Software news

CES2009: REDFLY PC software coming soon, concept demos of dock and …

admin — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 11:33:37 +0000

January 6th, 2009
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arrived today and I was also pleased to get some news about some of the things that Celio Corp is showing off at CES 2009 in Vegas. Celio Corp unveiled their new PC software that lets you use your Windows Mobile device with your Windows PC just like if you had the REDFLY hardware. They also are showing off two proof-of-concept ideas that include a Smartphone Dock and Google Android drivers for the REDFLY. Keep in mind these are ideas under development and Celio Corp is just showing off how their driver concept can be applied to other applications.
It seems that notebook owners have been asking about using their existing computers to connect to their Windows Mobile device for email, document creation/editing and surfing on a larger display, but didn’t want to carry around another device like the REDFLY. Celio Corp will be making the PC software/driver available in March 2009 for a fee (not yet determined). The REDFLY PC software will allow Windows XP and Vista owners to have full screen access to their Windows Mobile device up to a resolution of 1024768. There are other types of clients that let you connect your Windows Mobile device in this manner, but if Celio can make it as simple, easy, and functional on a PC as they have on a REDFLY then this software should be a very compelling solution.
One of the proof-of-concept demos they are giving at CES is for the REDFLY Smartphone Dock and this is something I could see really being quite functional at airport, hotel, or other public kiosks. The REDFLY Smartphone Dock concept device is a box with VGA port, USB ports, Bluetooth radio, and power supply. You could connect to this type of device that could be plugged into a dedicated large keyboard and monitor or take it on the road to use for giving presentations from a Windows Mobile device. I think the airport or other public place would be perfect for plugging in your Windows Mobile phone to write a quick email on a large keyboard or check your email and then leave without ever worrying about leaving behind any private information.
The second proof-of-concept demo is a possible driver for the Google Android platform. Check out the video below to see this driver being demonstrated by Celio Corp.
I can’t wait to use my new C8N more and more with my Windows Mobile device and am still holding out hope for continued expansion of driver support for the iPhone, Google Android, and S60. Depending on what Palm announces in a couple days maybe we will even see a Nova OS driver in the future.

Microsoft touts Mac-Windows collaboration at Macworld

admin — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 09:14:30 +0000

January 6, 2009 (Computerworld)
software later this year that will let Office 2008 for Mac users collaborate with people running the Windows version of the application suite.
The company made the announcement at the Macworld Conference & Expo, where
, without
, a longtime fixture at the event.
Document Collaboration Companion will be released to a small number of beta testers next month, said a Microsoft spokeswoman in an e-mail today. However, Microsoft would not commit to a definitive final release timetable, saying only that it would deliver the software "later this year."
The spokeswoman said that the program will make it easier for users to download and upload documents to enterprise servers running SharePoint, Microsoft's browser-based collaboration platform, or to
, the free online service that offers similar functionality. Document Collaboration Companion also will provide Mac-based tools to let Office users check shared documents in and out.
Microsoft touted the upcoming software and a planned makeover of Entourage -- the e-mail client for Office 2008 for Mac -- as its first moves toward providing some of the same kind of services to its Mac customers that those running Windows already enjoy.
"Entourage Exchange Web Services and the Document Collaboration Companion lets Mac Office users connect with counterparts on a PC," said Eric Wilfrid, general manager of Microsoft's Mac business group, in a separate statement. "These releases are the first step in harnessing the power of software plus services on the Mac."
Microsoft promised that Entourage will also be beefed up this year so that it's more on par with Outlook, the Windows e-mail client, in enterprises. As part of that upgrade, which Microsoft will offer later this year free of charge to Office 2008 users, it is transitioning Entourage to Exchange Web Services (EWS) for connecting to Exchange mail servers and dropping the currently supported WebDAV.
The changes will also include new support for synchronizing tasks, notes and categories in Entourage via an Exchange server.
A public beta for EWS will be released later this month, Microsoft said.

