Ubuntu 9.04 Alpha 6

Steve Langasek has announced the availability of the sixth and final alpha release of Ubuntu 9.04: "Welcome to Jaunty Jackalope Alpha 6, which will in time become Ubuntu 9.04." Not much information is available on this release; in fact, both the release announcement and release notes are almost exactly the same as for alpha 5. The only difference is the number of known issues - with alpha 6, two of the seven known issues have been resolved, including the bug where the installer fails to tell the kernel to reload the partition table during partitioning and the OEM configuration failure. But the "encrypted home directory" feature in the installer is still disabled and the new X.Org Server 1.6 still doesn't support the proprietary ATI driver. If you are still interested in testing the new release, download (MD5) the live CD images from here: jaunty-desktop-i386.iso (698MB, torrent), jaunty-desktop-amd64.iso (693MB, torrent). The other members of the Ubuntu family have also entered alpha 6: Kubuntu (release notes, download), Xubuntu (download), Ubuntu Studio (download) and Mythbuntu (download).

Windows 7 build 7057 leaks

With few weeks left for Windows 7 RC to be released, some Neowin users have found Windows 7 build 7057 in the wild. The build string reads - 7057.0.x86fre.winmain.090305-2000 which means that this was compiled on March 5. The 32bit build has leaked to several Torrent sites today.



The EULA reads this for now



Yes, this makes it clear that Microsoft is already cooking its Windows 7 RC builds (not final build though)

The most immediate change users would notice is the new welcome and shutdown screen

IE 8 due for March 20th release

Taipei Times reports Microsoft Taiwan has announced during a press meet that Internet Explorer 8 will be released on March 20 in the local Taiwanese version. It was earlier predicted that Microsoft will RTM IE 8 in the week of March 16. Now we can expect the release of Internet Explorer 8 alongside MIX09 on March 19.

The Internet Explorer 8 sessions are now live on the MIX website which also includes the keynote address by Dean Hachamovitch, General Manager of Internet Explorer team at Microsoft.

As the Taiwanese version is getting released on March 20, we could expect Internet Explorer 8 (English version) being released in MIX09.

For now, the version information of IE 8 in the About screen does not reflect Release Candidate 1 in the recent Windows 7 builds 7048 and 7057



And here is how it looks in the Windows 7 build 7032

Widnows 7 Build 7057 32-Bit

Windows 7 Build 7057 x32

7057.0.090305-2000_x86fre_client_en-us_Retail_Ultimate-GB1CULFRER_EN_DVD.iso

7057.0.090305-2000_x86fre_client_en-us_Retail_Ultimate-GB1CULFRER_EN_DVD
MD5: 2a3863afe3453d1be642201fd3260ab2
CRC: E34E099B CRC E34E099B
SHA1: 0f32dfe92d544f4690ab91c02b59dba665d4ca0f SHA1 0f32dfe92d544f4690ab91c02b59dba665d4ca0f

CD Keys from beta 7000 are reported to work with this leak.

Download : Widnows 7 Build 7057 32-Bit

Windows 7 Is Great for Gamers, Forget XP or Vista, Says Microsoft

PC gaming has almost always been tied to a generation of Microsoft's Windows operating system. Whether it was 95, 98 or the more recent XP or Vista, the Redmond giant was responsible for the main platform on which developers brought their video games.

Windows XP has been and still is the preferred platform for gamers around the world, due to its low requirements and high degree of compatibility with almost all the titles that appear on the PC. But ever since Micros

But what about you? Do you think that Windows 7 will bring a system that will be embraced by gamers such as yourselves? Will it make you change from XP or Vista to it? Leave us your opinion in the comment section below the article.

introduced Vista, by saying that it would be perfect for any activity, including gaming, players have been somewhat reticent to upgrade to the company's new OS either because a lot of titles weren't compatible, or the system took up too much of the PC's resources, or due to the fact that it was filled with a lot of bugs or glitches that rendered games unplayable.

