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12/13/07

Office 2008 for Mac available on for January 2008

omac2008

Microsoft has put up yet another preview of Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac, giving a glimpse of some improvements to Excel, but the main good news in accompanying press release is the phrase "on the eve of Release to Manufacturing (RTM)," which means that Office for Mac looks to be on schedule for its January 2008 release.

There’s still no demo version available, nor will there be. For now you’ll have to make do with the preview site, which today added a showcase demonstrating some new Excel features like Formula Builder, Formula AutoComplete and support for increased rows and columns.

office2008powerpoint

Of course if previews don’t do it for you a little bird tells us that copies of the private beta are floating around on BitTorrent sites if you’re into that sort of thing.

Still, despite the lack of a public beta, the announcement that Office for Mac is about to reach RTM status is good news for Mac users waiting on the Mac equivalent to Office 2007, which will be over a year old by the time the Mac version hits the shelves come January.

Of course, despite the efforts of the Mac for Office team it's hardly surprising that the majority of Microsoft seems to view Mac users as second class citizens. The software is, after all, an important part of a competitor's platform, and what better way to take a jab at your competitor?

 

{via blog wired}

Microsoft releases security updates for XP and Vista

Once in a month Microsoft releases their so called Security Bulletins in which they announce security updates for several of their operating systems and other products. The current Security Bulletin for December lists seven vulnerabilities that have been fixed including three critical and four important ones.

Every user should head out immediately and use either Windows Updates or browse the Microsoft website manually to download the security patches. I have added the download links to all security patches at the end of the article to make things easier for you.

A quick glance at the security vulnerabilities revealed that five patches have to be downloaded for both Windows XP and Windows Vista. Take a look at the Microsoft Security Bulletin overview site if you are using a different operating system to find out what has been patched for it.

Windows Vista:

Microsoft Security Bulletin MS07-063 – Important (Vulnerability in SMBv2 Could Allow Remote Code Execution (942624))

Microsoft Security Bulletin MS07-064 – Critical (Vulnerabilities in DirectX Could Allow Remote Code Execution (941568))

Microsoft Security Bulletin MS07-066 – Important (Vulnerability in Windows Kernel Could Allow Elevation of Privilege (943078))

Microsoft Security Bulletin MS07-068 - Critical (Vulnerability in Windows Media File Format Could Allow Remote Code Execution (941569 and 944275))

Microsoft Security Bulletin MS07-069 - Critical (Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer (942615))

Windows XP:

Microsoft Security Bulletin MS07-064 – Critical (Vulnerabilities in DirectX Could Allow Remote Code Execution (941568))

Microsoft Security Bulletin MS07-065 – Important (Vulnerability in Message Queuing Could Allow Remote Code Execution (937894))

Microsoft Security Bulletin MS07-067 – Important (Vulnerability in Macrovision Driver Could Allow Local Elevation of Privilege (944653))

Microsoft Security Bulletin MS07-068 - Critical (Vulnerability in Windows Media File Format Could Allow Remote Code Execution (941569 and 944275))

Microsoft Security Bulletin MS07-069 - Critical (Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer (942615))

{via ghacks}

12/11/07

Download ProcessScanner now

processscanner

Have you seen your PC's performance decline in the days since you bought it? Does your system take a long time to boot up and to load simple programs? Maybe it crashes more frequently, or stalls when loading Web pages? The problem could be that your PC is running unnecessary or even overtly malicious code, compromising all areas of your computer's performance, from speed and stability, through to security. But where do you find a list of all the processes that your PC is running? And even assuming that you find them, what programs are these processes associated with and are they harmful?

The Solution

processscan-screenshots

With ProcessScanner Uniblue takes the perspiration and guesswork out of researching the processes running on your PC. ProcessScanner not only generates a detailed list of the items already running on your PC, it then goes on to give you valuable information as to the programs these are associated with. Furthermore ProcessScanner will then supply you with valuable information about what each does and the level of risk, or threat, to your computer associated with that process. ProcessScanner is an invaluable tool to help remove the fog that obscures the inner workings of your computer and, what's more, it's free!

Web Site | Processscan

12/8/07

Windows Vista SP1 (RC) available next week

Next week the first Service Pack RC 1 for Vista will be available for download. Here are some features:

vista2_1

  • The size of the standalone installers have decreased significantly. For example, the standalone installer packages consisting of all 36 languages (x86 and x64 chip architectures) are smaller by over 50%. The standalone installer packages consisting of just the 5 languages (again, x86 and x64) slated for initial release are more than 30% smaller in size.
  • The required amount of disc space for SP1 installation has also decreased significantly. Furthermore, with the RC, if more space is required to install SP1, an error message will now display exactly how much space is needed to complete the installation.
  • Previous SP1 versions left behind a directory of files that wasn't needed after installation and occupied about 1GB of space; the RC includes automatic disk clean-up to remove this directory.
  • Installation reliability has been improved based on bug reports and error codes reported from Windows Update (thanks, Beta testers!). Testing shows that these improvements have significantly increased the proportion of successful installations of the RC.
  • We've improved the user experience of installing SP1 via Windows Update. During the Beta release, users installed without much guidance from Windows Update. The RC now contains a series of screens with detailed information on SP1.

Read more

12/7/07

Cafferty: White House Illegally Deleted Over TEN MILLION e-mails

Cafferty: A government watchdog group now says more than 10 million White House emails are missing. Citizens for the Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) described this massive hole in White House email records last April. At that time they thought the number was 5 million - Now they say it is more than 10 million emails. In one of the great understatements of this here Christmas season, the group says that this revised estimate - quote - highlights that this is a very serious and systematic problem at the White House - unquote. Both CREW and another private group called the National Security archive are suing the Bush administration to try to get information about all these missing emails. The White House email problems first came to light during special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald’s investigation into the leak of CIA officer Valerie Plame’s identity.

It’s worth noting what a critical time period these missing emails represent. Why it’s from March of 2003 to October 2005. That would include the start of the Iraq War right up through the aftermath of Katrina. As the director of one of these groups put it: It doesn’t get more historically valuable than that. Given the way the White House handled both the war and Katrina, it’s also quite convenient that suddenly this mountain of stuff is missing. By the way it’s against the law that these emails be destroyed or lost. They are supposed to be saved. The Presidential Records Act of 1978 mandates White House communications be preserved. Another law broken — Another example of nobody doing a damn thing about it.

{via crooksandliars}

12/6/07

Add System Monitoring to Your Desktop with CoolMon [Featured Windows Download

coolmon

Windows only: Freeware application CoolMon monitors your systems vitals with attractive desktop-embedded widgets. In very basic operation, CoolMon displays information like RAM usage, hard drive space, and CPU load, but with the right plugins you can embed just about anything on your desktop—like new email alerts, weather, the song you’re currently listening to, and so on. If all you’re looking for is more of a plain-text to-do list on your desktop, check out previously mentioned Samurize. Mac users should take a look at GeekTool. Setup for CoolMon is a little quirky, so check out Simplehelp’s post guide if you’re having trouble. CoolMon is freeware, Windows only.

CoolMon [via Simplehelp->techblogger]

12/5/07

Gmail with Colored Labels and Folders

colored labels inbox

Today, Gmail announce the next evolution of labels: the colored label. Until now the label has been a little inconspicuous creature, subtly suggesting categorical associations in its simple green coat.Oh, we've seen the colored label here and there, its precursors surfacing in various experiments and Greasemonkey scripts; but the label has never before been so brazen, so bold. How will it use its new colors? Will it disguise itself with the chameleon's camouflage or clamor for attention with the monarch butterfly's vivid contrast?

Read More

{via Gmailblog}