A peep into Windows 8!

A lot of technology news has been piping out of the All Things Digital D9 conference in California recently and today is no exception. First, Twitter CEO Dick Costolo confirmed photo-sharing coming to Twitter. Now, we are all getting the very first glimpse of Windows 8. The photo above is the brand new Start menu in the next iteration of Windows. As you can see, it is completely different from ever before — yet it somehow looks familiar. It is heavily inspired by Windows Phone 7, Microsoft’s latest smart phone operating system. The mobile OS is notable for its unique live tiles UI, which updates with content from the internet personalized by the user

Windows 8 features those same live tiles in the Start menu. It even starts with a lock screen and the ability to quickly glance at notifications. By the way, see that Store tile? Consider the Windows app store confirmed. Never before has the operating system been integrated with the web in such a way. Plus, the screenshot makes clear that they each tile is very large. Could Microsoft be making a major switch to touch control in Windows 8 as opposed to a mouse or track pad?

There'll be two kinds of applications for Windows 8, one that runs in a traditional desktop, and the other pseudo-mobile apps based on HTML5 and Javascript, but both environments -- rather, the entire OS -- have been designed from the ground up for touchscreen use. Keyboard and mouse will still be options for both sets of programs, but there are multiple virtual sets of keys for different form factors, including a split keyboard for vertical slate use. Multitasking is simply a matter of swiping running apps into the center of the screen, and you can pull windows partway to "snap" them in place alongside other windows -- even mixing and matching traditional desktop programs with web apps simultaneously (like Twitter alongside your spreadsheet). There's a new version of Internet Explorer 10 (which runs Silverlight) and an app store built into the touchscreen interface, along with integrated services like Office 365. Microsoft says the new OS will run on laptops, tablets and desktops when it appears -- whenever that might be.

All Things D didn't have any details on when we'll get pricing or availability, We should note that "Windows 8" is just a codename for what we're seeing here -- "we'll figure out the real name in due time," Sinofsky told the crowd -- but we don't see much harm in calling it Windows 8 for now.

Google Chromebooks: The Chrome OS!!

The first laptops running on a Google-designed software system will go on sale in the US and six other countries next month.

The June 15 release date announced Wednesday means the lightweight laptops will hit the market nearly two years after Google Inc. began working on an operating system based on its Chrome Web browser.

Since then, Apple Inc.'s iPad and other tablet computers have become hot sellers. The growing popularity of tablets has raised questions about how interested consumers will be interested in buying Google-powered laptops specifically tailored for Web surfing.

Samsung Electronics Co. and Acer Inc. are making the first Chromebooks. They will sell for $349 to $499 at Best Buy and Amazon.com Inc. in the US. The cheapest IPad sells for $499.

Acer's Chromebook, at $349, will have an 11.6-inch screen display and up to six hours of battery life. Samsung's version, selling for $429 to $499, will have a 12.1-inch screen and up to 8.5 hours of battery life. Both models will have keyboards, but no hard drives for storage. The machines will be like computer terminals dependent on a connection to the Internet. The laptops come with 16 gigabytes of flash memory - the kind found in smartphones, tablet computers and some iPods. They have slots to plug in other storages device you buy separately.

The Chromebooks also will be sold in Britain, France, Germany, Netherlands, Italy and Spain.

In an effort to get people to use Chromebooks, Google is offering three-year subscription plans to businesses and schools similar to how the mobile phone industry subsidizes devices up front and make the money back over the life of a service contract. For a monthly cost of $28 per user in businesses and government agencies and $20 per user in schools, Google provides the laptop, tech support and a warranty for the duration. Google will replace the Chromebooks at the end of the three years.

Chromebook's long-awaited debut will intensify Google's competition with Microsoft Corp., whose Windows operating system remains the foundation of most personal computers.

Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin have long felt that Windows computers took too long to power up and were too clunky to operate. They believed that Windows' drawbacks were discouraging people from spending even more time online, where they could click on ads sold by Google.

To address the perceived problem, Google announced its plans in July 2009 for a Chrome-based operating system that would enable computers to turn on in a matter of seconds and encourage more Web surfing.

"The complexity of managing computers is really frustrating for users out there," Brin told reporters Wednesday at Google's conference for software developers. "It's a flawed model."

Brin, who began focusing on special projects earlier this year, said he didn't have enough information to comment on a Justice Department investigation into the online ad system that generates most of Google's revenue. The company disclosed Tuesday that it has set aside $500 million to settle the probe. It provided few details.

Besides attacking Microsoft's Windows franchise, Google's Chromebook also will represent another challenge to Apple, which makes Mac computers as well as iPads. Google and Apple have been engaged in a fierce competition in the smartphone market for the past two years.

Google itself has joined the tablet computer craze by creating a special version of its Android software for mobile devices. Apple sold nearly 20 million iPads during the tablet's first year on the market. and analysts expect people to buy tens of millions more tablets from Apple and other manufacturers during the next few years.

Oracle Vs Google: and The Winner is Microsoft!!!

Oracle's suit against Google has one clear winner: Microsoft. With Google's Android tied up in litigation, and Oracle becoming the latest villain in the open source community, Microsoft has a chance to make inroads in the mobile market and elsewhere.

