After a long run of anti-trust suits, Microsoft has finally come to an agreement with the EU about how to solve the internet browser problem. The problem is that Microsoft delivers Windows bundled with Internet Explorer, which competing software developers claim is a breach of anti-trust laws.
The solution? When a fresh install of Microsoft Windows is made, the user gets a ballot screen, in which twelve candidates are displayed. The candidates are:
The ballot screen will first display this page:
When you click “OK”, you will then be taken to this page:
From here, all you need to do is simply to choose the browser you want, and that is what you’ll get. If you want more, you can of course download and install them on your own.
My only issue here is the sheer number of browsers, and I’ve got to admit, while I had tried a few of these browsers, I had never even heard of half of them. Still, the fact that the five dominant browsers are listed first, is a good thing, the other seven will only be shown if you actually scroll right. If you’re interested, you’ll do just that. If not, you won’t – simple as that.
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Posted by
razumny |
Categories:
Firefox,
Google Chrome,
Internet Explorer,
Microsoft Windows,
Opera,
Safari | Tagged:
anti-trust,
browser,
chrome,
Firefox,
flock,
Microsoft,
Opera |
My employer is slowly but surely implementing Microsoft Office 2007. One of the errors we’ve encountered has been a fatal error. It seems to be caused by one of the following two things:
- Default printer driver has become corrupted.
- Normal template has become corrupted.
To fix this problem, try the following, in order:
- Switch to a different default printer. If this fixes the issue, then you must delete and reinstall your original default printer.
- Delete the Normal template.
- Windows XP: go to %userprofile%\application data\microsoft\templates and delete the normal.dot or normal.dotm file that is listed there.
- Windows Vista: go to %userprofile%\appdata\roaming\microsoft\templates and delete the normal.dot or normal.dotm that exists there.
One of those two methods should fix the issue. If it reoccurs then the problem could be related to an addin that continues to corrupt the normal template, as well as a problem with the installed software.
I have long been of the opinion that where Microsoft have gone very, very badly wrong indeed when it comes to Windows is that they release multiple versions. The argument could be made that this is how it has been since NT4.0/98, but that argument doesn’t hold, because they ditched the Windows 98 line of development in favor of the NT line of development with the release of Windows XP.
XP, of course, was released in two versions, Home and Professional. More recently, Vista was launched with no less than six different versions. With the recent launch of the public beta of Windows 7, we see no less than five versions, with a possible sixth reserved for volume licence customers.
In my opinion, what any version of Linux, as well as what Mac OS have going for them is a simplicity of choice: choose distribution. You are done. With Windows, you first need to choose Windows, then choose which version you want. I think it is time that no matter your needs, your should be able to get all of the features, provided your hardware can handle them.
The division between XP Home and Professional was a mistake. Understandable, but a mistake. Why do Microsoft keep making the same rutting mistakes???
I rarely write posts off the cuff, but this warrants it. Microsoft has released Security Bulletin MS08-059, along with a hotfix for the problem detailed. There are already exploits in the wild to take advantage of the hotfix.
What I ask is simply this: Update your computer. Run Windows Update, and update your computer.
Here’s the bulletin from Microsoft:
Bulletin Identifier – Microsoft Security Bulletin MS08-059
Bulletin Title – Vulnerability in Host Integration Server RPC Service Could Allow Remote Code Execution (956695)
Executive Summary – This security update resolves a privately reported vulnerability in Microsoft Host Integration Server. The vulnerability could allow remote code execution if an attacker sent a specially crafted Remote Procedure Call (RPC) request to an affected system. Customers who follow best practices and configure the SNA RPC service account to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than customers who configure the SNA RPC service account to have administrative user rights.
Maximum Severity Rating – Critical
Impact of Vulnerability – Remote Code Execution
Detection – Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer can detect whether your computer system requires this update. The update may require a restart.
2008 STFU && RTFM