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Neowin News
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Windows 8 is coming in 2012
According to the latest roadmap from Microsoft, it would appear that Windows 8 will arrive sometime in 2012. This would follow a three year product cycle that would keep it in line with Vista and Windows 7 releases. The road map is clear about the targeted date and does not try to hide the fact that the code name is "Windows 8". Little else is known about the OS other than its targeted date of release. Let the speculation begin. Image courtesy of msftkitchen.com
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Google Chrome OS available for download
When Google finally showed off their new OS yesterday there was a lot of skepticism about working in the cloud, offline applications and many other thoughts and concerns. The good news is that if you don't want to read others hands on impressions you can now download and install the OS yourself. A couple of things to note, firstly the download will only work in a VM environment, second, this is pre-beta software so expect crashes, bumps and a rough experience. But if you're willing to take the plunge you can follow the directions here.
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Twitter no longer asks "What are you doing?"
In an unexpected move, Twitter has removed the "What are you doing?" question from the user interface, confirming a change in uses for the popular social networking site. The official Twitter Blog had the following to say about the new changes: "Twitter was originally conceived as a mobile status update service—an easy way to keep in touch with people in your life by sending and receiving short, frequent answers to one question, ‘What are you doing?' However, when we implemented the service, we chose to leave something out. To stay simple, Twitter did not require individuals to confirm relationships. Instead, we left things open.
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EU agrees with guidelines on Internet restriction
European MEP's and Council representatives have agreed on a set of guidelines that state restrictions to Internet usage may "only be imposed if they are appropriate, proportionate and necessary within a democratic society," and that users are entitled to a "fair and impartial procedure" before disconnection. The Telecoms Reform Package that the restriction guidelines are part of will go before the European Parliament and Council for a final decision in late November. The compromise is the result of all night negotiations and is the last hurdle for the package which also include, amongst other things, a rule that will require mobile phone companies to help users change contracts within 24 hours.
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YouTube Captions to Use Technology from Google Voice
In a move meant to boost accessibility and search engine relevance, Google has announced an automatic captions service for YouTube videos, using the "automatic speech recognition" (ASR) technology currently used in the transcription feature of Google Voice. Although YouTube has long offered options for content providers to upload their own captions and subtitles, few have chosen to do so, with just around 100,000 captioned videos available out of hundreds of millions of clips posted on the site. Although Google admits that the machine-generated captions "will not always be perfect," they see the introduction of the technology as a positive step in providing content to deaf and hearing disabled users.
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Apple Seeks Patent for Embedded Ads in OS
According to a disclosed patent application discovered last month by The New York Times, Apple Computers is seeking rights to a technology that allows advertising to have a direct spot in a device operating system. The reasoning behind the decision is most widely believed to be a cost-cutting motive, allowing consumers subsidized purchasing options for ordinarily more expensive technology. The fact that the patent is coming from Apple is seen by some analysts as a surprise and a contradiction of Apple's reputation for delivering higher quality, more user friendly technology at a premium price.
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Google releases Chrome OS information & source code
Google's Chrome OS has been a rather interesting project for many people as of late; it was said to be an operating system that was based in the "cloud", stored mostly online, though nobody knew any exact details. Today, Google has explained more about the OS, clearing things up. As posted on the official Google blog, Chrome OS is "all about the web." As such, it is web-based, and as Google states, "The entire experience takes place within the browser and there are no conventional desktop applications.
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Sky Player in Windows 7 Media Center now available
Sky Player, Sky's online TV service, is now available to Windows Media Center UK users in Windows 7. Sky kicked off the service on the Xbox 360 late last month. The service will allow users access to Live TV, on demand content, movies and sport. Existing Sky TV customers will be able to purchase an online Sky Player multiroom subscription for £5 per month (currently on offer, normally £10). Customers with Sky Multiroom or Sky Broadband Unlimited will be able to access live channels for no extra charge. Non-Sky TV customers will require a monthly subscription that starts at £15 per month to the Base Entertainment Pack.
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Full length Channel 4 shows available for UK Youtube users
Channel 4's 4oD shows are now available for UK users of Youtube. Following the deal that was brought up a while ago, Youtube is now starting to host full-length episodes of top Channel 4 series, such as Peep Show and Gordon Ramsay's F Word, according to The Guardian. Youtube has posted 5,000 videos on the Channel 4 Youtube channel, 4,000 of which are full-length shows. The number is going to increase though, as sometime in early 2010 the full range of Channel 4's shows is expected to be available to UK users.
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Zbot trojan creators arrested in London
Police in London have arrested two people on suspicion that they created the ZeuS or Zbot trojan that infected many computers around the world. The couple used the trojan for monetary gain but authorities did not disclose how much money was stolen. The trojan installed itself on victims computers using social engineer techniques. Generally the trojan would mask itself as a reputable website such as a bank, credit card company or tax office to get the victim to install the software. "Once installed, the Zbot Trojan injects itself into the victim's Web browser and monitors all traffic.
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