Thursday, November 19, 2009

Google to provide update on Chrome OS

by Nancy Gohring, IDG News Service
Source: macworld.com

Google is getting ready to shed a little more light on its Chrome OS this week.

The search giant has arranged an event for journalists Thursday at its headquarters in Mountain View, California, just days after rumors circulated that the code might soon be released.

When Google announced it was building its own Linux-based operating system, it said it would release the open-source code at the end of this year. It has said Chrome will be designed initially for netbooks, with the first devices hitting the market in the second half of 2010.

Branching out into the operating-system market could ultimately help Google find new revenue streams, since it is almost entirely reliant on search advertising.

The Chrome OS could also pose a threat to Microsoft, which worked hard to gain its share of the netbook market, which was initially dominated by Linux.

Google has said it is building Chrome because the market needs an OS built specifically for the Web. Most of Google’s non-search activities are Web-based applications, such as Google Docs, Gmail and Maps.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Design your Web site using CSS content boxes

Image by B Tal via Flickr

Design your Web site using CSS content boxes

Design-your-Web-site-using-CSS-content-boxes

Coloured content boxes are a great technique for creating visually-pleasing CSS layouts and content. All it takes is assigning a background colour to a

element or setting an image as the background if you want a sleeker look.

To begin create a <div> element and assign it an ID.

<div id='contentBox'></div>

We then need to define the styles for the contentBox ID. Let's start by setting the font type, size and colour.

#contentBox
{
font-family: sans-serif;
font-size: 80%;
color:# 2E2E2E;
}

Next we are going to add some filler text to the

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Maecenas feugiat neque sit amet ante tincidunt hendrerit. Vestibulum eleifend erat et enim. Cras nisi arcu, malesuada malesuada, accumsan non, venenatis eget, purus. Mauris pulvinar tincidunt turpis. Aliquam enim. Vestibulum tristique risus eget elit. Fusce urna arcu, dictum sit amet, luctus non, bibendum eu, leo. Vestibulum at diam. Nunc pretium. Maecenas dapibus laoreet leo. Mauris pretium quam. Nulla ultrices. Donec iaculis laoreet diam. Suspendisse a felis quis mauris porttitor mattis. Duis aliquet lacinia odio.

So far we have some text in a

. Let's make this look more like a content box, by adding a background colour and a border around it. Add the code below to #contentBox.

background-color:#FFFF99;
border-style: solid;
border-width:2px;
border-color:#FF9933;

Set the width and height attributes of the box, like this:

width:20%;
height:35%;

We're going to add some padding around the text to make it look better.

padding:1%;

Our text fits nicely within the box at the moment, but if we added another paragraph it would flow over the box. To prevent this we need to add a scrollbar.

overflow: scroll;

Alternatively, you can set the overflow property to auto to display a scrollbar only when needed.

We're going to position the box 10 pixels from the start of the page:

position:absolute;
left:10px;

You can position the box anywhere on the page where you see fit, by adjusting the position attribute.

And tying it all in:

Content Box

Nullam cursus erat id magna. Sed eget lectus. Phasellus dignissim. In purus. Duis scelerisque. Sed suscipit risus nec velit. Sed et neque. Maecenas eget nunc. Ut turpis tortor, varius ut, dapibus quis, lobortis
et, erat. Aliquam vitae odio vitae tellus ultricies adipiscing. In ut diam.

Free Search Term Suggestion Tool by KeywordDiscovery.com

Here is a great tool for keyword research and discovery:

www.keyworddiscovery.com/search.html

Free Search Term Suggestion Tool by KeywordDiscovery.com

Thursday, November 12, 2009

reBlog from Brightmark: Steps to Freedom

Image via Wikipedia

I found this fascinating quote today:

Your property investing success starts with your attitude to your investments. Look at each piece of real-estate you buy as a long term investment & it will turn into a new stream of income and work for you all the time making you wealthy.Brightmark, Steps to Freedom, Nov 2009

You should read the whole article.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Must Have Resources for the Web Developer's Toolbox

Fuel Your Creativity - Must Have Resources for the Web Developer's Toolbox

Must Have Resources for the Web Developer's Toolbox

If you are a web designer, especially if you are fairly new, you search around for the best and easiest tools to do the tasks you want to do. Here is a summary of this really helpful article.

