Windows 7 is set to be launched on the market in about three weeks from now, and those people considering choosing it as the platform on their computers are certainly interested in the costs the migration will imply. Microsoft already unveiled the full retail and upgrade pricing for the operating system, as well as a series of offers aimed at students and families, yet now a cheaper option has emerged.
The pricing for Windows 7 OEM has been unveiled by Newegg and, compared to the other offers in place at the moment, it seems to be the best of all. Of course, there are some limitations one should take into consideration when an OEM flavor is on the table, yet Windows 7's OEM prices are cheaper than other costs, and are even cheaper when compared to Microsoft's previous platform, Windows Vista.
The Windows 7 Home Premium full OEM is priced at $99 on Newegg (with a $10 discount), while the full OEM 3-Pack option costs $309. For comparison, those who would like to upgrade to Windows 7 Home Premium from a previous Home Premium version of Windows would have to pay $120, while those going for the full retail package will rid their pockets of $200.
The pricing for Windows 7 Professional full OEM is showed to be $134.99, Windows 7 Ultimate full OEM costs $174.99, and Windows 7 Ultimate full OEM 3-Pack is priced at $550. For comparison, an upgrade to Windows 7 Professional would cost $200, and the OS flavor costs $300 in full retail. At the same time, Windows 7 Ultimate goes for $220 when upgrading, and costs $320 in full retail.
As stated above, there are some limitations that one should take into consideration, such as the fact that the OS cannot be transferred to another computer, and there is no support from Microsoft involved either. At the same time, the installation process will wipe out all data on the hard drive, which means that one should back it up before firing it up. Moreover, users will only be able to make limited upgrades to their machine, and, if its stops working, the operating system cannot be used with another computer.
The OEM versions of Windows 7 are available for pre-order on Newegg until October 20 and are said to start shipping on October 22, the same day Microsoft put Windows 7 on sale. While there is nothing that prevents users from purchasing the OEM flavors of Windows 7, they should consider all the implications of taking that route. You can take a look at Newegg's offer here.
softpedia
Rabu, 30 September 2009
Senin, 21 September 2009
WebGL Makes Its Way into Firefox 3.7
It looks like support for the upcoming web 3D graphics project WebGL is building up fast, as, just one week after it made its way into Webkit's latest experimental source-code releases, Mozilla Firefox 3.7 nightly builds also sport the new feature. The project is still pretty much in the early stages and still has a long way to go until standardization, but the developers believe there should be a much sturdier implementation within several months.
“Last night, I checked in some more work from Mark Steele (who's focusing on the Firefox WebGL implementation), and along with that, enabled WebGL in trunk nightlies,” Mozilla developer Vladimir Vukićević wrote. “If you're not familiar with WebGL, it's the evolution of work that Mozilla started a few years ago with experiments called Canvas 3D – essentially a way of accessing OpenGL from within the browser, through the HTML5 canvas tag. Earlier this year, we started a standardization effort within the Khronos Group which oversees OpenGL, and have made very rapid progress.”
While the project itself has been in the making for several years now, it only started picking up steam a couple of months ago, when it was officially announced with support from several industry players and browser makers. The idea behind it is to bring cross-platform, native 3D capabilities to browsers independent of proprietary plugins, Adobe Flash and the likes, using standard web technologies like JavaScript. It will use the element from the upcoming HTML 5 standard and it has the support from most browser makers excluding Microsoft, of course.
One major step forward was made last week, when it finally became available, though not enabled by default, in the latest developer releases of Webkit, the open-source HTML rendering engine initially developed by Apple and used by Safari, Google Chrome and several Linux and mobile browsers. And now it has also made its way into the Firefox branch codenamed Minefield, which will eventually develop into Firefox 3.7. Just like Webkit, it isn't enabled by default, as there still are several major issues to be handled, but curious users and developers can experiment with the new feature by going to the advanced-settings configuration page “about:config” and enabling “webgl.enabled_for_all_sites.”
softpedia
Minggu, 20 September 2009
Ayam Goreng Renyah di Tepi Pantai
LEBARAN tinggal menghitung hari. Penduduk Jakarta pun sudah mulai berkurang dengan banyaknya warga yang pulang kampung alias mudik. Kendati jalanan Jakarta tampak sangat lengang tiap kali Lebaran, sejatinya Ibu Kota ini tidak pernah sepi.
Tak percaya? Silakan buktikan dengan mendatangi Taman Impian Jaya Ancol di Jakarta Utara pada hari Lebaran. Ledakan pengunjung justru terjadi pada Lebaran yang juga identik dengan hari libur. Sebagai salah satu kawasan wisata favorit, Ancol memang senantiasa dipadati pengunjung.
Tak hanya ragam wahana permainan dan hiburan yang ditawarkan, pengunjung juga bisa berwisata kuliner di lebih dari sepuluh restoran yang terletak di dalam area Ancol. Selain menawarkan aneka hidangan lezat, restoran ini juga "jualan suasana", lebih tepatnya suasana pantai dengan embusan angin nan semilir.
Di antara sejumlah restoran pendatang baru di kawasan ini, Cheeckenz Family Resto yang telah berusia lebih dari dua tahun tetap bertahan dengan konsep fast food. Menu utamanya sudah pasti nasi dengan ayam goreng (fried chicken).
Menurut Production Manager Cheeckenz Sriyanto, menu fried chicken milik Cheeckenz dapat dibedakan dengan fried chicken lain dari segi pengolahannya. Misalnya, daging ayam yang akan digoreng terlebih dulu dibumbui dan didiamkan (dimarinasi) supaya bumbunya meresap.
"Kalau di tempat lain biasanya yang dibumbui hanya tepungnya. Untuk yang suka pedas, tersedia pula pilihan ayam goreng pedas alias hot cheeckenz dengan campuran rasa pedas dari lada dan paprika," papar Sriyanto, yang bertanggung jawab atas urusan masak-memasak di Cheeckenz.
Pembeda lainnya adalah dalam hal menu yang merupakan perpaduan Barat dan Timur. Selain menu Western seperti steak dan french fries, menu-menu di Cheeckenz cukup didominasi oleh selera hidangan Jepang atau kerap disebut bento.
Beberapa pilihan lezat yang identik dengan Negeri Matahari Terbit itu adalah beef teriyaki, chicken teriyaki, beef yakiniku, dan kani roll. "Menu-menu tersebut dimasak dalam kondisi segar dan seketika," sebut Sriyanto, yang pernah bekerja lebih dari 10 tahun sebagai koki di kereta api.
"Selain untuk keperluan di restoran, kami juga menyuplai fried chicken untuk sejumlah stall Cheeckenz yang tersebar di kawasan Ancol," ujar sang Area Manager, Harminanto Taufik.
Taufik mengungkapkan, selama Ramadan kali ini pihak restoran berkapasitas 160 orang ini juga menawarkan paket berbuka yang murah meriah seharga Rp17.500. Paket tersebut meliputi nasi putih, ayam goreng, minuman teh botol, dan takjil gratis berupa semangkuk kolak.
"Berdasarkan pengalaman, pengunjung umumnya lebih menyukai paket berbuka yang simpel tapi cukup mengenyangkan," sebut Taufik, seraya menyebutkan pihaknya pernah mendapat pesanan 4.000 porsi dalam sehari.
"Kami juga biasa kedatangan 2-3 rombongan family gathering ataupun rombongan anak sekolah,"imbuhnya.
Selain makanan, hangatnya aneka minuman kopi tentu pas untuk menemani acara bersantai di malam hari sambil menikmati dinginnya udara pantai. Beberapa pilihan minuman kopi yang tersedia antara lain capucino dingin ataupun panas, latte, dan kopi jenis arabica.
Saat malam menyapa, area restoran berlantai kayu ini berhias gemerlap "lampu cabai" yang melilit pohon-pohon kelapa. Selagi makan atau ngopi, pengunjung bisa bersantai sambil menonton tayangan televisi yang terpancang di dinding restoran.
"Kalau malam hari pengunjung lebih banyak dari segmen keluarga," pungkas Taufik, seraya mengungkapkan rencana peralihan nama Cheeckenz menjadi Colombus pasca Lebaran tahun ini. (Koran SI/Koran SI/nsa)
okezone
HP Luncurkan Tablet PC DreamScreen
HP baru saja meluncurkan produk terbarunya, tablet PC DreamScreen. Dengan gadget tersebut, pengguna bisa melakukan streaming musik dan foto yang tersimpan di komputer berbeda dan mengakses Facebook.
