Update on XP Service Pack 3 Post Install Experience.

Update on XP Service Pack 3, Since I installed the service pack 3 for Windows XP. I have installed Java Version 6 update 5 and oOo, Open Office version 2.4 and they are behaving fine. The next will be Microsoft's own Office version.
I also have Avast 4.8 running together with Zonealarm. Then I have the Spybot Search & Destroy 1.5.2.0 and I think they are keeping the system safe and clean. But I will soon change the firewall to Jetico. Why, Here is why! results of leak tests. I will also install Lavasoft's adaware 2007 as together with Spybot S&D, they keep off most of the bad boys away. All the software mentioned above are free if you are using them for personal use.

Tags: XP Service Pack 3, Java, oOo, Open Office, Zonealarm, Jetico, adaware 2007, Spybot Search & Destroy

"I won't go a dime above" Ballmer To Yahoo!

According to this Yahoo news article, Microsoft or Chief Executive Steve Ballmer if you follow the article plans to go hostile with take over bid, as soon as today!;
""We're willing to pay for that at some level, and beyond that level we're not willing to pay for it. I know exactly what I think Yahoo is worth to me," the executive (Ballmer) said. "I won't go a dime above, and I will go to what I think it's worth if that gets the deal done."

But he didn't offer a figure, and he didn't say whether Microsoft is considering raising its unsolicited bid, worth $44.6 billion at the time it was made in early February.

The offer is currently worth about $42.4 billion, or $29.48 per share, based on Microsoft Corp.'s closing stock price Thursday. Yahoo Inc. has rejected the offer, saying it undervalues the company. Microsoft's board has been considering whether to raise the bid to as much as $33 per share, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Ballmer didn't provide any new insight into the company's efforts to buy the Silicon Valley pioneer during the meeting at Microsoft's Redmond, Wash., headquarters, but he did indicate that an end to months of speculation was near.

"We ought to announce something in relatively short order," Ballmer told employees.

His comments were first reported by Silicon Alley Insider, an online technology news site, and confirmed by a Microsoft spokesman.

Ballmer added that buying Yahoo is just one of many moving parts in the software maker's strategy to compete with Google Inc. in search and Web advertising, and that if neither a friendly nor a hostile deal "look good," he's willing to walk away.

Microsoft's board met Wednesday but reached no decision on a next step, the Journal reported. The software maker had given Yahoo until last weekend to agree to a deal or face the prospect of an ugly proxy fight.

Meanwhile, Yahoo is exploring a possible advertising partnership with Internet search leader Google Inc. or a merger with the online operations of Time Warner Inc.'s AOL as possible defenses if Microsoft tries a hostile takeover.

Impressed by a two-week test completed last month, Yahoo could firm up a long-term deal within a week, according to the Journal. Any alliance between Yahoo and Google would face intense antitrust scrutiny, however, because the two companies control more than 80 percent of the U.S. market for search advertising.

Yahoo and Google hope to allay those concerns by structuring their deal so their rivals, including Microsoft, could participate in an auction-based system, the Journal said."

Tags: M$, Yahoo, Google, AOL, antitrust scrutiny

Windows XP Service Pack Experience.

I had to check this out so I finally installed this on a fresh Windows XP with Service Pack 2. Installation itself took some time ( I was able to almost complete a Ubuntu 8.04 on a old notebook) but the service pack installation went smooth. First it took an inventory of the notebook I was installing it on and the did a file and registry backup and created a restore point. Then installed the service pack 3. Everything went fine and I rebooted the notebook. It started without much fuzz and created/changed registry entries.
The system has been running for a while without any problems. I do not have many applications on the machine as yet and I will certainly do so as time allows. As of now I have tested, Zonealarm firewall, Spybot S&D with tea timer, Firefox along with VPN and some other remote access programs.
Although not available for down load, you can still get the service pack 3 if you know where to look!

Tags: Microsoft, XP Service Pack 3

After All These Years Windows XP, (Service Pack 3) Still Having Glitches! Or Is It M$?

News Com is telling me that XP Service Pack Is delayed due to incompatibility with it's own software package. So people why wait, Ubuntu is set to take on the windows! Go Get your Ubuntu.
Even if Windows service pack comes, it will be loaded with all the spy tool in the world like WGA, You cannot get even regular upgrades without WGA now!

tag: M$, Ubuntu, XP Service Pack 3, Ubuntu

Free Your PC, Notebook And Your Server With Ubuntu 8.04 LTS!

Canonical has announced the release of Ubuntu 8.04 LTS desktop and the server editions to the general public. I have been using both of them for a while. In fact I am in the process of upgrading one of our servers facing public with Ubuntu 8.04 LTS Server Edition. It will be doing a quite a bit of work together with another cluster of Ubuntu Servers, like a vertical market search engine!

I also have it on my notebook, an AMD 64bit desktop replacement machine and on this I have the Kubuntu due to my adoration to KDE. Complete with Open Office and plathora of other applications that I use for my work.

Talking about my work, I visit multiple client locations and partner locations that have windows networks. I have accounts on all these servers and I login to these networks from my Ubuntu/Kubuntu without any hassle.

Windows, start moving, we are ready to take you on!

Here is the press release on Ubuntu 8.04 LTS Desktop Edition; read install and enjoy!;

LONDON, April 21, 2008 – Canonical Ltd. announced the upcoming availability of Ubuntu 8.04 LTS Desktop Edition for free download on Thursday 24 April. In related news, Canonical also announced the simultaneous release of Ubuntu 8.04 LTS Server Edition.

Ubuntu 8.04 Long Term Support (LTS) provides a stable platform for software and hardware vendors, developers and users. With three years of support and maintenance on the desktop, 8.04 LTS is a great choice for large-scale deployment. A substantial and growing ecosystem of free and commercial software built for Ubuntu provides a rich set of choices for desktop users. This is the eighth desktop release of Ubuntu. Ubuntu's track record in delivering - on a precise schedule every six months - a commercial operating system that is free, stable, secure and fully supported, remains unique.

“Ubuntu 8.04 LTS Desktop Edition is a very significant release as it will take Ubuntu squarely into the business environment," said Jane Silber, COO of Canonical Ltd. "Our business and home users have told us that they want a longer support cycle to make Ubuntu a better deployment option. We have responded to that and added a commitment to much broader software and hardware support that we and our partners are excited to deliver. With enhanced commercial support through Landscape, combined with our always excellent community support, expect to see 8.04 LTS drive Ubuntu into new arenas."

