Thursday, July 16, 2009

Microsoft Open Office 2010 Technical Review

The world's most popular office suite and one of Microsoft's biggest sources of revenue is about to get a refresh. As the company rolls out an invitation-only preview of Office 2010, details are beginning to surface about what Redmond has in store for desktop productivity. The most notable change, which Microsoft is not offering to those participating in the preview yet, will be the addition of web-based versions of its software.

No doubt in a response to Google and other vendors, 2010 will be the first Microsoft Office suite designed with web integration fully in mind. The three biggest browsers (IE, Firefox and Safari) are all known to work with Microsoft's web-based versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and more. The online suite will be available as a free part of Windows Live next year, but Microsoft hasn't decided whether they will include advertising.

In a similar move to Windows 7, Microsoft has said that the desktop counterpart will largely focus on improving what Office 2007 already offers without re-imagining the entire suite. If you happen to be participating in the technical preview, let us know what you think of the suite. The real test will come later in the year, when a tech preview web apps become available. Even if both Google and Microsoft are “ahead of the market” on demand of web-based apps, it's clear that is where the Office is headed: the browser.

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Latest firefox 3.51 Release On July 16

Publisher description

Improve your browsing experience with Mozilla's open-source and highly acclaimed Firefox.

The Web is all about innovation, and Firefox 3 sets the pace with dozens of new features, including the smart location bar, one-click bookmarking and blindingly fast performance.

Firefox 3 is based on the Gecko 1.9 Web rendering platform, which has been under development for the past 34 months. This new platform includes more than 15,000 changes to improve performance, stability, rendering correctness, and code simplification and sustainability. Firefox 3 is built on top of this new platform resulting in a more secure, easier to use, more personal product with a lot more under the hood to offer website and Firefox add-on developers.
Highlights:

More Secure

* One-click site info: Click the site favicon in the location bar to see who owns the site and to check if your connection is protected from eavesdropping. Identity verification is prominently displayed and easier to understand. When a site uses Extended Validation (EV) SSL certificates, the site favicon button will turn green and show the name of the company you're connected to. (Try it here!)
* Malware Protection: malware protection warns users when they arrive at sites which are known to install viruses, spyware, trojans or other malware. (Try it here!)
* New Web Forgery Protection page: the content of pages suspected as web forgeries is no longer shown. (Try it here!)
* New SSL error pages: clearer and stricter error pages are used when Firefox encounters an invalid SSL certificate. (Try it here!)
* Add-ons and Plugin version check: Firefox now automatically checks add-on and plugin versions and will disable older, insecure versions.
* Secure add-on updates: to improve add-on update security, add-ons that provide updates in an insecure manner will be disabled.
* Anti-virus integration: Firefox will inform anti-virus software when downloading executables.
* Vista Parental Controls: Firefox now respects the Vista system-wide parental control setting for disabling file downloads.
* Effective top-level domain (eTLD) service better restricts cookies and other restricted content to a single domain.
* Better protection against cross-site JSON data leaks.

Easier to Use

* Easier password management: an information bar replaces the old password dialog so you can now save passwords after a successful login.
* Simplified add-on installation: the add-ons whitelist has been removed making it possible to install extensions from third-party sites in fewer clicks.
* New Download Manager: the revised download manager makes it much easier to locate downloaded files, and you can see and search on the name of the website where a file came from. Your active downloads and time remaining are always shown in the status bar as your files download.
* Resumable downloading: users can now resume downloads after restarting the browser or resetting your network connection.
* Full page zoom: from the View menu and via keyboard shortcuts, the new zooming feature lets you zoom in and out of entire pages, scaling the layout, text and images, or optionally only the text size. Your settings will be remembered whenever you return to the site.
* Podcasts and Videocasts can be associated with your media playback tools.
* Tab scrolling and quickmenu: tabs are easier to locate with the new tab scrolling and tab quickmenu.
* Save what you were doing: Firefox will prompt users to save tabs on exit.
* Optimized Open in Tabs behavior: opening a folder of bookmarks in tabs now appends the new tabs rather than overwriting.
* Location and Search bar size can now be customized with a simple resizer item.
* Text selection improvements: multiple text selections can be made with Ctrl/Cmd; double-click drag selects in "word-by-word" mode; triple-clicking selects a paragraph.
* Find toolbar: the Find toolbar now opens with the current selection.
* Plugin management: users can disable individual plugins in the Add-on Manager.

