Microsoft will issue one bulletin on Patch Tuesday next week that is rated "critical" for Windows 2000.

The patch is designed to address a vulnerability that could allow an attacker to take control of a computer by remotely executing code on it, according to an advisory released Thursday. It is rated "low" severity for Windows 7, Vista, XP, Server 2003, and Server 2008 operating systems.

Meanwhile, Adobe Systems is scheduled to release a patch for a vulnerability in Adobe Reader and Acrobat on Tuesday that was discovered in mid-December and which is being exploited by attacks in the wild to deliver Trojan horse programs that install backdoor access on computers.

Adobe will also be releasing a beta test version of a new automatic updater for Reader and Acrobat on Tuesday, according to ZDNet, sister publication of CNET. The move is welcome, given that Reader was found to be one of the buggiest programs in 2009.

Originally posted at InSecurity Complex

DataViz and Quickoffice have long been racing for the glory of creating the most advanced office suite for iPhone. Their products, Documents To Go and Quickoffice Mobile Suite, have leapfrogged one another as they developed. This time, Documents To Go Premium pulls into the lead with version 3.0 of the $14.99 app that is now capable of creating and editing PowerPoint presentations, and opening Gmail attachments. (There's a simpler version of Documents To Go, without these features, for $9.99.)

As part of its update, Documents To Go Premium 3.0, previously known as Documents To Go with Exchange Attachments, now lets you create and edit PowerPoint presentations instead of just read them. Three simple templates for basic, casual, and corporate slides get you going on creating new presentations. You can add bullet points, speaker notes, and manage slides from a sliding navigation ribbon at the bottom of the screen.

Navigation took some getting used to, and could be more intuitive. Presentations were also graphically limited. With few colors and themes and no capability to add graphics or transitions, this initial stab at PowerPoint creation is best suited for textual edits of existing presentations and for creating concept presentations, not for generating full-blown PowerPoints.

As before, Documents To Go Premium accesses your e-mail attachments, but now gives you the option of viewing attachments from Gmail instead of from just Microsoft Exchange. You'll need to set up an account and open either Exchange or Gmail e-mail--but not both--through the app instead of through the iPhone's default in-box. The publisher, DataViz, provides setup instructions here.

While Quickoffice Mobile Suite costs $5 less than Documents To Go Premium, it does not currently create or edit PowerPoint presentations. Users of the $10 version of Documents To Go will soon be able to upgrade to the Premium version through in-app purchasing, after Docs To Go's next update.

Originally posted at iPhone Atlas

Boxee.tv has upgraded its much-discussed software to public beta, and it can be downloaded now for Windows, Mac, and Linux. The Boxee software, which requires a physical cable connection from your computer to your television, allows users to access local and streaming media using their TV and its remote control.

Boxee uses a combination of apps, RSS feeds, and an in-program browser to make most--but not all--streaming media available to its users. In addition, the program supports content that you've stored on your hard drive, including photos, music, and videos. Boxee works with most major file formats, including OGG and MKV. There's a socializing aspect, so that you can comment on and share what you're watching with your friends, and it hooks into your Facebook and Twitter feeds, too.

The new public beta of Boxee doesn't offer much that's different from the private beta, besides now being open to all. It's not clear how many bugs were fixed in the month since the private beta was announced in December 2009, although in a blog post Boxee states that "hundreds of bugs have been opened." The company also states that it plans to announce the full stable version at CES 2011.

There's now a Boxee bookmarklet, which allows you to mark specific videos to watch later via Boxee. It's currently limited to a handful of sites, including Vimeo, Blip.tv, YouTube, Break, Metacafe, Viddler, The Onion, CollegeHumor, DailyMotion, HowCast, MTV, FunnyorDie, and Gametrailers. To place it on your toolbar, drag this link there.

Another change is that Boxee will now work on 64-bit Ubuntu, in addition to x86 versions. Boxee will work on 32-bit Windows XP, both x86 and x64 versions of Windows Vista and Windows 7, and Intel-based Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger and higher. There's no official support for Apple TV yet, although it is planned. For now, there's a workaround hack.

Disclosure: Boxee uses some show and community information from TV.com, a CBS Interactive property.

Since there's no such thing as too many music apps, Thumbplay has announced at CES its plan to turn its song and ringtone e-store into a downloadable, cloud-based, on-demand music player for desktops and smartphones.

Thumbplay Music launches on Thursday as an invitation-only beta for Windows, Mac, and select BlackBerry smartphones. A single Adobe AIR app will run Thumbplay Music on Windows and Mac. At launch, the app supports BlackBerry Tour (9630), Bold (9000), and Curve (8900) phones. Compatibility with a greater number of BlackBerry models, and apps for iPhone and Android, are next on Thumbplay's road map.

Thumbplay is modeling its nascent app on a subscription service that touts unlimited on-demand playback for artists and albums, a search feature, favorites that can synchronize between the smartphone and desktop app, and an offline playback mode. Thumbplay Music also supports iTunes playlists and playlists of your own creation on both the desktop and phone versions. A music discovery element similar to Pandora additionally seeks out tunes based on songs you already like.

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Already an online presence, Thumbplay's repertoire includes songs from Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, EMI Music, and independent labels like CD Baby, INgrooves, and IODA.

Although the apps themselves are free, Thumbplay will adopt a subscription-based pricing model for the service once the apps become generally available in early 2010. After a free, three-day trial, the on-demand music service will cost $9.99 per month. The private beta, however, lets you try it out now for free. You can sign up on the Thumbplay Music site.

