While many of the apps in Apple's (AAPL) iPhone App Store are useful, some are utter crap. And the latest, spotted by John Gruber, is an insult to all the well-meaning developers that Apple made wait/are still waiting to get into the iPhone developer program.

Behold: "I Am Rich," a $999.99 app from Armin Heinrich, which just displays a red gem on the phone's screen -- nothing else.

"The red icon on your iPhone or iPod touch always reminds you (and others when you show it to them) that you were rich enough to afford this," the app's information page says in iTunes. "It's a work of art with no hidden function at all."

The upside for Apple: $300, or 30%, of all purchases. The downside: Good luck enforcing that "all sales final" policy on this scam.

Read a full article here don't miss the comments they are always top notch.

Today, we're flooded with information. It's an information overload and we're not capable of handling it," said Eran Belinsky, an IBM project leader. "This would relieve us from the anxiousness or need to try to remember everything. And there's the issue of trouble with recollection. [It's like] your index is broken. You know you know something, but you can't get there. This could help people having trouble with their memory reconstruct their memories.

This week, the company unveiled software that uses images, sounds and text recorded on everyday mobile devices to help people recall names, faces, conversations and events. Dubbed Pensieve, the software organizes bits of collected information, stores them and then helps the user extract them later on.

IBM's project is akin to one that Gordon Bell and other scientists at Microsoft Research have been working on for the past nine years. Bell, a longtime veteran of the IT industry and now principal researcher at Microsoft's research arm, is developing a way for people to remember different aspects of their lives.

Bell's project, called MyLifeBits, has him supplementing his own memory by collecting as much information as he can about his life. He's trying to store a lifetime on his Dell laptop. Collecting telephone conversations, music, lectures, books he's written and read and photographs he's incessantly taken, Bell is amassing a great database of his life.

Microsoft announced that it intends to acquire DATAllegro, provider of breakthrough data warehouse appliances. The acquisition will extend the capabilities of Microsoft’s mission-critical data platform, making it easier and more cost effective for customers of all sizes to manage and glean insight from the ever expanding amount of data generated by and for businesses, employees and consumers.

“DATAllegro is a tremendously innovative company that has started to redefine the data warehouse market,” said Ted Kummert, corporate vice president of the Data and Storage Platform Division at Microsoft. “Microsoft SQL Server 2008 delivers enterprise-class capabilities in business intelligence and data warehousing and the addition of the DATAllegro team and their technology will take our data platform to the highest scale of data warehousing.”

“Integrating DATAllegro’s non-proprietary hardware platform and flexible software architecture into Microsoft SQL Server will provide customers with the strongest offering in the market,” said Stuart Frost, CEO of DATAllegro. “We are excited to join forces with Microsoft and continue the innovation this company was founded on.”

Unlike most data warehouse appliance vendors targeting the 1-25 terabyte range, DATAllegro has specialized in large volume, high performance data warehouses.  DATAllegro’s data warehouse appliance installations boast some of the largest data volume capacities in the industry – up to hundreds of terabytes on a single system. DATAllegro clients span such markets as retail, telecommunications and manufacturing. 

In addition to offering large capacities, DATAllegro’s patent-pending technology is designed for complex workloads including high concurrency and mixed queries. DATAllegro is one of the few data warehouse appliances built on a non-proprietary hardware platform including Dell and Bull servers and EMC storage. This flexible architecture makes it ideally suited to integrate with SQL Server.

This will no doubt position Microsoft to leapfrog Oracle at the high end of the database market.

I admit I personally have never been a huge fan of Opera. However, Opera 9.5 is the best I have seen.

New Features:

New browser engine
Quick Find
Download Manager with BitTorrent
Opera Link
Mouse Gestures
Tabs and Sessions
Zoom and Fit to width
Content blocking
Quick and customizable Web search
Stay safe with new Fraud Protection and EV
Opera Dragonfly

Get it Now

E-mail Marketing is fast becoming an essential channel for all website owners, and the tool that powers this channel can make or break your efforts. Choosing a reliable autoresponder software that has all features such as sequential autoresponse, timed mailings, bounced management, etc. is usually found in subscription-based service or expensive software.

The Omnistar Mailer email mailing list manager is a serious contender that meets (and exceeds) all of that for a very good price. Based on the popular PHP and MySQL combo, this web-based mailing list software is flexible and customizable. Follow me as I take you step by step to install and test it.

The Omnistar Mailer can be purchased online at www.omnistarmailer.com and can downloaded instantly. It comes with a 30-day money back guarantee and free installation. Being the propeller head that I am, I decided to get my hands dirty.

The download, unzipping and uploading was fairly fast and simple, and soon, I'm greeted with the install screen. Here's where you might benefit from using their install service. Theres' some file permissions which needed to be sorted out before you can proceed with the install. After filling in all the necessary details (don't worry if you don't know some of them, just give the nice support people there your hosting signup details) and the installation took care of itself. Note: Omnistar is careful here to warn you to use a NEW MySQL database.

Symantec Corp. yesterday released a free tool that wipes spurious entries from Windows' registry that had crippled some PCs running the company's security software after they were upgraded to Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) or Vista SP1.

The tool, SymRegFix, had been promised by Symantec two weeks ago when users reported that upgrading to XP SP3 emptied Windows' Device Manager, deleted network connections and packed the registry with thousands of bogus entries.

Symantec initially blamed Microsoft for the snafu, but later accepted some responsibility. Last week, the company said the combination of a Microsoft process and the SymProtect feature of its Norton-branded consumer security software had added the errant registry entries, and it told users to turn off that feature before upgrading.

SymProtect, designed to protect Symantec's security software from being hacked by malware, guards against unauthorized changes to the registry. When some users on that same thread noted that the tool had not deleted all the spurious registry keys, another Symantec employee stepped in. "The other garbage entries may have been created by Microsoft's Fixccs.exe outside of the Symantec registry keys," said Steve Dang.

Earlier, Symantec had identified the Fixccs.exe executable as the Microsoft side of the problem; it had also contended that other security software that monitors registry changes can cause registry pollution, although few incidents have been logged to Microsoft's support forums.

