Jun 30, 2009

Fancy a copy of Windows 7 Ultimate for FREE?

A little bird has informed me of an official Microsoft hosted survey in which the winner(s) will receive a free copy of Windows 7 Ultimate after simply filling out a 4 question survey. It couldn't be any easier than this folks. The survey is entitled "Windows 7 Discovery", and the instructions are crystal clear:

"We want to know how you find information about Windows 7 from Microsoft. Please answer questions in the survey below for a chance to win a copy of Windows 7 Ultimate Edition when it becomes available in Oct 2009."

In order to be eligible for the survey, which is hosted on SurveyMonkey.com, all you have to do is answer the following questions:
  1. Name and e-mail address.
  2. What group best describer your role?
  3. What term would you use to search for a Microsoft page about Windows 7?
  4. Which URL would you most likely type to find information on the latest version of Windows?
So what are you waiting for, head on over to the survey and good luck.

Enjoy!

ESET Plugin for Cisco NAC Released

ESET Plugin for Cisco NAC Release Candidate is now available for public testing.

Cisco NAC (Network Admission Control) is a technology that works in concert with Cisco network devices to ensure a clean and secure network environment. The NAC system enforces security policies by enabling or blocking access to critical network resources based on the detected client security status.

An endpoint running an antivirus program with outdated virus signature database can pose a serious security risk to the entire network. The antivirus program may fail to detect the most recent malware threats in the network, resulting in an infection and further spread of the new threat throughout the network.

Cisco NAC interoperates with endpoints protected by ESET NOD32 Antivirus and ESET Smart Security 4. With the ESET Plugin for Cisco NAC, earlier versions of ESET NOD32 Antivirus (2.7 and 3.0) and ESET Smart Security can also ensure interoperability. ESET Plugin for Cisco NAC will enable ESET NOD32 Antivirus and ESET Smart Security to respond with security status, including version information of the virus signature database on an endpoint, before the Cisco NAC server grants that endpoint admission to the company network. This helps ensure a high level of security within the company network.

View: Official Homepage
Screenshot: Click here
Download: ESET Plugin for Cisco NAC

Enjoy!

Best and Real iPhone Battery Saving Tips

All iPhone 2G, 3G and 3GS owners who have upgrade to the new OS 3 firmware are noticing low battery performance. Though Apple doesn’t provide the option of having a spare battery, they do provide some advice on how to preserve your battery life. They are all pretty much common sense to turn off unwanted things, but some provide to be useful. Below are good iPhone battery conservation tips that will help you get more run time out of a charge:
  • Keep your iPhone out of the sun or a hot car (including the glove box). Heat will degrade your battery’s performance the most.
  • Always make sure your iPhone has the latest software from Apple, as engineers may find new ways to optimize battery performance.

Optimize Settings in your iPhone below.

  • Turn off Location Services, 3G, WiFi, Bluetooth. Apps that need it will ask for permission and turn it on as needed (Settings > General > Location Settings > Off)
  • Turn off push email if you don’t use it (Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendar > Fetch New Data > Push > Off)
  • Fetch email manually (Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendar > Fetch New Data > Fetch > Manually)
  • Set screen brightness to 30% or less (Settings > Brightness) and set Auto Brightness to “On”.
  • Set Auto-Lock to 1 minute (Settings > General > Auto-Lock) and always sleep the phone by pressing the top button as soon as you are finished with it.
  • Minimize use of third-party applications like games that prevent the screen from dimming.
  • Turn off equalizer when listening to your song play lists ( Settings > iPod > EQ and tap Off )
  • Use Airplane Mode in low- or no-coverage areas so iPhone will stop searching for cellular network and will not use more power. ( Settings and set Airplane Mode to On.)
  • tip: It is true to make sure to go through at least one charge cycle per month (charging the battery to 100% and then completely running it down). It’s important to keep the electrons in Lithium-based battery moving occasionally.

    tip: Battery Replacement from iPhone costs around 85$. order here.




    Steve Jobs officially back at Apple

    True to their word, Apple have had CEO Steve Jobs return back to work, at the end of June. Jobs had been seen around the campus last week, but it seems he wasn't officially working then; only now, according to CNN, is he properly working again.

