Free Sophos Anti-Virus 4.17

SAV32CLI is a 32 bit free command line scanner used in an emergency as a disinfection utility for Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows 2003. SAV32CLI 4.17 (May 2007) includes detection for 239772 viruses, trojans & worms.

To use the Sophos command line software follow the steps below:
1) Download SAV32CLI and extract the contents by double clicking the file.
2) Add the latest IDE (virus definition) files to the folder. These can be downloaded here
3) Reboot the infected computer and press when it is starting. In the Windows 2000 Advanced Options Menu select the option Safe Mode with Command Prompt.
4) Read Scanning Options with SAV32CLI

For more info please visit Sophos Knowledgebase

Note: SAV32CLI runs on Windows NT/2000/XP/2003 computers only.

Sophos Home Page

Mozilla Gran Paradiso Alpha 4

This is a starting point for planning and design information for the Firefox 3 release, including schedules, feature sets, and branch process information. Gran Paradiso is an early developer milestone for the next major version of Firefox that is being built on top of the next generation of Mozilla's layout engine, Gecko 1.9. Gran Paradiso is being made available for testing purposes only, and is intended for web application developers and our testing community. Current users of Mozilla Firefox should not use Gran Paradiso.

Home Page

Mp3tag 2.38

Mp3tag is a powerful and yet easy-to-use tool to edit metadata (ID3, Vorbis Comments and APE) of common audio formats. It can rename files based on the tag information, replace characters or words from tags and filenames, import/export tag information, create playlists and more. The program supports online freedb database lookups for selected files, allowing you to automatically gather proper tag information for select files or CDs.

Home Page

Sumatra PDF 0.6

Sumatra PDF is a slim, free, open-source PDF viewer for Windows.

Why another PDF viewer?
There's nothing wrong with Adobe Acrobat... except for annoyingly long startup time. Sumatra has a minimalistic design. Simplicity has a higher priority than a lot of features. It's small and starts up very fast. It's designed for portable use: it's just one file with no external dependencies so you can easily run it from external USB drive.

Home Page

UK government 'loses' $1.7 billion in data transfer fiasco

Around $1.7 billion of unpaid VAT did not appear on a U.K. Revenue and Customs debt case management system because of a failure to transfer data from the main VAT computer system. Edward Leigh, chair of the powerful Commons public accounts committee, told MPs: "We found that not all information on VAT debt recorded on the main VAT computer system had been transferred to the so-called trader register. That may appear to be an obscure point, but it meant that some $1.7 billion of debt failed to appear on the debt case management system. That is hardly a first-rate example of financial management by a department that should be at the forefront of such matters."

ComputerWorld.com

Phishers Use Call Forwarding to Mask Fraud

Researchers at Atlanta-based security vendor SecureWorks have uncovered a new type of phishing attack that circumvents a bank's attempt to detect fraud by tricking victims into forwarding their telephone calls to the attacker. The attack begins with an e-mail sent from the phisher telling the potential victim their bank needs to verify their phone number immediately, and their account will be suspended if they do not confirm the number. The victim is told to confirm their number by dialing *72 and then another number, effectively forwarding their calls to the phisher's telephone.

The victim is then asked in the e-mail to update their personal information, such as bank account and Social Security numbers. If the victim's bank calls to question an unusual transaction while the calls are being forwarded, the phisher need only confirm the illegal transaction is legitimate. SecureWorks researcher Don Jackson said these types of attacks are currently not widespread, but may become so in the future as more banks use out-of-band authentication to check the validity of suspicious transactions.

Physorg.com

Thecus N2100 Y.E.S. Box

For many families the days of owning just one computer are over. The “family computer” is dead, or at least it is in our home! Rather we have several computers, and with five family members all using their own in separate rooms around the house, sharing data effortlessly can become a daunting task.

The Thecus N2100 is a small and simple to use network attached storage device that would allow everyone on the home network to access and share data. However, while simple in design, I quickly learned upon receiving it that it was actually very powerful when it came to sharing data. Features such as dual Gigabit LAN, external USB 2.0 ports, optional wireless and Serial ATA hard drive support make this NAS device one to take under serious consideration.

TechSpot

Windows Server Longhorn Beta 3 Public Evaluation

Windows Server Codenamed Longhorn beta testers have received emails late on Thursday confirming the availability of Beta 3 of the new Server system with some of the most important changes coming to Server Core. Core will support a grand total of 8 roles, double the 4 roles it had back in mid 2005.

The grand total of roles available to Server Core includes:

• Active Directory
• Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services
• DNS
• DHCP
• File/Print
• Windows Media Services
• Terminal Services Easy Print, Remote App, and Gateway
• Virtualization (configuring a server as a dedicated host for virtual servers.) (won't be available immediately)

PowerShell is also included in the 3rd beta release of Longhorn Server, as well as the Windows Firewall being enabled by default. This milestone has also been made available to the general public.

Windows Server Codenamed Longhorn (Beta 3) Public Evaluation

New Linux Kernel: 2.6.21

It took longer than Linux creator Linus Torvalds would have liked, but the latest Linux kernel, version 2.6.21, has arrived. It brings many minor and major changes in how Linux handles process scheduling and time. In his April 25th release note to the LKML (Linux Kernel Mailing List), Torvalds wrote, "If the goal for 2.6.20 was to be a stable release (and it was), the goal for 2.6.21 is to have just survived the big timer-related changes and some of the other surprises." Surviving all those changes took time. "It's been over two and a half months, and while it's certainly not the longest release cycle ever, it still dragged out a bit longer than I'd have hoped for and it should have."

The delays came in large part because of "all the timer changes to support a tickless system (and even with ticks, more varied time sources)." Torvalds called timer-related improvements "the big change during 2.6.21." A tickless system you ask? In 2.6.21, new technologies called clockevents and dyntick (dynamic ticks) were introduced. The technologies are based on previous real-time Linux work by Ingo Molnar and Thomas Gleixner. Together, they make the new kernel more efficient, both in terms of saving power, and in terms of dealing with heavy-duty multi-tasking jobs such as virtualization.

Linux-Watch.com

BDS Offers Unlimited Online Backup for Macs

Online storage startup Berkeley Data Systems, which only three days earlier announced it had signed General Electric to a multimillion-dollar backup contract, was back in the storage news April 26 with the public beta release of Mac Mozy—a service a BDS spokesperson called the "first unlimited online backup for Macintosh users worldwide." For $4.95 a month, the hosted service allows Mac users to encrypt and automatically back up all of their digital media content online, including collections from iTunes and iPhoto, the spokesperson said.

"The public beta was built by Mac engineers who understand the needs of the Mac community," said BDS founder and CEO Josh Coates, in American Fork, Utah. "With more than 1,000 participants in our limited beta, we're excited to be the first to embrace the Mac community with this unlimited online backup service." The company did not say how long the public beta version would remain in operation, but it said it is seeking feedback from users about the software and service.

eWeek.com

Cyber-crooks uses Google AdWords!

