Modern Media Mom » Microsoft

Headlines for May 18th, 2010

[modern media mom] — Tue, 18 May 2010 15:00:45 +0000

Facebook Slammed By Adware Attack | InformationWeek – A security researcher calls the weekend attack 'stunning in terms of scale.'
5-Year-Old YouTube Tops Networks’ Primetime With 2 Billion Views | Wired.com – YouTube’s viewership now exceeds that of all three networks combined during their “primetime” evening time slot, with more than 2 billion views per day, Google announced Sunday.
Apple’s iPhone replaces BlackBerry for some bankers | Reuters – British bank Standard Chartered is replacing the BlackBerry, currently its standard corporate communications device, with the iPhone, a move that could eventually result in thousands of bankers switching to the Apple device for business communication on the go.
Microsoft Seeks to Put Hot Back in Hotmail With New Features | Wired.com – Microsoft is unveiling a major upgrade to Hotmail this summer, in an attempt to become the top webmail provider in the U.S. by outdoing the innovations that Google’s Gmail brought to the online inbox.
New apps emerge to reset Facebook privacy settings | CNET News – Several new applications have launched this week that are designed to easily reset a Facebook member's privacy settings, following new changes from the company that make a sizable chunk of profile content public by default when it was once kept under lock and key.

Headlines for May 12th, 2010

[modern media mom] — Wed, 12 May 2010 18:03:32 +0000

Faster Forward – Progress, and a problem for Android – Google's Android smartphone operating system is doing well, just not quite as good as you might think from headlines like "Android overtakes Apple in US smartphone market."
Last chance to spot shuttle Atlantis in night sky – Space.com- msnbc.com – "Skywatchers across the continental United States will get a fine opportunity this weekend to watch as the space shuttle Atlantis — on its final scheduled mission into space — chases and ultimately docks with the International Space Station."
Firefox lends security hand to rival browsers – Computerworld – "Mozilla yesterday launched a tool that lets users of rival browsers, including Internet Explorer (IE), Chrome, Safari and Opera, determine whether important add-ons may be vulnerable to attack. The Web-based tool — an extension of plug-in checking that Mozilla began adding to Firefox 3 last year — was originally slated for a late March debut, but Mozilla delayed its release in order to beef up the list of plug-ins the service scans."
With >$1 million raised, Humble Bundle games go open source – "It was a simple idea: take a collection of independent games, offer them with no DRM, and allow people to pay whatever they'd like. The result? 123,182 people have paid for the bundle so far, and the total raised is now an incredible $1,126,563. That generosity will be rewarded. "As of 5/11/10, Aquaria, Gish, Lugaru HD, and Penumbra Overture pledge to go open source," the developers blogged. "We are preparing the sources right now and will be releasing them ASAP." The sale was a huge success, began many conversations, and it provided insight into the behavior of gamers."
Microsoft Launches New Office, Battles Google Online – ABC News – "Microsoft Corp launched an updated version of its Office software on Wednesday, aiming to keep its grip on the hugely profitable business application market while countering the challenge of free online alternatives from Google Inc."
Microsoft Predicts Fastest-Ever Adoption of Office – BusinessWeek – "Microsoft Corp. expects customers to adopt the new version of Office at the fastest pace in the software’s 20-year history, helping reverse a sales slump and fend off competition from Google Inc.’s Web-based programs."
FCC looking to prevent cell phone "bill shock" – "The FCC appears to be following in the footsteps of the European Union in wanting to help consumers avoid "bill shock", the surprise one feels at finding their cell phone bill is much higher than expected due to overage charges. The FCC is considering having carriers enact some sort of system that will warn consumers, possibly via text message, that they are about to incur overage fees due to excessive data or voice use."

