Free Software Download

Facebook boosts security, adds HTTPS

2011-01-31T02:45:00.001-08:00

HOUSTON: In order to stay safe and protect users from getting hacked, the popular social networking site Facebook is rolling out a new set of security features.

Facebook, with over 500-million members, has added the ability for users to login and surf the site using a more secure encrypted connection, known as HTTPS.

The encryption is the same used on shopping and banking websites to secure connections, and was previously used on Facebook when passwords are checked.

"Starting today we'll provide you with the ability to experience Facebook entirely over HTTPS. You should consider enabling this option if you frequently use Facebook from public Internet access points found at coffee shops, airports, libraries or schools," the company said in a blog post.

Facebook noted that the site may function more slowly using HTTPS, and some features, including many third-party applications, don't currently support HTTPS.

In addition to the added encryption, Facebook said it will now also offer "social authentification," a unique form of the traditional "captcha" coding that will ask a user to identify Facebook friends from their photos.

The two new security features promise to prevent Wi-Fi hackers from fraudulently accessing accounts. Facebook already uses HTTPS when users log into an external site through Facebook Connect.

Your password, which gets sent back to Facebook from the third party site, remains encrypted. This will now be extended to user activity within the site itself.

IT experts can already overcome internet security issues by adding third-party security measures and forcing an encrypted connection. However, Facebook's decision to make full-session encryption a default setting for all users will remove the burden from those that are less aware of Wi-Fi hackers.

Facebook uses captchas to authenticate users when they log in from a country that is not associated with their account. However, this is now being replaced in favour of a new photo-matching system. Users will be faced with three photos of one of their Facebook friends, and will have to correctly identify them from a list of six friends' names.

"Hackers halfway across the world might know your password, but they don't know who your friends are," says Facebook engineer Alex Rice. Rice admits inevitable drawbacks to the new security measures.

Page loading speed will take a hit under HTTPS and many third-party apps are not HTTPS enabled. Social network users that that collect friends by the thousand may also have difficulty identifying photos of friends at random, and friends who have cartoons or 'lookalikes' tagged under their name could be unidentifiable.

HTTP settings will not change automatically, so users can opt in or out of the new feature.

TOI

Free Software download for Windows Programs

2011-01-31T02:22:00.000-08:00

	D_back 1.69.7 Backup tool for your PC, FTP or File server
	Advanced Time Reports Personal 9.10.8 Intuitive Time Tracking & Project Management
	Centurion Setup 21.0 Builds a professional software installer.
	iMagic Inventory Software 3.10 Managing stock has never been as easy!
	Alvas.Audio 7.7 Audio controls for C# and VB.Net developers.
	DBF Doctor 2.4 DBF Doctor recovers corrupt dbf-files
	Joy RingTone Converter 2.99.0129 Convert MP3 to MMF,AMR,MIDI RingTone
	Biometric Handpunch Manager Enterprise 6.55.44 Biometric Handpunch Management
	MAGIX Music Maker 17 Create your own songs, remixes and beats!
	Universal Biometric Driver 5.30.13 Universal Biometric Driver
	Master Voyager 2.74 DVD/CD/USB password protection.
	Xilisoft Video Converter Platinum 6.5.2.0125 Complete video conversion utility
	Xilisoft Video Converter Ultimate 6.5.2.0125 Expert video converter for multimedia devices

	Wondershare DemoCreator 3.5.1 Create Flash demo by screen recording.
	ImTOO Video Converter Ultimate 6.5.2.0125 Convert video/audio files to digital devices.
	ImTOO Video Converter Platinum 6.5.2.0125 Convert various videos, audios and pictures.
	ImTOO Video Converter Standard 6.5.2.0125 Convert among various video/audio files
	Magic Data Recovery Pack 2.0 Undelete files and lost data in a few clicks
	VaySoft Video to EXE Converter 5.52 Convert video file to EXE

Free Sowtware

2011-01-31T02:20:00.000-08:00

Audio and MP3
Rippers & Encoders Utilities & Plug-Ins

Graphics and Video
Editors Image Viewers Misc. Graphic Tools

Business
Applications Personal Info Managers

Home/Hobby
Hobbies Personal Finance Home Inventory

Development Tools
Web Related Tools Components & Libraries

Internet
Tools & Utilities Download Managers E-mail

Education
Language Teaching Kids

Shell & Desktop Enhancements
Screensavers Shell & Desktop Management

Games
Puzzles Arcade Cards, Casino, Lottery

Utilities
Antivirus Printers System Utilities

Convert Word files into PDF files

2011-01-31T02:16:00.000-08:00

Convert Word files into PDF files with one mouse click! The program read Word files directs and writes PDF file directly. So you do not need Word to be installed and you do not need Acrobat Reader to be installed. You do not need to install any printer driver or something. You double click on the Word file and then the program displays the word file and then you can convert it into PDF file format with one click on "Go!"

Official Download Click to Download

Download Free PDF to Word Doc Converter v1.1

2011-01-31T02:15:00.001-08:00

Word to PDF 7.88

2011-01-31T02:12:00.000-08:00

Server 1 Official Download Click to Download

Any problem in download link, please click Report Invalid Link.
Please scan with your antivirus software before installing. Read our Safety Policy here or contact us for virus report.

Don't press F1 in Windows XP: Microsoft

2010-03-03T23:16:00.000-08:00

NEW DELHI: The software giant Microsoft has told Windows XP users not to press the F1 key when prompted by a Web site, as part of a security advisory.

The advisory has been issued regarding an unpatched vulnerability that hackers could exploit to hijack PCs running Internet Explorer (IE). In the advisory, Microsoft confirmed the unpatched bug in VBScript that Polish researcher Maurycy Prodeus had revealed last week.

"The vulnerability exists in the way that VBScript interacts with Windows Help files when using Internet Explorer. If a malicious Web site displayed a specially crafted dialog box and a user pressed the F1 key, arbitrary code could be executed in the security context of the currently logged-on user. On systems running Windows Server 2003, Internet Explorer Enhanced Security Configuration is enabled by default, which helps to mitigate against this issue," reads the advisory.

Recently, Prodeus called the bug a "logic flaw," and said attackers could exploit it by feeding users malicious code disguised as a Windows help file and convincing them to press the F1 key when a pop-up appeared. Such files have a ".hlp" extension.

Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 are impacted by the bug, said Microsoft, and any supported versions of Internet Explorer (IE) on those operating systems, including IE6 on Windows XP, could be exploited by hackers.

The security advisory said, "Our analysis shows that if users do not press the F1 key on their keyboard, the vulnerability cannot be exploited."

Users can also thwart the attacks by disabling Windows Help.

TOI

'Google may add social networking features to Gmail'

2010-02-09T03:13:00.001-08:00

STAFF WRITER 14:0 HRS IST
New York, Feb 9 (PTI) Internet giant Google is looking to add new social features to its e-mail service, Gmail, in its bid to compete with popular social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, a media report says.

"Google Inc is taking a swipe at Facebook Inc and Twitter Inc with a new feature that makes it easier for users of Gmail to view media and status updates shared online by their friends," The Wall Street Journal said.

Attributing to people familiar with the matter, the report stated that Google could announce the new Gmail features as soon as this week.

The change adds a module to the Gmail screen that would display a stream of updates from individuals a user chooses to connect with, it added. It is a format popularised by Facebook and Twitter

What's new in Windows 7

2009-10-22T02:33:00.000-07:00

Microsoft's Windows 7 is finally here. The new operating system (OS) is the the company's most important release after the disappointing performance of Vista, its earlier release. With Windows 7 Microsoft aims to once again strengthen its grip on the PC market.

Multimedia Audio Controller

2009-06-09T21:50:00.000-07:00

Download Now Tested spyware free

Operating Systems: Windows NT, Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows 98

Additional Requirements: Windows 98SE/ME/NT/2000/XP

Realtek AC'97 Driver

2009-06-09T21:49:00.000-07:00

Download Now (17.87MB) Tested spyware free

Operating Systems: Windows Me, Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows 98

Additional Requirements: Windows 98/Me/2000/XP/2003 Server

Realtek AC'97 Drivers & Applications. The package includes: Driver/Application Setup Program; RtlRack for Win98/Me/2000/XP and AvRack for Win95/NT4; Realtek Sound Effect Manager. DirectX 8 is required to enable advanced features.

Version A4.06 updates Realtek 3D engine and makes changes to special custom settings.

USB Bluetooth Driver

2009-06-09T21:47:00.000-07:00

Download Now Tested spyware free Features

Operating Systems:
Windows NT, Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows 98
Additional Requirements:
Windows 98SE/ME/NT/2000/XP

List of Search Engines

2009-06-08T21:41:00.000-07:00

Ask.com (formerly Ask Jeeves)
Baidu (Chinese)
Bing (Mircosoft)
Cuil
Google
Sogou (Chinese)
Sohu (Chinese)
Yahoo! Search
Yandex (Russian)

Geographical limited scope
Accoona, China/US
Alleba, Philippines
Ansearch, Australia/US/UK/NZ
Araby, Middle East
Baidu, China
Daum, Korea
Guruji.com, India
Goo, Japan
Leit.is, Iceland
Miner.hu, Hungary
Najdi.si, Slovenia
Naver, Korea
Onkosh, Middle East
Rambler, Russia
Rediff, India
SAPO, Portugal/Angola/Cabo Verde/Mozambique
Search.ch, Switzerland
Sesam, Norway, Sweden
Seznam, Czech Republic
Walla!, Israel
Yandex, Russia
ZipLocal, Canada/US

Source:Wikipedia

Search Engines

2009-06-08T21:35:00.000-07:00

AOLAnywhere
Search engine and directory from AOL. Used to be NetFind. Features regional search. Fast.

AltaVista
An all-time great, superfast. Has news service from ABC; a translation service and incorporates

Global Online Directory

Go.com

Google
Good fast search engine

GoTo.com

HotBot

Looksmart

Lycos

Mamma

Nerd World

WinZip

2009-06-08T21:23:00.000-07:00

WinZip, the original and most popular compression utility for Windows, is a powerful and easy-to-use tool that zips and unzips files quickly to conserve disk space and greatly reduce email transmission time. With WinZip 12, you can compress JPEG files by 20-25% without losing photo quality, and manage and share digital photos more easily. WinZip integrates with Windows seamlessly, opens RAR, 7Z and other file types and offers AES encryption to keep files secure. Use its award-winning Classic view or its intuitive Wizard that helps new users accomplish basic zipping and unzipping tasks quickly and easily. You can let WinZip select the best compression method for each file type to take maximum advantage of powerful advanced compression methods that create even smaller Zip files. A familiar Explorer-style view makes it easy to navigate large, multi-folder archives and the thumbnail view lets you see images in the main WinZip window quickly. WinZip is available in Standard or Pro. WinZip 12 Pro offers a new Zip from camera feature that makes it easy to import, rotate, resize and view digital photos, plus the WinZip Job Wizard that allows you to automate repetitive zipping tasks, back up data easily, archive important documents and distribute information. You can move valuable data off site with WinZip’s FTP upload functionality, or burn a backup Zip file directly to CD or DVD. Other WinZip benefits include: ** Accomplish most common Zip-related tasks directly from Windows Explorer without opening a separate WinZip window. ** Protect files with the same AES encryption (128- and 256-bit) approved for use by the US government. ** Zip and E-Mail files directly from Explorer with a single mouse click ** Split large Zip files into smaller parts to overcome e-mail or removable media size constraints. ** Get the latest updates automatically with WinZip’s periodic update check. ** Certified for Windows Vista. ** And much more. Follow the link and free download WinZip now.

Camfrog Video Chat

2009-06-08T03:52:00.000-07:00

Download Now (11.33MB)

Tested spyware free Features
License: Free; $49.95 to buy
Operating Systems: Windows 2003, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows 2000, Windows 7, Windows XP
Additional Requirements: No additional requirements

Camfrog Video Chat allows you to join real streaming video chat rooms where you can hear, see, and chat with many people at a time. Instant message a user to get to know them before you Webcam chat, and add them to your contact list. This videoconferencing software also works behind most firewalls and routers. Camfrog Video Chat allows multi-user videoconferencing where you can join a room with up to 1000 users and just click a user name to begin seeing someone. Press the 'talk' button to talk to the entire room with audio. The video chat rooms are hosted by broadband users who are running the Camfrog Video Chat Room Server software so any user can set up their own multi-user video conference for other users to join. No Webcam is required to see people, but some rooms might not allow users without Webcams. Camfrog Video Chat is optimized for broadband users so it has fast video.

Free YouTube to MP3 Converter

2009-06-08T03:50:00.000-07:00

Download Now (5.73MB)

Tested spyware free Features
License: Free
Operating Systems: Windows Vista, Windows XP
Additional Requirements: No additional requirements

Free YouTube to MP3 Converter. Extract and download music from YouTube movies and save it as MP3 files on your PC with one mouse click! Convert *.flv video files to *.mp3.

YouTube Downloader

2009-06-08T03:47:00.000-07:00

Download Now (3.03MB)

Tested spyware free Features
License: Free
Operating Systems:
Windows Vista, Windows 2000, Windows XP
Additional Requirements: No additional requirements

It's software that allows you to download videos from YouTube and many others and convert them to other video formats. The program is easy to use, just specify the URL for the video you want to download and click the Ok! It also allows you to convert downloaded videos for iPod, iPhone, PSP, Cell Phone, Windows Media, XVid and MP3. Allows you to access YouTube videos for which you need to be 18+ years of age. Now, plays videos downloaded.
Version 2.1.7 now supports most of your favorite video sites including Yahoo Video and Daily Motion.

GOM Media Player

2009-06-08T03:45:00.000-07:00

Download Now (4.44MB)

Tested spyware free Features
License: Free
Operating Systems:
Windows Vista, Windows 2000, Windows XP
Additional Requirements: No additional requirements

GOM Player is a free multimedia player with popular video and audio codecs built-in. GOM Player supports file formats such as AVI, DAT, MPEG, DivX, XviD, WMV, ASF. Users don't have to install codecs separately. GOM Player is capable of playing incomplete or damaged AVI files by skipping the damaged frames. It can also play locked or partially downloaded files. Its other features include drag-and-drop support, HTTP streaming, editable skins, subtitling, overlay mixer, key remapping, enhanced filter rendering, real-time index rebuilding for AVI files and unicode support among others.

Version 2.1.17.4710 fixes improves HD decoding performance, applies security patch.

WinRAR 3.90 beta 2

2009-06-08T03:43:00.000-07:00

Download Now (1.3MB)

Tested spyware free Features
License: Free to try; $29.00 to buy
Operating Systems:
Windows Vista, Windows 95, Windows Me, Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows NT, Windows 98
Additional Requirements: No additional requirements
Limitations: 40-day trial

WinRAR is a 32-bit Windows version of RAR Archiver, an archiver and archive manager. RAR files can usually compress content by 8 percent to 15 percent more than ZIP files can. WinRAR's main features include strong general and multimedia compression, the ability to process non-RAR archive formats, ZIP compression and decompression, support for long filenames, programmable self-extracting archives (SFX), repair of damaged archives, authenticity verification, embedded file comments, and encryption. Unicode is supported in archive filenames, allowing non-English filenames to be handled painlessly. You can manipulate the parameters of many archives at once and view a volume sequence as a single archive. WinRAR can convert other archive formats to RAR and search for specified text and files in archives.

Version 3.90 beta 2 has fixed dragging a file over an existing archive in Windows Explorer did not work for 64 bit WinRAR and ZIP encryption code was updated to include recent InfoZip fixes.

AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition

2009-06-08T03:41:00.000-07:00

Download Now (62.09MB)

Tested spyware free Features
License: Free

Operating Systems: Windows Vista, Windows 2000, Windows XP
Additional Requirements: No additional requirements
Limitations: No limitations
Date Added: May 18, 2009

AVG Free Edition is the well-known antivirus protection tool. AVG Free is available free of charge to home users for the life of the product. Rapid virus database updates are available for the lifetime of the product, thereby providing the high level of detection capability that millions of users around the world trust to protect their computers. AVG Free is easy to use and will not slow your system down (low system resource requirements. Highlights include automatic update functionality, the AVG Resident Shield, which provides real-time protection as files are opened and programs are run, free Virus Database Updates for the lifetime of the product, and AVG Virus Vault for safe handling of infected files.

