Gregarius » BetaNews.Com » mars 21, 2013

BetaNews.Com (15 non lus)

Have you noticed more ads on your Mac?

Publié: mars 21, 2013, 9:18pm CET par Alan Buckingham

If you are on a Mac and using either the Apple-supplied Safari browser, or one of the popular alternatives like Firefox or Chrome, then you may have begun noticing some unexpected ads in the browser lately. Hopefully not, because it spells bad news for you, and that news is Trojan.yontoo.1.

Security firm Doctor Web is credited with the discovery of this latest attack on the Apple ecosystem. Like many Trojans though, it requires the user to make mistakes in order to get a foothold on the system. In fact, the cardinal mistake, clicking on a pop-up plugin message, is the culprit.

In order to pull this off, Doctor Web reports that "criminals crafted movie trailer pages that prompt users to install a browser plugin. In fact, the prompt only imitates a common dialogue displayed when a plugin needs to be installed or additional configuration is necessary. After clicking on ‘Install the plug-in’, the user is redirected to another site from which Trojan.Yontoo.1 is downloaded". In addition, the Trojan is also now being spread by downloads of a media player, a video quality enhancement program or a download accelerator.

Once infected, computer's browsers begin to display fake ads on many websites, including Apple.com. The Trojan then injects ads into those pages using third-party code. This allows the attackers to collect unauthorized ad views on nearly any website they want.

While all of us on Windows have grown accustomed to all of this, it remains new for those customers who opt for Apple hardware and software. However, there has been a growing number of attacks on OS X, including the recent, and rather embarrassing Java exploit, that hit Apple back in February.

Screenshot: Doctor Web
Lose something on you PC? Recent Files Scanner has your back

Publié: mars 21, 2013, 8:47pm CET par Mike Williams

You’ve lost that important document you were working on yesterday; you’re wondering which files a program is accessing; or maybe you’d just like to know what someone else has been doing on your PC. There are many reasons why you might want to know which files have been created, modified or accessed on your PC -- and Recent Files Scanner is just the tool to help.

To get a feel for how the program works, just launch it and click the green Scan button. By default it will scan your Documents folder and any subfolders, and you’ll quickly be looking at a report listing everything you’ve modified recently.

Click Settings and you can customise your scan, setting details like the folder to check, and the search depth (the folder only, 1 level, 10 and so on).

There’s an option to set the range of dates that interests you. This is initially set to the last week, but you can change this to the last day, three days, 5 days around last Christmas, whatever you like.

And elsewhere there are include and exclude filters; you can specify content which the file must include; you’re able to decide which file date to check (created, modified or accessed), and more. Click the Start button again to try the new settings.

The report you’ll produce from this isn’t just a text list. Right-click any file and you’ll find options to open it, view its containing folder, check the file’s properties, view a preview (for images) and more.

And if this still isn’t enough, click the binoculars icon and the program will monitor whatever folders you’ve specified, displaying newly created, changed or modified files in real time.

There are some oddities here. In particular, the program didn’t always work as we expected, either intermittently refusing to scan the path C:\ and replacing this with its own Program Files folder. We couldn’t figure out why, though -- other root folder scans worked fine, as did monitoring subfolders -- so this might be a specific issue with our test system.

Recent Files Scanner has some issues, then, but if you can live with its quirks (or perhaps avoid them entirely) then you’ll find a capable tool, very useful for monitoring file-related activity.

Photo Credit: megainarmy/Shutterstock
Nokia Lumia 920 arrived and I'm thrilled

Publié: mars 21, 2013, 8:27pm CET par Mihaita Bamburic

Not even during my time as a child opening up presents from under the Christmas tree have I ever been so thrilled and pleased about a new toy as I am today. Some of you may call me a fool for trying to mend a close-to-broken relationship, but I gave Windows Phone 8 another try and purchased a Nokia Lumia 920. And, oh boy, do I feel like a fool for buying the HTC Windows Phone 8X two months ago.

At its core, the Nokia Lumia 920 is still a Windows Phone 8-based smartphone but the overall experience that exudes from using it is totally different compared to what I am used to. The Lumia is bulkier, heavier and better built than most smartphones on the market today, all while telling a different software story than the Windows Phone 8X, which now feels agricultural. Depending on where your preference lies that may either be a desirable trait or big no-no.

