TechFlash: Seattle's Technology News

UPDATES: Microsoft disputes reports of Windows 'Black Screen' glitches and Security firm retreats from Windows Black Screen claims

Microsoft says it's looking into reports that its latest security updates are causing some Windows machines to stop working and display a mostly black screen with no desktop icons, taskbar, sidebar or other elements -- seizing up and displaying just a "My Computer" Explorer window, if they're lucky.

The issue reportedly affects a variety of Windows versions, including Wndows 7. PC World quotes the CEO of computer security firm Prevx saying it's "massively debilitating" for people who have it. Prevx first reported the problem last week, and the company is offering a free tool that it says could fix the problem for some users.

Simulation in Microsoft ESP. (Credit: Microsoft)

To answer the biggest question first, this is not the future of Microsoft's consumer Flight Simulator product. Flight Sim's fate remains uncertain following the company's decision to disband the studio behind the long-running and beloved product.

However, it is an example of the core Flight Sim technology living on. Microsoft has reached a deal to license to Lockheed Martin its Microsoft ESP system, which the Redmond company derived from the Flight Simulator project two years ago with an eye toward offering a "visual simulation" platform -- taking the immersive world originally created for Flight Sim and allowing it to be customized for specialized commercial applications.

Jimmy Fallon plays Project Natal (Credit: NBC)

For months now, Microsoft's leaders have been touting the concept of the natural user interface -- the ability to use gestures and voice-recognition technology to interact, via high-tech sensors, with increasingly intelligent machines. Craig Mundie, Microsoft's chief research and strategy officer, spoke at length on the topic during his recent college tour, making it clear that he considers natural user interfaces central to the future of computing.

Bill Gates raised the subject again during his appearance this weekend on "Meet the Press," telling NBC's David Gregory that the natural user interface is "the thing that people underestimate right now."

OK, so where are Microsoft's own natural user interfaces? Sure, there are prototypes, and lots of touch-screen technologies, but that's just a slice of the broader concept. Project Natal, the motion-sensing Xbox 360 control system, isn't expected to hit the market until a year from now at the earliest, despite being named one of Time's 50 Best Innovations of 2009. And Natal is still just one piece of the vision.

What's to say this won't be yet another example of Microsoft researching something to death while a rival beats it to market?

Bill and Melinda Gates appeared on Meet the Press this morning, discussing everything from vaccines to the influence of Warren Buffett on their philanthropic efforts to how technology is being utilized in the developing world. David Gregory's interview with Bill and Melinda starts in minute 29 of the video.

We are having some problems with the embed code from msnbc.com, so go here to see the full interview.

Much of the discussion focused on the Gates' global health efforts, but Bill G. also answered questions about the economy (minute 44) and the future of computing (minute 47). As the software mogul sees it, the keyboard and mouse will be replaced to some degree with more interactive computers that can see and hear what people are doing.

"You will be able to just put onto the wall of your office a video conference with whoever you'd like, and have the computer listen to what is going on there, create a transcript and make it searchable," he said. "So, natural interface is, I think, the thing that people underestimate right now."

Hopefully, at this point, everyone has recovered from their turkey- and stuffing- induced food coma. We are getting back to business, and are looking forward to a busy week in the Seattle technology community. But before moving ahead, we're taking a look back at the most discussed stories on TechFlash of the past week. Here's what you missed in case you're just tuning in, along with some featured reader comments.

"Datel sues Microsoft over Xbox 360 memory unit crackdown" (23 comments): "Now that MS has killed my Datel, and effectively erased all my game saves I've decided that I like my PS3 better. I am the customer MS should want to keep, not drive away." -- Reader Moses Joseph.

"Microsoft, Murdoch vs. Google: Smart move, or sheer madness?" (15 comments): "Google is just a well paid paper boy, News Corp would rather not pay the paper boy so much to throw the paper in your drive way. This is Ballmer's genius in deconstructing the paper boy's rich paper route." -- Reader Andrew Milligan.

"Exclusive: InfoSpace gets into ecommerce biz with Haggle" (11 comments): "What's entertaining is that Haggle started out as a small auction website acquired by Go2Net for an absurd amount of money; this was in the dotcom era when you could sell anything with an HTML tag for millions of dollars. The site was eventually decommissioned once it was by realized by the powers-that-be that it had no value. Go2Net was eventually acquired by InfoSpace, and it's amusing to see the long-dead site being reanimated in it's current form." -- Reader Go2Net Alumni.

