Source:http://blogs.zdnet.com/hardware/?p=1799

Microsoft has decided to walk away from its $44.6 billion acquisition bid for Yahoo.

Source:  http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/window-on-windows/?p=675

Let me start by saying that people exist in the world that prefer Internet Explorer to Firefox. They are comfortable with the user interface (UI) and do not care to change. If you are a stubborn donkey, you have some options.

Keep reading. 

As a browser, I use IE and I use Firefox. I was always a little perturbed that Firefox couldn’t carry the same look and feel as Windows Vista. I can compare it to my neighborhood. Recently, a homeowner pulled his oak tree and put in a palm tree. The entire neighborhood is lined with oak trees, over 75 of them. The look and feel of the neighborhood is traditional southern, not miami glitz. Firefox to me is miami glitz. I recently discovered how to give Firefox a traditional southern feel.

Figure A. shows a traditional southern Internet Explorer.

Figure A.

Figure B shows a Miami glitz Firefox.

Figure B.

If you are ready to get rid of the Miami glitz, download the following add-on (Figure C).

Figure C.

After installing the add-on, and restarting Firefox, you have Firefox with an IE Look and feel (traditional southern) (Figure D).

Apple is much better than other computer makers at solving customers' technical problems, Consumer Reports found in a subscriber survey.

By default, at three o’clock every morning Windows XP’s Automatic Updates tool contacts the Windows Update site and automatically downloads and installs updates for your system. However, that cannot happen if other people who use the computer shut it down at the end of the day. Fortunately, you can prevent anyone from shutting down Windows XP with a little registry tweak. Here’s how:

1. Launch the Registry Editor (Regedit.exe).
2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\ SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer.
3. Right-click the Explorer subkey and select New | DWORD Value.
4. Name the key NoClose and press [Enter] twice.
5. Type 1 in the Value Data text box and click OK.

To enable the setting, close the Registry Editor and restart your system. Once your system restarts, you will not be able to it shut down by clicking the Shutdown button on the Start menu. This will prevent most users from inadvertently shutting down the computer.

When you do want to shut down your system, just access Task Manager by pressing [Ctrl][Alt][Del], then pull down the Shut Down menu and select the Turn Off command.

Source: http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/window-on-windows/?p=644&tag=nl.e064

If you’ve ever wanted to create your own font or maybe just a special character — for example, a character showing your initials for when you wish to approve documents with your “signature” — you can easily create your own special characters using a hidden Windows XP tool called the Private Character Editor. Here’s how:

1. Press [Windows]R to open the Run dialog box.
2. Type eudcedit in the Open text box and click OK.
3. When the Private Character Editor launches, you’ll see the Select Code dialog box. Click OK.
4. A user interface that looks and works very much like Paint will appear. From this, you may use standard tools to create your characters.
5. When you finish, select the Save Character command on the Edit menu.

Once you save your new character, you can access it using the Character Map tool. Here’s how:

1. Press [Windows]R to open the Run dialog box.
2. Type charmap in the Open text box and click OK.
3. When the Character Map appears, select the Font drop-down list and select All Fonts (Private Characters).
4. Select your character, click the Select button, and then click the Copy button.

You can now paste your font character in any document that you want.