Keren's Links:
http://virtualworlds2008.com/
http://www.virtualworldsnews.com/
http://www.starwreck.com/
http://xmedialab.com/
http://threeminds.organic.com/
MSN Music customers lose *all* their music the next time they buy a new PC - Boing Boing
People who bought music from the MSN music store have been royally hosed by Microsoft: as of August 31, if you buy a new computer, or refresh your hard-drive or upgrade your OS, you have to kiss all your music goodbye. Microsoft has shut down its DRM "license server" and left people who bought music -- instead of downloading it from a P2P site -- out in the cold. MSN Entertainment and Video Services general manager Rob Bennett sent out an e-mail this afternoon to customers, advising them to make any and all authorizations or deauthorizations before August 31. "As of August 31, 2008, we will no longer be able to support the retrieval of license keys for the songs you purchased from MSN Music or the authorization of additional computers," reads the e-mail seen by Ars. "You will need to obtain a license key for each of your songs downloaded from MSN Music on any new computer, and you must do so before August 31, 2008. If you attempt to transfer your songs to additional computers after August 31, 2008, those songs will not successfully play."
BBC NEWS | Technology | Web 2.0 is set for spending boom
Forrester analysed seven Web 2.0 categories: blogs, mashups, podcasting, RSS, social networking, widgets and wikis. Of these, social networks will attract the greatest levels of investment but even then that will be dwarfed by the multi million dollar revenues the software industry commands.
Mr Young says "Advertising revenue has been hard to come by with even sites such as Facebook finding it hard to monetise their high volumes of traffic.
"Companies are now looking over their shoulder to the business market where even revenues of $50 (£25) per user per month are looking increasingly appealing"
He also points out that there will come a saturation point and investment will start to slow down as Web 2.0 applications become increasingly prevalent and absorbed into collaborative software packages.
Microsoft: IT vulnerabilities down, threats deadlier - Security - iTnews Australia
IT threats are continuing to rise, although the number of disclosed vulnerabilities tailed off in the last six months of 2007, according to new research from Microsoft launched at today's Infosecurity Europe event.
The firm's Security Intelligence Report uses data captured by Microsoft Windows Defender and the Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool (MSRT) over the last six months.
The disclosure of new vulnerabilities dropped by 15 percent in the last six months of 2007, while the amount of malware removed from computers by the MSRT was 40 percent higher. Instances of trojan malware rocketed by 300 percent.
The number of potentially unwanted applications – such as spyware and adware – jumped by 67 percent to 129.5 million pieces.
Ubuntu clears path to enterprises - Linux & Open Source - iTnews Australia
Linux vendor Ubuntu has made two announcements pitching itself firmly in the direction of enterprise open-source computing.
The firm announced the availability of Ubuntu 8.04 LTS (long term support) Server Edition, and LTS Desktop Edition, pledging that both would add to its operating systems' stability, security and reliability.
Both versions are available as free downloads from the Ubuntu web site, and will be boosted with either five, or three year support from the firm and its partner Canonical. "Ubuntu 8.04 LTS Server Edition is built for business", said Jane Silber, chief operating officer at Canonical, "LTS Desktop Edition is a very significant release as it will take Ubuntu squarely into the business environment."
The Ubuntu Desktop Edition has support from a number of commercial vendors, all of whom have pledged to distribute onto the platform. These include Adobe, Google, Real Networks and Skype
Google announces Sydney Developer Day event - Internet - iTnews Australia
Google Australia today extended an open invite to developers in Sydney to attend a day-long discussion about building Web applications and advancing the Web as a platform.
Scheduled to be held on 18 June, Google Developer Day will feature presentations from top Google engineers, including Lars Rasmussen, Ben Appleton, Mike Jones, Dmitri Abramov, David Day, and David Glazer.
Attendees also will receive a mix of hands-on advice for building Web applications, as well as opportunities to learn about emerging programming trends.
Sessions at the event will cover: AJAX and JavaScript technologies; APIs and Web tools; social applications of the Web; mobile devices and applications; and Google Maps.
Microsoft releases XP SP3 but gives no word on reprieve - Operating Systems - iTnews Australia
Windows XP Service Pack 3 has released to manufacturing (RTM),” wrote Chris Keroack, the service pack's release manager, in a message posted to a TechNet support forum. “Windows XP SP3 bits are now working their way through our manufacturing channels to be available to OEM and Enterprise customers.”
Some of the biggest additions to Windows XP SP3 include a range of features backported from Windows Vista, such as black hole router detection, Network Access Protection, and Windows Imaging Component. A full summary of the SP3 features and changes can be found at Microsoft’s XP SP3 download centre.
Existing XP Pro and Home users will have to wait until April 29 to be able to download the service pack directly from Microsoft Download Center
Scammers hook up over LinkedIn - Security - iTnews Australia
Social networks such as LinkedIn are being exploited by online fraudsters, experts warned today..
Security firm BitDefender said that LinkedIn users are receiving emails requesting invitations to be added to other users' social networks.
Users may be more inclined to believe the emails because they come through the official channels, and they also slip past spam filters.
