Building cross-platform applications just got a bit easier with the release of Trolltech’s Qt 4.3

Qt (pronounced Cute) is perhaps best-known as the application development framework behind the open source KDE ( define)Linux desktop. It is dual-licensed under the GPL version 2 ( define ), and a commercial license from Trolltech.

Qt is a C++ application development framework that provides a common API ( define ) across multiple platforms, which allows developers to write applications once and then deploy them on multiple platforms, including Windows, Linux/UNIX and Mac OS X. The new 4.3 release offers improved Windows Vista functionality making it easier for developers to target Microsoft’s new flagship OS.

The Qt 4.2 release, which came out last October claimed to have Vista support but Trolltech is now saying that support has been extended in the new Qt 4.3 release.

“In 4.2 we tried to ensure that Qt apps would behave correctly on the pre-release versions at Vista that we had available at the time. They’d still have the “classic” look though,” Eivind Throndsen, Product Manager for Qt at Trolltech told internetnews.com . “With 4.3 we have gone further and now have a separate Vista style (QWindowsVistaStyle), so that Qt apps really look and feel native in the Vista environment.”

Qt 4.3 also adds support for transition animations on pushbuttons, scrollbars, progress bars and other controls. Trolltech has now also obtained the Certified for Vista Logo for its Qt Linguist application, demonstrating that Qt apps can achieve Vista certification.

“We were told by Microsoft that only applications and not libraries could be certified, this is why one of the Qt applications has been certified as opposed to all of Qt,” Throndsen said.

In addition to better support for Windows Vista, Qt 4.3 also provides improved support for Secure Socket Layer (SSL)-encrypted communications.

“We previously had a separate add-on solution, part of the Qt Solutions add-on product, that could help you do SSL,” Throndsen explained. “The news is that we have now done an overhaul of our network classes and integrated SSL into the Qt product itself.”

Trolltech is also releasing a new version of its embedded version of Qt called Qtopia Core as part of this release cycle. Throndsen noted that the most important new feature in Qtopia Core 4.3 is probably the support for OpenGL ES (Embedded Systems). OpenGL ES is the embedded version of the widely deployed OpenGL ( define )3D graphics API.

“Many embedded developers probably will also appreciate that we’ve worked to increase our performance not only on Qtopia Core, but across the Qt codebase,” Throndsen said. “This translates into better responsiveness and more bang for the buck on the same hardware.”

Trolltech isn’t done expanding its cross platform lineup just yet either. Sometime in June the Norway based company is expected to roll out is Qt Jambi technology which brings Qt to Java.

Title: Trolltech’s Qt Gets New Vista
Author: Sean Michael Kerner
Date: 1 Jun 2007
Source: Internet News

PNY’s Attaché Pro flash drive range now includes Microsoft’s Windows ReadyBoost feature to speed up Windows Vista. The application is designed to extend the memory capacity of a non-volatile flash memory device to increase the memory buffer on your PC.

Microsoft specifies minimum read/write speeds of around 5MB/s and 3MB/s respectively, making the Attaché Pro range of USB flash drives ideal for running Windows ReadyBoost. In fact, the Attaché Pro range is capable of read/write speeds of 29MB/S and 25MB/s.

“PNY challenges you to switch on your computer, run an application, close this application and then re-launch it with ReadyBoost,” says the press release we received. “You will discover that while the first time it took 25 seconds to open, the second launch will take 2 or 3 seconds!”

Considering Windows Vista requires around 1GB of memory to operate happily, this is a no-fuss, beginner-friendly way to add extra RAM to your system.

The 1GB Attaché Pro is available now for £14.99 online via www.Play.com and www.Misco.co.uk . It will be sold at PC World from June onwards.

Title: Speed up Vista with a PNY flash drive
Author: Dean Evans
Date: 1 Jun 2007
Source: Tech.co.uk

Loyal XP users may not vote for the Windows Vista, but they will be impressed with some of its features.

