Windows 7

It’s finally here. Nearly three years after Microsoft unleashed Windows Vista unto the world, crippling otherwise competent computers with obscene system requirements and feature bloat, Microsoft has returned for redemption with Windows 7, otherwise known as “what Vista should have been.” Though not as revolutionary in appearance as its predecessor, Microsoft has promised a slew of long-awaited refinements, including better performance, a powerful universal search, and better driver and hardware compatibility. We popped our freshly minted RTM copy of Windows 7 into the favorite office testbed – HP’s Firebird – and put the new OS through its paces to see whether Redmond can deliver on its promises when Windows 7 hits the streets on October 22.

Check out our Window 7 video review.

Installation

Not surprisingly, the installer for Windows 7 looks uncannily like Windows Vista’s: pop in the disc, navigate through a few questions about where you want it installed, then let it grind out the rest. Amazingly, it took only 17 minutes after finishing up the brief question period to landing on the Windows 7 desktop – a pretty impressive feat.

After launching for the very first time, Windows 7 transparently dealt with all our Firebird’s hardware except the video card, which we had to right click on under device manager and ask it to pull new drivers for. After a short automated search and install process, we had month-old drivers on the machine without so much as having to open a browser – though we did find slightly fresher drivers on Nvidia’s site.

The New Desktop

While Windows 7 retains the same glassy window style, icons and many other holdovers from Vista, more users will immediately notice that the taskbar has changed dramatically. Most notably, Microsoft has stripped out the clutter. A slightly taller taskbar now accommodates large, squared-off icons (rather than rectangular labels) in the bar, making it in some ways similar to Mac’s OS X dock. Every open program gets an icon, but you can also pin your favorites to hang out on the bottom even when they’re not in use, similar to the quick-launch area in previous Windows. This helps reduce the visual untidiness that comes from stringing out program titles in the taskbar itself. And really who needs them? If you do decide to revert to the old ways, Windows 7 will allow you to turn off the icon-based system, and also shrink the taskbar back to its original size.

New and improved Windows 7 taskbar

Since icons alone don’t tell you what’s going on with your desktop at any given time, Microsoft has implemented its new Aero Peek feature to fill in the necessary details. Hovering over any icon (or clicking if you’re in a hurry) will show the separate thumbnails for each window within any given program, like different Firefox windows, along with labels (Yahoo, Digg, Downloads, etc.) above them. Hovering over a thumbnail will take the details a step further by hiding every window and showing just the one in question to clarify which you’re dealing with. You can also right-click on any of the taskbar icons to get Jump Lists, which are basically shortcut lists pertaining to the programs. For instance, IE will present shortcuts for your last visited sites and tasks, like opening a new tab, while Windows Media player will let you pause or skip forward through playlists without actually opening it to full screen.

Hover over any icon to view thumbnails

With many users now sporting enormous widescreen monitors, Windows 7’s new “snaps” feature turned out to be one of the most unexpectedly smart additions to make the most of all that real estate. Grab any window, drag it to the right or left edge of the screen, and it will automatically resize to half the screen. This makes it easy to browse on two screens at once to compare, type in Word with a browser window next to it, and so on. When you’re done, dragging the window to a new position automatically returns it to the old size. Additional options for snapping (akin to those the freeware AllSnap offers) would still be appreciated, though.

Windows 7 new snap feature

For those who immediately look at a Windows desktop and want to get to work making it their own, Microsoft has made that easier, as well. The new personalization menu features a wide array of attractive built-in themes, plus the means to switch them up by swapping backgrounds, screensavers, and even picking a custom color from a mixer for menus and using a slider to determine its opacity. This isn’t quite a WindowBlinds level of customization, but it’s easy, and 99 percent of users will probably be thrilled with the results.

Windows 7 personalization options

A revamped device management window takes much of the confusion out of connecting new gadgets. Simple devices like hard drives, thumb drives and webcams will mostly be automatically detected, and show up under this pane alongside other connected items like mice, keyboards and Wi-Fi adapters. Although we didn’t witness it in our demo, manufacturers will also be able to customize the windows with specific images and custom interfaces.

Microsoft's Kumo Just Another Search Imitator

With by some estimates a 73 percent share of search traffic, Google is driving the industry. Yahoo is still a player, but Microsoft as always been an also-ran and not a very successful one at that.
The revenue generated by search engines is too large for Microsoft to ignore, but what's been leaked about Kumo suggests Microsoft's game of catch-up will already have been leapfrogged by competitors when Kumo goes live, reportedly on June 3.
Simply put: With three large companies in the game, anything one can do is easily copied by the others. Users search habits are hard to change, allowing time for catch-up and making it difficult to convince users to switch or even to start using a second search engine to improve results.
Kumo reportedly improves search results by suggesting more targeted searches capable of bringing users closer to the information they seek. Yahoo and Google have both recently demonstrated similar functionality.

Microsoft releases

After arriving first on torrent sites and then last week showing up on Microsoft's developer program Web sites, the release candidate of Windows 7 operating system arrived on the main Microsoft.com late on Monday night. The software was slated to be made publicly available on Tuesday.

The release candidate version, officially build 7100, is expected to be the last major public test of the product before it is finalized. The company will only officially confirm it plans to release Windows 7 before Windows Vista hits its third anniversary of broad availability in January. However, the software maker is widely seen as aiming to finish it soon enough for it to be on PCs that ship during this year's holiday shopping season.

See what's new in Windows 7 RC--photos
The latest official update to what some are calling the largest shareware trial period ever introduces more than mere bug fixes as the operating system upgrades from beta to release candidate. The Windows 7 release candidate does contain several major and minor changes, but the overall experience remains largely unchanged.

What's most important to you about the release candidate will depend on your perspective. Certainly, one of the biggest new features makes Windows Media Player useful again: you can now stream media files from one Windows 7 computer to another, across the Internet and out of network. Even better, the setup procedure is dead simple.

However, Microsoft has failed to remove a long-recognized Windows Explorer security risk from Windows 7, according to security company F-Secure. The "hide extensions" feature, which was present in Windows NT, 2000, XP, and Vista, is also included in the Windows 7 release candidate, The feature could allow virus writers to trick users into opening and running malicious files, he added.

A small brouhaha is erupting over Windows 7 and Intel processors. The hubbub is centered on which Intel processors will not support "XP mode" in Windows 7 and, by extension, which PCs will not support XP mode. Retail laptops may be one of the most prominent segments affected.

The other major release from the software maker came in the form of layoffs--Microsoft on Tuesday notified more than 3,000 workers that it is eliminating their jobs. The software maker said in January that it would cut up to 5,000 jobs over the next 18 months. It made 1,400 cuts at the time. With the second wave, Microsoft has cut nearly all 5,000 jobs already.

McAfee blasted for having holes in its Web sites

Security vulnerabilities on McAfee sites, including one designed to scan customers' sites for flaws, expose certain customer accounts and could be used for phishing attacks in which malware disguised as McAfee software could be distributed, security experts say.
The McAfee sites are vulnerable to cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks and cross-site request forgery attacks that could lead to phishing attacks on customers who think they are visiting the security vendor's site, according to an article on ReadWriteWeb.
Ironically, one of the vulnerable sites is McAfee Secure, which scans customer sites to determine if they are vulnerable to such attacks. The problem would signal that either McAfee doesn't run McAfee Secure across all of its own sites or the product doesn't work well, the report said.
To fall victim to a cross-site request forgery attack on that site, targets would have to be logged into their McAfee accounts and browse to a malicious Web site that exploits the vulnerability, according to the Risky.biz site.
Such attacks on sites of antivirus vendors are particularly dangerous because they enable attackers to create fake versions of security products that install Trojans or other malware and customers will trust it, Lance James, co-founder of Secure Science Corporation, told ReadWriteWeb.
The hole on the McAfee Secure site would indicate that the company failed to comply with PCI requirements for Approved Scanning Vendors, didn't use a secure software development lifecycle in building the application, and neglected to do an in-depth penetration test of the site, security researcher Mike Bailey wrote on his Skeptikal.org blog on Monday.
A McAfee spokesman said on Tuesday that the company was aware of reports of the vulnerabilities and was "working to remediate the issues with the highest urgency."
"It is important to note that these vulnerabilities did not expose any of McAfee's corporate information. Additionally, we have not seen any malicious exploitation of the vulnerabilities," the spokesman wrote in an e-mail. "McAfee has strict policies in place for its own Web sites and for services provided by third parties. We are investigating how these particular vulnerabilities were not identified in our screening process and will adjust our processes if necessary."
McAfee isn't the only security company to have security problems on its site. Last month, The Register reported on a cross-site scripting vulnerability on Symantec's site. And in February, a Romanian hacker site claimed to have used cross-site scripting and SQL injection attacks to breach the sites of F-Secure, Kaspersky, and BitDefender.