    A spokesman for Apple, Steve Dowling, said, "Steve Jobs is back to work. He is at Apple a few days a week and working from home the other days. We're glad to have him back," and wouldn't comment any further. Steve Jobs had left Apple in January due to health concerns, and it seems that two months ago he may even have had a liver transplant. However, Steve's recent departure and then return has left many websites and journalists asking, "Would Apple be fine if Jobs left for good?"

    It truly is a rather controversial question as to whether or not the stability of a company relies solely on one man, but the only thing that would truly decide it is time. Most people would initially say that no, Apple will be quite fine no matter what happens, but the past has shown how Apple stock has fluctuated (negatively, usually) whenever bad news comes out about the co-founder.

    It hasn't been said what will happen now with Apple, regarding new products, and the sort; many people speculated that Jobs would return with a bang, holding a press conference and releasing a new product, but it seems his return has been quite the opposite. Either way, Jobs is back at Apple.


    Windows 7 in Europe: no upgrades, no IE, up to 2X the price

    According to Computer World, things are not looking good for European fans of Windows 7 and Internet Explorer. Microsoft has decided to remove Internet Explorer from versions of Windows 7 to be sold in Europe, the company is not offering an upgrade path from Vista. Also, although international exchange rates vary, the prices of Windows 7 do not look good for people paying in euros or pounds.

    In an effort to quell EU concerns over anti-trust issues, Microsoft preemptively removed Internet Explorer from Windows 7. Many have speculated as to why the company made this move. Some have suggested that the ploy was inspired by the company's earlier EU-agreed removal of Windows Media Player from the so-called "N" versions of Windows Vista. However, in that case, Microsoft's concession (offering the "N" versions of Vista) did nothing to harm their bottom line or to increase competition in media players. OEMs simply demanded the non-"N" versions of Vista, and the "N" versions became a minute fraction of copies sold.

    This time Microsoft is going for broke by removing Internet Explorer from all versions of Windows 7 to be sold in Europe. OEMs in this case may choose to include it, however, in their Windows machines, just as they add so-called "crap-ware", "crippleware" and teaser anti-virus suites. This is what it would appear Microsoft is hoping for. The European Union's preferred solution remains a sort of pop-up voting screen offering users a choice of browser installs the first time they fire up a new Windows 7 machine. The EU may have its way in the end, even with Microsoft seeming to be trying to pull the rug out from under their feet.

    This state of affairs has nothing to do with the pricing of the various versions of Windows 7 in Europe, or does it? Windows 7 Home Premium is slated at €119.99 ($169.19 at today's rate) in countries using the euro and £79.99 ($132.28 at today's rate) in the UK. People in the US will be paying "only $119 for the same software after a two-week pre-order sales discount expires July 11" according to Computer World. Plus, US customers will receive Internet Explorer as part of the default install.

    Even more surprising, Windows 7 Ultimate, which will retail for $219.99 in America will cost around 90% more in euros and 50% more in pounds, at current rates. It's worth remembering that the versions listed for comparison are full versions in Europe and upgrade versions in the US as Microsoft hasn't announced when upgrade versions will be available in the EU. Without the initial choice on October 22 users will have no choice but to purchase the full versions or wait until Microsoft has the upgrade versions ready for the EU.

    Article update - to reflect the fact that pricing is based on Full edition in Europe as Microsoft will not be supplying upgrade editions initially.


    Microsoft introduces Apple-like tours of Windows 7

    Microsoft has introduced some product tours of Windows 7 in action, similar to Apple's guided tours.

    Long Zheng spotted them on Microsoft's Windows 7 site as the company ramps up it's marketing of Windows 7.

    In all of the videos, Latika Kirtane, product manager for Internet Explorer, stars once again. According to Zheng, Kirtane was the star of Microsoft's infamous Songsmith marketing video. The Windows 7 videos have a similar feel to those that Apple uses every time it has a new product to demonstrate. They are both informative and knowledgeable but do not come across as purely just marketing.

    There are 4 videos currently published which we have included below, they are a good hint at Microsoft's marketing plans for Windows 7.






