Security analysts are still digesting the implications of Intel acquiring McAfee for $7.68 billion. The purchase plan comes four months after McAfee was forced to apologize for an antivirus update that shut down Windows XP computers around the world — including PCs at Intel.

Intel said it’s investing in McAfee, in part, to address billions of new Internet-ready devices, including mobile and wireless devices, TVs, cars, medical devices, and ATM machines as well as the accompanying surge in cyberthreats.

As a result of this particular acquisition, Intel hopes to now deliver security as part of their hardware and device business line. This not only changes the security landscape, it will have a ripple effect throughout the industry.

With about 80 percent of the PC processor market, Intel is looking for ways to grow in other areas of computing. Adding McAfee to the Intel mix will offer the chipmaker three benefits: Additional technology to add value in smartphone devices that are coming under malicious hacker attacks, the ability to potentially embed security into the PC platform, and the capability to develop security within the cloud-computing infrastructure.

But the acquisition isn’t an automatic success. Intel will face challenges and given the risks associated with this deal, enterprise customers should be wary of making long-term commitments to McAfee until Intel’s intentions are clear. It would be best if McAfee was left to manage itself, largely as a stand-alone company but that decision is yet to be made.

Another potential problem is the many McAfee customers who have been upset with McAfee’s handling of the DAT file problem back in April which caused widespread service outages. Customers who have already been angling to jump ship could use this deal as an excuse to accelerate those plans.

This acquisition will have yet-to-be-understood impact on the IT security industry. Intel has elevated security to be on par with its strategic focus on energy-efficient performance and Internet connectivity. Chipmakers like AMD could feel pressure to add security features. Symantec could become an acquisition target.

Whatever happens – it’s always good to “stir up the pot” every once in a while –  it keeps the PC industry competitive which is always good for end users like you and me.  Let’s all just sit back and enjoy the ride

$10 netbooks aren’t in the hands of Bangalore’s next generation of IT workers yet, so is this the real deal?

There’s actually a fair amount of evidence to suggest that this one will see the light of day, although one has to wonder if $35 is reasonable outside of India where government subsidies could help keep costs down. Given rapidly falling equipment costs, though, $35-50 isn’t outlandish, particularly with recent advances from Pixel Qi with their very low cost, high efficiency screen technologies offering reduced power consumption and extended battery life as well the potential interest from Taiwan to manufacture these devices at scale.

Further examination of the specs and video of a working prototype tend to inspire a bit more confidence in this device as well.

While Nicholas Negroponte is known for his accuracy in predicting prices for OLPC products (One Laptop Per Child), he is seeing $75 as a price point for a proposed tablet-based iteration of the OLPC XO. Clearly, $75 is the price to beat for schools and education ministries to roll out any sort of tablet on truly large scales, but the $35 tablet, with no internal storage, also presumes a set of cloud applications that support learning efforts. These web applications will need to leverage emerging mobile technologies to ensure that they are touch optimized, fast, and rich in ways that HTML 5 continues to promise. Perhaps Google apps will become the productivity application of choice.

No word on which version of Linux will power the device, assuming it comes to market, or how it will cultivate a developer ecosystem, but it now seems pretty likely that 2011 will see a host of inexpensive tablet devices that could be quickly deployed in educational settings if the software and applications are there to support it.

Check out this YouTube Video to see the working models introduction

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ok4z9Xpapzc&feature=player_embedded

But when the weather’s not good, what do they do? They head right for the family computer. Keeping your kids safe online can be complicated, but Windows Live Family Safety helps make it easier for you.

Family Safety provides a website and a free program that parents install on the computers your kids use, so you can give them some independence but still keep tabs on their computer activities. Family Safety can also help keep your kids off websites you don’t want them looking at, and only let them talk to the people you’re okay with them talking to.

How Family Safety works
Just like on a sports team, the different players in Family Safety and Windows make up a team that works together. The players are:

• The Family Safety Filter. Software you install and set up on each computer your kids use. It monitors your kids using safety settings you select.
• The Family Safety website. Where you choose and manage all the settings for each family member and view their activity reports. You can create settings on the website once and then they’ll apply to every computer you’ve installed the Family Safety Filter on.
• Windows Parental Controls. A feature in Windows that’s turned on when you use Family Safety. You can use Windows Parental Controls to set up more safety settings for your kids’ computers. For more information on setting up Windows Parental Controls and Family Safety, watch the video about using Parental Controls.