Windows 7 Release Candidate debuts early

SOMEWHERE OVER COLORADO--As I wind my way back to San Francisco, the release candidate of Windows 7 has made its public debut.

After arriving first on torrent sites and then last week showing up on Microsoft's developer program Web sites, the operating system arrived on the main Microsoft.com late on Monday night. The software was slated to be made publicly available on Tuesday.
The release candidate version, officially build 7100, is expected to be the last major public test of the product before it is finalized. The company will only officially confirm it plans to release Windows 7 before Windows Vista hits its third anniversary of broad availability in January. However, the software maker is widely seen as aiming to finish it soon enough for it to be on PCs that ship during this year's holiday shopping season.
When it hit the MSDN and TechNet sites last week, Microsoft faced a crush of demand and encountered glitches. We'll try to keep track of how things go this time around. Let us know if it works for you.
A Microsoft representative was not immediately available for comment.
During her years at CNET News, Ina Fried has changed beats several times, changed genders once, and covered both of the Pirates of Silicon Valley. These days, most of her attention is focused on Microsoft.

Now closing: GeoCities, a relic of Web's early days

Yahoo is closing its GeoCities personal home page service, and with it will go an era of self-expression on the Web that's largely been replaced by social networks and blogs.
GeoCities rose to power during an era when publishing on the Internet meant setting up your own Web site. GeoCities simplified the process by helping people sidestep the complications of registering a domain and learning how to program HTML, the language that describes Web pages.
Yahoo is closing it GeoCities site this year.
(Credit: Screenshot by Stephen Shankland/CNET)Yahoo bought GeoCities for more than $2.9 billion in dot-com-priced stock in 1999, when GeoCities had more than 1.1 million users. However, while the idea of having a personal presence on the Internet has caught on, GeoCities turned out to be a backwater, not the mainstream.
"We will be closing GeoCities later this year," Yahoo said in a note on the site. "We'll provide more details about closing GeoCities and how to save your site data this summer."
Goodbye Geocities, hello FacebookToday, the way people choose to express themselves on the Internet is shifting away from isolated Web pages. Instead they use social-networking sites such as Facebook, with built-in features for creating a profile, staying in touch with contacts, and maintaining at least a little privacy; WordPress, where it's easy to post updates to a blog; or Flickr, where the photographically inclined can meet, share, and comment.
What these services and others including Twitter, YouTube, MySpace, and Blogger possess is a mechanism to notify interested parties of new activity, helping to keep social links pulsing with new information in a way that just can't be replicated by depending on a person to swing by a personal Web site.
That's not to say personal home pages are extinct. Google Sites is still around, and Yola, formerly SynthaSite, bought out search ads related to GeoCities searches on Thursday. But for most folks, it's easier to rely on more sophisticated pre-built services than to roll their own sites.
It's no surprise GeoCities is on the chopping block. Yahoo has its hands full trying to integrate its successful properties with the socially active parts of the Internet. The company hardly has resources to spare on last decade's trend.
Part of GeoCities' closure is related to Yahoo's circumstances. The company already was under financial pressure before the recession arrived in full force, but now things are even tighter, and new Chief Executive Carol Bartz is focusing on the company's core, successful properties--laying off about 675 employees in areas that don't pass muster.
GeoCities' vanishing sites?Still unclear is what exactly will become of GeoCities pages. New sign-ups are already no longer permitted, but what about existing sites?
Here's how Yahoo put it: "You can continue to enjoy your Web site and GeoCities services until later this year. You don't need to change a thing right now--we just wanted you to let you know about the closure as soon as possible. We'll provide more details about closing GeoCities and how to save your site data this summer, and we will update the help center with more details at that time."
That leaves open the possibility that Yahoo will make it possible to move a site to another service, as it did when shutting down Yahoo Photos, but in the current climate, it's probably best not to expect such a graceful transition option. Yahoo wouldn't comment on its plans.
Another option is to upgrade to a separate paid Yahoo service: "You don't need to change your service today, but we encourage anyone interested in a full-featured Web hosting plan to consider upgrading to our award-winning Yahoo Web Hosting service."
But given how many GeoCities users weren't technical experts, it seems likely that a lot of amateur Web sites soon will vanish without a trace, a casualty of business priorities and the Internet's rapid changes.

Microsoft profits sink for the first time in 23 years

In a not totally surprising -- yet still kind of striking -- turn of events, Microsoft is reporting that its sales have fallen for the first time in 23 years. You read that right, 23 years. According to numbers that the company has just released, sales fell 6 percent year-over-year, while overall net income dropped a staggering 32 percent. Those numbers are significant, but what's more telling is where those losses are coming from. Namely? Netbooks. Apparently, in the midst of a global downturn consumers really are buying cheaper, especially when it comes to tech, which puts a fairly significant crunch on Redmond's bottom line. A CNN reports suggests that the presence of Linux on those devices has contributed to the hurt here, but it's more likely that the combo of a market still unwelcoming to Vista and the wide popularity of XP on the low-power systems has more to do with these dipping profit margins. Oh, and that general, awful market depression. Still, it should serve as some kind of wake up call to Microsoft that just being the biggest doesn't guarantee that the money will keep rolling in the way it has in years past -- clearly the big picture isn't as sharp as it's always been. Hey Windows 7 -- no pressure, right?Update: We've tweaked some language in the post that made the situation sound more dire than intended. Don't worry everyone, we know Microsoft isn't going anywhere.

Apple soars during economic gloom

The iPod lineup appeared to get a clear boost from the launch of the new iPod Shuffle, with Apple selling about 1 million more iPods than analysts had expected. iPod shipments were up 3 percent compared to last year, as revenue fell 16 percent, suggesting that sales of the $79 iPod Shuffle made up a greater amount of Apple's iPod mix than usual.
iPod Touch sales doubled compared to last year, Cook said, and Apple has now sold 37 million iPhones and iPod Touches combined. In March, Apple said it had sold 30 million of those two devices since their introduction.
And as had been foreshadowed earlier on Tuesday, Apple sold 3.79 million iPhones, which Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster predicted based on AT&T's activation numbers for the quarter. iPhone shipments were up sharply compared to last year, but they fell coming off the holiday quarter.

Bill Clinton: Business is the key to climate change

LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif.--Absent having a vote in Congress, the best way for people to tackle climate change is to make clean energy cheap, said President Bill Clinton at a green business conference here on Wednesday.
Speaking at the Fortune Brainstorm Green event, Clinton said through the Clinton Global Initiative philanthropy, he is involved in a number of projects which show how environmental awareness makes sense for business.
Successful sustainability efforts help provide the political leverage for passing climate change regulations in the U.S., and internationally, Clinton argued.

Windows Mobile 6.5 details coming in May?

Windows Mobile 6.5 phones still aren't expected to arrive until the second half of the year, but Microsoft sounds like it's ready to show off the new operating system next month.
Electronista spotted a post to Microsoft's Windows Mobile blog last week that said the company is planning to "launch" the new mobile operating system at TechEd 2009, scheduled for May 11. "Launch" can mean an awful lot of things in the business world, and in this case, it's likely that Microsoft is referring to the "release to manufacturing" milestone, when a product is made available to its handset partners for testing and certification.
Representatives from Microsoft did not immediately respond to a request for clarification on what will announced or demonstrated in May. When Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer discussed Windows Mobile 6.5 in February at the Mobile World Congress, he said that phones with the new software wouldn't be available until the second half of the year.
Updated 4:15pm - Microsoft issued a statement regarding Windows Mobile 6.5 and TechEd 2009. And here it is:
"We're excited about TechEd as an opportunity to talk to business customers and developers about the software for the next generation of Windows phones. There will be several sessions we think will help people learn more to get their planning ideas started about the new phones coming to market in the 2H of 2009."

Apple rumor: Launch e-mail from an iPhone note?

