Archive for August, 2008
Touch screens
Back in February, I posted about the future of touch screens as an interface. Recently, the New York Times had an article, Turning Point for Touch Screens. It begins:
BREAKTHROUGHS often beget other breakthroughs, and Apple’s slick use of touch technology on its iPhone has set touch-screen makers to salivating. An industry once relegated to niches [...]
Intel hegemony bad for us?
From time to time I have commented (for example, here) that consumers should hope for AMD to remain a viable rival for Intel. AMD went through a bad patch and its situation is still shaky in spite of some recent product releases. Meanwhile, Intel is threatening to be ever more dominant. ExtremeTech takes a look [...]
Dangers on the social networks
Social networks are a big thing on the Web. For many people, they are an important activity. Unfortunately, there are many security problems. Hackers have planted exploits at several social networks. However, an even bigger problem may be from social engineering. People who use social networks are looking for friends and people they can trust. [...]
Too many Linux distros?
As a number of PC manufacturers began to install Linux on netbooks, I asked
Could it be that there’s hope for Linux on the desktop after all? It is my firm belief that until an average PC user can walk into a store and see a variety of Linux-based systems with all that the user needs [...]
Are netbooks a fad or a major trend?
The ultra-portable small notebook continues to be in the news with observers asking many questions. Are they the opening wedge for Linux to at last make progress with the general public? Are they a blow to Microsoft? Are they part of the decline of the desktop? Are they a fad? PC World analyzes the netbook [...]
List of best Web sites
PC Magazine has compiled its annual list of its editors’ choices for the best Web sites of 2008. There is also a list of their choice of the top 100 undiscovered Web sites. Of course, these lists are subjective and each of us probably has a different list. But the lists are interesting and informative; [...]
Fast way to open a recently used Word document
I have been using Microsoft Word in one version or the other since Word 95. However, Word is a far more powerful program than I need and I probably am unaware of 95% of its features. For that reason, I don’t give many Word tips but now and then I come across one that I [...]
$119 to set up a PC
I haven’t been paying attention to what was being charged to install a new PC. Then I saw this item at Barron’s, AT&T Offers Rival to Best Buy’s “Geek Squad”; $119 to Set Up Your New PC:
A simple PC set-up, where the tech takes the thing out the box, hooks it up to your network, [...]
We need a new operating system
Microsoft may be working hard on Windows 7 but the fact remains that underneath it will still contain much of the old Windows structure. What is needed for most home PC users is an entirely new operating system. Adrian Kingsley-Hughes has some interesting ideas about what a new OS should be like. He says:
The way [...]
The development of Windows 7
As mentioned previously, Microsoft exec Steven Sinofsky has a new blog about Windows 7. Any crumb of information about Windows 7 leads to a flurry of posts in the blogosphere and Sinofsky’s second post has been widely commented on. There is no information about Windows 7 itself; the post talks about the organization of the [...]
Make software firms responsible
For some time, I have been writing and lecturing on what I believe is the mess in home computing. One of the problems I see is that software companies have gotten themselves absolved of any responsibility for badly written or insecure products. Security expert Bruce Schneier writes:
There’s no other industry where shoddy products are sold [...]