But it seems that for gamers Windows 7 will be the best operating system, at least according to Microsoft's VP of the Interactive Entertainment Business for the EMEA region, Chris Lewis, who talked with GamesIndustry.biz about the future operating system. He went on to say that the resource hog that was Vista would be replaced with a much more robust and compatible OS, which would make the transcendence from XP to it almost seamless, while offering a lot of new features, including the hyped-up DirectX 11.

“Windows 7 will be great for games, undoubtedly,” he said. “It's all good news - it's even more robust, it's quicker relatively, and the early testing cycles are proving very promising overall. I think it'll be nothing but good news for PC gamers, but we'll have more to say on that later on this year. Ultimately we're a Windows and PC company at heart, and that's not going to change, and the development on both platforms will remain central and important. The business ebbs and flows, and there will be times when we do more on one platform than the other, but they do co-exist very nicely, and as a company we're in a pretty unique position that we have a strong legacy on PC.”

Realtek High Definition Audio Driver R2.18

The ALC882 series 7.1+2 Channel High Definition Audio codecs with UAA (Universal Audio Architecture), featuring five 24-bit stereo DACs and three 20-bit stereo ADCs, are designed for high performance multimedia PC systems.
The ALC882 series incorporates proprietary converter technology to achieve over 100dB Signal-to-Noise ratio playback quality; easily meeting PC2001 requirements and also bringing PC sound quality closer to consumer electronic devices.

The ALC882 series provide 10 channels of DAC that simultaneously support 7.1 sound playback, plus 2 channels of independent stereo sound output (multiple streaming) through the Front-Out-Left and Front-Out-Right channels. Flexible mixing, mute, and fine gain control functions provide a complete integrated audio solution for next generation multimedia PCs.

Features of Realtek High Definition Audio Driver :
- High-performance DACs with 103dB SNR are ideal for Dolby Master Studio
- ADCs with 90dBA SNR
- Meets performance requirements for audio on PC2001 systems
- 10 DAC channels support 16/20/24-bit PCM format for 7.1 sound playback, plus 2 channels of independent stereo sound output (multiple streaming) through the - Front-Out-Left and Front-Out-Right channels
- 3 stereo ADCs support 16/20-bit PCM format, two for microphone array, one for legacy mixer recording
- All DACs support 44.1k/48k/96k/192kHz sample rate
- All ADCs support 44.1k/48k/96kHz sample rate
- Applicable for DVD-Audio solutions
- 16/20/24-bit S/PDIF-OUT supports 44.1k/48k/96k/192kHz sample rate
- 16/20/24-bit S/PDIF-IN supports 44.1k/48k/96k/192kHz sample rate
- Up to four channels of microphone input are supported for AEC/BF application
- High-quality analog differential CD input
- Supports external PCBEEP input and built-in digital BEEP generator
- Software selectable 2.5V/3.75V VREFOUT
- Six VREFOUTs are supported by default, with additional four VREFOUTs available by sharing unused analog I/O pins
- Two jack detection pins each designed to detect up to 4 jacks
- Reserve analog mixer architecture for backward compatibility with AC'97
- Wide range (–80dB ~ +42dB) volume control with 1.5dB resolution of analog to analog mixer gain
- All analog jacks are stereo input and output re-tasking for analog plug & play
- Built-in headphone amplifiers for each re-tasking jack
- Supports both analog DC volume control and GPI digital volume control
- 2 GPIOs (General Purpose Input/Output) for customized applications
- Optional EAPD (External Amplifier Power Down) is supported
- Power support: Digital: 3.3V; Analog: 5.0V (Minimum AVDD is 3.6V)
- Power management and enhanced power saving features
- 48-pin LQFP lead (Pb)-free package
- Meets Microsoft WHQL/WLP 2.0 audio requirements
- EAX 1.0 & 2.0 compatible
- Direct Sound 3D compatible
- A3D compatible
- I3DL2 compatible
- HRTF 3D Positional Audio
- Emulation of 26 sound environments to enhance gaming experience
- 10 Software Equalizer Bands
- Voice Cancellation and Key Shifting in Karaoke mode
- Realtek Media Player
- Enhanced Configuration Panel and device sensing wizard to improve user experience
- Microphone Acoustic Echo Cancellation (AEC), Noise Suppression (NS) and Beam Forming (BF) technology for voice application
- ALC882D features Dolby Digital Live output for consumer equipment
- ALC882H features Dolby Home Theater software
- ALC882M features Dolby Master Studio software

