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1. 
   Review - Winamp 5 Full

   5.34 Build 1278 (Apr 30, 2007)

   While WinAmp is still an excellent program for what it does best (playing music) there is a serious problem with the program if you attempt to install under Windows Vista 64-bit. Because of the driver/kernel changes, the CD burn utility (which is borrowed from Roxio) will not work, and will cause issues with the system after installation. And while there is a work-around (involving removal of the registry keys for that application) it's still enough of an annoyance to keep the app from getting five stars.

2. 
   Review - CrossOver Linux

   6.0 RC2 (Dec 29, 2006)

   Wine is the core of CodeWeavers. What the company does is take Wine (the OpenSource program) and actually improve upon it so that they can make the statement that X program will run on CodeWeavers. Wine is still hit or miss when it comes to running of some programs. So yeah, Wine may be free, but if you're running a business that needs to run Microsoft Office and guarantee 100% compatability, then paying for CodeWeavers is usually a good investment.

3. Comment - After five years, 64-bit editions of Windows make up nearly half of install base

   6.0 RC2 (Jul 11, 2010 - 8:57 PM)

   Agreed. Catia, Lightwave, Maya, Shade and Photoshop all have 64 bit versions of the software available, and all run a lot smoother and easier under Win7 64 bit. The company I work for is making the jump from WinXP to Win7 64 bit, and while the hardware upgrades are a pain to deal with, it will provide for the engineering and graphics departments a vast improvement in the work environment.

4. Comment - What does it mean that KIN, Sidekick and Symbian-Guru went R.I.P. within about 24 hours?

   6.0 RC2 (Jul 3, 2010 - 4:06 PM)

   Perhaps I'm in the minority, but to be honest I have never had any interested in nor any need for a smartphone. Part of this is due to the fact that I have worked in companies where any sort of phone other than a plain cellphone was banned (security reasons), so the 'shiny!' factor of smartphones never touched me. When I go to look at cellphones, they are wonderful devices but all those features are things that I would never use. Web browsing on a phone? Why? Instant messaging? No reason for it myself. Multimedia? I have MP3 players enough around me. Camera? Forget it, I love my digital SLR system. So for me, a smartphone is just a plain phone with a lot of useless extras, and only meets my main requirement... namely, it can place and take calls.

5. Comment - Dell: We did not knowingly ship faulty motherboards

   6.0 RC2 (Jul 3, 2010 - 4:00 PM)

   As someone who had to deal with the issues of the capacitor failures in the Optiplex GX270/280 system as well as seeing Professional Workstation 650 and 670 systems plagued with the same problems, I find Dell's attempts to spin this in their favor worrying. At my workplace, I had to replace some 100+ motherboards over this problem, and we still discover one or two systems that develop problems long after the warranty is expired. It was indeed known by the support personnel, but in our case they shipped motherboards without question to us. Just as they ship motherboards for the Nvidia issues in the Latitude D620/630 notebooks.
   
   The issue is really one of quality control. If a company knows that something is defective but keeps shipping out the same product, then they should be liable for damages. In this case, Dell knew the motherboards were shipped with defective parts, but they kept shipping them out until forced to make changes (and in the case of the D620/630 systems, they're still just shipping out the same known defective chipsets).

6. Comment - HP Lawsuit Against Acer Cites 1994 Compaq EISA Patent

   6.0 RC2 (Apr 24, 2007 - 6:56 AM)

   ISA slots existed up through the Socket A motherboards for AMD, and a few oddball versions existed early on for the Socket 478 for Intel. Four years ago it would have been fairly easy to still find a motherboard with one ISA slot, but by then the move to PCI was strong.
   
   What really killed ISA (and eventually PCI) wasn't necessarily the next generation slot, but rather the fact that the controller chip makers started integrating the network card, the sound and video into the chipsets. For all intents, you could build a system with no slots at all and it'd be perfectly functional. Or you could build a system with just a PCIe slot for the person who wants a better video card, and it'd still be perfectly good. The days of needing an add-on card have passed except for those with specialized functions (video capture, data logging, mechanical or industrial sensors). Even wireless cards are now being embedded on the system board, removing another need for a card slot.

7. Comment - Interest Group Works to Block XM-Sirius Merger

   6.0 RC2 (Mar 30, 2007 - 1:48 PM)

   Yes, it does go back to the consumer. We vote with both our pocketbooks and our on/off switches, and personally speaking I have been voting 99% of radio (both satellite and terrestrial) with the on/off switch.
   
   Now, I do listen to a lot of music. Some of it comes from cd's and mp3's, but I also listen to a lot of streaming media from outside of the US. Stations such as Klassik Radio (www.klassikradio.de), the BBC, the CBC and others are heavily bookmarked and tuned to on a regular basis. I also do a lot of shortwave listening, something that is very rare in today's listening society. But the point is that domestic stations do not play what interests *me* and that includes the satellite offerings. (And yes, I know that there are some offerings on satellite from foreign sources.)
   
   But I am the exception, not the rule. The majority of listeners could care less if there's one service or two, as long as their programming remains. And the largest reason for subscriptions are sports-oriented programming such as Major League Baseball and NASCAR. And that will be the driving force that may determine if a merger goes through, not competition.