Microsoft Credits Windows 7 for Record Earnings

Exceptionally strong sales of Windows 7 helped drive Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) to another record quarterly performance, company executives said today.

For the third quarter of Microsoft's fiscal 2010, ending March 31, the company turned in revenues of $14.50 billion, up 6 percent from the same period a year ago, while earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter came in at $0.45, a gain of 36 percent.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial in advance of the announcement had expected Microsoft to turn in revenues of $14.38 billion and EPS of $0.42 for the quarter.

Microsoft cited operating income for the quarter of $5.17 billion, and net income of $4.01 billion -- increases of 17 percent and 35 percent, respectively, over the third fiscal quarter of 2009.

Adjusting for $300 million in deferred revenues due to the company's "tech guarantee" program reserves for pre-sales of Office 2010, Microsoft's revenue for the quarter came in at $14.81 billion, an increase of 8 percent overall.

In advance of Microsoft's announcement, analysts expected to see the company's earnings again buoyed by strong sales of Windows 7 to consumers -- and possibly the early signs of adoption of the new system by enterprise customers.

That proved to be the case with consumer sales of Windows 7 -- both on new PCs and as packages of the new system.

"More than 10 percent of all PCs worldwide are running Windows 7 today, making Windows 7 by far the fastest-selling operating system in history," the company said in a statement.

A similar story may be in the works for enterprise customers, with Microsoft suggesting that traction in that market -- which typically takes far longer than in the consumer space -- is ratcheting up.

"Business customers are beginning to refresh their desktops and the momentum of Windows 7 continues to be strong," Kevin Turner, Microsoft's chief operating officer, said in a statement.

Read the full story at Datamation:

http://itmanagement.earthweb.com/features/article.php/3878191/Microsoft-Credits-Windows-7-for-Record-Earnings.htm

Professional Web Design,Redesign Your Web

Businesses Should Know About These New Local Features from Google

Facebook made some of the biggest news of the week with the anouncements from its developer conference, as far as online business goes, but Google had some significant news about local search that may have taken a backseat, but should not be ignored.

The Google Local Business Center is now called Google Places, as the company aims to rebrand the product around the Place Pages it introduced last fall. Place Pages are the pages for business listings that are found in Google local searches. They contain relevant information about a business from various places on the web, such as reviews and images, as well as other info the business puts up after claiming their listing.

Is Google's rebranded local business center a step in the right direction? Tell us what you think.

Google Places, the company says, is "just the beginning of what’s to come from our efforts to make Google more local."

New features that come along with the name change include:

1. Service areas - Businesses who travel can show the geographic areas that they cover. Those without a storefront can make their address private.

2. Advertising with Tags - For 25 bucks a month, businesses (in certain cities) can use Tags to highlight their listings on Google.com and Google Maps. These are yellow markers that let you promote important aspects of your business. They can be used for thins like coupons, photos, and other select features. They don’t affect the rank of search results, but they give customers more information and may prove beneficial. You can expect Google to increase the number of cities where this option is available.

3. Business photo shoots - Businesses (again, in certain cities) can request a free photo shoot from Google to have the interior of their business photographed and added to their Place Page. We've seen Google do this in the past. Now we know what they're doing (learn more here). You can upload your own photos as well.

For More Read....

http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2010/04/20/google-local-business-center-now-google-places

Cooking Games, Professional Web Design, Free Iphone

iPad buyers targeted by Windows malware

As if to prove the Apple iPad's crossover appeal to PC users, spammers have launched a malware campaign to reel them in using the promise of extras for the new device.

According to BitDefender, the spam campaign invites its would-be victims to download an updated version of iTunes with the promise of a preliminary update that will give prospective iPad users "best performance, newer features, and security."

[ Read Galen Gruman's report on iPad security and IT's foolish double standard. | Stay ahead of advances in mobile technology with InfoWorld's Mobile Edge blog and Mobilize newsletter. | Get the best iPhone and iPad apps for pros with our business iPhone apps finder. ]

Following the embedded link leads to a piece of malware identified by the company as Backdoor.Bifrose.AADY, a data stealer which sets out to steal software keys and serial numbers from installed programs as well as login passwords for email, online storage accounts and IM services.

The iPad has, infamously, not even been launched in the U.K. even though U.S. users have had access to the new computer for some days. U.K. users are also being asked to pay a premium. Ironically, the malware won't affect Apple's Mac users at all and is PC only.