Security experts claim to have uncovered "hard evidence" that cyber-criminals are using Google's AdWords to infect unsuspecting users with malware. Under the guise of ads for trusted organisations, unsuspecting users are instead redirected to malicious sites that attempt to install exploits and other malware, according to Exploit Prevention Labs (EPL). Roger Thompson, chief technology officer at EPL, said in a blog posting that he first learned of the attack vector on 10 April. A user of the EPL's LinkScanner Pro safe surfing software ran a Google search on the phrase 'how to start a business'.

The top-ranked sponsored search listing appeared to be from AllBusiness.com, a legitimate company, yet the hyperlink actually led to a site that attempted to install a password-stealing key-logger on the user's PC. Thompson's team discovered that an organisation had registered the domain name smarttracker.org on 2 or 3 April. By 10 April, the organisation had opened a Google AdWords account and purchased campaigns for various search terms

vnunet

$US100 laptop now $US175

THE founder of the ambitious $US100 ($121) laptop project, which plans to give inexpensive computers to schoolchildren in developing countries, has revealed the machine now costs $US175. It will also be able to run Windows in addition to its home-grown, open-source interface.

Nicholas Negroponte, the former director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab who now heads the non-profit One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project, updated analysts and journalists on where the effort stands, saying "we are perhaps at the most critical stage of OLPC's life". At least seven nations have expressed interest in being in the initial wave to buy the little green-and-white XO computers: Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, Pakistan, Thailand, Nigeria and Libya. But it remains unclear which ones will be first to pay up

AustralianIT

Sony's new high-speed memory stick

Sony has announced its first Sony Memory Stick PRO-HG media card, which will ship in August 2007. The Memory Stick PRO-HG, available in 1GB, 2GB and 4GB capacities, is a step-up of Sony’s Memory Stick PRO format – Sony claims it features 30MB/sec Read/Write speeds when combined with an ExpressCard adapter. Sony will also ship the Memory Stick Duo MSAC-EX1 ExpressCard adaptor, compatible with any notebook which includes an ExpressCard slot.

The company touted that one hour video taken by a Memory Stick HD Handycam in SP mode can be transferred to a PC in approximately two minutes. Not only does the new format allow a large amount of data to be quickly transferred, real-time recording of high-resolution video and still images is also made possible. Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo media are fully backward compatible with Memory Stick PRO host devices, and will also allow the user to achieve Read/Write speeds of 13MB/s with conventional Memory Stick PRO compatible devices.

ComputerWorld.com

Samsung Develops Stacking Process for DRAM

Samsung Electronics has announced that it has developed the first all-DRAM stacked memory package using 'through silicon via' technology, which will soon result in memory packages that are faster, smaller and consume less power. The new wafer-level-processed stacked package consists of four 512 megabit DDR2 DRAM chips that offer a combined 2 gigabits of high density memory. Using the TSV-processed 2Gb DRAMs, Samsung can create a 4GB DIMM based on advanced WSP technology for the first time.

Samsung's WSP technology forms laser-cut micron-sized holes that penetrate the silicon vertically to connect the memory circuits directly with a copper filling. This removes the need for gaps of extra space and wires protruding beyond the sides of the dies, allowing a significantly smaller footprint and thinner package. Inside the new WSP, the TSV is housed within an aluminum pad to escape the performance-slow-down effect caused by the redistribution layer. Samsung's WSP technology resolves the concerns that MCPs with high-speed memory chips would suffer from performance limitations when connected using current technologies. Samsung's proprietary wafer-thinning technology, announced last year, has also been applied to improve the thin-die-cutting process, essentially eliminating potential physical distortion.

Physorg.com

Undelete Plus

Undelete Plus enables you to undelete files that have been emptied from the recycle bin. The program quickly scans a selected drive and presents you with a list of files that can be recovered, along with the status for each file (very good, good, bad etc.) indicating the likeliness of complete recovery. Undelete Plus automatically sorts the files based on file type and folder, making it easy to find specific files, and you can also apply a filter to search for a specific file.

http://www.fdrlab.com/

ShowMyPC

ShowMyPC combines VNC remote access technology with an open-source SSH forwarding client to provide you with the option to allow other users to view and control your desktop. The remote user needs to have the ShowMyPC software installed and can access your computer with just a password (no IP address needed). The temporary session password is automatically generated when you start the viewing session and must be provided to the remote user by email, phone or other means. If you have access to your own SSH server, you can use it instead of the one provided.

http://showmypc.com

Belarc Advisor 7.2.13.0

The Belarc Advisor builds a detailed profile of your installed software and hardware, missing Microsoft hotfixes, anti-virus status, CIS (Center for Internet Security) benchmarks, and displays the results in your Web browser. All of your PC profile information is kept private on your PC and is not sent to any web server. The information includes Local Drive Volumes, memory Modules, printer information, Installed Licenses, Installed software, Multimedia information and a lot more.

* Operating Systems: Runs on Windows Vista, 2003, XP, 2000, NT 4, Me, 98, and 95.
* Browsers: Requires IE 3 or Netscape 3, and higher versions. Also runs on Opera, Mozilla, and Firefox.

Belarc Home Page

ObjectDock 1.9

ObjectDock is a free program that adds a configurable, skinnable dock to Windows. Once installed, users can add short-cuts, display running tasks, and add mini-applets called docklets to their docks that can display weather information, time, system info, or much anything else. Stardock also has ObjectDock Plus which adds support for multiple docks, tabbed docks, system tray support, additional mouse-over effects and more.

ObjectDock 1.9 adds a host of new features including a Start menu docklet (for bringing up the real Start menu in the system tray), live thumbnail previews on Windows Vista, a new weather docklet, minimize and restore effects on Windows Vista, free-form screen positioning, a new graphics engine for massively better performance, reduce memory requirements, new tileable dock backgrounds, and much more.

Home Page

Arovax AntiSpyware 2.0.113

After just five minutes surfing only a few pages on the Internet - Spyware and other parasites which harm both you and your computer are downloaded to your computer and are used to retrieve sensitive data. If your system is unprotected, spyware and adware can easily infiltrate your system and do any one of the following:

- Dramatically slow down your PC and Internet connection speeds
- Get onto your computer without your knowledge gethering personal and financial information such as passwords and credit card details, as well as other sensitive data
- Flood you with commercial promotions, pop-ups and unsolicited ads from inside your PC
- Send information about you over the internet
- Modify your internet browser
- Steal your identity
- Corrupt your personal data
- Control your PC remotely

Arovax AntiSpyware is a free utility for detecting and eliminating the biggest plague of the internet, spyware. It provides two types of analysis, a deep scan and a quick scan, the latter being extremely speedy and effective. The interface is clear and easy to use, with information about everything that it finds.

