Mozilla Updates Thunderbird E-Mail Client

April 20, 2007

Mozilla Updates Thunderbird E-Mail ClientPC World – Apr 20, 2007

Mozilla Corp. unveiled the final version of its open-source Thunderbird 2 e-mail client on Thursday, improving how users can organize and label their messages.

Users can now add customized tags to messages, a feature that has proven popular with other blog and photo-sharing sites, Mozilla said. The tagging function replaces static labels that users can assign to messages in older versions of the client. Also new is a feature to sort through e-mail by history, similar to what a user can do in a Web browser.

Mozilla releases Thunderbird 2iT News, Australia – Apr 20, 2007

A new find-as-you-type feature in the free e-mail client winnows displayed messages on the fly, making searches faster.

Mozilla Corporation released Thunderbird 2, its free, open source e-mail client for Windows, Mac, and Linux systems in 30 languages.

The new release boasts improved security and a variety of new features. Chief among them is message tagging, the ability to label and categorise e-mail for easier searching and organisation. In addition to default tags, users can create their own


Google takes the pun out of shoppingZDNet – Apr 19, 2007

Acknowledging that it's better to be clear than clever, Google is rebranding "Froogle" as "Google Product Search" and simplifying the interface to match the main search site, a top executive said on Wednesday.

Froogle was launched in late 2002 when it was trendy for portals to have vertical sites dedicated to specific industries or areas. But the site didn't grow fast, and Google removed the link to the site from its main page last year.


Goodbye Froogle
Michael Arrington , Techcruch.com – Apr 19, 2007

Froogle has been renamed “Google Product Search” says Marissa Mayer, Google’s VP of Search & User Experience. It also sports a redesign, and product results are now returned at the top of normal Google search results at appropriate times.

Sender ID Framework Reaches Tipping PointPR Newswire (press release), NY – Apr 19, 2007

Today, at the third annual Authentication and Online Trust Summit, Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) published results culminating from a two-year-long study on the effectiveness of Sender ID Framework e-mail authentication in helping counter deceptive e-mail. With Windows Live(TM) Hotmail(R) alone detecting over 3.8 billion deceptive messages daily, Sender ID is helping provide real results as a cost-effective solution. Sender ID has enjoyed a threefold increase in adoption, accelerating to 8 million domains worldwide in just under a year.* This technology is helping to realize the promise established by the industry and government agencies to improve trust and confidence in e-mail communications for consumers and marketers alike.


Large Enterprises Still Serving up SpamPC World - 3 hours ago

Well-known enterprise companies are still having their IT systems hijacked by spammers despite investing in many different types of technologies aimed at stopping the problem.

Last week, researchers at network security company Support Intelligence isolated an IP address within insurance giant Aflac that was being used by spammers to distribute mass amounts of e-mail messages, most of which were related to erectile dysfunction.

Microsoft Live Spaces Rolls Out New Features
Michael Arrington , Techcrunch.com – Apr 20, 2007

Microsoft Live Spaces (rebranded last summer from MSN Spaces) is rolling out some new features this morning and announcing recent usage updates. The enhancements are aimed at making Live Spaces more of a social network and less of a simple blogging/home page service. The changes should be live at 6 am PST.


Google Acquires Marratech; Gets Into WebEx Territory
Michael Arrington , Techcrunch.com – Apr 20, 2007

After reporting a monster fiscal quarter (the company has close to $12 billion in cash sitting around now and has hired nearly 2,000 new employees this year), Google made a quiet announcement on its corporate blog tonight - they’ve acquired Swedish startup Marratech for an undisclosed price.

Google Rains On StumbleUpon Parade: Launches Direct Competitor

April 19, 2007

Google Rains On StumbleUpon Parade: Launches Direct Competitor
Michael Arrington, techcrunch.com - Apr 19, 2007

On the same day that the news breaks that eBay is acquiring StumbleUpon for $40ish million, Google announces that they are building strikingly similar functionality into their Toolbar. Google (along with AOL) were reportedly in the running to acquire StumbleUpon until very recently.


Yahoo exec: We must improve social net standing
InfoWorld, CA – Apr 18, 2007

Yahoo Inc. must leverage its multiple Web sites and services to gain a stronger position in social networking, a company executive said Wednesday.

Yahoo's social-networking service Yahoo 360 hasn't attained the position the company expected, but Yahoo has a strong collection of social Web properties, said Jeff Weiner, executive vice president of Yahoo's network division.


Don’t Blame Panama: The Real Threat Facing Yahoo
Written by Kevin Kelleher, gigaom.com - April 18, 2007

Taking a look at Yahoo’s first quarter number, one word comes to mind: heedless
Not “heedless”, as in Yahoo executives who led the Street on until it believed that, thanks to its vaunted Panama search technology, revenue and profits would surge in the first quarter of 2007. Or even “heedless”, as in investors who had gotten a little ahead of themselves by betting that Panama would deliver sooner than promised.

E-mail Security Appliance Uses Profiling to Thwart Spam
PC World – Apr 18. 2007
Barracuda Networks has announced new features for its Spam Firewall e-mail security appliance that help detect spam even when senders attempt to hide their identity.
One new feature is predictive sender profiling, a technique that relies on Barracuda's network of 40,000 customer in-boxes to analyze sender behavior and detect when a spammer is trying to evade reputation systems by hiding behind another sender's identity, according to company officials


Barracuda Spam Firewall Moves Beyond Traditional Reputation ...
TMC Net, CT - Apr 18, 2007

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. --(Business Wire)-- Barracuda Networks, Inc., the leading provider of application security appliances, today announced the Predictive Sender Profiling capabilities of the Barracuda Spam Firewall. These capabilities provide industry-leading protection against spammers' latest attempts to evade traditional reputation analysis. Utilizing a network of more than 40,000 customer systems worldwide, Barracuda Networks has the most diverse compilation of email available for profiling the behavior of spammers. Using this data enables the Barracuda Spam Firewall to more easily determine a sender's identity when identity obfuscation techniques are used.

Blackberry Outage Caught Users Off Guard
InformationWeek, NY – Apr 18, 2007
NEW YORK - Users of the hand-held BlackBerry e-mail device, a communications lifeline for movers and shakers from the White House to Wall Street, endured hours of disrupted service before the system was restored Wednesday

BlackBerry outage annoys some users; others vow to stay with service
Computerworld, MA – Apr 18, 2007

BlackBerry wireless e-mail service was restored this morning after a half-day outage in North America, irking some customers but leaving others resigned to stick with Research in Motion Ltd.

"I'm actually really mad about it," said David Maynor, a BlackBerry customer for three years who is chief technology officer at Errata Security LLC in Atlanta. "I'm mad enough to switch to another service."


Mail2World Rolls Out a New Suite of Dynamic Webmail Features ...
Emediawire (press release), WA – Apr 18, 2007

LOS ANGELES, CA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- April 16, 2007 -- Adding to a wealth of sophisticated tools and user interactions within its Web-based messaging and collaboration service, Mail2World today rolled out 37 new feature enhancements to its award-winning Pangia Communications & Collaboration Platform™. All features are available immediately to new and existing Mail2World customers. Taken as a suite, the feature set creates a new level of convenience and productivity characterized by personalization and dynamic interactivity.

CEO Eric Schmidt Presents Google's Friendly Face At Web 2.0 Expo

April 18, 2007

CEO Eric Schmidt Presents Google's Friendly Face At Web 2.0 Expo
InformationWeek, NY – Apr 17, 2007

At the Web 2.0 Expo in San Francisco Tuesday morning, Google CEO Eric Schmidt presented his company as everyone's friend, an enabler of communities and an amiable business partner rather than a would-be monopolist of advertising, online software, and user data.
Google's capacity for evil, or at least monopolistic dominance of the Internet, has long been a concern raised by competitors and pundits, not to mention human rights and privacy activists.


Google’s Office Suite Complete: Google “PowerPoint” Confirmed
Michael Arrington, Apr 17, 2007 – Techcruncg.com
There’s no need for further speculation: Today at the Web 2.0 Expo Google CEO Eric Schmidt confirmed (here also) that Google will soon launch a PowerPoint clone, completing their basic office suite (they already have Word and Excel covered). Expect these services to be combines with Gmail, Google Calendar, GTalk and other services under a single brand for small businesses.
Schmidt also said that they’re office suite isn’t a threat to Microsoft. That, of course, is complete spin.

4 bits from Web 2.0 Expo
Written by Om Malik, April 16, 2007 - gigaom.com

There is nothing I can say about the Web 2.0 Expo in San Francisco that hasn’t already been said before. And if you didn’t read it, then you perhaps watched it live. Here are some news snippets that you might be worth your time, and need further exploration.

