Firefox and Adobe Reach the Top on Vulnerable Software List

Firefox reached the top of the most vulnerable software this year, while holes in Adobe software gained thrice the amount of holes that it had last year, according to statistics compiled by Qualys, a vulnerability management provider.

Qualys tallied 102 vulnerabilities that were found in Firefox this year, up from 90 last year. The numbers are based on running totals in the National Vulnerability Database.

However, the high number of Firefox vulnerabilities doesn't necessarily mean the Web browser actually has the most bugs; it just means it has the most reported holes. Because the software is open source, all holes are publicly disclosed, whereas proprietary software makers, like Adobe and Microsoft, typically only publicly disclose holes that were found by researchers outside the company, and not ones discovered internally, Qualys Chief Technology Officer Wolfgang Kandek said late on Wednesday.

"Operating systems have become more stable and harder to attack and that's why attackers are migrating to applications, he said. "Adobe is a huge focus for attacks now, around 10 times more than Microsoft Office. However, other widely used targets like Internet Explorer and Firefox are still far from secure."

Adobe customers will have to wait about a month for a fix to the latest critical zero-day hole in Reader and Acrobat.

The company announced on Wednesday it would not patch the vulnerability until its next scheduled quarterly security update release on January 12.

Federal Trade Commission Sues Intel for Anticompetitive Tactics

The Federal Trade Commission announced Wednesday that it is suing Intel, claiming that the chip giant has illegally used its dominance to stymie competition and to strengthen its own monopoly. FTC says, the company has robbed consumers of both choice and innovation in microprocessors, including those that outshone Intel's own: "Intel's anticompetitive tactics were designed to put the brakes on superior competitive products that threatened its monopoly in the CPU microchip market."

However, the chipmaker says that case should have been settled, not sent into litigation.

In November, Intel settled its antitrust dispute with AMD, in a deal that includes a $1.25 billion payment to AMD.

Sony Ericsson is Launching Xperia Smartphone based on Google Android OS

Sony Ericsson is releasing a new smartphone Xperia X10, which is based on Google's latest mobile operating system Android.

It is being code-named Rachel and the technical specs and an official video has also been released. The X10, or Rachel, has a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, which should make this one of the fastest Android phones yet. The phone will sport version 1.6 of Android--aka Donut--and it will run applications from the Android Market and Sony Ericsson's PlayNow arena. The device will also feature an 8-megapixel camera, with autofocus and an LED photo light.

Expect to see the Xperia X10 in stores in the first quarter of 2010.

Microsoft Signature PC's Hitting the Road

The "Microsoft Signature" PCs that are being sold at Microsoft's retail and online stores contain a bunch of extra Windows Live software, but also feature something rarely found on a PC--a clean desktop.

(Credit: Microsoft)

Microsoft has started pushing selling PC's through it's online and retail stores and the difference Microsoft is making is that the PC's being sold contain all Microsoft products, including the complete Windows Live suite, Security Essentials antivirus product, Zune jukebox, and Bing 3D Maps software, as well as Adobe's Flash and Acrobat Reader products. Internet Explorer 8 is the browser, with Bing as its default search provider.

Microsoft calls it "Microsoft Signature Experience". The computers are being sold at Microsoft's two retail stores--the Scottsdale, Ariz., store that opened last week and the Mission Viejo, Calif., outlet that is opening later on Thursday. The software giant is also selling PCs throughout the U.S. via its online Microsoft Store.
The goal of the Signature effort is to give customers what Microsoft feels is the best software experience they can have on a PC.

Windows 7 is here...

With all the anticipated wait for Windows 7, it has finally been released on Thursday, October 22, 2009. Without going into details, I'll describe the top 7 Windows 7 features that will lead you to love Windows 7.

1 - Performance boost
Without a doubt the top Windows 7 feature is performance. On every system that I’ve put Windows 7 on, I’ve seen a performance boost. You'll notice faster boot-up, video encoding and gaming frames per second. In my opinion, this performance boost in Windows 7 is the strongest feature.

