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Windows 7 Service Pack 1 With Minor Tweaks Only

Mike — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 20:39:55 +0000

The launch date of Windows 7, Microsoft’s latest operating system was October 22, 2009 and some 5 months later, there is now talk about Windows 7 service pack 1 (SP1). Though a service pack can introduce new desktop functionality, it is usually released to address security and bug fixes that have surfaced.

It appears that Windows 7 SP1 will be a non-event and will include only minor updates, many of which have already been made available to PC users through Windows update. This news comes by way of a blog post by Brandon LeBlanc, a Windows Communications Manager at Microsoft. LeBlanc goes on to say that Microsoft has not provided any details as to when we can expect either a beta or final release of the service pack but that enterprise customers should “Go ahead and deploy…you know you want to!”.

It was largely rumored last week that Windows 7 SP1 would not be available until Q4 of this year and that some business clients may have wanted to wait until SP1 before rolling out the Microsoft operating system throughout the enterprise. One has to wonder if the news of SP1 including only minor tweaks would influence businesses to adopt an earlier roll-out schedule?

SP1 will be available through Windows Update once released and will include client side support for RemoteFX, a new virtualization feature being deployed in the Windows Server 2008 R2 service pack.

Via: Device Mag

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Coated brings you the coolest gadgets and best geek toys.
Windows 7 Service Pack 1 With Minor Tweaks Only | Online News | Post tags: microsoft

Internet Explorer 9 Lacks Windows XP Support

Mike — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 14:43:42 +0000

Over the years, Microsoft has seen their market share in the area of Internet browsers slowly dwindle as Internet users move to other browsers that perhaps offer better features and reliability. Mozilla Firefox is a great example of a web browser that has a strong following, especially with its plugins, a feature that expands its functionality.

Recently, Microsoft has confirmed that their new browser, Internet Explorer 9 will not support Windows XP. This is a bit of a disappointment as the lifecycle for the XP operating system indicates that the retirement date is not until 2014 and with browsers being such an integral tool, you would hope that they would include backwards compatibility.

However this is not the case and one has to wonder if this will continue to push consumers to upgrade to Windows 7, their newest OS. It’s believed that with time, the latest hard drive technology will also push users into having to purchase Windows 7.

Out of the box, IE9 will come with HTML5 support and will also support 2D graphics acceleration, h.264 video playback, CSS3, SVG graphics. There will also be a new javascript engine.

Internet Explorer 9 is still a bit away before an official public release, but those that would like to try out an advance copy are able to download a test build of IE9. As it is still a test build, there may still be some bugs and so there may be some value in installing it in a virtual OS that can be removed once your testing is completed.

Via: Geeky Gadgets, Gadgetsteria, DVICE

© Coolest Gadget Reviews, 2010.
Coated brings you the coolest gadgets and best geek toys.
Internet Explorer 9 Lacks Windows XP Support | Online News | Post tags: microsoft

Google Android Market Hosting 30,000 to 35,000 Apps

Mike — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 18:35:00 +0000

The Google Android market may not have reached the stratosphere level of the Apple App store just yet, but they are now boasting somewhere between 30,000 and 35,000 different Android applications and this would be both free and paid applications combined.

Google doesn’t officially publish their numbers but AndroLib estimates the number of Android apps on the higher side at 35k whereas Mobile Crunch pegs this number closer to 30k through their conversation with a Google employee.

Regardless of the exact number, the rate of growth for the application store is not really surprising considering that there are 60,000 Android powered handsets shipping each and every day and these mobile devices will need a strong infrastructure of support to keep mobile customers pleased.

For the sake of comparison, the Android market hosted roughly 10,000 applications back in September 2009 and this number doubled over the next 90 day period. There is no official answer from Google in regards to what percentage of the apps are paid vs free, but again, turning to AndroLib, it’s believed that this split is 39:61.

© Coolest Gadget Reviews, 2010.
Coated brings you the coolest gadgets and best geek toys.
Google Android Market Hosting 30,000 to 35,000 Apps | Online News | Post tags: Android, google

Dotcom Domain Name Registration Marks Silver Anniversary

Mike — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 16:47:54 +0000

The Dotcom domain extension is celebrating its 25th anniversary today as March 15, 1986 marks the day that the very first .com name, Symbolics.com was registered by Symbolics computers of Cambridge, Massachusetts.

The first year saw the registration of just an additional 5 domain names and it wasn’t until 1997, some 11 years later before another milestone was reached, the registration of the one millionth domain name. During the late 80s and 90s, the Internet was still a fledgling technology, one that was associated with the military and academic institutes. It’s generally believed that the launch of the Mosaic web browser by Netscape is what brought surfing the internet (on dial up modem connections) to the masses.

Fast forward to today and the Internet dominates every facet of life. Pretty much everything is going online. Headline news is available, online shopping is here and if you need to research a topic for a school project, it generally begins with a Google search. Today, an average month sees about 668,000 new dotcom registrations and it’s estimated that 1.7 billion people or 25% of the world’s population browses the Internet.

It’s also been projected that by 2020, Internet related business will add $3.8 trillion to the world economy which is more then the GDP (gross domestic product) of Germany.

