It was really up in the air what Google would do with YouTube. Yesterday Apple announce that YouTube will be available on Apple TV. Apple will use its new technology to support the hottest website. Questions arise what does this mean for Microsoft its future on the Digital world.
Windows Home Server is available in beta testing right now. I got a version running on a virtual machine - it is very similar to windows 2003 server. It actually says its windows 2003 in the lower right corner.
Apple released upgraded specs for their Macbook Line up
echnical Specifications
Apple Remote
In the box
* MacBook
* Apple Remote
* 60W MagSafe Power Adapter, AC wall plug, and power cord
* Lithium-polymer battery
* Install/restore DVDs
* Printed and electronic documentation
Intel core 2 Duo
Processor and memory
* 2.0GHz or 2.16GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor
* 4MB shared L2 cache running at full processor speed
* 667MHz frontside bus
* 1GB (two 512MB SO-DIMMs) of 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (PC2-5300); two SO-DIMM slots support up to 2GB
Storage
* 80GB, 120GB, or 160GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA hard disk drive; optional 120GB or 160GB 5400-rpm drive or 200GB 4200-rpm drive1
* One of the following optical drives:
o 24x slot-loading Combo drive (DVD-ROM/CD-RW)
+ Reads DVDs at up to 8x speed
+ Writes CD-R discs at up to 24x speed
+ Writes CD-RW discs at up to 16x speed
+ Reads CDs at up to 24x speed
o 8x slot-loading SuperDrive (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
+ Writes DVD+R DL (double layer) discs at up to 4x speed
+ Writes DVD-R and DVD+R discs at up to 8x speed
+ Writes DVD-RW and DVD+RW discs at up to 4x speed
+ Reads DVDs at up to 8x speed
+ Writes CD-R discs at up to 24x speed
+ Writes CD-RW discs at up to 10x speed
+ Reads CDs at up to 24x speed
Battery and power
* 55-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery (with integrated charge indicator LEDs) providing up to 6 hours of battery life
* 60W MagSafe Power Adapter with cable management system
* MagSafe power adapter port
Display
* 13.3-inch (diagonal) glossy widescreen TFT display with support for millions of Graphics and video support
* Intel GMA 950 graphics processor with 64MB of DDR2 SDRAM shared with main memory (Can handle Windows Vista Areo)
* Extended desktop and video mirroring: Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display and up to 1920 by 1200 pixels on an external display, both at millions of colors
* iSightBuilt-in iSight camera
* Mini-DVI port
* DVI output using mini-DVI to DVI adapter (sold separately)
* VGA output using mini-DVI to VGA adapter (sold separately)
* Composite and S-video output using mini-DVI to video adapter (sold separately)
Communications
USB Modem
* Built-in 10/100/1000BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet (RJ-45 connector)
* Built-in AirPort Extreme Wi-Fi (based on IEEE 802.11n draft specification)4
* Built-in Bluetooth 2.0 + Enhanced Data Rate (EDR)
* Optional external Apple USB Modem
Audio
* Built-in stereo speakers
* Built-in omnidirectional microphone
* Combined optical digital audio input/audio line in (minijack)
* Combined optical digital audio output/headphone out (minijack)
Peripheral connections
* One FireWire 400 port (up to 400 Mbps)
* Two USB 2.0 ports (up to 480 Mbps)
So great machine but now only missing the software upgrade - Leopard, iLife 07
Looks like Apple store is making a few changes. What we do know is macbook lineup got an upgrade. Processors starting from 2.0GHz and Hard drive from 80 GB.
Gmail now is available to anyone. Just go to Gmail.com and you can sign up. Now you dont have to be invited to use gmail.
I was able to get my hand on the new motorola q for Sprint. Here are images. In depth review coming soon.
MSDN reported that it will be using Word 2007 rendering engine for HTML in MS Outlook 07. It will support HTML and CSS validation. The schema used by multiple Microsoft Products. Read more here.
Microsoft release Virtual Server 2005 R2 beta version was release a while back. It has a nice web interface which allows to access all your virtual systems on the server. You can test drive it yourself at Microsoft. Virtual Server is more flexible then Virtual PC 2004. You have the ability to create a larger virtual hard disk up to 127 GB. A big upgrade from the 16 GB that was offered in VPC 2004. A new addition to the Virtual Server website is downloading virtual Hard drives from their website. This will save the time of creating a virtual machine from scratch. There is also the addition of creating virtual network enabling you to put virtual machines on that network. Virtual server is great addition to the Microsoft Line up and should work well with a Windows server 2003. This is an important release for me while majority of my tested beta version are done on a virtual PC. I really like the web server interface and allowing me to take remote control right from the site. But even with my 2 GB's of ram I felt Virtual Server lag a bit more then using VMServer. Which is available for free.
