Mandriva Linux 2009.1 Released

This is definitely a great time for Linux users all over the world. After Canonical showed off their latest Ubuntu distribution, it's time for Mandriva to take the spotlight. Yes, Mandriva 2009.1, also known as Spring, was released today after two Alphas, one Beta and two release candidates. There are a lot of exciting new features that will please all of Mandriva's fans and surely make others take a second look at what this distribution has to offer. Mandriva 2009.1 can be downloaded for free either as a CD, DVD (i586 and x86_64) or a Dual CD.

"Mandriva announces today the launch of the final version of Mandriva Linux 2009 Spring. Quicker, easier and even more secure this new version brings you a host of innovative functionalities. The Mandriva Linux 2009 Spring range is now available in the office format which corresponds to your choice, KDE, GNOME or LXDE and all this in more than 70 languages. Mandriva Linux 2009 Spring not only offers you the most advanced and easy to use Linux operating system on the market but also integrates a list of some of the most complete software." was stated in the official release announcement.

 

source: www.softpedia.com

Windows 7 RC AutoPlay/AutoRun RIP

With the latest move on the evolution from Beta to Release Candidate Microsoft is proving that it's not all about adding features when it comes to advancing the development process of Windows 7. Applying “the end justifies the means” tactic Microsoft has amputated the AutoPlay/AutoRun feature from the upcoming Windows 7 Release Candidate development milestone, arguing a stringent need to counter malicious code behavior and increase the security of Windows users. For the time being only Windows 7 will feature the AutoPlay changes in relation to USB devices, but the Redmond company plans to extend the security mitigation to Windows Vista and Windows XP.

“Windows will no longer display the AutoRun task in the AutoPlay dialog for devices that are not removable optical media (CD/DVD.) because there is no way to identify the origin of these entries. Was it put there by the IHV, a person, or a piece of malware? Removing this AutoRun task will block the current propagation method abused by malware and help customers stay protected. People will still be able to access all of the other AutoPlay tasks that are installed on their computer,” explained Arik Cohen, a program manager on the Core User Experience team.

Jimmy Kuo and Huzefa Mogri from the Microsoft Malware Protection Center explained that Microsoft had come to detect on average at least a quarter of a million malware samples that made use of the AutoPlay functionality in order to spread through USB devices. Such malicious software is capable of altering or writing a malformed autorun.inf file on the USB in order to trick victims into executing malware instead of performing mundane tasks such as viewing the contents of removable media.

The Conficker worm is the most recent example of malware that has leveraged AutoRun as an infection vector. An infected USB device displays two “Open folder to view files” options in the AutoPlay dialog box, just as in the screenshot on the left. Still, the first, residing under the Install or run program, actually executes Conficker, and does not allow the users to view the contents of the USB. This issue was reported even in Windows 7 Beta back in January 2009. Starting with Windows 7, the AutoRun functionality will be blocked entirely for USB devices. End users will only get the General options when inserting a USB drive, with tasks provided by the Windows operating system.

“CDs and DVDs (including CD emulation), where the IHV specified AutoRun task authored during manufacturing, will continue to provide the AutoRun choice allowing customers to run the specified software,” Cohen added. “IHVs of generic mass storage devices should expect that people will browse the contents of the device to launch any software. The new behavior will allow customers to continue to use AutoPlay (including all Windows and ISV installed tasks) to access their media and devices while not being presented with tasks from malware. Additionally, device classes, such as portable media players and cell phones, now support Device Stage on Windows 7. Device Stage offers the IHV a multifunction alternative to AutoPlay where they can present links to software and common tasks, and provides additional features as you use the device.”

 

source: www.softpedia.com

NVIDIA working on GeForce GTX 285 for Mac Pro

NVIDIA is working on a high-end video card for the Mac Pro, the GeForce GTX 285 Mac Edition, according to AppleInsider. The company has not yet disclosed complete details, but the component will be manufactured by EVGA and offer two dual-link DVI ports instead of a Mini DisplayPort. The GTX 285 allegedly will match the performance of its Windows variant, which features 240 processor cores and 1GB of GDDR3 memory with the standard configuration.

NVIDIA also offers the Quadro FX 4800 for the Mac Pro, with 1.5GB of onboard memory but only 192 graphics cores. The Quadro model also offers dual-link DVI connectors for a pair of 30-inch displays. Both products support the company's CUDA technology and the upcoming OpenCL standard that will be utilized in Mac OS X Snow Leopard.
Pricing information for the GTX 285 remains unknown, although the Windows version carries a retail price of $400. The card should ship sometime in June.

 

source: www.macnn.com

Fedora 11 Preview Launched

The Fedora Project Team announced yesterday, April 28th, the release of Fedora 11 (Leonidas) Preview. There are quite a lot of changes and updates since the Beta. First of all, to the relief of many and probably due to the mostly negative reactions, there is a new wallpaper! The Greek Acropolis one that was default in the Beta is not even available as an option anymore. Instead, the new one features a flock of birds in flight on top of a dark blue background with wavy ribbons. Definitely a better choice and in tone with the new boot menu and loading screen.

Fedora 11 Preview comes with the latest and greatest desktop environments. If in the Beta there was only GNOME 2.26 RC, now GNOME 2.26.1 deservingly took its place. KDE fans also have reasons to rejoice, as Fedora 11 Preview defaults to KDE 4.2.2.

Highlights of Fedora 11 Preview GNOME & KDE:

Firefox 3.1b3
Palimpsest Disk Utility 0.3
Pidgin 2.5.5
GNOME 2.26.1
GIMP 2.6.6
Nautilus 2.6.2
KDE 4.2.2
K3B 1.0.5
KOffice Workspace 1.6.3
KAddressBook 4.1
Dolphin 1.2.1
Konversation 1.1

 

source: www.softpedia.com

iTunes 8.2 Mentions Blu-ray, Mac OS X 10.5.7

The pre-release build of iTunes has been handed to devs along with the fourth beta of the iPhone OS 3.0

Apple, as you may have heard, has recently equipped developers with new betas of the iPhone OS 3.0 and SDK, as well as a pre-release build of iTunes 8.2, whose release notes and UI changes include a few curious accounts, as well as predictable ones.
World of Apple has posted tantalizing screenshots (two of which we took the liberty of including in this piece) of the changes occurring in iTunes 8.2. Pointing out that the update is required to install the latest iPhone OS 3.0 release, the source touts iTunes 8.2 as “largely very similar to 8.1,” yet still worth looking at thanks to a minor, but significant set of changes.

