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With the Windows Vista coming out soon, I have seen various benchmarks on games and performances comparing with Windows XP. But hey, have you seen any comparison on internet speed? And why do I want to know it? Because Windows Vista has the “Next Generation TCP/IP Stack”, some of us are surely curious whether this new technology have any impact on the download speed or upload speed. Below are some of the new features:

• Dual IP layer architecture for IPv6

• Easier kernel mode network programming

• Support for a strong host model

• New security and packet filtering APIs

• New mechanisms for protocol stack offload

• New support for scaling on multi-processor computers

• New extensibility

• Reconfiguration without having to restart the computer

• Automatic configuration of stack settings based on different network environments

• Supportability enhancements

• Better support for computers that roam between networks

• Better support for developers of multicast-enabled applications and networks

• TCP performance enhancements for high-speed networks, asymmetric satellite links, and wireless and other high loss networks

• Improved portability of the Next Generation TCP/IP stack to other Microsoft operating systems such as Windows CE, Xbox, and Windows Embedded

• Improved resistance against all known TCP/IP-based denial of service and other types of network attacks

With all the new features and improvements I am just curious whether it is faster than Windows XP? So I hope somebody or some group can benchmark for me. Thanks for reading.

Reference:

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/community/columns/cableguy/cg0905.mspx
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/network/evaluate/new_network.mspx

Please help me spread this article by Digging or Bookmarking.

NEW YORK (Fortune) -- If you haven't heard of resveratrol, you're probably too young to have had the experience of gazing in the bathroom mirror in the morning and thinking, "damn."

Resveratrol is the ingredient in red wine that made headlines in November when scientists demonstrated that it kept overfed mice from gaining weight, turned them into the equivalent of Olympic marathoners, and seemed to slow down their aging process. Few medical discoveries have generated so much instant buzz - even Jay Leno riffed about it in his opening monologue.

But the key question raised by the news - whether the discoveries will lead to pharmaceutical payoffs before we're too old to care - won't be answered in the Harvard lab from which the news sprang. Instead look to a boxy, low-rise building a couple of miles away, an unprepossessing biotech hatchery that got little media attention in the wake of the resveratrol findings. This is the Cambridge home of two-year-old Sirtris Pharmaceuticals. Its stated goal is to develop medicines that have the same health-boosting effects in people that resveratrol had on mice.

But that hardly captures the company's sweeping promise: if it succeeds, its medicines may retard the onset or progression of a whole slew of age-related diseases, from diabetes to Alzheimer's to cancer. The drugs may also have an extremely provocative side effect: They might extend life span. You have to go back to the advent of antibiotics in the first half of the 20th century to find such broad therapeutic potential.

For all that to happen, Sirtris, like most biotech startups, must wend through a minefield that will take many years to traverse. And no biotech gets very far through the minefield without a kind of walking contradiction leading the way - a dreamer with feet planted firmly on the ground, a science whiz who could pass as a circus ringmaster, a riverboat gambler with a passion for minimizing risk. Three years ago one such paradox strolled into the Harvard lab that put resveratrol on the map and set in motion events that may in time radically transform the way we age: meet Christoph Westphal, Sirtris's co-founder, CEO, and dreamer-in-chief.

A former venture capitalist, Westphal, 38, was known for conjuring up dreams that spellbind investors before he joined forces with David Sinclair, 37, the charismatic Harvard medical school researcher who spearheaded the research on resveratrol. Between 2000 and 2004, Westphal co-founded five companies and served as CEO of four of them, including two hot biotechs that have gone public and now have a combined market value of over $1.4 billion. But Sirtris is probably his entrepreneurial pièce de résistance, and he quit his meteoric VC career to lead it.

MIT professor Phillip Sharp, a Nobel laureate biologist who advises Sirtris and has known Westphal for years, says he's excited about the startup's science. But it was Westphal's involvement that largely persuaded him to put his imprimatur on Sirtris. (Sharp, one of the biggest names in science, helped launch the biotech industry in 1978 by co-founding Biogen, now Biogen Idec (Charts).) "Christoph's combination of skills is very rare," Sharp says. "I haven't seen his equivalent in 30 years of working in biotech."