2 - More restrained UAC
The User Account Control (UAC) experience under Vista was too much of an annoyance than security. A single simple action could result in a number of warnings annoyed many users. Under Windows 7, UAC is a little more restrained, limiting prompts to specific actions. The best part is that users can customize the level of warnings they wish to receive and so set up the system to best suit their needs.

3 - 64-bit becomes the new default
Today, all the operating system vendors are leading the industry towards 64-bit computing and Steve Balmer Microsoft does not want to be left behind. Given that hardware, software and driver support for 64-bit is now at an all-time high.

4 - Improved troubleshooting tools
Users want to find solutions to the problems rather than just receiving error boxes. Windows 7 excels at it by providing diagnostic features that let users find solutions for the given problem. Whether it's a connectivity issue or compatibility.

5 - UI improvements
Although Windows 7 will look somewhat like Vista but still there are many enhancements that make users believe that everything that was annoying in Vista is done the right way in Windows 7.

6 - Touch support OK. I know you are exciting about iPhone and other touch responsive gadgets. So, now face Windows 7. If you've got a touch responsive LCD (which is not expensive these days), you'll be able to operate Windows 7 and every other application within by your fingers on the LCD!

7 - XP Mode

So you still don't want to leave the old Windows XP? Don't worry, you've got Windows XP mode within Windows 7 and it will let you run Windows XP inside Windows 7 with the ability to run all your applications and games that can only run in Windows XP.

NASA Plans to Crash Two Spacecrafts into Moon's Surface on Friday

NASA has planned to crash two spacecrafts traveling with 5400 mph into the surface of moon on Friday morning October 9 at 4:31:19 a.m. PDT, to blow up some moon surface and find water.

As it races toward the moon, the Lunar CRater Observing and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) will launch the still-attached upper stage of the Atlas V Centaur rocket to strike the moon first and create a cloud of debris that LCROSS will analyze for about four minutes before it gets cratered and creates its own cloud. Scientists are greatly hoping to discover water after the impact.

You won't be able to see the crash with naked eyes or binoculars from Earth, but it is expected to be visible with Earth- and space-based telescopes 10-to-12 inches and larger.

How to Prevent an e-Discovery Disaster

e-Discovery disasters can result in devastating consequences. Lost evidences can lead a company to be fined with multimillion-dollars or lose an otherwise court case which was otherwise winnable. Here are some best practices for IT Managers to stick to in order to prevent such situations.

Talk to your legal department on a regular basis. One benefit of meeting with in-house counsel regularly is that you'll get to know the key contacts so you'll be prepared to act fast if your company does face legal action. And the best part is that it greatly reduces the surprises you could face down the road.

Make your information-handling practices routine and consistent. It's critical to be able to prove in court that your standard operating procedures are maintained and followed by every individual in your company.

Keep a log, keep a log and keep a log. Backup logs, system and event logs, shipping receipts, help desk tickets, work requests, e-mail, meeting notes, journal entries, and yellow sticky notes can all be resources for you to resort to especially if  when you need to recall or prove what you did or didn't do in the course of a typical day.

Tame the mouse (and hold your horses) while the mouse is in your hands. Copying critical corporate files to irrelevant folder during an e-discovery project can not only compromise your chain of custody, but also mistakenly information to wrong people.

The most talked about term you'll hear after the e-discovery project starts is, chain of custody. Which simply means that you should be able to prove who had the data and when. Best practice is to start the chain long before the e-discovery matter begins, so you need to take steps now to ensure that you can track the chain of custody in the future.

Understand what spoliation is. Spoliation is the deliberate or negligent destruction, withholding or hiding of evidence when an investigation or litigation is under way. At the risk of stating the obvious, it's a big no-no.

The fact that you destroyed it means the law automatically assumes it was damaging.

Be ready to preserve or backup all data, immediately. If you have automatic cleanup or purging processes, you should suspend or discontinue them. If you don't know how much data is subject to the hold request, which is a typical scenario, you should stop all data destruction to be on the safe side.