First off, the site outlines that iTunes 8.2 Pre-release includes a reference to Blu-ray, commenting that it's “possibly a sign of playback capabilities in iTunes 8.2.” We wouldn't dismiss, nor deny this possibility, but Apple has been very reluctant in supporting Blu-ray. However, like any company, Apple may be prompted to address demand. It all depends on whether there really is any demand for the high-def format among Apple community members or not.

A second new find in the pre-release iTunes 8.2 reveals that the Sync feature (for an iPhone or iPod) in iTunes 8.2 now adds the ability to encrypt backups. Fair enough – you can never have too much security these days.

Lastly, World of Apple notes, “when syncing an iPhone, the Notes section in the Info tab now requires Mac OS X 10.5.7, suggesting an imminent release.”

This third finding (although noteworthy) isn't all that surprising, really. A comet hitting the Earth is just as good of an indication that the 10.5.7 release is imminent, this time around. But hey, it's still good news.

 

source: www.softpedia.com

Microsoft looking to launch “Pink” as iPhone rival on Verizon's network

Microsoft Corp. plans to take aim at Apple's iPhone with its own version of a touch-screen handset that could launch on Verizon's network sometime early in 2010, according to a report published just minutes ago by the Wall Street Journal.

Citing people familiar with the matter, the financial publication said the two companies are currently discussing possible terms of the deal. It adds that Microsoft has been working on its own touch-screen smartphone hardware under the code-name "Pink."

The project would reportedly leverage and then extend upon Microsoft's existing Windows Mobile operating system, adding new capabilities that would undoubtedly mirror many of Apple's advances in the mobile space, including the Windows Marketplace for Mobile -- a clone of Apple's App Store.

"While Microsoft is involved in the design of the phone's software and hardware, a third-party is expected to make the device, just as Google Inc. has worked closely with partners to make handsets based on its Android operating system," the report says. No further details were reported.

 

source: www.appleinsider.com

… and Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 SP2 reaches RTM

Microsoft has finally finished and compiled the RTM version of Windows Vista SP2 and Windows Server 2008. The full version string being 6.0.6006.18005, which company officials have confirmed is the final RTM version of SP2.
Currently circulating around popular BitTorrent websites, the final version is available in 32 and 64 bit versions. Microsoft is expected to announce public availability later this week.

 

source: www.neowin.net

Office 2007 SP2 goes RTM

Microsoft released the second service pack for Microsoft Office 2007

It's time for the next stage in the evolution of the Office 2007 System. Microsoft will release Office 2007 Service Pack 2 today, April 28, 2009. The Redmond company has already announced the availability of the service pack.

Still, it is bound that Office 2007 SP2 RTM (release to manufacturing) will not take all that long to propagate through Microsoft's servers, and that the gold version of the service pack will go live later today. Service pack 2 for Office 2007 is applauded by Microsoft as being a significant stability, performance and interoperability upgrade.

“Users should notice the improved performance and stability of Outlook, better charting functionality in Excel, and more control over the appearance of SmartArt graphics,” explained Jane Liles, group program manager, Office Sustained Engineering. “On the server side, IT professionals will notice several enhancements to the security and performance of SharePoint Server 2007, including support for read-only content databases, improvements to forms-based authentication, and an STSADM command-line utility that enables administrators to scan sites that use the variations feature for errors. SharePoint Server will also feature better support for newer versions of the Firefox browser.”

Liles claims that users can download SP2 for Office 2007 right away, but this is not the case. The Office 2007 Service Pack 2 bits have undoubtedly already been released to web, but it will take some time for the downloads to become available to end users. In addition to releasing Office 2007 on the Microsoft Download Center, the Redmond company plans to serve the service pack through Windows update in three months. Before Office 2007 SP2 will go live through WU and Automatic Updates, Microsoft will make sure to provide a 30 days’ notice.

“Having a wider array of file-format choices should really benefit customers. With SP2, Office 2007 now has built-in support for Open XML, ODF and PDF, along with the dozen or so other formats that were already supported in Office 2007,” Liles added. “In addition to the support for additional file formats, SP2 also includes the Open XML Format External File Converter. This allows developers to make any third-party document format a first-class citizen in Office. This means Office will support most government-preferred formats, and can easily be made to support any others that come along.”

edit: The English version is now available via windows update.

source: www.softpedia.com

Apple rumored in talks for Verizon budget phone, media tablet

The heat is stepping up for AT&T with word of negotiations to bring an Apple budget phone and a media tablet to Verizon, one of which may show its face within just a few months.

Already rumored chatting with Apple over an iPhone for 2010, Verizon is now claimed by BusinessWeek to have been in discussions for at least six months to bring the two mystery devices to its network, one of which could be ready as early as the summer while both are reportedly in the prototype stage.

The first is simply characterized as an "iPhone lite" and would be a physically smaller, thinner and feature-reduced version of Apple's distinctive handset. It would achieve the effect by using a system-on-a-chip -- a processor that combines its necessary graphics core, controllers and other components on a single chip package -- and would let Apple "blow away" the profit margins on the existing iPhone as well as the Verizon-exclusive BlackBerry Storm, according to one of the magazine's sources.

The second device is potentially more revolutionary and appears to be the tablet-like device first leaked by AppleInsider a year and a half ago. It's envisioned as a "media pad" with HD video, music and photos, but it would also allow calls over Wi-Fi. Purportedly, it's smaller than the Amazon Kindle in overall size but has a larger touchscreen, suggesting the absence of a physical keyboard. One of the tipsters also believes it may use the same system-on-a-chip technology as the mini iPhone to keep costs down.

A description such as this matches more than one report of Apple ordering batches of 10-inch touchscreens from Taiwan. Whatever its actual features, the purported eyewitness of a prototype tablet is excited about it and envisions Verizon dominating a relatively undeveloped segment overnight.