According to developers poking through the latest version of the iPhone OS 3.0 beta, it seems that the Mobile Notes application in iPhone OS 3.0 is capable of detecting phone numbers, URLs, and e-mail addresses when viewing a note. Once detected, which the operating system shows by underlining the data, simply touching that item launches the corresponding Phone, Mobile Safari, or Mobile Mail application. (Source: AppleInsider)
When Apple unveiled the iPhone 3.0 OS in March, it only showed off a few of the new features that are going to arrive with the next release. Developers are being given over 1,000 new APIs to play with--allowing to them to tie their applications to parts of the iPhone's hardware in ways that were previously forbidden--and details have been trickling out ever since.

eBay buying stake in Gmarket; Yahoo selling its

eBay announced an agreement Wednesday to acquire Gmarket for a price of up to $1.2 billion, and Yahoo has agreed to sell its 10 percent stake in the South Korean e-commerce site in a move that would raise about $120 million.
Gmarket's board unanimously approved eBay's tender offer, in which the online auction and commerce site will pay a cash price of 31,767 Korean won, or $24, per share for all common shares and all American Depository Shares. eBay said it's assured of owning at least 67 percent of the company, and if it acquires all shares in the tender offer, the total price will reach about $1.2 billion.
eBay said it will combine Gmarket with its own Korean operations, the Internet Auction Co. it acquired in 2001, , though it will still use separate Web sites. "This deal creates strong operational synergies between the two market leaders, offers more opportunities for sellers and enhances our ability to serve complementary consumer segments," said John Donahoe, eBay's president and chief executive officer, in a statement.
eBay, once an e-commerce darling but now under more financial pressure, is making dramatic moves. The company plans a 2010 initial public offering to spin off Skype, its Internet telephony group.
The Gmarket offer, pending final approval by Korean antitrust authorities, would give eBay a significant new source of revenue. While its existing IAC business produced revenue of $161 million on $2.2 billion in gross merchandise sales, Gmarket produced $221 million on $3.2 billion in sales, eBay said. The company's offer is a 20 percent premium over Gmarket's closing price of $19.96.
With the recession hurting advertising revenue and Google supplying relentless competition, Yahoo is under pressure of its own. The company could announce more layoffs as it reports financial results next Tuesday, and raising $120 million could also help appease shareholders dissatisfied with Yahoo's financial condition.

eBay to launch a Skype IPO in 2010

eBay announced Tuesday plans to spin off its Internet phone and video-conferencing service, Skype, with an IPO in the first half of next year.
The decision comes four years after online auction giant eBay acquired Skype for $2.6 billion, with the plans to offer customers the ability to discuss their transactions in real-time. But over the course of the four years, eBay found its acquisition failed to provide the synergies it sought.
John Donahoe, eBay's chief executive, said in a statement:
Skype is a great stand-alone business with strong fundamentals and accelerating momentum. But it's clear that Skype has limited synergies with eBay and PayPal. We believe operating Skype as a stand-alone publicly traded company is the best path for maximizing its potential. This will give Skype the focus and resources required to continue its growth and effectively compete in online voice and video communications.
Although eBay plans to launch a Skype IPO in the first half of next year, the company noted its exact timing will be based on market conditions.
Last year, Skype generated $551 million in revenues, up 44 percent over the previous year. The number of Skype's registered users has increased to 405 million at the end of last year, up 47 percent from the previous year.
Over the past year, eBay has been weighing its options regarding Skype's fate. When the company announced Donahoe as its new CEO last spring, eBay indicated the online auction giant would take a year to evaluate the future of its online phone and video-conferencing service.
Meanwhile, reports surfaced earlier this month that Skype's founders were interested in repurchasing the company, with the aid of private equity firms KKR, Warburg Pincus, Elevation Partners, and Providence.
eBay shares rose 3.76 percent in after-hours trading on Tuesday to $14.92 a share. During the regular session, eBay closed down 1.71 percent to end the day at $14.38 a share.

Amazon 'adult' book fail: Internal error or Internet troll?

Amazon got blasted by gay rights groups this weekend after gay and lesbian book titles were delisted from its site. Was it an internal glitch, as Amazon claims, or is an Internet troll with a vendetta responsible?
Amazon spokeswoman Patty Smith told CNET News on Monday that the "glitch" was being fixed, but declined to elaborate.
"This is an embarrassing and ham-fisted cataloging error for a company that prides itself on offering complete selection," she wrote in an e-mail statement.
"It has been misreported that the issue was limited to Gay & Lesbian themed titles - in fact, it impacted 57,310 books in a number of broad categories such as Health, Mind & Body, Reproductive & Sexual Medicine, and Erotica," the statement said. "This problem impacted books not just in the United States but globally. It affected not just sales rank but also had the effect of removing the books from Amazon's main product search."
However, a Live Journal blogger with the alias of "weev" claims he did it to cause an outrage among the gay community, which he alleges has repeatedly flagged his online ads on Craigslist as inappropriate.
"I guess my game is up! Here's a nice piece I like to call 'how to cause moral outrage from the entire Internet in ten lines of code,'" he writes on his blog.
Weev said he figured out that he could easily get the books removed from search rankings by reporting them as inappropriate through a link at the bottom of the book page. He also claims he wrote code to identify all the gay and lesbian metadata-tagged books on Amazon and grab their IDs. He then hired people outside the U.S. to register new accounts en masse to help push the books out of the system, he said.
"Now from here it was a matter of getting a lot of people to vote for the books," he wrote. "The thing about the adult reporting function of Amazon was that it was vulnerable to something called 'cross-site request forgery.' This means if I referred someone to the URL of the successful complaint, it would resister as a complaint if they were logged in. So now it is a numbers game."
Amazon's Smith dismissed the claim and insisted the error was internal. She is not alone.
Blogger Mike Daisey, who worked in customer support and business development at Amazon from 1998 until 2001, wrote on his blog that: "Someone was editing the category systems inside of Amazon.fr, made an error, and that system is global, so it propagated everywhere. I have no insight as to anyone's nationality, or whether it was a language gap, or anything of that nature."
Smith declined to comment on Daisey's explanation.
Blogger Bryant Durrell said he tested out Weev's concept and doesn't believe it is legitimate, partly because of buggy code.
"Summation: nope, you didn't do that, you liar you. Nice meta-troll, though," Durrell wrote on his blog.
"The really interesting thing about the troll is that he's right even if he didn't do it. The vulnerability he describes exists anywhere you make automated decisions based on third-party input."

YouTube Korea squelches uploads, comments

Citing free-speech concerns about an anonymity-blocking law in South Korea, Google has disabled the ability to upload YouTube videos or comment on them in the country.
"We believe that it is important for free expression that people have the right to remain anonymous, if they choose," the company said in a blog post that also tells people that they can get around the restriction by using a different country's version of the site.
A Korean law requires "real-name verification" for Internet services with more than 100,000 different daily users, Google said. Under the law, people must identify themselves with a name and identification number before they can upload video or post comments.
Google shared this translation of its Korean blog post, explaining the situation:
We have a bias in favor of people's right to free expression in everything we do. We are driven by a belief that more information generally means more choice, more freedom, and ultimately more power for the individual. We believe that it is important for free expression that people have the right to remain anonymous, if they choose.
Because of Real Name Verification Law in Korea, we have voluntarily disabled comments and video uploads when using YouTube in Korea with the Korea country setting, so you will not be required to verify your identity.
You will still be able to enjoy watching and sharing videos on YouTube. You may still upload videos and comments without proving your identity by choosing a non-Korean country setting from the top of any YouTube page.
We understand that this may affect your experience on YouTube. Thank you in advance for your understanding. We hope that you continue to enjoy and participate in the YouTube community.

Microsoft virtual machine mythbusting backfires

A Microsoft marketing video designed to "bust myths" around the lack of virtualisation functionality in its products has only served to remind users of how far it has to catch up

The video features David Greshler, director of virtualisation strategy at Microsoft, and Edwin Yuen, technical project manager at Microsoft, taking apart ten "myths" they said were perpetuated by virtualisation technology rival VMware.

Amazon follows Apple to $1.29

As expected, Apple on Tuesday introduced variable pricing on iTunes, meaning that some popular tracks now cost $1.29 instead of $0.99. Less expected: Amazon.com has followed Apple into the fray. Scroll down today's list of top downloads, and you'll see a few tracks at $1.29.
It's not just Amazon. I heard from a contact at another large online music company that the impetus behind the new pricing models is indeed coming from the labels. Apparently, they approached all the major stores and asked them to begin selling certain songs for $1.29 on Tuesday

Researchers build 'flying' micro-robot

A flying micro-robot has been developed by researchers at the University of Waterloo in Ontario. A research team, led by Professor Mir Behrad Khamesee, manipulates magnetic fields to levitate and move around three axes a robot weighing about three-hundredths of an ounce. According to a paper shared with ZDNet UK--"MechMN: Design and Implementation of a Micromanipulation System using a Magnetically Levitated MEMS Robot"--this is accomplished with an array of electromagnets that creates a three-dimensional parabolic magnetic field. The robot is magnetized itself and sits on top of the parabola, supported by the interaction between its own magnetic field and that created by the electromagnets. Altering the flow of current in the electromagnet distorts the field and moves the robot, Khamesee said via e-mail Thursday.