Oracle is suing Google, claiming that Android infringes on Oracle copyrights and patents that are related to Java. Oracle spokeswoman Karen Tillman said in a statement:

"In developing Android, Google knowingly, directly and repeatedly infringed Oracle's Java-related intellectual property. This lawsuit seeks appropriate remedies for their infringement."

Google begs to differ. Android doesn't use Java in Android, but instead a Java compatible technology called Dalvik. Google claims the Oracle suit is "baseless," and will fight it.

No matter what happens with the suit, though, it hurts Google, and helps Microsoft at a time when Microsoft is particularly vulnerable in mobile. Android use has skyrocketed, jumping to 17.2% market share today compared to 1.8% a year ago. Meanwhile, Windows Mobile has become practically a footnote in mobile, dropping to 5% of the market.

Android's success has been fueled by the large number of phone makers building smartphones based on it. Those phone makers, though, may be scared away by this suit. IDC analyst Al Hilwa told Computerworld:

"This is a typical intellectual property value defense lawsuit, but it can have serious consequences on the Android market and its adoption by OEMs."

Those OEMs could easily turn to Windows Phone 7 when it ships this holiday season, helping Microsoft increase its market share.

Microsoft can also be helped because Oracle will now become public enemy number one in the open source community, rather than Microsoft. This suit could mean very big trouble for the open source community, because they could be in Oracle's cross-hairs next. And unlike Google, most of the open source community doesn't have deep pockets to pay for lawyers to defend them. He writes:

"If I were Google or any other company that has shipped Java spins-offs, I'd be worried. I have a sinking feeling that patent cases, such as this one, are going to be far more troublesome for Linux and open source than any of the bogus SCO copyright claims were...This does not bode well for free and open-source software."

Via its acquisition of Sun, Oracle owns quite a bit of open source software, including MySQL and OpenOffice. Those both compete against Microsoft software. It may be that Oracle's Google suit will chase people away from using the company's open source software, and if so, it could mean an increase in market share for Microsoft.

What I personally thing is that Friday the 13th didn't turn out to be a good one for Google, but it may well be good luck for Microsoft.

Microsoft to Fix 34 Vulnerabilities in Windows, Office and IE

Microsoft plans  to plug no less than 34 security holes in Windows, office and Internet Explorer come June 8th, 2010. The move is part of the company’s monthly patch cycle scheduled for release on patch-Tuesday, the second Tuesday of every month. There will be a total of 10 security bulletins as a part of the June update release, three of which carry the maximum severity rating of Critical, meaning that they are designed to patch vulnerabilities, which, in the eventuality of a successful exploit could allow attackers to perform remote code execution on a vulnerable system.

“Six of the bulletins affect Windows; of those, two carry a Critical severity rating and four are rated Important. Two bulletins, both with a severity rating of Important, affect Microsoft Office. One bulletin, again with a severity rating of Important, affects both Windows and Office. One bulletin, with a severity rating of Critical, affects Internet Explorer,” revealed Jerry Bryant, group manager, Response Communications.

According to information offered by Microsoft, Windows 7 users will need to deploy no less than seven security bulletins, three of which critical, if the IE patches are also taken into consideration. However, the Redmond will not be providing any patches for Office 2010. Released to manufacturing in April 2010, Office 2010 is not affected by any of the vulnerabilities resolved with the June security bulletin release, otherwise, the software giant would have also released updates for Office 2007’s successor.

“As ever, we recommend that customers prepare for the testing and deployment of these bulletins as soon as possible. We will also be acting on two Security Advisories this month. We are closing Security Advisory 983438 (Vulnerability in Microsoft SharePoint Could Allow Elevation of Privilege) with the June bulletins. We are also addressing Security Advisory 980088 (Vulnerability in Internet Explorer Could Allow Information Disclosure),” Bryant added.

Watch out!!!! - Midori is coming

WINDOWS is a name that has ruled the whole computer world since its first launch in November 1985. Since then it is like a trademark of Microsoft Corporation.

With many advanced versions of Windows available today such as Windows XP, Windows Vista, it is the most used operating system in the world. In 2010, Microsoft is going to launch WINDOWS 2007, but now here is time to experience a yet another technology of operating systems.

Yes, MICROSOFT is working on a new generation of operating systems called Cloud-Based Operating System and rumors are there that MIDORI will be their first such operating system, which will replace Windows fully from computer map.

WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE

MIDORI is an offshoot of Microsoft Research's Singularity operating system. In this the tools and libraries are completely managed code. MIDORI is designed to run directly on native hardware (x86, x64 and ARM), will be hosted on the Windows Hyper-V hypervisor, or even be hosted by a Windows process.

MIDORI can be also seen as MICROSOFT'S answer those competitors who are applying "Virtualization" as a mean to solving issues within contemporary computing.

The main idea behind MIDORI is to develop a lightweight portable OS which can be mated easily to lots of various applications.

IMPORTANCE OF MIDORI

For knowing the importance of MIDORI you have to think about, how an operating system is loaded on a computer. Actually operating system is loaded onto a hard disk physically located on that machine. In this way, the operating system is tied very tightly to that hardware. As Windows is dependent on hardware, it might face opposition from contemporary ways of working because people are extremely mobile in using different devices in order get diverse information.

Due to this trend installing different applications on a single computer may led to different compatibility issues whenever the machine require updating. The new operating system will solve these problems by the concept of Virtualizing. This will solve problems such as widespread security vulnerabilities, unexpected interactions among different applications, failures caused by errant extensions, plug-ins, and drivers and many more.

