Microsoft is consistent down to perfection in avoiding to reveal any details related to the evolution of Internet Explorer 8. The successor of IE7, which debuted into its first public testing phase at the start of March at MIX08, is built under the leadership of Steven Sinofsky, Senior Vice President, Windows and Windows Live Engineering Group. In this context, the translucency strategy for product development, which is Sinofsky's tactic for gaging all details about upcoming products, affects not only Windows operating systems and the Windows Live platform, but also Internet Explorer, specifically IE8.
Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1 has been available for download as a release focused on web content developers and designers since March 5, 2008. Following the launch of the first beta, Microsoft indicated repeatedly that there would be additional testing milestones for the next iteration of IE. At the same time, IE8 Beta 2 was promised for the summer of this year, a version tailored to end users this time, rather than on developers.
Questions about the upcoming Beta for IE8, as well as for the final version of the browser have become nothing short of a refrain for the IE team. And so have Microsoft's answers. During April's Windows Internet Explorer 8 Expert Zone Chat, Eric Lawrence, IE Security Program Manager, explained that a date for the delivery of IE8 Beta 2 was not set in stone.
"Beta-2 will be available later this year. Sorry, I don't have a precise date available," Lawrence stated, adding that the same is valid for the general availability of the browser. "We haven't announced a release date thus far. We're all working hard and very eager to ship a great browser as soon as we can."
Little has changed between April and May as far as details on the next stages in the development of IE8 are concerned. Answering a question about the next build of the browser, a member of the IE feedback and release team had this to say: "We'll have another Beta sometime later this year. Thank you for using Beta 1!"
In addition, John Hrvatin, program manager for developer tools and script engine integration revealed that "IE8 Beta 1 was developer-focused, but we've been listening to input on how to improve the overall browser's appearance and customization that we'll incorporate in future releases." Lawrence emphasized that Microsoft is yet to announce the complete feature set of IE8, and that future releases will build on top of IE8 Beta 1.
Source: news.softpedia.com
Continue Reading >>>>>
IE8 Beta 1 Attack Code Available in the Wild
Internet Explorer "Print Table of Links" cross-zone scripting vulnerability. Security researcher Aviv Raff has released an example of attack code for Internet Explorer 7 and Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1 in the wild. According to Raff Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser is vulnerable to exploits targeting a Cross-Zone Scripting security flaw that affects the "Print Table of Links" feature. Under normal conditions, via "Print Table of Links", users are able to print not only a webpage but also a table with all the links on the page in an appendix.
"An attacker can easily add a specially crafted link to a webpage (e.g. at his own website, comments in blogs, social networks, Wikipedia, etc.), so whenever a user will print this webpage with this feature enabled, the attacker will be able to run arbitrary code on the user’s machine (i.e. in order to take control over the machine)", Raff explained.
According to the Israeli security researcher the vulnerability can be exploited on IE7 and IE8 Beta 1 running on Windows XP, in such a manner that an attacker could gain complete control over the operating system. The User Account Control mitigation built into Windows Vista prevents complete take-over of the platform, allowing only for information leakage. Raff managed not only to detail the vulnerability but also to make the proof-of-concept available for download. Microsoft was informed of the flaw last week but so far failed to deliver a patch.
"Whenever a user prints a page, Internet Explorer uses a local resource script which generates a new HTML to be printed. This HTML consists of the following elements: Header, webpage body, Footer, and if enabled, also the table of links in the webpage. While the script takes only the text within the link’s inner data, it does not validate the URL of links, and add it to the HTML as it is. This allows to inject a script that will be executed when the new HTML will be generated", Raff added.
Source: http://rajamonyet.blogspot.com
Continue Reading >>>>>
"An attacker can easily add a specially crafted link to a webpage (e.g. at his own website, comments in blogs, social networks, Wikipedia, etc.), so whenever a user will print this webpage with this feature enabled, the attacker will be able to run arbitrary code on the user’s machine (i.e. in order to take control over the machine)", Raff explained.
According to the Israeli security researcher the vulnerability can be exploited on IE7 and IE8 Beta 1 running on Windows XP, in such a manner that an attacker could gain complete control over the operating system. The User Account Control mitigation built into Windows Vista prevents complete take-over of the platform, allowing only for information leakage. Raff managed not only to detail the vulnerability but also to make the proof-of-concept available for download. Microsoft was informed of the flaw last week but so far failed to deliver a patch.
"Whenever a user prints a page, Internet Explorer uses a local resource script which generates a new HTML to be printed. This HTML consists of the following elements: Header, webpage body, Footer, and if enabled, also the table of links in the webpage. While the script takes only the text within the link’s inner data, it does not validate the URL of links, and add it to the HTML as it is. This allows to inject a script that will be executed when the new HTML will be generated", Raff added.
Source: http://rajamonyet.blogspot.com
Continue Reading >>>>>
Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1 ActiveX Security
Back at the beginning of March, Microsoft released the first public Beta of its next iteration of Internet Explorer, namely IE8 Beta 1. Designed to deliver an evolution in comparison with IE7, Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1 brings to the table a range of improvements, including security enhancements. In this regard, some of the modifications introduced into Internet Explorer 8 impact directly the way that the browser handles one of the most common avenues for web-based attacks: ActiveX add-ons. This is why IE8 Beta 1 features such improvements as Per-User (Non-Admin) ActiveX, ActiveX Opt-In and Per-Site ActiveX.
Per-User (Non-Admin) ActiveX means that "running IE8 in Windows Vista, a standard user may install ActiveX controls in their own user profile without requiring administrative privileges. This improvement makes it easier for an organization to realize the full benefit of User Account Control by enabling standard users to install ActiveX controls used in their day-to-day browsing. If a user happens to install a malicious ActiveX control, the overall system will be unaffected, as the control was installed only under the user’s account. Since installations can be restricted to a user profile, the risk and cost of compromise," explained Matt Crowley, Program Manager for Extensibility with Internet Explorer.
ActiveX Opt-In is not new to Internet Explorer 8, it has only been perfected as Microsoft introduced the security mitigation in IE7. Crowley justified the need for an ActiveX Opt-In as the best way to decrease the attack surface created by all binary extensibility mechanisms. As a direct consequence, the vast majority of controls on a user's machine are disabled by default by the ActiveX control. It is the end user of IE7 and IE8 that will have the final say in what ActiveX controls are enabled as soon as certain websites require them.
Via Per-Site ActiveX, "when a user navigates to a Web site containing an ActiveX control, IE8 performs a number of checks, including a determination of where a control is permitted to run. This check is referred to as Per-Site ActiveX, a defense mechanism to help prevent malicious repurposing of controls. If a control is installed, but is not permitted to run on a specific website, an Information Bar appears asking the user whether or not the control should be permitted to run on the current website," Crowley added.
Source: news.softpedia.com
Continue Reading >>>>>
Per-User (Non-Admin) ActiveX means that "running IE8 in Windows Vista, a standard user may install ActiveX controls in their own user profile without requiring administrative privileges. This improvement makes it easier for an organization to realize the full benefit of User Account Control by enabling standard users to install ActiveX controls used in their day-to-day browsing. If a user happens to install a malicious ActiveX control, the overall system will be unaffected, as the control was installed only under the user’s account. Since installations can be restricted to a user profile, the risk and cost of compromise," explained Matt Crowley, Program Manager for Extensibility with Internet Explorer.
ActiveX Opt-In is not new to Internet Explorer 8, it has only been perfected as Microsoft introduced the security mitigation in IE7. Crowley justified the need for an ActiveX Opt-In as the best way to decrease the attack surface created by all binary extensibility mechanisms. As a direct consequence, the vast majority of controls on a user's machine are disabled by default by the ActiveX control. It is the end user of IE7 and IE8 that will have the final say in what ActiveX controls are enabled as soon as certain websites require them.
Via Per-Site ActiveX, "when a user navigates to a Web site containing an ActiveX control, IE8 performs a number of checks, including a determination of where a control is permitted to run. This check is referred to as Per-Site ActiveX, a defense mechanism to help prevent malicious repurposing of controls. If a control is installed, but is not permitted to run on a specific website, an Information Bar appears asking the user whether or not the control should be permitted to run on the current website," Crowley added.
Source: news.softpedia.com
Continue Reading >>>>>
Ping
In a previous tip, it was revealed how to continuously ping a host until stopped. Here are all of the ping options:
example .. In DOS .. c:>ping 192.168.0.1 -t
-t Ping the specifed host until interrupted
-a Resolve addresses to hostnames
-n count Number of echo requests to send
-l size Send buffer size
-f Set Don't Fragment flag in packet
-i TTL Time To Live
-v TOS Type Of Service
-r count Record route for count hops
-s count Timestamp for count hops
-j host-list Loose source route along host-list
-k host-list Strict source route along host-list
-w timeout Timeout in milliseconds to wait for each reply
Experiment to see how helpful these can be!
Continue Reading >>>>>
example .. In DOS .. c:>ping 192.168.0.1 -t
-t Ping the specifed host until interrupted
-a Resolve addresses to hostnames
-n count Number of echo requests to send
-l size Send buffer size
-f Set Don't Fragment flag in packet
-i TTL Time To Live
-v TOS Type Of Service
-r count Record route for count hops
-s count Timestamp for count hops
-j host-list Loose source route along host-list
-k host-list Strict source route along host-list
-w timeout Timeout in milliseconds to wait for each reply
Experiment to see how helpful these can be!
