Get outspoken insights and expert advice on the products and companies that define today's tech landscape, from a source who knows these technologies inside and out.
Ed Bott is an award-winning technology writer with more than two decades' experience writing for mainstream media outlets and online publications.
When Steven Sinofsky moved to the Windows division in 2006, it was fundamentally broken. He leaves behind an engineering process that runs smoothly. But he also leaves a legacy of cutthroat politics and feuding between divisions.
Repeat after me: There are no ads in Windows 8. Yes, you can find ads if you look closely at a group of consumer apps from a separate Microsoft division. But you'll be surprised to learn the real reason why those apps are in every copy of Windows 8.
Real people, the kind who don't read tech blogs and who buy PCs from shopping channels on basic cable, have finally got their hands on Windows 8. The early reviews will almost certainly surprise you.
Yes, you can legally use Office 2013 to do real work on a Windows RT device like Microsoft's Surface. But be prepared to pay extra. I've got details, including the monthly price tag.
You can get a smoking deal on an upgrade to Windows 8 Pro if you're ready to make that purchase before January 31, 2013. But there are some gotchas, and one inexplicable and unfair pricing decision means that early buyers of Windows 8 PCs pay more than Windows 7 users.
Google's search suggestions for Windows 8 are like a treasure map for haters. But guess what Bing users see when they begin typing Google-related searches?
An emotional complaint from an early buyer of the Surface RT went viral, inspiring a long discussion of the issue on the popular Hacker News discussion board. That thread inspired a response from a very authoritative source.
I've spent the last week using Microsoft's new Surface with Windows RT. It does some things remarkably well, but it's not a PC. Is it right for you?
This new version of Windows is a disaster. Power users can't wait to replace the UI, and businesses are avoiding it like the plague. I'm talking, of course, about Windows XP. Ah, how quickly we forget.
In all of this week's news about Microsoft's Surface with Windows RT, one app has gone practically unmentioned. Will a "modern UI" version of Skype play a starring role at next week's Windows 8 launch event?