Farewell to Network World readers

After nearly five years, today is my last day at IDG and Network World. If you have ever read any of my articles or blog posts I want to say thank you and let you know that I will soon be covering IT for Ars Technica, a news site I have long admired and enjoyed reading.

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Linus Torvalds: ARM has a lot to learn from the PC

It's well known Linux and ARM developers have clashed over the past few months over how best to support ARM in the Linux kernel. ITworld blogger Brian Proffitt describes the problem as a "United Nations-level complexity of the forks in the ARM section of the Linux kernel." Linux creator Linus Torvalds threatened to stop accepting ARM-related changes to the mainline Linux kernel.

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Microsoft expects Internet Explorer exploits within 30 days

Microsoft's monthly patches released today include a critical fix for seven holes in Internet Explorer which, if left unpatched, are considered "likely to see reliable exploits developed within the next 30 days." 

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Google Music vs. Amazon vs. Apple's iCloud vs. Spotify vs. Rdio vs. ...

The cloud music age is upon us. After years of loading MP3s onto iPods and portable hard drives, there are now several options for streaming that same music to any device with an Internet connection, while gaining access to many more songs we don't already own. 

Streaming services like Pandora, Rdio and GrooveShark already existed, of course, but now we have or soon will have Spotify, Google Music, Amazon's Cloud Drive and Apple's iCloud and iTunes Match.

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Critical fixes for Windows and IE coming in big Patch Tuesday

In another big Patch Tuesday, Microsoft will release 13 patches next week covering 22 vulnerabilities, including two critical patches to prevent remote code execution attacks in Windows and Internet Explorer.

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Microsoft boasts record revenue but falls further behind Apple

On the strength of Microsoft Office and Windows Server sales, Microsoft today reported "record [quarterly] revenue of $17.37 billion" and profits of about $6 billion, but the gap between Microsoft and Apple continued to grow in Apple's favor.

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Do Android and Windows really have 35% of the tablet market?

A new report out today seems to show Android and Windows making headway in the battle to topple Apple's iPad at the top of the tablet market.

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Microsoft BPOS customers suffer another cloud email outage

Microsoft's "old" cloud is showing its age, with an email outage affecting customers for the second time in a month. 

Exchange Online within Microsoft's Business Productivity Online Suite is being replaced by Office 365, which features what is supposed to be a more resilient infrastructure. But customers are being moved to the new service slowly, and those remaining are suffering occasional outages.

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A tablet is not a PC, or why Microsoft's Windows 8 strategy is puzzling the pundits

Microsoft's mobile chief Andy Lees turned a few heads this week by declaring that "we view a tablet as a sort of PC." Lees went on to say that a tablet should do "all of the things you would expect from a PC." 

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Microsoft boosting Hyper-V replication in Windows Server 8

Workloads running in Hyper-V will be far more reliable after the release of Windows Server 8 because Microsoft is boosting the ability to replicate mission-critical databases and other applications.

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Microsoft to issue four patches for Windows and Office

Microsoft next week will release three patches to fix security holes in all recent versions of Windows desktop and server software and a fourth patch to fix a problem in Office.

The most serious patch will come in a critical update that resolves a security hole allowing remote code execution in Windows Vista and Windows 7.

The world's most widely used operating system: A pictorial history of Windows

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New York Times has a lot of angry iPad subscribers after latest gaffe

The New York Times needs some new mobile app developers. The newspaper, which recently started charging readers for online content, has a lot of angry subscribers on its hands after an update broke the NYTimes for iPad application.

Many, if not most iPad subscribers have been unable to access Times articles since Friday, when an update pushed through Apple's App Store rendered the application unable to display content. The Times app, when it works, is an excellent option, with an easy-to-navigate interface and the ability to download the entire day's paper for offline reading.

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Samsung Chromebook out-selling Android tablets on Amazon.com

When Google pitched new Android tablets and Chrome OS laptops at its annual Google I/O conference, some attendees predicted Android would gain the lion's share of adoption with Chrome OS being relegated to the dustbin. 

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A (small) price cut for Windows Azure

Microsoft is trumpeting a price cut for Windows Azure to the low low price of ... free for all customers starting July 1.

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Why I dumped my 4G Android for an iPhone

Android is the king of the smartphone world, with better sales than Apple's iPhone, and many good reasons for its success.

I'm a big fan of Android. When it works properly, it opens possibilities that aren't available to iPhone users because Google allows installation of third-party applications not available in the Android Market.

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Microsoft will issue 16 patches Tuesday, 9 of them critical

The monthly Patch Tuesday will be a big one, with Microsoft planning 16 patches for Windows, Internet Explorer, Office and other products, with nine of the 16 patches being rated as critical.

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Steve Ballmer to launch Office 365 on June 28

We reported a few days ago that Office 365 is set to launch in June, and sure enough it looks like Steve Ballmer will be in New York City on June 28 to reveal the details on Microsoft's cloud-based productivity service. 

Microsoft just sent out invitations to press for an event "with Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to hear the latest about Office 365, our next generation cloud productivity service which brings collaboration to everyone." 

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First look at Windows 8: Tiles instead of windows and real multi-tasking

Yes, Microsoft is late to the game in tablets. Redmond tried pitching Windows 7 for touch screens without a lot of success, and refused to port Windows Phone 7 to tablets, insisting that a full desktop operating system was needed. And by the time Windows 8 comes out - probably next year - Apple's iPad and Google's Android will probably have the market cornered.

In pictures: The 11 hottest Windows and Android tablets unveiled at CES

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Samsung latest Galaxy Tab: Sleeker than the Xoom, still no iPad

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is set to be released June 8, and while this may be the best Android tablet so far, it still doesn't match the intuitive experience offered by the iPad 2. 

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Skype issues software fix for Windows and Mac users

Skype has released a new version of its Windows software to fix the problem that has been preventing some users from logging in and making calls since yesterday, and plans to issue a similar update to Mac users later today, the company said.

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