Apple Inc witnessed flat year-over-year overall sales in the United States for its Macs in November, while sales of rival Microsoft Corp's Windows PCs were up 7 percent, according to research firm NPD Group Inc, which tracks retail sales.
Sales of desktops were down 20 percent overall, with Windows desktops sales falling 15 percent and Macs down 38 percent.
Apple's notebook sales, however, were up 22 percent in November, while Windows sales rose 15 percent.
"For notebooks, there is a little extra value to consumers (to buy Apple). For desktops I'm not so sure," NPD analyst Stephen Barker told Reuters. "To me the real story is the iMacs need a refresh."
IDC, which tracks sales of technology products, said earlier this month that it expects global PC sales to fall 5.3 percent next year to $267 billion.
Apple and Microsoft could not be immediately reached for
comment.
Source : http://www.reuters.com/
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
15+ Alternatives to Your Boring Blog Editor
It's good article. I like it.
1. Qumana Blog Editor - Qumana is an easy-to-use desktop blog editor, enabling you to write, edit and post to one or more blogs.
2. Windows Live Writer - Windows Live Writer Beta is a desktop application that makes it easy to publish rich content to your blog.
3. w.bloggar - The w.bloggar is an application that acts as an interface between the user and one or more blog(s); in other words, it is a Post and Template editor, with several features and resources that the browser based blog editors do not offer.
4. BlogMate - BlogMate is a free, graphical plug-in (+ a bundle too) for the popular TextMate editor that enables creating and editing blog posts for MetaWeblog-enabled blogs, Twitter, and Jaiku accounts from a floating palette within TextMate.
5. BlogDesk - BlogDesk is totaly free of charge and optimized for the blog systems WordPress, MovableType, Drupal, Serendipity and ExpressionEngine as well as the bloghosters Blogg.de and Twoday.net.
6. Bleezer - Bleezer is a powerful blogging client. And it’s free.
7. Post2Blog - Post2Blog 3 is a FREEWARE handy blog editor with live spell-checking support for pro-bloggers.
8. The Zoundry Blog Writer - The Zoundry Blog Writer™ is a full featured editor that makes posting to your blog easier and faster.
9. Thingamablog - Thingamablog is a cross-platform, standalone blogging application that makes authoring and publishing your weblogs almost effortless. Unlike most blogging solutions, Thingamablog does NOT require a third-party blogging host, a cgi/php enabled web host, or a MySQL database. In fact, all you need to setup, and manage, a blog with Thingamablog is FTP, SFTP, or network access to a web server.
10. AIRPress - AIRPress is a rich blog editor based on AIR technology. With AIRPress, you could easily upload media (images, videos, mp3…) without the need of another software or hosting.
13. Xinha Here! Firefox Extension - Xinha Here! is a Firefox extension wrapper for the Xinha HTML editor. It enables WYSIWYG editing in any textarea and text box on any website. Xinha Here! opens a Xinha HTML editor in your browser allowing you to edit the data in a WYSIWYG on any website without copying and pasting to secondary HTML editor.
14. Flock - Flock is a social web browser based on Firefox. It lets you easily post anything on your blog with its Blog Editor.
15. WriteToMyBlog - WriteToMyBlog is a free web based word processor for your Blog. Create Post Entries for your Blog from right here, completely free, no membership required, can Post to multiple Blogs simultaneously, manage your Posts, works with all major Blog programs, and is easy-peasy!
16. Google Docs - Free web-based word processor and spreadsheet, which allow you share and collaborate online.
18. WYSIWYG Plugin For Wordpress - This plugin replaces the default Wordpress wysiwyg(what you see is what you get) editor with a more advanced version.
17. FCKEditor for WordPress plugin - This plugin Replaces the default Wordpress editor with FCKeditor.
Thank From : http://bloggingbits.com/
Desktop-based blog editors
1. Qumana Blog Editor - Qumana is an easy-to-use desktop blog editor, enabling you to write, edit and post to one or more blogs.
2. Windows Live Writer - Windows Live Writer Beta is a desktop application that makes it easy to publish rich content to your blog.
