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In Christmas Microsoft Release Windows 7

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 06:31:16 +0100

Microsoft final decided Windows 7 is release on October 22, just in time to enable system builders to make the Christmas season. The date will put Windows 7 on store shelves a full three months earlier than originally planned.

Microsoft will offer some people who may not be able to wait for Windows 7 to arrive before having to order a new PC (like parents who are sending their sons or daughters off to school who need of a PC to take with them). Fortunately, there is no need to wait. Soon, customers will be able to take advantage of the Windows 7 Upgrade Option Program. This program enables participating retailers and OEMs to offer a special deal to upgrade to Windows 7 for customers purchasing a qualifying PC. Brandon LeBlanc will be doing another Windows blog post about this program with a date and more details when we get closer to availability.

Despite the fact that Windows Vista feels like it had a short life of only 33 months when it will be replaced, Microsoft in fact had short product cycles before Windows XP and, at least in that view, the rapid release is nothing special. While XP was the current operating system for 63 months, Me succeeded 98 after 27 months, 98 followed 95 with a 34 month distance, 95 replaced 3.1x after 41 months of availability and 3.1x kicked 3.0 after 22 months to the curb, this information according to TG Daily.

New Xbox 360 Project Natal's Motion Sensor Blows Wii Away

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 16:19:46 +0100

Microsoft press conference on Monday at the E3 gaming convention in Los Angeles, Microsoft blew the media away with Project Natal, a motion sensing device that allows you to control video games and Xbox 360 menus with your body instead of a peripheral controller. Natal gives you voice and full-body motion control over your on-screen avatar using an RGB camera, depth sensor, multi-array microphone, and custom processor running proprietary software - according to the PC World.

Natal uses cameras and a microphone mounted to a Wii-style sensor bar to detect the user. It recognizes movements, talking, and can even tell the difference between young and old woman, and not just because she's better looking.

The system has plenty of goodies, such as voice and face recognition, video chatting and speech commands. After scrolling through your movies with a mid-air hand wave, just call out "Play movie!" and "Steel Magnolias" will start rolling. Love racing games? Why not grip an imaginary steering wheel and burn rubber?

Microsoft Corporate Vice President John Schappert, who led the keynote address, told FOXNews that he's excited to see what happens now that developers are able to get their hands on the development kit for Natal.

Amazon & Google's In The E-Book Business Competitors

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 16:41:11 +0100

Now this day we are see Amazon sales of own made of digital books its proprietary Kindle device. Most print publication like these digital books. And most recently Google announced that it was ready to take Amazon on in force in the digital book market according to the New York Times. Google held discussions with major publishers at the Book Expo convention in New York.

So we are now said that Google directly in competition with Amazon. Amazon charges a flat fee of $9.99 for each digital book. The NYT reports that the average hard cover book sells for $26, significantly more than Amazon’s fee. Amazon reportedly takes a loss on each digital book it sells. But Google offering could prove to be more popular with publishers that Amazon's program because Google says it will allow publishers to set their own pricing for books.

David Young CEO of Hachette Book Group said, "Clearly, any major company coming into the e-book space, providing that we are happy with the pricing structure, the selling price and the security of the technology, will be a welcome addition." According to the DailyTech.

Intel Ads Don't Clarify Core Brand (But New Stickers Do)

Wed, 06 May 2009 21:02:30 +0100

The big branding news from Intel is not its upcoming megabucks "Sponsors of Tomorrow" ad campaign -- another sure-to-fail attempt to paint geeks as cool. (I'm referring to the "TV spot portraying the Intel scientist who helped invent the USB drive as a rock star." David Byrne, maybe?) What is welcome news, though, is the quieter "rebadging" effort, which seeks to clarify those hapless stickers identifying the processor inside your PC or laptop.

Sure, if Intel wants reinforce its name with consumers, then TV ads will do the trick. The issue, though, is not that average folks haven't heard of the company, but rather that many of them are unclear about what exactly Intel makes. (I'd bet they know it's "chips"; but not "microprocessors.") In the same way that, in the early 1990s, the non-technical masses thought that AOL was the Internet, I suspect that lots of people believe Intel makes computers. Which they do, but not fully locked and loaded, as it were.

Ad-wise, Intel has been putting its name before consumers in a big way since the early Pentiums in the 1990s. That's when the chip behemoth decided to throttle back on its behind-the-scenes brand building -- where it focused on building heft with OEMs and industry insiders -- in favor of a glitzier, conventional-advertising profile.

Sure, the new stickers, which cut the keyword clutter down by roughly one term, aren't the final word in simplicity. But "Intel Core i7 Inside" cuts to the chase much quicker than the previous verbiage.