"If you have any other security applications, especially any that monitors/protects the registry, please disable those," said Dang. "Then, open a command prompt and type 'symregfix /override.' This will attempt to delete the garbage registry keys under the entire HKLMSystemCurrentControlSet hive, not just those under the Symantec registry keys."

Symantec has also issued a patch via its LiveUpdate service that prevents the registry corruption from occurring, although users must run LiveUpdate from within their security software, then reboot the PC before attempting an upgrade to Windows XP SP3 or Vista SP1.

That the problem could also affect users updating to Vista SP1 was new information last week; before then, only Windows XP SP3 upgrades had been fingered as causing trouble. In a message posted to the Symantec support forum last Friday, Anschultz downplayed the threat posed to Vista users. "Given how long Vista SP1 has been available relative to the XP SP3 upgrade and the rarity of this issue on Vista, it appears that the FixCCS.exe program doesn't need to 'fix' stuff as often on Vista, but it may on occasion," he said.

Symantec's SymRegFix clean-up tool can be downloaded from the company's site.

Are you overwhelmed by your own inbox?
Do you use outlook as your mail client?

Then there is a must have plugin application for you. There simply is not much more to say accept get it now. Xobni is inbox spelled backward.

Dear Rob,

Why does PC Pitstop keep bashing Vista? Isn't it like biting the hand that feeds you?

Your Pal,

While I found many of the issues simply quarks I can say that there are some valid points. Though there is one which no one mentioned which personally I find quite annoying. I know how to shut it off but that is not the point. If I have to approve an execute then don't throw the machine in a tail spin to display a dialog asking my approval.

Honestly the truth is that none of this is necessary in a MAC as there is no need to protect system32 or the OS to this degree from the operator. While a .dll and cab files gain speed the trade off is questionable more every year. It does take a bit longer to execute a process in NIX, but with machines running faster all the time the trade off becomes less important.

I do not care for an operating system wants me to change my behavior, rather than being flexible to mine. Honestly I cannot believe the people inside are ignoring the same things everyone else sees they see. It is simply a case of denial on many fronts, while XP is near its end of life, people are faced with a couple of good choices. This should have MS being aggressive and this is clearly not the case. This too should indicate to those on top there is a problem.

Things to know before you download Windows Vista SP1

• Windows Vista SP1 is available in English, French, German, Spanish, and Japanese. Other languages will be made available soon.
• Microsoft strongly recommends using Windows Update to download and install Windows Vista SP1 on single PCs:
  • The download size from Windows Update of Windows Vista SP1 for x86 is 65 MB (compared to 450 MB from the Microsoft Download Center).
  • The download size from Windows Update of Windows Vista SP1 for x64 is 125 MB (compared to 745 MB from the Microsoft Download Center).
  • Windows Update will recognize PCs with known problematic drivers and postpone downloading Windows Vista SP1 until the PC has updated drivers or other applicable updates. Using Windows Update will help ensure you have the most trouble-free update experience possible.
  • Some Windows Vista users may encounter an issue with a small set of hardware devices that may not function properly after updating a Windows Vista PC to Windows Vista SP1.   This is an issue with the way the device drivers were re-installed during the Windows Vista SP1 update process, not with the drivers themselves—these drivers worked on Windows Vista RTM and they work on Windows Vista SP1.  This problem is typically corrected by simply uninstalling and reinstalling the driver. We are working with the manufacturers of these devices to get the known problematic drivers and their install programs updated, and also on other solutions we can use to ensure a smooth customer experience when updating to Windows Vista SP1 using Windows Update. For new PCs provisioned with Windows Vista SP1, this is not an issue.
• If you choose to install Windows Vista SP1 via the standalone installer available on the Microsoft Download Center, Microsoft advises that you first visit Windows Update and install all optional drivers. Read Knowledge Base Articles 948187 and 948343 for more information.
• If you have a prior version of the Windows Vista SP1 beta installed, you must uninstall it prior to installing the final version. Use the Control Panel applet "Programs and Features" and select "View installed updates" from the top left of the task pane. Under Windows, look for "Service Pack for Windows (KB936330).

The Cost-effective Alternative to Microsoft Exchange™

SmarterMail 5.x is a feature-rich Windows mail server that brings the power of enterprise-level functionality to small businesses and hosting environments. SmarterMail 5.x builds upon a solid reputation of stability, performance, and value to bring industry-leading features and security to customers at a competitive price. SmarterMail is designed to be effective in small businesses with a handful of email accounts and within large ISP/hosting environments managing thousands of domains and tens of thousands of users per server.

Learn more.

Smartertools Changing prices for New Major versions !

SmarterTools announced Major version changes. SmarterMail will be changed to version 5. SmarterStats 3 has a pricing change. These are due to take effect on March 13 2008 for SmarterStats and SmarterMail. SmarterTicket will have not only a version change but a name change to SmarterTrack 3.This product is set launch on April 23 2008. We will be releasing our pricing for these products on March 10 2008.

Sun Microsystems purchase of MySQL for $1 billion is not only the largest open-source deal yet, it's almost bigger than all previous open-source deals combined, including RedHat's $326 million buy of JBoss, Citrix's $500 million purchase of XenSource and Yahoo's $350 million acquisition of Zimbra.

But the deal raises a number of questions for Sun. Was that $1 billion well spent? What will Sun do with its new database? And will the purchase improve its standing in the enterprise? More important than the $1 billion price tag, however, is whether Sun can execute its strategy of taking a database that's popular in certain circles and successfully move it into the enterprise accounts, where they are a well-respected vendor.

Whatever technical issues Sun may face in integrating MySQL into its current stack pale in comparison with the marketing challenge.In the scheme of things, the most important IT issue for large businesses is reliability. For databases, companies need to know product is solid, can scale and won't go down if they make severe demands on it.

Barracuda Networks, a maker of e-mail and Web security hardware, has sent out a distress call to the open source community to save it from patent litigation at the hands of Trend Micro, a competing security company. On Tuesday it asked for help from anyone who can provide information that can invalidate Trend Micro's patent on gateway antivirus scanning.

