Stories by Sharon Machlis

Facebook ends end-run around U.S. securities laws

There was another question about the planned Facebook stock offering that went beyond whether the social media leader is a good investment now or if it's overpriced. A more serious issue was how investment banker Goldman Sachs was structuring a "priv...

NASA: Key antenna fails as Discovery enters orbit

After a successful launch early this morning, NASA officials later discovered a snag when the space shuttle Discovery entered its orbit around the earth.

Must-have keyboard shortcut apps for Windows

I've been a keyboard shortcut fan for a long time. Sure, icons and eye candy have their place -- I'd rather double-click an icon than, say, type run c:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office 12\Winword.exe. On the other hand, I'd sure rather click a f...

Free Web apps to help organise your holidays

It's That Time of Year again, and even if you don't celebrate The Holidays, chances are you have other people in your life who do. There's so much to get done as the end of year approaches, it can be hard to keep track of it all. And while paper migh...

10 AppleScripts to make you love your Mac (even more)

Why, when people were trying to get me to switch from Windows to a Mac, did no one tell me about AppleScript?

Ruby on Rails rolls into the enterprise

The New York Times used Ruby on Rails to pull together, analyze and display election results in near real time on one of its busiest Web traffic days ever. How did nytimes.com scale up Rails -- a framework known for quick development turnaround but l...

Coming soon: A laptop in your pocket

Your laptop is likely to soon go the way of 5.25-in. floppy disks, made obsolete by smaller, more useful technology: the smart phone.

Five free Web apps we can't live without

The current explosion of AJAX-powered Web sites has helped spawn countless next-generation Web apps offering everything from simple to-do lists to complex project management, not to mention the ability to share all kinds of things -- documents, calen...

Linux text editors: Do any make the grade?

Linux buffs tend to scoff at one of the major reasons that Windows users like me haven't switched yet: We don't want to give up our favorite applications. With countless open-source options, plus a rising number of commercial apps for Linux, their ar...

Living (and dying) with Linux in the workplace

Are you looking for a Windows alternative for serious office work? Many people are starting to wonder about their non-Microsoft operating system options, especially given Windows Vista's hefty hardware demands, upgrade costs and license restrictions....

Firefox 1.5 beta released

The Mozilla Foundation Friday released a beta version of Firefox 1.5, the first major upgrade of its popular open-source Web browser since Version 1.0 was released last November.

Sasser worm could hit hard

Microsoft issued an unusual weekend security warning Saturday that a worm has been unleashed on the Internet taking advantage of a security hole announced publicly last month. Microsoft once again urged users to install its most recent critical Windo...

Uh-oh: Spam's getting more sophisticated

Just as security experts match wits with hackers, those trying to block unwanted e-mail face increasingly elaborate "attacks" from spammers trying to slip messages through antispam defenses.

Forrester: Most dot-com retailers face 'demise'

Forrester Research has added its voice to the chorus of e-skeptics that have been hammering Internet retailers of late, having issued a report that predicts the demise of most Internet-only retailers by the end of next year.