Microsoft Pinching Apple Employees to Staff Stores

Microsoft, HP, Amazon, Lenovo launch preemptive strike

(NEWSER) - Denizens of the non-Apple world—Microsoft, HP, Lenovo, etc.—appear to be starting competition with the Mac-daddy’s rumored tablet computer before its expected unveiling later this month with a preemptive strike at the Consumer Electronics Show. But whatever the CES reveals, Apple is keeping mum. A look at what's out there:

• Microsoft, of course, has its own rumored “Courier” tablet—which the New York Times notes is a collaboration with HP—that may see the light of day tonight during Steve Ballmer’s keynote speech.

Performance and price gaps close but Mac is still value

(NEWSER) - With Windows 7 and Mac’s Snow Leopard operating systems both available, it’s time for Walter S. Mossberg to drop some science on the arduous task of picking a computer. Things aren’t too different this time around: Macs are still more expensive, though “prices on Windows PCs are creeping upward.” And Apple’s OS X is still better than Windows, though with the exit of dreaded Vista “Microsoft has closed most of the gap.” More»

(NEWSER) - Apple’s Macintosh, the seminal device that helped usher in the age of personal computing as we know it today, turns 25 this week, the San Jose Mercury News reports. The original Macintosh combined a svelte form—by 1980s standards—with an accessible graphical interface, eschewing complex text commands for a visual operating system anyone could pick up and use. More»

A look at milestones in the life of that crucial computer accessory

(NEWSER) - It’s been 40 years since the computer mouse made its public debut, and though innovations have been legion, the basic concept is still the same. Macworld takes a look back at some key moments in the device’s evolution.

• 1963: The first recognizable mouse prototype is built. It only had one button, but more were to come—well, not for Mac users.

Psystar alleges trust violations, tries to open market for OS X

(NEWSER) - Mac clone-maker Psystar countersued Apple this week and charged it with violating antitrust law, PC Magazine reports. The battle centers on a provision in Apple’s end user agreement that prohibits non-Mac hardware from running its operating system. Psystar admits to selling computers with such hardware, and says they can be sold for hundreds of dollars cheaper than Apple's MacBook. More»