World of versions…
World of versions…
How are normal users able to know which are the possibilities and impossibilities of the devices and applications they use on a daily basis. Not to mention want to buy.
For me it started in the 90′s… U.S. Robotics had a modem on the market which gave the users the option to run a firmware upgrade so features could be added. Short after the first features even new speeds were possible via upgrading. Now this is more common than you can imagine. Almost all devices have some kind of upgrade system.
The reason for this is that manufacturers can release their products faster on the market. They can correct minor mistakes, often called bugs, or even add new features. Nowadays updates are also more published in the news because many times a new version implies a solution for a security issue.
Here are some examples of devices :
- Television (Sony v1.730EA)
- Mobile phone (My Sony Ericsson X1 runs Christian’s ROM version 5.721 with SPB Home Shell version 3.5.5)
- Tablet (Apple iPad version 3.2.1)
- Multimedia player (Playon!HD Mini, beta v7.00.21r4312)
- Playstation 3 (version 3.31, since a while 3D support)
The TV can now since the upgrade support CI+ modules which my cable provider Ziggo uses without the need to purchase a new TV. My mobile phone is more than 1.5 years old but thanks to the new ROM upgrade it has the newest applications and features like the modern phones have. My tablet is able to connect to newer WiFi networks since the upgrade and applications are running faster. The multimedia player supports new video formats. My PS3 can now play 3D games, twitter and Facebook without the need to buy a new console.
Ofcourse there is a limit on the new features. On a certain moment the device will hits its limit. It can not process the data fast enough, then it’s time to replace the device. Upgrading does lengthen the life span of your device, not doubt about that.
If you compare versions in applications you can see it’s a real mess. Maybe you are surfing via Microsoft Internet Explorer 8.0 or FireFox 3.0, this website is currently running on 3.0.1 of WordPress and I can continue for hours and hours. Techies can keep track of this, but normal users can’t. A worse administrator doesn’t do it. Companies with this kind of administrators are often victim of hackers, hackers use a lot of time the known security holes of old versions of software, they call them exploits.
How to re-activate Office 2010 Technical Preview
Several people who installed the Technical Preview of Microsoft Office 2010 noticed after 30 days activation will not succeed. This is related to the fact the activation servers of Office 2010 not yet are published via DNS, simply explained to the fact they don’t exist yet. How you can re-activate for another 30 days? I give you a brief procedure how to do it :
First you have to stop the service : Office Software Protection
Then run x:\Windows\System32\OSPPRUN.exe (x can be your C: or other driveletter you have installed windows on)
You will have a prompt.
Enter these command followed by an enter like shown below, go to next step
>Initialize (enter)
>Open (enter)
>GetInstalledSkuIds (enter)
0. 128a057a-7e95-4063-b296-c54c5f3d3f3a (deze is het ID van Office 2010)
1. 26adec89-edf3-4adc-a3fc-c865f1a9f71f
OK.
> GetInstalledAppIds 128a057a-7e95-4063-b296-c54c5f3d3f3a (enter)
0. 59a52881-a989-479d-af46-f275c6370663
OK.
(You will get something that looks like this)
> GetLicensingStatus 59a52881-a989-479d-af46-f275c6370663 128a057a-7e95-4063-b296-c54c5f3d3f3a (enter)
SkuId = 128a057a-7e95-4063-b296-c54c5f3d3f3a
eStatus = SL_LICENSING_STATUS_IN_GRACE_PERIOD
dwGraceTime = 1D 23:37
dwTotalGraceDays = 30 days
hrReason = 4004F00C
qwExpiration = 2010/10/31
OK.
(What you are now going to do is set AppID and SkuID for Office 2010 to enable again 30 days before activation. That gives you another 30 days to test. Mostly the IDs are the same, if not please copy and use yours
> Rearm 59a52881-a989-479d-af46-f275c6370663 128a057a-7e95-4063-b296-c54c5f3d3f3a 1 (enter)
OK.
>close (enter)
>Initialize (enter)
>open (enter)
You can enter the command below to check out how many days you have left (See dwGraceTime):
> GetLicensingStatus 59a52881-a989-479d-af46-f275c6370663 128a057a-7e95-4063-b296-c54c5f3d3f3a (enter)
SkuId = 128a057a-7e95-4063-b296-c54c5f3d3f3a
eStatus = SL_LICENSING_STATUS_IN_GRACE_PERIOD
dwGraceTime = 29D 23:37
dwTotalGraceDays = 30 days
hrReason = 4004F00C
qwExpiration = 2010/10/31
>quit (enter)
You are able to use it again for 30 days. Have a lot of fun with testing Microsoft Office 2010…
In 2008 Windows had less found exploits
In 2008 Windows operating systems less exploit/leaks were found than in other systems as Linux and Mac OS X.
Before I have indicated that it’s not so bad with the insecurity of Windows than some would like to believe us. It appears that exploits in Linux or Mac OS X are more awful or just awful.
Now X-Force did a research and came to the following conclusion:
Apple Mac OS X had more than 14% of the leaks. Linux had more than 10% of the leaks.
Amusingly is also that Windows XP (5,5%) comes on the 5th spot and unsafer is than Windows Vista (5,1%). I did not expected otherwise because Microsoft do well know what they should do. You can read the original article on: http://www.zdnet.nl/news.cfm?id=97972&mxp=221
You can see it’s not easy to claim a safe operating system because a lot of time the least secure are saying Windows is unsecure.
It is commonly known exploits are normal in operating systems.
You have to install more patches under Linux or Mac OS X than by Windows operating system. This saves again money for maintenance for businesses which use Windows as operating system, yet to be silent about the safety risk.