Software

Last week a Microsoft exec revealed that Vista's User Account Control (UAC) scheme was designed from the ground up to keep people safe by constantly annoying them. Microsoft needs to learn that security through annoyance isn't the way to keep users safe --- or to keep them as customers.

Virtualization is heading for cell phones, predicts one vendor.

When it's time to make your vacation plans, consider going beyond lame-o travel sites.

It's IT Blogwatch: in which Gartner Group says that Windows is dead, unless Microsoft gets its finger out. Not to mention more stupid interview questions...

Gregg Keizer reports:

Calling the situation "untenable" and describing Windows as "collapsing," a pair of Gartner analysts yesterday said Microsoft Corp. must make radical changes to its operating system or risk becoming a has-been ... Michael Silver and Neil MacDonald said Microsoft has not responded to the market, is overburdened by nearly two decades of legacy code and decisions, and faces serious competition on a whole host of fronts that will make Windows moot unless the software developer acts ...

I'll admit that I'm not a Marvel Comics fan (color me Vertigo), but this one's got me genuinely stumped: Apparently Iron Man is now fighting the dark forces of Linux...

Stop all the fuss. Soon it won't matter.
(Or, Beware the Cloud!)

The conventional wisdom that newfangled operating systems are superior to tried-and-true ones is flat-out wrong. Obviously the Apple IIGS perfected the OS decades before Leopard and Vista. Here are five reasons why.

Monitor your virtual machine environment while keeping VM sprawl in check.

The conventional wisdom, that Mac's OS X is superior to Windows Vista, is flat-out wrong. In fact, despite much belief to the contrary, Vista is a superior operating system. Here are five reasons why.

The long overdue server-side Media Library / Video Asset Management application from Apple is now shipping. Functions of the new software package include:

Am not. Are too. Is IT Blogwatch: in which Yahoo and Microsoft bicker like spoiled children. Not to mention alternative opening titles for Lost...

Linda Rosencrance is in rude health:

Yahoo Inc.'s board of directors told Microsoft Corp. that it would consider the software company's unsolicited takeover bid, but only if it makes a big higher than the initial $44.6 billion offer. In a letter today, Yahoo also told Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer that it didn't take kindly to ultimatums or threats of a hostile takeover. Microsoft declined to comment on Yahoo's letter ...

At the CTIA Wireless 2008 trade show last week in Las Vegas the hottest new phone was, as you might expect, Sprint's Instinct, apparently the closest thing yet to an iPhone. And still the farthest thing from an iPhone? That would beMicrosoft's changes to Windows Mobile 6.1.

It's IT Blogwatch: in which Windows 7's might come next year -- or not -- and might have a new, modular architecture -- errr, or not. Not to mention the worst interview questions...

Eric Lai reports:

Microsoft Corp. has dropped two strong hints [last week] that the next version of its Windows operating system will arrive in 2009, shaving up to a year off previous expectations. It could also be a signal that Microsoft intends to cut its losses with Windows Vista, which has been poorly received or shunned by customers, especially large companies ... Responding to criticism that Windows has become unnecessarily bloated, the company has 200 engineers developing a slimmed-down kernel called MinWin that uses 100 files and 25MB, compared to Vista's 5,000 files and 4GB core and is so small it lacks a graphical subsystem ...

Several months ago, my duo core Vista PC bit the dust, and I bought a Dell Dimension 9200 with an Intel Core2 Quad CPU running at 2.4 Ghz, with 2 GB of RAM. Much to my chagrin, it doesn't seem much faster than my previous duo core system. My conclusion: Quad core PCs are overkill, and may not be worth the money for desktop PCs.

If Apple's iPhone application development strategy succeeds, the company may find itself in hot water with the government in the not-too-distant future