Microsoft has acknowledged that these things do happen and that the company is now looking into the matter. MS has said in its statement that the problem seems to be stemming from the notification message in the tray being inaccurate.

MS further explained that in normal operations, the user will only get the notification about the updates being ready for installation when all of the said updates have already been downloaded and ready for installation. This could be the reason why the update may appear on Windows Update but not on Automatic Updates. Another instance is that the user may get a notification of the update having been downloaded and available for installation but the update has not yet been installed
First, you only get the notification that updates are available for installation when all of the available updates are downloaded and ready to install. So if they appear to be available on Windows Update but not through Automatic Updates, that could be the explanation. Second, you may get a notification of downloaded and available, but not yet installed updates, in the shutdown dialog. In this situation the user will only see the updates with updates that doesn’t need user intervention.

Hopefully, Microsoft does find the problem and fixes it. It doesn’t need the negative view that it is manipulating things even when it clearly does not.

The agreement, which was signed by Nokia, Sony Ericsson and other manufacturers, paves the way for the development of mobile phones that will accept the same standard charging device as early as next year.

This is really a welcome development. Any mobile phone user knows how much of a hassle it is that whenever we upgrade to a new phone, it generally means we’ll have to use a different charger, basically junking the previous charger. These unused chargers eventually find its way to the garbage dump, which helps create more waste. It’s really not an environment friendly strategy and quite wasteful of resources as well.

Under the agreement, an European Union norm or standard will be implemented and new mobile phones will now use a standard micro-USB socket as a way of ensuring utmost compatibility.

Aside from Nokia and SE, other companies that supported the move included Motorola, Apple, LG, NEC, Qualcomm, Research in Motion, Samsung and Texas Instruments.

Fennec 1.0 Beta 2 for the Maemo Nokia software and development platform, and Fenn 1.0 Alpha 2 for Windows Mobile can now be downloaded at Mozilla’s site. There are also desktop builds that users can install on Windows, Mac and Linux.

The Fennec browsers have been designed to make the user experience easier. A new theme that is more eye-pleasing is now used and a number of usability issues have also been addressed. Installing add-ons on the browser has also been improved, along with the download manager.

Mozilla also revamped the installation of add-ons, improved its download manager, and upgraded the look of the application, Parmenter wrote.

I’m definitely going to try this browser on my Nokia. I’m always on the lookout for a better browser experience on a mobile and right now Nokia’s default browser and Opera Mini is just not cutting it. Hopefully, Fennec will end my quest for a great mobile browser.

Palm reportedly sold about 50,000 Pres and also posted 100,000 logged downloads on the launch day itself. This is an average of about 2 apps downloaded for each device and about 5,500 downloads per app. Of course, Apple still holds the best numbers with its iPhone. It posted 1 million downloads 17 earlier than the Palm Pre, and we’re not yet even talking about the apps themselves.

Now that the Palm Pre is gaining maturity, it will be worth watching out how a public SDK will impact sales.

The new browser has a new darker interface and and the tabs can be dragged down to show thumbnails of the site in the said tabs. One of Opera’s nifty features, the Speed Dial, is now customizable to take advantage of bigger screens (Google actually copied this feature for their Chrome browser).

Opera CEO Jon Tetzchner said that Opera 10 also has faster performance. Coupled with the new features, he said that both long time users of the browser and new users will be impressed with it.

For torrent users, it should be noted that Opera remains the only browser that has a built in torrent client. Other browsers do not incorporate it mainly because of fears of getting the attention of the copyright hounds. At just a lean 6.5 MB, you guys should really try Opera 10.

The company acknowledges that the netbook segment is enjoying great sales and is expected to still grow this year. But Intel also believes that by 2010 and beyond, the traditional laptop market will make a stronger impact and go back to double digit growth rates. Although the key to success will lie on how the laptops will be designed and marketed. This opinion was based on an Intel study conducted in 2008 which showed that only 11.6 percent would take their laptop outside. But 23 percent would consider lugging around an ultraportable device.

