Windows 7 battery dispute continues
Although Microsoft is firmly denying that Windows 7 is causing any battery problems (see previous post), people are still pointing fingers at Windows 7. Computerworld has a roundup of what is being said.
Monitor your bandwidth usage
Caps of some sort on bandwidth usage are becoming more prevalent. Video eats up huge chunks of bandwidth and the Internet service providers are looking for ways to meter how much you use. If you would like to keep track of your bandwidth consumption, there are several free programs for that purpose. In addition to checking how much bandwidth you use overall, it can also be a good idea to see if some individual program is consuming unusual amounts. It’s one way to look out for Trojan horse infections. One free program with a number of features is NetWorx.
Via Cybernet.
How entrenched mediocrity can persist
As far as I can tell, a large majority of computer professionals believe that the Internet Explorer (IE) browser is inferior to Firefox or the up-and-coming Chrome. Nonetheless, IE still claims over 60% of worldwide usage. IE usage has been slipping but the majority of the world still uses what is generally considered an inferior product.
How does a product widely regarded as inferior maintain such a large edge? The advantage to Microsoft of having IE built in and already on the desktop of the vast majority of PCs in the world cannot be overestimated. The EC has tried to do something about this but I doubt that it will make much difference. Great numbers of PC users associate the Internet with IE; in fact, many people I encounter think the big E on their desktop is the Internet. They have no idea what a browser is or how the PC uses one to see sites on the Internet. And even when they are aware of the function of a browser, they are much too intimidated by the idea of downloading and installing a different browser to ever consider anything but IE. Technically adept types who insist that anyone can install another browser are on a different planet. Yes, in principle, almost anyone could. But almost anyone could change the spark plugs in a car engine also and how many drivers do that? The practical matter is that ordinary people are not only afraid of many “easy” things about PCs but are also totally uninterested in learning how to do these “easy” things. They don’t want to have to constantly configure, update, install stuff or maintain their PC. They just want it to do a job. They have other things to do with their life besides struggle with a PC. So they keep on using a mediocre browser.
The remarkable showing of Firefox in obtaining about one-quarter market share in the face of the IE hurdle indicates to me that most of those who are technically knowledgeable are using Firefox or one of the other non-Microsoft browsers. Those still using IE are either average PC users who don’t know any better or don’t want to be bothered with new browsers or enterprise networks that got themselves locked into Microsoft products. In fact, many enterprises are still using the awful IE6 because they got hooked by Microsoft proprietary practices.
Maybe people aren’t so shallow after all
Since so much of what I read is about the world going to hell in a handbasket, it was a happy contrast when I read a piece by John Tierney in the New York Times relating a study by University of Pennsylvania researchers of what Times articles are the most frequently emailed. It turns out that sex and celebrities are not the focus after all. Tierney writes:
The results are surprising — well, to me, anyway. I would have hypothesized that there are two basic strategies for making the most-e-mailed list. One, which I’ve happily employed, is to write anything about sex. The other, which I’m still working on, is to write an article headlined: “How Your Pet’s Diet Threatens Your Marriage, and Why It’s Bush’s Fault.”
But it turns out that readers have more exalted tastes, according to the Penn researchers, Jonah Berger and Katherine A. Milkman. People preferred e-mailing articles with positive rather than negative themes, and they liked to send long articles on intellectually challenging topics.
Could it be that we might escape from reducing all thought to Twitter size?
Microsoft denies Windows 7 battery problem
In a previous post, I noted that there were reports that upgrading to Windows 7 was causing some batteries to fail. Microsoft says that Windows 7 is not at fault and that bad batteries are the problem. Ars Technica has more details.
