the point, although the message still won't be well received.
In addition, the new BSOD screen will include an error message that can later be Googled (OK, it's Microsoft, so let's say Binged). That's a lot better than having to look up the confusion techno-speak former BSOD information.
We've seen far less BSODs with Windows 7 than either Windows Vista or Windows XP, so hopefully we'll see even fewer (or none) with Windows 8. It's also possible this is just a snarky developer statement in the preview version of Windows 8, and will be removed later.
iCloud could be it. It could be the reason that Windows XP users need to get them off that OS, and onto Windows Vista or Windows 7.
Buried in the press release that Apple issued when it announced the iCloud service on Monday was the following tidbit of information:
Using iCloud with a PC requires Windows Vista or Windows 7; Outlook 2010 or 2007 is recommended for accessing contacts and calendars.
Windows Vista or Windows 7 ... no Windows XP, which despite its age, remains the world most popular OS (although Windows 7 is gaining fast).
It will also force folks off of Office 2003, although the word used there to refer to Outlook, recommended, may mean that Office 2003 can be used instead of 2010 or 2007.
At any rate, Windows XP is truly a creaky OS. While we admit that Windows Vista left a lot to be desired, Windows 7 is much better. However, those using Windows XP might be doing it simply because their hardware won't support Windows Vista or Windows 7.
This sort of thing might actually force a hardware upgrade, too.
When speaking about where printer manufacturers make their money, it's all about the consumables. In other words, it has to do with ink and toner, and not so much the printer hardware. This, of course, is why OEMs dislike generic ink and toner.
Given that, most would love to reduce their ink and toner costs, and a (now) free Windows utility aims to do just that.
It's called PretonSaver Home. It purports to reduce on consumable costs by removing overlapping pixels from a printed page. And the company says it's compatible with virtually all printers and software.
Preton's utility originally sold for $39.95, and then later for $19.95. Now, it's free for home use, at least for a limited time. It supports Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7.
If you visit their website, you can get a free activation code. The code has to be used within the first 24 hours (by installing the software, available in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions and entering the code) or it will become invalid. It's unclear how long the free offer will last.
Does it work? It seems to. Testing on our laser and inkjet printers seem to show little effect on the output, unless you look very, very carefully. That said our driver software indicated we were definitely saving ink and toner.
The software can automatically omit pictures and graphics, and users can also set the "aggressiveness" of the software in terms of savings (and also, naturally, the effect it has on quality). Give it a try. As noted, it's free!
Microsoft was very happy with its 24-hour download numbers for its new Internet Explorer 9 browser, as it should have been: 2.35 million downloads in 24 hours is nothing to sneeze at. However, it's closest rival in terms of market share, Firefox, has just released version 4, and ended up doubling that number, in less than a full 24 hours.
Firefox 4 adds a host of changes, including speed improvements that, based on our testing, make dramatic improvements on the Sunspider 0.9.1 Javascript benchmark. While that is just one test, it's a benchmark that many are using nowadays to promote their browser performance.
Less than a full 24 hours in, Firefox 4 had been downloaded 4.7 million times, or double the Internet Explorer downloads in a full 24 hours. The information comes from glow.mozilla.com, the site Mozilla is using to keep live updates on downloads.
As of the time of this writing, the downloads have reached 7.8 million. Most of those downloads have been in Europe, with over 3.4 million done there, and North America trailing in second at about 2 million. Germany has the most Firefox 4 downloads in Europe, at 650,000, but U.S. users have downloaded the Firefox 4 browser 1.6 million times.
It is true that Firefox has a built-in advantage over IE9. Microsoft is only supporting Windows Vista and Windows 7 with that browser, while most estimates are that 40 percent of Internet users are still on Windows XP. Firefox is available for Windows XP.
Firefox was the first alternative browser to really make inroads on Internet Explorer's market share, after IE took the Web browser title from Netscape. Of late, however, Chrome has begun making serious inroads on browser use. In terms of global browser use, Firefox has lost market share to Google's Chrome; Chrome now accounts for more than 10 percent of Web browser usage globally.
Admittedly, Windows Phone is still a nascent smartphone platform, so these numbers should not be considered all "that bad." And really, they're comparing apples to oranges. Still, it makes for a good headline.
