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Windows Secrets Newsletter • Issue 148 • 2008-04-10 • Circulation: over 275,000 |
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Contents TOP STORY: Outages cast doubts on MS online services KNOWN ISSUES: Article on Vista upgrade trick rattles the cages WACKY WEB WEEK: A new approach for handling telemarketers LANGALIST PLUS: Beware disk cleaners that can make things worse PC TUNE-UP: Disabling AutoRun still leaves you open to attack PATCH WATCH: Patches for IE should be top priority this week YOUR SUBSCRIPTION: How to change your address or unsubscribe |
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For links to every topic in this issue, scroll down to the
Index |
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TOP STORY Outages cast doubts on MS online services
Early missteps in bringing Office to the Web Microsoft's SaaS efforts are off to a very bumpy start. In recent weeks and months, widespread and long-lasting outages of Windows Live Hotmail, Live Messenger, and other new online services have left many of its customers wondering whether Microsoft is up to the challenge. Failures of Microsoft services since last summer have reportedly affected millions of subscribers, and some of the problems have persisted for several weeks. A little over a month ago, the Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) was struck by a series of outages that confounded customers. On Friday, Feb. 29, and Saturday, Mar. 1, MSDN subscribers were unable to download products or product keys. "There was a downtime to complete some system work that had been started four weeks ago," wrote MSDN and TechNet subscription product manager Julie H. Cairn in the Official MSDN Subscriptions blog. "The fact that the completion work this weekend would even impact subscriber downloads was totally missed by those that could have gotten a notice posted externally. No excuses — just an apology." According to Microsoft, on the Monday after the weekend outage, errors prevented a "large number" of subscribers from downloading products or getting product keys. MSDN had considered the problem small when it was initially discovered the previous week, but by that Monday, reported cases had grown so numerous that the service put together a fix the same day. This was bad enough for MSDN subscribers, but a problem of much greater magnitude affected them last October. An outage that involved a mysterious "Error 11008" made it impossible for numerous subscribers to access downloads. Many customers could not progress past an Error 11008 screen to access MSDN features. The problem dragged on for at least three weeks, proving especially frustrating to consultants who depend on the service to meet the needs of their clients. "Of all people, is Microsoft not capable of keeping a subscription service up and running more than half the time?", asked a user identified as Ren in the MSDN blog comments. Another writer, identified as JD, wrote:
Just a few days later, on Nov. 5, the rollback option was rejected. Kathy Dixon of TechNet Plus Subscriptions posted an update on the TechNet Plus blog, explaining, "It is not an option to roll back these changes, so work is now underway to evaluate possible solutions." The next weekend, Nov. 10–11, the MSDN site was down intermittently as the team implemented updates and fixes. For some users, this resulted in a new and equally perplexing "Error 11009" message, which several subscribers complained about in comments on Dixon's blog post. Although the problems were resolved for some users, they persisted for others. In a TechNet Plus blog comment on Nov. 12, subscriber Glenn MacDonald said, "It will not make it worthwhile to renew. I have lost at least a month of service now, and as an independent contractor, it makes it difficult to research errors for clients when I don't have access to software." More problems for consumer online services Microsoft's online outages have extended beyond developers:
The public beta of Office Live Workspace (OLW) debuted on Mar. 4. Microsoft's OLW lets you view, share, and store Office documents using a Web browser. Unlike Google Docs and other online applications, the new service doesn't let you create and edit documents online. Still, it represents Microsoft's first attempt to bring Office to the Web. The current build also supports a link within the PC version of MS Office that allows posting and viewing documents online. Around the time OLW's public beta began, the software giant also broadened the beta testing of its Microsoft Online Services (MOS) offering. This package combines features of Exchange and SharePoint servers, with support for additional functions. Before last month, MOS was available only to businesses with 5,000 or more employees. The twin moves are among the first in Microsoft's attempts to enter the SaaS era. The promise of SaaS is that users will be able to create and edit documents via a Web browser instead of using programs that reside on their local machines. However, for Microsoft to succeed in providing software as a service, individuals and companies need to have confidence that the services will meet their needs at a reasonable cost and with minimal risk. The recent server problems make it even more important for customers to be assured that their files are safe and accessible. Some people argue that outages of free services, such as Hotmail and Live Messenger, are less costly than any failures of the mission-critical, hosted applications that Microsoft intends to offer its enterprise customers. Therefore, this thinking goes, the enterprise-level services are likely to receive more attention and resources from Microsoft than the free ones. Lee Pender, a writer for the independent Microsoft-analysis site Redmond Channel Online Partner, points out that Microsoft's partners, and not the company itself, handle most of the enterprise-level SaaS hosting duties. However, Pender acknowledges that this comparison may hold little weight with the average customer, who is more likely to have an emotional reaction to Microsoft's server problems. "Even if hosted Web-based e-mail and hosted enterprise applications don't make for a good apples-to-apples comparison," he writes, "huge problems with Hotmail don't exactly instill confidence in partners or IT folks mulling over the idea of outsourcing important enterprise functions to a hosted model." You need only ask MSDN customers affected by the outages last October and last month whether the problems had a significant impact on their businesses. Judging from the comments posted online, the answer for many was a clear "yes." For Microsoft to translate the success of its popular Office applications to the online world, its development teams must inspire greater confidence in their ability to provide consistent, reliable service. Based on the stumbles to date, this is far from a sure thing.
