Windows Marketplace for Mobile will launch with 600 apps

Microsoft will be launching their new application store, Windows Marketplace for Mobile, pretty soon and it's just been revealed the level of content that will be initially available. In an interview with MobiFrance (yes, that link is in French), Audrey Zolghadr, product manager for Windows Mobile at Microsoft France, stated there would be about 600 applications ready for use.

So, how is this in comparison with other offerings? Apple's App Store is leading the front, as it's been around the longest, with over 50,000 applications (although apparently some of those have been deleted since). Nokia's Ovi Store has "over 20,000 items", but of course most of that is not applications, but wallpapers and the like. Additionally, we have Palm's App Catalog which has barely any at all. What you have to remember, though, is that (according to PhoneArena) Windows Mobile has around 20,000 applications currently available anyway; that '600' figure only counts the ones that will be on the store, of course.

 

source: www.neowin.net

Firefox 3.5 to be released June 30

According to a report by webmonkey, the final version of Firefox 3.5 will be released on June 30.

Firefox 3.5 is the first major revision since 3.0 was released about a year ago. The new version sports a faster rendering engine, stability enhancements and a new javascript engine. It will also include support for the most widely-used elements of HTML 5 that allows for offline data access, enhanced web graphics and multimedia playback without plug-ins. The Firefox logo has also had a small revision as well.

Mozilla has been showing different 3.5 features within a 35 day period, and has also shown the new tools developers can take advantage of in the new version.

The new version was originally going to be 3.1, but was renamed to 3.5 later to reflect a greater scope of changes than what has originally been planned.

 

source: www.neowin.net

Methodist University Hospital confirms Steve's liver transplant

Late last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that Steve Jobs had a liver transplant in April. As of this morning, however, we still hadn't received confirmation from either Apple or any of the hospitals at which the procedure might have been performed. That's changed. Earlier today, Methodist University Hospital in Memphis released a statement confirming the surgery, with Steve's permission:

"I am pleased to confirm today, with the patient's permission, that Steve Jobs received a liver transplant at Methodist University Hospital Transplant Institute in partnership with the University of Tennessee in Memphis ... Our one-year patient and graft survival rates are among the best in the nation and were a dominant reason in Mr. Jobs's choice of transplant centers."

James D. Eason, M.D., Program Director at Methodist University Hospital's Transplant Institute, composed the statement and explained that Steve went through the typical transplant eligibility process; in order to receive a donor liver, he had to be the sickest person on the list when the matching organ became available.

This statement stands in contrast to the theories considered in today's New York Times piece about Steve's surgery, which noted that past preferential treatment for celebrities and wealthy patients has largely been ended but there are still ways in which someone with Jobs's resources could try to game the system. The Memphis transplant center has one of the shortest waiting periods in the US for liver patients.

 

source: www.tuaw.com

Windows 7 RTM Available Weeks Before October 22

Microsoft confirmed that it would make Windows 7 RTM available to customers weeks before the official public release. The Redmond-based company is aiming for October 22, 2009 as the deadline when the next iteration of the Windows client hits the shelves and be offered by OEMs preinstalled on new computers. However, by that time, select customers would have already deployed and started using the gold edition of Windows 7. It is the case of Sheraton Hotels & Resorts, which, according to the software giant, will soon roll out Windows 7 PCs for the hotels’ Link@Sheraton. The announcement that Windows 7 RTM will be available to Sheraton guests weeks ahead of October 22 came at the HITEC conference in Anaheim, California on June 23.

“We wanted to create a destination where all of our guests could come to socialize, be entertained, people watch, or be alone but not lonely,” said Hoyt Harper, senior vice president of Brand Management for Sheraton Hotels & Resorts, describing Link@Sheraton. “We found our inspiration in parks because they’re a symbol of community where people gather to play games, to eat and drink, or just to unwind. With that in mind, we designed the Link@Sheraton to be much more than a business center. It’s a social enabler.”

Neither Microsoft nor Sheraton Hotels & Resorts indicated a specific date at which they plan to wrap up the introduction of Windows 7 on the computers in Link@Sheraton, but the Redmond-based company did point out that it was aiming for a summer rollout. Link@Sheraton is an effort from both Sheraton and Microsoft debuted in 2008 aimed at combining the business center, the lobby and a social experience into the same place. At this point in time, Sheraton has revamped the lobbies in 80% of its 205 hotels in North America, a number which is expected to jump to 90% by the end of 2009. Hotel guests noted that Link@Sheraton was a critical aspect of the overall increase in customer satisfaction by 10%.

“If you exceed a guest’s expectations, then you’ve created a memory, and if you create a positive memory, then you build brand loyalty. That’s the name of the game in hospitality,” revealed Sandra Andrews, U.S. hospitality industry solutions director for Microsoft. “Sheraton guests can say goodnight to their kids, or send a video post card to their parents. By providing this for customers, Sheraton helps its guests create a great memory, and Microsoft gets to teach consumers about our technology. So it’s a win-win-win, all the way around.”

Windows 7 will be installed on PCs with 17-inch screens, complete with Windows Live Messenger and Web cams, as well as the Office 2007 System. Of course, Microsoft plans to finalize Windows 7 by the end of July 2009, almost three months before the public availability deadline. In this context, the company is bound to serve the final version of Windows 7 to audiences such as MSDN and TechNet subscribers, but also partners, well ahead of October 22.

 

source: www.softpedia.com

Microsoft Security Essentials Beta released

Microsoft is offering it's free anti-virus product, Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) to 75,000 lucky people today.
The company is offering the product via a beta program and will likely extend the cap of 75,000 downloads depending on demand. MSE is Microsoft's free anti-virus and anti-spyware product that is set to replace Microsoft's paid Windows Live OneCare subscription service which is being withdrawn a week today.

