Dear silicon.com... Vista uptake… HMRC blunder… iPhone too cool or too costly?
Reader Comments of the Week
What's got silicon.com readers reaching for their keyboards this week? Reader Comments of the Week showcases how our users are responding to the latest tech news and views on the site...
Oh dear Vista…
One year on: XP still outshining Vista
Just because Microsoft says that Vista purchases are increasing, companies like ourselves with volume licencing agreements are buying Vista OEM licences with new machines, but are downgrading these to XP - so these figures don't mean that much.
I have one of our test Vista machines and it is far from stable, slow to browse file shares and still incompatible with various software. I have been locked out from my machine as an 'illegal copy' three times so far, each resolving itself after a couple of reboots - I now run a virtual XP on it for compatibility reasons. Our plans to role our Vista are firmly on hold at the moment.
-- Anonymous, IT Infrastructure Manager, South West
Mike Sievert, corporate vice president of Microsoft, said in a recent interview: "Frankly, the world wasn't 100 per cent ready for Windows Vista."
I think he has it backwards.
-- Mike Street, UK
And again…
Vista - businesses not convinced
I recently bought a new laptop and very quickly got fed up with the bundled Vista Home Premium. I have dumped it and am now reasonably happy with xubuntu.
I will try Vista again when SP2 comes out in a couple of years.
-- Andrew Robb
It looks to me as though Microsoft have made the same mistake a lot of companies are making now-a-days. They are trying the "listen to the customer" approach but have forgotten that those with the biggest voice are not necessarily those with the biggest pockets. Or perhaps in Vista they are trying to please everyone but instead of designing a sleek thorough-bred horse they have ended up with a rather splendid looking 3 humped camel.
-- Mark Hosey, West Central Scotland
Further to Mark Hosey's comment.
Microsoft may be listening to a 'handful' of customers who are wholly in favour of whatever MS produce. But they are not listening to the majority.
The biggest reason for the poor uptake is the hardware churn that is necessary, merely to get back to whatever the standard was previously sufficient. And, on top of all this is the growing realisation that every new iteration produces a raft of bugs and incompatbilities that need to be re-learnt or re-fixed.
-- Nick Cole, Scotland
Editor's choice
silicon.com editor Steve Ranger flags up his picks on the site this week...
♦ Peter Cochrane's Video Blog: Finger of fate
♦ Photos: The best of Google Sky
♦ Cheat Sheet: Encryption
♦ Photos: US Army's Black Hawk goes high-tech
♦ The McCue Interview: eSure head of IT Mark Foulsham
Major ooops…
HMRC email rejected filtering of sensitive data
Obviously they have no idea how little time this takes, so they felt they had to use a 'scan' of the data they already had?
We hear over and over again from the 'bizzies' telling us technical types to wise up to business reality. Amazing how they never seem to realize their utter technological illiteracy is at least as much of the biz/tech gap problem.
-- John H Woods, UK
and as I have said before, Mr Darling has inherited this mess, if any chancellor is to be held accountable it should be one who held the reigns for more than a couple of months i.e. his predecessor, Mr Brown, who had ample opportunity to request a review of security in the departments under his purview during his years as the man in control of them
-- Karen Challinor, UK
Whichever way anyone looks at this data has to be stored somewhere!
Enrypting such data as it is being created or stored, for example on disk, tape, CD's --whatever -- with software encryption is low and hhits procesors hard. There are a number of hardware encrytion systems now which "encrypt data at rest". This would have prevented damage no matter who had the CD's.
-- John, North
ID angst…
Minister calls for ID cards review
Abuse by bureaucrats is the issue here! Whilst the loss of the data is appalling, the REAL lesson here that should halt the insane ID card scheme in its tracks is the wonderful illustration of how low level bureaucrats can readily abuse access to personal information.
-- Anonymous, UK
The cost of cool...
iPhone too pricey for Brits?
From my perspective as a retired citizen £35 per month is far too high a price to pay. My solution is to buy an iPod Touch and add the Mobile Mail from the iPhone. Works brilliantly, and I retain my pay as you go Mobile. Best of all world I say...
-- Anonymous, West Sussex
Its not a mass market product - not yet. Apple will be quite happy selling it to the early adopters who are happy to shell out for something a little special. Its happened with every other apple product at launch. I expect the price of this version of teh iPhone will reduce dramatically when they bring out the next version - hopefully a 3G version - which will then retail at £269. Interesting to see what the prices are in Germany...
-- Simon Cox, London
Right Data dumb conclusion – Apple are, from press reports, trying to get around 1% of the phone market with the iPhone. (10m phones in 2008)
50% of those surveyed think the iPhone is way too expensive and don’t like it anyway, yah boo sucks –fine don’t buy one.
26% like it but think it is too expensive – fine don’t buy one
That leaves around 24% who think the iPhone is to some degree cool and possibly not too expensive.
Convert about 5% of those and Apple are on target.
Not looking too shabby to me.
-- Rob Garner, New York
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