Firefox 3.5 Release May Accelerate IE's Downfall

Mozilla's Firefox 3.5 Release Candidate 2 is now out in the open, meaning the long-awaited final version is likely right around the corner. If past trends are any indication, the debut of Firefox 3.5 may do more than just speed up your online experience -- it may also speed up the ongoing shift within the browser market. Most notably, it could accelerate the decline of Internet Explorer as the dominant choice for computer users worldwide.

Firefox 3.5 RC2: Mozilla's Beginning

Firefox 3.5 RC2 became available for public download on Friday. The browser was originally branded as Firefox 3.1 but later changed to 3.5 to better reflect the scope of improvements over its predecessor. Staying true to its moniker, Firefox 3.5 offers a whole host of new features, including private browsing, improved tab functionality, and speed increases said to make the product eight times faster than Firefox 3.0.

While the release candidate is considered a "public preview" geared toward developers and other brave souls, the final release will have the entire Internet in its sights. And that is where things could get very interesting.

The Firefox Release Effect

The last time Mozilla released a major Firefox update was just about one year ago, in June of 2008. Firefox 3.0 hit the Web in a big way, with the company's "Download Day" campaign helping snag a record-setting 8.3 million downloads within the software's first 24 hours online. There was even a Guinness World Record awarded for the feat -- but more noteworthy is the fact that, within a matter of days, Mozilla had more than doubled its beta share: Following the 3.0 reception, Firefox jumped up an overall market share of nearly 19 percent.

Microsoft's much-touted Internet Explorer 8, in comparison, barely made a dent in its early days; in fact, its overall share began falling only three days after its release.

Browser Trends

In the browser world, the broader trends may be the most telling, and Internet Explorer has been spiraling downward for months. From May 2008 to May 2009, IE lost 11 percent of its worldwide market share, according to data by Web metrics firm Net Applications. Firefox, meanwhile, grew by twice the amount IE fell: Its market share increased by 22 percent in that same time period.

The contrast is nothing new, either: I did a similar comparison about six months ago and saw comparable (though actually less extreme) results. Safari and Chrome, by the way, have also seen consistent growth over the past months; Firefox may be making the most dents in IE's armor, but it's certainly not the only warrior in the field.

Putting It All Together

Looking at the early 2009 numbers compared to the mid-2009 numbers, it appears the shift has been accelerating on its own -- and that's despite both the lack of any major Mozilla releases and the presence of a high-profile Microsoft release. Given that, and considering the huge surge seen with the previous Firefox release, it seems entirely plausible that Firefox 3.5 could move the market shift into overdrive. The recent decision to offer Windows 7 without IE in Europe could only add to the effect.

With the rate of change back at the start of the year, I'd projected IE would lose its crown by 2012. It's looking more and more likely, though, that the throne could change hands even sooner -- and Firefox 3.5, judging from the signs, may just play a strong role in helping move up that transition.

Roll Your Own XP-to-Windows 7 Upgrade On a USB Drive

While news reports are circulating today that Microsoft may be building a version of Windows 7 distributed on a thumb drive, the bigger news for enterprises is that Microsoft is releasing a tool that let's you roll your own and that it supports XP-to-Windows 7 migration.

By using the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) 2010 and the User State Migration Tool (USMT), you can create a USB drive that will install Windows7 while migrating all the user data from an XP or Vista box. The video embedded below (which came from Microsoft and requires Silverlight) features Jeremy Chapman, product manager showing how to do so. (If you don't have Silverlight, you can catch the video on TechNet, using other video file formats.)

Beyond Firefox 3.5: A Sneak Peek at Mozilla's Next Browser

Mozilla's Firefox 3.5 is off to a running start. The new browser, boasting significant speed increases and a host of added features, was officially released Tuesday morning. By mid-afternoon, the program had surpassed 1.6 million downloads worldwide and was steadily climbing, according to Mozilla's real-time tracking utility.

While most of the tech world is busy getting to know Firefox 3.5, though, Mozilla's engineers are already deep into their next big project: the tentatively numbered Firefox 3.6, codename Namoroka.

The Next Firefox: Meet Namoroka

The next Firefox is currently slated to be released in early- to mid-2010, according to Mozilla's developer notes. That, as we saw with Firefox 3.5 (formerly 3.1), can always change as things moves forward; in fact, Mozilla's already given Namoroka the additional nickname of "Firefox.next" to avoid getting attached to any specific figures.

So what's in store for this mysteriously named new browser? Here are some highlights of what's in the works so far.

• Performance

The follow-up to Firefox 3.5 will aim to improve performance even more from the current configuration. Mozilla developers intend to make "dramatic" and "user-perceptible" gains in areas such as startup time, new tab opening time, and overall responsiveness.

• Customization

Mozilla hopes to build on its user-controlled interface with the next Firefox, making it easier for users to customize both on their own and automatically. One idea under discussion, for example, is a "custom-fit user experience based on a user's interaction history." The browser would actually learn how you use it, then start to adjust itself based on your preferences. Other areas of improvement could include the addition of light-weight themes and add-ons that would install on-demand, without a required restart.

• Navigation

Firefox's next release is set to gain more natural navigation options. One way this would be accomplished would be with the integration of Taskfox, a reworked version of Mozilla's Ubiquity tool. Basically, the utility would provide you with a set of commands that could perform complex tasks in response to a single word. You could highlight text on a Web page and type in "twit," for example, and the text would automatically be sent out via Twitter.

• Web and OS Integration

Mozilla hopes to "blur the distinction between Web and desktop applications" with the next Firefox release, making it simpler for you to send files or create rich data on Web sites. The next Firefox could also become more integrated with your operating system, gaining OS-specific themes and the ability to use system-driven data such as dictionaries (for both Windows and Mac OS X). As a result of this shift, some older versions of operating systems -- namely, Windows XP with Service Pack 2 and lower -- may not be supported.

Mozilla's Firefox Timeline

If all goes according to plan, the first Firefox 3.6 beta could see the light of day within about seven months. Assuming the timing remains constant, a final release would ship roughly a year from now, possibly even sooner.

Of course, plenty could change -- both in timing and in features. Mozilla is always looking at various tweaks and improvements, such as the introduction of an expanded default tab page a la Chrome and other browsers. (Mozilla has been toying with such an idea since the planning stages of Firefox 3.1.) For now, though, we'll just have to rely on 3.5 to keep our Firefox appetites satisfied, knowing that the next course isn't terribly far away.

Broadband Stimulus Exempted From 'buy American'

The U.S. government has exempted broadband builders who want federal grants from a "buy American" provision of the US$787 billion stimulus package passed in February.

Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, designed to jump-start the U.S. economy with spending on various domestic projects, all the iron, steel and manufactured goods used in a public building or public works project need to be produced in the U.S. That includes the $4.7 billion allocated to the Broadband Telecommunications Opportunity Program (BTOP) for building and expanding high-speed communications networks.

On Friday, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, which will provide the grants for BTOP, exempted service providers from that provision for most types of equipment that go into a broadband network. This includes switching, routing, transport and access equipment, as well as customer premises equipment such as modems and set-top boxes. Service providers are also exempt from the rule when choosing billing and operations systems.

"It would be difficult, if not impossible, for a BTOP applicant to have certain knowledge of the manufacturing origins of each component of a broadband network, and the requirement to do so would be so overwhelmingly burdensome as to deter participation in the program," wrote Anna Gomez, acting assistant secretary for communications and information, in a Commerce Department notice issued Friday.

Fiber-optic cables, coaxial cables, cell towers and other facilities that are produced in the U.S. in sufficient quantities are not exempted from the "buy American" provision, Gomez noted.

Like most of the electronics industry, the broadband equipment market is spread around the world among a wide range of brand-name vendors and contract manufacturers. Some parts of the business are dominated by vendors outside the U.S.

