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It’s nearly back to school time: here’s info on buying a new PC

IMGP1554-smAs I posted on Twitter today, Joel Santo Domingo over at PC Magazine has published a new article, How to Buy a Back-to-School PC. He covers what you should consider when shopping for a new PC for back to school or for you home.

It’s helpful and timely information given the article I recently read from Jonathan Starkey on How to clamp down on spending for college, given how expensive tuition and housing are these days. Starkey said that "It all can add up quickly, but there are ways to stretch a family’s college budget."

This reminds me of my prior post, "What kind of a computer should I buy?" from late last year, with suggestions from Tony Hoffman of PC Magazine:

As per my previous Tweet, I recently updated my answer to a popular question around this time of year: "What kind of a computer should I buy?"  I noted that there is something for everyone, at all price points.  It seems that new PCs are high on many people’s holiday shopping lists, and the price:performance is better than ever before.

This week, Tony Hoffman from PC Magazine has posted a timely article on How to Buy a Bargain Laptop.

"Everyone likes a good bargain—the trick is distinguishing what’s truly a worthwhile deal from something you may regret after you’ve used it a while. We define bargain laptops as ones costing $1,000 or less, though you can find great deals at any price. These days, with retailers going the extra mile in an attempt to boost flagging sales, laptops that might otherwise be out of reach for the frugal shopper have been descending into the affordable zone. Here we’ll look at what you should be able to get for $1,000 or less."

As I noted, you can get a great computer these days for far less than $1,000 depending upon your use.  As I said in my previous post…

"For under $500 at one of the big box office stores (on sale or after rebates), you can find a name-brand notebook with a 15.4-inch screen with (as I concur with many of my associates) a decent 1280×800 resolution, Intel Pentium Dual Core T3200, 120GB HDD, 2GB of memory, six cell battery, Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100, 802.11b/g wireless and a CD/DVD Burner running Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic (splurge and get Windows Vista Home Premium for a few dollars). 

"For many general computer applications (surfing the ‘net, writing term papers, listening to music and watching DVDs, streaming video from Netflix) this would fit the bill. And more.

"This tops the 1.73GHz Dual-Core processor (T2080), half GB of memory, an 80GB drive and a double layer DVD Burner with Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic I noted last year for the same amount."  (Dec 17, 2008)

Today you can get a very good computer under $500 that includes just about twice as much computer as you  were able to get less than a year ago. I found one name brand OEM model with an Intel T4200 (2.0 GHz, 1MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB), 2GB of Memory, 160GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive, 14.1" WXGA 1280 x 800 LCD screen, SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-RW optical drive, Wireless-G Networking, on-board camera… 

Even consider the current crop of excellent mini laptops, like the HP Mini 110 XP Edition or crop of new mini notebooks that will arrive with Windows 7 (that’s what I’m waiting for after my positive experience with the Dell Mini, HP 2133 and 2140).

"For under $1,000, you can get a very nice 15" laptop with Core 2 Duo, 4GB, 320GB & DVD Burner (after current discounts).  Or even better if you’re looking for a desktop replacement with a bigger screen, I found a 17" (1440 x 900 resolution) notebook with an Intel Core 2 Duo T5800, 3GB memory, 320GB SATA Hard Drive, Intel 4500MHD Graphics, 802.11g wireless, 8X Slot Load CD / Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive, 2.0M webcam, 9 cell battery, all running on Windows Vista Home Premium Edition SP1.  (Dec 17, 2008)

"Very nice when you consider a year ago the same amount got you a 17" widescreen with a Core Duo Processor (T2350), 2 GB of memory, 120GB hard drive and DVD SuperMulti drive. Ouch."

Double ouch: today that same $1K will get you a slim notebook with an Intel Core 2 Duo P7350 (3MB cache/2.0GHz/1066Mhz FSB), 4GB SDRAM, Widescreen 15.6" WLED LCD (1920×1080), 500GB Hard Drive, DVD+/-RW optical drive, 512MB discreet video card, Wireless-N, Bluetooth Module and an on-board 2.0 MP camera. Again, nearly twice the PC, and I didn’t look very hard for any big discounts, but I’m sure that you’ll see plenty as people return from vacation and the kids make their way back to class.

For just a little more (under $1,500 SRP before discounts), consider one of the slim beauties like the Dell Adamo, complete with a 1.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 2GB of memory and a 128GB solid state drive in a very sleek package.

Not to mention the incredible deals on home desktop PCs: we added a new desktop PC at home with amazing specs for just about $600 that a year ago cost more than $1,200. You can also find great deals on mainstream desktop PCs for the home for $300-400, especially inexpensive if you have an existing monitor.

