Microsoft ditches Windows 7 beta download limit

It will be available through Jan. 24; company apologizes for Friday foul-up

Microsoft Corp. on Saturday ditched the download limit on Windows 7 beta, saying that users will be able to grab the preview through Jan. 24 -- even if the total exceeds the 2.5 million cap it had set earlier.

The company also apologized for the stalled servers that prevented users from obtaining the operating system preview on Friday, the day the public beta was originally slated to launch.

"I know many of you have had issues with the Windows 7 beta site over the last 24 hours," company spokesman Brandon LeBlanc acknowledged in a posting to Microsoft's Windows 7 blog late Saturday. "We apologize for the inconvenience that it caused some of you."

Rather than cap the number of beta activation keys at 2.5 million -- the original plan to limit the test pool -- Microsoft will instead make Windows 7 available for two weeks, though Jan. 24, said LeBlanc. If fewer than 2.5 million people request and receive activation keys during that time, Microsoft will continue to offer the beta until the limit is reached.

"However, the more likely scenario is that we will surpass 2.5 million downloads, and so the beta downloads will be stopped after the 24th," wrote Kevin Remdes, a Microsoft-employed IT evangelist, on his blog Sunday.

The move came after Microsoft fumbled the Windows 7 public beta launch on Friday. At midday, it postponed the beta, citing "very heavy traffic" and saying it needed to beef up its servers and bandwidth to meet demand. Earlier in the day, Microsoft's main page and other URLs had been brought to their knees by users eager to download the preview. Hours later, when a link to the download was added to a page dedicated to IT professionals, users saw only messages such as "Server is too busy," and, "This site is currently experiencing technical difficulties, please check back in the next business day" when they tried to grab the file.

Microsoft restarted the beta launch Saturday, posting links to the download on its main Windows 7 page.

Computerworld had no difficulty on Monday morning reaching the download page, receiving activation keys or initiating downloads of the 32- and 64-bit versions of the new operating system.

After Jan. 24, users will still probably be able to download the beta because Microsoft rarely removes previews from its servers, instead relying on activation-key limits to restrict the number of testers. People who grab the beta after Microsoft stops delivering keys can install the operating system, then run it under Microsoft's usual 30-day trial policy. By using the same "slmgr -rearm" command that gained notoriety after Windows Vista's debut, they can extend that trial period to a total of 120 days.

Microsoft's decision to put a time limit on Windows 7 beta's availability mimics its practice more than two years ago, when it launched Windows Vista Beta 2. That beta, launched June 7, 2006, was available for just over three weeks, through June 30.

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Microsoft restarts botched Windows 7 beta downloads

After 24-hour delay, activates download pages and begins handing out keys

January 10, 2009 (Computerworld) Microsoft Corp. on Saturday restarted its rollout of the Windows 7 beta, 24 hours after it aborted the launch because heavy demand had stalled its servers.

As of noon PST, the company said that the primary beta download site, an offshoot of the Windows section of Microsoft.com, was "up and working."

Computerworld confirmed that the Windows 7 beta download page was online and taking download requests. Springboard Series, another public download location targeting IT professionals, was also live.

Also on Saturday, Microsoft was providing beta activation keys, offering them to users just prior to beginning the download. Computerworld was able to obtain an activation key, download the 32-bit version of the beta, and install and activate Windows 7.

Originally slated to start Friday at noon PST, Windows 7's public debut was postponed by Microsoft, which cited "very heavy traffic" across its Web properties. "Due to very heavy traffic we're seeing as a result of interest in the Windows 7 Beta, we are adding some additional infrastructure support to Microsoft.com properties," a spokeswoman said Friday afternoon.

On Wednesday, when Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announced the Friday launch of the public beta, he urged everyone to grab a copy. "I encourage you all to get out and download it," he said.

Ballmer's comment, as well as the fact that Microsoft said it would cap the number of activation keys for the beta at 2.5 million, may have contributed to the crush of users who attempted to reach the download sites on Friday. Hours before the beta was to be posted, in fact, Microsoft's main page and other URLs were sporadically unavailable.

