Friday, July 10, 2009 at 2:27PM Microsoft delivering the update to correct the much publicized DirectX vulnerability. They will be delivering six security updates on Patch Tuesday next week. See more info at:
'Critical' DirectX patch in Microsoft security updates | Tech News on ZDNet
Wednesday, July 8, 2009 at 6:19PM 
Billed as a natural extension of the Google Chrome Browser. They are looking at initially targeting the Netbook phenomenon to place a lightweight operating system on these entry level PC’s. Their planned release is the second half of 2010, about a year away. Their reason for announcing this project now is apparently to help provide momentum from the consumer sector while they are talking to Netbook manufacturers.
Google Chrome OS is supposed to run on both X86 as well as ARM chips. Google’s description of the general architecture is as follows:
The software architecture is simple — Google Chrome running within a new windowing system on top of a Linux kernel. For application developers, the web is the platform. All web-based applications will automatically work and new applications can be written using your favorite web technologies. And of course, these apps will run not only on Google Chrome OS, but on any standards-based browser on Windows, Mac and Linux thereby giving developers the largest user base of any platform.
Google Chrome OS is not Android and is a totally project from Android. This operating system is being designed ground up for people who spend all their time on the web and want their computers to run as quickly as possible with these web based applications. It will be interesting to see how this project progresses.
Is this operating system for you? On devices that are used 100% of the time for web access then this might be a product that will work for you. However, most of us aren’t so focused on internet only access. Even though I spend 90% of my work day touching the internet in one way or another, 90% of the actual application usage are applications that require more from the computer. Now of course I am on business person but most of us have not shunned the locally run applications from our systems and most likely never do so for everything that we do. This OS may have a place on Netbooks that will be used to acquire and send email, be used as a phone connection to talk to friends, family and business associates, and even interact with web based SAAS products. But, for a daily production system I can’t see it fitting the bill. Sure, I’m just speculating, but it seems like the right conclusion to come to.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009 at 6:18PM There are several reports discussing sightings of Microsoft upgrade pricing and also several listing the Windows 7 Family Pack/Home Premium Upgrade as well. While this is all still speculation, there is no officially released pricing as of yet, there appears to be some really aggressive pricing for these upgrades.
Ed Bott reported in his Ed Bott’s Microsoft Report column today that there have been several sightings and even showed a screen capture of one of them:
He also went on to report that Expercom listed in their catalog pricing for the anytime upgrades for several products.
This all seems like good news to me. I’m looking forward to seeing the real pricing pretty soon as our sources start to pass it along. So add me on as another source for the rumor mongering.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009 at 6:17PM Find out what InfoWorld's Randall Kennedy thinks of the newly announced Google OS. |
InfoWorld's Robert X. Cringely wonders if Chrome OS will be a geeks-only thing.
Venture Beat's Dean Takahashi and Anthony Ha write
Wednesday, July 8, 2009 at 8:36AM 
Computerworld Security reports that this bug was reported 18 months ago to Microsoft and they are now scrambling to fix this problem.
In the security advisory it issued yesterday, Microsoft credited a pair of researchers -- Ryan Smith and Alex Wheeler -- with reporting the bug. Smith and Wheeler once worked together at IBM's ISS X-Force, although Wheeler now is at Texas-based 3Com's TippingPoint DVLabs.
The way to protect yourself is to switch browsers. A lot of you are already using browsers like Firefox, Opera, Chrome or Safari.
Microsoft has promised to patch Windows and IE but hasn’t committed to a delivery date as of yet. Its next regularly-scheduled security updates will be released on July 14.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009 at 8:23AM 
Not really big news since most of considered these products already part of the mainstream applications. The Beta tag has been lifted for the Google App suite of applications - which include Calendar, Docs and Talk - which include Calendar, Docs and Talk. This action has been done just as another marketing ploy. Hey, I am even reporting on it. If you like these products and are using them you are not going to see any difference with this move…
Tuesday, July 7, 2009 at 10:42AM 
You see some great videos that will help you understand the differences as well.
