Archive for November, 2006
Thursday, November 30th, 2006
If you have a question for Google Answers, you better hurry up and ask it. Later this week, Google will shut down the service, which allowed people to pose questions, for a fee, in the hopes of getting the perfect answer.
The company has no plans to replace Google Answers directly, but believes “there is value in enabling people to help others in answering their questions,” according to a company spokeswoman.
“While many people used and valued Google Answers, Google had reached a point with the product to recognize there may be a better way to meet these individuals’ needs,” the company said in a statement to internetnews.com.
The decision to eliminate Google Answers is a response to competing services offered by Yahoo and MSN, Gartner analyst Allen Weiner said. Unlike MSN (Quote) and Yahoo (Quote), Google charged users. Paying for answers enabled high-quality responses, the company argued.
In a blog post, Google explained the Answers service was an experiment. “Sometimes it means reconsidering our goals for a product,” according to the official blog.
Read more: internetnews.com
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Thursday, November 30th, 2006
7 out of 10 calls vulnerable to attack
Sensitive data sent using VoIP is vulnerable to attack because call centres are failing to secure their networks robustly enough, according to new research.
Customers’ private details could be easily hacked into using the wiretapping method with a staggering 7 out of 10 calls open to attack, said security company Scanit, which audited data transfer at various busy call centres and service providers.
It found lax security for networks at call centres which deal with thousands of calls from around the world and was able to pick up data that included tone-dial PIN numbers used to access phone banking services.
Research also revealed that many companies were left vulnerable to attack because of common-held assumptions that security measures had already been put in place by VoIP vendors on the network.
Full story: The Register
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Thursday, November 30th, 2006
Regtickpro is a simple windows registry tweak tool which allow you to change many hidden settings about windows itself and other applications.
It is FREEWARE and Souce code for Borland C++ Builder 3 is included with the release.
Note: Modifying the registry can cause serious problems, Use RegTick at your own risk!!!
Download: Regtickpro 0.23
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Thursday, November 30th, 2006
An updated variant of a malicious bot program is spreading via a flaw in Symantec’s antivirus software as well as through several holes in Microsoft code.
The program, called “Spybot.ACYR” by Symantec and “Sdbot.worm!811a7027″ by McAfee, appears to be targeting educational institutions, according to a blog item posted by Symantec on Tuesday. “We are seeing a spike in traffic on port 2967 with activity only in the .edu domain,” the security company said. “The impact of the attack is minimal thus far.”
This Spybot variant attempts to break into computers through a six-month-old vulnerability in Symantec Client Security and Symantec AntiVirus. A fix has been available since 25 May. “Customers who have applied the patch in their environment are unaffected by the worm,” Symantec said.
Additionally, the bot program tries to exploit five flaws in Microsoft Windows, the most recent of which was patched in August and affects Windows file and printer sharing. The oldest Windows flaw of the five dates back to 2004, according to Symantec’s alert.
Read more: ZDNet.co.uk
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Thursday, November 30th, 2006
iTunes Folder Watch is a companion for iTunes (Windows).
Are you frustrated that iTunes does not automatically detect new tracks in certain nominated folders and add them to the library automatically? This program does exactly that. It allows you to set up “Watch Folders” and to evaluate whether there are any new tracks in them which do not exist in iTunes, and allows you to add them selectively or fully automatically.
It can be run as a taskbar process and so will continually monitor the watch folders, alternatively it may be run in the foreground on demand.
This program is FREE to beta-testers
Download: iTunes Folder Watch for Windows 1.0.16 Beta
Posted in Audio/Media/Video | No Comments »
Wednesday, November 29th, 2006
Nokia plans to offer e-mail and instant messaging from Yahoo on its phones, both companies announced Wednesday.
The rollout will begin with the new Nokia 6300, 5200 and 5300 XpressMusic phones, which will have the capacity to sync with Yahoo contacts, tasks and calendar items, in addition to Yahoo Mail and Yahoo Messenger.
These services will soon be added to many of Nokia’s Series 40 phones as well, according to Nokia.
Read more: CNET News.com
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Wednesday, November 29th, 2006
Tarylynn synchronises two folders and all subfolders within. Good for a quick backup to a network drive, or copying files to a laptop. No need to spend time trying to setup a windows briefcase. Because Tarylynn does not depend on a database like briefcase does, backups are more portable, and there is no single point of failure.
If files exist on both sides, the file modified dates are compared and the newer one is copied across. When deleting, files existing on both sides are ignored regardless of modified dates.
Tarylynn can even be scripted for automatic running. Useful for periodic backups, or for copying default user settings for software installation.
Tarylynn also comes with a simple FTP mode. Great for updating webpages or accessing work servers when at home.
Download: Tarylynn 2.8.862
Posted in Utilities | No Comments »
Wednesday, November 29th, 2006
All you can watch for flat monthly fee
Subscribers to US mobile network Verizon will soon be able to access YouTube content on their phones for a flat monthly fee.
Verizon subscribers will be provided with a sampling of the most popular Youtube movies. While the service itself is free, it requires a $15 monthly subscription to the operator’s 3G EV-DO wireless network technology dubbed V Cast and a compatible handset.
Read more: vnunet.com
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Wednesday, November 29th, 2006
AutoMKV is the FREE All In One DVD to AVI-MKV-MP4 and Mpeg2/Mpeg4 to Mpeg4/Mpeg2
Download: MkvMagic 1.34 Beta | MkvMagic 1.33
Posted in Audio/Media/Video | No Comments »
Wednesday, November 29th, 2006
Play videos from YouTube directly on your portable player
ltube is the new version of LocalTube, it now supports video conversion based on the ffmpeg encoder. It produces videos playable on video iPods or iRiver h300 series.
