Facebook to enrich mobile with HTML5

Facebook has an internal tool for developing mobile applications primarily using HTML5, which eventually should allow it to bring every feature of its Web platform onto mobile devices.
Facebook used the tool, internally called Faceweb, to introduce continuous News Feed updates to mobile devices last week, said Erick Tseng, head of mobile products at Facebook. The company hopes to have conjoined launches of feature updates on both mobile applications and the Web, he said at the Mobilize conference in San Francisco.
"The reason we're so excited about Faceweb is because by using HTML5 instead of all native development ... it allows us to actually keep pace with desktop features," Tseng said. HTML5 is a standard Web development language that can bring many capabilities of native apps, including offline operation, to the Web.
Facebook considers itself not a social network but a platform that can be pervasive throughout a user's mobile experience, Tseng said. Device makers including HTC and Sony Ericsson have already used Facebook APIs (application programming interfaces) to integrate Facebook functions deep in Android phones. This lets users plug into the "social graph" of the platform without even consciously going into a Facebook app or logging in. "That's a platform," Tseng said.
One new feature headed to mobile devices is Ticker, the real-time stream of friends' posts that appears in the corner of the Web browser. Ticker is especially well-suited to mobile because users can quickly check up on what's happening when they briefly have time, such as at a bus stop, Tseng said.
However, Tseng said he couldn't comment on whether Facebook will be integrated into Apple iOS 5, the new operating system coming in the iPhone 5, which is expected to debut next week. Apple disclosed earlier this year that the OS will include Twitter integration.
"I think it would be a great combination. Hope to see it soon," Tseng said.
Tseng also declined to comment on when an expected Facebook app for the iPad will come out.

Access Bank finally acquires Intercontinental Bank

Hi friends,

The new gist is that Access bank has finally acquired Intercontinental Bank Plc(IBPLC).This happened yesterday Sept 26,2011. 75% of IBPLC's stake was acquired for about N53.47 billion.

This doesn't sound like a good news to staff members of IBPLC.

Anyway,I wish all my friends in IBPLC the very best.

Have a great day

Google Wallet rollout going 'kind of slow,' Google rep says

Google Wallet has run into technical glitches, although the extent of the problems is not clear.

Google's Web site says the new mobile payment service is having "slower than normal wait times to add [credit and debit] cards to Google Wallet."

Also, Google Wallet over-the-air updates to Nexus S smartphones are going slowly and the app did not reach all users by late Friday, when Google had said the update would be rolled out.

A Google Help Desk representative named Dave said via phone on Saturday at 7:36 a.m. (ET): "The [Google Wallet] rollout is kind of a slow rollout. They are still working on that. There's no specific time frame for when it will be complete. You should see it soon."

Two Google spokesmen were asked to comment on the status of the rollout and the wait times for adding cards to Google Wallet, but did not respond as of mid-day Saturday.

Bob Egan, a mobile commerce analyst at The Sepharim Group, said the rollout probems "are a really big deal.... It shows Google's preparation for launch isn't production ready, especially in the context of a payments market" where security and customer expectations are heightened.

"If setting up Google Wallet is complex, unreliable or leaves consumers unexcited, where they find themselves asking, 'Why did I do this?' then Google Wallet will be stillborn," Egan added.

A Google spokeswoman had said Wednesday, that "100% of users should have the update by EOD Friday" after earlier saying the update would be completed on Wednesday.

Google launched Google Wallet on Monday, saying there would be an over-the-air rollout of the Google Wallet app and that the service was "now available on Nexus S 4G on Sprint."

A Sprint spokesman referred inquiries about the rollout to Google. Other partners in the venture could not be reached to comment.

Lengthy wireless software rollouts are common, usually taking several days so networks won't get jammed, analysts said. Google and various Android smartphone wireless carriers have come under fire for requiring Android OS version updates, but mainly for promising the rollouts would start at a certain time and then delaying the start of the rollout.

Consumer Reports blogged on Wednesday that Google had rushed to get the first digital wallet on the market, adding that Google's "promotional promises seem to have gotten a little ahead of themselves."

