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Iraqi VP predicts return to sectarian violence

2012-02-01T02:49:00.000-08:00

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Irbil, Iraq (CNN) -- Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi has lashed out at Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, predicting that Iraq could soon return to widespread sectarian violence that could require the return of U.S. forces.

"Al-Maliki is pushing my country to reach a turning point with deeply sectarian dimension," the Sunni vice president told CNN on Sunday during an interview in the semiautonomous Kurdish region in the north, where he has fled so that government forces loyal to the Shiite prime minister cannot execute an arrest warrant for him on charges of running a death squad.

He expressed concern that Americans "will face the same problem as they faced in 2003," when a U.S.-led coalition invaded Iraq, toppling the regime of Saddam Hussein and unleashing a wave of sectarian violence.

And he said he did not understand how U.S. President Barack Obama is able to characterize Iraq as a free, stable and democratic country.

"What sort of Iraq we are talking about?" he asked. "How the Americans will feel proud? How the American administration is going to justify to the taxpayer the billion of dollars that has been spent and at the end of the day the American saying, 'Sorry, we have no leverage even to put things in order in Iraq'?"

Though Iraq's instability may not affect this year's election campaign in the United States, "it is going to affect the American interest in the region, and they should be very much concern about that," al-Hashimi said. "The future of Iraq is grim."

The arrest warrant for al-Hashimi was issued last year, days after the Sunni majority bloc Iraqiya suspended its participation in Parliament amid that claims it was being cut out of the political process. The bloc ended that boycott on Sunday as a "gesture of goodwill." But a separate boycott of the Cabinet remains in place.

Al-Hashimi denied the charges against him as politically motivated. He accused al-Maliki of having "put my home and my office under siege" during the three months before he fled to the Dokan resort about 400 km (250 miles) north of Baghdad.

"I kept patient on that, hoping that al-Maliki is going to behave sensibly sometime, and things aggravated," al-Hashimi said.

Asked whether al-Maliki is becoming a dictator, al-Hashimi was blunt: "What sort of explanation could I give for a real and serious power consolidation?" he asked. "What could the average Iraqi people or the American citizen ... say for the prime minister to be chief in command, the minister of defense, the minister of interior and the chief of the national security?"

The charges appear to have been based on the confessions of three security guards for al-Hashimi. Iraqi state-run TV has aired video of the men's confessions. CNN cannot independently verify their identities.

An official in al-Hashimi's office, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of security concerns, has said the men may have confessed under duress.

In one confession, a man detailed roadside bombings and shootings that targeted government and security officials in 2009. He said orders at times came directly from al-Hashimi and at times through his son-in-law, Ahmed Qahtan, who is a senior member of his staff.

The man alleged that the vice president thanked him after a number of attacks.

The man in the video said al-Hashimi ordered him to map out security locations and checkpoints for the Baghdad Brigade, which protects the Green Zone. He said he was speaking out to "clear his conscience" and "expose this criminal."

Since October, Iraqi security forces have rounded up hundreds of people accused of being members of Saddam Hussein's outlawed Baath Party or terrorists. The Sunni-backed Iraqiya coalition says most of them belong to its political bloc and that the prime minister is simply taking out his opponents.

The political turmoil in Iraq has raised concerns in Washington, with officials saying they are monitoring the reports about the arrest warrant.

"We are talking to all of the parties. We've expressed our concern regarding these developments. We're urging all political sides in Iraq to work out their differences peaceably, politically, through dialogue, and certainly in a manner that is consistent with democratic political processes and international standards of rule of law," Victoria Nuland, a spokeswoman for the State Department, said in December.

CNN's Yousuf Basil contributed to this story

Daniel and Amanda DeGeneres were deployed shortly after their wedding in 2007. "That was our honeymoon -- Iraq," she says. Iraq has shaped the lives of Raquel and Nathan Dukellis. Married 11 years, they've been apart nearly half of it with training and deployments. He was an intelligence officer when the war started. Now he is seeking justice for his fellow soldiers with a new weapon -- the courts. December 5, 2011 -- Updated 2241 GMT (0641 HKT) Troops go to court, rather than on the hunt, for insurgents who killed U.S. soldier. CNN's Martin Savidge reports. With the current Iraq war winding down, reporters, producers and executives share the stories that they'll remember from the wars.December 9, 2011 -- Updated 1517 GMT (2317 HKT) CNN was there as Sgt. 1st Class Tim Willingham spent his last day in Iraq after three tours of duty. December 7, 2011 -- Updated 1500 GMT (2300 HKT) At Camp Warrior in Iraq, most U.S. troops have left, but a wall with the names of the fallen remains. December 6, 2011 -- Updated 1517 GMT (2317 HKT) Youssif shows off his "certificate of citizenship," an award given to the Iraqi boy by his school in Los Angeles for being exceptionally nice. Images from conflict photographer Ben Lowy's Iraq series show life in the war-torn country from a Humvee and through night-vision goggles.Today's five most popular stories

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Afghan officials, Taliban may hold talks in Saudi Arabia

2012-01-31T22:11:00.000-08:00

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U.N. nuclear team lands in Iran

2012-01-31T17:39:00.000-08:00

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A six-member International Atomic Energy Agency arrives in Tehran, Iranian media saysThe agency head worries that Iran is trying to build nuclear weapons, he saysIran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposesThe IAEA chief has said he hopes to trip can "clarify" military dimensions of Iran's program

(CNN) -- Top International Atomic Energy Agency officials arrived in Iran Sunday, state media reported, after the head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog expressed fresh concerns that the Islamic republic was trying to develop nuclear weapons.

The six-member delegation, including chief inspector Herman Nackaerts, arrived at Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport, Press TV reported.

"We are trying... to resolve all the outstanding issues with Iran," Nackaerts told reporters earlier, as he was about to leave Vienna, Austria, according to Press TV. "We are looking forward to the start of a dialogue, a dialogue that is overdue."

A mission to Iran by such a senior team -- which also includes the agency's second-in-command, Rafael Grossi -- is unusual, the agency said when it announced the visit on Monday. The team is due to be in Iran through Tuesday, the IAEA says.

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The announcement of the mission came shortly after the European Union imposed a tough round of new sanctions on Iran, aimed at cutting off funding to the country's nuclear program. The United States and Australia have also ramped up sanctions on Iran in the past week.

The United States and its allies think Tehran is trying to develop nuclear weapons. Iran denies it.

Speaking Friday at the Davos Forum in Switzerland, energy agency Director General Yukiya Amano told reporters the visit is intended "to clarify the issues with possible military dimensions.

"We are not very sure whether Iran has declared everything and, therefore, we are not very sure that everything stays in peaceful purpose," he said. "In addition, we have information that Iran has engaged in activities related to the development of nuclear weapons. Therefore, we need to clarify."

"The preparations have gone well, but we need to see what actually happens when the mission arrives," he said.

Inspectors are in and out of the country regularly, an agency spokeswoman said Monday, but a high-level visit of the kind taking place at the end of the month is more unusual.

Iran's envoy to the energy agency said Saturday he was hopeful the trip will "resolve any ambiguity and show (our) transparency and cooperation with the agency."

"This trip is aimed at neutralizing enemy plots ... and baseless allegations, and proving the peaceful nature of our nuclear activities," Ali Asghar Soltanieh told state-run Islamic Republican News Agency.

Amano said that the energy agency proposed the mission, and Iranian authorities "agreed to accept" it. But the Islamic news agency reported Nackaerts is traveling at Tehran's invitation.

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said he was ready to discuss the program with a group of world powers that have been having on-and-off negotiations with the country over its nuclear ambitions -- including Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States.

The energy agency reported in November that it can no longer verify that the Iranian nuclear program remains peaceful, and Iran is under increasing international pressure to halt its nuclear fuel work.

Western sanctions have targeted its currency, the rial, driving up prices for goods within Iran, and the European Union announced Monday that it would stop importing Iranian oil as of July 1 in an effort to starve the country's nuclear program of funding.

In response, an Iranian official said Sunday that Tehran would stop oil exports to "certain countries," soon, according to the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency. Oil Minister Rostam Qassemi made the statement after a cabinet meeting Sunday, as Iranian lawmakers are debating whether to halt oil exports to European countries, IRNA reported.

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No decision yet on charges against doctor in bin Laden raid

2012-01-31T14:38:00.000-08:00

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Panetta: Doctor should be releasedvar cnnWindowParams=window.location.toString().toQueryParams();if(typeof cnnWindowParams.video!="undefined"){if(cnnWindowParams.video){cnnLoadStoryPlayer('politics/2012/01/28/nr-panetta-obl-doctor.cnn','cnnCVP1', '640x384_start_art' ,playerOverRide,T1);}} else {$('cnnCVP2').onclick=function(){if ($$('.box-opened').length){$$('.box-opened').each(function(val){Element.fireEvent(val,'click');});}cnnLoadStoryPlayer('politics/2012/01/28/nr-panetta-obl-doctor.cnn','cnnCVP1','640x384_start_art',playerOverRide,T1);};$('cnnCVP2').onmouseover=function(){$('cnnCVP2').className='cnn_mtt1plybttn cnn_mtt1plybttnon';};$('cnnCVP2').onmouseout=function(){$('cnnCVP2').className='cnn_mtt1plybttn';};}Panetta's remarks on Pakistani doctor likely to not help his case, analysts sayDefense chief Leon Panetta talked about Dr. Shakeel Afridi's role on "60 Minutes"The Pakistanis accuse Afridi of treason for helping the United States gather intelligenceThe commission's recommendation of charges is non-binding, the official says

Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) -- Pakistan has not yet decided whether to try a Pakistani doctor for high treason for assisting the United States in gathering intelligence ahead of the raid on Osama bin Laden's compound, a senior Pakistani government official said Monday.

"It's the federal government who will decide whether to try the doctor for high treason or not," the official said. "At this stage, the decision hasn't been taken to try the doctor."

The official did not want to be named because of the matter's sensitivity.

Dr. Shakeel Afridi helped the CIA use a vaccination campaign in an attempt to collect DNA samples from residents of bin Laden's compound in the city of Abbottabad to verify the terror leader's presence there ahead of the May raid.

In October, a commission recommended treason charges be filed. The official said Monday that the recommendation was non-binding.

"A case of conspiracy against the state of Pakistan and high treason is made" against Afridi, Pakistan's Information Ministry said at the time, summarizing a commission's investigation into the death of the al Qaeda leader.

The senior official said Afridi is under the custody of law enforcement, but he denied he is being held by the nation's spy agency ISI, or Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate.

The role of the doctor was first reported by the British newspaper, The Guardian, in July.

The Guardian said that in the course of gathering intelligence for the raid, the CIA recruited the doctor to run a vaccination program in the area. The goal was to try to obtain DNA evidence from bin Laden family members, the newspaper said, citing unnamed Pakistani and U.S. officials.

Any DNA obtained from the people in the compound could then be compared with a sample from bin Laden's sister, who died in Boston in 2010, as evidence the family was in the compound, the newspaper said.

Neighborhood residents told CNN that two women who appeared to be nurses visited homes and offered free vaccinations.

Shazia Bibi said she was vaccinated for hepatitis B in April when two women came to her home near bin Laden's compound and identified themselves as health workers.

"Whoever gets this vaccination will never get hepatitis B," Bibi said one of the women told her.

Bibi said the health workers spoke in a local dialect and asked for detailed personal information and said a vaccination would not be possible without the information. She said the women were accompanied by a man who stood outside their house.

Bibi received one injection. The rest of her family was not at home at that point. She said the women left behind two vaccines but that her relatives refused them. The vaccines are still sitting in her refrigerator, she said.

The Guardian said it isn't known whether the CIA "managed to obtain any bin Laden DNA, although one source suggested the operation did not succeed."

CIA spokeswoman Jennifer Youngblood declined comment at the time.

After the raid, Pakistani officials took into custody several people who were suspected of helping the CIA. The doctor was one of them.

Since then, the United States has asked for the doctor's release and did so again Sunday.

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta acknowledged publicly the key role Afridi played in an interview on CBS's "60 Minutes."

"I'm very concerned about what the Pakistanis did with this individual," Panetta told CBS. "This was an individual who in fact helped provide intelligence that was very helpful with regards to this operation. And he was not in any way treasonous towards Pakistan."

"Pakistan and the United States have a common cause here against terrorism, have a common cause against al Qaeda," Panetta said. "And for them to take this kind of action against somebody who was helping to go after terrorism, I just think is a real mistake on their part."

Panetta said Pakistan can discipline Afridi in whatever manner it deems appropriate, but the doctor should be released.

Panetta also told CBS that he remains convinced that someone in authority in Pakistan knew that bin Laden was hiding in Abbottabad, a largely military community outside the capital, Islamabad.

He said there were intelligence reports of Pakistani helicopters passing over the bin Laden compound. He also questioned why the Pakistanis would not notice the vast complex with 18-foot walls.

"So you would have thought that somebody would have asked the question, 'What the hell's going on there?'" Panetta said. "I personally have always felt that somebody must have had some sense of what was happening at this compound."

Panetta said the United States chose not to inform Pakistan of the raid due to security concerns.

"We had seen some military helicopters actually going over this compound. And for that reason, it concerned us that, if we, in fact, brought (Pakistan) into it, that they might ... give bin Laden a heads up."

But after the interview aired Sunday, Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said Panetta "has seen no evidence that bin Laden was supported by the Pakistani government or that senior Pakistani officials knew he was hiding in the Abbotabad compound."

Many analysts felt U.S. officials had kept quiet about Afridi so as to not implicate him. On Monday, CNN National Security Analyst Peter Bergen said speaking publicly about the doctor could lead to more problems for him.

"By making it a public matter, he may have increased pressure on the Pakistanis to release this guy," Bergen said in an appearance on CNN. "That said, the United States prosecutes spies from even friendly powers."

Peter Brookes, a Heritage Foundation fellow and former deputy assistant secretary of state under President George W. Bush, said he was also puzzled by Panetta's remarks.

He said it could put pressure on Pakistan's government. "But I think things are so bad with the U.S. and Pakistan right now that it's not going to help at all," he said.

CNN's Nasir Habib contributed to this report.

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Israeli drone crashes in ball of fire

2012-01-31T10:05:00.000-08:00

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The Israeli drone aircraft, the Eitan, is pictured in February 2010.The plane spins in the air and loses a wing before the crash, a witness saysThe drone is capable of reaching parts of Iran -- and carrying missilesNo injuries are reported and the cause is being investigated, the IDF saysIsrael uses at least three models of drones, the military says

Jerusalem (CNN) -- An unmanned Israeli airplane capable of reaching parts of Iran crashed during an experimental flight Sunday, the Israel Defense Forces said.

The Eitan-type drone spun in the air, lost a wing and crashed in a ball of fire, an unnamed witness told IDF Radio.

There were no injuries reported, and the cause of the crash is being investigated, the IDF said.

Israel unveiled the Eitan drone nearly two years ago, announcing in an unusual public demonstration of the plane's capabilities that it could fly 1,000 km (620 miles) -- putting western Iran within range.

The plane was initially designed to gather intelligence, but can be modified to carry missiles, the company that makes it said at the unveiling in February 2010.

IDF Lt. Col. Shlomo Nissim declined to go into details about the plane's abilities, but said: "The future capabilities of this vehicle will allow us to carry whatever is needed in this vehicle."

Iran drone unveiled in 2010

Israel Aerospace Industries general manager Tommy Silbering said the drone could stay aloft 24 to 36 hours.

"It will be a major weapons system of future war," he said.

The name Eitan is a Hebrew word meaning strong.

The drone has a 26m (85-foot) wingspan and 1200-horsepower engine, the manufacturer said at the launch.

Israel has at least three different types of unmanned aircraft, the IDF said in December.

CNN Jerusalem bureau chief Kevin Flower contributed to this report.

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Campaign of terror in Nigeria

2012-01-31T06:29:00.000-08:00

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Nigerian police battle new attacksvar cnnWindowParams=window.location.toString().toQueryParams();if(typeof cnnWindowParams.video!="undefined"){if(cnnWindowParams.video){cnnLoadStoryPlayer('world/2012/01/26/lkl-elbagir-nigeria-boko-haram.cnn','cnnCVP1', '640x384_start_art' ,playerOverRide,T1);}} else {$('cnnCVP2').onclick=function(){if ($$('.box-opened').length){$$('.box-opened').each(function(val){Element.fireEvent(val,'click');});}cnnLoadStoryPlayer('world/2012/01/26/lkl-elbagir-nigeria-boko-haram.cnn','cnnCVP1','640x384_start_art',playerOverRide,T1);};$('cnnCVP2').onmouseover=function(){$('cnnCVP2').className='cnn_mtt1plybttn cnn_mtt1plybttnon';};$('cnnCVP2').onmouseout=function(){$('cnnCVP2').className='cnn_mtt1plybttn';};}Islamist extremist group Boko Haram has been blamed for multiple attacks in NigeriaAnalysts say the attacks are getting bolder and better coordinatedSome believe the group has developed ties with al Qaeda affiliates

(CNN) -- Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has suddenly shifted his attitude toward the Islamist extremist group Boko Haram, as violence spreads across northern Nigeria.

A week ago, Jonathan warned the group had infiltrated the government and security forces and vowed (again) to stamp it out. But in an interview with Reuters news agency Thursday he said that if Boko Haram identified itself and stated clear demands the government was ready for dialogue. He also acknowledged that military action alone would not stop Boko Haram; and northern Nigeria needed economic development.

But Nigeria-watchers think this apparent carrot may have come too late. Boko Haram's purported leader, Abu Bakar Shekau, responded in an audio message: "We're killing police officers, we're killing soldiers and other government people who are fighting Allah; and Christians who are killing Muslims and talking badly about our Islamic religion."

Over the last month, Boko Haram has carried out multiple bombings and shootings across the north; hundreds of people have been killed. Its targets are frequently police and government officials, but most of the casualties are civilians. On one day last week, at least 200 people were killed in Nigeria's second city, Kano. (On Monday, militants launched new attacks.)

Who are the Boko Haram?

One Nigeria analyst describes the Kano attacks as a "breathtaking show of force" by Boko Haram -- one that fits a pattern of bolder and better coordinated attacks over the past year.

Joe Bavier, a writer who is a frequent visitor to the region, told CNN that the "federal government has completely lost control of the north-east, despite deploying thousands of troops and establishing a Joint Task Force." Now, he says, "it looks like this insurgency has broken out of the north-east." And what's worrying, he says, is that there's "not a whole lot of visible effort from the federal government to calm things down."

Nigerian iReporters on uncertain present, and future

Philippe de Pontet, Africa analyst at the Eurasia Group, says that Boko Haram's main aim appears to be humiliate Jonathan's government, tapping into an existing sense of grievance among Muslims in the north. He and other analysts say the government's heavy-handed response has played into Boko Haram's hands.

"The impulse is to hit back hard and there are political pressures for a crackdown," de Pontet argues, "but Jonathan is so weak in the north that he needs to be careful not to alienate people there further."

Long the poorer part of Nigeria, the north lacks infrastructure such as reliable power. Since the end of military rule much of the region has felt excluded from the system of patronage that fuels Nigerian politics. When he acceded to the presidency in April last year, Jonathan broke the unofficial rotation of Christian and Muslim as head of state.

Goodluck Jonathan: Nigeria's embattled president

Bavier, who is with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, says poverty has fed Boko Haram's ranks. It is no longer a sect of Islamic fanatics but has the support of disgruntled politicians and their paid thugs.

One source says young men are being paid as little as $2 a day to take part in the group's attacks.

Compounding the situation, the government has so far treated Boko Haram as a security problem rather than a political problem. Because of a lack of trust, security forces find it hard to gather actionable intelligence and different security branches often compete with each other rather than share information.

A former U.S. ambassador to Nigeria, John Campbell, says the response of the security forces so far has been "abysmal" -- which is probably why the inspector-general of police was fired this week. The State Security Service is probably the most competent branch, he says, but doesn't share intelligence.

Bavier agrees: "The security and intelligence apparatus is entirely stove-piped."

The scale of the attacks, and the subsequent discovery by police of new pick-up trucks in Kano wired to explode, suggests Boko Haram is not short of money. That in turn sparks another debate. Some analysts believe it is financing its activities through extortion and bank robberies. But the Nigerian government, the United Nations and U.S. officials say there is evidence Boko Haram is part of a wider west African jihadist movement, and has developed links with al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.

