Technologizer

The Myth of Platform-Independent Applications

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

At Microsoft’s Professional Developer Conference in Los Angeles this morning, Seesmic announced that its Seesmic Desktop, a popular tool among Twitter power users, is coming to Windows. Finally! Um, hasn’t Seemsic run on Windows all along? Well, yes, but that’s because it’ s written in Adobe AIR, an application platform that lets programmers write Flash applications [...]

Will Google Docs Replace Word? Perhaps, but Not Today.

Friday, November 13, 2009

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Google is predicting that its online office suite, Google Docs, will soon give people the option to “get rid of” Microsoft Office. With Google Docs in a less than robust state, that pronouncement sounds more like vendor bravado than prophecy. Google’s entire premise is based on vaporware: It is promising to update Google Docs within the [...]

5Words: Bring Back Windows Vista UAC!

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

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Windows 7 UAC: insufficiently annoying? Verizon hikes early termination fees. Gizmodo gets more Courier details. iPhone apps hit 100K mark. Can’t sell Beatles without permission. More antitrust trouble for Intel. More on Droid pinching, zooming. Tethering coming for Verizon Droid. Second Life launches business version. More Nvidia x86 CPU rumors. What’s up with the CrunchPad? ________________________ Like 5Words? Subscribe via RSS.

Malware Inc.: The Criminals Behind the Attacks

Monday, November 2, 2009

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Malware makers–the criminals responsible for viruses and worms –have become increasingly organized and sophisticated, according to a Microsoft security report that was released today. Gamers, the gullible, USB drive users, and people who don’t patch their PCs are their biggest targets. Cybercriminals are organized like corporations, and follow regular software release cycles, said Jeff Williams, [...]

Project Switchback: Moving from a Mac to Windows 7

Monday, November 2, 2009

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Back in 2004, I was shopping for a new laptop at CompUSA. I took a wrong turn into the store’s tiny Apple section and had an epiphany: Why not buy a Mac? (I’d been a Mac user in the 1980s, and still used them on the job to do page layouts, but every computer I’d [...]

Windows 7 PCs: Slow Going

Thursday, October 29, 2009

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Yesterday, I wrote about the fact that Microsoft is now stripping crudware off Windows 7 PCs and selling them with its own lower-impact software suite. Here’s evidence of why that makes sense: British computer magazine PC Pro has published “The Crapware Con,” an ambitious report on the third-party software that PC manufacturers pile on top [...]

Microsoft Sells Crud-Free PCs

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

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Whenever anybody asks me for my take on Windows 7, I share my largely positive reaction, but am careful to insert a note of necessary gloom: If PC manufacturers lard up Windows 7 machines with adware, demoware, and various other forms of unwantedware, they’re going to ruin a good thing. Turns out Microsoft apparently has the [...]

No Netflix for Xbox Live-Averse

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

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The Playstation 3’s upcoming support for Netflix isn’t enough to shake Microsoft, which will still require an Xbox Live Gold subscription to stream Netflix movies through the console. IGN confirmed that Microsoft won’t offer Netflix streaming to users of the free Xbox Live Silver service, a bare-bones offering that doesn’t include online play, among other features. [...]

MySpace Looks Past Social Networking

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

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MySpace has been especially busy it seems in recent weeks to recast itself as an entertainment destination as it cedes the social networking space to Facebook. In fact, the two sides are talking about ways they could work together, according to comments made to the Telegraph newspaper. Facebook is apparently interested in MySpace’s content, which they [...]

Is Windows Overpriced?

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

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Robert X. Cringely–the one who doesn’t write for InfoWorld anymore, not the one who still does–has a post up called “Why Windows 7 Costs So Much.” The piece is not without its obvious flaws–most notably, he keeps saying Apple’s Snow Leopard is $49, when it’s really $29–but it proposes an interesting theory: that Microsoft intentionally [...]

5Words: Windows 7 is Widely Beloved

Monday, October 26, 2009

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27 reviews of Windows 7. Windows 7 upgrade questions answered. Pixi: $100, Sprint, November 15th. Storm 2: Verizon, October 28th. Apple tablet: SIM tray leak!!! Netflix comes to the PS3. Two guys dressed as iPhones. eBooks: sparking interest in libraries. TomTom iPhone kit finally available. This watch is a BlackBerry.. White House goes open source. Yahoo Mail is being temperamental. ________________________ Like 5Words? Subscribe via RSS.

For Gamers, the Microsoft Store’s a Rip (and a Mend)

Friday, October 23, 2009

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The Microsoft Store stole plenty of ideas from Apple, but you definitely won’t find services for gamers in the Apple Store. Destructoid’s Conrad Zimmerman was close by for the Microsoft Store’s grand opening yesterday, and he scoped out a few features for Xbox 360 and Games for Windows customers. The neatest thing he found was on-demand printing [...]

Microsoft Revenues Fall, but Beat the Street

Friday, October 23, 2009

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Microsoft managed to beat the street by clamping down on costs, but its first quarter earnings still fell 18 percent from this time last year. Office and Windows licensing sales declined, and Microsoft’s Entertainment and Devices division’s revenues fell flat. The company’s financial reports, released today, showed revenue of $12.92 billion with a net income of [...]

5Words: Microsoft goes into PC Business

Thursday, October 22, 2009

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Microsoft becomes a PC reseller. Dell’s Adamo seen in public. Microsoft Store looks awfully familiar. Boot Camp’s Windows 7 support. Let’s dismantle a Magic Mouse. Nokia sues Apple over iPhone. Best Buy getting Droid momentarily? Why Google Social Search matters. The tiniest terabyte ever seen. ________________________ Like 5Words? Subscribe via RSS.

Blu-ray as an Xbox 360 Accessory, Says Ballmer. Wait, What?

Thursday, October 22, 2009

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Is Microsoft planning a standalone Blu-ray player to go with the Xbox 360? It would appear that way from a quote Gizmodo dug out from its interview with Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer. Asked whether Microsoft will add a Blu-ray player to the Xbox 360, Ballmer said “Well I don’t know if we need to put [...]

Windows 7 Ads With Grownups in Them

Thursday, October 22, 2009

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Maybe Kylie won’t be doing all the heavy lifting of marketing Windows 7 after all. With Windows 7’s official rollout, Microsoft has segued into a new twist on its “I’m a PC” tagline: “I’m a PC, and Windows 7 was my idea.” As Microsoft ads go, I like this one–it’s less patronizing than most. On [...]