Section: Computers, Software / Applications  On Monday, Microsoft yanked almost every version of Office from its online store in order to comply with a court order. In August the company lost a patent infringement lawsuit brought against it by Canadian software company i4i Inc and was ordered to stop selling the popular office suite until the custom XML that constituted a violation of i4i's patent and pay them almost $300 million in damages.
align=“right”“We’ve taken steps to comply with the court’s ruling and we’re introducing the revised software into the U.S. market,” said Michael Croan, a senior marketing manager, in an e-mail. He also downplayed the move. “This process will be imperceptible to the vast majority of customers, who will find both trial and purchase options readily available,” he added. The only version of MS Office left for sale is Office Ultimate 2007, which sells for $670, meaning it may very well cost more than some of the computers that it gets installed on. Microsoft says updated versions of the other Office products with the offending code removed will soon be returned to their store. Meanwhile Office 2007 and Office 2008 for Mac are still available in retail stores, and the beta of Office 2010 is available for download. Microsoft has also made updates available for MS Office 2003 and 2007 but says they only need to be installed if you have been previously contacted by them and told you need to do so. I use Office 2003 and haven't been contacted by Microsoft, so I guess I'm in the clear. Have you been contacted and told you need to install the updates? Read [PCWorld] Full Story » | Written by Sue Walsh for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Web, Web 2.0 / Social Networking  An interview with an anonymous Facebook employee is flying around the web and burning up Twitter, but is the info discussed really anything surprising? The employee revealed that the company records everything their users post, upload and view, and that their data is kept even if they delete it. That's not exactly a secret-Facebook uses the information for the Suggestions area, to serve relevant ads, and to provide such services as letting you know when your friends have birthdays coming up.
The other revelations in the interview might be a bit more unsettling to some. The employee said that until recently a master password existed that allowed employees to log into any account. That practice was done away with in what they called a "crack down" and now any employee who logs into a user account must explain why it was necessary. The employee, who was not identified for fear of losing her job, also said all messages sent on the site are easily accessed by employees. Now judging from the sheer volume of messages sent on the site each day it's pretty doubtful Facebook employees are sitting back and reading them all. It's more likely inbox messages are saved and archived for e-discovery and compliance reasons-that is, if Facebook is ever subpoenaed on behalf of one of it's users, it will be able to produce what is requested. Still, it's a good reminder that for privacy and other reasons, you shouldn't post anything on Facebook or online in general that you wouldn't want to see on the front page of the New York Times! Read [PCWorld] Full Story » | Written by Sue Walsh for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Peripherals, Storage Samsung recently announced 2 new memory products, the 64GB flash moviNAND and a 32GB microSD card. These high capacity storage may be among the first few to be released to the market! Apple is known to utilize Samsung products for its memory solutions, such as the built-in flash NAND memory. With this new advancement from Samsung, we may very well expect much bigger capacities in the iPhone, as well as in other mobile devices. Devices using microSD, such as the Nexus One, can expect a memory upgrade of up to 32GB using Samsung’s 32GB microSD. The 64GB flash moviNAND has been in production since December 2009, therefore it is reasonable to expect it to be released in the first half of 2010, or with a little luck, in the first quarter! Press Release [EON] Via [Gizmodo] Full Story » | Written by Cheng Hung for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
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