Komputer bergaya tablet ini menonjolkan keunggulannya melalui layar berukuran 10,2 inchi atau 13,3 inchi. DreamScreen bisa menstreaming konten yang terdapat di komputer berbeda di rumah Anda secara wireless. Dengan memori built in berkapasitas 2GB perangkat ini sangat mumpuni untuk menyimpan ratusan file gambar dan musik.
Telegraph, Jumat (18/9/2009) melansir, gadget portable ini memang dirancang untuk penggunaan di meja kecil yang digunakan sambil bersantai sehingga pengguna bisa mendapatkan akses ke semua file musik dan multimedia tanpa memerlukan komputer lainnya.
DreamScreen juga berisi beragam widget yang bisa langsung mengarahkan pengguna ke situs-situs populer seperti Facebook dan situs berbagi foto milik HP, Snapfish. Selain itu, terdapat pula one-touch access yang memudahkan untuk melihat kalender dan perkiraan cuaca global.
"Apa yang kami coba lakukan adalah menghadirkan perangkat yang sederhana, user-intuitive, selalu terhubung dengan internet dan menyertakan aplikasi web yang tidak memerlukan komputer," kata Direktur Marketing HP global Ameer Karim.
Meski DreamScreen tidak menghadirkan full internet browser, HP mengganti kekurangan itu dengan banyaknya aplikasi yang bisa ditambahkan pada perangkat tersebut guna meningkatkan kemampuannya.
HP menekankan bahwa gadget tersebut bukan untuk menggantikan komputer yang sudah ada di rumah Anda. Melainkan HP merancangnya khusus sebagai pelengkap komputer rumah. Selain itu, DreamScreen juga dimaksudkan agar pengguna memiliki lebih banyak pilihan tempat dimana dan kapanh mereka mengakses layanan dan konten internet.
Saat ini, DreamScreen baru hadir di AS dengan harga sekira 299 poundsterling atau setara dengan Rp4,77 juta. Rencananya DreamScreen HP pun akan segera merambah ke negara-negara lainnya. (rah)
okezone
SE W205, Ponsel Asyik untuk Dengar Musik
Sony Ericsson kembali menghadirkan ponsel Walkman teranyarnya, kali ini seri W dari ponsel Sony Ericsson tersebut diberi nama W205.
Sebagaimana ponsel Walkman sebelumnya, Sony Ericsson khusus membidik kalangan pencinta musik melalui seri terbarunya ini.
Head of Marketing Sony Ericsson Indonesia, Djunadi Satrio mendeskripsikan W205 sebagai ponsel slider gaya yang memudahkan pengguna mendengarkan musik dimanapun berada.
"W205 sangat cocok bagi mereka pecinta musik namun belum pernah merasakan pengalaman ponsel Walkman," kata Djunadi kepada media di Plaza FX, Jalan Jenderal Sudirman, Jakarta, Senin (7/92009) malam.
Dikatakan pula oleh Djunadi, bahwa W205 menjadikan ponsel Walkman semakin terjangkau bagi konsumen. W205 pun cocok bagi mereka yang menginginkan semua fitur klasik Sony Ericsson sambil menikmati musik secara bersamaan.
"Kami menunjukkan bahwa ponsel Walkman tidak sekadar pemutar musik. Ponsel yang kami ciptakan menawarkan user experience yang lebih dengan software yang menarik. Selain itu, dengan harga terjangkau, sekira satu juta saja konsumen sudah bisa memiliki ponsel Walkman," kata Djunadi.
Tak hanya berbagi soal musik, pengguna juga bisa memanfaatkan kamera 1,3 megapiksel untuk menangkap gambar atau merekam video kemudian mengirimkannya kepada teman-tema melalui fasilitas MMS atau Bluetooth.
Sebagai bonus tambahan, terdapat pula fitur phone book multi fungsi sehingga pengguna bisa memanfaatkan ponselnya bersama keluarga atau teman-teman namun dengan daftar kontak telepon milik masing-masing.
Selain bisa mendengarkan musik dengan fitur Walkman player, hadir pula saluran FM radio dan pengenalan musik lewat TrackID. FM Radio bisa dimanfaatkan untuk mendengarkan berita terkini, musik terbaru, talk show dan lain-lain. Lebih mengasyikkan lagi, jika mendengar sebuah lagu yang disuka, TrackID akan mencarikan judul lagu serta penyanyinya dan merekam lagu dari radio tersebut untuk digunakan sebagai nada dering.
Berikut adalah beberapa fitur penting W205
- Walkman untuk menikmati musik
- FM radio jika ingin mendengarkan berita dan komentar terbaru
- TrackID yang berfungsi untuk mencari tahu judul lagu semudah menyentuh sebuah tombol
- Kamera 1,3 megapiksel untuk mengabadikan momen favorit dalam gambar
- Bluetooth untuk berbagi musik favorit, gambar dan klip video, atau sambungkan dengan headset nirkabel
- Phone book ganda yang berfungsi untuk menjaga nomor kontak pengguna jika seseorang ingin meminjam ponselnya.
okezone
Kenapa Junk Food Bikin Gemuk?
WASHINGTON - Makanan cepat saji atau junk food sering dianggap membuat seseorang menjadi cepat gemuk. Lalu apa yang membuat efek terjadi?
Makanan cepat saji menyebabkan kegemukan karena efek dari makanan tersebut tidak langsung berefek pada berat badan melainkan pada syaraf otak di kepala.
Hasil riset terbaru yang dipimpin oleh Dr Deborah Legg dari University of Texas menyatakan, lemak-lemak tak sehat dalam produk-produk hasil olahan susu, burger dan milk shake akan langsung mempengaruhi otak dan mematikan sistem peringatan yang berfungsi memberi informasi saat seseorang merasa kenyang.
Sebagai akibatnya, rasa lapar yang dialami orang tersebut tidak terpuaskan dan berdampak pada keinginan makan secara berlebihan bahkan hingga tiga hari setelah memakan junk food tersebut.
Ini menandakan, efek tersebut sangat kuat dan menunjukkan kalau zat kimia pada otak seseorang bisa langsung berubah dalam waktu singkat. Sebagai perumpamaan, Clegg menyebutkan, setangkup burger keju yang dimakan seseorang pada hari Sabtu bisa membuatnya lapar sampai tiga hari kemudian.
"Secara normal, tubuh akan mengirim pesan saat kita sudah kenyang. Namun ketika kita memakan sesuatu yang terasa enak hal ini tidak terjadi," kata Clegg, seperti dikutip dari Daily Mail, Sabtu (19/9/2009).
Menurut Clegg, hal ini disebabkan oleh kandungan lemak palmitic acid yang sangat cerdik menipu otak. Palmitic acid adalah jenis lemak jenuh kita temukan pada mentega, keju, susu dan daging sapi.
okezone
Kamis, 17 September 2009
Firefox 4.0 Confirmed for Fall 2010, 2x More Performance over Firefox 3.5
The next major version of the Firefox open-source browser for Mozilla will be made available to end users in approximately one year. While the fact that Firefox 4.0 was planned for general availability in the second half of 2010 was already a public detail, Mozilla has now confirmed this aspect officially courtesy of Chief Executive Officer John Lilly. According to Lilly, Mozilla will release Firefox 4.0 in the fall of 2010, with speculation pointing to either an October 2010 or a November 2010 launch.
In an interview with Netease Technology, Lilly talked about the future of Firefox beyond version 3.5, which Mozilla made available to end users earlier this year. The opportunity also served for Mozilla CEO to confirm that there would be no less than two versions of Firefox between 3.5 and 4.0. Firefox 3.6 is currently cooking, with an Alpha development milestone already offered to testers, and plans have been made public for the release of Firefox 3.7 early in 2010.
Mozilla is making headway toward a November 2009 GA for Firefox 3.6, currently codenamed Namoroka. Designed as a minor update to Firefox 3.5, version 3.6 will bring to the table enhanced personalization capabilities, deeper integration with Windows 7, and features such as Personas, asynchronous location bar, an evolved TraceMonkey engine, improved scrolling, optimized session restore, and a boost in terms of startup speeds, according to the official Firefox roadmap from Mozilla.
