The recession, along with the mixed bag that is Vista, didn't exactly inspire PC sales. But Microsoft expects all that to change with Windows 7, as IT may finally get to indulge in the sometimes long-put-off PC refreshes.
Fortunately, you don't always need a new machine for Windows 7. Many older systems that run XP can do just as well with 7. New machines, though, are often the best and cleanest way to upgrade. And with prices as low as they are, new machines don't have to be a deal-breaker.
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Posted by Doug Barney on December 03, 20094 comments
As Microsoft picked off companies like Novell, WordPerfect and Netscape in the '80s and '90s, its public image suffered. Redmond was the evil empire, reducing consumer choice by putting key vendors out of business.
Interestingly, this was all on Bill Gates' watch. As tough a competitor as Steve Ballmer is, he has treated the competition quite differently, and as a result, Microsoft has lost much of its negative connotation. Add to Ballmer's efforts the fact that Google dominates search and many Web services the way Redmond manhandles operating systems, and Microsoft's image is lightened even further. Today, many find Microsoft a terrific and trusted partner.
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Posted by Doug Barney on December 03, 20092 comments
American car companies were well-known for planned obsolesce. If the engine, body and transmission all go, you have to buy a new buggy. With software, you lose support, so when code breaks, it's tough to fix. IE 6 and 7 aren't yet obsolete and still get bug fixes, but Microsoft would clearly rather have you on IE 8.
Since not all of you are, Microsoft has no choice but to address a zero-day exploit that lets hackers access a deleted CSS object and somehow gain entry to your machine. Fortunately, there's one more step the hateful hacker must take: Users have to be lured to a malicious Web site for the damage to be done.
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Posted by Doug Barney on December 02, 20092 comments
When Microsoft wants into a market, it usually only takes three tries. But in the case of smartphones, Microsoft's mobile operating system is on version 6.5 -- and is still a bit of an also-ran.
Microsoft hopes that six-and-a-half times is the charm, and is in the midst of a major mobile push that includes new partners and new features.
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Posted by Doug Barney on December 02, 20096 comments
Google has executed nearly everything to perfection -- except when it comes to Chrome. I first learned of Chrome when I downloaded a beta of the browser. It worked fine, but lacked the features and familiarity of Firefox and IE (which I find pretty interchangeable).
But there is another Chrome, and this puppy is a full-fledged operating system. To reduce the confusion, the browser is simply called Chrome while the OS is called (you guessed it) Chrome OS.
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Posted by Doug Barney on November 30, 20095 comments
Have you tried the latest rev of Office? Like it, hate it or are you somewhere in between?
We're doing a feature story based on real users' experiences, and are particularly interested in the new Web feature. If you care to weigh in, shoot me a note at [email protected] and we'll be in touch.
Posted by Doug Barney on November 30, 200910 comments
Azure is a pretty cool cloud development and application serving platform. I have only two concerns: It's pretty new, which may mean immature, but a bigger deal is that Azure is designed for apps that run on external clouds -- namely Microsoft datacenters. Maybe this is because the first rev of a product shouldn't be expected to do too much. Or maybe Redmond is trying to sell its own cloud services.
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Posted by Doug Barney on November 30, 20091 comments
If Office 2007 is just too old, you can now take Office 2010 out for a spin. At least the beta, that is.
One of the coolest features, potentially, is the inclusion of scaled-down, Web-only versions of key Office apps Word, Excel and PowerPoint. This is the area I'm really interested in, so if you've already downloaded and tried the software, let me know what you think at [email protected].
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Posted by Doug Barney on November 20, 20093 comments
Microsoft pulled out all the stops to make IE 8 its safest browser ever. Apparently, Opera pulled out a few more, as security company Cenzic says Opera is the most secure browser in the market. IE 8 came in second and, in a shocking result, Firefox came in dead last.
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Posted by Doug Barney on November 20, 20093 comments
I've seen a million vendor alliances, all aimed at helping the world, saving the planet and making their wares interoperate. It seems like the more vendors there are in an alliance, the less chance there is of success.
So I was skeptical when 13 vendors joined forces and formed The Cyber Security Alliance. I was going to brush this puppy off and not even write about it. That is, until I learned they're building a $10 million technology center to help ensure that products work together, threats are quickly detected and attacks thwarted.
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Posted by Doug Barney on November 20, 20090 comments
The IT job market is not only challenged, but demand for certain skills comes and goes faster than NASCAR crew chiefs. What's hot today may be a dud tomorrow, says consulting firm Foote Partners.
The firm believes hiring today is based almost entirely on skills, not to fill a certain title or job opening. So if you're an expert in applications and Web development, you may land a sweet gig -- even if there's no real opening.
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Posted by Doug Barney on November 18, 20095 comments
Bill Gates was great at grabbing onto a concept and never letting go. Two examples come to mind: a PC on every desk, and information at your fingertips.
Ray Ozzie is much the same way with cloud computing. Every speech he gives is a sales pitch for clouds. So it was no surprise that Ozzie's keynote at this week's Professional Developers Conference was all about Azure.
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Posted by Doug Barney on November 18, 20090 comments