Lexica

If the latest Yahoo-Google deal that lets Yahoo use Google ads in their search results comes through, that’ll give Google ads a reach to over 90% of the netizens, making them the undisputed leaders in the online advertising domain. No wonder, the government regulators have took note of the new deal that favors Google enormously, and now the US Department of Justice is planning to launch a formal antitrust investigation on the deal, probably because they had found some cause for concern in at least some of the clauses of the deal. However, Google and Yahoo had exuded confidence that their path breaking deal will eventually come through, and had given 100 days to the antitrust authorities to draw their conclusion before they begin implementing the program.

It is official now! The long wait for SQL Server 2008 is over! At the Worldwide Partner Conference held in Houston on July 9, Bob Kelly, Microsoft Corporate Vice President of Infrastructure Server Marketing, told the invited guests that SQL Server 2008 will be part of the price list for August 2008. Regarding pricing, he said that the new release will be priced the same as that of its earlier version SQL Server 2005. Microsoft had released the near-final Release Candidate (RC) 0 test build of SQL Server 2008 in early June this year.

Microsoft had actually ‘launched’ SQL Server 2008 in February 2008 itself, alongside Windows Server 2008 and Visual Studio 2008, but they have not released it to the market yet. If no further delays occur, the SQL Server 2008 should be up for sale this August middle.

Microsoft has released XP SP3 (Service Pack 3) through it automatic updates starting July 10, 2008. Earlier company official were quite vague in their responses, when asked about the possible date of release of SP3 to XP users worldwide. Also, the release was stalled a couple of times earlier owing to compatibility issues and performance glitches.

However, not all users might get to download XP SP3 straightaway as Microsoft opens it to select users only initially. According to Microsoft spokeswoman, ‘As with all service pack releases, Microsoft will carefully monitor the release to ensure that all customers have a good experience’. But for the existing users of Windows XP, who doesn’t want SP3 to be downloaded into their computers now, need to deploy the Microsoft Service Pack blocker toolkit (or modify the update settings) to delay the pushed-delivery of SP3.

iPhones now include ActiveSync support for Exchange Server. According to its makers Microsoft, “ActiveSync is a data synchronization service that facilitates mobile users to access their e-mail, calendar, and contacts and retain access to this information while they are offline.” In fact, Apple had licensed ActiveSync from Microsoft more than a year back, but did not acknowledge it in open until as recently as March 2008.

Interestingly, Microsoft was not amongst the vendors who rolled out new apps to the new iPhone store this week. There was no word from the software behemoth as to if or when they might do so. Apparently Microsoft was not happy with the 30% cut Apple had demanded from vendors in order to make them part of the iPhone store.

Try to run a Google search for “online bingo” and you’ll come up with more hits than you will have time to read. Oh yeah, we all know that online casinos such as Wild Jack, Bingo Palace and others are well-known, but will they provide the best experience for you? At the end of the day, that is the question. It’s all about you here; explore the advice given by others because it certainly can’t. But after all of that, go out, experience, and make your own choice. The decision, and your future, are in your hands now.

Over the recent past, there have been hundreds of thousands of people that have signed petitions requesting Microsoft to not dump Windows XP. This has come in the wake of fears that retailers may stop selling Windows XP once the end of June 2008 has come and gone which is enough time, Microsoft thinks to fix whatever problems may crop up with its new operating system – Windows Vista.

The trouble with phasing out Windows XP operating system is that many of the hardware that work with XP will not be of much use when your install Windows Vista on your computer since many of the drivers involved won’t be geared to work with XP. It would mean that if you go the Vista route, and then you would need to spend extra cash on buying products compatible with this operating system. In addition, you may also be saddled with an old system that just cannot handle the unique graphics as well as programs that come with Windows Vista.

However, some experts also believe that most users are not so keen on switching over to Windows Vista overnight or in the immediate time frame since there is also not enough Microsoft support for the new Vista.

Thus, if you are worried about how the demise of Windows XP will affect your computing, you too can add your name to the signature campaign to save this reliable operating system. It could help prevent Microsoft from removing Windows XP from their shelves. The good news is that even the Government has advised the schools to refrain from installing Vista because according to this circular, Vista is more suited for the needs of business enterprises rather than for the education industry.

In any case, it is heartening to learn that Microsoft has extended the life of Windows XP from September 2007 to the end of June 2008. In addition, the company has also learnt about the petition and it feels that it would be best for the company to take into account the feelings of end-users and there is thus good reason to believe that they will not precipitate any hasty action.

With so many thousands of people signing the petition to kill the switch to Microsoft’s new operating system Windows Vista, there is enough reason to hope that users will not have to immediately switch over to using Windows Vista.

For those who have spent the last five years using the Windows XP operating system, it must surely have grown under your skin and a switch to the latest Microsoft operating system Windows Vista may not be exactly the most desirable thing. No doubt, with Windows XP you had to put up with a number of patches as well as updates and of course in all this time the face of computing had undergone many changes.

At present, users need to use the Internet to perform downloads of various tools, and software products, and of course, you must have got used to downloading your favorite music as well as video using the Windows XP operating system. As a matter of fact, for many years Microsoft has been working in developing a radically different operating system in the form of the Windows Vista which is the product of extensive research and development.

Now that the testing and adjustments have been finished, Windows Vista is the new operating system being shipped with all new hardware, and so it pays to find out just how its launch is going to affect you. The first thing that will strike you is that Windows Vista is not radically different from Windows XP and so there is less to learn once you make the switch. In fact, you will feel very much at home using the Vista operating system, though once you dig a little deeper into how each works, there will be a few notable differences.

Windows Vista of course has a number of new tools and features that help you to perform your computing quicker and in an easier manner and best of all, using this new operating system is actually quite a lot of fun. There are also certain developments that make your Vista more intuitive as well as safer and secure. What’s more, there are as many as eight different Vista editions with some versions specific to certain companies and also to large corporations.

If you are living in the United Kingdom, you can opt for either Vista Home Premium or Vista Home Basic that essentially are very much like your old Windows XP Home Edition. However, if you need something even more advanced, you can opt for Windows Vista Ultimate that is the equivalent of Windows XP Professional Edition.

Vista sports a whole new design including the excellent transparency effects which you get provided you have a powerful enough graphics card. The Start button has gone and been replaced with Windows Logo. Overall, Vista is very efficient, and searching is integrated very tightly into your Start menu. For first time users, there is a Welcome Center that shows you how to configure your system.

A new feature is Parental Controls and in addition, there is also Windows Sideshow to specify what must be displayed on this screen. Control Panel options have been given a new name and the old Display Properties is now known as Personalization. New tools have been added and now Windows Mail replaces Outlook. XP Pictures as well as Fax Viewer are now Windows Photo Gallery, and the way folders are displayed is also new.