Archive for the ‘software’ Category
Mac OS Snow Leopard: Great news for Windows 7, too
August 31st, 2009 | 
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OS X 10.6 includes Boot Camp 3.0, a new collection of software drivers that make Windows run much better on Mac hardware.
(Credit: Screenshot by Dong Ngo/CNET)
Every time I see the “I’m a Mac/I’m a PC” ads on TV, I can’t help but wonder, “Why not both?” And it has never been a better time for that.
It’s been a three weeks since I first got my hands on Apple’s new Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard. (If anything, this means lots of hard work benchmark testing the product while trying to keep my mouth shut about it till now, which was even harder.)
Overall, personally, I found that while the new Mac OS doesn’t warrant a “wow,” it’s still definitely worth the $29 upgrade price.Mac users can read more about Snow Leopard in my colleague Jason Parker’s full review. On the other hand, for Windows users, especially Windows 7, the release of Snow Leopard is straight-on great news.
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http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10315168-1.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20
Apple’s new OS geared for multicore future
Apple began shipping Snow Leopard on Friday, but the true importance of the Mac OS X update likely will emerge well afterward.
That’s because Mac OS X 10.6 begins a longer-term Apple attempt to get ahead by cracking a problem facing the entire computer industry: squeezing useful work out of modern processors. Instead of stuffing Snow Leopard with immediately obvious new features, Apple is trying to adjust to the new reality in which processors can do many jobs simultaneously rather than one job fast.
“We’re trying to set a foundation for the future,” said Wiley Hodges, director of Mac OS X marketing.
Apple shed some light on its project, called Grand Central Dispatch at its Worldwide Developer Conference in June, but most real detail was shared only in with programmers sworn to secrecy. Now the company has begun talking more publicly about it and other deeper projects to take advantage of graphics chips and Intel’s 64-bit processors.
The moves align Apple better with changes in computing. For years, chipmakers such as Intel and Advanced Micro Devices had steadily increased the clock rate of their processors, and programmers got accustomed to a performance boost with each new generation. But earlier this decade, problems derailed the gigahertz train.
First, chips often ended up merely twiddling their thumbs more because slower memory couldn’t keep the chip fed with data. Worse, the chips required extraordinary amounts of power and produced corresponding amounts of hard-to-handle waste heat.
Full Story :
http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-10319839-264.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20
Posted in Apple, Mac, OS X, Snow Leopard, software | 
Tags: Apple, Mac, OS X, Snow Leopard | 
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64-bit Snow Leopard defaults to 32-bit kernel
Apple’s Snow Leopard operating system, released Friday, by default loads with a 32-bit kernel, despite running 64-bit applications.
While Mac OS X version 10.6 ships with a number of 64-bit native applications, the kernel itself defaults to 32-bit, unless the user holds down the “6” and “4” keys during boot time, at which point the 64-bit kernel is loaded. Only Apple’s X-Serve products, using Snow Leopard Server, boot into a 64-bit kernel by default.
“For the most part, everything that they experience on the Mac, from the 64-bit point of view, the applications, the operating system, is all going to be 64-bit,” Stuart Harris, software product marketing manager at Apple Australia said.
Harris said that at this stage there were very few things, such as device drivers, that required 64-bit mode at the kernel level but the option is available.
“But we’re trying to make it as smooth as possible, so people don’t end up finding that ‘oh, that doesn’t work’ because it’s not available yet,” he said.
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http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10320314-37.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20
Trend Micro’s 2010 suite is sharp at the top
Trend Micro released its 2010 security products earlier this week, with three programs offering varying levels of security and service. The comparatively barebones Trend Micro Antivirus + AntiSpyware clocks in at $40, with the basic suite Trend Micro Internet Security available for $10 more and $70 for the premium Trend Micro Internet Security Pro. They all come with a full-feature 30-day trial.
There’s a lot that’s new in the Pro version and some of that filters down to the other editions. Users can expect to get full Windows 7 support, auto-run disabling for USB keys, gaming, and video-watching awareness so that scans don’t begin while you’re relaxing, and notably a behavioral detection engine that Trend Micro calls the Smart Protection Network.
Like its competitors Symantec and Kaspersky, Trend Micro’s engine utilizes anonymous data from its client base to determine when a program is behaving suspiciously. From there, it will either automatically kill the process or ask for user input. As malware and virus makers get smarter and find new ways to avoid detection, the need for behavioral monitoring will only increase.
There are a series of performance enhancements, too, at least according to Trend Micro. Trend Micro is claiming that boot times are 20 percent faster, that the programs use 40 percent less RAM, that the download itself is 25 percent smaller, and that the quick scan on Windows Vista and Windows XP is 20 percent faster.
Many of the other feature changes amount to tweaks. However, for the price it’s undeniable that you’re getting your money’s worth in the Pro version. Smartphone security support for Windows Mobile and Symbian, customizable data protection to keep names, phones numbers, and credit card numbers from leaving your computer, and a dynamic firewall make it a must-consider if you’re in the market for a robust suite. Full reviews for each product are available here: Trend Micro Antivirus + AntiSpyware, Trend Micro Internet Security, Trend Micro Internet Security Pro.
Do you use a security suite? Which one? Let me know in the comments below.
http://download.cnet.com/8301-2007_4-10319963-12.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20
Posted in antivirus, software |
Tags: antispyware, antivirus, security, Trend Micro |
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Windows 7 to get NY launch
Apparently Microsoft isn’t doing everything with Windows 7 differently from how it did Windows Vista.
As was the case with Vista, Windows 7 will get its formal launch< in the Big Apple. CEO Steve Ballmer will preside over the Oct. 22 event, with the usual array of hardware partners showing off their latest wares.
Microsoft used a human billboard to help mark the NY launch of Windows Vista.
(Credit: Caroline McCarthy/CNET News)
But that’s not the only Gotham event for Microsoft in October. The company is also doing a consumer open house at the Park Avenue Armory, led by Robbie Bach, on Oct. 6. Microsoft plans to highlight everything from the Zune and new phones to hardware products like keyboards and mice.
Microsoft is hoping to turn that event into an annual event.
New York was also the site of Vista’s launch, which included a fancy lunch at Cipriani with the press, a human billboard as well as a trip to Best Buy for Steve Ballmer.
Microsoft finalized the code for Windows 7 last month. It will hit retail shelves and start showing up on new PCs on Oct. 22, though some large businesses with volume licenses can already get the code if they wish.
Source :
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10319392-56.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20
