http://www.webware.com/8300-1_109-2-0.html?keyword=Webware+100+2008
http://www.thornsoft.com/ - makers of clipmate
BBC NEWS | Technology | Loopholes keep Windows XP alive
PC makers are finding ways to keep selling Windows XP despite Microsoft efforts to remove it from sale.
Dell, HP and Lenovo are exploiting loopholes in Microsoft's licensing terms to extend the operating system beyond a 30 June end of life date.
XP is being phased out in favour of Windows Vista which has, so far, got a lukewarm welcome from many firms.
The news comes as Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer hints that XP could live longer if enough customers demand it.
BBC NEWS | Technology | Microsoft unveils its web vision
Microsoft has lifted the lid on a new web service called Live Mesh, designed to connect a multiplicity of devices and applications online.
The service is seen by many as a key plank in the company's vision for the future of the web.
Live Mesh is designed to blur the lines between running software and storing data on a desktop and "in the cloud".
Microsoft's Amit Mital said Live Mesh would "connect and bring devices together... to work in concert".
Live Mesh pits Microsoft against companies like Amazon, Google and Salesforce.com which are already offering different varieties of so-called software-as-a-service systems.
EFF to Ballmer: You owe MSN Music customers an apology, a refund and more - Boing Boing
In an open letter sent to Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer today, EFF outlines five steps Microsoft must take to make things right for MSN Music customers -- including a issuing a public apology, providing refunds or replacement music files, and launching a substantial publicity campaign to make sure all customers know their options.
"MSN Music customers trusted Microsoft when it said that this was a safe way to buy music, and that trust has been betrayed," said EFF Staff Attorney Corynne McSherry. "If Microsoft is prepared to treat MSN Music customers like this, is there any reason to suppose that future customers won't get the same treatment?"
Malware gets a EULA - Boing Boing
It's obviously difficult for the manufacturers of an illegal product to threaten legal sanctions against an infringer, but the Zeus authors give it their best shot. According to the EULA, "In cases of violations of the agreement and being detected, the client loses any technical support. Moreover, the binary code of your bot will be immediately sent to antivirus companies." Frankly, "We'll blow your kneecaps off and feed them to you," might be a bit more effective as a threat, but I suppose it's a bit hard to carry out that threat over the Internet.
Microsoft releases the long-anticipated Windows XP SP3 (updated)
With SP3, Microsoft has back-ported four Vista features to XP, including Network Access Protection (NAP) in order "to help organizations that use Windows XP to take advantage of new features in the Windows Server 2008 operating system." The four features that are no longer Vista-specific are as follows:
* NAP is a policy enforcement platform meant for enterprise use that blocks systems attempting to access a network until they meet whatever security criteria the corporation has in place.
* "Black Hole" Router Detection helps detect and protect end users from a router that drops packets without returning the specified Internet Control Message Protocol response.
* Microsoft Kernel Cryptographic Module incorporates cryptographic algorithms in a single module other kernel mode drivers are capable of hooking into and accessing.
* The new Product Activation module allows users to install XP without entering a product key at installation.
An elephant never forgets? George W. Bush's lost e-mails: Page 1
A federal magistrate judge on Thursday chastised the Bush administration for failing to fully answer questions related to a long-running dispute over missing White House emails. The White House is facing lawsuits from two public interest groups, Citizens for Responsibilty and Ethics in Washington and the National Security Archive at George Washington University, demanding that the White House restore the missing e-mails and put in place systems to prevent further e-mail losses. Administration officials were ordered to provide detailed information about the burdens involved in taking immediate actions to preserve copies of hard drive, tapes, and other media that may contain copies of the missing e-mails.
New Microsoft law enforcement tool bypasses PC security
Microsoft revealed its development of a digital forensic analysis toolkit at a security conference yesterday as part of a wider discussion of how technology can be used to fight crime. The Computer Online Forensic Evidence Extractor, or COFEE for short, is a USB thumb drive that contains software capable of executing approximately 150 separate commands. Once plugged in, COFEE can be ordered to decrypt system passwords, display a history of internet activity, and search the system for evidence.
Details on precisely what the device can do have been kept vague, probably on purpose, but the Seattle Times reports that Microsoft has been distributing the devices to law enforcement agencies around the world since last June. Currently, about 2,000 people in 15 countries world-wide have access to the devices, which allow police to gather dig for data immediately onsite, thus avoiding the wait involved in offsite analysis COFEE also allows law enforcement to snapshot any data that might be lost when a system is shut down for seizure and transport.
Microsoft: Office Genuine Advantage released "inadvertently"
As part of Microsoft's continuous efforts to reduce piracy, the software giant released update KB949810, also known as the Office Genuine Advantage (OGA) Notifications application, through Windows Server Update Services (WSUS). The update was meant to notify companies in Chile, Italy, Spain, and Turkey whether or not their copies of Office XP, Office 2003, or Office 2007 were genuine. Microsoft has acknowledged that the release did not go as planned: "but because of WSUS publication, it became available to WSUS managed clients inside and outside of these intended countries."
