Judge Declines to Dismiss Vista Lawsuit

Fast-booting Chrome may push Vista out of the market

(NEWSER) - Google has doubled down in its battle with Microsoft. The search giant announced it is bringing out an open-source operating system, named Google Chrome OS, that looks to go head-to-head with long-dominant Windows. Chrome OS is Google's biggest push yet onto traditional Microsoft turf, reports the Financial Times, following free web-based applications, mobile phone platforms, and email. More»

(NEWSER) - Microsoft offered an early look today of its new operating system, designed to smooth out the kinks of the much-maligned Vista. The company gave programmers test software of Windows 7, which CEO Steve Ballmer is pushing to release next year, CNET reports. Those with an early look have generally praised the stability of the new system, designed to be faster, smarter, and less of a memory hog, and to have fewer annoying glitches such as dialog boxes with dire warnings. More»

Consumer-focused OS sports poor performance, big cost

(NEWSER) - Microsoft's strategy of marketing Vista to consumers has turned off its other core constituency, the Wall Street Journal reports: business. Certainly, technical issues and a fat price tag have decimated the number of companies planning to install it: Just 26% of IT departments say they expect to install Vista by 2010, down from 68% last year. More»

Company emails reveal execs struggled to get OS working on PCs

(NEWSER) - Many Windows Vista users have struggled to make the operating system work with their hardware, and emails released this week reveal that even Microsoft bosses had a tough time, PC World reports. The emails have been made public as part of a lawsuit that claims Microsoft deliberately misled consumers by slapping "Vista Capable" stickers on machines that weren't capable of running many of the system's important features. More»

iPod maker replaces Microsoft as industry bully, monopolist

(NEWSER) - Apple has replaced Microsoft as the tech industry’s “biggest bully,” according to PC World. The iPod dynamo has shed its rebel rep and assumed Microsoft’s former mantle as a monopolist, copycat, and bully. “Bundling,” a tactic Microsoft used to tie together Windows and Internet Explorer and thwart competition, is Apple’s game plan with the iPod and iTunes. More»