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Microsoft will offer a multi-license "family pack" for Windows 7, according to a pair of bloggers who cite details in the end-user licensing agreement (EULA) of a recently-leaked build.

Consumers running Windows Vista Ultimate, who have blasted Microsoft for breaking promises to deliver a host of extras, are now knocking the company's upgrade plans and discount pricing for Windows 7.

There is only one obvious question in Cisco's overture Tuesday that it might take on Microsoft and Google in the online productivity application arena -- what took so long?

Greenpeace International on Wednesday criticized some major PC makers for backtracking on commitments to reduce hazardous substances in hardware.

Moblin is an Intel-created open-source operating system for netbooks and, specifically, the kind of people who use them.

New power-efficiency specifications being implemented by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday could help consumers purchase energy-efficient electronics while cutting energy costs.

Mozilla's Firefox 3.5 is off to a running start. The new browser, boasting significant speed increases and a host of added features, was officially released Tuesday morning. By mid-afternoon, the program had surpassed 1.6 million downloads worldwide and was steadily climbing.

A year ago today, Microsoft pulled the plug on Windows XP, no longer selling new copies in most venues. The June 30 kill date for XP followed a six-month outcry from users about Windows Vista, with demands that Microsoft keep XP available alongside Vista for the many users who were frustrated by ease-of-use, compatibility, and retraining issues.

I find it's best to live by a few simple rules. I don't micturate into the wind. I don't mix tequila with red wine (not any more, anyway). I never get into arm-wrestling matches with fat guys named "Tiny."

With laptop shipments gaining momentum over the past few years the question arises: Are desktops on the verge of being banished from the enterprise?

Google Chrome is a browser whose only claim to fame (aside from being a Google product) is its speed and simplicity. In fact, some would claim that Chrome is simple to a fault, with version 1 of the browser lacking features that seem almost fundamental for a Web browser in 2009, such as form auto-fill, a full-screen mode, and extensions. With Chrome 2.0, Google has closed the gap a little bit, adding a full-screen mode, form auto-fill, and the ability to remove thumbnails from the “New Tab” page, along with a whole host of bug fixes and overall performance improvements.

Sounds like a crazy question, in this era of Facebook, Twitter and a "digital millennial" generation that's grown up never not knowing the Internet.

In one of the final scenes of the movie, "Charlie Wilson's War," the story of America's part in Afghanistan's victory over the Soviet Union, Congressman Wilson is shown asking for more funding to rebuild Afghanistan, a request that is denied.

Patrick Gelsinger is an electrical engineer. He joined Intel in 1979, worked on the design of the 80286 and 80386 microprocessors, and was the chief architect for the 80486 chip.

When a British study recently showed the average computer keyboard is dirtier than a toilet seat, Jacqueline Miller's worst suspicions were confirmed.

Mary Lou Jepsen stirred up a controversy when she left the struggling One Laptop Per Child nonprofit effort in December to start her own for-profit company, Pixel Qi, with the goal to create a US$75 laptop using technologies she invented at OLPC.

Informal speed tests show that Windows 7 boots faster than Vista, and many users have reported that it "feels" faster during everyday operation. (Maybe that's because the User Account Control is more restrained in Windows 7 than in Vista and doesn't pester them so often.) But you can take some practical steps to goose Vista so that it will acquire some of Windows 7's pep.

Vista received well-deserved criticism for bringing few noteworthy new features in its train when it arrived to take over from Windows XP. In contrast, Windows 7 offers plenty of new stuff to like. Fortunately, you can add many of these features to your Vista or XP machine by using downloads and Web services.

I'm answering my own question this time: How do you configure the Places Bar in Vista's standard file dialog boxes?

As we learned last week, it's fairly easy to fix a noisy overheated laptop: Open an underside panel, (carefully) blow out the dust, then enjoy the praise your wife lavishes on you for fixing her system.

Are you one of the many thousands of people who are predicted to buy a notebook (laptop) this year? If yes, then this PC World buying guide is for you.

There are three integral components to a desktop PC that can 'make or break' your system: the motherboard, the memory and the central processing unit, or CPU.

Everyone needs a good monitor to get the most out of a PC. But which monitor you need depends on several factors - what applications you use, how much room you have on your desk, how much screen space you need to comfortably view your programs, and of course how much you want to spend. From standard issue 19in to 27in monsters, here's how to sort out what you need.

Print, scan or copy, consumer and home office needs call for many different solutions, that's why God made multi-function devices.