Intel said that it firmly believes that it can create new device category where what it calls as ultra thin laptops will be lumped with.

But even though technological advancements are happening all over the world there are some cities that can be considered as ahead of the curve in terms of technological acceptance and immersion. These are the cities that have made technology one of the building blocks of its growth both economically and culturally. These cities have incorporated technology to such a degree that it is beginning to define itself in terms of how it has melded itself to the digital age.

Seoul

The South Korean capital is probably the most technologically integrated in the world. Seoul boasts of having one of the fastest commercially available broadband speeds on the planet. And the level of immersion in households is also among the highest – with four of five households getting broadband internet of up to 100Mbps for just $40 a month. Even mobile communications is tops in Seoul with nine out of ten people owning mobile phones. Leading technological advancements are also being developed and released in Seoul mainly because Samsung and LG, two of the top consumer electronics makers in the world, are headquartered there. This means Koreans are probably getting these advanced technologies first.

Seoul is also leading the world in terms of convergence. It is the first city to fully explore digital mobile TV broadcasting. This technology was launched way back in 2005 and at present more than two million Koreans are now subscribed to the service – watching TV on their phones at practically any place they want.

Seoul is a great city to visit, there are many Seoul hotels to choose from – from economy to luxury hotels.

Tokyo

If technology is the subject, Tokyo is probably the first city that any person will think of first. And for good reason. Tokyo is one of the most advanced cities in the world and probably the first truly technology driven city way before these new technologies were developed. Even before the advent of the internet, Tokyo has gained a worldwide reputation for being the source of new technologies. It is often said that if you want to find out hat kind of technology will be popular in a few years, go to Tokyo and look at what the people there are using and what the stores are selling.

It will be interesting to note that the current 3G mobile technology that the rest of the world is enjoying for the last couple of years has been used in Japan during the early years of the decade. Japan turned the phone into a real multimedia convergence device that can practically do anything. The fact that you can buy from vending machines using mobile phones is just the kind of ubiquitous application of technology that not many countries have done.

Technological advancements in Tokyo is also helped by the number of leading electronics manufacturers based in Tokyo and in other parts of Japan. It’s the reason they get a taste of the first deliveries of gaming consoles, mobile phones, electronics equipment and even down to the mundane everyday items that you wouldn’t even give second thoughts to – for example, electronic toilet bowls that warm the seat and give a gentle stream of water to wash your bottom. Only in Japan, indeed.

Technology is also well integrated when you visit Tokyo and stay in any one of the hotels in the city. A Tokyo hotel will usually have a number of high tech facilities.

Stockholm

The European city of Stockholm in Sweden has also distinguished itself as a technological city. The impact of technology in Sweden in general and Stockholm in particular has resulted in a big shift in educational priorities in Sweden’s youth. A significant majority of kids in Sweden now want to become engineers instead of doctors or lawyers. Science and technology has firmly taken hold of the whole country.

Sweden is one of the top countries in Europe in terms of broadband speed and penetration. And this has significantly impacted on the way technology is new being used in the city. For example, convergence efforts has now resulted in a unique application of broadband speeds, the internet, mobile telephony and e-commerce. Shoppers can now buy groceries using their mobile phones. Each item in the grocery has an RFID tag. A shopper will just have to scan all of the tags in his shopping cart and after this is done a unique ID number is given. The shopper will only need to SMS the ID number to a phone number and the groceries are automatically charged to the phone bill.

Stockholm officials are hard at work in making Stockholm one of the leading ICT capitals in the European region. And they are succeeding in that task. A growing number of IT companies are now holding office in the city and the list is growing. Government officials are hard at work in ensuring the necessary infrastructure is in place to make the city more attractive for tech companies.

Stockholm is a great place to visit since it is a great jump off point when visiting the rest of Scandinavia. There are a number of great hotels in Stockholm that you can stay in.

