National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) (didirikan 1958) adalah agensi pemerintah Amerika Serikat yang bertanggung jawab atas program angkasa AS dan riset aerospace umum jangka panjang. Dia merupakan organisasi masyarakat yang melakukan riset bagi sistem ruang angkasa masyarakat dan militer.
Despite criticism that Windows Vista came in too many versions, Microsoft is moving ahead with plans to offer just as many editions of Windows 7.
Although the software maker will offer at least six distinct versions of the new operating system, Microsoft said to expect almost all PCs sold in the U.S. to come with either the Home Premium or Professional editions of the operating system.
"We're going to focus on two versions," Microsoft senior vice president Bill Veghte said in an interview, noting that those two versions will likely account for 80 percent of Windows 7 sales.
Still, Windows 7 will come in at least six distinct versions, including: Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate. Unlike with Vista, however, the Home Basic version will be sold only in emerging markets.
So, if Microsoft is going to focus on those two, why bother with all of the other versions? Veghte says it comes down to the fact that there are just so many places in which Windows is sold.
For emerging markets, for example, Microsoft needs to have lower priced versions. As a result, Microsoft plans the severely limited Windows 7 Starter as well as the bare bones, but relatively full-featured home basic version. Volume license customers will be able to get an enterprise version that includes BitLocker encryption and a couple of other enterprise-only features. For consumers that really want access to those features, there will again be an Ultimate version of the operating system.
That's not to say Microsoft is doing everything the same with Windows 7. Veghte said that Microsoft learned some important lessons from Vista.
One specific criticism with the Vista packages was the fact that there were features in Home Premium that weren't in the pricier Vista Business edition. With Windows 7, each higher-priced version will be a superset of the other versions. For example, the Professional version of Windows 7 includes Windows Media Center.
Also, Microsoft will make it easier to move from one version to another. With Vista, Microsoft introduced the notion of being able to easily upgrade from one version to another, though a special upgrade disk was needed. Windows 7, despite its many versions, will actually come as a single piece of code, or image. That means all the features will come loaded onto a Windows 7 PC, ready to be unlocked with an upgrade product key.
As for the specific versions, Windows 7 Starter has some of the key features of WIndows 7, such as the new taskbar, but not the live thumbnail previews. It is also limited to three applications running at a time and will have limitations on the kinds of screen resolutions and processors it will support.
Home Basic, which will be sold only in emerging markets, removes the screen size, processor and open application limits and adds support for internet connection sharing and the new sensor and location-based features. However, Home Basic lacks such things as multi-touch support or the Aero interface. DVD playback and Windows Media Center are also found in the Home Premium and Professional editions, but not in Basic or Starter.
The ability to use presentation mode or join a domain are two examples of features that are found in Windows 7 Professional, but not in any of the home versions. Finally, you'll need either Ultimate or Enterprise for a few features, such as DirectAccess, BitLocker or booting from a virtual hard drive.
Regardless of the rationale, having so many versions of Windows 7--not to mention any additional versions mandated by antitrust regulators around the world--will certainly open Microsoft up to additional criticism and probably some mocking from the folks in Cupertino.
To some degree, the customization is necessary. After all, while Apple may boast of only having one version--it essentially targets only the high end of the consumer market--the segment served by Home Premium.
However, the need for an Ultimate version, particularly now that the Professional version will have Media Center and other consumer features, seems somewhat dubious.
taken from CNET
Microsoft announced Friday night that computer enthusiasts will have a while longer to get their hands on the beta version of Windows 7.
In a blog posting, Microsoft said that the test version of the operating system will be available for download through Feb. 10. Previously, Microsoft had said that the OS would only be open through late this month.
"We are at a point where we have more than enough beta testers and feedback coming in to meet our engineering needs, so we are beginning to plan the end of general availability for Windows 7 Beta," Microsoft's Brandon LeBlanc said in the blog posting. "Because enthusiasm continues to be so high for the Windows 7 Beta and we don't want anyone to miss out we will keep the Beta downloads open through February 10th."
Those who start the download process before Feb. 10 will have until Feb. 12 to finish the task.
The deadline applies to the general public, while members of Microsoft's TechNet and MSDN developer programs will continue to have access to the code, LeBlanc said.
CEO Steve Ballmer announced the beta of Windows 7 during his speech at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Jan 7. After a slight hiccup, Microsoft made the code available on Jan. 10.
taken from Yahoo!Tech
Social networks were supposed to be the next big thing among businesspeople last year but, while they are catching on, adoption has been slower than expected, according to the results of Pew Internet & American Life Project's December 2008 tracking survey.