Direct Stream Recorder

2009-06-06T03:30:00.001-07:00

"Record any video and audio stream, including video chats and Skype"
EditByBrothersoft: Direct Stream Recorder is a handy and powerful tool for capturing all kinds of video and audio streams and then turning them into a standard .avi files so that they can be opened in any Media Player or edited with any video or Audio Editor.

Direct Stream Recorder has a diverse applicability. You can record live streams like Windows Media, Real Media, and QuickTime, save the broadcast of a favorite internet Radio Station, web cam shows in internet browsers and save media, which is encoded or has an unknown format.

Direct Stream Recorder is also capable of recording password protected streams. This feature will benefit anyone who suffers from the imposed protection policy.

The program also comes in handy when you want to record your conversation in Skype or a video chat in any instant messenger like MSN or Yahoo.

You can also use Direct Stream Recorder to create video guides explaining users how to perform various operations and adjustments with some software.

Direct Stream Recorder can save the content of your audio CDs. You just need to select the CD-line as a source and define the format for the saved file, then enjoy your favorite music while Direct Stream Recorder is saving it to the disk.

The software offers you many options to adjust. You can set the size of a captured area, select the exact number of frames per second, set whether the saved .avi file will have the sound layer or not, choose audio and video codecs from the list, setup the input line and select the directory where the file will be saved.

Direct Stream Recorder allows you to record anything that you can see on your display and hear in audio output. you can free download Direct Stream Recorder 3.1 now.

Music MP3 Search

2009-06-06T03:28:00.000-07:00

Download (3.73MB)
Last Updated: 2009-05-08
License: Shareware $19.95
OS: Windows Vista, XP, 2000

Requirements: No Special Requirements
Publisher: Music MP3 Search Inc.
Homepage: http://www.music-mp3-search.com

Free Music Zilla

2009-06-06T03:27:00.000-07:00

Download (690KB)
Last Updated: 2009-02-10
License: Freeware Free
OS: Windows Vista
, 2003, XP, 2000
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Requirements: 64 MB of RAM;6MB of free disk space
Publisher: Orbit Downloader Team
Homepage: http://www.orbitdownloader.com

iTunes Artwork Locator

2009-06-06T03:26:00.000-07:00

Download (1.48MB)
Last Updated: 2009-05-19
License: Shareware $24.99
OS: Windows Vista, 2003, XP, 2000, 98, Me, NT

Requirements: No special requirements
Publisher: zelek software
Homepage: http://www.zeleksoftware.com

Allows you to easily copy album artwork into iTunes

DJ bot 1.0

2009-06-06T03:25:00.000-07:00

Download (4.61MB)
Last Updated: 2009-06-01
License: Freeware Free
OS: Mac OS X

Requirements: No special requirements
Publisher: Mike Gieson
Homepage: http://www.gieson.com/Library/projects/utilities/timetrek/

DJ bot is an automated DJ for iTunes.

2009-06-06T03:22:00.000-07:00

Nero Youtube Vista Antivirus Norton Mcafee AVG Kaspersky Torrent Limewire eMule Ares PowerDVD Quicktime iTunes Photoshop AutoCAD Corel Draw Adobe Flash Microsoft Office Microsoft Word Excel

GFI WebMonitor for ISA Server 2009 Build 20090403The no. 1 web filtering and web sec
Category: Internet/Server Tools
By: GFI SoftwareDownload Now
ZeoOptimizer 1.0Optimize your PC
Fix system errors and remove junk
Secure your web browserDownload Now
jv16 PowerTools 2009Windows Cleaning Suite
Cleans Windows
Fixes ErrorsDownload Now
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Top Shareware
Microsoft office 2003 -
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Security
Anti Virus, Spyware Removal, Encryption Software, Firewalls, Monitoring Software, Password Managers, Mobile Security
DVD & Video
Multimedia Player, DVD Player DVD Ripper, DVD Burner, Flash Tools, Video Conversion Video Tools, Joiner & Splitter
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P2P File Sharing, Browsers, Bookmark Managers, Browser Plug-ins, Webcam Tools, FTP
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CAD, Image Editors, Viewers, Photo Tools
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Action, Tools and Editors, Sports, Strategy and War, Game maps, Shooting Games Adventure and RPG, Puzzles game, Games video, Demo
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Audio Editor, Music Creation, Players, Rippers & Encoders, Plug-ins, Audio Tools, CD Burners, Music Management
Utilities
System Utilities, Network, Mouse & Keyboard, Optimize Utilities, Disk Management
PDF & Files
File Compression, PDF reader Data Recovery, PDF Converter Backup, Word Processors
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Yahoo Messenger, ICQ & Tools, Instant Messaging, MSN & Tools, Video Chat, E-Mail Security
Business
Applications, Database Management, Business Finance, Spreadsheets, Project Management
Development
Java & JavaScript, C/C++, Site Management, Databases Microsoft .Net, Web Design
Home & Education
Language & Translation, Science, Teaching & Testing Hobbies, Math Software
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Wallpaper, Screensavers, Clock, Desktop enhancement, Themes, 3D ScreenSavers
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Word, Access, Frontpage, Excel, Outlook Software
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Radio, Search, Transportation Countdown, Games, Utilities
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Audio & Video, PDF & Files, IM & E-mail & RSS, Security
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FormatFactory 1.90

2009-06-06T03:20:00.000-07:00

Download (15.4MB)
Last Updated: 2009-06-03
License: Freeware Free
OS: Windows 2003, XP, 2000, NT

Requirements: No special requirements
Publisher: formatoz
Homepage: http://www.pcfreetime.com/
Total Downloads From 2008-04-28: 3,027,747
Downloads of Last week:
62,578

About: Convert all popular video,audio,picture formats to others

Opera 10 Build 1551 Beta 1

2009-06-06T03:19:00.000-07:00

Download (6.57MB)

Last Updated: 2009-06-03
License: Freeware Free
OS: Windows 7, Vista, 2003, XP, 2000, 98, Me, NT

Requirements: No special requirements
Publisher: Opera Software
Homepage: http://www.opera.com
Total Downloads From 2008-01-01: 48,352
Downloads of Last week:
664

Microsoft Bing's 5 copied features

2009-06-05T21:00:00.000-07:00

Microsoft has admitted publicly that it did a poor job of making people aware of the features in its old search engine. With the rollout of Bing, it’s becoming crystal clear just how unfamiliar people were with Live Search.

Features that had long existed in Live Search are suddenly getting noticed and being branded as "new." Here are five examples.

Smart motion previews
Internet safety experts are up in arms, according to a Fox News story, because Bing’s video search lets visitors preview videos by hovering their cursors over a thumbnail -- potentially providing a way for children to watch porn without having to navigate to a porn site.

But, according to Bing Search GM Mike Nichols, who responded to the controversy in a blog post, the feature has actually existed for “well more than a year.”

Photos on the home page
In its adulatory review, the WSJ said, “Bing.com evokes the cover of a glossy magazine with a stunning photo that takes over the page. This photo, usually slightly off-beat and somewhat alluring, changes every day.” Microsoft introduced photo-heavy front pages on Live Search in June 2008.

Bing 411
TechCrunch said that Bing 411-- a feature that lets users call a number to get local information -- was a “direct swipe” at a similar Google product and had been “lost in all the excitement” around the launch of Bing. Other publications also covered the supposed “introduction” of Bing 411.

But the product had existed under the name Live Search 411 since October 2007.

Bing Mobile
Microsoft got lots of attention for the roll-out of the mobile version of its search engine. But by the company’s own admission, the mobile version did not include any new features.

Local Business Center
SEORoundtable, which also points out how Bing is getting praised for old features in Live Search, notes that “people are first noticing that Bing has a Local Business Center.” But as SEORoundtable notes it already existed in Live Search -- all that’s new is the Bing.com URL.

Source: Reuters

Microsoft’s new rival to Google: Bing

2009-05-29T04:58:00.000-07:00

SEATTLE: Microsoft Corp is revamping its search engine to counter the dominance of Google Inc in the Web search and related advertising business.

The world's largest software company, which is still in talks with Yahoo Inc over a potential partnership, has long been determined to play a major role in the lucrative Web search market after watching upstart Google take a stranglehold.

Microsoft, which has been testing the search engine internally under the name Kumo for several months, plans to introduce the new service, re-christened "Bing," over the next few days, with a full launch next Wednesday. The service will be available at www.bing.com.

Advertising Age reported earlier this week that Microsoft was planning a $80 million to $100 million ad campaign to promote Bing. Microsoft declined to comment on the report.

"We'll have what I would call a big budget -- big enough that I had to gulp when I approved the budget," said Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer, who unveiled Bing at a technology conference in Carlsbad, California, run by the All Things Digital tech blog.

The Redmond, Washington-based firm has lots of ground to make up. Last month Google took 64.2 percent of US Internet searches -- up half a percentage point from the month before -- handling 9.5 billion out of a total of 14.8 billion searches.

Yahoo was a distant second with 20.4 percent of searches and Microsoft third with 8.2 percent, both down slightly from the month before, according to data firm comScore.

Ballmer offered no quick turnaround in those numbers. "My timeframe is lots of years," he said at the conference. "I don't have a specific forecast, but this is lots of years."

The new name, Bing, is short, universal and can be "verbed-up," said Ballmer, a clear reference to the fact that 'to Google' has become the generic verb for searching the Internet for information.

New features
Both Google and Yahoo have recently introduced new features in their search engines to attract users, making Microsoft's task even harder.

Microsoft is calling its new product a "decision engine," promising to make things like buying a digital camera, booking a flight or searching for a restaurant easier by serving up results based on similar previous searches.

A search on a make of car, for example, will bring up clickable categories on the left-hand sidebar, such as 'problems,' 'reviews' and 'dealers,' which Microsoft has calculated are the most likely places a Web user will want to go from the initial search.

Bing also incorporates the increasingly popular Farecast service in its flight booking section -- making use of the company it bought last year -- which predicts whether fares will rise or fall.

Other new features include getting directions to locations with only one mouse click, and the ability to hover over a search result to see more information, without having to open a new link. C

Microsoft's shares rose 36 cents to $20.49 on Nasdaq at mid-afternoon. Google edged up 1.1 percent to $409.96 and Yahoo shares rose 1 percent to $15.09.

Soruce:http://infotech.indiatimes.com/News/Microsofts-rival-to-Google-Bing/articleshow/4592408.cms

Virtual DJ Software 5.2

2009-05-03T23:21:00.000-07:00

Download Now (15.88MB)

VirtualDJ is the DJ software used by many big brands such as Numark or Hercules, and is used around the world by bedroom DJs and professional superstars alike. With its breakthrough BeatLock engine, your songs will always stay on the beat, and you can work your mixes incredibly faster than any other DJ. The automatic seamless loop engine and the synchronized sampler will let you perform astounding remixes on the fly. The video engine lets you mix and scratch music videos as easily as audio. You can also use a special timecode vinyl and scratch MP3s or videos directly on a real turntable. Add to that customizable interfaces to suit both beginners and professionals; A visual beat display; An infinite number of cues; VST, freeframe and proprietary beat-synced effects; Karaoke; Internet broadcast; Recording and burning; CDs, vinyls and DVDs ripping; Automatic playlist mixing; DRM compatibility; Headphones and external mixer modes, and compatibility with many existing DJ devices.

Version 5.2 includes new smart play and smart cue options, new interface, and new compatible controllers.

Soruce:http://download.cnet.com/Virtual-DJ-Software/3000-2170_4-10212112.html?tag=contentBody;mostPopTwoColWrap

WinZip 12.0

2009-05-03T23:20:00.000-07:00

Download Now (12.58MB)

WinZip is the original and most popular of all Windows ZIP file utilities. Wizard/Classic interfaces accommodate both first-time and experienced users. With WinZip you can quickly and easily compress and decompress files, folders, and entire folder trees to save storage space and reduce e-mail-transmission time, as well as encrypt and decrypt your sensitive documents. Features include tight integration with Windows Explorer, support for most Internet file formats, and one-click zipping and e-mail. WinZip 12 adds new features for JPEG compression, the ability to ZIP files directly from a digital camera, an enhanced thumbnail view, a built-in image viewer, support for the LZMA compression method, customizable password policies, more encyption options, and other new features.

LimeWire 5.1.2

2009-05-03T23:13:00.001-07:00

Download Now (15.74MB)

LimeWire is the world's fastest P2P file-sharing application for all types of computer files, including music, video, pictures, games, and text documents. Other features include dynamic querying, file previews during download, advanced techniques for locating rare files, and an easy, clean user interface.

LimeWire's new spam blocker gets rid of junk results, and automatic updates will keep you sharing faster than ever with the latest version. You can search for Creative Commons and Weedshare licensed files, and publish your own creative works with Creative Commons licensing. LimeWire continues its guarantee of no adware or spyware. Includes built-in bittorent support.

Version 5.1.2 fixed a bug with the single file sharing widget,Remove the check box for the multi file sharing widget.

Camfrog Video Chat 5.2

2009-05-03T23:11:00.000-07:00

Download Now (8.7MB)

YouTube Downloader 2.1.7

2009-05-03T23:10:00.000-07:00

Download Now (3.03MB)

It's software that allows you to download videos from YouTube and many others and convert them to other video formats. The program is easy to use, just specify the URL for the video you want to download and click the Ok! It also allows you to convert downloaded videos for iPod, iPhone, PSP, Cell Phone, Windows Media, XVid and MP3. Allows you to access YouTube videos for which you need to be 18+ years of age. Now, plays videos downloaded.

Version 2.1.7 now supports most of your favorite video sites including Yahoo Video and Daily Motion.

WinRAR 3.90 Beta 1

2009-05-03T23:07:00.000-07:00

Download Now (1.3MB) Tested spyware free

WinRAR is a 32-bit Windows version of RAR Archiver, an archiver and archive manager. RAR files can usually compress content by 8 percent to 15 percent more than ZIP files can. WinRAR's main features include strong general and multimedia compression, the ability to process non-RAR archive formats, ZIP compression and decompression, support for long filenames, programmable self-extracting archives (SFX), repair of damaged archives, authenticity verification, embedded file comments, and encryption. Unicode is supported in archive filenames, allowing non-English filenames to be handled painlessly. You can manipulate the parameters of many archives at once and view a volume sequence as a single archive. WinRAR can convert other archive formats to RAR and search for specified text and files in archives.

Version 3.80 adds decompression support for AES-encrypted ZIP files, improved display information, more context-menu options, and a more secure method of deleting temporary files.

AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition 8.5.325

2009-05-03T23:05:00.000-07:00

Download Now (61.48MB) Tested spyware free

description of AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition

AVG Free Edition is the well-known antivirus protection tool. AVG Free is available free of charge to home users for the life of the product. Rapid virus database updates are available for the lifetime of the product, thereby providing the high level of detection capability that millions of users around the world trust to protect their computers. AVG Free is easy to use and will not slow your system down (low system resource requirements. Highlights include automatic update functionality, the AVG Resident Shield, which provides real-time protection as files are opened and programs are run, free Virus Database Updates for the lifetime of the product, and AVG Virus Vault for safe handling of infected files.

Version 8.5 now includes LinkScanner's Active Surf-Shield to check every Web page for threats at the only time that matters--when you're about to click on the link.

Google rolls out new search features

2009-04-21T04:56:00.000-07:00

SAN FRANCISCO: Google has unveiled software tools that let people search the Internet using pictures or chronologically organise results of queries for news.

Fledgling versions of Similar Images and News Timeline made their way out of Google Labs, a place where engineers at the California-based Internet giant get to spend time tinkering with promising innovations.

A Similar Images feature added to Google's Image Search tool lets people scour the Internet for like photographs with a single computer mouse click. Examples provided by Google include refining a search for "jaguar" to provide only images of the jungle cat or the luxury automobile.

"So if you see an image you like, but you're stumped on how to describe it, just click the 'Similar images' link to see more like it," reads an online posting by 'Googlers' Chuck Rosenberg, Andy Hertzfeld, and Michael Cohen.

Google News Timeline amasses stories from newspapers, magazines, blogs and other sources and presents search results in chronological graphs that can be zoomed in on or navigated by dates.

