KompoZer on Vista

One good thing about Vista is that KompoZer is reported to run on it. I say reported because I don’t use Vista and with any luck won’t have to use it. I have seen reports that say KompoZer works on Vista and other reports that say FrontPage will not. I hate to rely on reports and would rather tell you that I have seen or done something rather than just reporting but that is as good as this one gets.

Hasta la Vista, Baby

About a month ago I told you why the “Bad Vista” logo appears on this blog. Not more than two hours after the blog was published my counter reported a hit – the first ever, from Redmond, Washington, where my good friend Bill has his headquarters. I can still update my XP and no unusual cars have been reported in the neighborhood. Let’s try again.

One of the many things folks regard as bad about Vista is the lethality of the Windows Genuine Advantage routine. I installed one of those on my XP. Of course it was optional but unless you agree to the option you can’t get updates. I couldn’t get an update anyway because my copy of XP, factory installed by HP, was not genuine. That same thing happens but with greater consequences on Vista. So much so Microsoft has pulled the plug on an objectionable part of the new WGA.

'Kill switch' dropped from Vista
Microsoft is to withdraw an anti-piracy tool from Windows Vista, which disables the operating system when invoked, following customer complaints. BBC

The BBC article says Microsoft claims the WGA routine has led to a dramatic drop in the number of pirated copies. Microsoft sure put a happy face on that one by leaving out that there is a general lack of enthusiasm for Vista. People aren’t anxious to steal it either.

Another article, sorry but I forgot the link, reports that corporate America has been slow to upgrade to Vista. A large number are said to be seriously evaluating open source alternatives. In all honesty they did that with XP but one of today’s concerns is the potential for hardware upgrades just to run Vista. That concern is serious enough that MS has provided a hardware evaluation tool. I don’t know if corporations have thought through the other issues. I have.

Rant, Less Than 1.0

OK, so that wasn’t much of a M$ rant but that isn’t the purpose of this blog. The purpose here is when you ask Google about free, WYSIWYG HTML editing, or free web authoring software, I tell you to go get KompoZer. The purpose of this blog is to encourage novices to express themselves on the web by using KompoZer to create web sites and pages.

But it is a blog and it does express opinion (mine). It does comment on relevant events. I think admitting they have gone too far is a big, relevant event for Microsoft and today’s news important enough for a comment.

Unlike some folks I don’t hate Bill and Melinda for becoming filthy rich at our expense. I do think Bill & company went too far in tactics but that’s life. The mob became filthy rich by going to far at the expense of others and they didn’t even start a foundation. The point is this, the WGA stuff is all unnecessary.

If the price for Vista or Office were set at a reasonable level there would be lower incentives to pirate the software. We would benefit even more from the software if smart guys with good intentions could get at the source code. Bill and Melinda would be able to enjoy their life and not have to work so hard at shedding their ill-gotten gains through foundations.

Another Good Thing About KompoZer

Another good thing about KompoZer, besides the fact that it runs on Vista, is that it is free, open source software. A smart guy with good intentions woke up one day and decided he could make our lives easier by working the bugs out of Nvu. He did that and continued on to give us KompoZer 0.7.10.

If I had any brains I would help him. All I am able to do is to let you know that KompoZer is out there and that it is a good web authoring tool. Get it and put your ideas on the web. You can do it. Go get KompoZer and get busy.

Wysi

p.s. Hope you aren’t running Vista and will look at other posts while you are here.

; .