News source: InformationWeek

Apple said to make $700M buyout bid for Twitter

Tue, 05 May 2009 22:02:46 +0100

If the latest rumors are true, Apple Inc. can join the list as the latest company interested in buying online phenom Twitter Inc.

The blogosphere is abuzz -- if not a-Twitter -- with talk of Apple throwing its hat into the ring with a rumored $700 million buyout offer. This all comes on the heels of a failed bid by Facebook Inc. to scoop up Twitter last fall, followed by rumors that had both Google Inc. and Microsoft Corp. casting an eye toward the microblogging site.

Neither Apple nor Twitter responded to requests for comment on the reports.

Dan Olds, an analyst at Gabriel Consulting Group Inc., said that if the rumors about Apple's interest are true, it could make for an interesting combination.

"Apple has the right 'attitude' to run something like Twitter, plus the ability to monetize it with advertising," Olds said. "I can see where Twitter might fit quite nicely into the Apple empire. It would give Apple a strong entry into the social networking market and also a very solid advertising vehicle."

Blog site Gawker.com reported earlier today that an unnamed source, who reportedly has been recruited for a senior-level position at Apple, says the company is in "serious negotiations" with Twitter. The story noted that Apple is trying to hash out a deal quickly so an announcement could be made on June 8, during Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference.

TechCrunch today also reported that a "normally reliable source" said that Apple is in late-stage negotiations with Twitter. However, the story also noted that other sources said they have no knowledge of any talks between the two.

Olds said with all the attention Twitter has been getting, it would be easy for company executives to hold out for a significant sum.

News source: Computerworld

Microsoft is allowing anyone to download Windows 7 RC

Tue, 05 May 2009 21:56:18 +0100

Microsoft is allowing anyone to download and install a free copy of the operating system so that it can be tested on wide range of machines. The company still hasn't announced the date of the final commercial version though it's widely expected to be out by the end of this year.

What you download is an ISO file which must be burned to a DVD before you can install it on a machine so by sure your PC has a DVD burner and you have a blank DVD handy. Microsoft says that your machine will need a 1 Ghz or faster CPU, at least 1 GB of RAM (I recommended at least 2 GB) and at least 16 GB available disk space (more is better). The 64-bit version has higher requirements.

You can install Windows 7 over Vista but not earlier versions of Windows. For best performance, I recommend a "clean install" which requires that you re-install all your software when you're done. In theory this can be done without destroying the data on your disk, but I would never dream of installing an operating system without first backing up all of my data.

Libraries are virtual folders that, by default, provide access to documents, photos and other media files without having to navigate through a hierarchy of folders. You can use this to add links to additional folders on your machine, a network server or another machine on the network. For instructions on how to use libraries see this post on Windows Live. Article according to CNET News.

EU urges U.S. to share control of ICANN with other countries

Mon, 04 May 2009 17:53:37 +0100

Viviane Reding, the European commissioner for Internet-related issues, called today for a new multilateral approach to Internet governance once the current system expires at the end of September.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is a private, nonprofit corporation established in California. It is responsible for some of the most sensitive issues related to Internet governance, such as top-level domains and management of the Domain Name System, which ensures that millions of computers can connect to each other. ICANN is partly controlled by the U.S. Department of Commerce. Earlier attempts to internationalize ICANN failed.

News source: Computerworld

Windows 7 RC Free Download Starts Tuesday

Mon, 04 May 2009 17:44:15 +0100

Consumers who want to be the first on their block to try Microsoft's new Windows 7 operating system can get their hands on a free copy of a nearly final version of the OS as soon as Tuesday.

That's when Microsoft plans to make Windows 7 "Release Candidate" available to the general public. Last week, the company began offering Windows 7 RC to professional users who belong to its TechNet and MSDN communities.

Windows 7 RC contains most of the features that will be included in the final version of the OS, and it's been tested for compatibility with hardware and software from most major vendors through a months-long beta program. Still, Microsoft typically warns computer users not to use prerelease software for critical tasks or in business production environments.

View: Screenshots: Windows 7 - Part 1
Review: Windows 7 RC Review: Good Speed, Bad Taskbar
News source: InformationWeek

Amazon to introduce "big screen" Kindle device this week

Mon, 04 May 2009 17:19:28 +0100

The big-box retailer and online bookseller on Monday began issuing to members of the media invitations to a special press conference this Wednesday, May 6th at 10:30 a.m. that will take place at Pace University in Manhattan.

These invites arrived just hours after a report in the New York Times cited people briefed on Amazon's plans as saying the retailer was gearing up to introduce "a larger version of its Kindle wireless device tailored for displaying newspapers, magazines and perhaps textbooks."

