Top 2 week news:
Microsoft's COFEE forensics tool leaks online
Microsoft's secret Computer Online Forensic Evidence Extractor (COFEE) has leaked online, available for all. COFEE is a forensics tool,
approximately 15MB in size that fits on a USB drive for law enforcement officials to use in PC forensics. According to Microsoft: With COFEE, law
enforcement agencies without on-the-scene computer forensics capabilities can now more easily, reliably, and cost-effectively collect volatile live
evidence. An officer with even minimal computer experience can be tutored—in less than 10 minutes—to use a pre-configured COFEE device.
This enables the officer to take advantage of the same common digital forensics tools used by experts to gather important volatile evidence, while
doing little more than simply inserting a USB device into the computer.
Read full story.....
neowin.net -
09.11.2009Surfing the Google Wave
To write a simple message, whether by Email or text, has for a long time been a method to announce one's happiness, anger and even one's
tardiness. It's arguable that these virtual delivery services are somewhat impersonal; there are only the words on a computer screen — this
is devoid of all other sensations. However, the word can be a powerful weapon to wield. One misses the little details, though. A smile, a happy
feeling cannot be described in words as much as it can be simply shown. Just weeks ago Google opened up the much anticipated Google Wave service.
Its premise is one of ingenuity, to say the least.
Read full
story.....
neowin.net -
07.11.2009Neowin's top 5 Windows 7 Features
We've all been playing with Windows 7 for quite some time now, and now that general availability has passed we recently asked the community what
their favorite feature of Windows 7 was. We've tallied the results, and just in case you haven't explored these features yet here's an in
depth overview of our community's favorite features: #5 Libraries Since the days of Windows XP, Microsoft has continued to simplify the way
users can store their data on a PC. Windows 7 has introduced users to a new way of file organization by adding a new structure called libraries. What
exactly is a library? By default Windows 7 has four separate libraries: Documents, Music, Pictures, and Videos.
Read full story.....
neowin.net -
07.11.2009Apple opens its first retail store in France
Today Apple opened its second store on mainland Europe at the Carrousel du Louvre in Paris, France. They don't stop there, however; another store
in Montpellier, France opens next week on November 14th and one near the Opera Ganier to debut in the summer of 2010. France's first Apple store
opens today at 10AM CET. This is a prestigious location to be sure, right across the famous inverted pyramid inside the Louvre museum. Just for that
it would be worthwhile to visit this store, which spans two floors. 150 employees work in the store to offer the same services, which have made the
Apple Store experience a success all over the world.
Read full story.....
neowin.net -
07.11.2009Nokia Beats Apple in Smartphone Shipments Worldwide
With the recent squabbling over the Motorola Droid's status as the next potential "iPhone killer, one could assume Apple has become the
competitor to beat in the smartphone marketplace. But while countless reviewers try to measure the relative "cool" factor of these high profile
gadgets, Nokia has been managing quite well on its own worldwide, continuing its lead in the sector with 37.9 percent of the market share in the third
quarter of this year, according to research firm IDC. The next closest competitors are Research in Motion, makers of the Blackberry, with 19 percent
market share and Apple with 17.1 percent based on shipment volume worldwide.
Read full story.....
neowin.net -
08.11.2009Microsoft emancipates Digital Cable Tuners with second Media Center update today
Scant hours after the SDV tuning, DRM-relaxing firmware update for Vista and Windows 7 Digital Cable Tuner users became available,
Missing
Remote let us know Microsoft has come through on the other half of its
CEDIA promise by pushing the Digital Cable
Advisor to Media Center Extras galleries everywhere...
View Full Article:
Engadget..
winbeta.org -
07.11.2009Cisco Software Takes On Microsoft, IBM
If Cisco wasn't making enough enemies with its string of bold acquisitions and a brazen push into the server market last spring, it's now picking a
software fight with several more tech heavyweights: Microsoft, Google and IBM...
