David Coursey

The last seven days have been busy ones for Microsoft. In a single week beginning last Friday, the company gave Longhorn its new name, took the wraps off Beta 1 of the new OS (but couldnt ship it), implemented a mandatory version of the Genuine Advantage verification program and met with the financial analyst community. […]

Im not sure who Cisco is trying to impress with its attempt to silence Michael Lynns revelation of holes in its Internetwork Operating System. At the same time, I wonder what point Mr. Lynn is trying to make, but its obviously something he feels is worth quitting his job and getting sued over. Unless I […]

Click here to view a slideshow of Windows Vista Beta 1. In the Windows world right now there are two types of people: Beta Ones and Beta Twos. Each group will have a different reaction to the Wednesday beta release of Microsofts next-generation operating system, formerly known as Longhorn. Developers and need-to-know IT professionals are […]

Windows Vista, huh? About the time when “Longhorn” was starting to sound like a workable permanent name, Microsoft releases a dopey video—I am still not certain of its significance—and a name that, well, does it really matter what the name is? “Vista” is not a word I commonly use. As a kid, the neighbors had […]

I am at the beginning of maybe doing what for me would be a major blog project. So, I am spending a lot of time thinking about what makes blogs different from other mediums. As best I can tell—and maybe I am missing something—the answer is: not much. As the Catalyst Groups recent blog usability […]

Hot news: Sales taxes are going to be collected on purchases made over the Internet. It will take a new federal law and a clearinghouse arrangement to handle distribution of the revenue, but its going to happen. Thats not a prediction, thats a promise. And it will happen within five years, too. I am not […]

If youre honest about blogs and you pay close attention, there isnt very much in a blog-usability study thats going to surprise you. If, however, youve signed up, been drawn in, drank the Kool-Aid or have merely gone simple, the Catalyst Groups new report is a must-read. Or maybe its just that youve never thought […]

Theres a quick way for Microsoft to extract itself from the controversy over its anti-spyware program and its rumored plan to buy Claria, the big spyware company. I can also think of a slow way, but the quick one is more fun. Here goes: Just change the name of the software from Microsoft Anti-Spyware to […]

Good news for Plaxo users: Thanks to the just-announced AOL deal, Plaxo probably wont go broke. Lacking a means to attract the 10-to-20 million users needed to turn a profit, Plaxo was running out of money. The company had $20 million when it started in 2001 and, by my estimation, is now down to $10 […]

The moral of this story may be that if youre going to use someone elses Wi-Fi network, dont draw attention to yourself. Thats the mistake a Florida man made, and now hes charged with a third-degree felony. The Associated Press reports that Benjamin Smith III was spotted using a laptop in his car while parked […]

I have learned that, yes, there is something worse than having all the users on your network download their own anti-spyware applications. Its that the users start running the software, whether they really need to or not. This “sometimes the cure is worse than the disease” observation came from an IT manager at a university […]

There is there a battle going on inside Microsoft over the possible acquisition of Claria, the worlds largest spyware company. Thats one of the lines of speculation that developed after the Wall Street Journal broke the story last week that the two companies are supposed to be in negotiations. And it makes sense. The reasoning […]