Soruce:http://infotech.indiatimes.com/News/Google-rolls-out-new-search-features/articleshow/4430164.cms

Free 3GP Video Converter 3.1.3.51

2009-04-20T21:36:00.000-07:00

Free 3GP Video Converter 3.1.3.51
Download (7.61MB)
Last Updated: 2009-04-01
License: Freeware Free
OS: Windows Vista, 2003, XP, 2000

Requirements: no special requirements
Publisher: DVDVideoSoft Limited
Homepage: http://www.dvdvideosoft.com/

How to organise your Outlook Mail

2009-04-18T01:58:00.000-07:00

Tired of your messy Outlook? Unorganised mailbox making your life troublesome? Here are a few ways to bail you out of the trouble. These tips will help you sort your mails quickly, making the search process faster and easier.

Microsoft Office Outlook has tools that can help you organise your messages in meaningful, easy-to-control ways.

Group messages in folders
The best way to organise your email messages is by creating folders. Users can group the mails in the folder either by topic, project, contact, or other categories. You can even create a folder for all the messages from Outlook manager.

In order to group messages in the folders go to the Outlook Navigation Pane and click Mail. In the Mail Folders section right-click one of the folders and click New Folder and name it. Now you can drag the related messages in the new folder.

Sort messages
Ever thought of sorting your mails by date, file size or sender? This is another effortless process to bring sanity to your mailbox.

You can find messages in mailbox folders more quickly by changing how they are sorted in your email folders. For example, you can arrange your email by date, sender, file size, or even by conversation, which pulls up all messages by the subject line.

In order to sort messages, go to the top of your mail folder and select the Arranged by tab. Here you can view various options. In Outlook 2003, go to the Navigation Pane and click Mail. In the View click the Arrange By and the view options.

Route mail through mailbox rules
How about setting rules for your Outlook? By creating rules for Outlook, you can automatically perform actions on both incoming and outgoing messages based on the criteria you establish.

For example, you can automatically forward to your boss all messages sent by a certain person as soon as they arrive, assign the category Sales to all messages you send that have the word "sales" in the Subject line, and much more.

This will not only help you better organise your mail box, but also free up your time from routing tasks.

Outlook junk filters
Junk filters can help you keep away the unwanted mails. These filters send email flagged as junk to a separate mail folder in your Mailbox.

Users also have the option to review these junk emails to ensure that no important mail has landed in the folder. These filters work the same way as the email filters of popular web mails Gmail and Yahoo.

Assign colours
The quickest way to organise your email message is by `colouring' them. By assigning colours to specific emails will help you easily identify your mail messages.

For example, you can assign different colours to emails from different set of people. Say red colour can be for mails from your boss, pink colour for mails from your friends, green colour for mails from colleagues and so on.

To assign colour code to a mail, go to the toolbar and click categories. Here click all categories and in the name list select the check box for the category to whom you want to assign the colour. Then click the desired Colour you want to assign.

Flags
Here's another easy-to-do process that can help you sort out your mailbox. Outlook users can assign coloured flags to mails or tasks to arrange them or mark them for action.

These Flags can remind users to follow up on an issue, or set a reminder for a message or contact.

Create Search Folders to find messages
For those who want to make a quick search to find their messages this one is a sure help. Outlook users can create search folders to find messages that are pre-defined.

Search Folders are a quick and convenient way to look at predefined collections of email messages. They don't actually store any messages themselves, but instead are virtual folders that offer a view of all the messages stored in your mailbox depending on the attributes defined.

Outlook provides default Search folders -- such as Unread Mail, but you can also create your own. For instance, you can use Search Folders to find all the information related to a particular project, an important client, or an upcoming event.

To create Search Folders, go to File menu, point to New, and then click Search Folder. Choose whether you want to use a predefined Search Folder or create your own. Now, just follow the instructions onscreen

Source:http://infotech.indiatimes.com/quickiearticleshow/3727518.cms

How to install the PostScript Printer Driver

2009-03-20T22:54:00.000-07:00

To be able to create a PostScript file that can be printed directly to a PostScript output device, the PostScript Printer Driver must be available on the computer. The following are the steps to install the PostScript Printer Driver for win xp. These detail steps are for a PC-compatible computer using Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP/Vista, there are some small differences between Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP/Vista, you need to adjust yourself.

Step 1:
you can download "HP Color LaserJet 4600 PostScript" printer driver from following url:

windows 95/98/me
http://www.convertzone.com/postscript/lj4600pswin9xme-en.exe 448K
windows 2000/xp/2003/vista
http://www.convertzone.com/postscript/clj4600pswinvista2kxp2003.exe 12.6M
windows NT 4.0
http://www.convertzone.com/postscript/lj4600pswinnt4-en.exe 884K

note: if you want to use your national language's printer driver, you can click here to select your downloads language.
then unzip to "c:\printer".

Step 2:
To install a PostScript Driver, click the Start button located in the lower left hand corner of the screen and highlight the setting options. On the sub-menu, double click on Printers.

Step 3:
The Printers dialog box will open. It will list the printers that are now installed, double click on Add Printer..

Step 4:
In the Wizard dialog window, select "Next" button

Step 5:
then select Local Printer. Click on Next.

Step 6:
In "Select a printer Port" dialog select "LPT1", then please click "Next" button,

Step 7:
then a new dialog window appears with Manufacturers and Printers listed, then click "on the Have Disk"

Step 8:
and use the supplied driver, and input "c:\printer" path after select "on hard disk"

Step 9:
select "HP Color LaserJet 4600 PS" printer to install. Click on Next.

Step 10:
The next window allows you to change the name of the printer, you need not rename the name of the printer, and select "No" to not as default printer, Click on Next.

Step 11:
The next window asks you if share your printer. Select No and click on Finish.

Step 12:
The next window asks you if a test page is to be printed. Select No and click on Finish.

Step 13:
In final dialog box, please click "finish" button to finish the printer installation.

The problem is that the bold, color and italic text appears jagged, i.e. you can see the actual pixels that form the characters. What can we do to fix this problem?
Yes, you can fix this problem, please go to the "HP Color LaserJet 4600 PostScript" printer, select properties, Printing Preferences, Advanced, TrueType Fonts, change to " Download as SoftFont". Then click OK, then Apply, then OK.

Make sure that the printer's ink cartridges (or toner cartridges) are full.

Source:http://www.convertzone.com/postscript/printer.htm

Internet Explorer 8: All that’s new

2009-03-19T05:14:00.000-07:00

The long-awaited successor to IE 7 (Internet Explorer), IE 8, is out of beta as software giant Microsoft rolls out the browser upgrade today.

Microsoft's Internet Explorer still holds the lion's share of the Web browser market with 72.2 per cent marketshare, followed by a distant second Firefox browser which has 17.2 per cent marketshare. Latest entrant in the market, Google Inc's Chrome browser, holds 2.8 per cent marketshare, while Apple Inc's Safari has less than 1 per cent.

The application, an integral part of Microsoft's next OS Windows 7, can be downloaded from Microsoft's website from 9 a.m. Pacific time, for free by users of licensed Microsoft operating systems.

Here's looking into all that's new in the latest version.

Speed
Microsoft claims that the new browser is faster in almost every respect. It loads faster, switches pages faster, and renders complex graphics and videos faster than in previous versions.

Seems Microsoft is responding, as it did in Windows 7, to users' insistence that performance is consideration number one when it comes to software.

Also, IE faces tough competition from Google's which only recently upgraded its Chrome browser. And according to a post on Google's blog, the new Chrome beta loads certain types of Web pages 25 per cent to 35 per cent faster than the current version of the browser.

Accelerators feature
IE8 has a new feature called Accelerators which allows users to highlight text on a website and choose from a variety of functions, including search engines, language translation or map displays.

For instance, how many times have you found an address on the Web and then proceeded to Google Maps, MapQuest, or Microsoft's own Live Maps to find directions? If the answer is "plenty", then IE 8 will be a boon to your productivity. Thanks to the browser's Accelerator feature users can now highlight an address, right-click, and select Map to get almost instantaneous directions from your location, assuming you've registered your existing address with whatever mapping site you use regularly.

The same principle applies to email addresses, words you would like to define, words you would like to translate, or email addresses to which you like to send a message.

Private browsing mode
The Redmond, Washington-based software maker added some new privacy features, including a mode for Web browsing that doesn't remember what sites were visited nor stores small data files called cookies.

Google's Chrome calls this Incognito mode. In Firefox, you can achieve something close to Incognito mode by choosing to clear private date from the Edit - Preferences - Privacy dialog box.

IE 8 also lets people block ads from companies that track their Web surfing habits across a number of sites, a practice known as behavioral targeting.

Enhanced security
IE8 beefs up protection against malware and known phishing scam sites. It comes with built-in technology to protect against another kind of threat, "cross-site scripting," in which hackers insert code into legitimate Web pages that compromise peoples' computers without them knowing it. IE 8 disables the bad scripts but in most cases allows others needed for a Web page to run as usual.

Firefox already does something similar with an add-on programme, but Microsoft argues that only the most sophisticated users know to seek it out and install it. IE 8 also helps people who create websites prevent another kind of attack called "clickjacking," where a Web surfer might think they're clicking on a legitimate button when in fact they're activating an invisible, malicious action.

Search suggestions
With IE8 Search suggestion you will get detailed suggestions from your favourite search providers and browsing history. Users will be able to see visual previews and get suggested content topics while they type in the enhanced Instant Search Box.

The new search capabilities in Internet Explorer 8 will offer relevant suggestions as you type words into the search box to help save time. Internet Explorer 8 is partnering with top search providers like Live Search, Wikipedia, Yahoo and Amazon to deliver "visual search" images that provide you with immediate answers.

Compatibility mode
IE8 may not be compatible with all existing Web technologies. Microsoft is aware of that and has incorporated a "compatibility mode" into IE 8, accessible by clicking a toolbar button.

On clicking the Compatibility mode website will appear as viewed in Internet Explorer 7, which will correct the display problems like misaligned text, images, or text boxes.

To go back to browsing with Internet Explorer 8 functionality on that site, click the Compatibility View button again.

Web Slices
Another time-saving feature of IE 8 is called Web Slices, which is designed to allow you to subscribe to frequently-updated portions, or "slices," of certain websites. Instead of spending your time visiting three or four websites to get updated information from a portion of each of those sites, you would simply use Web Slices to pull that information into a single location in IE 8.

IE 8 users can add a number of "Web slices" to keep track of eBay auctions, stock quotes, blog posts, weather forecasts and other information that is frequently updated.

With Web Slices, you can instead simply subscribe to a section of the auction page by clicking a Web Slice icon that appears when you allow your mouse cursor to hover over a portion of a site that is frequently updated.

Clicking the Web Slice icon adds a new button to a Favourites bar that appears above your browser tabs. Clicking the newly-created Web Slice button on the IE 8 Favourites bar will pull the latest data from your subscribed page and show it to you in a preview window.

Enhanced tabbed browsing
Another useful feature -- one that Firefox lacks but Google Inc's new Chrome browser employs -- is keeping related tabs together. If a user clicks on a link, thereby opening a new tab, Microsoft tucks that tab right next to the original. IE8 also gives the tabs a common colour. The colour coding helps users quickly see which tabs have related content.

If you close the tab that's part of a group, another tab from the same group is displayed, enabling you to remain within the context of the current task rather than suddenly looking at an unrelated site. By right-clicking on any tab, you can close the tab, close the tab group, or remove the tab from a group.

Also, in IE 8 when a Web page in one tab crashes, it doesn't bring down the whole browser.

Address bar
Can't remember the full address of a website you visited recently? Worry not. Type a few characters in the new Address Bar of Internet Explorer 8 and it will automatically recall sites you visited based on your entry.

It searches across your History, Favorites, and RSS Feeds, displaying matches from the website address or any part of the URL. As you type, matched characters are highlighted in blue so that you can identify them at a glance.

In addition, users can delete any address in the drop-down box by clicking on the red X. This is especially useful for getting rid of misspelled URLs.

Favorites bar and History
In the new version of Internet Explorer you can keep better track of your top favourites. You can save Favourites, RSS Feeds, and Web Slices to the Links Bar that appears across the top of the browser.

The new Browsing History view allows you to sort your history by Site Name, Most Visited Sites, Order Visited Today, and Date, making it easier to organise and locate sites in your history.

Automatic crash recovery
In terms of stability, IE 8's new automatic crash recovery feature is designed to solve one major problem that most IE users know too well. Today, when an IE window or tab freezes or crashes, other browsers instances or tabs will likely become inoperable as well.

Automatic crash recovery does a better job of isolating instances of the IE browser -- or separate tabs within the same browser -- so that one stalled browser or tab can be terminated without affecting any other.

If a crash does bring down the entire browser, automatic crash recovery will attempt to restore the browser to its previous state -- including all open tabs -- the next time you open it.

Source:http://infotech.indiatimes.com/quickiearticleshow/4286536.cms

FREE Scripts

2009-03-12T04:33:00.000-07:00

PHPizabi

Izabi is a FREE, powerful and great-looking community or match making system software that helps start an online dating or community business. Easy to install and configure, convenient, saving you tons of time and / or money in development costs. Izabi though in it's early release, will be one of the best community software systems available on the market. We gaurantee it! All of this is backed by a team of full-time professionals - no part-time amateurs who develop unreliable scripts as a hobby.

Sphider

Sphider is a lightweight web spider and search engine written in PHP, using MySQL as its back end database. It is suitable for adding search functionality to small or medium sites (up to around 100,000 pages). It also works great as a tool for site analysis - finding broken links, gathering statistics about the site etc.

aliTalk

Confidently every webmaster need looking for a fast and great chat script for himself and surely too much chat scripts exist of the web. here aliTalk trying to got you the best of the best chat script for your website based on the day modern web technology!. aliTalk install on your website too fast and easy with out any file confirm/edit require only by access install directory in your web browser.

PHPBB

phpBB is a high powered, fully scalable, and highly customizable Open Source bulletin board package. phpBB has a user-friendly interface, simple and straightforward administration panel, and helpful FAQ. Based on the powerful PHP server language and your choice of MySQL, MS-SQL, PostgreSQL or Access/ODBC database servers, phpBB is the ideal free community solution for all web sites.

PHPClassifieds

FREE Scripts

2009-03-05T03:58:00.000-08:00

SCRIBLIO
Scriblio (formerly WPopac) is an award winning, free, open source CMS and OPAC with faceted searching and browsing features based on WordPress. Scriblio is a project of Plymouth State University, supported in part by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

SEARCH NETWORK

Easily add a quick and robust search engine application to your website. Customizable templates, installs in minutes and includes FREE PHP Source Code!

WORDPRESS
WordPress is a state-of-the-art semantic personal publishing platform with a focus on aesthetics, web standards, and usability. What a mouthful. WordPress is both free and priceless at the same time. More simply, WordPress is what you use when you want to work with your blogging software, not fight it.