Bitdefender announced a Mac antivirus product a week ago while admitting that Mac malware is not exactly a common issue. It looks as if even Mac products can now be used to attack PC users.

Source:

http://www.infoworld.com/d/security-central/ipad-buyers-targeted-windows-malware-948

Website Redesign, Professional Web Design, Free Iphone

The Secret of Search Engine Optimization

Believe it or not, search engine optimization (SEO) is an important key to gaining more traffic and visitors to your website. Resorting to phone directories, dictionaries or newspapers for a quest for information is become obsolete. Nowadays, whenever people are trying to find out something, you can be sure that there is only one place that they head to. Yes, and that is search engines. How would you love to improve your business’s presence and awareness? Then you should do your utmost to make sure that your website is found on search engines.

That is the aim and objectives of search engine optimization. Basically, search engine optimization was designed to help you incorporate your website to an improved or higher ranking position within numerous search engines. If your website can grab a space on the first page of Google, and eventually up to the number one spot on the list or results; you will notice increase in traffic to your website at an alarming rate. This leads to a better business prospect and new customer than before.

So how can you use search engine optimization for the better? The concept behind SEO is simple yet, there are many brainstorming component and procedures to follow. Search engine optimization is constantly changing. It is dynamic not static. This means you should do your utmost to stay on top, amidst the latest trends. Only than will you be successful.

The very first step is to do a research on your market. Dig deep to determine the type of keywords and phrases that your potential customers will use when searching for information related to your products or service. There are special keywords related to the particular industry in which you do business, or a more general market. You need to know these keywords. Keywords work hand in hand with search engine optimization, so do you best to find the most popular and widely used keywords. Avoid taking competition to the extreme.

For More Read...

http://www.articlecache.com/articledetail.php?artid=141315&catid=362&title=The+Secret+of+Search+Engine+Optimization

Custom Website Design, Professional Web Design, Free Iphone

Obama pays tribute to fallen West Virginia miners

Beckley, West Virginia (CNN) -- President Obama paid tribute Sunday to 29 workers killed in an explosion at a West Virginia coal mine earlier this month, saying they died "in pursuit of the American dream."

"All the hard work; all the hardship; all the time spent underground; it was all for their families. ... It was all in the hopes of something better," Obama said during a memorial service for the fallen miners in Beckley, West Virginia.

Obama and Vice President Biden, who were among a group of dignitaries who spoke at the service, met with the workers' families privately before the ceremony.

In his eulogy, delivered from behind a row of 29 white crosses, Obama sought to comfort those loved ones.

"We have been mourning with you throughout these difficult days," he said. "Our hearts have been aching with you."

Biden offered similar words of comfort, saying the fallen miners "represent, what I believe is the heart and soul and spine of this nation," and adding "a nation mourns them."

The April 5 blast at the Upper Big Branch Mine was the worst U.S. mine disaster in nearly 40 years.

Obama ordered a review earlier this month and blamed mine officials for lax regulation and lack of oversight.

On Sunday, he said: "We cannot bring back the 29 men we lost. ... Our task ... is to save lives from being lost in another such tragedy. To do what must be done, individually and collectively, to assure safe conditions underground."

West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin, who was a constant presence during the recovery efforts at the mine, also spoke at the service, telling the crowd of mourners that it was the day "to begin the healing process."

Manchin said each of the 29 men, like their fathers and grandfathers, had not only a strong commitment to their work, but also "a deep, patriotic pride that the work they did and the energy they produced made America strong and free."

He called on Americans to "say a prayer for every coal miner working today," and to "not only thank them -- but to honor them for their work and their patriotism."

He also made a vow: "After today, we turn our focus on their legacy," he said. "I don't have the answers about why this has happened, but I promise you we will find the answers."

Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-West Virginia, echoed that vow during his remarks at the service, saying: "We will pass legislation to meet the requirements of those answers. And we will do it for you, the miners of West Virginia and America."

"West Virginia, all of West Virginia, is in pain, and not without some anger," Rockefeller added. "But we will find our solace and bind together as a community because that is what West Virginians do."

The somber service began with Manchin accompanying families as they lay helmets on top of 29 crosses.

A photo of each of the men killed in the disaster was displayed on large screens, and the crowd applauded for each one.

The service closed on a stirring note, as one by one, each of the headlamps on the symbolic helmets were lighted while a chorus sang "This Light of Mine."

