Archive for September, 2010

Say what you will about Tron, but the official accessories aren’t looking too bad. We’ve previously given you a glimpse of what is coming up, and now the folks over at Razer have released a video showing the mouse and mousepad in action.
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The Open Office project is declaring its independence from Oracle by forming a separate organization known as the “Document Foundation.

The Foundation is slated to act as the “cornerstone” of a new ecosystem where entities can contribute and benefit from the availability of a “truly free” office suite known as “LibreOffice.

As expected, the nascent suite has already won a number accolades from open source champions such as Google and Canonical.
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A recent survey jointly conducted by Appcelerator and IDC indicates that (Titanium) developers favor Android over iOS for next-gen TVs and other embedded devices.

Indeed, 72% of devs believe Google’s versatile OS “is best positioned to power a large number of connected devices in the future,” compared to just 25% for iOS.

As a result, 59% of developers now favor Android’s long-term outlook, versus 35% for iOS.

Nevertheless, Apple iOS continues to dominate in all categories relating to current market/revenue opportunity and devices.
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Officials in Iran have confirmed that the Stuxnet worm infected at least 30,000 Windows PCs in the country, multiple Iranian news services reported on Saturday.

Experts from Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization also reportedly met this week to discuss how to remove the malware.

Stuxnet, considered by many security researchers to be the most sophisticated malware ever, was first spotted in mid-June by VirusBlokAda, a little-known security firm based in Belarus. A month later Microsoft acknowledged that the worm targeted Windows PCs that managed large-scale industrial-control systems in manufacturing and utility companies.
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Forthcoming Windows Phone 7 devices are expected to have most of the required features of today’s smartphones — an application store, a 5-megapixel or better camera, a touchscreen, gaming — but there’s one it won’t have, and that’s tethering.

This week, phone enthusiasts were abuzz with news that the phones would allow tethering depending on the operator, based on comments that Brandon Watson, director of developer experience for Windows Phone 7, made during a podcast.

Turns out he was wrong. On Friday, Microsoft said that, in fact, Windows Phone 7 devices won’t allow tethering.
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Microsoft’s new Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) browser will require Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1), a not-yet-released major update to the operating system, the company said today.

According to a FAQ posted on the company’s site, Windows 7 users will need to install SP1 prior to adding IE9. People running Windows Vista must have that operating system’s SP2 in place.

The Ars Technica technology site first reported on the Windows 7 SP1 requirement Thursday.

Microsoft has not divulged the release dates of Windows 7 SP1 or IE9, but both are expected to appear in the first half of 2011. That six-month window covers Microsoft’s current plans for Windows 7 SP1, while many experts believe the company will ship the final of IE9 in April 2011 to coincide with its annual MIX conference.
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Contrary to reports, a bug that Microsoft patched last week had been publicly discussed a year and a half ago, security researchers said this week.

Microsoft confirmed Wednesday that it overlooked the vulnerability when it was revealed last year.

The vulnerability in Windows Print Spooler service was one of four exploited by Stuxnet, a worm that some have suggested was crafted to sabotage an Iranian nuclear reactor.

Last week, researchers at both Kaspersky Lab and Symantec, the firms that had reported the bug to Microsoft in July and August, respectively, said the print spooler vulnerability had not been publicly disclosed before they found Stuxnet was using the flaw.
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