A U.N. report issued last week says arms smuggling throughout the region in the wake of the Libyan revolution is rampant. "Large quantities of weapons and ammunition from Libyan stockpiles were smuggled into the Sahel region," the report said. The weapons included rocket-propelled grenades, explosives and even anti-aircraft artillery.

"Some of the weapons may be hidden in the desert and could be sold to terrorist groups like al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Boko Haram or other criminal organizations," the U.N. report said.

Philippe de Pontet of Eurasia says the increasing use of suicide bombings "speak to the real possibility that this movement is getting support, training and possibly finance from outside." But, he says, Boko Haram did not grow out of al Qaeda; nor is there any evidence of foreign fighters among its ranks.

Campbell agrees, noting that its recent statements have not included jihadist slogans or anti-western rhetoric. While contacts with other groups are possible, there is no indication of close co-ordination.

The U.N. report notes that "although Boko Haram has concentrated its terrorist acts inside Nigeria, seven of its members were arrested while transiting through Niger to Mali." They were allegedly carrying contact details for known al Qaeda members.

Just as the jury is out on Boko Haram's relationship with global jihad, so there is great uncertainty about its aims and structure. Different spokesmen focus on different demands, and government officials have said there is no leadership or manifesto they can address.

Last month, one Boko Haram spokesman demanded all Christians leave the north within three days, and a subsequent video made by Abu Bakr Shekau, railed against Christians. "They killed us, destroyed our mosques and displaced us," he said. "The Christian religion that you are practicing is not the religion of Allah; rather -- it is unbelief."

But John Campbell, now with the Council on Foreign Relations and author of "Nigeria: Dancing on the Brink," says it would be simplistic to regard Boko Haram as a cohesive group motivated mainly by animosity for Christians. There is a strand that follows the strict version of Islam preached by its founder, Mohammed Yousuf; there are opportunists who rob banks and traffic arms; and there are northern politicians drawing on the discontent that Boko Haram represents.

Campbell and Bavier also point out that Boko Haram has frequently attacked figures in the wealthy Muslim establishment too -- accusing them of selling out to the federal government and not adhering to Sharia law. Bavier says many of the poor regard the traditional Muslim hierarchy as complicit in their misery. After the 2011 elections, crowds attacked and burned down the home of the Sultan of Sokoto, a pillar of the Muslim hierarchy who had supported Jonathan.

Even if Boko Haram's aim is not to split Nigeria into religious camps, the effect of its violent attacks could be hugely divisive, according to de Pontet. "If they continue to escalate," he says, "they could tear apart the ethnic and sectarian tapestry of Nigeria in slow motion."

Despite its many problems, Nigeria has natural wealth and a growth rate of 7%. Boko Haram is unlikely to have much impact on the broader economy, but Nigeria's boom is concentrated in the south and may lead to even greater inequality, and a still greater sense of grievance among the marginalized Muslim communities in the north.

Jonathan's olive branch may be intended to avoid that risk. But there is considerable political pressure on him not to make concessions to terrorists. And there is every sign that some elements of Boko Haram prefer a future of extortion -- and explosions.

January 30, 2012 -- Updated 1350 GMT (2150 HKT) Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has shifted his attitude toward the Islamist extremist group Boko Haram, as violence spreads.January 27, 2012 -- Updated 1759 GMT (0159 HKT) CNN iReporters helped chronicle the unfolding events in Nigeria since the beginning of the year by telling their stories.January 30, 2012 -- Updated 1350 GMT (2150 HKT) Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has suddenly shifted his attitude toward the Islamist extremist group Boko Haram, as violence spreads across northern Nigeria. As a native of oil-rich Nigeria, photographer George Osodi says he has seen the devastation, conflict and injustice caused by drilling for the "black gold." January 30, 2012 -- Updated 1417 GMT (2217 HKT) When elected president in April 2011, he was described as "Nigeria's Obama," just nine months later, Jonathan's popularity has plummeted.January 7, 2012 -- Updated 1144 GMT (1944 HKT) The Islamic militant group have attacked churches and government targets across the country's northeast.January 13, 2012 -- Updated 1536 GMT (2336 HKT) Nigeria's rulers face rising religious violence in the north, a long-simmering separatist movement in the south and now a nationwide strike.January 2, 2012 -- Updated 2057 GMT (0457 HKT) The militant Islamist group Boko Haram issues an ultimatum to Christians in northern Nigeria. CNN's Tim Lister reports. Two issues are currently intensifying fears of a 'Nigerian Spring': the removal of fuel subsidies and the rise radical Islamist terrorists. Nigerians are protesting the government's decision to end fuel subsidies that kept prices down. If you're protesting in Nigeria help us tell your story.January 11, 2012 -- Updated 0734 GMT (1534 HKT) On the streets of Nigeria, we bear witness to what many see as a bold decision on fuel subsidies is also uncovering decades of frustration and corruption. Nigerian iReporters give CNN an on-the-ground look at the general strike currently underway in Nigeria, as they share their stories and perspectives.January 13, 2012 -- Updated 1537 GMT (2337 HKT) Nigeria, Africa's largest oil producer, ended oil subsidies on New Year's Day that had kept gasoline prices artificially low. For an insight into the diverse cultural trends and personalities that help define Africa beyond the traditional headlines. Today's five most popular stories

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Family convicted in Canada 'honor murders'

2012-01-31T02:54:00.000-08:00

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Kingston, Ontario (CNN) -- A Canadian jury Sunday convicted three members of a family of Afghan immigrants of the "honor" murders of four female relatives whose bodies were found in an Ontario canal.

Mohammed Shafia, 58; his wife, Tooba Mohammad Yahya, 42; and their son, Hamed, 21, were found guilty of first-degree murder in the deaths of Shafia's three teenage daughters and his first wife in his polygamous marriage. Sunday's verdicts followed a three-month trial, in which jurors heard wiretaps of Shafia referring to his daughters as "whores" and ranting about their behavior.

All three were sentenced to life in prison immediately after their convictions, with no chance of parole for 25 years.

"This is a good day for Canadian justice. Our democratic society protects the rights of all," Gerard Laarhuis, the chief prosecutor in the case, told reporters outside the courthouse in Kingston. "It's a very bad day, because this jury found that four strong, vivacious and freedom-loving women were murdered by their own family."

At least one Shafia family supporter interrupted Laarhuis with shouts of "lies" and called the verdict a "miscarriage of justice." But others cheered the verdict as Laarhuis continued.

The three Shafia sisters -- Zainab, 19, Sahar, 17, and Geeti, 13 -- were found dead inside a car that plunged into the Rideau Canal in Kingston on June 30, 2009. Shafia's first wife, 50-year-old Rona Amir Mohammad, also died.

The verdicts came on the second day of deliberations for a seven-woman, five-man jury in Kingston, about 280 km (175 miles) west of the family's home in Montreal. There was no immediate comment from defense attorneys.

Prosecutors said the girls' father, mother and brother all plotted to kill the four women in an "honor" murder. Investigators claimed that hours of wiretapped conversations reveal a premeditated plan to punish rebellious, Westernized daughters and their permissive advocate, Rona.

Shafia and Yahya admitted on the stand that they were upset with Zainab for running off to marry a Pakistani man they hated, that Sahar wore revealing clothes and had secret boyfriends, and Geeti was failing in school and calling social workers to get her out of a home in turmoil.

Prosecutors argued that under instructions from his father, Hamed Shafia used the family Lexus to ram the other family car carrying the women into the canal. The shattered headlight on the Lexus, they claim, matches the damage on the rear bumper of the family Nissan in which the women were found dead.

Investigators also believed the victims might have died before they hit the water, because they were unable to escape despite their seat belts being unbuckled and the car being submerged in just 7 feet of water.

In the three-month-long trial, Shafia testified, "My children did a lot of cruelty toward me," as he wept openly on the stand. He went on to say he believed his children "betrayed" him by dating and he did not hide his anger, saying a father would never expect that kind of behavior from this daughters.

In taking the stand, Shafia swore to tell the truth on the Quran and he again invoked the holy book to say Islam does not condone killing people to preserve a family's honor.

In a direct response to a question from prosecutor Laurie Lacelle, Shafia said, "To kill someone, you can't regain your respect and honor. Respected lady, you should know that. In our religion, a person who kills his wife or daughter, there is nothing more dishonorable. How is it possible that someone would do that to their children, respected lady?"

"You might do it," Lacelle calmly replied, "if you thought they were whores." Shafia had used that term in a conversation captured by wiretaps.

Investigators played hours of the wiretap recordings in court, alleging many conversations involving the three suspects prove they were plotting murder. In some of the most shocking conversations, Shafia launched into a rant about his daughters' behavior.

"I say to myself, 'You did well. Would they come back to life a hundred times, you should so the same again,'" he says. And in another played in court and translated from the Afghan language Dari, he says, "May the devil defecate on their graves! This is what a daughter should be? Would a daughter be such a whore?"

Shafia and his lawyers tried to explain that his shocking words are traditional expressions in Dari that should not be translated literally. But the jury also heard from an expert witness on honor murders -- a term CNN is using in the interest of clarity rather than the more common "honor killings" because the latter phrase does not properly describe the alleged crime.

That witness, University of Toronto professor Shahrzad Mojab, said that in some families, honor is worth more than life.

In an interview with CNN, Mojab said that many times, honor crimes are calculated acts that involve more than one family member.

"There is a very important difference between honor killing and violence against women in the form of domestic violence. It is plotted, it is premeditated." Mojab said.

"What we need to understand is that the male power and the male desire for the control of the woman's body and the woman's sexuality -- the honor resides in that sort of understanding and the ownership of women's body and sexuality," he said. "So when that is being presented in a way that is not acceptable to the social norm, then the only way the honor can be restored is by purifying that. And the purification is through blood."

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UPDATE: Where in the world ... ?

2012-01-30T22:44:00.000-08:00

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Do you know where this photo was taken?CNN will post a new photo each Monday morning and reveal the answer later that day The photo might be related to a recent story -- or it could just be something unusual we found

(CNN) -- [Updated 4 p.m. Monday, January 30] The photo above was taken in Chittagong, Bangladesh, which is a "graveyard" of sorts for old ships.

Every year, hundreds of tankers, ferries and cargo ships are brought to Chittagong, where they are dismantled for spare parts.

This scene was captured in 2010 by Czech photographer Jana Asenbrennerova.

"I felt swallowed by the massive pieces of ships that surrounded me," she said. "The multitude of noises, many machines running at the same time, men yelling commands to each other."

About 80% of the world's out-of-service ships are recycled in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, according to NGO Shipbreaking Platform. Click here to see more of Asenbrennerova's shipyard photos on our CNN Photos blog.

CNN.com commenters "lunoshard" and "ksa1987" were the first to answer correctly our photo challenge this week. Another reader, "mensch3," added an interesting note: if you check out Chittagong on Google Maps' satellite view, "you can actually see a lot of the ships being chopped up." Pretty cool!

[Original post] Do you know where this photo was taken?

If you think you know the answer -- or if you just want to take a wild guess -- post it in the comments area below. Later in the day, we'll reveal where the photo was taken and give credit to those who figured it out first. (The more detail, the better!)

Each Monday morning, we'll post a new photo and challenge you to tell us its origin. The photo might be related to a prominent news story or theme -- or it might just be something that caught our eye.

Good luck!

Check out past "Where in the World ...?"

CNN's Brett Roegiers contributed to this report.

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CNN crew detained amid Chinese Tibet crackdown

2012-01-30T18:40:00.000-08:00

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Sichuan province, China (CNN) -- It's after 10 p.m. when we see a light in the distance. We've traveled for more than three hours up a windy, icy road in western China.

Our hope is to get to the Tibetan autonomous zone, in the mountainous region of Sichuan province, an area reportedly locked in an ever-growing spiral of violence.

We're so close, only an hour or so away. And then the light.

Within minutes, we grind to a halt. A policeman is flashing a flashlight in my face. Our Chinese driver is already outside the car. We won't be going any farther tonight.

Roadblocks like this are strewn across the back roads of this province. For weeks, ethnic Tibetans and Chinese security forces have been locked in conflict.

Buddhist nuns and monks have been carrying out ritual self-immolation by setting themselves alight. It is a gruesome protest against what they claim is the ongoing oppression by Chinese authorities.

As our car turns back, our driver calls a Tibetan contact. Something serious is going down. The Tibetan says his village is crawling with police and the military. Later, local news reports tell of two Tibetans killed in protests.

But many of the villages that straddle the mountains are inhabited by Han Chinese -- the dominant ethnic group in China. Inside the houses, lights are on, as people eat, watch TV and talk. We ask what they're hearing. They tell us they have little time for the Tibetans. They call them lazy and accuse them of living off government handouts.

One woman claims the Han Chinese are being targeted by violent Tibetan gangs. Local media reports say more than a dozen people have already been killed.

There is hysteria, bigotry and fear here. It is fueled by government secrecy and a constant stream of military and police vehicles. Much of the province is in lockdown.

In the capital city of Chengdu, police vehicles are seen moving into position at dawn. Soon, they are on every corner, armed police patrolling the streets. They are tightening their grip on this heavily Tibetan populated neighborhood.

It's hard to get people to talk here. We see a group of young monks on a corner and wave them over. They agree to take us to their living quarters. Here in a tiny one bedroom apartment, four beds crammed against the walls and their food tied in sacks, the monks tell us they are verbally abused and harassed by police; pushed to breaking point.

"I cannot bear it any longer - any more," says one.

They are far from their home in the mountains; cut off they say, they cannot even make contact by phone.

Wherever you go they see you. We cannot go anywhere.
Monk

"We want to go but we cannot, you can see all the security out there. Wherever you go they see you. We cannot go anywhere," he says.

We ask if he's afraid, but he just looks at a picture of the Buddha, a smile on his face.

"I can't explain," he says, "but I'm not afraid."

In their pouch, the monks hold a keepsake of their spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, too sacred to even show us. This pouch, they say, carries a dream.

"We wish what all Tibetans wish for the most: for the Dalai Lama to return to the palace in Tibet."

They know about the self-immolation of other Buddhists; they say they support them and vow it will continue until China leaves Tibet.

For the Chinese government though, these are dangerous men -- part of what they call a "splittist" element, determined to tear Tibet from China.

Throughout our interview, we have been watched. Later, our vehicle is followed. Our driver says his family has received threatening phone calls.

On our way to the airport, a car, rather suspiciously, rams into the back of our taxi.

As we make our way to the service counters, we are followed by plainclothes security talking constantly on mobile phones. Eventually trying to clear airport security, we're grabbed by police. We are marched to an airport police station and detained and questioned for five hours. Police keep some of our video.

They want to know who we spoke to, what we are doing here, where we've been and why we want to cover this story. We have our own questions -- questions authorities are answering only with roadblocks and police.

There are claims and counter-claims in this dark conflict. All of it is being played out behind a veil of secrecy in the mountains of western China.

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Q&A: Where is Syria crisis heading?

2012-01-30T14:15:00.001-08:00

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(CNN) -- Ten months into the uprising in Syria, deadly clashes between opposition fighters and government forces have now spread to suburbs just 15 minutes from the heart of the capital Damascus.

What's the latest on the ground?

The opposition said heavy fighting continued Monday between Syrian forces and the rebel Free Syria Army in Damascus suburbs, where Syrian forces have been battling to take back neighborhoods in Saqba and Maleiha located uncomfortably close to President Bashar al-Assad's seat of power in the capital.

Scores were killed Monday across Syria, including 22 in Homs, six in Daraa, five in Damascus and one in Idlib, according to the opposition Local Coordination Committees.

Another opposition group reported violence in Rastan, Daraa, and other towns and cities across Syria.

In one part of Homs, Syrian forces battled to take back a neighborhood from the rebel army and anti-government protesters, according to an opposition activist who asked that his identity be withheld over a fear of government reprisal.

The dead and wounded littered the streets of the neighborhood, which was under siege, the activist said.

More than 5,000 people have died since March, when the government launched a crackdown against demonstrators, according to the United Nations. Opposition groups estimate a higher death toll, with counts near or exceeding 7,000 people.

How is the international community reacting?

The Arab League suspended its monitoring mission in Syria on Saturday, recalling all of its observers around the country to Damascus as violence escalates.

While some Arab League monitors will leave the country, others will stay in Damascus, but none will be conducting missions at this time, according to Ali Erfan, senior advisor to Arab League Secretary General Nabil el-Araby.

The U.N. Security Council is considering a draft resolution that would call on embattled president Bashar al-Assad to step down and transfer power.

Russia, which maintains trade relations with Syria, has proposed its own draft U.N. resolution that assigns equal blame for the violence on both al-Assad and the opposition, an option dismissed by the West.

In October, Russia and China issued a rare double veto of a resolution that lacked sanctions but would have condemned the violence in Syria. The draft that will now be considered also lacks sanctions but is tougher than the earlier version, which said nothing about transfer of power.

The Syrian regime has been under international pressure to stop the crackdown -- and the U.N., the United States, the European Union and some members of the Arab League have called for President al-Assad to step down.

What did the Arab League monitors achieve in Syria?

The Arab League monitoring mission in Syria has been criticized for failing to stop the al-Assad regime's deadly crackdown on anti-government protests across the country.

But the head of the Arab League observers in Syria, Sudanese Gen. Mohammed Ahmed al-Dabi, said the mission was designed not to bring an immediate end to violence but to investigate and observe the situation.

The choice of Al-Dabi to lead the mission was controversial in itself: he was part of the Sudanese security establishment that put down the rebellion in the breakaway region of Darfur a decade ago.

Still, one expert says the Arab League mission, which began on December 26, kept the world's attention focused on Syria at a time when attention had been slipping away.

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"The presence of monitors served to galvanize the opposition, and we saw an increased number of demonstrations and anti-government activity during that time period," Middle East professor Chris Phillips from Queen Mary, University of London told CNN. "But as a consequence we also saw the government step up its visible repression of the protesters."

While critics say al-Assad has used the Arab League mission as a cover to continue suppression of protests in Syria, Phillips says it was important that the League be seen to be acting on the Syrian crisis before taking the issue up with bigger organizations.

"The Arab League have now exhausted their own internal options and they can be seen to have taken action themselves to try to resolve the crisis," said Phillips. "It would now seem legitimate for the Arab League to now turn to larger bodies, certainly the U.N., to take action itself."

Individual states in the Arab League have called for al-Assad to step down, but the organization as a whole has failed to table a similar resolution -- and Phillips says that is unlikely to change anytime soon.

"While it seems likely there is going to be some internal negotiation (on a resolution) taking place, it certainly seems very unlikely Lebanon or Iraq -- states who are allied effectively to Iran and Syria -- will ever join calls for Assad to stand down," said Phillips.

Will the international community intervene like it did in Libya?

Nothing will happen in terms of military intervention in Syria unless Russia changes its current stance, according to Phillips.

"Russia have said quite clearly that they're not going to support anything that would risk al-Assad being forced from power," Phillips told CNN.

"If Russia gave the same kind of green light for Syria that it did for Libya, there's every possibility that you'd see military intervention, probably coming out of Turkey," Phillips said. "But Turkey have said they're highly reluctant to intervene unless they have NATO or U.N. backing."

Is the opposition united against the al-Assad regime?

The longer the fighting goes on in Syria, activists and Western diplomats say, the more radicalized the revolution is becoming.

Fringe elements of Muslim extremist groups are moving in and sectarian rifts are widening as feelings of despair descend on some flashpoint Syrian cities.

While the besieged city of Homs has traditionally been a place of religious tolerance, "there is a real sense now that that is changing and being manipulated by people on both sides" of the conflict, according to Phillips.

President al-Assad belongs to the Alawite Muslim sect while Sunni Muslims form the majority in Syria.

"The older Sunni merchant class that feel the city is theirs rightfully are now turning on the Alawites, who they see as these recent migrants that don't actually belong in the city," said Phillips.

Many Christians have fled to Damascus as communities begin to divide on sectarian lines. Salafists -- Islamic radicals, many of whom have brought terror tactics honed in neighboring Iraq -- are moving into Homs.

Hard-liners inside and outside the country are already jockeying for post-al-Assad power, while the Alawite community fears the prospect of persecution if the government falls.

"The regime is trying to persuade the Alawites that if they abandon the government, they will be wiped out in the dog-eat-dog aftermath," Phillips said.

CNN's Arwa Damon, Nic Robertson, and CNN Wires contributed to this report.

January 30, 2012 -- Updated 1608 GMT (0008 HKT) Rima Maktabi talks to two former regime insiders about President Bashar al-Assad and Syria's future.January 30, 2012 -- Updated 1857 GMT (0257 HKT) CNN's Arwa Damon gets caught up in a deadly game of cat and mouse in the streets of Damascus, Syria.January 30, 2012 -- Updated 1810 GMT (0210 HKT) Clashes between rebels and regime forces have reached Damascus. Will the international community intervene?January 30, 2012 -- Updated 1515 GMT (2315 HKT) Fred Pleitgen on what Syrian Kurds demand for joining in the uprising. Click on countries in CNN's interactive map to see the roots of their unrest and where things stand today.January 24, 2012 -- Updated 1810 GMT (0210 HKT) Syria has become increasingly polarized, says Nic Robertson. That leaves many in the middle who want change but don't want uncertainty. January 20, 2012 -- Updated 2255 GMT (0655 HKT) CNN's Arwa Damon reports on growing fear in Syria about the future of the country. He was the first Arab leader to call for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down, but King Abdullah of Jordan says don't expect change in Syria overnight. For the latest news on developments in the Middle East and North Africa in Arabic.January 16, 2012 -- Updated 1017 GMT (1817 HKT) Arab League monitors are attacked from both sides in the uprising in Syria. Exclusive report from Nic Robertson.January 16, 2012 -- Updated 2108 GMT (0508 HKT) Fareed Zakaria interviews CNN's Nic Robertson after he gained rare access inside Syria.January 11, 2012 -- Updated 2213 GMT (0613 HKT) A filmmaker who just returned from Syrian city of Homs describes fight for survival that citizens in restive city face.January 24, 2012 -- Updated 2037 GMT (0437 HKT) Protesters supporting and denouncing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad give very different takes on the situation in the country.Today's five most popular stories

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Why we need Windows Phone 7

2012-01-01T13:29:00.000-08:00

For a slow holiday news week, there's been plenty of chatter over the last few days about Windows Phone 7.

It all started Tuesday when several tech blogs posted editorials on why Microsoft's operating system was failing, a fact that Mobile Burn's Dan Seifert wryly pointed out on Twitter. And then, almost as if in response, a leaked memo on WMPoweruser spilled details on the next software update, the Windows Phone Marketplace hit the 50,000-app mark, and WinSupersite reported that AT&T will be the first carrier to offer LTE-enabled Windows Phone 7 devices.

I'll spare you another musing on why I think Microsoft's operating system is failing (though I think "flailing" is better word), since I doubt that I'd have anything new to add to the discussion. By all means, stronger carrier support, more devices and apps, and faster software updates are crucial to Windows Phone 7's success. That's exactly why I hope the above rumors are true. And if you care about the future of smartphones, you should too.

Though I played with Windows Phone 7 quite a bit shortly after the first handsets were introduced in October, 2010, I used an HTC HD7 as my primary phone for a few months last autumn to really get to know the OS. To honestly see its merits and drawbacks, I couldn't view it through iPhone or Android-tinted glasses. And, frankly, I quickly understood why it was winning a high user satisfaction rating.

To me, Windows Phone 7 offers the best elements of both iOS and Android. The hub-based interface is clean, customizable, and completely original (I really love the notifications); you can choose from more than one handset design; updates arrive directly from Microsoft (though some also consider that a liability); there's real multitasking and great integration with apps (even if there aren't many of them), and I never had to hard reset a phone. In many ways, it's a great middle ground.

That's why we need a third viable smartphone OS, despite what warring Android and iOS fanboys might argue. At the moment, RIM certainly isn't it up to the task and HP's sad decision to pull the plug on WebOS has left with one less viable player. So I really hope that Microsoft can step up its WP7 game and prod the iOS and Android teams to do better. Do you really think Apple and Google would continue to be as innovative if the other wasn't around? Of course not, which is why we need strong competition to continue.

Like I've said before, we shouldn't want to live in a world with no choice in smartphones. Having just one OS would abysmal, but even two isn't enough. So in addition to actually trying to use the OS for once, I hope that knee-jerk Windows Phone 7 detractors--maybe you'll find some in the comments section for this blog--think twice before denouncing the OS as dead and dancing on its grave. Choice is fun. No choice is boring.

Yeah, we've heard a few times now that Windows the glory days of Windows Phone 7's success are just around corner. I pretty much said as much in my 2012 CES preview, and I said it a few times last year like when Nokia announced its Microsoft partnership. Maybe it won't come at all, but with Nokia designs, LTE phones, more apps, and bigger updates coming down the road, anything is possible.

Arab Parliament urges end to Syria monitors' mission

2012-01-01T13:25:00.000-08:00

An advisory body to the Arab League has called for the organisation's observers to be withdrawn from Syria because of the ongoing crackdown on protests.

The speaker of the Arab Parliament said the monitors had to leave "considering the continued killing of innocent civilians by the Syrian regime".

There has been no let-up in the violence since the observers started their work on Tuesday.

Their mission is to monitor a peace plan drawn up by the Arab League.

The Speaker of the Arab Parliament, Salem al-Diqbassi, said in a statement that the continuing repression "in the presence of Arab monitors has roused the anger of Arab people and negates the purpose of sending a fact-finding mission".

"This is giving the Syrian regime an Arab cover for continuing its inhumane actions under the eyes and ears of the Arab League," Mr Diqbassi added.

The parliament is an 88-member advisory committee of delegates from member states. Its recommendations are non-binding and it operates separately from the league.
'Nothing frightening'

Correspondents say many demonstrators are becoming frustrated at the league's inability to stop the violence.

About 60 monitors are in the country to verify the implementation of the Arab League plan, which calls for an end to all fighting, the withdrawal of troops from the streets and the release of political prisoners.

Although some tanks have reportedly pulled back, snipers have been visible during demonstrations and rallies.

The Local Co-ordination Committees, a network of anti-government groups inside Syria, said at least six people had died in various parts of Syria on Sunday.

More than 150 people have been killed since the monitors arrived in the country, according to activists. The UN says puts the number of deaths in the 10-month uprising at 5,000.

There has also been criticism of the head of the monitoring team, Sudanese Gen Mustafa al-Dabi - who is regarded by some as biased towards the Syrian government.

On Saturday he appeared to contradict one of his officials who was quoted as saying during a visit to the southern city of Deraa that he and other monitors had seen government snipers "with our own eyes".

Gen Dabi later told the BBC that the observer had made no such claim and was only speaking hypothetically.

On Thursday, after a visit to the restive northern city of Homs, Gen Dabi said that "some places looked a bit of a mess but there was nothing frightening".

The general has held a number of senior posts in Sudan, including in the troubled Darfur region.

The government of President Bashar al-Assad says it is fighting armed groups and that 2,000 security forces personnel have died.

Casualty figures and other information are hard to verify as most foreign media are barred from reporting freely in Syria.

Iran 'test-fires medium-range missile' in Gulf

2012-01-01T13:24:00.000-08:00

Iran has successfully test-fired a medium-range surface-to-air missile during military exercises in the Gulf, the official Irna news agency reports.

Iranian naval commander, Mahmoud Mousavi, was quoted as saying the missile was equipped with the "latest technology" and "intelligent systems".

The test comes a day after he denied earlier state media reports that Iran had test-fired long-range missiles.

He said on Saturday missile launches would take place "in the coming days".

Iran's 10 days of naval exercises began last week and are taking place in international waters to the east of the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

They come at a time of increased tensions between the West and Iran over its nuclear ambitions.

Tehran reacted angrily last week to reports that Western nations were planning to impose further sanctions targeting Iran's oil and financial sectors.

Iran threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, which links the Gulf - and its oil-producing states - to the Indian Ocean.

About 20% of the world's oil passes through the narrow strait.

The US and its allies believe Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons - a charge Iran denies.

Tehran insists its nuclear programme is purely for peaceful purposes. Iran has maintained that it needs nuclear technology to generate electricity to meet growing domestic demand.

China seeks to combat hi-tech crimewave

2011-12-30T09:28:00.000-08:00

The Chinese government is cracking down on home-grown cyber thieves seeking to steal online banking details.

The crackdown combats phishing by ensuring that the websites of legitimate banks appear at the top of search results.

The move comes as the personal details of more than 45 million Chinese people were stolen in separate attacks.

The government is investigating the thefts and said that the wave of attacks "threatened internet safety".

Crime spree

The 10 biggest search engines in China have signed up to the anti-phishing scheme to ensure that users looking for bank websites go to the right place.

Phishing attacks involve messages that look like they come from a bank or other organisation and direct people to a website that mimics the real thing.

When people visit the fake site and enter their login details these are recorded by cyber criminals who may loot the account soon afterwards.

By ensuring that the websites of banks appear first, the government hopes to limit the numbers of people falling for phishing scams and visiting the fake sites.

Some of the search engines will put a special icon next to the bank links in lists of results to flag them as legitimate.

Hacked accounts

The anti-phishing initiative comes at the end of a week in which the personal details of almost 10% of China's 485 million web users were stolen.

On Christmas day, the hugely popular Tianya chat site revealed that the login names and passwords from 40 million of its users had been stolen. All risk being plundered by attackers as the information was held in plain text.

Scammers regularly create fake websites that mimic those of legitimate banks

Tianya has contacted the affected users and urged them to change their passwords as soon as possible.

Soon after, CDSN, one of China's largest forums for programmers, reported that the details of all its six million users had been stolen. The attackers got away with email addresses, login names and passwords. Again, all the details were stored in plain text.

The scale of the attacks prompted government action and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said it would investigate who was behind the attacks.

"The department believes the recent leak of user information is a serious infringement of the rights of internet users and threatens internet safety," the Ministry said in a statement.

The Chinese government is known to have put in place technology that monitors online chat rooms for controversial topics but the far-reaching measures have not stopped all nefarious cyber activity.

As well as criminal hackers, many activists are turning to the web to make protests more visible.

The website of Menginu, a firm at the centre of a tainted milk scandal, was vandalised and its homepage image replaced with text that read "Do you have a conscience?".

Andrew Lloyd Webber predicts 2012 theatre 'bloodbath'

2011-12-30T09:25:00.000-08:00

The Olympics will cause "a bloodbath of a summer" for London theatres in 2012, Andrew Lloyd Webber has predicted.

"Nobody's going to go to the theatre at all," the composer told Radio 4's Today programme, predicting that "most of the theatres in London will shut".

"It's going to be very tough," he said, revealing advance bookings were "about 10%" of their normal level.

Three major musicals, he added, "are not going to play over the Olympics" - but he would not name them.

Lord Lloyd Webber's Really Useful Group owns seven London theatres which are currently hosting shows including War Horse, Matilda and The Wizard of Oz.

The impresario said "big, big, big hits" like his own The Phantom of the Opera would continue during the Olympics period.

But he said some of his other theatres "will have to" close because of a drop-off in the "ordinary West End tourist audience".

On a brighter note, the 63-year-old said a host of new musicals would arrive in the West End after the conclusion of the 2012 games.

Shows heading into London include a Spice Girls musical, a Bridget Jones stage show and the Tony award-winning The Book of Mormon.

"They've never been so commercially popular," he told PM arts correspondent . "The appetite for musicals is insatiable in a way.

"I don't think I've ever had so many musicals being offered to our theatres in London as there are for the end of next year."

The capital's promotional organisation London and Partners added that 29 shows would be running next summer, with an "unprecedented" number booking through to the autumn.

A spokeswoman said that a whole series of experiences would be on offer next year, including London's "world-beating theatre".

Samsung still doMinates mobile phone market, but Apple is gaining

2011-12-30T05:07:00.000-08:00

Samsung is still the biggest maker of mobile phones, but Apple is gaining ground, according to data released today by market researcher ComScore.

Samsung accounted for 25.6 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers for the three months ending November 11, a slight increase of 0.3 percent over the previous three months. While Apple came in fourth with 11.2 percent, its 1.4 percent increase was the greatest market share increase for the previous three months.

Samsung and Apple were the only mobile phone makers in the top 5 to boost their share of the market during that period. LG came in at No. 2 with 20.5 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers, a decrease of 0.5 percent, followed by Motorola, which lost 0.3 percent to finish the period with 13.7 percent of the market.

In the No. 5 spot, beleaguered handset maker Research In Motion logged the greatest percentage loss, dropping 0.6 percent to 6.5 percent.

Android, meanwhile, continues to dominate the mobile OS landscape. Apple's iOS also made headway, though not at Google's expense.

Google's mobile operating system controlled 46.9 percent of market, up 3.1 percent over the previous three months, while Apple's iOS came logged an increase of 1.4 percent to finish in second with 28.7 percent. The rest of the top 5 platforms all lost marketshare: RIM lost 3.1 percent to finish with 16.6 percent, Microsoft lost 0.5 percent to finish with 5.2 percent, and Symbian lost 0.3 percent to finish with 1.5 percent.

Today's data does not reflect the 700,000 new Android devices Google says it is activating on a daily basis, or the 4.2 million iOS devices and about 2.6 million Android devices activated on Christmas Day.

Pattinson inspires Australian win

2011-12-30T04:57:00.000-08:00

(PM88) -- Young paceman James Pattinson led the way as Australia hustled out India for just 169 to win the opening Test in Melbourne by 122 runs Thursday.

India were left to chase 292 for victory in their second innings at the MCG, but fell well short as their highly-rated batting order collapsed on the fourth day.

Pattinson finished with figures of four wickets for 53 and also played a crucial role with the bat as he shared a battling 43-run last wicket stand with Ben Hilfenhaus earlier in the day.

That helped Australia to reach 240 all out, having been 27 for four wickets on the third day, and leaving the tourists with a testing target.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men promptly collapsed to 81 for six wickets with Peter Siddle's dismissal of top scorer Sachin Tendulkar a body blow for the Indians.

Still searching for his 100th international century, Tendulkar had made a battling 32 when he sliced the paceman to Mike Hussey in the gully.

With his departure, India's hopes were effectively over and they were all out in just 47.5 overs to suffer their fifth straight Test defeat overseas after suffering a 4-0 thrashing to top-ranked England earlier this year.

It's fantastic to get a win against India, who we love beating, and put the disappointment of the New Zealand loss in Hobart behind us
James Pattinson

"It's fantastic to get a win against India, who we love beating, and put the disappointment of the New Zealand loss in Hobart behind us," Pattinson said as he collected his second man-of-the-match award in his three Tests.

"We should have been able to chase 300 with the kind of batting we've got, so another bad start to a Test series," said Dhoni.

Australia had resumed overnight on 179 for eight wickets and quickly lost Hussey for a battling 89.

But Pattinson, who made an undefeated 37, and Hilfenhaus (14) frustrated the Indian attack and paved the way for Australia's eventual victory.

Hilfenhaus claimed the early wicket of the dangerous Virender Sehwag for seven, and five wickets fell for 93 in the middle session, capped by Siddle's removal of Tendulkar.

Indian skipper Dhoni was bowled by Pattinson for 23 and Umesh Yadav was the last wicket to fall, caught superbly on the boundary by David Warner off spinner Nathan Lyon for 21.

The second Test starts in Sydney next week.

In other Test action Thursday, Sri Lanka wrapped up a 208-run victory over South Africa on the fourth day at Kingsmead in Durban.

Man-of-the-match Rangana Herath took three wickets in four balls, bowling Marchant de Lange to complete his team's first Test win in 2011.

They had lost the first match of the series by an innings and 81 runs, but set 450 to win, South Africa were always struggling.

Herath took five wickets for 79 and nine wickets in the match, but AB de Villiers and Dale Steyn threatened to extend the Test into a fifth day with a battling seventh wicket partnership of 99.

But when Herath trapped de Villiers for 69 it sparked a dramatic late collapse.

Sri Lanka were all out for 279 in their second innings earlier in the day, losing their last three wickets for 23 runs. Steyn took five for 73 for his 17th five-wicket haul in Tests.

Al Qaeda leader sends veteran jihadists to establish presence in Libya

2011-12-30T04:48:00.000-08:00

(PM88) -- Al Qaeda's leadership has sent experienced jihadists to Libya in an effort to build a fighting force there, according to a Libyan source briefed by Western counter-terrorism officials.

The jihadists include one veteran fighter who had been detained in Britain on suspicion of terrorism. The source describes him as committed to al Qaeda's global cause and to attacking U.S. interests.

The source told CNN that the al Qaeda leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, personally dispatched the former British detainee to Libya earlier this year as the Gadhafi regime lost control of large swathes of the country.

The man arrived in Libya in May and has since begun recruiting fighters in the eastern region of the country, near the Egyptian border. He now has some 200 fighters mobilized, the source added. Western intelligence agencies are aware of his activities, according to the source.

Another al Qaeda operative, of dual European-Libyan nationality, was arrested in an unnamed country on his way to Libya from the Afghan-Pakistan border region.

The individual now trying to establish a bridgehead for al Qaeda in Libya is known as "AA." His name has not been made public because of UK law on terrorist suspects who are detained but not charged.

"AA" has been close to Ayman al-Zawahiri since the 1980s and first traveled to Afghanistan in the early 1990s to join mujahideen fighting the Soviet occupation -- as did hundreds of Arab fighters.

"AA" later moved to the United Kingdom, where he began spreading al Qaeda's ideology to younger Muslims. He was an admirer of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who emerged as leader of al Qaeda in Iraq after the U.S. invasion and who led an especially brutal campaign that targeted civilians and promoted sectarian hatred between Sunni and Shia Muslims.

After the terrorist attacks in London in July 2005, heightened concern about terrorist activities in the UK led to the arrest of a number of Libyans resident in England.

"AA" was detained under what was termed a "control order," a mechanism used to detain terrorist suspects -- usually under home arrest -- without charging them. Control orders have been used in dozens of cases where the government does not want to reveal evidence in court for fear of compromising security sources. Those subject to control orders are not named by authorities.

"AA" also spent some time in Belmarsh high-security jail in the UK in 2006-07, possibly because he was seen as a flight-risk. It is also possible, according to the source, that he was resisting legal moves to have him deported to Libya. At the time, relations between the Gadhafi regime and the United Kingdom were improving, and Libyan authorities were seeking the deportation of opponents.

At some point the control order lapsed, and "AA" left Britain late in 2009 and went back to the Afghan-Pakistan border area -- taking two teenagers with him. One was subsequently killed.

Western intelligence agencies have voiced concern in public and privately about the potential for Islamist extremists and especially al Qaeda to gain a foothold in Libya.

The al Qaeda leadership has included several Libyans -- among them Atiyah Abd al-Rahman, who was killed in August, and Abu Yahya al-Libi.

In a video message to fellow Libyans distributed on jihadist forums earlier this month, al-Libi said: "At this crossroads you have found yourselves, you either choose a secular regime that pleases the greedy crocodiles of the West and for them to use it as a means to fulfill their goals, or you take a strong position and establish the religion of Allah."

Militant groups have long had a presence in eastern Libya, even if they were ruthlessly suppressed by the Gadhafi regime. Al Qaeda documents discovered in Iraq in 2006 showed that many of the fighters who had joined the insurgency had come from eastern Libya.

And a U.S. diplomatic cable from 2008 -- published this year by WikiLeaks -- told of support for extremist Islamist views in the town of Derna, which is close to where "AA" has established a presence.

Entitled "Die Hard in Derna" the cable describes the town as a "wellspring of Libyan foreign fighters" for al Qaeda in Iraq.

The diplomat who traveled to Derna quoted a local businessman who had "likened young men in the town to Bruce Willis' character in the action picture 'Die Hard,' who stubbornly refused to die quietly. For them, resistance against coalition forces in Iraq is an important act of 'jihad' and a last act of defiance against the Gadhafi regime."

High youth unemployment, discrimination by the Gadhafi regime and the influence of veteran Libyan jihadists from Afghanistan all played a role in radicalizing a new generation.

"It's jihad -- it's our duty, and you're talking about people who don't have much else to be proud of," the businessman said.

Ad-Aware Pro Internet Security Free

2011-05-14T22:38:00.000-07:00

Ad-Aware 9 Pro is a One of the first applications built to find and remove malware and spyware, . The latest version continues the publisher's tradition of adroitly addressing user concerns, yet Some annoyances Remain.

Ad-Aware 9 Pro continues the development progress that publisher Lavasoft began in the previous version. No longer content with offering only malware protection, Ad-Aware now includes antivirus protections licensed from Sunbelt, the makers of Vipre, as well as interesting in-house improvements.

