• Walmart taking the Chromebook mainstream

  By Patrick Thibodeau | 18 June, 2013 10:12

  Walmart has begun selling the Chromebook in 2,800 of its approximately 4,600 U.S. stores, expanding the reach of this still-on-the-margins platform. Staples too.

• Microsoft sticks it to the iPad with Windows-first Office strategy

  By Gregg Keizer | 14 June, 2013 21:23

  Microsoft's surprise launch of Office Mobile for the iPhone shows that the software giant continues to favour Windows' future over Office's fortune, analysts said.

• Best Buy gets the best of Microsoft in Windows Store deal

  By Gregg Keizer | 14 June, 2013 17:27

  While Microsoft gained space in 600 Best Buy stores yesterday, the electronics retailer got the better end of the deal, an analyst said.

• Microsoft seizes floor space in Best Buy for Windows mega mini-stores

  By Gregg Keizer | 13 June, 2013 20:44

  Microsoft has struck a deal with Best Buy to create 600 stores-within-stores in the U.S. and Canada to sell customers on Windows 8, the Surface tablet line, and new PCs and devices from other OEMs.

• Microsoft Launches New Embedded OS to Harness the Data of Devices

  By Thor Olavsrud | 13 June, 2013 18:16

  Microsoft has unveiled the latest version of its Windows Embedded CE operating system-Windows Embedded Compact 2013-to help organizations capture the data of programmable logic controls and machine-human interface panels.

• How to script: A Bash crash course

  By Paul Venezia | 08 March, 2013 11:08

  An easy step-by-step guide to the Bash command-line shell and shell scripting

• Prepare your PC for future data disasters

  By Rick Broida | 05 February, 2011 01:51

  Reformatting and restoring a PC is not fun--in the way spending 2 hours in the dentist's chair is not fun. You have to back up all your data (and pray that you haven't forgotten anything), reformat the hard drive, install Windows, track down missing drivers, find and reload all your software, restore your data, and pull out clumps of hair over the things you inevitably neglected to save. (Firefox plug-ins, anyone?)

• Switching to desktop Linux? 6 ways to ease the migration

  By Katherine Noyes | 27 January, 2011 06:52

  With all the many compelling reasons for a company to switch to Linux on the desktop, it's no wonder that businesses large and small are increasingly relying on the free and open source operating system.

• Overclock your smartphone, if you dare

  By Keir Thomas | 05 January, 2011 12:56

  WARNING: Overclocking is not for the faint of heart. Do not attempt to hack your phone unless you understand and accept the risks of turning it into a useless "brick."

• Is your business compliant with open source licenses?

  By Katherine Noyes | 05 November, 2010 10:49

  There are many ways that vendors of proprietary products try to scare business customers away from open source software, and one of the more commonly heard examples involves vague fears about compliance with open source licenses. There's nothing like the specter of a good lawsuit to scare a company back into a paid vendor's welcoming arms.

• Smacking SharePoint into shape

  By Todd R. Weiss | 29 May, 2013 11:23

  More than half of all SharePoint shops have had to add functionality to the core software, which came as a surprise to a number of them. Here's what they're doing.

• How to prepare for Windows 8 even though it's not coming to enterprises

  By Shane O'Neill | 20 May, 2013 20:08

  Windows 8 won't be adopted as a standard at your business anytime soon, according to a new Forrester report. But that doesn't mean IT shouldn't prepare for it to sneak through the BYOD side door. Here are five ways to be ready for Windows 8.

• Windows 8 is an enterprise 'non-starter' because IT sees no value in changes

  By Gregg Keizer | 17 May, 2013 14:43

  Windows 8 faces a number of hurdles in the enterprise, but the biggest reason it won't replace the current corporate champion, Windows 7, is simple: IT shops don't think it's worth the upgrade hassle.

• Microsoft's counter-attack against Windows 8 coverage makes it 'look weak'

  By Gregg Keizer | 13 May, 2013 18:49

  Microsoft on Friday called some media coverage of its plans to update Windows 8 sensationalist and an effort to drive website page views.

• Microsoft must fight to remain influential, say analysts

  By Gregg Keizer | 10 April, 2013 18:23

  Stormed by a shift to tablets and smartphones, and threatened, even in its enterprise bastion, by new demands from workers, Microsoft may lose its place at the table reserved for major technology players, an analyst argued today.

Whitepapers about operating systems

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  Enterprise Buyers Guide for Tablets

  In this enterprise buyers guide Computerworld provides a framework for assessing the suitability of tablet computers with different work styles and demands. The guide takes into account upgrade cycles, pricing and contract issues with telecommunications providers. It features a shopping checklist covering screen types, connectivity and hardware as well as a guide to application management. This is in addition to a full roundup of the major players including road maps for the most popular operating systems.