Operating Systems

Microsoft will never come right out and say it, but its actions speak louder than words: Vista is dead.

There's growing evidence that Microsoft may have in essence given up on Windows Vista, and plans to extend the life of Windows XP so people can continue to buy XP until Windows 7 is ready, or very close to that date.

Steve Ballmer wants you to root for the little guy and underdog: Microsoft. In an interview with the BBC, he likened Microsoft to David up against Google as Goliath. There's one problem here: Microsoft's aim with a sling is off-target.

Intel fixes the Linux Ethernet bug and promises help users, who had their Ethernet zapped, restore their smoked hardware.

Microsoft has announced it's developing a new operating system for Internet-based applications, which it's calling the Windows Cloud at the moment. That's a big step forward for Microsoft, but there's some evidence that it may only get the new operating system half-right. I've got details in my blog.

I thought the urban myth that Linux is written by unwashed, unemployed hackers living in their parents' basements was long dead. It turns out its still alive, so let me shove it back into its grave once more.

This is really easy folks. You can pay Microsoft and other proprietary companies for your software, or you can go open source.

Microsoft has begun lobbying for Congress to pass the bailout bill that was just shot down, warning that it's vital to make sure that jobs aren't lost, and the economy doesn't slide further into a deep recession. Like it or not, the company is right.

Yes, sometimes, bad things can happen in Linux too. Here's the latest major bug. It exists only in test Linux distributions using the 2.6.27 pre-release kernels.

Microsoft is suing so-called "scareware" publishers who bombard people with phony warning messages as a way to get them to buy useless software, but it's ignoring just as big a problem --- the tons of "crapware" that comes pre-installed on PCs these days. It's time for Microsoft to finally tackle the problem.

According to Greg Kroah-Hartman, Linux kernel developer, it sure isn't Canonical and Ubuntu. But is that really fair?

I really hate the expression "both and". I was in a meeting once and asked, so what do you think is better for your company, Option A or Option B? And someone piped up and said, "both and" in a smug tone - I nearly jumped across the table. See, the question was about picking one or the other. There is rarely a "both and" answer, especially in technology, at least not in the real world of technology.

If you use desktop Linux chances are you've used Ubuntu, Red Hat/Fedora or SUSE Linux/openSUSE, but there are others that are worthy of your attention.

Microsoft's decision to strip Windows Mail, Windows Photo Gallery, and Windows Movie Maker from Windows 7 may seem an odd move at first. But its purpose is clear: Get people to download the Windows Live equivalent applications, and in that way combat Google.

How d'you do? In Thursday's IT Blogwatch, we look forward to Windows 7's coming-out parties -- at Microsoft's twin shindigs: the Professional Developers and Windows Hardware Engineering conferences. Not to mention 21 cool USB devices...

We see Gregg Keizer shiver with anticipation: