Download Squad http://downloadsquad.switched.com Download Squad. http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/downloadsquad.switched.com/media/feedlogo.gif Download Squad http://downloadsquad.switched.com prods@weblogsinc.com (Weblogs, Inc. Producers) support@weblogsinc.com (Weblogs, Inc. Web Support) en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. View our terms of service here: http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/ Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/ <![CDATA[7 great ways to get Windows 7 cheap (or even free!)]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2009/09/18/7-great-ways-to-get-windows-7-cheap-or-even-free/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2009/09/18/7-great-ways-to-get-windows-7-cheap-or-even-free/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2009/09/18/7-great-ways-to-get-windows-7-cheap-or-even-free/#comments Windows 7
Here at Download Squad, we like saving money. We love finding freebies, and we're certainly not ashamed to walk up to the cash register with a fistful of coupons. Since the announcement of the Windows 7 pricing scheme, we've been looking for ways to cut the costs to make the move.

We've compiled a list of seven ways you can get that Windows 7 goodness without shelling out quite as many bucks. Read on for savings!

Continue reading 7 great ways to get Windows 7 cheap (or even free!)

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7 great ways to get Windows 7 cheap (or even free!) originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 18 Sep 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> academic allianceAcademicAlliancefamily packFamilyPackfree windowsFreeWindowsmicrosoftmsdntechnettwitterwindowswindows 7Windows7 Adam Maras Fri, 18 Sep 2009 15:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[U.S. government jumps for cloud computing in a big way]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2009/09/16/u-s-government-jumps-for-cloud-computing-in-a-big-way/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2009/09/16/u-s-government-jumps-for-cloud-computing-in-a-big-way/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2009/09/16/u-s-government-jumps-for-cloud-computing-in-a-big-way/#comments Apps.Gov
The federal government -- alongside everyone else with web access and a pulse -- seems to have taken a sudden interest in adopting cloud computing technologies. Late yesterday saw the launch of Apps.Gov, an internet portal built to allow government organizations quick and painless access to purchasing cloud services for their operations.

Partnering with companies like Google, VMware, and Salesforce.com, Apps.Gov aims to provide government agencies a streamlined method of purchasing, provisioning, and maintaining cloud-based applications. This is achieved in part by the fact that the applications featured on Apps.Gov have already gone through the federal examinations necessary to allow for procurement, saving agencies time and duplicate effort.

Apps.Gov is starting out small and will expand as they collect feedback and usage metrics; however, the Feds are looking at a very tall goal of reducing the number of taxpayer dollars required to operate the various IT departments that keep the government running.

[via ZDNet]

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U.S. government jumps for cloud computing in a big way originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 16 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> cloudcloud computingCloudComputingfederal governmentFederalGovernment Adam Maras Wed, 16 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Newsaholics can get their fix with Google Fast Flip]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2009/09/15/newsaholics-can-get-their-fix-with-google-fast-flip/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2009/09/15/newsaholics-can-get-their-fix-with-google-fast-flip/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2009/09/15/newsaholics-can-get-their-fix-with-google-fast-flip/#comments Google Fast Flip Google has decided that you're not getting enough news in your balanced diet of information. Equatable to hooking up an IV of coffee to get your necessary caffeine, Google Fast Flip, a new Google Labs project, aims to provide you with more news than you probably want, faster than you probably want it. Fast Flip provides a magazine-ish interface to news stories from (currently) three dozen popular news publishers.

You can flip through news articles based on popularity, news sections, hot topics, or publishers. On the home page, you can scroll through a strip of stories to find the first one you're interested; once you've selected a story, you can use the big left and right arrows on either side of the story to go to the previous or next story in the section. You can also scroll through the section's stories using a pop-out sidebar on the left side of the page. Also, the iPhone and Android versions let you actually flip through the stories using touch gestures, making the whole experience more fluent.

Google makes loading the news stories faster by caching them as images; this way, to read a news story, you don't have to load the entire publisher's web page (with all of its graphics and other elements) making load times significantly faster. Instead of having to wait ten seconds for a news site's page to load, the next story's screenshot has already been downloaded and cached in your browser.

Fast Flip also provides recommended results for anyone with a Google Account; it can automatically track the stories you read as well as base recommendations on articles you click the "Like" button for.

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Newsaholics can get their fix with Google Fast Flip originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 15 Sep 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> googlegoogle labsGoogleLabsnews Adam Maras Tue, 15 Sep 2009 14:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Go-go-gadget... The Engadget Show!]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2009/09/11/go-go-gadget-the-engadget-show/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2009/09/11/go-go-gadget-the-engadget-show/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2009/09/11/go-go-gadget-the-engadget-show/#comments The Engadget Show Residents of New York City beware... Engadget is planning to take over the Tishman Auditorium at Parsons The New School for Design for the evening on September 13th!

That's right, ladies and gentlemen, the folks over at Download Squad's sister blog Engadget are excited to announce the first taping of The Engadget Show, a monthly coagulation of interviews, round-table discussions, video clips, live music, and whatever else the Engadget crew can come up with.

This coming Sunday's taping will include a one-on-one interview with Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein, who we're all sure will have a lot to say about the new webOS-powered Pixi, as well as the success of the Palm Pre and other goings-on at Palm. Also featured will be live music from Bit Shifter, a popular chiptune artist.

Tickets will become available at 2PM on Sunday, and the Tishman Auditorium seats about 450 people. Doors open at 4:30PM, and the show will begin at 5. If you can't make it to the taping, don't fret; The Engadget Show will be made available free for your viewing pleasure just a few days after the taping.

(Oh, and you can thank Nokia for sponsoring this event, as well as Parsons The New School for Design for hosting it.)

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Go-go-gadget... The Engadget Show! originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 11 Sep 2009 16:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> EngadgetEngadget ShowEngadgetShowThe Engadget ShowTheEngadgetShow Adam Maras Fri, 11 Sep 2009 16:15:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Facebook Lite goes live, isn't quite fully baked yet]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2009/09/10/facebook-lite-goes-live-isnt-quite-fully-baked-yet/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2009/09/10/facebook-lite-goes-live-isnt-quite-fully-baked-yet/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2009/09/10/facebook-lite-goes-live-isnt-quite-fully-baked-yet/#comments Facebook Lite
The folks over at Facebook decided their social network's user interface needed to lose some weight. So, after a few weeks on a treadmill, Facebook Lite is now available for public preview. This new fat-free version of Facebook looks to put Twitter in its sights as far as simplicity is concerned; it's more straight-to-the-point and less "just in case you're interested."