3. w.bloggar - The w.bloggar is an application that acts as an interface between the user and one or more blog(s); in other words, it is a Post and Template editor, with several features and resources that the browser based blog editors do not offer.
4. BlogMate - BlogMate is a free, graphical plug-in (+ a bundle too) for the popular TextMate editor that enables creating and editing blog posts for MetaWeblog-enabled blogs, Twitter, and Jaiku accounts from a floating palette within TextMate.
5. BlogDesk - BlogDesk is totaly free of charge and optimized for the blog systems WordPress, MovableType, Drupal, Serendipity and ExpressionEngine as well as the bloghosters Blogg.de and Twoday.net.
6. Bleezer - Bleezer is a powerful blogging client. And it’s free.
7. Post2Blog - Post2Blog 3 is a FREEWARE handy blog editor with live spell-checking support for pro-bloggers.
8. The Zoundry Blog Writer - The Zoundry Blog Writer™ is a full featured editor that makes posting to your blog easier and faster.
9. Thingamablog - Thingamablog is a cross-platform, standalone blogging application that makes authoring and publishing your weblogs almost effortless. Unlike most blogging solutions, Thingamablog does NOT require a third-party blogging host, a cgi/php enabled web host, or a MySQL database. In fact, all you need to setup, and manage, a blog with Thingamablog is FTP, SFTP, or network access to a web server.
10. AIRPress - AIRPress is a rich blog editor based on AIR technology. With AIRPress, you could easily upload media (images, videos, mp3…) without the need of another software or hosting.
Online and browser-based blog editors
11. webpad - webpad is a web-based text editor which gives you access to files from any of the following locations;- Your own computer (via file upload)
- The server that webpad is installed on (via direct file manipulation)
- Any FTP server (via FTP file operations)
- Any website (via remote file requests)
- Popular blogging tools (Blogger.com, MovableType, TypePad, LiveJournal, blosxom, WordPress)
- Other data sources via a flexible plugin system
13. Xinha Here! Firefox Extension - Xinha Here! is a Firefox extension wrapper for the Xinha HTML editor. It enables WYSIWYG editing in any textarea and text box on any website. Xinha Here! opens a Xinha HTML editor in your browser allowing you to edit the data in a WYSIWYG on any website without copying and pasting to secondary HTML editor.
14. Flock - Flock is a social web browser based on Firefox. It lets you easily post anything on your blog with its Blog Editor.
15. WriteToMyBlog - WriteToMyBlog is a free web based word processor for your Blog. Create Post Entries for your Blog from right here, completely free, no membership required, can Post to multiple Blogs simultaneously, manage your Posts, works with all major Blog programs, and is easy-peasy!
16. Google Docs - Free web-based word processor and spreadsheet, which allow you share and collaborate online.
18. WYSIWYG Plugin For Wordpress - This plugin replaces the default Wordpress wysiwyg(what you see is what you get) editor with a more advanced version.
17. FCKEditor for WordPress plugin - This plugin Replaces the default Wordpress editor with FCKeditor.
Thank From : http://bloggingbits.com/
Apple Patches 21 Vulnerabilities in OS X
On Monday, Apple released security updates for Mac OS X 10.4 and 10.5, client and server, bringing the products up to versions 10.4.11 and 10.5.5. The updates address 21 individual vulnerabilities, as measured by CVE numbers. 7 of the vulnerabilities are in the Adobe. Flash plug-in.
A wide variety of systems components are affected by the updates and many would be termed critical if Apple used severity ratings. For instance there is a CoreGraphics bug described as "Viewing a maliciously crafted image may lead to an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution". There is probably at least one of these in each OS X update. At least some of the Flash vulnerabilities also could result in arbitrary code execution. Likewise, a series of updates to Libsystem fix bugs in various APIs that could result in arbitrary code execution.
None of the bugs is a real 5-alarmer where remote users can attack with no user interaction, and several are clearly less severe. But users should still update their systems ASAP.
Originally posted to PCmag.com's Security Watch blog.
