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What is Google Pack besides free Windows software, with some promotional offers, that you could get from many places on the Web? A software distribution mechanism hooked into Google's infrastructure. Smart move. Google does software provisioning for the masses…for starters–OpenOffice may come soon to the Pack. Larry Page introduces the software and then Robin Williams comes on stage to entertain the crowd. From the Web site: Google Pack also takes the hassle out of downloading, installing, and updating software. You can download and install the entire Google Pack in just a few clicks. And the included Google Updater helps you...

I am looking to put a new motherboard and processor in my desktop. I am looking to have the best I can get the cheapest possible of course. I have a tower, a 350 watt power sourse, dvd writer, just looking to upgrade. Need an onboard video card, or advice on how to go

A security researcher in Israel has found a way to steal information from unwitting users of Google's desktop search tool by exploiting an unpatched flaw in Microsoft's ubiquitous Internet Explorer. There is a bug in the way the Web browser processes CSS rules, Matan Gillon wrote in a description of his hack posted on Wednesday. CSS, or Cascading Style Sheets, is a method for setting common styles across multiple Web pages. The Web design technique is widely used on many sites across the Internet.

Computers running the Linux OS are continuing to advance into the consumer retail market, with the announcement this week that Micro Center will sell desktops and laptops running Linspire Inc.'s Linux OS. "This is very big for Linux," Linspire Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Kevin Carmony said in an interview. "People want the value and the security. It is a viable alternative. For half the people out there, Linux would work for them." Micro Center, which is owned by Micro Electronics Inc. of Hilliard, Ohio, began considering selling hardware systems with Linux preinstalled after competitor Fry's Electronics offered Linux computer systems,...

Many people take as a given that the desktop computer market is ossified and completely dominated by Microsoft. But, taking the global view, the PC market is anything but saturated. Some huge, untapped markets will ultimately decide how the market share pie will ultimately be divided. There will be room for Microsoft, Apple, and Linux, but how will it shake out? Page 1 Before I begin outlining why I believe Linux is not threatened by Apple's move to use Intel processors, let me tell you a bit about myself. My entire life I was surrounded by technology. As my father...

Last month, when I tested Linspire 5.0 for my series on Linux desktops for government enterprises, I discovered NVU. At the time, I realized something special had happened to the Linux application inventory. As the NVU Website states: Finally! A complete Web Authoring System for Linux Desktop users as well as Microsoft Windows and Macintosh users to rival programs like FrontPage and Dreamweaver. A tad skeptical, I didn't totally believe it. So, I downloaded NVU and tried it on a Fedora Core 3 desktop before I turned it lose on other Linux distributions. Having had to use MS Frontpage more...

Linux software maker Xandros has joined the growing number of open source software offerings on PC desktops at Wal-Mart's online store. Like other PCs available from Wal-Mart, the Xandros-powered systems don't come with a monitor, and range in price from US $200 to $600. The Xandros-powered PCs have 1.5 to 3 GHz AMD processors along with 128 to 256 MB of memory, CD-ROM or CD-RW-DVD-combo drives, 40 to 80 GB hard drives, and a comprehensive set of software based on Xandros Desktop Standard Edition v2.0. In 2002, Wal-Mart introduced PCs with Linux preloaded from "white box" manufacturer Microtel. Walmart.com also...

Now as you have most likely surmised from the title, this article is intended to spoof the plethora of articles proclaiming that 'Linux is NOT, has NOT, and NEVER will be ready for the desktop', but the content of this article is also intended to be both factual and informative for those that have been schnookered by the anti-Linux hype. Introduction In simple terms, we should define what 'ready for the desktop means'. A simple definition would be a graphical user interface in which applications have icons and can be launched in an intuitive manner. Well certainly MS Windows 95...

