Software & Apps - Page 115

Something interesting has come to light about Google's new Chrome OS project. It seems that Intel has been helping them out with the project.

This would run contrary to the popular belief that Intel and Microsoft are best buddies. After all the term WinTel was used to describe the alliance between Microsoft Windows an Intel CPUs. If this is so why would Intel help Google?

Also why would Intel want to help a direct competitor, Chrome will compete with Moblin in the netbook and nettop space.

I suppose the answers will never officially get out, but I have to wonder if this has anything to do with MS choosing Tegra for the Zune HD.

A blogger has managed to snap a shot of Google's new Chrome OS. Now these shots are nothing special and really only show a task bar, and a wall paper saying that it is a Private Developer's Beta.

Pretty simple really. But is it? According to the Blog the shots were taken at an Acer Preview of the OS that was given by Acer and Google together.

The Blogger does say that the OS is very fast and seemed to be rough due to its early beta stage. There was only one app installed and that was Google Talk.

I am not sure if these images are real, they very well could be the next viral "shaky cam" images. But the description of the OS is interesting.
The blogger describes a Start Menu that can access applications, files and also has the basic commands (reboot, shutdown, etc). The task bar auto hides, contains the usual clock and can have the search bar added to it.

It also seems that you can run in two different modes, and explorer mode (which is much like Windows Explorer) and a Browser Mode where you pretty much do everything through Chrome.

This new OS is supposed to be out on Netbooks in the second half of 2010. This will make a round five major contenders for netbook OS market. Windows, Moblin, Android, Linux (Ubuntu and a few others), and now Chrome.

After denying the rumors for the better part of a year Google has finally come clean on its attempt to enter the operating system world.

The new GoogleOS (???) will be based on their fast and (in many security experts opinions) insecure Chrome Browser.

The core design is Google Chrome running with a windowing system on a Linux Kernel. The developer's blog for the new OS sounds very much like a Mac add. Including making the comment "we are going back to the basics and completely redesigning the underlying security architecture of the OS so that users don't have to deal with viruses, malware and security updates. It should just work".

The new Chrome OS is also not meant to interfere with Android as the two are separate projects. Android was meant to be multi platform (netbooks to smart boxes) while Chrome OS is for Web Centric use and will be on netbooks to desktops. The Developer's Blog made an interesting statement that choice drives innovation. (a very true statement) I guess this even goes for competing with yourself.

McAfee seems to have goofed up bigtime with their latest update for virus definitions, causing VirusScan to quarantine many valid files.

While doing a little bit of digging in the latest leaked version of Windows 7, Kristan Kenney discovered that Microsoft may still be considering multiple installs of the OS.

Microsoft seems to be pushing much closer to the RTM of Windows 7 with the latest build that has been leaked on the web.

There is a new version of FireFox out. Mozilla has just put the final version of FireFox 3.5 up on the web. From the early reports it looks like the new FF will be able to compete in the speed world with the likes of Chrome and Safari4.

The question now will be will the new FF give up security for speed like Chrome and Safari 4 have. But that is not the only concern, as Chrome and Safari gain a foothold FireFox finds its own market share affected. Opera is also gaining ground and once we see IE-Less versions of Windows 7 in the EU it will be an interesting fight for dominance.

If FireFox is your thing then head over to Mozilla and grab the newest flavor.

Read more here

Grab FireFox 3.5 here

After months of waiting, Mozilla will be releasing the absolutely-we-really-promise final version of Firefox 3.5 tomorrow.

When thinking about pusing something to the limit, usually it concerns finding the upper limit. User hackerman1 from The Windows Club forums wanted to go the other way however and see just how slow of a system he could get to run Windows 7.

The latest juicy information about Windows 7 seems to be that the Starter Edition is going to cost somewhere bet $45-$55. That is, unless OEMs have something to say about it.

There have been some complaints that Microsoft was not going to fully support netnooks with Windows 7. However this does not seem to be the case as we find that Intel's next gen Pinetrail Atom will be supported by Windows 7.

Support will come in the form of the two simplest flavors of Windows 7 (home basic and starter). However, I can say from personal experience that the current Atom (N270) with Intel's chipset will run Windows 7 Ultimate (RC1 Build 7100) as I have it running on an MSI Wind U100. I did have to bump up the RAM to 2GB but I would have done that anyway.

So netbook users do not fear, Windows 7 will run on your favorite new toy. You just won't be able to buy a netbook with Windows 7 Ultimate preinstalled.

Read more here.

You have to hate it when someone pulls off a huge techno-judo move and uses your own security against you.

Well that is what could happen in China according to security researchers. It would seem that there are large holes in the censorship software they want to shovel onto every computer down there.

This would make it open to being used as a large botnet. The new software called "Green Dam" is so open that any malformed website can exploit it.

Nothing like having the largest internet presence in the world running as a single bot-net. Spam anyone?

Read more here.

In order to appease the EU and its threats of hitting Microsoft for bundling a browser MS is planning to release Windows 7 without Internet Explorer.

This move seems to be a preventative measure against the EU commission going after MS for even more money.

The news comes in the form of a confidential memo that was viewed by CNET and later confirmed as authentic by Microsoft.

Now I have no problem with not including IE with Windows 7 but my issue is why have not the EU gone after all the other companies that bundle browsers and therefore (by their own arguments) limit consumer choice?

Read more here.

In the midst of everything going on around Windows 7, the predecessor to the heavily maligned Windows Vista, it seems that everyone forgot about Apple's Snow Leopard.

This is something interesting as usually the newest OSX manages to get plastered all over the web from one publication or another. This time people are focusing on Windows.

It is not clear why but it could be that people are genuinely interested or they could just be watching to see if Windows 7 will be another press motivated flop.

Read more here.

It's long been known that Windows 7 supports multitouch and many manufacturers have been pushing touch computing.

If you are a digital Photographer, Canon is your current flavor of DSLR, and you happen to have an iPhone then there is good news for you!

Someone has figured out a way to use the iPhone as a remote shutter switch for Canon's latest line up of DSLRs.

The new App is being developed by onONe and is currently in the approval process right now.

The system does need a couple of items to work properly. It is not a true remote switch but a client application that talks to software running on a laptop or PC over WiFi. Your Canon DSLR will need to be tethered to the system running the software. You are simply remote triggering the software on the system from your iPhone.

Still this is very cool and will even include a live view for the DSLRs that include video capture.

Read more here.

Windows 7 is getting a lot of press, both good and bad. Well today we have some neutral press for you.

We have found some screen shots of the latest build of Microsoft's next OS. This build it 7127. Meaning it is much newer than the RC1 that people are running right now (including me).

There is not much to see that is new but still it there are some nice shots of the OS and its features.

Take a look here.

Microsoft has announced that they will be doing another test to see how well they can update Windows 7.

Microsoft has released a beta version of its Windows 7 Upgrade advisor. This is a handy little application that will tell you if you will encounter any problems upgrading your system (the install media does this during an upgrade also).

Now this sounds great and I am sure that many people will use it, but there was one for Vista also and despite it being publicly available many people did not use it and some that did completely ignored the warnings and blamed MS for poor Vista performance anyway.

I hope this time people put the upgrade advisor for Windows 7 to better use; like actually use it.

Read more here