The program should produce iPod playable videos from YouTube’s FLVs (Xvid 320×240, 768k/s, aac stereo 64 k/s), currently it’s not integrated with iTunes so you have to put your video manually on the player. iRiver support Tested.
ltube is released under the GPL license.
Download: ltube 0.2
Posted in iPod | No Comments »
Wednesday, November 29th, 2006
And so it begins. Universal Music Group exec Doug Morris told the Reuters Media Summit that his company is interested in receiving a cut of the profits from each iPod sold.
“It would be a nice idea. We have a negotiation coming up not too far. I don’t see why we wouldn’t do that… but maybe not in the same way,” Morris said. His “same way” comment is a reference to the Zune, which Universal already gets $1 from after signing a deal with Microsoft.
Universal believes that much of the music on portable players is illegal, and the company argues that it deserves a share of the profits from such devices in order to make up for the money lost in album sales. Microsoft’s decision to cut a deal seems to have been driven by its need to launch with a large music store for the Zune?¢‚Ǩ‚Äùand Universal is one of the biggest players in the game. The Microsoft deal will clearly set a precedent for other music labels, who will no doubt try to squeeze cash from both Microsoft and Apple in the coming years.
Full story: Ars Technica
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Wednesday, November 29th, 2006
EZBack-it-up is a personal file backup utility. It is designed to be very easy to learn and use. It is not an archival tool that compresses all your files and folders into one file, but instead, it copies your data to a destination of your choice where you can readily access your backed up files any time you need. All directory structure is preserved and you can optionally choose to delete files from the target that are not in the source. EZBack-it-up includes a built-in scheduler, command-line switches, logging functionality, and more.
Features:
- Fast. Compares over 3500 files in less than 3 seconds! (1.2 GHz Athlon under XP)
- Efficient. Incremental style backup - only backs up files if they were created or modified since the previous backup.
- Full logging. Detailed logs provide you with peace of mind about your data’s safety.
- Scheduler. Built-in scheduler allows for scheduled backups. Command-line switches give additional flexibility.
- Free. No nags, no registration, just free.
Download: EZBack-it-up 2.0.1 Windows 95/98/ME/NT4/2000/XP
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Tuesday, November 28th, 2006
Radio Station Plus is our latest Software that delivers Radio stations to your Desktop. Listen to radio stations from around the world. All you need is your PC and no extra hardware.
Features:
?¢‚Ǩ¬£ Absolutely FREE.
?¢‚Ǩ¬£ Instant upgrade to receive more Stations
?¢‚Ǩ¬£ Uses cutting-edge technology to deliver quality content.
?¢‚Ǩ¬£ Streamed radio to your PC. No dish - No cable.
?¢‚Ǩ¬£ Extensive list of channels in this version.
?¢‚Ǩ¬£ News, entertainment , music, sports, languages, learning, culture …you name it and it’s there.
?¢‚Ǩ¬£ Regular update of Radio Channels.
?¢‚Ǩ¬£ We’ll even tell you when the next release is available
Download: Radio Station Plus 4.0
Posted in Audio/Media/Video | No Comments »
Tuesday, November 28th, 2006
Want to get your hands on a free copy of Windows Vista and Office 2007?
Microsoft is offering you a chance to get your hands on a copy of Windows Vista Business Edition and 2007 Office Professional systems.
Read more: blogs.zdnet.com
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Tuesday, November 28th, 2006
RealAnime: a free batch video recoding tool
RealAnime is an easy-to-use Graphical User Interface to convert DIVX files and other formats into smaller files using state-of-the-art technology. All you need is to drop your video file in, tweak the settings and start the encode. RealAnime will encode all your files in a row.
RealAnime is licenced under GNU GPL v2.
Download: RealAnime 5.0.0 alpha 4
Posted in Audio/Media/Video | No Comments »
Tuesday, November 28th, 2006
Internet Radio Add-on for Internet Explorer 6 or 7 is the coolest radio that enables you to listen to hundreds of radio stations from around the world while browsing the Internet. All you need is your PC and no extra hardware. You can listen to your favorite Radio without having to open many browsers or search for Radio channels. The list of channels is continuosly growing. If you have a radio station and want to get more listeners, get in touch.
Download: Internet Radio 3.2
Posted in Audio/Media/Video | No Comments »
Tuesday, November 28th, 2006
A former teacher has become a millionaire thanks to the online game Second Life, where users play out their fantasy existence.
Mrs Graef, a German resident, is a real-estate tycoon in the Second Life virtual community who yesterday announced that she has made more than $1m in profit.
Anshe Chung, Graef’s avatar or character in Second Life, buys large blocks of land, build houses on them and sells them to other players for gain.
Read more: webuser.co.uk
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Tuesday, November 28th, 2006
EZ 7z is an application which acts as a GUI for p7zip/7za.
It supports:
:: Compression
:: Decompression
:: Listing the contents of an archive
:: Listing the integrity of an archive
It can decompress 7z, zip, and a few other formats and compress 7z files.
Download: EZ 7z 0.581 Mac OS X 10.3.9 or later
Posted in Mac OS X, Zip utilities | No Comments »
Tuesday, November 28th, 2006
Time to get tough
Tougher tactics are needed to crack down on spam, according to the European Commission.
National authorities should step up their actions to prosecute illegal online activities, the EC said, warning that spammers and spyware-mongers inside and outside the EU are still causing harm.
Information Society and Media Commissioner Viviane Reding said it is now time to turn the political concern about spam into “concrete actions”.
Using EU anti-spam legislation, Dutch authorities have managed to cut domestic spam by 85 per cent, she said - and added that she wants other countries to achieve similar results through “more efficient enforcement”.
Read more: silicon.com
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