Microsoft's Desktop Optimization Pack gets Win 8.1 management tools

The Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) suite of IT management tools has been updated with support for Windows 8.1 device and application management and Office 2013 virtualization. MDOP 2013 R2, released on Monday, lets IT administrators manage BitLocker in Windows 8.1 using version 2.0 SP1 of Microsoft BitLocker Administration and Monitoring (MBAM) and manage Group Policy with version 4.0 SP2 of Advanced Group Policy Management (AGPM). The suite's Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset (DaRT) also can be used now with Windows 8.1, a major update to Windows 8 that became available in mid-October. The suite also includes Version 5.0 SP2 of the App-V virtualization tool, which has an Office Deployment Tool for Office 2013 virtualization. App-V is designed to let IT departments store applications on a central server and stream them on demand to multiple user devices. Office 2013 is the most recent version of Microsoft's ubiquitous suite of desktop productivity applications. More support for Windows 8.1 device management is found in version 2.0 of MDOP's User Experience Virtualization (UE-V), which is designed to establish user preferences and settings in a central server so they can be automatically applied to the multiple devices a user employs. With it, applications don't need to be reconfigured manually in each device. UE-V 2.0 now also lets IT administrators control how users apply the settings of Windows Store applications in their various devices. Windows Store apps are those written specifically for Windows 8. MDOP 2013 R2 is available now for download for Volume Licensing, Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) and TechNet subscribers. Juan Carlos Perez covers enterprise communication/collaboration suites, operating systems, browsers and general download nimbuzz windows mobile skype download tux racer linux rpm red hat download adobe flash player for my pc download large text file reader download best selling books 2011 download blackberry app world uk download facebook password hacker v3 0 download vmware vsphere client 4.1 download windows 7 crack removewat 2 2 5 hazar download flash player for hp ipaq

As sale to Microsoft closes, here's a salute to Nokia most iconic phones

Nokia's shareholders on Tuesday voted to approve Microsoft's acquisition of the company's Nokia's Devices & Services business. The deal marks the end of an era that has produced many iconic phones. Nokia 2110 The Nokia 2110 arrived in 1994 and came with new features such as the ability to send text messages. The Nokia 2110 arrived in 1994, and was arguably the most iconic mobile phone of its era. It certainly provided the DNA for all the candy bar phones that followed, said Ben Wood, director of research at CCS Insight. The hardware cemented the keypad layout, with the "send" and "end" keys easily accessible and buttons to select the soft keys displayed on the screen. The software offered a logical way to navigate through menu options and also introduced new features such as the ability to send text messages, he said. Nokia Communicator 9000 "The Communicator 9000 combines a GSM phone with applications like fax, e-mail, short messaging and Internet access. It also includes the most useful organizer functions; a calendar, an address book and a calculator. The Nokia Communicator 9000 was a phone on the outside and a handheld computer on the inside. All of this is available in a sophisticated, pocket-sized unit," Nokia said when the device was launched in 1996. The device was a brick at 397 grams, but a phone that could be opened to reveal a handheld computer was a big step. "I remember how amazed we all were when we started hearing rumors about a phone 'that opens and has a computer inside it' after Nokia had given a private showing at a VIP event at the Austrian ski resort of Zell am See. It is easy to look at it now and make jokes about its size and weight, but this was one of the first mass-market smartphones," Wood said. The Nokia 7650 was the first Symbian S60-based smartphone. Nokia 7650 The 7650 was launched in 2002 and was the first Symbian Series 60 smartphone from Nokia. It was also the first mainstream handset to feature both a digital camera (with a 0.3-megapixel resolution) and MMS picture messaging, according to Nokia. It set the benchmark for rival smartphone efforts and initiated a long line of Symbian products that at their peak dominated the smartphone market, according to Wood. Nokia N95 The Nokia N95 came with a 5-megapixel camera and GPS. The N95 was the pinnacle of Nokia's smartphone efforts in the pre-Windows Phone era. It was announced in September 2006 under the banner "It's what computers have become." For 550 euros (US$743) users got a phone with a 5-megapixel camera, GPS and a 2.6-inch screen. However, Nokia had become too cocky and like many other companies it underestimated the threat from Apple's iPhone, which was released just a couple of months after the N95 started shipping. "Looking back, the N95 and its successor, the N95 8GB, marked the point that Nokia lost its way. Although Nokia's market share peaked at a staggering 40 percent in the following year, the devices that followed, the N96 and the truly awful N97, were the start of the downward spiral," Wood said. Lumia 1020 The Lumia 1020 and its 41-megapixel sensor have helped increase interest for Windows Phone. Nokia may have lost the smartphone battle, but the company went out with a bang. It's the cheap Lumia 520 that has helped increase sales, but the Lumia 1020 and its 41-megapixel sensor have helped raise the profile of the Lumia family and Windows Phone. "This is probably the phone people will remember as the last iconic product from Nokia before it becomes part of Microsoft. I'd argue it has also contributed to the recent uptick in Nokia's market share, albeit as a 'halo' product that helped sales of cheaper Lumia devices in the range," Wood said. download yahoo messenger on nokia e71 download flash player in blackberry download symantec pgp desktop trial download top spin 4 for pc download angry birds season full version 2012 download 7th heaven season 7 episode guide download angry birds wreck the halls symbian download windows 7 full version for xp download me against myself jay sean download angels and fairies screensaver

Google to warn users of 13,000 search terms associated with child porn

Google will display warnings above the search results for 13,000 terms it believes are associated with more explicit child sexual abuse terms, it announced Monday. Microsoft said it will take similar action on its Bing search engine and on Yahoo searches powered by Bing. The two companies are acting at the request of U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron, although a Google spokesman said the changes will affect searches worldwide, not just in the U.K. The moves were criticized by online rights campaigners, who said the measures were more about preventing damage to the companies' reputations and would not be effective in protecting children. In July, Cameron called on Google and Microsoft, which together cover 95% of the search market in the U.K., to block results for certain searches to make sure that no illegal content or pathways to illegal content were returned. The U.K.'s Child Exploitation & Online Protection Centre (CEOP) provided the search engines with a list of terms it said were unambiguously used by those looking for child abuse images online, Cameron's office said in a news release. When people search Google with a term linked to child abuse, clear warning messages from Google and child safety organizations are displayed explaining the consequences of their actions and pointing them toward expert help, the company said. Google also introduced changes to prevent content such as images and peer-to-peer links to child abuse material from appearing for more than 100,000 unique searches associated with child sexual abuse terms, it said. It also developed and agreed to share a new technology that allows copies of videos of child abuse to be identified and removed, it said The video identification system is similar to Microsoft's PhotoDNA, which associates unique identifiers with still pictures, allowing child abuse images to be identified and removed from online services. Microsoft will help design a new U.K. national image database that will use PhotoDNA identifiers to track and take down images, it said in a news release. Microsoft too will display warning messages when certain search terms are used on its Bing search engine, or for Yahoo searches powered by Bing, it said. Google and Microsoft will collaborate with CEOP, the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) and the U.K. government. The companies, CEOP and IWF will also take part in a joint work program to help prevent sharing of child sexual abuse content via torrents, they said. The goal is to establish a new reporting process to remove peer-to-peer links to child sexual abuse. "These measures will have a significant impact on our ability to tackle child abuse imagery online," said IWF in a statement. CEOP and IWF declined to comment on the matter until after their meeting with Cameron on Monday. download plants vs zombies play online y8 download call me when you are sober download java runtime environment 6.0 download rate my professor oakland university download stream torrent 1.0 build 0077 download uc browser mobile apps download logitech quickcam sphere af download math problem solving software download flash player for firefox 5 download image analys version arcview 3x extension

