Business

"Hello, I'm a Mac." "And I'm a PC. Hey Mac, what's wrong? You seem a little distracted." "Oh, well I was visiting a naughty web site the other day and I picked up a Trojan Horse. Now every website I go to is a scam! My owner is really upset with ... me." [Mac hangs his head] "Oh, you should get some security software to take care of that. I can't believe you fell for the oldest trick in the book." "[mumbles] I just never thought it would happen to me." "Ahhh... that's how you get into trouble my friend. That's how you get into trouble." [PC puts his hand on Mac's shoulder and hands him a box ... (view more)

Facebook appears to have decided not to fight Google's plans to bring social networking sites together. Jim Breyer, an investor and board member at Facebook, reportedly says the company would be willing to join Google's OpenSocial platform. That's a ... scheme by which programmers can more easily create applications that run on many different social networking sites. For example, a user could make a single blog post that is instantly viewable by their friends on both MySpace and Bebo. One of the main reasons for Facebook's success to date is that users can create their own applications such as ... (view more)

Citing concerns over Microsoft's Office 2007 and Windows Vista licensing terms, Becta , the UK government's agency for education technology has reportedly warned schools against signing licensing agreements, and filed a complaint with the UK's ... Office of Fair Trading, alleging that Microsoft engages in anticompetitive practices in the academic software license marketplace. ArsTechnica is reporting that Becta and Microsoft have been in talks over the issue but have not reached an agreement. In the meantime, Becta is recommending that schools avoid Microsoft's School Agreement subscription ... (view more)

The Microsoft Windows Updates fiasco now includes several IT administrators after Microsoft reportedly began installing (without user permission) a resource-hogging search application company-wide, despite administrators having systems configured ... not to use the program. It all resulted in slowing several systems to a crawl. Originally, Microsoft tried to refute reports from frustrated bloggers that Enterprise customers were being forced to install the Windows XP desktop search tool whether they wanted it or not. Later that same day Microsoft finally admitted they had screwed up. Bobbie Harder ... (view more)

Just last week, I happily reported that a University of California researcher had provided firm evidence that the dreaded Storm Worm virus was drying up under the heat of security companies and new, protective programs. Unfortunately, it appears to ... be a rare case. Other research suggests malicious code is instead on the rise, increasing five-fold throughout the first half of 2007. (Source: zdnet.com ) According to research conducted and released by Microsoft, the maliciousness associated with Trojans, phishing schemes, keyboard logging, and other nasty habits made an impressive jump during ... (view more)

In my opinion, people don't need any more reason to avoid Windows Vista like the plague, but now APC Magazine is reporting that swapping out a video card or updating a device driver can end up triggering a complete Vista deactivation. What does it ... mean? The results could lead to Reduced Functionality Mode (RFM), until one can obtain a new activation code from Microsoft. A few days after swapping out a video card on a computer running Windows Vista Ultimate the APC author started receiving a Windows Activation prompt telling him he had three days to activate Windows or he'd end up going into ... (view more)

It only makes sense. The more that people purchase and enjoy a name-brand product, the more likely it is that they will remember that brand when shopping for other products. This concept explains why Apple Inc. has recently recorded their highest ... sales figures ever for MacIntosh computers. The results are confusing for many tech observers. Consumers normally wait instead of rushing out to purchase a brand-new computer before the introduction of a major upgrade. However, right now many are snapping up MacIntosh computers just as Apple is planning to launch their new Leopard X operating system ... (view more)

While Windows XP continues to thrive and Windows Vista fizzles, Microsoft has been busy redesigning Vista's successor, currently named Windows 7. The new operating system is scheduled for release sometime in 2010. ZDNet is reporting that Microsoft ... has created a stripped-down version of the Windows kernel named 'MinWin' for Windows 7, in attempts to reduce dependencies in Windows that have made the operating system bloated and difficult to maintain and upgrade. Recently, Microsoft was able to create a new separate, usable core. MinWin will be at the heart of future versions of Windows Media ... (view more)

The Mac OS X Leopard is expected to be the largest operating system upgrade ever produced. It boasts over three hundred features and sells for $129. Leopard is set to attack retail shelves on October 26. (Source: usatoday.com ) The Leopard has risen ... to the top of the pack, replacing the Mac OS X Tiger and arriving amidst a record year for Apple. The company is currently experiencing doubled stock figures compared to January 2008. While Apple has dedicated most of 2007 to non-computer innovations, Leopard carries an arduous, but highly manageable goal: Sell More Mac Computers! The new upgrades ... (view more)

Napster is hoping to reclaim its former glory days after introducing a new web-based platform that allows users to play their music from anywhere in the world without having to download additional software. Once the best friend of every cheapskate ... music fan, Napster was forced by the Record Industry Association of America to charge customers money for the very songs they once shared for free. This was all received with a mass exodus of former "loyal" users from the company. Napster now hopes to attract subscribers by making their platform more flexible and compatible with any Internet-enabled ... (view more)