What Old Software Do You Still Use?

Software moves on at a break-neck pace these days--version numbers clock up ever quicker as vendors try to market their apps as the latest and greatest. Software generally ages badly, falling into a state of looking grossly out of date, lacking new functionality that we've come to depend upon as well as compatibility problems. Dear OSNews readers, what old software (5+ years) do you still use, why, and what problems do you come across in sticking with it? Read More for my own contribution to the list

Episode 14: Fleeing the Torches and Pitchforks

Every week we have the creeping feeling that our lack of expertise in some areas is working against us and soon we are to be set upon by an amassed army of geeks armed with 'torches and pitchforks' for forgetting a fact here and a name there and confusing x86-64 with ia64. This week we can't avoid the ignorance as we have to discuss Android and Windows CE on netbooks, Opera Unite and then wade through Microsoft's "Get the Facts" campaign, but find sanctuary in something I do know a good deal about - HTML5 video.

Browsers, Browsers, ARM

We've had an interesting week, with lots of news on web browsers, phones, and ARM netbooks. For instance, Opera launched Unite, Microsoft started a "Get the facts" campaign for Internet Explorer 8, NVIDIA talked about Windows CE, and much, much more.

EU Admits ICANN Is Doing Fine, But Wants Change Anyway

The relationship between the United States government and ICANN, the private non-profit corporation which oversees the assignment of domain names, has often been a thorn in the eyes of the European Union. A recent document issued by the European Commission again advocates a change in internet oversight - but at the same time, the document also states that ICANN has actually been doing a pretty good job.

Open Letter to Mozilla Regarding Their Use of HTML5 Video

We're on the verge of a serious evolution on the web. Right now, the common way to include video on the web is by use of Flash, a closed-source technology that is a massive resource hog. The answer is the HTML5 video tag, which allows you to embed video into HTML pages without the use of Flash or any other non-HTML technology; combined with open video codecs, this could provide the perfect opportunity to further open up and standardise the web. Sadly, not even Mozilla itself really seems to understand what it is supposed to do with the video tag, and actually advocates the use of JavaScript to implement it. Kroc Camen, OSNews editor, is very involved in making/keeping the web open, and has written an open letter to Mozilla in which he urges them to not use JavaScript for HTML video. Note that Kroc's website may not work properly in Internet Explorer. (Update The letter has been mirrored in the article, Read More for the full text)

Microsoft Announces Free Antivirus, Limited Public Beta

"Microsoft today officially announced Microsoft Security Essentials, its free, real-time consumer antimalware solution for fighting viruses, spyware, rootkits, and trojans. Currently being tested by Microsoft employees and a select few testers, MSE is Microsoft's latest offering intended to help users fight the threats that plague Windows PCs. Microsoft notes that the threat ecosystem has expanded to include rogue security software, auto-run malware, fake or pirated software and content, as well as banking malware, and the company is aiming to help the users who are not well protected. A beta of MSE will be available in English and Brazilian Portuguese for public download on June 23, 2009 for the first 75,000 users. This is a target number, but Microsoft is willing to increase it if necessary."

Samurai-x 0.2 Released

"samurai-x is a highly modular and configurable, next generation framework window manager for X. It is written in pure python utilising ctypes. samurai-x is targeted at people wishing to experiment with desktop programming and people who want more control over their desktop (without having to code in C)." Version 0.2 has been released recently.

Palm Pre: Hacker Friendly

The Palm pre has been out and about for a while now, so stories and items about what it can do are popping up all over the place. One thing is becoming quite clear already: the Pre and its WebOS are quite hacker-friendly, and hackers have already found all sorts of ways to extend the device's functionality.

Amazon Kindle Powered by Linux, FSF Not Impressed

"As my colleague Michelle Menga is reporting, Amazon is now making new source code available for its Amazon Kindle. Basically what it represents is, Amazon's responsibility to make the GPL licenced source code that is used in the Kindle available to others. That's part of the GPL license and Amazon is doing its part. Digging into the code that Amazon is now making available, provides some really interesting insight into the underlying structure of the Kindle."

‘Botnet Trading Platform for Hacked PCs’

Finjan managed to research a trading network and botnet, where compromised PCs are bought and sold for profit. Their report shows "the operations of the Golden Cash network consisting of an entire trading platform of malware-infested PCs. The trading platform utilizes all necessary components (buyer side, seller side, attack toolkit, and distribution via 'partners'). This advanced trading platform marks a new milestone in the cybercrime evolution. By turning compromised PCs from a one-time source of profit into a digital asset that can be bought and sold again and again, cybercriminals are maximizing their illegal gains."