Posts Tagged: operating-systems


19
Aug 10

4Chan Thread Downloader

Hate it or love it.

…Hate it or love it. The 4Chan message board is without doubt one of the most controversial sites on the Internet. Not only because of the contents posted on the site, but also the infamous site raids planned and executed there.The 30-or-so boards cater to a specific audience, and is largely concentrating on Japanese culture, adult contents, creative categories and interests. The 558 million posts speak for themselves.Many threads offer a wealth of images that are posted by 4Chan users, and while it is perfectly possible to download them one-by-one in the web browser, it usually makes more sense to automate the process as much as possible.The free software 4Chan Thread downloader is an application for the Microsoft Windows operating system. It can be used to add threads from 4Chan, which are then automatically downloaded to the local computer system.New download jobs can be started from the Add 4Chan thread button in the application interface. The program automatically fills out the 4Chan url with the…

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4Chan Thread Downloader


11
Aug 10

Hotmail still not working? Use Chrome to fix it, says MS

Microsoft has advised Hotmail users struggling to access their email accounts to surf via Google’s Chrome browser in order to successfully connect to the recently overhauled service.

…said Microsoft.

But even that solution isn’t satisfying everyone.

Hotmail user with the handle ’shelabobby’ hit back at Microsoft’s suggested fixes and workarounds.

“My computer completely stalls when I open my Hotmail. Yes, I have the same issue if I use Firefox, Internet Explorer, or Google Chrome. Yes, I have the same problem if I use another computer, and No, I don’t see any script errors because my computer freezes as soon as the window is open,” she complained.

“I’m not saying I don’t like the new features, but I have very important emails I have needed to reply to for three days now. If you’re going to keep the features it would be nice if while you are working to fix them you have an option to revert back to the old version till its fixed,” she said before signing off as a “Very frustrated user”.

Others have said they will abandon Hotmail following the revamp, because they feel that Microsoft isn’t dealing adequately with their gripes about the service.

Meanwhile there were sporadic reports on…

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Hotmail still not working? Use Chrome to fix it, says MS


7
Aug 10

"Private Browsing" Not Necessarily Anonymous

Private browsing options provided by the four major Web browser publishers aren’t as secure as users may think, researchers say.

…Security researchers have revealed that ‘private browsing’ modes on web browsers, which are designed to remove all traces of the sites a user has visited, can leak information.
A study by Dan Boneh from Stanford University which is due to be presented at the Usenix Security Symposium in the U.S. next week claims that many browser add-ons or website security measures stop the ‘private browsing’ mode from working properly.
Boneh and his team looked at the private browsing functions on Mozilla’s Firefox browser along with Microsoft Internet Explorer, Google Chrome and Apple’s Safari, and said all four programs were affected.
We discovered that all these browsers retain the generated key pair even after private browsing ends,” the study said.
“Again, if the user visits a site that generates an SSL client key pair, the resulting keys will leak the site’s identity to the local attacker.”
The study also revealed that the function is more likely to be used by those browsing adult websites than those…

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"Private Browsing" Not Necessarily Anonymous


6
Aug 10

Microsoft Sets Stage For IE9 Beta

Microsoft on Wednesday updated its bare-bones preview of Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) for the last time, saying that the next release would be a beta build. IE is on a two-month upswing in usage share, and Microsoft has to hope that when it ships in final form, that IE9 will be able to turn around the browser’s long-term decline.

…Computerworld - Microsoft on Wednesday updated its bare-bones preview of Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) for the last time, saying that the next release would be a beta build. Although Microsoft hasn’t named a release date for IE9’s beta, the six-to-eight week stretch between each Platform Preview may provide a clue: If the company sticks to the same gap between the fourth preview and the beta, the latter should show on or after Sept. 15. In IE9 Platform Preview 4, Microsoft has integrated its new JavaScript engine into the browser, finished its work on hardware acceleration and boosted performance in several areas, including the Acid3 test, said the IE team’s leader. “The IE9 platform is nearly complete,” said Dean Hachamovitch, general manager of IE, in a detailed post on the browser’s blog Wednesday. Last updated six weeks ago, the IE9 Platform Preview is not a full-fledged browser, but instead consists of a minimalist interface wrapped around Microsoft’s newest rendering and JavaScript engines. When Microsoft…

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Microsoft Sets Stage For IE9 Beta


30
Jul 10

Turn Your Web Browser Into a ‘Clicker’ with Clicker.tv

Forget channel-flipping. Clicker.tv puts a wealth of network and Web TV right inside your browser, all wrapped in an attractive 10-foot interface.

…Clicker.tv provides an attractive front end for perusing Clicker.com’s index of 10,000 TV shows, 30,000 movies, and 80,000 music videos. Not all of this content is free–in some cases your only viewing options are Amazon Video on Demand and/or iTunes–but much of it is just one click away.
Find a “Seinfeld” episode, for example, and Clicker.tv instantly transports you to TBS.com for viewing. The only downside is that you’re then subject to that site’s playback controls. While Clicker.tv itself can be operated using little more than arrow keys, many streaming sites require play/pause, volume, and other buttons usually found on a remote. At the very least, you’ll probably need a mouse.The service lets you build playlists (though only, it seems, of selected shows, not individual episodes), and search just by starting to type. There’s even Facebook integration: Clicker.tv can update your feed so friends know what you’re watching….