Verdict: Definitely worth testing out Virtual Server since the recent addition of down-loadable virtual hard disks. 
Sprint has finally released the Motorola Q. It is posted on the Sprint PCS website. You can get the phone for 199.99 after rebates and with a new contract or purchase it for your current plan for a whopping 449. I say wait a month should be on Ebay for around 200 soon. Or should you wait till the iPhone comes out with Cingular. I highly doubt any rebates will be offered for that phone.
Cingular also has updated their homepage to display the new Apple iPhone. You have the ability join their mailing list. They will email you once more information becomes available.
Job's started the press conference at about 11am central time. My speculation were some right.
He started by announcing that Apple will be working with Intel to release new processors for the system monthly. Then as expected he presented iTV which has been renamed to Apple TV.
But the big news is the iPhone. It is really big news. Its pratcally a smart phone, and iPod put together. It sports a 8GB hard drive, touch screen, bluetooth, wifi and edge, quality iPod audio, oh yea can't forget its running OS X on it.
So how much does this all cost?
Pretty expensive but hopefully some rebates will help this deal.
$499 for 4GB
$599 for 8GB
I'm still amazed. Picture copyrighted to engadget. Visit Engadget for the latest details on Apple's new releases.
More information later today.
There is speculation that Apple with introduce the iPod Phone today. There are several fake images on the internet but not confirmation what the iPod phone looks like. There is confirmation that IPod phone will be in service by Cingular.
Steve Jobs is also expected to release something that will totally blow everyone away with an interesting message on the Apple website. 'The first 30 years was just the beganning.' This is my prediction what will be release today is iTV, iPod Phone, and maybe a tablet mac.
I will post updates as they become available.
To fit the styles of the new Microsoft Office 2007. Microsoft has revamped the office online website. They tried to go after easier navigation and better search results. The site retrieves templates that are useful for everyday work but many of the new templates are only available for Office 2007. On the website there is a link for you to try the new 2007 suite for 30 days. Definitely worth the upgrade but expensive.
On December 14 2006 Microsoft unveiled the new microsoft.com. The homepage changed to a web 2.0 dynamic website. Featuring functionality similar to other web 2.0 sites using Ajax. The site looks great now they need to update all connecting sites. Since Google and apple have been threatening Microsoft with new sleeker products, Microsoft has reacted releasing new software and upgrades faster. Don't expect Microsoft to go down without a fight.
Ideawins is offering MS Office Accounting 2007 Express software for free. Express version means the functionality will be limited but it still should meet the needs of most individuals.
File Size is about 330 MB
Microsoft® Office Accounting Express 2007 is everything you need to make your small business idea flourish. Whatever your idea, take it further with these great features:
Save time on everyday tasks
* Create quotes and invoices; track expenses and employee time
* Enter data once and share it seamlessly with other Microsoft Office system programs
* Manage payroll and taxes with ADP’s integrated payroll service
Get a complete view of your business
* Store and organize all your customer, vendor, employee, and financial information in one place
* Get business insights with over 20 customizable reports
* Easily share your books with your accountant through Office Live
Grow your business online
* List items on eBay, track sales activity, and download and process orders
* Email invoices and get paid faster with PayPal
* Monitor your customers’ business credit in real-time through Equifax
Download here
Buy.com finally has revamped their website. It was much needed. Their new site features easier navigation and better search results. There is also better product specification. They have done an excellent job revamping the site. Buy.com is Amazon competitor but unlike Amazon, it has advertisements to sites outside of buy.com.
Yea thats right, Firefox has been downloaded 2 million times in 24 hours of its release. Microsoft was bragging about its 3 million downloads in a span of 4 days. FireFox was topping out at more than 30 downloads per second now thats crazy. I have used IE 7 Beta and I really hated it, it was like a totally new browser. I'm off to downloaded the new FireFox. I will post updates as they become available.
For all you worried about buying a PC without the latest operating system no longer have to worry. Microsoft has said that it will offer a Vista upgrade coupon that will allow anyone that purchases a PC/laptop in the upcoming month to upgrade to Vista for free or a discounted price (determine by the PC manufacture). This is an excellent move for Microsoft and will help PC makers while the holiday season is right around the corner. Expected release of Vista is January 2007, the date is not finalized.