Below are the editor’s choices PC Magazine’s Back-to-School PC article…

  • Apple iMac (Nvidia GeForce 9400M)  Apple moves closer to the sweet spot with the iMac (Nvidia GeForce 9400M). This new all-in-one gives you the screen real estate you crave, along with strong multimedia capabilities, and the covetable Apple design, all for a reasonable price.
  • Dell Inspiron 545  The Dell Inspiron 545 gives users something they want: a bundled system with monitor that they can open and start using right away.
  • Compaq Presario CQ5110f  One of the least expensive dual-core systems out there, the Compaq Presario CQ5110f brings the power of dual core to the sub $400 level.
  • Lenovo IdeaCentre A600  With a love-it-or-hate-it design, the Lenovo IdeaCentre A600 gives the value PC buyer an all-in-one option that’s more powerful than that cheap nettop, though power users will want more.

If you’re kids use Macs at school, consider the Apple iMac. Personally, I like the mini form factor desktop PCs from Dell, HP, Lenovo and Acer not to mention the all-in-one designs like HP’s Touchsmart on my desk at home), and laptops from Dell, HP, Sony and Lenovo – but with so many to choose from, you’ll likely find a great PC that meets your needs and price point.

More info: Upgrade or buy a new one? Suggestions from the Seattle Times

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New on the release of Windows 7 (it’s October 22), changes to Windows 7 Starter Edition, Xbox Live CDNs and more of what I’ve read

As you already know, the big news this week was the announcement of the date for general availability (GA) of Windows from the Windows 7 Team Blog, posted by: Brandon LeBlanc (Jun 02, 2009) – "This is one of those posts where I’m truly excited to be writing. I get to tell you when Windows 7 will be on store shelves! According to input from customers and partners we’ve made a lot of progress with Windows 7. Our milestone-to-milestone approach for Windows 7 is built on a great deal of feedback from customers and testers. This has been pivotal to the development of Windows 7. I blogged a few weeks ago that it’s looking like we’ll have Windows 7 ready in time for the holidays."

Also of interest is this article on Why Microsoft Built Its Own content delivery network (aka CDN), as Rich Miller covers the announcement that Microsoft "will begin providing on-demand access to the full versions of retail video games. That means titles like BioShock (6 Ggigabytes) and Mass Effect (7 GB) can be downloaded through the Xbox Live online gaming service, which has more than 17 million members. The growth of these type of bandwidth-draining services has been a major driver in Microsoft’s decision to build its own content delivery network."

Let’s talk about Windows 7 Starter – Windows 7 Team Blog – The Windows Blog – "There has been a lot of talk recently about Windows 7 Starter, so I thought I’d dive a little deeper into what it means to have this edition of Windows 7 running on a small notebook PC (a.k.a. a netbook). Today, the Starter edition of Windows is designed for entry level PCs and available only in certain regions. We first introduced a “Starter edition” with Windows XP, and did again with Windows Vista. Starter comes with limitations, such as being able to run only 3 concurrent applications on a PC at a time (this excludes background processes such as anti-virus applications, wireless and Bluetooth, and system tools like Explorer and Control Panel)."

Microsoft reverses Windows 7 Starter limit – Tech and gadgets- msnbc.com updated 9:42 a.m. PT, Sat., May 30, 2009 SEATTLE – "Microsoft said on Friday it would not limit the number of applications available at one time on the Starter edition of its upcoming Windows 7 operating system, reversing its earlier strategy of limiting its capabilities and urging users to upgrade. The move is a significant reversal for Microsoft as it looks to keep a hold on the fast-growing market for small, cheap personal computers — known as netbooks — which are the principal market for the most basic version of Microsoft’s new operating system, expected to roll out later this year. (Msnbc.com is a Microsoft-NBC Universal joint venture.) The world’s largest software company had originally planned that users could run only three programs at one time using Starter. The new plan would not limit the number of applications that could be used."

We have the Kodak EasyShare W1020 10-Inch Wireless Digital Frame, and PC World posted this review. "The wood-framed, glass-fronted Kodak EasyShare W1020 is easy to use, with or without Kodak’s proprietary software." Kathleen Cullen, PC World, June 4, 2009

SanDisk CEO concedes: "You can’t out-iPod the iPod" – "It’s a truth that many open-minded observers have known for awhile now: Apple rules the roost in the portable media player market, and everyone else is just trying to keep up. Sorry, but it’s true. So true, in fact, that SanDisk’s own CEO has finally come forward to admit it, recently stating in a Fortune interview that "you can’t out-iPod the iPod." And believe us, such a statement probably wasn’t easy for Mr. Eli Harari to make. Remember, this is the same fellow that spent boatloads of dough on an "iDon’t" anti-iPod campaign back in 2006. ‘Course, SanDisk is still a (very distant) second place in the sector, and its flash memory is used in all manners of PMP devices. Still, it’s a huge relief to finally hear the mastermind behind slotMusic confess that he doesn’t actually believe such gimmicks will put it on a fast track to first place. Then again, crazier things have happened."

