The ACSI study for the second quarter of this year indicates an increasing frustration of users with Windows Vista. Users mostly complain about poor usability, compatibility problems, slower performance compared to Windows XP and substantial hardware requirements. The dissatisfaction with Vista also affected most major Windows-PC vendors. Apple continues to improve its reputation while Google and Yahoo lead the e-business satisfaction index.

Ingenious solutions to problems often originate from very simple ideas. And, it appears, researchers from the University of Washington have found a way to substantially reduce Internet congestion for service providers that could ultimately result in Internet users being saved from much discussed bandwidth caps. The idea: Keep Internet traffic local. 

It wasn’t your typical Intel Developers Forum keynote speech.  Intel’s Chairman of the Board, Craig Barrett, didn’t talk about die-sizes, nanometers or wafers, but instead prodded the audience to pursue the human side of technology.  From microloans to digital whiteboards, Barrett outlined services and gadgets that would help impoverished third world countries create business or teach children and in so doing, won the hearts of and minds of attendees.

According to Microsoft, Windows Vista is on a path of success and the operating system is flying off OEM and retail shelves. However, a new survey questions how many of those actual Vista licenses are actually in use, as a new survey claims that a substantial portion of PC buyers chooses to downgrade to Windows XP. 

William Shatner, known to millions of Star Trek fans as Captain Kirk, is making some serious cash from virtual video autographs through his new business liveautographs.com.  Shatner, along with other celebrities like Danica Patrick, Carmen Electra and even Buzz Aldrin, star on the website featuring expensive fan memorabilia authenticated with a short video message.  While it may seem hokey to some, the demand is hot and Shatner recently sold more than 200 autographs in a single sitting.

Comcast has begun to quietly, but very aggressively pitch an “economy tier” Internet service to its customers – a service that is generally “not recommended”, but squarely aimed at dial-up users and perhaps one or the other DSL Internet users. As all Comcast residential Internet services, this entry-level service also comes with the firm’s mysterious bandwidth cap.

The battle for championship of telecommunications standards tied into wireless transmission of cellular data isn't quite over yet, according to a fresh research report. It reveals CDMA, through EVDO, continues to hold its own against newer, high speed technologies. ABI declared "CDMA is not dead yet," basing this on findings that EVDO Rev A subscribers "ramped up more than eightfold between Q2 2007 and Q2 2008."

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DoE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) claim to have set a new world record in solar cell efficiency: A new photovoltaic device can convert 40.8% of the light it is exposed to into electricity – which is more than twice as much as average solar cells can achieve today.

Researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Hitachi Global Storage Technologies discovered a new patterning technology that could lead to a new generation of hard drives that are not only easier to manufacture but also feature a storage density that cannot be achieved with traditional media and processes today. 

T. Boone Pickens did not look not so green after the LA Times busted him for funding California’s Prop 10. Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal decided they too wanted to dig into the matter and revealed some interesting details.