Small Business

First look: Microsoft Office 2013

The next revision of Office adds touches of Metro without itself being a Metro app

How we tested Microsoft's System Center 2012

We initially attempted to implement System Center 2012 modularly, which is almost impossible, so we used the Unified Installer after reading the salient documents for each module, then installed each module into its own VM, combining SQLServer resources where necessary. We recommend that up to four SQL Server instances may be necessary for protecting all of the modules.

HP Envy Sleekbook 6-1010us review: A low-cost ultrabook alternative

HP's new Envy Sleekbook 6-1010us offers an alternative to higher-priced ultrabooks: It's not as fast, but it's got a fine display and great audio.

Galaxy S III review: Hands down, the best Android smartphone

Thanks to real attention to usability and meaningful features, Samsung's flagship takes its place as the Android front-runner

Droid Incredible 4G LTE review: Great sound, good price

HTC's Droid Incredible 4G LTE is not the sexiest smartphone on the market, but it offers great sound and Android 4.0 for a reasonable price.

Seagate Backup Plus review: Save your social media data

Seagates new line of Backup Plus drives is a convenient way to ensure data from your computer and from social networking sites is backed up.

10 e-commerce platforms make selling simpler

We take a hands-on look at 10 e-commerce tools that can help businesses large and small sell products and/or services online. Insider (registration required)

Review: Weighing Windows Server 2012

From network services and storage to virtualization and private cloud, the beefy new Windows Server leaves no server role unturned

Game on: 3 high-performance laptops duke it out

Gamers have always demanded the fastest and most powerful systems. We tested three screamers to find the best laptop for the job.

Samsung Galaxy S III review: A rock star phone, but does it deliver?

Samsung's Galaxy S III is one of the most hotly anticipated Android phones ever. So does it actually live up to all the hype?

Google polishes Chrome OS, but is it enough to entice buyers?

Google launched the Chrome OS in late 2010 and has continued to update it despite lukewarm reception by the public toward the platform's model: a browser-centered OS running on a lightweight, minimally-spec'd notebook meant to be used with an always-on Internet connection.

Ubuntu targets the mainstream

With Ubuntu 12.04, Canonical has delivered a much improved product that spans desktops, servers and the cloud in a bid to become the cross-platform mainstream product that Apple's Mac OS might have been had Apple not abandoned the server market.

A terabyte in the palm of your hand: Buffalo's LinkStation Mini

Size doesn't matter, or so the old adage goes. Yet obviously it does matter -- or else we wouldn't have both towering desktop PCs and petite portable netbooks. But how about something like a network-attached storage (NAS) device, which is basically a box that sits on a shelf or a desk and never travels, never moves -- does size matter there?

By Bill O'Brien | 24 October, 2008 08:52

Tags: network storage, nas

Small Business Server 2008 gets 'small' right

A small business is not necessarily a simple business. That rather basic lesson has taken much of the computer industry far too many years to learn. Successful SaaS vendors have realized that small businesses need the same sort of functions and support that large enterprises get -- just in smaller quantities. Clearly Microsoft has come to the same realization with the release of Small Business Server 2008.

By Curtis Franklin Jr. | 03 October, 2008 08:14

Tags: software applications

Sandbox security versus the evil Web

The Internet is a scary place. Criminal malware lurks on legitimate and illegitimate Web sites alike, looking to steal your money one way or the other. Vendors have been scratching their collective heads attempting to make more consumers safer, more often. One of the results has been a class of anti-malware software that I call sandbox protection products. These items encapsulate Internet browsers (and e-mail programs and sometimes any other program you can run) within a virtual, emulated cocoon designed to keep malware from reaching and modifying the underlying host computer.

By Roger A. Grimes | 01 October, 2008 09:02

Tags: software applications, malware

Coghead clicks for non-coders

The relentless drive to control every part of the world from a browser-based widget is now turning on itself. Not only are all of our desktop applications being replaced with HTML, but the act of creating a Web application itself has moved to the Web. The new platform from Coghead lets anyone build Web applications by pointing and clicking at another Web application. The only time you need to edit ASCII is when you're putting labels on columns and widgets.

By Peter Wayner | 23 September, 2008 08:33

Tags: desktop applications

Apricorn 160GB Aegis Mini hard drive

How much would you pay for a portable hard drive that lets you tote around 160GB in a shirt pocket -- with no need for a power brick? Apricorn is betting you'll be willing to spring for upward of US$260 for its 160GB Aegis Mini. However, it remains to be seen how many are willing to pay that price for portability.

SBS 2008: Same old bundle with new Vista wrapper

With network-attached storage devices selling for just a few hundred bucks per terabyte, and online service providers offering e-mail and full productivity applications for a few dollars per user per month, Microsoft's Small Business Server 2008 is entering into a tougher market than its older siblings have had to endure.

First look: KOffice 2.0 Alpha 8

One of the release goals of the next-generation KDE office suite, KOffice 2, is to make the package run on Windows and Mac OS X in addition to Debian Linux.

SLED 10 SP2 makes wireless 3G a snap

For enterprises wanting to roll out SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 on notebooks, the lack of 3G, or UMTS, wireless broadband card support was an annoying hole compared to the available Windows support.