Microsoft ends Windows 7 retail sales

Microsoft has quietly ended retail sales of Windows 7, according to a notice on its website. The company's policies for shutting off sales to retailers and shipping licenses to OEMS (original equipment manufacturers) are posted on its site, which was recently updated to show that Windows 7's "retail end of sales" date was Oct. 30. The next deadline, marked as "End of sales for PCs with Windows preinstalled," will be Oct. 30, 2014, less than a year away. Microsoft's practice, first defined in 2010, is to stop selling an older operating system in retail one year after the launch of its successor, and halt delivery of the previous Windows edition to OEMs two years after a new version launches. The company shipped Windows 8, Windows 7's replacement, in October 2012. As recently as late September, the last time Computerworld cited the online resource, Microsoft had not filled in the deadlines for Windows 7. At the time, Computerworld said that the end-of-October dates were the most likely. A check of Microsoft's own online store showed that the company has pulled Windows 7 from those virtual shelves. In practical terms, the end-of-retail-sales date has been an artificial and largely meaningless deadline, as online retailers have continued to sell packaged copies, sometimes for years, by restocking through distributors which squirreled away older editions. Today, for example, Amazon.com had a plentiful supply of various versions of Windows 7 available to ship, as did technology specialist Newegg.com. The former also listed copies of Windows Vista and even Windows XP for sale through partners. Microsoft also makes a special exception for retail sales, telling customers that between the first and second end-of-sale deadlines they can purchase Windows 7 from computer makers. "When the retail software product reaches its end of sales date, it can still be purchased through OEMs (the company that made your PC) until it reaches the end of sales date for PCs with Windows preinstalled," the company's website stated. The firmer deadline is the second, the one for offering licenses to OEMs. According to Microsoft, it "will continue to allow OEMs to sell PCs preinstalled with the previous version for up to two years after the launch date of the new version" (emphasis added). After that date, Microsoft shuts off the spigot, more or less, although OEMs, especially smaller "white box" builders, can and often do stockpile licenses prior to the cut-off. But officially, the major PC vendors -- like Dell, Hewlett-Packard and Lenovo -- will discontinue most Windows 7 PC sales in October 2014, making Windows 8 and its follow-ups, including Windows 8.1, the default. Even then, however, there are ways to circumvent the shut-down. Windows 8 Pro, the more expensive of the two public editions, includes "downgrade" rights that allow PC owners to legally install an older OS. OEMs and system builders can also use downgrade rights to sell a Windows 8- or Windows 8.1-licensed system, but factory-downgrade it to Windows 7 Professional before it ships. Enterprises with volume license agreements are not at risk of losing access to Windows 7, as they are granted downgrade rights as part of those agreements. In other words, while Microsoft may try to stymie Windows 7 sales, the 2009 operating system will long remain a standard. download windows vista ultimate service pack 2 download windows 7 desktop screensaver download descargar el juego plantas vs zombies softonic download 930 club dc schedule download image editor for windows 7 download adobe photoshop elements 9 gratis download im+ pro for blackberry download of software of utorrent

Microsoft to encrypt services, notify users of gov't data requests

Microsoft moved to reassure business and government customers worldwide that it is committed to informing them of legal orders related to their data, and will fight in court any 'gag order' that prevents it from sharing such information with customers. The company also plans to encrypt customers' information moving between its data centers, with plans to complete the project by the end of 2014. The Redmond, Washington, software and Internet services company is responding to concerns in the U.S. and other countries about government surveillance, particularly after revelations by former U.S. National Security Agency contractor, Edward Snowden, that the agency is engaged in dragnet surveillance of email, phone records, and mobile location data of people in the U.S and abroad. The NSA also taps into communications links between Google and Yahoo's data centers worldwide, according to a report. Both Google and Yahoo have announced that they are strengthening encryption on their services. Yahoo said last month it will encrypt all information that moves between its data centers by the end of the first quarter of next year. It announced earlier that it would roll out SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) encryption with a 2048-bit key across its network by Jan. 8. In a blog post late Wednesday, Brad Smith, Microsoft's general counsel and executive vice president of legal and corporate affairs, wrote that the company shared customers' concerns about government surveillance of the Internet. "That's why we are taking steps to ensure governments use legal process rather than technological brute force to access customer data," he added. Microsoft plans to take new steps to reinforce legal protections for its customers' data, including committing to notifying business and government customers if it receives legal orders related to their data. "Where a gag order attempts to prohibit us from doing this, we will challenge it in court," Smith wrote. "We've done this successfully in the past, and we will continue to do so in the future to preserve our ability to alert customers when governments seek to obtain their data." Microsoft said that except in the most limited circumstances, government agencies could approach business and government customers directly for information or data about one of their employees, just as they did before customers moved to the cloud. "And when those limited circumstances arise, courts should have the opportunity to review the question and issue a decision," it added. The company said it would use best-in-class cryptography, including Perfect Forward Secrecy and 2048-bit key lengths, to encrypt by default customer content moving between Microsoft and customers. "All of our key platform, productivity and communications services will encrypt customer content as it moves between our data centers," Smith wrote. Microsoft is also in talks with other service providers to ensure that data, like email, traveling between service providers is protected. Perfect Forward Secrecy makes it difficult to decrypt data at a later date, even if the secret key is available. download duplicate file finder and remover v7.0 download flash player terbaru for windows 7 download driver san francisco demo pc telecharger download adobe photoshop lightroom 5 download yahoo news unique visitors download check disk utility windows xp download awesome screenshot chrome extension download flash player for lg mobile phones download yahoo messenger for windows 7 ultimate 32 bit download itunes wont on windows 7 64-bit

Microsoft's Patch Tuesday reinforces the value of software upgrades

The latest round of monthly patches from Microsoft illustrates the need for organizations to move from older versions of Microsoft software if they haven't done so already. "The load of the risk is on older software versions," said Wolfgang Kandek, chief technology officer for security firm Qualys, about this round of Microsoft software patches. Overall, Microsoft's Patch Tuesday for December addressed a total of 24 vulnerabilities with 11 security bulletins. The bulletins cover Microsoft Windows, Office, Internet Explorer, Exchange, Office365, Visual Studio, and SharePoint. Microsoft rated five of these bulletins as critical, meaning that the patches they contain should be applied as soon as possible. Perhaps the set of critical patches that should be applied first is MS13-096, which addresses a vulnerability in Microsoft's GDI+ library for parsing TIFF image files. It is already being exploited by attackers. The vulnerability affects mainly older Microsoft software, including Windows Vista, Office 2003, Office 2007 and Office 2010. It is already being used in targeted attacks in the Middle East and Asia. Kandek noted that newer software tends to have fewer vulnerabilities than older software. "The newer software versions just have more security features. Windows 8.1 has more security features that Windows 8 which has more than Windows 7, which has many more than Windows XP," he said. "Even if you are fully patched with Windows XP, you are running more of a risk than with a fully patched Windows 7 installation," Kandek said. As an example, Kandek noted there has another zero-day vulnerability in the Windows XP kernel that this month's patch cycle has not addressed. A zero day vulnerability means that exploits have already been crafted that take advantage of a software flaw. In this case, an attacker can send the user a maliciously crafted PDF file that, when opened, can deposit code in the computer's memory that grants another user administrative access. Microsoft offers a work-around for this problem. Qualys estimated that 15 percent of enterprise users are still running Windows XP. Though the percentage of XP users is rapidly declining, Kandek doubted that everyone will be off the OS by April 2014, when Microsoft will cease issuing security patches for Windows XP. "After April, these machines will be very quickly be easy targets," Kandek said. Another critical set of patches come under the security bulletin MS13-097, which affects Internet Explorer. The bulletin indicated that these vulnerabilities are easy to exploit, such as by using a maliciously crafted webpage. The third critical bulletin, MS13-105 addresses a number of flaws in Outlook Web Access that an attacker could use to gain access to Microsoft Exchange server by tricking the user into opening a documents with embedded malicious code. download utorrent english movies 2011 download facebook messenger for nokia asha 311 download naruto shippuuden dairansen kage bunshin emaki download putty connection manager windows 7 download hindi mobile video songs mp4 download avast internet security 5.1.889 download photoshop cs4 portable full version download playback alice maciel todo poderoso download yahoo messenger chat room software download kasthooriman malayalam movie songs

SanDisk unveils wireless flash drives that hold up to 64GB

SanDisk today announced a line of wireless flash drives that can store up to 64GB of data. The SanDisk Connect Wireless Flash Drive The new drives include the Connect Wireless Flash Drive -- a thumb drive -- and the Connect Wireless Media Drive, a larger, but still pocket-sized storage device. The Connect Wireless Flash Drive comes in 16GB and 32GB capacities; the Connect Wireless Media Drive comes in 32GB and 64GB capacities. The Connect Wireless Flash drive is 3.07-in. x 1.04-in. x 0.54-in. The Connect Wireless Media Drive is 2.6-in. x 2.6-in. x 0.52-in. The Connect Wireless drive family allows users to not only store but share and stream files across multiple mobile devices. They offer up to eight simultaneous device connections and three media streams, and support separate streams of 720p video content at 2MB/sec to three or five devices concurrently (for the Flash Drive and Media Drive, respectively). According to a SanDisk spokesman, video streaming performance isn't affected by multiple streams because device limits are set at a point that supports the streams without degradation. Devices can connect to the drives up to 150 feet away. The Connect Wireless drives work with all iOS and Android devices, and Kindle Fire tablets, as well as PC and Mac computers. The drives are compatible with Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP and Mac OS 10.6 or higher Movies, music, photos and documents can be loaded onto the wireless drives by simply dragging and dropping the files, which can then be accessed via the SanDisk Connect apps. Those apps are available for download from the App Store, Google Play Store and the Amazon Appstore for Android. The drives contain an internal router, so no external router or Internet connection is needed to stream media. In order to use the drives, mobile device users simply download SanDisk's Connect App. The drives run on lithium-ion batteries. A single charge provides up to four hours of wireless streaming, with streaming data protected by Wi-Fi Password Protection (WPA2). "With the new SanDisk Connect product line, we're raising the bar on what consumers can expect from personal storage," said Dinesh Bahal, vice president for product marketing for SanDisk. "We combined the portability of small flash memory storage devices with the convenience of wireless streaming and sharing functionality." The SanDisk Connect Wireless Media Drive According to SanDisk, the Connect Wireless Flash Drive is the smallest wireless USB flash drive available on the market today. Users can simultaneously access photos, movies, music and documents on their drive from multiple devices around the house or while mobile. The SanDisk Connect Wireless Media Drive is being pitched as a device for mobile entertainment storage. Users can use it to transport and view content such as high-definition movies, videos, music and photos. While larger than SanDisk's Wireless Flash Drive, the Wireless Media Drive is still a pocket-sized device designed for portability, and offers up to eight continuous streaming hours on a single charge. The drive comes with SDHC/SDXC memory card slots, which allows users to store or share more content, or view photos on a mobile device from a camera's memory card. The media drive wirelessly connects up to eight mobile devices and can stream up to five different HD movies at once. The SanDisk Connect Wireless Flash Drive is available in 16GB or 32GB capacities for $49.99 and $59.99, respectively. In the U.S., it is available for preorder on Amazon.com, Newegg.com and Micro Center, with availability at Best Buy starting in August. It will also be available for preorder on Amazon.com in Germany and UK. The SanDisk Connect Wireless Media Drive has a retail price of $79.99 for 32GB or $99.99 for 64GB storage capacity. It is available for preorder in the U.S. on Amazon.com, with availability in Germany and UK in the fourth quarter of 2013. download facebook login sign in download quickoffice pro hd apk v4.5.15 for android download windows live messenger 2011 greek download angry birds 1 5 1 1 apk download adobe flash player for a 32 bit download logic pro 9 windows download enterprise 5th street austin download skype for samsung pixon 12 download oovoo for blackberry playbook download microsoft .net framework 3.5 sp1 standalone full redistributable setup installer

