When Microsoft first announced that they would be making a Developer Preview of Windows 8 available for people to play with we could be assured that there would be a lot of things that people were going to rant and pout about, and of course we weren’t let down.

Of all the talk about the new touch interface and the other cool things like possibly having Windows 8 for ARM on launch the one thing that garnered the most chatter, and complaints, was the decision by Microsoft to bring its famous, and much maligned Ribbon Bar to Explorer, Windows’ file management tool.

It was one of those things that you either were going to like, or at least be willing to live with, or you were on the side of the ragers and had no hesitation in blasting Microsoft over the decision.

Well it seems that while Microsoft has said for the most part that the user interface in Windows 8 is a done deal there are some changes that they are willing to make based on the incredible amount of feedback they have had on the next-gen operating system. In a post that went up on the Windows 8 blog the company outlined some of the changes slash improvements that they planned on making in time for the next ‘beta’ release and right up there was the Ribbon Bar.

It seems that rather than shipping Explorers with the “full” Ribbon Bar part of the Explorer interface being the default display after installing Windows 8 they have decided that Explorer will be sporting the minimized style of the Ribbon Bar by default. In  other words it will be like the old style as in Windows 7, or very similar, and if you want the full Ribbon Bar experience you will have to turn it on.

• Some of the other changes coming in the next release of Windows 8 are:
• New details information in the Copy File Conflicts dialog
• Copying will know use the fasted available method to copy over network on the fly (wireless or wired)
• Fixed the navigation pane scrolling issue
• Explorer will now respect picture orientation metadata
• Explorer overlay changes to improve performance

There’s more information at the Windows 8 blog in case you are interested.

via VentureBeat

Changes to Windows 8 coming to next ‘beta’ release according to Microsoft – including the Ribbon in Explorer is a post from: The Inquisitr

Those of us that live in a tech world and spend a lot of time on the web joke about how much difference the sense of time is on the Internet compared to our normal world sense of time. Everything happens faster on the web and so much gets compressed into a very small period of time; but do we really understand just how much things can change within 60 seconds?

This was the question that the GO-Gulf.com web design company was asking when they put together a really interesting infographic. Here’s a few of the more interesting things that can happen every sixty seconds.

• 710 computers will  be sold, 555 of them containing an Intel product.
• 450 copies of Windows 7 sold.
• $219,000 of total payments transactions through PayPal with $10,000 being from mobile.
• 81 Apple iPads and 925 iPhones sold.
• 18 Amazon Kindle Fires sold.
• 11 Xbox 360 consoles sold.

Here’s the full infographic.

via Redmond Pie

60 seconds on the Internet is a very long time and lots happens [Infographic] is a post from: The Inquisitr

Microsoft has decided to end it’s CES run in 2012 and according to one report the company was not “forcefully rejected” as some claims have stated but rather chose to leave rather than pay a higher per year price with a 3-year contract requirement.

According to The Verge Microsoft simply realized that the January event in Las Vegas doesn’t align with its own product release. The report also states that CES was “playing the field” in the hopes of finding an alternate to Microsoft which led the company to rethink how long they wanted to stay in the event.

It’s also believed that Microsoft developers didn’t feel as if they were getting a good “return on investment” from the trade show.

Other large company’s, most notably Apple has long used its own clout to hold conferences specific to new company products, allowing them to release products on their own schedule which in turn gives them more control over a products marketing strategies.

With Microsoft bowing out with a one-year extension it appears on paper at least that the software giant is leaving the event on good terms.

As a regular visitor to the CES trade show I can’t say the Microsoft exit surprises me, their display, while typically one of the biggest at the show has always lacked the pizzazz of other company offerings and Steve Ballmers keynote speeches over the last two years have bordered on boring as he spouted out what thousands of developers, consumers and reporters already knew about Microsoft and their product lines.

Are you surprised to learn that Microsoft will not appear at the 2013 CES trade show?

Microsoft Saying Farewell To CES After 2012, Won’t Agree To 3-Year Deal is a post from: The Inquisitr

I am the first to admit that I give Microsoft a hard time over its ridiculous variety of Windows versions that gets released with every new iteration of the famous OS but equally so, I’ll point out that Linux is not going to be any real threat to the desktop landscape anytime soon.