On the inside, Facebook Lite seems to load and run significantly faster than the standard interface. It uses far less styling and scripting, and conveys simpler information to the user. In fact, after using the regular version for so long, Facebook Lite starts to feel somewhat like a mobile website. For on-the-go people, this should speed up the social networking workflow a little bit.

Facebook Lite isn't quite ready for full-time use, however. There are still some "to do" items. For example, six of the seven selections in the Options screen, and the advertisement on the left side of the page seems to be locked on Facebook Lite's feedback page. The rest of the interface seems to be functional, albeit lacking (though that is the general idea of a lite application) in some areas.

Facebook Lite is available for public preview to (currently) all US and India members.

[via Mashable]

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Facebook Lite goes live, isn't quite fully baked yet originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 10 Sep 2009 18:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> FacebookFacebook LiteFacebookLiteFriendFeedSocial NetworkingSocialNetworkingTwitter Adam Maras Thu, 10 Sep 2009 18:43:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Today's the day: Blame Drew's Cancer with the all-day Blame-A-Thon!]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2009/09/09/todays-the-day-blame-drews-cancer-with-the-all-day-blame-a-th/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2009/09/09/todays-the-day-blame-drews-cancer-with-the-all-day-blame-a-th/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2009/09/09/todays-the-day-blame-drews-cancer-with-the-all-day-blame-a-th/#comments Blame Drew's Cancer
A few months ago, we brought you news of Download Squad's long time friend and blogger Drew Olanoff's Hodgkin's Lymphoma, as well as his efforts to get everyone to blame everything on it. Since then, almost 12,000 people have credited Drew's cancer with more than 26,000 of their unfortunate or ridiculous happenings.

At midnight this morning, Drew and his crew of blamers kicked off the Blame Drew's Cancer Blame-A-Thon party/benefit concert in Philadelphia. The blame games will go on for 24 hours, during which time Drew and company will be Livestreaming the event for all to watch and chat about.

The Blame Drew's Cancer team has put together a few ways of helping to support LiveStrong during the Blame-A-Thon; blamers in Philadelphia can purchase tickets to the second portion of the event, which will be located at North Star Bar and begin at noon. Supporters can also purchase a raffle ticket for a Twitter raffle going on during all 24 hours of the event. If you simply want to donate, the blame squad encourages you to donate directly to LiveStrong on behalf of Blame Drew's Cancer.

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Today's the day: Blame Drew's Cancer with the all-day Blame-A-Thon! originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 09 Sep 2009 03:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> cancercharitydonationsdrew olanoffDrewOlanofflivestrongsupport Adam Maras Wed, 09 Sep 2009 03:06:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Microsoft retail stores hiring; Scottsdale and Mission Viejo residents rejoice]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2009/08/26/microsoft-retail-stores-hiring-scottsdale-and-mission-viejo-res/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2009/08/26/microsoft-retail-stores-hiring-scottsdale-and-mission-viejo-res/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2009/08/26/microsoft-retail-stores-hiring-scottsdale-and-mission-viejo-res/#comments
A few weeks ago, we covered some leaked documents showing just what a Microsoft retail location might look like; well, some lucky folks in the Scottsdale, Arizona and Mission Viejo, California areas might get the chance to see if the real thing looks as enticing as the concept images. The Microsoft JobsBlog pointed us in the direction of a hiring portal for positions at the soon-to-open retail stores.

Microsoft is looking for managers, associates, technical advisors, and trainers to staff the new stores opening inside Scottsdale Fashion Square and the Shops at Mission Viejo. These two locations are expected to open this fall, somewhere in line with the general release of Windows 7.

More Microsoft retail stores are expected to open across the country (and outside the U.S. at some point) but Microsoft has not yet released any details on upcoming locations.

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Microsoft retail stores hiring; Scottsdale and Mission Viejo residents rejoice originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 26 Aug 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> job searchjobsJobSearchmicrosoftmicrosoft retailmicrosoft storeMicrosoftRetailMicrosoftStoremission viejoMissionViejoscottsdale Adam Maras Wed, 26 Aug 2009 08:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Free Software Foundation throwing a hissy fit over Windows 7]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2009/08/26/free-software-foundation-throwing-a-hissy-fit-over-windows-7/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2009/08/26/free-software-foundation-throwing-a-hissy-fit-over-windows-7/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2009/08/26/free-software-foundation-throwing-a-hissy-fit-over-windows-7/#comments Windows 7 SinsThe open source zealots over at the Free Software Foundation have left us here at Download Squad slightly speechless over a press release dropped in our never-ending pile of random crap from around the Internet. It would appear the FSF is pulling out all the stops in their new campaign (read: crusade) entitled Windows 7 Sins.

The folks over at the FSF have been known for some time now for their stances against proprietary and closed-source software. Their pent-up frustration toward large software companies has generally been channeled by pumping out lines of code and creating resources for free, open-source projects that provide alternatives to the payware already on the market. These free software initiatives are generally good for two things; providing software for people that don't need all the features and polish included in most commercial software packages, and keeping the open-source zealots occupied with relatively harmless work.

Occasionally, however, the zealots manage to escape their cages and enter the real world.

More after the break.

Continue reading Free Software Foundation throwing a hissy fit over Windows 7

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Free Software Foundation throwing a hissy fit over Windows 7 originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 26 Aug 2009 00:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> free software foundationFreeSoftwareFoundationopen source zealotsopensourceOpenSourceZealotswindows 7Windows7 Adam Maras Wed, 26 Aug 2009 00:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Process Hacker is Task Manager on steroids]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2009/08/25/process-hacker-is-task-manager-on-steroids/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2009/08/25/process-hacker-is-task-manager-on-steroids/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2009/08/25/process-hacker-is-task-manager-on-steroids/#comments Process Hacker
The inner geek in all of us is constantly curious about what exactly is going on under the hood of our computer; the trusty ol' Task Manager is usually pretty good at letting us keep an eye on things. Sometimes, however, said inner geek needs a little bit more control over their not-always-well-oiled machine.

