So, Internet Explorer is 15 years old, and here we were thinking, "Really, 15 years? Are you sure is hasn't been 20? Maybe 25?" IE seems about as fresh as that milk we accidentally left on the counter before we took a two-week vacation last summer.
Posted by Lee Pender on August 16, 20101 comments
Mark Hurd, you sly devil, you. Not only did you hire a kind-of, sort-of adult actress as a "marketing consultant" of some sort, you also -- allegedly -- went behind your board's back to settle her sexual harassment claim. HP's board wanted to probe (don't make a joke...don't make a joke) the claim itself, but you took care of it on the down low -- according to the Wall Street Journal, anyway.
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Posted on August 16, 20101 comments
So, Microsoft changes the name of its partner program and then jettisons its leader, Allison Watson, in favor of Jonathan Roskill. For serial e-mailer and RCPU legend Peter, things could be going better with the new Microsoft Partner Network:
"I thought it was time to look at renewing our partnership agreement, so I logged onto our Microsoft partner space. Even though we have seen no measurable value from participating in the Microsoft Partner Program as a Certified (certifiable?) Member, I thought we'd hang in there!
I was quite stunned to find that all our historical Microsoft client reference information has been deleted by Microsoft. It's like we never existed. I spoke to some support girl in the Philippines who basically said there's no way to get it back. It's Microsoft policy. Bad luck.
All our people's certifications have expired, too (sure, we knew this was coming, but it's still a shock when it happens).
I have been unable to figure out who is running the certification training, although there are probably several outfits that provide some kind of training services. The Philippines girl said, 'Your people just have to sit the new exams, and everything will be good.'
So, the bottom line is, even thought we are experts in our discipline, we are not qualified to re-enroll in the Microsoft Network Program (or whatever it's called this week). I feel like we've been totally wiped out for no good reason.
So, good luck to Roskill sorting out this mess..."
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Posted by Lee Pender on August 12, 20100 comments
We asked readers to send us features that they'd like to see in Windows 8 (back in June...ahem), and wow, did Jon respond. This e-mail so is worth reading, but it's really long, so we're not going to comment at the end the way we usually do. So, enjoy, gentle readers, thanks again for your participation, and we'll see you next week.
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Posted by Lee Pender on August 12, 20108 comments
Yes! It's finally happening. We're finally doing it. We're going to let reader feedback slide into your inbox like that JetBlue guy zooming down the escape slide.
Why? Well, because we love you and we appreciate what you have to say. Also, it's the middle of August, and Google News's Sci-Tech section is serving up headlines such as "Iceberg Four Times Size of Manhattan May Hamper Atlantic Ships." OK, granted, that's not uninteresting, but it would be a stretch to comment on it as IT news.
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Posted by Lee Pender on August 12, 20107 comments
Not since John Hinckley took a shot at President Reagan in 1981 has Jodie Foster been at the epicenter of such scandal... Wait, what? It's not Jodie Foster? It's Jodie Fisher? Oh, she's Pam from The Office, right? No, that's Jenna Fischer? Well, who on earth is this Jodie Fisher, then?
As you probably know by now, she's the woman who accused ex-HP CEO Mark Hurd of sexual harassment, even though there evidently was no sexual harassment (according to HP) --or even any sex (according to Fisher). (There was, however, a settlement between Hurd and Fisher.)
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Posted by Lee Pender on August 09, 20103 comments
(Imagine the voice of one of those monster-truck commercial announcers.) Tuesday, TUESDAY, Tuesday! It's Microsoft's biggest Patch Tuesday (deep, guttural voice here) EVER! Redmond is revving up six important patches and eight (loud emphasis) CRITICAL PATCHES. You've never seen anything like this! Fourteen huge patches fixing (echo effect) 34 vulnerabilities! That's Tuesday, August 10, at the DCU Center in Worcester! Get your tickets now online or by calling...
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Posted by Lee Pender on August 09, 20101 comments
Retailer Best Buy, pretty much the only electronics store we can think of that still has physical locations, is apparently developing its own tablet. Preliminary names include Cheap but Lame Alternative to the iPad, Off-Brand Tablet You'd Be Embarrassed to Pull out at a Conference, and At Least It's Not a Microsoft-Branded Tablet. OK, not really. But Best Buy really is apparently working on a tablet.
Posted by Lee Pender on August 09, 20100 comments
Let's see here... "Streamlining communications," "standards-based unified communications products," "a broad base of hardware and software products..." Yeah, it's the standard UC drivel. But there is some news here: Polycom is going to develop UC applications for Microsoft Communications Server 14 (and beyond!).
Posted by Lee Pender on August 09, 20100 comments
Have you ever wanted to write code all night long, give up all hope of dating, wear ironic t-shirts and be a PhD-level expert on Battlestar Galactica? Well, Microsoft's Visual Studio LightSwitch might not help you do all that, but it'll get you started on the right path by making a developer out of you, even if
you don't have development skills
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Posted by Lee Pender on August 05, 20100 comments
Intel
reached a settlement
with the Federal Trade Commission that, apparently, really could open competition up a little bit in the chip market for companies such as Texas Instruments, Nvidia and, of course, AMD.
Posted by Lee Pender on August 05, 20100 comments