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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: software

software stories: 76 news summaries

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FARHAD MANJOO

Microsoft Office 2010:
Worthy, But Not Worth It

Why buy what you can get for free?

12 hours, 58 minutes ago
(Newser) - The latest edition of the Fantastic Four of productivity—Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook—is worthy but not actually worth buying, writes Farhad Manjoo for Slate . Out next year but now available in a beta edition, Microsoft Office 2010 offers some definite improvements: It lets you preview how text or... More »

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Microsoft • competition • software • reviews • Microsoft Office • computers

 Apple's 
 Snow Leopard 
 Devouring Data 

Logging onto guest accounts can cause massive data loss

Oct 14, 09 2:57 AM CDT
(Newser) - A rare but extremely damaging bug is causing users of Apple's Snow Leopard operating system to lose huge amounts of data. Apple says it's working on a fix for the bug. The glitch wipes out personal data for users who have upgraded from Leopard to Snow Leopard and log on... More »

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Apple • software • operating system • Mac OS X Leopard • Snow Leopard

TECH REVIEW

 Firefox Team's Email 
 Program a 'Winner' 

Mozilla's Postbox has killer search, tabbed browsing, and a price tag

Sep 9, 09 7:54 AM CDT
(Newser) - We're getting flooded with more and more email, but the tools used to read messages haven't matured much in recent years, says Wall Street Journal tech writer Katherine Boehret. A new program called Postbox, from the same developers behind the Firefox web browser, aims to change that—it features real-time... More »

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email • Facebook • software • Firefox • Mozilla • Twitter • Jay-ZTV

Web Monitoring Firm
Sells Kids' Chatter

Company also notifies parents when kids go astray online

Sep 5, 09 6:55 PM CDT
(Newser) - A company that polices children's Internet chatter is also selling it to companies that want marketing data on the quick, CNET reports. Sentry Parental Control Software, which monitors kids online—and triggers a phone call to parents when kids go astray—is amassing their chatter about products and selling it.... More »

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Internet • children • software • computer • teenager

Tech review

 Switchover to 
 Windows 7 a Big Pain 

Move from XP may require external hard drive, patience

Jul 23, 09 9:56 AM CDT
(Newser) - The latest Windows incarnation beats Vista and XP, but don’t expect a smooth transition: upgrading from XP to Windows 7 is an ordeal, writes Walt Mossberg in the Wall Street Journal. “In fact, the process will be so painful that, for many XP users, the easiest solution may... More »

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technology • Microsoft • Walt Mossberg • Microsoft Vista • software • operating system • Windows XP • tech review • Windows 7 • Windows 7 review

OPINION

 Why Google's OS 
 Won't Beat Microsoft 

Windows 7, open-source competition hold Chrome OS back

Jul 9, 09 11:48 AM CDT
(Newser) - Microsoft needn’t stress about Google’s planned operating system, writes Joseph Tartakoff for paidContent. Five reasons why:
  • Windows 7 will put Microsoft on firmer ground, having won great reviews so far—and it will have been out 9 months by the time Chrome OS appears.
  • Google’s
... More »

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technology • Google • Microsoft • software • Ubuntu OS • operating system • computers • Windows 7 • Google Chrome OS

Microsoft's Windows 7 Prices Include Early-Bird Discount  

Free upgrades for Vista PC buyers starting Friday

Jun 25, 09 11:14 AM CDT
(Newser) - A pre-ordered upgrade to Microsoft’s Windows 7 operating system will cost US customers $49 or $99 from tomorrow until July 11, depending on version: Home premium or Professional, CNET reports. Also starting tomorrow, anyone who buys a new Vista PC will get a free upgrade to Windows 7 when... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Microsoft • software • price • operating system • computer • upgrades • Windows 7 • Windows 7 review

(Newser) - Microsoft is developing free anti-virus software to compete with subscription services from Symantec and McAfee, Reuters reports. The program, codenamed Morro, will be released in beta “soon” and will likely have similar features to other companies’ entry-level products that cost about $40 a year. Microsoft made an attempt to... More »

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Internet • Microsoft • software • computer virus • free • Symantec • McAfee • Morro • program

Insurer Sees Games as Boost for Old Brains

'Mental fitness' software improves reaction time, peripheral vision

Jun 8, 09 3:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - An experiment by Allstate Insurance and a San Francisco software startup that aims to use computer games to improve the mental health of all ages is getting good reviews, the Chronicle reports, including from one local who says improved reaction time and peripheral vision saved him from an accident. “... More »

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software • brain • driving • auto insurance • brain fitness • Allstate • Posit Science

 'Hardware
 Hackers' 
 Get Handy 

Programmers leave screens for soldering irons

May 19, 09 2:37 PM CDT
(Newser) - Seeking an escape from the confined world of their computer screens, programmers are applying their technological know-how to the physical world, building and tweaking an array of devices with their hands, the Boston Globe reports. “My normal job is way up in the clouds,” said a programmer at... More »

