MySQL owned by Sun

This is a marvelous achievement

Sun Microsystems elbowed into the enterprise database market Wednesday with the announcement of a proposed $1 billion acquisition of MySQL, an open-source database software company. The deal, which Sun Chief Executive Jonathan Schwartz calls the "most important acquisition in the company's history," makes Sun one of the first major public companies to offer open-source software and puts the company head to head with the three big vendors in the $15 billion database market: IBM, SAP, and its former database partner, Oracle.

Compared to those three goliaths, which provide database software to 86% of the enterprise software market, according to Forrester Research, MySQL offers a simpler and cheaper solution. That makes MySQL an appealing option for small- and medium-sized businesses, says Forrester analyst Noel Yuhanna. "Unlike IBM, Oracle and SAP, MySQL has never had 50,000 features, but it does have maybe 10,000 relevant features that are relevant to enterprises," he says. "That cost savings is one of the key reasons that users have looked at open source, and fewer features means it's easier to use and manage."

MySQL's lighter-weight database system may also fit into Sun's ambitions of becoming a major player in "utility computing," a model of information technology infrastructure that pipes in software applications, processing and storage over the Internet rather than from a company's own data centers. "All other databases on the market today were designed for an offline, back-office use," says MySQL Chief Executive Marten Mickos. "Our relevance grows as enterprises shift to Web-based architecture, and that's what's happening right now."

One billion dollars, split between $800 million in cash and $200 million in stock options, may seem a hefty price tag for MySQL, which gives its software away to 99% of its customers. But the 1% of MySQL users who do pay for support include big names like Google (nasdaq: GOOG - news - people ), Yahoo! (nasdaq: YHOO - news - people ), Nokia (nyse: NOK - news - people ), and Alcatel-Lucent (nyse: ALU - news - people ). As Sun's (nasdaq: JAVA - news - people ) size lends legitimacy and the guarantee of long-term service to MySQL, the acquisition will likely convince more and larger enterprises to sign on to MySQL's cut-rate database systems, Yuhanna says.

"This makes Sun a major open-source vendor, and it will have a major pricing impact on the traditional vendors," says Donald Feinberg, an analyst with Gartner.

The purchase of MySQL, which has built one of the best brand names among privately held open source companies, is yet more evidence of how tough it is for open source companies to go to the public markets. Red Hat (nasdaq: RHT - news - people ), which has a market capitalization of about $3.7 billion, remains the primary example of a publicly traded open source company: Last year, it bought open source middleware provider, JBoss, for $350 million. Novell (nasdaq: NOVL - news - people ) snapped up SUSE Linux in 2004 for $210 million.

On Sun's part, the acquisition gives the server and software company a database offering that is capable of storing and manipulating the information used by its software tools, a role it has largely handed to Oracle. That means Sun is attempting to tap into some of the revenue that it formerly directed to Oracle, and may strain the company's relationship with its former partner.

For Oracle, the deal shouldn't come as much of a surprise. Sun first hinted at the possibility of entering the database market in 2005 when co-founder Scott McNealy cryptically showed analysts a list of database players including the words "SunDB." Since then, Sun has made minor investments in another open-source solution, PostgreSQL, hiring developers to work on that non-commercial database product and offering its own support to users.

The MySQL deal, which is slated to close in the first half of 2008, is a sign that Sun is pushing into more open-source software applications and could even enter the Linux market, the terrain of companies like Red Hat. "Sun is doing more and more with being a provider of open source in this enterprise infrastructure space," says Raven Zachary, an open-source analyst at 451 Group. "I'd start to look at them as a bigger player in software, especially open-source software, through this and other acquisitions."

ROZEE.PK Job Fair 2008 Karachi

ROZEE.PK Job Fair 2008

March 2nd, 9th & 30th at Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi

ROZEE.PK, the #1 job website in Pakistan, is pleased to invite you to participate in its Fourth Nationwide Job Fairs 2008 in partnership with the Jang Group.
For three years in a row, ROZEE.PK’s annual job fairs have helped companies hire quality candidates in a competitive job market. The ROZEE.PK Job Fair 2008 in Partnership with the Jang Group will be held in Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi this year on the 2nd, 9th and 30th of March accordingly.
There are several exciting ways for your HR to participate. Our sponsorship packages, booths and advertising options have been priced to suit a wide array of budgets and are designed to maximize exposure for your company. The success of our previous job fairs has led to a substantial increase in demand this year from Pakistan’s best employers. As you may be aware, our last job fair set historical records with over 100,000 professionals attending the nation wide events. Over 5,500 job offers were made by more than 250 employers that participated. ROZEE.PK’s expertise and partnership with the Jang Group, Pakistan’s largest media power house with a reach of over 20 Million consumers each day, ensures an even better event this year.
Please feel free to contact me to confirm your participation as soon as possible to guarantee availability of booths. Our Team will also be contacting you shortly to schedule meetings to discuss the various opportunities this event can offer.