Windows Phone 7 is still struggling to catch on. According to a recent report from Chitika, based on numbers coming through sites in its advertising network, is that the platform is currently outnumbered by the obsolete Windows 98. In fact, visits from users running Windows 98 outnumber visits from Windows Phone 7 users by nearly 2 to 1.
It's not all bad news. And in fact, perhaps a better take on the story is that Windows Phone 7 is already halfway to the browser share of all other Microsoft mobile OSes combined. After all, the headline is more attention grabbing, in the negative, than in the positive.
WP7 is showing growth. In fact, in December, Chitika saw WP7 sending about 0.4 percent as much traffic as iPhone and Android (combined). It its latest numbers, that number has rose to 0.44 percent, which is a 10 percent rise, though still tiny.
We're surprised at the Windows 98 numbers, ourselves. Admittedly, not everyone in emerging nations can upgrade their hardware to handle Windows Vista or 7, but XP ran just fine on our Windows 98 box, and was a lot more stable. As much as Microsoft might not want to admit it, there are also plenty of pirated copies of Windows XP around, too.
Target has a pre Black Friday 2010 sale scheduled, running from this coming Sunday up to Wednesday, just before Thanksgiving. The leaked ad shows off an interesting 10.1" Acer netbook.
The netbook appears to be an older model, a Acer 10.1" Netbook with 1GB of memory, a 160GB hard drive, and Windows XP for $179.99. Normally the price is $239.99 at Target, so it's basically 25 percent off. The fact that it's running Windows XP shouldn't be a turn-off: many still consider XP just fine for their needs.
There are plenty of clothes, toys, housewares, games and consumer electronics for sale, as well. It's possible you could hit this pre Black Friday sale and not even have to deal with the overwhelming Black Friday crowds.
Among other electronics are:
Nintendo DSi gaming console - $119.99
Vizio 37" 1080p LCD HDTV - $399.99
RCA Portable 10" Blu-ray Player - $199.99
HTC Droid Incredible - $49.99 (with 2 year contract)
It's always hilarious when a security firm has its site hacked or has some other security-related SNAFU occur that you would think their own products could prevent. Such is the case with Kaspersky Labs, which recently saw its site not just hacked, but serving up malware.
Reports first came from users on Kaspersky's own support forums. The company initially denied the issue, with tech support and this user having the following conversation:
I called Kaspersky this morning and they are denying that this happened. They are stating that I must have went to a phishing site or a site that looks like them. Sorry Kaspersky, I typed the correct URL above and was redirected directly from your web site. I even went to my order email from Kaspersky I purchase 7-months ago. I clicked the download link from that email and sure enough I was redirected to the same malware site. Kaspersky said that email was probably a fake email. Really, because it has all my order information on it and it worked 7-months ago. If that email was a fake, then there are even more concerns.
Kaspersky, however, finally 'fessed up. They said, in a statement:
“The website was simulating a Windows XP Explorer window and a popup window showing scanning process on the local computer and offering the user a fake antivirus program to install. The domain was making these redirections for 3.5 hours in total.”
Kaspersky said that the attack didn't expose customer data and that the exploit was contained quickly after it was discovered, which took some time, we assume, since they were initially denying it.
Microsoft's Internet Explorer 9 opened its public beta with a splash on Wednesday, but more than have the PCs in the world can't currently run it. That's because IE9 uses the Direct2D API, to accelerate content rendering with your GPU, and therein lies the rub: Direct2D is only on Windows Vista and later OSes.
That means, Microsoft told the Register, that you won't be able to get IE9 on Windows XP. Based on last month's Net Applications data, Windows XP ran on 52.1 percent of all Windows PCs used to browse the Web last month, while Vista accounted for 27 percent and Windows 7 for 20.8 percent. That's in the U.S., and XP has a greater share outside America.
Chrome and Firefox are still able to leverage HW acceleration on XP because they use different methods. Chrome implements uses OpenGL graphics APIs for rendering; Firefox uses an intermediate layer to work with DirectX 9 and OpenGL.
Of course, the current release of IE9 is a beta, and it will take time to reach release status. During that time, Windows XP market share will drop, as it has been. Still, it seems a poor move on Microsoft's part to exclude so many current users, particularly outside the U.S., where migration to a new OS takes longer.
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