New Free Microsoft Security Essentials Release
A new release of Microsoft’s free security solution for Windows is now available for download. The Redmond company has made available for download extremely quietly the new version of Microsoft Security Essentials 1.0 on February 17th, 2010. The latest release of MSE, formerly codenamed Morro, is currently up for grabs from the Microsoft Download Center, with no details available from the software giant as to what, if anything was changed with the antivirus.
“Microsoft Security Essentials is a free download from Microsoft that is simple to install, easy to use, and always kept up to date so you can be assured your PC is protected by the latest technology. It’s easy to tell if your PC is secure — when you’re green, you’re good. It’s that simple. Microsoft Security Essentials runs quietly and efficiently in the background so you’re free to use your Windows-based PC the way you want—without interruptions or long computer wait times,” Microsoft noted. Read more
15 Must Have Free Microsoft Downloads
Microsoft offers a plethora of software that users can download and install without paying a single cent to the company. However, the software giant hasn’t centralized all its free offerings into a single location, a move which would streamline access to the resources it is delivering. That’s why I included below a list with a consistent collection of free software products which can be grabbed free of charge, with the vast majority available through the Microsoft Download Center.
As far as I’m concerned the list needed to start with Windows client and server operating systems. In one way or another, packaged as ISO or VHD images, Microsoft is offering customers the chance to test drive, and even use, feature-complete versions of its platforms, again, completely free. In some cases, Microsoft is making it easier for customers to test drive a Windows release before buying, while in others it is actually offering the OS on top of an existing license.
However, the list doesn’t stop with Microsoft’s operating systems. The Redmond company is also providing free downloads of its “other” cash cow, the Office productivity suite, along with its development platform and tools, security solutions and additional offerings. Users will be able to find on the list both finalized products, as well as software that is still in development. As far as pre-release products are concerned, while the overall quality of the products is extremely high, customers should keep in mind that they might still run into issues. Read more
Firefox Erodes IE to New Low
The open-source browser from Mozilla has managed to grab a share of the market representing no less than half of the Microsoft proprietary browser, according to StatCounter data. Essentially, the market measuring firm indicates that Internet Explorer’s share has dropped to under 60% while Firefox has grown continually to its detriment and is up to 30%. The statistics made public are valid for users worldwide. The situation is much worse in the US for IE and Microsoft, StatCounter explains.
In the US alone, IE dropped from 56 .18% in June 2009 to just 54.77% in July. This while Firefox jumped from 31.5% to 32.34% in the same period of time. Safari is the bronze winner in the browser race with 7.59% while Chrome accounts for 3% and Opera for 0.72% in July. But the growth of Safari, Chrome and Opera pales in comparison to that of Firefox. Read more
XP Gets Another Reprieve
It’s the operating system that just refuses to die. According to Engadget Microsoft has given the venerable old XP another extension that will see it carrying on until 2011. Before you get too excited, though, this applies only to the XP downgrade option, available on PCs sold with Windows 7 pre-installed. Now pay attention, it’s all rather complicated. Apparently this move follows complaints from business users, worried about Windows 7 licensing issues. Basically companies buying new Win 7 PCs before April 23rd next year will still have the option to downgrade to XP, to help them with the transition, but after April 23rd the only downgrade will be to Vista, which obviously isn’t much help to XP users wanting to make the change. Confused? You will be…
XNA Game Studio 3.1 for Vista SP1 and XP SP3
Microsoft has released and made available for download the latest iteration of its gaming development solution designed to permit developers to build video games for Windows-based PCs, Xbox 360 consoles, but also Zune digital media player devices. XNA Game Studio 3.1 went live on the Microsoft Download Center on June 11, 2009, and is now up for grabs for free. According to the Redmond company, Windows Vista SP1 and Windows XP SP3 are the supported operating systems for XNA Game Studio 3.1.
“This release is incremental to XNA Game Studio 3.0 and contains many new features, including avatars, Xbox LIVE Party support, and video as well as enhancements to existing features. For the full list of improvements in this release, see the “What’s New in XNA Game Studio 3.1” section of the documentation once you have installed the product,” revealed Rob Cameron, Microsoft industry evangelist. Read more
AVG Update Kills Windows
Users of AVG 7.5 and 8.0 should be on the alert for a false positive Trojan virus warning after downloading an update on November 11th. It concerns the legitimate Windows system file user32.dll, which AVG wrongly identifies as infected and advises that it should be deleted. Don’t do it!
If you do Windows will not load after a reboot. Apparently it only affects the Dutch, French, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish language versions of Windows XP and AVG has published a rescue plan. It involves running the XP Recovery console, which means you need an installation disc. Of course not all PCs come with one, in which case AVG has come up with a downloadable utility that should fix the problem. Read more
Download Zune theme with colour variations
Zune theme always gives that classic windows xp feel but it never offers any customization in terms of colors. Some people might get bored by the orange coloured start menu in the traditional zune theme by Microsoft
Today, we have come with some beautiful colour variations in the zune theme by a developer Usman Akhtar named Zune Usmanistan
The Zune Usmanistan theme is like an extended version of the original zune theme released by Microsoft, you can change the orange colour start menu to many colours under the ‘Colour Scheme‘ menu on the ‘Appearance’ tab, in ‘Display Properties‘. Read more
Introducing the Firefox 3.0 CD
The gold bits of Firefox 3.0 went live on June 17, 2008, over half a year past the initially planned launch which was targeted for the end of 2007. At just a few days short of the first two months on the market for the successor of Firefox 2.0, users of Mozilla’s open source browser now have access not only to the download version of Firefox 3.0, but also to the CD. Via Mozilla’s store, Firefox 3.0 CDs go for $4.20 a pop in the U.S. and £3.00 per item for additional international markets.
“With more than 15,000 improvements, Firefox 3 is faster, safer and smarter than ever before,” reads a fragment from the description of the browser. “Dozens of new features including the “awesome” bar, one-click bookmarking, full zoom, advanced tabbed browsing and blindingly fast performance. Instant Web Site ID and other security features keep you safe from scammers and spammers. Over 5000 add-ons let you customize your web experience to your personal needs.” Read more
Eee PC Does it…
As you may know I’m a huge fan of the Asus Eee PC 700 and dashed out and bought one, with my own money I hasten to add, the moment they went on sale, late last year. This titchy laptop has become my constant travelling companion, it does everything I need when I’m out and about and the price, at around £200, set a new benchmark for pocket notebooks and spawned a rash of clones and copies.
So now we have the Eee PC 1000, which follows hard on the heels of the first Eee PC upgrade (Eee PC 900) launched just a few weeks ago. The key feature of the 1000 is a 10-inch screen, (the 900’s screen is 8.9 inches) and like the 900 it has a 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor. Read more
Google Lively
Did you ever get into Second Life? Basically, you could consider it a game, but for a lot of people, it’s more than just that. As an example, it’s enough to say that, a few months ago, I read an article about a real world company involved in the real estate business… in Second Life! So, we have real estate brokers arriving at the office, starting the computer, getting into Second Life, and then doing what one real estate broker usually does – selling properties, virtual ones, to be more precise, and earning money, but real money, this time. Now, you are probably wondering what’s the link between all this and Hitsgarden, aren’t you? I’ll get to it right away…
My friends, it’s all about Google! No, it’s not about Google Docs, Google Mail, Blogger or another service/application currently developed by the Californian IT giant that we are all familiar with. For now, this is still a pet in Google’s backyard, but they have decided to show it to the world, although they claim this is only 20 percent done, for now. What is it? Google Lively, of course! Read more
