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Sorted by Date / Sorted by Topic
| |  Looks like we have a real snoozer of a Patch Tuesday coming up.
There are four patches anticipated, all of them "important" (which means, of course, that they aren't). One's for Exchange, another for SQL Server. You can safely ignore them for several weeks.
Get patched up (see the next post), then make sure Automatic Updates are turned off. Go read a good book. | |
| | Looks like Microsoft has fixed the last big-time problems with June's "Black Tuesday" patches. The re-release of MS08-030 - which, golly, didn't even patch Windows XP SP2 or SP3 machines - seems to have brought the big bad patch back into line. Other Black Tuesday patches seem to be OK.
I'm recommending that you install all outstanding Microsoft patches, with two exceptions:
If you run XP, don't install Windows XP Service Pack 3. I tried to run the SP3 upgrade on a laptop over the weekend and ran into all sorts of problems. Ultimately I simply wiped the disk and re-installed Windows from scratch. Not a pretty picture. SP3 doesn't have anything you need, and it can cause grief. Avoid it.
If you run Vista, don't install KB 952709, the "reliability and performance update" for Vista SP1. I haven't seen enough results on that patch to make me feel the least bit warm or fuzzy.
With those two exceptions, get yourself updated. I'm moving us down to MS-DEFCON 4: There are isolated problems with current patches, but they are well-known and documented here. Check this site to see if you're affected and if things look OK, go ahead and patch. | |
| | I started choking when I read the op-ed piece in yesterday's New York Times called "Windows Could Use a Rush of Fresh Air."
The article is so.... not right. I can't even begin to list all the erros. The idea that Microsoft Research - the home of several of my current and former friends - is "where scientists and their heretical thoughts are safely isolated" beggars even my imagination.
I could start ranting here, but Ed Bott has done a
thorough job.
Word to the wise: if you have heart problems, or are easily swayed by self-appointed experts, skip the NY Times piece and go straight to Bott's analysis. | |
| | The entire WOPR website is about to take the plunge, from its old server to the one that also hosts AskWoody.com and KhunWoody.com.
Starting tomorrow at 7:00 pm Eastern Standard Time (that's Eastern US, for those of you who live in far-flung realms), WOPR and the Lounge will be frozen - turned read-only while we wait for the Domain Name Servers to catch up.
Then on Monday or Tuesday, when everything's in synch, we'll bring the Lounge back online.
Keep your fingers crossed - and burn a candle for Mike and Claude. Oh. Wait a sec. Not for Claude. He already has all the fires he can handle... | |
| |  Microsoft has just released a patch for Vista Home Premium and Ultimate, fixing several problems with Media Center in Vista.
They've also released an extender that allows Vista Media Center to work with newer set-top boxes.
I haven't heard of any problems yet, but you might want to wait a while before installing these guys - particularly if you aren't experiencing the problems they deal with. | |
| |  I just noticed that Adobe has issued yet another critical patch for Acrobat and Adobe Reader. (You use Foxit to read PDF files, right? If so, the Adobe patch shouldn't concern you.)
Instead of trying to follow individual program patches (of which there are many every month), I strongly urge you to download and run a simple, free program from Secunia called Personal Software Inspector.
It'll scan your computer and warn you about obsolete, hole-ridden versions of many, many different applications. More than that, PSI points you to the latest fixes, and gives you hints on how to bring all of your potentially insecure apps up to speed.
Great program. Absolutely free. | |
| |  Yes, you read that right. Microsoft has just released a patch for Vista Service Pack 1.
The plugged problems? According to Microsoft, this patch tackles:
Crashes when you run Windows Mail or Mozilla Thunderbird (mail program) and you have both ZoneAlarm and Spybot running.
Hangs when you delete user accounts.
Excel 2007 reporting "EXCEL.EXE is not a valid Win32 application". (I particularly like that one.)
"Reducing the number of crashes that may be caused by the Apple QuickTime thumbnail preview in Windows Live Photo Gallery." Microsoft must've eaten a lot of crow on that one.
Reducing the amount of "stuttering [which] may occur when the audio or video component is streaming high definition content from a Windows Vista SP1-based computer that has a NVIDIA network adapter nForce driver version 67.5.4.0 that is installed to a Windows Media Center Extender device."
