Midnight Ride has finally seen the light of day. In other words--despite many a dubiously blogged word--XenServer 5.6 has been officially introduced. The new and revamped version, which Citrix sees at the heart of its virtualization efforts, continues to be available gratis in the free (fully open source) XenServer edition, but there are also more advanced--and decidedly not free--Enterprise and Platinum editions from which to choose....(author unknown)

Symantec threat report for 2009 highlights Web-based attacks targeting holes in Adobe Reader and IE, as well as browser vulnerabilities.(author unknown)

Office Team Blog:

Friday we reached the release-to-manufacturing (RTM) milestone for Office 2010, SharePoint 2010, Visio 2010 and Project 2010!

RTM is the final engineering milestone of a product release and our engineering team has poured their heart and soul into reaching this milestone. It is also an appropriate time to re-emphasize our sincere gratitude to the more than 5,000 organizations and partners who have worked with us on rapid deployment and testing of the products. Since the start of our public beta in November 2009, we’ve had more than 7.5 million people download the beta version – that’s more than 3 times the number of 2007 beta downloads! The feedback that we’ve received from all these programs has shaped the set of products we’re excited about, and that I’m sure will delight our customers.

Our Volume License customers with active Software Assurance (SA) on these products will be one of the first to receive the 2010 set of products. They will be able to download the products in English via the Volume Licensing Service Center starting April 27. Customers without SA will be able to purchase the new products through Volume Licensing from Microsoft partners starting May 1. 

Earlier this year we announced that we will officially launch Office 2010 to our business customers on May 12 with Stephen Elop, President of Microsoft’s Business Division, delivering a keynote as part of our virtual launch. Our virtual launch will allow people from around the globe to participate in our launch by going to http://www.the2010event.com. The virtual launch site will showcase product demos, customer and partner testimonials, and interviews with product managers and executives, and we hope this will give you another great way to explore, learn, and get excited about the 2010 releases.

Office 2010 will first become available in retail stores in June in the US, and customers can pre-order these retail versions of Office 2010 at http://store.microsoft.com/OfficePreorder today to receive Office when it becomes available.

On behalf of the Office team, I want to thank all of the customers and partners who have helped us reach this milestone. We look forward to continue learning from you and all the great things you will do with our products!

Neowin: MSDN and TechNet customers will be able to download Office 2010 RTM on April 22!

Neowin.net - Microsoft Office 2010 released to manufacturing (RTM)

Microsoft Office 2010 Engineering  Office 2010 Reaches RTM!

Send via e-mail | Submit to Digg | Add to Live FavoritesSteven Bink

 

Microsoft has announced the Microsoft Fix it Online Portal. Microsoft Fix it Center makes getting support easier than ever because automatic troubleshooters solve the issues you have now and prevent new ones

As easy as "Click, click, fixed!"

You can use any computer with Internet connection to get started with Fix it Center. Simply download the Fix it Center client and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the setup. You can install Fix it Center client on as many PCs you like.

 

Check it out now - http://fixitcenter.support.microsoft.com/Portal

Send via e-mail | Submit to Digg | Add to Live FavoritesVasudev0344634839867118841311796850225775534143

LinkedIn for BlackBerry 1.0 for BlackBerry Tour, Bold and Curve smartphones lets users search among the 60 million LinkedIn members and trade invitations with prospective contacts, with tight integration between mail, contacts and calendar. The app should satisfy the millions of users whose companies issue them BlackBerry smartphones for business communications.
- LinkedIn March 29 released LinkedIn for BlackBerry 1.0, an application that brings the leading professional social network to users of the leading smartphone for corporate workers who need to access their contacts from the road. LinkedIn for BlackBerry lets BlackBerry Tour, Bold and Curve users ...

