Microsoft says that it won’t include WebGL support in version 10 of Internet Explorer because the 3-D graphics API renders video hardware drivers vulnerable to potential attacks. Without a viable way to secure the drivers, Microsoft is not working on a way to support the protocols.

Driver Vulnerability Risks Too Great

At the heart of the company’s concern is the fact that the WebGL approach could allow a malicious Web site to exploit a computer’s video and graphics hardware to get to system-level functions that are usually insulated from such attacks. Because of the way WebGL (and OpenGL) are designed, there is no good way to resolve the concerns. In addition, the open source nature of the WebGL development gives Microsoft additional pause.

Video and graphics drivers have never been considered a possible attack vector, and aren’t hardened the way other potentially vulnerable parts of the operating system are. Changing the way WebGL works won’t necessarily resolve the list of open issues. The problem is more related to potential vulnerabilities in the most common video and graphics drivers, which are written by third party manufacturers. Microsoft (and other browser authors that have already implemented WebGL support) don’t have enough control over driver construction to ensure that users will have a safe experience while using WebGL services. Microsoft has publicly complained that these hardware driver authors have never before been concerned about device security, so it’s unlikely that they will begin writing more secure hardware driver code as part of their WebGL support.

Microsoft has long history of dealing with security flaws and the resulting exploits. In recent versions of the operating system, the company has gone to great lengths to ensure that its operating system and component parts are safe and secure. Having made user security a significant element of its product development cycle, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the company would reject WebGL on the basis of security.

WebGL support has been built into the latest version of Firefox, Chrome and Safari, although it is not enabled by default in Safari, as it is in Firefox and Chrome. For its part, Microsoft states that it believes that WebGL will become a source of “hard-to-fix vulnerabilities.” The widespread adoption of WebGL remains to be seen. While the service is attractive to the gaming community because it provides hardware accelerated graphics for Web-based games, nagging concerns about security may see the majority of users disabling WebGL support at the browser level.

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Last week, Aceeca, a New Zealand PDA company, announced the availability of new 64-bit Windows drivers for the Garnet OS. If that doesn’t mean much to you, you probably don’t have a Palm PDA. The Palm PDA line has a long, nearly murderous history of acquisitions and licensees. Suffice it to say that Palm, which was acquired in 2010 by HP, hasn’t been doing a lot of development for its older (yet highly popular) stuff. ACCESS, which got the rights to the Palm OS, changed the OS’s name to Garnet, and here we are.

Hardware Drivers Hold The Line Against Obsolescense
Enter Aceeca. Aceeca licenses the Garnet OS from ACCESS and has just released USB 64-bit drivers that will work for products that run either the Garnet OS or the Palm OS, versions 4.x or 5.x. This development now makes it possible to sync older Palm PDAs with computers running newer versions of Windows. Without the Aceeca drivers, Palm users would need to sync with a computer running a 32-bit Windows OS, like Windows XP.

Although Aceeca didn’t specifically write the driver for Palm OS products, the compatibility between the two licensed versions of the Palm OS illustrate neatly the problems that hardware users may have when manufacturers don’t make updated hardware drivers available. Users can either choose to be stuck in the past, maintaining older (sometimes non-supported) equipment and software to preserve functions, or they can find a newer (and perhaps less desirable) replacement for otherwise good, working hardware that no longer has the ability to talk to an updated computer.

Don’t assume that only older hardware finds itself in this position. Hardware manufacturers can easily decide to stop supporting even their most popular product lines. Often, the reasons are complex, but relate more to the cost of future development rather than the size of the “installed” user base. Future development can be frustrated by major changes to the primary operating systems – such as the switch from 32-bit processors to 64-bit processors.
In other cases, future development for existing products may rest on business decisions like acquisitions and mergers. It’s not unheard of for a competitor to purchase a rival to extinguish it.

In the mean time, the emergence of 64-bit drivers that work with Palm 4.x and 5.x devices is good news, at least for Palm users. Perhaps the availability of drivers will spur interest in the older Palm devices, or maybe even inspire others to produce drivers that will help re-acquaint orphaned hardware with the latest operating systems.

