Software and Services - Opinions

Mac OS X elbowing its way into business

According to Net Applications research data, Mac OS X market share is inching its way to 10% of all computing platforms, currently at 9.93%. The Net Applications data comes by tracking the OS through web browser activity, so it's not a direct measure...

Microsoft layoffs: Netbooks sales are killing us

Overlooked in the Microsoft announcement about its layoffs of 5,000 people over the next 18 months is this startling revelation: The company's revenue decline is due, in large part, to the growth in the sales of netbooks.

Which is best for netbooks: Windows 7 or Linux?

Microsoft is clearly positioning Windows 7 as Linux-killer for netbooks. Can it succeed? I've spent considerable time with both Windows 7 and Linux, and here are my conclusions about which operating system is better for netbooks.

Windows 7: The Linux killer

Microsoft has long been worried about Linux competition in the server market. When it came to ordinary PCs and laptops, however, it knew it had little to fear.

Open source is dying -- or maybe it isn't

Put three geeks in a room and it won't take long to start an argument. Well, analyst Dennis Byron, veteran open source exec Stuart Cohen, and ex-Microsoft developer Keith Curtis weren't exactly in the same room, but all three have provocative opinion...

The debate resumes over Mac security

The Mac community this week has been debating an updated Knowledge Base article on Apple's Web site that raised questions about the company's stance on security. The recent update, which was pulled down on Tuesday, originally recommended that users i...

Enough snap judgements about Windows 7

Much like the political advertisements that have finally stopped invading our homes, the constant argument over whether Vista is good or bad is over. Is that because a final determination has been reached? Hardly. It’s because the Microsoft lovers ha...

Vista is alive and kicking

Microsoft has kindly extended its XP "downgrade" program for OEMs by another six months. Rather than appreciating the extension, some people have chosen to mock Microsoft and call for the curtain to close on Windows Vista once and for all.

Can your business run completely online?

The world's richest and most powerful 10-year-old says it can handle far more of your technology needs than you think. Google started almost exactly 10 years ago, and it is making big noise about invigorated Apps and some Googlers called to tell me a...

Building Google Chrome: A first look

Last week I said I would look at Google Chrome "from a developer's perspective." I should have specified what kind. I meant I was considering it from a Web developer's perspective: What does it mean for Web application builders to have yet another br...

Life at 10 years AG (after Google)

There were many ways to search the Internet before Google came along, but none of them turned into a verb. These days, a big deal is being made of Google's turning 10 by a lot of the media. Most of the coverage has had a bit of an edge to it, as if p...

Is Jerry Seinfeld the master of Vista's domain?

Abbott and Costello, Burns and Allen, Siegfried and Roy, Gates and Seinfeld. Years from now, they will be remembered as the some of the great comic duos of all time.

Really free Linux takes hold

It's hardly news these days when RHEL or Suse Linux boots Windows or Unix off a server. And we know that commercial software vendors are paying plenty of attention to commercial open source.

Vista: IT loves it, hates it

Last week I suggested that the IT world, particularly when it comes to marketing, is crazy, and I cited as evidence Microsoft's recently announced US$10 million plan to use comedian Jerry Seinfeld to hawk Vista.

Seinfeld and Microsoft: more proof that IT is crazy

The IT world has a certain level of craziness that is remarkable, and nowhere does it show up more than in how various companies market their products. I have all sorts of examples to illustrate this, but given that I have limited space I'm going to ...