Such a delay might not normally be a concern, except that Google and its partners -- Sprint, MasterCard, Citi and First Data -- put enormous time and money into the Google Wallet app.

The idea of being first in the U.S. with a major rollout using Near Field Communications technology inside smartphones is notable. The stakes are high: the long-term future of mobile wallets is expected to be lucrative, worth many billions of dollars in the U.S., to banks that collect transaction fees and to technology companies such as Google that receive revenues for making coupons and other offers available to users.

Analysts questioned how serious the delay really is, and how many users are already connected. They also questioned whether the wait times for adding credit cards could be a sign of a bigger problem with the complex network, systems and the money exchange infrastructure behind Google Wallet.

The Google Wallet Web site first posted a notice on Wednesday of the problem in adding credit cards to the app, the same notice that was still live today.

Incredible!!! Interswitch loses bid for PTSP & PTSA. ITEX picks up CBN license for PTSP & PTSA

Guyz,

I think the news of the week so far is this emerging drama in the Banking Industry. After the Central Bank of Nigeria announced the Payment Terminal Service Provider(PTSP)' s licensing process last month,everyone believed Interswitch would certainly be on the final list. Not because Interswitch is an expert in the Point-of-Sale business but because of the 'big' name. What we all know Interswitch for is Switching,then maybe QuickTeller.

But as i gist you right now,5 companies have been licensed for PTSP and Interswitch is not one of them.

Interswitch also bidded for the Payment Terminal Service Aggregator (PTSA). This is the Terminal Management System (TMS) that will be active at the Nigerian Inter-Bank Settlement Scheme(NIBSS). This TMS is what all the 5 PTSPs will be connecting to. Itex Integrated Service (IISYS) is the licensed PTSA!!!

 The 5 licensed PTSPs are:

1) Itex Integrated Systems(IISYS)

2)ValuCard Nig

3)E-Top

4)Citi-Serve

5)PayMaster

So that's whatz up guyz. Promise to keep you updated.

CitiServe and PayMaster make CBN's list of licensed PTSP

Hi friends,

Just want to inform you guyz that PayMaster and CitiServe. 

Cheers

CBN licenses 5 Payment Terminal Service Providers

Hi dudes,

I'm glad to give you the hottest gist in town right now. As at this morning, the Central Bank of Nigeria has licensed 5 Payment Terminal Service Providers. Leading the list is ITEX Integrated Systems who have been the best in the system for years now. Also on the list are ValuCard Nig and E-Top Ltd. 

Speculation is that Pilot Test begins in Lagos early October with 50000 terminals.

Congratulations to our ITEX, Congratulations to all the PTSPs,Congratulations to Nigerians.

Google Wallet officially launched

Google officially launched its Google Wallet application late Monday for NFC-ready Sprint Nexus S 4G phone users.

The application launches initially for Citi MasterCard credit card holders, but Google also said Monday that Visa, Discover and American Express will be able to add their cards to future versions of Google Wallet.

The application, first announced in May, was described in a Google blog on Monday.

Google said it would begin rolling out Google Wallet to Nexus S customers through an over-the-air update; customers need to look for the "Wallet" app on the phone.

A two-minute video demo of the app is included.

"This is still just the beginning, and while we're excited about this first step, we look forward to bringing Google Wallet to more phones in the future," said Osama Bedier, vice president of payments at Google.

The Google Wallet works with MasterCard PayPass payment terminals with the transaction enabled via wireless Near Field Communication (NFC) technology. Users must enter a PIN in the application to enable each payment, which is done by passing the Nexus S phone close to the payment terminal.

While Google says in its materials that there are "hundreds of thousands" of PayPass terminals, a MasterCard representative at a sneak peek last week said there are about 150,000 at various retail locations in the U.S. Some of the terminals still need software upgrades to work with the phones.

Some Google officials said the Google Wallet would launch in San Francisco and New York initially, but the Google Wallet site lists many in even small locations where there are PayPass terminals, including several drug stores in Harrisonburg, Va., a college town of about 40,000.