Building Community One Brick At A Time : Are Your PCs Ready for Windows 7? – "When planning for migration to Windows 7, specific knowledge about each computer on the network and its readiness for migration is essential. Manually conducting a detailed network inventory is time consuming and costly; and existing assessment management tools typically require software agent installation on each machine, creating a security risk. How do you gather comprehensive knowledge about your existing IT environment quickly and cost effectively? The Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) Toolkit 4.0 Beta gathers essential infrastructure information to answer the question “are your PCs ready for Windows 7?” This tool also assists you with Windows Server 2008 R2 readiness assessment."

DHS names key cybersecurity staff By Jaikumar Vijayan June 2, 2009 05:05 PM ET Computerworld – "U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano tapped Philip Reitinger as director of the National Cybersecurity Center (NCSC), replacing Rod Beckstrom, who quit the post earlier this year citing turf battles with other agencies. Reitinger will be responsible for collecting, analyzing, integrating and sharing cybersecurity information among federal agencies, the DHS said in a statement Monday. Reitinger, a former Microsoft Corp. cybersecurity executive, will also continue in his current role as deputy undersecretary of the DHS…"

Federal CTO Aneesh Chopra’s Priorities in Cheeky Fresh (June 2, 2009) – This morning at the IAC/ACT Management of Change Conference in Norfolk, VA the newly confirmed Federal Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Aneesh Chopra outlined his priorities. Based on personal notes taken during the talk, here they are. What do you think of them?

Google’s Android to Run Laptops, Taking On Microsoft (Update2) – Bloomberg.com By Tim Culpan, June 2 (Bloomberg) — "Google Inc.’s free mobile-phone operating system will begin running computers next quarter, entering a market dominated by Microsoft Corp.’s Windows and deepening the rivalry between the two companies. Acer Inc., the world’s second-largest laptop maker, will release a low-cost notebook featuring Android in the third quarter, Jim Wong, head of information-technology products at the Taipei-based company, said today. Asustek Computer Inc., pioneer of the sub-$500 laptops known as netbooks, also developed a model that runs on Google’s software, Chairman Jonney Shih said."

Asustek puts Android netbook on ice | Mobilize – InfoWorld By Dan Nystedt and Sumner Lemon June 2, 2009 – "A day after an Asustek Eee PC running Google’s Android operating system was shown at Computex Taipei, top executives from the company said the project will be put on the backburner for now. The Eee PC with Android is not ready yet because the technology is "not mature," said Jonathan Tsang, vice chairman of Asustek, on the sidelines of a press conference at the show Tuesday. "For the time being this project is not a priority because our engineering resources are limited," he added.

Windows on Small Notebook PCs: The Momentum Continues in the US and the UK – Windows Experience Blog – The Windows Blog Posted by: Brandon LeBlanc Jun 01, 2009 — "On the eve of the Computex, the largest computer exhibition in Asia and the second largest in the world, we got word that PC World, the largest electronics retailer in the UK, is de-assorting (i.e., getting rid of) all of the Linux small notebook PCs in their stores and going all-Windows. It’s pretty big news from across the pond that they’re making this move, but what’s even more important is the “why” behind the decision. In April I wrote about why Windows market share on small notebook PCs has jumped from under 10% in February 2008 to 96% a year later (that number has increased since then…more on that below), and PC World agrees with our thinking. You can read the entire PC World press release, but to save you some time, I’ve pulled out the key points: http://bit.ly/e07Uh

HEXUS.net – News :: Shuttle’s X50 all-in-one flaunts Microsoft’s Windows 7 at Computex Taiwan news: "There’s all sorts of tech on show at this year’s COMPUTEX, but two items are clearly prevalent – Microsoft’s Windows 7 operating system and touchscreen all-in-one PCs. If 2008 was the year of the netbook, 2009, it seems, is shaping up to be the year of the touch-enabled nettop. Although Taiwan’s annual trade show doesn’t officially kick off until tomorrow, we’ve been browsing what’s on display and there’s a huge number of touchscreen all-in-ones from many of the industry’s big names." Shuttle’s X50 award winning all-in-one PC demo’ed w/ Windows 7: "smooth as silk" http://bit.ly/15Nkfy 

Different Types of Sleep Disorders Triggered with Daylight savings | Tips to Stop Snoring – AirWare, Inc., maker of Brẽz premium nasal breathing aids, the first commercially available device for inside the nose that is clinically proven to reduce snoring and increase overall sleep quality for the bed partner, today released five tips to help consumers easily transition to Daylight Savings Time. The company asked Michael J. Breus, PhD, a leading sleep specialist certified in clinical sleep disorders and author of Beauty Sleep, to offer some easy to follow methods for coping with the transition to one less hour of sleep.

Lifehacker – Build a $14 Video Camera Stabilizer – Video camera – "Professional video stabilizers are prohibitively expensive. You won’t get $10,000 worth of stabilization out of a $14 DIY model, but you will get radically smoother video for a tiny fraction of the price. How does the DIY model provide smooth video? Instead of the complex arrangement of balancing mechanisms, resistance bands, and springs, the DIY stabilizer relies on a simpler system. Your arms and a counter weight at the bottom of the stabilizer work together to minimize the movement. Camera shake is radically reduced when the weight of the camera is offset by a equal or slightly heavier weight at the bottom. Sound about right for your needs? You’ll need some pipe, a disc weight, some hand tools and a power drill to put this one together. For photos and a step by step build guide, check out the PDF below. If you need to stabilize video in a car, check out how to make a dashboard stabilizer out of a sponge."

