software

If you know me personally, then you might say that I'm a creature of habit. The clothes in my closet all look similar (except they're different colors); my entire house is painted the same color, and on the weekends, I go to the same local pub to ... meet up with the same friends -- week in, and week out. So you might say I live a simple life, and things are pretty habitual. Well, the same can be said about the type of software I choose to review and recommend to our readers. I typically look for stuff that does what it says, is competitive in the marketplace, and adds value to the overall PC ... (view more)

Have you ever heard of Marratech? Most people in the company's home base of Sweden probably haven't either. But Google has. The search engine giant has just purchased the rights to Marratech's video-conferencing software. Google has acquired just ... the technology itself -- not the entire company. (Source: googleblog.blogspot.com ) For now, the program will just be used internally by Google. That news is sure to disappoint tech-heads looking forward to trying the technology out. However, there may be a glimmer of hope: Marratech's program may eventually be integrated into Google services such as ... (view more)

The recent release of Microsoft Vista and Exchange 2007 has IT managers and system administrators taking a long hard look at upgrading their organization's infrastructures reports. (Source: processor.com ). While there may be some advantages to the ... new products such as enhanced security features, optimized mobility functions and integrated searching, there are just as many if not more challenges, including hardware upgrades and compatibility issues. Keith McCall, founder and CTO of Azaleos, a company that builds appliances with Microsoft software preloaded and preconfigured then provides ... (view more)

Users thinking about upgrading to Windows Vista may end up spending more than they thought. Besides having to pay for faster hardware, users should expect to pay for Vista upgrades to a lot of their favorite software. (Source: computerworld.com ) ... Instead of releasing free patches to update existing versions, some major vendors such as Adobe Systems Inc., Symantec Corp. and Intuit Inc. are adding Vista compatibility only to new releases or future products that are still being developed. Most of these new versions will add more features along with Vista compatibility. Vendors argue that if ... (view more)

Recently, Information week obtained a memo citing concerns over cost and compatibility issues by the federal U.S. Department Of Transportation (DOT) in January 2007, prohibiting thousands of federal workers from upgrading to Windows Vista, Internet ... Explorer 7 (IE7) and Office 2007. The DOT's Chief Information Officer (CIO) placed an "indefinite moratorium" on the upgrades since "there appears to be no compelling technical or business case for upgrading to these Microsoft software products. Furthermore, there appears to be specific reasons not to upgrade." "Microsoft Vista, Office 2007, and ... (view more)

The past few weeks, I started following a news story that raises my ire! No, it isn't about Microsoft and Vista -- it's about a substitute school teacher that has been caught in what is termed a ... well, we'll call it an adult-oriented Pop-up Trap ... (if you know what I mean). To begin with, a 'Pop-up' Trap (or a 'Mouse' Trap) is when an Internet surfer clicks on a web site and is treated to a cascade of pop-ups, usually advertising offensive material geared toward twisted individuals. These ads come in at such a high rate of speed, the user cannot keep up with them. The content is also rather ... (view more)

VMware, a small Silicon Valley software-producing company, is attempting to tackle the industry's leader in software manufacturing, namely: Microsoft. VMware is a relatively young company and has been experimenting with cutting edge technology ... called "virtual-machine software". A virtual machine essentially mimics a computer so that several copies of an operating system can run on one physical machine. Tasks can be completed using less electricity and less space compared to a standard PC. (Source: nytimes.com ) It is also a product that occupies strategic ground in computing, as a layer of ... (view more)

The past few weeks, I started following a news story that raises my ire! No, it isn't about Microsoft and Vista -- it's about a substitute school teacher that has been caught in what is termed a ... well, we'll call it an adult-oriented Pop-up Trap ... (if you know what I mean). To begin with, a 'Pop-up' Trap (or a 'Mouse' Trap) is when an Internet surfer clicks on a web site and is treated to a cascade of pop-ups, usually advertising offensive material geared toward twisted individuals. These ads come in at such a high rate of speed, the user cannot keep up with them. The content is also rather ... (view more)

The United States Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) has issued an advisory regarding remote tech support tools made by SupportSoft. The affected software uses ActiveX controls contain multiple buffer overflow vulnerabilities which could allow a ... remote, unauthenticated attacker to execute arbitrary code on a vulnerable system. The SupportSoft ActiveX controls are essentially small applications that can be run from Microsoft's Internet Explorer. The affected software is often used by Internet service providers, PC makers and other companies to provide support functions such as remote ... (view more)

For those millions upon millions of web users who depend on Yahoo's email service, a recent rumor of hacker penetration into the database was very frightening. If you haven't heard, a Symantec report recently alleged that the "Feebs" worm had made ... its way throughout Yahoo's web mail. That rumor has finally been debunked, leaving many Yahoo users breathing a sigh of relief. Symantec is a major Internet/tech security company that regularly flags the latest threats to Internet programs. They've most famously been behind warnings to consumers on web browser loopholes, reporting Trojans, phishing ... (view more)