The robot is monitored by the laser sensors and a camera, which create a feedback loop to a computer. When the robot grasps an object, the magnetic field is automatically adjusted so the robot can maintain its position while supporting the weight of the object

The research team, which includes Khamesee and graduate students Caglar Elbuken and Mustafa Yavuz, submitted the paper last fall to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers for possible publication

Online Office brings Microsoft to Open Web

Microsoft promotes its own Silverlight for building fancy Web applications. But to ensure wide availability, the online version of Office 14 will rely on JavaScript.

Microsoft patch rate surged in second half of 2008

Microsoft Corp. was forced to pick up the patching pace in the second half of 2008, the company admitted today, as it fixed 67% more flaws and released 17% more security updates in the period than it had in the first six months of the year.
Included in the bugs patched during the latter months of the year was the vulnerability exploited by Conficker, a worm that led to the biggest infection outbreak in years and a minor media frenzy last week.
Microsoft patched 97 different vulnerabilities in 42 separate security updates in the second half of 2008, compared to 58 vulnerabilities in 36 updates in the first half.
Vinnie Gullotto, general manager of the Microsoft Malware Protection Center, acknowledged the increase. "The number [of patched vulnerabilities] did go up, but a lot has to do with our methodology."
Microsoft's Security Intelligence Report explained it differently. "Although the total number of security bulletins in [the second half of 2008] was on par with the last several periods, there was a significant increase in the number of CVE identifiers addressed per security bulletin in [the second half of 2008]," the report stated. The average number of Common Vulnerability and Exposure identifiers rose from an average of 1.6 per security bulletin in the first half of 2008 to 2.3 in the final six months.
In plain English, that means Microsoft packed more individual patches into the average security update.
During the second half of 2008, Microsoft issued several multipatch updates, including MS08-052, a five-patch update for the GDI+ component of Windows; MS08-058, a six-patch update for Internet Explorer; MS08-072, an eight-patch fix for Microsoft Word; and MS08-073, a four-patch update for IE.
Gullotto argued that the number of bugs Microsoft quashed was less important than the number of exploits actually crafted for, and released into the wild against, those vulnerabilities.
"The number of exploits against those [bugs] stayed about the same as in the first half of the year," he said. The report did not include a complete tally of all exploits aimed at Microsoft software during the last six months of the year, though it included some data related to browser and document file format bugs.
Conficker, the most prolific worm in several years, got its start last year when it began to exploit unpatched Windows machines just weeks after Microsoft issued one of its two emergency updates for the period. "Fortunately, Conficker was a rarity," said Gullotto, referring to the scarcity of worms that attack the operating system and self-propagate quickly through networks.
The other "out-of-band" update was released in mid-December to plug a critical hole in IE that had already been exploited by criminals.
Even as Gullotto admitted that Microsoft had to patch more bugs as 2008 proceeded, he defended the company's track record. "We're clearly seeing the results of the progress we've made in software development," he said, pointing out that the company's newer software is more secure than older code. According to data gathered from the Malicious Software Removal Tool, the anti-malware utility Microsoft updates and redistributes each month to Windows machines, the real-world infection rate of PCs running Windows Vista Service Pack 1 is 61% less than that of systems powered by Windows XP SP3.

Microsoft Streets & Trips Helps Families Take Affordable and Fun “Staycations”

REDMOND, Wash. — April 7, 2009 — Despite the down economy, many people still plan to participate in the upcoming spring and summer travel season. According to the U.S. Travel Association’s Travel Price Index, in February 2009 motor fuel prices were down 35.4 percent from one year ago. Many people are taking advantage of these lower gas prices and are planning a “staycation,” a close-to-home, often more affordable alternative to traveling abroad or even out of state.
Microsoft Streets & Trips provides people with tools that make it easy to plan the perfect staycation from beginning to end. Streets & Trips is packed with tools that help take the stress out of the typical family road trip. The route-planning feature accompanied by detailed directions and more than 1.5 million points of interest, including hotels, restaurants, national parks and automated teller machines, allows travelers to plan personalized routes for a memorable and fun trip for the entire family. Streets & Trips also comes with a free trial membership to Entertainment® Online,1 which allows travelers to trim expenses by taking advantage of special savings at restaurants, hotels and special events.
Road construction updates, available online at no additional charge, inform users on important local, state, national (U.S.) and international (Canada) construction updates and road closures. Streets & Trips will then create routes that bypass such hang-ups to minimize frustrating delays and unexpected stops.
“Microsoft Streets & Trips is a great tool for families planning to hit the road this season,” said Anne Quaranta, product manager for Streets & Trips at Microsoft Corp. “Whether it’s getting from A to B, avoiding construction, or finding interesting places to stop along the way, Microsoft Streets & Trips helps families plan fun and memorable staycations while saving money.”

iPhone 3.0 video recorder interface uncovered

Video recording expected to be a key marketing point of the next iPhone already has an interface implemented within the iPhone 3.0 beta firmware, reports claim. The option is not enabled by default, but can allegedly be turned on by modifying configuration files. Once files are edited, the firmware is tricked into thinking a video camera is present.
The video interface is in fact a subset of the normal Camera application, toggled on with a switch in the lower-right corner; a Record button sits on the very bottom. Further investigation into configuration files is said to reveal autofocus support, as well as a variety of non-imaging related features. These include a digital compass, which could be used in turn-by-turn GPS navigation. More ambiguous is a "Voice Control" field, which may suggest the presence of built-in voice recognition. While a number of other cellphones support voice dialing, the feature has been conspicuously absent from iPhone firmware. Third-party apps such as Google's search software, however, have exploited limited voice commands under iPhone 2.x.

Google close to buying Twitter?

Reports on blog TechCrunch claim that Google is in advanced negotiations to acquire micro-blogging site Twitter.
Citing two separate sources, TechCrunch said that the asking price is more than the US$250m valuation that Twitter's recent round of funding would suggest.A third source, however, recently added to the TechCrunch report, suggests that talks are only in the early stages.Twitter has recently reworked its search feature, prompting many to think that this makes the firm more appealing to potential suitors. Search facilities have been added to the 'tweet' pages, and users can search tweets from this view. Twitter claims that the new additions were planned from the start.Such features would have obvious benefits for marketing and advertising purposes."Twitter Search is an engine for discovering what is happening right now," said Twitter co-founder Biz Stone in a blog post.Stone and co-founder Evan Williams have already sold Blogger.com to Google, and TechCrunch guesses that any deal would involve a straight cash or stock transaction.Analyst firm Gartner said that a deal makes sense for both firms.“The culture and ambitions of Twitter and Google match,” Gartner research vice president Jeff Mann noted. “Other tie-ins short of an acquisition could m ake sense, but would be harder to sustain since Twitter already uses such open interfaces. It will be hard to do something that others can't replicate.”He added that Twitter should look for a buyer now as it is currently at “the top of its hype range” and would otherwise face a long and difficult process of trying to generate revenues as a standalone company.However, other firms might also be interested in buying Twitter."Where's Microsoft in all this? Letting Twitter go to Google only hurts them, badly, in the long-term search game. This is an asset they need to be competing for aggressively," the report said.Google declined to comment on the reports. In a statement the firm said, "We don't comment on rumour or speculation".

Gigabyte contest

Yesterday the Federation of mall-pantip OVERCLOCK GIGABYTE is a competitive challenger from many countries such as Australia, Thailand is still unknown but the home.

What we Craved this week: Scary robots, CTIA, jailbreaking, and the DSi

This week was a pretty diverse one here at Crave. We covered all the mobile news out of the CTIA 2009 trade show thoroughly, but there was plenty of other stuff going on.
• On Thursday, we brought you news of a robot that came up with its own genetic hypotheses--and then tested them on its own. If they call it Skynet, we're screwed. • We also told you that AT&T would start selling subsidized Netbooks for $50, which is something I modestly predicted last year.
• We had some fun with Nintendo's new DSi, and marveled at how Nintendo is aiming at devices like the iPhone with the console's new functionality.
• And we had good news for those who like their iPhones jailbroken: the Dev Team has done it again, this time opening up iPhone's OS 3.0 beta 2 with a software hack. Personally, I'm very excited about this.