Not only is the desktop interface and user interaction not ready for the general consumer market the vast variety of versions, also called distros, makes Windows look like a walk in the park. To give you an idea of just how insane the world of Linux distros are take a look at this infographic.

hat tip to @pauloflaherty

The insanity of the Linux distro ecosystem [Pic] is a post from: The Inquisitr

If you haven’t already played the highly addictive bird flinger Angry Birds on the multitude of platforms it’s already available on – including straight from your Chrome browser – Rovio is now offering a PC version of the original game and Angry Birds Rio for an agreeable $4.95 a pop over on their site. The PC version is compatible with Windows XP SP2 or greater and, of course, does not require a browser to play.

The news comes just a few days after Roku announced plans to bring the popular title to its new line of video-streaming set-top boxes as part of its new casual gaming initiative.

Since the launch of Angry Birds in 2009, the title has been downloaded a mind-boggling 200 million times. With Angry Birds already in the works for WiiWare, PlayStation Network and Xbox Live, it would appear that Rovio has some sort of diabolical plan to take over the digital world. Either that or they just really want people to enjoy flinging birds from a giant slingshot. I’m going to go with the former, personally.

via PC World

Angry Birds Invade Windows is a post from: The Inquisitr

When it comes to things like viruses, trojans, and other forms of malware Windows has always been the biggest bulls-eye in the computing world. Both Mac and Linux have claimed that because of the way that they are coded it is next to impossible for those platforms to become infected.

Of course anyone with half a brain would be able to also point out that the whole point of malware was to infect the broadest number of computing devices as possible and that up until recently neither Mac OS X nor Linux had a big enough platform footprint to make them worthwhile targets.

That of course has changed with the proliferation of smartphones and other mobile computing devices. We are already see, as both the Mac and iOS powered devices increase their marketshare, that contrary to pontificating Apple fanbois blatherings these two Apple platforms are now in the sights of malware creators.

This only left Linux, which like Mac OS is just another off-shoot of the UNIX platform, as the virgin territory for malware writers, that was until Android, which is based off of Linux, came along.

Android powered mobile devices have taken a commanding lead in sales and don’t look to be slowing down anytime soon and it is because of this popularity that Android users will start finding themselves as a great big target for malware infections.

A prime example of this happening is the latest report that according to Lookout Security there are between 30,000 and 120,000 Android users infected with a brand new variation of the already in the wild called Droid Dream.

This new variation, thought to be written by the same developers, is called Droid Dream Lite and is known to have infected over 50 applications, which Google has apparently removed from the Android Marketplace.

While the name of the malware might seem to be “harmless” it is in fact even more dangerous that its fore-bearers, as outlined by Sara Perez at ReadWriteWeb:

Droid Dream Light is a stripped down version of the original DroidDream, says Lookout. Its malicious components are invoked upon the receipt of a “android.intent.action.PHONE_STATE intent” – for example, an incoming phone call. That means that this variant is not dependent on the manual launch of the malicious application in order to trigger it into action. Instead, explains Lookout via blog post:

The broadcast receiver immediately launches the <package>.lightdd.CoreService which contacts remote servers and supplies the IMEI, IMSI, Model, SDK Version and information about installed packages.  It appears that the DDLight is also capable of downloading and prompting installation of new packages, though unlike its predecessors it is not capable of doing so without user intervention.

In other words, despite the malware’s designation of “Light,” in some ways it’s actually more malicious as it requires no user actions to take place in order for it to launch.

As much as some Apple and Android fanbois might want to bury their heads in the sand the fact is that the Windows only party is over. Malware authors now have more targets to aim for and those targets will only get bigger as Apple and Android products continue to surge ahead in sales.

The battleground of malware no longer just Windows as Android users get hit is a post from: The Inquisitr

Luckily, there is no Mac equivalent.

[GraphJam]

[GraphJam]

[Graph] When Windows attacks is a post from: The Inquisitr

New Zealand has two things I want, middle-earth and now Windows Phone 7 Devices. It’s being reported that New Zealand is the first region to receive Microsoft’s newest mobile operating system with the OS’s first phone launching in the island country today.

Here’s a shot of the NZ HTC Trophy which was purchased at Aotea Square in Auckland.

[via Engadget]

Windows 7 Phones Now Available!…In New Zealand is a post from: The Inquisitr

A report from the Financial Times says that many Google employees are indicating that Windows has been restricted from use within the company over security concerns.