    BORKED

    BORKED

    BORKED

    BORKED

    Apple to adopt micro-USB for charging

    A large conglomerate of mega corps has backed the European Commission to support a standard of micro-USB connection for charging. The biggest surprise here is that Apple is joining in the support which means that they too will also adopt micro-USB for charging in their wireless devices.

    For any other company this wouldn't mean much but because Apple has used the same port design since its iPod inception this could have a wide scale affect on its consumers.

    Imagine that you bought an iPhone, a Bose radio with an iPod dock connector, your car has built in support for the connection and Apple changes its port design and all of your devices become incompatible with future products. It's a scenario that could take place if Apple changes from the iPod dock connector to strictly micro-usb leaving millions of 3rd party products incompatible.

    It remains to be seen how Apple will implement the charging port as they could solely use the USB port for charging while leaving the standard Apple port for syncing or both. That scenario seems unlikely though as Apple tends to stick to a minimalist design and adding and extra port would take away from that products design. How this unfolds will be interesting for Apple customers and potential customers worldwide.


    Asus Crosshair III Formula motherboard review

    Roughly a year ago we reviewed the Asus Crosshair II Formula, based on the Nvidia nForce 780a SLI chipset. This board provided those who were brave enough to pick up a Phenom processor with a stable platform that sported a number of impressive features such as Triple-SLI. At the time we said the Crosshair II Formula was a well designed motherboard that was let down by a power hungry chipset and sub-par processors.

    But AMD managed to turn things around when they released the Phenom II X4 with models clocked at 2.8GHz and 3.0GHz. And now with the Phenom II X4 955 in their arsenal, AMD is finally starting to look like they mean business.



    Now after much anticipation AMD has a processor that really deserves a quality high-end motherboard. The new Crosshair III Formula dumps the Nvidia chipset for the popular AMD 790FX and as a result drops SLI support for CrossFireX. This latest Asus motherboard comes stocked with just about everything in traditional ROG (Republic Of Gamers) fashion.

    View: Asus Crosshair III Formula motherboard review

    These reviews are brought to Neowin visitors through a partnership with TechSpot.


    Pidgin 2.5.8

    Pidgin (previously called Gaim) is a multi-protocol instant messaging (IM) client for Linux, BSD, MacOS X, and Windows. It is compatible with AIM and ICQ (Oscar protocol), MSN Messenger, Yahoo!, IRC, Jabber, Gadu-Gadu, SILC, GroupWise Messenger, and Zephyr networks.

    Pidgin users can log in to multiple accounts on multiple IM networks simultaneously. This means that you can be chatting with friends on AOL Instant Messenger, talking to a friend on Yahoo Messenger, and sitting in an IRC channel all at the same time.

    Pidgin supports many features of the various networks, such as file transfer, away messages, typing notification, and MSN window closing notification. It also goes beyond that and provides many unique features. A few popular features are Buddy Pounces, which give the ability to notify you, send a message, play a sound, or run a program when a specific buddy goes away, signs online, or returns from idle; and plugins, consisting of text replacement, a buddy ticker, extended message notification, iconify on away, spell checking, tabbed conversations, and more.

    News source: Official website
    Download: Pidgin 2.5.8
    View: Change log

    Transformers 2: Revenge Of The Fallen (2009)





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    OR

    http://hotfile.com/dl/7713850/355d5d3/MYBACKUPSTUFF01.html
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    http://hotfile.com/dl/7714043/362f9c2/MYBACKUPSTUFF06.html


    Password: cosmicstudio

    WinSCP 4.2.2 Beta

    WinSCP is an open source free SFTP client and FTP client for Windows. Legacy SCP protocol is also supported. Its main function is safe copying of files between a local and a remote computer.

    What's new:
    • New icon.
    • Improvements to background transfer queue.
    • PuTTY and OpenSSL code updated.
    • Several improvements to scripting.
    Source: WinSCP website
    Download: WinSCP 4.2.2 beta
    View: Release notes

    Jun 29, 2009

    Acer to surpass Dell as the second biggest PC company

    Dell has long been a massive player in the computer retailing industry, second only to Hewlett-Packard (or HP to you youngsters), but it appears that they're about to be surpassed by someone quite unexpected. That's right; according to the NY Times (registration required), Acer is set up to become the second biggest PC vendor on the planet.