Microsoft ships Office 2010 SP2, starts upgrade clock

Microsoft yesterday released Office 2010 Service Pack 2 (SP2), a cumulative update that includes previously-released bug fixes as well as several performance, reliability and stability improvements. The appearance of Office 2010 SP2 also switched on the countdown clock for Office 2010 SP1, which will be retired in 12 months, requiring users to upgrade to the second service pack if they want to continue receiving security patches and other updates. Microsoft offered a public beta of Office 2010 SP2 in April, when timetables for earlier service packs, including Office 2010 SP1, hinted that the second upgrade would not ship until November. Other parts of the Office portfolio, ranging from SharePoint Server and Visio to Project and language packs, also have been updated to SP2 status, Microsoft said in a blog post Tuesday. The company claimed that Office 2010 SP2 and SharePoint 2010 SP2 are also more compatible with the Redmond, Wash. firm's newest software, such as Internet Explorer 10, SharePoint 2013, Office 2013 and Windows 8. Service packs are on their way out at Microsoft, which has dispensed with them entirely for Windows 7 and has shifted to a faster release cadence for Windows 8 and a continual update process for Office 365, the rent-not-buy subscription plans based on locally-installed copies of Office 2013. While Microsoft will wait 90 days before starting to push Office 2010 SP2 to customers via Windows Update, those who installed the original suite using the company's "Click-to-Run" streaming technology -- first used to deliver Office 2010 -- will automatically receive the upgrade next month. Users have until this time next year to upgrade to SP2 without interrupting security updates. Office 2010 will exit Mainstream Support, which provides bug patches as well as feature improvements and enhancements, in October 2015, and will be retired five years later, in October 2020. Even though Microsoft discontinued retail sales of the suite earlier this year, copies can still be found at several online outlets, including Amazon.com, which sells the software at prices starting at $175 for a three-license pack of Home and Student 2010. download antivirus avg portable gratis download pour les sims 1 download nimbuzz for lg t375 download garageband 6 0 4 download flash player offline 10 1 download macromedia flash player 6 r21 download file from document library programmatically download microsoft .net framework windows 7 download youtube video converter mp3 online download utorrent search engine hindi movies

Microsoft must embrace 'grim option' of Windows cannibalization

Microsoft must be ready to accept, as has Apple, that it's better to cannibalize one's own sales than to let others do it, a research analyst said today. "This is going to be a tough shift for Microsoft, to ask them to now accept that the world is a very different place than it used to be," said Al Gillen of research firm IDC. That shift is the corporate reorganization unveiled last week to support a radical strategy of retreating from decades of selling packaged software and advancing on sustainable services and potentially-lucrative devices. Corporate reorganization As part of the reorganization, Microsoft will consolidate all of its client OSes, including Windows 8, Windows RT, Windows Phone 8, Windows Embedded and Xbox, into a single engineering group led by Tony Myerson, head of Windows Phone, which was part of a soon-to-be-defunct Entertainment and Devices division. "The Windows desktop client and mobile have a lot of common functionality, and a combined group could have a lot of synergy," Gillen said of the under-one-roof reshuffle. Like most outside analysts, Gillen and his IDC colleagues believe that the marriage of Windows under Myerson will eventually lead to a common code base, which will in turn let developers write an app that runs on the "Modern" side of Windows as well as on Windows Phone. "The larger question that remains is whether a consolidation of the operating systems engineering work and the consolidation of the client division will make it not only possible, but also more probable, that Microsoft will make the right decisions," Gillen and other IDC analysts wrote in a recently-published research note. And those decisions may include a big and bitter pill for a company that, for better or worse, is identified by "Windows" as much as by its "Microsoft" nameplate. To pull off the switcheroo from software to "devices and services," Microsoft may have to abandon the high margins of the former for the lower margins of devices. "[It] may mean taking actions that cannibalize some dimensions of its business through the sale of lower-cost, lower-profit products," Gillen wrote in the note. "Historically, Microsoft has resisted internal cannibalization, and while such a move may still seem like a grim option, it remains infinitely more attractive than allowing competitors to do the cannibalization on Microsoft's behalf." Move to devices CEO Steve Ballmer himself hinted last week at that approach when he hammered home the phrase "family of devices" in a public memo outlining the reasons for the corporate realignment. In that memo, Ballmer relegated Windows to a "shell" -- his word -- subservient to the device, a 180-degree turn from Windows-as-preeminent, the common denominator of virtually all PCs. If that's the case, and if Microsoft is to capture a meaningful share of the phone and tablet markets as its historic base, the personal computer, shinks, the company must produce -- either on its own or in partnership with OEMs -- mobile devices that consumers and businesses want. It's failed to do that thus far. IDC, then, was suggesting that Microsoft must, at least in the main, sell devices based on lower prices. And the only significant component of a Windows-powered device that can be cut further -- hardware margins are at or very near the bone, and have been for years -- is the Windows license. Microsoft watch Someone made money off the Surface RT: Former Microsoft asset manager charged with insider trading Microsoft to name new CEO in early 2014 Microsoft's CEO search and the art of non-denial denials Microsoft exec hints at separate Windows release trains for consumers, business EU signs off on Microsoft-Nokia deal U.S. antitrust regulators OK Microsoft-Nokia deal Mum's the word: Microsoft board 'doing really well' at keeping quiet Scroogled swag sells out as some buyers go for the gag Gates talks CEO search, but reveals zip In role reversal, Ballmer stays composed, Gates chokes up, in shareholder meeting More in Microsoft Update download quick heal total security 2013 full version with crack download mediaheal for virtual drives crack download wechat for blackberry 9780 download adobe flash player for htc touch 2 download java for mac os x lion 10.7.3 download any video joiner full version download flash player 11 2 x64 download dota allstars 6.59 ai plus map download bahasa untuk kamus nokia e63 download idt high-definition audio codec driver for xp

Feedly, big beneficiary of Google Reader demise, launches paid RSS service

Feedly today followed through on a promise earlier this year and launched a paid version of its RSS service. One of the biggest beneficiaries of Google's decision to ditch its aged Reader and drop the RSS service that had powered virtually every third-party news reader, Palo Alto, Calif.-based Feedly said in April that it would kick off a paid version of its free service. It did that today. Dubbed Feedly Pro, the Web-based service adds search, letting users quickly find already-read articles; enables an HTTPS secure connection; provides one-click saving of articles to Evernote, the popular catch-all note-taking and organizing application; and puts users at the front of the support line. Feedly will charge $5 per month or $45 annually for the pro service. To jump-start the service -- and raise a half million dollars -- Feedly offered what it called a "lifetime edition" today for $99.99. It plans to limit the offer to the first 5,000 customers. "The funds will finance the hardware needed to make Feedly Pro generally available and help support the next batch of features," Feedly said on the page promoting the paid version. The lifetime deal is available today, but Feedly plans to launch the $45-per-year subscription later. The free version of the service will remain in place. When Google announced in mid-March that it would kill Google Reader on July 1, Feedly became the preferred destination for millions of refugees because it was the first to promise users it would craft a homegrown clone of the Google Reader API (application programming interface). As of May, the service had 12 million users. Several third-party RSS desktop and mobile apps now use the Feedly API, including gReader (for Android; free or $4.99 for Pro version), Newsify (iOS; free), Nextgen Reader (Windows Phone, Windows 8; $1.99-$2.99), Reeder (iOS; $2.99) and Press (Android; $2.99). The developers of those apps will be able to tap into the Pro features via the Feedly API, the company said today. Feedly is also available on Android and iOS -- both apps are free -- and the company plans to add Pro support to those apps "shortly," the firm pledged. Feedly launched a paid version of its popular RSS service today. It will charge $45 annually, but is offering a lifetime subscription for $99.99 to the first 5,000 who sign up. (Image: Feedly.) download bound 2 by kanye download how do i netflix on playstation 3 download google chrome for windows phone download skype for htc pro 2 download java se development kit windows xp 32 bit download avast antivirus server edition download quotes about life is good download boot manager 3.1.1 apk download yellow pages hickory nc download my music personal librarian software

