CompuWorld

Time To Migrate To IPv6

Labels: announcements

India Aims For $10 Laptop

Labels: announcements, laptops

XP Slaps Vista On Face

[Image Source]

Labels: announcements, microsoft, vista tips

Licensed Windows, MS Office For $3

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates announced the program at a news conference in Beijing on Thursday.

Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft said it plans to offer a software package called Microsoft Student Innovation Suite for $3 to governments purchasing and giving Windows-based computer to primary and secondary students.

The software bundle, which will be available in the second half of 2007, includes Windows XP Starter Edition, Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007, Windows Live Mail desktop and other programs.

"This is not a philanthropic effort, this is a business," Orlando Ayala, senior vice president at Microsoft's emerging segments market development group in an interview before the official announcement.

In many emerging markets, Microsoft has seen its software pirated and sold at a fraction of the price of a genuine product. Microsoft said the technology industry must also adapt business models to developing nations.

The company is working with retailers and computer makers in Brazil to test a pay-as-you-go system, because that model has been successful with mobile phones in the country.

Labels: announcements, microsoft

Use Adobe Video Player To Watch Video Offline

Labels: adobe, announcements, tips tricks and hacks, youtube

No More XP In Market After Early 2008

Despite consumer resistance to Vista, its compatibility problems, extra hardware requirements and high prices Microsoft has decided to stop the supply of Microsoft Windows XP by the end of this year.

By early 2008, Microsoft's contracts with computer makers will require companies to only sell Vista-loaded machines. "The OEM version of XP Professional goes next January," said Frank Luburic, senior ThinkPad product manager for Lenovo. "At that point, they'll have no choice."

In a recent post on its Direct2Dell blog, Dell reaffirmed to concerned customers that it wasn't about to force small business users -- who typically purchase PCs piecemeal, rather than in large enterprise-style orders -- to shift to Vista, which has experienced a less-than-stellar reaction from many buyers because of driver issues and moderately beefy hardware requirements.

"Dell recognizes the needs of small business customers and understands that more time is needed to transition to a new operating system," the post read in part. "The plan is to continue offering Windows XP on select Dimension and Inspiron systems until later this [northern] summer."

"From a local perspective, the post was a reminder more than an announcement," Dell ANZ corporate communications manager Paul McKeon told APC.

There's general agreement amongst PC resellers that Vista has provided a minor boost to PC sales, but hasn't produced blockbuster numbers. A similar story applies in the retail space. Figures from marketing consultancy GfK suggest that after an initial sales surge, around 1500 copies of Vista are now being sold through Australian retailers each week, according to a recent report in the AFR.

While Dell's post suggested it wouldn't be promoting Vista systems to the home market, manufacturers still have the option of selling RelXP-based systems for consumers this year.

Labels: announcements, dell, microsoft

Book of Tips for Vista Rollouts Ships

A popular resource kit that is released with each new version of the Microsoft Windows operating system is available for Vista. I am wondering why they were so late for the launch.

The official Windows Vista(TM) Resource Kit (Pro - Resource Kit) walks corporate users through the deployment, configuration and management of the operating system. The book dedicates more than 1,500 pages to in-depth technical guidance on automating deployment, implementing security enhancements, and troubleshooting for Vista, which was released to corporate users in November.

Also included are tips for administering group policy, files and folders, and programs; a networking section that covers such topics as configuration of Windows networking, connecting to remote networks and IPv6 deployment; a management section covering disks and storage, and device management; and maintenance tips for health and performance monitoring, assisting remote users, updating and patching, and client protection.

There are sections on Internet Explorer 7, Windows Firewall, and Windows Defender. The book includes more than 150 scripts to help automate administrative tasks and tools; and utilities to help troubleshoot, manage, and configure Vista.

The book is a collaboration among Microsoft's Windows Vista team and authors Mitch Tulloch, Tony Northrup, Jerry Honeycutt.

The retail price of Windows Vista Resource Kit is US$60, but a number of online retailers are selling it for $38.

