The Silicon Valley Computer Society (SVCS)
is a non-profit group of computer users interested in improving
their skills and knowledge in the use of PC computers.
To learn more about our activities, click on "About SVCS".
General
Meeting (GIG) |
Windows SIG
|
Digital
Imaging SIG |
Web
Design SIG |
Find
out what it takes to achieve project success during the development
cycle by joining us for "Architecture, design and construction using
the IBM Rational Software Delivery Platform," a technical briefing
on Tuesday, February 13 in San Francisco, California. See
demonstrations of these IBM Rational products, and learn how they can
provide you with a complete set of software development tools:
InfoWorld currently
has a limited number of Complimentary Subscriptions available,
so they would like to give colleagues of our loyal subscribers
an opportunity to receive their own subscription to InfoWorld - absolutely
FREE.
We are forwarding
this to colleagues we think may benefit from their own
FREE subscription. If they qualify, they'll receive a complimentary
one-year (51 issues) subscription to InfoWorld.
Simply need to follow this
link to apply online.
At
the January GIG meeting, Special Agents Mark Hammell
and Shena Crowe presented information on Cybercrime, Cyberterrorism and Infragard,
an alliance between government and the private sector for the protection
of our infrastructure. A PDF document with this information
and links to other resources is available here. Content
Insider #76: Clash of the Titans (Notes from CES and MacWorld)
(published 1/20/07) 
We
have added a new feature to the SVCS website - Commentary.
This is a series of "white papers" on subjects of data
storage, digital media and multimedia technology written by Andy
Marken.
Just click on the Commentary button
on the left side of the page.
Andy
Marken is
president of Marken Communications and has been involved in the
marketing of storage technology for more than 15 years. His experience
includes work with Panasonic, Verbatim, Matsushita, Plasmon,
Nikon, Mitsubishi Chemical and a number of hard drive manufacturers.
Andy can be reached at andy@markencom.com.
If you missed the 24 hour free
download, NewTech Infosystems, Inc. is offering a limited
time price of $9.99 for
NTI Ninja™, a
new USB data storage utility that offers user-adjustable public
and private partitioning as well as anti-tamper encryption and
password protection for users of flash and other
portable USB storage devices. 
Microsoft Download Notifications is a weekly mailing that points you to the latest free downloads and download-related services from Microsoft. The following offerings are now available in your preferred categories. Register now if you are not already receiving this free mailing. To find more downloads, visit the Microsoft
Download Center. For support with downloads, visit the Help
and Support site.
The
PX-B900A Blu-ray Disc drive is the first Plextor burner to support
the next generation of optical data storage technology. Blu-ray
is currently supported by more than 170 of the world's leading
consumer electronics, personal computer, recording media, video
game and music companies. The format also has broad support from
the major movie studios as a successor to today's DVD format.
Plextor's bundled software package for the PX-B900A Blu-ray Disc Drive
offers ease-of-use and extensive functionality for playing, recording,
editing, and authoring BD/DVD/CD discs.
From
the team who brought you MAKE:, CRAFT: is
the first project-based magazine dedicated to the renaissance
that is occurring within the world of crafts. Celebrating the
DIY spirit, Craft's goal is to unite, inspire, inform, and entertain
a growing community of highly imaginative people who are transforming
traditional art and crafts with unconventional, unexpected and
even renegade techniques, materials, and tools; resourceful spirits
who undertake amazing crafting projects in their homes and communities.
We call them "Makers." We
anticipate a very quick sellout (as was the case with the inaugural
issue of MAKE). Avoid the crushing disappointment of an empty
newsstand, and reserve a copy today by subscribing with this special
UG discount
User
Group Members receive a special 30% discount on O'Reilly Learning Courses
Smart
Computing and Computer Power User magazines are loaded with helpful
information written in easy to understand language. In
order to make sure that our group gets credit in Smart
Computing’s User Group Program for your subscription
or renewal, please subscribe and renew through the
User Group portion of the Web site at https://www.smartcomputing.com/secure/membership.asp and
select the appropriate group to credit in the drop-down list. Or
you may call in at
(800) 334-7458 and say you would like
SVCS to get credit for your subscription or renewal. This
will ensure that SVCS is getting the most FREE SUBSCRIPTIONS
it possibly can to be raffled off at the meetings! 
The gorgeously designed VAIO AR Digital Studio is the premier
Bluray Disc enabled notebook PC. It has the ability to play,
record, and re-write Blu-ray Disc media, a format that provides
five times larger capacity than standard DVDs. Watch HD movies
with clarity like you have never seen them before. The AR Digital
Studio Notebook features end-to-end High-Def (1080) HDV camcorder
support, so you can capture, view, edit, and burn in 1080 resolution
content. With a 17” WUXGA (1920x1200)
widescreen display , HDMI output, integrated NTSC TV tuner,
Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition and Intel Core Duo
performance, you will experience movies and entertainment like
never before. The VAIO AR Notebook is a “Windows Vista
Capable” PC. 
To celebrate the 25th birthday of the IBM PC coming in August,
eWEEK Labs assembled a Top 25 list of the
most influential products that iconic machine ushered in. But
we
then found ourselves in a debate that sounded like a dictionary
editor brawling with a technology historian. What was an "influential" product?
Did it need to be the first of its kind, or should it rather
be the first implementation that others found worth imitating?
Must it have been a popular product in its own right, or should
it rather have been the one that showed the way —whether
or not it was ever effectively marketed? Is Linux a product
or an idea? Is Wi-Fi a product or a marketing campaign?
Microsoft plans next week to charge a nominal fee for Office 2007
Beta 2 downloads, a move that runs counter to the practice held
by most software companies. Consumers who download the 2007 Microsoft
Office system Beta 2 will be charged $1.50 per download, beginning
next Wednesday at 6 p.m. PDT, a Microsoft representative said. "Since
the end of May, Beta 2 has been downloaded more than 3 million
times...That's 500 percent more than what was expected," the
representative said. "The fee helps offset the cost of downloading
from the servers." 
In marriage of 'CPUs and GPUs,' ATI was snapped-up by AMD. Is
NVidia next?Talk of a tie-up between the two companies first emerged
in May. Over the weekend, the rumors intensified until it was
almost considered a done deal on Sunday…Many industry
analysts have said it made little financial or strategic sense
for AMD to buy ATI outright. But AMD, the No. 2 supplier of
processors, said it will use the purchase of Canada-based ATI
to expand its product mix and its market share as it battles
No. 1 IntelWith
the MS patches being so numerous in June, even some
folks who ordinarily patch quickly are just now getting around
to patching. But with proof-of-concept code and live exploits
already on the Net for many of the flaws announced on June
13, if you haven't yet updated, now's the time to test and
patch.
Firefox, iTunes, and Skype were the top 3 applications in a list of 15 with the most security vulnerabilities, a Cambridge, Mass.-based security company said this week. The list from Bit9 calls out applications frequently downloaded by individuals which have at least one critical vulnerability, and that rely on the end user, not the corporate IT department, to manually patch or upgrade to fix bugs. 
Less
than four months ago, Microsoft launched a public
beta test of its Office
Live service,
a basket of online treats for small businesses.
Ultimately, Microsoft wants to make Office Live an enterprise-friendly
source for online business applications
(20 such applications are included in Office Live Essentials).
But in order to get customers in through the door, Redmond is offering
a gift to anyone who will sign up.
Microsoft's freebie is a domain with hosting and e-mail (a $35 value!).
The entry-level service, Office Live Basics, consists of nothing
but the domain and hosting
(2GB e-mailboxes, 30MB of site storage, 10GB per month of data transfer),
and not only is it free during the beta test period, it's slated
to remain free afterward.
New features in Opera 9 include: 
The format war between Blu-Ray and HD-DVD has finally reached consumers, now that Samsung is shipping the BD-P1000 Blu-Ray player to retailers. The BD-P1000 ($999.99 list), will go on sale June 25th, making it the first Blu-Ray player to hit the market. Until now, the only high-definition video player shoppers could buy has been the Toshiba HD-A1, which has been in short supply.The DVD bizbiz's high-def format war inched one step closer Tuesday, when the first wave of Blu-ray movies hit shelves a few days before the first players officially go on sale. The initial launch appeared to go smoothly -- unlike the rival HD DVD launch in mid-April, there were no immediate reports of delays -- but its impact is mitigated by the fact that most consumers won't be able to actually play the discs until next week. Also not clear: how big a push electronics stores will give the software until they can set up displays with the pricier players. Less than 24 hours after the launch of Windows Live Messenger, Microsoft corporate vice president Martin Taylor, who oversaw the product's launch, has made a surprise departure from the Redmond company. Taylor was a 13-year veteran of Microsoft and a top advisor to company CEO Steve Ballmer. Before becoming a corporate VP of Windows Live and MSN in March, Taylor spearheaded Microsoft's "Get the Facts" campaign that responded to the threat from Linux and open source. He was expected to play a major role in shaping the Windows Live strategy, and was featured in a Microsoft Q&A on Monday.
Strangely, an initial draft of the Windows Live Messenger launch press release featured division head Kevin Johnson, but the quote was attributed to Taylor for the final announcement. Microsoft officials did not say if the confusion had anything to do with Taylor leaving the company.
You're invited to take advantage of an exclusive offer. Receive 2 trial issues of PC World--Absolutely Risk-Free. Don't miss out on three important reasons to subscribe now: • HUGE SAVINGS: Act now and pay ONLY $1.00 AN ISSUE. That’s just $12 for 12 issues -- over 85% off the annual cover price of $83.88. You’ll get the absolute lowest price available! • RELIABLE AND TRUSTED ADVICE: In every issue of PC World, you'll get technology advice you can trust with in-depth and honest product reviews, how-to's and tips to help you get the most out of your PC. • FREE GIFTS: Subscribe to PC World and receive 15 downloadable Power Guides instantly plus Bonus Mastering Windows CD-ROM. Enjoy these free gifts, created by PC World's award-winning editors. 
HP
has announced a recall program for batteries in certain HP Pavilion,
Compaq and Presario laptops due to a fire hazard. The affected
batteries have a barcode label beginning with "L3". Specific
information is available at the HP website 
Apress
is offering a series of 8 eBooks FREE of charge. Titles include " A
Programmer's Introduction to PHP 4", "Practical
Common Lisp", "COM
and .NET Interoperability", and 5 others. Please
note that you can still find hard copies of most of these titles
at your favorite online or brick and mortar bookstore.
Virtual Server 2005 is now
available as a FREE download from Microsoft. In addition, a set
of virtual machine add-ins supporting Red Hat and Novell/SUSE
Linux distributions are also available. AMD
introduced its Live! brand for consumer PCs into the home, saying
it will provide a better multimedia experience with a different
approach than Intel's. The company established its Live! brand
to push its 64-bit processors to media professionals in film, broadcast
and music.
Now with a suite of multimedia-related software and
25GB of free online storage for music, photo and video files, which
can be stored automatically, AMD has expanded its target audience
to consumers. 
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