Pramnos.com - Articles http://www.pramnos.com/page69.html Full Feed PramnosCMS (c) 2002 - 2007, Pramnos Hosting webmaster@nikaria.gr Facebook Agrees to Acquire Sharing Service FriendFeed http://www.pramnos.com/story69-3271.html Facebook today announced that it has agreed to acquire FriendFeed, the innovative service for sharing online. As part of the agreement, all FriendFeed employees will join Facebook and FriendFeed’s four founders will hold senior roles on Facebook’s engineering and product teams.]]>

“Facebook and FriendFeed share a common vision of giving people tools to share and connect with their friends,” said Bret Taylor, a FriendFeed co-founder and, previously, the group product manager who launched Google Maps. “We can’t wait to join the team and bring many of the innovations we’ve developed at FriendFeed to Facebook’s 250 million users around the world.”

“As we spent time with Mark and his leadership team, we were impressed by the open, creative culture they’ve built and their desire to have us contribute to it,” said Paul Buchheit, another FriendFeed co-founders. Buchheit, the Google engineer behind Gmail and the originator of Google’s “Don’t be evil” motto, added, “It was immediately obvious to us how passionate Facebook’s engineers are about creating simple, ground-breaking ways for people to share, and we are extremely excited to join such a like-minded group.”

Taylor and Buchheit founded FriendFeed along with Jim Norris and Sanjeev Singh in October 2007 after all four played key roles at Google for products like Gmail and Google Maps. At FriendFeed, they’ve brought together a world-class team of engineers and designers.

“Since I first tried FriendFeed, I’ve admired their team for creating such a simple and elegant service for people to share information,” said Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder and CEO. "As this shows, our culture continues to make Facebook a place where the best engineers come to build things quickly that lots of people will use."

FriendFeed is based in Mountain View, Calif. and has 12 employees. FriendFeed.com will continue to operate normally for the time being as the teams determine the longer term plans for the product.

Financial terms of the acquisition were not released.

]]> Mon, 10 Aug 2009 21:00:00 +0000 Zenwalk 4.8 http://www.pramnos.com/story69-2332.html After several release-candidates, it seems that we are ready for a very stable release. Overall, testers have found Zenwalk 4.8 the fastest version ever. ]]> After several release-candidates, it seems that we are ready for a very stable release. Overall, testers have found Zenwalk 4.8 the fastest version ever.

Kernel is now at 2.6.22.9, with its new wireless stack, tickless clock and 1000 Hz scheduler for better reactivity while lowering power consumption (ideal for laptops).

Talking about applications, the very visible change in 4.8 is the substitute of firefox and Thunderbird into the equivalent GNU Licence versions, named IceWeasel and IceDove. Zenwalk is setup with Firefox and Thunderbird support so that all softwares work with IceWeasel and IceDove.

Video/Xorg auto-configuration has been improved to handle widescreen monitors as well as to provide full features for Synaptics touchpads.
The fine-tuning of the user interface continues with new desktop artwork, new bootsplash.

Zenwalk 4.8 introduces GMusicBrowser, an application that can do everything you can dream of to categorize your music collection, edit tags, normalize filenames, and browse thousands of music files very easily.

Audacious has been removed (now available in the "Extra" repository), all functionality is now handled by other pieces of software, including GMusicBrowser (the jukebox), Streamtuner (the stream browser) and G-Mplayer (the multimedia player) , each taking care of their own specialty.

Thanks to our great community packagers, Zenwalk now boasts 1000 of recent packages in the "extra" repository, including OpenOffice 2.3.0, KDE 3.5.7, Gnome 2.18.3 and many other new packages as well as numerous language packs.

We hope you will enjoy working with Zenwalk 4.8 and we hope to see you soon on support.zenwalk.org to join one of the best Linux communities ;)

Cheers
JP

Download Mirrors
]]> Sat, 06 Oct 2007 21:00:00 +0000 New version of MSN Video today http://www.pramnos.com/story69-2310.html

The new MSN Video makes it easier for viewers to find and discover the breadth of video content from more than 40 leading video content providers, as well as video from across the Web. MSN Video now also integrates Soapbox user-generated videos directly into the same easy-to-use destination, and enables people to search and browse the entire MSN Video catalog while concurrently watching a video in a split-screen format. In addition, MSN Video users are now able to easily create playlists of their favorite videos and share them with friends.