Sun has finally found an American partner for its Java Desktop System (JSD), the company's Linux-based alternative to Microsoft Windows: über-retailer Wal-Mart.Wal-Mart on Tuesday began selling low-cost Microtel PCs pre-loaded with JDS, offering several systems at prices ranging from $298 to $698.Java Desktop System, which runs on Linux, includes the Gnome desktop, StarOffice productivity suite, Mozilla Web browser, and the Evolution e-mail client, and is Sun's pitch as a replacement for Windows and Microsoft Office in both the consumer and enterprise arenas.On Tuesday, Sun said that it was seriously considering Wal-Mart as the sole PC supplier for JDS-equipped computers.To prove...

At the end of the Interview the Lindows President gives a coupon code for a free copy of Lindows. Q. What do you consider do be your biggest challenge? Educating people about the Linux choice for their desktop/laptop. Getting people to try something new takes a lot of work, time and energy. The only hope Microsoft has, is that the monopoly they have had extends to the minds of the consumer. If we can get people to be open minded enough to give Linux a try, we know many will never go back. I didn't know what Linux was a...

Microsoft has laid plans for a server version of Longhorn, the next release of Windows. But it remains unclear what the software will include and when it will debut. The software giant has said relatively little about Longhorn--the next desktop version of the Windows operating system--and even less about the server version. All Microsoft will confirm is that a server version is indeed back in the company's product plans. The desktop version of Longhorn has been described by company executives as revolutionary and even as a "bet-the-company" proposition. Microsoft will also link the shipment of new versions of Office, server...

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YOKOHAMA, Japan (AP) -- It's a machine so fast it performs more computations per second than there are stars in our galaxy. It's so large it's housed in a building the size of an aircraft hangar. Running 35.6 trillion calculations per second, the Earth Simulator is the fastest supercomputer in the world, almost five times faster than the next best one and as fast as the top 5 U.S. supercomputers combined. For the Japanese scientists using the $350 million computer, it means climate research, with its complex simulations and diverse mix of variables, is more accurate than ever before. For...

Apple Computer has pulled back from a plan that would have made Mac OS X the primary operating system on all new Macs starting in January. In September, the Cupertino, Calif.-based company said that after the New Year, new Macs would only boot up into Mac OS X. Older models had the capability of booting into Mac OS X or the older OS 9.2. New systems would still ship with OS 9.2--to support the "Classic" mode for older software--but it could only be accessed through OS X. However, Apple said Friday that it will continue to sell schools some Macs...

What do you get when you cross Sun Microsystems and the open source community centered on Linux? I thought the answer was lower-cost servers that run Linux, which is what Sun announced this week. But Sun CEO Scott McNealy has far grander ambitions that he hopes the open source community will help him achieve: breaking Microsoft's grip on the desktop and expanding Sun's hardware offerings. I don't think anyone can break Microsoft's desktop grip at this point, but Sun has the right idea in formulating an alternative that is more coherent than the pieces you can cobble together to create...

Fantastic news for the Linux desktop. This great office suite, gobeProductive, will be releasing all its source code under the GPL in less than 3 months, according to its new owners, FreeRadicalSoftware. They purchased the source code and rights from Gobe Software recently, and their business plan requires them to GPL the code!

Linux: Twelve Steps to Desktop DominancePosted on Monday, July 22 @ 18:24:33 EDT by staff by Lou Grinzo While I normally turn a cold shoulder to all those increasingly arcane ways of dividing people into two groups we keep inventing, there's one that I think holds the key to Linux's prospects for success on the mainstream desktop. The first group thinks Microsoft's virtual monopoly of the mainstream desktop is a Very Bad Thing For Everyone, and that the contender with the best chance of ending that monopoly and restoring genuine choice is Linux. This group also believes that Linux...

Opteron and Itanium: Two Roads to 64-bit ComputingBy Johan De Gelas Friday, July 5, 2002 7:51 AM EDT A flood of articles have already been written about AMD's Opteron, otherwise known as Sledgehammer and Clawhammer DP. Quite a few editorials believe it will become a very popular server and workstation CPU which will force Intel to follow in AMD's footsteps and introduce 64-bit extensions in their current 32-bit x86 line. At the same time, Intel and many industry analysts claim that 64-bit CPUs for the workstation and desktop are more of a marketing gimmick than anything else, at least...