Following the release of v3.6, Firefox will evolve to 3.7, a release that is planned for availability in the spring of 2010. Firefox 3.7 will support out of process plugins and animation in XUL, but also the ability to run websites as apps and optimizations to pageload times and TraceMonkey.
It will be in autumn 2010 that users will be able to download and run the final version of Firefox 4.0, Lilly promised. The Mozilla CEO revealed that development was focused on improving the performance of the open-source browser. While Firefox 3.5 is twice as fast as version 3.0, Firefox 4.0 will deliver twice the speed of v3.5. In addition, Firefox 4.0 will include JetPack and Weave, and will come with an overhauled graphical user interface design not just for Windows 7, but also for Mac OS X and Linux.
softpedia
In an interview with Netease Technology, Lilly talked about the future of Firefox beyond version 3.5, which Mozilla made available to end users earlier this year. The opportunity also served for Mozilla CEO to confirm that there would be no less than two versions of Firefox between 3.5 and 4.0. Firefox 3.6 is currently cooking, with an Alpha development milestone already offered to testers, and plans have been made public for the release of Firefox 3.7 early in 2010.
Mozilla is making headway toward a November 2009 GA for Firefox 3.6, currently codenamed Namoroka. Designed as a minor update to Firefox 3.5, version 3.6 will bring to the table enhanced personalization capabilities, deeper integration with Windows 7, and features such as Personas, asynchronous location bar, an evolved TraceMonkey engine, improved scrolling, optimized session restore, and a boost in terms of startup speeds, according to the official Firefox roadmap from Mozilla.
Following the release of v3.6, Firefox will evolve to 3.7, a release that is planned for availability in the spring of 2010. Firefox 3.7 will support out of process plugins and animation in XUL, but also the ability to run websites as apps and optimizations to pageload times and TraceMonkey.
It will be in autumn 2010 that users will be able to download and run the final version of Firefox 4.0, Lilly promised. The Mozilla CEO revealed that development was focused on improving the performance of the open-source browser. While Firefox 3.5 is twice as fast as version 3.0, Firefox 4.0 will deliver twice the speed of v3.5. In addition, Firefox 4.0 will include JetPack and Weave, and will come with an overhauled graphical user interface design not just for Windows 7, but also for Mac OS X and Linux.
softpedia
Download Google Chrome 3.0 Final
Google has finalized its latest stable release of Chrome, version 3.0, after no less than 51 developer milestones, a total of 21 Beta releases, 15 stable updates and 3,505 bugfixes in the last year alone. In just a little after the first year since the introduction of Google Chrome, the Mountain View-based search giant has gone through two major versions of its own breed of open-source browser. On September 15th, 2009, Google released the gold version of Chrome 3.0 to web. Google Chrome 3.0 had previously been in Beta development stage. Users of the open-source browser can forget about the two other stable versions of Chrome released in the past year, namely 2.0.172.43 and 1.0.154.65. Upgrades are now possible to Google Chrome 3.0.195.21, which is currently up for grabs, and you will find download links at the bottom of this article.
“Thanks to a full year of great feedback from our users, we're kicking off our second year of Google Chrome with a brand new stable release. This stable release incorporates many of the improvements and features that we tested out in our most recent beta release, including a 150% increase in Javascript performance since our very first beta, a freshly redesigned New Tab page, an improved Omnibox, Themes capability, as well as HTML5 features,” revealed Anthony Laforge, program manager.
Even before the release of version 3.0, it was clear that Google was betting big on JavaScript performance. In its vision of Cloud-based on-demand applications, Google needs to tailor Chrome to scenarios in which Cloud apps can produce an equivalent performance to desktop programs. The underlining V8 JavaScript engine is in this regard the key to having Cloud and client-side apps on par as far as performance goes.
“If you haven't tried Google Chrome recently, we invite you to give it a whirl. Many of the improvements in this release were inspired by the responses from users, so we're all ears if you have any feedback. If you're already using Google Chrome, you'll be automatically updated to this new version soon, but if you're itching to try this right away, download the latest version,” Laforge added.
“Thanks to a full year of great feedback from our users, we're kicking off our second year of Google Chrome with a brand new stable release. This stable release incorporates many of the improvements and features that we tested out in our most recent beta release, including a 150% increase in Javascript performance since our very first beta, a freshly redesigned New Tab page, an improved Omnibox, Themes capability, as well as HTML5 features,” revealed Anthony Laforge, program manager.
Even before the release of version 3.0, it was clear that Google was betting big on JavaScript performance. In its vision of Cloud-based on-demand applications, Google needs to tailor Chrome to scenarios in which Cloud apps can produce an equivalent performance to desktop programs. The underlining V8 JavaScript engine is in this regard the key to having Cloud and client-side apps on par as far as performance goes.
“If you haven't tried Google Chrome recently, we invite you to give it a whirl. Many of the improvements in this release were inspired by the responses from users, so we're all ears if you have any feedback. If you're already using Google Chrome, you'll be automatically updated to this new version soon, but if you're itching to try this right away, download the latest version,” Laforge added.
softpedia
Zune HD Is Here - 3D Gaming Capabilities Confirmed
"Our research indicates that there's strong consumer demand for dedicated media players and Zune HD offers visible differentiation in this market," noted Michael Gartenberg, vice president of strategy and analysis at Interpret LLC. "Microsoft is also offering some compelling software and services with the Zune ecosystem that will help Zune HD stand out from other offerings."
Microsoft has been little shy of packing powerful technology into the Zune HD in its race to make the Zune product line catch up with that of Apple’s. Customers that will choose to go for Zune HD will be getting a device that falls in line of the company’s general natural user interface strategy, equipped with an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) multitouch screen, and powered by the NVIDIA Tegra HD processor. The Zune software advancements bring to the table the new Quickplay menu. Designed as a signature menu for Zune, Quickplay is set up to integrate seamlessly with the device’s new NUI, Microsoft promised.
In addition to Quickplay, Zune HD also features a web browser, and enhanced music and video playback options. Zune HD also allows users to go beyond the music stored on the device, via HD Radio capabilities, or the plain vanilla FM tuners. And high definition does not stop with radio for Zune HD. The latest iteration of digital media player devices from Microsoft support play back of 720p HD video files to an HDTV via the new Zune HD AV dock accessory.
Packed into Zune HD are new casual games, as well as additional details extending the functionality of the device by offering end users a calculator and even an MSN Weather app. By the end of 2009, extra content will come to Zune HD, including Twitter for Zune and Facebook for Zune applications, but also 3-D games: "Project Gotham Racing: Ferrari Edition," "Vans Sk8: Pool Service" and "Audiosurf (TM) Tilt."
Major retailers across the US will sell a black 16GB version of Zune HD for $219.99, with the platinum 32GB variant costing $289.99. Still, Microsoft informed that users would also be able to purchase red, green and blue devices for both 16GB and 32GB capacities from Zune Originals.
softpedia
Minggu, 13 September 2009
Linux Kernel 2.6.31 Has USB 3.0 Support
Linus Torvalds, the father of Linux, announced on September 9th the immediate availability of Linux kernel 2.6.31, a version that brings initial support for the upcoming USB 3.0 devices, Kernel Mode Setting support for ATI Radeon, initial support for NFS 4.1, and many other goodies for all Linux users around the world.
"What else? Lots and lots of driver work. Over 70% of all of the 2.6.30 to 2.6.31 patch is under drivers/, and there's another 6%+ in firmware/ and sound/. That's not entirely unusual, but it does seem to be growing. My rough rule of thumb used to be '50% drivers, 50% everything else,' but that's clearly not true any more (and hasn't been for a while – we've been 60%+ since after 2.6.27 – I think the whole 'staging' thing is what moved things up by several percentage points)." - said Linus Torvalds in the official announcement on lkml.org.
Highlights of Linux Kernel 2.6.31:
· Support for USB 3.0;
· CUSE and OSS proxy;
· The desktop interactivity under memory pressure was improved;
· Performance counters;
· Support for IEEE 802.15.4 low-rate WPAN (Wireless Personal Area Networks);
· Support for Gcov;
· Kmemcheck;
· Kmemleak;
· Fsnotify;
· Initial support for the NFS 4.1 client;
· mmap readhead improvements;
· Btrfs improvements;
· Ext4 improvements.
