Archive for February, 2009
Another computer magazine goes down
Another venerable print magazine has bitten the dust. Computer Shopper will be online only after its April issue. PaidContent reports:
You’re reading it here first … paidContent has learned that Computer Shopper will cease print publication with its April issue, due off the press next week, and become online only at ComputerShopper.com.
At Technologizer, Harry McCracken comments:
Shopper’s [...]
How to buy a laptop computer
With a shattered economy and the prospect of Windows 7 soon replacing the disliked Vista operating system, buying a notebook (AKA laptop) computer may not be your first priority. However, for one reason or another, there are always those who are considering buying a new PC and here are some links to helpful guides to [...]
Site for last free version of software
Some years ago, I wrote an article about where to find freeware. Some of the links are now out of date but one that I want to mention again is a site where you can find the last free version of software that has gone commercial. You have to pay for the newest version but [...]
Home PCs are too complicated
For years I have been saying that home PCs are too complicated for the needs of the average user. Recently, I have even been going around giving a talk on Why Home Computing is a Mess. As far as I can tell, most computing professionals are unaware of the vast difference between their world and [...]
Google doesn’t just do search
Periodically, I post about some lesser known Google features (for example, at this link). In today’s New York Times, David Pogue writes about some of these. Nothing new here, but he describes some services you may not have tried. Actually, a better collection of Google stuff is Everything Google from Joel May.
Has Microsoft begun a patent war against Linux?
Microsoft has been making threats against Linux users for a long time. Up to now, these threats were mostly bluster with claims that Microsoft had hundreds of patents that Linux users were violating with no actual patents ever being specified. The open source community has mostly considered these vague threats as just another example of [...]
Millions and millions of domains
A domain is the main part of an address on the Web- microsoft.com, for example. Anyone who wants to put pages on the Web has to either arrange to place them on an existing domain or register one of their own. This blog is on a sub-domain of the domain vlaurie.com. If a name isn’t [...]
The battle for the term “netbook”
Intel has entered the fray against Psion and its attempt to claim a trademark for “netbook”. According to CNET:
“Our view is that the term ‘netbook’ is a widely used generic term that describes a class of affordable computing devices, much like the term ‘notebook’ or ‘ultra-mobile PC,’” Intel said in a statement Wednesday.
Intel continued: [...]
Vista SP2 is near
The completed service pack 2 for Windows Vista should be ready soon. At ZDNet, Mary Jo Foley writes:
Microsoft is broadening the pool of testers getting the near-final Release Candidate (RC) bits of Vista Service Pack 2 (SP2) and Windows Server 2008 SP2.
On February 25, Microsoft began providing subscribers to its TechNet and Microsoft Developer [...]
PDF attacks (continued)
Adobe PDF reader remains unpatched against the PDF exploits going around. At ZDNet, Ryan Naraine takes Adobe to task:
After more than two weeks (months?) of inexplicable silence on mitigations for a known code execution vulnerability in its Reader and Acrobat product lines, Adobe has finally posted public information on the problem but the company’s response [...]
Foxit PDF reader not so free any more
I have often recommended the free Foxit PDF reader as a better alternative to Adobe. Now, it seems that using Foxit will have some strings attached. Security Garden reports:
Many people have switched to the Foxit Reader as a substitute to Adobe Reader. With the publicity over the current Adobe Reader vulnerability, I expect even more [...]
