Warid launches the biggest digital media portal in Pakistan

Warid Telecom has launched in collaboration with AMES (Arvato Middle East Sales, a Bertelsmann Company), the biggest entertainment and digital media portal in Pakistan, which will be accessible to Warid customers through the phone and on the Web. WZone offers the latest Pakistani, Bollywood and International entertainment content on the portal.

By visiting wzone.pk, subscribers can now download full track songs, ringtones, video tones, wallpapers, music videos, movie trailers, games, themes and access content archives including that of Sony BMG Music Entertainment.

Internet Explorer Administration Kit 8 Beta

IEAK8 Beta is now available publically for everyone to try. To give you some background, the IEAK allows you to deploy customized packages and manage IE settings post deployment within corporations and among Internet Content Providers (ICP) and Internet Service Providers (ISP). For instance, Acme Corp could use IEAK to create a custom IE package for their employees that has Acme favorites, search providers, home pages, Web Slices, Accelerators, and more.

IE Developers simplified creating, deploying and managing branded IE packages. They optimized the IEAK to help you build your customized IE packages more quickly and to allow you to configure and customize new features in Internet Explorer 8, like Accelerators and Web Slices.

Find more at The Windows Internet Explorer Weblog

Google Moderator - A remedy of ad-hocism in Q/A sessions

Google has released a free Web-based service called Moderator that organizations can use to improve question-and-answer sessions during heavily attended meetings.

In theory, meeting leaders will be able to ask speakers the questions that the group democratically chose as the best ones.

The goal is to improve on the random, ad-hoc selection via the raised-hands method and thus make better use of the often limited question-and-answer periods.

Moderator also makes it possible for remote attendees to have as much of a say as in-person participants in the process of selecting questions.

The idea came to Platform Engineer Taliver Heath after attending the frequent "tech talks" Google holds and realizing that as the number of attendees has grown, many participants' questions went unasked due to time constraints, while not all questions that were asked seemed good ones.

At Google, Moderator is known as Dory, like the character in the Disney/Pixar film "Finding Nemo" whose short-term memory loss forces her to constantly ask questions. Moderator runs on Google's App Engine, a service for developers to build and host their Web-based applications using Google's computing infrastructure.

Its official: Windows 7 at PDC

Microsoft has confirmed that attendees of its two forthcoming developer conferences get an early version of Windows 7, the next version of its desktop client.

The company made the news official on a blog for the Professional Developer Conference (PDC), which takes place in Los Angeles from October 27th to the 30th. The following week will be the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC), also in Los Angeles, and those attendees will also get the early beta.

"At this year’s PDC, keynote attendees will be among the first to receive the pre-beta build of Windows 7. Additionally, attendees will have the opportunity to attend 21 different sessions that drill down into the details of developing for Windows 7," wrote Denise Begley, a Microsoft marketing manager.

InternetNews.com first reported two weeks ago that Microsoft was aiming to release a beta at the PDC show, and that internally the company was aiming for a June 2009 final code release. Publicly, Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) has said Windows 7 will be released in the first half of 2010 [...]

Force Unleashed becomes fastest-selling Star Wars game of all time

The 1.5 million worldwide feat makes Star Wars: The Force Unleashed the fastest-selling Star Wars game of all time, says LucasArts. Granted, there have never been as many console owners as there are today, but the accomplishment is impressive, nonetheless, and proves publishers don't need a critical hit to make a commercial impact.

"The record-setting sales of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed shows the undiminished power of Star Wars and its popularity across all media types, including video games," said Darrell Rodriguez, president of LucasArts. "We're blown away by the response to the game."

Released on September 16, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed follows the events of Darth Vader's secret apprentice, a new character in the Star Wars universe that displaces Tie Fighters as easily as Luke Skywalker moves rocks.

GamePro critic Cameron Lewis praised the game's satisfying power-ups and beautiful graphics in his 3.5 star review while faulting the uneven combat and clunky controls.

