sycophants

Digital referees to avoid conference room fights

There's good news and bad news about the popularity of something like the "RoomWizard " scheduling system: One one hand, it means companies are apparently growing and hiring enough to demand a product like this; on the other, it means they're having more meetings.

The RoomWizard is kind of a digital referee that can avoid inter-office fisticuffs by keeping track of schedules for conference rooms that are always in high demand. Spaces are booked with touch screens outside the rooms or online through the system's Web server, according to OhGizmo, and information can be downloaded to … Read more

Microsoft's Linux is growing market share

Back in 2006, Microsoft decided to borrow a Linux distribution. Microsoft, which has felt little negative direct effect from the Linux operating system, needed to ensure it could skew the open-source business model in its favor, by levying a patent FUD tax on anyone who chose to use Linux.

Microsoft has paraded its Linux in terms of customer choice and customer protection, but both are complete canards. Mandriva Linux is just as interoperable with Microsoft Windows as Microsoft's SUSE, is. The same is true for a wide variety of Linux distributions - they are all as interoperable with Windows as any officially blessed by Microsoft.

Today, the FUD strategy is paying off, apparently, as PC World reports.… Read more

Moonlight and the dupe quiz? Microsoft or Novell?

Simon Phipps takes apart the licensing maze required to start "enjoying" Novell's Moonlight. Novell clearly wants to be popular with someone, and so has settled on Microsoft.

Stephen Walli, for his part, thinks that all of this shows just how brilliant Novell is. All I can say is that sometimes things look smarter from the outside than they do from the inside. Stephe sometimes gets carried away in thinking that people actually intend all of the intelligence of which he accuses them.

However, one thing is clear and Stephe points it out:… Read more

Top 5 most collectible computers

Just posted the latest top 5 about most collectible computers. This is certainly a matter of opinion, and I know a bunch of you will disagree. And maybe some will agree wholeheartedly. Who knows?

What I hope you will agree on is the new look for the Top 5. The CNET video labs worked day and night to pop out a cleaner, more refreshing presentation for the list. Tell us what you think about that, too. So here are the easy steps for expression your outrage/agreement at my top 5 and its new look.

Step One: Watch the Top … Read more

Speakerphone finally goes wireless

Our somewhat unhealthy obsession over wireless speakers notwithstanding, we now see that we totally overlooked a related technology in the workplace: the wireless speakerphone.

Even the best speakerphones seem to require people leaning over with their noses in the microphone to ensure that they're heard. (It can be quite undignified.) And when the boss speaks, a gaggle of minions invariably rush to place it in front of him--often dragging cords and knocking over cell phones and coffee mugs in the process.

That can all be a thing of the past with a new wireless speakerphone from Panasonic and Willcom, … Read more