Archive for August, 2009
Microsoft tactics
Microsoft has a long history of attacking competitors by disinformation or even by engaging in dirty tricks, as happened in the campaign against IBM’s rival operating system OS/2.
This less-admirable side of the Microsoft corporate mindset may be surfacing again with Google as a target. Daily Finance reports:
Microsoft’s chief Washington lobbyist has been convening regular meetings [...]
“Bing” means disease?
Microsoft’s new search facility called “Bing” has a name that may have some interesting connotations in other languages. Last night, we had dinner in a Chinese restaurant and my wife got a fortune cookie that stated that “bing” means “disease” in Chinese. Intrigued, I searched Google to check out this amusing coincidence of sounds. I [...]
The updating problem
One reason that I keep saying that PCs are too complicated for the average user is the constant need to install software updates. Large numbers of people do not understand the process or simply ignore updates. The failure by many to install one or more of the constant flow of Windows security patches is a [...]
Do an external scan for malware
In his column at PC World, Michael Horowitz explains that an infected computer should get an external anti-malware scan because malware can hide itself from a scan done while the computer is running:
The failure of an anti-malware application to detect a particular piece of malware is not news. Many malicious programs do a great job [...]
Installing programs on a netbook
The lack of an optical drive for CDs and DVDs on netbooks has caused some PC users to wonder how they would install programs that come on an installation CD or DVD. For most cases, all that is required is one of the ubiquitous and very inexpensive USB thumb drives. Most installation disks can be [...]
A new Internet?
That’s what Om Malik says we are getting. Writing at his site Gigaom, Malik describes what he calls the “NewNet”:
Right in front of our eyes, the web (and by extension, the Internet) is changing — specifically, the rise of social networking and the real-time web are changing the way information on the Internet is created [...]
Are rogue botnets imperiling the Internet?
The problem of botnets and the worms, Trojans, and DDoS attacks that they are responsible for is worrying many IT professionals. Not to mention that most spam is sent out by botnets. The seriousness of the threat from the Conficker worm alone has reached the point where the New York Times put a story [...]
New Apple Mac operating system
Windows isn’t the only operating system getting a new version. A new OS called “Snow Leopard” is being released for the Apple Mac. Numerous reviews have appeared and they are summarized by Harry McCracken at Technologizer.
How to position two windows side-by-side
I am sometimes asked how to position two windows side-by-side. There have been “tile” commands for a long time but many PC users are unaware of this feature. Here is one way to use them.
If you have a window open and another window minimized, hold down the Control key and right-click the icon of the [...]
Flight delay predictor
Flight delays are a common hazard of travel today. Unfortunately, the airlines often do not inform you of these delays until you are already at the airport (or even already on the plane). PC World points out a site called FlightCaster that uses existing data to forecast flight delays:
The free website lets you look up [...]
Adults fuel Twitter growth
The early success of social sites has been attributed to teenagers but the explosive growth of Twitter is more due to middle-aged adults. The New York Times Bits blog reports:
A report on the reach of social technologies, published Tuesday by Forrester Research, said that in the last year, young people almost universally used social [...]