New beta of Yahoo Messenger for Vista adds voice and SMS

As promised over three weeks ago, Yahoo has rolled out a new beta version of its instant messenger client aimed at Vista users. Built from the ground up specifically for Microsoft's latest operating system, the client uses Vista-only features and Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) to recreate the Yahoo Messenger experience in a beautiful and functional user interface.

The new beta (version 1.2.0.1029) focuses on voice-features: free PC-to-PC calls, low-cost PC-to-phone calls, phone-to-PC calls for those that have a Phone-In number, and free SMS (short message service) from the PC to mobile phones. Also added are "voice visualizations", which use WPF 3D features to animate callers' voices during phone conversations. Yahoo! Mail alerts, which have been requested for a long time now, have finally been implemented.

There are also improvements to overall speed and stability, but users still need to remember that this a beta release. The team is asking for feedback on this version, either from the web or from the many feedback buttons in the actual program. New features that are being worked on are as follows: support for video chatting, the addition of chat rooms, archiving, and photo sharing.

Yahoo Messenger for Windows Vista has been in development for quite some time. Soon after the release of Vista, Yahoo showed off the first application that would run only on Windows XP's successor. On December 5, 2007, Yahoo! announced the first beta release, which sported new features such as transparent windows, tabbed chatting, the ability to transfer files of up to 2GB, and a matching Windows Sidebar gadget. Development has been slow to the point where users questioned whether the project may have been scrapped, but the new beta seems to have been worth the wait (at least, according to this Windows Live Messenger user).

Form : http://arstechnica.com/

Microsoft: Don't kill our old friend XP

It's just two months until Microsoft plans to pull the plug on Windows XP — arguably its best operating system to date.

At present, Microsoft finds itself in an unenviable position — its customers want to continue buying and using Windows XP, while its stockholders demand it makes those customers upgrade to Vista.

In an attempt to please both camps, Microsoft has created a licensing loophole — it sells its customers Vista but allows them to continue using XP using so called "downgrade rights".

Because of this, HP and Dell both plan to supply PCs loaded with XP well past the June 2008 deadline set for XP's execution. Essentially, they will be selling XP machines with a prepaid upgrade to Vista included — if and when the customer chooses to do so.

All that pre-release bragging about how well Vista was going to be received didn't convince anyone. Microsoft may even have known Vista was going to be a flop — and a loss in the lawsuit alleging it lied about what constituted Vista-capable hardware could prove it.

Microsoft has a history of delaying the death knell of its operating systems. Back in 2004, Windows 98 required constant rebooting, security wasn't even an afterthought and the dreaded blue screen of death was an everyday occurrence and yet, people still refused to swap it for XP and Redmond decided to keep the superannuated OS on life support for a while longer.

It took another 18 months before Microsoft finally killed off Windows 98.

Back to 2008 and XP is stable and relatively secure. This time, it looks like Microsoft is going to have a much bigger fight on its hands getting customers to forget an old OS.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer recently said that the US$500 million (that's $500,000,000) already spent on marketing Vista wasn't enough and more cash was needed to generate "excitement" around the operating system.

This week another Microsoft executive claimed that people simply have a bad perception of Vista. He said that Vista is brilliant and if only people went out and bought it, they would love it.

All these pronouncements are signs that Microsoft is desperate to try and turn around sales so it does not have to further delay the death of XP.

From speaking to local CIOs, more than a year after its launch and even after the release of SP1, Vista is still far from being a priority.

Over the years, I can't remember how many times Microsoft has claimed it listens to customer feedback and responds.

I think the ears may be a little waxy. Let me sum it up for you Microsoft: even though you are making your customers pay for Vista they are still using XP. That alone should tell you what you need to know.

Extend the life of XP until your customers are ready to upgrade. That day will come. One day.

Form : http://www.zdnet.com.au/

Windows XP SP3... coming April 29th? May 2nd? We just don't know.

Windows XP Service Pack 3: April 29th May 2nd TBA

While plenty of us are already downloading from the Windows Update server with the RTM version of Windows XP SP3 update, it's now unknown when it will be officially released to the public through the Web.

Windows XP SP3 is now delayed as an official release date is still to be announced.

Just if someone's been under a rock for the whole time, the delay is just because of a glitch with compatibility with Microsoft Dynamics Retail Management System. So download SP3 to your heart's delight (if you don't use RMS) from Windows Update if you want (find that yourself).