Free Software

2009-03-05T03:56:00.000-08:00

CyberDefenderFREE
Spyware Removal - Identity theft defense. Virus Protection - Proven to catch viruses earlier. Spam Killer - Block dangerous spam. Email Protection - Make your inbox a safer place to work. Intrusion Controls - Detect and deflect potential intrusions..
Site: www.cyberdefenderfree.com

Download Accelerator Plus
Click to download a file & DAP will accelerate your download by finding the fastest sources (websites) for the file you want, then splitting the file into several pieces & downloading them at the same time, making the most of your connection speed. This is just the beginning of what DAP can do for you.
Site: www.speedbit.com

Belarc Advisor
The Belarc Advisor builds a detailed profile of your installed software and hardware, missing Microsoft hotfixes, anti-virus status, CIS (Center for Internet Security) benchmarks, and displays the results in your Web browser. All of your PC profile information is kept private on your PC and is not sent to any web server.
Site: www.belarc.com

Scribus
Underneath the modern and user friendly interface, Scribus supports professional publishing features, such as CMYK color, separations, ICC color management and versatile PDF creation.
Site: www.scribus.net

Unstoppable Copier
Recovers files from disks with physical damage. Allows you to copy files from disks with problems such as bad sectors, scratches or that just give errors when reading data. The program will attempt to recover every readable piece of a file and put the pieces together. Using this method most types of files can be made useable even if some parts were not recoverable in the end.
Site: www.roadkil.net

ZoneAlarm
ZoneAlarm is free for individual and not-for-profit charitable entity use (excluding governmental entities and educational institutions).
Site: www.zonelabs.com

Free Software

2009-03-04T04:20:00.000-08:00

SpywareBlaster
Prevent the installation of spyware and other potentially unwanted software! Download the latest SpywareBlaster version and you'll be secured by the most powerful anti-spyware protection solution anywhere!
Site: www.javacoolsoftware.com

IObit SmartDefrag
IObit SmartDefrag helps defrag your hard drive most efficiently. With "Install it and forget it" feature, IObit SmartDefrag works automatically and quietly in the background on your PC, keeping your hard disk running at its speediest. Slow down, freeze-ups and crashes will be a thing of the past.
Site: www.iobit.com

Pando
Pando is free personal P2P software that makes sending, receiving and publishing large files a breeze. Need to email large attachments, IM a folder, or post your downloadable videos to the Web? Meet Pando.
Site: www.pando.com

War Rock
War Rock is free to download and Free2Play. War Rock gives players access to a wide variety of weaponry and the ability to play every single map in the game – providing them with a full and completely free experience. Premium items and services are available to enhance the player’s experience.
Site: www.warrock.net

Free Software

2009-03-04T04:19:00.000-08:00

Weather Watcher
Weather Watcher is your personal Windows desktop weather station. Automatically retrieve the current conditions, hourly forecast, daily forecast, detailed forecast, severe weather alerts (US only), and weather maps for over 77,000 cities world-wide.
Site: www.singerscreations.com

Trillian
Trillian™ is a fully featured, stand-alone, skinnable chat client that supports AIM, ICQ, MSN, Yahoo Messenger, and IRC. It provides capabilities not possible with original network clients, while supporting standard features such as audio chat, file transfers, group chats, chat rooms, buddy icons, multiple simultaneous connections to the same network, server-side contact importing, typing notification, direct connection (AIM), proxy support, encrypted messaging (AIM/ICQ), SMS support, and privacy settings.
Site: www.ceruleanstudios.com

AOL OpenRide
So much more than just a Web browser, its breakthrough four-pane design will streamline your online activities. No more jumping from one window to the next — everything you need is right there the moment you need it. And it’s absolutely free. Email, browser, media player, IM, search, and address book.
Site: www.free.aol.com

Free Software

2009-03-03T03:28:00.001-08:00

Thunderbird
Thunderbird delivers. Enjoy safe, fast, and easy email, with intelligent spam filters, quick message search, and customizable views. Brought to you by Mozilla, Thunderbird makes email better.
Site: www.mozilla.com/thunderbird

TUGZip
TUGZip is a powerful award-winning freeware archiving utility for Windows® that provides support for a wide range of compressed, encoded and disc-image files, as well as very powerful features; all through an easy to use application interface and Windows Explorer integration.
Site: www.tugzip.com

Spybot - Search & Destroy
Spybot - Search & Destroy detects and removes spyware, a relatively new kind of threat not yet covered by common anti-virus applications. Spyware silently tracks your surfing behaviour to create a marketing profile for you that is transmitted without your knowledge to the compilers and sold to advertising companies.
Site: http://spybot.safer-networking.de

AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition
AVG Anti-Virus Free and AVG Anti-Spyware Free is for private, non-commercial, single home computer use only.
Site: http://free.grisoft.com

Free Software

2009-03-03T03:24:00.000-08:00

Joost
Joost is a new way of watching TV on the internet. With Joost, you get all the things you love about TV, including a high-quality full-screen picture, hundreds of full-length shows and easy channel-flipping.
Site: www.joost.com

Pop Peeper
POP Peeper is an email notifier that runs in your Windows task bar and alerts you when you have new email on your POP3, IMAP (with IDLE support), Hotmail\MSN\LiveMail, Yahoo, Mail.com, MyWay, Excite, Lycos.com, RediffMail, Juno and NetZero accounts.
Site: www.poppeeper.com

Avast Antivus
avast! Home Edition is now free of charge for HOME users for NON-COMMERCIAL use.
Site: www.avast.com

Free Software,

2009-03-03T03:23:00.000-08:00

Adobe Reader
Download the latest version of Adobe Reader.
Site: www.adobe.com

hullo
Great new VoIP service that allows you to conference and set-up Find Me Follow Me rules. FREE!
Site: www.hullo.com

Free Download Manager
Using the power of this free download manager and accelerator you can retrieve files and complete Web sites up to 600% faster than before. It utilizes the entire bandwidth of your Internet connection even if you download from slow Web sites.
Site: www.intelfind.com

Office Accounting Express 2007 -Free Software

2009-03-03T03:21:00.000-08:00

Office Accounting Express 2007

Microsoft® Office Accounting Express 2007 is an essential tool for managing your business finances. Whether you’re a small or home-based business, you can use this simple accounting program to make pen and paper-based tasks a thing of the past.
Site: www.ideawins.com

Fire Fox - Free Software

2009-03-02T00:08:00.000-08:00

Fire Fox
Category: Browser

The award-winning Web browser is now faster, more secure, and fully customizable to your online life. With Firefox 2, we’ve added powerful new features that make your online experience even better.
Site: www.mozilla.com/firefox

Open Office - Free Software

2009-03-02T00:07:00.000-08:00

Open Office
Category: Office Suites

OpenOffice.org is a multiplatform and multilingual office suite and an open-source project. Compatible with all other major office suites, the product is free to download, use, and distribute.
Site: www.openoffice.org

Free Software -DeepBurner- Free!

2009-03-02T00:06:00.000-08:00

DeepBurner- Free!
Category: CD/DVD Burner

DeepBurner is a powerful CD and DVD burning package that utilizes power and efficiency. It takes away the hassle of making CDs, DVDs, autoruns, creating and printing labels and booklets. The program supports a very wide range of internal and external (USB 2.0 and FireWire) CD and DVD writers. Burn audio, data and ISO CDs and DVDs with just one FREE program called DeepBurner.
Site: www.astonsoft.com

Free Software - Simply Safe Backup

2009-03-02T00:05:00.000-08:00

Simply Safe Backup
Category: Backup

With Simply Safe Backup, you can back up to a (zip) file, a file server, a zip drive, a tape, FTP server, CD or DVD; Split Data Files, Locate-Compare-Verify tools, Perform Smart Backup, Perform Unattended Backups, 1-Click Windows NT Service-Start-Stop, Backup & Restore Wizards! With the MySQL backup agent, backup any number of MySQL servers and databases with your backup job (unattended). You can maintain backup jobs with Backup Inventory.
Site: www.simplysafebackup.com/

Free Software -Audacity

2009-03-02T00:04:00.000-08:00

Audacity

Category: Sound Editor
Audacity is free, open source software for recording and editing sounds. It is available for Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, GNU/Linux, and other operating systems.
Site: http://audacity.sourceforge.net

Best Free Software

2009-02-28T02:07:00.000-08:00

Category: TV Player
TVUPlayer
TVU networks brings you programs from around the world that you can't get from your local cable and satellite providers.
Site: www.tvunetworks.com

Best Free Software

2009-02-28T02:03:00.000-08:00

Category: Operating System
Vista Transformation Pack 6.0
This program will transform your Windows user interface to ultimate Windows Vista alike looks that everyone will never notice it’s the same old Windows XP (or 2003).
Site: www.windowsxlive.net Download

Microsoft trains job seekers in US

2009-02-25T04:50:00.001-08:00

SAN FRANCISCO: Microsoft is tossing lifelines to people in the United States lacking technology skills needed to win jobs in the Internet Age.

Microsoft teamed with political leaders in a set of US states to launch an Elevate America initiative expected to provide online and real world technology training to as many as two million people during the next three years.

"Millions of Americans don't have the technology skills needed in today's economy," said Pamela Passman, Microsoft corporate vice president of global corporate affairs.

"We want to help workers get the skills they need to succeed."

For years Microsoft has worked with businesses and community-based organizations to promote information technology (IT) education.

The decision to ramp-up those efforts this week with an Elevate America program is a "response to the current economic crisis," Microsoft said.

The initiative is designed to provide state and local governments tools and resources for "no-cost or low-cost technology skills training to help get people back to work," according to Passman.

Microsoft has information about marketable technology skills and how to acquire them available online at http://www.microsoft.com/ElevateAmerica.

The website provides access to Microsoft online training programs ranging from basics such as using Internet, sending email and creating resumes to handling more advanced software programs.

Florida, New York and Washington are the first US states to partner with Microsoft to offer in-depth technology programs, including some with the potential to result in certifications of training.

"At the federal, state and local level, leaders are working together to help start the engine of economic growth," said Washington Governor Chris Gregoire.

"The private sector provides much of the spark needed to jump-start that engine."

Florida governor Charlie Crist cites a successful Elevate Miami program that the state and Microsoft have collaborated on for several years as proof the approach is effective

Soruce:http://infotech.indiatimes.com/News/Software--Services/Microsoft-trains-job-seekers-in-US/articleshow/msid-4189902,curpg-2.cms

Four changes to Gmail contacts

2009-02-24T04:14:00.000-08:00

Over the past few days Google has made a few changes to Gmail's contact manager. These changes combined aims to make it easier to organise the contacts users' want and get rid of some of the cruft. Here's a quick summary.

Contact merge
This one's especially handy for those whose contacts are scattered all over the place: phone, Gmail account, on the back of business cards and even in a veritable little black book.

Gmail aims to make staying organised a little easier with a beta version of Google Sync for the iPhone and Windows Mobile phones as well as a contacts-only version for many other devices. Sync uses push technology (Microsoft ActiveSync) to automatically synchronize your Gmail contacts (using the 'My Contacts' group within Gmail) and/or your Google Calendar events in the background.

Your phone will sync using the your "My Contacts" group within Gmail. To do this, select the contacts you want to merge and then click "Merge these..."

Once you set up Sync, changes you make to your calendar or contacts are reflected on your device within minutes since the connection is over-the-air and always on. And it's two way, so your calendar and contacts are always up-to-date, no matter whether you make changes on your phone or from your browser. Also, since your information is automatically backed up to your Google account, it's securely stored even if you accidentally drop your phone in the pool.

All contacts
Instead of Suggested Contacts, you'll now see a group called All Contacts which, as the name would suggest, is where all of your contacts live and thus a good view for merging duplicate contacts.

You can still see suggested contacts by clicking the "View Suggestions" button from My Contacts. From there, you can select frequently emailed contacts to add to My Contacts.

Remove people from My Contacts
You can finally move contacts out of the My Contacts group - especially useful if you're planning to sync your contact list to your phone.

Prune the contacts you don't want synced to your phone from My Contacts (click "Groups" and then "Remove from My Contacts"), and they won't get synced.

Search across all contact fields
Gmail claims that its contact search now works much better: instead of just searching contact names and email addresses, it now includes phone numbers, notes fields, and mailing addresses as well.

So, if a user is visiting the Bay Area and looking for friends to catch up with, you could try typing "650" or "415" in the contact manager search box

Soruce:http://infotech.indiatimes.com/quickiearticleshow/4181699.cms

IMAP ERRORS

2009-02-24T03:53:00.000-08:00

0x800CCCD1 IMAP LOGINFAILURE - Login failed
0x800CCCD2 IMAP TAGGED NO RESPONSE - Message tagged
0x800CCCD3 IMAP BAD RESPONSE - Invalid response to request
0x800CCCD4 IMAP SVR SYNTAXERR - Syntax error
0x800CCCD5 IMAP NOTIMAPSERVER - Not an IMAP server
0x800CCCD6 IMAP BUFFER OVERFLOW - Buffer limit exceeded
0x800CCCD7 IMAP RECVR ERROR - Recovery error
0x800CCCD8 IMAP INCOMPLETE LINE - Incomplete data
0x800CCCD9 IMAP CONNECTION REFUSED - Connection not allowed
0x800CCCDA IMAP UNRECOGNISED RESP - Unknown response
0x800CCCDB IMAP CHANGEDUID - User ID has changed
0x800CCCDC IMAP UIDORDER - User ID command failed
0x800CCCDD IMAP UNSOLICITED BYE - Unexpected disconnect
0x800CCCDE IMAP IMPROPER SVRSTATE - Invalid server state
0x800CCCDF IMAP AUTH NOT POSSIBLE - Unable to authorize client
0x800CCCE0 IMAP OUT OF AUTH METHODS - No more authorization types

WINSOCK ERRORS

2009-02-24T03:52:00.000-08:00

0x800CCC40 WINSOCK WSASYSNOTREADY - Network subsystem is unusable
0x800CCC41 WINSOCK WSAVERNOTSUPPORTED - Windows Sockets cannot support this application
0x800CCC42 WINSOCK WSAEPROCLIM
0x800CCC43 WINSOCK WSAEFAULT - Bad address
0x800CCC44 WINSOCK FAILED WSASTARTUP - Unable to load Windows Sockets
0x800CCC45 WINSOCK WSAEINPROGRESS - Operation now in progress

RAS/DUN ERRORS

2009-02-24T03:50:00.000-08:00

RAS/DUN ERRORS

0x800CCCC2 RAS NOT INSTALLED - RAS/DUN not installed
0x800CCCC3 RAS PROCS NOT FOUND - RAS/DUN process not found
0x800CCCC4 RAS ERROR - RAS/DUN error returned
0x800CCCC5 RAS INVALID CONNECTOID - Connectoid damaged or missing
0x800CCCC6 RAS GET DIAL PARAMS - Error getting dial settings

NNTP ERRORS

2009-02-24T03:48:00.001-08:00

.
NNTP ERRORS

0x800CCCA0 NNTP RESPONSE ERROR - News server response error
0x800CCCA1 NNTP NEWSGROUPS FAILED - Newsgroup access failed
0x800CCCA2 NNTP LIST FAILED - LIST command to server failed
0x800CCCA3 NNTP LISTGROUP FAILED - Unable to display list
0x800CCCA4 NNTP GROUP FAILED - Unable to open group
0x800CCCA5 NNTP GROUP NOTFOUND - Group not on server
0x800CCCA6 NNTP ARTICLE FAILED - Message not on server
0x800CCCA7 NNTP HEAD FAILED - Message header not found
0x800CCCA8 NNTP BODY FAILED - Message body not found
0x800CCCA9 NNTP POST FAILED - Unable to post to server
0x800CCCAA NNTP NEXT FAILED - Unable to open next message
0x800CCCAB NNTP DATE FAILED - Unable to display date
0x800CCCAC NNTP HEADERS FAILED - Unable to display headers
0x800CCCAD NNTP XHDR FAILED - Unable to display MIME headers
0x800CCAE NNTP INVALID USERPASS - Invalid username or password

NNTP ERRORS

2009-02-24T03:48:00.000-08:00

.
NNTP ERRORS

0x800CCCA0 NNTP RESPONSE ERROR - News server response error
0x800CCCA1 NNTP NEWSGROUPS FAILED - Newsgroup access failed
0x800CCCA2 NNTP LIST FAILED - LIST command to server failed
0x800CCCA3 NNTP LISTGROUP FAILED - Unable to display list
0x800CCCA4 NNTP GROUP FAILED - Unable to open group
0x800CCCA5 NNTP GROUP NOTFOUND - Group not on server
0x800CCCA6 NNTP ARTICLE FAILED - Message not on server
0x800CCCA7 NNTP HEAD FAILED - Message header not found
0x800CCCA8 NNTP BODY FAILED - Message body not found
0x800CCCA9 NNTP POST FAILED - Unable to post to server
0x800CCCAA NNTP NEXT FAILED - Unable to open next message
0x800CCCAB NNTP DATE FAILED - Unable to display date
0x800CCCAC NNTP HEADERS FAILED - Unable to display headers
0x800CCCAD NNTP XHDR FAILED - Unable to display MIME headers
0x800CCAE NNTP INVALID USERPASS - Invalid username or password

Outlook Express error codes

2009-02-24T03:35:00.000-08:00

.
I could get some common error Outlook Express error codes

0x800CCC00 LOAD SICILY FAILED - Authentication did not load.
0x800CCC01 INVALID CERTIFICATE CONTENT
0x800CCC02 INVALID CERTIFICATE DATE
0x800CCC03 USER ALREADY CONNECTED
0x800CCC04 CONN
0x800CCC05 NOT CONNECTED TO SERVER
0x800CCC06 CONN SEND
0x800CCC07 WOULD BLOCK
0x800CCC08 INVALID STATE
0x800CCC09 CONN RECV
0x800CCC0A MESSAGE DOWNLOAD INCOMPLETE
0x800CCC0B SERVER OR MAILDROP IS BUSY
0x800CCC0C NOT INIT
0x800CCC0D CANT FIND HOST - Cannot locate server
0x800CCC0E FAILED TO CONNECT - Cannot connect to server
0x800CCC0F CONNECTION DROPPED
0x800CCC10 INVALID ADDRESS - Address not known on server
0x800CCC11 INVALID ADDRESS LIST - Mailing list not known on the server
0x800CCC12 SOCKET READ ERROR - Unable to send Winsock request
0x800CCC13 SOCKET WRITE ERROR - Unable to read Winsock
0x800CCC14 SOCKET INIT ERROR - Unable to initialise Winsock.
0x800CCC15 SOCKET CONNECT ERROR - Unable to open Windows socket
0x800CCC16 INVALID ACCOUNT - User account not recognised
0x800CCC17 USER CANCEL
0x800CCC18 SICILY LOGON FAILED - Logon attempt failed
0x800CCC19 TIMEOUT
0x800CCC1A SECURE CONNECT FAILED - Unable to connect using SSL

Updates for Internet Explorer

2009-02-24T03:33:00.000-08:00

How to DOWNLOAD updates for Internet Explorer ? Please let me know how i can download updates .
tHANKS

Error "Internet Explorer could not install this search provider" when adding a Search provider

2009-02-24T03:30:00.000-08:00

Error "Internet Explorer could not install this search provider" when adding a Search provider

When you attempt to add a Search Provider, the following error message may appear:
Internet Explorer could not install this search provider.There was a problem with the search provider's information.