Barracuda Networks has framed the dispute as an attack not only on itself but on the open source community and the free Clam AntiVirus software by "commercial patent holders attempting to unjustly hinder the free and open source community," as Dean Drako, president and CEO of Barracuda Networks, put it in a statement issued on Tuesday.

Trend Micro spokesperson Mike Sweeny said the litigation isn't an attack on the open source community. "This case is really about two companies, Barracuda Networks and Panda Security, that are selling products in the U.S. that we feel infringe on our time-tested patent," he said. Drako disagrees with this assessment. "If you read the legal documents from Trend Micro, all of the infringement claims they make are about Clam AV," he said in a phone interview. "They may be legally suing us but ... it's pretty clearly an attack on Clam AV."

It may also be an attack on the disruptive price points of products based on open source software. Drako pointed to a recent article that he said found Barracuda's hardware to be a tenth the cost of competing boxes. Trend Micro in early 2006. Sweeny from Trend Micro confirmed that both Symantec and McAfee have licensed the patent as well.

Following demands from Trend Micro in 2006 to pay a royalty that Drako characterized as onerous, Barracuda Networks sued Trend Micro in March 2007 seeking a declaratory judgment that it was not infringing upon the '600 patent. Toward the end of 2007, Trend Micro countered by filing a claim with the International Trade Commission (ITC) seeking to block the importation and inclusion of Clam AntiVirus software in Barracuda's security appliances.

"Trend Micro is seeking an interpretation of its '600 patent such that would give it exclusive control of gateway antivirus scanning," Barracuda states on a Web page it has posted about the case. "Scanning for viruses at the gateway is an obvious and common technique that is utilized by most businesses worldwide. Such an interpretation would mean that anyone, including the owners of the more than one million active ClamAV installations, could potentially be sued by Trend Micro."

"They're accusing us of importing open source software," said Drako. "How can you accuse someone of importing open source software? It's written everywhere." Nonetheless, Trend Micro appears to be doing just that it. If it prevails, Drako predicts trouble for companies that rely on open source software. "If Trend Micro is successful in claiming that we import Clam AV, and therefore that the ITC is the appropriate court, I could go claim that Linux is imported by IBM ... I could start suing them in the ITC. It could reinvent how patent litigation is done for open source software. It's a pretty bold move."

SWsoft announced it has acquired WebHost Automation Ltd., maker of the Helm control panel and billing software for Windows with nearly 1.5 million end users worldwide. WebHost Automation is based in Bristol, U.K.

The acquisition adds more Windows platform expertise to SWsoft, a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, and strengthens its position as a provider of Windows-based automation software solutions.

"By integrating Helm into the SWsoft family of automation and virtualization solutions and partners through our Open Fusion initiative, Helm customers will be able to take advantage of a wider array of solutions and new business opportunities such as software as a service (SaaS)," said Serguei Beloussov, CEO of SWsoft.

For SWsoft, the acquisition adds a significant worldwide customer base, including strong positions in the U.K. and South America. It also extends the reach of independent software vendors (ISVs) who package their software using the Application Packaging Standard (APS) to more end users who can take advantage of their software solutions. Helm customers benefit from an increased range of automation solutions from SWsoft.  Full Article

Microsoft Corp. posted a tool to its download site today that will block automatic installations of several upcoming service packs, including Vista Service Pack 1 and Windows XP SP3.

The download includes three versions of the tool -- an executable, a script and a group policy template -- that prevents the service packs from reaching PCs via Windows Update, Microsoft's default update service.

The tool blocks Windows Vista SP1, Windows XP SP3 and Windows Server 2003 SP2 for varying lengths of time. Vista SP1 and XP SP3 can be blocked for as long as 12 months after the service packs are released in final form, while the Server 2003 SP2 blocker bars the download only through March 2008.

The Windows Service Pack Blocker Tool Kit can be downloaded from the Microsoft Web site.

One of several new features in Windows Live Messenger 9.0 will have a new security feature to report users who send unsolicited messages, known as SPIM (spam over IM).

After compiling a list of IM contacts, hackers try to trick users into clicking links. Those links can often launch an unwanted installation of spyware or other malware via a browser vulnerability or other security hole.

Liveside published other new details of Messenger 9.0 on Wednesday but then deleted the post on Thursday. It wasn't entirely clear why the site decided to delete the post, but it could be retrieved via Google's cache.

Microsoft's emphasis on improvements to security features in Windows Vista may have undermined business adoption of the OS, as many business and enterprise customers are still holding off on upgrading to the OS nearly a year after its release to them.

Microsoft spent a good deal of time and money to ensure Vista's security after Windows XP and applications running on it proved susceptible to devastating worms like Blaster, Slammer and MyDoom. Though Microsoft released Windows XP Service Pack 2 to remedy some vulnerabilities, the company decided that security would be a top priority for the next major Windows release, said George Stathakopoulos, general manager of Microsoft's Response and Product Centers.

Microsoft made a crucial mistake in pushing and marketing something that many feel should be an inherent part of an operating system. Seems to be telling customers a feature of the OS was not right in a previous version and promoting that it's been improved in the new one. Full article

Since antivirus software must open and inspect data in hundreds, if not thousands, of file formats. One bug in the software that does this can lead to a serious security breach.The flaws found affect every major antivirus vendor, and many of them could allow attackers to run unauthorized code on a victim's system.

People think that putting one AV engine after another is somehow defense in depth. They think that if one engine doesn't catch the worm, the other will catch it! Actually you haven't decreased your attack surface; you've increased it because every AV engine has bugs.

Between 2002 and 2005, nearly half of the vulnerabilities that were discovered in antivirus software were remotely exploitable, meaning that attackers could launch their attacks from anywhere on the Internet. Today that percentage maybe closer to 80 percent.

Full Article

A distributor of online video content has filed a complaint with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, asking the agency to stop broadband providers from blocking or slowing P-to-P traffic.

The petition filed by Vuze, which uses the BitTorrent P-to-P (peer-to-peer) protocol to distribute Web content, asks the FCC to set rules for network management by ISPs (Internet service providers). Vuze's filing late Wednesday follows reports last month that cable broadband provider Comcast slows some P-to-P traffic, including BitTorrent.