Phenomenal Laptop

Pros: - GREAT OS - Lightning fast - Light-weight, sturdy unibody design - Attractive design - Dashboard - Incredible screen - Great trackpad - Good battery life - Keyboard is excellent - Magsafe adapter - Excellent iSight Camera - Boot camp available Cons: - Glossy screen quite reflective - Screen is fingerprint prone - No FireWire - Small amount of game functionality - Battery not as good as advertised - Distant longing for physical trackpad button - Multi-touch gestures not entirely spot-on Summary: The new Macbook. It's incredible. With faults. That's all I'm going to say for my introduction. Read on.
Physical Specs
The product physically is very sturdy, thanks to the unibody construction. Normally the chassis would normally consist of various small parts. So instead of taking a small piece of aluminum and adding more aluminum, Apple has taking a big piece of aluminum and subtracted from it. Thus creating a sturdy, yet light laptop. I have heard that the aluminum interferes with internet connectivity issues. I do have to say, unfortunately, it is true. I put the Macbook and my old PC laptop side by side, and the PC was able to pick up better frequency and more networks.
Now for the multi-touch trackpad. It is made from glass, but it feels like there is a covering on it that doesn't nearly have the friction of glass. Clicking and moving the cursor is very easy and enjoyable, with the very large surface. Right-clicking can be done with by clicking with two fingers or by clicking one of the bottom corners after being manually set. It should also be noted that only the bottom 3/4 of the trackpad is clickable.
The multi-touch gestures are fun to use, but are truly unneeded gimmicks that could be done easier with a click. I'll just go through the gestures now.
There are 2 finger gestures: The first is scrolling with using two fingers by swiping your fingers vertically or horizontally depending on the page. Secondly you can rotate a picture using two fingers apart and rotating. The third gesture is holding the control button and scrolling vertically to zoom in on a page.
And there is one 3-finger gesture: Swipe with three fingers to navigate. You can do this to go forward or back on a page, or changing a picture.
Lastly there are 4-finger gestures: Swiping vertically upwards allows you to clear everything off your desktop. Swiping vertically down launches Expose. Swiping horizontally in any direction lets you change and view your running applications, which can also be done with command+tab.
On the bottom of the MacBook there is a panel that allows for easy access to your battery and hard drive. This will be handy to many people.
The keyboard is just like the Air, with the spaces between the keys. This creates a very nice typing experience, and are backlit if you purchase the 2.4GHz model.
A major letdown by Apple is the omission of a FireWire port. This is very disappointing to many people, but doesn't affect me at all. Nowadays the average users don't use FireWire too much. Although I do see this as a major problem for professional applications.
There is also a battery life indicator on the side of the base that glows green to show the rounded percentage of your battery.
Software and Performance
Of course the MacBook has the great Mac OS X Leopard software. It is very fast, and has good security.
The battery life is advertised to have 5 hours of battery life, but Apple obviously means not being connected to the Internet, and having no applications running. You'll probably get about 4 and a half hours with Safari and other apps running. Unless you have a lot of apps on like me, then you'll maybe have 3 and a half to 4 hours.
With the NVidia graphics card, the screen looks pretty good, as do games. I do have to admit, though, the new MacBook Pro screen looks better, especially with blacks. Still, games really pop on the gorgeous glossy screen, unless you are in a bright area. The glossy screen of course attracts bad glares and many noticeable fingerprints. Still, if you are indoors or someplace with low light, the glossy screen is perfect. I mostly use it inside, so I wouldn't trade the beautiful glossy screen. Although for those coffee-shop typing folks, this could be a deal-breaker.
Other than these things, Mac OS X is the same, really.
Conclusion
If you have purchased a MacBook anytime soon, then I would not suggest you purchase this one. Most of the differences are the physical attributes, and the software is pretty much the same.
If you are new to Macs like me, then I would DEFINITELY suggest this phenomenal notebook computer. Of course it does have it's faults, truly I have never used such a simple, enjoyable computer.

Geneva University Hospital. Filling the Image Analysis

The physicians and surgeons at Geneva University Hospital had a frustrating problem. The Radiology Department had installed new imaging devices such as high-definition, multi-detector scanners and hybrid devices that combine PET and CT technology. These advanced modalities were producing images that were rich in detail and could help them immensely in planning treatment. The physicians’ difficulty was in finding an effective way to view and analyze these images.

RIM shares surge as BlackBerry sales hit record 7.8 million

Shares of Research In Motion stock rose almost 23 percent after the company reported strong quarterly and year-end results for its BlackBerry smartphones, climbing back from a precipitous fall in February that drove the company to issue an outlook warning.RIM announced $3.46 billion in revenue for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009, which ended February 28. That's a 24.5 percent increase from the previous quarter of $2.78 billion, and up 84 percent year-over-year. The company also said it signed up 3.9 million net subscribers who are new to the BlackBerry platform during the quarter. The results were slightly better than Wall Street's estimates, which had dropped significantly with the February warning. Much like Apple, RIM is doing well enough in comparison with its peers that even meeting expectations is cause for celebration in the current economic conditions."We are very pleased to report another record quarter with standout subscriber growth that speaks volumes about the early success and momentum of our new BlackBerry products," said co-chief executive Jim Balsillie. "RIM experienced an extraordinary year in fiscal 2009, shipping our 50 millionth BlackBerry smartphone and generating $11 billion in revenue."Revenue for RIM's entire fiscal year was $11.07 billion, up 84 percent from $6.01 billion in fiscal 2008. The Canadian company reported $518.3 million in net income for the quarter ($0.90 per diluted share) compared with $396.3 million ($0.69) for the previous quarter. A year ago the BlackBerry manufacturer reported $412.5 million, or $0.72 per share, in the same quarter.Quarterly gross margin was 40%. The company is estimating revenue for the first quarter of fiscal 2010, ending May 30, 2009, in the range of $3.3 to $3.5 billion while adding 3.7 to 3.9 million new subscriber accounts. RIM says the fourth quarter's revenue breaks down to 83 percent for devices, 12 percent for service, two percent for software and three percent for other revenue.

Microsoft optimistic about Office making its way to iPhone

Microsoft still holds aspirations of delivering a version of its leading Office suite capable of running on the iPhone but needs a bit more time to get it all sorted out.
Speaking at the Web 2.0 Expo in San Francisco on Wednesday, Microsoft Business Division president Stephen Elop dropped hints to suggest the set of productivity applications was bound to turn up on the Apple handheld device sometime soon.
However, TechCrunch reports that Elop later hedged his remarks when interviewer Tim O’Reilly probed him over the comments, admitting that the software isn't ready quite yet and stating that hopefuls should "keep watching."
It's been over a year since Microsoft first expressed "confidence" in its ability deliver applications of value to iPhone users. At the time, Tom Gibbons, corporate vice president of the company's Specialized Devices and Applications Group, indicated to Fortune that Office applications were a natural choice.
"It's really important for us to understand what we can bring to the iPhone," he said. "To the extent that Mac Office customers have functionality that they need in that environment, we're actually in the process of trying to understand that now."
Although the iPhone ships with built-in support for viewing Office documents, users wishing to make changes to those documents have had few options prior to this week's announcement of Quickoffice, which will support editing (as well as creation of) Word and Excel documents when it's released later this month.
For its part, Microsoft is also likely eager to tap into the lucrative iPhone ecosystem made possible by the App Store. The Redmond-based software giant is already the largest Mac software developer outside of Apple, with its Mac Business Unit estimated to generate revenues in excess of $350 million and profits of over $200 million each year.
That said, Elop also noted Wednesday that Office has half a billion users worldwide, but only half of them actually pay for the software. Going forward, the company says it plans to launch an ad-supported version of Office that will run as a Web app in most browsers.