Every five years, individual lives are directly or indirectly impacted. This is the usual time frame for Microsoft, the world’s most dominating software organisation, to launch its new operating software. The world, full of users, reacts in the usual manner. The hardcore users scream about the system glitches and bugs and the new users are fascinated by the looks. Slowly and surely, as Microsoft plugs the bugs, everybody toes the line and becomes subservient to the operating software.

The ecstasy

Same is the case with the new Windows Vista launched recently. In case you are planning to buy a new laptop, chances are Vista will come preloaded with the machine. I am sure the demo at the machine supplier would have impressed you. And it is impressive. Windows Vista has several features that would wow the new user.

Loyal XP users would be impressed with time-saving features like favourite folders displayed in the left column of every Explorer window, as well as a crunched folder list that allows you to quickly jump backward and forward through a path. For your music and videos there’s special treatment. “I don’t have to rely on third party users and keep downloading stuff,” says Maithili Rao, an architect from Bangalore.

And if you are a business user with priceless data on your laptop, then Vista offers you state-of-the-art security features. Vista’s Bitlocker encryption (only in Enterprise and Ultimate versions) does heavy-duty, full-drive encryption.

“Unless a thief has your password there’s simply no way they’re going to get in,” says Unnikrishnan Menon, VP, technology, with a leading multinational services company.

For gamers, if you have the right NVIDIA drivers, the experience is amazing. Direct X10, the latest Application Protocol Interface or version of a code that handles multimedia, especially gaming, is only available on Vista. “I don’t think they would release it for XP,” says Unnikrishnan, another reason why Vista is worth going for, in case you are thinking of an upgrade.

“It can be really fun for a new or light user,” says Sanjay Singh, a naval architect with the Indian Register of Shipping. “For a heavy user like me, however, it is a pain,” he adds.

The agony

Despite having a 2GB RAM, Singh found Vista to be sluggish. Now, the configuration is much higher than that prescribed by Microsoft. “Even the file transfer through the new navigation system is extremely slow,” says Singh.

And Singh is not alone, there are several forums on the internet that indicate there are many users who have been caught unawares by the sleek looks and the navigation promises. So, if you have an old machine and are thinking of an upgrade, I do believe that you would have to spend a considerable amount on hardware upgradation as well.

“Honestly, you really don’t need a Vista, the XP is good enough even if you want to have a high-end gaming experience,” says a senior executive and gaming buff who does not want to be named. “And there are still driver related issues that need to be resolved. Incompatibility of sound drivers can dull the gaming experience totally,” he adds.

The exit option

Singh had just purchased a spanking new HP laptop and when he was unsatisfied with Vista, he decided to revert back to XP. “Here one has to be careful with the licensing clause,” Singh says. You get only one chance to create a recovery CD for Vista and one has to create this CD before going in for formatting. “You cannot load the CD on any other machine. The strict licensing regime restricts you from doing so,” he adds.

So after Singh created the recovery CD, and loaded XP on to the machine, there were other issues. The sound card was completely moribund and the Bluetooth comatose. To awaken them and several other functionalities, Singh had to download the drivers individually from the Internet and install them. In case you are stuck with the same predicament, be glad to know that there are several fora and blogs that are available for this purpose.

Now that XP is back on his machine, Singh is a happy man running complex statistical models on them. He, like many others believes that like XP when it was launched, Vista too has several drawbacks. Microsoft will soon release patches to upgrade the user experience. The usual pattern will be followed and Vista will soon become more robust than what it is now. At least that is what one hopes, after all, for millions of users, Microsoft remains the only choice.

Title: A bumpy take-off into great vistas
Author: Akash Joshi
Date: 3 Jun 2007
Source: Financial Express

Microsoft has announced a new beta for the Windows Live Writer blog post composition service.

The Writer tool is part of Microsoft’s Windows Live online initiative and its first version was introduced in 2006.

With Windows Live Writer users can compose blog posts and publish them on well-known blogging platforms - such as Windows Live Spaces, Community Server, WordPress and TypePad.