 Family Safety is absolutely free and very easy to install and configure. All you need is a Windows Live ID. If you don’t already have one, click here.

For more information visit this website:

Previous versions of Internet Explorer have lagged behind other browsers on speed and support for new technology — the problems that Microsoft is working on with IE9. While Microsoft used to insist that Javascript speed wasn’t that important, it’s now using benchmarks to show that it can go toe-to-toe with any browser. Support for HTML 5, which is still not a standard, hardware-accelerated 3D graphics show that Microsoft is thinking ahead on performance.

What’s New in Internet Explorer 9?
Microsoft is touting IE’s speedy performance and its much-improved support for Web standards. The browser’s strongest attribute is likely its adherence to HTML5, the major revision of Web’s core markup language that’s still under development. HTML5 will allow IE9 (and other browsers) to move beyond resource hogging browser plug-ins, like Adobe Flash, to display multimedia content online. Toss in better CSS 3 support (to help Web designers created the right look for their sites) and an improved JavaScript engine (to the crank up the speed of Web apps), and IE9 promises to be a more nimble browser than the slow, lumbering Internet Explorer versions of the past.

Will the Preview Run on My PC?
Yes, but only if you’re running Windows 7 or Vista. On Vista, however, you’ll need to install Internet Explorer 8 (if you haven’t already) and the Platform Update for Windows Vista, an Operating System upgrade that allows Vista to use some Windows 7 technologies. And while the IE9 Platform Preview comes only in a 32-bit x86 version, it does run on 64-bit Windows 7 and Vista PCs too.

Unfortunately, if you’re still running any flavor of Windows XP, you’re out of luck. The GPU-powered graphics of the IE9 Platform Preview rely on display driver enhancements first introduced in Windows Vista. Perhaps another reason to abandon Windows XP and upgrade to Windows 7 sooner than later.

Can I use the preview in place of my regular browser?
No. The Platform Preview isn’t a fully-functional browser. There’s no back button, for instance, or an address bar. It opens links in your default browser, not the Preview app. In addition, some of the features may or may not appear in the shipping version of IE9, depending on feedback from Platform Preview testers.

Are there any cool platform preview features?
Microsoft has released a few technology demos that spotlight IE9′s improved handling of JavaScript, its HTML5 capabilities, and its support for hardware-accelerated graphics. These are mostly simple demonstrations, such as flying images, map zooming, an HTML5 t-shirt designer, and GPU-powered falling balls. You’ll need to download and install the Platform Preview to check them out.

When will IE9 be ready?
That’s the million dollar question. Microsoft plans to release a beta version of IE9 after feedback from Platform Preview users indicates the technologies are ready for everyday Web browsing. I expect the beta version to be released during the summer or early fall. Then we might see a release candidate nearer the end of this year. That gives all of us Windows XP users plenty of time to upgrade to Windows 7.

Install and preview some of IE9 features here:
http://ie.microsoft.com/testdrive/Default.html

Currently the feature is accessible for all users in the US on office.live.com, where you can view, edit, and share Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and OneNote documents from your browser.

Although the Office Web Apps is configured for most of the available Web browsers, Googles Chrome appears to be missing from the list (might be because Google has their own Google Docs web solution). Better still, Office Web Apps is available and designed for Windows PCs, Macs, and Linux-based machines.

Needless to say, Microsoft is introducing a very important side of Office 2010 to the world, and we’re bound to uncover even more this coming week, when this Office 2007 successor reaches the general availability milestone on June 15^th 2010.

According to Microsoft, If you live in the US, UK, Canada, or Ireland, you can head on over to Office.live.com today to start viewing and editing Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and OneNote documents right from your web browser — and share them with your friends. All that’s required to access Office Web Apps is a Windows Live ID. If you still don’t have a Windows Live ID, see my link at the end of this article.

It’s also important to note that people you share documents with will need to visit the link above before they can access the documents you share with them. All these shared documents are delivered via SkyDrive, with each user assigned 5GB of storage space for files.