(author unknown)

The office suite is a relic of a bygone age--one that may not amount to billions in Microsoft profits for much longer.(author unknown)

If you're a fan of file syncing service Dropbox, you probably open its auto-saving folder as often as your Pictures or Music. Why not add it to your Start Menu? It's fairly easy to pull off with a few right-clicks. More »


Kevin Purdy10151688766732426597052946043299845353541540652500903973666011436582081809554747063447568317058801820649091933637595377906748331320095108414143514910928784194670283771169636352419314349957743663114168044693947334444315661660392511564039952806081778882630631271137427567672741799871034117151374254107110536961968901940012068909510670911182750541702053010122109207541182593207520018008028632382265825570909894218217124963203122132309437533220127525303495976485680673479418078616774009666901071041763721168429903778257774991079447477952027077004733866417344061194092905286360359249871568155171164586501917690763970412172857060087219960022046600469008009541010262317700988909534729186164700306210502121830920479604721387023201584416019260175442133394907850410117410483804859543743520513982045349675838388133299714959768375780405366532183900696915123763464515220308001099469458413380070278027647734844820201487728270057297170026269977092711852700211744201832414529403275183684144630899183209540908832147110531382565332399164113313583493542876698007932596790522878821323063820338181469703644147836517847981105664600047996685501630708001254748959604373206529399128989175986986391348713450153432663742269435501371973917415297102166524617934498681470801446512090440627313966747507309134516048631700942706523401682055230521856610909207870362471646384020702158416467788930716949819822084531007997589990688945632076070432988635913700572697692452816596102237704662984650025100878413427421827590078235132952787767307414840003238378379043665046898923722321359275036572758753203428732989666979940

Why are Windows user profiles so critically important for corporate IT environments and how can they be managed efficiently? If you always wanted to have a profound answer to this question, this white paper is for you. Be prepared to get some technical insights into a topic that turns out to be of growing relevance, both for physical and virtual Windows desktop infrastructures....(author unknown)

Apple released Mac OS X 10.6.3, its latest update to the Snow Leopard operating system, on March 29. The update includes several security and application tweaks, and is meant to patch problems with MobileMe, Parental Control, Time Machine and other features. Apples two previous Snow Leopard updates also addressed a number of security and feature issues. Apple is spending this week gearing up for the April 3 release of the WiFi version of its iPad tablet PC, which has enjoyed strong presales.
- Apple released Mac OS X 10.6.3, the latest update to Snow Leopard, on March 29. The update includes not only several tweaks to applications such as Time Machine, but also a security component, leading Apple to recommend it for all current users of Snow Leopard. According to Apple, the update is ... (author unknown)

Google Talk is finally getting a feature it's been missing since launch: file transfers. The feature could even be making it to Gmail soon.(author unknown)

Out-of-band fix on Tuesday will address nine vulnerabilities, including a critical zero-day hole disclosed three weeks ago that affects Internet Explorer 6 and 7.(author unknown)

Hacker Albert Gonzalez receives another 20-year sentence to run concurrently with the one he received March 25, meaning Gonzalez will serve a maximum of 20 years for his roles in some of the largest known data security breaches in recent memory.
- Hacker Albert Gonzalez received another 20 year-sentence March 26 to run concurrently with the one he received sentence he received March 25 in two other cases. Today's sentencing brought the odyssey of the 28-year-old cyber-criminal to a close, in a case covering the massive breach of Heartland P...

(author unknown)

U.S. commuters spend an average of 50 minutes in their car each day, and that leaves a lot of room for improvement. Make the most of your commute with these 10 tips.

Photo by mattlemmon.

10. Adjust Your Mirrors for Better Vision

Most people set up their car's mirrors in a way that keeps the edge of their own car in their vision, mostly to provide a sense of perspective. This limits the amount of "blind spot" coverage provided by your mirrors. Car and Driver suggests a new alignment technique supported by the Society of Automotive Engineers that covers more angles with your side and rear view mirrors. When we first highlighted this tip, several commenters asked what's wrong with just looking over your shoulder as you change lanes—technically, nothing. But if you're willing to commit a little practice time to a new mirror setup, you might find yourself more in control of what's happening as you're speeding down the highway. (Original post)

9. Make Your Commute with Pre-Tax Money

The Frugal Dad blog suggests taking a second look for commuting discounts, including asking around your firm's HR types to see if any discounts or even pre-tax buy-ins are offered for public transportation, parking, or other commuting costs. If you happen to live in San Francisco, commenter JeffK suggests seeing if your employer might reimburse you for your bicycle commute. Photo by 91RS. (Original post)

