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Ubuntu 9.10 "Karmic Koala" got released today. It comes with the Linux kernel 2.6.31, and GNOME desktop environment 2.28.1, Firefox 3.5, and OpenOffice.org 3.1.1. A focus on this release has been on cloud computing. It now uses the ext4 file system instead of ext3, which is faster. It also uses the new GRUB 2 bootloader which is more flexible. Through Upstart it now boots faster. Download: http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download Install from within Windows, no partitioning needed. http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download-wubi Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubuntu_%28operating_system%29

Firefox (referred to as Fx) is a web browser descended from the Mozilla Application Suite, managed by the Mozilla Corporation. Firefox is a highly customizable browser that allows you to enhance it using Add-ons. Some examples of Add-ons that you can use to customize Firefox are AdBlock Plus, CuteMenus - Crystal SVG, DownThemAll!, TabMixPlus and many more. Tabbed browsing is one of the many features that helps to make Firefox more secure than most browser. Firefox does not use ActiveX. Firefox does make use of many plugins to enhance your web experience. From Shockwave, Flash, Quicktime and more; your browsing experience reaches new levels with the Firefox browser. Dow…

Pidgin is a multi-protocol instant messaging (IM) client for Linux, BSD, MacOS X, and Windows. It is compatible with AIM and ICQ (Oscar protocol), MSN Messenger, Yahoo!, IRC, Jabber, Gadu-Gadu, SILC, Novell GroupWise Messenger, Lotus Sametime, and Zephyr networks. Gaim users can log in to multiple accounts on multiple IM networks simultaneously. This means that you can be chatting with friends on AOL Instant Messenger, talking to a friend on Yahoo Messenger, and sitting in an IRC channel all at the same time. Pidgin supports many features of the various networks, such as file transfer, away messages, and typing notification. It also goes beyond that and provides many u…

CCleaner (Crap Cleaner) is a freeware system optimization and privacy tool. It removes unused files from your system - allowing Windows to run faster and freeing up valuable hard disk space. It also cleans traces of your online activities such as your Internet history. CCleaner can also clean very quickly, usually taking about ten seconds to run. Changes: Improved Opera 10 support for final release. Fixed the "No Disk" exception error. Fixed %ProgramFiles% bug in 64-bit Registry scanning. Download: CCleaner 2.23.999 Slim Screenshot: Image Previews View: Version History Homepage: CCleaner Link: Lunarsoft

Tarun may give a better evaluation than me (at a later time) but Malwarebytes has just released a new Beta version for testing by some members - It claims to be a 'smaller' program but it's new version detects infections 'easier' - This is due to a better 'fingerprint identification' system - I await Taruns views on the new MBAM program when it is pubicly released -

nLite lets you choose which components to remove from Windows 2000, XP or 2003 before installation. By removing unneeded components you gain on your system speed and security. It supports removal of almost any component and few services. You can make a bootable ISO and easily slipstream Service packs with a click of a button. Use the easy cd-key implementation so you don't need to enter it during setup. Reviewing 1.4.9.1 (Oct 16, 2008) nlite is one of the most useful free software tools available. Just like with any new software, you must take the time to read how to use it; otherwise, you may end up with a bunch of coasters before you get a good image. It is very …

CCleaner (Crap Cleaner) is a freeware system optimization and privacy tool. It removes unused files from your system - allowing Windows to run faster and freeing up valuable hard disk space. It also cleans traces of your online activities such as your Internet history. CCleaner can also clean very quickly, usually taking about ten seconds to run. Changes: Added Taskbar Jump List cleaning for Windows 7. Added history cleaning support for Opera 10. Added icons to Cookie selection to show browser. Improved scrolling in new results window. Improved Avira Anti-virus cleaning. Improved multiselect in listviews. Improved 64-bit support when including/excluding files. Improv…

FileZilla Client is a fast and reliable cross-platform FTP, FTP over SSL/TLS (FTPS) and SSH File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) client with lots of useful features and an intuitive interface. Some of the useful features include drag and drop support, filename filters, network configuration wizard, powerful site manager, transfer queue, and it even supports resume and transfer of files larger than 4GB. When FileZilla v3 was released a built in updater was introduced. This allowed users to update their FileZilla Client faster and easier. Included are options to check for nightly and beta builds of the FileZilla Client. Download: FileZilla 3.2.7.1 Homepage: FileZilla on Sourc…

foobar2000 is a comprehensive, easy to use audio player for Windows. Featuring full Unicode support, advanced tagging capabilities, customizable hotkeys, ReplayGain to help correct your audio and many more useful utilities to assist your media library. There are multiple ways to configure and customize your user interface. foobar's developer also includes an open component architecture allowing third-party developers to extend functionality of the player. foobar2000 allows you to easily use multiple playlists and utilize features to remove both duplicates and dead items. foobar handles multiple popular audio formats, including: MP1, MP2, MP3, MP4, MPC, AAC, Ogg Vorbis,…

