Next Windows version in 3 years

Microsoft Corp has indicated that its next Windows operating system (OS) should be ready for 2010.A projected release of 2010, if met, would see Microsoft easing the concerns of corporate and enterprise customers who, according to a recent Forrester Research report, are displaying signs of becoming wary regarding Microsoft Software Assurance renewal.According to media reports, Microsoft seems to be trying hard to reassure customers about its development cycle after a recent Forrester study that criticised its business-oriented subscription programme (Software Assurance). The study raised questions about the financial benefits of Software Assurance programme.

search tool for mobile content

Google Inc. is developing a new search tool for cell phones that will allow users to find and purchase mobile content, including ring tones and games, according to a published report.Google has been working for months with content providers such as "large entertainment companies and smaller mobile-media aggregators" to make their material available through a mobile search, The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday, citing people familiar with the matter.According to the Journal, mobile users would go to Google to search for content, such as a particular ring tone and would be provided with links to providers where the ring tone could be purchased.

Yahoo launches Search Suggest

Kevin Lee announced on the Yahoo Search blog the launch of a new feature to the Yahoo website. Users of the Yahoo’s tool bar might already recognize the feature as it has been in use for a while on that application.The goal is to offer some conveniences to users searching on the portal. With a dropdown list of suggestions depending on the keyword, the time spent searching is expected to drop offering users the ability to get the information they want faster. Another goal the announcement states was a resolution to the “brain dead” moments where you simple forget what it was you were attempting to find.

Rediff launches content sharing platform iShare

Rediff India has launched 'iShare ', a new multimedia social content sharing platform on the lines of YouTube and Orkut.The platform allows users to share videos, music, pictures, with an easy to use utility tool, which can be installed on PCs and used to upload multiple files even at low-speed. Users will be able to upload pictures and videos off mobile phones, digicams, camcorders and music from MP3 players.iShare supports multiple formats including mpeg, wmv, avi, etc. and even lets users convert their content into easily web streamable flash format.The main aim of iShare is to link the 53 million Indians worldwide outside India with those within the country. It aims to provide richer context for users to connect, and to bring together users with similar interests and form a vibrant online community.

Yahoo.com is Asia’s favourite website

Yahoo! Inc, owner of the most-visited web site in the US, is also the most popular in Asia, according to a survey of 10 markets in the region by research company ComScore Inc.The company had the most popular web sites in Japan, India, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore.Microsoft Corp and Google Inc have the region’s second- and third-most popular sites, Reston, Virginia- based ComScore said on its web site.Asia has drawn increased investment from US web companies such as Yahoo, Microsoft and Google as they look to win users in the region’s fast growing economies such as China and India.Ten percent of the population in the Asian markets surveyed uses the Internet at home or work, lagging behind the worldwide rate of 16%, ComScore said. South Korea has the highest rate of Internet usage at 65% of its population, followed by Australia with 62%, New Zealand with 60%, and Hong Kong’s 59%.India and China are at the bottom of the list with rates of 3% and 9%, respectively, according to ComScore.

Yahoo! brings your city up close and personal

Urban skylines are changing in India - in cyberspace too. Global Internet services company Yahoo! Inc - headquartered in Sunnyvale, California - has launched a new series of networks covering urban Indian areas in cyberspace.Called Our City, this three-month-old network is 'a dynamic representation of content created by you and everyone else'.Yahoo!'s new venture in India collects online content on the city from various sources and presents it in a dynamic manner. Our City (http://in.ourcity.yahoo.com) is in the experimental Beta version so far and Yahoo! says that it plans to continue to add more features and city versions.India is playing a significant role in this new venture from the cyber-giant firm known for its web portal, search engine, the Yahoo! directory, Yahoo! mail, news and posting.

Cyber criminals rely on mind games

McAfee has announced the results of a groundbreaking study that details the psychological games and other tactics cyber criminals use in social engineering scams propagated through junk email.In the study titled "Mind Games", the primary author, Dr James Blascovich, Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, offers analyses of multiple common scam emails and provides surprising insights into how cyber criminals use fear, greed and lust to methodically steal personal and proprietary financial information.The same psychological practices used by cyber criminals were also investigated in a European report, commissioned by McAfee in association with leading forensic psychologist, Professor Clive Hollin, based at University of Leicester in the United Kingdom.