Summary:

In every creative field, there are certain tools that one always keeps handy in order to get the job done.

As developers (who also design) the toolbox inventory needs to be broad to encompass all the necessary areas to keep you moving and productive.

Below is a list of the resources that we felt should be included in any developer's toolbox.

We have broken it down into different categories to help you keep your tools organized a little bit better.

We hope that the list proves useful.

GIMP is a close second whose price you can't beat (free), especially for web designers who don't need all of the features of Photoshop.

Graybit is an online accessibility testing tool designed to visually convert a full-color web page into a grayscale rendition for the purpose of visually testing the pageâ¬(TM)s perceived contrast.

It returns a set of hue, saturation and tint/shade variations of your color, and suggests color schemets based on your color's complementary color, split complementary colors, and other variations.

FavIcon Generator allows you to easily create a favicon from an image.

The Grid System is an ever-growing resource where graphic designers can learn about grid systems, the golden ratio and baseline grids.

The 960 Grid System is an effort to streamline web development workflow by providing commonly used dimensions, based on a width of 960 pixels.

jQuery is a fast and concise JavaScript Library that simplifies HTML document traversing, event handling, animating, and Ajax interactions for rapid web development.

The jQuery Visual Cheat Sheet is an useful and practical 6 page reference to jQuery 1.3 for web designers and developers containing the full jQuery API reference with detailed descriptions and some sample code.

jQuery Plugins contains plugins, extensions and tutorials developed by jQuery contributors for the jQuery JavaScript Library.

Code Beautifier is a free online CSS formatter, optimiser, and parser.

Notepad++ is an open source code editor and Notepad replacement that supports several languages.

TextWrangler is a powerful and richly featured tool for composing, modifying, and transforming text stored in plain-text files for Mac.

The WordPress Codex is the place to go if you have any WordPress related questions.

The Spoon Browser Sandbox allows you to run any browser directly from the web.

IETester is a free WebBrowser that allows you to have the rendering and javascript engines of IE8, IE7 IE 6 and IE5.5 on Windows 7, Vista and XP, as well as the installed IE in the same process.

Web Developer's Tools for Firefox is a collection of firefox plugins to speed up the development process.

WampServer is a Windows web development environment which allows you to create web applications with Apache, PHP and the MySQL database.

CSS Tricks Code Snippets is a large repository of useful code snippets in the areas of HTML, CSS, JavaScript (raw), JavaScript (jQuery), PHP, and WordPress.

Angies list includes 26 items in all make sure you check it out at: Must Have Resources for the Web Developer's Toolbox

Angie is a freelance web and graphic designer who brings her love of community to the online design collective as co-editor of Fuel Your Creativity.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Google Sitemap Generator, Editor + Keyword Analyzer - XML Sitemaps Online

For those of you building websites and trying to get listed here is something that may be useful:

Google Sitemap Generator, Editor + Keyword Analyzer - XML Sitemaps Online

Friday, September 18, 2009

From Amazon.com: Life After Film School: Seth McFarlane

Image via Wikipedia

Source: Amazon.com: Life After Film School: Seth McFarlane

'Life After Film School: Seth McFarlane'
Select Results from All Departments

* Video On Demand (2)

1. Product Details: Family Guy Season 8 by Fox (Video On Demand - Sep 9, 2009); Watch It Now: $0.00 per episode

In Stock
Video On Demand: See all 2 items
2. Product Details: American Dad Season 5 by Fox (Video On Demand - Sep 9, 2009); Watch It Now: $0.00 per episode

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

See more fields in Finder Spotlight search results

Image via Wikipedia

Source: macworld.com

As detailed in my article on Snow Leopard’s old and new annoyances, my main complaint is that I can’t add the Size column to my Finder Spotlight search results, as I could in OS X 10.4. This feature broke in 10.5, and more than three years later, I’m still waiting for it to be fixed.

Now, thanks to Mac OS X Hints reader vl_tone, my wait is over. Please note that the following is an experimental solution there may be very good reasons Apple hasn’t enabled this fix in the OS as of yet. If you follow this hint, there’s a chance you may cause yourself some grief in the future—I don’t think your system will stop functioning, but maybe the Finder will start behaving oddly. My persona experience, though, is that I’ve had no issues with this tip under either 10.6 or the just-released 10.6.1 update. That’s not a guarantee, of course, so proceed at your own risk.

