Stories by Harry McCracken

Microsoft Windows 7

What if a new version of Windows didn't try to dazzle you?

Netgear Stora: your terabyte for the web

It’s been a busy few days for the whole idea of networked hard drives that provide direct Internet connections so you can get to them from everywhere. Last week, Seagate introduced DockStar, a $99 add-on for its FreeAgent Go drives that provides brow...

Backup goes peer-to-peer

I’m still in the audience at the DEMOFall conference, and still taking in demonstrations of new products and services. One of the cooler ideas this morning is Symform, a small-business remote-backup service. Technically, it’s utterly unlike services ...

Windows 7: 10 things that still need fixing

Flawless? Windows 7? Of course not. Think of these ten areas as constituting a working to-do list for Windows 8.

Should you give up XP for Windows 7?

Windows XP retained many loyal users during the dark ages of Vista, but the emergence of Windows 7 may signal the end of an era.

Windows 7: 10 Best Features

Microsoft's new operating system improves on Windows Vista in many ways. Here are the ten things we like best about Windows 7.

Windows 7 Review

What if a new version of Windows didn't try to dazzle you? What if, instead, it tried to disappear except when you needed it? Such an operating system would dispense with glitzy effects in favor of low-key, useful new features. Rather than pelting yo...

Seagate's DockStar connects your hard drives

A few months ago I reviewed Pogoplug, a gizmo that lets you connect USB drives directly to the Internet for access from anywhere. I said the best thing about it was the slick, simple service that let you get to your files from any browser. Seagate se...

Nuance PDF Converter Enterprise 6.0

Nuance PDF Converter Enterprise 6.0 takes on Adobe Acrobat 9.0 Pro (Acrobat comes from the originator of the PDF format) - and does so with a strategy that is both obvious and ambitious.

Windows 7: the good, the bad, and the unknown

For most people who are considering moving to Windows 7, October 22 is D-Day. On that date Microsoft's newest operating system lands on store shelves, both as a shrinkwrapped upgrade and preinstalled on new PCs. For some folks, though, D-Day has alre...

Smartphone OS smackdown: WebOS vs. the world

Does the world need another smartphone operating system? Apple's iPhone OS is still booming; Google's Android is increasingly promising; and three longtime contenders--Microsoft's Windows Mobile, RIM's BlackBerry OS, and Symbian's S60--are undergoing...

Eight reasons your next computer should be a PC

Let's just say it: For the vast majority of computer shoppers, buying a Windows PC doesn't quite qualify as a decision. Around nine out of ten computers run one version of Windows or another, making it the world's default option in operating systems....

25 computer products that refuse to die

Old computer products, like old soldiers, never die. They stay on the market--even though they haven't been updated in eons. Or their names get slapped on new products that are available only outside the U.S. Or obsessive fans refuse to accept that t...

The 10 worst Microsoft product names of all time

If Microsoft had invented the iPod, it would have been called the Microsoft I-pod Pro 2005 Human Ear Professional Edition. The <cult-hit video that makes that assertion may have been a joke, but it rings true. And when word emerged that the video was...

Corel Painter 11

A worthwhile upgrade overall--and a must if you have a Wacom Intuous or Cintiq tablet and use its virtual pencils, chalk, pastels, and other nonpaint tools to do sketching.