Hurry up and wait: Why Microsoft's holding Windows 8.1

Microsoft's decision to sit on Windows 8.1 for two months after engineers wrap up work was driven by the year's biggest sales cycles, analysts said. On Wednesday, Microsoft announced it would release Windows 8.1, the first of what's expected to be annual updates to Windows 8, through the Windows Store on Oct. 17. The next day, copies of the updated operating system will hit retail, as will new Windows 8.1-powered devices from Microsoft's OEM (original equipment manufacturer) partners. But with Microsoft still on track to hit its late-August completion date for Windows 8.1 -- at which point the operating system will be at what the company calls RTM, for "release to manufacturing," status -- some have wondered why the Redmond, Wash., developer plans to hold the update for eight or more weeks. The questions are justified: Microsoft has made much of its accelerated development and release schedule for Windows updates. Those updates are far more than collections of bug fixes, like the now-discarded service packs, but include improvements, enhancements, and new features and software. If Microsoft is pushing hard to launch major Windows updates each year, why waste one-sixth of that time sitting on them? "This is all about protecting the back-to-school cycle," said Patrick Moorhead, principal analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy. "Even if this is a violation of the rapid-release concept, it's necessary. Back-to-school just hit the channel a few weeks ago." As Moorhead explained, if Microsoft offered Windows 8.1 to current Windows 8 users as soon as it was finished, back-to-school computer and tablet shoppers would have heard of the update, and they might then be disappointed when they found no Windows 8.1 hardware available through retailers. And in an even more damning development, if they were really unhappy, they might turn that disappointment into purchases of products based on rival platforms, like Apple's OS X or Google's Chrome OS. "People don't postpone back-to-school [computer purchases]," Moorhead said. Wes Miller of Directions on Microsoft also viewed the delay between RTM and what Microsoft dubs GA (general availability) as understandable, but picked the holiday selling season as Microsoft's rationale. "Some people thought that Microsoft would release [Windows 8.1] immediately, but I thought that a little strange," Miller said. "Microsoft classically releases products two times a year: back-to-school and holidays. But back-to-school isn't what it used to be. Everybody goes for the holidays now." As long as Microsoft got Windows 8.1 into retail -- with its own and OEM hardware paramount -- sometime between mid-October and Black Friday (the bruising day of shopping that follows the Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S.), it would be primed for the end-of-the-year sales season, Miller said. The two months between RTM and Oct. 18 are needed by OEMs to test Windows 8.1 on current hardware and wrap up work on new devices that take advantage of the update, including the smaller-screen tablets it allows. "There's a fair amount of new stuff in Windows 8.1, including support for Miracast and Wi-Fi Direct printing," said Miller, citing two examples of the new features that hardware makers will want to support. Moorhead agreed that the two months won't be wasted, but are needed by hardware makers to conduct testing of the update on old and new devices. "Consumers will expect 8.1 to work flawlessly on all those platforms," he said. Minus that testing -- if, say, Microsoft had offered Windows 8.1 to all current Windows 8 device owners right after RTM -- OEMs might have been flooded with support calls if glitches surfaced. download active@ disk image explorer download flash player 9 debug download acer aspire one d270 white download toshiba supervisor password utility uninstall download connectify me pro full version download minecraft pocket edition cheats download facebook password hack facebook zer 2012 download plants vs zombies android apk 1 3 4 download vehicle manager pro joomla download own little world remorse code remix

Microsoft's app gap: Just 54% of the top-100 apps are on Windows 8

Microsoft's Windows 8 app ecosystem badly needs a jolt to make it competitive with iOS and Android on tablets, an analyst said today. And it's looking like that won't happen anytime soon. "Most of the top apps are still not supported by Windows 8," said Patrick Moorhead, principal analyst with Moor Insights & Strategy. "Not only is that a major issue on its own, but Windows 8 now has a reputation for not having the right apps." And that reputation will stick -- and the taint stink -- long after the developers of the must-have apps have created something for Windows 8. "Even when Microsoft rounds out the catalog, Windows 8 will have a lingering perception issue with consumers," Moorhead contended. Moorhead, who has been critical of Microsoft's app strategy since before the launch of Windows 8 last October, was reacting Wednesday to an analysis of the current state of the Windows Store, which distributes Windows 8 and Windows RT "Modern," née "Metro" apps. Nick Landry, a Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professional) and product manager at Infragistics, a New Jersey maker of user interface (UI) development tools, came up with a "must-have" list based on the top 100 iOS apps, then dove into the Google Play, Windows Store and Windows Phone Store outlets to count how many Android, Windows 8 and Windows Phone versions were available. Of the 100 apps on Landry's list -- everything from ABC News and Citibank to HBO GO and Zillow -- the Windows Store had just 54, slightly more than half. To Landry, who heads Infragistics' mobile development tools group, the 54-out-of-100 was impressive. "I don't know about you, but for a new platform that is less than a year old, having 100,000 [total] apps -- including 54% of the top 100 apps -- is not bad at all," Landry argued. Moorhead begged to differ. "Kudos, first of all, to [Landry] for doing this. It is a very nice analysis, and for me passes the smell test," said Moorhead. "But I reject the notion that it's been less than a year. It's been two years." He was referring to the September 2011 debut of Windows 8, when Microsoft began distributing a preview of the OS at its BUILD developers conference, where it touted Windows 8's radical UI and the app model that would battle Android and iOS on tablets. "The numbers just reinforce the challenge that Windows 8 still has in apps," said Moorhead. "Windows 8 still doesn't support the No. 1 social app, Facebook, the No. 1 paid-content app, HBO GO, the No. 1 sports app, Watch ESPN. These, and others, are the same apps that I've been griping about for over a year, and they're still not supported." Although Facebook has yet to appear on Windows 8 and Windows RT, in June Microsoft said that the social network had committed to developing an app. CEO Steve Ballmer, who announced the future Facebook app as well as one from Flipboard at this year's BUILD, did not set timelines for either. Windows 8 doesn t stack up against iOS and Android in a measurement of top-100 app coverage. (Image: Nick Landry, Infragistics.) download pen & ink artist download fiat punto elx uso e manutenzione download pdf to word converter software for windows 7 download infinite password generator 3.1 download flash player 32 bit chip online download olympus dss player pro 4 download xt typing tutor 1.0.2 download rage against the machine bombtrack mp3 download bulk sms professional bundle full download avi to sd divx converter

Apple plays defense and offense with free software, upgrade strategies

Apple's decision to give away OS X upgrades and other software, including the iWork productivity suite, stemmed from both offensive and defensive strategies, analysts said today. And it puts the ball in Microsoft's court for a response. "Apple's concerned about the enterprise and Windows 8, where software selection is still largely in the hands of IT managers," said Carolina Milanesi of Gartner. "Apple wants to keep its sweet spot in the enterprise, and counter moves by Microsoft to try and slow the iPad influx there." Those moves by Microsoft include the Redmond Wash. company's Surface tablet push, an aggressive pitch that the devices make more productive tools for business than the iPad, and the bundling of a scaled-back version of Office with the Surface 2, the $499 tablet that runs Windows RT. "It's defensive in that respect," said Milanesi of free iWork with new iPads and iPhones, "to get users to be more engaged with their devices." Apple's banking on the continued trend of BYOD, for "bring your own device," the shift toward employees making hardware choices for themselves rather than letting centralized IT decide what they use. By putting iWork on every new device, Apple's strategy is to garner grassroots support from their customers, who ideally will not only continue to purchase Apple hardware, but also tell their IT departments that Microsoft's Office suite isn't required on every device. Office on every device is Microsoft's past-present-and-future strategy, best evidenced by Office 365, a subscription that lets businesses and consumers put Office on up to five mobile devices and five PCs or Macs assigned to an employee or owned by a family. Anything Apple can do to disrupt Microsoft's business model, Cupertino will count as a win, said Patrick Moorhead, principal analyst with Moor Insights & Strategy. "It's an opportune time to catch Microsoft off-base. Apple would like to disrupt [Microsoft] before it gets to a more service-oriented model," said Moorhead, who saw Apple's free software push as an offense-minded, long-term strategy. From his perspective, Apple is leveraging the trend toward free in mobile, where operating system updates are free and apps are, if not free, either start out that way -- with in-app purchases driving revenue -- or come at low cost. "Apple's turned to the mobile phenomena, where the expectation is that software is basically free," said Moorhead. "Microsoft currently charges for major [OS] upgrades, but over the long term, that's going to make Microsoft's business model look odd and strange and expensive." Perception is everything, Moorhead stressed. If consumers and businesses are constantly reminded that Apple provides free software, free services and free upgrades, eventually that will sink in, and make those same people wonder why Microsoft is asking for payment, even if, as he and Milanesi quickly acknowledged, iWork is not Microsoft Office. download angry birds hd pc download backyard baseball 2001 mac download tag the power of paint chip online download magix audio cleaning lab 10 deluxe download uc browser 8 for blackberry download new samsung mobile pc studio for windows 7 with 64-bit download angry birds for windows xp full download nokia pc suite latest version for ubuntu download mortal kombat project 4.1 pc download first aid kit album

