Thursday, March 31, 2005

Google plays a prank


Google Gulp - a line of “smart drinks” designed to maximize your surfing efficiency by making you more intelligent, and less thirsty.

Plus, it’s low in carbs! And with flavors ranging from Beta Carroty to Glutamate Grape, you’ll never run out of ways to quench your thirst for knowledge. Plus, it’s April 1 today. If you can’t get Google Gulp from , try it on eBay!.

Looking for April Fool’s jokes on the Net? Stop reading now if you don’t want them ruined for you. The Washington Post has a rundown of those they’d found as of this morning. See the Post article for a few others, and this article in the Mississippi Sun-Herald for a history of April Fool’s jokes. Finally (among the ones I’ve found), you have to be a real physics geek to enjoy this joke by Peter Woit of the blog Not Even Wrong. [Via]

Wednesday, March 30, 2005

Copernic Desktop Search v1.5 offically released

After few weeks of beta testing, have released the final 1.5 version of their popular tool - the free Copernic Desktop Search.

The final release of CDS 1.5 features smarter CPU resource usage, improved Mozilla Thunderbird support, broader metadata indexing, support for Netscape 8, multiple performance increases, and much more. The key features introduced in the beta version of CDS 1.5 were Thunderbird and Eudora email search, indexing of network drives, improved multimedia metadata indexing, usability improvements, and a new API for adding custom file indexers.

Wildcards can now be used to add custom file extensions to index. But I continue to miss support for .chm and .hlp files in Copernic. But there is some ray of hope. Copernic 1.5 comes with a COM API allowing third-party developers to create plug-ins enabling new file type indexing. Hope some day, one geek will write a plug-in to support MS help files - Amen !

It was sad to see WP describing this ubiquitous tool as obscure. I have tried desktop search tools from all players be it Microsoft, Google, AOL, Yahoo!, Ask Jeeves, X1 or Blinkx, none of them beats Copernic yet. Download CDS 1.5 here [ EXE, 2.5 MB]

Update: It’s nice to see this post linked at Copernic site.

Dear Microsoft - I beg your pardon!


And have done exactly that - Microsoft has granted clemency to the 19 year-old author of the Blaster worm. Rather than pay $500,000 in restitution, the youth will be sentenced to 225 hours of community service, which may not involve computers. U.S. District Judge said the sentence reflected that although he was 18 at the time of the attack, his maturity level was much younger than that. She also said his home life contributed to the problem.

The Blaster, or MSBlast, worm was the culprit behind massive denial of service attacks against Microsoft’s Web properties and infected over 50,000 unpatched systems in the summer of 2003. [Via]

Parson is to work off his debt to Microsoft during his three years of supervised release — 75 hours per year. The service is not to involve computers or the Internet, and is to benefit less fortunate members of his community, the agreement said.

Sharing really big files on the internet

It is not always easy to attach those big files to e-mail messages as the attachment limit for most ISPs is about 10MB. Don’t be disappointed - there are some slick —and free—Web sites for sending really big files. Both Dropload and YouSendIt let you send single files of up to 1GB in size. (Warning: For professional users on fast broadband connections, only. Do not try this on dial-up.)

Dropload - http://www.dropload.com

YouSendIt - http://www.yousendit.com

Both these services are quick n’ easy to use, with no ActiveX installations or other hassles. With YouSendIt, just tell the site the location of the file on your drive and who the file goes to, and the file is on its way. I like being able to send the file to multiple addresses. Dropload’s advantage is that once you’re registered (and don’t worry, it’s benign), you can save recipient e-mail addresses. That’s handy if you need to send a file to the same person at a later date.

I came across another free service RapidShare - http://rapidshare.de - You can upload the file on their server and Rapidshare give you a unique URL for each uploaded file. However, free users have to wait for a few seconds before the download begins. And only Premium Member can resume broken downloads.

Quick Tip: All these services allow only single files to be sent. If you have more than one file, just zip them into an archive file with any one of a bunch of free compression utilities downloadable from PC World like FreeZip. [Via]

Find bugs in Mozilla software and get rich

If you are a user of the Mozilla Suite, Firefox or Thunderbird and noticed some security bug, report it immediately here. Reporters of valid critical security bugs will receive a $500 (US) cash reward and a T-shirt.