"The media pad category might go to Verizon," the viewer says. "We are talking about a device where people will say, 'Damn, why didn't we do this?' Apple is probably going to define the damn category."

While the accuracy of the product descriptions isn't known, Verizon's wireless chief Lowell McAdam has recently confirmed that he has spoken with Apple's Steve Jobs. The iPhone maker's co-founder is rumored to have been directly involved with the negotiations and, supposedly, would have already talked with McAdam about at least the economy "iPhone-like" device.
Either potentially flies in the face of Apple's own public statements on its support for Verizon's network, which until its move to 4G won't be interoperable with AT&T's. On the subject of a CDMA iPhone, Apple COO and acting CEO Tim Cook swatted aside the possibility by claiming there's no long-term life in the format and that it made the prospect of selling one device worldwide difficult. The executive also praised the existing relationship with AT&T.

Still, it's difficult at this stage to determine how much of even Apple's public statements are accurate. The company has been known in the past to use dismissive talk as a feint until a product is ready, such as for the first video-capable iPod and the original iPhone. The magazine also speculates that Apple may use talks with Verizon as a bargaining chip to squeeze more concessions out of AT&T, which itself has been pushing for iPhone exclusivity through 2011.

Appropriately, the report has any possible Apple-Verizon deal relatively distant and maintains that the discussions only got hot in the recent past -- complicating any predictions about a likely release date.

 

source: www.appleinsider.com

Firefox 3.5 Beta 4 is ready for download

Firefox 3.5 Beta 4 is now available for download. The past week, as Mozilla made available Firefox 3.0.9, I was telling you that Beta 4 for what used to be Firefox 3.1 was just around the corner. Mozilla was in fact aiming to get the browser snapshot out by the end of the past week, and it managed to keep the slip down to a minimum. Users can now grab the fully fledged Firefox 3.5 Beta 4, offered in no less than 70 localized versions for just as many languages. Concomitantly with the release of the latest codename Shiretoko build, Mozilla also delivered a fresh security and stability update to version 3.0, namely Firefox 3.0.10.

“Firefox 3.5 Beta 4 is a public preview release intended for developer testing and community feedback. It includes many new features as well as improvements to performance, web compatibility, and speed. We recommend that you read the release notes and known issues before installing this beta,” revealed Mozilla's user experience lead Mike Beltzner. “Firefox 3.5 (formerly known as Firefox 3.1) Beta 4 is now available for download. This milestone is focused on testing the core functionality provided by many new features and changes to the platform scheduled for Firefox 3.5.”

Firefox 3.5 Beta 4 is designed as the successor of Firefox 3.1 Beta 3. Mozilla changed the version number earlier this year in order to emphasize that Firefox 3.5 is in fact a major new version of its open-source browser. In addition to coming in no less than 70 localized versions, Firefox features a number of enhancements including improved tools designed to offer users a higher level of control of their private data (Private Browsing Mode).

In addition, Beltzner enumerated the following changes: “Better performance and stability with the new TraceMonkey JavaScript engine. The ability to provide Location Aware Browsing using web standards for geolocation. Support for native JSON, and web worker threads. Improvements to the Gecko layout engine, including speculative parsing for faster content rendering. Support for new web technologies such as: HTML5 <video> and <audio> elements, downloadable fonts and other new CSS properties, JavaScript query selectors, HTML5 offline data storage for applications, and SVG transforms.”

Concomitantly with Firefox 3.5 Beta 4 Mozilla has also made available Firefox 3.0.10. The update, coming just a week after the release of Firefox 3.0.9, is set up to plug a Critical security vulnerability: “Crash in nsTextFrame::ClearTextRun()” Mozilla explained.

 

source: www.softpedia.com

Samsung I7500 with OLED touchscreen powered by Android

Anticipated for months, Samsung's first Android phone is finally a (paper) reality after being flushed through the rumor mill just hours ago. Launching "in major European countries from June," the 11.9-mm slim quad-band GSM, tri-band 7.2Mbps HSDPA (900/1700/2100MHz) candybar packs a 3.2-inch, 320 x 480 pixel AMOLED touchscreen, WiFi, GPS, 5 megapixel camera with Power LED, 1,500mAh battery, 8GB of storage (plus MicroSD expansion for up to 32GB more), and a standard 3.5mm headset jack.

April 27, 2009, Seoul, Korea - Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., a leading mobile phone provider, today unveiled the I7500, its first Android-powered mobile phone. With a launch of I7500, Samsung became the first company among the global top three mobile phone manufacturers to unveil an Android-powered phone.

"Samsung is among the earliest members of the Open Handset Alliance and has been actively moving forward to introduce the most innovative Android mobile phone," said JK Shin, Executive Vice President and Head of Mobile Communication Division in Samsung Electronics. "With Samsung's accumulated technology leadership in mobile phone industry and our consistent strategy to support every existing operating system, I believe that Samsung provides the better choices and benefits to our consumers", he added.

The Samsung I7500 is a cutting-edge smartphone, featuring a 3.2" AMOLED full touch screen and 7.2Mbps HSDPA and WiFi connectivity, giving users access to Google™ Mobile services and full web browsing at blazing speeds.

The Samsung I7500 offers users access to the full suite of Google services, including Google Search™, Google Maps™, Gmail™, YouTube™, Google Calendar™, and Google Talk™. The integrated GPS receiver enables the comprehensive use of Google Maps features, such as My Location, Google Latitude, Street View, local search and detailed route description. Hundreds of other applications are available in Android Market. For example, the application Wikitude, a mobile travel guide, allows consumers to access details of unknown sights via location-based Wikipedia articles.

Based on Samsung's proven product leadership, Samsung I7500 comes with latest multimedia features. The large and vivid 3.2"AMOLED display ensures the brilliant representation of multimedia content and enjoyable full touch mobile experience. Along with supporting a 5-megapixel camera and various multimedia codec formats, the I7500 also provides a long enough battery life (1500mAh) and generous memory capacity up to 40GB (Internal memory: 8GB, External memory: Up to 32GB) to enjoy all the applications and multimedia content. The phone also boasts its slim and compact design with mere 11.9mm thickness.

The Samsung I7500 will be available in major European countries from June, 2009.

