News (347)

Mozilla offers do-it-yourself mashups for all

Mozilla released an experimental browser plug-in on Tuesday that aims to connect the Web with language to help users perform common Web tasks more quickly and easily. Read more »

Microsoft hires Seinfeld for ads

Microsoft is to pay comedian Jerry Seinfeld US$10 million (AU$11.47 million) to star in an advertising campaign for its Windows Vista operating system. Read more »

Apple issues iPhone 3G update

Apple has released an update for the firmware for its iPhone 3G but has refused to give details of 'OS 2.0.2', beyond saying it incorporates "bug fixes". Read more »

Microsoft Patch Tuesday brings six critical updates

Microsoft has released six critical patches for August's 'Patch Tuesday', including a fix for six vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer. Read more »

Jobs says oops on MobileMe launch

Apple CEO Steve Jobs has admitted it was a "mistake" to roll out the company's MobileMe service at the same time it launched the iPhone 3G and other big products, tech news site Ars Technica has reported Read more »

Apple DNS patch not complete

Apple's Domain Name System patch for Mac OS X systems is not completely effective, according to security experts. Read more »

Apple in a bind over its DNS patch?

Three weeks after the disclosure of a serious flaw within the Domain Name System (DNS), Apple has yet to patch its MAC OS X operating system, but the company may be able to look to a third party in defense. Read more »

No tax support for Mac or Linux yet

The Australian Taxation Office has advised Australians using Apple or Linux operating systems that they will be unable to lodge tax returns electronically using the ATO's e-tax software unless they use a Windows emulator or a kiosk in one of the agency's shop fronts. Read more »

Microsoft opens up Live Mesh

Microsoft has opened up its Live Mesh service to anyone who has (or signs up for) a Windows Live ID. The service, announced in April, lets people share data among multiple Windows computers, as well as over the Web. Read more »

Researcher to expose Intel security flaws

An independent security researcher has flagged plans to reveal a proof of concept security exploit that could work remotely against any machine using Intel processors, including those used in Apple's famously secure Macs. Read more »

Features (118)

Multi-core state of play

It promises to be the biggest revolution in programming since object orientation -- but it remains virtually unheard of to most developers. Thanks to the development and uptake of multi-core CPUs, developers must begin to consider truly programming in parallel. Read more »

Scripting out DHCP reservations in Windows Server 2008 with Netsh

Scripting out DHCP reservations can save a lot of time for large pools of reservations. See how the Windows Server 2008 Netsh tool can help out in this regard. Read more »

How to spoof a MAC address

MAC address filtering for wireless networking isn't real security. Anyone who pays any attention to current trends in wireless security at all should know that MAC filtering is less effective than WEP -- and that WEP can be cracked almost instantly these days with commonly available tools. Read more »

What virtualisation tools are available for testing?

This article talks about some of the free or inexpensive tools you might use to accomplish your virtualisation testing. Read more »

Developing Bluetooth wireless applications in J2ME

This article reviews the principles of Java development for Bluetooth on mobile devices and describes how to write a Java application for Bluetooth communications. Read more »

Firefox 3 offers numerous features for developers

Firefox's support for customisation and standards, along with plenty of add-ons, has made it a favorite among developers. Read more »

10 things you should know about virtualisation

Virtualisation has been a major buzzword in the IT world for a few years. Microsoft has promised that the Hyper-V virtualisation component (formerly called Viridian) will follow within 180 days of the Windows Server 2008 release. Read more »

Process images in Java with JAI

The Java Advanced Imaging (JAI) API provides a professional approach to the imaging in Java. It offers many advantages to the developer through high-level programming model. Read more »

Setting up a simple Web service using Java

Web services form the basis for machine interoperability over a network. This guide aims to provide an insight into quickly setting up and deploying a simple Web service using Java, Eclipse, Apache Tomcat and Axis2. Read more »

Creative uses for COALESCE() in SQL Server

COALESCE() accepts a series of values and a value to use in the event that all items in the list are null; then, it returns the first not-null value. We describe two creative uses of the COALESCE() function in SQL Server. Read more »

Video (3)

