Archive for July, 2009
Comparison of Windows 7 versions
Paul Thurrott makes a living writing about Windows and he has put together some tables that show which features are present in each of six versions of Windows 7. The versions covered are Home Basic, Starter, Home Premium, Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate.
Microsoft-Yahoo deal at last?
All Things Digital says that a Microsoft-Yahoo deal will be announced within 24 hours:
Multiple sources close to the situation said that the online search and advertising deal between Microsoft and Yahoo has been struck and will be announced within the next 24 hours.
According to sources, as had been previous reported by Advertising Age, there will [...]
Microsoft issues emergency patch for IE
The patch for security holes in Internet Explorer that was mentioned several days ago is now available. Be sure to use Windows or Microsoft update and install the patch right away.
Another big credit card security breach
Once more, security breaches have exposed credit card holders to identity theft and financial loss. This time it’s the big firm Network Solutions that has been hacked. CNET reports:
Network Solutions is investigating a breach on its servers that may have led to the theft of credit card data of 573,928 people who made purchases on [...]
Texting while driving is really hazardous
On its front page today, the New York Times reports a study that shows some frightening statistics about the dangers of texting while driving:
The first study of drivers texting inside their vehicles shows that the risk sharply exceeds previous estimates based on laboratory research — and far surpasses the dangers of other driving distractions.
The new [...]
Using the Internet to plan travel
Pity the poor travel agent (the few that are left). The ease and availabilty of planning and booking travel on the Internet has really changed the travel industry. My colleague Joel May has put together a course that presents a lot of information about planning travel on the Internet. The outline for the course can [...]
Guide to buying a printer
A printer is probably the peripheral most commonly owned by home PC users. These days printers are often a combination of scanner and other functions and buying one can involve a number of decisions. PC World has published a guide, How to Buy a Printer:
No matter how digital our lives become, printers remain essential in [...]
Walter Mossberg discusses his column
As I have mentioned a number of times, Walter Mossberg’s consumer electronics column in the Wall Street Journal is one of the industry’s most influential. On July 19, Mossberg was interviewed about his column and other activities on C-SPAN and you can watch the interview here. Note that this is a fairly lengthy interview.
Moving matter with thought
Several weeks ago, I noted that Toyota was developing a thought-controlled wheelchair. Now I see in the New York Times that research in the area of controlling things with thought is continuing apace:
Learning to move a computer cursor or robotic arm with nothing but thoughts can be no different from learning how to play tennis [...]
Update on low cost laptops
In yesterday’s post about Wal-Mart’s sale of $298 Compaq laptops, I mentioned possible Windows 7 upgrade considerations. Computerworld reports that HP, owner of the Compaq brand, will not be providing free Windows 7 updates for this particular sale:
Wal-Mart will start selling a fully loaded laptop from Hewlett-Packard for a breakthrough price of $298 on July [...]
Microsoft issuing emergency IE patch
Microsoft has announced that security patches for Internet Explorer will be issued on July 28 at 10 am PDT. Computerworld reports:
Microsoft didn’t say exactly what it was fixing. The company typically doesn’t rush out these “out-of-band” emergency updates unless the bug is being exploited by cyber criminals; however, in this case the flaws being patched [...]
