Talking About Adobe in Newark and Columbus

Although some have accused me of being a professional communicator, I have to plead "not guilty" to that charge. After all, a professional communicator would know enough to start announcing several weeks before hand that he would be speaking at the Licking County Computer Society (April 21) and at the Columbus Computer Society (May 20). The topic will be the same at both locations: Adobe and the Creative Suite 4 collection of applications.

The public is welcome to both events.

I'll have the ability to show some of the features that I've talked about on TechByter Worldwide. In the interest of allowing everyone to get home well before midnight, I'll have to seriously limit the number of features I can show, but I'll try to use your time wisely.

That Was Some Patch Tuesday!

The monthly patch Tuesday extended to Wednesday for some people and, in some cases, to Thursday. Fortunately, I got all of my patches in a batch on Wednesday, but I know some people who had to deal with system reboots on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. If you have automatic updates turned off, now would be a very good time to make your way to Microsoft's Windows Update site because several of the bugs that were squished this week were dangerous zero-day exploits.

If your computer was up to date going into the week, you would have found 8 updates and those updates fix 21 problems. Microsoft numbers its patches starting with MS09 (Microsoft 2009), followed by a dash and a 3-digit number. I guess the hope is that there will never be more than 999 patches in any given year. This batch of patches was numbered from 9 through 16.

The #9 patch was a response to what is probably the most dangerous bug. Flaws in Excel could allow remote code execution and Microsoft deemed the patch as critical. Of the 2 problems addressed by this patch, 1 could allow a zero-day attack. The most serious problems were with Excel 2000, but all versions through Excel 2007 are vulnerable to some extent.

Patch #10 fixes bugs in WordPad and Office text converters that could allow remote code execution. If you have Word 2007, this one doesn't affect you; it's most critical for Word 2000, but the patch will also be applied to Word 2003.

Patch #11 addresses yet another remote-code execution bug, this one in Microsoft DirectShow, which is part of DirectX 8.1 and 9.0 in Windows 2000, XP, and Windows Server 2003. XP and Vista are not vulnerable.

Patch #12 isn't critical, but you should install it. The flaw here could allow a user to gain access to administrator privileges and there are 4 discrete bugs that affect all current versions of Windows.

Patch #13 is rated "critical" because one of the flaws it addresses could allow a malicious Web server to take control of the system. This is not an Internet Explorer bug. Instead, it affect other applications that use Windows HTTP Services components.

The winner for most bugs fixed with a single patch is patch #14, which resolved a total of 6 security problems. Microsoft rates 3 of these as critical for users of Internet Explorer versions 5, 6, and 7. IE 8 is not vulnerable.

Patch #14 is rated only a moderate threat and it affects all versions of Windows except Windows 2000. The bug allows a slight chance that an attacker could gain Administrator privileges.

And at the bottom of the list, there's patch #16. The threat level is medium to important, depending on the applications installed on your computer. Even though the threat isn't great, you'll want to be sure the patch has been installed.

If you want to be sure, use Windows Update from the operating system. Or just open Internet Explorer and choose Windows Update from the Tools menu.

Even a Lousy Economy Won't Allow Linux to Win

I'm writing this report in Gedit, an open source text editor, on Linux. The computer Gedit and Linux are running on is my primary production computer, which has both Linux and Windows XP installed. I've said many times that today's Linux (particularly the easy-to-install distributions such as those from Ubuntu) does everything that many users need. It's free. It's easy to install. It updates itself almost automatically. It's generally more secure than Windows. But Linux machines are still just a tiny fraction of desktop systems. Dell sells perhaps 20,000 Linux computers a year. Given today's economy, why aren't these machines flying out of warehouses? I think that I know why.

Click any of the images here for a full-size view.Click for a larger view.

The unfamiliar Linux >>>

A few moments ago, I wrote that I was writing this report on a free text editor under Linux on my primary production computer. But when I import the report into the TechByter Worldwide website, I'll be running Windows because Adobe Dreamweaver doesn't run under Linux. Well, it does run "under Linux" if I run WINE first. But if I need a Windows application, why not just boot Windows?