Aesthetics matter, they matter a lot to me because when I pay serious coin to get a device that I will use for a long time to come and especially extended periods of time (calling, browsing, etc.). I want that device to feel special. And the Lumia 920 does feel special. Place it alongside any other smartphone on the market right now, and even in the boring shade of black, this Nokia still stands out.

The button placement, even though still not ideal, is good. The camera, power and volume keys (which have a ceramic finish) are on the right side of the Lumia 920, within reach to make one-handed use possible (unlike the Windows Phone 8X). The polycarbonate shell feels great in the hand and does not creak under pressure.

The display, which comes with the PureMotion HD+ and ClearBlack technology, makes colors pop but for AMOLED fans there may be too much bleeding at high brightness (meaning black is not as deep). There's also more saturation, which makes the display feel closer to AMOLED settings because of the warmer rather than colder color reproduction.

At a first glance the camera is pretty good, although I'm not convinced just by snapping a few pics here and there (my cat loves to pose) and will reserve the final judgement for a in-depth review. Nokia's approach to camera (photo and video) settings is also different and embodies a less-is-more approach by delivering fewer customizable options compared to the software on the Windows Phone 8X, so that's another aspect to consider for customization freaks.

The Nokia collection inside the app store is the opposite of HTC's equivalent. There are 58 apps available from the Finnish manufacturer, whereas the Taiwanese counterpart only offers a freaking six. A simple math calculus reveals a difference of 52 apps between the two. For now, I leave you with these numbers and I will come back to them in a future and more comprehensive story comparing the Windows Phone 8X to the Lumia 920.

There are two things that I'm not a big fan of right now. First is the carrier branding (I ordered the Lumia 920 through a local mobile operator) which even though is subtle, I can't help but notice that it's there. Maybe it's my OCD in keeping things as close to stock as possible, but I want that branding gone. And, second, is that 4G LTE is disabled on my unit likely until Nokia releases an updated firmware to enable the functionality.

I'm convinced that as time goes by and the initial rush and excitement slowly settles down to the normal parameters I shall find more faults to pick with the Lumia 920, but so far I think that it may just be my last smartphone this year. Of course, I also had the same thought a couple of times before and look where I am now.

Photo Credit: Mihaita Bamburic
Microsoft details how much of your data the Feds want

Publié: mars 21, 2013, 7:07pm CET par Alan Buckingham

Last month Google released a transparency report revealing how often law enforcement inquires about users' private data. Hint: it's more often than you want to believe. Not to be outdone, today Microsoft posts its own data, which the company refers to as the "2012 Law Enforcement Requests Report".

While the number of requests may seem staggering, there is some perspective to be had in all of this. First the raw data reported -- "Microsoft and Skype received a total of 75,378 law enforcement requests. Those requests potentially impacted 137,424 accounts". Sounds rather high doesn't it?

However, Microsoft is a huge company, with vast web properties, so that number, large as it may seem, includes only 0.02 percent of active users. The company has many hundreds of millions of accounts across its online and cloud services. Even more promising for privacy advocates, the company claims to have disclosed content in only 2.2 percent of the instances. Also while Microsoft operates in over a hundred countries around the world, the company discloses data in just 46 -- rest assured that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will not be receiving the software giant's help.

Microsoft reports that the "data covers law enforcement requests and/or court orders Microsoft received in calendar year 2012 related to our online and cloud services – including, for example, Hotmail/Outlook.com, SkyDrive, Xbox Live, Microsoft Account, Messenger and Office 365".

The small percentage of users affected, and the even tinier amount of data disclosed, is heartening. We all want law enforcement to be able to do its job when it comes to stopping terrorists and hackers, we just don't want them snooping on the average citizen because he or she happens to have political or religious leanings that they find unagreeable.

Photo Credit: Lasse Kristensen/Shut
Happy Birthday! Twitter turns 7

Publié: mars 21, 2013, 6:49pm CET par Joe Wilcox

I've been on Twitter so long, I forgot just how short a time that really is -- or how much has changed since March 21, 2006. The service claims 200 million active users tweeting 400 million times a day. But the real measure is much larger -- how Twitter, and other innovations arriving around the same time, fundamentally changed billions of lives five to seven years later.

The service's editorial director, Karen Wickre, calls Twitter a "global town square", which is appropriate description. People gather to look, listen, gossip, grab news or listen to the town crier. I've often grumbled about the 140-character limitation, but brevity has benefits. Statements are succinct. No one talks on and on and on without interruption. If anything, butting in defines Twitter interaction. You will be heard whether or not anyone wants you to be.