Nick White, a Microsoft product manager, displayed the new features in the Windows Live Writer beta on the Windows Vista team blog. It makes possible for users to spell check as they write, gives them the ability to add categories and edit tables, and allows for easier image insertion, maintained White.

Furthermore, the software maker also announced new betas for its instant messaging and web-based mail services this week.

Though Windows Live Messenger 8.5 is officially in its beta form now, users had already got an early look of it when the release was leaked in Spanish on the Messenger Adictos blog earlier this week. The beta bundles in a user interface designed to resemble more like the refurbished Aero interface of Windows Vista. The beta is available on the Windows Live site.

Next is Windows Live Mail , the successor to Windows Mail that is included in Windows Vista and Outlook Express on Windows XP, which also has a new beta release. The latest version packs in a new user interface that is similar to other services in Windows Live, and also enables users to sync to their Windows Live Hotmail accounts.

Other features in the Windows Live Mail beta include:

• Offline mail
• Windows Live Hotmail account aggregation
• Additional account aggregation for POP3 and IMAP mail accounts
• RSS feed aggregation
• More advanced photo-sharing capabilities
• More advanced search via integration with Windows Desktop Search
• Additional safety measures (AV scanning, anti-phishing, anti-spam protection across aggregated accounts for customers who do not have an AV product)
• Additional integration with Windows Live services including Windows Live Spaces

As for now, the service will not include advertisements, the company said. But several of the Windows Live services have been developed by Microsoft to give impetus to online advertising revenue; so many already include advertising or will in the future.

The new Windows Live Writer beta is available in both English and Spanish in the U.S., as well as in English in India and the U.K. It also is available in Spain, Germany, Japan, China and France.

Microsoft disclosed a novel strategy to develop new online services in November 2005, and also introduced the latest Windows Live brand. A number of the services previously branded MSN are now rechristened as Windows Live.

Title: Windows Live Writer Blog Beta launched by Microsoft; More Windows Live Services tested
Author: Tech Shout.com
Date: 2 Jun 2007
Source: Tech Shout.com

This morning NVIDIA released new drivers for Windows Vista and XP users for GeForce 6 and newer graphic processors. The Windows Vista drivers are up to ForceWare Release 158 version 158.24 while Windows XP users are stuck with ForceWare Release 90 version 94.24.

The new Windows Vista Release 158 drivers increase 3D performance in applications, add PureVideo HD support, DirectX force vertical sync and an updated NVIDIA Control Panel. The driver supports DirectX 9, DirectX 10 and OpenGL APIs for single-GPU GeForce 6, 7 and 8-series configurations. NVIDIA only supports DirectX 9 and OpenGL on GeForce 6, 7 and 8-series SLI configurations.

GeForce 8 SLI users that want to take advantage of DirectX 10 support are steered towards the version 158.43-beta drivers. As with all driver releases, the latest ForceWare WHQL release has game and application compatibility fixes.

The Windows XP release 90 drivers add support for the new GeForce 7200 GS . The new driver supports PureVideo HD hardware acceleration of H.264, VC-1 and MPEG-2 high-definition video formats. NVIDIA has also improved video post-processing and added HDCP support for DVI and HDMI connectors. NVIDIA updates the new Control Panel as well.

Download the new drivers from NVIDIA for Windows XP , Windows Vista 32-bit and Windows Vista 64-bit .

Title: New drivers for Windows XP and Vista users
Author: Anh Huynh
Date: 2 Jun 2007
Source: Daily Tech

Microsoft announced that its “ Games for Windows Live ” service is now officially live and is ready to offer cross-platform matches between Windows Vista gamers with Xbox 360 players and best-in-class PC-to-PC multiplayer experience.

Spearheading the collection of compatible titles for Vista is the “Halo 2 for Windows Vista”, launched today, with features of improved graphics, a custom map editor and the chance to earn achievements, a first from the Halo franchise. Using a combination of dedicated servers, flexibility of the Windows platform, and the online innovation established in the Xbox original, “Halo 2” for Windows Vista provides a best-in-class PC-to-PC multiplayer experience.

