Ed Bott

Ed Bott

Senior Contributing Editor

Ed Bott is an award-winning technology writer with more than two decades' experience writing for mainstream media outlets and online publications. He has served as editor of the U.S. edition of PC Computing and managing editor of PC World; …both publications had monthly paid circulation in excess of 1 million during his tenure. He is the author of more than 25 books, including Windows 10 Inside Out (now in its 4th edition) and Windows 11 Inside Out (scheduled for publication in 2022).

Ed Bott is a freelance technology journalist and book author. All work that Ed does is on a contractual basis. Since 1994, Ed has written more than 25 books about Microsoft Windows and Office. Along with various co-authors, Ed is completely responsible for the content of the books he writes. As a key part of his contractual relationship with publishers, he gives them permission to print and distribute the content he writes and to pay him a royalty based on the actual sales of those books. Ed's books are currently distributed by Pearson Education under the Microsoft Press imprint. On occasion, Ed accepts consulting assignments. In recent years, he has worked as an expert witness in cases where his experience and his knowledge of Microsoft technology and licensing have been useful. In each such case, his compensation is on an hourly basis, and he is hired as a witness, not an advocate. Ed sometimes receives fees and/or travel expenses for live speeches and webinars from companies and organizations. Acceptance of these fees does not constitute an endorsement of the company's products. Ed does not own stock or have any financial interest in any technology company. Ed does not accept gifts from companies he covers. All hardware products he writes about are purchased with his own funds or are review units covered under formal loan agreements and are returned after the review is complete.

Latest from Ed Bott

Vista Hands On #15: Access shared folders from a Linux machine, part 2

In the last installment of this series I showed how to quickly (and temporarily) mount a shared folder on a Windows Vista machine from a Linux PC in read-only mode. But what if you want the Vista shared folder to be permanently available to all users, in read-write mode? Here are the step-by-step instructions.

April 2, 2007 by Ed Bott in Open Source

After a 10-year Linux migration, Munich considers switching back to Windows and Office

For the past decade, Munich has been the poster child for open-source advocates, who pointed to its successful migration from a Microsoft platform to one built on Linux and OpenOffice. Now, a newly elected government has called in experts to see whether it's time to switch back.

August 18, 2014 by Ed Bott in Open Source

Apple releases Flashback removal tool, infections drop to 270,000

Apple today released an update to its Java component that removes known versions of the Flashback malware. In a separate study, Symantec reported that it counted only 270,000 infected Macs, down from a high of 600,000 last week.

April 12, 2012 by Ed Bott in Open Source

Is it time for Apple to face an antitrust investigation?

Apple's always had a reputation as a tight-lipped company, but now it's under fire for being a bully as well. Today, the open-source VideoLAN Foundation claimed that Apple is actively trying to block its widely used multimedia playback program, VLC. Is it time for antitrust regulators to take a closer look?

December 17, 2009 by Ed Bott in Open Source

Ogg versus the world: don't fall for open-source FUD

Big corporations no longer have a monopoly on fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD). While researching the current battle over HTML5 media formats, I’ve discovered that open-source advocates are just as capable of spreading FUD and outright lies in trying to sell their point of view. Here's the proof.

May 2, 2010 by Ed Bott in Open Source