Google secures and may rescues M$ with new Google Pack.
I was looking for add ons for my ever groving Google stuff! I noticed the new add ons that increase the value of the Google Pack. Google Pack now sports two new packages, Symantec's Norton Security Scan, which detects and removes viruses, and PC Tools' Spyware Doctor Starter Edition, a top-rated anti-spyware utility.
And once your computer is clean and secure, you can start Photo casting with new Screen saver.
In the past when ever I had to help out a person in trouble, I had to scour the web for tools to help me clear up the mess they have created. Now I have the Google pack in one of my flash drives that I constantly fill/upgrade with rescue tools.
Symantec is not one of my favorite tools for virus removal, due to my personal reasons. But I have seen other people and my clients very happy with the product. Spyware Doctor Starter edition is also not my tool of the trade for removing and protecting from Spyware and malware. But again I have seen happy users that smile when they see the name!. see below for my choices.
I think this one of the best tool box, Google Pack, that any user can benefit without having to run to multiple sources to collect and keep their PC's up to date. There is a link on your right to grab the Google Pack.
The tools I use, are Avast Home edition for Virus protection. It also provides multiple shields, that I will have to write a complete article on it. By the way it is free for home or personal use.
For Spyware, I use Spybot search & destroy, or Spybot S&D, a supereb tool that I have used for many a years on my personal computers.
But it is not a easy job to keep your computer clean. Constant attention and time is needed. But I am proud to say I have had no Virus or Spyware trouble that I could not manage. For the record;
Virus attacks, fell victim 2 times in my whole computer life. (It is pretty long, my computer life, that might show how old I am. Let's say Apple II was the first computer that my parents gave me). But I have helped a bunch of people in trouble and a tool like Google pack will certainly come in handy.
The links give a statement by Google pack's Product Manager,Jesse Savage. And of course a link to download Google pack. You can also click on the Google Pack button on the right (PSSST, it gets me some Google money).
Links;
Google Pack cures the PC blues
Google pack
Friday, March 30, 2007
Google secures and may rescues M$ with new Google Pack
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
RIAA gets a letterfull and drops a case
This letter was written by California attorney Merl Ledford III, of Visalia, California, to the RIAA's lawyer. I enjoyed every bit of it. Have a read and enjoy it.
With courtesy of Recording Industry vs The People.
Monday, March 19, 2007
Another one says M$ sucks
MICROSOFT’s “technology evangelist” says that M$ sucks. Robert Scoble of Scobleizer fame have criticized M$'s moto "we are in it to win".
“The words are empty,” Scoble responded. “Microsoft’s internet execution sucks (on the whole). Its search sucks. Its advertising sucks. If that’s ‘in it to win’, then I don’t get it.”
He continued: “Microsoft isn’t going away. Don’t get me wrong. They have record profits, record sales, all that. But on the inter-net? Come on.
I have to laugh when some one tells me that their "LIVE" products are not dead!
Funny, I got scobleized twice today!
Read Scoble's thoughts;
Microsoft tells MVPs “we’re in it to win” — Really?
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
More Open and better RedHat gives you RedHat 5
Linux Format reports that RedHat % is out with vast improvements in both corporate and the product. What I saw and read may sway me from SUSE to RedHad again.
" Today we're witnessing the rebirth of a company central to the Linux movement. In case you didn't realise, Red Hat has launched its Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 operating system at Cebit and, more importantly, overhauled its corporate infrastructure to more closely involve the open source community.
Of course, Linux Format was ready and waiting for this announcement, and we were lucky enough to be granted access to RHEL 5 before its official release. We got our hands on a dual Quad-Core Xeon (5340), giving us effectively eight cores and 4GB of RAM with which to test RHEL 5. We're sure you'll agree that this gives us ample firepower to throw at it. You'll find the results in a review that will appear in Linux Format issue 92, on sale 5 April. But while you wait, this companion article will give you a first look at the new technology that has gone into the release. We also had a chance to talk to some folks within Red Hat to get the inside view on what RHEL 5 means in the context of the company's new community-pleasing strategy."
Links;
Linux Format RedHat 5 report with screen shots.
