Oct 02
NEW YORK (AP) - Software maker Adobe Inc. said Monday that it launched its Flash Lite 3 software, which lets users view Flash Player-compatible videos on cell phones and surf Flash-enabled Internet sites.
The company said that handset makers Nokia Corp. (NYSE:NOK) and NTT DoCoMo Inc. (NYSE:DCM) plan to make upcoming handsets that support Flash Lite 3.
Adobe also said Monday that it released a free, publicly available test version of a Web-based document sharing service that is code-named ‘Share.’ Continue reading »
Sep 30
Microsoft/Windows Update Program Manager Nate Clinton has just posted on an issue we’ve learned of that affects some users of Windows Update repairing their systems using a Windows XP CD. The symptom is that some Windows XP customers are unable to install updates via the latest version of Windows Update after using a Windows XP CD to perform the “Repair from CD” function.
The issue does not look to be widespread and occurs in rather exceptional only under specific circumstances; it occurs because the Windows XP Repair CD replaces all system files, including Windows Update, with older versions of those files. Meanwhile, the most current version of Windows Update (which is already present on the system) includes a file that is not present in the Windows Update image on the Repair CD. After performing the repair, the new file remains on the system and creates a registry mismatch, causing subsequent installation of some updates to fail. Continue reading »
Sep 29
Customer demand has forced Microsoft to extend the shelf life of Windows XP by five months.
Microsoft was scheduled to stop selling the six-year-old operating system on 30 January 2008 to leave the field clear for Vista.
Now the date on which many sellers of XP will no longer be able to offer it has been lengthened to 30 June 2008.
Microsoft said the change was to help those customers that needed more time to make the switch to Vista. Continue reading »
Sep 26
“As we were discussing, Gran Paradiso — the latest version of Firefox — is nearing release. Gran Paradiso includes a form of malware protection that checks every URL against a known list of sites. It does so by sending each URL to Google. In other words, if people enable this feature, they get some malware protection, and Google gets a wealth of information about which sites are popular (or, for that matter, which sites should be checked for malware). Fair deal? Not to worry — the feature is disabled by default.” Continue reading »
Sep 24
Late last month, hardware vendor HP announced plans to offer desktop computers in Australia with Red Hat Linux, OpenOffice.org, and Firefox installed. Now the company has confirmed that it is expanding this program to other parts of the world. Moreover, sources close to the company tell Ars Technica that expanded Linux offerings will also be coming to the US. Our source says that it is a “real possibility” that HP will counter Dell’s limited embrace of Linux “sooner rather than later,” so long as pilot programs proceed as planned.
Like many other mainstream hardware vendors, HP already provides relatively broad Linux server support for a number of distributions, including community-driven distributions like Debian. The company also certifies Red Hat and SUSE Enterprise Linux 10 for its desktop computers, but has only recently started to evaluate the advantages of offering Linux preinstallation options on a large scale. Continue reading »
Sep 22
mytrip pointed out a News.com story about a new Microsoft program to allow PC makers to downgrade from Vista to XP if they so choose. They’re still pushing the new version of Windows very hard, but the option now exists for PC resellers to offer the now venerable OS. This is especially interesting as the article points out that OEM licenses for XP officially run out at the end of January. “Hewlett-Packard also started a program in August for many of its business models. ‘For business desktops, workstations and select business notebooks and tablet PCs, customers can configure their systems to include the XP Pro restore disc for little or no charge,’ HP spokeswoman Tiffany Smith said in an e-mail. She said it was too soon to gauge how high customer interest has been. ‘Since we’ve only been offering (it) for about a month, we don’t really have anything to share on demand.’ A Microsoft representative confirmed there were some changes made over the summer to the options computer makers have with respect to XP, but the representative was not immediately able to elaborate on those changes.” Continue reading »
Sep 22
Last week, AMD released register specifications for the RV630 and M56 parts into open source, thus allowing the OSS community to develop 2D (and theoretically 3D) drivers, given time. Current documentation for the project is available over at X.Org.
Now, eight days later, Novell has released an alpha-quality driver for the R6XX and R5XX series of cards. The current alpha allows for initial mode settings, and the devs plan to add support for additional hardware, RandR 1.2, video overlay support, and 2D acceleration. More information is available at the openSUSE blog, and the driver is available for multiple distribution packages—Fedora, Mandriva, and SUSE Linux Enterprise. Continue reading »
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