Form : http://www.geekzone.co.nz/

iTunes Movies To Come Out Same Day As DVD Release

CUPERTINO, Calif. -- Apple Inc. said Thursday that new movies from a slate of major studios will now be available for purchase over iTunes the same day they're released on DVD.The change will beef up the number of new titles available in the iTunes online store and help the service compete better against DVD retailers.Until this week, many of the movies available for purchase over iTunes were older releases.
Newer releases have been available for rental through iTunes, but users typically have to wait 30 days after the DVD release to get their hands on those films, and the titles disappear from their libraries once they're finished watching.Apple's announcement Thursday did not include any change to the rental policies.The push by the Cupertino-based company to get people to order movies over iTunes reflects its success with the store and its desire to control more of the user's digital entertainment experience.Key to that campaign are the Apple TV set-top boxes, which Apple hopes will cement the company more in consumers' living rooms by streaming videos and other content from users' computers to their television sets.Apple said the new releases available this week for purchase over iTunes to coincide with their DVD release include "American Gangster" and "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly."Other new titles Apple has added to the store include "Juno," "Cloverfield," "I Am Legend," and "There Will Be Blood."The participating major studios are 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, The Walt Disney Studios, Warner Bros. and Universal Studios Home Entertainment.New releases cost $14.99 to buy. Older titles cost $9.99.

Apple Lays Off 174

Apple Inc. is eliminating 174 sales and support jobs at its Elk Grove facility and transferring the work to a site in Austin, Texas.In a letter to state officials, Apple says the laid off workers will be given opportunities to relocate or apply for another Apple job in Elk Grove.Apple employs more than 1,100 workers in Elk Grove.Elk Grove is located about 10 miles south of Sacramento.

Form : http://www.nbc11.com/

Intel Opens Software Marketplace for Small Businesses

Intel has set up an online store called Business Exchange that's meant to help small and medium-sized business find software applications that runs on the chip maker's hardware.

Unveiled Thursday, Intel's Business Exchange zeroes in on four main product categories: security, storage, telecommunications and business applications. Within each of these categories, users can find information on various products, user-generated feedback and request a quote from vendors, as well as leave their own feedback for others.

The site includes offerings from a range of software companies, such as Microsoft, Salesforce.com, Symantec and Tripwire, among others, and will compete against IBM's Global Applications Marketplace, a similar site also announced Thursday that opens for business later this year.

Business Exchange includes a link to Intel's Software Exchange, an online shop where users can purchase boxed software.

Form : www.pcworld.com

Films to hit iTunes with releases on DVDs

Apple said Thursday it has deals with Hollywood studios to make
popular films available for its iPods and iPhones via its iTunes online
store as soon as the movies are released on DVDs.

Films available
in the United States from iTunes this week due to the deals include
Academy Award winners "Juno" and "There Will Be Blood."

"We're
thrilled to bring iTunes store customers new films for purchase
day-and-date with the DVD release," said iTunes vice president Eddy Cue.

"We think movie fans will love being able to buy their favorites from major and independent studios."

The
roster of studios signed on with iTunes includes 20th Century Fox, Walt
Disney, Warner Brothers, Paramount Pictures, Universal Studios Home
Entertainment, and Sony Pictures Entertainment, according to Apple.

Movies
downloaded from iTunes can be viewed on iPhones, video-capable iPods,
personal computers, and televisions linked to Apple TV devices.

New
releases will cost 14.99 dollars to download and 9.99 dollars will be
charged for older titles offered in the iTunes catalog, Apple said.
ITunes rents newly released films for 3.99 dollars.

The
freshly-added iTunes feature competes with similar offerings from major
US movie rental chain Blockbuster and Internet firm CinemaNow.

From : http://afp.google.com/

Viewing Your Sites on Handsets in a Flash

Surfing the Web on cellphones is a major headache.
Despite advances in recent years, many sites don't load properly, and
multimedia content often doesn't play. Now, the wireless industry is
trying to radically improve mobile Web browsing by making it as much
like the PC experience as possible.

In a step in that direction, several major handset makers said Thursday they have struck an agreement with Adobe Systems
Inc. to bring its Flash multimedia player to more cellphones. Flash
powers online video on sites like YouTube and is used to develop Web
pages with animation and other advanced features.

Adobe says Flash is available on 98% of Web-enabled desktop computers but only 30% of cellphones. One prominent holdout is Apple
Inc., which doesn't offer Flash on its iPhone device. Apple Chief
Executive Steve Jobs has resisted Adobe's efforts to include the
software, saying he wasn't satisfied with how it worked on the iPhone.

