Down Time

Microsoft has sent out to select beta testers the first iteration of its service pack for Office 2010. The service pack weighs in at 294 MB and is currently making its way into the inbox of a selected group of beta testers.

Office 2010 is Microsoft’s latest version of its popular productivity suite and is used widely across corporate America. A general rule in the IT world is to not install any products from Microsoft until SP1 has been released; this is typically done to ensure stability and security for the end user.

Our tipster has indicated that there are no noticeable changes after first use. This indicates that it may be a large patch to the platform that will further enhance the security and the stability of the application.

Microsoft Office is a big ticket item for Microsoft and its imperative to their financial success that the platform be adopted widely to meet its sales and financial targets. With SP1 just around the corner, Microsoft will soon be able to expect corporate America to begin its adoption of Microsoft’s latest Office offering.

The most popular button amongst many webmasters and websites Facebook Connect has finally appeared on the signup page for MySpace. Now Myspace finally add a shocking Facebook Connect button in to facilitate their users by linking with their facebook account. Now you can login into Myspace without making another account of Myspace through your facebook account.

Click to Enlarge

MySpace users can use Facebook Connect to get updates streamed to their MySpace accounts from things they have "liked" on Facebook. It's not the first time MySpace has used its larger competitor's technology, but it's the broadest implementation of a strategy that makes it clear that the first round of the social-network battles are over.

New MySpace CEO Mike Jones hosted the conference call to discuss the move. He was accompanied by Facebook's Dan Rose, vice president of partnerships and platform marketing, on the call, who compared MySpace's use of "Mashup" to really any Web site that uses data from Facebook Connect to personalize their sites with that social data.

After a slow decline as Facebook grew, MySpace is trying to stop comparisons to Facebook by rebranding itself as a "social entertainment" site full of updates on celebrities, new songs from bands, and other content geared around the entertainment industry. Adding Facebook's broad array of "likes" gives MySpace users a quick way to assemble that data they have probably already curated over at Facebook, assuming they prefer MySpace's user interface.

As you know Google change its design time to time in different ways including their franchise websites like Orkut, Adwords and now Google has redesign its video portal website YouTube. Google owned website YouTube is now claiming that it will be one of the biggest redesigns in the history of their company.

The interface overhaul has replaced star ratings with a familiar “like/dislike” system. Video pages have been streamlined and extra clutter removed by grouping actions together in menus and uniting other areas of the site together, like the description and statistics area. Users can also search without interrupting the current video that’s playing and queue it right from the results.



You can check your self a screenshots of newly design YouTube.

Opera adds Android to its Mini 5 beta lineup.
(Credit: Opera Software)
Now good news for Android smartphone users that Opera Mini 5 will soon able to supported by Android. Opera Mini 5 beta will integrate with all the latest features and funtionality in Andorid Smartphone’s.

Opera Software pushed out the Android version of its Mini 5 browser that improves the browser experience for Java phones by leaps and bounds. Opera Mini 5 beta and the nearly identical Opera Mobile 10 beta (for Symbian and Windows phones) have been making the mobile rounds since September. We're fans of the latest advances to come to the free browser, and we're looking forward to Opera making those changes final and retiring Opera Mini 4.2 (and Opera Mobile 9.6, while they're at it.) We just wish that Opera had submitted Mini 5 beta to the Android Market sooner. The beta build is equipped with an updated interface that includes a new, "speed dial" start screen featuring thumbnails of most-visited sites. The browser also supports tabs, a first for Mini but old hat on Opera Mobile.

To download Opera Mini 5 beta for Android smartphones, check the Android Market from your smartphone or point to mobile browser to www.opera.com/mini/next/.

Yahoo is now focusing to integrate all the social networking features into its services. Yahoo has now self integrate the Facebook Status update into their Yahoo Mail In-box. Facebook users are now able to update their facebook status within their Yahoo Mail box. Not only status update yahoo is also providing the features to watch friends profile and receive e-mail from friends who have linked their accounts.

