Microsoft to Excel Users: Wiggle Your Mouse

I don't usualy post comical things on my blog, I try to keep it informative and helpful, but this is just too funny to pass up.

We've all heard of crazy "workarounds" as they're called - this one takes the cake.

This is a workaround for a data import function into Microsoft Excel. What is Microsoft's grand solution if it locks up while you're attempting this? Wiggle your mouse.

Method 2: Move Your Mouse Pointer

If you move your mouse pointer continuously while the data is being returned to Microsoft Excel, the query may not fail. Do not stop moving the mouse until all the data has been returned to Microsoft Excel.

NOTE: Depending on your query, it may take several minutes to return the results of your query to the worksheet.


Read more at: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/168702

Password Stealer Found on New Netbooks

An interesting development that Kaspersky Labs stumbled across.. They purchased a new M&A Companion Touch netbook in order to test a new anti-virus product targeted at the netbook segment, and discovered three pieces of malware on the factory-sealed netbook. A little sleuthing turned up the likely infection scenario — at the factory, someone was updating Intel drivers using a USB flash drive that was infected with a variant of the AutoRun worm.

"Installed along with the worm was a rootkit and a password stealer that harvests log-in credentials for online ... To ensure that a new PC is malware-free, [Kaspersky] recommended that before users connect the machine to the Internet, they install security software, update it by retrieving the latest definition file on another computer, and transferring that update to the new system, then running a full antivirus scan."


Gartner tells businesses: forget about Vista

IT analyst firm Gartner has told businesses to skip Vista and prepare to roll out Windows 7.

Companies have traditionally been advised to wait until the first Service Pack of an operating system arrives before considering migration.

However, Gartner is urging organisations that aren't already midway through Vista deployments to give the much-maligned operating system a miss.

"Skip Vista and target Windows 7," Gartner analysts Michael Silver and Stephen Kleynhans advise in a research paper. "Preparing for Vista will require the same amount of effort as preparing for Windows 7, so at this point, targeting Windows 7 would add less than six months to the schedule and would result in a plan that is more politically palatable, better for users, and results in greater longevity."

Even businesses that are midway through planning a Vista migration are urged to consider scrapping the deployment. "Consider switching to Windows 7 if it would delay deployment by six months or less," the pair advise. "The further you are withyour Vista plans, the more sense it makes to continue."

Companies who are in the midst of a deployment should carry on, the Gartner team says, although they should plan to move again to Windows 7 in "late 2010 or early 2011".

The Gartner experts say all companies should move off Windows XP by the end of 2012 to avoid problems with application compatibility.

Read more at http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/252955/gartner-tells-businesses-forget-about-vista.html#



ARS TECHNICA: 2009 Flash Drive Roundup

From Ars: "When we last took an in-depth look at USB flash drives in 2005, the landscape was a bit different. A 2GB drive ran nearly $200, and speeds were quite a bit slower then. At the time, we noted that while the then-current crop of drives was pretty fast, they still were not close to saturating the bandwidth of USB2. To top it off, a good drive was still going to set you back $50 or $70—not exactly a cheap proposition. Since our first roundup, this picture has changed considerably, and it leads to a question: has the flash drive become an undifferentiated commodity, just like any other cheap plastic tsotschke that you might find at an office supply store checkout counter?

Consider the following factors:

  • The majority of flash drives sold are either 4GB or 8GB, which is more than plenty of storage for most people.
  • Most of the drives in this size range are under $20.
  • Accessories (like neck straps, USB extension cables, spare caps, etc.) are no longer included.

Normally, twenty dollars is not something that most of us would think twice about, but don't most of us still want to know that we are getting our money's worth? To test this commodity theory, we selected a cornucopia of mostly 4GB and 8GB USB flash drives ranging from $9 to $30 dollars (average: $19.00)

Read more on Ars website (www.arstechnica.com) ..

 
Google is a registered trademark of Google, Inc. This website is not associated, affiliated or endorsed by Google, Inc.