Business Center Blogs

The recently released Microsoft Security Intelligence Report highlights the vast improvements in security from Windows XP to Windows 7. Even so, no operating system is perfect. I asked security experts what they think about Windows 7 security and came up with a list of what Microsoft got right and where Microsoft is still missing the mark.

A Step in the Right Direction

Microsoft made significant changes to how it protects the Windows operating system kernel and added a number of new security controls when it transitioned from Windows XP to Windows Vista. With Windows 7, many of those security controls are enhanced and there are some new features as well.

If the world needs one browser-based operating system, why not three more? With the interest Google's Chrome OS has generated, can operating systems based upon Firefox, Internet Explorer, even Opera, be far behind?

Chrome OS is potentially a major threat to Microsoft. It may also be a sideshow or even a bust, but that isn't a chance Redmond should take. If I were Steve Ballmer, Ray Ozzie, or Stephen Sinofsky, I'd have launched the Internet Explorer OS project months ago.

The Apple App Store has been the subject of debate. Developers complain about the hoops they have to jump through to get through the approval process, while Apple defends the process and claims there is nothing wrong with the App Store. As with most things, the truth lies somewhere in the middle.

Last week one of Facebook's lead developers for the iPhone app, Joe Hewitt, left the project to work on other things, claiming to be "philosophically opposed" to having Apple control which applications are allowed to run on the iPhone platform. Hewitt abhors the gatekeeper mentality and says the App Store approval process "sets a horrible precedent".

Now, I am as much against smoking as anyone. I also do not want workers needlessly exposed to hazardous substances. Still, for Apple to deny warranty claims on Macs exposed to cigarette smoke seems way over the line.

Yet, that is what The Consumerist says Apple has done on at least two occasions in recent months.

Chrome OS may lead to higher-performance netbooks, but many of them will not be running Google's next-generation operating system.

Why? Because Chrome OS could force Microsoft to stop crippling netbooks to avoid competition with more expensive notebooks.

The debate over climate change--and what is fact versus what fits the agenda of one side or the other--is raging in the wake of hacked e-mails alleging that facts were covered up. I'll let the climate change rivals battle that out, but let's take a closer look at the security aspects of e-mail and how attackers were able to acquire these messages.

A server at the Hadley Climate Research Center in the United Kingdom was breached and the attacker was able to acquire thousands of e-mail messages and sensitive documents which were subsequently uploaded to an FTP server in Russia and have since been publicly shared and analyzed around the world.

When Google unveiled its open source Chrome OS on Thursday, many commentators were quick to dismiss the new operating system as unimpressive and underwhelming. Citing everything from the browser interface that represents the entirety of the user experience to its limited hardware support and inability to install apps or play PC games, early critics have slammed Google's cloud-based OS for being exactly what it is intended to be: lean, fast, and simple.

To my eye, all this criticism appears to miss the point of Chrome OS--and indeed, the point of most of Google's services. Of course, this is nothing new for Google.

It has been difficult for Google to explain away the seeming conflict between Chrome OS and Android.

Saying that Chrome is for the Internet and Android for devices, requires a belief that users actually make the distinction.

Barnes & Noble seemed to have it all wrapped up. Except now it will be wrapping up many fewer Nook e-readers than had been hoped.

Thanks to a supply shortage, this year's must-have techie gift has gone from fizz to flat in near-record time.

Have some extra USB hard drives you'd like to put to a good use? How using them to create an Internet storage cloud for your company, yourself, or your family?

Though marketed primarily as a media-sharing device, the forthcoming second-generation Pogoplug is a cool and useful tool for sharing business information as well. The device was introduced earlier today.