Process Hacker is an open source application that incorporates all of Task Manager's features while adding a plethora of other functions, charts, and options. Included in Process Hacker's features are things such as a tree view to see where active processes came from, detailed graphs displaying each process's resource usage and statistics, and (my personal favorite) over a dozen different ways to kill a process.

Sysinternals fans may notice that Process Hacker is very similar to Mark Russinovich's Process Explorer utility. The two utilities trade off a few features; Process Explorer is a little more developer-oriented, where Process Hacker is geared somewhat more toward the average power user.

The download link on Process Hacker's home page is broken, but you can download it directly from their project page on SourceForge.

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Process Hacker is Task Manager on steroids originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 25 Aug 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> open sourceOpenSourceprocess explorerprocess hackerProcessExplorerProcessHackertask managerTaskManagerutilitiesutility Adam Maras Tue, 25 Aug 2009 17:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[More ballot screen drama; now Mozilla's executives are up in arms]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2009/08/20/more-ballot-screen-drama-now-mozillas-executives-are-up-in-arm/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2009/08/20/more-ballot-screen-drama-now-mozillas-executives-are-up-in-arm/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2009/08/20/more-ballot-screen-drama-now-mozillas-executives-are-up-in-arm/#comments Ballot Screen
Microsoft's struggle with the European Commission's demands regarding browser choice just never seems to end. Today's soap opera episode introduces another main character into the cast: Mozilla. Earlier this week, Harvey Anderson and Mitchell Baker, two highers-up of Mozilla and the Mozilla Foundation, blogged about concerns and issues they had about the fairness of Microsoft's proposed ballot screen.

Mitchell's post outlined how Internet Explorer remained "uniquely privileged" within Windows (no big surprise there) while Harvey argues various points with the technicalities of the design and functionality of the ballot screen concept.

If Mozilla's suggestions are taken into account for the final release of the ballot screen, users may be provided with a more seamless experience at the ballot screen itself, allowing users to not just download their choice of browser immediately, but also immediately install the chosen browser and set it as the default, with minimal or no extra work required on the part of the user. It could also require that Microsoft prevent future Internet Explorer updates from asking to set IE as the default browser.

Mozilla CEO John Lilly explained that these recently expressed viewpoints on browser choice are a part of Mozilla's plan to "get across our point of view," as he puts it. Mozilla is expected to officially voice their concerns to the EC soon, as final word on the ballot screen is expected before the end of October.

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More ballot screen drama; now Mozilla's executives are up in arms originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 20 Aug 2009 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> anti-trustballot screenBallotScreeneuinternet explorerInternetExplorermozilla firefoxMozillaFirefoxwindows 7Windows7 Adam Maras Thu, 20 Aug 2009 08:30:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[The perfect interface for controlling your living room is... your living room]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2009/08/15/the-perfect-interface-for-controlling-your-living-room-is-you/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2009/08/15/the-perfect-interface-for-controlling-your-living-room-is-you/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2009/08/15/the-perfect-interface-for-controlling-your-living-room-is-you/#comments CRISTALThe folks over at the Media Interaction Lab have figured taken on the complex task of designing a usable interface for one of those fancy multi-touch coffee tables; their response to the challenge was quite simple: if you're virtually controlling the devices in your home, shouldn't it seem a lot like when you control them in real-life? Makes sense to me. This simply brilliant yet brilliantly simple idea is being manifested in the Media Interaction Lab's CRISTAL project.
Similar in hardware design to the Microsoft Surface, CRISTAL uses a large multi-touch display, generally the size of a small coffee or book table. The main interface, however, differs in paradigm completely. Where most multi-touch user interfaces today consist of a "virtual desktop," CRISTAL's interface literally puts a live image of your living room on the screen, by means of a wall-mounted or ceiling-mounted camera. The camera view (which hopefully has all your controllable electronics in sight) gives users a projection of their real room to interact with; one of the examples shown in MI-Lab's video demonstrates the user controlling the lights in his room by simply touching the image of the light on the table and dragging his finger to control the brightness. Another user also controls the movie playing by tapping his TV to get a DVD menu right at his fingertips.

CRISTAL's not production-ready yet, and like the Surface, it's not going to be cheap. But, you have to admit, it sure is cool. Check out MI-Lab's videos to see just how cool it is.

[via Engadget]

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The perfect interface for controlling your living room is... your living room originally appeared on Download Squad on Sat, 15 Aug 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> multitouchremote controlRemoteControlsurfaceuser interfaceUserInterface Adam Maras Sat, 15 Aug 2009 20:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Smokey Bear old enough to retire, but not too old for social networking]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2009/08/11/smokey-bear-old-enough-to-retire-but-not-too-old-for-social-net/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2009/08/11/smokey-bear-old-enough-to-retire-but-not-too-old-for-social-net/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2009/08/11/smokey-bear-old-enough-to-retire-but-not-too-old-for-social-net/#comments Smokey BearThis story is proof that everybody is into the social networking trend nowadays; even Smokey Bear, the U.S. Forest Service's favorite icon for putting the word out about their classic message, "only you can prevent wildfires!" Smokey, who recently turned 65, can now be found all over the social web. He's on MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and even has an account on YouTube and a Flickr group.

Also, his new website has sections with tons of information on wildfires, a history of the Smokey Bear public service announcements, and a fun Flash app for kids that's loaded with games and information. In fact, in addition to all the new shiny web features, Smokey is donning a brand new tagline: "Get your Smokey on!"'