How to install internet explorer in ubuntu 7

2009-02-24T03:27:00.000-08:00

How to install the internet explorer in ubuntu 7.10?

Please help me with solutions

Internet Explorer 7 running side by side with IE6

2009-02-24T03:23:00.000-08:00

If you already have Internet Explorer 7 installed you might be interested in Multiple-IE . An installer for the standalone versions of IE6, IE5.5, IE5, IE4 & IE3!

First I would like to apologize to those who tried the previously published steps and missed up their IE6. Running IE7s.exe should fix everything for you.

Internet Explorer 7 is here! Microsoft officially released IE7 to the public after almost a year and a half of public beta testing.

The way in which we can run the release version of IE7 in standalone mode (side by side with IE6) hasn't changed much. Perhaps the only change is that without the launch program (in other words without the registry entries) IE7 auto-registers all the dlls that came with it rendering IE6 useless.

As usual there are two ways; the automatic one with the installer or the manual one.

**Skip this part if you're after the installer...**

The following steps should get IE7 up and running

Extract the IE7 self-extracting archive with WinRar or using the /x switch
IE7-WindowsXP-x86-enu.exe /x

Navigate to the update directory of the extracted archive and run xmllitesetup.exe (This will enable limited support of tabbed browsing)
Download IE7s.exe from the link below.
Run IE7s.exe with your fingers crossed.

To enable conditional CSS support you need to edit the windows registry:

Click Start -> Run...
type "regedit" to start the registry editor.
Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Version Vector
rename the key "IE" to "xIE".
**Using the installer**

Download and run the installer from the link below.
It will automatically download the English x86 version of IE7 from Microsoft's servers.
Start IE7s.exe with your fingers crossed.
Obviously some features will be broken like :

Context menus (the one you see when you right click on an empty space).
The main menu bar.
Disabling popup blocker.
Feed reader.
Installing ActiveX components and ActiveX support.
Showing combo-boxes
Web pages that require authentication.
Adding search providers via websites (like this one for example)
The only way to fix this is to install IE7 using the official installer. The reason is that they require replacing certain keys used by IE6 in the windows registry

Internet Explorer 7 Install Error - yiyu

2009-02-24T03:22:00.000-08:00

I'v got the Update of Internet Explorer 7, but i couldn't install it with theError Code 0xF00D. I'v tried many times, but couldn't get it. Cansomebodyhelp me?

Error message: "Internet Explorer 7 could not be installed"

2009-02-24T03:17:00.000-08:00

Before you install Internet Explorer 7 disable antivirus or antispyware programs. The install internet explorer again.

Windows Vista Fax Console

2009-02-24T03:09:00.000-08:00

Windows Fax & Scan is only included in Ultimate and Enterprise versions of
Vista.
Start/All Programs/Windows Fax & Scan
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/features/detail...axscan.

Other efitions use Google to find a cheap alternative or try Snappy Fax.

What happened to Fax Console?

2009-02-24T03:07:00.000-08:00

In this version of Windows, Fax Console has been replaced by Windows Fax and Scan. With Windows Fax and Scan, you can use your computer to fax and scan your documents and pictures.

To get started using Windows Fax and Scan:
1. Click the Start button , click All Programs, and then click Windows Fax and Scan.

2. At the bottom of the left pane, click Fax or Scan to use Fax view or Scan view.
Using Fax view, you can send and receive faxes, create cover pages, and forward faxes as e‑mail attachments. Using Scan view, you can scan documents and pictures, create and save scanning preferences for reuse, and send scanned documents and pictures as fax or e‑mail attachments.

E-mail, chat, & VoIP : Fax Console - Can Send, but not Receive

2009-02-24T03:03:00.000-08:00

Question: Fax Console - Can Send, but not Receive
I have XP, sp2, modem, telephone line. I can send faxes but cannot receive. I've searched articles and enabled receive on the fax console.
It rings, I click 'receive fax', and get an error message. The modem tests working properly (obviously, since I can send).

Ans:
I can't copy the error message at this time because I need someone to try to send a fax to copy the error. It was pretty ambiguous anyway, like - "there was an error in receiving the fax". The line rings, a window pops up to click to receive a fax, which I did. Then I get the error.

This was after I successfully sent a fax as a test. Sending is no problem, receiving is a no go.

I have a Dell XPS400, Windows XP Media Edition, Service Pack 2. I am using the Microsoft Fax Console Version 5.1 included in XP Media.

Configuration Summary:

Devices configured to send faxes:
Intel(R) 537EP V9x DF PCI Modem
The TSID of these devices is xxx-xxx-5123.

Devices configured to receive faxes:
Intel(R) 537EP V9x DF PCI Modem
Devices are configured to answering incoming fax calls manually.
The CSID of these devices is xxx-xxx-5123.

Received faxes will be:
Stored in C:\Documents and Settings\MY NAME\My Documents\Received Faxes.

Open the Fax Console (Start > All Programs > Accessories > Communication).The Fax Console is set up very similar to the way an email client works. There is an "Inbox" for faxes you have received, and a "Sent Items" for faxes you have sent. Double-click on a fax in your inbox to view it. You can also email and print faxes. Faxes that you are in the process of receiving are located under "Incoming."If there was an error in receiving a fax, an error message is displayed here.I use that error message to see if Microsoft has it listed at http://support.microsoft.com But without the error it's anyone's guess which error it was.

I need to Install Windows Fax and Scanning Options

2009-02-24T02:59:00.000-08:00

Question I have Vista Home Premium - I can not use the scanner on my HP 6210 all in
one - HP says I need to scan from Windows Fax and Scanning but I can not find
that program - Was it an option when installing Vista - If it was how do I
now install it?

Ans: it's only included in Windows Vista Ultimate, as far as I know. I have a similar problem, and had to complain that there was no software for my HP OfficeJet available. But now there seems to be the installation pack of the full software downloadable: http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareList?os=2093&lc=en&cc=us&d...

Atoall.com makes English Knowledge Irrelevant for Net Surfers

2009-02-20T05:44:00.000-08:00

Bhatinda, Punjab, India, Friday, February 20, 2009 -- There is a brilliant new internet technology that uses keyboard shortcuts to access Google, Orkut, Yahoo, Microsoft and similar such popular sites making the entire online surfing experience easy. This new internet technology search engine invention will allow users to access all most popular websites by the use of simple shortcuts. For example, if a user wants to visit Google, he will have to type the following three consecutive letters in the keyboard, "gghhjj.com". To visit Orkut, they will have to just type, ookkmm.com.

This new technology is made available to everyone by a team of eight Indian net-savvy youth. They have named their theory as 'Angle Theory of Atoall.com'. The intention of this invention is to make the internet and websites on the web accessible to all including the illiterates. They believe that this new internet technology search engine invention will make online surfing experience easy for English speaking users, non-English speaking users too can now access web pages without any difficulty, and it is possible for illiterate people to access websites of their interest.

For people to access web pages, they must know English. But not all users know English. But, they need not to be worry any more about their inability to use the internet because they have a new way of interacting with the World Wide Web.

While explaining this new technology, Mr. Sanjeev Singla the Managing Director of Atoall.com said that, "One has to type three letters twice on the computer keyboard which are in a straight line, 'C' or inverted 'C', 'V' or inverted 'V' twice followed by dot (.) com or ctrl+enter (its for www. .com). Shortcut keys are together on the keyboard e.g. rrddcc.com, ccddrr.com, mmjjnn.com, nnjjmm.com etc. We can earn 36 billions US$ annually from this invention because illiterate can also use the internet by Atoall.com's Angle Theory. So, non English persons can get benefits of internet technology."

This new technology search engine invention does not only have keyboard shortcuts to Google, Orkut, Yahoo, Microsoft, etc., users will also be able to access their favorite games sites, access videos, etc. Language will no more be a barrier. People from all language backgrounds can use this new technology.
In their new invention, according to Mr. Rinkle Sharma, they did not violate any rules and regulations of the internet. Everything is absolutely legal. Moreover, this new concept of interacting with the web does not require users to install any new software product.

About Atoall.com

This company is managed by a team of eight young internet savvy Indians who have come up with a highly innovative technology that removes the language barriers on the World Wide Web. Their new system is capable of increasing the over all percentage of internet users by another thirty percent

Source:Atoall.com, Business Wire India

Yahoo offers iPhone-like service

2009-02-18T00:40:00.000-08:00

BARCELONA: Yahoo announced a new mobile service that will deliver an iPhone-like experience for people who cannot or will not splash out for the i conic but pricey Apple device as times get hard.

Yahoo Mobile will launch at the end of March in a form downloadable to any phone with a Web browser and from May in custom versions for hundreds of smartphones.

"There is a growing number of consumers out there who are not Apple iPhone users but want a rich starting experience," Marco Boerries, the head of Yahoo's mobile division said.

Yahoo will also launch a version of Yahoo Mobile, designed to be a starting point for users to access the Internet, for the iPhone itself at the end of March. A test version for a limited number of public users is going live this week.

Yahoo Mobile offers a front page with colourful, boxy icons resembling the iPhone's for launching popular applications such as a Web browser, mail, news, weather and social network sites like Facebook.

Users also have the option to easily add any software or website they choose to download on their phones. The company plans in coming months to promote Yahoo Mobile via a series of 70 major operator partnerships it has struck to reach 850 million mobile subscribers around the globe.

Fifty of those partnerships already offer Yahoo services and the company expects the rest to adopt Yahoo Mobile in coming months, Boerries said. Yahoo has developed versions that work on hundreds of mid-range and high-end mobile phones from BlackBerry maker RIM, Nokia, Samsung, Sony Ericsson and Motorola, as well as phones running Microsoft Windows.

Boerries defines the universe of phones that can effectively run Yahoo Mobile as "every phone that's shipped in the last two years that has a dec
ent HTML-capable browser." He added, "We don't want to make lowest common denominator stuff."

A more general version of the service downloadable from the Web will also work on older phones but will not be tailored to those phones' specifications. Boerries demonstrated it on an old Sony Ericsson model.

Boerries said last year's on-again off-again talks with would-be buyer Microsoft had not significantly distracted his team, and said he had kept his key staff together for years.

After some prior delays in introducing services such as Yahoo Go, Boerries professed relief that his fuller vision of putting the Web on phones had arrived on time: "It is really, for me, making it all come together." "This is like the uber-replacement of Yahoo Go."

Soruce: http://infotech.indiatimes.com/News/Internet/Yahoo_offers_iPhone-like_service/articleshow/msid-4147395,curpg-2.cms

Google to offer paid smartphone applications

2009-02-14T03:19:00.000-08:00

SAN FRANCISCO: Google Inc will allow developers to sell applications for its Android cell phone operating system beginning next week in the United States, as the search giant strives to expand in a smartphone arena dominated by Apple Inc.

Google's announcement marked an important step in the search giant's quest to catch up with Apple in the fast-growing market for smartphones.

It signals Google's commitment to expand into a relatively hot mobile market, even as it pulls back on certain other initiatives such as broadcast radio.

Google said in a blog post on Friday its Android Market will initially carry paid applications from developers in the United States and Britain, with plans to allow developers in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, France and Spain to participate later this quarter.

That could present an outlet for developers such as Electronic Arts Inc that have been anxious to expand sales of their mobile phone games to the Android Market, which has been limited to free applications until now.

Smartphones, which allow consumers to browse the Web, send email, play games and listen to music, in addition to making calls, are one of the few bright spots in a slowing technology and consumer electronics market.

While overall unit sales of cell phones declined 12.6 percent year-over-year in the fourth quarter, smartphone shipments increased 22.5 percent, according to research firm Gartner.

The T-Mobile G1 phone uses the Android operating system.

The availability of applications that run on a particular smartphone are important to define and distinguish the product, said analyst Rob Enderle of the Enderle Group.

"It's what's providing that extra value and getting people into the stores," he said. Apple, for instance, enticed a large community of developers to create both paid and free applications for its iPhone.

According to a Google spokeswoman, there are currently 1,000 applications that run on Android smartphones. Consumers will buy the forthcoming paid Android applications via the Google Checkout payment product.

Soruce: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Business/Google-to-offer-paid-cell-applications/articleshow/4129009.cms

Gmail gets Multiple Inboxes

2009-02-10T20:30:00.000-08:00

NEW DELHI: Gmail has got another new feature: Multiple Inboxes. The new feature from Gmail Labs allows users to have more than one inbox in their default Gmail view. That is the new tool lets users see up to four lists of email messages in addition to their inbox, all on one screen.

Labels and filters are two Gmail features that allow users to highlight and handle email based on their own search criteria. While these features help them stay organised, a user needs to switch between views to see what's going under each Label or Filter. Multiple Inboxes aims to clean that up and enable users to see all their different lists at a glance.

In a company blog post, Google software engineer Octavian 'Vivi' said, "I'm seriously into filters and labels. All the email I get related to Flash goes under my 'flash' label, everything about paragliding goes under 'flying', and they all skip my inbox because that's how I like to stay organized. But when new email arrives I have to switch to the 'flash' label first, then click on 'paragliding', etc. I wanted a way to see it all at once."

According to Google, once a user, turns on Multiple Inboxes from the Labs tab under Settings, he can configure what he wants to see, as well as set the number of messages displayed and the positioning of his panels from the Multiple Inboxes section under Settings.

Source: http://infotech.indiatimes.com/News/Gmail_gets_Multiple_Inboxes/articleshow/4104561.cms

How to boost Windows Vista speed

2009-02-09T01:01:00.000-08:00

Windows 7 with its commendable performance improvements may be on the horizon. But for now, most of us have to live with Windows Vista, which can make even the fastest computer seem slow.

But you don't have to put up with Vista's sluggishness without a fight. In fact, most of what ails Vista when it comes to performance can be remedied by adjusting some settings and eliminating some features.

And the good news: The whole process need not take more than half an hour. Afterwards, you'll be rewarded a computer that feels a lot faster.

Turn off window animation
Vista went overboard with window animation -- the almost slow -- motion visual effect that occurs when you minimise or maximise an application. Whether you think the animation is cool or not, it's indisputable that it slows you down -- or at least it seems to.

Luckily, turning off window animation is possible, and doing so will not affect other types of interface animation that you may enjoy in Vista. Open the Windows Control Panel, click System and Maintenance, Performance Information and Tools, Advanced Tools from the task pane at the left, and then click "Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows". A user account control dialog box will prompt you, and you should click Continue. The Performance Options dialog box will open.

On the Visual Effects tab of the Performance Options dialog box, you have four choices: "Let Windows choose what's best for my computer", "Adjust for best appearance", "Adjust for best performance", and "Custom". "Custom" is followed by a list of individual check boxes that allow you to determine exactly which visual effects you would like to turn on or off.

To start, click "Custom", and then remove the check mark next to the "Animate windows when minimising and maximising". De-activating that option will make your applications and other windows snap into and out of view immediately rather than gradually. Changing this setting alone may be enough to make Vista feel snappier for you, and you could stop there and see how you like the change.