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Turn Your Web Browser Into a ‘Clicker’ with Clicker.tv


24
Jul 10

Apple’s Safari could possibly leak your personal information

A feature in Apple’s Safari browser designed to make it easier to fill out forms could by abused by hackers to harvest personal information, according to a security researcher.

…IDG News Service - A feature in Apple’s Safari browser designed to make it easier to fill out forms could be abused by hackers to harvest personal information, according to a security researcher. Safari’s AutoFill feature is enabled by default and will fill in information such as first and last name, work place, city, state, and e-mail address when it recognizes a form, wrote Jeremiah Grossman, CTO for WhiteHat Security, on his blog. The information comes from Safari’s local operating system address book. The feature dumps the data into the form even if a person has entered no data on a particular Web site, which opens up an opportunity for a hacker. “All a malicious website would have to do to surreptitiously extract Address Book card data from Safari is dynamically create form text fields with the aforementioned names, probably invisibly, and then simulate A-Z keystroke events using JavaScript,” Grossman wrote. “When data is populated, that is AutoFill’ed, it can be accessed and sent to the attacker.’…

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Apple’s Safari could possibly leak your personal information


30
Jun 10

Google steals security page from Mozilla’s Firefox

Taking a page from Mozilla’s security playbook, Google plans to block outdated plug-ins from launching in its Chrome browser.

…Computerworld - Google will take a page from Mozilla’s security playbook and block outdated plug-ins from launching in its Chrome browser, part of a new effort to keep users safer, the company said Monday.

In a post to the Chromium blog, a trio of Google security engineers announced that Chrome would refuse to run plug-ins if they were found to be out of date, and thus, potentially vulnerable to exploitation of known bugs.

Chromium is the name of the open-source development project that feeds into the Chrome browser.

Google did not spell out when the blocking of outdated plug-ins would be added to Chrome, saying only that it would happen in the “medium-term.” Nor did the Google engineers specify which plug-ins would be blocked. Chrome will assist users in updating old plug-ins, they said.

Chrome will also display a warning when a site calls on an infrequently-used plug-in, said Chris Evans, Julien Tinnes and Michal Zalewski of Google’s security team. “Some plug-ins are widely installed but typically not…

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Google steals security page from Mozilla’s Firefox


12
Jun 10

Google rolls remote access into Chrome OS

Google’s Chrome OS — the operating system that moves all apps and data into a web browser — will provide remote access to “legacy PC applications” through a mystery process the company calls Chromoting, according to an email from a Google employee

…from a web browser running on a separate system.

In order to access your remote desktop, you must also download a small client alongside your browser. But this is a tiny piece of code. Typically, it can be downloaded in a matter of seconds.

Presumably, Google will include this sort of mini-client with Chrome OS as a plug-in, and you’ll then download a larger client on your existing desktop PC in order to access its applications.

Yes, this is a roundabout way of running desktop apps. But with Chrome OS, Google is intent on keeping everything inside the browser. According to Google, this is partly an effort to improve system security, but the company also has a financial interest in moving more activity and more data onto the net: more web activity means more web ads, and more web data stored on Google servers means more targeted ads.

Last month, the company announced that would allow printing from the OS by routing jobs through its servers and back down to desktop PCs that, unlike Chrome OS, run print…

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Google rolls remote access into Chrome OS


12
Jun 10

Apple’s Safari 5 takes speed prize on Mac, Windows

Apple’s new Safari 5 browser is the fastest browser on both Windows and Mac OS X, JavaScript benchmark tests show.

…faster than Opera 10.53, and rendered JavaScript about 2.5 times faster than Firefox 3.6.4.

Microsoft’s historically sluggish Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) took 12 times longer to run the SunSpider benchmarks than Safari 5.

Apple’s claim that Safari is “the world’s fastest web browser” may be true today, but previous claims haven’t stood up to testing. Opera, for example, grabbed the top spot in February, surging past Chrome and Safari, the former No. 1 and No. 2 browsers on Windows, and didn’t relinquish it until this month.

The rankings are open to debate. JavaScript performance results can vary significantly, depending on the hardware used to test and the benchmark suite used. Several other technology sites and blogs, for example, have said that their benchmarks show Safari 5 lagging behind Chrome on Windows. Some have gone as far as to call Apple’s speed claim “a flat out lie.”

Although Safari may own the speed prize — by Computerworld’s testing — it not the world’s most popular browser. According to…

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Apple’s Safari 5 takes speed prize on Mac, Windows


28
May 10

Web Operating Systems: The Options You should Consider

I compiled 16 WebOS apps to know what they are and to experience operation systems in your browser. These WebOS comes very handy when you are away from your computer.

…is distinct from Internet operating systems in that it is independent of the traditional individual computer operating system. This conception of the system reflects an evolution of research in the field of operating systems. I compiled 16 WebOS apps to know what they are and to experience operation systems in your browser.
1. EyeOs
EyeOs is a Cloud Computing Platform that includes an office suite, group ware applications and the toolkit to develop specific web applications that you need.

2. iCloud
icloud consists of a desktop with applications and files that you run through your web browser. Because it’s running in the cloud (the internet) it can offer you impressive features such as easy sharing and rich collaboration.

3. CorneliOS
CorneliOS is a web-based OS that runs in your web browser. All applications and files are stored on the CorneliOS server and are accessible all the time and anywhere. CorneliOS is platform and browser independent and is available as free Open Source software under the GPL as…

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Web Operating Systems: The Options You should Consider