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Mozilla Firefox 3.6 Final Download

2010-01-27T18:13:00.004+07:00

The final development milestone of Firefox 3.6 has been released to web and is currently available for download for users of Windows, Linux and Mac OS X. Earlier this week, Mozilla was considering either January 21st, or January 25th, for the general availability of Firefox 3.6, formerly codenamed Namoroka. The January 21 deadline was decided just a couple of days ago, and today, Mozilla is moving forward with the release of the latest iteration of its open source browser. At this point in time, Firefox 3.6 is in the first stages of the official launch, but make no mistake about it, the final bits for version 3.6 are indeed available for download.

Yesterday, when I was telling you that Firefox 3.6 Final is scheduled to drop on January 21st, 2010, I also promised that Softpedia would do its best to get the bits to you before the official release. Currently Mozilla’s webpage for version 3.6 still notes: “Firefox 3.6 is coming soon!” and adds “We still have a few things left to do before it's ready. Here's a short video to show you what's new. If you can't wait, download a release candidate for a sneak peek!” Of course, the official deadline when downloads are scheduled to go live is Thursday, January 21st at 9:30am Pacific Standard Time.

However, Mozilla has already published the final development milestone of Firefox 3.6 to its FTP servers, and as a result users can already download the release. Firefox 3.6 is designed as a minor update to Firefox 3.5 which was released in the first half of 2009. Version 3.6 was initially planned for availability in November 2009, a deadline which Mozilla missed due to a variety of blockers (severe bugs) which needed to be resolved prior to GA. But now, Firefox 3.6 Final is here.
Mozilla has enumerated a range of improvements marking the evolution from Firefox 3.5 to Firefox 3.6:

“- Made some changes to how we allow third party software to integrate with Firefox in order to prevent crashes.
- The ability to run scripts asynchronously to speed up page load times.
- Users can now change their browser's appearance with a single click, with built in support for Personas.
- Firefox 3.6 will alert users about out of date plugins to keep them safe.
- Open, native video can now be displayed full screen, and supports poster frames.
- Support for the WOFF font format.
- Improved JavaScript performance, overall browser responsiveness and startup time.
- Support for new CSS, DOM and HTML5 web technologies.”

UPDATE: Mozilla has cut access to Firefox 3.6 via FTP, most probably due to the overload on their servers. At the time of this refresh, v3.6 is still only offered officially for download, albeit the release is not just hours away. However, using the links below you will have no problems in downloading Firefox 3.6 Final.

Firefox 3.6 Final for Windows is available for download here. Firefox 3.6 Final for Mac OS X is available for download here. Firefox 3.6 Final for Linux is available for download here.

adopted from http://www.softpedia.com

Kaspersky Says Google Spreads Malware, but Trojan.JS.Redirector.ar Is a False Positive

2010-01-27T18:08:00.002+07:00

Kaspersky products incorrectly blocked access to legitimate websites reporting that ads from Google AdSense were infected with a Trojan horse labeled Trojan.JS.Redirector.ar. Russian-based antivirus maker Kaspersky managed to shoot itself in the foot and deliver a blow to its credibility and legitimacy as a maker of security solution. Again. But while shooting itself in the foot, Kaspersky also hurt its own users and damaged legitimate Internet-based businesses, by falsely alerting customers of its most recent and “top of the line” AV product that Google is spreading malware through AdSense. Again!

Despite the erroneous alerts from Kaspersky Internet Security 2010, Google AdSense is not infecting users with malware, and Trojan.JS.Redirector.ar is a false positive. In fact, customers, including Softpedia users, should disregard alerts from Kaspersky altogether when their very common sense is telling them otherwise. And it’s not just customers running Kaspersky Internet Security 2010 that were affected, but also users of Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2010, Kaspersky Internet Security 2009, Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2009 and Kaspersky Anti-Virus 6.0 for Windows Workstations MP4. Users need to know that Softpedia has taken extensive measure to ensure that its users are protected, and only serves advertising from legitimate sources, such as Google, that have a proven track record of also protecting customers.

They should definitely ignore reports associated with Trojan.JS.Redirector.ar infections in Google AdSense. “On the 25th of January, 2010, some Google web pages can be blocked by your Kaspersky Lab product because of virus detection. In this case the following message appears on the screen: Access denied. The following error was encountered: The requested object is INFECTED with the following viruses: Trojan.JS.Redirector.ar,” Kaspersky Lab stated.

But there are additional false positive alerts to be ignored. “In such cases Kaspersky Lab products may display the message that the requested object is infected with one of the following viruses:
- Backdoor.Win32.Hupigon.jrpd,
- Trojan.Win32.Generic,
- Trojan.Win32.Swisyn.nik,
- Win32.KillFiles.b,
- Win32.StartPage.c,
- Win32.StartPage.d,
- Win32.StartPage.e,
- Win32.StartPage.f,
- Win32.StartPage.g.
- Win32.StartPage.h,
- Win32.Trojan-Downloader.Generic.ac,
- Win32.Trojan-Downloader.Generic.ad,
- Win32.Trojan-Downloader.Generic.ai.
Such detections of the viruses mentioned above on some Google web pages are false alarms,” Kaspersky added.

adopted from http://www.softpedia.com

WM7 Details: 6.x Compatibility, a 2010 Launch

2010-01-21T07:40:00.002+07:00

Microsoft and its yet unannounced / unreleased Windows Mobile 7 operating system are making the rounds once again. The company is expected to unveil the OS flavor officially at the Mobile World Congress next month, and the entire industry has its eyes turned towards the event, mainly to see if the platform brings Microsoft back in the mobile game. We've already seen that there might be two versions of the OS released to the market, and that the handsets to sport them will pack a great deal of raw power, and now there are more details available on the matter.

First of all, we should mention that the latest report from gizmodo says that Windows Mobile 7 is set to make an appearance on the market during the ongoing year, and that the earlier rumors on it being pushed back to 2011 are false. One way or the other, the company will bring the OS to MWC next month, it seems, though there are small chances that it will also unveil an exact release date for the first mobile phones to sport WM7. Late 2010 is the best estimation that can be made for the time being.

At the same time, the news site also says that Windows Mobile 7 will sport compatibility with applications developed for previous flavors of the OS. However, things are not yet clear in this area for the time being. The support will be there, and even if it might not be native support in the end, it should come in the form of an emulator at least (the same as Microsoft did with Windows 7 and that XP mode). It would make better sense for existing apps to see support in the upcoming mobile client, so things might turn well for users after all.

Moreover, it seems that Microsoft might deliver a Windows Mobile SDK sometime in mid-2010, which will also prove useful for developers who want to make their software solutions fully compatible with the upcoming platform. On the other hand, this also shows that WM7 will indeed be different from the 6.x flavors that are already available around the world. And with WMPoweruser stating that WM7 will be based on Windows CE 7, things seem to have been confirmed already.

The upcoming OS flavor is expected to rise the bar when it comes to the capabilities smartphones are to include, as it features support for higher-performance processor, better graphics and more. According to WMPoweruser, Chelan, that new 7 kernel WM7 is based on, has the following features: “Dual Core Support (SMP, ARMv6), Visual Studio 2008 Plug in, WIFI Positioning System, Bluetooth 2.1, Cellcore, DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance), DRM, Media Transfer Protocol, IE7 Rendering Rich Media Plug-Ins, NDIS 6.1 support, UX C ++ XAML API using technologies like Windows Presentation Foundation and Silverlight for attractive and functional user interfaces, Touch Input.”

adopted from http://www.softpedia.com

Ubuntu 10.04 download

2010-01-19T12:52:00.003+07:00

Ubuntu 10.04 LTS Alpha 2

A few minutes ago, the Ubuntu development team unleashed the second alpha version of the upcoming Ubuntu 10.04 LTS (Lucid Lynx) operating system, due for release in late April this year. As usual, we've downloaded a copy of it in order to keep you up-to-date with the latest changes in the Ubuntu 10.04 LTS development.

What's new in Ubuntu 10.04 LTS Alpha 2? Well, the most important feature of Ubuntu 10.04 LTS Alpha 2 is probably the inclusion of the Plymouth graphical boot manager utility from Red Hat, which replaces the old Usplash. The new Nvidia proprietary video driver 190.53 (the old 173.14.22 and 96.43.14 versions are still available and can be installed along with the new one), and Likewise Open version 5.4 are also part of this release.

The Linux kernel packages in Ubuntu 10.04 LTS Alpha 2 have been upgraded to 2.6.32-10.14, based on Linux kernel 2.6.32, and the GNOME desktop environment to version 2.29.4, which brings new features, especially to Nautilus, which now offers twin-panel functionality, called Extra Pane (see the screenshot below for details).

Download Ubuntu 10.04 LTS Alpha 2 (Lucid Lynx) right now from Softpedia

adopted from http://www.softpedia.com

CouponPress - Wordpress Coupon site clone script

2010-01-19T12:31:00.002+07:00

Demo | Download

Retail me or not clone script. CouponPress takes the power, security and flexibility of Wordpress and allows you to run your very own online coupon website! Running your own coupon website is easy with Couponpress, you simply download the theme, install it your Wordpress themes folder and your ready to go! With every download of CouponPress includes loads of easy to customize, changeable templates, professional coupon features and lots of help and support to get you started!

adopted from http://clonestop.com

Creating a Facebook-like Registration Form with jQuery

2010-01-19T12:21:00.003+07:00

DEMO | DOWNLOAD

Facebook is a showcase of great UI design. And as it has become a major part of our lives, it has also raised the bar for web development, pushing developers to meet higher expectations.

This however has a good side – it challenges web developers and designers to better themselves and constantly improve their work.

In this tutorial, we are going to learn from the best, and create a facebook-like sign up form. So go ahead and download the demo files to start learning!

adopted from http://tutorialzine.com

Ubuntu Manual Will Be Available with Ubuntu

2010-01-07T05:25:00.002+07:00

Everyone was waiting for this, so... we are proud to announce that the upcoming release of the popular Ubuntu operating system, due for launch in late April this year, will come with a comprehensive manual! The manual is created as we speak and it will be ready to accompany the final release of Ubuntu 10.04 LTS. The Ubuntu manual will be designed for beginners in Linux and Ubuntu (of course) and it will contain essential how-tos, guides, basic information about Linux and its components, and everything one needs to know after installing Ubuntu.

"As a beginner user once upon a time, I found myself struggling to find useful and easy to understand documentation in an accessible location. The Official Ubuntu Book is great, but it is expensive. The Pocket Guide by Keir Thomas is informative, but doesn't delve into enough detail in some areas, and is now out of date (written for 8.04/8.10). The Community Docs are excellent, but are not structured and do not follow a consistent writing style. The Ubuntu Help pages inside the Operating System are the best option for newcomers, but are often underused and lack screenshots." – the Ubuntu Manual Team said.

The Ubuntu manual is distributed as a PDF file and it will be revised every 6 months. The manual will be well written (it appears that only in English, but no one stops you to translate it), with a professional appearance and very easy to follow, even by the users that just heard about Linux or Ubuntu. And it is created and maintained by the Ubuntu community!

At the moment, Ubuntu 10.04 LTS (Lucid Lynx) is in an alpha state, with just one release out. The second alpha release is expected next Thursday, January 14th.

We remind everyone that Ubuntu 10.04 LTS (Lucid Lynx) will be a quality and stable release. Canonical plans to make Ubuntu 10.04 LTS a bug-free operating system, with lots of quality improvements to the user interface, installation & boot experience and support for the latest hardware components. Another important goal for the Ubuntu 10.04 LTS (Lucid Lynx) release will be to improve the startup speed to about or less than 10 seconds!

The Lucid Lynx will be the 12th release of the Ubuntu operating system, and the third LTS (Long Term Support) release, supported for 5 years on the server and 3 years on the desktop. Ubuntu 10.04 LTS (Lucid Lynx) will ship on April 29th, 2010.