* Integration with Windows: Firefox now has improved Windows icons, and uses native user interface widgets in the browser and in web forms.
* Integration with the Mac: the new Firefox theme makes toolbars, icons, and other user interface elements look like a native OS X application. Firefox also uses OS X widgets and supports Growl for notifications of completed downloads and available updates. A combined back and forward control make it even easier to move between web pages.
* Integration with Linux: Firefox's default icons, buttons, and menu styles now use the native GTK theme.

More Personal

* Star button: quickly add bookmarks from the location bar with a single click; a second click lets you file and tag them.
* Tags: associate keywords with your bookmarks to sort them by topic.
* Smart Location Bar: type in all or part of the title, tag or address of a page to see a list of matches from your history and bookmarks; a new display makes it easier to scan through the matching results and find that page you're looking for. Results are returned according to their a combination of frequency, and recency of visits to that page, ensuring that you're seeing the most relevant matches. An adaptive learning algorithm further tunes the results to your patterns!
* Library: view, organize and search through your bookmarks, tags and browsing history using the new Library window. Create or restore full backups of this data whenever with a few clicks.
* Smart Bookmark Folders: quickly access your most visited bookmarks from the toolbar, or recently bookmarked and tagged pages from the bookmark menu. Create your own Smart Bookmark Folders by saving a search query in the Library.
* Web-based protocol handlers: web applications, such as your favorite webmail provider, can now be used instead of desktop applications for handling mailto: links from other sites. Similar support is available for other protocols (Web applications will have to first enable this by registering as handlers with Firefox).
* Download & Install Add-ons: the Add-ons Manager (Tools > Add-ons) can now be used to download and install a Firefox customization from the thousands of Add-ons available from our community add-ons website. When you first open the Add-ons Manager, a list of recommended Add-ons is shown.
* Easy to use Download Actions: a new Applications preferences pane provides a better UI for configuring handlers for various file types and protocol schemes.

Improved Platform for Developers

* New graphics and font handling: new graphics and text rendering architectures in Gecko 1.9 provides rendering improvements in CSS, SVG as well as improved display of fonts with ligatures and complex scripts.
* Color management: (set gfx.color_management.enabled on in about:config and restart the browser to enable.) Firefox can now adjust images with embedded color profiles.
* Offline support: enables web applications to provide offline functionality (website authors must add support for offline browsing to their site for this feature to be available to users).
* A more complete overview of Firefox 3 for developers is available for website and add-on developers.

Improved Performance

* Speed: improvements to our JavaScript engine as well as profile guided optimizations have resulted in continued improvements in performance. Compared to Firefox 2, web applications like Google Mail and Zoho Office run twice as fast in Firefox 3, and the popular SunSpider test from Apple shows improvements over previous releases.
* Memory usage: Several new technologies work together to reduce the amount of memory used by Firefox 3 over a web browsing session. Memory cycles are broken and collected by an automated cycle collector, a new memory allocator reduces fragmentation, hundreds of leaks have been fixed, and caching strategies have been tuned.
* Reliability: A user's bookmarks, history, cookies, and preferences are now stored in a transactionally secure database format which will prevent data loss even if their system crashes.

What's new:

Firefox 3.5.1 fixes the following issues:

* Several security issues, including a publicly disclosed vulnerability.
* Several stability issues.
* An issue that was making Firefox take a long time to load on some Windows systems.

Please see the complete list of changes in this version. You may also be interested in the Firefox 3.5 release notes for a list of changes in the previous version.

What’s New in Firefox 3.5

Firefox 3.5 is based on the Gecko 1.9.1 rendering platform, which has been under development for the past year. Firefox 3.5 offers many changes over the previous version, supporting new web technologies, improving performance and ease of use. Some of the notable features are:

* Available in more than 70 languages. (Get your local version!)
* Support for the HTML5
* Improved tools for controlling your private data, including a Private Browsing Mode.
* Better web application performance using the new TraceMonkey JavaScript engine.
* The ability to share your location with websites using Location Aware Browsing.
* Support for native JSON, and web worker threads.
* Improvements to the Gecko layout engine, including speculative parsing for faster content rendering.
* Support for new web technologies such as: downloadable fonts, CSS media queries, new transformations and properties, JavaScript query selectors, HTML5 local storage and offline application storage, text, ICC profiles, and SVG transforms.

Developers can find out about all the changes and new features at the Mozilla Developer Center.

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New Release Microsoft Silverlight 3.0








Not willing to concede the market to Adobe, Microsoft has released a new major version of its Silverlight web browser plug-in. Among the new features in version 3.0 are 3D support, GPU acceleration, support for H.264 and AAC encoding, deep linking, image and text improvements and more. The official launch of Silverlight 3 is scheduled for tomorrow, but the actual bits are available now from Microsoft’s website.