HSDPA 7.2Mbps / HSUPA 5.76Mbps (900 / 1700/ 2100MHz)
EDGE / GPRS (850/ 900/1800/1900)
OS
Android
Display
3.2" HVGA(320x480) AMOLED
Camera
5 MP Camera (Auto Focus), Power LED
Video / Audio
Video: MPEG4, H.263, H.264, WMV
Audio: MP3, AAC, AAC+, e-AAC+, WMA, RA
Value Added
Features
Full Web Browser Google Search, Maps, Gmail,
YouTube, Calendar, Google Talk, Android Market
Connectivity
Bluetooth® 2.0, USB 2.0, WiFi, MicroUSB, 3.5mm ear jack
Memory
Internal memory: 8GB
External memory: Micro SD (Up to 32GB)
Battery
1500 mAh
Size
115 x 56 x 11.9mm

* Google, Google Search, Google Maps, Gmail, YouTube, Google Calendar, Google Talk are trademarks of Google Inc.

 

source: www.engadget.com www.samsung.com

Microsoft releases IE8 language packs

Microsoft has finally released language packs for the following languages:

* ENU - English
* ARA - Arabic
* BSC - Bosnian (Cyrillic)
* BSB - Bosnian (Latin)
* BRG - Bulgarian
* CAT - Catalan
* CHS - Chinese (Simplified)
* CHT - Chinese (Traditional)
* ZHH - Chinese (Hong Kong)
* HRV - Croatian
* CSY - Czech
* DAN - Danish
* NLD - Dutch
* ETI - Estonian
* FIN - Finnish
* FRA - French
* DEU - German
* ELL - Greek
* HEB - Hebrew
* HIN - Hindi
* HUN - Hungarian
* ITA - Italian
* JPN - Japanese
* KOR - Korean
* LVI - Latvian
* LTH - Lithuanian
* MKI - Macedonian
* NOR - Norwegian (Bokmal)
* PLK - Polish
* PTB - Portuguese (Brazil)
* PTG - Portuguese (Portugal)
* ROM - Romanian
* RUS - Russian
* SRB - Serbian (Cyrillic)
* SRL - Serbian (Latin)
* SKY - Slovakian
* SLV - Slovenian
* ESN - Spanish
* SVE - Swedish
* THA - Thai
* TRK - Turkish
* UKR - Ukrainian
* VIT – Vietnamese

The languages listed above are available in 32bit (x86 on the download page) and 64bit. To install these language packs, you must the corresponding OS language pack installed. Click here to visit the Microsoft.com Download center to start downloading now.

Download: Internet Explorer 8 Language Packs for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008

 

source: www.microsoft.com

Microsoft preparing to launch Kumo on June 2nd?

Remember all of the buzz a few months ago regarding Microsoft's upcoming release of its rebranded online search engine dubbed "Kumo"? It appears as if Microsoft is finally going to be showing the world what it has been working on over the past few months this June.

Despite the fact that we still don't know what the actual rebrand name is going to be, there is going to be something big happening on June 2nd at SMX Advanced 2009 in Seattle. One of our forum members recently visited Microsoft's campus and noted that there were LCD TV's displaying a countdown with a preview of codename Kumo.

From what we've calculated the countdown is right on target with the keynote session at SMX Advanced 2009 featuring Microsoft's Online Services Division, Dr. Qi Lu. This is the first time that Dr. Qi Lu has given a presentation to the search marketing community since joining Microsoft, and given the fact that Microsoft is counting down to his keynote there is surely going to be a big announcement.

Maybe Microsoft has finally picked out a name for its online search engine, who knows. But we're definitely going to be seeing something on June 2nd. Possibly even a public preview as some sources close to the company have hinted at.

 

source: www.neowin.net

More Windows 7 Release Candidate details revealed

Just a day after Paul Thurrott revealed 'Windows XP Mode' for Windows 7, he has come out and posted a few more interesting details about the upcoming release.

Here are the following pieces of information he revealed, which he's "pretty sure this is all new info."

"AAC/H.264/MPEG-2 support will not be provided to Windows 7 Home Basic and Starter customers. That functionality will only go out to Home Premium, Professional, and Enterprise/Ultimate users. But it looks like there will be add-ons made available (free or paid, it's not clear) to users of low-end Windows 7 versions.

Maximum RAM. All 32-bit versions of Windows 7 "support" 4 GB of RAM, of course. But if you go 64-bit, you can add up to 8 GB in Home Basic and Starter, 16 GB in Home Premium, and 192 GB in Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate.

Windows Media Player Remote Media Experience (RME) is not available in Windows 7 Home Basic or Starter. However, all versions can share media over a home network.

All Windows 7 SKUs support 20 simultaneous SMB connections. This works out to 10 users, apparently.

XP Mode (formerly Virtual PC). As we first revealed yesterday, only Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate are licensed to install XP Mode."

source: www.neowin.net

Snow Leopard to offer screen recording via QuickTime X Player

With the introduction of Snow Leopard, QuickTime Player will assume more of a utilitarian role, with screen recording features reportedly joining the software's exiting repertoire of basic audio and video capture capabilities.
People familiar with the latest betas of Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard have been reporting over the past several weeks the addition of a 'Screen recording' option in the File menu of the new Quick Time X Player due to ship with the OS overhaul later this summer.
Similar in many ways to a feature long offered by Ambrosia Software through its Snapz Pro X utility, the option will allow users to capture in motion video their Mac's screen -- essentially video screenshots.
Such a feature will be particularly useful for software developers and educators, as it will simplify the process of creating video tutorials, software demonstrations, and anything else best captured in live motion as opposed to still shots.
When selecting the screen recording option under recent pre-release distributions of Snow Leopard, a recording interface prompts the user to begin a video capture then disappears. A small footprint controller in the upper-right hand side of the Mac OS X menubar can be used to end the video capture.
While its unclear if the feature is fully functional in build 10A335 released Thursday, it wasn't in earlier builds, often creating an empty .mov file, those familiar with the software say.

 

source: www.appleinsider.com

'Windows XP Mode' revealed for Windows 7

Remember that major announcement that was planned for Windows 7 a while back? Well, it's finally here, revealed on Paul Thurrott's Windows SuperSite. So, what is it? It's a feature of Windows 7 called 'Windows XP Mode'.