Lenovo - Notebook and laptop computers - ThinkPad T Series - Features
Tuesday, July 7, 2009 at 8:39AM This is good news for you Beatles lovers, a new version of Rock Band will be available in September, more than enough time for the Xmas season. Funny how this was a discussion we had around the fire on July 4th and now here it is… So there you go Jen.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009 at 8:20AM 
The new Sony Vaio W will be based on the 1.66GHz Intel Atom N280 processor just like its competition but Sony plans on differentiating itself by offering a larger touchpad and a higher resolution screen. Typical netbooks in the 10 inch screen arena sport 1024x600 pixel screen but the Sony units will have a display resolution of 1366x768, providing a significantly larger desktop area to work in. This will mean less scrolling on applications and websites and potential better experience in the long run.
Along with the higher resolution comes a higher price tag.The estimated cost will be around 500 dollars. The Units will begin shipping in August and will initially be available in the U.K., France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Spain and Russia and be available form Sony's online shop. There has been no
The proposed Sony specs on release: Windows XP Home, 1GB RAM, 160GB Hard Drive, only 2 USB ports, 802.11a/b/g wireless LAN and Bluetooth, Camera and a Memory Card Reader. The Battery Life is estimated at 3.5 hours on the low side for money.
I love Sony products primarily because their systems usually have much better screen displays, and as usual, you will be paying for that feature as well. If you need better resolution on your netbook, then this product might be the answer.However, the price tag may be the deciding factor to keep it out of the booming netbook market. I sure hope it will be available in something other than pink!
Tuesday, July 7, 2009 at 7:50AM Great article discussing the new metrics on compact camera design. You will have some greater insight into what to look for when purchasing your next digital camera.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009 at 7:43AM 
"On March 2, 2009, service repairs for Original Xbox video game systems for which the Warranty has expired will no longer be available," reads Microsoft's official support site. "Any other technical support, documents, and content, however, will continue to be available to all our customers. Although Microsoft is ending repair services for the Original Xbox, an upgrade program and support will be maintained for Original Xbox consoles that are still under Warranty."
There is no need to cry though. The Xbox had a good run with over 25 million units sold.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009 at 7:29AM 
Don’t read this if you are about to eat lunch at your desk… In fact if you are then you are probably contributing to the problem. I am regularly dumping the collections out of keyboard on the weekly basis. It’s pretty disgusting. The comparison to the toilet seat caught my attention. Take a quick read of this article and get out the Purell and Lysol.
Dirty little secrets of the keyboard revealed | Tech News on ZDNet
Monday, July 6, 2009 at 1:40PM The author makes several good points about how the younger generation is becoming operating system independent. But, as he comments, if you are a Windows Application dependent person, then you will definitely see some benefits from the new operating system.
"Windows 7 is the same as Ubuntu" | Education IT | ZDNet.com
Monday, July 6, 2009 at 6:45AM I have created a simple video showing the cut and paste features of OneNote and show how the search function works on text vs. an image file containing text.
Monday, July 6, 2009 at 5:23AM 
OneNote can be purchased separately or is part of the suite in Office Home and Student, Office Ultimate Suite or Enterprise Editions. If you are a college student this package is available for a substantial discount and if you have a tablet PC, take a look, it may have been part of the package!
The key to understanding this package is understanding its hierarchical structure. In real life you would start with a physical notebook. The same concept works here as well. When you have the system create a notebook for you, you are creating a file folder to hold your information on the system. You can put this folder on any drive. The reason this is important is because you can place a notebook that is shared by multiple people if you place the notebook in a shared data location, like your server, NAS drive or like me, I placed one in a cloud drive on my Jungle Disk network drive that is now available to me from all my computers both at home and at work. There is no realistic limits to the number of separate notebooks, however, the more you have the harder it is to remember where to go when you want to add more information. The system is able to search through all of your active notebooks using keyword searches.
