The developers at Skype must be working overtime this week. Yesterday saw the launch of Skype 3.0 for Windows Phones. Today Skype pushed out version 4.1 for Windows and Skype 1.1 for iPhone and iPod Touch.
Skype 4.1 for Windows includes support for screen sharing, birthday reminders, and improved audio and video quality. The latest version also fixes a few bugs found in Skype 4.1 beta, so if you're running the beta you'll probably want to update.
Skype 1.1 for the iPhone and iPod Touch now lets you listen to your voicemail on your mobile phone and send SMS. The update also adds support for additional languages.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Skype 4.1 for Windows, 1.1 for iPhone released
Firefox 3.5 Officially Available for Download
Windows/Mac/Linux: The final version of the Firefox is starting to show up on Mozilla's web site, and some readers are reporting update notices. Here are few links and how-tos you should check out before downloading that browser.
- Add-on Compatibility Center - See whether the popular extensions that make up 95% of add-on downloads are compatible with Firefox 3.5 before you download. It's looking pretty green and good at the moment, with the notable exception of Tab Mix Plus.
- Top 10 Firefox 3.5 Features - Breaking down the Private Browsing Mode, TraceMonkey JavaScript engine, little interface features, and bigger changes to the increasingly popular open-source web browser.
- Disable location-aware browsing and tab tearing - If those features sound more like privacy invasion and mouse-clenching hassle, respectively, they're pretty easy to turn off.
- Make your extensions work with (Firefox 3.5) - Originally written for the big (bigger?) Firefox 3.0 upgrade, but this little
about:configtweak should keep those extensions not yet upgraded working with 3.5 as well, assuming you don't mind potential bugs. - Weave synchronization tool - Mozilla's experimental synchronization project only works with Firefox 3.5—but, wait, that's out now! It's worth checking out, especially if you're running Firefox across multiple systems.
- Firefox 3.5 Overview - It's both a video run-through of Firefox 3.5's features, and a test of the new no-Flash-need video powers of Firefox 3.5 (non-HTML5-compliant browsers will just get an .ogv video download link).
Firefox 3.5 - It's Time for an Upgrade [Mozilla]
Lifehacker - Firefox 3.5 Officially Available for Download - Firefox 3.5
Monday, June 29, 2009
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 developers 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.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Microsoft Security Essentials tested, passes with flying colors
Regular Download Squad readers already know that I've been testing Microsoft's new Security Essentials since it first appeared in the wild last week and that I've been quite impressed with it so far. Some commenters weren't impressed, however, waving the NOD32 flag even though SE removed threats from my machine that NOD had missed.
AV-Test Labs has now put SE through a slightly more grueling test than scanning my piddly PC. They threw 3,200 different bots, trojans, and viruses along with a slew of items designed to trigger false positives and Security Essentials was up for the task.
In an email to Computerworld, Andreas Marx of AV-Test reported "All files were properly detected and treated by the product," said Marx in an e-mail. "That's good, as several other [antivirus] scanners are still not able to detect and kill all of these critters yet. None of the clean files were noted as malicious." The program was also able to tackle rootkits, though AV-Test will put it through more comprehensive testing before making a verdict on that particular ability.
Marx also addressed the concerns that SE was using Microsoft's own servers for cloud-based scanning. "The scanner works with the locally-installed anti-virus and anti-spyware databases -- it doesn't appear to use 'in-the-cloud scanning' methods," he stated.
If you missed out on the original download from Microsoft, don't fret. The nice folks at Softpedia have mirrored the SE files for you.
Microsoft Security Essentials tested, passes with flying colors
Microsoft May Sell Windows 7 on Flash Drives
With Windows 7 pre-orders on sale today, CNET is reporting that Microsoft is considering selling Windows 7 on flash drives to help make installation on netbooks easier, and it's reportedly one of several incentives the company may offer to users without CD/DVD drives. While no official announcement has been made, we're wondering if you'd take a pre-loaded, presumably protected USB stick over a disc for your next upgrade. Share your reasons or rejections in the comments.
Lifehacker - Microsoft May Sell Windows 7 on Flash Drives - Windows
Pre-Production Chevy Volt Hits the Streets
GM hopes of an electric future move forward
GM's Chevy Volt is a survivor. It has survived the critics who argued that the market wasn't ready for mass production electric vehicles. It survived an economic downturn and the bankruptcy of its producer. And it survived the peril of being put up on the pedestal as the darling of the green tech news community.
It survived all that and recently entered pre-production in preparation for a modest full scale 2011 deployment in the tens of thousands of units. Now at last the first of 75 pre-production integration prototypes has been completed and is out cruising the streets looking for some hot plugs.
The almost-finished vehicles are being tested at GM's Pre-Production operations center at the Warren, MI tech center. The car is virtually identical to the planned production model, only lacking the sculpting on the instrument clusters as some other minor interior aesthetics.
The only major change to be noted in the pre-production vehicle is that the charge port has been moved. In press shots and prototypes, the charge port was always near the front of the car, typically under the mirror. The freshly produced pre-production moves this port to the rear, below the back fender. It is covered by a flap that looks like a gas cover. Volt spokesman David Darovitz confirmed that this is the production intent.
Chief engineer Andrew Farah took the new car -- the IVER #1 (that's Integration Vehicle Engineering Release #1) -- out for a spin and says it performed great. In coming months his fellow engineers will be building more Volts and pushing them to the limit, even (gasp!) crashing them.
Microsoft Unveils Energy Management Software
Google has been releasing information on their smart meter management software called PowerMeter little by little, but we've yet to see a fully-completed product. Microsoft is hoping to steal some of their thunder by releasing a beta version of their energy management software, Hohm, this week and, at least appearance-wise, it has Google beat.