The Mozilla Security Bug Bounty Program is designed to encourage security research in Mozilla and to reward those who help us create the safest clients in existence. The Security bug must be original and previously unreported and it must be a remote exploit. If two or more people report the bug together the $500 reward will be divided among them. Check out the Security Bug Bounty Program FAQ. German bloke Michael Krax got $2,500 after he found five bugs in its browser.

Saturday, March 26, 2005

Desktop Search Programs shouldn't exist

Their capabilities should be built into the operating system, something both Microsoft and Apple are working on. Windows users have a while to wait — Win XP’s successor, nicknamed Longhorn, won’t ship before the summer of 2006 — but Apple’s Mac OS X Tiger should arrive this spring. Rob Pegoraro writes an interesting article on : Seeking a More Intuitive Search Tool

The file-search tool in is a dog, and not just metaphorically — a little animated puppy appears on screen to indicate your query’s status by wagging its tail, panting, scratching itself and other actions.

If only programmers had put such effort into the rest of this software! Its searches run painfully slowly and routinely yield masses of unrelated files.

A gaggle of contenders has recently put forth replacements for Microsoft’s search. Some are popular Web portals — Ask Jeeves, Google and Yahoo. Some are small, obscure developers — Copernic and Blinkx. One’s a division of Microsoft itself, its MSN Internet service. All six of their search add-ons are free downloads: Ask Jeeves Desktop Search (sp.ask.com/docs/desktop/), Blinkx v2.0 (www.blinkx.com), Copernic Desktop Search 1.2 (www.copernic.com; a version of this should be offered by America Online soon), Google Desktop (desktop.google.com), MSN Toolbar Suite Beta (desktop.msn.com) and Yahoo Desktop Search (desktop.yahoo.com). All require Windows 2000 or XP (save Copernic, which allows Win 98 or newer), and all but Google Desktop and Copernic are in test form — though none crashed in a week of use.

Every program here can track Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents, audio and image files and Microsoft Outlook e-mail; all but Ask can index PDF files and Outlook Express mail. But if you use a non-Microsoft mail program, only Blinkx and Google welcome you: The former works with Eudora, the latter with Netscape, Mozilla and Thunderbird.

Web-history searching is absent from and Yahoo and half-absent from Ask (it supports only Microsoft’s aging Internet Explorer). , and work with the far superior Mozilla Firefox as well. and Google also index chats carried out in, respectively, the Yahoo and AIM instant-messaging programs. Lastly, Copernic and Yahoo can find contacts stored in such software as Outlook and Outlook Express.

Ask, Blinkx, Copernic and Yahoo use their own software. Yahoo’s overgrown interface assumes you’ll turn a file search into a “CSI” episode. Blinkx’s how-cool-am-I looks bury menus and make it easy to miss such crafty features as “Smart Folders” that automatically group files matching search criteria. All these programs let you preview documents, messages and other items without opening them in their original programs. You can even click a link to reply to or forward an e-mail message in your regular mail program.

Wednesday, March 23, 2005

New features added to Yahoo! desktop search


You can now search instant messages from Yahoo! Messenger and contacts from your Yahoo! Address Book.

* Search your instant messages from Yahoo! Messenger
* Search your contacts from Yahoo! Address Book
* Search for Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF, text, HTML, ZIP and over 200 other file types.
* Search the Web using Yahoo! Search from the same interface.
* Selectively index only the content you choose - files, emails, IM’s, contacts.
* View search results instantaneously - as fast as you can type

, in Sunnyvale, California, hasn’t decided yet whether it will enable the tool to tap into data stored on competitors’ servers, such as Web mail services other than its own, Horowitz says.

In order to have the tool index data from Yahoo’s servers, users have to activate a feature which asks for their Yahoo ID and password, he says. The tool is still useful for those users who just want to index data stored on their PCs, he says. For example, Yahoo Messenger sessions are archived locally, and this new version of the tool can index that data.