Tallinn

Among the cities in the world that is slowly making its presence felt as a technological capital is the city of Tallinn in Estonia. Tallinn’s proximity to other progressive cities in Scandinavia has benefitted in tremendously in establishing its IT roots. In fact, Tallinn boasts of being one of the most wired cities in the region. The Tallinn residents are quite pampered in terms of connectivity since practically every place – whether it be the park, bars, pubs or hotels – have free WiFi. In fact, it is quite common to see road signs that indicate the nearest free WiFi hotspots in the area.

Tallinn has also earned the distinction as being the first city in the world to hold elections online. Voters merely swiped their smartcard on a card reader attached to their computer and then voted securely on a website. The same smartcard also allows residents to view any data the government may have on them. Taxes in Tallinn are now paid in the same way and because the whole system is linked to banks and other public institutions, any deductible amounts are automatically made.

Tallinn is already being marketed as a Silicon Valley of the Scandinavian region. And it is gaining a lot of success and recognition for its efforts. In fact, Skype is one of the most successful start-ups to originate in Tallinn.

Tallinn hotels are quite numerous and because of the city’s initiatives practically all of them have free WiFi.

Songdong City

If you are on the lookout for a true, built-from-the-ground-up technology city then all you need to remember is Songdong City. This new city is being developed 60 kilometers from Seoul on a vast 600 hectares of land reclaimed from the sea. If we’re talking about technologically advanced Songdong may just take the cake. It is the first city that will have its residential, medical and business sectors linked.

The key to everything would be a smartcard. The smartcard will be used as a housekey but can also be used in accessing the subway, paying for parking, buying movie tickets or even borrowing free public bicycles. The whole city will be pollution-free because conventional gas powered cars will not be allowed inside. Instead, visitors and residents will use the aforementioned bicycles and also electric smart cars and public transports. Over 10,000 such cars will be plying the routes of the city.

Fixed line fiber optics will be wired into all homes as well as high speed wireless in all other areas of Songdong. In one of the more inspired aspects of the city, the government’s IT infrastructure will be tied to the home networks of residents, which means residents can have access to their files wherever they are. These files can be accessed through their computers, mobile phones and other portable devices. It can also be accessed through government provided city kiosks and public screens. Even the garbage will be electronically advanced in Songdong. Sensors in garbage can will automatically alert garbage collection teams to empty the trash, while RFID can be used to credit residents if they help in recycling efforts.

With Songdong due to be completed in 2010, the future is truly just around the corner. You can already check on the progress of Songdong when you visit Seoul since it is just a short drive away. You can stay in one of the many hotels in Seoul that will fit your budget and needs.

This is the first time Netflix will have official support for Microsoft’s media-optimized OS even though users of the WMC have been using a workaround to access Netflix. When the DVD distribution company began offering streaming video services, some programmers were able to create small apps that allowed them to view the content on the Media Center. But since it was unofficial, these apps had a tendency to break down and suffer from glitches especially when Netflix makes changes from their end. It also requires an advanced level of technical knowhow to make it work. The official support for Netflix now eliminates all of these difficulties.

The new Netflix app uses Silverlight to present a seamless interface and easy video streaming capabilities. The app will even guide users in installing Silverlight in case they haven’t downloaded and installed it in their PCs yet.

The new hard drive will be sold at 299 dollars. A bit steep, but still within reach of even the budget conscious. The new Greenpower drive is supposed to cut power consumption by 40 percent compared to conventional drives manufactured by the competition. These drives are also extremely quiet.

Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang has accused Intel of unfair chip pricing even though he also daid that his company will not be filing any antitrust lawsuits against the top chip maker.

Huangs pronouncements may be considered strange considering that the company is in a partnership with Intel in making graphics chips that are paired with the Atom. Huang said that Intel sells the Atom for $45 but a three-chip set is sold at $25 as a way of “luring business away.” Huang said that this practice is unfair and that companies like Nvidia should be able to compete and serve the market.

Although Huang has a point — Intel was recently ordered by the European Commission to pay a fine of 1.6 billion euros for its illegal competition practices against rival Advanced Micro Devices — saying something negative against a company you’re currently in business with would still raise eyebrows.