Microsoft masks Windows, Office performance with new reporting format

Microsoft's new financial reporting format makes it much harder to get a grip on how two of its most important software franchises, Windows and Office, are performing, an analyst said Friday. And the company did that deliberately, contended Rajani Singh of IDC. "There's no way we can figure out how Windows and Office are doing," said Singh in an interview. "They're purposefully using [the new format] to cover the ailing Windows client business. They are gradually transitioning to the new strategy, and although Surface RT has done relatively well, better than we expected, in the meantime they have to cover the ailing Windows division. They've tried to hide it a bit by spreading it into several segments." Singh was referring to the new format that Microsoft used for the first time Thursday as it reported third-quarter revenue of $18.5 billion, or about $700 million more than Wall Street expected. The format changes were made after Microsoft announced this summer that it would reorganize the company by dumping the product-specific divisions -- including one for Windows, another responsible for Office -- and instead mashing multiple products into new groups, and in some cases dividing revenue from one product line into several of those groups. Microsoft is now organized into two large divisions -- Devices and Consumer (D&C) and Commercial -- that, in turn, are split into three and two buckets, respectively. Windows revenue, which was previously reported in a single division, now appears in three of the five buckets: D&C Hardware, which contains the Surface tablet line; D&C Licensing, where sales of Windows to computer makers is reported; and the Commercial division's Licensing group, which includes sales of Windows to large enterprise customers as well as Windows revenue from Software Assurance, an annuity-like program that gives customers the right to upgrade to newer editions. "There's no way we can figure it all out," said Singh, of wrestling with the new format in an attempt to parse Windows' performance. Fortunately, Microsoft also listed the third-quarter numbers in the old format for comparison purposes. It's not clear how long it will continue to report revenue in both the old and new formats, however. In the old format, Windows generated $4.6 billion, up 4% from the same period in 2012 and triple what Microsoft told Wall Street in July to expect, when it forecast a 2% decline. But operating income -- earnings before taxes -- sunk to $2.2 billion, a decline of 20% from last year. On Thursday, Microsoft credited the better-than-anticipated revenue to increased sales of its Surface tablets, particularly the heavily discounted Surface RT; a 6% growth in Windows licensing to OEMs for business PCs; and to some extent, the ramp-up for the holiday selling season by computer manufacturers, which built up inventory for expected sales in November and December. Overall, however, Windows sales to OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) were down 7% from the year before because of a major slide of 22% on the consumer side. Under the old financial reporting format, it's easy to see how Windows and Office did in the third quarter compared to the same period last year. (Data: Microsoft.) download vdc redux 2.08 beta download at&t 004 call forward download chrome os windows 7 theme download microsoft security essentials definitions manually download aaa logo versi terbaru download weather eye for blackberry download outlook yahoo pop settings download ms office 2008 for mac trial download angry birds rio for e7 download flash player for 64 bit window 7

Preston Gralla: Why Ford's CEO is wrong for Microsoft

Ford President and CEO Alan Mulally, a front-runner for the top slot at Microsoft, is a smart manager and a well-known turnaround artist -- exactly the kind of person many believe would be ideal to take over as CEO. But Mulally is the wrong person for Microsoft. Mulally certainly has plenty of pluses. He's an engineer who rose through the ranks at Boeing to become president and CEO of the Boeing Commercial Airplanes division. In 2006, he took over as CEO at struggling carmaker Ford, restructuring it and turning it around. Between the time he took over the company and the end of September of this year, Ford stock was up 103%. He also appears to have the "soft skills" that have been sometimes lacking at Microsoft. Forrester Research analyst David Johnson told Computerworld: "Mulally has a long track record of building company cultures with a positive outlook and trust, infusing the organization with confidence and energy. He's seen as a cheerleader and advocate for employees -- an essential quality for turnarounds." So what's not to like? Plenty, at least for the leadership of Microsoft. The biggest problem is that Mulally is the wrong kind of engineer. He has bachelor's and master's degrees in aeronautical and astronautical engineering. That's a big achievement, and obviously ideal for Boeing and pertinent to a certain extent for Ford. But for Microsoft? Not at all. What software experience does he have? Not much. What is his track record in dealing with the twin challenges of heading a company that is both consumer-oriented and IT-focused? He has none. How will his aeronautical engineering background help him in the challenges Microsoft faces in mobile technology, productivity suites, cloud-based computing, Internet search and more? It won't. Mulally has shown at Boeing and Ford that he's an excellent manager. But that hasn't been Microsoft's problem. For all of Steve Ballmer's faults, he did reasonably well rated strictly as a manager. He's got an MBA from Stanford, and he used that management expertise well. Costs aren't out of control. The company has a top-notch sales staff. Profit margins are high. From a purely managerial perspective, the company is in good shape. Microsoft's big problem is vision, and that's where Mulally falls short. He has no experience in developing the kinds of products that Microsoft needs, no way of figuring a way out of the Windows 8 debacle, of guiding the development of a mobile operating system and a strategy that will help Microsoft gain serious market share. In a tech company, vision isn't something you can delegate to underlings. You have to have it yourself. That's why Ballmer's leadership was less than stellar. Mulally has some experience in developing consumer technology with Microsoft, and it didn't go well. Under his leadership, Ford and Microsoft developed the MyFord Touch infotainment interface for Ford cars. David Champion, head of auto testing for Consumer Reports magazine, told CNN that the system has had many problems, including computer crashes. A class-action suit has been filed against Ford in California over defects in the system. Mulally has clearly been an excellent leader at both Boeing and Ford. But he wouldn't be one at Microsoft. He's the wrong person for the job. download nvidia graphics driver for windows xp 32 bit download wifi password hacker ultimate for android download update smadav 8 6 download cambridge advanced learner's dictionary for computer download acer aspire one 725 linpus download kaspersky antivirus 2012 mac download chrome os cd iso download plants vs zombies game of the year edition pc cheats download doctor who season 3 episode 1 download 4 in a row game for pc

Smartwatches and other wearables offer big development potential

The future's bright for wearable devices, even if it's a little foggy right now. That's what a panel of experts told a packed room of developers at the first Samsung Developers Conference here on Tuesday. Developers were in attendance primarily because they're interested in what apps they might create for Samsung's Android-based Galaxy Gear smartwatch and future wearable devices. One of the experts on the panel, Han-Shen Yuan, senior director of engineering at eBay, said his company is excited by the potential for wearables, especially those that get email, text and other notifications that can be quickly responded to. EBay has built an app for the new Gear smartwatch that tells auction bidders when they've been out-bid, so they can quickly respond. Yuan said it's too early to know how important the eBay app on the Gear will be, but he said eBay saw a sudden 30% hike in revenue when it first took its e-commerce and auction capabilities to mobile devices several years ago. He also noted that notifications on smartphones are coming so frequently that they become confusing to users, so a smartwatch notification can add clarity. Path, a social network that restricts the number of social contacts to 150 people, believes wearable devices can keep social networking more intimate. Ray Ho, a software engineer at Path who appeared on the panel, said he realized the value of wearables like Google Glass smart glasses when a user held up a baby to take a photo up close, which solicited an immediate response from friends. Another panelist, CJ Cornell, said greater intimacy of connections from wearable devices might sound threatening to older users, but is exciting to young users like college students. Cornell its working with college students on wearable prototypes at Cogswell Polytechnical College in Sunnyvale, Calif. "College students are a group open to lack of privacy," he said, noting how many intimate details they're willing to share on Facebook or other social networks. Cornell said he is 50% deaf, but wears hearing aides that are equipped with Bluetooth technology. That gives him the potential to easily gain personal information -- such as a person's name -- when the person is less than 10 feet away. The ability to share information over Bluetooth, he said, "...is a grand future." Wearable technology might be used to connect to biometrics and semantics-based software that can help interpret emotions -- something that could be useful in many situations, Cornell said. Police are already exploring the use of head-mounted devices that can scan a crowd to interpret faces for evidence of emotions that could be tied to potential violent acts. "Don't bet against any of these crazy ideas" for using wearables, Cornell told the Samsung developers. "There are 1 billion young people willing to experiment with wearables who are being enabled by new hardware and software. People will be doing this stuff." Bluetooth Low Energy, version 4.0, offers the opportunity to place beacons in a shopping mall or other large venue to precisely locate a person -- if wanted -- or be used to offer coupons or special offers, panelists said. A shopper in the men's section of a store might be able to get a coupon for a special deal when entering the department. The low energy features of Bluetooth 4.0 would allow it to work well with small devices with small batteries, like a smartwatch or smart glasses, the panelists said. The potential for geo-fencing on small devices is also getting a boost from Samsung's software development efforts involving Mobile Wallet 2.0 tools available to developers, Samsung executives said. Analysts have said wearable technology is in its infancy, even though several manufacturers, including Apple, are expected to launch smartwatches. Meanwhile, Google has been demonstrating Google Glass for more than a year. The panelists agreed that wearables are just beginning to arrive, but compared their development potential to the early days of e-commerce, which quickly took off. "We're still trying to figure out what's going to happen with wearables," Ho told developers. "Keep building [applications], because we'll eventually hit something powerful." download 2c chicago game gangster old pc download skype call recorder for mac download k lite mega codec pack 2011 64 bits download adobe flash player moi nhat cho chrome download solarwinds network performance monitor download how nimbuzz for pc download flash player upgrade required you must and install download odbc driver for access download docx to pdf converter cnet download most wanted facebook password cracker

