Adobe Releases Lightroom Beta 4
Adobe on Monday released the fourth beta of its Lightroom application for processing RAW files from digital cameras, unifying its Mac and Windows versions and rebranding the tool under Adobe's Photoshop lineup.
Lightroom Beta 4 integrates technology Adobe acquired from Pixmantec in June. The Danish company's RawShooter workflow management and processing technology has been added to Adobe's RAW engine for Lightroom, bringing features such as a "vibrance" color strength adjustment.
Apple Plugs Wi-Fi Security Holes
Apple on Friday issued a security update for Mac OS X that plugs a trio of holes in its wireless network subsystem, which could potentially allow an attacker to take control of an affected system. All three of the patches involve Mac OS X version 10.4, while one is also for version 10.3.
"Attackers on the wireless network may cause system crashes, privilege elevation, or arbitrary code execution," Apple says of two of the fixes. One involves a heap overflow the AirPort wireless driver's handling of scan cache updates. The other covers two stack buffer overflows in the AirPort wireless driver's handling of malformed frames.
Final Windows Vista Build Gets Closer
Microsoft on Friday made available the first post-RC1 build of Windows Vista to technical beta testers, which is numbered 5728. The interim update includes a number of bug fixes and interface polishing, but is most notable because the 5700 range has been allocated for the final Vista build, indicating RTM could arrive as scheduled next month.
"Sven’s team has set aside a specific range of build numbers to incrementally build toward Windows Vista's Release Candidate 1 (RC1) milestone; in this case, build numbers ranging from 5400 through 5699. Likewise, numbers beginning with 57XX have been set aside for the RTM (Release-to-Manufacturing) release," Windows Vista product manager Nick White explained in a blog post last month. Vista beta testers can download Build 5728 from Connect. It will also be available to select CPP participants, as well as MSDN and TechNet subscribers.
MTV Buys Music Game Firm Harmonix
MTV Networks on Friday announced an agreement to acquire Harmonix Music Systems, the company behind the popular Guitar Hero game for the PlayStation 2. Harmonix joins a number of other companies recently brought into the MTV fold.
Last month, MTV purchased Atom Entertainment, including its Atom Films, Shockwave and AddictingGames properties. That acquisition followed purchases of entertainment brands XFIRE, Y2M, GameTrailers.com, IFILM, and Neopets.
FCC to Approve AT&T-BellSouth Merger
The Federal Communications Commission is slated to approve the $67 billion purchase of BellSouth by telecom giant AT&T, formerly known as SBC. Shareholders approved the merger in July and expected government regulators to demand the combined company shed some assets.
According to a memo distributed late Thursday, however, the FCC is set to give the green light to the deal without any conditions, press reports indicated. The official vote will take place on October 12. The U.S. Department of Justice has yet to give its blessing, due to the agency being sidetracked by court challenges of the mega-mergers between SBC and AT&T, as well as Verizon and MCI.
Microsoft Taking Vista UI Feedback
With Release Candidate 1 now out the door, Microsoft is putting what it calls the "fit-and-finish" on Windows Vista's user interface, and the company is looking for feedback from users testing out the beta release.
Dave Vronay, a research manager with the Windows User Experience Compliance team, says Microsoft is taking a lot of time to track down minor UI glitches - something it has never done before. "You can actually participate in this process by providing your feedback on the various pre-release versions of Vista we are putting out," says Vronay. The company is hosting a forum in which users can offer their rants and raves. You can also leave your thoughts below.
Symantec, Adobe Complain Over Vista
It's no surprise that Symantec and Adobe are wary of Microsoft bundling its own security software and electronic document format in Windows Vista, but the companies had yet to lodge official complaints about the operating system until now.
According to a report in Thursday's Wall Street Journal, Adobe has told the European Commission that Microsoft should be barred from building into Vista competing software for reading and creating electronic documents. Adobe developed PDF and is the leading provider of software for the format.