I think it’s an interesting effort from Yahoo to connect people from one website to other without leaving a particular page. As we know Yahoo is world largest and widest E-Mail service people really appreciate it. Yahoo has made promise that it will continue to introduce more features to connect social media and it’s a first priority for 2010.

A spokesman for Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott confirmed the investigation, but declined further comment.

The review appears to be focused on whether Google is manipulating its search results to stifle competition.

The pecking order of those results can make or break websites because Google's search engine processes about two-thirds of the search requests in the U.S. and handles even more volume in some parts of the world.

That dominance means a website ranking high on the first page of Google's results will likely attract more traffic and generate more revenue, either from ads or merchandise sales.

On the flip side, being buried in the back pages of the results, or even at the bottom of the first page, can be financially devastating and, in extreme cases, has been blamed for ruining some Internet companies.

European regulators already have been investigating complaints alleging that Google has been favoring its own services in its results instead of rival websites.

Several lawsuits filed in the U.S. also have alleged Google's search formula is biased. Google believes Abbott is the first state attorney general to open an antitrust review into the issue.

"We look forward to answering (Abbott's) questions because we're confident that Google operates in the best interests of our users," Don Harrison, Google's deputy general counsel, wrote in a Friday blog post.

Harrison said that Abbott has asked Google for information about several companies, including: Foundem, an online shopping comparison site in Britain; SourceTool, which runs an e-commerce site catering to businesses; and MyTriggers, another shopping comparison site.

All of those companies offer features that Google includes in its search engine or in other parts of its website. Foundem, SourceTool and MyTriggers have previously filed lawsuits or regulatory complaints against Google.

"Given that not every website can be at the top of the results, or even appear on the first page of our results, it's unsurprising that some less relevant, lower quality websites will be unhappy with their ranking," Harrison wrote.

Google says its closely guarded search formula strives to recommend websites that are most likely to satisfy the needs of each user's request. If it didn't keep its users happy, Google argues that people would become disgruntled and switch to other search engines offered by Yahoo Inc., Microsoft Corp. and IAC/InterActiveCorp's Ask.com.

Rumor has been started that new iPhone OS 4 will get multitasking support like a Mac Expose. The next version of Apple’s mobile operating system, iPhone OS 4.0, is all set to allow third party applications to run in the background while working on apps via an Expose-like interface. Users will now able to work and used many applications at one time and can also switch between different applications running in the background.

According to Apple Insider’s report, iPhone OS 4.0 will employ a multitasking system similar to the Mac OS' Expose:

Those familiar with the design of iPhone 4.0 said that the user interface will resemble Apple's desktop Expose feature, in that a key combination--reportedly hitting the Home button twice--will trigger an Expose-like interface that brings up a series of icons representing the currently running apps, allowing users to quickly select the one they want to switch to directly. When a selection is made, the iPhone OS zooms out of the Expose task manager and transitions to that app.

ThumZ uP:-

1) High Specs
Nobody likes a slow laggy device and the good news for Apple, and all who sail with her, is that this is usually something the company gets right. The combination of software and hardware design means that Jobs and Co. know just what level of components are required to make their machines run properly. The word is that the iSlate won't have an Intel Atom chip at its heart which leads us to wonder whether it's going to be something similar or the kind you'd find in a full size latop; maybe something with more than one core? Combine that with a good chunk of RAM and GPU at least as powerful as the graphics device inside the iPhone and there's all the foundations of a really interesting unit.

2) Multitasking
With a multi-core CPU and enough number crunching memory too, there's every reason a tablet could multitask. Let's face it, plenty of other smartphones offer this already. Until now, Apple has kept this out of its mobile offerings but with a home tablet, you're going to need a little more flexibility at your fingertips. Someone's on a call with you, video or otherwise, and maybe you want to send them a link or browse some pertinent information on the internet and you'll need to be running more than one application at a time. The very fact that a tablet is for such a fluid environment means that it's going to need to be a bit of a Swiss Army Knife - often with two of those blades out at any one time.

