David Coursey

My recent column on the State of Massachusetts plan to require all documents to be stored in an “open” format has drawn considerable comment from readers. It was a difficult column to write because there are so many factors at play and I am happy to expand upon it in response to the questions Ive […]

The decision by the Peoples Republic of Massachusetts to require an “open” format for the storage of state documents is a curious one. It seems to be as much about punishing Microsoft as it is the laudable goal of making information more accessible. Microsoft should accede to the states demand that it open its file […]

Many people believe that Googles biggest long-term competitor is Microsoft. They look at Google as a technology company and since Microsoft is the largest and most successful diverse technology company, it must be Microsoft thats in Googles cross hairs. That makes a good story and is doubtlessly true at some level, but its not the […]

There are two conclusions we might draw from the almost simultaneous decision of three respected industry analysts to dramatically slash their predictions of Tablet PC sales: 1. Tablet PCs are a real loser in the marketplace: a bad idea that will never catch on. 2. The analysts were smoking crack when they made their sales […]

Another instant messaging system, just what the world doesnt need. And now Google is giving us one. Forgive me if I contain my enthusiasm, at least with Google Talks initial release. Most of the time I already have three IM clients—MSN, Yahoo and AIM—open on my desktop. Are there people who dont already have an […]

Microsofts Internet Explorer turns 10 on Wednesday. Thats 10 years, not the version number, which is just now approaching 7. While its arguably the most important piece of software to hit user desktops during the decade, its arrival has been a mixed blessing. Some may consider it a curse. Internet Explorer has influenced Windows to […]

Recent good news at Lenovo and bad news at Hewlett-Packard have caused some to start comparing the Communist Chinese companys purchase of IBMs PC business to HPs purchase of Compaq. Making such a comparison is a temptation we should resist, no matter how happy we may have been to see Carly get her come-uppance. Its […]

Regardless of what Dave Winer—or anybody else—thinks, the term “RSS” should never be seen by the average Internet user. I am weighing in on this because Microsoft is taking some heat from Winer, who invented RSS, and others for using the term “Web feeds” instead of RSS for a new feature in Internet Explorer 7. […]

I got interesting responses to my recent column on Trusted Platform Modules, which I see as having a great future in resolving some of our security problems. TPMs, if youve never heard of them, are chips that store cryptographic information needed to unlock hard drives, authenticate network log-ons and perform similar tasks. /zimages/6/28571.gifClick here to […]

The good news is that in less than five years—if we survive that long—we may be able to take PC security for granted. That isnt to say all the worlds data and networks will be completely locked down, just that we wont have to worry nearly so much as we do today. There will still […]

Isnt it nice that Microsoft is treating us like grownups? After all, confronted with a warning that the hardware we buy today might not run Windows Vista, it would be childish of us to stop buying computers. Indeed, since were adults, well keep right on buying. We have enterprise upgrade plans and were sticking to […]

The danger of the Mozilla Foundation forming a for-profit business, Mozilla Corp., is that the result may be as nasty and political as your average nonprofit and as money-grubbing as your typical software company. Nothing wrong with that, except that its a wide departure from the egalitarian notion of “free” software that has carried Mozilla […]