"Seattle angels back DevHub" (8 comments): "The investment received by DevHub/EvoMedia will add to the creative and innovative progress they have shown over the past year. DevHub is a media force to watch." --Reader clickbobb.

"What's on your geek gift list?" (8 comments): "Me, I just want gadgets that remain cool and useful after 90 days out of the box, and don't require a manual for basic functions. (In the four years I reviewed gadgets for Q13, the latter was a key evaluation component -- that a mere mortal could get started without the manual.)" --Reader Frank Catalano.

It's shaping up to be a great week for Seattle geeks looking for interesting technology events to attend. Here are a few of the highlights from the TechFlash Events Calendar and the Seattle Tech Calendar.

Xconomy Forum: The Future of Search and Information Discovery: Representatives of Google, Microsoft Bing, Vulcan Capital and the University of Washington assess the direction of the search market. Plus mini-demos by startups Evri, Gist, Sage Bionetworks, SEOmoz, and Topsy. Monday Nov. 30, 5:30 p.m., UW Kane Hall 225. Tickets: $75 in advance, $95 at the door, $25 students. [Registration]

Ignite Seattle 8: Fast-paced, five-minute talks on a variety of technical, societal and cultural subjects. Topics this time include "How to Sneak into Bars," "iPhoning My Way to Retirement, $.70 at a time," "Defamation and Twitter: A Practical Guide to Covering Your Ass," and "Google vs. Microsoft: An Insider's Guide." Tuesday, Dec. 1, 7 p.m., King Cat Theatre, 2130 6th Ave., Seattle. Free admission. [Details]

Why Pluto is Planet-Worthy: Alan Boyle, msnbc.com science editor and author of the new book, "The Case for Pluto," speaks on the subject as part of the Seattle Science Lectures series. Tuesday, Dec. 1, 7:30 p.m., Town Hall Seattle, 1119 8th Avenue. Tickets: $5. [Registration]

WTIA Cocktails and Contributions Holiday Networking Cruise: Washington Technology Industry Association holiday networking and charity raffle aboard the Royal Argosy Cruise Ship. Wednesday, Dec. 2, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., boat leaves at 7 p.m. sharp from Pier 56, Seattle. Pre-registration $25 for WTIA members, $30 non-members. [Registration]

Why Are Graphics Systems So Fast? Pat Hanrahan of Stanford University speaks as part of the University of Washington Computer Science & Engineering Department's Distinguished Lecturer Series. Thursday, Dec. 3, 3:30 p.m., UW Electrical Engineering Building Room 105. Free admission. [Details]

I made it all the way to IPO, and all I got was this T-shirt!: Stories and Strategies for Surviving Your Exit: MIT Enterprise Forum of the Northwest: Experienced entrepreneurs Jordan Mitchell, Chris Early and Loren West share lessons on the end of the startup lifecycle. Thursday, Dec. 3, 5:30 p.m., 600 University St., First Level, Seattle. Tickets: $25. [Registration]

DEMO Innovation Seattle Meetup: VentureBeat editor-in-chief and DEMO executive producer Matt Marshall will be in town in search of companies to participate in DEMOspring 2010. Thursday, Dec. 3, 6 p.m., Barca Seattle, 1510 11th Avenue. Meetup admission free. [Details and Registration]

The Impact and Evolution of Mobile Broadband: Mobile Breakfast Series, Friday, Dec. 4, 7:30 a.m., Harbor Club, 801 Second Ave., Seattle. Registration closed, waiting list available, tickets $36. [Details]

And a final note on the subject of upcoming events: Don't forget to register for the TechFlash Holiday Party & Birthday Bash, featuring our first-ever Seattle tech trivia contest. Wednesday, Dec. 9, 5 p.m., Spitfire, 2219 4th Ave. Seattle. Tickets: $35. [Registration]

Check the TechFlash Events page and the embedded Seattle Tech Calendar for more events, including regularly scheduled meetups such as Hops & Chops and TechFoam. Know of an upcoming Seattle-area tech event we should be tracking? Send an email to techflashevents@bizjournals.com to submit a listing.

