links for 2006-12-23

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• Research In Motion’s Record Year
  “For its fiscal third quarter, Waterloo (Ont.)-based RIM reported sales of $835 million, up 49% from the same period a year ago, and profits of $176 million, or 93 cents a share. That beats the year-ago quarter by 46%.” I guess NTP didn’t hit them too hard.
  (tags: rim wireless palm)
• BadVista Blog — BadVista
  “…BadVista.org, a campaign with a twofold mission of exposing the harms inflicted on computer users by the new Microsoft Windows Vista and promoting free software alternatives that respect users’ security and privacy rights.” Seems like the FSF’s time could be better spent.
  (tags: vista microsoft fsf linux windows)
• VMware Workstation 6.0 Beta Release Notes
  The beta for VMware Workstation 6.0 has arrived — I’m downloading it now. Among the features 6.0 will include are support for Vista as a host OS, support for running VMs in the background, and support for high-speed USB 2.0 Devices. It’ll post at Free Enterprise once I’ve tested it.
  (tags: vmware virtualization)
• Finding the Linux Desktop
  Amy Wohl says that Linux is ready for desktop users, but desktop users aren’t ready for Linux. I happen to agree, but there’s a definite IF… IF you’re not tied to a Windows-only app, whether for real or sentimental reasons, then Linux can suit you very well. Linux has been doing so for me for years now.
  (tags: linux)
• Microsoft Watch – Vista – Vista Won’t End Windows XP Availability
  “That said, Microsoft will make Windows XP available for from 12 to 24 months after Vista’s general availability, depending on the sales channel.” That’s how long it’ll take for Vista sales to really get cooking.
  (tags: windows vista)