"Ubuntu's polished, user focused version of the Linux desktop has built itself a wide enough following to compel significant ISV interest and support,” said Stephen O'Grady, principal analyst at Redmonk. "By coupling a very capable desktop offering with long term support options, Ubuntu is becoming an increasingly viable option for enterprises as well as consumers."

"Lotus Notes and Lotus Domino bring highly scalable messaging and industry-leading collaboration to the Ubuntu desktop,” said Kevin Cavanaugh, vice president of IBM Lotus Software. "We believe the extended multi-year support for Ubuntu 8.04 LTS makes it an excellent desktop solution for corporate users who wish to deploy Lotus Notes on an open platform."

Latest and Greatest Applications

Ubuntu 8.04 LTS raises the bar on the Linux desktop experience. It includes the latest, stable version of many core products, and in that spirit is the first distribution to bring Mozilla Firefox 3 (Beta 5) to millions of users. The combination of Linux and Firefox make Ubuntu 8.04 LTS a superb web desktop, with fast browsing and greatly reduced exposure to viruses, web forgery and spyware.

Enhanced photo experience: The enhanced default photo manager, F-Spot, together with improved camera and phone recognition means users can upload, tag, manage, display, delete, print and share photos with friends and family more easily.

Music sharing and download: Users can plug in a PSP, share playlists with friends, buy from the Magnatune online music store, stream live radio and plug in more devices than ever (with UpnP).

Better video: The new default movie player now allows users to browse YouTube and other video sources across the web and to share their videos with others. It integrates with Myth TV, the open source TVR, so users can watch their favourite TV shows straight on the desktop. Brasero allows them to easily burn all content to CD or DVD.

Productivity enhancements: Clock and calendar integration is available to manage time across the globe with a single click to set, attend and receive alerts about appointments.

Slick desktop: Ubuntu 8.04 LTS combines the latest GNOME applications with desktop visual effects, giving users a smoother, better-looking and more intuitive experience.

Breadth and Depth of Services

Longer support: Ubuntu 8.04 LTS is supported with security updates and maintenance for three years so corporate and individual users have a longer upgrade planning cycle. Those who want the newest applications will be able to upgrade to Ubuntu 8.10, due in October 2008, those who prefer longer deployment cycles can stay with Ubuntu 8.04 for three years before moving to the next LTS release.

More applications: More than 30 commercial ISVs plan to support and distribute their applications on the 8.04 LTS desktop platform, including Adobe, Google, Real Networks, Nero, Skype, Corel, Parallels and Fluendo.

More accessibility: Gesture support allows users to navigate Ubuntu in a more natural fashion. Also available are increased language support for voice command, support for keyboard accessibility, slow keys, zoom and more.

Pricing and Availability

Ubuntu 8.04 LTS Desktop Edition is free of charge and available on Thursday from http://www.ubuntu.com/download.

tag: Ubuntu, Canonical, kubuntu, Ubuntu 8.04 LTS Server Edition, Ubuntu 8.04 LTS Desktop Edition

A Lot Of Broken Vista Machines Tomorrow?

Microsoft has announced that starting today, Windows Vista Service Pack 1 is being distributed over Windows Update through the Automatic Updates feature. Only English, French, German, Spanish, and Japanese Windows versions are slated to be (broken) Updated. So if you have automatic update enabled, Vista SP1 will be will download in the background as soon as you access internet, means any time. Once down loaded, you will be prompted for installation. Other language versions are available for download but will soon be available via Automatic Update. The process of getting to everyone through Automatic Updates could take some time, so don't be surprised if it doesn't happen quickly, even consider yourself lucky, You might not see these crashes for a while.
tag: Microsoft, Vista, Vista SP1, Automatic Update

Another Threat From M$ to Yahoo.

SAN FRANCISCO/SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp gave Yahoo Inc no hope of a higher takeover price, saying it was ready to go hostile or even call off its bid if Yahoo maintains "unrealistic expectations" of a better deal.

"Speed is of the essence for the deal to make sense," Chief Financial Officer Chris Liddell said on a conference call on Thursday. If no deal is reached by this weekend, Microsoft will reconsider its offer and reveal new plans next week, he said.

"Unfortunately, the transaction has been anything but speedy and has been characterized by what would appear to be unrealistic expectations of value," he said of Yahoo's moves to frustrate Microsoft's unsolicited merger proposition.

Microsoft sees Yahoo as a way to compete with arch-rival Google Inc in the Internet search and advertising arena, but company executives have repeatedly said they have limits to what they are willing to pay to get a deal done.

"We have yet to see tangible evidence that our bid substantially undervalues the company," Liddell said, referring to Yahoo. "In fact, we see the opposite."

Liddell reiterated a threat Microsoft made three weeks ago to Yahoo's board of directors that it would consider cutting its bid, now worth about $44 billion, and take its case to Yahoo shareholders if a deal is not reached by this Saturday.

Continue reading at Reuters..

tag: M$, Yahoo, Google, Google Yahoo Advertising Pact

The Norway's YES Vote on OOXML - What really happened

The Chairman of the Norwegian mirror committee for SC34 (K185) for 13 years until resigning a couple of weeks ago in protest against Standard Norway’s decision to vote Yes. tells us the story from his side.
A good read, be prepared to get perplexed!
tag: OOXML, Norway YES vote, Standard Norway

Alexa Ranking Has Changed and New Ranking Is Live!

Did your Alexa Rank change? Find out why.
FEEDoTopia: New Alexa Ranking Is Live!
tag: Alexa, Alexa Toolbar, Alexa Rank,

Microsoft Corp. honors its 2008 Most Valuable Professionals (MVPs)

REDMOND, Wash. — April 14, 2008 — Microsoft Corp. honors its 2008 Most Valuable Professionals (MVPs), a highly select group of experts who represent the best and brightest in technical communities, at the 2008 MVP Global Summit April 14–17 in Seattle at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center and at Microsoft headquarters in Redmond. MVPs are recognized by Microsoft as outstanding leaders who voluntarily share their expertise in technical communities worldwide. MVPs also provide invaluable feedback to Microsoft by serving as early adopters of new technology and assisting in the product design and development processes.

More than 4,000 MVPs worldwide cover 90 different Microsoft technologies in 94 countries. Mirroring the wide range of real-world challenges and applications that MVPs represent, the summit will feature more than 600 technical sessions on topics ranging from enterprise security and virtualization to gaming and digital media.

This year’s summit also marks new leadership for the MVP program, as Toby Richards takes on the role of general manager of Community Support Services for Microsoft. The MVP Global Summit will conclude with closing remarks by Steve Ballmer, Microsoft chief executive officer, and Ray Ozzie, Microsoft chief software architect.

