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The Goods: Live Hard * Sell Hard

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Release Date: August 14, 2009
Studio: Paramount Vantage
Director: Neal Brennan
Screenwriter: Adam Stock, Rick Stempson
Starring: Jeremy Piven, Ving Rhames, James Brolin, David Koechner, Kathryn Hahn, Jordana Spiro
Genre: Comedy
MPAA Rating: R (for sexual content, nudity, pervasive language and some drug material)
Official Website: LiveHardSellHard.com
Review: Not Available
DVD Review: Not Available
DVD: Not Available
Movie Poster: View here
Production Stills: View here
Plot Summary: Who is Don Ready? Salesman? Lover? Song Stylist? Semi-professional dolphin trainer? Ready is all of the above, except for a dolphin trainer. When he's asked to help save an ailing local car dealership from bankruptcy, Ready and his ragtag crew descend on the town of Temecula like a pack of coyotes on a basket full of burgers. Selling, drinking, selling and going to strip clubs is their stock and trade. And they do it well. What Don doesn't expect is to fall in love and find his soul (cue heartfelt piano). "The Goods: Live Hard * Sell Hard" stars Emmy award-winning actor Jeremy Piven ("The Kingdom," "Entourage") and Ving Rhames ("I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry," "Mission: Impossible III"). The film is the first production from Will Ferrell and Adam McKay's Gary Sanchez Productions, directed by Neal Brennan, creator of the hugely successful Comedy Central hit, "Chappelle's Show."
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Spread

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Release Date: August 14, 2009 (limited)
Studio: Anchor Bay Films
Director: David MacKenzie
Screenwriter: Jason Dean Hall
Starring: Ashton Kutcher, Anne Heche, Margarita Levieva, Sebastian Stan, Rachel Blanchard, Sonia Rockwell
Genre: Comedy, Romance
MPAA Rating: R (for strong sexual content, nudity and language)
Official Website: Spread-themovie.com
Review: Not Available
DVD Review: Not Available
DVD: Not Available
Movie Poster: View here
Production Stills: View here
Plot Summary: "Spread" is a fresh, funny, and racy look at the trials and tribulations of sleeping your way to a life of privilege in Los Angeles. Comic and karmic, the film is an "immorality tale" about a gorgeous guy who gives women what they want in order to live exactly as he likes.

In "Spread," Nikki (Ashton Kutcher) isn't a gigolo. He's a sexual grifter, a fun-loving, freeloading hipster who understands his greatest assets are his looks and sexual prowess, which he uses to charm his way into the hearts of the city's richest women and enjoy their lifestyle. Nikki gets a free place to live, fantastic gifts, A-list access, and plenty of sex. The women get to feel young, beautiful... and utterly fulfilled in the bedroom. It's a mutually beneficial set-up.

Nikki's latest conquest is Samantha (Anne Heche), a stunning middle-aged lawyer who gives him more than he's ever had before. But then he meets a gorgeous waitress his own age named Heather (Margarita Levieva). She comes to visit Nikki at Samantha's house while Samantha is out of town, sees what an incredible place it is... and comes to the mistaken conclusion it's his. Unbeknownst to Nikki, Heather lives by playing the same game.

When Samantha comes home, she discovers Nikki's infidelity and he's put out on the street. With nowhere else to turn, Nikki pulls out all the stops to win Heather over and they begin to form their own kind of bond. Sexually charged by a game of one-upsmanship, each shows the other their best grifts, and they unexpectedly begin falling in love – the one thing they can't do in the life they lead. Soon, the truth of their unfolding relationship forces a choice between love and money, and Nikki has to decide whether he can live on his own once and for all in the hopes of finding something real.
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Fast & Furious

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Release Date: April 3, 2009
Studio: Universal Pictures
Director: Justin Lin
Screenwriter: Chris Morgan
Starring: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, John Ortiz, Laz Alonso, Gal Gadot, Shea Whigham, Tego Calderon, Liza Lapira
Genre: Action, Thriller
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (for intense sequences of violence and action, some sexual content, language and drug references)
Official Website: FastandFuriousmovie.net | MySpace.com/FastandFurious
Review: 5/10 rating
DVD Review: Not Available
DVD: Not Available
Movie Poster: One-Sheet | Teaser
Production Stills: View here
Plot Summary: Vin Diesel and Paul Walker reteam for the ultimate chapter of the franchise built on speed -- "Fast & Furious." Heading back to the streets where it all began, they rejoin Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster to blast muscle, tuner and exotic cars across Los Angeles and floor through the Mexican desert in the new high-octane action-thriller.