The Yahoo Desktop Search tool is based on technology from X1 Technologies, which sells a desktop search product tailored for business users, a market Yahoo isn’t pursuing, Horowitz says.

Other players in the crowded space include , Microsoft, America Online, Blinkx, Lycos, and Copernic Technologies.

In another development, Yahoo will provide 1Gig of storage for each free e-mail account. The current limit is 250M bytes. The expanded storage will be available in mid-April. The expanded e-mail storage enables Yahoo to catch up with online search engine leader Google, which offers an invitation-only service that has been offering 1G byte of storage for nearly a year.

Saturday, March 19, 2005

The Utterly Butterly Girl

Amul is a brand of butter made in India. As kids we used to dip Amul buttered bread in hot milk chai. But the Amul Utterly Butterly Girl is an icon of middle class India from the 60s to now. The eagerly awaited Amul ads combine scathing social commentary on the scandal du jour and shine light on little known middle class aspirations that make a very special place. For example see these Ads made during the 1976-7 emergency. Or see the entire archive till today.

The Amul girl who lends herself so completely to Amul butter, created as a rival to the Polson butter girl. “Eustace Fernandez (the art director) and I decided that we needed a girl who would worm her way into a housewife’s heart. And who better than a little girl?” says Sylvester daCunha. And so it came about that the famous Amul Moppet was born. From the Sixties to the Nineties, the Amul ads have come a long way and continue to tease a laughter out of them. Where does Amul’s magic actually lie? Many believe that the charm lies in the catchy lines. That we laugh because the humour is what anybody would enjoy. They don’t pander to your nationality or certain sentiments. It is pure and simple, everyday fun. [Via]

Wednesday, March 9, 2005

MyGoogle - Customize your Google News page


Google News will let people specify what categories of news to display on the News front page, giving an array of choices including results chosen by keyword. You can also design your custom front page by mixing and matching existing standard sections from the 22 regional editions of Google News from around the globe.

Take a look at my personalized Google News page here - My keywords include , , , and . readers will be able to create up to 20 sections for their custom page. The customization relies on cookies, or files a Web site places on the visitor’s computer to store identifying details and preferences for subsequent visits. Readers can also distribute their customized setting via e-mail.

Is this a hint that might have plans to build a portal. This feature is very similar to personalized page services offered by or . Another new feature allows you to share your customized news page with others. Each customized news page has its own unique URL. Simply send this URL to others, and they can use the page you’ve created as their own personalized Google News page, or use it as a basis to make their own modifications. You can also use this URL to view your own customized page on a computer other than the one where the cookie containing your settings is stored.

Customized news requires you to have both Javascript and cookies turned on. The settings for your customized Google News page are stored on your computer. In order to save these custom sections, you need to have cookies enabled on your browser. If your custom news page disappears you may have neglected to click “Save changes” before leaving the customization page, don’t have cookies enabled on your browser, or deleted your cookies altogether. Your browser must be Internet Explorer 6.0 (or newer), Netscape 7.1 (or newer), Mozilla 1.4 (or newer), Firefox 0.8 (or newer), Opera 7.54 (or newer), or Safari 1.2.2 (or newer).

IE 7 might support tabs like Opera or Firefox


Some more details are now coming on the upcoming IE 7 browser. Paul Thurrott shares some facts on Internet Explorer 7.

IE 7 was originally scheduled for Longhorn. The new features we’re going to see in IE 7 were originally going to be available only as part of Longhorn.

IE 7 will be focused on security. Like the version of IE that Microsoft shipped in XP SP2, IE 7.0 will consist, mostly, of security-oriented features. One of these features will be an anti-phishing technology. As Gates noted, “Some of the advances [in IE 7] include things focused on phishing, where people use URLs that appear to come from another location, things related to malware. So, [that] will be another important advance [in IE 7].” IE 7 will also include an IP traffic encryption capability that will help prevent electronic eavesdroppers from modifying data before it reaches your machine or redirecting you silently to malicious servers. “It makes sure that the traffic is encrypted, so there is no eavesdropping or modification that can take place, but it also makes absolutely sure through the use of certificates that the machine that you’re connected to is the machine that you want to be able to connect to,” Gates noted. Microsoft is also overhauling the IE security zones in IE 7.

