Free Republic

If Paul Flessner and his SQL Server team have their way, traditional beta releases may soon be a thing of the past. And they aren't the only Softies who are pushing to overhaul the way Microsoft builds software to more closely emulate the open source process. Consider the beta. Beta testing has been the cornerstone of the software development process for Microsoft and most other commercial software makers for as long as they've been writing software. But if certain powers-that-be in Redmond have their way, betas may soon be a thing of the past for Microsoft, its partners and its...

The chief financial officer of Google Inc... Tuesday said overall growth is slowing ... The company will now have to "find other ways" to boost revenue... The stock was down 11 percent, or more than $42...

Gartner, the technology research group, has added its voice to warnings about a feature in Google's new Desktop beta that allows users to transfer data between two computers. The Desktop 3 update was released a fortnight ago by Google, and a new feature called Search Across Computers enables the transfer of information such as emails, instant messages and other files so they can be searched from another computer. But to enable the transfer, the user must first authorise Google to store material from the PC on its own servers for up to 30 days. "The newest release of Google's desktop...

Hurricane season finally ending, but next year could be bad, too By JOHN PAIN Associated Press Writer November 29. 2005 4:27PM The busiest and costliest Atlantic hurricane season on record officially - and mercifully - draws to a close Wednesday, with hundreds of thousands of Americans still dealing with the devastation wrought by Katrina, Rita and Wilma. Despite the end of the June 1-to-Nov. 30 season, hurricanes could still form over the next few months. In fact, a tropical storm took shape in the Atlantic on Tuesday. But no hurricane has been known to hit the United States between December...

000 WTNT31 KNHC 290617 TCPAT1 BULLETIN HURRICANE BETA INTERMEDIATE ADVISORY NUMBER 9A...CORRECTED NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL 2 AM EDT SAT OCT 29 2005  CORRECTED TO INCLUDE EXTENT OF HURRICANE-FORCE WINDS  ...SLOW-MOVING BETA REACHES HURRICANE STRENGTH... ...CONTINUES TO LASH THE ISLAND OF PROVIDENCIA WITH DAMAGING WINDS AND TORRENTIAL RAINFALL...  A HURRICANE WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR THE EASTERN COAST OF NICARAGUA FROM BLUEFIELDS NORTHWARD TO CABO GRACIAS A DIOS NEAR THE NICARAGUA/HONDURAS BORDER...AND ADJACENT ISLANDS. A HURRICANE WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE ISLAND OF PROVIDENCIA.  A TROPICAL STORM WARNING AND A HURRICANE WATCH REMAIN IN EFFECT FOR...

TROPICAL DEPRESSION TWENTY-SIX (AL262005) ON 20051027 0000 UTC ...00 HRS... ...12 HRS... ...24 HRS... ...36 HRS... 051027 0000 051027 1200 051028 0000 051028 1200 LAT LON LAT LON LAT LON LAT LON BAMD 11.0N 81.6W 11.9N 82.7W 12.6N 83.7W 13.3N 85.0W BAMM 11.0N 81.6W 11.8N 82.6W 12.4N 83.6W 12.9N 84.6W A98E 11.0N 81.6W 11.4N 82.7W 11.8N 84.0W 12.4N 85.4W LBAR 11.0N 81.6W 12.1N 82.5W 13.5N 83.3W 15.5N 84.3W SHIP 30KTS 39KTS 48KTS 54KTS DSHP 30KTS 39KTS 48KTS 33KTS

Last Updated: Tuesday, 23 August 2005, 10:36 GMT 11:36 UK E-mail this to a friend Printable version Next gen DVD rivals fail to agree The new DVDs can hold much more information Efforts to come up with a compromise on the next generation of DVD format appear to have stalled.Technology giant Toshiba and Sony had been in talks about bringing together rival DVD technologies. But the two are planning to go ahead with their own formats after talks on a single format failed, reported the Japanese Daily Yomiuri newspaper. Toshiba, with NEC and Sanyo, is pushing HD-DVD, while backers of...

Biting the hand that feeds IT The Register » Internet and Law » Wild Wild Web » Original URL: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/07/28/ie7_nukes_rival_search/IE7 nukes Google, Yahoo! search By Andrew Orlowski in San Francisco (andrew.orlowski at theregister.co.uk) Published Thursday 28th July 2005 21:46 GMT Microsoft's Internet Explorer 7 went on a limited beta release today and contains a nasty surprise for some users. Users with search toolbars from Yahoo! and Google have discovered that these vanish. Other third-party toolbars designed to block pop-ups or aid with form filling appear to be working normally, according to reports from Reg readers. IE7 integrates search into the...