Earlier this week, a Comcast customer in California filed a lawsuit against the company, saying the provider has caused several Web-based programs to suffer performance problems. In late October, Public Knowledge and other members of the Open Internet Coalition filed a complaint about the alleged Comcast blocking with the FCC.

Vuze, based in Palo Alto, California, distributes video in partnership with movie studios and television networks including the BBC, Showtime and PBS. It also distributes PC games, music videos, and audio files. Company officials say the Vuze client has been installed by customers more than 12 million times since the company, formerly called Azureus, rebranded itself in January.

SYMPTOMS
In Microsoft Windows Server 2003 and in Microsoft Windows XP, a program that uses the QueryPerformanceCounter function to query system time may perform poorly. For example, if you run the ping command at the command prompt, you may receive low or incorrect latency values.

Note This problem occurs on computers that are running an x64-based version of Windows or an x86-based (32-bit) version of Windows.

RESOLUTION
To resolve this problem, update the BIOS on the computer. Or, modify the Boot.ini file to use the /usepmtimer switch. To do this, follow these steps: 1. Log on to the computer by using an account that has administrative credentials.
2. Click Start, click Run, type notepad c:\boot.ini, and then click OK. 
3. In the Boot.ini file, a line that starts with "default" is located in the "[boot loader]" section. This line specifies the location of the default operating system. The line may appear as follows:
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS
In the "[operating systems]" section, locate the line for the operating system that corresponds to the "default" line. For example, if the computer is running Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise x64 Edition, the line should resemble the following:
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="Windows Server 2003 Enterprise x64 Edition" /fastdetect /NoExecute=OptIn
4. At the end of the line, add a space, and then type /usepmtimer. The line should now resemble the following.
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="Windows Server 2003 Enterprise x64 Edition" /fastdetect /NoExecute=OptIn /usepmtimer
5. Save the file, and then exit Notepad.
6. Restart the computer.

The following is a sample Boot.ini file for a system that contains the /usepmtimer switch.
[boot loader]
timeout=0
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="Windows Server 2003 Enterprise x64 Edition" /fastdetect /NoExecute=OptIn /usepmtimer

MS KB articles

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/833721    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/895980/

We've always been a fan of alternative operating systems. Though honestly most have simply been too clunky or difficult for the novice user. So we decided to give PC-BSD a shot and came away very pleasantly surprised.

Here are some highlights from the PC-BSD site discussing PC-BSD and its requirements. For a comprehensive look at what's in this release, see the changelog and the release notes on the PC-BSD site.

Highlights of this release:

• Moving the FreeBSD base version to 6-STABLE
• Xorg 7.2
• KDE 3.5.7
• Compiz-Fusion 0.5.2
• Support for Flash7 in native BSD browsers. (Konq, Opera, Firefox)
• Official NVIDIA drivers to simplify activating Hardware acceleration.

Minimum system requirements:

• Pentium II or higher
• 256MB Ram
• 4GB of free Hard Drive space (Either partition, or entire disk)
• Network card
• Sound card

Now we know that some of you are probably very skeptical about the idea of using BSD as your desktop operating system. Maybe you've never heard of it. Maybe you have heard of it but have heard that it's not very user-friendly or that the software is hard to install or manage. Put aside whatever preconceptions you have about PC-BSD because you're in for a real treat—if you're in the market for a new operating system.

ESET, the leader in proactive threat protection, has been named to Deloitte’s prestigious Technology Fast 50 Program for San Diego, a ranking of the 50 fastest growing technology, media, telecommunications and life sciences companies in the area by Deloitte & Touche USA LLP, one of the nation’s leading professional services organizations. Rankings are based on the percentage revenue growth over five years from 2002 to 2006.
   
   “We are proud to be included in Deloitte’s Technology Fast 50 for the fifth consecutive year,” said Anton Zajac, CEO of ESET. “Recent high-profile rankings have continued to showcase ESET's rapid growth and underscore the dedication of our employees and partners, who continue to produce the types of premium products that customers expect.”
   
   ESET’s increase in revenues of 3,900 percent from 2002 to 2006 resulted in a number two ranking in the Technology Fast 50 for San Diego. The average increase in revenues among companies who made the Technology Fast 50 for this region was 179.3 percent. “To rank in Deloitte’s Technology Fast 50, companies must have phenomenal revenue growth over five years. ESET has proven to be one of the fast-growth success stories in San Diego, and we applaud their dedication to making their vision a reality,” said Theresa Drew, managing partner, San Diego Practice, Deloitte & Touche LLP.

The launch of Microsoft Surface marks the beginning of a new technology category and a user-interface revolution. Surface, Microsoft’s first surface computer, provides effortless interaction with digital content through natural hand gestures, touch and physical objects. Surface computing breaks down traditional barriers between people and technology, changing the way people interact with all kinds of everyday information — from photos to maps to menus.

We will offer on this site regularly updated versions of the media kit, which includes press releases, background material and images. Please visit frequently to receive the latest news and information about Microsoft Surface.

For starters, IE 7 will no longer require a Windows Genuine Advantage validation check for download or install. You can just download away from the Microsoft's Internet Explorer page or use Automatic Updates.

The Windows XP version of IE7 has been tweaked a bit, too. The menu bar defaults to being visible instead of hidden, the "first run" and online tours have been updated, and the MSI installer has streamlined installation for network admins and enterprise customers.

These aren't big changes, to be sure. The biggest deal is clearly the removal of the WGA check. It certainly begs the question: Where is the next Internet Explorer? When is it coming, and what features should we expect? Microsoft has been especially quiet on the subject.

The 8.0.2 update fixes the following two issues on both the Macintosh and Windows platforms.

SQL injections in web applications

The update updates server-side code generated by Dreamweaver to protect databases against SQL Injection.

Active content

The update fixes a problem with the code generated by Dreamweaver when it inserts active content such as a Flash file in a web page. In the latest versions of Internet Explorer, the generated code by Dreamweaver does not allow users to interact with the active content unless they click it. The update fixes the code generated by Dreamweaver so that users don’t have to click the active content. The update also provides a way to repair the code of existing pages with active content.