For example, Cisco Systems and Juniper Networks dominate service-provider core routers, with worldwide market shares of 53 percent and 31 percent in the first quarter of this year, according to Dell'Oro Group. Cable set-top boxes also come predominantly from two U.S. vendors, Motorola and Cisco.

However, the DSL (digital subscriber line) equipment industry is largely owned by Alcatel-Lucent, the Paris-based company that resulted from the troubled merger of Alcatel and U.S.-based Lucent Technologies in 2006. Alcatel-Lucent, Fujitsu and the Canadian Nortel Networks were the three main sellers of optical network equipment in North America in the first quarter, according to Dell'Oro. Nokia Siemens Networks, a joint venture of Finland's Nokia and Germany's Siemens, is another major player in carrier infrastructure.

"Things today are not black and white in the communications business," said Frank Dzubeck, a longtime telecommunications analyst at Communications Network Architects, based in Washington. "You can't build these things today without a significant participation from globalized vendors."

The "buy American" part of the stimulus bill reflected Washington lawmakers' lack of understanding of broadband and the Internet, he said.

"They build bridges, they build roads, they understand that stuff. They don't understand that the next generation of this country needs broadband to go to work," Dzubeck said.

The waiver shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone, but it is interesting that it has no provision even for vendors having a manufacturing presence in the U.S., Dzubeck said. This leaves the field open to vendors such as Huawei Technologies, a Chinese vendor with a growing global presence, though Dzubeck does not expect Huawei to become a major player in the U.S. soon

Google and Grameen Launch Mobile Services for the Poor

Google has launched its SMS service and a new SMS-based classifieds system in Uganda, in collaboration with the Grameen Foundation and mobile operator MTN Uganda.

The offerings are aimed at helping poor farmers and other underserved communities access information using mobile phones, which they may own or borrow from small businesses that sell phone use.

The SMS service lets people send text messages with certain keywords to get information in a number of categories. Farmer's Friend offers agricultural advice and weather forecasts. In a video posted on the Google.org blog, one farmer used the service to discover that rather than pay for a pesticide for his tomatoes, he could use materials that he already had on hand in excess. He says he used the money he saved to buy more land.

Health Tips and Clinic Finder are two other SMS services that let people find sexual and reproductive health information and find nearby clinics.

People use the service by texting a keyword like "weather" or "clinic" followed by the city. They get the information they request by return SMS.

The Google Trader service lets people sell or buy crops or other items. For example, a user would text "BUY Toyota Kampala" to receive a list of Toyotas for sale within 50 kilometers of Kampala, Uganda.

The services don't come with additional fees beyond standard text messaging rates.

The Grameen Foundation, started by Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, who created the Village Phone project in Bangladesh, spearheaded the text service as a way to deliver information to people who live in remote areas. Village Phone is the project that turns primarily poor women in developing countries into entrepreneurs by offering them micro-loans to buy a cell phone that they let other villagers use for a fee.

Those operators in Uganda have been trained to use the new SMS service, so they can sell it to their customers.

Grameen set out to develop a way to offer people in remote areas access to information that many people in the developed world take for granted. "There's this great idea of rolling out a lot of computers, but it's hard to figure out a business model and how to keep those devices charged when they're off the grid," said Peter Bladin, founding director of the Grameen Technology Center and executive vice president for programs and regions at the Grameen Foundation, in a recent interview. "But the mobile phone is one device that already has incredible penetration."

However, most phones used in the developing world don't have the capability to surf the Internet, and the networks they run on don't support Internet access either. As a result, Grameen began investigating ways to let people use SMS, which is available on even the lowest-cost phones and the oldest mobile-phone networks, to access information.

Bladin has high hopes for the initiative. "Devices or technology can shorten that gap between where the information exists and where people who need it are. That's really a great empowerment," he said.

Group Pitches Linux for Free Netbooks From Mobile Carriers

Mobile carriers may start giving away netbooks for free, and Linux-based application stores could help them profit by doing it, the head of a Linux advocacy group told Chinese companies on Monday.

The move by carriers to sell netbooks at a discount and seek revenue from later application downloads is an opportunity for Linux, Jim Zemlin, executive director of the Linux Foundation, said at a Beijing forum. He urged Chinese and global companies to consider offering devices and download stores based on Linux.

But while Linux has some advantages, user habits and slim software offerings on the operating system mean Windows will continue to dominate on netbooks in the near term, said Jack Gold, an analyst at J. Gold Associates.

Selling discounted netbooks to users who buy a mobile data subscription would extend a sales strategy widely used for mobile phones. Carriers often sell phones for below retail price and let a user's subscription fees make up for any loss.

AT&T already sells subsidized 3G netbooks in the U.S., and China Mobile has announced similar plans. Carriers worldwide are likely considering the option, which lets them charge for added services like downloads of music, videos and software, said Gold.

Those downloads could come from platforms like the iPhone App Store that target mainly mobile phones today.

Competition could push netbook prices down as more carriers subsidize them, which would make putting Linux on the laptops an attractive way to cut costs, said Zemlin.

"In less than a year, I predict that the new cost of a netbook will be zero," Zemlin said.

A carrier that creates its own application store using an open source OS also avoids having to share download revenue with the OS designer, he said. The carrier can then pocket more of the revenue itself under any split arranged with application developers, he said.

But users could find Linux limiting. Linux does not support the wide pool of programs that Windows does, and most users favor Windows because they are more familiar with its interface, said Gold, the analyst.

Carriers would also incur costs by customizing Linux to create their own download stores, or by handing the task to a device maker, said Gold.

Windows could get another boost if the low-end version of Windows 7 proves effective on netbooks when the new OS comes out this year, he said.

But it remains attractive for carriers to subsidize netbooks, which costs less than doing so for a high-end smartphone, Gold said. Netbooks can run from US$300 to $400 off the shelf, while an iPhone is $599, he said.

Some Linux-based download stores are already open or in the works. The Android Market for phones and upcoming netbooks is based on Google's Android OS, which uses a Linux kernel. China Mobile plans to open an application store based on an Android-based mobile OS it is developing.

Firmware and You: A Comprehensive Guide to Updating Your Hardware

Utter the word “firmware” to the average PC user, and you'll likely elicit a blank stare in return. But the concept isn't really that hard to understand, and once you have this knowledge, you can quickly improve your PC and any number of other devices, making them faster, more stable, and supplemented with features that didn’t come in the box.

Firmware is a set of permanent instructions on a piece of hardware, stored in the device’s read-only memory. It’s analogous to a driver file that’s embedded in the device, providing the hardware identical information each time it powers up. While you can modify the hardware’s interaction with your operating system via software drivers, certain lower-level functions of a device remain constant and unchangeable. That’s firmware.

But even though we call it "unchangeable," it isn't necessarily so. Some firmware, located in the device’s PROM or EPROM (programmable read-only memory or erasable programmable read-only memory), can be altered, or "flashed." You do this by running software applications from the device’s manufacturer; such programs load new firmware onto the device to extend its feature set, life span, or performance, as well as to correct significant errors.

Firmware isn't a PC-only concept. You can (and should) update the firmware in external devices such as network-attached and external storage hubs, as well as wireless routers and portable media players. You can even upgrade the firmware on your phone, depending on the model. (That's how people hack the iPhone--and how Apple tries to outsmart them. Firmware updates from Apple overwrite the customized firmware that some people use to jailbreak and unlock the devices, sending hackers back to the drawing board to search for a new, deployable approach.) Other products in your house--like Microsoft’s Xbox 360, which gained features such as native 1080p HD support and a new user interface via a single download--can also benefit from firmware updates.

The frequency of a device’s firmware updates varies by manufacturer and product. Though you shouldn’t expect to find updates on a weekly basis, you should perform a firmware search for all of your PC’s devices at least once per quarter. Manufacturers often stress that you should ignore firmware updates unless you’re having a problem with your hardware; but we recommend that you run your hardware on the most up-to-date firmware you can find, since the increased stability (as well as the potential to gain new features) is worth it.