Lavasoft first started changing Ad-Aware's protection engine more than a year ago in version 8.1, when it introduced Genotype. This heuristics-based technology identified identical snippets of code across multiple threat mutations. In version 9, Genotype receives support from what Lavasoft calls "Dedicated Detection." This tech looks inside files, analyzes the code, and creates a loose pattern for finding families of related malware. The company touts that a single dedicated detection signature can detect hundreds of thousands of threats. More importantly, Lavasoft expects that dedicated detection will lower false positive rates by creating more points of comparison.

Ad-Aware 9 debuts new tech

The second new engine, MagmaShield, is proactive. It emulates processor instructions, comparing approved processor-level operations against those that are undefined in the application layer. This means that it aggressively looks at how a file interacts with the CPU and uses that to call out threats faster.

Installation
Ad-Aware 9 Pro has a fairly straightforward installation process, simple in procedure. The installer file is a small 9 MB stub that then downloads the large main file, so users who are on slower connections ought to prepare for a lengthy download wait. Ad-Aware has no toolbars and won't attempt to commandeer your default browser's search engine, an irritation that some competitors still believe in. Installing does require a reboot, which is expected for security software. The install itself was a bit slow, taking more than five minutes including the reboot, yet still noticeably faster than it used to be.

Interface
Ad-Aware's interface hasn't changed much since version 8, which means that it's still in dire need of a refresh. The main window offers three icons that you can click on to update your virus definition files and engines, scan your system, or check your status on Ad-Watch Live, Ad-Aware's real-time protection engine. Below the main icons there's a button for updating your scan schedule and accessing support, while a toggle button to jump between simple mode and advanced mode sits in the bottom left corner of the interface. The interface's simple mode merely makes some otherwise visible options disappear, hidden behind an extra click. All but the newest of users ought to feel comfortable using Ad-Aware's "advanced" mode.

As you can tell, it's sort of a mess, and we're not done yet. At the top right of the interface are a series of buttons that replicate the three features in the main window, as well as a fourth for accessing "extras." A Settings button sits below those four.

Tapping the Scan button will run a full scan, and there's no way to change this behavior to Smart scan or Profile scan, the Ad-Aware term for a custom scan. Within the Scan window there are tabs near the top for jumping into the scheduler, the quarantine, and the ignore list.

The Ad-Watch Live window will show you which kinds of real-time protection you have running. Process protection defaults to on, while File, Network, and Registry protection are available only in the Ad-Aware paid upgrade. Some competitors, such as Avast, offer all of these in their free version.

Features
As mentioned above, the "Dedicated Detection" and MagmaShield engines are the biggest feature improvements in Ad-Aware 9 Pro, although there's no direct interaction between them and the user. Lavasoft has tweaked the scheduler behavior a bit in version 9. Users can schedule Smart scans, Full scans, custom scans, and can set them to run daily, weekly, monthly, or at Windows startup.

In addition to virus and malware scans, Ad-Aware 9 Pro offers a browser track sweeper. Accessible from the Extras button, it can wipe your cache, cookies, history, last-typed URLs, and tabs from Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, and Opera. The Toolbox, a second tab under Extras, contains options such as additional process-protecting features that are restricted to the paid upgrade.

Ad-Aware has some limitations that make it hard to compare favorably to its competitors. You can't view other parts of the program while running a scan, and the scan itself lacks a progress meter or a pause button.

Free version restrictions are largely absent in this version, so Pro users get a silent/gaming mode called "Do not disturb," advanced rootkit removal, and real-time threat blocking of blacklisted IP addresses, malicious processes, Registry changes, and malicious files. The Pro also offers a start-up process cleaner, to help your machine boot faster, and the offered support includes in-product access to the Lavasoft Support Center.

Performance
Ad-Aware 9 Pro performed scans on a real-world computer quite slowly, taking close to 2 hours for its first Full scan. The quick, "Smart" scan took about 4 minutes, slightly slower than the quick scan under version 8.3.

Full Labs' benchmarks benchmarks will be added to this review as they become available, as will independent third-party efficacy test results. For now, though, while Ad-Aware's new detection and prevention engines sound effective, they are largely untested in the real-world.

Conclusion

Longtime fans will notice the changes to Ad-Aware, and the program continues to grow in the right direction after several missteps in recent years. However, given the gains that Ad-Aware's paid competitors have made, and at similar price points, we're hesitant to recommend Ad-Aware 9 Pro any more than we have.

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ActiveX Download Control Free

2011-04-25T22:00:00.000-07:00

ActiveX Download Control is a client ActiveX control, you can use this downloader in the Web project or application project and easy to realize the batch download batch files from Internet/intranet. ActiveX Download Control also downloads YouTube video and saves it to your local disc. Don't worry about unreliable, slow connections, network hang, or interrupted download. If a download interrupts before completion, it will resume from the point of failure so time and bandwidth are never wasted. Support the VB, Visual C++, PowerBuilder, Delphi, Asp/Asp.Net, Jsp, and PHP. Has a intelligent dynamic file segmentation and safe multipart downloading technology to accelerate your downloads. Split the download files into several portions and download the every portions in the different threads to realize multi-thread download while download a file. so it means that you can save much download time. For Download Click Here

Advanced SystemCare V.4. Free

2011-04-25T21:49:00.000-07:00

Keep your computer with Advanced SystemCare Free 4 because the program's Quick Care option includes the ability to clean your Registry, perform a rudimentary malware scan, fix and remove broken shortcuts, delete junk files, and erase browsing tracks. It's no accident That to make the process even faster, with even less of a need for user input, that you cans configure it to run on system start-up.

The Deep Care installments option adds features to the Quick Care. These include a deeper Registry clean, disk defragmenting, a "Windows vulnerability fix" and a "Passive Defense" that do not readily define what They do, and a system optimization options Optimization installments with presets. Advanced SystemCare Free has a fantastic range of features, but its Quick Care options are most transparent with how they'll affect your computer. Fortunately, the program's log records all of its activities. We'd just like to find out how a program like this is going to change our computers before it effects those changes.

Scan times vary depending on the which will of options you choose, although Deep Care We found a scan with all the options activated is to be blazingly fast. It completed in Less than 10 minutes, the which Is not a long time for a system-invasive programs like this. Much of the performance is owed to the new scanning engine, the which up to 10 cans fix problems simultaneously. The previous version Could only handle eight.

There are a new installments skins in version 4, along with a new performance-monitoring bar so you cans Observe and more readily gauge the program's progress. The Utilities section has been Replaced with IOBit Toolbox integration, the which is sort of confusing. Some of the options take you to the download page IOBit's programs, Such as the Disk Defragmenter options. Other choices simply open a power user's configuration window.

One part of the program Avoid We recommend new users, or at least use with Extreme Caution: the Turbo Boost. Turbo Boost will of disabling core system services in an attempt to Accelerate your computer's performance. Some of these include Windows Update and keyboard hot keys, and We Wish That this section of the program was more explicit about how it cans affect your computer.

To its credit, though, Advanced SystemCare Free includes a Rescue Point creation tool, so it's not hard to undo changes if you've Had the foresight to make a rescue point. A Smaller problems Is That Some of the program's options open in new windows, while others open in the Same Window. Those in the Same Window have Convenient back-navigation buttons in the upper left; those in new Sometimes windows are overlaid directly on top of the previous window and make it hard to see how to return to the previous screen.

Overall, We like Advanced SystemCare Free's toolset, performance, and convenience, yet still wish the program was more explicit about how it changes your computer.

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Google's and WebM now have agreed to share

2011-04-25T21:39:00.000-07:00

These days, patent lawsuits have become the big guns that tech companies use to battle their competitors. But when it comes to Google's WebM video technology, the company is trying to establish a neutral zone of patent peace.

Today, Google is announcing a program called the WebM Community Cross License initiative designed to dispel patent-related threats looming over freely usable video technology for the Web.

Under the effort, members who join agree to license any WebM-related patents to each other, a move that offers mutual reassurance that the technology is royalty-free in practice as well as in Google's aspiration.

"Each grants to the other members a patent license for any patents that may be essential to WebM," said Mike Jazayeri, Google's director of product management for WebM.

So far Google has signed up 16 other organizations for the effort, some of them obvious allies such as browser makers Mozilla and Opera Software. But other allies, such as Samsung and LG Electronics, have video-related patents one could judge as commercially viable by virtue of their relevance to H.264, WebM's biggest video encoding technology rival.

The effort is an attempt to counter doubts raised about the patent purity of WebM by MPEG LA, which licenses the H.264 patent pool and is investigating the creation of a similar pool for VP8, the video encoding technology that along with the Vorbis audio codec is the core of WebM. MPEG LA has said it believes VP8 violates others patents, though it hasn't revealed any details.

Google hopes the WebM Community Cross License, combined with its own usage of WebM, will allay concerns.

"We felt comfortable in including it in our own products and services," Jazayeri said, mentioning its YouTube video site and Chrome browser. "We're hopeful the CCL will bring clarity and confidence" to those considering using WebM themselves.

If MPEG LA offered a VP8 patent pool, it might be convenient for some companies interested in using VP8 that are worried about potential lawsuits from patent holders. But it also would severely undermine Google's ambition to create a patent-free technology. For example, it would preclude it from inclusion in open-source software such as Mozilla's Firefox and in standards such as HTML5 that seek to sidestep patent encumbrances.

"We genuinely believe the Web is as ubiquitous today as it is because the early founders made the core technologies of the Web open and freely usable," Jazayeri said. "That's critical."

Many important video patent holders such as Microsoft, Panasonic, Philips Electronics, Sharp, and Sony aren't on the list, though--at least yet.

"This is just the beginning," Jazayeri said. "We are in active discussions [to] engage those who benefit from the Web ecosystem."

The full list of partners so far is:

• AMD
• Cisco Systems
• Google
• HiSilicon Technologies (for itself and on behalf of its parent, Huawei)
• LG Electronics
• Logitech
• Matroska
• MIPS Technologies
• Mozilla Corporation
• Opera Software
• Pantech
• Quanta Computer
• Samsung
• STMicroelectronics (for itself and its affiliate, ST-Ericsson)
• Texas Instruments
• Verisilicon Holdings
• Xiph.Org Foundation

Google has taken other measures to promote WebM. It's removed H.264 support from Chrome, putting its browser in the Mozilla and Opera camp rather than the Internet Explorer and Safari camp when it comes to HTML5 video built straight into Web pages. It's also begun transcoding all uploaded YouTube videos into WebM--a mammoth task from a computing standpoint--and already has transcoded the most popular videos such that 99 percent of what's seen on YouTube can be seen in WebM.

It remains to be seen how effectively Google can counter MPEG LA. Google is hoping to marshal allies under the banner of an unencumbered Internet.

"I think the comments they've made at this stage aren't helpful to innovation on the Web, and I think others share that concern," Jazayeri said.

To prevail, though, Google and its allies will have to convince others that the commercial value of a livelier Web outweighs the commercial value of any WebM-related patents they have. Today's explosion of patent suits suggests that tech giants with big patent portfolios might not be so eager to lay down their weapons.

Wrap Firefox in a Cocoon of privacy

2011-04-06T00:50:00.000-07:00

Web browsers are ground zero for Internet security threats, and the debate over responsibility for preventing those threats has resulted in a Gordian knot. The people behind the new add-on for Firefox called Cocoon (download) want to cut through debate by serving the entire Web to you via proxy. (Cocoon is also available at GetCocoon.com.)

Cocoon's Web site, with the Cocoon add-on installed. It adds a toolbar to the top of the Firefox interface, and adds buttons to the Add-On Bar at the bottom of the interface.

(Credit: Cocoon)

Made by Santa Barbara, Calif., start-up Virtual World Computing, Cocoon's goal is to put the Internet on a server to prevent individual users from having to touch it, Cocoon Chief Executive Officer and co-founder Jeff Bermant said in an interview today at San Francisco offices. The add-on, which has about 4,000 users since it entered into private beta 18 months ago, creates a safe state in which the user can browse the Internet by forcing all interactions between the computer in front of you and the Internet to occur over protected SSL connections to Cocoon's servers. Those servers, in turn, are guarded by Security-Enhanced Linux, which was developed by the United States' National Security Agency.

Cocoon opened its beta to the public in January of this year.

Cocoon installs as a toolbar just below the location bar in Firefox 4, although the add-on supports the browser back to Firefox 3.6. You can turn it on or off using the universal power button icon on the left of the toolbar, or "pause" Cocoon lock/unlock button that's next to it. Settings are available from a hard-to-see drop-down arrow just next to the lock button.

On the right are buttons for your Cocoon history, mailslots, and help. Next to those are real-time site-function buttons, so you can bookmark sites on the fly with the thumbtack--similar to the bookmark star in other browsers--or jot down a note attached to the site that only you can see using the notepad icon.

When running Cocoon, the browser will open into Private Browsing mode, although you can switch back to normal mode while still using Cocoon. It will also redirect your Home button to the cocoon:home site, and it installs a Cocoon toolbar as well as Cocoon-specific buttons on the Firefox add-on bar. Note that Cocoon doesn't work with the Google toolbar because of the competing interests of Google search and Cocoon's emphasis on privacy.

Cocoon's features are laudable, the most important being the subtlest: whatever you're looking at in Firefox with Cocoon is being shown to you remotely. You can test this after installing Cocoon by checking your IP address with Cocoon on, and then again with it off: you will see two different addresses, which means that your Internet connection is being routed through Cocoon's servers.

One of the side benefits of this, said Bermant, is that Netflix users will be able to watch streaming content from outside the United States since Cocoon's servers are in the U.S., and Netflix blocks streaming content to IP addresses that indicate a non-U.S. server.

All your personal browsing data is stored in the cloud and encrypted, so only the user can access it, and you can view it only over a secure connection. This is similar to how LastPass functions. All your interactions with the Web are opt-in, not opt-out, so that your privacy gets elevated above all other concerns.

Another excellent feature in Cocoon is that it comes with an unlimited number of on-demand e-mail "mailslots" are provided to help you keep your primary e-mail address private. If you've installed Cocoon, you can see how it works by navigating to any site that requires an e-mail address to log in, such as Twitter, Facebook, or Gmail. If Cocoon has been activated, the mailslots feature will ask you if you want to create a new e-mail address to register a new account for that site.

Cocoon Chief Technical Officer and co-founder Brian Fox added that the mailslots function like traditional brick-and-mortar mail drops. "You can not send e-mail from a Cocoon e-mail, but you can forward it to a Gmail account, for example," he said.

Cocoon offers a visual history, not unlike Opera's Speed Dial, of sites you've visited when logged in to the service. It stores the data remotely, so you can access it from any browser.

(Credit: Cocoon)

There's anti-cookie tracking that prevents advertisers from stalking you as you jump from one Web site to the next, much like Internet Explorer's tracking protection. Cocoon also incorporates support for Mozilla's new "Do Not Track", although Bermant remains skeptical of its effectiveness because, he said, "It requires advertisers to play nice, and they've never done that." Fox said that Cocoon uses ClamAV for its core antivirus engine, which it uses as part of its protection mechanisms.

Since you're browsing remotely, threats like cross-site scripting attacks and drive-by downloads are blocked. You are still vulnerable to social engineering, however, and short of full-frontal lobotomies, there's little to be done about that besides education and awareness.

Cocoon also comes with a note-taking feature that allows you to type up notes on Web sites as you visit them.

Bermant and Fox have big plans for Cocoon. They want to include features such as browser history and settings importation; implement granular controls for better whitelisting and blacklisting; and provide some level of parental controls. A version of Cocoon for Internet Explorer 9 is in the works. They're also looking at small businesses, anticipating interest from companies that want to strike a better balance between privacy and Web access. Fox noted that mobility is likely to play a major role in Cocoon's future, too. "Security and privacy are two important aspects of mobile browising," he said, "And they are sorely lacking."

Cocoon looks like a serious contender for one of the best add-ons of the year. It's a smart and effective tool, easy to toggle on or off, and plugs nearly all of the security holes the average user will encounter. The big hang-up, however, is price, and that many users simply do not pay for add-ons.

Right now, Cocoon is available as a free trial for the first 30 days of use. After that, it costs $6.95 per month, or $55.00 for a one-year subscription, a 35 percent discount. Bermant and Fox say that "a freemium option is not off the table". As important as security is, and as affordable as $55 per year sounds, it's hard to imagine widespread adoption of Cocoon's safety wrapping until it's made more accessible.

Adobe Photoshop in the IPad

2011-04-03T00:13:00.001-07:00

Adobe Systems, with a Photoshop-like demo on an iPad yesterday, is beginning to show more of the fruits of its tablet-computing labor. And it's a good thing, too, because there's no guarantee the company's power in desktop software will extend to tablets.

It's no secret Adobe Systems is working on graphics programs for tablets--indeed, John Nack, the leader of Adobe's tablet work, has been soliciting advice about exactly what to do since last year and Adobe has demonstrated other Photoshop features on Android and iPad tablets. But the fact that the company is shedding more of its reticence now about the projects could indicate Adobe is more willing to raise expectations in anticipation of an actual project.

At the Photoshop World conference, John Loiacono, leader of Adobe's Photoshop and other Creative Suite software, showed some of what his company has in mind. Specifically, he demonstrated an iPad-flavored incarnation of a flagship Photoshop feature, layers, that arrived on personal computers with Photoshop 3.0 in 1994.

Loiacono was quick to call it just "technology we're looking at," and to not commit to shipping anything, but it's clear Adobe is getting closer to offering something besides the somewhat stripped-down Photoshop Express application for phones and tablets. Photography Bay caught video of Loiacono's demo.

Clearly Adobe is moving from concept toward reality. What's also clear is that a huge number of upstarts also are staking claims in the new tablet realm, where new arrivals have a chance to unseat entrenched players from the PC era.

At the casual end of the spectrum, programs such as Hipstamatic, FX Photo Studio, Instagram, and Picplz let people play with their photos and share them, becoming embedded into people's online lives. For those with a more serious creative bent, Zen Brush, Brushes, Inspire Pro, and Inkpad provide a wealth of imaging options. And for the even more serious, applications like LRpad and Photosmith have the potential to step into serious photographers' lives.

Photosmith is designed to let photographers sort, label, check focus, and add keywords before importing images to Lightroom.

It's not clear yet how far tablets will encroach onto the turf of personal computers, especially when it comes to heavy-duty computing jobs, but it is clear that tablets are finding a prominent place in many people's electronic lives and that their hardware is becoming less feeble.

Layers, which require a lot more memory and processing power, are a staple of photo editing.

They can be used to merge elements of different photos or to adjust the degree to which effects are applied across an image. Parts of one layer can be made selectively transparent, revealing the contents of the layer below, an approach that enables sophisticated and adjustable compositing.

Loiacono showed just that in his demonstration, using, of course, a touch interface. He also showed an image being rotated and scaled quickly with multitouch, though it wasn't clear how large the original image was.

"This is just a concept about how do we take technologies we found in Lightroom and Photoshop and actually extend those to these devices as they become more important to your workflows," he said.

It's good to see Adobe producing something that could bring some of the company's image-editing clout to a mobile-device world world more characterized by quick-effect apps such as Hipstamatic and Picplz. Full-fledged Photoshop or Lightroom is an impossibility today, given the constraints on the processing, memory, and storage of current tablets and phones.

But these devices are growing up, and a host of software companies are finding something useful to do with them even if they're not an eight-core workstation with a dozen gigs of RAM.

One example is LRpad, a $10 app that essentially offloads some Lightroom controls to an iPad's touch controls. It connects over Wi-Fi to a PC that's the brains of the operation.

LRpad, connected to a PC running by Wi-Fi, acts as an auxiliary control panel for Adobe Lightroom.

(Credit: LRpad)

Another example of innovation around Adobe is Photosmith, in beta testing now. With it, photographers can do some of the Lightroom photo management chores before they bring photos into a PC.

"Photographers can take their pictures in the field, download them to the iPad, and use Photosmith to review their images, add to custom collections, filter by certain criteria, assign metadata, and filter by that data. Photosmith also fills a critical gap in the photographer's current mobile workflow, allowing full 1:1 zoom of even 21-megapixel raw images," the developers say of the application.

Taking photos an extra round trip through a tablet sounds a bit like extra work to me, even with Apple's Camera Connection Kit and the arrival of CompactFlash and SD memory card readers for the iPad, but perhaps it need not be such a hassle. Tethering--in which photos are sent directly to a computer rather than to a memory card--is getting more sophis

ticated as computers get integrated into photography work patterns. And Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are becoming more common in devices, as well. With this sort of technology, a tablet could perhaps become an automatic way station rather than a side trip.