Arovax Home Page

DirectX 10 Support from AMD Coming

It was believed until recently that AMD will be launching R600, RV630 and RV610 based graphics cards either in early May or in the middle of the month. These forecasts were based on the information we received from AMD partners, so it was certainly less credible than the statements made by the company officials. At this time the preview of these solutions is being held in Tunisia for members of the worldwide press.

At the quarterly conference AMD representatives were speaking about their plans regarding the launch of these upcoming graphics solutions, the detailed transcripts from the briefing can be found here. Henry Richard shared some data about the upcoming R600 based graphics cards announcement. Now we are talking about the second half of May. AMD has already picked the place for their launch. In May they will reveal 10 solutions supporting DirectX 10. And when someone asked whether there will be enough graphics cards for beginning of shipments, Henry Richard answered that AMD had never been known for paper launches.

Xbit Labs.com

Wikipedia will be offline also!

WIKIPEDIA volunteers have begun working on an offline version of the online encyclopaedia that can be distributed on CD. A preliminary version of the CD was released earlier this month. The goal is to extend Wikipedia to those with limited or no internet access. Success with the CD could ultimately lead to Wikipedia in book or other forms. The move will what contradict what Wikipedia's advocates view as the online encyclopaedia's key strength: Volunteers can quickly respond to new developments and errors in the collaborative online encyclopaedia by adding or changing entries themselves.

"Plenty of people do not have internet access. They have a computer and no internet, or just a slow internet connection," Martin A. Walker, the Wikipedia volunteer who helped coordinate the project said. "There are many times when you may be offline anyway. You may be at a camp or something like that." The development comes as the Pew Internet and American Life Project reports that 36 per cent of US adult internet users have consulted Wikipedia - 8 per cent on any given day. The telephone-based study issued Tuesday also found Wikipedia usage higher among college graduates and younger internet users.

AustralianIT.news.com.au

Yahoo! Music Launches Licensed Lyrics Service

Thanks to a new licensing deal between Yahoo! and Gracenote, song lyrics for hundreds of thousands of songs from major publishers will be incorporated into Yahoo! Music. Through the agreement, consumers can search for song lyrics from the Yahoo! Music Search bar, simply by entering even a partial lyric from the song. The database is, however, far from being complete. Yahoo! says it has lyrics for over 400,000 songs. Even having officially licensed lyrics does not guarantee accuracy - certain song lyrics still aren’t 100% accurate. Finally, in a time where DRM is, hopefully, on its way out the door, even the licensed lyrics come with their own version of DRM; you are not allowed to casually cut-and-paste any of the lyrics text.

DailyTech.com

FaceTime Enhances Skype Security

Skype has licensed application programming interfaces to just one security vendor, FaceTime Communications Incorporated, which specializes in instant messaging and peer-to-peer network security technology. The APIs allow FaceTime Internet Security Edition for Skype to control several aspects of Skype. It can control who is allowed to use Skype, whether those users are allow to use the VOIP, chat and instant messaging functions, and whether or not older versions of Skype with known vulnerabilities can be used.

Skype uses an encrypted protocol that's been updated at least 35 times since last year to avoid detection by security products, said Sarah Carter, who works in FaceTime's marketing department. That poses a risk for businesses, since Skype's chat and file-sharing feature could potentially be used to transfer confidential information. Security managers would not even know the application is on one of their user's machines. Skype is capable of using most ports on a machine and can also bypass firewalls and "tunnel" using HTTP. Those evasive techniques may inspire confidence among users concerned about privacy and eavesdropping, but don't translate well to businesses. Skype officials estimate about 33% of its 170 million users are business users.

FaceTime's product uses a Linux appliance, RTGuardian, to detect and block Skype sessions and block unsanctioned versions of the application. It also uses a server, the Greynet Enterprise Manager, which manages who uses specific functions. Pricing starts at US$7,000 for 50 users per year.

PCWorld.com

Acer recalls 27,000 laptop batteries

Just when you thought the faulty Sony-made lithium-ion overheating batteries fiasco was over, Acer Incorporated, one of the largest computer makers in the world, has recalled of about 27,000 laptop batteries. More than 10 million notebook batteries have been recalled worldwide since the problem was traced to Sony Corporation last year. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has logged dozens of reports of lithium-ion batteries overheating. Taiwan-based Acer said none of the known incidents involved its laptop models but the company still worked with the consumer agency to conduct the voluntary recall.

The laptops possibly containing the recalled batteries were the TravelMate series with 4-digit model numbers beginning with 242, 320, 321, 330, 422, 467, 561, C20, and the Aspire series beginning with model numbers 556, 560, 567, 930, 941, 980. Acer, whose U.S. division is based in San Jose, says consumers should immediately stop using the recalled batteries and contact the company for a free battery replacement. The laptops could still be safely used if powered by the AC adapter, the company said.

MSNBC.MSN.COM

Dell Offers 32GB SSD

Solid state disk drives are quieter and cooler, faster and lighter, and consume much less power than the traditional hard disk drive. They cost more per GB, however, but as technology advances, prices go down. To do that, consumers must be able to purchase them easily. The world’s second largest PC manufacturer is doing its part.

Dell has begun to offer the January 2007-announced 1.8" SanDisk UATA 5000 drives on its Latitude D420 ultra-mobile and Latitude D620 ATG semi-rugged notebooks. SanDisk's 1.8" SSD drive features patented TrueFFS flash management technology, a MTBF of 2 million hours, read speeds of 62MB/sec and had an average access speed of 0.12 milliseconds. The drive reportedly boosts overall system performance by 23% and reduces boot times by 34% on the D420 and D620. The SanDisk UATA 5000 is currently available as a $450 option on the D420 and a $300 option on the D620 ATG. The drive is also available direct from Dell at a price of $549.

DailyTech

Open Source Security - 105 Tools List

Open source security is like a military general who shows his plans to both his allies and his enemies. On the one hand, his enemies can try to exploit the plan by targeting its weaknesses. But on the other hand, by exposing his tactics to those who want to help, the plan is ultimately much stronger as a result of their feedback and modifications.

Open source applications make their source code publicly available for any user to download, compile and execute. This makes it possible for developers to modify different aspects of the program to their needs. However, it also makes it extremely easy for malicious coders to find and use exploits in the software against unsuspecting users.

To prevent this from happening, open source software employs some of the highest forms of security around, and when it comes to open source security applications, that bar is set even higher. After all what good would a network firewall or intrusion detection system be if a user were able to penetrate the system because of an exploit in the source code?

Full List @ NetworkSecurityJournal.com

Orbit Downloader 1.5.4

Orbit downloader is a full-featured download accelerator and manager. Orbit downloader integrates seamlessly into Microsoft Internet Explorer to automatically handle your downloads. Using Orbit downloader you can easily download files from any remote server via HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, RTSP, MMS. With Orbit downloader the downloading process will be as easy as never before. Orbit downloader is a light-weight, powerful and easy-to-use application. Also it is well-known for its intuitive and user-friendly interface.