Know what you have. Do you know where your data is? Do you think you have a handle on your data? Think again. I can't tell you how many times I've heard someone say, "They've found another server/drive/tape/flash drive."

Intel's Light Peak Technology Aims to Replace all Data Cables in a PC with One Fiber Cable

Intel has developed a new technology called Light Peak to replace the bunch of cables sprouting out of PCs with a single fiber-optic link. Intel's vision is one replacement for the cable to monitors, external drives, scanners, and any other device that plugs in to a computer.

Dadi Perlmutter, the newly promoted co-general manager of Intel's Architecture Group said the components for the technology will be ready in 2010. "We hope to see one single cable," Perlmutter added.

The cable can be as long as 100 meters and can carry data at 10 gigabits per second in both directions simultaneously, though Intel expects it will reach 100 gigabits per second in the next decade, said Jason Ziller, Intel's director of optical input-ouput program office.

"Sony is excited about the potential for Light Peak technology that Intel has been developing, and believe it could enable a new generation of high-speed device connectivity," said Ryosuke Akahane, vice president of Sony's Vaio Business Group.

Why Majority of CIOs Abstain from Mac

Although it's like an established fact that Microsoft Windows has a market share of more than 92% and with the recent release of Mac OS X Snow Leopard, Apple has gained 8% of market share, there are other reasons majority of the CIOs stay away from don't like a Mac.

Nearly all the business users can't and don't make a change just because of the bells and whistles of a Operating System. Hardware compatibility and new user training issues are the first that CIOs have to consider before making an OS swith.

And it's a situation that looks unlikely to change. A recent poll of the Silicon.com CIO Jury found that none of the IT chiefs surveyed said the release of Snow Leopard will prompt their businesses to adopt Apple desktops.

Dell Releasing Wireless Rechargeable Laptop

Dell is releasing a new laptop "Latitude Z" for business customers which has everything else that can be expected in a newer laptop but it certainly has one feature that none of the other laptops yet have. Curious? Let me tell you what it is and your curiosity will transform into surprise!

Latitude Z is capable of being recharged over-the-air. Yes! Wireless Recharging. It's a breathtaking step in mobile computing and closely relates to a similar attempt at mobile phones by Nokia.

An inductive pad that's built into a laptop stand can accomplish a full recharge in "about the same amount of time" as a standard-issue cabled charger, according to Dell. Besides being able to get juice without wires, the Latitude Z will also be able to dock without them. A smaller separate adapter can hook up the laptop with any accompanying monitor, whether it be one in a cubicle, or in a conference room. Other cool things Dell is introducing: touch-sensitive controls on the screen's bezel, and its first take on "instant on."

Facebook Shuts Down Malware Spreading Fake Profiles

Facebook conducted a vigorous scanning of user profiles on Thursday to identify and shutdown those which were found identical and were created for the purpose of spreading malware.

A number of AVG Antivirus users reported that AVG's link scanning service detected a lot of profiles with identical data but different names. These profiles contained a home video which displayed a fake antivirus alert when users clicked on it. The main purpose of these profile creators was to trick people into paying for bogus security software that they didn't need as well as to hijack Credit Card information and leave spyware on users' machines.

Facebook is looking into how these accounts were created and it thinks that it's very likely that the sign-up process was manual, or that the person behind the attack farmed out the Captchas to be solved by humans for a price.

Nanotechnology will make Humans Immortal by 2040

Nanotechnology has advanced to such a degree that it would make human life immortal by 2040 and will help back up our memories and personalities. Nanobots will be travelling in our bodies and effectively wiping out diseases by repairing damaged cells and organs. Cancer will become history.

The technology is called NanoTechnology because it deals with things smaller than 100 nanometers (especially with the manipulation of individual molecules). A NanoMeter is one billionth of a meter. The technology is in practice today and scientists in Lodon have recently used nanobots to kill ovarian cancer in mice which is considered to be the most dangerous type of cancer.

For the sake of simplicity, let me put it this way. Nanobots are man made and non-biological good viruses that will replicate themselves in our bodies and perform different repairs. They will be microscopic robots programmed by engineers to heal human bodies.