The number of U.S. adult Internet users who have a profile on an online social network site has quadrupled over the past three years. One-third of that population has a profile on sites such as Myspace, Facebook or LinkedIn. However, that figure pales in comparison to the 65 percent of teenagers who use social networks.
Here are five ways adult businesspeople can use these networks, in particular Facebook, efficiently.
1. Set up separate pages tailored to various purposes: one account for personal messaging, another for professional, a third for special hobbies or interests. That keeps business contacts from learning you are part of the "Star Trek Fan Group."
2. Understand that these sites can be huge time sinks. It's tempting to search for everyone you went to high school with—whether to reconnect or to brag. Set a routine to check in and stick to it. This way your page will be updated regularly, but you won't start losing customer sales because you're constantly updating your status.
3. Speaking of customers, the nature of sites such as Facebook makes it easy to keep in touch with your contacts. For those still using the Franklin Planner system, the marriage can be uberproductive. Set up a profile just for your business, invite your contacts and then follow up on all those loose ends. Sold a contact management system to a doctor's office six months ago? Check in and see how it's going and see if they are ready to install that accounting software package you had discussed.
4. Join the groups that are relevant to your profession. Much like an old-fashioned paper resume (remember those?), these show clients you are serious about what you do, and that you value networking. Whereas you cannot browse profiles of other members without their accepting you as a "friend," you can check out a group before you become a member of it.
5. Lose the idea that social networks are for teenagers. The median age of a MySpace user is 27; a Facebook user, 26, according to the Pew research. There are plenty of college graduates as well. Fifty percent of adult social network users have a profile on MySpace, 22 percent on Facebook and 6 percent on Linked In.
By tightly managing your time and profiles, business professionals can make productive use of social networks. They can be constructed to create a type of online Rotary Club, with only people you choose to become members. This is not your father's Rotary Club. Social networks might indeed be the next big thing, but it's going to take a while to get the Rotarians there.
taken from crn.com
Windows 7 'Incredibly Stable,' Intel Expert Says
Labels: intel, microsoft, seven, windows, windows 7The trial version of the next Windows operating system has won a key endorsement from a software expert at chipmaker Intel (NSDQ: INTC), a company that, despite being one of Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT)'s closest partners, was so leery of Vista that at one point it banned the widely maligned OS from its corporate workstations.Windows 7 and companion OS Windows Server 2008, at least when it comes to the beta versions, are a whole different ball game from Vista, said Intel software developer Doug Holland, in a company blog post this week.
"I have now been using the Windows Server 2008 R2 beta and Windows 7 beta builds for some time and have found them to be incredibly stable," said Holland, who in previous posts has pointed out that Windows 7 will scale to support a whopping 256 processor cores.
Vista maxed out at 64 cores with the high-end 64-bit version.
Holland says he's so pleased with the Windows Server 2008 beta, which Microsoft released last week along with the Windows 7 beta, that he's using it as the main OS on his personal laptops and desktops "and would do so also on my corporate notebook if our IT department allowed."
Corporate IT organizations don't typically allow employees to run beta software on their PCs.
A warm reception for Windows 7 at Intel would be welcome news for Microsoft. In an embarrassment for Redmond, Intel CEO Paul Otellini stated publicly in 2007 that his company didn't plan to upgrade its internal systems to Vista and that it would stick with Windows XP.
The statement, from one of the world's most powerful tech executives, reinforced the notion that Vista was not business friendly. Vista adoption among large enterprises has been almost nonexistent since the OS debuted two years ago as corporate IT chiefs have complained about its hardware requirements and lack of compatibility with older software.
Microsoft is counting on Windows 7, which according to early reports is lighter and more user-friendly than Vista, to restore its reputation in the business market. An endorsement from Intel could go a long way toward that.
taken from InformationWeeks.com
The U.N. halted deliveries to the Gaza Strip on Thursday after gunfire from an Israeli tank killed an aid truck driver, and the threat of a wider conflict arose when militants in Lebanon fired rockets into northern Israel.
Israel responded with mortar shells.
During a three-hour pause in the fighting to allow in food and fuel and let medics collect the dead, nearly three dozen bodies were found beneath the rubble of bombed out buildings in Gaza City.
Many of the dead were in the same neighborhood where the international Red Cross said rescue workers discovered young children too weak to stand who had stayed by their dead mothers.
Relations between Israel and humanitarian organizations have grown increasingly tense as civilian casualties have mounted.
The United Nations demanded an investigation after Israel fired shells at a target next to a U.N. school filled with Gazans seeking refuge from fighting that has left nearly 750 Palestinians dead, according to Palestinian hospital officials and human rights workers. Israel said militants had launched an attack from the area, and then ran into a crowd of civilians for cover. Nearly 40 Palestinians died.