Earlier this month Neowin exclusively revealed MSE (codenamed Morro) and we believe that the final product will be available shortly before the Windows 7 launch in October.

MSE is being distributed on Microsoft's Connect site as a beta program. The build available on the connect site is 1.0.1407.00 compared to the 1.0.2140.0 build of the leaked copy. For more information please visit Microsoft's MSE site.

download: Microsoft Security Essentials beta

 

source: www.neowin.net

Windows 7 RTM sign off set for July 13

We have some big news regarding the Windows 7 RTM. According to Wzor, the final sign off is set for July 13th. According to a translation , this is the final roadmap for Windows 7:

FINAL ROADMAP FOR WINDOWS 7 [CLIENT-SERVER]:
6/1 - 6/19 BUILDING RTM ESCROW - already assembled RTM ESCROW.
6/22 - 7/10 RTM RECALL - assembly and search for candidates to the final RTM release.
7/10 WINDOWS 7 RTM FINAL BUILD TARGET - build day "gold code".
7/13 WINDOWS 7 RTM SIGN-OFF - the date of signing the final RTM release!

We previously reported that Windows 7 could RTM at the end of this month, but it looks like we now have a final RTM date. Wzor is stating that the latest RTM branch build is 6.1.7263.0.win7_rtm.090619-1900, and the latest build in the winmain branch is 6.1.7233.0.winmain.090614-1655. The next winmain assembly will be the final RTM build.

We're still waiting on pricing information for Windows 7, and the final release date is still set for October 22.

 

source: www.neowin.net

Firefox 3.5 Release Candidate 2 released

The Washington Post has a great overview of all the next features in the updated browser.

Private Browsing:
Firefox 3.5 includes a private browsing feature, much like the other main browsers on the market now, which means that you can surf the Internet without leaving a trace; history is not recorded, so it's perfect for those that are... looking for gifts for others. The one problem that people see with the Mozilla solution to this is that the browser does not show you if you are in private browsing mode; you'll just have to remember, although, you will get an occasional message the pops up.
To add to the privacy factor of the new 3.5 version, you can open up the History page, and then by right-clicking an item of history, you can choose to 'Forget this Site'. By doing so, you will (as expected) have all items of that URL gone from history.

Location Services:
Firefox 3.5 brings the interesting feature of location services; you can find your location by I.P. address, using nearby WiFi networks via Google Location Services. If you're using a WWAN card in your notebook, you can use the nearby cellphone towers to pinpoint your location. As it stands, this new service isn't particularly useful as not many sites support it, but in the future it could be very handy. The Washington Post tested it out and their location was found to within a couple of blocks, so if you're in a new city, using it to find nearby restaurants or other services could be extremely useful.

The other features that are improved in this new release candidate aren't exactly new, so they're not worth mentioning here (tear-off tabs and restoring your session from a crashed browser). If you want to download the second release candidate, you can either use the automatic updater within Firefox, or visit this link.

 

source: www.neowin.net

Microsoft extends XP downgrade option for OEMs to 2011

Microsoft will be extending the Windows XP downgrade option until 2011. While Microsoft has threatened to halt the option on numerous occasions, it has yet to set a date, write it in stone and actually make good on the promise.

Windows XP has been the corner stone for Microsoft as Windows Vista was largely rejected by businesses and consumers due to its initial rocky start. With Windows 7 right around the corner Microsoft will be looking to phase out XP but still must do so in a cautious manor.

The reason behind the extension was that the Windows XP downgrade option was originally set to take place 6 months after the launch of 7 and business that have large scale Windows XP deployments may not be ready to convert to Windows 7 in as little as six months, or at least stop purchasing OEM systems with it as an option. As a result, the option to downgrade to XP has been extended to 2011. Enterprise customers on Microsoft's Software Assurance program can downgrade Windows 7 licenses all the way back to Windows 95 or Windows NT 3.51.

Windows XP has been given an extended stay of execution but its not expected Microsoft will keep the dated OS on life support forever. With Windows 7 receiving high praise for its stability and usability, look for corporate wide rollouts of Windows 7 in the next 12-18 months.

 

source: www.neowin.net

Microsoft Security Essentials beta on June 23

Microsoft confirmed today that they plan to release a public beta of Microsoft Security Essentials (formerly codenamed Morro) on June 23.

The free anti-virus product will begin with a beta program next week and an updated beta version over the summer period. Company officials also confirmed that Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) will be launching in fall this year. We have learned that Microsoft is targeting September or at the latest to have the anti-virus software available for the October 22 Windows 7 launch.

Formerly known as Morro, the software giant plans to replace its Windows Live OneCare offerings with MSE later in the year. Microsoft will discontinue retail sales of OneCare on June 30 so you won't be able to purchase it in store after that date, but consumers will still be able to purchase the product after 30 June directly from Microsoft.

The beta will be available next Tuesday in limited form, Microsoft is targeting it at the first 75,000 US, Israel and Brazil based customers. A Chinese beta will be available in mid July. Similar to the Windows 7 beta it is likely the company will expand the offering to meet demand.

 

source: www.neowin.net

iPhone firmware 3.0 released

Apple's much anticipated release of 2009 for the iPhone and iPod Touch is here. Apple has released the latest major firmware for the iPhone and iPod Touch available for download through iTunes.

After months of teasing us with new features, performance improvements and overall control of the latest firmware, weekly beta's the new firmware has officially arrived. The latest 3.0 firmware adds hundreds of new features including a landscape keyboard, MMS, Internet Tethering, full Bluetooth support, Cut, Copy & Paste turn-by-turn GPS navigation, a kill switch for lost handsets and many more.