"The percentage of internet users who are on Twitter has doubled since November 2010, currently standing at 16 percent", according to Pew Internet. Eighteen to 29 year-olds (27 percent), African Americans (26 percent) and urbanites (20 percent) are most-likely to use the social network. This pales in comparison to Facebook -- 67 percent of U.S. Internet users and 86 percent of 18-29 year-olds.

Twitter's start marks a golden age of innovation that transforms the lives of a large chunk of the earth's population. Facebook and Twitter opened to the public the same year -- 2006. YouTube did the same at the end of November 2005, but Google's acquisition 11 months later took the service everywhere. Then in June 2007, Apple released iPhone, which forever changed mobile devices. All the while, Google pushed forward development of Android and Chrome, which came to market in late 2008. Eveything today is different because of these products -- and others surrounding them.

I remember how hard watching video online was before YouTube. Now every major TV network streams programs, while services like Amazon, Hulu and Netflix develop compelling, original programs for streaming not traditional broadcast. YouTube is the global pulse of original video content, with the service now claiming 1 billion unique visitors a month. Facebook's 1 billion number is more -- unique users. While Twitter's reach isn't as wide, its impact, particularly as a tool used with the others, cannot be overstated.

The first real sense of what these tools could mean for connecting people, getting out information and even how it's reported the world over came in summer 2009 on the streets of Tehran. The best reporting on the Iranian protests wasn't from CNN or many news organizations but Flickr, Twitpic, Twitter and YouTube. Tweets, images and videos poured out in real time. Where did CNN get some of its best material? Citizen journalists, like this story and images from CNN’s citizen-driven iReport.

The process repeated during the Arab Spring -- protests erupting across the Middle East during early 2011 -- and to many events since. Where once white men in suits controlled editorial content appearing on TV or in newspapers, these tools empower you. Twitter often is where major news breaks first. Much of this reporting comes via mobile devices. Where once TV stations sent out film crews, you can capture the moment by photos, videos or Tweets sent from your phone. Name a major event since 2009 for which Twitter played no part? There are none.

Something else: Twitter, along with Facebook, YouTube and other social sharing services, are valuable forensic tools -- for historians, journalists or law enforcement trying to reconstruct events. Imagine if these tools existed on Sept. 11, 2001. What if people trapped above the raging fires where the planes impacted the Twin Towers could have posted last-minute photos (via service like TwitPic) or videos (to YouTube) or messages to friends and family (Tweets and Facebook Wall). Forensic investigators could have used the videos to better reconstruct what happened to the towers and when, as they sought to understand what brought the towers down and what changes should be applied to future buildings.

Except for YouTube, none of these tools were available to the masses before March 21, 2006. Happy birthday, Twitter. We can't remember life without you.
What Eric Schmidt REALLY SAID about the future of Android and Chrome OS

Publié: mars 21, 2013, 4:34pm CET par Joe Wilcox

Eight days ago, Google dropped an atomic bomb on the Android Army, with Andy Rubin's sudden departure as commander-in-chief. Sundar Pichai, who is responsible for Chrome and Apps, assumed Android leadership. The change led to much speculation that the operating system would sometime soon merge with Chrome OS. As the fallout spreads, an answer arrives: The question is irrelevant.

Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt tells reporters in India that Android and Chrome OS will not merge but converge, says Reuter's Devidutta Tripathy. But there's no quote, just paraphrase, which worries me about context. Fortunately, there is a video that provides context and reveals a different priority: Chrome.

Someone asked Schmidt if either operating system would suffer Google Readers' fate. "No is the answer. We don't make decisions based on who the leader is". Google makes decisions "based on where the technology takes us".

From today's many new stories, which focus on the two operating systems remaining separate, you might assume Schmidt addresses question: "Will they merge?" Instead, he responds to one about a Google Reader-like execution and then changes direction.

"Chrome and Chromium are the world's best HTML5 development and authoring systems", he says. "You should be using Chrome. It's faster, it's safer, it's more secure than any of your other browser choices. In Android, which is more of a Java-like development environment, it solves a different problem".

This confirms what I observed last week. Rubin's stepping aside and Pichai taking responsibility is about the browser, not an OS merger. "There will be more commonality for sure, but they certainly are going to remain separate for a very, very long time", Schmidt says. "They solve different problems".

