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"software" news, interviews, and features

Features about software

  • Bye-bye, mouse. Hello, mind control

    When workplace computers moved beyond command-line interfaces to the mouse-and-windows-based graphical user interface, that was a major advance in usability. And the command line itself was a big improvement over the punch cards and tape that came before.

  • With shopping scams on the rise, watch for these threats

    The glorious chaos we call the Holiday Shopping Season will soon be upon us. Holiday shopping also means a spike in online scams, fraud, and malware, so you need to be aware of the risks and threats, and exercise some common sense to avoid a cyber-Grinch incident.

  • Downgrading from Windows 8 to 7: What you need to know

    For all the talk about the advantages of Windows 8 over Windows 7—for example, account sync, better multiple monitor support, and faster startup times—some people just can't get past Windows 8's radical shift in user interface. Some may even want to ditch Windows 8 altogether in favor of Windows 7 after spending a few days with the new OS.

  • Presidential election a victory for quants

    If there was one lesson for political pundits from last week's presidential election, it was that basic statistical modeling techniques can be used to predict election outcomes with stunning accuracy.

  • True grit - the Pip Marlow story

    Self-proclaimed channel girl, Pip Marlow, has risen to the top of Microsoft Australia through years of hard work and sheer determination. In this, the third of our interviews with the 2012 Hall of Fame inductees, Marlow gives us a glimpse of her larger-than-life character and her stellar IT career.

  • Chrome experiments: A foundation for future browser apps

    The battle for dominance between the major browsers continues on desktop, pad, and mobile platforms and, according to [Net Applications' Net Market Share, as of October all versions of Microsoft's Internet Explorer combined had just over 54 per cent of the desktop market having gained about 2.2 per cent since December, 2011. Firefox, over the same period, lost 1.84 per cent (currently at just under 20%) while the other big contender, Google's Chrome, currently stands at just less than 19 per cent having lost 0.56 per cent in the same 10-month period.

  • How (and why) to surf the Web in secret

    They say no one can hear you scream in space, but if you so much as whisper on the Web, you can be tracked by a dozen different organizations and recorded for posterity. Simply visiting a website can allow its operators to figure out your general physical location, identify details about your device information, and install advertising cookies that can track your movements around the web. (Don't believe me? Check this out.)

  • 11 winning alternatives to Windows 8's built-in apps

    Windows 8 comes preloaded with plenty of apps for basic productivity and entertainment, but they're not necessarily the best you can do. We've already mentioned the apps you should download first, but now we want to share some third-party apps that you might like more than what Microsoft includes in its basic Windows 8 installation.