"Flash video is the most-popular form of video on the
Internet today; it's really important to be able to bring that to
mobile," said Gary Kovacs, vice president of product management and
marketing for Adobe's mobile-devices unit.

About 14% of U.S. cellphone users accessed the Web at
least once in February, according to M:Metrics Inc., which tracks
wireless-industry trends. Slow wireless networks and confusing rate
plans are part of the problem. One of the biggest remaining roadblocks
is the clumsy presentation of Web content on a phone. While some sites,
such as the Weather Channel and MTV, have mobile-only versions, most
don't.

Adobe's agreement with cellphone makers Sony Ericsson, Nokia Corp., LG Electronics Inc., and Motorola
Inc. is part of a broader move by industry players to improve the
mobile Web browsing experience. Sony Ericsson is a joint venture of
Telefon AB L.M. Ericsson and Sony Corp.

Wireless carriers such as Sprint Nextel Corp. and Deutsche Telekom AG's T-Mobile USA Inc. are preloading advanced Web browsers from companies such as Opera Software ASA of Norway, Teleca AB of Sweden and Google
Inc. into handsets. Among other features, the browsers are good at
reformatting Web pages designed for PCs to make them viewable on phones
with 2.5-inch screens. Carriers are also integrating technologies from
companies such as Openwave Systems Inc. that decipher content from PC Web pages for multiple browsers and cellphones.

Wireless carriers have a huge stake in jump-starting
mobile Web browsing. As their revenues from basic voice service
decline, they are relying increasingly on advanced Web and multimedia
services to power their growth. T-Mobile USA's chief technology
officer, Cole Brodman, says industry plans to sell mobile advertising
and digital content depend on getting more users to browse the Web.

"Carriers and their partners need to solve the problem
of mobile Web adoption before any of these business models make any
sense at all," Mr. Brodman says.

Browsers are one major focus. While some mobile
devices, such as Apple's iPhone, come with advanced PC-like browsers,
most don't. Consumers can download high-end browsers onto some
handsets, but carriers believe they can increase usage dramatically by
preloading the software.

Sprint recently began loading Teleca's browser in
Samsung Electronics Inc.'s Instinct, a sleek iPhone look-alike the
carrier announced last month. The phone, which will be available in
June, is able to display regular HTML pages. T-Mobile is planning to
come out this year with the first phone using Google's Android
cellphone operating platform, which includes a Web browser intended for
the mass market. T-Mobile already includes the Opera browser and the
NetFront browser made by Access Co. Ltd. of Japan in some of its
high-end phones, and it plans to extend such browsers further into its
lineup.

Making video from Web sites work on cellphones is
widely seen as a crucial component of the new shift. Adobe's wider
distribution of Flash is one significant step. As part of Thursday's
deal, Adobe is dropping its traditional licensing fees and making
changes to its technology that simplify its integration into mobile
phones.

Other partners in the initiative include content providers such as General Electric Co.'s NBC Universal and carriers such as Verizon Wireless, a joint venture between Verizon Communications Inc. and Vodafone Group PLC. Adobe says it is pursuing other efforts to enable Flash on the iPhone.

Other video formats for the Web are likely to turn up
in U.S. cellphones. Montreal-based start-up Vantrix, for instance,
offers a technology that carriers can plug into their networks to make
popular Web-based video formats viewable on phones. The company says it
has signed up carriers such as NTT DoCoMo and France Telecom's Orange SA and is pursuing U.S. carriers.

Silicon Valley start-up Skyfire Labs Inc. is rolling
out a browser that essentially accomplishes the same task, making
videos on ESPN.com and other sites viewable, while rendering Web sites
as much like the PC versions as possible.

The new technologies have some limitations. Many basic
cellphones don't have enough memory or processing power to support
them. And some of the tools can unintentionally load a PC Web page even
when a better mobile-only version exists.

Mark Collins, vice president of consumer data at AT&T
Inc., the largest U.S. wireless carrier by subscribers, says the
company is evaluating several technologies to bring better Web access
to its mass-market handset lineup beyond the iPhone. "We're in an
in-between phase right now, given the current limitations on devices
and technology and the software solutions that are available," Mr.
Collins says.

Some in the industry say cellphones won't ever truly
be able to duplicate the PC Web, regardless of how fancy browsers and
other technologies get. T-Mobile's Mr. Brodman says some Web services
that are packed with content and features, like MySpace and Facebook,
are best offered as specialized software applications that consumers
can download. Both social networking sites offer mobile software that
is available on select devices.

Form : http://online.wsj.com/