fixed

Problematic registry cleaner

Free Registry Cleaner has too many problems to be a good choice for anyone except those who prefer to clean their own registries key by key.

Visually, the interface is clean, if unexciting. The program offers a few other functions as well, but nothing that isn't already possible through the Control Panel, Task Manager, or other integrated Windows utilities. It defaults to a wizard interface that not easy to use. Initially, we thought the unpickable picklist was the worst it offered; when asked to select the areas to scan, we found that Ctrl-click did not work. Instead, we could … Read more

Hitachi exec indicted in LCD price-fixing scheme

Hitachi executive Sakae Someya was indicted Tuesday by a federal grand jury in San Francisco for his role in a conspiracy to fix the prices of LCD screens.

Someya is accused of conspiring with others in the LCD display business "to suppress and eliminate competition" by fixing the price of the panels sold to Dell for notebook PCs. Someya is accused of participating in the scheme between January 2001 through December 2004. That would be a violation of the Sherman Act, which can result in a $1 million fine and a 10-year prison sentence.

Someya's indictment brings … Read more

Two security holes patched in Firefox 3.0.8

Correction and update:This post was updated at 1:53 p.m. with a corrected headline (the word "patched" was missing) and additional and winnowed information on the security holes.)

Mozilla published a critical security upgrade for Firefox Friday evening. Version 3.0.8 for Windows, Mac, and Linux fixes two security holes listed as "critical."

One patched an arbitrary code execution hole through an XUL element, and the other corrected an XSL stylesheet exploit. Both fixes patch crash-based security holes in which remote codes could have been run.

The release notes for Firefox 3.0.… Read more

Broken WiFi After iPhone OS 2.2.1: More Fixes

A number of users continue to report broken WiFi under iPhone OS 2.2.1.

As described by one reader:

"I am having problem after 2.2.1 update where the iphone will only detect wifi networks for a moment, and then always go back to edge and no longer detect networks."

Fixes

Enter DNS address Enter your routers configuration page on a laptop or another wireless-enabled computer (usually 192.168.1.1) and find the DNS address, then enter that address in the iPhone's Network settings pane.

Reset network settings Tap Settings, tap General, tap Reset, … Read more

Fix for iPhone Update 2.2.1: iTunes Sync Problems

We previously reported on a problem with iTunes Syncing after the iPhone OS 2.2.1 update. Now, a fix from Apple has materialized, and can be executed as follows:

Launch iTunes

Select "Deauthorize Computer" from the Store menu

Enter your iTunes Store Account ID and Password, then clicking on the Deauthorize button.

Select "Authorize Computer" from the Store menu

Enter your iTunes Store Account ID and Password, then click on the Authorize button.

Once this is completed you should be able to sync content again with your iPhone or iPod Touch. However, for some users, … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 905: Buzz off malaria

We were really thinking about calling this episode something to do with prehistoric snake. Because Natali is very into the prehistoric snakes. Although she can't kill them. Instead we discuss Bill Gates releasing mosquitoes at TED, the Congress sort of delaying the DTV transition, and Google trying to steal your health information.

Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 905

Bill Gates Unleashes Mosquitoes On Rich TED Conference Crowd http://www.alleyinsider.com/2009/2/bill-gates-unleashes-mosquitoes-on-rich-ted-crowd http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7871210.stm

DTV delay passes, 264-158 http://arstechnica.com/telecom/news/2009/02/dtv-delay-passes-264-158.arsRead more

Microsoft offers to just 'Fix it'

When people encounter a problem with their PC, they often go to the Web and do a search to see if others have had the problem. If they are lucky, someone has found a fix and listed the steps on either a support document or within a user forum.

Now, they may have an even better option.

Over the past six weeks, Microsoft has quietly added a "Fix it" button to a few of the thousands of help documents on its Web site. When clicked, the computer then takes all the recommended steps automatically.

"If we know … Read more

iPhone OS 2.2.1 Released: Undocumented Fixes

Apple has released iPhone OS 2.2.1, a minor update to the device's firmware and operating system. Apple's release notes state only that the update increases the stability of Safari and resolves a problem in which images saved from Mail do not display correctly in the camera roll. However, users are beginning to discover several undocumented enhancements.

In particular, the update appears to address a nasty bug in which users suddenly experience inability to send SMS text messages on the iPhone 3G, receiving the message "error sending" upon attempting to send.

Still unresolved, however, is … Read more

The enterprise value of modifying open source

I spent some time with a large customer of Alfresco's today, and heard an interesting reason for why choosing open source was critical to them. Granted, it's a large media company, and so its needs may not fit those of most other enterprise customers.

But I thought the importance it placed on open source was enlightening:

Open source is critical for us, because on our old [proprietary] content management system, we were completely dependent on the vendor if something went wrong. Alfresco's open-source CMS enables us to get into the code and start working on a fix … Read more

Mysterious methods leave users in the dark

It's easy to understand how to use this system optimizer and maintenance tool, but it's not so clear how it goes about getting the job done.

WinMultiFix launches a tabbed interface that isn't particularly well designed, but its plain appearance mirrors its all-business functionality. Despite its no-frills look, the program could use a decent Help file to inform users about its processes and how it works.

For instance, one tab offers a Temp File Cleaner. Operation is simple--enter the drive to clean and press a button. A progress bar provided the only clue that the application was … Read more