Implementing this tip requires that you’ve installed the Xcode Developer Tools, as the hint requires editing a preferences file with Property List Editor. Alternatively, you can use PlistEdit Pro, TextWrangler, or any other text editor that can open binary preference files. These instructions, however, assume you’re using one of the propery list editors, as they make things much simpler.

Before you start editing, though, you need to make certain that the Finder’s preferences file has a certain section. To do that, run a Spotlight search in the Finder for whatever—it doesn’t matter what you search on. When you see the results of your search, switch to list view mode (Command-2), then press Command-J (View -> Show View Options), and then choose any one of the additional available columns—Date Created, for instance. You can then close the View Options dialog.

In your editor of choice, select File -> Open, navigate to your user’s Library -> Preferences folder, then open com.apple.finder.plist. (You may want to make a backup first, or insure that you have one on your Time Machine disk.)When the file opens, click the triangle next to Root to open all the preferences values, if they’re not already visible. Search for SearchViewSettings (in Property List Editor, just start typing that word to search on the fly), and then click the disclosure triangle for that section.

The Size column is shown here Inside of SearchViewSettings, you want to then drill down into ListViewSettings -> columns.

Here you’ll see a list of the various Finder columns.Click the disclosure triangle next to a column name of interest—size, for instance, and you’ll see various options, as seen in the image at right. To make this column show up in the Finder’s Spotlight results view, check the box on the visible row.

Repeat this with any other columns you’d like to see in your search results. When done, save the file.The last step is to restart the Finder, which can be done in any number of ways. Hold Option and then click-and-hold on the Finder icon in the Dock, for instance, and you’ll see a Relaunch item in the pop-up menu; this is probably the easiest way to do it.

After the Finder restarts, run a Spotlight search, and enjoy your newly-added columns in the search result listing.

These columns can be used just as they can in the “normal” Finder, so click on the Size column to sort the results by size. (Note that you won’t be able to toggle these columns off and on in the View Options dialog; they’ll always be on.)As noted up front, there may be a good reason why Apple hasn’t fixed this problem as of yet, so proceed at your own risk.

Personally, though, I’ve taken the risk and I’m living on the edge, thrilled with the ability to again (finally!) be able to sort my Spotlight search results by size.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Apple’s Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard means business

Image by calu777 via Flickr

Source: iPodDailyNews

Tim Beyers reports for The Motley Fool, 'The iEmpire launched its latest rebellion with the release of Snow Leopard on Friday, the newest edition of Mac OS X, which: At $29, costs about what you'd pay for a fast-food dinner for a family of four; Frees up to 7 gigabytes space on your Mac by eliminating digital clutter; Offers built-in support for Microsoft's Exchange network services, making Macs a whole lot more business-friendly.'

MacDailyNews Take: Anyone with even a cursory understanding of Apple, Microsoft, and Star Wars would never use the term 'iEmpire' to describe Apple or their 'latest rebellion.' For the sake of the value of continuing on, let's pretend that Beyers has never seen Star Wars.

Beyers continues, 'Technology buyers may finally be coming back. To get them to come back to the Mac, Apple needs an OS that does better business. Snow Leopard is that OS... The Mac is back, growling and hungry for market share.

Friday, August 28, 2009

Apple iPhone boosts profit

Image via CrunchBase

Source: City AM

APPLE’S profits jumped by 15 per cent in its third quarter, the firm said yesterday, thanks to sales of its iPhone, which topped five million in the period.

The firm, which recently welcomed chief executive Steve Jobs back to work following liver transplant surgery, said profits rose to $1.23bn (£747m), or $1.35 a share, in its third quarter, compared to $1.07bn, or $1.19 a share a year ago. Revenues increased 12 per cent to $8.33bn.

Sales of its blockbuster smartphone, the iPhone, increased more than sevenfold to 5.2m while the company sold four per cent more Mac computers. But sales of its iPod MP3 player were down seven per cent in the period.

Meanwhile, Yahoo reported an eight per cent increase in its second quarter profit, up to $141m from $131m during the same period last year.

The internet firm beat Wall Street expectations but analysts pointed out that lower revenues had been offset by some $150m in cost-cutting measures implemented by new chief executive Carol Bartz.