Inventor and futurist, Ray Kurzweil says that by 2024, we'll be adding a year to our life expectancy with every year passing by. In a remarkable statement about human life, he says, "The definition of human is that we are the species that goes beyond our limitations and changes who we are."

Apple Releases OS X Snow Leopard 10.6 on Aug 28 2009

"Snow Leopard builds on our most successful operating system ever and we're happy to get it to users earlier than expected," said Bertrand Serlet, Apple's senior vice president of Software Engineering. "For just $29, Leopard users get a smooth upgrade to the world's most advanced operating system and the only system with built in Exchange support."

Apple Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard will go on sale Friday, August 28 at Apple's retail stores and Apple authorized resellers, and Apple's online store is now accepting pre-orders.

To create Snow Leopard, Apple engineers refined 90 percent of the more than 1,000 projects that make up Mac OS X. Users will notice refinements including a more responsive Finder; Mail that loads messages up to twice as fast; Time Machine with an up to 80 percent faster initial backup; a Dock with Expose integration; QuickTime X with a redesigned player that allows users to easily view, record, trim and share video; and a 64-bit version of Safari 4 that is up to 50 percent faster and resistant to crashes caused by plug-ins. Snow Leopard is half the size of the previous version and frees up to 7GB of drive space once installed.

Microsoft Barred from Selling Word!!! It Is A Big Deal!

A federal judge in Texas has ordered Microsoft to stop selling any version of it's flagship word processor, "Microsoft Word" that contains custom taggings for XML. This will be effective in 60 days. Microsoft has 2 months to appeal and it will. Microsoft will not let a single day pass by without selling Word.

This is a roundup, for details click on the title of this article.

Facebook Becoming a Source of Jealousy for Lovers

When was the next time you saw your lover's profile on facebook after a fight? Just to see the status of relationship? Oh! don't get me wrong. Some social psychologists at the University of Guelph in Ontario would like you to know that they can prove that your heartbreak is largely Facebook's fault, or rather that the fault lies in the fact that Facebook exists. After a little research, the wise brains penned a study entitled "More Information than You Ever Wanted: Does Facebook Bring Out the Green-Eyed Monster of Jealousy?"

A DNA Computer Can Solve Problems

DNA has been used to do simple number crunching before, but a system developed by Israeli scientists can effectively answer yes or no questions. Strands of DNA are designed to give off a green light corresponding to "yes".

The team, led by Tom Ran and Ehud Shapiro of the Weizmann Institute in Israel, has been developing DNA-based computation systems for a number of years, including "computers" that can diagnose and treat cancers autonomously.

Imagine the Power of DNA

According to an article on HowStuffWorks, one pound of DNA has the capacity to store more information than all the electronic computers ever built;­ and the computing power of a teardrop-sized DNA computer will be more powerful than the world's most powerful supercomputer (RoadRunner).

A 1 cubic centimeter (0.06 cubic inches) DNA computer would be able to hold 10 Terabytes of data, and perform 10 trillion calculations at a time. By adding more DNA, more calculations could be performed.

Unlike conventional computers, DNA computers perform calculations parallel to other calculations. Conventional computers operate linearly, taking on tasks one at a time. It is parallel computing that allows DNA to solve complex mathematical problems in hours, whereas it might take electric computers hundreds of years to complete them.

Now You Can be the Terminator or Cyborg!!!

While eye worn or behind the eye Augmented Reality is still in it's infancy, mobile operator have already strated to harness the geographical data on the internet to be combined with a mobile phone's video camera view.


With this technology, you just point it at some loction and the LCD of you phone will automatically fetching information from the web and put it on the screen just like Terminator's eyes used to do!

So the next time your on the road and want to see if there are rooms available in the hotel across the street or what's on the menu in the restaurant on your left, just point your camera on the hotel and get it all without leaving your car.

At the moment only a UK firm Acrossair is providing this service as an App for iPhone.

Microsoft Lays Off 3,000 (and counting) Employees!!!