It is easy to move sections and pages from one area to another so don’t be worried about structure too much, it can be a living ever changing structure. I know mine is. I’ll write more on this OneNote functions and the many uses that you can apply to it in future posts. The main thing I wanted to do is make you aware of this wonderful often over looked product from Microsoft.
Monday, July 6, 2009 at 5:22AM Microsoft has published its top 10 reasons for using their OneNote Product. Take a look, I’m sure you will see one or more that fits your needs as well.
Microsoft Office OneNote 2007 top 10 benefits - OneNote - Microsoft Office Online
Saturday, July 4, 2009 at 11:14AM 
I happen to be one of the lucky guys that has a job that also has many roots in the ways that I enjoy my life. I love and embrace the technology that invades my life and use it for enjoyment as well as help me get my job done. Technology is so ensconced in my life I really don't know what I would do if you were to strip it from me. Everything that I do at work and in most of the things at home use electronics and/or software, that they cannot be separated from each other. Only when I'm doing gardening, cleaning the pool or some other small chores around the house do I escape from technology. The rest of the time I embrace it because I enjoy it so much.
So back to the article. The gist of it is that with IT's help, there are several things that you can do to help provide less frustration and keep all your balls successfully in the air. By implementing job related tools that are available wherever and whenever you need them, you allow people to become more efficient which also gets them back to their personal lives. The need to access data and ability to communicate with people no matter where you are has become one of the “a must have” functions. As information workers, we need access to corporate data whenever and wherever we are. Implementing remote access to central information sources is vital. The access to these services needs to be available 24/7. The good news is that these technologies are available for implementation and all you need are the finances and the help of a knowledgeable technology professional to get them implemented.
It is funny how in my home office I've been able to set up an environment that includes both office functionality and personal entertainment. And as I watch myself on the weekends, I see how easy it is for me to switch back and forth between the things I enjoy doing for myself as well as those things that are necessary for the job. It is also interesting to see those things that have a foot firmly planted in both areas and how they give me a sense of accomplishment as well as enjoyment with all things that I do at the keyboard. If you focus on the technologies that can enhance your work experience, and you can have a better handle on creating less of a blur of loan line between your life and work. Good luck, and be successful in both life and happiness.
Three Smart Technologies to Ease Work/Life Chaos - Smarter Strategies
Friday, July 3, 2009 at 4:38PM 
The first group have to do with communication. They include the new Messenger and Mail client for instant messaging and email. There is also an Outlook Connector for linking your hotmail account back to Outlook. Next, is Writer witch is a great blogging tool. I have mine setup to publish to 6 different sites. It makes it real simple to do so once you have it set up. I have a deep interest with photography and the next two applications deal with that. Use Photo Gallery and Movie Maker to edit and organize your photos and movies, and then post them online or send them to friends. The next few add-on deal with accessing info with your web browser. With the Toolbar you can customize your browser and find what you need. Family Safety provides access control to protect your family from unseemly sites. Microsoft Silverlight provides Microsoft’s version of Flash and video presentation programming to your system from the Internet.
So Scott, here are some of my favorite programs that you may be able to take advantage of.
Thursday, July 2, 2009 at 5:33PM 
With a single USB connection you can connect to all of your peripherals, including your monitor. The video output supports up to 1440 x 900 on widescreen monitors and 1280 x 1024 on standard 4:3 monitors. It is Windows Vista compatible and comes with a 2 year limited warranty. The only drawback that I see is that it doesn’t include a network adapter but you already have wireless in your notebook so that shouldn’t be a problem unless you don’t have a wireless router or access point available at your location. But, if you are running around with the notebook in your home you probably have this in place already.
Features Include:
Thursday, July 2, 2009 at 3:58PM 
Microsoft to offer Family Pack for Windows 7 Home Premium | Ed Bott’s Microsoft Report | ZDNet.com