Source : http://www.pcmag.com/
Yahoo introduces features to make its e-mail more social
Yahoo Inc. is getting more open and more social.
The Internet giant said Monday that it was rolling out features designed to make its e-mail service and other properties more like popular social networking sites Facebook and MySpace.The features, more than a year in the making, are the brainchild of Yahoo Chief Executive Jerry Yang, who previewed them in a keynote speech at the Consumer Electronics Show in January.
Since becoming CEO in June 2007, Yang pushed Yahoo to open up to outside content and to tap into the underlying social connections in its properties.
Yahoo, which is weathering a wrenching downturn including layoffs that began last week, hopes to turn the tide with new features that help its 275 million e-mail users form bonds with friends, colleagues and family to share information and track one another's activities.
The Internet giant said Monday that it was rolling out features designed to make its e-mail service and other properties more like popular social networking sites Facebook and MySpace.The features, more than a year in the making, are the brainchild of Yahoo Chief Executive Jerry Yang, who previewed them in a keynote speech at the Consumer Electronics Show in January.
Since becoming CEO in June 2007, Yang pushed Yahoo to open up to outside content and to tap into the underlying social connections in its properties.
Yahoo, which is weathering a wrenching downturn including layoffs that began last week, hopes to turn the tide with new features that help its 275 million e-mail users form bonds with friends, colleagues and family to share information and track one another's activities.
The Sunnyvale, Calif., company is also opening its e-mail service to features created by other companies such as online movie site Flixster.
The strategy will outlast Yang, who is stepping down once his successor is found. That search is in its early stages, with several candidates being considered. A final decision is expected early next year.
One candidate, Arun Sarin, the former head of Vodafone, has decided not to pursue the post, the Financial Times reported Monday.
Ash Patel, executive vice president of the audience products division, said Monday that it took Yahoo nearly a year to turn Yang's openness vision into reality because of the sheer number of users and products the company had.
"We are deliberate in how we roll out features," Patel said.
Yahoo plans to incorporate the new features into its overhauled home page, its toolbar for browsing the Web and personalized home pages. What isn't clear is how these new features will help Yahoo make more money from its giant Web audience.
Guynn is a Times staff writer.
The strategy will outlast Yang, who is stepping down once his successor is found. That search is in its early stages, with several candidates being considered. A final decision is expected early next year.
One candidate, Arun Sarin, the former head of Vodafone, has decided not to pursue the post, the Financial Times reported Monday.
Ash Patel, executive vice president of the audience products division, said Monday that it took Yahoo nearly a year to turn Yang's openness vision into reality because of the sheer number of users and products the company had.
"We are deliberate in how we roll out features," Patel said.
Yahoo plans to incorporate the new features into its overhauled home page, its toolbar for browsing the Web and personalized home pages. What isn't clear is how these new features will help Yahoo make more money from its giant Web audience.
Guynn is a Times staff writer.
Source : http://www.latimes.com/
Editorial: The Abuse of Updates
One of the features most lauded about the App Store is quickly becoming its biggest crutch: updates. Developers are able to constantly refine their games and applications by uploading new versions to the App Store, and through a simple icon on your iPhone or iPod Touch, you can instantly update the program. In theory, it sounds like a great idea. Content you already purchased can be enhanced, such as the case with Fieldrunners, which recently added a new map. Constantly adding value to your game is a good way to foster loyalty. Gamers will know that you care about your game and the value of download dollars. In return, they may be more inclined to stick with your products -- something that is very important as the App Store explodes with hundreds of pieces of new content every week.
But there is a dark side to updates: games pushed on to the App Store that never should have launched in their first incarnation. Gamers are asked to drop anywhere between one and ten bucks for a game. That's a trust issue. And if develoeprs shove your game on to the App Store in shabby condition, they erode trust in not only their games and their companies, but also in the App Store itself.
After struggling with Namco's I Love Katamari this weekend and reviewing it, I was struck by just how incomplete it felt. All of the game pieces are in place, but control and performance issues really hobble the overall title. I sincerely doubt a game in this condition, with frame problems that bring the game to a stand-still and controls that require constant fighting, would have made it on to XBLA, WiiWare, or PSN. At least, I hope it wouldn't. I'd expect Microsoft or Nintendo to send it right back to the developer with a list of things to fix. Apple needs to do this, too.