Continue Reading >>>>>
20 things you didn't know about Windows XP
You've read the reviews and digested the key feature enhancements and operational changes. Now it's time to delve a bit deeper and uncover some of Windows XP's secrets.
1. It boasts how long it can stay up. Whereas previous versions of Windows were coy about how long they went between boots, XP is positively proud of its stamina. Go to the Command Prompt in the Accessories menu from the All Programs start button option, and then type 'systeminfo'. The computer will produce a lot of useful info, including the uptime. If you want to keep these, type 'systeminfo > info.txt'. This creates a file called info.txt you can look at later with Notepad. (Professional Edition only).
2. You can delete files immediately, without having them move to the Recycle Bin first. Go to the Start menu, select Run... and type 'gpedit.msc'; then select User Configuration, Administrative Templates, Windows Components, Windows Explorer and find the Do not move deleted files to the Recycle Bin setting. Set it. Poking around in gpedit will reveal a great many interface and system options, but take care -- some may stop your computer behaving as you wish. (Professional Edition only).
3. You can lock your XP workstation with two clicks of the mouse. Create a new shortcut on your desktop using a right mouse click, and enter 'rundll32.exe user32.dll,LockWorkStation' in the location field. Give the shortcut a name you like. That's it -- just double click on it and your computer will be locked. And if that's not easy enough, Windows key + L will do the same.
4. XP hides some system software you might want to remove, such as Windows Messenger, but you can tickle it and make it disgorge everything. Using Notepad or Edit, edit the text file /windows/inf/sysoc.inf, search for the word 'hide' and remove it. You can then go to the Add or Remove Programs in the Control Panel, select Add/Remove Windows Components and there will be your prey, exposed and vulnerable.
5. For those skilled in the art of DOS batch files, XP has a number of interesting new commands. These include 'eventcreate' and 'eventtriggers' for creating and watching system events, 'typeperf' for monitoring performance of various subsystems, and 'schtasks' for handling scheduled tasks. As usual, typing the command name followed by /? will give a list of options -- they're all far too baroque to go into here.
6. XP has IP version 6 support -- the next generation of IP. Unfortunately this is more than your ISP has, so you can only experiment with this on your LAN. Type 'ipv6 install' into Run... (it's OK, it won't ruin your existing network setup) and then 'ipv6 /?' at the command line to find out more. If you don't know what IPv6 is, don't worry and don't bother.
7. You can at last get rid of tasks on the computer from the command line by using 'taskkill /pid' and the task number, or just 'tskill' and the process number. Find that out by typing 'tasklist', which will also tell you a lot about what's going on in your system.
8. XP will treat Zip files like folders, which is nice if you've got a fast machine. On slower machines, you can make XP leave zip files well alone by typing 'regsvr32 /u zipfldr.dll' at the command line. If you change your mind later, you can put things back as they were by typing 'regsvr32 zipfldr.dll'.
9. XP has ClearType -- Microsoft's anti-aliasing font display technology -- but doesn't have it enabled by default. It's well worth trying, especially if you were there for DOS and all those years of staring at a screen have given you the eyes of an astigmatic bat. To enable ClearType, right click on the desktop, select Properties, Appearance, Effects, select ClearType from the second drop-down menu and enable the selection. Expect best results on laptop displays. If you want to use ClearType on the Welcome login screen as well, set the registry entry HKEY_USERS/.DEFAULT/Control Panel/Desktop/FontSmoothingType to 2.
10. You can use Remote Assistance to help a friend who's using network address translation (NAT) on a home network, but not automatically. Get your pal to email you a Remote Assistance invitation and edit the file. Under the RCTICKET attribute will be a NAT IP address, like 192.168.1.10. Replace this with your chum's real IP address -- they can find this out by going to www.whatismyip.com -- and get them to make sure that they've got port 3389 open on their firewall and forwarded to the errant computer.
11. You can run a program as a different user without logging out and back in again. Right click the icon, select Run As... and enter the user name and password you want to use. This only applies for that run. The trick is particularly useful if you need to have administrative permissions to install a program, which many require. Note that you can have some fun by running programs multiple times on the same system as different users, but this can have unforeseen effects.
12. Windows XP can be very insistent about you checking for auto updates, registering a Passport, using Windows Messenger and so on. After a while, the nagging goes away, but if you feel you might slip the bonds of sanity before that point, run Regedit, go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Windows/Current Version/Explorer/Advanced and create a DWORD value called EnableBalloonTips with a value of 0.
13. You can start up without needing to enter a user name or password. Select Run... from the start menu and type 'control userpasswords2', which will open the user accounts application. On the Users tab, clear the box for Users Must Enter A User Name And Password To Use This Computer, and click on OK. An Automatically Log On dialog box will appear; enter the user name and password for the account you want to use.
14. Internet Explorer 6 will automatically delete temporary files, but only if you tell it to. Start the browser, select Tools / Internet Options... and Advanced, go down to the Security area and check the box to Empty Temporary Internet Files folder when browser is closed.
15. XP comes with a free Network Activity Light, just in case you can't see the LEDs twinkle on your network card. Right click on My Network Places on the desktop, then select Properties. Right click on the description for your LAN or dial-up connection, select Properties, then check the Show icon in notification area when connected box. You'll now see a tiny network icon on the right of your task bar that glimmers nicely during network traffic.
16. The Start Menu can be leisurely when it decides to appear, but you can speed things along by changing the registry entry HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Control Panel/Desktop/MenuShowDelay from the default 400 to something a little snappier. Like 0.
17. You can rename loads of files at once in Windows Explorer. Highlight a set of files in a window, then right click on one and rename it. All the other files will be renamed to that name, with individual numbers in brackets to distinguish them. Also, in a folder you can arrange icons in alphabetised groups by View, Arrange Icon By... Show In Groups.
18. Windows Media Player will display the cover art for albums as it plays the tracks -- if it found the picture on the Internet when you copied the tracks from the CD. If it didn't, or if you have lots of pre-WMP music files, you can put your own copy of the cover art in the same directory as the tracks. Just call it folder.jpg and Windows Media Player will pick it up and display it.
19. Windows key + Break brings up the System Properties dialogue box; Windows key + D brings up the desktop; Windows key + Tab moves through the taskbar buttons.
20. The next release of Windows XP, codenamed Longhorn, is due out late next year or early 2003 and won't be much to write home about. The next big release is codenamed Blackcomb and will be out in 2003/2004.
From Many Source
Continue Reading >>>>>
1. It boasts how long it can stay up. Whereas previous versions of Windows were coy about how long they went between boots, XP is positively proud of its stamina. Go to the Command Prompt in the Accessories menu from the All Programs start button option, and then type 'systeminfo'. The computer will produce a lot of useful info, including the uptime. If you want to keep these, type 'systeminfo > info.txt'. This creates a file called info.txt you can look at later with Notepad. (Professional Edition only).
2. You can delete files immediately, without having them move to the Recycle Bin first. Go to the Start menu, select Run... and type 'gpedit.msc'; then select User Configuration, Administrative Templates, Windows Components, Windows Explorer and find the Do not move deleted files to the Recycle Bin setting. Set it. Poking around in gpedit will reveal a great many interface and system options, but take care -- some may stop your computer behaving as you wish. (Professional Edition only).
3. You can lock your XP workstation with two clicks of the mouse. Create a new shortcut on your desktop using a right mouse click, and enter 'rundll32.exe user32.dll,LockWorkStation' in the location field. Give the shortcut a name you like. That's it -- just double click on it and your computer will be locked. And if that's not easy enough, Windows key + L will do the same.
4. XP hides some system software you might want to remove, such as Windows Messenger, but you can tickle it and make it disgorge everything. Using Notepad or Edit, edit the text file /windows/inf/sysoc.inf, search for the word 'hide' and remove it. You can then go to the Add or Remove Programs in the Control Panel, select Add/Remove Windows Components and there will be your prey, exposed and vulnerable.
5. For those skilled in the art of DOS batch files, XP has a number of interesting new commands. These include 'eventcreate' and 'eventtriggers' for creating and watching system events, 'typeperf' for monitoring performance of various subsystems, and 'schtasks' for handling scheduled tasks. As usual, typing the command name followed by /? will give a list of options -- they're all far too baroque to go into here.
6. XP has IP version 6 support -- the next generation of IP. Unfortunately this is more than your ISP has, so you can only experiment with this on your LAN. Type 'ipv6 install' into Run... (it's OK, it won't ruin your existing network setup) and then 'ipv6 /?' at the command line to find out more. If you don't know what IPv6 is, don't worry and don't bother.
7. You can at last get rid of tasks on the computer from the command line by using 'taskkill /pid' and the task number, or just 'tskill' and the process number. Find that out by typing 'tasklist', which will also tell you a lot about what's going on in your system.
8. XP will treat Zip files like folders, which is nice if you've got a fast machine. On slower machines, you can make XP leave zip files well alone by typing 'regsvr32 /u zipfldr.dll' at the command line. If you change your mind later, you can put things back as they were by typing 'regsvr32 zipfldr.dll'.