How to choose Windows 7 laptops?

Research suggests that Windows 7 is not going to give the PC market much of a lift when it makes its retail appearance on 22 October. My contrary opinion is based on a survey of only one user, but I get the impression from Ask Jack emails that I won't be the only person shopping for a new laptop when Windows 7 appears.

Buying a portable Windows machine can be a bit of a challenge, because there is so much choice. There are hundreds if not thousands of suppliers, and some of them offer two dozen different models. The trick is to know what sort of laptop you want. To simplify things a bit, there are roughly six classes of portable PC: netbooks, "value" systems, mainstream notebooks, ultraportables, desktop replacements and gaming systems.

Most netbooks today have Intel Atom processors with 1GB of memory, a 10in screen and Windows XP. Some will appear running the cheaper Windows 7 Starter Edition, which you can't buy in the shops. If buying a netbook, make sure you can upgrade it to 2GB, and do that as soon as possible. You will also be able to upgrade the version of Windows 7 "in place" — at a price.

Netbooks are not designed for serious computer work, such as sound and image processing, or playing games. They are intended mainly for use with web-based applications, as the name implies. They do that well, but they don't do everything.

"Value" or "entry level" systems have low-end specifications, and low prices. You can buy them in supermarkets and high street shops, typically for £249 to £399. They're bigger, heavier and more powerful than similarly priced netbooks, and have built-in DVD drives.

Mainstream notebooks have mainstream specifications (Intel Core 2 Duo etc) and offer more power and functionality for the extra price. Most cost between £499 and £999 depending on how good the graphics are, and whether you get a Blu-ray drive instead of a DVD writer. If you're buying one for Windows 7, go for the 64-bit version with 4GB of memory and, for preference, DirectX 11 graphics.

Ultraportables are "road warrior" machines, designed for light weight and long battery life, and tend to leave out the optical (CD/DVD drive). The processor of choice is an Intel CULV (Consumer Ultra Low Voltage) chip, but go for a Duo rather than a Solo. Screens are typically 12 inch standard or 13-14 inch widescreen, and prices range from about £600 to £1,200.

Desktop replacements are intended to have roughly the same power as desktop PCs, but they can be very heavy and most have poor battery life. (Mostly they'll be used at home, on the mains.) The high-end models may have quad-core processors, 17in screens, Blu-ray drives and stereo speakers. The ones that stress the movie-playing (and, sometimes, games-playing) features are often called "entertainment notebooks": for example, Toshiba's Qosmio range.

Gaming machines are like desktop replacement notebooks but with high-end performance and, especially, fast graphics. Leading brands include Alienware (owned by Dell) and Voodoo (owned by HP), but there are also independent suppliers. Although the specification is generally the key feature of a PC, the bigger suppliers also divide the market by price. Dell, for example, has the Inspiron range for price-conscious buyers, then the stylish Studio range models for the more aspirational mainstream, with XPS as a luxury brand. It also has a Vostro "value range" aimed mainly at businesses.

The huge Windows PC ecosystem also supports many more specialised machines – handheld systems, touch-screen tablets, convertibles that work both as traditional notebooks and tablet PCs, ruggedised machines for military and similar uses, and PCs designed for certain industries such as education and health services.

However, you should find it easier to choose a portable PC if you decide what kind of system you want, and ignore the ones that don't fit your chosen category

Free Windows 7 for Beta Testers

Microsoft has reversed its decision not to offer free copies of Windows 7 to beta testers.

In a recent statement posted today on the Windows 7 Team Blog, Brandon LeBlanc wrote that last week, I blogged that members of the Windows Technical Beta Program would not be receiving a complimentary copy of Windows 7. Normally I hate to be wrong but in this case, I'm stoked that I am. To show our appreciation, members of the invitation-only Windows 7 Technical Beta Program will be eligible for a free, final copy of Windows 7 Ultimate.

People who took part in the public beta will still have to buy a copy of of Windows 7 - this is restricted to people invited into the Technical Beta Program, who can expect to get their copy on the day that Windows 7 RTM build hits MSDN and TechNet - 6 August.

Further details are posted to the .Beta_Program newsgroup, explaining that "all current members of our English technical and international mini-beta programs are eligible. We are offering you a full (non-upgrade) copy of Windows 7 Ultimate Edition for your own personal use, not to be resold."

Members of the English beta program can also opt for a "limited amount of boxed copies" available on a first come, first served basis.

Those who choose the download will be able to grab their free copy of Windows 7 via Microsoft Connect.

As for non-English versions of Windows 7, "other languages will follow as they become available."

10 Interesting Things about Bing!!!

Bing, Microsoft's new search engine, has had several weeks to prove its worth. It's proved popular, picking up market share from both Yahoo and Google to become the second most used search service on the web.

But there's more to Bing than first meets the eye. Like Google, it has hidden depths and additional features. Here are ten useful bits of Bing you may have missed.

1. Get more from the USMost of Bing's mash-up functionality is embedded in the US version of the site. You don't need an anonymised proxy - like hidemyass.com - to fool the site though. All you need to do is click the country link at the top right of the main page. In the UK it will say "United Kingdom" by default. Choose "United States" instead. Done.

