Microsoft responds to Google moving away from Windows, calls it ironic

Google made some waves earlier this week by reportedly moving employees off of Windows and onto Mac OS X and Linux machines -- although the company wouldn't confirm the switch, the move was said to be precipitated by security issues after Chinese hackers attacked the search giant back in January.

Now, that wasn't the only reason mentioned in the report -- Google apparently also wants employees to use home-grown products like Chrome OS, and it's sort of weird for Google to buy tons of software licenses from a major competitor -- but the implication that Windows isn't secure enough for Google seems to have raised Microsoft's hackles: a new post on the Windows Team Blog says the irony of the move is "hard to overlook" as Gmail and Google Docs have privacy and security issues of their own, offers a point-by-point breakdown of all the ways Windows 7 is more secure than the competition, and goes on to suggest that a recent piece of shady Mac OS X malware is "a future sign of things to come for Apple and security." Meow.

Now, we honestly think the real story is as simple as Google not wanting to write Microsoft a really big check, but we're not going to say no to a little fight here -- Eric, Steve, you have anything to say?

source Windows Team Blog

Discover Bing!

That's right Bing, not Bling, although Microsoft is looking for glittery results with the launch of its new Bing Decision Engine in early June. According to their press material, this engine and consumer brand will provide customers with a first step in moving beyond search with intuitive tools to help customers make better decisions quickly.

It's also designed to easily navigate through the information overload that has come to characterize many of today’s search experiences. Results from a custom comScore Inc. study across core search engines show that as many as 30 percent of searches are abandoned without a satisfactory result. The data also showed that approximately two-thirds of the remaining searches required a refinement, or an additional search query on the search results page.

Sounds like smart marketing that will CLICK...not necessarily with Google, but with consumers.

IPhone Brain Drain...as in Battery...and Then Some

Let me start by saying, PCs are great, but Mac is at the top of my list. Although Mac, like other personal computers, is now capable of running alternative operating systems such as Linux, FreeBSD, and Microsoft Windows, the latter of which is considered to be the Mac's biggest competitor, our Macs are not configured to run any alternative operating systems.

When I decided to purchase a new cell phone, I debated between the iPhone 3G, and the Instinct from Samsung. It was not an easy decision, but the Instinct won hands down even though it doesn't sync with my personal Macs.

The Samsung Instinct has improved many of Apple's best features. The phone is not only easy to use, it makes super calls, acts as a top-notch Web browser, and the GPS navigation and speech recognition are fantastic.

With the iPhone, every application was specifically designed to be accessible with your fingertip. The touchscreen detects your body's electrical charge when it comes in contact with the device, enabling it to determine where you pressed. Sounds good so far...unless you happen to be a female with fingernails. And yes, guys have fingernails too.

To be clear, I don't mean the glued-on fingernail variety...more like "factory equipment" for women who are fast typists, or not so fast typists, with nails. According to an article published in the Los Angeles Times, many women believe the iPhone is unfairly designed to be completely unusable by women with long fingernails.

I won't comment on that article because I haven't done the research, but I believe that a grain of that is true. On a personal note, I found the iPhone much harder to use.

The iPhone 3G's battery is also far from ideal due to a bug feature with a non-serviceable, built-in battery, combined with AT&T's 3G network that can wipe an iPhone's battery in a flash.

This problem has been met by the accessory market with a range of external batteries. Some function as "dongles" that attach to the bottom, while others are built into protective cases.

At $99.00, Incase's Power Slider appears to rise to the top for performance with a 1330 mAh 4.2V battery, which offers about 120 percent of the iPhone 3G's own 1150 mAh battery. The case measures 5.1 inches tall by 2.6 inches wide by 0.86 inches thick, and weighs 2.5 ounces. Incase says the Power Slider can deliver 330 hours of standby time, 26 hours of audio playback, 7 hours of video playback, 5 hours of talk time on 3G, 10 hours on 2G, as well as 5 and 6 hours of Internet use on 3G and WiFi, respectively, and from reviews that I've read, it does just that.

As far as spending an additional $99.00 to correct an iPhone problem...it's a non-issue for me...putting fingernails aside.