Category: Software

A nova versão do software de segurança avast! Antivirus já está disponível para download gratuito. Este software está disponível em duas versões, uma gratuita “FREE” e a Pro.

O avast! Antivirus 5 pode ser utilizado em computadores pessoais gratuitamente usando a versão Free ou poderá utilizar a versão Pro, para além desses dois pacotes existe ainda uma suite de Segurança na Internet, o avast! Internet Security. O avast! Antivirus 5 permite-lhe proteger o seu sistema operativo de vírus e spywares, verificar a presença de ficheiros suspeitos dos seus e-mails recebidos e enviados e conversas de chat, bloquear ataques de sites com código malicioso e ataques de hackers direccionados ao seu computador, permite-lhe manter a sua caixa de correio electrónico limpa de publicidade não solicitada (SPAM) e possibilita-lhe ainda jogar em segurança e de uma forma continua sem interrupções.

A versão Free pode ser utilizada em computadores pessoais, no entanto não inclui algumas das funcionalidades da versão Pro. Por sua vez a o avast! Antivirus 5 Pro tem um custo de 39,95 dólares por uma licença anual existindo desconto para compras em massa.

Já o avast! Internet Security 5 tem um custo de 59,95 dólares por uma licença válida para 3 computadores durante 1 ano, existindo igualmente descontos para compra de várias licenças.

Se está à procura de um bom Antivirus, o avast! pode ser uma boa solução para si. Poderá verificar mais informação e fazer download do software no site oficial do Avast!. Deixo desde já uma pergunta no ar a todos os nossos leitores:

Qual é o vosso AntiVirus (caso usem) e porque é que o usam?

WebTuga – avast! Antivirus 5 Free e Pro

Exemplifying the danger of a centralized system such as Opera Mini and also Skyfire, the browser service has just gone down after a power issue in their data centre.

The service, which is currently not reachable via the browser, uses virtualized Mozilla-based browsers to support full internet browsing, including flash video, on Windows Mobile and Nokia phones. This means when there is no connection to the data centre, there is no browsing either.

Skyfire is in the process of recovering, and hope to be fully operational soon.

Most other browsers on the Windows Mobile platform, such as Opera Mobile, uses local rendering, and are immune from the particular issue.

According to an email sent last week by Microsoft to Mobile2Market members, Microsoft will discontinue Mobile2Market, its mobile application certification and marketing program for independent software and hardware vendors.

"Benefits of the program–including Buy It Now functionality with online distributors, the Windows Mobile Catalog, the Designed for Windows Mobile 6 logo, and Microsoft Partner Points–will no longer be available after that date,"  "The Logo License Agreement for Windows Mobile 5.0, 6.0, and 6.1 also will end effective February 18, 2010, at which time distribution of and all references to the aforementioned logos will need to cease."

The program is set to terminate on the 18th February, and Microsoft has not explained its decision.

One suspicion may be the replacement of of the program with one centred around Marketplace, as Microsoft is encouraging developers to turn there.

Read more at  fiercedeveloper.com here.

Pocketnow have published this video overview of the latest build of Windows Mobile 6.5, build 23518, showing an overview of the new features in the updated OS.

Overall these does not seem to be anything stunningly new, but the OS does seem to shine up well.

Read more at Pocketnow here.

Ryan McBride wrote:

IkaSystems, a Southborough, MA-based provider of software for the healthcare payer market, said it has finalized an investment from New York City and Palo Alto, CA, private equity fund Essex Woodlands Health Ventures, a month after reeling in capital from Providence Equity Partners. The terms of both deals were undisclosed, but Venture Wire reports that Providence and Essex Woodlands pumped a total of $120 million into the company.

Last month the firm revealed that Eran Broshy, an advisor to Providence, RI-based Providence Equity Partners, had become chairman of the software firm. Peter O. Wilde and Jesse Du Bey of Providence have also joined the board of directors. Steve Wiggins, a managing director of Essex Woodlands, who is managing that firm’s interest in ikaSystems, was an existing board member at the company and invested in ikaSystems before he joined Essex Woodlands in 2007.

The back-to-back investments from deep-pocketed private equity players should boost the profile of ikaSystems, which has already garnered awards from analysts for its Web-based software called “ikaEnterprise.” The software helps healthcare payers automate the payment lifecycle for all categories of health plans, including individual plans, employer plans, Medicare, and Medicaid. Ravi Ika, the founder and CEO of the company, launched the firm in 1999 believing that legacy systems lacked the flexibility to enable health plans to adapt to changes in the healthcare industry, according to the company’s website.