NEW! IE 7 will include tabbed browsing. will include tabbed browsing, along with other new features, in IE 7.

NEW! IE 7 will not include a new . A few people have asked me whether IE 7 will include a new Outlook Express (OE) version (e.g. OE 7). No, it will not: The OE team is focusing on Longhorn.

IE 7 will be free. Like previous versions of IE, IE 7 will be free.

Tuesday, March 8, 2005

How Google's data centers operate ?


Urs Hoelzle, vice president of engineering and of operations at the Google, shed some light on how Google’s data centers operate. Many people consider the company’s operations expertise more valuable than the actual search algorithms that launched the enterprise. According to Hoelzle, Google has inexpensively built out its computing infrastructure by using thousands of “commodity” servers, instead of fewer high-end, and high-priced, machines. The trick is to make these racks of hardware work together and to ensure that the failure of one machine doesn’t derail an operation.

The way has been able to build out its computing infrastructure for millions, rather than tens of millions, of dollars is by buying relatively cheap machines. Looking at hardware costs, company engineers saw that purchasing a few high-end servers, with eight or more powerful processors, costs significantly more than dozens of simpler “commodity” servers.

The trick is to make these racks of hardware operate in tandem and to ensure that the failure of one machine does not derail an operation, such as returning a or serving up an ad.

Read full story Google’s secret of success? Dealing with failure

Sunday, March 6, 2005

Download Tally 8.1 Accounting Software: Upgrade Tally 7.2, Tally 6.3

Tally 8.1 upgrade is available to Tally 7.1 users at an additional cost of Rs 2,700. (Please keep your serial number and email handy to download Tally 8.1)

Tally 6.3 users can also download Tally 7.2 with the Tally documentation / Tally Help manual available as a CHM help file. However, if your looking to test Tally Accounting Software without buying it, you are out of luck as Tally is not available as a trial download (maybe to prevent cracks or trial patches).

Tally Solutions Shop announces Tally 7.2 Release 2.1 with Job Costing and Tax Collected at Source. Visit the Tally homepage and click on the download Tally 7.2 Release 2.1 button for immediate download.

TallySilver 8.1 and TallyGold 8.1 now support entry of data in all unidirectional languages and scripts, concurrently. Users can interact with the software through all commonly performed functions by choosing from the built-in vernacular interfaces. Interfaces in additional local languages are being added to the software progressively.

Tally 8.1 is priced at Rs 9,000 for a single user edition and Rs 22,500 for a Tally 8.1 multi-user version. Tally 7.2 users can upgrade to Tally 8 for Rs 2,000 and Rs 4,500 for single and multi-user editions respectively.

Tally 8.1 features include support for budgets, auditing and security control, cost centers/profit centers, job costing, order management, server/client module multiple stock valuation, bank reconciliation.

Tally ies 7.2 Rel 1.42 has Central Sales Tax (CST) included. Tally 7.2 Rel 1.42 can now handle tracking of all CST related forms. The combination of VAT, TDS, Service Tax and now CST capabilities in Tally 7.2 will make it simple to manage myriad issues that will arise due to the complexities of taxation in your day-to-day activities.

If you have to deal with a single company’s purchases and sales, then there is just one VAT rate. But if you are a CA or an accounting professional and have to manage the purchases and sales of multiple companies, the VAT/Tax class or rate (such as InputVAT@4%, InputVAT@12.5%) comes with the package.There are new screens for VAT calculation and report generation.

Technology will play an important role in implement VAT and software vendor Tally Solutions, the maker of the most popular financial accounting software for small business in India, are upgrading their Tally Software to make it V.A.T. compliant. The company is also conducting relevant training for chartered accountants and hardware resellers across the country.

Tally 7.2 Now Comes With Free Insurance Cover. Tally Solutions, in alliance with ICICI Lombard General Insurance, is now available with free business insurance cover worth Rs 5 lakh to all customers who buy the software between November 1 and December 15, 2005. The insurance combo includes Rs 2 lakh of fire (property) insurance, Rs 2 lakh of burglary insurance and Rs 1 lakh of cash in safe insurance.