Learn More

Ok Backup just sucks in Vista so let's get a method to get a handle on things for free.

SyncToy 1.4 for Windows Vista is available as a free download from the Microsoft Download Center. The easy to use, customizable application helps you copy, move, rename, and delete files between folders and computers.

There are files from all kinds of sources that we want to store and manage. Files are created by our digital cameras, e-mail, cell phones, portable media players, camcorders, PDAs, and laptops. Increasingly, computer users are using different folders, drives, and even different computers (such as a laptop and a desktop) to store, manage, retrieve and view files. Yet managing hundreds or thousands of files is still largely a manual operation. In some cases it is necessary to regularly get copies of files from another location to add to primary location; in other cases there is a need to keep two storage locations exactly in sync. Some users manage files manually, dragging and dropping from one place to another and keeping track of whether the locations are synchronized in their heads. Other users may use two or more applications to provide this functionality.

Now there is an easier way. SyncToy, a free PowerToy for Microsoft Windows Vista, is an easy to use, highly customizable program that helps users to do the heavy lifting involved with the copying, moving, and synchronization of different directories. Most common operations can be performed with just a few clicks of the mouse, and additional customization is available without additional complexity. SyncToy can manage multiple sets of folders at the same time; it can combine files from two folders in one case, and mimic renames and deletes in another case. Unlike other applications, SyncToy actually keeps track of renames to files and will make sure those changes get carried over to the synchronized folder.

Get it Here:

IBM Corp. will stop selling the BlackIce PC Protection security suite, a product that came under its wing after buying Internet Security Systems (ISS) a year ago for US$1.3 billion.

The company will stop selling BlackIce on Sept. 19, and end technical support for the product, which is just for PCs running Windows, on Sept. 29, 2008, according to ISS.

IBM said its ISS division would no longer offer desktop or server protection software for the consumer market, but also noted that the company still has security software suitable for small businesses.

After the ISS acquisition users expressed concern about how IBM would continue to sell the company's stand-alone products. ISS focuses on network security products and managed security services, selling intrusion prevention and detection systems and security appliances.

To enable the viewing of Hidden files follow these steps:

1. Close all programs so that you are at your desktop.
2. Click on the Start button. This is the small round button with the Windows flag in the lower left corner.
3. Click on the Control Panel menu option.
4. When the control panel opens you can either be in Classic View or Control Panel Home view:
   
   If you are in the Classic View do the following:
   1. Double-click on the Folder Options icon.
   2. Click on the View tab.
   3. Go to step 5.
   
   If you are in the Control Panel Home view do the following:
   1. Click on the Appearance and Personalization link .
   2. Click on Show Hidden Files or Folders.
   3. Go to step 5.
      
      
5. Under the Hidden files and folders section select the radio button labeled Show hidden files and folders.
6. Remove the checkmark from the checkbox labeled Hide extensions for known file types.
7. Remove the checkmark from the checkbox labeled Hide protected operating system files.
8. Press the Apply button and then the OK button and shutdown My Computer.
9. Now Windows Vista is configured to show all hidden files.

Microsoft fended off Google's antitrust complaints by agreeing to make it easier for computer users to choose competitors' programs, an increasingly common response from a company long accused of using its operating system's dominance to choke competition.

Microsoft's compromise with the U.S. Justice Department, detailed in a report released late Tuesday, allows Windows Vista users to set a non-Microsoft program as the default search engine on hard drives. Microsoft will also add a link to that alternate program in the Windows Start menu, but will not change the way Vista "Instant Search" technology works.

Recent concessions by Microsoft are part of a broader battle between the two companies. While Windows continues to dominate the desktop operating system market, Google's ability to make money from search advertising has left Microsoft scrambling to catch up. Google has also stepped into traditional Microsoft territory in the past year with a set of free, Web-based programs for word processing, spreadsheets and presentations.

"Windows Security Center (in Vista) was sort of biased toward Microsoft products," Heron said. But after talks with the security community, Heron said Microsoft opened Vista up more to competing software. Microsoft is also expected to release code that restores security programs' access to the Vista kernel.

Tuesday's regularly scheduled status report came after Google filed a 49-page document with the Justice Department in April, claiming that Vista's desktop search tool slowed competing programs, including Google's own free offering. Google also said it's too difficult for users to figure out how to turn off the Microsoft program.

Google's claims were intended to show that the world's largest software maker is not complying with a 2002 settlement in which the government concluded Microsoft used its near-ubiquitous Windows operating system to throttle competition. Microsoft is now bound by a consent decree that requires it to help rivals build software that runs smoothly on Windows.

Microsoft Corp. is posting the final beta and first publicly available and feature-complete version of Windows Server "Longhorn," marking the final time the product will be available for testing and feedback before the long-awaited server update is available later this year.

Microsoft is making downloads of Longhorn Beta 3 available from the company's Web site, said Ward Ralston, senior technical product manager for the software. It's the first time that anyone who is interested can get their hands on the product, which has been in private beta release only until now.

It is also the first time users can get a look at the new scripting and command-line technology, Microsoft PowerShell, in the Longhorn server, he said. The technology, which allows administrators to more easily automate tasks across Windows servers on a network, was previously available as a separate add-on, but it will be built directly into Longhorn and is making its first appearance in a test version of the product.

Customers also can get a first look in Beta 3 at two new Longhorn features -- a new always-on firewall in Server Manager and an installation option called Server Core.

Server Manager in Longhorn is designed to keep the server firewall up 100% of the time, which means server administrators will have to unlock the firewall using the Server Manager console when they want to install components, he said. This allows administrators to install components needed for certain server roles, leaving anything extraneous out of the system.

The server also will intelligently know what dependencies and restraints the roles will have once installed, and it will configure the server automatically to run most effectively in those scenarios, Ralston added.