Pidgin is a multi-protocol instant messaging (IM) client for Linux, BSD, MacOS X, and Windows. It is compatible with AIM and ICQ (Oscar protocol), MSN Messenger, Yahoo!, IRC, Jabber, Gadu-Gadu, SILC, Novell GroupWise Messenger, Lotus Sametime, and Zephyr networks. Gaim users can log in to multiple accounts on multiple IM networks simultaneously. This means that you can be chatting with friends on AOL Instant Messenger, talking to a friend on Yahoo Messenger, and sitting in an IRC channel all at the same time. Pidgin supports many features of the various networks, such as file transfer, away messages, and typing notification. It also goes beyond that and provides many u…

FileZilla Client is a fast and reliable cross-platform FTP, FTP over SSL/TLS (FTPS) and SSH File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) client with lots of useful features and an intuitive interface. Some of the useful features include drag and drop support, filename filters, network configuration wizard, powerful site manager, transfer queue, and it even supports resume and transfer of files larger than 4GB. When FileZilla v3 was released a built in updater was introduced. This allowed users to update their FileZilla Client faster and easier. Included are options to check for nightly and beta builds of the FileZilla Client. Download: FileZilla 3.2.7 Homepage: FileZilla on SourceF…

CCleaner (Crap Cleaner) is a freeware system optimization and privacy tool. It removes unused files from your system - allowing Windows to run faster and freeing up valuable hard disk space. It also cleans traces of your online activities such as your Internet history. CCleaner can also clean very quickly, usually taking about ten seconds to run. Changes: Redesign of Cleaner results panel Added support for Opera 10 Beta Added support for Safari 4.0 Added search to Uninstall tool Added search to Cookies screen Improved User assist cleaning in Windows 7 Fixed bug in OpenOffice cleaning Fixed IE8 SuggestedSites.dat cleaning support Fixed UI bugs Download: CCleaner 2.2…

On July 14, the Microsoft's free Malicious Software Removal Tool or MSRT added another fake security software program (or rogue), Win32/FakeSpyPro, to its database. As of July 29, MSRT cleaned FakeSpyPro from a staggering 187,258 machines worldwide. See the report here. Koobface - a sort of anagram of Facebook - had infected more than 200,000 computers before being removed by the MSRT. Koobface is a computer worm that targets the users of the social networking websites such as Facebook, MySpace, hi5, Bebo, Friendster and Twitter. Koobface ultimately tries to gather sensitive information from the victims such as credit card numbers. These numbers are a sure sign that…

A first glimpse of the new version of Firefox (Fx) has been given. See here for more info on Fx 3.6 alpha.

Mobile phone users in central China could face jail for sending unwanted erotic text messages while in the north, one local Communist Party branch has held 480 meetings on the problem in the past month. Henan province has announced that firing off just one such message could see the sender slapped in detention for up to five days, the China Daily reported Tuesday. Three messages could result in 10 days behind bars and a fine of 500 yuan (S$105), the English-language newspaper reported. The province's legal office announced the new penalties to address the growing problem of unwanted and inappropriate text messages in a country with more than 600 million mobile phone…

Firefox (referred to as Fx) is a web browser descended from the Mozilla Application Suite, managed by the Mozilla Corporation. Firefox is a highly customizable browser that allows you to enhance it using Add-ons. Some examples of Add-ons that you can use to customize Firefox are AdBlock Plus, CuteMenus - Crystal SVG, DownThemAll!, TabMixPlus and many more. Tabbed browsing is one of the many features that helps to make Firefox more secure than most browser. Firefox does not use ActiveX. Firefox does make use of many plugins to enhance your web experience. From Shockwave, Flash, Quicktime and more; your browsing experience reaches new levels with the Firefox browser. Dow…

Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware is a full-blown anti-malware program that has recently left the labs and can be considered the next step in the detection and removal of malware. Malwarebytes Team put together a host of new technologies that were specially designed to quickly detect, deter and destroy any malware that could reside in your computer. Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware monitors every process and actually stops malicious processes before they even start. It uses an impressive technology that is in fact a completely novel way of heuristic scanning and it is the teams response to the increasingly complex malware threats. And, as they did with Malwarebytes' RogueRemover we…

