The master of all graphics editing programs got an update!

The most significant fixes in the 9.0.2 release include the following:

* Menus now respond correctly after a single click.
* Undo/Redo work properly when multiple documents are open.
* Photoshop no longer produces a program error when encountering unsupported file types through the Acrobat Touchup workflow.
* Supported files that incorrectly produced an “unsupported color space” message now open as expected.
* TIFF files with layer data greater than 2GB now open correctly.

The most significant fixes in the 9.0.1 release (also included in the 9.0.2 update) include the following:

* Photoshop no longer hangs for several seconds when using painting tools with quick strokes.
* A runtime error that could appear when mousing over a high-res doc with the Brush Tool has been fixed.
* Documents containing a large number of text layers now open more quickly.
* Problems related to palettes (slow redraw, palettes go white, possible crash) have been addressed.
* TIFF files from certain scanners can now be opened correctly.
* After editing an image in Photoshop CS2 via Acrobat Touchup, the image no longer gets repositioned.
* XMP metadata from AI and PDF files is now retained in Photoshop.
* Slow performance when toggling layer visibility has been fixed.
* Info palette numbers now display and update when moving a curve point in Curves via the cursor keys.
* Problems opening certain TIFF and PSB files greater than 2GB have been resolved.
* The Merge to HDR command now functions properly when using high-ASCII characters in the user login.

>> Download Adobe Photoshop 9.02 update (Windows)

Maar liefst 235 bezoekers van Belgische zomerfestivals hebben dit jaar hun partner ten huwelijk gevraagd via de grote sms-schermen van gsm-operator BASE. Dat blijkt uit een onderzoek van de 26.089 sms’jes die over de schermen rolden tijdens Cactus, Suikerrock, Lokerse Feesten, Gentse Feesten en Antilliaanse Feesten. Dit soort van aanzoeken zit blijkbaar in de lift.

Trendsetters als we zijn vroeg Véro me ten huwelijk op 22-11-2003 tijdens Pay&Go Groovecity … via het grote sms-scherm

Mozilla has today delayed the release of the open source Firefox 2.0 browser until the 24th of October. The browser was supposed to be ready on 15 August. A second beta is now scheduled for 23 August. Some of the browser bugs which programmers are still working on involve visual refresh, tab overflow, spell check and security features. Firefox 2.0 Beta 1 for developers is currently available for free download.

The new browser includes phishing protection to prevent users being fooled by fake websites, the ability to re-open tabs that have been closed by accident and better support for RSS feeds. Bookmarks will now feature micro-summaries to provide a quick précis of frequently changing web pages, enabling users to see which pages have been updated.

>> Download Firefox 2.0 beta 1

Yesterday the zzillezz.net server got hacked. All index pages were changed. A backup was restored, but the backup was made *after* the server got hacked, so that didn’t solve anything. I still don’t know how they gained access to the files, but the hosting company did a kernel update this morning. I’ll keep you updated.

Update 18/08: It took some time, but almost everything is back to normal now. Finding Allah in Shadowanimals’ online shop was hard tough Still to do: Reuploading the Sparks-efx and Trofifort frontpages.

Hitman Pro is a collection of spyware removal tools, all in one automated package.

New in Hitman Pro 2.5

* Added Expert tool. Even though Hitman Pro was never designed for the experienced user, a lot of people asked for it. Users can now have complete insight and control over threat objects (files and registry keys).
o The Expert tool has its own threat removal engine. So remember that the selected theats are not removed by the applications that detected them.
o The removal engine is capable of removing threats running as System. Also, before removing threats the Expert tool will close open processes and handles to these threats.
o Hint: You can also open the Expert tool before starting another inspection. Because of its enscrypted threat cache you can quickly see if you are re-infected by a previously removed threat, without running a new inspection. You could even swap threat cache (strider.bin) with other users to quickly check if they are infected with the same threats.
* Added checkbox to disable automatic removal of threats (main screen). When unchecked, the Expert tool will be displayed after inspections. With the Expert tool users have full control of the detected threats. Note that threats are always added to the Expert threat cache.
* Added prelimenary support for Spy Sweeper 5. Note that Hitman is not capable of using it yet. It will only instruct Spy Sweeper 5 to shutdown and startup when inspecting the system (so it does not interfere with the other AntiSpyware applications). Hitman Pro version 2.5.1 will deliver Spy Sweeper 5 support (Webroot changed a lot and its not so easy to integrate it into Hitman).
* Improved “Improved spyware removal”. This function helps the external antispyware application removing threats.
* Removed Hitman Pro AntiSpyware since its not compatible with the new internal functions and I decided not to migrate it. Instead, I will add my FuzzyLogic+ system to Hitman Pro 2.6. FuzzyLogic+ relies more on a rule set, rather than a lot of signatures. The Proof of Concept I have finished recently finds practically every known spyware and virusses. But it’s main task is to find yet unknown threats. People interested in FuzzyLogic+ can contact me for a demonstration.
* Rewrote the Quarantine. Hitman Pro is now way faster and efficient in quarantining threats. I also had to rebuild it to fit the Epxert tool (Expert quarantines threats before removing them).
* Added support for Internet Explorer 7. Hitman Pro was not able to download files when Users were running the beta version of Microsoft’s new browser. This has been fixed.
* Fixed a problem with SurfRight on systems that do not have NTFS on the Windows drive. SurfRight cannot be enabled when Windows is not installed on an NTFS drive. SurfRight relies on NTFS permissions to protect the user against attacks through known and unknown vulnerabilities in internet applications. Protection is based on the “Least User Access” principle, a security model where Windows Vista relies on next year. Linux and Mac OS X obey this principle for years and Hitman Pro delivers it for Windows XP today (in fact, already since April 2005).
* Added support for Windows Live Messenger in the SurfRight control panel in Hitman Pro. It’s mentioned properly now (previously it stated MSN Messenger).
* Updated Internet Explorer (SurfRight) icon to Internet Explorer 7 style.
* Improved SurfRight Helper. I changed the way files are opened from the SurfRight Helper. Also improved accuracy of the icons in the download list (sometimes SurfRight Helper could not locate a fitting icon).
* Added support for Spyware Doctor 4.0. Had to rewrite some code so Hitman is able to shutdown Spyware Doctor, when needed.
* Changed enumeration of installed programs. This is now done only when NOD32 is not installed (and is about to be installed).
* …and a lot of smaller improvements…

