http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/-t1.htm Breaking news headlines & updates from the technology world. Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:54:02 GMT 10 http://www.geekpolice.net/users/2315/89/79/54/album/header17.png http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/-t1.htm http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/aol-changes-its-logo-and-more-t16359.htm Safan It's official: AOL is now Aol. As the fading Internet giant nears its 20th anniversary, the newly independent media company is prepping for another revamp. The latest step is a new logo, as seen below. The corporate name is now spelled with an upper case "A," a lower case "o" and "l," and a period: Today's AOL, er, Aol. -- my spell checker sure hates that period -- is a shell of its former self. Last week the company announced plans to cut a third of its staff, ... Technology News Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:54:02 GMT http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/aol-changes-its-logo-and-more-t16359.htm#103004 http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/aol-changes-its-logo-and-more-t16359.htm http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/critical-zero-day-flaw-opens-holes-in-ie-6-and-7-t16358.htm Safan A newly discovered threat that doesn't yet have any patch can allow for a Web-based attack against up-to-date Internet Explorer 6 and 7 browsers, according to security companies. Both Symantec and Vupen Security have posted alerts about the bug, which involves the way IE handles cascading style sheets, or CSS. According to the posts, browsing a Web site with embedded attack code would trigger the assault. The site could be a specifically created malicious site, or one that was hijacked and ... Technology News Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:53:11 GMT http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/critical-zero-day-flaw-opens-holes-in-ie-6-and-7-t16358.htm#103002 http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/critical-zero-day-flaw-opens-holes-in-ie-6-and-7-t16358.htm http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/firefox-hopes-to-one-up-ie-with-fast-graphics-t16357.htm Safan Last week, Microsoft showed off some browser technology that could help Internet Explorer leapfrog the competition. But if Mozilla succeeds in its hope, Microsoft could be playing catch-up instead. The technology in question is hardware-accelerated graphics and text using interfaces called Direct2D and DirectWrite that provide an easy way to use graphics cards' computing power. They're built into Windows 7, and Microsoft is bringing them to Windows Vista but not Windows XP. The performance ... Technology News Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:52:36 GMT http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/firefox-hopes-to-one-up-ie-with-fast-graphics-t16357.htm#103001 http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/firefox-hopes-to-one-up-ie-with-fast-graphics-t16357.htm http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/third-iphone-worm-targets-jailbroken-iphones-t16328.htm Safan Another week, another worm hitting jailbroken iPhones. As with the previous exploits, which Rickrolled your phone's wallpaper and stole your data, this nasty piece of work burrows its way into your jailbroken device if you haven't changed the password for the iPhone's root account--you have changed your root password, right? Right? A source who's seen the worm in the wild tells Macworld that, after compromising the phone, the worm goes on to replace the phone's copy of the SSH remote login ... Technology News Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:45:38 GMT http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/third-iphone-worm-targets-jailbroken-iphones-t16328.htm#102787 http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/third-iphone-worm-targets-jailbroken-iphones-t16328.htm http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/ebay-says-fixes-search-glitch-on-website-t16325.htm Safan eBay Inc said on Sunday it had restored a search function on its website overnight Saturday after a glitch led to searches returning either limited or no results throughout the day. The technical issue on eBay.com resulted from a surge in live listings as sellers ramped up for the holiday season, the global e-commerce and payments company said in an e-mailed statement. More: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5AL1P720091122 Technology News Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:20:07 GMT http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/ebay-says-fixes-search-glitch-on-website-t16325.htm#102783 http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/ebay-says-fixes-search-glitch-on-website-t16325.htm http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/spotify-lands-app-for-symbian-phones-t16324.htm Safan Spotify, the popular music streaming service available only in select European countries, introduced on Monday a mobile application for the Symbian operating system, which includes Nokia, Sony Ericsson, and Samsung phones. European owners of various Nokia phones, such as the N97, E72 or XpressMusic, can now download the Spotify app and enjoy music streamed to their phones. Several other phones will be able to run this app, including the Sony Ericsson Satio and Samsung Omnia HD (i8910). A ... Technology News Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:19:21 GMT http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/spotify-lands-app-for-symbian-phones-t16324.htm#102782 http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/spotify-lands-app-for-symbian-phones-t16324.htm