“Microsoft MVPs are an amazing group of individuals,” Richards said. “By sharing their knowledge and experiences and providing objective feedback, MVPs play an integral role in the improvement of Microsoft products, while also helping people solve problems and discover new capabilities. It gives us great pleasure to recognize and thank MVPs for their demonstrated commitment to helping others.”

MVPs drive customer satisfaction through direct interaction with Microsoft users, answering more than 1 million user-group questions annually. They can also directly affect the quality of Microsoft technology and processes through early testing and feedback. MVPs have contributed to the development of almost every recent Microsoft release including Windows Server 2008, Microsoft SQL Server 2008, 2007 Microsoft Office system and Windows Vista. One MVP’s feedback drove substantial performance improvements to Windows Mobile 6.1 and enhancements in the improvement and re-release of the Microsoft Junk E-mail Reporting Tool. In addition, 268 MVPs participated in Windows Home Server Connect programs worldwide.

“The worldwide technical community is growing at such a rapid pace,” Richards said. “Microsoft is privileged to collaborate with exceptional leaders in the world of technology through the MVP program. At this year’s summit we hope to energize these leaders as well as use their independent, objective feedback for the betterment of Microsoft’s products and services.”

tag: M$, MVP, MVP Global Summit

(Jump) Start Your Career At Google Mailroom

If you ever dreamed of getting a job delivering, handling or anything to do with postman, now it is time to make that dream come true. Gmail is saying;
Official Gmail Blog: We're hiring
Start At Your Career At Google Mailroom

Updated:
Since more people seems to be lost at finding the directions (Just click on the header line) I am posting more info on the hiring part.
You can learn more and apply on new gmail hiring page.
Current openings are;

• Rapid Prototyper
• Analytics Engineer
• Software Engineer
• User Interface Software Engineer

tag: google, gmail, Google Jobs

Project Management with Google Docs

I use Google docs for multiple tasks. But this team from New Zealand has done something creative.
tag: Google Docs

KML 2.2 Is An Open Geospatial Consortium Standard.

Today where every company is trying to make their formats standards with big fights and expenses, there are some that become standards by themselves.
Google has given us a few open standards, the Google Geo APIs and the way that KML has been used all across the web to express geographic content, and people have been using them for long time in internet standards that they have become part of the life through mashups, directions, waypoints etc.
But now the the KML has been crowned as an official OGC standard by the Open Geospatial Consortium. This means that KML is not just a Google Earth standard, it's not even just a Google standard. It is now an official standard for presenting geographic data. Read more about this great news on the LatLong blog;
Google LatLong: KML: A new standard for sharing maps

But also don't forget to read this post by EarthBrowser which sees a whole different side of it;
EarthBrowser: KML, libkml and the "standard" mistake
tag: KML, OGC, Google Geo API, OGC standard, Open Geospatial Consortium, Google Earth

Windows Is Collapsing! Is? I thought it Started a long ago!

I was reading this lively conversation ignited by a Gartner report. The author is bit a M$ biased and makes valid points that he thinks is valid. But as I am the opposite, without people like him I might miss the points. Like he attributes peoples dislike to embrace Vista, (I would not go in to writing versions be cause I might run out of space!) to that XP is still kicking and a classic.
One thing he got right though, most corporate desktops are running Windows. Forcing us to dual boot, to make money. Those corporate people make us good deals just installing supporting and upgrading major versions and service packs!
Anyway as I said conversation lively over there, come join here, to hold windows from collapsing or give it a kick!
"There are several news reports from a Gartner conference in Las Vegas this week that included a session titled "Windows Is Collapsing: How What Comes Next Will Improve." Gartner may not be stellar at identifying industry trends, but they sure know how to pick controversial session titles."

tag: M$, Windows Is Collapsing, Gartner report, Vista, XP

Microsoft's top lawyer Cries Foul, On Yahoo Google Ad tests.

It seems Microsoft's top lawyer does not like Yahoo and Google getting cozy, He on Thursday warned that any deal between Yahoo and Google would hurt competition. WOw! This coming from a company that has been sighted as a monopoly!

"Any definitive agreement between Yahoo and Google would consolidate over 90 percent of the search-advertising market in Google's hands. This would make the market far less competitive, in contrast to our own proposal to acquire Yahoo," Microsoft General Counsel Brad Smith said in a statement.

The statement follows reports that Yahoo is considering a limited test of using Google to deliver some search advertising.

Smith said Microsoft will "assess closely all of our options." Microsoft is looking and even threatening to purchase Yahoo!

Iread it at CNET.

tag: M$, Yahoo, google, Yahoo google ad deal, proposal to acquire Yahoo,

Google App Engine Blog: Introducing Google App Engine + our new blog

Google just started a new service called Google App Engine. I signed up as it will make my life much easier with projects and application that I am bringing forth in the near future. With 500MB of storage, 200M megacycles of CPU per day, and 10GB bandwidth per day, I have no complaints but admiration. You too can get your Web Application on Google platform, follow the link to read the blog post and join the force.

Google App Engine gives you access to the same building blocks that Google uses for its own applications, making it easier to build an application that runs reliably, even under heavy load and with large amounts of data. The development environment includes the following features:

• Dynamic webserving, with full support of common web technologies
• Persistent storage (powered by Bigtable and GFS with queries, sorting, and transactions)
• Automatic scaling and load balancing
• Google APIs for authenticating users and sending email
• Fully featured local development environment

Google App Engine packages these building blocks and takes care of the infrastructure stack, leaving you more time to focus on writing code and improving your application.

Google App Engine Blog: Introducing Google App Engine + our new blog

tag: google, google app engine, Google APIs, Google App Engine packages

Balmer To Yahoo Board! I Will ..........

Microsoft sent a letter to Yahoo board of Directors saying / Threatening that Yahoo has three weeks to negotiate a decent deal, after which time Microsoft / Steven A. Ballmer is going to go postal. So if Balmer has his way, we might see a new Yahoo! board selected by Share holders / M$.
If you like to read the letter it is here.
"Given these developments, we believe now is the time for our respective companies to authorize teams to sit down and negotiate a definitive agreement on a combination of our companies that will deliver superior value to our respective shareholders, creating a more efficient and competitive company that will provide greater value and service to our customers. If we have not concluded an agreement within the next three weeks, we will be compelled to take our case directly to your shareholders, including the initiation of a proxy contest to elect an alternative slate of directors for the Yahoo! board. The substantial premium reflected in our initial proposal anticipated a friendly transaction with you. If we are forced to take an offer directly to your shareholders, that action will have an undesirable impact on the value of your company from our perspective which will be reflected in the terms of our proposal.