"We've been coordinating with them (Israeli forces) and yet our staff continue to be hit and killed," said a U.N. spokesman, Chris Gunness, announcing the suspension.
Eleven Israelis have died since the Dec. 27 beginning of the offensive against the Hamas militants in charge of Gaza, meant to halt years of Palestinian rocket attacks on southern Israel. But with roughly half the Palestinian dead believed to be civilians, international efforts to broker a cease-fire have been gaining steam.
Israeli envoys traveled to Egypt on Thursday to discuss the proposal being brokered by France and Egypt and now backed by the U.S.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy said any time lost will play into the hands of those who want war.
"The weapons must go quiet, the escalation must stop, Israel must obtain security guarantees and leave Gaza," he said in Paris.
The U.N. provides food aid to around 750,000 Gaza residents, and runs dozens of schools and clinics throughout the territory. They have some 9,000 locally employed staffers inside Gaza, and a small team of international staffers who work there.
Elena Mancusi Materi, UNRWA's spokeswoman in Geneva, said the suspension concerned all truck movement in Gaza.
"If someone comes to one of our food distribution centers, we will give that person food. If people come to our clinics with injuries, we will treat them."
For a second straight day, Israel suspended its Gaza military operation for three hours to allow in humanitarian supplies. Shortly before the pause took effect, however, the U.N. said one of its aid trucks came under fire from a gunner on an Israeli tank, killing the driver.
U.N. spokesman Adnan Abu Hasna said the U.N. coordinated the delivery with Israel, and the vehicle was marked with a U.N. flag and insignia when it was shot in northern Gaza. The Israeli army said it was investigating.
Dr. Moaiya Hassanain of the Palestinian Health Ministry said 35 bodies were discovered Thursday during the three-hour pause in fighting in several areas around Gaza City that have seen fierce fighting between Israeli troops and Hamas militants.
He said it was unclear how many militants were killed because the remains were in poor condition, but that women and children were among the dead. Hassanain said 746 Palestinians have died in Israel's 13-day offensive.
Many of the dead found Thursday were in Gaza City's Zeitoun neighborhood, where the international Red Cross said it found four small children alive next to their mothers' bodies in the rubble of a home hit by Israeli shelling. The neutral aid group says a total of 15 dead were recovered from two houses in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City on Wednesday.
A Red Cross spokesman says rescuers had been refused permission by Israeli forces to reach the site for four days. It said the delay in allowing rescue services access was "unacceptable."
The Israeli military said in a statement that Hamas militants used Palestinian civilians as human shields, and that Israeli forces work closely with international aid groups to help civilians during the fighting in Gaza.
In other Gaza violence, Israel killed at least 12 people, including the U.N. driver and three people who were fleeing their homes, according to Palestinian medical officials.
The rockets from Lebanon raised the specter of renewed hostilities on Israel's northern frontier, just 2 1/2 years after Israel battled the Hezbollah guerrilla group to a 34-day stalemate. War broke out between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006 as Israel battled Palestinian militants in Gaza, on Israel's southern borders.
No group claimed responsibility. Lebanon's government condemned the attack, and Hezbollah — which now plays an integral role in Lebanon's government — denied any responsibility for the rocket fire, which lightly injured two Israelis.
"The rocket entered through the roof, hurling the water heaters into the air. It went through bedrooms upstairs and then into the kitchen," said Henry Carmelli, the home's manager.
Israel has repeatedly said it was prepared for a possible attack on the north since it launched its bruising campaign against Hamas militants in Gaza, to the south. Israel has mobilized thousands of reserve troops for such a scenario, and leaders have warned Hezbollah of dire consequences if it enters the fighting.
"We are prepared and will respond as necessary," Defense Minister Ehud Barak told reporters.
The Israeli offensive has reduced Palestinian rocket fire, but not stopped it altogether. Several barrages were reported Thursday, including one strike that damaged a school and sports center in the southern city of Ashkelon, police said. Both buildings were empty.
For Israel to accept a proposed cease-fire deal, "there has to be a total and complete cessation of all hostile fire from Gaza into Israel, and ... we have to see an arms embargo on Hamas that will receive international support," said government spokesman Mark Regev.
For its part, Hamas said it would not accept a truce deal unless it includes an end to the Israeli blockade of Gaza — something Israel says it is not willing to do. Israel and Egypt have maintained a stiff economic embargo on Gaza since the Hamas takeover.
The Palestinian Authority controls the West Bank while Hamas rules Gaza — two territories on opposite sides of Israel that are supposed to make up a future Palestinian state. Hamas took control of Gaza from forces loyal to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in June 2007.
taken from : Yahoo News
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