The problem with the update in question, which was "marked critical for WSUS," does not end with a mistaken worldwide release. Not only did the update appear to be a patch for a security problem by being marked as "critical", it did not always detect genuine software as genuine. As a result, many computers with legally purchased software began to spit out errors and productivity ground to a halt.
Cory Doctorow: How to stop your inbox exploding | Technology | guardian.co.uk
a few tips and hacks that never fail to surprise and delight:
- Sort your inbox by subject,
- Colour-code messages from known senders,
- Kill people who make you crazy,
- Half-resign from mailing lists,
- Keep a pending list
See also Merlin Mann's take on Inbox Management in a presentation given to Google staffhttp://www.43folders.com/izero/
The ABCs of securing your wireless network: Page 1
Ars Technica's original Wireless Security Blackpaper
Digg - All the rage in Europe: Firefox marketshare climbs higher
Month by month, Firefox continues to make gains in Europe, where the browser approaches a 50% marketshare in some countries, and shows stronger use on weekends, when people get to use the browser of their choice.
Skype tests mobile VoIP app - Mobility - iTnews Australia
Skype has released a mobile version of its VoIP application, giving owners of Java-enabled handsets access to the communication service while out and about..
The product is still in beta, but is freely available to download and offers most Skype features, including chat, group chat, presence and receiving calls through SkypeIn.
Universal: EFF SLAPPed us with dancing toddler DMCA lawsuit
The anti-SLAPP statute allows critics to get such cases tossed out of court quickly, and it allows the target of the lawsuit to sue in return. The law is generally invoked by corporate critics, but in the last year we've seen it used several times by the major media companies themselves, which claim they are being prevented from exercising their legitimate public rights. Universal, in fact, is currently arguing that the EFF—a big supporter of anti-SLAPP laws—is itself running afoul of those laws. In fact, Universal is actually the victim here of "an ongoing campaign by the Electronic Frontier Foundation to deter copyright holders from protecting their rights."
Yahoo-Google ad test triggers DoJ antitrust scrutiny
The US Justice Department has launched an investigation into Yahoo's test run of Google ads launched earlier this month. Although both companies alerted the Justice Department of their plans before the test began, officials are apparently concerned about possible antitrust violations when it comes to the two major search companies collaborating.
Several weeks ago, Yahoo inked a small, temporary deal with Google to test out Google ads on a number of Yahoo's search result pages. The ads would only run on up to three percent of Yahoo's search pages, and only for a couple of weeks. The point of the test was to show that Yahoo's searches could be valued much higher than Microsoft thinks they are, and some analysts speculated that outsourcing the entire Yahoo search advertising function to Google might increase Yahoo's cash flow by 25 percent in the first year. Just over two weeks later, "inside sources" reported that both Yahoo and Google were happy with the results and hoped to extend the partnership.
Oops! MPAA lawsuit gives free publicity to torrent site
Of course, the MPAA's lawsuit against Pullmylink.com has another effect that the MPAA is fully aware of. People who had no idea Pullmylink.com existed (including me) are now aware of it and what it offers. We wouldn't be surprised if a lot of them are going to head over to check it out—perhaps downloading a few movies in the process.
Pirate Bay opens uncensored blog site, tweaks IFPI
The Pirate Bay (TPB), the seemingly unsinkable torrent site, has launched a new service called BayWords that aims to provide users with censorship-free blog hosting at no cost. The site is powered by WordPress and supports standard features like comments and CAPTCHAs. The administrators promise that additional features will be rolled out in the future, but also note that advertising will eventually be one of those features.
Woz on Psystar OpenPro: "I like the price, so I may get one"
Psystar and its Open Computer/OpenPro have stirred up a frenzy in the Mac ecosystem. While our forums overflow with references to the mythical "xMac"—generally agreed to be a smaller, expandable, and less-expensive Mac tower—Apple has given no indication of being interested in producing such a product. Meanwhile, tinkerers and hackers are building "Hackintoshes," custom-built PCs that run a hacked version of Leopard. Psystar clearly saw a market opportunity and is trying to cash in on it.
European Parliament says "no" to disconnecting P2P users
By a 314-297 vote, the European Parliament has signaled its opposition to recent initiatives to kick users off the Internet for repeated copyright infringement. The vote came on an amendment (Word document) to the wide-reaching Bono Report on the Cultural Industries, which is intended in part to develop a policy strategy for the European creative industry. And whenever the creative industry is involved, there's a question of copyright.
