Yahoo Messenger for Vista Rolls out New Features

Ever since the Sunnyvale-based company announced the availability of Yahoo Messenger for Vista, users out there downloaded and tested the application even if it was only a

preview of the upcoming IM client. Unfortunately, this very early version of the program provided a limited number of functions so users couldn't really test too much of it. Today, Yahoo debuts a new edition of Yahoo Messenger for Vista which incorporates several functions which have already been introduced in the other versions of the application, namely YM 8 and YM 9 Beta: voice support and SMS functions.

Obviously, the voice support lets users of Yahoo Messenger communicate by voice through Yahoo's in-house VoIP technology. Earlier this week, Yahoo announced a deal with JAJAH, a popular communications company which would provide the Phone In and Phone Out Yahoo Messenger functions. However, YM's PC-to-PC calls will still be based on Yahoo's own solution.
"You can now make free PC-to-PC calls to other Yahoo! Messenger friends, or if you have a Phone Out account, make low-cost calls to landlines and mobile phones for as low as 1¢ a minute (see rates). Our new voice features also include fun Voice Visualizations that animate you and your friends' voices while you’re on a call," Josh Jacobson, Senior Product Manager, Yahoo! Messenger for Vista, introduced the new voice function.

Beside the voice support, Yahoo has also introduced mail notifications for all the users who want to be informed as soon as a new message arrives in their Yahoo Mail account. Every time you receive a new mail, a tiny notification will be displayed in the System Tray, allowing you to login into your Ymail account with a single click, just like in the previous versions of Yahoo Messenger.
If you want to download this latest release of Yahoo Messenger for Vista, you can take it straight from Softpedia using this link. Please note that it only works with Windows Vista so there's no chance to get it work on other platforms.

source : news.softpedia.com

 

Technorati Tags: yahoo,messenger,features

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Report: Microsoft-Yahoo deal may go hostile Friday

SEATTLE - Microsoft Corp. may go hostile in its bid for Yahoo Inc. as soon as Friday, according to a published report.

Citing unnamed people familiar with the matter, the Wall Street Journal reported early Friday that the world's largest software maker may be preparing to go straight to Internet pioneer Yahoo's shareholders.

An announcement was "likely" to come Friday, according to the report, though the newspaper said its sources cautioned that Microsoft may delay.

Chief Executive Steve Ballmer told employees in a company assembly Thursday that he knows how much he'd spend to buy Yahoo and accelerate his company's Internet play.

"We're willing to pay for that at some level, and beyond that level we're not willing to pay for it. I know exactly what I think Yahoo is worth to me," the executive said. "I won't go a dime above, and I will go to what I think it's worth if that gets the deal done."

But he didn't offer a figure, and he didn't say whether Microsoft is considering raising its unsolicited bid, worth $44.6 billion at the time it was made in early February.

The offer is currently worth about $42.4 billion, or $29.48 per share, based on Microsoft Corp.'s closing stock price Thursday. Yahoo Inc. has rejected the offer, saying it undervalues the company. Microsoft's board has been considering whether to raise the bid to as much as $33 per share, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Ballmer didn't provide any new insight into the company's efforts to buy the Silicon Valley pioneer during the meeting at Microsoft's Redmond, Wash., headquarters, but he did indicate that an end to months of speculation was near.

"We ought to announce something in relatively short order," Ballmer told employees.

His comments were first reported by Silicon Alley Insider, an online technology news site, and confirmed by a Microsoft spokesman.

Ballmer added that buying Yahoo is just one of many moving parts in the software maker's strategy to compete with Google Inc. in search and Web advertising, and that if neither a friendly nor a hostile deal "look good," he's willing to walk away.

Microsoft's board met Wednesday but reached no decision on a next step, the Journal reported. The software maker had given Yahoo until last weekend to agree to a deal or face the prospect of an ugly proxy fight.

Meanwhile, Yahoo is exploring a possible advertising partnership with Internet search leader Google Inc. or a merger with the online operations of Time Warner Inc.'s AOL as possible defenses if Microsoft tries a hostile takeover.

Impressed by a two-week test completed last month, Yahoo could firm up a long-term deal within a week, according to the Journal. Any alliance between Yahoo and Google would face intense antitrust scrutiny, however, because the two companies control more than 80 percent of the U.S. market for search advertising.