http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/nintendo-launches-paid-video-content-for-wii-t16323.htm Safan The Nintendo Wii remains a force to be reckoned with in the video game world and new survey statistics along with new revenue streams suggest that Nintendo has still has something up it's sleeve. New survey data from Lottay, an online wish-list and gift giving site, shows that the Wii and its associated accessories will regain momentum during this year's holiday season. The Wii and Wii-related gear were wished for twice as much as the Sony PS3 and Xbox 360 combined though 38 percent ... Technology News Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:17:46 GMT http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/nintendo-launches-paid-video-content-for-wii-t16323.htm#102781 http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/nintendo-launches-paid-video-content-for-wii-t16323.htm http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/new-attack-fells-internet-explorer-t16289.htm Safan A hacker has posted attack code that could be used to break into a PC running older versions of Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser. The code was posted Friday to the Bugtraq mailing list by an unidentified hacker. According to security vendor Symantec, the code does not always work properly, but it could be used to install unauthorized software on a victim's computer. "Symantec has conducted further tests and confirmed that it affects Internet Explorer versions 6 and 7," ... Technology News Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:29:39 GMT http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/new-attack-fells-internet-explorer-t16289.htm#102567 http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/new-attack-fells-internet-explorer-t16289.htm http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/windows-8-in-2012-t16251.htm Safan Steven Sinofsky may not be talking about Microsoft's future Windows plans, but the Windows Server team appears to see more value in letting customers know its road map. In at least two slides apparently shown at the Professional Developers Conference in Los Angeles this week, Microsoft suggests that a major release update to Windows Server is due around 2012, with one of the slides confirming the Windows 8 code name. I've asked both the desktop and server teams for more context on the ... Technology News Sat, 21 Nov 2009 08:49:32 GMT http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/windows-8-in-2012-t16251.htm#102360 http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/windows-8-in-2012-t16251.htm http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/twitter-turns-on-geolocation-functionality-t16250.htm Safan Twitter is now allowing its externally built applications to provide geolocation features to end users, after announcing its intention to do so in August. The functionality is provided via a specific geotagging API (application programming interface) that external developers can use to build geolocation features in their applications. Some applications like Birdfeed, Seesmic Web, Foursquare, and Twittelator Pro already have activated geolocation features. "We are really looking ... Technology News Sat, 21 Nov 2009 08:40:27 GMT http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/twitter-turns-on-geolocation-functionality-t16250.htm#102359 http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/twitter-turns-on-geolocation-functionality-t16250.htm http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/google-chrome-os-a-simple-faq-t16249.htm Safan
So what's Chrome OS all about, and what could do it for you? Here are some answers.

More: http://pcworld.com/article/182777/]]> Technology News Sat, 21 Nov 2009 08:39:59 GMT http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/google-chrome-os-a-simple-faq-t16249.htm#102358 http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/google-chrome-os-a-simple-faq-t16249.htm http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/browser-security-features-compared-t16214.htm Safan Internet Explorer 8, Firefox 3, Google Chrome 4, Apple's Safari 4, and Opera 10 include features that block sites known to host malware and malicious downloads. All but Opera also let you browse without leaving any tracks. But just as important as these protections is ensuring that whichever browser you use is thoroughly patched. Filtering out bad sites Firefox's built-in anti-phishing tool claims to update its bad-site database 48 times a day, according to Mozilla's Firefox security page. ... Technology News Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:43:51 GMT http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/browser-security-features-compared-t16214.htm#102209 http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/browser-security-features-compared-t16214.htm http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/google-chrome-os-source-code-now-available-for-download-t16208.htm Doctor Inferno The source code for Google Chrome OS is available for download now and is ready to be explored. A Twitter update from Google employee Matt Cutts detailed where you can download the source code. The download comes just minutes before Google is to show off the operating system to the world. Grab it here: http://src.chromium.org/ More: http://pcworld.com/article/182616/ Technology News Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:31:56 GMT http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/google-chrome-os-source-code-now-available-for-download-t16208.htm#102165 http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/google-chrome-os-source-code-now-available-for-download-t16208.htm