Hardware

"Somebody messes with me, I'm gonna mess with him," says Robert De Niro, playing gangster Al Capone in one of my favorite movies, The Untouchables. That line popped into my head while reading Mike Manos' vigorous, occasionally-mulish rebuttal to my article last week with, admittedly, the rather provocative title, '6 reasons why Microsoft's container-based approach to data centers won't work' (and, yes, the even more goading kicker, 'Are you listening, Microsoft?')

A marketing war over energy isn't a bad thing.

Houston area overrun by ants -- no, not atomic mutants. Sorry. Maybe even worse. At least you could kill Them with a flame thrower.

KOS, GREECE -- Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates showed off a Microsoft Research project at his annual CEO Summit today called TouchWall.

When I recently explained one of the many reasons why I prefer desktop Linux to Windows, even over my favorite desktop Windows, XP SP3, I got a lot of people telling me I was full of hooey because I barely even mentioned Mac OS X.

Good enough, here's my take on Apple's Mac OS X.

Both Google and Apple appear to be rolling out new solid state disks in two different environments: the data center and retail products, according to industry sources.

This IT pilot fish works for a small retail chain where all six company servers are on one UPS that can run everything for 20 minutes. Then one day there’s a zap and sizzle -- and the lights go out.

It's IT Blogwatch: in which Research In Motion unveils its sexy new device -- the BlackBerry Bold (née 9000). Not to mention How to advertise an unpronounceable, orange, Scottish soda to women...

Yardena Arar reports:

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.

What can I say? For me, XP SP3 was the cat's meow, the best Windows client operating system ever. But, for other people 'upgrading' to XP SP 3 is like being fed to a roaring lion.

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, ...

Paying your restaurant tab gets a little easier. And you might even get to prowl online while eating.

I am, shall we say, more than a little cynical, even by my standards, when it comes to wireless networking. For example, I really, really have doubts about the wisdom of moving up to 802.11n. That said, I think the monster Mobile WiMax deal, which was announced today, may actually go places.

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.

Another PCI compliance deadline looms. Is your Web app ready for it?