If you preordered the book, you’ll receive it automatically. If you didn’t preorder, you can purchase it now for $31.20.

The DRM-free Kindle edition is a couple dollars less from Amazon ($29.64). But here’s a pro tip: If you buy the print edition, you get a DRM-free PDF copy at no cost, and you can upgrade to to DRM-free ebook editions in EPUB and MOBI (Kindle-compatible) formats for a few dollars.

Disclosure: When you buy through the affiliate links on this page, I make a few extra bucks, for which my family thanks you.

That conversation inspired me to reread this Engadget review:

There’s no other way than to come out and say it: we are extremely disappointed in the … email app. So much so, in fact, that … mail support may be the largest factor in killing its status as a productivity device. Don’t get us wrong, the application is just fine for anyone who wants to do light email, but it lacks the power and convenience that frequent-emailers require.

That was just one of several “severe issues about the device.” So, which gadget were they talking about? Maybe not the one you think.

Oh well, I’m sure the big update a year after the original release will fix things.

Star Trek: The Complete Original Series (Seasons 1-3) [Blu-ray]

As usual, if you buy it here through this affiliate link I get a small commission and can keep this site free of ads and trackers.

As I was throwing out the little bits of paper that came with it, I stopped at one that had a small holographic sticker affixed to the top of it with a scratch-off label, like a lottery ticket.

The paper included instructions (in 12 languages) telling me to “scratch out the coating to get the security code” and then go to www.t3315.com and input the code.

OK, I’ll play along.

All righty, then.

I think that’s Dell’s way of telling me to step away from the computer and enjoy the holiday weekend.

You have to be at least 13 years old to use Tumblr. We’re serious: it’s a hard rule, based on U.S. federal and state legislation, even if you’re 12.9 years old. If you’re younger than 13, don’t use Tumblr. Ask your parents for an Xbox or try books.

As legal documents go, this one is particularly clear and well written.

I’ve been using the Logitech T400 Touch Mouse for a few months now, and it is, by far, the best I have found for working with Windows 8.

Despite its simple appearance, this little pointing device is able to activate a number of Windows 8 features, making it ideal for use on a desktop PC that doesn’t have a touch screen.

You can customize its settings using this very intuitive app, which Windows 8 automatically downloads and installs after it detects the device.

And today it’s on sale for $20 at Amazon, which is half its normal price and an absolute steal. I’m tempted to pick up a couple as gifts.

Logitech Zone Touch Mouse T400 for Windows 8 – Black (910-003041)

Highly recommended.

Disclosure: I get a commission from Amazon when you use the affiliate links on this page.

And yet some people still use an email address they don’t control. Even when it’s from Gmail or Hotmail or Yahoo, it’s not yours. Someone could decide to cancel or suspend your account for a real or imagined violation of the service’s terms. Oh, it happens.

This is why I’m a firm believer in owning your own domain and creating your own email addresses. That way you’re not at the mercy of geography or someone else’s business model.

Over at ZDNet, I have a tutorial on how to connect your custom domain to Microsoft’s free and excellent Outlook.com service. You get to send and receive mail using an address you own, and no one can take it away or force you to change it.

And did I mention it’s free?

Details here:

Why I use Outlook.com for my custom email accounts (and how you can too)

That’s the culmination of a transformation that’s been going on since last year, when I removed the Google Analytics code from this site. I shut down my Google AdSense account and removed the code serving ads from the network I was previously part of.

With those changes, there are no longer any web trackers on this site. I do have the Stats widget (part of the WordPress Jetpack add-in), which counts site visitors and helps me determine which posts are most popular and which search terms visitors used when coming here via search engines. It doesn’t gather any additional information about visitors, as far as I know.

I have nothing but respect for the people who run my former ad network, Federated Media. They’re professionals of the first order.

The advertising industry, on the other hand, seems to be engaged in a race to the bottom. I finally got tired of ugly, misleading ads, which in turn were accompanied by tracking code that aggressively monitors your movements on the web.

So for now, at least, this site is free. If you want to support my work, I hope you’ll buy my books. I occasionally also recommend products here, from online merchants I trust. Those recommendations might include affiliate links. If they do, I include a disclosure as part of the post. (The link to Amazon.com at the beginning of this paragraph is an affiliate link, in fact.)

