There’s life in old dog yet.

Want to keep your install of Windows XP secure and patched? Good news. Microsoft have released the latest Service Pack for the venerable OS. Downloads are available direct from Microsoft now or you could just wait until later this summer when it will be pushed through Windows Automatic Update. One update that will be of interest to companies is the inclusion of Network Access Protection: a policy enforcement tool designed to ensure security policy compliance.

What about Vista?

What about it? It would appear that many companies are shunning Vista in anticipation of the Windows 7 release date. The sheer cost of hardware upgrades to support Microsofts latest OS are enough to put many consumers off upgrading. This Service Pack should give the business community an added sense of confidence around the retention of XP. Or, they could just deploy Ubuntu 8.04 once the SMB bug is fixed!

Popularity: 1% [?]

It’s Hardly a Heron!

Ubuntu 8.04 is here. I’m sitting at my laptop typing away on a fresh install and it feels good. I’ve had two days in which to have a good dig under the bonnet and I’m impressed. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not all sweetness and light and I’ll tell you more about that. Do you want to know what’s in Ubuntu 8.04 LTS? Good, I’ll tell you.

Eye, eye.

The first thing that hit me was the improved resolution and refresh rate which is a significant improvement over the last version. The 3D interface, Compiz, comes integrated and partially enabled. If you want to benefit from the full features you’ll have to do some twiddling of knobs. But be warned, I found Compiz to be a little clunky when running on an Intel embedded chipset.

Digging deep.

What else does it have? There’s the usual apps you’d expect in a Linux distro: OpenOffice.org 2.4.0 (with speed improvements), the GIMP (2.4.5), F-Spot photo manager and multimedia players galore. Drop in other tools such as Pidgin, Skype and Evolution email and you’ll start to see the appeal this distribution has. Not happy with that selection? In that case you can check out the 24,865 packages currently in the repositories.
Firefox 3 Beta 5 comes installed in this release. Ok, I know it’s not a good idea to include a Beta version but you’ll be pleasantly surprised. This release is faster and more stable than the version 2. Oh, and it doesn’t eat memory anymore! There are some bugs. Some pages are slow to load and the extensions aren’t all available yet but I can live with that for a little longer.

There must be something wrong?

Yes, unfortunately. There are issues with Windows SMB shares – you can’t connect to them after an upgrade. This bug is known but not yet fixed. No doubt this will be a priority for Canonical.

There you have it. A worthy and highly capable successor. If you aren’t reliant on an MS network, go for it.

Popularity: 21% [?]

Say again, you’re breaking up.

Apparently, AT&T suggested that the call quality of the latest Blackberry devices is a concern. The resulting fallout caused RIMs share price to drop by 3%. This may not seem like a great deal to some people but when we start talking about multi-billion pound revenues it starts to look at little more serious. A delay in the release of RIMs 3G device could also affect the market share of the Blackberry. The iPhone 3G is due for release soon so expect a major bunfight as vendors start to promote their products. I wonder if they’ll be passing some nice deals on to the customers?

Click here to go back to 60 Seconds.

Popularity: 50% [?]

Save the World: Buy a mobile phone!

Want a mobile you can throw on the compost heap when you’re bored with it? In that case, Nokia hopes the 3110 Evolve will appeal to you. What you get is the 3110 Classic with covers made from renewable products, green packaging and, to top it off, the charger will minimise energy usage if plugged into a fully charged phone.

Hug a tree.

By comparison, most other handsets pale against the 3110’s green credentials. But be aware, this is not a carbon neutral phone. True, the covers are over 50% renewable organic material and carbon emissions have been reduced by leaving the covers unpainted but this still has some way to go in order to please the greenest of users.

On the back of the current drive to make us greener I would say that Nokia will add these features, and more, to their future phone offerings.

Lots of shiny features?

You’d have thought so but you’ll be disappointed. Check it out:

• Series 40 User Interface

• No 3G connectivity (come on, this IS the 21st century!)

• Multi-format music player, which actually gives decent quality audio

• FM radio

• Removable MicroSD card memory

• A web browser plus web-based applications

• Email client and organiser.

• 1.3-megapixel camera which I thought was a bit crappy for a new phone. Also, the image quality was quite poor.

• Screen - 1.8-inch 262,000-colour display with a low 128×160 pixels resolution. Quite disappointing

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

The grey colour and plain design makes this phone look very dull. Come on Nokia, just because we want to save the world, it doesn’t mean we’re boring! Ok, there are some plus points: the keypad and navigation pad are easy to use. The weight (87g) and size (108.5 x 45.7 .15.6) make the 3110 a fairly light and and easy to hold handset. But, based on its looks, I don’t think many of you will be rushing out to buy it especially not for £149.

Popularity: 22% [?]

But it’s not another social network.

User friendly sites make online life so simple. The latest move by Yahoo aims to ease your online pain and keep pace with the social networks in one simple move. Open Strategy is designed to make sharing Yahoo users information simpler, on both Yahoo’s website and sites that use Yahoo features. But this isn’t an attempt to build a new social network it’s simply a move to make things more ’social’. Hmm, very clear!

Previous attempts at ’social’ functionality, such as MyYahoo, Mash and existing profiles will be rolled up into the new offering.