Visa said in a separate statement that its has licensed Google to use Visa's PayWave technology, used in "hundreds of thousands" terminals in retail locations worldwide.

Visa account holders will be able to use their Visa accounts to add their credit, debit and prepaid accounts to Google Wallet, but Visa didn't describe a timeline for when that function would be enabled.

Google officially launched its Google Wallet application late Monday

Google said it will allow users to add any bank card to a Google Prepaid Card and they will receive $10 to try the service. The card is virtual, not a physical card, and is available with the Google Wallet app on the phone, a spokeswoman said late Monday.

Windows 8: First contact with Microsoft Touch

Guyz we need to critically examine Windows 8.
Microsoft is facing up to the million-dollar question: how does it compete with Apple's iPad and Google's Android when Windows was designed for keyboard and mouse rather than touch control?

Microsoft's answer has been to create a platform based on Metro, the design style in Windows Phone 7. Metro apps run full-screen without any surrounding chrome, which is why Microsoft calls it an immersive user interface. Microsoft has used the opening of its BUILD conference in Anaheim, California, today to deliver the first developer preview of Windows 8, the first version of Windows optimised for touch.

For all the tablet focus, users expect a Windows PC to run Windows applications, so Windows 8 also supports the traditional Windows desktop. In the current build, Windows 8 looks much like Windows 7, aside from the disappearance of the old Start menu in favour of pages full of Metro tiles.

IE goes Metro: new menus top and bottom vanish when you tap the page, for a full-screen view

The Metro UI is not just an alternate shell. Metro is built on a new native code, Windows Runtime (WinRT), which can be called from two alternative view engines. The first is XAML, the layout language used by Microsoft's Silverlight media player and Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), driven by code written in C, C++, C# or Visual Basic. The second is HTML and CSS, driven by code written in Javascript. Microsoft notes that the Metro Software Development Kit (SDK) "also includes a subset of traditional Win32, COM and .NET Framework APIs".

Microsoft has promised to clarify the Windows developer story at BUILD. So far, it looks like this: Metro is a new platform, and while you will be able to port code from existing Windows applications, they will need to be rewritten. XAML and .NET are supported, but this is not Silverlight or WPF – though the Silverlight plug-in still runs in the browser. Microsoft does seem to be promoting the HTML and Javascript approach here at BUILD, but says XAML and .NET have access to all the same features.

The Windows 8 Developer Studio features a Visual Studio 11 early build

Windows Phone remains a separate platform. Windows group president Steven Sinofsky told the press ahead of BUILD that the different form factor means that running the same app on phone and tablet is not an immediate prospect. That is missing the point though; in principle Windows Phone could have its own cut-down version of WinRT, but instead it has Silverlight and XNA. It seems that Windows developers will have to live with this diversity for some time.

I was given a Windows 8 Intel-based tablet by Microsoft to try, just ahead of its public unveiling at BUILD. Windows 8 will also run on ARM, but Microsoft says the ARM build is not yet ready to show. Once set up, it boots from cold in around 10 seconds – impressive. Resume from sleep is near-instant.

Windows 8 opens to a lock screen. Password entered, you see the new Start menu, formed by Windows Phone-style live tiles in a horizontally scrolling view. Tap a tile to launch an app, which presuming it is Metro-style will open full-screen. Application menus are accessed by a quick swipe top or bottom, letting you access, for example, open tabs in Internet Explorer.

Doctors can't wait to meet Mr. Watson

Are u a doctor?Then you should be dieing to meet with Mr. Watson..lol. He's no man anyway,just a new IBM computer named Watson.

It's going to help medical professionals diagnose and sort out treatment options for complicated health issues.

Watson appeared on the game show “Jeopardy” in February, defeating two human champs in a three-day match.

Now, IBM is looking to apply Watson in its first commercial endeavor. IBM announced on Monday it is partnering with WellPoint, a large health insurance plan provider with around 34 million subscribers.