The web-based software allows users to monitor and control their energy use by logging into the Hohm website with their Windows Live ID and zip code. Based on that information, the software makes estimates of their home energy use and allows the user to enter specific information by answering any or all of 180 questions, with each answer making the numbers more accurate.
So far the software is only available for use by a few utilities - Xcel Energy, Sacramento Municipal Utility District, Seattle City Light and Puget Sound Energy - with more in line to start using it soon. If you happen to live in one of the areas serviced by the list above, your energy use information will be even more comprehensive with historical data available from the utility.
The software will be smart meter-compatible as soon as any of its utility partners begin using them.
Eventually, the software will be used in connection with electric vehicle charging and grid demand management, but those more delux features will likely come with a price. Microsoft has made clear that this software is a product like any other they've created and as it's further developed, cost will start being a factor. For now, at least while it's in beta, the energy managment tool is free.
Battlefield Heroes now open to the masses
We're so excited that we can finally share our love of Battlefield Heroes with the whole world. The casual, free-to-play shooter has (finally) gone live, and you can start outfitting your soldier right now.
While the game itself is free, if you want to level up faster, get special emotes and exclusive weapons, you're going to need to shell out some cash. But there's no need to worry about that at the moment -- just go, start up an account and feel free to swap your usernames below.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Microsoft announces WIndows 7 pricing, unveils upgrade program
Microsoft has unveiled the consumer prices for Windows 7. Here's the rundown of prices for a full version:
- Windows 7 Home Premium: $199.99
- Windows 7 Professional: $299.99
- Windows 7 Ultimate: $319.99
The prices are lower for users who are upgrading from Windows XP or Vista:
- Windows 7 Home Premium: $119.99
- Windows 7 Professional: $199.99
- Windows 7 Ultimate: $219.99
But wait, there's more. Starting tomorrow, US customers will be able to pre-order the operating system at much lower prices:
- Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade pre-order: $49.99
- Windows 7 Professional Upgrade pre-order: $99.99
Discounted Pre-order prices will also be available in Canada and Japan for the next few weeks. A pre-order program will launch in the UK, France, and Germany starting July 15th.
There will only be a limited number of pre-orders available. But here's the other bit of good news. If you buy a computer running Windows Vista Home Premium, Business, or Ultimate from a participating OEM or retailer between June 26th, 2009 and January 31st, 2010, you'll likely be able to upgrade to Windows 7 for little or no cost.
There's no information on how much Microsoft will be charging computer makers for Windows 7 licenses, but odds are if you were in the market for a new computer anyway, the cheapest way to get Windows 7 will be to simply buy a new computer. PC makers tend to get much better prices than the general public.
Microsoft announces WIndows 7 pricing, unveils upgrade program
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Bendable, Self-Healing Concrete is Hundreds of Times Stronger
Any engineer would look at this image and say, "That can't be concrete!" But it is; and it could represent a way to make bridges and other structures safer and longer lasting.
There is a lot of work being done to improve concrete, right now. And while it is not the most beloved green building material, it has properties that make it eminently useful for engineers and architects for a number of purposes. Given that there is not going to be a sudden moratorium on using the stuff, it's better to have improvements that can keep from having it go from useful building material to landfill.
Professor Victor Li at the University of Michigan has developed a self-healing concrete that can help alleviate the need for demolition and replacement of concrete after it has been subjected to heavy stress. By devising a concrete that controls the way it cracks under stress, the concrete can withstand tensile strain hundreds of times more than ordinary concrete. Beyond its remarkable flexibility, this concrete can then heal itself, as well.
"In Li's lab, self-healed specimens recovered most if not all of their original strength after researchers subjected them to a 3 percent tensile strain. That means they stretched the specimens to 3 percent beyond their initial size. It's the equivalent of stretching a 100-foot piece an extra three feet—enough strain to severely deform metal or catastrophically fracture traditional concrete."
The new concrete needs only exposure to moisture and carbon dioxide in order to heal the microscopic cracks that are formed after the concrete has been stressed. The cracks expose dry cement in the structure, and this reacts with CO2 and moisture to form calcium carbonate 'scars' which quickly heal the concrete.
"The professor says this new substance could make infrastructure safer and more durable. By reversing the typical deterioration process, the concrete could reduce the cost and environmental impacts of making new structures. And repairs would last longer."
Bendable, Self-Healing Concrete is Hundreds of Times Stronger
GameFly launches Flash game site Ponged.com
With the launch of Ponged.com, GameFly continues its slow, but steady, transition from video game rental service to internet publishing operation. The latest website started by the rental service is a collection of 500 free-to-play Flash games. The titles are "hand-picked" by "hardcore gamers" to keep the riffraff out.
If playing Flash games on your computer doesn't seem hip, Ponged.com is also designed to work with the web browsers on the Wii and PS3. For those playing games at the office, the site has a "boss button" that'll conceal the game. Ponged.com: Helping people waste time at work and not get fired since 2009.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Earth: Russian Volcano Shocks the World
In the pantheon of awesome images of explosions, this has got to rank pretty high. Astronauts floating high above earth in the International Space Station snapped this shot of Russia's Sarychev Peak volcano in the Kuril Islands busting through the atmosphere on June 12 (click on the image for full-size).
As NASA scientists M. Justin Wilkinson writes, conditions had to be perfect to get this shot -- there must be almost no wind for the plume to shoot so high into the atmosphere undisturbed.
The white stuff at the top of the ash cloud is probably condensing steam. And that halo of clouds surrounding the eruption is what happens when a powerful explosion rips into the atmosphere -- the shock wave literally pushed the cloud cover out of the way.
(Image: NASA Earth Observatory)
Live From the Moon: NASA Probe Beams Home New Lunar Views
The $79 million Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS, launched toward the moon on June 18 and began
sending images today at 8:20 a.m. EDT (1220 GMT).LCROSS and an attached empty Centaur rocket stage swooped down near the lunar south pole and continued north along the far side of the moon. The spacecraft is getting into position to crash down on the surface on Oct. 9.
