Microsoft's Project Natal pricing details

According to a report issued by British games magazine MCV, Microsoft's much-heralded Project Natal hands-free gaming control system could hit store shelves as soon as November 2010 and cost as little as $50.

MCV said that Microsoft could launch Natal with a 5 million unit global shipment.

"This and other details have emerged following a behind-closed-doors Microsoft tour of U.K. publishers and studios," MCV wrote. Microsoft "has been demoing the tech and detailing its 2010 plans in order to spur more development support.

" MCV also said that it had been told by a publishing source that Microsoft is "trying to get as close as possible to 'impulse buy'" with Natal.

The technology is considered very important for Microsoft as it seeks to differentiate the Xbox from Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii.

The Seattle Times weighed in on the story by predicting that, "This is probably a preview of what (Microsoft CEO) Steve Ballmer and (president of the entertainment and devices division) Robbie Bach will disclose at the Consumer Electronics Show in January." Microsoft did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Remote PC Is Accessed Even When PC Is Turned Off With LogMein

I heard about the LogMeIn technology, just now reaching the market, that enables not just remote diagnostics of computers but also access to data on the hard drives of PCs that are turned completely off.

That last technology, part of Intel's VPro system architecture, has just started to ship in a few new PCs. It's designed for corporate networks so that support personnel can get into a machine--to run a backup, for example--regardless of whether it's running Windows, has crashed into a blue screen, or has been shut down. As long as the PC is plugged into the wall and to an Ethernet connection, the computer, even though in an off state, will continue to draw a small amount of power (about 4 watts) while it monitors the network for control packets.

The technology is getting built into motherboards using the Q45 support chipset. Only a few corporate desktops use this technology, in particular HP's DC 7900 and Lenovo's ThinkCentre M58 lines.

This remote access technology does not provide a wide-open backdoor. There are security protocols. The user has to agree to use the technology, and like all LogMeIn remote-control products, remote access isn't possible unless the computer's owner agrees to it. And in many ways, it is similar to current remote-access products that rely on "Wake-on-LAN" packets to power up a PC so it can then be controlled remotely. The difference here is of degree.

It's LogMeIn's exceptionally robust connection technology that makes it all the more so. Unlike Wake-on-LAN technologies and other remote-control products, LogMeIn is very good at connecting to a computer, no matter how far away it is on the Internet or how deep behind firewalls it is. It's robust and secure in the hands of its users but it's a scary tool, if the wrong people get into it.

This technology just gives IT pros more capabilities, and it sounds like a very useful tool.

Google Hack: "All Results Were Harmful"

I just ran a search on Google, and oh, all the results were “harmful!”

For the first time in its recent history, the most popular search engine in the world malfunctioned. In what could be a temporary delight for Microsoft and Yahoo, users Googling for anything were warned about each result, that “this site may harm your computer.” Even results pointing to Google sites were marked as harmful. Clicking on the link explaining why a particular site was harmful would lead to a 502 Server Error page.

At first, it would seem like a malware attack on your own computer. But observing online discussions would reveal the issue.

The problem was there for at least half an hour, starting just after 14:30 GMT (January 31, 2009). The shock of users was palpable by the rate at which queries appeared at Yahoo Answers – more than 200 appeared in a span of just an hour.

News websites had been speculating over what could have been the cause for this major issue. The speculation ended when Google itself acknowledged that a human error was behind the problem.

Mozilla Firefox Releases Firefox 3.6 Alpha Version

Mozilla has released the first alpha version of Firefox 3.6, a browser with speed improvements and new features the organization hopes to finalize faster than its predecessor.

Firefox 3.6, code-named Namoroka, has a variety of changes, but it's not as dramatic a departure as 3.5 was from 3.0. Among the 3.6 features are faster JavaScript, the Web programming language Firefox executes with its TraceMonkey engine; faster page-rendering speed; some new features for CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) technology for controlling some of the look of a Web site; and a feature called the compositor that handles complicated layout circumstances better.

Performance is a big issue with browsers these days as people spend more time using them and programmers create more sophisticated sites and applications that live on the Web. All major browser makers are emphasizing performance improvements in their newest versions.

To download for first firefox 3.6 alpha version, visit Mozilla Developer Center.

The Google Chrome OS

The operating systems that browsers run on were designed in an era where there was no web. So today, Google announces a new project that's a natural extension of Google Chrome — the Google Chrome Operating System. This OS can challenge windows and has advantages over Linux. It's Google attempt to re-think what operating systems should be.

Google Chrome OS is an open source, lightweight operating system that will initially be targeted at netbooks.It will be available for consumers in the second half of 2010. They are designing power computers ranging from small notebooks to full-size desktop systems.

Speed, simplicity and security are the key aspects of Google Chrome OS. This OS to be fast and lightweight, to start up and get you onto the web in a few seconds. The user interface is minimal to stay out of your way, and most of the user experience takes place on the web. And as they did for the Google Chrome browser. Google going back to the basics and completely redesigning the underlying security architecture of the OS so that users don't have to deal with viruses, malware and security updates.

Google Chrome OS will run on both x86 as well as ARM chips and working with multiple OEMs to bring a number of netbooks to market next year. The software architecture is simple — Google Chrome running within a new windowing system on top of a Linux kernel. For application developers, the web is the platform. All web-based applications will automatically work and new applications can be written using your favorite web technologies. And of course, these apps will run not only on Google Chrome OS, but on any standards-based browser on Windows, Mac and Linux thereby giving developers the largest user base of any platform.

You can email instantly, without wasting time in booting up computer or browser to start up. You need not to worry for backing up the files. You can access you data from any place. No need to spend much time in configuring your hardware and it’s all you should concern for software updates.

It will be a good experience and benefits for users who spend much time on internet.

How To Force Stop "Not Responding" Programs In Windows XP, Windows Vista And Windows 7

Unresponsive programs in Windows quoting the dreadful message "Not Responding" are a common if you are a Windows user. These programs simply don’t listen to your commands and even refuse to close. They irritatingly waste your time and stay on the screen until they close which normally takes a long time.

Sometimes these frozen programs force you to open the Task Manager, detect the appropriate process and then end the process manually from there as they do not close on their own. This can be a horrible experience especially if you a Windows Vista user. Thankfully, there is an easier way out to close these frozen programs! Here’s how you do it.

1) Right click on your Desktop and click New>Shortcut.

2) Copy the following location: taskkill.exe /f /fi “status eq not responding” on to the text box in the window that opens.

3) That’s it. You are now done! From now on, anytime some program displays "Not Responding", just clicking on the shortcut will automatically detect and terminate the unresponsive program.

4) To make it even more easier you can even assign a shortcut key to open the shortcut using Keyboard Tweaker.

How To Open Every Folder In a New Window On Your Windows PC

While going through the various folders and sub-folders on any computer system, it is sometimes quite irritating that folders/sub-folders do not open in new folders. Windows however has an in-built option to make folders open in new windows. Here’s how you do it.

1. Click on ‘Start’
2. Go to ‘Control Panel’. You can find a link to Control Panel in the right side of the Start Menu.
3. Click on ‘Folder Options’.

4. Now from the “General’ tab, select the radio button next to ‘Open each folder in its own window.’
5. Click on ‘Apply’ and ‘OK’ to complete the process.

Now all folders will open in new windows.