IBM has been working on Watson for more than six years. In less than three seconds, Watson can sift through 200 million pages of data and provide a response.

Even more importantly, its computing system strives to understand language as humans naturally speak it – taking into account subtleties, irony and words with multiple meanings – making it easier to process, compute, and spit out information that is timely and usable.

Watson studies questions while considering a number of factors, from straightforward keyword matching to more complex aspects like homonyms and paraphrasing.

WellPoint will begin distributing the Watson technology in small clinical pilot tests in early 2012.

Dr. Sam Nussbaum, WellPoint's chief medical officer, said in a statement to CNN Money, “Imagine having the ability to take in all the information around a patient's medical care -- symptoms, findings, patient interviews and diagnostic studies. Then, imagine using Watson analytic capabilities to consider all of the prior cases, the state-of-the-art clinical knowledge in the medical literature and clinical best practices to help a physician advance a diagnosis and guide a course of treatment.”

Av a gr8 day!

Microsoft spruces up HTML capabilities in Visual Studio

Microsoft says it will make it easier to deal with HTML in the planned next release of its Visual Studio IDE, dubbed vNext, but it won't say when vNext will come out.
The HTML Editor capability in vNext will help developers quickly accomplish common tasks, said Microsoft's Scott Guthrie, corporate vice president of the company's developer division, in a blog post on Visual Studio's ASP.Net Web development platform. He said Visual Studio will be able to activate the "smart tasks" features of ASP.Net server controls, as well as connect server control event handlers without needing to switch to the vNext editor's design view.
Also on the horizon are improvements to ASP.Net Web forms and MVC (model-view-controller) capabilities, such as support for strongly typed data templates. "We've added the ability to declare what type of data a control is going to be bound to, by way of a new ModelType property on data controls," Guthrie said. "Setting this property will cause two new typed variables to be generated in the scope of the data-bound template expressions: Item and BindItem." Developers can use the variables in data-binding expressions and get IntelliSense and compile-time checking. Strongly typed data control support makes it easier to work with data-bound expressions, Guthrie said.
Similarly, Web forms will feature model-binding capabilities intended to simplify working with code-focused data access logic while retaining benefits of a two-way data-binding framework, Guthrie said. He claimed it will simplify work with code-focused data-access paradigms.

Yahoo boss fired over the phone

Yahoo boss Carol Bartz is now fired by the US internet company

Carol Bartz was brought on board to change the fortunes of the search and internet company

Yahoo's chief executive Carol Bartz has been fired by the internet company after two-and-a-half years in the top job.

The company said in a statement that Ms Bartz was removed by the board of directors, effective immediately.

Tim Morse, Yahoo's chief financial officer, will take over from Ms Bartz.

Yahoo has been struggling to increase its market share as it faces increased competition from rivals such as Google and Facebook.

Yahoo shares jumped more than 6% in after-hours trading after news of the firing broke, indicating they would trade higher when Wall Street opened for business on Wednesday. Yahoo's stock price was up at $13.72, an increase of 81 cents.

Mr Morse will serve as interim chief executive and the board of directors will look for a new CEO, the company said.

Please click here for further story.

Oracle adds new installer and failover to Windows MySQL

Good news guyz!!!
I'm pleased to inform you that MySQL Enterprise Edition has been updated with new features to make it more alluring to Windows shops
Oracle has updated the commercial edition of its MySQL database for Windows, adding a graphical installer and the ability to do failover clustering, the company announced Tuesday.
Both of these features should help make MySQL Enterprise Edition a more viable database choice for Windows shops, potentially expanding its user base beyond enterprise Linux users, noted Oracle marketing executive Bertrand Matthelié, in a blog post announcing the features.
Oracle designed the new MySQL Installer for Windows to simplify the process of installing MySQL and its associated tools. The new user interface guides the user through the wizard-based installation process. It can install not only MySQL on a Windows computer but other associated programs as well, such as MySQL Workbench and MySQL Query Analyzer. The software also can automatically update all the MySQL products with bug fixes and upgrades as needed.
Failover clustering has also been added. This feature can be handy for those organization that require constant uptime, or HA (high availability), of their databases.
When run on Windows Server 2008 R2, MySQL Enterprise Edition can detect when a copy of MySQL stops operating, either because of hardware failure or due to some failure in the database software itself. The administrative console alerts the administrator to restart the database or server, while moving the workload over to another, duplicate, database.
Although MySQL has been capable of offering HA for awhile -- through a special edition called MySQL Cluster -- this version is easier to set up, requiring as few as two servers to operate.
Oracle will hold a Web tutorial session on Sept. 15 to further explain how to use these new features.

