Windows

In a surprise move, Microsoft has announced it will offer a free anti-virus and security solution from the second half of next year.

It will stop selling OneCare, its all-in-one security and PC management service, from the end of June 2009.

The new software, code-named Morro, will be a no-frills program suited to smaller and less powerful computers.

The software will be free to download and will support Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7.

The move comes as sales of the OneCare subscription service are flagging - reportedly because the anti-virus marketplace is already flooded with big-name players such as Symantec and McAfee.

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I was getting this error [Generic Host Process for Win32 Services has encountered a problem] every time i reinstalled windows and it kept coming up and then stopped after few days. I never knew what was the reason for it and this time i decided to go after it.

It is very annoying and comes only when I am online and whenever it pops up it taken down the internet and I have to restart my computer again. The error details show the problem with svchost.exe and netapi32.dll

Well the reason the error goes away after a few days is that I have windows update on and it downloads the updates and patches the errors in xp sp2. This time I turned it off and thats why I still get this error.

I order to get rid of this error and other variants of it do the following.

1. You receive a “Generic Host Process” error message after you start the computer, or DBCS attachment file names are not displayed in Rich Text e-mail messages.

RESOLUTION

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/894391

loadTOCNode(1, ‘resolution’);

Hotfix information

loadTOCNode (2, ‘resolution’);A supported hotfix is now available from Microsoft. For Windows XP SP2, the Generic Host Process error can potentially occur on any system at any time. Although you receive the error message shortly after system startup, the actual error occurred during the previous system shutdown. Because of the broad nature of this issue, this hotfix was made available through Windows Update and distributed to users who have Automatic Updates enabled to eliminate this problem on Windows XP SP2 systems. For Windows XP SP2, you may experience one last Generic Host Process error upon restart after you install this hotfix. This is from the previous system shutdown before the new version installation was completed.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/894391

2. Generic Host Process Error Message and a Flashlight Icon Appear

RESOLUTION

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/821690

loadTOCNode(1, ‘resolution’); To resolve this problem, follow these steps:

Contact HP to obtain compatible drivers for the printer or scanner. For information about how to contact HP, click the appropriate article number in the following list to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/821690

3.Error messages when you start a Windows XP-based computer and then try to download Windows Updates

RESOLUTION

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/931852

loadTOCNode(1, ‘resolution’);To resolve this problem, follow these steps:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/931852

Microsoft promises its Windows 7 operating system will be an improvement on the much-maligned Windows Vista.

Microsoft has unveiled the latest version of its Windows operating system.

It promised that it will deliver a better experience for users when it arrives sometime late next year.

Windows 7 follows Vista, which Microsoft claims has been a success, but which has been subject to fierce criticism from a number of users.

The system was demonstrated at the company’s Professional Developers Conference in Los Angeles.

Senior vice-president Steven Sinofsky described it as an “exciting new version of Windows” and claimed it would deliver a more personalised experience.

Feedback

When Vista launched in January 2007, many users complained that it ran slowly and failed to work at all with some programs and devices.

Corporate customers have been slow to switch from Windows XP to Vista, although Microsoft said that the operating system had an unfair press, and has enjoyed record sales.

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Microsoft has unveiled a cloud computing service

Microsoft has unveiled a cloud computing service, in which data and applications will not be stored on individuals’ computers.

The new platform, dubbed Windows Azure, was announced at Microsoft’s Professional Developers Conference in Los Angeles.

The platform was described by Microsoft’s chief software architect Ray Ozzie as “Windows for the cloud”.

The framework will be offered alongside the next Windows release, Windows 7.

The move sees Microsoft taking on established players like Google and Amazon in the rapidly growing business of online software.

The aim is to allow developers to build new applications which will live on the internet, rather than on their own computers.

Microsoft believes consumers will also want to store far more of their data - from letters to photos to videos - on the servers in its “cloud” of giant data centres around the world, so that it can be accessed anywhere, from any device.

The move, which Microsoft sees as a major shift in its corporate strategy, was unveiled in front of 6,000 software developers from around the world.

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Those wishing to skip Windows Vista now know how long they have to sweat it out with XP. Microsoft today confirmed rumours it would ship an alpha version Vista’s successor, dubbed Windows 7, to developers in October.

The final release date is set for January 2010 – though the scuttlebutt is that it may be moved forward into next year as Google gains traction with its Google Apps and Chrome, pitched as a rival OS for the web.

Windows 7’s signature features will include new touchscreen technology, giving users of compatible PCs an iPhone-like ability to slide around photos and files with their fingers.

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LG Electronics will launch in October a netbook-class laptop PC based on Intel’s Atom processor that also includes 3G wireless, it said Wednesday at the IFA show in Berlin.The X110 will include an HSPA (High-Speed Packet Access) cellular data modem that should be compatible with the newer 3G (third-generation) networks now being rolled out by most major carriers around the world. HSPA is typically capable of download speeds of several megabits per second and the latest versions of the evolving technology also offer megabit per second uploads.

In addition to 3G, the machine also supports 802.11b/g wireless LAN and has a wired Ethernet connector.

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The subnotebook trend has everyone looking for smaller and lighter laptops, but some people still want big, heavy, high-performing ones. Those people will be pleased with a new announcement from Lenovo. The notebook giant is taking the desktop replacement a step further with a huge new notebook with a built-in WACOM tablet for graphics input and a number of other interesting features. It is available from Lenovo now.

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If Linux is going to make bigger inroads on the desktop, developers need to stop cloning Microsoft Windows and instead produce more unique user interface designs, according to Bob Sutor, IBM’s VP of open source and standards.

Sutor made these remarks today at the Black Hat Conference in Las Vegas, a day after IBM issued the latest in an eight-year series of Linux announcements, joining at LinuxWorld with Linux distributors Red Hat, Novell, and Canonical in an initiative to build “Microsoft-free PCs for business.”
The VP delivered his recommendations around more creative Linux user interfaces as part of a series of predictions about the future of Linux in the next decade. If developers are building applications for the traditional PC desktop, they are better off copying Apple Macintosh concepts about design and usability, Sutor maintained.

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The leader of a youth movement that swept the world this past year by encouraging Web users to share bits of their lives with selected friends spoke on Wednesday of spreading his service across the Web, even while apologizing for past excesses.

Mark Zuckerberg, 24, told an audience of 1,000 industry executives, software makers, media — and his mother and father — at Facebook’s annual conference of how the company’s features will run on affiliated sites outside its own.
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You know that absence of any news whatsoever sound (kind of like a tree falling in the woods) that’s dogged Microsoft’s $50 Games for Windows Live online multiplayer service for PCs? The service much-ballyhooed by Microsoft back in May 2007 with the PC debut of Halo 2, but which pretty much fell off the radar after perquisites like “You mean I have to pay for multiplayer services that used to cost nada?”

Well now it’s free. As in no more $50 Gold-tier subscription fee if you’re not already an Xbox 360 Gold member. As in no more quibbling about pay-for multiplayer matchmaking, achievements, and cross-platform gameplay. continue

Microsoft is adding birthday reminders and several other new features to its Windows Live Calendar service.

The online calendar, which still is in beta testing, also got a new user interface and some more options for printing, Microsoft said in a statement Wednesday.

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ISLAMABAD: Google is making its Google Talk instant-messaging application available for Apple’s iPhone and iPod Touch.

In addition to sending your friends Gmail messages from your iPhone, you can now chat with them while you’re on the move, too!” said Adam Connors, of Google’s mobile team, BBC TV reported.

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