"I am staring at Mendeleev (Lat 5.7N, Lon 140.9E), a large ancient impact basin with uniform floor deposits," the spacecraft (or rather, NASA spokespeople writing as the spacecraft) posted on Twitter shortly after the flyby began.
At its closest approach, LCROSS was only about 2,000 miles (3,200 km) from the moon.
During the flyby, NASA's science team will calibrate the spacecraft's cameras and spectrometers. To study the concentration of minerals and elements in the lunar soil, the LCROSS visible spectrometer will make the first near-ultraviolet survey of certain spots on the far-side of the moon.
"This swingby is my first test of my Medium Gain Antenna (MGA) to support high science rate," LCROSS "tweeted" this morning.
NASA plans to slam LCROSS down near the south pole in a permanently shadowed crater. The impact is intended to create a pair of debris plumes that will be analyzed for the presence of water ice or water vapor, hydrocarbons and hydrated materials.
LCROSS's sister spacecraft, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), arrived at the moon a few hours earlier than LCROSS to begin a stable lunar orbit. The robotic probe is expected to spend at least one year mapping the moon for future manned missions, as well as several more years conducting science surveys.
LRO and LCROSS launched together aboard an Atlas 5 rocket last week. They comprise NASA first moon mission in more than a decade.
NASA plans to use the data and images beamed back from the two spacecraft, which together represent a $583 million mission, to aid its effort to return humans to the lunar surface by 2020.
LCROSS will not be the first spacecraft to crash into the moon this year. The Japanese space agency's Kaguya lunar probe slammed into the lunar surface June 10, and China's Chang'e 1 spacecraft impacted in March.
SPACE.com -- Live From the Moon: NASA Probe Beams Home New Lunar Views
Hands-on: Google Voice dialing up for launch
Google has reportedly obtained over a million phone numbers in preparation for the public launch of its new Google Voice telephony service. Ars gives you an inside look at the closed beta.
Google is preparing to launch a new service called Google Voice that is built with technology obtained through its 2007 acquisition of Internet telephony company GrandCentral. The Google Voice service gives users a single phone number that can seamlessly route calls to their existing phones. It has its own built-in voicemail service that can be accessed from any phone or through a browser, with GMail-like archiving features for audio messages.
The Google Voice service launched in March for closed testing with a limited audience that consisted of existing GrandCentral users. Google introduced a number of highly impressive features such as automatic message transcription and free SMS delivery. The transcription feature will convert voicemails to text and make them searchable. The service can also automatically forward voicemail transcripts directly to your preferred e-mail account.
There are signs that Google is preparing to open the service to a broader audience. Reports indicate that Google has recently obtained over one million new phone numbers from backbone operator Level 3. PC World speculates that the number grab could be a prelude to the full public launch of Google Voice, but it was unable to get official confirmation from the search giant. There are also reports that Google will offer number portability, enabling consumers to move their existing phone numbers to Google's infrastructure.
Ars recently began testing Google Voice as part of the closed beta program. The service is remarkably powerful and easy to use. It has a number of killer features, such as support for switching between lines during the middle of a call and recording incoming calls by simply pressing a button. Recorded calls and voicemails can be heard directly in the browser through a streaming playback interface and can also be downloaded as MP3 files.
It also offers a simple scheduling system that can be used to control when calls will be routed to specific numbers. For example, you could configure it to direct calls to your work phone during the day and your home phone on evenings and weekends. Google Voice also integrates with your Google address book and allows you to configure different greetings and forwarding destinations for various groups. Call screening is supported with the ListenIn feature, which allows you to hear a voicemail as it is coming in and enter the call by pressing the star key.
The service is off to a good start and already feels relatively mature despite the fact that it hasn't opened broadly to the public yet. Although we're strongly convinced that Google Voice has the potential to be a winner, there are some limitations that detract from its current appeal. The most disappointing bit is that call recording doesn't work on outgoing calls at the present time.
The user interface is consistent with the rest of Google's ecosystem, so it's easy to navigate and very search-centric. The transcription functionality is far from perfect, but it works well enough to consistently convey the gist of a message, if not the exact words. It's a compelling addition to Google's lineup and has the potential to get a lot more interesting as Google integrates its capabilities into its Android smartphone platform.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Windows 7 RTM sign off set for July 13
We have some big news regarding the Windows 7 RTM. According to Wzor, the final sign off is set for July 13th. According to a translation, this is the final roadmap for Windows 7:
FINAL ROADMAP FOR WINDOWS 7 [CLIENT-SERVER]:
6/1 - 6/19 BUILDING RTM ESCROW - already assembled RTM ESCROW.
6/22 - 7/10 RTM RECALL - assembly and search for candidates to the final RTM release.
7/10 WINDOWS 7 RTM FINAL BUILD TARGET - build day "gold code".
7/13 WINDOWS 7 RTM SIGN-OFF - the date of signing the final RTM release!
We previously reported that Windows 7 could RTM at the end of this month, but it looks like we now have a final RTM date. Wzor is stating that the latest RTM branch build is 6.1.7263.0.win7_rtm.090619-1900, and the latest build in the winmain branch is 6.1.7233.0.winmain.090614-1655. The next winmain assembly will be the final RTM build.
We're still waiting on pricing information for Windows 7, and the final release date is still set for October 22.
Spaceport America Under Construction in New Mexico
Spaceport America is expected to begin sending tourists into space next year aboard Virgin Galactic flights
The Spaceport America location in New Mexico is now officially under construction, with New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson on hand at the event to discuss how historic space tourism launches from New Mexico will be for the state.