The newspaper, which is expected to be one of several media outlets involved in the unveiling, believes eBook readers with screens larger than the 6-inch display on the existing Kindle may pose an "irresistible proposition" to newspaper and magazine publishers who are looking to save millions on the cost of printing and distributing their publications at a time when there business have come under immense financial pressure.

The jumbo Kindle, as some have called it, is expected to be the first of several similarly-positioned devices due to hit the market in the next 12-months, with other offerings reported to be in the works by the likes of News Corp., the magazine publisher Hearst, and upstart Plastic Logic.

A Kindle with a larger viewing surface could renew consumers interest in paying for subscriptions to content that has in recent years has become freely accessible on the Web, while also affording publishers the opportunity to present their material in a digital format that resembles that of their print editions.

But when Amazon takes the wraps off its new device on Wednesday, it may focus on an entirely different market: education. In the weeks leading up to the introduction of the Kindle 2 (unboxing, review) this past February, rumors were abound of an upcoming education model that would feature a larger screen and be marketed to students as an alternative to textbooks.

News source: AppleInsider

Windows 7 could launch as early as August

Sat, 02 May 2009 12:19:41 +0100

Although Microsoft Corp. refuses to name a delivery date for Windows 7, it could launch the new operating system as early as August, according to timeline comparisons of significant dates for Windows XP and Windows Vista.

Those calculations bolster speculation that Microsoft has already set a ship date. Earlier this week, for example, a senior Microsoft executive said that a release in time to make 2009's crucial holiday selling season was "accomplishable," a departure from policy that has only promised to deliver Windows 7 within three years of Vista's appearance.

Yesterday, the gadget site Pocket-lint went even further as it said Acer Inc.'s Bobby Watkins had pegged Oct. 23 as Windows 7's launch date.

News source: Computerworld

Google sued over Android name

Sat, 02 May 2009 12:14:45 +0100

Google, the Open Handset Alliance and 45 other companies are being sued over the name given to "Android", the open-source mobile phone operating system.

Erich Specht, who trades in the US as the Android Data Corp and the Android's Dungeon was given trademark rights to Android five years ago by the US Patent and Trademark Office (PTO), and has since developed software and applications under the name.

Google attempted to achieve similar rights in October 2007, a month prior to the launch of its operating system, but this was rejected by the PTO in February 2008.

The name of Google's platform dates back to when Google acquired a small start-up company called Android that made software for mobile phones.

This week Specht filed a complaint to a Chicago federal court, arguing that Google's use of the word would deceive and confuse customers. He requested the court ban Google from using the name and sought $2m in damages.

All the defendants in the case stand to be affected by the ruling and include Motorola, T-Mobile, Vodafone, Samsung, Sony Ericsson and Toshiba. They are all part of Google's Open Handset Alliance, which backs the Android operating system.

A Google spokesman told Bloomberg on Friday the claims made by Specht have no merit. "We will defend them vigorously," he said.

It was only three days ago that T-Mobile UK announced it had sold 100,000 Android mobile phones, also known as the HTC G1 Dream, since the device was released six months ago. Sales of the phones had also outstripped the sales of other T-Mobile handsets in the UK.

News source: vnunet.com

Use Twitter as a tool for your advantage

Sat, 02 May 2009 11:01:55 +0100

Dan Costa isn't one of them. As executive editor for PCMag.com, he's well-versed in social networking technology. He's also a devoted Twitter head.

But he doesn't proselytize. Instead, he wants people who decide to try out services like Twitter to appreciate their power — for both good and bad.

Costa warned that many people don't understand that sharing too much personal information can lead to serious consequences, perhaps even cost them their jobs. That goes for all of the services, MySpace, Facebook and Twitter, he said.

Take Brian Quinn, for instance. The Marion County sheriff's deputy was fired in 2006 for inappropriate content on his MySpace profile and his Web page, including posts about female breasts, swimming naked and drinking heavily and often.

"His statement about putting people in jail, his statement of swimming without his clothes on, things like that are totally inappropriate," Sheriff Ed Dean told Orlando television station WESH. "Even if they were in jest, even if he didn't even mean it, it still is not representative of the Sheriff's Office."