Later in the day, attempts to reach the download via the Springboard Series page, which for a time touted the beta, were stymied, with users seeing messages such as "Server is too busy," and "This site is currently experiencing technical difficulties, please check back in the next business day."

Users blasted Microsoft for Friday's snafu on the company's own blog. In comments posted to the postponement announcement, some raged at Microsoft's inability to launch the beta as promised. "I'm disappointed, and many others are too," said a user identified as "AA4PC" in a comment Friday evening. "The delay is going to hurt the credibility of Microsoft statements."

"Couldn't you learn anything from [the] last Vista beta distributions?" asked another user, "Seagull."

In June 2006, Microsoft urged users to order a DVD copy of Windows Vista Beta 2 preview rather than download the disk image, claiming that boosting bandwidth even more could cripple the Internet as a whole. "We are literally saying that if we increased our bandwidth any further, there's a possibility of taking down the Internet," an unidentified Microsoft representative told Dutch blogger Steven Bink at the time.

Microsoft also reportedly considered, then rejected, distributing Vista Beta 2 using the BitTorrent file-sharing protocol, an idea that several users pitched to the company via blog comments on Friday and Saturday.

"Time to give the torrent some love," argued "Xepol" on the same comment thread. "It isn't like it isn't already on BitTorrent ... Microsoft might as well benefit from it." Over the past two weeks, pirated copies of the 32- and 64-bit Windows 7 beta build leaked to BitTorrent sites.

Users can begin the beta download by heading to this page on the Windows 7 site, then selecting the 32- or 64-bit version, and the desired language.

Copyright © 2009 computerworld.com

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NASA Hacker May be Tried in UK

NASA hacker Gary McKinnon could be prosecuted in the UK after his lawyers informed the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) that he would enter a guilty plea if the case was heard in the U.K.

McKinnon broke into U.S. military computers, including those belonging to NASA, in 2001 in a bid to prove the U.S. government has knowledge of UFOs.

While McKinnon says his exploits did not cause any damage, the U.S. allege that McKinnon stole 950 passwords and deleted files at a naval base in New Jersey, responsible for replenishing munitions and supplies for the Atlantic fleet. They also maintain the intrusions disrupted computer networks used by the military that were critical to operations conducted after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The U.S. estimates the damage caused by McKinnon at $700,000.

McKinnon currently faces extradition to the U.S. to stand trial, following the European Court of Human Rights' decision in August 2008. However, this latest move by his lawyers, means that if McKinnon was found guilty, he would be punished in the U.K. and extradition would be very unlikely.

"McKinnon has had tremendous support from the hacker community and even ordinary people - many IT workers have a lot of sympathy for his ongoing plight and would rather see him tried in Britain as opposed to the U.S.," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at security firm Sophos.

"Any form of hacking is illegal and should be punished as such, and hacking into U.S. government networks is bound to come with harsh repercussions -- anyone thinking about engaging in these types of activities in the future should think twice. This man's sorry tale should warn other would-be hackers that they are playing with fire if they break into sensitive networks, and shouldn't be surprised if the full force of the law goes after them."

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NSA helps name most dangerous programming mistakes

Industry reaches consensus on the worst things that can happen when software is being written and calls it a big step toward making software more secure
A group of more than 30 computer organizations has taken what some are calling a big step toward making software more secure.
Led by experts from the U.S. National Security Agency, the Department of Homeland Security, Microsoft and Symantec, the group plans to publish on Monday a blueprint outlining the most dangerous software programming errors.

The list represents the first time the industry has reached consensus on the worst things that can happen when software is being written.

"The top 25 list gives developers a minimum set of coding errors that must be eradicated before software is used by customers," said Chris Wysopal, chief technology officer with Veracode, in a prepared statement.

More than just a list, however, the document could be used as a negotiating tool between buyers and software vendors, said Alan Paller, director of research with the SANS Institute, a security training group that spearheaded the work.

n fact, New York state is now developing procurement documents that could be used by state agencies to make their vendors certify that their code contains none of these programming errors. Ultimately that will make the vendor, not the state, responsible when buggy software leads to a security problem, Paller said. "When the software is found to be flawed ... all of the economic liability shifts to them."

