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"operating systems" news, interviews, and features

Features about operating systems

  • Is Linux really harder to use?

    Not surprisingly, the misperception that Linux is harder to use than other operating systems is also one that competing vendors routinely use to scare potential new users away from Linux.

  • Microsoft, get back to work!

    Steve Ballmer assured analysts and the world that Microsoft is hard at work developing a Windows 7-based tablet to compete with devices like the Apple iPad.

  • Can Windows Phone 7 save Microsoft's mobile bacon?

    Windows Phone 7 is inching closer to market. Microsoft has sent the operating system for its brand of mobile phones to the labs of carriers for testing, as well as to developers of applications for the phones, which are expected to reach the market in time for holiday shoppers.

  • Windows Phone 7 technical preview: Hot and not

    Microsoft is so desperate to prove Windows Phone 7's worth in the fiercely competitive smartphone market the company's already giving technical previews to the press, months before the platform's holiday launch.

  • Windows Phone 7 offers superior business smartphone

    Microsoft used its annual Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC) in Washington, DC this week to reveal more details about the impending Windows Phone 7 smartphone platform. While Microsoft's smartphone market share has been plummeting, Windows Phone 7 could emerge as the best smartphone platform for businesses, and help Microsoft regain ground it has lost to RIM, Apple, and Google.

  • Windows Phone Live details emerge: What we know so far

    The Windows Phone 7 operating system won't arrive for a few more months (expect a splashy debut as the holiday season nears) and Microsoft is using the extra time to dole out morsels of information about its upcoming mobile OS--one with the unfortunate task of competing with Apple's iPhone and a bumper crop of Google Android-based phones.

  • Five reasons it's time to switch to Windows 7

    Tomorrow is D-day for Windows XP SP2 users. Granted, Windows XP SP2 will still work, but tomorrow is the last Patch Tuesday for the venerable OS which means it will become more unstable and less secure as time goes on.

  • The best Windows 7 downloads

    Not quite happy with the way Windows 7 works, or looking to get more out of the operating system? You've come to the right place. We're big fans of Microsoft's latest OS, but we're also big fans of making Windows better. In this article, we've rounded up the best Windows 7 downloads. They'll let you customize it in any way possible, give it features that Microsoft removed or neglected to include, and more. So get ready to download--you're about to take Windows 7 to a new level.

  • Windows 8 rumored features: Your PC, your way

    Microsoft has some big plans for the future of the PC if alleged Windows 8-related documents recently leaked online are correct. Nearly 18 documents--supposedly confidential internal Microsoft plans--have surfaced, including one called "Modern Form Factors" that shows that Microsoft may be looking at three broad PC categories for the future: Lap PC, Workhorse PC, and Family Hub PC.

  • The pros and cons of Windows 7 security

    Businesses are eyeing a transition to Microsoft Windows 7, and with a wealth of security features that are part of it, it's worth figuring out the good and bad about each of them, says Gartner analyst Neil MacDonald, who notes in some cases, third-party security products might be the better fit.

  • 55 super software secrets

    The apps you use most--your Web browser, productivity tools, media managers, and Windows and its built-in accessories--are more powerful than you realize. They are loaded with unpublicized features that make your PC easier to use, they respond to superquick keyboard shortcuts that you've never heard about, and they support add-ons and plug-ins that can shave minutes or even hours off of mundane daily chores.