Server Core is a minimal installation option for Windows Server that installs only components for eight server roles -- out of a possible 18 -- on the server and automatically configures them for the most reliable performance. This limits the amount of code that needs to run on the server and should decrease the time needed for and the number of updates because the server will only need to be rebooted for updates related only to those roles, Ralston said.

Longhorn is due for final release sometime in the second half of the year, a time frame that was revised several times.

Mozilla has issued another minor update to its Firefox 2.0 web browser. New for Firefox 2.0.0.3 is a single security fix that patches up a hole in the browser’s FTP PASV functionality. A malicious web page hosted on a specially-coded FTP server could use this feature to perform a rudimentary port-scan of machines inside the firewall of the victim.

Mozilla says that by itself this causes no harm, but information about an internal network may be useful to an attacker should there be other vulnerabilities present on the network. Also new in 2.0.0.3 are fixes to improve Web site compatibility.

The last time the Firefox was updated was less than a month ago when 2.0.0.2 was released to address issues with AutoComplete, how the "Save" dialog box displays for known file extensions, a bug where a mouse's scroll wheel would stop working, two memory leaks and a number of security-related concerns.

Firefox users can download 2.0.0.3 from Mozilla's homepage or use the auto update function within the browser.

AV-Comparatives, a project in Austria overseen by security researcher Andreas Clementi, published the antivirus comparison report, which also looked at products from Symantec Corp., McAfee Inc., Kaspersky Lab Ltd., BitDefender, Fortinet Inc., F-Secure Corp. and several other antivirus products from smaller vendors.

In detecting Windows viruses, worms, macros, scripts and other OS threats, Microsoft ranked last out of the 15 vendors tested, detecting them 91 percent of the time. G Data Software AG's Anti-Virus Kit (AVK) ranked first with 99.6 percent detection, while products from three vendors-- Kaspersky Anti-Virus, MicroWorld Technologies Inc.'s eScan and F-Secure Anti-Virus-- tied for second with 99 percent detection. TrustPort Antivirus Workstation from AED Ltd. came in third with 98.9 percent detection.

In preventing intrusion through backdoors, Trojans and in other malware detection, Windows OneCare also ranked last out of 13 vendors, with 79.6 percent detection. TrustPort came in first at 99.5 percent detection; AVK came in second with 99.4 percent detection; and AVIRA GmbH's AntiVir Personal Edition Premium came in third with 98.9 percent detection.

If ranking low in its rates of malware and virus detection isn't enough to irk users, a recent update to the product has been quarantining the Outlook.PST file, which stores mail in Outlook and Outlook Express, users reported recently on a Microsoft Windows user form.

"This is the most unacceptable act Microsoft has ever committed," groused one user, with the log-in TG4752, on the forum. "I run a small business and I am screwed. I have no way to respond to e-mails because I made the mistake of trusting Microsoft... and all of my e-mails and contacts are gone."

Microsoft confirmed the problem and has patched it.

While I have been waiting to buy a new box and get off and running with Vista I have been reading. I admit I have always been a windows fan. If you started in DOS and windows 3.1 how could you resist. XP has proven to be a good OS and though right now I am reading many of switch to MAC comments, with more questions.

It is a difficult thought when one considers the things they would be missing. Provided they actually use their computer as a serious user. I admit even I am a bit torn over the single issue of how much work I am willing to give toward setting every perm on a daily basis. I have enough experience just with I.E. 7.0 to know I really do not care for labors of trusting sites and while the granularity is great, and security is improved no doubt about that fact.  

It has been my observeration that many people do not even have a firm grip of controlling security settings in their browsers. Which leads one to wonder is there a better way? It appears there is clearly no shortage of debate surrounding the OS.

Here are some articles on the topic.  <Bit-Net> <Uninspired> <Toms>

I have no idea about these things accept what I have been told. Certainly nothing like those of you in the newly formed EU, state of insanity! It appears they have volume control restrictions on their Ipods. What the heck is that about? I know the UK has big brother watching everywhere but really volume control restrictions.

This little software program called goPod will allow you to uncap your iPod's volume so the sound comes out louder. Apart from the iPod Shuffle, every (recent) iPod is now compatible with this software version (1.3), including the nano. Reminder, the prolonged use of an MP3 player at a high sound volume damages your hearing Get it Here!

The dramatic headlines appear to have been sparked by confusion in a Reuters story published on Saturday morning that snowballed out of control. The story quoted the FSF's general counsel, Eben Moglen, as stating that the FSF was making changes to the GPL that would not allow similar deals.

As previously reported, Moglen initiated a review of the deal shortly after Novell and Microsoft promised not to sue each other's customers for patent infringement to see whether the agreement ran afoul of the GNU General Public License, by which Linux is distributed.

Some open source advocates had feared that the agreement might split the Linux market, and concerns were realized when Microsoft's CEO, Steve Ballmer, used the deal to suggest that there might be patent issues related to other Linux distributions.

While Moglen is yet to report his findings, FSF chairman Richard Stallman announced in November that while the agreement was not in violation of the current version 2 of the GPL, the forthcoming GPL v3 would include provisions that would block such an arrangement.

If the GPL v3 does include such provisions when it is finalized in the spring, Novell might well find itself in a difficult position. While Linux creator Linus Torvalds has decided that the Linux kernel will stick with GPL v3, many of the GNU tools that go to make up a full Linux distribution will move to GPL v3.

It seems likely that Novell will be forced to maintain support for older version of these tools or rethink its Microsoft agreement if the FSF does succeed in its aims, but Novell maintained that it is not going to respond to ifs and buts at this stage.

Novell has just launched a Vista/Linux comparison site, in anticipation of the Jan. 31 arrival of the retail version of Windows Vista. Unsurprisingly, Novell's site reminds users that SLED 10 (SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop) is already here, and promotes it as the better upgrade for Windows business users.

While Microsoft and Novell may be partners now when it comes to Windows and Linux interoperability, don't think for a second that they've become bosom buddies. In this Web site, Novell bashes Vista both on TCO (total cost of ownership) and on usability grounds.

Novell claims that "With SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10, you receive over 90 percent of the functionality of Vista and Office for less than 10 percent of the price." In the pricing section, Novell walks you through the cost differences between SLED and Vista and Vista/Office 2007.