[via ABC News]

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Smokey Bear old enough to retire, but not too old for social networking originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 11 Aug 2009 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> facebooksmokey bearSmokeyBearsocial networkingSocialNetworkingtwitter Adam Maras Tue, 11 Aug 2009 21:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Advertising gone wrong: 23 poorly placed banner ads]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2009/08/11/advertising-gone-wrong-23-poorly-placed-banner-ads/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2009/08/11/advertising-gone-wrong-23-poorly-placed-banner-ads/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2009/08/11/advertising-gone-wrong-23-poorly-placed-banner-ads/#comments Have you ever come across an advertisement on a web page that just made you think, "wow. That really shouldn't be there."? I've come across a few in my time, but it looks like the folks over at BuzzFeed have been running into them left and right; they've compiled a collection of 23 examples of web advertising gone bad.

Their collection runs the gamut, having everything from an article linking coffee to heart attacks brandishing an ad from Folgers to Google providing "Are you a male virgin?" as a sponsored result to the search query "world of warcraft." BuzzFeed's commenters also provided a handful of user-submitted additions to the madness.

Also, if you're interested in more advertising faux pas, BuzzFeed has compiled 15 examples of poorly-placed billboard advertisements.

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Advertising gone wrong: 23 poorly placed banner ads originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 11 Aug 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> advertisingbanner adsBannerAds Adam Maras Tue, 11 Aug 2009 17:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Linux UI designer working on netbook-optimized calendar, mail]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2009/08/06/linux-ui-designer-working-on-netbook-optimized-calendar-mail/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2009/08/06/linux-ui-designer-working-on-netbook-optimized-calendar-mail/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2009/08/06/linux-ui-designer-working-on-netbook-optimized-calendar-mail/#comments
Linux-powered netbook users that have been missing their doctors' appointments and kids' school plays because operating a calendar application on their tiny portable is, at best, clunky and painful, can finally breathe an accurately-scheduled sigh of relief. Srinivasa Ragavan, who is one of the user interface developers for the open-source Evolution personal information manager project, has taken it upon himself to develop netbook-happy frontends for the calendar and mail portions of Evolution.

The calendar interface, as shown off on his blog, makes use of the entire screen for the calendar view. It features a handy upper toolbar for navigation, and a powerful drop-down menu for selecting more viewing options. The mail frontend, named "Anjal," features such optimizations as a similar upper toolbar, a tabbed interface (something soon to be seen in Thunderbird 3), and Gmail-esque threading.

Srinivasa hasn't yet released any working source for the calendar interface, but the Anjal mail project is available for anyone willing to install Moblin on their netbook, or (for even more fun) build it from source.

[via All About Netbooks]

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Linux UI designer working on netbook-optimized calendar, mail originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 06 Aug 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> calendarevolutiongnomelinuxmailmoblinnetbookopensource Adam Maras Thu, 06 Aug 2009 17:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Windows XP Mode for Windows 7 Release Candidate available]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2009/08/04/windows-xp-mode-for-windows-7-release-candidate-available/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2009/08/04/windows-xp-mode-for-windows-7-release-candidate-available/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2009/08/04/windows-xp-mode-for-windows-7-release-candidate-available/#comments
Windows XP Mode
Microsoft has announced the a Release Candidate of their Windows XP Mode package for Windows 7. We've mentioned Windows XP mode here once or twice before, but now it's a little closer to being ready for public consumption.
Built using Microsoft's Virtual PC product, Windows XP Mode actually runs a copy of Windows XP inside your Windows 7 installation. You can install older programs on the Windows XP virtual machine, allowing them to run in a more familiar environment. This is great for older games or programs that aren't yet compatible with Windows 7. Also, Windows XP Mode has new integration features that allow you to interact with the Windows XP system and applications more seamlessly than other virtualization packages provide.

The major potential downside to Windows XP Mode and the latest release candidate of Virtual PC is that they require your processor to support hardware virtualization to run. This means that, while Windows 7's performance enhancements will allow you to get the most out of older computers, processors that are more than a few years old won't be able to run Windows XP Mode. Microsoft provides a helpful page with instructions to determine whether your computer supports hardware virtualization, and in turn, whether you'll be able to run that old game from the MS-DOS days on your Windows 7 machine.

More details and changes from the last beta version of Windows XP Mode are available on the Windows 7 Team Blog.

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Windows XP Mode for Windows 7 Release Candidate available originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 04 Aug 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> microsoftvirtual pcvirtualizationVirtualPcwindows 7windows xpWindows7WindowsXp Adam Maras Tue, 04 Aug 2009 18:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Windows 7 UAC flaw-by-design now classified as malware by Microsoft?]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2009/08/01/windows-7-uac-flaw-by-design-now-classified-as-malware-by-micros/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2009/08/01/windows-7-uac-flaw-by-design-now-classified-as-malware-by-micros/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2009/08/01/windows-7-uac-flaw-by-design-now-classified-as-malware-by-micros/#comments
Since we last brought you news about a UAC vulnerability in Windows 7, Microsoft opened their ears to the beta testers at the time and quickly released a patch that plugged the security hole.

However, another UAC flaw has been discovered in Windows 7. In fact, it's been quietly lurking around in the dark corners of the internet since February. What's different about this one is that not only does Microsoft not intend to fix the exploit, they're saying the functionality is by design, because UAC's primary purpose isn't security, or something like that.

I think.

After all, this whole situation would make a little more sense if Microsoft didn't just mark the popular proof-of-concept for this vulnerability as malware in the beta version of their new Microsoft Security Essentials software, as pictured above. Just to add a little more confusion to the situation, Windows Defender (another Microsoft security tool, which happens to be bundled with Windows 7) doesn't detect the exploit.

The verdict? It looks like the jury is hung on this one.

This vulnerability could be exploited to essentially circumvent UAC on some Windows 7 machines, and that's bad news. We'll keep you up-to-date with any developments on this security flaw.

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Windows 7 UAC flaw-by-design now classified as malware by Microsoft? originally appeared on Download Squad on Sat, 01 Aug 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> exploitmicrosoftMicrosoft Security EssentialsMicrosoftSecurityEssentialssecurityUACwindows 7Windows7 Adam Maras Sat, 01 Aug 2009 10:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Handful of users re-download Firefox 3.5 for the billionth time]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2009/07/31/handful-of-users-re-download-firefox-3-5-for-the-billionth-time/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2009/07/31/handful-of-users-re-download-firefox-3-5-for-the-billionth-time/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2009/07/31/handful-of-users-re-download-firefox-3-5-for-the-billionth-time/#comments I'm Celebrating 1 Billion DownloadsIt looks like the folks over at Mozilla are quite proud of their flagship product's odometer reading. After all, some time between 10:46 AM and 11:00 AM (our time) this morning, Firefox was downloaded for the billionth time.

