256GB USB Flash Drive from Kingston

Kingston has introduced new DataTraveler 310 USB Flash Drive with a massive 256GB capacity. This device is better than the 256GB DataTraveler 300, thanks to DataTraveler 310's faster data transfer speeds. This USB Flash Drive is available in India for Rs. 48,380 and is backed by a warranty of five years.
New Kingston DataTraveler 310 can hold up to 54 DVD worth data in its 256GB capacity. It offers read speeds of 25MB/s and write speeds of 12MB/s. While the DT 300 offered read speeds of 20MB/s and write speeds of 10MB/s. Kingston DataTraveler 310's dimensions are - 2.90-inch x 0.87-inch x 0.63-inch (73.70mm x 22.20mm x 16.10mm). This Flash Drive also features Password Traveler software. Using that software, consumers can create and access a password-protected privacy zone.
DataTraveler 310 is compatible with Windows, Mac OS X 10.3 or higher and OSes with Linux Kernel 2.6.1 or above. However, the Password Traveler software works only in Windows platform (Windows 7/Vista/XP/2000).

As mentioned earlier, this new DT 310 also supports Windows ReadyBoost feature. Windows Vista and Windows 7 Essential make use of Flash memory based mass storage system as drive for disk cache and thus can be used as additional memory.
This pricey USB Flash Drive is meant for those who're always on the move and need to take large, critical data on a tiny device. It's a miniature alternative to portable HDD drive in terms of size. (story Link)

From Ubuntu to Windows 7, All the best OS for Netbooks

Netbooks have become a hugely popular hardware category. So much so, that netbooks have in some cases started to outsell laptops, considering their low prices, excellent portability and web centric approach.

But these mini machines are a lot different from our usual ultra powered laptops and notebooks. They have different hardware set ups from their laptop congeners and thus have different software needs. Keeping in view their moderately powered processors, these netbooks may not be able to handle the elephant that Vista is, though they can pick the load of his brother that we know as XP. But using an OS that is specifically built for a netbook has its own aura.

We will tell you about these Operating Systems that your netbook will just love to spend its day and night with.

Moblin

Moblin is short for Mobile Desktop. It’s an open source project which aims to develop software for Mobile Internet Devices or, Netbooks and Nettops. Moblin is the brainchild of the people behind this initiative and Moblin.org. Built on a customized Linux build, it uses a tailor-made Gnome environment. It’s still in development, with V2.0 Beta already in the market. Targeting netbooks, Moblin is specifically designed for Intel Atom processors, that most netbooks are based on. With version 2, Moblin has brought an intuitive and easy to use user interface, built for a better media and social networking experience. It also sports a new graphical shell designed to provide the best experience on netbook devices and the likes. The bar placed on the top of the desktop holds different panels called ‘zones’. Each zone holds applications for different uses. Web surfing is handled by Moblin's self customized browser which is based on Mozilla’s Gecko engine. The media library can be browsed from the top bar from where a user can access music, videos and image gallery.

The connectivity can’t be ignored. With Moblin, you can easily create connections, whether Wifi, 3G, WiMax or a wired one. All of this is handled from the top panel. The home screen, that you see above, shows recent appointments and tasks. It also shows tabs of recently visited websites and messages from social media websites. Last.fm and twitter are supported till now and more should be added as Moblin progresses out of beta. Twitter is also integrated within the panel from where a user can quickly update his status. Moblin can be downloaded from here, although note that it is still in development and may cause some glitches.

Ubuntu Netbook Remix

Ubuntu Netbook Remix is simply a spin-off of the original Ubuntu, customized for Netbooks and similar devices. With Ubuntu at it’s heart, you will get the security, user friendliness and customization options that Ubuntu promises.

Specifically designed for netbooks, the Netbook Remix has an intuitive interface with large icons and buttons, making it easy to ‘tap on’ with fingers when the OS is used with a touchpad friendly monitor. The default install takes up nearly 2GB, clearly disappointing users with 2GB EEE PCs. But considering the netbooks that come these days, with large volume hard drives and SSDs, this won’t be a problem at all. It comes with most of the default Gnome applications. OpenOffice.org, Firefox, Evolution all come bundled and the Gnome Web cam app, Cheese is also packed which works out of the box. The current version is 9.04 Jaunty Jackalope. corresponding to the desktop release. It’s just another Ubuntu release (tuned up a bit though) and you should expect it to work like one. The Ubuntu Netbook Remix supports many popular netbook models like Asus Aspire One, Asus EEE 1000, 1000H, 900a & 901, Dell Mini 9 & 10v and a lot more.

Crunchpad to make a November release

For those of you who have been keeping up with the news and announcements related to Crunchpad, the Tablet PC by TechCrunch, well all we can say for now is that it is real and its coming this November. So what features will the Crunchpad boast of?

For one, its a Tablet PC with a 12-inch screen and will mainly be used for browsing the web and doing web-related tasks. All apps on the Crunchpad will be web-based and we are still unsure if it possesses any media capabilities such as watching movies or listening to music.

It will feature a custom web-kit browser which shall be running over a custom Linux OS. There will be Wi-Fi and 3G access and also one USB port to handle/transfer data to a thumb drive.

