Brandon Dimmel

Now that Vista has been out for a few weeks now, the focus has shifted a bit from the operating system as a whole to other, new projects from Microsoft. One of the most notable new releases from the company is Office Outlook 2007, a program that ... promises to save the user oodles of time when navigating email and calendar screens. Reviews are starting to pour out on Office Outlook's recent edition, and we thought we'd discuss some of the highlights and lowlights here. Much like Vista, Microsoft has crafted Office Outlook 2007 to be as easy to navigate and edit as possible. If you need to place ... (view more)

The Microsoft Windows Vista hoopla has been fairly cool and collected in many circles, including the realm of home consumers. And yet, many aren't yet convinced the new operating system has anything they absolutely must install on their computers. ... The perception is that Vista lacks enough killer apps to win over PC owners like Windows 95, although industry predictions appear very confident this will change. In fact, Wall Street has been so aggressive in forecasting Vista's growth that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer recently pleaded that they scale back on the super sales prophecies. The problem ... (view more)

Just when you thought the cost of upgrading to Microsoft's new operating system, Vista, was expensive enough, the company announces it has raised the support fees for both XP and the new version of Office. The charge allotted for requesting help ... with either XP or Vista has been raised to $59, up a good chunk of change from the pre-Vista age of just $39. For now, there are fewer complainers. That's because those who have recently invested in Windows Vista are charged nothing for support calls during the first 90 days of ownership. However, after that period ends, all bets are off. (Source: ... (view more)

The millions of office and home office users that take advantage of Microsoft's Excel should be very careful. Last week, the company warned the public of a "zero-day" attack that acts upon certain weaknesses in the program. As expected, it's based ... on an email attachment threat, although it appears to look legitimate enough to pose a serious threat. While Microsoft's security advisory attempts to calm users by stating that the attack is "very limited", it's still got many businesses worried. According to reports, hackers are sending email packing malicious Excel attachments that are able to ... (view more)

Just when you thought it was safe to browse the Internet -- A recent examination of Microsoft's new virus and malware protection software, OneCare, has revealed that the product is already out of date. That means there are plenty of threats floating ... around the web that can bypass OneCare's defenses and infect a computer. The study was performed by British computer publication "Virus Bulletin", which is widely respected for its "VB100" tests. These examinations are considered a benchmark in accurately displaying the potential threats for a program like OneCare. (Source: astalvista.com ) So, ... (view more)

You've heard of pay-as-you-go cell phone plans and pay-per-view movies. It's proven a lucrative market for telecommunications companies and cable television services. And now Microsoft is introducing something very similar with its distribution of ... Office 2003. That's right -- it's the old version -- not the new Word and Excel tools included in the fresh new versions of Vista now sitting on retailer shelves. According to sources (and Microsoft themselves), there is a demand for this kind of program. It may work best in corporate environments where the necessary software is only needed once or ... (view more)

Vista's been out and it's all the buzz. Some critics are claiming it just doesn't pack enough must-have applications to make it worth the costly upgrade, while others find the vastly improved Aero graphics and security to be a necessity for any home ... or office. Regardless, most people would probably take Vista if it were just a bit cheaper. How's $8 sound? That's the price set by Iranian hackers, who have reportedly cracked Microsoft's new operating system. Word of the crack comes from Iranian watchdog Taliya News, who believe the illegal act was performed so people of that country could ... (view more)

A few days ago, I took a look at some of the reasons for the rather dull launch of Windows Vista, with many critics finding ample reasons to stay home, grumble, and refuse to do the XP upgrade shuffle. Most of the criticisms were about the lack of ... "killer apps" already available for the new operating system, leaving many people wondering, "why bother?" Come to think of it, the lineup is thinner than most game console launches... and Halo 2's release party sure was certainly much more exciting. (Source: news.com ) Today, more criticisms are slowly rising to the surface. They're predominantly ... (view more)

With the big box electronics stores and everyday department retailers now (finally) selling Vista to home consumers, it's time to wait and see exactly how well the new operating system does for Microsoft. The project, once code named "Longhorn", has ... involved ten thousand employees and a whole lot of investment -- both in time and money. It seems as if the first indicators of release success are coming from major online computer retailer Dell, who announced a few days ago that they've already shipped tens of thousands of copies of Vista. (Source: dell.com ) Dell's own Vista flurry began last ... (view more)

Well, Vista has just launched. It's been months and months of ramped up excitement as Microsoft's most anticipated product in ten years finally reaches the average consumer, and although the buzz is hardly a fraction of what it was for Windows 95, ... Vista, like a McDonald's double cheeseburger, has people talking. Of course, now the big questions surround whether the new OS is worth the investment, with many insiders concerned there simply are not enough "killer apps". One such app is Office 2007, the most recent version of software deemed necessary by business workers and university students ... (view more)