About Ubuntu:

Ubuntu is a Linux distribution for your desktop or server, with a fast and easy install, regular releases, a tight selection of excellent packages installed by default, every other package you can imagine available from the network, and professional technical support from Canonical Ltd and hundreds of other companies around the world.

adopted from http://www.softpedia.com

2009 Browser Market Shares Based on Softpedia Web Traffic Stats

2010-01-02T20:35:00.003+07:00

As 2009 comes to an end, our news editors are busy putting together all sorts of roundups and tops. I was curious to see how the main web browsers fared this year in terms of market share. On Softpedia, of course! We checked our 2009 web traffic analytics info and think the data is pretty interesting, so we’re going to share it with you fellow webmasters or regular readers. As a bonus, we’ve added the top 5 screen resolutions used by Softpedia visitors. Don’t forget to check out the shiny charts!

To kick things off, while the blue slice tells us that Internet Explorer is still in the lead with 44.45%, Firefox has continued its chase and has come dangerously close, at 38.75%.

With the upcoming release of Firefox 3.7 and other browsers nibbling at IE’s share, the 6% distance will probably decrease even more in 2010. The latest Internet Explorer version (IE8) does not seem to pack what’s needed to sway users back, despite Microsoft’s efforts to innovate and also provide a much more standards compliant browser.

However, there’s a new rising star on the web browser market and it’s one we definitely cannot ignore if we look at the share trends over the course of 2009. Google’s Chrome stands at 4.66% overall (3^rd place), but has had an impressive evolution from 2.8% in January to 7.3% in December. This is consistent with recent global market share reports. It simply shames long-time players such as Opera and Safari, considering this is a browser that’s a little over 1 year old. In any case, it’s safe to say that Chrome was able to get a solid following among Softpedians in a relatively short period of time.

Apple’s Safari has also gained some traction, going up from 3.7% to 5.03% towards the end of 2009 (4.43% overall in 2009). What’s very interesting is that these two seem to have taken a bite, albeit a small one, from Firefox and Opera as well, not just Internet Explorer. Over the year, Mozilla’s “champion” has gone 1.01% down from 38.89% in January to 37.88% in December, while Opera’s seemingly negligible setback of 0.18% overall has had dramatic effects: in January it was ranking 3^rd with 4.48%, while the 4.3% share in December sent it to the very last place of the “big league”.

Although essentially an outcast now, Opera has seen a slight comeback towards the end of the year and, in 2010, it might benefit greatly from the upcoming 10.5 release (previews are available already) which has kept the developers busy for quite some time now. It promises various technology improvements such as new Javascript, HTML and graphics engines.

On to display resolution stats. Although the top 5 is dominated by widescreen resolutions, the all time favorite and veteran 1024x768 is still going strong on 1^st place with 31.78%. Laptops are responsible for the 2^nd place (1280x800 with 17.85%) and 4^th place (1440x900 with 8.36%), while the now classic 4:3 17” and 19” desktop monitors bring 1280x1024 to the 3^rd place with 13.83%.

22 and 24 inch 16:10 widescreen monitors have really emerged this year, which is why 1680x1050 is ranked 5^th with 6.60% higher than 800x600, 1152x864 and other resolutions that didn’t make the top 5. This trend will certainly continue during 2010 and we might finally see 1024x768 phasing out.

As a side note, HD displays haven’t taken off yet, so to speak – only 2.21% of the Softpedia visitors cruise the Internet at 1920x1200.

adopted from http://www.softpedia.com

Sabily 9.10 Is Based on Karmic Koala

2009-12-28T18:41:00.002+07:00

Earlier today (December 27), Mehdi Magnon proudly announced the final release of the Sabily 9.10 Linux distribution. Dubbed Gaza, this new release is based on the amazing Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic Koala) operating system and it comes in two main editions: small and full. While the small edition contains basic applications and has 1 GB in size, the full version is 2.8 GB in size and features multimedia, educational, offline Quran recitations and lots of other interesting packages. Sabily 9.10 (Gaza) has new artwork, including the GRUB image and Xsplash, a new structure for the Islamic software and Monajat is now rewritten in the Python language. The following packages were added in Sabily 9.10:

· Noor, a new Quran Browser application;
· Thwab sample books;
· Rejaal: Men around the prophet Mohammed (Peace be upon him). A flash bibliography of 60 Sahabi (available only in the full version);
· Fsool: The Sira of the prophet Mohammed (Peace be upon him) (available only in the full version);
· Arabeyes Qamoos, an Arabic to English dictionary application (available only in the full version).

Complete with customized artwork and a big collection of Muslim-specific software, Sabily (formerly Ubuntu Muslim Edition) is a robust operating system for Muslims all over the world, be they Arabic speakers or not.

Features of Sabily 9.10 (Gaza):

· New Usplash, GDM & GNOME themes, and Islamic wallpapers;
· Zekr, a great Quran study tool that can also play Quran recitations;
· The Thwab encyclopedia software, now with sample books;
· 100% Arabic-translated desktop;
· A large suite of various applications and pre-installed codecs for both entertainment and educational purposes (only on the full version);
· The WebScript frontend to the popular DansGuardian Web Content Filter for easy parental control;
· Two convenient prayer-time applications: Minbar and "Pray Times" Firefox add-on.

Download Sabily 9.10 right now from Softpedia.

adopted from http://www.softpedia.com

sorwit.com -

2009-12-26T09:41:00.000+07:00

sorwit.com -

Softpedia Reviews Apple Magic Mouse

2009-12-25T18:43:00.002+07:00

Better late than never is what they say and, in my case, I’m actually glad I waited for it this long. Getting my hands on the all-new Magic Mouse around the holidays made me feel like I got an early Christmas present, and one that I didn’t even deserve. But, a review is a review. So, here’s why I’ve fallen in love with Apple’s newest addition to the accessory line.

The Magic Mouse ships with every new iMac alongside an Apple Wireless Keyboard. But it’s also sold separately. I haven’t upgraded to the new desktop computer yet - the aluminum 20-incher (2Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo) still performs beautifully for my every day work tasks (including some personal business) - but I had to get my hands on this touch-sensitive peripheral that looked like something from the future. So, we ordered it. And the wait was on... Until one day when the little rodent finally arrived!

I didn’t waste any time going through the written documentation provided with the device, and went ahead with setting it up for use with my iMac. Having already installed Mac OS X 10.6.2 (which provides support for the multi-touch nature of the gadget), I was good to go in seconds.

Note: on Leopard machines, the Wireless Mouse Software Update 1.0 is required for compatibility with the multi-touch functionality.

Besides the incredibly comfortable shape and size of the mouse, the first thing I noticed when I made the switch was a new panel for “Mouse” in System Preferences. Instead of the boring old panel showing a bunch of cursors and lines, the new one had all the parameter-tweaking knobs I needed, plus a video preview showing me what each function did. Talk about “built with the user in mind.”

read complete news on http://www.softpedia.com

Create Login Page Using PHP

2009-12-23T21:13:00.005+07:00

Overview
In this tutorial create 3 files

main_login.php
checklogin.php
login_success.php

Step

Create table "members" in database "test".
Create file main_login.php.
Create file checklogin.php.
Create file login_success.php.
Create file logout.php

Create table "members"

Create file main_login.php

Create file checklogin.php

<?php $host="localhost"; // Host name $username=""; // Mysql username $password=""; // Mysql password $db_name="test"; // Database name $tbl_name="members"; // Table name // Connect to server and select databse. mysql_connect("$host", "$username", "$password")or die("cannot connect"); mysql_select_db("$db_name")or die("cannot select DB"); // username and password sent from form $myusername=$_POST['myusername']; $mypassword=$_POST['mypassword']; // To protect MySQL injection (more detail about MySQL injection) $myusername = stripslashes($myusername); $mypassword = stripslashes($mypassword); $myusername = mysql_real_escape_string($myusername); $mypassword = mysql_real_escape_string($mypassword); $sql="SELECT * FROM $tbl_name WHERE username='$myusername' and password='$mypassword'"; $result=mysql_query($sql); // Mysql_num_row is counting table row $count=mysql_num_rows($result); // If result matched $myusername and $mypassword, table row must be 1 row if($count==1){ // Register $myusername, $mypassword and redirect to file "login_success.php" session_register("myusername"); session_register("mypassword"); header("location:login_success.php"); } else { echo "Wrong Username or Password"; } ?>

Create file login_success.php

Logout.php

For PHP5 User - checklogin.php

<?php ob_start(); $host="localhost"; // Host name $username=""; // Mysql username $password=""; // Mysql password $db_name="test"; // Database name $tbl_name="members"; // Table name // Connect to server and select databse. mysql_connect("$host", "$username", "$password")or die("cannot connect"); mysql_select_db("$db_name")or die("cannot select DB"); // Define $myusername and $mypassword $myusername=$_POST['myusername']; $mypassword=$_POST['mypassword']; // To protect MySQL injection (more detail about MySQL injection) $myusername = stripslashes($myusername); $mypassword = stripslashes($mypassword); $myusername = mysql_real_escape_string($myusername); $mypassword = mysql_real_escape_string($mypassword); $sql="SELECT * FROM $tbl_name WHERE username='$myusername' and password='$mypassword'"; $result=mysql_query($sql); // Mysql_num_row is counting table row $count=mysql_num_rows($result); // If result matched $myusername and $mypassword, table row must be 1 row if($count==1){ // Register $myusername, $mypassword and redirect to file "login_success.php" session_register("myusername"); session_register("mypassword"); header("location:login_success.php"); } else { echo "Wrong Username or Password"; } ob_end_flush(); ?>

Encrypting Password - Make your Login More Secure

Secure File Upload with PHP

2009-12-23T20:34:00.008+07:00

PHP makes uploading files easy. You can upload any type of file to your Web server. But with ease comes danger and you should be careful when allowing file uploads.

In spite of security issues that should be addressed before enabling file uploads, the actual mechanisms to allow this are straight forward. In this tutorial we will consider how to upload files to some directory on your Web server. We will also discuss security issues concerned with the file uploading.

The HTML Form

Before you can use PHP to manage your uploads, you need first construct an HTML form as an interface for a user to upload his file. Have a look at the example below and save this HTML code as index.php.

There are some rules you need to follow when constructing your HTML form. First, make sure that the form uses the POST method. Second, the form needs the following attribute: enctype="multipart/form-data". It specifies which content-type to use when submitting information back to server. Without these requirements, your file upload will not work.

Another thing to notice is the hidden form field named MAX_FILE_SIZE. Some web browsers actually pick up on this field and will not allow the user to upload a file bigger than this number (in bytes). You should set this value to coincide with the maximum upload size that is set in your php.ini file. It is set with the upload_max_filesize directive and the default is 2MB. But it still cannot ensure that your script won't be handed a file of a larger size. The danger is that an attacker will try to send you several large files in one request and fill up the file system in which PHP stores the decoded files. Set the post_max_size directive in your php.ini file to the maximum size that you want (must be greater than upload_max_filesize). The default is 10MB. This directive controls the maximum size of all the POST data allowed in a single request. Also make sure that file_uploads inside your php.ini file is set to On.

At least, have a look at the input tag attribute: type="file". It is used to designate the input element as a file select control. This provides a place for the URI of a file to be typed and a "Browse" button which can be used as an alternative to typing the URI.

After the user enters the URI of a file and clicks the Submit button the copy of the file will be sent to the server and the user will be redirected to upload.php. This PHP file will process the form data.

Processing the Form Data (PHP Code)

When the file was uploaded, PHP created a temporary copy of the file, and built the superglobal $_FILES array containing information about the file. For each file, there are five pieces of data. We had named our upload field 'uploaded_file', so the following data would exist:

$_FILES["uploaded_file"]["name"] the original name of the file uploaded from the user's machine
$_FILES["uploaded_file"]["type"] the MIME type of the uploaded file (if the browser provided the type)
$_FILES["uploaded_file"]["size"] the size of the uploaded file in bytes
$_FILES["uploaded_file"]["tmp_name"] the location in which the file is temporarily stored on the server
$_FILES["uploaded_file"]["error"] an error code resulting from the file upload

The example below accepts an uploaded file and saves it in the upload directory. It allows to upload only JPEG images under 350Kb. The code, itself, is rather clear, but we will give a little explanation. Have a look at the example and save this PHP code as upload.php.

Before you do anything with the uploaded file you need to determine whether a file was really uploaded. After that we check if the uploaded file is JPEG image and its size is less than 350Kb. Next we determine the path to which we want to save this file and check whether there is already a file with such name on the server. When all checks are passed we copy the file to a permanent location using the move_upload_file() function. This function also confirms that the file you're about to process is a legitimate file resulting from a user upload. If the file is uploaded successfully then the corresponding message will appear.

Note: Be sure that PHP has permission to read and write to the directory in which temporary files are saved and the location in which you're trying to copy the file.

This example is rather simple and its propose is to demonstrate you how to upload files using PHP. For example, you can add new conditions and allow to upload GIF and PNG images, or any other kind of files that you want. If you are unfamiliar with PHP this tutorial may be a good place to start.

Download Script

site reference http://www.webcheatsheet.com

Create Online Payment Using Paypall IPN

2009-12-23T20:12:00.005+07:00

There are several PHP scripts and classes to process PayPal payments using their native IPN (Internet payment notification) feature. Because the whole process is based on the data you need to send via a web form to the PayPal payment processor these script look very similar.

The payment / notification process is shown via the following graphic:

Inside the form there are several required values to process a payment. PayPal gives the advice to post them all to get everything working. The following variables get some special attention:

business = your PayPal email address
cmd = single payments or subscription service (_xclick or _xclick-subscriptions)
return = the URL where the buyer get back after the payment is processed
cancel_return = the URL where the buyer get back if he has cancelled the payment
notify_url = the location where your IPN script is located
rm = how you need the data submitted from PayPal to your IPN script (1=get, 2=post)
currency_code = the currency you accept for your payment
lc = the country version of PayPal where your buyer is send to

There are much more variables, but we think that the other variables (product, order and shipment information) speak for themselves. Find a complete form provided with the example files.

To run some IPN enabled payment process we need a small script which will double check if the data which is send to the IPN script is valid according the data which is stored on the PayPal server. This feature is very important if your e-commerce accepts automatic payments.

The following code is able to check if the payment is valid against the PayPal server. Use this test to decide if the payment is valid or not.

$url = 'https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr';
$postdata = '';
foreach($_POST as $i => $v) {
$postdata .= $i.'='.urlencode($v).'&';
}
$postdata .= 'cmd=_notify-validate';

$web = parse_url($url);
if ($web['scheme'] == 'https') {
$web['port'] = 443;
$ssl = 'ssl://';
} else {
$web['port'] = 80;
$ssl = '';
}
$fp = @fsockopen($ssl.$web['host'], $web['port'], $errnum, $errstr, 30);

if (!$fp) {
echo $errnum.': '.$errstr;
} else {
fputs($fp, "POST ".$web['path']." HTTP/1.1\r\n");
fputs($fp, "Host: ".$web['host']."\r\n");
fputs($fp, "Content-type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded\r\n");
fputs($fp, "Content-length: ".strlen($postdata)."\r\n");
fputs($fp, "Connection: close\r\n\r\n");
fputs($fp, $postdata . "\r\n\r\n");

while(!feof($fp)) {
$info[] = @fgets($fp, 1024);
}
fclose($fp);
$info = implode(',', $info);
if (eregi('VERIFIED', $info)) {
// yes valid, f.e. change payment status
} else {
// invalid, log error or something
}
}

As mentioned before there are some complete solutions available on the internet. If your e-copmmerce site doesn’t have a complex product catalog you should use some static code from the PayPal website. For this guide we checked the PHP toolkit provided by PayPal.

Code condition
The first thing I noticed the code is not very clean and is using a coding style which is based on older PHP versions (f.e. for systems using register globals = On)

Implementation
After some code clean-up it was possible to use the included file together with my shopping cart script. Static variables are defined in one central configuration file and dynamic files are posted via the form in your web application.

IPN features
This script is written to handle the IPN validation process with different methods: cURL, fsockopen, and libcURL. I tried only the fsockopen option because this method looks good to me and should work on almost every web platform.

Documentation
There is a “Readme” file with the information about the most important features. A complete guide is not included and the information about subscription payments is missing in all files and documents. If you decide to start with the original files you should check also the comments within the configuration and example files.

Example files
The included files are good enough to jump start your paypal payment application. All files are included for a single buy button and also for processing the payment f.e. for the items from a shopping cart. The bad thing is that the bad coding style makes it not easy to integrate the script into you own application if you’re an PHP beginner.

As mentioned before I included my own example files to this PayPal payment guide. If you have questions about this code please post them to our forum, we’re glad to help. Don’t forget the code is provided as it is and we’re not responsible for the functions and/or risks while using this code. Download the example code here.

site reference http://www.web-development-blog.com

WordPress 2.9, Now with Built-in Image Editor and Delete Undo.

2009-12-20T07:28:00.005+07:00

The latest version of the world most popular self-hosted blogging platform, WordPress 2.9, is now out and available for everyone to download and install. It's been quite a while since the last major update, more than six months actually, and the latest version comes with a few big new features and a bunch of smaller ones as well as updates, bug fixes, the works. The biggest feature is likely the new image editor which allows users to do basic photo editing inside the post editor without having to rely on third-party tools.

I’m here on behalf of the entire WordPress development team and community to announce the immediate availability of WordPress version 2.9 “Carmen” named in honor of magical jazz vocalist Carmen McRae (whom we’ve added to our Last.fm WP release station),” Matt Mullenweg, Automattic founder, the company behind the open-source WordPress platform and the WordPress.com blog hosting service, wrote.

With the new built-in image editor, users can crop, edit, rotate, flip, and scale images until they fit perfectly in the post. Seeing as these are 99 percent of the editing tools any blogger would ever need, the tool is a very welcome addition. It also probably means that you won't need to fire up Photoshop, or maybe Gimp if you're into open source or just too emotionally attached to your money, just to crop out the creepy old dude that keeps popping up in the your artistic shots of the day.

Another new feature which could prove quite useful, even though you wouldn't think you need it until something bad happens, is the new “Global undo/'trash' feature” which basically means that deleted posts don't get obliterated from existence but rather just sent to Purgatory, it's actually called Trash, to make amends.

Batch plugin updates and compatibility checking are a welcomed addition for those with a lot of plugins and an itch to always have the latest and greatest version. The feature comes especially handy when updating WordPress, i.e. right now if you're thinking about upgrading to 2.9, and should make the process a little less painful.

Finally, WordPress uses a little magic to convert most links to videos to actual embed code. The feature works for a bunch of sites like YouTube, Daily Motion, Blip.tv, Flickr, Hulu, Viddler, Qik, Revision3, Scribd, Google Video, Photobucket, PollDaddy, and WordPress.tv and even more are coming. The list of new features doesn't end here but these are the highlights. If you want to know what else is new, you can check out the official post or head over here to see all the 510 bug fixes, updates and new features in WordPress 2.9.

"2.9 has been an exciting development cycle, and I must say it has whetted our appetite for 3.0, which is coming next (probably this spring) and will include at the very least the merge of MU with the WordPress core, and a new default theme," Mullenweg added about upcoming plans.

WordPress 2.9 is available for download here.

adopted from http://www.softpedia.com

50% Cheaper Defragmentation

2009-12-20T07:17:00.003+07:00

Computer savvy users are perfectly aware of the importance of regular defragmenting files on the disk. The benefit of the procedure have a direct effect on overall system performance, reducing read/write times, thus leading to snappier opening of applications as well as faster copying data on the hard disk.

One of the downsides users would complain in the past would be the increased resource usage for the duration of the optimization. Lately, this is no longer the case as the standard in most professional defraggers has been raised and the apps come now with the possibility to perform during computer idle times, sparing the CPU and RAM usage when you work on the computer.

Regularly priced at $15, and designed for home users, Ashampoo released the latest version of Magical Defrag

at Softpedia, which offers an exclusive 50% discount. Exclusive download from Softpedia is available until December 20, but the offer will persist beyond this date.

The main advantage of Ashampoo’s defragger, besides the enhanced algorithm that compares with that of professional software of the same kind, is that it has been developed to run in the background, and work during computer idle times. Once activity is resumed on the computer, the defragmentation process will pause, giving you the full power of the computer resources.

Being shaped up with the average home user in mind, the product can start doing its job unattended out of the box, as the beforehand set up default task covers all fix volumes and is configured to run behind the curtain, when no computer activity is recorded. On the other hand, more experienced users are given the possibility to tweak the triggers of the task, such as restricting defragmentation when CPU, I/O or page file activity is above a certain threshold, or when the laptop (if the case) runs in battery mode, or when printing is undertaken.

Ashampoo Magical Defrag is an easy solution for file fragmentation problems, at a great price on Softpedia. The engine doing all the hard work did an impressive job during our tests managing to maintain file fragmentation well under 1% on all partitions, with no other effort then walking away from the computer from time to time and heading to more pressing chores.

Even if Sunday, December 20 is the last day you can download the application exclusively from Softpedia, the discount will continue in the following days, allowing you to grab it for $7.50 from our website.

adopted from http://www.softpedia.com

Download Firefox 3.6 Beta 5

2009-12-19T17:00:00.002+07:00

The fifth Beta Build of Firefox 3.6, codename Namoroka, is now available for download. Mozilla is referring to the development milestone as revision 5 of the first, and only (at least in the company’s perspective) Beta release of Firefox 3.6. Earlier this month, Softpedia informed you that yet another Beta of Firefox 3.6 was cooking, and that the browser would not evolve directly to the next phase toward the final release. Despite the “revision 5” label, fact is that although the next iteration of Mozilla’s open source browser was supposed to graduate in Release Candidate stage by this point in time, the development process continues to be stuck in Beta, jeopardizing the chances that end users will be able to upgrade to the final version of Firefox 3.6 by the end of 2009.

“This morning the Mozilla community released Firefox 3.6 Beta 5, making it available for free download and issuing an automatic update to all Firefox 3.6 beta users. This update contains over 100 fixes from the last Firefox 3.6 beta, containing many improvements for web developers, Add-on developers, and users. Over 70% of the thousands of Firefox Add-ons have now been upgraded by their authors to be compatible with Firefox 3.6 Beta,” explained Mike Beltzner, director of Firefox at Mozilla.

It is important to note that Firefox 3.6 Beta 5 is still pre-release software, as the Beta tag implies. In this context the release is not ready for widespread adoption by the public. However, in excess of half a million early adopters were running the Beta Builds of Firefox 3.6 as of November 2009.

“The Beta of Firefox 3.6 / Gecko 1.9.2 introduces several new features for users to evaluate: support for the HTML5 File API; a change to how third-party software integrates with Firefox to increase stability; the ability to run scripts asynchronously to speed up page load times; users can now change their browser’s appearance with a single click, with built in support for Personas; Firefox 3.6 will alert users about out of date plugins to keep them safe; open, native video can now be displayed full screen, and supports poster frames; support for the WOFF font format; improved JavaScript performance, overall browser responsiveness and startup time; and support for new CSS, DOM and HTML5 web technologies,” Beltzner added.

Testers that are already running Firefox 3.6 Beta 4, or earlier releases of the browser, will be served automatic upgrades to the latest development milestone in the coming days. At the same time, early adopters are free to grab the standalone downloads available below.

Firefox 3.6 Beta 5 (Beta revision 5) for Windows is available for download here.

Firefox 3.6 Beta 5 (Beta revision 5) for Mac OS X is available for download here
adopted from http://www.softpedia.com

Softpedia Discounts and Giveaways 2009 Campaign Up and Running

2009-12-16T07:23:00.002+07:00

This holiday season, Softpedia is looking to bring a little more Christmas spirit into your life, and we’re going to use software discounts and giveaways as a way to do just that. Today, December 14, is the first day of the Softpedia Discounts and Giveaways 2009 Campaign. Some of you have undoubtedly stumbled upon the banner at the top of the website next to the Softpedia logo. If not, simply refresh an opened Softpedia page a few times and you'll see it.

Of course, there’s even a simpler way to access the special offerings we have in store for you this holiday season – just click this link. For this holiday season, Softpedia has teamed up with some of the most renowned software publishers to bring you these exclusive deals. What you will be able to see is daily special deals designed to delight you, while leaving you with more money in your pockets for additional holiday shopping. 'Tis the season, after all.

You should check out the December 14 giveaways as soon as you can. Today, you are able to download East-Tec Eraser 2009 (from East Technologies) and Platinum Guard (from Reohix) completely free. Some of you, especially those that have been keeping a close eye on Softpedia, already know that we have partnered with software developers such as Ashampoo in order to offer our users free products. The East-Tec Eraser 2009 and Platinum Guard giveaways are the latest additions to this list.

But mark my words, you will need to keep your eyes glued to Softpedia. Additional special offerings and giveaways will be unveiled in the days to come. And no, I’m not going to tell you what products we'll offer in collaboration with our partners, but trust me, they're coming.

In addition to today's giveaways, Softpedia is also bringing you TuneUp Utilities 2010 (from TuneUp Software GmbH) at a 25% discount. On top of this, East-Tec Eraser 2010 (EAST Technologies) can be bought with 30% off, while Fresh RAM (from Reohix) features a price reduction of no less than 75%.

In the coming days throughout December 31, 2009, Softpedia will offer visitors additional discounts and giveaways. More special offerings for this holiday season come from Lavasoft, Copernic, Returnil and many others. There will also be a deal with Ashampoo’s latest product, exclusively on Softpedia by the end of this week.

adopted http://www.softpedia.com

Apple Countersues Nokia, Period

2009-12-14T08:19:00.002+07:00

The company responsible for the Mac operating system has issued one of its rare press releases (a strategy, which seems to generate copious amounts of respect from the Apple fan base), saying that it has responded to a lawsuit brought against it by Nokia a while ago by filing (what else?) a countersuit.

It goes without mentioning that we’re better off simply reporting this stuff, instead of making an analysis asking ourselves who’s right and who’s wrong (generally, both parties are... both right and wrong). But we can’t, in good faith, limit ourselves to that.

“Responding to a lawsuit brought against the company by Nokia, Apple today filed a countersuit claiming that Nokia is infringing 13 Apple patents,” reads Apple’s newest press release. In usual manner, the iPhone maker cites someone big for more credibility (not that Apple is lying).

“Other companies must compete with us by inventing their own technologies, not just by stealing ours,” said Bruce Sewell, Apple’s General Counsel and senior vice president.

Right. So, Apple is calling Nokia a thief. When a company like Apple tells a company like Nokia “Hey, you stole from us” right after Nokia told Apple “You stole from us,” how bad does that insult our intelligence, we ask you?

Please take the time to understand that we too like Apple for its business model, the products it creates, its famous presentations and events, and, most of all, its CEO, Mr. Steve Jobs (just look at all the Psystar-won’t-win brainstorming we did). It’s just irritating to see such a short press release saying “Not so fast there, Nokia!” which ends with the company’s standard reminder that it has “ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh.” We know that! We want to know what the deal is with you and Nokia more recently!

Why is it BusinessWeek’s job to explain that “Nokia, the world's largest phone maker, sued Apple in October claiming infringement of 10 patents and seeking back royalties on the 33.7 million iPhones sold since the device's introduction in 2007. Espoo, Finland-based Nokia had said that all Apple iPhone models use Nokia's technology for wireless data, speech coding, security and encryption?”

What happened to good ol’ Apple disclosing all the handy details for the entire world to see the situation is a bit more complicated than one would think? For a person learning for the first time that the two companies are in a fight, it sure sounds like Nokia is the bad guy. But why was Nokia the first to sue, then?

Leaving our frustration aside, Nokia spokesman Mark Durrant reportedly said the counterclaim doesn't change the "fundamentals" of the original patent infringement suit... so, that’s comforting (this is still BusinessWeek info, by the way). According to the report in question, Durrant stated in a telephone interview, "We will need time to study it before we make any direct comment. But it changes nothing in the fundamentals of the original filing made by Nokia in Delaware."

Just to be perfectly clear, we can grasp that the particularities of the countersuit cannot be disclosed (or at least some of them), but Apple, try to be more transparent! This press release is pure ignorance!
adopted from http://www.softpedia.com

Ubuntu 10.04 LTS Alpha 1 Has Linux Kernel 2.6.32

2009-12-11T13:24:00.003+07:00

While every Ubuntu fan still discovers the powers of the Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic Koala) operating system, somewhere deep in the Ubuntu headquarters the Canonical developers are working very hard to bring us all the new stuff that happens in the Linux world today. Therefore we proudly announce that the first Alpha version of the upcoming Ubuntu 10.04 LTS (Lucid Lynx) operating system has been released. As usual, we've downloaded a copy of it in order to keep you up-to-date with the latest changes in the Ubuntu 10.04 LTS development.

What's new in Ubuntu 10.04 LTS Alpha 1? Well, first of all we would like to remind everyone that the release schedule for Ubuntu has been changed to 3 Alphas, 2 Betas and a Release Candidate. Ubuntu 10.04 LTS is the third LTS (Long Term Support) release, which will be supported for 3 years on the Desktop and 5 years on the Server. Second of all, HAL has been completely removed, which makes Ubuntu boot and resume faster than ever!

Ubuntu 10.04 LTS Alpha 1 is now powered by the freshly cooked Linux kernel 2.6.32 and it uses the GNOME desktop environment 2.29.3, which brings lots of improvements and new features. Other than that, there are now only five games left in the distribution, including AisleRiot Solitare, Gnometris, Mahjongg, Mines and Sudoku.

to read more and download klik here

Google Chrome 4.0 Beta for Linux Arrives

2009-12-09T18:42:00.001+07:00

Just in time for holidays, the wonderful developers at Google announced a few minutes ago that the Chrome browser for Linux is finally in a beta state and has been added on the official Chrome website for download! The actual version is Google Chrome 4.0.249.30 and it comes with binary packages for Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora and openSUSE operating systems. Both 32-bit and 64-bit architectures are supported at this time, as well as a preinstalled repository (at least on the Ubuntu platform) for easy updates.

Just like the popular Windows version, Google Chrome Beta for Linux is extremely fast, stable, extensible and last but not least, very secure! Did we forgot to mention that it has support for HTML5? Yes, that's right... it has! Moreover, the new Google Chrome will work very well on both GNOME and KDE desktop environments.

Linux Softpedia on Google Chrome 4 Beta - Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic Koala) 64-bit

You can grab the new beta version of Google Chrome for the aforementioned Linux systems by accessing the download page at the end of the article or by going to its official website. Whichever method you choose, please remember that you need to uninstall any existing package of the Google Chrome web browser before installing this new version.

Google Chrome is a revolutionary web browser that makes surfing the Internet more efficient and ergonomic by placing modules on each new opened tab. Instead of showing a blank page, Google Chrome offers you eight thumbnails, displaying the most visited websites, a history search bar and even the last ten closed tabs. Another breathtaking feature of Google Chrome is its amazing speed, from the moment you open it until it is closed.

The Google Chrome interface is simple and clean, allowing websites to benefit from the increased screen space. The tab bar is placed on top of the multi-functional main address bar. Why multi-functional? Because you can not only direct Chrome to a certain address, but also perform history or Internet searches.

Download Google Chrome 4.0.249.30 Beta right now from Softpedia.

adopted from http://www.softpedia.com

Firefox 3.6 Beta 5 Coming Right Up

2009-12-08T05:34:00.002+07:00

Mozilla is getting ready to release a new development milestone of Firefox 3.6. And it appears that the upcoming testing build won’t graduate the next version of the open source browser to Release Candidate stage. According to Mozilla, a new Beta release, the fifth one, is currently cooking and being readied for availability. Although the company hasn’t said anything officially, it is already offering testers a taste of Firefox 3.6 Beta 5 via its FTP servers, although, at the time of this article, the development milestone was not yet ready for public release.

As of the end of last week, testers have been able to grab a Candidate of Firefox 3.6 Beta 5. Labeled Firefox 3.6b5-candidates build1, the bits are nothing more than a nightly release. Still, the signal Mozilla is sending is that the fully-fledged Firefox 3.6 Beta 5 isn’t that far off in the distance. On December 1st, 2009, Mozilla noted “Firefox 3.6 Beta - 500,000 active daily users (though only 50% are on the latest beta [namely Beta 4]). Need to get to 650,000 to be able to map stability data onto the general population.”

It is important to note that at the start of this month Mozilla was planning to offer Firefox 3.6 RC by the end of the past week. Obviously, this wasn’t the case, and at this point in the development of version 3.6 of Firefox, show-stopping bugs are solely responsible for delaying the Release Candidate. “Firefox 3.6 Release Candidate - there are 18 code blockers remaining - goal is to get to RC build this week,” Mozilla stated on December 1st.

Another Beta and the further delay of RC can jeopardize the initially set launch date for Firefox 3.5’s successor. Last time it talked about the release, Mozilla emphasized that it was still pushing to have Firefox 3.6 delivered by the end of 2009. However, considering the necessity to attract another hundred thousand testers, as well as to deal with any remaining blockers, a more realist release deadline for version 3.6 is in 2010. Mozilla has yet to confirm officially that Firefox 3.6 has slipped into early 2010.

Firefox 3.6 Beta 4 for Windows is available for download here.
Firefox 3.6 Beta 4 for Mac OS X is available for download here.
Firefox 3.6 Beta 4 for Linux is available for download here.

adopted from http://www.softpedia.com

Rapidshare Auto Downloader 3.8

2009-12-07T06:58:00.004+07:00

Download

This application is written for downloading a group of links from Rapidshare.com as a Free user. It cannot remove the limitations of Rapidshare.com for free users; however, you do not need to do the clicking and waiting anymore What is new in version 3.8.2 :

Deleting incomplete downloaded files
Adding support for rapidshare.net links
Adding language support for : Arabic,Bulgarian,Catalan,Croatian,Czech,Danish,Deutsch,Dutch, Farsi,Finnish,French,Greek,Hebrew,Hindi,Hungarian,Indonesian,Italian,Lithuanian,Macedonian, Polish,Portuguese,Romanian,Russian,Serbian,simplified Chinese,Spanish,Traditional Chinese,Turkish,Ukrainian

from http://www.yahoofun.net

Windows 8 Coming into Focus in 2010

2009-12-06T14:23:00.003+07:00

Windows 7 was released to manufacturing on July 22nd, 2009, along with Windows Server 2008 R2, and both platforms made it to customers by October 22nd, 2009, with the client flavor of the OS being the last to reach the general availability stage. Undoubtedly, for the latest iterations of the client and server operating systems, the Redmond company will produce the first service pack come next year. There might even be a third service pack for Windows Vista, although Microsoft is keeping all details under a hermetically shut lid. But one thing is certain, as 2010 rolls in, Microsoft will shift its focus to Windows 8, the next generation of Windows.

Users are bound not to come across publicly shared details on Windows 8 from Microsoft for quite some time. Going out on a limb, I would say that the software giant will start unveiling the first Win8 information through official channels no sooner than the end of 2010, or even in 2011. After all, Jon DeVaan, senior vice president, Windows Core Operating System Division, and Steven Sinofsky, president, Windows and Windows Live Division, kicked off the Windows 7 engineering conversation with the public in August 2008, a year and a half after Vista’s GA in January 2007.

Make no mistake about it, Sinofsky continues to helm the Windows project, and Windows 8 is bound to follow in the footsteps of its predecessor, Windows 7. Certainly, Sinofsky will not want to change what proved to be a winning strategy, considering the indications of Windows 7’s early commercial success, with strong sales, outpacing Vista’s by more than double.

In some way, the software giant is already offering Windows 8 tidbits to the public, albeit, all details available are insufficient to contour the company’s plans and strategy for the next iteration of Windows. As Windows 7’s successor starts coming into focus, Microsoft is looking for additional people to join the planning and development efforts behind the Windows project. In this regard, the company has published a variety of Windows 8 related job posts, which have been “harvested” by a variety of Microsoft watchers, including MSFTKitchen.

Microsoft has the Windows 8 job for you

One of the most interesting Windows 8 roles Microsoft is looking to fill is that of Sr. Manager, Partner Skills Development – Launch Lead, in the Worldwide Partner Group (WPG), Small Medium Solutions and Partners (SMS&P) Division for Microsoft Business.

“Do you want to help ready the entire partner ecosystem on all the new Microsoft products and solutions? The Partner Skills Development Team is looking for a senior thought leader and skilled project/product manager to ensure the health of the partner ecosystem through the strategic evolution skills development framework (and its execution) for upcoming Microsoft product launches. For example, in Fy10, the focus will be on Windows Server R2, SQL Server R2, and Wave 14 (Office 2010, SharePoint 2010, and Exchange 2010) and, as we head into Fy11, the focus will quickly switch to Windows 8. In this role you will lead the execution of partner skills development BOMs – by partner type for the entire partner ecosystem – on a WW basis. This role with interact with and influence individuals from across Microsoft, including individuals within the Worldwide Partner Group, Microsoft Learning, SMSGR, the product groups (BGs), Operations, and partner segment teams with SMSG,” Microsoft reveals.

Then there’s the Software Engineering: Program Management job for the Windows Division.

“Are you ready to get closer to Microsoft’s best customers and biggest partners while staying in a highly technical role? The new Ecosystem Fundamentals team in Windows is hiring a Senior PM to work closely with OEMs driving continued increases in performance and reliability while providing tools, testing, training and telemetry. The successful candidate for this critical role will ride the Windows 7 wave of success to enabling continued improvements into the ecosystem. This work includes Windows 8 planning, OEM tool and kit ownership, performance testing and analysis focused on improving the hardware/software ecosystem while working closely with OEMs, ODMs, ISVs, and IHVs in order to strengthen Windows partnerships. Now is the time to move into a great role centered in the Windows group and focused on customer satisfaction improvements based on solid engineering,” according to the company.

“The Windows Fundamentals Reliability, Security and Privacy (ReSP) team will improve the quality of Windows 8 by driving the trustworthy computing pillars of reliability, security and privacy in the Windows operating system. We analyze reliability data from hundreds of millions of machines, making data-driven decisions to improve the ecosystem-meaning Windows itself, other Microsoft products, and our partners such as the OEMs, ODMs, chip makers, ISVs and IHVs. We will extend this to measuring the security and privacy of the ecosystem as well. We believe Windows will transparently recover from failures and will drive scenarios to enable this. We broadly own implementing the SDL process inside Windows, and will extend the SDL concepts to reliability, and possibly other Fundamentals. We have strong technology ownership in support of this mission, including advanced detection, control and reporting components such as the client-side portions of Windows Error Reporting (WER), Software Quality Metrics (SQM), Reliability Analysis Component (RAC), and prevention and recovery technologies such as the WinRE, restart manager, fault-tolerant heap, process reflection, RADAR leak detection, and network hang recovery. We will continue to build on our world-class auto-analysis and expert debugging infrastructure which processes millions of user and kernel mode failures, as well as expanding on tools and test infrastructures such as Longhaul testing, and a Fuzz testing lab infrastructure and expertise for testing protocols across Windows,” Microsoft notes in a job post for the position of Software Engineering: Test in the Windows Division.

A job in Software Engineering: Development for Server & Tools Business deals with Windows 8 Server: “Windows Server is the top-selling server operating system and is growing share in a growing market. Central to the success of Windows Server is the experience of IT Professionals managing Windows Server. For our next release, we are taking that experience to the next level by helping to make IT Professionals more effective and more productive by shipping a product they will love to use.We work closely with UX and a passionate PM & Test team to deliver world-beating user experiences for managing Windows Servers. For Windows 8 Server, we are planning, architecting and building a new UX framework around themes that are key to the success of the entire Server product line.”

“The Application Experience Bug Investigation Team, AEBit, is looking for passionate SDETs that want to make an impact on Windows 8. On the AEBit team you will get the unique opportunity to challenge and grow your debugging skills on issues that span the entire OS. You will have the opportunity to engage with software vendors, OEMs, as well as internal component teams. You will also be applying and enhancing your knowledge of system internals. As part of the AEBit team you will be responsible for driving and ensuring compatibility in Windows by engaging with component teams, root causing application bugs, and authoring mitigations. If you are a strong SDET looking for a challenge we would like to hear from you,” an excerpt from a Software Engineering: Test job with the Windows Division reads.

Microsoft is also looking to develop new IIS features for Windows 8. From the job post for a Program Management position with the Server & Tools Business: “IIS team is looking for an experienced PM to join our core platform team. Your role will span across driving key features into Windows 8 as well as owning several out-of-band modules, including web analytics that will bring business intelligence for the customers that host applications and contents on IIS. Your work will help differentiate IIS and Smooth Streaming from Apache and Flash. You should also be ready to work in a fast-paced environment and have a strong desire for quality, security, and performance. Your feature will be used by millions of customers.”

Of course, Windows 8 and Windows Live will continue to be joined at the hip, as Microsoft brings the Windows client closer to the Cloud. “The Windows Live Mail team is looking for a seasoned Lead Program Manager to drive our next generation Mail client, and manage five stellar PMs. Our client has over 40M users world-wide, and serves as a key component of our Windows Live 'light up Windows' strategy. Our current release is centered on hot new consumer features & better synergies with Hotmail & Windows 7, and our future releases will likely be tightly designed to work best with new Windows 8 platform technologies. We will also work closely with the Outlook team on ways to bring Windows Live to Outlook. Mail is part of the WL Desktop Communications team, which also includes Messenger. Our team values user-centered design, technical and engineering excellence, and attention to detail.”

“The TAG team provides the foundation services and infrastructure to support a unified test and dev workflow. This team’s charter includes – developing and running a unified test submission and execution system for Windows 8, Automating Test pass scheduling & execution, results analysis & automated triage, Windows code coverage services, Developing and running the eBVT quality gate, supporting WinSE’s Windows 7 sustained engineering test needs. This is an exciting time to join the Test Automation and Gates team and lead the next wave of foundation services and infrastructure to ensure delivery of a high quality product. With openings across the team, there’s sure to be the perfect opportunity suited to your specific passion and enthusiasm,” Microsoft mentions in a job for the Windows TAG team.

The Redmond company is additionally looking for a software engineer to influence and contribute to Windows 8 serviceability. “The WinSE UX test team needs a strong SDET to develop new test automation, write robust test plans, designing test cases, debug reported issues across Windows Shell and related UX, help establish sound test engineering processes, and influence and contribute to the serviceability of Windows 8. As an SDET on this team, you’ll design, implement, and execute various types of test automation, including functional, integration and release tests. You will also have several opportunities to write test tools, and work on security bugs, and will be interacting with PM and Dev counterparts in a dev/test/pm trio, and various partner teams. In this team, you will have an opportunity to ship important updates for Windows to solve critical reliability, performance and security issues via the Windows Update mechanism. This position requires strong communication and collaboration skills, and a drive for results. Overall, this position is best suited for a strong SDET looking for an opportunity to showcase your skills and innovate.”

Windows 8 in the making

There’s one aspect that is already set in stone, so to speak, when it comes down to Windows 8, one that not even Microsoft can, or will dispute, for that matter. Windows 8 Server will be a major release of the Windows Server operating system, as opposed to Windows 7 Server, which ended up as a Release 2, namely Windows Server 2008 R2. Microsoft has argued that Windows 7 is indeed a major version of the Windows client, despite having Vista at its foundation, and 6.1 versioning specific of the evolutionary, rather than revolutionary development model chosen.

The intimate connection between Windows client and server releases, following Vista SP1 and Windows Server 2008 RTM/SP1, continued with Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2, and is bound to survive with the building of Windows 8 and Windows 8 Server. But, in this context, it remains to be seen whether Windows 8 Server will drag Windows 8 along with it, and make it a new, undisputable, major version of the client, one that Microsoft won’t have to defend.

adopted from http://www.softpedia.com

Public DNS Service from Google Raises New Concerns

2009-12-06T08:45:00.002+07:00

It's not exactly a surprise that Google wants to be involved with everything that has to do with the Internet, even marginally, and so far it's been building towards this goal. From the front end, the web browser and now even a dedicated operating system, to the very basics of Internet communications, the HTTP protocol, Google has its hands on everything. Now it's taking it one step further by launching its own DNS service, Google Public DNS, which it says can be faster and safer than the ones provided by the ISPs or the other DNS providers.

The vast majority of users aren't even aware what DNS (Domain Name System) is, not to mention why they would want to switch to Google's offering. In a simplified view, DNS translates domain names like www.google.com into IP addresses which is what computers and networking hardware use to identify themselves in a network environment. Regular, everyday web browsing involved hundreds, even thousands of DNS lookups, but these are handled by the ISPs, most of which provide their own DNS services, so the process is invisible to the user.

“The average Internet user ends up performing hundreds of DNS lookups each day, and some complex pages require multiple DNS lookups before they start loading. This can slow down the browsing experience. Our research has shown that speed matters to Internet users, so over the past several months our engineers have been working to make improvements to our public DNS resolver to make users' web-surfing experiences faster, safer and more reliable,” Prem Ramaswami, product manager, explains Google's motivation behind the project.

But if your ISP already provides the service, why is there a need for a Google one and why should you use it? Google lists several reasons why it believes its service is superior to the ones provided by ISPs and even other open providers. The first one is speed, Google says that it has implemented a number of methods to make things faster and that, even though DNS lookups are just a small portion of the time a site needs to load, it can add up to a lot of wasted time.

The other big reason to switch providers, Google says, is security. Though rare, DNS servers are vulnerable to a number of attacks which could poison the cache in turn sending users to potentially malicious sites instead of the site they wanted to visit. Google claims it has taken several measures to ensure that its service is safer.

Finally, Google claims its service will always provide its users with accurate results and “never blocks, filters, or redirects users, unlike some open resolvers and ISPs.” This last reason may be the most important but also the most controversial. Some ISPs or DNS providers engage in the shady business or redirecting a misspelled domain name to a landing page filled with ads and perhaps some sort of search. Of course, some go even further and redirect even valid domain names or block them altogether, but these cases are a lot rarer.

However, Google's latest venture isn't without its opponents especially as more and more voices are starting to question Google's increasing power. The main argument is that, even though the company claims the best intentions, it would be naïve to think that its intentions are purely philanthropic, there is a lot of money to be made from a DNS service. A commercial version would be an option, though this sounds a bit unlikely. But, even if it won't redirect users to its search engine or something similar, it could still benefit from all the usage data it's bound to gather. Google has come out with a very detailed description of what data it stores and for how long, but there are still those who believe that it would be hard for a company, with the kind of power Google controls at the moment, not to be tempted to abuse it, or at the very least, use for its advantage.

adopted form http://www.softpedia.com

Tell Apple What You Want in Mac OS X 10.6.3

2009-12-05T15:20:00.003+07:00

Without a doubt, Apple is already prepping to send out the first alpha builds of Mac OS X 10.6.3 to its testers (if it hasn’t done so already). Remember, the first incremental update to Mac OS X 10.6 came just two weeks after Snow Leopard had been released to the public. The second, Mac OS X 10.6.2, arrived two months later, on November 9th.

If Apple decides to greet us with Mac OS X 10.6.3 before December 25th, we really should make a wish list so that the Cupertino version of Santa can make all its fans happy. Whether you want a few fixes here and there, or new features altogether, be sure to write your wishes in the comments. When we decide we have just enough requests to get Apple’s attention, we’ll post a new article with your thoughts. And here’s a word of advice: be straightforward! Apple likes things neat and clean.

Now, we know what some of you computer-savvy users out there are going to say: Apple mostly provides fixes and security patches with its incremental updates to Mac OS X. That’s true, but we figured the holiday spirit would get the best of the Mac maker. And if the update doesn't arrive by Christmas, it will arrive sometime afterwards. There's no chance Apple will stop Snow Leopard development at Mac OS X 10.6.2.

Perhaps you want something removed, or just out of the way as you start up your Mac. Perhaps you want something new added, like a new way to boot into Mac OS X. How about a new utility app, joining the rest of the programs Apple has thrown in with Mac OS X Snow Leopard (Activity Monitor, AirPort Utility, AppleScript Editor, etc.)? Anything new will most likely delight you, as a fan of the operating system, and surely you have a few suggestions to make, so let’s not waste any more time. Go ahead, tell Apple what you want in the next incremental update to Snow Leopard!

adopted from http://www.softpedia.com

New Bing Maps Beta Brings Superb Evolution

2009-12-03T19:03:00.004+07:00

A cocktail of Microsoft technologies is the catalyst for what the company has called the first big refresh of the technology behind Bing Maps in years. By mixing together not just the mapping, search and location platform, but also Photosynth, Silverlight and Seadragon, along with additional technologies from Live Labs, Microsoft Research, and even third-parties, Microsoft has given birth to Bing Maps Beta, which brings to the table a superb evolution compared to the pain vanilla Bing Maps.

Both flavors of Bing Maps continue to be accessible side by side. The old Bing Maps AJAX site is still in place, but simply adding an “explore” to the end of its URL will take users into a completely overhauled experience, the new version of Bing Maps. The Beta version of Bing Maps is built entirely in Silverlight, Microsoft’s alternative to Adobe Flash, and kicks up a notch the level of user experience offering such features as Streetside, Enhanced Bird’s Eye, the Application Gallery, integrated 1-click directions, multiple searches, etc. This is all possible only through the concert of Microsoft technologies working in synchrony.

“We’re in a unique position at Microsoft,” noted Stefan Weitz, Bing director. “Our talent in Microsoft Research, Microsoft Live Labs and our core engineering teams really combine to be more than the sum of their parts to deliver experiences that better map to what people are doing. It’s about measuring success in the real world — not just asking the user ‘Did you find the link you were looking for?’ but rather ‘Did you accomplish what you were trying to do?’”

There are five major aspects of the Bing Maps Beta evolution. The first users are bound to notice is the intimate integration between Silverlight and Bing Maps. In this regard, the Beta version of the company’s mapping platform offers users a new, enhanced, navigation model as well as a clearly superior experience. The Seadragon Deep Zoom UX is now an integral part of Bing Maps, truly serving its purpose in a Cloud app where zooming actions are at the very basis of the UX. But the evolution has also introduced smoother transitions that make it a pleasure to jump from one location on the map to another.

Silverlight also made possible Streetside. “Perhaps you’re familiar with our initial release of Streetside photography in a technology preview of Live Search Maps which launched over 2.5 years ago - now, that’s going old school. With the enhancements of Silverlight 3 we’re able to take advantage of the 3D aspects included within the platform and truly immerse users into the site,” revealed Chris Pendleton, the Bing Maps technical evangelist for Microsoft.

With Streetside now integrated into Bing Maps Beta, users will be able to get down to street level and explore neighborhoods in major cities around the world as if they were walking the streets. According to the Redmond company, Microsoft has harvested street-level imagery for approximately 100 U.S. cities, but it promised that more coverage will be added in the future.

“Enhanced Bird’s Eye – Ah, our lovely Bird’s Eye photography. There’s just something about viewing an area from the sky using the four cardinal directions. Now, this is not your grandpa’s Bird’s Eye, oh no. We had to up the ante with Silverlight 3, so there are different experiences based on whether you’re in an urban or non-urban area for Enhanced Bird’s Eye – after all, it is “enhanced”,” Pendleton added.

Microsoft is also continuing to stress that Bing Maps is much more than just a Cloud-based application, and that it is in fact a platform. This is why the new Beta release features its very own Application Gallery. “Bing Maps is now offering an application gallery for “mapplications” mashed into our consumer site. Now, to be clear we have the Bing Maps Platform for adding Bing Maps to your applications (or mashups). This is a little different – we’ve added a catalogue of applications for you to simplify your search and bookmark your favorite applications that have been built within Bing Maps,” Pendleton explained.

And of course, then, there’s the close integration of Photosynth. Microsoft has for quite some time melted the Photosynth project into the Bing Maps team, and it was clear that the technology allowing users to build 3D spaces, or synths, out of 2D imagery, would at some point support new ways for end users to explore content on Bing Maps. “If you’ve built a synth on Photosynth.com and geo-annotated it (the little globe icon) your synth gets indexed into Bing Maps. To view a synth on Bing Maps, open the app in the Application Gallery then explore where synths are available,” Pendleton promised.

adopted from http://www.softpedia.com

AT&T Launches 1GHz-Powered LG Expo

2009-12-03T10:39:00.001+07:00

Wireless carrier AT&T announced on Monday the upcoming launch of LG eXpo, the first handset that arrives in the United States with a 1GHz processor on board. Starting with December 7, AT&T enterprise customers will be able to purchase the new handset from the company's website, while enjoying its High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) 7.2 Mbps technology support, through which any user will benefit from considerable speed capabilities.

At the same time, the new LG eXpo comes to the US market with support for an integrated pico projector. Placed on the back of the phone, the LG Mobile Projector enables users share presentations, as well as slideshows or videos, all directly from the handset. The LG Mobile Projector comes with a compact design, and can project images eight feet away.

“LG eXpo adds to our growing portfolio of smartphones that operate on the latest upgrade to our 3G network and offer customers a great choice,” said Michael Woodward, vice president, Mobile Phone Portfolio, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. “As we move to HSPA 7.2 technology, it is crucial to provide our customers innovative and future-proof smartphones.”

The new LG eXpo comes to the market running under Microsoft's Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional operating system, delivering popular features and apps to users, including Microsoft Office Mobile. Moreover, users will be able to stay connected at all times with the email and calendar features of the deliver, while also having the possibility to display Web pages, documents, photos and videos while on the go with the phone’s projection capabilities.

The HSPA 7.2 technology included with the new mobile phone will power AT&T's network starting with this year. The company aims at making enhancements to its network in 2009 in markets like Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, and Miami, and will deliver HSPA 7.2 in almost all of the country's largest markets by the end of 2010. At the same time, the carrier also aims at upgrading about 90 percent of its network to about HSPA 7.2 by the end of 2011.

The specifications list of the new handset includes a 1GHz processor, a 3.2-inch touchscreen display with support for 16 million colors, a full QWERTY keyboard, a 5.0-megapixel photo snapper with auto flash, aGPS, and a microSD memory card slot with support for up to 16GB of additional storage space. AT&T's enterprice customers will have the possibility to purchase the new handset starting with December 7, for a price tag of $199.99 after mail-in rebate, with a two-year contract agreement on a minimum $69.99 plan. The LG Mobile Projector is expected to be priced at $179.99.

adopted from http://www.softpedia.com

Apple Commences Final Testing Phase of iPhone 4

2009-12-02T05:00:00.002+07:00

The creator of an iPhone navigation app has been tipped off on the existence of Apple’s fourth iPhone model. Pandav tells MacRumors that it has spotted usage records for the next-generation iPhone thanks to PinchMedia records. PinchMedia is an analytics firm that provides just that for Pandav and its iBart application. This allows the developer to see which apps are running on which devices.

Pandav reports seeing the magical iPhone 3,1 hardware ID showing up in logs, a reference previously spotted and identified as being the next-generation iPhone model or, as some have speculated, Apple’s forthcoming tablet device. However, it makes sense to pinpoint iPhone 3,1 as a revision to the current iPhone model.

The device is said to have been spotted as early as March 2009, about the time Apple was also testing iPhone OS 3.0. The device now appears to be in live testing over the Internet, which falls in line with Apple’s final phases of testing before mass-producing a product like the iPhone or iPod touch. Some, however, believe there is more waiting to be done than just a couple of months. And if the iPhone 3GS is any indication, identified late last year as iPhone 2,1, the new iPhone 2010 model will be quite the major update.

In what is perhaps the last piece of the puzzle regarding Apple’s latest efforts, the company has put up a job posting for an iPhone Software Engineer. The posting specifically states that Apple is looking to upgrade the interface and underlying code for the iPhone OS built-in Maps software. “We want to take Maps to the next level, rethink how users use Maps and change the way people find things,” the description reads. “We want to do this in a seamless, highly interactive and enjoyable way. We've only just started,” Apple adds.

Navigation is sure to be an iTablet-specific feature as well, so Apple may be looking to also carry out tests in this area, should it be working on such a device.

adopted from http://www.softpedia.com

First Signs of Life Possibly Discovered on Mars Meteorite

2009-11-30T20:19:00.003+07:00

A few years ago, a large controversy was set in motion in the international scientific community about the possible existence of fossilized life forms in a Martian meteorite that crash-landed in Antarctica. The piece of rock, known as ALH 84001, was then believed by some to contain certain proof that life existed on the Red Planet sometime in the past. Skeptics were naturally less than willing to accept that, and proposed that cross-contamination may have been responsible for the discovery. Just recently, results of a new set of analysis have demonstrated that a non-biological explanation for how the structures formed is unfeasible and impossible.

This of course means that only a biological explanation for the formation of the worm-like structures can be possible. The meteorite arrived on our planet more than 13,000 years ago, after floating through space for more than 16 million years. When it was originally studied, in 1996, the meteorite hinted that it may contain biological samples, but critics dismissed this claim, saying that a non-biological explanation could be found to explain them. In the recent investigation, a team of experts at the NASA Johnson Space Center, led by Chief Scientist for Astrobiology David S. McKay, looked at the rock again, using technology that was not available to science 13 years ago, Times Online reports.

McKay was the author of the 1996 paper postulating the existence of life on Mars. The paper appeared in the August 16, 1996 issue of the top journal Science. “This is very strong evidence of life on Mars. We feel vindicated. We’ve shown the alternate explanation is absolutely incorrect, leading us back to our original position that these structures are formed by bacteria on Mars,” McKay says. The team used a technique known as high-resolution electron microscopy in order to study the physical and chemical make-up of the rock sample. They discovered no plausible geological scenario to pinpoint at a different kind of origin for the small fossils. The biological theory is therefore back on the table.

“Until now I was on the fence but this paper has really thrown out the non-biological explanation,” says University of Nevada astrobiologist Dennis Bazylinski, who was a member of the peer panel that reviewed the Johnson team's new work. He believes, however, that a single find is not enough to prove for certain that bacterial-like life existed, or still exists, on the Red Planet. “One meteorite is never going to answer such a complex question,” argues Bazylinski. Details of McKay's work will be published in the November issue of the scientific journal Geochimica et Cosmochimica Act.

Nakhla and Yamato 593 are two other Martian rocks, which are also under investigation by the Johnson team. The complete analysis results will be published shortly, but the team says that these rocks contain signs of microbial life too, which must have come from the Red Planet. If the find is confirmed, then we may be at the dawn of a new age. In 1997, when the original work was published, even then-President Bill Clinton made a public announcement.

The find “speaks of the possibility of life. If this discovery is confirmed, it will surely be one of the most stunning insights into our Universe that science has ever uncovered. Its implications are as far-reaching and awe-inspiring as can be imagined,” he said at the time.

adopted from http://www.softpedia.com

New iMacs Arrive Cracked or Downright Dead, Customers Claim

2009-11-26T08:56:00.003+07:00

Complaints are surfacing that either Apple, FedEx or someone else isn’t handling new iMac shipments properly, with the devices showing up DOA (dead on arrival) or with cracked screens. As always, frustrated customers have turned to the Apple Discussions forums to seek advice or simply to express their grief as they wait for their replacement computers.

Engadget sounds the alarm on Core i7 iMacs showing up DOA after going through the aforementioned forum posts, citing the same issues with their own new iMac (i7). It doesn’t seem to be a manufacturing issue, according to the web site, but rather something going wrong during shipment. Let's look at a couple of relevant Apple Discussions forum posts.

Claiming that his new iMac had arrived DOA, poster justgotamac says: “Hey apple [sic]. Just want to says thanks. I've spent endless dollars on your products over the years. I order a [sic] iMac i7 and wait like everybody else for "ships:november". I was scared I might have screen flickering like others but thanks to you, upon unboxing, I actually see nothing because this $2k paperweight doesn't even turn on. Thanks for the great product. It's the last one I'll ever buy from you. Customer lost.”