View Full Article:
Forbes.com..
winbeta.org -
09.11.2009Is it OK to use OEM Windows on your own PC? Don't ask Microsoft
Ed Bott: If Microsoft expects its customers to take license agreements seriously, it has a responsibility to communicate the terms of those agreements
to its customers clearly and unambiguously. As I noted
earlier this month, Microsoft does a
generally poor job of explaining its complicated rules for how Windows licensing works. But I deliberately left one type of Windows license off that
list, because it deserves its own special place in the Corporate Communications Hall of Shame...
View Full Article:
Ed Bott's Microsoft
Report..
winbeta.org -
16.11.2009Microsoft: Sorry we used GPLv2 code illegally
Microsoft tonight issued an update on the reports that the company used open source code in their Windows 7 USB/DVD tool, illegally. Neowin
originally reported earlier this week that Microsoft had pulled the tool after complains by Rafael Rivera over some of the content of the Windows 7
USB/DVD download tool. Microsoft issued the following statement regarding the reports: After looking at the code in question, we are now able to
confirm this was indeed the case, although it was not intentional on our part. While we had contracted with a third party to create the tool, we share
responsibility as we did not catch it as part of our code review process.
Read full story.....
neowin.net -
14.11.2009Google Chrome OS to launch within a week?
Previously said to launch in the fall, rumors are circulating that Google's Chrome OS will launch within the next week. While Google is mum on the
launch of their new OS they have been known to launch projects in beta form ahead of schedule in the past. It is expected the the first release of
Google OS will not run on standard laptop and desktop computers, but will run on set of Google OS endorsed devices such as select netbooks. Google has
previously said they are working with Acer, Adobe, ASUS, Freescale, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo, Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, and Toshiba on the Chrome OS
project.
Read full story.....
neowin.net -
15.11.2009Microsoft Security Advisory 977544 Released
Mike Reavey: Today we released
Security Advisory
977544 to provide information, including customer guidance, on a publicly reported Denial-of-Service (DoS) vulnerability affecting Server
Messaging Block (SMB ) Protocol. This vulnerability, in SMBv1 and SMBv2, affects Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2. Windows Vista, Windows Server
2008, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 and Windows 2000 are not affected.
View Full
Article:
Microsoft
Security Response Center..
winbeta.org -
14.11.2009Bill Gates praises Steve Jobs for saving Apple
When asked about Steve Jobs in a TV special that aired this week, Bill Gates said the Apple co-founder has shown "more inspiration" than any other
leader in the tech industry.
The program "Warren Buffett and Bill Gates: Keeping America Great"
aired Thursday night on
CNBC. The
"Town Hall Event" featured questions from the audience directed towards two of the world's richest men...
View Full Article:
AppleInsider..
winbeta.org -
13.11.2009More Apple Tablet Rumors
It seems the Apple Tablet rumors are circulating again, this time with CNN Money joining the mix. In a recent article CNN speculates that the Apple
Tablet is going to appear within the next few months and is said to be a magazine sized touch screen device with a screen size between 10" to 12"
using a high-end graphics card that will enable stunning resolution and is a cross between the Apple iPhone and a OS X computer. In addition to the
rumored specifications there is also speculation that the Apple Tablet may include a webcam, allowing business users to hold video-conferences on the
go.
Read full story.....
neowin.net -
17.11.2009Microsoft investigating zero-day Windows 7 hole
Microsoft confirmed to Cnet News that it is looking into a report of a vulnerability in Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2 that could be used by a malicious
attacker to remotely crash PCs. The software giant is looking into claims of a "possible denial-of-service vulnerability in Windows Server Message
Block (SMB)," a Microsoft spokesperson confirmed. Security researcher Laurent Graffie published proof of concept code in a blog posting proclaiming
"This bug is a real proof that SDL #FAIL".
Read full story.....
neowin.net -
13.11.2009Google introduces new 'Go' programming language
Search, mail, mobile operating systems, advertising and mapping. These are all areas in which Google plays a big part. The company is ever expanding,
however, and today they've demonstrated that: Google has just introduced an entirely new programming language, taking influences from C++ and
Python, called, quite simply, Go. The language, which has a website here, "combines the development speed of working in a dynamic language like
Python with the performance and safety of a compiled language like C or C++," according to the blog post made by Google. To give you a sample of the
code, courtesy of TechCrunch, here is a simple 'Hello, World!' program. 05 package main 07 import fmt "fmt" // Package implementing
formatted I/O.
