Microsoft Reserachers let you leech torrents while your PC is sleeping.

Some folks at Microsoft Research of all places have come up with a clever way for you to save electricity and increase your ratio: The researchers have built the prototype of a new network adapter called Somniloquy that can download data via Bittorrent and even offer basic Instant Messaging capabilities while the PC is in sleep mode. A PDF detailing their research is available here.



How is this possible? Somniloquy uses a secondary, low-power processor that can handle basic tasks even while a PC is asleep. It's also capable of better wakeup triggers in the case that someone calls your Skype account. From a recently published paper about the network adapter:

"Experiments using our prototype Somniloquy implementation, a USB-based network interface, demonstrates energy savings of 60% to 80% in most commonly occuring scenarios. This translates to significant cost savings for PC users. BitTorrent and large web downloads, in the background. In existing systems, these applications would stop when the PC sleeps."

Somniloquy uses ctorrent for all its torrent downloading needs. Media files are temporarily stored on an SD memory card, and the PC occasionally starts up to copy those files and free up the space on the SD card. The researchers tested the interface's Bittorrent capabilities with torrents from Legaltorrents.com, and it seemed like the device was fine as long as only one torrent at a time got transfered.

So how green is Somniloquy? Your potential personal energy savings of course depend on the time your PC has to sleep, as well as the size of your "cache" SD card. Somniloquy's developers did however test a few scenarios, and came to the conclusion that a network card like this one could theoretically lead to energy savings of up to 91% for a large web download. Bittorrent download are expected to lad to similar results.

Facebook utilizes Microsoft PhotoDNA technology to combat child porn.

Microsoft’s PhotoDNS technology

Microsoft and Facebook announced a unique new partnership on Thursday.

The social media giant is taking advantage of Microsoft’s PhotoDNS technology to identify online child pornography. Microsoft’s technology can track pictures even if they are altered or cropped and uploaded to online services. The technology is based on Microsoft’s Research investments. Facebook is the first service to start using the free technology.

Facebook has started using PhotoDNA to track down thousands of images uploaded to its servers every day. The social networking site has around 200 million images uploaded by its users every day. PhotoDNA works by creating a unique identifier for an image known to contain child pornography. The identifier represents the image and allows Microsoft’s technology to scan large data sets in a similar way to how antivirus programs operate.

The New York times, who first reported the partnership, note that Microsoft has tested the technology on its own SkyDrive, Windows Live and Bing services during the last year. The software gaint compared 10 million images to an inventory of 10,000 illegal photos and found around 125 hits per day. “We’re very passionate about PhotoDNA because we’ve seen it work,” said Brad Smith, Microsoft’ s general counsel. “We invented it through Microsoft Research, and we are trying to give it away free, including to our competitors.”

Facebook will host an online press event at 3:00 p.m. (ET) on Friday to explain how it’s using the technology.

Tags: Winrumors

Internet Explorer avoids memory leak flaw affecting Chrome, Firefox and Safari.

Internet Explorer 9

Microsoft’s Internet Explorer browser has escaped a huge memory leak flaw affecting rival browsers.

The flaw was posted to the Chromium issue tracker earlier this month. Internet Explorer 7, 8 and 9 are not affecting by the issue according to initial developer testing. The Next Web reports that Chrome is affected, alongside Firefox and Safari. Opera’s browser has not been tested.

The memory leak occurs when an image result contains a “Cache-control:no-store” attribute as it loads. Browsers are supposed to load the images and then free the memory up post load. The bug means memory is never freed and constantly in use by the system. The developer that discovered the flaw has created a test page to demonstrate the memory leak in action. You can test the memory leak in your favorite browser here.

In related news, Microsoft recently revealed that Internet Explorer 8 and 9 block up to 5 million daily malware attacks. Microsoft’s new Application Reputation warnings in Internet Explorer 9 have blocked more than 20 million additional infections per month according to the software giant.

Public testing Windows Thin PC Release Candidate Version.

Microsoft has released an updated community technology preview (CTP) of its Windows Thin PC product.