Main Features:

* Orbit downloader supports most of file-sharing service websites, including RapidShare, Megaupload, Badongo, Sendspace, Yourfilehost, Filefront, 4shared, Turboupload, Depositfiles, Filefactory and more....
* Download Flash videos, including stuff from Youtube, Google, MySpace, MetaCafe, DailyMotion, etc.
* Metalink downloader -- Orbit downloader supports Metalink download and gives you extremely fast download speeds.

Orbit Downloader Home Page

Winamp 5.34 Build 1271

Nullsoft Winamp is a fast, flexible, high-fidelity music player for Windows. Winamp supports MP3, CD, Audiosoft, Audio Explosion, MOD, WAV and other audio formats, custom appearances (skins) plus audio visualization and audio effect plug-ins.

Winamp.com

IrfanView 4.00

IrfanView is a is a fast and simple freeware image viewer, editor and converter that supports all major graphic formats, including AIF, ANI/CUR, ASF, AU/SND/AIF, AVI, B3D, BMP/DIB, CAM, CLP, CRW, DAT (VideoCD), DCR, DDS, DXF, Dicom/ACR, DJVU, ECW, EMF/WMF, EPS, FLI/FLC, FPX, FSH, G3, GIF, ICO/ICL/EXE/DLL, IFF/LBM, IMG/GEM, JPG2000, JPG/JPEG, JPM, KDC, LDF, LWF, MED, MID/MIDI/RMI, MNG/JNG, MOV, MP3, MPG/MPEG, MrSID, MRW, NEF, LM/NOL/NGG, OGG, ORF, PBM/PGM/PPM, PCX/DCX, PhotoCD, Mac PICT, PNG, PSD, PSP, QTIF, RAS/SUN, RAW, RAF, RA, RLE, SFF, SFW, SGI/RGB, SWF, TGA, TIF, TTF, TXT, WAD, WAV, WBMP, WBZ/WBC, WMA, WMV, XBM and XPM. In addition it features drag and drop support, directory viewing, TWAIN (Technology Without An Interesting Name) scan support, slide shows, batch conversion, multi language support, thumbnail option, preview option, print option, IPTC edit, capturing, extract icons from EXE/DLL/ICLs, lossless JPG (Joint Photographic Expert Group) rotation, EXE/SCR creating, many hotkeys, many command line options and modifications such as changing color depth, crop, blur and sharpen.

Home Page

Satnav hacking!

Security experts are warning that mischievous hackers could send bogus signals to satellite navigation systems via the radio. The problem centres on the Radio Data System, which allows FM broadcasters to include data in radio transmissions that many satnav systems pick up. The data is commonly used to give traffic or station ID information, but this can now be hijacked, according to researchers.

Andrea Barisani, chief security engineer at consultancy Inverse Path, and Daniele Bianco, a hardware hacker at the same company, built a system that can generate false warnings for drivers using off-the-shelf components. The messages range from standard traffic alerts to warnings of an "exploding bomb ahead" or that the road is "blocked by a bullfight".

vnunet

JkDefrag 3.8

Free (released under the GNU General Public License) disk defragment and optimize utility for Windows 2000/2003/XP/Vista/X64. Completely automatic and very easy to use, fast, low overhead, with two optimization strategies, and can handle floppies and USB disks/sticks. Included are a Windows version, a commandline version (for scheduling by the task scheduler or for use from administrator scripts), a screensaver version, a DLL library (for use from programming languages), and versions for Windows X64. JkDefrag is based on the standard defragmentation API by Microsoft, a system library that is included in Windows 2000, 2003, XP, and Vista. All defragmenters are based on this API, including commercial defragmenters. JkDefrag is therefore very solid and there is no risk of losing data. You can stop the program at any time, it will finish the current file in the background. If your disks use NTFS then you're even safe when the computer crashes in the middle of defragging. Nevertheless, it's still a good idea to backup before defragmenting, just like with other defragmenters, because the heavy use of the harddisk may trigger a hardware fault.

JkDefrag Home Page

AVI Trimmer 1.4

SolveigMM AVI Trimmer if freeware AVI cutting software. This tool allows users to cut out any number of AVI fragments in one pass e.g. for commercials removing. No video quality degradation. No out of sync problems. No encoding/decoding.

Features:

• Based on SolveigMM Video Editing Engine more info
• Supports any video content - DV, XviD, DivX, 3ivX, MPEG-4, etc.
• Supports any audio content - MPEG-1,2 Layer I, II, III; AC3, etc
• Allows trimming AVI files contained VBR audio without synchronization loss
• Supports AVI files of the size more then 2 and 4 GB
• Supports the OpenDML AVI file format extension
• Supports the native DV AVI format (both Type 1 and Type 2 in Microsoft terms)
• Performs the trimming process starting with K frame
• Cutting off several portions of a movie at one time is allowed. You can get rid of all commercials in your movie in a couple of simple steps.

Home Page

Hacker shows Mac break-in !

Right after Apple’s release of a patch for 25 vulnerabilities in OS X, a hacker managed to break into a Mac by exposing a hole in Apple's browser Safari, winning a $10,000 prize as part of a contest started at the CanSecWest security conference in Vancouver, Canada. Initially, contestants were invited to try to access one of two Macs through a wireless access point while the Macs had no programs running. No attackers managed to do so, and so conference organizers allowed participants to try to get in through the browser by sending URLs via e-mail.

Dino Di Zovie, who lives in New York, sent along a URL that exposed the hole. Because the contest was only open to attendees in Vancouver, he sent it to a friend who was at the conference and forwarded it on. The URL opened a blank page but exposed a vulnerability in input handling in Safari which allowed an attacker to use the vulnerability in a number of ways, but Di Zovie used it to open a back door that gave him access to anything on the computer. The vulnerability won't be published. 3Com's TippingPoint division will handle disclosing it to Apple. The prize for the contest was originally one of the Macs but on Thursday evening, TippingPoint put up the cash award, which may have spurred a wider interest in the contest.

The conference organizers decided to offer the contest in part to draw attention to possible security shortcomings in Macs. "You see a lot of people running OS X saying it's so secure, and frankly, Microsoft is putting more work into security than Apple has," said Dragos Ruiu, the principal organizer of security conferences including CanSecWest. Macs haven't been targets for hackers and malicious code writers because there are fewer Macs in use, thus making the potential impact of malicious code smaller than on the more widely used Windows PCs.

InfoWorld

AMD Opteron - 3 gigahertz

Advanced Micro Devices has begun quietly selling new 3GHz versions of its dual-core Opteron server processor, the 2222 SE and 8222 SE, which feature higher performance but consume up to 120 watts compared to 95 watts for conventional 2.8GHz Opterons and 68 watts for 2.6GHz high-efficiency models. The 2222 SE, for dual-processor systems, costs $873 in quantities of 1,000, while the 8222 SE, for systems with four or eight processors, costs $2,149 for quantities of 1,000. For comparison, the 2.8GHz 2220 SE and 8220 SE cost $698 and $1,514 in that quantity. AMD spokesman Phil Hughes confirmed that the company has begun shipping the new chips but said that the company will officially launch the products Monday.