Unless you're an expert, you probably don't want to use third-party firmware like the iPhone hacks mentioned above. Such offerings are typically more complicated to install--and more likely to cause problems--than are normal, manufacturer-supplied firmware updates. They can also void a warranty. Unless you know what you're doing and you don't mind the risks, stick to official firmware.

The Benefits of New Firmware

What can you update with new firmware? It varies. Few devices receive zero firmware updates over the course of their lifetime--CPUs benefit from motherboard firmware updates, but are not upgradable themselves. Components such as hard drives and optical drives are open to firmware updates, but the device manufacturers tend not to release fixes unless they correct a specific, disastrous problem. At least, that’s what happened with Seagate’s launch of its Barracuda 7200.11 1.5TB hard drives: Users reported freezing and intermittent hangs when accessing the drive, and Seagate released a firmware update to correct the issue.

You’ll find the real meat of firmware upgrading in three areas: your motherboard, your networking devices, and your portable media devices. But what will you get for your meddling? In all three cases, firmware upgrades can provide access to additional features and stability that don’t exist out of the box. You could potentially increase ability (and stability) for overclocking your motherboard, integrate advanced utilities such as BitTorrent downloading into your network-attached storage, or, in the case of a device like Apple’s iPhone, improve the response times and signal strength of your mobile gear. Firmware updates might not revolutionize your digital experience, but they will improve it, and they're oftentimes necessary for new driver updates or additional device compatibility.

Before you hit your search engine of choice and start downloading every firmware update you can find, it’s important to consider a few points. For starters, although firmware upgrading isn’t very difficult to do, it has the potential to cause catastrophic damage if you fail to follow the instructions that the manufacturer provides. A firmware update isn’t like a device driver--you can't just uninstall it and reinstall it at a whim. Compared with driver installation, rolling back your firmware if your initial installation gets botched is much more difficult.

Check, double-check, and triple-check that you’re grabbing the correct firmware for your device. Some companies make that easy--plug your iPhone into your computer, for instance, and Apple will automate the entire process for you.

Other companies, namely motherboard manufacturers, might force you to wade through drop-down menus of their entire product line to find your product’s unique ID. Most devices won’t let you install a different product’s firmware, but in the off chance that yours does, the last thing you want to do is flash your product--the technical term for upgrading firmware--with the wrong file.

Finally, firmware upgrades can act as a reset switch for your devices. While some flash utilities give you the option to save and restore your settings before and after the update, a typical firmware update will revert your device back to its factory-default settings. That might not be the biggest concern for the average user, but if you’ve spent a lot of time setting up custom networking configurations on your router, you’ll want to save those settings prior to a firmware update.

Unless your router offers some kind of settings-backup functionality (check the menus and the manual to find one), you should copy your pertinent settings (such as port forwards, access controls, and wireless network configurations) into a text document.

Developing Countries at Risk From Dumped PCs

Developing countries are risk of becoming a dumping ground for e-waste unless there are effective controls in place to stop Western countries from "passing the toxic buck."

So said analyst house Gartner in a new report entitled "Emerging Markets Are Becoming Dumping Grounds for Secondary PCs."

"Although reuse must be considered preferable to most other forms of waste management, without effective controls, exports for reuse can be an excuse for dumping, and even in the best case result in 'passing the toxic buck' to emerging economies, which are seldom equipped to deal with this problem in an environmentally and socially responsible way," said Meike Escherich, principal research analyst at Gartner.

According to Gartner 37 million secondary PCs were refurbished and exported to emerging markets during 2008, and it is predicting that this number will rise to 69 million by 2012.

Until recently, old IT equipment usually headed to the nearest local landfill, but in 2007 the European Union's Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive became law in the UK which stated that e-waste must be dismantled or recycled by specialist contractors because of its toxic content.

Earlier this year however, an investigation revealed that thousands of computers and other e-waste items in the U.K. were still being packaged into cargo containers and shipped illegally to African countries.

Gartner says that these "secondary PCs" will eventually need to be disposed of. In 2007, nearly 68 million secondary PCs had to be discarded worldwide. In emerging countries, approximately 15 million secondary PCs had to be discarded in 2007. Gartner estimates that by 2012, emerging countries will need to dispose of a total of 30 million secondary PCs annually.

"Without action, OEMs will find that an increasing number of their PCs will either end up in landfills or find their way into illegal or badly set up private 'workshops' for dismantling," Escherich said. "Neither will be advantageous for a vendor's 'green' credentials."

Gartner says that although some exported used PCs are handled responsibly in demand countries with effective regulatory regimes and by companies with advanced technologies, many end up in developing countries where they are frequently handled and disposed of unsafely. Emerging economies often lack the capacity to safely handle and dispose of used PCs, and extremely low labour costs and lack of environmental controls make unsafe recycling commonplace.

A leading exporter of refurbished IT equipment agrees, but feels Gartner should be encouraging PC makers to invest in recycling infrastructure in developing countries. Computer Aid International describes itself as the world's largest non-profit supplier of computers to developing countries. Next month, it expects to ship its 150,000 refurbished PC.

"It is correct to be concerned that emerging countries at risk of become a dumping ground for e-waste," said Tony Roberts, founder and chief executive of Computer Aid. "The key word is e-waste. We take a three or four year old computers, separate out the good pieces, and refurbish them so they can be used for another three or four years [in a developing country]." Broken or useless kit is recycled within the EC.

"Gartner should encourage the OEMs to put end of life recycling capabilities in place in Africa and the developing markets, in the same way they do so in Europe," he said.

"In Europe they pass the cost of recycling old computers onto the customer," he said. "We pay £5 ($8.26) more for each PC we buy in order to finance end of life recycling. PC makers that talk proudly of recycling in Europe, should be encouraged to do the same in Africa and South America."

"They pay [indirectly] for end of life recycling with European borders, but unfortunately their responsibility stops once they get to the Rock of Gibraltar. There should be legislation so they have to contribute to recycling of old equipment in those markets."

Seagate Refreshes Encryption Drives

Seagate has fortified its BlackArmor line of self-encrypting hard drives, announcing an external PC unit, a revised network-attached storage (NAS), and a follow-up portable drive.

Last year's portable BlackArmor -- marketed under the old Maxtor brand -- was a worthy first pass, but was criticized in some quarters for sluggish performance, which gives the new BlackArmor WS 110 2.5 inch model some work to do.

The drive features a new look, taken from the FreeAgent products, but a specification that bar the higher capacities available of up to 500GB, appears to be much the same as the old USB 2.0 unit. The key will be in the internal hardware and drivers, which speed the unit's automatic encryption and decryption of data.

Performance is key here because while security is critical for a portable drive that might be lost, but not if it means slow transfers.

Desktop drive

The company has upgraded its new desktop external drive, the WS 110, which now sports an eSATA interface in addition to USB 2.0. The drive also comes with the company's SafetyDrill+ 'bare metal' drive imaging software, which could be a useful step up from the usual cut-down backup programs that ship with such drives.

NAS

Finally, Seagate has slightly refreshed its relatively new NAS line with the NAS 220, featuring up to 4TB of capacity in a dual drive configuration, Gigabit Ethernet, RAID 1 mirroring, and the same imaging disaster recovery of the desktop model. It also works as an FTP server and print server, and comes with a 3-year guarantee which should apply across the globe.

"The BlackArmor family of products gives small businesses, those with home offices, and more advanced recreational users an easy-to-use yet robust storage solution at an affordable price point," said Seagate senior vice president, Terry Cunningham, identifying the lower end of the SME as the company's target for the drives.

Windows 7 Pre-Orders Dominates Amazon Sales

Microsoft and online retailers last week kicked off Windows 7 sales in the U.S., Canada and Japan, taking pre-orders at prices discounted by as much as 58% and zooming to the top of Amazon.com's sales.

