The forums are going to be down for a while until I can find a new forum software that can stop the spam. I’ve used several different ways to stop it, but it still gets through. I’m looking into vBulletin right now, and it looks like it should be able to tackle the job.

The two big co-founders of the big two are at it. The genius behind Apple (Jobs is a marketing guy, not a techie) Steve Wozniak has told Paul Allen to stop patent-trolling. I agree with the Woz. There is no sense in suing the pants off of people after buying patents. He should be out spending that money investing in companies and people that can create new patents for new innovations. Perhaps that is what is slowing down innovations lately: people afraid of getting sued for patent infringement and not enough capital to make a real revolutionary invention.

The Register reports that Wozniak dedicated some pointed, if not poignant, remarks toward Allen at the Embedded System Conference Silicon Valley in San Jose, Calif., last week.

He reportedly declared: "That patent-troll thing…the other night Paul Allen was speaking at the Computer History Museum and I had four tickets. And I decided at the last minute not to go, because I remembered he’s suing all these companies like Apple and Google–but he’s not suing Microsoft–because he bought all these patents.”

Ok, the sarcasm in the headline was a bit much. But, the rumor that the Windows Phone 7 release from Verizon being launched May 5th was putting too much faith in Verizon. Yet again, it looks like it may come out later… Mid to late May, and possibly May 19th. I’ve pretty much given up on Verizon to release the Windows Phone 7 and am shopping for a good one on the Sprint network. Verizon really botched the launch on this one. Some even say it was intentional.

WinRumors previously expected Verizon’s offering to arrive in late March around the same time as Sprint. According to one source familiar with the situation, Verizon has successfully certified the device for use on its network. WinRumors understands that Microsoft’s internal marketing date is May 5 is now mid-May for the Verizon Windows Phone launch.

Microsoft has released their first security update for the Windows Phone 7. With all the attention on the NoDo update, this one came as a surprise.

It comes with the following fixes:

Fix for fraudulent third-party digital certificates. This update includes a critical fix to an industry-wide issue with nine untrusted digital certificates that were issued by one root certificate authority. These third-party digital certificates are used to access popular websites and email portals. Although this is not a Microsoft security vulnerability, these untrusted certificates may be used to spoof content, perform phishing attacks, or perform man-in-the-middle attacks against all web browser users. This update moves the affected certificates to the “Untrusted Publishers” certificate store on Windows Phone, which helps ensure that these fraudulent certificates are not inadvertently used.

For those of us that take Microsoft certification exams, the cost of these exams is rising come July 1st. They are going from $125 to $150. There are still student discounts, although they will be going to $83 from the older $60.

If you’re planning to get certified in multiple Microsoft technologies, the price could add up quickly. For example, there are dozens of certifications that fall under the category of Microsoft Certified Technology Specialists (MCTS), and in some cases multiple certifications for the same piece of software. There are three MCTS certs for Windows Server 2008, and another for Windows Server virtualization.

After 10 long years of living under the microscope of the Department of Justice, Microsoft can finally relax a bit. This is good news for Microsoft, but I don’t see them going back to the aggressing Microsoft we once knew. Honestly, when Microsoft was like that, it sure did breed a lot of innovation and speedy advancements. It was going to be the leader no matter what. Now, it seems that not only are they a lot more relaxed on development, they are also scared to innovate so they don’t step on anyone’s toes.

Even if Microsoft wanted to return to its aggressive roots, it would face huge obstacles. In the late 1990s its OS/Office competitors were dead, dying, or too small to matter (Apple eventually became an exception). Netscape was an ant. Windows was making inroads into corporate settings thanks to NT 4.0 and Windows 2000.

If the reports are true, and with the past release dates coming and going with no phone, the HTC 7 Trophy is FINALLY coming to Verizon May 5th. As I am in the market for a new phone, and this thing hitting the streets, I think I may end up with a Windows Phone 7. I was so close to grabbing a Thunderbolt this past weekend, but passed on it.

Verizon’s Windows Phone will ship with Microsoft’s “NoDo” copy and paste update. “NoDo” is Microsoft’s first platform update, which also includes improved application start-up and resume times. Verizon recently posted support articles referencing Microsoft’s own fixes for known Windows Phone 7 issues. Verizons’s HTC 7 Trophy Windows Phone device was spotted in the wild in late February. Further photos leaked in March following confirmation that the device includes all of Verizon’s branding, even a “My Verizon Mobile” application.

Very the ones to disappoint, South Park creators have targeted Apple once again over the tracking issue that they “don’t” have. Funny stuff.

Paul Thurrott seems to think that Verizon is finally going to release a Windows Phone 7 device very soon. The HTC Trophy has shown up on the Best Buy web site, as well as a forum dedicated to Windows Phone 7 on Verizon’s support forums. I really hope this is true, as I’ve been putting off an upgrade waiting for Verizon to release the devices on their network.

And then silence. I’m not sure if it was the NoDo disaster—which sort of makes sense—or the launch of the Verizon iPhone—which sort of makes sense too—or something else entirely, but the Verizon Windows Phone launch, which was going to happen in February, and then March, and then April, just kept getting pushed back.