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Windows XP SP3 available now

Mehan Jayasuriya — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 12:00:40 -0400

It's been a long and winding road, but we've finally arrived: Today Microsoft released Windows XP SP3 via its website, the last hurrah for the ill-fated OS. The final service pack contains some 1,100 hotfixes and patches, and even introduces a few new features to the 7-year-old operating system. While it's available now via Microsoft's website and Windows Update, it won't make its way out via Automatic Update until "early summer." The download weighs in at 316MB and appears to be a fairly painless install, based on the early reports we're hearing.

For more on XP SP3:
- see this DailyTech article
- and click here to download the service pack

Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron released

Mehan Jayasuriya — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 10:48:01 -0400

Just because they release early and often doesn't mean that you shouldn't still get excited: the good folks at Canonical have just unleashed version 8.04 of their beloved Linux distro Ubuntu and the update brings a number of new features to the table. "Hardy Heron," as it's called in alliterative Ubuntu creature-speak, runs GNOME 2.22 and Firefox 3 Beta 5 (which we raved about a few weeks ago) and also supports Wubi, which will allow you to easily install and uninstall Ubuntu on the same partition as Windows, if you so desire. If Ubuntu happens to be your cup of open-source tea, hit up their website for the full download.

For more on Hardy Heron:
- visit the Ubuntu website

Safari 3.1 is first to support HTML 5

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 07:59:56 -0400

Upping the ante in the ongoing browser wars, Apple has released Safari version 3.1 for both OS X and Windows. The company claims that the new version "loads web pages 1.9 times faster than IE 7 and 1.7 times faster than Firefox 2" and runs JavaScript "up to six times faster" than the competition. What's more, the browser is the first to support HTML 5 (video and audio tags) and CSS animations. Other new features include support for CSS web fonts and HTML 5 offline storage, as well as improved SVG support.

For more on Safari 3.1:
- see this Ars Technica article
- and hit up Apple's website for the free download

Vista upgrade coming this week

Mon, 17 Mar 2008 07:59:58 -0400

At the back of your mind is a gnawing question: What do I do about Windows Vista? You may be able to rest more easily sooner than you think. This week, the first major upgrade of Vista arrives as a service pack. Microsoft says this one, known as Service Pack 1 (SP1), will tackle four core areas: Reliability, security, compatibility and performance. There are no new features, and many of the benefits will appeal to large corporate enterprises rather than folks at home, according to a blog on USA Today. Some of the same problems remain--painfully slow boot times and overly intrusive security pop-ups. This is not supposed to be a band-aid, and if it turns out to be, call Microsoft pronto!

For more on the Windows Vista upgrade:
- see this USA Today article

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Microsoft releases IE8 Beta 1

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 06:59:55 -0500

Finally reworked those web apps to be fully compatible with Internet Explorer 7? Good, because here comes IE8. Earlier this week, Microsoft posted Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1 on its website, in order to offer a sneak peek to developers. The beta is available for Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008 and can be downloaded by anyone, not just developers. Among the revamped features are a new Favorites bar, an improved antiphishing filter and automatic crash recovery (a la Firefox). IE8 also will bring a number of brand new features like "WebSlices" (basically a clone of the "Web Clip" feature seen in OS X Leopard) and "Activities," which will allow users to create their own mashups. Though it should go without saying, this is beta software, so exercise caution when installing and running it on your system.

For more on the beta:
- see this ComputerWorld article

Apple issues massive OS X update

Tue, 12 Feb 2008 06:59:54 -0500

If you support OS X machines in your enterprise, you'll be happy to hear that Apple has pushed out OS 10.5.2, the first major update to the company's OS X Leopard operating system. Weighing in at over 180MB, OS 10.5.2 is one of the largest updates in Apple history and contains an exhaustive list of bug fixes, new features and updates. Among the fixes likely to affect the enterprise: improved WiFi connection reliability and stability, a number of fixes for Mac Mail, support for more phones in iSync, improved support for external storage drives in Time Machine and bug fixes in iCal. The update is available now from Apple, via Software Update.

For more on OS 10.5.2:
- see Apple's website

Opera preps Opera Mobile 9.5

Tue, 05 Feb 2008 06:59:55 -0500

If you follow the world of mobile web browsers, you'll want to take note of the fact that Opera is preparing to release the latest version of its mobile browser software. Opera Mobile 9.5 comes packed with a host of new features, including an all new rendering engine (allegedly making the browser 2.5 times faster than IE while improving support for AJAX/JavaScript-based dynamic web content), full Flash support, browser history text search and more. Opera is expected to demo the new browser at GSMA in Barcelona next week, with public betas expected for Windows Mobile, Symbian and Linux shortly afterward.

For more on the latest version:
- see this Engadget post

Everything you wanted to know about Vista

Wed, 08 Nov 2006 19:01:37 -0500

With the official arrival of Vista (photo) just a few weeks off, it's a good time to get up to date on upgrade issues, security concerns and new features. Everything you need to know has been pulled together in a hefty resource site, full of reviews, visual tours, analysis and FAQs. There's even a section on what's to come after Vista and a look at Microsoft's software-as-a-service strategy.

For more on everything about Vista:
- bookmark this resource site at Computerworld

Why IE7 is a good upgrade decision

Thu, 26 Oct 2006 20:01:37 -0400

Still undecided about whether upgrading to IE7 is a good move? Well, according to a panel of analysts, it's a no brainer. The new browser is more secure and offers a slew of new features (tabbed browsing, integrated search and RSS) that make upgrading compelling. Yet, if your enterprise dumped IE6 to go with another browser, IE7 probably isn't worth coming back for.

For more on why upgrading is a good option:
- check out the news at TechWeb

SPOTLIGHT: Little want for Firefox in today's enterprises

Wed, 25 Oct 2006 20:01:34 -0400

Though Firefox 2.0 is souped up with new features like enhanced security, a spell checker and even support for Javascript 1.7, it doesn't hold much allure for the corporate browsing environment. According to the experts, the fact that the open-source tool doesn't have a welcoming IT support aura means it'll likely stay a distant runner-up to Internet Explorer in the workplace. Article