Yahoo and Google hope to allay those concerns by structuring their deal so their rivals, including Microsoft, could participate in an auction-based system, the Journal said.

source : news.yahoo.com

Technorati Tags: microsoft,yahoo,dealing

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Paint.NET V3.3.1

Paint.NET is free image and photo editing software for computers that run Windows. It features an intuitive and innovative user interface with support for layers, unlimited undo, special effects, and a wide variety of useful and powerful tools. An active and growing online community provides friendly help, tutorials, and plugins.

This is mostly a servicing release to fix a few important bugs.

• New: Enabled integration with Window Clippings, which is a high quality screen capture utility by Kenny Kerr.
• Fixed: Fixed a crash with the Open/Save dialogs if the Documents or Pictures directories were either inaccessible or if the user did not have certain file system permissions.
• Changed / Fixed: The hotkey for Adjustments -> Levels is now Ctrl+Shift+L instead of Ctrl+Alt+L. This was preventing certain characters, such as the Polish 'ł', from being typed.

Minimum System :

• Windows XP (SP2 or later),
     or Windows Vista,
     or Windows Server 2003 (SP1 or later),
     or Windows Server 2008
• .NET Framework 2.0
• 500 MHz processor (Recommended: 800 MHz or faster)
• 256 MB of RAM (Recommended: 512 MB or more)
• 1024 x 768 screen resolution
• 200+ MB hard drive space
• 64-bit support requires a 64-bit CPU that is running a 64-bit version of Windows, and an additional 128 MB of RAM

Download : getpaint.net

 

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7 dirty secrets of the security industry

Corporate IT executives need to beware the seven dirty secrets of the security industry that can undermine the safety of business networks, a security expert told attendees at Interop Las Vegas.

“It’s best to have a healthy level of skepticism about what security vendors are trying to tell you,” says Joshua Corman, principal security strategist for IBM/ISS, which itself is a security vendor.

He called his talk "Unsafe at any speed: 7 Dirty Secrets of the Security Industry," harkening back to the 1960s’ Ralph Nader book about automobile safety, Unsafe at Any Speed. Nader’s book took car makers to task for worrying more about cosmetic improvements that upgrades to make cars more safe.

Security vendors have at times invested development money in management GUIs rather than new security features. And they have a tendency to add features only when customers demand them, he says. “The goal of the security vendor is not to secure, it’s to make money,” Corman says.

He says that is his “zeroth” dirty secret of the security industry. These are the other seven:

1. Antivirus certifications are misleading. The certification standards confirm that devices block 100% of all replicating malcode. The catch is that 75% of malcode coming into networks is non-replicating, such as Trojans. When the standard was set, non-replicating malcode represented 5% of malcode, Corman says. “Certification means [a product] caught 100% of 25% of the bad stuff,” he says. (Compare antivirus products)

2. There is no perimeter. Vendors say that the network perimeter must be defended, but most data that is actually lost doesn’t go through the firewall. Half of all breaches are the result of either lost laptops or lost thumb drives or other removable media. Businesses need to tighten up their business processes at least as much as they need to tighten up network perimeters, he says. “If you still believe in perimeters, you may as well believe in Santa Claus,” he says.

3. Risk analysis threatens vendors. Security vendors want businesses to buy what they sell, so they push specific products to block specific threats. NAC, for example, might solve a real problem. But if the problem doesn’t have a major impact on the company’s top three business priorities, it probably doesn’t need to be addressed. Risk assessment may determine that improved business processes or hardening configurations of existing gear are all that are needed, Corman says. “You need to understand the environment and the big priorities,” he says.

 

more : networkworld.com 

 

Technorati Tags: secret,security

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iTunes DVD deal focuses on Apple TV

Apple on Thursday announced that iTunes would get new movie releases from studios the same day as their DVD release, but the larger question is whether this move can give Apple TV more traction.

Let’s face it: Apple TV is an interesting experiment for Apple, but it’s a bit orphaned at the moment. When folks talk Apple they talk about three products: Mac, iPhone and iPod. Apple TV, which has been improved in its second iteration, is the odd product out.

However, now that iTunes will benefit from getting releases quickly from the likes of 20th Century Fox, The Walt Disney Studios, Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures, Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Lionsgate, Image Entertainment and First Look Studios the Apple TV equation may change a bit (see Apple statement, Techmeme and Jason O’Grady.

These movies, priced between $14.99 for new releases and $9.99 for catalog titles, make Apple TV a more credible movie rental device and could spur a few impulse purchases. As for iTunes, getting titles quickly is likely to boost revenue for the service, which is rapidly coming into its own as a line item on Apple’s earnings report.