"New Mexicans have stepped up to the plate by making this investment," Richardson said during the press conference. "This groundbreaking ceremony is an important step toward our goal of being at the forefront of a vibrant, new commercial space industry."
The new port will be the nation's first commercial spaceport. Earlier this year the port received FAA approval. The state is fronting the bill for the $200 million project, which will give the state a boost via engineering and other high-value jobs will be available at the facility once it finishes construction.
Virgin Galactic is expected to begin launching tourists into space from the spaceport in 2010, as more than 45,000 people have registered to take a trip from New Mexico. The Spaceport America web site each person will have to pay $200,000 per trip to go up to 50,000 feet into the air before accelerating into space.
Specifically, spacecraft will lift off from a 10,000-foot runway, fly up to 50,000 feet, break free and fly up to 62 miles in total height. Each trip will take around two hours with five minutes of weightlessness.
Virgin hopes to have one flight per week, with up to six paying space tourists on each trip. Unlike two-week stays aboard the International Space Station (ISS), just three days of training is necessary before someone is able to fly on a Virgin flight into space.
There is growing demand both for suborbital flights and longer trips to the ISS, depending on how much money and the amount of training a person wishes to go through. A flight to the ISS costs around $30 million and involves months of training, though these Virgin flights cost significantly less and take a couple of days of training -- but visitors obviously don't reach an altitude that high.
DailyTech - Spaceport America Under Construction in New Mexico
Thursday, June 18, 2009
NVIDIA ForceWare 186.18 WHQL
NVIDIA ForceWare software unleashes the full power and features in NVIDIA's desktop, gaming, platform, workstation, laptop, multimedia, and mobile products. Delivering a proven record of compatibility, reliability, and stability with the widest range of games and applications, ForceWare software ensures the best experience with your NVIDIA hardware.
New in Release 186.18:
- Numerous bug fixes. More information can be found in the release documentation.
- Installs the new PhysX System Software version 9.09.0428.
- Users without US English operating systems can select their language and download the International driver here.
New in Release 185/186 drivers:
- Adds support for Ambient Occlusion – the newest NVIDIA Control Panel feature to offer enhanced 3D gaming realism exclusively to GeForce GPUs.
- Adds support for CUDA 2.2 for improved performance in GPU Computing applications. See CUDA for more details.
- Expands GPU hardware acceleration for the NVIDIA Video Encoding library to GPUs with less than 32 cores. Applications using this library include CyberLink PowerDirector 7, Nero Move it 1.5, Loilo SuperLoiloScope MARS, and CyberLink MediaShow Espresso.
- Accelerates performance in several 3D applications. The following are examples of improvements measured with Release 185/186 drivers vs. Release 181 drivers (results will vary depending on your GPU, system configuration, and game settings):
- Up to 25% performance increase in The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena
- Up to 22% performance increase in Crysis: Warhead with antialiasing enabled
- Up to 11% performance increase in Fallout 3 with antialiasing enabled
- Up to 14% performance increase in Far Cry 2
- Up to 30% performance increase in Half-Life 2 engine games with 3-way and 4-way SLI
- Up to 45% performance increase in Mirror's Edge with antialiasing enabled
- Supports GeForce Plus Power Pack #3. Download these FREE PhysX and CUDA applications now!
Download: NVIDIA Forceware 186 WHQL
Evidence Found for Ancient Mars Lake
Now a University of Colorado at Boulder research team claims "the first definitive evidence of shorelines on Mars" in a statement released today.
The scientists see signs of "
a deep, ancient lake," which would have implications for the potential for past life on Mars. Life as we know it requires water, and while Mars is dry now, if there was abundant water in the past -- as many studies have suggested -- then life would have been a possibility. There is, however, no firm evidence that life does or ever did exist on the red planet.Researchers estimate the lake existed more than 3 billion years ago. It covered as much as 80 square miles and was up to 1,500 feet deep -- roughly the equivalent of Lake Champlain bordering the United States and Canada, said Gaetano Di Achille, who led the study out of the University of Colorado at Boulder.
The shoreline evidence, found along a broad delta, included a series of alternating ridges and troughs thought to be surviving remnants of beach deposits.
"This is the first unambiguous evidence of shorelines on the surface of Mars," Di Achille said. "The identification of the shorelines and accompanying geological evidence allows us to calculate the size and volume of the lake, which appears to have formed about 3.4 billion years ago."
The findings have been published online in Geophysical Research Letters, a journal of the American Geophysical Union.
Other studies have claimed evidence for lakes on Mars too, however, including one in Holden Crater announced last year.
And several studies have found evidence -- from possible shorelines to salty deposits indicating the evaporation of water -- for shallow lakes or oceans. Ancient Mars had abundant water, many lines of evidence indicate.
Images used for the study were taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, or HiRISE camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
An analysis of the images indicates water carved a 30-mile-long canyon that opened up into a valley, depositing sediment that formed a large delta, the researchers conclude. This delta and others surrounding the basin imply the existence of a large, long-lived lake, said Hynek, also an assistant professor in CU-Boulder's geological sciences department. The presumed lake bed is located within a much larger valley known as the Shalbatana Vallis.
"Finding shorelines is a Holy Grail of sorts to us," said Brian Hynek, also of CU-Boulder.
In addition, the evidence shows the lake existed during a time when Mars is generally believed to have been cold and dry, which is at odds with current theories proposed by many planetary scientists, he said. "Not only does this research prove there was a long-lived lake system on Mars, but we can see that the lake formed after the warm, wet period is thought to have dissipated."
Further research will be needed to sort out the discrepancies, however.
Planetary scientists think the oldest surfaces on Mars formed during the wet and warm Noachan epoch from about 4.1 billion to 3.7 billion years ago that featured a bombardment of large meteors and extensive flooding. The newly discovered lake is believed to have formed during the Hesperian epoch and postdates the end of the warm and wet period on Mars by 300 million years, according to the study.
