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Linus Torvalds: Mac OS X and Windows can't hold a candle to Linux
Linus Torvalds woke up on Mars today (or maybe it was Oz), and had this to say about Windows Vista and Apple's OS X:
I don't think they're equally flawed. I think Leopard is a much better system. On the other hand, (I've found) OS X in some ways is actually worse than Windows to program for. Their file system is complete and utter crap, which is scary. I think OS X is nicer than Windows in many ways, but neither can hold a candle to my own (Linux). It's a race to second place.I guess when you're famous you can say inane things and get away with it. Yes, Linux does some things better than Mac OS X and Microsoft's Windows Vista on the desktop (security, maybe), but let's be honest: the Linux desktop is "utter crap" compared to either OS X or Windows when it comes to the thing that matters most: usability.
If normal people can't use it, it just doesn't matter how beautifully architected it is. Sorry, Linus. Everyone has to be wrong sometimes. This is your turn to shine.
That said, I found his comments on whether Google is a good open-source citizen much more illuminating:… Read more
Fun with my new MacBook Air
I have been sick as a dog since my east coast trip and staring at the computer for too long gives me this fantastic vertigo sensation...but nothing can stop me from posting about my new-found love for the MBA.
The Good:
It's the perfect size for a portable computer I mean this in terms … Read more
Stop svchost.exe from stealing CPU cycles
The situation is familiar to countless Windows users: They're in a groove at work, firing off e-mails, crafting documentation, and even blogging on their personal site during breaktime, when suddenly, something takes over 99 percent of the CPU, slowing it to a virtual standstill. A quick look at the invaluable Process Explorer (or the standard Windows Task Manager) indicates that a process called svchost.exe is using all that CPU. What's more, there's one main CPU offender. Multiple versions of svchost.exe are running in the background and hogging CPU cycles. What is it? Is it spyware? Hackers? Terrorists?
Although there are historical cases of malware using svchost.exe, because of its common presence, it's most likely just Windows being Windows. Svchost.exe is a generic process name for Windows services that run from Microsoft DLLs (dynamically linked libraries). Each of those instances of svchost.exe in the process lists actually represents a group of services that each process is managing. With Process Explorer, it's easy to see which services each process manages, and stop them one by one to see which is the CPU culprit.
In the spring of 2007, a major problem arose with a Windows update that caused svchost.exe to use 100 percent of CPU because of an issue with Automatic Updates. To correct that bug, be sure that Windows is fully patched with the most recent updates.
The first thing to do is to determine which of the active svchost.exe processes is causing the slowdown. Fire up Process Explorer, and click on the CPU column header to sort the list of processes by processor usage. A list of processes, sorted from most processor intensive to least intensive, is displayed. When the computer stalls, switch over to Process Explorer and see which running process is causing the crunch.… Read more
Microsoft reorg could come next week
Microsoft is expected to announce organizational changes in the coming days, shaking up some of the leadership in its Windows and Windows Live groups, according to sources familiar with the company's plans.
The changes have been in the works for some time, though the exact announcement date has been in flux. The most recent date heard by a couple of sources is next Thursday, though that date is still not firm. (Memo to Microsoft: you've got a lot to learn when it comes to celebrating Valentine's Day.)
Among those expected to be out as part of the … Read more
Take command of the context menu
There aren't many options for Windows users who want to alter Windows Explorer context menus. One imperfect, though reasonable choice is the CMenuExtender. The application lets users customize choices within the context menu.
"Eventually all of the [US] Army's networks will be Linux-based"
The goal of the US Army is to move from Windows to Linux. In the meantime, the Army has to find ways to make the two work together. It's turning to Red Hat to do so and to a group of internal IT professionals to create a "Battle Command" that will explore how to move the Army from 20th-century Windows to 21st-century Linux.
In the case of the US Army, integration is a matter of life and death. The Army is "talking about taking the battle command applications [they] are building and combining them with the battle command capabilities that are in the Air Force, Navy and Marines, making sure they work together and draw from the same data." The US Army didn't turn to Microsoft for patent-approved Linux but rather to Red Hat:
At the moment, Linux-based operating systems can communicate only to a limited degree with Microsoft-based systems, according to an Army official familiar with the summits.… Read more
Ballmer: More marketing of Windows needed
With Apple gaining significant market share, Microsoft is finally acknowledging that it needs to do a better job of selling Windows.
"We're going to have to invest more than we ever have in consumer excitement," CEO Steve Ballmer told financial analysts Monday. "We are going to be doing more to highlight Windows, and that is going to require more investment."
Ballmer also mentioned the need to work on the next Windows, but offered no new details on Windows 7, Vista's successor.
"We're very hard at work on the next version, which we … Read more
Vista SP1, Windows Server 2008 finalized
Microsoft has wrapped up development of two major products, Windows Server 2008 and the Service Pack 1 update to Windows Vista, CEO Steve Ballmer told financial analysts Monday.
"Both products have released to manufacturing today, which is good news," Ballmer said.
Ballmer highlighted a few big corporate deployments of Vista, including at Continental Airlines, which is in the process of upgrading 10,000 systems.
"We think we are turning the corner in terms of enterprise deployment, and Service Pack 1 will be a huge boon," Ballmer said.
Microsoft will begin distributing Vista SP1 via Windows Update … Read more