    This is surprising for a number of reasons. Firstly, Acer is based in Taiwan; they'll be the first non-US manufacturer to reach that high in US sales, as Dell and HP are both firmly American. PC industry analyst and president of a consultancy named Endpoint Technologies Associates, Roger Kay, stated, "That is a big achievement, and they have beaten the odds. Acer is a real comer." As the NY Times points out, Acer has often worked with retailers, as opposed to competing against them; it certainly shows in their profits. Over the past two quarters, Dell's revenue from PC sales has fallen by about 30%... a pretty huge fall. HP have seen losses, at around 19%, but Acer has only been hit for around about 8% lost.

    Acer has the benefits of being able to choose from whichever manufacturer they like, in order to get the lowest prices possible. As you can hopefully figure out for yourself, this is certainly a wondrous thing to have in the excuse for an economy we have today. In fact, the economy was actually apparently benefitting to Acer's rise to glory; during this recession, they have focused on building low cost netbooks. Dell has stuck to trying to sell regular computers, which is why they've sunk down a bit... people aren't looking to spend thousands on their next machine when they can get something cheaper that is usually just as good.

    As it stands, Dell was sitting on 13.6% market share in the first quarter, and Acer had 11.6%; the former falling from 15% since last year, and the latter rising from 10.9%, of course. We'll see how this plays out by the end of the year.

    Could not flush the DNS Resolver Cache

    The DNS Client service is used by the Windows operating system to resolve and store domain name system names in order to speed up the process. There are a few possible pitfalls that users experience when using the DNS cache in the Windows operating system. It can for example mean that old DNS information are used which can lead to all kind of troubles. The ipconfig /flushdns command can be used to flush the dns cache in order to resolve the domain names anew.

    Users who try to flush the dns cache might receive the error message “Windows IP Configuration Could not flush the DNS Resolver Cache: Function failed during execution” if the DNS Client service is deactivated.

    could not flush the dns resolver cache

    The solution to fix this error message is to enable the DNS Client service again in the Services configuration menu. I’m not sure if it makes that much sense to flush the cache if the DNS Client is disabled as it should mean that Windows is not resolving and storing DNS at all. Experts who might to weight in are encouraged to do so.

    You can start the service by typing [Windows R], [services.msc] [enter]. Locate the DNS Client service, right-click it and select properties from the menu.

    dns client

    You need to set the service to manual or automatic before you are able to start the service.




    Activate Spell Check in Web Form on Firefox

    One of the beauties of Firefox 3 is its ability to do spelling check as and when users do the typing. The built-in spell checker application program in the Firefox browser will flag words in a document when users do not spell correctly. It lets users enter text directly into web pages such as blog posts, web-based email, forum, etc without any typos or spelling mistakes. To activate the feature, users just need to go to Tools -> Option -> Advanced -> and check the “Check My Spelling As I Type” box. Even though the built-in spell checker is useful, the setback for it is it doesn’t work in web form. When users enter data or fill out a form, the spelling check doesn’t work in the text fields. To extend this handy feature in web form, there is little users need to do to modify the hidden preference for the spell-checker to work in web form.

    Firstly, open the Firefox browser. Type about:config in the location bar and press Enter to display the list of user preferences.



    Type in “spellcheck” in the Filter box.



    Look for the item “layout.spellcheckDefault”, right click for menu shortcut. Select “Modify” to edit the value.



    Change the value from 1 to 2.



    Users need to restart Firefox browser to activate the setting.

    Enjoy!

    Windows Marketplace for Mobile will launch with 600 apps

    Microsoft will be launching their new application store, Windows Marketplace for Mobile, pretty soon and it's just been revealed the level of content that will be initially available. In an interview with MobiFrance (yes, that link is in French), Audrey Zolghadr, product manager for Windows Mobile at Microsoft France, stated there would be about 600 applications ready for use.

    So, how is this in comparison with other offerings? Apple's App Store is leading the front, as it's been around the longest, with over 50,000 applications (although apparently some of those have been deleted since). Nokia's Ovi Store has "over 20,000 items", but of course most of that is not applications, but wallpapers and the like. Additionally, we have Palm's App Catalog which has barely any at all. What you have to remember, though, is that (according to PhoneArena) Windows Mobile has around 20,000 applications currently available anyway; that '600' figure only counts the ones that will be on the store, of course.