Venture capitalists have been equally enthralled by Westphal, judging by the $82 million they've pumped into closely held Sirtris over the past two years. That's a remarkably large sum for a high-risk, early stage biotech, and it has helped fast-track the company's drug development - it is already clinically testing its first medicine, a resveratrol-based drug that promises to help keep diabetic patients' blood sugar under control. The drug contains concentrated resveratrol and gets far more of it into the bloodstream than drinking red wine can. Most biotechs pioneering new science take years before testing drugs on people; Sirtris's drug reached the clinic less than 18 months after the company's launch.

For all his mastery at raising money, Westphal isn't your standard-issue CEO. His lead haberdasher is probably Levi Strauss & Co. his cramped, sparsely furnished office, which is shared with Sinclair when the Harvard scientist drops by, is not much bigger than a walk-in closet. And because he doesn't like cluttering his life with things like cars, he often walks five or more miles a day getting to work and meetings. A husky 6-foot 3-inch man with an edgy, no-nonsense air, Westphal doesn't so much ambulate as lunge - his body language suggests a star halfback who has just spotted a football spiraling down about five yards ahead of his pigskin-eager hands.

His colleagues are accustomed to his daily barrage of e-mails, which begins around 5:30 a.m. "I must get 50 e-mails a day from him," says Boston hedge fund manager Richard Aldrich, one of Sirtris's founding investors. "He probably over communicates." (Westphal says that over communication is a nonissue because "nobody reads my e-mails.") In fact, just about the only time anyone can recall the boss giving his blackberry a breather was during a few startling minutes last November. It turned out that he had laid it aside for a few minutes to deliver a baby -- his own son. In fact, Westphal delivered all three of his children at a Boston hospital under an obstetrician's supervision.

At first glance, Westphal's frenetic personal style resembles attention deficit disorder. But in his case it's probably better described as bandwidth-coming-out-of-the-ears syndrome. When I interviewed him some months ago at Sirtris, for instance, he couldn't resist assembling a new sound system for his office as we talked. He managed to read the instructions, examine the pieces, and put them together without missing a beat in the conversation.

A few other résumé bullet points: Westphal plays the cello; speaks four languages (his kids speak only German with him and Spanish with his Puerto Rican wife); and has visited two-thirds of the countries on earth. He's also a disarming extrovert who genially crushes competitors into the dust. When Sirtris held a companywide weight-loss contest over last summer and fall, no one was very surprised when Westphal's team won. On the weekend before the final weigh-in, the CEO starved himself and exercised all-out twice a day, pushing so hard that his wife feared he might have a heart attack. "When you get involved with Christoph," says Aldrich, " it's all action, all the time."

It won't come as a surprise that Westphal's powers of concentration appeared early. As a youngster he told his parents, physicians who grew up in Germany and moved to the U.S. in 1967 (young Christoph grew up in the Washington, D.C., area), that he wasn't very interested in following in their professional footsteps. "Of course you'll get an MD," his mother replied. "Then you can decide what you want to do."

Rebelling in the way of a good German son, he got a Ph.D. in biology and slogged through an MD on the side - both from Harvard in five years and eight months, nearly a record. After that he worked at a hospital in equatorial Africa, where he delivered scores of babies. Then he decided that what he really wanted to do was start companies that turn basic research into drugs. That led to his furiously productive stint as a venture capitalist.

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This is cool! GO to any web page, clear the address bar, and paste this: "javascript:document.body.contentEditable='true'; document.designMode='on'; void 0" (without the quotes) and hit enter. Feel free to edit whatever you want on the page!

Part 1

Part 2

1. Green leafy vegetables. Eat them raw, throw them into a broth, add them to juices. Their chlorophyll helps swab out environmental toxins (heavy metals, pesticides) and is an all-round liver protector.

2. Lemons. You need to keep the fluids flowing to wash out the body and fresh lemonade is ideal. Its vitamin C - considered the detox vitamin - helps convert toxins into a water - soluble form that?s easily flushed away.

3. Watercress. Put a handful into salads, soups, and sandwiches. The peppery little green leaves have a diuretic effect that helps move things through your system. And cress is rich in minerals too.

4. Garlic. Add it to everything - salads, sauces, spreads. In addition to the bulb's cardio benefits, it activates liver enzymes that help filter out junk.

