John Lister

Microsoft has recently released a new, slimmed down version of the Xbox 360. The new gaming console resembles the re-launched Sony Playstation 3 (PS3), coupled with motion control technology following in the footsteps of the Nintendo Wii. The new ... edition of the Xbox 360 remains at the same $299 price, but doubles the hard drive capacity to 250 GB. The device is physically smaller than the original Xbox 360 and also adds built-in wireless (Wifi) network access. Other changes are more mechanical: it's suggested that the main processor and the graphics hardware have been integrated on the same ... (view more)

Microsoft is running a special offer allowing students to upgrade to Windows 7 for just $29.99. They can also buy a special academic edition of Office 2010 for $79.95 outright. The upgrade offer is for the Professional edition of Windows 7. That's ... effectively the midway point between Home Premium (the edition most home users will be running) and Ultimate (the most feature-filled and expensive edition for individuals). Compared with Home Premium, the Professional edition offers some extra features which might not appeal to students, such as easier company network connections, but one which ... (view more)

Google's forthcoming Chrome operating system (OS) will be able to run applications from other operating systems, such as Microsoft Windows. The procedure is a relatively simple technical solution, though one which has practical limitations. The ... Chrome operating system, which has been released in a form developers can experiment with works in a different way than most web browsers. It's designed to run when the computer is online and is, to a major extent, a souped-up version of Google's Chrome web browser. Chrome OS Goes Easy on Old PCs Instead of standalone applications on the computer, most ... (view more)

Microsoft has identified a potential security risk in the Help function of Windows XP. But there is some controversy over the way the issue has come to light. This bug involves XP's Help and Support Center, and specifically a style of link which ... routes a browser to a help page built into Windows rather than a web page. Such links begin hcp:// rather than the more familiar http:// and are a way of making it easier to give online help and advice by allowing writers to include smooth links to Windows' own help pages. Whitelist Help Pages Spoofed Tavis Ormandy, an information security engineer ... (view more)

Microsoft has released security updates for 34 different problems, a monthly total that has only been matched once. Three sets of problems are ranked as critical, and several are so-called zero-day bugs. A zero-day bug is one in which the problem is ... not discovered by the software developer itself. This creates the risk that hackers will be able to get a head-start on finding a way to exploit the bug before the developer is able to produce a fix. The critical issues affect both Internet Explorer and Windows itself. Of the 10 security bulletins, these are the priority for installation and ... (view more)

Microsoft has confirmed that the first official version of Service Pack 1 for Windows 7 will be released next month (July, 2010). It doesn't appear the pack will bring any major updates, but it could still drive up business sales. A service pack is ... a collection of all updates released for the software since its original launch. At one stage service packs were a way to get updates (via disc) to people on dial-up modems who didn't want to use the automatic update download service; today they are used more among people who prefer to carry out major updates in a single batch. Another benefit of ... (view more)

Microsoft has decided to remove its "Bing cashback" feature after a lack of interest among retailers. The scheme allowed users to search for products and then get a rebate for buying from a selected seller. The scheme originally launched as part of ... Microsoft's Live search engine, before being rebranded when Live merged with MSN to produce the new Bing site. The launch of Bing arguably made the cashback tool more useful for both Microsoft and customers, as Bing is based around providing results in a variety of categories depending on the subject of a search. For example, people ... (view more)

A new survey appears to confirm what most would suspect: people who discover security flaws make more money selling the details to criminals than to legitimate security companies. Research firm "Unsecurity" has carried out a survey of people who ... have discovered zero-day vulnerabilities and them sold them to security companies that then use the data to improve their products. Zero-day vulnerabilities occur when the original software manufacturer is unaware of a security risk in a software program. The name comes from the idea that once the manufacturer discovers the problem, there's ... (view more)

Microsoft chief Steve Ballmer spoke at a news conference in New Delhi on Thursday and has guaranteed the much delayed Windows Phone 7 system will be released before the end of the year. Critics suggest, however, that beating the holiday shopping ... deadline will not provide much financial gain, but is more of a deadline to save face. (Source: informationweek.com ) Microsoft Management Shake-Up The comments do clear up some concerns over Microsoft's recent management shake-ups. As noted last week , Robbie Balch, who headed the entertainment and devices division, is leaving the company. Instead of ... (view more)

This week marked a historic, albeit merely symbolic moment in technology history. For the first time, Apple is worth more than Microsoft. The statistic in question is the market capitalization of the two companies, namely the current stock price ... multiplied by the number of shares. In theory it's the price you'd have to pay to take over the company -- though in reality, either the sellers or buyers controlling the deal would ultimately affect the takeover price. As of the end of trading on Wednesday, Apple's value was $222 billion, overtaking Microsoft's $219 billion. As well as taking the top ... (view more)