Stanford to publish free iPhone course on iTunes U

Stanford University will be publishing a video podcasts and slides from its popular "iPhone Application Programming" course on iTunes U for free to the general public, beginning this week.
"There's a lot of interest in the iPhone," said Brent Izutsu, Stanford's project manager for Stanford on iTunes U. "This course provides an excellent opportunity for us to show the breadth and depth of our curriculum and the innovation of our students."
For-credit enrollment in the class is limited this quarter, which began two days ago. Students taking the class will also need an Intel Mac and will probably want an iPhone, although Standford offers loaner iPod touch units. The course lasts for ten weeks, so it will just be finishing up as Apple prepares to release the new iPhone 3.0 at WWDC.
The video podcasts will present the same Stanford lectures on developing for the iPhone and iPod touch to the public using Apple's iTunes U within a couple days of the each class meeting, providing easy access to the course materials for iPhone and iPod users as well as desktop Mac and PC users and other devices with the ability to play standard H.264 video.
Last summer, Sanford's announcement that it would begin offering an iPhone development course raised eyebrows among pundits who were busy worrying that Apple would use its iPhone development NDA to stop the classes. Instead, Apple assisted Stanford, relaxed its NDA terms, and is now working help the school reach an even broader audience. "For Stanford, working with Apple allowed us to focus our energy on identifying and capturing great content while Apple provided us the technology to distribute it globally," Izutsu said.
Apple partnered with a number of universities nearly two years ago to launch iTunes U as a way to expose the public to educational material for free. Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of iTunes, said at the time that "Education is a lifelong pursuit and we’re pleased to give everyone the ability to download lectures, speeches and other academic content for free."
Stanford was one of the first universities to embrace iTunes U. At its launch, Stanford Provost John Etchemendy said, "From its earliest days, Stanford has sought to serve the public by sharing the knowledge generated by our faculty and students. Our partnership with Apple and iTunes U provides a creative and innovative way to engage millions of people with our teaching, learning and research and share the experience of intellectual exploration and discovery that defines our university.

Do you think computers like 'Microsoft' will be the impact of economic poison. This?

Software you of a "Microsoft" in the world and recognized almost all the world to use computer systems, Window operating system is easy to use plug in supporting many of you have seen?

No low-cost iPhone coming in June

In spite of continual suggestions to the contrary, a low-cost version of the iPhone appears unlikely to be announced this June, says RBC Capital analyst Mike Abramsky. Citing "build data and other checks" as evidence, Abramsky suggests that if a cheaper iPhone is in development, there is little chance of it shipping soon. For Apple this is said to offer the advantage of protecting profit margins, but at the possible risk of letting more affordable competitors steal marketshare.
Said to be much closer to certain is a phone Abramsky labels the "iPhone 3G Pro," upgraded with faster HSUPA 3G instead of the current HSDPA. The phone is also expected to have better graphics performance, and new video recording and messaging capabilities, with the possibility of a thinner size. Capacities are predicted to rise to 16 and 32GB, while maintaining previous $199 and $299 price points. Distribution will probably begin with AT&T and proliferate outwards, says Abramsky.

Microsoft to Apple this time of war Who will win?

Who will determine the direction of the technology world in the 21 century will be the Bill Gates of Microsoft with? Net is a gamble that it can change the PC to connect to contact center. (Like the nerve center of every home and do everything from Web Services to provide services in both the music and entertainment, digital video
Or a shovel, of Apple, Steve called the Digital Hub strategy is positioning the product into a Mac as a "digital hub for consumers," such as scanners and digital cameras MP3 players are judged by how If. thinking of both companies tend to obey their customers. Analysts believe that Query to find that who will win or loser in this view is not a valid question but one that the two companies. Who will take their business less than กัน error? Should be a valid question than researchers from IDC said, "Apple's business case based on ideas that we are not a computer for any Apple computer, but then do the same with the one company (Microsoft), which is used to make customers feel frustrated. It seems things. Microsoft is doing is as great now allows users to feel more frustrated by another "why researchers from IDC said that to Apple. One of the reasons from harmoniousness. "Every time they (Apple), the new software. Usually means Users may have to leave the old computer. And buy new. Both the old machine still works well. Or when the new software. Printer can not use the old software has all the functionality of the printer, and not to use the expiration date เลย "The only issues to be moody create multiple users with the most is that Apple decided to disable the floppy. Drive a standard feature. This problem will occur with the use of all data stored on floppy disk plate. Apple will create a common impression to the user. The attention always. What's the device that Apple may want to use? After the software. Hardware upgrades or a course that Microsoft has created a sense of mind to customers minus similar reasons (upgrades are about how to change your PC Lamp. And new equipment around for example. Once the company decided to stop supporting the old Word document files in the new software. Makes files unable to read old documents. If installed without the appropriate filter. The hottest issue now is Perspective of that user. Microsoft is trying to make the world a new technology under its own image dream again. And the user does not feel very good strategy, is a license to use the latest software. This forced the company to customers. Paying members. And log these customers. To upgrade software in the future. (Pay around each other) In addition to software safety is an issue often receive voice always complain. While the latest strategy that Microsoft wants to prevent users care system. However, this observer sees. It is another step of Microsoft to control things. In addition to the computer that is "the privacy of users" that Microsoft is running now is the agreement of the user (User agreement) that appears when we will install the service แพ็ก. Set down or fix the errors of the software Microsoft will be forced to accept a security system installed that go with this. This would create discontent to users certainly Analysts said. "Before you can download the platform switches. To manage network security. Or for any reason. You will need to allow Microsoft to run certain programs on your machine. Without the approval "is required to allow users to manage the program before you do something else. (Patrick, installation switches. Services แพ็ก or down) to do this is that the consumer could look one alternative. Apple and trying to seize the position. With the weaknesses. And strengths of each company (Apple and Microsoft) make an image of war competition; the two companies are clearly more Microsoft has advantages. Because the standard and the ability to drive solutions. To those vendors. Although Apple will rapidly come to control their hardware for faster and have a better solution. But Microsoft can overcome quickly with older users in the market for many times, however, problems of both companies at this time are No attention to the concerns of users. This is becoming weaknesses of both companies. "If this is racing. The two companies are shooting themselves feet. It exceedingly difficult indeed to win the competition (Possession of the market), and the lame (customers are not satisfied, "the researchers said Giga Information Group.

Mac OS X 10.5.6 Update

About Mac OS X 10.5.6 Update
Add a new Mac to your Mac. Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard is packed with over 300 new features, installs easily, and works with the software and accessories you already have.

iTunes 8

About iTunes
iTunes 8 includes Genius, which makes playlists from songs in your library that go great together. Genius also includes Genius sidebar, which recommends music from the iTunes Store that you don”t already have. With iTunes 8, browse your artists and albums visually with the new Grid view; download your favorite TV shows in HD quality from the iTunes Store; sync your media with iPod nano (4th generation), iPod classic (120GB), and iPod touch (2nd generation); and enjoy a stunning new music visualizer.

Learn more about iTunes.

What’s New in this Version
iTunes 8.1 is now faster and more responsive. You will enjoy noticeable improvements when working with large libraries, browsing the iTunes Store, preparing to sync with iPod or iPhone, and optimizing photos for syncing. In addition, iTunes 8.1 provides many other improvements and bug fixes, including:

- Supports syncing with iPod shuffle (3rd generation).
- Allows friends to request songs for iTunes DJ.
- Adds Genius sidebar for your Movies and TV Shows.
- Improves performance when downloading iTunes Plus songs.
- Provides AutoFill for manually managed iPods.
- Allows CDs to be imported at the same sound quality as iTunes Plus.
- Includes many accessibility improvements.
- Allows iTunes U and the iTunes Store to be disabled separately using Parental Controls.

iTunes 8.1 SHA-1 Digest:
SHA1=6c9ee64741158c9f45417b96
5b38b01ea3b51af1

For explanation of what a SHA1 digest is, please visit this website: About SHA1 digest

For information on the security content of this update, please visit this website: About Apple Security

Android will outpace the iPhone in 2012 or reality?

Although current iPhone will lead the group in Mobile smartphone but do not have to be relaxed because Android is coming, analysts forecasters predict that sales of Android will outpace the iPhone in 2012. But all this will be the probable fate Symbian original. In the last year mobile use Symbian has less than half the share. From the same ever since then decreased 65% to 16% the share of the spoil is not Android, but the iPhone's OS X but also the BlackBerry OS, Linux, and Windows Mobile-hit attack to cause this. Symbian adapt to become open source, which should help extend the lead to the smartphone.