The upgrade for Windows 7 Home Premium, priced at $49.99, immediately stormed to the top of Amazon.com's bestseller list. The $99.99 Windows 7 Professional Upgrade held the No. 2 spot in software, while Windows 7 Ultimate Upgrade, a $219.99 package that has not been discounted, claimed No. 4 as of Friday afternoon.

Microsoft officially announced the limited-time deal Thursday, although details had leaked earlier this month when the Engadget site published a Best Buy memo that spelled out the prices and start date.

The discounted prices are good from today through July 11 in the U.S. and Canada, or "until supplies last," Microsoft noted in fine print. Pre-order prices will cease after July 5 in Japan. Customers in the U.K., France and Germany will be offered similar pre-order discounts starting July 15.

Microsoft declined to get more specific than "until supplies last" when asked today what cap it has in mind for Windows 7 discounted pre-orders.

Prices, and the amount of the price cuts from Microsoft's suggest list, vary by country. In the U.S., Home Premium has been discounted 58%, while Professional has been reduced by 50%. Canadian users get a 50% discount on both editions, but Japanese customers receive a 53% discount on Home Premium and only 45% off Professional.

In the U.S., Windows 7 upgrades are available from Microsoft's own online store, as well as from Amazon.com, Best Buy, Frys, Newegg, Office Depot and Tiger Direct. Canadians can pre-order the OS from Microsoft, Amazon.com, Best Buy, Future Shop, London Drugs, Staples and The Source. Most are throwing in free shipping, and saying that they will deliver the operating system on Oct. 22, the date Microsoft has set for Windows 7's launch.

Only Microsoft's online store is taking orders for downloadable copies of the new operating system as well as shrink-wrapped editions. The company adds an additional $14.99 to the price if customers want a physical disc as well as the download, however.

According to Microsoft, the Windows 7 upgrades can be purchased and used by users currently running Windows Vista, Windows XP and the even-older Windows 2000. For the latter two operating systems, however, Windows 7 must be done as a "clean install" that deletes all data and applications; users must back up data before the move to Windows 7, then restore the data and resinstall all applications. Only Vista users can do an "in-place" installation that leaves data, Windows settings and applications intact.

Although some analysts have slammed Microsoft for setting Windows 7 Home Premium's upgrade at $120, they have applauded the pre-order discounts. "The $49 initial price is a nice reward for loyal customers," said Michael Gartenberg, an analyst with Interpret, in a blog post yesterday. "But the 'real' upgrade pricing is way off for what the market will likely bear, especially during these economic times."

Windows 7 Upgrade No Deal for Many Businesses

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Microsoft's new Windows 7 Option Upgrade Program isn't much of an option for corporate users and could end up adding thousands of dollars to the cost of migrating to the new operating system for those who blindly jump at Thursday's offer of a free upgrade for new PC buyers.

The issue is that the Option Upgrade Program only applies to 25 PCs per "physical address" and that limitation likely leaves corporate PC buyers out of the market until October 22 when Windows 7 officially ships.

Gartner analyst Michael Silver says users who buy new PCs now and don't get a free upgrade will find down the road they have to spend upwards of $150 per PC to get to Windows 7. "That is a pretty significant percentage of what they're paying for those PCs to begin with."

Microsoft's newly posted FAQ on the Option Upgrade Program fails to mention it has a limit of 25 machines. Microsoft made an announcement in April on the 25-machine restriction on upgrades for Vista and XP users.

As of now, corporate users will have to go through volume licensing for upgrades and/or rely on Software Assurance (SA) maintenance contracts. The contracts give users rights to new software. Those without SA won't get any upgrade break at all beyond their first 25 PCs.

"If you are buying PCs between now and Oct. 22 and you want to move them to Windows 7 and you don't want to buy SA on those PCs or pay for an upgrade, the alternative is to postpone your PC purchase until Oct. 22 when Windows 7 ships," says Silver. "I don't think Microsoft or the OEM's want that to happen but that is what the program sort of encourages."

A Microsoft spokesperson said the company "will have more to come in the future about other great offers for different audiences."

"This is a replay of what Microsoft did with Vista in that they tried to make enterprises buy SA to get upgrades even on the PCs they bought during the upgrade option timeframe," says Silver. "Corporate users need to push OEMs and Microsoft to give them Windows upgrades on any new PCs they buy, if they don't get them to do that they have two choices, either buy SA or delay PC purchases."

The bottom line is that Thursday's pricing announcement is targeted at consumers and has little bearing on companies looking to upgrade their desktops.

"These prices are data points for corporate users," says Al Gillen, an analyst with IDC. "Most business uses will not go out and buy Windows 7 Pro at retail. The behavior corporate customers tend to have is to buy a new system with the new OS and they deploy based on getting the new OS with the new PC."

Silver says the trick for corporate buyers is to figure out how they plan to get to Windows 7 before they buy a new PC. "There is a cost difference depending on how you get there and planning now could save some big money in the future. You need to figure out how many PCs and how they get upgrades.

Michael Jackson Death Spurs Spam, Viruses

Less than 24 hours after Michael Jackson's death, fraudsters are exploiting public interest with their attempts to spread spam and malware. Security researchers say they've observed hundreds of cases of malicious messages masquerading as information about Jackson's death. Some of them, they say, popped up within minutes of the news.
Avoiding these threats isn't difficult, though: It's just a matter of staying one step ahead. Here are some of the attackers' tactics and what you can do to keep from falling victim.
E-Mail Address Harvesting
E-mails started circulating Thursday claiming to have "vital information" about Jackson's death. The messages ask users to respond in order to become privy to the "secret" details.
Unlike many Web-based threats, these e-mails aren't attempting to get you to click onto anything; rather, analysts believe, they're likely trying to get you to reply so your address can be confirmed for future spamming purposes.
"The spammer can easily harvest recipients' e-mail addresses via a free live e-mail address if computer users reply to the spam message," researchers at security firm Sophos explain.
Hidden Trojan Infecting
Another hoax takes the more standard approach of offering e-mail-based links, supposedly to exclusive videos and photos of Michael Jackson. These messages also appear to have YouTube videos embedded inside. If you try to follow the links or play the video, however, you may end up with malware on your computer -- without even knowing it.
"A legitimate Web site ... is opened by the default browser in order to distract the user by presenting a news article for them to read," researchers at Websense Security Labs explain. "In the background, three further information-stealing components are downloaded and installed."
Background Blog Processing
Other attackers are getting more creative and setting up phony Michael Jackson-related blogs to try to trick unsuspecting users. Security company Webroot says it's seen such efforts pop on a variety of hosting services, including Google's Blogger platform. The blogs take advantage of background processing to run scripts that can cause serious harm to your system.
"Just visiting [one] page spawned a tornado of background and foreground browser activity -- over 100 URLs, mostly called from ad-host Yieldmanager by an automated script hosted elsewhere, were pulled down in just the first three seconds after the page loaded," says Webroot's Andrew Brandt.
At least one site was found to be installing a virus that effectively locks down your PC, terminating most any application before Windows is able to open it. Programs installing spyware and even the Koobface virus have also been observed.
Staying Safe
The notion of exploiting high-profile news events for spreading spam and malware is nothing new. Security researchers say anytime the public's attention is tuned in to a particular topic, attackers see the potential to move in.
The best line of defense is simply to follow standard Web safety procedures: Delete suspicious-looking e-mails or messages from people whom you don't know; avoid clicking on links in messages if you aren't absolutely sure where they lead; and restrict your surfing to reputable Web sites when it comes to breaking news.
If you use Firefox, you can also install a plugin called NoScript. NoScript blocks JavaScript and Java code from running on any unapproved sites. That could keep you safe from some of the threats lurking behind legit-looking pages.

