Features

• Microsoft gets set to spin Windows 7

  By Jacqueline Emigh | 17 October, 2009 08:01

  With the countdown now on for the official shipment of Windows 7 next Thursday, Microsoft and friends have been cranking up the proverbial hype machine, but not without a few clinks and clanks along the way.

• Mac OS X gets thrashed in OS social media face-off

  By Ian Lamont | 09 October, 2009 10:28

  If you were a betting man (or woman), who do you think would win in a social media face-off between the two most widely used desktop/laptop operating systems?

• Does Microsoft complicate its licensing on purpose?

  By Elizabeth Montalbano | 09 October, 2009 11:15

  Navigating Microsoft's complex rules and programs for software licensing has been notoriously difficult for businesses -- a pain point not lost on the company, which for years has said it is trying to simplify the process for customers.

• Microsoft: No e-Readers for us, thanks

  By JR Raphael | 09 October, 2009 09:21

  All of Silicon Valley may be Cupertino dreamin' of Kindles and other tantalizing tablets, but Microsoft says it wants nothing to do with the ever-expanding electronic reader market.

• What's inside the Windows Mobile marketplace?

  By JR Raphael | 07 October, 2009 09:07

  You can stop holding your breath now: Windows Mobile 6.5 is here. Oh, come on -- I know you've been just dying to get your hands on Microsoft's new mobile OS, haven't you? Anyone? Hello?

• Eight quick tips for getting the most from IE8

  By Logan Kugler | 18 September, 2009 08:14

  Internet Explorer 8, the latest update to Microsoft's venerable Web browser, introduces several features intended to provide greater security and ease of use. New security settings in IE8 allow for more privacy, new add-ons allow quick access to Web-based information and services, and a new browsing mode changes the way you interact with your browser.

• VMware cloud initiative raises vendor lock-in concerns

  By Jon Brodkin | 03 September, 2009 23:36

  VMware talks a good game about interoperability, but its cloud initiative threatens to introduce a type of vendor lock-in that rival virtualization vendors claim they would not impose.

• OS deathmatch: Snow Leopard vs. Windows 7

  By Preston Gralla | 01 September, 2009 09:11

  It's the best of times if you're a lover of operating systems, with the nearly simultaneous release of Apple's Mac OS X 10.6 "Snow Leopard" (available right now) and Microsoft's Windows 7 (available Oct. 22). This leads to the inevitable debate: Which is the better operating system, Windows 7 or Snow Leopard?

• The 10 stupidest tech company blunders

  By Dan Tynan | 31 August, 2009 14:40

  Some of the biggest high-tech deals never happened. Some of the most promising products and services never came to be. Why? Because the people and companies involved didn't realize what they were letting slip through their fingers, or they simply couldn't foresee what would happen afterward.

• Snow Leopard early release puts pressure on Windows 7

  By Shane O'Neill | 28 August, 2009 02:18

  The release of the next version of Mac OS X, also known as Snow Leopard, is by all accounts a minor update with few new user features. Even Apple calls most of the changes in the OS UI refinements that will occur "under the hood."

• Microsoft Word Lawsuit: XML Explained

  By Jared Newman | 14 August, 2009 02:35

  When a judge halted the sale of Microsoft Word on Tuesday for infringing a patent, many of us wondered about the repercussions of this decision. The patent itself, for the creation of custom XML documents, seemed like an afterthought, and for good reason: The average user never has and never will use Word for this purpose.

• Windows 7 RTM -- a closer look

  By Preston Gralla | 14 August, 2009 08:22

  Now that Microsoft's Windows 7 has reached the release to manufacturing (RTM) stage, it's time to take a close look at all the features of the upcoming operating system.

• Microsoft should develop for other mobile platforms

  By Tony Bradley | 11 August, 2009 10:46

  Microsoft will release the next incremental upgrade of the Windows Mobile platform this Fall, but for many analysts and experts it seems like the new Windows Mobile OS is virtually dead on arrival. Microsoft has done little to raise the bar for mobile devices, and often seems to fall short even in just trying to catch up to competing products.

• Five netbooks Microsoft has crushed

  By Jared Newman | 11 August, 2009 03:10

  Think most netbooks have single-core processors, 1GB of RAM and a 160GB hard drive because their manufacturers like conformity? Right. The reality -- never officially acknowledged -- is that Microsoft doesn't cheaply license its operating systems to netbooks with specs that are too good.

• Windows 7: How to get it early

  By Jeff Bertolucci | 07 August, 2009 07:08

  Microsoft released the ready-to-ship version of its Windows 7 operating system to software developers and IT professionals on Thursday, raising the question as to when consumers will be able to get their hands on a copy--be it via download, shrink wrap, or preinstalled on a new PC.