Satisfy Me : Want to know more about Bing? Live webcast on June 1, 2009 @10:00AM Pacific Daylight Time – Want to know more about Microsoft’s new Bing? Then take a look at the new Bing Interactive Product Guide, the Virtual Press kit (filled with screen shots, fact sheets and more) On Monday, you’ll have a chance to learn even more in a live, interactive webcast where you will see examples of Bing and can ask the Bing team questions.

‘IT is the central nervous system of the company’ – Hardware – Breaking Business and Technology News at silicon.com By Tim Ferguson Published: 26 May 2009 17:15 BST Show related articles CIO John N Johnson oversees an IT department of more than 5,500 staff in over 50 countries who support some 80,000 employees across the company – and all of them working for one of the biggest technology companies in the world, Intel. Johnson originally arrived at the chip giant in 1981 and joined the IT department in 1999 before becoming CIO in 2005. His team is responsible for developing enterprise applications used across all of Intel’s departments as well as running the company’s data and voice networks and datacentre operations. silicon.com caught up with Johnson to talk about the company’s big projects, the magic of wireless and Gen Y.

Windows Virtualization Team Blog – Information and announcements from Program Managers, Product Managers, Developers and Testers in the Microsoft Windows Virtualization team.

Lifehacker – Properly Erase Your Physical Media – Hard Drives By Jason Fitzpatrick, 4:00 PM on Sun Feb 15 2009, 111,000 views — "A whopping 40% of the used hard drives on eBay contain easily recoverable personal data. Use the following guide to ensure your personal data never makes it out into the wild. Kessler International, a computer forensics company from New York, conducted a study of used hard drives available on eBay. Almost half of the hundred drives they sampled, purchased in random bulk lots, contained data that was easily recovered. A shocking amount of them required no more recovery effort than plugging them in and powering up. They found personal photos, financial records, emails, personal and corporate correspondence, corporate secrets, and more…"

Tags: articles, what I read, twitter, Windows 7.

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Thinking about the next public release of Windows 7, Digital TV, End to End Trust and more of what I’ve read

A quick post with few interesting links and stories from the reading pile before I head off to my next spate of discussions:

As I posted on twitter, when I clean install the next public Windows 7 build on PC at home, I’ll use WMIC to grab a list of my apps http://bit.ly/cASw. And thinking about the Windows 7 upgrade experience from Vista, my question to users was "have you backed up your files lately?" http://bit.ly/cASw

Need DTV transition help? Zenith provides help guides for last mile of the US Digital TV Transition http://tinyurl.com/d8lnvj

Not to sound like a Microsoft ad, but I had a demo today of the new, sleek LifeCam Show from the HW team http://bit.ly/d6b7h

The folks at EverythingMS posted about this noted from The Windows Blog: Test Your Application on Windows 7 at TechEd 2009 http://tr.im/jteI

Thank to edbott for his post about his views on the real limits of Windows 7 Starter Edition? It does a lot more than you might think: http://bit.ly/yqbuF

I saw an announcement of the new MSI X-Slim 340 netbook is wicked slim, uses Intel new low power chips & has 1366 x 768 LCD Resolution! http://bit.ly/Fjn5y

Want advice on cutting your television bill? Check out his article from MSN Money http://bit.ly/3H7Lbi as we move from cable at home to ATSC

I read Microsoft’s Scott Charney’s paper "Establishing End to End Trust" noted in his RSA keynote available here http://bit.ly/18txET, as well as Microsoft materials from the RSA Conference 2009 http://bit.ly/Hjw3K

There’s been quite a bit if discussion about Comcast’s reported move to encrypt digital channels 30-99 currently clearQAM in the Seattle area. It’s rumoured that on June 14, Comcast will encrypt clearQAM cable channels 30-99 in Seattle/Bellevue area http://tinyurl.com/dtv013009

Related topics: good resource from Sascha Segan on slashing TV bills with tech http://bit.ly/oeevj – we use a Media Center PC + DTV antenna at home. I’m reminded of advice on cutting your television bill from MSN Money http://bit.ly/3H7Lbi as we move from cable at home to ATSC.  Also see Farhad Manjoo’s brief article on Why We Should Get Rid of TV on washingtonpost.com http://bit.ly/W1t1t

Perhaps this news from Microsoft EMEA spawned the interest in migrating to net TV: the Internet to overtake traditional TV by June 2010 http://bit.ly/HfslL maybe this year in our home

Q&A w/ Windows Live GM Brian Hall on simplifying the online social networking experience http://bit.ly/bVX6V

Be sure to watch the interview with Guy Kawasaki from david szetela at http://twurl.nl/l7ah82. Guy said that "This is as irritated as I get publicly"