9. XP has ClearType -- Microsoft's anti-aliasing font display technology -- but doesn't have it enabled by default. It's well worth trying, especially if you were there for DOS and all those years of staring at a screen have given you the eyes of an astigmatic bat. To enable ClearType, right click on the desktop, select Properties, Appearance, Effects, select ClearType from the second drop-down menu and enable the selection. Expect best results on laptop displays. If you want to use ClearType on the Welcome login screen as well, set the registry entry HKEY_USERS/.DEFAULT/Control Panel/Desktop/FontSmoothingType to 2.
10. You can use Remote Assistance to help a friend who's using network address translation (NAT) on a home network, but not automatically. Get your pal to email you a Remote Assistance invitation and edit the file. Under the RCTICKET attribute will be a NAT IP address, like 192.168.1.10. Replace this with your chum's real IP address -- they can find this out by going to www.whatismyip.com -- and get them to make sure that they've got port 3389 open on their firewall and forwarded to the errant computer.
11. You can run a program as a different user without logging out and back in again. Right click the icon, select Run As... and enter the user name and password you want to use. This only applies for that run. The trick is particularly useful if you need to have administrative permissions to install a program, which many require. Note that you can have some fun by running programs multiple times on the same system as different users, but this can have unforeseen effects.
12. Windows XP can be very insistent about you checking for auto updates, registering a Passport, using Windows Messenger and so on. After a while, the nagging goes away, but if you feel you might slip the bonds of sanity before that point, run Regedit, go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Windows/Current Version/Explorer/Advanced and create a DWORD value called EnableBalloonTips with a value of 0.
13. You can start up without needing to enter a user name or password. Select Run... from the start menu and type 'control userpasswords2', which will open the user accounts application. On the Users tab, clear the box for Users Must Enter A User Name And Password To Use This Computer, and click on OK. An Automatically Log On dialog box will appear; enter the user name and password for the account you want to use.
14. Internet Explorer 6 will automatically delete temporary files, but only if you tell it to. Start the browser, select Tools / Internet Options... and Advanced, go down to the Security area and check the box to Empty Temporary Internet Files folder when browser is closed.
15. XP comes with a free Network Activity Light, just in case you can't see the LEDs twinkle on your network card. Right click on My Network Places on the desktop, then select Properties. Right click on the description for your LAN or dial-up connection, select Properties, then check the Show icon in notification area when connected box. You'll now see a tiny network icon on the right of your task bar that glimmers nicely during network traffic.
16. The Start Menu can be leisurely when it decides to appear, but you can speed things along by changing the registry entry HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Control Panel/Desktop/MenuShowDelay from the default 400 to something a little snappier. Like 0.
17. You can rename loads of files at once in Windows Explorer. Highlight a set of files in a window, then right click on one and rename it. All the other files will be renamed to that name, with individual numbers in brackets to distinguish them. Also, in a folder you can arrange icons in alphabetised groups by View, Arrange Icon By... Show In Groups.
18. Windows Media Player will display the cover art for albums as it plays the tracks -- if it found the picture on the Internet when you copied the tracks from the CD. If it didn't, or if you have lots of pre-WMP music files, you can put your own copy of the cover art in the same directory as the tracks. Just call it folder.jpg and Windows Media Player will pick it up and display it.
19. Windows key + Break brings up the System Properties dialogue box; Windows key + D brings up the desktop; Windows key + Tab moves through the taskbar buttons.
20. The next release of Windows XP, codenamed Longhorn, is due out late next year or early 2003 and won't be much to write home about. The next big release is codenamed Blackcomb and will be out in 2003/2004.
From Many Source
Continue Reading >>>>>
NTFS vs FAT
To NTFS or not to NTFS - that is the question. But unlike the deeper questions of life, this one isn't really all that hard to answer. For most users running Windows XP, NTFS is the obvious choice. It's more powerful and offers security advantages not found in the other file systems. But let's go over the differences among the files systems so we're all clear about the choice. There are essentially three different file systems available in Windows XP: FAT16, short for File Allocation Table, FAT32, and NTFS, short for NT File System.
FAT16
The FAT16 file system was introduced way back with MS–DOS in 1981, and it's showing its age. It was designed originally to handle files on a floppy drive, and has had minor modifications over the years so it can handle hard disks, and even file names longer than the original limitation of 8.3 characters, but it's still the lowest common denominator. The biggest advantage of FAT16 is that it is compatible across a wide variety of operating systems, including Windows 95/98/Me, OS/2, Linux, and some versions of UNIX. The biggest problem of FAT16 is that it has a fixed maximum number of clusters per partition, so as hard disks get bigger and bigger, the size of each cluster has to get larger. In a 2–GB partition, each cluster is 32 kilobytes, meaning that even the smallest file on the partition will take up 32 KB of space. FAT16 also doesn't support compression, encryption, or advanced security using access control lists.
FAT32
The FAT32 file system, originally introduced in Windows 95 Service Pack 2, is really just an extension of the original FAT16 file system that provides for a much larger number of clusters per partition. As such, it greatly improves the overall disk utilization when compared to a FAT16 file system. However, FAT32 shares all of the other limitations of FAT16, and adds an important additional limitation—many operating systems that can recognize FAT16 will not work with FAT32—most notably Windows NT, but also Linux and UNIX as well. Now this isn't a problem if you're running FAT32 on a Windows XP computer and sharing your drive out to other computers on your network—they don't need to know (and generally don't really care) what your underlying file system is.
The Advantages of NTFS
The NTFS file system, introduced with first version of Windows NT, is a completely different file system from FAT. It provides for greatly increased security, file–by–file compression, quotas, and even encryption. It is the default file system for new installations of Windows XP, and if you're doing an upgrade from a previous version of Windows, you'll be asked if you want to convert your existing file systems to NTFS. Don't worry. If you've already upgraded to Windows XP and didn't do the conversion then, it's not a problem. You can convert FAT16 or FAT32 volumes to NTFS at any point. Just remember that you can't easily go back to FAT or FAT32 (without reformatting the drive or partition), not that I think you'll want to.
The NTFS file system is generally not compatible with other operating systems installed on the same computer, nor is it available when you've booted a computer from a floppy disk. For this reason, many system administrators, myself included, used to recommend that users format at least a small partition at the beginning of their main hard disk as FAT. This partition provided a place to store emergency recovery tools or special drivers needed for reinstallation, and was a mechanism for digging yourself out of the hole you'd just dug into. But with the enhanced recovery abilities built into Windows XP (more on that in a future column), I don't think it's necessary or desirable to create that initial FAT partition.
When to Use FAT or FAT32
If you're running more than one operating system on a single computer, you will definitely need to format some of your volumes as FAT. Any programs or data that need to be accessed by more than one operating system on that computer should be stored on a FAT16 or possibly FAT32 volume. But keep in mind that you have no security for data on a FAT16 or FAT32 volume—any one with access to the computer can read, change, or even delete any file that is stored on a FAT16 or FAT32 partition. In many cases, this is even possible over a network. So do not store sensitive files on drives or partitions formatted with FAT file systems.
From Many Source
Continue Reading >>>>>
FAT16
The FAT16 file system was introduced way back with MS–DOS in 1981, and it's showing its age. It was designed originally to handle files on a floppy drive, and has had minor modifications over the years so it can handle hard disks, and even file names longer than the original limitation of 8.3 characters, but it's still the lowest common denominator. The biggest advantage of FAT16 is that it is compatible across a wide variety of operating systems, including Windows 95/98/Me, OS/2, Linux, and some versions of UNIX. The biggest problem of FAT16 is that it has a fixed maximum number of clusters per partition, so as hard disks get bigger and bigger, the size of each cluster has to get larger. In a 2–GB partition, each cluster is 32 kilobytes, meaning that even the smallest file on the partition will take up 32 KB of space. FAT16 also doesn't support compression, encryption, or advanced security using access control lists.
FAT32
The FAT32 file system, originally introduced in Windows 95 Service Pack 2, is really just an extension of the original FAT16 file system that provides for a much larger number of clusters per partition. As such, it greatly improves the overall disk utilization when compared to a FAT16 file system. However, FAT32 shares all of the other limitations of FAT16, and adds an important additional limitation—many operating systems that can recognize FAT16 will not work with FAT32—most notably Windows NT, but also Linux and UNIX as well. Now this isn't a problem if you're running FAT32 on a Windows XP computer and sharing your drive out to other computers on your network—they don't need to know (and generally don't really care) what your underlying file system is.
The Advantages of NTFS
The NTFS file system, introduced with first version of Windows NT, is a completely different file system from FAT. It provides for greatly increased security, file–by–file compression, quotas, and even encryption. It is the default file system for new installations of Windows XP, and if you're doing an upgrade from a previous version of Windows, you'll be asked if you want to convert your existing file systems to NTFS. Don't worry. If you've already upgraded to Windows XP and didn't do the conversion then, it's not a problem. You can convert FAT16 or FAT32 volumes to NTFS at any point. Just remember that you can't easily go back to FAT or FAT32 (without reformatting the drive or partition), not that I think you'll want to.
The NTFS file system is generally not compatible with other operating systems installed on the same computer, nor is it available when you've booted a computer from a floppy disk. For this reason, many system administrators, myself included, used to recommend that users format at least a small partition at the beginning of their main hard disk as FAT. This partition provided a place to store emergency recovery tools or special drivers needed for reinstallation, and was a mechanism for digging yourself out of the hole you'd just dug into. But with the enhanced recovery abilities built into Windows XP (more on that in a future column), I don't think it's necessary or desirable to create that initial FAT partition.
