Archive for July, 2007
Younger generation skips email
An article at CNET says that teenagers don’t use email but instead rely on social networks:
To be sure, much has been written about the demise of e-mail, given the annoyance of spam and the rise of tools like instant messaging, voice over IP and text messaging. But e-mail has hung on to its utility [...]
Will Microsoft become a PC manufacturer?
Writing at MarketWatch, John Dvorak speculates that Microsoft may get into the business of selling PCs. After all, they sell the Xbox, which is a computer, so why not PCs? Dvorak writes:
Will Microsoft Corp. design, produce and ship a branded computer in the United States?
It’s already doing this in India without fanfare. Nobody has [...]
Time Magazine best 25 Websites
I almost never read anything from Time except in the doctor’s office but I ran across this list of their picks of the best 25 Websites. I thought it worth posting simply because it comes from a different perspective. And FWIW, here’s their pick for the worst five sites. Interestingly, the two popular sites, MySpace.com [...]
Yahoo gets it from two sides
I’ve been using services from Yahoo for a long time. Except for the non-existent customer service, I’ve been more or less satisfied. The email service went through some hiccups for a while but I’ve seen complaints about other Web-based email as well. In fact, I used to regard Yahoo as the top portal. But that [...]
Web ads used to deliver malware
Today’s Wall Street Journal has an article about how banner ads on respectable sites have been used to download malware when the ads are clicked. This has been going on for some time but apparently is beginning to worry advertising agencies that it might hurt their business (not to mention anybody who gets infected). A [...]
Travel planning
If you travel very much, the Internet is a great resource for helping with planning and booking. There are a lot of travel-related Web sites but PC World lists some selections. Do you have any favorite travel sites that were left out? I use the AAA site a lot. Some services are free but others [...]
All about CPUs
There once was a time when choosing a CPU for a new home computer was limited to a couple of choices. Now, however, the array of choices and terms can be pretty bewildering. Intel, AMD, core duo, core 2 duo, core 2 quad, Phenom- what’s it all mean? For help get the details from the [...]
What’s in a name?
Does name triumph over substance? Well, at least in part, according to this article about Microsoft’s new effort at coming up with better names for its products. There’s no doubt that Microsoft has been clumsy about naming things, as in the example, “Windows Presentation Foundation/Everywhere”, that has now morphed into the more elegant “Silverlight”. The [...]
The future of search
Wonder how Internet search will be changing? Here’s an interview with the head of Google research. Nothing startling here but it’s an interesting overview. One area that is getting a lot of work is speech recognition.
How to check your RAM
One source of computer problems can be faulty RAM. Sometimes all that is needed is to reseat it. However, RAM can be bad or marginal and there are numerous diagnostic accessories for testing the memory for problems. Microsoft has a free tool and a guide to checking memory. The site says:
The Windows Memory Diagnostic tests [...]
Microsoft patents the acme in adware
Yes, Microsoft not only wants to control your computer but they also want to sell advertising on it. Or at least, the company’s recent patent application seems to point that way. Ars Technica reports:
It’s such a tremendously bad idea that it’s almost bound to succeed. Microsoft has filed another patent, this one for an “advertising [...]