Source: NetworkWorld.com

Microsoft Corp. laid off 3,000 workers last week in the second wave of a major reduction announced in January. And in a memo to employees, CEO Steve Ballmer said more cuts are possible.

"As we move forward, we will continue to closely monitor the impact of the economic downturn on the company and if necessary, take further actions on our cost structure, including additional job eliminations," Ballmer wrote.

In January, Microsoft had disclosed plans to eliminate 5,000 positions, more than 5% of the 96,000 full-time workers it employed at the time. About 1,400 people were laid off then.

In an April 23 10-Q filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Microsoft said it set aside $237 million for severance payments to 3,400 laid-off employees, "all of whom are expected to leave the Company by June 30, 2010."

The filing also said that the company plans to hire 2,000 to 3,000 people over the next 18 months.

Windows 7 Release Candidate Leaked (Before May 5th)

Folks,

Windows 7 RC (Build 7100) has been leaked on various P2P Networks. While you might find it difficult to resist the temptation to get your hands on this long awaited and most appreciated version of Windows from Microsoft, it is however advisable that you wait until May the 5th 2009 to get the genuine (but free) one. Did I say genuine? Well, critics are not yet sure if the version available on P2P Networks is really genuine or not.

Oh boy! I dunno whether I'm gonna wait or not... Hey where's that ***rrent icon man??? :P

PC BSD Released New 7.1 Galileo Edition (Operating System)

Credit: (PC BSD Press Release)

Also Appeared at: http://www.osnews.com/story/21293/PC-BSD_7_1_Galileo_Released

The PC-BSD Team is proud to announce the immediate availability of PC-BSD 7.1 - Galileo Edition!

Version 7.1 contains a number of enhancements, improvements and bugfixes from the 7.0 series.

• FreeBSD 7.2-Pre
• KDE 4.2.2
  
• The new KDE 4 printer applet enables users to easily add and manage printers and print jobs without using the CUPS web interface.
• The Add / Remove Programs tool and the Update Manager have been consolidated into “Software & Updates.”
• The Updater Tray has been modified into a small tray-only applet that shows users when updates are available. This is far less taxing on the CPU than its previous versions.
• FreeBSD ports and packages can now be installed in a clean localbase by utilizing the “runports” command.
• Greater stability for Flash 9 allows users to get higher quality from Flash sites such as Hulu and Youtube.
• Enhancements have been made to PC-BSD's System Installer, including upgrade functionality for those who wish to upgrade / repair PC-BSD while preserving their user data.
• Fixes have been made to bugs in the Wi-Fi and Networking tools, as well as to previous Linux Emulation problems.

"Galileo utilizes the latest KDE developments to bring style and functionality to the PC-BSD operating system,” says Kris Moore, PC-BSD Software Development Manager, iXsystems. “New KDE visual effects accent the stability and security of the Galileo Edition of PC-BSD. With new printing features and improvements to the Push Button Installer and Warden utility, PC-BSD 7.1 is now even easier to use."

The PC-BSD user community is raving about the Galileo Edition of PC-BSD.

For a full list of changes, please refer to the changelog.

Version 7.1 of PC-BSD for i386 and amd64 based platforms is available for download from our mirrors, for purchase from The FreeBSD Mall, as well as via torrent from www.gotbsd.net.

• Download PC-BSD 7.1
• Official Press Release
  
• Changelog
• Release Notes

About PC-BSD

PC-BSD is a rock solid, fully functional desktop operating system, running FreeBSD version 7.1 with a KDE desktop interface and graphical system installer. Its PBI system, developed exclusively for PC-BSD, lets users download and install their applications in a self-extracting and self-installing format.

About iXsystems

iXsystems is the all-around FreeBSD company that builds FreeBSD-certified servers and storage solutions, runs the FreeBSD Mall, and is the corporate sponsor of the PC-BSD Project.

Online Applications are Heaven on the Clouds!!!

How many times have you reached your office desk just to find that your favorite USB Drive on which you had saved your files is actually at home??? OR you emailed yourself an important report and when you reached office you found that your email client's not working?

