HP to offer Free upgrade to Windows 7

Starting today through the release of Windows 7 in October, HP is offering a free upgrade to any customer who buys a new desktop or laptop through their web site. Currently, only certain systems qualify for the upgrade, so look at the product description. If you decide to take advantage of this offer, make sure you get a new computer with at least 3GB of RAM for best performance with Vista and then Windows 7. HP Offers Free...

Microsoft announces Windows 7 pricing

Yesterday, Microsoft announced the upgrade and normal pricing for Windows 7 which goes on sale October 22. Starting on Friday, June 26-July 11, a limited number of Windows 7 Home Premium upgrades will be sold for $49 and Windows 7 Professional for $99. Upgrade prices will be $119 for Windows 7 Home Premium, $199 for Professional, and $219 for Ultimate when released in October. Normally, I recommend not upgrading to a new...

HP helps move us further from the mythical paperle...

I have to give Hewlett Packard credit; they know how to keep the big ink jet money wheel spinning. Today, they introduced a printer that can connect to the Internet and then print content from it without any user interaction. Hmmm…sounds like a new fangled fax to me. Computers were supposed to introduce us to a paperless society of ultra-organization. That pipe dream was first talked about in the 70s. Today, paper is...

Dell Sells $3 Million via Twitter

No one can ever deny that Dell knows how to market. In my opinion, only Apple does it better (Microsoft take a hint). Today, Dell revealed that they move merchandise faster and easier using the Twitter service. Read more in the Wall Street Journal article linked below. Dell Sells $3 Million Through Twitter – Digits – WSJ.

Microsoft Plans to Release Free AntiVirus Program

Thankfully and mercifully, Microsoft is discontinuing the horrible OneCare security product they sold the past couple of years. However, Microsoft announced today that a new security product, code named Morro, will appear as a free antivirus product later this year. In the story below, Microsoft states that the new antivirus product will be based on the current OneCare underpinnings. As usual, I will reserve full judgment...

Symantec Warns of Wireless Keyboard Security Threa...

This news story came through the wires today. As usual, the headline is much worse than the actual threat. Wireless keyboards have a range of maybe 15-20 feet (without barriers) at the very best. In order for this type of a security threat to occur, you would have to be using your wireless keyboard within that distance of someone you don’t know and is acting shady. How likely is that? NewsFactor Network | Symantec Warns...

Windows 7 Will Launch in October

It appears, from this article, that Microsoft has chose October 22 as the official release date for Windows 7. After testing Windows 7 for the past 5 months, I can honestly say it is heads and tails above Windows Vista. However, I still stand by my previous comments that most basic computer users would be far better off with an Apple computer or an inexpensive computer running Linux because they both require far less security...

CBS News to broadcast online

Spurred on by the success of Twitter and its ability to quickly deliver news and events, CBS announced today that they will begin broadcasting all their evening news content and special news reports online. In an agreement with Ustream.com, CBS plans to begin the online simulcast in the next couple of months. CBS is the first network/news company to simulcast their entire newscast on the Internet. Read the entire article at...

Bing Search Engine

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the new Wolfram Alpha search engine and it was news fodder all over the web for nearly 2 weeks. This week, Microsoft’s new Bing search engine is getting a lot of press. At first glance, the Bing search engine looks clean and fresh. Searching is ultra-fast and easy to read. Like Google, however, the Bing search engine also presents many ads at the top and sides of the search results....

WolframAlpha Search Engine

More and more news stories are cropping up regarding this up and coming search engine. In fact, some feel it might challenge Google’s dominance. I will study up on it more, give it a whirl and report back. Have you used WolframAlpha? If so, leave a comment and tell me what you that out of it. Wolfram|Alpha.

Gmail expands email and contact import

Gmail just announced that they are expanding the ability for Gmail to import contacts and email from many different sources. Right now, the function is up and running for all new Gmail accounts created adn will roll out to all existing Gmail users over the coming weeks. The list it will import from currently looks like this: * aol.com * aol.fr * clear.net.nz * cox.net * comcast.net * cs.com * earthlink.net * freenet.de *...

Microsoft Promises greater compatibility with Wind...

Windows Vista was hammered from its beta versions all the way through to its release and even to this day for lack of compatibility with hardware and software. Today, Microsoft announced that more than 10,000 hardware and software vendors are working with Microsoft during the development phase of Windows 7 to help assure a quality launch of Windows 7 later this year. Will Windows 7 be better prepared for the public than...

Microsoft confirms Windows 7 release by the end of...

Microsoft opened up today and said they plan on releasing Windows 7 in time for the holidays. No firm date was given, but that statement means that manufacturers would need Windows 7 in hand no later than September or early October in order to start selling it in November/December. As I mentioned multiple times before: if you are in the market for a Windows based computer and don’t absolutely need it now…wait for...

Windows 7 released by August?

Before I left for my work saving and fixing computers, I started the massive download for Windows 7 RC 1. The download is nearly 2.5 GB! This weekend, I will install it on my laptop and give you a full report in the upcoming weeks. This news story indicates that we might see the commercial release of Windows as early as August of this year. I want to see Microsoft release a quality product, but I also think it would be a good...

Goats eat Google’s weeds

Long time followers/listeners/readers of mine know that I love goats. My family raised two pygmy goats from 6 weeks (bottle feeding) to now. Sadly, we lost our female goat a couple of years ago, but we still have our friendly old male goat. That being said, I naturally gravitated to this headline from Google’s blog today about goats doing their yard maintenance. Apparently, this is quite a big business in California. ...