It is unfortunate that by choosing not to enter into substantive negotiations with us, you have failed to give due consideration to a transaction that has tremendous benefits for Yahoo!’s shareholders and employees. We think it is critically important not to let this window of opportunity pass."

Misappropriation Of Apple Logo!

Steve, How about this?

After reading today about Apple’s legal challenge to the GreenNYC logo on New York Times, claiming that the looped green apple below, right, would cause “consumer confusion resulting in damage and injury” to Apple, and will “cause dilution of the distinctiveness” of Apple’s trademark, the first thought around City Room was: They’ve got to be kidding.
Yes, Apple you should have thought about it when you choose a common word for logo and trademark, Like Microsoft did with Windows. Why do you think they settled with Lindows! Anyways what is Big Apple? New York was known as Big Apple even before Steve was born.
On the other hand all trademarks and photos belong to their owners.
tag: Apple, trademark, lindows, microsoft

O3Spaces Workplace, An Essential Web 2.0 Enterprise Extension for OpenOffice.org And Beyond

I just downloaded the VMWare version (Community Version) of the famous O3Spaces appliance. I am very pleased with it that I will present it to some people who is in dire need of document management solution.
The version I tested out was 2.2.1 which is the current version. O3Spaces Workplace integrates easily into office productivity suites such as OpenOffice.org, StarOffice and Microsoft Office, and delivers its Document Management and Document Collaboration solutions for teams distributed or local, workgroups & departments, across different operating systems. The solution I will be presenting is a mixed shop, ranging from Linux, Windows to Mac OS X. If you like to read more about the workplace, download the following document.

Download O3Spaces Workplace 2.2.1 whitepaper (PDF - 299 kB)

Following information is obtained verbatim from the O3Spaces website.

Workplace 2.2.1 is available as one of three well known editions; the popular Community Edition (over 30000 downloads in 5 months), the enterprise grade Professional Edition and the no hassle Software As A Service On-Demand Edition.

O3Spaces Workplace 2.2.1 incorporates a greatly enhanced Workplace Assistant. This trademark desktop component now sports an 'application style' user interface, with a generic Workplace repository file browser. It allows you to upload multiple files and folders to the Workplace by drag & drop, or download a selection of files and folders for off-line work. The new Workplace Assistant makes it even easier to share any type of file from any application, while retaining the benefits of the Workplace repository's security, versioning and locking mechanisms.
Download O3Spaces Workplace Assistant File-Explorer whitepaper (PDF - 142 kB)

Another unique Workplace feature is the template-management module. This functionality addresses one of the few remaining OOo/SO enterprise blind spots. The module covers template storage, versioning, as well as, controlled distribution of templates to the end user in one integrated system.
Download O3Spaces Workplace Template Management whitepaper (PDF - 119 kB)

O3Spaces Workplace 2.2.1 is the first Workplace release offering a Spanish localization, catering to the popular demand of Spanish speaking Workplace users across the globe.

O3spaces Workplace has a rapidly growing global customer base. Our customers can be found in the educational, health care, government, SMB & enterprise markets.
The O3Spaces Workplace 2.2.1 Community Edition is available from the O3Spaces community website: http://community.o3spaces.com and at: http://extensions.services.openoffice.org/.

On the community website you will find:
Community downloads (VMware Appliance, Windows installer, generic Deb package or a generic RPM package)
2.2.1 Update Kit (Update a 2.x.x to 2.2.1)
Professional Edition trial download (Workplace Deployment Kit)

tag: Document Management, Open Source, O3Spaces Workplace, Linux, Windows, Mac OS X, OpenOffice.org, StarOffice, Microsoft Office,

Be On Time (Cheat On) With Gmail Custom Time.

All I had to say was Wow! I can be "on time" now! (Only on April 1st)

How do I use it?

Just click "Set custom time" from the Compose view. Any email you send to the past appears in the proper chronological order in your recipient's inbox. You can opt for it to show up read or unread by selecting the appropriate option.

Is there a limit to how far back I can send email?

Yes. You'll only be able to send email back until April 1, 2004, the day we launched Gmail. If we were to let you send an email from Gmail before Gmail existed, well, that would be like hanging out with your parents before you were born -- crazy talk.

How does it work?

Gmail utilizes an e-flux capacitor to resolve issues of causality (see Grandfather Paradox).

How come I only get ten?

Our researchers have concluded that allowing each person more than ten pre-dated emails per year would cause people to lose faith in the accuracy of time, thus rendering the feature useless.

Their findings:

N = Total emails sent
P = Probability that user believes the time stamp
φ = The Golden Ratio
L = Average life expectancy

Man What am I going to do after April 1st?

tag: Google, Gmail, Custom Time,

Mozilla Is Ten Years Old!

I will let Mitchell Baker, the chief lizard wrangler, tell you the story of Mozilla, the bringer of this browser, Firefox, that I am using to write this post and Thunderbird, my day to day email application.
March 31, 1998 is the date that Mozilla was officially launched. It’s the date the first Mozilla code became publicly available under the terms of an official open source license and a governing body for the project — the Mozilla Organization — began its public work. It’s always been known in Mozilla parlance as “3/31.” We’ll be celebrating Mozilla’s 10 year anniversary throughout 2008. Today I want to look at our first ten years, and a bit at the next ten years.
The post by Mitchell Baker
tag: Mozilla, firefox, thunderbird, Mozilla birthday

Adobe AIR for Linux is alpha Released

The Adobe® AIR for Linux alpha is a version of the Adobe AIR runtime that allows Adobe AIR applications to be deployed on computers and devices running the Linux operating system. In addition, Adobe Flex® Builder™ for Linux can be used to build rich internet applications that deploy to the desktop and run across operating systems using proven web technologies.
See the release notes for more information regarding this alpha runtime. Please help us ensure that the final release of Adobe AIR for Linux will be of the highest quality by installing and using this alpha version and sending us your feedback on the forums.
ARSTechnica has a good writeup on the subject as well

Microsoft Vista PWNed

I am on the run and the I need to remind the PWN2OWN challenge results. Apple fell on second day and now Vista has fallen too. Only notebook not pwned is the Ubuntu! Here is a report from Computer world.

March 30, 2008 (Computerworld) A security researcher on Friday exploited a critical bug in Adobe Systems Inc.'s Flash Player to hack a notebook running Windows Vista Ultimate, the second machine to fall in this year's "Pwn to Own" challenge.