And now, let's have a look at some of the new major drivers and the newly supported devices introduced in this release:
These are just a few of the new drivers available in the Linux kernel 2.6.31. For a complete list of all the newly supported devices, newly added drivers, etc., please visit the official release notes.
softpedia
"What else? Lots and lots of driver work. Over 70% of all of the 2.6.30 to 2.6.31 patch is under drivers/, and there's another 6%+ in firmware/ and sound/. That's not entirely unusual, but it does seem to be growing. My rough rule of thumb used to be '50% drivers, 50% everything else,' but that's clearly not true any more (and hasn't been for a while – we've been 60%+ since after 2.6.27 – I think the whole 'staging' thing is what moved things up by several percentage points)." - said Linus Torvalds in the official announcement on lkml.org.
· Support for USB 3.0;
· CUSE and OSS proxy;
· The desktop interactivity under memory pressure was improved;
· Performance counters;
· Support for IEEE 802.15.4 low-rate WPAN (Wireless Personal Area Networks);
· Support for Gcov;
· Kmemcheck;
· Kmemleak;
· Fsnotify;
· Initial support for the NFS 4.1 client;
· mmap readhead improvements;
· Btrfs improvements;
· Ext4 improvements.
And now, let's have a look at some of the new major drivers and the newly supported devices introduced in this release:
| Sound: · digigram lx6464es driver; · SB X-Fi driver; · Support for Acer Aspire 8930G; · Support for Acer Inspire 6530G; · MSI GX620 7.1 audio support; · Support for Creative CA0110-IBG; · Support for HP dv4-1222nr laptop; · Support for Macbook 5.1; · Support for Samsung NC10 mini notebook; · Better support for Macbook 3.1; · Macbook Pro 6 channels support; · NVIDIA 8 channel HDMI audio support; · Support for ESI Maya44; · Support for SC-7000 and SC-6600; · Sony Vaio TT support; · Support for Xonar Essence ST. USB: · Intel Langwell USB Device Controller driver; · Intellon int51x1 driver; · USB Audio Gadget driver; · Samsung HS/OtG driver. | Input: · dm355evm_keys driver; · Synaptics I2C touchpad driver; · Cirrus EP93xx matrix keypad driver; · GPIO-based matrix keypad support; · W90p910 ARM touchscreen support; · twl4030-pwrbutton driver; · Atmel microprocessor wm97xx accelerated driver; · lm8323 keypad driver; · Intuos4 tablets support. HWMON: · F71858F support; · TI's TMP401 and TMP411 sensor chip support; · Support for W83627DHG-P. WATCHDOG: · bcm47xx watchdog driver; · twl4030 watchdog driver; · W83627EHF support. |
| Storage: · bnx2i iSCSI driver; · Broadcom CNIC driver; · Support for 10Gb iiDMA. Graphics: · Support for Display Port; · IGDNG KMS; · Support for RV740 DRM; · Support for RV790. Network: · Intel Wireless Multicomm 802.11 driver; · CAN Network device driver; · SJA1000 CAN controller driver; · TI DaVinci EMAC driver; · Xilinx ll_temac device driver; · Micrel KS8842 ethernet switch KS8842 driver. | V4L/DVB: · Avermedia AVerTV Volar GPS 805 (A805) support; · Conceptronic USB2.0 DVB-T CTVDIGRCU V3.0 support; · KWorld MC810 support; · Genius TVGo DVB-T03 support; · AVerMedia Cardbus Plus support; · AVerTV Studio 507UA support support; · Elgato EyeTV DTT deluxe to dibcom driver; · ADV7343 video encoder driver; · Initial HVR1270 support; · Hauppauge WinTV-HVR1270 ATSC/QAM tuning support; · Hauppauge WinTV-HVR1275 ATSC/QAM tuning support; · Hauppauge WinTV-HVR1255 ATSC/QAM tuning support; · Hauppauge WinTV-HVR1210 DVB-T tuning support; · Philips MK5 tuner support; · EmpireTV board suppor; · K-World 2800d support; · EVGA inDtube (and remote control) support; · Silvercrest Webcam support; · Terratec Grabster AV350 support; · Leadtek Winfast DTV Dongle H support; · Leadtek Winfast DTV-1800H support; · Leadtek Winfast DVR3100 H DVB-T support; · DVBWorld DVB-C USB Cable card support; · mt9v011 sensor driver; · Yuan MPC-718 cards (MT352/ZL10353) DVB-T support. |
These are just a few of the new drivers available in the Linux kernel 2.6.31. For a complete list of all the newly supported devices, newly added drivers, etc., please visit the official release notes.
softpedia
Sabtu, 12 September 2009
Netbook OSes: Which will rule the enterprise?
Netbooks are selling at a nice clip -- IDC predicts more than 20 million units sold by year's end -- as consumers and education buyers wolf up these streamlined, low-cost laptop alternatives. Next up: the enterprise.
Netbooks is a "category with legs," says Stephen O'Grady, an analyst with Seattle-based consultancy RedMonk, pointing to recent market activity as an indicator of the netbook's viability. Most obvious, he says, is Google's decision to build a separate Linux-based operating system -- Chrome OS -- specifically for netbooks. Meantime, Microsoft is grappling with "hard questions about its OS pricing relative to netbooks," and virtually every major hardware maker, apart from Apple Inc., has an offering in the category.
At Hewlett-Packard Co., for example, corporate customers already are evaluating netbooks, says Sarah Bussell, business notebook product manager at the company. They're looking at netbooks "as companion devices for highly mobile professionals, to provide occasional mobility to personnel that are typically desk-based, or to automate paper-based internal processes, such as onsite training," she says.
As netbooks head into the enterprise, questions about the best OS -- Windows or Linux -- for that market are beginning to arise. One might assume compatibility and familiarity with Windows are the first priorities for the corporate customer. And while this may be true for early enterprise deployments, many observers are leaving the door open for Linux.
Here are six factors that could determine which netbook OS will dominate the enterprise market.
1. Windows' familiarity
Corporate buyers want "stability, and they want sameness, even more than consumers want" it, says Stephen Baker, an analyst with NPD Group, whose research shows that consumers returned netbooks running Linux in greater numbers than they did those with Windows installed.
"They're going to gravitate toward the things that they already have installed, are able to support, and that users are comfortable with. That lines up pretty well with what's available on netbooks, which is mostly Windows XP," Baker says.
Lenovo sells netbooks with Windows XP Home Edition, as does HP, for example. But HP also offers its Mini 5101 netbook with SUSE Linux SLED 11. Bussell declined comment on which OS its early-adopter enterprise customers prefer.
2. Google's Chrome OS
Google's decision to enter the netbook OS race has garnered much interest and speculation -- but few predict it will take over the enterprise anytime soon.
RedMonk's O'Grady says he guesses that, at least initially, Google has near zero ambition for Chrome OS in the enterprise. The inherent challenges in trying to service complicated business needs would be too overwhelming for Google to handle, he says.
Says Baker, who is extremely skeptical of Google's chances of breaking into the netbook OS field, whether it be for enterprise or the average end user: "Come back to me in 18 months when there's something actually out. What the market looks like when they come out with something is not going to look anything like what today's market looks like for netbooks."
Google "believes there's an opportunity. All the decisions [by enterprise buyers] have not been made," says Jeff Orr, an analyst with ABI Research. "There's an opportunity to enter that space and to create platforms that provide a more fine-tuned or refined experience for the Web and Internet."
In announcing Chrome, Orr said, Google may have spurred Microsoft to alter or speed up its strategy for Windows 7 on netbooks, leading up to the recent news about the technical limitations and other rules Microsoft wants imposed on OEMs that want to sell netbooks with the next version of Windows installed. Orr theorized that Google's announcement of Chrome may have helped to motivate Microsoft to hurry up with a specialized netbook edition of Windows 7 instead of just leaning on Windows XP for the netbook market.
3. Too many Linux choices for netbooks?
Besides Chrome, other Linux choices for netbooks include Intel's Moblin, Ubuntu and even Android, Google's mobile device OS. The Linux camp, "while offering choice to the market, is in danger of fragmenting itself with multiple, highly differentiated choices," says RedMonk's O'Grady.