Read full story.....
neowin.net -
11.11.2009Microsoft Windows 7 download tool may have violated GPL
According to a report by Rafael Rivera, Microsoft's recently released Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool has used GPL code illegally. The tool,
which has been pulled by Microsoft, allows end users to upgrade to Windows 7 in an easy way. Rivera states "while poking through the UDF-related
internals of the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool, I had a weird feeling there was just wayyyyyyyyy too much code in there for such a simple tool.
Read full story.....
neowin.net -
10.11.2009Office 2010 Public Beta to begin next week?
Today, Microsoft sent out an email to Click-To-Run Technical Preview participants that outlined the public beta which was announced by Microsoft last
month; next week an email will be sent out to give further details. This news follows the announcement of other closing Connect groups, such as the
fully-fledged Office 2010 Technical Preview group earlier last week. According to the email, we might be seeing the public beta as early as next week
- hopefully with some further new features and fixed bugs that were present in the early technical preview. Neowin will cover these developments as
they happen. Dear Technical Preview Participants, Thank you so much for all your feedback on the Office 2010 Click-to-Run Technical Preview.
Read full story.....
neowin.net -
10.11.2009First iPhone worm, iRickRoll'd Jailbroken iPhones
Some Jailbroken iPhone users in Australia have been the first to be infected by the very first iPhone worm. The origins of the worm appear to be from
Australia, as they're the first to report problems, getting rickrolled, a famous Internet meme, except this changes the wallpaper to Rick Astley.
Any Jailbroken iPhone that have not changed their default password from ‘alpine' once installing SSH, are vulnerable to the worm. The worm
is so far harmless, but after one user held an iPhone ransom for €5, the possibilities for a full wide spread attack against SSH Jailbroken
iPhone's could be at serious risk.
Read full story.....
neowin.net -
09.11.2009Sky launches Mobile TV app for iPhone [UK]
Sky has taken the wraps off its Mobile TV app for iPhone today. Available to UK subscribers, the iPhone application itself is free but a £6 per
month subscription is required to stream content. The Sky Mobile TV app allows you to watch Sky Sports 1,2 and 3 as well as Sky Sports News, Sky
Sports Extra, Sky News, At The Races and ESPN. However, the Sky Mobile TV application only works on Wi-Fi. Customers on the O2 network in the UK can
benefit from a 3 month free offer in combination with Sky. O2 has the full details but it's limited to the first 150,000 customers.
Read full story.....
neowin.net -
10.11.2009Verizon Droid fails to match iPhone sales
With all the hype surrounding Verizon Wireless' Droid smartphone there seems to be one thing that the Droid can't do that Apple's iPhone
can and that is move a lot of devices in the course of one weekend. Verizon's new Android based phone has failed to match Apple's sales during
it's launch weekend. The Droid sold an estimated 100,000 units in the first two days following its Nov. 6 release-a solid start for the
much-anticipated phone. But this is nowhere near the 1 million both the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3G S sold in their opening weekends, according to a post
on TheAppleBlog.com.
Read full
story.....
neowin.net -
12.11.2009Microsoft Office Starter 2010 beta invites sent out
Microsoft has begun sending invites to the Office Starter 2010 beta program today according to the I Think Different blog. The invites are the latest
clear indication that Microsoft plans to release an Office 2010 public beta shortly. Last week Microsoft sent out an email update to Click-To-Run
Technical Preview participants. This news also follows the announcement of other closing Connect groups, such as the fully-fledged Office 2010
Technical Preview group earlier last week. According to the email: "All you need to do is use Office Starter 2010 Beta at home over the next few
months, and let us know what you think.
