Microsoft issues Word patch

Microsoft issued a patch for its Word software to comply with a court ruling that it infringed on patents relating to the use of XML or extensible markup language in its flagship word processing software.

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit had ordered Microsoft to stop selling Word programmes containing the infringing code from Jan 11, 2010. It also upheld jury-imposed damages of $290 million.

The ruling came in an appeal by Microsoft against a Texas jury verdict last August that found Microsoft had violated patents owned by Canadian software company i4i Inc.

"A small company was practicing its patent, only to suffer a loss of market share, brand recognition and customer goodwill as the result of the defendant's infringing acts," the three-judge panel said in court documents.

"The district court found that Microsoft captured 80 percent of the custom XML market with its infringing Word products, forcing i4i to change its business strategy."

The patch was made available to computer makers to install on new machines preloaded with the Word software and strips Word and other Office programs of custom XML editing capabilities which is used by companies to link their data to Word documents.

Microsoft Office, which includes Word, PowerPoint, and Excel is used by millions of businesses and consumers and accounted for more than $3 billion in worldwide sales in Microsoft's most recent fiscal year.

What you need to know about Web Hosting?

The web hosting industry is fostering in the recent past. Therefore a thorough understanding of web hosting servers and their advantages and disadvantages becomes a must before you choose a web hosting provider and before hosting your web site. So let’s take a look at the fundamentals of the web hosting.

What is Web Hosting?
In order to make your website viewable to the world, it has to be hosted on a web server. In other words a website cannot exist without hosting it on a web server. Hosting a website on your server is always an option. However it is expensive concerning hardware, software and labour expenses. Therefore hosting it on a server from a ISP is a common option.

Types of Web Hosting:

• Shared Web Hosting
• Managed Web Hosting
• Server Co-Location
• Reseller Web Hosting
• Virtual Private Server (VPS) Hosting

The most preferred types of web hosting are Dedicated Hosting and VPS Hosting.

Dedicated Hosting:
Dedicated web hosting solutions allow a client to rent the complete computer and have access to all its resources to host one or multiple websites. This makes dedicated server hosting solution attractive for large high-traffic websites, custom development projects creating complex web based applications, and web sites that require a high degree of uptime and total control of the hosting environment.

VPS Hosting:
A Virtual Private Server (VPS), also referred to as Virtual Dedicated Server (VDS), provides the features of a dedicated server for multiple web hosting customers in the form of "virtual computers". At first blush it sounds somewhat contradictory - how can you have a dedicated server if it is being shared by multiple users? Isn't that a regular shared or virtual hosting environment? It is true that with a Virtual Private Server you still share system resources like the CPU and RAM with other users but the resources are allocated in such a way that you cannot tell that the system has anyone else on it, much like a dedicated server. So resources are usually setup in such a way that each hosting client is only allowed to use an allocated percent, meaning that resources assigned to you will always available to you. Each virtual server looks and acts like a dedicated server. Moreover vps hosting is a preferred hosting solution for small to medium sized businesses since it delivers control at a level similar to a dedicated server at a price not too far from affordable shared hosting.


Web Hosting reviews and ratings:
Choosing the right web server for hosting the website might be a daunting task. Web Hosting Geeks provides you with independent reviews of the best web hosting providers, their rank, features, merits and demerits. These ratings are provided by professionals and satisfied customers. The website also lists the top 10 web hosting providers and assures you that all webhosting plans include at least one free domain name registration and 30 day money back guarantee. If you are really looking for a perfect web hosting provider, you should better take a look at the site which ranks the top web hosting services available on the basis of their quality of service.

Top Christmas Gift Ideas 3 of 3

Portable Audio/Video
Entry level
Phillips Aria 4GB (Rs. 4,999)
For a 4GB device with good features, an MRP of Rs.4999 is pretty good. Also, the end user price should be a bit lower. The quality of the player for audio is good, though its two-inch screen is not suitable for watching videos. In our Philips GoGear Vibe we suggested you buy a good pair of earphones/headphones to go along with your player. Here you get good earphones as well, which makes the Aria a good alternate to the Vibe.