Acer Unveils Display, Gives Desktops A Makeover

Acer today announced its latest offerings: A widescreen LCD monitor and newly redesigned Aspire M5800, M3800, and X3810 consumer desktops.
The new display, called the Acer H235H, will ship in July, and will be priced at $240 -- not a bad price for an HD-ready 23-inch LCD display with a resolution of 1920 by 1080, support for VGA/HDMI/DVI with High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP), and two stereo speakers. Gamers will want to take note of the 2ms response time, which was previously only available in the 24-inch H243H display; Acer's H233H, its previous 23-inch model in its High Definition line of monitors, can handle only a 5ms response time. The faster response time should help when watching fast-moving content, or when gaming.
Acer's Aspire consumer desktop line gets a shot in the arm as well, with the new models appearing in June. First up is the $800 M5800, which gets a spiffy new brushed-metal chassis and a matching keyboard, speakers, and mouse. Inside the new machine has a 2.66-GHz Intel Core 2 Quad with up to 80GB memory, a 750GB hard disk drive, and integrated Nvidia GT230 with 1.5GB dedicated video memory. The M5800 comes with Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit with SP1, and has eight USB ports, a multi-in-one digital card reader, IEEE 1394, and HDMI. It also has an 802.11b/g card, and it a multiformat DVD burner.
For budget-conscious consumers, Acer introduced the $450 M3800, which comes in a stylish black tower with a "media deck" spot on top of the unit where you can charge all your various peripherals to reduce desk clutter. The M3800 packs a 2.5-GHz Intel Pentium E5200, 4GB of RAM, a 640GB hard drive, and integrated Intel GMA X4500 graphics hardware. It has the same connectivity options and as the M5800 (sans integrated Wi-Fi).
The third model falls somewhere between the first two in price, and has a very different design. The $530 X3810 comes in a sleek, compact case that's done up in a high-gloss black. The X3810 has the same processor, optical drive, RAM, and connectivity options as the M3800, plus an additional USB port and an eSATA port. While it does have a smaller hard drive (320GB), it is the only one among these three desktops that comes with a 20-inch widescreen LCD display, making it an attractive buy for someone looking for a complete package.
These announcements are the latest in a flurry of news from Acer. Earlier this month, the company announced plans for a netbook with the Android OS, as well as intentions to crack the top five smartphone companies in the next few years. Acer also announced inexpensive laptops with Blu-ray drives.

Google Rules Mobile Search -- for Now, Report Says

Popular search engine Google not only dominates the web game but has taken to lead the mobile search domain globally as well, a report from Web browser company Opera said recently.
In its State of the Mobile Web report, Opera said Google continues to assert itself as a leader in mobile search in areas such as Southeast Asia, although competitors Yandex and Baidu continue to stake claim of Russia and China.

Illustration: Steve LyonsYahoo, on the other hand, is particularly strong in Nigeria and Indonesia, the report said, placing a close second in the rest of Southeast Asia.
Meanwhile, mobile search continues to grow in areas such as India and Nigeria, where search portal page views account for 16.3% and 26.6% of mobile traffic in the two countries respectively.
"Searching the Web via a mobile device presents an enormous opportunity for both search engines and consumers," said Jon von Tetzchner, CEO, Opera. "Almost all search engines are moving forward to offer relevant and timely information based on location. Yet, consumers prefer services from the search engines they already know and use."
In the Philippines where mobile penetration clocks in at a strong 90% of the population, adoption of Opera's popular mobile browser, the Opera Mini, continues to see growth as it registered a 353% climb from previous years averaging 705 page views per user, making it the number 3 country in terms of usage.
On popular sites visited by Filipinos, Friendster enjoys a safe lead in the country, but popular search networking giant Facebook continues to ease in, even taking the lead in neighboring country Indonesia.
As in previous years, Nokia handsets enjoy a safe place at the top in terms of preferred mobile phone brand, followed by Sony Ericsson.
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Is Microsoft's 'Morro' Malware in Disguise?

Goodbye Windows Defender, hello Windows Security Essentials. The new antivirus and antimalware package that Microsoft's been working on for the past year is ready for its semi-official unveiling today. Eager malware-thwarters from the United States, Brazil, and Israel will get first dibs on the public beta of the free software, available for both 32- and 64-bit installations of Windows XP, Vista, and 7. So what exactly is Windows Security Essentials? And why would it be malware?
I'll go last-to-first. Previous claims have implicated that Windows Security Essentials will route "all of a user's traffic to a Microsoft datacenter." While that would certainly be a noble gesture on Microsoft's part, that's the same kind of behavior that a powerful virus or spyware application would commit as well. Would you really want all of your protected Internet traffic being analyzed somewhere up in Redmond?
Thankfully, the reports were wrong. I don't believe that Microsoft has plans to do anything of the sort. Neither do those in the general tech industry, nor was I able to gleam any inkling of that being the case based on any first-hand Windows Security Essentials reports. While the program does compare suspicious activities against a database created by millions of user reports and situations, that's quite a ways off from Microsoft acting as a proxy for all of your Internet traffic. I mean, come on now.
As for the software itself, Paul Thurrott has written up a tome of information about the new security application, so if you have a little free time on your hands, it's worth checking out his comprehensive, hands-on guide with the application.
Here's the short version: Windows Security Essentials is like Windows Defender, but kicked up a notch. The free application--and I can't stress that enough, it's free--will give you nearly real-time protection for your system against malware and viruses. Ta-da.
Why is that important? Because you could be one of the many users that has let some cracks slip into the wall that separates your PC from disaster and harm. Microsoft's identified wide swaths of users and scenarios that fit this model: Including those who just don't pay for security software, those who have let the yearly registrations on their software expire sans renewal, and those who never actually turned the software on in the first place.
With Windows Security Essentials, user simplicity is Microsoft's secret formula. But that's not to say that the program is any less potent under the hood. Windows Security Essentials combines a user mode service alongside a kernel driver to scan your system and request verification for potential threat from a huge database of online, updated resources. If the software suspects foul play, it isolates the malware in a sandbox to keep it from wrecking havoc on your system. A community of than 450 million users contributes data and information to Microsoft's online services. In turn, Windows Security Essentials freshens up with new signature updates three times a day, not to mention larger program updates on a monthly basis.
Most importantly, Microsoft has seemingly tried to reduce as much of a footprint as it can in this software's general operations. According to Thurrott, the small installer gives way to a program that only scans your PC when your CPU sits idle. Even then, the application can only ratchet itself up to 50 percent of your CPU's total processing power. That's not bad, especially considering that Windows Security Essentials swaps out the memory it's used when its no longer needed. A convenient little tray icon gives you a quick check for your system's status: If you see yellow or red, you might want to open the window and see what's going on.
Other than that, expect Windows Security Essentials to operate in the same vein as Windows Defender, including the ability to schedule and customize scans and exclude particular files, file locations, or processes. It remains to be seen whether this aspiring application will proove to deliver more of a punch to common viruses and malware than off-the-shelf solutions. Nevertheless, it's hard to argue against free, especially a scanner that bundles well with the operating system and uses as few resources as possible.
So what do you think? Are you going to be grabbing the beta application today? Let us know your thoughts @Geektech, or you can try sending viruses over to this article's author, @Acererak, and I'll let you know how Windows Security Essentials stacks up...

