Fans of the open-source Firefox Web browser, developed by the Mozilla Foundation, have long enjoyed the “Easter egg” in the software that takes a dig at Microsof t and its browser, Internet Explorer (IE). Typing in “about:mozilla” in the address bar has always brought up some clever
While titans like Apple, Microsoft and Google are grappling for global dominance, ordinary people around the world have begun tinkering with gadgets again. Just look at the Raspberry Pi. It’s barely bigger than a credit card and costs less than R250, but the Pi is a fully fledged computer. Hook it up to your TV and a
Rumours are circulating that Apple may abandon Intel chips in favour of those designed by ARM Holdings. Bloomberg reported on 6 November that “people familiar with the company’s research” had said Apple was “exploring” the idea. Of course these sources
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has a great deal riding on Windows 8. Since he took the helm 13 years ago from his friend Bill Gates, the company’s share price has gone nowhere. The software giant is far from sinking, but it’s slowly taking on water. Windows 8 will be a key product in plugging the hole. But
Hundreds of millions of people around the world are intimately familiar with it. It’s been a cornerstone of Microsoft’s operating-system software since then-CEO Bill Gates unveiled Windows 95 more than 17 years ago. Yet, this Friday, when the US software giant releases Windows 8 to the general
These are anxious times for the world’s largest software company. Microsoft has watched as long-time nemesis Apple has reinvented the smartphone and tablet businesses, carving out most of the industry’s profits for itself. Today, Apple is worth
The Zimbabwean-born and SA-educated CEO of VMware appears to be stepping down. A report in IT channel publication CRN quotes “multiple” unnamed sources as confirming that Paul Maritz will relinquish the role. What’s not known, according to CRN, is whether Maritz, who has
Mali’s new prime minister, Cheick Modibo Diarra, is an accomplished astrophysicist who worked on five Nasa missions and became a US citizen, but said he never forgot the Malian town of his birth. He earned degrees from universities in France and the US, where he later taught mechanical and aerospace engineering
Your crew this week consists of Andy Hadfield, Brett Haggard and Simon Dingle. They discuss Alan Knott-Craig taking the reins at Cell C, Jeffrey Hedberg leaving Altech, BlackBerry’s CEO shuffle, Microsoft’s renaissance post Gates, CEO Twitter rockstars and social networking in 2012, and much more
Next year will be a decisive one for Microsoft as it readies new products to fend off challengers in the consumer technology market. Its upcoming touch and tablet-friendly operating system, Windows 8, will be an important part of its plan to win back the hearts and minds of