That's one of the reasons that Linux won't win, even in today's economy. Those of us who understand and depend on applications such as Dreamweaver, Word, Photoshop, and the like know that we might be able to make do with Bluefish or Amaya for websites, with Open Office for word processing, and with the GIMP for photo editing. But the key term there is "make do". The open-source applications have attracted a large following, but none of the applications I've mentioned comes close to offering the features of commercial software.

I couldn't make do with those applications. Maybe you can't, either.

Click for a larger view. The more familiar Windows. >>>

Another reason that Linux won't win is fear. The CTO (chief technical officer) might well run Apple's OSX or Linux at the office and at home, but the thought of converting 50, or 100, or 5000 users from Windows-based applications to Linux-based applications or OSX-based applications caused no small amount of heartburn. Most users stop learning when they have mastered the bare minimum tasks that they need to perform their assigned tasks. No matter than Word may have features that would make their work faster and easier; there's no time for that. And there's certainly no time to learn an entirely new operating system and new applications.

This isn't necessarily a criticism of users. I'm lazy so I take the time needed to understand the applications that I use. Sometimes I'll spend hours trying to find a better way to perform a 30-minute task because I know that there's probably a way to make that 30-minute task a 5-minute task. What I've learned over the past 30 years or so is that finding the faster way will save a lot of time and effort. Once I've figured out how to turn that 30-minute task into a 5-minute task, I'll have an extra 25 minutes that I can use for something else.

Most users don't like change. Show them Office 2007 and they'll denounce its new interface even though spending a few minutes learning how the new interface works would pay off big time. Tell them they must switch to a new operating system and new applications and you're likely to have a mutiny on your hands. CTOs don't like mutinies.

The last time I ran Linux on this computer was 39 days ago. I know that because the Ubuntu Update Manager told me so. As I type, the system is downloading 115 updates. Some of these updates are operating system changes. Many are for applications. Despite my saying that many people will find that Linux does all they need to do, it's clear that I don't run Linux that much here at TechByter Worldwide. If Linux was the only operating system available to me, I'm sure that I would make do. But I'm the kind of geek who, in the mid 1980s, spent no small amount of time reading 300-page DOS manuals and trying to think of reasons to use the available commands. I'm the kind of person who learns a new programming language by trying to think of ways to use the various functions described in manuals. It's unlikely that most of the people who use your company's computers have the same outlook.

A third shortcoming for Linux is the relatively small number of Linux administrators. It's easy to find someone who has experience, knowledge, and certification for Windows-based networks. Linux experts are much harder to find.

So although Linux boots faster than Windows, Linux is free, Linux is less likely to crash than Windows, and today's Linux distributions are both easy to install and likely to include everything the average user needs, Linux is still likely to place a distant 3rd behind Windows and Apple's OSX (which is a distant second to Windows.)

By the way, the latest version of Ubuntu Linux (9.04) is due to be released on April 20.

WiMax: High Speed for Rural Areas (and Cities, too)

Occasionally I look back at some of the articles from a few years ago to see if any of my predictions have been accurate. In 2005, I wrote about WiMax. WiMax works somewhat like WiFi, except it covers a radius of several miles instead of just a few feet. Nearly 5 years ago, I wrote about people who must deal with slow, substandard modem service for reasons beyond their control. You might live in a Chicago or New York City apartment building with poor-quality telephone lines. Or you might have the same problem in a rural area.

Living in a big city, you might someday have access to cable. If the phone lines are poor quality, DSL isn't an option regardless of where you live. But WiMax could be.

In 2005, my Internet connection was about 2Mbps. Now it's in the 6 to 8Mbps range, so it's hard for me to even consider a 56Kbps modem (or slower). WiMax could help bring faster connections to people in these situations.

A map of Ohio shows large areas of the state actually do have WiMax coverage. The cost will be more than standard dial-up, of course, but usually less than satellite. A WiMax system typically has a range of 10 to 15 miles from the wireless access point. That's affected by terrain. Coverage will be more even in a flat area, less so in a hilly area. But it's a way to place high-speed service at the doorstep of everyone within that 10- or 15-mile-radius circle. Even in a rural area, a lot of people can live inside a 20-mile (or 30-mile) wide circle.

A listener in 2005 told me about Jenco Speed Net, a service that covers most of Union County and bits of some surrounding counties. The service is still in operation and shows how a small operator can still provide usable Internet connectivity. It was small companies that originally provided Internet service for early users. That was before Time-Warner, Wide Open West, and the other big guys got into the market. It may be that small operators in the WiMax market will be able to compete with the big guys in a way that wired services never could.

