We caught wind of a refresh to the Cerulean Studios' Trillian all-in-one IM app a month ago, and starting Monday, the refurbished Trillian 5 beta for Windows is open to all.

As promised, Trillian 5 beta now integrates with LinkedIn and Foursquare social networking services (access this from the handy accounts ribbon on the buddy list), and it improves the behavior of Facebook and Twitter feeds. Foursquare users on Windows 7 computers will be able to check-in from Trillian 5 beta thanks to Windows 7's GPS support. In addition to reading feeds, you're able to set your status as well.

Using the social feeds wasn't as intuitive as we would have liked. You have to hover the cursor over the account listing and select the "pin" option from the context menu to get your feed to appear in the buddy list. You'll need to choose "share a message" to update your status.

We like being able to reorder the icons around the account ribbon on the top of the buddy list.

Trillian 5 sports a completely refashioned interface, from the buddy list to the chat windows, though some changes are subtle. You're now able to optionally disable toolbars to keep Trillian even lighter and leaner, and differentially resize separate areas of the buddy list. A "simple" view strips away avatars and friends' status updates to give you a condensed view of the buddy list. There's also a no-skin option for Windows Vista and Windows 7 users who choose the native glass border instead of either of the two of Trillian 5's skinning options (we vastly prefer Cobalt over Cordonata on Windows XP).

Though Trillian still took a fair amount of time to install, exiting and restarting the instant messaging client felt faster than previous builds, as promised. The company has also made efforts to streamline its registration process.

There is one more beta feature we'll all have to be patient to try out. Synchronizing chat history through your account so you can view it on any Trillian installation is one of the more-major features we anticipated. That one will appear in a subsequent beta build, along with a black theme, we're told.

Though we're saving our full judgment for the final release, we will say that this iteration is looking pretty good so far, minus a few usability quirks.

As planned, Microsoft released a fix on Monday for a critical Windows vulnerability that was being exploited by a fast-spreading virus and other malware.

The software patch fixes the way Windows Shell handles shortcut files, which are links to a file represented by an icon and implemented with the .lnk extension. Attackers exploiting the hole could take complete control of the computer, the security advisory said.

An attacker could disseminate a USB or other removable drive with a malicious shortcut file on it and when the target victim opens the drive in Windows Explorer or any other application that parses the icon of the shortcut, the malicious code would execute on the victim's computer. An attacker could also embed malware in a malicious Web site, a remote network share, or in a Microsoft Word document, Microsoft said.

Originally, the Windows flaw was used to spread the Stuxnet worm via USB drives and it was stealing information from systems running Siemens software used in critical infrastructure companies. Late last week, Microsoft issued a blog post that said there were copycat attacks exploiting the hole, including one involving the Sality.AT virus, which was spreading fast.

The situation was serious enough to prompt Microsoft to release an "out of band" patch instead of wait a week to fix the hole with its next scheduled Patch Tuesday security update, on August 10.

"Symantec is aware of multiple threats leveraging the vulnerability, and attempted exploitations have steadily increased since the security hole first came to light," said Ben Greenbaum, senior research manager for Symantec Security Response. "One such threat is a new variant of Changeup," a highly destructive threat.

The hole affects all versions of Windows including Windows 2000 and Windows XP service pack 2, which are not supported by Microsoft anymore. Customers using those versions need to upgrade to be protected from the attacks.

"So far, most of the exploits using this vulnerability have been targeting SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) systems, and these systems typically run on older operating system versions. These older systems are not being patched today," said Andrew Storms, director of security operations for nCircle. "Utility companies that know they cannot upgrade are fully aware their systems contain a public vulnerability that is being exploited. Utility companies and SCADA vendors are probably scrambling to find a resolution to this problem as quickly as possible."

Originally posted at InSecurity Complex

A few months back I told you about five amazing iPad e-books for kids, noting that Apple's tablet is arguably the single best platform for reading (and, thanks to various interactive features, experiencing) children's books.

App developers and book publishers seem to agree, as the App Store is now home to dozens, if not hundreds, of kid-friendly e-books.

Here's a look at five more (seven if you count the Seuss stuff) that are sure to please wee readers and parents alike.

1. Aesop's Fables Audiobook  No children's book collection is complete without Aesop's Fables. This app serves up 20 tales, all of them showcased in a spinning wheel that adds a bit of tactile fun to the story-selection process. It also has spot-the-difference games that get unlocked as you read, and an option for parents to record their own voices for kids to listen to in place of the prerecorded voice. The app's on sale for $6.99 until August 5, when it goes up to $8.99.

2. More Dr. Seuss  Oceanhouse Media continues to crank out terrific Seuss classics, all of them optimized and enhanced for the iPad. The latest releases include "Green Eggs and Ham" ($3.99), "Gertrude McFuzz" ($1.99), and--yay!--"Yertle the Turtle" ($3.99). If only my kids weren't on the verge of outgrowing these! Hmm, maybe I should have one more...

3. "The Little Mermaid"  Not the Disney version, but the classic Hans Christian Anderson tale, here brought to life with animated, interactive elements reminiscent of the now-classic "Alice for iPad." Beautifully illustrated and thoroughly engaging, the $8.99 app also includes "The Emperor's New Clothes" and "The Happy Family."