Go to 'Adjust for best performance'
you're working on an underpowered or a really old machine and want to configure Vista's interface so that it uses a minimum of system resources, simply select the "Adjust for best performance" option. Doing so will remove virtually all of Vista's interface enhancements, but it will reduce the load on your computer.

If you want to get rid of all of Vista's fancy - but resource zapping - visual niceties, you can revisit the Performance Options dialog box and turn off a few more of the effects.

Turn off UAC (User account control)
User account control (UAC) is supposed to keep you safe from malicious software. But the penalty is that at every turn, you're prompted to provide Windows permission to carry out some action -- from deleting files to installing applications -- that you specifically requested.

It's an annoyance. You probably lived fine without UAC for many years. Plus you also likely run antivirus or anti-spyware software that keeps a lookout for possible harm. Then why not just turn UAC off?

It's easy enough to do. Open the Control Panel, and click User Accounts and Family Safety. Then click User Accounts. From the resulting User Accounts screen, click "Turn User Account Control on or off". On the next screen, remove the check mark from the box labelled "Use User Account Control (UAC) to help protect your computer". Click OK. You'll have to restart your computer, but once you do, those annoying UAC prompts will be gone.

Optimise indexing feature
Whether you like Vista's new indexing feature or not, you can optimise the way it works or disable it altogether. Open the Vista Control Panel, and click System and Maintenance, followed by Indexing

In the resulting Indexing Options dialog box, you can control which drives and folders get indexed by clicking the Modify button. Click Advanced to specify which file types are indexed.

Limiting the drives, folders, and file types that are indexed will reduce the amount of time that Vista spends indexing, and it will therefore reduce the overhead required by the indexing feature and consequently speed up your computer.

Making the few interface and operational tweaks here typically allows Vista to perform on a par with Windows XP. And for now, while the world waits for the even snappier Windows 7, that's probably good enough.

Source: http://infotech.indiatimes.com/quickiearticleshow/4097488.cms

Virus that steals money on prowl

2009-02-09T00:59:00.000-08:00

MOSCOW: A virus that attacks the mobile phones in Russia and 'steals money' by sending unauthorised SMS texts to gain control over the bank account, could spread global, experts here have warned.

The virus that had only previously been seen in Russia, has now been found on an Indonesian cellphone, a leading antivirus lab has informed.

"The unauthorised operating of mobile phone users' accounts will gain momentum in future, and spread all across the world," Denis Maslennikov, a virus analyst for the Moscow-based Kaspersky Lab was quoted as saying by 'Russia Today' TV.

The virus gains unauthorised control over the cell account and then sends an SMS to a service number, requesting a money transfer from the victims account.

The yet unnamed virus is a Trojan and takes control of the victim's mobile account, and steals money from it.

Those at risk are phones which run the Symbian file system for mobile devises and have SMS money transfer enabled. As wireless phone and PDA networks become more numerous and complex, it has become increasingly difficult to secure them against viruses. Though a major mobile epidemic is still to come, a few viruses are already active.

Source: http://infotech.indiatimes.com/News/Internet/Virus_that_steals_money_on_prowl/articleshow/4097349.cms

Hidden’ features of Apple iLife `09

2009-02-06T23:43:00.000-08:00

Apple recently released upgraded its suite of iLife applications. Apple iLife `09 packs updates to iPhoto, iMovie and GarageBand. The package also includes iWeb '09 for creating Web sites and iDVD '09 for creating DVDs.

Apple unveiled the iLife upgrade at the Macworld conference in San Francisco last month.

Here's a look into some of the most interesting and not-so-known features of Apple iLife `09.

iPhoto: Not for animals
One of the most innovative feature in the upgrade is in the iPhoto application. Apple has added face-recognition technology to enable users to organise and find photos based on the faces of subjects.

However, this face tech is for humans still to `match up' animals. iPhoto's facial recognition abilities are not designed for use on animals. Though if your furry friend is distinctively different, it may work too!

Go Facebooking
iPhoto app will also automatically tag all the photos in Facebook. All you need to do is hit the new 'send album to Facebook' button. Also, make sure that when you've indentified the faces, you add in their Facebook names.

In addition, the software is able to read the geo tags placed in photos by the global positioning systems in the latest digital cameras and Apple's iPhone 3G. By reading the data, the software can organize and locate photos based on where they were taken.

Offers tuition
Here's your new teacher. GarageBand ’09 offers the easiest way to learn piano and guitar, right on your Mac. Follow along at your own pace with interactive lessons that teach you the fundamentals through HD video instruction, synchronized notation, and animated onscreen instruments.

You can learn to play either the guitar or the piano, taking lessons from the likes of Sting, Norah Jones and Fallout Boy. Users can also adjust which bits of the song they hear, from their instrument to the backing track and even their vocals.

No longer just MobileMe
With upgraded iWeb, users can create their site using themes. Customise it with photos, movies, text, and widgets. Plus, now you can also publish it on not just MobileMe but on any hosting service.

iWeb even notifies Facebook when your site changes and adds a link to your profile so your friends stay up to date.

Simple cut to music
According to reviews, editing the music has become easier. Users can pick a song, pick their clips, and iMovie will automatically make the transition in time with the beat. They can also do this with still images, since these are accessible in iMovie as well.

iMovie now also identifies jittery motion and reduces it by comparing frames of video to subsequent and previous frames.

Keynote remote
Another addition is Keynote Remote application. This works the same way as the existing iTunes Remote. On iPod Touch/iPhone screen the top half has a miniature of the current slide, whilst underneath users can get their speaker notes.

There's now also the option to have the document appear as a full page. This means that everything else on your desktop will disappear. If the user hovers his mouse at the top, the formatting tools will appear.

iWork.com
Also available from Apple is the all new iWork.com public beta. This allows users to put their documents online using their Apple ID and by simply clicking the iWork.com icon in the Keynote, Pages or Number toolbar. Comments and notes too can be posted plus a copy of the document is also downloadable.

This basically means that anyone with iWork `09 can send a link to anyone, who can then be able to see a copy of the document, spreadsheet or presentation online. There is also the option to make comments, engage in a chat in a sidebar or download it themselves.

As a collaboration service, iWork.com is an Apple-centric version of similar services available from Google and other technology companies. However, while most of such services are largely free, Apple plans to eventually charge for the use of iWork.com. The beta version, however, is available free.

Source: http://infotech.indiatimes.com/quickiearticleshow/4088081.cms

Google brings e-books to iPhone, G1

2009-02-06T23:42:00.000-08:00

WASHINGTON: Google is making its vast online library of books available for mobile phones.

"We are excited to announce the launch of a mobile version of Google Book Search, opening up over 1.5 million mobile public domain books in the US (and over half a million outside the US) for you to browse," the company said.

The Internet search giant, in a post on the Google Book Search blog, said mobile versions of the books could be read on devices such as the Apple iPhone or T-Mobile G1, which is powered by Google's Android software.

"These new mobile editions are optimised to be read on a small screen," Google said. "With this launch, we believe that we've taken an important step toward more universal access to books."

To access the mobile version of Google Book Search a user needs to type http://books.google.com/m into the Web browser of their iPhone or Android phone.

Google's announcement comes just days ahead of the expected unveiling by Amazon of a new generation version of its popular electronic book reader, the Kindle, at a New York press conference on Monday.

Amazon is also planning to make its online store of e-books for the Kindle available on mobile phones, the New York Times reported.

"We are excited to make Kindle books available on a range of mobile phones," Drew Herdener, an Amazon spokesman, told the Times. "We are working on that now." The Amazon spokesman did not provide any further details.

Google will initially only be offering books in the public domain -- those which are not under copyright -- for mobile phones.

Amazon, on the other hand, offers the latest releases and 230,000 titles in all, including 103 of the 112 current New York Times bestsellers.

Source: http://infotech.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4091740.cms

Yahoo launches what Google killed

2009-02-05T03:09:00.000-08:00

SAN FRANCISCO: Yahoo Inc is panning for gold in waters that Google Inc abandoned.

Yahoo said in a blog post this week that it was testing a new tool to help people better organize the bounty of information that crops up while doing research on the Web. Search Pad is similar in concept to Google Notebook -- a product the Web-search leader opted to halt development on last month.

But the fact that Google threw in the towel on a product does not mean Yahoo is wasting its time, say some analysts. The companies' differing financial and competitive positions mean what is right for one might not make sense for the other.

Google, which controls roughly 63 percent of the US search market, is taking a hard look at its operating expenses to preserve its operating margin in a slowing economy, including the slew of non-essential projects it traditionally supported.

Yahoo, whose 2008 revenue rose 3 percent to $7.2 billion, is in dire need of a new growth strategy, say analysts.

Investors might be more tolerant of projects that pressure profit margins at Yahoo if there is a chance of a payoff, said Sandeep Aggarwal an analyst at Collins Stewart, speaking in general terms and not of Search Pad specifically.

"Yahoo cannot give up on other projects," he said. Yahoo, which recently hired Carol Bartz as chief executive to revive its fortunes, is in a "transformation phase" after turning down a $47.5 billion buyout offer from Microsoft Corp last year and seeing a search advertising partnership with Google fall apart under antitrust scrutiny.

Search Pad predates Bartz's arrival, said Yahoo Search Senior Director of Product Management Tom Chi.

It stems from a realization that Web surfers use search engines not just to find the link to a particular site, but to conduct research on everything from buying a new car to learning about a medical condition.

The product detects when a person appears to be doing research on a specific topic and offers to catalog the findings in a special window within the Yahoo search page. A person can use Search Pad to clip a portion of a website, such as a book review on Amazon.com Inc, add notes to various clippings and save the results as part of their online profile.

Yahoo will begin offering Search Pad to a limited set of Web surfers on Wednesday. Google continues to support Notebook for existing users but no longer updates the product with new features and will not allow new users to sign up for the service.

According to Pacific Crest Securities analyst Steve Weinstein, Yahoo's best prospect for taking market share in the search business is increasingly about the user experience.

"As it stands right now, no one would shift from using Google, or any other site, just because (a different search engine is) one basis point more relevant," said Weinstein, who has a "sector perform" rating on Yahoo and whose firm makes a market in Yahoo shares.

"They really need to find some kind of experience that will make people think Yahoo is unique," he said.

(Reporting by Alexei Oreskovic; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)

Source: http://infotech.indiatimes.com/News/Internet/Yahoo_launches_what_Google_killed/articleshow/msid-4079852,curpg-2.cms

6 new features in Gmail

2009-02-05T03:06:00.000-08:00

Gmail Tasks for iPhone, Android
Google also rolled out its Task app for the iPhone and Android handset, the G1. The feature will enable users to manage their task lists or to-do-lists on these devices, and access it from any xhtml-enabled phone.

To have tasks list enabled, users need to go to gmail.com/tasks, from any iPhone or Android phone and go ahead with the list that always remains in sync. Add new tasks, and cancel off the ones that are completed. Users can also get the tasks icon on their homescreen.

Gmail video
Gmail and Google App subscribers can now choose to speak with friends on a video screen and simultaneously instant message them in a Google chat box. The video screen can be popped out of the chat box and moved around a user's computer screen. Users can also change the size of the screen and expand it to full-screen size.

The condition being that both the user and his contact have computers equipped with Web cameras and microphones. Businesses that have bought an enterprise version of Gmail, found within the Google Apps software package, will also receive the feature at no extra cost.

PDF Viewer
Google has added support for PDF document viewing in Gmail. Users can see a View link in an email with a PDF attachment.

Click View and the PDF document opens inside your browser with formatting options like those available with Google Docs. The PDF can be viewed in HTML as well as in a new viewer. The document can also be downloaded.

With the transition, the option to open up PDFs as HTML pages straight from the message has gone; however, it still remains as a viewing option once the user is in the new PDF view and in search results from Google.com.

Source: http://infotech.indiatimes.com/quickiearticleshow/4075013.cms

6 new features in Gmail

2009-02-05T02:58:00.000-08:00

Seems Yahoo will soon have a new foe to content with? And a formidable one. The Internet search giant Google is fast ramping up its free email, adding new features at a dizzying speed. And since Google makes money every time email users click on ads, it is enhancing its email service to increase advertising and in turn taking away marketshare from Yahoo.

So far, Yahoo leads in email marketshare, followed by Microsoft. Gmail is still a distant third. Moving away from numbers, here's looking into all the new features that Gmail has added in the recent past in its endeavour to climb up the ranking ladder.

Offline access
For those who live out of Gmail but don't have Internet connection 24X7, here's a surprise gift from Google. Google has rolled out a way by which Gmail users can access their accounts offline.

Google will cache users messages on their system using Google Gears. Once you install the Google Gears plug-in to your browser from the Gmail Lab, Gmail detects when you are offline. All you will have to do is open Gmail.com in your browser, see your inbox, read and label messages and even write replies without a Net connection. Your messages will send once your system reconnects to the Web.

The new version caches your email so that you can read it, respond to it, search it, star it, or label it. When you are connected to the Internet again, it sends all the messages that you have prepared while being offline. You can even open attachments.

According to Gmail Engineer Andy Palay, “Gmail uses Gears to download a local cache of your mail. As long as you're connected to the network, that cache is synchronised with Gmail's servers. When you lose your connection, Gmail automatically switches to offline mode, and uses the data stored on your computer's hard drive instead of the information sent across the network. You can read messages, star and label them, and do all of the things you're used to doing while reading your webmail online. Any messages you send while offline will be placed in your outbox and automatically sent the next time Gmail detects a connection.”

New ways to label
One of the features that makes Gmail different is its use of labels instead of folders. The Google mail recently added another user-friendly way to organise users' mails.

The feature allows users to archive and label emails in a single step. Google has revamped the buttons and menus along the top of the Gmail inbox. The new buttons lets users use the "Move to" button, which labels and archive an email in a single step, rather than the two steps it used to take.

There is a separate button for labels, which are now supported with auto-complete. Start typing the first few letters of a label, and list of suggested labels appears from which a user can select the one he wants.

In case he wants to add or remove a label, he can use the new "Labels" button. Also, Google has added new keyboard shortcuts to support these functions. Use "v" for "Move to" and "l" (lowercase L) for "Labels."

Tasks
This seems a new `Green' in Gmail. Wondering how? Despite dual-core CPUs, 30" monitors and high speed internet connections, it was not hard to find many Googlers turn to paper chits to track their tasks. Gmail Tasks aims to curtail (if can't end) just this. Gmail Tasks claim to make editing as fast and simple -- as close to doing it on paper.

The feature is designed to help users keep a better track of their daily tasks by creating their daily to-do list. `Tasks' sit in the same Window as chats, so is visible while users read his email, use the search function or do other tasks. To enable Tasks, go to Settings; click the Labs tab. Select `Enable' next to `Tasks' and then click `Save Changes' at the bottom. Then, after Gmail refreshes, on the left under the `Contacts' link, users can see a `Tasks' link. Just click on it to get started.

To enter a new Task, users just need to click on an empty part of their list and start typing. No buttons to click and it's saved automatically. Hit Return and there's a new task right there.

Source: http://infotech.indiatimes.com/quickiearticleshow/4075006.cms

Can Google Android save Motorola?

2009-02-03T02:46:00.000-08:00

NEW YORK: Motorola Inc is betting on Google Inc's Android cellphone software to liven up its next generation of devices, but analysts doubt it is enough to revive the fortunes of the mobile phone maker.

The decision by Motorola co-chief executive Sanjay Jha to pare the mobile devices unit by 25 per cent, and to scale back the number of devices and software platforms Motorola develops, are practical moves for a company whose phone sales dropped by a half in just a year.

But even analysts who recommend Motorola shares do not expect these plans to soon revive the company, which is fighting increasingly stiff competition with fewer resources and demoralised workers.

"I'm bullish on the stock, not at all on the handsets," said Goldman analyst Simona Jankowski. "I feel their position in handsets is awful and will get worse."

Jankowski only recommends Motorola shares on the premise that the price does not reflect the value of non-handset businesses, such as television set-top boxes and wireless network gear, and an estimate that an implied valuation handicap of US$5 billion for the cellphone unit is too severe.

Motorola shares have fallen more than 60 per cent in the last year, giving the company a market value of US$10.28 billion on Monday, based on a share price of $4.55.