The deltas adjacent to the lake are of high interest to planetary scientists because deltas on Earth rapidly bury organic carbon and other biomarkers of life, Hynek said. Most astrobiologists believe any present indications of life on Mars will be discovered in the form of subterranean microorganisms.
But in the past, lakes on Mars would have provided cozy surface habitats rich in nutrients for such microbes, Hynek said.
The retreat of the lake apparently was rapid enough to prevent the formation of additional, lower shorelines, Di Achille said. The lake probably either evaporated or froze over with the ice slowly turning to water vapor and disappearing during a period of abrupt climate change, according to the study.
Di Achille said the newly discovered pristine lake bed and delta deposits would be would be a prime target for a future landing mission to Mars in search of evidence of past life.
"On Earth, deltas and lakes are excellent collectors and preservers of signs of past life," said Di Achille. "If life ever arose on Mars, deltas may be the key to unlocking Mars' biological past."
Monday, June 15, 2009
It's hip to be on the Internet right now: NBC report from 1994 - Video
So there's this thing called "the Internet." You may have heard of it.. 15 years ago, Tom Brokaw filed a report about this strange thing, and today it looks like something out of a time capsule. Of course, the fun thing about Time Capsules is opening them, so it was awfully nice of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon to post an early Brokaw report on the Internet on Hulu.
In it, Brokaw visits the "computer convention" in Las Vegas, and talks to Bill Gates, and Eric Schmidt, among others about the internet. What's funny about the clip is that Tom Brokaw, Bill Gates, and other people don't look that different, but the computers shown in the video look ancient, as do the little bits of internet content shown in the video.
It's hip to be on the Internet right now: NBC report from 1994 - Video
Windows 7 upgrade coupon program details revealed
It's common knowledge that people who have purchased a PC recently, or plan to do so in the near future, will (most likely) have it come with Windows Vista installed. It's also common knowledge that Microsoft will allow people to upgrade from this to Windows 7 for a greatly discounted price, but it's only now that some details have been clarified on this.
According to PC World, computer vendors will begin a coupon program on June 26, for people who buy premium versions of Windows Vista. These coupon offers differ from vendor to vendor; some are free, whereas some are not. PC World states that three vendors from Taiwan will provide a free coupon that allows customers to upgrade to Windows 7, if they purchase a PC or laptop between the aforementioned date and October 22, the release date for the new operating system. Apparently the vendors did not wish to be named, in fear of their relationship with Microsoft being hurt, as the Redmond company has not yet published official details about this program.
An executive of one of the mentioned companies stated that this program will cost the vendors between US $9 and $15, so offering them for free is quite handy to customers; with the information on the coupons, people who purchase a PC will be able to download a retail copy of Windows 7 direct from Microsoft's website, upon release. Not only this, but the company will also send the consumer a physical copy of the operating system, presumably for free also. Another executive stated that the coupons will not expire until Jan 31, 2010, but they are designed to convince people to purchase a PC before Windows 7 is released.
PC vendors are apparently worried that since Windows 7 will not be out until October, consumers will choose to hold off on purchasing new computers until that date, leading to poor sales all throughout summer; this is exactly what the coupon program aims to fix. It should be noted that if you happen to purchase a netbook running Windows XP, you will not be offered a coupon. One executive seemed to be worried about this, as the devices are extremely popular due to the benefits they provide.
Other companies, such as Hewlett-Packard, will be participating in this program, but they won't reveal their upgrade plans until after Microsoft officially discloses the information.
Songbird 1.2 beta 2
Songbird is an open-source customizable music player that's under active development.
It is integrated with these Web 2.0 services: mashTape, SHOUTcast Radio, Last.fm Scrobbling, and Songkick concert tickets. You can enhance Songbird with community-contributed plugins like Media Flow.
News source: Official website Download: Songbird 1.2 beta 2 
Screenshot: >> Click here << 
View: Release notes
Virgin Media and Universal Music Team Up for New Music Service
Virgin service lets users stream and keep all the music they want
Universal Music chairman and CEO Lucian Grainge said, "We see this as completely ground breaking. We've listened to our customers, our fans and our artists and we think that this is an opportunity to bring music to a wider audience."
Reuters reports that Virgin Media and Universal Music have announced a new music service that will offer Virgin Media Broadband customers the ability to stream and download to keep as many digital tracks as they won't each month for a set monthly fee.
People familiar with the service said it would cost in the $16 to $24 per month range. The music industry and the ISP both describe the service as a world's first. The tracks will be in MP3 format and use no DRM allowing them to be played on most music devices available including the iPhone and iPod.
Virgin Media will also be introducing new methods to its network to help reduce piracy. The plan by the ISP to reduce piracy will include educating users and as a last resort suspending access to those who pirate music and other media. Virgin Media does say that no user would be permanently disconnected from service.
Analyst Mark Mulligan said, "This really is high stakes, if this can't work then what will."
Music trade body IFPI welcomed the deal and said, "This is the kind of partnership between a music company and an Internet service provider that is going to shape the future for the music business internationally. It also marks new ground in ISPs' willingness to take steps to protect copyrighted content on their networks, and that sets a very encouraging example to the whole industry."
Some analysts say that for the offering to be successful Virgin will need to sign up other major record labels. Virgin says that by the time the service launches it will be able to offer a complete catalog.
DailyTech - Virgin Media and Universal Music Team Up for New Music Service
Gas Leak Thwarts Space Shuttle Launch
The gaseous hydrogen leak was discovered before midnight while the shuttle's fuel tank was loading in preparation for Endeavour's
planned launch today from Pad 39A here at NASA's Kennedy Space Center at 7:17 a.m. EDT (1117 GMT). The shuttle's astronaut crew had not yet donned their NASA-issue pressure suits or boarded the spacecraft for their marathon 16-day station construction flight. NASA officially cancelled today's launch plans at 12:26 a.m. EDT (0426 GMT).It will take at least four days to ready Endeavour for a second launch attempt. At that point, the schedule conflicts with the planned launch of two unmanned lunar spacecraft due to lift off toward the moon on June 17 from the nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Managers for the two missions will have to meet to discuss which flight should go first.
