Stories by: Randall C. Kennedy

Among desktop computers, the term "workstation" refers to a high-end PC specially equipped for demanding tasks such as CAD/CAM/engineering, software development, audio and video processing, and heavy-duty number-crunching or data mining. But "workstation" typically loses its meaning when you attach the word "mobile."

I'm a big fan of Google's Chrome Web browser. Lightweight and fast, Chrome epitomizes the kind of "less is more" philosophy that has always appealed to my inner geek. However, I, like many Chrome enthusiasts, lament the lack of an established framework for implementing the myriad plug-ins and extensions that made IE bearable and Firefox one of the hottest Web development platforms going.

It's here! After months of speculation, Windows 7 was finally unveiled last month at Microsoft's Professional Developers Conference (PDC). Through a series of well-orchestrated keynote presentations and supporting breakout sessions, Microsoft walked conference attendees through the highlights of its new desktop OS: better performance, an improved user experience, and some nifty media-sharing features. Overall, Microsoft's pitch was quite compelling, and the PDC crowd was practically salivating at the chance to play with Microsoft's latest and greatest.

It's official: The next version of Windows will be called (drumroll, please) ... "Windows 7!"

Now that I know for certain I'll be receiving a pre-beta build of Windows 7 at Microsoft's Professional Developers Conference (PDC) in November, it's time to start thinking about some of the performance-related characteristics I'll be looking for in the new OS.

It was a decision heralded by industry media types and praised by blogging heads around the Internet. Steve Sinofsky, the legendary show-runner for Microsoft Office, would take over the Windows reins from the departing Jim Allchin.

A two-horse race. That's how the market for general purpose desktop virtualization packages is shaping up, at least for the foreseeable future. With Microsoft all but abandoning Virtual PC, and with everyone else focusing on the datacenter, the field now consists of just VMware Workstation and Sun Microsystems' xVM VirtualBox.

It started small. A faint grumble here. A clenched-teeth comment there. Then came the accusations. Google is abandoning Firefox! Google is unfairly exploiting its position! Google is ... acting like Microsoft!

They're back! Just when you thought the "browser wars" were over, with the two camps -- Microsoft and Mozilla.org -- settling in for a kind of intransigent détente, along comes Google to stir things up all over again. Clearly Google is unhappy with the current state of browser geopolitics and feels it needs to roll its own in order to ensure a robust base for its myriad hosted applications (e.g. Gmail, Google Docs, etc.)

We all have them. Those favorite tools and utilities that help make our Windows environment just a little bit more comfortable. For me, the following eight utilities aren't so much conveniences as they are life preservers for my sanity. Each one has become an integral part of my day to day, Windows Workstation 2008 experience, to the point where the thought of life without them leaves me contemplating a nice stroll out an 18th story window. Simply put, they're must-haves -- for me and, frankly, for any sane IT professional dealing with Windows on a daily basis.

For the IT worker, the phrase "desktop mobility" has many meanings. It can mean having a laptop computer. It can mean keeping all your data in the cloud so that you can access it at any time and from anywhere. It can even mean downsizing your work environment to fit on a PDA or a smartphone.