Archive for April, 2008
Is the cell phone the computing platform of the future?
There is a lot of talk that in the future the cell phone will be the platform used by many instead of a PC. Mobility has a high premium with users and I have posted before about Walt Mossberg’s prediction that soon we will be online all the time. In developing nations there is [...]
Windows XP SP3 is done
Today, Microsoft released Windows XP service pack 3 to manufacturing. The announcement is at this Microsoft link.
Quality search engine?
Google is an admirable search engine but the results often contain a lot of spam or other useless sites. According to Search Engine Land, the alternative search engine Hakia is going to try to do better:
The Hakia blog explains how the engine is taking a “quality” approach, trying to assess the credibility of sites in [...]
Update Readiness Tool for Vista
There have been reports that the installation of Vista SP1 and/or other updates have hung up the system or caused other problems. Microsoft has issued something called the System Update Readiness Tool. The tool checks for inconsistencies in the Windows system resources that may prevent the successful installation of future updates, service packs, and software.
Via [...]
Google to use recent searches to fine-tune results
Google Operating System reports that Google will start to personalize search results based on the previous query or even a number of previous queries. The post reports:
Until now, Google personalized the results based on the search history only for users that were logged in and enabled the Web History service. Google created a profile from [...]
Phony anti-virus program
Beware of something called “XP Antivirus Protection”. It is a fake anti-virus program that will install spyware on your system. More details at The Blade.
No more Hotmail with Outlook Express
InfoWorld reports:
In the latest death knell for Outlook Express, Microsoft announced Thursday that it will turn off access to its Web-based Hotmail service from the desktop e-mail software at the end of June.
Outlook Express users who want to continue to access their Hotmail accounts offline after June 30 are being encouraged by Microsoft to [...]
Ballmer says Windows Vista is a “work in progress”
Todd Bishop reports:
More than a year after Windows Vista’s release, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer this morning acknowledged some of the operating system’s shortcomings — calling it a “work in progress” during a speech to the company’s Most Valuable Professionals conference in Seattle. He also acknowledged Windows XP’s fans, but he stopped short of committing to [...]
Is the desktop dying?
It began as a trickle of statements that the Web would replace the desktop. The browser would be the platform, some began to say. Now more and more voices are joining that chorus. Even Microsoft has a major program of Web applications. Is the desktop really going to be replaced by the “cloud”? No one [...]
More details of Flash malware
The details of the infected Flash ad that appeared on the USA Today site that was mentioned in the previous post can be seen at this Websense link.