Monday, March 12, 2007
Human Side of Bill Gates
I have almost never have spoken good about M$ and Bill Gates, except for a few instances. But I did not get a real opportunity to talk just about Bill gates. But today I do!
"Bill and Melinda Gates talked with a reporter at the conclusion of their trip to South Asia.He is the world's richest man, the founder of Microsoft and, along with his wife Melinda, co-founder of the world's wealthiest charitable foundation, with a $29 billion endowment. Together, the Gateses are out to make a difference, fighting global poverty and giving, as Melinda says, some voice to the voiceless. James Nachtwey joined the private, billionaire couple recently on their latest "learning tour" through slum colonies and hospitals in India and Bangladesh."
Above is the blurb from the Photo essay about Bill and Melinda Gates visit to Asia where the following Photo belonged to. I have got used to Bill Gates image on slashdot that I almost forgot how he looked like!
Thank you, Gateses, I am very happy to see that you are putting same efforts to this venture, as you did with M$. Now I know you are human!
Photo by: James Nachtwey
Links;
The photo Essay on Bill and Melinda Gateses visit to India and Bangladesh
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Now M$ get's on Google with copyright issues
Following /. article on "Microsoft's Associate General Counsel who was giving a speech to the Association of American Publishers" and ample comments tell us how M$ looks in sheep's clothing. among many a comments, I liked these......
"From TFA:
Microsoft, he said, asks the copyrights owner for permission first...
They should have added:
...unless it's software."
and
"This sounds like an April Fools article.
Next Article:
RIAA concerned about musicians being ripped off by lopsided contracts
After that:
Auto Makers insist Congress must tighten emissions and fuel economy standards."
Links;
Microsoft Attacks Google on Copyright on slashdot
Saturday, March 03, 2007
To Vista or not to Vista,
According to Tim Webber;
"You will probably enjoy Vista, but there's little reason to do it the hard way."
Tim has gone through the upgrade to Vista and reversed back to XP due to lack of support for drivers, from manufactures to M$.
The article is a nice read, closer to $1000 (including Vista Price) and still no Vista. But I read in the local sales flyers That one could get a PC with Vista home version installed.
I have been beta testing Vista (On My Notebook This a a Vista upgradable from HP and yet ran into driver and network problems) and I have Vista business to be installed in one of my PC.
I loved this M$ assumption;
"A top Microsoft executive, who does not want to be quoted by name, tells me that "the refresh rate on [mobile] devices is typically 18 months, from our research - hence the view that most Pocket PC 2002 devices would no longer be in use.
"Our view (which may be incorrect) is that those people using the latest Desktop [operating system] would potentially also be using later devices as well." "
Follow the link to read before you leap in to a Vista Upgrade.
Friday, March 02, 2007
Vista rises India's economy, just on activation calls
From the past experiences, with XP keys and activations, all the calls ended up in India. Nice Indian people trying to sound and act like Non-Indians, names when asked, given were, Smith, Andrew etc.
If the Slashdot article is true, there will be many calls and they might end up in India, helping Indian Economy! Hail M$
I could not think of writing this any better way, Here it is straight from /.
""The Inquirer has a story about a brute force Vista key activation crack. It's nothing fancy; it's described as a 'glorified guesser'. The danger of this approach is that sooner or later the key cracker will begin activating legitimate keys purchased by other consumers. From the article: 'The code is floating, the method is known, and there is nothing MS can do at this point other than suck it down and prepare for the problems this causes. To make matters worse, Microsoft will have to decide if it is worth it to allow people to take back legit keys that have been hijacked, or tell customers to go away, we have your money already, read your license agreement and get bent, we owe you nothing.'""
I also followed the links but seems that link Inquirer gives takes you to a ad filled site.
But you can read the Slashdot article get enough information.
Links;
Shashdot " Vista Activation Cracked by Brute Force "
Thursday, February 22, 2007
M$ hit with largest Patent infringment award to Alcatel-Lucent
The award was won on Thursday by Alcatel-Lucent after a jury in a US district court in San Diego agreed with its claim that the software giant Microsoft, affectionately known here as M$, had infringed two of its patents.
Microsoft was ordered by a federal jury yesterday to pay $1.52 billion in a patent dispute over the MP3 format.