Apart from this, there is nothing that the Crunchpad can do so we hardly believe that it will be any match for the supposed Apple Tablet that is to come in September this year. The Crunchpad will be probably priced around $400. Michael Arrington from TechCrunch will be officially introducing the device at an event somewhere in August. (with Thanks)

10 Questions for Google's New Chrome OS

Google’s not-so-surprising announcement that it would launch an operating system, the Google Chrome OS, in 2010 was full of heady promises, but painfully lacking in detail. Naturally, I have some questions for Google.

1. Why Do We Need This?
Consumers like variety, but stress levels tend to rise when there are too many technology options. I think this is mostly because each platform has its own metaphors. And while some may tell users that this operating system is better than that one, most users are too scared to switch because they don't know if they can learn to use a new OS. Google, however, is applying the same thinking it used when the search giant launched the Chrome Web browser: We can do it better. They did build a super-fast Web interface, but Chrome still lacks many of the basic features we've come to expect from a good browser. Will a Chrome OS have similar gaping holes?

2. Hardware Support?
Google's blog post on the new Chrome OS seems to gloss over hardware support. "[Users] don't want to spend hours configuring their computers to work with every new piece of hardware." In other words, the Chrome OS should work seamlessly with all of the peripherals you currently use. But why is that? The OS is being built on a Linux kernel, which means that while driver support is decent, it's not foolproof. Will Google work with OEMs to have a rich set of drivers available within the OS? Will you have to download all the drivers you need for your existing hardware? How will they ease the process of installation?

3. Linux? Really?
I know I've said this before, but why do people keep going back to Linux as the best alternative to Windows? There are excellent Linux distros out there, such as Ubuntu, but none of them are quite as easy to use as Windows or the Mac OS. More importantly, two years of Vista did not create a new user bonanza for the Linux platform. It didn't even do all that much for the Mac OS. Instead, Windows users suffered but stayed put. Now many feel like they're about to be rewarded for their patience with Windows 7. Look at it this way: When gas prices soared to record highs, people did drive less and they even traded in their Hummers for Hyundais. What they didn't do is rush to hybrid vehicles. I know there are more of them on the road than ever before, but they are far outnumbered by traditional gas-guzzlers. Face it, the tried and trusted (Windows) seems to stick around even when better alternatives are available.

4. What About Android?
Android is a decent little mobile operating system, and it may even do a good job of powering a new generation of netbooks—I'm still waiting to see the first one—but it hasn't exactly taken its primary market by storm. In fact, it's taken almost a year for the second Android-based phone to arrive. I don't know what caused the holdup. Perhaps it's the same problem that Linux has: consumers have found the mobile platforms they really prefer and aren't interviewing any others.

5. Which OEMs?
Most major PC manufacturers have offered Linux boxes at one time or another, but they don't push them. There are no ad campaigns out there, and they're typically not featured on, say, Dell's homepage. Google certainly has the clout to get into the offices of Acer, Dell, and HP, but how receptive are these companies to Google's platform overtures? Like the rest of us, they've suffered through a bad 2008 and a dismal 2009. Would they really want to risk precious marketing dollars on an untested platform? All are gearing up for Microsoft's Windows 7 push (which kicks off in earnest on October 22). It's the closest thing these manufacturers have to a sure thing. The Chrome OS has risk written all over it.

6. Can We Trust Open Source?
The open source community is brilliant at building out new OS features, but it also tends to fracture. Does anyone know how many different Linux distributions exist? Can Google depend on the open source community to put the interests of the lowest common denominator first?

7. Will the OS Be in Beta?
Okay, I'm asking this one somewhat facetiously. Google officially grew up this week when it pulled most of its major apps and services out of Beta. I'd say it's no coincidence that it did this right before the Google Chrome OS announcement. The ever-present "beta" tag on many of the company's products made it seem somewhat less than serious about software. The company can't afford that perception now.

8. Is Chrome Chrome?
One thing that isn't clear is whether the Chrome OS desktop is actually going to be a brand new interface, with new code, or if the whole thing is simply a rejiggering of the Chrome Web browser with a Linux kernel underneath. Google's blog post makes it sound more like the latter. That could be kind of cool; you get things like tear off tabs and an incredibly lean, speedy interface. On the other hand, how does it handle tasks and applications, navigation, file storage, networking? Does that all get passed off to the Linux platform?

9th and 10the will continue on full post Link

Ubuntu 8.10

Over the past couple of years, Ubuntu has matured into one of the most stable, universally liked Linux destros. Previous versions have enjoyed a lot of popularity, in part thanks to ease of use, regular support from the developer, and easy configuration.

This popular OS recently got an update to version 8.10, codenamed 'Intrepid Ibex'. After putting it through its paces for a longish period of two weeks – resulting in some inevitable flak from my editor(s) for the delay – here's my take on the new release.

Ubuntu, like other Linux distributions, offers a variety of options for installing the OS without too much fuss. There are the standard 32-bit/64-bit installers, the live desktop CD, the server edition, and with the introduction of 8.10, a 'Netbook' version. We selected the 64-bit version, downloaded it off the canonical FTP, burnt it on to a disc and were all set to go.

