Google to release a new Chrome-based OS in 2010

Google announced on July 7, 2009 that they will be releasing a new browser-based ( Google Chrome ) OS sometime in 2010 ( according to them, it will be in netbooks by the second half of the same year ). Google Chrome OS will be open sourced this year, so developers who will be working on it once it is in private beta, could give their hands-on experience on the current state of the OS at that point. According to the announcement, Chrome OS will be a light operating system, with a ( Google developed ) windowing system and the Chrome browser as the user facing application. Many are really excited with the announcement, but there is also a large camp who are really skeptical of how impactful this new OS will be. The hype around the new operating system is pretty strong, but the lack of information about the mysterious product maybe the only cause for this. Google is not alone in pursuing a web-centric OS, with Crunchpad and Intel's Moblin also having the same goals - to make machines that rely more on the network than on traditional desktop apps.

For further reading:

1. Introducing the Google Chrome OS
2. Google Chrome OS - FAQ
3. Wikipedia entry for Google Chrome OS
4. Google Chrome OS & What It Means For Future of Computing
5. Chrome OS Could Offend the Open Source Community
6. Google Chrome OS: Is It the End of an Era?

Fontsquirrel: Free and High Quality Fonts

Fontsquirrel aggregates free, high-quality fonts that have all commercial-use licenses for designers and font addicts.

Fonts are available in OpenType and TrueType, and are further categorized according to "style".

Links:

1. Fontsquirrel site
2. Most Downloaded fonts
3. Newly Added fonts

Conficker Removal Toolbox

I recently needed to remove Conficker on some Windows XP machines, and downloaded some of the removal tools available from Anti-Virus companies and Microsoft. I also used a Portable copy of ClamWin, which was useful as Conficker would not allow the installed AV to run updates. I've zipped and uploaded the following tools to Mediafire, to serve as an emergency copy and for others to use if they are not able to download from the different AV vendor sites ( a Conficker infected machine will have difficulty downloading from AV sites ).

You can use the Conficker Eye Chart to check if you are infected by Conficker.

If you want to try and download removal tools directly from their sources ( or if you are in a different machine that is not infected ), you can use this list provided by the Conficker Working Group. You can also check their Home page as well as their FAQ to read more about Conficker.

If you want to download the removal tools that I've collected as the Conficker Removal Toolbox, you can follow this link. The list of things that you'll find in the zip file are:

1. Symantec Downadup Removal Tool
2. BDTools from BitDefender
3. Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool
4. ClamWin Portable ( extracted and updated on April 26, 2009 )

Resources:

1. Conficker in Wikipedia
2. Conficker Working Group
3. Conficker Eye Chart
4. List of Removal Tools
5. Download link for zipped collection of removal tools with ClamWin AV
6. Download link for zipped collection of removal tools without ClamWin AV

Convert Documents to PDF with the Document Converter Express

Neevia Document Converter eXpress is a very handy online tool for converting your documents to other file formats right on the browser. I tested and used it for converting PNGs to PDFs, and the conversion process was fast and completed without any problems. I used the "Wait for conversion in browser" option, but you can also specify an email address and have the link to the download page emailed to you instead. The file size limit for uploads is 1 MB.

The supported Output formats are:

• PDF
• PDF/A
• PostScript
• EPS
• BMP
• JPEG
• TIFF
• PCX
• PNG
• GIF

Neevia Document Converter eXpress is a free online tool, but the company also offers paid desktop programs for creating and modifying PDFs.

Link: Neevia Document Converter eXpress

Portable and Free eXpress CheckSum Calculator

I've been recently downloading Linux distros, through bittorrent and direct iso downloads, and one of the tools that I found very helpful in checking the validity of the files that I download is the eXpress CheckSum Calculator. You can match the values calculated by XCSC against the given and previously generated checksum values for files that you download online. The tool supports CRC32, MD5 and SHA-1. If you need to find the checksum for a group of files, you can also use another program from the same developer, the eXpress CheckSum Verifier (which is also portable and free).

Details :

Developer : Irnis Haliullin Cost : Free Supported OS : Windows 95/98/ME/NT4/2000/XP/Vista Supported algorithms : CRC32 (Cyclic Redundancy Code), MD5 (Message Digest number 5) and SHA-1 (Secure Hash Algorithm). Download Size : 263Kb ( Self-extracted EXE file )

Resources and Links

1. Download eXpress CheckSum Calculator (XCSC) here
2. Download eXpress CheckSum Verifier (XCSV) here
3. CRC
4. MD5
5. SHA hash functions

Firefox 3 hits 8 million downloads in 24 hrs.

Congratulations to Mozilla and the Firefox team for the very successful Firefox Download Day and being just a step away (awaiting confirmation) from a Guinness World Record for the most software downloaded in 24 hours. The total downloads after 24 hours totaled around 8 million, with almost the whole civilized world joining the download spree, and the United States topping the list of countries with completed downloads. As a side note, Opera also released the version 9.5 of their desktop browser last June 12, which also had great reviews and buzz going around, getting downloaded 4.7 million times for the first five days after it was launched. The great numbers of downloads for both browsers in such a short span of time will definitely affect the current Usage Share of web browsers ( Firefox has 17.76% usage share, while Opera has 0.69%, as opposed to the 74.83% of Internet Explorer - As of April 2008 ) cutting more into the considerable piece of the pie commanded by Internet Explorer.

I've been using Firefox 3 ever since downloading and installing it on my main system, and I must say it runs much faster, with I believe the memory leak issues in the past being resolved in the current version. I still see spikes in memory usage, but it is much lower than Firefox 2, which really became a memory hog with like email, some web apps, and a few more tabs open. I've read mixed reactions to the Smart Location Bar ( also known as the "Awesome Bar" - this feature is an autocomplete function that uses your browsing history and bookmarks ), but overall I really like it and it has given reliable results that matches what sites I want to go to. Another feature that I like is the Anti-Virus integration when downloading files - Firefox 3 ( on Windows of course ) integrates with the installed and running AV software and scans the file being downloaded automatically. I personally scan everything I download, and this feature actually does save me time, and for some who are not so security-minded, it may save their PC from malicious software and files. The new "One-Click Bookmarking" also sounds great, but have not played around the Bookmarks Organizer on my Firefox much, as I've migrated my growing list to Google Bookmarks.

Resources and Links:

1. Download Firefox
2. View the Total Firefox downloads worldwide
3. Speed Testing the Latest Web Browsers
4. Comparison of web browsers

Firefox 3 Released Today

The latest version of the Firefox web browser was just released today.

Firefox 3 is a leap into maturity, as the beloved Mozilla product moves forward with great features that make it easier for its users to experience the "new and dynamic" Web. Some of the key features are Improved Memory Management, Instant Web ID ( anti-phishing ), Smart Location Bar and Improved Bookmarking process. If you want to know more about what Firefox 3 brings to the table, Lifehacker has a great rundown of the Top 10 Firefox 3 Features, or you can read in full the Firefox Features page.

Download it here.

Useful Links :

1. Top 10 Firefox 3 Features
2. Firefox Features
3. Field Guide to Firefox 3