The dispute surrounded Microsoft's use of MP3 technology, a format for encoding and compressing of digital music so that it less space than a conventional methods. Smaller size also provides easier transmission over the mediums such as internet.
Thursday's verdict, stemming from the use of audio coding technology in PCs, was the first of five due to be heard by the San Diego court in the coming months. The others relate to speech coding technology in Windows; user interface patents; technology in the Xbox games console; and video coding in other Microsoft software.
So M$ has been crushing anyone who came against it, like "Lindows" trade name by former MP3.COM's Micheal Robertson and countless other little companies. But I guess Alcatel - Lucent must be too big for it.
Given Microsoft's dominance of the desktop computing market, the potential losses are considerable. Thursday's award was calculated based on the number of Windows operating systems sold since May 2003, multiplied by the average selling price of a range of PCs.
Microsoft and others have licensed MP3 — not from Alcatel-Lucent, but from a consortium led by the Fraunhofer Institute, a large German research organization that was involved, along with the French electronics company Thomson and Bell Labs, in the format’s development.
The current case turns on two patents that Alcatel claims were developed by Bell Labs before it joined with Fraunhofer to develop MP3.
Links;
New york times article
Going to work with Google Apps, Google Apps enterprise
I have been using Google Docs & Spreadsheets and has been a refreshing experience. I use OpenOffice Org's Office applications and M$'s office suite. I have Open Office on my notebook, which I use most of the time. But it is much easier to use Docs & Spreadsheets for some of the tasks that I have to do day to day.
So I see on Official Docs & Spreadsheets blog entry that this is possible with your SMB (small business), your enterprise, your school or your family and friends, collectively called Google Apps.
The media all over telling it is $50/account/year but remember that You and I do not have to pay if you do not need to use the premiere version the standard version is free.
You can compare the two editions here. I have been using the free edition but planing to move on to the premier edition to make use of the API and third party applications and services.
You can read more about Google Apps by following the links given in the article.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
XBox 360 Price drop? it is 199.00 for premium
According to an article on the inquirer, Makro is advertising Premium Xbox 360 packs for only £199 - the previous price of Core machines, which come without the hard-drive/wireless pad.
As Paul suggested, considering Makro is a large wholesaler any Xbox 360 price cut would probably be seen by one of these companies first.
No other group seems to be offloading stock at this price yet, but it will be interesting to see if this is a simple one-off move by a large wholesaler to bring in the punters, or an unofficial price-cut from Microsoft.
Links;
Signs of an Xbox 360 price-drop spotted
Now there is a Badger in my Yahoo Pipes
The same guy let me do my technorati searches via Yahoo pipes, Ken Brewster of kenbrwster.com;
Geemodo: Do your Technorati search, via Yahoo pipes
Now has a badger running around in the same pipes. I like this one too. To quote his own words what badger is all about;
"The short version: Badger uses Yahoo! Pipes and JavaScript to create Web badges out of any RSS feed. Edit colors, change feeds, pages, and headlines, and pick up your source code at the bottom of the page. Boing Boing, Lifehacker, del.icio.us, TechCrunch, Slashdot, Digg News, and ProgrammableWeb all have examples ready to look at ... if you're looking for interesting feeds, check out Technorati Search or FeedFlinger."
Sounds pretty interesting, I am going to catch some badgers for me. Follow the link for your own badger.
Links;
Badge any RSS feeds with Yahoo Pipes
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Vista and Linux (Mephis) desktops compared
Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols. DesktopLinux.com columnist has pitted Vista against Linux's fair haired boy Ubuntu (actually Mephis which is 99% Ubuntu) to see how the pinnacle of commercial desktop operating systems stacks up against the free, community-developed Linux upstart.
The aretocle itself is multipart and Steven has completed three parts sofar. I have tracked the publishing since January 24, when he publised the first part.
So far there seems to be no reason for anyone to goto Vista. If you don't like Linux at the moment, stick with your Windows XP. Other than all the bells and wistles, Vista is almost a DRM laden XP.
The Following clipped from the article should give you a little insight.
"With both systems completely idle except for their memory map programs and the screenshot program, MEPIS has a memory footprint of less than 100MB, while Vista is pounding down its foot with over half-a-gigabyte of RAM."
