Posts tagged office
Mozilla whines about browser ballot screen, iPhone outsold Windows Mobile, Snow Leopard’s here & more
Aug 25th
Tech news roundup for August 24, 2009.
- Update | Mozilla asks EU to reject Microsoft’s Windows 7 browser plan #
- Update | Microsoft warns of chaos if Word sales are halted #
- iPhone Outsold All Windows Mobile Phones in Q2: Analyst #
- Snow Leopard now available from Apple Store, ships Aug. 28 #
- Blurb | Looks like Zune HD supports apps too #
Mozilla asks EU to reject Microsoft’s Windows 7 browser plan
After much ado over Microsoft’s “browser ballot screen” Mozilla is now requesting the EU to reject the OS vendor’s browser plan. Mozilla is obviously dissatisfied with the fact that Internet Explorer would get a more prominent spot on the screen, because – obviously – IE still has the biggest browser usage-share. Mozilla claims this is “unfair” and continues to whine. Source at ComputerWorld.
Microsoft warns of chaos if Word sales are halted
Because of the utter boringness of this story, I’m sure you won’t mind me just quoting ComputerWorld: “Microsoft Corp.warned last week that an injunction preventing it from selling Word in the U.S. after Oct. 10 would cause “massive disruptions” to sales of its Office software, as well as to key partners like Best Buy Co., Dell Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co.” Source at ComputerWorld.
iPhone Outsold All Windows Mobile Phones in Q2: Analyst
I always take analyst reports with a grain of salt, but the inevitable has happened in the smartphone world. The Apple iPhone has outsold Windows Mobile based phones for the first time in Q2 2009, with a lead of approx. 4.7%. Industry leaders Nokia and Blackberry retain suit with respectively first (~44%) and second (~21%) places. Palm isn’t currently on the list, despite its efforts with the Palm Pre. Blog post at TechnologyExpert.
Snow Leopard now available from Apple Store, ships Aug. 28
After the Apple Store’s brief down-time on Monday morning the site pulled up again with Mac OS X Snow Leopard’s page updated and release confirmation. Shipping date of the OS is officially scheduled for August 28, 2009. If you pre-order now you’ll get it on the 28th – guaranteed. Also, no shipping fees will be charged for the time being. Source at ArsTechnica.
Looks like Zune HD supports apps too
Microsoft’s much anticipated competitor to Apple’s iPod Touch will sport an application platform/store after all. This was the last essential selling point needed for Microsoft to make a fair chance against Apple Inc. As things stand now, the Zune HD will also be more affordable than than the current-gen iPod Touch. Blog post at Paul Thurrott’s Supersite Blog.
Disclaimer: The news summaries above contain opinions of editorial nature. Opinions expressed in this post do not reflect those of source materials and are entirely my own.
Legalizing TPB, Slim PS3, Mobile Office Web Apps, and more
Aug 20th
Tech News roundup for August 19, 2009.
- How The Pirate Bay will be legalized #
- Sony unveils slim PS3, price-drops #
- Blogger “strike” in Italy #
- Office Web Applications will support mobile browsers #
- Opinion: Why AT&T killed Google Voice #
- More on my FriendFeed at friendfeed.com/aceontech
How The Pirate Bay will be legalized
GGF – the company which is to acquire The Pirate Bay – has laid out its plan on how it thinks it will be able to legalize the notorious torrent sharing site. It proposes, as it had stated before, to start charging for the use of the site. Use of TBP would include downloading as well as uploading (sharing) of files. It’s not yet set in stone how steep the subscription fee will be, but GGF has stated it would grant copyright holders two options if they object to the free sharing of a certain file. The way they hope to ‘legalize’ TBP is to offer either a financial contribution with each download or pull down certain torrents at request. If copyright holders collectively go for the latter, I imagine TBP won’t continue to exist much longer. Also GGF hopes to establish partnerships with the entertainment industry and possibly start offering ‘official’ paid torrents. Source at TorrentFreak.
Sony unveils slim PS3, price-drops
True to Sony’s track-record and business cycle, it will be putting out a slimmer version of the PS3 somewhere in September. It will allegedly take up 33% less space and suck 34% less power. Sony’s also offering the console at lower prices, near to $300 US for the lower-end model and $400 US for the higher end model. Source at NewsWeek.
Blogger “strike” in Italy
Because of the impending Italian laws that could cause independent bloggers and content creators to have to pay fees if they refuse to pull down content, bloggers decided to have a strike to counter it. The Italian blogosphere went quiet for one day, but one might wonder, is this the way to achieve something? One would rather think it would be more efficient to make more of a raucous instead of plainly shutting up… Source at TechDirt.
Office Web Applications will support mobile browsers
Microsoft’s release of Office 2010 will bring along version 1 of Office Web Applications, the full Office suite for the web, for free. Features will be limited, of course. For only so many features are useful for the web. The surprise here will be that not only all major browsers will be supported, but that mobile browser will also get full support. Microsoft is essentially giving Office away for free to millions of users, including Linux and Mac users alike. Source at ArsTechnica.
Also, read Paul Thurrott’s preview of Office Web Applications 2010.
Opinion: Why AT&T killed Google Voice
Andy Kessler from WSJ writes: “Telecom operators are yesterday’s business. It’s time for a national data policy that encourages innovation” and opines why AT&T pulled Google Voice for the iPhone. The article also broadens its spectrum (pun) and calls for unifying voice traffic and cable distribution to become mere data traffic – making matters more neutral and ultimately cheaper. Source at WSJ.