Analysts say Motorola will find it tough to compete in a cutthroat market where the focus has turned to software and inventive user interfaces, such as touchscreens popularised by Apple's iPhone.

"That's extraordinarily difficult. Motorola has never shown it can innovate in software, ever," said Current Analysis analyst Avi Greengart.

He said Motorola's strength in hardware shown by phones such as Razr, a hit in 2004 and 2005, and the Renew, its latest device made from recycled bottles, would be little help.

"They're competing in a software era using hardware and their products have been stale for two years," Greengart said.
Many analysts welcomed Motorola's decision to develop a phone for later this year using Google's open-source Android operating system, instead of
several rival systems including home-grown software.

But the problem is that rivals are also using Android. "If you come out with a plain vanilla Android phone in the second half, you're no better off," said Greengart.

Besides iPhone, market leader Nokia, and Android rivals such as HTC, Motorola also needs to battle Palm and its highly anticipated Pre phone, and Research In Motion, whose BlackBerry email phones have a passionately loyal following.

And Jha has to do this with 5,000 fewer cellphone workers. Nobody disputes the need for cost cuts to reflect shrinking sales, and some analysts are looking for more. But company morale is a worry.

"My sense is that handset employees are more concerned about job security than getting the new products out," said American Technology Research analyst Mark McKechnie.

These employees will be further tested in the coming months as analysts expect continuing market share losses and device sale unit declines for at least two more quarters.

The company, which reports earnings on February 3, has warned it would post a net loss of seven cents to eight cents per share on revenue of US$7 billion to 7.2 billion, with phone sales down to 19 million units from 40.9 million a year ago.

Motorola slid to fifth place in the global handset market in the fourth quarter, down one notch from the quarter before.

Goldman's Jankowski sees Motorola phone sales falling to 14 million in the current quarter and to 13 million in the June quarter, before edging back up to 20 million in December.

UBS analyst Maynard Um said it makes sense for the company to focus on keeping its carrier customers up to date while it develops the new phone. He noted that Motorola still has a recognisable brand and an established distribution channel working in its favour.

"There's always a chance they will (recover)" he said. "Is it going to be more difficult? Absolutely."

Source: http://infotech.indiatimes.com/News/Telecom/Can_Google_Android_save_Motorola/articleshow/msid-4069778,curpg-2.cms

Inside Google Earth 5.0

2009-02-03T02:40:00.000-08:00

Now you can dive into oceans, view images of Mars and watch regions of the Earth change over time, all through the new version of Google Earth.

The Internet search giant Google has launched Google Earth 5.0 that will allow users to swim through undersea canyons as deep as the Mariana Trench and encounter creatures like endangered prehistoric fishes. The new version marks a significant upgrade to Google Earth, a popular software programme that provides access to the world's geographical information through digital maps, satellite imagery and the company's search tools.

Google Earth 5.0 takes data from over 80 organisations, including the US Navy, the National Geographic Society and the Marine Conservation society to provide maps of the underwater sections of the earth, including undersea mountains, shipwrecks and the deepest part of the planet.

Here’s a peek into all the all-new Google Earth 5.0.

What is Google Earth
Launched in 2005, Google Earth is a free Internet application that combines satellite images and users content about the planet.

Available in 41 languages, Google Earth has been downloaded more than 500 million times since its launch. Google Inc has updated its online map of the world to add the more than two- thirds of the planet that lies underwater and provide a way to view changes to glaciers and other geography over time.

Its latest version, Google Earth 5.0, offers users a virtual dive beneath the waves, allowing them to explore ocean beds, marine life and even shipwrecks.

Explore oceans
Google Earth 5.0 lets users plunge beneath the ocean's surface, explore three-dimensional images of the underwater terrain and view articles and videos about marine science contributed by scientists and organisations such as the National Geographic Society.

Users can explore the ocean with marine experts, including National Geographic. Learn about ocean observations, climate change, and endangered species. Also, discover new places including surf, dive, and travel hotspots and shipwrecks.

Touring
Another new feature in Google Earth is Touring. Touring allows users to record and share narrated fly-through tours of Google Earth using imagery from the application.

Google 5.0 takes placemarks a step further and records a free-form tour. Users can simply turn on the touring feature, press record, and see the world. They can also add a soundtrack or narration to personalise the journey.

Historical imagery
The Historical Imagery feature lets users see archive satellite images of individual locations to see how the region has evolved over time as a result of climate change and other forces. For example, viewers can observe how the largest glacier in Glacier National Park has melted over the past decade.

The new "timeline" feature allows a user to view a succession of satellite images of the same location over the years, tracking changes to the environment. Users can see the impact of recent trends like suburban sprawl or global warming. They can also set the length of time and the exact location that they want to see

3D Mars
Google also unveiled a three-dimensional map of Mars based on satellite images, as well as panoramic photos taken from the Mars Rovers.

With Google Mars 3D, users can view three-dimensional, satellite imagery of the Red Planet taken during NASA space expeditions.

By selecting "Mars" from the toolbar in Google Earth, users have access to what amounts to Google Mars Street View -- a way to tour the portions of the Martian surface mapped by NASA's rovers.

The Mars mode provides high-resolution views of the planet and enables users to virtually fly through canyons and scale mountains on Mars, according to NASA. Users can also explore the planet through the eyes of the Mars rovers. The new version also allows users to create narrated tours of places using the software's content and images

Record your trip
Users can also record their trip from point A to point Z. Capture their navigation through Google Earth in real-time, without using placemarks. They can narrate their virtual journey and share it with friends. Saved tours and trips can be reused and revisited in the future.

Soruce: http://infotech.indiatimes.com/quickiearticleshow/4069185.cms

Human error `harms' Google

2009-02-02T03:09:00.000-08:00

SAN FRANCISCO: Google said that for nearly an hour on Saturday, users got an erroneous message when they did searches on many sites, saying, "This site may harm your computer."

The problem began at 9:30 a.m. ET and ended at 10:25 a.m. ET

"What happened? Very simply, human error," the company said on its blog. Google said it flags search results with the message when a site is known to install malicious software. Instead, many other sites were affected.

A detailed explanation is available at the company's site, googleblog.blogspot.com.

(Reporting by David Lawsky; Editing by Xavier Briand)

Source: http://infotech.indiatimes.com/News/Human_error_harms_Google_/articleshow/4062670.cms

Best tech companies to work for

2009-01-29T22:10:00.000-08:00

Is Google the best tech company to work for, or is it Cisco, or Microsoft? The answer is none! In fact, none of the tech giants come close to NetApp, the storage and data management services provider which has been ranked as the best tech company by Fortune in its annual list of ‘100 Best Companies to Work For’.

The company topped the list due to its “employee enthusiasm for the legendary egalitarian culture,” according to Fortune. Google, which had topped the list for the past two years, significantly dropped to No. 4 this year.

Cisco too figured among the top 10. However, keeping in tune with the overall current global trend where tech companies have lost a lot of sheen as employers owing to recession, their position among the top 100 too has been shaken up.

Here is a list of these big daddies of the technology industry, where they ranked and how they fared as employers. Read on...

NetApp
US-headquartered NetApp tops the list of '100 Best Companies to Work For' in 2009. The company deals in storage and data management solutions.

Founded in 1992, the company has over 130 offices worldwide, 7,999 employees and clocked in $3.3 billion revenue in (FY2008).

The company, which rose to the top slot after six years on the list, was selected for its "employees enthusiasm" for the legendary egalitarian culture.

Fortune said the company gives workers five paid days for volunteer work, $11,390 for adoption assistance, as well as coverage for family members with autism. Average annual pay for the biggest group of salaried workers is $134,716.

Also, at a time when companies across the board are downsizing globally in a bid to save cost, NetApp is among a few who haven't still taken the pink slips route.

The company has more than $2 billion in cash on hand to help it ride out the global financial crisis.

Google
Google, which held the No. 1 spot for two years running in 2007 and 2008, slipped to fourth place this year. The Mountain View search company has been reportedly cutting back on some of its celebrated employee perks -- instead of a $1,000 holiday bonus, for example, workers this year got a free smartphone.

With tough economic environment hitting revenues, Google has taken to austerity measures, this includes cut in travel expenditure, perks and free food.

Perks may have reduced, however, Google still remains among the top workplaces. The search giant which celebrated its tenth birthday in 2008, still attracts 777,000 applicants a year.

And one thing must for all Googlites is exercising. There’s a workout room with weights and a rowing machine, and foosball, whirlpool and roller hockey matches happen twice a week at the parking lot.

And guess who can accompany you in your office? Pets are welcomed to the Google experience, provided people around your desk don’t object.

Cisco Systems
Networking major retains its sixth position in the list. The company which was at the same position last year too is focusing on collaborative efforts to give employees more say in decision-making.

Flexibility, trust, and empowerment are touted as the hallmarks of the employee-employer relationship at Cisco. Flexi work time, telecommuting, parenting and work opportunities also go a long way in making the company an employee favourite.

Founded in 1984 by a small group of computer scientists from Stanford University, Cisco's hardware, software, and service offerings are used to create Internet solutions.

With more than 67,647 employees worldwide, the company's mantra is to motivate employees for innovation. In 2007, the company recorded a revenue of $34,900 millions.

Adobe Systems
At number 11 in Fortune's 100 list, Adobe is the world's leading provider of software solutions to create, manage and deliver digital content.

Passion for technology, curiosity to learn new things, ability to work well in a team and speak fearlessly are some of the qualities that define Adobe's culture and makes the company an employer of choice.

California-based company has close to 6,900 employees across the globe, including North America, Europe, Japan and Asia Pacific. More than half of Adobe’s employees are located in the United States.

The company has an incubation programme where an employee who has a business/technology idea can choose to work full time on his area of interest. Key contact people in the HR and Facilities are available 24x7 to employees in case of any medical or personal emergency.

The company which has not remained untouched by slowdown has received kudos for the humane treatment towards its employees who got pink slips.

Qualcomm
At no. 16 is telecommunications giant Qualcomm. Founded in 1985, Qualcomm is a wireless technology and data solutions company based in San Diego, California.

According to Fortune, the company keeps new ideas flowing through an award-winning recruitment programme: It hires 750 interns a year from 38 countries.

Some other things that make Qualcomm different from other employers are employees-top management's breakfast/evenings meetings. Key industry developments, and projects and company initiatives rule the agenda of such meetings.

The company has a Vocation Donation Programme which allows employees to donate vacation time in order to assist other employees facing catastrophic circumstances. The company has wide range of benefits package for employees providing security and life-enhancing programmes.

Qualcomm recently acquired certain graphics and multimedia technology assets, intellectual property and resources that were formerly the basis of AMD's handheld business.

Shared Technologies
Shared Technologies jumped up seven places this year to rank at no. 17, up from 25th position last year, largely courtesy the measures taken to avoid layoffs. Hit by a low patch due to recession, senior managers gave up bonuses, CEO Tony Parella cut his salary 50 per cent, travel costs were reduced, and open positions were left unfilled. Result: not a single layoff.

Texas-based Shared Technologies is solutions provider specialising in voice, data and converged technologies. Founded in 1977, Shared Technologies believes that its growth and profitability are built on a foundation of employee focus and empowerment.

The company calls itself a 'roll-up-your-sleeves' kind of place, which is offers an extremely fast-paced and production driven environment

SAS
Another company which has not seen any layoffs so far. Jumping nine ranks from previous year, SAS ranks at No. 20 (up from 29 in 2008).

Highlights of this Best Workplace include: No layoffs, sales are up, and hiring still on. Traditions are important (and continue here): Fresh fruit every Monday, M&Ms on Wednesdays, and breakfast goodies on Fridays.

In 2007, SAS reported $2.15 billion revenue and invested 21 per cent in research and development. The company scores high on job content parameter, relevance of training, relevance of training to professional and personal growth.

Some of the global HR practices implemented by SAS include flexible working hours, day-care benefits, concierge services and adoption assistance policy. The company also has a global online recruitment portal which helps employees seeking intra-company transfers across the globe.

Employees at SAS headquarters enjoy onsite amenities including healthcare and daycare, a 66,000-square-foot recreation and fitness center, and incentive programmes to reward employee wellness. Annual turnover is about 4 per cent.

Microsoft
At no. 38 on the list is global software giant Microsoft. Highlight includes: Managers maintain `morale budgets' to stage fun events (team dinners, outings to sports events or plays) for the team.

The company holds high value integrity, honesty, openness, personal excellence, constructive self-criticism, continual self-improvement and mutual respect.

Slowdown has caught up with the software leader too. In a major restructuring, the company has announced approximately 5000 job cuts. The first mass layoffs in its 34-year history, shows how some of the world's richest companies too are getting burned by recession.

Microsoft, which has $20.7 billion in cash on hand, said its business prospects were hurt by the deteriorating global economy and lower revenue from software for PCs.

Despite that the company has a legacy of fairly high on ‘relevance of perks and benefits' and quality of training parameter.

Redmond-based Microsoft says it won't stop hiring entirely. Company's Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said that Microsoft will add new jobs in the next 18 months to support key areas, including Web search, so the total number of employees will drop by 2,000 to 3,000. Microsoft employs 94,000 people overall.

Texas Instruments
Leader in designs and manufacturing of analog technologies, digital signal processing (DSP) and microcontroller semiconductors, Texas Instruments (TI) bagged 65th spot on the list.

So, what qualifies it to be a Best Workplace? According to Fortune, the company moved to cut costs at end of 2008 by offering a generous early retirement package to long-term employees. Deal called for one and one-half weeks of pay for every year of service. Some 2,600 employees were eligible.

TI's compensation and financial plans, healthy wellness programmes, diversity programmes, community support programmes makes it one the best employer. From health and compensation options to diversity programmes, community outreach and more, TIers receive great rewards for great work, claims the company.

However, with the turbulent times hurting business, the company too has got into a cost cutting drive. Company's new ceramic-packaged transceivers enable communication in high-temperature applications. The devices feature no thermal shutdown, meeting the demanding requirements of oil exploration applications, such as downhole drilling.

eBay
At no. 83 is the world's top online auctioneer eBay. Owner of Skype and PayPal, eBay dropped alomost 15 ranks from its previous year's 68th position.

Stung by global recession and weak consumer demand eBay recently cut its global workforce by 10 per cent. The departing employees got at least five months' salary and three months of outplacement services.

Founded in 1995 by Pierre Omidyar, the company is the world's largest online marketplace. eBay has presence in 39 markets, including the US, and has approximately 84 million active users worldwide. Headquartered in San Jose, California, it went public in 1998.

As for eBay culture, here's over to the company: eBay culture is one of hard work and enthusiasm. Ideal eBay candidates will have intense customer focus, a positive outlook, and a great sense of humour.

Juniper Networks
Juniper makes its entry in the Best Companies to Work for list at No. 84. The first timer gets high marks from Fortune for Silicon Valley perks -- stock options for new hires and its beer bashes.

As for employees, they term the company's unusual culture as the galvanising factor. The Cisco rival has annual sales of $4 billion, operations in 50 countries and 6,800 employees. Facing tough environment, Juniper is expected to lay off workers next month as a result of slowing growth, including in its enterprise business, according to an investment firm.

Juniper is expected to lay off workers next month as a result of slowing growth, including in its enterprise business, according to an investment firm.

Oppenheimer is lowering its estimates for Juniper's fourth quarter and full year 2008 results to revenue of $930 million and earnings per share of $0.31 for the quarter; and $3.6 billion and $1.14 per share for the year

T-Mobile
US-based provider of wireless voice, messaging, and data services T-Mobile makes its entry in the Best Workplaces list for the first time. With over 36,000 employees, the company has nearly 120 million customers worldwide.

Another company which has been able to ward off job cuts so far, company continues its child-care subsidy of between $125 and $200 a month, depending on salary.

The wireless phone arm of Deutsche Telekom follows a code of conduct which includes the employee's responsibilities to fellow employees, customers and the work environment. Likewise, the conduct outlines similar responsibilities for management towards employees.

All hiring decisions are made irrespective of caste, creed, sex, national origin, physical or mental disability which the company highlights in its policies.

Accenture
At No. 97 New York-headquartered Accenture too is a first timer in the list. As for what makes the company a part of the list is: Every employee is assigned a career counselor -- and he or she then has thousands of courses to choose from. Average training is 78 hours a year per person.

Accenture also emerges as the employer of choice for women as it offers flexi work timings, maternity returners programmes, women's mentoring programmes and celebrates international women's day. The company also figures in the Mother's list of 100 Best Companies for Working women.