When to Use FAT or FAT32
If you're running more than one operating system on a single computer, you will definitely need to format some of your volumes as FAT. Any programs or data that need to be accessed by more than one operating system on that computer should be stored on a FAT16 or possibly FAT32 volume. But keep in mind that you have no security for data on a FAT16 or FAT32 volume—any one with access to the computer can read, change, or even delete any file that is stored on a FAT16 or FAT32 partition. In many cases, this is even possible over a network. So do not store sensitive files on drives or partitions formatted with FAT file systems.
From Many Source
Continue Reading >>>>>
No Fats for Children is Dangerous
No Fats for Children is Dangerous - Children need fats in their diet. If you think you can help your little child become a fashion model, that's very risky. A new research showed that parents who eliminate all types of fats from their children's alimentation could cause serious health issues for their kids.
It is well known fact that some amount of 'good' fats, like olive and sunflower oils, is crucial for proper growth and development. But the increasing children obesity level has pushed many families to adopt low-fat diets for their children. The number of overweight children has doubled in ten years, now 25 % of the children aged 11-15 being classified as obese - so fat that their health is threatened.
The new research reveals that children burn more fat than adults do, related to each calorie spent, so that they store fat with more difficulty. This means the parents do not need to go to extremes.
The team led by Dr John Kostyak at the Pennsylvania State University assessed the burning rate of body fat in ten children aged six to ten, and in ten adults. All the subjects were middle weighed relatively to their age and sex. They were given the same common American diet for three days before the tests, even if the adults received larger meals.
The subjects' oxygen consume and carbon dioxide residue, as also heat production, were measured in a calorimeter room and a hood system, for nine hours on three separate days at a low physical activity level (like watching movies or reading).
The researchers also counted the nitrogen levels in the volunteers' urine to see how much fat they burned. The total fat burned level in a day was the same for both children and adults. This meant that children burned much more fat linked to the energy they used, in grams of burned fat per calorie of energy consume, about 50 % more. Women and girls burned more fat than men and boys of similar age did.
Other researches had shown that dietary fats are essential for normal growth, as they contain fat-soluble vitamins (like A and D), vital for the development of eyesight, bones and other organs. "Sufficient fat must be included in the diet for children to support normal growth and development.", said Kostyak.
"Children need the fatty acids and omega 3 found in fat, and fat soluble vitamins A,D and E for growth, development and eyesight. There is a risk parents could think that all fat is bad for their children - some years ago we had a phenomenon known as Muesli Belt syndrome where parents went to extremes with food that didn't contain all the nutrients they need." said Jacqui Lowdon, of the British Dietetic Association.
"35 % of calories from a healthy diet should come from fat, ideally polyunsaturated and mono-unsaturated fats such as olive and sunflower oils. These set up healthy eating patterns for life", she added.
Source: news.softpedia.com
Continue Reading >>>>>
It is well known fact that some amount of 'good' fats, like olive and sunflower oils, is crucial for proper growth and development. But the increasing children obesity level has pushed many families to adopt low-fat diets for their children. The number of overweight children has doubled in ten years, now 25 % of the children aged 11-15 being classified as obese - so fat that their health is threatened.
The new research reveals that children burn more fat than adults do, related to each calorie spent, so that they store fat with more difficulty. This means the parents do not need to go to extremes.
The team led by Dr John Kostyak at the Pennsylvania State University assessed the burning rate of body fat in ten children aged six to ten, and in ten adults. All the subjects were middle weighed relatively to their age and sex. They were given the same common American diet for three days before the tests, even if the adults received larger meals.
The subjects' oxygen consume and carbon dioxide residue, as also heat production, were measured in a calorimeter room and a hood system, for nine hours on three separate days at a low physical activity level (like watching movies or reading).
The researchers also counted the nitrogen levels in the volunteers' urine to see how much fat they burned. The total fat burned level in a day was the same for both children and adults. This meant that children burned much more fat linked to the energy they used, in grams of burned fat per calorie of energy consume, about 50 % more. Women and girls burned more fat than men and boys of similar age did.
Other researches had shown that dietary fats are essential for normal growth, as they contain fat-soluble vitamins (like A and D), vital for the development of eyesight, bones and other organs. "Sufficient fat must be included in the diet for children to support normal growth and development.", said Kostyak.
"Children need the fatty acids and omega 3 found in fat, and fat soluble vitamins A,D and E for growth, development and eyesight. There is a risk parents could think that all fat is bad for their children - some years ago we had a phenomenon known as Muesli Belt syndrome where parents went to extremes with food that didn't contain all the nutrients they need." said Jacqui Lowdon, of the British Dietetic Association.
"35 % of calories from a healthy diet should come from fat, ideally polyunsaturated and mono-unsaturated fats such as olive and sunflower oils. These set up healthy eating patterns for life", she added.
Source: news.softpedia.com
Continue Reading >>>>>
9 Issues About Children
This is the next generation
1. Three diseases cause 70% of the 13 million child deaths in developing countries: pneumonia, diarrhea and measles, which can be treated or prevented with the existing methods. Pneumonia kills 3.45 million children annually, mainly in African and Southeastern Asia, and is caused in most cases by bacteria. A 5 day antibiotic treatment costs just 25 cents. Diarrhea kills 3 million children per year. Half of these children could be saved through a cheap oral re-hydrating therapy. Measles kills annually 800,000 children. A measles vaccine costs less than 50 cents.
2. Children aged 3-4 learning to play an instrument can improve mental skills this way, as at this age connections between brain cells form very rapidly, and exercising just for a few minutes daily improves on the long run the cognitive abilities in children. Children playing the piano scored 35% better in intelligence tests than children going to computer classes or not taking any class at all.
3. Many children aged 1-4 drink too few liquids. They are vulnerable to dehydration and should drink a liter of water daily besides the liquid ingested with the food. They drink less than that, and even so, forced. In 20% of the cases, children's request for water was refused by parents.
4. Parents should establish not only the bedtime for their children, but also what they do before going to sleep. Watching TV shows, playing video games, or navigating the Net are stimulating activities that maintain children's mind awake even after ending the activity. Also, children involved in too many extracurricular activities can fail to finish their homework at a reasonable hour.
Unlike adults who, when deprived of sleep, turn inactive and quiet, small children turn hyperactive, displaying an incontrollable behavior. These kids lose their focus, memory and problem solving ability while at school. The sleeping hours must be respected; kid must not go to sleep when they have got no energy or have nothing else to do.
5. In UK, 20% of kids under 20 have mental issues. From increasingly younger ages, children participate to exams and tests that force them to compare themselves with the others of the same age, and most of them abandon school considering themselves losers.
Playing in the open, an activity that helps children think when taking a decision and get an increased self-confidence and energy, is replaced by computer and TV. Advertising triggers the desire of possessing things they do not have or the urge to be what they cannot be. The divorce rate of almost 50% and working parents cause the tension experienced by children to amplify, as they do not experience the affective stability of a family.
6. Worldwide, 40 million children are victims of abuses. In some countries, up to 29% of the boys under 14 and 34% of the girls the same age are victims of sexual abuse. In US, 2 million children are annually victims of abuse. In India, each 10 minutes a child is initiated in prostitution (50,000 per year). In many cases, the doctors do not examine rape cases sustaining they are not qualified nor do they want to be involved in this. Parents do not want to report this to the authorities either, as this means social stigmatization and ostracism.
During the last 8 years, at least 130,000 children have been kidnapped in Mexico City to be sold, forced into prostitution, or engaged in organ trafficking. In the same city, in 15 months 82 newborn infants were found abandoned, 27 of them being dead. Women that were abused physically or sexually during childhood can overreact to stress: their stress hormone levels and heart rhythm are higher when facing stress situations than in the case of other women. This may be due to a permanent biochemical unbalance in the way their body reacts to stress and controls it.
7. Cartoons influence the behavior of children aged 6-12 more than school, as they can spend 38 hours weekly watching TV, while less than 30 in the classroom. TV teaches children what attitude to take in certain situations, without explaining if it's good or bad. If a kid sees that a cartoon character binds his opponent, with satisfactory results, he probably does the same. Kids are more prone to mimic what they see on TV than what they learn in school, as school is seen more like an obligation.
8. There is a strong connection between the back and shoulder pains experienced by children and heavy school bags. After filling their bags with text books, foods, drinks, music devices and change clothes, some of them can weigh up to 18 kg (40 pounds). This can lead to deformations of the spine and other spine severe affections. The bags must not exceed 20% of the child's weight and should be transported on trundles, have hip belts, and the back side sheathed with a soft material.
9. The success behind a child is a parent giving his/her best to instruct and educate the child. This just means interest, time spent with the child and focus. 95% of the successful children say that their parents urge them to have good school results, and 87% of the parents read with their children.
Source: news.softpedia.com
Continue Reading >>>>>
1. Three diseases cause 70% of the 13 million child deaths in developing countries: pneumonia, diarrhea and measles, which can be treated or prevented with the existing methods. Pneumonia kills 3.45 million children annually, mainly in African and Southeastern Asia, and is caused in most cases by bacteria. A 5 day antibiotic treatment costs just 25 cents. Diarrhea kills 3 million children per year. Half of these children could be saved through a cheap oral re-hydrating therapy. Measles kills annually 800,000 children. A measles vaccine costs less than 50 cents.
