Corel released a free public beta of WordPerfect Lightning on Tuesday, a word processor that blends a desktop-based application with online collaboration and storage features. WordPerfect Lightening has a “Notes” tool to save text and images from the Internet, in addition to a “Viewer” that can handle the portable document format (.pdf), WordPerfect, and Microsoft’s Word documents. It also has a “Navigator” to organize files.
The desktop application is 20MB and is compatible with Microsoft’s new Vista OS and XP, Corel said. If users are not at computer running the WordPerfect Lightning desktop application, they can use Lightning’s online site to access files stored by Corel. Users get 200MB of storage space to back up data such as e-mails, contacts, bookmarks, and documents, in addition to a calendar and free e-mail. WordPerfect Lightning is one of a wave of applications integrating desktop applications with online features for greater access and easier collaboration. In March 2006, Google bought Upstartle, a company that created the online word processor Writely.
source: InfoWorld
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Microsoft has sent out invitations for participation in a pre-release program dubbed the “Windows Live Beta Communityâ€. The e-mail asks its recipient to head over to the Invitations section at Microsoft Connect and input the included invitation ID, after signing in with a valid Windows Live ID. A survey normally ensues, but this time the go button takes the invitee directly to the Windows Live Beta Community web page. The page isn’t anything special but it is more extensive than typical beta pages. For now, it is structured into 7 areas which answer simple FAQs. It is evident that the program is aimed at beta testers who are particularly active and genuinely want to help Microsoft develop and improve Windows Live products. What Microsoft has planned for these testers, however, is currently unclear, but the software giant made sure to throw out many Thank You already.
Firefox 3.0, the open-source browser which is slated for release in the second half of 2007, will include many new features, including offline support for Web applications and new bookmark and search features. While the final feature set hasn’t been determined, Firefox 3.0 will also contain elements for its 4.0 release and beyond: “What we’re trying to do with all of these things is lay the foundation,” said Mike Schroepfer, vice president for engineering for Mozilla, during a stop in London on Tuesday. Ultimately, Mozilla engineers are aiming for an integration between the browser and Web-based services that is as smooth-running as a desktop application. To do offline support, engineers have overcome the hurdle of how to storedata locally on the computer – the feature will make it into Firefox 3.0, although the user interface is still under development. Mozilla would also like to create a function where bookmarks could be automatically sorted based on popularity and frequency rather than the static presentation now.
Most importantly, Firefox has to be fast and standards-compliant, Schroepfer said. He also noted that extensions are sometimes to blame for abnormal use of system resources, and therefore Mozilla will soon set up a shared library of tested code that extension writers can download and use. Mozilla also relaunched its extension site, cutting back on the number of extensions listed so first-time users don’t overload their browsers and dampen their experience. In a few weeks, discussion forums will also be set up for developers to exchange feedback as code writers sometimes don’t know of the problems, he said. Schroepfer also emphasized that Firefox 4.0 will support the JavaScript 2 language, now under development in part by Mozilla’s CTO Brendan Eich and the ECMA International standards body. The idea behind the JavaScript revamp is to make high-performance Web applications easier to write and assemble for people with less coding expertise, he said: “It’s less about making it possible and more about making it easy.”
News source: InfoWorld
At a New York press conference, Sony announced its plans to offer a $599 high definition player, specifically the forthcoming BDP-S300 Blu-ray player. The competing HD DVD players are currently even cheaper, but Sony is definitely making an effort if you consider the $1,000 price tag of Sony’s current BDP-S1. Music lovers will be happy to know that the BDP-300 can play CDs as well. For non-gaming consumers who do not want a $499/$599 PlayStation 3, Blu-ray has just become far more affordable. This is good news for HD DVD lovers as well; if you ask me, a price battle is exactly what the high definition war needs.
News source: Ars Technica
According to a post over at Gmane.org, AMD engineer Yinghai Lu has reportedly released source-code of the BIOS for the Gigabyte Technology M57SLI-S4 motherboard. This can potentially allow advanced users to “program their motherboards” by themselves, customizing and optimizing the BIOS to their personal needs, possibly even opening up more functionality for overclocking. The M57SLI-S4 mainboard is based on Nvidia nForce 570 SLI core-logic, supports various AMD processors in the AM2 form-factor, has four slots for DDR2 memory, has two PCI Express x16 slots for SLI mode, three PCI Express x1 ports for add-in cards, six Serial ATA-300 connectors for hard disk drives with RAID support, ten USB 2.0 connectors, three IEEE1394a (FireWire) ports and so on.
