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Fedora 15 “Lovelock” Beta Released

Today the first beta of Fedora 15, codenamed “Lovelock” has been released. This is a very important release for the Fedora 15 development cycle because it represents the final feature list that will make it to Fedora 15, which is expected to be released in late May. From now on only bug fix updates will be released until the final release.

Fedora 15 Beta is a very significant release for the Fedora 15 development cycle in more than one way. One of the most significant changes in this release is GNOME 3. GNOME 3 was recently released and includes a completely new user interface called the GNOME Shell. With GNOME 3, Fedora 15 Beta now has a completely different user experience from earlier releases. If GNOME is not your Desktop Environment of choice, the Fedora spins with Xfce and LXDE have also been updated.

As we have mentioned earlier, Fedora 15 Beta still has LibreOffice as the default office suite instead of OpenOffice. Another new application that has been included in this release is BoxGrinder. Like LibreOffice, BoxGrinder was first included in Fedora 15 Alpha. BoxGrinder allows users to easily create appliances (virtual images) for various platforms (KVM, Xen, VMware, EC2) from simple plaintext application files. Fedora 15 Beta also includes a dynamic firewall. The dynamic firewall makes it possible to change firewall settings without restarting the firewall. This feature is particularly useful for persistent connections.

For the coders out there, the development tools that comes in Fedora 15 Beta have also been updated. It comes with GCC 4.6, Maven 3, OCaml 3.12, Python 3.2 and Rails 3.0.3. In fact Fedora 15 Beta has been built using GCC 4.6.

The users from India will also be glad to know that the new Indian Rupee symbol has now been included in Fedora 15 Beta by default.

If you want to test Fedora 15, you can download the ISO from here. However, remember that this is not a final release and bugs are expected. If you find any bugs, you can report it to make Fedora 15 better.

You can see the feature list here.

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Microsoft Safety Scanner Scans Your PC For Virus, Spyware and Malicious Software

Over the past couple of years or so, I have used Microsoft Security Essentials as my only virus and malware protection tool. The Free Antivirus tool from Microsoft is definitely worth installing on your PC.

If you are someone who does not like to install Antivirus on your PC or just want to check whether your current Antivirus is really working well, a new tool from Microsoft will come in handy.

Microsoft Safety Scanner is a free security software from Microsoft which provides users with on-demand scanning while allowing users to remove viruses, spywares, Trojans and another malicious software from their PC. Safety Scanner works along with your current Antivirus software, so you don’t have to uninstall your current AV protection to use it.

One of the bad things about Microsoft Safety Scanner is that it expires every 10 days. Users will have to download a new version to scan your system every ten days which could be annoying considering that it is around 70MB in size. A simple definition update should be added so that users don’t have to download new versions every 10 days.

Users must also note that unlike traditional Antivirus systems the Safety Scanner does not provide continuous protection and should not be used as a replacement for traditional Antivirus software. Microsoft Security Scanner should only be used to additionally scan your PC. If you intend to replace your current Antivirus you might check out our Free Antivirus section to find a suitable alternative.

Additionally, you may also want to read the following articles related to Online Security:

Download Microsoft Safety Scanner

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Nokia E72 Firmware Updated To V54.005

Nokia has recently released a new firmware update for its ageing business communicator in a candy bar form-factor – the Nokia E72.

The new firmware update carries the version number 54.005 and weighs in at only 1MB. The update brings the usual performance and stability improvements.

Here is the official change-log from All About Symbian –:
SIM Lock 3.0 and B2B Certificate, phase 1 added
Startup settings baseline updated (wk47, 2010) (new dates etc.)
After a hard reset or on first use, Camera shortcut is replaced with Ovi Store shortcut in the Home screen
Removal of Ovi Files (service is now outdated)
Vlingo application removed
Some E72 owners who updated to firmware v52 are also reporting improved camera performance, especially in Auto-Focus.

Since the E72 features UDP (User Data Preservation), users don’t need to make a backup of their data on the phone. The firmware update is being rolled out via OTA as well as via Nokia Software Updater/Nokia Ovi Suite.