Two unnamed employees were briefly quoted in the piece about the decision, which reportedly has Google employees offered Mac OSX and Linux as alternatives:

“We’re not doing any more Windows. It is a security effort,” said one Google employee.

“Many people have been moved away from [Windows] PCs, mostly towards Mac OS, following the China hacking attacks,” said another.

According to FT, the policy isn’t exactly new, as they say employees reported new hires being directed towards the other operating systems as early as January. It’s said that use of Windows requires some serious string pulling:

Employees wanting to stay on Windows required clearance from “quite senior levels”, one employee said. “Getting a new Windows machine now requires CIO approval,” said another employee.

While some employees say the move has caused “mild discontent” within the company, others say that there would be more outcry if the Mac OS was banned. The consensus seems to be that the move is really a push to get workers to use Google products internally as well.

The hacking in China hastened the move. “Before the security, there was a directive by the company to try to run things on Google products,” said the employee. “It was a long time coming.”

Some feel that the reports out of Google are just rumors and that it is unlikely such a big player would ban something as ubiquitous as Windows in the workplace. As the reports all cite unnamed employees and Google has not commented publicly on the supposed policy, it is difficult to determine the credibility of the sources. ZDNet points out the limitations of a Windows ban at Google:

This story makes little sense to me.  For starters, Google’s software products are made for — and marketed to — mainly Windows users.   How exactly are software developers expected to build products for an operating system when they’re not allowed to use it?

As it stands, not one named person as confirmed the switch, so the extent of the ban (or whether it exists at all) is still not verified.

Report: Google ditches Windows over security concerns is a post from: The Inquisitr

Google hasn’t been able to move many of their Google Nexus One Smartphones, but at least now they can claim to have the most pointless system porting ever. That port comes thanks to a single user who decided they simply couldn’t live without Windows 3.11 on their system.

Yes that would be the same Windows 3.11 for Workgroups that debuted in 1993 as the companies newest OS and yes the system will pretty much act as nothing more than a paperweight, but hey, it’s definitely unique.

The user even created a step-by-step installation guide, just in case you have the need to feel like you’re trapped inside some weird 8-bit universe where everyone talks a bit slower and icons make your vision feel a bit blurry.

Here’s a video of the port job:

Man Ports Windows 3.11 To Nexus One, We Have No Good Reason Why [Video] is a post from: The Inquisitr

Back in February on my Windows related blog I made a prediction regarding the next version of Windows expected some time in 2012. In the post I suggested that we could see something radically different from Redmond and while it was definitely a case of reading the tea leaves it was based on some interesting tidbits of information that has started floating around the web.

Writing that post I spent some time looking over all the images and videos posted to the various blogs covering the conference and Microsoft’s announcement as well as reading a whole bunch of them. As I was reading I was reminded of a recent post over at Microsoft Kitchen by Stephen Chapman about some rumors starting to make the rounds about how Windows 8 would becompletely different and mind-blowing.

While much of the tea leaf reading was centered around the upcoming release of the Windows Phone 7 Series I also suggested that the Metro UI, which is the basis of both the phone and Zune HD, was prime for use in other areas. Specifically – for me anyway – to give the tired old Windows metaphor a completely new refresh.

With the big Microsoft MIX10 conference happening next week we are starting to hear more about this totally new Metro UI with people like Long Zheng and Paul Thurrott digging up more interesting information.

As Long notes in a post today

Fans of the “Metro” user experience which made its debut on Windows Phone 7 Series will be pleased to know desktop applications featuring large fonts and simple shapes too are coming soon to a PC and Mac near you.

Ahead of the MIX10 event next week, Tim Heuer of the Silverlight team let out a sneak peek at some new application themes developed by Microsoft for Silverlight 4, including one inspired by the Zune desktop software appropriately called “Metro”.

This lead me back to an early post in February where  Thurrott  suggests that the Metro UI could be the best refresh – and challenge – to Windows that we have seen to date.

I have no insider information to suggest that this is what Microsoft is actually doing. But it’s very clear to me that something wonderfully innovative has happened here. And if this company is looking for the next mark it can leave on the world, my recommendation is to see where else Metro makes sense and to apply this UI liberally across its other product lines. This new UI, and the thinking it represents, is I think the biggest change that’s come out of the Windows Phone 7 Series launch. And I see no reason why it needs to be limited to just the phone.