Phoenix Offers Faster Boot Times for Laptops

admin — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 08:00:26 +0000

BIOS vendor Phoenix Technologies has launched its HyperSpace "instant on" software, which allows a laptop to boot up in less than 30 seconds for basic tasks like surfing the Web.
HyperSpace is based on a compressed Linux OS that boots up while Windows is starting in the background. It connects automatically to any available network and fires up a Firefox-based Web browser to get users quickly on the Web.
First shown in November 2007, HyperSpace is finally available for purchase on an annual subscription basis, Phoenix announced Tuesday at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
. A Hybrid version, priced at US$59.95 per year, allows users to toggle back and forth between Windows and the HyperSpace OS. The Dual version, priced at $39.95 per year, allows only one OS to run at a time.
The Hybrid version is for standard laptops and uses the VT virtualization technology built into some Intel processors, such as the Core 2 Duo. It was shown at CES running on a Lenovo Thinkpad. The Dual version is for netbooks based on Intel's Atom processor, which does not have the virtualization technology, and was shown on Lenovo's IdeaPad netbook.
HyperSpace can't access files or applications in Windows. If a user gets an e-mail with a Word attachment while using HyperSpace, they have to go back to Windows to launch Word and view the attachment. With the Dual version, this means restarting the laptop in Windows mode.
But HyperSpace can still help overcome the frustrating experience of waiting for Windows to start up and shut down. Phoenix plans to release new applications for HyperSpace in the second quarter that will be included in the subscription price, such as programs for playing DVDs and MP3 music files.
It also hopes to cut deals with PC vendors to get the software preinstalled on laptops. But it says its goal is to complement Windows, not replace it.
"If we become a heavyweight operating system like Windows then we'll lose our value proposition -- that we're lightweight and can start up very quickly," said Shauli Chaudhuri, Phoenix vice president of marketing.
Phoenix isn't the first to release such technology. For example, Dell offers an equivalent on
, and a product called Splashtop, from California start-up DeviceVM, is available on several laptops from Asustek.
Phoenix says HyperSpace is different because it has aggressive power management features, made possible by Phoenix's access to the BIOS software. If Windows is kept in sleep mode in the background, HyperSpace can extend the battery life of a laptop by more than 30 percent, according to Phoenix.
NPD analyst Ross Rubin said HyperSpace might appeal to PC makers as a way to distinguish their laptops from competitors. But he wondered if consumers will be willing to pay the annual subscription fee for something non-essential. "This isn't antivirus software," he said.
The software released Tuesday is aimed at consumers, but HyperSpace can also be deployed without the user interface for remote PC management at corporations, according to Chaudhuri. It is already being used in this way on NEC laptops sold in Japan, she said.