Of course, if you're anything like us here at Download Squad, you can probably account for more than simply one download. Lee admits to having downloaded just the latest version 30+ times himself (some day he'll remember to save it to a flash drive), and if I counted all the times I downloaded Firefox... well, I would most likely be counting through my retirement years.

Now, reaching one billion downloads is certainly nothing to shake a stick at! I did a quick news scan for "billion downloads," and only managed to turn up articles on Firefox (of course) and Apple's App Store, which has a total download count of over a billion and a half; however, this count is split up over the tens of thousands of applications served by the store.

So, whether you're a proud Firefox user saying "awesome!" or a proud Opera user saying "another Download Squad post about Firefox?," you should check out their celebratory page. Oh, and apparently something cool is supposed to show up at "onebillionplusyou.com" on Monday, so keep an eye on it.

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Handful of users re-download Firefox 3.5 for the billionth time originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 31 Jul 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> billion downloadsBillionDownloadsfirefoxmozillamozilla firefoxMozillaFirefoxopensource Adam Maras Fri, 31 Jul 2009 16:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Using Hotmail as a secondary address? Be very careful]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2009/07/29/using-hotmail-as-a-secondary-address-be-very-careful/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2009/07/29/using-hotmail-as-a-secondary-address-be-very-careful/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2009/07/29/using-hotmail-as-a-secondary-address-be-very-careful/#comments Windows Live Hotmail

If you're like me, you have at least two email addresses. One of these email addresses is for important business; you hand it out to co-workers, friends, and family, whose emails you actually want to pay regular attention to. The second email address is for other stuff, like signing up for newsletters, shopping online, or creating accounts for services on the web. Also, if you're like me, you might tend to forget to pay attention to that second email address for days, weeks, or months at a time. As it turns out, forgetting to check a free Windows Live Hotmail account might have some dire consequences.

According to the Windows Live help files:
Free Windows Live Hotmail accounts become inactive if you don't sign in for more than 270 days or within the first 10 days after signing up for an account. After an account becomes inactive, all messages, folders, and contacts are deleted. Incoming messages will be sent back to the sender as undeliverable. Your account name is still reserved. However, if the account stays inactive for an additional 90 days, the account name may be permanently deleted. If you don't use your Windows Live ID for 365 days, your Windows Live ID may be permanently deleted.
What does this mean to someone who is using a Hotmail address to sign up for things on the web? It means that, once your year of inactivity has passed, anyone can sign up for a Windows Live account with your expired username. The unintentional side effect of this is that if your Windows Live account expires, one could potentially create an account with the same name and use the password reset function on almost any online service attached to that email address, receive the email with the password (or further instructions) and take over your account entirely without your knowledge. This very technique is how the personal accounts of Twitter employees were taken over by malicious users.

Continue reading Using Hotmail as a secondary address? Be very careful

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Using Hotmail as a secondary address? Be very careful originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 29 Jul 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> hackinghotmailsecuritywindows live hotmailWindowsLiveHotmail Adam Maras Wed, 29 Jul 2009 19:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Students encouraged to put their hacker skills to good use]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2009/07/29/students-encouraged-to-put-their-hacker-skills-to-good-use/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2009/07/29/students-encouraged-to-put-their-hacker-skills-to-good-use/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2009/07/29/students-encouraged-to-put-their-hacker-skills-to-good-use/#comments U.S. Cyber Challenge

Three major federal organizations are looking to include 10,000 high school and college students in what's being dubbed by the Center for Strategic and International Studies the "US Cyber Challenge." CSIS is making three challenges available to young Americans looking to both better themselves in the field of cyber-security and potentially earn themselves a position as a security specialist in one of the high-profile federal organizations (like the NSA or FBI) that deal with security of the utmost importance on a daily basis.

The Air Force Association is putting on the Cyber Patriot Defense Competition; the gist of the competition is to demonstrate the most effective techniques in preventing an attack on a corporate network from malicious intruders. The SANS institute is taking the opposite approach with its Netwars competition, by challenging participants to successfully break into simulated (but realistic) systems in a "capture-the-flag" format game. The Department of Defense Cyber Crime Center provides a less hacking-oriented Digital Forensics Challenge, where teams will use their skills to examine and investigate forensic data manufactured by the Department of Defense to try to gain access to hidden or encrypted data.

According to the AFA, the United States is the single most likely country to experience a crippling cyber-attack from terrorists. Because of this, the CSIS is looking for young students and IT workers who have or are interested in having expertise in the area of computer security. The participants in these challenges will be on the path to a career in security keeping any network safe, from a small corporate intranet to those super-secret documents tucked away by the high-profile federal organizations.

[via Switched]

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Students encouraged to put their hacker skills to good use originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 29 Jul 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> defenseeducationhackingsecurityyouth Adam Maras Wed, 29 Jul 2009 17:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Microsoft reveals upgrade paths for Windows 7]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2009/07/28/microsoft-reveals-upgrade-paths-for-windows-7/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2009/07/28/microsoft-reveals-upgrade-paths-for-windows-7/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2009/07/28/microsoft-reveals-upgrade-paths-for-windows-7/#comments TechNet

Windows users wondering if you'll be able to pop in a shiny new Windows 7 disc, push the Install button, and watch as your computer is upgraded while leaving your data and programs in place, rejoice; Microsoft has released the official list of supported Windows 7 upgrade paths. Here are the highlights:
  • Windows XP and below users are out of luck. You must have Windows Vista SP1 or newer to upgrade to Windows 7.
  • You can't upgrade to Windows 7 from Windows Vista Starter Edition.
  • If you're upgrading from Windows Vista, you must upgrade to one of the standard Windows 7 SKUs (meaning you can't upgrade to Windows N, Windows K, Windows KN, or Windows E.)
  • Windows Vista's "Business" SKU is now called "Professional" in Windows 7. Don't be alarmed when you can't find Windows 7 "Business" on the shelves.
I'm a little surprised that moving from Windows XP isn't a supported upgrade path, but aside from that, there's nothing too terribly out of the ordinary here.