Security Experts Visualize Botnets With an Eye Toward Defense

Not all botnets are organized in the same way. That's the conclusion of a report from Damballa which seeks to categorize the dominate structures. It attempts to explain why certain types of blocking and filtering will work against some botnets, and not for others."The 'hybrid' threat banner is often cast about," says Gunter Ollmann, VP of Research, Damballa, an enterprise security company specializing in botnet mitigation "But that label means nothing to teams tasked with defending the enterprise. By explaining the topologies (and their strengths and weaknesses) these teams can better visualize the threat."The Star structure is the most basic and offers individual bots a direct communication with the Command and Control (CnC) server. It can be visualized in a star-like pattern. However, by providing direct communications with one CnC server the botnet creates a single point of failure. Take out the CnC server and the botnet expires. Ollmann says the Zeus DIY botnet kit, out of the box, is a star pattern, but that botmasters often upgrade, making it multiserver."In most cases, particular botnets can be classed as a member of just one CnC topology--but it s often down to the botnet master which one they choose."Multi- Server is the logical extension of the Star structure using multiple CnC servers to feed instructions to the individual bots. This design, says Ollmann, offers resiliency should any one CnC server go down. It also requires sophisticated planning in order to execute. Srizbi is a classic example of a multi-server CnC topology botnet.The Hierarchical botnet structure is highly centralized and are often associated with multi-stage botnets--for example botnets who’s bot agents have worm propagation capabilities--and utilize super-node-based peer-to-peer CnC. That means no one bot is aware of the location of any other bots, often making it hard for security researchers to gage the overall size of the botnet. This structure, says Damballa, is best suited for leasing or selling parts of the botnet to others. The downside is that instructions take longer to reach their targets so some kinds of attacks impossible to coordinate. Random is the reverse of the Hierarchical structure. This botnet is decentralized and using multiple communication paths. The downside is that each bot can enumerate others in the neighborhood, and often communication lags between clusters of bots, again making some attacks impossible to coordinate. Storm would fit Damballa's Random model, as would botnets based off the Conficker malwareThe report, Botnet Communication Topologies: Understanding the intricacies of botnet Command-and-Control, also ranked different methods of fast flux, the method by which a CnC server changes its domains on the fly. Damballa found that Domain Flux, a process changing and allocating of multiple Fully Qualified Domain Names to a single IP address or CnC infrastructure, is the most resilient to discovery and mitigation.Robert Vamosi is a risk, fraud, and security analyst for Javelin Strategy & Research and an independent computer security writer covering criminal hackers and malware threats.

Microsoft to Vista Owners: You'll Pay for Our Mistake

If Microsoft really charges $120-and-up for Windows 7, the company will send a very clear message: Don't upgrade. That, or Microsoft is betting that Vista victims will pay almost any price to get the ill-fated OS off their machines.
Which is it?
Microsoft is currently holding a two-week pre-sale "sale" on Windows 7, with Windows 7 Home Premium selling for as low as $50 a copy. If you miss the July 11 cut-off and wait until the official October 22 release, you'll pay full price, Microsoft says (for now, anyway).
Given that upgrades and sales of Vista on machines not powerful enough to show it to good advantage helped the OS gain its bad reputation, maybe Microsoft is hedging its bet.
Pricing Windows 7 upgrades high enough that current Vista users won't bother insures that most users will see the new OS on a new computer. If Microsoft can better manage its OEM partners this time, so that Windows 7 only sells on new hardware powerful enough to make it look good, then the new OS might avoid the early drubbing that Vista received.
Those early notices sent Vista down a road of no return, despite SP1 reviews, on better hardware, that proclaimed the OS not so bad, after all.
This time around should be different: Once Windows 7 is well-received on new hardware, Microsoft could lower upgrade pricing, with a stern warning about performance issues with older machines. If it works, such a strategy could save Windows 7 from Vista's fate, which is probably a good thing for everyone.
If Microsoft persists with the $120-and-up pricing, we can assume only one thing: that Microsoft has seen the future and that by October 22 the world recession will be over, money will have reappeared in people's pockets, and $120 for an OS upgrade won’t seem as outlandish as it does today.
But, if Microsoft had such prescience, I guess we'd be waiting for Vista II and not Windows 7, wouldn’t we?

Windows 7 Upgrade FAQ

Microsoft is readying its next major release of the Windows operating system. After months of demos, early testing, beta releases, and finally announced launch plans, here's what you can expect in an upgrade.
When is Windows 7 coming out?
Windows 7, the next major operating system (OS) release from Microsoft after Vista, will be officially available on October 22. The first beta of the OS was released in February and a Release Candidate (RC) followed in May. The beta version will expire next week, while the RC will remain a free download until August 15.
How many versions of Windows 7 will there be?
Six different editions of Windows 7 will be available: OEM, Home Basic, Home Premium, Professional, Enterprise and Ultimate. You won't however see in the shops all the above edition. Marketing efforts will be concentrated only on the Home Premium and Professional editions.
The other editions, including a non-Internet Explorer version for users in Europe, will be available for various markets around the world.
What's in each edition of Windows 7?
Microsoft said that features of all edition of Windows 7 would be stored on machines, regardless of which edition the user has purchased. Using the Windows Anytime Upgrade tool, users can unlock more features within the OS.
The chart below (from Wikipedia; click to enlarge it) is a fair guide on the features available in each version of Windows 7.

How much will it cost me to upgrade to Windows 7?
Residents in the U.S., Canada, and Japan can now pre-order an upgrade version of Windows 7 for a temporarily reduced price. The Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade is available for $49.99 and the Professional Upgrade version is $99.99.
The deal will last until July 11 in the U.S. and Canada, and only until July 5 in Japan. The number of copies available is not unlimited and Microsoft did not say how many will be available.
Where can I get this special pre-order deal?
The Windows 7 pre-order deal is available only online. In the U.S. it can be purchased from Amazon, Best Buy, Costco, Fry's Electronics, Office Depot, Office Max, Sam's Club, Staples, Tiger Direct, Wal-Mart, NewEgg. In Canada, Staples, Future Shop, Best Buy, London Drugs, Amazon, and the Source are supplying the updates; in Japan, Yodobashi Camera, Amazon, Yamada Denki, and Bic Camera carry the deal.
Both special prices upgrades are available for Windows XP and Vista users. Windows XP users will have to do a clean install. Moving from a 32-bit version of Windows to a 64-bit one will require a clean install as well.
For the UK, France and Germany, pre-orders will start on July 15.
Is there a discount on Windows 7 Ultimate/Professional Upgrade?
There is no equivalent discount so far for those running Vista Ultimate and willing to upgrade to Windows 7 Ultimate. Windows 7 Ultimate Upgrade will cost $299.99 and Professional Upgrade will be $199.99.
This move has already created outrage among many Vista Ultimate users.
What if I don't pre-order the special deal?
After the July 11 cutoff date for the special deal, a Home Premium Upgrade version will cost $119.99 and a Professional Upgrade will be $199.99. The same pricing is expected after October 22 when Windows 7 will be available to everyone.
Standalone versions of Windows 7 Home Premium will cost $199.99, Professional Edition $299.99 and Ultimate Edition $319.99.
HP and Lenovo will offer free Windows 7 upgrades to qualifying customers who own machines running Vista.
What are the minimum hardware requirements for Windows 7?
Microsoft says Windows 7 is designed to run well on PCs that meet the recommended system requirements for Windows Vista.
Before you upgrade to Windows 7, be sure to compare your PC's specifications with the Windows 7 system requirements as follows:
1GHz or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
1GB RAM (32-bit) / 2GB RAM (64-bit)
16GB available disk space (32-bit) / 20GB (64-bit)
DirectX 9 graphics processor with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver
What if I own a netbook?
Most recent netbooks will be able to run Windows 7. However, it is yet unclear how Microsoft plans to deliver the update to machines without an optical drive. The latest speculation on the matter suggests that Microsoft is considering selling Windows 7 on a USB drive. Alternatively, the company might partner with retailers and offer an in-store netbook upgrade program.
What if I buy a computer with Vista between now and October 22?
Microsoft said that customers who will buy a new a new Windows Vista machine between now and October 22 would get free upgrades to their respective versions of Windows 7. The offer is available for Home Premium, Professional and Ultimate editions. Computers shipped with Windows Vista Home Basic will not be eligible for an upgrade. The offer runs until January 2010.
What happens after October 22?
After Windows 7 will be launched on October 22, most new machines will be shipped with the new OS.