We chose to install it on an AMD Athlon X2 machine with 2GB of RAM, 160GB HDD, Nvidia 8600-series card and 24-inch monitor. Barring the monitor, this is a very ho-hum system specification, and given the very low requirement of the OS, a perfect machine for our test.

The installation procedure was flawless. We booted off the CD, started the install process, and used the guided wizard to allow the OS to do its thing. Mind you, while we installed it on a completely formatted machine, the installer is quite open-ended and for power users offers a large variety of options to customize the install.

This availability of choices comes as a very welcome move. For example, if you're a Windows user who would rather not disturb your current OS, there's an option to install a demo that will allow you to experience the OS without a problem.

The Windows-based installer also allows you to completely replace your current OS, partition etc without fuss. The GUI is on par with anything Microsoft offers. Not only does it look slick, it’s very functional in the way install options are grouped. It also offers step-by-step installation instructions for first-time users.

The install process in our case took around 40 minutes. Since I had performed a guided install, all I had to do in the end was give the installer a machine name, create a user for standard login, and restart. (story Link)

Novell SuSE Linux Enterprise Desktop

If your business is ready to migrate from Windows to Linux the choices of distributions can be overwhelming. But when you narrow the choices down to enterprise-ready distributions the selection grows much smaller. Of those choices SuSE Enterprise Linux Desktop 10 from Novell stands out as one of the best.

Specifications

• Supported CPUs: AMD64, Intel 64, Intel Pentium 4, 2.4GHz or higher
• RAM: at least 512MB
• HD: at least 2.5GB
• Graphic resolution: 1024×768
• Additional information

Who’s it for?

Novell’s take on the enterprise Linux desktop environment is designed for any enterprise-level deployment looking for a solid, secure, user-friendly operating system. Now, thanks to Novell, the Linux operating system is 100 percent ready for the desktop. If you have any doubts, download SLED 10 and request a trial license. My guess is that it won’t take you more than a 24 hour period of use before you realize that installing SLED is an upgrade to the operating system you are currently using. Not only is SLED 10 easy to use, it contains everything the enterprise desktop needs and more.

What problem does it solve?

For most individual Linux users the standard distribution is all you need. But for the enterprise user, distributions such as SuSE Linux Enterprise Desktop (SLED) are more applicable. The SLED distribution solves a problem that could easily doom other distributions — SLED eases the user from the Windows desktop to the Linux desktop with both ease and grace.

Standout features

• Beagle 0.2.18
• Evolution 2.6
• glibc 2.4
• GNOME 2.12
• Java 1.4.2
• KDE 3.5.1
• Kernel 2.6.16
• GroupWise gwclient 7.0.3
• OpenOffice 2.4
• OpenSSH 4.2pl
• OpenSSL 0.9.8a

What’s wrong?

The installation of SLED hearkens back to old-school ways of installation. When you purchase SLED you will have (either from a boxed set or downloaded ISOs) seven CDs. As you would expect, the installation is quite lengthy. There are a lot of extra steps involved in this process.

For example, during the installation process, your system will ask if you want to connect to the Novell Customer Center to create or manage subscriptions. The Customer Center provides technical support and product updates. Another added step is the ability to authenticate with various types of setups, such as: Windows Domain, LDAP, Local, and NIS.

The installation is so lengthy it seems to me that SLED is intended to be installed once and then cloned for deployment. SuSE has even added such a process at the end of the installation. The very last step asks if you would like to Clone the installation with AutoYaST. This system allows for automated installation without user intervention. Taking advantage of AutoYaST would allow for very simple large deployments of SLED 10. Considering the length of the installation, this would be a smart tool to take advantage of.

Outside of length, the installation of SLED is certainly one of the most thorough installations I have come across. This is certainly one installation geared specifically for the enterprise user. (full Story)

Who’s buys a Mac mini?

Apple on Tuesday updated its $599 Mac mini and said that the box is faster and greener than before — a no brainer since its been ages since the line was refreshed (a year and a half) and this update was something that Mac watchers have fretted over. But what kind of customer buys a Mac mini? I say: Mac and Linux geeks.

The common wisdom says that the Mac mini appeals to switchers from Windows. In this model, the customer is totally interested in the entry price of the  box.

Certainly, with the current economic distress, this price-point consideration must be growing.

Still, since its introduction in 2005, I’ve met very, very few switchers who have bought a Mac mini. They mostly purchase iMacs and MacBooks.

When Steve Jobs introduced the Mac mini in 2005 in his keynote address for the San Francisco Macworld Expo, he said that the Mac mini was first a “Mac that costs less.” Next, it was quiet. And  that it was a “robust computer, but it’s very very tiny.”

“We want to price this so that peope who are thinking of switching will have no excuse. [For] people that want a second Mac in their house — or a third or a fourth — it’s really going to be easy,” he continued.

From what I’ve seen there are two segments that buy Mac minis. First, there are customers from the installed base of Mac owners, who want an inexpensive Mac and who already own a monitor, display and keyboard. These persons are either purchasing a second (or third or fourth as Jobs said) machine or are replacing an ancient PowerPC-based Mac.