But the context for the problems solved is Chrome. On Android, "it" -- Chrome -- "solves a different problem". Google's go-forward platform of choice isn't Android or Chrome OS but the browser.

Chrome and Chromium fulfill Netscape's late-1990's vision for a browser-based platform, something Microsoft sought to prevent.

The browser, as development platform, can co-opt operating systems like iOS, OS X or Windows, while also fronting Chrome OS. The browser is more natural fit for Google services and anchors them anywhere.

By contrast, Android, while hugely popular, is constrained by OEM partners like Samsung. Google delivers fresh features to Chrome and Chrome OS users about every six weeks. Chrome Beta for Android updates are considerably more frequent.

Android updates are less frequent and carriers and device manufacturers logjam dispatch. For example, Jelly Bean, which released in July 2012, makes up just 25.5 percent of the devices accessing Google Play in the 14 days before March 5. Meanwhile, during fourth quarter, Samsung accounted for about 43 percent of Android smartphone sales, according to Gartner. Who primarily controls the user experience? Not Google.

Chrome, by contrast, is all about Google. The platform connects the company's core services and generates revenue via advertising. Chrome can go everywhere, and -- to re-emphasize -- co-opt other operating systems. The browser engine supports apps, too, whether web-based or running on Android.

I think Schmidt is decidedly clear about Google's platform of choice, which absolutely favors Chrome OS over Android long term. Chrome is why.
Google shutting down Reader is great news

Publié: mars 21, 2013, 3:48pm CET par Wayne Williams

I’m a big fan of Google Reader. I don’t just access it every day, I access it, probably on average, every couple of hours or so (and still do, despite my switch to Microsoft). I have hundreds of feeds in there, and thousands of stories starred. So really I should be gutted that Google has decided to kill it off. But I’m not.

I was at first though. I even signed the petition to get Google to change its mind, even though I knew it was futile. But then I took a step back and realized that what initially seemed like devastating news for a Reader fan such as myself, was actually a blessing in disguise.

Google has slowly been killing off Reader for a while. The service had a minor interface refresh in 2011, but only so Google could turn off friending, following, sharing items, and commenting in favor of adding Google+ integration, which reduced the service’s usefulness for a lot of people. While Google Reader has continued to serve its core purpose, it hasn’t grown, or evolved. In fact it’s been left to stagnate, unloved and all but forgotten. Its end for a long time has been nigh.

Google says a dwindling user base is the reason it plans to end Reader’s life on 1 July, but it’s a dwindling user base that Google itself engineered. If it had pushed the service, sold the benefits of it, updated it, added features and re-introduced sharing, Reader use would likely have grown and flourished, not withered and died. But Google doesn’t want Reader any more. It wants us to forget about feeds and embrace social sharing instead. It wants us to embrace Google+.

RSS Isn’t Dead

With Reader as the dominant service, but left to stagnate, RSS as a technology has largely fallen out of favor (arguably it never reached its true potential anyway). But now that Google is closing Reader -- the search giant removed the service’s entry from the black menu bar that runs along the top of Google pages yesterday -- suddenly feed readers are back in the news. Services like Feedly are getting a huge amount of new users as the Reader exodus begins in earnest. And alternatives many of us have never heard of, such as The Old Reader, NewsBlur, Goodnoows, and Rolio, are all picking up thousands of new users too. Services that previously would have struggled to get anyone to choose them over Reader are now enjoying massive growth. There’s competition once more in the world of feed readers, and competition is always good. It’s what drives success and innovation.

While I’ve yet to settle on a Google Reader replacement I really like, I’m not too worried. Digg says it is working on a new RSS tool which should be ready by the time Reader goes under, and I’m sure Digg won’t be the only company building a service for all those many Reader refugees who’ll be left without a home when Google does pull the plug.

After all there are hundreds of thousands of users who still believe in and rely on RSS, even if Google no longer cares about them. And a lot of those people looking for a good service are influential journalists, bloggers and people who like to ensure they have their finger on the news pulse at all times. They’re good people for any media savvy firm to cater for.

Yahoo would be a great fit for a Reader alternative, as would Microsoft (although I can’t see the latter building an online RSS service when it offers feeds directly through Internet Explorer, and RSS lacks the cool the company craves anyway).

