Desktop Applications

I'm a long-time Outlook user, and I've tried more add-ins than I care to count. I just started using a free one called Xobni, and I'm here to report it's the best add-in I've ever tried. This is one of the few that actually delivers, and does it in a big way. I've got details in my blog.

Dear me. Just because I recently talked about Windows XP SP3's virtues and vices, some people seem to think I've turned away from my beloved Linux systems. Nope, I'm still a rock-solid Linux desktop user.

Worried about the explosive growth of Linux on inexpensive, ultra-portable PCs like the Asus Eee PC, Microsoft has launched a campaign to offer Windows XP at steep discounts to makers of low-cost portables. Insider documents reveal that Microsoft is also trying to make sure those portables don't become so powerful that they cannibalize sales from higher-end Windows PCs.

Sometimes, no matter how much you try to protect your computer, you need to get down and dirty with the hardware. Sometimes it's the obvious. I never cease to be amazed at how many PC problems turn out to be loose cables or -- the shame of it all! -- an unplugged electrical cord. But, other times, ...

Oooh, it's IT Blogwatch: in which OpenOffice.org 3.0 breaks cover, to delight and frustrate in equal measure. Not to mention two new entries for the Uxbridge English Dictionary...

Peter Cohen reports:

Apple may be the darling of the hipper-than-thou crowd, but when it comes to climate change, it has one of the worse environmental records of any tech company, according to a new survey. Microsoft beats it by a considerable margin, and IBM is best of all the techs. I have all the results in my blog.

First, it was Microsoft Corp. failing to close a year-old loophole that allows Windows Vista upgraders to install the $140-cheaper upgrade version even if they don't own a full (not OEM) copy of Windows XP.

Analyzing data from online and your network may be a little easier because of a new browser. Yes, a browser.

It's IT Blogwatch: in which we ponder the fate of Jerry Yang's career -- will he be first against the wall when the shareholders revolt? Or are negotiations between Yahoo! and Microsoft still going on in secret? Not to mention ten drool-worthy luxury workstations...

Elizabeth Montalbano reports:

The first legal home PCs just went up for sale in Cuba, and it should be no surprise that they're Windows XP-based, not Macs. Macs or Mac-alikes would be far too pricy for cash-starved Cubans, who pay just under $800 for the machines. No Vista, either: The hardware required to run it costs too much money.

It's IT Blogwatch: in which Sun finally releases OpenSolaris, but with a surprising, cloud-computing twist, courtesy of Amazon EC2. Not to mention a joke for Photoshop users...

Heather Harreld Havenstein has, err, this: [Good grief -Ed.]

It's IT Blogwatch: in which we examine the fallout from Microsoft giving up on its bid to buy Yahoo! Does this mean Ballmer must go? Will it drive Yahoo into the arms of Google? What will Microsoft do with its bulging war chest? Not to mention the perils of the company picnic...

In case you've been living under a rock, Juan Carlos Perez reports:

In the business textbooks of 2025, Microsoft's slow collapse will be attributed to many things. The failure of Windows Vista to hold the desktop market; Microsoft's inability to successfully move from a PC product based company to an Internet service based enterprise; and Ballmer's inability to pull off the Yahoo buyout.

Here's the text of Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer's letter to Yahoo! CEO Jerry Yang, sent to me by Microsoft's PR about 5 pm Pacific Time on Saturday. Microsoft raised its original $31/share bid to $33/share, but Yahoo insisted on $37/share, ...

201 created IT Blogwatch: in which we help Sir Tim Berners-Lee celebrate the 15th birthday of the Web; and discover that -- like the Queen -- it has more than one per year. Not to mention explaining Hollywood...