I Love Katamari could be rescued with an update that addresses performance issues. But the problem is that gamers should not be asked to pay full-price for a game that is obviously a work-in-progress. There are many, many games likes this on the App Store. -- games that debut in working shape, but hardly in optimal condition. It's a trap. I caught myself thinking that Katamari maybe wasn't that unplayable and an update would make everything all better. But then I remembered I paid $7.99 to download it. It was not free. And it wasn't free to the hundreds of gamers that have downloaded it thus far. We all deserve better.
1112 Episode 01 is another game with this problem. When it originally debuted, the game featured a terrible interface that added an unnecessary layer of distance between you and the game. There were inconsistencies to the logic. The in-game text had translation issues. An update (1.1.0) added instructions on how to actually play the game and use the interface, as well as fix the text. These are not bonus features. These are things that should have been in the game in the first place. I'm not against a tough-as-nails puzzle game, but being obtuse isn't fun. I'm certainly glad the game was updated, because the idea is interesting and the art is awesome. I'm just sorry that there was a period where gamers that bought 1112 Episode 01 had to swim upstream. Perhaps they will be better served by Episode 2.
I love the idea of updating games to perhaps address a little fix that gamers noticed or add a new map. Refinement isn't a bad thing at all. But expecting gamers to lay down their money and then hold while developers repair stuff that never should have made it out of the studio certainly is a problem. Use updates wisely, don't lean on them to solve major problems. Paying customers are not beta testers.
Source : http://wireless.ign.com/
But there is a dark side to updates: games pushed on to the App Store that never should have launched in their first incarnation. Gamers are asked to drop anywhere between one and ten bucks for a game. That's a trust issue. And if develoeprs shove your game on to the App Store in shabby condition, they erode trust in not only their games and their companies, but also in the App Store itself.
After struggling with Namco's I Love Katamari this weekend and reviewing it, I was struck by just how incomplete it felt. All of the game pieces are in place, but control and performance issues really hobble the overall title. I sincerely doubt a game in this condition, with frame problems that bring the game to a stand-still and controls that require constant fighting, would have made it on to XBLA, WiiWare, or PSN. At least, I hope it wouldn't. I'd expect Microsoft or Nintendo to send it right back to the developer with a list of things to fix. Apple needs to do this, too.
I Love Katamari could be rescued with an update that addresses performance issues. But the problem is that gamers should not be asked to pay full-price for a game that is obviously a work-in-progress. There are many, many games likes this on the App Store. -- games that debut in working shape, but hardly in optimal condition. It's a trap. I caught myself thinking that Katamari maybe wasn't that unplayable and an update would make everything all better. But then I remembered I paid $7.99 to download it. It was not free. And it wasn't free to the hundreds of gamers that have downloaded it thus far. We all deserve better.
1112 Episode 01 is another game with this problem. When it originally debuted, the game featured a terrible interface that added an unnecessary layer of distance between you and the game. There were inconsistencies to the logic. The in-game text had translation issues. An update (1.1.0) added instructions on how to actually play the game and use the interface, as well as fix the text. These are not bonus features. These are things that should have been in the game in the first place. I'm not against a tough-as-nails puzzle game, but being obtuse isn't fun. I'm certainly glad the game was updated, because the idea is interesting and the art is awesome. I'm just sorry that there was a period where gamers that bought 1112 Episode 01 had to swim upstream. Perhaps they will be better served by Episode 2.
I love the idea of updating games to perhaps address a little fix that gamers noticed or add a new map. Refinement isn't a bad thing at all. But expecting gamers to lay down their money and then hold while developers repair stuff that never should have made it out of the studio certainly is a problem. Use updates wisely, don't lean on them to solve major problems. Paying customers are not beta testers.
