XP Starter Edition Travels to India
Microsoft is bringing Windows XP Starter Edition to India, where it will offer the stripped down operating system in English for the first time. The low-cost version of XP drops home networking and limits the number of programs that can be opened simultaneously.
In June, Microsoft launched a Spanish version of Windows XP Starter Edition across Latin America. The idea of the special release is to bridge the digital divide and reach the underprivileged populations, along with teaching customers about the dangers of software piracy.
Cingular to Offer Music Downloads
At a Goldman Sachs investor conference in New York on Thursday, Cingular chief operating officer Ralph de la Vega told Reuters the company was ramping up to launch a music service in 2006, which would utilize high-speed wireless technology to download songs over the air.
Cingular was the first U.S. carrier to offer the Motorola ROKR iTunes phone, and de la Vega said he hoped the new service would involve Apple as well. However, it's not clear if wireless downloads will appeal to consumers who have flocked to iTunes, as Cingular expects to charge more for each song.
New Cell Phone Virus Jumps to PCs
European security firm F-Secure on Wednesday detailed a new mobile phone trojan that attacks Symbian based phones with a new trick: the potential to jump to a PC if the phone's memory card is inserted into a computer. Cardtrap.A actually contains a payload of two Windows worms, Win32/Padobot.Z and Win32/Rays.
Padobot.Z attempts to copy itself using an autorun.inf file. However, the threat is minimal, F-Secure says. "To our knowledge, no Windows version supports autorun from a memory card, but it still might work with some Windows version and third party driver combination," said F-Secure researcher Jarno Niemela.
Free Opera Hits 1 Million Downloads
Just 48 hours after Opera Software removed the ads and license fee from its popular Web browser, Opera 8.5 has been downloaded by over 1 million people, the company said Thursday. The number is double Opera's previous download record, which it achieved in April with version 8.0.
Opera's new freeware status puts added pressure on Microsoft's aging Internet Explorer and even Mozilla Firefox, which soared to popularity as a free alternative to IE 6. Opera says the majority of downloaders were IE users. "The success of our free browser proves the world is ready for a fresh option," said Opera CEO Jon S. von Tetzchner.
AOL Swaps Spyware Protection Vendor
America Online has released the second version of its spyware protection software for 20 million AOL members, which is now built upon PestPatrol from Computer Associates. AOL Spyware Protection 2.0 includes four different scans for malware which run in intervals ranging from 60 seconds, 15 minutes, daily and weekly.
ASP 2.0, which has been in beta testing for the last few months, will be delivered automatically to AOL members during sign-in. Because the product only works using unused memory, AOL says it does not "slow or interfere with computer performance during scans or updates." A new release with the ability to block spyware before it's installed is due later this year.
AIM Triton Preview Set for Release
America Online is slated to release a preview edition of AIM Triton this week that the company hopes will attract users looking for a taste of the next generation communications client. AOL has also moved up the launch of its PC-to-phone calling feature, which will debut in Triton 1.0.
The Triton preview, also known as Beta 6, builds upon AOL's new strategy of making AIM the veritable front door to the company's products. The release features one-click access to AOL Explorer, Search, AOL and AIM Mail, AIM Talk and the new TotalTalk VoIP calling service that debuted this week.
Google Testing Out Free Wi-Fi Service
UPDATED Google is testing out a free wireless hotspot service in two locations, company officials acknowledged Tuesday. News of Google Wi-Fi spread following a new download called Google Secure Access that lets users connect to Google's VPN, or virtual private network, in order to keep their Internet connection secure from prying eyes when using Wi-Fi.
Google's wireless plans have been the center of much speculation over the past few months, with the company buying up fiber optic lines and expanding its portfolio with Google Talk and through the purchase of wireless start-up Android. However, Google itself has remained mum on its future plans.
Microsoft Announces Massive Reorg
Microsoft on Tuesday announced a broad reorganization of the company into three new divisions each headed by its own president. Current group vice president of platforms at Microsoft, Jim Allchin, also announced plans to retire by the end of 2006 - once Windows Vista is out the door.