America Online's Netscape team has opened its doors to the public, releasing the first beta of the revived Netscape Web browser. Based upon Firefox, Netscape version 8 focuses on security and user privacy, and supports rendering with both Mozilla's Gecko and Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser engines. As reported by BetaNews, AOL originally planned for a February beta, but pushed back the release to March citing the need for more time. The company has been polishing the numerous changes and enhancements that were added since the prototype of Netscape 8 last November.

A new chain letter is being forwarded by e-mail claiming that Microsoft and AOL have joined in a beta-test of a new e-mail tracking system that will track all forwarded mail.  The supposed intent is to find a way to cut down on spam and viruses.  It also promises to pay thousands of dollars to all participants in the beta-test during the 30 day trial.   Now get this - it was forwarded to me by a former software tech who should have known better.  There's no way to track forwarded e-mails.   How lame is this.  Some people will fall for...

With Microsoft's acquisition of anti-spyware maker Giant Software, the company seems well-poised to enter the anti-spyware and anti-virus marketplace. At the very least, in combination with its well-publicized secure computing initiative, and the security upgrades in Windows XP Service Pack 2, Microsoft appears to be taking security more seriously ... Or, the company may simply be using its new anti-spyware technology as a ruse for rooting out and eventually destroying unlicensed copies of its operating system. Early last month Microsoft announced that it would permit downloads of a beta version of its anti-spyware software from its website. However, users attempting...

Revamped Outlook, collaboration functions highlight new features, beta testers report. NEW YORK -- With Office System 2003 now officially open for business, users are weighing in with opinions on the updated suite.Outlook's overhaul impressed them the most, although several had mixed opinions on the new look. But the much-touted collaboration functions and new XML capabilities have already proved useful, several beta testers report.Product BlitzBill Gates, Microsoft's chairman and chief software architect, launched the new suite of productivity applications at an event here Tuesday."Today we're introducing more software products on a single day than on any other day in our history,"...

I just noticed that google has a new feature, a news search. They say they search 4,000 news sites.

What happened to the Beta FR? I used it because of the CSS styles and other preference options. Ever since FR went down last week, it hasnt been up...whats the deal?

Installed the first candidate for a chat program.Click here for Beta Chat (requires Java) Out of the box this is ugly! But it is open source, and I can fix the ugliness. The name of this product is NFC Chat, written by Lyrisoft Solutions, Inc. Source, etc available here It supports chat rooms. When you first sign in, it takes you to a list of rooms. Click a room to enter chat mode.

ARGGH! Such a lengthy post... completely lost. (I lost my post! Grrrr Microsoft!) Let's try this again. Excuse the brevity, I'm tired of typing this message. Installed a new beta. Today's installment of Freeping Creaturism: MANAGE SUBSCRIPTIONS (Topics, your sidebar) -- order them any way you please. You must be logged in, find the "My Subscriptions" link in your nearest Personal menu (click on your name in the upper right corner.) REVIEW SUBSCRIPTIONS -- View all your subscribed topics in a multi-column page. Great for catching up with the day. STYLE SHEETS -- Now using style sheets. Those in the...

I will wrap up the beta and install it this weekend. What necessary functions are available in the current version of Free Republic's software that are not available in the beta?

Today's Installment Fixed some issues causing My Comments (fka Self-Search) to stretch beyond the bounds of the right margin, causing scrolling. There are probably more issues which cause scrolling, and I will take care of them as I find them. New style view on latest posts, latest threads, my comments, search, topic browse, etc. New style uses clean sans serif font and "From screen name date/time" directly below thread title. TRIAL VERSION. Latest posts, threads, etc, remember their settings (Show Brief/Full, etc.) Much improved topic page. Topics are shown 50 at a time, with ability to FIND topic, which will...

New Polling feature available in beta! Is the beta ready for prime time?Yes, it's ready.2 votes - 66% No, it still needs work.1 vote - 33%Beta!

Click for the Beta Announcement Today's updated BETA software includes: Complete overhaul of site design. You gotta see it. Improved Sidebar -- You can now subscribe to topics, those subscribed topics are placed in your sidebar. The sidebar topics are ordered by the last posting time for each topic. Always the latest news on top. BETA FREE REPUBLIC | LOGIN