2. Children aged 3-4 learning to play an instrument can improve mental skills this way, as at this age connections between brain cells form very rapidly, and exercising just for a few minutes daily improves on the long run the cognitive abilities in children. Children playing the piano scored 35% better in intelligence tests than children going to computer classes or not taking any class at all.
3. Many children aged 1-4 drink too few liquids. They are vulnerable to dehydration and should drink a liter of water daily besides the liquid ingested with the food. They drink less than that, and even so, forced. In 20% of the cases, children's request for water was refused by parents.
4. Parents should establish not only the bedtime for their children, but also what they do before going to sleep. Watching TV shows, playing video games, or navigating the Net are stimulating activities that maintain children's mind awake even after ending the activity. Also, children involved in too many extracurricular activities can fail to finish their homework at a reasonable hour.
Unlike adults who, when deprived of sleep, turn inactive and quiet, small children turn hyperactive, displaying an incontrollable behavior. These kids lose their focus, memory and problem solving ability while at school. The sleeping hours must be respected; kid must not go to sleep when they have got no energy or have nothing else to do.
5. In UK, 20% of kids under 20 have mental issues. From increasingly younger ages, children participate to exams and tests that force them to compare themselves with the others of the same age, and most of them abandon school considering themselves losers.
Playing in the open, an activity that helps children think when taking a decision and get an increased self-confidence and energy, is replaced by computer and TV. Advertising triggers the desire of possessing things they do not have or the urge to be what they cannot be. The divorce rate of almost 50% and working parents cause the tension experienced by children to amplify, as they do not experience the affective stability of a family.
6. Worldwide, 40 million children are victims of abuses. In some countries, up to 29% of the boys under 14 and 34% of the girls the same age are victims of sexual abuse. In US, 2 million children are annually victims of abuse. In India, each 10 minutes a child is initiated in prostitution (50,000 per year). In many cases, the doctors do not examine rape cases sustaining they are not qualified nor do they want to be involved in this. Parents do not want to report this to the authorities either, as this means social stigmatization and ostracism.
During the last 8 years, at least 130,000 children have been kidnapped in Mexico City to be sold, forced into prostitution, or engaged in organ trafficking. In the same city, in 15 months 82 newborn infants were found abandoned, 27 of them being dead. Women that were abused physically or sexually during childhood can overreact to stress: their stress hormone levels and heart rhythm are higher when facing stress situations than in the case of other women. This may be due to a permanent biochemical unbalance in the way their body reacts to stress and controls it.
7. Cartoons influence the behavior of children aged 6-12 more than school, as they can spend 38 hours weekly watching TV, while less than 30 in the classroom. TV teaches children what attitude to take in certain situations, without explaining if it's good or bad. If a kid sees that a cartoon character binds his opponent, with satisfactory results, he probably does the same. Kids are more prone to mimic what they see on TV than what they learn in school, as school is seen more like an obligation.
8. There is a strong connection between the back and shoulder pains experienced by children and heavy school bags. After filling their bags with text books, foods, drinks, music devices and change clothes, some of them can weigh up to 18 kg (40 pounds). This can lead to deformations of the spine and other spine severe affections. The bags must not exceed 20% of the child's weight and should be transported on trundles, have hip belts, and the back side sheathed with a soft material.
9. The success behind a child is a parent giving his/her best to instruct and educate the child. This just means interest, time spent with the child and focus. 95% of the successful children say that their parents urge them to have good school results, and 87% of the parents read with their children.
Source: news.softpedia.com
Continue Reading >>>>>
11 Tips For Avoiding Kids' Accidents
11 Tips For Avoiding Kids' Accidents - And 3 in case of accident
Annually, one in 8 children reach the hospital following an accident, which occurred mainly inside the house. An infant can easy fall from the table where its dippers are changed or choke with food or small objects that got stuck in the throat. Toddlers often fall while climbing over all places or get burned or poisoned while tasting everything they grab. The main cause of death in the case of 3-7 years old age children are circulation accidents and drowning. School age children experience accidents in the street or while playing outside.
A toddler aged 1-3 cannot be taught to retain which are the dangers. That's why the main task belongs to the adults. The drawers and the oven door must be blocked introducing a stick through the handles.
The surfaces of the playgrounds must be covered by sand, so that in case the child falls from the swing, it will land on soft ground. Are there lakes or running waters close to your house? You should know that a 1-2 years old child can drawn even in a water of a few cm deep, because when toddlers fall face down they lose the notion of up-down and they won't be able to get up. A child aged 1-3 years old should never be left alone to play outside.
A pre-school age child understands only clear signs and can focus in just one thing at once. But street circulation means various abstract concepts and ambiguous messages, that's why a pre-school child should never be left alone to cross the street. Till the age of 12, children are not old enough for circulating alone on the bike in an agglomerated traffic.
Children must use a helmet when biking, riding, skating or playing on a toboggan. Head lesions can have severe effects and even can be deadly. The lack of helmet means, in case of bike accidents, head injuries in 60 % of the cases.
In many countries, safety chairs for cars in the case of the children is a must. The models for infants differ from those for toddlers.
Here are some tips for avoiding toddlers' accidents:
1. Drugs. Keep them in locked cupboards. Ask your guests to keep their drugs in safe places, out of the toddler's reach.
2. Home chemicals. They should be kept in locked boards. Put the products at their place even when leaving the room for some moments. Don't leave detergent remains in the dish washing machine.
3. Cooking machine. Turn always the handles of the pots towards the inner part of the machine. Tie the pot to a protection appliance, if existent. Endow the cooking machine with protection against overturn, for the case when the child can climb over the oven's door. If the child can be burned by touching the oven's door, a protection grill must be placed.
4. Dangerous personal objects. Knives, scissors and others must be locked or kept in places inaccessible to children. When using them, put them out of the edge of the table, where they can be reached by the children. Matches and plastic bags are dangerous for children. Plastic bags are less dangerous if they are tied in knot.
5. Stairs. Fix the high balustrades at about 70-75 cm (2.5 ft) at both edges of the stairs.
6. Windows and balcony doors. Endow them with locks, chains and other safety devices, so that the child cannot open them or slip through them when they are opened for airing.
7. Book shelves. They must be fixed to the walls, if the child likes climbing and hanging on the furniture pieces.
8. Power outlets and electric cables must be endowed with breeches, especially if not used. Cables for lamps, pressers and other objects must be fixed on the wall or furniture, so that the child won't pull the cable, being hit by the object. If not really necessary, remove these objects. Do not leave the presser on the ironing table, nor its cable hanging from the table.
9. Hot water. The temperature of the hot water should be regulated to 50o C, so that the child won't get scalded when opening the tap.
10. Toys. Discard toys having sharp edges or corners, which are small or demountable, as they can be swallowed, choking the child. The eyes and the ears of the teddy bears must be well fixed.
11. Sweets and snacks. Don't leave hard candies or peanuts at the reach of the toddlers, they can choke with them.
In case of accident:
1. Poisoning. If the child has ingested a toxic liquid, rinse well its mouth and give it to drink 1-2 cups of water or milk. Call the doctor. If a corrosive chemical reached the eyes, rinse them immediately with a lot of water for 10 minutes.
2. Burning. For minor burnings, apply cold water (but not too cold) on the lesion for about 20 minutes. If the lesion is larger than the child's hand or is on the face, joint, lower abdomen or genitalia, bring the child immediately to a hospital. More profound lesions must always be treated by a doctor.
3. Choking. If something has stopped on the trachea, remove it immediately through the Heimlich method. If you do not know it, call your doctor or participate to special classes teaching it.
Source: news.softpedia.com
Continue Reading >>>>>
Annually, one in 8 children reach the hospital following an accident, which occurred mainly inside the house. An infant can easy fall from the table where its dippers are changed or choke with food or small objects that got stuck in the throat. Toddlers often fall while climbing over all places or get burned or poisoned while tasting everything they grab. The main cause of death in the case of 3-7 years old age children are circulation accidents and drowning. School age children experience accidents in the street or while playing outside.
A toddler aged 1-3 cannot be taught to retain which are the dangers. That's why the main task belongs to the adults. The drawers and the oven door must be blocked introducing a stick through the handles.
The surfaces of the playgrounds must be covered by sand, so that in case the child falls from the swing, it will land on soft ground. Are there lakes or running waters close to your house? You should know that a 1-2 years old child can drawn even in a water of a few cm deep, because when toddlers fall face down they lose the notion of up-down and they won't be able to get up. A child aged 1-3 years old should never be left alone to play outside.
A pre-school age child understands only clear signs and can focus in just one thing at once. But street circulation means various abstract concepts and ambiguous messages, that's why a pre-school child should never be left alone to cross the street. Till the age of 12, children are not old enough for circulating alone on the bike in an agglomerated traffic.
Children must use a helmet when biking, riding, skating or playing on a toboggan. Head lesions can have severe effects and even can be deadly. The lack of helmet means, in case of bike accidents, head injuries in 60 % of the cases.
In many countries, safety chairs for cars in the case of the children is a must. The models for infants differ from those for toddlers.
Here are some tips for avoiding toddlers' accidents:
1. Drugs. Keep them in locked cupboards. Ask your guests to keep their drugs in safe places, out of the toddler's reach.
2. Home chemicals. They should be kept in locked boards. Put the products at their place even when leaving the room for some moments. Don't leave detergent remains in the dish washing machine.
