By Rick Broida
February 23, 2010

By Rosemary Hattersley
February 9, 2009

LONDON - X2 Technology has capitalised on Apple’s decision not to call its tablet the iTablet. Its X2 iTablet will run Windows or Linux and support Flash.

Apple may have eschewed the obvious moniker for its new tablet PC and chosen instead to call it the iPad, but laptop maker X2 has been keen to seize the opportunity and brand its new touchscreen devices the iTablet range.

The Windows 7- and Linux-based portable devices will be offered in 10.2in and 12.1in widescreen versions with up to 250GB hard disks and 1.6GHz Intel processors. They will have multi-touch screens, 3 USB ports and a 1.3Mp webcam. HDMI output is offered as an option, while 802.11 b and g Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and stereo speakers are part of the standard specification list. A 3G module will be a further option.

Interestingly, X2 says the iTablet will natively support Adobe Flash - something the Apple iPad does not. The 102.in X2 iTablet weighs a fairly portable 1.1kg and is 35mm thick.
The 252×192x35mm tablet computer will be offered in a choice of black, white, blue, pink, yellow, red or grey. Accessories will included battery packs, mains adaptors and a stand, while X2 will also produce a screen suitable for use in bright daylight and other challenging light conditions.

“iTablet will empower users with unlimited technology and advanced multimedia access across multiple platforms without being restricted to exclusive content providers,” added Jonathan Wharrad, R&D Director of X2 Computing. “This new breed of Windows-based computer takes design, functionality and solution fit to new and higher levels.”

X2 is an industrial product design company whose technical director, Robin Daunter, was formerly the head of R&D at Evesham Technology.

By David Coursey
February 1, 2009

By Patrick Miller
December 28, 2009

Whether you’re a grizzled Windows vet or a relative newcomer, you can always use a trick or two for making things go faster. We’ve compiled our 26 favorite time-saving tips for Windows XP, Vista, and 7. Print out this story and keep it on your desk, under your pillow, or anywhere else.


Classic Windows Tips

Toggle between apps: Use Alt-Tab to switch open programs without touching your mouse. The oldest–and still the best–Windows timesaver.

Navigate app windows: Press Ctrl-Tab to cycle through an application’s windows (or through a Web browser’s tabs). First cousin of the tip above, and probably the most underrated tip ever.

When in doubt, type it out: If you don’t want to hunt through nested menus and the like, you can access most functions, applets, or files the old-fashioned way–by entering them into the Search box. Type Calculator, Control Panel, or even the name of a piece of music on your hard drive, and press Enter.

Full-frontal folders: In Windows Explorer, click Folder Options (located under the Organize menu) to reveal hidden files, show the full path in the title bar, display file extensions, and more.

Unobtrusive updates: Keep your OS current by opening Windows Update (Automatic Update in XP) and setting it to Download updates but let me choose whether to install them. (To get there, press the Windows key and type Windows Update.) That way, you won’t have Windows urging you to restart when you don’t want to (or worse, triggering a restart when you’re away from the PC with an unsaved document open).

Tweak your taskbar: Right-click the Taskbar and choose Properties to find options for switching to the old Start menu, choosing which icons show in the notification area, setting default programs to appear in the Start bar menu, and more.

Partition, partition, partition: Make backups and restores easier by partitioning your hard drive and keeping one partition for the OS and the other for your documents and data.

Make your text special: Need a special character such as © or á? Press the Windows key and type character map in the field to bring up an app that will let you copy and paste the characters you need.

Simple screen capture: Take a screenshot by pressing Print Screen, which copies an image of your full screen to your clipboard so that you can paste it into Paint or your preferred image editor. To capture just the active window, use Ctrl-Alt-Print Screen. For more fine-tuned controls, try Screenshot Captor.

Take a shortcut: Right-click on any application icon, bring up the Properties menu, and click the Shortcuts tab. You can specify a keystroke combination to start your application here. Our personal favorite: Making a shortcut for Windows 7’s Snipping Tool makes screenshots much easier. (Windows 7 only)

Sticky keys (the good kind): Holding down two keys at once–such as Ctrl-C to copy–is a royal pain. Press the Shift key five times to start Sticky Keys, a feature that allows you to initiate a keyboard shortcut by merely pressing Shift, Ctrl, Alt, or Windows instead of holding that particular key down. Press Shift five more times to toggle Sticky Keys off.