NPD's Baker takes a different position. He says the Linux-based netbook variants aren't causing a problem. "There has to be some market presence for there to be 'confusion.' CIOs aren't particularly confused, because they're not likely to use any of those products right now," he says.
4. Cloud computing services and applications
The question of which netbook OS will dominate in the enterprise could be irrelevant if cloud computing becomes prevalent in the enterprise.
Windows compatibility doesn't matter when accessing cloud services via netbooks, says Sam Johnston, a consultant who specializes in cloud computing and netbooks. A netbook can access a virtualized version of any OS hosted on a remote server, including a traditional Windows desktop, he says.
While O'Grady says he feels that enterprises will be loath to change from Windows in the foreseeable future, he agrees that the cloud model makes the OS choice less relevant. "To the extent that workloads increasingly shift toward software as a service, the question of what operating system a user is running becomes less important, which gives the challengers cause for hope."
5. Cost of the OS
Linux will eventually win out in enterprises for a simple reason -- cost, Johnston says. "With hardware cost trending rapidly toward zero, and sub-$100 devices being a possibility in the short-to-medium term, it is impossible to carry even a modest operating system cost," he reasons.
Orr of ABI agrees Microsoft will face a challenge on cost given that most Linux-based choices are or will be free to install and use. Its too soon to say, but whether corporate netbooks will adopt Windows 7 widely will depend on whether its a fully functional version and how much it costs, he says.
6. Hardware limitations
But Orr theorizes that in the enterprise the battle for the netbook OS of choice will not play out like it did for traditional notebooks and desktops.
In general, netbooks are purposely limited in processing speed and storage space, and smaller in size compared to most offerings falling under the notebook category, to keep costs low. Because of this, netbooks may never be capable enough to fully exploit all the features of the latest version of Windows, or another processor-heavy OS. A lightweight OS -- with its code base taking up minimal space on the netbook's storage medium, and starting up and performing tasks near instantly -- could be key for the netbook's acceptance in enterprises.
"The initial opportunity for netbooks will align with Windows and, specifically, Windows XP. But that choice will segment, as instant-on operating systems become more prevalent," Orr says.
Johnston says, "The winner will almost certainly be Linux running on ARM processors -- what I have been referring to as 'LinARM,'" a play on Wintel (Windows/Intel). ARM is a popular processor architecture for mobile devices.
Baker, reliably bullish for Windows, argues that the netbook's evolving form factor and technology will not make much difference in the Linux adoption decision: "One of the reasons why we have a lot of Windows in the market now is because that's what everybody is comfortable with. If you make great changes, there's a big learning curve. And from a CIO perspective, they have to think about what the cost is of training their people to use something different."
An open field
So industry watchers give Windows (specifically, XP) the early edge as the netbook OS choice in the enterprise. But possibilities for a challenger remain open, most say.
Lenovo is one OEM willing to hedge its bets when it comes to Linux on netbooks for the enterprise. Although it currently offers Windows XP, the company is willing to consider Google's Chrome operating system whenever the search engine giant reveals an actual working product. A Lenovo spokeswoman says her company "is actively assessing the Google Chrome operating system's development."
Enterprise IT managers might do well to put aside heavy emphasis on the OS, Orr suggests. Comparing netbooks to other small gadgets, and moving away from comparisons to the traditional notebook, may divine the answer.
"There's a lot of opportunity for general computing platforms," Orr says, as well as specialized gadgets like connected navigation, portable media players, mobile gaming consoles and follow-on devices to Amazon's Kindle e-reader. "All take advantage of a minimal hardware platform and a minimal operating system to provide a really good user experience to solve a particular need."
This minimalism will become the case in enterprises just as it has in the consumer market, Orr says. "I don't believe that a netbook solves all needs. It's not going to replace the computer that's being used in a cubicle with a large screen, where you have heavy graphics, rendering and a lot of processing."
Ultimately, he says, the OS is going to be the last question on most netbook users' minds -- corporate or consumer.
computerworld
Netbooks is a "category with legs," says Stephen O'Grady, an analyst with Seattle-based consultancy RedMonk, pointing to recent market activity as an indicator of the netbook's viability. Most obvious, he says, is Google's decision to build a separate Linux-based operating system -- Chrome OS -- specifically for netbooks. Meantime, Microsoft is grappling with "hard questions about its OS pricing relative to netbooks," and virtually every major hardware maker, apart from Apple Inc., has an offering in the category.
At Hewlett-Packard Co., for example, corporate customers already are evaluating netbooks, says Sarah Bussell, business notebook product manager at the company. They're looking at netbooks "as companion devices for highly mobile professionals, to provide occasional mobility to personnel that are typically desk-based, or to automate paper-based internal processes, such as onsite training," she says.
As netbooks head into the enterprise, questions about the best OS -- Windows or Linux -- for that market are beginning to arise. One might assume compatibility and familiarity with Windows are the first priorities for the corporate customer. And while this may be true for early enterprise deployments, many observers are leaving the door open for Linux.
Here are six factors that could determine which netbook OS will dominate the enterprise market.
1. Windows' familiarity
Corporate buyers want "stability, and they want sameness, even more than consumers want" it, says Stephen Baker, an analyst with NPD Group, whose research shows that consumers returned netbooks running Linux in greater numbers than they did those with Windows installed.
"They're going to gravitate toward the things that they already have installed, are able to support, and that users are comfortable with. That lines up pretty well with what's available on netbooks, which is mostly Windows XP," Baker says.
Lenovo sells netbooks with Windows XP Home Edition, as does HP, for example. But HP also offers its Mini 5101 netbook with SUSE Linux SLED 11. Bussell declined comment on which OS its early-adopter enterprise customers prefer.
2. Google's Chrome OS
Google's decision to enter the netbook OS race has garnered much interest and speculation -- but few predict it will take over the enterprise anytime soon.
RedMonk's O'Grady says he guesses that, at least initially, Google has near zero ambition for Chrome OS in the enterprise. The inherent challenges in trying to service complicated business needs would be too overwhelming for Google to handle, he says.
Says Baker, who is extremely skeptical of Google's chances of breaking into the netbook OS field, whether it be for enterprise or the average end user: "Come back to me in 18 months when there's something actually out. What the market looks like when they come out with something is not going to look anything like what today's market looks like for netbooks."
Google "believes there's an opportunity. All the decisions [by enterprise buyers] have not been made," says Jeff Orr, an analyst with ABI Research. "There's an opportunity to enter that space and to create platforms that provide a more fine-tuned or refined experience for the Web and Internet."
In announcing Chrome, Orr said, Google may have spurred Microsoft to alter or speed up its strategy for Windows 7 on netbooks, leading up to the recent news about the technical limitations and other rules Microsoft wants imposed on OEMs that want to sell netbooks with the next version of Windows installed. Orr theorized that Google's announcement of Chrome may have helped to motivate Microsoft to hurry up with a specialized netbook edition of Windows 7 instead of just leaning on Windows XP for the netbook market.
3. Too many Linux choices for netbooks?
Besides Chrome, other Linux choices for netbooks include Intel's Moblin, Ubuntu and even Android, Google's mobile device OS. The Linux camp, "while offering choice to the market, is in danger of fragmenting itself with multiple, highly differentiated choices," says RedMonk's O'Grady.
NPD's Baker takes a different position. He says the Linux-based netbook variants aren't causing a problem. "There has to be some market presence for there to be 'confusion.' CIOs aren't particularly confused, because they're not likely to use any of those products right now," he says.
4. Cloud computing services and applications
The question of which netbook OS will dominate in the enterprise could be irrelevant if cloud computing becomes prevalent in the enterprise.
Windows compatibility doesn't matter when accessing cloud services via netbooks, says Sam Johnston, a consultant who specializes in cloud computing and netbooks. A netbook can access a virtualized version of any OS hosted on a remote server, including a traditional Windows desktop, he says.
While O'Grady says he feels that enterprises will be loath to change from Windows in the foreseeable future, he agrees that the cloud model makes the OS choice less relevant. "To the extent that workloads increasingly shift toward software as a service, the question of what operating system a user is running becomes less important, which gives the challengers cause for hope."
5. Cost of the OS
Linux will eventually win out in enterprises for a simple reason -- cost, Johnston says. "With hardware cost trending rapidly toward zero, and sub-$100 devices being a possibility in the short-to-medium term, it is impossible to carry even a modest operating system cost," he reasons.