Changes in Driver Package R2.18:
Realtek HD Audio Driver support all of Realtek HD Audio Codec in Vista/WinXP/Win2000/Win2003 .
1. Vista WHQL Supporting: ALC882, ALC883, ALC885, ALC888, ALC889, ALC861VD, ALC660, ALC662, ALC663, ALC665, ALC260, ALC262,ALC267, ALC268, ALC269, ALC272, ALC273, ALC887
2. Windows 2000/XP WHQL Supporting: ALC880, ALC882, ALC883, ALC885, ALC888, ALC889, ALC861VC, ALC861VD, ALC660, ALC662, ALC663, ALC665, ALC260, ALC262, ALC267,ALC268, ALC269, ALC272, ALC273, ALC887
3. HDMI Device WHQL Support: ATI HDMI Devices
4. OS Supporting: Microsoft WindowsXP, Widnows2000, Vista, Windows7 x86/x64
5. Pack with Microsoft High Definition Audio UAAV1.0a(5013)
6. Add/Fix
1.) Driver :
1. Customizations.
2.) Package :
1. Support driver folder of Windows Server 2008 in package .
2. Disable Status Dialog when small VGA Mode enabled .
3. Fix CreativeUp folder disappear issue .

Homepage - http://www.realtek.com.tw

Size: 28.4 MB

Download Driver for Windows 2000, Windows XP/2003 (32/64 bits)

Download Driver for Vista (32/64 bits)

All Downloads from Page

Hiren's BootCD 9.8

Hiren's Boot CD is a boot CD containing various diagnostic programs such as partitioning agents, system performance benchmarks, disk cloning and imaging tools, data recovery tools, MBR tools, BIOS tools, and many others for fixing various computer problems. It is a Bootable CD; thus, it can be useful even if the primary operating system cannot be booted. Hiren's Boot CD has an extensive list of software. Utilities with similar functionality on the CD are grouped together and seem redundant; however, they present choices through UI's differences and options in what they can do.

Hiren's BootCD - All in one Dos Bootable CD which has all these utilities:: Partition Tools, Disk Clone Tools, Antivirus Tools, Recovery Tools, Testing Tools, Hard Disk Tools etc.

Changes in Hiren's BootCD 9.8:

Homepage - http://www.hiren.info/pages/bootcd

Size: 157 MB

Download Hiren's BootCD 9.8 Full

Foxit Reader 3.0 Build 1506

Foxit Reader is the only eligible alternative reader/viewer for PDF files (eBooks). It's free, smaller, faster, and cleaner. And it starts up immediately, so you don't need to wait the annoying "Welcome" screen to disappear. Foxit PDF Reader is extremely easy to use, just double click it to start and then click open button to open your PDF document. If you want to print, click on "Print" button. If you want to setup the page layout for printing, select "Print Setup" from "File" menu. Foxit Reader supports Windows 98/ Me/ 2000/ XP/ 2003/ Vista.

Unlike Adobe® Reader, this one has size about than 2.5 MB, needs no installation and opens up immediately. You don't need to go throught lengthy installation process to start using Foxit PDF Reader, just UNZIP the downloaded "pdfrd.zip" package into any place you want, then run PDFReader.exe. You can set Foxit PDF Reader as your default PDF reader, so you can double click on PDF files to open them within Foxit PDF Reader.