Another insight "My test system's high-end S/PDIF audio port lacks built-in DRM. Without that functionality, Vista won't play music through the PC's speakers with Windows Media Player 11. MEPIS, on the other hand, has no trouble playing online music. In this case, I'm using Streamtuner."
From another article points out that Vista being Longest suicide note! Because instead of concentrating on OS vista tries to be watch dog for RIAA and MPAA. Once people realize those points may be they will change to Linux or go back to XP ;).
why?
"Say you've just bought Pink Floyd's “The Dark Side of the Moon”, released as a Super Audio CD (SACD) in its 30th anniversary edition in 2003, and you want to play it under Vista. Since the S/PDIF link to your amplifier/speakers is regarded as insecure for playing the SA content, Vista disables it, and you end up hearing a performance by Marcel Marceau instead of Pink Floyd."
Both the articles are invaluble if your computer is not a MAC.
Links;
Steven's Vista vs Linux article
Longest Suicide note
Is ARAS an OSS marketing policy? Yes, Just read the licence
I was reading InfoWorld columnist Dave Rosenberg article as reported by /.. Then I went to ARAS site. Look to download the application provided by ARAS. On second thoughts I decided to look at the license terms and conditions. Boy what bunch of bull by ARAS and M$, if M$ is involved in this game.
My first thought was to port the application to Linux platform. But when you look at the license, it is a no no. ARAS license is almost direct replication of M$ EULA.
SO is ARAS fits in OSS space. Simply No. May Be it is time to start a list of Companies and Software that they say Open Source but really not.
From the ARAS license, it is open untill you touch it, It closes the door behind you!
Links;
Open Source weblog at Info World
This is a potion of the license agrrement you have to agree in order to download. Complete agreement is at ARAS site.
ARAS INNOVATOR® LICENSE AGREEMENT 1.1
Last Updated December 1st 2006
IMPORTANT - READ CAREFULLY.
This License Agreement (Agreement) is a legal agreement between you (either an individual or a single entity, collectively “You” or “Licensee”) and Aras Corporation for the Aras Innovator® software product and all certified software applications (the “Solutions”) provided by Aras Corporation that run on the Aras Innovator® application framework, (collectively “Licensed Software”) as well as the documentation (the “Documentation”). By installing, copying, or otherwise using the Licensed Software, you agree to be bound by the terms of this Agreement. If you do not agree to the terms of this Agreement, do not install or use the Licensed Software.
1. GRANT OF LICENSE.
Licensee is hereby granted the following non-exclusive, non-transferable, and non-sublicensable rights with respect to Licensed Software and Documentation:
(a) to install the Licensed Software on computer servers owned or leased by Licensee for use solely by Licensee’s employees and the employees of Licensee’s suppliers and customers (“Authorized Users”);
(b) to make an unlimited number of copies of the Licensed Software for backup and disaster recovery purposes, provided Licensee shall reproduce all confidentiality and proprietary rights notices on all copies of the Licensed Software; and
(c) to make an unlimited number of copies of the Documentation and distribute those copies to Authorized Users, provided Licensee shall reproduce all confidentiality and proprietary rights notices on all copies of the Documentation.
Did you patch your Vista on Patch Tuesday?
If you were thinking that you new shining Vista is patch free, M$ says Yes it is patch free in this sense;
""The underlying component [of Windows Defender] does ship with Vista," acknowledged Mark Griesi, security program manager for the Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC). "That's the correlation people are drawing. The vulnerability is in the malware engine, which is part of Defender, which is part of Vista. So, yes, you can say that Vista [itself] is vulnerable."
"But is it a direct vulnerability in Vista? I wouldn't characterize it like that," he added. ""
M$, just say it is a patch for Vista. Get over it.
Well beat me. If you have your auto updates turned off, like I did, go turn them on and do the update. And if you want to read more about this follow the link.
Links;
Computerworld Was that a Vista fix released on Tuesday.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Do your Technorati search, via Yahoo pipes
Kent Brewster at kentbrewster.com has written a fantastic article that takes you thrugh the recently announced Yahoo Pipes. Also his site is a goldmine if you are interested in things like Feeds, Jason, blogs and web 2.0 in general.
Instead of repeating what he has written, here, follow the link to read the complete article.