Line ‘em up: Want to arrange two (or more) windows side by side in Windows XP or Vista? Hold down Ctrl and click on the desired windows in the taskbar; then right-click the taskbar and select Tile Vertically. In Windows 7, you can simply drag any open window to the right or left edge of your screen and then let go.

Instant classic (control panels): Miss Windows’ old Control Panel, which conveniently displayed all of its items at once? In Windows XP and Vista, just open the Control Panel and select Switch to Classic View. In Windows 7, click the View by drop-down menu in the upper-right corner and select your preference.

Speed Up Your Services

Manage the Task Manager: Windows’ built-in Task Manager (pressCtrl-Alt-Del and click Task Manager) is great for seeing what your system is up to, but power users will prefer Process Explorer, which shows more details that can help you find a memory leak or troubleshoot a pesky DLL problem.

Nudge your network: If you have network problems, try opening the command prompt (enter cmd in the Start menu’s search box) and typing ipconfig /renew to reset your network connection.

Index this, not that: The Windows Search indexer speeds up built-in search functions, but the indexing process itself can consume system resources at inconvenient times. Open Indexing Options in Control Panel (or press the Windows key and type Indexing Options). The resulting dialog box will let you specify which folders or types of data are indexed to avoid bogging down your PC needlessly.

Clean up your startup: If your PC drags its feet during the startup process, press the Windows key and type msconfig to open the System Configuration utility. Check in the Startup tab to see what your machine is loading. Your computer might be loading services or apps that you don’t need or want to use on startup.

Sharing is caring: For a little assistance in tracking your shared folders, right-click My Computer (or Computer in Windows 7) and click Manage to bring up the Computer Management tool. Then click Shared Folders to see a list of all of your machine’s shared folders, file-sharing sessions, and open files.

Essential Add-Ons

Look, Ma, no mouse: XP users should grab Launchy, a free keyboard-driven launcher application that allows you to access programs, files, and even Web sites with just a few keystrokes. (Vista and Windows 7 users get the same functionality from the Start menu’s search tool.)

Cleaner than you found it: To make sure that your programs uninstall completely, use Revo Uninstaller–it’s often more thorough than the programs’ own supplied uninstaller routines.

Annoyance buster: If you’re tired of User Account Control dialog boxes popping up all the time in Windows Vista, but you don’t want to disable the security feature completely, grab TweakUAC to set it to Quiet Mode. Windows 7 has its own UAC controls, but can still benefit from TweakUAC.

Get your hands dirty with Greasemonkey: Optimize your Web browsing with Greasemonkey for Firefox, an add-on that lets you choose among thousands of user-designed scripts for blocking ads, changing the layouts of popular sites, and more. (Variants also exist for Internet Explorer, Chrome, and Safari.)

Work Your Windows Key

Photograph by Robert Cardin

Lock your doors (and Windows): Stepping out for a minute? Remember to press Windows-L to lock your computer’s screen so that no one can nose around without entering your account password.

Run, Windows, run: To access the Run command easily, press Windows-R.

Keyboard explorer: Want to open a new Windows Explorer window without leaving the keyboard? Press Windows-E.

Declutter your desktop: Access your desktop instantly by pressing Windows-D to hide all open windows. Press Windows-D again to return to where you were.

By Tony Bradley
December 3, 2009

It doesn’t take much to ignite FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) against Microsoft– especially with news of a critical flaw affecting Windows 7. News that a Microsoft update is causing “millions” of PC’s to experience a “black screen of death” is both exaggerated and wrong. Apparently, its much ado about nothing.

Originally reported by security firm Prevx, the black screen of death issue was believed to have been caused by updates issued by Microsoft on the November Patch Tuesday. The combination of a headline like “Black Screen woes could affect millions on Windows 7, Vista and XP” and the fact that Prevx didn’t bother to contact Microsoft about the issue suggest that Prevx was primarily interested in sensational publicity for itself.

Microsoft investigated the issue and determined that its patches are not to blame. Prevx followed up with a post apologizing to Microsoft for the inconvenience, and admitting that the root cause that triggers the black screen of death is, in fact, not related to Microsoft’s patches. The prevailing theory now is that it is related to a malware infection, most likely something from the Daonol family of Trojans.