I read eweek’s 7 Things to Prepare for Windows 7 http://bit.ly/6rFZV. My recommendation: upgrade your hard disc with details at http://tinyurl.com/d65jmc

Very cool: Forrest J Ackerman’s collection auction is coming up at the end of the month, with Blade Runner Rick Decker’s (aka Harrison Ford) iconic blaster http://bit.ly/12WkRW

I fielded several replies to folks who’ve lost their Hotmail password: I offered some advice on what to do after the jump http://tinyurl.com/cdo3ho

Interesting article from Scott Charney from Microsoft on how the Internet Needs More Trust to Grow, on CIO.com http://bit.ly/hMdvC

Thanks to Marcus for link to video demo More on using parental controls to manage kid’s time on the PC http://bit.ly/3qRlGV

I enjoyed Rob Pegoraro’s article on Cable’s Absurd Insistence on Bulk @ http://bit.ly/GqF5b and now I’m building my own bundle

I sent a note to Mary Hodder letting her know that on average, receive 560 pieces of junk mail per year (ouch) as noted in my post http://bit.ly/lw892 

My props to @olajayi for launching a new company/ service w/ new teaser site up w/ beta sign up http://tiny.cc/dSgzp Good Luck!

New blog post: Thinking about preparing for Windows 7? I’m thinking it’s time for a new hard disk. http://tinyurl.com/d65jmc

My post: Mac vs. a Windows PC, Windows 7 and Windows XP, Tiered ‘net Access & more http://tinyurl.com/dm9dxk

neil blecherman (smart guy) provided this link to a quick tutorial on various sources of clean power from the ocean http://tinyurl.com/dz6gze

Heard on NPR: discussion on Time Warner Cable’s plans to implement tiered billing for Internet access http://bit.ly/8QH1V

Several times this month, I recommended Windows Live Family Safety to friends for use w/ their kids http://tinyurl.com/win7likes2

After we completed a personal, free handwriting font for my youngest at home, I made my own. http://www.yourfonts.com/ is simple & high quality.

I read that 6.4 million lbs of CO2 reduced so far w/ Microsoft Connector shuttles doesn’t include public bus use http://bit.ly/XQVAJ

I found it interesting that 96% of netbooks run Microsoft Windows, so said NPD in InformationWeek http://bit.ly/18eeYo

Whilst I was at home with the kids for spring break, MSN kicked off Stress Awareness Month. Coincidence? I think not. http://bit.ly/15JGYQ

F.C.C. Vote Sets Precedent On Unfettered Web Usage.(Business/Financial Desk). by Saul Hansell. The New York Times 157.54390 (August 2, 2008): pC1(L). 

Comcast Expanding Superfast Broadband To More Big Cities Aims To Take The Speed Lead
New 50 mbps Wideband service far faster than most rivals, but also way pricier, by Reinhardt Krause. Investor’s Business Daily (Dec 12, 2008): pA04.

Survey indicates that more than one-third of U.S. homes now have HDTV from Broadcast Engineering (Online Exclusive) (Nov 24, 2008)

Multichannel reports that over 120 million Americans are now watching online video at least once a month, yet overall time spent watching television continues to rise, according to Nielsen. George Winslow. Multichannel News, January 4, 2009

 

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Mac vs. a Windows PC, Windows 7 rights to Windows XP, Tiered Billing for Internet Access and more of what I’ve read

A few links of interest today… a quick post as I need to get through my email. Busy week.

You’ve no doubt seen the latest Microsoft Windows commercials. Well, BusinessWeek’s Arik Hesseldahl has a bone to pick with the math in his article, Mac vs. PC: What You Don’t Get for $699 – BusinessWeek (Byte of the Apple April 15, 2009: "A 17-in. PC may cost a lot less than a 17-in. Mac. But you get less, too, including security, multimedia tools, and, some say, satisfaction."

"Now Microsoft is fighting back with its own advertising campaign. I’ve enjoyed some of its elements. The Seinfeld spots were weird. I was intrigued by some of the "I’m a PC" spots that aired last fall, depicting PC users engaged in a variety of jobs—teaching law, protecting endangered species, blogging for Barack Obama. The message: You can use a Windows PC and still do cool and interesting things. Not bad. Then came the adorable little girls: Kylie, age 4, and Alexa, age 7, e-mailing pictures of fish and stitching together pictures of a fort into one. Microsoft, it seemed, had finally found its advertising voice.

"Yes, $699 beats the $2,800 you’d pay for a Mac with a 17-in. screen. But when it comes to PCs, there’s still a great deal more to buy.

"Add it all up and it’s not hard to imagine Lauren’s $699 computer costing something closer to $1,500."