News.com

Microsoft sued for patent suit over .Net

Vertical Computer Systems Incorporated filed a suit on April 18 in a U.S. District Court in Texas against Microsoft Corporation for patent infringement related to Microsoft's .Net framework, used for building Windows-based software. Vertical alleges that Microsoft has infringed on its Patent #6,826,744, for a "system and method for generating web sites in an arbitrary object framework." The patent is for Vertical's SiteFlash technology, which utilizes XML (Extensible Markup Language) to create a component-based structure to build and efficiently operate Web sites, according to the company's Web site. The complaint says Microsoft is still wilfully infringing on the patent despite Vertical having put Microsoft on notice about it on February 7. Vertical is asking for a jury trial. Vertical, based in Fort Worth, Texas, describes itself as a global Web services provider. It went public in 2000 but is not listed on a major stock exchange.

ComputerWorld

Intel Cuts Prices and Launches New Models

Intel is set to cut prices for its Core 2 dual and quad-core products next week, online retailers have already taken the plunge. The chip giant also launched the Core 2 Duo E6320 and E6420, now with 4MB of L2 cache. Intel prices the new E6x20 models the same as the E6x00 models. Under the new pricing structure, Intel offers its Core 2 processors starting at $113 per unit, in 1,000 unit quantities.

Intel Core 2 Model - Core Frequency - Q2'07 Pricing - Newegg - ZipZoomFly

• Q6600 - 2.40 GHz - $530 - $659 - $559.99
• E6700 - 2.66 GHz - $316 - $485 - $340.90
• E6600 - 2.40 GHz - $224 - $235 - $234
• E6420 - 2.13 GHz - $183 - N/A - $199
• E6400 - 2.13 GHz - $183 - $196 - $194
• E6320 - 1.86 GHz - $163 - N/A - $175
• E6300 - 1.86 GHz - $163 - $176 - $175
• E4400 - 2.00 GHz - $133 - N/A - $149
• E4300 - 1.80 GHz - $113 - $135 - $129

Despite the mild Q2’2007 price cuts, Intel plans to aggressively cut prices on its complete lineup in Q3’2007, with the exception of the recently launched Core 2 Extreme QX6800. Under the Q3’2007 pricing, the Core 2 Quad Q6600 falls to $266 per unit, in 1,000 unit quantities. Intel also plans to release refreshed Core 2 Duo processors with 1333 MHz front-side buses ranging from $163 to $266 per unit, in 1,000 unit quantities.

DailyTech

If you let, Google happily tracks your every online move

Google's latest project, Web History, offers registered Google Account users a chance to keep track of not just their account history, but their surfing history. The data is available only when the user logs on with a Google account and password, the same account used for all other Google services. In order to track web surfing information, the user must have the Google Toolbar installed in their web browser, and have PageRank enabled. The Web History feature, which can be turned off and on, replaces the earlier "Search History" feature, which only allowed users to look at previous web search queries and results. The new tool tracks everything, allowing users to re-visit sites, downloads, search results and so on, along with displaying usage trends and showing which sites were most visited at certain times of the day. There's even a history of which Google AdSense ads the user has clicked on.

The data collected is only used to "improve your search experience" and Google promises that this data will not be made available to third parties except in aggregate form or to comply with legal processes, as per their existing privacy policy. Nevertheless, the information is all being compiled to one place: a Google account that can potentially be compromised.

Google Web History

Ubuntu 7.04 released!

Ubuntu is a complete Linux-based operating system, freely available with both community and professional support. It is developed by a large community and we invite you to participate too!

Ubuntu is suitable for both desktop and server use. The current Ubuntu release supports PC (Intel x86), 64-bit PC (AMD64), UltraSPARC T1 (Sun Fire T1000 and T2000) and PowerPC (Apple iBook and Powerbook, G4 and G5) architectures.

Ubuntu

Google announces StumbleUpon competitor

On the same day that the news breaks that eBay is acquiring StumbleUpon for $40ish million, Google announces that they are building strikingly similar functionality into their Toolbar. Google (along with AOL) were reportedly in the running to acquire StumbleUpon until very recently.

The Google Toolbar now includes a dice icon. Click it and you’ll be taken to a new website that Google thinks you’ll find interesting based on your previous search queries.

This isn’t an exact duplicate of StumbleUpon functionality, which bases recommendations on your and other StumbleUpon users’ votes of sites. But the end result is the same - serendipitous discovery of new and interesting websites based on your core interests.

Techcrunch

Software by Microsoft Is Nearly Free for the Needy

In an effort to expand its global reach in computing, Microsoft plans to offer a stripped-down version of Windows, Office and other software for $3 to people in developing nations.

The program, which is being announced in Beijing today by the Microsoft chairman, Bill Gates, represents an ambitious expansion of efforts to introduce products to those who have lacked access to personal computers, especially in developing nations.

While these countries have a growing appetite for technology as a means to spur growth and raise living standards, they also have very limited budgets. Some governments have encouraged alternatives to Microsoft’s Windows, notably Linux, a free operating system.

The Microsoft push comes as a nonprofit project, One Laptop per Child, plans this year to start producing machines priced at about $150 — with a goal of reaching $100 — that will run a version of Linux. Several countries, including Argentina, Brazil and Nigeria, have made tentative commitments to distribute the laptops to millions of schoolchildren.

New York Times

DisplayPort to Support Fiber Optic Cables

The industry's video display standards group, VESA, recently approved DisplayPort 1.1 as an industry standard. Now, a company called Luxtera has received the go-ahead from VESA to develop DisplayPort technologies using CMOS photonics. Luxtera is hoping that its development into the DisplayPort standard will help replace copper cables with optical ones as the medium for transferring high-bandwidth digital video signals. According to the press release: “High performance optical video interconnect based on Luxtera’s CMOS Photonics technology is now possible with the addition of Hybrid Devices to the standard resulting in an improved visual user experience.”

According to Luxtera, no other currently announced or available video standard offers the advantages of DisplayPort.

source: DailyTech

TOKIWA DataRecovery

TOKIWA DataRecovery is a simple data recovery tool that enables you to undelete files, even if they have been removed from the recycle bin. It supports FAT12, FAT16, FAT32 and NTFS file systems. The interface is plain and simple, choose the drive to be scanned and then select the file(s) to be recovered, you can recover multiple files by using the Shift or Ctrl key. TOKIWA DataRecovery does not require an installation, and can be run from a USB drive or floppy disk.

TOKIWA HomePage

Intel says new chips will be about 45% faster

Intel Corporation said a new line of computer processors due out later this year will greatly speed up running computer games, videos and other heavy workloads. The world’s biggest microchip maker, which powers about 75% of computers, said the new Penryn processors will have the same basic design as current ones, but the circuitry will be 30% thinner — just 45 millionths of a millimetre wide. The Penryn would be the world’s first 45 nanometer processor, said Patrick Gelsinger, the general manager for Intel’s digital enterprise group. The new processors will hit the market later this year, but Gelsinger did not provide a timeline.