4. "Toy Story 3 Read-Along"  Disney's first two "Toy Story" titles were absolutely dazzling--and huge hits in my house. Book three ($8.99), based on the eponymous new movie, is no different, offering animated pages, tap-to-play sound effects, minigames, coloring pages, and more. Definitely a must-have for "Toy Story" fans. And if you haven't already grabbed it, the original "Toy Story Read-Along" is still free.

5. "Violet"  Much as I love the classics, it's nice to see something modern and new. "Violet" ($2.99) is an original story about a girl with a secret identity and a love of experiments. The illustrations are on par with any you'd find in a published book--and at least some of the pages are animated or interactive. Great stuff.

What do you think of the iPad as a children's e-book reader? Have you found any other titles worth mentioning? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Originally posted at iPad Atlas

What do you do when your Hulu and Netflix streaming iPhone app remains in Apple's App Store purgatory a little too long? You do just what Steve Jobs encouraged developers to do before there was even an App Store--you make your app in Safari instead.

That's just what PlayOn has done. As per a report in VentureBeat, PlayOn had a plan B for getting its video-streaming service into the hands of iPhone and iPod Touch owners, and has created an HTML5-powered Web app that can stream that content from a connected computer running the PlayOn software client.

The Web app works with both Hulu and Netflix, the latter of which will become less important when Netflix releases an iPhone version of its popular iPad app, which was promised as coming "this summer." On the Hulu side, however, is where things get interesting. Hulu has a universal app that runs on the iPhone and iPad, but viewing anything outside of some preview content requires an active subscription to the currently private beta Hulu Plus service. Using PlayOn, users can watch every piece of content they'd be able to get for free from a Hulu-approved desktop browser.

Like we mentioned when we got a first look at PlayOn's still unreleased iPhone app last month, the company's service is not free. Users can nab a 15-day free trial, followed either by a year for $39.99 and $19.99 for every year after, or a one-time payment of $79.99. It also requires that users have an Internet-connected computer handy for actually accessing the content.

Originally posted at Web Crawler

Efforts to build Microsoft's Internet Explorer 8 with more robust privacy settings were reportedly stifled by the needs of online advertisers to track user activity, according to a story in Monday's Wall Street Journal.

In designing the browser in early 2008, IE8's development team, led by manager Dean Hachamovitch, wanted to implement new privacy features that would limit third parties from easily tracking mouse clicks and other user activity, according to the Journal. The effort was seen as an attempt to distinguish Internet Explorer from up-and-coming rivals like Firefox, which had gradually been grabbing more of IE's market share.

But the best laid plans of the IE team quickly ran into a brick wall. Executives at Microsoft's ad business argued that the tighter privacy would hinder the tracking needed for online advertising at a time when the company was ramping up to sell online ads after its $6 billion purchase of Web ad vendor Aquantive.

Debate raged within the Redmond offices between both sides, eventually pulling in outside advertising and publishing groups concerned about their online business. But in the end, the online advertising argument proved stronger, leading to a watered-down version of the privacy settings that IE's developers originally wanted, the Journal said.

Instead, IE8 now simply offers a setting called InPrivate Filtering, which users can tweak to manually turn off blocking for specific Web sites. InPrivate Filtering must also be activated each time the browser is launched.

Another feature called InPrivate Subscriptions, which would have automatically prevented tracking from Web sites on certain "black lists," was dropped entirely, according to the Journal. This feature was announced by the IE team in a blog post on IE8's new privacy settings and even appeared in the beta. But it was ultimately jettisoned by the time the final version of the browser was released.

Though the debate apparently was hot and heavy, Microsoft insiders painted the solution as positive. The Journal quoted Microsoft's Chief Privacy Strategist Peter Cullen who expressed his belief that the feedback of the outside ad groups helped the company better balance the needs for both privacy and advertising. The browser "was a better product than when it came off the drawing-room floor of the Internet Explorer group," according to Cullen.

In a Sunday night blog post, Hachamovitch weighed in on the ongoing issue of online privacy and tracking, trying to explain the balancing act between the two.

"Part of what makes online privacy tricky is that browsing the web is fundamentally an information exchange," wrote Hachamovitch. "Your web browser offers information in order to get information. That information can identify you. Often, that information is sent automatically for your convenience (like the languages you prefer to read) to tailor the content for you...Because some of the technologies that can be used for tracking are also essential today for basic functionality, there is no 'Just give me perfect privacy' feature."

Update 9:47 a.m. PDT: Responding to a request for comment, a Microsoft spokesperson said: "People want online services that are personalized to meet their needs and assurance that their privacy will be protected. Microsoft designed Internet Explorer 8 to offer people a variety of privacy protections. Recently the advocacy group Center for Democracy and Technology conducted a browser comparison study (PDF) which demonstrates the strength of the protections provided by IE8."

Originally posted at News - Microsoft

After years of losing ground to Firefox and other rivals, Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser posted its second consecutive monthly gain in share, according to a market researcher.