The latest attributes include the capability to upload documents. If you have Microsoft’s Silverlight application installed, you can even do batch uploading. Recently edited documents, meanwhile, will pop up in a “recent documents” section so they can be easily accessed. Office Web Apps enables you to both view and create files. You can upload and edit a file created offline, or can create a brand new file. Co-authoring Excel or OneNote documents is now made easier, with multiple people able to work on a document at the same time.

Watch for more information this week as Office 2010 is officially released to consumers, including how Office 2010+SkyDrive+Office Web Apps is ready to give you the best productivity experience across the PC, phone, and browser.

There are currently 2 “versions” of the Web Apps available – Office Web Apps for home and school and Office Web Apps for Organizations. Users who are content with using Google Docs and the other browser-based office application suites will most likely not be affected by Microsoft’s most recent effort – our son Matt is planning to stay with Google Docs and won’t even consider Office. But perhaps for everyone else, it’s a good addition to the line-up and moreover, it’s free, so there’s really no need to complain if you don’t like the product.

Images of the Office Live Workspace

See how Office 2010 Web Apps work

Don’t have a Windows Live ID yet – click here – it’s FREE

The aptly-named “sunset edition” of Microsoft Money was released in May and although it has fewer features (all of the online capabilities are missing) this new version of Money doesn’t require activation, meaning that users who need to install it on a new PC or who lose their product code won’t be stuck without their data.

The Microsoft Money Plus Sunset versions are replacements for expired versions of Microsoft Money Essentials, Deluxe, Premium, and Home and Business.

Microsoft stopped selling Money at retail stores in 2008, but continued selling it online until last year, when it announced plans to discontinue the software. Even though sales ended last year, product support is planned only through January 2011 providing a much shorter “end of life” support cycle then Microsoft usually provides.

There are actually two versions of the Sunset edition–one for those running Money Premium, Deluxe, and Essentials and the other for those running Money Home and Business. While users that plan to keep using Money should eventually install Money Sunset, Microsoft warns those still getting online updates should stick with the version they have until they no longer need–or no longer can get–those updates. That’s because the Sunset version actually strips out the ability to get online quotes, online updates from banks or do online bill paying.

If your installation of Money Plus currently has active online services, or if your installation of Money Plus is still covered by Microsoft support services…I DO NOT recommend that you upgrade to the Sunset version of Money Plus. Microsoft estimates all online updates will be discontinued by January 31st of this year, after which, it suggests people move to the Sunset version. They also recommend that users keep their original software, their most recent activation key as well as the Sunset software. Plus, for folks using a Windows Live ID to authenticate the software, they should switch to using Money’s built-in authentication, in case they ever pull the plug on Live ID-based authentication for Money. Lot’s to think about…

So far, Microsoft has done little to make people aware of the new version, other than quietly posting it online for downloading. So, if you’re a Microsoft Money user, I’ve posted the links below so you can download the appropriate “Sunset Version” of the software.

But perhaps it time to consider moving to a non-discontinued, still-being-updated product, such as Quicken–the software whose market dominance probably pushed Money to the recycle bin anyway.

Microsoft PLUS Sunset Deluxe
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=60302E1E-207E-4710-AC80-D19C22E47488&displaylang=en

Microsoft Money Sunset Home and Business
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=52D42D7F-E2E9-478B-A4DA-4B24E5875FC1&displaylang=en

If you’re ready to “bite the bullet” and move to Quicken here’s the link to check out – there’s even a conversion tool so you can transfer your current data right into Quicken 2010.
http://quicken.intuit.com/personal-finance-software/transfer-from-microsoft-money.jsp?cid=ppc_g_nb_all_stan_us_pfs+gn+cmp_gc+mcrsft+mny_microsoft+money_p&priorityCode=6040900000&ven=g&kw=microsoft%20money

A few short months ago, back during all the Windows 7 launch parties, I thought that the Windows 7 Whopper would probably be the last food item ever associated with an operating system. Well I was wrong and now, quite literally, eating my words.

As today’s story goes, Microsoft Taiwan has opened a Windows 7 themed restaurant called Hot Fried 77 in Taiwan. For the next 2 months. Microsoft is taking over “100 Seafood” – a Taiwanese seafood restaurant and offering tons of “Windows-7 centric meals” for NTD $77 (around $3 in US money) I have no idea what stir-fry has to do with Microsoft’s new operating system but I understand it all goes very well with Windows 7 beer (brewer unknown).