Online Applications solve this problem... All your files get stored online and you can edit them right on the web, nothing is downloaded or uploaded in the process. No USBs, No synchronizations to schedule and nothing at all.

Just point your browser to your Online Application Provider and start working.

Yes! It's a heaven (in the clouds) to have different type of online applications catering to most of our tasks. It helps a lot in many ways.

• Most of them are free so you don't need to buy the big boxes
• Available anywhere you are blessed with The Fifth Element (The Internet).
• No need to worry about where your files are... They are up on the Cloud (Not number 9 though!)
• You get both company and user support
• Collaboration is very easy and can be done around the globe

Here are a few examples of the types of online apps available these days;

• Online Word Processors
• Online Spreadsheets
• Online Presentations
  
• Online Contact Management
• Online Knowledgebase Management
• Online Project Management
• Online Meetings
• Online File Storage

And you will find many more when if you visit the following free online application providers. In fact, the blogger interface in which I am typing right now is also an Online Application.

Zoho
Google Docs
ThinkFree
Windows Live Skydrive

and...

Search Google for Free Online Apps and voila!

Oh! Did you say OfficeLive? Um... I'm sorry but they just have online document storage solution, you cannot actually edit any document unless you have a purchased copy of Microsoft Office installed on your computer. So why bother uploading the files then??? I'm not convinced folks!!!

Please post your comments if you found this article interesting.

Thanks.

Ford to use Opera Browser in the World’s First Broadband-capable, in-dash Computer System

(Credit: Opera) – Mountain View, CA

Owners of Ford F-150, Super Duty, E-Series and Transit Connect trucks and vans will now be able to access the full Web from the convenience of their vehicles, thanks to Opera and Ford Work Solutions. Opera will be the featured browser on Ford’s industry-first, broadband-capable, in-dash computer.

With this technology, truck and van owners (contractors, farmers, construction workers, business owners, etc.) will be able to use the in-dash Opera browser to access essential information and applications including sales information, contact databases, job-site plans, inventory lists, calendars, e-mail, or even the weather. The in-dash computer, combined with the Opera browser, Bluetooth printing capabilities, and other features transform Ford’s new lineup of trucks and vans into true mobile offices.

For more information, visit http://www.fordworksolutions.com/.

Microsoft Giving Windows 7 for FREE !!!

Microsoft announced today that they are going to give all versions (SKUs) of Windows 7 for free. Critics are saying that this is in a reaction to Apple's costly Operating System Macintosh against which Microsoft has been runing an ad campaign and finally gets down to this decision.

Starting from today, this offer will remain valid throughout the month of April 2009.

Click here and get registered to get Windows 7 for free.

Leave your comments if you found it useful.

Search Engine Combo, Google gets Yahoo! and Live!

Google is testing a new version of it's homepage that is expected to give the users the ability to search in all the three major Search Engines;

1. Google
2. Yahoo!
3. Live!

Now wait a minute, when you say Yahoo! it sounds OK, but Microsoft Live!!!!! it is going to be amazing if it really happens, or we might discover another secret of the IT world :P

Two new buttons will take place of "I'm Feeling Lucky" which was rarely being used and some people had starting wondering if there was a connection between Google and The Pirate Bay (A popular torrent search engine).

And here's the best part. See what Yahoo! has added onto their homepage.


I am still not able to understand what's going on here but I'll get back on this as soon as I get another update.

Windows 7 build 7068 gets Leaked...

Alright everyone, here's another leaked version of Microsoft Windows 7 build 7068.



There has not much changed in this version since the previous build 7057. I believe there would be some minor tweaks and wallpaper changes. Anyway, it's another new thing to play with and we can expect a way being paved to the Windows 7 Release Candidate.

Windows 7 is expected to come in the following flavors called SKUs:

• Starter


• Home Basic


• Home Premium


• Professional


• Ultimate

You check out the complete Windows 7 build 7068 install/first run gallery here.

Medical Science Advances to Second Life

What more we can expect from a virtual world called Second Life than have a team of doctors treat patients virtually whereby actually playing a game.