2. Search for wallpaperUsing Bing Image search to find desktop wallpaper? Do your search by keyword, then click "Size > Wallpaper" in the sidebar. Not only is the search narrowed to desktop wallpapers - it's narrowed down to your computer monitor's current screen resolution. If it's set to 1280 x 1024, for example, it only returns images with those dimensions.

3. Remove the backgroundBing's main search page has a background image embedded by default. Want a cleaner page? Step one: enter www.bing.com/?rb=0 in the address bar and hit return. Bing's front page now appears without any background clutter. Step two: drag the Bing favicon in the address box to your favourites or bookmarks bar. Next time you want to Bing something, click that link.

4. Boolean searchesBing's all about simplicity, but it still does Boolean searches. With multiple keywords "AND" is inferred, but you can exclude terms from searches with - or NOT. For example "auction sites NOT ebay" will exclude eBay from your results. Like Google, using the + operator requires that the specified keyword appears in the page. You can also use "OR", for example "HD DVD OR Blu-Ray" will return results containing either search term.

5. Find instant answers
Like Google, Bing has built in smart algorithms for location data, word definitions, weight and currency conversion and even complex arithmetical calculations. Try "define computer" for a dictionary definition or "$20 into pounds" to sample Bing's conversion capabilities. Want to know the weather in your local area? Try the term "weather" followed by your nearest town or city. You can even search the status of specific flights. Just type "Flight status of ". You'll be prompted to enter a flight number.

Bing goes even further - pulling data from partner sites in response to requests for statistical data. The query "What is the UK population" returns results from online census data, for example.

6. Find your siteIs your site listed in Bing? Type in http://www.blogger.com/yourdomain.com to find out. Once you've established that Bing has you listed, type site:yourdomain.com to see how many of your pages Bing has listed. If nothing turns up, you can submit your site for indexing.

7. Save results for later"Save and Share" is an experimental feature powered by Silverlight. Click "See All" in the Search History section of the sidebar - then "Save and Share". Select the search query you want to save in the list then click "save to". Choose "Saved searches" or create a new folder. Searches can also be emailed or published to you Facebook wall. If you decide you no longer want to use the service, click "return to your history".

8. Convert Search to RSSAn RSS feed of a search result is a handy thing to have - whether you're keeping tabs on a developing news event or want to track the performance of your web site. Like Windows Live Search before it, Bing results pages can be saved as RSS feeds.
On your results page, click the RSS symbol in IE then click "Subscribe to this feed". In Firefox, you can choose to add the feed to Google Reader instead. To add to other feed readers, select and copy the URL in the address bar, paste it into your RSS reader and add "&format=rss" to the end of the address before saving.

9. Add Bing to your BrowserDo you use Chrome but want to search Bing from the address bar? Right click on the address bar then choose "Edit search engines" from the context sensitive menu. Click "Add" and, giving the name "Bing" - enter the URL www.bing.com/search?q=%s
To add Bing to Firefox's quicksearch bar, you'll need an add-on. Install the official Microsoft Bing extension.

10. Quick Add in HotmailHotmail recently added Bing integration. Log in to Hotmail and create a new message. In the Quick Add sidebar click images or video. Use the search box to find suitable content, then click "Insert". The new content is formatted and added to the body of your message.

Windows 7: Trend Amoung Individual Consumers

While businesses may be planning to skip Windows 7, individual consumers look like they're lining up in droves to snap up the OS, which recently ended its pre-order sales period in the U.S. But is still available for sale in a number of European countries.

How successful has the pre-order sale been? Specific sales figures aren't easy to come by, but the BBC has aggregate information for the UK.

The response has been huge: The BBC notes that Windows 7 pre-orders on Amazon.co.uk were higher in the first eight hours of the sale period than they were in the entire 17-week period in which Vista was available as a pre-order.

Obviously that torrid pace is unlikely to continue over the entirety of the pre-order run (and the number of copies available for pre-order are limited), but the figures are nonetheless impressive, indicating serious interest in upgrading among the masses (and likely serious dissatisfaction with Windows Vista as well). Pre-orders are being taken through August 9 in the UK.

Of course, the hugely discounted price tag for Windows 7 -- which is available for as little as $50 a copy, depending on the version -- is probably a big help in boosting these sales figures, too. The big test will come with Win 7's October release: Will consumers be willing to pay the higher sticker prices for the new OS then? That is, are they more likely to pony up a little more if they can walk out of the store with the software on the same day? Or are we just seeing the usual mad rush of early adopters, enticed by a great bargain?

For what it's worth, I'm expecting strong sales.

Microsoft confirmed another zero-day vulnerability!!!

Microsoft confirmed another zero-day vulnerability on Monday in a set of software components that ship in a wide variety of the company's products.

The vulnerability resides in Microsoft's Office Web Components, which are used for publishing spreadsheets, charts and databases to the Web, among other functions. The company is working on a patch but did not indicate when it would be released, according to an advisory.
"Specifically, the vulnerability exists in the Spreadsheet ActiveX control and while we've only seen limited attacks, if exploited successfully, an attacker could gain the same user rights as the local user," wrote Dave Forstrom, a group manager who is part of Microsoft's Security Response Center, in a blog post.