5. Green tea. This antioxidant-rich brew is one of the healthiest ways to get more fluids into your system. Bonus: It contains catechins, which speed up liver activity.

6. Broccoli sprouts. Get 'em at your health-food store. They pack 20 to 50 times more cancer-fighting, enzyme-stimulating activity into each bite than the grown-up vegetable.

7. Sesame seeds. They're credited with protecting liver cells from the damaging effects of alcohol and other chemicals. For a concentrated form, try tahini, the yummy sesame seed paste that?s a staple of Asian cooking.

8. Cabbage. There are two main types of detoxifying enzymes in the liver; this potent veggie helps activate both of them. Coleslaw, anyone?

9. Psyllium. A plant that?s rich in soluble fiber, like oat bran, but more versatile. It mops up toxins (cholesterol too) and helps clear them out. Stir powdered psyllium into juice to help cleanse your colon, or have psyllium-fortified Bran Buds for breakfast.

10. Fruits, fruits, fruits. They're full of almost all the good things above - vitamin C, fiber, nutritious fluids, and all kinds of antioxidants. Besides, nothing tastes better than a ripe mango, fresh berries, or a perfect pear.

Source

While there is no cure for lingering viral infections such as HIV and herpes, a recent study at Princeton University suggests it may be possible to deactivate such viruses indefinitely with the flick of a genetic switch.

Princeton scientists Leor Weinberger and Thomas Shenk hope their work will illuminate the processes by which human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and other viruses transition into dormant phases in their hosts. The researchers have discovered a specific genetic trigger that makes HIV fall into its latent phase, where the virus essentially hibernates, relatively harmlessly, but awaiting an opportunity to re-emerge and wreak havoc.

Weinberger and Shenk studied how an HIV protein, called Tat, plays a major part in initiating and also interrupting the cascade of chemical reactions that leads to full-blown infection. Based on their work and previous studies by others, they have proposed that the Tat protein and the enzymes that modify it serve as a "resistor," a component of an electrical circuit that reduces the flow of current.

"The resistor paradigm is a helpful way to think about how HIV enters and exits latency, and it might serve as a useful model for latent infections by other viruses, as well," said Shenk, Princeton's James A. Elkins Jr. Professor in the Life Sciences in the Department of Molecular Biology. "Understanding how to activate the Tat resistor to interrupt the reactions leading to viral infection could one day have repercussions in both the lab and the clinic."

Weinberger and Shenk share their findings in a research paper appearing in the Dec. 26 issue of the online journal Public Library of Science Biology.

"We have helped understand how HIV can turn off, and in doing so I believe we've uncovered an important component of the biological switch," said Weinberger, a Lewis-Thomas Fellow in Princeton's Department of Molecular Biology. "If we can figure out how such resistors affect viruses, it might lead to a whole new class of drugs that can treat some of the world's most dangerous illnesses."

Though Weinberger emphasized the significance of the discovery was primarily for fundamental science research, he said that potential applications to HIV might be an improvement over drug cocktails, which are the mixtures of antiviral agents that have been the best-available treatment for the disease for a decade.

"Drug cocktails extend the life of the patient, but they do not completely alleviate the symptoms of HIV, nor do they work for all victims," Weinberger said. "Even when the cocktails get most of the infectious virus in a victim's body, some viruses will escape because they have hidden by going dormant. Eventually, these dormant viruses wake up and the infection returns, so it makes sense to try to keep the virus asleep if possible."

HIV weakens the body's immune system by invading CD4+ T cells, which in essence serve as the metaphorical generals in the body's defense system against illness. When an HIV virus particle invades a T cell, most often it converts the cell into a factory for making other viral particles, killing the cell in the process. Without these T cells, the body loses its ability to repel other infectious bacteria and viruses, and eventually dies from assaults from these other "opportunistic" infectious invaders.

On rare occasions, however, a virus will infect the T cell and become dormant. Why this individual viral infection would not begin to replicate when others do remains a mystery.

"It's somewhat like the unpopped kernels of corn left in the bottom of the bag when you take it out of the microwave," Weinberger said. "They were exposed to the same heat as the others but did not pop. We wanted to know why about one in a million HIV particles didn't 'pop' immediately like all the rest did."