Source:

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/US/04/25/west.virginia.mine.obama/index.html

Cooking Games, Redesign Your Web, Website Redesign

Microsoft launches SQL Server R2

Fast, in-memory analysis and centralized management are highlights, but will it make BI more accessible to business users

Few surprises were contained in the recent official announcement on Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2, but the occasion did give the company a chance to stoke interest in SQL Azure cloud services and anticipation of the Parallel Data Warehouse edition of SQL Server expected to launch later this year.

Plans for an upgrade of SQL Server 2008 were first announced in October of 2008, and the community technical preview (beta) became available last November. Thus, customers know what to expect.

Highlights include in-memory analysis capabilities provided by PowerPivot add-ins for Excel and SharePoint, and master data management and complex event processing capabilities aimed at ISVs and developers. The PowerPivot add-ins will enable desktop users to do rapid analysis on up to millions of rows of data with the aid of "slicer" controls used to cut across multiple dimensions. These analyses can then be published for others to see through SharePoint. That combination ensures managed self service, according to Microsoft.

"It's self-service because companies can empower end users to do more analyses on their own in the familiar Microsoft Office environment," said Tom Casey, Microsoft's general manager of business intelligence. "It's managed because IT professionals can easily make data available for reports and analyses while governing who has access to data and monitoring who is using which analyses."

One drawback of the PowerPivot add-ins is that they only work with Excel 2010 and SharePoint 2010, which are currently available in community technical preview releases but won't formally launch until next month. Critics describe PowerPivot for Excel as little more than an in-memory upgrade of the pivot-table capabilities already available in the spreadsheet tool.

As such, the add-ins will enable power users to quickly crunch more data, but it won't make developing BI insight any easier or more accessible to spreadsheet novices. For that, developers and Microsoft partners must still create business-process-specific applications and interfaces in Excel.

"There's no doubt PowerPivot is useful and will be successful, but it's not a revolution in BI," said Anthony Deighton, senior vice president of products at QlikTech, a Microsoft rival that introduced in-memory analysis capabilities several years ago. "Microsoft BI still requires application-style development, but many companies just don't like deploying Excel applications."

Microsoft SQL Server R2 also includes several upgrades aimed at streamlining administration. New application and multi-server management capabilities, for example, enable database administrators (DBAs) to centrally manage all instances of applications running on any number of servers. Artifacts such as tables, views, and stored procedures can be grouped, deployed, and managed using unified policies and procedures.

Source:

http://www.informationweek.in/Software/10-04-22/Microsoft_launches_SQL_Server_R2.aspx

Free Iphone, Custom Website Design, Professional Web Design

Drug-dealing spammers hit Gmail accounts

Google is investigating a growing number of reports that hackers are breaking into legitimate Gmail accounts and then using them to send spam messages.

The problem started about a week ago but seems to have escalated over the past few days.

"The Gmail team takes security very seriously and is investigating the reports we've seen in our user forums over the past few days," Google said Tuesday in an e-mailed statement. "We encourage users who suspect their accounts have been compromised to immediately change their passwords and to follow the advice at the following page: http://www.google.com/help/security/."

Gmail accounts are often compromised after phishing attempts or via malicious programs, which can seek out and log online credentials from a hacked computer.

It isn't clear what's behind this wave of Gmail compromises. But in forum posts, Gmail users note that the hackers appear to be sending spam via Gmail's mobile interface -- which gives mobile-phone users a way to check their Gmail accounts -- and wonder if there may be a bug in the mobile interface that is allowing criminals to send the spam.

Most of the victims are reporting that their accounts were accessed via the mobile interface when the spam was sent. They are reporting any security problems on their machines. Gmail users can check to see how their accounts were accessed at a given time by clicking on a "Details" button at the bottom of the Gmail page.

Google says there's no Gmail bug. "Our investigation has not given any indication of a bug in Gmail, either in the mobile interface or otherwise," the company said. "Spammers may sometimes use a mobile interface to access accounts they have already compromised because it's simpler for bots to use this method at large scale."

The New York Times reported Monday that Google's centralized login system, code-named Gaia, was compromised by hackers in late December. But this seems unrelated to the Gmail problem because of the different nature of the two incidents -- the December attack was a sophisticated attempt to steal data and intellectual property from Google; the Gmail spam is hardly sophisticated. It's being used to flog Canadian pharmaceutical Web sites that promise to send cheap drugs to U.S. customers.

For More Read...

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9175857/Drug_dealing_spammers_hit_Gmail_accounts

Cooking Games, Redesign Your Web, Professional Web Design