July 2008 Newsletter
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Research in Motion has announced the coming of The Bold (9000), a traditional BlackBerry with a keyboard. It is believed that AT&T will be the exclusive provider. There is also word that they are developing The Thunder (9500), an iPhone-style touchscreen, is rumored to be available Q3 of this year, and may be exclusive to Verizon.
The Bold got its odd name from focus-group testing, where participants consistently used the word to describe the Bold's new super-sharp screen. The new BlackBerry Bold compares favorably to features of the iPhone, while maintaining an 8800-style curved keyboard, with increased space between the keys. Metal bands "of the size and shape of guitar frets" have been added between each row of keys. The Bold will include 3G internet access and a new web browser. Flash support will be added soon. The Bold will also include a seriously upgraded CPU running at 624MHz, compared to 312MHz for the Curve.
The Thunder will likely include 3.5 or possibly 4G (faster downloads) network capability, on top of the Bold's features. iPhone users may be swayed to switch to the Thunder because of its similar profile. The Thunder will include special media friendly features, like a headphone jack, and dedicated play/pause buttons. More details will become available as the device’s release date approaches.
In addition to the hardware, RIM has upgraded the Bold's styling. The back of the device is now leatherette, which will keep it in place when out of its holder. The backings will be changeable, allowing people to customize their phones. "Always On" GPS will come with every phone as well.
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A software program called “System Antivirus 2008” is spyware masquerading as a legitimate software program. It infects computers by coming in through pop ups and regular windows notifications that appear while surfing the web, prompting users to respond for e.g. pop up asking user to either say Yes or No. Regardless of the user response the spyware gets installed. It then tries to hijack your Internet Browser by changing your default home page, rerouting URLs to sites different from the intended, affecting computer performance and also keeping track of users’ web activity. That’s why removing this spyware is important and entails running spyware removal programs like Panda Internet Security.
In addition, certain files and registry entries need to be manually removed to fully remove the spyware. This caveat is due to the sensitive nature of some DLL files and registry entries. It is possible the removal of the program may require Windows to be reinstalled.
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Apple has announced a new version of the iPhone, which will be available July 11. The new iPhone will include GPS, 3G internet connectivity, and support for Microsoft Exchange Server. The iPhone’s software will also be upgraded, with support for “push email” ala BlackBerry, and integration with the iTunes store. The phone will also include support for VPNs while connecting to Exchange Server.
New iPhones will be available from Apple for $199, with an AT&T service contract. AT&T is charging $30 for an unlimited data plan, $10 more than before to access the Internet on the faster 3G network. That means that over the course of a two-year contract, users will actually pay $240 more for the iPhone 3G, wiping out the $200 price cut for the phone itself.
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YouTube Downloader is a free program that enables people to download videos from YouTube and other video sharing websites, and convert them into a more portable format. Simple to use, after installing it, just designate the URL of the video you want to download, and it will save the video to your desktop. The videos can then be converted to Quicktime, AVI, etc., for phone and computer viewing.
The program can be downloaded for free from http://youtubedownload.altervista.org/.
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Do you have a computer virus? |
Malware, spyware, and viruses are becoming more common. From Microsoft Research a checklist to determine if your computer may have a virus:
- Your computer runs more slowly than normal
- Your computer stops responding or locks up often
- Your computer crashes and restarts every few minutes
- Your computer restarts on its own and then fails to run normally
- Applications on your computer don't work correctly
- Disks or disk drives are inaccessible
- You can't print correctly
- You see unusual error messages
- You see distorted menus and dialog boxes
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TokBox is a new site that allows users for free to conduct live video chats, or record messages for later, from any PC with a camera. It allows you to set up a video chat channel in seconds by going in TokBox’s web site. You can register yourself by entering your first and the last names, email address and password. The service does need a camera and microphone, if they did not come with your PC or laptop.
Once logged in, you have three choices: call someone, send a video message or start a conference. All three involve little more than clicking, dragging or pasting. Clicking “Video Message” will get you a display of your live image in the window and then you can invite friends by using their email addresses. Clicking “Call Anyone” opens a similar screen into which you can drag names from your friends’ lists or import from AIM or other Web mail services. Clicking “Conference” opens a larger screen and you are given the URL of the conference, which you can email or IM to friends. A maximum of six people can comfortably participate in a conference at once.
Other features include the “Meet New People” option. Simply clicking a box can make you available to the whole world. You can then see people all over the world who are online and want to talk. The TokBox service puts video chat into the hands of business people everywhere, and will likely have a transformative effect on business communications as people become familiar with the idea.
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Creating Quick Access Tool Bar Icons |
For repetitive tasks in Microsoft, Office users can add buttons for those to the “Quick Access” tool bar. This is located on top of the Ribbon above the menu. By clicking on the dropdown arrow to the right on of the pre-existing buttons, additional buttons can be added for most used features e.g. print preview, spelling and grammar, etc. By clicking on the “More Commands” in the drop down menu you can select from a larger variety of features and have their button appear on the Quick Access Bar. The Ribbon is available on Microsoft Office, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint.
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