Microsoft fixes Bing bug

Microsoft today said it had fixed a bug in Bing that had infuriated Internet Explorer 6 (IE6) users when they discovered that the company's new search engine had hijacked their browsers.

"Last night, we corrected the issue with Bing on machines running IE6," a Microsoft spokeswoman said Wednesday in an brief e-mailed reply to questions.

Starting Monday, when Microsoft took Bing live, IE6 users began complaining that although they had previously set other search engines as the default, searches typed into the browser were instead directed to Bing.

"Woke up this morning to discover that Bing had hijacked [my IE6 address bar search]," said a user identified as "clmerc" on a Google help message forum. [I] can't change it via search/customize on the IE tool bar."

"Bing seems to have hijacked many user-programmed search preferences away from Google," echoed "Jimpobg" on another help thread. "Since I didn't know what Bing was, I really thought my computer was infected with malicious software. Well, actually....it WAS. Sounds like classic Microsoft behavior."

Microsoft's spokeswoman ignored Computerworld's questions about the root cause of the problem, but one user on the Google forum explained that IE6 uses a Windows registry key to parse unknown text, such as a search phrase, that's typed into the address bar. "The problem is, Microsoft developed their URL SearchHook to do one thing: Take the unknown text from the address bar and add it to the URL http://auto.search.msn.com/response.asp?MT=text+from+addressbar&srch=4&prov=gogl&utf8," said "Kilyo" on the same thread as clmerc. "But Bing stopped acknowledging [search] provider requests."

Some users were clearly unsympathetic, and blasted the complainers for running an ancient browser. "If you use IE6, you deserve as much pain and suffering as humanly possible," said someone labeled "positrongoo."

IE6 debuted in August 2001, about two months before Microsoft launched Windows XP. According to U.S-based metrics vendor Net Applications, IE6 accounted for 16.9% of all browsers used last month. Rival StatCounter, however, pegged IE6's share over the last 30 days at a slightly-higher 21.6%.

Microsoft may have agreed with positrongoo. Yesterday, when it first acknowledged that Bing had hijacked the search preferences of IE6, it urged users to ditch the old browser. "We apologize for any inconvenience [this] has caused," Microsoft said in a statement Tuesday. "In the meantime, we encourage customers to upgrade to IE8."

Today, Microsoft again implicitly pushed people to upgrade. "This issue did not impact IE7 and IE8 users," the company spokeswoman said.

A Google employee confirmed that Microsoft had, in fact, fixed the Bing bug. "We've been monitoring [this] very closely and are pleased that Microsoft is now reporting that the problem should be fixed," said "Jaime" early Wednesday on the two Google help forums. "If anyone is still having this problem, I'd very much appreciate your posting here to let me know."

As of late Wednesday, no one had stepped forward on the threads to report they were still seeing Bing rather than their preferred provider.

Net Applications noted that Bing surged to a 6% share of the search market within hours of going live, but said most of its traffic came at the expense of Microsoft's legacy search engines, MSN's search and Windows Live Search. Both of those services now automatically process search requests using Bing.

Vista Wireless Connection Is Periodically Lost

When you try to use a wireless network adapter to connect to a Microsoft MN-500 or MN-700 Wireless Base Station, you may notice that the wireless connection drops periodically. This issue may occur at seemingly random intervals, from several minutes to an hour or more.

This issue may occur if one or more of the following conditions are true:

- There is a problem with the firmware for your base station.
- IEEE 802.1X authentication is enabled.
- Your universal serial bus (USB) wireless adapter is experiencing problems that are related to the USB bus.
- Your Internet is a DSL connection that uses Point to Point over Ethernet (PPPoE) authentication.

To determine and resolve this issue, use the following procedures in the order they are presented. After you complete each procedure, test to see whether the problem is resolved. Continue to the next procedure if it is not.

Part 1: Disable IEEE 802.1X Authentication

Examine each computer that is experiencing the symptoms described in this article, and disable IEEE 802.1X authentication. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
2. Click Network and Internet, click Network and Sharing Center, and then click Manage network connections.
3. Right-click the network that you want to disable 802.1X authentication for, and then click Properties.
4. Click the Security tab, and then, in the Security Type list, click No authentication (Open).