Have a great day

Six major Windows 8 features for small business

With Microsoft's big BUILD conference right around the corner on Sept. 12, people are buzzing about the Windows 8 news that's sure to come, and for the last couple of weeks, Microsoft has been parceling out information. So far, the features we've seen look colorful, fast, flashy, and flexible -- but how much of a difference will they make for small-business users?

Let's take a look at the Windows 8 features that have already been revealed and see what kind of an impact they could make -- for better or for worse.

1. That Metro experience
The first thing you're likely to notice in a Windows 8 demo is the new Metro style and the fluid movement on the screen. Designed to be similar to the beautiful Windows Phone 7 interface, Windows 8 uses live tiles to surface need-to-know information right from the start. Live tiles are small, tap-able color blocks that display specific information -- such as how many email messages are waiting for you or what your next appointment in town is about.

To launch a program, you can tap the tile that represents it, or flick from the right edit of the screen to display the controls, then tap a button to launch the program you want to use. Once you're finished with that task, flick it away -- or move it up to the corner of the screen out of the way -- and tap a different program tile to open it. This means you can open and close and rearrange pieces of information on your desktop in much the same way you would on your physical desk.

A Windows 7 feature called Snap enables a side-by-side workspace experience. For example, you can add new customers to your contact list while watching a demo of a new sales training video, all using the same simple gestures as on your touchscreen smartphone.

2. It's keyboard- and mouse-friendly, too
If you're a holdout with a mobile phone without touch capability or using a notebook that doesn't support touch, you may worry that Windows 8 won't work for you. The design of Windows 8 is driven by an OS that's supposed to run seamlessly on touchscreens and smart devices -- with a fluid design for ultraportables, easy adaptability to mobile technologies, and an always-on, always-connected approach.

However, your keyboard and mouse should still work the way they always have. Familiar keys like PageDown and PageUp will work; the Windows key still brings up the Start menu; and you'll be able to navigate through programs and apps using the same point-and-click method as in Windows 7.

The flexibility of Windows 8 should enable you to switch easily back and forth between the Metro and the desktop views, so the way you interact with your PC will depend on what you want to do and what feels most natural. You might, for example, use Metro while you browse the Web, watch media, preview a presentation, or check email -- but switch to Desktop view when you want more precise control of files, folders, or data.

3. Faster boot, faster sleep
Another potential perk in Windows 8 is that it's meant to enable your computer to launch into life almost as soon as you push the power button. Microsoft vice president Mike Angiulo said in a demonstration in June that startup times of 6 or 7 seconds should be possible.

Additionally, when you wake your sleeping computer, it should return from sleep instantly -- which would be a relief after the horrors of Windows Vista and the improved but still lagging wake-up rate of Windows 7. When you're on a client visit, for example, your computer can be a more natural part of the process. You should have fewer delays when you want to show off a new design, share a proposal, or demonstrate a Web app once you open your notebook.

4. Smooth data and app sharing -- in the cloud and out
While Windows 8 developments are unfolding, Microsoft has been taking big steps in the online realm by launching Office 365, a new cloud computing service for small and large businesses. It's also promoting Office Web Apps, SkyDrive, and Azure as ways to collaborate in the cloud and reduce your IT overhead and hardware investments.

Working in the cloud means you and your team can work together virtually using the online version of tools that keep teams running smoothly in the face-to-face world: real-time communication, team meetings, task assignments, project management, file libraries, and workflow and reporting options.