Semantic Web takes big step forward

World Wide Web Consortium's SPARQL query technology published; Semantic Web could impact Google, Internet ad models, analyst says:

The Semantic Web, a concept tossed around for years as a Web extension to make it easier to find and group information, is getting a critical boost Tuesday from the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).

W3C will announce publication of SPARQL (pronounced "sparkle") query technology, a Semantic Web component enabling people to focus on what they want to know rather than on the database technology or data format used to store data, W3C said.

The potential of the Semantic Web cannot be underestimated. By scanning the Web on behalf of users, even Google's ad-based business model could be impacted, an analyst said.

SPARQL queries express high-levels goals and are easier to extend to unanticipated data sources. The technology overcomes limitations of local searches and single formats, according to W3C.

"[SPARQL is] the query language and protocol for the Semantic Web," said Lee Feigenbaum, chair of the RDF (Resource Description Framework) Data Access Working Group at W3C, which is responsible for SPARQL.

Already available in 14 known implementations, SPARQL is designed to be used at the scale of the Web to allow queries over distributed data sources independent of format. It also can be used for mashing up Web 2.0 data.

The Semantic Web, the W3C said, is intended to enable sharing, merging, and reusing of data globally. "The basic idea of the Semantic Web is take the idea of the Web, which is effectively a linked set of documents around the world, and apply it to data," Feigenbaum said.

"One way to think about the Semantic Web is the Web as one big database," said Ian Jacobs, W3C representative. A database, he said, enables querying and manipulation of data. More database-like Web sites are emerging, he said.

Comparing the Semantic Web to search sites such as Google, Jacobs said Google allows for searching through document text, essentially. The Semantic Web, meanwhile, allows for automation and combining of data, he said.

While the Semantic Web concept has been talked about for several years, Feigenbaum believes momentum is building. He cited DBpedia, which extracts structured information form Wikipedia, as an example of a Web site based on the Semantic Web.

With the Semantic Web's ability to hone in on just the information a user needs, companies based on a Web search advertising model such as Google may have to reconsider their plans, said analyst Jonas Lamis, executive director of SciVestor.

"They may need to rethink their business model because if I have an agent that acts on my behalf and finds things that are interesting for me, it's not necessarily going to be reading Google ads to do that," Lamis said.

The goal of the Semantic Web is to serve as a giant set of databases that can be integrated, Jacobs said. The Semantic Web has seen a lot of uptake in the health care and life sciences, he said. The drug discovery and pharmaceutical fields can use it to take clinical results and learn from data, according to Jacobs.

At pharmaceuticals company Eli Lilly, Semantic Web technology is being used for research.

"We're using it for our targeted assessment tools, which helps us to find out as much information or find out lots of information about drug targets of interest," said Susie Stephens, principal research scientist at Eli Lilly and chair of the W3C Semantic Web Education and Outreach Working Group. A drug target is a protein in the body that is to be modified with a particular drug.

"We use Semantic Web technologies to help us link to lots of information about the drug targets," she said.

The SPARQL specification works with other W3C Semantic Web technologies. These include: RDF, for representing data; RDF Schema; Web Ontology Language (OWL) for building vocabularies; and Gleaning Resource Descriptions from Dialects of Languages (GRDDL) for automatic extraction of Semantic Web data from documents.

SPARQL also can use other W3C standards such as WSDL.

The W3C RDF Data Access Working Group has produced three SPARQL recommendations being issued Tuesday: the SPARQL Query Language for RDF; SPARQL Protocol for RDF; and SPARQL Query Results for XML Format.

Participants in the working group include persons from companies such as Agfa-Gevaert, HP, IBM, Matsushita, and Oracle. W3C released statements of support from numerous parties, including HP and Oracle.

"SPARQL is a key element for integrated information access across information silos and across business boundaries. HP customers can benefit from better information utilization by employing semantic Web technologies," said Jean-Luc Chatelain, CTO of HP Software Information management, in the company's statement.

"HP's Jena Semantic Web framework has a complete implementation of query language, protocol, and result set processing," Chatelain said.

"As an active participant in this working group, Oracle believes the standardization of SPARQL will play an instrumental role in achieving the vision of the Semantic Web," said Don Deutsch, Oracle vice president of Standards Strategy and Oracle, in Oracle's statement.

Try the Free OpenOffice.org Suite Via Web Browser

Willing to trying out the free OpenOffice.org 2.0 office suite without having to install it on your computer?

That choice became possible this week when OpenOffice.org and online application vendor Ulteo launched a beta project that hosts OpenOffice.org 2.0 on Ulteo's Online Desktop infrastructure, giving users online access to the applications and up to 1GB of related data storage.

In an announcement, the two groups said the project will be open to 15,000 beta users who will be able to access the applications using a Web browser on Windows, Linux or Mac OS X.

