David Adams Archive

Microsoft has agreed to a $536 million settlement with Novell stemming from long-standing anti-trust complaints. Of course, Microsoft admits no wrongdoing, as is the case with such settlements. This settlement does not cover some outstanding WordPerfect patent claims. Novell, who formerly owned WordPerfect, still intend to take Microsoft to court over that issue.

When it comes to digital gadgets, Europeans are not impressed by do-it-all devices that play songs and films, keep track of appointments and play video games, a new survey on Monday said. In a survey of 5,000 consumers from Britain, Germany, France, Sweden, Spain and Italy, Jupiter Research found that 27 percent of respondents expressed a preference for a gadget that plays music only while just five percent are interested in buying a device that plays both music and video.

Apple decided to disable full dual head video in the new iMac in firmware, but intrepid hackers will not be daunted. The leading German language computer magazine c't has put an OpenFirmware hack into an Applescript for easy use.

Techworld just released an updated version of their Report on Windows vs. Linux. This report tries to separate myth from reality... In particular, we have looked at new technological developments since the last survey. We offer no blanket conclusion that Linux is better than Windows, or vice versa, but point out the technological areas where one scores highly and the other less well.

The software industry is undergoing a gradual transformation, and consumer fatigue is at its root. The licensing model that has formed the basis for the modern software industry is facing challenges on many fronts, and the industry is scrambling to keep its footing. Where this period of change may lead software producers and consumers isn't quite clear, but some trends are emerging. Since the proliferation of the internet, unauthorized redistribution of digital goods has become rampant. But although software sharing probably won't kill the software industry, the reasoning behind it shares some pedigree with the customer revolt that promises to transform the way software is sold.

Home internet users are suffering from a variety of worms, viruses, and spyware on their machines, and though they are often aware that their computers are acting funny, they often don't have any idea why. Typical home users are not taking the necessary steps to protect themselves from these online threats. These are the findings of a recent study on internet security.