Business

As if those Mac ads featuring the bumbling PC (acted magnificently by John Hodgman) weren't embarrassing enough, according to some reports PC-favorite Microsoft may be in fact advertising for Apple with its new "I'm a PC" campaign. Digital images ... posted to Microsoft's official website emblazoned with the "I'm a PC" ad appear to have been created not on PCs after all, but on Macs. At least, that's the word after scrupulous onlookers peered beyond the files' originating-software stamp. According to PC World, at least four of the images Microsoft recently posted on its PressPass site display " ... (view more)

Reports of detached prongs involving a very small percentage of iPhone 3G power adapters has resulted in Apple announcing an ultracompact USB Adapter Exchange Program. Apple is warning users that under certain conditions the new ultracompact Apple ... USB power adapter's metal prongs can break off and remain in a power outlet, creating a risk of electric shock, but no injuries have been reported. Pictures of the power adapter in question are available from Apple's web site . If your adapter has a green dot on the bottom, you already have the new, redesigned adapter and do not need to exchange it ... (view more)

Although it has recently faced a barrage of criticism over a failed attempt to use hit 90s comedian Jerry Seinfeld to sell its troubled Vista operating system, the greatest threat facing Microsoft -- and the entire tech industry -- may be the ... American economy. Not so, says company CEO Steve Ballmer. In a talk last week in sunny Santa Clara, Ballmer emphatically proclaimed that the technology industry is capable of resisting a spiraling U.S. economy. Why? Because, as we all know, the tech industry is much bigger than just the United States. Although the American economy's trouble is in part ... (view more)

For those of you who hated the Seinfeld Microsoft adverts -- and your responses tell us there are quite a few of you -- there's good news. The tales of Jerry and Bill are done for now, replaced by a relatively direct response to Apple's ... long-standing campaign, "I'm a Mac, and I'm a PC." According to Microsoft, this was the plan all along: a spokesman says the two Gates and Seinfeld ads were simply a teaser and the firm hasn't cut the series short. That makes the ads -- short on either plot or message -- even more baffling, as well as making Seinfeld's $10 million payoff seem even more ... (view more)

Although Microsoft is trying to keep Windows 7 under wraps, around three-dozen screenshots have leaked on to the Internet. It appears the operating system has had some usability tweaks but doesn't have any fundamental changes. The shots appeared on ... the ThinkNext blog and almost certainly come from one of the people testing the software. Windows 7 is currently in its third (and likely) final 'in-progress' edition. The first beta edition (a complete version of the system ready for testing) is expected out before the end of the year. The biggest functional changes appear to be to the User ... (view more)

Apple has raised more controversy among iPhone users after refusing to 'stock' a podcast utility in the iTunes Apps store. Apple says the feature simply duplicates iTunes itself, but critics say the firm is embarrassed that an outside programmer has ... produced a better service. Alex Sokirynsky developed 'Podcaster' as a feature to help people download and listen to podcasts on their iPhones. He submitted it for distribution through the iTunes store in mid-August but Apple has now rejected the product. According to Sokirynsky, Apple told him "Since Podcaster assists in the distribution of ... (view more)

Hewlett-Packard (HP) will reportedly release a laptop next month boasting a high-capacity battery that lasts up to 24 hours without charge -- provided it runs Microsoft's Windows XP operating system rather than Windows Vista. HP's EliteBook 6930p ... 14in. laptop, targeted at businesses, will need a 12-cell Ultra-Capacity Battery which sells for $189 and lasts about 10 hours longer than the regular-capacity one. The Ultra-Capacity Battery weighs 1.77lb/0.8kg compared to a weight of 0.7lb/0.3kg for the standard battery. Despite Microsoft's increasingly desperate attempts to push Windows Vista, HP ... (view more)

A new series of strange Microsoft advertisements have made their way onto YouTube.com in what is said to boost Microsoft product line awareness -- but so far, the verdict is mixed. Although Microsoft has spent a whopping $300 Million Dollars to pair ... Jerry Seinfeld with Bill Gates in the promotion, the ads are random in design and appear to lack any message at all. So, what's up with those strange Microsoft-Seinfeld ads? We asked our Readers to sound-off. Although the majority of the comments received were negative, some ideas offered interesting perspectives. Frank W. and a few others ... (view more)

Microsoft has released the second in its new series of adverts that more closely resemble a Seinfeld episode than what one might expect from a software company promoting its newest, most troubled operating system. The latest instalment runs for a ... staggering four-and-a-half minutes in its uncut YouTube version, though TV spots will be edited down. Seinfeld and Gates spend time living with a 'typical' American family ending with the pair performing manual labor as punishment after the children frame them for stealing a giraffe. Seriously. There's still no mention of specific products; indeed, ... (view more)

As part of its Trustworthy Computing Initiative, based on building the concept of "End to End Trust" proposed by Microsoft in April at the RSA Security Conference, Microsoft reportedly wants to create "digital playgrounds", sites where visitors have ... to prove their age using digital identity credentials. Microsoft is hoping its measures will make the Internet safer for children and adults wanting to conduct business, make transactions, and communicate confidently with people who are who they say they are. Part of the challenge concerns how to add more identity authentication without ... (view more)