Windows turns 25 this year, and we'll be celebrating the operating  system's big birthday in Redmond and RCP, online and in print. We'd like to  get your memories of the first Windows launch, stories about the early days of  the OS or even thought on where Windows is going. Send your thoughts to [email protected]. As always, we won't  publish anything in the magazines without notifying you first. 
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	Posted by Lee Pender on August 25, 20100 comments
          
	
 
            
                
                
 
    
    
	
      
Oh, if only Tiger Woods could have delayed the public outing of his  indiscretions, we'd be able to make quite a few golf-related jokes here. But  with Tiger as stale as a July 4 cake (you have one every year, don't you?), we'll  just have to settle for writing about some company called 3Par without making  any silly golf references.
After all, we don't know much about golf here at RCPU. We didn't know  much about 3Par, either, until today, when news broke that HP and Dell were in  a billion-dollar battle to buy the company. Apparently, HP has won the war with  a $1.6 billion bid,  meaning somebody at 3Par headquarters is swilling champagne right about now. 
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	Posted by Lee Pender on August 23, 20100 comments
          
	
 
            
                
                
            
                
                
            
                
                
 
    
    
	
    
		
It's really pretty amazing that despite the presence of plenty of cheap  (or free) alternatives, expensive and bloated Microsoft Office still rules the  desktop -- but it does.  There's a lot to be said for familiarity, we suppose.
 
	Posted by Lee Pender on August 23, 20101 comments
          
	
 
            
                
                
 
    
    
	
    		
Here's a quick back-to-school pop quiz. Choose the best  answer. 
Intel is:  
  a) a chip maker 
  b) a software company 
  c) a security company 
  d) all of the above 
As of this week, the best answer is d). Intel is buying  McAfee for $7.68 billion. That's right; the 'tel in the famous Wintel partnership now has a massive  security presence. 
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	Posted by Lee Pender on August 19, 20102 comments
          
	
 
            
                
                
 
    
    
	
    
		
Do you like what you see? (Oh, and don't pretend that you don't Google,  or at least Bing, yourself. We all do. It's only natural.)
Why on earth are we talking about this? Well, it's late August, and  there's not much else to talk about. But, beyond that, The Wall Street Journal published an interview this week  with Google CEO Eric Schmidt that had some interesting stuff in it. 
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	Posted by Lee Pender on August 19, 20101 comments
          
	
 
            
                
                
 
    
    
	
    
		
				Here's a pretty interesting story that (once again) pounds home a theme: Come up with long, complex passwords. Of  course, our password for everything is "RCPU." Just kidding. Or are  we...? 
 
	Posted by Lee Pender on August 19, 20100 comments
          
	
 
            
                
                
 
    
    
	
    
		
This is that 'Aurora'  thing you've been hearing so much about. Or if you haven't, check this out.
 
	Posted by Lee Pender on August 19, 20100 comments
          
	
 
            
                
                
 
    
    
	
    
		
This isn't exactly right in RCPU's wheelhouse (whatever that is), but  Wired magazine's assertion that the Web is dead -- having given way to apps -- still  makes for pretty interesting reading.  Plus, there's a cool chart. Will we look back on the browser someday with faint  nostalgia? Do we already? 
 
	Posted by Lee Pender on August 18, 20100 comments
          
	
 
            
                
                
            
                
                
 
    
    
	
    
		
So, this morning, when your editor saw an e-mail from his colleague,  Jeff Schwartz, with "HP" in the subject line, he naturally thought,  "Yes! Another Mark Hurd  story! Thank you, HP, for this gift that keeps on giving."
Alas, Jeff's story was "only" about HP buying a company  called Fortify,  a security-software company that... Oh, never mind. Our heart's not in it. Just  when news in the dog days of summer was starting to dry up like the Red Sox'  playoff chances, Hurd came along like a cool rain on yet another 90-plus-degree  day.
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	Posted by Lee Pender on August 18, 20100 comments