Weinberger and Shenk found the answer in a strand of HIV's DNA where a genetic circuit exists -- not an electrical circuit, but a set of chemical reactions that runs in a loop. First, one of HIV's genes creates the Tat protein, which is part of the chemical signal for the virus to begin replicating. An important player to complete the signal is an enzyme within the T cell called p300 that decorates the Tat protein with a small chemical tail. The p300 enzyme converts the Tat protein into a message that activates the virus and creates more Tat protein, and eventually converts the T cell into an active HIV factory.

"The more of these [messages] sensed within the cell, the more Tat proteins the gene creates, resulting in a snowball effect that is difficult to stop," Weinberger said of the onset of full-blown infection.

Mechanisms do exist to halt the process, however. For example, another enzyme within the affected cell called SirT1 is capable of pulling the chemical tail off the Tat protein, rendering it silent. The interplay between p300 and SirT1 comprises the resistor and can effectively keep the virus in its dormant phase.

"SirT1 reduces the strength of the signal to replicate," Weinberger said. "It may prove to be the key part of the resistor in the circuit, as our mathematical models are strongly suggesting."

Not all the molecular players are known yet, nor how their relative roles determine whether the virus becomes dormant, but Weinberger said his and Shenk's results lead them to think they are on the right track. If their theories prove correct, they could form the basis for therapies that combat HIV and other viruses that possess these genetic circuits within their own DNA.

"SirT1 and related processes might eventually turn off viral activation in T cells all by themselves, but the cell is usually dead before it can happen," Weinberger said. "If we can create drugs that target these enzymes, perhaps we can get SirT1 and related enzymes to assert themselves immediately, forcing HIV into hibernation with high frequency and reducing the threat to the host."

Weinberger said that drugs already exist that target other cellular enzymes, so there is reason to hope the approach will work.

"There is precedent for this type of treatment," he said.

Though more research will be needed to develop drugs based on the Princeton scientists' "resistor" model, Weinberger said he hopes the discovery stimulates more research into potential gene-targeted therapies.

"It would be wonderful to learn more about how these genetic circuits work so that we can enter a new age of drug design," he said. "Rather than just giving a static drug, we might one day design therapies that are precisely timed to turn off viruses just like a natural genetic circuit might."

This research was funded in part by the National Institutes of Health.

Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by Princeton University.

Source

Apples – The old saying really is true. An apple a day keeps the doctor away, and maybe even some damaging diseases. Apples are beneficial on so many different levels. They pack more Vitamin C than an orange and they are full of antioxidants that will help your body stay healthy. With so many different varieties, it’s easy to pick and choose the flavor that’s perfect for you. Try eating a few slices of apple as an after-dinner snack, or add it to your salad for a bright kick.

Flaxseed – This ancient grain is extremely beneficial, particularly to women who suffer hormone imbalances. As little as two tablespoons a day can help maintain bone health and cut your risk of breast cancer. Make sure you grind it properly before eating, so that you can properly digest it. Flaxseed is great on salads, or even sprinkled into a healthy shake. Some people even find that it adds a delightfully nutty flavor to their morning coffee.

Carrots – These little roots are chock full of beta carotene, which your body turns into Vitamin A. They are essential for eye health and there are a variety of different ways to add them to your diet. Cooking carrots does tend to lessen their benefits, so try to eat them raw when possible. Beta carotene can even help ward off cancer, especially skin cancer. If you have trouble eating them raw, try a few in a healthy soup, or dehydrate them for an afternoon snack.

Tomatoes – Tomatoes are extremely rich in lutein, an incredible nutrient that can keep your eyes healthy. They also contain lycopene, which is an antioxidant. Recent studies have shown that eating a few slices of tomato a day can halve your risk of developing cancer, including bladder, stomach and colon cancer. It’s easy to add a few slices to your dinner, or for a special treat, brush your favorite dressing on them a few minutes before eating.

Onions – Onions have been shown to help lower blood pressure and they contain flavonoids, which are believed to protect your body against cancer. In some cultures, raw onions are applied to the soles of the feet during an illness to help draw out the disease. While chopping onions helps release their beneficial nutrients, you can also try grilling them with a steak, adding a few slices to a hamburger or you can add a few slices to your salad. Onions are also easy to add to soups, stews and stir-fry dishes.