Beta users will also have access to the project's instant collaboration features, which will allow participants to invite other users to join them online in working on a document together in real time. Users can send invitations to others via e-mail, allowing access to documents in either read-only or full edit mode through a clickable link in the message.

"Now everyone can use OpenOffice.org from any connected PC, anytime, anywhere," Florian Effenberger, marketing project co-lead of OpenOffice.org, said in a statement. "You even can work together on documents online and collaborate with others. This especially is an interesting option for trainers and workgroups."

"Ulteo is very proud to deliver OpenOffice.org to the community in a new, useful and exciting way: online and designed for collaboration," Thierry Koehrlen, CEO of Ulteo, said in a statement. "We expect that it will ... spread OpenOffice.org to even more users now that it is simpler than ever to try and use it in a couple of clicks."

Users can register for the beta program at Ulteo's Web site.

Biggest Television [Panasonic Plasma 150 "]

It's the elephant in the living room: Panasonic's 150-inch plasma has all but stolen the show here at CES 2008. When people ask you "What's the coolest thing you've seen at the show so far?" they invariably follow that up with "Except for the 150-inch TV."
And sure enough, the thing is a marvel to behold. It's so big, it's hard to take it in, really. With a viewing area that measures 11 feet by 6 1/4 feet and 8.84 million pixels of resolution, the TV (which has no model number and no date for being commercialized) is regularly thronged by crowds of slack-jawed onlookers, unable to comprehend the thing.
It's so big that all the other flat-panel companies have simply removed signage that might indicate how big (er, small) their sets are in comparison. There are obviously some big sets here from Pioneer, LG, and Sharp, but exactly how big their biggest sets are remains a mystery. Next year I will have to bring a tape measure.
Still don't think it's big? After all, maybe that woman is incredibly short, right? Wrong. Here's a picture of it next to last-year's largest, the 103-inch plasma
With the war on screen size all but lost for 2008, a more interesting one is shaping up on thickness, with vendors battling to see just how thin they can make their displays. Virtually every vendor is offering a screen (LCD or plasma) less than 2 inches thick. LG's is 1.7 inches thick. Hitachi's plasma is 1.5 inches and its LCD is just 0.75 inch. Sharp also has a 0.8-inch-thick LCD (52 inches diagonally, too). But it's Pioneer's 0.35-inch plasma that takes the weight loss crown, even if it is a prototype.
Other TV trends continue apace: A big one is OLED, which both Sony and Samsung are moving forward impressively. Side by side, Samsung's technology demo of OLED vs. LCD is striking; the difference in color and brightness is astonishing. Meanwhile, Sony was demonstrating a 27-inch OLED set, too. (In related news, you'll finally be able to buy the 11-inch OLED here in the United States, for just $2,500.)
Also emerging: Wireless HD. While I'm not sold on the need for this technology, more and more products keep showing up with it. Will we replace HDMI cables with wireless connections? Your sense of tidiness is probably salivating over the prospect already

Latest Desktop PC 2008

Google Jobs in India

Google is looking for engineers with great aspirations. We need more engineers like Arvind Jain, who left the successful company he’d help co-found, just so he could work on creating cutting-edge products that are used and enjoyed by millions of people. Or like Deepa Iyer, who, after getting her master’s degree in computer science from Rutgers University, joined Google to help design, prototype, implement and launch new products around the world.
We believe you don’t have to work in Silicon Valley to create great software. In fact, a number of our most innovative products have been developed at our engineering centers right here in India. That’s why we’re looking for world-class engineers for our software development teams in Bangalore

Dell First Tablet PC / Dell Tablet PC

I don't like to run with boring old "here's a new product" announcements without having had hands-on experience, but Dell's Latitude XT has been so longed-for and rumored for such a long time that I'm making an exception. So here goes: Dell has finally entered the tablet PC market after years of sitting on the sidelines.
I got a phone briefing from Dell on the product yesterday. Here's what's you need to know.
At 3.6 pounds and with a 12.1-inch screen, it's the lightest and thinnest convertible tablet on the market, according to Dell. I don't think I can argue with that. Specs are about par/exceptional for this field: 1.2GHz Core 2 Duo or 1.06GHz Core 2 Solo, minimum 1GB of memory, and hard drives up to 120GB (or up to 64GB for a solid-state drive). Vista or XP Tablet Edition OSes are available, as is integrated EV-DO broadband. Dell says you should expect up to five hours of battery life from the unit.
Next-gen features are impressive: LED backlighting is available, as is an optional outdoor-readable screen. The tablet is touch sensitive (you can also use a stylus), using a system called "capacitive touch" that utilizes the electrical properties of your body to register a touch rather than just pressure (sounds a lot like the iPhone).
Now the kicker: Starting price is $2,499, and it ramps up from there. That's considerably higher than competing tablets like the Fujitsu T2010, which has many of the same features as the XT but weighs more at 3.9 pounds. Is it worth the premium? I'll be checking out the XT in the flesh in the next few weeks and will report back with a full review; Dell says it will begin shipping by the end of the year, so stay tuned.