2007 Microsoft Office Suites Comparison White Paper

With the 2007 Microsoft(R) Office system, you and your organization can use the new set of powerful tools for creating, managing, analyzing, and sharing information to work more efficiently and effectively. The Microsoft Office Fluent(TM) user interface simplifies the way the Microsoft Office applications work. And the new graphics capabilities help you easily create great-looking, high-impact documents. This paper compares and contrasts four suites of the 2007 Microsoft Office system: Microsoft Office Standard 2007, Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2007, Microsoft Office Enterprise 2007 and Microsoft Office Ultimate 2007. Each suite provides the core Microsoft Office applications as well as features that support integrated content management, information rights and policy, and integrated electronic forms. The suites differ in the selection of included applications and the ways in which advanced features are implemented. This paper is intended to help organizations understand the applications and capabilities offered, and to identify the suite that best fits their needs.

Microsoft to Vista Owners: You'll Pay for Our Mistake

If Microsoft really charges $120-and-up for Windows 7, the company will send a very clear message: Don't upgrade. That, or Microsoft is betting that Vista victims will pay almost any price to get the ill-fated OS off their machines.

Which is it?

Microsoft is currently holding a two-week pre-sale "sale" on Windows 7, with Windows 7 Home Premium selling for as low as $50 a copy. If you miss the July 11 cut-off and wait until the official October 22 release, you'll pay full price, Microsoft says (for now, anyway).

Given that upgrades and sales of Vista on machines not powerful enough to show it to good advantage helped the OS gain its bad reputation, maybe Microsoft is hedging its bet.

Pricing Windows 7 upgrades high enough that current Vista users won't bother insures that most users will see the new OS on a new computer. If Microsoft can better manage its OEM partners this time, so that Windows 7 only sells on new hardware powerful enough to make it look good, then the new OS might avoid the early drubbing that Vista received.

Those early notices sent Vista down a road of no return, despite SP1 reviews, on better hardware, that proclaimed the OS not so bad, after all.

This time around should be different: Once Windows 7 is well-received on new hardware, Microsoft could lower upgrade pricing, with a stern warning about performance issues with older machines. If it works, such a strategy could save Windows 7 from Vista's fate, which is probably a good thing for everyone.

If Microsoft persists with the $120-and-up pricing, we can assume only one thing: that Microsoft has seen the future and that by October 22 the world recession will be over, money will have reappeared in people's pockets, and $120 for an OS upgrade won’t seem as outlandish as it does today.

But, if Microsoft had such prescience, I guess we'd be waiting for Vista II and not Windows 7, wouldn’t we?

Smartphone OS Smackdown: iPhone OS 3.0 vs. WebOS vs. the World

wo and a half years ago, Steve Jobs unveiled the first iPhone and said that its software was five years ahead of the competition; and since then, the rest of the industry has been busy playing catch-up. The past few weeks have seen the release of Palm's impressive Pre (with its WebOS operating system) and Google's first major Android update. Older operating systems such as Symbian S60 are showing up on increasingly iPhone-esque phones, too, such as the Nokia N97.

But Apple has been busy, too. Last week, it released its third major version, iPhone OS 3.0, which ships on the iPhone 3GS and is available as a free upgrade for owners of previous iPhones (and as a $10 upgrade for iPod Touch owners). It remains the next-generation mobile OS to beat.

The new iPhone OS 3.0 boasts more than a hundred new features--some of them subtle and whimsical, others more overt and useful. Version 3.0 represents an evolutionary, not revolutionary advance. Its stiffest competition comes from two operating systems that didn't exist when the iPhone was first announced and that seem to have drawn plenty of inspiration from Apple's phone: Android and WebOS. Except for its lack of mutitasking for third-party apps, however, iPhone OS 3.0 feels richer and more mature than either of those two OSs.

Read on for a look at how the latest iPhone OS compares with Google's Android, Microsoft's Windows Mobile, Nokia's Symbian S60 5th Edition, Palm's WebOS, and RIM's BlackBerry OS. I judged the five operating systems on their capabilities, ease of use, and visual panache, and I assessed both their standard applications and associated third-party programs.

Apple iPhone OS 3.0

The Apple iPhone 3GS, loaded with Apple iPhone OS 3.0.

What it is: iPhone OS 3.0 is a pocket-size version of Mac OS X, shrunk down and redesigned to power the iPhone 3GS.

How it works: As you zip around the iPhone 3GS's multitouch interface with your fingertips, hardware and software blur into one pleasing experience. With other operating systems, it's all too easy to get lost in menus or to forget how to accomplish simple tasks; iPhone apps, however, are remarkably sleek and consistent. Version 3.0 fills in most of the holes that remained in version 2.2 by adding cut, copy, and paste, excellent OS-wide search, and better support for using landscape mode. It also gives third-party developers new features to tap into--for example, subscription services within apps, peer-to-peer networking over Bluetooth, and the ability to alert a user even when an app isn't running. (The OS still lacks true multitasking for third-party programs, however, which is probably its most serious omission at this point.)

How it looks: Terrific. Everything from the sophisticated typography to the smooth animation effects contributes to the richest, most attractive environment ever put on a handheld device.

Built-in applications: What's good is great--especially the Safari browser, which does a remarkable job of simplifying navigation through sites that weren't designed for viewing on a smartphone. The OS's music and video programs are of iPod caliber, too. But as a productivity tool, the iPhone still lacks depth in some areas. For instance, you get no apps for editing documents or managing a to-do list. (Both are available from multiple third-party developers, however.)

Apple could stand to learn a trick or two about Web integration from WebOS (which tightly integrates its apps with Facebook and other Web services) and Android (which logically works extremely well with Google services such as Gmail).

Third-party stuff: Thanks to Apple's hugely influential App Store, the iPhone has gone from having no third-party apps to having more than 50,000 (most of them inexpensive or even free) in less than a year. The best ones, such as Facebook and the Evernote note-taker, are outstanding. But the limitations that Apple imposes on third-party apps--they can't run in the background or access data other than their own--put major obstacles in the way of everything from instant messengers to office suites. And as the sole distributor of iPhone software, Apple has declined to make available some useful applications that developers have submitted.

Bottom line: Despite the strides made by Android and WebOS, iPhone OS 3.0 stands as the most enjoyable and intuitive phone operating system available today.

Vista Service Pack 2 Now Ready for Download

Windows Vista Service Pack 2 is now available for download. The Vista SP2 update includes new support for recording Blu-ray discs straight from the Vista OS, updated support for Bluetooth v2.1, and bug fixes that address slow shutdowns and mysterious crashes.
You can download Vista SP2 directly from Microsoft at its Web site (348MB) or it will be automatically delivered to your Vista system via Windows Update within a few weeks, according to Microsoft. You must have Vista SP1 installed on your system to install the SP2 Vista.
Additional Vista SP2 Updates
Besides Blu-ray and Bluetooth support, Vista SP2 also:
* Fixes Wi-Fi issues when Vista awakes from sleep mode.
* Improves performance of Vista desktop sidebar gadget, allowing for RSS feeds to perform better.
* Address overall Vista system performance issues. Microsoft says SP2 repairs nearly 700 nagging Vista bugs and security updates.
* Boosts power management efficiency by 10 percent.
* Gives your computer support for VIA Technologies' new 64-bit CPU
* Lets your system support exFAT, which can handle larger files and can also use UTC timestamps so you can synchronize files across different time zones.

Wolfram Alpha Google Amps Up Search Power in Firefox

The free Wolfram Alpha Google add-on for Firefox lets you run a side-by-side comparison of results from Google, and the new Wolfram Alpha search engine. Google matches run down the left side of your browser as always, while Wolfram Alpha results are displayed on the right, where text ads would otherwise appear.
An icon at the bottom-right of Firefox allows you to easily toggle the extension on or off, and buttons labeled "Original" and WolframAlpha" located near the top-right of a search page let you switch between a Google-only or combined view. A smaller icon to the right of these also lets you open Wolfram Alpha results in a new tab. That is, if it actually finds anything.
I say that because the new 'computational knowledge engine' cum geek almanac definitely lags behind Google in raw speed, and isn't your average search engine designed to find movie times. It does, however, do a good job of finding answers to equations and statistical questions, and it can piece together responses to fact-based questions. In some ways, the Wolfram Alpha search engine competes more with Wikipedia. If you come to the same conclusion, then you may want to try the Googlepedia Firefox add-on instead; it works in much the same way.
Note: At the time of writing, Wolfram Alpha Google's relative infancy (and lack of Mozilla public review) meant that it's still considered an experimental add-on; you'll need to tick a box acknowledging this before you are able to install it. Usefully, this release does fix previous incompatibility issues with the popular AdBlock Plus Firefox extension.