Google abandoning Reader actually reminds me of when Microsoft stopped development on Internet Explorer at IE6. MS believed the browser couldn’t be improved and so left it alone, left it to stagnate. And that was exactly what was required for Mozilla to steal a massive chunk of users with a modern browser that was being actively developed and introduced hot new features, like tabs.

In closing Reader, Google hasn’t killed off RSS, it’s simply released its choke hold on the technology, and with luck -- if the right savior surfaces at the right time -- maybe we’ll finally get the product Reader could have become, with the sharing and commenting features that Google took away restored once more.

Or is that all just wishful thinking on my behalf?

Photo Credit: Aaron Amat/Shutterstock
Pandora arrives on Windows Phone 8

Publié: mars 21, 2013, 3:04pm CET par Mihaita Bamburic

Back when Microsoft launched Windows Phone 8, in late-October last year, the company promised that Pandora would arrive on the smartphone operating system sometime in early 2013, bringing along with it a year's worth of free music with no ads.

Today, Microsoft has kept its promise and delivered the popular app on the Windows Phone store. On Twitter, Microsoft's Joe Belfiore announced: "Oh heck, been dying to share PANDORA! Totally free, no ads through 2013. Best Pandora on any phone, IMO".

And the app, indeed, touts "no ads and no monthly streaming limit...for FREE". On Windows Phone 8, Pandora allows users to pin favorite stations on the homescreen and see what is playing by looking at the Pandora live tile. Other exclusive features include filtering explicit content using Kid's Corner to keep the youngsters away from sensitive music and the ability to access a recent stations page and look at the current favorites.

Upon starting the app, Pandora allows users to sign in using an existing account or sign up for a new one, create and manage a maximum of 100 stations, personalize shuffle settings, fine tune stations by moving tracks up and down, buy albums and songs, filter explicit content and listen to high-quality playback content.

Pandora is available to download from the Windows Phone Store. Market restrictions apply.
YouTube reaches one billion unique monthly visitors

Publié: mars 21, 2013, 2:58pm CET par Alan Buckingham

Despite our recent disdain for Google, there's no denying the Mountain View, Calif.-based company is a juggernaut when it comes to web traffic. It totally dominates search and its YouTube subsidiary, which has just announced a brand new milestone, is equally unstoppable in the online video market.

The YouTube team claims the service "now has more than a billion unique users every single month", which is a phenomenal figure. The service, which was started back in 2005, has been growing steadily since inception and was purchased by Google in 2006, perhaps saving the video company from being litigated out of existence.

While that number of regular visitors is huge, the breakdown provided with the announcement is even more staggering. Consider what the numbers really mean -- one out of every two people on the Internet visits YouTube. The company further puts it in perspective this way -- "Our monthly viewership is the equivalent of roughly ten Super Bowl audiences. If YouTube were a country, we’d be the third largest in the world after China and India".

The team wraps up with a message to all of its users "From the aspiring filmmaker in his basement and the next great pop musician, to the fans all around the world who tune in, subscribe and share their favorite videos with the planet, thank you for making YouTube what it is today". Now where can the company go from here?
SugarSync now a little sweeter on Mac and Windows

Publié: mars 21, 2013, 2:41pm CET par Nick Peers

Cloud backup, sync and sharing tool SugarSync 2.0.9 has been released for Windows and Mac. The tool, which provides desktop access to SugarSync cloud storage, has gained three notable feature improvements alongside general performance and stability tweaks.

Chief among these are drag-and-drop improvements alongside better visibility of features for showing folders from a specific computer. Windows users also get to choose which drive letter to assign to the SugarSync virtual drive.

SugarSync 2.0, released last month, added a number of new features, including an option to view which folders are synced with which computer. After users complained of difficulty accessing this feature, version 2.0.9 has made the Device Filter more visible. Now users will see "All Folders" displayed prominently below the application’s four navigation tabs: clicking this reveals options for selecting a different computer to view alongside an option for viewing cloud-only folders.

Version 2.0.9 also debuts significant improvements to the application’s drag-and-drop capabilities. Now users can simply drag a folder on to the Sharing or Cloud tabs and wait -- after a brief pause the app will automatically switch to the appropriate view if it’s not already visible.

The final improvement concerns Windows users: version 2.0 introduced support for mounting the SugarSync cloud drive as a virtual drive. Version 2.0.9 allows users to designate a specific drive letter for the virtual drive -- the option can be found on the General tab of SugarSync’s Preferences dialog.