“In high-performance computing and bandwidth intensive applications ... there will be up to a whopping 45 percent performance increase,” which in a prototype Penryn chip with four processing cores translated into 40% faster performance in computer games and video processing, while more mundane tasks such as image processing ran about 15% faster, Gelsinger said. The successor to Penryn, a family of chips known as Nehalem, will make their debut in 2008 with an overhauled design and featuring up to eight processing cores. Intel also reiterated plans to build graphics capabilities into Nehalem processors, a sign that it is mounting a challenge to Advanced Micro Devices Incorporated’s Fusion project, scheduled to come out in early 2009.

source: MSNBC

Google Apps to take on PowerPoint

Google CEO Eric Schmidt announced the web search giant will be adding a presentations application to Docs & Spreadsheets. Docs & Spreadsheets will now feature a word processor, a spreadsheet, and a presentations application, but Schmidt said the suite isn't a direct competitor to Office because Docs & Spreadsheets doesn't have all of Office's functionality. Instead, it's more focused on Web collaboration than Office, which is a desktop-centric product. Collaboration, Schmidt said, "is the killer application." Docs & Spreadsheets is free, unlike Office. The presentations application will be delivered in the U.S. summer timeframe, said Jonathan Rochelle, product manager of Google Docs & Spreadsheets. He expects that as soon as it becomes available, the presentation application will also become part of Google Apps, the company's communication and collaboration suite for organizations. Google Apps includes Gmail and other hosted services, including Docs & Spreadsheets. Google Apps has a free version and fee-based version.

Google decided to add a presentations component to Docs & Spreadsheets as a result of user demand, Rochelle said, adding that Google isn't providing details of the application's features and functionality yet. The presentations component will have import and export capabilities for Microsoft's PowerPoint, in the same way that the word processor and spreadsheet applications have those capabilities for Office's Word and Excel, respectively, said Rajen Sheth, product manager in Google's enterprise unit. Google also announced it has acquired Tonic Systems, a company based in San Francisco and Melbourne, Australia, that has technology to create presentations and converting documents.

source: InfoWorld

Intel's MID Platform as Alternative to UMPCs

Just over a year ago, Microsoft and Intel announced the Origami platform which would lay the foundation for Ultra-Mobile PCs (UMPCs). UMPCs were supposed to retail for between $599 to $999 and were based around the Windows XP Tablet PC Edition. "We believe that (ultra-mobile PCs) will eventually become as indispensable and ubiquitous as the mobile phone today," said Microsoft VP Bill Mitchell in March of 2006.

The prices never did quite dip into the $599 USD range and UMPCs never did quite live up to initial sales forecasts (Samsung has sold fewer than 100,000 units of its Q1), but the market is still pushing forward. As manufacturers like Samsung, Asus and HTC are working on second generation UMPC designs which run on Windows Vista; it looks as though Intel is looking to take the "bigger than a Smartphone, smaller than a laptop" sector in a different direction. Intel posted two slides on its website ahead of IDF Beijing which detail the new Mobile Internet Device (MID) platform.

source : DailyTech

Guinness World Records to produce videogame edition

Guinness World Records has announced plans to debut a new videogame series of the famous annual book, starting by unveiling the Videogame Edition 2008 on stand D505 at the London Book Fair (April 16 – 18 ). It will include reviews of the 20 biggest games of the year, record scores and fastest times, hardware profiles, sales figures and technical achievements made by individual games. The book will also answer questions such as which pro gamers earn the most money, what is the single highest score ever achieved in a game and which is the most successful games console of all time. Guinness World Records is already putting together a team to work on the videogame edition, and GamesIndustry.biz editor Ellie Gibson has been appointed as official consultant.

source: GamesIndustry.biz

Prism Video Converter 1.01

Prism video file conversion software is a free video file format converter for Windows. It can convert video files from avi, mpg, vob, wmv (Windows Media Video formats) and more into avi, asf or wmv files. Prism video converter is very easy to use. Just add the files you want to convert to the list, select the format you want to use, and then click the convert button.

Features

* Converts avi, mpg, vob, asf, wmv, mp4, ogm and all video formats that have a DirectShow based codec to AVI and Windows Media Video formats.
* If you can play the video file using 'Windows Media Player' you can convert it using Prism.
* Set compression/encoder rates of output files.
* Set resolution and frame rate of output files.
* Prism can be added to your right click menu for easy access.
* Prism video file converter has an intuitive and easy to use interface.

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Via to Supply Processors & Chipsets to HP

Via Technologies, a struggling Taiwan developer of central processing units and core-logic sets, has inked a contract with HP under which the semiconductor company will supply its C7-D CPUs and supporting chipsets to HP for a commercial PC targeting Chinese market. Given that China is currently ranked as the world’s second largest market for personal computers, Via’s design win may turn out to be very significantly for the company, whose sales has remained at relatively low level in the past five years.

HP Compaq dx2020 is based on Via C7-D 1.50GHz desktop processor and Via CN700 chipset. The systems (OS and prices for which are currently unknown) may be equipped with up to 1GB of single-channel DDR2 memory, up to 160GB Serial ATA-300 hard disk drive and other components vital for computer’s functionality. Since Via’s C7-D processor consumes maximum of 20W of power and due to low power consumption of Via CN700 core-logic that also includes built-in graphics core, the Compaq dx2020 system may be considered as an example of environmentally friendly personal computer, according to Via.

source: Xbit Laboratories

Apple's new Final Cut Studio 2

Apple has introduced Final Cut Studio 2, its high-end video-editing software, and unveiled Final Cut Server, designed to help broadcasters manage post production. The software now allows for the editing of different video formats at the same time (Open Format Timeline), the removal of unwanted camera movements (SmoothCam tool), and speeds up the process for dialogue replacement. The new server, along with 10 concurrent licenses, will go on sale in the summer for $999 while unlimited licensing will bump up the price to $1,999. Final Cut Studio Pro 2, due to be released in May, will run $1,299 or $499 for an upgrade.

"We've been working hard to make this the biggest upgrade we've ever seen in professional applications," said Rob Schoeben, Apple's vice president of applications product marketing, who added that the number of Final Cut Pro users has grown from 500,000 to 800,000 in the past year. Final Cut Pro 6 includes Apple's ProRess 422 format, a tool to help manage uncompressed high-definition video. ProRess 422 shrinks HD-quality files into standard definition sizes to make it easier to transfer and edit, Schoeben said. Apple's new professional color grading and finishing application was also rolled out.

source: News.com

Encrypt Files - File encryption utility

Encrypt Files is a file encryption utility that enables you to encrypt the content of file, using a variety of secure algorithms including Blowfish, AES, Twofish, RC6 and others. Simply select the files from the integrated file browser and encrypt them, with the algorithm of your choice. The program does not change the extension or name of the file but highlights encrypted files in the file browser, so they can be identified later. Encrypt Files also includes a file shredder to permanently delete sensitive files.

