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1. Comment - AIM 6 Gets Offline Messages, Logging

   (Oct 20, 2006 - 3:46 PM)

   Awesome, I'll be glad to see that. I like the functionality and the feel of the new version, but the orange on gray theme they've got is ugly to me.

2. Comment - Secunia: Exploit Truly Does Affect IE7

   (Oct 20, 2006 - 3:04 PM)

   Yes, but how do you not have OE installed on your PC? The vast majority of Windows users are going to have OE installed, so I agree with Secunia, it doesn't matter where the vulnerability lies technically. It's unfortunate for MS to have a security problem reported the day after their new browser ships, but an attack vector is an attack vector. If they're really committed to security, the solution should be obvious: fix it.

3. Comment - MS to McAfee: Stop Lying to the Public

   (Oct 20, 2006 - 2:55 PM)

   Who else is sick and tired of McAfee and Symantec's whining? One, Kernel Patch Protection is not new: it debuted with the x64 versions of Windows. So the whole argument about this being something that Microsoft just introduced is crap. Two, if you open up the kernel to undocumented patching, then attackers and other kernel abusers (think Sony DRM rootkit) will have the same freedom for abuse they've always had. Sure, KPP may not be faultless (even though the much-publicized KPP bypass at that security conference has been fixed), but it at least makes the job of rootkit-writers that much more difficult. Which comes to Three--what USER believes Microsoft is really trying harm users by building in protective features to its product? The only reason this is coming up now is because the industry is moving to 64-bit, Vista will be sold in retail boxes with the x64 version included, and McAfee and Symantec don't want to invest in their customers by making their stuff work with Microsoft's new platform.
   
   McAfee and Symantec - are you listening? You're spreading FUD, and everyone knows it.

4. Comment - AIM 6 Gets Offline Messages, Logging

   (Oct 20, 2006 - 2:34 PM)

   I've enjoyed using (and testing) these new versions of the official AIM client. The UI especially is slicker than anything I've seen from Yahoo or Microsoft.

5. Comment - Windows XP SP3 Pushed to 2008

   (Oct 19, 2006 - 8:50 PM)

   Remember, even after Vista comes out, MS has still got Longhorn Server to finish (which will probably be released in tandem with Vista SP1), so that's where their development resources are going to be. As for XP, I don't see MS discontinuing SP3, but I also don't see any more service packs for XP after SP3.
   
   I think wicketr brings up a very good point that in the era of broadband internet, the need for service packs somewhat diminishes, but it doesn't disappear. Service packs include fixes for much more than just security fixes--memory leaks, improper functionality, support for newer hardware to name a few. A service pack is more than just that. On an engineering level it's an evolution of a development target, of the platform. Where hotfixes and security fixes just patch the problems, a service pack merges those code alterations back into the primary platform branch (in this case you'd be merging post-SP2 code back into the SP2 branch to make SP3). So it's not just a matter of throwing the patched files into a big executable and releasing it. That's why hotfixes and security fixes are tagged as QFEs, or Quick-Fix Engineering patches (there are also GDRs, General Distribution Releases, but AFAIK, these are just QFEs that have been thoroughly tested). The development of a service pack is ensuring that those code fixes work well together and don't break APIs or make the system unstable.
   
   But beyond all the reasons behind the delay, it's still unacceptable. Three and half years between service packs, Vista or not, just doesn't show MS's current customers the respect they deserve.