Part 2: Update Firmware
To update the base station firmware, follow these steps.

Connect to your base station and to the Internet to follow these steps, if the following conditions are true:

- If you lose your connection only after a long time, follow these steps while your connection is working.
- Use a network cable to connect to your base station.

1. In the Broadband Network Utility (BNU), on the Tools menu, click Base Station Management Tool.
2. Type your user name and password to log on to the Base Station Management tool.
3. In the menu pane, point to Management, and then click Upgrade Firmware.
4. Under Current Base Station Firmware Version, note the version and date listed.
5. Follow the steps that are listed under To upgrade the base station firmware.


Part 3: USB Wireless Network Adapters

If you have a USB wireless network adapter, you may experience problems that are related to the limitations of USB. If you have multiple USB devices, the USB network adapter may share data bandwidth, power, or both to a degree that it causes you to experience the symptoms that are described in this article.

To resolve this issue, try the following suggestions:

- If your computer has more than one USB bus (two USB ports typically share one USB bus), connect the wireless network adapter to its own USB bus. Connect your other USB devices to a different USB bus.
- Disconnect any unused or unnecessary USB devices.
- Use a powered USB hub to connect the network adapter to the computer.

Disadvantages/ Drawbacks of Windows Vista

Since windows vista is released in the market for home and business world , windows vista was not able to capture the market due to some of the some of the Disadvantages/ Drawbacks associated with this .

1. Requirements high,
Windows vista consumes a lot more resources than its predecessor windows XP. For vista Aero to work, you need to invest something more than what you would have expected to invest before. The graphics card requirement is quite high. The graphics card must be of DirectX 10 supported. The required minimum graphics memory on the graphics card is 128 MB. For better performance, graphics memory must be of 256 MB. The minimum hard disk space required is 20 GB for installation of Windows Vista. Processor speed is also expected to be high for Aero to work smoothly without causing any hiccups. The memory requirement for Windows Vista system is high. The system will work smoothly when one has got RAM of about 2 GB installed. Totally, I would like to say that, Windows vista eats up lot of resources, than its predecessor, the Windows XP.

2. Issue with the Drivers compatibility :
One of the common issue with the windows vista is that the ,device drivers compatible for windows vista are not released by all the manufactures of the hardwares ,so many of the device such as graphics card and webcam had compatilbility issue with the windows , before purchasing any new device we need to check out for Vista compatible or Vista ready logo, which is put up on the device.

3. Regarding price :
The price for Windows Vista editions are also high. Ordinary users cannot thus, have a look into all the features of Vista, which is only available in the Ultimate Edition. Microsoft seems to be not so interested in country wise markets. The prices are set according to the US market. However these prices are on higher side for developing asian countries. Microsoft should set the price of Vista as per the market.

Some of the key features of the windows vista are .

1 Windows Search 4.0 for faster and improved relevancy in searches
2 Bluetooth 2.1 Feature Pack supporting the most recent specification for Bluetooth Technology
3 Ability to record data on to Blu-Ray media natively in Windows Vista
4 Adds Windows Connect Now (WCN) to simplify Wi-Fi Configuration
5 Windows Vista SP2 enables the exFAT file system to support UTC timestamps, which allows correct file synchronization across time zones.


But its a big question mark on use of windows vista , after the release of windows 7 having some of the enhanced features .

iYogi Acquires Clean Machine Inc.

Larry Gordon, Founder of Clean Machine appointed as President Global Channel Sales at iYogi

New York, NY, May 11th, 2009 : iYogi, a global direct to consumer and small business remote technical support provider, today announced it’s acquisition of Clean Machine Inc, a provider of remotely administered PC security and performance management services. Clean Machine will operate as a separate brand under the iYogi services umbrella along with the recently lunched Support Dock (www.supportdock.com) and its comprehensive range of 24/7 technical support services for computers, printers, MP3 players, digital camera, routers, servers and more than 100 software applications. Larry Gordon, Founder of Clean Machine is appointed as the President of Global Channel Sales for iYogi.

iYogi will integrate technology and innovation that Clean Machine Inc. has developed for delivering an enhanced service experience by proactively managing the health and security for PC's and Apple Computers. This acquisition also broadens iYogi's access to key markets through Clean Machine's existing partnerships. Larry Gordon's past experience and successful track record will accelerate iYogi's expansion through his focus on global alliances.
Commenting on the acquisition of Clean Machine Inc., Uday Challu, CEO & Co-founder of iYogi, said,

"This acquisition will help iYogi to enhance our customer experience and extend our market reach to the millions of consumers that are challenged by the increasingly complex technology environment. Clean Machine's proactive maintenance and management of PCs in home and small business environment will be our launch platform for building the next generation of managed services for consumers."

