Techzone

Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer, is expected to announce the availability of Windows 7 Beta 1 to pre-approved testers in his Consumer Electronics Show keynote address on January 7.

As reported on the technology site, techarp.com, Microsoft has issued a draft of the Windows 7 Technical Guarantee Program to their OEM partners on December 10. Also per the report, the Redmond-based software major has given its OEM partners exactly one month to provide their feedback before Microsoft finalizes the program details. Techarp has managed to obtain a copy of the draft, which tentatively refers to the program as the Windows 7 Upgrade Program.

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Chairman B. Ramalinga Raju’s admission that Satyam Computer Services Ltd’s (India and also listed in the NASDAQ) Balance Sheet was completely fabricated got the stock crashing down by 66.5 per cent to Rs 60 from Wednesday’s high of Rs 188.70. We feel this is the start of some serious regulations being brought in by the SEBI. The Indian companies don’t regulate themselves as strictly as their western counterparts and I think Raju has done the public a favor in this regard. read more »

Introduction of Ilife ‘09 with updates all of the apps in iLife and iWork ‘09. There’s also the unibody Macbook Pro with a new updated battery which provides 60% more battery life. Let’s see how that tests out in the real time tests. iWork ‘09 goes online at www.iwork.com where you share your documents. Free in beta and will be charged later once the dust settles down. And iTunes goes DRM Free. That’s that… no new mac mini line, iPhone nano et al… Thanks to the rumor mongers for keeping us excited though… Continue reading for the Keynote updates

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Dear Apple Community,

For the first time in a decade, I’m getting to spend the holiday season
with my family, rather than intensely preparing for a Macworld keynote.

Unfortunately, my decision to have Phil deliver the Macworld keynote
set off another flurry of rumors about my health, with some even
publishing stories of me on my deathbed.

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According to a previously reliable source, Apple misrepresented the reasons behind Macworld and Jobs’ keynote cancellation. Allegedly, the real cause is his rapidly declining health. In fact, it may be even worse than we imagined:

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Cygnus, a small Indiana company, has sued the Big Three of Tech — Microsoft, Apple, and Google — claiming that it holds the patent on a common file preview feature used by browsers and operating systems to show users small snapshots of the files before they are opened. Cygnus’s owner and president, Gregory Swartz, developed the technology laid out in the patent while working on IT consulting projects. The company is looking for "a reasonable royalty" as well as a court injunction preventing further infringement. Cygnus applied for its patent (# 7346850) in 2001. It covers a ‘System and Method for Iconic Software Environment Management’ and was granted by the US Patent and Trademark Office in March of this year.