Mixercast is a new service allows you to remix your photos and videos and present them as a hybrid show - that is more than a pure slide show and less than a full blown video. Inspired by the photocasting concept popularized by Apple, it is a lush, rich and attractive service that allows you to mix-and-match photos and videos on your desktop with those on popular web services such as Flickr and YouTube. Trust me - they will make your photos and videos look like a million bucks. A full review when the Web 2.0 Expo madness ends.
Read the rest of the story

Web 2.0 hotness: Hitwise predicts the next YouTube
Computerworld, MA – Apr 17, 2007

Hitwise, which collects Internet usage data directly from ISPs to measure the traffic to more than 800,000 Internet sites, has tapped the six Web 2.0 companies most likely to reach the soaring success of YouTube, Wikipedia or Flickr. To do so, it looks at the types of early adopters now using the sites.


TotalBlock goes for Webmail feature
iT News, Australia - Apr 17, 2007
Local anti-spam vendor adds Webmail capabilities for a three-in-one offering.
TotalBlock has added webmail capability to its anti-spam solution, giving it a three-in-one offering, as it also guards against network overloads caused by storming, harvesting and denial-of-service (DoS) attacks.
Peter Stewart, CEO of TotalBlock, said the company introduced Webmail in response to customer demand. Users need to log-in once to use the new facility and check TotalBlock’s control panel.


WiMAX Devices, Coming Soon
Written by Katie Fehrenbacher ,April 17, 2007 – gigaom.com

Operation WiMAX is underway, and carriers are spending some serious moolah on building out the networks. South Korea launched a WiBro network last year and in the U.S. Sprint and Clearwire are working on mobile WiMAX services, too. It’s about time for some attention on the devices themselves, which are starting to get sold in South Korea, and in the U.S., likely some time in 2008. Here’s some WiMAX goodies from Nokia, LG, Samsung, ZTE, and ZyXEL that should find their way to the market relatively soon.


Study finds weak participation on Web 2.0 sites
ZDNet – Apr 18, 2007

Web 2.0, a catchphrase for the latest generation of Web sites where users contribute their own text, pictures and video content, is far less participatory than commonly assumed, a study showed on Tuesday.

Free Our Mobile Email

April 17, 2007

Free Our Mobile Email
Written by Katie Fehrenbacher, gigaom.com - April 16, 2007
The over-funded and over-litigated world of push mobile email is about to get an upstart free service from an entrepreneur with substantial roots in the industry. The New York Times writes about Nicholas Fodor, the founder of Coral Gables, Florida-based SetNet, which will launch a free mobile push email option called Freedom Mail, perhaps as early as next month.
Read the rest of the story


100 Megabits to the home by 2015?
Written by Om Malik, gigaom.com April 16, 2007

Can Americans dream about a day when they get a 100-megabit-per-second broadband connection, delivered over fiber? FTTH Council, says yes, and is pushing the US government to adopt a 100 Megabit Nation policy. The Council says that we have the technology, and the carriers (and cable providers) have the networks to make it all a reality - with a little pressure from Washington D.C.


Netvibes Launches Universe: Customized Public Pages
Michael Arrington, techcrunch.com – Apr 16, 2007

This afternoon Netvibes will announce the launch of Netvibes Universe, allowing users to create highly customized versions of Netvibes and publish them for public access. Netvibes has created 100 or so branded versions for the launch - users will be able to create these in about six weeks.

In addition to making the page public, publishers can also highly customize their Universe page by adding their own CSS and HTML.

WEB 2.0 : Wikis, blogs, RSS aim for the workplace
Computerworld, MA – April 16, 2007

As businesses worldwide debate the pros and cons of using wikis, tagging, Web mashups, syndicated feeds and blogs, the Web 2.0 Expo opened Sunday in San Francisco with a gaggle of vendors betting these Internet tools belong in the workplace.
The promise of simplified and more effective collaboration among employees, partners and clients has caught the attention of business managers. Still, although a hit among consumers, these Web 2.0 products must meet special requirements for business use in areas like availability, performance, scalability and security.

New webmail feature gives TotalBlock three-in-one appeal
Computerworld Australia, Australia – Apr 17, 2007

TotalBlock Pty Ltd has added webmail capability to its Australian-developed anti-spam solution. This makes TotalBlock a unique three-in-one offering, as it also guards against network overloads caused by storming, harvesting and denial-of-service (DoS) attacks.