The only unclaimed laptop of the original trio by the contest's end was a Sony Vaio running the Ubuntu distribution of Linux.

Shane Macaulay, a consultant at Security Objectives, claimed the $5,000 cash prize by breaking into a Fujitsu U810 running Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 late Friday. According to 3Com Inc.'s TippingPoint unit, which put up the prizes for the three-day hacker challenge at the CanSecWest conference, Macaulay exploited an unidentified zero-day vulnerability of the ubiquitous Flash Player.

Original Post at Computerworld

tag: PWN To Own, PWN2OWN, CanSecWest, CanSecWest 2008, DVLabs, Tipping Point's Zero Day Initiative,Vista PWNed

Symbian 9.2 Hacked?

As all the Symbian modders or heavy users already know, SSS (Stupid Symbian Signed) have revoked the end user's ability to be a developer thus preventing them getting a developer certificate. This forced everyone but big boys to use use their open-signed online system. So all the free software were unable to be signed and people had to chase down certificates by various means like learn to follow through Chinese language sites. It was not easy even with my Japanese Kanji (limited) knowledge. So I had to rely on posts like this for support. Anyway people were able to obtain certificates and the applications running. It was not easy but did the job.
But now the same source that took us through the Chinese site is telling us how to do away with the certificates altogether.He has worked with FCA00000 and others in this Symbian Freak forum thread for coming up with this solution! Neanton from the same forum was involved in preparing the guide!
This hack allows you to install and run unsigned applications on Symbian device. So follow the link to get to the guide with clear instructions and screen captures that paves the path to a really "Open Symbian S60".
Parttime phone reviewer

tag: Symbian hack, Symbian modders, Stupid Symbian Signed, SSS, Open Symbian S60, Symbian S60

Aperture 2.1 with Powerful Image Editing Plug-In Architecture Released

CUPERTINO, California—March 28, 2008— Apple® today released Aperture™ 2.1, which introduces an open plug-in architecture that makes it easy for photographers to use specialized third party imaging software right from within Aperture. Available today as a free software update, Aperture 2.1 includes the Apple-developed plug-in, Dodge & Burn, which adds brush-based tools for dodge (lighten), burn (darken), contrast, saturation, sharpen and blur. Over the coming months, third party software developers will deliver image editing plug-ins for localized editing, filters and effects, noise analysis and reduction, fisheye lens correction and more.

“The image quality in Aperture 2 has won over the most demanding photographers,” said Rob Schoeben, Apple’s vice president of Applications Product Marketing. “Now, thanks to our open plug-in architecture, users can access an entire industry’s worth of imaging expertise without ever leaving Aperture.”

“To date, maybe two percent of my photographs needed to be touched up outside Aperture,” said John Stanmeyer, founding member of the VII Photo Agency and contributing photographer for Time and National Geographic magazines. “Now that I can dodge and burn right within Aperture’s new plug-in, I can’t imagine when I’ll have to open any other application to tone my images.”

By clicking on one or more images within Aperture, users can choose from a menu of installed plug-ins and apply specialized imaging operations to either TIFF or RAW images. Apple is working closely with key developers to bring the most requested plug-ins to Aperture such as:

• Nik Software’s Viveza plug-in, powered by U Point technology, which provides a powerful, precise and easy way for photographers to selectively control and adjust color and light in their digital images;
• PictureCode’s Noise Ninja plug-in that delivers advanced high ISO noise analysis and reduction;
• Digital Film Tools’ Power Stroke plug-in that features a simple, stroke-based interface to quickly mask and intuitively perform targeted adjustments;
• The Tiffen Company's Dfx plug-in that provides an expansive suite of creative filters and effects;
• dvGarage’s dpMatte plug-in, which is a high performance chroma key tool for creating seamless composites, and the HDRtoner plug-in that enables the selection of multiple photos to create a single high dynamic range (HDR) image; and
• Image Trends’ plug-ins that include Fisheye-Hemi to quickly and effortlessly correct fisheye lens distortion, ShineOff which automatically removes shine from faces and PearlyWhites that automatically whitens and brightens teeth.

Pricing & Availability
Aperture 2.1 is available immediately as a free software update to current Aperture 2.0 users. Full system requirements and more information on Aperture can be found at www.apple.com/aperture. Information and availability for third party imaging plug-ins can be found on www.apple.com/aperture/resources, www.apple.com/downloads and at the Aperture community site www.aperturepluggedin.com.

tag: Apple, Aperture™ 2.1, Dodge & Burn, Nik Software’s Viveza plug-in, PictureCode’s Noise Ninja plug-in, Digital Film Tools’ Power Stroke plug-in, dvGarage’s dpMatte plug-in, The Tiffen Company's Dfx plug-in

PWN To Own or PWN2OWN, Hack Vista, MAC OS X or Linux

Latest challange in the hacker world: Linux versus Mac OS X versus Vista. All three targets, all patched. All in typical client configurations with typical user configurations. Waiting for anyone to hack PWN it. You hack it, you get to keep it. Keep what?

The Three Targets (typical road-warrior clients):

• VAIO VGN-TZ37CN running Ubuntu 7.10
• Fujitsu U810 running Vista Ultimate SP1
• MacBook Air running OSX 10.5.2

This year's contest started on March 26th, and continue through the presentation hours and breaks of the conference until March 28th. The main purpose of this contest is to present new vulnerabilities in these systems so that the affected vendor(s) can address them. Participation is open to any registered attendee of CanSecWest 2008.

So far Laptops are still standing according to a DVLabs post;
"Today's first day of CansecWest's PWN to OWN contest is now officially over, and we can report that all three laptops are still standing without having been compromised. At 2:45pm local time today, to much fanfare, Aaron made the official announcement of the contest's opening to the CanSecWest crowd. "

Once you extract your claim ticket file from a laptop (note that doing so will involve executing code on the box, simple directory traversal style bugs are inadequate), you get to keep it. You also get to participate in 3com / Tipping Point's Zero Day Initiative, with the top award for remote, pre-auth, vulnerabilities being increased this year. Fine print and details on the cash prizes are available from Tipping Point's DVLabs blog.

Lets go PWNing

tag: PWN To Own, PWN2OWN, CanSecWest, CanSecWest 2008, DVLabs, Tipping Point's Zero Day Initiative,

First Ever Document Freedom Day '08

Today is Document Freedom Day: Roughly 200 teams from more than 60 countries worldwide are organising local activities to raise awareness for Document Freedom and Open Standards. To support the initiatives surrounding the first day to celebrate document liberation, DFD starter packs containing a DFD flag, t-shirts and leaflets have been sent to the first 100 registered teams over the past weeks.