Another forum poster, aaydogan, claims his computer was broken out-of-the-box. “Just picked up my i& 27" from FedEx two hours ago,” he writes. “Outer box, inner box and all packing were in excellent shape. When I finally unwrapped everything I discovered the lower left hand corner of the glass was cracked in three places. I think has a packaging problem. My old 30" cinema displays arrived with great packaging. This was very disappointing. We'll [see] what the Appled [sic] store (five blocks away) can do. Probably not much since they don't have these machines in stock,” the disappointed customer concludes.

How about you, dear readers? Anyone here having trouble with their new iMacs?

adopted from http://www.softpedia.com

Windows 7 RTM - Enable the Quick Launch Bar

2009-11-25T08:44:00.003+07:00

There’s no disputing over the fact that Windows 7 brings a consistent overhaul of the graphical user interface that has become synonymous with the Windows operating system. One critical aspect of the Windows 7 GUI redesign is the revamping of the Taskbar, which is now affectionately referred to in some circles as the Superbar. Microsoft aimed to deliver a more user-friendly design, less crowded, less redundant. In this regard, the Superbar comes with an evolved mechanism to deal with pinned items and opened programs, new functionality such as Thumbnail Previews and JumpList, with an upgraded Notifications Area, and without Quick Launch.

Now in all fairness, the Superbar has inherited all the functionality of the Quick Launch area. In this sense, users can now pin program icons right to the Taskbar, essentially making Quick Launch useless. However, there will always be users that enjoy a tad of redundancy. Especially for these types of customers, Microsoft has documented the steps necessary to bring back Quick Launch for the Windows 7 Taskbar.

Customers must understand that the disappearance of the Quick launch area from Windows 7 is default behavior and a part of the Windows GUI evolution. As far as I’m
Windows 7 Quick Launch
concerned, customers should first off all give the Superbar a chance, as they will notice they have no reasons at all to miss Quick Launch. But if the new Windows 7 Taskbar simply doesn’t cut it for them, then they will be able to bring back Quick Launch even in Windows 7 RTM, following the steps outlined below, courtesy of Microsoft.

“1. Right-click an empty area of the taskbar, point to Toolbars, and then click New toolbar.
2. In the dialog box, copy and then paste the following folder name to the Folder box, and then click Select Folder: %AppData%\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch
3. Now you see the Quick Launch bar with the text on the rightside of the task bar. To hide the Quick Launch text and program titles, right-click Quick Launch, clear Show Text and Show title.
4. Drag the Quick Launch bar to the leftside of the task bar. If you cannot move the Quick Launch bar, right-click the taskbar again, and make sure that the Lock the taskbar option is cleared .
5. If you prefer big icons in the Quick Launch bar, right-click an empty area of the Quick Launch bar, point to View, and then click Large Icons.
6. To add a program in the Quick Launch bar, drag the desired icon to the Quick Launch bar.”

adopted from http://www.softpedia.com

Fedora 12 Officially Released

2009-11-24T11:15:00.004+07:00

After Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic Koala), Mandriva Linux 2010.0 and openSUSE 11.2, the time has come for Fedora fans to grab the final release of the Fedora 12 (Constantine) operating system, announced a few minutes ago by the Fedora Project developers.

Fedora 12 is powered by Linux kernel 2.6.31, and it includes the KDE 4.3 and GNOME 2.28 desktop environments. Just like Mandriva, the Fedora developers introduced support for Moblin, as well as improved power management and webcam support, audio/video codec support and many more!

GNOME Shell is also available for testing, in the default software repository, and it will offer a preview of how GNOME 3 will look like!

Fedora 12 GNOME Live desktop

Highlights of Fedora 12:

· Linux Kernel 2.6.31.5;
· Dracut, the new booting system;
· Plymouth graphical boot splash;
· KDE 4.3.2;
· GNOME 2.28.0;
· New artwork;
· Empathy Instant Messenger;
· Moblin support;
· Better webcam support;
· Spanning desktop support;
· Improved HD video codecs;
· Network Manager mobile broadband for GSM networks;
· EXT4 is the default filesystem;
· x86 optimized for the Intel Atom processors (compiled for i686);
· RPM XZ compression;
· Guest virtual machines for KVM;
· Automatic bug reporting tool (ABRT);
· New NetworkManager with better IPv6 and Mobile Broadband support;
· Improved power management support;
· Support for Intel BIOS-RAID;
· Better support for Intel hardware;
· Clustered Samba support;
· Improved PulseAudio;
· Improved PackageKit;
· Improved KVM virtualization;
· Fedora Studio;
· BSoD (Bluetooth Service On Demand);
· NFS4;
· NetBeans 6.7;
· Ogg Theora 1.1.0;
· PolicyKit 1.0;
· Improved SystemTap.

Fedora 12 KDE4 Boot Splash

There are many other interesting features in Fedora 12, so make sure you check out the official announcement for Fedora 12.

Download Fedora 12 DVD right now from Softpedia.

Download Fedora 12 GNOME Live CD right now from Softpedia.

Download Fedora 12 KDE4 Live CD right now from Softpedia.

adopted from http://www.softpedia.com

Download Opera 10.10 Final with Opera Unite

2009-11-24T08:58:00.001+07:00

Today, November 23rd, Opera Software is making a decisive first step toward delivering on a promise from earlier this year which involved reinventing the web. Users are now able to download the latest iteration of the Opera browser, and take advantage of the evolution from version 10.0. The start of this week is synonymous with the general availability of Opera 10.10 designed to include the Opera Unite platform.

What make version 10.10 stand out from the crowd of browsers is the fact that the application bundles not only the Opera browser, but also server capabilities via Opera Unite. In this sense, users will be able to use nothing more than Opera 10.10 with Opera Unite in order to stream music and media content, but also share files, photos, documents, all right from the browser.

"We promised Opera Unite would reinvent the Web," noted Jon von Tetzchner, CEO, Opera. "What we are really doing is reinventing how we as consumers interact with the Web. By giving our devices the ability to serve content, we become equal citizens on the Web. In an age where we have ceded control of our personal data to third-parties, Opera Unite gives us the freedom to choose how we will share the data that belongs to us."

According to the Norway-based browser maker, the purpose of Opera 10.10 with Opera Unite is to cut out the middle man when it comes down to sharing content via the Internet. Users no longer need, at least in theory, third-party instant messaging, social networking websites, photo sharing websites, etc. because version 10.10 offers similar functionality right at browser-level.

Users that will download and start enjoying Opera 10.10 with Opera Unite will notice that there are a range of default applications that ship with the bits. It is via the Opera Unite components that customers will be able to share multi-GB of photos from the get go, stream music to not just other computers, but also mobile phones and game consoles.

Opera Web Browser 10.10 Build 1893 Final with Opera Unite is available for download here.

adopted from http://www.softpedia.com

BlackBerry Pearl 9100 in Live Images

2009-11-22T14:06:00.007+07:00

Canadian mobile phone maker Research In Motion seems to be ramping up for the launch of yet another sequel on the market, in the form of BlackBerry Pearl 9100, which follows the already popular BlackBerry Pearl 81xx Series smartphones. The upcoming handset, which is still unofficial, has just emerged in a series of live images, and one should agree that it has the looks.

The new mobile phone is reportedly coming to the market with 3G capabilities, and sports the codename of Striker. According to the guys over at crackberry, it looks like a narrowed down BlackBerry Bold 9700, yet one might notice from the available images that it comes with a SureType design and not with the full QWERTY keyboard as the Bold 2.

The specifications currently available on the BlackBerry Pearl 9100 are rather minimal, yet it seems that users will be able to enjoy a newly-designed battery, which should be a very good thing. The guys over at salomondrin also have a series of images with the new device available, and they call this beaty Blackberry Stratus (9100).

The photo snapper that will be included with the upcoming BlackBerry Pearl 9100 is said to come with LED flash, and, as one might have expected already, the phone is also said to include an optical trackpad instead of a trackball. BlackBerry Pearl 9100 sports and overall glossy look, and should prove a quite appealing handset as soon as it arrives on the market, based on the now available photos with it.

Unfortunately, it seems that the exact details on when RIM might announce the availability of the new Pearl lack at the moment, yet it might not be too long before the phone makes an official appearance. However, until more solid info on this matter emerge, along with additional specifications and other images, one might want to take a look at the video below to make an idea on the BlackBerry Pearl 9100.

adopted from http://ww.softpedia.com

Download Opera Mobile 10 beta for Windows Mobile

2009-11-21T10:34:00.002+07:00

Norwegian software company Opera announced today the launch of Opera Mobile 10 beta for Windows Mobile phones. The new version of the Windows Mobile browser comes towards users with a desktop-like experience, and enables them to search, socialize and stay connected even when on the go.

According to the company, the new Opera Mobile 10 beta for Windows Mobile-based handsets features the same look as the desktop variant of the Opera browser, and also resembles the Opera Mini 5 beta. The company aims at creating an advanced cohesion between its products and is introducing the same look over a wider range of platforms. However, the browser will come with the same powerful features users are already accustomed with, including Speed Dial, tabbed browsing, a password manager and its super, server-side compressor, Opera Turbo.

“We are unifying our products, so that users get the same experience, no matter the device or which particular Opera browser they are using,” said Jon von Tetzchner, CEO, Opera Software. “With Opera Mobile 10, we are raising the expectations of how a a mobile browser should perform. Today, users require a browser as powerful as the Web, one that can handle their daily tasks as well as their computers. That’s Opera.”

There are a nice range of features users can enjoy with the new browser version, including the new interface Opera Mobile 10 beta for Windows Mobile it comes around with, the Speed Dial for favorite sites, tabbed browsing, the password manager, support for both touchscreen and keyboard navigation, save images options, reduced cost through the use of Opera Turbo, advanced compatibility options, and smooth surfing.

The best part of the deal is that the new Opera Mobile 10 beta can be enjoyed by any Windows Mobile phone user out there for free. Those who would like to learn additional details on the new version of Opera Mobile for Microsoft's mobile operating system should take a look at the video below. The mobile browser is available for download from Softpedia too, via this link, and can be also retrieved directly on Windows Mobile phone from here.

adopted from http://www.softpedia.com

Nokia N900 Now Available in the US

2009-11-21T10:26:00.004+07:00

Nokia N900, the Maemo 5-based high-end device from the Finnish mobile phone maker, has finally been released on the US market. The company announced today that the gadget already started to ship to those who place orders for it in advance, and that the Linux-based Maemo platform present on it would offer users a wide range of connectivity options.

“Consumers from every segment of the population are looking for more out of their mobile device - more power, more ability, more connectivity. The Nokia N900 ushers in a new era with a very powerful mobile computer,” said Alessandro Lamanna, Vice President, Retail Sales, Nokia. “With an open source operating system, incorporated technology like an OMAP processor, and real time web widgets, the Nokia N900 delivers the experience of a pocketable computer that has the information you're looking for right there waiting for you thanks to the ability to be connected just about anywhere.”

The new handset comes to the shelves with 32GB of storage, access to 3G data networks, connectivity to mail, favorite websites, social communities, images, music, multitasking capabilities, and more. The Nokia N900 proves to be a powerful computer in the palm of the user's hand, delivering a great experience regardless of the applications running or the multimedia features one would like to enjoy.

The Nokia N900 has an open source platform, offering simple ways to build applications for the device, including podcasting, Twitter and instant messaging solutions. In addition, it sports a web browser based on Mozilla technology, which comes with support for Adobe Flash 9.4 and for gestures, for a more enhanced experience.

Other features of the handset include a 3.5-inch touchscreen, a side-sliding full QWERTY keyboard, the possibility to personalize a number of four screens, as to take great pictures using its 5-megapixel photo snapper with dual LED flash. Available in a black finish, the new Nokia N900 can be purchased from the company's Flagship stores in New York and Chicago priced at USD 649, can be found listed for purchase on Nokia's website, as well as via various retailers in the country.

adopted from http://www.softpedia.com

HTC Sense Arrives on HTC Magic

2009-11-21T10:11:00.003+07:00

Taiwanese handset vendor HTC announced a while ago that it planned on bringing the HTC Sense solution on all of its Android-based devices, as well as on the Windows Mobile-powered ones, and now we learn that the company has just released the technology for HTC Magic. The update comes in the form of ROM Version: 3.03.990.6 and should enable Magic users benefit from a leverage experience on their devices, that's for sure.