An ActiveX control is a small add-on program that works in a Web browser to facilitate functions such as downloading programs or security updates. Over the years, however, the controls have been prone to vulnerabilities.
The new flaw comes just a day before the company is set to release its monthly patches, including one for another zero-day vulnerability revealed earlier this month. That problem lies with the Video ActiveX control within Internet Explorer and is currently being used by hackers in drive-by download attempts.

In cases of especially dangerous vulnerabilities, Microsoft has deviated from its patching schedule and issued one out of cycle.

Microsoft said that the flaw could allow an attacker to execute code remotely on a machine if someone using Internet Explorer visits a malicious Web site, a hacking technique known as a drive-by download. Web sites that host user-provided content or advertisements could be rigged to take advantage of the vulnerability.

"In all cases, however, an attacker would have no way to force users to visit these Web sites," the advisory said. "Instead, an attacker would have to persuade users to visit the Web site, typically by getting them to click a link in an e-mail message or Instant Messenger message that takes users to the attacker's Web site."

Microsoft issued a list of affected software, which includes Office XP Service Pack 3, 2003 Service Pack 3, several versions of Internet Security and Acceleration Server and Office Small Business Accounting 2006, among others.

Until a patch is ready, Microsoft said one option for administrators is to disable Office Web Components from running in Internet Explorer and has provided instructions.

What will Google's Chrome OS be like?

So Google has launched a major salvo in its ongoing war against Microsoft. But what will the new Chrome Operating System look like?

The initial details suggest that the structure of the operating system will be Google Chrome (the browser) running "within a new windowing system on top of a Linux kernel." That's the words of the Google blog, which also announced the new OS will work on both x86 and, interestingly, ARM processors, too.

That last point is an interesting one, as it gives netbook manufacturers the option of a different processor architecture as well as raising further questions about Android - could the Chrome OS run on smartphones? Surely the answer to the latter point is that it won't, officially at least.

Indeed, the whole experience of Chrome OS is designed to take place online using Google Gears-like online/offline web app technology."The user interface is minimal to stay out of your way, and most of the user experience takes place on the web," explains Google's Sundar Pichai who was also keen to talk about security, often a sticking point.

"And as we did for the Google Chrome browser, we are going back to the basics and completely redesigning the underlying security architecture of the OS so that users don't have to deal with viruses, malware and security updates. It should just work."

Challenges for developers?

You might think it would also raise challenges for software developers, who will have to recode for a new OS. And yes, in the traditional model of software, this would have been an interesting challenge for Google. Software developers would traditionally only develop for something that will make them money.

But Google says that new applications can be written using standard web technologies - and this ease of adaptation is bad news for Microsoft. Existing web apps will already work, while newly developed apps will equally be able to be used in standards compliant browsers on Windows, Mac and Linux machines.

Google may have a problem challenging consumer expectations of what an operating system should be like - most people expect software to work in the traditional way. In other words, they expect it to be offline, rather than apps that work on the web and consider "the web is the platform". Chrome OS will challenge this.

Speed and simplicity

However, it is clear that Google wants Chrome OS to be driven by speed and simplicity. "We hear a lot from our users and their message is clear - computers need to get better. People want to get to their email instantly, without wasting time waiting for their computers to boot and browsers to start up, they want their computers to always run as fast as when they first bought them," explains Pichai.

And Pichai might as well have been specific in saying that Chrome OS can easily be location unspecific, sharing documents, apps and user profiles over the web. "[Users] want their data to be accessible to them wherever they are and not have to worry about losing their computer or forgetting to back up files."

"Even more importantly," continues Pichai, "they don't want to spend hours configuring their computers to work with every new piece of hardware, or have to worry about constant software updates. And any time our users have a better computing experience, Google benefits as well by having happier users who are more likely to spend time on the internet."

Google says it will need a lot of help from the open source community to accomplish the vision of the Chrome OS. It will be releasing the code later in 2009 so it'll be interesting to see it in action later this year, even if it won't be available commercially on networks until late 2010.

Microsoft Office Word 2010

The Microsoft Office 2010 has been announced by Microsoft after two years of workarounds. Microsoft introduced Word 2010 at a very high-level, and a short summary of what you can expect is given bellow:


The way we work with documents has changed dramatically. In the past, individuals worked on relatively simple, local documents, from their office. Today, it is common for groups to work on rich, shared documents, from anywhere.

Given this shift, Microsoft has focused Word 2010 on dramatically improving document collaboration, graphics, and navigation…and then taking the richness and familiarity of Word, and putting it into the browser and onto the mobile phone. Yes, you heard it right, the Office 2010 also will reveal Web Office 2010.

Dramatically Improved Collaboration, Graphics, and Navigation

Simultaneous editing of Word documents à all the richness of Word with multiple people at the same time. Say goodbye to file in use dialogue. With Word 2010, you can co-author right within Word. You don't need to hassle with email attachments, or documents with names like ASP_final_2_reallyFinal_FINAL.docx. Instead, just open your document, and start co-authoring. You can see who else is working with you, and where they are editing.

Automatic offline editing and synchronizing of shared documents: when you open a shared document, Word automatically caches it so that you can edit it offline, and then Word will automatically sync your changes when you come back online. So if you need to work away from the office, you will no longer need to worry about saving local copies or manually merging your changes into the server document when you get back to your office. Word 2010 takes care of all of that for you.

All sorts of new graphical goodness: Artistic picture effects and easy picture editing, more SmartArt diagrams, and rich graphical and typographic effects on text is another added advantage of Office 2010.