8. Plan Around Traffic

Those estimates of driving time that online maps provide? They don't always know your commute like you know your commute. If you must be on time, avoid stress, or maybe just want to try a different route, check out Google's traffic mapping on desktop, iPhones, and Android units, give Bing's experimental maps a go, or, in larger cities, try a service like Commuter Feed, or simply run a Twitter search to see if drivers at a stand-still have shared their misery with the wider world. (Original posts: Google traffic maps, Commuter Feed)

7. Make Smart Use of Your "Down" Time

Blogger and web PR thinker Steve Rubel likes to make otherwise unusable time useful, primarily by listening to audiobooks relevant to his trade and queuing up articles for reading with the Instapaper service. If you're similarly willing to give up drive-time radio for something a bit more, well, mind-expanding, we've explored a few options cheaper than forking over bucks to Audible or iTunes. BooksShouldBeFree neatly organizes the public domain offerings, BooksFree offers a Netflix-like rental service, and you might be surprised to learn that iTunes can make any audio file you find into an audiobook. Keep in mind, too, that your local library likely has a good selection of audiobooks available. (Original posts: BooksShouldBeFree, BooksFree, iTunes/audiobooks).

6. Ride Your Bike to Work

It's the best fuel economy you can get, and the side effects aren't that bad, either. The Sietch Blog answers all the basic questions and gripes about bike commuting to work, and Paul Dorn offers smart tips on planning your route. Feel like you're devastatingly disconnected from your date life? It's fairly cheap to mount your smartphone to your bike—just be safe! Photo by richardmasoner. (Original posts: riding 101, route planning).

5. Avoid or Manage Getting Pulled Over

Nobody's ever planning to be pulled over, but you can be prepared. Stewart Rutledge schooled us on some techniques for beating a ticket, or at least upping your chance of a smooth transaction. Car and Driver interviewed state troopers on how to behave when pulled over, and a traffic attorney from the state of very serious traffic offenses, Virginia, offered his own debunking of ticket myths. If you've got a lead foot or a rolling stop style, they're all worth a read. Finally, you could try out a service like Trapster to get a heads up on common speed traps. (Original posts: Debunking myths, Trapster)

4. Manage Your Commuting Stress

Managing your commuter stress isn't about a zen state of mind or leaving five hours early. Avoiding minor cases of road rage every time you hop in the car can be accomplished by stepping back from your drive and examining it objectively, suggests auto writer Tom Vanderbilt. Don't change lanes in slow traffic, because it almost never matters. Make eye contact with other drivers when you can, look ahead down the road, and try to avoid a sense of personal entitlement to your lane merge, says Vanderbilt. Mixed with a good audiobook or other good use of down time, your commute might just become a lot less stressful, or even better—something you look forward to. Photo by DannyBen. (Original post)

3. Have a Stash for Your Stuff

No, not that kind of stash. We're talking about a pad for your gadgets, DIY car consoles, a clever dashboard camera mount, and makeshift mounts for your iPhone/iPod touch or $2 adjustable multi-gadget mount. Your priority is keeping your eyes on the road, of course, but these tiny projects make it less likely you'll have to dig around underneath a seat for your stuff while driving. (Original posts: sticky pad, console, dash camera, iPhone dock, adjustable dock).

2. Telecommute the Smart Way

If you're able to telecommute on occasional sick days or with some regularity, you'll still have office etiquette, politics, and logistics to deal with. Our own Gina, who's been working over the net for more than five years, offers some tips at a Harvard Business Review post on remote email, "checking in" with video chats or teleconferences, and using smart tools to collaborate. Photo by mccun934. (Original post)

1. Save Money on Gas

Back in the summer of 2008, when automotive fuel averaged $4 a gallon, Jason wrote up a guide to the easy but verified ways of saving money on gas. Since then, gas has leveled off in price and then crept back up, but no matter where it goes from here, spending less cash on your commute is always going to make you feel better about it. Photo by FutureAtlas.

What tips, tricks, projects, or simple tactics have made your commute better, faster, or less annoying? We'd love to hear about them, and maybe post about them, if you'd leave them in the comments.

