Posts filed under 'Operating Systems'
Internet Explorer 6, the world’s most popular web browser, has finally caught up with the opposition and added tabbed browsing to its feature set.
If you’re one of the millions who have never known anything other than IE6 you won’t know about the delights of tabbed browsing, which allows you to have more than one website open in the same browser window, navigable through a set of tabs at the top of the page.
It’s one of the killer features of Firefox or Safari, and its absence from IE6 is responsible for driving many users away from Microsoft’s aging browser.
The bad news is that it’s not available as a simple upgrade. You have to install the MSN Toolbar to get it, which adds a whole load of other stuff to your browser that is less useful.
Still, if you really must stick with IE, and can’t wait for IE7 to get tabbed browsing built in - give it a try.
June 9th, 2005
Microsoft is to move into push email - territory that Research in Motion has made its own with its BlackBerry handsets. The upgrade comes as part of a Messaging and Security Feature Pack for Windows Mobile 5.0, software based on wireless features coming in Exchange Server 2003 with Service Pack 2.
The Messaging and Security Feature Pack for Windows Mobile 5.0 will offer
businesses a mobile messaging solution that goes beyond plain text e-mail to provide a fast and familiar Outlook Mobile experience. End users will have access to a wide range of business information through the following new features:
* Windows Mobile Direct Push Technology. Outlook information, including
e-mail, calendar, contacts and new support for Tasks, is pushed from a directconnection between Exchange Server and a Windows Mobile-based device,providing users with immediate access to Outlook information, without the need for an additional and costly server infrastructure required by other solutions on the market.
* Wireless support for contact information. Support for over-the-air
lookup of global address list information stored on Exchange Server, a top request from partners, enables business users to access full contact details of co-workers on a Windows Mobile-based device. The feature is broadly integrated throughout the messaging, phone, calendar and contacts experience, providing users with a consistent, productive messaging experience.
June 6th, 2005
We reported a couple of weeks ago that Apple was about to ditch IBM and turn to Intel for its processor requirements. That rumour has been given more weight this morning, with reports in News.com and The Wall Street Journal that Apple will make an annoucement today.
It is expected that Apple will confirm that IBM is to lose the contract to produce the Power PC processor from 2006 and that Intel will take over, initially in lower end machines, such as the Mac Mini.
The shift to x86 architecture will require Apple to rewrite the underlying Mac OS code so will be seen as a huge gamble for the company that has made a similar move in the past and got its fingers burned when customers deserted. However, the shift may take less time than anticipated. There have been rumours for a long time that Apple already has a working working of Mac OSX for x86 chips buried deep in its labs.
June 6th, 2005
My Computer, My Documents, My Music - all these terms are for the chop in the next version of Windows, Longhorn.
The ‘My’ prefix was created by Microsoft back in the day when your average person thought a computer was a scary beast that would as soon electrocute you as allow you to organise your files. They thought it would make the PC seem fluffier, nicer and generally yours.
But, Microsoft has now decided that the days of having to make computers seem friendly has long gone and the new version of Windows will lose the ‘my’. Instead you will access ‘Computer’, ‘Documents’ and ‘Music’.
What difference will this make? None whatsoever, unless it’s the first part of a sneaky plan by Microsoft to take ownership of your files. Perhaps future versions of Windows will have folders called ‘Bill’s documents that he’s loaning to you’?
May 31st, 2005
The word on the street was that Apple considering using Intel processors in future Mac products. The talks with Intel were reportedly aimed at replacing the current crop of IBM and Motorola PowerPC chips in an effort to keep up in performance terms with Intel-based PCs.
However, Apple are denying the reports stating the news should be placed ‘in the category of rumour and speculation’.
These sort of reports surface from time to time and are occasionally aimed at sharpening the minds of the contractor reportedly about to lose out. In this case the rumour could be a warning to IBM and Motorola that Apple expects results.
Two years ago, there was similar talk of a tie-up between Apple and AMD, though nothing came of it.
May 23rd, 2005
We never thought we’d see a new version of Netscape, but here it is and what a strange beast it has become while it was away.
The most remarkable thing is that is contains both Mozilla and Internet Explorer engines, so you can pick and choose whether you want to view a page as a Firefox user or an IE user. This has limited appeal to most, but would solve the problem of incompatibility that some websites suffer with Firefox. However, as Firefox is standards-compliant and IE6 isn’t, this seem to be letting lazy web developers off the hook. It also bloats the software up to a whopping 30MB+ which doesn’t compare favourably with Firefix’s 16MB. A step backwards.
Is there room for yet another browser in a crowded market where IE and Firefox rule the roost? We think not.
For a full review of Netscape 8.0 see this PC World article.
May 19th, 2005
It seems that you are no one these days if you aren’t giving away a desktop search tool and Microsoft are no exception. They have moved the MSN Search Toolbar out of beta and are now offering it free to users of Windows XP and 2000.
Windows desktop search is included in the toolbar allowing the user to search more than 200 file types including Outlook and Outlook Express e-mail files; Outlook Contacts or Calendar files; multimedia files; Microsoft Office Word 2003, Microsoft Office Excel 2003 and Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003 files; MP3, GIF and JPEG files; Adobe or .PDF files; and more. It also searches e-mail attachments.
A preview pane allows you to preview the contents of retrieved files before opening them, but you can also drag and drop them into other applications as well as the usual file management tasks such as moving, renaming and deleting.
The software has been designed to allow the development of third party plug-ins so that the ability to search other propriety file types, not included in the main download, can be added by developers.
In a surprise announcement, Microsoft also said that they would release an enhancement for the toolbar that would allow tabbed browsing, one of the major benefits of using Firefox. This would be released in advance of Internet Explorer 7, widely expected to include tabbed browsing.