New IM worm targets Skype users
ZDNet – Apr 16, 2007

A new instant-messaging pest that spreads using the chat feature in Skype has surfaced, security firm F-Secure warned Monday.

The worm, dubbed Pykse.A, is similar to threats that affect instant-messaging applications. A targeted Skype user will receive a chat message with text and a Web link that looks like it goes to a JPEG file on a Web site, F-Secure said on its Web site.


New worm wriggles on Skype
PCWorld, New Zealand – Apr 16, 200

A worm targeting Skype’s VoIP (voice over internet protocol) application is harvesting email addresses and directing users to a range of sites hosting other malicious software, security vendors said Monday.

Once a machine is infected, the worm sends a malicious link via instant messages to other users in person’s Skype contact list, according to F-Secure’s blog.


JangoMail Improves E-Mail Marketing Campaign Deliverability with ...
TMC Net, CT - 17 hours ago

JangoMail Improves E-Mail Marketing Campaign Deliverability with Support for DomainKeys and the Emerging DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) Authentication Protocol

April 16, 2007

Microsoft unveils Silverlight as Flash killer
InfoWorld, CA – Apr 15, 2007

Microsoft Corp. this week will reveal new technology to deliver rich media applications on the Web, part of a broader strategy to go head to head with Web and design tools powerhouse Adobe Systems Inc.
As described by Forest Key, a director of product management for Microsoft's Server and Tools Division, Silverlight is a browser plug-in that allows Web content providers to offer rich video and interactive media experience from directly within Web sites. The technology, which leverages Vista's new graphics framework Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), will debut at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) conference, being held this week in Las Vegas.


Microsoft sheds light on Flash rival
ZDNet – Apr 15, 2007

Microsoft's answer to Adobe Systems' Flash Player has an official name--Silverlight--and a coveted target audience: media and entertainment companies bringing video to the Web.

On Monday at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Show in Las Vegas, Microsoft is expected to launch Silverlight, a Web browser plug-in for playing media files and displaying interactive Web applications.


Storm worm variant ignites e-mail virus deluge
CNET News.com, CA - Apr 13, 2007

Thursday likely marked the largest proliferation of e-mail virus attacks in more than a year, according to security company Postini.

Postini said that two variations of the Storm worm virus, which originally spread across the Internet in January, have quickly driven global virus levels 60 times higher than their daily average. E-mail users should be on alert for messages with "love"-related subject lines and an executable attachment that would contain a Trojan virus, as well as messages with "Worm Alert!" subject lines that contained a .zip file full of malicious code.


Storm worm variant ignites e-mail virus deluge
ZDNet Asia, Asia – Apr 16, 2007

Thursday likely marked the largest proliferation of e-mail virus attacks in more than a year, according to security company Postini.

Postini said that two variations of the Storm worm virus, which originally spread across the Internet in January, have quickly driven global virus levels 60 times higher than their daily average. E-mail users should be on alert for messages with "love"-related subject lines and an executable attachment that would contain a Trojan virus, as well as messages with "Worm Alert!" subject lines that contained a .zip file full of malicious code.


More Free WiFi: Fon Gets Competition From Whisher
Business 2.0, CA - Apr 14, 2007

Tomorrow a new startup will launch from Spain called Whisher that is adding a new twist to the concept of a WiFi sharing community. Like Fon, another Spanish startup backed by Google and Skype that is up and running with 50,000 shared WiFi hotspots around the world, the idea is that you make your WiFi router available to other members and when you are traveling or in another neighborhood you can gain access to their WiFi networks. The difference is that Fon requires you to use a WiFi router it ships to you and you have to install, whereas Whisher is a simple software download that turns your existing WiFi router into a shareable Whisher router.


Coming Soon: A Wi-Fi iPod?
PC World – Apr 16, 2007

Apple rumor du jour: DigiTimes is reporting that we may see an iPod with built-in Wi-Fi in the third quarter of 2007. The theory is based on scuttlebutt from Taiwanese electronics manufacturers who are supposedly involved in manufacturing the thing.


How Apple will use Wi-Fi iPod to crush competitors
iTWire, Australia – Apr 15, 2007

The news that iPods equipped with Wi-Fi are imminent has raised speculation about how Apple intends to make use of the new wireless capabilities of its fastest selling device. Some commentators believe that wireless data transfer is the most probable use. However, this seems unlikely given previous comments from Apple. Music sharing - now that's another story.