Source : http://wireless.ign.com/
Nokia's NoTA Imitative Seeks to Make Mobile Development Faster, More Efficient
Nokia and NXP -- a semiconductor company founded by Philips -- have announced the results of a project called NoTA (Network on Terminal Architecture) which takes a modular approach to mobile device design and development. By using NoTA, these two companies aim to transform mobile development with a flexible, service-based platform.
What is NoTA?
NoTA is designed to change the highly integrated nature of development and turn it into a distributed, modular system.
By taking advantage of the specific tasks of application processing, storage, connectivity, or multimedia, a module will be able to communicate with the rest of the system via service nodes that can be based on open standards e.g. Open Max, Open Vg, or Open GL ES.
Why is NoTA Relevant?
Mobile device development is an expensive procedure for manufacturers. Manufacturers usually try to cut costs by creating device frameworks and developing several devices on these. However, integrated components are harder update because they are so tied to the system.
NoTA enables a faster time-to-market and more attractiveness to developers because of specialized areas of development that can be integrated. Efficiency for manufacturers means easier and faster testing, and the quicker marketing of new technologies.
For More Information
For more information about NoTA and Nokia/NXP research project, visit the NoTA website.
Source : http://www.brighthand.com/
What is NoTA?
NoTA is designed to change the highly integrated nature of development and turn it into a distributed, modular system.
By taking advantage of the specific tasks of application processing, storage, connectivity, or multimedia, a module will be able to communicate with the rest of the system via service nodes that can be based on open standards e.g. Open Max, Open Vg, or Open GL ES.
Why is NoTA Relevant?
Mobile device development is an expensive procedure for manufacturers. Manufacturers usually try to cut costs by creating device frameworks and developing several devices on these. However, integrated components are harder update because they are so tied to the system.
NoTA enables a faster time-to-market and more attractiveness to developers because of specialized areas of development that can be integrated. Efficiency for manufacturers means easier and faster testing, and the quicker marketing of new technologies.
For More Information
For more information about NoTA and Nokia/NXP research project, visit the NoTA website.
Source : http://www.brighthand.com/
Nokia 6600 slide : Experience The Best
Nokia 6600 slide is a lovely phone having marvellous looks and is unleashed with latest mobile phone features. This gadget can connect from any place as there is GSM capability on this handset. The mobile being a latest launch is endorsed by people everywhere in the world. The user-friendliness of the device is amazing and so high-end performance of this phone cannot be overlooked.
Then the gadget connects with several options that still remain a dream for people possessing obsolete handsets. Internet can be accessed very easily due to the presence of options such as GPRS, HSCSD, EDGE and 3G. So, it is extremely beneficial for people to use the handset as they can easily access the internet on the handset and download videos, images and other such files. Bluetooth is another such connectivity option that allows people to share files with others. The files can be in the form of videos, music and ring-tones. They can be downloaded from the internet and shared wirelessly with other similar gadgets. The UBS port is yet another option that allows people to connect the handset directly with other similar gadgets.
The Nokia 6600 slide also has various entertainment options. People can make use of its 3.2 MP camera to capture scintillating pictures and videos. There is also a music player that is used to play music and songs in every possible format. The common formats supported by this music player are MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+ and WMA. There is also a stereo FM radio that is used for listening to music and other entertaining radio programs. Users can keep using this radio for staying entertained in life. Then of course, the users of this 6600 slide phone can play fascinating games after downloading video games from the internet.
There are also messaging options that can be exploited. The Nokia Phones handset comes with instant messaging and email options besides SMS and MMS. A user can make good use of the email option to send attached files to others. The presence of the TFT screen, allow uses to compose a message, attach the required file and send it over to the intended person.
The WAP browser of the Nokia 6600 slide allows people to surf the internet and download files at ease. The files can be ringtones, videos and images that can be stored on the large memory space of the device. The memory card slot of the phone is 4 GB. A user thus finds extended space to store the files that are downloaded from the internet.
This gadget has a Li-ion battery that is capable of rendering talk time of 4 hrs and stand by time of 340 hrs. So, once the battery is charged, the handset can be used for a long duration of time. It can be used for both entertainment as well as connectivity needs.
Source : http://www.itworld.com/
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