More...

Document Freedom Day (DFD) is a global day for document liberation. It will be a day of grassroots effort to educate the public about the importance of Free Document Formats and Open Standards in general.

Complementary to Software Freedom Day, we aim to have local teams all over the world organise events on the last Wednesday of March. 2008 is the first year that Document Freedom Day is being called for, and we are looking for people around the world who are willing to join the effort.

DFD's main goals are:

• promotion and adoption of free document formats
• forming a global network
• coordination of activities that happen on 26th of March, Document Freedom Day

Once a year, we will celebrate Document Freedom Day as a global community. Between those days, DFD will be focused on facilitating community action and building awareness for issues of Document Freedom and Open Standards.

We hope that you will join the DFD community.

Translations:

Català Español German Italiano Norsk Română Srpski 中文简体

tag: DFD, Document Freedom Day, SFD, Software Freedom Day, document liberation, Free Document Formats, Open Standards

U Penn, Wait On Windows Vista SP1

IW is reporting that University IT Staff at University of Pennsylvania is advising users not to grab Windows Vista SP1 and upgrade their computers until all the bugs are cleared.
I thought that Vista Supposed to give red screens not blue screens. If it were the case, M$ has put the feature back in Vista, Now you can get blue screens!
"I downloaded it via Windows Update, and got a bluescreen on the third part of the update," wrote "Iggy33", in a comment posted Wednesday on Microsoft's Vista team blog.

Iggy33 was just one of dozens of posters complaining about Vista Service Pack 1's effect on their PCs. "What a disaster," wrote "SeppDietrich", of the update. "It exiled all my Nvidia drivers to the Bermuda Triangle."

"Bikkja" said that "after installing SP1 things seem to go really slow, even though my computer shouldn't have any problems."

Other troubles reported by Vista SP1 users ranged from a simple inability to download the software from Microsoft's Windows Update site to sudden spikes in memory usage.

You can join the discussion at IW.

tag: M$, Vista SP1, vista bluescreen, vista redscreen

Sony Kicks Its Own Crapware Fee Out.

Sony must not have any ***** left by now at the rate it is kicking itself. First it was the Rootkits, to here from here, then it created a bogus blog baptized "All I want for Christmas is a PlayStation Portable.".
Now it has to retract the $50 charge for removing bloatware from notebooks that it sells. I just wonder what moron even bother to fight, I'd have just returned the ugly thing. You at no lost for good notebooks, units from Toshiba, HP, Acer, Gateway and many others does the job better.
Anyway you can read the story on Washington Post and ARS' own crapware report.


tag: Sony, Sony rootkits, Sony Crapware, Sony Bloatware, crapware fee

DRM-Free Music from More than 50 Rock, Pop, and Hip-Hop Artists on MicroSD Card From SANDISK

Rock, Pop, and Hip-Hop Artists to be featured in a U.S.-Based Music Promotion Tied to the Launch of the New 8GB Sansa Fuze MP3 Player

MILPITAS, Calif., March 19, 2008– SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK), a leading seller of MP3 players in the United States, today announced the company will promote DRM-free music from more than 50 new and emerging artists on a microSD card. This U.S.-based program is the first of its kind to use microSD cards, and helps launch the new 8GB (gigabyte)¹ Sansa Fuze MP3 player. The “Sansa Sessions” microSD card is comprised of a collection of rock, pop, and hip hop songs, music videos, and photos from more than 30 labels. Featured artists include All Time Low, Ladytron, Magnet, Nada Surf, Of Montreal and The Coup.

“The Sansa Sessions microSD card is an innovative medium for music distribution, and great exposure for our artists,” said Matt Lunsford, co-president, Polyvinyl Record Co., which represents Of Montreal and other artists featured on the card. “This promotion benefits all involved, aligning the interests of the musician, label and consumer. We look forward to doing more together.”

“We’re excited to be working with labels and artists to create a new ecosystem for music,” said Daniel Schreiber, general manager and senior vice president for SanDisk’s Sansa audio/video product line. “The Sansa Sessions music card gives customers a simple way to enjoy, manage, and discover new music. This is just the beginning of our efforts to bring consumers a simplified and highly enjoyable music experience.”

NonStop Riot, a LA-based entertainment and music marketing agency, selected and licensed the 50+ tracks for the Sansa Sessions program. SanDisk is currently working with NonStop Riot to create its content strategy and develop relationships with innovative labels and artists to distribute music on devices and flash memory cards.

Added Schreiber: “Artists want to give their fans an easy and legal way to experience and share their music, while labels are looking for a form of physical distribution with more usability than the CD. The Sansa Sessions promotion is a great opportunity to explore this new format and gives both artists and labels a glimpse of the potential for music distribution in this medium.”

Roughly the size of a fingernail, a microSD card is reminiscent of the CD but much smaller. Using this card, music lovers can carry thousands of songs, videos and photos in their pocket – and easily transport content from a Sansa music player to a PC, PDA, mobile phone and even an automobile.

For a limited time, U.S.-based music lovers who purchase the 8GB Sansa Fuze player will have the opportunity to redeem a promotional offer inside their box to receive the exclusive Sansa Sessions music sampler on a pre-loaded microSD card. More information can be found at http://www.sandisk.com/promofuze.²

Announced last week, the new flash-based Sansa Fuze rounds out the Sansa product family, joining the tiny Sansa Clip and video-centric Sansa View. The Sansa audio/video line offers consumers highly affordable, yet fun and fashionable music players loaded with appealing extra features.

tag: DRM, DRM Free, SANDISK, ll Time Low, Ladytron, Magnet, Nada Surf, Of Montreal, The Coup, Sansa Sessions microSD, NonStop Riot,

Mozilla CEO does Not Like Apples Method Of Safari Distribution.

For a long long time I never had anything say bad about Mozilla or anything related to it. Always praise. Just see the left column, I ask you to install firefox. But today I had a laugh reading what Mizilla CEO had to say. I don't know the dude from a grass blade but I am surprised about what he has to say.
"What Apple is doing now with their Apple Software Update on Windows is wrong," Lilly said in a blog post on Friday. "It undermines the trust relationship great companies have with their customers, and that's bad -- not just for Apple, but for the security of the whole Web."