Garlic is extremely beneficial. It can help lower blood pressure, and may even reduce the levels of bad cholesterol in your blood stream. It may even help prevent cancer of the stomach. Add a clove to your next batch of mashed potatoes, or a few slices to your next meal. In addition to making your dish more tender, you’ll be reaping the fantastic benefits. To remove garlic’s odor from your hands, rub them on stainless steel. For garlic breath, try a sprig of fresh parsley.

Cauliflower – This member of the cruciferous family is believed to help prevent cancer and promote a healthy liver. In fact, it may even be beneficial to those suffering from rheumatoid arthritis. Try a few fresh pieces of cauliflower in your salad for maximum benefits, or add it to a soup or stir-fry. If the strong flavor bothers you, its close relative broccoli is also just as beneficial.

Plums – If you suffer from anemia, adding plums to your diet may actually help your body absorb more available iron from your blood stream. Plums are also rich in Vitamin C and it may even help reduce the threat of macular degeneration. Try adding a fresh plum as a desert snack, or if you prefer them cooked, a plum tart is fantastic. Cooking plums does tend to lessen their benefits, but you’ll still get some nutrients. Dried plums, or prunes as they are commonly called, are also beneficial.

Green Tea – This tea is rich in antioxidants and it’s extremely easy to find. Make sure to look for green tea that is made in countries that do not allow certain toxic pesticides to be used during the growth process for a healthier cup of tea. Green tea has been found to reduce the risk of stroke and promote a healthy immune system. You can drink it hot or cold and still benefit from its incredible properties. Green tea can also be used as a poultice on wounds.

Cranberries – These little berries are very important to urinary tract health and they are also rich in antioxidants and vitamins. In fact, the latest research has shown that cranberries can even be used as a very effective antibiotic. Cranberry juice is a great way to get your daily dose of health, but make sure you’re drinking natural juice and not a 10% juice cocktail. You can also try canned cranberries for a delicious side dish at your next meal.

Yams – Candied or not, yams are very good for you. They are an excellent source of Vitamin B6, which is essential for heart health. They also contain a high amount of potassium, which is very important in controlling blood pressure. Wild yams are commonly used to help women suffering from hormonal imbalances and they can even help balance your body’s blood sugar. Try adding yams to replace potatoes as a side dish.

Celery – Celery is a great source of Vitamin C and it Celery contains active compounds called Pthalides which help maintain good blood vessel health. Pthalides can relax the muscles of the arteries that regulate blood pressure allowing these vessels to dilate. Celery can also be a diuretic. . Don’t slather your celery in artery clogging cheese or peanut butter though. Slice up a stalk and add it to your salad or your next pot of soup instead.

Olives – Whether you like them green or black, olives are an excellent source of Vitamin E and it can even act as an anti-inflammatory. They are also a good source of iron, copper and dietary fiber. Olives are easy to add to most dishes. Slice them up and add them to your next salad or just eat them plain. You can also experiment and try olive bread, or just stick with olive oil in your cooking to enjoy its benefits.

Strawberries – This favorite berry is rich in phenols which are good for your heart, can protect against cancer and they can even act as an anti-inflammatory, making them a wonderful addition for arthritis or chronic pain sufferers. Recent studies have shown that strawberries can also protect you from macular degeneration. They are rich in folate, Vitamin B5 and many other nutrients.

Honey – If you’re looking for a natural sweetener that’s actually good for you, honey is an excellent choice. It has anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-viral properties and can protect your body from free-radicals and promote quick healing of wounds. Try to find a apiary near your area for fresh honey. Processed honey loses some of its benefits, but it’s a great alternative in a pinch. Try it on toast as an alternative to butter, or add it your oatmeal for a great sweet taste.

Source

1. go to any website

2. delete everything in the address bar

3. paste the following code in the address bar:

javascript:R=0; x1=.1; y1=.05; x2=.25; y2=.24; x3=1.6; y3=.24; x4=300; y4=200; x5=300; y5=200; DI=document.images; DIL=DI.length; function A(){for(i=0; i-DIL; i++){DIS=DI[ i ].style; DIS.position='absolute'; DIS.left=Math.sin(R*x1+i*x2+x3)*x4+x5; DIS.top=Math.cos(R*y1+i*y2+y3)*y4+y5}R++}setInterval('A()',5); void(0);

4. press enter and have fun

Self-cleaning fabrics could revolutionize the sport apparel industry. The technology, created by scientists working for the U.S. Air Force, has already been used to create t-shirts and underwear that can be worn hygenically for weeks without washing.