Google introduces an iPhone rival

Google and T-Mobile unveiled their answer to the iPhone on Tuesday, pulling the wraps off a slick mobile device that combines a touch screen and a keyboard and is aimed at putting the Internet in the pockets of millions of cellphone users.

The T-Mobile G1, which will be available in the United States on Oct. 22, is the first mobile phone to be powered by Google’s Android operating system. It represents a milestone in Google’s efforts to extend its dominance of the PC-based Internet to mobile phones and further loosen the control that wireless carriers have over what consumers can do with their phones [...]

Google knows where are you at

This week Google announced Mobile Search with My Location, for devices running on Windows Mobile. By either using GPS or cell-ID, Google can tap into your location and deliver location-specific information.

Previously, the system returned results based on the last location entered. The new Search with My Location feature will be able to give much more precise results.

You have to specifically opt in to use the service and you can always change that setting. Google assures users that personally identifiable information is never associated with you location. At least we know they have privacy issues on the brain.

Google acquires Textcube

Top internet spy Google, has snapped up Korean blogging software developer Tatter and Company.

The Mountain View search behemoth is apparently interested in Tatter's blogging platform, known as Textcube. According to Google, the deal will allow the company to improve its various capabilities in the Korean market.

"We are excited to welcome Tatter and Company's engineering team to Google Korea", announced a Google spokesperson in an e-mailed statement. "Acquiring Tatter and Company will allow us to enhance our online publishing tools in Korea, benefiting a large number of users who already depend on and enjoy Google and Tatter and Company's products".

An excited Tatter co-chief executive Chang-Won Kim confirmed the deal on his personal blog, noting that Tatter had been "Googled".

The acquisition is Google's third in 2008 and comes just two months after reaching an agreement to buy Rambler Media, a Russian contextual advertising firm, for $140 million.

The ubiquitous search company purchased a total of 16 companies in 2007.

PTA to block illegal IPs

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has decided to start automated blocking of Internet Protocol addresses (IPs), involved in illegal termination/origination of international traffic, in a bid to check grey traffic. The facility will be operational within next few days.

Dr. Muhammad Yaseen, Chairman PTA, asked all ISPs to declare their IP addresses along with the antecedents of their customers so that illegal telecom traffic could be monitored. It was emphasised that operators should keep close eyes on their customers to make sure that they are not involved in grey traffic termination. He sought operators' co-operation against menace of grey telephony. The ISPs appreciated recent steps taken by PTA including an announcement in the press wherein Call Centres were asked to provide their IP addresses to PSEB to ensure uninterrupted provisioning of services.

It is pertinent to mention that since the inception of technical facility in May 2008 at PTA, the IP addresses found to be involved in illegal activities were being blocked manually and in the process over 14 million minutes (worth around 100 million rupees) have been saved on monthly basis. Now these would be automatically blocked if any IP, not authorised to carry voice, is found doing so. Under current policy, only LDIs and international Call Centres authorised to carry voice across national boundaries.

Samsung unveils INNOV8

Samsung has announced much hyped mobile phone INNOV8 or i8510 in the market. It is the world's first 8 Mega Pixels camera phone along with blink shot, smile shot and face recognition. The handset promises that with the help of innov8 one would be able to capture and store all the memories in style.

Announcing the product Steve Han, Country Manager, Samsung Pakistan, said innov8 is made for tech-savvy users for best possible multimedia entertainment, and with the 8-megapixel camera, pre-embedded 3D games, high speed data connections true entertainment is assured.

Intel greens up Xeon line

Green is the theme for Intel's new line of Xeon processors. The company has released four new chips designed for better energy efficiency and using fewer hazardous materials.

The revamped Xeon 5400 line includes three quad-core chips as well as a dual-core model, each designed for use in high end workstations, blade servers and conventional servers.

All of the chips will be drop-in compatible with Intel's current dual-processor platform, the company claimed.

All four of the new processors will sport 45nm construction, as well as hafnium gate transistors and halogen-free design [...]