IBM Lotus Delivers New “Social” Notes and Free Symphony Software…

admin — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 07:50:28 +0000

At Macworld, IBM (NYSE: IBM) today
announced the availability of
collaboration software with social computing features for all Mac OS X
Leopard-powered computers. In addition, IBM's free Lotus Symphony
document, spreadsheet and presentation software will be available later
this month for the Mac.
IBM Lotus Notes and Domino software, celebrating its 20th year in 2009, has
grown to more than 140 million licenses sold worldwide.
Lotus Notes 8.5 provides significant storage savings over previous
versions. Notes has an intelligent storage savings feature that ensures
that only one copy of an attachment is kept on the mail server, resulting
in an estimated 40 percent space savings.
"To ease the mounting pressure on businesses to constrain costs, Notes 8.5
provides 'open' social computing benefits at substantial savings to
businesses because less storage space is needed," said Kevin Cavanaugh,
vice president, messaging and collaboration, IBM.
"The blazing speed of Apple's award-winning hardware combined with Mac OS
X, the world's most advanced operating system creates an ideal platform for
collaboration software applications like Notes," said Ron Okamoto, Apple's
vice president of Worldwide Developer Relations. "We're excited to see
IBM's continued commitment to the Mac platform with its latest release."
Lotus Notes 8.5 has several notable characteristics, including a
user-friendly look that neatly arranges all collaboration tools on one
screen in fewer clicks. This screen shows links to team rooms, instant
messaging, to do lists, calendar, Internet browsers and other tools.
Social characteristics include new integration with Google, Yahoo, and
hundreds of other public Internet calendars -- blending the work and
personal lives of busy professionals. Using Notes, with just a check of a
box, a worker can display the Lotus Notes work calendar and the family
Internet calendar, with a customer meeting, lunch with the boss,
parent-teacher conference, son's basketball game, and spa appointment --
all in one view.
"Notes 8.5 has allowed our Mac users to make full use of a non-Microsoft
environment with all the advances of the latest Notes functionality," said
Mark Calleran, Chief Information Officer, The Salvation Army, International
Headquarters.
Discovery Communications is another leading organization, among others,
using Lotus Notes 8.5 for the Macintosh.
IBM also announced new Lotus iNotes 8.5 software, which allows anyone with
a Notes user license to access Notes through a Safari browser from
anywhere. iNotes allows the user to integrate the Notes calendar with
Google calendar and also supports most standard widgets. One example of a
widget is the mapping of a street address in an e-mail note.
In addition to availability for the Mac, IBM Lotus Notes 8.5 software is
also available for Windows and Linux devices. It also works more
efficiently with Lotus Sametime for collaboration and unified
communications and Lotus Quickr for file sharing among work teams at
various levels.
The new innovations built into Lotus Notes 8.5 reflect ongoing and
anticipated changes in business, society and culture -- results of
, an
IBM initiative that examines a changing work world.
Lotus Notes 8.5 works closely with Lotus Sametime software, allowing
individuals to see who is available, and to begin instant message and voice
over IP (VOIP) conversations with a click of the mouse. The real-time
community tools in Sametime make it easier to find information and share
expertise in real time with groups of people. Instead of spending time
trying to figure out who can help solve a problem, individuals can reach
out to a community of people instantly, take part in persistent chats and
share screens with many others.
IBM sells Lotus Notes and Domino in a variety of ways, including packaged
with hardware for small and medium businesses; via a hosted service, where
the software is stored on a server at IBM; and through Passport Advantage
on
.
For more information and to download IBM's free Symphony desktop software,
visit
.
Macworld Expo attendees can visit IBM at Booth #3418 in the North Hall at
the Moscone Center in San Francisco this week.
Contact:
Michelle McIntyre
IBM Global Media Relations
m: 408-483-6681
mc@us.ibm.com