The new technology attaches nanoparticles to clothing fibers using microwaves. Then, chemicals that can repel water, oil and bacteria are directly bound to the nanoparticles. These two elements combine to create a protective coating on the fibers of the material.

This coating both kills bacteria, and forces liquids to bead and run off.

The U.S. military spent more than $20 million to develop the fabric, deriving from research originally intended to protect soldiers from biological weapons.

Jeff Owens, one of the scientists who worked to develop the process, said, "During Desert Storm, most casualties were from bacterial infections—not accidents or friendly fire. We treated underwear for soldiers who tested them for several weeks and found they remained hygienic. They also helped clear up some skin complaints."

Science fiction writer Neal Stephenson wrote specifically about nanotech fabrics that stayed clean; he referred to "fabricules" in his 1995 novel The Diamond Age:

...with a quick brush, John and Gwendolyn were able to transfer most of the dirt onto their white gloves. From there it went straight into the air. Most gentlemen's and ladies' gloves nowadays were constructed of infinitesimal fabricules that knew how to eject dirt...
(Read more about fabricules)

British news organizations pointed out that an earlier reference to the general idea of clothes that never got dirty can be found in the 1951 film "The Man in the White Suit." Sci-fi fans can console themselves with the fact that the lead role was played by Alec Guiness, who of course played Obiwan Kenobi in the original Star Wars films.

Source

Clinical studies of the drug, called an integrase inhibitor, showed that, when combined with two existing drugs, it reduced the virus to undetectable levels in nearly 100 percent of HIV patients prescribed a drug regimen for the first time, The Los Angeles Times said Tuesday. It had a similar effect in 72 percent of salvage therapy patients, who take a mixture of existing medications aimed at stalling the virus until new drugs appear.

The drug essentially prevents the virus' DNA from integrating with a host's cells, inhibiting its ability to replicate itself.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration should approve it in mid-2007. Manufacturer Merck & Co. is making it available sooner to patients in desperate straits.

"They tested it on some people who were in deep, deep salvage therapy, and even those people did remarkably well," Dr. Steven Deeks, a University of California, San Francisco salvage therapy authority, told the Times. "It seems to be a truly phenomenal drug that ... is changing the whole way we think about the management of these patients."

Source

That midnight kiss on New Year's Eve may not have been the only thing that took your breath away. Those who celebrated the night with a few drinks may, next time, think twice about what they order once they hear about the health risks associated with mixing alcoholic beverages with energy drinks.

Popular energy drinks such as Red Bull, Full Throttle, Rockstar and Monster are a common choice of "mixers" for alcoholic beverages, but may pose health risks. And that's no bull.

"You can hinder your respiration," said Roger A. Clemens, of the University of Southern California's School of Pharmacy. "From a public health perspective, you should not mix stimulants with alcohol."

"When you combine those two together, you always have a risk," he said. According to Clemens, some major concerns with mixing these two drinks include, but are not limited to, cardiovascular risk, impaired judgment, shortness of breath, dizziness, disorientation and rapid heart beat.

"A rapid heart rate is a common side effect. [And] with a not-so-healthy heart, can be life threatening," Clemens added. It is not recommended to mix caffeine with alcohol, he said.

Clemens also explained how mixing high levels of caffeine with alcoholic beverages can be dangerous for your body. "Based on what I've seen, I think it's a growing trend," he said. "For some young people, it's a form of expression. We are looking at another generation that is looking for a form of expression and experiments with over-the-counter products."

Stocking Up On Energy Drinks
Julie B., a 27-year-old from Los Angeles, said she first experienced alcohol and Red Bull in Thailand. "It's the perfect drink because you get drunk, but you have a lot of energy," she said. "You just can't have too much. I have just one Red Bull a night. It's a drink of choice."

Adriana Alvarez, a 22-year-old California State University student, said she first heard of mixing Red Bull and vodka through word-of-mouth. "It's gives me a quick buzz."

