Windows 7 has surpassed the 10% mark of market share, selling faster than other operating systems in the same time period. Although, Windows in general has dropped a small amount, the new operating system is selling like hot cakes!
Last month, Windows 7 crossed into double-digit market share numbers. Microsoft disclosed that it sold more than 60 million copies of Windows 7 by the end of 2009, and now we know this very quick growth has continued through the first quarter of 2010.
Windows Server 2008 R2 is the last Microsoft Server OS to support Intels older 64-bit CPU, Itanium. While it had a good run, better and lower cost processors (Xeon, Opteron) won out in the end. Some see this as Microsoft moving on towards the future (which is a good thing), while the nay-sayers will claim that Microsoft doesn’t support older hardware. I guess you can’t please everyone, right?
Current support for Itanium remains unchanged.
First, a disclosure: a lot of my online and personal friends are Microsoft MVP’s. This article is taking an experience from ONE Microsoft MVP, and rolling it into the whole collective of them. While I have seen my fair share of MVP’s acting very unprofessionally and have the “elitist” attitude, the majority (Close to 99%) are very professional, kind and have earned their MVP designation. They are intelligent, willing and able to help others, and share their knowledge. Of course, it does take a single bad apple to give the rest a bad reputation.
One thing to clarify, however: Microsoft MVP’s do not take a test, it is not a certification showing that they have the skills to support the products. It is an award and a designation showing that they help others in a professional manner. If you want to hire a person, the MVP shows that they can take the initiative to learn and share their knowledge, even if it is only with a “Hello World” type of application.
I’ve also seen some MVP’s that are very, VERY knowledgable with one Microsoft product but lack any skill with another. I’m not sure if the author of this article was misinformed as to what the goals and point of the MVP program is, but I know there are some MVP’s out there that could put people with a Dr. degree and massive certifications to shame. Others, not so much. Copy and paste has been the friend of a few MVP’s, but at least they are out there helping others. Which is more that a lot of other people do. What good is information if it can’t be shared?
The other day I had the chance to peruse the work of another developer, a Microsoft MVP. The code was less than impressive. To be frank, it stunk, but it stunk in a strange way. It had a weird combination of advanced technique and rank naivet
You XBox gamers out there can customize your avatar with a new set of free Modern Warfare 2 night vision goggles. These look pretty cool, if I say so myself!
Everyone at Xbox LIVE is excited to offer the Modern Warfare 2 Stimulus Package first on Xbox LIVE. Infinity Ward, Activision, and Xbox are celebrating the launch and would like to thank everyone by offering the entire Xbox LIVE community free Modern Warfare 2 Night Vision Goggles for your avatar.
For those that are training for certifications, or just wanting to brush up on your Windows skills, Trainsignal is releasing their newest video series: Windows 3.1 Training.
Glen “The Raptor” Wiznewski introduces a revolutionary new training course for the Microsoft Windows 3.1 Operating System. This amazing training is available on 16 VHS Cassette Tapes and 48 Double-side Audiocassette tapes, for training “on the go”.
What’s tomorrow again?
Microsoft has been telling people that Windows 7 is the most secure Windows yet. But, how does it compare to other operating systems? From what I’ve been reading lately, it does very good. I have to agree that Windows 7 is a pretty secure operating system, when done right. Turning off UAC, running everything as Administrator, and other little things that make it easier to use, makes it a lot less secure. Some people even think they don’t need anti-virus software because they are smart as to what sites they go to…
Mike Halsey has asked the question: “Do we really care if Windows 7 is insecure or not?”. A good read, for sure, and sure to spark some interesting conversation.
So where am I going with this?
This isn’t directly Microsoft related, but still very important. I’ve seen this myself, and this man knows what he is talking about. Most of your online information is secured by a password, and that password is your key to enter the website. Some people use the same password again and again for every site they visit, as well as having a very weak password (“password”, really?!). Read this article, and think about how secure your information is online.
Hackers, and I
It seems that Windows really is a secure operating system. You can stop most of the vulnerabilities of Windows by not running your account as an Administrator. Using a normal User account and only elevating when you need to has been a new standard way of doing things since Windows Vista, but many people change that to run as Administrators all the time. Similar to the way Linux does things (sudo, su), most of what you do can be done as a user, only using the Admin account when you absolutely need to (change system files, install programs). This greatly slows down the way malware and viruses can infect your PC, as they usually need administrator rights to install their infected files.
After tabulating all the vulnerabilities published in Microsoft’s 2009 Security Bulletins, it turns out 90 percent of the vulnerabilities can be mitigated by configuring users to operate without administrator rights, according to a report by BeyondTrust. As for the published Windows 7 vulnerabilities through March 2010, 57 percent are no longer applicable after removing administrator rights.
I’ve used different varieties of these programs (nLite, vLite) for some time, and have had great success. Into Windows does a walkthrough on how easy it is to integrate your drivers onto a Windows 7 installation disk. There are a lot of other options, as well, to make your life easier when installing and reinstalling Windows.
Integrating hardware drivers in Windows 7 installation setup is very simple with vLite. Although vLite was designed for Windows 7
Mainly aimed at the IT professional, Microsoft has extended its free trial of Windows 7 Enterprise edition to December 31st, 2010. So, if you or your business is on the fence on whether or not to pull the trigger on the new OS, download it and give it a try. Dual boot, throw it on a spare machine to test apps and compatibility and move forward. Also, if you are working on your MCTS/MCITP certifications for Windows 7, this makes an easy way to study: actually using the operating system!
The Enterprise trial is designed specifically for IT Professionals, so that you can test your software and hardware on a final version of the product. In addition, it provides the opportunity for you to become more familiar with the key improvements over previous versions of the Windows operating system, and experience firsthand how Windows 7 can make your PC environment more productive, secure, and manageable.
