Archive for the ‘Software’ Category
Yahoo! Says No Means No! Sorta
Microsoft and aggressive Yahoo! shareholder Carl Icahn sent the web company another proposal to sell Yahoo! search to Microsoft. Included in the deal were provisions that the rest of the company would be handed over to Icahn, more of less, a known Internet novice.
I could try to reiterate what a lot of other people have said, but think I’ll just settle for links:
Yahoo rejects joint proposal from Microsoft, Icahn
Yahoo lashes out at Microsoft over latest offer
Why Yahoos shouldn’t underestimate Icahn
I am reassured, for the moment, that Microsoft really only wants the search business, since I don’t use Yahoo! search, but still…
As a user, I am dismayed that Yahoo! offered Microsoft the whole enchilada for $33/share at the same time they rejected the joint MS/Icahn proposal. I use a lot of other Yahoo!’s currently free services and free is a word they don’t seem familiar with in Redmond, Washington…
Users are not stockholders, for the most part, and have been largely ignored in this fight, but the stockholders need to remember that USERS are what makes Yahoo! profitable, too. And most of the Yahoo! users I know don’t want Microsoft that deep in their lives. Many of them, like me, will shift the rest of the way over to Google if MS eats Yahoo!
*Please note the above is MY opinion; I happen to know Candy loves her Yahoo!
Tired of Being Picked On?
Apparently Microsoft is. That’s the word on the web after Corporate Vice President of Windows Consumer Products, Brad Brooks’ keynote speech at Microsoft’s recent Worldwide Partner Conference in Houston, Texas.
I heard it from accountingweb, here. I can’t say I was surprised, since Fast Company magazine reported not too long ago that the big M was bringing in a whole new kind of marketing brains… Hip ones! This is certainly an exception to the rule for Microsoft’s ad campaigns for… Dang, for as long as I’ve been paying attention to them, at least 10-12 years.
Hmmm…
Me? I still hate Vista because of the way it forces people to upgrade fully functional, if older, computers because its hardware requirements are so through the roof. No ad campaign is going to change that stone-cold fact.
Or maybe I’m just bitter because I spent a fortune upgrading my hardware so I could run Office ’07. After being burned on that deal I’m outright scared of what Vista might cost me (ignoring its significant just-the-software price tag)!
Tweak Your Fox
Candy sent me this nifty link to a bunch of Firefox 3 tweaks a couple of days ago to blog. I finally got a chance to look at it today, and well…
Well, I started this blog post an hour ago, but got distracted tweaking my new Firefox…
These are hacks, not extensions, for the most part, so make sure you either have your stuff backed up or an open source junkie on speed dial. You know, just in case you misplace a comma or something.
Tweaks can be found here: The Ultimate Tweaker’s Guide to Firefox3
Tweaking is cool, but since I am NOT an open source guru, I tend to prefer extensions for most things (though that tutorial was wonderfully idiot-proof by my standards). Lots of favorite extensions don’t play nice with FF3 yet. For running updates of those that do and don’t, go here.
‘Tis the End
If, like most of the people we know, you are a Windows XP fan, well, then, today is a day or mourning. Today is the last day that you will be able to order a new computer with Windows XP, and that is only through selected manufacturers (HP, Acer). Dude, if you wanted a Dell with XP you’re out of luck, they stopped selling them back on the 18th of this month.
All the manufacturers are offering a downgrade options with higher end versions of Vista. This means you can still get XP, but you have to pay for uber Vista first. On the plus side of this deal, once they finally (we hope!) get all the hideousness out of Vista, or you upgrade your video and RAM to handle the system hogging OS, you can upgrade to it for free. Or at least for “already paid for it.”
Intuit’s New Look
Intuit is quietly re-branding with a new logo design.
The Duct Tape Marketing guy likes it.
The guys at The Inquirer don’t.
Under Consideration’s “Brand New” column is still on the fence, but the column is old so maybe they’ve made up their mind? I mostly added this one because it was the first place the old and new logos side by side so people could compare for themselves.
I will say, it’s a logo. The thinner lettering is a little less imposing to me, and while the case changes bug me a little, it’s a logo and they don’t have to follow the same grammar rules the rest of us do.
It’s Been a Week… Did you Download?
If you don’t know what I’m talking about, well, you either don’t hang out with any open source fans, or have been stuck in an elevator for a while now.
What I’m talking about is Firefox 3! Yes, the best got better and the new version was available for download last week. In fact, Mozilla was encouraging people to download the new version in an effort to make the Guinness Book of World Records. People listened, and crashed Mozilla’s servers for a while as a result! For current status on the world record chase, check out Mozilla’s blog.
If you want to know a little more about the new version before making the switch, check out this First Look video from c|net TV.
YaHoopla!
Yahoo and Microsoft are in the news again.
In May it came out that the two were discussing just selling SOME of Yahoo! to the Redmond-based software giant.
This week Yahoo announced a host of new ad deals in an effort to appease all the stockholders who wanted to them to give in and give it up to Megasoft (short-sighted anyone?), but admitted they are still negotiating with The Software Company Who Shall Not Be Named.
Yahoo! management and the disgruntled moneygrubbers stockholders will have their big showdown at the just announced August 1, 2008 annual shareholders meeting.
As someone who uses way more Yahoo than she wants to admit, and who does NOT want to use anymore of that other company’s software than she has to, I’ll be keeping an eye on this.
OO 3.0
Has anyone else noticed that when you try to abbreviate Open Office, especially when speaking, you end up saying, “Oooh?” Do you think they planned it that way, or was it just a happy accident?
Either way, no one here is disputing the fact that Open Office is cool and getting cooler. OO 3.0 will be available the day after Labor Day, or at least that’s the plan as I last heard it.
In the meantime, for a sneak peek, check out this nifty entry over at Open Office Ninja’s blog.
Yea, it’s a couple months old, but that just means the release date is that much closer! And let’s face it, it’s easier to get excited about something coming at the end of the summer in May than it would have been in March.
We’re Baaaack…
The server upgrade went surprisingly well after a few initial hiccups on the first day and we are up and running! Woo hoo!
If you are one of the people who was having problems with the server, remember, Tom, our IT genius, really likes brownies 