Learn how to make Twitter useful:

Here are tips offered by Nick Douglas of PCMag.com. He said the steps will transform Twitter from "a time sink into an indispensable tool."
Follow the news. Twitter is for keeping track of one news niche you care about. Useful Twitter members are CNN, cnnbrk, 8NYTimes, BreakingNewsOn and nprnews. Naturally, PCMag also has a Twitter presence.
Get better customer service. You may get more attention from companies through Twitter than through normal customer service channels. Examples include Zappos, Starbucks and JetBlue. "Next time you have a customer complaint, just Google the search string '(Company name) Twitter' to see if you can make your case in 140 characters," wrote Douglas.
Ask for help. Twitter is useful in getting answers to questions and asking for favors. Examples: "Can anyone help me move on Friday?" or "How much RAM should I get for my new MacBook?" "The flip side is that Twitter communication is meant to be two-way," Douglas wrote. "Build your network of followers and your Twitter karma by jumping in with answers and help of your own."
Promote your work or company. Douglas warns that too much promotion can backfire. He recommends limiting your promotional tweets to three links a week. "Any more and you'll alienate followers who already know about your work or couldn't care less."
Keep up with friends. "One message at a time, knowing who has a cold or who got in a fender bender is dull. But in aggregate, skimming your Twitter feed gives you a sixth sense about what your social circle is up to, what moods they're in, whether they're free for a drink that night," Douglas wrote.

News source: St. Petersburg Times

1 Million Google Android Phones sold by T-Mobile

Sat, 25 Apr 2009 06:45:12 +0100

T-Mobile is the US’s fourth largest wireless network operator and has over 32.1 million customers. The company started selling the G1 Smartphone on October 22, 2008.

It is being reported by mobile advertising specialist AdMob that the Android OS now accounts for 6% for the entire smartphone market in the United States. Though the popularity is increasing, Android still has a while to go until it beats out Windows Mobile, which holds an 11% market share, the Blackberry OS at 22% and the iPhone, which takes the cake with 50% of the smartphone market in the U.S.

During a conference call last week Eric Schmidt, Google CEO stated that he felt the Android had a chance for great success this year. Schmidt claimed that the open source strategy was gaining ground and hinted that the company would deliver future announcements.

There are announcements happening between now and the end of the year that are quite significant from operators and new hardware partners in the Android space, which I won't preannounce except to say that they really do fulfill much of the vision that we laid out more than a year ago,” stated Schmidt during the call. “On the netbook side, there are a number of people who have actually taken Android and ported it over to netbook or netbook-similar devices.

News source: TG Daily

Yahoo Geocities to close after 15 years

Sat, 25 Apr 2009 06:38:42 +0100

Next year the old popular free web hosting service provider Geocities to close. Yahoo has announced that it will shut down the service later this year. Fifteen years age Geocities. An exact date is not specified, but Yahoo is warning current users to consider moving to other options, such as Yahoo's own Web Hosting service.

Started in 1994, Geocities was like the Facebook to Angelfire's MySpace—competing webpage services that allowed over-enthused HTML newbies to create artfully horrific webpages to represent themselves in the early days of the Internet. Geocities was acquired by Yahoo in 1999 with the intent of extending Yahoo's reach with its Internet advertising and services.

Fileinspect - a New Process Library

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 11:35:24 +0100

Fileinspect.com is a new website launched by Auslogics Software. With the help of this website users will be able to check all Windows processes, identify malware and spyware, and get recommendations on how to remove it. There is no need to download any software - st open the website and type in a process name in the search box. Each process is rated (safe-unsafe-dangerous) and thoroughly explained.

More information can be found on Auslogics official blog.

Google shows off new searches in Labs

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 09:41:12 +0100

Google has launched 'News Timeline' and 'Similar Images' within its Labs, bringing greater functionality to its search.

News Timeline, as you may have expected, is a web based method of organising search results chronologically.

Users can look through Wikipedia events, Google News entries and Time magazine articles going back to the Second World War.

Similar Images allows you to search Google Images and then pick out a photo or picture and search for similar versions of that image.

"Google News Timeline is a web application that organises search results chronologically," says the about page.

"It allows users to view news and other data sources on a browsable, graphical timeline.

"Available data sources include recent and historical news, scanned newspapers and magazines, blog posts, sports scores, and information about various types of media, like music albums and movies."

Again, being an early Labs project, it's far from perfect but potentially a very useful tool.

News source: TechRadar

Microsoft's Zune HD to Have Multitouch, HDMI

Thu, 16 Apr 2009 18:21:53 +0100

Microsoft, without doubt, is prepping Zune HD to compete with Apple's iPod Touch portable media player. Last weekend, images of Microsoft's Zune HD were leaked, and now WMPUser has been tipped off about the technical details. The new Zune HD is expected to be launched this September in the US, Canada, UK, France, and other European countries.

Microsoft would obviously like to get competitive by grabbing more market share in the portable media player market. A confirmed list of features include LiveSide and NeoWin.