The Microsoft Platform Products & Services Division will be comprised of the Windows Client, Server and Tools, and MSN product groups. Allchin will serve as co-president with Kevin Johnson until his retirement, when Johnson will take over.
Nokia N91 Music Phone Pushed to 2006
Nokia on Tuesday officially said it was delaying the much-anticipated N91 music phone until the first quarter of next year, citing the desire to make the phone work with as many music providers as possible and hold thousands of songs. Motorola's ROKR iTunes phone can store a maximum of 100 songs.
Nokia recently unveiled its 6630 Music Edition phone that supports MP3, AAC and WMA. The company told Reuters that Microsoft's DRM was the primary reason for the delay, saying it needed more time to ensure a solid implementation of the copyright protection software. The N91 boasts a 4GB hard drive for music and features built-in support for Wi-Fi.
Opera Web Browser Goes Freeware
Following a successful 24-hour giveaway last month, Opera Software has decided to drop the banner ads from its Web browser and permanently nix the licensing fee. Opera 8.5 is now available for download free of charge, putting new pressure on Firefox as it nears version 1.5.
"Today we invite the entire Internet community to use Opera and experience Web browsing as it should be," said Jon S. von Tetzchner, Opera CEO. "Removing the ad banner and licensing fee will encourage many new users to discover the speed, security and unmatched usability of the Opera browser."
New Worm Hijacks Google Requests
PandaLabs has announced the emergence of a new worm that spreads via peer-to-peer networks including Shareaza and iMesh, which hijacks visits to Google.com and redirects users to a spoofed page that inserts third-party advertising. The browser's start page is also modified to show ads.
Panda says the worm attempts to spread by copying itself using the name "Knights of the Old Republic 2," which refers to a Star Wars related video game. When users run the file, an error message pops up and the computer is then infected with the worm dubbed P2Load.A.
Netscape Releases Browser Theme Kit
With the revival of Netscape earlier this year, the browser has faced one major area of criticism: it's design. While the green user interface is meant to resemble the Netscape of old, critics have said Netscape 8 looks graphically bloated. In response, Netscape has launched a new Web site for user-created themes.
The Netscape Theme Park hosts skins for the new browser that can be submitted by users. Netscape has also posted an SDK that provides a step-by-step tutorial for creating a new interface using colors, buttons, graphics and more. Currently available themes include a new modern look, and a simple Firefox-like skin.
Microsoft Introduces New Security Tool
Microsoft on Monday introduced the final version of a new security tool for locking down computers that operate in shared environments. The Shared Computer Toolkit for Windows XP enables administrators to restrict users from changing system settings and running unauthorized software.
The toolkit, which is specifically designed for Internet cafes, school computer labs and libraries, can also keep out viruses and spyware by resetting a hard drive to a "clean" state each day. By removing advanced features, the desktop is also simplified to improve the end-user experience, Microsoft says.
Google Earth Zooms In on Africa
Google is delivering new features to Google Earth users thanks to a partnership with National Geographic. The map software adds new layers that merge National Geographic stories, journals and a live webcam with Google's satellite imagery to provide an interactive exploration of Africa.
The project is part of National Geographic's September "Tracing the Human Footprint" special. For the "African Megaflyover," J. Michael Fay snapped 92,000 high-resolution photographs of the continent over a period of one year. 500 scenes were selected by Fay for annotation in Google Earth.
Roku Delivers New SoundBridge Radio
Roku Labs has launched a new addition to its SoundBridge line of products, which offers networked music players that stream audio from a PC. The SoundBridge Radio takes the form of a tabletop stereo with built-in Wi-Fi for Internet radio stations and streamed music, along with AM and FM radio.
The SoundBridge Radio can stream MP3, WMA, AIFF, WAV and un-protected AAC formats, as well as Microsoft's Janus DRM format used by Napster, Real and Yahoo. The player's display is double the size of the original SoundBrdige to aid in selecting music and radio stations. The player will go on sale in November for $399 USD.
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