MTV Beta Testing Virtual Laguna Beach
As teenagers continue to spend less time watching television and more time online, MTV Networks has been working on a number of initiatives to keep the eyeballs on its content - and advertising. The latest effort involves creating a three-dimensional online world, a "Virtual Laguna Beach."
Last month, MTV purchased Atom Entertainment, including its Atom Films, Shockwave and AddictingGames properties. That acquisition followed purchases of entertainment brands XFIRE, Y2M, GameTrailers.com, IFILM, and Neopets.
New AIM Worm Making the Rounds
A new worm has surfaced affecting the AOL Instant Messenger network, security firm FaceTime reported this week. The malware, known as W32.pipeline, disguises itself as a JPEG image to deliver a Trojan horse onto a PC when executed.
The Trojan, image18.com, places an executable named csts.exe in the user's System32 folder. It arrives as a link over AIM from another infected individual. According to FaceTime, this file can be used in a number of scenarios, which enable the perpetrators to shift around executables and modify their attack.
Google Rebuffs Belgian Court Demand
Lawyers for Google in Belgium said on Wednesday they planned to appeal a court ruling in the country that ordered the search giant to stop linking to Belgian publications on its Google News site. The company is also refusing to add a link to the decision on its homepage.
The Belgian Court of First Instance ordered it to publish the decision or face a daily fine of 500,000 euros. Google says the demand is unnecessary due to the publicity the case has already received. The court will decide on the matter Friday, with a full appeal slated to begin at the end of November.
Microsoft: Vista Apps Must be 'Cool'
In an open letter posted on MSDN, Microsoft's Windows chief Jim Allchin called on developers to start building "cool" applications for Windows Vista, promising "new opportunities on a scale you haven't seen since Windows 95."
Allchin, who is retiring after launch, says that barring any last minute quality issues, Vista is on track to reach consumers in January. Analysts are predicting that the new operating system will be installed by 200 million people within the first 24 months, the quickest adoption of any Microsoft OS. "Millions of people will be looking for applications," Allchin noted.
Yahoo Selling DRM-Free Album in MP3
With digital rights management on music purchases now the norm, record labels have turned to a unique, if not ironic, approach to gain added promotion: DRM-free tracks. Hollywood Records has teamed up with Yahoo to do just that, selling a special MP3 version of Jesse McCartney's new album Right Where You Want Me.
For $9.99, Yahoo! Music users can purchase the album in either MP3 or WMA format without copy protection. An acoustic track is also included as a bonus. In July, Yahoo sold a DRM-free version of a Jessica Simpson single, saying it had long been trying to convince record labels to offer songs in MP3 format.
Toshiba Recalls 340,000 Batteries
Sony's battery woes continued late Monday, as laptop manufacturer Toshiba announced it was recalling 340,000 batteries across its Dynabook and Satellite lines. Unlike the Dell and Apple recalls, however, Toshiba says the defective batteries do not pose a fire risk.
The recall affects laptops manufactured between March and May of this year, 100,000 of which were shipped in the United States. According to the company, the batteries are affected by a glitch that prevents them from properly storing power. Toshiba did not say whether Sony would pay for the replacements, which are free to customers, as the company did for both Dell and Apple.
Microsoft 'Soapbox' Takes On YouTube
From video blogs to lonelygirl15, broadband has ushered in an era of viral video that has surprised an industry. User-created clips on YouTube and Google Video reach millions of screens each day and now Microsoft wants a piece of the action with "Soapbox."
An expansion of its current MSN Video site, Soapbox enables users to upload their own videos much like current offerings from Microsoft competitors. Aside from market leaders YouTube and Google, AOL recently launched "UnCut" and social networking giant MySpace now supports video uploads.
Belgian Court Blocks Google News
Google is facing another setback against its News service after a court in Belgium ruled the search giant is violating copyright law by indexing and linking to stories in Belgian newspapers. The decision is the latest in a series of challenges against the site.
The Belgian Association of Newspaper Editors filed the complaint against Google, claiming that newspapers are losing money because the company is linking directly to stories rather than a publication's homepage. Google does not reproduce content itself, but does make it searchable.
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