I’m sure that you’ll see plenty of analysis on his analysis and opinions in the nearly 60 pages of comments, as John Byrne Editor-in-Chief of BusinessWeek.com, noted in his Tweet: "A raging Mac vs. PC debate at BW.com today. Perspectives from readers take up 56 pages on our site for a 2-page story. http://is.gd/sJTP"

I’m reminded of Harry McCracken’s earlier post Microsoft’s New Windows Ads: They’re a Trap! Bwahahahahahahah! (April 5, 2009) in which he muses…

"Can we all agree that it’s always a bad idea to mistake advertising for rational discourse? Axe deodorant won’t cause armies of gorgeous women to throw themselves at your feet. I know of no evidence that cows who live in California are any happier than those in other states, nor that their mood impacts the quality of their milk. Cigarette companies would still be claiming that their products were good for your throat if they could get away with it. After thirty years, I’m still unclear about the benefits of being a Pepper. That’s all fine. (Okay, not the part about the cigarette ads.)

"So I haven’t taken Microsoft’s new ads with shoppers spurning Macs for HP laptops too seriously. Mostly I’ve mused about why they seem to ignore Microsoft’s own contribution to the PC and used them as a springboard for PC-Mac price comparisons of my own. (I’m happy to say that these posts have prompted dozens of comments by members of the Technologizer community cogently taking both pro-Windows and pro-Mac stances–they make for great reading.)

DailyTech – Windows 7 Customers Can Still Downgrade to Windows XP – Party like it’s 2001, as Microsoft just won’t let Windows XP die! Windows XP, first released in October 2001, has been a sales hit for years, strengthening Microsoft’s ownership of the OS market. When Windows Vista came along, it faced a tough task building upon Windows XP’s success. Based on critical review and public reception, it fell short of matching this success. Microsoft had planned to retire Windows XP in June 2008, after having already extended its lifespan longer than intended due to customers picking XP over Vista. However, June came and went and only saw a partial retirement of XP. Microsoft still had loopholes retaining support and sales for small systems like netbooks. It also continued to support an option that allowed customers to purchase Windows Vista and downgrade to Windows XP.

Atomic Synchronicity in Fort Collins | FortCollinsNow.com – "Quick — look at your cell phone, or glance your watch. What time is it right now? Oh, really? How can you be so sure? That timepiece has to base its claims on something. When you set it, you told your microwave or your watch what time it was. You got that time from a different clock somewhere else. Meanwhile, a little computer or a piece of quartz has been keeping track for you, but what does it actually track? What is a minute, anyway? What’s a second?"

CableTechTalk » Blog Archive » Consumption Based Billing and The Princess Bride by Kyle McSlarrow :: April 16th, 2009 – "One of my favorite movies is The Princess Bride. Remember when the character Vizzini, played by Wallace Shawn, notes the two classic blunders — one of which is never get involved in a land war in Asia and the other, never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line? There’s probably a third, which is to never go “blog” vs. “blog” with organizations like Free Press that cut its teeth on this medium. So, it is certainly not a surprise that the Free Press response to my last post smoothly skips over some fundamental points. On the Free Press homepage, the first thing you see is a technicolor box blaring “Tell Congress: Investigate the Unfair Internet Penalty.” In the Free Press response, this has now turned into a mere “inquiry.” Who could be against that? Especially when these plans are rolling out “under the radar.”

Tax-free Internet shopping may be at an end | Politics and Law – CNET News, April 15, 2009 by Declan McCullagh — "If a little-known but influential alliance of state politicians, large retailers, and tax collectors have their way, the days of tax-free Internet shopping may be nearly over. A bill expected to be introduced in the U.S. Congress as early as Monday would rewrite the ground rules for mail order and Internet sales by eliminating what its supporters view as a "loophole" that, in many cases, allows Americans to shop over the Internet without paying sales taxes."

Microsoft’s search must begin in Redmond | Beyond Binary – CNET News April 13, 2009 by Ina Fried — "Microsoft’s challenge to grow its share of the search business isn’t just a global issue. It’s also a challenge within its own walls. Despite investing five years and hundreds of millions of dollars on its search product, Microsoft has struggled to get people to use its service, even those whom it employs. Microsoft Senior Vice President Yusuf Mehdi said the company’s share of the search market–even internally–has been disappointing. "That’s true," Mehdi said in an interview last week."

Satisfy Me : Announcement: Microsoft Windows update available for unconfirmed Pakistan daylight saving time change in April 2009

Satisfy Me : Your questions: what do I like about Windows 7? The Taskbar, saving me time (and money 😉 – Yesterday I noted that there were a few things I like about Windows 7. I saw a tweet about the post today from microsoftsubnet on the Seven things to love, hate about Windows 7 by Tom Henderson and Brendan Allen in Network World (01/15/09, See http://tinyurl.com/9ropqp). The next area of Windows 7 to mention that I find that I use and enjoy is the new and improved Taskbar, as covered here on MSDN.