One profound change, of course, is that tablets use a touch screen. That can provide artists a more direct connection to their work, but it also misses the precision of something like a relatively expensive screen-enabled Wacom Cintiq tablet that uses a pen. Even there, though, options exist, such as Ten One Design's Pogo Sketch stylus to improve tablet precision beyond the finger-painting level.

In addition, for travelers for whom weight is a problem, a tablet could be a lighter but still capable alternative to a laptop for screening photos--not to mention the fact that it's more useful for e-mail, apps, and Web use than a portable hard drive that merely stores your photos until you get to a computer.

I'm expecting Adobe to bring more than one product to this market--not a more grown-up alternative to Photoshop Express, but more. What exactly the company will come up with remains to be seen, but Nack has hinted there's work afoot.

One person earlier this year remarked of Photosmith, "It's tough not to ask why this wasn't something Adobe created."

Nack responded, "Indeed, but the time is not yet right to answer." With all the challengers to Adobe's stronghold, it looks to me like now would be a good time to supply that answer.

The White House will be revised Copyright Law

2011-03-15T21:14:00.000-07:00

The White House worried about copyright law in the U.S., so that today the White House proposes to revise and make sweeping against copyright law in the U.S. Including making "illegal streaming" of audio or video a federal felony and allowing FBI agents to wiretap suspected infringers .

In a 20-page white paper (PDF), the Obama Called on the U.S. administration Congress to fix "deficiencies That Could Hinder enforcement" of intellectual property laws. Victoria Espinel, the first Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator, with Vice President Joe Biden During an event last year

The report was Prepared by Victoria Espinel, the first Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator, WHO received Senate confirmation in December 2009, and represents a broad tightening of many forms of intellectual property law, Including That ones deal with Counterfeit pharmaceuticals and overseas royalties for copyright holders.

Some of the highlights:

• The White House is Concerned That "illegal streaming of content" May not be Covered by criminal law, saying "questions have arisen about whether streaming constitutes the distribution of copyrighted works." To resolve That ambiguity, it wants a new law to "clarify That infringement by streaming, or by means of other similar new technology, is a felony in Appropriate circumstances."

• Under federal law, wiretaps May only be conducted in Investigations of serious crimes, a That list was expanded by the 2001 Patriot Act to include offenses Such as the material support of terrorism and use of weapons of mass destruction. The administration is proposing to add copyright and trademark infringement, arguing That move "Would assists U.S. law enforcement agencies to effectively investigate those offenses."

• Under the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act, Generally it's illegal to distribute hardware or software - Such as the DVD-decoding Handbrake software available from a server in France - that can "circumvent" copy protection technology. The administration is proposing That if Homeland Security seizes circumvention devices, it be Permitted to "inform rightholders," "Provide samples of Such devices," and assists "Bringing Them in civil actions."

The term "fair use" does not Appear anywhere in the report. But it does mention Web sites like The Pirate Bay, the which is hosted in Sweden, Pls warning That "foreign-based and foreign-controlled Web sites and Web services raise particular concerns for U.S. enforcement Efforts." (See previous coverage of a Congressional hearing on overseas sites.)

The usual copyright hawks, Including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, applauded the paper, the which grew out of a so-called joint strategic plan That Vice President Biden and Espinel Announced in June 2010.

Rob Calia, a senior director at the Chamber's Global Intellectual Property Center, said we "strongly support the white paper's call for Congress to clarify That criminal copyright infringement through unauthorized streaming, is a felony. We know both the House and Senate are looking at this issue and encourage Them to work closely with the administration and other stakeholders to combat this growing threat. "

In October 2008, President Bush signed into law the so-called Pro IP ACT, the which created Espinel's position and Increased penalties for infringement, after expressing its Opposition to an Earlier Version.

Unless legislative proposals - like one Nearly a decade ago implanting strict copy controls in digital devices - go too far, digital copyright tends not to be a particularly partisan topic. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act, near-universally disliked by programmers and engineers for its anti-circumvention section, was approved unanimously in the U.S. Senate.

At the Same time, Democratic politicians tend to be a bit more enthusiastic about the topic. Biden was a close Senate ally of copyright holders, and President Obama picked the copyright industry's top lawyers for Justice Department posts. Last year, Biden warned That "piracy is theft."

No Less than 78 percent of political contributions from Hollywood Went to Democrats in 2008, the which is broadly consistent with the trend for the last two decades, According to OpenSecrets.org.

Internet Explorer 9 for windows 7

2011-03-15T21:03:00.000-07:00

For those of you who use Windows XP, you will not be able to use Internet Explorer 9 because Internet Explorer will not support on Windows XP and the only support in Windows 7.

Microsoft's official explanation for why Internet Explorer 9 does not support Windows XP, the operating system runs on an Estimated That 40 percent to 50 percent of the world's computers, Is That the graphics card-powered hardware acceleration that helps the browser loads pages faster doesn 't work properly with the device drivers on Windows XP. However, at least one other browsers, Firefox 4 release candidate 1, offers full hardware acceleration across multiple operating systems, Including Windows XP.

The lack of support for Windows XP aside, Internet Explorer 9 is a fantastic browser Pls compared with its predecessors, and competitive against its toughening Rivals. The browser offers Some great new features, Such as pinned sites, a revamped search box, and add-on performance impact notifications.

Pinned sites create a tighter integration Between the browser and desktop by creating site-specific browsers. Drag a tab onto the desktop Windows 7 taskbar, and depending on the site developer's coding cans you get the jump site-specific lists, unread e-mail notifications, or streaming media player controls. Other major sites have pinned That integration include Groupon, CNN, Pandora, Hulu, Slacker, Facebook, Twitter, and eBay.
Meanwhile, the new unified search box manages to include all the functionality of the old search box, such as changing search providers on the fly, while introducing on-the-fly searching so that as you type you see a relevant list of Web results, bookmarks, and browsing history.

The add-on performance notification is a small but useful feature that warns you when an add-on is slowing down the browser. You can customize what level of impact is warned for, too.

The performance of the browser itself has been lauded since last year when Microsoft rolled out developer's previews. Over the course of the following year, the developer's previews, betas, and release candidate version of IE 9 were downloaded more than 25 million times, and amounted to around 2 percent of all installed versions of Internet Explorer on Windows 7 by the time the release candidate was published.

Verizon iPhone New Gadget from Apple

2011-02-10T07:01:00.000-08:00

After waiting a long time Apple finally released the iPhone Verizon Wireless, and the day will also be immediately available at retail stores
Apple and Verizon Wireless stores, along with Best Buy and selected Wal-Mart stores, will from from the Verizon start selling iPhones at 7 pm local time. And even with a high of 28 degrees forecast for New York City, eager iPhone fans are expected to line up around the block at stores Throughout the city.

It's unclear how many iPhones will from from today be available. Apple and Verizon Quickly sold out of the initial batch of iPhones That the resource persons were the resource persons made available through a presale to Verizon customers last week. In fact, Verizon said that demand for the iPhone surpassed any other previous four launch smartphone on its network, Including the hotly anticipated Motorola Droid and Droid X, as well as the HTC Incredible.

In an effort to move the sales process along more Quickly, Apple has been taking online reservations for customers buying the phone in its retail stores. Customers with reservations pick up Cans reserved Their after-noon iPhones in Apple stores.

But Some people, of course, just like the Thrill of waiting in line. That's why many journalists is sending out a crew of Reporters and photographers to document the Occasion. I'll be on location at the Apple Cube on Fifth Avenue in New York City, updating a blog with pictures and snippets from the crowd. Also I'll be in front of the camera putting together a story this rberita fo.

Daniel Terdiman be Earnest Also contributing to the blog from the West Coast, he will from of Nowhere Provide commentary from the Apple scene in San Francisco. For the latest news and pictures from the Verizon iPhone launch, bookmark this page and be sure to check back early Thursday morning and Throughout the day.

The Apple store on Fifth Ave. in New York City the morning of the Verizon iPhone 4 launch.

New York 6:50 a.m. ET: It's 18 degrees here in New York City, and there are now eight people in line at the Fifth Ave. Apple store. Queens resident Akira Sawada, 32, is first in line--he arrived at 5 a.m. There are more Apple employees inside the Apple store than there are outside.

Chilly scenes of winter at the Apple store in Manhattan, shortly before the doors open.

(Credit: Wilson Tang/CNET)

New York 7:07 a.m. ET: People are in the Apple store. The line of about 10 people was quickly ushered in at 7 a.m. We are now waiting to talk to people who are walking out of the store.

New York 7:30 a.m. ET: Apple is not letting press into the store. But I went in as a "shopper." It was filled with at least a hundred Apple employees in blue shirts, who were on hand to help customers buying and activating their new phones. Apple is not allowing any photography inside the Apple store.

Apple had more staff on hand than there were customers for the Verizon iPhone 4 on launch day.

(Credit: CNET/Sarah Tew)

New York 8:05 a.m. ET: The first Verizon iPhone customers started trickling out of the store about 20 minutes after the doors opened. I talked to Rominel Peguero of Manhattan. He was fourth in line and stood in line for about a half hour before the doors opened. He said he has never in stood in line for anything before. But he was afraid that Verizon and Apple would run out of phones, since they sold out during the pre-sale last week. He said he was going out of town tonight and wanted to make sure he got his new phone today.

The 10 or so customers who were waiting in line to buy the Verizon iPhone 4 head into the store at 7 a.m. ET in New York City.

New York 8:15 a.m. ET I apologize for not updating this blog more frequently. It's about 20 degrees in New York City. And my fingers have been so cold that I wasn't able to type for very long. Also, as I mentioned there were only a handful of people in line at the store, so there wasn't much to report. But I am now in a warm diner a few blocks from the Fifth Avenue store. My fingers are warm now, so I'm able to type once again. Apple clearly was expecting more of a crowd this morning. As I mentioned earlier, the Apple staff way out-numbered actual Verizon iPhone 4 customers. I guess we finally have the answer to the question: What will keep people from standing in line for a new iPhone on launch day? It looks like 20 degree temperatures.

CNET reporter Maggie Reardon was blogging about the Verizon iPhone 4 launch outside the Apple store in New York City on Fifth Avenue in freezing temperatures.

New York 9:00 a.m. ET: I'm officially warmed up and ready to brave the cold city streets again. I will be moving uptown to the Apple store on the Upper West Side. I'll also check out some Verizon stores here in New York City to see how the crowds are. My colleague Daniel Terdiman will also provide updates from San Francisco. So stay tuned. We'll see if the Verizon iPhone frenzy is bigger in a warmer climate.

San Francisco 6:40 a.m. PT: Well, here at the flagship Apple Store in San Francisco, you'd have to say it's not just cold weather that's keeping people from lining up to buy the Verizon iPhone. Upon arriving here about five minutes (before the 7 a.m. opening of the store), there were literally more Apple Store employees, police officers and reporters--each--than people in line to buy iPhones.

Few people were waiting in line for the Verizon iPhone in San Francisco on Thursday morning. And the weather cannot be blamed.

Indeed, there were only two people in line when I arrived.

Justin Roi, a 27-year-old San Francisco resident was first in line, and he got here just 50 minutes before the store's opening. In fact, he assumed he'd be in line for quite a while--he brought a chair to sit in while the line would presumably work its way slowly into the store.

This, of course, is quite a turn of events from the usual Apple product launch, where there are usually tons of people lined up to be among the first to buy whatever Steve Jobs and Co. have to offer.

In Roi's case, this is his first iPhone--AT&T or Verizon. "I was [waiting for Verizon]," Roi said. "I've had a lot of crappy phones from Verizon. Now I'll be moving up to iPhone."

But Roi also said he was surprised at the lack of people in line--thus his chair. Actually, he said, as he rounded the corner near the Apple Store and saw very few people waiting, he thought that all the iPhones were already sold out.

But, that's not the case. As in New York, the lines were short, but Apple can't blame frigid weather here.

On the other hand, we've heard that the Verizon store nearby has a bit longer line--so I'm going to head over there right now and see if there's more of a scene. If not, or even if there is but it's significantly smaller than the usual Apple product launch line, I think we'll be able to say that the hype surrounding the Verizon iPhone may, for perhaps the first time in recent Apple launch memory, have been just that--hype.

FBackUp

2011-01-29T13:18:00.000-08:00

FBackup is an application for the Back up computer data that serves to keep in case of a computer when we have a problem either because of damage, virus or hit the blue death BSOD
Using this software is very easy & ga headache, other than that this software is freeware aka free stuff, free software is able to backup the same Local Hard Drives External Hard Drive, can also make the back up to another computer & the most delicious temen2 can memback up the entire contents of your computer by using the Flash Disk as his backup tool, so temen2 not need to put the results back up the computer for saving RAM

To be more secure do not forget to input a password before it let me back up important data in your favorite computer stolen ga on people, if still not copy the results back up again wrote his ... One more not less important make sure your computer free from viruses, malware, trojans, spyware, adware and the like it, do not be back until the results of your up'an his palace full of viruses devil Ente intentions later in the questioning would take care of your PC or want to empower virus

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Open Word, Excel, Powerpoint In One Tab with Office Tabs v5.1.0

2011-01-29T13:03:00.001-08:00

Make you who have worked primarily office work Microsoft Office is the most important part because it has become prodak Microsoft applications required to support the work.

But everyone can certainly feel if Microsoft Office is less convenient if they use a lot of documents open, less simple because we have to open the tabs one by one alias lid open windows & dialamin people often when opening multiple documents ujung2nya our own so dizzy because of the window that appears too many, the document that we open too much yet again when the tiredness started to come will be increasingly felt a sense of dizziness, when he was mending our first coffee coffee yes.

Back to topic, it might be more helpful if only Microsoft Office has the look / features multi-tab browser like firefox, chrome or opera considering our current multi-tabs make it easier to open, view and switch from one window to another window.

But with Office Tab appearance / feature multi-tab browsers we can get it like we used to use, see the screenshot below.

Office Tabs makes it easy when we want to switch from one document to another document, just in one office, simply click on the tab that is next to the document we want to see can be done with simple without having to minimize other documents, for me personally Office Tab is very helpful and can speed up my job smile

How to Install Ofice Tab
1. Install Office programs Tab v5.01.
2. Finish, Close the program (not at launch)
3. Copy and paste OfficeTabFunction.dll files to C: \ Windows \ System32
4. Enter the serial number that is already included in the download package.
while for Win7
copy / move / change OfficeTabFunction.dll to C: \ Windows \ SysWOW64

Tested on Office 2007 (word, excel, and powerpoint) I have not tried in Office 2003, while for Office 2010, only supports only word and excel.

Click Here to Download

Free Download Hero Games Template

2011-01-22T00:38:00.000-08:00

For those of you a blogger who likes to game, it's time you combine both of them is by installing templates Games Hero on your blog. It is nice blogger template and layout with 2 columns Right sidebar. Looking great for personal or business blog.

* Template Name: Hero Games
* Properties:

* 2 Column
* Right Sidebar
* White
* Simple
* Clean
* Gallery Slider
* Magazine Style

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Kaspersky Internet Security 2011

2011-01-21T00:41:00.000-08:00

Kaspersky Internet Security 2011 Build 11.0.1.400 (ab) CF1 Final + KEYS/Skin/Trial Reset | 117 MB

Kaspersky Internet Security 2011 is a comprehensive data protection tool, which provides not only anti-virus protection but also protection against spam and network attacks. The application's components also enable users to protect their computers against currently unknown threats and phishing, and to restrict users' access to the Internet.

The multifaceted protection covers all channels for data transfer and exchange. All components can be flexibly configured, allowing users to tailor Kaspersky Internet Security to their specific needs.
New in protection:
* Improved HIPS (Host-based Intrusion Prevention System) technology assigns a danger rating to unknown programs. The Application Control component uses HIPS to define rules for new and already known applications, which may restrict their access to the file and operating systems.
* Innovative Sandbox technology has been implemented, which uses virtualization to create a secure environment for program execution. New software can be tested in this environment, which isolates the host operating system from all changes. There is no limit to the number of Internet browsers and other applications which can run simultaneously in a sandbox.
* Increased use of Kaspersky Security Network considerably decreases the threat response time, due to information received from other users. The service aims to minimize the time necessary to detect and neutralize new types of threats. When a user starts a program, the service checks it against white lists and Urgent Detection System lists on Kaspersky Lab's servers.
* The protection of personal user data has been extended and enhanced. For instance, Kaspersky Internet Security automatically prevents inadvertent users from accessing known phishing web sites, and blocks keylogger programs, which are designed to steal passwords and access codes.
* The new Script Emulator analyzes the behavior of scripts, to assess their potential harmfulness. It simulates the operation of the Java Script and Visual Basic Script engines, which are supported by default in Microsoft Internet Explorer and are built in to Microsoft Windows.
* The new IM Anti-Virus component ensures the safe operation of most instant messaging applications. The component scans messages for the presence of malicious objects.
* Improvements to the Virtual keyboard component provide safer entry of personal information, by protecting data from being intercepted by spyware and preventing screenshot capture.
* Significant improvements to the Anti-Spam component now provide two methods for detecting spam: exact and expert. Exact methods apply strict filtering criteria to a message, which determine unambiguously whether or not a message is spam. Expert methods investigate email messages that have passed strict filtering criteria. As such messages cannot be unambiguously considered spam, the component calculates the probability that they are spam.
* Components of Kaspersky Internet Security can be temporarily disabled, to improve computer performance. This can be useful during the use of resource-hungry applications such as network games.
* Monitoring access to phishing websites and protection against phishing attacks are performed by scanning links in messages and on web pages, and also by using the database of phishing addresses when an attempt to access websites is detected. You can check whether a web address is included in the phishing database, using the Web Anti-Virus, IM Anti-Virus or Anti-Spam component.
* Improvements have been e to all the application's existing components, including the Firewall, Parental Control, and Anti-Spam components, and particularly the Heuristic analyzer.
* The anti-virus kernel of Kaspersky Internet Security 2011 has been significantly improved, to provide more efficient malware detection. The application shows higher performance on Windows Vista operating systems, as compared to previous versions of Kaspersky Internet Security.
* Kaspersky Internet Security includes the URL scanning module managed by Web Anti-Virus. This module scans links on the web page, comparing the website addresses against its database of suspicious and phishing websites. This module is provided for Microsoft Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox browsers as a plug-in.
* The update procedure has been improved. Kaspersky Internet Security's databases are now updated not only according to their schedule, but also when new security threats appear.
* The creation of Rescue Disks has been improved. The service should be used when the infection reaches a level at which the computer cannot be disinfected using either anti-virus applications, or malware removal utilities such as Kaspersky AVPTool. The improved Rescue Disks provide more efficient disinfection because malware programs do not gain control when the operating system is being loaded.

Download Link

Luxury from LaCie USB with Galet USB thumb drive

2011-01-21T00:20:00.000-08:00

if you people who tend to either put your USB?

LaCie introduced today a new USB thumbdrive that in no way resembles the look of a thumb; instead, the Galet USB drive looks like a pebble. "Galet," by the way, is the French way to say "pebble." But that's not the coolest thing about the drive.

According to LaCie, the Galet is hand-crafted in France. Each unit is individually plated with silver through Christofle's 150-year-old silvering process. After that, the company claims, the device is carefully inspected for a smooth finish and radiant polish. Basically, it looks really cool and will make a great gift for Valentine's Day.

As a storage device, however, the Galet isn't equally impressive. It offers just 4GB of storage space and supports USB 2.0. The drive does come with LaCie's Private-Public software with password protection, which is similar to that of the LaCie FastKey.

However, the real reason why you would pay more attention and not lose it is its price. The drive costs a whopping $130, most of which, presumably, is the emotional value. To help you keep this type of investment secure, the Galet comes with a string for you to hook it to anything, such as a set of keys.

Free Download Adobe Photoshop CS5 Portable

2011-01-13T21:41:00.000-08:00

Adobe Photoshop CS5 Portable | 64.5 MB

Adobe Photoshop CS5 software helps you create the ultimate images for print, the web, and video. Get all the state-of-the-art editing, compositing, and painting capabilities in industry-standard Photoshop CS5 plus tools that let you create and edit 3D images and motion-based content.CS5 is the twelfth version of
Photoshop. After 20 years of development and this many versions, most programmers would have run out of ideas, and updates would just be minor patches. Not so for Adobe though; this latest version of Photoshop contains many new features and major improvements, certainly enough to make users of CS4 seriously consider an upgrade. The new feature everyone is talking about is of course the amazing Content-Aware Fill, but other equally significant improvements include sophisticated new selection tools, improved HDR image creation, new painting tools, automatic lens correction, the novel Puppet Warp feature, and perhaps most importantly for photographers, vastly improved Camera Raw processing, including new noise reduction algorithms.

