You may not want to buy your favorite Windows geek an iPadbut, there are some alternatives. This list includes laptops, desktops, books, and phones.

The 64-bit version of Win7 has an unpatched vulnerability that can result in a full "blue-screen-of-death" crash. The exploit uses an IFRAME tag to trigger the crash.

Steve Ballmer will offer the keynote talk at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January. The company has said this will be the last time Microsoft will offer the keynote.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology will expand their online courseware with MITx. The new system will include interactive labs and contact with tutors. While the courses are free, if you want a certificate there will be a fee.

This trick works on several browsers. Go to Google.com and start a search on "let it snow". When your browser gets too "frosty" to read the page, you can click on "defrost" to clear your view.

According to Microsoft, over three million copies of Win8 have been downloaded. But, when it comes to installed copies actually being used, the numbers seem far lower. This is in contrast to the rapid acceptance of Win7.

While 2011 was not an exciting year for Microsoft, revenues were up. Next year will bring the challenge of introducing a new operating system, and a new architecture, to the world.

A hotfix released Friday to improve performance for AMD Bulldozer systems running Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 has been pulled by Microsoft. The patch was "incomplete" according to the company.

Microsoft is planning a new type of password for Win8. It will be based on a photograph of your choice. You will then record some gestures related to that photo to create your new password.

With a billion dollars hanging in the balance, the jury was unable to reach an agreement. It’s unclear if Attachmate, which bought Novell, will continue the suit.