I am getting quite sick of the Chinese commentary on my Windows Live Space. This has been happening for a long time now and I do not see any tools in place to help stop this habit. I am asking the Windows Live Space Team, to not only look at features for Windows Live wave 3 but actual tools users of services like Live Space and Mail can use to stop this constant spamming.

Previously:

Privacy Settings need to be better for Windows Live Messenger

From CIO

The folks over at CIO magazine have gathered the thoughts of industry analyst on Microsoft's release of Windows 7 in the future. Is it really important that they have it out by Holiday 2009 or does even need to be here next year? One analyst thoughts on the matter caught my eye and I thought I would respond on what I believe is a misunderstanding about Microsoft's development of this release of Windows in particular.

Quote: Al Gillen, research VP of system software at IDC, is not entirely convinced that Windows 7 could make the 2009 holiday timeframe even if Microsoft wanted it.

"Let's work backwards to get a reality check," says Gillen. "For Microsoft to make holiday 2009, the product must be released to OEMs by, say, September, or October 1 at the latest. That will be RTM [release to manufacturing] code. Back up to RC2, RC1, Beta 3, Beta 2 and Beta 1, and you are looking at a minimum of an 8-month window."

Read the entire article here

Why the mention of a BETA 3 for Windows 7? Not even Vista which is major .0 release needed a BETA 3 build to get feedback. There is even some hints that Windows 7 will only have one BETA 1 cycle which will be feature complete and be publicly available then go straight to RC's if needed. Vista was a different era in how Windows was developed. The reset took a toll on its development, the third party ISVs and IHVs were reluctant to develop for a moving target. Even when the development did stabilize they refused to get ready for the obvious RTM in November 2006 and GA in January 2007.

Windows 7 has everything in place, the same compatibility level as Vista, ISVs and IHVs have been preparing to get their drivers ready from early on. Its one of three things for Windows 7's release, ready by August 2009 like XP was by August 2001, 2) available to Businesses by November 2009 with some high volume OEMs preloading the OS on new systems by November also and 3) have the GA availability world wide with boxed copies on store shelves world wide by January 2010. There are so many ways Microsoft can launch this and its looking to be phased in release.

Resources:

NVIDIA jumps onboard Windows 7 bandwagon early - istartedsomething
Windows 7 Path to RTM: Broad Beta and Public Release Candidate (RC)
Windows 7 coming Holiday 2009

A great deal of help and documentation is available online for Ubuntu, ranging from detailed install procedures to beginners questions. The two major sites for documentation are https://help.ubuntu.com and the Ubuntu forums at www.ubuntuformus.org. In addition, you can consult many blog and news sites as well as the standard Linux documentation. Als helpful is the Ubuntu Guide Wiki at http://ubuntuguide.org. Links to Ubuntu documentation, support, blogs, and news are listed at www.ubuntu.com/community. Here you will also find links for the Ubuntu community structure, including the code of conduct. A “Contribute” section links to sites where you can make contributions in development, artwork, documentation, and support. For mailing lists, check http://lists.ubuntu.com. You’ll find lists for categories such as Ubuntu announcements, community support for specific editions, and development for areas such as the desktop, servers, or mobile implementation.


help.ubuntu.com
Ubuntu-specific documentation is available at help.ubuntu.com. Here on tabbed pages you can find specific documentation for different releases. Always check the release help page first for documentation, though it may be sparse and covers mainly changed areas. The Ubuntu LTS release usually includes desktop, installation, and server guides. The guides are complete and cover most topics. For 8.04, use of Desktop Documentation section will cover key desktop topics like software management, music and video applications, Internet application including mail and instant messaging, security topics, and a guide for new users. The short-term support releases tend to have just a few detailed documentation topics such as software management, desktop customization, security, multimedia and Internet applications, and printing. These will vary depending on what new features are included in the release. One of the most helpful pages is the Community Contributed Documentation page. Here you will find detailed documentation on installation of all Ubuntu releases, using the desktop, installing software, and configuring devices. Always check the page for your Ubuntu release first. The page includes these main sections:

• Getting Help Links to documentation and FAQs. The official documentation link displays the tabbed page for that release on help.ubuntu.com.

• Getting Ubuntu Link to Install page with sections on desktop, server, and alternate installations. Also information on how to move from using other operating systems such as Windows or Mac.

