Brandon Dimmel

Small businesses desiring an upgrade to Microsoft's newest operating system, Vista, need not worry. Although it was first rumored that mini corporations would have to wait until the home release of Vista in late January of next year, the ... Redmond-based company has announced that the operating system will be available on November 30, instead. (source: betanews.com ) Small businesses anxious for the upgrade can thank a joint effort from vendor CompUSA and Microsoft. The special package is part of Microsoft's recognition that half of small businesses shop at retailers for their operating system ... (view more)

Familiar with Linux? It's the hardcore techie's answer to the more restrictive (albeit user-friendly) operating systems from Microsoft and Apple. Those who know what they're doing with Linux can achieve unparalleled goals via software applications ... and open source technology. It's also a great way to hack an Xbox. Changes are possible upon the horizon, however, with the recent announcement that Microsoft has partnered with Linux owner Novell. The result is a relationship that will continue until at least 2012, and include some major cash transactions. The primary goal of the agreement is to ... (view more)

As technology leaps forward with new operating systems (Vista), and home entertainment hardware (Playstation 3, Blu-ray, HD-DVD), we often forget about the environmental realities behind such massive production. In many cases, manufacturing these ... wares can prove extremely costly to Mother Nature, although at least one prominent American electronics company is pledging to do something about that fact. Hewlett Packard, or HP, recently pledged to drastically reduce its own greenhouse gas emissions. HP's announcement is all a part of its joint initiative with environmental watchdog WWF (World ... (view more)

Nowadays, it's hard to imagine visiting a search engine other than Google. For years -- the number somewhat irrelevant -- Google has been the "find machine" of choice, directing users to easy-to-navigate lists of the best and also most relevant ... sites in the query range. For this writer, the last prominent search engine used prior to Google was probably Alta Vista...and that was a very, very long time ago (long before Y2K). However, now many insiders consider Ask.com to be a serious challenger to Google's popularity, and although there's a long way to go, the company is making serious strides ... (view more)

For those who have seen Microsoft's much-anticipated new operating system, Windows Vista, delayed time and time again, the recent news that the OS has officially gone gold will be refreshing (if not surprising) news. Announced at 11am Pacific time ... yesterday, Microsoft has officially moved production of Vista to manufacturers. That's the last step before retailers get their hands on the OS, which is set to ship to business soon and home PCs by the end of January. The release dates, although rumored for months, have never been 100% clear. Instead, information leaks are generally confirming ... (view more)

Not even the essence of life is safe from hackers, it seems. Although one might expect industrial chemical dumping to be the greatest threat to a city's water supply (the Detroit River is proof), hackers actually cracked a laptop at a Harrisburg, PA ... treatment plant earlier last month. The infected computer gave the intruders access to a variety of vital files. The question is: did they use those critical files? Not apparently, according to reports. Instead, the hackers took the opportunity to load the access point with Spyware and computer viruses, perhaps unaware of the power they wielded. ... (view more)

At the Halo 2 launch in 2004, thousands upon thousands of gaming geeks lined up on a cold and wet November night to amongst the first people to play Master Chief's latest adventure. Not long after that, millions upon millions of Star Wars nerds ... filed through city streets and into theaters to catch a glimpse of Darth Vader's exciting unveiling. My only question is this: What will the business Vista launch be like, come November 30? Vista's release has been anticipated by corporations for years, not unlike the buzz surrounding techie favorites like Halo and Star Wars. The clock is ticking down ... (view more)

Wouldn't it be nice if every company offered users its lowest-selling, zero-profit-making products for free? Hey, I'd take a Sega Dreamcast. Well, now it appears that Microsoft is offering Office Accounting Express 2007 to end users for free, ... providing a complimentary license to download the otherwise expensive product. Office Accounting Express 2007 (OAE 2007) is a low-end calculating program for small businesses. That doesn't make it a cheap product, but apparently it hasn't exactly been popular amongst Microsoft clients. As a result, the company is offering the program for free download as ... (view more)

It seems Mr. Bill Gates will be donning a big red suit this holiday season, as Microsoft readies its new operating system, Vista, for release in the New Year. The software giant appears ready to launch a massive upgrade program for many of its loyal ... customers, with reduced prices for those interested in replacing the Windows XP operating system with Vista. The generous upgrade offers are being called "coupons" by some, with speculation that the initiative is being driven by Microsoft's own guilt over continuously pushing back Vista's release. The "coupons" will be available any day now, and ... (view more)

According to reports, Microsoft has posted some very impressive profits for the first quarter of its fiscal year. This period, ending September 30, saw earnings that were generally higher than most expectations expressed by the company, a surprise ... considering the fact that Microsoft's most anticipated product, the operating system Vista, is yet to even be released. The official terminology for said earnings place the profits at the "high end of expectations". The reasoning behind such a bountiful windfall appears to be the success of both the Xbox 360 console and Microsoft's SQL Server 2005. ... (view more)