So, what exactly is this new mode? As you can probably tell from the name, it's a method to provide better compatibility in Windows 7, and to pull it off with as little trouble as possible. It's also dubbed XPM, or formerly Virtual XP. According to Thurrott, "XPM is built on the next generation Microsoft Virtual PC 7 product line, which requires processor-based virtualization support (Intel and AMD) to be present and enabled on the underlying PC, much like Hyper-V, Microsoft's server-side virtualization platform. However, XPM is not Hyper-V for the client. It is instead a host-based virtualization solution like Virtual PC; the hardware assistance requirement suggests this will be the logical conclusion of this product line from a technological standpoint. That is, we fully expect future client versions of Windows to include a Hyper-V-based hypervisor."

XP Mode will bring a Virtual PC-based environment, as well as a fully licensed version of Windows XP SP3, free for all owners of Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise and Ultimate editions. This is good from a commercial point of view. Earlier, Microsoft could happily say that Windows 7 was just as compatible with software as Windows Vista, but now they can add 100% compatibility with Windows XP, too. So, for you IE6 users, you're in luck. Do not expect this to run like a proper Virtual PC; that being, a separate operating system running within a window. XP Mode will integrate itself with the Windows 7 desktop, and so the older software will run just like a normal Windows 7 application. Essentially, this is two operating systems running under an updated desktop.

 

source: www.neowin.net

Microsoft Reports Bad Third-Quarter Results

Lower operating expenses narrow revenue gap in difficult economic environment.

REDMOND, Wash. — Apr. 23, 2009 — Microsoft Corp. today announced revenue of $13.65 billion for the third quarter ended March 31, 2009, a 6% decline from the same period of the prior year. Operating income, net income and diluted earnings per share for the quarter were $4.44 billion, $2.98 billion and $0.33 per share, which represented an increase of 3% and declines of 32% and 30%, respectively, when compared with the prior year period.

The financial results for the third quarter ended March 31, 2009, included $290 million of severance charges related to the previously announced plan to reduce up to 5,000 positions and $420 million of impairments to investments. Combined, these two charges reduced earnings per share by $0.06.

Revenue in Client, Microsoft Business Division, and Server & Tools was negatively impacted by weakness in the global PC and Server markets. Revenue from enterprise customers remained stable during the quarter.

“With our continued R&D investment and our broad suite of products and services, we remain in a great position to compete and gain share in the marketplace,” said Kevin Turner, chief operating officer at Microsoft. During the quarter, Microsoft released the beta version of the Windows 7 operating system, which remains on track for a fiscal year 2010 launch. Development milestones were achieved on other products including Microsoft Office 2010, Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows Mobile.

“While market conditions remained weak during the quarter, I was pleased with the organization’s ability to offset revenue pressures with the swift implementation of cost-savings initiatives,” said Chris Liddell, chief financial officer at Microsoft. “We expect the weakness to continue through at least the next quarter.”

source: www.microsoft.com

Windows 7 RC build 7100 leaks

Just a day after information on Windows 7 Build 7100 made it into the wild, the actual bits for the fully fledged Release Candidate of the next iteration of the Windows client have been leaked and are now available for download via torrent trackers. Meanwhile, Microsoft has yet to confirm or deny Build 7100 as the RC of Windows 7, but Steven Sinofsky, senior vice president, Windows and Windows Live Engineering Group, did explain that the radio silence from Redmond was catalyzed by the amount of work and focus on the development process. But while the Redmond company is keeping mum on Windows 7 Build 7100, any user with a BitTorrent client can already start playing with the Release Candidate bits.

So far only the 32-bit version of Windows 7 RC Build 6.1.7100.0.winmain_win7rc .090421-1700 was leaked to torrent websites. The download weighs in at 2.35 GB and is available as an ISO image that has to be burnt on a DVD. As was the case with the vast majority of previous pre-release development milestones of Windows 7, the leaked RC Build 71000 offers the Ultimate SKU of the operating system.

Testers can continue using the Windows 7 Beta Build 7000 product keys in order to activate the RC Build 7100 bits.
Microsoft has already managed to confirm, at least unofficially, that the RC for Windows 7 is just around the corner. The Redmond company's partners have already been served the bits, which explains the leak. Next in line to get their hands on Windows 7 Release Candidate Build 7100 are MSDN and TechNet subscribers, but not just yet. Downloads of Windows 7 RC Build 7100 are planned to go live on May 5, 2009. Hopefully, Microsoft has learned its lesson with Windows 7 Beta back in January 2009, and already has the necessary infrastructure in place for the public testing phase to kick off in full throttle.

 

source: www.softpedia.com

Nintendo's Game Boy turns 20

In case you hadn't heard, Nintendo's trend-setting handheld, the Game Boy, just had its 20th birthday -- and that's no small thing for a game console. We won't bore you with stories from our childhood about wasted time and missed opportunities spent chasing the dragon that was Tetris, but we will entertain the hell out of you with this vintage ad touting the system's launch from way back in the totally excellent year of 1989.

 

source: www.engadget.com

Ubuntu 9.04 Released: The Jaunty Jackalope

After six alphas, a beta and a release candidate, we are pleased to announce that Ubuntu 9.04 is here, today (April 23rd), available on mirrors worldwide (see the download links at the end of the article), and it's our greatest pleasure to introduce you guys to the highlights of this new release dubbed Jaunty Jackalope. It all began on February 20th, when Mark Shuttleworth announced the Jaunty Jackalope, also known as Ubuntu 9.04, the next major release of the popular Ubuntu Linux operating system. Ubuntu 9.04 is also the tenth release of the Ubuntu OS.

“With every release, we see Ubuntu Desktop Edition make significant steps forward in appealing to mainstream computer users. With access to the latest office productivity suite, support for Skype and Adobe Flash, and faster boot times, we're confident that Ubuntu 9.04 Desktop Edition will see more people join millions of others and make the switch to an open platform." - said Jane Silber, COO, Canonical.