    Microsoft has put together a video about developers and how they want them to start submitting applications right now (we've included it below). There's also the official website for doing so right here. Feel free to leave thoughts below, as per usual.

    BORKED

    Enjoy!

    FileZilla 3.2.6 Released

    FileZilla is a powerful Open Source FTP/SFTP client with many features. It includes a site manager to store all your connection details and logins as well as an Explorer style interface that shows the local and remote folders and can be customized independently. The program offers support for firewalls and proxy connections as well as SSL and Kerberos GSS security. Additional features include keep alive, auto ascii/binary transfer, download queue, manual transfers, raw FTP commands and more. A nice program for beginners and advanced user alike.

    Bugfixes and minor changes:
    • Don't display error messages multiple times if modification times of edited file cannot be obtained
    • Fix problems with certificate dialog introduced in 3.2.6-rc1
    View: Official Homepage
    Download: FileZilla 3.2.6

    ChickenPing 1.10



    ChickenPing is a recipe organizer which lets you create, download, rate and share recipes. Also available for Windows Mobile, you can take your portable cookbook with you anywhere.

    Features Include:
    • Scale recipes for more or fewer servings
    • Add snapshots of your finished recipes
    • Create shopping lists from recipes
    • Find recipes using what's in the fridge
    • Take recipes with you on a Windows Mobile smartphone
    • Publish snapshots to Flickr
    • Import from RecipeML format
    • ... and much more



    Changes in ChickenPing 1.10
    • Added: Windows Mobile Syncronization utility.
    • Added: Categories, minimum and maximum number of ingredients to search.
    • Added: Ability to store multiple snapshots for a recipe.
    • Added: Uploading snapshots to Flickr.
    • Added: Selectable icons to each recipe.
    • Added: Splash screen.
    • Changed: Entering a comma when adding categories for a recipe now adds the category.
    Changes in ChickenPing Mobile 1.05
    • Added: Icons to recipe list.
    • Changed: Categories can now be selected using checkboxes.
    ChickenPing Homepage
    Download ChickenPing

    Firefox 3.5 to be released June 30

    According to a report by webmonkey, the final version of Firefox 3.5 will be released on June 30.

    Firefox 3.5 is the first major revision since 3.0 was released about a year ago. The new version sports a faster rendering engine, stability enhancements and a new javascript engine. It will also include support for the most widely-used elements of HTML 5 that allows for offline data access, enhanced web graphics and multimedia playback without plug-ins. The Firefox logo has also had a small revision as well.

    Mozilla has been showing different 3.5 features within a 35 day period, and has also shown the new tools develops can take advantage of in the new version.

    The new version was originally going to be 3.1, but was renamed to 3.5 later to reflect a greater scope of changes than what has originally been planned.

    Enjoy!

    Jun 28, 2009

    Python 3.1 Released

    Python is a dynamic object-oriented programming language that can be used for many kinds of software development. It offers strong support for integration with other languages and tools, comes with extensive standard libraries, and can be learned in a few days. Many Python programmers report substantial productivity gains and feel the language encourages the development of higher quality, more maintainable code.

    Python runs on Windows, Linux/Unix, Mac OS X, OS/2, Amiga, Palm Handhelds, and Nokia mobile phones. Python has also been ported to the Java and .NET virtual machines.

    Python is distributed under an OSI-approved open source license that makes it free to use, even for commercial products.

    Website: Python - 13.17MB (Open Source)
    Download: Download

    Miro 2.0.5 Released

    Miro is a free HD video player. It can play almost any video file and offers over 6,000 free internet TV shows and video podcasts.

    Miro has a simple, gorgeous interface designed for fullscreen HD video. Since Miro downloads most videos, you can take your shows with you, even on an airplane. Quite simply, Miro is a better way to watch all the video you care about.

    Unlike your browser, Miro's built for HD. The built-in Miro Guide connects you to thousands of free High Definition video shows. Miro downloads video fast and stores it on your local computer for a level of quality that is often impossible on streaming video websites (even the ones that call themselves 'HD').