3. Cooking machine. Turn always the handles of the pots towards the inner part of the machine. Tie the pot to a protection appliance, if existent. Endow the cooking machine with protection against overturn, for the case when the child can climb over the oven's door. If the child can be burned by touching the oven's door, a protection grill must be placed.
4. Dangerous personal objects. Knives, scissors and others must be locked or kept in places inaccessible to children. When using them, put them out of the edge of the table, where they can be reached by the children. Matches and plastic bags are dangerous for children. Plastic bags are less dangerous if they are tied in knot.
5. Stairs. Fix the high balustrades at about 70-75 cm (2.5 ft) at both edges of the stairs.
6. Windows and balcony doors. Endow them with locks, chains and other safety devices, so that the child cannot open them or slip through them when they are opened for airing.
7. Book shelves. They must be fixed to the walls, if the child likes climbing and hanging on the furniture pieces.
8. Power outlets and electric cables must be endowed with breeches, especially if not used. Cables for lamps, pressers and other objects must be fixed on the wall or furniture, so that the child won't pull the cable, being hit by the object. If not really necessary, remove these objects. Do not leave the presser on the ironing table, nor its cable hanging from the table.
9. Hot water. The temperature of the hot water should be regulated to 50o C, so that the child won't get scalded when opening the tap.
10. Toys. Discard toys having sharp edges or corners, which are small or demountable, as they can be swallowed, choking the child. The eyes and the ears of the teddy bears must be well fixed.
11. Sweets and snacks. Don't leave hard candies or peanuts at the reach of the toddlers, they can choke with them.
In case of accident:
1. Poisoning. If the child has ingested a toxic liquid, rinse well its mouth and give it to drink 1-2 cups of water or milk. Call the doctor. If a corrosive chemical reached the eyes, rinse them immediately with a lot of water for 10 minutes.
2. Burning. For minor burnings, apply cold water (but not too cold) on the lesion for about 20 minutes. If the lesion is larger than the child's hand or is on the face, joint, lower abdomen or genitalia, bring the child immediately to a hospital. More profound lesions must always be treated by a doctor.
3. Choking. If something has stopped on the trachea, remove it immediately through the Heimlich method. If you do not know it, call your doctor or participate to special classes teaching it.
Source: news.softpedia.com
Continue Reading >>>>>
Google Launches Google Health
The new service is available only in the US
Yesterday, during a press event held at the Mountain View headquarters, Google has announced the release of Google Health. The first official mention of the service was made at the Google Factory Tour, but Google Health was accessible even earlier on. The new service plans to offer search support to a considerable number of users who are already using the Google search engine, in order to recover information about healthcare.
The Google Health team has been put to the work of organizing the huge amount of information coming from healthcare sources every year. The service, which was announced in mid-2007, will be free of charge and will enable its users to collect and manage their medical records and health information through an online profile. Google Health, which for the moment will only be available to in the US, will provide users with the means to educate themselves on health issues.
Creating a profile on this new service will allow its users to better understand their own health condition or to search for a doctor, whenever they happen to be in need of medical assistance. The information you fill in on your profile can be accessed for viewing by other websites, which you grant due permission to. You can update your profile with symptoms and test results, thus making your healthcare data complete and offering more information to a doctor. In turn, this can help a physician better diagnose a patient.
Google Health has been developed to offer users a platform of medical information, much like an online encyclopedia. Under the search bar, there's a "Health Topics" link that will forward the user to a list of health related topics. Each one provides information about possible symptoms, treatment and causes, offering users a better insight into that specific illness.
The service hasn't been designed to provide its users with medical advice, serving instead a more informational purpose: it provides information about a serious number of health-related topics and offers its users a platform for creating their own healthcare database.
Source: news.softpedia.com
Continue Reading >>>>>
Yesterday, during a press event held at the Mountain View headquarters, Google has announced the release of Google Health. The first official mention of the service was made at the Google Factory Tour, but Google Health was accessible even earlier on. The new service plans to offer search support to a considerable number of users who are already using the Google search engine, in order to recover information about healthcare.
The Google Health team has been put to the work of organizing the huge amount of information coming from healthcare sources every year. The service, which was announced in mid-2007, will be free of charge and will enable its users to collect and manage their medical records and health information through an online profile. Google Health, which for the moment will only be available to in the US, will provide users with the means to educate themselves on health issues.
Creating a profile on this new service will allow its users to better understand their own health condition or to search for a doctor, whenever they happen to be in need of medical assistance. The information you fill in on your profile can be accessed for viewing by other websites, which you grant due permission to. You can update your profile with symptoms and test results, thus making your healthcare data complete and offering more information to a doctor. In turn, this can help a physician better diagnose a patient.
Google Health has been developed to offer users a platform of medical information, much like an online encyclopedia. Under the search bar, there's a "Health Topics" link that will forward the user to a list of health related topics. Each one provides information about possible symptoms, treatment and causes, offering users a better insight into that specific illness.
The service hasn't been designed to provide its users with medical advice, serving instead a more informational purpose: it provides information about a serious number of health-related topics and offers its users a platform for creating their own healthcare database.
Source: news.softpedia.com
Continue Reading >>>>>
Fedora 10 Release Schedule
The 13th of May was a very important day for Fedora: on the same day, Fedora 9 was launched and the development of Fedora 10 has started. For example, the artwork team is trying to find a good theme to fit the release that will be available somewhere in October, this year.
Until now, there are only five submissions for the default theme of Fedora 10. The first one is Gears, which has a steampunk concept at its basis. Next on the list comes Blue fire, Binary, Dice and Neon.
The release schedule might change in time, as it could be ratified by FESco at a future meeting. The planning and development for Fedora 10 has started a few days ago, on May 13 to be more precise. The distribution will enter the Alpha freeze on 15th July, and on 29th July the first Alpha release will be launched.
The next phase in the development of Fedora 10 will be the Beta freeze, which will take place somewhere in August, possibly on the 19th. Consequently, it will go into Feature Freeze, when all the planning and development ends.
At the beginning of September, we can get our hands on the Fedora 10 Beta release and, at the end of the same month, on the 30th, the distro will go into the Final Development freeze. On 10th October, the Fedora 10 Preview will hit the web and you can enjoy the almost final edition of Fedora 10.
The end of October will bring us the final release of Fedora 10, and we will hopefully enjoy a very powerful and stable distribution. Until then, the best solution for us, Fedora fans, is to use Fedora 9 and to prepare ourselves for the future releases.
Source: news.softpedia.com
Continue Reading >>>>>
Until now, there are only five submissions for the default theme of Fedora 10. The first one is Gears, which has a steampunk concept at its basis. Next on the list comes Blue fire, Binary, Dice and Neon.
The release schedule might change in time, as it could be ratified by FESco at a future meeting. The planning and development for Fedora 10 has started a few days ago, on May 13 to be more precise. The distribution will enter the Alpha freeze on 15th July, and on 29th July the first Alpha release will be launched.
The next phase in the development of Fedora 10 will be the Beta freeze, which will take place somewhere in August, possibly on the 19th. Consequently, it will go into Feature Freeze, when all the planning and development ends.
At the beginning of September, we can get our hands on the Fedora 10 Beta release and, at the end of the same month, on the 30th, the distro will go into the Final Development freeze. On 10th October, the Fedora 10 Preview will hit the web and you can enjoy the almost final edition of Fedora 10.
The end of October will bring us the final release of Fedora 10, and we will hopefully enjoy a very powerful and stable distribution. Until then, the best solution for us, Fedora fans, is to use Fedora 9 and to prepare ourselves for the future releases.
Source: news.softpedia.com
Continue Reading >>>>>
Flash Player 10 "Astro" Got out of The Adobe Labs
Adobe Flash Player 10 Beta, codename "Astro", was launched with a couple of nice features backing it up. Although it is available in many languages, the installers are only in English at this moment. Rich media content and Rich Internet Applications (RIAs) will look and act much better from this moment on. Ah, I almost forgot to tell you that it now supports Ubuntu Linux!
Adobe Pixel Blender, the technology that was used for filters and effects in After Effects CS3, is also a part of Flash Player now. It is a very powerful image processing language that eases the work when it comes to creating custom effects and filters for web applications, without updating Flash Player.
A brand new text engine is included, which co-exists with TextField, working together to create new text controls, and device fonts can be anti-aliased, rotated, styled and have filters applied. The text engine also brings support for typographic elements, right-to-left and vertical text layout.
From now on, you can use 3D effects natively, without the need to be an ActionScript expert or to use external libraries like Sandy, Away3D or PaperVision3D. You can apply complex effects by nesting 3D-transformed objects inside each other, with only a small amount of code.
The Drawing API was enhanced, so the runtime drawing is much easier, with a new mode of drawing complex shapes without writing the code line by line. Among the enhancements, you will find memory usage and performance improvements, read/write rendering and 3D effects.
Flash Player 10 uses color management so you will enjoy the best looks, with the most accurate color possible. You can convert SWFs into sRGB (standard RGB), thanks to the opt-in color management, which also turns the entire SWF into a color-managed object.
Source: news.softpedia.com
Continue Reading >>>>>
Adobe Pixel Blender, the technology that was used for filters and effects in After Effects CS3, is also a part of Flash Player now. It is a very powerful image processing language that eases the work when it comes to creating custom effects and filters for web applications, without updating Flash Player.
