Everyone had their suspicions as to what Microsoft may or may not have been doing when it released Vista with different stickers like “capable,” and “ready.”  Many consumers felt cheated when they purchased hardware that flat out couldn’t handle Vista.  Well, the truth has finally surfaced:  In the class-action lawsuit brought against Microsoft regarding the labeling system for Vista, the court has released a series of emails between Microsoft execs that show how Microsoft plain deceived customers into buying hardware that couldn’t handle Vista to help Intel and to release Vista earlier than it should have been.

Helio’s losing money like Where’s Waldo,  so in a few years, it may just become another MVNO that couldn’t make it. EarthLink, a Helio parent-company, published its annual report to the SEC recently, and the news is grim: Helio lost over half a billion dollars in three years.  

It would be nice if companies would only send your bill in the mail but sadly that’s not how the systems works.  Sure, you can try to request all the ads/mailers and maybe even get somewhere.  Requesting to stop all other mailers from Comcast will net you a $1.99 “change of service” fee.

The majority of games released these days are multi-platform, getting released on at least two of the major consoles at roughly the same time. This is especially true of this generation’s PS3 and Xbox 360, but which console does the best job with these games?

One of the factors deterring many consumers from upgrading their PCs to Vista was the high price points for the new shiny operating system. The folks at Microsoft were finally let in on the secret, and decided to lower the price points of Vista substantially.

Now that Blu-Ray has won the format war against HD-DVD; laptop manufacturers are scrambling to integrate Blu-Ray drives in their laptops.  Laptops with Blu-Ray drives have significantly shorter battery life when viewing Blu-Ray content.  Manufacturers should consider forcing the extended life battery options on any laptop equipped with a Blu-Ray drive.

An anti-market has grown up around Windows Vista that was made possible by largely by its haphazard design and high price tag. But that works well for Linux, which is enjoying some strong sales growth at Novell.

Amazon is having a sale on some of their Apple computers. The recently unveiled MacBook Air is on sale, and it happens to be one of their electronic best sellers ranking at #17. Currently you can purchase the MacBook Air at Amazon for $1744.They’ve knocked off $5 from the list price, and they are also including a $50 rebate offer. Apple is currently offering the same computer for $1799. If you can’t take advantage of Apple’s education or employee discount, and you aren’t going to purchase the Apple Care, Amazon would be a great option.

Is it a publicity stunt at the expense of the homeless or a real gesture of hope? Google has announced that it will provide the homeless population of San Francisco with free voice mail for life. The system would give each homeless person who accepts it a free phone number with voice mail, for life.

Ever since MacWorld, Apple fans have been waiting for a 3G iPhone and it may be closer than you think.  Any revision to the iPhone will no doubt be welcome and hopefully the design will be updated as well.

It’s clear by now that not even Microsoft is happy with what it “achieved” with Vista.  Some internal emails have been made available after a federal judge ordered them unsealed.  They are being used to support the plaintiff’s position over the “Vista capable” lawsuit.

If a PC design concept ever makes it to market, the visually impaired will have an entirely new computing experience.  The “Sandbox PC” and Zen operating system work together that creates a “computing environment that can be used with eyes closed.”

It seems like there’s a new lawsuit against Apple almost every week.  This time a suit claiming that Apple infringes on a patent issued in 1990 that describes a system capable of displaying the phone number and name of the person calling.

Nintendo is not beyond the reach of the law and neither are its suppliers.  Hitachi and Sharp both supply screens for the company’s popular DS handheld gaming console.  They have been accused of price fixing the displays and are under investigation by Japan’s Fair Trade Commission.

Online security has never been more important than it is now, with more people than ever buying and accessing sensitive data over the Internet. The choice of web browser is an important first step at safeguarding yourself online, so a warning from Paypal about using Apple’s Safari browser, the standard on Macintosh computers, and also available for PCs, should be heeded.