When a crime brings them back to L.A., fugitive ex-con Dom Toretto (Diesel) reignites his feud with agent Brian O'Conner (Walker). But as they are forced to confront a shared enemy, Dom and Brian must give in to an uncertain new trust if they hope to outmanuever him. And from convoy heists to precision tunnel crawls across international lines, two men will find the best way to get revenge: push the limits of what's possible behind the wheel.
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World's Greatest Dad

Release Date: August 21, 2009 (limited)
Studio: Magnolia Pictures
Director: Bob Goldthwait
Screenwriter: Bob Goldthwait
Starring: Robin Williams, Alexie Gilmore, Daryl Sabara, Geoff Pierson, Henry Simmons, Mitzi McCall
Genre: Drama, Comedy
MPAA Rating: Not Available
Official Website: WorldsGreatestDadfilm.com
Review: Not Available
DVD Review: Not Available
DVD: Not Available
Movie Poster: Not Available
Production Stills: Not Available
Plot Summary: A thoughtful but outrageous comedy from Bobcat Goldthwait, "World's Greatest Dad" is a story about a man that learns the things you want most may not be the things that make you happy, and that being lonely is not necessarily the same as being alone.

Robin Williams stars as Lance Clayton, a man who has learned to settle. He dreamed of being a rich and famous writer, but has only managed to make it as a high school poetry teacher. His only son Kyle (Daryl Sabara) is an insufferable jackass who won't give his father the time of day. He is dating Claire (Alexie Gilmore), the school's adorable art teacher, but she doesn't want to get serious -- or even acknowledge publicly that they are dating.

Then, in the wake of a freak accident, Lance suffers the worst tragedy and greatest opportunity of his life. He is suddenly faced with the possibility of all the fame, fortune and popularity he ever dreamed of, if he can only live with the knowledge of how he got there.
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The Unknown Woman : Synopsis


NR,1hr 58min
Genres: Action,Drama
Released: May 30, 2008
Distributor: Outsider Pictures
Synopsis

Cinema Paradiso director Giuseppe Tornatore returns to the helm for this suspenseful thriller concerning a young Ukrainian prostitute-turned-cleaning woman named Irina (Kseniya Rappoport). Years ago, Irina was drawn into an international prostitution ring before being brutalized by a man named Mold (Michele Placido) who also killed her boyfriend. Flash-forward to the present, and Irina is a humble cleaning woman in a building owned by jewelers. Though her appearance would suggest poverty, Irina always has a sizable wad of cash in her pocket and lives in a large apartment across the street from the loudly dysfunctional Adacher family. Gradually, the mousy cleaning woman works her way into the family home, befriending the parents (Claudia Gerini and Pierfrancesco Favino) and becoming a trusted confidante to their daughter Thea (Clara Dossena). As her relationship with the family deepens, her motivations for getting so close become frighteningly clear. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
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Coraline : Synopsis


PG,1hr 40min
Genres: Family,Sci-Fi
Released: February 6, 2009
Distributor: Focus Features
Synopsis

A young girl walks through a secret door and discovers a parallel reality that is eerily similar to the life she already knows, yet deeply unsettling in a number of ways, in director Henry Selick's animated adaptation of Neil Gaiman's international best-seller. Eleven-year-old Coraline Jones (voice of Dakota Fanning) is fearlessly courageous, and perhaps far too adventurous for her own good. Coraline and her parents (Teri Hatcher and John Hodgman) have recently relocated to Oregon from Michigan. Bored in her new home since her parents are distracted by work and she has yet to make any new friends, Coraline passes the time by exploring her new neighborhood with an annoying local boy named Wybie Lovat (Robert Bailey Jr.). But after paying a visit to her eccentric neighbors Miss Spink (Jennifer Saunders) and Miss Forcible (Dawn French), a pair of aging British actresses, and crossing paths with the outright weird Mr. Bobinsky (Ian McShane), the precocious young girl becomes convinced that her new surroundings are just as dull as she'd initially suspected. Shortly thereafter, Coraline discovers a hidden door in her new house, and decides to investigate. Venturing into the eerie passageway inside, Coraline emerges into an alternate version of her own reality. At first glance, this strange new world seems even better than the real thing; there her parents aren't distracted by work, and Coraline is always the center of attention. There's even a mysterious Cat (Keith David) that's fascinated by her every move. But when Coraline's button-eyed Other Mother (also Hatcher) attempts to make her stay permanent, the frightened young girl must summon her resourcefulness and bravery in order to find her way back home and save her real family. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
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Watchmen : Synopsis


R,2hrs 41min
Released: March 6, 2009
Director: Zack Snyder
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Synopsis

300's Zack Snyder brings Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' critically acclaimed comic book Watchmen to the big screen, courtesy of DC Comics and Warner Bros. Pictures. Set in an alternate universe circa 1985, the film's world is a highly unstable one where a nuclear war is imminent between America and Russia. Superheroes have long been made to hang up their tights thanks to the government-sponsored Keene Act, but that all changes with the death of The Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), a robust ex-hero commando whose mysterious free fall out a window perks the interest of one of the country's last remaining vigilantes, Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley). His investigation leads him to caution many of his other former costumed colleagues, including Dr. Manhattan, Night Owl (Patrick Wilson), Ozymandias (Matthew Goode), Sally Jupiter (Carla Gugino), and her daughter, The Silk Spectre (Malin Akerman). Heralded for bringing the world of superheroes into the literary world, Watchmen gave the super-powered mythos a real-life grounding that had been missing in mainstream comics to that point. The film adaptation had languished in one form of development hell or another for years after the book's release, with various directors on and off the project, including Terry Gilliam, David Hayter, and Darren Aronofsky, as well as Paul Greengrass, whose eventual dismissal stemmed from budget conflicts with the studio. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
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G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