Yahoo’s second quarter revenue was down 13 per cent to $1.6bn after it continued to struggle to sell search advertising.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Bloggers: Mac OS X Snow Leopard could arrive in two weeks | Mac OS X

Image by Dekuwa via Flickr

Source: Macworld

Apple’s upcoming operating system, Mac OS X Snow Leopard, could arrive earlier than the expected September launch date. Multiple sources are reporting that Snow Leopard has now been designated “Gold Master” status, which means the OS is ready to ship to users.

Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard could be on sale as early as Friday, August 28 according to reports from Daring Fireball's John Gruber. Apple also released on Wednesday a final update for OS X Leopard (10.5.8), which could indicate that the next version of the OS is on its way.

Now with a “Golden Master” status, Snow Leopard is reportedly already on its way to manufacturing, where it will be recorded onto DVDs, according to a report from AppleInsider. The site also reports this final build is on its way to Apple technicians and support staff.

Amazon is already taking pre-orders for Snow Leopard and on the sales pages mentions that an “official release date has not been announced by Apple, though they have indicated this product will be released sometime in September.” Back in June, Apple said that Snow Leopard will arrive in September, but they haven’t mentioned any specific launch date.

Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard’s pricing is set at $29.99 for a single-user license and a 5-user license (Family Pack) will cost $49. A Mac Box Set, which includes Snow Leopard, iLife and iWork (productivity suite), is priced at $169 for a single-user license and at $229 for a 5-user license.

For more information about what's new in OS X 10.6, my colleague Nick Mediati has a list of 5 things you should know about Snow Leopard.

by Daniel Ionescu, PC World

Editor’s Note: The following article is reprinted from the Today @ PC World blog at PCWorld.com.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Apple online offer glitch hints at early Snow Leopard launch | Mac OS X

Image via Wikipedia

Source: Macworld

A mistaken offer in Apple’s online store on Wednesday could signal that the company’s latest Mac operating system, code-named Snow Leopard, is primed for launch as early as next week.

The company was offering to ship the as-yet-unreleased Mac OS X 10.6—code-named Snow Leopard—within 24 hours as part of the new Mac Box Set products, which were briefly put on sale on Apple’s Web site.

However, the Box Set products were pulled after a call was made to Apple online sales to check whether the new OS would ship in 24 hours as part of the single-user Box Set edition. The Box Set —which also comes in a family pack edition—offers a plethora of software upgrades to Mac users, including the OS, productivity suites and multimedia applications.

A saleswoman verified that the Box Set was for sale online after checking with technical support. But she said that it might not ship overnight as the Snow Leopard OS was not yet shipping.

The saleswoman could not be reached for comment after the products were pulled, and Apple officials did not return calls or e-mail for comment.

The online store glitch could give credence to reports that Apple is preparing for an early launch of Snow Leopard, which is officially scheduled to go on sale in September. Observers, including analysts and blog sites, have predicted the OS would start to ship as soon as Aug. 28.

Retail sites like Amazon.com are already taking pre-orders for Snow Leopard and the Mac Box Set. Snow Leopard is available as an upgrade to Mac OS X version 10.5 Leopard users for $30.

The OS includes a number of systemwide “refinements,” according to Apple’s Web site.The enhancements include quicker installation compared to predecessors, a new version of QuickTime multimedia software and a souped-up user interface. It also includes a number of internal enhancements to perform tasks like video encoding and decoding faster by tapping into the processing power of multiple CPU and graphics processing cores.

My Favorite Free HTML Editor: Windows -- Notepad++ -- Mac -- Editra

I found this in a the Site Sell Private forum that I am a member of, I think you should be able to click through to the article, but if you can't just leave a comment telling me about the problem:

Image by fzurell via Flickr

Site Build It! Forums :: View topic - My Favorite Free HTML Editor

Karen E from simply-kids-play.com

Nothing happens until something moves...

My Grandson told me about Notepad ++. It is a free HTML editor.

http://notepad-plus.sourceforge.net/uk/site.htm

You can see what things look like by using Run and then choosing the Browser you want to check.

It leaves no stray or awkward codes as the WYSIWYG ones do.

Check it out.

Karen
www.simply-kids-play.com

PS: For those wanting a Mac HTML editor:
"I just checked with my Grandson again about a Mac program for HTML. He said he likes http://www.editra.org/. You might want to check it out. It also works in windows. It is free. I haven't tried it though."