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Although Windows 7 has been available to consumers and businesses alike for nearly 18 months, the adoption rate of the newest operating system has been disappointing, at least at the enterprise level. Currently, the enterprise adoption rate of Windows 7 is about 10%, but that’s expected to change dramatically in the remainder of 2012. Windows 7 addressed many of user concerns about Windows hardware drivers, 64-bit support and virtualization. Microsoft also paired Windows 7 for desktops with a newly polished version of Windows Server to address enterprise concerns about the functionality of Active Directory.

What Will It Take To Boost Windows Adoption?

Microsoft even took the more dramatic step of switching to signed hardware drivers for Windows 7. While Windows 7 will still boot with unsigned drivers, the process of acknowledging and accepting unsigned drivers is slow and annoying, to say the least. At the enterprise level, these concerns are minor in comparison to roll-out issues with network-friendly functions like Active Directory support, and the sheer cost of switching desktop platforms on potentially hundreds or thousands of computers – especially when the upgrade process requires a completely fresh installation.

One other speed bump appears to be that some organizations are using the opportunity to consider other options – and additional options – to enhance their computing environment. Virtual desktops, virtual applications, and remote support considerations all present an opportunity to recapture something meaningful for IT in consideration for the time and effort required to roll out Windows 7.

Migrating to Windows 7 will take more than time alone. The oldest desktops will not provide a positive user experience, although Microsoft did a notable job in making sure the hardware requirements for Windows 7 weren’t onerous.

Tools to improve the migration process have sprung up everywhere, in an effort to persuade corporations to go the Windows 7 route. These tools enable the IT Department to virtualize a Windows 7 desktop, configure it and do all of the necessary tweaks and changes, then port the entire image – complete with applications and hardware drivers – to waiting desktop clients. Once the techs restore the user data, the task of migration is done. This will significantly speed the process of moving Windows 7 to the corporate environment.

At the same time, enterprise users can add new elements to the network environment that make future rollouts and user support easier and faster to accomplish.

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If you like using your Windows 7 computer for game-play, you may find that the mouse and keyboard don’t offer you enough control over your games. Adding a game controller of some kind may improve your gaming experience. If you already have a game console, you may find that your game console controller can pull double-duty on your Windows box, if you have the correct Windows drivers

Some Game Controllers Are Must-Haves

Keep in mind that game controllers can be wired or wireless. In either case, you’ll get good gameplay results with a Windows Xbox 360 controller. The wired controller is no trick to use; it simply plugs into any open USB port on your Windows computer. You won’t really need any special drivers; your Windows PC should recognize the hardware when you plug it in.

The device should work without any additional effort on your part. In the event that your PC doesn’t recognize the game controller, or the controller doesn’t work, that probably means you don’t have the driver installed on your computer. You can download the Microsoft driver from the Microsoft Web site. Install the Windows driver as you would any other piece of software, and start playing.

If you want to use the wireless version of the Xbox 360 controller, you’ll need to do a little extra work. Your Xbox 360 has a wireless receiver built into it, but your PC probably doesn’t. You’ll need to scare up a wireless receiver that can plug into your PC. In short, this is an extra piece of hardware that you’ll need to buy. You can find them at game stores, electronic stores and online electronics/gaming retailers. These devices plug into an open USB port on your computer, just as a wired Xbox 360 controller would.

As with the wired controller, the computer should recognize the newly installed hardware and grab the correct driver. If your PC balks, you can download the driver from Microsoft. After the driver is installed, you’re still not quite ready to go. The computer will recognize the controller, but the game itself may not. You may have to configure the game for use with your Xbox 360 controller.

The application itself may provide a way to do this. Using the game interface, map the controller keys to the game functions and then you’re free to play. You may need to repeat this step with every game application you use.

If the game doesn’t provide a way to map the controller, you may need to create (or download) a special file that provides the application with instructions on how to use the controller. Each game is different, and chances are good that some helpful person has already gone through the trouble of creating this file for other, less technically inclined gamers. Do an online search for an existing controller configuration file that you can use. If you find one, download it, place it in the folder with your game files and enjoy your new gaming controller.

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