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Microsoft has finally decided to phase out MSN Web Messenger; the service will be officially retired on June 30, 2009 (this Tuesday!). MSN Web Messenger launched back in August 2004. The replacement (pictured on the side) is the Messenger service that is integrated into Windows Live Hotmail. Screenshots of the new service first began to appear in January and slowly trickled out to all users over the past few months as the Wave 3 of Hotmail was finalized. Microsoft's official recommendation is to use Windows Live People to use the web version of Messenger but using Hotmail will likely be more convenient to most.
 Full story: Ars Technica
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If you are reading this, I am doing my job. Roughly speaking, that is the compact that has underpinned the ties that bind those who write the news to those who read it. But as the world hurtles into a digital era, other questions intrude: if you are reading this on paper printed with ink, are we both dinosaurs; and, if you are (still) reading this on your laptop, or P.D.A., or mobile phone, who is paying for it?
The questions have sharpened in recent days, honed by a blizzard of Twitter and Facebook messages and images on YouTube and Flickr from the protests in Iran, demonstrating the limits of the old and the immediacy of the new, all the more evocative for their blurriness and brevity — 140-character dispatches from the front lines of a putative and possibly doomed revolution.
Full story: The New York Times
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The Netflix Prize, a computing challenge that’s been compared to scaling Mount Everest and flummoxed programmers for more than three years, has been summited. Two front runners in the contest, Team Pragmatic Theory and Team Bellkor, joined forces and submitted an algorithm that was 10.05 percent better than the one Netflix uses to recommend movies to its subscribers. The result was published on the Netflix Prize leader board on Friday. Assuming the results are verified, that’s enough to edge the 10 percent improvement requirement by a hair and qualify them to win a $1 million prize, first announced in February 2006.
Full story: Wired
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Google has confirmed that the surge of Michael Jackson-related searches on Google News Thursday was first interpreted as an attack on its service. Google News was inaccessible for some people Thursday afternoon right as rumors of Jackson's death began to circulate, replaced by an error message reading "We're sorry, but your query looks similar to automated requests from a computer virus or spyware application. To protect our users, we can't process your request right now."
Of course, those queries were quite legitimate, as millions around the world searched for accurate information regarding Jackson following reports that he had suffered cardiac arrest. The spike in queries began at about 2:45 p.m. PDT Thursday, and Google thought the traffic was an attack for about 25 minutes before realizing what was going on.
Full story: CNet
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| Last comment was by dannysalerno
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According to Windows Secrets, Microsoft could be back to its old tricks of stealthily installing Windows Updates on systems where users have specifically specified that they want to verify each update installed. The forced-install behavior has been witnessed at least three times by Windows Secrets editors, but Microsoft says its procedure for Automatic Updates hasn’t changed in the last 10 months.
The behavior seems to occur only if a Windows user has Automatic Updates configured to “download updates but don’t install them” or “notify me but don’t install them.” If updates are scheduled to occur automatically, with no notice to users, the silent installation of updates would be expected.
Full story: ZDNet
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| Last comment was by suryad
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Microsoft today announced Windows 7 retail pricing, upgrade information, launch details, and a preorder deal. The software giant has reduced the price on its most popular retail Windows product, the Home Premium upgrade version, by approximately 10 percent (this varies based on the market). In the US, this means a drop from $130 to $120, a savings of $10. For the Home Premium full version, the price drops from $240 to $200. Those are the only differences when comparing Windows Vista prices to Windows 7 prices after Microsoft made cuts in In February 2008 (compared to the ones announced in September 2006).
Full story: Ars Technica
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We've already seen the Windows 7 box art following leaks in recent months, but Microsoft is now officially showing off the design and providing a look inside the weird-shaped packaging. A unique colour is associated with each of the three "main" editions, and Microsoft claims it designed the packaging by listening to what its customers wanted - namely a simple clean design that's easy to open and reduces waste.
It's certainly simple as it consists of just four main parts - the plastic case, a paper sleeve, a getting started guide and the DVD disc. It opens like a standard DVD case and is sealed across the top.
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| ...Read More | Last comment was by larama
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If you’re running a build of Windows 7 beta, then time is running out for you. Unless you want to start experiencing reboots and eventually be locked out of the OS, you need to upgrade to the RC (Release Candidate) soon.