But from what I’ve seen in the past couple of years is that the growth segments are Mac and Linux geeks who are using these inexpensive Macs as servers, virtualization machines and colocation boxes.

There are several companies that offer hosting plans with dedicated Mac minis. Some Mac managers are more comfortable with these boxes since they can use familiar Mac tools for controlling them remotely.

At the Macworld Expo in January, I am fairly certain that I saw several rackmount solutions for Mac minis, including the MX4 Rack Tray, which holds 4 Mac minis in a 2U rack.

I remember the Internet News story from last year, where Sean Michael Kerner mentions a the Firefox development offices and discovered that they were running an array of 80 Mac minis, which dispelled his “illusions of Mozilla super cluster grandeur.”

From a testing framework point of view (since Mozilla is constantly building and testing) they are using an array of about 80 Apple Mac Minis. According to Beltzner the reason why they’re using Macs is easy — they handle  virtualization easily.

BTW: If you’re interested in packing a Mac mini with virtualized Windows or Linux machines take a look at the recently released VMware vCenter Converter 4.0. (story Link)

HQ HD ubunt Wallpaper 002

here is new HQ HD ubuntu wallpaper, No. 002
You can find Dual Screen Wallpapers "Here" and more HQ HD Wallpapers "Here"

Mac: No Viruses for macs - Not For Low Market Share

The core of Mac OS X is BSD Unix, and that OS has been around for two decades in open source form, inspected by all concerned. That's why Mac OS X is more secure than Windows, according to InfoWorld.

For a long time, apologists for Windows have been arguing "security through obscurity." However, if it has a CPU, hackers will try to attack it, and Mac OS X has been a big target for a long time.

"The difference isn't market share, it's the foundation of the operating systems. Given that most virus authors and hackers are in it for the ego, don't you think that there would be a huge incentive to be the first one to write a widespread OS X, Linux, or FreeBSD virus?" Paul Venezia asked.

The key is the foundation of the OS. If the OS is designed on a shaky foundation, everything on top will suffer. When Apple moved its customer based from Classic Mac OS 9 to Mac OS X, they did so consciously with the idea that they needed a firm foundation for the future. But that meant leaving every Classic app behind in the long term.

Microsoft has never been able to make that commitment and retained the backwards compatibility with Win32 apps. That has put a strain on their whole Windows OS. "Simply put, Microsoft had the chance to beat Apple to the punch and make a giant leap back in 1997 or so, killing off the existing Win32 platform in favor of an NT-based client and server that did not have to run legacy applications natively. They didn't, and we are still paying the price for it today. Even if you're not running an MS OS, most of the spam in your mailbox came from zombie Windows systems in the control of spammers," the author noted. (full Story)

Price Watch: Aspire One Netbook, $289.99 Shipped

Notebook or Netbook? It's a question for the ages, or at least for anyone shopping for a new portable PC. Buy.com has the Acer Aspire One Netbook for a tantalizing $289.99 shipped. The hitch: it's a refurb.

The last time I posted about the Aspire One, it was $309.99 new. However, this refurb has much beefier specs, including 1GB of RAM, a 120GB hard drive, and Windows XP instead of Linux.

The One also features a 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor, an 8.9-inch screen, a Webcam, and 802.11b/g wireless. It's modeled in sapphire blue, which I can tell you firsthand looks mighty attractive.

That's because I've got one of these babies right here. You can read about my experiences with it in The Netbook Diaries, but I'll sum up: it's a great little travel companion if you don't mind a slightly cramped keyboard and screen and have easy access to AC power (battery life bites).

This configuration sells for around $370 new, so if you don't mind a 90-day warranty instead of the usual 12 months, the refurb is definitely a good deal. If Buy.com runs out, you can get the same model for the same price from TigerDirect. (story Link)

Red Hat Version 5.3 Released

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.3 became globally available on Wednesday, with the new enterprise OS featuring virtualization improvements, support for Intel's Core i7 architecture and inclusion of the Open Java Development Kit from Sun.

When interviewed in October 2008, Red Hat global chief executive Jim Whitehurst said virtualization was one of the company's key priorities. "Virtualization should be part of the operating system, not a separate layer," he said at the time.

Virtualization in RHEL 5.3 has been improved, including the ability to make larger virtualized machines — supporting up to 32 virtual CPUs and 80GB of RAM — in x86-64 environments. RHEL is currently used to run a number of large virtualization instances, including Amazon's elastic computing cloud, known as EC2.

RHEL 5.3 also includes support for Intel's latest chip architecture, Core i7, code-named Nehalem. Released in August last year, Core i7 is the successor to Intel's Core 2 Duo architecture.

Finally, RHEL 5.3 includes the Open Java Development Kit, an open-source implementation of Java SE 6 supported by Sun. This inclusion is intended to support Red Hat's Java application server, JBoss. (story Link)

Chrome gets Mac deadline, extensions foundation

Showing signs that it's working to meet requests for new developments to its Chrome browser, Google on Friday said it hopes to release versions for Mac OS X and Linux by the first half of the year, and it released a new version Wednesday that paves the way for the most requested feature: extensions.

Google has high hopes for Chrome--in particular, the Internet giant wants better performance, so browsing the Web is faster and Web-based applications are more powerful. Now Google is filling in some missing pieces Chrome needs in order to attain wider usage.