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technology • computer programming • software • programmers • software developers • hacking • invention • gadget

If You Can't Control Your Emotions, Your Computer Will

Software can analyze the feelings in words

May 9, 09 4:04 PM CDT
(Newser) - All you naughty Newser commenters, take note: Software developers are readying an algorithm to glean the human emotions in text and possibly censor inappropriate online discussions, New Scientist reports. So far, the biggest users of such pricey “sentiment analysis” tools are companies looking to gauge consumer reaction to brand-name... More »

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software • emotion • algorithms • computers

(AP) - In the days following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, alleged al-Qaeda operations mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed intended to use his free Hotmail account to direct a US-based operative to carry out an attack, according to a guilty plea agreement filed by Al Saleh Kahlah al-Marri in federal court. The document... More »

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Internet • September 11 • software • Khalid Sheikh Mohammed • Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri • Hotmail

(AP) - Microsoft Corp. said today its quarterly revenue fell from the previous year for the first time in its 23-year history as a public company, while its profit dived 32 percent. The shortfall illustrated the toll the recession has taken on the world's largest software maker, even though it remains one... More »

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Microsoft • software • corporate earnings • tech industry

 Prez's Pimped-Out 
 BlackBerry 
 Nearly Ready 

The NSA begins final tests on encryption software this month

Apr 23, 09 10:26 AM CDT
(Newser) - President Obama’s super-secure, high-powered new BlackBerry could soon get the thumbs-up from the National Security Agency, which is about to begin final tests on its encryption software. The president could be texting, emailing, calling and Facebooking other high-security personnel—like Michelle O.—within months, the Washington Times reports,... More »

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Barack Obama • Michelle Obama • BlackBerry • software • National Security Agency • hackers • encryption • President Obama • security clearance

 Oracle Buys Sun Microsystems 


Apr 20, 09 7:20 AM CDT
(Newser) - Oracle Corp. has agreed to buy Sun Microsystems, swooping in after Sun’s talks with IBM fell apart. Oracle will pay $7.4 billion, or $9.50 a share for Sun, the Wall Street Journal reports, a 42% premium on Friday’s close. Though Sun has been losing money,... More »

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mergers and acquisitions • IBM • Sun Microsystems • Oracle • software • tech sector • Java • computer hardware

ANALYSIS

Going Public in Bear Market Is Risky Bet for Rosetta Stone

Firm could make less money due to bear market

Apr 16, 09 12:48 PM CDT
(Newser) - Rosetta Stone, the popular language-learning software maker, holds its initial public stock offering today—a risky move in a bear market, Jennifer Collins reports for Marketplace. Rosetta Stone’s profit has quadrupled since 2007, but it could make twice as much by waiting. It’s possible Rosetta needs cash now,... More »

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competition • IPO • software • stock • language • Rosetta Stone • foreign languages

 IBM to Nab Rival Sun for $7B 

Deal would let IBM rule Unix server market

Apr 3, 09 7:11 AM CDT
(Newser) - IBM looks set to buy rival Sun Microsystems in a $7 billion deal that would make IBM king of the lucrative Unix server market, the New York Times reports. The $9.50-per-share agreement, already approved by IBM’s board, insiders say, could be announced today—though next week is more... More »

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IBM • Sun Microsystems • software • acquisition • computer servers • computer hardware

Skype Could Hit iPhone
as Soon as Next Week

Voice-over-IP firm may announce its client at CTIA Wireless

Mar 27, 09 12:30 PM CDT
(Newser) - Skype is putting the finishing touches on a version of its VoIP client for the iPhone, and may debut it as soon as an industry conference next week, GigaOm reports. Skype is looking to the mobile market to keep growing as its PC usage starts to plateau. Skype already offers... More »

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iPhone • software • Skype • Voice over IP • telephone • iPhone applications • mobile phones

 Docs Foresee Trouble 
 With Digitizing Records 

For electronic records, money is there but technology isn't

Mar 26, 09 10:27 AM CDT
(Newser) - The administration's push to digitize health records is raising red flags with an important constituency: doctors. "We have a long way to go," said the lead author of a report out today that shows only 9% of hospitals have computerized records. His article is part of a... More »

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hospitals • New England Journal of Medicine • software • health care reform • open source • digital storage • medical records • online medical records

Worm Set to Unleash Massive April Fool's Prank

Malware experts race against time to limit the program's damage

Mar 24, 09 2:53 PM CDT
(Newser) - Malware experts are racing to find the authors of the Conficker C worm and limit the damage it seems poised to do beginning April Fool’s Day, CNN reports. Conficker C, the bug’s third iteration since late 2008, has infected between 5 and 10 million computers but so far... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Microsoft • software • computer virus • computer security • malware • botnet • botnets • Conficker

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