A new navigation pane and search experience: Easily reorganize your document via drag and drop, and find stuff quickly with incremental search. You can stop copying and pasting huge sections of your document, quickly find your way around long documents, and you don't need to know exactly what you are searching for to find it.

Word in Your Browser and on Your Phone: The other big piece of Word 2010 is giving you the power and familiarity of Word everywhere you need it. In short, you will be able to view, navigate, and edit your Word documents from the browser and from your mobile phone without compromising your document's richness.

I know that was really high-level, but hopefully you have a sense for how Word 2010 will dramatically improve how and where you work on documents. Keep watching this space for more on Office 2010 :)

Why do people write viruses???

Every time when reports of a big new virus or other malware attack hits media, my mind will be out for an answer for the question: Why do people write viruses?

I answer as succinctly as I can, but the question is a deep and complex one. Why do people burglarize homes? Why do people tag buildings with graffiti? Why do they post anonymous hatred on online message boards? Why do they play video games? These questions may sound like they have nothing to do with one another, but you might be surprised how their answers are all related to the topic at hand.

TechRepublic offered an interesting analysis of this issue a month ago but it slipped by me. Fortunately I stumbled upon it this weekend and hope you'll give it a read in order to help shed a little light on a surprisingly complex issue.

So why do people write viruses (and I'll use that term loosely throughout this post as a descriptive for any kind of malware)?

TechRepublic plays it down a bit, but my #1 answer to the question is always the obvious one: For the money. In the old days, a virus designed to erase your hard drive or fill your computer screen with garbage was just a prank (more on that later) but those viruses are quite rare these days. Nowadays, the vast majority of viruses have far more practical ends: They make your PC send spam, they harvest financial information, turn computers into zombies, and extort money out of you directly if you want it deleted. All of these have direct and quantifiable financial goals: Spam is paid for by the message (or the millions of messages) sent. Personal data can be sold on the black market for use in identity theft. It's business, pure and simple -- bad business, to be sure, but all about the cash at the end of the day.

Several of the items on the TechRepublic list get at a secondary reason for virus-writing: They do it because they can. It's the same reason people jump out of planes or drive at insane speeds: It's a thrill, and for a certain subset of programmers, there's a thrill, a laugh, or a power-trip to be had from causing as much damage as possible -- and getting away with it. While most virus writers don't want attention (which can bring serious prison time in the end), a few do, and some underground hackers get off on the notoriety.

Sabotage -- whatever the motivation -- is another common theme in malware creation. Any political issue -- whether it's a presidential election or a Microsoft vs. open source legal spat -- tends to be ground zero for hacker attacks. Denial of service attacks are commonly launched against websites owned by those with opinions unpopular in the hacker community. And that's where your machine comes in: Hackers compromise it with malware to turn it into a DoS zombie.

So, getting the picture? Viruses and other malware are going to be with us forever because they're a digital version of human nature.

How to Protect Your PC

Use anti-virus software and keep it up-to-date

If you haven't installed anti-virus software on your computer, do it now. Anti-virus software can detect many — but not all — forms of malicious software before they have a chance to affect your computer. When you purchase anti-virus software, look for one that includes anti-spyware. Most anti-virus software can automatically download updates for you. Check to make sure your software is downloading updates correctly.

Keep all your software up-to-date

You can prevent many problems by regularly checking for and installing updates for your programs, including your operating system, browser, messaging software, and other software. Many programs include a feature that automatically checks for updates. Be wary of clicking links in emails claiming to have updates for your software; it is safer to type the address of the web site into your browser’s Address bar to visit the site directly.

Check your security settings

Most operating systems (such as Windows XP) have a built-in firewall and other safeguards to prevent unauthorized access to your computer. Check your operating system to make sure it's set up so that your computer is protected. Install any security updates or patches for your operating system promptly.

Be careful opening email attachments

Consider turning off the feature in your email programs that automatically opens attachments. If you receive an attachment you aren't expecting, do not open it. Before you open any email attachment — even if it's from someone you trust — scan it using anti-virus software. Most of the online mail service providers automatically scans all email attachments for viruses.


Don't install unfamiliar programs

Think carefully before installing or running new software, such as freeware or shareware programs available online. Only download software from a source you trust. Do not install software if you cannot verify that it's from a trusted source. Make sure you know what the software will do and how it will affect your computer. Malicious software (like viruses and spyware) often masquerade as legitimate and even useful programs. For example, you might be tempted to download a program that claims to keep your computer clock synchronized with an official clock. But if that program contains adware or spyware, it could also display advertising pop-ups whenever you're online or keep track of where you go on the Internet.

Be wary of pop-up and email warnings

Don't believe every warning you read — especially pop-up warnings that you see while you're surfing the Web. Unscrupulous companies use pop-up ads to display false warnings about your computer. Ignore them.

Do NOT click any button in the pop-up (such as a "Close" or "No" button) or the Close box that may appear in the upper-right corner of the pop-up. Closing a pop-up in that way might actually install a virus or other malicious software on your computer. To close a pop-up ad, press Ctrl-W (if you're using a Windows computer) or Command-W (on a Mac computer). You may receive an email warning that claims to be from a computer "expert" warning you of a virus. These are usually hoaxes. Do not follow the steps described in any email unless you're sure the threat is real.