All registered users of Tally 6.3 would be entitled to a free upgrade to Version 7.2. However, this free upgrade would not be available to users of Tally 4.5 or Tally 5.4

If you are upgrading from Tally ees 6.3 to Tally ies 7.2 (Tally Single User Softlock), follow these steps:

a. Download a copy of Tally ies 7.2 from Tally website into a new folder on your computer and install it.

b. Execute Tally. You will get the Activation form. Enter the old serial number, Activation key and the email.

c. Once the activation is complete, you will get a message as Congratulations! Tally ies 7.2 is activated!. The new serial number is displayed on the top right corner.

If you are a Tally 5.4 or Tally 4.5 licensed or unlicensed user, buy Tally 7.2 now and migrate your data to Tally 7.2 easily with Convert45to72.exe utility.

Even in the days of impressive Win32 interfaces, Tally Software has a DOS based GUI that is mostly keyboard based. Though the Version 6.3 claims to support XML, ODBC, HTML formats, lot needs to be done to improve interaction of Tally with MS Office apps like Word or Excel. The software is more oriented towards fast data entry. However, the the reports cannot be even exported to the more common .doc, .xls formats and the HTM format produces heavy code not suitable for manual editing.

To upgrade your TallySilver 6.3 to TallySilver 8.1 or TallyGold 6.3 to Tally Gold 8.1, first download the Tally upgrade form , submit payment and you will receive a link to download Tally 7.2. Very soon you will be notified and authorised to download Tally 8.1

Despite all these drawbacks, Tally is very popular and the company claims that Ninety percent of small businesses use their Software. In a bid to counter piracy and for increasing the registered customer base, the makers of Tally reduced the price of single user edition from Rs 22,000 to Rs 4,900. In order to prevent casual piracy, cracks or keygens, the software uses a hardware lock mechanism and has to be activated over the internet. It is not clear if the company would release a patch (module) for Tally VAT version or a full insaller.

Though it is very likely that VAT would happen this time (April 1, 2005 is the deadline from Center), there is adequate amount of confusion on details. The Finance ministry recently released a draft White paper on VAT which gives a broad structure of the new tax regime. Read the white paper released by the Union Government here [pdf 72 kb]

Users of Tally’s ees 6.3 solution will get free upgrades to incorporate VAT-related computing. Tally 7.2 support laserjet printers and Acrobat writer. Tally Printers are available from all Indian Vendors.

You can download Tally Software here. Tally 7.2, Tally 6.3 and Tally eis 5.4 users can also download this release as an evaluation copy.

Tally 7.2 users do not require internet to run their Tally. The Tally 7.2 comes with a simple Dual Activation Licensing mechanism. Now, Tally 7.2 users need not logon to the internet every month. Activate Tally 7.2 on purchase or on upgrade from previous version of Tally and re validate your license within 45 days. Continue to use Tally 7.2 on the particular machine for as long as you desire. For users who do not have access to the web, Tally 7.2 has a convenient Offline license activation mechanism.

With Tally 7.2 all you need to ensure is accuracy while keying in your invoices, thereafter all documents, reports and Statutory Returns will be generated automatically. Tally 7.2 takes care of all your Accounting, Inventory and Statutory requirements, like Balance Sheet, Receivables/Payables, comprehensive MIS reports, Statutory Returns etc., as required by you and the concerned State authorities.

# Statutory Masters import is applicable only for Tally ies 7.2
# Statutory Masters Version 33 is functional in Tally ies 7.2 Release 1.4 onwards only

Summary of features planned in VAT enabled Business Accounting Software Tally version 7.2:

Value Added Tax: Determine user-defined VAT rates on products, classification of Purchase and Sales transactions based on VAT definitions, Generate VAT-compliant invoices, Collate VAT reports containing input tax paid, output tax collected, carry forward balance and net tax payable, File specific monthly/quarterly and annual Statutory Returns and forms compliant with the laws of your state

Service Tax: Determine user-defined Service Tax rates and applicability of these rates from a given date, Track input tax credit and adjust it against Service Tax collected and provide information on net payable, Generate half yearly, annual Returns and TR-6 Challans, at the blink of an eye-lid.