Orr of ABI agrees Microsoft will face a challenge on cost given that most Linux-based choices are or will be free to install and use. Its too soon to say, but whether corporate netbooks will adopt Windows 7 widely will depend on whether its a fully functional version and how much it costs, he says.
6. Hardware limitations
But Orr theorizes that in the enterprise the battle for the netbook OS of choice will not play out like it did for traditional notebooks and desktops.
In general, netbooks are purposely limited in processing speed and storage space, and smaller in size compared to most offerings falling under the notebook category, to keep costs low. Because of this, netbooks may never be capable enough to fully exploit all the features of the latest version of Windows, or another processor-heavy OS. A lightweight OS -- with its code base taking up minimal space on the netbook's storage medium, and starting up and performing tasks near instantly -- could be key for the netbook's acceptance in enterprises.
"The initial opportunity for netbooks will align with Windows and, specifically, Windows XP. But that choice will segment, as instant-on operating systems become more prevalent," Orr says.
Johnston says, "The winner will almost certainly be Linux running on ARM processors -- what I have been referring to as 'LinARM,'" a play on Wintel (Windows/Intel). ARM is a popular processor architecture for mobile devices.
Baker, reliably bullish for Windows, argues that the netbook's evolving form factor and technology will not make much difference in the Linux adoption decision: "One of the reasons why we have a lot of Windows in the market now is because that's what everybody is comfortable with. If you make great changes, there's a big learning curve. And from a CIO perspective, they have to think about what the cost is of training their people to use something different."
An open field
So industry watchers give Windows (specifically, XP) the early edge as the netbook OS choice in the enterprise. But possibilities for a challenger remain open, most say.
Lenovo is one OEM willing to hedge its bets when it comes to Linux on netbooks for the enterprise. Although it currently offers Windows XP, the company is willing to consider Google's Chrome operating system whenever the search engine giant reveals an actual working product. A Lenovo spokeswoman says her company "is actively assessing the Google Chrome operating system's development."
Enterprise IT managers might do well to put aside heavy emphasis on the OS, Orr suggests. Comparing netbooks to other small gadgets, and moving away from comparisons to the traditional notebook, may divine the answer.
"There's a lot of opportunity for general computing platforms," Orr says, as well as specialized gadgets like connected navigation, portable media players, mobile gaming consoles and follow-on devices to Amazon's Kindle e-reader. "All take advantage of a minimal hardware platform and a minimal operating system to provide a really good user experience to solve a particular need."
This minimalism will become the case in enterprises just as it has in the consumer market, Orr says. "I don't believe that a netbook solves all needs. It's not going to replace the computer that's being used in a cubicle with a large screen, where you have heavy graphics, rendering and a lot of processing."
Ultimately, he says, the OS is going to be the last question on most netbook users' minds -- corporate or consumer.
computerworld
Senin, 07 September 2009
Where in the World do Viruses Come From?
The U.S. and Brazil continued their output of spam and viruses through August, although levels have dropped slightly since July, according to security vendor Network Box.
An analysis of Internet threats by Network Box in August 2009 shows that the volume of malware, which peaked in July (when volumes increased by 300 per cent), are down again at levels seen in June (around four viruses per customer, per hour). Spam is also down slightly, averaging around 90 spam e-mails per customer, per hour (from a peak of around 120 in May).
The U.S. continues to dominate as the main source of the world's viruses, producing 15.9 per cent of all viruses. It is followed closely by Brazil, which produces 14.5 per cent (similar levels to last month's 14.1 per cent).
Brazil continues to be the biggest source of spam, producing 11.6 per cent of all spam, followed by the US at 8.6 per cent and South Korea at 7.2 per cent.
South Korea remains the biggest source of intrusion attacks, at 17.3 per cent.
Phishing attacks also remain high, at 33 per cent of all viruses. This is down slightly from last month's 36.2 per cent, but still significantly higher than in June, when phishing attacks made up just five per cent of all viruses. (See also "Can You Trust Free Antivirus Software?")
Patches prevent infections
Meanwhile, Network Box lowered its global alert condition to Level 2, saying it has been the lowest in nine months. This means there are limited virus/worm activities, with no major unexploited vulnerabilities or threats.
Mark Webb-Johnson, CTO of Network Box, said: "The large number of recent vulnerabilities announced by both Microsoft and Apple led to a frenzy of malware activity spearheaded by an unprecedented large number of website defacements. What we're now seeing is that those who have already patched are protected and those that haven't are already infected -- so the number of new infections appears to have levelled off."
Simon Heron, Internet security analyst for Network Box, added: "Businesses and individuals still need to be alert to threats through the remainder of the summer, particularly phishing attacks. We've seen a huge increase in SQL injection attacks so it's important that anyone using Web-based applications or servers keeps their security up-to-date."
While threat landscape currently remains stable, Network Box said it will continue to closely monitor and re-evaluate the situation as necessary, especially with Microsoft's Patch Tuesday coming next week.
computerworld
An analysis of Internet threats by Network Box in August 2009 shows that the volume of malware, which peaked in July (when volumes increased by 300 per cent), are down again at levels seen in June (around four viruses per customer, per hour). Spam is also down slightly, averaging around 90 spam e-mails per customer, per hour (from a peak of around 120 in May).
The U.S. continues to dominate as the main source of the world's viruses, producing 15.9 per cent of all viruses. It is followed closely by Brazil, which produces 14.5 per cent (similar levels to last month's 14.1 per cent).
Brazil continues to be the biggest source of spam, producing 11.6 per cent of all spam, followed by the US at 8.6 per cent and South Korea at 7.2 per cent.
South Korea remains the biggest source of intrusion attacks, at 17.3 per cent.
Phishing attacks also remain high, at 33 per cent of all viruses. This is down slightly from last month's 36.2 per cent, but still significantly higher than in June, when phishing attacks made up just five per cent of all viruses. (See also "Can You Trust Free Antivirus Software?")
Patches prevent infections
Meanwhile, Network Box lowered its global alert condition to Level 2, saying it has been the lowest in nine months. This means there are limited virus/worm activities, with no major unexploited vulnerabilities or threats.
Mark Webb-Johnson, CTO of Network Box, said: "The large number of recent vulnerabilities announced by both Microsoft and Apple led to a frenzy of malware activity spearheaded by an unprecedented large number of website defacements. What we're now seeing is that those who have already patched are protected and those that haven't are already infected -- so the number of new infections appears to have levelled off."
Simon Heron, Internet security analyst for Network Box, added: "Businesses and individuals still need to be alert to threats through the remainder of the summer, particularly phishing attacks. We've seen a huge increase in SQL injection attacks so it's important that anyone using Web-based applications or servers keeps their security up-to-date."
While threat landscape currently remains stable, Network Box said it will continue to closely monitor and re-evaluate the situation as necessary, especially with Microsoft's Patch Tuesday coming next week.
computerworld
Minggu, 06 September 2009
Google-Sony deal signals new front in browser war
A year after Google debuted Chrome with a bang, the browser may have failed to meet expectations. But recent moves by the search giant signal a new campaign in the war against rivals, analysts said today.
"From the outside, the thought last year was that Google would push Chrome a lot more than it has," said Ray Valdes, an analyst for Gartner, who said he expected Chrome to have a larger slice of the browser market 12 months after its September 2008 launch. "But with this deal, Google is signaling to the market and to competitors, that it's taking a more traditional approach to marketing Chrome."
Valdes was referring to news that Google has struck a deal with Sony to add Chrome to the consumer electronics maker's Vaio line of PCs and is exploring similar arrangements with other OEMs.
Google confirmed that Chrome will come on new Sony systems. "We're continuing to explore ways to make Chrome accessible to even more people," said a company spokesman. "We are in the process of testing one such channel with Sony."
The Financial Times, which first reported the deal, said that Google is talking with other computer makers about similar deals, while the Wall Street Journal said Sony has acknowledged it will be setting Chrome as the default browser on its Vaio-branded machines.
Although similar deals are commonplace for search engines competing for market share, this is the first time that a non-Microsoft browser has bought its way onto new PCs. "Call it the Microsoftian approach to the market," Valdes said.
