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| Neowin.net - Where unprofessional journalism looks better Windows News and Reviews. In Category: Computers / Technology / Internet | Rate This Forum! Body Text: Recent Software News Mozilla 1.8 Alpha 4 ACDSee 7 Power Pack PocoMail 3.2 Released 3DMark'05 Released LyricFX for Winamp 1.9 Recent Gamers News Sony plans power restrictions ... Final DS packaging revealed Tribes: Vengeance multiplayer ... Half-Life 2 Offers Revealed! Former Nintendo president prop... Main News, Welcome to Neowin.net, would you like to register or login Recent forum posts oh my god... this is making... What do you fear? Post your 3DMark05 scores [For Sale Canada and US] Mo... new ford mustang Real or no? [JAVA] Need a hint whasts your favorite chemic... [Shell Pack] Crystal XP 2.1... 456 ft coaster set for NJ Announcement Switch to Lite | Bookmark Us | Set as Homepage | Search Neowin Exclusive: MSN Messenger 7.0 Revealed Posted by Tom Warren on 29 Sep 2004 - 21:42 CET | 226 Comments Back in May, 2003 we exclusively revealed MSN Messenger 6.0. This time around it's 6.0's bigger brother, 7.0. MSN Messenger is clearly progressing in this early look at 7.0. You now have the ability to sign in as busy/away/offline etc which will please a lot of people. 3 Degrees is finally encorporated into MSN Messenger (something I had been writing about for more than a year). The interface is cleaner, smarter and the features are great! Winks: Winks allow you to send kisses, hearts and all sorts of silly cartoons to your contacts. Nudge: Nudge allows you to send a "shake" to your contact. Both your own and your contacts MSN Messenger window will shake, much like how Internet Explorer windows shake using the correct javascript. Download packs: Download packs will allow users to grab winks/emoticons/display pictures and backgrounds straight from MSN. As these currently don't work we were unable to test them. Games: Chess Club, Bankshot Billiards Club are included if you're a Instant Games Clubhouse member. Standard Checkers/Solitaire Showdown/Bejeweled/Minesweeper Flags and Tic Tac Toe are still included. Activities: Activities allow you to share files, calendars, photos and perform tasks such as remote assistance. Deluxe Display Pictures: Although these are unavailable it seems like MSN are going to supply animated display pictures. The build in question is 7.0.0205 and carries the beta tag throughout. The main MSN Messenger window is redesigned to show your display picture and includes the ability to scroll through tabs. There's no new options in the main options menu but you can change the position of the tab icons. When a contact signs in using MSN Messenger 6 or above you get the contacts display picture on the sign in toast. Custom emoticons are still the same, they still do not animate or allow animated GIFs etc. Check out the screenshots below for more features and the general user interface. MSN Messenger 7.0 is expected to be released into beta on November 11 with a general "MSN Messenger Wave 10" release as late as February 2005. We'll keep you updated but for now enjoy the screenshots. Screenshot: Install | Sign in as | Contact List | #2 Screenshot: Contact Window | Options | #2 | #3 Screenshot: Winks | Emoticons | Nudge | Winks - 3 Degrees Screenshot: Download Packs | Activities | Games | Contact Card Screenshot: About MSN Messenger 7 Last comment was by memodude Speakers debate RFID benefits, challenges Posted by Prem Ganwani on 30 Sep 2004 - 00:44 CET | 2 Comments Analysts are commenting on what is currently being a hit in usage for department stores, aubway stations, and even fast food restaurants world wide. However companies in the US still seem to be waiting for a clear usage of the technology. EPCglobal, which focuses on industry-driven standards for the Electronic Product Code to support RFID, trotted out several speakers who talked about how RFID tagging can help companies track their products, cut down on theft and reduce supply chain costs. Scott McNealy, chairman and CEO of Sun Microsystems Inc., spoke to attendees of the Baltimore conference on video, saying the concept of an EPCglobal network that securely connects products to manufacturers and retailers throughout the supply chain has graduated from a futuristic concept to a reality. "We are able to go into the supply chain and do some very interesting things," McNealy said, as executives of EPCglobal and member companies demonstrated a Web-based product-tracking system that allows manufacturers to ensure that enough of their products are on the shelves at retail stores. Procter & Gamble Co. CIO Steve David said the company is using RFID to distinguish genuine products from counterfeit products, including fragrances and even shampoo. The company also uses RFID to identify and recall outdated products -- an important use, since customer attitudes about products can decline if their toothpaste doesn't taste fresh or their laundry soap has lost its scent, he said. RFID, short for Radio Frequency Identification, is a new technology whose applicative