The update is rounded off with a range of unspecified bug fixes, which SugarSync claims will improve stability, plus address various formatting and display issues. SugarSync 2.0.9 is available now as a freeware download for Windows and Mac users. SugarSync for iPad and iPhone, and SugarSync for Android are also available. SugarSync offers a free 5GB storage plan, as well as paid-for plans, with prices now starting from $7.49 a month ($74.99 a year) for 60GB.

Photo Credit: Picsfive /Shutterstock
Microsoft offering Windows Phone 8X, Lumia 920 and 820 for free

Publié: mars 21, 2013, 2:35pm CET par Mihaita Bamburic

If you are in the market for a Windows Phone 8 smartphone in the US, then the Microsoft Store should be your first stop. Why? Because the software giant is currently offering a number of devices running the mobile operating system for free on a two-year contract.

The list of devices on offer includes the 8GB HTC Windows Phone 8X (in California Blue and Lime), the Nokia Lumia 920 (in Black, Red and Yellow) and the Lumia 820 on AT&T. And those savings are not to be sniffed at. When purchased from AT&T, the 8GB Windows Phone 8X and Lumia 820 both go for $49.99, while the Lumia 920 runs for $99.99.

The Nokia Lumia 810, which runs on T-Mobile, is also free from both the Microsoft Store and the US carrier. The offer does not extend to other devices, however, which are currently available on both the software giant's online store, as well as carriers for a similar price.
Kinvey adds an Enterprise Edition to its Backend as a Service platform

Publié: mars 21, 2013, 2:20pm CET par Wayne Williams

Kinvey, a Backend as a Service (BaaS) company that helps developers set up and operate scalable cloud backends for mobile, tablet and web apps, is branching out with a new Enterprise Edition.

According to the firm, the new platform integrates with various enterprise backend systems including Oracle, Salesforce CRM, LDAP and Active Directory, and will allow developers to easily create their own enterprise-grade mobile applications.

The Enterprise Edition combines Kinvey’s Data Links technology (which the company says was designed to "mobilize" data from virtually any source to any device, on any platform) with Authentication Links to enable businesses to rapidly prototype, publish and maintain their apps, while adhering to strict security and authentication protocols. The platform also comes with an enterprise-grade Service Level Agreement.

With the new Enterprise Edition Kinvey is intending to position itself against Mobile Enterprise Application Platforms (MEAPs). Sravish Sridhar, founder and CEO of Kinvey, explains: "Historically, enterprise app developers have been forced to make an unfortunate choice: agility or security. Those who’ve selected a MEAP have forfeited agility. We expect to see MEAPs begin to roll out on-prem BaaS solutions, requiring yet another false choice. Enterprise app developers and architects demand the flexibility of private or public cloud options".

Pricing for the new platform will be based on the number of integrations to databases and authentication systems required.
Microsoft’s new Office Configuration Analyzer helps troubleshoot Office problems

Publié: mars 21, 2013, 12:06pm CET par Mike Williams

Microsoft Office has released the Office Configuration Analyzer Tool (OffCAT), a portable utility which can check all your installed Office applications, report on any problems, and provide links to possible solutions.

If you’ve ever tried to diagnose an Office problem yourself then you’ll know it can be difficult, just because there are so many factors to consider (Registry settings, add-ons, Office policies, installed updates and more). But OffCAT aims to help by quickly locating and highlighting any issues for you.

The process starts very simply: launch the program click "Start a scan" and choose the Office tool you’d like to check (Access, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint and Word are all supported).

You then have the option to enter a "scan label", just a name to identify this scan from any other (useful if you’ll regularly scan lots of machines). This isn’t necessary, though, so you can just click "Start scanning" and OffCAT will run some detailed checks on your setup, displaying a summary in just a few seconds. Click "View a report of this configuration scan" for the full details.

The Configuration Report opens with an "All Issues" tab which highlights anything interesting. Exactly what you’ll see here depends on your setup, but scanning Outlook on our test PC revealed that we were missing some updates, and that there was a problem opening hyperlinks. Clicking this provided a simple text explanation, along with links to view the relevant Microsoft support web page, or download a Microsoft Fixit file to resolve the issue automatically.

Sometimes you may see a "Critical Issues" tab with details on more serious problems. If the program has crashed recently, for instance, details will appear here, again with links which might help.