What is Cookie ?

Cookies are small files that Web sites put on your computer hard disk drive when you first visit.
Think of a cookie as an identification card that's uniquely yours. Its job is to notify the site when you've returned. Cookies should not be confused with viruses. While it is possible to misuse a cookie in cases where there is personal data in it, cookies by themselves are not malicious.
Many Web sites, including Microsoft's, use cookies. Cookies tell us how often you visit pages, which helps us find out what information interests you. In this way, we can give you more of the content you like and less of the content you don't.
Cookies can help you be more efficient. Have you ever put something in a virtual shopping cart in an online store and then returned a few days later to find that the item is still there? That's an example of cookies at work.
Cookies let you store preferences and user names, register products and services, and personalize pages.
But if you never register or leave personal information at a site, then the server only knows that someone with your cookie has returned to the Web site. It doesn't know anything else.

Invisible Secrets (exe)

Sometimes this tool is very important when you need to protect your EXE files from being captured by firewall or virus scanner, or just prevent unauthorized access.Invisible Secrets allows you to encrypt and hide files in other files (carriers) which are not suspect of encryption (JPG, PNG, BMP). First, it will encrypt the sensitive data using a specified password and cryptosystem (algorithm). After that, the encrypted data will be inserted in the carrier.

Source: Neobyte Solutions

Size: 1,849KB

Date: Jun 2006 Version: 2.1

System Requirements: Windows 98/Me/NT/XP

License: Free

Low-priced Desktop PC with ECS P4M890T

My laptop got stolen; don't have enough money to buy new laptop. I lost it at the seminar at Jakarta, I don't care with the laptop, but I cry for my data, there is a lot of important thing in my laptop. Inside the bag stacked my name card, hope that someone call me.
With the rest money, I have decided to buy low-end PC with the following spec tech:I choose ECS P4M890T, it cost me IDR 480.000,- its about $50, and IDR 340,000 for Celeron 3.06Ghz LGA.Here is the detail spec:
motherboard: ESC, P4M890T-M, VT8237A, its supports Core2 Duo Cpu, FSB 1066, DDR2
processor: Intel Celeron D, 3.06 GHz, LGA
memory: elixir, 1GB
pci express: 128Mb, nvidia Geforce 7200GS
hard disk: 80GB, SATA, seagate 7200 rpm
optical drive: LG DVD rom, multi
casing: Simbada, SIMCOOL with 6 fans
mouse: Logitech optical mouse
It’s all cost me IDR 2,300.000 or $240.00
After finishing assembling and installing XP Sp2 at the partition one, Suse linux in partition two, everything is work so smooth. Not bad for low price PC, at less I can continue posting in this blog. Well, rumors said that Celeron is bad processor, low on performance and easy to get crashed. In my town, Celeron is the last choice for desktop PC, while the first is Intel original which very expensive.
So, don't be afraid to use Celeron processor, but you should use a good motherboard such as ECS or ASUS.