How do I get rid of viruses, adware, or spyware?

If you suspect that your computer is infected with a virus or other malicious software, remove it as soon as possible.

Unlike other software, malware can't be completely removed using your operating system's Add/Remove Programs feature. Some bits of malware may still be hiding on your hard drive, doing its damage behind the scenes. To get rid of malware, use software specifically designed to find and delete it.

Many solutions are available for ridding your computer of malicious software. You can find these programs by searching the Web for virus protection. I would advice Symantec Endpoint Protection as a good anti virus. Whatever software you choose, be sure to keep it up-to-date.

In some extreme cases, anti-virus programs may not be able to remove all malware. It may be necessary to reformat your hard drive and reinstall its operating system. If you're using a laptop computer, installing the operating system from the partition backup may not completely remove malware. Instead, be sure to get installation disks for your operating system from your hardware vendor and use those to reinstall your operating system.

Windows 7 gets you what you expected!

Windows 7: The next client release of Microsoft will be available in 32 & 64-bit versions.

Here are some things that you asked for in your Desktop OS:

1. Faster-Your system starts up, shuts down and resumes from standby faster, and your laptop’s battery lasts longer!

2. Touch- Multi touch, ink and gesture support along with handwriting recognition allow you to create exciting new input capabilities. Managing large number of windows is much easier, with intuitive touch gestures to view multiple windows at once and remove unwanted windows.

3. Faster Browsing- Build for the web with IE8, add rich media with Silver light and extend to rich client with WPF – using the same platform and tools

4. Explore and Share - With Windows 7 and Windows Live, you can easily manage your documents, pictures, movies and music, regardless of which PC they are stored on, and share them with your friends and family.

5. Search- Windows 7 includes all performance improvements from Windows Search 4.0, so search and indexing are much faster.

6. Less Crashes- A new feature in Windows 7, Fault Tolerant Heap, mitigates the most common causes of heap corruption, significantly reducing the number of crashes you will experience!

7. Power Saving - Windows 7 easily adapts to your activity. To save battery power, Windows 7 automatically reduces display brightness after a period of inactivity, much like mobile phones do today.

8. Watch complete DVD on battery- Windows 7 will use less power in playing a standard-definition DVD than all earlier versions of Windows, so you are more likely to watch a complete movie with a single battery charge.

*Courtesy of information: Microsoft

How to convert Docx to Doc

Microsoft’s newest versions of MS Office Suite support a new file format, which for Word Documents the suffix docx, but sadly this format is no longer compatible with older Versions of Word that used the doc suffix, a binary format that in most cases could only be read by Microsoft supplied software such as Word 2003 and older, or the free Word viewer available from the Microsoft website.

For compatibility purposes, converting a docx document to doc format is sometimes a requirement, either due to other parties not having access to the MS Office suite of software, or for backup and archival purposes, although increasingly major corporations and government departments are looking to update older documents to docx format.

Docx and doc are not in any way compatible, doc being a closed binary format that cannot be read unless the correct application such as MS Word or a filter for 3rd party applications installed. Docx by contrast is an open standard that can be unzipped using the built-in Windows unzip utility and the document.xml file extracted.

The process of converting from one format to the other essentially involves extracting the text, any embedded objects, and the style formatting, and then re-saving these in the other format. Users of MS Office 2007 are able to select the “save as” option in the file menu of Word 2007 and select Word 97/2000/XP as the preferred format.

Users of older versions of Word such as Word 2003 or Word 2000 will need to add the Microsoft supplied compatibility pack that enhances these versions and allows full open and save in docx format, thus allowing Word 2003 and Word 2000 users to convert a docx file to doc format easily.

Whilst docx has many advantages over doc formatted documents, it is generally less supported, with many of the more popular alternatives to Ms Office only now offering full or limited support. Although OpenOffice 3.0 and new versions of Abiword promise full support, WordPerfect support for docx is still imperfect, and only allows users to open files.

Converting a docx file to doc format if MS Office isn’t available is sometimes best accomplished using an online docx converter, specialist websites that upload the original docx file to their server, perform a conversion, and then make the new doc formatted file available to download. Care should be taken that confidential or secret documents are never uploaded to third party websites making this service less useful in the corporate or government sector.

More secure converters that can be installed directly on the user’s computer are available to purchase through major software retailers, or can be downloaded under a shareware type license that may give a free trial period. Better software allows conversion both ways and even into other popular file formats such as HTML or PDF.

Mac users can download free universal binaries that sit in the dashboard and convert docx to doc on the fly, although the preferred method suggested by Microsoft is to install Office 2008 for Mac, however several users have reported compatibility problems.

What is Docx format???

In January 2007 Microsoft released a new version of the market leading Office Suite MS Office 2007, followed a year later by the Mac version, MS Office 2008. Both suites introduced new file formats in response to criticism that Microsoft were not supporting efforts to make document file formats open and easily shared between users with different operating systems or using alternate office software.

In the mid 1990s a new text based document schema known as XML, a document markup language, was created with the goal of making complex documents more accessible, and which could be opened and read by a variety of software from editors to browsers, and everything in between. The docx format is Microsoft’s answer to the need for an open format that permits non-Microsoft applications access to the date contained within the document.