"Absolutely, this is a signal by Google," agreed Sheri McLeish, an analyst with Forrester Research. "It's significant because [such deals are] a really fast-track way to grow market share. It's got Microsoft in the position it is today."
A year after Google announced Chrome, rival Microsoft remains the dominant browser maker. Web metrics firm Net Applications puts Internet Explorer (IE) at 66.6% share of the browser market. Chrome, meanwhile, holds only a 2.9% share.
Some, including Microsoft's rivals, argue that IE owes its first-place position to its inclusion with Windows, the world's most widely-used operating system. Norwegian browser maker Opera Software, for instance, used that reasoning when it complained to European antitrust regulators; they have filed charges against Microsoft for shielding IE from competition by bundling it with Windows.
Microsoft has been forced into several concessions by the accusations, including a recent proposal that it will offer a browser "ballot screen" to European customers that lets them choose from at least five browsers -- including Chrome -- when they go online for the first time.
Last February, Google joined the EU's case against Microsoft as an "interested third party" that is allowed to offer comment to regulators.
"Google has gained a relatively low rate of conversion," said McLeish, talking about its efforts to get users to switch to Chrome. "The removal of the beta label [by Google] was a huge step forward to make people feel comfortable choosing Chrome."
The deal with Sony, said McLeish, is a milestone because Google was obviously able to convince the PC maker that its browser is a legitimate contender. "What's important with the Sony deal is that it means Chrome is real. It could pose tremendous risk to Sony if, for example, Chrome wasn't secure enough for consumers.
"So for Google to get the deal done, I'm sure Chrome had to go through some rigorous technical testing to make sure it was a viable browser," she said.
Whether the deal with Sony or other computer vendors can actually move the needle for Chrome is a different story, both analysts agreed.
Gartner's Valdes remains pessimistic about Chrome's chances. "In terms of real market adoption, it's not going to have a tremendous impact," he said. "You can't make a frontal assault [on IE], not these days. You want to do a flanking maneuver. Chrome OS is a flanking maneuver."
Chrome OS, which Google announced in early July -- but which will not be available on computers until the second half of 2010 -- will feature Chrome as its built-in browser. Google's OS, in fact, will be all about the browser, as the operating system is meant as a platform for Web-based applications.
Analysts generally see Chrome OS as a strong long-term threat to Windows' hegemony.
McLeish said Google has its work cut out for it in the browser battle. "There are three key factors in users' selection of a browser. One is brand, where Google has an opportunity. The second, how does it relate to innovation. Does the browser provide something new or different that I can't get elsewhere that will improve my Web experience?
"The third comes down to peer influence," McLeish said. "Google has brand and innovation, but [technology influencers] have not given Chrome the lift that Google would have liked."
And any IE rival, including Google, faces tremendous hurdles in businesses, which are loath to switch their workers to a different browser, especially one without the kind of management tools that Microsoft provides for IE. Nearly a quarter of computers worldwide, for instance, still run IE6, an eight-year-old browser that even Microsoft would like to see go away.
Still, these are unsettled times for browser makers, and anything's possible. "The browser market is heated up right now," said McLeish. "The choices are there, which is a great boon for users."
"There are a lot of good browsers out there," echoed Valdes. "Safari and Firefox and IE8. But they're all moving targets."
computerworld
"From the outside, the thought last year was that Google would push Chrome a lot more than it has," said Ray Valdes, an analyst for Gartner, who said he expected Chrome to have a larger slice of the browser market 12 months after its September 2008 launch. "But with this deal, Google is signaling to the market and to competitors, that it's taking a more traditional approach to marketing Chrome."
Valdes was referring to news that Google has struck a deal with Sony to add Chrome to the consumer electronics maker's Vaio line of PCs and is exploring similar arrangements with other OEMs.
Google confirmed that Chrome will come on new Sony systems. "We're continuing to explore ways to make Chrome accessible to even more people," said a company spokesman. "We are in the process of testing one such channel with Sony."
The Financial Times, which first reported the deal, said that Google is talking with other computer makers about similar deals, while the Wall Street Journal said Sony has acknowledged it will be setting Chrome as the default browser on its Vaio-branded machines.
Although similar deals are commonplace for search engines competing for market share, this is the first time that a non-Microsoft browser has bought its way onto new PCs. "Call it the Microsoftian approach to the market," Valdes said.
"Absolutely, this is a signal by Google," agreed Sheri McLeish, an analyst with Forrester Research. "It's significant because [such deals are] a really fast-track way to grow market share. It's got Microsoft in the position it is today."
A year after Google announced Chrome, rival Microsoft remains the dominant browser maker. Web metrics firm Net Applications puts Internet Explorer (IE) at 66.6% share of the browser market. Chrome, meanwhile, holds only a 2.9% share.
Some, including Microsoft's rivals, argue that IE owes its first-place position to its inclusion with Windows, the world's most widely-used operating system. Norwegian browser maker Opera Software, for instance, used that reasoning when it complained to European antitrust regulators; they have filed charges against Microsoft for shielding IE from competition by bundling it with Windows.
Microsoft has been forced into several concessions by the accusations, including a recent proposal that it will offer a browser "ballot screen" to European customers that lets them choose from at least five browsers -- including Chrome -- when they go online for the first time.
Last February, Google joined the EU's case against Microsoft as an "interested third party" that is allowed to offer comment to regulators.
"Google has gained a relatively low rate of conversion," said McLeish, talking about its efforts to get users to switch to Chrome. "The removal of the beta label [by Google] was a huge step forward to make people feel comfortable choosing Chrome."
The deal with Sony, said McLeish, is a milestone because Google was obviously able to convince the PC maker that its browser is a legitimate contender. "What's important with the Sony deal is that it means Chrome is real. It could pose tremendous risk to Sony if, for example, Chrome wasn't secure enough for consumers.
"So for Google to get the deal done, I'm sure Chrome had to go through some rigorous technical testing to make sure it was a viable browser," she said.
Whether the deal with Sony or other computer vendors can actually move the needle for Chrome is a different story, both analysts agreed.
Gartner's Valdes remains pessimistic about Chrome's chances. "In terms of real market adoption, it's not going to have a tremendous impact," he said. "You can't make a frontal assault [on IE], not these days. You want to do a flanking maneuver. Chrome OS is a flanking maneuver."
Chrome OS, which Google announced in early July -- but which will not be available on computers until the second half of 2010 -- will feature Chrome as its built-in browser. Google's OS, in fact, will be all about the browser, as the operating system is meant as a platform for Web-based applications.
Analysts generally see Chrome OS as a strong long-term threat to Windows' hegemony.
McLeish said Google has its work cut out for it in the browser battle. "There are three key factors in users' selection of a browser. One is brand, where Google has an opportunity. The second, how does it relate to innovation. Does the browser provide something new or different that I can't get elsewhere that will improve my Web experience?
"The third comes down to peer influence," McLeish said. "Google has brand and innovation, but [technology influencers] have not given Chrome the lift that Google would have liked."
And any IE rival, including Google, faces tremendous hurdles in businesses, which are loath to switch their workers to a different browser, especially one without the kind of management tools that Microsoft provides for IE. Nearly a quarter of computers worldwide, for instance, still run IE6, an eight-year-old browser that even Microsoft would like to see go away.
Still, these are unsettled times for browser makers, and anything's possible. "The browser market is heated up right now," said McLeish. "The choices are there, which is a great boon for users."
"There are a lot of good browsers out there," echoed Valdes. "Safari and Firefox and IE8. But they're all moving targets."
computerworld
Jumat, 04 September 2009
Microsoft patches 19 bugs in sweeping security update
Microsoft today delivered nine security updates that patched 19 vulnerabilities in several crucial components of Windows, as well as in Windows Media Player, Outlook Express, IIS (Internet Information Server), Office and several other products.
Security researchers pegged Tuesday's batch as "all over the map" and a "smorgasbord" of updates.
Included in today's patches were five that plugged holes that Microsoft's own software inherited from a buggy code "library," dubbed ATL (Active Template Library), that the company and others rely on to create their programs.
"This is certainly a hodgepodge," said Andrew Storms, director of security operations at nCircle Network Security. "There's no real pattern this month. I'd call it a smorgasbord."
"It's a big pile of messy stuff," said Eric Schultze, chief technical officer at Shavlik Technologies. "Everything is impacted except for Internet Explorer."