"We haven't even begun to work that out," said Mike Moses, mission management team chair, today at a briefing here. "We'll start those negotiations tomorrow and see where we get."
If Endeavour is unable to launch before June 20, it must stand down until July 11, when the space station is again in the right alignment.
Mystery leak returns
A similar leak thwarted the space shuttle Discovery's STS-119 launch in March, though that issue was eventually fixed and the shuttle launched successfully.
"The situation was almost identical to what we had two flows ago," shuttle launch director Mike Leinbach said. "It was discovered at almost identically the same time. It was eerily the same."
NASA does not launch space shuttles with any known gas leaks at the pad because the extremely flammable gas can cause an explosion during liftoff if it ignites.
"Hydrogen is a very volatile commodity," Leinbach said. "It's a commodity you just don't mess with."
Discovery's STS-119 flight was ultimately able to launch four days later than planned after ground crews swapped out the seal to a vent line that was carrying the gaseous hydrogen away from the shuttle. The switch fixed the issue, though no root cause was ultimately determined for the fault in the seal.
"They never found a smoking gun for it," NASA spokesman Allard Beutel said.
Weather forecasts predicted a pristine 90 percent chance of good flight conditions for today's launch attempt.
Commanded by veteran shuttle flyer Mark Polansky, Endeavour's seven-astronaut crew will launch toward the International Space Station carrying a Japanese-built porch for the outpost's massive Kibo laboratory. The mission will also ferry rookie NASA astronaut Tom Kopra to the station to replace Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata, who has lived aboard the orbiting lab since late March. Wakata is Japan's first long-duration astronaut and has watched over his country's $1 billion Kibo laboratory at the station.
Set to launch spaceward aboard Endeavour with Polansky and Kopra are STS-127 pilot Doug Hurley and mission specialists Chris Cassidy, Julie Payette, Tom Marshburn and Dave Wolf. Payette represents the Canadian Space Agency, while the rest are NASA astronauts. Five challenging spacewalks and challenging robotic arm work that will require three space cranes, two on the station and one on Endeavour, are planned.
Kopra is beginning a three-month mission to the space station as a flight engineer on the outpost's six-man Expedition 20 crew. He will join two Russians, another American and astronauts from Belgium and Canada on what is the station's first full six-person crew.
Endeavour's mission will mark NASA's third shuttle flight of the year and the second space station construction flight of 2009. A May space shuttle mission aboard Atlantis flew astronauts to the Hubble Space Telescope to perform a successful final overhaul.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Launching Saturday: Shuttle Endeavour Headed for Space Station
The shuttle is scheduled to lift off at 7:17 a.m. EDT (1117 GMT) from the seaside Launch Pad 39A here at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Endeavour is slated for a
grueling 16-day mission to ferry the final element of the space station's Japanese-built Kibo laboratory."We all realize that we have a tremendous amount of work to do," said Endeavour commander Mark Polansky. "We do know it's a combination of a sprint and a marathon, because it's a long, long mission."
The weather outlook is good for Saturday's planned liftoff, with a 90 percent chance of favorable conditions for launch, shuttle weather officer Kathy Winters said. Ground crews plan to begin filling the shuttle's tall orange fuel tank with its liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen propellant Friday at 10:02 p.m. EDT (0202 GMT).
Delivering "Hope"
The addition to Kibo (which means "Hope" in Japanese) is an outdoor porch-like platform that will house science experiments exposed to the space environment. When this element is installed, the $1 billion laboratory, Japan's major contribution to the space station, will be finished.
"A lot of Japanese people are paying attention to this flight because Kibo is the first manned space facility in Japan and this will be completed by this flight," said Koki Oikawa, a member of the Kibo project team at the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
Endeavour's STS-127 crew plans a series of five tricky spacewalks and complex robotic arm maneuvers to install the new porch, as well as a host of spare supplies and equipment for the orbiting laboratory.
The mission will also make another important delivery: rookie NASA astronaut Tim Kopra, who will stay behind on the station after the shuttle leaves for a long-duration stint as an Expedition 20 flight engineer. Kopra will replace JAXA astronaut Koichi Wakata, who is finishing up a three-month stay on the space station, and will ride home along with the STS-127 crew on Endeavour.
"The thing that I'm excited about is being able to fulfill the last several years of training and to do my small part to help out the advancement of science and space exploration," Kopra said in a NASA interview.
Along with Kopra and Polansky, NASA astronauts Doug Hurley, Chris Cassidy, Tom Marshburn, Dave Wolf, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Julie Payette will ride aboard Endeavour.
Crowded station
When the shuttle's seven crewmembers arrive at the space station they will boost the total population there to 13 - a record high. The station recently began hosting six-person crews, doubled from the previous three-person crews, and Endeavour will be the first shuttle to visit the newly crowded lab.
"Oh, I think it's going to be a bit of chaos," Hurley said in a preflight interview. "Everybody's kind of expecting that to be a little bit crazy when we first get there and before everybody gets everything sorted out. But by the same token, that's what we've all been working towards for many years is to get the ISS up to this six-person capability, so I think it'll be helpful in many ways because that's three more sets of hands that you have to help out."
The space station is currently home to two Russians, and one astronaut each from the United States, Japan, Belgium and Canada. When Endeavour lifts off, it will be the first time in history two Canadians - Payette and station astronaut Robert Thirsk - are in space at the same time.
