Sony has developped a new phone… or mouse… They have developped a mouse, that can be used as a phone for programs like Skype. The idea sounds interesting, though, how would you accept a call with your mouse, if you’re calling? Or how can you make a call while you’re mousing?

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Source: Akihabara News via Flexbeta

Microsoft plans to market several versions of Vista but will distribute all of the OS bits with every product shipped so users can easily unlock and step up to more full-featured versions using electronic keys, sources said. “No matter which edition you buy you get all the bits and a key to unlock it. Everyone will have all the bits,” said one source familiar with Microsoft’s plans. “Right now we maintain master images for each version of Windows XP and it’s a lot of work. Now there’s just one master image.”

Having a master Windows Vista operating system means customers that buy PCs preloaded with one Vista SKU, Home Basic, for example, will be able to punch their credit card into a Microsoft Web site to unlock Vista Home Premium and more speedily deploy media center features without an on-site visit or requiring a wipe and reload of the system. The impact on the channel will be “huge” since partners will no longer have to support multiple Windows images for each customer or do reloads, sources familiar with Microsoft’s plans said this week. It will also make up-selling much easier and vastly expand channel opportunities, the sources said.

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Source: CRN via MSFN

Google Pack is a free collection of essential software from Google. Enjoy safe, useful software for your computer. You can download and install everything (choose only the software you want) in just a few clicks.

The package includes software from Google: Google Earth, Picasa, Google Desktop, Google Toolbar for IE, Google Talk, Google Video Player and a Google Screensaver. It also includes other software: Mozilla Firefox with Google Toolbar, Ad Aware SE Personal, Norton Antivirus 2005 Special Edition, Adobe Reader 7, RealPlayer, GalleryPlayer HD Images, and Trillian.

Download: Google Pack Beta

“We were indeed very shocked when we managed to see and feel the beta of Explorer 7.0.”

The key thing is tab browsing that looks and feels like you are using Firefox. Even the search button at the left hand side looks and fells like this free browser. Just as in Firefox you can ad search engines.

There are some extra features as its easier to block the nasty sites and the RSS button is more accusable. Of course you can bookmark tabs as well.

Those who likes Firefox will like the new Explorer no doubt about it but so far I haven’t seen anything really revolutionary. If you don’t have one you can download Firefox today and practise for Explorer 7.0.

Source: The Inquirer via Flexbeta

Call it a flickr.com for the unwilling: Users of P-to-P (peer-to-peer) networks are finding photos stored in shared folders are being published on a new voyeuristic Web site that went live a few days ago, but the site may violate laws, a legal expert said. Fitography.com is perhaps another example of how the Internet can be both prying and surprising. Since it started Dec. 30, reams of searchable photos have been posted, running the gamut from the mundane to the eccentric to the slightly disturbing: an outdoor barbecue, a crowd at a Pearl Jam concert; a group of U.S. Army soldiers posing with actor Denzel Washington, a woman giving birth in an operating room.

In a Thursday news release announcing the site’s launch, the webmaster is identified as Brad Gosse of Yourbrain Media Inc., a company based in Orangeville, Ontario. Gosse is quoted in the release as warning users of P-to-P networks such as Limewire and Kazaa to be careful what photos they place in the shared folders of those applications. P-to-P programs typically have a folder that allow remote users to access and download that content, but users can turn off the file-sharing feature.

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Source: InfoWorld via MSFN

Microsoft announced that it would release a security update to help protect customers from exploitations of a vulnerability in the Windows Meta File (WMF) area of code in the Windows operating system on Tuesday, January 2, 2006, in response to malicious and criminal attacks on computer users that were discovered last week.

Microsoft originally planned to release the update on Tuesday, January 10, 2006 as part of its regular monthly release of security bulletins, once testing for quality and application compatibility was complete. However, testing has been completed earlier than anticipated and the update is ready for release. In addition, Microsoft is releasing the update early in response to strong customer sentiment that the release should be made available as soon as possible.

View: Knowledge Base
Download: Windows XP | Windows Server 2003 | Windows 2000 | Win XP x64
Source: MSFN

Asustek Computer, a leading maker of computer components, recently announced an innovation that has been around for years, but was never implemented. The company installed graphics processor on the backside of the Extreme N6600TOP Silent graphics card, which is expected to provide better cooling.

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Source: X-Bit Labs via Flexbeta

Microsoft Corp. said today it does not plan to release a fix for the Windows Metafile (WMF) flaw until Jan. 10, when a patch will be included as part of the company’s scheduled monthly updates for January. Microsoft has completed development of a patch for the flaw and is now testing it for quality and application compatibility, the company said in an advisory updating an earlier advisory released last week. The update will be available at Microsoft’s Download Center in 23 languages for all affected versions of the Windows operating system.

“Microsoft has been carefully monitoring the attempted exploitation of the WMF vulnerability since it became public last week, through its own forensic capabilities and through partnerships within the industry and law enforcement,” the company said in its statement. ” Although the issue is serious and malicious attacks are being attempted, Microsoft’s intelligence sources indicate that the scope of the attacks are not widespread.”

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Source: Computer World via MSFN

This week a new vulnerability was found in Windows: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/se…ry/912840.mspx. Browsing the web was not safe anymore, regardless of the browser. Microsoft will certainly come up with a thouroughly tested fix for it in the future, but meanwhile I developed a temporary fix - I badly needed it. The fix does not remove any functionality from the system, all pictures will continue to be visible. It should work for Windows 2000, XP 32-bit, XP 64-bit, and Windows Server 2003.

Technical details: this is a DLL which gets injected to all processes loading user32.dll. It patches the Escape() function in gdi32.dll. The result of the patch is that the SETABORT escape sequence is not accepted anymore. If for some reason the patch does not work for you, please uninstall it. It will be in the list of installed programs as “Windows WMF Metafile Vulnerability HotFix”.

Download: Windows WMF Metafile Vulnerability HotFix
Source: MSFN

Well, another year has just begun, and I would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year, and hope the new year brings what you want.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!