Josh Abraham, a security researcher at Rapid7, agreed. "There are a ton of things all over the map here."
Five of the updates were pegged as "critical," the most serious ranking in Microsoft's four-step scoring system, while four were marked "important," the next rating down.
The big story today, agreed security experts, was MS09-037, the update that fixed five vulnerabilities in several Microsoft-made Windows components caused by bugs in ATL.
"This one is just awful," said Abraham, referring to the ATL update.
Schultze, who called the ATL fixes a "whole handful," also ranked MS09-037 at the top of today's list. "There are five individual patches for five individual controls, each used in different [Microsoft] software. It's good that Microsoft's patched this, but it's going to be really difficult for people to patch."
Storms, however, was surprised by the small number of ATL-related patches. "We expected a slew of ATL patches," he said, "although we only got five. But I expect that we'll see more and more ATL bugs from Microsoft in the next couple of months."
Schultze, who once worked at Microsoft, said he had been told by sources inside the company that with the exception of one still-open investigation, today's fixes patch all ATL-related vulnerabilities in software that ships as part of Windows. "They might have it licked," he said, but warned that Microsoft has yet to dig into other ActiveX controls it's crafted that don't ship "in the box," or come on the operating system's installation CD.
The ATL vulnerabilities were introduced when a Microsoft programmer added an extra "&" character to the widely-used library.
Two weeks ago, Microsoft rushed a pair of emergency updates to users that plugged multiple holes in IE and Visual Studio. Those vulnerabilities were traced to ATL.
Another high-profile update is MS09-043, which patches four critical vulnerabilities in Office Web Components (OWC), a set of ActiveX controls that let users publish Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents on the Web, then view them within Internet Explorer (IE).
Last month, Microsoft warned users of attacks exploiting the ActiveX control that displays Excel spreadsheets in IE, but the company was unable to patch it in time to meet the July update schedule. Security experts had predicted that Microsoft would fix the flaw today.
Users should patch the OWC bugs immediately, Abraham argued. "Anything, like this, that's been turned into a Metasploit module and weaponized should be patched as soon as possible," he said, talking about the popular penetration testing framework that both hackers and legitimate security researchers rely on for developing exploits.
Sheldon Malm, Rapid7's senior director of security strategy, urged Windows users to look beyond MS09-037 and MS09-043, the two updates he thought would get the most media attention today. He, as well as Schultze, singled out two other bulletins -- MS09-039 and MS09-042 -- that patched the Windows Internet Name Service (WINS) and Telnet components, respectively. "On the other end of the spectrum you've got WINS and Telnet," said Malm, who predicted that their updates would be largely ignored, at least initially.
Abraham also called out MS09-044, a two-patch update for Remote Desktop Connection, software used by both client and server versions of Windows, as well as by some Mac users, to access applications and data on a remote system over a network.
Any other month, said Abraham and Malm, that update would likely rise to the top of the to-do list. "But it's flying under the radar because of the media hype about ATL and OWC," said Malm.
All four security experts also put the spotlight on MS09-038, which patches two vulnerabilities in Windows' handling of the popular AVI media file format.
"This is a classic example of a media file format bug that once you view a malicious video, you get owned," Storms said, adding that they may be ripe for worm exploitation. "All the potential is there," he said.
"Exploits of this will use a unique attack vector," agreed Abraham, who said it was notable because attacks could be based on malicious video clips. "That's a departure from the standard, and speaks volumes about how rich media has become crucial to the Internet." Attackers could exploit the media format flaws by duping users into visiting Web sites that host rigged video.
"We're going to feel the 19 [vulnerabilities] this month," Storms said. "Because of the disparate systems that need to be patched and the wide variety of software that must be tested, everyone will be feeling the pain this month."
"Microsoft's dumping a huge chunk on people today," Malm agreed.
The August updates can be downloaded and installed via the Microsoft Update and Windows Update services, as well as through Windows Server Update Services.
Security researchers pegged Tuesday's batch as "all over the map" and a "smorgasbord" of updates.
Included in today's patches were five that plugged holes that Microsoft's own software inherited from a buggy code "library," dubbed ATL (Active Template Library), that the company and others rely on to create their programs.
"This is certainly a hodgepodge," said Andrew Storms, director of security operations at nCircle Network Security. "There's no real pattern this month. I'd call it a smorgasbord."
"It's a big pile of messy stuff," said Eric Schultze, chief technical officer at Shavlik Technologies. "Everything is impacted except for Internet Explorer."
Josh Abraham, a security researcher at Rapid7, agreed. "There are a ton of things all over the map here."
Five of the updates were pegged as "critical," the most serious ranking in Microsoft's four-step scoring system, while four were marked "important," the next rating down.
The big story today, agreed security experts, was MS09-037, the update that fixed five vulnerabilities in several Microsoft-made Windows components caused by bugs in ATL.
"This one is just awful," said Abraham, referring to the ATL update.
Schultze, who called the ATL fixes a "whole handful," also ranked MS09-037 at the top of today's list. "There are five individual patches for five individual controls, each used in different [Microsoft] software. It's good that Microsoft's patched this, but it's going to be really difficult for people to patch."
Storms, however, was surprised by the small number of ATL-related patches. "We expected a slew of ATL patches," he said, "although we only got five. But I expect that we'll see more and more ATL bugs from Microsoft in the next couple of months."
Schultze, who once worked at Microsoft, said he had been told by sources inside the company that with the exception of one still-open investigation, today's fixes patch all ATL-related vulnerabilities in software that ships as part of Windows. "They might have it licked," he said, but warned that Microsoft has yet to dig into other ActiveX controls it's crafted that don't ship "in the box," or come on the operating system's installation CD.
The ATL vulnerabilities were introduced when a Microsoft programmer added an extra "&" character to the widely-used library.
Two weeks ago, Microsoft rushed a pair of emergency updates to users that plugged multiple holes in IE and Visual Studio. Those vulnerabilities were traced to ATL.
Another high-profile update is MS09-043, which patches four critical vulnerabilities in Office Web Components (OWC), a set of ActiveX controls that let users publish Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents on the Web, then view them within Internet Explorer (IE).
Last month, Microsoft warned users of attacks exploiting the ActiveX control that displays Excel spreadsheets in IE, but the company was unable to patch it in time to meet the July update schedule. Security experts had predicted that Microsoft would fix the flaw today.
Users should patch the OWC bugs immediately, Abraham argued. "Anything, like this, that's been turned into a Metasploit module and weaponized should be patched as soon as possible," he said, talking about the popular penetration testing framework that both hackers and legitimate security researchers rely on for developing exploits.
Sheldon Malm, Rapid7's senior director of security strategy, urged Windows users to look beyond MS09-037 and MS09-043, the two updates he thought would get the most media attention today. He, as well as Schultze, singled out two other bulletins -- MS09-039 and MS09-042 -- that patched the Windows Internet Name Service (WINS) and Telnet components, respectively. "On the other end of the spectrum you've got WINS and Telnet," said Malm, who predicted that their updates would be largely ignored, at least initially.
Abraham also called out MS09-044, a two-patch update for Remote Desktop Connection, software used by both client and server versions of Windows, as well as by some Mac users, to access applications and data on a remote system over a network.
Any other month, said Abraham and Malm, that update would likely rise to the top of the to-do list. "But it's flying under the radar because of the media hype about ATL and OWC," said Malm.
All four security experts also put the spotlight on MS09-038, which patches two vulnerabilities in Windows' handling of the popular AVI media file format.
"This is a classic example of a media file format bug that once you view a malicious video, you get owned," Storms said, adding that they may be ripe for worm exploitation. "All the potential is there," he said.
"Exploits of this will use a unique attack vector," agreed Abraham, who said it was notable because attacks could be based on malicious video clips. "That's a departure from the standard, and speaks volumes about how rich media has become crucial to the Internet." Attackers could exploit the media format flaws by duping users into visiting Web sites that host rigged video.
"We're going to feel the 19 [vulnerabilities] this month," Storms said. "Because of the disparate systems that need to be patched and the wide variety of software that must be tested, everyone will be feeling the pain this month."
"Microsoft's dumping a huge chunk on people today," Malm agreed.
The August updates can be downloaded and installed via the Microsoft Update and Windows Update services, as well as through Windows Server Update Services.
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