Microsoft unveils 'Mango' -- next major Windows Phone version
Microsoft's MIX11 Day 2 is perhaps more important than the first. Today, Joe Belfiore took the keynote stage to discuss the next Windows Phone update, codename "Mango," which will be "available to all current users of Windows Phone" and on new handsets, he said. Developer tools are coming next month.
Microsoft plans to release Mango in autumn, adding support for 16 additional languages. The number of countries where Windows Phone apps can be submitted will increase from 30 to 36. Applications will be available to download or buy in more countries -- 25 up from 16.
Silverlight 5 launches in beta
Silverlight 5, the latest version of Microsoft's rich internet media platform and framework is now available in beta for interested users to download and test at Silverlight.net.
Most of the features of Silverlight 5 were revealed back in December 2010 at Microsoft's Firestarter developer event, and totaled around 40 improvements or added features.
Apple's Final Cut Pro X, no longer 'hamstrung by 4GB of memory'
At NAB in Las Vegas, Apple gave the first sneak peek at the upcoming version of its professional video editing suite, Final Cut Pro X.
First and foremost among changes to Final Cut is the fact that it has been rebuilt as a 64-bit application.
Microsoft releases Office 2011 SP1 for Macintosh
Microsoft has released the first Service Pack for Office for Mac 2011 yesterday. SP1 updates Office to version 14.1.0. It fixes a number of security problems and includes enhancements for the various applications in the office suite. The overall stability of Office for Mac 2011 is improved and refinements to performance and reliability help to make the suite more enjoyable to use.
Across the suite a bug that allowed attackers to inject malicious code into memory has been patched, and the ability to add alt text to shapes, images, movies and other objects has also been added. Excel users can benefit from the Solver analysis tools which can be used to run 'what if' scenarios with data, and various problems with pasting, conditional formatting, printing and page settings have been fixed.
Microsoft bulks up MSDN subscriptions with Azure services
Do you subscribe to Microsoft Developer Network? Then perhaps you received the same email as I got late yesterday.
"Effective immediately: Windows Azure benefits have been granted to Visual Studio 2010 Professional with MSDN subscribers. Windows Azure benefits have been expanded for Visual Studio 2010 Ultimate with MSDN and Visual Studio 2010 Premium with MSDN subscribers."
Google says it did not lie about government certification for Apps
Google found itself fending off criticisms from competitor Microsoft on Monday over whether or not its Google Apps product truly had an important government security clearance. Called the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) standard, the Mountain View, Calif. company claimed on its webpage that the Government version of Apps had it. It didn't.
Instead, Google Apps Premier had the proper certification, while the more restrictive Government version was still in the process of getting FISMA certified. This is required by some government agencies in order to participate and win bids for any IT contract.
Opera 11.10 releases after about a month in beta
Less than one month after arriving in beta, Opera 11.10 has been given a final release. One standout feature is an overhaul of Opera's Turbo function, which is designed to speed up browsing on slow networks such as dial-up connections, 3G networks and crowded WiFi hotspots.
Opera Turbo, which works by reducing the size of the web page being requested before its sent to the browser, now uses Google's new WebP image format. This helps speed up browsing further while better maintaining the quality of the page's images after compression. Opera claims that in testing the changes introduced in version 11.10 produce pages that are 35 percent smaller and subsequently 15 percent quicker to load than before.
Khronos to open 3D gesture and touch tech to all PCs with new API
While Microsoft is expected to roll out the Kinect SDK beta at Mix 2011 this week, the Khronos Group announced it has begun work on a free and open standard for new input technologies that will include 3D cameras just like Kinect.
Khronos, the PC industry group best known for inventing OpenGL and WebGL, will create a platform agnostic, royalty-free standard for advanced input devices including everything from Kinect-like 3D cameras and motion sensors, to iPhone-like touchscreens and haptic devices.