HD-DVD vs. Blu-ray, Zune2 vs. iPod Classic

This week ends with one of the most important days of the year. It's called "Black Friday," and it could decide the future of a lot of battles and tell us whether this will be a good or bad season economically.
There are two big battles that may actually be decided this week based on initial sales numbers. For Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) , which had its butt kicked last year by the iPod, this is its chance to show it gets it and to take the fight to Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) .
For HD-DVD and Blu-ray, this is when Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) steps in and tries to do to this market what it did to TVs last year. There is a reasonable chance HD-DVD will exit the winner; however, Blu-ray isn't sleeping, and Sony (NYSE: SNE) is initially using Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) to help its case.
Since Black Friday is when a lot of you will be out buying, I'm going to provide some advice on what to look for and some choices you may not have thought of, and suggest that you not wait until Friday to buy at least one item.
Finally we'll close with one of my favorite products for the year: the new HP (NYSE: HPQ) Home Server, which has evidently outsold even laptops on Amazon for its first week.
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Battle One: Blu-ray vs. HD-DVD
The most widely watched battle that will be fought this Friday is the one between Blu-ray Disc and HD-DVD. To catch you up, right now both platforms are selling well below 10 percent of potential because of the conflict that exists between them. Last year, the two sides went back and forth, with HD-DVD in front at the start Blu-ray in front in the middle, and both basically tied now with momentum back in the HD-DVD camp.
In advance of Black Friday, Blu-ray has launched a two-for-one deal with Amazon, which should push disk sales up sharply. This isn't as good as it initially looks because you can't mix and match between Sony and Disney (NYSE: DIS) films. Still, revenue could actually decline for Blu-ray at the same time depending on whether this results in a doubling of sales volume. Also, PC Blu-ray drives just dropped below $200, which suddenly makes PCs with both HD-DVD and Blu-ray drives a possibility and should push sales on PCs anyway.
However, on Black Friday, Wal-Mart is expected to go very aggressive, with HD-DVD player prices dropping well below $200. While disk sales are important tactically, player sales are strategic. Given that the PS3 isn't expected to be hot this year, if they execute as expected, the battle could drift so solidly into the HD-DVD camp that the fight will be over.
Now, the HD-DVD camp will need a better than 4x sales rate over Blu-ray to do this, but Wal-Mart alone is capable of exceeding this volume and demonstrated that with TVs last year, so this thing could be over by year end. I stress the word "could," however, as the Blu-ray guys clearly see this coming and may not have played all their cards yet. The good news is that under $200, the things aren't that bad a risk.
Battle II: Zune II vs. iPod Classic and Nano
The other battle is Zune II line vs. the iPod classic and the iPod nano. Last year, there was no competition, and Apple kicked Microsoft's butt all over the segment.
Now, Microsoft is back with a new set, and they have a shot. Now, there is no doubt that the iPod touch is the hot product, but it is $400 for the configuration (16GB) that folks want. However, that is way out of the price range for gifts, which typically fall closer to the $200 range. This means, though they aren't as flashy as the touch, the iPod classic and the iPod nano have to carry the weight.
Who wants something called "classic" as a gift? You might as well keep whatever you've got because "classic" generally means obsolete. The nano has gone from being this little thing that looked incredibly cool to something that looks like a large and less attractive version of the iRiver Clix2.
All iPod products have a nasty history of being relatively fragile and are known for scratching badly. None has an FM radio or supports subscription-based music. The new Zunes hit solidly on all points, as they are scratch resistant, have FM radios, support subscription music and wirelessly sync.
The Zune music service is a complete rewrite and vastly better; the new Zunes support more video media types, so video transfer is much quicker -- as in minutes for movies and not hours -- and the new user interface makes you wish this Zune UI group would talk to the Windows group from time to time.
This is why the new Zunes are winning some favorable initial reviews. If they'd done this last year, I'd be more sure of the outcome. This year they have to overcome perceptions from last year, but it's a good product and a good value, let's see if the market bites.
Black Friday Advice: Buy Wii Now
OK, if you are even thinking of buying a Wii , get up and go to the store now. If you wait until Friday, you are likely going to either pay a massive premium or wait until February to get your Wii -- and kids are not particularly forgiving if you miss Christmas.
TVs are expected to be the No. 1 product this year, as they were last year -- typically prices drop sharply after Christmas as people try to eliminate inventory before year end and they will drop again after the Super Bowl here in the U.S.
If you want something sooner, try the sites that have a good reputation with regard to seconds, like Tiger Direct, as they can have incredible deals on products that were current only a few weeks ago. I saved $4,000 by doing this last year myself. That saved me enough to almost be able to afford the Wii before Christmas. I've also found a great site to do research before you buy and ensure you get the best TV at the best price.
Laptops are hot -- according to several surveys they are either No. 1 or 2 on the list of things folks want. If you buy online, you can often get special colors and some of the newest products are initially online only.
The two products I'm personally excited about that come in colors are the Dell (Nasdaq: DELL) Red, White, or Black XPS 1330, which has advanced options of LED backlit screens and solid state drives (think expensive, really fast and silent); and the more affordable Red, Blue or Black Gateway (NYSE: GTW) m-150XL, which is larger and has HDMI out so you can watch YouTube videos with it on your TV. Or you can do as I do and watch DVDs in hotel rooms, which have new TVs in them.
Both products represent the leading designs from their respective companies and should put a smile on the face of whoever receives them. The Dell is a technology powerhouse, and the Gateway is one of the best deals in laptops this quarter.
Digital picture frames are not only affordable (around $80 for 7" to $300 for 15") this year, they are the most personal thing you can give a relative or close friend. Preload one with pictures that mean something to them -- some will even play music -- and you can give a unique gift that will last on the desk or credenza for years. Look for those that have LED backlights because they will look better and last longer. These make a wonderful gift that particularly parents and grandparents will enjoy.
Product of the Week: HP MediaSmart Server
Now, if someone had come to me two years ago and told me I'd be excited about a server for the home I'd have them checked for substance abuse issues. I'm as surprised as you are that a server for the home makes sense, but darned if Windows Home Server doesn't. This thing not only is the best home backup solution (it will restore files and whole systems) it also does a great job of giving you a custom Web site where you can get access to and share your stuff (without fear of censors) and it's a great hub for moving media around your home.
I have one with 3 Terabytes of storage (I'm only using a fraction of this), and it is wonderful. Microsoft and HP actually created an interface on top of Windows Server 2003 that makes the MacOS interface look complex.
Right now, the HP version of this product is by far the best with redundant drives, low power requirements and extensive expansion capability. It even looks really good.
Evidently it was one of the hottest things Amazon was selling the week of the launch and this is even before a number of in-the-works applications arrive. After the California fires, I'm into anything that keeps our data safer. If you get one, check out a product called "JungleDisk" -- it won second place in a third-party software contest for Windows Home server and will back it up to Amazon S3.

