Windows Vs. Linux Boot Times Illustrated

OK, I've never associated the word "fast" with waiting for a modern PC to boot, but this video has given me a new appreciation for how quickly Ubuntu Linux gets itself running. It's interesting to see just how long it takes Windows to get from "logged in" to useful.  I guess there's one more reason I'm glad I made the jump to Kubuntu last year:

I suspect an identically equipped Mac would have performed very, very well in this race, too.

windows, ubuntu, linux, boottime, video

Google Voice

I've been using Google Voice since before it was called Google Voice (originally it was called Grand Central). It's really, really useful. This summer Google Voice made the news when Apple kicked the Google Voice app out of the App Store. Describing Google Voice is a little tricky, because it really doesn't fit into a specific category.  It's not a VOIP service, and it competes only with the cell carrier's voice mail service.  Here's why Google Voice is so useful: most cell carriers haven't updated voice mail since I was using a Motorola StarTac (pictured) in the 90s.

So, here's what you can do with Google Voice if you don't have an iPhone (well, you can still use it, you just don't get an app for that):

• Dial phone calls and optionally record them. People who live on single party states can use Google Voice to record their calls and Google Voice will even send a semi-readable transcript (more on this later).
  
• Have a single number that hunts you down like a dog.
• Sending text messages without having a cell phone. (this is actually super-duper useful)
  
• Screen calls from people you don't like. You can even designate phone numbers as "phone spammers."
  
• Have transcripts of voice mails sent to you.  Often, they are terrible transcripts, but it still beats actually listening to people drone on for two minutes before they bother giving you a phone number.
  

Typical Google Voice Transcript:

Before I would you tell Bob wanted me to shut the up and i mean he's making it sound like the culture like sleep in the last place or something. And it's only the first half of the in for the number point facebook on the board this year, but I still say their chances in the second half of better than most even wanted to get even. We'll talk to you.

Translation

Some guy named Bob is really pissed.

At least you get a phone number so you can call to find out why Bob is pissed. And you can record the call with Bob. All while texting about whatever Bob is pissed about.  You can get Google Voice at http://voice.google.com.

phone, voip, googlevoice, google

Wait, What? Vista's Failure was Due to Security?

Everyone has a theory on why Vista was underwhelming. The most curious theory is that of Steve Balmer who said to the Telegraph:

"We got some uneven reception when [Vista] first launched in large part because we made some design decisions to improve security at the expense of compatibility. I don't think from a word-of-mouth perspective we ever recovered from that."

Hmm.  Something tells me that Steve is right about security being the problem, but it wasn't because of compatibility issues.  Security was improved at the expense of usability.  Remember this little Apple commercial that lampooned Window's security?

Vista's application security features were so annoying that it was laughable - and in the end poor security. Security expert Bruce Schneider has a  take on this as well:

"There was also the problem of Vista's endless security warnings. The problem is that they were almost always false alarms, and there were no adverse effects of ignoring them. So users did, which means they ended up being nothing but an annoyance."

So what's the takeaway?  Security doesn't work if users become conditioned to ignore your security features.

vista, windows, balmer, mac commercial

Ding Dong the Witch (IE) is Dead

I've just been browsing through my client's Yahoo Analytics. Internet Explorer's fall from the dominant web browser has been stunning. A few months ago, here is what most websites would see (and Internet Explorer was Pac-Man):

Now, things are a lot different. Suddenly, Firefox, Google Chrome, Safari and Opera have ganged up on Internet Explorer and stole it's lunch money. Here is a typical browser report for a client website from Yahoo Analytics (it's real time and Google isn't).

In short, Firefox and IE have near equal 38-42% market shares. Chrome, Opera and Safari are eating a big piece of the pie, too. This is good news for designers who have been complaining about Internet Explorer's major problems with W3C compliant code.

What is interesting is that smart phones and iPhones (if I don't say the word iPhones the Apple zealots will be at the door with torches and pitchforks) are not yet making their mark just yet in non-techie websites. The only places where I see little screens on this report is for websites that would be considered technology sites.

What are you seeing in you metrics this month?

browserwars, browsers, internet explorer, google chrome, firefox