IBM Lotus Delivers New “Social” Notes and Free Symphony Software…

admin — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 06:45:54 +0000

Tools for Migrating from Windows to Linux

admin — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 05:30:17 +0000

Taking baby steps to become more familiar with a new operating system can be as simple as revamping the OS already in use on your computer. It begins with unlearning Windows-born behavior to free up your mind for a new way of doing things.
For Windows users, software installation is nearly always accomplished from some sort of simple GUI installer. The idea is basically to keep pounding away on the "next" button until the installer alerts its user that the installation has completed.
Linux users, on the other hand, generally prefer the simplicity of installing software through a command line prompt. Different distributions have different means of making this happen, but generally the end goal is the same – install/remove/update some specific software package.
To become more familiar with this sort of behavior, I suggest getting your feet wet in the Windows world using a program called
. Based off of the same methodology of software installation for Debian Linux-based distributions, Win-Get allows its users to add and remove software via the command line using commands that are similar to what would be used in a Linux distribution such as Ubuntu.
Potential users should be aware that proprietary applications are included with open source software offerings through this program. Applications such as Adobe Reader, AVG anti-virus, Avast anti-virus are among a number of other closed source programs made available to those who opt to install Win-Get onto their Windows PCs.
While these applications are perfectly fine to use, I want to stress that not all applications offered in this way are of the open source variety.
Using a Live CD to learn Linux is simply not practical for someone interested in making a long-term switch over to desktop Linux.
Why? Being able to install and update software from the command line is going to make for a more effective Linux user in the long run. Yet at the same time, no one running a Live CD is going to fully grasp this without some previous experience.
Besides the familiarity issue, should a software installation go poorly, it will be the command line that will yield the most relevant information as to what might have taken place. So clearly, learning to become comfortable in this environment now has its merit.
One of the first things Windows XP users complain about is the need to deal with a prompt every time they wish to install or remove some piece of software after trying to work with sudo user-enabled distributions such as Ubuntu.
While some of us might point out that this same user could very well take it upon themselves to simply becoming root, the obvious dangers of running as an administrator go without saying. Clearly, running as a limited user of sorts is an important part of a very basic level of desktop security.
As Windows XP is "wide open" due to its issuing administrator accounts without any real warning as to how dangerous this truly is, it makes Windows XP the perfect candidate for a fantastic tool known as
.
Unlike other open source sudo user tools for Windows, SuRun works well with Vista's UAC in addition to enabling the XP user to become more familiar with the idea of dealing with a prompt to accomplish specific tasks.
What I find most valuable about using this software is that it illustrates how many programs need to be operated using elevated credentials -- as most programs in desktop Linux do not need this when operating as a standard, non-administrator user.

Skype 2.8 beta for Mac released

admin — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 05:19:59 +0000

Just in time for Macworld, those ridiculously talented Estonian engineers have come out with the latest version of everyone's favorite Internet phone and video calling software the
.
Among other extras, this new version includes two all-new features: The first lets you use your Skype credit to pay for Boingo Wi-Fi hotspots on a minute-by-minute basis. So, forget having to fork over $10 just to send a quick message off to your loved one or business partner. Now you can do it for
small change—just $0.19/minute.
You can also now do screen sharing with other Skype users. Of course, iChat has had this feature for awhile now, but iChat can't do cross-platform screen sharing so you can help out your Windows/Linux friends. There are some limitations at the moment, though: for example, while you can share your screen with your buddies on Windows and Linux, you can't yet see their screens. But really: who wants to look at a Windows or Linux screen when you've got your Mac in front of you?
You can download the new 2.8 beta
, so feel free to give it a spin and let us know how it works out for you.