The firmware will also take full advantage of the latest hardware in the iPhone 3GS, which releases on June 19. Some features will be disabled on 1st gen models of the iPhone, such as MMS and video recording capability. Consumers may need to wait to upgrade or purchase a brand new iPhone 3GS on Friday June 19 instead of using their 3G iPhone. AT&T customers will need to pay more than previously expected to upgrade their phones.

The download is available for free to iPhone 1st gen and 3G consumers. The 3.0 firmware for the iPod Touch will be available too for $9.95 who wish to upgrade.

 

source: www.neowin.net

BlackBerry Tour Is Here (this summer)

Research In Motion officially announced on Tuesday the introduction of its latest Blackberry device, the BlackBerry Tour. The new handset comes with CDMA connectivity options, while also sporting high-end communications and multimedia capabilities, as well as impressive performance. In addition, the phone comes as a world device, feature-packed to offer connectivity and style.

“BlackBerry continues to be the top selling smartphone brand in North America and we are proud to add this powerful new 3G world phone to our successful product portfolio,” said Mike Lazaridis, president and Co-CEO at Research In Motion. “With its striking design and exceptional performance, the new BlackBerry Tour will offer a compelling choice for the growing number of wireless customers looking to upgrade their existing cell phone to a smartphone.”

The new BlackBerry Tour features support for both high-speed 3G EV-DO Rev. A networks and 3G UMTS/HSPA (2100Mhz) and quad-band EDGE/GPRS/GSM networks. At the same time, the phone comes with a wide range of mobile solutions for email, messaging (IM, SMS, MMS), social networking and multimedia capabilities as well as GPS receiver, so as to enable users to enjoy a leveraged experience both in their professional and personal lives.

The specification list of the handset shows a full-QWERTY keyboard, a 2.44-inch display that supports a 480 x 360 pixel resolution, a 3.2-megapixel photo snapper with flash, image stabilization, auto focus and video recording, a full HTML web browser, a 3.5 mm stereo headset jack, Bluetooth with A2DP/AVCRP, 256MB of flash memory coupled with a microSD/SDHC memory card slot that supports up to 16GB of additional storage space (while also supporting 32GB cards when available, says RIM), support for BlackBerry Maps and geotagging.

Other features of the device include BlackBerry Media Sync, voice-activated dialing, noise cancellation, speakerphone, DataViz Documents to Go (with support for Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint files), support for social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Flickr, instant messaging services like BlackBerry Messenger, Yahoo! IM, AIM, Google Talk and Windows Live Messenger, as well as for BlackBerry Internet Service and BlackBerry Enterprise Server. According to RIM, the BlackBerry Tour 9630 should come to the North American market this summer via various carriers.

 

source: www.softpedia.com

Firefox 3.5 RC1 goes Live

Mozilla produced its first candidates of Firefox 3.5 RC1 and it was just a matter of time before the fully fledged Release Candidate would follow. But the RC was actually just around the corner. Fact is that users are now able to download Firefox 3.5 Release Candidate 1. According to Mozilla, Firefox 3.5 RC1 went live on June16, 2009, and is a release aimed at Beta testers of the open-source browser for the time being. The public will have to wait, in Mozilla's view, a tad longer for the bits to be served directly, though no longer than the end of this week. But no waiting is necessary, as the download links are included at the bottom of this article.

“This is the first release candidate for Firefox 3.5, the latest version of the Firefox web browser. As a member of our beta audience, you are being updated to this version to help test and preview the new version before it is released to the general public,” reads a message from Mozilla from the release notes for Firefox 3.5 RC1.

With Firefox 3.5 RC1, formerly known as Firefox 3.1 – codenamed Shiretoko, Mozilla is bumping the version number of its underlying rendering engine Gecko to 1.9.1. Just as Internet Explorer 8 and Chrome before it, Firefox 3.5 features a Private Browsing Mode, while also offering geolocation capabilities, namely Location Aware Browsing. Mozilla is promising a consistent boost in performance and stability, and has integrated a new JavaScript engine into Firefox with version 3.5, dubbed TraceMonkey. In addition, the next iteration of Firefox now comes with native support for JSON, but also modern web standards elements such as HTML5 <video> and <audio>, new CSS properties, JavaScript query selectors, HTML5 offline data storage for applications, and SVG transforms, Mozilla explained.

Firefox 3.5 was planned to feature a single Release Candidate, and then move straight to the gold version. However, following the availability of Firefox 3.5 RC1 for Beta testers, Mozilla has also started producing candidates for Firefox 3.5 RC2 and offering them for download via the FTP repository for nightly builds, indicating that there will be at least one more Release Candidate of the open-source browser.

 

source: www.softpedia.com

Microsoft's new Anti-Virus, 'Morro', revealed

Ever since Microsoft discontinued its "OneCare" Anti-Virus suite, gossip has been flying that Microsoft would be releasing a free Anti-Virus\Anti-Spyware tool codenamed "Morro".

The software product, codenamed "Morro" after a beach in Sao Paulo, Brazil, is already being tested by Microsoft employees and a trial version will be made available "soon". Microsoft has stated that Morro would be available by the end of 2009 at the latest.

"Morro" is likely to be targeted to compete with the low end of anti-virus products from other providers, and it will not have much of an impact on sales of full-blown security suites. According to Janice Chaffin, president of Symantec's Consumer Division, "Microsoft's free product is basically a stripped down version of the OneCare product Microsoft pulled from the shelves. A full Internet security suite is what consumers require today to stay fully protected."

source: www.neowin.net

Windows 7 RTM by June 26? Build 7260 leaks

If Wzor is correct, and that's a big if and rumour, then we may see the final Windows 7 RTM build ready this weekend. Internal sources indicate that 7260 is still the latest build under the win7_rtm branch. Build 7260 carries the tag 7260.win7_rtm.090612-2110 and is an RTM escrow build meaning vigorous testing will commence to ensure this is the final code unless there are show stopper bugs. Folks inside Microsoft who wish to remain anonymous have also indicated that many people internally are growing tired and bored of the leaks and want development to conclude as soon as possible. I think everyone here at Neowin feels the same, lets see what the weekend brings.

