I read an article from Microsoft Watch that read:
The beta refresh also will include support for longer descriptions of spyware from Microsoft, Bryan said.
Of course, this is just a writing mistake, but still… 
Monthly Archives: July 2005
Spyware from Microsoft?
Lifecycle of Innovation
Who knew Microsoft Office Clipart contained comic strips? This is something I just discovered recently while using Microsoft Word 2002, and I found a comic strip that I found very entertaining called “Lifecycle of Innovation.” To find this and other comic strips in Microsoft Word 2002 (or possibly other versions), go to Insert > Picture > Clip Art, then search for comic strips. Enjoy!
More on the Windows Vista name
It’s official: Longhorn, the next version of Windows, is now “Windows Vista.” Microsoft now has an official Windows Vista page on their website, and PCWorld also has a story about the announcement. For more information on why Microsoft chose this name, check out this BetaNews page titled “Microsoft Explains Windows Vista Name.”
I’m surprised Microsoft announced the name so soon and so suddenly; they didn’t “build up suspense” by announcing ahead of time that they were deciding on a name for Longhorn. And Vista isn’t even in Beta 1 yet!
I remember a long time ago (maybe a year or so), I used the “contact us” form on the Microsoft website and gave a suggestion that they call Longhorn “Windows 2006.” I suggested that they make the “6″ in “2006″ a different color in the logo, because Longhorn is Windows NT version 6, right? Like I expected, I never heard back from them. And it seems Microsoft is leaning away from dated product names. If Windows XP were named Windows 2001, then computer-illiterate people who were buying Windows in 2005 might think that this “Windows 2001″ was very outdated.
Microsoft also announced yesterday that Beta 1 of Vista is arriving on August 3. The beta (a beta is a pre-release “testing version” of a product) will only be available to select people and not the general public. The final version of Windows Vista will released in time for the 2006 holiday season.
Review: Mozilla Firefox 1.0.6
Mozilla Firefox 1.0.6
Mozilla Foundation
Rating: 8.0 Stars (Excellent)
[How I Rate]
Awards: John’s Choice
Pros:
- Auto-Update – Firefox has a built-in automatic update system that can find updates to both Firefox and installed extensions and themes.
- Customization – If you want more features, extensions provide a great way to add more functionality to Firefox. You can also download themes to change the way Firefox looks. I’ll be discussing Firefox extensions in a later review.
- Documentation – Firefox has lots of documentation, plus a “For Internet Explorer Users†section under the Help menu.
- Download Manager – Firefox has a download manager that can easily manage multiple downloads and can pause, cancel, and restart downloads.
- Frequent Updating – Whereas Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 6 will have been their “latest browser” for about six years, Firefox has been updated very frequently in the past.
- Interface – Despite all of the features and settings, Mozilla manages to make the Firefox interface very uncluttered and easy to use.
- Platform Support – Firefox works on Windows, Linux, and the Macintosh. Internet Explorer is only available for Windows and Macintosh, and Microsoft’s latest version (which has no version number change) only comes with Windows XP SP2.
- RSS Support – Firefox can save RSS feeds as “live bookmarks.”
- Security – Firefox does not support ActiveX and VBScript, which are two common methods of virus propagation.
- Settings – Firefox has many settings, and a whole gob of them can be found by typing “about:config†in the address bar.
- Speed – When running Firefox on my computer, the alternate browser loaded faster than Internet Explorer. I clicked on the Internet Explorer icon in my Quick Launch toolbar, and then clicked on Firefox’s icon. Firefox loaded first. When I first started using Firefox, the speed improvements weren’t that noticeable. But when I recently had to use Internet Explorer to view a webpage, it was painfully slow.
- Standards Support – Firefox supports the latest W3C standards, and can even display some pages correctly that Internet Explorer can’t (gasp!). Having a browser that supports universal, rather than proprietary, standards makes it a lot easier for webmasters like yours truly.
Cons:
- Bugs – On rare occasions, Firefox will start to hog up processor cycles, slowing the computer to a crawl (though not to an unusable state). Also, occasionally when I open Firefox, the program will run in the background but not start up any window. These bugs probably happen to only a handful of users, since I haven’t seen these bugs reported. However it goes to show that, like almost all programs, Firefox does have bugs.
- Security – Just because Firefox doesn’t support ActiveX and VBScript doesn’t mean it’s secure. Firefox has its own set of security flaws, some as severe as those found in IE.
- Website Display – Because of Firefox’s lack of ActiveX support, it cannot display some pages, the most common of which can be found at, of course, Microsoft.com.
Mars Spectacular?
I recently received a forwarded email from a relative that read:
The Red Planet is about to be spectacular! This month and next, Earth is catching up with Mars in an encounter that will culminate in the closest approach between the two planets in recorded history. The next time Mars may come this close is in 2287. Due to the way Jupiter’s gravity tugs on Mars and perturbs its orbit, astronomers can only be certain that Mars has not come this close to Earth in the Last 5,000 years, but it may be as long as 60,000 years before it happens again.
The encounter will culminate on August 27th when Mars comes to within 34,649,589 miles of Earth and will be (next to the moon) the brightest object in the night sky. It will attain a magnitude of -2.9 and will appear 25.11 arc seconds wide. At a modest 75-power magnification Mars will look as large as the full moon to the naked eye. Mars will be easy to spot. At the beginning of August it will rise in the east at 10p.m. and reach its azimuth at about 3 a.m.
By the end of August when the two planets are closest, Mars will rise at nightfall and reach its highest point in the sky at 12:30a.m. That’s pretty convenient to see something that no human being has seen in recorded history. So, mark your calendar at the beginning of August to see Mars grow progressively brighter and brighter throughout the month.
I was getting all excited until I read this article and realized the email was a hoax. 
The circulating emails are simply exaggerations. Yes, Mars will be rather close to Earth, but it’s going to happen in October, not August; it’s not going to be as big as the full moon; and it will not be 60,000 years before it happens again.
Sigh… I’ll need to be more careful about what emails I believe. I’m not used to this kind of email hoax; I’m only used to hoax emails that announce, “THIS [important system] FILE IS A VIRUS! REMOVE IT NOW OR YOUR COMPUTER WILL FACE UTTER DESTRUCTION!”