Don’t expect to see these new features until at least 2009. Yahoo needs to get the buy in from independent software and web services developers before they can make a serious offering.

Click here to go to the home page.

Popularity: 31% [?]

Global slush fund.

I’m assuming that you have some interest in technology. If you didn’t you wouldn’t be here, right? So that means you also have an interest in protecting your data. You should also be concerned about security mechanisms in place with 3rd parties. You’re not alone. SMEs are placing far more emphasis on securing channels with partner organisations. All to the tune of an anticipated £5.3 billion this year. This is a global figure which is expected to rise to over £6.6 billion by 2012. That would buy a lot of toys for my cat!

This may not seem like a huge amount of cash considering the figures represent a global perspective. Consider this: key players in the tech market have been making up ground in terms of Anti Virus and email security. That will cause the overall cost of security products to fall in the long run. Now add price reductions into the spend figure and you can see the significance.

Click here to go to the home page.

Popularity: 50% [?]

Don’t expect too much.

Geeksugar has let slip that Apple is planning to release a new version of the iMac next week, allegedly. The info would appear to have come from an inside source. That said, Geeksugar has been let down in the past. Information is fairly thin on the ground but it would appear that the iMac has received a number of upgrades rather a complete makeover. Expect to see speed improvements and the addition of greater disk capacity but no price change.

Can’t be bad, if it’s true.

Click here to go to the home page.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Ready for the slippers and pipe?

On 30th June Windows XP will go to the great code breaker in the sky. There’s no disputing this figure. It’s a done deal. End game. Except for the manufacturers of ULCPC’s. Oh, and maybe for the masses if we all shout loud enough. So, no uncertainty there!

Leading from the back.

Why the change? Well, this has mainly been driven by business demand. Vista simply doesn’t cut it as far as many companies are concerned. The hardware demands alone have made made IT departments recommend skipping the purchase of Vista. Let’s face it, do you really want to spend huge sums of money on hardware upgrades when your system is ticking along just fine? Microsoft seems to get it, to a degree. Steve Ballmer stated: If customer feedback varies, we can always wake up smarter but right now we have a plan for end of life for new XP shipments,”. Err, if feedback varies? Wake up! Dell shelved plans to ship Vista only computers due to…customer demand.

Slow train to tech Nirvana.

I’d say Microsoft have some serious thinking to do. Businesses are pushing back upgrade plans to allow themselves a glimpse of Windows 7. Steady growth of Ubuntu could also impact decision makers. The Linux OS now includes Likewise Open which allows integration into Active Directory which may have a significant bearing on its uptake.

But how should Microsoft approach this? I think they should take the XP code base and bring it up to date without the bloat and hardware requirements of Vista. Am I wrong? Maybe but the success of XP and the reaction of the business community would suggest that Redmond needs to sort out their game.

Click here to go to the home page.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Sets target on business market.

Dell has decided that it’s time hit small businesses with its latest offering in the form of a redesigned Vostro. Here’s a listing of features in the latest models:

Security features.

• The Vostro 1310 and 1510 laptops have integrated fingerprint readers, cable lock slot, and factory-installed McAfee Total Protection for Small Business security software.
• Trusted Platform Module 1.2 is available - prevents unauthorized access and reduces the threat of data theft.

So it would appear that security is becoming a more pressing concern for businesses. Companies now seem to be preferring laptops to desktop machines which stands to reason. Mobility is a key factor for many organisations; attending client sites, home working and mobile internet access are fast becoming the norm for many business sectors.

Apparently, Dell has stated that customers also want thinner and lighter machines. I don’t think they took that one to heart as you’ll see. Enough of my rambling, on to the details of the 1500 model.

The first point to note is the graphics card: Nvidia 8600M GT. Apparently, it’s been included with a view to catering for web developers and CAD applications. I used it for gaming! Can you blame me?

The 1.8 Ghz Core Duo and 2Gb of RAM are more than adequate for the default install of Vista. They also made my Ubuntu installation fly! Add the 160Gb disk and that should give you enough space to store plenty of MP3’s and movies.

Do you remember my comment about size and weight? Well, the Vostro weighs in at just over 3kgs with the following dimensions: 368 x 270 x 42mm. Strap it to your back and walk up big hills, you’ll be fit in no time.

Surprisingly, the battery lasts for over 4 hours (but probably over half the weight of the laptop!).

Another downside is the screen. 15.4″ is great but the 1280 x 800 resolution quite restrictive. You can always upgrade to the 1440 x 900 version for just an extra £40.

Not a bad offering. The Vostro could do with being a little lighter and slimmer but you have to remember that this is a bargain basement model. Ideal for small businesses looking for low cost laptops.

Current price is around £400. Lower spec models start at £169 +VAT.

Click here to go to the home page.

Popularity: 21% [?]

Sky’s the limit.

Do you want to watch movies on the move? In that case, you’ll be pleased to hear that Sony’s PSP now lets you do exactly that. Go!View, a joint venture with Sky, turns you PSP into a mobile TV - I wonder how long it will take for the TVLA to catch on?.

The service provides users with an on-demand TV service allowing to tailor you viewing to your needs. Two payment methods will be available: pay-per-view and subscription although pricing information has not been released. Simply registered with the the website and you’re ready to go.

Look out for the official launch sometime in the summer.

Click here to go to the home page.

Popularity: 21% [?]