windows

The Economist: Ubuntu is the source of Linux's rise

The Economist makes three technology predictions for 2008, two of which concern web surfing and the third of which concerns everyone, whether they surf the web or not. The Economist's third prediction is that the technology world will open up:

The embrace of "openness" by firms that have grown fat on closed, proprietary technology is something we'll see more of in 2008....

Pundits agree: neither Microsoft nor Apple can compete at the new price points being plumbed by companies looking to cut costs. With open-source software maturing fast, Linux, OpenOffice, Firefox, MySQL, Evolution, Pidgin and some 23,000 other Linux applications available for free seem more than ready to fill that gap. By some reckonings, Linux fans will soon outnumber Macintosh addicts. Linus Torvalds should be rightly proud.

What's most interesting about its analysis, however, is where it sees the biggest impact for open source (Linux) and why (Ubuntu):… Read more

MacBook tops Amazon's best-selling computer list this Xmas

The MacBook has been Amazon's bestselling computer this Xmas and is locked in a battle with some HP Pavilions offered at whopping discounts.

The ultra-hip Linux-based Asus EEE I wrote about earlier this month holds a number of spots in the top 25 list. It's nice to see that consumers have wizened to the fact that Macs are better computers than anything running Windows.

Windows Starter Kit

So whichever gift-giving deity you believe in has smiled on you this season and you're the recipient of a brand-new machine. Or maybe the computer gods have decided that December was the time for your PC to join that great server farm in the sky.

Either way, you're in need of some new programs. Free programs. You're in luck: CNET Download.com has compiled a brand-new Windows Starter Kit, complete with all that your freeware-coveting heart could ever desire. This year we bring you a Web Browser, an E-mail Client, Office and Productivity tools, Image Editors, Music and Video Jukeboxes, … Read more

Windows Vista gripes from Lenovo

On December 14th, I wrote that IBM recommends Windows XP. Unbeknownst to me, on the very same day a Lenovo blogger was griping about Windows Vista.

I don't have any Vista gripes. That's because, as I blogged about in September* I think XP is a better choice for Windows users. Personally, I've been avoiding Vista.

Matt Kohut has instead been fighting with Vista. Mr. Kohut works for Lenovo, which to some measure, makes their living selling Vista.

To me, his gripes are particularly significant. For one thing, he is not talking about a test drive or a … Read more

IE6 crashes in Windows XP: fixing the fix

Yet again, a bug fix created a new problem. This time it occurred with Internet Explorer 6 and 7 on Windows XP and Vista.

The problem is that Internet Explorer crashes after viewing a web page. Not all web pages though, I was able to successfully view about half of those I tested with IE6. One site that crashes it pretty quickly is Microsoft's own msn.com (they offered it as an example).

It wasn't hard to find information online about this problem which was introduced in the December 11th round of bug fixes to Windows.

According to Computerworld, … Read more

The 10 best downloads of 2007

The editors here at CNET Download.com have bashed our heads together trying to sort through the bloody mess that was the past 12 months in software. The rise of webware sure changed the playing field, but we think we've found 10 Windows applications that are either new to the world or had such a major upgrade that they might as well be. We present these in no particular order, but please feel free to add your favorites in the comments below.

US Army goes with Macs for security

Seems that the US government is finally taking security seriously and choosing Macs. Regardless of the alternative (non-Windows) platform there is an inherent lack of security in a homogenous Windows environment.

The Army's push to use Macs to help protect its computing corps got its start in August 2005, when General Steve Boutelle, the Army's chief information officer, gave a speech calling for more diversity in the Army's computer vendors. He argued the approach would both increase competition among military contractors and strengthen its IT defenses.

I would still ask why the government wouldn't just create … Read more

Why all Vista users should upgrade to Windows XP

Now that Microsoft has announced the availability of the RC version of Service Pack 3 for our old friend, XP, I'm delighted to tell you all that not only is this upgrade substantial and extremely helpful. Believe it or not, this upgrade creates the best Windows experience I have ever used.

Now, as you may be aware, Vista is, well, crap. Sure, SP1 is on the way early next year and the hope is still there that Microsoft may be able to turn it around, but let's face it -- the chances of Vista becoming a wanted OS are dwindling by the minute.

Let's see what has gone down with Vista over the past year: Dell, HP and Acer have all asked Microsoft to extend XPs availability for an additional six months due to the concerns of customers; many businesses have been slow to adopt the new OS because of poor performance and compatibility issues; complaints have soured the release claiming Microsoft's new OS is slower, less capable and downright awful; and last but certainly not least, it's as if Microsoft can't stand Vista considering the level of detail it's releasing on its follow-up, Windows 7.

And yet, during this time, Windows XP has still been in use by millions of people around the world that have no desire to buy a new machine that's capable of handling Vista and running it daily. And while some people claim the same was true when XP was made available and people just need to come around, let us not forget that Vista has been available for almost a year and people are still upset about the way things are going.

But luckily for us, there's a savior in the works that will not only help us get out from under the sinking ship that is Vista, but will actually improve our experience using Windows. No, it's not SP1. The real upgrade to Vista is XP SP3.… Read more

10 worst downloads of 2007

Pity poor me. Everyone else is out drinking spiked eggnog, full of holiday cheer, and here I am, stuck as the PC Grinch, casting snarks and aspersions upon software that intelligent, dedicated people have spent long, hard hours developing. However, the Download.com users occasionally demand blood, and if I'm the one who must bear the sacrificial knife, so be it.

Before I get to the list, I'll start with a disclaimer: These 10 programs are not the worst software programs in the world. These are simply the 10 programs that I had a major beef with in … Read more

Study finds Mac users are more honest than Windows users

If you're a music industry executive, you should be praying that the Mac wins the desktop war. Why? Because, as Tom Krazit writes, a recent NPD survey finds that Mac users are much more likely than Windows users to actually pay for music. How much more likely? Consider:

The data says that 50 percent of all Mac users surveyed by NPD purchased at least one song during the third quarter, while only 16 percent of Windows users purchased a song from an online music store. And 32 percent of Mac users bought a CD during that same time, while … Read more