Windows Thin PC (WinTPC) is a new version of Windows 7 designed specifically for Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) customers. Windows Thin PC is a smaller footprint, locked down version of Windows 7 designed for virtualised environments to rebuild their existing PCs as thin clients. PCs with WinTPC will not require the VDA license that regular thin clients will need to access VDI desktops according to Microsoft.

The  release candidate (RC) of Windows Thin PC is now available at the company’s Connect testing site. The RC build is 7601.17514 (win7sp1_rtm_embedded_pos.110420-1302). Microsoft also revealed on 2May, 2011 that it plans to RTM Windows Thin PC within this quarter (Q2 CY2011). “We have seen tremendous interest in the product with thousands of downloads of the software,” said Microsoft’s Karri Alexion-Tiernan. “So, we would like to take this opportunity to recognize our enthusiastic community of well over 12,000 customers and partners who have signed up for the Technology Preview program.”

Microsoft is not planning to charge customers for Windows Thin PC. Instead, the company will offer it as part of Microsoft’s Software Assurance offerings for customers. Microsoft’s Software assurance Licensing allows businesses large and small to spread licence costs over multiple years and receive “free” upgrades to newer versions during the licence period.

Windows Thin PC.

Kinect + Skype = Future of Video Calling.

Imagine your body is the controller when making calls online? You can video chat on any big screen television using broadband-connected XBox 360/Kinect? Any device can be used for truly for immersive video conference calls? The future is exciting!

“You can make and receive high-quality video via the big screen televisions using broadband-connected Xbox 360 with Kinect and Microsoft Messenger. Replace the Messenger with Skype, and suddenly Kinect-based calls can go anywhere.” said Om Malik from gigaom

“They can start at home and end up on any device: Android, iPhone, iPad and someday on Windows Phone 7-powered phones as well. Same goes for calls emerging from your phones and ending up on the big screen.” Om added.

Microsoft to Acquire Skype.

Microsoft and Skype today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Microsoft will acquire Skype, the leading Internet communications company, for $8.5 billion in cash from the investor group led by Silver Lake. The agreement has been approved by the boards of directors of both Microsoft and Skype.

“Skype is a phenomenal service that is loved by millions of people around the world,” said Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. “Together we will create the future of real-time communications so people can easily stay connected to family, friends, clients and colleagues anywhere in the world.”

Skype will become a new business division within Microsoft, and Skype CEO Tony Bates will assume the title of president of the Microsoft Skype Division, reporting directly to Ballmer.

“Microsoft and Skype share the vision of bringing software innovation and products to our customers,” said Tony Bates. “Together, we will be able to accelerate Skype’s plans to extend our global community and introduce new ways for everyone to communicate and collaborate,” Bates said.

Skype will support Microsoft devices like Xbox and Kinect, Windows Phone and a wide array of Windows devices, and Microsoft will connect Skype users with Lync, Outlook, Xbox Live and other communities. Microsoft will continue to invest in and support Skype clients on non-Microsoft platforms.


I also don’t believe that Facebook and Google were serious buyers. Google, with its Google Voice offering, doesn’t really need Skype. In essence, I feel that Microsoft was bidding against itself. Even then, I personally think this is a bet worth taking, especially for a company that has been left out in the cold for so long.

• Skype gives Microsoft a  boost in the enterprise collaboration market, thanks to Skype’s voice, video and sharing capabilities, especially when competing with Cisco and Google.
• It gives Microsoft a working relationship with carriers, many of them looking to partner with Skype as they start to transition to LTE-based networks.
• It would give them a must-have application/service that can help with the adoption of the future versions of Windows Mobile operating system.
• However, the biggest reason for Microsoft to buy Skype is Windows Phone 7 (Mobile OS) and Nokia. The software giant needs a competitive offering to Google Voice and Apple’s emerging communication platform, Facetime.

Evolution Of Email.

Microsoft Patents 3D Desktop to Compete With Apple.

In a TR exclusive, a patent reveals one possible way Microsoft's future OSes will add depth to their interface.

If you thought Apple's purported 3D interface was intriguing, wait until you see Microsoft's. Demonstrating that you're never too lumbering to jump on the never-quite-realized 3D desktop bandwagon, the Redmond, WA company's plans were just made public in a patent granted on a "Method and Apparatus for Providing a Three-Dimensional Task Gallery Computer Interface."