The new Zune HD will have a 3.6-inch OLED touchscreen with capacitive multi-touch support. Nvidia's Tegra chip will power the Zune HD, and we think it might be the new Tegra 600 series announced in mid-February at the Mobile World Congress 2009. Hopefully, Zune HD's Tegra chip would be faster than Apple's Second Generation iPod Touch's ARM11-based S5L8720x chip clocked at 532MHz.

Microsoft's Zune HD will have a HDMI out for streaming content directly to the television. Again, the Tegra platform, which is HD video friendly, would be helping out in this process. Also, Zune HD has HD Radio, which is not a built-in feature in Apple's iPod Touch but available through Apps from App Store. Zune HD would also be WiFi compatible and capable of Wireless Sync with Windows Marketplace.

Zune HD will obviously have a web browser with multi-touch support. It seems like it will be a showcase for Windows Mobile 7 since rumor mills have been buzzing about Zune's integration with the Windows Mobile 7.

Microsoft will make Zune HD available in 4GB, 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB versions with a limited edition dock in different colors. Additionally, charge packs, car packs, and Home AV packs will be bundled with the Zune HD.

To be noted, Apple iPod Touch refresh cycle also occurs in September, so expect fireworks at the time.

News source: Techtree

Twitter Surges 131% in March to 9.3 Million U.S. Visitors!

Thu, 16 Apr 2009 18:09:35 +0100

Twitter continues to see phenomenal growth in the social networking space.

Market sources claim that the number of visitors to Twitter.com reached 9.3 million in March.

This is an incredible growth rate of 131% from the previous month.

Experts believe that the popularity of twitter in the mainstream media is adding to the popularity of Twitter.

Every news media service seems to have presence on Twitter and few people can escape hearing about twitter if they are surfing the web.

ComScore’s Andrew Lipsman had this to say on the growing popularity of Twitter: “Like it or not, Twitter is quickly revolutionizing the way our entire news ecosystem operates, from journalist to consumer, and blurring the lines in between.”

62 trillion spam e-mails = power used by 1.5 million homes

Thu, 16 Apr 2009 17:53:24 +0100

Get ready to feel guilty. According to a study conducted by ICF International and commissioned by McAfee, the average business email user generates 131 kg of CO2 every year simply by dealing with email. 22% is related to spam, which translates to the extra use of 3.3 gallons of gasoline every year, ICF found. ICF came up with that number by looking at the average power consumption of a computer and comparing it to the time it would take users to create, send, receive, store, view and delete emails.

The spam carbon footprint, which is caused by harvesting addresses, creating spam campaigns, sending spam from zombies and mail servers, transmitting spam from sender to receiver, processing of spam by incoming mail servers, storing messages, viewing and deleting spam as well as, filtering spam and searching for false positives requires 33 billion kWh every year, according to ICF – which is about the power that is provided by a 4 GW power plant. The emissions add up to 17 million metric tons of CO2, about 0.2% of the globe’s CO2 output – or about the same that is created by 1.5 million U.S. homes. Or the emissions of 3.1 million passenger vehicles running on 2 billion gallons of gasoline. All numbers are based on an estimate of 62 trillion spam e-mails sent in 2008.

From the study:

Spam filtering also makes up a significant portion of PC energy use — approximately 5.5 billion KWh annually or about 16% of overall spam energy use. But compared to the energy users consume searching for false positives and viewing and deleting spam messages, the energy expenditure of spam filtering seems like a small price to pay. Spam filtering helps to reduce the overall number of spam messages, thus decreasing the time spent manually sorting through the messages and associated energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.

The conclusion: Keep your spam filters up to date and help keep our environment clean.

News source: TG Daily

10 tweaks to make Windows 7 even better

Wed, 15 Apr 2009 14:11:07 +0100

Windows 7 hasn’t even been released yet, but many people (yes, I’m one of them) are already running it on their production computers despite Microsoft’s advice not to do that with beta software. Regardless of Windows 7’s incomplete status, many techies will tell you that it’s more stable and reliable than Vista. According to a recent ZDNet poll of IT pros, they are four times more likely to be happy with the new OS than early users of Vista.

Still, as good as Windows 7 is, it’s not perfect out of the box. Here are a few tweaks and tricks you can use to make this excellent OS even better.

Note: This article is also available as a PDF download.

10 tweaks keys:

Get Quick Launch back
Bring back the Vista taskbar look and behavior
Put different wallpapers on multiple monitors
Turn off Aero Snap
Display Control Panel applets with small icons
Format the text in sticky notes
Turn off Windows features
Make Adobe Reader display PDFs properly
Start Windows 7 with multiple cores
Install Windows 7 from a USB thumb drive

News source: TechRepublic