The company’s backers seem to share that philosophy. “They are exceptionally well positioned to benefit from health insurance reform,” said Wiggins, in a statement. “I believe they have the best people, the best software and the best strategy for responding to changes in the healthcare industry.”

Essex Woodlands manages $2.5 billion in commitments and Providence has $22 billion in commitments.

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Say what you will about platforms, but in 2009, Apple’s App Store absolutely pwnd the paid mobile app space—selling 99.4% of the $4.2 billion market single-handedly, according to ars technica.

All this data is based upon research by Gartner, who claims that, should sale trends continue, Apple could retain 2/3 of the paid mobile app market into 2010 (amidst growing competition from Android, Palm, RIM, etc). Of course, if Apple releases an app-wielding tablet, market share could error greatly in their favor again.

(Note: there’s some discrepancy in these numbers, as Engadget counters ars’ 99.4% number crunching with a 97.5%. Whatever, either way, it’s enough of the market to mean every other retailer was moot in 2009.)[Ars and Gartner]

Android was meant to be a free, open source OS, but of course it has always solidly been under the thumb of Google.  This has been demonstrated consistently through the lack of multi-touch on high profile phones in the US, and of course withholding updates from some handsets.

The latest evidence for Google’s iron grip on the supposed open source OS has been Google’s announcement that they would delay the release of two handsets running Android and Motorola on the China Unicom network.

"The launch we have been working on with China Unicom has been postponed," said a Google spokesperson.

Google’s behaviour in this matter will come as a surprise to phone OEM’s, who had earlier expressed the view that Android handsets would not be affected by this spat between Google and China.

“Android uses a Android phone operating system, but that does not mean that Google’s Android on behalf of all the due, due, and Android is not related to R & D department in the country, so China’s launch of Google Android will not have much of impact.” said HTC’s Chinese CEO Mr. Chen Jinghong, it now appears optimistically.

It does however prove that relying on the supposedly free and open source operating system is not a safe bet from interference from the sponsoring company, and serves to level the playing field between the supposed free OS and proprietary solutions such as Windows Mobile, which has traditionally been strong in the region.

Read more at the BBC here.

Via Engadget.com

Feeling a bit left out, Jefferies analyst Katherine Egbert also felt the need to add to the Windows Mobile rumour mill, which has been very hot recently, with their own bold prediction.

Citing “industry checks” (or is that blog posts?)  she claims a Microsoft branded handset, in the same vein as the Google Nexus One, is set to be released by Microsoft in the next 2 months, either at Mobile World Congress in February or CTIA in March.

Apparently the Zune-like phone will run Windows Mobile 7 with an interface similar to to the ZuneHD UI, will be crated in partnership with a few OEM’s and will have at least a 5 megapixel camera and be capable of 720p video.

Egbert ads that the OS will include a Zune video store and music subscription and purchasing services and social networking apps like Xbox Live, Facebook and Twitter.

Interestingly Techcrunch has also spoken about a similar device, which appears to be more dumb phone than smartphone, also set to be announced soon.

A developer has told them Microsoft is developing an OS based on the “ZuneHD kernel” with very strict hardware and software specs, from screen size to RAM size to processor speeds. The OS can not run any Windows Mobile applications, and can only be programmed for in Silverlight and .Net. No background are allowed, and no system resources can be accessed either.  The device will come with a Microsoft software store with an easy approval process.

The device will also come with XBox Live functionality for gaming and messaging, and there is no expectation that this will be a business device.  The UI will be like the ZuneHD, but with phone controls build-in.

Commentary:  To us it sounds like this may be one and the same device, but not Windows Mobile 7 as we expect it, but rather a branch like the ZuneHD is at present.  At the same time it also seems rather like a dead end, and we wish Microsoft would roll everything together in one OS and device, rather than force users to choose if they want an entertainment of business device.

Read more Barrons.com and MobileCrunch (via MSMobiles.com)

Follow us on twitter.com/wmpoweruser for the latest Windows Mobile 7 news and rumours.

Gregory T. Huang wrote:

Just a quick recap of the venture deals in Washington state from the last month of 2009. Things really slowed down heading into the dead of winter, with just four venture financings, all in software and Internet, worth a total of $21.7 million (see table below). That’s less than half the money invested in November, when Washington-based companies saw $44.4 million put into 10 venture deals across healthcare, energy, and software.

That’s the official tally from ChubbyBrain, the New York-based maker of tools for investors, startups, and entrepreneurs. The figures include only companies headquartered in Washington state.

