Fanboi falsehood #1: "Mac security better than Windows"

  The Long View (Computerworld)

My irritation with fabois and fanboishness knows no bounds. These people have an intense desire to evangelize their chosen technology and convert users of competing products to their One True Way. Whether it's Mac fanbois mocking Windows users, or iPhone fanbois taunting Android wielders, their behavior is childish, cultish, and frankly a little disturbing. In this occasional series of posts, let's examine some fanboi falsehoods and technological tropes -- in The Long View.

...Read more

Aha! Adobe alternatives ahoy. Absolutely amazing...

  The Long View (Computerworld)

Happy Friday, everyone. This morning's wailing and gnashing of teeth over Adobe patches reminded me that there's more to PDF reading and writing than the 'official' Adobe software. Let's take a peek, in The Long View.

...Read more

How does Intel/McAfee make sense? I think I know...

  The Long View (Computerworld)

What's Intel up to? Don't expect it to tell us the real reason it's buying McAfee. But I'll tell you what I think its plans are, in The Long View...

...Read more

Twitter spam test: we caught some spammers!

  The Long View (Computerworld)

You may remember a couple of weeks ago, I baited a trap for Twitter spammers. Let's see how that experiment turned out, in The Long View.

...Read more

Why Andrew Orlowski is wrong about net neutrality

  The Long View (Computerworld)

Earlier today, my attention was drawn to an "analysis" piece at The Register. Let's take a read, in The Long View.

In the article, Andrew Orlowski argues that fans of network neutrality are living in some kind of 1990s dream world; that the architecture of 2010's Internet is very different from their outdated fantasies. This is due to widespread use of private peering arrangements by The Big Boys; that the so-called "backbones" -- as well as being a misnomer -- are increasingly irrelevant:

A real net neutrality law would have to give every company equal access at equal rates to Akamai or Google's caching servers - and I can't see that happening.

This is either stupendous ignorance of progressive, free-market economics, or deliberate misdirection. Not sure which; I dare say the Orlowski-watchers in the audience will have an opinion...

...Read more

One ex-HP guy (@richi) on another ex-HP guy (Mark Hurd)

  The Long View (Computerworld)

You may know that I worked for HP, in various capacities from 1987 to 2001. That was before Mark Hurd's time, but it won't stop me having an opinion, in The Long View.

...Read more

Arabs ban BlackBerry? No, not exactly.

  The Long View (Computerworld)

You may have read that Research In Motion is in trouble with authorities in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. It's said that certain BlackBerry services, including email, will be banned unless the governments are allowed to spy on messages going back and forth. Banned? Seriously? Well, let's take a closer look, in The Long View.

...Read more