“This latest release of MSN Video will make discovering, watching and sharing video easier and more entertaining than ever before,” said Rob Bennett, general manager, entertainment, video and sports for MSN. “By increasing the discoverability of our deep catalog, making it easier to share videos with friends, and improving the advertising model, we are continuing in our mission to make video an integral part of the MSN experience.”

The advertising delivery model for MSN Video, a first of its kind for a major online portal, now delivers advertising based on the amount of time a viewer spends watching videos, instead of by the number of clips watched. This improvement will provide a more predictable viewing experience and enable people to “channel surf” without being interrupted. MSN users will now see pre-roll advertisements before the first video and then see additional advertisements no more than once every three minutes during their viewing session.

The new version of MSN Video is available today in the U.S. and in a beta version in more than 10 markets worldwide, including Brazil, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain and the U.K. Over the next several months, MSN Video will be incorporated throughout all the MSN channels to creative a cohesive experience video experience throughout the portal.

Links: Microsoft, MSN Video.

]]> Tue, 25 Sep 2007 21:00:00 +0000 Microsoft Surface http://www.pramnos.com/story69-2289.html Picture a surface that can recognize physical objects from a paintbrush to a cell phone and allows hands-on, direct control of content such as photos, music and maps. Today at the Wall Street Journal’s D: All Things Digital conference, Microsoft Corp. CEO Steve Ballmer will unveil Microsoft Surface™, the first in a new category of surface computing products from Microsoft that breaks down traditional barriers between people and technology. Surface turns an ordinary tabletop into a vibrant, dynamic surface that provides effortless interaction with all forms of digital content through natural gestures, touch and physical objects. Beginning at the end of this year, consumers will be able to interact with Surface in hotels, retail establishments, restaurants and public entertainment venues.

The intuitive user interface works without a traditional mouse or keyboard, allowing people to interact with content and information on their own or collaboratively with their friends and families, just like in the real world. Surface is a 30-inch display in a table-like form factor that small groups can use at the same time. From digital finger painting to a virtual concierge, Surface brings natural interaction to the digital world in a new and exciting way.

“With Surface, we are creating more intuitive ways for people to interact with technology,” Ballmer said. “We see this as a multibillion dollar category, and we envision a time when surface computing technologies will be pervasive, from tabletops and counters to the hallway mirror. Surface is the first step in realizing that vision.”

The Human Touch

Microsoft Surface puts people in control of their experiences with technology, making everyday tasks entertaining, enjoyable and efficient. Imagine ordering a beverage during a meal with just the tap of a finger. Imagine quickly browsing through music and dragging favorite songs onto a personal playlist by moving a finger across the screen. Imagine creating and sending a personal postcard of vacation pictures instantly to friends and family, while still wearing flip-flops.

Surface also features the ability to recognize physical objects that have identification tags similar to bar codes. This means that when a customer simply sets a wine glass on the surface of a table, a restaurant could provide them with information about the wine they’re ordering, pictures of the vineyard it came from and suggested food pairings tailored to that evening’s menu. The experience could become completely immersive, letting users access information on the wine-growing region and even look at recommended hotels and plan a trip without leaving the table.

Surface computing at Microsoft is an outgrowth of a collaborative effort between the Microsoft Hardware and Microsoft Research teams, which were struck by the opportunity to create technology that would bridge the physical and virtual worlds. What started as a high-level concept grew into a prototype and evolved to today’s market-ready product that will transform the way people shop, dine, entertain and live. It’s a major advancement that moves beyond the traditional user interface to a more natural way of interacting with information. Surface computing, which Microsoft has been working on for a number of years, features four key attributes:

• Direct interaction. Users can actually “grab” digital information with their hands, interacting with content by touch and gesture, without the use of a mouse or keyboard.

• Multi-touch. Surface computing recognizes many points of contact simultaneously, not just from one finger like a typical touch-screen, but up to dozens of items at once.

• Multi-user. The horizontal form factor makes it easy for several people to gather around surface computers together, providing a collaborative, face-to-face computing experience.

• Object recognition. Users can place physical objects on the surface to trigger different types of digital responses, including the transfer of digital content.

