Ira Wilsker's archive

‘BingItOn’ and ‘Scroogled’ Microsoft’s war on Google dominance

In every basic economics or introduction to business class since the original “Adam Smith,” the business student has learned that competition between strong competitors is good for the consumer. As competing businesses battle for consumer acceptance, these businesses tend to offer some combination of better services, higher quality or lower prices in order to entice the consumer to acquire the products or services of that business.

shadow

Free competitor to Microsoft Office

With a very few exceptions, I have used Microsoft Word as my word processor when writing these columns. Tonight I am using LibreOffice Writer, a component of the newly released LibreOffice version 4.0.0.3, a totally free and open source competitor of Microsoft Office. 

shadow

Are we really under cyber attack?

Many of us can discuss the latest sports news with vigor, debate the crazy lifestyles of our favorite celebrities, and argue the fine points of politics and public policy, but we are often blissfully ignorant about how our dependence on the Internet has made us vulnerable to attacks that can close our banks, disrupt our communications, shut down our utilities, and otherwise destroy much of what makes our life possible in the 21st century.

shadow