Endeavour's STS-127 mission is NASA's third shuttle fight of the year and the 127th mission for the three-orbiter fleet. It is Endeavour's 23rd mission to space.
If the shuttle is unable to launch Saturday as planned, NASA can try again June 14 or June 15. The weather outlook for those days is also promising. There is a 90 percent chance of good weather if there is a 24 hour delay, and an 80 percent chance of favorable conditions for a 48 hour postponement.
After June 15, Endeavour must stand down to allow two unmanned lunar spacecraft to launch toward the moon from the nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The next chance for the space shuttle to launch is July 11, when sunlight and heating conditions at the space station are favorable again.
SPACE.com -- Launching Saturday: Shuttle Endeavour Headed for Space Station
U.S. DTV Switch Begins Today
Ready or not, digital is here to stay
Today is the big day for Americans still clinging to analog TVs and rabbit ears. For those folks that haven't already picked up a DTV converter box to translate the new digital signals, their TVs will now be relegated to useless lumps of plastic, metal, and glass.
The switch to DTV was supposed to take place on February 17, but Congress passed legislation to delay the switch until June 12 under the guidance of President Obama. The delay also gave the government additional time to disperse an additional $650 million USD in DTV coupons to Americans who still hadn't purchased a converter box.
Despite the extra time afforded to Americans to prepare for the DTV switch, additional funds for DTV coupons, and free assistance provided to setup converter boxes, the New York Times reported that nearly 12 million households will still be unprepared for today's switchover.
For those using cable, satellite, or digital TVs with an antenna, you have nothing to worry about -- your TV programming will be unaffected.
For more information on the DTV switch, you can check out the official website here.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Microsoft will "Soon" Offer Beta Antivirus App
Antivirus app is codenamed Morro and will be free
Microsoft is the largest software company on the planet with applications ranging from office productivity to the operating systems the vast majority of consumer computers run on. Microsoft has also offered protection suits to help keep computers running its software operating efficiently.
Reuters reports that Microsoft is getting ready to unveil a free antivirus service for computers to compete with the many retail antivirus offerings on the market. Microsoft first made plans for its free antivirus offering codenamed "Morro" in November of 2008. At the time, Microsoft said that the service would be launching in the second half of 2009.
The exact launch date of the new free anti-virus service has yet to be announced, but Reuters reports that Microsoft will "soon" make a beta version of the free protection available for users. Investors in security software firms like McAfee and Symantec are worried that a free offering from Microsoft could potentially harm revenue for the companies.
Analyst Daniel Ives said, "It's a long-term competitive threat." However, Ives said that the short-term impact of the free Microsoft offering would be minimal. Not much is known about Morro at this point other than it will offer free basic protection against different virus types and is comparable to low-end software from rival firms selling in the $40 price range.
Morro came out of an unsuccessful offering from Microsoft called Live OneCare that never proved popular among users. Microsoft said in November when it announced the free antivirus offering that Live OneCare would be phased out.
Symantec's Janice Chaffin said, "Microsoft's free product is basically a stripped down version of the OneCare product Microsoft pulled from the shelves. A full internet security suite is what consumers require today to stay fully protected."
A McAfee spokesman said that his company is already working well and competing against free antivirus offerings already on the market.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Mozilla Updates Firefox Add-Ons Site with Collections
Wouldn't it be nice if you could click one link and have all your favorite add-ons automatically installed on a new copy of Firefox? Mozilla makes it so with Collections, the newest feature of a revamped add-on site.
We'd seen beta previews of the new add-on site, but as of this morning, the redesign has gone live. The new skin and organization make it more apparent how to search, sort, and install add-ons, but Collections, and the Add-On Collector extension, are the real new hotness.
Put simply, Collections are just a pre-packaged set of add-ons, themes, dictionaries, and language packs that are given a name, a description, and a unique URL, like addons.mozilla.org/collections/davesawesomecollection (Note: Not a real collection, at least until someone spoofs it). So it's kind of convenient if you happen to know of or find a great collection set, but the real power comes in creating your own collections, either by typing and selecting add-ons on the site, or automatically culled from your current extensions with the Add-On Collector. As you can see in the screenshot at right, Subscriptions becomes a part of your Add-Ons options when you install the Collector, and the extension itself gives you some control over what gets published to your private or public collections, along with allowing you to subscribe to mulptiple collections if you'd like.
By creating a new collection, which you can make private or public, you basically create an up-to-date backup of your must-have Firefox extensions. For frequent Firefox re-installers, a good collection is going to be a must. For those looking to help out Firefox newcomer friends or keep a group of workers updated, it seems like a pretty nifty tool. The Add-On Collector was having some problems connecting to my Mozilla account this morning, but that is, hopefully, just launch morning bugs.
The Add-On Collector is a free download for Firefox, while the Collections site works on the web. Both require a Mozilla account to save and synchronize collections.
Lifehacker - Mozilla Updates Firefox Add-Ons Site with Collections - Firefox
The Google Wave Highlight Reel - Google Wave
We haven't been invited to try out Google Wave (yet? pretty please Mister Google?), but based on the 80-minute demonstration video, we're jazzed about it. Don't have 80 minutes? These eight 30-60 second clips highlight the best parts of Google Wave.
Inline Replies
First the simple stuff. Google says Wave is what email would be if it were invented today, so it looks a whole lot like Gmail. But all editing and commenting happen on a single copy of a given wave (that is, message or document). You can comment on a wave below it, or inline. Check it out:
Google Offers App to Sync Outlook with Gmail
New app lets users check email with Outlook or Gmail
Google is looking to best Microsoft on many levels. Google already rules the search market leaving Microsoft scrambling to find ways to compete. However, on other fronts, it is Google scrambling to compete with Microsoft.