Headlines for May 7th, 2010 through May 10th, 2010

[modern media mom] — Mon, 10 May 2010 18:00:54 +0000

Accountant used Twitter to threaten to blow up airport – Telegraph – "A trainee accountant who posted a message on Twitter threatening to blow an airport ''sky high'' has been found guilty of sending a menacing electronic communication."
Facebook’s Challenge: Clean up Image – PCWorld – "Between site glitches and user gripes, data leaks and privacy complaints, Facebook needs to get its act together."
Does Facebook-McDonalds Deal Signal Competition For Foursquare? – IT Channel News by CRN – "A reported deal with fast-food giant McDonald’s could mean that Facebook is setting itself up to compete with Foursquare and other location-based social networking Web sites."
Microsoft Office 2010 Adds Features For Browsers, Smartphones — Microsoft Office 2010 – "The latest version promises different features based on how people use it on the PC, in a browser, and on a smartphone."
New Intel chips coming to make laptops run faster, longer | Crave – CNET – "Sharp-eyed readers and bloggers have noted several leaks and online references to new Intel CPUs, adding to the current Core i3, i5, and i7 lineups. These include new ultralow-voltage (or ULV) chips with the "Core i" name, as well as new versions of the Core i5 and Core i7 CPUs found in mainstream and desktop replacement laptops."
Apple has a secret flash replacement plan – The Inquirer – "Apple's attack on Adobe Flash might not have been a defence of open standards or a shift to HTML5 but because it is planning to release some closed technology of its own to replace Flash. Apple is apparently developing a software technology called Gianduia that it introduced last summer at its World of Webobjects Developer Conference."
Scribd Ditches Flash in Favor of HTML5 – PCWorld – Site that lets anyone upload almost any document and publish it to the Web announces it is converting the millions of documents it hosts to HTML5.

Headlines for April 21st, 2010

[modern media mom] — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 00:00:11 +0000

C-notes get makeover aimed at outsmarting tech-savvy counterfeiters as dollars flow outside US – 4/21/2010 5:16:31 PM | Newser – The folks who print America's money have designed a high-tech makeover of the $100 bill. It's part of an effort to stay ahead of counterfeiters as technology becomes more sophisticated and more dollars flow overseas, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke says.
Trial underway for man suspected in hacking Palin’s e-mail in ’08 – Prosecutors from the Justice Department trooped into federal court Wednesday to prosecute a man charged with hacking Palin's e-mail account in 2008, when she was the Republican nominee for vice president.
Brain training games don’t improve thinking – Study – News at GameSpot – Scientists track more than 11,000 people over six weeks, find regular training produces no improvement on benchmark intelligence tests.
Microsoft’s Docs for Facebook: A Hands-On Tour – PCWorld – Watch out, Google: There's a new Doc in town.

Docs.com, also known as Docs for Facebook, officially launched at Facebook's F8 conference on Wednesday. Created by Microsoft's FUSE Labs, the online app allows you to create, edit, and share Microsoft Office documents with your Facebook friends.
McAfee Antivirus Update Flaw Forces Windows XP Reboot – Security – IT Channel News by CRN – McAfee, to say the least, had its fair share of problems Wednesday when a buggy antivirus software update caused computers running Windows XP to shut down and experience serial reboots.

An initial McAfee investigation indicated that the reboot glitch is linked to an antivirus update that detects a false positive, causing XP computers, specifically those running Service Pack 3, to somehow mistake a legitimate operating system for malware.
Fast-growing Facebook aims for more social Web | Reuters – Facebook's user base is growing at its fastest rate ever, the online social network company said on Wednesday as it rolled out features that link the company's platform more tightly with outside Web sites.
A Day Later, Wall Street Loves Apple | News & Opinion | PCMag.com – At least 13 brokerages raised their price targets on Apple Inc, a day after its blowout quarterly results, indicating that some on Wall Street expect the stock to gain another 30 percent from already record-high levels.

Headlines for April 15th, 2010

[modern media mom] — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 19:00:48 +0000

Twitter Hits Its Stride, Plans New Features – “Twitter has more than 105 million users and is adding more than 300,000 new ones every day, the micro-blogging network said this week at its developer conference, Chirp, in San Francisco. Twitter also used the event to announce several new features, such as geolocation services, more official mobile clients, and its own URL shortening service.”
Google launches archive search for Twitter – “Trying to track down a single tweet from 2007? With the new Twitter archive search, Google is opening up access to years of Twitter activity.”
Caller ID Spoofing Ban is Bad for Business – “Caller ID is a great tool for managing business communications and improving productivity and efficiency. However, the way that some businesses employ caller ID may cross the line drawn by a new law–the Truth in Caller ID Act of 2010.”
Microsoft Will Investigate ‘Prisoner’ Conditions at Chinese Factory – Government IT from eWeek – “Microsoft claims that it will investigate the alleged labor violations at the KYE factory in China’s Dongguan City, after an April 13 report by the National Labor Committee, a nonprofit NGO. That report suggests that workers producing Microsoft PC cameras and mice are subjected to excessive working hours, poor pay, restricted freedom of movement, harassment by guards, and substandard living conditions. Although Microsoft claims that it uses vigorous auditing to its vendors’ working conditions, the report suggests that these conditions at the KYE factory have endured for some time.”
Opera Mini for iPhone already over 1 million downloads strong – “Three days after its late Monday launch, Opera Software spread the news that its server-assisted Opera Mini browser for the iPhone capped over a million downloads the first day of widespread availability, which was Tuesday.”
iPad Is Banned In Israel – “The Israel government has barred importation of the iPad and is also seizing units from tourists who attempt to enter the country with one of Apple’s new tablet-style computers.
Israeli officials told the Associated Press that the ban was imposed because the iPad’s Wi-Fi connection uses a frequency that conflicts with Israeli standards for wireless networks.”
Apple-Adobe rancor to result in lawsuit? – “This whole Apple-Adobe spat is about to get a lot uglier, according to IT World. Their sources say Adobe Systems is prepping for a major lawsuit against Apple in the coming weeks.
The updated SDK that was released with the iPhone 4.0 dev kit seems to be the last straw, with its new rules banning apps converted from Flash (and Microsoft Silverlight).”
Google launches Twitter timeline search – “Almost everything you’ve ever said on Twitter is about to be discoverable through Google.
Google announced plans Tuesday to roll out a timeline of archived Twitter messages organized by topic, allowing searchers to see when Twitter activity spiked with tweets related to their search query. When the user clicks on a particular day that contained an outsized number of tweets related to that topic, they’ll be presented with a scrolling list of the individual tweets from that day.”