Paller expects that this kind of certification, virtually unknown today, will become more common now that such a large part of the industry has agreed on what programming errors are most dangerous. But he expects it to be used in large custom-coding contracts rather than in the software licensing agreements used for widely distributed software such as Microsoft Windows.

The flaws include things such as allowing for SQL injection or cross-site scripting attacks, sending sensitive information in clear text, which can be easily read, and hard-coding security passwords into programs, where they're hard to change if discovered. The list of errors is set to be posted here.

Two of these bugs led to more than 1.5 million Web site breaches last year, SANS said. And that was just the start: Often, these Web breaches were used by online attackers to then launch more attacks against people who surfed the hacked sites.

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Free BlackBerry Storm Apps: Seven Essential Downloads

CIO.com-The weeks following the release of the Research In Motion's first touch screen BlackBerry, the Storm, on November 21, were unfortunately filled with complaints from users, reviewers and critics alike regarding the extremely poor quality operating system that shipped with the device. And rightly so; RIM and Verizon Wireless rushed out buggy OS code that was simply not ready for prime time, in order to meet previously stated release dates.
However, behind the scenes, a variety of mobile software developers were studiously working those weeks away on new applications for the much-anticipated device. Now, less than a month later, Verizon has updated and improved the Storm OS, and many of those apps are starting to pop up on the Web. Best of all: Many of them are free.

Not all of the following applications were developed specifically for the Storm, but each and every one functions well on the device--with the exception of a few minor bugs. I've mentioned most of the apps in previous free BlackBerry software stories, but that was before the Storm landed and before anyone knew whether or not they'd work on RIM's first touch BlackBerry.

(Note: All of our recommended applications were downloaded and tested using a Verizon Wireless BlackBerry Storm 9530 running OS 4.7.0.75, the latest official Verizon release.)

WeatherBug for BlackBerry Storm: Makin' it Rain

One of my personal favorite free BlackBerry applications, WeatherBug is a unique and valuable mobile weather app. The software creates a dynamic icon on your BlackBerry home screen that updates itself according to your local weather conditions--or the weather conditions in a pre-specified locale. For instance, when it's partially cloudy, your WeatherBug icon displays an image of the sun with a cloud eclipsing it, as well as the current temperature and the day's predicted high and low. And when the weather changes, the icon is automatically modified accordingly.

The software pulls its information from the company's WeatherBug Network, which it claims is the largest, most technologically advanced weather system in the world, at more than five times the size of even the U.S. National Weather Service.

WeatherBug is available for a variety of BlackBerry devices, but the Storm specific-version is different in that you can employ touch-based gestures for navigation. And the app utilizes the Storm's built-in accelerometer to determine the device's orientation--portrait (vertical) or landscape (horizontal)--and customize the display accordingly.

Additional WeatherBug features include the ability to view a weather summary for the current day, with metrics like dew point, wind chill/heat index and humidity levels; seven day forecasts; maps with numerous overlays including current temperature and precipitation; and local weather alerts.

WeatherBug for the BlackBerry Storm is available for free over-the-air (OTA) download via the BlackBerry browser.

Viigo for BlackBerry Storm: The Ultimate Lifestyle App

I've mentioned Viigo many times on my blog and in various mobile tips and tricks articles, for good reason: The application is by far my favorite mobile RSS reader.

I won't get into too much detail about that software--there's plenty of information on Viigo available in those other stories--but Viigo is much more than just a simple RSS reader. For example Viigo provides a variety of weather information; sports schedules, live scores and standings; stocks and finance data; flights and travel updates; and much more.

And the Storm-specific version of Viigo--though still in alpha testing stages and a bit buggy--takes advantage of a number of the device's unique features to improve an already impressive user experience. Storm users can scroll through stories in an RSS feed by simply swiping a finger across the screen to the left for newer stories and to the right for older ones. And the app works with the Storm accelerometer, so you can switch back and forth between portrait and landscape modes.