Microsoft will officially release Windows 7 to the public on October 22.

Updated: According to our own reliable sources Microsoft is set to RTM by June 26.

 

source: www.neowin.net

Windows 7 build 7232 Leaked

Build 7232 has joined the rest of the Windows 7 development milestones that, once out of Redmond, have made their way onto torrent trackers and warez websites. As it is getting closer to the RTM of its next iteration of the Windows client, Microsoft continues to supply partners and Technology Adoption Program testers with interim builds of Windows 7, as it is signing off the code. The latest release to make it out into the wild is Windows 7 Build 7232, now available for download via various illegal third-party sources including top torrent trackers.

Windows 7 has evolved up to Build 6.1.7232.0.winmain.090610-1900, with Microsoft having wrapped up the milestone on June 10th, 2009, according to Wzor. The company continues to make public no details related to the evolution of Windows 7 from Release Candidate Build 7100 to RTM (reportedly Build 7300 – this needs to be taken with a grain of salt, as it has in no way been confirmed), but the leaked copy of Windows 7 Build 7232 is sufficient proof that the software giant is hard at work making its way toward the RTM milestone of Windows Vista's successor.

The past week, three releases of Windows 7 were leaked: Build 7227, Build 7229 and Build 7231. Two of the three, namely, Build 7227 and 7231, were packaged not as ISO images (as Build 7229) but as .VHD (virtual hard disk) images designed to be run inside a virtual machine. The same is the case for Windows 7 Build 7232. Still, with Build 7232, Microsoft is reportedly getting closer and closer to the RTM-Escrow, a milestone after which the company will focus entirely on getting the code ready to go gold in the second half of July 2009, with no more changes planned.

Only the 64-bit (x64) flavor of Windows 7 Build 6.1.7232.0.winmain.090610-1900 was leaked and, just as 7227 and 7231, it comes as a .VHD image file, accompanied by the following information CRC: 5723B24B; MD5: F47C13D2FD1D94F5A2E9A0A85BA0B5D0; SHA1: 8BB2AB688698AE503794F02C29C629131FF0160C.

 

source: www.softpedia.com

Ubuntu 9.10 Alpha 2 Released

As stated by Mark Shuttleworth himself in the Ubuntu Open Week Q & A:

"It has taken a long, long time to pull together a design team. I had hoped to have that team in place six months ago, but it's still forming. I think we will make good progress in the next cycle, you can already see a few things that have borne fruit from that team: notifications, time zone selector in installer, etc, but it's fragmentary. I'm pretty darn confident we'll have a new look for 10.04 but I think only pieces of that will emerge for 9.10."

source: www.softpedia.com

EU: IE-less Windows 7 Is Less Choice for Consumers

The EU Commission half criticizes and half applauds Microsoft's decision

The European Antitrust Commission has responded officially to Microsoft's plans to cut Internet Explorer from the Windows 7 editions that will be sold in Europe, pointing the finger at the company and accusing it of providing less choice for consumers. On June 11th, 2009, the Redmond company indicated that in order to fully comply with EU antimonopoly regulations but to also be able to supply Windows 7 across European markets on October 22, it needed to amputate Internet Explorer 8, and IE entirely from the operating system. Microsoft said that it would provide IE8 on separate media as a standalone product for both OEMs and customers via the original equipment manufacturer and retail channels and would let PC makers and end users choose whether to install the browser or not.

“At the level of both computer manufacturers and retail sales, the Commission's Statement of Objections (SO) suggested that consumers should be provided with a genuine choice of browsers. Given that over 95% of consumers acquire Windows pre-installed on a PC, it is particularly important to ensure consumer choice through the computer manufacturer channel,” the EU Commission stated. “As for retail sales, which amount to less than 5% of total sales, the Commission had suggested to Microsoft that consumers be provided with a choice of web browsers. Instead Microsoft has apparently decided to supply retail consumers with a version of Windows without a web browser at all. Rather than more choice, Microsoft seems to have chosen to provide less.”

While half criticizing Microsoft's decision to cut IE from Windows 7, the European antitrust regulators are also half applauding the move. The Commission's position is that stripping IE8 from Windows 7 makes up for a more positive move from Microsoft, when it comes down to computer manufacturers. The Redmond company explained that it would permit OEMs to install whichever browser they chose by default with copies of Windows 7 shipping pre-installed on new machines in Europe. Come October 22, the Redmond company will offer Windows 7 E editions in Europe, namely the fully-featured SKUs of the platform minus Internet Explorer 8.

“It is noted that computer manufacturers would appear to be able to choose to install Internet Explorer – which Microsoft will supply free of charge - another browser or multiple browsers. Were the Commission to conclude that Microsoft’s behaviour has been abusive, it would have to consider whether this proposal would in itself be sufficient to create genuine consumer choice on the web browser market. The Commission would inter alia take into account the long standing nature of Microsoft's conduct. It would also have to consider whether this initial step of technical separation of IE from Windows could be negated by other actions by Microsoft,” the Commission added.

 

source: www.softpedia.com

Windows 7 E Edition without IE8

Microsoft has confirmed officially that it will strip Internet Explorer 8 completely from Windows 7 SKUs aimed for European markets. The move comes as a response to antitrust concerns for the bundling of the Internet Explorer web browser and the Windows operating system. In this context, the Redmond company announced that for the countries in the European Union it will cook a new SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) of its next iteration of the Windows client. The Windows 7 E edition will be made available exclusively in Europe and will not included Internet Explorer 8, or any browser for that matter, as a default component.

