Hands on with the first Chromebook, Samsung Series 5
Just a few hours after Google announced the first "Chromebooks" (and the fact that all Google I/O attendees will be receiving one within a few weeks,) we got to go hands on with Samsung's Chromebook Series 5.
With a 12.1" screen size and a weight of 3.3 pounds, there's no debating that Google is going for the notebook form factor with its Chromebook design. Even though they intend to be connected to the net at all times, these are by no means netbooks.
Microsoft could lose billions in sales to Google's Chromebook
Google's Chromebook subscription program could seriously pinch Microsoft enterprise licensing revenue. The $28 per month per user fee is bargain-basement pricing compared to what businesses now pay Microsoft for software and OEMs for supporting hardware. Google could easily take $1 billion a year in software revenue from Microsoft, says one licensing expert, with the number substantially growing over several years.
Earlier today, Google announced June 15 as launch date for Chromebook, which will initially be available from Acer and Samsung with 11.6-inch or 12.1-inch displays, respectively. Prices start at $349, for notebooks with Intel Atom dual-core processors and limited local storage, running Chrome OS. But there is another acquisition option -- a monthly subscription for business and education markets. School price is $20/month per student and for businesses the aforementioned $28/month per user. The subscription price requires businesses to make a 3-year commitment. Microsoft volume-licensing customers typically also license software for three years, although a 2-year option is available.
Comcast-NBC merger-favoring FCC commish now a lobbyist
The merger of NBC and Comcast had its opponents when it was first announced in December 2009, however the FCC later found it to be acceptable and approved the merger the following year. Now one of those FCC commissioners behind the approval is the combined company's newest hire.
Republican Commissioner Meredith Atwell Baker was one of the most vocal critics of placing any conditions on the deal, and said it could "bring exciting benefits to consumers that outweigh potential harms." Four months later, Comcast/NBCUniversal's Washington office has a new senior vice president of government affairs.
Facebook may have leaked personal info on millions
For years, an accidental security flaw in the way Facebook handled embedded frames allowed applications developers to access information on a user's profile that installed that application. It is estimated that nearly 100,000 applications may have enabled this flaw, potentially affecting millions.
Symantec, the company that discovered the vulnerability, reported it to Facebook. The flaw has been fixed, but it is unknown if any of the data had been used maliciously.
Google says Chrome Web apps more engaging, profitable, launches Web Store to all
In the Wednesday keynote at Google I/O in San Francisco, Google disclosed some information about the Chrome Web Store that should be of key importance to web application developers and those measuring the profitability of development in that area.
The total audience of Chrome users is more than 160 million, and in the first three months of the Chrome Web store's existence, 17 million applications were installed. This may not seem like much at first, but the store was only available in the United States, and only to users of the most up-to-date version of Chrome.
Google Chromebook coming June 15, with $20 and $28 student and business monthly subscriptions
Today, at Google I/O, Google revealed that the first Chrome OS laptops, or Chromebooks, will be available for order on June 15 in the United States. Prices will start at $349 for an 11.6-inch model. Additionally, Google announced a sweet deal for students -- a Chromebook for 20 bucks a month. Assuming a nine-month school year that works out to $180. Businesses can subscribe for $28 per user/a month.
Chrome OS is a cloud-dependent operating system requiring a persistent Internet connection -- or so it seemed before today's Google I/O keynote. The user's Google account ID allows syncing of browser bookmarks and passwords with computers running Chrome and opens access to server-side Google services like Apps, Gmail and Reader.
Now you can easily search NirSoft utilities
NirSoft is famous for creating some of the best free Windows utilities around: tiny, portable and packed with useful features. If you'd like to sample what the company has to offer then you could spend an hour or two browsing the site, individually downloading anything that appeals. But it's probably easier to simply grab a copy of NirLauncher, which crams more than 130 of the best NirSoft tools into a portable, easily accessible package.
We're not just talking about a zip file holding the various executables, either. NirLauncher also provides a front-end menu that organizes its tools into categories like Password Recovery, Network Monitoring, Disk Utilities, System Utilities and more, making it much simpler to locate the particular programs that you need.
Social networking behind the corporate firewall increases 500%, creates big vulnerabilities
Enterprise security and firewall company Palo Alto Networks on Wednesday released the results of an eight-month study of more than 1,200 organizations and 2 million users that observed more than 28 exabytes of data passing through corporate networks. Among the results of the study, Palo Alto found that applications using SSL (secure sockets layer) in some way represented 23% of all corporate bandwidth, and dynamic/port hopping applications represented a further 16% of all bandwidth.