    Can't open a video? Now you can, with Miro. Miro can play virtually any type of video file - Quicktime, WMV, MPEG, AVI, XVID, and more.

    When it comes to video podcasts, Miro goes far beyond iTunes by letting you subscribe to BitTorrent RSS feeds, with one of the fastest torrent downloaders in the world. Miro makes BitTorrent RSS dead simple-- when a new episode is available, it will download automatically and be ready to watch.

    Website: Participatory Culture Foundation - 24.53MB (Open Source)
    Screenshot: >> Click here <<
    View: Features
    Download: Download

    How to Send an Email (Mail Message) from Linux Command Line Shell

    Occasionally system administrator may need to send a test email, or emergency mail message right from the shell or command line interpreter when using a Linux flavor or distribution of operating system, be Red Hat Fedora, Ubuntu, Debian, CentOS, Open SUSE, FreeBSD and others. In this case, the mail command will come in handy.

    mail is a command to send and receive mail in Unix, Linux and BSD operating system. To initiate a mail sending process, just type in the following command:

    mail recipient@domain.com

    Obviously, replace recipient@domain.com with a valid email address.

    The system will prompt for a subject of the email before allowing user to type in the mail message body.

    # mail receipent@domain.com
    Subject: For Testing Only
    This email is for testing the mail delivery system only.
    ^D (EOT)
    Cc:

    Once finished typing the email message, press Ctrl-D (shown as ^D in example above), which represents End of Text (EOT). Depending on system, mail may or may not prompt another input request for any recipients to cc (carbon copy) to. Press Enter to skip or accept the input, and get the mail sent.

    Tip: If the sender and recipient is on the same system, it’s possible to omit the domain (@domain.com) part of the address, leaving only user name.

    It’s also possible to use mail’s arguments or switches to directly send mail without interactive input. For example,

    mail -s Test address@domain.com < /dev/null

    Command above will immediately send a blank email with empty body to the recipient address with the subject "Test". For more arguments, type "man mail".



    End of the line for MSN Web Messenger

    Microsoft have announced that their veteran web-based messenger client will become unavailable from this Tuesday, June 30. The service has offered access to their popular instant messaging network through a web browser for the past five years.

    Since earlier this year a newer replacement service for MSN Web Messenger has been available as part of Windows Live Hotmail, featuring direct integration with the email interface and your contact list (known as Windows Live People). This will now become the only officially supported web-based client for accessing the Windows Live Messenger network, apart from the Windows Live Messenger Web Toolkit which allows developers to integrate messaging controls into their own websites.

    The new web messenger service is available directly from your Hotmail inbox and acts as another location for Messenger's multiple points of presence (MPOP) feature, meaning that you can sign into the web service whilst still signed into the Windows Live Messenger client on one or more computers. Once signed in, it allows you to easily see which of your contacts are online and if the sender of an email is in your contact list then you can even see if they are available to chat when reading their message. If your Live ID doesn't use Hotmail for its email (as it is hosted on another domain) then you can still access the web messenger in a similar way through Windows Live People.

    MSN Web Messenger is one of the last remaining MSN branded web applications still available, with other online services such as Hotmail and software such as Messenger itself having moved having moved to the Windows Live brand several years ago, so it's good to see this outdated service finally being retired. As Ars points out, Microsoft Money, Microsoft Encarta and Windows Live OneCare are also all set to be discontinued from June 30.

    Enjoy!

    Jun 27, 2009

    Micro Center offering Windows 7 coupons for $39 and $89

    We've just received a note from Neowin reader kilobyte1024 that let us know electronics retailer Micro Center is offering Windows 7 pre-orders for $10 less than the pre-order standard prices.

    There is a catch though, you have to go visit one of their 21 US locations to obtain a coupon between today and Sunday. However, once you've obtained the coupon you can then return between October 22 and November 4, after Windows 7 will hit general availability, and purchase your copy of Windows 7 for the reduced price. Meaning you don't have to actually "pre-order" right now, just obtain the coupon and purchase later.

    Sounds like a great deal, if you can get into one of their stores this weekend.