The most notable bug that I spotted was fact that you consistently need to tap the BlackBerry Escape key twice to return to previous screens--after hitting it only once, the screen often freezes midway through the transition between pages.

Surf on over to GetViigo.com using your Storm's BlackBerry browser for a free download.

Facebook for BlackBerry Storm: Mobile Social Networking Done Right

One of the few apps officially available through Verizon's on-device BlackBerry Application Center, Facebook for BlackBerry is also one of the most popular.

That's because it brings most of the social networking site's basic functionality directly into the palm of your hand. Though not as robust as the real Facebook site--you can't access groups, for example--the mobile application displays your home screen notifications, such as status updates, and you can "poke" or message friends and write on their "Walls." Lists of friends and their status updates are also available with a single click from the mobile home screen. Photo uploading and sharing is as simple as snapping an image with your smartphone's camera and uploading it to the site from the application's home screen.

The Storm-specific version of Facebook for BlackBerry, though not exactly feature-rich, runs seamlessly on the device. It incorporates the Storm accelerometer to let users employ both portrait and landscape views. And uploading photos is significantly more interesting than with other BlackBerrys due to the Storm's 3.2 megapixel digital camera--the highest quality camera of any RIM device.

Flickr for BlackBerry Storm: Strike a Pose

The Flickr Photo Uploader for BlackBerry is a free, yet truly valuable mobile photo uploading application that works in conjunction with Yahoo's online photo storage and sharing service.

To upload images stored on your device or media card, just launch the app, locate the photos and tap an upload command. You can give photos custom names, choose privacy settings--Private, Friends, Family, etc.--and even select the size in which you want the image to appear. Within a minute or so, the photo will be available on your Flickr page.

The Storm-specific version of Flickr Photo Uploader for BlackBerry is exactly the same as the general BlackBerry app, except it utilizes the Storm's accelerometer to let users pick between portrait and landscape orientations.

Flickr for BlackBerry is available for free on RIM's website, as well as through Verizon's on-device BlackBerry Application Center, and all you need is a Flickr account, which is also free.

TwitterBerry on the BlackBerry Storm: Reach Out and "Tweet" Somebody

At this point, if you've never heard of the social networking/microblogging service Twitter, you'd be wise to perform a quick Google search on the subject. Go ahead, I'll wait.

TwitterBerry, a free, easy-to-use mobile application for BlackBerry, offers much of the same functionality as the standard, desktop Twitter. With a single click from the BlackBerry home screen, you can input Twitter updates.

Replies to status updates, as well as timelines of their latest posts and the last public posts, are available through the TwitterBerry menu, which is accessed via the BlackBerry menu key. You can even refresh timelines without ever leaving them and set your own custom TwitterBerry notifications.

While there's no Storm-specific version of TwitterBerry quite yet, version 0.8--the latest official release--works well on RIM's touch screen device. But since it's not built for the Storm, the app does not work with the handset's accelerometer, which means it's only viewable in portrait mode.

Unfortunately, that means the default keyboard option is the dreaded SureType keyboard--though multitap format is also available. You also cannot hide the keypad, which takes up half of your total screen real estate.

You can download TwitterBerry OTA from Orangatame Software.

[ For more information on additional mobile Twitter applications, read "The Best (Free) Mobile Twitter Apps for BlackBerry, iPhone, Windows Mobile."
FREE CIO BlackBerry Newsletter Get better use out of your BlackBerry and keep up-to-date on the latest developments. Sign-up » ]

WorldMate Live: A Travel Maestro

The WorldMate Live service aims to simplify the lives of frequent travelers by automatically delivering a variety of valuable content and services to mobile devices. Free features include the My Itineraries function, which stores information on flights, hotels, meetings, public transportation and car rentals on BlackBerrys. The application also lets you export travel information from booking confirmation e-mails, corporate calendars and more, directly into WorldMate Live, and it automatically assembles your itineraries. You can even read hotel reviews from other WorldMate Live users and then book a residence directly from the application.

