IT News & Technology update

Two New Free Editions of Windows XP SP2 Available for Download

That's right! Microsoft is currently cooking two free editions of Windows XP Service Pack 2 that will be up for grabs via the Download Center as early as the beginning of the upcoming week. This is certainly not the first time when the Redmond company has shown signs of generosity with its Windows client in an effort to give web-developers the tools necessary to tests-drive websites on the two main versions of Internet Explorer that are hugging the browser market worldwide. At this time, Microsoft confirmed that users will be able to download the new free
editions of XP SP2 on Monday or Tuesday.

"Just a quick note to say that the IE6 and IE7 VPC images are being updated as we speak, and I suspect the new versions should be online Monday or Tuesday," revealed Pete LePage, Product Manager, Internet Explorer, Developer Division. There are a couple of caveats to the downloads. First off the Internet Explorer VPC images are essentially pre-configured and optimized virtual hard disk images designed to be integrated with Virtual PC 2007.

If you were expecting stand-alone downloads, then I am sorry to disappoint you. But the fact of the matter is that you will be able to benefit from two completely free copies of XP SP2 one running IE6 and the other IE7 along with the IE7 Readiness Toolkit. The operating systems will be pre-activated, so you don't have to deal with product keys and serials or go through the activation process. You will simply be able to start your testing immediately.

Currently Microsoft is offering the same two images, but release toward the end of August. However, because they are free, both VPCs are also time-bombed. Which means that they come with an expiration date. For the August VHDs time will run out on December 7. LePage explained that Microsoft will never strip the VPCs of their time limitations, but will continue to update the products and prolong the expiration date for as long as there is demand.

"Microsoft is giving you a copy of Windows XP to test with. We can't give away an un-timebombed image as we would be giving away a free copy of Windows XP. The option of building your own VPC image is certainly available to you. Doing it yourself will not require time bombs or updating things yourself," LePage added.

No Comment | Posted in » download, drafting software, Microsoft, service pack, Windows XP  

Assemble new pc with asus P5L2D2SE

After got a new Solidedge 3D licensed software, I think that I need new PC with high speed and performance. The candidate should be able to handle the 3D aplication and graphic design such SolidEdge 3D. The old hardware seem to be very slowly, coz it's Intel Pentium 4, 1.8Ghz.

Spending about $600.00 for this new assembled PC (assembled by myslef)
I decide to use ASUS P5L2D2 SE/C, support Intel core 2 DUO, and support Intel Next generation 04B/04A and 05B/05A cpu.

And the processor is Intel core Duo, e4300*, 1.8Ghz, 800Mhz, 2MB L2 Cache.
And the PCI express is Asus EAX1050, 256MB, chipset by ATI.
And the memory is VISIPRO DDR-2, 2 x 1GB
And the Hard disk is 320GB, 7200rpm by Seagate

The OS is Microsoft windows XP pro (event the hardware support vista already)

wooow, coool, great.. this is the fastest machine I have ever, running SolidEdge 3D better then before. It is worthy to have this new PC with only spend $600.00, already include Samsung LCD, 17", DVD-RW by LiteON, Casing by Simbada SimCool, keyboard and mouse by Logitech.

No Comment | Posted in » Asus, drafting software, Hardware server, Intel  

BSA announces $1 million reward for piracy snitches

Do you work for a business that's pirating software for its own internal use? If so, you could be in for a windfall if you report it to the Business Software Alliance (BSA) in time. The BSA announced today that they are increasing their reward ceiling for accurate piracy reports to a big, fat $1,000,000. The increased reward amount is a special promotion which will be accompanied by radio and online ad campaigns; it will expire after October. After that, the reward returns to its regularly scheduled payload of $200,000.

Why the big bucks? The BSA believes that $1,000,000 might make even the most timid person don the daring cape of the whistleblower. "Businesses often have a million excuses for having unlicensed software on office computers. BSA is now offering up to a million dollars for employees who turn them in," said Jenny Blank, director of enforcement for BSA, in a statement.

Potential whistleblowers are often quiet for fear that they could not only lose their jobs but also get a reputation as a "snitch," making it difficult to find employment later. Now thanks to the BSA, some whistleblowers could trade in their jobs at piratical businesses for varying shots at a big jackpot. The only catch: you need to be aware of some serious piracy goin' down to qualify for the big payouts.

BSA's reward guidelines (Source: BSA)

The reward one can qualify for is determined by the size of the settlement paid by the company pirating software, or the size of awarded damages in the instance of a dispute heading into court. To qualify for the $1 million, you'll need a settlement of more than $15 million.

The BSA also revealed that since 2005, when their rewards program was launched, nearly $22 million has been generated via settlements with businesses who were accused of pirating software. Based on that number, we don't think the BSA has ever paid out anything close to $1 million to a single whistleblower before, but the BSA has not returned our queries on this matter. Nevertheless, with $22 million in settlements so far, the BSA is looking for a major boost with this program, since the requisite $15 million settlement would nearly double their take to date.

Big rewards for big, scary numbers

According to a study conducted by the International Data Corps (IDC) and cited by the BSA, the software industry lost $7.3 billion last year to piracy. We criticized the IDC findings when they were released last year because they are based on questionable calculations and seat-of-your-pants methodologies that desperately try to assign dollar amounts to unknown data points. IDC has to guess at how much software is pirated, how much would have been purchased had it not been pirated, and what the relationship of legit sales to pirated installations is. Heck, even IDC has criticized the ways in which their studies are sometimes trumpeted, such as in 2004, when IDC criticized the BSA's rush to talk about total losses.

None of that is to say that piracy doesn't exist or that it doesn't hurt the industry, of course. We simply lament the fact that trumped-up numbers are being used to sway legislators and public opinion on an issue that is considerably complex.

Oh, and before you nefarious types get any ideas, the BSA requires that reports detail illegal software installs ordered by management, so secretly deploying pirated AutoCAD software across your enterprise desktops on your last day at work won't qualify.

No Comment | Posted in » BSA, drafting software, Law, Piracy  

Free Solid Edge 2D Drafting

CAD software or Drafting software is become important tools for Engineering, Architech, Automotive Industry and other industry.

But when we look at the price the offer, it sometime doesn't make sence. very expensive isn't it?
In my country most of company doesn't have enough budget for their IT infrastructure and software.

A week ago I just downloading and trial a Free 2D drafting software, it's realy free and look not bad.

Solid Edge 2D drafting demonstrates UGS' commitment to helping companies control costs. Whether you are using 2D company-wide or for specific 2D design processes, you will benefit from Solid Edge 2D Drafting. Solid Edge 2D Drafting capitalizes on 10 years of production-proven capabilities developed for Solid Edge, and offers excellent drawing layout, diagramming, annotation and dimensioning controls that automatically comply with a wide range of drafting standards - including ISO, ANSI, BSI, DIN, JIS and UNI. And it is absolutely FREE to download and use.

Solid Edge 2D Drafting includes a wealth of tools designed to ease the transition of 2D AutoCAD users updating to Solid Edge, including import wizards, WYSIWYG of imported files (matching of AutoCAD fonts and color schemes) and many other capabilities that make it a compelling application for AutoCAD 2D users looking for more value and productivity from their 2D CAD seats.

In have installed on five computer with 1GB memory and its look good
click here for detail and download this free 2D drafting software

What you need to know is SolidEdge is actualy modeling software and not comparable to AutoCad.

No Comment | Posted in » Cad, drafting software, Solidedge