    As we reported earlier today, Microsoft is now selling pre-orders of Windows 7 Home Premium and Professional at a discount price of $49.99 and $99.99 respectively starting June 26 and going through July 11, while supplies last. Results of the first day of the pre-sale have been very positive for Microsoft and as of 1:30 PM ET, Windows 7 Home Premium, selling for $49.99 has claimed the number one spot of Amazon's software bestseller list, while the Professional edition, selling for $99.99 has claimed the number two spot.


    DivFix++ v0.32 Released

    DivFix++ is an AVI Video Repair and Preview Utility. This Program allows you to preview your AVI videos which are currently downloading. Simply fix them and watch them.

    DivFix++ supports multiple OSes such as Linux, MacOSX, and Windows.

    What's new in Version 0.32:
    • Fixed Overwrite mode.
    • Added Stream type identification code.
    • Fixed MacOSX PPC bug.
    • Added BigEndian Hardware support.
    • Added Codec FourCC VP3x, VP4, VP5, VP6x - On2 TrueMotion VP Support.
    • Added Codec FourCC SVQ1 & SVQ3 - Sorenson Video 3 Support.
    • Nuked Save Log property because usefulness.
    • Fixed detecting half and broken index chunk section.
    • Added primal H264 and AVC1 codec support.
    • Added "Recover From Key Frames" option to GUI.
    • Fixed file truncation & strip function error due Unicode build.
    • Added Truncation error message.
    • Added reading OpenDML file (up to 4 GB).(Fixed file will in AVI 1.0 format)
    • Fixed Stoping in Paused state.
    • Fixed crash on some files which have "vedt" RIFF header chunk
    • Fixed MacOSX "Keep the original file" file open error bug.
    • Merge makefiles to one. "makefile mac" does the job for mac.
    • Changed makefile for mass language compilation.
    • Added Spanish, German, Russian and Hebrew translations
    • Added Relative Output Folder and File option.
    • Fixed Grammatical mistakes.
    Link: DivFix++ Home
    Download: Download

    Windows 7 pre-orders claim Amazon's top sales spots


    Now that Windows 7 pre-orders are being sold for a big discount, Computer World is reporting that buyers are flocking to take advantage of these discounts, and that Windows 7 pre-orders already claimed Amazon's top sales spots for software.

    As of 1:30 PM ET, Windows 7 Home Premium, selling for $49.99 has claimed the number one spot of Amazon's bestseller list, while the Professional edition, selling for $99.99 has claimed the number two spot, and the Ultimate edition, selling for $219.99, and not having a discount claimed the number four spot.

    The pre-order deals starts today, and goes through July 11 or while supplies last. Microsoft has declined to comment on what kind of cap it had in mind for these pre-order discounts. Customers in the US can pre-order Windows 7 from the Microsoft Store, Amazon.com, Best Buy, Frys, Newegg, Office Depot and Tiger Direct. Customers in Canada can pre-order from Microsoft, Amazon.com, Best Buy, Future Shop, London Drugs, Staples and The Source. Most of these stores are even including free shipping and will deliver Windows 7 on release day, which is October 22nd.

    Microsoft has said that Windows 7 upgrades can be purchased and used by users running Windows Vista, Windows XP and even Windows 2000. However, Windows 2000 and XP users must do a clean install of the OS, while Vista users can do an in-place upgrade.

    Analysts have criticized Windows 7's pricing, but are praising the pre-order discounts. "The $49 initial price is a nice reward for loyal customers. But the 'real' upgrade pricing is way off for what the market will likely bear, especially during these economic times." said Michael Gartenberg, an analyst with Interpret.

    Enjoy!

    Jun 26, 2009

    Microsoft may offer Windows 7 on thumb drive for netbooks

    Microsoft has shown Windows 7 running on netbooks even since it first introduced the operating system, however, helping consumers getting it on there may proove a bit tricky. According to CNET, Microsoft is considering offering Windows 7 on a thumb drive so that netbook owners are able to easily upgrade their machines in case they lack a DVD drive, and are unable to use an external one.

    Even though Microsoft is considering selling Windows 7 on a thumb drive, there are other options for netbook users to upgrade. Less tech-savvy consumers could pay for someone else to do it, such as a service like Best Buy's Geek Squad. More technically literate consumers could order Windows 7 as a download and put it on their own thumb drive, or use an external DVD drive.