As part of Microsoft’s commitment to open file formats the docx format, which is just one of several new formats introduced by Microsoft, the responsibility for maintaining the format and ensuring standards compliance was passed to Ecma International, a non-governmental non-profit private standards organization in 2006. It has since been incorporated into several 3rd party applications mainly to assist with viewing, converting, or sharing word processed documents.

Docx differs from the previous default format used by MS Word, it is not a binary file that needs to be interpreted, instead, docx is a package of XML files that have been compressed together using the zip file format, a system used within MS Windows Explorer for its compressed folders functionality. When unzipped, the folder is found to contain several sub folders, all of which have at least one XML file used to store document properties, along with a single file under the ‘Word’ folder that contains the authored text.

The XML used within a docx file is specific to the needs of MS Office, but can be read in plain text using a text editor, and owning a licensed copy of MS Word or MS Works is not necessary to be able to read and print a docx document, although a word processor such as MS Word, AbiWord, or OpenOffice is needed to edit and then save a document in docx format.

Because the docx file is a zipped folder of XML files, it is possible for users to explore the folder structure and examine the XML code used. This also makes it easy for IT staff to make batch changes to multiple docx files, for example changing a corporate logo or the company registration number without having to open each file separately.

The open nature of the docx format makes it relatively easy for conversion software to be created that can be run on a local desktop or server, making the process of future proofing the archiving of documents less complex than in previous years. Management and storage costs are also reduced because the files are already zipped as an integral part of their schema.

Tips and Tricks to To Speed Up Your Computer Performance

Over time all the computers tends to slow down and this leads us to buy new hardware equipments to maintain the current speed flow and performance of the machine. These upgrades over time can turn to be very expensive and this is why I want to share with you guys some of ways that you can speed up your computer performance with a fractions of the price.

So are you ready?

First of all let me tell you why your computer is slowing down, I think this very important to know the reason behind the slow downs. You see over time your machine gets saturated with useless data, what I mean is that your computer is getting cluttered with garbage.

What do I mean by garbage?

Well, every time you install and uninstall any programs there will be always files left behind, mainly registry files. And these files will get cluttered over time. This is the main cause of the problem so to fix it you must remove the entire "garbage" registry left over files.

To do that you must use a Registry Cleaner software program, these kinds of programs will search and remove all the invalid, corrupted and left over registry files.

For more information about registry cleaners I strongly suggest visiting the link below.

Another way to speed up your machine is to remove the startup programs that you do not use often. To do this just go to home -> run and type "msconfig" and under the start up tab uncheck start up programs that you do not use often (restarting system may be required). By removing these start up programs you can free your computers memory by 30%. all the

A good way to use computer memory is to perform a disk de-fragmenter, this will organize your computer files and folder making it very easy to the machine to find the proper information. By doing this you will increase your computer speed by 20%.

Article Source: EzineArticles.com By Smit Chacha

Smit Chacha is a computer expert with over 8 years in the industry. He has an intimate knowledge of the windows registry and various register repair software.

Are You Ready For the New Windows 7?

Windows 7 is the new upcoming version of the Microsoft Windows operating systems. People are looking forward to having this version of Windows because Windows Vista didn't live up to its name, it was buggy and had some problems. Most reliable Microsoft Windows to this day is Windows XP. Windows 7 was codenamed Blackcomb and Vienna when it was in preparation.

Unlike Windows Vista that has a great layout and visual quality, Windows 7 will be more compatible, it will support all previous software that worked on past versions of Windows and it will be an a lot faster and better operating system.

Windows 7 will bring some major updates to some Windows features. For example advances in handwriting recognition, better performance with multi-core processors, kernel upgrades, support for virtual hard drives, better boot performance, etc. Many new features will be added to the control panel, so you will be able to customize your operating system even more then you could before. The taskbar will be changed to, the quick launch icon has been removed and replaced with pinning programs and applications to the taskbar. The new task bar is easier and more practical, but maybe you will need some time to get used to it. The new layout has some practical features and it can make some of your Windows transparent just by dragging your mouse over the icon, which can be really helpful in some situations.

Microsoft has published information on minimum system requirements needed to use Windows 7. Microsoft has released an application that works as an advisor, it scans your computer to see if it is compatible for Windows 7.

For 32 bit system minimum system requirements for Windows 7 are following: 1 GB of RAM, Processor should be minimum 1 GHz, graphic card should support direct x 9 and it should have at least 128 MB of graphics memory, it requires 16 GB of hard disk space. For 64 bit things are different: At least 2 GB of RAM, processor 1 GHz, Graphic card that supports direct x 9 with 128 MB of graphics memory and at least 20 GB of free hard disk space is required for installation.

Some features that Windows Vista had are removed in order to maximize the performance. Your computer should work really fine when using Windows 7 because the main goal when making Windows 7 was to fix the previous problems and make it stable and reliable. Layout for Windows 7 looks great and it looks like they have really paid attention to making it functional and user friendly rather than putting make up on something that doesn't work but looks nice. This is the idea most people had that used Vista.

Your computer will certainly work great when using Windows 7 if it has the minimum system requirements, but it is always better to have computer that does not only mach minimum operating requirements but is even better configured. Windows 7 will run smoothly even on computers that are outdated, it is only needed to have requirements earlier mentioned in the text. It looks like Microsoft is finally making something as good as Windows XP, maybe even better.

Article Source: EzineArticles.com By Jay Lee Johnson