One of the fronts that Google finds it hard to compete against Microsoft on is in office productivity. By far the most popular productivity suite is Microsoft Office. Google offers a full spectrum of online offerings that are free or cost much less than Microsoft's software, but the search giant is still struggling to get users to make the change from Microsoft software to its online only applications.
This year Google has been working to remove some of the barriers that are preventing many enterprise users from using Google applications like Gmail. In January, Google announced offline Gmail -- the lack of offline availability was one of the major reasons many users cited for not using Gmail instead of Outlook from Microsoft.
Google has announced this week that it has removed another barrier that prevents some users from taking advantage of Google emails service. Some users like the Gmail interface, others want to use Outlook to get email.
Google has announced a new feature called Google Apps Sync for Microsoft Outlook that lets users continue using Outlook to manage their email and other functions like calendars and still take advantage of Google's cloud-based email service.
The application lets Outlook users connect to Google Apps for business email, contacts, and calendar on their computers and when away from the office the same data can be accessed via the Google web interface.
Key features of the new offering include email, calendar, and contacts synchronization. The plug-in uses the Gmail offline protocol, which Google says is much faster than other methods like IMAP. A data migration tool is also built in that allows users to migrate their data form Exchange or Outlook into Google Apps with two clicks. Users can also schedule meetings with coworkers using Outlook Calendar or Google Calendar.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
America's Army 3 Arriving June 17
"The only action game that delivers an authentic and entertaining Army experience by reflecting the training, technology, actions, and career advancement of a Soldier within an exciting free game experience" will arrive on June 17, distributor Valve said today.
America's Army 3 updates the popular free-to-play series with Epic's Unreal Engine 3, bringing new missions, features and gameplay tweaks alongside the new tech.
In addition, the game will sport several enhancements for those that download and play through Valve's Steam platform, including achievements and server-stored settings.
NASA Targets June 13 Launch for Shuttle Endeavour
Shuttle mission managers on Wednesday approved plans to launch Endeavour on a marathon
station construction flight at 7:17 a.m. EDT (1117 GMT) on June 13, nearly three weeks after the successful return of its sister ship Atlantis from the Hubble Space Telescope."We're getting pretty darn close to kicking this mission off next Saturday," Endeavour's commander Mark Polansky told reporters today at the shuttle's launch pad in Cape Canaveral, Fla. "We're excited about the work we're going to do."
Finishing Japan's space "hope"
Polansky's six-man, one-woman crew is poised to lift off from a seaside launch pad at NASA's Kennedy Space Center to deliver a porch-like external platform for the space station's massive Japanese laboratory Kibo, which means "Hope" in English.
The $1 billion Kibo lab is the space station's largest room, about the size of a tour bus, and currently sports an attic-like storage module, small airlock and robotic arm. The new platform will be attached to the lab's exterior to expose experiments and materials to space for long duration studies.
Five intricate spacewalks and complicated maneuvers with three different robotic arms are planned during the 16-day mission, which will tie the record for the longest station-bound mission to date.
"This mission is unbelievably complex," said Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA's space operations chief, in a televised briefing late Wednesday. "It'll be a very challenging mission for the team."
The spaceflight, NASA's third shuttle mission of the year, is also the first to send seven astronauts to the space station since the outpost doubled its permanent crew size to six people last week. When Endeavour arrives, 13 people will live and work aboard the station - the most ever aboard the orbital outpost.
"It's just a really good mix of folks and I think we're going to work well together as a team," said Endeavour astronaut Tim Kopra from the launch pad.
Kopra will replace Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata as a member of the space station's six-man crew after Endeavour arrives. Wakata, who has lived aboard the station since March, is Japan's first long-term resident of the orbital laboratory and due to return home in late June aboard Endeavour.
Endeavour's STS-127 astronaut crew will climb aboard the shuttle on Thursday for a launch dress rehearsal at the Kennedy Space Center. They will cap the launch simulation with an emergency escape drill before returning home to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Tight schedule
NASA has a slim three-day window in which to launch Endeavour to the station before standing down to allow an unmanned moon probe, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and the attached LCROSS impactor, to blast off on June 17 from the nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
If the shuttle does not launch by June 15, it could try again four of five days later, but only of the moon-bound mission lifts off on time. If Endeavour is unable to fly in June, it would have to wait until July 11 when sun angles at the space station are more favorable, mission managers said.
Pete Nickolenko, launch director for Endeavour's flight, said the schedule is tight, with no reserve days to deal with unexpected glitches. On Sunday, the shuttle moved to its current seaside Launch Pad 39A from the nearby Pad 39B, where it had been on standby to fly a rescue mission for Atlantis' Hubble telescope service call in case of an emergency.
While no space rescue was required, the effort to prime Endeavour for flight streamlined the work required for its current mission to the station, said Nickolenko. As long as the Florida weather cooperates, the shuttle should be ready for its June 13 launch, he added.
"I think we're running on all cylinders, in my mind ... we're hitting our strides," Nickolenko said. "It's all rapid-paced, but it's all doable, manageable. The teams are seasoned, but I believe that they're focused."
SPACE.com -- NASA Targets June 13 Launch for Shuttle Endeavour
Dungeons & Dragons Online Becoming Free-to-play
Turbine today announced that it will relaunch its MMO Dungeons & Dragons Online this summer as Dungeons & Dragons Online: Eberron Unlimited, a free-to-play version of the massive online game.
Players will be able to download and play the game at no cost, with a new DDO Store providing revenue in the form of content and item sales. Dungeon packs, character slots, potions, character customization, and hired goons will all be available for purchase with Turbine Points.
Turbine will also launch a "DDO VIP" program that will grant access to all premium content for a monthly price. Benefits include priority server access, 10 character slots, a shared bank, and a monthly pack of 500 Turbine Points to spent at the DDO Store.
Dungeons & Dragons Online was launched in February 2006. Turbine has since updated the title with eight modules.
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