windows

Study finds Mac users are more honest than Windows users

If you're a music industry executive, you should be praying that the Mac wins the desktop war. Why? Because, as Tom Krazit writes, a recent NPD survey finds that Mac users are much more likely than Windows users to actually pay for music. How much more likely? Consider:

The data says that 50 percent of all Mac users surveyed by NPD purchased at least one song during the third quarter, while only 16 percent of Windows users purchased a song from an online music store. And 32 percent of Mac users bought a CD during that same time, while … Read more

Relax with a winter break

It's that time of year in the U.S. when frenzied Christmas shoppers flood the malls, winter storms wreak havoc throughout the country, and singles fret about finding the perfect date for New Year's Eve.

Like you, the staffers at CNET Download.com aren't immune to our own year-end holiday distractions, but we hope to lighten your seasonal load with helpful gift ideas, winter desktop treats, and do-it-yourself tech projects perfect for family gatherings.

First off, there's only one week left until Christmas, but whatever you do, don't panic! If you've got someone on … Read more

Beta of XP update made public

Microsoft on Tuesday said it will make publicly available a beta version of Windows XP Service Pack 3. But, like a car salesman pitching the new Corvette over the old jalopy, Microsoft argued that a switch to Vista is the better move.

"While Windows Vista provides the most advanced security and management capabilities of any Windows operating system, Windows XP SP3 will ensure PCs running Windows XP will have the latest updates, as well as compatibility with the Network Access Protection functionality of Windows Server 2008," Microsoft said in a statement.

Lest anyone misread that as an endorsement, … Read more

Put a keyboard in your pocket, $29.99 shipped

Smartphone keyboards are fine for composing short e-mails and maybe tweaking the occasional Word document. But if you want to get any serious work done on your device, fuhgeddaboudit. Your thumbs don't deserve that kind of punishment. Instead, reach for the iGo Stowaway Ultra-Slim Bluetooth Keyboard, which serves up a full-size set of QWERTY keys and then folds up slim enough to slip into your pocket.

The Stowaway normally lists for $149.99 (ouch!), but Amazon has it on sale for just $29.99--which qualifies it for the store's free Super Saver Shipping. Just make sure you … Read more

NoteTab Light's a heavyweight

Once you explore the power of NoteTab Light, you may find this text editor beautiful despite its hectic interface. At its core, NoteTab Light is to Windows' Notepad as a smart phone is to a rotary phone. The program incorporates top-level tabs similar to most Web browsers, so that you can manage several different projects at once, and it can automatically replace Notepad so that Notepad's icon opens NoteTab instead.

IBM Recommends Windows XP

If you shop online for a new Windows computer, every manufacturer recommends Vista on their web site. For home use they all suggest Vista Home Premium, for business use, Vista Business gets the nod. All the manufacturers sell other versions of Vista of course, most if not all sell Windows XP too, yet their websites universally recommend Vista Home Premium or Business.

Except IBM.

Yes, IBM no longer plays in this game. Back in 2005, IBM sold their personal computer division to Lenovo.

However, IBM still sells their old notebook and desktop computers, albeit as "IBM Certified Used Equipment&… Read more

Improve your PC's performance by clearing out the clutter

The new year is fast approaching. What better time to give your system a good scrubbing? The best tool I've found for taking out the digital garbage is Piriform's CCleaner. (Quick tip: Click the "Alternative Download" link, not the FileHippo.com link above it. For some reason, the FileHippo page links to a download for a program I never heard of.)

Read this before you install CCleaner! By default, the program wants to add the Yahoo Toolbar to your browser. This lets you run CCleaner from the browser, but I suggest you uncheck that option in … Read more

RIP: PlaysForSure 2004-2007

Microsoft has reached a turning point in its music strategy: admitting it has a problem.

When it first announced its Zune plans last year, the company denied that it would mark an end to its PlaysForSure program, an effort that aimed to unite various compatible devices and services using Microsoft's Windows Media technology.

Others, though, saw the writing clearly on the wall.

Microsoft was in a precarious place, though. It had lined up MTV Networks as a partner for its Urge service, which was to be part of Windows Vista. That service had not even formally launched yet, so … Read more

Microsoft's hypervisor beta arrives early

For the second time in a week, Microsoft said a version of its software is ready sooner than expected. On Thursday, the software maker made available a beta version of its Hyper-V hypervisor technology, a release that had been scheduled for early next year.

Microsoft didn't change its timing for the final release of the technology, which is due to ship within 180 days of the release of Windows Server 2008. (That product is slated to be wrapped up ahead of its formal launch on February 27.)

"We're hoping that getting it out and providing a nice … Read more

Author sounds off on Vista's annoyances

After beta testing Windows 95, David Karp was impressed with how much better the operating system was than Windows 3.1. Still, he had a gripe or two.

To share his experiences, Karp started a Web site called "Windows 95 Annoyances" where he posted some of the pet peeves, as well as some workarounds.

What began as a hobby to make his work computer better, eventually became his work. Karp has written nearly a dozen books chronicling the annoyances of each Windows release.

Needless to say, Vista has given Karp another book's worth of material--664 pages worth, … Read more