Bubblezine » Industry News

Windows 7 Goes On Pre-Sale In UK

Tahir — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 09:09:52 +0000

Microsoft’s next generation operating system, Windows 7, goes on sale in the UK at discount prices. In the company’s own words however: “you’ll have to be quick as prices are low, stocks are limited and it is first come first served!”

Microsoft hasn’t quantified “stocks are limited” at this stage but, stock allowing, the offer will run from 15 July to 9 August and given you’ll now find Windows 7 Home Premium and Windows 7 Professional available for £49.99 and £99.99 expect there to be a great deal of interest. At this stage there remains no sign of the triple licence Windows 7 Family Pack option recently outted in the US so bear in mind these editions cover a single computer only.

Pre-Order your copy of Windows 7

Hardware makers support Google OS

Tahir — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 08:41:09 +0000

Google has announced which hardware firms have pledged to build machines that will run its Chrome OS.

The search giant said it was working with many firms on Chrome OS hardware including Acer, Asus, Freescale, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo, and Toshiba.

The software is designed to work with the web and Google said it was most likely to appear on smaller portable computers known as netbooks.

The browser-based operating system will be released to the public in 2010.

In a blog post announcing the hardware partners, Google said that the code for the Chrome OS would be open sourced in late 2009. Google said that the software will be free to download and use.

PCs could be hit next in web attack

Tahir — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 08:35:18 +0000

Cyber attacks slowing U.S. and South Korean websites could enter a new phase on Friday by attacking personal computers and wiping out hard disks, a South Korean government agency and web security firm said.

North Korea was originally a prime suspect for launching the cyber attacks, but the isolated state was not named on a list of five countries where the attacks may have originated, the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) said.

The attacks targeting dozens of government and business sites in South Korea and the United States did not cause major damage or security breaches, experts said, but the KCC warned a new phase at 1500 GMT on Friday could cause severe damage to PCs.

Leading South Korean web security firm Ahnlab, which has closely examined the attacks, said the new phase would target data on tens of thousands of infected personal computers.
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“The affected computers will not be able to boot and their storage files will be disabled,” said Lee Byung-cheol of Ahnlab.

Former hackers to protect UK

admin — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 16:29:04 +0000

The UK has launched a new cyber security command centre to help combat network intruders and forge offensive attacks against opponents.

The country has hired a number of former hackers to help staff the new Cyber Security Operations Centre, which will begin functioning in September.

The new cyber security centre will be based in Cheltenham at Britain’s famed secret eavesdropping facility known as GCHQ (Government Communications Headquarters).

GCHQ, also known as “the doughnut” for its circular layout, achieved notoriety in the 1980s when news reports revealed that it was part of the global satellite surveillance operation known as Echelon run by intelligence agencies in Britain, the US, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

In addition to the cyber security center at GCHQ, the Government is also launching an Office of Cyber Security to protect Britain’s IT infrastructure, conduct cyber offensive strategies and attacks and serve as liaison between government and private industry on cyber security matters.

Buy followers on Twitter

admin — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 11:59:52 +0000

Twitter users who lack an audience for their messages can now buy followers.

Australian social media marketing company uSocial is offering a paid service that finds followers for users of the micro-blogging service.

Followers are available in blocks starting at $87 (£53) for 1,000. The biggest block uSocial is selling is 100,000 people.

USocial said businesses and individuals were queuing up to use its follower finding service.

Firefox 3.5 Released

Tahir — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 09:21:55 +0000

Firefox 3.5 is available for download today, following months of testing. The latest version of the web browser adds a ton of new features and bug fixes. Probably the most important thing is that it feels faster, thanks to a new Javascript engine and updated rendering engine.

Firefox 3.5 includes a private browsing mode that lets you surf the web without saving any data to your computer and tab “tearing” which lets you drag and drop tabs between browser windows or drag a tab out of a browser window to create a new window.

Firefox 3.5 also supports HTML video which lets you watch some videos embedded in web pages without any plugins.

Download it today (US English):

Pirate Bay Sells Up & Goes Legit

admin — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 13:15:55 +0000

Today The Pirate Bay has been sold to Swedish software company Global Gaming X in a 60 million kronor (£4.7m) deal which will make it legit. The news follows similar moves in the past with the likes of Napster and Kazaa. GGFX has also purchased ‘next generation file-sharing technology’ firm Peerialism.

“The Pirate Bay is a site that is among the top 100 most visited Internet sites in the world. However, in order to live on, The Pirate Bay requires a new business model, which satisfies the requirements and needs of all parties, content providers, broadband operators, end users, and the judiciary,” said GGFX CEO Hans Pandeya. “Content creators and providers need to control their content and get paid for it. File sharers’ need faster downloads and better quality.”