pc forum Resources

Sponsored White Papers, Webcasts, and Downloads

ZDNet Resources

XPS printing in Vista: Some things fly under the radar from a technology standpoint. Printing is one of those things. I dont have a lot of conversations with industry PR people in my role as ZDNet blogger, mostly because the types of blog posts I write dont really fit such topics. XPS, however, or...; Tags: vista, software infrastructure, microsoft, pc forum, office 2007, office, it management, general; Blog posts 2007-04-10
The EC and expropriation of Microsoft property: I provided in yesterdays blog a series of examples intended to explain why it is weird for government to link an "innovation standard" to the right of property owners to charge for the property that they own. As that blog showed, if that rule was applied more generally, there is...; Tags: patents, microsoft, antitrust, pc forum, software infrastructure, it management, general; Blog posts 2007-03-02
The EC wants to set prices: I figured that title would be blunt enough to represent the weird territory the European Commission has blundered into. Neelie Kroes and company are now of the opinion that the EC gets to act as judge of what is considered "innovative" and determine what Microsoft is allowed to charge for...; Tags: patents, microsoft, antitrust, pc forum, software infrastructure, it management, general; Blog posts 2007-03-01
Eric Raymond's boot to Red Hat's head: Many years ago, I was on the receiving end of Mr. Raymonds annoyance. Suffice to say, he is as brutally direct as a sledgehammer to the chest. That appears still to be the case, at least if his very public rejection of Red Hat is any indication. He sent his...; Tags: general, it management, open source, pc forum, software infrastructure; Blog posts 2007-02-22
ODF vs. OOXML - the way I see it: In a blog post on Friday, I asked in the title whether ODF has sufficient detail after discovering a post by Miguel de Icazas on the subject of ODF vs. OOXML. The point from that post I keyed on was that 6,000 pages isnt a problem so long as those...; Tags: general, it management, odf, office, office 2007, open source, pc forum, software infrastructure; Blog posts 2007-02-19

Does ODF lack sufficient detail?: I missed this blog post by Mary Jo Foley on the debates surrounding ratification of OOXML by ISO. Unlike printed newspapers, however, which get thrown away shortly after the day for which they were printed has passed, online articles stick around forever. Heck, every article Ive ever written for ZDNet...; Tags: general, odf, office, office 2007, open source, pc forum, software infrastructure; Blog posts 2007-02-16
Jeremy Allison and offshoring: Jeremy Allison, a lead developer for the SAMBA team who now works for Google, wrote a piece recently for ZDNet where he discussed some of the reasons he believes open source has a vibrant future. Okay, thats a pithy reduction, but I did provide the link for you to read...; Tags: general, it management, open source, outsourcing, pc forum, software, software infrastructure; Blog posts 2007-02-12
Zune ruminations: As I noted a few weeks back, I bought a Zune. I really should have bought a digital music playback device sooner, as it has injected new life into my CD collection. Having a music player with all your music on it is like having someone drop a huge collection...; Tags: apple, general, hardware infrastructure, microsoft zune, mobile, pc forum, personal technology, vista, wired & wireless; Blog posts 2007-02-05
Drive-by Vista hacking: Fellow ZDNet blogger George Ou recently reported that Microsoft had confirmed that audio commands played back through a computers speakers could be picked up by the microphone and executed as Vista voice commands. That actually made me laugh out loud. Its not because George is wrong. Clearly, this is a...; Tags: general, software infrastructure, security, pc forum, vista, microsoft windows vista, computer, microphone, speaker; Blog posts 2007-02-01
Apple's sexy iPhone: I might have bought a Zune recently, but that doesnt mean I cant appreciate the design skills of the team at Apple. I knew that Apple would do a phone at some point, but I didnt know what it would look like (well, nobody did). However, what I did expect...; Tags: general, personal technology, wired & wireless, mobile, pc forum, apple computer inc., telephone; Blog posts 2007-01-09
Yes, I bought a Zune: I chose the black one, though it is not in my hands yet. It is in transit via everyones favorite brown-themed shipping company. Once it arrives, I will start digitizing my rather large CD collection. I can finally bring all my music with me on business trips, thus breaking the...; Tags: general, personal technology, software infrastructure, wired & wireless, mobile, pc forum, microsoft zune; Blog posts 2007-01-09
Ideal DRM: Bill Gates recently commented that copy protections for digital media are too complex for most consumers. In the end of the day incentive systems for artists make a difference... ...But we dont have the right thing here in terms of simplicity or interoperability. An ideal DRM system, at least from...; Tags: digital-rights management, software infrastructure, hardware infrastructure, security, pc forum, personal technology, open source, general; Blog posts 2006-12-21
A thank you from a Microsoft employee: Apparently, as of January 2008, non-GPL Linux kernel modules will no longer be allowed. Technically speaking, however, a computer would have a hard time enforcing a licence. Greg Kroah-Hartman, the author of the aforementioned announcement, offers to help: Oh, and for those who have asked me how we would enforce...; Tags: gpl, pc forum, software infrastructure, it management, open source, general; Blog posts 2006-12-15
Stop bashing the Novell / Microsoft agreement: Fans of the GPL are still acting like Microsoft ran over the family pet in its recent agreement with Novell. This example from Groklaw, to which Miguel de Icaza responded, is a good example. In it, the author explains the effects, as he or she sees it, of the agreement:...; Tags: patent, odf, pc forum, software infrastructure, it management, open source, general; Blog posts 2006-12-11
Swimming with Vista Media Center: Been busy again. Hard to write blogs when you are spending your days and evenings doing the stuff that pays the bills. I did notice that I now have a very big head hovering over my blogs. Yes, I saw the photo before I submitted it,...; Tags: media center pc, pc forum, software infrastructure, personal technology, general; Blog posts 2006-12-06
The pragmatist / idealist dichotomy: Novell is of the opinion that their agreement with Microsoft conforms to the restrictions of GPLv2. Eben Moglen, who as legal representative for the FSF is not happy about the agreement, doesnt state explicitly that it isnt valid. However, by omission, he seems to concede that it...; Tags: agreement, general, open source, it management, software infrastructure, pc forum, microsoft corp.; Blog posts 2006-11-17
The EC, Interoperability, and GPL Java: Microsoft certainly seems to be putting a lot of effort into interoperability with other platforms. Granted, this may be somewhat akin to prisoners finding religion while on death row. The beating the EU has given Microsoft over documentation may be a root cause (with the EU threatening...; Tags: .net, application servers, middleware, microsoft corp., microsoft .net, microsoft windows, java; Blog posts 2006-11-15
The Vista train is coming: As everyone who reads ZDNet blogs already knows, Vista has gone gold. Hallelujah, Hallelujah. Im curious to see what happens next. I look at Vista and I see stacks of programmer advantages, but then again, I have a bizarre point of view...Im a programmer. ...; Tags: general, software infrastructure, pc forum, microsoft windows vista; Blog posts 2006-11-10
Don't write my obit just yet!: Word has slowly gotten out that the PC Forum last March was the last ever. So let me interview myself: What happened? Well, with very few exceptions, each PC Forum would be better than the previous year's. ...; Tags: pc forum; Blog posts 2006-09-16
PC Forum photo gallery: During my two days plus at PC Forum I took snapshots available in a gallery here and also loaded more on Flickr (tag: [pcforum06]. The picture below is from a panel on "New Forms of Life," the "brave new world" of online social media. Interact with friends in Facebook's walled...; Tags: pc forum; Blog posts 2006-03-15