If you successfully avoided those questionable Black Friday PC deals, but you're still in the market for a new computer this holiday season, it's worth checking out Rob Pegoraro's no-nonsense "How to Choose a PC" column from the Washington Post -- which starts by breaking down the pros and cons of Macs and Windows PCs. His conclusion: Macs are technically superior, but the price means they're not for everyone.

"It's fair to call a Mac a luxury," he writes. "It's more affordable than many other luxuries, but see what your bank account has to say first."

If your bank account says it's a Mac, check out Macworld's latest Mac buying guide, explaining the features and differences among Apple notebooks and desktops. If you decide to go for a Windows 7 PC instead, see Microsoft's "PC Scout" online utility for some help narrowing down your many choices.

Speaking of Windows vs. Macs, the latest web traffic stats from online research firm Net Applications suggest that Microsoft's new operating system exceeded Macs in overall usage last weekend, at least temporarily, according to a ComputerWorld report. That's largely a function of Windows' larger market share, but the rapid rise is another sign that Windows 7 is doing well.

However, the traffic patterns also suggest that Windows 7 is being adopted more quickly by home users than by businesses, blogger John Lister notes. As industry analyst Roger Kay has noted, that's not as good for Microsoft, because business upgrades are mostly voluntary, driven by a desire for the new operating system, whereas consumer usage is largely a function of PCs preloaded with the new OS at retail.

Wired calls Windows 7 and Google's Chrome browser an "excellent" combination on netbooks. "The two together make pretty good use of a netbook’s most limited resources: screen size and processor power," writes Dylan Tweney for Wired.com's GadgetLab. "The result is a surprisingly pleasant combination for browsing, working in GMail and Google Docs, and other lightweight tasks." He notes that it's also a good sign for Google's plan to launch its own Chrome operating system next year, initially targeting netbooks.

Here's the type of headache Windows users were hoping to avoid this time around: Reports began to surface this week that Windows Vista machines with a specific type of Intel storage driver were unable to move to Windows 7 because of a problem in the upgrade process. See this Microsoft support document for a detailed description of the symptoms, and a temporary workaround for the problem. Glitches like this were widespread in early days of Windows Vista, but they've proven less common with Windows 7 -- so far.

Despite the best efforts of MacDailyNews and others, it appears that Microsoft successfully thwarted an attempt by Mac fans to take over the Windows 7-powered window displays at Saks Fifth Avenue in New York. Microsoft had invited people to submit messages to display on screens in the window by using a #holidaywindows hash tag on Twitter. Hundreds of pro-Mac messages appeared in the raw Twitter feed, causing the Mac faithful to think they had hijacked the public displays. But Microsoft says it was filtering the messages all along and none of the Mac-oriented tweets showed up in the windows.

[The last time we went behind the scenes at Xbox Live's 1 vs. 100, a database glitch shut down the show. We returned Tuesday evening to see the show in action as it launches into its second season.]

Microsoft's "1 vs. 100" game show, which mashes together the worlds of live television and video games, was originally billed as the first in a what was to become a broader lineup of "Xbox Live Primetime" programs on the company's Xbox 360 console.

With the show now entering its second season (technically its first official season after a public beta), it's routinely drawing many tens of thousands of simultaneous users. But it remains a lineup of one.

So where are the rest?

After watching the rise of YouTube, Microsoft launched its own Soapbox video site. After seeing Craigslist pull in huge amounts of traffic, the Redmond company launched its own online classifieds, Windows Live Expo. Its Evite competitor? That would be Windows Live Events.

And now, with social networks grabbing the attention of the online world, Microsoft is doing something extraordinary: It’s not really competing at all.

Rather than launching a direct rival to Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn, Microsoft is working with those services to incorporate their features into its own products. Analysts say the newfound pragmatism reflects the struggles of such services as Windows Live Expo, Windows Live Events and Soapbox — all of which have since been abandoned — and Microsoft's focus on challenging Google in the search market.

More broadly, it also reflects a growing sentiment in the tech industry that the big social networks have achieved a critical mass that makes them practically untouchable to potential competitors (though perhaps not to potential acquirers). That affects the strategies not just of Microsoft but also of Amazon.com and countless tech startups.

