Microsoft has recently started sending out reminders to Vista beta users that on June 1st, Vista will expire. Users are either going to have to upgrade to a full version of Vista, or "downgrade" back to Windows XP. Now you might be asking what will happen to your PC when the Vista beta does expire? Well Microsoft says your computer will reboot every 2 hours until you upgrade or downgrade your OS, and even that will be on a limited time basis. From the Microsoft website: "On May 31, 200...
Microsoft announced that the Spring update for the Xbox 360 will begin next month. One of the biggest changes will be the addition of Live Messenger on Xbox Live. This will allow Xbox 360 users to chat with their PC friends, and even see if those contacts have Xbox Live Gamertags. To make it easier to chat with your friends, Microsoft is also set to release a keyboard controller attachment in case you grow tired of using the on-screen keyboard. Other improvements include upd...
A few days ago a U.S. District Court judge ordered the internet "phone company" Vonage to stop accepting new customers while it "infringes" on patents held by Verizon. A federal appeals granted Vonage a temporary reprieve from the injunction while arguements were made about the the patent violation allegations. "The judge's order follows a federal jury finding on March 8 that Vonagehad infringed three Verizon patents. The New Jersey-based Internetphone provider was ordered to pay $58...
The "official" Windows Vista Resource Kit is now available and covers topics such as administering group policy, files and folders, programs, and deployment and configuration among many other useful topics. "The official Windows Vista Resource Kit walks corporate users through the deployment, configuration andmanagement of the operating system. The book dedicates more than 1,500pages to in-depth technical guidance on automating deployment,implementing security enhancements, and troublesho...
Yahoo! announced that in celebration of their 10th anniversary of Yahoo! Mail, that they will offer unlimited storage starting in May of this year. When Yahoo! Mail launched they offered an amazing amount of storage......4mb to be exact. Think about that for a minute. How many times do you send or recieve an attachment that size? Pretty often for me. "We’re psyched to be breaking new ground in the digital storage frontierby giving our users the freedom to never worry ...
Microsoft announced news from its initial sales figures that over 20 million licenses for Windows Vista were sold in the first month of general availability. This is more than double than what Windows XP did in its release. These numbers include sales to PC manufacturers, retail stores, and upgrades. "We are encouraged to see such a positive consumer response to WindowsVista right out of the gate," said Bill Veghte, corporate vicepresident of the Windows Business Group at Microso...
Microsoft is beginning a trial program in which it will offer large businesses "rewards" if their employees use the Live search service. These "rewards" will include customer service or training credits that will be based on how much employees use the Live service. The move is aimed at moving users from rival search engines such as Google, and a deal was just made to make the Live search the default on computers made by Lenovo. Read more at the article below.
This week Microsoft announced that it's PC version of "Live" will be released on May 8th. Like Xbox Live, gamers on their PC's will be able to earn achievements, tally a "gamerscore", and be able to connect with friends through text and voice messages. If you already have an Xbox Live account don't worry, Microsoft says you will get a Games for Windows Live account at no additional cost. For the rest of you the service will be the same price as Xbox Live, a Silver account wil...
Google has announced in their blog an upcoming change to their privacy policy in the coming months after apparently "talking" with privacy advocates in the U.S. and Europe. Google will soon anonymize their server logs after 18-24 months unless "legally" obligated not to. When you search on Google, we collect information about your search,such as the query itself, IP addresses and cookie details. Previously,we kept this data for as long as it was useful. Today we're pleased torep...
In a move designed to get ahead of competitors like Google and a few others, Adobe has plans to released a hosted version of Photoshop sometime this year. This online version which is aimed at being an entry-level version will be free, but supported by ads. "The company intends to offer entirely hosted applications , as well as "hybrids," in which Adobe uses the Web to introduce features to desktop products, such as Adobe Photoshop Lightroom , he added. "We recognize there...
For the past several months Soapbox has been an invite-only beta, but MSN recently opened Soapbox to the public. If you are not familiar with Soapbox, it's another user-upload video service where you can share your videos with others in the Soapbox community, or you can simply browse videos uploaded by other members. While it still has some catching up to do with other video services like Youtube or Metacafe, it has some potential, so be sure to check it out.
The website for the Dolphin Stadium, the field the Superbowl will be played on has been hacked. The malicious code which was found initiates a Trojan horse and keylogging abilities. The code was inserted into the header of the site, and once visitors entered it, it was designed to execute a script that attempts to exploit two known vulnerabilities. Many Super Bowl sites were linking to the stadium site, and that increased the chances of users being infected. The site is comm...
One of the features of Windows Vista that does not get enough attention is the parental controls. Being a parent myself, I decided to take a look at this feature, put it to the test, and report what I found. I was a little surprised at the results, and anyone who is looking for some type of control over what their children do on the PC and internet should take interest in this.
MySpace, the sometimes controversial social networking website has filed a lawsuit against the "Spam King". They allege that the "Spam King", Scott Richter, violated several laws including the federal Can-Spam Act, and other state laws. Richter allegedly gained access to accounts using phishing schemes, and sent out millions of bulletins to MySpace members. MySpace is seeking monetary damages and an injunction to keep Richter off MySpace permanently. This is not...
We would like to wish everyone a safe and Happy New Years! Thank you for all your support in 2006, and we are all looking forward to a great 2007. Happy New Years!