Labels: amazon, announcements, books, microsoft, vista tips

Mom! Playing Games Will Improve My Eyesight

Labels: announcements, fun, games, tips tricks and hacks

Microsoft Boasts Of Record Breaking Vista Sales

Labels: announcements, microsoft

Google Towards Another Innovation - Document Translation

Labels: announcements, google

Speculations Rising For Release Of FireFox 3.0 & Internet Explorer 8

While Microsoft has muted all details associated with Internet Explorer 8.0 and will deliver a preview of the future of its browser at the end of April and the beginning of May 2007, Mozilla is getting ready to release the first public beta of Firefox 3.0. Microsoft is at the present time only dogfooding Internet Explorer 8.0, and that is a pre-alpha version. Meanwhile, Mozilla has already reached alpha 2 level with Firefox 3.0, codenamed Gran Paradiso.

At the 2007 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, a Microsoft representative forecasted that it could take as much as two years before the final version of IE8 will be released to users.

Mozilla however is not waiting around for Microsoft. In this context, Firefox 3.0 is scheduled for its first public beta this spring. Additionally, Brendan Eich, chief technical officer for Mozilla, announced that the final version of Firefox 3.0 is planned for late Autumn, 2007.

So where do you find yourself? Have you started using IE7 and FireFox 2.0? Not yet? Friends the world is running fast, very fast. Start using the latest instead of the legacy softwares. You will surely love the new ones. Get set go . . .

Related:
Scary IE and FireFox Vulnerability
Open Search Results In New Tab In FireFox
Enlarge Images Of Google Image Search

Labels: announcements, firefox, ie, microsoft

Concept Of OpenNews Inspired From OpenSource InTest Mode

Labels: announcements, open source

Yahoo All Set To Hit Google Mobile Search

Source: Reuters
Technorati Tags: yahoo,google, yahoo mobile search, yahoo vs google

Labels: announcements, google, yahoo

Tech Support For Apple, Dell, Gateway and HP To Improve With Your Help

Source: Consumerist
Technorati Tags: apple, dell, hp, technical support

Labels: announcements, apple, dell, HP

Future President In Your Friend List

Labels: announcements, fun, myspace

Rediff Beats Gmail In Inbox Size

The most unique feature of Gmail has been its space in Gigabytes (still counting) which it provides to its registered users. When Gmail was launched it started to provide 1 GB space to its users. That was 500 times greater than free storage offered by Microsoft and 250 times the free storage offered by yahoo. Since then 1 GB has become the minimum mark which free email service providers start to provide to its customers.

Rediff.com, a portal that provides news, information, communication, entertainment and shopping services, recently hit the limit by announcing unlimited storage to its customers. With the phenomenal usage of Internet and the advent of broadband email has become a de-facto for Internet users. Deleting email is often a headache surfers. Gmail brought this problem to an end with high amount of email storage for users.

Rediffmail which has been around for 11 years now, provides a safe environment through its mailbox services. Besides, one can also search through their mailbox to find a particular mail. And of course, you will never be required to change your Rediffmail address ever.

Moreover, Rediffmail is packed with innovative user-friendly features of desktop e-mail such as writing mail in 11 Indian languages, instant preview of mails and attachments, drag and drop facility for mail to any folder, and auto-completion of e-mail addresses by simply typing a few characters. It’s no wonder then that Rediffmail.com has around 50 million registered users!

With rediff's announcement, it would be interesting to see how other email service providers react. Until then you go and register for the unlimited storage personally for you on the Internet and enjoy.

Rediff's commercial for its unlimited storage

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Labels: announcements, google

Pirate Our Software: Microsoft

I have been one of those believers who think that piracy supports the particular company whose product is being pirated and here I have a Microsoft official supporting me.

At the Morgan Stanley Technology conference last week in San Francisco, Microsoft business group president Jeff Raikes commented on the benefits of software counterfeiting. "If they're going to pirate somebody, we want it to be us rather than somebody else," he said. "We understand that in the long run the fundamental asset is the installed base of people who are using our products. What you hope to do over time is convert them to licensing the software."

