A quiet week it wasn’t, thanks largely to the long-anticipated consummation of a deal between Microsoft and Yahoo. There were also yet more juicy rumors of an Apple tablet, rumblings of discontent over the iPhone Store’s decision to boot Google…

Microsoft on Friday let users who want to upgrade from one version of Windows 7 to another know how they can do so.

Think of the annual Pwnie Awards delivered at the Black Hat conference as a geek version of the Oscars – if they were combined with the tongue-in-cheek Razzies that celebrate the worst of Hollywood.

Traditional productivity suites will continue to be a core part of content creation in the enterprise, but newer Web 2.0 and social networking tools will add unique options, says Craig Roth, Burton Group vice president and services director.

An Internet tool to shield Chinese dissidents from their government seems to do just the opposite and also probes military, financial and academic networks in the U.S., Canada and Taiwan, according to research presented at Black Hat.