We all have them. Those favorite tools and utilities that help make our Windows environment just a little bit more comfortable. For me, the following eight utilities aren't so much conveniences as they are life preservers for my sanity. Each one has become an integral part of my day to day.

via weblog.infoworld.com

Hoping to get mobile professionals to switch from their BlackBerry devices, HTC on Tuesday introduced a stylish Windows Mobile smartphone that sports multiple business applications and a slide-out QWERTY keyboard.

via informationweek.com

While the Beta 2 release of its next browser is still a few days away, Microsoft on Monday unveiled a few of the privacy-related features that will grace Internet Explorer (IE) 8. Due in final form by the end of the year or early 2009, IE 9 will build off of the previous release, IE 7, and greatly expand on the product's security and functionality.

via windowsitpro.com

Hewlett-Packard and Acer have lowered prices of their netbooks as the back-to-school sales season kicks into gear in the U.S., offering bargains for users. Acer slashed prices on its Aspire one netbooks on Friday to as low as US$329 for one version, while HP revealed new prices for Mini-Notes on its Web site.

via keznews.com

THERE’S something a bit desperate about the way Microsoft is pushing Windows Vista. Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that Microsoft is spending $300 million on an advertising campaign featuring comedian Jerry Seinfeld as the key pitchman.

via manilastandardtoday.com

George Lucas has skillfully managed to expand the Star Wars franchise and dip into most forms of entertainment including gaming. Now some of my best gaming experiences are courtesy Lucas Arts, including Star War's Rouge Squadron, Pod Racer and Star Wars Battlefront, which basically means I eagerly await the release of the next Star Wars game a.k.a The Force Unleashed.

via techtree.com

"I'll say yes to that idea, but not because it is already running or anything," Kojima told Eurogamer when asked whether he was planning on porting the games over to the PS3. "I'm just saying yes because it's possible, I think it is possible. Sorry to say we don't have specific plans at the moment, but it is possible, yes."

via blog.wired.com

# Provide physical security for servers. Doing so for every machine may not be practical, but your servers need to be in a locked room with monitored access.
# Disable the guest account. Windows 2000 finally disables the guest account by default, but if you didn't build the image yourself, always double-check to make sure that the guest account isn't enabled.

via computerworld.com

Microsoft Corp. re-released one of its Aug. 11 security updates yesterday, explaining that it had posted an incomplete version to its own download center last week.
Users who manually downloaded MS08-051 since Aug. 12 to patch Office 2003 should obtain the second version as soon as possible, Microsoft said.

via keznews.com

Even if it is virtually Windows Vista at the core, or at least an evolved form of Vista, Windows 7 is being artificially dissociated from its precursor. At the start of August 2008, Microsoft finally put an end to the deafening silence surrounding the Windows 7 project, and started actually communicating bits and pieces about the next iteration of the Windows client.

via keznews.com

BurnAware is the ultimate disc burning software. BurnAware Free is ideal for users with basic disc burning needs as backup, creating data, audio, video discs and burning disc images. Free, easy to set up and maintain, it enables you to save your files to disc quickly, provides more flexible interface to help you complete your burning tasks much faster.

via keznews.com

I need to replace my Palm Treo 650. Here's what I need. I need the organizing/calendar as well as contacts features. It needs to be a quad-band phone; have a screen similar in size to the Palm 650; a camera so it can record video clips and photos. It also needs to send text messages with photos attached and a QWERTY keyboard.

via news.cnet.com

Microsoft Corp. has already seeded its most popular patching tool for corporate users with a reference to Windows 7, its planned successor to Windows Vista. Windows 7 Client is listed on the product-selection screen of Windows Server Update Services, which lets IT managers feed security updates to PCs and servers. Microsoft said the appearance of Windows7 in WSUS wasn't an accident.

via computerworld.com

So I've previously cloned the thirteen Vista computers in out lab without any significant problems. Well, problems that I can point to the cloning process as the cause of the problem anyway. What have I been using to do the cloning? That would be the free linux-based Clonezilla.

via travelinlibrarian.info

Microsoft is a little like the General Motors of technology. The software giant is, of course, much more successful, financially and in market share, than the troubled auto maker. But, as at GM, Microsoft's very size — over 90,000 employees — and its bureaucratic structure often make the company seem more stolid and less innovative than smaller, nimbler rivals like Google and Apple.

via capecodonline.com