Genre: Action
Releases: August 7, 2009
Director: Stephen Sommers
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Synopsis

Director Stephen Sommers (The Mummy, Van Helsing) adapts the beloved Hasbro G.I. Joe toy line with this Paramount Pictures production that pits the Global Integrated Joint Operating Entity against the evil forces of the organization known as Cobra. Dennis Quaid and Channing Tatum star as General Hawk and Duke Hauser, respectively, with Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Marlon Wayans leading the rest of the cast, including Sienna Miller, Ray Park, Rachel Nichols, Christopher Eccleston, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Saïd Taghmaoui, and Asian film star Lee Byung-hun. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
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Microsoft may have been forced into GPL release

Commitment to open source less than first thought.

Microsoft’s first foray into releasing open source code might not have been quite as altruistic as it first made out.

At the start of the week Microsoft released its first code under the open source General Public Licence (GPL) version 2.0. The code was for Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V or Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V.

The company made much of the fact that it is active in the open source community but it now appears that Microsoft was forced to release the code for previous violations of the GPL.

Stephen Hemminger, an engineer with open-source network vendor Vyatta, blogged that the move by Microsoft was a response to a violation of the terms of the GPL.

Microsoft, he said, had been using GPL technology in its Hyper-V network drivers.

“This saga started when one of the user's on the Vyatta forum inquired about supporting Hyper-V network driver in the Vyatta kernel,” he writes.

“A little googling found the necessary drivers, but on closer examination there was a problem. The driver had both open-source components which were under GPL, and statically linked to several binary parts. The GPL does not permit mixing of closed and open source parts, so this was an obvious violation of the license.”

He said he contacted a counterpart with Novell who was working with Microsoft to rectify the situation without causing a fuss. The Novell employee, Greg Kroah-Hartman, appeared to confirm that Microsoft was forced to GPL its code in his blog.

If true the revelation will be of serious embarrassment to Microsoft, given the previous public statements the company has made on the matter.

A request for information to Microsoft was not returned at time of going to press.

Copyright © 2009 vnunet.com

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Oracle to buy software maker GoldenGate

Appetite for acquisition.

Oracle, the world's No. 3 software maker, plans to buy privately held GoldenGate Software, beefing up its portfolio of technology that helps companies manipulate information in databases.

The companies did not disclose financial terms of the transaction, which Oracle announced on Thursday.

Oracle has spent more than US$34 billion buying about three dozen companies over the past five years, the bulk of then private companies like GoldenGate.

While Oracle does not release the terms of most small transactions, Oracle spent up to US$1.2 billion for such deals in its most recent fiscal year.

The software giant is getting ready to close its US$7.4 billion acquisition of hardware maker Sun Microsystems, pending antitrust approval by regulators in the United States and Europe.

San Francisco-based GoldenGate offers several products, including software that helps businesses analyse large quantities of information in databases and programs that help banks detect fraudulent activities.

GoldenGate has more than 500 customers, including Bank of America, Comcast, MGM Mirage and Visa.

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Microsoft rushes out two emergency patches

Breaks schedule for second time in two years.

Microsoft has issued an advisory that it will be issuing emergency patches for Internet Explorer and Visual Studio on Tuesday.

The patches both cover flaws that allow remote code execution on both applications.

The Internet Explorer patch is rated 'critical' and the Visual Studio download is rated 'moderate'.

"While we can't go into specifics about the issue prior to release, we can say that the Visual Studio bulletin will address an issue that can affect certain types of applications," said Microsoft in a statement.

"The Internet Explorer bulletin will provide defense-in-depth changes to Internet Explorer to help provide additional protections for the issues addressed by the Visual Studio bulletin. The Internet Explorer update will also address vulnerabilities rated as critical that are unrelated to the Visual Studio bulletin that were privately and responsibly reported,"

This is only the second time Microsoft has broken its Patch Tuesday regimen in over two years. It is generally a sign that the company has been informed that exploits for the flaws have been spotted in the wild.

Copyright © 2009 vnunet.com

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Red Hat seeks to certify the cloud (Q&A)

For all the hype around cloud computing, two big issues continue to keep CIOs from feeling safe participating: security and interoperability. Red Hat, by announcing its Premier Cloud Provider Certification and Partner Program and Amazon's entry in that program, hopes to allay these concerns and claim for itself a significant percentage of the money set to pour into the cloud-computing gold rush.

