software

Adobe is taking on the likes of Microsoft and Google by making it easier to use its software online, meaning colleagues in different locations can create and work on documents together much more easily. The move coincides with the launch of Adobe ... Acrobat 9, the latest edition of their PDF software. That's a format that allows users to share documents (which can include images as well as text) without having to both use the same software. It's often used to reproduce hard-copy documents such as magazine pages. The biggest development with Acrobat 9 is that users can now include animations and ... (view more)

Officials in India, Brazil and South Africa have all filed official protests against an international decision backing Microsoft's controversial 'open' document format. Office Open XML (OOXML) is Microsoft's own invented format where documents (such ... as those created in word processors or spreadsheets) are designed to work on all computers regardless of what software is being used. The problem is that there's already an open format named OpenDocument which was created by an independent organisation. Critics say it's redundant to have a second open format -- by definition there only needs to be ... (view more)

The latest study commissioned by the Business Software Alliance (BSA) shows that software pirates caused the software industry sales losses of nearly $48 billion last year. The fifth annual report says that from 2006 to 2007, overall losses grew by ... $8 billion and worldwide piracy rates increased by 3 percentage points to 38 percent. While overall losses grew, piracy rates dipped in 67 of 108 countries included in the report. The BSA said about half of the increased dollars are attributable to the declining value of the dollar. In an interview conducted by CNET News , BSA President Robert ... (view more)

Microsoft could be in even more trouble with European Union competition regulators after a complaint by a British government agency. The British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (BECTA), which oversees computer purchasing in schools ... and colleges, says Microsoft Office doesn't work smoothly enough with other programmes. They argue that Microsoft should use the independent OpenDocument format which makes it easy to transfer files such as spreadsheets or word documents between rival software packages. Microsoft has its own 'open' format, Office Open XML, but critics say it's too ... (view more)

Microsoft is launching an online service giving users access to images from space telescopes. It could mean yet another battle with Google, which has its own service, Google Sky. Bill Gates says the WorldWide Telescope project should be online by ... the end of the month. The free service is based on Microsoft's Visual Experience Engine, the same technology which runs the Microsoft Virtual Earth mapping software. By combining this software with thousands of images taken from space cameras, the service effectively acts as an interactive telescope. Where appropriate there will also be links to ... (view more)

Security researchers have reportedly developed a new type of malicious rootkit software capable of hiding itself in an obscure part of a computer's microprocessor, hidden from current antivirus products. Dubbed a System Management Mode (SMM) ... rootkit, the software runs in a protected part of a computer's memory that can be locked and rendered invisible to the operating system, but it can give attackers details of what's happening in a computer's memory. The SMM rootkit, built by Shawn Embleton and Sherri Sparks, operators of security company Clear Hat Consulting, comes with keylogging and ... (view more)

If you are a Microsoft Outlook user and let your emails build up by the dozens (like me), going back to locate an important message in a sea of junk mail can be an arduous task. Even if you are meticulous about storing and filing your emails, saving ... hundreds of "important" messages and having to locate a specific one can have the same effect. Xobni is here to help. Xobni -- "inbox" spelled backwards -- is a small Internet start-up company based in San Francisco and is introducing a new application that works together with Outlook to give users a better emailing experience. The software ... (view more)

Software Virtualization Solution Altiris Software Virtualization Solution is a revolutionary approach to software management. By placing applications and data into managed units called Virtual Software Packages, Software Virtualization Solution ... allows you to instantly activate, deactivate or reset applications and to completely avoid conflicts between applications without altering the base Windows installation. http://www.svsdownloads.com/ Panel Hider The program can attach any desktop window to one of the screen edges and auto hide it. Hidden panels will work like the windows TaskBar, making ... (view more)

Microsoft is experimenting with the idea of renting its software rather than only having it available to buy out-right. The scheme, codenamed Albany, would allow US users to pay a monthly subscription for a package of software which would likely ... comprise Word, Excel, PowerPoint and anti-virus software. Users in some developing countries can already rent Office, and Microsoft's OneCare security package is already available for annual subscription in America. However, this would be the first time Office could be rented in a major market like the US. The company believes the biggest selling ... (view more)

The leading manufacturer of software using the open source Linux system says it's still too tricky to produce a serious competitor to the Windows operating system that is suitable for the average PC user. Linux is an operating system based on open ... source code; that means it's free to use, distribute and alter it. Indeed, many computer developers find ways to improve it and then share those improvements. Think of it like the Wikipedia of programming. The system is popular for running servers, the large machines at the heart of computer networks. That's because it's generally seen as more ... (view more)