Now with Foxit Reader, you don't have to endure such pain any more. The following is a list of compelling advantages of Foxit Reader:
* Incredibly small: The download size of Foxit Reader is only 2.5 MB which is a fraction of Acrobat Reader 20 MB size.
* Breezing-fast: When you run Foxit Reader, it launches instantly without any delay. You are not forced to view an annoying splash window displaying company logo, author names, etc.
* Annotation tool: Have you ever wished to annotate (or comment on) a PDF document when you are reading it? Foxit Reader allows you to draw graphics, highlight text, type text and make notes on a PDF document and then print out or save the annotated document.
* Text converter: You may convert the whole PDF document into a simple text file.
* High security and privacy: Foxit Reader highly respects the security and privacy of users and will never connect to the Internet without users' permission. While other PDF readers often silently connect to the Internet in the background. Foxit PDF Reader does not contain any spyware.

Foxit Reader Pro is the professional version of Foxit Reader, the popular free PDF reader.
Foxit Reader Pro supports all features provided in Foxit Reader, and includes the following functions:
* Annotation
* Text viewer and text converter
* Form filler
* Spell checker
* Advanced editing tools, including loupe tool, measure tools, image tool, file attachment tool, link tools, annotation selection tool, and more

Actually without Pro Pack, you are still able to annotate a PDF document and print it out. However when you save the annotated document, it will be stamped with an evaluation mark on the top-right corner of the annotated pages. If you purchase a Pro Pack add-on, then there will be no evaluation mark.

What's new in Version 3.0:
New features:
* Enticing Multimedia Design. Now users can not only play multimedia in Foxit Reader, but also are empowered to add, edit or delete multimedia files with the incredible Movie Tool and Sound Tool.
* Attachment Panel. Lists all the attached files in the PDF document, and provides a number of common options that helps users manage the attachments, such as opening, deleting and adding description to the attachments. Users can also change the security settings when opening an attachment in this panel.
* Thumbnail Panel. Shows thumbnail images for each PDF page and allows users to quickly view relevant portions of a PDF file. Now users can navigate through PDFs with page thumbnails.
* Layout Panel. Lists PDF layers in the document, allows users to control the display of some certain content areas.
* Metric Unit Support. Within the preferences dialog box it gives users the option to set the unit of page dimension in either metric system or imperial system.
* Auto-scrolling with Middle Mouse Button. In the Hand Tool reading mode, users can perform auto-scrolling by holding the middle mouse button/wheel mouse button down.
* Awe-Inspiring Foxit OnDemand Content Management. This new add-on enables users to organize, share and collaborate on documents and forms online. Users can upload from Foxit Reader or send documents with ease. Advanced features include workflow driven document sharing, revisions of documents, CollabRoom for group collaboration.
* Firefox Support. With Firefox Plugin, users can view and work with PDF files loaded in Foxit Reader with Firefox web browser.

Enhanced features:
* Improved Select Text Tool. Not only used for selecting text, but also enables users to add most types of annotations, including highlight, strikeout, underline, squiggly, replacement, etc.
* Enhanced Print Setup. Supports printing separate pages or a range of pages by entering 1, 3, 7-10 or whatever in the Pages text box within the Print dialog box.
* Better Annotation Control. Allows users to align and center multiple annotations on PDF pages, including Notes, Drawing Markups and Typewriter Comments.
* Advanced Toolbar Control. Completely rearranges the toolbar layout and allows users to easily customize the tools that appear in Foxit Reader.
* Better Permission Control. Disables and grays out some UI elements when users are not allowed to perform the corresponding operations on the protected PDF document.
* Improved Upgrade Mode. Foxit Updater Preferences dialog box allows the user to configure the update settings. Foxit Reader supports the ability to check for updates automatically on a weekly or monthly basis.
* Improved Popup Note. A popup note turns transparent when it is open but not selected. Users can also cut, copy or paste text in the new popup note.
* Enhanced Shortcut Keys Input. Press F11 to enter or exit the full screen mode. Use keyboard shortcuts to fill PDF forms easily.
* Transferrable preferences Settings. Foxit Reader creates an INI file to save user's preferences settings so that it can be easily kept and transferred. Users can keep their own settings and don't have to configure them when Foxit Reader is updated or moved.
* Many Bug Fixes

Homepage - http://www.foxitsoftware.com

Size: 3.56 MB

Download [exe]

Download [msi]

Download [zip] Standalone