The scammers have even set up a fake profile page on LinkedIn. However, once the connection is made, the scammers then groom the users to participate in an advance fee fund scam, more commonly known as the Nigerian 419 fraud.
"This new twist to the old 419 scheme is more dangerous as there is an increased chance for network users to fall for the scam since they use it to build up their businesses or careers and thus tend to grant it some implicit trust," said Bogdan Dumitru, chief technology officer at BitDefender.
Dumitru noted that many sites, such as LinkedIn, are not able to verify the identity of those who join.
BitDefender also said that other social networking sites are likely to be used by fraudsters for similar scams.
Ballmer admits Vista is 'a work in progress' - Operating Systems - iTnews Australia
Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer has told delegates at the software giant's Most Valuable Professionals Summit in Seattle that Windows Vista is "a work in progress" and that the company is trying to learn from its mistakes..
"I think we did a lot of things right, and I think we have a lot of things we need to learn from," Ballmer told the assembled independent developers, according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
The five-year development cycle for Vista had been too long, according to Ballmer, and was not something that Microsoft would be repeating.
Second Life seen becoming mainstream - Internet - iTnews Australia
Virtual world Second Life has the potential to become mainstream once computers and connections catch up with the aspirations of its creators, its founder told Reuters in an interview on Monday.
Despite the fact that user growth is slowing as a wave of publicity subsides, Philip Rosedale believes activity will increase 100-fold as improvements in computers and Second Life's own systems make it easier and more fun to become a citizen.
"I estimate we're at 1 percent of total use in 5-10 years," said Rosedale, the chief executive of Linden Lab, which runs Second Life, comparing its trajectory to that of the World Wide Web, which entered the mainstream in the mid-1990s.
Second Life has established a niche following among fans patient enough to grapple with the technology, but many who dabbled when the hype surrounding the virtual world was at its peak were deterred by the time, effort and technology required.
Second Life has about 13 million registered citizens but only a hard core estimated to number several hundred thousand are thought to be regular visitors.
Women unhappy in the IT workplace - Jobs Centre - iTnews Australia
The majority of women working in IT are dissatisfied with their work/life balance, according to research released this week..
While employers claim to support flexible working, women often find the reality quite different.
Boffins promise 500,000GB iPod - Storage - iTnews Australia
A nanotechnology breakthrough at the University of Glasgow could pave the way for MP3 players with a storage capacity 150,000 times greater than today's top-of-the-range devices..
Researchers claim to have developed a molecule-sized switch which dramatically boosts storage capacity without the need to increase the physical size of players.
The technology could see 500,000GB crammed into a square inch microchip, allowing users to store hundreds of millions of video clips and music tracks on a single device, well in excess of the 40,000 songs on today's largest capacity players.
The breakthrough, undertaken with colleagues at Daresbury Laboratory in Warrington using a giant X-ray machine, could also transform storage on other consumer electronics, including DVD players.
Featured Download: Take and share screenshots and screencasts with Jing Project
Windows/Mac only: Freeware application Jing Project takes screenshots and screencasts, then provides a seamless method for saving and sharing your pics or video via the internet. You can invoke Jing via keyboard shortcut or the unobtrusive yellow half-orb that it adds to your desktop. Then select the area you want to capture, tell Jing whether you want a video or an image, and then let Jing do its work. When you've finished your capture, you can either save the results to your desktop or upload them to Screencast.com. If you upload, the URL of your screenshot or screencast will automatically be copied to your clipboard.
The biggest plus side to Jing—and the feature that could really help it catch on—is its ease of use; anyone can get up and running taking screencasts and screenshots with very little effort. Screenshots you take with Jing can be edited with text, arrows, and highlighting after you take the shot.
Digg - Guitar Hero To Become More Like Rock Band
Industry analyst Janco predicted it back in August and now an interview with Activison CEO Bobby Lotick over on Conde Nast Portfolio, confirms that new additions to the Guitar Hero franchise will indeed include additional instruments.
Digg - Uwe Boll asks Blizzard for WoW movie rights, Azeroth says no
Blizzard has essentially laughed the German director out of their offices, and certainly right out of Azeroth. "We will not sell the movie rights, not to you... especially not to you," was apparently Paul Sams reply, to which Azeroth was pronounced saved!
Digg - Wii Owners Do Not Want New Games
These new gamers are content with the games they have, often going no further than the Wii Sports game that comes with the machine. They don ’t buy new games with the fervor of a traditional gamer who is constantly seeking new stimulation.
Digg - See how the Wii Lightsaber works
LucasArts has ahem, 'unleashed' the latest web documentary for Star Wars: Force Unleashed, showing just how you swing a Lightsaber with the Wii Remote (and stylus).
ThinkGeek :: Super Pii Pii Brothers (Thanks Richard)
As any good geek should know by now Japan has some of the wackiest and most unusual products anywhere. So when we were visiting Tokyo recently and saw lines of Japanese schoolgirls waiting to play an amazing new game for the Wii called Super Pii Pii Brothers we were only a little surprised. After all with games like WarioWare and Raving Rabbids the Wii is no stranger to crazy gameplay mechanics... but it was quite unusual to see the "strap-on" style accessory and peeing action that Pii Pii Brothers provides.
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