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A Microsoft official on Tuesday confirmed that the software maker plans to cripple the beta version of Windows 7 on July 1. The official said that an e-mail sent to users over the Memorial Day weekend indicating that the shutdown would begin on June 1 was in error.
“The date for when bi-hourly shutdowns will begin for the Windows 7 Beta was incorrect,” Brandon LeBlanc, Microsoft’s in-house Windows blogger, wrote in a post early Tuesday. “We apologize for the confusion and inconvenience this may have caused.”
LeBlanc confirmed that, starting on July 1, users who are still running Windows 7 Beta will see their computers shut down and reboot every two hours. “I’ll be posting a reminder that bi-hourly shutdowns will begin for the Windows 7 Beta as we get closer to July 1,” he wrote.
The interruptions are designed to encourage early adopters to move to Windows 7 Release Candidate, a more polished preview version of Microsoft’s next operating system.
“If you’re still on the Windows 7 Beta you should certainly look at giving the Windows 7 RC at try!” wrote LeBlanc in his blog post.
Windows 7 RC will function until June 1, 2010. After that, users will need to upgrade to a full, paid version of the operating system to continue use. Microsoft recently said it’s on pace to deliver a final version of Windows 7 in time for the crucial holiday shopping season.
Microsoft hopes Windows 7 helps it recover from the Vista flop. Vista failed to catch on with mainstream computer users and businesses have shunned it outright. Windows 7 is said to be lighter and easier to use than its predecessor. It also includes slick new features such as built-in support for touch screens and tools that improve everyday tasks such as desktop searches and PC-to-PC file transfers.
As though some Vista machines don’t already reboot every two hours.
Hewlett-Packard said Thursday that the company would recall approximately 70,000 notebook PCs because of a risk that the battery could overheat.
Two reports of those lithium-ion batteries overheating, producing flames or fire, were supplied to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Health Canada, which is overseeing the recall. Minor property damage was recorded.
The affected models were sold between August 2007 through March 2008. Models that can contain a recalled battery include:
| HP Pavilion | Compaq Presario | HP | HP Compaq | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
G6000 G7000 |
6720s |
Trend Micro is reporting that the Waledac worm is on a spamming tear, sending out messages that push Google money-making schemes and swine flu vaccine scams. They provide numerous samples. Here are some of the subject lines.
- Be your own boss with Google
- Earn cash using Google today
- Google System that really works
- Make a fortune online
- Anti-swine flu drugs are available here
- Anti-viral treatment for swine flu
- Are you worried about swine flu?
- Are you worried about swine flu? buy medicine!
- Be quick! anti-swine flu drugs are almost sold out
- Buy medicine that prevent you from getting swine flu
- Buy medicine to prevent swine flu
The links in the messages lead to a Canadian pharmacy site that is all too familiar to people who follow these schemes. Don’t fall prey to these schemes. If it sounds to good to be true it is.
Dear Customer:
After three unsuccessful attempts to access your account, your Wells Fargo Online Profile has been locked. This has been done to secure your accounts and to protect your private information. Wells Fargo is committed to making sure that your online transactions are secure.
To unlock your account, and verify your identity please follow this link and sign in:
Sincerely,
Wells Fargo
Online Customer Service
This is the email I received. Since I do not have any Wells Fargo accounts I knew it was a fake. What we wanted to show you is that if you move your mouse over the link and then look down in the lower left hand corner ( in Internet Explorer) you will see it directs you to a site that has nothing to do with Wells Fargo.
When you stick a thumb drive infected with a worm like Conficker into a clean system, the normally handy AutoPlay feature launches the worm and spreads the infection. So, what are you waiting for? Turn off AutoPlay!
A computer worm that has alarmed security experts around the world has crawled into hundreds of medical devices at dozens of hospitals in the United States and other countries, according to technologists monitoring the threat.
The worm, known as “Conficker,” has not harmed any patients, they say, but it poses a potential threat to hospital operations.
“A few weeks ago, we discovered medical devices, MRI machines, infected with Conficker,” said Marcus Sachs, director of the Internet Storm Center, an early-warning system for Internet threats .
Around March 24, researchers monitoring the worm noticed that an imaging machine was reaching out over the Internet to get instructions — presumably from the programmers who created Conficker.
The researchers discovered that more than 300 similar devices at hospitals around the world had been compromised. The manufacturer of the devices told them none of the machines were supposed to be connected to the Internet — and yet they were.
Normally, the solution would be simply to install a patch, which Microsoft released in October. But the device manufacturer said rules from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration required that a 90-day notice before the machines could be patched.
“For 90 days these infected machines could easily be used in an attack, including, for example, the leaking of patient information,” said Rodney Joffe, a senior vice president at NeuStar, a communications company that belongs to an industry working group created to deal with the worm.
ASUS EeePC 1000HE
This is a Netbook. A netbook is not quite a notebook but a lot more than an IPhone. At the current time we have chosen to only carry this model of Netbook as we feel it offers the best value for the money. It is the first Netbook to use the Atom N280 CPU. So why is that important to you? It only draws 1/4 watt of power. This machine has a 9.5 hour battery life. We have it in black or in blue right now.
Fortunately these net books come with Windows XP (applause) but no netbook has an optical drive. If you purchase this from us we will be happy to load your programs from discs for you. You can also buy an external optical drive if you choose to. This item comes with a one year manufacturer warranty and is currently priced at $580.00
The ASUS EeePC 1000HE has been selected as an Editor’s Choice from PC Magazine with their comment as follows:
The ASUS EeePC 1000HE is the best netbook package that money can buy right now.
We also recommend a full featured Anti-Virus Suite which we would be happy to install for you and for $50 you will be covered for one year. Any questions please feel free to email us or call our office.
By Adam de Boor, Software Engineer Google Gmail
I used to have a problem. People would ask me questions, over chat or email, and I’d have to leave Gmail to search Google for an answer. Then I’d have to select the answer, copy it, go back to Gmail and paste the answer into the chat window or my reply. Sometimes I’d get distracted and forget to go back to Gmail, and I’d have to go through it all again when I remembered what I’d been doing.
With the new Google Search experiment in Gmail Labs, my problem is solved. When you turn this feature on from the Labs tab under Settings you’ll see a new search box on the left side of your inbox.