Microsoft Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie
resurfaced some of Microsoft's history in a recent post on his
personal blog. In a sealed packet in his office, he uncovered the original press kit for Windows 1.0 and decided to put the
documents online. It's a fascinating look into the beginnings of computing and into a technology that has fundamentally changed our world. from
Yahoo News.
posted by Blake
on Oct 15, 2010 -
32 comments
``I managed developer teams in Windows for five years, and have only begun to reflect on the experience now that I have recently switched teams. Through a series of conversations with other leaders that have similarly left The Collective,
several root causes have emerged as lasting characterizations of what's really wrong in The Empire.'
posted by Blazecock Pileon
on Jun 18, 2006 -
75 comments
"In some cases, there really is no way to recover without nuking the systems from orbit." -- Mike Danseglio, program manager in the Security Solutions group at Microsoft
posted by Steven C. Den Beste
on Apr 4, 2006 -
43 comments
Ten years ago today, Microsoft released a
massive overhaul of their flagship product — Windows 95. It added support for 256-character mixed-case long filenames,
pre-emptive multitasking, and protected-mode 32-bit applications. Detractors noted that its
updated interface owed a number of debts to Apple's MacOS and IBM's OS/2. Most importantly, however, Windows 95 included built-in support for dial-up networking and a TCP/IP stack. Once this technology was widely-available, it was only a matter of time until the Internet became a household word.
posted by Plutor
on Aug 24, 2005 -
80 comments
The clueless reviews the Mac Mini His chief gripes are "The Mini boots up into a stripped-down operating system which Apple calls OS X, similar to the stripped-down WindowsCE OS found on many handhelds." and "No serial ports, no way to connect a printer, no PS/2 ports, no floppy drive, no 5.25" bays." Let the hate mail campaign begin!
posted by StormBear
on Feb 2, 2005 -
47 comments
Whizzkid develops Linux application for Windows [...]The significance of the development is that Linux and Windows are able to work in parallel on the same computer or server. To[sic] now, the computer world is divided into systems that operate either with Windows or with Linux. [...]
posted by Postroad
on Apr 12, 2004 -
33 comments
What software version numbers really mean. Not sure who started the latest trend of dropping version numbers from software. We could always blame Microsoft with Windows
ME . But Macromedia is at fault too with the whole
MX thing. And MX doesn't even stand for anything. Now Adobe is getting into the mix. There will be no Photoshop 8 or Illustrator 11. Just
CS . So is this a good thing? Version numbers may not be exciting but it sure did make it easy to keep track of the latest upgrade.
posted by jeremias
on Sep 29, 2003 -
42 comments
Windows Vulnerabilities XPlained I've always used Gibson Research's website to test my Windows system for
vulnerabilities. With the latest
BLAST aimed at MS, I thought to share his site with the class. While Mr. Gibson obviously has some axes to grind and bones to pick with
Microsoft and with various software
firewall makers, his explanations of how Windows can be XPloited in terms that are fairly easy to understand is most appreciated. Be sure to check out the numerous
free utiltites (
small downloads! I mean,
really small!) that will help you plug nearly every hole in your Windows.
Didn't know MS had shut down www.windowsupdate.com til just now, either
posted by WolfDaddy
on Aug 18, 2003 -
42 comments
Windows RG (Really Good) - a new build for the demanding windows user, and an early christmas present for all mac users.
posted by gravelshoes
on Mar 28, 2003 -
12 comments
While MS-bashing is often too easy, this statement about
recent security holes seemed especially astounding: "Outlook Express ships with every Windows system, or rather as part of IE, so it's on every system. But unless it is configured to receive mail, you are not at risk," said Scott Culp, manager for Microsoft security response. Interesting.