TDS: Determine user-defined expense/payment type with user-defined rates, Auto-deduction of TDS, based on pre-defined rates once the transaction exceeds the threshold limit, Generate Challans and Form-16A Certificate, Generate and file quarterly and annual Returns within the specified 25 day period, Generate e-TDS files in NSDL compatible formats.

Price: Single-User Edition for Rs. 4,950/- and Multi-User Edition for Rs. 13,500/- (set to increase from April 1, 2005) Download Tally 7.2 Download Tally 6.3

Google Referrals for Tally Software: Download Tally ees v6.3 Release 1 crack / keygen / serial / patch, Tally eis v5.4 Release 6, Tally 7.2 software and activation crack, crack for tally 7.2, Tally 6.3 accounting software crack

The Tally Dongle (Hard Lock) technology has become obsolete. Tally 7.2 Release 2.1 supports Soft Lock security only. Hard Lock users who download Tally 7.2 Release 2.1, must complete download and thereafter change their security license from Hard Lock to Soft Lock.

Hard Lock to Soft Lock Conversion Form is displayed when Tally starts. The Information regarding the Serial Number and the Activation Code of the newly generated Soft Lock can also be found in Conversion.txt file in the Tally Installation folder.

Only the Email-ID needs to be entered. The Serial Number displayed on this screen is same as the Hard Lock Serial Number.

Tally 8.2 support entry of data in all unidirectional languages and scripts, concurrently, as the built-in interfaces in Hindi, Punjabi, Marathi, Gujarati, Oriya, Bengali, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, and Malayalam, have been integrated into the softwares latest release. Tally 8.1 would soon include Urdu, Arabic and Chinese.

Download Tally Chemist - Special version of Tally accounting software for medical shops in India.

Download Tally Developer - on Tally Definition Language (TDL) and can come in handy to customise Tally to suite your business requirements. Tally 7.2 Silver or Tally 7.2 Gold license because TallyDeveloper will be preconfigured to work with your Tally Serial Number.

The TDL Tally bundle contains the TallyDeveloper CD Pack and a book “Tally Development Language – An Insight” for a ready reference in TDL.

TallyDeveloper is comes in 3 different variations, namely:

* TallyDeveloper Academic – for Tally Academies to teach students / potential entrepreneurs through >Tally Technologies Programme (TTP).

* TallyDeveloper Professional – for Software Vendors and independent consultants who wish to provide services on customising Tally Applications.

* TallyDeveloper Enterprise – for Tally Authorised Service Centres who wish to provide services on customising TallyAscent Application.

TALLY VALUE PACK is an on-line subscription product eligible for purchase by licensed users of Tally 7.2 Rel 3.0 

Can I use single user Tally in more than one P C with one serial number.
You can use single user Tally serial number only on one P C at any given point in time.

Can I reinstall Tally on a different Computer

Yes, you can reinstall Tally on a different Computer. However, you would need to follow the process of surrendering the license in your existing computer before installing and activating on the new computer.

TallyCurrency? TallyCurrency is a prepaid coupon which a Tally customer can purchase and redeem it against Products offered by Tally Solutions from time to time.

TallyPayroll is integrated with Tally Accounting and Inventory software. Now, the user can maintain company accounts and Payroll together. TallyPayroll maintains payroll for all employee’s and generates Pay slips for each employee. The Payroll figures automatically get reflected in the accounting and inventory module.

Saturday, March 5, 2005

Microsoft Office 12 - What to expect ?

is being tight-lipped about the feature set for the next version of Office.

According to MW, Microsoft has established an internal Office 12 ship calendar that pegs Office Beta 1 availability for August 29, 2005. Beta 2 is slated for December 5, 2005. The internal release-to-manufacturing target is May 22, 2006. And the target for “street” availability for the Office 12 System is July 17, 2006, the sources said.