The "Clocks" feature provides the current time and weather for one set location, as well as the time differences in four additional cities of the your choice. The Weather function offers a five day forecast for any major city, and the currency converter quickly translates U.S. dollars into Euros or Japanese yen and back again.

Finally, a full color, searchable map of the world provides locations of cities as well as the date and time of day in each selected location.

The Storm-specific version of WorldMate Live is exactly like the general BlackBerry version, and it doesn't use the Storm accelerometer so you can only view the application in landscape mode, for now.

Download WorldMate Live OTA for the BlackBerry Storm by visiting the company's site via BlackBerry Browser.

You Can Never Have Too Many Browsers

The BlackBerry browser that ships along with BlackBerry OS 4.7 on the Storm works significantly better than previous versions of RIM's Web surfing app. However, some of those earlier versions were so weak that I became accustomed to--and even fond of--Opera Software's free Opera Mini browser.

So naturally, Opera Mini was one of the first BlackBerry apps I installed on the Storm. Unfortunately, though the latest version of the software, v4.2, works on the device, it's not Storm-specific: therefore, some of the browser's most basic functions don't work as well as they should--or at all. For example, zooming in on pages using Opera Mini on a BlackBerry typically calls for a few clicks of the trackball. But the Storm is trackball-less and clicking the screen doesn't zoom like you might expect.

The app does, however, work with the Storm's accelerometer, so you can view pages in both portrait and landscape modes. But beware of switching orientation while a page is loading, as it could keep the page from rendering correctly. In fact, if you do change your screen orientation from portrait to landscape while loading a page, or vice versa, an on-screen dialogue box warns you that you may want to reload the page in the current orientation.

Like newer versions of the BlackBerry browser, Opera Mini gives you a tiny cursor that you can move around to any spot or link on a page, instead of having to scroll up and down to get to the links you want. Alternatively, you can also use a number of keypad shortcuts for navigation--however, this is a bit awkward since the Storm's keyboard takes up valuable screen space.

Though not perfect for the Storm, Opera Mini's a valid alternative to the default BlackBerry browser.

Download Opera Mini OTA via BlackBerry browser from Opera Software's website.

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Google shows early version of Chrome 2.0

Following the full release of Chrome in December, Google has made available an early test version of Chrome 2.0, which overhauls the way the browser handles HTTP and adds functionality such as auto-complete in fields.

Released quietly via Google's Chrome developer channel, the early access code has an updated version of the WebKit rendering engine, and new network code to provide a cross-platform implementation of the HTTP protocol.

The new version, build 2.0.156.1, also implements auto-complete in text fields, a feature rival browsers have had for some time. It also now correctly implements the zoom feature so that everything on the page scales together, according to Google's release notes.

Google said that the new version of Chrome supports faster and more reliable Safe Browsing that uses the disk less often, while users can open new browser Windows with different profiles for different uses.

The new version of Chrome is available via Google’s developer preview channel and is likely to prove less stable than even beta versions of software, so downloaders should use it with caution.

Copyright © 2008 vnunet.com

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AMD supercomputer drives HD content to mobiles

AMD has teamed with content developer OTOY to build a supercomputer that will make it possible to port high-definition content wirelessly to mobile devices.

The ‘massively parallel supercomputer’, dubbed AMD Fusion Render Cloud, ‘is being designed to break the one petaFLOPS barrier, and to process a million compute threads across more than 1,000 graphics processors’, according to AMD chief Dirk Meyer.

“We anticipate it to be the fastest graphics supercomputer ever,” said Meyer.

“We plan to have this system ready by the second half of 2009.”

The system is being designed to enable content providers to deliver video games and other graphically-intensive applications hosted in the cloud to virtually any type of mobile device with a web browser.

These devices are typically unable to store and process such content due to device size, battery capacity, and processing power, said Meyer.

It's anticipated that gaming companies will use the supercomputer to develop and deploy next-generation games, create photo-realistic virtual worlds, and take advantage of the mobile delivery channel for complex gaming products.

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