Judging by the number of images shown in the link below, I’m guessing that this is not a prank. There’s lots of Windows 7 banners and people who appear to be having a good time. Can you say – I’m a PC and Windows 7 was my idea? or how about ”I’m a PC and this recipe for a Windows 7 layer cake was my idea!” What’s next?

Microsoft’s “Hot Fried 77” concept restaurant in Taiwan.
http://micgadget.com/3728/microsoft-opes-hot-fried-77-concept-restaurant-in-taiwan/

The glitch, which Twitter said had been addressed by early afternoon Eastern time, was letting people add other users to their list of followers without their consent. The follower counts appeared to have been restored about 2 p.m. ET.

Facebook has also been in the center of the media spotlight. Its new Open Graph system has drawn the ire of critics, and it had to rush to fix an embarrassing software glitch.

After a rough couple of weeks for Facebook that included threats of lawmaker scrutiny, complaints from consumer groups and embarrassing bugs in its software, members of the social networking site may be wondering whether it’s time to bail on Facebook altogether.

Should members stick with the world’s largest social network as it reaches critical mass and rethinks — once again — its position on how to treat users’ data? Or should they withhold that valuable personal information and quit the network until Facebook shows a little more respect for customer privacy?

A flaw that allowed users to see private chat conversations of friends showed up last Wednesday, and some tech media discovered that visiting certain websites while logged onto Facebook resulted in applications showing up in a user’s profile without their knowledge.

Company officials patched the chat bug on the same day it showed up and Facebook spokesperson Barry Schnitt stated publically that the bug depositing apps on user profiles had also been fixed.

“There was a bug that was showing applications on a user’s Applications Settings page that the user hadn’t authorized,” Schnitt said. “No information was shared with those applications, and the applications did not appear to anyone but the user.”

So what does this mean to you? Are you concerned about your private information on these networks? Many privacy advocates are but remember, Facebook can only give away information that you gave it in the first place, and according to a recent Consumer Reports study, we’re revealing far too much on social networks in general, and the consequences could be a lot worse than dealing with advertisements.

Nearly half of all social network users list their full birthdates online – prime information for data thieves, and 7 percent actually give their home address. A fifth don’t give a moment’s thought to the security of third-party Facebook applications, and almost a third of all users post pictures as well as the names of their kids, information child predators just can’t get enough of.

But what’s wrong with a little ID theft when you get to know every detail about an imaginary farm being run by some kid you knew in middle school, right?  By the way – Farmville has over 80 Million users – thankfully Facebook gives us a means to block updates from Farmville users.

Another area concerning Facebook users isn’t what some shady scam artist is doing with their data, but what Facebook itself is doing with it — spreading it around the Web to its advertising and business partners, unless the user digs through an interface to specifically tell it not to.

So what’s a person to do… Some industry observers are suggesting that we all rise up and quit Facebook until they get their act together – others are saying that Facebook is simply experiencing “growing pains” as have many other now successful technology companies.

In any case, it comes down to the fact that YOU have to do something. You can continue using these various Social Networks and turn a blind eye to the obvious privacy issues or better still, be just a little more conservative with the amount of personal data posted online for all-the-world to see. After all, you control the information posted to your account – so just.. control it.

If you Google “Facebook Security Problems” you’ll get 179,000,000 hits. Do the same for “Facebook Security Issues 2010” and there’s 246,000,000 results. Think there might be a couple of problems?

There are many reasons to give Facebook a chance to fix itself and not jump ship as well as an equal number of reasons to tell Facebook you’ve had enough and move on. Here’s a couple of links discussing 2 these topics – Google it.. you’ll find tons more

Top 10 Reasons You Should Quit Facebook
http://gizmodo.com/5530178/top-ten-reasons-you-should-quit-facebook

10 Reasons To Not Quit Facebook
http://www.davidleeking.com/2010/05/04/10-reasons-to-not-quit-facebook/

I, for one, intend to hang on, control what I post and share, waiting to see where this whole Social Media thing ends up. What are you going to do? Let me know yout thoughts – post a comment.