New iPhone Models Leaked & OLED Displays Rumoured

Following the unveiling of iPhone OS 3.0 we get the first in what is sure to be a torrent of 'leaks' and 'revelations'...
Both bits of chitter chatter doing the rounds today are rather exciting so let's cut straight to it. Firstly, BGR has been handed some rather interesting code extracts from the iPhone OS 3.0 restore ramdisk. Revealed deep within are the references to:
iPhone2,1 - 0×1294 iProd0,1 - 0×1295 iPod2,2 - 0×1296 iPhone3,1 - 0×1297 iFPGA - 0×1298 iPod3,1 - 0×1299
None of these align with the existing devices which are clearly listed as
iPhone First Gen - 0×1290 iPod touch 1G - 0×1291 iPhone 3G - 0×1292 iPod touch 2G - 0×1293
Could multiple new iPhone models be on the way out with both a 3G replacement and the long rumoured 'iPhone nano'? In the current environment broadening a portfolio beyond more than one premium device is probably a rather good idea, so it could well be.
Next, Aussie title 'Smarthouse' claims sources within LG Korea have confirmed to them that it will be providing Apple with OLED screens for both new MacBooks and the next generation iPhone(s). Famed for their vibrancy, slimness and low power draw, Apple allegedly paid the company over $500m upfront for a gargantuan order of the displays with additional special coatings to eliminate 'finger marking'.
Now both these stories could be on the money or utter rubbish, but with OS 3.0 seen by many to have enough upgrades to negate a new iPhone purchase such additions could well be the spur Apple needs to get recession wary wallets once more out of pockets.
Fingers crossed, I say...
In related news iPhone OS 3.0 removes the limit on 10MB OTA podcast downloads but keeps it in place for Apps over 10MB. We'll have to wait and see how this one plays out come release...
http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2009/03/19/evidence-of-new-iphones-new-ipod-touch/

Microsoft to attack Mac pricing in new series of TV ads

After running through a series of ad campaigns designed to make Windows look cool, then victimized, then simply inescapably ubiquitous, Microsoft is now hoping to attack Apple in new ads that portray Macs as unaffordable compared to generic PCs.According to a report by the Associated Press, Microsoft hired Crispin Porter + Bogusky, the ad agency behind the campaign pairing Bill Gates with Jerry Seinfeld, to recruit "unwitting subjects by posing as a market research firm studying laptop purchasing decisions."Participants found on Craigslist were given between $700 to $2,000 to buy a computer fitting certain criteria, and were told they could keep the computer they selected. One participant named Lauren was told to buy a 17" notebook for less than $1000. She was then filmed entering an Apple Store where she couldn't find one. Lauren then heads to Best Buy and selects a $699 HP machine running Windows. That experience was turned into a 60 second TV spot for Microsoft after the agency told the buyer that the purpose of the excursion was really to promote Windows.

iPhone 4G Concept Design

Out for each other then the real iPhone Concept if it would not come out a Concept is a view out to each other regularly. For this known aspect iPhone 4G Macbook Pro is quite close to the edge of that Apple would not expect production like this in due consideration of the more active aspect. Pretty bad but not quite.

iPhone Concept - Macbook Air Inspired

If the iPhone would probably not have come out to see each other regularly for Concept Design of the new iPhone version. That should also look. Ever brought to see the iPhone Pro iPhone 4G with the new Macbook Air swath in this beautiful it looks good. Looks okay except for the SPEC is what these designers focus.
Highlights of the Concept Design is a video iChat allows you to see a talk page. Hold together with both hands. And with the computer through Apple's program IChat but hopefully Apple will IChat can make contact with a PC because IChat is now known and used only in the narrow band of users who only have a Mac.A view you do not know then what kind of love most.

IPhone firmware 3.0 launch

IPhone firmware 3.0 launch at Apple's campus in Cupertino, CA, which is what apple fans waiting feature is that many people inquiring กัน. It came กัน nearly complete in the new Firmware that this value is called the waiting APIs also add more than 1,000 items for application developers.
Feature are following shortly.
1000 new APIs. App Store to support the development of business models in various forms such as Subscriptions, Additional Level, New Content by called In-App Purchase by paying for each App that Apple will charge 30% fee as commission. peer-to-peer connectivity over Bluetooth connection with Bluetooth enable mobile phone as other possible. IPhone Accessory for the production company to develop the application for the iPhone has. Program developers can insert Google Maps into the program. Developers can use the program for pro Department CoreLocation Turn by Turn. Push Notificaiton for the APIs to use for programs at the same even if the program will close it to them. APIs for streaming video and audio.
Many developers program it shows up Pr gram used to feature in firmware 3.0 are as follows.
Meebo's Instant Messaging App. Electronic Arts to bring SIM 3 shows a view with which In-App Purchase. Oracle App that can show track supply line. ESPN to show it Apps using video streaming and Push Notification APIs. Johnson and Johnson show medical iPhone app connection with Bluetooth. Ngmoco Ehaa game Rolando is a game show developed from firmware 3.0 like Touch Pets, a social pet simulator, LiveFire. Smule new program shows the name Leaf Trombone (World Stage), which can play music through 3G and WiFi. Jacobsen then out APIs for the iPhone like we use any feature that we are waiting for him in the past.
Copy and Paste finally have to ready. Used in programs that support. Send a several images simultaneously. Do not send a longer one at a time. Landscape mode program in Mail, SMS and Notes. SMS app can forward and delete multiple messages at once. Calendar app in the new Firmware support CalDAV. YouTube subscriptions. iPhone firmware 3.0 has been able to send MMS. Transcribe, edit and send voice messages via email or MMS to. Spotlight search for information on the iPhone in the Mail app, Calendar app, music in iPod app and Notes app. The iPhone firmware 3.0 is ready for use this Summer for free iPhone 3G and first generation iPhone will be just fine, but the first iPhone will use A2DP (read stereo Bluetooth), and MMS does not due to the hardware does not support iPod Touch and more money. $ 9.95 to upgrade.
In addition to the iPhone as a modem for a Notebook with the ไหน camps that will support this service. This is just part of a new feature for feature details of any other additional information would have come slowly. We will update T with each other.

Microsoft Announces Availability of Internet Explorer 8

New browser focuses on top customer needs, including security, ease of use and performance.
Related Links
Microsoft Resources:
•
Windows Client Newsroom on PressPass Web site
•
Internet Explorer 8 Web site
•
Internet Explorer 8 Fact Sheet
•
Browser Security and Privacy Fact Sheet
•
NSS Labs Study Web site
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Internet Explorer 8 white paper
REDMOND, Wash. — March 18, 2009 — Today Microsoft Corp. announced the availability of Windows Internet Explorer 8, the new Web browser that offers the best solution for how people use the Web today. It can be downloaded in 25 languages at http://www.microsoft.com/ie8 starting at noon EDT on March 19. Internet Explorer 8 is easier to use, faster and offers leading-edge security features in direct response to people’s increasing concerns about online safety. A new study commissioned by Microsoft and the National Cyber Security Alliance and conducted by Harris Interactive Inc. shows that 91 percent of adults in the U.S. are concerned about online threats in the current economic climate, and 78 percent are more likely to choose a Web browser with built-in security than they were two years ago.
“Customers have made clear what they want in a Web browser — safety, speed and greater ease of use,” said Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft. “With Internet Explorer 8, we are delivering a browser that gets people to the information they need, fast, and provides protection that no other browser can match.”
In response to extensive customer research and input from tens of millions of customer sessions, Microsoft developed Internet Explorer 8 to focus on what matters most to people. The security enhancements offer protection against existing and emerging security threats online. It blocks two to four times more malware attacks than other browsers; cuts down on the time it takes to complete common tasks on the Web such as searching, mapping and sharing, including navigating 15 of the 20 top worldwide sites; and blurs the lines between the services they use daily and the browser used to access the Internet.
Helps Protect People From Online Threats
The new study released today reinforces the importance of safety in browsing, indicating that 78 percent of people are more likely than they were two years ago to choose a browser that includes built-in protection against security threats without them having to go online to download additional programs or browser add-ons. It also showed that 91 percent of adults in the U.S. are concerned about online fraud and identity theft in today’s economic climate, and 37 percent are less likely to shop online because they would have to give their personal information.
Internet Explorer 8 offers the best security protections among leading browsers: a study released today by NSS Labs indicates that Internet Explorer 8 blocks two to four times as many malicious sites as other browsers on the market today.
Makes Common Online Tasks Faster and Easier
In addition to offering improved security and privacy protections, Internet Explorer 8 is one of the fastest browsers on the market today, beating other top browsers in page load time on almost 50 percent of the 25 top comScore Inc. Web sites.* It also helps people save time while using the Web with easy-to-use new features, including the following:
•
Accelerators. Accelerators make it faster and easier to perform common tasks online by making Web-based services such as ESPN.com, Live Search and Sina available for use directly from the page people are viewing. Users can simply right-click a word or phrase and instantly map, e-mail, or share it.
•
Web Slices. Web Slices in Internet Explorer 8 makes favorite information from sites such as Digg, Yahoo! Mail, OneRiot, and eBay instantly available wherever someone goes on the Web.
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Visual search suggestions. The Instant Search Box in Internet Explorer 8 enables rich, real-time search from sites such as The New York Times, Amazon.com and Wikipedia, as well as sites from people’s own Favorites and History, complete with visuals and detailed information that saves time.
“We are excited about Internet Explorer 8 for several reasons, including its ability to provide our customers with updates to eBay products using Web Slices so they can keep track of their buying activity while surfing the web,” said Matt Ackley, vice president of Internet Marketing and Advertising at eBay.
“The new ESPN Web Slices on Internet Explorer 8 make it easy for sports fans to check on the latest news and sports videos in a new and exciting way,” said Jason Guenther, vice president of technology and product development at ESPN Digital Media. “We have a heritage of leveraging technology to deliver the best sports content to fans, and this is another example of our dedication to that.”
Available for Download
Internet Explorer 8 will be available for download at noon EDT in 25 languages, including Arabic, Chinese (Traditional, Simplified and Hong Kong), Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese (Brazil and Portugal), Polish, Russian, Spanish, Swedish and Turkish. More information and a download of Internet Explorer 8 (as of noon EDT on March 19) can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/ie8.
Microsoft will showcase the final browser and outline benefits and opportunities for a variety of audiences on March 19 at Microsoft’s MIX09 conference for web designers and developers in Las Vegas.
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
*comScore data based on December 2008

