Windows 8: Not as unified as we thought?

The kerfuffle over Windows 8 Secure Boot provokes two important observations.

InfoWorld Tech Watch.

At CES, Ultrabooks take aim at MacBook Air and miss

The Wintel laptop industry is headed for three down – very down – quarters. And it may not recover.

InfoWorld Tech Watch.

Search Engine market shares refused to budge in 2011

Remarkable. They went absolutely nowhere.

And Microsoft lost $2 billion in the process.

InfoWorld Tech Watch. [Link fixed.]

Did Thai floods sink Windows sales?

The floods are only a small part of the equation.

InfoWorld Tech Watch.

MS-DEFCON 2: New patches are out – hold off

The January 2012 Security Bulletins are out, and there aren’t any screaming “install me” at the moment.

The biggest hole is covered by MS12-004, the Windows Media Player patch. There are no known exploits at this point.

Make sure you’re locked down, and let’s see how this month’s crop goes.

I’m moving us up to MS-DEFCON 2: Patch reliability is unclear. Unless you have an immediate, pressing need to install a specific patch, don’t do it.

MS-DEFCON 4: Get patched now

It’s time to apply all of the outstanding Microsoft patches.

I gave up on the .NET follies last November. I still think you’re better off applying them than ignoring them. I also recommend that you install Office 2010 Service Pack 1, and/or Office 2007 Service Pack 3, if they’re on offer.

Several of you have written, asking why Microsoft Update is offering to patch Office 2007, when you have Office 2010. Almost always that’s because you have a vestige of Office 2007 lying around – perhaps a file viewer, perhaps an add-in. Anyway, if MS Update offers to patch Office 2007, go ahead and appease it.

I also suggest that you go ahead and install MS11-100, the out-of-band patch to plug a hole in (you guessed it) .NET.

There’s only one gotcha that I’m aware of. After you install MS11-099, the  Internet Explorer monster patch, you may not be able to Select All inside a web page using Ctrl+A or right-click Select All. If that happens to you, just swipe over everything with the mouse and it’ll copy correctly.

We’re down to MS-DEFCON 4: There are isolated problems with current patches, but they are well-known and documented here. Check this site to see if you’re affected and if things look OK, go ahead and patch.

Make sure you turn off Automatic Update. Next Tuesday should be another heavy-duty patching day.

 

Windows 8: Bogged down by baggage

There’s a downside to building a tablet OS that used to be a desktop OS. Perfect example appeared yesterday.

InfoWorld Tech Watch.

Year of the Ultrabook — or the Ultradud?

With CES coming next week, you’re going to be subjected to a lot of hype about Ultrabooks.

Here’s a few things to keep in mind. InfoWorld Tech Watch.

The woes of Windows Phone

Sometimes I really wonder if Windows Phone will ever have a chance.

Microsoft’s pulled ’em out of the fire before, but this time the deck’s stacked  overwhelmingly in the competition’s favor.

InfoWorld Tech Watch.

Why Google needs Firefox – now more than ever

Google’s paying the bill for Firefox again – although the details are sketchy.

Most analysts don’t seem to realize that its a co-dependent relationship. They both need each other.

InfoWorld Tech Watch.

UPDATE: AllThingsD reports that Google will be paying Mozilla $300 million per year for the next three years, in exchange for top search engine billing. That’s more than three times as much as Google has been paying for the past three years. I, uh, toldja so.

The real reason Steve Ballmer canned the head of Windows Phone

Andy Lees is out – but not for the reasons you’ve probably read.

InfoWorld Tech Watch.

MS-DEFCON 2: Time to get your system locked down

Incoming!

This month’s Black Tuesday will be a real lollapalooza.

Or something like that.

In preparation, make sure you’re all patched up, then turn OFF Automatic Updates.

The PC you save may be your own.

I’m moving us up to MS-DEFCON 2: Patch reliability is unclear. Unless you have an immediate, pressing need to install a specific patch, don’t do it.