For July, Internet Explorer snagged 60.74 percent market share, according to Netmarketshare. That's up from 60.32 percent share in June and up nearly a full percentage point since May, when the company saw its market share dip below 60 percent.

"Last month, we saw coverage about Internet Explorer posting a worldwide gain in usage share," Microsoft's Ryan Gavin said in a blog post. "That encouraging news continues today...Most interesting is the fact that Internet Explorer 8 continues to be the fastest growing browser with a 0.98 percent increase worldwide in July--and now represents more than 30 percent of browser usage worldwide. In the U.S., Internet Explorer 8 picked up share for the third month in a row."

Microsoft has been heavily promoting its browser, including with a new TV ad campaign. The company has also benefited from strong sales of Windows 7.

However, Apple's Safari also hit a new milestone, accounting for more than 5 percent market share for the first time, up from 4.85 percent in June.

Both Mozilla's Firefox and Google's Chrome lost a bit of share in July, marking the first time in recent memory that Google's browser failed to gain share. Mozilla accounted for 22.91 percent of Internet usage, down from 23.81 percent a month earlier, while Chrome dropped ever so slightly to 7.24 percent, down from 7.16 percent a month earlier.

Separately, Netmarketshare also found that usage of Windows 7 passed Windows Vista for the first time, though Windows XP continues to be used more than twice as much as both Vista and Windows 7 combined.

Originally posted at Beyond Binary

In less than a year on the market, Windows 7 is now being used more than predecessor Windows Vista, according to market researcher Netmarketshare.

For July, Windows 7 was used on 14.46 percent of devices accessing the Internet, compared with Windows Vista's 14.34 percent, marking the first time the newer version surpassed its predecessor. Microsoft has said that 175 million copies of Windows 7 have been purchased since the product was released last fall.

Windows XP is still the most-used operating system, used by more than twice as many users as Vista and Windows 7 combined. Windows XP was used by nearly 62 percent of devices accessing the Web.

As for other devices, Macs accounted for about 5 percent of Internet usage, with the iPhone, Linux, and Java-based devices accounting for less than a percentage point of market share apiece.

Usage of Windows 7 has been growing quickly since its release. Within a month on the market, Windows 7 was being used by 4 percent of Net-accessing devices, a level it took Vista seven months to reach. Windows 7 topped 10 percent usage by March.

Netmarketshare also found that Internet Explorer use gained for a second consecutive month after many, many months of declines. IE gained 0.42 percent market share, topping 60 percent usage for the second month in a row after dropping below that level for May.

Originally posted at Beyond Binary

Microsoft on Monday announced pricing and availability for its Office for Mac 2011 software suite.

The version of the Office suite for users of Apple's Mac computers is scheduled for release via retail outlets at the end of October, in two editions: Office for Mac Home and Business 2011, and Office for Mac Home and Student 2011.

"For better alignment across platforms," Microsoft said in a statement, "the Office 2011 pricing and edition options map closer with Office for the Windows operating system."

The software titan also said that anyone buying Office 2008 for Mac between August 1 and November 30 will be able to upgrade without an additional charge.

Pricing starts at $199 for Office for Mac Home and Business 2011, which includes the Mac versions of Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook, and Messenger. For customers with two computers, there's a multiple-pack version for $279.

Pricing starts at $119 for Office for Mac Home and Student 2011, which includes Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Messenger. A Family Pack that allows installation on three Macs will be available for $149.

There's also a $99 edition specifically for students, faculty, and staff in higher-education settings: Office for Mac Academic 2011, which includes Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook, and Messenger.

Microsoft said that Office 2011 will be available in a dozen languages besides English: Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Polish, Russian, Spanish, and Swedish. The suite will be available in more than 100 countries at the end of October.

Originally posted at News - Microsoft

The unlocked iPhone 4 is now technically legal and technically possible.

Just days after the U.S. Copyright Office ruled that bypassing a manufacturer's protection mechanisms to allow "handsets to execute software applications" no longer violates federal copyright law, the iPhone Dev Team on Sunday released a jailbreak for the iPhone 4 at JailbreakMe.com.

Unlike previous jailbreaks, which required the device to be connected to a computer to run the update, the latest jailbreak is accomplished completely via mobile Safari loaded on the device. The browser-based software bypass reportedly works on all iOS devices, including iPhones, iPads, and iPods running iOS 4 and iOS 4.01, but it will reportedly not work on devices running the iOS 4.1 beta.

Also, some users report the jailbreak disrupts FaceTime and MMS functionality on the device.

However, as of this writing, demand for the jailbreak is apparently so strong that the site's servers can't keep up, and many visitors report difficulty in getting through.

Jailbreaking allows devices to run apps not approved by the company producing the operating system--such as Apple, the main target of such bypasses. Jailbreaking also allows devices to run on nonauthorized networks.

While the U.S. Copyright Office has declared the software legal, Apple discourages users from loading the bypass, reminding them that doing so will void their device's warranty. "As we've said before, the vast majority of customers do not jailbreak their iPhones as this can violate the warranty and can cause the iPhone to become unstable and not work reliably," Apple said in a statement earlier this week.

Originally posted at News - Apple