In total, social networking within the corporate firewall has increased 500% in one year's time.
Corel updates WinZip for Mac
WinZip Computing, a subsidiary of Corel, has released a major new update for its Mac zip tool, WinZip Mac Edition. Version 1.5 features a number of improvements based on two key areas: zip/unzip functionality, and file sharing and archiving.
WinZip Mac Edition now features improved support for Mac application bundles, which are recognizable via the .app extension. Previously the program could simply unzip an entire .app bundle, but version 1.5 gives the user additional options, namely the ability to view the contents of the archive, plus the option of extracting individual items. It's also now possible to include hidden files within zip archives, plus the program supports a wider number of archived formats, including .jar and .war files.
Comodo Cleaning Essentials: Your PC's second line of defense
The average antivirus package will detect around 97 percent of all known threats, according to independent tests. Which sounds quite good, until you realize that means you could be infected in around 1 in every 33 malware encounters (and that's before we even consider the brand new, undiscovered threats).
It makes sense to equip your PC with a second antivirus tool, then, to assist in picking up any malware that your main package has missed. There's no shortage of possible candidates, but one of the most interesting is a new, free set of tools from Comodo: Cleaning Essentials.
VidCoder: Rip DVDs with the Handbrake on
One of the most popular open-source tools for ripping and encoding video from DVD and Blu-ray is the cross-platform tool, Handbrake. One of the charges levelled at it, particularly from a Windows user's point of view, is that the user interface can be a little confusing and overwhelming, particularly for beginners.
Mindful of this fact, Codeplex code RandomEngy has developed a fresh take on Handbrake in the form of VidCoder, which is also available as a 64-bit application. VidCoder takes all the features and raw power of Handbrake, and delivers them to end users via a more streamlined and user-friendly interface, making the program more accessible to all.
Got Photoshop CS5? There are three apps for that
Continuing its foray in iOS software Adobe today released three companion apps for Photoshop CS5. The apps provide a range of new ways to interact with Photoshop with your iPad starting with Adobe Eazel, which enables you to paint and draw on the screen of your iPad using a range of tools before sending the completed work of art to your PC or Mac, or sharing it via email.
Next up is Adobe Nav , on which you can use your iPad to access the tools you use most frequently in Photoshop. A customizable toolbar enables you to access your favorite tools form your iPad as well as browsing through your documents. The app can be used to navigate through up to 200 open documents, and when you tap on the screen of your iPad it will become the active document on your Mac or PC.
Want Google Music? You could buy XOOM
There were enough leaks in Google's streaming music plans to sink Titanic. So it was no surprise that earlier today at Google I/O, the search and information giant launched a cloud locker for your tunes. Well, for the tunes of special invitees (I/O attendees for starters) or Motorola XOOM tablet owners (the music app is included with Android 3.1). It's a closed beta. You can't attend I/O now if not registered, but you could still buy XOOM to get beta access -- that's if your domicile is the United States. The beta's only open here.
Keeping with Google's mindless marketing approach to nomenclature -- with Android and Chrome being two of the few exceptions -- for now the service is called Music Beta by Google, presumably Google Music on release. If someone got paid to develop the brand, please tell me how to get such an easy cash-producing gig. If Music Beta by Google is the product name, seriously I want the brander's job. That said, I must concede Music Beta by Google does evoke a sense of exclusivity fitting with the invitee or XOOM "Honeycomb early adopter" status.
Hands-on with Samsung's first iPad-sized Android tablet: Galaxy Tab 10.1
For the last three years, Google has given away pretty desirable free gifts to attendees of the Google I/O developer conference, and this year is no exception. The more than 5,000 attendees this year received a limited edition 10.1" Samsung Galaxy Tab.
This is the same device that Samsung unveiled last month at the CTIA conference, but left untouchable under plexiglass shields. Now, a handful of people have access to the device before it is released on June 8th and that includes Betanews.
Sony: 'A few more days' until PSN is back up
As the outage of the PlayStation Network entered its 20th day, Sony says that it would still be awhile yet before it is able to bring the gaming network back online. In a short statement on Tuesday, spokesperson Patrick Seybold seemed to ask for a bit more patience from its users.
"I know you all want to know exactly when the services will be restored," Seybold posted to the PlayStation blog. "At this time, I can't give you an exact date, as it will likely be at least a few more days." Such words are likely not comforting to the millions of PlayStation 3 users who have been shut out of online gameplay for nearly a month.
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