Read full story.....
neowin.net -
12.11.2009Turn Windows 7 into a Wi-Fi hotspot
If you have ever wanted to turn your laptop is a Wi-Fi hotspot, a secret feature has been revealed in Windows 7 code that allows you to tether your
cell phone or other wireless device to your laptop. The unfinished feature was hidden by default because of incompatibility with many of the devices
and drivers. The feature can be enabled through some simple command line scripts and a feature clicks of the mouse. Open up the Run command with
Administrative permissions and run: netsh wlan set hostednetwork mode=allow ssid=Hotspot key=passwordhere Set the network adapter with: netsh wlan
start hostednetwork After running the command, you should notice "Microsoft Virtual WiFi Miniport Adapter" appear in your network and sharing
settings.
Read full story.....
neowin.net -
17.11.2009Microsoft Office 2010 beta available on MSDN/TechNet
Microsoft has made the latest beta of Office 2010 available to MSDN and TechNet customers. The release follows news that Office 2010 beta builds have
begun leaking from the software giant. It's widely expected that a public beta build of Office 2010 will be available this week. Microsoft has
kept quiet on the reports but has hinted on the official Office twitter account "MS Office team has some exiting news to tell at PDC. This is a must
attend event. Stay tuned!" and a follow up post hints at possible social networking features in Outlook, "would you like your inbox to talk to your
social networks? Useful integration or distraction?".
Read full story.....
neowin.net -
16.11.2009Microsoft Bans 1 Million Xbox Live Accounts
It's being reported today the Microsoft has banned up to 1 Million Xbox Live Accounts. Fresh on the heels of the Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2
release Microsoft has stepped up their attack on piracy by banning a mass of Xbox Live users. According to a report in InformationWeek, Microsoft has
banned as many as a million players from Xbox Live for altering or modifying their consoles in order to play pirated versions of Xbox video games.
Read full story.....
neowin.net -
13.11.2009Windows 7 Developer Hosts Famous Chinese TV Star, Talks Shop
Song Zou, who helped develop Windows 7 features like Aero Shake and the new taskbar, hosted one of Chinas most famous TV personalities in his Redmond
home...
microsoft.com/presspass -
09.11.2009YouTube to get 1080p support next week
YouTube is the most popular source for video on the Internet; it has dedicated apps on a few smart-phones, millions of hours of video and it keeps
getting increasingly popular. It can also display HD video, but next week, that will get even better with full 1080p support coming.
Read full story.....
neowin.net -
13.11.2009Microsoft updates Windows Marketplace for Mobile
Microsoft announced today that it has made some important changes to its Windows Marketplace for Mobile. Marketplace for Mobile is Microsoft's
Windows Mobile equivalent of the popular Apple iPhone App Store. Marketplace was introduced alongside the new Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system on
October 6, 2009. Currently the Marketplace does not support Windows Mobile 6.0 and 6.1 but Microsoft has confirmed it will extend the service to these
devices "later this month". Microsoft has introduced a wireless sync between the PC and Windows Mobile. Windows Mobile 6.5 owners can now browse,
buy and download applications online at the Windows Marketplace for Mobile site.
Read full story.....
neowin.net -
12.11.2009Microsoft Office 2010 beta build leaks
Microsoft's highly anticipated Office 2010 beta suite has leaked this week on peer-to-peer file sharing networks. The build, numbered version
14.0.4514.1009, is tagged with the "beta 2" naming. The leak reportedly requires keys to install but accepts Office 2010 Technical Preview keys.
Michael Aulia of Craving Tech posted some screen shots and his initial impressions after Microsoft sent him the beta directly. From the screen shots
posted it's clear the UI has been refined in the Office 2010 beta and the program icons have been updated. It's widely expected that a public
beta build of Office 2010 will be available next week.
Read full story.....
neowin.net -
13.11.2009The new 2010 Office.com online portal enters beta
As the public Microsoft Office 2010 beta approaches (build 14.0.4514.1007 if you're playing along), the
Office online companion website set to take center stage on Microsoft's recently acquired Office.com
has also undergone a radical redesign...