It will be interesting to see what kind of take-up of the Metro UI styling we see developers take after MIX10. Suffice to say that is we see a re-invigoration of application user interface design due to Metro I am sure that Microsoft will be taking note; and that could portend for some very interesting things in future versions of Windows.

Could the future of Microsoft’s Windows be all Metro? is a post from: The Inquisitr

We’re very cautious about this one, but a noncommittal statement has come out of Redmond this week which says Windows Mobile 6.5 devices may be able to transition to the far much cooler Windows Phone 7 Series.

Alex Reeve of Microsoft released this vague statement:

It’s early days yet, and that’s really for our hardware partners to think about.

Given that Reeve is the Director of the UK Mobile Business Group, it’s a good sign of things to come. The question still remains however if WIndows Phone 7 specs will have to already be available on devices allowed up upgrade, which would be a good sign for HD2 users, but not for users of older devices. [My Microsoft Life]

Windows Phone 7 Phone Upgrades May Be Possible [Rumor] is a post from: The Inquisitr

Yesterday I wrote here that Microsoft wasn’t a company to count down and out of the mobile game and today I bring you a couple of in-depth videos on Microsoft’s new Windows Phone 7 Series courtesy of Channel 9.

thanks to Steve Clayton

Some in-depth Windows Phone 7 Series info [Video] is a post from: The Inquisitr

Windows 7 proved it.

Xbox, even though it took a number of years and a lot of money, proved.

Bing, even though it will probably take a few years and a lot of money, could prove it as well.

Windows Phone 7 Series could very prove it as well.

Microsoft may, and does, screw up sometimes but when it finds itself backed into a corner the company has shown that you are stupid to count them out of the game regardless of the arena.

In Barcelona today Microsoft set the mobile world on its collective ear as it presented its next mobile operating system to the world. While I have talked about the possibility of this exact scenario happening on a couple of podcasts with Sean P. Aune just about everyone in the industry was willing to bury Microsoft as a mobile has-been.

It is evident from the many blog posts written following Steve Ballmer’s presentation that this fundamental shift by Microsoft caught more than few by surprise but at the same time has done something that Microsoft isn’t known for – got them excited. When you have someone like Matt Buchanan at Gizmodo suggest in a post that everything is different now you know that Microsoft has gotten peoples attention – and in a good way

It’s astounding that until this moment, three years after the iPhone, the biggest software company in the world basically didn’t compete in mobile. Windows Phone 7 Series is more than the Microsoft smartphone we’ve been waiting for. Everything’s different now.

Today, at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Microsoft is publicly previewing Windows Phone 7 for the first time. The brand new, totally fresh operating system will appear in phones this year, but not until the holidays. All of the major wireless carriers and every likely hardware maker are backing it, and they’d be stupid not to. It’s awesome.

Joshua Topolsky at Engadget puts it this way

Forget everything you know about Windows Mobile. Seriously, throw the whole OS concept in a garbage bin or incinerator or something. Microsoft has done what would have been unthinkable for the company just a few years ago: started from scratch. At least, that’s how things look (and feel) with Windows Phone 7 Series. This really is a completely new OS — and not just Microsoft’s new OS, it’s a new smartphone OS, like webOS new, like iPhone OS new. You haven’t used an interface like this before (well, okay, if you’ve used a Zune HD then you’ve kind of used an interface like this).

Devindra Hardawar from VentureBeat has this to say about today’s news

In one fell swoop, Microsoft has reclaimed its relevance in the mobile market. This morning, the company unveiled Windows Phone 7 Series, its slick and modern upgrade to the aging Windows Mobile platform, at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. We’ve speculated that whatever MS revealed at MWC would be the company’s last chance to make an impact in the mobile space — and from the looks of it, Microsoft is not wasting the opportunity.

Long Zheng provides us with a taste of what is coming in a Flickr slideshow

Granted we will have to wait until the holiday season to see if the consumers like what Microsoft has done but for right now the company has told the world, and most importantly the tech pundits, never count us out.

This is why you never count Microsoft down or out of the game is a post from: The Inquisitr

I was reading a post by Paul Buchheit (late of Friendfeed fame) earlier today where he was talking – tongue in cheek I think – about predictions he might have made back in 2000 to be looked back on in ten years.

As humorous as his post was there was one specific line that got me to thinking:

Microsoft made itself irrelevant — they still make a lot of money, but they are no longer changing the world.