“Windows 7 will be offered in Europe in all of the versions that will be available here in the United States, both 32- and 64-bit, with an “E” at the end of the product name (for instance, Windows 7 Home Premium E). The E versions of Windows 7 will ship at the same time as Windows 7 ships in the rest of the world, and they will be available in 23 European languages,” revealed Dave Heiner, Vice President and Deputy General Counsel.

Microsoft is on track to release Windows 7 to manufacturing in mid-July 2009, and to offer the operating system for purchase via retail and OEM channels come October 22. The software giant explained that it is indeed committed to meeting the deadline worldwide, including for Europe, but that at the same time it needs to take action in order to ensure that the operating system complies fully with local laws.

“Given the pending legal proceeding, we’ve decided that instead of including Internet Explorer in Windows 7 in Europe, we will offer it separately and on an easy-to-install basis to both computer manufacturers and users. This means that computer manufacturers and users will be free to install Internet Explorer on Windows 7, or not, as they prefer. Of course, they will also be free, as they are today, to install other Web browsers,” Heiner added.

In January 2009, the EU antitrust regulators provided a preliminary view indicating that the bundling of Internet Explorer in Windows was a move found to be in violation with European competition law. Microsoft stated at that time that it would fully comply with EU antimonopoly law, even though it fought to convince the European Commission that the IE and Windows marriage was not a monopolist tactic. With the RTM deadline of Windows 7 now but a month away, Microsoft is moving onward with the process of making the successor of Windows Vista available to the public via both the retail channel and pre-installed on new computers from OEMs.

 

source: www.neowin.net

Microsoft will soon unveil free virus software

Microsoft is on the verge of making available for download the first taste of an upcoming free security solution designed to replace Windows Live OneCare. In November 2008, the Redmond company announced plans to discontinue the availability of Windows Live OneCare and to offer Windows users a consumer-centric security offering, code-named “Morro.” Over half a year later, the first public Beta of Morro is just around the corner, the software giant confirmed officially. However, Microsoft has so far failed to provide a specific deadline for the availability of the first Beta build of code-name Morro.

Still, early builds of Morro are already being dogfooded, the Redmond company revealed to Reuters. Dogfooding is a term describing Microsoft eating its own dog food, namely using its own software products internally. The fact that Morro is limited to Redmond is confirmed by the absence of leaks with the security solution's bits. At the same time, dogfooding is a natural step in the development process of Microsoft software, followed by Beta testing.

Morro will have the same core anti-malware engine as Forefront, and will be tailored to operating systems including Windows 7, Windows Vista RTM, Service Pack 1 and SP2 but also Windows XP SP3. Microsoft already indicated that Morro would offer core antimalware security, focusing on providing protection against viruses, spyware, rootkits and trojans. Code-name Morro is expected to be made available by the end of 2009.

In the meantime customers will still be able to buy Windows Live OneCare. While Microsoft will indeed discontinue the availability of OneCare via the retail channel, licenses for the security product will continue to be sold directly by the Redmond company. In this context, users will be able to continue running OneCare even after Morro ships, until their subscription expires. Windows Live OneCare will not be killed off until well after the final version of Morro will hit the download pipes.

 

source: www.softpedia.com

Fedora 11 now available

Fedora 11, the next release of the popular Linux distribution, is now available from the Fedora website. You can find full details of the major improvements, but to mention just a few, the release claims to have major speed improvements, boasting a 20 second startup, as well as overall speed improvements as ext4 is now used as the default file-system.

Another interesting feature is the ability to perform a minimal install, which amounts to about 500MB (at mount-point '/'), which should make this release more appealing to users running servers, or machines with older hardware. However, this does of course come at the cost of features.

In addition, the latest versions of GNOME and KDE are included with the respective versions. The release was delayed several times due to last minute issues, however it is now officially available. You can see the screenshot tour here, showing the installation process and the desktops for both GNOME and KDE.

The release is now available through BitTorrent and direct download, however, at the time of writing, not all mirrors had Fedora 11 to download, so you may be better off using torrents if you cannot find a mirror. Custom Fedora 11 spins are also available, including the Fedora Games Spin and Fedora Xfce spin.

For those wishing to upgrade, you must be using version 10 in order to upgrade to Fedora 11 through Yum. Users running Fedora 9 must upgrade to version 10 first, because of this. In case you aren't familiar with Fedora, it is a free, open-source Linux operating system, and the whole project is sponsored by Red Hat, a company providing enterprise Linux solutions.

 

source: www.neowin.net

WWDC 2009

Apple is providing its WWDC 2009 keynote address today, providing some interesting info about its Mac and iPhone platforms. But this is Apple we're talking about. So it's time for a reality check.

75 million Mac OS X users. Apple claimed that the OS X user base magically jumped from 25 million to 75 million active users in two years. But it didn't. It jumped to 35 million users. The other 40 million are using iPhones and iPod touches. So if there are 1 billion active PC users (and that's an old figure), than OS X usage share right now is 3.5 percent. Everyone's onboard with the math, right? 3.5 percent. "No wonder everyone is trying to follow in our footsteps," Apple SVP Phil Schiller said.

Macbooks magically become Macbook Pros. Apple rebranded the 13-inch Macbook as the Macbook Pro and added SD slots across the line-up. FINALLY. I've only been asking for this handy little feature for, what, 6 years? The batteries are non-replaceable. I'm pretty sure no one was asking for that feature. And they added Firewire 800. Seriously, how about two more USB ports? Oh, and $1699 to start for a lowball 15-inch unit? To Mac guys, this is big news.