For the past five years, CIOs have given Red Hat top ranking for value. A significant part of this value, as Red Hat CEO Jim Whitehurst revealed on Red Hat's first-quarter earnings call, is the company's ability to corral a complex array of third-party software vendor certifications and package them into the Red Hat Enterprise Linux platform, giving the CIO peace of mind that whatever the application, it will "just work" on RHEL.

Now Red Hat wants to bring that peace of mind to the cloud, effectively giving CIOs a way to follow the Red Hat brand well beyond the four walls of their data center into public cloud offerings like Amazon Web Services, and then back to their own private clouds, if they so choose.

With over 3,500 applications certified to work with RHEL, and likely thousands of others that haven't sought formal certification, Red Hat is offering CIOs a safe way to extend their computing to the cloud. Intriguingly, it's likely that only Microsoft can make similarly potent claims, given its own application ecosystem and core infrastructure that can be used to power cloud computing.

Red Hat and Microsoft, duking it out to be the center of the cloud.

The two companies bring a very different mindset to cloud computing, not the least reason being that Microsoft's cloud offering, Azure, also competes with the very cloud providers it hopes to enable. Red Hat is not competing with its partners.

Red Hat's strategy is founded in choice, as I discovered in a call with Mike Evans, Red Hat's vice president of Corporate Development, who has been heading up Red Hat's cloud-computing efforts.

Mike Evans, VP of corporate development, Red Hat

Q. Red Hat isn't one to try to hang out with "the cool kids," just because they're cool. Why is Red Hat getting into cloud computing now? What do you hope to accomplish?
Evans: Some may not remember, but Red Hat has actually been involved with cloud computing since at least 2007, when we announced we were offering RHEL in Amazon's Elastic Computing Cloud (EC2) service. During that time we were fine-tuning our cloud offering, not only technologically but also from a support and business model perspective. Cloud computing is a fundamental shift in how software gets delivered, and it took roughly 18 months of largely beta testing to get to a point where we felt we had an offering that could live up to Red Hat's reputation for quality and service.

During that beta period, we spent a lot of time talking with CIOs, trying to understand their concerns with cloud computing and how Red Hat could overcome them. CIOs have two primary concerns with cloud computing--security and interoperability--but also worry around SLAs [service-level agreements], compliance, and more. The area where Red Hat felt like it could have the biggest immediate impact is on interoperability.

There are three levels of interoperability: data formats, management and measurement, and applications.

Data-format interoperability is the lowest level, and basically means, "Once I'm running my application with Cloud Provider X, can I get my data out and move my application to Cloud Provider Y?" This turns out to be non-trivial to overcome if different cloud providers run on different "substrates," or infrastructure components like operating system, application servers, etc.

Then there is the management and measurement piece. Once IT starts working with a given set of tools like Hyperic for managing its cloud assets on, for example, its Rightscale cloud, will it be able to continue using these same tools if it moves to a private cloud or Amazon cloud? A CIO needs to know that its tools investment will follow it from cloud to cloud. Again, this is difficult when switching between disparate cloud "substrates."

Today, virtually every cloud-computing service, with the exception of Microsoft's, is built using open-source software.... Microsoft, too, will need to eventually capitulate to open source because it simply won't be able to keep up.

Finally, interoperability is a question of application portability. How can a CIO be sure that an application written for a Google cloud will work with Salesforce, Amazon, or another cloud?

At the macro level, Red Hat and open source can break down these interoperability barriers. We can't hide behind proprietary APIs. It's in our DNA to be interoperable.

It's also in cloud computing's DNA. Today, virtually every cloud-computing service, with the exception of Microsoft's, is built using open-source software. This works to Red Hat's advantage, because the world is already building cloud computing on Linux, for example.

For its part, Microsoft, too, will need to eventually capitulate to open source because it simply won't be able to keep up. Imagine having to rewrite all of the great open-source cloud software like Hadoop. How can Microsoft do that and remain competitive?

Why Red Hat? What role does your certification program play in all this?
Evans: Red Hat is firmly positioned to take on CIOs' core concerns with security and interoperability. With JBoss, RHEL, and our virtualization offerings, Red Hat already provides the trusted low-level infrastructure, or "substrate" as I've called it, upon which many CIOs depend. Given that we believe most cloud-computing involvement, at least initially, will be in private clouds, it's important that CIOs feel they can trust their cloud infrastructure. Red Hat delivers that trust.

We want, however, for CIOs to feel that they can move to public clouds like Amazon Web Services with confidence, so this certification program offers cloud-computing vendors a way to tell reluctant CIOs, "This cloud is safe for you." Our business model is founded in choice, as CIOs know. We're looking to make clouds safe, not a new way to lock them in. This new certification program is a significant step toward making cloud computing a reality for many CIOs that would otherwise be too nervous.

