I confess, I am actually looking forward to Windows 7. When Vista came out, I jumped ship to Ubuntu. I was tired of boring, clumsy old XP, and Vista’s system requirements were ridiculous. But Microsoft has apparently dialed back the system requirements, so that most circa-2007 computers should have no problem running it.

That alone makes me interested, but one look at the interface shows that Microsoft is once again taking the best elements from other operating systems. The new taskbar is a near copy of Apple’s OSX Dock, and the new, easy-to-use wi-fi network manager is also a near-copy of Ubuntu’s network manager applet.

I don’t have any problem with that, and I really am looking forward to seeing if Windows 7 lives up to the hype. (Although Vista won’t be hard to improve on.)

Today, Microsoft announced Windows Azure, a “cloud” platform. You won’t run it on your computer, but rather use the internet to access software running on Azure.

Microsoft intends to compete directly with Google, Amazon, and other cloud services. In addition to Exchange, Microsoft plans to offer all its enterprise software as a service. It sounds, in part, like Microsoft intends to take its Live model and expand all its software with Live versions.

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From Lifehacker, nine things that will not actually speed up Windows. Among them, disabling Microsoft processes, clearing out your registry, and memory “optimizer” programs.

What will work: running SpyBot every now and then to clear out resource-hogging spyware, and using Firefox instead of Internet Explorer so you get less spyware in the first place.

Debunking Common Windows Performance Tweaking Myths | Lifehacker

Thinking of adding a Mac to your stable of computers, or just ditching Windows entirely? Lots of people are doing it. Macs—especially the laptops—also have a lot of advantages over Windows computers for the solo practitioner.

My wife recently got a MacBook after using Windows for years, and the switch was relatively painless. But there are a few differences. For example, on a Mac, closing the window does not close the program, like it does in most Windows apps. And it can take a minute to figure out where the right mouse button is (on a laptop, just use two fingers on the touchpad while clicking).

In addition to Mossberg’s basic tips, Apple offers some “101″ guides for the new Mac user: Mac 101 and Switch 101.

Some General Tips for Switch to Mac From Windows | All Thing Digital (via BoingBoing Gadgets)

KOffice was originally developed for Linux, but one of the primary goals for KOffice 2.0 is for it to run on all three major operating systems: Windows, Apple OSX, and Linux.

Like OpenOffice.org and Microsoft Office, KOffice is a full office suite. KOffice is free software and offers a full suite of applications, including for word processing, spreadsheets, databases, image editing, slideshows, and more. Like OOo, KOffice uses the Open Document Format.

KOffice 2.0 is in alpha now, and TechWorld recently took a look at KOffice for Windows. As an alpha, this release is primarily for developers for debugging, but it is also a first look at the features of KOffice 2.0 and what it has in store for Windows users.

First look: KOffice 2.0 Alpha 8 | TechWorld (via /.)

This summary pretty much says it all:

“When a company as tech savvy as Intel, with full source code access and having written several large chunks of the OS, says get stuffed, you know you have a problem. Well, everyone knows MS has a problem, but it is nice to see it codified in such a black and white way though. Reassuring, like a warm cup of tea, or a public kick to the corporate crown jewels.

The way I see it, you have three options: (1) stick with XP until the next version of Windows if you don’t mind using seriously old—yet still functional—technology; (2) get a Mac, and enjoy cutting-edge technology well-suited to lawyers’ needs; or (3) switch to Linux, save money, and enjoy also-cutting-edge technology on your current machine.

Intel won’t touch Vista | Inquirer (via BoingBoing Gadgets)

Mike Kavis switched to Linux to prove that people can be productive at work without using Microsoft products. One year later, he has proved the point.

I have been Microsoft free* for a couple of months now, as well, using Ubuntu GNU/Linux as my primary operating system, with OpenOffice.org as my office suite. I have not used Microsoft Office in almost a year.

Why do I prefer Ubuntu? Primarily, because it is lighter and faster, more reliable, and more configurable. It has encouraged me to focus on open standards and programs that work equally well on Windows and Mac OSX, so that I can move my data freely between all platforms. It also saves me money, especially on upgrades, although I do believe in contributing to the software projects from which I benefit.

I actually like Windows XP just fine, and always have. But my laptop has a 60GB hard drive, so Vista’s 20+GB install size was a dealbreaker for me. I think Microsoft really went the wrong direction with Vista, but I will not rule out a return to Windows if version 7 turns out to be lighter and faster, instead of bigger and slower.

*I do run Windows XP using VirtualBox (kind of like Parallels or VMWare Fusion for a Mac) so that I can use Adobe Acrobat, since there is still not a good Linux alternative. I also prefer the Windows-only scanner utility for my Fujitsu ScanSnap, since Fujitsu still refuses to support Linux.

If you have been steadfastly holding on to Windows XP (and really, who could blame you?), you have probably been looking forward to the promised Service Pack 3, which will bring some of Vista’s polish to the venerable XP, as well as tidy up the old OS generally.

Download it via Windows Update today.

Windows XP SP3 now available | Engadget

Edit: Links to the update here, since it won’t hit Windows Update for a day or two, at least.

I scored a refurbished Gateway computer from Woot last week, which I intend to use as a server. I was kind of excited, because although I intended to wipe the drive and install Ubuntu (Windows Vista is nowhere near stable enough to be a good server), it came with Windows Vista Home Premium. Since I have only used Vista at Best Buy and CostCo, I was pretty excited to give it a thorough try.

I clicked my agreement to numerous things I paid no attention to and Vista took a deep breath, and 15 minutes after hitting the power switch, I was up and running. Only a few more EULAs to agree to, and off we go–where?

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A fair amount of the people I talk to about backup say they forget to do it, or they can’t figure out–or never get around to setting up–the built-in backup options. If that sounds like you, check out IdleBackup, a utility for backing up your computer when it is sitting idle.

I still recommend making a daily backup of your important files. The downside to IdleBackup is that it only makes a one-to-one copy of your files. If you deleted something yesterday, it will soon disappear from your backup, as well. But if you are not backing up regularly, IdleBackup sounds like a good first step.

[via Lifehacker]