A brand new text engine is included, which co-exists with TextField, working together to create new text controls, and device fonts can be anti-aliased, rotated, styled and have filters applied. The text engine also brings support for typographic elements, right-to-left and vertical text layout.
From now on, you can use 3D effects natively, without the need to be an ActionScript expert or to use external libraries like Sandy, Away3D or PaperVision3D. You can apply complex effects by nesting 3D-transformed objects inside each other, with only a small amount of code.
The Drawing API was enhanced, so the runtime drawing is much easier, with a new mode of drawing complex shapes without writing the code line by line. Among the enhancements, you will find memory usage and performance improvements, read/write rendering and 3D effects.
Flash Player 10 uses color management so you will enjoy the best looks, with the most accurate color possible. You can convert SWFs into sRGB (standard RGB), thanks to the opt-in color management, which also turns the entire SWF into a color-managed object.
Source: news.softpedia.com
Continue Reading >>>>>
XP meets XO: What about Linux?
The One Laptop Per Child program will put XP on its XO laptop and children in the developing world will have a choice between Windows and Linux.
On the surface, a little choice isn’t going to kill anybody. In fact, choice is good. And if some poor kids can get a laptop, learn a bit and be exposed to the world I don’t care about the operating system.
But here’s what gives me pause about XP coming to the XO (statement, Techmeme): There’s no way Linux will get an equal shake on OLPC’s XO. In fact, I reckon that more XO units will ship with XP than Linux in the not too distant future. Why? Governments are making the buying decisions. Not kids.
As Mary Jo Foley reports XOs will go with either Linux or Windows based on the preference of governments. Quoting an OLPC spokeswoman, Mary Jo reports:
“Laptops will be installed with one of two operating systems - Microsoft Windows OR Linux-based Sugar OS at the factory, based on the preference of governments and NGOs. In the case of these trials, the XOs will ship with Windows. In addition to these choices, in the future OLPC intends to develop … the ability to have both on the same machine.”
How quickly will the OLPC (all resources) have both on one machine? Probably not quickly.
The big question: What OS would the kids choose? I’d argue that the Linux interface would win. I’ve seen my own daughter navigate the XO Linux operating system even though I couldn’t. Kids just get it. Let’s compare and contrast..
Source: blogs.zdnet.com
Continue Reading >>>>>
On the surface, a little choice isn’t going to kill anybody. In fact, choice is good. And if some poor kids can get a laptop, learn a bit and be exposed to the world I don’t care about the operating system.
But here’s what gives me pause about XP coming to the XO (statement, Techmeme): There’s no way Linux will get an equal shake on OLPC’s XO. In fact, I reckon that more XO units will ship with XP than Linux in the not too distant future. Why? Governments are making the buying decisions. Not kids.
As Mary Jo Foley reports XOs will go with either Linux or Windows based on the preference of governments. Quoting an OLPC spokeswoman, Mary Jo reports:
“Laptops will be installed with one of two operating systems - Microsoft Windows OR Linux-based Sugar OS at the factory, based on the preference of governments and NGOs. In the case of these trials, the XOs will ship with Windows. In addition to these choices, in the future OLPC intends to develop … the ability to have both on the same machine.”
How quickly will the OLPC (all resources) have both on one machine? Probably not quickly.
The big question: What OS would the kids choose? I’d argue that the Linux interface would win. I’ve seen my own daughter navigate the XO Linux operating system even though I couldn’t. Kids just get it. Let’s compare and contrast..
Source: blogs.zdnet.com
Continue Reading >>>>>
Jurus Mencapai Orgasme
Saat kita melakukan aktifitas seksual, orgasme merupakan sebuah tujuan yang hendak dicapai. Meski tak semua aktifitas seks berakhir dengan orgasme, namun kehadiran orgasme memang memiliki sensasi yang sangat dinantikan setiap pasangan. Banyak kalangan perempuan yang justru tak selalu mencapai titik orgasme saat mereka melakukan hubungan seks. Tentunya banyak faktor yang menyebabkan hal yang demikian ini. Salah satu faktor yang paling umum dialami oleh kalangan perempuan ini adalah kurangnya pengetahuan mengenai teknik berhubungan intim.
Haruskah dipelajari? Jawabnya tentu saja ya. Mengapa? Sebab, tanpa pengetahuan, aktifitas seks akan seperti berjalan tanpa mata. Hanya mereka-reka kemana arah aktifitas seks yang dilakukan. Jika perempuan memahami teknik-teknik seperti menstimulasi titik erotis pasangannya, memahami titik erotis di tubuhnya, dan juga mengatur komunikasi antar pasangan, tentunya hubungan seks akan semakin bergairah.
Banyak kalangan perempuan yang hanya berpura-pura mencapai orgasme. Tentunya, ini akan membawa dampak yang sangat merugikan bagi perempuan itu sendiri. Jika hubungan seks selalu diliputi oleh kepura-puraan, ketidakjujuran pada diri sendiri, akan membuat pasangan perempuan lekas bosan. Hingga hubungan seks pun tak lagi dapat menyenangkannya.
Adakah kiat mudah untuk kalangan perempuan agar selalu mendapatkan kepuasan seksualnya? Tentu saja ada, jika saja kiat yang berikut ini diterapkan dengan sebaik-baiknya. Untuk itu, simak poin-poin dibawah ini.
Jangan ada rasa malu
Hilangkan sikap malu atau segan anda pada pasangan dalam hal seks. Jangan pernah merasa sungkan menanyakan pada pasangan anda, titik atau area mana yang harus anda stimulasi. Lakukanlah hal yang sama, beri tahu ia titik atau bagian mana saja di tubuh anda yang ingin distimulasi.
Katakan dengan jujur, tindakannya yang tidak anda sukai atau anda sukai saat melakukan hubungan seks. Jangan merasa takut bicara benar, sebab ini untuk kepentingan hubungan yang anda lakukan dengan pasangan.
Lakukan variasi seks
Ajak pasangan bereksperimen melakukan variasi bercinta yang jarang atau tidak pernah anda lakukan berdua sebelumnya. Seperti posisi seksual, tindakan foreplay yang unik dan sebagainya. Intinya, buang kegiatan rutin seks yang biasa anda lakukan dengannya. Ini untuk menghindari rasa bosan terhadap aktifitas seks.
Nikmati setiap sentuhannya
Salah satu sebab para perempuan sulit mencapai kepuasan seksual disebabkan oleh kurangnya konsentrasi perempuan terhadap rangsangan yang diberikan oleh pasangannya. Dengan kata lain, masalah yang menumpuk di kepala perempuan akan semakin menggangu jalannya hubungan seks. Untuk itu, cobalah pinggirkan terlebih dahulu berbagai masalah yang menghinggapi pikiran anda. Kemudian lakukan aktifitas seks dengan pasangan dan nikmati setiap sentuhan yang ia lakukan.
Jalin komunikasi dua arah
Komunikasi penting sekali anda bangun dengan baik. Jika komunikasi tak berjalan baik, anda akan sulit membentuk hubungan yang harmonis. Sebab, hubungan yang harmonis inilah pada umumnya yang akan membentuk sebuah hubungan seksual yang baik.
Capai orgasme lebih dulu dari pasangan
Jangan pernah menunggu pasangan anda mencapai orgasme. Anda lah yang harus mencapainya terlebih dulu. Sebab, jika pasangan anda mencapai orgasme lebih dulu dari anda, maka hubungan seksual akan terhenti. Lakukan posisi seksual yang menurut anda dapat mengekplorasi kenikmatan seksual anda. Lakukan posisi-posisi seksual ini di awal-awal aktifitas hubungan seks.
Hadirkan aktifitas seks tanpa rasa negative
Tak berhasilnya perempuan mencapai kepuasan seksual salah satunya disebabkan oleh rasa amarah dalam dirinya. Rasa kesal, kecewa, amarah, sakit hati dan sebagainya harus dibuang terlebih dahulu. Menurut penelitian, 95 persen perempuan tak berhasil mencapai orgasme jika tengah dihinggapi rasa amarah terhadap pasangan.
Masuk akal tentunya bukan? Sebab, tak mungkin anda bisa nikmat dalam melakukan hubungan seks, jika perasaan anda padanya sedang dilanda amarah. Karenanya, lakukan persiapan sebelum melakukan hubungan seks dan berdamailah dengan perasaan anda sendiri.
Berbagai Sumber
Continue Reading >>>>>
Haruskah dipelajari? Jawabnya tentu saja ya. Mengapa? Sebab, tanpa pengetahuan, aktifitas seks akan seperti berjalan tanpa mata. Hanya mereka-reka kemana arah aktifitas seks yang dilakukan. Jika perempuan memahami teknik-teknik seperti menstimulasi titik erotis pasangannya, memahami titik erotis di tubuhnya, dan juga mengatur komunikasi antar pasangan, tentunya hubungan seks akan semakin bergairah.
Banyak kalangan perempuan yang hanya berpura-pura mencapai orgasme. Tentunya, ini akan membawa dampak yang sangat merugikan bagi perempuan itu sendiri. Jika hubungan seks selalu diliputi oleh kepura-puraan, ketidakjujuran pada diri sendiri, akan membuat pasangan perempuan lekas bosan. Hingga hubungan seks pun tak lagi dapat menyenangkannya.
Adakah kiat mudah untuk kalangan perempuan agar selalu mendapatkan kepuasan seksualnya? Tentu saja ada, jika saja kiat yang berikut ini diterapkan dengan sebaik-baiknya. Untuk itu, simak poin-poin dibawah ini.