Think of a user who uses a Microsoft software continuously for many years. Now in long run when Microsoft succeeds in creating a "non crackable software" (huh!) then you will be forced to pay for that software because of your addiction to Microsoft's products.

Other reason which might be the point why Jeff made such a comment was that any human could go on to pay Microsoft for the product which he used for years as pirated version as he may have the idea that the company is worth that money. After all the MS products are very user friendly and are easily able to create there user base.

One biggest reason which I see a profitable point of MS wanting people to use pirated OS (windows ofcourse) is that they will succeed in keeping the people away from LINUX! Later they will care about converting them to legitimate users.

This could be a good thought as this would somehow bring few pirates to bay.

Related:
Scary IE and FireFox Vulnerability
Vista May Choke Internet?
Vulnerability In MS Office Could Give Access To Your Computer

Labels: announcements, microsoft, security

Time To Change Your RAM To PCM

[Intel CTO of Flash Memory Ed Doller holds the first wafer of phase change memory (PCM) chips. Image via pcmag]

Labels: announcements, intel

Day Light Saving - For & Against

Man has evolved since the stone age till today and his hunger for more power has led him to take extreme decisions. Sometimes it has changed the the rules, which nature made, against nature and few times for nature. Daylight Saving (DST) is another concept which the people of USA are gearing for.

Daylight Saving Time (or summertime as it is called in many countries) is a way of getting more light out of the day by advancing clocks by one hour during the summer. During Daylight Saving Time, the sun appears to rise one hour later in the morning, when people are usually asleep anyway, and sets one hour later in the evening, seeming to stretch the day longer. The reason DST works is because its saves energy due to less artificial light needed during the evening hours—clocks are set one hour ahead during the spring, and one hour back to standard time in the autumn. Many countries observe DST, and many do not.

Between March–April through September–November, it is summer in the northern hemisphere, where many countries may observe DST, while in the southern hemisphere it is winter. During the rest of the year the opposite is true: it is winter in the northern hemisphere and summer in the southern.

Benjamin Franklin first suggested Daylight Saving Time in 1784, but it was not until World War I, in 1916, when it was adopted by several counties in Europe that initially rejected the idea.

Daylight Saving Time begins for most of the United States at 2 a.m. on the second Sunday of March. Time will revert to standard time at 2 a.m. on the first Sunday in November.

Daylight Saving Time, for the U.S. and its territories, is NOT observed in Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and the state of Arizona (not the Navajo Indian Reservation, which does observe). Navajo Nation participates in the Daylight Saving Time policy, due to its large size and location in three states.

GoDaddy.com tells its clients it's servers don't need DST fix:
In a series of e-mail exchanges and phone calls, George Baltzell, a customer, was told by GoDaddy.com's tech support team that the company is exempt from patching its servers because it is based in Arizona, which doesn't observe DST. "That's a silly response," Baltzell said. [read more]

This is a problem for many companies which have offices in places where DST will not be observed. Many have to work harder so that there customers residing in places where DST will not be observed do not get affected. Time consuming...

Some Important Tips & Articles for DST

Labels: announcements

Yahoo Knows Your Thoughts - Really

Personalized home page is a buzz for websites these days. Google gives you personalized home pages which one can tweak with the number of widgets available to give it its own look. Yahoo, on the other hand provides you with 'My Yahoo', has been the leader in this stuff. There My Yahoo gained the fame which Google personalized pages couldn't. Still if you observe the past few statistics, it becomes clear that Google and Microsoft had started to take over with the sort of widget and Ajax interactivity. Adding more to its service yahoo has launched a major upgrade to there service.

Initially it will look like the old my yahoo page where you can add and remove widgets the way you want. RSS, weather forecasts, TV listings etc are the legacy widgets which continue to give there own touches to your own My Yahoo page.

Now the big one. The biggest change is its art to learn from your past. The first time you open My Yahoo! you'll find a personalized page designed just for you, based on how you've used Yahoo! in the past. If you frequently use Yahoo! to look up movies or TV listings, you'll have access to those items. This is a pretty handy feature if you don't feel like spending hours customizing your start page.

Labels: announcements, yahoo