Why? Because starting July 1st, users still running a pre-RC build of Windows 7 will start experiencing reboots every two hours. If that’s not enough to put a crimp in your day, the come August 1st things take a turn for the worse. This is the date that the OS expires and then you’re really stuck.
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| ...Read More | Last comment was by No one
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We’ve learned that with Windows 7, users will be able to easily upgrade to a higher tier easily. In fact, all versions of Windows 7 will ship on the same disc, with only the product key instructing the installer which version the user is licensed to use.
That means that, unlike with Windows Vista, users of Windows 7 won’t need to obtain any special upgrade discs to enable the process – it’s all handled by a product key. We asked Microsoft’s Sr. PR manager for Windows Clients, Ben Rudolph, to tell us about the Windows 7 Anytime Upgrade process.
“With Windows 7 WAU, there are two processes by which a customer can upgrade from one edition of Windows 7 to a higher edition of Windows 7,” Rudolph said.
Full story: Tom's Hardware
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At the last time netbooks acquires increasing popularity. It’s inexpensive and lightweight device that can be used as a second computer, but does not have a DVD-ROM. So, some strategy is need to overcome this obstacle. To buy an external drive is not really comfortable, especially in a trip. One of the ways is to create one or several virtual drives instead. And DAEMON Tools Lite will be the best choice for this.
DAEMON Tools Lite allows to run virtual discs or so called “images” just as if the original disc was inserted. DAEMON Tools Lite can make images or use existing ones that were grabbed by other programs. It can mount variety of disc image types:*.b5t, *.b6t, *.bwt, *.ccd, *.cdi, *.cue, *.iso, *.mds, *.nrg, *.pdi, *.isz. It’s very convenient.
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| ...Read More | Last comment was by bledd
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Defragmentation specialist Diskeeper claims it is on the verge of a "major technical breakthrough", which will speed up the boot times of machines running the Windows operating system by an average of 20%.
Earlier this month, the company began shipping V-locity, a new optimisation and defragmentation tool designed for virtualised machines, but specifically targeted at maximising server speeds for Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V environments. Now the company is claiming a major technical breakthrough in the field of instant on computing. It is in the final production stages of software that will be shipped to OEMs (original equipment manufacturer) in the third quarter, in order to start appearing in new machines for the Christmas period.
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| ...Read More | Last comment was by Crash&Burn
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With every OS launch a certain number of customers with older hardware will inevitably be left behind. For novice users, or for professionals administering large deployments, the confusion of figuring out which hardware will meet the upgrade requirements can be a headache. With Microsoft's hot new OS, Windows 7, set to release on October 22, Microsoft is looking to remove any such obstacles that might put a damper on the launch.
Microsoft has released the beta version of a toolkit which will help users determine whether their computers are Windows 7 worthy. The tool, the Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) Toolkit, version 4.0, will also look at your machine's compatibility with Windows Server 2008, and other software products, including Microsoft Office 2007. The tool also provides advice about virtualization, power saving opportunities, and security vulnerabilities.
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| ...Read More | Last comment was by No one
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Microsoft is to release 75,000 downloads of a beta version of its free security software today in the US, Brazil and Israel. A wider release of the Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) software, code-named Morro, is to be made available later this year to all licensed Windows users, according to the Financial Times.
Microsoft says the number of consumers that are signing up to the subscriptions for paid anti-virus has been flat and roughly half have no up-to-date security software.
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| ...Read More | Last comment was by MicroNix
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Microsoft today officially announced Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE), its free, real-time consumer antimalware solution for fighting viruses, spyware, rootkits, and trojans. Currently being tested by Microsoft employees and a select few testers, MSE is Microsoft's latest offering intended to help users fight the threats that plague Windows PCs.
Microsoft notes that the threat ecosystem has expanded to include rogue security software, auto-run malware, fake or pirated software and content, as well as banking malware, and the company is aiming to help the users who are not well protected. A beta of MSE will be available in English and Brazilian Portuguese for public download on June 23, 2009 for the first 75,000 users. This is a target number, but Microsoft is willing to increase it if necessary.
Full story: Ars Technica
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| Last comment was by DreamSkape
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