An "Information Items" tab lists your installed updates, with information on when each one was installed, whether it’s uninstallable, and a link to find out more.

And if you’d like to keep the report for later reference (or to compare details like installed updates with another computer, say), then you can print it, or save a copy in HTML, XML or CSV formats.

OffCAT has a few very small issues. We would like to see a single option to check your entire Office setup, for instance, rather than having to run each one individually. And the "Scanning Summary" (the list of checked items displayed immediately after each scan) won’t be useful to most people; you should at least have the option to skip that and display the full report immediately.

For the most part, though, the Office Configuration Analyzer Tool is an excellent program: portable, fast, easy enough for PC novices to use, while also providing the more in-depth information that experts need. If your copy of Office is currently misbehaving, grab a copy and find out why.

Photo Credit: Kar/Shutterstock
Who knew? This is Microsoft's big gaming week

Publié: mars 21, 2013, 2:16am CET par Alan Buckingham

While we all wait on the edge of our seats for the Xbox 720, or whatever the next-generation console will be called -- and I doubt it will be 720 -- there is a lot more going on in the Microsoft gaming world than there perhaps should be, given that E3 is getting closer. Some is, of course, pure speculation, which seems to drive the tech industry these days. Some is purported leaks of console information. And then, low and behold, some is actually real information.

I have no desire to discuss rumors -- just tell me when you actually know something. I also do not plan on touching a leaked document because who knows if it's real? What I can tell you is what actually is real.

First, Microsoft's Fuse Labs today announced the latest version Kodu Game Lab. The company claims the project is "a complete 3D game development environment designed to let kids create their own 3D games". Microsoft describes the engine thus: "Kodu is built around a custom visual programming language that makes it easy for everyone to learn how to program".

The new version of Kodu supports touch as an input, new water game characters, programmable control for some of the world settings and programmable control of some character settings.

Kodu is not all that is going on in the Microsoft gaming universe this week, though. This also marks the PAX East show in Boston. Larry Hryb of Xbox Live lets it be known that visitors will get to preview some of the upcoming hot Xbox games at the show.

For instance, Halo 4's Castle Castle Map Pack will receive its first playable demo, as will Gears Maxim Map Pack, State of Decay, Max: Curse of the Brotherhood and Motocross Madness as well as some new Windows 8 and Windows Phone games.

Hryb also teases that "there is a lot more we’ll have in the booth, from Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 games, to upcoming Xbox LIVE Arcade titles".

And you thought you had to wait for E3 in June to get some big Microsoft gaming news...well, okay that may be just slightly bigger, but at least this should hold you over until then.
Google can keep Keep, I will stick with Evernote

Publié: mars 21, 2013, 2:07am CET par Alan Buckingham

I don't really like to play the part of the curmudgeon. But, I am getting a bit tired of the Google "me too" way of doing business, despite the fact that I have to admit I have followed it to a large degree in the past. The company was not the first (obviously) with a web browser, but got me to switch from Firefox -- a move I have begun to regret, given recent problems. Google was not the first with cloud storage and, though I signed up for the free version, I pay for real storage on Amazon Cloud and use Crashplan for backup services.

I have used Google Docs, but I prefer Office. In fact, beyond Android, there is really not much being offered that I cannot live without. Don't get me wrong -- I am not being as bold as my colleague Wayne Williams and his total switch, but I have become a bit ambivalent to all of Google. I could switch to Bing. I could go back to Firefox. Neither would really cause me stress.

However, recent events have not helped my perception of the company. And, yes, by that I refer to the whole Reader debacle. I know there are alternatives, though most seem snowed under at the moment. That one simple kill, which is a part of much broader strokes the company has taken lately, was enough to leave a rather permanent bad taste in my mouth.

And now, today, the information giant would like me to trust it with all of my notes, lists and other data with the new Google Keep -- or perhaps I should say "keep until the next spring cleaning".

Give me one good reason why I should leave Evernote, where all of this data is already stored, works across every platform known to man, is completely free and has proven an ability to stay up and running and honest in the face of attacks from hackers?

Keep works on fewer platforms, has fewer options and comes with the headache of knowing that Google may simply decide it is no longer relevant to some future business model.

Honestly, if I were to leave Evernote, which would only happen if the business somehow goes south, I would sooner trust Microsoft and OneNote with my information. The company has a much better track record of trust than that search giant does.