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Written by Tarun
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Saturday, 05 July 2008 23:54 |
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 I'd like to let you know that, beginning at the end of this month and continuing over the next few months, we'll be rolling out an infrastructure update to the Windows Update agent (client). I wanted to take this opportunity to provide some background on the update and discuss the value these updates bring to you.
How Windows Update Keeps Itself Up-to-Date
Occasionally, we must update the infrastructure of Windows Update in order to ensure a high level of service quality, reliability, and operation. As part of this process, we update both the back-end infrastructure that supports the service as well as the client side code (i.e. the Windows Update agent, or client).
So what are we doing this time? Well, this particular update won't really change the way the client looks or feels to you, but you may notice some improvements in the length of time it takes Windows Update to scan for updates and how quickly you'll receive signature updates. For example, in this update, we've invested heavily in reducing the amount of time it takes the Windows Update agent to scan to see if new updates are available. In this case, we've seen some instances of the scan times on some machines decreasing almost 20 percent.
Settings 101
Before we dive into how Windows Update issues the infrastructure updates, let's review some information about different changes you can make to your personal Windows Update settings. We recommend that you install Important + Recommended updates (in Windows Vista) or High Priority updates (in Windows XP) automatically; these options are presented when you set up Windows. After initial setup, if you would like to change your settings, go to the Windows Update application in Windows Vista or the Automatic Updates Control Panel in Windows XP. There you can select from 4 settings: (1) Automatically Download and Install; (2) Download Only (updates are downloaded but the user chooses whether and when to install them); (3) Check for Updates (no updates are downloaded and you're notified that updates are available for download and install); and (4) Off. See Figures 1 and 2 below.
 Screenshots: Figure 1 (Vista), Figure 2 (XP)
 Source: Microsoft Update Product Team Blog
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Written by Tarun
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Saturday, 05 July 2008 22:34 |
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 foobar2000 is a comprehensive, easy to use audio player for Windows. Featuring full Unicode support, advanced tagging capabilities, customizable hotkeys, ReplayGain to help correct your audio and many more useful utilities to assist your media library. There are multiple ways to configure and customize your user interface. foobar's developer also includes an open component architecture allowing third-party developers to extend functionality of the player.
foobar2000 allows you to easily use multiple playlists and utilize features to remove both duplicates and dead items. foobar handles multiple popular audio formats, including: MP1, MP2, MP3, MP4, MPC, AAC, Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, Ogg FLAC, WavPack, WAV, AIFF, AU, SND, and CDDA without the need for plugins to play all of those formats.There are also features to support viewing album art, browing your media library, having visualizations and configuring the equalizer.  Download: foobar2000 0.9.5.4 (2.71MB, *.exe)
 Information: Changes | Release Notes
Homepage: foobar2000
Link: Digg This!
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Written by Tarun
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Saturday, 05 July 2008 22:03 |
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 Notepad++ is a free source code editor (and Notepad replacement), which supports several programming languages, running under the MS Windows environment. This project, based on the Scintilla edit component, written in C++ with pure win32 api and STL that ensures the higher execution speed and smaller size of the program. Notepad++ supports the following languages: C, C++, Java, C#, XML, HTML, PHP, javascript, RC resource file, makefile, ASCII art file, doxygen, ini file, batch file, ASP, VB/VBS source files, SQL, Objective-C, CSS, Pascal, Perl, Python and Lua.
Download: Notepad++ 5.0
Homepage: Notepad++
Link: Digg This! |
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Written by Tarun
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Saturday, 05 July 2008 21:47 |
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 PDFs will soon become the international standard for electronic documents after Adobe relinquished control of the copyright to ISO.
The move is part of Adobe's plans to make such movement of files more open, and as the most popular standard, PDFs will now be even easier to create and move. "By releasing the full PDF specification for ISO standardization, we are reinforcing our commitment to openness", says Kevin Lynch, CTO at Adobe. "As governments and organizations increasingly request open formats, maintenance of the PDF specification by an external and participatory organization will help continue to drive innovation and expand the rich PDF ecosystem that has evolved over the past 15 years." Greater literacy Most businesses use PDFs as the main way of transitioning from paper to electronic documentation, and now a slew of new readers, writers and development tools for the format will likely be unveiled in the near future thanks to the move. For more information on the thrilling ins and outs of the deal, take a gander at the ISO website for the full press release. Source: TechRadar |
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Written by Tarun
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Wednesday, 02 July 2008 16:01 |
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 For several years, Lunarsoft has helped members rid their computers of malware by suggesting a variety of tools. Users would then have to search the internet for these tools and download them separately. The search for the right program can be daunting for some users, and takes valuable time.
Lunarsoft is proud to announce the release of LunarDownloader - a program that automatically downloads all of the recommended programs to help users clean their computers and keep them running at peak performance. Help keep your computer safe, secure and clean from malware - get LunarDownloader today! Changes: - [Added] Changes.log file to show changes.
- [Added] --help command line.
- [Fixed] Package choices dropdown now disabled during download.
- [Fixed] Items selected in the treeview now update when select by keyboard.
- [Fixed] Resolved bug where application would hang if items were downloading and then paused, when canceling downloads or exiting application.
- [Changed] Currently downloading file now reflects in the Program Information section.
- [Changed] Application no longer checks for applications.xml, instead downloads from Lunarsoft.
Download: LunarDownloader (*.zip) | LunarDownloader (*.exe installer)
Screenshot: LunarDownloader Preview
Forum: Support Forum
Homepage: Lunarsoft
Link: Digg This! |
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Written by Tarun
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Wednesday, 02 July 2008 11:34 |
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 Pidgin (formerly Gaim) is a multi-protocol instant messaging (IM) client for Linux, BSD, MacOS X, and Windows. It is compatible with AIM and ICQ (Oscar protocol), MSN Messenger, Yahoo!, IRC, Jabber, Gadu-Gadu, SILC, Novell GroupWise Messenger, Lotus Sametime, and Zephyr networks. Gaim users can log in to multiple accounts on multiple IM networks simultaneously. This means that you can be chatting with friends on AOL Instant Messenger, talking to a friend on Yahoo Messenger, and sitting in an IRC channel all at the same time.
Pidgin supports many features of the various networks, such as file transfer, away messages, and typing notification. It also goes beyond that and provides many unique features. A few popular features are Buddy Pounces, which give the ability to notify you, send a message, play a sound, or run a program when a specific buddy goes away, signs online, or returns from idle; and plugins, consisting of text replacement, a buddy ticker, extended message notification, iconify on away, spell checking, tabbed conversations, and more. Pidgin runs on a number of platforms, including Windows, Linux, and Qtopia (Sharp Zaurus and iPaq). Download: Pidgin 2.4.3
Homepage: Pidgin.im |
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Lunarsoft News
JavaRa allows you to update your Sun Java Runtime Environment to the latest version. You can also uninstall all old versions of Sun Java along with leftover files that are not uninstalled. Options allow you to choose how to update and also allows you to remove the automatic Java Update Checker from starting with your computer. JavaRa helps to ensure your computer stays secure with the latest Java updates.
Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware is a full-blown anti-malware program that has recently left the labs and can be considered the next step in the detection and removal of malware. Malwarebytes Team put together a host of new technologies that were specially designed to quickly detect, deter and destroy any malware that could reside in your computer.