Red Bull's Web site claims the product, "supplies tired minds and exhausted bodies with vital substances that have been lost, while reducing harmful substances. It provides immediate energy and vitamins."

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Opinion -- Today, you can do everything you want with a Linux desktop, except play the latest games. Even there, Linux is catching up. So, why do only a handful of people run Linux instead of Windows? Here are my top-four reasons why Windows wins and Linux loses.

Before I start, though, let me say -- because people always assume I'm anti-Linux when I write pieces like this -- that I use Linux desktops every day. I'm writing this on a SLED (SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop) 10 system, I run MEPIS 6.01 and Xandros Professional Desktop 4.1 on my laptops, and on my other desktops that I use at least weekly, you'll find Freespire 1.0, Fedora Core 6, and openSUSE 10.2. In short, I use Linux. I love Linux. But, that doesn't mean I'm blind to business reality, Windows virtues, or Linux flaws.

So, without further adieu, the number-one reason why Linux trails in the desktop races...

#1: The installed base

There are, what, hundreds of millions of Windows XP and 2000 systems still out there and working? That's a lot of systems. That's a lot of people who know nothing but Windows.

Canonical CEO Mark Shuttleworth claims that there are at least 8 million Ubuntu Linux desktops alone out there. I wish I could believe that number, but I don't.

I could believe that there are 8-million total Linux desktops out there. If we accept that there are 8 million Linux desktops out there, based on IDC market-share Linux marketshare estimates that would mean we're talking over a billion Windows desktops out there. Ouch.

The installed base, however, may turn out to be a blessing in disguise for the Linux desktop. That's because the analysts think that Vista is going to have real trouble pulling users away from older versions of Windows.

Al Gillen, vice president of research at IDC, recently told eWEEK that one of the biggest threats facing Microsoft in 2007 is its own installed base. Even Rob Enderle, principal analyst at The Enderle Group and a consultant to Microsoft, said he doesn't see much demand for Vista both because of its abysmally late launch and users who will stick with their legacy systems.

In addition, Gillen thinks that Microsoft's focus on reducing piracy with its invasive authentication systems, "may accidentally accelerate the option of Linux as a client operating system. Microsoft's client operating system anti-piracy efforts may well backfire and that very anti-piracy campaign could drive customers toward Linux."

So, maybe this will be the year that the Linux desktop market doubles, or even triples, in size. That will mean great business for Novell, Red Hat, and Ubuntu, but that will still leave Linux hundreds of millions of users running Windows.

#2: PC vendor support

If you want to buy a Windows system, go anywhere and you can pick up one. If you want to buy a Mac, you'll need to do a little looking, but your local yellow pages should point you to a dealer in your area without much fuss. If you want to buy a Linux desktop... well, prepare for a long hunt.

Yes, they're out there. Linspire, in particular, does a good job of partnering with smaller PC manufacturers and distributors. For example, Koolbox's Mini koolbox line of Mac Mini-style PCs are fine low-end computers for a decent price.

But, you do have to actively look for a Linux-powered PC. It also doesn't help any that even the big-time vendors that offer Linux desktops, like Dell and Lenovo, make it darn hard to buy them.

This isn't going to change anytime soon. I've been talking to a lot of vendors lately, and it's really very simple why we're not going to see many more pre-loaded Linux desktop PCs anytime soon: there's almost no demand for them.

If you want to see more Linux PCs, you're going to need to ask for them; again, and again, and again, because the big vendors aren't hearing a peep. What demand there is for Linux PCs is coming not from consumers but from enterprise customers. So while I think we may see an HP or Dell come out with a low-priced business desktop line this year, you can pretty much give up on the fantasy that CompUSA will have half-a-dozen Linux-powered PCs in its aisles come Christmas 2007.

#3: Hardware vendor support

One of the things that everyone complains about in Linux is that it doesn't have enough hardware equipment support -- WiFi cards, iPods, high-end graphic cards, scanners, whatever. You know what? They're right.

It's not Linux's fault, but, repeat after me: users don't care. All they know is that they can't connect to their WiFi access point, or that their all-in-one scanner/printer/fax machine can only print.