Intel and Nokia to Rattle Mobile Landscape

Plenty of questions linger regarding Intel and Nokia's partnership, but one thing we can count on is the two powerful tech players will rattle the mobile landscape. The Intel and Nokia partnership, announced yesterday, was slim on specifics but brimming with potential as both announced they would collaborate on a mobile-computing partnership.
The duo has the very real potential to shower consumers with dozens of shiny new Nokia and Intel products from super-smart smartphones that transmit voice and data at lightning speed and efficiency or something like a hybrid netbook/notebook that fits in your shirt pocket.
We will have to wait and see what becomes of the partnership because both executives from Intel and Nokia were mum on what type of gizmos we will be seeing and when. While the brunt of the announcement focused on explaining how both would deliver a new mobile platform, such as Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs), it's what was not said that may generate the most interest and should have Apple, AMD, and other mobile players interested.
Intel Partners Scratch Heads
While Intel and Nokia skimped on specifics, left dangling in the wind are questions about how this announcement will impact Intel's relationships with other companies it has longstanding relationships with. For example, Intel has made significant inroads with Apple, where many of its Macintosh computers are based upon Intel CPUs - will an Intel powered Nokia iPhone competitor strain Apple's relationship with Intel? Concerns should also surround Intel's relationship with Microsoft - will an Intel powered Nokia MID running Android or Linux impact Microsoft's sales of Windows Mobile?
Nokia, Intel Marriage: Jealous?
One thing is certain: Intel may be taking a big risk with its dive into the mobile wireless device market with Nokia. Intel has to be careful not to upset its current partners, yet still work with Nokia to deliver new and impressive devices to consumers. Perhaps, the biggest winner here will be AMD, which has already made inroads with Gateway into the netbook market and is poised to challenge Intel in the low cost computing arena.
If They Were Smart . . .
Still more questions remain about WiMax and alternative operating systems (Android and Linux). The smart move for both companies would be to quickly introduce a MID that shouts innovation. That innovation could come in the form of integrating WiMax into an Android based tablet, which can switch between various wireless modes, while providing the features of a Kindle and iPhone combined, add Bluetooth for a headset and viola, the companies would have something that could compete against netbooks, Kindles and iPods.
Together Intel and Nokia have the technology to make this happen. Nokia has already unsuccessfully dabbled with tablets and Intel already has experimented with cellular phone technology, so both companies have the background to make something happen quickly, and to become masters of the wireless market. Unfortunately, both companies may have to tick off some of their existing partners, at least a little, to seize the day and make this new relationship deliver something significant.

Back Up Your Windows XP Patches and Service Packs

If you're running Windows XP with Service Pack 2 or even Service Pack 3, what happens if you have to perform a system recovery using your original XP CD? Hassles, that's what.
Reader Ralph recently experienced that exact scenario, resulting in an awful lot of Windows Updating after the installation. That's because the old CD doesn't have all the patches and updates you've downloaded over the years. It could take hours or even days to re-download and reinstall all that extra stuff, during which time your PC is more vulnerable to viruses and outside attacks. (A lot of those patches tackle security issues.)
Consequently, Ralph wanted to know if there was some way to back up the Windows Service Packs so he wouldn't be in the same boat next time.
There is--you can download the Service Packs as standalone installers directly from Microsoft (here's SP3, for example)--but I propose a different solution: slipstreaming.
Slipstreaming is the process of combining your existing Windows XP CD and the latest Service Pack into a new CD. When you're done, you'll be able to install Windows XP with SP3 outright.
This is easier to accomplish than you might think, provided you've got your original CD and the aforementioned standalone Service Pack. However, I'm not going to repeat the details here; check out Lincoln Spector's Slipstreaming Service Pack 2 on an Old Windows XP CD. Just substitute SP3 for SP2 and you're golden.
Can you do likewise with Vista? Digital Inspiration has instructions on slipstreaming Vista with SP1 (you'll need a DVD for that), but I suspect you could just as easily swap in the new SP2.

Move the Taskbar to the Side of the Screen

Widescreen monitors are great for watching movies and organizing windows side-by-side, but a lot of time the space goes to waste. Consequently, I'm going to suggest a radical idea, one that's particuarly applicable to laptop and netbook users: Move the Windows Taskbar to the side of the screen.
If you've been a Windows user as long as I have, I promise you'll hate this--at first. But think about it: Web pages, Word documents, and the like run top-to-bottom, so the more vertical space you can give them, the better.
By relocating the Taskbar to the left side of the screen (or the right, if you prefer), you're freeing up vertical space for stuff you use every day while making smarter use of wasted horizontal space.

Ready to give it a try? The steps are the same in both Windows Vista and Windows 7:
1. Right-click an empty area of the Taskbar and clear the checkmark next to Lock the Taskbar.
2. Left-click and hold an empty area of the Taskbar, then drag it to the left side of the screen. Once you get close, you'll see it lock in, at which point you can release the mouse button.
That's all there is to it! Vista users may want to extend the width of the Taskbar to better see the labels for programs that are running. But Windows 7 can keep the Taskbar its naturally narrow self, as that OS doesn't have running-program labels anyway.
Indeed, I think the "side Taskbar" works better in Windows 7 than in any previous version of the OS. But regardless, if you have a system with a widescreen monitor, give this a try for a couple days and see if you don't really like the change. (If you don't, you can always drag the Taskbar back to the bottom

First Look: Microsoft Security Essentials

The beta version of Microsoft Security Essentials, a free program that fights viruses and spyware, is now available for download. The app, previously code-named Morro, replaces Windows Live OneCare and fights the usual rogues' gallery of PC threats, including worms, Trojans, and other troublemakers.
Security Essentials runs on Windows XP, Vista, or Windows 7 (beta or release candidate), and does pretty much what any good anti-malware app should do. It automatically downloads virus and spyware definitions; offers real-time protection that scans downloads and attachments, and looks for suspicious file and program activity; and runs unattended scans at a time that works best for you (e.g., Sunday morning at 7 a.m.).
The program's interface is clean, uncluttered, and non-threatening to users who don't know a rootkit from a root canal. As the Security Essentials home screen below indicates, a green icon shows you're protected:
And a red-orange icon means trouble, such as if real-time protection is turned off.

While this sort of visual reporting is common among anti-malware apps, Microsoft's presentation is jargon-free and easy to follow. By comparison, here's the Overview screen for AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition:
Security Essentials' Settings tab provides fast access to advanced tools that power users might reconfigure. Example: The ability to scan removable devices such as USB flash drives, a feature that's turned off by default. You can schedule scan times too:

I just downloaded Security Essentials this morning and installed it on a creaky Toshiba laptop running Windows XP. So far I haven't witnessed a big drag on system performance, a problem I've encountered over the years with bloated security suites from Norton and McAfee. (My Toshiba note has 512MB of memory; Security Essential's minimum RAM requirement for XP is 256MB.)
During a Security Essentials system scan, Microsoft Word 2007 took 14 seconds to load, 3 seconds longer than normal.
Of course, a security app's true value is determined by its malware-fighting skills, and PC World will post a detailed review of Microsoft Security Essentials in the near future. How will this free app fare? There's reason for optimism here, as Redmond has received accolades lately from the same experts who trashed its previous security efforts.
Go to jbertolucci.blogspot.com for links to Jeff Bertolucci's PC World blog posts.