Brian Rakowski, Chrome's product manager, said the company wants to release Chrome for Mac and Linux before the first half of 2009 is up.

"That's what we've been hoping for," he said in an interview Friday. "Those two efforts proceeding in parallel. They're at the same level of progress."

The Mac and Linux versions are up to the level of a basic "test shell" that can show Web pages. But a test shell is pretty raw.

"That team now is able to render most Web pages pretty well. But in terms of the user experience, it's very basic," Rakowski said of the Mac version. "We have not spent any time building out features. We're still iterating on making it stable and getting the architecture right."

In an unscientific CNET News survey from November, a Mac version was the second most common barrier to getting people to switch to Chrome, trailing only faster performance. Eager beavers can monitor Google's Chrome for Mac progress and install the Mac test shell.

Extensions en route
Another major missing piece of Chrome is a framework to handle extensions, optional features that can be downloaded and plugged in to customize the browser. Extensions were one of the early advantages that helped Firefox blossom, it's the top-requested feature for Chrome, and it ranked third in the CNET survey of Chrome barriers.

But a new cutting-edge version of Chrome, 2.0.156.1, gets support for some "Greasemonkey" scripts to customize the browser, a move that lays the groundwork for extensions, Rakowski said.

"We have user script support. That's a baby step," he said. As Chrome develops, Google will "expose more capabilities, then expose containers where can you have your own toolbar-like thing. You'll see it evolve over time."

Google promised an extensions framework when Chrome launched, and more recently, Google outlined its Chrome extensions vision.

Counting Chrome
Google released Chrome 1.0 in December, just three months after the software publicly debuted, and the company is working hard to maintain a fast development pace. Wednesday's version, though not for the general public, is the first to sport the version 2 number.

Also updated with the new version is Google's Chrome release structure.

Before, Google let people subscribe to two Chrome update channels: beta and developer. The first was for relatively well-tested versions; the second for programmers, Web developers, and people with more curiosity and a higher bug threshold.

Now there are three Chrome channels: stable, beta, and developer preview.

Most folks will just use the stable version, which Google expects to update roughly once a quarter, Rakowski said. "The beta channel is now what the developer channel used to be," he added, with newer features but still a reasonable amount of testing. Newest is the developer preview channel, where code will be frequently updated and much more raw, and where Google expects some features to fail and be withdrawn.

Google expects to issue new developer preview versions roughly every couple weeks and new beta releases roughly monthly, Rakowski said. (full Story)

First Impressions of Windows 7 Beta

Windows 7 could be one of Microsoft's greatest operating systems, if it fulfills the promise shown by the unofficial beta version (build 7000) we have been testing for the past couple of days.

Let me preface these quick impressions of Redmond's latest opus by saying that I came to Windows 7 after having happily run the much-maligned Windows Vista on my Intel Core 2 Duo-based PC for the past 18 months (alongside Ubuntu).

I found Vista to be a worthy upgrade from Windows XP SP2. Despite its obvious flaws (can you say "resource hog"?) and the acknowledgement that some of its features need to be disabled by default, Vista at heart is a much more stable and usable operating system than XP, which was first released in 2001.

The release of Service Pack 1 and gradual driver improvements have built on Microsoft's somewhat-shaky Vista beginning.

Coming from this background, I have been pleased to discover over the past several days that Microsoft appears to have built on Vista's strengths and addressed most of its weaknesses with the beta release of Windows 7.

I found the Windows 7 beta a painless install. Out-of-the-box driver support on our test machine was perfect, and it took only half an hour and two quick reboots to begin running a stable desktop environment, though we wondered why Windows 7 created a 200MB partition in addition to its main partition. The 33MB of updates quickly came down the pipe upon loading the desktop.

Basic desktop performance was strong; the reports that Windows 7 is simply faster than Vista appear to be true. Certainly, Windows 7 had no problem simultaneously installing and launching applications, downloading files, browsing the Web, and carrying out other tasks on our modest 2.8GHz Pentium 4, which has only an 80GB IDE hard disk and 512MB of RAM.

Vista's most visible annoyance, User Account Control, has been pared right back on its default setting, and we encountered it only a couple of times throughout a whole morning of installing applications. However, if you feel nostalgic for UAC's old behavior, you can easily change it back via Windows 7's new Action Center, which now centralizes all of the security updates and warning alerts that Windows throws your way.

Windows 7 recommended that we install a third-party antivirus package (it suggested Kaspersky and AVG), but its antispyware package Defender comes preinstalled. Microsoft appears to have an antivirus package installed under the hood; when downloading new software with Firefox, we were told that our downloads were being scanned for viruses.

I particularly like the new photo-realistic device icons, and the overhaul of the way Windows handles and ejects USB storage devices. Microsoft appears to have wiped out a lot of the Windows XP-era interface quirks of Vista; the result is a much more simplistic, unified experience for common tasks.  (full Story)

Reviewing Windows 7

Microsoft has a long history of interleaving really terrible releases with cleaned up offerings and therefore, given Vista, I had high hopes for Windows 7.