Recently, the movie and music industries have focused on a two-pronged strategy for fighting file-sharing. There's a stumbling block, though: both prongs involve the cooperation of ISPs. Big Content wants broadband providers to filter traffic on their networks to keep copyright-infringing content off of it as well as to kick repeat offenders off of the Internet.
Parliament doesn't want any part of the latter strategy. The vote indicates that the members of parliament "want to strike a balance between the interests of rights holders and those of consumers, and that big measures like cutting off Internet access shouldn't be used," according to a spokesperson for the European Parliament.
Universal: You don't own those promotional CDs we gave you
Is throwing a record label's promo CD in the trash an "unauthorized distribution" of the music? According to Universal, the answer is yes. The claim surfaced as part of a legal case against an eBay reseller who offered Universal promo discs for sale in violation of the "not for resale" label printed on each disc. While the case sounds almost farcical, it raises an important question: can Universal and other labels in fact control the distribution of a product once they have sent it to others, or does the US "first sale" doctrine give people the right to do as they like with the promo discs?
Record labels aren't thrilled about people who sell the promo discs that are sent out to music magazines and radio stations, though even a casual visit to a used music store will show that the restrictions printed on the discs aren't followed with any sort of rigor. Normally, this is no big deal, but when it escalates into an eBay business model, the labels get a bit jumpy.
Closely-watched case may spell trouble for software patents
Two of the nation's leading civil liberties organizations and a new organization dedicated to the abolition of software patents have all filed amicus briefs in a patent case that could give the courts an opportunity to revisit the issue of software and business method patents. The case involves an application for a patent that would cover "a method for managing the consumption risk costs of a commodity" through a series of financial transactions. Not surprisingly, the Patent Office rejected the application on the grounds that purely abstract ideas are not patentable.
Dvd Ripping: AutoGK Rips DVDs to DivX and Xvid Formats
Windows only: Freeware application AutoGK rips DVDs to hard drive-friendly DivX and Xvid formats for quick, easy, and high-quality backups. It does so by acting as an automating front-end to several other free ripping and encoding tools, which it automatically installs on your system. We've never featured AutoGK, but a lot of readers swear by it. If you happen to be one of them, let's hear more about your experience with AutoGK in the comments. If you're looking for more DVD-ripping tools, like the previously mentioned HandBrake, check out the five best DVD-ripping tools. AutoGK is freeware, Windows only.
Featured Windows Download: CCleaner 2.0 Decrapifies Your PC
Windows only: One of our favorite PC cleansers CCleaner (which stands for "Crap Cleaner") saw an upgrade this week. Since the last time we mentioned CCleaner several new versions have come out; this week's added support for the Firefox 3 beta plus performance improvements and bug fixes. CCleaner scans your PC for unnecessary temporary and log files, cookies, memory dumps, and more and wipes them out at the press of the "Run Cleaner" button. You might be surprised at how much disk space it can recover
Crapware: Superior Alternatives to Crappy Windows Software
It may be the year 2008, but a whole lot of sucktacular software still rears its ugly head on PC's everywhere, even when better-behaved options are freely available. Whether it's molasses-slow bloatware, shameless adware, anemic default apps, or "Your trial period has expired!" nagware, it's time to replace stinky Windows software with its superior (but lesser-known) alternative.
Ask The Readers: What Apps Should You Never Install?
In a dated but still relevant post, technologist Anil Dash calls out a couple of software apps that no one needs to install these days, like WinZip and "sketchy codec packs." I'd add any software manufactured by AOL, Adobe Reader, and digital camera-specific photo software to that list. (You're better off with 7-Zip, Pidgin, Foxit Reader, and Picasa.)
Featured Windows Download: Daphne Offers Drag-and-Drop Process Control
Windows only: Killing runaway, memory-gobbling processes from Windows' task manager is easy—if you know the name of every process and thread on your system and which apps they match up with. Daphne, a free Windows process management utility, gives you a unique set of crosshairs to drag onto the window of any app giving you trouble. There's also a magnifying glass that reveals properties and even passwords of any window it stops on, and Daphne can call back to its DRK database to identify any apps you might want exlained. Daphne is a free download for Windows systems only. For more tools and tips on knocking down memory-grabbers, see our guide to mastering Windows' Task Manager.
Internet Explorer: Get Firefox's Best Features in Internet Explorer
You can cram many of Firefox's best features into the proprietary beast that is Internet Explorer. After the jump, find out how to add bookmark syncing, integrated spell-checking, session management, keyword bookmarks, ad blocking, inline search, undo-closed-tab functionality, and oh-so-much more to IE.
There are several IE add-ons available, but probably none more popular than IE7Pro (original post), a freeware IE7 add-on that opens the doors for tons of improved features and Firefox-like user-submitted extensions and scripts. I'll highlight IE7Pro features below, but I'll also include several add-ons that do their own thing separate from IE7Pro (and work for versions of Internet Explorer below 7).
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