Before I discuss Microsoft, let’s look at Google. Once upon a time, Google tried to build smartphones, and failed. In 2011, the search giant announced it was buying Motorola Mobility, a maker of mobile handsets, set-top boxes and other gear, for $12.5 billion. The purchase was finalized in 2012. But Motorola handsets had been on […]

I’ve got good news for anyone who dumped money on Windows 8, or is still using Windows 7. If you upgrade to Windows 10 the first year of its release, it’s going to be free. Yes, free. No subscriptions, no limited features. Free. You might assume Microsoft’s copying machines went after Apple’s playbook with OS […]

Let me say at the outset that I’m posing this question not because I truly believe that Microsoft would actually give money to Consumer Reports, or that the publication would even accept such a donation, but I have to wonder about a few things in the December 2012 issue. This is the annual product wrap-up edition, where […]

So it was time. After using the public preview of Windows 8 for a number of months, I decided recently that it was time to install the RTM version, the one released to manufacturing by Microsoft. This should have been a trivial matter, but it wasn’t. The story about how I got a reviewer’s copy […]