    Another hurdle Microsoft needs to overcome is since most netbook owners running a Microsoft operating system are running Windows XP, users will have to backup their data and do a clean install of Windows 7, since it does not support an in-place upgrade from Windows XP. Netbook owners who don't realize they're running Linux, and not Windows, may also be confused when attempting to "upgrade" as well, since a large number of lower priced netbook systems ship with the open source operating system and not Windows XP.

    There's no word on whether desktop and notebook users will be able to officially utilize Microsoft's thumbstick version of Windows 7, providing the company does offer the option.


    HTC announces another Android handset, the HTC Hero

    If you are in the market for an Android based handset, but felt that the HTC Dream and Magic didn't have the features you desired, the new Hero announced by HTC might just be the one for you.

    Earlier Android devices lacked some pretty important features, and HTC is looking to make up for it by incorporating them into the Hero. Some of the highlights of this device are:
    • First Android handset with Adobe Flash out of the box:
      The Hero is, according to HTC, "the first Android phone to ship with support for Adobe® Flash® Platform technology". What this means is that you can finally view most flash based content, such as streaming media, without the need for third-party applications.

      According to David Wadhwani, vice president and general manager, Platform Business Unit at Adobe, "the new HTC Hero represents a key milestone for Android and the Flash Platform. With close to 80 percent of all videos online delivered with Adobe Flash technology, consumers want to access rich Web content on-the-go."

      Head here, for a demo of Flash on the HTC Hero.
    • New user interface, the Sense UI:
      HTC is known for employing their fantastic TouchFLO interface on Windows Mobile smartphones, such as the HTC Touch and Touch Pro, to make Windows Mobile much more intuitive. Useful applications and rich animations are also thrown in to make the interface more appealing to the user.

      Although the Android OS is pretty intuitive on its own, HTC decided to try its hand at recreating the TouchFLO interface on it. They call this new interface the 'Sense UI' and features many of the popular widgets, applications and rich animations found on the TouchFLO interface.

      For those currently using the Dream or Magic, HTC says that they will make the Sense UI available to them soon.
    • Capacitive touch screen that supports multi-touch:
      This is something that users have been clamouring for on the HTC Dream and Magic. Android can handle multi-touch, but the feature is disabled due to the risk of infringing Apple's patents. Since the Android OS used in the Hero is heavily modified by HTC, and due to the nature of these modifications, the device does not come with a "with Google" tag found on the HTC Dream and Magic.
    • Teflon coating and oleophobic screen:
      The HTC Hero features a Teflon coating on its white coloured model and a oleophobic screen. These coatings help combat one of the more serious problems handset users (both touch and non-touch devices) face, finger print smudges. The oleophobic coating on the screen used on the Hero is more or less similar the one being used on the recently announced iPhone 3G S. In fact, Gizmodo thinks that the quality of the materials used on the Hero might have surpassed those used on the iPhone.
    • 3.5 mm audio jack and a 5 megapixel camera with auto-focus:
      The 3.5 mm audio jack is one of those features which many feel should have been included in earlier handsets, but weren't. But it is better late than never as HTC finally incorporates the standard headset jack on the Hero, allowing you to utilise your own pair of headphones without using an adapter or a proprietary pair of headphones. The camera specs have also been bumped, with the new Hero rocking a 5 MP camera.
    Here are the Hero's other specs:
    • HSPDA with up to 2 Mbps up-link and 7.2 Mbps down-link speeds
    • Quad band
    • Wi-fi
    • Bluetooth
    • 3.2 inch, 320X480 resolution screen
    • External USB port
    • GPS with digital compass
    • G-Sensor
    • SD Card slot
    The Hero runs on a Qualcomm® MSM7200A™ 528 MHz processor with 288 MB of RAM.





    As for pricing, interested parties can get the device for for free with a contract from T-Mobile UK. However, there is no word as to which mobile operator will carry the device in the United States.

    The HTC Hero will face some competition from Samsung's I7500 Android handset.

    Update: According to rumors, HTC Dream and Magic users may not be able to get into the Sense UI action after all, due to some licensing issues.


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