Here's what HTC says in the “improved functions” section on the software's download page: “This ROM Upgrade for your HTC Magic will let you experience HTC Sense on your phone. HTC Sense lets you create a phone just right for you. You can customize your experience to be any way you like. Discover intuitive experiences that make everything you do on your phone effortless and delightful.”

As many of you might already know, HTC Sense, which first debuted on HTC Hero several months ago, is HTC's approach towards the mobile phone experience its users will receive. Sense comes as a “people centric” solution, as it puts users in the center of the communication process. The technology, HTC says, is based on three principles, Make it Mine, Stay Close, and Discover the Unexpected.

The new ROM can be used for update by those who own a Windows-based computer, and it supports the Windows XP and Windows Vista versions of Microsoft's platform. Users will need to firstly install HTC Sync (which has been also updated not too long ago), connect the phone to the PC, disable the standby and hibernation modes on the computer, “make sure that the battery level of the phone is at least 30%,” and only then launch the process and follow the instructions on the screen.

“There are two steps for the RUU,” HTC notes.
- First step will upgrade three programs (At the end of this step the screen will show “Boot-Fail” about 5 seconds, and this is the normal scenario, please let the Magic keep running to second step.)
- Second Step will continue updating 5 programs, and it will spend around 10 minutes for the whole upgrade process, please be patient for the upgrade.

HTC also warns users that this is only a generic update for the Magic and that any settings delivered by carriers will be lost. One should also note that the upgrade will erase all data on the phone and users need to make sure that all the files on the handset have been backed up before proceeding with the upgrade, so as not to lose important information. The update should take only 10 minutes, yet the process needs not be interrupted.

The download page for the new ROM Version: 3.03.990.6 for HTC Magic is available here.

adopted from http://www.softpedia.com

Move Over Microsoft, Google Chrome OS Is Here

2009-11-21T09:50:00.005+07:00

Google has just unveiled its hugely anticipated, web-based operating system, Google Chrome OS. As expected, Google hasn't actually launched the operating system, but it has released the source code in its current state for developers to have a chance to start working on it. From now on, the code will remain open for third-party developers to build and modify. Google wants the actual operating system and the accompanying hardware to be ready for launch in time for the holiday season next year.

As Google stated when it first revealed that it was working on its very own OS, Chrome OS will be completely web-based. There will be no native apps for it, even the tools that will be built by Google and bundled with the OS will be web apps. In a simplified view, Chrome OS is just a specialized version of its browser Chrome running on top of an optimized Linux kernel.

There have been a number of modifications done to Chrome in order to make it function as a full-blown operating system. One of the things Google has introduced consists of persistent application tabs, which will always be available to the user and are fully customizable. Apps can also be run in a "panel" that is a persistent light-weight window, which sits on top of the browser designed for apps like instant messengers. One example of use is a notepad tool that comes with the operating system and that saves the files in the cloud.

One very interesting aspect of the new OS is that, in fact, all of the user files and also data like settings and personalizations will be synced back to the cloud. This way, users can log into a Chrome OS machine with their accounts and get their own desktop, applications and customizations just like using their own machines.

One of the biggest questions that popped up when Google announced the OS was how it intended to handle all of the various hardware peripherals available. Now, Google has announced that most common types of hardware will be supported. All input devices will have built-in support and Chrome OS will also handle storage devices like cameras or SD cards. When a storage device is plugged into the machine a list of the files and directories on the device will be available in a new tab in Chrome. Users will then be able to view common media files like photos, music files or videos either in a new tab, in the case of photos, or in a panel window for videos. Printer support is also coming, but Google said it would have more details on that at a later date.

The focus for now is to get the OS ready for launch next year and netbooks are the only target devices at the time. Google will work closely with hardware manufacturers and all the products that will ship with Chrome OS next year will be certified by the company. However, the devices aren't exactly the netbooks we have today, Google wants them to have larger screens and a full-sized keyboard. Another interesting requirement is that all devices will be required to have only SSD drives. The focus for now is to get the product on the market and other form-factors may be supported, but after 2010.

adopted from http://www.softpedia.com

Intel Wants Exaflops and Supercomputers 1,000 Times Better than Today

2009-11-20T17:12:00.003+07:00

Intel must really be trying to prove its supremacy in computing, because, lately, it has been starting more and more ventures bent on building unparalleled supercomputers. After the very recent announcement that it had teamed up with NEC for the same supercomputing-advancement purpose, the Santa Clara-based enterprise now moves into Europe, specifically France, where it will set the basis for the exaflop.

Currently, the world leading supercomputer is an AMD-powered Cray XT5 conglomerate dubbed Jaguar. At its peak, the most it can produce is something around 1.75 teraflops. Although beyond anything achieved before, Intel wants to completely humble the configuration (and, naturally, Advanced Micro Devices) by creating a monster, aptly named hyper computer, capable of at least an exaflop (1,000,000,000,000,000,000 of floating point operations per second).

Many zeros, indeed. Intel plans to put together the embodiment of this fantasy through the Exascale Computing Research Center. The center will be part of the Intel Labs organization in Europe and will focus on integrating multiple petaflop-capable systems into one, developing advanced computing-optimization methods. The center will also work with end users on how to employ these methods for better results in energy, seismology, computational fluid dynamics and health care.

"France has taken a leading role in driving high-performance computing research in Europe. We chose to work with these three organizations because of their world-class software competency in exascale and high-performance computing," Steve Pawlowski, Intel senior fellow and general manager of Intel architecture group's central architecture and planning, said.

The three French partners are Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique, Grand Equipement National de Calcul Intensif and Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines. As the first joint lab in Europe focused solely on high-performance computing (HPC), in exchange for aiding in the establishment of the center and in the research, the world-leading CPU developer will contribute its own expertise and a multi-million-Euro, 3-year sum investment, which the three partners are expected to match.

This arrangement will complement Intel's other supercomputing ventures, such as the Intel Academic Community Program and the European Space Agency's "Mapping the Globe from Space" project. If built, the new supercomputers will be able to solve complicated medical calculations involving genomes and cellular activity, aiding in finding a cure for cancer, for instance.

The laboratory will initially employ a dozen members, but it is expected to grow to thrice that number.

adopted from http://www.softpedia.com

Google Chrome OS vs. Windows, and So It Begins

2009-11-20T16:57:00.005+07:00

Inevitable, the advent of a new operating system has to be branded with certain coordinates that position the platform in relation to the ubiquitous Windows OS from Microsoft. Google Chrome OS has in this manner joined the club of non-Windows operating systems, and don’t think for a minute that this does not apply to Microsoft’s itself. The Redmond company is also cooking non-Windows platforms (Singularity and Midori), and time will come when the software giant will have to go against itself on the OS market. However, which such a scenario is most probably reserved for the next decade, the Google Chrome OS has become tangible.

Almost tangible, because the actual bits for the Google Chrome OS aren’t yet available for download. Instead, what the Mountain View-based search giant did was release the source code associated with the Chromium OS project. Users and developers, familiar with the way that the Google Chrome browser is built, already know that it too has a Chromium underlining project. And in fact, the similarities between the Chrome browser and the Chrome OS doesn’t stop at this.

“We released Chromium OS, the open source project behind Google Chrome OS. Google Chrome OS is an operating system that is intended for people who spend most of their time on the web. It aims to provide a computing experience that is fast, simple and secure. The Chromium OS project as you'll see it today is comprised of the code that has been developed thus far, our early experiments with the user interface, and detailed design docs for many parts that are under active development,” said Kan Liu, product manager.

Don’t expect to start running Google Chrome OS on your computer anytime soon. According to Caesar Sengupta, group product manager and Matt Papakipos, engineering director, the actual bits for the operating system won’t be delivered for approximately a year. It will be only ahead of the 2010 holiday season that the first machines equipped with Google Chrome OS will hit store shelves.

Moreover, there will be additional impediments preventing end users from embracing Google Chrome OS. In this regard, the Mountain View-based search giant explained that its own breed of open source OS would be intimately connected with a specific hardware reference. What this means is that the platform will not run on legacy hardware. Computers capable of playing nice with Chrome OS will have to be powered by x86 or ARM CPUs while sporting SSDs. In addition, don’t think for a moment that you’ll be able to install your favorite Windows-based game and start playing, because this will not be the case.

“First, it's all about the web. All apps are web apps. The entire experience takes place within the browser and there are no conventional desktop applications. This means users do not have to deal with installing, managing and updating programs,” Papakipos added. “Second, because all apps live within the browser, there are significant benefits to security. Unlike traditional operating systems, Chrome OS doesn't trust the applications you run. Each app is contained within a security sandbox making it harder for malware and viruses to infect your computer. Furthermore, Chrome OS barely trusts itself. Every time you restart your computer the operating system verifies the integrity of its code. If your system has been compromised, it is designed to fix itself with a reboot.”

adopted from http://www.softpedia.com

Building own forum with phpbb3

2009-11-16T21:18:00.009+07:00

if we look now, many new forums popping on the internet. we imagine for a moment how to make the forum quickly and contains many menus, it seems very difficult. but it was not as difficult as imagined. we can create a forum for the community or our own institutions to easily and quickly, may not reach the half-hour. many CMS forum is offered to us of them is phpbb.

phpBB is an Internet forum package written in PHP programming language. The name "phpBB" is an abbreviation of PHP Bulletin Board and is available in the GNU General Public License that is distributed as freeware.
Without much talking, we are right to the point of this article will discussed.here,i will give an example phpbb3 installation in localhost. the reason is, much easier and require loading time is relatively small compared. online installation devices required :

Here we are a web server using xampp, the software can u download here
phpbb3 can be downloaded here

if you've installed the xampp next is the installation process.

installation steps:

Put phpbb3 installer in the directory c:\xampp\htdoc (if using windows operating system). if you use linux put in /opt/lampp/htdoc

Create database with mysql accordance with the phpbb folder name. type http://localhost/phpmyadmin in your web browser. for example type like this :

Access your directory via a web browser such example http://localhost/phpbb
Then, follow the installation instruction until at database configuration. enter like image below :

follow the instruction until the installation finish.

How to Make Yahoo Online Indicator

2009-11-12T19:00:00.020+07:00

Criteria of good sites are the sites that provide online support facility to help visitors when facing difficulties. the Internet has provided a lot of yahoo online indicator. but if you want to create a display indicator use other images, for example using our images then it should be done is as follows:

Create images for indicators online. (usually synonymous with online indicators bright colors) so you can creat them with adobe photoshop or another image editor, such as the image below:
The second step we prepare the images offline indicator (identical with dark colors or as a term that is not active so identified with dark or grayscale picture).
Upload images online and offline to image hosting. here exemplified imageshack.us upload, store the image url has been Uploaded.
Then open the site. http://osi.techno-st.net:8000. will appear like the following view:

enter our ym id, url pictures online and offline that have been Uploaded. then click Get HTML code, and has obtained the HTML code, copy and paste into your website. result of generated script like the example below :

  <a href="ymsgr:sendIM?alexz_faza"> </a>
Done.

Another example Yahoo Messenger indicator provided below :

Facebook Clone Site

2009-11-12T06:50:00.001+07:00

Lately a lot of sites popping up cloning site of popular big sites. one of them are the facebook site clone . there are some facebook sites clone that I know and provide source script to be downloaded , like supreme, kootali. while those of the website and can not be downloaded as:
soendastreet.com, facebookclonescript.com. facebook clone script that can be downloaded requires an official license from the provider. whereas if you want to get for free, many site has been providing it. in this paper will review facebookclonescript.com site.
The image above is a screenshot of the site. when viewed from index pageviews looks much like the original. but if further understood, there is a part of facebook disguised writing of the letter F and B. like the picture that was given a red line. Writing became ook ace. Social networking sites are very potential and very profitable for the internet business. why these days many sites popping up that resembles the famous sites.

to try and if you want to register please visit the site here