Hypocrisy around Vista/7 and Leopard/Snow Leopard. This year, both Microsoft and Apple are working on revisions to existing OSes. In Microsoft's case, Windows 7 is a nice revision to Windows Vista. And Snow Leopard is a minor revision (service pack) to Mac OS X Leopard. Both Windows Vista and Leopard have had their share of problems, but Vista's are more high profile and thus, apparently, news to the wider world. But look how Apple's Darth Vader, Bertrand Serlet, describes these updates:

Windows 7: "Even more complexity is present in Windows 7. The same old tech as Vista. Just another version of Vista."

Snow Leopard: "We come from such a different place. We love Leopard, we're so proud of it, we decided to build upon Leopard. We want to build a better Leopard, hence Snow Leopard."

For the record, Snow Leopard looks just fine to me. It should, after three years of development on a point release.

Exchange support in Snow Leopard. Apple makes fun of Microsoft to comic effect (see above) ... Unless, of course, they need Microsoft. Which they do, to add Exchange support to its products. Oh, wait. "With Exchange support built into Snow Leopard, there is no extra charge for Mac OS users while Windows users usually have to pay extra." There it is.

Safari 4 today for OS X, Windows.

First, Safari 4 is around about 4.5 times faster than the previous iteration; Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, said, "The successful beta release helped us fine tune Safari 4 into an even better, faster version that customers are going to love. Safari is enjoyed by 70 million users worldwide and with its blazing fast speed, innovative features and support for modern web standards, it's the best browser on any platform." The speed boosts come from Safari 4 being built on the Nitro javascript engine, which means it runs javascript code just about eight times faster than IE 8, and nearly four times faster than Firefox 3, according to Apple's tests.

The final version of Safari 4 has a few UI changes; these include (according to AppleInsider):
-- Top Sites, offering a visual preview of frequently visited and favorite pages
-- Full History Search, to search through titles, web addresses and the complete text of recently viewed pages
-- Cover Flow, to easily flip through web history or bookmarks.
-- Smart Address Fields for automatically completing web addresses from an easy to read list of suggestions
-- Search Fields, to fine tune searches with recommendations from Google Suggest or a list of recent searches
-- Full Page Zoom, for a closer look at any website without degrading the quality of the site's layout and text.

If you wish to get a hold of Safari 4, please head to Apple's download page to get it as a free download for Mac OS X, or Windows.

QuickTime X for OS X, Windows. Actually, this looks good. I especially like how the UI looks like no other OS X app. Nice consistency there from the HIG.

Mac OS X is not fully 64-bit. While Windows users get 64-bit versions of Windows, Mac OS X users will, in Snow Leopard, get an OS in which most of the system is 64-bit, but many "non-major system apps" are still 32-bit.

Snow Leopard pricing. Apple is finally charging the right price for the latest in a long list of minor upgrades: $29 to Leopard users. This is exactly right, and should serve as inspiration for Microsoft.

iPhone 3.0. The iPhone is really popular, and let's face it, it's awesome. iPhone 3.0, which I've been using since February, is a very minor update, and mostly adds things that should have been there in the first place. Biggest disappointment: Apple is adding tethering, but AT&T refuses to allow it.

iPhone 3G S. Was curious what they were going to call the iPhone 3, since the iPhone 3G was the iPhone 2.0. Now we know. Built in 7.2MBps HSDPA for data. New camera (finally). But same form factor. (Which makes sense, given the add-on market, but lacks a certain pizzazz.) I mean, where could they go with this, really? Anyway: Pricing is $199 (16 GB), $299 (32 GB). Surely there's an upgrade program for existing users.

Voice Control. (3GS only.) Apple copies Microsoft Sync, no one notices. And by the way, the notion of talking to a smart phone should be obvious.

 

source: www.winsupersite.com www.neowin.net

Leaked Best Buy memo reveals Windows 7 Upgrade pricing?

According to the image above, Best Buy will offer customers to order a Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade for $49.99 and Windows 7 Professional Upgrade for $99.99. As far as I'm concerned this is going to give a huge break to today's consumers as they are tightening their pocket books in order to prevail through these tough economic times. So is this really cheaper than Windows Vista? Let's examine the costs.

When Windows Vista was launched back in November of 2006, the upgrade options and pricing were: Windows Vista Home Premium Upgrade $129.95 and Vista Business Upgrade was $199.95. With that in mind users who are upgrading from Windows Vista to Windows 7 are going to be saving between 60 and 50% this time around.

 

source: www.engadget.com www.neowin.net

Microsoft Store reveals official Windows 7 box art

The box art has shown up on the official Microsoft Store page for Windows 7, which means it's pretty safe to say that this will be the final box art used for the upcoming operating system. Of course, Microsoft haven't actually confirmed themselves that this is what we will be seeing on retail shelves, but we're pretty sure it's safe to say that this is what it will be. Long Zheng initially doubted the art (as did many others), but he stumbled upon some evidence that showed it could potentially be the real deal, but again, this seems to have all become clear now.

source: www.neowin.net

WSJ: Steve Jobs return is on track for end of June

In its sometime role as a broadsheet hybrid of Us magazine and the New England Journal of Medicine, we have an update tonight from The Wall Street Journal on the condition of everyone's favorite iCEO. Steve Jobs, according to the story (subscription required on the web, free to read on your iPhone), is recovered from his health crisis and on track to return by the end of June. While some speculate that he might choose to surprise the audience at WWDC with a One More Thing moment, two sources for the WSJ story say that the plan is to wait a bit longer.

Steve's return is likely to be coordinated with a product launch or other public event later in June, say the sources. That event probably won't be the announcement of the next-gen iPhone, which the paper pinpoints for the keynote address on Monday with availability close to the two-year anniversary date for the original iPhone purchasers (pretty sensible; anyone who bought a first-gen for the premium price is a likely candidate to shell out for a replacement). The WSJ cites someone who has seen the new phone in person, reporting a faster processor and the expected video editing capabilities.