[via Windows 7 News]

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Microsoft reveals upgrade paths for Windows 7 originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 28 Jul 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> microsoftwindowswindows 7Windows7 Adam Maras Tue, 28 Jul 2009 17:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[The White House wants you to tweet health insurance reform into law]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2009/07/28/the-white-house-wants-you-to-tweet-health-insurance-reform-into/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2009/07/28/the-white-house-wants-you-to-tweet-health-insurance-reform-into/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2009/07/28/the-white-house-wants-you-to-tweet-health-insurance-reform-into/#comments Tweet your Senator


The Obama administration has taken a fresh, new approach to lobbying federal legislators about health insurance laws, and it comes in the form of the Twitter hashtag #hc09.

Obama's new Tweet your Senator page provides a pre-built health insurance-related tweet directed toward one of your Senators, based on your ZIP code. Each time you hit the big blue Tweet button, a Senator will be randomly selected, as will a message telling them to help pass the health insurance laws being pushed by the President.

These items, along with a link to the Tweet your Senator page and the aforementioned hashtags, will be provided for you in a brand new Twitter window, ready for you to tweet on the spot. Also, if your randomly-selected Senator is a Twitterer themselves, their Twitter handle will be used instead of their full name in your tweet.

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The White House wants you to tweet health insurance reform into law originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 28 Jul 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> health care reformHealthCareReformobamasenatetwitterwhite houseWhiteHouse Adam Maras Tue, 28 Jul 2009 16:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Another Windows 7 secret revealed; desktop to have slideshows]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/11/03/another-windows-7-secret-revealed-desktop-to-have-slideshows/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/11/03/another-windows-7-secret-revealed-desktop-to-have-slideshows/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/11/03/another-windows-7-secret-revealed-desktop-to-have-slideshows/#comments Windows 7 Personalization Settings
"Teach a man assembly, and he'll write device drivers for a day. Give a man a disassembler, and he'll figure out every secret hidden in the Windows 7 pre-beta."
I swear, I'm never going to get tired of posting about Rafael Rivera finding cool stuff hiding in the guts of our Microsoft products. He's done it yet again; this time, Rafael has uncovered another couple of Windows 7 shell goodies people have been asking to see for quite some time now. What's the latest discovery? Rafael is coining it "Desktop Slideshow;" it's a new setting hidden away in your Personalization settings that allows you to select multiple images to create a fading slideshow on your desktop.

"But wait," you're thinking, "I can a) do that on my Mac already and b) there are third-party utilities that let me do this on my Windows PC." That's true... but can your Mac or your third-party utilities automatically pull desktop wallpapers from an RSS feed? No? Well, Windows 7 can. Check out Rafael's blog Within Windows for more details, and a tool to let the masses check out the shiny new features once he's got the finer points worked out.

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Another Windows 7 secret revealed; desktop to have slideshows originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 03 Nov 2008 23:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> desktoppdc 2008Pdc2008user experienceUserExperiencewindows 7Windows7 Adam Maras Mon, 03 Nov 2008 23:29:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA["Superbar" unlocked in PDC build of Windows 7]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/11/03/superbar-unlocked-in-pdc-build-of-windows-7/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/11/03/superbar-unlocked-in-pdc-build-of-windows-7/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/11/03/superbar-unlocked-in-pdc-build-of-windows-7/#comments Windows 7 Superbar
Certified reverse engineer and rather impressive hacker (in the good sort of way) Rafael Rivera, of Uxtheme patching fame, announced on TWiT that he discovered our sneaky friends over in Redmond actually did enable that cool new "superbar" version of the taskbar in the version of Windows 7 that was handed out to guests at PDC (you know, that one that Lee showed off). The superbar was demoed during the various Windows 7 presentations, but the general consensus was that the feature hadn't been completed by the time the PDC handout build was prepared.

However, Rafael simply couldn't take no for an answer, and dug down into the innards of the pre-release version of Windows 7 to find that some rather sneaky developers at Microsoft simply rigged it to only appear for certain users with computers on Microsoft domains. Upon flipping a bit, he discovered that the superbar (albeit a slightly lesser version than demoed) could be enabled on the pre-beta build. He posted a very simple walkthrough guide and helper application for those of you that are graced with the PDC build of Windows 7, but still longing the shiny bits shown off by Steven Sinofsky at the Windows 7 keynote.

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"Superbar" unlocked in PDC build of Windows 7 originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 03 Nov 2008 07:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> pdcpdc 2008Pdc2008superbarwindows 7Windows7 Adam Maras Mon, 03 Nov 2008 07:30:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[So... you want to be a web developer?]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/10/20/so-you-want-to-be-a-web-developer/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/10/20/so-you-want-to-be-a-web-developer/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/10/20/so-you-want-to-be-a-web-developer/#comments I had the most interesting conversation with one of my friends the other day.

Adam: "Whew... finally finished with my latest web project!"

Friend (in awe): "Whoa! That's awesome! How did you make that?"

Now, of course, this project of mine was a full-fledged ASP.NET web application; a simple question like "how did you make that" could easily end up with me not only explaining what I did, but how I did it, and which tools and technologies I used. That way, instead of wondering about the magic that makes all those fancy programs out there on the internet work, my friend could understand exactly what goes on to make that happen.

Well, that couldn't hurt, right?

Adam: "Do you really want to know? I'm warning you... this could get messy."

Now, at this point, my friend gives me one of those funny looks like I'm completely crazy. But being a web developer, I'm already used to that.

Friend: "Well, sure..."

And so it begins.

Continue reading So... you want to be a web developer?

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So... you want to be a web developer? originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 20 Oct 2008 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> browser toolsBrowserToolscssimage editorsImageEditorstweet-thisweb developerweb developmentWebDeveloperWebDevelopmentxhtml Adam Maras Mon, 20 Oct 2008 14:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Adam's Favorite Windows Apps: Trillian]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/10/16/adams-favorite-windows-apps-trillian/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/10/16/adams-favorite-windows-apps-trillian/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/10/16/adams-favorite-windows-apps-trillian/#comments Trillian 3 BasicI've blogged about it before, and I'll blog about it again.