Satisfy Me : Thinking about the Windows 7 upgrade experience, have you backed up your files lately? – This week the Windows 7 team posted on delivering a quality upgrade experience for Windows 7, noting that many people are running the Windows 7 Beta full time just as many of us do daily at Microsoft. And the team is encouraging users to revert to an earlier Windows Vista image on their PCs and perform an upgrade to the next publicly available pre-release build…

Kiev and Kumo: The long and winding road to Live Search’s rebrand | All about Microsoft | ZDNet.com Posted by Mary Jo Foley @ 7:56 am — "As Microsoft inches closer to the expected June rebranding and launch of the latest iteration of its search engine, company officials are sharing selective bits and pieces of what the Redmondians are planning. In an April 8 Wall Street Journal story about Microsoft’s search-branding challenges , Yusuf Mehdi, the Senior Vice President of Microsoft’s Online Audience Business Group, mentioned “Kiev.” Kiev, a codename I first heard about via LiveSide, seems to be the uber-brand for Microsoft’s upcoming search release. Kumo, the codename for the search-engine component, is one piece of Kiev, Mehdi confirmed with the Journal."

Microsoft will allow Windows 7 users to downgrade to XP | All about Microsoft | ZDNet.com Posted by Mary Jo Foley @ 10:04 am — "Microsoft and its PC partners are going to allow Windows 7 users to downgrade not just to Windows Vista, but also to Windows XP, Microsoft officials are confirming. Some company watchers have been wondering about the downgrade rights that Microsoft will offer when Windows 7 ships. When AppleInsider reported this weekend that HP was going to offer Windows 7 users the ability to downgrade to XP, I asked Microsoft about the story. Here’s what a spokesperson representing the company’s Windows client division told me via e-mail on April 5…"

Microsoft promises to reduce prices for cloud WS2008 licenses: Is Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) a competitor to Amazon .. http://tr.im/iKYa

From Guy Kawasaki: Twips for Twork: 10 Twitter tips for the workplace http://adjix.com/arnj (also http://twitter.alltop.com) AC Please RT

Apple placed chip order for 32GB iPhones (Dawn Kawamoto/CNET News): Dawn Kawamoto / CNET News: Analys.. http://tinyurl.com/c63fgh

LinkedIn Tips and Tricks http://tinyurl.com/dkndxc

What the world will look like by 2050 http://twurl.nl/5xj7a8

EverythingMS One Microsoft Way: Microsoft rep faces tough questions at Linux Summit http://tr.im/iKI3

TechRSSTime Warner faces backlash on broadband caps: Consumers and lawmakers have expressed anger and concern over Time.. http://tinyurl.com/c8gcf6

Walk-thru of new HP MediaSmart Server features with New Update coming from We Got Served: http://tinyurl.com/ckytqd

Tags: articles, what I read, twitter.

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Who’s tweeting what on Twitter? A few of my recent favourites

How fitting that my reference to this blog post was my 1,000 tweet on Twitter but here are a few of my recent favourite tweets from others on Twitter.

A quick post as we hang with the kids this weekend on a gorgeous day: a few of my recent favourites tweets on Twitter:

Steve Case SteveCase Gorgeous day in DC. Sitting by Potomac River. Thinking. http://bit.ly/98i76 http://twitpic.com/2tmyy 6 minutes ago from Tweetie

Scott Giorgini ScottGiorgini Today’s WOW: "Worrying is the same thing as banging your head against the wall. It only feels good when you stop." — John Powers7:51 AM Apr 3rd from TweetDeck

Diane Hessan CommunispaceCEO RT @BusinessStrat Open letter 2new GM CEO Fritz Henderson. Listen 2 yr customers! http://tinyurl.com/cbjk8r7:43 AM Apr 1st from txt

Stephen Rose stephenlrose Check my interview on Social Media on ZDNet here: http://tinyurl.com/dmeboa9:33 AM Mar 31st from twhirl

Guy Kawasaki guykawasaki How collaboration can harm a business! http://adjix.com/x856 Holy kaw! There goes conventional wisdom.7:56 AM Mar 31st from Adjix

Dare Obasanjo Carnage4Life The cool thing about reorgs is that they point out how many technical decisions were really organizational decisions.7:44 AM Mar 31st from twitterrific

Dr. Drew drdrew Parents wonder why the streams are bitter, when they themselves have poisoned the fountain. John Locke4:55 PM Mar 28th from TweetDeck

Chris Mampe ChrisMampe is reading "Microsoft To Rivals: Take Your ‘Open Cloud Services Manifesto’ And Shove It" http://bit.ly/Vc43u $MSFT3:15 PM Mar 26th from web

Greig WellsGreigWells Is Twitter About to Jump the Shark? Great Article by Ron Callari however I disagree and respond at http://budurl.com/9649 Whats your take?10:14 PM Mar 25th from web

Stephanie Xu s_soliloquy RT @sinotechian Reading: "China’s Ad Market Grew 9% to $27.8 Billion in 2008 | Digital Marketing Inner Circle "( http://tinyurl.com/cqbolo )10:14 PM Mar 25th from TweetDeck

Wayne Mansfield waynemansfield RT @screamingeagle1: "It’s not what you don’t know that kills you, it’s what you know for sure that ain’t true." ~ Mark Twain #quote10:12 PM Mar 25th from TweetDeck