We're also offering a great way to bring confidence to ISVs that don't want to have to rewrite their applications for all the different cloud-computing providers. One aim of this certification program is to provide a certified, common substrate to which ISVs can write their applications. Many ISVs will find that the work they've already done to certify to RHEL will work just fine with RHEL in the cloud. JBoss, for example, worked "out of the box" when we ran it in the cloud for the first time.

Finally, CIOs are concerned about getting support and security updates for their applications and workloads, whether running on private clouds or public clouds. CIOs aren't dumping their private computing infrastructure in a mad rush to public clouds. They want good ways to leverage both. This Red Hat program certifies select cloud providers that have a strong support, technical, and business partnership with Red Hat, giving CIOs confidence to move into the public cloud.

In these ways, Red Hat is taking the complexity and risk out of cloud computing for end customers, ISVs, and cloud providers. We spent 18 months making the cloud work for Red Hat, and now want to make those efforts available to others through this certification program.

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Webjet buys into intelligent email software

Wants email marketing to rival search engine effectiveness.

Webjet has taken a 20 percent stake in the company behind the TaguchiMail email marketing platform.

The travel portal said in a statement that TaguchimMail, which Webjet uses in its own campaigns, enabled businesses to increase click-through rates of their campaigns.

It does this by sending out multiple different emails at the start of a campaign.

It then applies algorithms that "vary"- in real-time during the send - elements like subject lines, body copy and call-to-action messages based on what respondents click on.

For example, as emails are still being sent out, the system can mix-and-match the subject line from email A, with the body copy from email B and the call-to-action from email C, without human intervention, and based solely on the open and click-through rates - key performance indicators that marketers use to judge the success of their email campaigns.

"In our view many of the traditional broadcast email processes are reaching the end of their productive life, but the capabilities available from the Taguchimail system create the potential for optimised email to rival the impact of search engine marketing in the Australian environment," Webjet managing director David Clarke said.

Marketing, advertising and public relations conglomerate STW Group also took a 20 percent stake.

The remaining shareholding is split evenly between TaguchiMarketing's executive team, which includes former Webjet marketing manager Dean Maidment.

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Windows 7 on a Mac Mini

An inside look at Beyond Binary labs. I've got three demo machines running Windows 7, including the Mac Mini.

(Credit: Ina Fried/CNET News)

Finding myself with some free time on Tuesday, I decided to try and see whether and how Windows 7 would install using Boot Camp on a Mac.

I must say, I get a little sick pleasure turning a Mac into a Windows machine, knowing that it has to make both Microsoft and Apple's skin crawl to see their progeny used in such a way.

Plus, Macs do tend to make for pretty zippy (if pricey) Windows machines.

With that--and an older demo Mac Mini I hadn't been using much--I was off to the races. I got a fair bit of help from this site. The operating system installed no problem, although I had a bit of trouble getting the sound to work.

But after trying a couple of things, I was able to use the driver on a Leopard DVD (the Boot Camp program itself wouldn't run, but was able to use Windows' File Explorer to get the driver itself from the disk.)

I now have three Windows 7 machines up and running--a Lenovo X300, an older Dell XPS M1210 and, as of Tuesday, the Mac Mini. That's in addition to my corporate sanctioned IBM ThinkPad running Windows XP. Things are getting a bit crowded in my cube, but I did some cleaning and have also expanded into to another nearby desk.

For today, I am using the Mac Mini as my main machine, including for writing this blog. I'm not the benchmarking type, but it feels plenty zippy doing the basics. I also had the machine run its internal rating system known as the "Windows Experience Index," which rates a system based on its internal components. Because of it's slow hard drive, the Mini ranked only a 2.0.

The experience index, introduced with Vista, offers a sort of bare-bones assessment of how fast a computer should be based on its various components. It's not a real-world test, which would vary based on the number of applications one installs, their network connection, and other factors.

Here's Windows 7's take on how ready the Mac Mini is to run the operating system. It got a 2.0 out of 7.9, based largely on its slower hard drive.

(Credit: CNET News)

With Vista, Microsoft ranked systems from 1.0 to 5.9. With Windows 7, it upped the highest possible ranking to 7.9 and made some other tweaks to the system.

By way of comparison, the older Dell XPS also scores a 2.0, again based on the hard drive. The Lenovo X300 scored a 3.1, weighed down not by its hard drive (it uses a fast solid-state drive instead) but by its graphics performance.

I plan to keep trying out the different machines, as well as installing different combinations of software to see how things work in various setups.

Now, I like Windows 7. I think it has the potential to be everything Vista should have been.

Vista had a great built-in graphics engine, but didn't really harness that engine to make working simpler. It had better security, but used it more like a weapon to wield over the user, as opposed to making them invisibly safer. That said, I'm not ready to sign on to this petition, which calls for Microsoft to release the product right now. There are still some issues to work out.

I still have not been able to get the newsroom's Sprint wireless card working and the video driver on the X300 crashes when I try and record TV and do other tasks at the same time. On that same system, Word 2007 has started crashing, sending me back to WordPad.