At first I just sloughed off his remark but I couldn’t help coming back to it but from a larger perspective. The idea is that companies, and people, are often at the center of events that forever change our society. In the case of Microsoft, Paul seems to be suggesting that no matter the amount of money it is making its game changing days are gone.

Thinking that over I wondered how many other companies have had a societal game changing moment and what they would have been, and more importantly could they have another one.

Microsoft

There is no denying that Microsoft changed the computing world as we know it. Prior to Microsoft computers were for a large part the realm of companies, large ones, and the rarefied world of technology administrators. What Microsoft did with the combination of DOS and Windows was to enable computers to be manufactured and used on a personal level.

Windows from its debut transformed the using of computers from one of having to remembering esoteric commandline instructions to one of point and click graphics. That was the game changing moment for Microsoft and unfortunately I find myself agreeing with Paul on this one. I think the chances of Microsoft having another game changing moment would be extremely unlikely.

It would take a radical departure from their Windows mentality and I don’t see that happening any time soon – if ever.

Google

Some have argued that Google really hasn’t changed any games since much of what they have done in the area of search; which is suppose to be their primary claim to fame, and advertising has only built on what companies that came before them did.

My argument against that is that Google has changed our entire world because of their stated mission – to index all the world’s information.

It is this one simple thing; while overshadowed by everything else they might be doing, that has changed our world. Whether we like it or not that genie is out of the bottle and it isn’t going back.

As to whether Google has anymore game changing moments hidden up its sleeve is doubtful. I know myself and other had hoped that its entry into the smartphone business might have been one of those moments events are proving otherwise.

Twitter

Even though compared to other technology companies Twitter is still pretty much a babe in the woods it has in its young age jumped into the top ranks of game changing companies. Totally by accident Twitter has brought a whole new model of communication to the web and done it at a speed never seen before.

The only problem is that Twitter is, and always will be, a one trick pony. I just don’t see Twitter having anymore game changing moments up its sleeve.

Apple

This is a company of contradictions. Once written off to the trash heap of technology it was brought back from the virtual morgue by Steve Jobs an unlike other companies has up until now had several game changing moments.

The first most obviously has to be the iPod, and its derivatives, and its effect on how we listen to our music. In addition it also had a profound effect on the music industry as a whole and a change that the music industry is still trying to recover from.

For its second, and some would suggest the biggest game changer we have seen since … well … Microsoft and Windows … is the iPhone. With one simple device Jobs has totally transformed not only how we use mobile devices but our very perception of what a mobile device is suppose to be.

There are some who are dreamily suggesting that Apple’s upcoming announcement at the end of January will be another of those game changing moments. This is of course when Jobs is suppose to appear before the faithful and hand them t he Apple vision of what a tablet computer is suppose to look and behave like. I personally don’t see it as being a game changing moment and I’m not really sure that Jobs has another of those moments left in him or the company.

In the end

As important as game changing moments can be I honestly don’t think that a company can have more than one. The reason is that once they have that moment, once that have caused that major shift that is what they become identified with and in turn find themselves locked into improving on that change which leaves them no time or energy to take the risks needed to find and develop that next great game changing ‘thing’.

Can a company have more than one game changing moment? is a post from: The Inquisitr

As a lover of anything automobile based I immediately gravitated towards the new “Road Mice” line of computer peripherals, forget that they’re about as far from ergonomical as you can get, they just look so amazingly cool, heck they even have headlights that actually work!

The novelty mice are designed to mimic some of the best designed cars to be manufactured in their classes including the Shelby GT500, Challenger, Dodge Viper and even a Lamborghini.  Simply connect them to your Mac or Windows based PC via USB and you’re ready to go!

Once plugged in the mouses headlights turn on and users control the left and right mouse buttons by pressing down on the hood of the cars while using the scroll wheel that protrudes upwards like a custom exhaust system up from the cars hood. [SlipperyBrick via Road Mice]

Road Mice Are Ergonomical Nightmares, Well Worth The Pain is a post from: The Inquisitr

This is an idea that is sure to get all kinds of Apple fans rolling on the floor laughing their asses of while struggling to get words like copycat and loser out through their guffaws. Not too mention that the anti-Microsoft crew in general will be hauling out their smartass dictionary out to fill out posts about how this is a dumb idea and will never work.