Links;
Kent Brewster's Yahoo Pipe plumbing
Yahoo Pipes
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
SUN gives ODF coverter plugin for M$ Office
PRNewswire and SUN news announcement
Sun Microsystems, Inc., the largest code contributor to free and open source communities, today announced the upcoming availability of the StarOffice(TM) 8 Conversion Technology Preview plug-in application for Microsoft Office 2003. The early access version of the OpenDocument Format (ODF) plug-in, available as a free download, will allow seamless two-way conversion of Microsoft Office documents to ODF.
The StarOffice 8 Conversion Technology Preview is a plug-in for Microsoft Word 2003 that allows users of Microsoft Word 2003 to easily import and export to the OpenDocument Format (ODF). The early access version of the ODF plug-in will be available as a free download from the Sun Download Center in mid to late the month of February. Please check back at this site or at sun.com/staroffice for the latest status. Note that the converter will be renamed to Sun ODF Plugin for Microsoft Word with the final version.
The initial plug-in application will support the conversion of text documents (.doc/.odt) only and full support of spreadsheet and presentation documents will be available in the final version, expected in April. The converter is easy to setup and use, the conversion happens transparently and the additional memory footprint is minimal. Microsoft Office users now have seamless two-way conversion of Microsoft Office documents to ODF.
"Organizations can now consider switching to ISO/IEC 26300 OpenDocument Format while protecting employees needing assistive devices only supported by legacy Microsoft software," said Rich Green, executive vice president, Software at Sun Microsystems. "ODF is important because it ensures documents will still be readable long into the future while allowing a wide choice of proprietary and open source software choices to work with the documents."
The Executive Department of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is currently using the converter to meet the previously identified January, 2007 compliance date for the start of a phased migration to the ODF format. In addition to allowing the Commonwealth's existing Microsoft Office applications to read and write ODF text files, the converter permits the continued use of the state's chosen accessibility technologies to meet the needs of people with disabilities.
OpenOffice.org is an open-source project, home of the OpenOffice.org software, the most widely distributed open-source multi-platform productivity suite. The OpenOffice.org community was founded by Sun Microsystems in 2000. An active community, of which Sun is a key member, enhances and supports the OpenOffice.org office suite.
The OpenOffice.org application runs on most major operating system platforms including Windows, Linux and the Solaris Operating System, and more than 60 localizations are in different stages of development. Some platforms and languages, such as Mac OS X, might not yet be available in the most current version.
The StarOffice Office Suite is the professional office productivity solution based on OpenOffice.org that provides enterprise value-add components including administration tools, commercial quality spellchecker and relational database. Additional information on StarOffice can be obtained from http://www.sun.com/staroffice
The OpenDocument Format was accepted as an official OASIS standard in May 2005, and adopted by the International Standards Organization in May 2006.
The StarOffice 8 Conversion Technology Preview is expect to be available mid-February 2007 at sun.com/openoffice with the final release expected later this spring.
Links;
SUN announcement
Get Open Office, free M$ office replacement from here
SUN staroffice suite
Anothers view of Linux foundation
I was happy to read the news about the union of Open Source Development Labs (OSDL) and the Free Standards Group (FSG).
Then I put it in the back of my mind thinking now that Linux and the Open standards are safe. After reading Niel McAllister's article about the union. The article made me think, at first, is he a M$ mole. But a little research showed it not to be so. Then I read the whole article and now I view the Union in a different light!
I can't be a member, because according to Niel, "According to the Foundation, the easiest way to get a seat on the board is to become a platinum member, which entails paying to the tune of half a million dollars."
I think it is a good read. Follow the link to read the complete article.
"What do you get if you cross an open source development consortium with an organisation that promotes free standards? Answer: You get a Linux advocacy group. Or so it seems.
On the surface, the union of Open Source Development Labs (OSDL) and the Free Standards Group (FSG) seems like a natural fit. Open standards and open source software are two great ideas that go well together."
Links;
Neil McAllister, Questioning the Linux Foundation’s credentials
VOIP IP Telephony: Native SIP in an iPAQ, iPAQ 51X
New iPAQ from HP with native SIP client is released. More information at the following link.
VOIP IP Telephony: Native SIP in an iPAQ, iPAQ 51X
