windows

Microsoft has overhauled the look of its Live.com search page, part of a series of changes expected in the coming weeks.

While the first visible changes are to the user interface, fonts and look of the Live.com search page, the bigger changes are coming to the engine itself, as well as the way Microsoft presents results. (Props to the folks over at Liveside.net for spotting the changes.)

Microsoft has scheduled a press event, dubbed "Searchification," for September 26 at its Silicon Valley offices, where it is expected to tell all.

But we'll keep watching … Read more

There is an interesting article in the New York Times today (September 16th) that anyone involved with personal computers should read. It's called "A Window of Opportunity for Macs, Soon to Close" and it was written by Randall Stross, a professor of business at San Jose State University.

The main point of the article is that Apple should be selling many more Macintosh computers than it is. I agree completely.

The author points out that the release of an obviously half-baked version of Vista provided Apple with a golden opportunity to sell computers to people who don'… Read more

Yesterday I wrote that Windows is malware. I said this because:

Microsoft can and will update your copy of Windows whenever they feel like it, regardless of your wishes. And, they feel no obligation to tell you what they've done. Your computer is just a zombie to them.

Defending yourself against Microsoft involves turning off automatic updates and that's what this posting is about.

At first glance, turning off Automatic Updates seems simple enough. In Windows XP, you go to the Control Panel, then System, then the Automatic Updates tab and click on the radio button to turn … Read more

After my July 26 post about the inexpensive Linux-based PC called Zonbu, I was contacted by a public-relations agent working for the company.

He put me in touch with Zonbu CEO Gregoire Gentil, and I met with Gentil on August 22, prompting another blog post on the topic of flash drives.

Last week, I received the loaner system Gentil promised me, and I've been using it since. (It's small enough to be shipped in a standard U.S. Priority Mail box.)

On Wednesday, I read an article by Walt Mossberg of The Wall Street Journal. The piece's title conveys the subject as well as Mossberg's… Read more

Microsoft has crossed the line. They have been disliked by many techies, for arrogance, incompetence and more. But, this wasn't a universal opinion and reasonable people could have disagreed. Now however, the question of Microsoft's corporate character has left the realm of opinion and landed firmly in fact.

They are bad guys.

If there was any doubt, the final straw came today, in the September 13 edition of the Windows Secrets newsletter where the lead article by Scott Dunn (Microsoft updates Windows without users' consent) ended the debate.

According to Scott, "Microsoft has begun patching files on … Read more

Up until this afternoon I had never heard of the expression "hypervideo," although I was quite familiar with the concept having used it in video services like Viddler, and enhanced podcasts in Windows Media Player. The idea is simple--take hyperlinks and textual information, and add it to various times or positions on a video. The result is that your viewers can have added contextual information about whatever they're watching, at the moment it happens.

The hard part is the execution, and making things user-friendly. A service called Asterpix has taken a stab at it with a hypervideo … Read more

Microsoft sought today to downplay the recent, but unpublicized, automatic update of system files on Windows XP and Vista machines as "normal behavior." ZDNet blogger Adrian Kingsley-Hughes has been writing the last two days about a "stealth" update that occurred on his and other machines in late August, even though those machines are set to not install automatic updates. "I just don't like the idea of having updates foisted upon systems without being aware that they are coming in and having the option to postpone them," he wrote.

A Microsoft spokesperson said, "… Read more

If you want instant messaging without an extra app, there's always Meebo. For those missing out on the desktop experience, however, there's a new solution called AirTalkr that does multiclient IM sans a full installation using Adobe's Integrated Runtime (AIR). The service works with five of the major clients, along with several Web services including YouTube, Flickr, along with Twitter and MySpace. In addition to its AIR namesake, there's also a Web version that has identical functionality sans the install, if you're willing to relegate yourself to the Windows Vista-style virtual desktop it creates in your browser.

The app breaks up IM, photos and videos into three different tabs. The IM is multitabbed and supports something called AirCards, which pull up your buddy's MySpace and Friendster profile, along with Flickr shots, Twitter updates, blog, and profile on LinkedIn from their e-mail address. If it can't find it, there are links to ask your buddy (which will start a conversation) or add it yourself using another e-mail address or a URL.

The photos tab links up with Flickr, and if you're a Flickr user you can authorize your the app to browse your photos, which can be opened up and viewed on your desktop. The Video feature is a little more basic, with four pages full of popular and featured videos from YouTube that play in a small window, along with a search tool. The video player is small and cannot be resized, which is where the illusion of a real app begins to break down.

All in all, Air Talkr is off to a good start, although it's in a very competitive field. Competitors like Meebo have things like buddy list pop-out, file transfer, and public rooms. AIR is also a bit young, and still very much in beta. Keep an eye on this one, though, the AirCard concept is a second layer of convergence on top of multiclients that might make this one stand out.

To see a video of Air Talkr in action, click the read more link below. On a related note, if you're a developer working on a hands-on video with your service, Kelly Clarkson is not the way to go.

[via Mashable] … Read more

Longtime rivals and occasional collaborators Sun Microsystems and Microsoft announced on Wednesday that Sun will ship 64-bit servers with Microsoft's Windows Server 2003 operating system.

Within 90 days, Sun will offer Windows Server 2003 on its entire line of Sun x64 systems, the companies said in a release. Sun already certifies that Windows Servers will run on its hardware, but this agreement will allow Sun to preinstall the software and offer support to customers.

The two companies also committed to expanding their technical collaboration--first announced in 2004 but one which had not lived up to the initial hoopla… Read more