iPod shuffle

Its size will leave you speechless. Good thing it also talks.The world’s smallest music player also happens to be the world’s first talking one. Two things that make the iPod shuffle one amazing device.

iPod shuffle
Watch the Guided Tour This is small.

1.8" tall x 0.3" thin to be exact.
To create the world’s smallest music player, we moved the controls from iPod shuffle to the earbud cord. This allowed us to make the new iPod shuffle dramatically smaller, but not just for dramatically smaller’s sake. It’s also easier to use, with the controls located where you can access them quickly.


See how the controls work
Easy access controls.
The controls of the new iPod shuffle are located on the right earbud cord. With command central now strategically placed in this more convenient location, you can navigate your music — and activate the VoiceOver feature — without taking your eyes off your run, your ride, or whatever you’re doing.

Your music library. To go.

There was a time when limited storage meant you had to leave a lot of your songs on the sync-room floor. But now that iPod shuffle has 4GB of storage, you have plenty of room to store hours and hours of music — up to 1,000 songs.* With room for multiple playlists, too.


Fashion tech-cessory.
Even the iPod shuffle clip gets the rock star treatment. Now forged in stainless steel, the clip attaches securely to your shirt, jacket, workout gear, even your backpack. And the sleek, durable, anodized aluminum case — available in silver or black — makes iPod shuffle a wardrobe essential. And yes, there’s still room for personalized engraving.

iMac

Technical Specifications
20-inch iMac
Size and Weight
Height: 18.5 inches (46.9 cm)
Width: 19.1 inches (48.5 cm)
Depth: 7.4 inches (18.9 cm)
Weight: 20 pounds (9.1 kg)2
Display
20-inch (viewable) glossy widescreen,
1680 by 1050 pixels
24-inch iMac
Size and Weight
Height: 20.5 inches (52.0 cm)
Width: 22.4 inches (56.9 cm)
Depth: 8.1 inches (20.7 cm)
Weight: 25.4 pounds (11.5 kg)2
Display
24-inch (viewable) glossy widescreen,
1920 by 1200 pixels
Connections and expansion
AirPort Extreme (802.11n)3
Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate)
Gigabit Ethernet port
One FireWire 800 port (up to 800 Mbps)
Four USB 2.0 ports (up to 480 Mbps)
Mini DisplayPort video out
Combined optical digital
audio input/audio line in
Combined optical digital
audio output/headphone out

Silicon Valley

Silicon Valley

Company List:
eBay
Cisco
Sun
Intel
Yahoo!
AMD
Palm
Apple

What is RSS Feeds ?

What is RSS?

RSS feeds are an excellent way to keep up to date with all kinds of information sources (blogs, news, the weather, discussions,..). An RSS feed reader will check subscribed channels for updates automatically and let you browse the news that's important to you. Here are my top picks of news aggregators for Mac users.
Really Simple Syndication (RSS) is a lightweight XML format designed for sharing headlines and other Web content. Think of it as a distributable "What's New" for your site. Originated by UserLand in 1997 and subsequently used by Netscape to fill channels for Netcenter, RSS has evolved into a popular means of sharing content between sites (including the BBC, CNET, CNN, Disney, Forbes, Motley Fool, Wired, Red Herring, Salon, Slashdot, ZDNet, and more). RSS solves myriad problems webmasters commonly face, such as increasing traffic, and gathering and distributing news. RSS can also be the basis for additional content distribution services.
RSS Syntax
RSS defines an XML grammar (a set of HTML-like tags) for sharing news. Each RSS text file contains both static information about your site, plus dynamic information about your new stories, all surrounded by matching start and end tags.
Each story is defined by an tag, which contains a headline TITLE, URL, and DESCRIPTION....
Each RSS channel can contain up to 15 items and is easily parsed using Perl or other open source software. If you want more details on creating RSS files see
Jonathan Eisenzopf's excellent article in the February issue of Web Techniques. But you don't have to worry about the details, we've made it easy to create your own RSS channel with free open source scripts, all Web based. More on these later.
Once you've created and validated your RSS text file, register it at the various aggregators, and watch the hits roll in. Any site can now grab and display your feed regularly, driving traffic your way. Update your RSS file, and all the external sites that subscribe to your feed will be automatically updated. What can be easier? But wait, there's more.

A musical Genius:iPod nano.

A musical Genius.Say you’re listening to a song you really like and want to hear other tracks that go great with it. The Genius feature finds the songs in your music library that go great together and makes a Genius Playlist for you. It’s like having your own highly intelligent, personal DJ. Shake your groove thing.Sometimes, we could all use a little unpredictability. And now you can shake to shuffle your music. Just give iPod nano a shake and it shuffles to a different song in your music library. You’ll always be surprised by what you’ll hear.Rock and roll over.Tilt or turn iPod nano on its side, and you’ll listen, watch, and play in new ways. You can flip through your album art with Cover Flow. Or, vertically speaking, see more albums and artists on the screen at one time.
Find your music faster.It’s even easier to find the song you want to hear. Now you can view your album art in Cover Flow. Or just press and hold the Center button to browse by album or artist. When you find the right song, press the Center button to add it to your on-the-go playlist.Let the games begin.Now you can get in on games made especially for iPod nano and the accelerometer. They respond to the way you move, so they’re immersive, addictive, and a blast. iPod nano comes with Maze, which lets you work your way through vast mazes by tilting and moving. You can find even more games on the iTunes Store.
Even your photos rock.Pull hundreds of photos from your pocket and share them wherever you go. Hold iPod nano upright and see your photos in portrait view. Turn it on its side to see them in landscape. Your photos look beautiful in their proper aspect ratio on the vibrant, 320-by-240-resolution display. World’s biggest small screen.Watching movies, TV shows, and videos is big fun on iPod nano. And the high-resolution picture looks crisp and vivid on the 2-inch widescreen display. So you can always have a little video with you.

Apple iPhone - 3G

Specifications

Screen size 3.5 inches (diagonal)
Screen resolution 480 by 320 pixels (163 ppi)
Input method Multi-Touch
Storage 8GB and 16GB1
Cellular UMTS/HSDPA (850, 1900, 2100 MHz)GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
Wireless data
Wi-Fi (802.11b/g)UMTS/HSDPA (850, 1900, 2100 MHz)EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR

GPS Assisted-GPS

Camera 2.0 megapixels

Battery2 Talk time: Up to 5 hours on 3G;up to 10 hours on 2GStandby time: Up to 300 hoursInternet use: Up to 5 hours on 3G;up to 6 hours on Wi-FiVideo playback: Up to 7 hoursAudio playback: Up to 24 hours

Dimensions 4.5 by 2.4 by 0.48 inches(115.5 by 62.1 by 12.3 mm)
Weight 4 .7 ounces (133 grams)