Next-Gen XO Laptop Due in 2010

The second-generation XO laptop from the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project, which features two touchscreens and was announced in May, will become available in the first quarter of 2010.

That's the prediction from Matt Keller, OLPC's director of Europe, Middle East and Africa, who said the group has high hopes for the XO-2's e-book capabilities, which he believes will make reading easier for schoolchildren in emerging economies.

"The e-book reader is the most popular function of the laptop," said Keller.

The laptop is nearly half the size of current XO laptop and consists of two touchscreen displays. The XO-2 doesn't include a keyboard, but instead will feature a software-based touch-sensitive keyboard.

The XO currently costs around $204 (£102) to make, said Keller, while the XO-2 will likely cost around $80 (£40). OLPC's still hopes to reach a price of $75 per laptop for educational buyers.

Google Chrome: and now, the comic EULA

As you already know, Google announced its new browser on Tuesday but within a day of its release, there are already a couple of points that users should be cautioned of before using this new browser.

The first, is the popular "carpet bomb" vulnerability that still exists within Chrome. This vulnerability allows malicious websites to drive by download and execute programs on your machine. Our visitors may remember the uproar that this same vulnerability caused for Safari users, and that Apple patched the carpet-bombing issue with Safari v3.1.2. Chrome is vulnerable to this exploit because it is based on the same engine, WebKit 525.13, and Google did not patch or update the engine before releasing the software.

The other, and less technical, problem with Chrome exists in its EULA. More specifically, the point that would seem to give Google rights to anything you post on the Internet while using their browser, mostly in conjunction with the promotion of its services.

View : Google Chrome EULA

Google buys GeoEye satellite imagery

Google has signed a deal under which GeoEye will supply the search giant with imagery from a satellite due to launch in coming days, the companies said.

Under the deal, Google is the exclusive online mapping site that may use the imagery, said Mark Brender, vice president of corporate communications and marketing. Google uses satellite imagery in its Google Maps and Google Earth product.

And as a little icing on the cake, Google's logo is on the side of the rocket set to launch the 4,300-pound satellite in six days from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed.

GeoEye-1 will orbit 423 miles above Earth, but it will be able to gather imagery with details the size of 41 centimeters, Brender said. Google, though, is permitted to use data only with a resolution of 50cm because of the terms of GeoEye's license with the U.S. government [...]

Microsoft to launches new shopping site

Microsoft is working on a new shopping Web site for software, hardware, and peripherals that it plans to advertise in the Windows XP Start Menu and the Internet Explorer Web browser.

Called "Windows Marketplace," the Web site is slated to go live for U.S. Windows users by year's end, according to Microsoft, which plans to officially announce the online store on Monday at its Worldwide Partner Conference in Toronto.

The Windows Marketplace will be a way for Microsoft partners to peddle their wares to the millions of Windows users, the Redmond, Washington-based software vendor says in a statement.

Providers that are expected to sell their products through the store include Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Circuit City Stores, Buy.com, and Best Buy Company, according to Microsoft. Products that have gained a "Designed for Windows" logo will be easier to find on the Web store through a special search filter, the software maker says [...]

Google's browser Chrome arrives on tuesday

Google has revealed plans today to release an innovative new open source web browser called Chrome that includes some extraordinary and unprecedented features. Google says that its new browser will move the web forward and provide a stronger platform for emerging web standards.

"We realized that the web had evolved from mainly simple text pages to rich, interactive applications and that we needed to completely rethink the browser," said Google VP of product management Sundar Pichai in a blog entry. "What we really needed was not just a browser, but also a modern platform for web pages and applications, and that's what we set out to build."

The browser is built on top of Apple's WebKit HTML rendering engine, a lightweight renderer that is known for its clean code base, good performance, and excellent standards-compliance. WebKit's versatility and the ease with which it can be embedded in applications has led to its adoption in numerous contexts, including Google's Android web browser. Alongside WebKit, Google will be using its own JavaScript virtual machine called V8, which was designed for high performance and has some compelling features [...]