Smartphone growth still racing ahead at record pace

Smartphone shipments grew by 9% in the third quarter, a record for a single quarter, which continues a record-setting trend, research firm IDC said Tuesday. The fourth quarter is also expected to be strong for smartphones, which could result in 1 billion smartphones shipping for the entire year, compared with 500 million units shipped in all of 2011, IDC said. The total shipped in the third quarter was 258.4 million, beating the previous record high of 237 million smartphones shipped in the second quarter of 2013. The double-quarter record smartphone shipments in 2013 "show the real momentum of the smartphone market," said IDC analyst Ryan Reith, in a statement. China now accounts for more than a third of all shipments, making it one of the fastest-growing smartphone markets. Prices for smartphones have also declined, largely because of low-cost Android products, IDC said. IDC analyst Ramon Llamas said that after top seller Samsung and Apple ranking second, "a tight race of vendors [is] trying to break out from the pack." He noted in the third quarter that China-based vendors Huawei and Lenovo moved up past South Korea-based LG Electronics, while Coolpad and ZTE, also from China, are not far behind. "Android...has been a huge factor in their success," Llamas said, while noting that Android vendors are also challenged to show how their phones differ from one another. Looking at individual vendors, Samsung shipped more smartphones than the next four vendors combined, shipping 81.2 million smartphones (31.4% of the total) in the third quarter. Apple was second with 33.8 million (13.1%); Huawei was third with 12.5 million (4.8%); Lenovo was fourth with 12.3 million (4.7%) and LG was fourth with 12.0 million (4.6%). When smartphones are combined with other mobile phones, Samsung still leads, with 115.4 million shipped in the third quarter (24.7% of the total), nearly double what Nokia shipped, at 64.6 million (13.8%). Apple ranked third, with its 33.8 million (7.2%), followed by LG with 16.8 million (3.6%) and then Huawei with 14.6 million (3.1%). Overall mobile phone shipments reached 467.9 million in the third quarter, IDC said. The numbers are similar to those reported Monday by research firm Strategy Analytics, which said Samsung shipped more than 88 million smartphones in the quarter, up 55% from the same quarter last year, for a a record 35% market share. download online streaming video software download adobe photoshop cs6 licensing for this product has expired download flock of seagulls i ran link download plants vs zombies dinero infinito sin cheat engine download flash player untuk linux download real football 2014 jar 320x240 download videos from youtube on iphone download itunes 9.2 ipod touch download drivers for samsung galaxy s3 download latest nimbuzz software pc

Samsung kicks off first developer conference

Samsung kicked off its first global developer conference on Monday to a crowd of 1,300 developers. In a broad-reaching keynote, Samsung officials focused on smart TV, gaming, multiscreen innovations as well as developer tools for a recently introduced mobile software developer kit. The mobile SDK includes hundreds of features, such as ways to use a stylus for more precise touch interactions and handwriting within apps and Web pages. There was also an introduction of Samsung Wallet 2.0 for users with smartphones running Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) and higher. Mobile Wallet can be used by a developer to create a way for users to buy digital content online and eventually for in-store purchases with NFC-ready phones.The wallet will give developers the ability to reach as many as 100 million Samsung account users for free. "You don't have to implement your own complex payment system," said Curtis Sasaki, vice president of the Samsung Media Solution Center in the U.S. While the keynote was intentionally broad, it was meant, partly to entice developers to build apps for Samsung's own application store, which is separate from Google Play, the principle Android application store. Overall, the new mobile SDK has more than 800 application programming interfaces that developers may use for building their own applications. Many of the tools in the mobile SDK as well as SDKs for smart TV and multi-screen innovations will be explained in 50 sessions over the next two days. Injong Rhee, senior vice president of Samsung's mobile communications business, said applications for business users will grow three times faster in coming years than applications for consumers. When Rhee described some features of the Samsung Knox management software first introduced in early 2013, he also admitted that "a lot of people say that Android is not secure." But he quickly added, "I proclaim here that Knox will transform enterprise management." The crowd at the event included many young developers, some working on apps on their own, but many working at larger companies that are building a variety of apps. Two developers working for a Canadian company that builds customer support software for third parties said they were glad to come to the Samsung event, partly because they haven't been able to get tickets to attend Google I/O for Android developers. "I don't want Google to take over everything in Android development, and I don't think Google should be controlling Samsung," said one of the two developers, who requested their names and companies not be identified. download broadband usage meter full version download photo frames and effects software download rise of the video game torrent download picvideo m-jpeg codec gratis download belkin router manager software download google sketchup pro 7 full version download 401k 60 day rule download autodesk sketchbook pro for android download small wma mp3 converter download alcohol 120 1.9 5 build 3823

Flashlight app vendor settles with FTC over privacy violations

The maker of a popular flashlight app for Android phones agreed to settle charges brought by the Federal Trade Commission that it left consumers in the dark about its data-sharing practices. The settlement, announced Friday, requires Goldenshores Technologies LLC to provide a just-in-time privacy disclosure informing users about what, how, when and why their geolocation information is being collected by the company's "Brightest Flashlight Free" app. The settlement prohibits Goldenshores from misrepresenting how consumer information is collected and shared. It also requires the company to specify precisely how much control users will have over the manner in which their personal data is used, the FTC said in a statement. Under the agreement, Goldenshores is required to delete all consumer information it collected through the flashlight app. However, the FTC did not assess any fines against the company for its privacy violations. The FTC said Goldenshores transmitted users' location data and device ID numbers to advertising networks and other third parties without the consent or knowledge of the users. It also accused the app maker of deceiving consumers into thinking they had the option of not sharing their data when in fact they had no control over the data. Regardless of whether users accept or reject the terms of the company's license agreement, the flashlight app would transmit location data and device ID information as soon as the consumer launched the application, the FTC said in its complaint . "When consumers are given a real, informed choice, they can decide for themselves whether the benefit of a service is worth the information they must share to use it," said Jessica Rich, drector of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection in the statement. "But this flashlight app left them in the dark about how their information was going to be used." Goldenshores could not be reached immediately for comment. The FTC's actions are another indication of the growing scrutiny being given to the data collection and data sharing practices of mobile app vendors. Numerous reports of egregious privacy violations by leading mobile application vendors prompted lawmakers to introduce a bill earlier this year that would require vendors to disclose what data they collect and how the data is share, use and stored. The bill, known as the Application Privacy, Protection and Security Act, would give the FTC the power to enforce privacy rules on mobile app vendors. Meanwhile, states such as California have plowed ahead with enforcing privacy rules on mobile app vendors. Last year, California Attorney General Kamala Harris struck an agreement with several leading companies, including Facebook and Google, to make their privacy policies more transparent to users of their mobile apps. The mobile industry itself has tried to stave off regulations via a multi-stakeholder initiative led by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). Under that effort, industry stakeholders, rights groups and Internet marketers are developing a privacy code of conduct for the mobile industry. download plants vs zombies 2 gratis jugar download adobe flash player 9 for for window 7 download the christmas tree david rose download plants vs zombies 2 vollversion pc download ring my bells mp3 download video helper fur chrome download hp laserjet 1020 drivers for windows 7 download shareware mario games that dont need ing download mp3 of whip it by devo download nimbuzz version 3 50

Apple plans Arizona factory that will run on renewable energy

Apple plans to build a components plant in Mesa, Ariz., that will run entirely on renewable energy. It will be Apple's latest move to expand its domestic manufacturing operations. Most of the company's products are made overseas, and Apple has been under pressure to invest at home. The project will create more than 2,000 jobs, Apple said in a brief statement to the IDG News Service on Monday. That figure includes 700 manufacturing jobs created in the first year and about 1,300 jobs in construction and other fields, according to Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer. Apple said it will work with Salt River Project, an electric utility in central Arizona, to create "green energy sources" to power the facility. "Their investment in renewable energy will also be greening our power grid, and creating significant new solar and geothermal power sources for the state," Brewer said in a statement. GT Advanced Technologies, a crystal materials manufacturer, said it will own and operate furnaces and related equipment at the plant, where it will employ more than 700 people. GT said it had entered into a multiyear agreement to supply Apple with sapphire material. Apple has said that it would invest $100 million this year in domestic production of Macintosh systems, and that it would make one of its Mac lines exclusively in the U.S. In May, the company said it would make some Mac parts in Texas. download crack serial number for internet manager download convert mp4 to mp3 software download 3 doors down jay z here without you lyrics download itunes music purchased on ipad download vlc media player italiano windows download gifts and curses mp3 download uc browser universal version download angry birds to lg phone download adobe flash player for samsung gt s5620 download flash player 10 apk