Yes, the Medical students at Imperial College London are learning by treating virtual patients online in Second Life. They are also getting trained in a virtual hospital's respiratory ward. Students have the ability to check patients' symptoms and even look at the X-rays. In other words, a complete Medical examination can be conducted in Second Life.

Second Life is the Internet world where users interact through online alter egos called avatars. The third-year med students are taking part in a pilot program for game-based learning, which educators believe can be an exciting addition to lectures and textbooks.

"The aim is to develop a more engaging learning environment, rather than just replicate what you have in real life," said Maria Toro-Troconis, a senior learning technologist at Imperial College London.

Second Life is a free, 3D virtual world created by Linden Lab in 2003. Players can live a complete second life in it with doing everything from having a cup of coffee to actually marrying and having kids all in Second Life. (Some of them have extended it to real life though!!!)

Let me put it separately that people are earning Real money by creating and selling virtual products and services in virtual shops and offices.

Wanna give it a try... Click here!

Microsoft Continues to Attack Apple on the TV and now Online too...

Microsoft has been attacking Apple for a long time now but this time Microsoft beyond ever before!!! We lately saw a series of TV ad campaign assaults on Apple and now it's gone beyond the TV. You've guessed it!!! The Web.

In an online area, Web surfers can spin a wheel and get a comparison of products for the same price. Now when you choose a a Mac you get pocket lint, and when you choose a PC you can get two other things of value. The ad is called "Spin before you Spend".

Microsoft Attacks Apple's Pricing:

Microsoft CEO Ballmer laughs at Apple iPhone:



And Here's Spin Before You Spend ad:



Let's see where the war ends!!!

Latest Video Game Technologies at Game Developers Conference 2009 - San Fransisco

Watch the latest technologies being adapted in the world of Video Games. The video highlights games enhanced by wind, vibration, and light, plus mind control and super-realistic motions.

Check out the latest in game creation from the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco.

Note: This video and news story has has been taken from CNet.

Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty Jackalope Enters Beta Phase

Ubuntu's next version 9.04 code-named "Jaunty Jackalope" has entered into beta phase. It is said to be coming with a lot of enhancements such as, updates to Gnome interface (now version 2.26), the Linux kernel (now version 2,6.28), the X.Org server (now version 1.6), new notifications system, improved start-up process and this time Ubuntu is going to make it to the Cloud Computing too.

Besides, this version will also support the ext4 file system.

According to the feature web page for Jackalope's beta, users will be able to "dynamically create virtual machines, configure multiple clusters into a single cloud and even provide an EBS (elastic block storage) equivalent and an [Amazon] S3 compatible storage manager".

Click here to download Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty Jackalope Beta.

Please visit the Jaunty Jackalope's page for more information.

Windows 7 RC Coming in May...

Acording to ArsTechnica, Microsoft has mistakenly revealed the realease date of Windows 7 Release Candidate and that is May 2009. Along with the release date there is some other useful information like it will remain availalbe for download on Microsoft Download site till June 2009 and this downloaded version will expire in June 2010. According to my previous blog and others as well, this RC was expected during the first week of April 2009.

Actually, Windows 7 RC page made an accidental appearance on Microsoft Technet site.

ArsTechnica has a screen shot of the Win 7 RC download page.

Minimum System Requirements:

• 1 GHz 32-bit or 64-bit processor or higher
• 1 GB of system memory or more
• 16 GB of available disk space Support for DirectX 9 graphics with 128 MB memory (to enable the Aero theme)
• DVD-R/W Drive

So let's get ready to get our hands on it as it comes online.

Google Offers Game Themes for iGoogle

The long awaited game themes for iGoogle have arrived today. Check out your iGoogle page right now, apply your favorite game theme and enjoy. There are all time top and favorite games in the list to choose from such as Super Mario, Street Fighter, Galaga, Final Fantasy and even Wii Sports.

www.google.com/gamingthemes

I have enjoyed playing all sorts of classic games on the Arcade for hours when I was a kid and now it's amazing to see that you get the same thing right on you desktop.

Check the following video out for more information.