Surface Puts People in Control

Surface will be shipped to partners with a portfolio of basic applications, including photos, music and virtual concierge applications that can be customized to provide their customers with unique experiences. Harrah’s Entertainment Inc., Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., and T-Mobile USA Inc. will be some of the first companies to provide unique Surface experiences for their customers. These first partners are exploring a variety of avenues for Surface, which may include the following:

• Harrah’s Entertainment. Guests at Harrah’s Entertainment’s Las Vegas properties, including Caesars Palace and the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino, can explore the wide variety of dining, entertainment, night life and gaming experiences available at its network of area casinos. Using the interactive virtual concierge in Microsoft Surface, guests can reserve tickets to an Elton John concert, review the menu at chic eatery Bradley Odgen, take a tour of the world-famous PURE nightclub, book a luxurious spa treatment or redeem Total Rewards loyalty program credits for a broad range of merchandise. The virtual concierge can directly connect users to amenities available at any of Harrah’s seven Las Vegas casinos, allowing guests to “visit” multiple venues and plan their itineraries without ever getting up from their table. “When visitors to Las Vegas choose to stay at one of our casinos, they can enjoy the amenities at all of them,” said Tim Stanley, Harrah’s chief information officer and senior vice president of innovation, gaming and IT. “Microsoft Surface is a great way to help our guests get the most out of their trips to Las Vegas by putting all the offerings and experiences we make available at their fingertips.”

• Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide. Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: HOT) will initially launch Surface at Sheraton Hotels & Resorts, Starwood’s largest and most global brand. Surface will help bring interaction, connectivity and play to Sheraton hotels’ new lobby experience, currently being rolled out in key cities worldwide. To provide guests with greater service, unique experiences and entertainment, Sheraton embraced Surface as a key component of its lobby transformation. Surface will enable guests to browse and listen to music, create their own playlists, send photos home, download books, and even order food and drinks — all with the drop of a credit card or their Starwood Preferred Guest loyalty card. “We are creating new and engaging ways for our guests to connect with their passions while away from home. Microsoft Surface puts us at the forefront of technology and allows guests to interact with each other and our hotel in a revolutionary way,” said Hoyt H. Harper II, senior vice president for Sheraton.

• T-Mobile USA. Customers in T-Mobile retail stores might place different cell phones on Surface’s interactive surface where product features, prices and phone plans would appear so they could be easily compared. “We are continuously working to build the greatest retail experience we can for our customers,” said Bonita Inza, vice president of Retail at T-Mobile USA. “They tell us they want more information about our products and services, but in a way that is easily accessible, at their own pace and with the amount of detail that they prefer. Surface is one example of how we’re turning our stores into a playground where customers can comfortably explore exciting new products in their own personal way.”

Surface will also be made available through a distribution and development agreement with IGT (International Game Technology NYSE: IGT), a global company specializing in the design, development, manufacturing, distribution and sales of computerized gaming machines and systems products.

“Consumers now have an entirely new way to get the information they need, turning their everyday tasks into enjoyable and engaging experiences,” said Pete Thompson, general manager of Microsoft Surface Computing. “There are hundreds of thousands of restaurants, hotels and retail locations that are looking to give their customers the unique and memorable experiences that Surface will provide. In turn, companies have a new opportunity for generating additional revenue streams and increasing retail traffic.” ]]> Thu, 31 May 2007 04:46:32 +0000 Announcing the release of Fedora Core 5 http://www.pramnos.com/story69-1595.html 
Sharing is a really good thing to do.  I like to share all my toys and
books and stuff with all the other kids so that they can play with
them and even learn things, too.  I have a lot of neat stuff to share,
so I made this cool list to tell you all about it.  Teacher gave me
some things to put in the list, but since I'm a big kid I think I
should get to say what I want, too.

* GNOME 2.14

"Improved speed and usability, and new and better features for power
management, file sharing, user help, system administration,
teleconferencing, picture browsing, and networking."  I think it's
easy enough for even my little brother to use, but Mommy and Daddy
like it a lot too.

* OpenOffice 2.0.2

"Enhanced productivity features, extensive compatibility with other
popular office software, database connectivity functions, and improved
use of system libraries for faster loading and better responsiveness
overall."  Mommy says she can make slide shows for work even easier
than before, and Daddy uses it to organizes all our books, music, and
movies in databases.

* KDE 3.5.1

"New and exciting features for users and developers, including stylish
and attractive applets, educational and entertaining games, incredibly
standards-compliant Internet tools, and enhanced multimedia and
usability."  Plus it looks REALLY cool, especially when my big sister
fixes it just the way she likes.

