A new addition to the Microsoft website, along the lines of security as Microsoft seems to be doing a lot of recently. This new subsection of the website devotes itself to displaying information on current threats and also allowing users to submit their own files which are deemed suspicious.

You can search through a vast encyclopedia of information regarding almost every threat under the sun - it even has up to date information on the latest definition files relating to Windows Defender and Microsoft Forefront Client Security, so everyone can keep their systems up to date whether in x86 or x64. This website’s great, you must check it out.

Go and see the Microsoft Malware Protection Center.

Google has stepped up its efforts to take on Microsoft Office with the $625m (£310m) purchase of web-based security provider Postini. The search engine giant said the deal would allow it to provide more companies with web-based services similar to its Google Apps package. Postini sells encryption and archiving software to more than 35,000 businesses and 10m users across the globe. The deal is expected to be completed by the end of the third quarter.

“With this transaction, we’re reinforcing our commitment to delivering compelling hosted applications to businesses of all sizes,” said Google chairman and chief executive Eric Schmidt. “With the addition of Postini, our apps are not just simple and appealing to users - they can also streamline the complex information security mandates within these organisations.” The acquisition is the third biggest announced by Google after it snapped up DoubleClick for $3.1bn in April and its $1.65bn takeover of YouTube.

Google has been moving closer to directly taking on Microsoft’s Office package of applications with the launch of a number of popular business web services including email, calendars, spreadsheets and word processing. So far its Google Apps service has been adopted by 100,000 business, the firm said.

Just when Microsoft had customers, partners and competitors all believing that it was going to delay the first service pack for Vista — not releasing a first beta of it until just before year-end — the company is set to deliver Beta 1 of Vista SP1 in mid-July.

Word (from various sources who asked not to be named) is Microsoft is gearing up to drop Vista SP1 some time the week of July 16. And despite what Microsoft seemingly led Google, the U.S. Department of Justice and other company watchers to believe, the final version of Vista SP1 is sounding like November 2007.

(November 2007 is also the release-to-manufacturing target for Windows Server 2008, sources say. Microsoft won’t provide an RTM date for Windows Server 2008, other than to say it is still on track to RTM before the end of 2007.)

Source: Bink.nu

PowerBookMedic’s iPhone disassembly guide for all those who might want to transfer their exsisting sim cards over to the iPhone. They waited 13 hours in a line for it?? Not worth it!

And: Will a simcard from an another network work?

Via TechEBlog

According to Microsoft, the Internet Explorer 8 Beta is set to begin when Vista SP1 ships later this year. There is no information on when the exact date would be. However, since mainstream support for XP doesn’t end until April 2009 Microsoft will support IE 8 to Windows XP users.

But in the same way that IE 7 was released, there will be 2 versions: one that is built on the security settings of Vista, and the other one on the settings of XP SP2 or SP3.  More info will be posted when available.

Source: Bink.nu

This one is really easy - miss having the administrator on the Welcome screen? You can really easily put it back on there with a command from Run.

1. Go to Start, and in the Search box type in cmd.
2. Right click the Command Prompt at the top of the Start menu and select “Run as administrator”.
3. At the command prompt, type in net user administrator /active:yes then press Enter.
4. Log off and you should see the administrator sitting there on your Welcome login screen.

Source: VistaBase

It seems that Windows Sideshow, one of the coolest things to come out of Windows Vista, will offer devices running the software for as little as $80 (£40). Some of the more higher end devices might cost a bit more, around $150 (£75) but a little device containing all the vitals of your everyday life, it’s brilliant.

Source: Gizmodo

That’s right…we’ve reached another important product milestone!  The highly anticipated Windows Home Server Release Candidate is available today.  The product team has been logging long hours and doing heroic work to finalize this new and improved build.   

The community has been chomping at the bit for RC.  And while with Beta 2 and CTP we accepted applicants into the beta program in stages, we’ll make the RC software available to all 100,000+ beta program applicants asap, as well as all new sign ups. 

Source: Bink.nu

“This kind of dude. You might say he’s one in a million — literally. Is it just us or does he already look really regretful about the decision he just made?”

Via Engadget

I think ‘this kind of dude’ used to have no life, now he is part of the social. -PK

“The complaint says that Vista’s indexing service cannot easily be turned off and creates a drag on system resources when operating at the same time as rival indexers, like the one in Google Desktop Search. Google argues that this behavior is anticompetitive”

-via ars technica

Google is over doing it this time. This is absurd and the complaint will be throw out. Vista search performance and UI is better, if you using XP use Google desktop search, on Vista the in-built search is excellent. I see no reason why Microsoft should provide alternatives, it is their OS.

So they should give an option for every 3rd party app. that is out there? All that will be left is the core system programs and explorer, wait there will be a 3rd party explorer too! Rubbish!

Why is it when Microsoft adds anything to their operating system it’s anti-competitive, but when anyone else adds to theirs it’s a feature?

Well ask Google to provide search alternatives like ask.com and Live Search on their page or stop whining and start build their own freaking OS! I guess their ‘Don’t be Evil’ motto is still beta.