Microsoft allows bypass of Vista activation
10/04/07 11:03 | Technology | Permalink
VistaLogo
Microsoft always says it opposes "software pirates" who sell thousands of unauthorized copies of Windows. But the Redmond company has made things a lot easier for pirates by adding a line to the Registry that can be changed from 0 to 1 to postpone the need to "activate" Vista indefinitely. "Activation doesn't stop true software piracy"
As most Windows users know, Microsoft has required "product activation" since the release of Windows XP in 2001. XP must be activated by communicating with servers in Redmond within 30 days of installation. By contrast, Microsoft Office XP, 2003, and 2007 require activatation before the package is used 5 to 50 times, depending on the version, according to a company FAQ. If a PC has no Internet connection, a user may activate a product by dialing a telephone number in various countries.

The activation process will complete successfully only if the software has not been previously activated, such as on a different machine. If activation isn't completed within the trial period, Microsoft products temporarily shut down some of their features. MS Office loses the ability to edit and save files. After Vista's activation deadline runs out, the user can do little other than use Internet Explorer to activate the operating system or buy a new license.
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Microsoft Announces HD Photo
10/04/07 11:02 | Technology | Permalink
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Today at the Photo Marketing Association (PMA) 07 International Convention and Trade Show in Las Vegas, Microsoft Corp. formally announced HD Photo, a new file format for end-to-end digital photography that offers higher image quality, greater preservation of data, and advanced features for today’s digital-imaging applications.
This new, next-generation digital image format offers the best solution for digital image editing and storage and unlocks the potential for digital photography on devices, applications and services. Microsoft also announced that it intends to standardize the technology and will be submitting HD Photo to an appropriate standards organization shortly.
HD Photo offers compression with up to twice the efficiency of JPEG, with fewer damaging artifacts, resulting in higher-quality images that are one-half the file size. In addition, HD Photo offers increased image fidelity, preserving the entire original image content and enabling higher-quality exposure and color adjustments in the image. This new format offers the ability to decode only the information needed for any resolution or region, or the option to manipulate the image as compressed data.

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Fortune: Apple is best retailer in US
10/04/07 11:02 | Technology | Permalink
Apple Store
Apple's retail efforts have paid off in spades, despite serious doubts and criticism from prominent industry figures in the past. BusinessWeek challenged the Cupertino-based company's retail strategy in 2001, writing "Sorry Steve, here's why Apple stores won't work." TheStreet.com said "It's desperation time in Cupertino," and retail consultant David Goldstein chimed in with "I give [Apple] two years before they're turning out the lights on a very painful and expensive mistake." Five years later Apple opened its flagship store on Fifth Avenue in New York, and generates $4,032 in sales per square foot per year. In 2004 Apple reached $1 billion in annual sales faster than any other retailer in history, according to Fortune, and last year the company saw sales reach $1 billion in a single quarter. "Our stores were conceived and built for this moment in time - to roll out iPhone," said Apple CEO Steve Jobs, who recalled the decision to move into retail.

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Another Vista Activation crack
10/04/07 10:58 | Technology | Permalink
Vista Cracked
Considering that as recently as a couple of days ago lots of people (including us) were potentially duped into believing that someone had created a keygen utility that churned out working serial numbers for Windows Vista, you'll forgive us for being a little hesitant to recommend the latest Vista crack on the block. Apparently the result of a combined effort by an application cracking group called "Paradox," the utility is actually a "BIOS Emulation Toolkit" that skips the activation process entirely. As always, these kind of programs are an extremely gray area, so we're not going to maintain any illusions here: this utility will be used by individuals to pirate copies of Vista. That said, these kinds of hacks -- if this one actually works -- does a service by pointing out the ineffectiveness of "activation," a process which has caused an enormous amount of annoyance to a lot of consumers that have purchased software legally. Just like every other form of piracy prevention, the only people that really suffer in the end are the innocent users stuck in the middle.
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