Dennis Ritchie, father of the C programming language as well as a major contributor to UNIX, has passed away. This man was a great man with many accomplishments. Another huge loss for the technology field.

In addition to being the creator of C, Ritchie co-authored "The C Programming Language," commonly referred to as K&R (after the authors, Brian Kernighan and Ritchie) and widely considered the definitive work on C. He also made significant contributions to the development of the Unix operating system, for which he received the Turing Award in 1983 (along with Kenneth Thompson).

President Bill Clinton awarded Ritchie and Thompson the National Medal of Technology in 1999 for their contributions to Unix and C. He won many other national and international awards for his work and was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1988 for "development of the C programming language and for co-development of the Unix operating system."

The Zune has had quite a life this week. After it’s death was reported, a resurrection occurred. The cycle happened again. Now, for the third time, Microsoft has announced that the Zune is again officially dead. Whether or not it returns from the grave again remains to be seen. With the Windows Phone 7 doing some amazing duties as a music player, among many other incredible things, the Zune was losing it’s place.

We recently announced that, going forward, Windows Phone will be the focus of our mobile music and video strategy, and that we will no longer be producing Zune players. So what does this mean for our current Zune users? Absolutely nothing. Your device will continue to work with Zune services just as it does today. And we will continue to honor the warranties of all devices for both current owners and those who buy our very last devices. Customer service has been, and will remain a top priority for us. To get the most out of your Zune player or for additional support, see the following sites:

The launch trailer of Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster has been released. It looks like a fun game for kids. I’m sure if my kids were younger, I’d pick this one up. As a lifelong Sesame Street fan, this looks like it will be a big hit for the younger crowd! I know my younger niece and nephew would love it, but they need to be a little bit older… Just a little.

Edit: They love it (they are 14 months old). As does my 10 year old. 🙂

Microsoft is readying the final service pack for it’s Office 2007 suite and Sharepoint 2007. Service Pack 3 is set to release sometime in quarter 4 of 2011, with a more specific date to be announced later.

Upgrading to Office 2010 is also an option for those who are still using Office 2007. Office 2010 will remain in mainstream support until 2015, and this path provides a much better option for those looking to upgrade from Office 2003 prior to its end of life, scheduled for April 2014.

The iconic Steve Jobs, former CEO of Apple, has passed away at age 56. Even as a Microsoft fan, everyone must admit Steve Jobs did a great job at the helm of Apple. He literally saved Apple from the trashcan and brought it back to life.

He will definitely be missed. He was definitely a marketing and management genius, even from his early days at Atari. RIP, Steve.

Debra Littlejohn Shinder has written a nice article on Microsoft fans, and how they need to stop being afraid and show their excitement for Windows and other Microsoft technologies more. I’ve been a fan of Microsoft for a long time (since early DOS days) and have been very vocal about it. I admit that Microsoft has come up with a few duds at times, or when a Linux server would be better suited for a situation, but Microsoft is a great company with great products.

I agree that there is a general “fad” for people to hate Microsoft, the “Evil Corporation”. But, when you get down to it and see why people think that, and their great alternative differs, you see that Microsoft isn’t really that bad and it’s a blind hate (or dislike).

Microsoft isn’t just Windows. It has a wide range of products designed to help people. From security to phones to word processors (and even car PC’s – Ford Sync). There is a lot to love with Microsoft. But, there is also a bit that isn’t so great. In my opinion, the marketing of Windows Phone 7 sucks (I own and love my HTC Trophy, powered by Windows Phone 7), Vista was a PR disaster (I loved the OS, though), Windows ME was pretty bad (yea, it was), and the Kin… well, Microsoft killed that one.

I keep telling people that it isn’t cool to hate Microsoft anymore. Time to try to stop looking like the cool guy and hating the “evil corporation” and enjoy Microsoft. I do. In my circle of colleagues, we get as excited when Microsoft announces new products like Apple zealots do when Steve Jobs poops out another iPhone.

If you’re a Microsoft fan and you’re constantly getting annoyed because Windows “don’t get no respect,” stop and consider that maybe you’re partly to blame. If you don’t get passionate about your OS – and express that enthusiasm – you can expect the press to continue in its ho-hum responses to the release of new version of Windows.

There has been a lot of very heated opinions and discussions on the new Windows 8 Start screen and lack of a Start button similar to the Windows 95-7 era. Microsoft has decided to give their two cents and explain their reasoning behind the new design. I enjoy the new Start screen, and I am sure it will be great on my new Windows 8 tablet when I get it, but for general day to day desktop PC use, I’m going to want my standard desktop and start button.

We’d like to share a series of blog posts on the how and why of reimagining Start. This first post talks about the history and evolution of the Start menu, and several of the problems and trends we’ve learned from you. We think it’s always important to understand where we’ve come from before we talk about where we’re headed. We’ll then have another post that dives into how we crafted the new Start screen, and then we’ll see where the discussion leads us from there. 

Microsoft has finally put the Zune to sleep. With the Windows Phone 7 doing duties as a music and video player (which is does very well), Microsoft doesn’t see a dedicated music player as profitable. I wouldn’t mind having both. I listen to music all day (and most of the time all night – insomnia), and having to keep the phone charging all the time is a pain.

We recently announced that, going forward, Windows Phone will be the focus of our mobile music and video strategy, and that we will no longer be producing Zune players. So what does this mean for our current Zune users? Absolutely nothing. Your device will continue to work with Zune services just as it does today. And we will continue to honor the warranties of all devices for both current owners and those who buy our very last devices. Customer service has been, and will remain a top priority for us. To get the most out of your Zune player or for additional support, see the following sites:

• For information about your player, see Zune Players.

• If you need a repair or want to register your Zune player, see the Zune Online Service Center.

• If you recently placed an order for a Zune player through the Zune Originals website, your order will still be fulfilled. To check the status of your order, please contact us.

• If you have any other questions, ask Microsoft Answers.

So, let me get this straight… Microsoft patents technology, Google uses those patents without proper licensing or permission, and Microsoft takes a legal route or properly licenses patent users. I don’t see how that is extortion. Sure, in a perfect world everyone would share their findings, technology, inventions, products, food with the world for free to make it a better place. But, not in todays modern capitalistic world. Yes, Microsoft is wanting to make a profit, but so is Google.

“This is the same tactic we’ve seen time and again from Microsoft. Failing to succeed in the smartphone market, they are resorting to legal measures to extort profit from others’ achievements and hinder the pace of innovation. We remain focused on building new technology and supporting Android partners.”

UPDATE: Microsoft responds: “Waaaah.”

I have to say I am very impressed by the new Windows Live for Windows 8 using the Metro UI. Looks very easy to use, very user friendly and allows you to connect using Skydrive, your home PC, Facebook and your local device. So, you can be with your files every when you’re away from your files!

An important aspect of our applications is that they are connected to the services you use every day, so you can quickly get a view of what’s happening. We know most people have more than one mail address, and Mail connects to multiple mail accounts, at home or at work. Calendar connects to your work and personal calendar, as well as calendars from friends, co-workers, or family members who have a Windows Live ID. People is a connected address book, bringing together contacts from work, home, and popular networks including Facebook and LinkedIn. Messaging keeps track of all of your IM conversations across Messenger, Facebook, and other connected IM networks. And Photos lets you view your photos, whether on your PC, another PC, SkyDrive, or other popular services.