Web Talk

So, this is really the hot news of the week here at Web Talk. In fact, according to a lot of rumors (but no confirmations or press release at all) it looks like Dell is planning to release by this August a cheap ultraportable called Dell E. This “E” makes me really think that Dell has declared a harsh war to the well-known Asus Eee. The famous computer company will release two models of its new ultraportable: a Dell E 8.9-inch model and a 12.1-inch “E Slim” which actually looks like the MacBook Air (and therefore will be more expensive). The 8.9 model will have a lot of flavours. In fact there will be a cheap model for users who don’t want to spend a lot, and other different gradations  which, apart from costing more, will have more features… of course. The price of the Dell E 8.9 inch should be around $299 for the entry level and for this price you will get: Linux, Intel’s 1.6GHz Atom processor, 1,024 x 600 display, 3x USB, SSD (solid state driver), integrated webcam, WiFi, and more. Stay tuned for more infos.

Nintendo has just unveiled a new small device for the Wii console called WiiMotionPlus which improves the motion sensitivity of the Wiimote. WiiMotionPlus is a small cube-like thing which has to be attached to the bottom of the Wii remote controller. It is designed to enhance user’s gaming experience. According to Nintendo “Nintendo’s upcoming Wii MotionPlus accessory for the revolutionary Wii Remote controller again redefines game control, by more quickly and accurately reflecting motions in a 3-D space. The Wii MotionPlus accessory attaches to the end of the Wii Remote and, combined with the accelerometer and the sensor bar, allows for more comprehensive tracking of a player’s arm position and orientation, providing players with an unmatched level of precision and immersion. Every slight movement players make with their wrist or arm is rendered identically in real time on the screen, providing a true 1:1 response in their game play. The Wii MotionPlus accessory reconfirms Nintendo’s commitment to making games intuitive and accessible for everyone.”

3 months right after the birth of Wordpress 2.5 a new version of the famous Content Management System has been released in the wild! As a matter of fact Wordpress, with this new update, has reached version 2.6 increasing the number of its features and improvements. If you are a newbie you will be surprises by Wordpress user-friendly interface and the easiness with whom you will able to install it and start blogging. If you are a seasoned Wordpress’s user, you wouldn’t probability notice any big difference from the previous release but, believe me, there are a lot of improvements and fixes which out-stand for their importance and security value. Here is a quick list:

• Improved support for SSL access to the admin screens.
• Security enhancements, including cookies and database interactions
• When you select a theme, you will now be able to see it live with the changes you made (and with all the content you added) before putting it online.
• “Press This” bookmarklet feature. Thanks to this new feature you will be able to quickly post about the websites you visit while online. (It is just sufficient to drag the “Press This” link into your browser bookmark to activate the function.)
• Wiki tracking for edits. Now Wordpress lets you see who and what changes where made to your posts.
• More support for Avatars.
• Improved plugin management. New “bulk activate” or “bulk deactivate” plugin option.
• Updates to the new jQuery and jQuery UI libraries, updates to the latest TinyMCE editor, improvements to Page and Category management, and general performance enhancements.
• In this version where fixed about 194 bugs!!!

Here is a small video tour of the new Wordpress 2.6. Take  a couple of minutes to watch it. It is worth, believe me!

After the release of the new firmware version 2.0 for iPhone, it looks like Apple has decided to give you guys another incredible surprise. As a matter of fact since yesterday it is available on the Apple website the new App Store to download hundreds of games and applications for your iPhone. There is really a lot of interesting software available like for example games, business, education, entertainment, finance, fitness, social networking and so on. For most of them you will have to pay some bucks, of course, but Apple assures you that among them you will be able to find some little pearls which come for free like for example the wonderful application which turns your iPhone and iPod into a remote control for Apple TV and iTunes (here is the iTunes URL). The majority of these applications takes advantage of the iPhone features such as Multi-Touch, the accelerometer, wireless, and GPS. The App store works over cellular networks and Wi-Fi so that you will be able to buy and download whatever you want from anywhere you are. Are you interested?  What are you waiting for? Try the new App store now!