http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/windows-7-selling-like-hotcakes-t16207.htm Doctor Inferno Windows 7 isn't just getting good reviews, it's also selling well, CEO Steve Ballmer told shareholders Thursday. Delivering opening remarks at Microsoft's shareholder meeting, Ballmer said that Windows 7 was off to a "fantastic start." "We've already sold twice as many units as any OS in a comparable time frame," Ballmer said. "Windows 7 is simply the best PC operating system that we or anyone else has ever built." More: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10401449-56.html?tag=nl.e703 Technology News Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:30:48 GMT http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/windows-7-selling-like-hotcakes-t16207.htm#102164 http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/windows-7-selling-like-hotcakes-t16207.htm http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/ie9-will-close-performance-gap-microsoft-says-t16206.htm Doctor Inferno Company backtracks, now says JavaScript performance is important Microsoft today claimed that its next browser, IE9 (Internet Explorer 9), has nearly closed the JavaScript performance gap between itself and rivals made by Mozilla and Google, even though the browser has been in development only a few weeks. Steven Sinofsky, Microsoft's president of Windows and Windows Live, acknowledged that Microsoft had catching up to do. "We know we have a lot of work to do in some areas of performance," ... Technology News Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:28:20 GMT http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/ie9-will-close-performance-gap-microsoft-says-t16206.htm#102163 http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/ie9-will-close-performance-gap-microsoft-says-t16206.htm http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/firefox-faces-browser-clone-war-in-china-t16153.htm Safan The browser war in China is heating up but not quite in a way that resembles the Western markets, as Mozilla's Beijing chief explains. While browser makers in overseas markets often tout their products' Web page rendering speeds and ability to run richer apps, China's browser landscape calls for customized browser versions that bring additional features in order to demonstrate value to users. According to Li Gong, chairman and CEO of Mozilla's Beijing-headquartered subsidiary, Mozilla ... Technology News Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:54:51 GMT http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/firefox-faces-browser-clone-war-in-china-t16153.htm#101844 http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/firefox-faces-browser-clone-war-in-china-t16153.htm http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/google-netbooks-to-launch-in-2010-t16192.htm Doctor Inferno Google on Thursday provided a peek beneath the hood of its new Chrome operating system, making the software public and promising it will run netbooks by the end of next year. Google-crafted Chrome OS will be tailored exclusively for applications hosted as services in the Internet "cloud" and debut on low-cost, bare-bones netbooks that have been a booming segment of the laptop computer market. More: http://tech.geekpolice.net/2009/11/google-powered-netbooks-launching-next.html Technology News Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:12:34 GMT http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/google-netbooks-to-launch-in-2010-t16192.htm#102096 http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/google-netbooks-to-launch-in-2010-t16192.htm http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/facebook-adopts-new-privacy-policy-t16142.htm Safan Facebook on Tuesday announced that it has decided to adopt a revised privacy policy designed to be more accessible and easier to understand. The social network had just completed a weeklong comment period for the new revision and, though "a lot of people participated," less than 7,000 members commented. According to Facebook's rules, this meant that a vote was unnecessary, Michael Richter, Facebook deputy general counsel, wrote in a company blog. Overall, members supported ... Technology News Wed, 18 Nov 2009 06:31:05 GMT http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/facebook-adopts-new-privacy-policy-t16142.htm#101800 http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/facebook-adopts-new-privacy-policy-t16142.htm http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/opera-mobile-10-beta-now-browsing-windows-phones-t16147.htm Safan Opera impressed us a few months ago with its beta release of a restyled Mini browser for Java phones. Early in November, they did it again with a standalone mobile browser for Symbian Series 60 handsets that adheres to Opera Mini 5 beta's glossy master design. And on Wednesday, Opera repeats what it hopes to be mobile magic with Opera Mobile 10 beta for Windows phones. The free Opera Mobile 10 beta starts off with a customizable Speed Dial screen, composed of nine preview thumbnails that ... Technology News Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:12:10 GMT http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/opera-mobile-10-beta-now-browsing-windows-phones-t16147.htm#101813 http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/opera-mobile-10-beta-now-browsing-windows-phones-t16147.htm http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/sidekick-gets-a-second-chance-t16141.htm Safan If you’re brave enough to want a Sidekick from T-Mobile after last month’s data loss fiasco, wait no longer. The carrier has resumed sales of the device, even throwing a price cut in for good measure. The older Sidekick 2008 is $49.99, and