>> Download Hitman Pro 2.5

There’s an audio documentary about Kraftwerk on the BBC Radio 1 website. Alex Kapranos from Franz Ferdinand is the talk host.

>> Listen to the documentary

That’s two programs from Microsoft in two days, I know But this one looks very handy:

Windows Live Writer is a desktop application that makes it easier to compose compelling blog posts using Windows Live Spaces or your current blog service. Blogging has turned the web into a two-way communications medium. Our goal in creating Writer is to help make blogging more powerful, intuitive, and fun for everyone.

Writer has lots of features which we hope make for a better blogging experience. Some of the ones we are most excited about include WYSIWYG authoring, photo publishing, map publishing, Writer SDK and compatibility.

>> Download Windows Live Writer beta
>> Windows Live Writer blog

A new version of Windows Live Messenger has been released!

As of yesterday, a new version of Messenger 8.0 is now ready for your downloading pleasure – version 8.0.0812. Think of this release just like that little dash of salt on your big delicious breakfast. Almost nothing has changed to the perceptible eye – but enough to make a difference. Specifically:

* Many people will notice serious improvements to the quality of audio and video.
* Fewer messenger crashes, hangs, and connectivity issues.
* Fixes “Error 80004005 – Can’t Log In”

>> Download Windows Live Messenger 8.0.0812 Dutch
>> Download Windows Live Messenger 8.0.0812 English
>> Download Mess.be patch

Along with the AMD and ATI merger, Asustek and Gigabyte have just announced a major joint venture plan between the two companies. This joint venture will allow Gigabyte to use Asustek facilities for manufacturing Gigabyte video cards and motherboards.

Gigabyte will own a 51% stake in the company, with Asustek picking up the other 49%. Reports the deal is valued at approximately $244M USD, and that the new joint venture will become official January 1, 2007. Neither company would comment on the effect of the joint venture on existing manufacturing, claiming that only the legal proceedings to start the company have beenpublically announced at this time. The joint venture will also get a new name, but both companies are also tight lipped about that as well.

ASUS and Gigabyte have traditionally held the title of tier-1 motherboardmanufacturers in Taiwan. This title was also shared by Microstar International — also a major player in motherboard, VGA and server manufacturing. However, as PC component manufacturing began to move to mainland China, Foxconn and ECS-Tatung have risen to become the dominant component manufacturers.

ASUS has strong manufacturing ties with Sony (Playstation 3), Apple (MacBook). The company has also attempted to enter into the retail market with its own lineup of notebooks and digital audio players, with mixed success. Earlier this year ASUS stated that the company would split its OEM and retail manufacturing by 2008, in an effort to give the manufacturing half of the company more room to compete with the “Big Four”.

That’s not to say ASUS and Gigabyte have idle competition. ECS, currently the largest motherboard manufacturer in the world by volume, just sealed a deal to acquire Uniwill, making the new company even more massive than it was before.

>> News source: DailyTech

foobar2000 is an advanced audio player for the Windows platform. Some of the basic features include full unicode support, ReplayGain support and native support for several popular audio formats.

0.9.3 Changelog:
* New file properties dialogs
* Speex decoding support, rewritten Ogg Vorbis / Ogg FLAC support
* “File Operations / Delete File(s)” now uses Recycle Bin
* Better integration of information lookup (freedb etc) components with Audio CD ripping UI
* Option to ReplayGain-scan converter output after conversion
* CDDA extraction bug fixes / improvements
* Improved “Open Audio CD” dialog
* Various progress dialogs no longer block UI
* Changed Media Library new item tracking behaviors
* Fixed low-samplerate LC AAC files mis-reported as HE AAC
* Improved compatibility with Windows Vista
* Various cosmetic changes
* Other minor bug fixes …

>> Download foobar 0.9.3