Edit: Keep in mind that, in order to take advantage of the new App store, you need to update your iPhone  firmware to version 2.0

When I spoke of Dell’s decision to continue to install Windows Xp in its computers and laptops despite Microsoft’s decision to stop selling it in June, I could not imagine what a Microsoft senior VP would have stated  a few weeks later. As a matter of fact Bill Veghte said that Microsoft will continue to provide security patches “and other critical updates” for Windows XP until April, 2014. This decision comes from “the result of our recognition (Microsoft) that people keep their Windows-based PCs for many years”… “It’s true that we will stop selling Windows XP as a retail packaged product and stop licensing it directly to major PC manufacturers [after June 30],” wrote Veghte. “But customers who still need Windows XP will be able to get it”. This stunning statement comes from Microsoft’s acknowledgement that Vista has failed to conquer people’s hearts and that a large part of  Microsoft’s customers will continue to use XP and won’t upgrade to Vista for  years to come, at least till Windows 7 will become available three years from now. That’s why I suggest you that if you are planning to buy a new computer, make sure to get a full downgrade to Windows XP. For Example Dell preinstalls XP Professional as a “downgrade” on certain PCs and laptops. These computers available with the XP option will also include the Windows Vista installation DVD in the box, so users will be able to install Windows Vista if they want, and without buying another license. Windows Vista is a “green” operating system with not many issues to tell you the truth, but with a lot of problems as far as drivers and  software compatibility is concerned.

Apple has just released the latest update (version 10.5.3) for Mac X Leopard. This update is supposed to fix and improve stability, performance, compatibility and security of the Apple operating system. Here is a short list of  the issues the update is going to fix: font issue that could result in Helvetica Narrow being used in applications instead of Helvetica, stuttering video and audio playback in USB devices, Word of the Day, iTunes Artwork and Slideshow screen savers’ instabilities, some HDD are not listed in the Finder, additional RAW image support for several cameras, Software Update progress bar indicator inaccuracy, Finder not available if the computer name is blank in Sharing preferences, delay when logging in as an Active Directory user in a .local domain etc. The update also include fixes for : Address Book, AirPort, Automator, iCal, iChat, Mail, Parental Controls, Spaces, Time Machine, and VoiceOver. If you want to know more, visit the release note section here.  A lot of steps have also been taken to improve the overall security of the system. As a matter of fact the following holes related to different problems were patched : AFP Server, Apache, AppKit, Apple Pixlet Video, ATS, CFNetwork, CoreFoundation, CoreGraphics, CoreTypes, CUPS, Flash Player Plug-in, Help Viewer, iCal, International Components for Unicode, Image Capture, ImageIO, Kernel, LoginWindow, Mail, ruby, Single Sign-On and Wiki Server. If you want to know more, visit the release note section as far as security is concerned. If you want to download the Mac OS X 10.5.3 update as a Standalone click here or visit Apple’s Web site.

According to a lot of rumors and anonymous leaks, it looks like Google is going to unveil a new ad-planning tool for agencies called AdPlanner. The release should be today in New York around 5.00 pm. This new form of advertising should be introduced during a media conference arranged by Advertising Research Foundation which, by mistake, released the news on its website. The page was taken down right away at Google’s request which wanted to keep the thing confidential. Here is what Advertising Research Foundation wrote on its website: “At 5:00 p.m., on Tuesday, June 24, 2008, at the ARF AM 3.0 Conference in New York, Wayne Lin, Google Business Product Manager, will introduce Google’s latest initiative in Internet audience measurement.  This public announcement will be followed by moderated panel and audience reaction.” Basically AdPlanner is a tool to help agencies to spot and target audiences. This will be achieved with audience measurement data, search engine data and information from third parties. All this to try to determine what sites attract a certain kind of user. AdPlanner also uses special tools to determine where the best place on a website  to put an advertisement is. This new service should be available for free, at least at the beginning. Stay tuned for more info.

Source: NYtimes.com

The endless dance between Microsoft and Yahoo seems to be finished in a little nasty surprise (for Microsoft). As a matter of fact, while Microsoft was still exploring Yahoo universe trying to determine if anyone was interested in its bunch of money, Yahoo itself released a press stating that Microsoft’s proposal to buy Yahoo had ended without a resolution. Hours later, to Microsoft’s disbelief, (I am pretty sure about this) Yahoo announced a search-advertising partnership with Google. The Yahoo-Google partnership, which should last four years with options to extend to 10, will clash Google ads and Yahoo search results together. The money coming from this deal will be divided between the two companies, while Yahoo will keep its search engine and ads separate from Google. Yahoo stated that the arrangement will add $250 million to $450 million to its cash flow in the first year. This partnership won’t be locked anyway. In fact, Yahoo stated that they are looking for other search partners who are interested in this new business. If you want to know more, read the whole news directly from Yahoo News. Here are the previous articles speaking about Microsoft and Yahoo:

• Microsoft continues to explore Yahoo
• Microsoft pulls bid for Yahoo
• Yahoo response to Microsoft: more bucks please
• Yahoo says no thank you to Microsoft offer
• Microsoft wants to purchase Yahoo