Debian 5 release approaches… binary blobs included

admin — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 03:08:50 +0000

The developers behind the Debian Linux distribution are preparing for the upcoming release of Debian 5, which is codenamed Lenny. The decision to move forward with the release follows a contentious vote over whether to permit the inclusion of binary blobs in the new version of the distribution. Consensus coalesced around a controversial proposal to "assume blobs comply with the GPL unless proven otherwise."
The issue centers around a long-running dispute about the licensing implications of allowing binary firmware components to be bundled in the kernel. Although the practice of embedding proprietary firmware in hardware devices is widely accepted, some free software purists object to scenarios where the binary firmware components are stored in the kernel and loaded into the hardware at runtime. The debate over this issue has raged for years and a close examination of what it entails is beyond the scope of this article.
Some mainstream Linux distributions—such as Ubuntu—take a pragmatic view on the issue. Debian, however, has deep ideological roots and a development culture that holds software freedom in high regard. Critics of binary firmware within the Debian community argue that the growing tolerance of binary firmware represents an unambiguous deviation from the principles embodied in Debian's
and free software guidelines.
The debate renewed last month as the Debian development community began the task of determining whether or not the release of version 5 should be delayed to facilitate the purge of binary firmware blobs. The matter was
through the general resolution process. The Debian election methodology is moderately complex and somewhat confusing to outsiders. Each voter ranks the available options in an order that reflects their preference. The Condercet Method, with
, is used to compute the winner based on the rankings.
The election was managed by Debian secretary Manoj Srivastava, who resigned in response to allegations of mismanagement and ballot irregularities shortly after the elections were completed. Srivastava, who assembled the ballot and maintains the software used to compute the election results, has been Debian's secretary since 2001. Critics accuse Srivastava of abusing his power by selectively applying super-majority requirements to proposals that he disliked.
In Debian elections, any proposals that are viewed as being fundamentally in contradiction with the project's core principals generally have to be supported by a 3-to-1 supermajority in order to pass. Srivastava's decision to invoke that requirement on several of the ballot proposals in the binary blob vote is perceived by some critics as arbitrary and unreasonable. They argue that he intentionally tried to sink propsoals that didn't match with his views.
"In the years I have spent in this role since Darren left us, I have tried to conduct the votes as I saw the rquirements of the constitution, and the limitations of the voting software. But this not a view shared by very many people. I concede that I have made mistakes with the current set of votes," he
in an e-mail stating his intention to resign. "There are, in my opinion, far more cogent arguments being offered now, than there were in the discussion period, and had these being made earlier, we would not have come to this pass."
The winning proposal suggests that getting Debian 5 out the door is more important than completing the crusade against binary-only firmware. It also states that binary firmware should only be included if it can be legally redistributed.
"We give priority to the timely release of Lenny over sorting every bit out; for this reason, we will treat removal of sourceless firmware as a best-effort process, and deliver firmware as part of Debian Lenny as long as we are legally allowed to do so, and the firmware is distributed upstream under a license that complies with the DFSG," the proposal states.
On the surface, the final decision seems a bit radical for a freedom-oriented distribution like Debian. The issue has, however, been around for a long time and was addressed with a similar outcome prior to at least two previous releases. The general view of the Debian community is that they are satisfied with allowing releases to go forward as long as consistent progress is being made in eradicating binary blobs and there are no clear regressions in this area between releases.
Some of the ballot options that failed to pass reflect very different philosophies. For example, one proposal suggested that firmware should be categorically excluded from the source availability requirements of the free software guidelines. Another proposal called for an unconditional delay until the non-free components are fully purged. And another proposal aimed to grant the Debian release team the authority to evaluate each case individually.
The Debian 5 controversy invited criticism from several key figures in the Linux development community, including kernel developer and Linux Foundation CTO Ted Ts'o. In a personal
, Ts'o criticized the Debian project and argued that the extreme and uncompromising language in the organization's social contract is counterproductive. He suggests that placing such extreme emphasis on software freedom above all else is like idolatry and erodes principles that he thinks are more important, such as civility and fair treatment of other people.
The Debian 5 schedule originally specified the second half of 2008 as a likely window for release. Debian is notorious for major release delays and there always seems to be some kind of significant argument or dispute at the last minute. Prior to the release of Etch, the last major version, controversy erupted over Dunc Tank, a community-sponsored group that raised funds to pay prominent release managers in the month leading up to the release. It was hoped that delays could be prevented if two release managers had funding to work on Debian full-time for a month each. The plan was
and the release fell behind schedule despite the funding.
Despite all of the controversy and squabbling, Debian 5 is shaping up to be a pretty strong release. It will include
of the Linux kernel and Xorg 7.3.
Debian stable releases are engineered to be rock solid, so they tend to fall back on older application versions where necessary rather than jumping ahead. An example of this can be seen in the changes that they made to their GNOME stack. The default version of GNOME included in the Debian repositories will be 2.22, which was
. GNOME 2.22 was a transitional release, and some of the major features—such as the
—were still incomplete. Instead of backporting the improvements in those areas from 2.24, Debian has taken its characteristically conservative approach and has dropped GIO in favor of the legacy gnome-vfs framework in Nautilus and several other core desktop components.
Debian 5 will also ship with OpenOffice 2.4 instead of the recently released
. The most significant addition in 3.0 that is relevant to Linux users is support for Microsoft's Office Open XML format (OOXML) format. This feature will still be available to Debian 5 users because Debian uses Novell's Go-OO branch of OpenOffice.org, a custom version that includes OOXML support and higher-quality Linux integration.
For a complete list of the new features in Debian 5, check out the overview in the
. You can also
the latest release candidate from the project's web site.