Yes, with Linux, 99 percent of all hardware works with 95 percent of its functionality. Again, users don't care. All, they know is that their WiFi card doesn't work, therefore Linux is trash.

This is not, however, a problem just for Linux. Windows users, who have become accustomed to the idea that everything always works with their systems, are in for a rude awakening when they start upgrading to Vista. Then, they're going to find more hardware trouble than Linux users have had in years.

But, just because Vista users are going to be in the same boat, won't help the Linux desktop much. Linux companies have to do whatever it takes to work with proprietary hardware. In this regard, Linspire, with its wiliness to include proprietary hardware drivers, has taken a leading position. Other distributions, like Ubuntu, are still fighting over these issues.

From where I sit, it's really pretty simple. You can be ideologically pure and only use open-source software and have distributions that won't work well for many people, or you can include some proprietary drivers and firmware and produce distributions that will work better for most users.

Another idea that could help, which was kicked around at the last Portland desktop meeting, is to set up a program through which vendors could get their hardware certified to work with Linux. Think "Works with Linux," instead of "Works with Windows," as a branding campaign, and you have the idea.

I, for one, would certainly appreciate being able to look at an ad, or at the packaging, and know at a glance whether the goodies inside will work with Linux. This kind of hardware certification sounds a lot easier than it is to actually do, but I think it would go a long way toward making Linux more popular with casual users.

There's also a related problem, but here Linux could gain a permanent advantage over Windows. As open source leader Eric S. Raymond said at last August's LinuxWorld in San Francisco, as PCs make the jump from 32-bits to 64-bits Linux has a chance to become the number-one operating system.

To do that, however, Linux needs to have a lot more 64-bit drivers, and applications that work in 64-bits. One of the biggest problems is that most Linux distributions and the LSB (Linux Standard Base) maintain separate library repositories for 32-bit and 64-bit applications.

What that means, in practice, is that you can't run 32-bit and 64-bit programs together. For instance, if you use 64-bit Firefox, you can't use 32-bit Macromedia Flash or Adobe Acrobat. Can you say annoying?

In this area, Windows is actually in worse shape than Linux. Running 64-bit Windows is much more of a pain than Linux. Now, if Linux can move forward in the 64-bit agenda, we could have an operating system that -- even to the most naive eye -- performs better than Windows.

#4: Software support

Yes, I can run anything I want on Linux today, but then I'm an expert. Most users will do well with Firefox for browsing, GAIM for IM, OpenOffice for office work, and Thunderbird or Evolution for email. But, once you move beyond the basics, though, it gets more complicated.

Part of the problem is that there's no single easy way to install software on Linux. On Windows, you click on the installer, and, wham, bang, you're in business. Vista is going to change that for the worse, but that's not our problem.

Our problem is that we have half-a-dozen very different "easy" ways to install programs, like apt, YaST, and yum. We also have some software that will only install if you know exactly what you're doing with rpmbuild, make, and directory permissions.

Now, the LSB and friends are working on solving the installation problem. Better still, their approach of creating a common, high-level API (application programming interface) sounds very workable. With some work, by this time next year, installing applications may be just as mindless for most Linux users as installing programs on Windows currently is for XP users.

Another sore point is that Linux is still struggling to find common ground for desktop developers. Thanks to the Portland Project, Linux is now well on the way toward making it possible for ISVs (independent software vendors) to build an application one time for any mainstream distribution without needing to worry about whether the desktop environment is KDE or GNOME. For users, this means that they can just get an application simply run it on their distribution, without fussing or fiddling.

Linux is also catching up with Windows software development because it finally has an answer to the outstanding MSDN (Microsoft Software Developers Network): the LSB Developer Network. With these resources, programmers will be able to write Linux software almost as easily as their Windows developer friends.

This is all good news... for software developers. For end-users, having a wide variety of software choices that are easy to use on any distribution is still a ways off. At least, however, Linux is finally on its way toward applications for ordinary, rather than only expert, users.

Giving Windows a run for its money

If Linux can improve in all these areas, and Vista stumbles, as I expect it will, we may finally see Linux giving Windows a run for its money in the marketplace. I certainly hope that will be the case. I already know Linux makes a great desktop operating system -- I'd like the rest of the world to be able to join me on it.


-- Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols

Source

Half Life 1

Half Life 2