Hey go find another sand box to play! (Forgive him, he loves basketball! But Rockets will go in a puff today! Most of all Jo Ito took his blog photo. Anyone that Jo likes has to be good!!)
If I had a mechanism, I would do the same to Firefox like Apple does!
update;
OK John is right (Houston won) :(

tag: Apple, Mozilla,

Apple To Windows, Let Me Take You On A Safari, With Safari 3.1 For Windows

Keepeing to his words, Apple's Steve Jobs is offering windows version of Apples Web Browser Safari via it's iTunes Update Program.
When Mr. Jobs first unveiled Safari for Windows, he said that the main way Apple planned to get Safari on Windows is through its Software Update program. He noted that there are a million downloads of iTunes a day, with 500 million of those going to Windows machines."
What a better vehicle than iTunes to deliver Safari or any other Apple product. The task is even easier as these users already knows about Apple and it's ability to provide what users need without much of a hassle. (I myself do not like iTunes and assorted stuff running as services in my PC's as the grab too much resources. I let iTunes run freely on my Mac, correction, was my Mac. I just got a call from my girl friend who just got a new job saying that her office uses Macs and she need to practice Macs!)
But I alredy have Safari 3.1 running on one of my notebooks.
tag: apple, safari, safari for windows, safari 3.1, iTunes, mac

Windows 2008 Is a Service Pack! And You Can Have Your Vista SP1

I found this interesting information while reading about Vista SP1 at Computer world. So it explains that Vista SP1 and Windows 2008 goes hand in hand, with a little help from XP SP3.

Interestingly, the initial, release-to-manufacturing version of Windows Server 2008 is known internally within Microsoft as the Service Pack 1 version. This is because both Windows client and server are now based on the same code, and have the same kernel. Along with this parity, the same patches and updates apply to both Vista SP1 and Windows Server 2008. It may seem strange to have the first release of an OS call itself Service Pack 1, but the first service pack for Windows Server 2008 will indeed be named Service Pack 2, and should appear in the channels at roughly the same time as Vista Service Pack 2.

Some other miscellaneous improvements relating to SP1 with regard to Windows Server 2008:

• Bitlocker, the drive encryption feature, now supports encrypting other volumes besides just the main C:/ drive in a system. The Bitlocker code in the Vista client has now achieved feature parity with that in Windows Server 2008.
• Terminal Services printing is improved, specifically when printing to a printer local to a machine from within a Terminal Services session.

tag: Windows 2008, Vista SP1,

Japanese ISP's Goes Against P2P Users

The Yomiuri Shimbun

The nation's four Internet provider organizations have agreed to forcibly cut the Internet connection of users found to repeatedly use Winny and other file-sharing programs to illegally copy gaming software and music, it was learned Friday.

The move aims to deal with the rise in illegal copying of music, gaming software and images that has resulted in huge infringements on the rights of copyright holders.

Resorting to cutting off the Internet connection of copyright violators has been considered before but never resorted to over fears the practice might involve violations of privacy rights and the freedom of use of telecommunications.

The Internet provider organizations have, however, judged it possible to disconnect specific users from the Internet or cancel provider contracts with them if they are identified as particularly flagrant transgressors in cooperation with copyright-related organizations, according to sources.

The four organizations include the Telecom Service Association and the Telecommunications Carriers Association. About 1,000 major and smaller domestic providers belong to the four associations, which means the measure would become the first countermeasure against Winny-using rights-violators used by the whole provider industry.

They organizations plan to launch a consultative panel, possibly in April, together with copyright organizations including the Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers and the Association of Copyright for Computer Software. They will then begin making guidelines for disconnecting users from the Internet who leak illegally copied material onto the Net.

The number of users of file-sharing software such as Winny in the country is estimated to be about 1.75 million, with most of the files exchanged using the software believed to be illegal copies.

A brief six-hour survey by a copyright organization monitoring the Internet found about 3.55 million examples of illegally copied gaming software, worth about 9.5 billion yen at regular software prices, and 610,000 examples of illegally copied music files, worth 440 million yen, that could be freely downloaded into personal computers using such software, the sources said. In other words, this survey alone, uncovered damages amounting to 10 billion yen.

Two years ago, a major Internet provider tried to introduce a measure to disconnect users from the Internet whenever the company detected the use of Winny or other file-sharing software.

However, the provider abandoned the idea after receiving a warning from the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry that such an approach was regarded as Internet snooping and might violate the right to privacy in communications.

According to the new agreement, copyright organizations would notify providers of Internet protocol addresses used by those who repeatedly make copies illegally, using special detection software. The providers would then send warning e-mails to the users based on the IP addresses of the computers used to connect to the Internet. If contacted users did not then stop their illegal copying, the providers would temporarily disconnect them from the Internet for a specified period of time or cancel their service-provision contracts.
Source
tag: file-sharing, p2p, Winny, Japanese ISP

Spam King Goes To Jail

Seattle Times is reporting that Robert Soloway is going to prison for a long time. "Soloway appeared at a hastily scheduled hearing in U.S. District Court in Seattle, where he was set to go to trial in two weeks on a 40-count indictment that included seven counts of aggravated identity theft — which carries a mandatory two-year prison sentence added on to any other sentence — and 13 counts of money laundering."
I think it is a good read about the evasive spam king and learn why spam does not pay!

tag: Spam, soloway

Sparking iPod Prompts An Iinvestigation In Japan.

TOKYO - Japan is investigating a possible defect in Apple Inc.'s iPod after one of the popular digital music players reportedly shot out sparks while recharging, a government official said Wednesday.
An official at the trade and economy ministry, which oversees product problems, said a defect is suspected in the lithium-ion battery in the iPod Nano, model number MA099J/A. He spoke on customary condition of anonymity, saying he is reiterating a ministry position.
The problem surfaced in January in Kanagawa Prefecture southwest of Tokyo, and Apple reported the problem to the ministry in March. No one was injured, the official said. Other details weren't available.
Apple Japan did not contest the ministry statement but declined further comment. Nano players are sold all over the world, and it was still unclear where else besides Japan the suspected model was sold, said Masayoshi Suzuki, an Apple spokesman in Tokyo.
The ministry has instructed Apple Japan to find out the cause of what it is categorizing as a fire and report back to the government.
The iPod was assembled in China, but it was unclear who made the lithium-ion battery, the ministry official said.
Lithium-ion batteries have been blamed for a series of blazes in laptops recently that have resulted in massive global recalls.
The ministry said Apple has shipped about 425,000 iPods of the same suspected model were shipped into Japan. It was unknown how many have been sold and how many might still be in stores.
Shipments of the model began in September 2005 and were discontinued after September 2006, the ministry said.
Yahoo AP Article By YURI KAGEYAMA
tag: iPod, iPod Nano, iPod Japan, sparking iPod

Tele Atlas Will Show Microsoft The Way Of The Maps

Boston, March 10, 2008 — Tele Atlas (FSE: TA6, EUNV: TA), a leading global provider of digital maps and dynamic content for navigation and location-based solutions, today announced it has signed an agreement to extend its relationship with Microsoft Corporation to power its mapping and location platform services.