The thing is it could work and it could be the best thing to happen to both Microsoft and the PC market. I first heard the idea broached on a recent Cranky Geeks show with John Dvorak where he brought up the idea along with some sound reasons as to why Microsoft should seriously consider the idea, as well as writing a post about it. At the same Mike Elgan at the IT Management blog had a post where he outlined sever reasons as t o why he liked the idea as well.

His seven points are

• The Windows and Office ain’t what it use to be
• Microsoft is a great hardware maker
• Microsoft needs to manage the transition to multi-touch PCs
• Microsoft needs to be a bully again
• Microsoft needs to lead the market again
• Making PCs will make Windows better
• Selling PCs will help maintain Windows and Office profits

One of the things that has Apple regain its forward momentum the way it has is precisely for some of the same reasons the Mike Elgan gives above. This is nowhere more apparent that in the way that Mac OS X is a great operating system. It is exactly because Apple owns and controls the whole hardware software process that OS X in most peoples eyes a better operating system that Windows.

The other advantage that this gives Apple is that they can dictate what the hardware if going to be and then the software is written to play to the strength of that hardware. In Microsoft’s case it has always been a matter of having to be compatible with every kind of hardware produced by hardware manufacture.

This causes innumerable problems for the company as it is very rarely that when things go wrong that the hardware manufacture is blamed. When ever you see anyone going off on a rant about the problems they are having with their computer it is typical against Microsoft. If suddenly the video isn’t working, or some other piece of hardware is screwing up no-one points their finger at the video card manufacturer or hardware manufacture – it is primarily pointed at Microsoft.

A good example of this was with the launch of Vista. Both ATI and nVidia dragged their feet getting updated drivers out and this caused nothing but grief for users, and Microsoft because everyone looked to them to blame. Some manufacturers even said that they weren’t going to be delivering Vista drivers for the products.

In a lot of ways it would make sense for Microsoft to take a page out of the Apple play book and I have a feeling that if we did given the company’s excellent hardware product line they already have adding computers to it would be a big bonus for users. The interesting thing is that people are talking like this would be something totally new for Microsoft setting their current hardware line of keyboards, webcams, and mice. In fact since just before Vista was launched Microsoft has been looking at the computer hardware end of things.

As part of the lead into the Vista launch Microsoft made available a Vista Industrial Design Toolkit to over 70 PC manufacturers that contained much of their thoughts about the future of computer design and aesthetics. In addition they hired the Carbon Design Group to come up with some mock-ups of PC using the toolkit. I remember catching wind of this for the first time via Long Zheng’s blog and then drooling a bit over the actual mock-ups from Carbon.

>Here are a few shots of their desktop computer idea

As well they did a mock up for Windows Home Server 2008

The more that I thought about this especially in light of Elgan and Dvorak’s interesting posts on the idea I have to admit I’m  warming to the concept. It definitely could throw a whole new light on PCs and Windows.

What do you think? Good idea or bad?

Should Microsoft be thinking about making their own PCs? is a post from: The Inquisitr

I’m sure Apple will have a heyday with this little bit of news, it appears the download friendly Windows 7 Student Upgrade has been failing on Windows Vista 32-bit systems. A problem established due to an ISO error included with the download.

According to Engadget the issue is occurring because the ISO file that is suppose to execute is actually being read as a .EXE file and several bundles. As users attempt to install the upgrade the system eventually outputa a bunch of nonsense about how the 64-bit upgrade is trying to install on a 32-bit system.

Microsoft is offering refunds to anyone who purchased the $29 upgrade. If you really don’t want to deal with a refund DownloadSquad is showing users how to create a CD out of the downloaded files, although ludites may want to avoid the process.

Windows 7 Student Upgrade Kit Fails To Install, Microsoft Offers Refunds is a post from: The Inquisitr

While the stick yer head segment of Mac users will almost certainly find some reason to spout their typical rhetoric about Mac’s being impervious to viruses, trojans and other such evil goodies that isn’t stopping the malware writers from improving their odds of getting you to install their crap. One of the newest tricks apparently is for the website you are visiting to detect which operating system you are running and then serve you up a nasty package for that OS.

Ivan Macalintal from Trend Micro recently came across a new variant of the DNS changer trojan that checks for which operating system is behind the browser and then will offer up the appropriate Windows or Mac installer.