View Full Article:
Long Zheng's Blog..
winbeta.org -
13.11.2009UK O2 users now able to unlock iPhones
O2 confirmed today that from November 10 all O2 customers in the UK will be able to unlock their iPhone devices for use on other networks. The unlock
will be free for pay monthly customers at any time during their contracts but O2 will charge a one-off £15 fee for Pay & Go unlocking at the end
of 12 months after purchase. O2 customers can complete an unlocking form and O2 will unlock the device within 14 days. O2 were quick to stress that
existing pay monthly customers will need to honour the remainder of their contracts despite the ability to unlock. Unlocking is a process that allows
users to place a non-O2 sim card into the iPhone device.
Read full story.....
neowin.net -
10.11.2009Boxee Box hardware announced for open source Media Center
On the official Boxee blog, founder and CEO Avner Ronen has announced that the company has reached its first official partnership with a consumer
electronics manufacturer. Though he refers to it as a "Boxee Box" in the subject of the post, Ronen declined to release details or specifications,
which he said will be available at an official event to be held on December 7th. Based on open-source technology first designed to bring media center
capabilities to the original Xbox, Boxee is currently available as an open alpha for machines running Windows, Linux, and OSX.
Read full story.....
neowin.net -
13.11.2009Iraq Veteran's Long Journey Back to Microsoft
John West, a Microsoft employee and Army National Guard soldier who was nearly paralyzed by a roadside bomb in 2004, has overcome substantial mental
and physical hurdles to walk again and to return to the job he loves...
microsoft.com/presspass -
11.11.2009Google apps getting the wave treatment
Earlier this week, Engadget received a set of images from an anonymous insider at Google showing a quick insight into the potential future of
Google's web applications - with a hint of wave. It looks very much like a work in progress, but a change such as this is needed. The pictures
show a unified UI across all Google applications - including Google search, GMail and Google Contacts - which is a very similar UI to Google Wave -
which is more than welcome. Engadget was told that "the goal is to provide a consistent experience throughout all Google Apps and blur the line
between the browser and the website (e.g.
Read full story.....
neowin.net -
11.11.2009Google: Firms can 'get rid' of Office in a year
In a year, most enterprises will have the choice to "get rid of
Office if they chose to", suggests Dave Girouard, president of Google's
enterprise division.
Girouard, one of the company's four presidents including founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, said in an
interview with ZDNet Asia that he expects Google's online document application, Google Docs, to reach a "point of capability" next year that will
serve the "vast majority's needs".
View Full Article: ZDNet Asia (via ReadWriteEnterprise)..
winbeta.org - 14.11.2009
TechSpot: Acer Timeline 14" 4810T Notebook Review
With so many different factors to consider when purchasing a laptop, finding the right one can be a daunting task. Portability and battery life are
the current trends, along with value of course, which has brought about the recent surge of netbooks. However as I've said before -- and I still
stand by the statement -- netbooks are great for simple tasks, but lack the power to be more than a supplement to a real notebook or desktop system.
Today we will be looking at the Acer Timeline 4810T notebook, a 14-inch ultra-portable that aims to bridge the gap between underpowered netbooks and
bulky notebooks, while retaining the battery longevity found in the latest generation of netbooks.
Read full story.....
neowin.net - 10.11.2009
Windows 8 planning and preparation underway
According to a job posting on Microsoft's career site, Windows 8 planning and preparation is currently taking place. The job posting, spotted by
enthusiast site CodenameWindows, hints at third-party application updating, updating virtual machines while they're turned off and delivering full
applications, among others. Microsoft admits in the posting that updating virtual machines whilst they are off "turns out this is pretty hard!." The
job is for a role on the Windows Update Client team, responsible for delivering software updates to over 600 million machines. "As part of this
team, you will help shape Windows 8. Components of our code include a core agent that runs as an NT service, an API layer and a UI application.
Read full story.....
neowin.net - 12.11.2009
Windows Security Bug Revealed After Microsoft Patch Tuesday
Less than 24 hours after Microsofts Patch
Tuesday, a security researcher revealed a zero-day bug affecting Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 Release 2.
Security
researcher Laurent Gaffie posted proof-of-concept code as well as information on the flaw to his blog and the Full Disclosure mailing list earlier today. The exploit takes advantage of the operating
systems implementation of Server Message Block (SMB ). An attacker can use the bug to remotely crash Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 on a local
area network (LAN) or via Internet Explorer. Technical details can be found here.