The good news, in my view, is that the December deals were all Series A or Series B financings of up-and-coming tech companies, all of whom we’ve been tracking at Xconomy. They ranged from LiveMocha, a Bellevue, WA, startup developing online language-learning software, to the brand new online-shopping startup Zulily in Seattle (both companies are backed by Seattle-based VC firm Maveron).

The fear is that, as the effects of the recession reverberate, venture firms will stay in triage mode and devote less of their energy to new startups and new ideas. So far, 2010 is looking a little more promising, but it’s still early.

Here is the recap of December 2009 venture deals in Washington:

.

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There have been rumours spreading around of a dual platform approach for Windows Mobile, with WM6.X being a low end oriented OS, and WM7 being a high end OS.

Whilst browsing around jobs at Microsoft, I found one describing

Here’s your chance to join a team where you can truly make a difference in one of Microsoft’s fastest growing businesses. Windows Mobile has been a great platform for building phones that meet the needs of the business user. With the aid of Moore’s law however, the majority of phones sold in 3 years will have smartphone capabilities. Microsoft recognizes where the industry is trending and has increased its investment in consumer experiences.

So, as far as Microsoft is concerned, everyone will have a smartphone soon.

Perhaps Microsoft want to get in first with the low end before everyone else does? What do you think?

The full job description can be found here.

Wade Roush wrote:

[Updated, see below] Time Inc., the New York-based magazine publishing giant, has acquired Cambridge, MA-based personalized shopping site StyleFeeder in a deal that closed on Friday. StyleFeeder founder and chief technology officer Phil Jacob, who I reached at his home this evening, confirmed the news, which was first publicly reported just before 8:00 p.m. Monday by the Wall Street Journal.

An unnamed source in the WSJ report pegged the purchase price at an amount “well into eight figures.” Xconomy has not been able to confirm that claim, and Jacob said he was unable to comment on it.

Four-year-old StyleFeeder, which was backed by Lexington, MA-based Highland Capital Partners and Boston-based Schooner Capital, provides personalized shopping recommendations to visitors using a combination of techniques. For users who are logged into the site, and for whom StyleFeeder has some historical data, the company uses machine learning algorithms developed at MIT to recommend products rated highly by other users with similar tastes. For users who aren’t logged in, the company can still make useful recommendations based on users’ locations and records of products that are popular in their areas.

Last March, StyleFeeder branched out, announcing a partnership with Hachette Filipachi Media, the publisher of Elle and a number of other fashion, automotive, health, and hobbyist magazines, under which StyleFeeder agreed to provide personalized product recommendations directly to Elle.com visitors. The affiliate fees that accrue from such purchases are becoming an attractive revenue source for many consumer-oriented publications. Fran Hauser, a digital strategy manager for several Time Inc. magazines such as People and InStyle, told the Wall Street Journal that with the acquisition of StyleFeeder, Time Inc. will be able to “share in [the] value creation” when editors help to generate consumer demand for products.

It’s safe to say, in other words, that online product finders like this one that StyleFeeder created for Elle are likely to turn up on the Websites of many fashion-oriented Time titles, including InStyle. Whether StyleFeeder will be allowed to continue its partnership with Hachette Filipachi and other brands outside the Time Inc. empire remains an open question.

The WSJ report said an official announcement of the acquisition could come Tuesday. [Update, 8:30 a.m., 1/19/10: Time Inc. has just published a press release announcing the news. It indicates that StyleFeeder “will become part of the InStyle family of brands” and that it will power shopping on InStyle.com.]

Thanks to growing affiliate revenues and conservative management, StyleFeeder has been a cash-flow-positive business for some time, and had a strong holiday season. According to a source familiar with the company, the startup did not need to be acquired to stay in business, and was not actively seeking a corporate parent. “Somebody came along,” this source tells Xconomy.

That somebody was clearly Time Inc., the magazine group of media conglomerate Time Warner. In addition to People and InStyle, Time Inc.’s titles include magazines such as Fortune, Sports Illustrated, Health, Real Simple, Money, This Old House, Golf, and of course the flagship Time. The company claims that one out of every seven U.S. Internet users visits a Time Inc. website at least once a month. It has been actively exploring new types of online transactions such as digital magazine sales that could help to offset declining advertising revenues at its big-name magazines.

As a venture-funded startup, of course, StyleFeeder would eventually have needed to achieve some sort of exit. The company has raised $4 million in seed and Series A funding from Highland and Schooner. If the Wall Street Journal’s “eight figures” quote is correct—meaning Time has paid more than $10 million but less than $100 million—the acquisition represents a return of between 2.5x and 25x on the venture funds’ investment.

