The Ed Bott Report

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The Metro hater's guide to customizing Windows 8

If you hate the new Metro style Start screen and want to use the Windows 8 Consumer Preview mostly with desktop apps, try my five-minute makeover.

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For Microsoft, being underdog is the perfect antitrust defense

By Ed Bott | May 16, 2012, 5:59am PDT

Mozilla and Google have complained that Microsoft is competing unfairly with its decision to block their desktop browsers in Windows RT. But this isn’t 1998, and Microsoft can make a strong...
Windows malware: are you safer today than you were 10 years ago?

By Ed Bott | May 14, 2012, 5:00am PDT

In 2002, after a series of widespread, high-profile, and highly embarrassing Windows-related security incidents, Bill Gates wrote his now famous “Trustworthy Computing” memo. So...
Safari's 'disable Flash' feature does less than it promises

By Ed Bott | May 12, 2012, 9:00am PDT

This week Apple rolled out a new version of Safari and announced that the update will “disable out-of-date versions of Adobe Flash Player.” Too bad the actual update doesn’t do...
When I say 'virus,' you know exactly what I mean

By Ed Bott | May 10, 2012, 6:00pm PDT

Discussions of malware have their own equivalent to Godwin’s Law: As the conversation grows longer, the probability that someone will derail the discussion by arguing over the meaning of...
Mozilla and Google accuse Microsoft of unfair browser competition

By Ed Bott | May 10, 2012, 5:59am PDT

Microsoft will restrict third-party browsers like Firefox and Chrome to the Metro sandbox in Windows 8 for ARM devices, while treating Internet Explorer 10 as an “intrinsic feature” of...
What Microsoft can teach Apple about security response

By Ed Bott | May 8, 2012, 4:43pm PDT

Microsoft just released seven security updates to fix 23 vulnerabilities in Windows and other products. In February, Apple released a massive update that covered 51 vulnerabilities and also...
How much do DVD and digital media playback features really cost?

By Ed Bott | May 7, 2012, 2:33pm PDT

The amounts required to license digital media decoders on Windows PCs seem like chump change. But multiply those pennies times hundreds of millions of PCs, and the bill for Microsoft and its PC...
If VLC can ship a free DVD player, why can't Microsoft?

By Ed Bott | May 5, 2012, 12:00pm PDT

Microsoft’s decision to remove support for playing DVD movies in Windows 8 has caused some confusion. If the VLC media player can provide DVD support for free, why can’t Microsoft? For...
Microsoft serves subpoenas on Google to disrupt criminal botnet

By Ed Bott | May 4, 2012, 9:34am PDT

New details have emerged in a massive lawsuit by Microsoft and the banking industry to take down a global botnet based on the Zeus Trojan. Ironically, the leak occurred when Google exercised its...
Microsoft: Media Center not part of 'the future of entertainment'

By Ed Bott | May 3, 2012, 4:45pm PDT

A new blog post from Microsoft fills in details about how Media Center will fit in Windows 8, as an extra-cost option. And it’s pretty clear that Media Center is not part of “the...