"We are delighted to have Larry spearheading partnerships and global alliances for iYogi. His incredible experience in marketing, sales and building global alliances will help forge partnerships with retailers, multiple service operators, software publishers, original equipment manufacturers (OEM) and other such companies that are at the frontlines for managing tech support issues for consumers and small businesses",

added Challu.

With more than 20 years of experience, Larry Gordon has played a variety of strategic roles in marketing, sales and building alliances. Larry was the Executive Vice President at Capgemini and Kanbay. He was also VP of Global Marketing for Cognizant (Nasdaq: CTSH), a leader in global IT services and Director of Marketing for New York based Information Builders.

"I am excited to join a company that shares a common mission to Clean Machine in creating a global brand for delivering the best technical support to consumers and small businesses. We also share a common approach of utilizing highly skilled talent with leading edge tools, thereby delivering services at incredible price-points, with high margins for our partners",

said Larry Gordon, the newly appointed President of Global Channel Sales at iYogi.

ABOUT IYOGI

Headquartered in Gurgaon, India with offices in New York, USA, iYogi provides personalized computer support for consumers and small businesses in United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. IYogi's 24/7 phone and remote technical assistance, spans across a comprehensive range of technologies we use every day from a wide range of vendors. Utilizing its proprietary technology iMantra , and highly qualified technicians, iYogi delivers amongst the highest benchmarks for resolution and customer satisfaction. iYogi is privately held and funded by SAP Ventures, Canaan Partners, and SVB India Capital Partners. iYogi was recently awarded the Red Herring Global 100 Award, recognizing it as one of the 100 most innovative private companies driving the future of technology. For more information on iYogi and a detailed list of technologies supported, visit: www.iyogi.net.

ABOUT CLEAN MACHINE

Clean Machine Inc. is a NJ-based and incorporated company that helps consumers and small business owners easily manage and protect their computing environments safely and cost effectively. The company is has a unique, powerful and inexpensive PC concierge service. Specifically, each customer is assigned a highly-trained tech concierge who remotely examines their computer system on a scheduled and very secure basis. The PC concierge will immediately fix software-based problems and prevent new threats to the customer's computing environment including offensive pop-ups, browser redirects and slow performance, and then provides a detailed report. Clean Machine's proprietary Radar(TM) technology (Remote Access Detection Audit and Repair) allows its expert technicians to remotely resolve any problems, eliminating the need for customers to go through the frustrating process of speaking with a tech support expert, and still having to do the work themselves. In other words, the Clean Machine PC concierges do it all. For more information on Clean Machine please visit www.pccleanmachine.com.

iYogi Awarded Red Herring Top 100 Global Company

Recognizing the first, global, direct to consumers and small business technical support service from India

New York, January 21st, 2009 - iYogi (www.iyogi.net), today announced that it has been awarded as one of the Red Herring Top 100 Companies. Red Herring Top 100 Global Companies are chosen from winners and finalists of the previous Red Herring Top 100 Companies from North America, Europe and Asia Red Herring Top 100 Companies. Winning and finalist companies from the previous three years are were eligible for this outstanding award. Out of 1,800 successful and highly eligible companies, the Red Herring editorial team deployed a detailed process to drill-down the best companies first to 200 finalists, then to the top 100 winners of this global award. Evaluations were made on both quantitative and qualitative criteria, such as financial performance, innovation, management, global strategy, and ecosystem integration. The announcement of the winners was made at the Red Herring 100 Global, which took place in San Diego from January 14-16, 2009. Present among the finalists were elite executives and venture capital leaders from around the world.

"We were so pleased to announce iYogi as a Red Herring Top 100 Global Company," commented Red Herring publisher Alex Vieux."