Karen
www.simply-kids-play.com

Friday, August 21, 2009

Apple Begins Training Support Staff for Mac OS X Snow Leopard

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Apple Begins Training Support Staff for Mac OS X Snow Leopard

Source: Mac Rumors - macrumors.com

Macenstein claims to have received information from sources claiming that support training for OS X Snow Leopard has begun and that Apple's new operating system will very likely launch on Friday, August 28th.

According to reliable sources, support training for Snow Leopard has begun, signaling an imminent release of the next major release of OS X. Sources claim a date of Friday, August 28th is extremely likely.
The source also provided several screenshots of Snow Leopard training instructions for AppleCare support representatives. The news corroborates claims from several other sources that Snow Leopard will ship on the 28th, ahead of Apple's announced September launch window.

MacRumors has also heard from a purported AppleCare representative that support staff at their location had just been provided with Snow Leopard discs (containing the rumored 'Golden Master' Build 10A432) for installation on their primary machines. The source noted that OS X Leopard was distributed to AppleCare representatives approximately one week before its October 2007 launch, leading the source to suspect that a Snow Leopard release may in fact be right around the corner.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Article Marketing 101 - Everything You Need To Know About Article Marketing In One Place!

Image by lawtonchiles via Flickr

Source: warriorforum.com - Article Marketing 101

Among the many hundreds of emails and free information packages I get each week, this came across my desk in the last couple of days and I was astonished to find someone putting them selves on the line like this.

Article Marketing 101 - Everything You Need To Know About Article Marketing In One Place!

This is a fascinating forum and this article leads to Article Marketing 102 - Beyond Article Marketing 101.

Read it for a lot of great information.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

How Switching To a Mac Can Save You Countless Productive Hours

Image via Wikipedia

Source: Computer Repair And PC Repair London

Whether you are an expert computer user or not, you have probably been burned by your computer in the past. For some a computer virus could have wiped out your hard drive, or completely taken control of your web browser. For others, you might have been running an application only to have it crash and lose your data. So what is the solution?

There is a solution to many of the common computer problems: switch to an Apple computer. Although Apple and Microsoft have always competed for the personal computer marketshare, today things have changed. Where once someone with a Windows-based computer would never think twice of switching over, now people are switching in droves.

Why the sudden shift? There are many factors for this change. First off, the Macintosh operating system has been redesigned from the ground up and is now a more stable and effective operating system. With Mac OS X, users have a lot less to worry about: no viruses, no trojans, and no crashes. What more could a user want? For more please visit computer training

Image via Wikipedia

Apple delivers more: a seamless integration between hardware and software. When you buy a PC and install Windows, chances are that you are installing the operating system on a set of hardware that was never really fully tested together. Different combinations of plug and play hardware are what causes Windows to crash time and time again.

On the other hand, with an Apple computer, you get the operating system that was tested with the hardware ahead of time. Did you ever wonder why Apple sells the hardware with the software? It's because it allows the developers to test their software on the different hardware configurations before shipping the product. PCs come in too many varieties to be tested fully. For more please visit computer training

Plus, Apple delivers all the applications you need to get your work done, and have fun doing it. On a Windows machine, you get the basic Microsoft Office suite of applications. Now, you can get the same suite of applications for your Mac as well.

Yet, Apple offers applications that you can't get on Windows: the iLife set of applications. These programs make your life easier because they organize and import all your digital photos, they play your music, they let you import home movies, and create DVDs right from your computer.

What's more is that Apple does most of the work in the background, and leaves you to focus on the most important decisions. Developers and computer wizards used to pride themselves on knowing the internals of their windows machines. Today that's changing, as people realize they have better things to do than spend all their time at a computer terminal, when they could go out and enjoy life.

That's exactly what switching to a Mac can do for your productivity. Your computer will let you be as productive as you can, by getting out of your way. So that you can get back to living your life to the fullest! For more please visit computer training courses

Tags: fast pc repair, computer repair, computer repair london, data disk recovery"

Microsoft's Bing Gained 1 Point of Market Share in July

Image by LatinSuD via Flickr

Source: eWeek

Microsoft's Bing gained a single point of market share in July, bringing its total to 9.41 percent, according to a new report by StatCounter. The recent partnership deal between Microsoft and Yahoo has given both companies hope that they can challenge Google, which currently holds a double-digit lead in the search market. Under the terms of the partnership, Bing will power search on Yahoo sites, while Yahoo takes over worldwide sales duties for the companies’ search advertisers.

