Ubuntu 10.04 Beta 1 Released
Beta 1 is finally out after being postponed. I'd recommend you download the torrent version for the fastest download experience, check out the download page here.
What changes would you like to see in Beta 2 if it's not already been changed in this release? (I'm sure a lot of people are going to say, "buttons")
Google Chrome OS Open Source Project Announcement
Google Chrome OS is an open source operating system for people who spend most of their time on the web built around the core tenets of speed, simplicity and security. http://www.chromium.org
During the Q&A I found that people really didn't understand what ChromOS is and the differences between it and the Chrome Browser. Firstly everything on the system is a web application so you should be able to use the web application from any browser. People just need to think of it as an OS that is just the browser. This means you never install applications, everything is stored remotely and nowadays that's fine seeing as we spend most of our time in a browser connected to the internet.
Gmail's Down! – Rethinking Cloud Computing
I've been a big proponent of Gmail and most Google Applications, however I've always been wary of the pitfalls with 'cloud computing'. I think storing information online is a great idea, but I still feel that it's unreliable, Google services rarely go down, but I don't think that's good enough. Most people are dependant on online services and if they break there could be major repercussions, be it loss of money or not being able to hand in a college assignment. Cloud computing just isn't at the point were we can completely rely on it.
My current method of backup was to forward my college email to my Gmail, but this doesn't help if I can't access the internet and really need to check something. This interruption is the reason I've decided to revisit Google Gears as I've come to a point in my life were email is very important to my academics and I've got important documents I should really have local backups of.
I prefer Google Gears to other email clients such as Thunderbird or Evolution Mail, because I’ve grown accustomed to the Gmail UI and in my mind when I think of email I think, browser.
Ultimately I think the best solution is syncing your local information with the 'cloud' to give both reassurances that your information is backed up, read locally, but also be accessed from other machines via the internet if needed. Programs like Dropbox are a prime example of this unity.
Note: I noticed Gmail went down around 9PM GMT and is still not back up, just logged back on and it's back up.
Gmail Finally Out of Beta, Who knew?
I just notice while looking through the Gmail Labs list of features that you can put the "beta" back in the Gmail Logo, but the thing is I didn't even notice it was gone! I suppose Google finally manned up and decided they can't use the excuse that it's still in beta if something goes wrong (This happened 7th July 2009, I'm only noticing now...oops).
Gmail is far from a beta product, it's a rock solid web based email client. It's fast, easy to navigate and search your inbox (or multiple inboxes) and packed with great features - such as being able to download all your email to your local machine using Google Gears and enabling the offline feature in Gmail Labs. I especially like this because it gives me piece of mind that if something happened to Googles servers I still have a copies of my email locally.
Here's a few great Gmail Lab features:
- Offline (manage your email locally)
- Google Calendar gadget
- Undo Send (for those times you spot a mistake just after you've hit send!)
- Authentication icon for verified senders (anti-phishing)
- Multiple Inboxes
- Forgotten Attachment Detector (will make sure if you've said you've attached something in your email it will check for you)
- Mail Goggles (prevents drunk emailing your ex!)
- Navbar drag and drop (lets you organize the gadgets on the left as you like)
Google Labs does say that all these features are experimental so "they may change, break or disappear at any time." I guess there not completely getting ride of there beta life jacket just yet.
Howto: Fix AVG + iTunes Update = Small.BOG Trojan Horse
UPDATE: AVG has updated there virus database so you shouldn't have any problems with just, just make sure you've updated your AVG.
Don’t worry, Apple hasn’t really given you a Trojan Horse! Basically what’s happening is AVG is scanning the iTunes Installer, iTunes and iPod directories and thinking you’ve been infected with a “Small.BOG Trojan Horse”. This prevents you from downloading the installer, because AVG just deletes files inside it and even if you mange to download the installer without AVG deleting files from it, it will just delete files from the directories where iTunes is installed. Enough of that, here how to fix it...
This fix will work for both Windows XP and Vista (I’m assuming it’ll work on 64-bit version also).
Step 1
We first need to create expectations in AVG, this will stop it from scanning and deleting files from the /iTunes and /iPod directories in C:/Program Files.
Open up AVG and right and click on resident shield, select open and uncheck resident shield active.
Click “Manage Exceptions”, then “Add Path” and navigate to both (you’ll have to do this one at a time):
C:/Program Files/iTunes/
C:/Program Files/iPod/
Note: If you have uninstalled iTunes at this time you won’t see the iTunes or iPod directory. Simple navigate to where they should be (C:/Program Files/) and create a new folder and call them iTunes and iPod.
Click “Apply”, then “OK”, then “Save Changes”.
Step 2
Now we have to disable AVG from starting up (we will re-enable this once iTunes is installed), because if we don’t it will just delete files from the iTunes installer straight after we download it.
Right click on “My Computer” (either in the Start Menu or Desktop icon) and go to “Manage”. Double click “Services and Applications” and then double click on “Services”.
Look for “AVG Free8 WatchDog” and right click on it and go to “Properties”. Where is says “Startup Type” it should say “Automatic”, change this to “Disabled” via the dropdown menu. Click “Apply” and then “OK”.
Close all windows and restart your computer.
Note: don't worry about the security warnings you get when you boot back up, this is normal and we will amend them once we have fixed iTunes.
Step 3
If you tried to reinstall iTunes but it didn’t work, follow the instructions in Fix A. If you did not uninstall iTunes and just left it the way it was, follow the instructions in Fix B. If you don’t have the “Apple Software Update” program needed in A or just aren’t sure follow the instruction in Fix C (This one is pretty much bullet proof, if all fails try Fix C).
Fix A
If you uninstalled iTunes when you found it had stopped working and tried to reinstall it, but found that didn’t work either. Open the “Apple Software Update” program in your Start Menu (if you don’t have it follow the instructions in Fix C) and check the box for “iTunes + QuickTime” and click install. Follow the on screen prompts. It should download and install. Just quit out of the updater when it's all done, run iTunes to make sure it's working and move on to Step 4 if this didn’t work try Fix C.
Fix B
If you did not uninstall the program, run iTunes from the Start Menu (or icon), I found that in Vista (not sure about XP, but assuming) it knew there was a problem and fixed it. Again just follow any prompts and make sure when its finished iTunes is working. If this doesn’t work try Fix C.
Fix C
If you don't have “Apple Software Update” installed currently or have completely removed iTunes you can just go to http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/ and download iTunes. Make sure you've selected the right version for your system (32-bit or 64-bit) and download it. Once it has downloaded simply double click the setup installer and follow the on screen prompts, it should install fine. If no errors occur during the install just run iTunes and make sure it works.
Step 4
Return to the “Services” window (see above; right click on My Computer->Manage->Services and applications->Services) and find “AVG Free8 WatchDog” again. Right click on it and set the “Startup Type” back to “Automatic”.
Restart your computer and everything should be fine working fine. Open up AVG, and then open the “Resident Shield” and check the “Resident Shield Active” box. You're all done now. iTunes should not have any more problems with AVG.
I followed these methods on both a Windows XP and Vista machine (both 32-bit). I assume this will work with 64-bit versions as long as you follow my instructions.
This is just a work around to stop AVG from deleting iTunes. Lets hope AVG update there database soon. Once they do we can remove the Exception paths we add so that AVG can scan those directories for actual malicious files.
Please post in the comments if this helps you or if you have any problems.
Note: At the time of this post the conflicting software versions where; AVG version 8.5.392, Virus database version 270.13.28/2259 (Release Date 24 July 2009) conflicting with iTunes Version 8.2.1.6.