LinkedIn Unchains Platform

Following in the footsteps of Facebook and MySpace , professional network LinkedIn announced on Monday a platform that gives third-party developers access to its application programming interfaces (APIs).
The set of APIs and widgets in LinkedIn's Intelligent Application Platform -- dubbed "InApps," for short -- allows partners to build LinkedIn features into their applications, as well as develop applications that will run within LinkedIn using the OpenSocial development model, the company said.
"The goal of the Intelligent Applications Platform is to help make our users more effective by providing them with access to the intelligence of their professional network both on LinkedIn and on other sites they visit to get work done," said Dan Nye, CEO of LinkedIn. "Our focus is 100 percent professional, so we will be working with select business partners to build high-value, high-productivity applications."
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LinkedIn also announced that it has revamped its home page to showcase new business applications as well as offering a news feed with prefiltered content. The site will be phasing in the new development platform "over the coming months," Lucian Beebe, LinkedIn's director of product management, said in his blog post on the topic. Developers interested in the program can get more information via developers@linkedin.com.
Partner Relationships "It's become clear that there is a very strong need to let LinkedIn users take their network with them as they use the Web to be more productive," Beebe explained. "Most every task we do on the Web could be augmented by including the help, filter, or aggregate knowledge or our professional network."
An application incorporating LinkedIn could, for example, tap into users' profiles, networks, network update feeds and other aspects of their LinkedIn accounts -- with their permission, Beebe said.
LinkedIn's first publishing partner, BusinessWeek, is developing an application that will reside on the BusinessWeek.com Web site. The application will enable readers of BusinessWeek.com to access their professional networks to look up profiles of people and find connections at companies featured in articles on the site.
"We believe our LinkedIn application will strengthen our connection to professionals by enabling them to easily tap into their professional networks while reading BusinessWeek content," said Roger Neal, senior vice president of BusinessWeek Digital. "The ability to have this information will make BusinessWeek's high-quality content more useful and actionable for our users."
Sample Application
The Intelligent Application Platform will also allow developers to create applications for use on the LinkedIn site. A sample application, featured in Google's (Nasdaq: GOOG) OpenSocial announcement in early November, was a conference calendar application that gives users a view of upcoming events and people in their LinkedIn network who are attending upcoming conferences.
Dates are color-coded to indicate how popular each conference is within a user's professional network, and users can see suggestions of people they may want to meet at the conference based on common network connections.
MySpace said in October that it plans to open up to developers, echoing a move made by Facebook in May when it announced the Facebook Platform. LinkedIn currently boasts more than 17 million users.
'The Right Thing to Do'
"I think this is the right thing to do," Karsten Weide, program director for digital media and entertainment with IDC, told TechNewsWorld. "It remains to be seen what kind of business applications will result, but potentially this could be extremely useful."
The announcement also "really shows that there are people who are serious about taking up the challenge of building real business applications on the OpenSocial platform, which is good news for Google," added Andrew Frank, a research vice president with Gartner (NYSE: IT) .
"I think it also shows that there's still plenty of play in the social networking world," Frank told TechNewsWorld.
'One of a Kind'
With its targeting of business professionals, LinkedIn has set itself apart from MySpace and Facebook, Frank added.
"The objectives are clearly different in LinkedIn -- they're going after a different audience and a different set of experiences," he explained.
"There may be people who use multiple services, but it's pretty clear that by maintaining its laser focus on business professional network applications, LinkedIn has carved out a pretty significant niche for itself," Frank said. "LinkedIn is distinct enough that it seems to be a one of a kind for what it offers.

Dialup Monitor ( Free )

Still using a dialup connection at home? my bad experience while using dialup is only at the speed, Its lucky if I connected at 33.00 kbps, I don't in your area could be different. Secondly, sometime s I forgot to turn off (disconnect) the modem, it worse! my monthly cost increased due to Internet connection bill.At the moment I have use GPRS connection wich is cheaper and faster compare to dialup connection. Those, I would like to share you how to prevent from that bad experience.Just use a small free software to control manage your modem, DialupMon can really prove to be a real money saver for you!You specifiy the amount of time before DialupMon will prompt you to disconnect. If you choose to cancel the auto-disconnect then DialupMon will automatically extent your connection time and prompt you again later. If you are not there when this prompt is shown it will disconnect automatically! DialupMon will also show you all the connection information.DialupMon is 100% free and according to the firewall I have used, absolutely clean, therefore it can be installed with no concern by any computer user.

Developer: Skynergy

License: FreewareSize / OS: 556 KB, Windows All

Last Updated: September 20th, 2007, 10:25 GMT

Dialup monitor free download

Free Mobile Messenger

Cheap calls and Text, Free IM!