Like Xbox Live , Games For Windows Live has two tiers of membership - silver and gold. Silver membership is free. Halo 2 for Windows Vista offers an integrated in-game multiplayer voice chat and Achievements, as well as functionality demanded by PC gamers like dedicated server support, as part of the free Silver membership. Gold memberships will deliver the premium online network experience which adds benefits such as multiplayer achievements, matchmaking according to skill, reputation and gamerzone, as well as cross-platform gameplay as well as cross-platform gameplay features only Microsoft’s Games for Windows and Xbox 360 can deliver.

Xbox 360 owners don’t need to do anything to enable the cross-platform feature.

In addition to Halo 2, a new PC version of Shadowrun also makes use of Games For Windows Live . It also supports the ability for Xbox 360 owners and Vista players to compete head-to-head.

Whether in cooperation or competition, PC and Xbox 360 gamers can battle up to 16 players in the intense first-person shooter as they vie for supremacy in an experience that rewards cleverness, cunning and split-second improvisation through a unique combination of modern weapons, ancient magic and advanced technology.

Games for Windows Live is the newest chapter in Microsoft’s push for interoperability between PCs and Xbox 360 computers. The new service connects the six million Xbox Live members and hundreds of millions Windows gamers can now get. Games for Windows Live brings the best of the Xbox Live service to Windows gamers, Microsoft claimed.

Title: Microsoft sends Halo 2 and Shadowrun to Xbox 360, Windows Vista
Author: Ruben Francia
Date: 31 May 2007
Source: Vista Blorge

Microsoft is launched a new beta for the Windows Live Writer service, the first version of which was was launched last year. The service is part of Microsoft’s Windows Live online service.

Windows Live Writer is a tool to compose blog posts and publish them on popular blogging platforms - such as Windows Live Spaces, Community Server, WordPress and TypePad. Microsoft released the first test version of the service last August, but hadn’t updated the product since November 2006, according to the Liveside blog.

An entry by Nick White, a Microsoft product manager, on the Windows Vista team blog lays out the new features in Windows Live Writer. It enables in-line spell checking, the ability to add categories and table editing and allows for easier image insertion, he said.

The new Windows Live Writer beta is available in both English and Spanish in the US, as well as in English in India and the UK. It also is available in Spain, Germany, Japan, China and France.

In addition to the Writer update, Microsoft also released new betas for its instant-messaging and web-based mail services this week.

Windows Live Messenger 8.5 is now in official beta, though users got an early look when the release was leaked in Spanish on the Messenger Adictos blog earlier this week. The beta includes a user interface designed to look more like the revamped Aero interface of Windows Vista. Users can find the beta on its Windows Live site.

Windows Live Mail, the successor to Windows Mail that is included in Windows Vista and Outlook Express on Windows XP, also has a new beta release. The new version includes a new UI that is similar to other services in Windows Live, and also allows users to sync to their Windows Live Hotmail accounts.

Other features in the Windows Live Mail beta include offline mail, accounting aggregation for Windows Live Hotmail and other POP3 and IMAP mail accounts, and RSS feed aggregation. Improvements in the service include better photo-sharing and search features, as well as more security, according to Microsoft.

Windows Live Mail also will feature integration with other Windows Live services, including Windows Live Spaces. For the time being, the service will not include advertisements, the company said. However, many of the Windows Live services have been created by Microsoft to drive online advertising revenue, so many of them already include advertising or will in the future if they do not already.

Microsoft revealed a new strategy to develop new online services in November 2005, and also unveiled the new Windows Live brand. Many of the services previously branded MSN are now called Windows Live. More information and a list of service can be found on the Windows Live home page.