All FUD aside, there does seem to be an actual black screen of death issue, it just isn’t impacting “millions” of Windows 7, Vista, and XP systems. More like thousands. Maybe hundreds. Here are three tips to help ensure your Windows PC doesn’t become one of the afflicted:

1.Keep It Updated. I have a secret for you–most malware exploits known vulnerabilities for which patches already exist. Sure, there are zero-day vulnerabilities as well, but one of the best defenses against malware of all kinds is to simply ensure that your operating system and the applications you use have all of the latest patches applied.

2.Protect Against Malware. If its true that the black screen of death is caused by some variant of the Daonol family of Trojans, then it makes sense that anti-malware software could protect your PC from it.

There is a vast array of security products for Windows PC’s–both free and commercial. Microsoft offers its anti-malware security software, Microsoft Security Essentials, for free.

3.Run the Fix. While Prevx was mistaken about the Microsoft updates being guilty for causing the black screen of death, it still has a pretty solid reputation as a security vendor and its research into the root cause that triggers the issue seems to be accurate.

Prevx has stated that its fix does not work in all cases, but running the fix has a fair chance of fixing the issues within Windows that have been determined to trigger the black screen of death. Download the Prevx fix and give it a shot.

If you are one of the “millions” already struck down by the black screen of death, downloading and running the Prevx fix can be problematic. Prevx has already thought of that and has provided step-by-step instructions for how to download and run the fix from an affected system.

By Rick Broida
November 9, 2009

It’s an age-old question: When you’re done using your laptop, or just taking a break from work, should you put it to sleep, let it hibernate, or turn it all the way off?

Allow me to answer by way of a mnemonic: hibernate is great. You see, sleep mode (a.k.a. standby) puts your system into an off-like state, allowing you to pick up where you left off after just a few seconds (unlike rebooting, which can take minutes). But a PC in standby mode continues to consume battery power, so it’s not uncommon to return to a “sleeping” PC to find that it’s just plain dead.

Hibernate, on the other hand, writes your machine’s current state to a temporary hard-drive file, then shuts down completely (much like “off”). When you start it up again, it loads that file and returns you to where you left off–no booting required.

Both ends of the hibernate process take a little longer than standby (usually 10-20 seconds, in my experience), but you avoid any of the issues that can arise when Windows suddenly loses power. What’s more, standby is a notoriously flaky mode. I’ve encountered plenty of systems that refuse to wake up properly, so you end up losing whatever work you were trying to preserve.

Consequently, unless you’re running your laptop on AC power, I recommend using hibernate most of the time.

And here’s a handy related tip: You can change the function of your laptop’s power button so that pressing it automatically activates hibernation.

By John Fontana
Network World
October 27, 2009

Microsoft said it will provide patent- and license-free use rights to the format behind its Outlook Personal Folders opening e-mail, calendar, contacts and other information to a host of applications such as antimalware or cloud-based services.

Documenting and publishing the .pst format could open up entirely new feature sets for programs such as search tools for mining mailboxes for relevant corporate data, new security tools that scan .pst data for malicious software, or e-discovery tools for meeting compliance regulations, according to Microsoft officials.

The written documentation would explain how to parse the contents of the .pst file, which houses the e-mail, calendar and contact contents of Outlook Personal Folders. The documentation will detail how the data is stored, along with guidance for accessing that data from other software applications. The effort is designed to give programs the knowledge to read Outlook data stored on user desktops.

“You could also imagine this being used for data portability possibly into the cloud,” said Paul Lorimer, group manager for Microsoft Office interoperability. “A user might have data on a hard drive that they would like to migrate to a cloud service. This would allow the cloud service developers to write code on the server so someone could upload their .pst and have it read on the server rather than needing Outlook to be running on the client and somehow get the data that way.”

Microsoft plans to publish in the first half of next year documentation outlining the .pst format. The information will be released under Microsoft’s Open Specification Promise (OSP), which began in 2006. That year, Microsoft dropped intellectual-property and patent claims to 35 Web services protocols it developed mostly for use in its identity infrastructure. In 2008, Microsoft added the Office file formats to OPS even while critics said the formats were incomplete and the submission was designed to boost Office Open XML (OOXML) in the eyes of standards bodies.