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10 Ways to Fight Stress

1. Clean:When you have to do it, it’s terrible, but if you need a quick feeling of accomplishment, it’s the way to go. Also, you are being productive at the same time. Talk about killing two birds with one stone.
2. Listen to Music: Let loose and blast the music. It will take your mind off of whatever is stressing you out and it can be paired with other activities like cleaning or dancing
3. Dance: No, you don’t have to go to ballet class, just do it in your PJ’s in your living room. Patty tells us to dance to any kind of music. Moving and stretching helps increase your endorphins and you will feel better naturally

4.. Relax your body: Take a hot bath or treat yourself to a manicure or pedicure. Any of those will make you relax and then every time you look at your nails afterwards, you can go right back to that feeling!

5. Think Happy Thoughts: Try your best to be optimistic and think of good memories. There is no reason you can’t go back to them!
6. Meditate: Whether you do so through yoga or just breathing, take some time for yourself. Even if you just take ten minutes, it will help the rest of your day be much more productive.

7. Surround yourself with Positive People: The last thing you want when you are super-stressed is somebody else who is stressed out as well. Venting sessions probably won’t help. Try to surround yourself with people that will be able to lighten your mood and take your mind off of your stressor
8. Run outside: OK, we couldn’t skip exercise completely. It’s probably the most obvious non-caloric stress reliever. Try running—outside if possible. It is a great way to burn off excess stress in addition to some calories, and this way you will get some fresh air. Breathe it in! Especially as winter is approaching and you are going to be spending more and more time inside, take advantage of any sunny day that comes by.
9. Make Lists: This is my personal favorite. Making lists of small tasks that need to get done provide the satisfaction of being able to cross those things off. Allow yourself to feel little pieces of accomplishment!
10. Read: No, I’m not talking about your work emails. Pick up a pleasure book and allow yourself to get completely immersed in it. Sometimes the best thing for stress is just to get your mind occupied by something else.

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Twitter may Buy TweetDeck for $50 Million

Back in February, there were some rumors that UberMedia might acquire TweetDeck, the popular Twitter client for desktop, iPhone, Android and Google Chrome.

\It looks like that acquisition bid failed and put TweetDeck up on the market again. However, they might not stay there for longer though as WSJ is reporting that Twitter is in advanced talks to purchase TweetDeck for around $50 million.

In the recent past, TweetDeck had purchased Tweetie for iPhone to expand their presence on the iPhone and have also released apps for iPad, Android, BlackBerry and Windows Phone 7.

The acquisition of TweetDeck might give Twitter an advantage in the Windows segment as it is the only platform that they don’t have a dedicated app for. Twitter creates and distributes it’s own Mac app.

Twitter has been receiving a lot of flak recently for it’s recent changes in their API ToS, where it basically asked new developers to stop developing apps for Twitter. This acquisition move might be a part of their recent change in mentality. Acquiring TweetDeck would give them a huge chunk of Windows users which TweetDeck has. It would also make them the largest app for Windows, effectively giving them an advantage over other Windows based Twitter client.

It will be interesting to see how this develops and whether it affects other Twitter app developers or not. Another important thing is that TweetDeck is also working on a web interface which will rival Twitter’s own web interface, so will Twitter kill it once they acquire TweetDeck? Only time will tell.

If you are a developer take this news with a pinch of salt, after all building a business around Twitter was probably not the wisest decision. I have learnt this the hard way and chronicled my experience in the post; Building A Business Around Someone Else’s Could Mean Disaster, do read it.

About TweetDeck

TweetDeck is a multi-purpose client which allows users to track their Twitter timeline, replies and direct messages along with providing a powerful interface to track brands and websites, and also follow Twitter trends and searches. Along with Twitter, TweetDeck also supports pulling feeds from other popular services such as Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn.

In recent months, TweetDeck has launched a Chrome App which allowed users to access TweetDeck from within Google Chrome and also a new web interface for TweetDeck aimed at users of modern browsers.

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