Back when I was just a wee lad of the Internet, I found a most wonderful concept: instant messaging! At the time, I thought MSN Messenger was the coolest thing since the automatic bread slicer. Of course, my best friend preferred Yahoo! Messenger, and the majority of everyone else I knew would use nothing but AOL Instant Messenger. So, I had two choices: have three relatively bloated instant messaging running simultaneously on my computer, or lose electronic touch with the rest of the world. That is, until I found Trillian.

Trillian, like Digsby or Adium, aggregates multiple different instant messaging services into one relatively light-weight application. The Basic (free) version supports AIM, ICQ, Windows Live, and Yahoo! service as well as IRC chat. The Pro version throws in support for Jabber (Google Talk and soon Facebook), Novell GroupWise, and Bonjour (formerly Rendezvous). Also, if you shell out the $25 for the Pro version, you'll get video chat support for the networks that support it.

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Adam's Favorite Windows Apps: Trillian originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 16 Oct 2008 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> aimfacebookfavorite-appsicqinstant messagingInstantMessagingtrillianwlmyahoomessenger Adam Maras Thu, 16 Oct 2008 15:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Facebook for Palm released, gives Centro users something to show off]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/07/06/facebook-for-palm-released-gives-centro-users-something-to-show/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/07/06/facebook-for-palm-released-gives-centro-users-something-to-show/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/07/06/facebook-for-palm-released-gives-centro-users-something-to-show/#comments Facebook for PalmEverybody that has a web-enabled phone and a thing for online interaction in lieu of actually having in addition to a social life knows that the biggest social networking sites are but a few keystrokes away at all times via mobile websites. Of course, even mobile-optimized web applications can be sluggish or glitchy sometimes, since they could potentially be affected by dozens of things like browser incompatibilities or updates. Luckily, smartphone users have an alternative: native application for their phones that talk directly with the service without a web browser getting in the way.

Facebook seems to be one of the more popular mobile websites, which makes it a relatively good candidate for a smartphone application written. Palm seems to agree with this, since the company released Facebook for Palm for their smartphones last month.

Facebook for Palm sports a relatively intuitive user interface, with its five-tabbed home screen; it seems matches the new phone interface included with the Treo 680 phones. The five tabs let you navigate to the Photos, Status Updates, Contacts/Friends, and Mail pages along with your Home page news feed quickly. Of course, the feature that sets Facebook for Palm apart from the regular mobile version of Facebook is the ability to quickly and easily upload pictures and videos to your Facebook profile. You can also easily search through your Facebook contacts and dial or text message someone who might not be in your phone's contact list already.

Facebook for Palm is supported on the Centro, Treo 755p, and Treo 680. However, rumor has it it'll work on your 700p as well, if you select the 755p version for download.

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Facebook for Palm released, gives Centro users something to show off originally appeared on Download Squad on Sun, 06 Jul 2008 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> centrofacebookfreewarepalmsocial networkingSocialNetworkingtreo 680treo 755pTreo680Treo755p Adam Maras Sun, 06 Jul 2008 18:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Web developers can breathe a sigh of relief with Firebug]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/07/03/web-developers-can-breathe-a-sigh-of-relief-with-firebug/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/07/03/web-developers-can-breathe-a-sigh-of-relief-with-firebug/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/07/03/web-developers-can-breathe-a-sigh-of-relief-with-firebug/#comments Ahh... nothing like the sweet smell of website glitches in the morning. The web development junkies here at Download Squad know how it feels to spend hours tracking down stubborn CSS styles that have managed to magically disappear, or have cascaded themselves into places where no man has gone before. We can attest to debugging JavaScript into the wee hours of the night, and trying to get rid of that one extra pixel of whitespace at the bottom of the page until we give up and hope nobody notices.

If the above description fits a lot of your day-to-day activities, and you're a Firefox user, Firebug, something we covered a couple years ago in its infancy, is the extension for you. When we last looked at it, Firebug was a basic JavaScript console with a DOM inspector. However, since then, it's had a couple of layout changes, and has been given features that changed Firebug from a simple developer console to a powerful tool for all aspects of web development.

Continue reading Web developers can breathe a sigh of relief with Firebug

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Web developers can breathe a sigh of relief with Firebug originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 03 Jul 2008 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> developerfirebugfirefoxfreewarejavascript Adam Maras Thu, 03 Jul 2008 08:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Trillian turns 8, no Astra beta birthday gift quite yet]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/07/02/trillian-turns-8-no-astra-beta-birthday-gift-quite-yet/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/07/02/trillian-turns-8-no-astra-beta-birthday-gift-quite-yet/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/07/02/trillian-turns-8-no-astra-beta-birthday-gift-quite-yet/#comments We all love applications that take lots of little things and turn them into one big thing. When this concept is applied to instant messaging clients, one program should jump to everyone's mind: Trillian. Ever since its first multi-protocol release in 2000, many Windows users that want all the IM without all the hassle have chosen Trillian as their weapon of choice for tackling their instant messaging needs.

This week marks the eighth anniversary of Trillian's first release. Since then, Cerulean Studios has had over 35 million downloads, and has become one of the (if not the single) most popular instant messaging clients for Windows. Currently, there are two versions of Trillian offered. Trillian Basic, the free version, offers support for AIM, ICQ, Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, and IRC chat. Audio chat is available for all of the protocols that support it.

Cerulean Studios also offers Trillian Pro for $25 dollars; the beefed-up version adds support for more protocols like Bonjour, Novell GroupWise, and Jabber, along with support for video chat and third-party plugins for things like mail, weather, and news feeds. Trillian Pro can also combine your contacts who have multiple IM services into "metacontacts," which help you manage your contact list.

Currently in the works is version 4 of Trillian, called Trillian Astra. Astra boasts incredible new features, including its own IM service that helps to integrate the other IM connections, a web interface and an iPhone interface to allow you to chat on all of your protocols anywhere, and a much more streamlined user interface that supports dozens of colors and styles out-of-the-box. Currently, Trillian Astra is in a private alpha phase. However, their development team has stated that there will be a public beta at some point in the future.