EQO (pronounced “echo”) is a FREE, easy to use application for your existing mobile phone that lets you place cheap international calls, text messages and instant messages to anywhere in the world. International calling rates start as low as 2.3¢ per minute, international text messages for 10¢, and access to mobile IM services like MSN, AIM, Yahoo!, Google Talk, ICQ, and Jabber is FREE! EQO is remarkably simple to use and does not require a new contract, computer or calling card.It works just like your mobile’s phonebook - simply scroll through your contacts and click to call or send a message. EQO works with your existing phone plan (local minutes and a bit of data) to complete cheap calls and messages at some of the lowest rates in the world. Even better, we don’t charge anything for calls and texts between two EQO users – so you can “call global, pay local”!EQO is a small piece of software we send to your mobile phone by SMS text message, and you download it to your phone for FREE. Simply download EQO to your phone the same way you’d download music or a ringtone — EQO will install itself and in minutes you can start calling and messaging.With EQO’s unique technology, you can also place free mobile-mobile calls and send free text messages to other online EQO users... That’s right -- FREE!EQO works just like your mobile’s phonebook, but with the added features like free instant messaging, and the ability to see which of your contacts are online (presence).No time for a call? No worries! With EQO’s Instant Messaging function, you can now connect to all your favourite IM accounts right from your mobile phone.If you’re interested in reading about the technical explanation of how EQO works (lots of big words and technical terminology), click here

eyeOS review

Sometimes there’s a need for centralized data, something you can reach from anywhere by means of the great network named "Internet" and that is protected by a username and a password. Maybe there’s a set of phone numbers that need to be accessible from anywhere, or a list of websites that need storage somewhere.

eyeOS can be used for such data storage, you can use it, for example, to store information on a computer that is accessible from the Internet, but there are many other uses it can be put to.

What is this so called eyeOS anyway?eyeOS is a set of PHP scripts which make up what can be called a web application. These scripts give you the possibility of having something that is called an operating system which runs in your web browser. Basically, you have an interactive website that represents the desktop, with icons of the "installed applications". As soon as one of these buttons is clicked, a window appears on that desktop; it’s an eyeapp and this window can be moved around just as if it was an ordinary window of an operating system.

eyeOS is a multi user environment and each user can upload and run eyeapps (.eyeapp extension files). This can be a security breach if you have many users, but it is possible to restrict the application uploading section in order to allow access only to the superuser.Installing eyeOS is easy, you just have to upload it to a webserver by using an FTP client and then make small modifications. The entire process is described in the documentation, which can be found on the official website.What eyeapps does this eyeOS provide?eyeBoard is, like the name says, a message board which can be used to post messages. Each user can post messages and others may view them.eyeCalc is, obviously, a calculator, you can use it the same way you would use any other calculator.eyeCalendar is a calendar application that allows the association of a block of text with a certain day of a given month. This can be useful for things such as remembering birthdays and other such things.eyeHome can be used to upload text files, images, links and other such files, which are viewable directly in the web browser.eyeMessages can be used to send messages to other users of the same eyeOS installation.

eyeNav is, basically, a browser within a browser. You can browse the Internet with it. Note that eyeNav uses the bandwidth of the server that hosts eyeOS for you, some web hosting services might not allow such behaviour from the applications that you host on their web servers. You might want to double check before allowing eyeNav to run on a server that is hosted by a third party. eyeNav can be useful if it runs on a server with a different ISP. In case you cannot reach a page from your ISP, you might reach it by using eyeNav on a different hosting server.

eyeOptions can be used to change the eyeOS theme, upload and set a new wallpaper and for changing your password.eyePhones can be used to store contacts, which can have many fields of information for each contact.eyeEdit, which is basically a word processor, can be used to write documents. Perhaps we’ll get to see an export and import option to and from very popular document formats, like those of OpenOffice and so on?eyeInfo provides information about eyeOS, like version number and all the developers, collaborators, etc.More apps (files with the .eyeapp extension) can be downloaded from the Internet and uploaded to eyeOS, depending on your account type. If someone else gave you access to a server that runs eyeOS, you might not be allowed to upload and run your own apps.

The good:eyeOS can be a great way to share information, store various data as text, upload photos, save links and more. It is pretty easy to install, there’s even a miniserver kit that can be used to perform a quick install on a Windows machine (although I personally recommend hosting this application on a web hosting server that runs Linux or another *NIX system, there might be some that might want to do a quick test).

The bad:eyeOS isn’t a complete OS yet, it still doesn’t offer a way of letting users run their own apps without leaving an open door to the operating system. Custom apps can be written to access the filesystem. This is why there should be something like a virtual filesystem. This problem could be solved by running the web server in a chrooted environment, thus reducing the risk of accidentally letting someone in.