One of the main new features of Silverlight 3 is its support for running applications outside the browser. This is similar to Adobe’s AIR in that it will allow apps to run on Windows or Mac clients and provide users with online, offline or intermittently connected access to content. However, Microsoft officials claim there will be advantages that Silverlight 3 offers over AIR, starting with the fact that developers and users won’t need to download an additional runtime in order to get out-of-the-browser support.

Microsoft is also including Smooth Streaming support in Silverlight 3, which dynamically detects network and local PC conditions to seamlessly switch the video quality of videos. People with high-bandwidth connections and newer hardware can experience HD quality streaming, while others with lower connection speeds or simply experiencing a temporary drop in bandwidth receive an appropriate stream for their current conditions, allowing an uninterrupted streaming experience with the highest quality possible.

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Windows 7 on USB drives?







Microsoft is reportedly considering offering Windows 7 on USB thumb drives so that netbook owners can upgrade their machines. The company had planned to offer Windows 7 via DVDs and download, but the proliferation of these optical-drive-lacking machines apparently has Redmond looking for alternative means of distributing its operating system.

Of course, there are ways of getting Windows 7 onto a netbook. Buyers with an external DVD drive can simply hook it up to their netbook, for example, or those purchasing the downloadable version could load it on their own USB drive. However, the idea is to make installation on netbooks easier for the less tech-savvy, and avoid paying a tech support guy to get the job done for them.

Microsoft has yet to confirm or deny such a move, but the company has previously gone out their way to emphasize how any version of Windows 7 will run on a netbook; so naturally they want to capitalize on the market’s popularity. According to CNet, this is just one of several things Microsoft has looked at to try and make it more convenient to upgrade machines that don't come with CD or DVD drives.

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Soon, YouTube drop IE6 support !!

No matter how popular a browser is, once the developer stops supporting it, eventually its usage will start to decline and even those who make web services available will find themselves unwilling to continue supporting it. Such is the case with Internet Explorer 6, which just a few years ago was the world's most popular browser and now is getting the cold shoulder from YouTube.







Users of IE6 are reporting that YouTube now displays a banner to them warning that the service will soon be phasing out support for the browser. The logos of Google Chrome, Firefox, and IE8 appear right next to the text encouraging users to upgrade to a more modern browser.

Security experts and even Microsoft itself have also been urging users to upgrade as fast as possible. So long as major sites continue to provide support for IE6, however, the longer it will take for it to disappear entirely – so when a major site like YouTube announces their intention to say goodbye, it can generally be seen as a good move. We can probably expect a more formal declaration soon.

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Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Mozilla Rushing to Fix Firefox 3.5 Bugs

Mozilla plans to release a patched version of its latest browser, to be named Firefox 3.5.1, in response to certain bugs that have revealed themselves following Firefox 3.5's June 30 release. Firefox 3.5 offers new features such as extensive support for HTML 5, faster speeds than previous versions, and support for JSON and Web worker threads.








Mozilla will rush out a patch to its Firefox 3.5 browser to correct a number of bugs that users have cited as causing them issues. The patch, if it proceeds on schedule, will be released later in July.

The patched version will be named Firefox 3.5.1 and include a fix to the browser’s JavaScript engine, TraceMonkey, and another to how the browser runs in Windows XP. Mozilla has scheduled a Firefox BugDay for its community to tackle "major 3.5 bugs" on July 7.

According to the real-time counter on the Mozilla site, over 8 million copies of Firefox 3.5 have been downloaded worldwide since the browser’s general release on June 30. Mozilla had released Firefox 3.5 Beta 4 on April 27, allowing users to test-drive the new features, including support for

Firefox 3.5 addressed many of the reliability and performance issues of its previous versions, according to eWEEK Labs, notably with regard to slowdowns after long sessions and crashing. In multiple tests, Firefox 3.5 also doubled the speed of Firefox 3.0, while coming closer to matching the speed of "performance leaders" Safari 4 and Chrome 2.0.

The browser also features more extensive support for HTML 5, which allows it to handle video in much the same way that a browser displays images or text—that is to say, directly, so that video is integrated seamlessly with other Web content. Standards support in Firefox 3.5 has also been increased, an improvement over its previous versions.

Firefox 3.5 offers a Private Browsing mode and Location Aware browsing, the latter of which utilizes Geolocation API to (optionally) share the user’s location with a Website.

Although Microsoft’s Internet Explorer continues to dominate the enterprise with regard to browser usage, Firefox saw gains in its enterprise market share in 2008, increasing from 16.9 percent in July to 18.2 percent in December, while Chrome and Apple Safari stayed relatively steady.