View Full Article: eWeek..
winbeta.org - 12.11.2009
Xbox 360 update coming November 17
Microsoft is ready to launch their next big update to Xbox LIVE dashboard, with Twitter, Facebook, Last.fm and Zune video will all be available. The
update will be available to all Xbox LIVE members on November 17. The update will allow users to connect with friends and family though Facebook,
directly from the comfort of your own couch. The Facebook integration will allow full support for news feeds, photos, instant messenger and the
ability to browse through your own and friend's walls. The Twitter integration will have real-time updates right on your dashboard, so users can
always stay up-to-date on who you are following.
Read full story.....
neowin.net - 12.11.2009
Bing cashback exploit discovered, Microsoft sends in lawyers
A Bing cashback vulnerability has been discovered by Samir Meghani of the Bountii Team. The flaw exists due to a software API oversight that allows
users to fake transactions to Bing. Currently, Bing does not detect these faked transactions. The flaw affects both the customer and merchant.
According to Samir, in his original posting, "merchants have a few options for reporting, but Bing suggests using a tracking pixel. Basically, the
merchant adds a tracking pixel to their order confirmation page, which will report the the transaction details back to Bing." Samir detailed that the
process was flawed but didn't pin point exactly how to generate fake transactions. Bing Cashback is an initiative that pays people to search with
Bing.
Read full
story.....
neowin.net - 10.11.2009
Google aims to speed up the entire Internet with SPDY
There are many aspects of technology that can be tweaked in order to speed a user's Internet experience up; web pages optimized, purchase a faster
connection, or even just update software. Google has apparently bypassed all this, however… they aim to replace the HTTP protocol itself, with
SPDY. As the Google blog post reminds us, "HTTP is an elegantly simple protocol that emerged as a web standard in 1996 after a series of
experiments." It's been great so far, though with initial tests of SPDY (pronounced "speedy"), it shows that it can definitely be improved.
Read full story.....
neowin.net - 13.11.2009
Windows 7 Grabs 4% of PC Market
Microsoft has a lot riding on Windows 7
after Vista was poorly adopted by enterprise users and consumers.
Windows 7 so far has been doing much
better than Vista and is growing
rapidly in marketshare in the computer market.
Early reports
showed that retail box
sales of Windows
7 were up a whopping 234% compared to sales of Vista over the
same time period. A new report has now been published by Net
Applications that shows Windows 7 has significantly increased its
share of the overall PC market since its launch. As of November 9
Windows
7 has 4% of the OS market.
View Full Article: DailyTech
..
winbeta.org - 12.11.2009
Apple releases Mac OS X 10.6.2 Update
Coming in at two months after their previous update, Apple have today released their latest major update for Snow Leopard, which also arrives with a
security patch that includes their previous OS X release, Leopard. The Snow Leopard update to 10.6.2 arrives with a host of fixes that are aimed at
improving the reliability of the operating system itself, while others are aimed at technical bugs related to Apple software that comes pre-loaded
(Mail, Safari), as well as improvements to iWork, iLife, Aperture, Final Cut Studio and fixes for some graphical and font issues.
Read full story.....
neowin.net - 10.11.2009
Microsoft announces Exchange Server 2010 availability
Today at the Microsoft Tech-Ed Europe 2009 conference in Germany, Microsoft Business Division President Stephen Elop announced that Microsoft Exchange
Server 2010 is now available worldwide. During an opening Keynote, Elop also announced the release of Forefront Protection 2010 for Exchange Server.
Forefront provides better anti-spam and multi server management tools. "Exchange Server 2010 customers are already reporting cost savings of up to
70 percent thanks to a simplified high-availability model and support for lower-cost storage. Customers are also seeing productivity gains of more
than 20 percent with a universal inbox that delivers e-mail, voice mail, instant messaging and text messaging consistently across virtually any
device," Elop said.