May 16th, 2005
Bill Gates has announced the release to manufacturing of Windows Mobile 5.0, a new version of the Windows Mobile software platform providing more flexibility to customize devices and solutions, updated Microsoft Office software, persistent memory storage for more efficient data management, Windows Media Player 10 Mobile and support for hard drives.
“In the past five years, there’s been a profound shift in the kind of data and services people access on their mobile devices — from multimedia to business applications,” Gates said. “Windows Mobile 5.0 enables our industry partners to develop exciting new hardware designs and solutions that will revolutionize how customers use mobile devices.”
Gates also sounded a warning to Nokia and its Symbian OS which runs the majority of mobile devices around today. Microsoft is likely to pursue a very agressive strategy to move that domination over to Windows Mobile.
Another mobile device manufacturer who will be looking over their shoulders is RIM. Their BlackBerry device, with its small QWERTY keyboard, is one of the only products on the market to allow real typing, instead of touchscreen entry. Windows Mobile’s support for small QWERTY keyboards will encourage other PDA manufacturers to support wireless email.
May 11th, 2005
Apple has announced a new line of iMac G5 systems, boasting up to 2GHz PowerPC G5 processing, built-in AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth wireless connectivity and Mac OS X version 10.4 “Tiger”.
The new iMac G5s also feature faster graphics, an 8X SuperDrive with double-layer support, built-in Gigabit Ethernet for faster networking and 512MB of memory across the line.
“Reviewers have called the iMac G5 ‘the most elegant desktop computer in the world’ and now it’s getting even better,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “With a faster processor, built-in wireless networking, Tiger and iLife ‘05, the new iMac G5 offers the best consumer desktop computing experience in the world.”
The new iMac G5, for a suggested retail price of $1,299, includes:
* 17-inch widescreen LCD with 1440-by-900 pixels;
* 1.8 GHz 64-bit PowerPC G5 processor;
* 512MB of 400 MHz DDR SDRAM;
* 24X Combo (DVD-ROM/CD-RW) optical drive;
* ATI Radeon 9600 graphics processor with 128MB video memory;
* Built-in AirPort Extreme wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.0 +EDR;
* 10/100/1000BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet networking, 56K V.92 Modem;
* 160GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
* Two FireWire 400, three USB 2.0, two USB 1.1 ports; and
* Built-in stereo speakers and microphone.
The new iMac G5, for a suggested retail price of $1,499, includes:
* 17-inch widescreen LCD with 1440-by-900 pixels;
* 2.0 GHz 64-bit PowerPC G5 processor;
* 512MB of 400 MHz DDR SDRAM;
* 8X SuperDrive (DVD+R DL/DVD+/-RW/CD-RW) optical drive;
* ATI Radeon 9600 graphics processor with 128MB video memory;
* Built-in AirPort Extreme wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.0 +EDR;
* 10/100/1000BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet networking, 56K V.92 Modem;
* 160GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
* Two FireWire 400, three USB 2.0, two USB 1.1 ports; and
* Built-in stereo speakers and microphone.
The new iMac G5, for a suggested retail price of $1,799, includes:
* 20-inch widescreen LCD with 1680-by-1050 pixels;
* 2.0 GHz 64-bit PowerPC G5 processor;
* 512MB of 400 MHz DDR SDRAM;
* 8X SuperDrive (DVD+R DL/DVD+/-RW/CD-RW) optical drive;
* ATI Radeon 9600 graphics processor with 128MB video memory;
* Built-in AirPort Extreme wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.0 +EDR;
* 10/100/1000BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet networking, 56K V.92 Modem;
* 250GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
* Two FireWire 400, three USB 2.0, two USB 1.1 ports; and
* Built-in stereo speakers and microphone.
May 3rd, 2005
The Hacker community is starting to be distracted by its seemingly never-ending attempts to exploit holes in Microsoft’s operating system and is turning its attention to Apple according to a recent report by the SANS Institute.
The first three months of 2005 have been characterised by an increase in the number of attacks on, and using, Apple software including iTunes.
More and more users are taking advantage of the ability to auto-update operating systems meaning that many security holes are patched before they can be exploited, leaving hackers looking for software to attack that is popular, but not updated as often.
Apple’s iTunes fits the bill in this respect.
Here at TechSmec.com we’re not Apple’s greatest fans. We appreciate the looks and the incredible marketing know-how, but the hardware and software leaves us a little bit cold. Apple’s boast that Mac OS is a far more secure platform than Windows always had more to do with its small market share than any innate superiority which is why we feel a little Schadenfreude at writing the words ‘Apple’ and ‘hack’ in the same sentence.
However, Microsoft must not rest on its laurels as the SANS survey listed the following Top 9 vulnerable software products. You have to scroll all the way down to number 9 before you reach an Apple product.
1. Microsoft Internet Explorer
2. Microsoft Windows Media Player, Microsoft Windows Messenger, and MSN Messenger
3. Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 1 and 2, Microsoft Windows 2000 Service Pack 3 and 4, and Microsoft Windows Server 2003
4. Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Windows 2000 Server Service Pack 3 and 4. Windows NT Server 4.0 Service Pack 6a, and NT Terminal Server Edition Service Pack 6
5. Windows NT and Windows 2000 (SP2 or earlier) Domain Name Service servers; Symantec Gateway Security, Enterprise Firewall, and VelociRaptor Products
6. Anti-Virus Products from Symantec, F-Secure, TrendMicro and McAfee
7. Oracle Database Server, Oracle Application Server, Oracle E-business Suite and Oracle Collaboration Suite
8. Computer Associates Products Running License Manager
9. RealPlayer, iTunes and WinAmp Media Players
May 3rd, 2005
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