"iYogi has proven to be a company excelling in their industry and its ripples have turned into waves. It was difficult for us to narrow down, but we are pleased to have included iYogi in our list of promising companies. We look forward to the changes it makes to its industry in the future".

"iYogi set out to introduce a new kind of service that would change the way technical support is delivered to consumers and small businesses. We are proud to be recognized by Red Herring's editorial team for our innovation and dedication to solve everyday problems faced by millions of consumers who are challenged by the increasingly complex computing environment," commented Uday Challu, CEO, iyogi.

iYogi delivers technical support services directly to consumers and small businesses and is the first, global, technical support brand based out of India. The company offers its customers an unlimited, annual service subscription for $139.99 per desktop that includes support for a wide range of technologies, including PC hardware Microsoft Windows Operating System, software applications, peripherals and multifunctional devices. iYogi recently launched Support Dock, a comprehensive desktop application suite with PC recovery, data back-up, anti-virus and spyware removal , PC optimization, and home networking tools. Small businesses are serviced by iYogi's dedicated services group offering managed IT services enabling owners to increase productivity and maximize their return on investment.

About Red Herring

Red Herring is a global media company, which unites the world's best high technology innovators, venture investors and business decision makers in a variety of forums: a leading innovation magazine, an online daily technology news service, technology newsletters and major events for technology leaders around the globe. Red Herring provides an insider's access to the global innovation economy, featuring unparalleled insights on the emerging technologies driving the economy. More information about Red Herring is available on the Internet at www.redherring.com.

About iYogi

iYogi delivers live, comprehensive, 24/7 computer repair services directly to consumers and small businesses and is the first, global, technical support brand based out of India. Providing an annual unlimited subscription to technical support, iYogi now boasts of more than 50,000 customers. The company employs 600 professionals servicing customers in the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia and fast expanding to 12 new geographies across the globe. iYogi's resolution rate of 86 percent and customer satisfaction rate of 95 percent are amongst the highest published benchmarks in the industry. For further information, please visit - www.iyogi.net.

iYogi Contact:

Vishal Dhar
iYogi, Inc.
Phone: 212-229-0901
Email: vishal@iyogi.net

Red Herring Contact:

Anam Alpenia
Red Herring, Inc.
Phone: 650-428-2900
Email: aalpenia@redherring.com Yvonne Caprini
Logistics Manager
Red Herring, Inc.
Phone: 1 650 428 2900 x 410
Email: ycaprini@redherring.com

Tuning System Performance in Vista

If you are facing slow performance by Vista then there are many tasks you can perform on it. These include:

o Quickly remove programs you never use
o Should be in limit how many programs load at startup.
o At same time Running fewer programs
o Turning off visual effects
o Restarting regularly
o Regularly checking for viruses and spyware
o Checking your computer’s speed
o Disable all that services you don’t need

To know about more this please read that article: " http://www.ehow.com/how_4716654_clean-up-disk-errors-xp.html"

An Encounter with Windows 7

Last night finally i get along with my windows 7 experience, but don’t know why was it only me who has got discouraged or there are some of more there in my followers list, surely there would be..

On a first impression it only seems as if windows 7 is just a vista make over nothing more than that and has just grown somewhat more complex then vista rather then summing up.

Once again Microsoft has moved stuff around in the User Interface. After baffling its loyal users by completely changing the XP User Interface, So it started moving stuff, with the Control Panel taking the brunt of the abuse. Need to add a printer? Welcome to the new “Devices and Printers” applet! Looking for the “System and Maintenance” subgroup? It now has a new name: “System and Security.” And can you guess where the Security subgroup went? No? Then it’s time for some retraining! and ask for some Windows problems

System performance: With the same hardware requirements as vista it seemed as if Microsoft may have something to be patted for as with each of their releases a common history is the hardware requirement needs rises the bar of hardware cost. But sorry to comment something as 7 us as slow as vista, In fact, Windows 7’s performance is virtually identical to that of Vista SP1 on the same hardware. If you were unhappy with Vista’s CPU-hogging, memory-sucking ways, Windows 7 will provide little relief.

So, overall it was not happening but let keep our figures crossed as the shit is just in its Beta.