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Tech Leaders Unite Against Microsoft

Nokia, IBM, Oracle join EU antitrust case over Explorer's dominance

(Newser) - A technology consortium whose members include IBM, Nokia, and Oracle has joined the European Commission’s antitrust case against Microsoft, the Financial Times reports. The consortium, Ecis, joins Google and the Mozilla Foundation in accusing Microsoft of using Windows to distort the web browser market in favor of Internet Explorer....

Tricky Virus Hits 8.9M Computers Worldwide

'Conficker' travels via networks, USB sticks; situation 'getting worse'

(Newser) - A Windows worm that emerged in October is “skyrocketing” worldwide, with some 8.9 million computers now infected, says an antivirus firm. The program, known as Conficker, Downadup, or Kido, can zoom through low-security networks, memory sticks, and any PC that hasn’t downloaded current security updates, the BBC...

Ballmer Opens Up Windows 7 Beta

Beta version of Vista successor available to the public starting tomorrow

(Newser) - Windows 7 Beta will be launched to the public tomorrow, Steve Ballmer told the Consumer Electronics Show yesterday. The Microsoft chief, filling the keynote slot held by Bill Gates in the previous 11 years, told the audience that the operating system would be a return to the "special sauce"...

Microsoft Offers Early Peek at Vista's Successor

(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...

Sick of Waiting for PC to Boot Up? PC Makers Hear You

Look to cut start-up times to 20-30 secs

(Newser) - As instant communication becomes the norm, computer users are quickly getting fed up with slow start-up times—and PC makers are focused on reducing the wait, the New York Times reports. To fight Windows’ slow load time, manufacturers are turning to programs that bypass the operating system so users can...

Microsoft Releases Emergency Security Patch

Unplanned patch addresses critical weakness

(Newser) - Microsoft has discovered a Windows security vulnerability dangerous enough that it's released an “out-of-cycle” security patch for the first time since April 2007, reports the Tech Herald. The weakness could allow a computer worm to spread malware around networks.

6 Ways to Make Vista Suck Less
 6 Ways to Make Vista Suck Less 
Oct 9, 2008 10:57 AM CDT

6 Ways to Make Vista Suck Less

Get over it; Windows' new platform can be made livable

(Newser) - Windows Vista may be clunky, but Stephen Williams is sick of hearing complaints about it. He runs down six easy ways to make Vista more bearable in the New York Times:
  1. Turn off the user account control feature. Windows will finally stop asking your permission to do everything.
  2. Add memory.
...

New Firefox's Speed Will Smoke Chrome, Mozilla Says

Chrome 28% slower than Firefox 3.1 on XP

(Newser) - The next version of Firefox will be faster than Google's Chrome, the fastest browser out there, Mozilla said today, according to TechCrunch. Chrome is 28% slower on XP and 16% slower on Vista than Firefox 3.1, which releases this year, Mozilla claims. By using the new engine TraceMonkey, one...

Microsoft Without Bill Gates? His Final Week Begins

The 52-year-old has slowly backed away from the software company's operations

(Newser) - This will be Bill Gates’ last Monday at Microsoft, the company that the 52-year-old founded with business partner Paul Allen as a teenager. He’s retiring Friday from Microsoft’s day-to-day business and beginning full-time work with his $37.3 billion philanthropic organization, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He's...

Dissed by Vista, Businesses Return the Favor

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...

Stop Waiting for Windows to Load
Stop Waiting
for Windows
to Load
Jan 16, 2008 3:54 PM CST

Stop Waiting for Windows to Load

New program boots PC and gets you online in 5 seconds

(Newser) - Starting up a Windows machine is normally an exercise in patience, but that could be changing, thanks to several companies working to do away with the eternal boot-up. One startup, for example, has introduced Splashtop, a tiny, simple operating system you can boot instead of Windows. Boot time? About 5...

Macs 'Cheaper' Than PCs
Macs 'Cheaper' Than PCs
Nov 7, 2007 3:17 AM CST

Macs 'Cheaper' Than PCs

No, really. Salon does the math: It's all about the 'amazing' resale value of the Apple

(Newser) - If you don't have an Apple yet, Salon is pretty sure it's because you think Macs are more expensive than PCs. With Apple's fortunes rising on the waves of iPods, iPhones and the dazzling new Leopard operating system, price remains for many the last obstacle to switching to a Mac....

EU Court Upholds Record Microsoft Fine

Rejects appeal on $613M antitrust fine

(Newser) - A European Union court today rejected Microsoft's appeal of  the $613-million anti-trust fine handed down in 2004--the largest fine ever imposed by EU regulators. Microsoft will also have to share communication code with rivals and start selling copies of Windows without its Media Player program. Microsoft is expected to appeal...

Apple Takes a Bite Out of the Competition

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...

Prankster's 1st Computer Virus Turns 25

'Dumb little practical joke' led to $38 billion security industry

(Newser) - A prankster who wrote the first computer virus 25 years ago says only, “It was some dumb little practical joke.” Yet Richard Skrenta’s desire to infiltrate other Apple II’s with a poem (“It will get on all your disks; it will infiltrate your chips”)...

File-sharing Felon Forced to Use Windows

Man must either ditch Linux or ditch his computer

(Newser) - An individual convicted of operating an illegal BitTorrent site shut down by the FBI will be forced to either make the switch from Linux to Windows or give up his computer altogether, ZDNet reports. Scott McCausland had previously been a user of the Ubuntu OS, a popular open-source Linux variant,...

Skype Blames Crash on Windows
Skype Blames Crash on Windows
Aug 20, 2007 12:49 PM CDT

Skype Blames Crash on Windows

Millions of updates, reboots fried VOIP service, company says

(Newser) - Skype's mysterious failure last week was caused by a routine Windows update, the company says. Millions of users downloaded the new software, rebooted their computers, and tried to log into Skype at the same time, crashing the net phone service, PC World reports. It's still unclear why previous Windows updates...

Judge Declines to Dismiss Vista Lawsuit

Consumers may press case that 'Vista Capable' label was deceptive

(Newser) - A federal judge has denied Microsoft's motion to dismiss a lawsuit alleging its "Vista Capable" campaign misled consumers, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports. Although PCs bearing "Vista Capable" stickers run the new OS, many can handle only the bare-bones Vista Home Basic system, which lacks highly touted features included...

Vista Proves Profitable, Problematic

Microsoft's new OS leaving many users nostalgic for XP

(Newser) - Microsoft has reported quarterly revenues of $13.4 billion, crediting strong sales of its new Vista operating system, which offers new networking and security features as well as an overhauled interface. But many users are still reluctant to switch after tepid reviews and anecdotal complaints, instead seeking out the 6-year-old...

Apple Wants to Send Windows Users on Safari

Jobs sees chance to grab larger share of browser market

(Newser) - Apple will venture into Microsoft's turf again, this time making a version of its web browser Safari compatible with Windows. Microsoft's Internet Explorer commands 78% of the browser market compared to Safari's 5%, reports the Wall Street Journal, but Apple's interest in expanding its share is only part of the...

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