xp

Study: Businesses start to embrace Windows 7

A new survey shows that businesses are increasingly planning their move to Windows 7, with more than half of those questioned planning to have some machines running the operating system in their corporations by the end of the year.

The survey, conducted of 923 businesses in January, found that 16 percent are already running some Windows 7, with a further 42 percent planning to start their deployment by the end of 2010.

"It is just very positive about Windows 7," said Dimensional Research analyst Diane Hagglund, the study's author. "They are planning to deploy it. They … Read more

Microsoft: Small businesses start to eye Windows 7

After eschewing Windows Vista, small businesses are starting to consider moving away from Windows XP, Microsoft Vice President Brad Brooks said in an interview on Tuesday.

"Windows Vista was a generation of the operating system that was passed up by small businesses; they stayed with XP," Brooks said. "We're seeing a lot of trends at retail that are telling us small businesses are starting to come back in the marketplace."

In particular, Brooks said that office and electronics retailers are starting to stock more PCs with the professional version of Windows 7. "That's … Read more

The Olympics run on Windows (XP)

VANCOUVER, British Columbia--The good news for Microsoft is that all the PCs powering the Olympics are running Windows. The bad news: it's the older Windows XP operating system.

Windows 7, it seems, was a bit too new to be used, while Windows Vista was, well, Windows Vista. So, instead, all the PCs are running an operating system that was first released before the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City.

Representatives for Acer confirmed that the more than 6,000 notebooks and desktops that they delivered to Olympic organizers were all running Windows XP.

"It was the operating system … Read more

Sonim XP2 has the rugged spirit

Editor's note: Our colleague over at ZDNET UK was able to break the phone.

BARCELONA, Spain--Sonim Technologies, which makes some of the most rugged--though not completely indestructible--phones around, used Mobile World Congress to unveil its latest handset. The XP2 Spirit falls in between the XP1 and the XP3 Quest (we were wondering what happened to No. 2), but like its predecessors it should withstand just about any blow.

You can submerge it in water for up to 30 minutes, drop it onto a concrete floor, press the keypad buttons up to 850,000 times before they give out, … Read more

Windows security update causes 'blue screen of death' for some

Some Windows users reported on Thursday that they were getting the "blue screen of death" on their computers when they installed Microsoft's latest security updates released two days earlier.

Most of the people complaining on a Windows forum said they had the problem on Windows XP, but one person also reported problems on Windows 7.

Users posted a fix on the site that they said seemed to work, but that didn't necessarily quell the anger.

"Where at Microsoft do I send my invoice for hours spent fixing this BS?" one person wrote on Thursday.… Read more

Steam gamers: Windows XP, Nvidia, Intel rule

Microsoft's Windows XP, Nvidia's video cards, and Intel's processors are what computer gamers use most, if the January hardware survey of Steam, an online service of developer Valve that delivers video games straight to a user's desktop, is any indication.

Windows XP, running 42.15 percent of Steam users' PCs, remained the most popular operating system, ahead of Microsoft successors Windows Vista and the current Windows 7. January marked the first month, however, that the Windows 7 64-bit edition has surpassed Windows Vista in gamer popularity, accounting for 19.5 percent of Steam use, compared to … Read more

Dig deeper to find the cause of Windows start-up delays

Who doesn't want their PC to start faster? Even if you've trimmed the list of Windows' start-up apps, as described here in October 2008, you may still find your PC starts too slowly.

A year ago, I wrote about the free Startup Delayer from R2 Studios that lets you adjust how Windows loads your start-up programs. Two useful free tools for trimming your PC's roster of start-up apps are Pirisoft's CCleaner and Microsoft's (formerly SysInternals') AutoRuns. The problem is, you can do massive damage with such registry-editing programs--to the point of making your machine unbootable.… Read more

Fujifilm FinePix XP10: Ultracompact with extra protection

As a basic point-and-shoot to keep poolside, the Fujifilm FinePix Z33WP is relatively successful. But if you are looking for any sort of drop protection, it's not worth considering. Enter the XP10, a full-on rugged model able to withstand drops from 3 feet, dives in 10 feet of water, and temperatures as low as 14 degrees Fahrenheit. The "proofing" in turn prevents dust from entering the body as well.

Unfortunately, the rest of the 12-megapixel camera's features are lackluster. It has an internal periscopic lens with a 5x zoom, digital image stabilization, a battery life of … Read more

Browse safely with Internet Explorer

Unless you're brand new-to using computers, the recent news that an Internet Explorer hole was exploited in China-based attacks against Google Gmail users and dozens of high-tech companies was no surprise.

Lately, malicious software has increasingly targeted holes in media players such as Adobe's Flash Player and Reader PDF software, so the Chinese attack on IE is in some ways a throwback. Many tech pundits have responded by recommending against using Internet Explorer at all. The free and easy availability of alternative browsers such as Firefox, Opera, Apple's Safari, and Google's own Chrome would appear to … Read more