As for using a Mac to run Windows 7, there are some pluses and minuses. First of all, it's not supported--by anyone. Apple approves of Boot Camp for XP and Vista, so if Windows 7 messes up your Mac, I can't imagine you'll find much sympathy in Cupertino (though Apple might use your experience in one of its ads).

More likely, though, you may have trouble finding all of the drivers you need. The Mac Mini is kind of the easiest one, with the least number of drivers required. I've also read about some problems iMac users have had with blue screens of death under Windows 7, allegedly caused by an Nvidia driver issue. In any case, it's been enough to keep me from putting Win 7 on my home iMac.

On the plus side, the Windows 7 beta allows you to try Windows for free (legally) on your Mac. For those who don't want to go the Boot Camp route, either because they are risk averse or because they actually want to use their Mac as a Mac, there are the usual virtualization options--namely VMware and Parallels. I might just try that on the iMac.

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Talking Windows 7, live

For those who want to talk about Windows 7, ask questions, or just share their thoughts on Vista's successor, that will be the topic of this week's Editors' Office Hours on CNET TV.

The show will broadcast live at 11:30 a.m. PST on Tuesday on this site. If I can't answer all of the questions on air, I will try and get answers and post them in a follow-up Beyond Binary blog here.

In the mean time, keep sending along your experiences with the beta. For those who have not yet tried out the Windows 7 beta (and have a spare machine to test it on), you can download the beta from Microsoft's Web site--but only through February 10.

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Microsoft finalizes Windows 7

Microsoft on Wednesday said it has finalized the code for Windows 7, paving the way for the new operating system to make its way onto retail shelves and new PCs in time for its October 22 launch.

The software maker is hoping the response to the new operating system differs from the lukewarm reviews and compatibility challenges that marked the release of Windows Vista, which hit the market in January 2007. In contrast to Vista, Windows 7 has been marked by the company consistently hitting its deadlines and receiving largely positive feedback along the way.

"That is our final engineering milestone in what has been a three-year journey," said Mike Angiulo, general manager for planning in the Windows unit.

Windows 7 relies on the same underpinnings as Windows Vista, but adds a lot of features aimed at making the operating system both look and perform better.

Visually, it does a better job of managing open windows through an improved taskbar and a feature that lets users peek at one particular window or see the desktop that is hidden below all of the windows. On the performance side, it boots up and shuts down faster, and can run better on Netbooks and low-end machines.

Whereas Vista suffered several delays and saw its feature set change significantly in the years it was being developed and tested, Windows 7 looks very similar to the early developer preview version first shown at last October's professional developer conference.

"It feels great to be here on time," said Tami Reller, the Windows unit's chief financial officer, who recently added marketing responsibility for Windows as well.

Microsoft plans to offer Windows 7 in a number of different versions ranging from a low-end "starter edition" to an ultra-high-end "ultimate version." However, it expects most people in the U.S. and other developed markets to run either the Home Premium or Professional editions.

The company has been conservative in talking publicly about the product, waiting until features or dates were largely set in stone before discussing them widely.

Things were also fairly calm in the "shiproom"--the conference room inside Microsoft's Redmond headquarters where the Windows team meets to discuss outstanding bugs and issues before executives ultimately sign off on that the code is final.

(Credit: Microsoft)

With Vista--which was a more major update to Windows--it was a place of contentious debates up to the last minute about which issues needed to be fixed and which could be addressed later.

"When you are going through the end game, sometimes it is really bumpy; sometimes it is not," Angiulo said. "It's been really mellow this time."

Microsoft hasn't changed the code for Windows 7 since July 13, with much of the past 10 days spent just waiting to make sure long-term testing turned up no significant issues.

"After we produce a build, all the different teams will go through their test path," said Iain MacDonald, the general manager of the Windows Server unit. Microsoft also on Wednesday finalized the server version of Windows 7--a modest update known as Windows Server 2008 R2.

The actual build that Microsoft is using as the final one--build 7600.16385--has already leaked to the Web--several days ahead of Microsoft's confirmation that it was, in fact, the final version.

One of the last notable changes to Windows 7 was the incorporation of changes that were made to Windows as part of the last monthly "Patch Tuesday" bug fixes.

Angiulo said closer cooperation with computer makers, as well as the predictable schedule, has meant that a wide variety of new PCs should be ready to launch with Windows 7 in October.

"The (PC makers) have been working on a variety of systems--super-amazing thin and mobile systems," he said. "They are also working on really inexpensive low-end machines and all-in-ones.

Microsoft is also hoping, particularly since the underpinnings are similar to Vista, that users won't find the same sorts of compatibility issues that cropped up when that operating system first hit the market.

The entire PC ecosystem--from retailers like Best Buy to computer and hardware makers--are all hoping that Windows 7 can provide a boost to what has been a rough year.

"Our customers are very excited about Windows 7," Dell's Jim Ginger said. "We know because they tell us."

