Operating

Got a Netbook collecting dust? Hey, it happens. Many users find that traditional operating systems, be they Linux or Windows, just don't work well in compact, low-powered PCs. (I once tried running Vista on one. The horror, the horror.)

Consider making a switch. Jolicloud is a new Linux-based OS that was designed expressly for Netbooks. Not sure about the "Linux" part? Don't worry: Jolicloud has decidedly user-friendly trappings. It's a snazzy, intuitive, well-rounded operating system; one that might just earn a permanent home on your mini PC.

Jolicloud's app-centric interface reminds me more of … Read more

HOLYOKE, Mass.--In between power plants and the plug on the wall is this thing called the grid, an engineering marvel that's largely invisible and impenetrably complex to most of us.

If you follow the grid network backwards behind the wall socket, the meter, and the utility poles on your street, you eventually get to a building called a grid operations center, where megawatts of energy flow from state to state and specially trained operators make split-second decisions that can mean the difference between blackouts or business as usual.

To get a better feel for how the grid works, … Read more

Fishbowl Inventory 2010 is an inventory control application that integrates with QuickBooks, the popular bookkeeping software. However, it can also be run as a standalone inventory management tool, making it especially suitable for distributors, wholesalers, delivery businesses, and even large operations such as manufacturing that maintain lean inventories for just-in-time operations. Among the features it packs are bar coding, parts tracking, shopping cart and Point-Of-Sale integration, multisite operations, administrative tools, and order management and tracking. Development kits, integrated hardware, and additional services are also available.

Fishbowl Inventory's installer lets you select or exclude the Manufacturing Option, which adds specific … Read more

Debates flare up all the time about what is the "right" way to consume cloud computing. Public cloud providers push for ditching your data center in favor of pay-per-use services delivered over the network. Many hardware vendors claim that the enterprise's road to cloud computing is through the operation of private clouds. Still others argue that the whole concept is a crock of...well, you get the idea.

Which argument do you buy? How should you plan to deploy and operate your IT resources over the next 3, 5, even 10 years? In who's basket should … Read more

As promised, here is the second part of our Windows Phone 7 preview. This time around, we focus on the more entertaining features the platform has to offer, including the music and video, photos, and Web browsing. For more on the user interface and core functions, check out part 1 of our Windows Phone 7 preview.

Web browser Mobile Web is such a huge part of smartphones nowadays, and fortunately, Windows Phone 7 provides a relatively good browsing experience, certainly much improved from Windows Mobile. The Internet Explorer browser offers support for up to six windows and thumbnail views of all open pages, so you can easily toggle back and forth. You can also bookmark sites, and if you feel like it, you can pin pages to the Start screen for easier access.

Load times were relatively quick. Over AT&T's 3G network, CNET's full site came up in 18 seconds, while CNN's and ESPN's mobile sites loaded in 8 seconds and 7 seconds, respectively. In the settings menu, you can indicate whether you want the browser to display mobile or desktop versions of a site. When set to the former, the browser was able to detect and load mobile versions of pages in most cases, but also missed some. For example, CNET's mobile site loaded, but we got the full New York Times page.

Zooming can be handled either by using the pinch-to-zoom gesture or by double-tapping the screen. Both are smooth and zippy, but there's a slight delay when rerendering text and images. Other available tools and settings include keyword search, the ability to share links, and page suggestions by Bing.

Now, for the bad news. As of right now, there's no support for Flash, Silverlight, or HTML5, so despite taking several steps forward, Windows Phone 7's also several steps behind the competitors. There's some consolation in the fact that Adobe did say at Mobile World Congress that it's working with Microsoft to bring Flash to the browser, but it just won't be in time for the holiday launch.

Music and video If there's one area where Windows Phone 7 really excels and gives the competition a run for its money, it's the music experience.… Read more

It's been six months since Microsoft introduced Windows Phone 7 at Mobile World Congress 2010, and we still have several months to go before we see any devices hit the streets.

At the time, we were excited and hopeful about Microsoft's revamped mobile operating system, but a lot of time has passed since then and the rest of the smartphone world hasn't stopped, so we were, and still are, a bit worried that Windows Phone 7 may be too far behind to catch up.

Well, we recently had a chance to find out. On July 19, Microsoft will begin shipping preview devices from Samsung and LG to developers so they can begin real-world testing of their apps before the big holiday launch. We were treated to one of said devices and had a few days to take Windows Phone 7 for a test-drive.

A couple of caveats before we get into the preview. First, this isn't final software, so some services, such as Windows Marketplace and Xbox Live, weren't available for us to test. In addition, Microsoft said it's continuing work to improve general performance and battery life, so though we made some general observations in these areas, this isn't indicative of the final experience. Last but not least, the handset we used, the Samsung Taylor, is only a prototype device and will not be released to market. It does, however, meet the hardware specifications that will be required on all Windows Phone 7 smartphones, including a 1GHz Snapdragon processor and the three navigation controls (back, start, and search).

Given that Windows Phone 7 is essentially a new operating system, there's a lot to go over, so we're going to break up our preview into two parts, starting with the phone's user interface and core features. As we continue our coverage throughout the week, please let us know what you'd like to hear about the OS and send along your questions, and we'll do our best to address them in following posts. … Read more

The choice between the 32-bit and 64-bit editions of Windows 7 appears to be shifting toward the latter.

With the new operating system less than nine months old, 46 percent of all computers running Windows 7 are using the 64-bit edition, said Microsoft in a Thursday blog post. That compares with 11 percent for the 3.5-year-old Windows Vista.

The major benefit to running a 64-bit OS is that it can address more memory. A 32-bit version of Windows can see only up to 4GB of RAM, and effectively use only around 3GB, since that extra gigabyte is reserved. A … Read more

Do you have an old PC that you want to "donate" to your children? Or are you looking for a way for them to use your PC without messing things up? Kiddix might just be the answer: It's a Linux-based operating system with a child-friendly interface, software, and loads of parental controls.

Normally, Kiddix costs $50, but between now and the end of the Wednesday, June 30, you can pay what you want for Kiddix.

All you do to get the deal is provide a name and e-mail address, enter the amount you want to pay, and … Read more

In light of the fact that BlackBerry maker Research In Motion is itching to drum up excitement about its forthcoming version 6.0 operating system at the Wireless Enterprise Symposium (WES) conference this week in Orlando, Fla., it's too bad the company was customarily tight-lipped last week when we asked if it could confirm leaked photos and details of the very same OS .

As we predicted, RIM will be previewing the next generation of its operating system at the conference beginning on Tuesday. RIM has confirmed very little else about the OS, other than a promised debut in the … Read more