Under the hood of Ubuntu 9.04 (Jaunty Jackalope):
· GNOME 2.26.1 desktop environment
· Linux kernel 2.6.28.9
· EXT4 filesystem support
· X.Org 7.4
· X.Org server 1.6
· Mesa 3D DRI 7.4
· New notification framework
· OpenOffice.org 3.0.1
· Mozilla Firefox 3.0.9
· Compiz Fusion 0.8.2
· Improved boot speed
· Wacom tablet hotplugging

The Ubuntu 9.04 feature tour:

· Improved boot times! How? Through various tweaks and improvements;
· New bootsplash - A smaller and slicker loading bar and logo replaced the old splash;
· New login screen - Black with a big 3D Ubuntu logo on the bottom-right corner login screen
· Two new wallpapers - the default one has swirly shapes on an orange-brown background and the other is brighter and has a bubbly design; also, a smooth fading transition effect will occur when changing wallpapers;
· Three new themes - New Wave, Dust and Dust Sand are sure to please most users;
· New timezone map - It was redrawn and provides a more efficient way of choosing your timezone;
· Automatic keyboard detection - The Ubiquity installer will try to guess the keyboard layout that you're using;
· New notification framework - Semi-transparent black boxes will pop up to provide a quick look for different events: updates, network availability, new emails, instant messages, etc.;
· Improved terminal - When you open an application through the terminal and try to close the terminal, a warning will pop up;
· Improved screenshot utility - differentiating between the two ways of invoking it (either by opening it from the Main Menu or by pressing the Print Screen);
· Computer Janitor - Ubuntu now has a system cleaner that will get rid of all the cruft;
· Brasero - the default CD/DVD burning tool;
· Amazing 3D desktop effects - Compiz Fusion was updated to properly support the GNOME desktop environment;
· PST support - in Evolution Email client;
· PulseAudio - as the default audio input/output framework and brings a redesigned volume control;
· New software updates notifications - the Software Updates window will now pop-up when important updates are available; after installing them, if neccessary, you will also be prompted, by another pop-up... to reboot the computer;
· Logout/Shutdown/Restart countdown timers - After selecting one of these functions, you will have 60 seconds to change your mind;
· Better Wacom tablets support - They will now be automatically recognized and enabled.

Video performance is another area in which Ubuntu 9.04 has been improved. The -ati driver will now use EXA acceleration by default, thus fixing many display and rendering issues. The newest R6xx/R7xx family of video cards will now benefit from proper 2D acceleration support; 3D acceleration will be supported on all models up to R5xx. The -fglrx proprietary driver was updated and is available for those who need 3D acceleration on the R6xx/R7xx family of cards. Drivers for the Intel cards now use GEM for improved memory management. Optional DRI2 and UXA acceleration architecture are also included. Also, several video cards will now make use of free drivers.

On the server side, Ubuntu 9.04's features will certainly stir up some interest. The devcot-postfix package brings an easy-to-deploy email server stack with support for SMTP, POP3 and IMAP together with TLS and SASL. Cloud computing, one of the most discussed topics these days, is now easy to experiment with in Ubuntu 9.04 Server Edition. How? Through Eucalyptus, an open-source technology that is offered as a preview in Jaunty; Eucalyptus allows you to test your private Amazon EC2 API-matching Cloud on your own servers. Virtual machines can be dynamically created and multiple clusters can be configured into a single Cloud platform. An Elastic block storage (EBS) equivalent is also available, as is a storage manager that is S3 compatible.

Netbook users, rejoice! Ubuntu Netbook Remix 9.04 is now officially a part of the Ubuntu family and supports all important notebook models: Asus EeePC, Acer Aspire One, Samsung NC10 or Dell Mini9. It also provides a new, more user-friendly interface, faster boot times and up-to-date applications.

 

source: www.softpedia.com

Apple Reports Record March Quarter Results

CUPERTINO, California—April 22, 2009—Apple® today announced financial results for its fiscal 2009 second quarter ended March 28, 2009. The Company posted revenue of $8.16 billion and a net quarterly profit of $1.21 billion, or $1.33 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $7.51 billion and net quarterly profit of $1.05 billion, or $1.16 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 36.4 percent, up from 32.9 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 46 percent of the quarter’s revenue.

In accordance with the subscription accounting treatment required by GAAP, the Company recognizes revenue and cost of goods sold for iPhone™ and Apple TV® over their estimated economic lives. Adjusting GAAP sales and product costs to eliminate the impact of subscription accounting, the corresponding non-GAAP measures* for the quarter are $9.06 billion of “Adjusted Sales” and $1.66 billion of “Adjusted Net Income.”

Apple sold 2.22 million Macintosh® computers during the quarter, representing a three percent unit decline from the year-ago quarter. The Company sold 11.01 million iPods during the quarter, representing three percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter. Quarterly iPhone units sold were 3.79 million representing 123 percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter.

“We are extremely pleased to report the best non-holiday quarter revenue and earnings in our history,” said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO. “Apple’s financial condition remains very robust, with almost $29 billion in cash and marketable securities on our balance sheet. Looking ahead to the third fiscal quarter of 2009, we expect revenue in the range of about $7.7 billion to $7.9 billion and we expect diluted earnings per share in the range of about $.95 to $1.00.”

 

source: www.apple.com

Windows 7 RC compiled, build 7100

Company insiders and Wzor have confirmed that 7100 is the official Windows 7 RC build.

7100.0.winmain_win7rc.090421-1700 was compiled on Tuesday and has reportedly been handed out to OEM partners and TAP gold customers. Earlier this month we reported that build 7077 had leaked online and that Microsoft were pushing towards a 7100 RC release.

Microsoft recently published details about a public RC due for May 5th. We expect MSDN/TechNet customers to receive the bits within the next week.

According to reports, 7115.0.winmain.090421-1650 is the latest build internally at the time of writing.

 

source: www.neowin.net

Bluetooth 3.0 gives you great speed

The next version of the Bluetooth short-range wireless protocol officially launched this week, promising an eightfold speed increase to boost the low power protocol into the same performance range as WiFi wireless networking, while allowing Bluetooth 3.0 devices to fall back to lower power mode when not actively transferring data.