Encrypt Files HomePage

Xbox 360 to Support H.264 and MPEG-4 With Spring Update

Along with Windows Live Messenger integration, better Achievements system and that new QWERTY keypad accessory, the Spring Update will also include H.264 video support (up to 10 Mbps peak, Baseline, Main, and High profiles with 2 channel AAC LC) and MPEG-4 Part 2 video support (up to 5 Mbps peak, Simple Profile with 2 channel AAC LC). Unfortunately, the addition of MPEG-4 does not mean the Xbox 360 will now play DivX or XviD videos - the console will only natively support the WMV and MP4 containers. Red Kawa, maker of Videora, proclaimed that the update will put Microsoft ahead of the Apple TV and the PS3 in the video area. The Spring Update will be released the week of May 7 and will be easily accessible to every Xbox 360 owner through Xbox Live or on Xbox.com.

source: DailyTech

Sony plans OLED TV !

Sony Corporation has announced its hopes to steal a lead on its rivals this year by launching televisions that use organic LED displays. OLED screens have several advantages over the LCDs and plasma display panels: the OLED pixels use an organic material that emits its own light, so no backlight is needed. That means the screens consume less power and can be thinner. OLEDs also handle fast-moving images better and offer good color reproduction. Sony plans to launch an OLED TV with an 11-inch screen in Japan this year – no other details of the product's launch had been decided but at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January the 11-inch prototype was 11 millimeters thick and offered a resolution of 1,024 by 600 pixels. Sony also showed off a 27-inch prototype OLED panels. Sony wouldn't comment on pricing plans for its OLED TVs.

source: ComputerWorld

Cisco fixes wireless security holes

Cisco has issued two sets of patches that address a number of security flaws in the software used to manage its wireless networking products. One fixes flaws in the Wireless Control System software used to manage the company's Aironet Lightweight Access Points, Wireless LAN Controllers, and Wireless Location Appliance. The second set of patches fixes bugs in the Wireless LAN Controller, which controls Aironet access points as well as flaws in the access points themselves. These flaws could be exploited to disrupt networking services, gain access to information, or even take control of an access point.

The Wireless Control System patch fixes "multiple vulnerabilities that can result in information disclosure, privilege escalation, and unauthorized access," the company said in a security advisory. In its second advisory, Cisco said it has also patched flaws that affect the Wireless LAN Controller, the company's Catalyst series switches, and 1000-series and 1500-series models of the Aironet access points.

source: InfoWorld

Mandriva Puts Linux on USB

Linux distributor Mandriva's Flash 4GB provides Mandriva Linux 2007 KDE 32-bit, which is bootable off the USB 2.0 stick sans installation. It includes drivers for common PC video cards, wireless adapters and modems – as well as the required firmware. It also offers some open source desktop environments, applications and plugins: KDE 3.5.4, Mozilla Firefox 1.5.0.10, OpenOffice.org 2.0.4, The Gimp 2.3.10, Real Player 10.0.8.805 and Flash Player 9.0.31.0. System configuration, preferences and data are all saved to the key for use in a subsequent session. Its GUI includes a rotating 3D cube effect when workspaces are changed.

The user gets to decide how to split up the 4GB flash drive into partitions. When the stick is first started up, the user is asked to allocate space for their system. Other than the promotion of Mandriva, and Linux in general, this has very interesting benefits for the average traveler in need of a computer. Essentially, you can take all your files and custom settings with you and use it on a public computer. No files need to be copied to the host's hard drive and no traces of your session are left on the host PC. The key software can be upgraded to Mandriva Linux 2007 Spring, the upcoming new version of the OS. Flash 4G costs €89 (US$175) and can be ordered online.

source: PC World

Palm Inc. announces Linux-based handheld OS

Palm Inc. officials have announced the smartphone and handheld maker is to develop a new operating system for its devices, based on the Linux operating system. Palm used the "Palm OS" operating system and has also put out Treo smartphones running Windows Mobile. "We think there is a big wave coming in this whole mobile computing revolution, which is becoming a bigger part of the overall mobile phone business. We have an enormous opportunity going forward," he said at a meeting with analysts in NYC. "You can expect us to do business development around the world."

Palm Chief Executive Ed Colligan said the new operating system was in the works for years in secrecy. There have been multiple reasons for Palm's efforts to develop a new operating system. First of all, the Sunnyvale-based company doesn't own the Palm OS and spent $44 million last year for a permanent license to use it. Furthermore, the operating system was subject to criticism for its lack of major improvements over time. The Palm OS was owned by spin-off Palmsource, which was acquired by Access.

source: Playfuls.com

Samsung Speeds Up World’s Highest Capacity 2.5” Drives

Until now, 200GB 2.5” hard disk drives have only been available with a 4200rpm motor speed. Samsung Electronics has announced a new lineup of 2.5” hard disk drives that includes a model with 200GB capacity and 7200rpm motor speed. Samsung’s SpinPoint MP1-series products will be available in 80GB, 120GB, 160GB and 200GB capacities with 8MB or 16MB cache. The new family features 7200rpm spindle speed as well as Serial ATA-300 interface with support for native command queuing technology that can improve computer’s responsiveness when the hard drive is used very intensively. In order to improve reliability of SpinPoint MP1 hard drives, Samsung implemented a rotary vibration controller (which prevents the head from leaving the track under severe vibration conditions) and an optional digital free-fall sensor to protect the disk drive from vibration and shock.

The electronics equipment maker said that MP1-series is designed for enterprise applications such as workstations, RAID servers, and blade servers. Nevertheless, nothing prevents makers of mobile computers to install them into their machines. Mass production of Samsung SpinPoint MP1 is scheduled for May, directly following sample availability in early May.

source: Xbit Laboratories

FrostWire 4.13.1

FrostWire is a free Gnutella client based on LimeWire distributed under terms of the GPL. It was created in September 2005 after LimeWire LLC received a cease and desist letter from the RIAA, threatening to sue them for millions of dollars unless they stop their users from offering copyrighted songs. Unwilling to take the matter to court, LimeWire implemented a filter, preventing its users from sharing audio files that did not contain either a commercial Weed license or a Creative Commonse License. The LimeWire open-source community then decided to create FrostWire, - a free offspring using the publicly available sourcecode from LimeWire to create a Gnutella client that does not filter any content. This project is not affiliated with LimeWire LLC--the official maker of the LimeWire application.The FrostWire project will always remain strictly non-profit and free of any bundled software, including any ads or nags. FrostWire 4.13.1 include Bittorrent support, better search results and faster downloads, along with many UI improvements.