Click for a larger view.WiMax is an open standard that is administered by the WiMax Forum. The group has been around since 2001. Hundreds of test systems have been set up around the world.

Speed and distance are variables in WiMax systems. A system can provide relatively high bit rates (70Mbps) but only at relatively close range. In reality, most systems operate at about 3Mbps or less. Still, if you're using a modem that's running at about 1/12th that speed, 3Mbps would seem blazingly fast.

Service is not available in all areas as it depends on your elevation and the obstacles between your location and the towers. If you live in Union County, take a look.

Short Circuits

Who Has the Best Customer Service?

According to Forrester Research, it's Apple. But in this case, "best" is an 80% approval rating. In school, that would be a weak B-minus. Maybe a C. Overall, computer manufactures get about as much respect as used-car salesmen and cell phone companies. No, wait. Cell phone companies figure they're winning if at least 1/3 of their customers wouldn't have them burned at the stake.

Forrester Research surveyed 4500 customers about their interactions with PC manufacturers in 2008. Given Apple's "best-in-show" rating of 80%, you might be wondering what the other companies got. Gateway scored 66%. HP scored 64%. Compaq (which is to say HP) scored 63%. And Dell? 58% approval.

Was the problem the manufacturers, the equipment, or something else? It might be something else. It might be Microsoft Windows. Which reminds me: I spent all day last Saturday trying to avoid having to reinstall Windows. Literally, it was an all-day affair. Then I spent all day Sunday reinstalling Windows. And still the computer isn't working right. But Linux, which runs on the same computer continues to run just fine.

If Microsoft hits a home run with Windows 7, there is hope for the company's future. If not, well ....

Forrester Vice President Bruce Temkin says that Microsoft needs to do a better job of serving its customers. To that I would add that Microsoft needs to understand that its customers are people like you and me, not the OEMs who buy Windows.

TV on Your Computer

Somebody sent me a link last week to a Johnny Carson's bit as the speaker at the funeral of a thesaurus editor. He repeated (reiterated, re-stated, said again) every word. Particularly words dealing with death (kicking the bucket, passing on, pushing up daisies). It was a funny bit and it was on YouTube. Then I noticed Carson's send-up of Walter Cronkite's final broadcast. That was fun, too. But then there was a link to Cronkite's broadcast on January 22, 1972, the day Lyndon B. Johnson died.

The video picks up as the CBS Evening News comes out of a commercial and returns to Cronkite, who is on the phone. He holds up a ("wait a minute!") finger, then says, "Thank you very much, Tom, I'm on the air right at the moment." Former president Lyndon Johnson had died and his press secretary (former White House assistant press secretary) Tom Johnson had called Cronkite with the news.

I remembered that day as one of the nation's best reporters listened and then repeated what he had heard, adding information from memory. Graphics? None. Sound effects? None. Glitz? None. Just a reporter doing his job. Obtaining the facts, then telling the story. It was electrifying video that I hadn't seen for 37 years. Seeing it now reminds me of just how much what passes for television news has been degraded by technology.

Would anyone, a decade ago, have thought that an on-line service that provides on-demand videos would be so important? YouTube is yet another Google property and this week the company announced that it has signed agreements with Hollywood studios to make thousands of TV episodes and hundreds of movies available.

What's next? Maybe paid TV? Should this make companies such as NetFlix nervous? Yes, it should.

The YouTube agreement includes Sony, Lions Gate, MGM and others. This is important because YouTube registers 90 million visitors per month, or more. That's far more than any other video site. And by "far more" I mean that the closest competitor has about 10% of YouTube's traffic.

But it's not yet profitable. Analysts say that YouTube will lose nearly half a billion dollars in 2009. By providing professional ("broadcast quality") video, YouTube hopes to increase its advertising revenue.

How would the payments work? Micropayments (as in less than $1 per program) are a possibility. So is a subscription program of some sort. On-line, on-demand video works. I've been able to use NetFlix to watch some programs recently and the video quality is surprisingly good. Yes, you need a fast connection, but more than half of all American households now have what passes for high speed in this country.

Here's looking at you ....