The illustrations that accompany the patent look less like something out of a Hollywood movie (or a futuristic Mark Coleran interface) and more like the Office Space-ish alternate dimension that birthed Clippy.

The overall idea is pretty simple: The patent describes the common user interface problem of wanting to be able to group windows for certain apps according to a given task -- say, a split screen browser and word-processor setup for taking notes. In Microsoft's world, application windows are grouped (as in OS X's Spaces) only instead of being tucked away, they're placed somewhere in a three dimensional space, specifically so their location can be preserved in humans' powerful but under-utilized spatial memory.

One thing worth noting about Microsoft's proposed three dimensional interface is that it's just that -- deep.

Unless you've got a super fast scroll wheel, it almost looks as if you'd have to fight your way from one level of the interface to the next. Perhaps the designers took their inspiration from the second level of the NES classic Contra?

Separated at birth?

Intriguingly, the designers imagine users navigating this interface not as a three dimensional desktop so much as an actual place. That's you, user, in the lower left hand corner!

It's not clear which will come first -- the three dimensional Microsoft interface, or the widespread adoption of the 3D mouse required to navigate it. Perhaps they're just getting ahead of the curve, and this means Microsoft's ill-fated touch-screen Surface initiative will be replaced by another attempt to leapfrog the upstarts in Cupertino -- namely, a working holodeck.

Microsoft Unveils Office 365 Beta In 38 Countries Including India.

Microsoft is expanding the the beta version of Office 365 and has made service available in 38 Countries and 17 languages. The company has also launched an application and services storefront called Office 365 Marketplace, which features about 100 applications and 400 professional services from developers and channel partners.

Microsoft Office-365

Since Office 365 is a cloud based service, users can access it from anywhere and at anytime. Microsoft claims that there are some advantages with Office 365. It incorporates Microsoft Office Web applications with an array of web-enabled tools, these tools are easy to learn and put in practice. Also, the tools and the apps won’t require new set of hardware but will work with the existing hardware settings swiftly and will be highly secured.

Microsoft had announced Office 365 in 2010. Now, one might wonder when Office 2010 was selling well, why Microsoft has thought of introducing the new cloud based Office 365. The reason behind it is the success of Google Apps which has been giving Microsoft a hard time. In the closing week of February, a new survey was conducted by a Google Apps reseller, White Stratus, which came up with very important findings — Amongst 2030 companies surveyed, 20 percent used Google Apps and a large number of such companies are big enterprises which have over 10000 employees. These figures indicate that Microsoft has valid reasons to feel worried in the face of Google Apps’ advancement.

Corporate vice president of Microsoft, Kirk Koenigsbauer said, “We’ve been in the cloud for years supporting large enterprises such as Shell and DuPont, but Office 365 takes that same technology power and delivers it to small businesses.” If you ask why the product will suit SMEs, then the answer is, it integrates Microsoft Office, SharePoint Online, Exchange Online, and Lync Online as cloud based services. Large corporations will seek server based solutions instead, so it’s mostly the small and medium size businesses, which will get benefited.

Microsoft Office-365

When Microsoft is promoting Office 365 as a tool for small businesses, they really meant it. The company has set up a contest which would enable five small businesses to win Office 365, a $50,000 marketing package, and a day’s work from a Microsoft executive at the winner’s business or charity of choice.

Microsoft announced that over time they will add new features into the product. When hundreds of apps and nearly 400 professional services have been made available by 16000 cloud partners in such a short period, adding new features is a matter of time. Microsoft offers the product in two packages — SMEs will go for monthly deal with ‘community support’ and large enterprises will probably buy 24*7 admin support with advanced configuration, based on yearly contract. The minimum cap of subscription price is $6.

Microsoft Reveals Working of Kinect.

Kinect Specification

Microsoft has revealed the working of Kinect. It has released an 8-page research publication to be presented at the IEEE Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition later this year in June titled “Real-Time Human Pose Recognition in Parts from a Single Depth Image“. This paper explains how Kinect works, intelligent algorithms behind the Kinect. Find more about this at Microsoft Research.
http://research.microsoft.com/apps/pubs/default.aspx?id=145347