areas will replace the traditional "coupons" or credit cards systems. It uses chip equipped with wireless radio technology that could be used by their readers for identification with more convenience. View: ComputerWorld Last comment was by PseudoRandomDragon Newer High-Capacity IPod Battery Posted by Deren Smith on 30 Sep 2004 - 00:41 CET | 10 Comments For 40 bucks you can buy some fairly sexy items for your IPod--a cool case, some hip headphones, or a sleek stand--but I've yet to find a $40 accessory that adds as much value to a first- or second-generation IPod as Newer Technology's high-capacity IPod Replacement Battery. Sexy it ain't, but there's nothing unattractive about the battery's ability to power an IPod uninterrupted for over 21 hours. What You Get Newer Tech's Replacement Battery comes with printed instructions that detail how to open the IPod and replace the original battery, as well as two nylon tools for opening the case. I tested the battery on my Frankenpod--an original first-generation 5GB IPod that carries a 15GB drive I salvaged from a third-generation IPod. This IPod has been opened enough times that I'm now able to remove the backplate with my fingernails. So, to test the tools, I used them on a 20GB second-generation IPod that I've never opened. News source: PCWorld.com Last comment was by obake Intel ships 3.33GHz Mobile P4 Posted by Deren Smith on 30 Sep 2004 - 00:40 CET | 4 Comments Intel today rolled out its latest notebook-oriented CPU, the Mobile Intel Pentium 4 548. Pitched at desktop-replacement systems, the 548 is clocked at 3.33GHz and supports HyperThreading. Fabbed at 90nm, the 'Prescott'-derived part includes 1MB of L2 cache and SSE 3 support. Enhanced SpeedStep technology is included to keep the heat dissipation down. News source: The Register Last comment was by Planet-Ed Microsoft's EU Battle Hits Public Court Posted by Derek I. Batting on 30 Sep 2004 - 00:40 CET | 3 Comments Microsoft Corp.'s five-year legal battle in Europe moves into a public courtroom for the first time as the U.S. software giant tries to get the European Union's landmark antitrust ruling against it lifted. Thursday's hearing at the Court of First Instance in Luxembourg — the EU's second highest court — focuses solely on Microsoft's request for the ruling to be suspended pending its appeal of EU orders that would force major changes in its business practices. The European Commission found Microsoft guilty in March of abusing its dominant position with the Windows operating system, which runs some 90 percent of computers worldwide. It fined the company a record euro497 million (US$600 million) and ordered it to hand over some software code to rivals in the server market. The commission also ordered the company to offer a version of Windows minus its digital media software, Media Player, to allow rivals a better shot at landing on consumers' desktops. That strikes at the heart of Microsoft's strategy of continuously incorporating new features into the operating system to stay on top and expand its business. View: Complete Article News source: Associated Press Last comment was by zzachattack2 Freescale reveals 90nm G4 processor Posted by Deren Smith on 30 Sep 2004 - 00:34 CET | 3 Comments Freescale will reveal the 90nm processor which may drive the next generation of Mac notebooks at a conference today. Freescale is the name for what was formerly Motorola's processor manufacturing wing, which has now been unleashed as an independent company. A press release from the company confirms it will introduce the chip, which it describes as: "The MPC7448 discrete processor, a higher-performance, lower-power successor to the popular MPC7447A PowerPC device, announced in February 2004". The advantage for this processor - and for firms employing it in devices - is that it is pin-for-pin compatible with the MPC7447A. It also offers 1MB of L2 cache and is expected to exceed 1.5 GHz in speeds. The new processor (a variant of Freescale's new e600 PowerPC cores) will be manufactured using 90 nanometer (nm) silicon-on-insulator (SOI) copper interconnect technology. News source: Macworld | UK Last comment was by Darkinspiration Apple Plans EU Expansion of iTunes Next Month Posted by Derek I. Batting on 30 Sep 2004 - 00:29 CET | 2 Comments Apple Computer is planning the next wave of expansion for its popular iTunes online music store with a multi-country European launch in October, the services chief architect said on Wednesday. "We are well on pace to launch more EU stores. We will do it next month," Eddie Cue, Apples vice president of applications told music executives at the annual Popkomm conference in the German capital. In typical Apple style, the computer maker gave scant details of the hotly anticipated launch. He told reporters on the sidelines it would likely include more than five new countries in the next wave of stores. "It will cover a good portion of Western Europe," he said of the launc ... Keywords: windows,longhorn,msn,reviews,n ews,whistler,blackcomb,nt,xp,m icrosoft,chicago,cairo,neptune ,i386,winnt4,win95,win98,win9x |