Windows 8 Beats The Mac, Appsolutely

Windows 8 Beats The Mac, Appsolutely well at least according to InformationWeek Editor At Large, Paul McDougall

"Microsoft's new operating system looks how a modern OS should--big, bold, and centered around apps. Suddenly, it's Apple's turn to catch up.

Windows 8 apps are true apps, as I would define the term: Full-screen, specialized purpose, touchable, and always connected. And they can run on PCs or tablets, and have close cousins that will run on Windows Phone 8, which also uses Modern UI. For functions not suitable for touch, Windows 8 can be used with traditional input tools. And the classic Explorer desktop can be accessed on Windows 8 Pro and Enterprise with a single click.

 OSX Mountain Lion? Despite some new fit and finish, it remains a traditional PC operating system that is a bridge too far from Apple's iOS-based mobile products. It sticks with old-style applications (window-based, general purpose, manipulated through mouse and keyboard) and the browser as the gateway to information and services." Read about it at InformationWeek

 How People React to Windows 8 by SweetLabs with Chris Pirillo

Parallels Desktop 7 review - Mac software - Macworld UK

Running Windows on your Mac is cool. Running Lion from within Lion is cooler
Karl Hodge

"If you need to run Windows and OS X on Apple hardware, Parallels has always been handy. With version 7, it’s almost essential. While Apple does provide users with Boot Camp, to dual boot Windows with OS X, Parallels virtualisation features are that little bit more impressive. Who could help but let out a little gasp as they look at Windows applications running live on OS X’s desktop in Parallel’s Coherence mode? The ability to drag and drop between Mac and Windows applications, running side by side, never gets old.

Enhanced Lion compatibility
This upgrade is a swift response to the release of Lion, that enhances compatibility with the latest version of OS X. It also takes advantage of several of the new operating system’s key features. For example, if we’re talking about OMG moments, you can now run Windows in Lion’s full-screen mode. Flipping between Windows and OS X is as easy as switching desktops; Windows applications appear in Mission Control and Launchpad, just like their OS X siblings. It’s not just the transition between applications that’s seamless. Your applications can also access files stored locally or on a virtual machine."

Parallels Desktop 7 review - Mac software - Macworld UK

Virtual showdown: Parallels Desktop 7 and VMware Fusion 4 reviewed

Virtual showdown: Parallels Desktop 7 and VMware Fusion 4 reviewed
By Dave Girard

"The powerhouses of Mac OS X virtualization both got beefy updates in the last few weeks and they're begging for comparison. (Read our original Parallels 6 and Fusion 3 reviews for more on the older versions.) We stripped the hype wrappers off of the new Parallels Desktop 7 and VMWare Fusion 4 to see who's the baddest, and who's just bad."

Virtual showdown: Parallels Desktop 7 and VMware Fusion 4 reviewed

CSI Redmond: How Microsoft Tracks Down Pirates

Each new iteration of Microsoft software also marks a new chapter in the ongoing cat-and-mouse game between software counterfeiters and Microsoft's own enforcement team.

Like paper currency, Microsoft employs a variety of techniques to assure customers that the software discs they're buying are valid. And rings of cybercriminals, in turn, make every attempt to defeat those safeguards.

"All of our most popular products are counterfeited," said Zoe Krumm, a senior business intelligence analyst with Microsoft. "Windows 7 was counterfeited within a month or so of us launching, with a very deceptive passoff."

In 2007, Microsoft and the FBI, in conjunction with Chinese local law enforcement, tracked down and raided a piracy organization suspected of producing $2 billion worth of counterfeit software. Microsoft recently revealed one of the techniques used by the company to prove that piracy: "fingerprints" left by CD duplicators. In an interview late last week, Microsoft offered even more details on this technique, plus others, that its team of investigators uses.

Read the full story by Mark Hachman - PC Magazine

I'm not breaking up with Windows, but we're seeing other people

I’ve decided to avoid Windows 7, whenever possible, and rely on Mac and Linux to power my primary systems (you may have seen ).

So, a lot of you are probably wondering why I’m stepping away from Windows at this point. From a technological standpoint, Windows 7 isn’t too bad. As I’ve said before, the best thing you can say about Windows 7 is that it does a better job of getting itself out of the way.

My issues with Windows 7 are mostly bigger concerns with Microsoft
• Microsoft still badly overcharges for Windows
• Microsoft should have made Windows 7 a free upgrade for Vista owners
• Windows 7 does very little to innovate on the OS
• Microsoft refuses to change the default installation of Windows for better reliability
• After so many versions, Windows 7 feels like the Weasley’s house in Harry Potter, with stuff bolted on all over the place

Read the full story at techrepublic.com by Jason Hiner