As part of employee development, the company sponsor programmes which encourage understanding and tolerance to all, regardless of race, age, gender, sexual preference and faith.

Accenture also runs 13 network groups for employees available in each of the 49 countries in which it operate. Founded in 1989, Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company.

Source: http://infotech.indiatimes.com/quickiearticleshow/4021589.cms

6 CRM marketing mantras for recession

2009-01-29T22:04:00.000-08:00

Marketing budgets are most at risk during economic downturns, but Gartner Inc has identified six marketing processes that can be automated to drive revenue and cut costs, maximizing marketing budgets and return on investments (ROIs).

“Blindly cutting marketing budgets during an uncertain economy will impair a company’s ability to retain and grow its customers, now, as well as when the market returns to more stable growth,” said Kimberly Collins, managing vice president at Gartner.

The research firm advocates the use of six key marketing processes to help marketing drive revenue, cut costs and drive ROI, thus justifying its spending. Three of the processes - customer retention management, lead management and online marketing - focus on driving revenue; while the other three - creative production management, marketing fulfillment and financial management - are designed to improve accountability and cut costs.

Retention management
Retaining high value or potential high-value customers is essential in difficult economic times. Gartner advises that organizations calculate the profitability and value of customers, identify those they want to keep and develop retention programmes based on their customer segment and identified needs.

This includes understanding how a customer may be affected by the economy and developing programs to support them. Event triggers can proactively identify when a customer’s circumstances may be about to change and staff should be trained and empowered to recognize this. Gartner predicts that in 2009, companies that develop effective retention management processes will reduce churn of profitable customers by at least 10 percent within six months.

Lead management
By expanding marketing’s role in the lead management process, companies can improve lead quality and ensure higher conversion rates by sales. The company advocates leveraging marketing insights, such as using marketing data and content to augment leads prior to sending them to sales.

It is expected that companies that automate lead management processes in 2009 will increase revenue by at least 10 percent within six to nine months, despite the uncertain economy.

Online marketing
The Web is a cost-effective way to reach customers and one of the easiest channels in which to measure marketing ROI. Companies are advised to identify and prioritise three to four online marketing initiatives and measure marketing ROI, increasing budget programmes for those delivering high ROI.

The company foresees that in 2009, companies that invest in new online marketing processes will drive at least a 10 percent increase in revenue within six months.

Creative production management
Automating creative production or product launches reduces time to market and improves resource allocation and efficiency, cutting marketing costs without cutting programs. A marketing resource management (MRM) module for creative production management can incorporate calendaring, tasks, project management, business rules and workflow, freeing up time for more creative work.

Gartner predicts that in 2009, companies that automate creative production will save 15 percent or more of their creative advertising budgets within three to six months.

Marketing fulfillment
Marketing fulfillment solutions (often a module of MRM) provide 24/7 access to collaterals via portal, print-on-demand and procurement capabilities, helping companies save on paper, shipping and physical storage costs.

In 2009, companies that invest in marketing fulfillment solutions will be able to eliminate 5 percent or more of marketing waste within three to six months.

Financial management
In a difficult economy, improving marketing's accountability is required to convince the finance department of the value of marketing’s programmes. Companies are advised to create a standard set of planning, budgeting and financial management processes for the marketing organization that, in turn, include processes for monitoring and alerting, thus allowing for ongoing financial management and reallocation of funds.

Gartner predicts that in 2009, marketing organizations that invest in financial management capabilities will see fewer budget cuts.

Source: http://infotech.indiatimes.com/quickiearticleshow/4047096.cms

Now, access your Gmail offline!

2009-01-28T20:13:00.000-08:00

NEW DELHI: If you have been banking on Gmail for your communication needs, there have always been times when you have desperately wanted to access your account to dig out that important mail but have found yourself haggling with an unreliable or unavailable connection. Not any more.

If the Google Gears version of Gmail rolls out smooth, you can open your web browser, go to the mailbox, and get to your mail even when you are offline. In a nutshell, your Gmail is going offline.

The logic is simple but it could be a great value ad. If you install the Google Gears plug-in to your browser from the Gmail Lab, Gmail detects when you are offline. The new version caches your e-mail so that you can read it, respond to it, search it, star it, or label it. When you are connected to the Internet again, it sends all the messages that you have prepared while being offline. You can even open attachments.

As Gmail product manager Todd Jackson puts it, "it works exactly the way Gmail already works on mobile phones such as the Android and those that support Gears. The underlying sync engine is exactly the same for Android and offline Gmail."

Here's how it works. Once the feature is turned on, Gmail uses Gears to download a local cache of your mail. As long as you're connected to the network, that cache is synchronized with Gmail's servers.

When the connection is lost, Gmail automatically switches to offline mode, and uses the data stored on your computer's hard drive instead of the information sent across the network.

Any messages you send while offline will be placed in your outbox and automatically sent the next time Gmail detects a connection. And if you're on an unreliable or slow connection, you can choose to use "flaky connection mode," which is somewhere in between: it uses the local cache as if you were disconnected, but still synchronizes your mail with the server in the background.

According to web reports, Google is making offline Gmail available to everyone who uses Gmail in US or UK English over the next couple of days. If you don't see it under the Labs tab yet, it should be there soon.

The only bad news is some features that require an Internet connection, such as spell check, won't work offline. And while you can open attachments, you won't be able to add attachments at launch. But Google promises to make them available soon!

The system is in beta and accessible through Gmail Labs. But it won't be immediately available to everyone - Google is parsing out access as it experiments with the new feature.

If Gmail lives up to the user expectations, then this would be a big step forward in bringing web mail offline given that presently there are options of offline access to your mailbox, but they all come with strings. You can access your Gmail account through a client like Mozilla Thunderbird. But that doesn't give you all the Gmail functionality like labels.

Yahoo Mail has offered offline access since last summer using Zimbra Desktop. But that also involves using a client on your desktop. For offline access to Windows Live Hotmail, Microsoft suggests using their Mail client software.

source: http://infotech.indiatimes.com/News/Now_access_your_Gmail_offline_/articleshow/4043536.cms

What's new in Internet Explorer 8

2009-01-28T03:04:00.000-08:00

Internet Explorer 8 (IE 8), the long-awaited successor to IE 7, is about to turn a lot of heads, as Microsoft nears completion of a browser upgrade that does significantly more than tack on enhancements to existing features.

The challengers keep coming, but Microsoft's Internet Explorer still holds the lion's share of the Web browser market. Most estimates put Internet Explorer's market share at around 72 per cent, which means that when a new version of the browser is released, a lot of people will likely be upgrading. Here's what's in store.

Faster
Perhaps the biggest news about IE 8 is what Microsoft has done for performance of the browser. In short, the browser is faster in almost every respect. It loads faster, switches pages faster, and renders complex graphics and videos faster than in previous versions.

No doubt Microsoft is responding, as it has in Windows 7, to users' insistence that performance is consideration number one when it comes to software. But IE now also has considerable competition from Google's recently released Chrome browser, which loads faster than any other browser on the market.

Load times, while they may seem trivial on the surface, are actually very important to most of us, since the Web browser is typically called up many times during the day, and for many different reasons. Waiting for the browser to load, therefore, becomes a serious productivity issue.

Accelerators feature
With IE 8, Microsoft has recognised that performance is about more than just the speed at which the browser opens, however, a few new features of IE 8 are aimed at recognising the types of activities you perform on a regular basis and helping you to get those tasks done more quickly.

For instance, how many times have you found an address on the Web and then proceeded to Google Maps, MapQuest, or Microsoft's own Live Maps to find directions? If the answer is "plenty", then IE 8 will be a boon to your productivity. Thanks to the browser's new "accelerators" feature, you can highlight an address, right-click, and select Map to get almost instantaneous directions from your location, assuming you've registered your existing address with whatever mapping site you use regularly.

The same principle applies to email addresses, words you'd like to define, words you'd like to translate, or email addresses to which you'd like to send a message.

Private browsing mode
Beyond performance enhancements, IE 8 plays some catch-up with features that other browsers have pioneered. Among them is the new InPrivate browsing mode, which allows you to browse the Web without having your browsing history stored for others to see.

Google's Chrome calls this Incognito mode. In Firefox, you can achieve something close to Incognito mode by choosing to clear private date from the Edit - Preferences - Privacy dialog box.

Whatever the name, the intention is the same: to give you a way to browse the Internet without enabling others to see which sites you've visited. The ramifications of this feature are obvious, but the fact is that users want it, and browser makers are delivering. Microsoft's InPrivate mode works as well as Google's Incognito, and it means never having to worry about whether the sites you visit can be revealed to those who snoop after you.

Web slices
For those who frequently visit the same website over and over again, waiting for updates, IE 8 introduces Web Slices, a feature that allows you to be notified via IE's favourites bar when a site has been updated with new information.

Sites have to be "Web slice enabled" in order for this feature to work. When they are, a green Web slice button will appear in the upper right-hand corner of your browser window. Click it, and you are subscribed to the site and notified instantly of updates.

Security features
Enhanced security was the headline feature of IE 7, and IE 8 improves on the foundation built in its predecessor. A new SmartScreen filter is a refined version of the phishing filter found in IE 7. Even better, an impressive domain highlighting feature helps to alert you when you stumble upon a potentially unsafe site. Lots of malicious sites use spoof domain names that resemble legitimate ones.

When IE 8 detects that you're on a potentially dangerous site, the entire address bar turns red. Additional security controls help to prevent malware from being loaded onto your computer surreptitiously.

Compatibility mode
The pre-release version of IE 8 is not compatible with all existing Web technologies. Microsoft is aware of that and consequently has incorporated a "compatibility mode" into IE 8, accessible by clicking a toolbar button.

Unfortunately, not everyone will even know that a compatibility mode exists, so website owners who find that their sites do not display correctly in IE 8 will want to avail themselves of code that forces IE 8 into compatibility mode. There are ample instructions on how to do this at various locations on the Web.

Users, on the other hand, can only hope that Microsoft works hard to ensure that its newest browser doesn't break a number of existing websites. If it does, that commanding market share that Microsoft enjoys just might become endangered.

Beta 2 of IE 8 is available now at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/Internet-explorer/beta/default.aspx. It works with Windows XP and Windows Vista.

Source: http://infotech.indiatimes.com/quickiearticleshow/4035799.cms

Monster data fraud hits job hunters

2009-01-27T20:57:00.000-08:00

NEW YORK: Monster Worldwide Inc, the popular global website for job hunters, has said that hackers have broken into its databases and stolen personal data.

Monster spokeswoman Nikki Richardson confirmed yesterday that sites around the world had been targeted, but said some regions, notably Asia Pacific and eastern Europe, were spared.

She said Monster was working with the "appropriate law enforcement agencies" but declined to say in which countries. In the United States, where the company is based, "an investigation is in progress."

Monster operates in 36 countries with millions of users, including 4.5 million in Britain.

A statement on www.monster.com said: "We recently learned our database was illegally accessed and certain contact and account data were taken, including Monster user IDs and passwords, email addresses, names, phone numbers, and some basic demographic data."

The breach did not access resumes, social security numbers or financial data, Monster said.

The company advised clients to change their password and said it had taken its own "corrective steps."

Hackers could use email addresses to "phish" for further information, the company warned.

This is the second serious data breach at the company in 18 months, according to Computer Weekly magazine.

Earlier this month, payments processor Heartland Payment Systems, based in New Jersey, said that it had suffered a security breach in 2008.

"We found evidence of an intrusion last week and immediately notified federal law enforcement officials as well as the card brands," said Robert Baldwin, Heartland's president in a statement on January 20.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Monster_data_fraud_hits_job_hunters/articleshow/4039813.cms

Silicon Valley hit by mass layoffs

2009-01-26T21:56:00.000-08:00

NEW YORK: The recession turned up late on Silicon Valley's doorstep but is likely to stay awhile, as technology companies slash thousands of jobs and rein in costs to make up for shrinking earnings and tight-fisted customers.

Job cuts in the technology sector have trailed other industries until recent weeks. Now they are coming fast and furious as the economic downturn grips the Valley, the strip of land in northern California that is home to household names like Google Inc and Amazon.com Inc units.

Tech giants like Intel Corp and Microsoft Corp are laying off thousands of employees, while start-up companies are firing in smaller numbers as they struggle to survive with fewer customers and venture capital dollars.

And this is just the start, analysts say, expecting thousands more to lose their jobs this year as the recession forces the industry to slash marketing and capital spending.

"Organisations are saying, 'What is the absolute nuclear winter? Let's plan for that,'" said Adam Charlson, senior partner at executive search firm Korn/Ferry International Inc, who works closely with the recruitment divisions of top tech firms. "What you're seeing now is organisations putting those plans into reality."

Last year, Silicon Valley lost 11,700 jobs, according to Steve Levy, senior economist at the Center for the Continuing Study of the California Economy (CCSCE).
The number is small compared to the 200,000 jobs lost after the dotcom bubble burst in 2000, but that is because the 2008 numbers don't reflect recent layoffs yet, he said.

"The headline is that the recession has hit Silicon Valley," Levy said. As a result, he said he was "substantially revising downward" employment predictions for 2009.

California's jobless rate hit a 14-year high of 9.3 per cent in December, significantly above the national average of 7.2 per cent, according to state officials.
Some analysts said they are reading the mass layoffs as preemptive acts by tech companies. When the last rec
ession hit, tech companies were too slow in cutting costs and laying off workers, said Andy Miedler, a senior technology analyst at Edward Jones.

But not this time, he said. "Layoffs and cost-cutting are unfortunate, but companies have to make tough decisions in a rough economy to preserve their own financial position."

Mark Cannice, a professor of entrepreneurship at the University of San Francisco, said Silicon Valley has been "inoculated to some degree" after the dotcom bust.

"Many firms didn't survive .... The ones that survived are much more efficient and resilient and were funded on sounder business models," said Cannice, who publishes a quarterly Silicon Valley Venture Capitalist Confidence Index.

But he said Valley companies are not entirely immune -- especially venture capital-funded start-ups. As large companies like Microsoft and Google cut back on spending, start-ups that supply them with software and other IT could run into trouble.

With venture capital funding falling 71 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2008 from a year ago, start-ups could be forced to fold up if they can't sustain their business and investors cannot fund them any longer. But mass layoffs in the tech sector need not necessarily be all doom and gloom. They could actually boost innovation as laid-off engineers, scientists and other highly skilled individuals decide to pursue their own ideas.

Calling it "forced" entrepreneurship, Cannice said he was optimistic that the current layoffs would "unleash the next wave of creative, thoughtful entrepreneurs."

Layoffs in the traditional tech sector could also spur employment in the alternative energy sector, recruiters said.

Neil Sims, managing director of executive search firm Boyden's technology practice group, said the so-called "cleantech" sector -- which employs environmentally friendly technologies -- will continue to grow and offer jobs. "It's not that the sky has fallen entirely," he said.

Soruce: http://infotech.indiatimes.com/News/Software__Services/Silicon_Valley_hit_by_mass_layoffs/articleshow/msid-4035001,curpg-2.cms

Google launching GDrive?

2009-01-26T21:54:00.001-08:00

NEW DELHI: Is GDrive, Google's next salvo tapping cloud computing? So believes several industry watchers. Speculations are rife that the company is set to launch 'GDrive', which would allow people to store almost all their data on the internet and access it from wherever they are.

Says the US-based technology news website: "Throw your hard drive away, Google's Gdrive is arriving in 2009."

The GDrive is expected to allow people to access and update all their online data such as emails, photographs, music, documents and spreadsheets from any device with an internet connection.

Google has been working hard to convince computer users of the benefits of 'cloud computing', in which the web rather than the hard drive is used as the place to store information. GDrive is likely to bring together all of Google's existing web-based services.

TG Daily believes that GDrive could "cause a major paradigm shift in how we use computers and bring Google one step closer to dethroning Windows on your desktop".

However, according to certain analysts it may not be prudent to entrust Google with so much personal or commercial data. They argue that information is not as safe in the cloud as it is in a computer.

Google reportedly refused to comment on the topic.

Source: http://infotech.indiatimes.com/News/Google_launching_GDrive/articleshow/4032615.cms

Google launching GDrive?

2009-01-26T21:54:00.000-08:00

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2009-01-21T23:33:00.000-08:00