1. Advanced Uninstaller. The perfect addition to any flash drive, this no-installation-required uninstaller does a fine job removing all traces of unwanted software. My favorite feature? Batch uninstall. Just indicate the apps you want to remove and AU does the rest.

2. Dual Display Mouse Manager. A few years back I finally moved up to a dual monitor system. Let me tell you that this has been my best decision ever. My only complaint is that I frequently overshoot the “border” between monitors when I mouse to the edge of either one. Dual Display Mouse Manager senses my cursor’s proximity to that transition point and automatically slows it down. It’s a small convenience, but an essential one for anyone using two (or more) monitors. You guessed it – my next upgrade will be to 3 or perhaps 4 monitors. (I’ll just need to get a bigger desk first)

3. Dexpot . No room in your budget for a second monitor? No problem: Dexpot transforms your single screen into two or more virtual desktops. This popular freebie’s been around for a while, but the latest version adds a terrific plug-in for Windows 7 users: SevenDex, which pops up thumbnail views of your desktops when you mouse over the Dexpot taskbar icon.

4. Universal Viewer. This is one of those utilities that really should be built into Window’s, Universal Viewer lets you view the contents of just about any file. It’s great for those times when someone sends you a weird file attachment and you don’t have the program installed that’s required to read it. And like Advanced Uninstaller, UV is fully portable (no installation required), so it runs nicely from a flash drive.

5. Wizmouse. Microsoft still hasn’t learned. After all these years, Windows still isn’t smart enough to detect where my cursor is pointed and make the mouse wheel work there. Instead, it works only in the window that has “focus,” meaning the currently selected window. That’s an absolutely frustrating “feature” which should have been fixed by Microsoft years ago! Fortunately, there’s WizMouse, which activates the scroll wheel in whatever window is under your cursor, plain and simple. This also works in programs other than Windows.

OK, those are some of my favorites – if you have any you’d like to share, just post a comment on my blog. Click the links below to get your free copies.

1: Advanced Uninstaller

2: Dual Display Mouse Manager

3: Dexpot

4: Universal Viewer

5: Wizmouse

TechTurn, Inc. provides IT asset recovery, refurbishing, and remarketing services. It offers removal of retired assets, asset discovery and reporting, asset tag management, data sanitization/cleansing and destruction, diagnosis and repair, and hazardous material recycling and disposal services. The company also provides lease reconciliation services to equipment lessors and lessees. In addition, it offers products and related information through its Website.

The company serves dealers, VARs, and wholesalers in the United States and internationally. TechTurn, Inc., formerly known as Newmarket IT was founded in 1999 and is based in Austin, Texas.

So why is this important to you and me? We live in a society where caring about the environment has grown from a personal preference to a necessity. Millions of computers are “retired” each year and it’s a big problem for our environment. Tech Turn is the world’s first Microsoft Authorized Refurbisher and a Gold Certified Partner as well. Http://www.techturn.com

TechTurn is committed to practicing the highest standards of responsible recycling. This commitment is grounded in a business and compliance model that promotes re-use, encourages reduction of waste, and ensures proper recycling of non-reusable materials. As a result of TechTurn’s environmental leadership, TechTurn has become the trusted industry leader and recycling partner for many of the largest and most respected corporate brands in the world.

Their mission is to minimize the impact of retired pieces of technology by refurbishing and re-selling the equipment back into the channel.  You can read their environmental positioning statement here.

And perhaps best of all – you and I can go their ecommerce store and purchase these re-cycled pieces of technology as substantially discounted pricing. I’ve long held the belief that today’s computer hardware has far surpassed the requirements of the software we routinely run on it. Are you in need of a simple PC for Email and Internet access – how about a replacement LCD monitor? Take a look at their online store.

TechTurn features all the major brands of PC, Servers and spare parts  - refurbished, Open Box  and Scratch and Dent. A quick review of their website last night showed you could pick up a Dell 20” Flat Panel Monitor for $152.00 or an Apple iBook G4 laptop for $299.00. They even have a donation service to turn retired computers into powerful machines for charities. Here’s a short video introducing what they do.

So jump on the Green bandwagon – when you need a notebook, desktop, server, workstation, monitor or maybe just an older replacement part check out TechTurn.com.

Visit their website for more information: http://www.techturn.com