 

source: www.tuaw.com

Firefox 3.5 RC 1 as Close to Release as Possible

The first Release Candidate for Firefox 3.5, formerly version 3.1, is as close to availability as possible, reveals Mozilla. The next iteration of the open source browser is on the verge of evolving from Beta to RC. However, although downloads are just around the corner, Firefox 3.5 is not live yet.

The best that users can hope for, at least for the time being, is to grab a pre-RC nightly build. And while Mozilla is gearing up to take Firefox 3.5 RC out of the baking oven, it is also cooking another test day for the browser.

“I'm here to inform that we're going to be holding another Fx3.5 RC1 Testday event on Friday, June 5th, from 7AM - 5PM PDT! It'll be a concentrated mozQA Community day committed to testing Firefox 3.5 RC 1. This time around we should have the real builds out this Friday,” revealed Aakash Desai, QA Engineer at Mozilla Corporation. “MozQA is holding a Testday for the rollout of Firefox 3.5 RC 1 which is as close to a release as possible! I don't need to remind everyone of how important this phase is, so we're going to need your awesome testing skills to make sure its as polished as possible.”

It now appears that users will be getting Firefox 3.5 RC1 ahead of Firefox 3.0.11. Mozilla identified a regression issue with the latest security and stability update for Firefox 3.0, and postponed the release to a date yet to be announced. By contract, on June 3, 2009, there were only two blockers left for Firefox 3.5 RC1.

Blockers are generally referred to as show stopping issues, bugs severe enough to prevent the browser from advancing to the next stage in its development process. Mozilla estimated a couple of days ago that it would have resolved all Firefox 3.5 RC1 bugs by today, June 5. At the same time, Mozilla indicated that anticipation for RC1 was great, with over 800,000 users running the Beta 4 development milestone of Firefox 3.5.

 

source: www.softpedia.com

Microsoft Patch Tuesday

One of the biggest releases of patches since October 2008 is due on Tuesday June 9.

Microsoft has confirmed it will deliver 10 security updates to patch some serious bugs in Windows, Internet Explorer, Word and Excel. Six of the ten were marked as "critical", Microsoft's highest threat ranking. Three of the updates are marked as "Moderate" and one marked as "Important".

This update will include the first ever production patch for IE8 since the release. Mac users will not receive any PowerPoint patches for this month, after heavily patching PowerPoint for Windows last month, stating it does not want to delay these patches any longer, so Mac users will have to do without.

Mac users will need to wait till July at the earliest for PowerPoint patches, as none of the analyzed exploits found on the Windows PowerPoint will reliably exploit the Mac.

The following versions of Microsoft Windows are affected and will receive updates:

• Windows 2000 Service Pack 4
• Windows XP Service Pack 2
• Windows XP Service Pack 3
• Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2 x64
• Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 (x64)*
• Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 Itanium-based systems
• Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (x64)*
• Windows Vista Service Pack 2 (x64)*
• Windows Server 2008 (Service Pack 2) (x64)*
• Windows Server 2008 (Service Pack 2) Itanium-based systems (x64)*

* Both 32bit and 64bit systems

 

source: www.neowin.net

AMD shows off world's first DirectX 11 GPU

AMD demonstrated the world's first DirectX11 GPU yesterday in front of a live audience, stating that AMD will be the first to release a graphics card with a 40nm DirectX11-friendly GPU.

AMD is fully committed to bringing DirectX11 to the market first, something they have stated in a press release, without an official release date. DirectX11 promises to bring smoother graphics, faster Windows 7 experience - meaning Windows 7 will run faster - higher quality games and better performance than anything previously released.

 

source: www.neowin.net

Windows 7 reaches Build 7201

Windows 7 is up to Build 7201, on the way to RTM. Microsoft has already confirmed officially that it will release Windows 7 to manufacturing in mid-July 2009, and that the gold versions of the operating system will be made available to customers on October 22, 2009. However the Redmond company has steered clear of discussing in any way the progress of Windows 7 in terms of interim builds since it offered Release Candidate Build 7100 for public download on May 5th. Certainly, mum's the word on Windows 7 Build 7200 and above. Despite this, Windows 7 is advancing toward RTM and Build 7201 comes to prove just that.

The last interim build of Windows 7 that made it into the wild was Build 7138. Reports indicate that Windows 7 evolved up until Build 7141 and then the versioning jumped all the way to 7200. At the same time, Microsoft has already moved past the 7200 milestone, taking development of Windows 7 as high as Build 7227. Of course there's no official confirmation of these details from the Redmond company.

The full build string of Windows 7 Build 7201 is 6.1.7201.0.winmain_win7ids.090601-1516, which indicates that the release was compiled on May 1st, 2009.

 

source: www.softpedia.com

Windows 7, Linux and Mac OS Start the Market Share Ballet

At almost six months since it was initially introduced to the public in Beta stage, Windows 7 has gathered an audience almost half the size of all distributions of Linux available on the market, according to statistics from Net Applications.

While Linux is flirting with the 1% usage share mark, Windows 7 has grown to no less than 0.42% of the operating system market. And with the next iteration of Windows now at Release Candidate stage the market share ballet against Linux, Mac OS and earlier releases of Windows is only in the first act.

Windows is down yet again at the end of May 2009, accounting for a usage share of 87.75%. With just XP and Vista available on the market, Microsoft has continued losing market share. XP dropped from 62.21% in April 2009 to just 61.54%, but Vista is not using the context created by the aging operating system to its advantage. XP's successor only jumped from 23.90% to 24.35% from April to May 2009. And considering that Widows 7 will be made available to the general public ahead of the 2009 holiday season, Vista will never hit the 30% market share mark.