the fancier Sidekick LX will retail for $149.99, both with a two-year contract commitment. The meager price drops (about $25) may not be enough for many to take a chance on the company, however. At least two states, California and Washington, are in the ... Technology News Wed, 18 Nov 2009 06:30:29 GMT http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/sidekick-gets-a-second-chance-t16141.htm#101799 http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/sidekick-gets-a-second-chance-t16141.htm http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/firefox-36-locks-out-rogue-add-ons-t16140.htm Safan Mozilla will add a new lockdown feature to Firefox 3.6 that will prevent developers from sneaking add-ons into the program, the company said. The new feature, which Mozilla dubbed "component directory lockdown," will bar access to Firefox's "components" directory, where most of the browser's own code is stored. The company has billed the move as a way to boost the stability of its browser. "We're doing this for stability and user control [reasons]," said ... Technology News Wed, 18 Nov 2009 06:29:46 GMT http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/firefox-36-locks-out-rogue-add-ons-t16140.htm#101798 http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/firefox-36-locks-out-rogue-add-ons-t16140.htm http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/google-hosting-chrome-os-demo-event-thursday-t16139.htm Safan Google appears ready to show off its progress in developing Chrome OS, with plans to host an event Thursday at its headquarters. Chrome OS, which is expected to launch next year, is Google's project to develop an operating system for Netbooks based on a lightweight browser-like experience. It announced the project to great fanfare in July, but has not had much to say about it since. More: http://news.cnet.com/8301-30684_3-10400012-265.html Technology News Wed, 18 Nov 2009 06:29:26 GMT http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/google-hosting-chrome-os-demo-event-thursday-t16139.htm#101797 http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/google-hosting-chrome-os-demo-event-thursday-t16139.htm http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/google-earth-updates-iphone-app-t16138.htm Safan Google has announced an update to its popular Google Earth iPhone app. Version 2.0 lets users view personalized maps created on a desktop machine. The upgrade also adds 13 new languages to the mix, bringing a total of 31 supported languages. The original app was introduced a year ago, and quickly rose to the top of the App Store charts. Like the ubiquitous desktop version, it allows you to "fly" across the globe, touching down at the cities and locales you've chosen. You can indulge ... Technology News Wed, 18 Nov 2009 06:28:52 GMT http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/google-earth-updates-iphone-app-t16138.htm#101796 http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/google-earth-updates-iphone-app-t16138.htm http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/microsoft-ups-cloud-computing-ante-with-azure-and-dallas-t16137.htm Safan Microsoft announced that its Azure cloud computing platform will be launched into production on January 1st of 2010. Chief software architect Ray Ozzie also unveiled details of a cloud computing project, codenamed 'Dallas'. The statements were made at the annual gathering of Microsoft developers--the 2009 PDC (Professional Developers Conference). To ensure the success of the Azure platform, Microsoft needs its army of independent developers to embrace the cloud computing paradigm, and it ... Technology News Wed, 18 Nov 2009 06:28:24 GMT http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/microsoft-ups-cloud-computing-ante-with-azure-and-dallas-t16137.htm#101795 http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/microsoft-ups-cloud-computing-ante-with-azure-and-dallas-t16137.htm http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/diskeeper-launches-app-to-eliminate-fragmentation-t16136.htm Safan Diskeeper Corp. today launched software that it says prevents up to 85% of hard drive fragmentation on Microsoft Windows systems, thereby improving performance and virtually eliminating the scheduled, automatic or manual task of defragmentation. Diskeeper originally announced it would release Diskeeper 2010 in August. The software uses a new technology called IntelliWrite, which optimizes file placement on disks to prevent fragmentation from occurring, thereby increasing read and write ... Technology News Wed, 18 Nov 2009 06:27:49 GMT http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/diskeeper-launches-app-to-eliminate-fragmentation-t16136.htm#101794 http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/diskeeper-launches-app-to-eliminate-fragmentation-t16136.htm http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/google-translate-now-helps-with-pronunciation-t16135.htm Safan Google made several improvements to Google Translate Monday, such as the ability to translate words written with unique character sets with their phonetic spelling. Google has been steadily adding languages to Google Translate over the last couple of years, but if the language used a completely unfamiliar character set--such as the Roman-character based languages like English or Spanish versus Chinese characters--the service was only useful for those trying to write in the language. Now ... Technology News Wed, 18 Nov 2009 06:27:27 GMT http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/google-translate-now-helps-with-pronunciation-t16135.htm#101793 http://geekpolice.forumotion.com/technology-news-f4/google-translate-now-helps-with-pronunciation-t16135.htm