Scott Dunn is associate editor of the Windows Secrets Newsletter. He has been a contributing editor of PC World since 1992 and currently writes for the Here's How section of that magazine. |
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KNOWN ISSUES Article on Vista upgrade trick rattles the cages
It's news that MS execs retain the process in SP1 The Apr. 3 article, written by associate editor Scott Dunn, demonstrated that Service Pack 1 permits a clean install of Vista to be performed using the operating system's upgrade edition. The list price for that version of Vista Home Premium is $130 (in the U.S. market) compared with $239 for the full version — a difference of $109. Microsoft officials have repeatedly confirmed that this procedure is built into Vista. In a News.com interview on Feb. 14, 2007, a Microsoft representative called the hidden feature in the original version of Vista a "workaround," but claimed that using the trick without owning a copy of Windows XP, 2000, or another qualifying version of the OS would violate Vista's end user license agreement (EULA). The clean-install method involves booting a PC from the Vista upgrade DVD. The setup program is then completed without the user entering the disc's product key or downloading any patches. Once this unactivated, trial version of Vista is running, setup is started again — this time from within Vista. The "upgrade" option is selected, the product key is entered, and Vista can be activated exactly like the full edition of the product. A complete set of steps was published in my Feb. 1, 2007, article. Among the numerous Web sites that noted Scott's latest findings, Computerworld.com gave the story major play. Writer Eric Lai summarized Scott's story and pointed out another cost-saving policy that Microsoft makes available:
Other significant media that covered Scott's Vista SP1 story include Ars Technica, Download Squad, and Slashdot. How modern, big-time software marketing works Microsoft's pricing strategy for Windows Vista is a lot like the old yarn about how some undertakers really make their money. As told by Jessica Mitford in her 1963 book, The American Way of Death, some funeral directors first show a bereaved next-of-kin the most expensive casket available. This could be called the "gold-plated coffin." If the grief-stricken relative approves the first option that's shown, the undertaker makes a handsome profit. If, instead, the family member asks to see cheaper models, the options that are subsequently offered seem reasonably priced, compared with the high-ticket item that first established the price range. The full edition of Windows Vista is Microsoft's gold-plated coffin. Microsoft hardly expects anyone to actually pay the gilt-edged price. Corporations that sign volume-licensing agreements, for example, can get discounted units that are cheaper than retail upgrade packages. And most individuals will receive Vista preinstalled when buying a new computer, the maker of which qualifies for low OEM pricing. That does leave a market, of course, of computer hobbyists who plan to install Vista from scratch. This includes Mac users who need to buy a retail package to run Vista in a dual-boot scenario, perhaps using Apple's Boot Camp. For every person willing to buy the full edition of Vista for $239, many more would be willing to buy the upgrade edition for "only" $130. Microsoft much prefers to deposit those people's 130 bucks rather than get zero if people decide that Vista isn't worth $239. How do we know what Microsoft executives are thinking about this gimmick? Let's look at the record:
Either Microsoft's top executives are so out to lunch that they have no concept of what's happening with their company's top product, or Microsoft wants people to use the trick, expecting few people to pay Vista's gold-plated-coffin price. One blogger seemed to take personal offense that we'd published an article about a documented feature of Vista that's more than one year old and still works exactly the same way in Service Pack 1. Ed Bott writes books for Microsoft Press. In his Apr. 4 blog post for ZDNet, though, he sounds more like he wants to be a legal assistant in Microsoft's corporate litigation department:
Scott and I clearly reported in each of our articles what the Vista EULA states: "To use upgrade software, you must first be licensed for the software that is eligible for the upgrade." But clicking OK when shown the first few lines of a EULA on-screen doesn't legally require anyone to suspend common sense. When Microsoft's own KB article defines Vista as "a compliant version of Windows," and the upgrade procedure is recommended for all to use, no court would rule that a person who'd paid the retail price for Vista's upgrade edition had done something Microsoft could complain about, legally or ethically. Any reporter who'd read our story and done any real research would have found each piece of evidence I've presented in the six bullet points listed above. Such nonsense about what's "legal" doesn't belong in ZDNet or any respectable news site. And, by the way, some Microsoft exec should take Ed aside and clue him in on the joke. No ethical dilemma in using a documented feature Integrity is crucial for a journalist, as it is for people in most professions. I would never encourage anyone to steal, because it's wrong and