Laptop and tablet prices are about to hit their lows for the year

Prices of some laptops and tablets have already fallen, with others expected to drop starting with Black Friday year-end holiday sales in the U.S. this week. Some Chromebook laptops will be available for $199 and some Windows 8 laptops could come down to $250. The price of Windows 8 tablets and hybrids could fall to under $250, while Android tablets could be available for under $100. Laptops Finding a laptop under $200 would have been considered a steal during the holiday shopping weeks last year, but the number of products in that price range has expanded this year. Netbook-style Chromebooks running Chrome OS are the least expensive, while fully functional Windows laptops will cost more. Chromebooks are thin-and-light laptops with limited storage and without a full-fledged OS like Windows. They are intended for people who do most of their computing on the Web, with users likely to use online services for storage. Acer's Chromebook C720-2848 is the least expensive Chromebook, already priced at $199.99. It has an 11.6-inch screen, an Intel Celeron 2955U processor based on the Haswell microarchitecture, 16GB of storage, and offers 8.5 hours of battery life. One possible upgrade is Acer's $299.99 C720P Touchscreen Chromebook, which has similar specifications to the non-touch Chromebook C720, but has a touchscreen and 32GB of storage. Other Chromebooks include Hewlett-Packard and Google's Chromebook 11, which has an ARM processor and is priced at $279. HP's 14-inch Chromebook 14 has an Intel processor and is priced at $299. Deals for fully functional laptops with Windows 8 or 8.1 will pop up sporadically, with some laptops with 11.6-inch and 15.6-inch screens already priced at less than $300. Dell has listed Inspiron laptops starting at $199 for Black Friday and an Asus 15.6-inch laptop is on sale via Groupon for $279.99. Beyond $300 laptops, HP will sell laptops Friday starting at $399. Toshiba is pitching deals for Friday and Cyber Monday. Prices have already been lowered on enterprise laptops and Lenovo is offering discounts on all ThinkPad laptops. Microsoft Store is now selling an Asus X102BA-BH41T Touchscreen Laptop with a low-end Advanced Micro Devices processor for $299.99. The company is also planning further discounts on Friday and there may be deals on its Surface RT tablet, which has been selling poorly. Prices of the tablet could fall to $199.99 at the Microsoft Store, Best Buy, Walmart and Staples, according to enthusiast site Neowin. Tablets Another way to get Windows 8.1 is through small-screen tablets such as Dell's Venue 8 Pro, which is an 8-inch Bay Trail tablet that for a limited time was available for under $230 at Walmart and TigerDirect. A source familiar with the product said the price of the tablet is expected to fall again. The tablet has 32GB of storage, but the Windows 8 OS occupies a lot of that space. Other tablets such as the Asus Transformer Book T100 will be available with keyboards and could fall to under $300 in the coming days. Windows 8.1 tablets with 8-inch screens now cost about $350. For Android tablets, retailer Walmart as part of its Friday deals will sell HP's 7-inch Android tablet called Mesquite for $89. Many Android tablets could fall to under $150, an example being Dell's Venue 7, which is priced at $149, but was recently sold for $127 in a short-lived deal. Lenovo's S6000, an Android tablet with a 10-inch screen and quadcore ARM processor, is already priced at $194. Online deals Newegg, one of the most popular technology retail sites, is running Black Friday promotions and brick-and-mortar stories like Best Buy and Target are also offering online deals. download mp3 ringtone maker full version download facebook exporter for iphoto mac download broadcom management applications installer download crossover for mac 10.5.8 download simple port forwarding pro download skyforce mobile game full version download acer aspire one linux recovery disc download pc tools antivirus software download dynamic dns client for zoneedit download game accelerator 9.0.95 activator

Apple reports on U.S. data demands, claims privacy is paramount

Apple on Tuesday provided a report on how much data on users governments have demanded from the company, and sought to set itself apart from Silicon Valley competitors whose businesses are built on amassing personal data. Apple fielded requests from U.S. law enforcement agencies for details on between 2,000 and 3,000 accounts in the first half of this year, the company said. The requests generally sought items such as personal information on customers, email, photographs stored in iCloud and other such data stored online, according to Apple. U.S. regulations prohibit Apple from disclosing information in increments finer than 1,000 and it isn't allowed to say what percentage of those requests it rejected or fulfilled. In making its disclosure, Apple noted that it doesn't have a lot to benefit from collecting and storing vast amounts of information on users. "Perhaps most important, our business does not depend on collecting personal data," the company said. "We have no interest in amassing personal information about our customers. We protect personal conversations by providing end-to-end encryption over iMessage and FaceTime. We do not store location data, Maps searches, or Siri requests in any identifiable form." The statement could be seen as something of a swipe at competitors like Google and Facebook, which are increasingly competing to make money from information their customers share via their services, from search requests to social media postings. In publishing the figures, Apple became the latest major U.S. technology company to provide a partial look at the previously dark world of law enforcement requests for user data. The issue has come to the forefront in recent months after documents leaked by former U.S. government contractor Edward Snowden apparently showed U.S. agencies enjoyed deep access into data collected by providers of Internet services. Apple sought to split the requests into those targeting accounts and those targeting devices like iPhones, iPads and MacBooks. It fielded 3,542 requests seeking information on 8,605 specific devices. Most of those requests were in relation to investigations on lost or stolen devices and didn't target user information. "We believe it is important to differentiate these categories and report them individually. Device requests and account requests involve very different types of data. Many of the device requests we receive are initiated by our own customers working together with law enforcement. Device requests never include national security-related requests." One of the most interesting revelations was contained in the final footnote to the document: "Apple has never received an order under Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act. We would expect to challenge such an order if served on us." download pdf converter software for download windows media player classic full version download space invaders for windows 7 download battlefield 2 1.4 patch download ways to speed up utorrent download asus ai recovery burner download adobe reader 9 kappa.ro download lock my pc 4.7 download uc browser for blackberry curve 9360

Siri chief now building connected device platform at Samsung

The engineer who oversaw development of Apple's Siri technology is now at Samsung building an online service for linking together the "Internet of things." Luc Julia, a vice president at Samsung's innovation lab in Menlo Park, Calif., demonstrated the project, called SAMI, or the Samsung Architecture for Multimodal Interactions, at a conference north of San Francisco on Friday. Still in its early stages, SAMI aims to be a platform that can collect data from any connected device, including wearable computers like the Fitbit, and make that data available for consumption by other devices. It's designed for use by companies that make wearable computers, home automation equipment and automobiles, as a common platform they can use to build additional services for their customers. To demonstrate the service, Julia showed how SAMI might be used to build a personal health service. He donned a Fitbit and a wearable heart monitor, weighed himself on an Internet-connected scale, then ran around the stage a few times by way of putting himself through an exercise routine. He showed how data from the devices, which is normally viewed in standalone apps, can be collected by SAMI, processed, and then presented to the user in the form of a single app. In Siri-like fashion, he also asked the service, "SAMI, how am I doing?" The app told him he had reached his exercise goal for the day. The idea is that it could do more sophisticated analysis, such as telling him when he needs to train harder or take a break. Julia showed the technology at the MEMS Executive Congress in Napa, California, an event for companies that make sensors for smartphones and other devices. A big benefit of SAMI, according to Julia, is that it will be able to collect and store data from any device in its original format. Samsung will "normalize" the data and make it available as a feed -- he called it a firehose, using the Twitter metaphor -- that can be consumed by other applications. "We're doing this normalization and delivering the data through an API [application programming interface], because people don't want to learn all the APIs for all the individual products," he said. Julia was director of Apple's Siri project for about 10 months until he left Apple last year. It's easy to see similarities between the projects: Both collect data from a variety of services and deliver them through a single app. But while Siri is specific to Apple, Samsung wants its platform to be used by many companies. Julia didn't give a lot of technical details but said Samsung wants it to be as "open" as possible, and it's not interested in defining standards. download acer aspire one windows xp version download messenger for mac 8.0 download mortgage calculator for website download chromium os install hard drive download soluto anti frustration software download oracle virtualbox guest additions iso download vacation rental property management software download the magical christmas cat download visual foxpro 9 service pack 1 download hdd low level format tool 4.25 serial key