Brandon LeBlanc brandonleblanc why is it everytime simon cowell says something negative people boo? get over it. feedback isnt always positive8:38 PM Mar 25th from mobile web

CNET News.com CNETNews The DIY droid you’re drooling for http://tinyurl.com/c6c29t4:58 PM Mar 23rd from twitterfeed

toddbishop toddbishop Seattle Times has interesting Q&A with its readers quizzing Exec. Editor David Boardman on post-PI landscape, etc. http://bit.ly/RsQE74:55 PM Mar 23rd from web

CNET News.com CNETNews Why Ballmer’s big mouth is good for Microsoft http://tinyurl.com/de8rhn4:03 PM Mar 23rd from twitterfeed

TechFlash TechFlash Windows Vista picking up steam as demand rises for 64-bit PCs http://tinyurl.com/dm98ku3:49 PM Mar 23rd from twitterfeed

Gina Trapani ginatrapani "It’s easy to look like a genius in a sea of mediocrity. That’s why you want to work on the web."2:48 PM Mar 23rd from TweetDeck

Mitch Kapor mkapor Ballmer’s take on Apple: $500 premium just buys a logo. http://bit.ly/1sYSwx (via @computerworld) Still clueless after all these years.6:33 PM Mar 21st from web

Sarah Evans PRsarahevans the idea that if u send an email and ppl will read it u r wrong. u should send an email 3 times and MAYBE they will ready 1. #edshow12:57 PM Mar 20th from TweetChat

marcusatmsft marcusatmsft #ocbf2009 in business, our "whole buffalo" is the customer relationship and we need to think like the plains indians thought10:29 AM Mar 19th from twhirl

Carrie Wilkerson barefoot_exec RT @easytouch"Don’t wait until u have it figured out, before u take action" http://aweber.com/b/gIil PDF10:29 AM Mar 19th from TweetDeck

Pete Cashmore mashable Google Offers 500,000 Books for Free on Sony Reader – http://bit.ly/yCYY10:23 AM Mar 19th from Ping.fm

MSExpression MSExpression Video: Clearing CSS Floats with Expression Web – http://bit.ly/10wGb – #Expression #Web10:19 AM Mar 19th from web

Ina Fried inafried March madness playing in the press room at #mix09. I mean, we are all watching a demonstration of Silverlight in action.10:19 AM Mar 19th from web

Richard MacManus rww 12 Companies Targeting Tech Early Adopters http://bit.ly/vGkJb

Major Nelson (Larry) majornelson I wish they would bring our conference call on hold music into this Millennium.9:06 AM Mar 19th from TweetDeck

Elijah Manor elijahmanor "Debugging is twice as hard as writing the code in the first place…" by Brian W. Kernighan #tech #quote http://bit.ly/16H7Lw9:03 AM Mar 19th from BigTweet

Nova Spivack novaspivack Twitter was on the Today Show: prepare for the onslaught. Teach the newbies Twitter Best Practices http://bit.ly/aqom4 #TwitterBestPrac9:02 AM Mar 19th from TweetDeck

Julia Roy juliaroy Check out my SXSW recap blog post!! http://tinyurl.com/dkfmxk9:00 AM Mar 19th from web

ZDNet Blogs ZDNetBlogs EMEA Printer, Copier and MFP Unit Shipments, 2008 – http://tinyurl.com/cngs748:59 AM Mar 19th from web

ZDNet Blogs ZDNetBlogs IBM and Sun: Is it about the hardware or the software? – http://tinyurl.com/cz6puv8:59 AM Mar 19th from web

ZDNet Blogs ZDNetBlogs MacBook and Safari succumb to hackers – http://tinyurl.com/dm3sdb8:59 AM Mar 19th from web

ZDNet Blogs ZDNetBlogs Open source share growing in netbook market – http://tinyurl.com/dypsup8:59 AM Mar 19th from web

steve clayton stevecla sat next to Sinofsky here in the crowd at #mix09 – do I tell him Win 7 rocks? I think he probably knows8:58 AM Mar 19th from twhirl

Rob Pegoraro robpegoraro Today’s column reviews, and somewhat pans, Microsoft’s new #IE8: http://bit.ly/6TuH7 More details/commentary on my blog: http://bit.ly/23Gn88:55 AM Mar 19th from web

toddbishop toddbishop Judge says buyers of Windows Vista Capable PCs haven’t proven Microsoft deceived them by lowering standards for label: http://bit.ly/6fgnz8:53 AM Mar 19th from web

Betsy Aoki BAoki Loved this post by @MaryHodder about Life of tweet: http://napsterization.org/s…8:53 AM Mar 19th from TweetDeck

Robert Morrison PragueBob Bob Dylan was only 20 years old on this day in 1962 when he released his first album by the same name. It contained only 2 original songs.8:52 AM Mar 19th from web

Tags: articles, what I read, twitter, Mix09, SXSW.

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