With the deal signed and ink drying, you may be wondering about the details behind the historic Microsoft and Yahoo search agreement, which may finally begin to put some pressure on Google's dominance in search. We break it down for you. The Basics Yahoo will adopt Microsoft's new Bing search engine. Yahoo will take over premium search advertising on both Yahoo! Search and Bing. Self-serve advertisers will use Microsoft's AdCenter system on both sites. The agreement will last for 10 years The deal will still need regulatory approval, which Microsoft and Yahoo hope to have by early 2010. Even though it will use Bing under the hood, Yahoo will have full control as to…

SIW is a Read-Only / Display-Only System Information tool that gathers detailed information about your system properties and settings. It is a utility that includes detailed specs for Motherboard, BIOS, CPU, Devices, Memory, Video, Drivers, Ports, Printers. It displays information about Operating System, Installed Programs, Processes, Services, Serial Numbers, Users, Open Files, System uptime, Users, Network, Network Shares, and more, as well as real-time monitors for CPU, Memory, Page File usage and network traffic. It also displays currently active network connections, Passwords hidden behind asterisks, installed codecs, and more. Download: SIW Standalone Source: SI…

Java Runtime Environment (JRE) enables your computer to run applications and applets that use Java technology. Java technology allows you to work and play in a secure computing environment. Java technology is in cell phones, automobiles, the Mars Rover, and many other places. By downloading it to your computer, you will be able to experience the power of Java software.The Java Virtual Machine is only one aspect of Java software that is involved in web interaction. The Java Virtual Machine is built right into your Java software download, and helps the Sun JRE run Java applications. Download: Java Runtime Environment 6.0 Update 15 Notes: Release Notes Homepage: Sun Li…

VLC (VideoLAN) is a multi-platform multimedia player. It can read DVDs, VCDs, MPEG, and DivX files and from a satellite card. It can also read a stream from a network sent by the VideoLAN Server or another source. The stream can be MPEG 2 TS in UDP or HTTP packets unicasted or multicasted on an IPv4 or IPv6 network. Download: VLC media player 1.0.1 | Other Versions Changes: Changes Homepage: VideoLAN Link: Lunarsoft

Recuva is a freeware Windows utility to restore files that have been accidentally deleted from your computer. This includes files emptied from the Recycle bin as well as images and other files that have been deleted by user error from digital camera memory cards or MP3 players. It will even bring back files that have been deleted by bugs, crashes and viruses. Changes: Added recovery of deleted Thunderbird emails. Added support for Nikon RAW in Deep Scan. Improved support of exFAT drives. Improved recovery of JPG images from NTFS drives. Various minor tweaks. Downloads: Recuva 1.29.429 | Portable Homepage: Recuva Link: Lunarsoft

ImgBurn is a free tool that enables you to burn CD/DVD images with ease. All the latest drives are supported (including booktype / bitsetting on many of the major ones). Advanced functionality can be found in the ImgBurn context menus. ImgBurn supports a wide range of image file formats - including BIN, CUE, DI, DVD, GI, IMG, ISO, MDS, NRG and PDI. ImgBurn is also Unicode compatible. It's a very flexible application with several advanced features that are often lacking in other tools, especially when it comes to burning DVD Video discs. It supports all the latest drives without the need for updates (including booktype / bitsetting / advanced settings on many of the maj…

Version 9.7 of the AMD ATI graphic drivers have been released. This unified driver has been further enhanced to provide the highest level of power, performance, and reliability. The ATI CATALYST software suite is the ultimate in performance and stability. Display and WDM Drivers included in this bundle. Download: ATI Catalyst 9.7 Notes: Release Notes Homepage: AMD ATI Link: Lunarsoft

Kevin Turner, Microsoft's Chief Operating Officer, told partners during his Worldwide Partner Conference keynote not only about the upcoming Microsoft Stores this fall to be placed near Apple stores but also about how Apple's lawyers wanted Microsoft to take down their Laptop Hunter ads. Here's the story he told (keep in mind that it's coming from a Microsoft executive): You can read the whole transcript of Turner's keynote on Microsoft Presspass. The most recent Laptop Hunters ad features Matt and Olivia, who are looking for a $700 computer they can use to share pictures of their son Jayden with friends and family. It needs to have a large screen and great bat…