• Using and Customizing Your System Sections on managing and installing software, Internet access, configuring multimedia applications, setting up accessibility, the desktop appearance (eye candy), server configuration, and development tools (programming).

• Maintain Your Computer Links to System Administration, Security, and Troubleshooting Guides pages. System Administration covers topics such as adding users, configuring the GRUB boot loader, setting the time and date, and installing software. The Security page covers lower level issues such as iptables for firewalls and how GPG security works. Of particular interest is the Linux Unified Key Setup (LUKS)–encrypted file system how-tos.

• Connecting and Configuring Hardware Links to pages on drives and partitions, input devices, wireless configuration, printers, sound, video, and laptops.


ubuntuforums.org
Ubuntu Forums provides detailed online support and discussion for users. An Absolute Beginner section provides an area where new users can obtain answers to questions. Sticky threads includes both quick and complete guides to installation for the current Ubuntu release. You can use the search feature to find discussions on your topic of interest. The main support categories section covers specific support areas such as networking, multimedia, laptops, security, and 64-bit support. Other community discussions cover ongoing work such as virtualization, art and design, gaming, education and science, Wine, assistive technology, and even testimonials. Here you will also find community announcements and news. Of particular interest are third-party projects that include projects such as Mythbuntu (MythTV on Ubuntu), Ubuntu Podcast forum, Ubuntu Women, and Ubuntu Gamers. The forum community discussion is where you talk about anything else. The ubuntuforums.org site also provides a gallery page for posted screenshots as well as RSS feeds for specific forums.


ubuntuguide.org
The Ubuntu Guide is a kind of all-purpose how-to for frequently asked questions. It is independent of the official Ubuntu site and can deal with topics such as how to get DVD-video to work. Areas cover such topics as popular add-on applications such as Flash, Adobe Reader, and MPlayer. The Hardware section deals with specific hardware such as Nvidia drivers and Logitech mice. Emulators such as Wine and VMWare are also discussed.


Ubuntu News and Blog Sites
Several news and blog sites are accessible from the News pop-up menu on the www.ubuntu.com site.
• fridge.ubuntu.com The Fridge site lists the latest news and developments for Ubuntu. It features the Weekly Newsletter, latest announcements, and upcoming events.

• planet.ubuntu.com Ubuntu blog for members and developers.

• blog.canonical.com Canonical news.


Linux Documentation
Linux documentation has also been developed over the Internet. Much of the documentation currently available for Linux can be downloaded from Internet FTP sites. A special Linux project called the Linux Documentation Project (LDP), headed by Matt Welsh, has developed a complete set of Linux manuals. The documentation is available at the LDP home site at www.tldp.org. The Linux documentation for your installed software will be available at your /usr/share/doc directory.

Source of Information : McGraw Hill Ubuntu The Complete Reference

VMWare’s competitor, Parallels, has just released 4.0 of their Virtualization product. It is a Mac only product, but many Windows users (like me) only use Windows in a virtual environment on a Mac.

From Parallels, here is a list of new features:

Redesigned User Interface - provides quick access to all virtual machines. Parallels Desktop 4.0 for Mac also improves upon earlier iterations by introducing support for video boosters such as DirectX 9, DirectX Pixel Shader 2.0, and OpenGL 2.0.

New Virtualization Engine - Called the adaptive hypervisor, it consumes 15 to 30 percent less resources than previous versions. “The adaptive hypervisor gives our users the resources they need on the fly,” said John Hermes, chief technology officer at Oklahoma Christian University.

Power-saver Feature - it reduces the platform’s drain on battery life by up to 20 percent. The new platform is also specifically designed to take advantage of the capabilities inherent in the latest dual-core and quad-core processors from Intel.

Security and backup - A complete set of antivirus, firewall, scanner, recovery, filtering and identity protection capabilities powered by Kaspersky Internet Security. Even better, the new platform now embraces the latest backup and restore capabilities from disk-management software provider Acronis.

I am downloading a trial right now to take it for a spin…here is the download location for those who are interested:

http://www.parallels.com/download/

VMWare's competitor, Parallels, has just released 4.0 of their Virtualization product. It is a Mac only product, but many Windows users (like me) only use Windows in a virtual environment on a Mac.