If you have SP1, and you've fallen victim to any of those problems, mosey over to Microsoft's site and install the fix. But realize that (based on historical precedent) there's at least a 50-50 chance Microsoft will patch this patch, too. | |
| | Thanks to the wizardry of Mike Wolfman and Claude Almer, and an able assist from Seth Bareiss, AskWoody is back, better than before. Better? Yes, the Lounge is now on the AskWoody server. We've cranked it all up a bit to make your Lounging experience a little, uh, less leisurely. Your old links should work, and everything appears to be going gangbusters.
It'll still take a little while for Khunwoody.com to come back on stream, and I'm having a Real Fun Time (TM) getting email going again, but by and large it went pretty well.
Stay tuned. I'll get back to posting shortly. | |
| |  Ever wondered why I suggest that you wait to install Black Tuesday patches?
Here's yet another example.
Microsoft just re-released MS08-030 (that's the Bluetooth patch). It took 'em nine days to figure out that the patch wasn't working at all for Windows XP, and to get an updated patch posted. Patch spokesman Christopher Budd has the details on the MS Security Response Center blog:
After we released MS08-030 we learned that the security updates for Windows XP SP2 and SP3 might not have been fully protecting against the issues discussed in that bulletin. As soon as we learned of that possibility, we mobilized our Software Security Incident Response Process (SSIRP) to investigate the issue.
Our investigation found that while the other security updates were providing protections for the issues discussed in the bulletin, the Windows XP SP2 and SP3 updates were not.
We remain at MS-DEFCON 2: Patch reliability is unclear. Unless you have an immediate, pressing need to install a specific patch, don't do it.
As long as you're using Firefox, and not Internet Explorer, you have nothing to fear. | |
| |  Mozilla Foundation's John Lilly just announced that:
There were more than 8.3 million downloads of Firefox 3 in the first 24 hours.
At one day old, Firefox 3 commanded a 4% market share among all browsers.
People from 200 different countries downloaded Firefox 3.
Their peak mirror throughput was 20 gigabits per second.
Stunning. And it only melted down a few times, at the beginning. Congratulations and thanks to all of you who participated. | |
| | After more than a few meltdown problems, the Firefox servers are up and blazing.
Do your part to spread the word - and help yourself to the best Web browser ever made - by hitting the download site and helping yourself to a heap of free bits.
Ya gotta be proud of this amazing achievement.... | |
| |  This just in from the Dell site:
Per the Microsoft Windows Life-Cycle policy, Direct OEM and Retail License Availability for Windows XP will End-Of-Life (EOL) on June 30, 2008. To meet Microsoft's June 30 last-day-to-ship OEM Windows XP deadline, June 18 is the last time to purchase a Dell laptop, desktop, or workstation with an OEM Windows XP license (or while supplies last).
After June 18th you have the option to purchase Windows Vista Business or Windows Vista Ultimate with a downgrade service to Windows XP Professional.
This option will be available on XPS 630, 720 H2C, and M1730 systems. After June 18th, Windows XP will no longer be offered on currently available Inspiron desktops.
You all know that I greatly prefer Vista to XP, and recommend that you get Vista Home Premium on all of your new computers, so the news from Dell shouldn't send any shivers down your spine. Still, it's made me a little nostalgic. | |
| | Want to help set a Guinness World Record?
The folks at Firefox have tabbed June 17 the official Firefox 3 "Download Day". The next version of Firefox will go live on that date, and gazillions of people will be downloading the program.
I'd like to invite you to join me and help set a new record for the most downloads ever, in one day. Hit the Download Day site and join in a truly historic event!
You are using Firefox, aren't you?
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| | Microsoft just released seven security bulletins, none of which appear to be life-threatening. They're all Windows-related.
Batten down the hatches and stay tuned. | |
| |  I think.
Microsoft has just announced that a Release Candidate for Windows Home Server "Power Pack 1" is now available for downloading.
Power Pack 1 includes two new features (more about that in a moment), but by far the most important part of the Power Pack is a patch to the data-eating bug Microsoft first announced last December.
Yes, it took that long to fix the bug. (No, for most people, the bug wasn't a show-stopper.)
The two new features: you can now run the Windows Home Server backup program (called the "Connector") on PCs using 64-bit versions of Windows; and with Power Pack 1 you can back up the contents of shared folders, on an external drive. We were all hoping that PP1 would allow you to back up your WHS backup files, but that feature got the heave-ho.
Given the WHS dev team's track record (which is quite good), you might want to consider installing this beta.
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