3) You can watch your TV on it
One classic hope for a home tablet would be to be able to take the TV show you're watching on your main set to another room as you need. Whether by a TV adaptor or otherwise, catching transmissions direct from your main panel and display them on the small portable screen anywhere about the house would be a real bonus. Perfect for keeping up with domestic life while bringing the entertainment with you. Take this one step further and perhaps you could even tap into the source over the internet and 3G network while out and about but with mobile data speeds and prices, that might be pushing it.

4) An HD or OLED screen
Doubtless viewing videos is going to be a big part of life on the Apple tablet. So as good a screen as possible would be a real winner. An OLED or AMOLED would be the obvious choice here to provide glorious crisp contrast, wonderful deep colours and all at a low power outage to keep the battery lasting as long as possible. The downside, of course, is that such a display would probably send the price of thing through the roof. So, an equally good shout would be an HD resolution LCD. Pixel density makes watching films on the iPhone a great experience, so factor that up to a tablet size device and we really have to be talking about a 1080p display.

5) E-ink mode
It seems that the New York Times and others are brokering deals with Apple to supply newspaper and magazine content for the tablet and there's even word of book publishers like Harper Collins getting in on the action too. As much as we're getting used to reading on LCD screens for longer periods of time, if the iSlate could switch the display to e-ink or e-paper mode, then not only would it be the first to be able to do so but it would mean it could grab a massive chunk of the eReader market too. That alone could offer financial success. For the consumer, of course, it would mean one less device to carry around a break for dry-balls everywhere.

ThumZ DowN:-

1) It runs OS X
We're not slating the Mac OS. Everyone knows it's good but to really get it to work, you need a keyboard. Touchscreens are all fun and games but the minute you need to do a fair bit of typing, it'll start to lose it's edge. OS X is a desktop operating system. iPhone OS is for touchscreens. The functionality of the full Apple software would certainly be appealing, and perhaps very tempting seeing as there's a good chance that the hardware in the iTablet would allow people to run it, but it's really too fiddly for finger operation alone - finger and thumb too.

The way to get round that might be to add a slideout QWERTY but there's all sorts of cascading problems out of that decision too. First, it makes it bigger, heavier and more clunky and, second, there's something of admitting defeat about it. It would almost be saying that Apple couldn't engineer something simple and intuitive enough to work without having to drop a big old piece of kit on top of such a lovely svelte device. That's not what the Cupertino creed is about.

2) Connectivity Issues
As a portable tablet for home and on the go, it's going to need the holy trinity of connection - 3G, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. What's more, if it can't stream content over your home network, then it's a dead loss too. Naturally, 3G is a must to do anything with it internet based and away from home, and Wi-Fi it will most certainly have. If there's no media streaming option, then the user is stuck with side-loading or synching over the internet at best. The first would be a terrible ball and chain and the second both laborious and costly once you've factored in the MobileMe subscription.

Bluetooth might seem like an odd one but there's one important use and that's for making hands free phone calls. It could be circumvented partially by a really good speakerphone system but then everyone's going to hear both sides of your conversation which you might not necessarily want.

3) Poor battery life
For any mobile device these days, functionality versus battery life is the million dollar trade off. Get this one wrong and you cripple your product. With so much expected and so much possible from the iTablet , it's going to need one hell of an efficient and powerful battery. It has to keep up with the demands of being left on the sofa for a couple of hours before being needed again. Some efficient power management from the software would be a big help as would a low-voltage processors. It's also another reason why we might not see multitasking. How the company organises docking will also be an interesting one to watch for.

4) No stand and no speakers
Obvious ones really but this tablet is going to need to be totally hands free from time to time. A 10-inch, or thereabouts, device is going to get tiring to hold for the length of an entire film, so some kind of clever kick stand or perhaps dock is going to be needed. Its omission might not be a total disaster and naturally would spring dollar signs onto the eyeballs of Belkin and Griffin and pals but having no built-in speakers might be harder to stomach. If this thing is to be taken about the house and used in different settings, then chaining it to you ears via headphones cable would be both taxing and rather impractical, particularly if you're trying to do the washing up while listening to Spotify at the same time, say.