Through the agreement, Microsoft products Live Search Maps, Virtual Earth and Microsoft Streets & Trips will rely on Tele Atlas digital maps and content, including points of interest (POIs) such as hotels, gas stations and restaurants, for the United States and Canada.

“Our customers and industry partners have come to expect high quality location information and imagery on Live Search Maps, and working with an industry innovator like Tele Atlas helps ensure we deliver on those expectations,” said Erik Jorgenson, general manager of Live Search Maps at Microsoft. “We are looking forward to continuing to work with Tele Atlas so that our solutions continue to deliver relevant, rich location content, from maps and directions to 3D imagery.”

“We’re excited to expand our longstanding relationship with Microsoft and look forward to collaborating on future opportunities to further support their full range of mapping initiatives,” said George Fink, Tele Atlas President and Chief Operating Officer. “Combining our digital map expertise and Microsoft’s innovative applications, today’s community of digital map users are provided with a range of location and mapping solutions that enable them to better customize and personalize their search and navigation experiences.”
tag: Mapping, Microsoft, Tele Atlas, Live Search Maps, Virtual Earth, Microsoft Streets & Trips, digital map

Now Novel Is Having Second Thoughts About M$ Patent Deal!

According to meny sources but Washington Post for me, Novel is not happy about having to sleep with M$ in the Patent bed.
"Open-source pioneer and Novell Vice President Miguel de Icaza last week for the first time publicly slammed his company's cross-patent licensing agreement with Microsoft as he defended himself against lack of patent protection for third parties that distribute his company's Moonlight project, which ports Microsoft's Silverlight technology to Linux.

Speaking on a panel at the MIX 08 conference in Las Vegas, de Icaza said that Novell has done the best it could to balance open-source interests with patent indemnification. However, if he had his way, the company would have remained strictly open source and not gotten into bed with Microsoft. Novell entered into a controversial multimillion dollar cross-patent licensing and interoperability deal with Microsoft in November 2006."

De Icaza is a well-known technology prodigy from Mexico City who cofounded the GNOME open-source project and whose company Ximian was purchased by Novell in 2003. He remains one of the company's most well-respected and best-known open-source proponents.

De Icaza's comments came as he received questions from an audience member about the Moonlight project, Novell's open-source project to bring Microsoft's Silverlight to Linux. Silverlight is cross-browser runtime for building and delivering applications on the Web.

Read more at Washington Post.

tag: M$, novell, Patents, de Icaza, MIX 08, Ximian, Moonlight project, Linux Silverlight

Julius Baer Withdraws Wikileaks Lawsuit

A Swiss bank Julius Baer on Wednesday asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit that it had filed against a Web site that it claimed had displayed stolen documents revealing confidential information about the accounts of the bank’s clients.

It was also discussed widely if the Judge erred while handling the wikileaks case.

Lawyers involved in the case said the move by Bank Julius Baer most likely ends its battle against Wikileaks, a Web site that allows people to post documents anonymously “to be of assistance to people of all regions who wish to reveal unethical behavior in their governments and corporations.”

Source

tag: wikileaks, julius baer

Microsoft Office Live Space, Is Not Google Docs.

Today Microsoft opened up its Office Live Space as a public beta. I tried it out and it does what it says, a share point for your office, Microsoft Office documents.
Unlike Google Docs, you cannot make documents online. Also Google Docs runs on my PC, My notebook loaded with Ubuntu and Windows XP, My Nokia 810 and although I have not tried yet, even on my phone.
If you are planing to use Office Live Space don't plan to walk very far from your computer and a Microsoft OS. Those plugins don't run anywhere else!
So don't come telling me that M$ is challenging Google Docs, it does not. Perhaps in the future it might but hold the horses for the moment. Oh don't go sing the prises to Steve, the one who throws chairs around.
tag: Office Live Space, Google Docs

Vista Price Cut

Even though I own two copies of Microsoft Vista, non is running on any of my computers, six of them, desktops and notebooks. Reasons have been from lack of performance gain to incompatibility with Vista certified computers like the one I am writing this article. Another reason was memory requirements. Although considered to be pretty new computers, only three computers that I have support more than 4GB of memory. Anyway if I give any reasons here now for not using Vista, it will be incomplete. But I am not alone in not going in Vista way. From the article about Microsoft cutting Vista price.
I think people want more than eye candy.
For those in the U.S., Microsoft is cutting prices only on the higher-end versions of Vista, and only for the upgrade version used to move from XP or another copy of Vista. The suggested price for Vista Ultimate drops to $219 from $299, while Home Premium falls to $129, from $159.

In an interview, newly minted Windows consumer marketing vice president Brad Brooks said that Microsoft had been testing lower prices over the past few months and was surprised to find that the amount of revenue lost was more than made up for by an increase in the number of PC buyers willing to shell out for an upgrade.

Brooks said that Microsoft had done a lot of research prior to Vista's launch, but noted that both Home Premium and Ultimate were new products for the company. "We probably got the pricing mix wrong," he said. "You don't always get it right, but you make the adjustment."

Source of Vista price cut News
tag: Vista price cut, M$, Vista,

Geemodo: U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White might have erred in WikiLeaks site case.

WikiLeaks is back online after Federal Judge reverses his earlier order.

In reversing himself at a hearing in San Francisco on Friday, Judge White acknowledged that the bank’s request posed serious First Amendment questions and might constitute unjustified prior restraint. He also appeared visibly frustrated that technology might have outrun the law and that, as a result, the court might not be able to rein in information once it had been disclosed online.

“We live in an age,” Judge White said, “when people can do some good things and people can do some terrible things without accountability necessarily in a court of law.”

Critics of Judge White’s previous order had said one problem was its breadth: It obstructed access to documents beyond those that the bank said contained confidential information. But he noted that as a practical matter, no ruling might achieve what the bank wanted.

Garret D. Murai, a lawyer for Dynadot, the registrar that provided the Wikileaks domain name, said after the hearing that the Wikileaks.org domain name would probably be re-enabled within an hour of the judge’s issuing a written order outlining his decision. The site is working again.

Source of infromation.

Geemodo: U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White might have erred in WikiLeaks site case.
tag: wikileaks

ISS (International Space Station) Through The Phases.

There is an animation of ISS' progress at tietronix.
From here;

To Here
tag: ISS, Animation, animation of ISS