Originally posted at 2010 CES

A bug in Facebook's software appeared late Tuesday that caused some iPhone apps using the service to crash instantly, according to developers that spoke with CNET.

The bug was originally thought to be with Facebook's application programming interface, which enabled developers to publish feed stories into their apps. Facebook reminded developers on Monday that the old APIs would be turned off on Tuesday, a plan that had been in the works since last October.

Chris Diskin of Nodconcept, makers of Emoti (iTunes Link), an iPhone app that enables users to post status messages on Facebook with custom emoticons, said his app stopped working on Tuesday afternoon, after the old APIs were supposed to be turned off. However, Facebook representatives later said a bug in the software, not the company's APIs, caused the issue.

The bug didn't affect all apps, and perhaps not even all apps in the same way. For instance, Emoti users that purchased the app and logged into Facebook before Tuesday afternoon were able to use the app just fine. Those that purchased the app after midafternoon on Tuesday found that the app crashed immediately.

Within hours of being alerted to the problem, Facebook engineers tracked down the problem and fixed it.

Diskin confirmed for CNET late Wednesday that Emoti was working again.

Originally posted at Webware

While Google Voice and Skype get most of the VoIP attention because they're, well, Google and Skype, VoxOx appears committed to making them work for their reputations. Announced in Las Vegas for CES, VoxOx's Personal Assistant 2 is the latest update to the sub-features that provide inbound call management as part of the full VoxOx program.

From Southern California-based TelCentris, VoxOx for Windows and Mac is a free desktop multi-protocol program that supports standard instant messaging, social networking, and Voice over Internet Protocol. The upgraded Personal Assistant features focus on remote access, and that's really the killer feature here. Once you set it up on your desktop, you can use it on both smartphones and standard cell phones, which are far more prevalent than their apped-up cousins.

New features in the Personal Assistant 2 let you check voicemail, initiate a regular call or outbound conference calls of up to 20 people, and manage "Find Me" settings so that, for example, your wife can always reach your phone, but your boss can't--or vice versa. Other new features include remotely changing SMS callback settings--useful when traveling internationally, accessing Google 411, and performing callbacks. If you don't have Internet access while traveling, you can now make only one long-distance call to access the Personal Assistant and change your temporary number.

Personal Assistant 2 isn't all business. The new "soundboard" feature allows users to save audio clips and play them on the fly--think canned laughter or PC error messages, but user-initiated.

There are many similarities between Google Voice and VoxOx's older Personal Assistant features, but some that Google Voice doesn't offer include international call forwarding, hold music, caller-specific ringtones, live voicemail checking, DeadEnd for politely managing repeat callers you don't want to deal with, and fax receipt.

The Personal Assistant can also answer calls with a customized greeting in a male or female voice. Google Voice doesn't offer gender customization, but it can set the greeting remotely, which VoxOx still can't do. Like standard voicemail, the Personal Assistant is secured behind a PIN. Users can take advantage of the free number that VoxOx gives them, or keep their current number.

A free iPhone app is currently waiting approval from Apple's App Store, while Android and Palm Pre-based apps are currently being developed, according to Erik Bratt, Vice President of Corporate Communications at TelCentris. Transcription features similar to those that Google Voice offers are also planned for later this year.

VoxOx's previous stability problems and system downtime from when it first launched at the end of 2008 weren't an issue when the overall program updated to version 2 in the summer and launched the Personal Assistant, but I haven't been able to test the new features yet so it's unclear yet if those concerns have returned.

Originally posted at 2010 CES

Pretty soon, some BlackBerry users will get to put away their key fobs and begin powering on their cars using only the smartphone.

Directed Electronics' Viper SmartStart app for BlackBerry will give drivers remote power to lock and unlock the car, pop the trunk, trigger the panic siren, and yes, start that engine from afar. We're also hoping that like the iPhone version, Viper SmartStart for BlackBerry will be able to control multiple vehicles and add in layers of security so that would-be smartphone thieves don't get a free car in the process.

While the Viper app will be free from BlackBerry App World (and likely from the Viper site as well,) getting any hardware you don't have will run you between $300 and $500 smackeroos.

If you've got a compatible Viper remote start system already in place, the VSM100 Viper SmartStart upgrade module or the equivalent DSM100 Directed SmartStart module will set you back $299. If these names fail to ring a bell, you'll be looking at acquiring a remote start system from Viper, Clifford, or Python to talk to the app. Viper's SmartStart System (VSS4000), which is fully compatible with the app, lists for $499. The bloodletting doesn't stop there. If the terms from the iPhone app hold with BlackBerry, you'll also need an active subscription to Viper's Smart Start service, which goes for $29.99 after the first free year.

Since Viper SmartStart comes at a hefty price and requires much professionally-installed hardware, it's a safe assumption that the SmartStart app won't make its way onto most US residents' lists of must-have apps. However, the luxury of starting, pinging, or unlocking your car from anywhere in the country has its benefits--getting the car going without you having to brave the elements, popping the trunk while you're at work to let a family member retrieve an item, readying your getaway car.

Still, for the up-front and ongoing price, we'd like to see even more remote controls, such as cranking on the heat or air conditioning, waking up the radio, and defogging the glass.

Related: OnStar mobile app puts the Chevy Volt in your pocket

Originally posted at 2010 CES