Presenting at its annual All Hands Meeting in Tokyo this week, the Bluetooth SIG -- the special interest group that oversees the development of Bluetooth standards and licensing -- formally adopted Bluetooth Core Specification Version 3.0 High Speed (HS), or Bluetooth 3.0.

In addition to better power savings and unicast connectionless data, the new specification features the ability to use alternative radio antennas, including an 802.11 Protocol Adaptation Layer (PAL) that will increase throughput of Bluetooth data transfers to approximately 24 Mbps, up from 3Mbps in the current 2.1 EDR version. The extra speed comes from using the much faster but less power efficient 802.11 radio available in devices that support both Bluetooth and WiFi wireless networking.

Put more simply, any two devices that feature both Bluetooth 3.0 and an 802.11 wireless chip will pair with each other over Bluetooth but then perform the bulk of their data transfers over the faster WiFi protocol using a specialized 802.11 connection. When the speed of a transfer becomes overkill, the connection will drop down to normal operation on a Bluetooth radio for optimal power management and performance.

"This is the wireless technology equivalent of low hanging fruit,'" said Michael Foley, Ph.D., executive director, the Bluetooth SIG. "What we’re doing is taking classic Bluetooth connections -- using Bluetooth protocols, profiles, security and other architectural elements -- and allowing it to jump on top of the already present 802.11 radio, when necessary, to send bulky entertainment data, faster."

This move will be a boon to traditional phone makers who have built their devices around the low power, limited range Bluetooth, with the protocol's support for device profiles for sync and peripheral connections. Using Bluetooth 3.0, those makers will be able to take advantage of 802.11 radios to expand their data throughput without having to implement support for WiFi networking, something even many popular or prominent phones continue to lack.

 

source: www.appleinsider.com

MacOSX: Blizzard updates WoW, resets dual-spec accounts

Blizzard Entertainment has just issued a new patch for players of its immensely popular MMORPG, World of Warcraft. The developer has posted a few notes for WoW players, revealing that those with dual-specialization will have both specs reset.

“In order to address issues with the dual talent specialization system, all players will have their talents points refunded,” Blizzard says, referring to the General changes brought by WoW Patch 3.1.1. The company adds that, “Players who have purchased dual talent specializations will have both specializations reset. Glyphs will not be affected by this reset,” according to Blizzard.

 

source: www.softpedia.com

Download Firefox 3.0.9

Firefox 3.0.9 is available for download. On April 21, 2009, Mozilla delivered the latest security and stability update for Firefox 3.0. In this regard, the latest refresh to the open-source browser resolves an issue where Firefox would lose its stored cookies due to a corrupt local database. At the same time, users will be able to now see inline image attachments in emails. Additional issues fixed involve increasing performance when submitting large forms and a problem related to new windows failing to properly come into focus.

“We strongly recommend that all Firefox users upgrade to this latest release. If you already have Firefox 3, you will receive an automated update notification within 24 to 48 hours. This update can also be applied manually by selecting “Check for Updates…” from the Help menu,” revealed Samuel Sidler, Quality Assurance engineer at Mozilla. “If you’re still using Firefox 2.0.0.x, this version is no longer supported and contains known security vulnerabilities. Please upgrade to Firefox 3.”

At the same time, Firefox 3.0.9 brings to the table patches for no less than nine critical vulnerabilities. Still, out of the whole nine, only one flaw was rated as Critical, in relation to crashes associated with memory corruption. Two out of the remaining vulnerabilities are considered as posing a High level of risk to end users, with another two just Moderate, and the rest being Low-level threats.

 

source: www.softpedia.com

Windows Live: Updates to web activities, contact importing, and more

Microsoft plans to offer 20 new web activities to add to your Windows Live profile within the next week. Currently only 12 of the "activities", which integrate your activity on other websites into the What's New feed on your Windows Live profile page, are available from third-party services such as Flickr, Twitter and StumbleUpon.

As announced by Steve Ballmer in his CES 2009 keynote, Facebook is one of the new feed partners and once you have the integration set up between your Windows Live and Facebook accounts you should see content that you post on Facebook (photos, statuses, etc) imported automatically to your What's New feed, which appears on your Windows Live profile, on your contacts' Windows Live Home page, and in selected places in their Windows Live Messenger and Hotmail services.

In a posting at the official Windows Live Wire blog, Rob Dolin gives examples of some of the other new services that can be integrated. Websites such as Digg, Last.fm and SmugMug are included in the list of web activities that will be available in the coming days, with services like Amazon and MySpace slated to appear in the second half of 2009.

The other new partners that were revealed today are services that you can import your contacts from, allowing you to add people from social networks that you use to your Windows Live contacts. Currently this service is available with Facebook and LinkedIn but from next week you will also be able to import your MySpace, Hi5, and Tagged friends, with Bebo integration also coming soon. For most of these services the process should be two-way, meaning that you can also share your Windows Live contacts with these sites. To get started just visit http://profile.live.com/Connect/ once the new integration goes live.

 

source: www.neowin.net

Apple to drop new Snow Leopard beta on developers

Apple sometime this week is expected to tap its developers to begin testing a new pre-release copy of Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, signaling a clear acceleration of the beta test process.

The Cupertino-based company issued the first external build of next-gen operating system back in June of last year but did not follow up a new distribution for more than four months. Since then, new builds have arrived every four to six weeks, on average.

Now, people familiar with the matter say Apple is gearing up to provide developers with a second build of Snow Leopard during the month of April, three weeks or so after offering up build 10A314 near the top of the month.
The target build for this week's release is said to be Mac OS X 10.6 build 10A335, which of course is always subject to change. Again, there are rumors that this new build may include some much anticipated visual tweaks to the Mac OS X interface but given that those rumors did not materialize last time, it may be safe to assume that June's Worldwide Developers Conference may be the more likely forum for these disclosures.

It's also rumored that the new Snow Leopard will incorporate a pre-release build of Apple Remote Desktop 3.3. This maintenance release to the remote administration software reportedly goes by the code-name "Hook" and was commissioned with the primary purpose of delivering compatibility with Snow Leopard, though it will also include a number of bug fixes.
Apple last provided its third-party developers with a new build of Snow Leopard on April 1st, encouraging them to focus their attention on delivering 64-bit compatibility in their third party kernel extensions.