The different ways Google and Microsoft do marketing
I have always been baffled by Microsoft marketing. Sometimes it has struck me as being designed by teenagers doing a high school course project. And Microsoft always seems to be assuming that the audience is pretty dumb. Now I realize that most advertising is pretty dumb but a lot of Microsoft customers are highly trained professionals. So you would think that Microsoft would not talk down to us the way it does. I have posted about Microsoft advertising before and I was reminded of the subject by a post from Matt Asay at CNET. He contrasts the style of advertising done by Microsoft with that of Google. He concludes:
Microsoft still fixates on making itself the center of the user’s universe, while Google gets out of the way so that users can experience the Web. It’s perhaps not surprising, therefore, that Google is the one growing and innovating strongly, while Microsoft keeps milking businesses first launched decades ago.
Is the iPad the model of a consumer PC?
The blogosphere continues to echo with posts about the iPad. One interesting theme is the idea that the iPad is the long-needed computer appliance for Everyman. Here’s a sample:
- Apple reinventing file access, wireless sharing for iPad
Apple Insider writes, “…Apple’s new iPad jettisons the conventional shared file system and introduces a new, streamlined convention for working with document files that ordinary users should find much more understandable.” - The Failure of Empathy
The empathy Mike Monteiro is referring to is what’s missing from computer experts when regarding average PC users. He says, “The iPad isn’t the future of computing; it’s a replacement for computing.” - The IPad Isn’t a Third Device, but a Third Revolution
At Macworld, Dan Moren says, “The key here, as with the iPhone, is to abstract the nitty-gritty details of the underpinnings and remove obstructions in the way you do things.” - Why My Mom’s Next Computer Is Going To Be An iPad
At TechCrunch, Ethan Nicholas writes, “The iPad is a computer for people who don’t like computers. People who don’t like the idea of upgrading their 3D drivers, or adjusting their screen resolution, or installing new memory. Who don’t understand why their computer gets slower and slower the longer they own it, who have 25 icons in their system tray and have to wait ten minutes for their system to boot up every day.” - The iPad’s future shock
At Computerworld, Fraser Speirs writes, “If the iPad and its successor devices free these people to focus on what they do best, it will dramatically change people’s perceptions of computing from something to fear to something to engage enthusiastically with.”
Of course, there are plenty of naysayers as well. Like most commentary, posts about the iPad often reflect a vested interest. Apple enthusiasts tend to praise the iPad, Microsoft lovers say it’s a dud. Only time will tell who is right.
In the meantime, if you need to learn still more about the iPad, here are two links that should give you just about all the information you would want:
- Your Biggest iPad Questions Answered
At Technologizer, Harry McCracken fills you in. - Walt Mossberg, David Carr And Michael Arrington Talk iPad With Charlie Rose
Three technology journalists give their assessment. (Video clip below)
Wander the sea floor with Google Earth
Google Earth can take you a lot of places and that includes the bottom of the sea. The Google Lat Long Blog has some details about some added data that provides a new underseas tour using Google Earth.
Windows 7 stability update causing problems
Last week Microsoft issued some non-security updates for Windows 7. Unfortunately, one of them seems to be causing trouble. The problem update is KB977074. The best solution for those having problems seems to be to uninstall the update. Ars Technica has more on the problem.
More about the dangers of Twitterism
In a previous post, I commented on George Packer’s unfavorable remarks about Twitter at the New Yorker Magazine blog and Nick Bilton’s responding criticism of Packer and paean to Twitter at the New York Times Bits Blog. Packer has responded in turn and I think his entire riposte is worth reading. But here’s a little of the flavor:
There’s no way for readers to be online, surfing, e-mailing, posting, tweeting, reading tweets, and soon enough doing the thing that will come after Twitter, without paying a high price in available time, attention span, reading comprehension, and experience of the immediately surrounding world. The Internet and the devices it’s spawned are systematically changing our intellectual activities with breathtaking speed, and more profoundly than over the past seven centuries combined. It shouldn’t be an act of heresy to ask about the trade-offs that come with this revolution.
Statistics on usage of social sites by age group
The Pew Internet & American Life Project is a major source of statistics on how the Internet is used by Americans. A new study shows patterns of social site usage among different age groups. One result is that young people are blogging less while older adults have increased blogging activity. Instead of blogging, younger people are turning to Twitter. Some statistics are shown in the figures below:
