Microsoft to Offer Froogle Competitor
As part of its Windows Live Shopping initiative, Microsoft is testing out Live Product Search, a service similar to Google's Froogle that offers price comparisons. According to LiveSide.net, users will be able to refine a search by category, brand, seller or specific keywords.
A slider will show and hide product metadata in real-time like Windows Live Search. Unlike Froogle, Windows Live Product Search will also link to external articles and reviews of products. Microsoft may include user-provided buying guides as well, sources tell LiveSide. However, the Redmond company has not yet said how it intends to roll out the service.
Apple Delivers Remote Desktop 3
Apple on Tuesday released the third version of its Remote Desktop software, adding support for Intel based Macs and 50 new features including faster file copy speeds and the ability to hide a desktop while it is being controlled remotely. Version 3 also integrates with Mac OS X 10.4's Spotlight features for searching across multiple remote desktops.
Other new features in Remote Desktop 3 include a Dashboard widget for monitoring remote systems, task templates for replicating tasks across multiple machines, application usage reports, and 128-bit AES encryption between Remote Desktop and client machines. The new release is available now for $299 USD when managing up to 10 systems. A version for managing unlimited Macs runs $499 USD.
GoDaddy: .eu Domain Hijacked
In a scathing blog entry posted on Sunday, GoDaddy.com CEO Bob Parsons attacked European registry EURid for "grand manipulation and lax administration" regarding the recent opening of the .eu top-level domain. Parsons said the process turned into a large scam involving hundreds of fake registrars.
The .eu domain opened on Friday for what was called the "landrush" registration phase. During this period, accredited registrars such as GoDaddy could register domains for their customers using a process similar to standing in line. A registrar could request one domain at a time and then would be shuffled to the end of the line until the other registrars had a turn.
IBM Embeds Encryption into Processor
IBM on Monday unveiled a new technology known as SecureBlue, which is comprised of a set of encryption circuitry that can be integrated directly into a computer's CPU. The idea behind the project is that no software or external chip can be truly secure, as hackers can intercept the data as it is sent to main processor.
Unlike approaches taken by Intel and others that involve a trust platform module, or TPM, chip, IBM believes an all-in-one solution provides the best encryption. The SecureBlue technology has also been designed to fit into a number of form factors, including cell phones and portable music players.
Microsoft's GarageBand called Monaco
Taking a page from Apple's playbook, Microsoft is preparing a new application for creating music in the same vein as GarageBand for Mac OS X, according to the Microsoft Watch newsletter. The program, code-named Monaco, would be designed specifically for Windows Vista and take advantage of the operating system's Avalon user interface framework.
Sources say Monaco is targeting a new generation of content-creating consumers that Apple has attracted through its iLife suite. However, it's not clear how Microsoft will release Monaco -- whether it will be bundled with Vista or offered as a download like Microsoft Max. Microsoft Watch reports that the program will also take advantage of new search technology to locate audio clips.
Microsoft Tool Blocks Typo Domains
Microsoft Research has released a new tool as part of its Strider project, which reveals third party domains that are being contacted in the background of a Web site. Called Strider URL Tracer, the Internet Explorer add-on also scans and blocks URLs that try to capitalize on misspellings, known as typo domains.
Many cybersquatters will register these typo domains and fill them with adult advertising or other inappropriate content. In turn, Strider URL Tracer will enable parents to proactively block such domains. The tool -- an extension of Microsoft Research's HoneyMonkey project -- generates a list of potential typos using five methods.
Red Hat to Acquire JBoss for $350m
Linux vendor Red Hat announced Monday it has entered into an agreement to acquire JBoss, maker of middleware, or software that connects disparate systems and applications to facilitate faster and cheaper development. Red Hat will pay $350 million in cash and stock for the company, with another $70 million payout based on performance.
With the acquisition, Red Hat says it will transition to service-oriented architectures (SOA) in order to enable running next-generation Web applications atop a low-cost open source platform. JBoss has a similar business model to Red Hat, offering service and support for its open source middleware applications.
Google Talk Gets Avatars, Themes
While Google Talk remains a slimmed down communications client compared the likes of AIM Triton and MSN Messenger, the search giant has added a few new consumer-oriented features to its latest update released late Thursday. Google Talk 1.0.0.92 now supports buddy icons, also known as avatars, and nine different themes for chat windows.
Users can choose a buddy icon from a gallery or upload their own 32x32-pixel image. The custom Appearance option is slightly different from AIM Expressions, as it does not change the way friends or colleagues see the chat window on their computer. Google also recently added support for the BlackBerry through a special downloadable version of Google Talk designed for the handheld device.
Microsoft Preps SQL Server for Phones
Speaking in San Francisco Thursday, Microsoft's senior vice president of server applications Paul Flessner outlined the company's future vision for its SQL Server database in order to meet the needs of an increasingly mobile lifestyle. As part of that effort, Microsoft announced SQL Server Everywhere Edition for smartphones and other embedded devices.
Microsoft released SQL Server 2005 in November, and since that time has counted two million downloads of the free Express Edition. Flessner said sales of the database to businesses even surprised company executives and have led to 20 percent revenue growth in the past two quarters.
Mad Rush to Purchase .eu Domains
The European Union's .eu top-level domain name was opened to the public Friday, with businesses and individuals rushing to stake their claim on the Web's newest frontier. Over 700,000 registration applications were received in the first four hours of the domain going live. The EU hopes to provide a real rival to .com after excitement over other new domains largely fizzled out.
Registrations for .eu domains run between 12 and 100 euros through over 1,500 registrars partnered with EURid, the company charged with managing the Internet's latest addition. Britons were the quickest to grab .eu names, followed by Germans and the Dutch. .eu is not intended to replace country-specific domains such as .uk or .de, but rather provide companies who operate across multiple countries a useful alternative.
Microsoft Offers Peek at Linux Labs
At the LinuxWorld Conference in Boston on Thursday, Microsoft announced the opening of a new Web site that will provide a glimpse into the company's once-secretive Open Source Lab. The idea of the site, dubbed Port 25, is to create a community for customers running mixed operating system environments.
Microsoft may outwardly attack the value of UNIX and Linux, but the company recognizes the significance of the open source moment and the danger to its core business. In turn, the company established a 300-server Linux installation on its Redmond campus, which it uses to do analysis and see how Linux software interoperates with Windows.
Microsoft Buys Game Studio Lionhead
Microsoft announced Thursday it had acquired British game developer Lionhead Studios, creator of the popular "Fable" role-playing game. The news came alongside a promise that Microsoft would remain committed to the Japanese market, where RPGs are far more popular than the first person shooters preferred in the United States.
Lionhead will develop games exclusively for the Xbox 360 and Microsoft's Windows desktop operating system. The studio's founder Peter Molyneux said the deal will give Lionhead "the stability and opportunity to focus on creating world-class next-generation titles." Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Microsoft Unveils Speech Server 2007
Microsoft in May will release a beta of Speech Server 2007, the third revision of the company's speech and telephony platform. The software is designed for call centers and businesses that want to automate their customer support infrastructure through the use of VoIP and other technologies.
Speech Server 2007 brings support for VoiceXML, which serves as a standard for linking together voice-centric applications, as well as SIP and RTP to maximize integration with other VoIP gateways. New monitoring and analysis tools are also included in the release. Speech Server 2007 will be officially launched in late 2006.
D-Link Preps First 802.11n Products
D-Link on Wednesday said it planned to deliver its first 802.11n capable wireless devices by the end of April, heralding the arrival of the next-generation wireless standard. Although 802.11n has not yet been finalized, hardware manufacturers are using draft specifications with ratification expected soon.
802.11n promises wireless speeds of up to 100Mbit per second, with the potential for much higher throughput in future updates. Using a technology called MIMO, or multiple-in, multiple out, an 802.11n device could have multiple antennas that handle more than one data stream at a time, thus speeding the transfer of data tremendously.
HP Laptops to Get Cingular Broadband
Hewlett-Packard and Cingular announced a deal on Wednesday to integrate the wireless carrier's Broadband Connect service into future HP laptops. The computer manufacturer previously signed a similar deal with Verizon for its EV-DO network. The feature will enable users to connect to the high-speed wireless service without an extra PC card.
Cingular's UMTS/HSDPA network offers download speeds of between 400-700 kilobits per second, with bursts to 1 megabit. BroadbandConnect is currently available in 16 markets covering 52 cities, and Cingular says it expects to cover most of the United States by the end of the year. HP isn't the only PC maker looking to integrate 3G support into notebooks; Sony and Lenovo plan such functionality as well.
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