The stealthy Apple clone

It runs Apple's Mac OS X Leopard, but doesn't look anything like an Apple computer and certainly doesn't come with an Apple price tag. Kara Tsuboi and Tom Krazit discuss Psystar's open computer. Read more »

Apple updates iMacs, iLife

Apple CEO Steve Jobs took the stage at a press event at his company's Cupertino, Calif., headquarters to discuss new Apple products, including thinner iMacs and new iLife and iWork software. CNET's Molly Wood breaks down all the new releases. Read more »

Apple Mac designers show how new tech products are born

Brian Cooley takes you behind the scenes at the Silicon Valley design house where the Mac was penned. What do they think is the next big thing? Read more »

Blog (47)

Going the extra step but not the extra mile

Chris Duckett [blogs:betaliving] -- I've always been a big fan of going the extra mile with error messages, it's a good way to show that you actually care about the product to take the time to customise it even when things are amiss -- and yes, things will go wrong, you will not create the perfect application. Read more »

Share a keyboard and mouse with Synergy

Staff [blogs:syslog] -- Even in the era of virtualization, many IT pros (including myself) have a small army of computers sitting on, under, and around their desks. Read more »

Software in the courts

Staff [blogs:syslog] -- In week's Roundup explores Google's assertion that privacy no longer exists, the UK-based NASA hacker loses his extradition appeal, Microsoft becomes a sponsor of the Apache Software Foundation and the Australian Tax Office chooses Windows and only Windows, again, for electronic submissions. Read more »

Install usability practices in your shop with Silverback

Brendon Chase [blogs:codemonkeybusiness] -- Getting started with usability testing doesn't require an expensive lab full of equipment and science nerds in white coats to poke and prod your users. Cheap and accessible software is readily available to help your team create better software for end-users. Read more »

Introducing the new "nerd whistle"

Staff [blogs:syslog] -- Certainly the iPhone 3G has changed a lot about how we think of our mobile devices, but I guess I never thought we would discover the ultimate geek magnet -- the nerd whistle of all App Store apps -- the Phonesaber. Read more »

Firefox 3 add-ons to make you a better Web developer

Brendon Chase [blogs:codemonkeybusiness] -- Firefox might be a fast browser but it's extensions can transform it into a powerful development tool for Web developers and designers. Here are 10 of the best to get you started. Read more »

Install Web stacks in an instant with BitNami

Brendon Chase [blogs:codemonkeybusiness] -- Need to set up a server environment to run Web applications such as WordPress, MediaWiki, Joomla, Trac, DocuWiki, or Drupal? Here's how to do it in less than two minutes with free software. Read more »

Adobe lead charge for a Java SWT port to Apple's Cocoa

Brendon Chase [blogs:codemonkeybusiness] -- Reports out of Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference this week indicate a port of Java SWT(Standard Widget Toolkit) to Mac OS X Cocoa is being readied. Read more »

Confessions of an accessibility sadist

Chris Duckett [blogs:betaliving] -- If your mouse dies because of a software update, most people would rollback the update -- a small minority will continue to move forward regardless. All in the name of science and testing the world of accessibility. Read more »

Six video podcasts to help you ace Photoshop

Brendon Chase [blogs:codemonkeybusiness] -- Mastering Photoshop and other image manipulation programs can be a handy addition to your toolbox of skills as an IT pro. Get started with these engaging (and free) video podcasts. Read more »

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  • Staff Shadow chasing in browsers

    The punching and counterpunching continued in the ongoing web browser development bout. Each time one browser closes a feature gap, a new feature appears in one of the others -- how we ever put up with the years of browser stagnation, I'll never know. Read more »

    -- posted by Staff

  • Chris Duckett Safari gets Gears

    Since its release in May last year, Gears has supported only Internet Explorer and Firefox browsers. With the addition of Safari into the Gears fold, it closes the loop of major browsers to support Gears Read more »

    -- posted by Chris Duckett

  • Renai LeMay MyPerfect.com.au has potential

    Victorian Web start-up My Perfect has a strong story and rationale for why it will succeed. But it has to overcome some challenges and design flaws first. Read more »

    -- posted by Renai LeMay

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