On quick review it appears to meet expectation: it’s a pig, but it’s a pig that works within the expectations and limits of the Wintel market place. What it feels like, in fact, is exactly what it seems to be: the hybridized 2003 minwin core from 2008 Server with improved driver recognition and handling on the inside and the most recent Office improvements in copying the Mac interface somewhat generalized to the GUI on the outside.

Overall, not too bad - and likely, I think, to appeal to those members of the Windows/XP crowd looking for a politically and emotionally acceptable excuse to jump back on the upgrade band wagon.

Notice, please, that I’m saying it’s better suited to Wintel community use than Vista in large part because it seems to have fewer internal corruptions and a more Mac like exterior - not that it’s in the same league with any of the major Unix players. Relative to MacOS X or SuSe’s latest Linux desktop, Windows 7 is just another three legged horse, differing from Vista only in not also being lame on one side.

In many ways the improvement relative to Vista reminds me of Windows 98’s improvements over Windows 95 - itself, of course, similarly MacOS inspired. But remember what came after 98? Right: ME and the end of the line for the tottering tower of complexity Microsoft had layered on top of DOS.

The original “Longhorn” ideas were largely based on PICK and might, I think, have led to a new foundational core OS for Microsoft had they been pursued after XP came out. But they weren’t with Microsoft choosing, instead, to continue layering complexities on on the object VMS ideas Dave Cutler brought to Microsoft in the early 1990s - and like DOS with Windows 98, I think that process has pretty much reached its limits. (full Story)

Phoenix's Hyperspace Pre-Boot Shell

Many laptops are now advertising secondary operating systems that boot up in a matter of seconds. You might have seen one, and if so, there's a good chance that it is a Linux environment—one that works in tandem with a version of Windows Vista or XP.

These pre-boot environments are simplistic and quickly accessible, with low power consumption and correspondingly enormous battery benefits. Until now, these Linux environments were custom-tailored to a specific laptop and haven't been available as separate install files.

At CES 2009, Phoenix launched downloadable versions, dubbed Hyperspace Dual and Hyperspace Hybrid, which can be installed on any laptop. There are limitations, though.

Phoenix sent me two test laptops, one with Hyperspace Dual and the other with Hybrid. The concept is simple: Since most users primarily use their laptops for web surfing, why go through the trouble of booting into Windows? A minute of your life is wasted, and it eats up the laptop's battery life.

Hyperspace resides as a layer underneath Windows and boots up in a matter of seconds. Once you're in, there's a left pane made up of settings and customizable icons, the latter of which are entirely made up of shortcuts to popular Internet sites such as Gmail, YouTube, meebo, Amazon.com, and Flickr, to name a few. The network settings are at the top of the pane, which you'll need to access the Internet. There are three options here: Wired, Wi-Fi, and WWAN (if a 3G card is detected). Both the wired and Wi-Fi settings worked flawlessly with PCMag.com's networks.

Hyperspace is fast and easy to grasp, but its functionalities are limited. For instance—at least for now—physical drives in Windows aren't accessible, reading and writing data files with a Linux application like OpenOffice is not supported, and music and videos residing on the hard drive are off limits. Phoenix is working on other features at the moment, so it's limiting Hyperspace to just Web navigation.

One's choice of Hyperspace version is based on system requirements. Hybrid has the most potential, because it utilizes the virtualization technologies of Intel and AMD processors. Users can instantly toggle back and forth between operating systems, with battery savings of up to 25 percent if you're in Hyperspace, according to Phoenix. While using Hyperspace, you can put Windows in Sleep or Hibernate modes, or shut it down completely.

There is a catch, however. Installing Hybrid requires that your laptop uses Intel's or AMD's virtualization technology, and from my findings, not many laptops do. GRC has a free downloadable application that detects if your laptop has virtualization, and you can also check your BIOS for this setting. For laptops that don't support virtualization, Hyperspace Dual is your only option, which involves shutting down the inactive operating system.  (full Story)

40+ Ways To Access Your Computer Remotely

There are lots of reasons why you’d want to access your PC remotely, and luckily there are also plenty of ways to do so. Crossloop is one of the simplest (it’s also free), but for those willing to venture further, you’ve got lots of options.

Excuse us while we get technical for a second. This list is divided into four main sections: VNC (Virtual Network Computing), NX, remote desktop and cross-protocol. If those terms mean nothing to you, you might want to skip to the “other” section for the most straightforward applications. That said, let’s begin.

VNC

• Ajax VNC - Clientless VNC solution in the web’s favorite programming language.
• Apple Remote Desktop - Apple’s jumped on the remote desktop bandwagon with this great VNC server built right into OS X.
• Chicken of the VNC - One of the most popular VNC clients for OS X under the GPL.
• DirectVNC - UNIX client using the framebuffer device via DirectFB.
• FVNC - Great VNC client written in Flash. That’s right, Flash.
• MetaVNC - This unique client/server package merges the host and remote desktops together into one Windows or Linux desktop.
• .NET VNC Viewer - C# viewer that works with Windows and Windows Mobile/CE devices.
• PowerVNC - Java-based client with support for SSH and SFTP.
• RealVNC - Server/client from the original VNC developers.
• sVNC - The perfect tool for offering remote assistance to Mac users, since there’s barely any configuring required.
• SymVNC - Symbian phone client for connecting to your PC.
• TightVNC - Popular VNC server/client with nice Java applet.
• TurboVNC - TightVNC spinoff with great support for 3D apps.
• UltraVNC - Wildly popular client/server app with file transfer, video drivers, chat, and much more.
• Vine Server - OS X server with clipboard sharing, port changing, and a universal binary.
• VncViewer for 8086 - Got an old IBM running FreeDOS or DOS? Put it to work with this VNC client.
• VNCViewer for PocketPC - Client for, you guessed it, PocketPC users.
• x11vnc - Unlike most other VNC servers for UNIX and Linux, this server lets you share your current desktop session (instead of a separate session).