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Critical Firefox 3.5 bug discovered


US-CERT posted a warning yesterday, of a critical vulnerability affecting the recently launched Firefox 3.5. The bug is due to an error in the way JavaScript code is processed. By exploiting this anomaly, an attacker may be able to execute arbitrary code. Furthermore, exploit code is publicly available for this vulnerability.

Mozilla is aware of and has publicly acknowledged the issue on their blog. They say that the bug can be exploited by an attacker who tricks a victim into viewing a malicious Web page containing the exploit code. Mozilla is working to fix the issue and a security update will be sent out when it’s ready.

For the time being, to mitigate the bug simply disable the Just-in-time (JIT) JavaScript engine. To accomplish this: Enter “about:config” in the address bar, type “jit” in the filter bar up top, and double-click the line containing “javascript.options.jit.content”, which should then have a value of “false”.

If that sounds a bit too troublesome, you can simply run Firefox in Safe Mode or even install an add-on like NoScript. Naturally, as soon as the fix is released, you can reverse any remedy.

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Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Windows 7 features , HomeGroup

Watch HomeGroup in action.

HomeGroup takes the headache out of sharing files and printers on a home network. Connect two or more PCs running Windows 7, and HomeGroup makes it easy to automatically start sharing your music, pictures, video, and document libraries with others in your home. The new “Share with” menu, meanwhile, provides a speedy way to share individual files.

Concerned about privacy? So are we. That’s why HomeGroup is password-protected and puts you in total control. You decide what gets shared—and what stays private. You can also make your files "read only," so other people can look at (but not touch) your stuff.

You can join a homegroup in any edition of Windows 7, but you can only create one in Home Premium, Professional, or Ultimate.

Related Link :

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Windows 7 Desktop Feature

With Windows 7, we’ve made it easier to get more done on the desktop.

New ways to juggle windows

Overwhelmed by open windows? Windows 7 comes with three simple yet powerful new features called Aero Shake, Aero Peek, and Snap to help you instantly clear through desktop clutter.Peek-a-boo: Aero Peek turns open windows translucent so you can see what's on your desktop.

Spectacular new wallpapers

We spend a lot of time staring at our PCs. Aesthetics shouldn't just be an afterthought. That's why Windows 7 includes a slew of new desktop backgrounds—wallpapers—that range from sublime to silly. Or try the new desktop slide show, which displays a rotating series of pictures (ours or yours). Your desktop will never be dull again.

Windows 7 makes it easy to express your personality with creative new themes and other custom touches.

See the "superbar"

Since Windows 95, the taskbar has served as the go-to spot for launching programs and switching windows. Times and PC habits have changed. So in Windows 7, the taskbar has been completely redesigned to help you get more done. It's easier on the eyes and more customizeable, and it makes it easier to multitask.

Improvements to the new Windows 7 taskbar include thumbnail previews of webpages, documents—even running video.

Improved gadgets

Gadgets, the popular mini-programs introduced in Windows Vista, are now more flexible and fun. Based on your feedback, we've done away with the Sidebar, so you can stick your gadgets anywhere on the desktop.

Favorite gadgets can go anywhere on your Windows 7 desktop.
Note: Not all features mentioned above are available in all editions of Windows 7. See the individual feature pages for details.





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Why choose Windows 7?

We know you love Windows XP—after all, you've been telling us that for years.

With Windows 7, we used your feedback to make things even better. From switching between programs to recording TV, Windows 7 simplifies the way you use your PC—and the way your PC connects with the world.

Simplifies everyday tasks
Windows 7 makes the basics easier than ever. With HomeGroup, it’s simple to share music, documents, printers, and everything else with the other PCs running Windows 7 in your house. Windows Search frees you from the chore of hunting through folders and subfolders to locate your stuff. Better taskbar previews give you a great view of what's open, and Jump Lists show you recent files with a single right-click.


Works the way you want

It doesn’t matter how many neat tricks your PC can do if it’s not running as smoothly as you expect. So we designed Windows 7 to help your PC sleep and resume faster. Windows 7 supports the latest advances in PC hardware, like 64-bit computing and multi-core processors, and improved memory utilization helps your hardware reach its full performance potential


Makes new things possible

Once you’ve got that simpler, faster PC, some cool new features would be great. Here you go: You'll be able to connect to networks—home, work, coffee shop—with a couple of clicks, and with Windows Touch (and the right hardware), you’ll soon be using your fingers to flip through files, work with pictures, and even “paint.”

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