UK Government To Monitor Social Networking Sites Such as Facebook

In a recent news update by BBC, it has been mentioned that UK government is going to monitor all social networking sites in the UK for the UK citizens. This also includes all other and Facebook, MySpace and Bebo which are hot favorite all around the world amongst the Social Networking enthusiasts.

Government says that the monitoring is going to take place to decrease terrorism threats and plans. However, this could affect the business of those sites being monitored as it would affect the traffic patterns as well as a decrease in the tendency to use the Social Networking sites.

Facebook is particularly popular because of the privacy it offers over other Social Networking sites and hence most concerned.

So if you are in UK and want to say hello to Joe... They are watching you!!!

Youtube Gets Blocked in China... Again!!!

China has blocked the Youtube website again reportedly because it contained some videos which showed beatings of monks and soldiers. However, the government has not yet confirmed it that they have blocked the service.

This is not the first time though, China has been blocking websites which contained political or religiously exploited content. It is good and bad all at the same time depending on your perspective.

VoIP Giant Skype Releases Beta with SMS & File Transfer Features

Skype the VoIP giant has introduced two great features in it's beta version 3.0 for Microsoft Windows Mobile on Tuesday.

• File Transfer


• SMS

Previously these features were only available in the Desktop version 4.0.

Both features are available in the Contact list page. SMS can also be sent from the Menu options though.

These features will further enhance the usability of already popular Skype and you will be able to send important documents, photos and SMS on the fly and on the road.

You can download Skype 3.0 for free from here.

http://www.skype.com

The full version will be available in a couple of months and will surely be based on user feedback.

Internet Explorer 8 Works Better!

The final version of Microsoft Internet Explorer is available for download and already rocking in Windows 7 betas. It seems that Microsoft has overhauled this browser for performance and it works.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/default.aspx

You can do anything to test the performance of IE8 in anyway like, Cold Start, Javascript execution, Page Rendering etc. You will find it at your service.

There are enhancements in many areas to improve user experience like, Tabbed Browsing, Search Box in every browser to search directly something in your favorite search engine just by typing it in the top right corner.

Add-Ons are available and the best one is IE Pro. It is also available for Internet Explorer 8 now.

Finally the list of fully compatible websites with IE8 is available Microsoft and it also comes as part of Windows update.

There is one feature that I would love Internet Explorer 8 to adapt is the pop-at-bottom progress bar in the Opera Browser. It shows all the information about the loading page like, how total data is there to download, how much is done, the total time the browser has taken loading this page and a graphical progress bar.

Windows 7 Release Candidate 7057... Leaked Again!

News... on the March!!!

Windows 7 (Possibly RC) 7057 is leaked on Bittorrent... again. It's the second leak as far as I remember as the first one was 7048. I do not think that this is a Release Candidate whereby most people are suspecting that it is. Well, "Search and Ye Shall Find" OR "Wait and Ye Shall Find it" (On the Market) OR vice versa :-)

Now, Microsoft is about the aesthetics of the newly bred Windows, like Themes, Wallpapers, Pictures and also some little tweaking. Anyway, we will have to admit that the User Interface is already great looking.

Personally, I am continuously using Windows 7 Beta 1 7000 since it was released in January (and I also remember how Microsoft download site was flooded with downloaders). Now, in fact, Windows 7 has become my default Operating System at home and on my notebook.

One thing is for sure that the performance of this Windows is going to leave Vista and even XP far behind.

We'll look deeper into it in the near future when Microsoft officially launches it.

Internet Explorer 8 is Good to Go by 9 a.m.

Finally the wait is going to be over and Microsoft is saying that the final version of Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 is ready to be available for download on March the 19th that is today. Wow! I have personally experienced IE 8 as part of the Windows 7 beta testing and found it outstanding as compared with it's own predecessors (not with others like Firefox :P).



With that said, Internet Explorer will be built in Windows 7 when the RC gets released during April 2009.

For those who do not wish it yet will be able to remove Internet Explorer from Windows 7 if they wish so.

You can post your comments and reviews about your experience.