I started using Macs in the 1980s not for recreation, but to get work done. I was involved in writing and desktop publishing. The latter had just debuted on the Mac; I was using them at the office, and needed to bring work home from time to time; I traveled with a regular supply of […]

I wonder how often Microsoft has actually done anything original. Sure, I suppose you can find instances where they have done successful adaptations of intriguing technology, or have bought a company to acquire needed intellectual property. But when they do their own in-house variations on a theme in response to someone else’s innovations, they can […]

An interesting phenomenon is playing out in the PC industry. To see where it’s going, let’s take a look at the past, particularly in the 1990s, when Apple as a company was regarded as lost. Before Steve Jobs returned, plenty of red ink was being shed, and some suggested Apple would be gone in a […]

When Steve Jobs posted a letter last year blasting Flash as being unreliable, slow, buggy, a battery life killer, and a known malware target, among other things, Adobe cried foul. They complained loudly, got plenty of favorable press, but could never prove Jobs wrong. When I presented a challenge to Adobe in these columns, that […]