Headlines for April 14th, 2010

[modern media mom] — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 15:55:34 +0000

Microsoft acts to avoid Windows blue screen repeat – “Microsoft took steps Tuesday to avoid repeating the debacle two months ago that left Windows XP users staring at the notorious “Blue Screen of Death” error message after they applied a patch.
In February, a security update that fixed two flaws in the Windows kernel — the operating system’s most important component — wreaked havoc when it was applied by users, who almost immediately flooded Microsoft’s support forum with reports of crippled computers.”

Revamped Facebook Safety Center: Teach Your Users Well – “Facebook Tuesday launched a redesigned version of its online Safety Center to make it not only more user-friendly but also to include advice targeted to specific groups of Facebook users. The Facebook Safety Center now includes content from various safety organizations as well as specific resources for parents, teachers, law enforcement officials and teenagers.”

Google Optimizes Search App for iPad – “Google has tweaked its iPhone Google Mobile App for the iPad, optimizing it for the device’s larger screen.
The revamped app, at its core, is the same as the existing iPhone Google Mobile App that offers mobile search tools such as search by voice and search by My Location, which uses your device’s location for local business searches. The big iPad optimization takes place with Web apps like Gmail, Google Reader, Maps, and Buzz.”

Apple Delays International Release of iPad until May – “Responding to strong demand in the United States for its iPad, Apple said Wednesday that it would delay the worldwide release of the tablet computer for a month.”

Headlines for February 8th, 2010

[modern media mom] — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 19:00:32 +0000

Facebook Dumps Microsoft Ads, Keeps Sleazy Advertisers – "Facebook says it has dumped Microsoft banner ads, but what the social network really needs are fewer sleazy advertisers, not less Microsoft."
Nook back on sale – "Barnes & Noble's Nook e-reader, which sold out over the winter holidays, is available online once again, the company said Monday.
The Nook is also expected to show up in most B&N stores by midweek."
Macmillan books coming back to Amazon – "After a week-long absence, new copies of Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall and other books published by Macmillan are available for purchase on Amazon.com.
Since last Friday, Amazon had limited the availability of Macmillan releases in a dispute over e-books, with Macmillan calling for a new pricing system that would end the $9.99 rate Amazon had been setting for best-sellers on its Kindle e-reader. Macmillan and other publishers believe $9.99 is too low and threatens the value of books overall."
Consumers lose interest in iPad after Apple’s unveiling – survey – "Despite a highly publicized public debut, potential customers lost a great deal of interest in Apple's new touchscreen iPad after it was unveiled, a new study has found."
Google Ads Level the Playing Field – "While the annual Puppy Bowl on Animal Planet offers an enticing alternative to the Super Bowl for those who aren't football fans, almost everyone loves to watch the NFL championship game just for the $2 million per 30-second spot advertising spectacles. Super Bowl ads get as much, or more, attention and analysis as the game itself."
China Closes Hacker Training Site, Arrests Three Members – "Chinese police have shut down what they called the country's biggest hacker training Web site and arrested three people linked to the site, local media said Saturday."