The Office team is still contemplating whether to add other new Office servers to the mix in the Office 12 timeframe, partner sources said. If Microsoft does so, a Visio Server is a likely candidate. The new Excel and InfoPath servers are expected to operate similarly to Project Server 2003. Users are expected to the servers through a choice of the full desktop Excel and InfoPath products, or through a thin Web client that will allow users to access Excel and InfoPath data stored on a centralized server, according to partner sources.

There must have been a lot of pressure internally to ship Office 12 alongside Longhorn. And certainly, Office 2003 hasn’t been the runaway success that Microsoft had wanted.

Paul writes: With its lucrative Office suite in decline, Microsoft is feeling the heat. Once accountable for about 50 percent of Microsoft’s revenues, Office contributed less than one-third of the company’s revenues throughout 2004, and increased competition from low-cost options such as Corel WordPerfect Office 12 and Sun’s StarOffice/OpenOffice.org tandem are starting to hurt as well. But Microsoft’s biggest competition in the office productivity space, ironically, comes from within: Older versions of the Office suite, including Office 2000, XP, and 2003, are often cited by customers as being good enough. Thus, businesses aren’t upgrading to new Office versions as quickly as they used to. And most now skip a version or two before upgrading.

Thursday, March 3, 2005

WinZip Companion for Outlook - Zip your attachments


WinZip Companion for Outlook makes it easy for users of Microsoft Outlook to zip and encrypt attachments when sending messages.


Zipping attachments saves transmission time, conserves space in Outlook mailboxes, and saves disk space for both the sender and recipient of the e-mail. The Companion can be configured to automatically zip your attachments, ask whether or not you want them zipped, or let you zip and attach files manually with just a few mouse clicks. Toolbar and menu items allow you to control the Companion’s functionality on a message-by-message basis. In addition, sensitive attachments can be easily protected with the same built-in advanced AES encryption found in WinZip 9.0.


WinZip Companion for Outlook works with Outlook 2000, Outlook 2002, and Outlook 2003 only.

Tuesday, March 1, 2005

Microsoft releases details on IE 7



Some major promises by in his keynote address:

1. Microsoft® Internet Explorer 7.0 for Windows XP Service Pack 2 customers, beta will be available this summer and the final version this fall - it will not wait for the next version of Windows. We delivered on our part of XP SP2. We are actively delivering on our part of a great 64-bit Windows client. We continue to deliver on security updates for customers (across several versions of IE (back to IE 5.01) and Windows). We are going to deliver on IE7.

2. Windows Anti-Spyware To Come Free Of Charge Expanding anti-spyware protection by including the Windows® AntiSpyware technology at no additional charge as part of the Windows value proposition

Gates expanded on recently announced plans to acquire security vendor Sybari Software Inc., which provides solutions to help protect messaging and collaboration servers from malicious software. Gates noted that when the acquisition is closed, Microsoft intends to ship a Microsoft engine, based on the GeCAD technology acquired in 2003, as one of the multiple scanning engines supported by Sybari’s flagship Antigen software. Gates further noted that the Microsoft engine would also be integrated into a broad consumer offering by the end of this year.

Earlier, I had written a story where Microsoft executives have confirmed that aren’t planning to ship any new or intermediate version of IE before Longhorn(2006) though they are busy building and testing a faster, more secure version internally. Though they will continue to release patches and service packs that would “extend” the functionality of IE. So is definitely setting the IE stage on fire and the critics have forced Microsoft to release a new IE even before Longhorn.

Via Gates Highlights Progress on Security, Outlines Next Steps for Continued Innovation

Updated: New details emerge on IE 7 at Microsoft IE blog.

  • Platforms. We currently plan to make IE7 available for Windows XP SP2 and later. This will therefore include availability not only for the 32bit version of Windows XP SP2 but also for Windows XP Professional x64 Edition and Windows Server 2003 SP1 both of which are due to be released soon. As Dean commented in his original IE7 post on this blog we have heard the requests for support of Windows 2000 but have nothing to announce at this time.
  • Outlook Express. The Outlook Express team is hard at work on great functionality for the new version of Outlook Express, which is shipping with the next release of Windows. There are no plans to ship the new version of Outlook Express before the next release of Windows. The Outlook Express newsgroup is a great place for discussion about that product and to leave feedback for that team.