When it comes to dollars and bytes, SLED is the clear winner. It only costs $50 and it comes bundled with a full-function office suite, OpenOffice.org 2.x. IN contrast, the Windows Vista Business upgrade price is $179. If you buy straight retail, it's a cool $299. Vista, of course, doesn't come with an office suite. Microsoft Office Professional 2007 for Windows Vista costs $499 per user at list. The upgrade price isn't cheap either, at $329.

Of course, all this pricing information presumes you can run Vista on your existing PCs. SLED 10 will run on any recent PC. Vista, for all practical purposes, requires a system with at least a 1GHz 32-bit or 64-bit processor, 1GB of system RAM, a graphics card that is DirectX 9-capable with WDDM (Windows Display Driver Model) drivers, and at least 128MB of graphics memory.

Microsoft Windows Vista is designed to dramatically improve the computing experience of every kind of PC user—from people at home who use their PCs for simple web browsing, to business people. To make sure that everyone has an offering tailored to meet their specific needs, Microsoft will deliver five different editions of Windows Vista. Each edition is focused on the needs of a specific type of person. Large, global organizations with complex IT infrastructures should consider Windows Vista Enterprise Edition.

Version Comparison

Microsoft has backed down on its previously-disclosed licensing terms for Vista and will now allow for unlimited installations on a single device. The previous license for Vista marked a change from past operating systems, in that it tied the copy of Vista to the hardware.

The license would allow for one license transfer, from an old computer to a new one, and after that, the customer would have to buy a new copy of Vista. This did not set well among the home PC builder community, who constantly upgrade their computers piece by piece over the years.

"We heard that users wanted more flexibility, and this change should give hardware enthusiasts in particular more latitude to upgrade their PCs or reassign their license to a new PC, while still making clear our intentions to protect our software from piracy," said a Microsoft spokesperson.

The new license agreement now reads "You may uninstall the software and install it on another device for your use. You may not do so to share this license between devices."

Also, Microsoft changed transfer rights to other users, so that a Vista licensee may transfer their license of Windows Vista to another user, provided that they uninstall the original copy and do not keep the original installation.

This was all clarified in a blog posting by Vista product manager Nick White.

"Our intention behind the original terms was genuinely geared toward combating piracy; however, it's become clear to us that those original terms were perceived as adversely affecting an important group of customers: PC and hardware enthusiasts," he wrote.

San Diego's Qualcomm has announced that the next version of its Eudora email client is going to be released as a free, open source application built upon the same code as Mozilla Thunderbird. Programmers from both Qualcomm and the Mozilla Foundation will work together to develop future versions of the client.

The company hopes that the Mozilla open source community will extend the feature set of Eudora (which is currently commercial software) much in the same way that they have done for Thunderbird. It's a great development for the open source productivity space. Will it kill Microsoft Outlook? No, but it's going to make millions of users who prefer alternative email clients very happy.

When the open source version of Eudora is released in the first half of 2007, Qualcomm will discontinue selling the commercial version of the client. Right now, Eudora costs $19.95 per license, and that price also buys you six months of tech support. The new, open source version of the client most likely won't come with tech support, but users will be able to turn to community resources for support. Qualcomm says it plans to honor all paid technical support commitments for Eudora until the paid licenses run out.

It appears that Microsoft wants to make sure that its customers feel as if they are being treated with contempt - just in case they didn't already feel that way. Customers who pay up to US$400 for a copy of Vista Ultimate will for their investment be able to transfer their software to another machine just once instead of as many times as they like as is the case with XP.

If your machine packs it in, Microsoft in its benevolence will allow you to transfer the software to another machine. However, if after a year or so you decide to upgrade and pass your old machine on to another family member who only needs a copy of Vista Home Edition, it's just too bad because you'll have to fork out another US$400 because your license is no longer transferrable. This is not piracy prevention. This is pure greed.

Microsoft claims that it is has a huge piracy problem. It has to tighten its rules with measures such as the Software Protection Program that has the power to disable computers deemed to house pirated software. It has to restrict users to the number of times they can re-install their software.

However, one has to ask then how was Microsoft able to build a global monopoly where Windows is installed on 90% or more of desktops despite this so-called piracy? Are they really implying that 50% of these people are priates? Given the numbers it would seem that the 2 + billion people of china and india which could buy microsoft software, why then does the price of the product not drop as the numbers go up. Production of any other material goods are expected to drop as the numbers rise. But at MS they have a sweet deal already by them maintaining high prices throughout the life cycle of a product. One which they define the life cycle as 5 years from day one.

In spite of piracy, how was Microsoft able to achieve revenues of nearly $25 billion and a profit of almost $18.5 billion on its Windows and Office products alone in the fiscal year ended 2006? Already forums are abuzz with outraged users advising to install one of the popular free Linux distributions on their computers. users are advising each other to buy Macs - anything to get away from the restrictions Microsoft intends to impose on the use of its software.

Microsoft's Vista will not make it more difficult for anti-virus systems to work, Russian computer security group and potential IPO candidate Kaspersky Lab said on Friday, contradicting rivals.

In an open letter this week, U.S. anti-virus provider McAfee accused Microsoft of weakening users protection by no longer co-operating with computer security groups and denying them access to the core of the Vista system.

"From what we have seen of Vista we cannot tell that Microsoft is blocking access to the core," Kaspersky Lab Chief Executive and co-founder Natalya Kaspersky told Reuters in an interview in Paris.  "It would not make any sense for them (Microsoft) to stop working with other computer security companies because it would make their system more vulnerable to attacks," Kaspersky added.

Microsoft, the world's largest software group, entered the computer security market in June with OneCare, a software that aims to protect computers from viruses, spyware and other ailments. The U.S. software giant fired back on Monday, saying that it had worked closely with computer security companies throughout the development of Vista and planned to continue to do so.

"Microsoft would have to change their business completely if what McAfee says was true," Kaspersky said, explaining that Microsoft's business model was based on working with other providers. Kaspersky said Microsoft had held its traditional annual meeting with computer security companies this summer and she had not noticed co-operation was weakening.