The truth:It’s a useful application, you can use it to share photos with relatives that live in a different country, store contacts, do some quick word processing and more. And all of this is accessible from anywhere, as long as you provide eyeOS with the right username and the right password

Article Source: Softpedia

Pocket-size GPS and the $100 barrier

It's like Black Friday, the sequel! In an apparent fit of madness, Tiger Direct is selling the Fujitsu Siemens Pocket Loox N100 GPS for $99.99. Granted, GPS prices have plummeted in recent months, but this is the first one I've seen dip below the $100 mark. Even more shocking, the Pocket Loox sold for $499 when CNET reviewed it earlier this year. This is the kind of deal that makes The Cheapskate all giddy inside.
True to its name, the Pocket Loox is slim enough to slip into a pocket--nice if you're frequently on foot in big cities. However, the package also includes windshield and dashboard mounts for in-car navigation, though you may find the 2.8-inch touchscreen a bit small for viewing comfort. The Loox comes preloaded with maps of the U.S. and Canada, and it can even play MP3s, videos, and photos.
Surely there's a catch? According to CNET's reviewer, the Loox runs like molasses in Michigan (and it's cold here, people). Having used some dog-slow GPS receivers myself, I agree that that can really be frustrating. But if you're willing to overlook the smallish screen and sluggish operation, this is a pretty hard deal to beat.

Free online hard disk space (200 GB)

Hard drive crash, viruses attack. Important documents get lost.To prevent lost of valuable data people will do anything, such as Burn it into a CD or DVD every night, Pay $200/year for an online backup service, Buy a $200 external hard drive, all of that method is cost expensive and is no guarantee about your valuable data.

Mozy.com offering 2GB of 100% free space! No setup fee, no credit cards, no monthly payments, no expiration, absolutely free

!Here is some basic feature:
* Open/locked file support: Mozy will back up your documents whether they're open or closed.
* 128-bit SSL encryption: The same technology used by banks secures your data during the backup process.
* 448-bit Blowfish encryption: Secures your files while in storage, providing peace of mind that your private data is safe from hackers.
* Automatic: Schedule the times to back up and MozyHome does the rest.* New and changed file detection: MozyHome finds and saves the smallest changes.
* Backs up Outlook files: Disaster-proof email protection.
* Block-level incremental backup:

After the initial backup, MozyHome only backs up files that have been added or changed, making subsequent backups lightning fast.To get this free service are very simple:

1. Sign up for an account.Create a MozyHome user account which will allow you to download MozyHome software. Its quick, easy and our step-by-step instructions will guide you through the process.

2. Download and install software.MozyHome downloads in just seconds, and the installation is simple and fast.

3. Select files to be backed up.Simply check the boxes next to the backup sets, or types of files you want to back up, and MozyHome does the rest. In addition to selecting files by backup sets, you also have the option of selecting specific files and directories

.Click here to see more detail at the official website.

Article Source: newsonit blog

Best software for malware removal

Still got malware in your computer? Even you already install and keep update your Antivirus software? Why don't try the Free Malware removal tools named "hazard Shield"I just found this Free tools and test it yesterday, its look like greats! as mentioned on the site claimed does NOT come bundled with any adware, perhabs someone could test and prove it.Hazard Shield is a fast, reliable antimalware program that checks for viruses, spyware adware, malware, trojans, dialers, hijackers, backdoors, worms and much more. Hazard Shield includes realtime protection that will locate and remove malware before it can harm your computer.Hazard Shield also comes with some useful intergrated tools. The most popular is the file killer. Hazard Shield's file killer can remove virtually any file on your system. Its very useful for removing locked or in-use files. Several other tools include an uninstall manager, a process manager and a scheduled task manager.the benefit and feature is:Scanning for both local and network drivesSuperior realtime protection without slowdownsFast database and program updates100% free, no license or registration required

Requirements:.NET framework 2.0

Developer: Orbitech

License: FreewareSize / OS: 332 KB, Windows XP/VistaLast Updated: November 27th, 2007, 09:19 GMT

Download

location : click here to download

Spysweeper Vs spybot ????

Review # 1
They shouldn't conflict. Both are good products. One thing to remember is that no product is 100% foolproof. One may find items that they other misses. Keep both, just don't run scans with them at the same time as they will compete for resources.

Review # 2
They shouldn't conflict. Both are good products. One thing to remember is that no product is 100% foolproof. One may find items that they other misses. Keep both, just don't run scans with them at the same time as they will compete for resources

Review # 3
Yes - both work well together but it wouldn't be wise to rely on Spybot however fond of this application you may be. Webroot has invested a lot of time, money and expertise in developing Spysweeper and it is consistently one of the best rated antispyware products because it relies on an actively updated data base. Added to this, it can sweep for rootkits. There shouldn't be any conflicts - I have been running both for over two years without a problem

Review # 4
Try installing SpywareTerminator from spywareterminator.comits very good and effective tool, which is also free.

Personal Opinion:
My vote in favour of spywareterminator. as any of spy removal software not functioning perfectly but spywaretermintor has edge on SPY bot !!!!!!


Note: The above reviews quoted from yahoo.com, CNet Review, Tech Republic