Business

Time's up for users hoping to test run the Windows 7 beta , as today Microsoft blocked the ability to download the preview edition. "Sorry," the website has been telling users since midnight, February 9, "Windows 7 Beta downloads are no longer ... available." Anyone with interrupted downloads will be able to complete them, and those with a copy will still be able to access their product keys. No new downloads will be possible at this time. The beta edition, which had been open for download by the general public since January this year, will no longer be on Microsoft's website ... (view more)

A hole allowing hackers to take control of Microsoft Exchange was just one "critical" issue the Redmond-based company promises it has fixed with a patch correcting a total of eight vulnerabilities in its programs, including the Internet Explorer ... browser, Office, and its SQL Server . Three of the eight vulnerabilities patched yesterday were marked "critical". The most concerning is an issue with Exchange that would allow attackers to take over an Exchange server by simply forwarding a carefully crafted message to a corporate mail server. Microsoft has admitted that the vulnerability can be ... (view more)

The makers of the Firefox browser have officially joined the legal battle being waged by European regulators against Microsoft's tactics over Internet Explorer. But the man behind the latest Firefox edition says there's no need to include rival ... browsers in Windows. The European Commission has formally accepted a request from Mozilla to submit documents to its investigation over Microsoft's potential antitrust violations in bundling Internet Explorer with Windows. The move comes at a very late stage: the Commission has already made a ruling in principle against Microsoft and is currently ... (view more)

Microsoft has again changed its position on the User Account Control (UAC) interface for Windows 7. However, the company might be due some credit for the decision, given that they're being made in direct response to protests from common beta ... participants. More details are beginning to emerge about the proposed UAC, which has been at the center of significant controversy for several weeks. Earlier last week, rumors swirled that Microsoft had decided to ditch the UAC altogether. Users of Vista know UAC as the prompt that demands confirmation of just about any action in the operating system, ... (view more)

Is there anything Google can't do? Google mapping technology, the subject of intense international criticism last week with the introduction of the Latitude location-based social application, steps in to save the day by mapping raging Australian ... bushfires. This weekend, as the largest bushfires Australia has ever seen ravaged the landscape, engineers at Google Australia lent a helping hand by creating a Google Map that tracks the progress of the fires and provides essential information to those at risk. The map allows Australian citizens to keep track of clear, threatened, and danger zones ... (view more)

A note on a Microsoft blog aimed at Enterprise IT professionals says the Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) blocking tool will expire on April 28, 2009 and the Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) blocking tool will expire on May 19, 2009. (Source: technet.com ) ... The blocking tools, released in December 2007, prevent service packs from reaching PCs via the Windows Update service, and are used primarily by corporations that have not yet tested or approved the newest upgrades. (Source: computerworld.com ) Microsoft issues those tools on a regular basis when they roll out major updates to its operating system ... (view more)

Google recently released a location-aware mobile application (Google Latitude) allowing the friends and family of a mobile phone user to track their location at all times. Not only is the location of the mobile user featured, but the application can ... also be used to contact them via SMS, Google Talk or Gmail. Now, Privacy International, a non-profit, British-based organization acting as a watchdog for surveillance invasions by governments and corporations has publicly blasted the application, calling it an "unnecessary danger to the security and privacy of a user". (Source: computerworld.com ... (view more)

How do you feel about color? Does black depress you? Does yellow lift your spirits? Does red make your brain scream, 'alert!'? According to a recent study, color might actually have a significant impact on the way we feel and the way we work -- and ... the findings might even help companies improve productivity as the economy continues to struggle . In a fascinating study unveiled by University of British Columbia (UBC) researchers this week, certain colors were found to have drastically different effects on cognitive skills and even creativity. According to the group's findings, participants ... (view more)

Google has reached a deal with IBM to enhance its medical data system, Google Health. IBM will provide technology to allow users to update their records in real-time through Internet-connected medical devices. The technology involves fitting WiFi ... radio connections to tools such as heart rate monitors or blood sugar measurement meters. The data will then sync with their computer and automatically update their records in the Google Health service. The scheme, announced in 2007 and formally launched in May last year, allows users to store their medical records online and import details from ... (view more)

Yet another major tech company has announced severely depressed quarterly profits . Cisco Systems, the network and communications giant that employs 66,000 people, recently revealed that it saw profits fall 27 per cent as the global economy ... continues its slide. According to Cisco, for the three months prior to January 24 the company saw profits dip from $2.1 billion in 2008 to just $1.5 billion this year. As one might expect, quarterly sales were also down, dipping 7.5 per cent from the same period last year. (Source: bbc.co.uk ) Company shares are down, too. Cisco earnings per share floated ... (view more)