word processing

Last year, millions of consumers flocked to netbooks, the stripped-down machines viewed as low-priced alternatives to laptop computers. If you were one of the netbook converts, a few minutes with the Lenovo ThinkPad T410 laptop might make you backslide.

Like many of Lenovo's business-focused ThinkPad laptops, the T410 is nothing special to look at. Don't be fooled by the matte-black industrial shell that evokes the ThinkPad's IBM lineage.

Google means business. According to a new report in The Wall Street Journal, the search-and-everything-else giant is planning an enterprise app store, with a launch as early as March. The move would be an additional challenge to Microsoft's domination of office and business software.

The online store would contain third-party applications and services related to Google Apps. These enhancements could include additional security features, the ability to import data from other apps, and more.

Google Solutions Marketplace

Computer giant IBM on Wednesday announced a challenge to Microsoft in Africa with a new open-standards software package for netbooks that would help Africa "bridge the digital divide."

IBM said it was partnering with Canonical Ubuntu, the company of South African entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth, to provide a "new, flexible personal computing software package for netbooks and other thin client devices."

Netbooks are small, low-cost, low-power notebook computers.

Microsoft's No. 1 rival is a household name, Google. But a strong candidate for No. 2 is a company scarcely known outside the technology industry: VMware.

"VMware is definitely a threat," said Gary Chen, an analyst at IDC, a research firm. "After Google, it is the company Microsoft fears most."

Google and VMware, which is based in Palo Alto, California, pose a broadly similar challenge to Microsoft, by potentially undermining the dominance of its most lucrative desktop software and operating systems. Google represents the attack from above, while VMware is the assault from beneath.

While Microsoft Corp. prepares to release the next incarnation of Windows on Oct. 22, Apple Inc. is cutting ahead, launching a new version of its operating system for Mac computers on Friday.

Apple's new Snow Leopard software isn't as big of a step forward from its predecessor as Windows 7 will be from Windows Vista. The most important changes in the Apple operating system are under the hood, allowing software developers to rewrite their programs to run much faster.

A nettop PC -- a small, mini desktop computer -- can function as an alternative to the classic desktop PC. These devices are compact and inexpensive, making them well suited for use as a simple workstation. They also consume relatively little power.

A nettop, like a netbook, is an inexpensive PC intended primarily for accessing the Internet, explains Christof Windeck from the German computer magazine c't.

"That essentially means they're perfectly suited for using as a web browser, an e-mail client, and perhaps a simple photo editor for uploading images," says Windeck.

There have been many predictions about IT belt-tightening in a down economy. But some business intelligence (BI) software observers say companies can't afford to ignore analytics tools in the midst of a recession that demands cost cutting.

BI tools aim to simplify information discovery and analysis so decision-makers can access, understand, analyze, collaborate and act on information. BI software deals with measuring, managing and improving the performance of everything from individuals, processes, teams and business units.

You might think your password protects the confidential information stored on Web sites. But as Twitter executives discovered, that is a dangerous assumption.

The Web was abuzz after it was revealed Wednesday that a hacker had broken into the e-mail account of a Twitter employee and had exposed corporate information. The breach raised red flags for individuals as well as businesses about the passwords used to secure information they store on the Web.

In these tough times we all need as many tips as we can get to save a few dollars.

The cost of buying a new desktop or laptop box is just the start. The price can double when you have to add in the software costs of Microsoft Office (Outlook, Excel, Word and PowerPoint), antivirus, and image editing software such as Adobe Acrobat.

Below are only a few free software options that are available to be downloaded from the Internet.

Office Applications

When Google announced a foray into business software two years ago, it touted General Electric as one of its trophy accounts.

GE had begun using Google-designed applications for some of the tasks typically handled by Microsoft's pricier Office, which includes e-mail, word processing, and spreadsheet creation. Adding GE was a coup for a company that, despite having mastered Web search, was a neophyte in the Microsoft-dominated, multibillion-dollar world of business-productivity software.