Category: Software
Windows 7 themed episode of Family Guy coming soon
The marmite of animated comedy is set to split critics once again as Seth McFarlane, creator of Family Guy, confirmed that a Windows 7 themed, Microsoft sponsored episode of the irreverent TV show will air soon.
Microsoft pulls discount pricing and confirms no Euro Vista upgrade option
Microsoft has pulled its Windows 7 discount pricing after apparently overwhelming demand lead to its online store crashing and has continued its EC hissy-fit confirming that their will be no Vista to 7 upgrade option.
Microsoft claim that they sold more copies of Windows 7 in the first eight hours than it did in 17 weeks in 2006 with a simliar offer for Windows Vista.
The blogosphere is already awash with rumours that actually, Microsoft were going to do it all along, to the fan the flames of hype around 7. Hype which hasn’t been seen for a Microsoft OS since Windows 98.
And after pulling IE 8 from the Euro version of 7 following their EC anticompetitive fine, Microsoft have also said that there will be no Vista upgrade option in Europe.
Although Windows 7 will be released in Europe for the price of an upgrade package in the rest of world.
Microsoft’s Leila Martine said: “What we are saying is ‘we don’t care as a consumer if you had Windows Vista or not because we can’t tell that and we don’t want to penalise you for our decision to take IE8 out of the Wndows 7 E version and to not give an upgrade option.”
You can still download the release candidate which will work until late next, and which I have partitioned onto my macbook HD. Aren’t I cool?
I’m not cool.
(Via PcAdvisor)
Easy image manipulation software: five of the best
1. Adobe Photoshop Elements [PC / Mac]
Photoshop? Easy?
There’s no denying that the various flavours of Photoshop contain some very advanced features, but in fact it’s possible to do basic image and photo editing and manipulation plus a range of “fancy” things without a whole lot of training.
Photoshop Elements is a cut-down version of the full-blown package which means it doesn’t have as many features but it’s also cheaper. In fact, it often comes bundled with digital cameras.
Get to grips with the basics of Photoshop Elements and you may well find yourself wanting to delve deeper into its powerful tools.
Ease of use: 3/5
Features: 5/5
Price: Latest version around £60, may be bundled. PC / Mac
TweetDeck versus Seesmic: battle of the Twitter apps
TweetDeck and Seesmic are desktop clients designed to make communicating on Twitter and managing your accounts easier.
Here they go, head to head: TweetDeck version 0.26 versus Seesmic version 0.4.
Look & Feel
Both TweetDeck and Seesmic are built using the Adobe AIR platform, and have a similar look and feel.
Seemsic appears to have more subtleties designed to make it easier to decipher tweets from multiple accounts at once, yet neither application is hugely customisable when it comes to the overall look.
If you only run a single Twitter account then seeing how applications handle multiple accounts won’t matter to you, but if you’re a “power user” handling two or more active accounts, you’ll find Seesmic offers more options for handling them.
Both applications let you view columns for each account’s tweets, replies, direct messages and so on, but Seesmic also allows you to view a single stream of messages from all your accounts at once, ordered by the time tweets arrive.
Whether this works for you depends on how you like to view accounts, but at least you have the option. TweetDeck (currently) doesn’t offer this.
Windows 7 for pre-order tomorrow from £49.99
Anyone planning to buy themselves a copy of Windows 7 needs to be on their mark at midnight tonight. From 12:01am on Wednesday 15th July, you can pre-order a copy of Windows 7 Home Premium for £49.99 or Windows 7 Professional £99.99 saving yourself up to £120.
They haven’t said how many cheaper copies there’ll be but have quoted that “stocks are limited”. So, with RRP set at £149.99 and £219.99, the smart move is to get in fast.
If you don’t fancy it, there’s probably still time to download a free copy of the Windows 7 RC and that’ll last you a year before you have to do something about getting a new one. Otherwise, get yourself over to the Windows 7 pre-order site tonight or to any of their UK partners below is stocks run thin.
Windows 7 pre-order sites UK
Amazon
Currys
Dixons
Micro Anvika
PC World
Play.com
Tesco
Microsoft
Top 10 iPhone music apps
After yesterday's mammoth list of the 101 best iPhone apps we decided there was a little bit more room… for a list of the iPhone's top 10 music applications. These are apps that help you to listen to or discover…
The Microsoft rumour-mill goes into overdrive
Following Google’s Chrome OS announcement yesterday, there is much speculation on the web today that Microsoft is going to make a big announcement of their own at their conference on Monday.
The rumours began after notorious tech-blogger Robert Scoble claimed via FriendFeed to have some information regarding a possible announcement to his pal Diego. “Diego, no, it’s one of Microsoft’s primary businesses,” he wrote. “Did you know Microsoft has 14 billion dollar businesses?”
Reports are now suggesting the Microsoft may be announcing a new version of Office that not only syncs via the cloud, but will work in the cloud without the need for any actual software to be installed.
If true, this would be a major attack on Google Docs. It’s interesting to note that the domain office.com has recently been sold and is currently unoccupied. I wonder…..
Be sure to visit Tech Digest on Monday where we’ll be bringing you any important news from the Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference in New Orleans.
(via TechCrunch)
The 101 best iPhone apps in the world today
In celebration of the App Store turning one this weekend, and in an attempt to try to prove to Dan that it’s not a load of novelty nonsense, I now present to you the 101 best iPhone apps in the world today.
Quite some claim, huh? I know that one of your favourites won’t be listed here, and you’ll be shocked, appalled or just mildly ticked off that I’ve dared to include X or Y by Company Z, but there you go — that’s lists for you…
Google Chrome OS to take on Windows from 2010
Google has announced plans today to launch an entire computer operating system under the Chrome banner to take the fight to Microsoft’s very heartland. It’s initially aimed at netbooks but it’s pretty clear that the grand plan is total PC domination.
Being Google the platform will be entirely open source with the code available to developers in the coming weeks. It’ll be a light-weight system, presumably with a strong emphasis on the a software suite in the cloud. Small wonder we saw Gmail and the Docs leave beta yesterday.
Their aim is to produce something from the bottom up for the always-connected web generation of computing, something that, unlike Windows, does not rely on a core architecture already known for its weakness to malware. To do both Microsoft and Google some justice here though, Windows has been redeveloped quite some number of times and it’s not as if Chrome OS is going to be a completely fresh start. It’s already based on Linux which has been around for years.
What’s more, one of the reasons Windows is more susceptible to attack than any other OS is because 90% of computers run it. It makes sense for hackers to aim their guns at it. The same will be true for any OS with majority market share.
Presumably Chrome OS will be free which is the real bonus to us all. It’ll also have PC manufacturers rubbing their hands with glee as they’ll no longer have to pay whacking great licenses to Microsoft. Doubtless that saving will also be passed on to us.
I’m not saying that Google are the good guys but it makes little difference who out of them and Gates, Ballmer & Co. has the monopoly. So, I’ll stick with the one who charges me less and, besides, I’ve had enough of scratching around for product keys on lost CD cases.
(via Gblog)
Gmail comes out of beta
I know, I know. Pick up your jaw. We’d all rather got used to the fact that Gmail and all the Google apps were in some sort of permanent beta over the last five years. Google has now decided that the time is right for their web software to be fully-fledged in its own right but not because it’s passed a bunch of tests.
It seems that all sorts of potential users – largely in the corporate world – might have been put off by the idea of using software that was only half ready or half safe or experimental or whatever the connotation might have been. So, by removing the label, Google hopes to be removing the stigma too.
They promise to continue developing their mail and office products all the same but those of a nervous disposition may now use the joy of the software in piece. If you haven’t, I heartily recommend you do.
