David Coursey

When considering Oracle it is often difficult to separate the company and its business from its charismatic leader, Larry Ellison. This feeling must be a shared by many following Thursdays ruling on the U.S. Department of Justices antitrust case. But unlike a number of high-profile high-tech companies with equally high-profile bosses—Steve Jobs and Apple Computer […]

For as long as theres been a Plaxo, the free service that promises to keep your contact list up-to-date, Ive been recommending that people avoid it. My fear has been that, lacking an obvious revenue model, Plaxo would eventually do something—such as adware—that would make people sorry they ever signed up. Imagine Gator, only worse. […]

Are the changes in the Longhorn road map really the “best chance ever” for desktop Linux, as some have suggested? Only if the difference in going from “teensy weensy” to merely “teensy” can be considered a big improvement. To the rest of us, either size is still just a speck. Using this sort of measurement, […]

Its always fun to watch a computer company swinging in the breeze, trying to explain itself. Specifically, Im talking about those occasions when it becomes necessary to convince customers that what they were once told was right was actually wrong, and that the new reality—hardware, software, whatever—is whats really right. Microsoft does this all the […]

Microsofts decision on Friday to “gut” Longhorn in order to get something—really, anything—out on schedule reminds me of something that Borland founder Philippe Kahn once told me. “Shipping,” he said, “is also a feature.” He didnt add, though he might have, that ultimately, its the most important one. Late Friday, Microsoft informed press and analysts […]

Beware of companies that dont show you a clear business model. Why? Because you can never be sure what they will end up doing to make a buck or whether you can rely on them long-term. Put another way: What might these companies do, especially with personal information, when they become desperate for money? Or […]

In my last column, I suggested that many—maybe even most—Microsoft Office customers would be served just as well and save money by switching to something less expensive, such as Suns Star Office or maybe Corels WordPerfect Office. While Microsoft once offered a product that included features and functionality that competitive products lacked, including file compatibility […]

The only reason most companies buy Microsoft Office is because theyve convinced themselves that they cant live without it. More should try that—and in the process, force Microsoft to do a better job of earning its money. The other reason why companies keep buying MS Office is because they already have so much of it […]

My recent column “A Dozen Things Outlook Doesnt Do—but Should” generated a large and sometimes emotional response from readers. Some agreed with my suggestions, many had ideas of their own, and a few thought I was completely nuts. One reader mentioned that by focusing on e-mail I was missing many of the problems Outlook users […]

Microsoft is pushing ahead with its plan to sell a cut-rate version of Windows XP, but whos going to get it and what its going to cost are not necessarily for Bill Gates and crew to decide. My eWEEK.com colleague Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols asks in a recent column, Why cant we get a slimmer Windows […]