Kaspersky TDSSKiller roots out rootkits
Rootkits are the ultimate in stealthy malware, burying themselves so deep into your system that they're often very hard to spot. If you're unlucky enough to encounter one then your antivirus package might detect it, but there are no guarantees, and so it may be wise to equip your PC with a second line of defence in Kaspersky's TDSSKiller.
As the name suggests, TDSSKiller is designed to target a few, specific threats (TDSS, Sinowal, Whistler, Phanta, Trup, Stoned). These can be very dangerous, though, so having another way to pick them up isn't going to hurt -- and the program can also detect hidden services, forged files, MBR changes and other suspicious signs that could indicate infection by a brand new rootkit.
Microsoft debuts IE10, announces PDC 2011 dates
The wait is over. Microsoft's MIX11 conference kicked off today in Las Vegas, with Dean Hachamovitch's opening keynote. Hachamovitch is a Microsoft corporate vice president and the man with a plan when it comes to Internet Explorer.
During MIX10, Hachamovitch debuted the IE9 platform, which got its official release last month. Today, along with Windows divisional president Steven Sinofksy, he debuted IE10 platform. "We're about three weeks into development of IE10," Hachamovitch said. Hachamovitch's clothing foreshadowed what was coming, about half-way through the keynote. He wore a T-Shirt with "Ten,", where the Internet Explorer logo replaced the "e." In another surprise move, Hachamovitch announced that an IE10 preview is available now at the Internet Explorer Test Drive website.
Microsoft launches first Internet Explorer 10 preview
Check out Internet Explorer 10 Platform Preview in Fileforum now!
Fulfilling the hints Microsoft dropped back in March, the Redmond software company unveiled the first platform preview of Internet Explorer 10 at MIX 11 in Las Vegas on Tuesday.
Can you blame iPhone for this? Cisco is closing Flip Video camera business
Somebody surely will blame iPhone in today's analysis, although the move reflects broader problems Cisco is looking to fix. Hey, the dot-com boom of the 1990s, when Cisco router sales soared, is long over.
"We are making key, targeted moves as we align operations in support of our network-centric platform strategy," Cisco CEO John Chambers said in a statement. "As we move forward, our consumer efforts will focus on how we help our enterprise and service provider customers optimize and expand their offerings for consumers, and help ensure the network's ability to deliver on those offerings."
HP applies its sexy new laptop design to 1B-Color DreamColor displays
With top-of-the-line EliteBook laptops launching on Tuesday, HP is adding sexier DreamColor displays to the already sexier FORGE bodies it rolled out in its latest ProBook notebook PC series.
Originally developed with animation studios like DreamWorks and Disney for HP desktop displays, the new DreamColor screen option for HP's EliteBook 8760w and 8560w mobile workstations supports more than 1 billion colors.
Do Bloomberg Businessweek app and iPad click?
For all the griping about Apple's restrictive subscriptions plan, news organizations are beginning to embrace it. News Corp. debuted tablet-only "The Daily" in early February. The New York Times ended March like a lion, with new paywalls that included an iPad subscription. Yesterday, Bloomberg Businessweek app debuted on Apple's App Store, also with subscription pricing.
For this reviewer, the $2.99 monthly price is the most exciting thing about the app. Definitely it's a price I'd like to see more weekly magazines adopt. I'd ditch print The New Yorker, which costs me 29 bucks for a year, for iPad digital version, if available for three bucks a month. Last I checked, the magazine was available only per issue -- for $3.99. Get a gun so I can shoot the dog, too.
Amazon lowers Kindle's price in exchange for advertisements
Amazon on Monday announced it had dropped the price of the third generation Kindle e-reader by $25. If this reduction in price came as a result of the usual maturation of technology (where declining manufacturing costs are passed along to the consumer), it would not be an especially newsworthy event. However, the price was reduced for a different reason: because the Kindle e-reader can now display sponsored advertisements.
The Kindle's famous screensavers can now be replaced by full screen advertisements which are customizable in the "Manage Your Kindle" section on a user's Amazon.com account. Users can indicate the amount of screensavers they see that include elements such as landscapes and scenery, architecture, travel images, photography, and illustrations.
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