Let's put a brake on the real snoopers

Just how much control do individual Internet users have over the personal data collected by the big tech companies? The hand-wringing over government snooping has been warranted, but this is the question that should really concern us. You see, while most people object to mass surveillance by the National Security Agency in the U.S. and the Government Communications Headquarters in the U.K. as a step toward some dystopian police state, we do at least get to vote for the governments that control that state. Yet when it comes to the big tech companies, we have no control at all. Why do these huge unregulated corporations have access to so much information about us, and why do we have little or no oversight or control of the information they hold? Just look at Facebook's clumsy and incomprehensible privacy tools for a sense of just how little attention is given to providing individuals with such control. What is known? Think about the things you don't know about the data the corporations hold about you: * How much -- really -- of your personal data is held by big tech outfits such as Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, Google? * What format is it collated in? *Just how much visibility into your personal life is contained within this data? * What kind of conclusions about you can be drawn from big data analytics based on that data? * How anonymous is "anonymized"? * Now that you have become the product, why are you unable to set your own price? You can assume that your age, height, sex and nationality are known. And it's likely that in some cases your place of birth, elements of your ancestry and even the name of your first pet are known. Introduce the data held by retailers (Amazon, WalMart, Tesco, et al.), and even your shopping habits are known. Mobile providers know where you've been lately and where you are right now and may even be able to see where you are going. So why can't users see this data? Why don't we have control? All this information exists. That's the root of the anger felt at the unwarranted and uncontrolled surveillance habits of the big nations. We feel a sense of being violated, because we were never given a choice. What makes it worse is that we have no idea just how much data the state holds, because we don't know how much information the big tech companies actually possess. We can't check it for accuracy; we can't edit it for privacy. We have lost control of our personal information, ceding it in exchange for convenience to corporations that have proved themselves unable to keep that data safe. It's time to take the power back. download plants vs zombies ios differences download easy cd creator 5 full version download bb multi unlocker key v15.0 download avira antivirus premium 2012 with key download the guardian season 2 download chrome os install from usb download photofunia for blackberry 9300 download winzip per windows vista download microsoft sql server 2008 command line utilities download java 2 software development kit mac

Why smartphone food photos look horrible

Martha Stewart wants to show you horrible pictures of nauseating-looking food for some reason. I find this personally vexing. Why? Because I've always held up the Martha Stewart "brand" as the gold standard in beautiful food photography. Stewart's books and website show fantastically lit and photographed food shots like these, and they've done so for years. My wife is a food writer and I'm her "staff photographer." I've always looked to Stewart for ideas in how to light and present my own food photography. So why is Martha Stewart taking and posting pictures like this and this on Twitter? Stewart's food photos on Twitter are so bad that one became an Internet meme recently. But I've discovered that she's not alone. Another food diva, Nigella Lawson, is having her own struggle on Twitter, with food pictures like these. I find it astonishing that two brilliant women whose reputations depend in large part on their images vis-a-vis food would post such horrible-looking pictures. These TV chefs aren't alone. In fact, it's astonishing how bad some online food photos are, given the incredible tools most smartphone users have at their disposal. The recent Thanksgiving holiday sent a torrent of unappealing pictures through the social networks. I see a lot of people complaining about food pictures, with some getting really upset about it. I wondered if opposition was to the concept of food photos -- too trivial to merit attention -- or about the quality of those pictures. So I took a (spectacularly unscientific) poll on my Google+ page. The results, which you can see here, show that most people either like food photos in general or (with the highest response) only like the good ones and don't like the bad ones. So let's share only good food photos. Because most people really do want to see them. Here are my tips for taking better food photos for sharing on Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Pinterest and elsewhere. Let's start by addressing Martha Stewart's problem: She uses a flash in dark rooms. The key to great food photography with smartphones -- the key to all great photography -- is to remember that you can't take pictures of people and things. You can only take pictures of the light that reflects off of them. Amateur photographers tend to focus on what they see in their minds, rather than what they see in their eyes and through their cameras. When you're in a dimly lit restaurant, your amazing eyes and incredible brain can appreciate the beauty of well-presented food. However, your camera may be unable to convey to others what you think saw in person. If you don't use a flash, the pictures can have almost no color. Even if you enhance the brightness later, it probably won't look good. download uc browser for blackberry 9780 download speed dial extension google chrome download hex editor para android download dog whistle for phone download sleep timer for android download exuberant ctags for windows download advanced calculator for android download when love and hate collide mp3 download able repair manual for fork lifts download sony vaio media gallery

Apple now using iBeacon to know where shoppers are in its stores

Apple is taking a closer look at shoppers in its retail stores, under a new program that will push product-related information to their mobile devices using its iBeacon trackers. All 254 of the company's U.S. stores now employ Apple's iBeacon location services technology, Apple confirmed Friday. The iBeacon software was included in Apple's recent iOS 7 update for mobile devices like the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. Compatible iBeacon hardware has since been installed throughout Apple's stores, anywhere from the front entrance to a product table sporting the latest iPads, from which it communicates with the software. New iBeacon integration for the Apple Store app, as pictured on Dec. 6, 2013. The integration marks Apple's large-scale entrance into the hot, emerging known location- or place-based marketing field. Over the past year or so a range of smaller startups have sprung up offering services designed to gather more information about shoppers in stores to serve them hyper-targeted deals or other product information. The idea is to improve brick-and-mortar stores' ability to compete against e-commerce giants like Amazon, which already know plenty about their users' digital shopping habits. The Apple rollout affects everyone who has the Apple Store app installed on their iOS device. Bluetooth has to be enabled on the device, because that's the underlying technology powering iBeacon. Users also have to give the app permission for the iBeacon technology to work. Once they do, they could start receiving several different types of notifications as they walk through Apple's stores. Some of the technology's features are designed to give people additional information about certain products as they walk past them. So if shoppers are standing near the latest iPhones a notification might pop up on their phone to let them know they're eligible for an upgrade. At the accessories table, the iBeacon technology could also let people use their iOS devices to learn more about certain products. If the person was shopping online from home and chose to pick up the item in the store, the app could also tell them that the particular product is ready when they walk inside. More product discovery features are likely on the way. Although some people might have come to accept it online, others might find the thought of being tracked in physical stores a bit creepy. Earlier this year Nordstrom had to suspend a Wi-Fi-based tracking program after consumers learned what the store was up to. But Apple does not store any personal information through iBeacon, a spokesman said. The technology is designed to only work one way, from the hardware to the phone. The hardware component emits a signal and the phone recognizes it, but nothing is sent back to the hardware, the spokesman said. download home depot open hours download twitter gadget for windows 7 download picture man of steel download iphone 5 simulator for windows 7 download the newest version of msn messanger download algo mas la quinta estacion download any video converter 2012 free download 69 429 boss mustang download flash player for android 3 0 download starbucks 3 region blend

Apple seeks to bar key Samsung execs from licensing talks

Apple is seeking to bar Samsung Electronics executives with knowledge of leaked confidential information from negotiating any mobile device licenses for the South Korean company for the next two years. The iPhone maker is also asking the court to bar Samsung from seeking an injunction in another patent dispute between the two companies that is currently before the court in California, because of its "unclean hands." That case comes up for trial next year. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Jose division, is considering sanctions against Samsung and its lawyers because of concerns that the company's external counsel may have shared confidential information from Apple with Samsung, including information on Apple's patent licensing agreements with Nokia, Ericsson, Sharp and Philips, which were marked for viewing by the attorneys alone. The issue came up after testimony in June from Nokia's chief intellectual property officer, Paul Melin, that Samsung executive Seungho Ahn told him at a license negotiation meeting that he knew the terms of Nokia's licensing agreement with Apple, and went on to recite the terms of the license to prove his point. On further investigation, it was found that key terms of the four patent license agreements were contained in a draft expert report on damages that was forwarded to Samsung without redaction, according to court records. Apple had provided the information to Samsung's law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan during the discovery phase of the lawsuit, in which Apple was awarded damages of $1.05 billion against Samsung last year. The damages were whittled down to about $930 million in a retrial last month, after the judge asked a new jury to recalculate a part of the damages. Samsung's outside counsel posted the expert report on an FTP (file transfer protocol) site where it was accessible by some Samsung staff including licensing executives, according to court records. In a filing late Monday, Apple has asked the court to prohibit Ahn and other Samsung executives who improperly obtained the confidential business information; including those responsible for licensing or managing Samsung's litigation with Apple, from negotiating any mobile device licenses for Samsung for the next two years. Apple also wants the court to prohibit Quinn Emanuel from executing any new protective orders under which it would receive Apple confidential information for a period of two years. The company said it was not, however, seeking Quinn Emanuel's disqualification from the two lawsuits between Samsung and Apple in the California court, because they are at an advanced stage. Apple is also asking the court to reprimand both Samsung and Quinn Emanuel, and to order both to inform the parties in their ongoing court cases that have protective orders about the breaches. download mobile usb modem 1.0 treiber samsung s5230 download dell bios master password generator 595b download serial number usb disk security 5 3 0 20 download unable to itunes store on your computer download verizon lg vx 3300 ringer tones download microsoft net framework 3 64 bit download adobe flash player 10 fur linux download panda antivirus pro 2010 for windows 7 download .net framework 2.0 sp2 for xp download cheats in plants vs zombies in ipod