Skype 3.5.0.229 Released
On Wednesday the Skype development team released version 3.5.0.229 which is a small bugfix release.
I meant to post about this the other day but I’ve been debugging a new application with a programming friend, so I was a little distracted.
- bugfix: Skype crashed when ending a call and Do More menu is open at the same time
- bugfix: Send Money did not work
- bugfix: Skype crashed when call was finished during call transfer attempt
- bugfix: Skype crashes on Windows 98 when receiving video
- bugfix: Video call freeze with some rare webcam’s
- bugfix: Skype crashed sometimes when not supported video capture device was used
- change: Updated language files
Take note of the fix for Windows 98. People are still running that in a real world application setting? I’ve recently used it for a new MAME machine I’m working on but that’s about it.
Even though this is only a bugfix release and not a major security release, you should still upgrade.
It’s always better to be running the latest stable version of any application… with the exception of Internet Explorer 7… oh how I dislike Internet Exploder.
Now that you know “what’s new” with Skype, go grab the latest version for your Operating System of choice.
A little bit about Skype:
Skype is internet communications. Skype is software that lets you use your computer and internet connection to communicate with anyone, anywhere in the world.
Six Questions About The Google Phone
We’re all waiting for the big news next week: Will Google finally announce the Google Phone?
I’m really hoping this happens. I’m so ready for the Google Phone that I know exactly what I want to do with it when I first get my hands on one. C’mon Google… make it happen 
Here’s my list of of questions about the upcoming Google Phone:
1. Let’s imagine what the Google Phone might look like. I don’t think the Google Phone will be as slick as the Apple iPhone.
I guessing it’ll be a $150.00 USD candy bar or clamshell style device with a feature set somewhere between a smartphone and a regular cell phone.
I think it’ll have a QWERTY keyboard, especially given the need for text input for Google search and other applications like Gmail and Google Maps.
2. Just how open will the Google Phone be? Will the Google Phone be a GSM device or a CDMA phone? Or is Google preparing a phone template that any number of carriers and handset makers have already signed on for?
Just how carrier agnostic could the Google Phone be? Might it actually work on both GSM and CDMA networks? That would rock!
3. The Google Phone will most likely include some form of 802.x Wi-Fi access. Will it be perfectly dual-mode or will the Wi-Fi access be locked in some way?
I’m thinking it will be pretty open, otherwise I can’t imagine Google backing it. Google likes to develop and/or acquire technologies and give them back to the public for free. People say Google is evil. I say bah!
4. Just how much location will the Google Phone use? Will the Google Phone be able to serve location-specific search ads? Will Google Maps work in real-time with GPS?
5. Will the Google Phone have video? Will Google try to embed YouTube with the Google Phone? Or will Google stay away from video for the first version?
6. Will the Google Phone run on 3G? I can’t imagine Google pushing an EDGE device, can you?
What do you think? Will Google announce a geektastic open source cell phone next week? And if so, what features do you want on it?
Yahoo Issues Messenger Security Fix
Yahoo has issued a patch for its instant messaging client, Yahoo Messenger.
The patch issued Wednesday addresses a buffer overflow vulnerability in an ActiveX control. Users who installed Yahoo Messenger before August 29, 2007 should install the update.
Microsoft’s ActiveX controls can interact with the full Windows operating system, unlike Java applets. This gives them a lot of power and also makes them potentially risky.
iDefense Labs identified the Yahoo Messenger vulnerability:
Exploitation allows attackers to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the currently logged in user. Users would be required to have a vulnerable version of the target software installed and be lured to a malicious site.
Yahoo issued another security patch for Yahoo Messenger on August 21.
That patch addressed two security issues with the way the software’s Webcam functions work: susceptibility to a denial-of-service attack following a malicious Webcam invitation and a buffer overflow that could lead to the introduction of executable code by an attacker.
Interesting News About NBC and Apple
Cracks in the Apple empire? First Vivendi’s Universal Music Group and now GE’s NBC Universal.
The New York Times says NBC will not renew its contract to sell TV shows on iTunes because they can’t agree on pricing. The contract is expected to end in December.
NBC, the top supplier of digital video to Apple’s online store, accounting for about 40 percent of downloads notified Apple of its decision late yesterday, according to the New York Times.
This is just the latest in a history of gripes media companies have with the reigning iTunes. The music industry, reeling from declining CD sales, has pushed for variable pricing.
Apple, for its part, maintains that consumers want simplified pricing. iTunes Japan is one of the few markets where Apple sells tracks at different prices.
With Amazon, Wal-Mart and others on its back, will Apple finally relent?
Symbian Gains Market Share Thanks To Japan
Symbian reported a huge jump in the number of mobile phones shipping with its operating system on board. It claims the 52% increase is due to larger sales volumes in Japan.
Another reason Symbian-based phones are likely making waves is because they are the platform behind many smartphones and smartphones are gaining steam in the market.
In fact, sales of smartphones leaped 70% between the third quarter of 2006 and the first quarter of 2007. Damn Gina! That’s a pretty big increase. Over 80 million smartphones were sold in 2006 and 47.5% of them were based on Symbian.
A total of 18.7 million Symbian handsets were shipped in the second quarter, which contributed to a 7% increase in revenues for Symbian.
Symbian is software licensing company that is owned by Nokia (47.9%), Ericsson (15.6%), Sony Ericsson (13.1%) Panasonic (10.5%), Siemens (8.4%) and Samsung (4.5%).
Japan’s market is the most advanced mobile market in the world. Symbian is the platform behind the FOMA MOAP phones in Japan, S60 from Nokia and Sony Ericsson’s UIQ.
Canalys says that Symbian represents fully 72% of the world’s smartphone market. RIM is a distant second with 7.5%.
Despite these figures, Symbian has yet to really make a strong presence in the U.S.
Google Web Toolkit Leaves Beta
The Google Web Toolkit, an open source framework to help developers create Ajax applications using Java, graduated from beta testing on Tuesday.
In announcing the official 1.4 release of the software, Google engineers Bruce Johnson and Dan Peterson all but declare desktop application development dead.
If you’ve been in the technology industry for a while, you probably remember when enterprises and software vendors had to think pretty hard about whether to develop locally-installed desktop applications or Web-based browser applications.
These days, whether you’re building mashups, gadgets, or full-blown applications, it’s a no-brainer: The browser is the delivery platform of choice.
While Adobe, Apple and Microsoft among others might not be so quick to dismiss desktop apps, writing software for the Web has become the preferred path for many and Google Web Toolkit deserves some credit for that.
Before Google Web Toolkit came along — 2005, if you can remember that far into the hazy past — developing AJAX applications was significantly harder than it is now in part because different browsers handle JavaScript in different ways.
As Johnson and Peterson explain, Google Web Toolkit lets developers write code that works across a variety of browsers:
The magic trick is that Google Web Toolkit cross-compiles Java source code into standalone JavaScript that you can include in any Web page.
Instead of spending time becoming JavaScript gurus and fighting browser quirks, developers using Google Web Toolkit spend time productively coding and debugging in the robust Java programming language, using their existing Java tools and expertise.
I’m personally pleased with the results.
Google Web Toolkit will really save you time in maintenance and is a great tool for scaling your server, because it allows you to ship off a lot of state information to the client.
Google Web Toolkit 1.4 offers significantly better performance than earlier iterations of the software as well. I feel the need, the need for speed
On the Google Web Toolkit blog, Johnson estimated that recompiling applications with Google Web Toolkit 1.4 can result in software that has 30% less code and can run 20% to 50% faster.