Windows Most Recent Posts

Mozilla is criticizing Microsoft because of the API restrictions it's imposed in Windows RT. Windows 8 on ARM won't allow Firefox and other non-IE browsers to run on the desktop. In IT Blogwatch, bloggers wonder if this is an anti-trust violation, or perhaps it's OK, because 'Windows RT' isn't actually 'Windows'? Not to mention: Incredibox...

When ARM tablets running Windows 8 ship, Chrome, Firefox, and other browsers will be at a disadvantage, because Internet Explorer will be the only browser allowed to take advantage of certain features of the operating system. Mozilla and Google are crying "foul." Do the restrictions really matter?

A security researcher has found a potentially massive security hole in Windows 8 that would expose someone's contacts and other information from social networking services and email including Gmail, Facebook, Hotmail, LinkedIn, and Twitter, among others. It sounds serious, but there may be less to the security hole than meets the eye.

Even though Microsoft has promised that Windows Media Center will be included in Windows 8, and was included it in the Consumer Preview, the company now says the multimedia app won't ship with Windows 8. Instead, if you want it, you'll have to pay extra for it.

Apple's Tim Cook took time out from Apple's earnings call to give a sideways slam to Windows 8, saying that Microsoft's attempt to get it to work on PCs and tablets was like trying to mate a refrigerator with a toaster.

Five-year Microsoft veteran Max Zachariades who blogs under the name Max Zografos just posted a scorched-earth account about his time at Microsoft in which he lambasts the company as a red-tape-ridden bureaucracy that punishes creativity and rewards mediocrity. It's not clear, though, whether the post is an accurate description of working conditions at Microsoft, or an attempt by a fired employee to settle scores.

A jump in Windows sales reported by Microsoft yesterday shows that reports of the death of PCs and Windows are premature. Microsoft reported an increase in sales in the Windows and Window Live division, marking a turnaround from flat or decreasing Windows sales in past quarters.

The brouhaha over whether Windows Phone 7 devices will be upgradable to Windows 8 Apollo seems to be over: The Microsoft evangelist who said they would be upgradable now says that he misspoke. In the immortal words of Emily Litella: Never mind!

[Update: How should we choose between Windows 8 and Windows RT?] Oh dear. Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) has announced the names and product editions for Windows 8, the backlash is palpable -- especially over the choice of name for the ARM edition: "Windows RT." In IT Blogwatch, bloggers complain and moan.

Every once in a while a tech rumor pops up that sounds so bizarre you expect it to be an April Fool's joke. Here's the latest: Microsoft will swap Bing to Facebook for shares when Facebook goes public. The rumor is wrong in every way.

A major key to Firefox regaining significant market share is developing a Windows 8 Metro version of the browser, says a high-level Mozilla engineer working on the project. And it's clear that this is more than talk, because Mozilla already has has a working prototype.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) is touting the advances it's made to ensure touchscreen compatibility with older hardware running Windows 8. Yes, touchscreens made for Windows 7 will work, but maybe with limitations. In IT Blogwatch, bloggers thank their lucky charms. Not to mention: Cobwebs...

One of the many areas where Google is far ahead of Microsoft is mapping, with Google Maps by far the dominant map service on the Internet. Microsoft is employing an under-the-radar approach to fighting back, lending big support and big dollars to the open source map project OpenStreetMap. It looks as if the tactic is starting to pay off.

One thing you'll like about Windows 8: Even though it's only in its preview form, it's already faster than Windows 7. And as development proceeds, it should only get even faster.

Microsoft has attacked StatCounter, the firm that said Chrome topped Internet Explorer last weekend, saying that its data and assumptions were flat-out wrong. Now StatCounter is fighting back. In comments to my blog post about the issue, StatCounter says that Microsoft is the one with the wrong data and assumptions.