Title: New betas for Microsoft
Author: Elizabeth Montalbano
Date: 1 Jun 2007
Source: Tech World

New York, NY - May 31, 2007 - Touchpaper, an international provider of IT Business Management (ITBM) solutions, has announced a series of nine local Novell - Touchpaper Seminars, featuring the Novell® ZENworks® Configuration Management solution and Touchpaper’s ITIL-based IT Business Management Suite.

The seminars will show how the integration of Novell ZENworks Configuration Management and Touchpaper’s IT Business Management

Suite enables service engineers to remotely control the user’s PC or laptop, identify problems, and distribute the most appropriate solution. The additional integration with Novell eDirectory®, enables all the users’ details to be made immediately available to the service desk engineer.

Seminars are free and will be held in the following cities. Interested parties can register by going to the associated URL:

• June 5th Phoenix - register.novell.com/simple/?event_id=20327
• June 12th Dallas - register.novell.com/simple/?event_id=20330
• June 20th Las Vegas - register.novell.com/simple/?event_id=20333
• June 6th Irvine, CA - register.novell.com/simple/?event_id=20328
• June 13th Austin - register.novell.com/simple/?event_id=20331
• June 26th Portland - register.novell.com/simple/?event_id=20334
• June 7th San Diego - register.novell.com/simple/?event_id=20329
• June 19th Sacramento - register.novell.com/simple/?event_id=20332
• June 28th San Mateo - register.novell.com/simple/?event_id=20335

ZENworks Configuration Management gives organizations the ability to manage desktops based on their users’ network identities, which can include a combination of user business role, location or group membership. This enables the delivery of applications, content and IT resources tailored to the personal needs of each user. ZENworks Configuration Management simplifies management of Microsoft Windows® desktops, including Vista. With native integration for both Microsoft Active Directory® and Novell eDirectory, Novell ZENworks Configuration Management enables real-time, identity-based systems management. It accelerates service delivery and ensures configuration accuracy, making immediate desktop configuration changes whenever network user accounts are changed.

Touchpaper’s IT Business Management software is tightly integrated with the Novell infrastructure and therefore allows users to benefit from all the features of Touchpaper’s market leading service desk system, while simultaneously leveraging the unique features of Novell applications, including the new ZENworks Configuration Management. Novell ZENworks functionality can be accessed through Touchpaper’s market leading IT Business Management Suite, making it easier for IT help desk personnel to match callers to their IT resources, accelerating their ability to provide a solution to users’ problems and giving automated inventory collection and software license compliance as a welcomed by-product.

‘This is the next step in our ongoing relationship with Novell,- said Graham Ridgway, CEO of Touchpaper. ‘Working in parallel, we continue to develop and deploy integrated go-to-market solutions that build on each other’s strengths, and address the growing needs of our customers.-

Touchpaper has published a white paper entitled ‘Touchpaper’s Integrated Service Desk for Novell Users-. To download a copy, go to www.touchpaper.com/News/WhitePapers/

With over 20 years of experience, Touchpaper is one of the most established and respected international providers of IT Business Management (ITBM) solutions, encompassing IT Service Management, Customer Service Solutions and Network and Systems Management. Touchpaper now has over 1,800 customers around the world. Its headquarters are located in the UK, with offices in the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific. For further information, please visit our website at www.touchpaper.com or email intouch@touchpaper.com

About Touchpaper ITBM Suite

Touchpaper’s ITBM portfolio, which has been verified as meeting the mandatory functional requirements for ITIL compatibility, provides an end-to-end solution covering all aspects of IT Business Management (IT service management, customer service solutions and network and systems management) in a modular form. Touchpaper’s ITBM suite can help deliver projects that drive business growth and value; meet customer needs and pre-defined levels of service; achieve governance and regulatory compliance; link business and IT strategies, plans and relationships; demonstrate the business value of IT; apply metrics to IT; budget and manage IT spending; foster change in business processes and manage risk.

Title: Touchpaper - Novell ZENworks Configuration Management Seminar Series to Reach Nine North American Cities
Author: Mark Rieger
Date: 1 Jun 207
Source: PR-inside.com