Windows Genuine Advantage workarounds

Windows Genuine Advantage workarounds: "Filed under: Business, Developer, Windows, Microsoft, Commercial, Freeware
So let's just say, hypothetically, that your copy of Windows XP isn't 'genuine.' If you're tired of seeing the warning that alerts you to this fact, there's now a workaround to disable the WGA notifications. Does it work? Honestly I don't know, because every version of Windows I touch appears to be the real thing. And of course, I'm not here to advocate piracy. But the incessant twiddling of this whole WGA issue is kind of a mess, isn't it? Already pirates have figured out how to disable the check. Now you can disable the warnings, so it's like WGA doesn't even exist. It makes me wonder why MS is putting all versions of Vista on one optical disc, essentially setting up a very low-hanging fruit for potential pirates... But maybe that's the plan?
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Firefox 2.0 to ship without Places

Firefox 2.0 to ship without Places: "Filed under: Internet, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Mozilla, Open Source
One of the most-touted feature updates scheduled for Firefox 2.0, Places, has been axed from the Bon Echo roadmap and instead rescheduled for Firefox 3.0. In a post to the Mozilla development newsgroup, developer Michael Schroepfer announced the delay of the 'complex and exciting feature which changes the way people use bookmarks, history, and navigate through their private space of the web,' saying they 'do not have time to complete an implementation of places that lives up to our standards of user experience and quality.' Many users and developers have expressed disappointment and some are even arguing that without the Places feature, Bon Echo no longer deserves the '2.0' label. Lead developer Ben Goodger has posted a blog entry responding to the criticism and justifying the change.

[Via Ars Technica]

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Windows Vista to be delayed yet again?

Windows Vista to be delayed yet again?
Given Microsoft's recent woes -- the company seems to be under attack by everyone from Wall Street analysts to Google -- the last thing the company needs is a rumor that Windows Vista won't be available by its recently revised January launch date. But that's what Redmond is getting hit with today, in the form of a research note from Gartner, which predicts a delay until at least June for the consumer version of the program. According to Gartner, the new OS is 'too complex' to be ready by January. Microsoft has responded by saying that Vista is on target to make the launch. Gartner also says that a delay until the spring is 'nowhere as bad' as the slip from fall to January, which will result in a Vista-free holiday season. Somehow, we suspect that beleaguered PC makers hoping for a sales bump from Vista upgrades might have a little trouble taking solace from that argument.

Internet Explorer 7 Beta 2 released

Internet Explorer 7 Beta 2 released: "Filed under: Internet, Windows, Microsoft
Last night Microsoft unleashed unto the world the second beta version of Internet Explorer 7, cleverly dubbed Internet Explorer 7 Beta 2. In the announcement on the IEBlog, the team says they've 'acted on a lot of the feedback and bug reports from the previous public releases' and made changes to CSS handling and responded to reliability data ('yes, we do analyze the information that comes when you click 'Send Error Report'') and user experience feedback. In addition, Microsoft is now offering free phone support in North America, Germany, and Japan 'to encourage people who usually shy away from beta software to try IE7 Beta 2.' TechCrunch's Michael Arrington attended Microsoft's announcement dinner (we bloggers love to get fed) and says Microsoft is 'taking the browser war seriously and without arrogance,' and the new Internet Explorer 7 web site definitely shows that the Microsoft marketing machine is getting ready to run its course.
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New GNOME Does Search Right

New GNOME Does Search Right: "'For years now, the Linux and open-source desktop has had the benefit of multiple software projects pushing forward to create nicer-looking, more useful environments. One of the most prominent of those projects, GNOME, recently underwent one of its twice-yearly updates, and the result is a compelling set of refinements. The newest version of GNOME, 2.14, now graces the desktop of Red Hat's Fedora Core 5 and other shipping and soon-to-arrive Linux distributions.'"

New GNOME Does Search Right

New GNOME Does Search Right: "'For years now, the Linux and open-source desktop has had the benefit of multiple software projects pushing forward to create nicer-looking, more useful environments. One of the most prominent of those projects, GNOME, recently underwent one of its twice-yearly updates, and the result is a compelling set of refinements. The newest version of GNOME, 2.14, now graces the desktop of Red Hat's Fedora Core 5 and other shipping and soon-to-arrive Linux distributions.'"

SUSE Linux 10.1 RC2 Released

SUSE Linux 10.1 RC2 Released: "The latest release candidate for SUSE Linux OSS 10.1, RC2, has been released. 'I'm glad to announce SUSE Linux 10.1 Codename 'Agama Lizard' RC2. We have fixed the majority of bugs from RC1 and will release an RC3 next week. During the RC phase, we only provide delta ISOs of the media and update the factory tree as well.'"

