kwiz

Would you trust MS with your health?

2007-10-08T17:01:00Z

It appears the Microsoft wants to get it's hands into the healthcare business. They launched a public beta of HealthVault, which the company claims to be a secure service that allows users to centrally store health documents and information. HealthVault aims to make dealing with complex healthcare easier by putting users in control of entering information from various doctors and making select parts of it available to whoever they choose—including the doctors themselves. This, in turn, is supposed to help guide doctors through a more complete diagnosis with the additional information, as well as prevent conflicting prescriptions.

I would be very skeptical of services like HealthVault and Google Health because they put health records directly in the hands of not-very-trustworthy patients. Patients are historically poor at remembering everything said to them by doctors, while others may not be in the mood to enter everything that exists on their records. Doctors who use the data provided to them by the patient through HealthVault will have to be aware that the information is only as good as the patient's memory and willingness to disclose his or her medical history—it may not contain all necessary info. It could even be flat-out wrong. And as long as patients have such direct write access to their records, something like HealthVault cannot be universally adopted by the healthcare system if it wants to provide complete and accurate services.

The service is still in beta form, so changes like this could still take place before it officially launches. Until then, though, the technology will remain a novelty for many healthcare professionals.

Legallly Steal a copy of Office Ultimate

2007-09-17T18:51:00Z

For college students who want Office 2007, but can only afford Ramen Noodles and beer, Microsoft is offering another option: Steal it.

Well, actually Microsoft isn't encouraging piracy. Rather it is launching a promotion, dubbed "Ultimate Steal," in which college students can get the ultra high-end Ultimate edition of Office for the same price as a keg of Natural Light....just $60. Tough decision.

The promotion runs through April 30 and starts Wednesday in Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States. To be eligible, Microsoft said students have to be "actively enrolled" in a higher education program and have an e-mail address from that school.

"We're listening to students who have told us they need Microsoft Office for their studies and want more flexible ways to get the latest version," Alan Yates, general manager of Worldwide Education at Microsoft, said in a statement. "The Ultimate Steal is the latest in a long history of providing compelling academic offers for students."

Steal This Blog Here!

Now if it only came with free beer and credits for laundry, they would be set!

WooHooo! Vista Performance and Compatibility Patches

2007-08-09T20:40:00Z

Microsoft officially released two new ~~fixes~~ "performance" and "compatibility" packs. They are not available through Windows Update yet, only through the Support site. (KB938979 & KB938194)

KB 938979, aka the "performance and reliability" update addresses poor memory management performance (I want my memory back!). Also fixed is the nasty problem installing printers when User Account Control is disabled as well as the ever-so-annoying networking flaw that would strike TCP/IP dead after a computer wakes from hibernation. The best part is a fix for the "estimated time remaining" taking FOREVER to calculate when transfering large files.

KB 938194, also known as the "compatibility and reliability" update, should probably be called the "now you can play games with your computer" update. It purports to address a handful of gaming-related problems, including compatibility issues with NVIDIA's G80 series of cards. The lame printer spooling bug that was afflicting many of you has also been addressed.

And as always, read the KB entries and Vista forums before installing just to see what to expect.

Not allowed to run Vista on top of Linux?

2007-08-09T19:31:00Z

Microsoft will not allow Windows Vista or Windows XP to be virtualized on top of Linux, Sam Ramji, the director of Microsoft's open-source software lab, said at the annual LinuxWorld Conference and Expo Aug. 7.

Now they tell me!.... Some better let VMware know!

Story Here

Yet 1 more reason why I dislike Apple

2007-07-23T20:46:00Z

Oh! You want to touch and feel the iPhone? That'll be $5! Whould you like to see the new iPod? $5!!.

And the Apple elitist are happily paying it..

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