John Lister

Microsoft sources have confirmed that the online edition of Microsoft Office, dubbed "Office 365," will officially launch June 28, 2011. The software package is designed to rival online services such as Google Apps. The cost of using the service is ... rumored to be $72 per year for basic access, with a more featured business package at a currently unconfirmed higher price. (Source: thetechherald.com ) Cheaper Microsoft Office, Automatic Updates To put that into context, the most basic version of Office (Home and Student) currently retails for $149.99 while a Home and Business Package ( ... (view more)

The United States government has offered help after defense contractor Lockheed-Martin suffered a "tenacious" cyber-attack. It appears to be linked to problems with a system used for authorizing access from external locations. Lockheed-Martin, which ... is the leading supplier of IT services to the government, says the attack was the latest in a line of frequent attempts to breach its security, which certainly makes sense given the confidential nature of some of the material it handles. But it has described the latest attack as "significant." As a result, the company has reset all user passwords ... (view more)

Alaska Airlines will soon issue its pilots with iPads as a replacement for paper documentation. The main reason for the switch is that the 1.5 pound iPad is lighter. Compared to flight manuals that are roughly 25 pounds, the iPad 2 offers a ... significant savings in weight. Often the paper bundles are so large that it must be carried in a special bag. Among the documents are manuals for specific flights and the systems used on particular aircraft. There are also documents about the procedures that flight crew must follow during a flight. Heft Printing Costs Wiped Out Although buying the iPads ... (view more)

On Thursday, Microsoft gave its first major public demonstration of Windows 8, and showed how it would be used to bridge the gap between PCs and mobile devices. To the surprise of many guests attending the event, Microsoft says that the new ... operating system's hardware requirements will actually be less than the requirements to run Windows 7. Windows 8 Optimized for Varying Screen Sizes and Processors Microsoft recently confirmed that Windows 8 would run on the ARM processor : a low-powered CPU (central processing unit) commonly used on mobile devices such as tablets, and mobile phones. In ... (view more)

There's a new malware attack on Facebook and it's significant for multiple reasons. This attack in particular spreads through bogus links, and it appears to change form in line with news events. While there have been several similar scams in the ... past, they've usually involved tricking users into handing over personal data or outright hijacking accounts. Malicious Drive-by Downloads Initiated on Click The new Facebook attacks tricks users into clicking on a link to a supposed online video. Once the link has been clicked, a Trojan virus is automatically downloaded to the users' computer without ... (view more)

A proposed new law under debate in the California senate would make drastic changes to the way social networks handle user privacy. It would mean sites like Facebook would have to maximize their privacy settings as a default. Under the proposals, ... social networking sites would have to allow users to set privacy levels at the time of registration, explaining the various options "in plain language." This would have to include a clear explanation of exactly which categories of people and businesses would be able to see information. (Source: ca.gov ) Full Control Over Information By default, a new ... (view more)

Verizon Wireless has announced the first Windows Phone 7 handset available on its network. Microsoft hopes it will help overturn disappointing sales that have left the mobile platform well behind its competitors in popularity. Windows Phone 7 on HTC ... Trophy 7 The new handset is the HTC Trophy 7, which will retail for $150 if buyers take advantage of a rebate and sign up to a two-year service deal. That's notably lower than the $200 that most top-end smartphones go for under such conditions. One of the big selling points is that the phone is compatible with the Xbox 360 gaming system. A select ... (view more)

It's rumored that Windows 8 may be released in special editions suitable for devices like smartphones and iPad-like tablets. The buzz has caused concern at Intel, whose products are at the heart of most traditional Windows computers. The change ... involves the processor's instruction set architecture, which is at the very core of a computer. As a very loose analogy, the difference between rival instruction set architectures is as fundamental as the difference between organizing words alphabetically in a dictionary and organizing them by meaning in a thesaurus. Most Windows PCs use Intel x86 Most ... (view more)

A company that rents both furniture and PCs has been accused of spying on its customers. A lawsuit alleges Aaron's Inc remotely accessed a spy camera on a PC to take a shot of a customer using it. No Disclosure of Spy Software The claims arose in a ... case involving a customer who had taken a computer from Aaron's Inc on a rent-to-own agreement. That allows a customer to pay a monthly fee for a set period: after this period they own it outright, but before then they can also simply return it and stop paying. In the case of customer Brian Byrd, Aaron's believed he had stopped paying (which ... (view more)

The man who co-founded Google believes that just one in five of the company's employees still use Windows. Sergey Brin also described Windows as a fundamentally flawed operating system. Brin was promoting Chromebooks, the first range of machines ... that will ship with Google's Chrome operating system built-in. The system works on the basis that the user is always online, and is effectively a glorified version of the Chrome web browser with built-in links to online applications such as Google Docs. The theory is that the majority of computer users spend most of their computing time using their ... (view more)