Apple Security: Time To Stop Feeling Superior?

admin — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 00:55:55 +0000

Apple issued 35 security updates in 2008, down slightly from the 38 issued in 2007, but significantly more than the 22 security updates in 2006 and 23 in 2005.
, Intego -- a seller of Mac security
-- claims, "There have been far more [Apple-related] security problems in the past two years than in previous years, requiring Mac users to be more vigilant than ever to ensure that their computers are safe and secure."
it saw in 2008. Variants of the RSPlug Trojan horse, first noticed in October 2007, surfaced in April 2008 and again in November and December. There was a new Mac
in June, OSX.Trojan.PokerStealer. And several rogue security programs for the Mac were spotted: Macsweeper, iMunizator, and MacGuard.
The company also notes that significant vulnerabilities were reported in Apple Remote Desktop software and in QuickTime, which is also available for Windows.
"Mac OS X, while more secure than Windows, contains its share of flaws, and Apple has to constantly keep on its toes to issue a couple dozen security updates each year, to Mac OS X in general, as well as to specific parts of Mac OS X that are often found to contain vulnerabilities," Intego said in its report.
About a month ago, Apple removed an old support
that suggested the use of multiple antivirus applications to keep Macs secure. "The Mac is designed with built-in technologies that provide protection against malicious software and security threats right out of the box," an Apple spokesman said in an e-mailed statement. "However, since no system can be 100% immune from every threat, running
software may offer additional protection."
In March, a team of security researchers from Independent Security Evaluators
3.1
to compromise a MacBook Air.
Alex Eckelberry, CEO of
, a maker of Windows security software, said in an
that there is some malware on the Mac, though it tends to rely on social rather than technical engineering. He said that the breadth of infection caused by Mac malware is nowhere near as severe as infections spread by Windows malware.
"Generally, I wouldn't tell anyone not to run security software, but in the case of the Mac, I'm certainly more understanding if someone decides not to," he said. "Since the bulk of infections that may be occurring would be occurring through social engineering, if someone is reasonably cautious (doesn't open links that aren't trusted, doesn't
software from sites that aren't from their originator, like Flash), then they're fairly safe."
However, Mac users shouldn't be too complacent. "My only concern is that we don't know when the other shoe will drop with Macs," Eckelberry added. "The Mac market is getting mature enough that it may become a real target for attack by malware authors. 2009 may be that year."

Could new iPhoto person and location tagging carry over to iPhone?

admin — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 23:57:17 +0000

Apple showed off the new version of its iPhoto image editing software today at the Macworld expo. The application will tie in with the most popular photo-sharing websites, Facebook and Flickr, allowing users to post their snapshots without the need to download
. Support for uploading to Picasa Web Albums is notably absent, but Google's new
has that covered.
The soon-to-be-released iPhoto '09 incorporates signature features of each social networking website. Users will be able to tag faces in photos and view all their pictures of a particular person, just like on Facebook. And like Flickr, the software also will use GPS data recorded by some cameras (the one on an iPhone, for example) and display the location they were taken on a Google map.
The faces and places data carry over to images uploaded to Facebook and Flickr, respectively.
I can think of two consumer devices that could benefit from this photo data. (Hint: they're both touch-screen gadgets made by Apple.) But Apple hasn't said yet how this could be applied to the iPhone and iPod Touch. After all,
, the company's senior vice president of marketing, did say in his keynote that today was "all about the Mac" (well, before he went on to
and other Apple software).
But let's think about this for a second. Does the iPhone have a photo viewer? Check. Google Maps? Check. Contact lists? Check. Imagine flipping through your contact list, picking a friend's name and getting a list of all the photos that person is tagged in.
Or what about having all your pictures mapped on your phone? Aha, those annoying "camera would like to use your current location" messages that keep popping up on our iPhones are starting to make a lot more sense.