Update: Here's a video from Microsoft of the formal sign-off at Redmond.

During her years at CNET News, Ina Fried has changed beats several times, changed genders once, and covered both of the Pirates of Silicon Valley. These days, most of her attention is focused on Microsoft. E-mail Ina.
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Driver Genius Professional Edition 9.0.0 Build 180 Multilanguage


Driver Genius Professional manage your PC to get 100% up to date Drivers and optimize PC performance. Driver Genius Professional is a powerful driver manager for Windows that can backup, restore ,search and update your drivers automatically in several mouse clicks! Driver Genius Professional is a software that backup and restore drivers.

Here are some key features of "Driver Genius Professional":

· Drivers Backup: Driver Genius can detect and quickly backup drivers installed in system. It can compress the backup drivers to a zip file, self extracting file or an independent executable auto installer program.

· Drivers Restore: You need not install drivers one by one after reinstalling Operating System. Just need only one click you can install all your backup drivers automatically. You can also install drivers in command mode silently. If you need install drivers on multiple PC with the same hardware configuration, Driver Genius can save your much time to reinstall system.

· Drivers Update: Are you still using an old version or beta version drivers? Those faulty drivers always cause compatibility problem. They are the biggest hidden trouble that cause system crash. A suitable drivers can upgrade 50% or even more system performance . There are more than 30,000 devices drivers information in Driver Genius Database that including Motherboard, Sound card, Video card, Network card, Modem, Mouse, Keyboard, Scanner, Printer, Digital device etc. All you need to do is one click, Driver Genius will find out all drivers that need updating. All drivers we offer are official version or WHQL version, you can use them without any compatibility worries.

· Drivers Uninstall: There could be some leftover drivers in your system because of changing hardware or updating drivers. Driver Genius can find out these useless drivers quickly and uninstall them.

· LiveUpdate: We update large numbers of drivers on our website. You can synchronize your database with our download server to get the newest version drivers by Liveupdate program.

What's New in This Release:

Bug fixes:

· Lost some cat files of drivers when backing up them.
· The Program hangs when scan driver updates.
· Still prompt to update drivers even they have been installed.
· Fixed some software conflict problems.

Improvement:

· Added Windows 7/Windows 7 x64/Windows Server 2008/Windows server 2008 x64 support.
· Changed the default backup and download path to My Documents folder.
· Display backup time list in restore driver window.
· Accelerate scan driver update process.
· Display What's new information of updated drivers.
· Auto-detection of fastest download server to improve download speed and stabilityAuto-switching to another server if a download fails.
· Guide users to install drivers, the program can extract and install drivers by itselfNew Install Interface to simplify installing downloaded drivers.
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Wii Sports Resort lands in stores this Sunday


Last month, we got some hands-on time with Wii Sports Resort, the first-party Nintendo game that comes bundled with Wii MotionPlus.

While most of the minigames are new, you'll recognize a few classics from the original title such as golf and bowling. That aside, there's a lot of new activities in Wii Sports Resort, all of which take advantage of Wii MotionPlus (which we reviewed earlier this week).

During our demo, we especially enjoyed our time with Table Tennis and Archery. After playing with the final version for about a week now, Table Tennis remains among the highlights of the game. The capability to perform top spin and fades on the ball makes for a very satisfying experience.

We also enjoyed the Frisbee game where MotionPlus really shines. You have complete 1:1 control over your character's toss, in which you must have a dog catch the disc in a bull's-eyed area.

Wii Sports Resort comes bundled with one Wii MotionPlus attachment and rubber sleeve and is available July 26 for $50. Additional Wii MotionPlus units are available now for $20 each.

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Digital City Ep. 42: It's a love 'n hate (tech) thang

It's a free-for-all gripe fest, as we talk about our personal frustrations with the PS3, AT&T, the iPhone, and whatever else was crossing our minds at that point.

From cyber doormen, to using your baby's mama for an iPhone replacement at the AT&T store, to Scott finding pleasure in getting Julie all worked up that she accidentally drops a naughty word, to Joseph's failed attempt to pit Scott and Julie against each other...it's all on the table.

We're also holding a contest for the best Digital City desktop wallpaper creation (not a logo). The duration of the contest will be held from July 24 to August 7. Joe gave you guys a week to do this, but I think two weeks is a little more feasible. It should include all four of us--Dan, Scott, Joseph and Julie--or Scott will have a conniption fit (love ya, man!). Caricatures, super heroes, three pimps and a hoe, doesn't matter, as long as it's nothing too nasty or we won't be able to show it. Once you've done your masterpiece, attach and send it to us via e-mail at digitalcity@cnet.com.

The prize: Joe is giving away a copy of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince for either the Xbox 360 or the Wii (specify for which console in your e-mail).

At the close of the contest, we'll be more than happy to give all participants a shout-out on the show. The fact you participated is awesome--win or lose. There could be a runner-up prize, but don't quote me on that, I'd have to confer with the rest of the crew.