We don't yet know any specifics about Windows 8 features that engage the cloud directly, but the OS will support app-to-app sharing (think of how your Twitter posts show up in your other social media accounts), so the convergence is likely on the way.

Windows 8 will also natively support USB 3.0, which should allow you to access and transfer files up to 10 times faster than USB 2.0. And that hopefully means a little less time standing in front of the room waiting for your presentation to load.

5. A Windows Explorer makeover
Over the last week or so, Steven Sinofsky, president of Microsoft's Windows and Windows Live division, has written on the Building Windows 8 blog about some of the changes we can expect to see in Windows Explorer. In Windows 8, you should be able to copy, move, rename, and delete files -- especially large groups of large files -- faster and with better control. You should see the status of multiple file operations and even pause the ones that are slowing things down.

Another hoped step toward improved efficiency comes when Windows 8 finds a naming conflict while you're moving or copying files. If you try to drag a group of files to a folder that already contains files with those same names, Windows 8 will prompt you -- and show a smart Choose Files dialog -- to click the files you want to keep.

The big improvement appears to be that you will see a number of the conflicts in a single dialog box, along with the information needed to make the choice. And if you're still confused about which logo file you want to use, you can click the thumbnail to open the file and find out for sure.

What's not clear is what will happen when you have, say, 20 file conflicts in the same operation -- will the dialog box have tabs? Will you still have to click through multiple choices (similar to Windows 7)? That remains to be seen.

The menu and toolbar in Windows Explorer will be replaced with a ribbon layout, similar in style to the one in Office 2010 and the Office Web Apps. Depending on whether you love or hate the ribbon toolbar, you may like (or not) having the ability to touch your way through the Home, Share, and View tabs. Similar to the ribbon in Office 2010, the Windows Explorer ribbon includes contextual tabs to help you find the tools you need based on the tasks you're performing. And in case you just can't deal with the ribbon or prefer to stick with the keyboard, developers are adding something in the neighborhood of 200 new keyboard shortcuts.

6. Is there an app for that?
The Windows 8 App Store has lots of folks speculating. Is it real? What types of apps will it include? Windows 8 is designed for ultraportable and always-on computing, and to be truly competitive in a mobile and ever-evolving market, a Windows 8 App Store is a must.

Windows 8 will be built on HTML5, JavaScript, and CSS. Microsoft VP Mike Angiulo says developers will be able to develop apps for Windows 8 right out of the box. What's more, Windows 8's sensor platform and support for roaming and location-based apps are likely to find creative development and a storefront on your computer in the form of the Windows 8 App Store.

Even though we're still working with early information -- and much more will be revealed at BUILD -- the Windows 8 features we've seen so far have appeal for small businesses. What's not to like about faster processing, a sleek touch-driven interface, true multitasking, seamless and quick file management, and easy app sharing? If these features deliver as promised, they will make common computing tasks more fluid and natural, freeing you up to focus on the work instead of the technology.

