DOJ opposes extension of Microsoft antitrust oversight

The U.S. Department of Justice has joined Microsoft in opposing efforts by several states to extend the 2002 antitrust settlement with the company until 2012.

Shark Tank: Spoilsport!

Help desk pilot fish gets a trouble ticket: A support tech is having a problem with asset management software that isn't reporting properly on a user's PC in a remote office. "After checking several routine system settings remotely, I determined that I needed to log into the user's PC myself," fish says. "In order not to interfere with productivity on this minor issue, I ran a script to check if anyone was logged in to this PC. There was, so I resolved to wait till the next morning to try again."

Modern society relies on 'dangerously fragile' software

Are we ready for a civilization that's based on pervasive computing and increasingly complex "systems of systems," all dependent upon software written by unlicensed people calling themselves programmers? In this Computerworld interview, software guru Grady Booch, chief scientist at IBM Rational, talks about the enduring difficulties of software development and the complexity of today's systems: Software [development] has been and will remain fundamentally hard. Most of the interesting systems today are no longer just systems by themselves, but they tend to be systems of systems. It is the set of them working in harmony. We don’t have a lot of good processes or analysis tools to really understand how those things behave. Many systems look dangerously fragile. The bad news is they are fragile. This is another force that will lead us to the next era of how we build software systems.

Image Gallery: How to troubleshoot Windows Home Server problems

Preston Gralla explains how to overcome common issues with Microsoft's new networking software.

Image Gallery: Windows Home Server review

Preston Gralla is impressed by the backup-and-restore, media streaming and remote access capabilities of this software, which for once hasn't been "dumbed down" by Microsoft.

How to troubleshoot Windows Home Server problems

Preston Gralla shows you how to solve common issues you may run into when installing or using Windows Home Server and its associated software.

Review: Windows Home Server is a powerful networking tool

Preston Gralla is impressed by the backup-and-restore, media streaming and remote access capabilities of this software, which for once hasn't been "dumbed down" by Microsoft.

The verdict: Leopard spanks Vista, continues OS X's reign of excellence

Apple's return volley to Microsoft's Windows Vista is a more ambitious release than Tiger. Is it enough to win over Mac and Windows users alike?

IBM rolls out tools aimed at easing mainframe development

IBM today is rolling out new Rational tools that should help companies running IBM's System z more easily modernize their older apps while preserving mainframe investments.

Microsoft nonchalant about Phoenix assault on Windows

The Monday announcement from Phoenix Technologies that their new Hyperspace virtualization platform is designed to compete with certain aspects of Windows drew a less than frantic response from their erstwhile partner. Is Microsoft missing the threat?

File transfer vendor pitches 'virtual appliance' as alternative to FTP, e-mail

Accellion, one of several vendors that offer systems for managing large file transfers, is making its software available on x86-based systems that run VMware's virtualization technology.

Microsoft: Sync Framework isn't Google Gears

A Microsoft product manager rejected comparisons between the company's Sync Framework and Google's Gear browser plug-in, saying it's a "completely different animal."

Microsoft fires CIO for violating corporate policies

Microsoft disclosed in an internal memo that it has fired Stuart Scott, the company's top IT executive, after determining that he had violated corporate policies.

What happened to the terminal?

I've been installing a lot of different operating systems recently for testing different things, and there's an interesting issue going on with the location of the 'traditional' terminal or command prompt. I'll admit, I'm a command line junkie after years of first DOS and then Unix. Despite being a complete Mac zealot as well, the first application I start after a browser and email when OS X starts up is either the Terminal or Apple's X Windows System implementation. But I'm noticing something odd. On Linux and Solaris the 'Terminal' application is often hidden away under the 'System Tools' or 'Administration Tools' part of the menu within whatever interface you choose. I suspect this is because these operating systems have been pushing for the 'standard' (read not power or developer user) who don't want to use a shell to use their OS.

What happened to the terminal?

I've been installing a lot of different operating systems recently for testing different things, and there's an interesting issue going on with the location of the 'traditional' terminal or command prompt. I'll admit, I'm a command line junkie after years of first DOS and then Unix. Despite being a complete Mac zealot as well, the first application I start after a browser and email when OS X starts up is either the Terminal or Apple's X Windows System implementation. But I'm noticing something odd. On Linux and Solaris the 'Terminal' application is often hidden away under the 'System Tools' or 'Administration Tools' part of the menu within whatever interface you choose. I suspect this is because these operating systems have been pushing for the 'standard' (read not power or developer user) who don't want to use a shell to use their OS.

What happened to the terminal?

I've been installing a lot of different operating systems recently for testing different things, and there's an interesting issue going on with the location of the 'traditional' terminal or command prompt. I'll admit, I'm a command line junkie after years of first DOS and then Unix. Despite being a complete Mac zealot as well, the first application I start after a browser and email when OS X starts up is either the Terminal or Apple's X Windows System implementation. But I'm noticing something odd. On Linux and Solaris the 'Terminal' application is often hidden away under the 'System Tools' or 'Administration Tools' part of the menu within whatever interface you choose. I suspect this is because these operating systems have been pushing for the 'standard' (read not power or developer user) who don't want to use a shell to use their OS.

What happened to the terminal?

I've been installing a lot of different operating systems recently for testing different things, and there's an interesting issue going on with the location of the 'traditional' terminal or command prompt. I'll admit, I'm a command line junkie after years of first DOS and then Unix. Despite being a complete Mac zealot as well, the first application I start after a browser and email when OS X starts up is either the Terminal or Apple's X Windows System implementation. But I'm noticing something odd. On Linux and Solaris the 'Terminal' application is often hidden away under the 'System Tools' or 'Administration Tools' part of the menu within whatever interface you choose. I suspect this is because these operating systems have been pushing for the 'standard' (read not power or developer user) who don't want to use a shell to use their OS.

What happened to the terminal?

I've been installing a lot of different operating systems recently for testing different things, and there's an interesting issue going on with the location of the 'traditional' terminal or command prompt. I'll admit, I'm a command line junkie after years of first DOS and then Unix. Despite being a complete Mac zealot as well, the first application I start after a browser and email when OS X starts up is either the Terminal or Apple's X Windows System implementation. But I'm noticing something odd. On Linux and Solaris the 'Terminal' application is often hidden away under the 'System Tools' or 'Administration Tools' part of the menu within whatever interface you choose. I suspect this is because these operating systems have been pushing for the 'standard' (read not power or developer user) who don't want to use a shell to use their OS.

Frankly Speaking: Wishes fulfilled

Indestructible mobile phones and a two-minute warning for e-mail are a reality. A truly smart credit card? Not so much. Two weeks ago in my column, I listed a dozen user-level tools I want — and, I suspect, many of our users do too. As usual, readers didn't hesitate to jump in with ideas, suggestions and, in some cases, the products themselves.

Frankly Speaking: Wishes fulfilled

Indestructible mobile phones and a two-minute warning for e-mail are a reality. A truly smart credit card? Not so much. Two weeks ago in my column, I listed a dozen user-level tools I want — and, I suspect, many of our users do too. As usual, readers didn't hesitate to jump in with ideas, suggestions and, in some cases, the products themselves.