In a research note, Cross Research said:
Apple substantially advanced its AppleTV, iPod and iTunes platform by offering day and date availability for movie releases. The announcement, which puts digital downloads on equal footing with physical DVD distribution, is both broader than expected in terms of studio support and appears to be ahead of competitors Microsoft and Amazon. We believe simultaneous availability for music has helped the iTunes Music Store grow share and would expect a similar benefit for iTunes movies.

Is this new DVD distribution a game changer for Apple TV? Perhaps. The move certainly won’t hurt.

source: blogs.zdnet.com

Technorati Tags: apple,itunes

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Microsoft hopes new photo tool will boost Windows

Microsoft likes digital photography enthusiasts as customers, and on Thursday plans to release a free new utility designed to keep them wedded to Windows.

Pro Photo Tools is geared for photography professionals and enthusiasts, and its first notable feature is the ability to geotag photos, or add geographic information showing where the picture was taken. Geotagging is an onerous chore with today's technology, but camera makers are working to build it into cameras, and it can pay off down the road.

That's because geotagging, done well, enables people to find photos by searching for the word "Paris" rather than sifting through folders with obscure filenames like IMG_5829.jpg or squinting at hundreds of image thumbnails. Until the still-distant day when computers can recognize your Aunt Polly or the Grand Canyon, geotagging holds potential as a way for people to get a handle on ever-growing digital photo collections.

"People are doing a lot more geotagging, but it's still somewhat cumbersome," said Josh Weisberg, Microsoft's director of digital imaging evangelism. "We want to make it mainstream."
Geotagging is just the opening salvo, though. Pro Photo Tools can be extended with new features; Microsoft is working on some and is considering whether to allow other companies also join in, Weisberg said.

"We've talked about making it extensible to third parties, but...It's a big question. I haven't decided yet whether we're going to do it," Weisberg said.

Looking at the digital photography software market, it's easy to imagine Adobe Systems is a competitor. But it looks to me like this is actually positioned more against Apple whose computers are popular among "creative professionals" and come with iPhoto editing software.
Weisberg shied away from competitive analysis, but agreed that Pro Photo Tools is designed to help make Windows more compelling. "It's focused on making the platform better for photographers," Weisberg said.

source: www.news.com

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Windows Vista SP1 RTM Optimized Desktop

With the advent of Windows Vista at the end of 2006/the beginning of 2007, Microsoft has started pouring a consistent amount of efforts into enabling optimized desktops.

Throughout 2007, and after the introduction of Windows Vista Service Pack 1, the Redmond company continued to fine tune a set of offerings bundled together under the umbrella of Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) for Software Assurance customers. The Microsoft Management Summit (MMS) in Las Vegas was the stage where the software giant stressed its constant commitment to both optimized Vista desktops and virtualization.

"The combination of MDOP and Windows Vista gives customers the tools they need to support more flexible work environments for their users, while making it easier and more efficient to manage and maintain their networks. This is the concept we refer to as the optimized desktop, and many of our customers have the tools to realize the benefits today. We're responding to the enthusiasm our customers have shown for these products by continuing to improve upon them and roll out new updates in real time", revealed Shanen Boettcher, General Manager of Windows Product Management for the enterprise.

In this regard, Boettcher informed that the Redmond company is preparing the Microsoft Application Virtualization 4.5 Release Candidate 1 for delivery no later than June 2008. Microsoft's Software Assurance customers will have access to the tool via Connect. According to Boettcher, the inherent benefits associated with virtualization are increasingly making sense to customers, with Microsoft Application Virtualization Beta counting in excess of 7,000 downloads.
Following the availability of Microsoft Application Virtualization 4.5 RC1, the Redmond company will move on by offering Asset Inventory Service (AIS) 1.5 as well as Advanced Group Policy Management (AGPM) 3.0 in the third quarter of this year. "AIS 1.5 will add license reconciliation, System Center Configuration Manager integration and scalability enhancements. AGPM 3.0 will provide Windows Vista SP1 and Windows Server 2008 support (x86 and x64), globalization, more flexible security, enhanced reporting and an enhanced UI", Boettcher added.

But as Microsoft's focus is no longer limited to the U.S. market, the company now plans to introduce support for additional languages in MDOP. Boettcher enumerated no less than 10 localized languages for MDOP including Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, German, French, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.

"We plan to release localized versions of Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset (DaRT) 6.0 and Desktop Error Monitoring (DEM) 3.0 SP1 in ten languages in Q3 2008. AGPM and Microsoft Application Virtualization 4.5 will follow toward the end of 2008", Boettcher said.

source: news.softpedia.com

Technorati Tags: vista,optimization

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