Archive for May, 2006
Browser speed comparisons
The Internet is full of various claims about the relative speeds of browsers. Rarely is there any concrete documentation to back up the claims. At last, there is a site that gives detailed information about some realistic tests of the capabilities of a large number of browsers. There is not a single property that can [...]
Google gadgets on the desktop
Google has a free program called Google Desktop that provides a bunch of little programs called “gadgets” as well as desktop search. It’s labelled as a beta application and has been receiving frequent upgrades. It is now in version 4. I tried an older version but I prefer other desktop search programs with fewer privacy [...]
Buy a PC now or wait?
Buying a PC has always meant bringing home an instantly obsolescent system but there is even more change than usual going on in the PC world. The looming of Vista (some day it really will be here), dual-core processors, 64-bit computing, the new intrusion of MACs into the Windows world, the convergence of desktop and [...]
The 25 Worst Tech Products of All Time
PC World has published its list of the 25 Worst Tech Products of All Time.
So as we put together our list of World Class winners for 2006, we decided also to spotlight the 25 worst tech products that have been released since PC World began publishing nearly a quarter-century ago.
You can argue about some of [...]
Is the U.S. backward in applying technology?
“U.S. needs lesson from China on technology.”
Now, there’s a statement to make those who are convinced of American technological superiority sit up. Steven Schwankert of IDG News Service has an article with that title. He has been living abroad and argues that technology in the U.S. resembles that of a developing nation.
As an [...]
More on Microsoft Word security problem
As previously noted, Microsoft Word has a security problem that is being exploited. Microsoft now says that you should run Word in “safe” mode until they patch the problem. Details are here
Recovery console for those without an XP disk
Greetings from Emporia, Kansas where there are a lot of cattle and the tall grass prairie still exists.
The Windows XP Recovery Console is a command-line application for repairing XP systems. It is included on full Windows XP disks but is often missing from systems that come with only a “restore” disk. It is possible to [...]
Plain talk about the Windows EULA
When you install Windows or just about any commercial software, you have to agree to something called the EULA or “end users license agreement”. I have mentioned EULAs before and here is a link that I found interesting because it parses the legalistic bafflegab of the Windows EULA and translates it into ordinary English. [...]
Security problem in Microsoft Word
Internet Week describes a problem with Word 2003 that crackers are trying to exploit.
Symantec raised its overall Internet alert Friday on the news that a zero-day vulnerability in Microsoft Word was being exploited by hackers hoping to hijack PCs.
The type of attack involved is successful against the newest version of Microsoft’s word processor, Word [...]
Separate blog for Vista
I think Vista is a sufficiently distinct subject that I have decided to create a separate blog for it. It can be viewed here.
Does anybody know where we are?
That is not a question for your GPS. That is a general question and the answer for many young people is “No, and who cares”. CNN reports on a National Geographic study that says nearly two-thirds of Americans aged 18 to 24 cannot find Iraq on a map and one-third could not point out [...]