Ad-supported business models are becoming increasingly less tenable for small publishers like me. And the advertising industry is getting worse, much worse, in the way it tracks us.

I don’t have any answers for fixing the Internet. But at least in this one small plot of online real estate, I can make a statement.

It’s available for pre-order from Amazon now, for $29.00, which is 47% off the full retail price. And when you get the paperback you get the e-book version for free, in your choice of PDF, Kindle, EPUB, or other standard, DRM-free formats.

Amazon.com pre-order

Microsoft® Office Inside Out: 2013 Edition

The book has full coverage of the five core applications in Office 2013: Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and OneNote, with additional material on Access, Publisher, and Lync. We also explain the difference between Office 2013 and Office 365 and help you decide which edition is the right one for you.

Disclosure: I make a small commission when you purchase through the Amazon affiliate links on this page.

The server that runs this site is migrating to new IP addresses this week, so I got to play network engineer over the weekend. Everything should be working OK now. If you see any problems, please leave a comment here, or use the Contact Me form to send me a private note.

That was 2003. We’ve had 10 years to realize just how horribly, awfully wrong that statement was.

Even more comedy gold in that vintage article:

During his presentation, Jobs used Apple’s IChat instant messaging to talk with celebrities around the world, including Mick Jagger, Dr. Dre, and Bono–who drew the largest reaction from the crowd.

“It is a very cool thing for musicians and music,” Bono said in a video. “I want you to know that we appreciate it. Making Apple a crossroads for all kinds of artistic endeavors. That’s why I’m here to kiss the corporate ass. I don’t kiss everybody’s.”

Also, it was a BFD that Apple was partnering with … wait for it … AOL and Pepsi.

Doesn’t seem possible she’s five years old.

Photo credit: Judy Bott

We know people choose Windows because it’s important to their lives and their businesses. They trust and rely on Windows for serious productivity and more and more serious fun. We are proud to keep evolving Windows in way that brings forward over 25 years of computing and create the platform for tomorrow. As with every radical change, learning is a process. We are getting smarter every day about how to help people learn and make the most of their devices. From work in Windows, to online content, as well materials and demos at retail we are constantly improving and moving forward.

And also confirmation of something we pretty much knew already:

At the WIRED Business Conference I announced we’d share the first public preview of what we are calling internally Windows “Blue” in late June timed with the Build conference. It’s an update to Windows 8 and builds on our vision of modern computing. An OS that lets apps work seamlessly together and put the things you care most about right at your fingertips.  We are excited to share the next steps in this vision soon.

I’ll be there. Very curious to see what’s on deck. It’s more than just a Start button.

I’m swapping out some hardware, and my 15-month-old Samsung Ultrabook is looking for a new home.

It’s a Series 9 (NP900X3A), with the following specs:

• Intel Core i5-2467M @1.60 GHz, 4GB DDR3 System Memory
• 128 GB Solid State Drive
• Display: 13.3″ SuperBright Plus widescreen display, 1366×768 (not a touchscreen)
• Intel® HD Graphics 3000
• Dimensions: 12.9″ (W) x 8.9″ (D) x 0.62″ ~ 0.64″ (H)
• Weight: 2.88 pounds
• Backlit keyboard

The system has a three-year manufacturer’s warranty and is in excellent working condition. It was originally purchased from the Microsoft Store, and I’ve upgraded it to Windows 8 Pro, with all the latest updates (including support for Windows 8 gestures on the trackpad).

This model typically sells on eBay for around $500 and up. At Amazon, asking prices for this model in good condition are in the $700-800 range. Hit the contact page and make me an offer or ask a question.

Microsoft: Next Xbox will work even when your Internet doesn’t

According to an internal Microsoft e-mail sent to all full-time employees working on the next Xbox, “Durango [the codename for the next Xbox] is designed to deliver the future of entertainment while engineered to be tolerant of today’s Internet.” It continues, “There are a number of scenarios that our users expect to work without an Internet connection, and those should ‘just work’ regardless of their current connection status. Those include, but are not limited to: playing a Blu-ray disc, watching live TV, and yes playing a single player game.”

Playing a Blu-ray disc? Watching live TV without an Internet connection? Very interesting.