In 2008, Microsoft added its Interoperability Principles and promised to support data portability in its most popular “high-volume products,” including SQL Server 2008, Office 2007, Exchange 2007 and Office SharePoint Server 2007.

Once the documentation of the .pst format is public, programmers can get into .pst files and read the contents without the need for Outlook. In fact, there will be no requirement for any Microsoft software. Users are free to choose any platform, including Linux and any development language, such as Java or Ruby on Rails.

Data in the .pst file is available to developers today via Microsoft’s Messaging API (MAPI) and the Outlook Object Model, but Outlook needs to be installed on the desktop.

Microsoft Monday was entertaining a number of customers and partners on its Redmond campus to help gather feedback on the documentation. The technical documentation will detail how the data is stored, along with guidance for accessing that data from other software applications.

Critics such as the Software Freedom Law Center have warned that inconsistencies are possible between Microsoft formats available under OPS and with the open source GPL license.

Microsoft last year added language to OPS on patent/copyright coverage and information on how OSP interacts with GPL-based software development.

By Carolyn Duffy Marsan
Network World
October 9, 2009

Web Browser Milestones

The Web browser turns 15 on Oct. 13, 2009 - a key milestone in the history of the Internet. That’s when the first commercial Web browser - eventually called Netscape Navigator - was released as beta code. While researchers including World Wide Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee and a team at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications created Unix browsers between 1991 and 1994, Netscape Navigator made this small piece of desktop software a household name. By allowing average users to view text and images posted on Web sites, Netscape Navigator helped launch the Internet era along with multiple browser wars, government-led lawsuits and many software innovations. Here are 15 highlights in the history of the Web browser.

September 2, 2008

Google Chrome introduces
Google announced the beta release of its open source Chrome browser for Microsoft Windows systems. Google offered a developer’s version that supports Linux and Apple Macintosh systems in June 2009. Now, Google is on Version 3 of Chrome, which aims at being speedier than competitors with a cleaner layout and design. So far, Google has attracted more press than users with Chrome. Currently, Chrome has 3.7% browser market share, according to Janco Associates.

March 19, 2009

Microsoft responds to rivals, enhances IE
Responding to innovations in Firefox, Safari, Opera and Chrome, Microsoft released Version 8 of Internet Explorer. Microsoft said it was the company’s fastest, most stable and secure Web browser. One innovation is Web slices, which notify users when a favorite site is updated. Another improvement makes it easier for users to refer to multiple tabs. IE also offers InPrivate browsing, which has the nickname “porn mode.” Microsoft was prompted to improve its Web browser by shrinking market share, which is down to 68%, according to Janco Associates.

June 30, 2009

Mozilla ships faster Firefox
Mozilla released the latest version of Firefox, which offers several performance enhancements, particularly for Web developers. Though not the fastest browser, Firefox 3.5 is more competitive against Chrome and Safari in this area. Firefox 3.5 features location-aware browsing so it’s easier for users to find nearby retailers or restaurants. This version also supports private browsing, which was already available in Chrome, Safari and Internet Explorer. Mozilla says more than 300 million people around the world use Firefox.

August 13, 2009

Netscape founder discloses browser start-up
Marc Andreessen, leader of the NCSA Mosaic project and founder of Netscape, admits to the New York Times that he is backing a browser start-up called RockMelt . The article caused much speculation in the tech press about what RockMelt will be, with many believing that the new venture will create a browser customized for social networking sites such as Facebook.

For more information about enterprise networking, go to NetworkWorld.
Story copyright 2008 Network World Inc.
All rights reserved.

By Carolyn Duffy Marsan
Network World
October 9, 2009

Web Browser Milestones

The Web browser turns 15 on Oct. 13, 2009 - a key milestone in the history of the Internet. That’s when the first commercial Web browser - eventually called Netscape Navigator - was released as beta code. While researchers including World Wide Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee and a team at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications created Unix browsers between 1991 and 1994, Netscape Navigator made this small piece of desktop software a household name. By allowing average users to view text and images posted on Web sites, Netscape Navigator helped launch the Internet era along with multiple browser wars, government-led lawsuits and many software innovations. Here are 15 highlights in the history of the Web browser.