Jangan ada rasa malu
Hilangkan sikap malu atau segan anda pada pasangan dalam hal seks. Jangan pernah merasa sungkan menanyakan pada pasangan anda, titik atau area mana yang harus anda stimulasi. Lakukanlah hal yang sama, beri tahu ia titik atau bagian mana saja di tubuh anda yang ingin distimulasi.
Katakan dengan jujur, tindakannya yang tidak anda sukai atau anda sukai saat melakukan hubungan seks. Jangan merasa takut bicara benar, sebab ini untuk kepentingan hubungan yang anda lakukan dengan pasangan.
Lakukan variasi seks
Ajak pasangan bereksperimen melakukan variasi bercinta yang jarang atau tidak pernah anda lakukan berdua sebelumnya. Seperti posisi seksual, tindakan foreplay yang unik dan sebagainya. Intinya, buang kegiatan rutin seks yang biasa anda lakukan dengannya. Ini untuk menghindari rasa bosan terhadap aktifitas seks.
Nikmati setiap sentuhannya
Salah satu sebab para perempuan sulit mencapai kepuasan seksual disebabkan oleh kurangnya konsentrasi perempuan terhadap rangsangan yang diberikan oleh pasangannya. Dengan kata lain, masalah yang menumpuk di kepala perempuan akan semakin menggangu jalannya hubungan seks. Untuk itu, cobalah pinggirkan terlebih dahulu berbagai masalah yang menghinggapi pikiran anda. Kemudian lakukan aktifitas seks dengan pasangan dan nikmati setiap sentuhan yang ia lakukan.
Jalin komunikasi dua arah
Komunikasi penting sekali anda bangun dengan baik. Jika komunikasi tak berjalan baik, anda akan sulit membentuk hubungan yang harmonis. Sebab, hubungan yang harmonis inilah pada umumnya yang akan membentuk sebuah hubungan seksual yang baik.
Capai orgasme lebih dulu dari pasangan
Jangan pernah menunggu pasangan anda mencapai orgasme. Anda lah yang harus mencapainya terlebih dulu. Sebab, jika pasangan anda mencapai orgasme lebih dulu dari anda, maka hubungan seksual akan terhenti. Lakukan posisi seksual yang menurut anda dapat mengekplorasi kenikmatan seksual anda. Lakukan posisi-posisi seksual ini di awal-awal aktifitas hubungan seks.
Hadirkan aktifitas seks tanpa rasa negative
Tak berhasilnya perempuan mencapai kepuasan seksual salah satunya disebabkan oleh rasa amarah dalam dirinya. Rasa kesal, kecewa, amarah, sakit hati dan sebagainya harus dibuang terlebih dahulu. Menurut penelitian, 95 persen perempuan tak berhasil mencapai orgasme jika tengah dihinggapi rasa amarah terhadap pasangan.
Masuk akal tentunya bukan? Sebab, tak mungkin anda bisa nikmat dalam melakukan hubungan seks, jika perasaan anda padanya sedang dilanda amarah. Karenanya, lakukan persiapan sebelum melakukan hubungan seks dan berdamailah dengan perasaan anda sendiri.
Berbagai Sumber
Continue Reading >>>>>
Merawat Flash Disk
Media penyimpanan seperti disket yang hanya berkapasitas 1,4 MB, saat ini sudah tidak relevan lagi mengingat tuntutan kebutuhan media penyimpanan yang semakin besar. FD (Flash Disk) adalah jawabannya, selain ukurannya yang kecil sehingga mudah membawanya juga mempunyai kapasitas jauh lebih besar hingga 2.800 kali dari disket. Kapasitas FD bervariasi dari 64 MB hingga 4 G. Selain merk, harganya tergantung kapasitasnya. Sekarang, dengan uang 150 ribu sd. 172 ribu rupiah, kita sudah dapat mempunyai FD 1 G. Dengan FD, kita bisa menyimpan berbagai file/data, mulai data-data office, database, freeware/software atau bahkan sekarang bisa diinstall dengan Windows XP. Alat ini mempunyai banyak kelebihan dari disket selain mempunyai kapasitas yang besar juga mempunyai daya tahan (keawetan) lebih lama. Dengan perawatan dan pemakaian yang benar, usianya bisa mencapai 10.000 sd. 100.000 proses hapus tulis. Oleh karena itu, ada baiknya, Anda membaca tips dan trik komputer berikut.
1. Hindarkan dari panas langsung atau tidak langsung
Komponen FD terdiri dari logam yang akan memuai apabila kena panas, maka hindarkan meletakkan FD dalam ruangan yg panas atau bahkan terkena sinar matahari langsung. misalnya jangan menaruhnya dalam bagasi mobil atau motor.
2. Hindarkan dari air.
Karena air merupakan penghantar listrik, maka alat ini pun bisa konslet apabila terkena air dan yang jelas pasti rusak.
3. Jauhkan dari medan manet
Di dalam FD terdiri dari chips atau logam kecil-kecil yang akan mudah terpengaruh dengan sumber medan magnet, oleh karena itu, hindari meletakkan FD ini dekat dengan TV, Radio Tape, Speacker Active, juga Ponsel yang menghasilkan gelombang radio dan magnet.
4. Hindari benturan yang keras
Walaupun dari pihak produsen mengklaim FD produknya anti shock (benturan), tetapi menghindari benturan/jatuh merupakan langkah antisipatif yang tepat.
5. Tutup selalu
Untuk melindungi dari debu dan kotoran, apabila sedang tidak digunakan, sebaiknya Anda selalu menutupnya. Debu atau kotoran dapat menyebabkan proses baca tulis sering gagal atau bahkan tidak terbaca sama sekali.
6. Lakukan prosedur eject atau stop
Jangan asal mencabut FD dari PC tetapi lakukan prosedur eject atau stop terlebih dahaulu. Kalau tidak, selain bisa menyebabkan data kacau atau hilang juga bisa memperpendek umur FD atau bahkan menjadi rusak.
7. Minimalisasi proses hapus tulis.
Dengan meminimalisasi proses hapus tulis, dapat membuat FD lebih awet. Ingat, usia FD kira-kira 10.000 sd 100.000 proses hapus tulis.
8. Lakukan scan virus.
Yang tak kalah pentingnya adalah selalu scan virus, sebelum Anda membuka atau mencopy filenya ke PC. Tentunya dengan antivirus yg terupdate secara berkala. Hal ini untuk mencegah PC tertular dari FD yang mungkin terinfeksi virus.
9. Jangan melakukan pengeditan langsung
Usahakan file/datanya kita copy ke PC dahulu, baru kemudian lakukan pengeditan di PC, setelah selesai, baru kemudian pindah/copykan ke FD. Pengeditan langsung di FD, menyebabkan umurnya lebih pendek.
Sumber : Suara Merdeka
Continue Reading >>>>>
1. Hindarkan dari panas langsung atau tidak langsung
Komponen FD terdiri dari logam yang akan memuai apabila kena panas, maka hindarkan meletakkan FD dalam ruangan yg panas atau bahkan terkena sinar matahari langsung. misalnya jangan menaruhnya dalam bagasi mobil atau motor.
2. Hindarkan dari air.
Karena air merupakan penghantar listrik, maka alat ini pun bisa konslet apabila terkena air dan yang jelas pasti rusak.
3. Jauhkan dari medan manet
Di dalam FD terdiri dari chips atau logam kecil-kecil yang akan mudah terpengaruh dengan sumber medan magnet, oleh karena itu, hindari meletakkan FD ini dekat dengan TV, Radio Tape, Speacker Active, juga Ponsel yang menghasilkan gelombang radio dan magnet.
4. Hindari benturan yang keras
Walaupun dari pihak produsen mengklaim FD produknya anti shock (benturan), tetapi menghindari benturan/jatuh merupakan langkah antisipatif yang tepat.
5. Tutup selalu
Untuk melindungi dari debu dan kotoran, apabila sedang tidak digunakan, sebaiknya Anda selalu menutupnya. Debu atau kotoran dapat menyebabkan proses baca tulis sering gagal atau bahkan tidak terbaca sama sekali.
6. Lakukan prosedur eject atau stop
Jangan asal mencabut FD dari PC tetapi lakukan prosedur eject atau stop terlebih dahaulu. Kalau tidak, selain bisa menyebabkan data kacau atau hilang juga bisa memperpendek umur FD atau bahkan menjadi rusak.
7. Minimalisasi proses hapus tulis.
Dengan meminimalisasi proses hapus tulis, dapat membuat FD lebih awet. Ingat, usia FD kira-kira 10.000 sd 100.000 proses hapus tulis.
8. Lakukan scan virus.
Yang tak kalah pentingnya adalah selalu scan virus, sebelum Anda membuka atau mencopy filenya ke PC. Tentunya dengan antivirus yg terupdate secara berkala. Hal ini untuk mencegah PC tertular dari FD yang mungkin terinfeksi virus.
9. Jangan melakukan pengeditan langsung
Usahakan file/datanya kita copy ke PC dahulu, baru kemudian lakukan pengeditan di PC, setelah selesai, baru kemudian pindah/copykan ke FD. Pengeditan langsung di FD, menyebabkan umurnya lebih pendek.
Sumber : Suara Merdeka
Continue Reading >>>>>
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