Microsoft: Stolen SSL certs can't be used to install malware via Windows Update

Microsoft said Sunday that a digital certificate stolen from a Dutch company could not be used to force-feed customers malware through its Windows Update service.
The company's assertion came after a massive theft of more than 500 SSL (secure socket layer) certificates, including several that could be used to impersonate Microsoft's update services, was revealed by Dutch authorities and several other affected developers.
"Attackers are not able to leverage a fraudulent Windows Update certificate to install malware via the Windows Update servers," said Jonathan Ness, an engineer with the Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC), in a Sunday blog post. "The Windows Update client will only install binary payloads signed by the actual Microsoft root certificate, which is issued and secured by Microsoft."
Seven of the 531 certificates now known to have been fraudulently obtained by hackers in July were for the domains update.microsoft.com and windowsupdate.com, while another six were for *.microsoft.com.
According to Microsoft, the certificates issued for windowsupdate.com couldn't be used by attackers because the company no longer uses that domain. (Windows Update is now at windowsupdate.microsoft.com..) However, those for update.microsoft.com -- the domain for Microsoft Update -- and the wildcard *.microsoft.com could be.
As Ness said, updates delivered via Microsoft's services are signed with a separate certificate that's closely held by the company.
Without that code-signing certificate, attempts to deliver malware disguised as an update to a Windows PC would fail.
Other vendors, including Apple, also sign software updates with a separate certificate.
The certificates for the various Microsoft domains were issued by DigiNotar, a Dutch company that last week admitted its network had been hacked in mid-July.
The company initially believed it had revoked all the fraudulent certificates, but later realized it had overlooked one that could be used to impersonate any Google service, including Gmail. DigiNotar went public only after users reported their findings to Google.
Criminals or governments could use the stolen certificates to conduct "man-in-the-middle" attacks, tricking users into thinking they were at a legitimate site when in fact their communications were being secretly intercepted.
Microsoft has added its voice to the chorus from rival browser makers, notably Google and Mozilla, about the seriousness of the situation. Like its competitors, Microsoft will also permanently block all DigiNotar certificates.
"We are in the process of moving all DigiNotar owned or managed [certificate authorities] to the Untrusted Root Store, which will deny access to any website using DigiNotar certificates," said Dave Forstrom, a director in the Microsoft Trustworthy Computing group, in an emailed statement Sunday.
Forstrom did not set a date by when Microsoft would block all DigiNotar certificates, including those used by the Dutch government, which has been a major customer of the company.
Google updated Chrome on Saturday to block all DigiNotar certificates, while Mozilla plans to do the same on Tuesday for Firefox.
However, Microsoft's partial ban of DigiNotar certificates -- which it instituted last week -- and the complete sanction now in the works only protects users running Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2.
Customers still on Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 must wait for an update specific to those operating systems; Ness said only that that update would "be available soon."
Until that Windows XP update is available, users can protect themselves by manually deleting the DigiNotar root from the list of approved certificate-issuing authorities. Microsoft has posted lengthy instructions for doing that on its "Security Research & Defense" blog.

Anticipating Windows 8 desktop

Hi guyz,
I'm so sure many of us have been eager to use the Windows 8 which is on the way. Let's see what new on the OS.

The Microsoft executive who heads the company's Windows division said Wednesday that the next edition of the operating system will let users treat the traditional desktop as "just another app" that loads only on command.

In a lengthy blog post, Steven Sinofsky, president of Microsoft's Windows and Windows Live division, provided more detail on Windows 8's user interface (UI).

In June, when it unveiled parts of the Windows 8 UI, Microsoft said the new OS would feature a "touch-first" interface to help it compete in the fast-growing tablet market. Underneath that, however, would be a traditional Windows-style desktop. In demonstrations, Microsoft showed the touch-style start screen for Windows 8, and how users could switch to a more familiar icon-based design.

Wednesday, Sinofsky reiterated the dual nature of Windows 8, calling the design work a "balancing act."

"Having both of [the] user interfaces [work] together harmoniously is an important part of Windows 8," said Sinofsky.

The "Metro"-style UI -- the one inspired by Windows Phone 7's tile-based design -- will be the first to show up when a user boots a device. At that point, users reach a crossroads.

"If you want to stay permanently immersed in that Metro world, you will never see the desktop -- we won't even load it (literally the code will not be loaded) unless you explicitly choose to go there," said Sinofsky. "If you don't want to do ... 'PC' things, then you don't have to and you're not paying for them in memory, battery life or hardware requirements."

Users working on conventional PCs, where keyboard and mouse are the primary input devices, will run an "app" to load the desktop, according to Sinofsky.

"Essentially, you can think of the Windows desktop as just another app," he said.

The majority of the blog's 225 comments as of early Thursday gave Windows 8's split personality a thumbs up, although many advised Microsoft to create design continuity between the two to make switching less jarring.

To reach a traditional desktop in Windows 8, users will launch an 'app' from the tile-based interface inspired by Windows Phone 7.