Microsoft’s share of the U.S. search market increased to 9.41 percent in July 2009, a rise of 1 percentage point, according to research firm StatCounter. At the same time, Google’s share of the U.S. market slipped during the same period to 77.54 percent, down by nearly a point, while Yahoo declined a fraction of a point, from 11.04 to 10.95.

StatCounter's report came days after the July 29 announcement of a partnership deal between Microsoft and Yahoo: that 10-year agreement that will see Microsoft's Bing power Yahoo’s search engine, while Yahoo assumes exclusive worldwide sales duties for the companies’ search advertisers. Microsoft will pay traffic acquisition costs (TACs) to Yahoo at an initial rate of 88 percent of search revenue generated on Yahoo’s sites.

The deal represents a recognition on both companies' part that the only way to break Google’s lock on the search and online advertising market may be through working together. According to StatCounter’s report, a combined Microsoft and Yahoo search would have a 20.36 percent market share.

"Bing continues to make slow but steady progress but the combined Yahoo figures suggests that the deal announced last week will have to demonstrate major future synergies if it is to make any dent in Google’s dominance," Aodhan Cullen, CEO and founder of StatCounter, said in a statement.

Microsoft and Yahoo, however, are publicly hopeful that the deal will allow them to chip away at Google’s substantial lead in the online space.

"This deal will combine Yahoo and Microsoft search marketplaces so that advertisers no longer have to rely on one company that dominates more than 70 percent of all search," both companies said in a statement on July 29. "With the addition of Yahoo’s search volume, Microsoft will achieve the size and scale required to unleash competition and innovation in the market, for consumers as well as advertisers."

After Bing started making incremental market-share gains in the wake of its June 3 launch, buoyed to a certain extent by Microsoft’s massive ad campaign, analysts debated whether the relative success of Redmond’s search engine would influence its dealings with Yahoo. Some argued that Bing would lead Microsoft to abandon any deals with Yahoo entirely, especially in context of its failed 2008 takeover bid, while others argued that Bing would compel Microsoft to approach Yahoo from a position of greater strength.

The deal between Microsoft and Yahoo could also help stop the erosion in Yahoo’s paid search spend, which according to a July report by SearchIgnite had declined year-over-year by 26 percent.

Friday, July 31, 2009

Yahoo! and Microsoft to seal deal to rival Google - Times Online

Image via CrunchBase

Source: Times Online:

Microsoft and Yahoo! have finally agreed an online search and advertising partnership in a bid to rival Google.

The revenue sharing deal is expected to be announced later today, more than a year after Yahoo! rejected a $47.5 million (£29 million) takeover bid from Microsoft and Yahoo!'s attempt to strike a search advertising deal with Google fell apart under regulatory scrutiny.

Under the expected deal, Microsoft's new Bing search engine will power Yahoo!'s searches while Yahoo! will handle advertising sales. The companies will use Microsoft's advertising technology to deliver appropriate ads alongside search results.

The deal may not be as far-reaching as many investors expected. It does not appear to call for Microsoft to pay Yahoo! in advance, which could disappoint Wall Street. Carol Bartz, Yahoo! chief executive, had said she would join forces with Microsoft only for 'boatloads of money'.

Microsoft is counting on Yahoo!'s search engine, which ranks as the second largest in the world with a global market share of 8 per cent, to pose a more formidable challenge to Google, which holds 67 per cent of the global audience, according to the most recent data from the research company comScore. In the US, Google's share is 65 per cent, compared with 20 per cent for Yahoo!.

Despite spending billions to upgrade its search engine, Microsoft still held just a 3 per cent share worldwide and 8 per cent in the US in the comScore rankings.

There is a chance a deal combining the powers of the second and third-ranked search engine companies would be blocked by antitrust regulators.

Shareholders of both Microsoft and Yahoo! have been urging the two to strike a deal for some time. Earlier this month, the activist investor Carl Icahn, who owns about 5 per cent of Yahoo! and is a director on its board, spoke out again in favour of a search deal, as talks between the two companies appeared to regain momentum.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Microsoft Backtracks on Browser-less Windows 7 E

Source: sitepoint.com

Microsoft will offer a choice of competing web browsers with European versions of Windows 7 when the new OS is released in October 2009. The company hopes the action will adhere with European Union legislation and fend off further anti-trust fines. Although Windows 7 is selling well, Microsoft revenues are down by almost a fifth and costly court cases will not help.