Celebrate Trillian's 8th birthday by checking it out if you're looking for a solution to your all your IM needs.

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Trillian turns 8, no Astra beta birthday gift quite yet originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> commercialfreeware Adam Maras Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Microsoft Visual Web Developer Express makes website management easy]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/06/24/microsoft-visual-web-developer-express-makes-website-management/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/06/24/microsoft-visual-web-developer-express-makes-website-management/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/06/24/microsoft-visual-web-developer-express-makes-website-management/#comments Visual Web Developer
Our friends over at Microsoft have a knack for hiding really cool stuff right under our noses, and they certainly didn't deviate from this policy with their Visual Studio Express Edition line of products. Included with the programming and database tools that would make the layman cringe is an interesting gem called Visual Web Developer Express Edition.

While the other Express Edition products focus on programming and application development, Visual Web Developer provides a hybrid set of tools; its versatile HTML and CSS editing tools are paired with the power of ASP.NET to allow users to quickly build web applications. However, what a lot of people don't know about Visual Web Developer is that the ASP.NET development tools can be ignored, turning it into a very impressive website editor.

Visual Web Developer includes Visual Studio's powerful WYSIWYG page editor and CSS style builder functions. Also provided is Microsoft's developer sanity-preserving IntelliSense technology, which makes editing HTML and CSS a breeze by providing immediate access to things like common markup and style attributes and values. However, one of our favorite features of Visual Web Developer is that you can point it to an FTP server, and edit your website right on your web server without worrying about uploading changes or using a separate FTP client. In fact, Visual Web Developer can, for the most part, replace your external FTP client, because the Solution Explorer allows you to upload and manipulate files right in your editing environment.

All of the Visual Studio Express Editions are free of charge; they don't do quite as much as Visual Studio, but they are worth looking at if you're interested in getting started with software or web development.

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Microsoft Visual Web Developer Express makes website management easy originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 24 Jun 2008 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> freeware Adam Maras Tue, 24 Jun 2008 12:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Top 10 Flickr Hacks]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/01/29/top-10-flickr-hacks/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/01/29/top-10-flickr-hacks/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/01/29/top-10-flickr-hacks/#comments Flickr Leech I have a Flickr account, and I take plenty of photos, but I find myself not using it as much as I feel I ought to. Maybe Thomas Hawk's list of Top 10 Hacks on Flickr will help remedy that. It's a round-up of tricks, scripts, and sites that make Flickr more pleasurable to use, and though I'd seen some of them already, several of them were pleasant surprises. His #1 Flickr "hack" is Flickr Leech. Its tagline is "because paging sucks," and what it does is shows you all of the thumbnails for any user, photoset, or pool all at once. Very refreshing. That's just the tip of the iceberg--Hawk also points out some great Greasemonkey scripts, some web (and desktop) apps, and more for your Flickr enjoyment.

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Top 10 Flickr Hacks originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 29 Jan 2007 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> flickrhackslistthomas hawkThomasHawktop 10Top10 Adam Maras Mon, 29 Jan 2007 11:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Top 10 Ubuntu apps and tips for Linux switchers]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/08/23/top-10-ubuntu-apps-and-tips-for-linux-switchers/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/08/23/top-10-ubuntu-apps-and-tips-for-linux-switchers/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/08/23/top-10-ubuntu-apps-and-tips-for-linux-switchers/#comments Top 10 Ubuntu apps and tweaksI've long been meaning to give Ubuntu a more serious look, and Adam Pash's Top 10 Ubuntu apps and tweaks over at Lifehacker is all the more motivation. Pash identifies ten ways you can improve your Ubuntu experience, including Automatix (application installation automator), Beagle (desktop search), Gnome Deskbar Applet ("a great app launcher and then some"), VLC (video player), Firefox (web browser), amaroK (audio player), and CheckGmail (email notifier for Gmail). As usual, the comments following the article are a great trove of further tips.

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Top 10 Ubuntu apps and tips for Linux switchers originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 23 Aug 2006 15:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> appslifehackerlinuxlistopensourcetipstop10tweaksubuntu Adam Maras Wed, 23 Aug 2006 15:10:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[15 web sites that changed the world]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/08/14/15-web-sites-that-changed-the-world/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/08/14/15-web-sites-that-changed-the-world/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/08/14/15-web-sites-that-changed-the-world/#comments Websites that changed the worldGuardian Unlimited is running a great article called Websites that changed the world. It's odd to think of things we take so much for granted as having changed the world, but it's true, they did. Among the world-changing web sites are Wikipedia, Blogger, MySpace, Amazon.com, and, of course, Yahoo! and Google. One odd choice is Napster, which of course had a web site but was not itself a web site, but it was, indeed, disruptive enough that I think we can let it slide. It's also interesting in that Napster is the only item on the list that is only a shadow of its former, world-changing self.

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15 web sites that changed the world originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 14 Aug 2006 13:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> guardianlisttop15webwebsites Adam Maras Mon, 14 Aug 2006 13:25:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Top 100 network security tools]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/06/26/top-100-network-security-tools/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/06/26/top-100-network-security-tools/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/06/26/top-100-network-security-tools/#comments Top 100 Network Security ToolsInsecure.org has updated its Top 100 Network Security Tools list for 2006, compiled by hacker and Nmap creator Fyodor based on 3,200 responses on the nmap-hackers mailing list. The list is a grab bag of network security tools, crowned by names that may be familiar to some of you: vulnerability scanner Nessus, network protocol analyzer Wireshark (formerly Ethereal), intrusion detection/prevention system Snort, "network Swiss army knife" Netcat, and the Metasploit Framework. Each tool is labeled according to cost (most are free), platform, and interface (GUI or command line). The list is available at its new home, Sectools.org.

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Top 100 network security tools originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 26 Jun 2006 18:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> commercialfreewarelistopensourcesecuritytoolstop100 Adam Maras Mon, 26 Jun 2006 18:15:00 EST Download Squad