capable

Judy's TenKey is a three-in-one desktop calculator that has some interesting extras. It can be a standard full-function calculator, an adding machine, or a scientific calculator. A scrolling tape shows you just where you are in a running tally of calculations and automatically recalculates totals when you change something; multiple undos extricate you when you change something you shouldn't have. You can customize the look, add sound, and more.

An optional demo walks new users through the many features and settings Judy's TenKey offers. It starts by explaining how to hide the onscreen number pad, since most … Read more

In war and possibly in peace, China will wage cyberwar to control the information flow and dominate the battle space, according to a new report compiled for a congressional commission.

Chinese military strategists see information dominance as the key to overall success in future conflicts and will continue to expand the country's computer network exploitation capabilities, according to the report, titled "Capability of the People's Republic of China to Conduct Cyber Warfare and Computer Network Exploitation." The report was prepared for the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission under contract by Northrop Grumman's … Read more

Daily Planner Plus aims to be the organizational tool to end all organizational tools. However, rather than being a jack of all trades, the program ends up being a master of none thanks to an over-abundance of useless features.

This program has a look unlike any other planning software we've tested. Users first see a large open screen with small command icons running along the top and settings running along the left side of the screen. Initially, this looked more like a design program than a planner. The commands along the top range from creating a daily journal, calendar, … Read more

In the latest twist in the long-running suit over Microsoft's "Vista capable" marketing program, a judge on Wednesday decided the matter no longer qualified as a class action suit.

According to the ruling, a copy of which is posted on TechFlash, the judge ruled that each PC buyer has to bring his or her own legal action in order to seek damages from Microsoft.

"Absent evidence of class-wide price inflation, Plaintiffs cannot demonstrate that common questions predominate over individual considerations," Judge Marsha Pechman wrote in the ruling.

Although Pechman declined to dismiss the suit entirely, … Read more

A judge on Friday ruled that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer will have to testify in a class action suit over the "Vista Capable" logo program that Microsoft ran ahead of the launch of Windows Vista.

Microsoft had sought to limit depositions in the case to former Windows executives Jim Allchin and Will Poole, both of whom have since left the company. However, the judge ruled against the software maker.

"The court appreciates that there are severe demands on Mr. Ballmer's time; however, a busy schedule cannot 'shield' an executive from discovery," Judge Marsha J. Pechman … Read more

Yes, the Microsoft "Vista Capable" emails demonstrate a fair amount of bungling within Redmond of the Vista product launch, but they're far more interesting in what they reveal about Microsoft's involvement with reporters and analysts, as TechFlash's Todd Bishop reveals.

Microsoft worried about (and sought to immediately address) the media's fascination with Apple, tried to guide coverage of Vista, and pushed to ensure that analysts felt Microsoft's confidence in Vista.

For example, the summary of Microsoft's meeting with several Gartner analysts in October of 2006 is fascinating, and made more so by Jamin Spitzer, group manager of Worldwide Analyst Relations at Microsoft, who suggests that two objectives of the meeting with Gartner were to create "confidence in the Vista product, OEM/Retail channel, and device/app compatibility," as well as "provide Gartner 'wiggle room'."

Though Spitzer never indicates what he means by "wiggle room," presumably he was hoping to give Gartner room to write a positive review of Vista, despite its problems. In 2005, Gartner suggested that enterprises could take a pass on Vista until 2008. Apparently, the "wiggle room" didn't work, as Gartner continued to advocate holding onto XP rather than going with "Vista Capable," as Vista would not be "all that easy to roll out" and declaring that it simply wasn't ready for prime time.

Strike one for Microsoft.

Microsoft, however, fared much better with Rob Guth, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal. Sometimes accused of having a pro-Microsoft bias (but one that actually does his homework, regardless), Guth wanted to talk with Microsoft about Windows. The company agreed in order to provide "balance," as Tom Pilla, director of Public Relations, wrote to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer in November 2006:… Read more

On today's show, Brian Cooley announces that he's made the switch...I mean, the big switch. He bought an iPhone. The world briefly stopped rotating, and when it resumed, we laid down the smack on poor Jerry Yang, the Justice Department, the XM-Sirius merger, and subsequent channel flipping, and some poor guy who thought it was a good idea to call our show. Good times!

Yahoo's Jerry Yang to step down, as a search for new CEO commences http://kara.allthingsd.com/20081117/yahoos-jerry-yang-to-step-down-as-a-search-for-new-ceo-commences/ Jerry Yang's entire memo … Read more

You know an e-mail is going to be juicy when its subject line is "CONFIDENTIAL" and it starts out: "I would prefer not to have this discussion on email."

That's how Intel's Renee James started an e-mail to Microsoft's Will Poole, discussing the company's concerns over Microsoft's "Vista Capable" program. Intel was particularly upset over Microsoft's plan to require Vista Capable machines to have graphics cards that would support Vista's new driver model, as its 915 chipset was not planned to have that support.

Microsoft eventually did … Read more

Enemy combatants are close to feeling the heat from an airborne laser weapon called the "long-range blowtorch" and, if officials at US Air Force are right, nobody will know what hit them.

The 5.5-ton Advanced Tactical Laser (ATL) combines chlorine and hydrogen peroxide molecules to release energy that stimulates iodine into an intense infra-red, silent and invisible laser with a 20 kilometres striking range.

New Scientist reports that both Cynthia Kaiser, chief engineer of the US Air Force Research Laboratory's Directed Energy Directorate and John Corley, director of USAF's Capabilities Integration Directorate, used the phrase &… Read more