NX

• FreeNX - Open source server using the libraries from NoMachine.
• NoMachine NX Client - Free client to connect to NX machines.
• NoMachine NX Free Edition - NX server for UNIX/Linux.
• NoMachine NX Enterprise Desktop - Server that includes everything that the free edition has, but with unlimited users (unlike the free version’s two).
• NoMachine NX Small Business Server - NX server targeting small businesses.
• NoMachine NX Enterprise Server - NX Server with unlimited users and unlimited connections.
• NoMachine NX Advanced Server Subscription - Everything that the Enterprise server has, plus multi-node capabilities.

Remote Desktop Protocol



• CoRD - Remote desktop client for Mac OS X users.
• grdestkop - Gnome wrapper for the rdesktop application.
• krdesktop - rdesktop frontend written in KDE.
• properJavaRDP - Cross-platform Java client based on rdesktop.
• rdesktop - Extremely powerful command-line client for UNIX/Linux.
• Remote Desktop - Microsoft’s official server, for XP Pro and Vista.
• xrdp - Serves an X window session to incoming Windows clients.

Cross-Protocol



• Connection Manager - VNC, RDP, and Telnet manager for UNIX/Linux distros.
• KDE Desktop Sharing - The official KDE VNC server package.
• KDE Remote Desktop Connection - The official KDE client for RDP and VNC.
• Kurd - Great rdesktop/vncviewer frontend for KDE.
• mRemote - Manage VNC and RDP connections on Windows with this handy app.
• RDPMan - A little utility to manage RDP, VNC, and Telnet connections for Windows.

Other

• CrossLoop - Easy-to-use remote access utility with file sharing and a multilingual interface.
• GoToMyPC - Extremely popular remote access program for ~$25/month.
• LogMeIn - Remote access app with a free and a pro ($12.95/month) version with file transfer, remote printing, and more.
• Unyte - Nice remote desktop server with a Java applet viewer and IM integration. (story Link)

45+ WebBased Operating System

Facebook wants to be the operating system for the web, it says, and this week’s changes to its email system are a tiny part of that puzzle. But there are many more web operating systems hoping to bring all your usual desktop applications online in one place. Some replicate the entire desktop, while others are startpages with info from around the web - here are more than 45 of our favorites.

Remotely Hosted WebOS

• AstraNOS - Picture Windows 98. Then picture an OS X dock. Then picture a night sky. Then throw them all together. You now have a pretty good picture of AstraNOS.
• BeDesk - Basic wrapper for other online tools.
• cmyOS - Free hosted webtop powered by eyeOS.
• Desktoptwo - Not only do you get 1GB of space, you get a fully-featured OpenOffice.org suite. No, not a basic online editor that has simple formatting options. The full OpenOffice.org 2.0 suite from Sun, converted into a Java applet.
• DoxBoard - Slick WebOS with some basic features.
• GCOE X - Nice WebOS with a powerful terminal and support for the iPhone.
• eyeOS - Beautiful webtop powered by the eyeOS software.
• Glide - Online operating system with support for BlackBerry, Palm, Windows Mobile, Symbian and iPhone users.
• G.ho.st - With 3GB of space, FTP access, and Zoho Office support, what’s not to like?
• goowy - Great webtop with your own email account (@goowy.com), IM, 1GB of space (via Box.net), and much more.
• jooce - Slick invite-only online OS.
• mybooo - Invite-only webtop with a ton of features.
• myGoya - Nice WebOS with PIM features, a media player, and much more.
• OOS - Basic online operating system that offers a personal webpage.
• Parakey - Not much is known about Blake Ross’s newest invention, but we do know that Facebook liked it enough to purchase it for an undisclosed sum.
• Psych Desktop - GPLed webtop with a powerful UNIX-like console.
• Purefect Desktop - Web desktop with a powerful IDE.
• SSOE - Flash-based webtop a lot of features.
• StartForce - Powerful WebOS with tons of apps and features makes the descendant of Orca Desktop a hit.
• Xindesk - File sync, a powerful API, and much more are included in this great WebOS.
• Webdesk - This Indian webtop includes 1GB of space, POP3 client, PIM, and a nice modules API.
• Webdows - We don’t know how long it will take Microsoft to sue these guys, but it’s a real enjoyment in the meantime. It has XP and Vista styles (including a few Vista effects), FTP, file sharing, IM, and much more.
• Widgets Gadgets - AJAX desktop with tons of apps and a working API.
• YouOS - File sharing, powerful shell, and 700+ applications are all available with this wildly popular operating system.
• ZimDesk - Slick WebOS with tons of apps.