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Play Now Back to the Future '4 'on Your Computer

2011-01-13T21:38:00.000-08:00

Hey, this is how it happened! Or is it?

(Credit: Telltale)

Editor's note: Yes, Episode One of Back to the Future: The Game was released more than two weeks ago and, yes, this is our first attempt at coverage. Send your complaints to the holiday break and CES. We'll make sure coverage (if any) of the subsequent episodes is more timely.

Collectively, I've probably seen the "Back to the Future" movies more than 100 times. The first movie especially, was a seminal film for me and captured my imagination like no other before it. Thanks to HBO, which showed it literally twice daily during the summer of 1986, I developed what can only be described as an addiction to it.

While parts 2 and 3 didn't have quite the same effect on me, I love them both still, warts and all. Since the release of Part 3, there have been a few attempts at expanding the Back to the Future universe--I'm still trying to forget the Saturday morning cartoon--but all have failed to capture the magic of the movies.

Back to the Future: The Game (BTTF) feels like it belongs in this universe. Feeling like a continuation of the storyline that ended after Doc Brown took off in his flying hell train of death. This is probably the closest we'll ever come to a Back to the Future 4 and I'm completely fine with that.

Within seconds upon my first launch of the game, it was already playing my nostalgic heartstrings masterfully, using the iconic piano chime that starts both part 2 and 3.

From a gameplay perspective, BTTF is an adventure game in the vein of classic Lucasarts adventures like the Monkey Island series. The game begins with a scene that fans of the movies will immediately recognize; Doc Brown's first demonstration to Marty of the time machine, and while I wont spoil what happens next, let's just say things don't quite go the way they did originally.

Back to the Future: The Game (photos)

These events set Marty (the player) off on an adventure that takes him to Hill Valley, 1931 with Doc Brown's life at stake.

The puzzles aren't as zany as some of the old Lucasarts ones and feel somewhat more logical. As a result, the puzzles are in general, fairly easy; however, there were a couple that compelled me to use the game's great built-in hint system. The hint system gives you progressively more straightforward hints each time you use it. The last tier, basically spelling out "give X to Y, to get desired result." A great tool for those that just want to fly through to get the story.

Graphically, the game has stylized art style that takes some getting used to, but I've come to love it over my 3 hours or so with this first episode. Christopher Lloyd returns to voice Doc Brown (and possibly one other character) and AJ LoCasio takes on voice of Marty McFly, delivering an incredibly accurate impression.

Controls also took some getting used to and were more than a little frustrating especially during scenes where camera angle changes constantly. Luckily, Marty will b-line to areas of interest when you click on them.

This first of five episodes can be finished within about three to four hours and for $24.99 you get all five episodes to be released over the next few months. There's not a lot a lot of replay value here, but that's par for the course with games of this genre.

As I insinuated before, I absolutely love this world and its characters. BTTF builds on that established lore without besmirching it. Fans of the series should not hesitate to buy this up. If you're not a fan--well, come on. Who's not a fan?

in December, Microsoft 'ran out' of Xbox 360s

2011-01-13T21:25:00.000-08:00

Microsoft's Xbox 360 sales are so steep that the company is having trouble keeping up with demand, claims Xbox Live's director of programming.

Larry Hryb, who is better known as "Major Nelson," tweeted yesterday: "I found out we ran out of consoles at end of the month (!) so don't expect to win Dec." The "win" is in reference to unit sales rankings for game consoles that market researcher NPD is set to release today. Basically, Microsoft is saying that if it isn't No. 1, the cause is actually its popularity, not lack thereof.

The situation apparently won't ease up for consumers still hoping to get their hands on the Xbox 360. Major Nelson reported in a follow-up tweet that "Jan/Feb supply is tight as well."

For now at least, Xbox 360 units seem to be readily available from several retailers. The online stores for Amazon.com, Best Buy, GameStop, and Wal-Mart all have Microsoft's console in stock. The companies promise to ship units within 24 hours.

But if Microsoft did indeed run out of consoles last month, recent sales estimates released this week by Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter could be off.

The analyst estimates that 2.5 million Xbox 360 units were sold in December, trailing only Nintendo's Wii with 2.6 million units sold. If Microsoft hit that mark, the company would have seen 91 percent growth year over year. However, Pachter's report to investors made no mention of any Xbox 360 shortages.

But we won't know for sure if Pachter's estimates were too high unless Microsoft reports actual sales figures. Last year, NPD stopped publicly sharing unit sales for hardware and software. Since then, the three main console makers have, at times, reported unit sales on their own.

FL Studio XXL New Version v9.6b ( Portable )

2010-11-12T21:27:00.000-08:00

FL Studio is the most complete virtual studio currently available. It will play any sample file (wav), generator (softsynth, VSTi & DXi) or midi instrument you feed it. This is a complete software music production environment, representing the culmination of more than 10 years of sustained & focused development. FL9 is

the fastest way from your brain to your speakers. FL Studio is a full-featured, open architecture, music production environment capable of audio recording, composing, sequencing and mixing, for the creation of professional quality music. The FL Studio philosophy is creative freedom.
Free your audio - Route any instrument to any mixer track. Each mixer track can receive audio from any number of instruments, any number of other mixer tracks and a soundcard input. Mixer tracks, in turn, can send audio to any number of other mixer tracks and a soundcard output. Create sub-mixes, effects chains or complex mixes. FL studios flexible architecture sets audio free.

Free your mind - Choose your preferred workflow, compose using the step-sequencer or piano roll. Create in pattern or track mode, then arrange your ideas in the free palette Playlist. The Playlist presents timeline as a virtual canvas where each Playlist track can simultaneously hold any number of score, audio and automation events. Now thats freedom.

Instruments

Make virtually any sound - FL9 includes over 30 software synthesizers covering acoustic/synthetic bass, electric guitar, multi-sampler tools including piano & strings, general sample playback and beat-slicing (With Rex 1 & 2 support).

Synthesis techniques - span subtractive, modelling, FM, RM, granular and additive. With the addition of FL SynthMaker you can further create & share your own FL instruments, effects & MIDI control dashboards without the need to write basic code.

Open plugin standards - FL Studio supports all PC industry plugin instrument standards including VSTi (1/2), DXi(1/2), Buzz and Rewire. This means you can sequence with your favorite plugins and applications.

Audio Recording & Editing

Multi-channel audio inputs - With the ability to simultaneously capture all the inputs on your audio-interface, FL Studio has the flexibility to record a single vocalist, guitar or a full symphony orchestra.

Arranging audio - Audio can be arranged, with complete freedom in the Playlist. Features include the ability to host an unlimited number of audio recordings, time-stretching, pitch-shifting, beat-slicing, cropping, editing and the re-arranging of audio with only a few mouse clicks.

Edison - FL9s audio capabilities are further enhanced with Edison, the recording wave editor. Edison is an integrated audio editing and recording tool with spectral analysis, convolution reverb, noise reduction, loop-recording, loop-construction tools and more.

FL Studio supports WAV, MP3, OGG, WavPack, AIFF, and REX audio formats.

Sequencing

Compose and record your musical performances and ideas in the most logical way.

Pattern or track sequencing - You choose, record your musical performances and ideas in the most logical way. FL Studio 9 can simultaneously function as a pattern and track based sequencer. Reuse patterns as Pattern Clips in the Playlist or record song-length sequences, as desired.

Step sequencer or Piano roll - Scoring tools include FL Studios legendary Step-sequencer, one of the most advanced Piano rolls in any software studio, event and multipoint automation envelopes. FL Studio supports MIDI input, standard controller compatibility, and the ability to simultaneously control multiple instrument channels from separate controllers.

Arranging

FL Studio allows you to do what you want where and when you want.

Determine your own project design - In FL Studio 9, you decide how your project will be laid out. Unlike the competition, FL9s Playlist is a totally flexible and virtually unbounded workspace where Note Pattern, Audio and Automation data can be arranged and edited to suit your creative ideas and preferred workflow.

Mixing & Mastering

FL Studio provides all the tools you need to produce your tracks to high professional standards.

The mixer - FL9 includes a superb 104 track stereo track mixer that is about precision, control and flexibility. The mixer’s tracks each hold up to 8 effects (VST, DX or FLs proprietary format). To create sub-mixes or mixing chains of almost unlimited complexity, each mixer track can be routed to any other mixer track, one of 4 dedicated send channels and or the Master track. Sends provide the ability to sidechain inputs to multi-input effects plugins. Finally, each of the mixer tracks can be routed to any output on your audio interface, now that’s flexibility.

Effects - What about effects? FL Studio includes more than 40 effects spanning maximization, limiting, compression, delay, distortion, equalization (graphic & parametric), filtering, phasing, flanging, chorus, vocoding and reverb. These have you covered for the creative broad-brush effects, through to the minutia of the mastering process.

Open plugin standards – FL Studio supports all PC industry plugin effect standards including VST (1/2), DX(1/2), Buzz and Rewire. This means you can mix with your favorite plugins and applications.

Download : FL Studio XXL v9.6b Portable | 420 Mb

TuneUp Utilities 2011 New Version 10.0.2011.65.

2010-11-12T21:19:00.000-08:00

English, German, PreActivated, Portable, Add-Ons | 415 MB , Genre: SYSTEM Tools

TuneUp Utilities 2011 - A new version of a large set of various tools for tuning and optimizing the system. With this program you can clean the disks of dust, remove invalid entries from the registry and defragment it, optimize memory, manage startup permanently delete files from the disc with a special utility TuneUp Shredder (further recovery becomes impossible, even with special programs) , to recover deleted files, change the look of Windows, and much more. All utilities in this package integrated into a single graphical environment. To run a particular utility, choose its name from the list and click on her arm. After this, a dialog box in which you and all appropriate action. The package combines the important functions for system optimization, configuration, cleaning and maintenance in a modern graphical user interface.Year: 2010
Version: 2011
Developer: Tune-Up
Compatibility with Vista: complete
Compatible with Windows 7: complete
Language: English, German
Medicine: Present

Contents:
* AddTuneUp.7z. Additions to TuneUp Utilities (boot screen, logon screen, visual styles, icon packages, logos, start);
* Alternative Activation. All alternatives for product activation;
* TuneUp Utilities 2011 Build 10.0.2011.65 Final English;
* TuneUp Utilities 2011 Build 10.0.2011.65 Final English. User Guide in English;
* TuneUp Utilities 2011 Build 10.0.2011.48 Final German. User's Manual in German;
* Portable TuneUp Utilities 2011 Build 10.0.2011.65 Final English.

Homepage: www.tune-up.com/

Click Here to Download

Autodesk 3DS Max 2011 + Crack

2010-11-11T18:19:00.000-08:00

Enhancements to the modeling, texturing, and animation toolsets help significantly increase productivity, while a new node-based material editor, high-quality hardware renderer, and fully-featured compositor make creating stunning, photo-realistic images easier than ever.Unpack, burn or mount & install.

WINDOWS 32BIT / 64BIT
Check *****/install.txt

Autodesk 3DS Max 2011 (32bit/64bit) 4.15 GB
Download

Hirens Boot USB 11.0 New Version (2010)

2010-11-11T18:06:00.000-08:00

Select your device.,,and format it with fat32 (you can select quick format if u want it fast).
1)go to usb format
2) go to grub 4 dos folder and open grubinst_gui
select your pendrive and click on dont search floppy..
then click install...and cmd windows will open..press enter...

3)then copy the grldr and menu.lst file from grub 4 dos folder to usb..

4) now copy hbcd folder to pendrive,,,and here u are done..

now you can use hiren boot cd feature by booting from pendrive.

and also now keep your ghost images in pendrive..and restore to c drive ....thats it...enjoy

Click Here To Download

USB Disk Security New Version 2010

2010-11-11T18:01:00.000-08:00

USB Disk Security provides 100 protection against any threats via USB drive, however, the majority of other products are unable even to guarantee 90 protection. USB Disk Security is the best antivirus software to permanently protect offline computer without the need for signature updates, but other antivirus software should update signature database regularly, and they cannot effectively protect offline computer. This light and easy to use solution is 10 compatible with all software and doesn't slow down your computer at all. You pay USB Disk Security once and get it all, however, other antivirus products should be paid for updates every year.
Product Highlights:
* 100 protection against any malicious programs via USB storage
USB Disk Security uses innovative proactive technology to block any threats via USB drive. There are relatively few products available in shops or on the Internet which offer even close to 100 protection against any malicious programs via USB drive. The majority of products are unable even to guarantee 90 protection. USB Disk Security is the world's best software to block threats via USB drive.
* The best solution to protect offline computer
Other antivirus software should update signature database regularly, and they cannot effectively protect offline computer that is not connected to the Internet. When new viruses, worms and other malicious attacks strike, traditional signatures are insufficient. Every minute one waits for a virus signature update creates a window of vulnerability that could have devastating consequences. USB Disk Security uses advanced proactive detection techniques, requires no signature updates, and closes the window of vulnerability left open by other reactive, signature-based responses.
* The world's fastest and smallest antivirus software
With USB Disk Security, its not necessary to sacrifice speed for detection and scanning. Compare antivirus software and you'll discover that USB Disk Security is by far one of the smallest applications in the industry. For example, the v5.0 of USB Disk Security installer is just 1 MB. The program utilizes approximately 1 to 7 MB of RAM.
* 100 compatible with all software
Incompatibility between antivirus programs is an issue. In the vast majority of cases, installing two antivirus programs from different vendors on one machine (for increased protection) is technically impossible, as the two programs will disrupt each other's functioning. However, USB Disk Security is 100 compatible with all software, including Windows Vista.
* Simple to use USB Disk Security has been specifically designed to perform effectively regardless of the users level of computer expertise. Just install and forget it.

Click Here To Download

Internet Security 2011( Kaspersky )

2010-11-11T17:56:00.000-08:00

Click Here to Download

New Adobe Acrobat Professional Versi 9.4.0

2010-10-20T21:57:00.000-07:00

Adobe Acrobat Professional 9.4.0 | 1.5 GB

Adobe Acrobat Professional - a professional software for organizing efficient and secure workflow. It not only allows you to create PDF-documents and control their use, but also makes it easier to work together on projects and collection of personal data. Create and optimize documents in Adobe PDF. With Adobe Acrobat 9 Professional, you can create PDF-files from Microsoft Office, Outlook, Internet Explorer, as w

ell as any program with print function. Service documentation, spreadsheets, emails, web-sites, technical drawings - all this can easily be optimized and converted into the universal PDF-files, while fully preserving the appearance and integrity of the original documents.

Key features:

* Create interactive, operational presentations. Use Adobe Presenter, included in the package on Acrobat 9 Pro Extended, to revive the slides Microsoft PowerPoint. Add video, voice comments, demos and interactive questions to keep the attention of audiences and consolidate learning. Save the presentation as a PDF, so that it can be viewed at any convenient time.
* Merged very broad range content. Combine documents, drawings, emails and spreadsheets, as well as multimedia components, including video, audio, 3D-graphics and maps-into a single compressed portfolio PDF. Choose one of the many professional templates for rapid integration of content, navigation refinement, the company inserts symbols and refining portfolio PDF.
* Simple exchange video files in PDF. Built-in Flash technology provides a reliable cross-sharing videos, animations and applications in Acrobat and Adobe Reader.
* Convert various video formats for playback in FLV PDF files without additional multimedia player.
* Creation of electronic forms and management. Converting Microsoft Word documents and Excel or scanned documents to PDF forms with automatic recognition of fillable fields. Using applications Adobe LiveCycle Designer ES - a professional tool for creating forms, part of the package 9 Acrobat Pro Extended,, for the creation, configuration and automation of dynamic forms of XML. Inspector forms for viewing the date of filling forms and the author of forms. Simple export data in a spreadsheet for analysis and reporting, either in the database.
* Protection of valuable information. Control access to PDF documents and their use, the appointment of digital rights and preserve the integrity of documents. Assignment of permits for documents that define the possibility of the press and change the file. The use of passwords to limit access to documents. Using editing tools for the reliable removal of classified information. Digital signature and certification documents to verify the reliability of the source from which they came. Creating and using security policies of documents that can be easily applied to new files PDF.
* Enabling users Adobe Reader. Ability to users of the free software Adobe Reader placed on documents signed, to participate in reviewing the documents and save forms locally (requires Adobe Reader 9.0 and later.). Expanding the functionality of Acrobat Reader allows users to invite anyone to work on the workflows initiated by you.
Protecting documents. Use passwords to control access to documents PDF. Use permit for setting restrictions on printing, copying or modification. Save passwords and permissions as a protection strategy that can be easily applied to new files PDF.
* Safe disposal of confidential information.: Use tools to remove confidential text, pictures or other data, while removing the contents of the PDF document without the possibility of recovery. Before you send PDF documents to other users check the documents for metadata, hidden layers and other concealed information, which should be removed.
* Providing access to virtually any project materials. Virtually convert any two-and three-dimensional images, including layers, dimensions, and metadata-into one PDF file for easy and reliable data about the product.
* Management reviews of documents and tracking them. Get the necessary data through an interactive review of documents, allowing participants to see comments from other participants, which can be sorted by author, date or page. Use Inspector forms for tracking progress and to take part in it.
Synchronizing the display of documents. Make sure that colleagues, customers and partners while browsing the same page in the document, as well as enjoy the
* opportunity to co-navigate documents. To achieve clarity and enhance discussion, participants send a document via e-mail, and it worked, showing necessary page all at once.
* Comparison of documents PDF. Automatically highlighted the differences between two versions of PDF-document, including text and images, which allows the user to easily and quickly identify changes.
* View and use maps PDF Search, measure and mark on maps PDF chart privodkoy. When the mouse cursor at any point displays the latitude and longitude location.

New features and improvements
* Create interactive, operational presentation applications using Adobe Presenter.
* Combine multiple files in one portfolio PDF.
* Use professional portfolio templates for PDF.
* Convert video FLV format for viewing files in PDF.
* Use support 3D-graphics and interactive maps PDF.

Package 9 Acrobat Pro Extended includes:
* Adobe LiveCycle Designer ES
* Adobe Presenter
* Adobe 3D Reviewer
* Adobe 3D Capture Utility for UNIX

Click Here to Download

New Software Pack (AIO) For AVG 2011

2010-10-20T21:42:00.000-07:00

The virus is one of the threats to your computer,,, calm down now avg has issued new anti-virus called AVG Anti-Virus 2011 11:20 Build 3152 Final (x86/x64).
review a bit about anti virus:
Anti-Virus 2011 - New version of famous anti-virus program from Czechs developers to protect your PC from dangerous objects and network threats. Program blocks viruses, trojans, worms, spyware, and a module to deal with rootkits helps get rid of the malicious processes, masking the virus. Compatible with Windows Vista and Windows 7AVG 10.0.0.1120a3152 Internet Security 2011
AVG Internet Security 2011 – security solution from all types of Internet threats. The program combines all the necessary safety features: antivirus, antispyware, firewall, antispam and other components
AVG PC Tuneup 2011 Final 10.0.0.20
You already know how AVG can protect you online. Now we take that expertise one step further by fixing problems that slow you down. AVG PC Tuneup is your one-stop shop to help you get the most out of your PC.

Click Here to Download :::: AVG 2011 Software Pack (AIO) | 600 MB

New Activator Pack For Windows 7

2010-10-20T21:33:00.000-07:00

confused activate your OS window 7 ??????????
this application is the solution for you .....

Windows 7 Activator Pack:
Windows 7 Activator V2 By Orbit30 2009
Windows 7 All versions PlusPatch V6 Activator By Orbit30
Windows 7 64Bit Activation By Orbit30
Windows 7 All versions PlusPatch 7 Final
ACTIVATE Windows 7 64Bit Beta 1 Build 7000 Manually
Windows 7 Genuine Activation Removal For Beta 1

Download

Intel C Plus Plus Compiler Professional v11.1.051 Win32/Win64 SPYRAL 2010

2010-10-13T22:28:00.000-07:00

Intel C Plus Plus Compiler Professional v11.1.051 Win32/Win64 SPYRAL | 1 GB

Whether you're a programmer or someone who is studying to become a progremer?? This application will allow you to become a programmer for the Intel C + + Compiler Professional Edition 11.1 for Windows delivers advanced capabilities for development of application parallelism and winning performance for the full range of Intel processor-based platforms. It includes the compiler's breadth of advanced optimization, multithreading, and processor support, as well as automatic processor dispatch, vectorization, and loop unrolling. Also it has highly optimized C + + templates for parallelism, math processing, and multimedia libraries.