Microsoft’s original proposal was to remove Internet Explorer from Windows 7 E (European version). Anyone pre-ordering Windows 7 in Europe is currently shown a warning that the OS will not provide a browser. For example, Amazon UK published detailed browser download instructions (although anyone needing these probably shouldn’t attempt an OS installation!) Hardware vendors would have been free to install the web browser of their choice, but IE was likely to remain the most popular choice.

The European Commission did not consider Windows 7 sans-browser to be a viable solution. It was too similar to the failed versions of Windows without a media player — they preferred a ballot screen to restore browser competition. Although full details are yet to be finalized, Microsoft has issued the following proposal:

Microsoft — rather than hardware manufacturers — will control the browser ballot screen.
Windows 7 E will be provided with Internet Explorer.
New installations of Windows 7 in Europe will show a web page offering a choice of five popular web browsers.
European Windows XP and Vista users will see the same ballot screen during a future automatic update (if IE is set as their default browser).
The list of alternative browsers will be based on 6-month usage statistics and will be reviewed twice per year.
Is this the right decision for Microsoft? I suspect so — the EU could have fined the company and ordered far more draconian changes to the OS. At least Microsoft have overall control of the ballot screen and can install IE without fear of legislative reprisals.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Apple Tablet Ready by Xmas, Served with Multimedia 'Cocktail'

Image via CrunchBase

Source: www.pcworld.com
Daniel Ionescu Jul 27, 2009 10:12 pm

Apple is racing to launch a tablet-sized device in time for the Christmas shopping season, according to a report from the Financial Times (FT). Featuring a 10-inch touch screen display, Apple's tablet is also said to launch alongside "Cocktail," a project designed to increase sales of CD-length music.

The Apple tablet, rumored for more than a year now, has finally gained some credibility with FT's report today. The publication also quotes "executives familiar with the plans" saying that Apple could be planning a simultaneous launch of the tablet with a new service that is "all about re-creating the heyday of the album when you would sit around with your friends looking at the artwork, while you listened to the music."

What we know about the Apple tablet

FT is scarce on details about Apple's upcoming tablet device. The report describes device as a "full-featured, tablet-sized computer" which will be out just in time for the Christmas shopping season. The tablet's screen is reported to be up to 10 inches in diagonal but it won't have phone capabilities like the iPhone.

The FT says the Apple tablet will have Wi-Fi, allowing it to access to Apple's online stores. Besides Amazon Kindle-like capabilities, the Apple tablet is reported to be great for watching movies, according to an entertainment executive quoted by the FT. No word on pricing, but previous speculation points to an $800 price point.

What's in Apple's "Cocktail"

The FT is also reporting that Apple is working on a project code-named "Cocktail," a collaboration between the Cupertino company and record labels, namely EMI, Sony Music, Warner Music and Universal Music Group, which will bundle liner notes and video clips with the music sold on the iTunes Music Store (iTMS). The initiative is reportedly expected to be a reality as early as September.

The FT says Cocktail is a new type of interactive album, which will combine photos, lyrics sheets, video clips, and liner notes, all gathered into an interactive booklet. This new breed of album booklet will also play songs directly, without having to go back to iTunes, the report adds.

Myth or Reality?

Convinced by the Apple tablet? Judging by the expected screen size and rumored capabilities, the Apple tablet will not only be an oversized iPod Touch, ready for prime-time movies and music, but also a direct competitor to Amazon's Kindle if Apple will start selling books in the iTunes music store.

Although so far the "Cocktail" news would put multimedia at the heart of the Apple tablet, Internet connectivity is the key to delivering the content to the device. And this is where last week's rumors and today's FT report conflict: Apple Insider said the tablet would feature 3G connectivity, same as the iPhone, while the FT reported today that no such capability will be present.

So while this intricate detail is up for debate, the question to users remains whether they would want a 3G tablet that would be chained to a wireless carrier (be it AT&T or Verizon) or the somehow limited freedom to use any Wi-Fi access point they have handy?

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What we know about the Apple tablet

What's in Apple's "Cocktail"

Myth or Reality?

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