While previewing Snow Leopard last June for the first time, the Mac maker stated that it hoped to release the software approximately one year later. However, the most recent estimates from those familiar with beta tests have suggested an August date may be more likely.

 

source: www.appleinsider.com

NVIDIA unveils Quadro FX 4800 card for Apple's Mac Pro

Filling a void for a true professional video card on the Mac platform, NVIDIA on Monday announced plans to begin shipping its Quadro FX 4800 ultra-high-end solution for the Mac Pro next month.

The $1800 card boasts 192 parallel processor cores and a massive 1.5GB frame buffer with memory bandwidth of up to 76.8 GB/sec. NVIDIA says this architecture delivers high throughput for interactive visualization of large models, high-performance for real time processing of large textures and frames, and the highest quality and resolution with full-scene ant aliasing.

Each Quadro FX 4800 also features a standard 3-pin stereo connector for true 3D stereoscopic imaging in modeling applications requiring 3D glasses, as well two dual-link DVI digital connectors capable of driving a pair of 30-inch Apple Cinema Displays.

"With its sophisticated GPU architecture and industry leading features, the Quadro FX 4800 delivers a substantial boost in graphics performance and capabilities, allowing users to continue to push the boundaries of realism and performance in markets such as: architecture, content creation, science and medicine," NVIDIA said.

 

source: www.appleinsider.com

HTC Magic Officially Comes on Vodafone on May 5

HTC Magic, the second Android-powered mobile phone, was expected to come to Vodafone in April, yet the wireless carrier is set to make the device available in the UK only on May 5. The good news here is that the Magic is already available for pre-order on the company's site, as well as through Vodafone's retail stores and by telesales.

Vodafone's first Android-powered smartphone will come in white, sporting a 3.2-inch QVGA touch screen display, a built-in accelerometer that will allow changing the view from landscape to portrait mode, and stereo Bluetooth, as well as a wide range of email options, including Google Mail, POP3 and IMAP, not to mention Google Talk for instant messaging. It also comes with synchronization with Google Calendar and contacts, as well as Google Maps, with Street View for satellite view, traffic views and Google Latitude.

 

source: www.softpedia.com

Windows Mobile 6.5 launching on May 11

Back in February, Neowin cited Mary-Jo Foley predicting the Windows Mobile 6.5 roadmap. The Windows Mobile Team has announced the Windows Mobile 6.5 official launch date in a blog post as May 11, 2009.

"Stephanie Ferguson, GM of Business Experiences at Microsoft's Mobile Communications Business is going to deliver the kick off launch presentation of Windows Mobile 6.5 on Monday, May 11th at 1:00PM – 2:15PM. This TechEd 2009 session focuses on one of the biggest launches in the history of Windows Mobile."

The blog post though not stressing the Windows Mobile 6.5 launch date a lot, it focusses on the TechEd 2009 Windows Mobile sessions. The blog also says there are some 'great stuff' coming out during TechEd 2009.

One thing we might expect is Microsoft opening the Windows Mobile Marketplace for Windows Mobile, which will be pre-loaded by default in all of the Windows Mobile 6.5 devices. Even though Microsoft is launching Windows Mobile 6.5 early, Windows Mobile 6.5 devices will be available only during the end of Q3 2009 (September 2009).

 

source: www.neowin.net

Microsoft eyeing Windows 8

Microsoft is gearing up to debut what it referred to as major improvements for Windows 8, designed to take file access in branch offices to the next level. Even if Windows 7 is still in pre-RC stage, with the Escrow for the Win 7 Release Candidate, Build 7077, out the door, Microsoft has already confirmed that it is looking past the next iteration of Windows. The focus on branch office scenarios related to file access simply comes to offer official confirmation that the Redmond company's strategy for Windows client and server platforms stretches well over Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2, even though the two operating system releases are yet to be finalized.

“For the upcoming version of Windows, new critical features are being worked on including cluster support and support for one way replication. The core engine is also being reworked to provide dramatic performance improvements. We will also soon be starting major improvements for Windows 8 where we will be including innovative features which will revolutionize file access in branch offices,” the Redmond company revealed in a job posting (via ActiveWin).

source: www.softpedia.com

First Ever MacOSX Botnet becomes a reality

The world's first MacOSX botnet has reportedly been discovered. Symantec researchers Mario Ballano Barcena and Alfredo Pesoli said the malware was actually discovered back in January, and came courtesy of two trojans, previously reported of here on Softpedia.
According to Symantec's researchers, a MacOSX botnet causes infected machines to mount denial of service attacks. The botnet employs a peer-to-peer engine, encryption and a structure that allows it to dynamically adapt, according to DailyMail.co.uk. The researchers described the malware as follows, according to ZDNet's Zero Day blog.

"The code indicates that, wherever possible, the author tried to use the most flexible and extendible approach when creating it – and therefore we would not be surprised to see a new, modified variant in the near future," the duo declared.The Symantec researchers added (according to the CBC) that, "With malware authors showing an increasing interest in the Mac platform, we believe that more advanced [user interface] spoofing tricks may be seen in the future."

source: www.softpedia.com

Ubuntu 9.04 RC is ready to go

The Ubuntu team is happy to bring you the latest and greatest software the Open Source community has to offer. This is their latest result, the Ubuntu 9.04 release candidate, which brings a host of excellent new features.

The final version of the codeis set to publish on Thursday, April 23.

For testing only! This is a pre-release version of Ubuntu and is almost ready for general use. If it is important that your computer run reliably please continue to use the current stable release (8.10) until this version is ready on April 23rd, 2009.

Download Ubuntu Desktop, Server, and Netbook Remix

source: www.ubuntu.com www.neowin.net

Oracle Buys Sun

On April 20, 2009, Oracle announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire Sun Microsystems (Sun). The proposed transaction is subject to Sun stockholder approval, certain regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. Until the deal closes, each company will continue to operate independently, and it is business as usual.

The acquisition combines best-in-class enterprise software and mission-critical computing systems. Oracle plans to engineer and deliver an integrated system—applications to disk—where all the pieces fit and work together so customers do not have to do it themselves. Customers benefit as their system integration costs go down while system performance, reliability and security go up.

Press release

source: www.oracle.com