Via: Gizmodo, BBC

© Coolest Gadget Reviews, 2010.
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Dotcom Domain Name Registration Marks Silver Anniversary | Online News | Post tags: internet

Bill Gates Is No Longer The Richest Man

Angela — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 17:49:58 +0000

We generally don’t cover finance stories, but when it involves someone that can really be considered the founder of geek, it becomes new worthy. Bill Gates, the Chairman for Microsoft may have a net value of $53 billion but that’s only good enough for second spot on Forbes list of the richest people in the world.

Top spot now belongs to Carlos Silm Helu, a Mexican telecommunications mogul who has a net value of $53.5 billion. On hearing that he outed Gates for the top honor, Silm Helu was quoted as saying “I’ve got more money than you.” Still, Gates has done very well for himself and in essence has really moved on to a new chapter in his life as his wife and him now run the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, a philanthropic organization that is involved in fighting hunger, disease and other social issues throughout the world. Although Gates may not have as active a role with Microsoft as he once did, you can see that technology is still an important facet of his life as one of the recent projects funded through his charitable foundation involved the use of laser technology to shoot down disease causing mosquitoes.

Via: CNET

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Coated brings you the coolest gadgets and best geek toys.
Bill Gates Is No Longer The Richest Man | Online News | Post tags: Bill Gates, microsoft

Motorola Android Smartphones Will Feature Bing In China

Mike — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 21:45:24 +0000

With Google and the communist country of China at odds at this time due to allegations of server hacking as well as the request of the Chinese government to censor search results, it remains unclear as to how this will all play out.

As such, Motorola has quietly signed a contract to have Microsoft’s search engine Bing and their mapping services deployed on Motorola Android handsets destined for China. New Android devices will come with Bing pre-installed whereas those that have already been deployed will receive an OTA update. As part of the agreement, mobile users will receive both a Bing bookmark and an enhanced search widget, though customers will have an option to change their default search engine should they prefer.

In a statement issued, Motorola has indicated that these recent events are all about customer choice but at the same time, having Bing on their handsets offers a viable alternative should the negotiations between Google and China go sour.

Via: ZDNet, TG Daily

© Coolest Gadget Reviews, 2010.
Coated brings you the coolest gadgets and best geek toys.
Motorola Android Smartphones Will Feature Bing In China | Online News | Post tags: google, microsoft

T-Mobile webConnect HSPA+ Rocket Modem

Mike — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 20:15:23 +0000

Deutsche Telekom owned T-Mobile laid out detailed plans for their webConnect rocket modem, the first HSPA+ modem for the mobile phone operator. The USB modem which is compatible with both the Mac and Windows operating system will begin to ship this Sunday, March 14, 2010. At that time, the wireless modem will be available through online stores as well as in the Philadelphia area where HSPA+ service will first launch.

Sticker price on the modem is $100 provisional upon a signed two year data plan commitment. Mobile Internet users will have a choice amongst a couple of T-Mobile data plans. These are the Even More and Even More Plus plans which come with a monthly charge of $60 (5GB Cap) and $30 (200MB Cap) respectively. Optionally, mobile users can elect to be contract free by purchasing the modem outright and subsequently choosing a monthly plan of $50 (5GB Cap) or $20 (200MB Cap). Regardless of the mobility plan selected, all will include free WiFi connectivity at any of T-Mobile’s public access points.

Although HSPA+ access may be regionally restricted at this time, it’s believed that the deployment of HSPA+ networks will grow nationally throughout the year. Currently, there are no mobile phones that can take advantage of the faster speeds available through this high speed network.

Via: Device Mag, Electronista

© Coolest Gadget Reviews, 2010.
Coated brings you the coolest gadgets and best geek toys.
T-Mobile webConnect HSPA+ Rocket Modem | Online News | Post tags: T-Mobile

Verizon 4G Smarphones By Mid-2011

Mike — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 19:25:33 +0000

About a month ago, Sprint confirmed that 4G WiMax mobile phones are on the way and now Verizon Wireless, another mobile communications leader has informed of their intention of launching 4G phones.

The news comes by way of Anthony Melone, Verizon’s Chief Technology Officer who expects that the carrier will have 4G phones by mid 2011, approximately a calender year after the Long Term Evolution (LTE) went live for data only, though the 4G smartphones are still some six months ahead of schedule.

It’s believed that the first generation mobile phones will come with both LTE and CDMA chipsets so that mobile users will be able to toggle between networks as initially, the 4G coverage area will be limited. This makes total sense and a similar plan is also being adopted by Sprint with their 4G launch.

Another interesting point brought up by Malone was his belief that once the Verizon 4G network is in full operation, unlimited data plans will go the way of the dinosaur and mobile customers will need to adjust to either metered or tiered data plans. With this though, mobile users will need to have an accurate gauge to track their bandwidth use, but Malone suggests that customers that don’t use the service are as much of a problem as those that over use it.

Via: Device Mag, Electronista

© Coolest Gadget Reviews, 2010.
Coated brings you the coolest gadgets and best geek toys.
Verizon 4G Smarphones By Mid-2011 | Online News | Post tags: Sprint, Verizon