Neowin.net / All

MyDefrag 4.2.6

Marcel Klum — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 10:35:47 +0000

MyDefrag (formerly JkDefrag) is a disk defragmenter and optimizer (a maintenance utility to make your harddisk faster) for Windows 2000, 2003, XP, Vista, 2008, and for X64. It is freeware, no time limit, fully functional, no advertisements. Fast, low overhead, with many optimization strategies, can handle floppies, USB disks, memory sticks, and anything else that looks like a disk to Windows. Included are a set of easy to use scripts for endusers, a scripting engine for demanding users, a screensaver, and a combined Windows plus commandline version that can be scheduled by the Windows task scheduler or for use from administrator scripts. What's new: Changed the script chooser so that now all disks are deselected by default.

Read full story...

Google Chrome OS to launch within a week?

Brad Sams — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 20:40:07 +0000

Previously said to launch in the fall, rumors are circulating that Google's Chrome OS will launch within the next week. While Google is mum on the launch of their new OS they have been known to launch projects in beta form ahead of schedule in the past. It is expected the the first release of Google OS will not run on standard laptop and desktop computers, but will run on set of Google OS endorsed devices such as select netbooks. Google has previously said they are working with Acer, Adobe, ASUS, Freescale, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo, Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, and Toshiba on the Chrome OS project.

Read full story...

Microsoft: Sorry we used GPLv2 code illegally

Tom Warren — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 21:31:50 +0000

Microsoft tonight issued an update on the reports that the company used open source code in their Windows 7 USB/DVD tool, illegally. Neowin originally reported earlier this week that Microsoft had pulled the tool after complaints by Rafael Rivera over some of the content of the Windows 7 USB/DVD download tool. Microsoft issued the following statement regarding the reports: After looking at the code in question, we are now able to confirm this was indeed the case, although it was not intentional on our part. While we had contracted with a third party to create the tool, we share responsibility as we did not catch it as part of our code review process.

Read full story...

Microsoft Office 2010 beta build leaks

Tom Warren — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 08:37:54 +0000

Microsoft's highly anticipated Office 2010 beta suite has leaked this week on peer-to-peer file sharing networks. The build, numbered version 14.0.4514.1009, is tagged with the "beta 2" naming. The leak reportedly requires keys to install but accepts Office 2010 Technical Preview keys. Michael Aulia of Craving Tech posted some screen shots and his initial impressions after Microsoft sent him the beta directly. From the screen shots posted it's clear the UI has been refined in the Office 2010 beta and the program icons have been updated. It's widely expected that a public beta build of Office 2010 will be available next week.

Read full story...

Boxee Box hardware announced for open source Media Center

Chris Carera — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 08:22:29 +0000

On the official Boxee blog, founder and CEO Avner Ronen has announced that the company has reached its first official partnership with a consumer electronics manufacturer. Though he refers to it as a "Boxee Box" in the subject of the post, Ronen declined to release details or specifications, which he said will be available at an official event to be held on December 7th. Based on open-source technology first designed to bring media center capabilities to the original Xbox, Boxee is currently available as an open alpha for machines running Windows, Linux, and OSX.

Read full story...

YouTube to get 1080p support next week

Sam Symons — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 08:02:23 +0000

YouTube is the most popular source for video on the Internet; it has dedicated apps on a few smart-phones, millions of hours of video and it keeps getting increasingly popular. It can also display HD video, but next week, that will get even better with full 1080p support coming.

Read full story...

Microsoft investigating zero-day Windows 7 hole

Tom Warren — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 07:27:16 +0000

Microsoft confirmed to Cnet News that it is looking into a report of a vulnerability in Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2 that could be used by a malicious attacker to remotely crash PCs. The software giant is looking into claims of a "possible denial-of-service vulnerability in Windows Server Message Block (SMB)," a Microsoft spokesperson confirmed. Security researcher Laurent Graffie published proof of concept code in a blog posting proclaiming "This bug is a real proof that SDL #FAIL".

Read full story...

Chrome for Mac beta coming early December

Sam Symons — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 01:40:32 +0000

Google's Chrome browser is gaining traction steadily, despite being a new player in the world of exploring the Internet. So far, it's seen the most support on Windows, though a Mac version is being developed also; Google have just announced that a beta will be available in December. For Mac users, Chrome has been available in the form of the Chromium project, a browser which isn't intended for public use but is still stable enough that some rely on it full time.

Read full story...

Google aims to speed up the entire Internet with SPDY

Sam Symons — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:47:09 +0000

There are many aspects of technology that can be tweaked in order to speed a user's Internet experience up; web pages optimized, purchase a faster connection, or even just update software. Google has apparently bypassed all this, however… they aim to replace the HTTP protocol itself, with SPDY. As the Google blog post reminds us, "HTTP is an elegantly simple protocol that emerged as a web standard in 1996 after a series of experiments." It's been great so far, though with initial tests of SPDY (pronounced "speedy"), it shows that it can definitely be improved.

Read full story...

Bing launches in the UK

Elliot Harrison — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:32:20 +0000

Today a new search engine for the UK has been thrown into the mix. Microsoft's Bing UK, following a period of trial and continued in-depth analysis of consumer usage and behaviour, has been put through its paces and Bing is now shedding its beta tag. During the previous five months of beta testing, the Bing team have been focused on developing a UK-centric search destination based on feedback, trends in searching habits and user requirements. Bing's new search features organise results in a user friendly way and diminish Internet overload and clutter, helping UK consumers get to the information that matters most to them quicker, making decisions faster.

Read full story...