Unless it is configured to receive mail, like, you know, an email program.
posted by judith
on Oct 11, 2002 -
30 comments
Windows dissatisfaction at all time high. Of 1,500 corporations surveyed, nearly 40% are actively seeking alternatives to Microsoft and their new licensing schemes. "This cumulative dissatisfaction will not necessarily translate into corporate defections to rival operating systems. But it does open the door a crack and raises the possibility that Linux and Mac OS X can gain new footholds in an overwhelmingly Windows world."
posted by jragon
on Aug 6, 2002 -
12 comments
Celebrate, Windows users, you too can use the world's best MP3 player, with
the final release of
XPod
today, which gives
iPod compatiblity to
Windows.
And this is not the only option,
ephPod
does the same thing, but does require you to buy a copy of
MacOpener first.
Didn't Apple say they were coming out with their own Windows drivers for iPod
eventually?
posted by Mwongozi
on Jun 24, 2002 -
19 comments
Microsoft Windows + NSA = loopholes in security: "A careless mistake by Microsoft programmers has revealed that special access codes prepared by the US National Security Agency have been secretly built into [almost all versions of] Windows." an interesting article that really shouldnt be surprising, and all the more reason to buy a mac.
posted by sixtwenty3dc
on Mar 22, 2002 -
25 comments
Cairo on the horizon (again). Balmer talks of Microsoft's intention to integrate MSDE (i.e. SQL Server) technologies into the Windows filesystem. This long sought-after utopia of unified, object-oriented storage where files and directories become irrelavant has been talked about since 1994. It may, soon, be upon us.
posted by costas
on Mar 13, 2002 -
9 comments
Microsoft plans "doomsday defense". Microsoft Corp. plans to argue in court hearings next week that if antitrust sanctions sought by state prosecutors are granted, the company would be forced to pull its latest Windows computer operating systems off the market and be unable to develop new systems.
posted by aaronshaf
on Mar 4, 2002 -
56 comments
Do you have a 'Super Cookie' ??? Another m$ screw-up... Very interesting since wmp just minutes before tried to access the net through my firewall that is set to block all except a few programs. If you're running mozilla his
demo
doesn't hit but using msie it sures pulls up the ID# of my wmp... time to tighten things down again!!! Another blasted waste of time to fix what m$ should not have let out in the first place!!! Link via...
Inflight Correction
posted by tilt
on Jan 17, 2002 -
13 comments
FBI warns Microsoft XP users "The FBI is urging computer users to unplug and don't play when it comes to addressing serious security flaws found in Microsoft's new Windows XP program."
"Microsoft admitted this week that there are several serious glitches in the new software. "
Really?
posted by headlemur
on Dec 22, 2001 -
24 comments
Microsoft to end support for Windows 95/98. Apparently buried in the news releases of Windows XP, Microsoft says it will no longer support some of the older OSs by June of next year, along with a number of
other products. While this may sound like a good idea at first, could this be another thing that goes horribly wrong? (more inside...)
posted by PeteyStock
on Nov 20, 2001 -
30 comments
$100 million in fake software seized .The copies of Windows Millenium and Windows 2000 Professional were indistinguishable from the real thing except for their failure to crash every 15 minutes(I made that up).Ever burn a copy for friends? Is that wrong?
posted by Mack Twain
on Nov 17, 2001 -
31 comments
Justice Rejects Microsoft Penalty (yahoo news) The government considered but rejected penalties against Microsoft Corp. in its antitrust case that would have required the company to reveal the secret blueprints to its flagship Windows software and to distribute products from its fiercest rivals, court records show.
The Justice Department also set up an e-mail address where consumers and companies may send their comments about the antitrust settlement. That address is:
microsoft.atr@usdoj.gov Whether or not you're pro-Microsoft, anti-Microsoft, or on the fence... I encourage everyone to send their thoughts along.
posted by SilentSalamander
on Nov 16, 2001 -
9 comments
Microsoft, DOJ settlement close... but the deal apparently would not place significant limitations on functions that Microsoft could "bundle" into its Windows operating program. The judge is said to be concerned about the "national psyche," but will slapping Bill on the wrists really help things?
posted by tranquileye
on Nov 1, 2001 -
6 comments