SUSE Linux 10.1 RC2 Released

SUSE Linux 10.1 RC2 Released: "The latest release candidate for SUSE Linux OSS 10.1, RC2, has been released. 'I'm glad to announce SUSE Linux 10.1 Codename 'Agama Lizard' RC2. We have fixed the majority of bugs from RC1 and will release an RC3 next week. During the RC phase, we only provide delta ISOs of the media and update the factory tree as well.'"

Apple Upgrades Recycling Program

Apple Upgrades Recycling Program: "Apple has announced a nice upgrade to their recycling program. Starting in June, new Apple computers purchased either online or at a Apple Store will receive free shipping and eco-friendly disposal of old PCs or laptops. Also announced is that the fifth generation iPods—including the video, nano and shuffle—are 100 percent compliant with the RoHS hazardous material standards that are in place in Europe and California. "

Google Calendar is live and it rocks

Google Calendar is live and it rocks: "

You read that right. Google Calendar is finally—finally!—live. Somewhat surprisingly, it's dropped the 'CL2' moniker it had during development, and very unsurprisingly the logo says BETA. Brad Hill over at the Unofficial Google Weblog has written up a nice review of Google Calendar in which he says 'it rocks,' it's 'brain-dead simple to use,' and 'as of today I have used Yahoo! Calendar for the last time.' I've given it a few pokes and though it would be perhaps too bold of me to predict that Google Calendar will do for web-based calendars what Gmail did for webmail, I will say that it's a great piece of work and suddently Yahoo! has a lot of catching up to do. Head over to TUGW for Brad's full review or go straight to calendar.google.com to get started. That is, as long as the site's not completely hosed by the time you read this."

Make Sure The New PC You're Buying Can Handle Vista

Make Sure The New PC You're Buying Can Handle Vista: "

Wall Street Journal's tech columnist Walter Mossberg is doing their Annual Buying Guide and put together a feature on how to tell if the new computer you're getting this spring will be be able to run Microsoft's Vista operating system, due out next January. He points out that just because machines on the market now have Vista Capable stickers on them doesn't mean they'll actually be able to run Vista proper:



If you have a computer with the weaker specs, Vista will still give you enhanced security and built-in desktop search. But you won't get the dramatic new graphical look and feel that makes Vista look more like the Mac OS. Your computer will look like an evolved version of Windows XP, and it will probably run only the wimpiest edition of Vista, called Home Basic.

His basic advice: get a Mac or wait till next year to get a PC with Vista on it. If you have to get a machine now, Mossberg lists the sets of specs you'll need to run Home Basic and full Vista.

Firefox 1.5.0.2 Released

Firefox 1.5.0.2 Released: Firefox 1.5.0.2 was released yesterday with security fixes and improvements to product stability, so don't walk but run to download it.

Those of you with new Intel Core processor Macs, this version comes in a Universal Binary with native support for your machines; The Apple Blog says, 'If you load it on your Intel-based Mac, you'll see that it's much, much faster. The browser loads and appears, ready to go, in one 'bounce'.'

300 freeware utilities for any task

300 freeware utilities for any task: "
Need to burn a CD? Manage your wallpapers? Undelete a file? Keep a to-do list? Here's a big list of freeware apps for Windows that will help you do those things and about 300 other tasks. It's a pretty nice list hand-selected by humans. I've got it bookmarked for the next time I need an app for some one-off task but don't want to spend an hour browsing shareware sites.
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Google Toolbar 2 for Firefox released

Google Toolbar 2 for Firefox released:
Google has finally released version two of their browser toolbar for Firefox. The new version picks up on some of the features that have been in the latest version for IE for some time, but as they state on the Official Google Blog, Firefox and IE users have different needs, so there are some differences between the two toolbars.

Luckily, it appears that everything I was hoping for is there, including spell checking (including a new 'autofix' feature), Send from Gmail which intercepts mail links online and allows you to use Gmail as your mail client rather than popping up another mail client's window, and some classic features like the ability to go up a level, AutoFill in online forms, and of course the famous PageRank indicator.

Of course enterprising Firefox users have probably found ways to replicate most of this functionality using other extensions. But it's nice to get the 'official' one from Google,"

Microsoft Responds to Boot Camp

Microsoft Responds to Boot Camp: "Microsoft has responded positively to Apple's Boot Camp, stating: 'Windows is a great operating system. We're pleased that Apple customers are excited about running it, and that Apple is responding to meet the demand.' Apple, in the meantime, stated that Apple will never sell Macs with Windows pre-installed, while VoodooPC's CTO wonders what Boot Camp's implications might be. And on a related note, VMWare's CEO confirmed that they are working on a version for Mac OS X on Intel. Update: According to AppleInsider, Apple will rename its iBook line to MacBook, and launch them near the end of this month. The MacBook will sport Core-Duo processors, 13' widescreen, built-in iSight, and Front Row/remote."