it can only haunt you (or wreck your karma). Whether I sign a written agreement, or I merely look you in the eye and shake hands on a deal, trying to fudge the terms later would cast a shadow on my reputation, which is all I really have. It's possible that the clean-upgrade path was added to the original release of Vista by a rogue programmer. I didn't believe this back in February 2007, and I said so then, but it's possible. Now that we see that the technique has not been removed from Vista Service Pack 1, however, I believe we have solid evidence that Redmond decision-makers tacitly approve of its use. A handful of readers e-mailed Windows Secrets last week, though, concerned that launching Vista's clean-install process would be unethical if someone used it without owning a previous version of Windows. I support software makers' right to earn an honest buck. I honor those readers who are so honest that a hint of deviating from the strictest reading of a EULA raises moral issues for them. The best description of this concern was submitted by James Beach, who writes:
The clean-upgrade path, as we've described it, requires that consumers pay the going price for a copy of Vista. Microsoft likes this revenue, and if you want Vista, you should buy a copy. We won't help you steal it. For the sake of argument, is buying less than the full edition of Vista a form of stealing? The publication of Scott's article is nothing like planting the following sign in front of your home:
My Front Door is Unlocked —
Home for Sale — $499K There's no moral problem with a home buyer taking the seller up on the "$100K off" promotion. For the same reason, there's no moral issue with someone using Microsoft's documented feature to pay $100 less than the gold-plated price. It's what Microsoft wants and expects (regardless of what its p.r. surrogates say). I don't work for Microsoft. I work for consumers. Until someone pries my cold, dead fingers from my keyboard, I'll be working to let you know anything Windows does that varies from Redmond's official pronouncements. If the clean-upgrade technique is truly unwanted, Mr. Ballmer could have a patch made to remove it as quickly as he can send an e-mail to an intern. Now that Vista has been in wide circulation in various forms for almost two years, and no such patch has appeared, I'm not holding my breath for one to be ordered. The Vista upgrade discs are fully functional Mary Smith-Markell writes to ask about the difference between the upgrade and full editions of Vista:
If you boot from the Vista DVD (rather than launching Vista setup from within Windows), the clean-install option is not available if you enter an upgrade key at that point. That's why you have to do a clean install with no product key, and then afterwards launch setup from within Vista to do an upgrade installation with the key. The upgrade disc does include the repair function and all the other features that you ordinarily see when you boot from the DVD. MS leaves prices unchanged for Anytime Upgrade Reader Daniel Coté has this question about the pricing of upgrades from one version of Vista to another:
However, according to a Microsoft spokesperson who responded to Windows Secrets, the recent Vista price reduction does not affect the Anytime Upgrade. Microsoft does not plan to make changes to the WAU pricing structure at this time.
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EDITOR'S BOOKSHELF
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WACKY WEB WEEK A new approach for handling telemarketers
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YOUR SUBSCRIPTION The Windows Secrets Newsletter is published weekly on the 1st through 4th Thursdays of each month, plus occasional news updates. We skip an issue on the 5th Thursday of any month, plus the week of Thanksgiving and the last two weeks of August and December. Publisher: WindowsSecrets.com LLC, Attn: #120 Editor, 1700 7th Ave., Suite 116, Seattle, WA 98101-1323 USA. Vendors, please send no unsolicited packages to this address (readers' letters are fine). Editorial Director: Brian Livingston. Editor-at-Large: Fred Langa. Associate Editor: Scott Dunn. Contributing Editors: Susan Bradley, Mark Edwards, Woody Leonhard, Ryan Russell. Research Director: Vickie Stevens. Program Director: Brent Scheffler. Editorial Assistant: Raef Harrison. Trademarks: Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. The Windows Secrets series of books is published by Wiley Publishing Inc. The Windows Secrets Newsletter, WindowsSecrets.com, LangaList, LangaList Plus, WinFind, Security Baseline, Patch Watch, Perimeter Scan, Wacky Web Week, the Logo Design (W, S or road, and Star), and the slogan Everything Microsoft Forgot to Mention all are trademarks and service marks of WindowsSecrets.com LLC. All other marks are the trademarks or service marks of their respective owners. HOW TO SUBSCRIBE: Anyone may subscribe to this newsletter by visiting our free signup page. WE GUARANTEE YOUR PRIVACY: 1. We will never sell, rent, or give away your address to any outside party, ever. 2. We will never send you any unrequested e-mail, besides newsletter updates. 3. All unsubscribe requests are honored immediately, period. Privacy policy HOW TO UNSUBSCRIBE: To unsubscribe from the Windows Secrets Newsletter,
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