This follows a similar finding last month by McAfee, which spotted the same tactic being used at sites that try to trick the user into installing a browser plug-in supposedly needed to view online videos: The bogus plug-in was offered as a ".exe" file for Windows visitors, and a ".dmg" installer file for those who browsed the site with a Mac.

Meanwhile, Symantec warned last week that it had detected several blogs that were advertising free, streaming online copies of movies that were just released in the theaters. The lure is once again a fake video plug-in, followed by either a Mac- or Windows-based version of the DNS Changer Trojan.

Source: Security Fix :: Malware Writers: Will That Be OS X, or W?

Most of these new and more dangerous delivery systems are coming at us via blogs and websites that pander to those looking for video and software that they would normally have to pay for.

The reason for this is that by making the visitor think they need some new type of codec to view some questionable video it makes them more willing to install whatever is offered up to them. This is just taking the whole social engineering up a level or two.

image courtesy of Security Fix

Malware served up based on operating system is a post from: The Inquisitr

Just to clarify – this post is meant for all those windows users that are looking to upgrade to windows 7 when it finally hits the market. It isn’t meant for penguin lovers or apple tart fans so don’t bother with the snide comments because you are only showing how silly you are. Now – let’s move onto the point of this post.

The presales of Windows 7 have started, OEMs are gearing up new machines that will come with Vista installed but some free upgrade coupons for when Windows 7 is finally released in early fall. The question that a lot of current Windows users are going to be asking themselves is which of the three different versions should they get. I know because I’ve been asking myself the same question and thanks to Ed Bott I have a much clear idea of the route to take.

First off only a miniscule number of people are going to need the Ultimate package and chances are you aren’t in that group. I say this with some confidence knowing my own usage of Windows and the fact that  99.99999% of Windows users would be wasting their money by getting it.

This leaves picking between Windows 7 Professional and Windows 7 Home Premium. The decision in my opinion would have been a lot easier if Professional had been called Windows 7 Corporate because in all reality 90% of the Windows consumer market will never need the features in this version.

Which leaves us with the Home Premium version as the best choice for the consumer market, but to clarify the reasons why let’s have a look at what Professional brings to the table and why Home Premium will do just fine for you.

Memory: Professional supports up to 192GB of RAM whereas Home Premium supports up to 16GB of RAM. I would suggest that 16GB of RAM is more than enough for just about any home or small business use and that anymore is pretty well overkill.

Presentation Mode/Network Projector: This feature isn’t included in Home Premium and really I don’t think, outside of some rare cases, that general consumers would miss having the feature.

Encrypting File System: There are enough third party utility programs out there that if this is an important need it doesn’t mean that you need to spend the extra money for Professional. Three examples for this type of software are

TrueCrypt – free

SafeHouse Personal – $29.99

Intercrypto – CryptoExpert 2009 Professional – $59.95

Windows XP Mode: There is some confusion as to what this is but really for the most part this isn’t something that the larger consumer market is going to need. If you would like some clarification about what it is I would suggest reading Ed Bott’s post on the feature. If you to think you need it just remember that chances are you already have a legitimately licensed copy of XP so all you really need is some virtualization software. Some possible virtualization software choices you have are:

Virtual Box – free

Microsoft Windows Virtual PC – free

VMWare ESXi – free

Backup to Network: When it comes to good backup software that will provide you with all kinds of alternatives of where you can backup your disk images or data, so really this isn’t something that should be a selling point to get Professional. Some software alternatives are:

Acronis TrueImage – $49.99

GRBackPro – $59.00

An online option is Carbonite – $54.95 per year

Offline Files: With native Microsoft options like Live Mesh or Live Sync this isn’t a selling point for getting Professional.

Remote Desktop Host: Again there are more than enough third party utility programs out there that cover this so it isn’t a feature that you need to consider as a buying point of Professional. A couple of examples of available software are

Crossloop – free

TeamViewer – free

That pretty well covers any of the possible features that might make you have to make a decision about whether to get Professional or Home Premium. On the whole though I would say that for the vast majority of consumers out there the Home Premium would be the most logical choice. The other two options are pretty well overkill and won’t provide you with anything you really need to justify the price you will pay.

My thanks to Ed Bott for an excellent post clarifying the differences and for the graphic breaking down the differences.

The coming Windows 7 tsunami: OMG which version do I get? is a post from: The Inquisitr