In its open letter on Monday McAfee alleged that Microsoft had firmly embedded in Vista its own security system which could not be disabled even when users purchased an alternative security product.  "Microsoft seems to envision a world in which one giant company not only controls the systems that drive most computers around the world but also the security that protects those computers from viruses and other online threats," McAfee said in its letter. Symantec and other computer security companies have backed McAfee's criticism of the Microsoft Vista system.

Microsoft has rejected their allegations and said it wished to deliver a secure version of Windows Vista that would be compliant with EU law.

It’s been a good year for great technologies.  This one is an MIT tool called ASSIST - It will at very least open the creative minds of those who are interested in design. 

Design rationale is often not recorded in mechanical engineering designs because it is not convenient to stop the design process to record every design decision that is made. Designing directly on the computer could assist the process of design rationale capture. At the very least a computer design tool could record all the changes made to a design over its lifetime.

Unfortunately, current computer-based design tools for mechanical engineers are not tailored to early stages of design. Most designers use pencil and paper at first, and input their design into CAD systems only after it is nearly complete. The tradeoff between the ease of drawing and the precision of a CAD tool is too great for engineers who are just sketching out rough designs.

We aim to create a tool that allows the engineer to sketch a mechanical system as she would on paper, and then allows her to interact with the design as a mechanical system, for example by seeing a simulation of her drawing. We have built an early incarnation of such a tool, called ASSIST, which allows a user to sketch simple mechanical systems and see simulations of her drawings in a two-dimensional kinematic simulator.

Video Presentation:

Futuremark ® Corporation is the leading provider of performance analysis software products for PCs and smartphones, and professional services including technology demos, performance analysis services and data research projects. Futuremark® is known around the world for its benchmark products, including the 3DMark® and PCMark® Series and SPMark™ (with more than 30 million copies distributed worldwide) and value-added services powered by a database of over 13 million real life benchmarking results from over 3 million registered users. Futuremark® maintains offices in Saratoga, California and Helsinki, Finland. For more information, please visit http://www.futuremark.com

AGEIA™ Technologies, Inc., is the pioneer of hardware-accelerated physics for PC games and has developed the world's first dedicated physics processor, the AGEIA PhysX™ processor. The AGEIA PhysX processor powers massive and pervasive real-time interactive worlds that for the first time obey the laws of classical physics. AGEIA provides a world-class cross platform software development kit to simplify advanced physics programming for the PhysX processor, as well next-generation gaming consoles. AGEIA is changing the face of gaming by working with more than sixty leading developers and publishers to deliver the next generation of physically immersive entertainment. The company, headquartered in Mountain View, Calif., is privately-held. For more information visit http://www.ageia.com

Firefox 2.0 Release Candidate 1 show that the new browser will be a worthwhile upgrade, with welcome usability enhancements and improved security controls, but anyone hoping that it would set the Web on fire with innovative new features will probably be a little disappointed.

Firefox 2.0 RC1 changes the way that the browser handles large numbers of open tabbed windows. In previous versions, the browser would squeeze all the tabs onto the screen. Now, the browser leaves the tabs sized normally and adds arrows to the left and right of the tabbed window bar; users can click on these arrows to see tabs that have moved off the screen. This model is much better when it comes to actually seeing what's in the tab, although we kind of miss being able to easily tell how many tabs we have open.

A smaller change in this release provides additional options when clicking on RSS feed links within the browser. Firefox 2.0 RC1 launches an informational screen about the feed and provides subscription options, allowing users to choose among adding the feed to a feed-reading service or a feed-reader application, or adding it as a Live Bookmark in Firefox.

Protection against fraudulent phishing Web sites has been enhanced in Firefox 2.0 RC1. The browser can now subscribe to a Google-based service that checks a site against a known list of phishing sites. Firefox 2.0 RC1 also can use a periodically updated list that is downloaded to the browser. We liked that the latter method is the default because the live Google service involves sending surfing information to Google—something that the browser smartly warns users about when the Google-based anti-phishing features are turned on.

While Firefox 2.0 RC1 is most likely very close to what will be the final version of the browser, it is still intended mainly for those testing the browser and is not considered suitable for everyday use. Those interested in testing out the browser can download it at developer.mozilla.org.

Microsoft's maiden entry into the anti-phishing space outperforms similar technologies offered by more established security applications providers, according to a new report commissioned by the software company and conducted by researchers 3Sharp.

Based on a comparative study sponsored by Microsoft that tested anti-phishing applications from eight different software vendors and online specialists, the malicious Web site-blocking capabilities built into the latest beta version of Internet Explorer, specifically when used with the Microsoft Phishing Filter, catch a higher percentage of phishing attempts than rival technologies. Phishing attempts most frequently involve the use of spam e-mail to direct traffic to Web sites built to appear as the online operations of a legitimate business in the name of stealing users' private information.

Common iterations of the attacks have sought to trick people to hand over their password information to sites tailored to look like those of large financial institutions, or popular online businesses such as eBay. According to the APWG (Anti-Phishing Working Group) industry consortium, the number of phishing sites operating online is growing at a rate of 400 percent per year.

3Sharp, which is based in Redmond, Wash., and focuses its research primarily around Microsoft products, said that the IE 7 Beta 3 RC3 browser beat out similar products from anti-phishing technology makers Netcraft, Google, eBay, EarthLink, GeoTrust, Netscape and McAfee, whose product finished in that order in the test.

On the subject of our previous rant about Xigla and their restrictive copyright policies. They sent us some updated .dlls which corrected the problem of even letting someone remove their company images from the login.aspx page. Honestly when a company reconsiders their approach and corrects it to me at least, it gives that company high marks for customer service. It is refreshing to see that sometimes companies can still just do the right thing.

The complaint we had of simply removing the company images broke the application has been corrected. Otherwise the two applications we tested get high marks on the features functioning as advertised. Seems if they had been less concerned about someone trying to steal or rebrand their software this would have never happened at all. They stated that all that was required was the two lines which include their copyright. Since they handed back the recompiled .dlls this means they knew all this, and there is no secret that the problem was created by them.