Self-Hosted WebOS

• eyeOS - One of the most popular webtops on the planet, eyeOS boasts tons of apps, a booming community, and a lot more features.
• Fenestela - There’s still quite a few bugs to be ironed out in this French WebOS, but you get a cool XP interface and basic PHP apps.
• Psych Desktop - GPLed desktop with a powerful UNIX-like console.
• Purefect Desktop - Web desktop with a powerful IDE.
• Virtual-OS - Includes powerful API, web server sync, forum integration, and offline AJAX support.
• ZKDesktop - Powerful open source Java-based WebOS.

Remote Desktops

• DesktopOnDemand - A fully featured Linux-based desktop with Gnome, Gaim, AbiWord, Evolution, GIMP, WebDAV, VNC, web login, and much more.
• Free Live OS Zoo - Java applet
• Nivio - Subscription-based ($12.99/month) service that offers Windows XP, Adobe Reader, iTunes, Google Talk/aMSN/Windows Live Messenger, OpenOffice.org, Thunderbird, Nvu, and much more. All through a Java-based web interface.

Startpages

See also: 14 Personalized Homepages Compared, Feature by Feature

• Favoor - Basic startpage with a nice folder option.
• iGoogle (formerly Google IG) - Great startpage with the most amount of apps I’ve seen for a portal.
• iStyled - Simple startpage with basic customization.
• ItsAStart.com - Customizable page with basic features.
• Live.com (formerly Start.com) - Basic news page backed by Microsoft.
• My Yahoo! - Yahoo!’s entry into the startpage market isn’t bad: it offers news, Yahoo! Mail notification, podcasts, videos, and photo galleries to your startpage.
• Netvibes - There’s a reason everyone uses Netvibes. It has tons of apps, tabs, skins, and a great interface.
• Pageflakes - Popular, easy-to-use page with a simple interface.
• Schmedley - Powerful startpage with tons of features.
• Webwag - The main appeal here isn’t the widget on demand feature (a quick way to build a widget for the site of your choice), the toolbar, the apps, or the content directory. It’s the External widget feature, which allows you to convert and add Netvibes and iGoogle widgets to your Webwag page.
• Widgetop - Nice looking AJAX start page.
• yourminis - Great start page with tons of apps and a bunch of skins by the creator of goowy.

(full Story)

64-Bit Computing Has Finally Arrived

We uncovered what 64-bit computing means (both to you and the pros) and ran hands-on tests with key apps on high-end workstations. What's more, we built our own 64-bit powerhouse, at a price that's lower than you'd guess. We'll show you how.

In technology, some ideas take time to germinate, none more so than 64-bit computing, where the operating system and software (including most drivers) run on a 64-bit CPU from Intel or AMD. Linux has been 64-bit for eight years, and Apple's operating system for five. But compatibility problems have dogged the 64-bit versions of Windows since its introduction in Windows XP. There are several key advantages, such as improved performance and support for many gigabytes of RAM. The real question is, why 64-bit—and why now? And, why should you care?

Let's be honest: The promise of 64-bit computing has been around for a while—some would say it's a broken promise. Yet the planets have finally aligned: Microsoft offers a 64-bit version of both Windows Vista Ultimate and Windows XP Pro, and 64-bit versions of Linux are freely available. According to Gartner, one out of every four PCs sold today comes with a 64-bit OS installed. As for hardware, both Intel and AMD have offered 64-bit processors for years. And the additional RAM supported by the wider data bus is now amazingly affordable, thanks to a streamlined manufacturing process and mainstream levels of demand.

Most important, companies such as Adobe, Apple, and Autodesk (and that's just those that start with the letter A) now offer their flagship software products in 64-bit versions. Adobe, for the first time, offers its Creative Suite 4 in a 64-bit version—currently for PC only, with a Mac version in the works.

The main benefit has to do with memory addressing. A quick lesson in processor technology: Long ago, the brilliant minds in computer science (engineers working at Intel and other companies) decided that a PC would need only a 32-bit "register size"—the amount of RAM a CPU can access. In mathematical terms, that's 232 or exactly 4GB of RAM. Back then, the high cost of memory and the absence of 64-bit software or operating systems meant that few imagined a CPU running in 64-bit mode. (full Story)

Real Issues Security Updates For Windows, Mac, Linux

RealNetworks has issued a series of updates to fix four vulnerabilities in the Windows, Mac and Linux versions of RealPlayer 10 and 11. Click here to see which versions are affected on which platforms.

The vulnerabilities include:

1. RealPlayer ActiveX controls property heap memory corruption.—A variety of versions are vulnerable to heap overflows from mismanaging memory for the software.


2. Local resource reference vulnerability in RealPlayer.—No meaningful description was provided for this flaw.


3. RealPlayer SWF file heap-based buffer overflow.—We reported on this the other day. Processing a malicious Flash SWF file can cause a heap-based overflow.


4. RealPlayer ActiveX import method buffer overflow.—Deleting a vulnerable file from the user's media library triggers a stack overflow and can cause arbitrary code execution.

(full story)