Tech financiers in 2010 should avoid giving money to “anyone trying to build his own social network,” said Glenn Kelman, the CEO of Seattle-based online real estate company Redfin, during a recent Washington Technology Industry Association panel. “I think you should use the existing networks that are out there.”

Here's one doorbuster that's likely to get more than a few people out of bed early in the morning. But should it?

Best Buy is offering a new HP laptop with a 15-inch screen, 2GB of RAM and a 150GB hard drive for $197. Unlike that Radio Shack "deal" we warned you about, it comes not with Windows Vista Home Basic but with 64-bit Windows 7 Home Premium.

But here's the catch, and probably the reason it's on sale: The processor is an Intel Celeron, which has a reputation for less-than-stellar performance compared with other Intel chips.

Ten years ago, it wouldn't have been a surprise to see Bill Gates on "Meet the Press." But the questions then would have been very different than they're likely to be this Sunday morning, when Gates and his wife, Melinda, are scheduled to appear on the show to discuss their philanthropic work.

It was November 1999, one decade ago this month, when U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson issued his initial findings of fact in Civil Action No. 98-1232, the United States v. Microsoft -- concluding that the company had "demonstrated that it will use its prodigious market power and immense profits to harm any firm that insists on pursuing initiatives that could intensify competition against one of Microsoft's core products."

We don't know if "Meet the Press" host David Gregory will note the anniversary or ask Gates about it, but chances are that he won't. Not because Gregory doesn't ask tough questions, but because it probably won't come to mind. Whatever your opinion of Gates' actions, past and present, there's no disputing that his position as a public figure has been radically changed over the past decade.

One of the Twitter feeds on display in the Saks windows, as seen in a Microsoft photo from earlier this week. (Click for close-up.)

There's something suspicious about all these stories about Mac fans "hijacking" the live #holidaywindows Twitter feed that Microsoft is using to display holiday messages at Saks Fifth Avenue in New York City. Despite the fact that it's in a highly public place, no one seems to have a photo of the mischievous Tweets actually showing up in the window display.

Yes, the raw feed is full of funny and juvenile messages from the Mac faithful, but where is the evidence that the prank is having the desired effect of embarrassing Microsoft on the streets of the Big Apple? In fact, Microsoft says it has been filtering the messages all along.

Sure, that screen is tiny, and so is the keyboard, but with 2GB of memory and a 250GB hard drive, that Acer netbook advertised for a mere $249.99 in Radio Shack's Black Friday circular sure looks tempting.

Until you notice that it's running Windows Vista Home Basic.

The ad demonstrates a great temptation that PC shoppers will face as they head to the electronics stores later this week to buy for themselves or for holiday gifts. Many offers will initially seem like screaming deals, but no matter the price, it's important to look closely at what you're actually getting in the process. Not only is that netbook running Windows Vista, it's running Home Basic -- which was the subject of a lawsuit against Microsoft because it lacks Aero Glass and other "signature" features that the company once touted.

Liddell in November 2008

Microsoft just announced that Chris Liddell, the company's chief financial officer for the past four-and-a-half years, is leaving the company at the end of the year. He's being replaced immediately by Peter Klein, who worked most recently as the Microsoft Business Division finance chief.

Liddell's departure comes as a surprise, following a difficult year of financial cutbacks at Microsoft, but the company says he's simply looking to expand his career beyond the role of chief financial officer. The fact that he's sticking around for a transition period is additional evidence that it's an amicable departure.

In a news release, Liddell calls his time at Microsoft "an outstanding experience," and says he's "delighted to be leaving the company in such great shape." Read on for the full text of Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer's internal email on the subject:

Steve Ballmer wants to beat Google. Rupert Murdoch wants his publications to make money. So they've been hatching a plan to remove the Wall Street Journal and other News Corp. properties from Google, with Microsoft paying Murdoch to give Bing exclusive access -- setting a precedent for other online publishers that would ultimately force Google to follow suit or score millions of new users for Microsoft's search engine.

That, at least, is the plan as outlined in a Financial Times story over the weekend, quoting "a person familiar with the situation, who warned that talks were at an early stage." Neither company is commenting, so we don't know anything for sure. But based on what people seem to think they know, very few people think it's a good idea.