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Here’s something most other multitouch mobile devices do:

Rotate gestures!

It’s not perfect, it needs tweaking, and that may take some time… And yes, I’ll be releasing the code for it soon

Are there any gestures you’d like to see working?

The Guardian is reporting that Google China is investigating its staff about The Incident. “”We’re not commenting on rumor and speculation. This is an ongoing investigation and we simply cannot comment on the details,” a Google spokeswoman said. Security analysts told Reuters the malicious software or malware used in the attack was a modification of a trojan called Hydraq. A trojan is a hidden program allowing unauthorized access to a computer. The analysts said the sophistication in the attack was in knowing whom to attack, not the malware itself.

Courtesy of Slashdot.org

WMExperts claim to have an inside line to Windows Mobile 7 development, and have dropped some massive bomb shells, which we will deal with in multiple posts.

The first is that there will be two versions of Windows Mobile 7 – a business and media version. The Media version will feature "Microsoft Zune Phone Experience" and the Business version is meant to be the base version skinned by OEM’s like HTC.

The business version will feature the ability to access live data on your PC and in the cloud, and do this collaboratively.You can even take a photo on your phone and embed it to the document directly.

Office Mobile is meant to be a completely new and impressive experience.

The Business version is said to be coming as an upgrade to the HD2 in October or November this year.

WMExperts claim the minimum resolution for Windows Mobile 7 (only called 7) will be WVGA, with resolution topping out at 720 p

The Business version is said to look like:

Think TouchFLO (slider tabs) meeting up with a stock SPB Shell (lots of information on multiple screen) mixed with a very well integrated message and app launcher — almost a ‘fun’ BlackBerry interface. Seems like the stock shell is more like a really good BB theme than iPhone or Android.

Media edition will feature HD video, a Zune-like music player, and streaming media.

Media edition will support:

• Silverlight

• Mediaroom

• XBox Live (possibly gameplay)

• Facebook and Twitter interfaces (similar to Xbox), possible right on the home screen.

• Zune Music integration

This version is still adding features and is expected to arrive only next year.

The new OS will feature “Orion” cloud-based assisted GPS that supports multiple-tower signal detection and trilateration (think Google’s My Location service in Google Maps), IP resolving and also WIFI location.

Planned performance for an initial lock (cold start) is targeted at  less than 1 second and would find you within 300 meters. A hot or warm start is targeted at less than 0.25 seconds and would track you at less than 10 meters.

It is expected only bits and pieces of both OS’s will be shown at Mobile World Congress, but more of the more complete Business Edition that Media edition.

Read more at WMExperts here.

If you have your device running on the recent builds of Windows Mobile 6.5.3, you have noticed that the typical task switcher are not as easy to access as before, well ArkSwitch is here to help. This new application helps everyone that needs a good way to switch between all their task and if you need to close those applications that always stay open, this can help. This could help and is a freeware at this point so if you were considering a task switcher, I would go with this one from what I have seen so far.’

Get Yours

We thought the next version of Android would be called Flan, but Engadget is reporting “Froyo” to be the codename for Google’s next iteration of mobile OS. On a slightly related note, with the current resurgence of the froyo craze, I feel sorta bad for TCBY. [Engadget]

Gregory T. Huang wrote:

The Washington Technology Industry Association announced today that CEO and president Ken Myer is leaving his post at the end of March to return to the tech industry. Myer has headed the WTIA, one of the largest statewide associations of technology firms, for about three years, during which it made the transition from the Washington Software Alliance (WSA) to an organization that includes electronics, devices, and cleantech sectors as well. Executive search firm Herd Freed Hartz is conducting a search for Myer’s successor.

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Square, one of a few iPhone peripherals hoping to turn the iPhone into a credit card swiper, sounds promising. But how does it work? YouTube shows us!

Through its own app, Square processes a credit card, produces a receipt and even takes a signature. But as you’ll see in this clip, there’s one petty but fixable problem to the system—the Square dongle. Watch as Rose needs to steady the plug with his finger to swipe a card without popping anything loose.

I mention this now because I’m hoping that Twitter’s Jack Dorsey and Digg’s Kevin Rose—who are both behind the project (Rose just financially)—don’t each have an alpine garage full of these horribly designed dongles. Beef up the casing a bit to increase its surface area against the iPhone, just as Mophie has with their recently announced credit card scanner, and everything will be right as rain. [Kevin Rose via Ubergizmo]