January 7, 2003

Apple enters the browser fray with Safari
Apple released a beta version of Safari, which would become its standard Web browser built into the Mac operating system later that year. In June 2007, Apple released a version of Safari for Windows XP and Vista systems. Safari also is the browser used in Apple’s iPhone. In June 2009, Apple released Safari 4 featuring speedier performance, enhanced integration with Windows and an at-a-glance view of a user’s favorite Web sites. More than 11 million copies of Safari 4 were downloaded in the first three days of availability, Apple said. A niche player, Safari has less than 1% market share, Janco Associates says.

February 9, 2004

Firefox released, gains mindshare with techies
The Mozilla Foundation released a beta version of Firefox - dubbed Firebox 0.8 - that would soon catch on as a speedy alternative to Internet Explorer. By 2004, Microsoft had more than 87% of the browser market, according to Janco Associates. But within six months of this release, Firefox was the preferred browser among techies, winning awards at Linuxworld Expo and being dubbed hot by Wired Magazine. Firefox grew in popularity, and today this free, open source browser has 19.2% market share.

December 13, 2007

Opera files antitrust complaints against Microsoft
Opera filed a complaint with the European Commission (headed by Neelie Kroes, shown here), claiming that Microsoft violates antitrust laws by integrating Internet Explorer into the Windows operating system and by failing to follow open Web standards. Microsoft has offered to provide its customers with a menu of available browsers to download rather than installing Internet Explorer by default in Windows 7. The EC says it hopes to settle the case before year’s end.

January 14, 2008

Web browsers top Internet vulnerability list
For the first time, Web browser attacks top the list of the Top 10 Cyber Security Menaces for 2008 compiled by SANS Institute. The infosec research group says malicious code placed on popular, trusted Web sites is exploiting components of Web browsers, such as Flash and QuickTime. These attacks are gaining in sophistication and becoming more common. In December 2008, Microsoft would announce a “ huge increase ” in Internet Explorer attacks, one of several times Microsoft must scramble to patch a browser vulnerability.

By Carolyn Duffy Marsan
Network World
October 9, 2009

Web Browser Milestones

The Web browser turns 15 on Oct. 13, 2009 - a key milestone in the history of the Internet. That’s when the first commercial Web browser - eventually called Netscape Navigator - was released as beta code. While researchers including World Wide Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee and a team at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications created Unix browsers between 1991 and 1994, Netscape Navigator made this small piece of desktop software a household name. By allowing average users to view text and images posted on Web sites, Netscape Navigator helped launch the Internet era along with multiple browser wars, government-led lawsuits and many software innovations. Here are 15 highlights in the history of the Web browser.

January 1, 1997

Opera introduced, targets mobile devices
Based in Norway, Internet Opera Software released its first Web browser for Windows, dubbed Opera 2.1. Opera has been a minor player in the Web browser market since then; it currently has 1.1% of the market, according to Janco Associates. Version 10 was released on Sept. 1, 2009. Opera Software claims 40 million users on Windows, Mac and Linux machines. Its mobile version - Opera Mini - claims 30 million users, including many BlackBerry users.

February 23, 1998

Netscape creates open source Mozilla Project
Netscape created the Mozilla Organization as an open source developer that would provide a free version of its browser. By February 1998, Netscape - which had 28% browser market share - had been vanquished by Microsoft - which had 69% market share - in the first browser war. In July 2003, the Mozilla Organization would morph into the Mozilla Foundation, a nonprofit. In 2005, the for-profit Mozilla Corp.- was created and would eventually deliver the popular Firefox browser.

May 18, 1998

Feds sure Microsoft over bundled browser
The U.S. Justice Department filed an antitrust case against Microsoft alleging that Microsoft abused monopoly power by bundling its Internet Explorer Web browser into its Windows operating system. Working for DOJ, attorney David Boies (shown here) won the trial, and the verdict was upheld on appeal. DOJ reached a settlement with Microsoft in 2001, requiring Microsoft to share its APIs with other companies. Microsoft is required to meet this obligation until November 2009.

November 24, 1998

AOL buys Netscape
AOL announced plans to buy Netscape for $4.2 billion. The deal was a stock-for-stock transaction that ended up being worth more than $10 billion when it closed in March 1999. The merger required approval by the U.S. Department of Justice on antitrust grounds. AOL was not successful at helping Netscape regain market share for Navigator. In December 2007, AOL announced that it would no longer support Netscape Web browsers.