From Parallels, here is a list of new features:

Redesigned User Interface - provides quick access to all virtual machines. Parallels Desktop 4.0 for Mac also improves upon earlier iterations by introducing support for video boosters such as DirectX 9, DirectX Pixel Shader 2.0, and OpenGL 2.0.

New Virtualization Engine - Called the adaptive hypervisor, it consumes 15 to 30 percent less resources than previous versions. "The adaptive hypervisor gives our users the resources they need on the fly," said John Hermes, chief technology officer at Oklahoma Christian University.

Power-saver Feature - it reduces the platform's drain on battery life by up to 20 percent. The new platform is also specifically designed to take advantage of the capabilities inherent in the latest dual-core and quad-core processors from Intel.

Security and backup - A complete set of antivirus, firewall, scanner, recovery, filtering and identity protection capabilities powered by Kaspersky Internet Security. Even better, the new platform now embraces the latest backup and restore capabilities from disk-management software provider Acronis.


I am downloading a trial right now to take it for a spin...here is the download location for those who are interested:

http://www.parallels.com/download/

Description of ErrorRepairTool and consequences of its residing on your PC

ErrorRepairTool has rather simple but interesting in impression web-site; there are many links to this site spread over Internet, and not only suspicious section of the web is involved into the deal of ErrorRepairTool propagation. In general, this scheme works as follows: (1) visiting web-site with pop-up linked to ErrorRepairTool’s site; (2) clicking the pop-ups redirecting a user to destinated page of ErrorRepairTool; (3) purchase of full version or shadowed downloading and installation of the unregistered copy. Manual downloading of ErrorRepairTool free trial version seems to be impossible.
This was a description of almost legitimate scheme, especially in case if at step (3) user purchases the registered version. It is, however, very risky decision to buy this software as the server through which the payment is to be settled has invalid certification system. This error should be detected by your browser if it is not out-of-date.
ErrorRepairTool as a software pretends to be another privacy protector. In reality, though, ErrorRepairTool simply lists video and audio files as those with porno-content, adult or other suspicious content, or displays imaginary names. Removal of scan results related objects may be dangerous.
Where ErrorRepairTool adware is installed by trojans or exploit, victim’s PC is flooded with various alerts and warnings interrupting run of programs and causing slow computer problem; ErrorRepairTool adware should be understood as a kit of simple but extremely harmful applications responsible for generation of alerts related to ErrorRepairTool and for simultaneous system depreciation.
Click here  to launch free scan for malware like ErrorRepairTool and to remove ErrorRepairTool immediately.

ErrorRepairTool Technical Details

• Full name: ErrorRepairTool, ErrorRepair Tool, Error Repair Tool
• Version: 2009
• Type: Rogue anti-spyware
• Origin: Russian Federation

ErrorRepairTool Screenshot (click to enlarge):

Signs of being infected with Spyware ErrorRepairTool:

Surfing the web you may be redirected to online scan page by ErrorRepairTool. It is strongly recommended to close the page immediately as your system vulnerabilities may be used for ErrorRepairTool’s adware installation. Where you see ErrorRepairTools free scan window or its alerts, click here  to to remove ErrorRepairTool immediately or at least to scan your system fo free.

Automatic Removal of ErrorRepairTool from your PC:

Do not decide too long whether you need to get rid of ErrorRepairTool, if you want to restore the best performance of operating system. ErrorRepairTool is likely to be installed with other rogues like fake malware removers, therefore overall system scan and cleanup is highly recommended. Follow the link below to launch free scan and to remove ErrorRepairTool immediately.

Download ErrorRepairTool Removal Tool

Manual Removal of ErrorRepairTool:

The guide provided below fits to remove the most extended version of ErrorRepairTool; however, only alerts or only fake scanner may be installed at your PC; that is why you may not find some entries. You can remove ErrorRepairTool manually, but we still recommend you to scan your PC free of charge by clicking the related link below top make sure that ErrorRepairTool removal was successful.

Remove ErrorRepairTool files and dll’s

ErrorRepairTool.exe
setupxv[1].exe
RegCleaner.dll

Unregister ErrorRepairTool registry values:

ErrorRepairTool
Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\ErrorRepairTool
Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{C3185E34-3C04-4616-9FE0-89D70CF5DEB7}

ErrorRepairTool Remover with free scan