Click Here to Download

The third largest apple sales in the U.S.

2010-10-13T21:46:00.001-07:00

Talking about computer sales in the U.S. today is very disappointing, except when you're discussing about the mac.

According to the Quarterly PC Tracker Survey released by IDC today, Apple shipped 1.99 million Macs in the U.S. during the third quarter of 2010. That's good for 10.6 percent of the 18.9 million PCs shipped in the U.S., putting Apple's share at its highest in the U.S. in the company's history, according to IDC.

While that's still far behind Hewlett-Packard's 24.3 percent share and Dell's 23.1 percent share, both of those companies' shipments remained relatively static over the last year. Apple saw its shipments grow 24 percent from the same quarter a year ago.

And it's not just the sales growth of HP and Dell it's besting: the entire U.S. PC market during the third quarter grew just 3.8 percent from a year ago (even though it was forecast at 11 percent), meaning Apple shipments of Macs grew at eight times the rate of everyone else. It's fairly remarkable considering the lingering weakness in the economy and the company's computers having been

saddled with the "too expensive" label--whether accurate or not. So why is Apple doing so well selling computers now? IDC analyst David Daoud says the iPad may actually be one of the reasons.

"It is very possible that the iPad's marketing right now is impacting [Apple's Mac] business as a halo effect, just like we saw several years ago with the iPod," he said. "The momentum went on with the iPhone, now it appears the iPad is playing a similar role, stimulating sales across its product line."

Apple sold more than 3 million iPads between April and June, and it's very likely we'll get an updated number for sales over the last three months when Apple reports its quarterly earnings results on Monday. What is interesting is the suggestion that the iPad is not taking away sales of Macs, but helping them. Unlike the iPod which has a completely different use case than a Mac, there's been discussion over whether the iPad can in some instances replace a notebook computer.

Best Buy's CEO was quoted last month saying that the iPad had cut into notebook sales by as much as 50 percent. Though he later backed off that statement, he only said the 50 percent figure was a "gross exaggeration." He didn't say there wasn't any cannibalization effect.

Either way, it's good news for the Mac business, which doesn't get nearly the attention it used to, with the iPhone and iPad raking in huge amounts of revenue for the company, and the clear trend in the industry toward highly mobile devices. But we know for sure that next week we'll hear more about the Mac and Mac OS X, when Apple holds a special event at its headquarters to talk about hardware and the next version of the Mac operating system.

Though overall consumer sales weren't so hot, enterprise computer sellers did a decent business during the third quarter, IDC says. Lenovo, which sells heavily to large businesses, grew 32.9 percent in its worldwide sales. The long-awaited "commercial refresh"--the cycle of companies replacing employee computers and IT equipment en masse--continued on schedule.

Perennial worldwide market leader HP saw little change in volume, claiming 17.7 percent of the 89.3 million computers shipped in the third quarter. Acer reclaimed its No. 2 spot with 13 percent of shipments, Dell dropped backed to third place with 12.5 percent, Lenovo claimed 10.3 percent of shipments, and newcomer Asus stayed firmly in the top five with 5.4 percent of shipments.

Gartner released its market share results today as well, and saw similar numbers: HP with 17.5 percent of shipments worldwide, Acer 13.1, Dell 12.2, Lenovo 10.4, and Asus with 5.4 percent.

Autodesk AutoCAD Plant 3D 2011 x32/x64 English

2010-10-05T22:36:00.000-07:00

Autodesk AutoCAD Plant 3D 2011 x32/x64 English | 4 GB

Autodesk AutoCAD Plant 3D 2011 - a powerful tool for the design of production facilities, as well as to create a digital prototype of existing or new facility. AutoCAD Plant 3D, based on the platform of AutoCAD, provides the most modern means of three-dimensional design. In AutoCAD Plant 3D integrated AutoCAD P & ID, which allows you to align data circuits and three-dimensional model. Prompt receipt of two-dimensional and isometric drawings and other documents, convenient system access and management can increase productivity and improve accuracy.System requirements for 32-bit version of AutoCAD Plant 3D 2011:
* Operating system Microsoft ® Windows ® 7 Enterprise, Ultimate, Professional or Home Premium; Microsoft ® Windows Vista ® Enterprise, Business, Ultimate or Home Premium (SP1 or later) or Microsoft ® Windows ® XP Professional or Home edition ( Service Pack SP2 or later)
* For Windows Vista and Windows 7: Dual-Core Intel ® Pentium ® 4 or AMD Athlon ® with 3 GHz or higher, supports SSE2. For Windows XP: Dual Intel Pentium 4 or AMD Athlon processor with a clock frequency of 1,6 GHz or higher, supports SSE2
* 2 GB of RAM
* 1 GB of hard disk space for installation
* Support for screen resolution 1280 x 1024 and the regime of «true color»
* Browser Microsoft ® Internet Explorer ® 7.0 or later

System requirements for 64-bit version of AutoCAD Plant 3D 2011:
* Operating system Microsoft Windows 7 Enterprise, Ultimate, Professional or Home Premium; Microsoft Windows Vista Enterprise, Business or Ultimate (SP1 or later) or Microsoft Windows XP Professional (Service Pack SP2)
* AMD Athlon 64 processor, AMD Opteron ®, Intel ® Xeon ® with Intel EM64T support or Intel Pentium 4 processor supporting Intel EM64T (all - technology to support SSE2)
* 2 GB of RAM.
* 1,5 GB hard disk space for installation
* Support for screen resolution 1024 x 768 and the regime of «true color»
* Browser Internet Explorer 7.0 or later
* Install a DVD or by downloading

Additional system requirements for 3D-modeling:
* Intel Pentium 4 or AMD Athlon processor with 3 GHz or higher, or dual-core Intel or AMD processor with 2 GHz or higher
* At least 2 GB of RAM
* Additional 2 GB hard drive, in addition to free space required for installation.
* Workstation-class graphics card with memory of at least 128 MB, supports screen resolution of 1280 x 1024 mode «true color», pixel shader version 3.0 and Microsoft ® Direct3D ®
* Microsoft Excel 2003

Home : www.autodesk.com

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD

SolidWorks 2010 SP3.1 Update Multilanguage (x32/x64)

2010-10-05T22:27:00.000-07:00

SolidWorks 2010 SP3.1 Update Multilanguage (x32/x64) | 4.09 GB

SolidWorks - CAD, engineering analysis and manufacture of products of any complexity and purpose.

SolidWorks is the core of an integrated set of enterprise automation, through which the support of the product life cycle, in accordance with the concept of CALS-technologies, including bi-directional data exchange with other Windows-applications and the creation of online documentation. Depending on the class of tasks customers are three basic system configurations: SolidWorks, SolidWorks Professional and SolidWorks Premium.

The developer of CAD SolidWorks is a SolidWorks Corp. (USA), an independent subsidiary of Dassault Systemes (France) - the world leader in high-tech software. Developments SolidWorks Corp. characterized by high levels of quality, reliability and productivity, which in combination with qualified support for SolidWorks makes the best solution for the industry.

Integrated Solutions SolidWorks based on advanced technologies of hybrid parametric modeling and a wide range of specialized modules. The software operates on Windows, has the support of the Russian language, and, accordingly, supports GOST ESKD.

Ingredients:
1) files with the index-i belong to updates Win32, with the index's are for upgrades to Win64, without INDECI-to general (Win32 & Win64) updates.
2) In the Win32 folder, there are installations for version SW2010 Win32. For additional modules (PhotoView, SW Explorer and SW Flow Simulation) are given as Rocky installations and updates from previous service packs.
CAUTION In the SW2010 a kernel update also includes updates and SW Simulation (aka COSMOSWorks) and SW Motion (aka COSMOSMotion).
3) In the Win64 folder, there are installations for version SW2010 Win64 (Composition similar to the folder Win32).
4) After upgrading the kernel and run the appropriate dopmoduley cracks kernel dopmoduley folder _SolidSQUAD_.

Year: 2010
Version: SW2010 SP3.1 (Win32 & Win64)
Language: Multilanguage
Developer: DSS SW Corp
Platform: Windows XP x86/x64, Windows Vista x86/x64 (Vista Ultimate, Business and Enterprise editions only!), Win7 x86/x64 (Professional, Ultimate and Enterprise only!)
Medician: Yes

Download Here
SolidWorks 2010 SP3.1 Update Multilanguage (x32/x64)

Ghost Windows XP Pro SP3 BluExtreme 2010 2.0

2010-10-03T22:15:00.000-07:00

Ghost Windows XP Pro SP3 BluExtreme 2010 2.0 For All Main | 698 Mb

Install Windows XP Pro SP3 BluExtreme 2010 in fast few minutes via Norton Ghost Automatically ..
- The System is original with full components .. Nothing Removed (NOT Lite) .
- Already full activated, accept updates from Microsoft, Fast and Stable .

- Compatible with any Computer.. Desktop & Laptop ...
- The hotfix update in September 2010, integrated Internet Explorer 8, Windows Media Player 11, SATA, Raid latest driver...
- Auto Driver Version 3 included all most drivers

Install:
- Download and extract using WinRAR.
- Burn the ISO to CD
- Restart your computer.
- Make sure you've seleceted your CD-ROM drive as a first boot device
- Using Norton Ghost to install WIN.gho file to active partition.

Activation:
It's not required, because Windows will be premanently activated.

Download links

Windows 7 ULTIMATE compressed 900mb

2010-10-03T22:09:00.000-07:00

Windows 7 ULTIMATE compressed 900mb | 890 MB

Windows 7 Ultimate is the most versatile and powerful edition of Windows 7. It combines remarkable ease-of-use with the entertainment features of Home Premium and the business capabilities of Professional,

including the ability to run many Windows XP productivity programs in Windows XP Mode. For added security, you can encrypt your data with BitLocker and BitLocker-To-Go. And for extra flexibility, you can work in any of 35 languages. Get it all with Windows 7 Ultimate.

This is a High Compressed Files 900 MB When You Exctract Them You Will Get The Original Windows Size 3.47 GB | So You Can save more of your bandwidth using the above links and this may people who have a bad internet/download speed.

Download links

Adobe Photoshop CS5 Extended 12.0.1 SE (23.09.2010)

2010-09-26T06:52:00.000-07:00

Adobe Photoshop CS5 Extended 12.0.1 *SE* (23.09.2010) | 151 MB

Adobe Photoshop CS5 - a program for processing raster graphics. Supports numerous graphic formats. Adobe Photoshop allows you to both create new images and edit them. Photoshop used to create photo-realistic images to work with colored scanned images, retouching, color correction, collaging, transformation of graphs, color separation, etc. Adobe Photoshop has all the methods of working with bitmaps, thus has the opportunity to work with layers and uses contours. The program is the undisputed leader among the professional graphic editors due to its widest possibilities, high efficiency and speed. Adobe Photoshop gives you all necessary tools for correcting, editing, preparing images for printing and high output.
A revolutionary tool for Content-Aware Fill with developed intellect can instantly remove any object or part of the image, carrying fill the space formed in the light of the other parts of the image. He just picks up light, tone and noise, depending on the surrounding area, which allows to eliminate any traces of the deleted object. With the new Refine Edge tool, users can perform the selection, which was virtually unavailable earlier. Innovative technology with high accuracy determines and creates a mask for the most complex types of objects, such as hair or foliage of trees, while not capturing the background.

On the advent of Photoshop CS5 photographers have access to a function of a new generation to create images with high dynamic range (HDR). Combining pictures with different exposures in a single HDR image, Photoshop CS5 accurately retains the full range of key scenes. New technology allows the HDR Pro to eliminate spurious distortion and provides more precise control of the tone mapping. With HDR rendering functions, users can simulate spectacular HDR images, using a single photograph.

Photoshop CS5 includes revolutionary tools to enhance the creative potential of users. Brand new drawing tools include a tool Mixer Brush, who mixes an infinite number of colors on one brush tool Bristle Tips, creating the effect of this smear brush. With Puppet Warp tool, users can change the position or view of any element of the image, for example, straightened his bent arm on the photos or adjust an image of the landscape to create a new spatial perspective.

Among the most interesting innovations are the following:
"Technology Truer Edge in Photoshop CS5 Extended, improves the definition of boundaries of objects on photographs.
"Tools Content-Aware Fill to remove from the image of an object and automatically fill the space with the relevant content.
"Advanced tools for working with HDR-images, including tools HDR Pro, which improved removal of artefacts and the possibility of setting images. Using the HDR-toning, you can mimic the appearance of HDR-images for the usual picture.
"Tools Mixer Brush, blending the colors in one brush
"Puppet Warp Tool for the strain of any element of the image. With it you can, for example, to change the landscape, to create a different perspective, or to straighten a bent arm.
"The ability to save 16-bit image format JPEG.
"Custom mini-bar Adobe Mini Bridge for fast file management, which is available directly from the application.

Build is designed for those who want a full-featured Photoshop CS5 Extended, installed for for 20 seconds and having virtually all the characteristics of the full term (except for third-party add-ons).

*** UPDATE *** (September 23, 2010) - updated Camera Raw to version 6.2.

of plug-ins added to the latest version of Camera Raw and Nvidia DDS;
access to all profiles of lenses for Camera Raw and Lens Correction;
in the assembly included distributions VC 2005 and 2008 (x86), installation of which (in their absence) will happen automatically;
assembly does not spoil the profiles other applications, the company Adobe, installed on the computer.

Download Here

IVT BlueSoleil v6.5 Full Activation

2010-09-26T06:43:00.000-07:00

IVT BlueSoleil v6.5 Full Activation

BlueSoleil 6.0 includes all the features of BlueSoleil 5.0. BlueSoleil is a Windows-based software from IVT that allows your Bluetooth enabled
desktop or notebook computer to wirelessly connect to other Bluetooth enabled devices. BlueSoleil allows MS Windows users to wirelessly access

a wide variety of Bluetooth enabled digital devices, such as mobile phones, headsets, printers, keyboards and so on. You can also form networks
and exchange data with other Bluetooth enabled computers.
Besides, it can back up your contacts, send messages with your computer without taking your phone out of your pocket. You can also send contents
in web pages to your Bluetooth phone directly by just select and send...

Here are some key features of \"BlueSoleil\":
· Support VoIP;
· Transfer files from/to mobiles phones;
· Call your contacts though Skype with Bluetooth headset;
· Wireless access Internet anywhere, anytime, even on moving;
· Listen to music stored in the PC using a Bluetooth wireless headset anywhere in the range;
· Push pictures from a Bluetooth Digital Camera to the PC without any cable connection;
· Print a file using a Bluetooth printer even in another room without any cable connection;
· Use Bluetooth wireless keyboard and mouse to control the PC;
· Exchange or synchronize personal information, name cards etc with other laptops, PDAs or mobile phones;
· Support Windows muti-user.

Here are some key features of \"BlueSoleil\":
· Support VoIP;
· Transfer files from/to mobiles phones;
· Call your contacts though Skype with Bluetooth headset;
· Wireless access Internet anywhere, anytime, even on moving;
· Listen to music stored in the PC using a Bluetooth wireless headset anywhere in the range;
· Push pictures from a Bluetooth Digital Camera to the PC without any cable connection;
· Print a file using a Bluetooth printer even in another room without any cable connection;
· Use Bluetooth wireless keyboard and mouse to control the PC;
· Exchange or synchronize personal information, name cards etc with other laptops, PDAs or mobile phones;
· Support Windows muti-user.

Requirements:
· CPU: 600MHz or above
· RAM: 128M or above
· Screen: 800*600 or above
· Display: Adapter True Color 16bits or above

Contact management
-- Backup/restore Bluetooth phone's contacts to/from computer
-- View Bluetooth phone's contacts on computer
-- Edit/delete/upload contacts

SMS
-- Type and send SMS from your computer
-- View/backup/delete SMS on Bluetooth phones

Send contents in a web page to your Bluetooth phone
-- Send pictures or words in a web page to Bluetooth phone

Supported Bluetooth Phones

All Bluetooth phones based on Symbian S60 .
All Bluetooth phones based on Windows Mobile 5.0/6.0 .
Most of Bluetooth phones from Nokia, Moto, Sony Ericsson, Samsung, HTC/Dopod, LG, and BlackBerry etc.

BlueSoleil 6.0 uses a new method, computer-bundle license mechanism, for license control, instead of checking hardware license key in Bluetooth
chipset. This new method does not limited Bluetooth chipset, thus supporting more Bluetooth computer then before, e.g. Lenovo Thinkpad notebooks,
which uses Broadcom Bluetooth chipsets.

Languages : English, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, German, Polish, Russian, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese, Swedish,
Italian, French, Danish, Dutch, Finnish

Steps for installing:
1)install bluesoleil
2)restart
3)insert your bluetooth device on pc
4)open bluesoleil application
5)open activation tool and copy-paste the serial you found on keygen
6)copy the url from activation tool to keygen activation url and get the activation code, and again copy-paste to activation tool.

Download link: 38.5 MB

Dreamweaver CS4 Multilenguage

2010-09-24T22:27:00.000-07:00

Dreamweaver CS4 Multilenguage
Size: 390 MB | HF

Create Web sites and applications world-class with one of the leading development tools. Software Adobe Dreamweaver CS4 is ideal for web designers and developers, as well as specialists in visual design.

System requirements:
* 1 GHz processor or higher;
* Microsoft Windows XP with Service Pack 2 (Service Pack 3 recommended) or Windows Vista Home Premium, Business, Ultimate, or Enterprise with Service Pack 1 (certified for 32-bit Windows XP and Windows Vista);
* 512 MB RAM;
* 1 GB of free hard disk space for installation; additional free space required during installation (can not install on flash-based storage devices);
* Monitor Resolution 1280x800 with 16-bit video card;
* Drive DVD-ROM.

Features of this version (build):
* Remove all languages except English
* Added Russian language pack.
* Added avtoran. Now it is sufficient to record the image to CD and insert it into the drive. In avtorane made menu for easy work.
* The archive NO viruses. Anti-Virus can react to Crack. This behavior is more like anti-virus collusion with right holders.
Training video course in Russian language. Lite version (cut a demo version of software) and videokniga as PDF:

Information about the file (Videokniga):
Publisher: DMK Press
ISBN: 978-5-9706-0046-7
Format: PDF
Quality: eBook (original computer)
Number of pages: 152

Videocourse dedicated program Adobe Dreamweaver CS4. After reading these videos, you will learn to create their own self-WEB-pages and WEB-sites, as you create documents in editor Word - quickly and very clearly.

Product Features:
* Consider all possible versions of the new CS4.
* Course voiced by a professional announcer.
* New! Work with new features and visual formatting.
Us consider the secrets and subtleties of working in Dreamweaver CS4.
* A large number of examples.

Contents:
1.Naznachenie program Adobe Dreamweaver CS4
2.Startovoe window
3.Obzor interface
4.Pereklyuchenie interface
5.Nastroyka interface
6.Obzor panel inserts
7.Panel Management
8.Stroka state. Navigational tool workspace
9.Sozdanie Site
10.Sozdanie document
11.Sohranenie and opening documents
12.Rezhim Code
13.Rezhim Design
14.Rabota with supporting tools
15.Ustanovka options background web-page
16.Maket page. Working with frames
17.Napolnenie frames content
18.Nachalnye configuration web-page
19.Vvod text and headlines
20.Numerovannye lists
21.Markirovannye lists
22.Mnogourovnevye lists
23.Dopolnitelnye settings page
24.Elementy SEO
25.Panel History
26.Redaktirovanie of the Commands menu
27.Sozdanie options
28.Sozdanie links to other pages
29.Rabota linking with framing
30.Otobrazhenie hyperlinks
31.Dobavlenie image
32.Optimizatsiya graphics
33.Dopolnitelnye picture settings
34.Karta image
35.Rollover Images
36.Razmeschenie banner images on the page
37.Dobavlenie animation on this page
38.Dobavlenie video in flv format
39.Vstavka sound in the web-page
40.Sozdanie forms on the web-page
41.Osnovnye controls forms
42.Dobavlenie tables on page
43.Formatirovanie tables
44.Rabota with cells. Isolation of cells.
45.Obedinenie and splitting of cells.
46.Sortirovka data in cell
47.Maket page based on the table
48.Dopolnitelnye opportunities tabular design
49.Prosmotr results in the browser
50.Redaktirovanie list of browsers
51.Ispolzovanie Device Central

System requirements:
1 GHz processor or higher
Windows XP Service Pack SP 2 or later
or Windows Vista
512 MB RAM
Stable operation of a 64-bit versions of the OS is not guaranteed
Support for Windows 7 missing

Additional Information:
* Built-in contextual language reference CSS / HTML / ASP, etc. - English (O'Reilly)
* Portable programs work without installation, with flash drives, left little trace in the system, but one should not forget that their functionality is always somewhat limited
* If possible, it is better to ban the program connects to the Internet
* After exiting the program should not run it again sooner than in 20-30 seconds
* If after an unclean exit or hang-up program is no longer run it can not hurt to see a list of running processes and if there is FNPLicensingService.exe, beat him
* In the case of various problems come out of the program and delete the folder and Dreamweaver.CS4 Stubs near Dreamweaver.CS4.exe
* Work with the CD is not supported - all temporary files are created in program folder

Download Here :

Dreamweaver CS4 Multilenguage

Microsoft Visual Studio2010 Professional x86-KOPiE

2010-09-23T20:09:00.000-07:00

Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Professional x86-KOPiE
Size: 2.26 GB

Description:
The Visual Studio development system is a comprehensive suite of tools designed to help software developers create innovative, next-generation applications. It’s the perfect work environment for application developers.

Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 and the .NET Framework 4.0 are the next generation development tools and platform for Windows Vista, the 2007 Office System, and the Web. Visual Studio 2010 and the .NET Framework 4.0 mark the next generation of developer tools from Microsoft. Designed to address the latest needs of developers, Visual Studio delivers key innovations in the following pillars: The Microsoft Visual Studio delivers on the Microsoft vision of smart client applications by enabling developers to rapidly create connected applications that deliver the highest quality, rich user experiences.

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Visual Basic 6.0 Enterprise Edition

2010-09-23T20:03:00.000-07:00

Visual Basic 6.0 Enterprise Edition | 270 Mb

Visual Basic (VB) is the third-generation event-driven programming language and integrated development environment (IDE) from Microsoft for its COM programming model. VB is also considered a relatively easy to learn and use programming language, because of its graphical development features and BASIC heritage.

Visual Basic was derived from BASIC and enables the rapid application development (RAD) of graphical user interface (GUI) applications, access to databases using Data Access Objects, Remote Data Objects, or ActiveX Data Objects, and creation of ActiveX controls and objects. Scripting languages such as VBA and VBScript are syntactically similar to Visual Basic, but perform differently.

A programmer can put together an application using the components provided with Visual Basic itself. Programs written in Visual Basic can also use the Windows API, but doing so requires external function declarations.

DOWNLOAD

Visual Basic 6.0 Enterprise Edition

Visual Basic 2010 Programmer’s Reference

2010-09-23T20:00:00.000-07:00

Visual Basic 2010 Programmer’s Reference
Publisher: Wrox | English | 2010 | ISBN-10: 0470499834 | 1272 pages | PDF | 45 Mb

Build effective user interfaces with Windows Presentation Foundation Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) is included with the Windows operating system and provides a programming model for building applications that provide a clear separation between the UI and business logic. Written by a leading expert on Microsoft graphics programming, this richly illustrated book provides an introduction to WPF development and explains fundamental WPF concepts.
Packed with helpful examples, this reference progresses through a range of topics that gradually increase in their complexity. You’ll quickly start building applications while you learn how to use both Expression Blend and Visual Studio to build UIs. In addition, the book addresses the needs of programmer who write the code behind the UI and shows you how operations can be performed using both XAML and C#.

Even if you only have a minimal amount of experience, by the end of the book, you will be able to build dynamic and responsive user interfaces with WPF.

Download Here :

Download Visual Basic 2010 Programmer’s Reference

PHP Designer Professional

2010-09-23T19:50:00.000-07:00

PHP Designer 2008 Professional is a powerful PHP IDE (Integrated Development Environment) / PHP editor for both beginners and professional developers that enhances the process of editing, analyzing and publishing applications and websites powered by PHP and other web languages.

Designed to boost your productivity and simplify complex coding projects through intelligent set of editing tools that includes full support for PHP 5.2, work with any PHP framework, syntax highlighters, intelligent nested code completion and code tip that are displayed as you type, so you do not need to look into documentation to see classes and function attributes, project manager, code snippets, the large built-in code-libraries, highlights (un)matching brackets and tags and numerous tools and wizards to speed of your development.

Full Features List

Code:
http://www.mpsoftware.dk/phpdesigner_features.phpOS: Windows® XP/XP2/Vista

Changes in Version 6.2.4
New. Option to change the color (foreground/background) of the separators like etc.) [preferences>intelligent highlighting]
New. Support for mapped network drives when using jump to declaration
New. Jump to CSS with ctrl+click
New. Jump to included files with ctrl+click
New. Save/load project file session
New. Option to disable PHP code completion
New. Option to disable HTML/XHTML code completion
New. Option to disable CSS code completion
New. Option to disable Code Tip for PHP
New. Show a warning dialog when trying to save read-only files
New. Hide the warning if xdebug port (tcp/ip) is already in use (now only displayed in the log)
New. Added predefined "font-family" to the CSS menu
Fixed. Added missing xmlns attribute for the html element in xhtml mode
Fixed. !important in the CSS code completion
Fixed. PHP manual message box (windefault)
Fixed. Exception “Stream read error” on close now fixed (happens in some rare cases)
Fixed. Date and time
Fixed. If no UI language package found the language menu is disabled
Fixed. Double-clicking on the code completion
Fixed. Better performance when using Code Tip for PHP with many items like __construct() etc.
Fixed. Reverting files
Fixed. Icon for FTP Task List
Fixed. Updated French UI language file
Fixed. Updated Hungarian UI language file
Fixed. Run to cursor now shows an indication of a active debug session (blue panel)
Fixed. Better support for large projects < style="font-weight: bold;">Homepage

Download Here :

PHP Designer

Tutorial Visual Basic

2010-09-23T19:41:00.000-07:00

Visual Basic is one of the most popular programming languages . This tutorial is written to help you learn Visual Basic 6 in 40 made-easy lessons for Free! After following the lessons, you should be able to create your own computer programs easily!

Visual Basic (VB) is the third-generation event-driven programming language and integrated development environment (IDE) from Microsoft for its COM programming model. VB is also considered a relatively easy to learn and use programming language, because of its graphical development features and BASIC heritage.

A programmer can put together an application using the components provided with Visual Basic itself. Programs written in Visual Basic can also use the Windows API, but doing so requires external function declarations.

The final release was version 6 in 1998. Microsoft's extended support ended in March 2008 and the designated successor was Visual Basic .NET (now known simply as Visual Basic).

This tutorial also can be used as a guide for high school, college and university students who are taking VB as a subject. There are many sample programs you can use for your projects

to see the tutorial can be downloaded here :

Visual Basic Tutorial

Tutorial PHP

2010-09-23T19:36:00.000-07:00

PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor is a widely used, general-purpose scripting language that was originally designed for web development to produce dynamic web pages. For this purpose, PHP code is embedded into the HTML source document and interpreted by a web server with a PHP processor module, which generates the web page document. As a general-purpose programming language, PHP code is processed by an interpreter application in command-line mode performing desired operating system operations and producing program output on its standard output channel. It may also function as a graphical application. PHP is available as a processor for most modern web servers and as a standalone interpreter on most operating systems and computing platforms.

PHP was originally created by Rasmus Lerdorf in 1995 and has been in continuous development ever since. The main implementation of PHP is now produced by the PHP Group and serves as the de facto standard for PHP as there is no formal specification.[3] PHP is free software released under the PHP License.

to see the tutorial can be downloaded here :

Tutorial PHP

Modul Tutorial PHP

Tutorial CGI

2010-09-23T19:25:00.000-07:00

What Is CGI?

The Common Gateway Interface (CGI) is an interface to the Web server that enables you to extend the server's functionality. Using CGI, you can interact with users who access your site. On a theoretical level, CGI enables you to extend the capability of your server to parse (interpret) input from the browser and return information based on user input. On a practical level, CGI is an interface that enables the programmer to write programs that can easily communicate with the server.

Normally, if you wanted to extend the Web server's capabilities, you would have to modify the server yourself. This is an undesirable solution because it requires a low-level understanding of network programming over the Internet and the World Wide Web protocol. It would also require editing and recompiling the server source code or writing a custom server for each task. For example, suppose you want to extend your server to act as a Web-to-e-mail gateway that would take user input from the browser and e-mail it to another user. You would have to insert code into the server that would parse the input from the browser, e-mail the input to the other user, and send a response back to the browser over a network connection.

First, such a task requires having access to the server code, something that is not always possible. Second, it is difficult and requires extensive technical knowledge. Third, it works only for your specific server. If you want to move your Web server to a different platform, you would have to start over or at least spend a lot of time porting the code to that platform.

Why CGI?

CGI provides a portable and simple solution to these problems. The CGI protocol defines a standard way for programs to communicate with the Web server. Without much special knowledge, you can write a program in any computer language that interfaces and communicates with the Web server. This program will work with all Web servers that understand the CGI protocol.

CGI communication is handled over the standard input and output, which means that if you know how to print and read data using your programming language, you can write a Web server application. Other than parsing the input and output, programming CGI applications is almost equivalent to programming any other application. For example, if you want to program a "Hello, world!" program, you use your language's print functions and the format defined for CGI programs to print the proper message.

Choosing Your Language

Because CGI is a "common interface," you are not restricted to any specific computer language. An important question many people ask is what programming languages can you use to program CGI? You can use any language that can do the following:

Print to the standard output
Read from the standard input
Read from environment variables

Almost all programming languages and many scripting languages perform these three activities, and you can use any one of them.

Languages fall under one of the following two classes: compiled or interpreted. A compiled language-such as C or C++-tends to be smaller and faster, whereas interpreted languages-such as Perl or Rexx-require loading a sometimes large interpreter upon startup. Additionally, you can distribute binaries (code compiled into machine language) without source code if your language is compiled. Distributing interpreted scripts normally means distributing the source code.

Before you choose your language, you must first consider your priorities. You need to balance the speed and efficiency gains of one programming language versus the ease of programming in another. If you think you want to learn another language rather than use one you already know, carefully weigh the advantages and disadvantages of the two languages.

Perhaps the two most commonly used languages for CGI programming are C and Perl (both of which are covered in this book). Both have their own distinct advantages and disadvantages. Perl is a very high-level yet powerful language especially useful for parsing text. Although its ease of use, flexibility, and power make it an attractive language for CGI programming, its relatively large size and slower performance sometimes makes it unsuitable for certain applications. C programs are smaller, more efficient, and offer more low-level control over the system, and yet are more difficult to program, do not have easy built-in text processing routines, and are more difficult to debug.

Which language is the superior CGI programming language? Whichever language you are most comfortable programming. Both are just as effective for programming CGI applications, and with the proper libraries, both have similar capabilities. However, if you have a heavily accessed server, you might want to use smaller compiled C programs. If you need to quickly write an application that requires a lot of text processing, you might want to use Perl instead.

Caveats

There are some important alternatives to CGI applications. Many servers now include a programming API that makes it easier to program direct extensions to the server as opposed to separate CGI applications. Server APIs tend to be more efficient than CGI programs. Other servers include built-in functionality that can handle special features without CGI such as database interfacing. Finally, some applications can be handled by some new client-side (rather than server-side) technologies such as Java. With such rapid change in technology, is CGI rapidly becoming obsolete?

Probably not. CGI has several advantages over the newer technologies.

It is "common," or portable. You can write a CGI application using almost any programming language on any platform. Some of the alternatives such as server APIs restrict you to certain languages and are much more difficult to learn.
Client-side technologies such as Java aren't likely to replace CGI because there are certain applications that server-side applications are much better suited to perform.
Many of the limitations of CGI are limitations of HTML or HTTP. As the standards for the Web in general evolve, so does the capability of CGI.

Summary

The Common Gateway Interface is the protocol by which programs interact with Web servers. The versatility of CGI gives programmers the opportunity to write gateway programs in almost any language, although there are many trade-offs associated with different languages. Without this ability, making interactive Web pages would be difficult at best, requiring modifications to the server and putting interactivity out of the reach of most programmers who are not also site administrators.

for the next tutorial can be viewed here

Tutorial CGI
Tutorial CGI WebCalss
CGI Tutorial

Adobe Dreamweaver CS3 (Version 9.0)

2010-09-23T00:08:00.000-07:00

Adobe Dreamweaver CS3 (Version 9.0)

290 MB | HF LINK

Adobe DreamweaverA CS3 software. Built for designers and developers, Dreamweaver CS3 offers
the choice of a visual layout interface or a streamlined coding environment. Intelligent
integration with related Adobe software ensures an efficient workflow across your favorite tools.

DOWNLOAD LINK

http://hotfile.com/dl/71016786/f4f46e6/Backup.A.D.CS3.9.0.part1.rar.html http://hotfile.com/dl/71016977/2c169b0/Backup.A.D.CS3.9.0.part2.rar.html http://hotfile.com/dl/71017184/cba2e91/Backup.A.D.CS3.9.0.part3.rar.html http://hotfile.com/dl/71017406/a28791e/Backup.A.D.CS3.9.0.part4.rar.html

AMD ATI FirePro V9800 Workstation Graphics Card

2010-09-23T00:02:00.000-07:00

It didn't take AMD long to respond to the release of NVIDIA's new line of Quadro workstation-class graphics cards. The new flagship FirePro V9800 we'll be showing you here is the latest ultra high end professional graphics card from AMD, and competes in the same space as the 6000 and 5000 models from NVIDIA. It replaces the V8800 as the flagship model of the FirePro line, and targets professionals who require the highest levels of performance and connectivity, with plenty of onboard memory and support for multiple displays.

In case you were wondering, the ATI brand still exists. Radeon and FirePro cards like the V9800 continue to wear the ATI badge, but as we confirmed recently, change is on the horizon. We were told by AMD that moving forward, ATI will not be used on next-gen graphics cards or Fusion-based processors. Consequently, expect this transition to materialize by the end of 2010.

With that said, let's go over the tech specs of the new FirePro V9800. In a nutshell, this is the Eyefinity 6 card of the professional market, with a huge frame buffer. Digital content creators are treated to 1600 stream processors, 4GB of GDDR5 memory, and a huge amount of memory bandwidth. Furthermore, the GPU has a core clock of 850MHz, while memory is set to a frequency of 1150MHz. It supports DirectX 11, OpenGL 4.0, and Shader Model 5. Above all, the V9800 takes the place of the V8800 as ATI's fastest FirePro product, while offering even more options for professional users. The table below lists additional features of the V9800.

ATI FirePro V9800 Ultra High End Graphics Card

Professional Videocard

Core Clock	850 MHz
Memory Clock	1150 MHz
Stream Processors	1600
Total Memory	4 GB GDDR5
Memory Interface	256 bit
Memory Bandwidth	147.2 GB/s
Output Connectors	6 x mini-DisplayPort, 1 x Stereo 3D
Bus Type	PCI-E 2.0
Form Factor	Dual Slot
Accessories	5 x DisplayPort to DVI passive adapters 1 x DisplayPort to DVI active adapter
Power Requirements	1 x 8 pin PCI-E power connectors 1 x 6 pin PCI-E power connectors
Power	199W
Price	$3,499

In terms of its specifications, the FirePro V9800 looks similar to the V8800. The core clock gets bumped up by a modest 25MHz, an additional 2GB of memory is present, and it offers a two more DisplayPort outputs. It's worth noting that AMD includes six mini-DisplayPort to DVI adapters with the card. But at $3,499, it costs twice as much as the V8800. That's a hefty price to pay for the luxury of two additional outputs and some extra memory. Then again, this product targets a specific set of users with the most demanding set of display requirements. Let's find out if the additional features are worth the extra money.

It's true that high-end workstation graphics cards may be based on the same core architectures as gaming-targeted graphics cards, however, their purposes are very different. While they both accomplish the same task, processing commands and rendering images on-screen, workstation cards endure a more strenuous existence than their gaming counterparts. Workstation cards are used to solve complex, mission-critical problems, like helping engineers design and build cars; helping architects to plan and construct buildings, and even help oil and gas companies to provide more effective means of production and transportation.

Like its predecessor, the V9800 uses a matte black heatsink assembly that houses ATI's dual-slot copper heatpipe cooling solution. The embedded fan exhausts air out of the back of the card and out of the system, which keeps components cooler inside the case. Upon start up, the V9800 powers on quietly and stays that way during normal use. AMD has tuned the latest batch of FirePro cards to remain relatively quiet, even with high end models, and V9800 owners will benefit from it.

On the front end of the card, we find a 6-pin and an 8-pin PCIe power connector. This is different from the V8800, which featured two 6-pin connections. Interestingly enough, the maximum board power is 199W, down 9W from the V8800. It's worth noting, the RV870 GPU is well known for its low power consumption during idle due to aggressive clock gating and voltage reductions when the card is not under significant load.

The FirePro V9800 sports six mini-DisplayPort connections and one stereo port. That's a couple more than the V8800 which offered four DP outputs. Also seen in the image above is the backplate which helps to dissipate heat created by the components installed on the card.

FirePro V9800 vs Quadro 6000 Comparison Chart

latest Netbook packs in higher tech "Asus"

2010-09-22T19:10:00.000-07:00

A new Asus Eee PC may be, under the hood, one of the most advanced laptops on the market today.

Tablets are getting a lot of attention these days as the next big thing in portable computing. That may well be the case, but enticing new Netbooks and Netbook/tablet hybrids are emerging, giving this mobile category a new luster, as as I wrote recently.

One of the most remarkable Netbook designs is the Asus Eee PC 1015PEM. From a pure, on-paper standpoint, this clusters key cutting-edge tech that few laptops--or tablets for that matter--can match.

Collection of new Netbooks--including dual-core models--displayed last week at the Intel Developer Forum.

(Credit: Brooke Crothers)

USB 3.0: There are only a handful of laptops (typically priced above $1,000) on the market from top-tier vendors with USB 3.0 ports. Now we have an inexpensive Netbook offered in some configurations with this connection technology, which delivers up to 10 times the data transfer speeds of the USB 2.0 ports used in virtually all laptops today.

Asus Eee PC 1015PEM's connection and silicon integration technologies are ahead of most laptops.

(Credit: Asus)

Bluetooth 3.0: This is another new

connection technology boasting much greater data throughput and not seen on a lot of mobile devices today. Intel dual-core Atom processor: This is Intel's first dual-core chip for Netbookdelivering the multitasking goodness of multicore processors. The beauty of this chip is its high level of integration: Intel has already manufactured a chip that Advanced Micro Devices has been talking about for years (but has yet to make). That is, a single piece of silicon that fuses the CPU (main processor) with GPU (graphics chip). And the extra oomph from the second processor doesn't affect battery life materially. In fact, Asus is claiming 13 hours on one charge. Likely overstated but if actual battery life is two-thirds of what Asus claims, this is still way ahead of most laptops.

All of this points to an interesting trend that may develop over the next 12 months or so. To date, larger laptops have been the bastion of the latest and greatest mobile PC technology. Some of this may begin to shift, however, to Netbooks as they come to represent one of the most viable alternatives to tablets.

New Google

2010-09-22T19:05:00.000-07:00

Google's new blog for promoting its product announcements, Google New, is touting Google Instant Search as its top story.

A few weeks after starting a video series to promote the most popular searches in a given week, Google is starting a blog of sorts to promote its new products.

Google New went live today as a directory of new products designed to help call attention to the new products Google launches at a dizzying rate, the ones that may not get as much attention as say Google Instant Search or voice calls from Gmail. The site will pull together posts from Google's various product and policy-related blogs and it appears it will use some editorial judgment in how it lays out the site: Google Instant Search is in the lead story position, as opposed to product launches over the last 24 hours such as Rich Snippets in Google Maps or enhancements to Google's AdWords accounts.

For a company built on the back of advertising, Google hasn't done a lot of advertising of itself. That's definitely starting to change this year, with the company buying the mother of all ads--a Super Bowl spot--in January, and more recently rolling out plans to advertise its display-ad prowess as well.

But it's also doing more subtle promotion, such as the Google Beat video series and the new Google New blog. Google authors dozens and dozens of individual blogs, but the most recent promotional activities--Google Beat and Google New--seem designed for more of a mass audience than the niche blogs that focus on specific product categories.