Read full
story.....
neowin.net - 09.11.2009
Microsoft's Bing Maps updated
Microsoft have updated and optimised Bing Maps with a set of new features and an improved look and feel. Chris Pendleton, Bing Maps Technical
Evangelist, confirmed the changes in a company blog post yesterday. "If you visited Bing Maps today you may have noticed a new look and feel. Well,
that's because it has a new look and feel" noted Pendleton. The full list of changes are listed below:Draggable Routes - Generate a router and
drag the route to change directionsZoom Bar - Jump to specific zoom levels within predefined settingsCommand Parsing - Intelligent searching, for
example want traffic info?
Read full story.....
neowin.net - 11.11.2009
SPDY: Google wants to speed up the web by ditching HTTP
Google isn't content with providing us with fast search and a fast browser: we need a faster protocol between servers and browsers. The search giant
would like us to start forgetting about HTTP:// and learn to love SPDY://. Ars takes a look at the proposal as well as its strengths and
weaknesses...
View Full Article: Ars Technica..
winbeta.org - 13.11.2009
Bing and Wolfram Alpha team up
Microsoft's Bing search engine is to team up with Wolfram Alpha, the search engine that attempts to answer questions directly rather than
providing links. The move will see Wolfram Alpha provide answers on Bing, which aims to improve it's results in nutrition, health and mathematics.
The partnership with the Wolfram Alpha, the brainchild of British-born physicist Stephen Wolfram, will initially be rolled out in the US only. The
"computational knowledge engine" answers many questions on the fly by retrieving and processing raw data from databases.
Read full story.....
neowin.net - 12.11.2009
Microsoft rolls out Bing Video
Microsoft announced today that it is consolidating MSN Video into Bing Video. Bing Video will offer MSN's array of videos, and videos from sites
such as Hulu, ABC, Youtube and more than 300 content providers. The old video.msn.com portal will now forward directly to Bing Video. In a company
blog posting, a Microsoft spokesperson detailed Bing video: "Today, we are announcing a new version of Bing Videos that brings together the rich
editorial content and programming of MSN Video with the web-wide breadth and great search capabilities of Bing, to deliver a new online video
destination that offers a comprehensive and faster video experience.
Read full story.....
neowin.net - 11.11.2009
Bing launches in the UK
Today a new search engine for the UK has been thrown into the mix. Microsoft's Bing UK, following a period of trial and continued in-depth
analysis of consumer usage and behaviour, has been put through its paces and Bing is now shedding its beta tag. During the previous five months of
beta testing, the Bing team have been focused on developing a UK-centric search destination based on feedback, trends in searching habits and user
requirements. Bing's new search features organise results in a user friendly way and diminish Internet overload and clutter, helping UK consumers
get to the information that matters most to them quicker, making decisions faster.
Read full story.....
neowin.net - 13.11.2009
Microsoft releases updated Facebook SDK
Microsoft today unveiled an updated Facebook SDK targeted at .NET developers. According to a Microsoft spokesperson "the goal is to enable .NET
developers to quickly and easily leverage the various features of the Facebook Platform." The software giant has provided samples and tools for
helping develop Facebook applications in the various .NET platforms including: ASP.NET, Silverlight, WPF and WinForms. Microsoft has also release the
source code for the API, components, controls, and samples. Microsoft has been working to provide developers with the option to quickly and
efficiently build Facebook applications across the breadth of their portfolio, ranging from Visual Studio to Zune, Xbox Live, Windows Messenger and
Live Search.
Read full story.....
neowin.net - 09.11.2009
Academic institutions reject Kindle
There has been a great deal of talk about devices such as the famous ebook reader, the Amazon Kindle and the up and coming Apple Tablet replacing the
way individuals interact with printed media. However, their success in doing so has always been up to the end user's personal preference. News
reported on Beta News shows just how unpopular trials of the Amazon Kindle DX have been in academic institutions interested in trialling the
technology, as a study aid for their respective students. Since the large screen Kindle DX debuted in the spring, a number of academic institutions
from secondary schools upward, ran pilot programs which tested the device's viability as a textbook replacement.
Read full story.....
neowin.net - 13.11.2009