LinuxBIOS is a free software project started in 1999 and endorsed by the Free Software Foundation; the project aims to replace the proprietary BIOS firmware found in most computers with a lightweight BIOS designed to perform only the minimum of tasks necessary. “The need for a Free BIOS is even more pressing since DRM and Treacherous Computing have found their way into some proprietary BIOSes and EFI. From a practical perspective, LinuxBIOS removes the need for ugly hacks and workarounds in the kernel that compensate for buggy BIOSes we can now fix the BIOS ourselves,” a statement proclaims.
Earlier this week, Microsoft published a list of 800 applications that should run properly on its new Windows Vista operating system. On its Web site, Microsoft says the number of applications certified for use with Windows Vista is constantly growing and that its list “will be update weekly.”
Virtually all of Microsoft’s own offerings are on the list. Also included are a host of business and security applications from vendors ranging from Intuit to Trend Micro. Desktop applications from Google made it in, but some of the world’s biggest software companies, including Adobe Systems, IBM, and Symantec didn’t make the cut. Tech industry analyst Rob Enderle of the Enderle Group blames the fact that IBM and Adobe are becoming increasingly competitive with Microsoft in the desktop applications market. Also absent from the list is any software from Apple. Enderle thinks Apple has purposely chosen not to make some of its more popular applications, such as iTunes, Vista-compatible.
View: Applications that Microsoft has approved for Vista
This week, Mozilla patched seven vulnerabilities with the latest security update, available both with automatic updates and manual download from the company’s website, for Firefox 1.5.0.10 and Firefox 2.0.0.2. The security update was originally slated for a February 21 release but was pushed back to accommodate a fix for the location.hostname vulnerability. The vulnerability allows malicious Web sites to manipulate authentication cookies for third-party sites. “We strongly recommend that all Firefox users upgrade to this latest release. This update resolves the location.hostname vulnerability and other security and stability issues. Thanks to the work of our contributors, we have been able to address these issues quickly in order to minimize the security risk to Firefox users,” said Mike Schroepfer, VP of engineering at Mozilla.
The open-source software maker is already working on another serious bug that Michal Zalewski, a Polish security researcher, described as a memory-corruption issue on his mailing list, Full Disclosure: “I noticed that Firefox is susceptible to a pretty nasty, and apparently easily exploitable memory corruption vulnerability. When a location transition occurs and the structure of a document is modified from within onUnload event handler, freed memory structures are left in inconsistent state, possibly leading to a remote compromise.”
REDMOND, Wash. — Feb. 22, 2007 — In the wake of the largest product launch in the company’s history, that of the Windows Vista™ operating system, the 2007 Microsoft® Office system and Exchange Server 2007, Microsoft Corp. will host the 2007 MVP Global Summit. The annual event recognizes the value that Microsoft-designated Most Valuable Professionals (MVPs) around the world provide in helping to make the company’s products successful, while honoring their contributions to the objective exchange of knowledge and their dedication to enriching the technology user experience.
MVPs are individuals recognized by Microsoft as outstanding leaders in the technical community who make an exceptional impact on the IT industry by actively and voluntarily sharing their expertise in technical communities worldwide. Recent examples of the MVP influence on Microsoft’s products and technology users include the following:
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More than 2,000 MVPs participated in the Windows Vista beta program.
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On average, a newsgroup posting by an MVP receives more than 43,000 views.
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In 2006, the MVP community contributed more than 300 Microsoft Knowledge Base articles in seven languages covering all Microsoft products.
“Every year, the MVP Award program continues to evolve to reflect the diversity in today’s technical communities,†said Sean O’Driscoll, general manager of Community Support and MVP at Microsoft. “This year is no different. The MVPs serve as an inspiration, sharing their expertise and passion for technology communities with an unyielding drive to help others.â€
Scheduled for March 12 to 15, the 2007 MVP Global Summit will be held at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center in Seattle and at Microsoft’s headquarters in Redmond, Wash. The event will kick off with a keynote address by Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates. More information can be found at http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/MVPsummit.
Ankur Mittal | February 28, 2007
