Archive for July, 2007
XBOX 360 Halo 3 Edition unveiled
Microsoft is going to release a new version of its XBOX 360…just for the release of Halo 3! This new 360 will have the color profile of “Spartan Green” and “Spartan Gold” colxbox360or, with a matching ”Spartan Green” controller will come with it. This is not a big of a surprise as they have done a similar kind of thing with the Zune. We should see this around the release date of Halo 3 which will be Sep. 25, 2007. On that, which Microsoft refers to, will be the biggest game launch date in history.
The new Special Edition contains these components:
* Halo 3 Special Edition Console
* Halo 3 Special Edition Wireless Controller
* Halo 3 Special Edition 20GB Hard Drive
* Halo 3 Special Edition Wired Headset
* Halo 3 Special Edition Gamer Pics and Theme (Exclusive download via Xbox LIVE)
* Component HD AV Cable
* Ethernet Cable
* HDMI Port
* Play & Charge Kit
* Xbox LIVE Silver Membership
* One-month Lbox LIVE Gold Membership
* Halo 3 game not included—sold separately
Screenshot: XBOX 360 (Halo 3 Edition)
News source: MicroTechXP
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Firefox and IE together brew up security trouble
Users could face a “highly critical” risk if they have both IE and Firefox version 2.0, or later, loaded on their computer. The trouble begins when browsing a malicious site while using IE and it registers a “firefoxurl://” URI (uniform resource identifier) handler, which allows the browser to interact with specific resources on the Web. As a result, users may find their systems remotely compromised.
Earlier Tuesday, security researcher Thor Larholm, who discovered the IE flaw, and security research giant Symantec put much of the blame on IE, while Secunia’s Thomas Kristensen, chief technology officer, attributed the problem to Firefox versions 2.0 or later. “It’s a little bit of both,” said Oliver Friedrichs, director of Symantec’s Security Response Center. “You have two very complex applications that are not playing well together and leading to a security issue. The components themselves are secure as stand-alone products but not together.”
News source: News.com
Windows Live OneCare 2.0 goes into public beta
Windows Live OneCare is an automatically self-updating PC care service that’s on whenever your PC is on, helping provide persistent protection against viruses, hackers, and other threats. It also performs regular tune-ups to help keep your PC running at top speed, and helps you back up important documents.
- Runs quietly in the background, providing anti-virus, anti-spyware, online identity and scam protection (anti-phishing) and firewall protection
- Updates itself to help you keep ahead of the latest threats
- Runs regular PC tune-ups, even checking for ways to shorten PC boot-up time
- Provides one-click solutions to most problems
- Makes backups a breeze
- Lets you see the status of all your computer systems at a glance
Download here-http://get.live.com/betas/onecare_betas
Apple plans cheaper, nano based iPhone
Apple plans to launch a cheaper version of the iPhone in the fourth quarter that could be based on the ultra-slim iPod Nano music player, according to a JP Morgan report.
Kevin Chang, a JP Morgan analyst based in Taiwan, cited people in the supply channel that he did not name and an application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark office for his report.
Apple filed a patent application document that refers to a multifunctional handheld device with a circular touch pad control, similar to the Nano’s scroll wheel. Apple did not respond to requests for comment.
Long lines of people turned out on June 29 when U.S. sales began for the iPhone, a mobile phone with a music player and Web browser. Analysts have estimated that sales in the first weekend were as high as 700,000 units.
Chang said a way to follow up the iPhone with a cheaper version would be to convert the Nano into a phone and price it at $300 or lower. The iPhone sells for $500 and $600, depending on storage space.
“We believe that iPod Nano will be converted into a phone because it’s probably the only way for Apple to launch a lower end phone without severely cannibalizing iPod Nano,” he said noting that the new phone could have “rather limited functionality.”
Because of the anticipated lower price, 2008 sales of 30 million to 40 million units “is achievable,” Chang said.
This would be a much larger volume than is expected of the first iPhone, Apple has targeted sales of 10 million units in 2008, which would give it a 1 percent share of the global market.
Source: msnbc.com
Microsoft’s next move is the Xbox 360 Code-name Falcon
According to Dean Takahashi, Microsoft is working on project code-named Falcon: another hardware upgrade for the Xbox 360. It will have an IBM microprocessor and an AMD/ATI graphics chip that are manufactured in a 65-nanometer production process. Because of the smaller size, the c hips will run cooler, meaning less repairs for Microsoft, and will cost less because they use less material and fewer manufacturing steps to produce.
Microsoft started making the Xbox 360s in August, 2005, with a 90-nanometer process – the time to use newer technology is here. Dean believes Microsoft is in the process of qualifying the new Falcon chips and motherboard this summer and expects the company to launch Xbox 360s with the new Falcon innards this fall. Microsoft has the option to take the power brick and put it inside the same chassis. It can also make a smaller version of the core, but this involves considerable redesign and retooling resources. And it could also beef up the console and make room for more costly things — as it did with the Elite.
News source: Mercury News Blogs
Google Acquires Postini for $625 Million
Google has agreed to acquire e-mail security firm Postini in a $625 million deal, the two companies said Monday. The agreement would further Google’s push into the enterprise market.
Postini has about 35,000 clients and about 10 million users worldwide. Among the services offered to enterprise clients are anti-spam, archiving, encryption and policy enforcement to protect digital communications.
Google has increasingly been moving into this space over the past year or so by offering Web-based productivity applications. Adding Postini’s services to the mix would further sweeten the pot for potential clients.
“We realized that we needed a more complete way to address information security and compliance issues in order to better support the enterprise community,” Enterprise vice president and general manager Dave Girouard said.
Postini will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Google, and the deal is expected to close by the end of the current quarter. Postini was founded in 1999 and currently employs about 300 people.
“With this transaction, we’re reinforcing our commitment to delivering compelling hosted applications to businesses of all sizes,” Google chairman and CEO Eric Schmidt said. “With the addition of Postini, our apps are not just simple and appealing to users — they can also streamline the complex information security mandates within these organizations.”
source- betanews
Vista SP1 beta 1 to launch in mid-July
Just when Microsoft had customers, partners and competitors all believing that it was going to delay the first service pack for Vista — not releasing a first beta of it until just before year-end — the company is set to deliver Beta 1 of Vista SP1 in mid-July.
Word (from various sources who asked not to be named) is Microsoft is gearing up to drop Vista SP1 some time the week of July 16. And despite what Microsoft seemingly led Google, the U.S. Department of Justice and other company watchers to believe, the final version of Vista SP1 is sounding like November 2007.
(November 2007 is also the release-to-manufacturing target for Windows Server 2008, sources say. Microsoft won’t provide an RTM date for Windows Server 2008, other than to say it is still on track to RTM before the end of 2007.)
Source: blogs.zdnet.com
Beta Test Symantec’s 2008 Products
Symantec is looking for beta testers for two of its newest products, Norton Internet Security 2008 and Norton AntiVirus 2008. Both are slated to ship later this year, but the company has opened up the beta process to iron out the bugs before its final release. One of the major new features included in both applications is SONAR, which stands for Symantec Online Network for Advanced Response.
SONAR adds behavior-based protection to Symantec’s applications in order to detect emerging spyware and viruses even before they are included in traditional signature-based definition files. The new versions of the company’s software should also provide performance enhancements and make installation over a home network easier. Those interested in trying out the products can visit the Symantec Beta Web site.
