Microsoft being the software giant of the world it’s very surprising they never had their own online store, but that’s the truth up until now! Now you can buy all your MS stuff at the Microsoft Store.
Welcome to the Microsoft Store
Vista: Use Consolas in CMD window.
If you’re running Vista there’s a quick tweak you can do with the CMD window which your eyes will thank you for. Vista ships with a new set of fonts and the new fixed width font is Consolas which is an easy to read, clean looking font.
Consolas used in CMD window.
By default you cannot use it in your CMD window but a quick reg hack will add that ability. First run the following command either from a CMD window or a RUN window:
reg add "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Console\TrueTypeFont" /v 00 /d Consolas
That’s all it takes to use Consolas as your option in your CMD window. Well, not quite. You have to log off and log back in for the changes to take effect, but no restart required.
CMD Properties with Consolas selected.
There you have it. Pretty simple, but much easier to read than the default system font and Lucida Console is so last year.
WPA Encryption Cracked, well almost.
Haws is reporting on an article found over at Arstechnica.com:
Academic researchers have found an exploitable hole in a popular form of wireless networking encryption. The hole is in a part of 802.11i that forms the basis of WiFi Protected Access (WPA), so it could affect routers worldwide. German graduate student Erik Tews will present a paper at next week’s PacSec in Tokyo coauthored with fellow student and aircrack-ng team member Martin Beck that reveals how remnants of WPA’s predecessor allow them to slip a knife into a crack in the encryption scheme and send bogus data to an unsuspecting WiFi client.
As Jeff suggests you might want to switch your router’s WiFi security over to AES which is not hit by this exploit.
Hey! That’s MY username!
I’ve been using the Internet since it was available back in Norway. Through my years I’ve changed my online persona and user names a few times, often using different user names for different web services. It’s not always easy to remember what you registered where, and sometimes it’s annoying signing up for a site only to find out your user name is taken. Enter Usernamecheck.com. They have a search engine database that will check your name against 68 of today’s popular online services (Yep, that would be Web 2.0).
I hid my username for all you wannabe-h@ckz0rs out there.
TechCrunch readers have commented on the service being inaccurate at times. You’ll just have to check for yourself. Or raise your stalker rating and check on your friends! ;)
WordPress 2.6.3 out
If you have a WordPress blog you probably already know this but in case your weekend was a little fuzzy (Hope you’re using Google’s Mail Goggles!) here’s what WordPress had to say about this update:
A vulnerability in the Snoopy library was announced today. WordPress uses Snoopy to fetch the feeds shown in the Dashboard. Although this seems to be a low risk vulnerability for WordPress users, we wanted to get an update out immediately. 2.6.3 is available for download right now.
If you don’t want to download the entire package for the update you can download the following two files and copy them over to your 2.6.2 installation:
As always WordPress is on top of things keeping us blog lemmings safe! Thanks for your hard work guys!
PS. I wrote this post on a shiny new DasKeyboard Ultimate. My review of both the Ultimate and the Professional is coming soon so stay tuned!
Fring delivers VoIP calls to iPhone
The Fring App
Fring has released the iPhone version of their service today as a free download in the App Store.
Fring allows you to chat and interact with others on a variety of networks including Skype, MSN, GoogleTalk, AIM, Yahoo, Twitter, and ICQ. In addition, Fring offers Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) using the iPhone’s Wi-Fi connection. Features listed include:
- VoIP (Voice) Calls over WiFi
- Instant Messaging
- Integrated dynamic contact list ?with real-time contact availability
- SIP integration
- Multiple Connection types
Fring supports SkypeOut and SIP which allows you to make calls to landline and mobile phones. Some charges may apply depending on the type of call and plan. Fring is available as a free download in the App Store. (App Store)
Do we get emoji too!?
iPhone 2.2 Includes Hidden Japanese Emoji Icons
According to MacRumors the latest iPhone 2.2 firmware has one hidden feature that should please Japanese iPhone customers: the inclusion of 461 emoji characters.
The hidden iPhone emoji (emoticons)
Obama campaign on the iPhone
Obama ’08: The Official iPhone Application
In these times people are wanting change while protecting their shiny iPhones with their lives. The Obama camp has decided to combine the two. Basically you get the Obama ’08 campaign on your phone.
Feature list
- Call Friends: A great volunteering tool that lets you make a difference any time you want by talking to people you already know. Your contacts are prioritized by key battleground states, and you can make calls and organize results all in one place.
- Call Stats: See nationwide Obama ’08 Call Friends totals and find out how your call totals compare to leading callers.
- Get Involved: Do more. Find and contact your local Obama for America HQ.
- Receive Updates: Receive the latest news and announcements via text messages or email.
- News: Browse complete coverage of national and local campaign news.
- Local Events: Find local events, share by email and get maps and directions.
- Media: Browse videos and photos from the campaign
- Issues: Get clear facts about Barack Obama and Joe Biden’s plan for essential issues facing Americans.
From the website
This year’s presidential election is a real chance for Americans to create change and build solidarity. This campaign has been about people like you making a difference. With Obama ’08, you have the information and tools necessary to help deliver the change we need come this November.
Norway takes on Apple over iTunes
Norway consumer body challenges Apple over iTunes.
So a Norwegian consumer agency has decided to go after Apple planning to take it to court over not being able to use iTunes store downloads on music players other than iPods. I don’t think they’ll get very far with this but they’re hoping other countries will follow suit and do the same thing.
Android is here!
The first hardware running Google’s open source OS “Android” has finally arrived. I first saw the news announcement over at Engadget. No doubt they face a pretty daunting market with the iPhone and Blackberries dominating much of the sales and with good reason. Might explain why they’re launching it for $179 with a 2-year T-Mobile contract, but more surprisingly you can get the phone for “only” $399 contract free. If you’re already a T-mobile subscriber you’re in luck, they are taking pre-orders for you faithful customers already.
Amazon has aligned itself with the new handset giving you access to their MP3 store, so obviously they’re aiming to be a music device too. So explain to me, where the hell is the standard 3.5mm jack?
Keep reading for picture, specs and link to official site.
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