Kevin Purdy00467505118896634895143038627879331137071008643768473440204911436582081809554747139662519340944878270634475683170588018216986398737440157390083030558015817964020368499051673684117116664260317709228043097452673468427186640103696992858477298813407855821112324012090845978342234042601327478712107477618404469394733444431566005978126147212484170324084837372084718713328792674937849705112378392177180045611466980962027762171915748935271961704127035079391131065871270098229312915992019001391040777487689278116600782720863289051467681367715370652109098942182171249632016499727350088057960540675272691763023606734794180786167740038292589517937995630969449884756473028811604648712486555455025213879691379113431697000169480482045401349699395360955146010068614018853826290227374917786500899110529731950411669783092773995860612054181587842646888123323813942921065262244486039279098448779188381648145925732040920300047641308199257161098517245904937922401647003062105021218305207053305331749519062313217887252846340028676682431342264511326924336963395291141833954640495954980111594709928683998813544593378346953676015371417784394220111693757040581833525805392877960948869803176934448482214621560782268770257073848211223513968671203948162660032100759010580145225692680845803409970807642809091597151237634645152203080087956535772362789615237497321394422035036829973234539311730214817369809555698003573982994851996062122543693238839405380040774584247417001102780276477348448202069260846099284427261181047969360380732817437091810105457019085887658769975272871056270820600311094208790366332563222935019133751746087575971592610388020050269014177085552893784037027567819710706776391553888219324037315311039551625113151140171942487159135983671657471036628345457710566460004799668550079181842936262479500799239977288455602307255010553791366019097092482716860492331745816379352632650915837361628615536119115521038211041206940809936790106880281607145299090181617766083656379268292763681707351116697966156516234289722588716035

Microsoft plans to discontinue development of its Windows Essential Business Server starting in June. Although Windows EBS was originally targeted at midsize businesses, Microsoft found that those customers were gravitating to products that address cloud-based management and virtualization needs, such as Windows Server 2008 R2 and Microsoft Business Productivity Online Suite. Microsoft says it plans on supporting EBS for its standard support cycle.
- Microsoft announced March 5 that it will discontinue its future development of Windows Essential Business Server effective June 30. Originally designed as an IT infrastructure option for midsize businesses, EBS found itself faced with a rapidly changing landscape thanks to the advent of cloud c...

(author unknown)

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Today, Canadian enterprise smartphone leader Research in Motion announced it has released BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express, a new server software solution for small BlackBerry deployments that incur no additional software or user license fees.

Starting in March, small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) will be able to download BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express for free. With it, small deployments of BlackBerry smartphones will be able to wirelessly sync e-mail, calendar, contacts, notes and tasks; remotely manage e-mail folders and search through the mail server; book meetings and appointments; check availability and forward calendar attachments; set out-of-office replies; edit Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint files using Documents To Go; and access files stored on the company network or business systems behind the company firewall.

As a free solution, it naturally lacks a significant number of the high-end services offered through the full BlackBerry Enterprise Server software (and even Hosted BlackBerry Services), such as support for IBM Lotus, Domino, Novell and Groupwise platforms, and client-based instant messaging protocols like BB Messenger, AIM, Yahoo and Google Talk. Also, high availability, monitoring, and wireless provisioning are not available.

With BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express, up to 75 users can access the e-mail server, or with dedicated servers, upwards of 2,000 users can be supported.

Research in Motion told us that the main difference between BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express and BlackBerry Professional Software are that BES Express has no cost for the software or CALs and can run on any internet-enabled data plan; BlackBerry Professional Software has a cost for the software and CALs, and it requires a BlackBerry Enterprise Server data plan.

Furthermore, BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express provides some additional features not found in BlackBerry Professional Software, including: HTML email support, Flag emails for follow-up, forward calendar appointments, open attachments in calendar appointments, remote file access, support for audio (.AWE, .WAV, .MP3 and Audio WMA files), support for Open Document Text (ODT), Open Document Presentations (ODP) and Open Document Spreadsheets (ODS), and support for Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2008.

To receive updates on the availability of BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express, sign up on RIM's product page.

Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010


Tim Conneally

Virtually every Google service has a Labs section devoted to implementing experimental features. There's Gmail Labs, Google (Search) Labs, Google Calendar Labs, and now, Google Maps Labs.

So what can you expect from Google Maps Labs?

Google Maps Labs is a testing ground for experimental features that aren't quite ready for primetime. They may change, break or disappear at any time.

Current features include Drag 'n' Zoom (for quickly zooming in on a specific spot), Aerial Imagery ("gives you rotatable, high-resolution overhead imagery presented in a new perspective"), a Where in the World game (to test your geography chops), Rotatable Maps (if you're sick of North always being up), What's Around Here (always highlight top search results in a view using small blips), and several more. Just hit the link below to browse your options, turn a few on, and get experimental with your maps. Thanks dedobleve!

Google Maps Labs

Adam Pash13604185307988195288029782761160810621420123550679095124920508050475035841735760172525682586778487761388494805700861448810872140520309183697147044598956134505890489655442557163132007805644133025191958172690519150347699991840362551788589075118180696974608707274058683512665071245420333386161984426173211944892130837888051015486875215926219820552389126211053138501649972735008805796176550158100267588750980001494578284058604370831206576652387095560990844213649640796691213284444734606597785579667786280068647780916110500570387084669384326939617112231597264525647052463010274091468591212259067963731192608306621016354335099124048082965951287110665328346996981208918050981012089696313097032438937471226450117780091802526677806864194334373414600014015843271452961780893329700673440532717620543765662625331012847829655768983010945804784991792280505023279663740719495029973200201449378600541256826218419318801977480623288904267151720289653855757201726856542477669984611101001141714162588131283044028257590300825951734756557394203573982994851996062092380256300244611111586099364072319755309116694650744016878147024713928697227221222676797279819638908790366332563222935141776623294110814280062991601039666048704323244148779664183079923997728845560230088946889758226185909505877435148474660131774387271133576000788798916794915687501795872381745695845021408525187940785291258782071775549680416272368206033995651178984437107479316291023143313402423947913088963407970457632123036416582888653590041533212160442044515052857171922631618031117791594945691560029216305981409218903338637765664997500054989929105898433211264518045692124209802357079744227893304011381664040541213830893654317410019018003354556913216589843031485723911825993251706731153711500407007705677043046054471059218302053444216251617888324430972682202680470772306065494173614593530866033540725782076703102791814175258334589685607

It ain't the first HDMI-to-Mini DisplayPort adapter that we've heard of, but there's nothing like a little competition in a market that Apple's own closed mindset helped create. Bitterness aside, we're pretty stoked to hear that Kanex -- the same company responsible for that oh-so-handy Mini DisplayPort Adapter for Mac mini -- has introduced its own solution for piping Blu-ray, Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 signals right onto that gorgeous 27-inch panel that resides in your iMac. Our BFFs over at TUAW stopped by the outfit's Macworld booth in order to give it a look, and they said that every pixel looked absolutely fantastic. Sadly, it looks as if you'll have to wait until April to drop your buck-fifty (not including cables), but hey, it's not like using that 13-inch CRT for a few more months will kill you. Or maybe it will, on second thought.

Kanex shows off HDMI to Mini DisplayPort adapter, your iMac celebrates originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Feb 2010 16:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  TUAW  | Email this | Comments

Darren Murph1744990577296459969003545964666694920486

Microsoft updates its Bing Maps application with more features, including one that integrates Flickr photos into its Streetside view, which presents an eye-level view of terrain. In the future, Microsoft plans to add real-time video, interior panoramas and constellation viewing to Bing Maps. The Bing road map for 2010 includes an increased focus on knitting together data from multiple sources for its results pages and structuring results more efficiently with help from third parties.
- Microsoft has integrated new features into its Bing Maps application as it continues to battle Google for U.S. search engine market share. The latest features continue the bulking-up of Bing Maps that has taken place over the previous few months and follow the road map for Bing that Microsoft la...

(author unknown)

Japanese Astronaut Souichi Noguchi, in orbit on board the International Space Station, tweets images back to Earth.(author unknown)

The latest minor-point update to OpenOffice brings users faster launch speeds and better support for Microsoft Office 2007-formatted files.(author unknown)