Technology Lesson

Microfts new Hotmail takes aim at Google.

by Ina Fried May 17, 2010 9:00 PM PDT

Like all parents, Microsoft likes to tout the accomplishments of its offspring. Any conversation about Hotmail is likely to start with the fact that, at least globally, the free Web mail service has more active accounts than any of its rivals.
Pressed, though, company officials also see Hotmails shortcomings. In recent years, rivals Google and Yahoo have been ahead of the game when it comes to adding things like conversation views, mobile synchronization and other features. And Yahoo has more U.S. accounts, while Google has been growing faster than Hotmail. Beyond any one feature, though, Hotmail has come to be perceived as a technology laggard, rather than a leader.
"Were not where we want to be," Microsoft Corporate Vice President Chris Jones said on Monday at a briefing in San Francisco.
In attempting to turn things around, Microsoft is falling back on an important parenting lesson--teaching its child to be better at sharing.
A key feature in the coming update to Windows Live Hotmail is an improved ability to share photos and Office documents using a combination of Web-based editing tools and cloud file storage. The new version, which will begin being offered to most users in July or August, aims to offer a better alternative to the standard attachment. Instead, Hotmail will offer the option of uploading a file or photo to Microsofts SkyDrive service and e-mailing a link, as opposed to the file itself. The approach has several advantages, including avoiding issues related to file size limits that often make it hard to share videos, presentations, or large collections of photos. Recipients can then either download the files, or, in the case of photos, view an online slideshow.
The new version also allows users to view photos or videos from third-party services, such as Flickr, SmugMug, Hulu, and YouTube, all without having to leave Hotmail. The revamped Hotmail also adds a new "sweep" option that lets users easily divert mail from a particular sender into either a new folder or into the trash.
"This update I think is the most significant one weve ever done," Jones said. At a minimum, its at least the biggest move for Microsoft since it completely revamped Hotmail four years ago.
On the mobile side, Microsoft will start using Exchange ActiveSync to allow Windows Live e-mail, calendar, and contacts to be pushed onto cell phones. To use both Hotmail and a corporate Exchange account, users will need a phone that supports dual ActiveSync connections. Today, the Palm Pre is one of the few devices that does so, but Jones said that Windows Phone 7 supports the feature, as does iPhone OS 4.
Microsoft general manager Brian Hall had suggested that many of these features are coming in a recent CNET interview.
In addition to letting users create their own e-mail filters, the new Hotmail also creates some views of its own, such as creating a separate view for shipping notifications and another for social-network updates, which now make up a significant number of all e-mail messages.
The software maker will also add the option for users to send their e-mail using an encrypted HTTPS connection. In January, Google made a secure Net connection the default following a cyberattack on its mail service.
Two features that wont be part of the summer upgrade, but are also on the horizon, are the ability to have multiple e-mail aliases in a single account as well as an option to update a mail account with a new name. That latter feature is particularly useful if a user is hoping to move from, say "DaveDrinks21" to "Davethefuturegovernor," without having to start over with a new account, e-mail history, and contact list.
Heres a look at how Hotmail has evolved since its earliest days:

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Immunet: Free Cloud and Community Based Antivirus


By Mary Landesman, About.com Guide

August 19, 2009

Oliver Friedrichs, who has a solid history of successful ventures in the security community, has just unveiled his latest creation - Immunet, a community-based in-the-cloud antivirus system. And not only does it run alongside existing antivirus, hes even giving it away for free.

According to its developers, "Immunet Protect provides protection by harnessing the collective wisdom of the security products that you already run, as well as knowledge on the applications installed across Immunets entire user population. Immunet Protect collects security judgments on what is, and what is not safe from its community. These aggregated judgments are coalesced in the cloud, and, if they are sound, made available to the rest of the Immunet Community immediately.

Immunet Protect allows you to integrate contacts from social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, and invite those contacts to join the Immunet community. This could prove helpful in a different way - helping you make smarter decisions about whose links you can trust.

Immunet Protect is designed to play nice with existing installed antivirus, which means you dont have to give up your favorite scanner to add this additional layer of security. Currently, Immunet has been tested and proven compatible with antivirus from Symantec, McAfee, and AVG.

Immunet is community-based, which means the more folks that participate, the better the product will become. The cons, of course, are that it does require having an always-on Internet connection and it could mean that files and/or system data are sent to Immunet. Currently there is no privacy policy on the Immunet website - a surprising oversight for such seasoned security veterans. If you are interested in taking Immunet Protect for a spin, you may wish to inquire upfront as to exactly what data is collected and how it is protected. To read more or download a free copy, visit the Immunet website.

http://antivirus.about.com/od/antivirusvendors/a/immunet.htm

The Adobe Creative Suite 6 was released last May 07, 2012, and with it comes Adobe Flash Professional CS6. Here are some of its new features:

• the ability to create and export sprite sheets from symbols on the Stage and in the library
• a new SWF compression type based on LZMA (Lempel-Ziv-Markov chain algorithm), which can reduce the file size by up to 40%
• ability to export animations from Flash out to HTML5 through the Toolkit for CreateJS extension
• captive AIR runtime support for Android, OS X, and Windows
  
• the new Content Simulator, an AIR application that helps you simulate how your content will behave on a mobile device
• Flash Professional CS6 projects are now compatible with AIR native extensions for advanced users with the advent of AIR 3.2
• the ability to list additional languages that your application can be installed in
• iOS debugging via wi-fi now lets you add breakpoints, step in and out of functions, and watch variables

If youre a beginner whos just purchased the Adobe Flash Professional CS6 program, check out the Adobe Flash Professional CS6 Essential Training course so that you can get the most out of this amazing program. You can get a free 7-day trial for complete access to this entire 8-hour online video training course by lynda.com.