5) It's thick and heavy
Make this thing too big and there's going to be little point in choosing a tablet over a laptop. Apple, of course, is unlikely to make this kind of mistake. One of the pillars on which the company has rebuilt its comeback is that of design and with Jonathan Ive at the helm, it'd be a shocker to say the least if the iTablet wasn't as carefully created as the iPhone, iPod and all the iMacs before it. That said, anyone can make a mistake.

YouTube is preparing itself for this weekend's big rollout of Google TV with a launch of its own: the full release of YouTube Leanback, its made-for-TV experience.

Leanback, revealed in May at the Google I/O conference, is a core component of Google's strategy to bring online video to the living room screen. It provides for a simplified YouTube experience and interface, offering simple keyboard commands, an advanced search interface, and a visual UI for browsing through YouTube clips and shows.

YouTube's television experience has been in beta as part of TestTube, the video site's version of Google Labs, but tonight the site will be available to the entire YouTube community. YouTube Product Manager Lead Kuan Yong told me earlier today that users will have access to the full catalog of YouTube videos. Kuan also told me that the team has been working on improving the user experience, search capabilities and adding other changes users requested during the beta.

YouTube Leanback is all about Google TV; it is the way the company wants users to experience YouTube while they are surfing the web on their TVs. When you select the YouTube bookmark in Google TV for the first time, you will be presented the option to make Leanback your default YouTube experience. This doesn't surprise us; Leanback was made for TV. It's less cluttered and easy to personalize. And now that Sony's Google TV-powered devices and the Logitech Revue go on sale this weekend, it's time for Leanback to roll out.

We're about to find out if consumers want the Internet on their TVs. Google hopes that people will do things such as favorite TED videos at work so they can watch them later at home. The company says that users of Leanback watch twice as much video as users of the regular YouTube interface. The company is hoping that statistic stays true as Google TV becomes available nationwide.

Scammers who try to trick victims into downloading fake antivirus software can strike almost anywhere. On Sunday they hit the website of Kaspersky Lab, a well-known antivirus vendor.

Someone took advantage of a bug in a Web program used by the Kasperskyusa.com website and reprogrammed it to try and trick visitors into downloading a fake product, Kaspersky confirmed Tuesday. Kaspersky didn't identify the flaw, but said it was in a "third-party application" used by the website.

"As a result of the attack, users trying to download Kaspersky Lab's consumer products were redirected to a malicious website," the antivirus vendor said. The website caused a pop-up window to appear that simulated a virus scan of the user's PC, and offered to install an antivirus program that was in fact bogus.

This is a typical trick for fake-antivirus scammers, who are constantly looking for new ways to trick victims into buying their products. In the past they've been known to pose as legitimate online advertisers and then suddenly switch their ad inventory from legitimate-looking ads to these fake pop-up messages.

Security experts say the safest thing to do when one of these fake antivirus messages pops up is to simply kill the Web browser. On Windows, this can be done by hitting ctrl-alt-delete and ending the browser process in the Task Manager.

According to Kaspersky, its website was redirecting users to the rogue antivirus site for about three-and-a-half hours Sunday. The company did a complete audit of its websites afterwards "to ensure they're running fully updated code."

In discussion forums, users complained that the site was trying to download fake antivirus software called Security Tools.

This isn't the first time Kaspersky has had to audit its websites after an incident. In February 2009 a hacker was able to break into the company's U.S. support site after discovering a Web programming flaw. That flaw could have given the hacker access to customer e-mail addresses and product activation codes via a common attack technique called SQL injection.

Nobody's information was compromised in Sunday's attack, Kaspersky said. "However, Kaspersky Lab takes any attempt to compromise its security seriously," the company said. "Our researchers are currently working on identifying any possible consequences of the attack for affected users, and are available to provide help to remove the fake antivirus software."