Headlines for January 25th, 2010

[modern media mom] — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 06:00:11 +0000

Get a job, you twit! – “If you’ve got oodles of time to waste on services like Twitter, it probably means you need a job, and guess what? Tweetdeck wants to help you find one.
Teaming up with the busybodies at TwitJobSearch, Tweetdeck has started to offer a desktop client unoriginally named “Jobdeck”, to irritatingly chirp jobs at you every few seconds and drive you to distraction.”
Google Updates Chrome with Extensions, APIs – “Google's release Monday of a “stable channel” update of the Google Chrome browser for Windows features HTML and JavaScript APIs as well as browser extensions, according to company blogs.”
Apple’s Cook Says AT&T Will Improve Wireless Network for IPhone – “Apple Inc. said AT&T Inc., the exclusive U.S. wireless carrier for the iPhone, plans to improve the performance of its network to reverse declining customer satisfaction with the service.”
Gates says malaria vaccine could ready in three years – “Microsoft founder Bill Gates has told the BBC that a vaccine for malaria could be just three years away.”
‘The Mac is back’: Apple reports its best earnings ever – “Ahead of a Wednesday event where Apple CEO Steve Jobs is likely to announce a game-changing computer device, Apple on Monday said it had its best quarter ever in earnings and revenue.
“The Mac is back!” Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster said.”

Headlines for January 22nd, 2010

[modern media mom] — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 15:00:22 +0000

Live cam births of black bears would be a first – “A thumbnail photo on the live cam this morning shows cubs, but there has been no comfirmation on the blog yet.Biologist Lynn Rogers says a birth in Lily’s den outside Ely, Minn. would be a video first. Rogers and his North American Bear Center put a camera in Lily’s den that streams her activity live.”
Microsoft To Unveil Zune Phone? – “Microsoft is planning to introduce a Windows Mobile-based phone in the coming weeks in order to keep up with rivals Apple and Google, according to a financial analyst.Jefferies stock picker Katherine Egbert said the company would likely unveil the device next month at the Mobile World Congress in San Francisco.”
More Kids Obsessed With Texting, Net Use – “Smart phones, MP3 players, laptops and other devices are the air kids breathe — perhaps too deeply, judging from a new study that shows children ages 8 to 18 devote an average of seven hours and 38 minutes a day consuming some form of media for fun. That’s an hour and 17 minutes more than they did five years ago, said the study’s sponsor, the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. And they’re champion multitaskers, packing content on top of content for an even heavier onslaught.”
Government posting wealth of data to Internet – “The Obama administration on Friday is posting to the Internet a wealth of government data from all Cabinet-level departments, on topics ranging from child car seats to Medicare services.The mountain of newly available information comes a year and a day after President Barack Obama promised on his first full day on the job an open, transparent government.”
Security report: Web users pick passwords that are way too easy to hack – “According to a report on Consumer Password Best Practices culled from an analysis of 32 million passwords exposed in the recent Rockyou.com Web security breach, the three most commonly used passwords among users of the Rockyou social networking site turned out to be 123456, 12345, and 123456789.”
Tetris Reaches 100 Million Cell Phone Downloads – “Tetris has become the best-selling mobile game after reaching the mark of 100 million paid downloads on cell phones around the globe.”

Headlines for January 21st, 2010

[modern media mom] — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 21:00:18 +0000

Bing on iPhone rumor illustrates Apple’s threat to Google (updated) – "Yesterday BusinessWeek dropped a bomb about how Apple is considering replacing Google with Microsoft’s Bing as the default search engine on the iPhone.
Not only would this take away lucrative advertising revenue from Google, it’s a slap in the face of a former partner that helped launch the iPhone with the original Google Maps for mobile."
Firefox 3.6 Brings Performance Improvements, a Few New Features – "Earlier today, Mozilla released Firefox 3.6, the latest version of its popular browser. While it's not as big of an update as the more ambitious Firefox 3.5, it includes a number of under-the-hood improvements, and a handful of changes that you might discover as you use it. Here are some of the most notable improvements."
Microsoft patches IE, admits it knew of bug last August – "As Microsoft patched the Internet Explorer (IE) vulnerability that was used to break into Google's network, it also acknowledged that it had known of the bug since August 2009, when an Israeli security company reported the flaw."
Twitter Fails After Haiti Aftershocks Reported – "Twitter suffered "a huge number of errors" on Wednesday morning, probably tied to news that sharp aftershocks had struck Haiti."
Verizon – AT&T “Price War” May Cost You – "Customers of Verizon and AT&T–the two largest wireless service providers in the United States, accounting for the vast majority of mobile service users–have reason to celebrate! Both wireless providers have announced price cuts in what appears to be the beginning of a price war. Don't uncork the champagne just yet, though. The losers of this war may be the customers."