Midrange
iPod Nano 16GB (Rs. 11,200)
Apple has just given the nano a major shot in the arm, turning an impressive little music player into an incredible all-round multimedia device. The addition of camera really came as a pleasant surprise and what's better is that it does not disappoint in its performance. 

The addition of FM radio and voice recording, which admittedly are a bit late compared to the competition, finally complete the feature list. No longer can critics claim the iPod nano to be all show and no go. The audio quality remains impressive, although I wish Apple had used a higher quality display on the nano, which could have made the video and photo playback just as impressive.

I am not a big fan of the click wheel and wished the camera captured still images as well. However, all these are minor drawbacks when you consider the overall performance, which is on par with the best the competition has to offer. Priced at Rs. 9,400 for the 8 GB model and Rs. 11,200 for the 16 GB model, the new iPod is sure to attract a lot more buyers than the one before it. The already strong sale of the world's most popular player has no place to go but up.

High end
Cowon iAudio S9 (Rs. 17,250)
I'm sure you guys were expecting the iPod Touch here but remember, we are talking about the best audio/video device and no one does it better than Cowon. For roughly Rs. 17,250 you get the 32GB version that lets you play Xvid and DivX movies. This means no more conversion, you can just directly dump movies and your set. The screen may be a bit smaller than the iPod Touch but the colour and contrast of the S9 is equally good. The S9 also has noticibly better audio quality and you get FM radio for those who care about it. Overall, between this and iPod Touch, we pick this for superior audio quality.

Thumb drives

Kingmax 16GB (Rs. 1,450)

The Kingmax Super Stick mini 16GB is one of the tiniest USB Flash drives around and it can certainly pack in a lot, thanks to its huge capacity. Though tiny in size, it is constructed ruggedly and can easily weather the elements of nature. The performance is good when it comes to read speeds, while the write speeds are a little below average.

It does not come with any software bundle, which is something expected when the drive can do so much with its huge 16GB capacity. With a lifetime warranty, the Kingmax Super Stick mini 16GB is available for an estimated street price of Rs. 1,450, which is pretty much a steal for a 16GB drive.

Portable Storage
2.5" Laptop based
Seagate FreeAgent Go - 500GB (Rs. 4,800)
Both Western Digital and Seagate are priced similarly around Rs. 4,800 for 500GB, which is a pretty sweet deal. The reason we chose Seagate is because you get a five-year warranty with it instead of a three-year.

 
3.5" Desktop based
WD My Book Essential Edition 1TB (Rs. 5,100)
If you need more space then you can pick the WD My Book, which sells for Rs.5100. Just a little more than the FreeAgent, since its using a standard desktop hard drive instead of the laptop kind. The size is slightly larger but not too much and will still fit snugly in your backpack.

DVD Player/Home Theater System
LG HB954TB BluRay home theater (Rs.47,000)
The LG Home Theater HB954TB sells for Rs. 47,000 with a one-year warranty. As compared to the previous Home Theater we saw from Samsung, this makes for a much better choice. The LG Home Theater HB954TB has a Blu-ray player and a much better audio experience. The pricing too is appropriate, so it's a good selection for those looking for a Lifestyle Home Theater System.

Phillips Soundbar HD HTS8160B (Rs.79,990)
The Philips SoundBar is a class apart. It sells for Rs. 79,990 with a one-year warranty. Being a premium lifestyle product it has the aspects that give it certain appeal. The slot loading tray that emerges from the center console of the bar takes things to a level of being sci-fi. It supports all media formats including Blu-ray and has USB and a 3.5mm jack input for connecting plug-n-play devices. The Philips Soundbar is not just all show, as it packs a punch with its six speaker angled setup providing good sound and surround effect. For a single piece it's quite good. The woofer too has the required thump and is well sized to suit large living rooms. All in all one could only wish for wireless communication between the woofer and the console but even otherwise it'll make an exceptional buy.