Get creative!

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The 2008 Open Source CMS Award

Overall Winner
1. Drupal
2. Joomla!
3. DotNetNuke
Most Promising Open Source CMS
1. SilverStripe
2. CMS Made Simple
3. ImpressCMS/MiaCMS
Best PHP Open Source Content Management System
1. Drupal
2. Joomla!, CMS Made Simple
Best Other Open Source Content Management System
1. Plone
2. dotCMS
3. DotNetNuke
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Palm releases WebOS 1.1 for Pre; brings back iTunes syncing

Oh, snap! Things just got a little more heated between Palm and Apple. On Thursday, Palm released WebOS 1.1 for the Palm Pre, which, among other things, brings back iTunes syncing even with version 8.2.1, which disabled the feature. The news was posted on Palm's blog where it listed the new features and enhancements of the software update and nonchalantly added at the end:

Oh, and one more thing: Palm webOS 1.1 re-enables Palm media sync. That's right--you once again can have seamless access to your music, photos and videos from the current version of iTunes (8.2.1, for Windows and Mac).

Further, in a statement to All Things Digital, Palm spokeswoman Lynn Fox revealed that it has taken the issue to the USB Implementers Forum:

Palm believes that openness and interoperability offer better experiences for users by allowing them the freedom to use the content they own without interference across devices and services, so on behalf of consumers, we have notified the USB Implementers Forum of what we believe is improper use of the Vendor ID number by another member.

Bold move, Palm. Bold move. It'll be interesting to see how Apple responds, and do you suppose the use of the phrase "one more thing," a phrase that Apple CEO Steve Jobs often uses to introduce a new product at the end of his keynotes, was intentional or am I just reading too much into this?

Aside from the media syncing features, WebOS 1.1 also delivers more enterprise-friendly features, including more additions to Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync support. The Pre now offers remote, PIN/password requirements, inactivity timeout, improved certificate handling, and more.

In addition, you can now use emoticons with text, multimedia, and instant messages and set "person reminders" in the Contacts app. Sprint's NFL Mobile Live app is now supported on the Pre, but that's the only new app that was added to the smartphone with this update.

The full list of WebOS 1.1 features is posted on Palm's support site so check it out. The update, like all other updates, will be delivered to the Pre over-the-air. We just checked our review unit and sure enough, it's there waiting for us, so we're off to update it now. Let us know about your experience below.

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Wi-Fi finds back door into ordinary cell phones

Japanese mobile carrier KDDI is showcasing a neat way for providing ordinary cell phones with Wi-Fi.

KDDI is showcasing two microSD cards at Wireless Japan 2009. (Credit: Techon)

The trick is to integrate Wi-Fi technology on MicroSD cards, used for storage in most modern mobile phones.

At Wireless Japan 2009, now under way in Tokyo, KDDI is exhibiting two different cards manufactured by Mitsumi Electric and Renesas Technology, Japanese Web site Techon reports.

Both have a wireless LAN IC compliant with IEEE802.11b/g, a transceiving antenna, and passive components. There's no information on release date, compatibility, or battery consumption, which could be an issue, but if the product comes to market it could prove handy.

As opposed to smartphones, traditional cell phones often lack Wi-Fi for a fast Internet connection.

Mats Lewan, IT and telecom editor at Swedish technology weekly Ny Teknik, has joined CNET News as a 2009 fellow with Stanford University's Innovation Journalism program. E-mail Mats.
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Motorola releases Motodev kit for Android developers


On Friday, Motorola launched a new program called Motodev, designed to give developers early access to tools and programs so they can get a head start on creating apps for the company's future Google Android devices.

Motodev consists of the App Accelerator Program and Motodev Studio for Android Beta. Through the Accelerator Program, select developers will be given access to tools, specs, and other resources, such as direct access to the company's developer support engineers via private discussion boards. In addition, they will also have exclusive prerelease access to Motorola's upcoming devices for testing and debugging.

Meanwhile, Motodev Studio for Android Beta is an Eclipse-based development environment that works with Google's software development kit. Motorola will make Motodev Studio publicly available and include resources, such as design and development tools, handset emulators, virtual testing labs, and more.

Finally, developers are encouraged to attend the Motodev Summit, which takes place on October 6 in San Diego, and gives developers an opportunity to meet each other and get advanced training; registration for the one-day event opens on August 12.

(Sources: Yahoo Tech, Phone Scoop)

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Samsung Omnia 2 clears FCC


There's no LG Watch Phone, but a few handsets passed through the Federal Communications Commission this week. The Samsung Omnia 2 is the most notable, though it's unclear whether the phone will land at AT&T. Because the FCC has to certify every phone sold in the United States, not to mention test its SAR rating, the agency's online database offers a lot of sneak peeks to those who dig. And to save you the trouble, Crave has combed through the database for you. Here are a selection of filings from the past week on new and upcoming cell phones. Click through to read the full report.