* Mono

"Support for .NET means a new generation of dynamic and powerful
cross-platform applications, with some already included, such as
Tomboy for note-taking, F-Spot for photo management, and Beagle for
content searching and indexing."  See, I told you I'm really good at
sharing!  Plus, I don't ever have a problem remembering or finding
things, like pictures, homework, or messages.  Mommy says she's really
proud of me.

* Yum-based Package Tools

"Installation and software management tools are all based on the
flexible and powerful yum utility for easy selection and upgrade of
new and existing software."  And soon, I'll even be able to get my own
special software at install time!

* Xen Virtualization

"The best framework yet for installation, management, migration, and
monitoring of software-based virtual domains, allowing system owners
to effectively leverage and force-multiply existing hardware for
maximum efficiency, scalability, redundancy, and flexibility."
Teacher says I get more work done faster than any other kid in our
class, too.

* Apache HTTP Server 2.2

"Enhanced authentication, database support, proxy facilities, and
content filtering, all built on the most stable and customizable
platform for Web services."

* Enhanced Security

"Support for SELinux binary policy modules means that users and
developers can now ship their own specialized policies with affected
software.  GCC's best of breed features, such as stack protection, NX,
PIE, and compile-time buffer checks, pile on additional layers of
assurance to effectively block illegal ingress."  I know all my safety
rules, and Mommy and Daddy say that it's really, REALLY hard for
monsters to get in our house!


So at school, I got awards for "Best Attendance," "Teacher's Pet,"
"Honor Roll," and "Good Manners," plus Teacher lets me stay after to
clean the erasers until Daddy comes to pick me up.  He always tells me
how good I am compared to the other kids he knows and that he's really
proud of me.  He says it's because I'm 100% free and open source, and
because I always try to do the right thing just like he and Mommy
taught me.

I told him I didn't just learn it from him, but from all the nice
people at Red Hat and the Fedora community, who teach me new things
all the time.  They're all different kinds of people -- users,
developers, writers, translators, testers, editors, and so many other
things I can't even write it all.  They're the people who make it
possible to build a complete Linux platform from open source software.

But they say we're not done yet, and we can ALWAYS use more friends to
help, so if you think this sounds neat, you should definitely visit:

  * http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/HelpWanted

All right, I have to go now.  There's always more things to learn and
do and I am a very, extremely busy kid.  'Bye!

- - -

Fedora is a set of projects sponsored by Red Hat and guided by the
contributors.  These projects are developed by a large community of
people who strive to provide and maintain the very best in free, open
source software and standards. Fedora Core, the central Fedora project,
is an operating system and platform, based on Linux, that is always free
for anyone to use, modify, and distribute, now and forever.

Fedora Core 5 is available at absolutely no cost.  To download it:

VIA BITTORRENT (RECOMMENDED):

  * http://torrent.fedoraproject.org/bordeaux-binary-i386.torrent
  * http://torrent.fedoraproject.org/bordeaux-binary-x86_64.torrent
  * http://torrent.fedoraproject.org/bordeaux-binary-ppc.torrent

For DVD and other formats, refer to http://torrent.fedoraproject.org/

If you run an earlier version of Fedora Core, you can get BitTorrent
from Fedora Extras.  If you are using another platform, you can get
BitTorrent at:

  * http://www.bittorrent.com/ 

VIA WEB:

Visit the main Fedora download site listed below.  You will be automatically
redirected to a mirror of Fedora Core 5.  There may be delays due to site 
congestion, especially in the days immediately following the release, so 
BitTorrent is recommended instead.

  * http://download.fedora.redhat.com/pub/fedora/linux/core/5


VIA CD/DVD:

Visit the following site for a list of vendors of Fedora Core CD/DVD
media:

  * http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Distribution/OnlineVendors

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]]> Wed, 22 Mar 2006 15:16:50 +0000 Google Finance Beta http://www.pramnos.com/story69-1598.html

Our goal with Google Finance is to enhance the user experience when searching for financial information and make this information useful and digestible for all types of users. Google Finance also strives to offer users a new way to understand stock performance.

While a lot of sites can tell users a stock moved, Google Finance offers context as to why by incorporating relevant news and blog postings. Say a favorite stock hit a high three months ago. Users can click and drag on an interactive stock chart to view the company�s performance in different time periods and map related news events to the stock. So, if a major company announcement or an analyst upgrade helped give the stock a boost, users will be able to more easily see a correlation between that information.