FrostWire Home Page

Hamachi 1.0.2.1

Hamachi gives you LAN over the Internet. Virtually any application that works over local/home networks can also be used over Hamachi networks. Think - Windows File Sharing, iTunes, Remote Desktop, Remote Assistance or even gaming - all fully encrypted, authenticated and peer-to-peer. Hamachi is a zero-configuration virtual private networking application with an open security architecture and NAT-to-NAT traversal capabilities. Hamachi is the first application to mix seemingly unrelated networking technologies in one powerful package to deliver an unprecedented level of direct peer-to-peer connectivity. Hamachi is secure. All Hamachi communications are encrypted and authenticated with industry-standard algorithms and protocols. Nobody will be able to see what two Hamachi peers are talking about. However what is equally important - Hamachi security architecture is completely open meaning that its detailed description is available to anyone interested for review and validation.

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AMD Cuts Prices on High-end Processors

AMD has cut prices on its high-end dual-core desktop processors and has announced its new restructuring plans to compensate for reduced quarterly revenue. As usual, prices are in 1,000 unit quantities. The price cuts affect AMD Athlon 64 X2 for single processor desktops and Athlon 64 FX Quad FX processors. Quad FX Athlon 64 FX-74 and FX-72 processors prices drop to $799 and $599 from $999 and $799, respectively. AMD no longer lists the Athlon 64 FX70, the lowest priced pair of Quad FX processors, in its price list. All AMD Athlon 64 X2 processors are now priced under $250:

• Model ( Previous Price to New Price )
• X2 6000+ ( $464 to 241 )
• X2 5600+ ( $326 to $188 )
• X2 5200+ ( $232 to $178 )
• X2 5000+ ( $222 to $167 )
• X2 4800+ ( $217 to $136 )
• X2 4400+ ( $170 to $121 )
• X2 4000+ ( $144 to $104 )
• X2 3800+ ( $113 to $83 )
• X2 3600+ ( $102 to $73 )

source: DailyTech

SanDisk With Yahoo On Wi-Fi MP3 Player

SanDisk has released its $250 Sansa Connect, a new Wi-Fi-capable portable MP3 player featuring both free and subscription music service from Yahoo Music. Apple holds about 73% of the U.S. market for portable digital music players, while SanDisk is second with about 9%, according to market research firm NPD.

Sansa owners with a Yahoo ID will be able to listen to Launchcast Internet radio, browse Flickr photos, and send instant messages using Yahoo Messenger. Those with Yahoo Music Unlimited To Go subscriptions ($12 per month) will be able to download (but not burn to CD) an unlimited number of songs. Yahoo's music subscription service isn't available to Mac users. In answer to critics who might be tempted to complain about paying $12 a month, Ian Rogers on the Yahoo Music blog said the fee represented just compensation for the music industry.

The Sansa Connect has an internal speaker and 4GB of Flash memory. Its storage capacity can be expanded using a microSD card in the built-in slot. The device supports a variety of digital audio formats such as MP3 and Windows Media Audio. In addition to Yahoo's music service, the device works with Microsoft PlaysForSure subscriptions. Available now in the U.S., the Sansa Connect is scheduled for release in Canada later this year.

source: InformationWeek

Google invests in Maxthon

Multiple sources are confirming that the Chinese/Israeli startup behind the Maxthon Browser has sold a minority stake to Google. The total investment size is rumored to be around $1 million. We are also hearing that this investment is part of a “much larger strategic deal” between the two companies.

Maxthon has had over 80 million downloads of its browser, and over half of its users are in China. Maxthon-originated searches may account for up to 25% of total Baidu traffic, according to one source. At the very least we expect the strategic deal to involve replacing the default search option in the browser from the Baidu search engine in China and Yahoo in other countries with Google search. The deal may also go beyond search and involve integration with other Google services directly into the browser. Maxthon would then be promoted on Google as a preferred browser. The deal was apparently done at least two months ago, but the companies have delayed releasing the news. We’ve contacted Netanel Jacobsson at Maxthon about this story, but he has declined to comment. We also have an email into Google PR for comment.

Maxthon has raised less than $6 million prior to this investment. Seed financing came from Morten Lund and WI Harper in March 2005, and CRV invested around $5 million in the company in March 2006.

source: TechCrunch

Jane 1.54

Jane it's just another nasty editor, designed to view all kind of ascii files. since there are millions of similar applications already available - and notepad with font "terminal" already does the trick - there's no real need to exchange your current favourite program or use a third party tool like jane. but the choice is yours, those who try might discover nice features they'll soon don't want to miss ... Jane is freeware for private use only. individual permission is needed for business and commercial use, requires a registration and binds to an order of a license.

Some detailed features:

* shell integration (double-click ascii files in your explorer to view them ... or scan a directory for the files inside without any further clicks), or create a new file with a single click.
* drag'n'drop support (just drop any file you want to see into jane to open it, or folder to browse for files). sum: jane supports drag'n drop of files and folders.
* handling hyperlinks (you will be able to open url from jane. just click on a url or mail address. it will be opened in your standard application).
* multi instance (you can specify whether you want only one instance of the program to be allowed (files will be opened in the same window) or more).
* copy on select (text is copied to clipboard right after you've selected it and released your mouse button/cursor keys). set it up to flicker or not to flicker, to indicate autocopy.
* browse directories for certain filetypes that you define.
* you can easily register additional filetypes to open with jane.
* able to fit onto file width - no need to resize jane for every single file.
* a "recently opened files" menu with max. 30 entries. you can turn this menu on/off.
* two different font schemes can be configured, so it's easy to switch between the two fonts.
* some edit functions for strings like reverse, lower and upper vowels, randomize and invert.

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TUGZip 3.4.0.2

TUGZip is a powerful award-winning freeware archiving utility for Windows® that provides support for a wide range of compressed, encoded and disc-image files, as well as very powerful features; all through an easy to use application interface and Windows Explorer integration.

Features Overview

* Supports ZIP, 7-ZIP, A, ACE, ARC, ARJ, BH, BZ2, CAB, CPIO, DEB, GCA, GZ, IMP, JAR, LHA (LZH), LIB, RAR, RPM, SQX, TAR, TGZ, TBZ, TAZ, YZ1 and ZOO archives.
* Supports BIN, C2D, IMG, ISO and NRG disc-images.
* Support for external plugins.
* Windows® shell integration, e.g. drag & drop, shell context menu and drop handlers.
* Create 7-ZIP, BH, BZ2, CAB, JAR, LHA (LZH), SQX, TAR, TGZ, YZ1 and ZIP archives.
* Script support which allows you to make automated backups.
* Basic features like: add, extract, delete, rename, run, view, checkout, install, test, comment, SFX, virus-scanning, disk-spanning and much more.
* Repair corrupted ZIP and SQX archives.
* Can extract multiple archives at once using Multi Extract.
* Encrypt archives using 6 different algorithms. Blowfish (128-bit), DES (56-bit), Triple DES (168-bit) and Rijndael (128-bit, 192-bit and 256-bit).
* Create self-extracting encrypted archives.
* Automatic updates using the "Web Update" function.

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