An anonymous reader writes “Earlier this week, reports surfaced that the Windows RT operating system had been jailbroken to allow for the execution of unsigned ARM desktop applications. Microsoft quickly issued a statement saying it does not consider the findings to be part of a security vulnerability, and applauded the hacker for his ingenuity. Now, a Windows RT jailbreak tool has been released.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.
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Windows RT Jailbreak Tool Released
Skype’s latest update has arrived on Windows (although not Windows 8) and, likely due to its status within Microsoft , it’s integrated Outlook features into version 6.1 alongside some cosmetic refreshes. You can now get access to your Skype contacts’ status, mood message and other contact details within Outlook contact cards, with the same profiles now appearing within the Skype program. You also call any phone number from within Outlook , with Skype already doing the legwork of connecting to any contact whose details are stored within your email client. Better still, if you’ve already got them added as a contact in Skype, you can send instant messages and make or video calls from the outset. These features will work on Outlook 2010, while it’s now easier to add new contacts to Skype when you don’t already have a someone in your contact list. You can pick up the new integrated app (with a gently tweaked toolbar) at the source. ( Update: We’ve also been informed that the Mac version has been bumped up to version 6.1, and you’ll now be able to call direct from Safari webpages.) Filed under: Software , Microsoft Comments Source: Skype
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Skype 6.1 for Windows adds Outlook integration, (slightly) refreshed toolbar
You say the words “laser turret”, and you think strategy games. Maybe shooters. They’re as clichéd a defensive tool that science fiction stories can get, but now, thanks to German scientists, they’re real. More »
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German Scientists Have Built A Real, Functional Laser Turret
While we knew Microsoft Messenger was due to retire sometime in the first quarter of this year, we now have a confirmed date. According to The Next Web , Redmond has informed users via email that they have until March 15th to use the IM platform, after which they will need to hop on to Skype to chat with their Messenger pals. Your buddy list will automatically be migrated to the VoIP -focused offering. Desktop users of the outgoing service (globally except mainland China, where it will live on) should receive a banner notification to install Skype and, as it turns out, clicking on said banner will also uninstall Messenger. Road warriors are also taken care of, with Microsoft account support already baked into iOS , Android and Windows Phone 8 versions of the Skype app. Nostalgia notwithstanding, fans of the long-standing MSN descendent can at least take solace in the broader set of features Skype offers. Filed under: Internet , Microsoft Comments Via: The Next Web
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Microsoft retiring Messenger on March 15th, wants you to use Skype instead
Ready for your quarterly dose of Windows 8 sales figures? After hearing that some 40 million licenses had been sold through last November , the company’s CFO and CMO for Windows Tammi Reller announced here at CES that Microsoft has sold 60 million Windows 8 licenses to date. According to her, that number includes “sell in to OEMs for new PCs,” but she didn’t clarify whether or not it includes blockbuster deals like the $617 million one it recently landed with the US Army, Air Force and DISA. Reller also noted that the numbers are “roughly in line with where we would have been with Windows 7.” Moving 20 million of anything over a single holiday season is pretty impressive, and we’ll be keeping an ear out for more details should they emerge. Update : Microsoft also announced that “since the opening of the Windows Store the number of apps has quadrupled and it passed the 100 million app download mark – just two months after general availability.” Filed under: Software , Microsoft Comments Source: ZDNet , Windows Blog
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Microsoft moves another 20 million Windows 8 licenses over holiday season, 100 million total app downloads
As Microsoft continues to promote and push its RT apps and programs, Windows tinkerer Clrokr at SurfSec has detailed how he managed to circumvent Redmond’s controls on what can run on Windows RT . It’s worth noting that this may not lead to a broad jailbreak solution, capable of running any desktop program, but it does demonstrate an existing vulnerability. Clrokr outlines how he tinkered with the part of the RAM that instructs the OS whether it should run unsigned, authenticode signed, Microsoft(8) or Windows(12) signed apps. The default setting is for the latter two options, whereas changing this entry allows those other app types to run. If you know your Windows kernel, you can check the full details and code over at the source. Filed under: Tablets , Software , Microsoft Comments Via: @stroughtonsmith (Twitter) Source: Surfsec
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Windows RT ‘code integrity mechanism’ gets sidestepped, allows unsigned desktop apps to run
Windows 8 can take some getting used to. While the desktop app works very much like Windows 7, there are plenty of new shortcuts, options, and tricks built into the operating system. Think you know how to use it like a pro? Here are a few Windows 8 features that you probably haven’t found yet. More »
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Six Hidden Windows 8 Features You Can’t Live Without
By now, we all know that Mars was once home to water and may have even supported life . But what would the planet have looked like when it was lush and verdant? More »
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How Mars May Have Looked if It Was Covered in Water
There’s a cloud hanging over the second city and it belongs to Microsoft . In a release issued today, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced plans to migrate the city’s 30,000 civil servants to a cloud-based solution for email and all desktop applications . Apart from the $400,000 the four-year deal is projected to save taxpayers annually, the move to Microsoft’s cloud computing for government platform will also help to bolster efficiency and streamline communication internally, as the city goes from three conflicting email systems to just one. According to the city’s Department of Innovation and Technology, this department-wide transition should reach completion by the end of 2013. It’s not the Windy City’s first big leap into remote storage — its hosted Department of Aviation data there for some time — but it does mark Emanuel’s commitment to modernization . Hit up the break for the city’s official PR. [Chicago photo credit: Nimesh M / Flickr ] Continue reading Microsoft to provide cloud services for city of Chicago in four year deal Filed under: Internet , Microsoft Comments Source: The Official Microsoft Blog
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Microsoft to provide cloud services for city of Chicago in four year deal
New submitter asola writes with this cool piece of small (ha!) news from Liliputing: “This Freescale i.MX6-quad based stick will officially support Ubuntu in addition to Android. This is a first among the newfangled category of ARM-based stick PCs. This Ubuntu may very well have the hw accelerated Gstreamer plugins created by Freescale for the i.MX6 so full HD video playing will be available under Ubuntu as well.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.
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Quad-Core Stick PC Runs Ubuntu