Some of the highlights in Google Finance Beta include:

  • Interactive Charts – Google Finance takes financial charts one step further by mapping market data with corresponding news stories in one interactive chart, so users can track news to stock performance. In addition, users can click and drag on the charts to see different time periods, and zoom in/out for more detailed information.
  • Search – Unlike many financial sites, Google Finance lets users search for public and private companies, as well as mutual funds, using both company names and ticker symbols. Users can also search for companies by the names of management team members.
  • News – Google Finance integrates the Google News service, which gathers stories from more than 4,500 English news sources worldwide. Google News is clustered in groups by news topic, rather than listed by date, so users do not have to scroll through multiple headlines on the same news story.
  • Blogs – Google Finance incorporates blog postings for related company information from Google Blog Search.
  • Discussion Groups – Google Finance helps users connect with each other by offering high quality discussion forums. To help ensure a high-quality experience, we have a team of folks dedicated to keeping the discussion groups free of spam and irrelevant posts.
  • Portfolios – Google Finance offers a fast and easy way to create and maintain your portfolio of stocks and mutual funds.

Google Finance is a free service, accessible from http://finance.google.com, the symbols on users' Google personalized homepages and Google Desktop Sidebars, or by entering a ticker symbol into any Google search box.

Google Finance was designed to provide information about U.S. and international exchanges, companies and funds. Although the product is mostly focused on the North American market currently, you�ll see some international content on markets in Amsterdam, Brussels, Lisbon, Paris and Toronto. We are committed to adding additional international content as quickly as possible.

Additional information is available in today's blog post at http://googleblog.blogspot.com/ and a reviewer's guide will be available shortly on our press center http://www.google.com/press/guides.html.

]]> Tue, 21 Mar 2006 22:00:00 +0000 NOD32 Anti Virus Software Program Remains Unaffected by Symantec and McAfee Prob http://www.pramnos.com/story69-1504.html Other companies such as McAfee and Trend Micro will also have to make serious adjustments in their software. It is unknown how long it will take these three internet security software companies to respond to the malicious code so that all of their customers have any true element of protection. Even when they do issue patches for the most recent recognized flaws, they will still be reactive products.

In the meantime it leaves consumers in a precarious situation of having an antivirus program that is unreliable. This poses a serious threat for corporations that rely heavily on internet security.

The problem is that the Symantec, McAfee and Trend Micro products primarily protect users against KNOWN problems and viruses. But the user is always playing catch up and crossing their fingers that they aren’t hit by Malware in that window of time from when the threat is released into the wild and their Anti-virus vendor sends them an updated signature.

Unlike these other antivirus products, NOD32’s "ThreatSense" technology uses advanced Heuristics that scans, detects and blocks security threats even before the competitive products knows of its existence.

In 2004, Scott Brown Information Security Analyst for Colby-Sawyer College performed an in-depth evaluation of the top 13 Anti-Virus products. Brown concluded that “NOD32 is the best antivirus product on the market” and “in the testing, NOD32 excelled in speed and low usage of resources.”

The NOD32 anti virus software program excels because it is proactive rather than reactive and it blocks Malware - Spyware, Adware, viruses, Phishing attacks, Trojans Worms and more.

The Virus Bulletin is the leading specialist publication dedicated to providing PC users with a regular source of intelligence about viruses, their prevention, detection and removal, and how to recover programs and data following an attack. Virus Bulletin has given NOD32 their leader of “100% Awards”. Since its first submission for testing in May 1998, NOD32 has won more awards (35) and was the only tested product that has never missed a single In the Wild virus.

About ESET
Founded in 1992, ESET is a global provider of internet security software for enterprises and consumers. ESET's award-winning, anti-threat software system, NOD32, provides real-time protection from known and unknown viruses, spyware and other malware.

ESET was named to Deloitte's Technology Fast 500 four years running, with an extensive partner network, including corporations like Canon, Dell and Microsoft. ESET has offices in Bratislava, SK; San Diego, USA; Prague, CZ; Buenos Aires, AR; and represented worldwide in over 80 countries.

For more information, visit www.eset.com or call 619-319-3000.]]> Wed, 28 Dec 2005 16:06:46 +0000