Mac OS slightly increased its installed base, to 9.81% at the end of the past month compared to 9.73% in April, in the context in which Apple's operating system seems to have stopped its steady growth. Mac OS X went as high as 9.93% in January 2009 and it was looking like the 10% mark would be beat soon, but that wasn't the case, with the platform's usage share fluctuating for the past months, a situation sufficient to keep the OS under 10%. At the end of April 2009, Linux climbed over 1% of the market, just barely to 1.02%, but the following month the open-source operating system lost a few percentage points, and is now down to 0.99%.

Microsoft started offering Windows 7 Beta Build 7100 at the beginning of January 2009, and the Release Candidate bits on May 5th. Windows 7 RC Build 7100 continues to be up for grabs even at this point in time, and judging by its market share approximately three to four million users worldwide are running the operating system.

 

source: www.softpedia.com

Windows 7: RTM in July, General Availability on October 22, 2009

Microsoft today revealed that it will complete development of Windows 7 in late July and then make the system broadly available to customers on October 22, 2009.

source: www.winsupersite.com

Xbox360: 1080p HD in an Instant, Worldwide

from www.xbox.com

Continuing a pioneering effort that began with the introduction of the industry's first video marketplace in November 2006 and broke new ground with the announcement of the first live TV straight from a gaming console last week in the U.K., Xbox today announced it would deliver yet another first-to-the-world: instant on 1080p streaming HD movies and TV with 5.1 surround sound—direct to TVs worldwide through its Xbox LIVE social entertainment network.

Instantly stream blockbusters like The Dark Knight in 1080p.

Starting this fall, a broad selection of movies and TV shows from Zune video on Xbox 360 will be available to start and stream instantly, in the highest video quality at the push of a button. No discs, no downloads, no waiting. Get the selection of a video megastore, the best video clarity available and the convenience of cable, only on Xbox 360.

Additional Markets
Additionally, Microsoft announced it will more than double the number of markets where Xbox LIVE offers its TV shows and movies, growing from eight to 18, by adding Austria, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, and Belgium. Xbox LIVE members in every market will have access to instant on 1080p streaming HD video.

Windows 7 reaches Builds 7200 and 7225 with Service Pack 1

Microsoft has reportedly passed the 7200 build string milestone in the development of Windows 7. At the same time, reports indicate that the Redmond-based company is also building and testing the first Service Pack for the next iteration of the Windows client and server operating systems, even though both Windows 7 client and Windows Server 2008 R2 are yet to hit the RTM mark, let alone general availability. Wzor has leaked screenshots of Windows 7 Build 7138 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Build 7138 with Service Pack 1 already installed, and now the peek behind the Win7 scene coming from the Russian website is Windows 7 Build 7200.

According to Wzor, Windows 7 builds in the main branch, winmain, have jumped from 6.1.7141.0.winmain.090528, compiled on May 28, all the way to 6.1.7225.0.winmain.090529, wrapped up on May 29, in just a single day. Microsoft apparently passed a very important milestone in the development process of Windows 7 on May 29, but there are no details available as to what exactly happened. Still, the Redmond-based company is set to unveil all changes by the end of June 2009.

Nonetheless, it appears that the Windows 7 development process now has two directions, and two main branches. Such a move implies that Windows 7 has gone through a forking, a strategy designed to split the build tree in order to accommodate builds from two branches. Microsoft did that in the past with Windows 7 RC and RTM, and it is now doing it again with RTM and SP1.

In this context, the main branches of Windows 7, after the fork, are winmain and winmain_sp. In order to support half of the forked tree, Microsoft is also producing builds in the winmain_win7ids branch. The latest builds of Windows 7, from all branches, are 6.1.7200.0.winmain_win7ids_sp.090529; 6.1.7225.0.winmain_sp.090529 and 6.1.7225.0.winmain.090529. No official comment from Microsoft as of yet.

 

source: www.softpedia.com

New Snow Leopard screenshots

A reader over at AppleInsider going by the screen name of inewton1974 has pointed the site to an annotated Flickr album containing roughly four dozen Snow Leopard screenshots published earlier last week. The pictures show numerous tweaks in Snow Leopard's Finder, the unique features of QuickTime X and more.

The reader, who is also the source of the screenshots in question, notes that Snow Leopard's setup assistant now warns users when they don't supply a password hint. QuickLook capabilities have been built into universal Open and Save dialog windows, the poster outlines. He continues to point out to more interesting stuff occurring with the new Cocoa-based Finder, revealing that the Clean Up command used to rearrange icons into place now "slides" or shifts icons abruptly in what is described as "a neat visual effect." Snow Leopard's Finder also adds a slider control for resizing icons akin to iPhoto's slider for resizing photo thumbnails.

Most noteworthy is that the QuickTime preference pane has been removed in OS X 10.6, alongside any preferences from within the player itself. This, AppleInsider notes, continues to fuel speculation that Apple is likely to eliminate the Pro version of QuickTime in favor of a built-in QuickTime X Player sporting the full set (play, save, capture etc.) of pro-grade features. The site then goes to post relevant screenshots based on inewton1974's observations.

source: www.appleinsider.com www.neowin.net

Bing.com has begun

Bing.com is now available for everybody to use, as a public beta, with no sign-ups for invitations needed. TechCrunch has already tried it out for themselves, and has posted a list of things to try:

* An ambiguous Web search: "turkey" (do you want images, recipes, facts, or a map of the country? The topic guides in the left explore pane will help you narrow your search).
* A travel search: "SFO to JFK"
* Video search: "Simpsons" (hover over the thumbnail to play the video)
* Image search: "Rollercoasters" (notice the infinite scroll).
* A health search: "Sore throat"
* Shopping: "Digital SLR" (sort by price or brand, get average ratings and CashBack).
* Maps: "BBQ" (automatically knows what city you are in and offers up geo-appropriate results).
* News Search: "Bing"

source: www.neowin.net