Softpedia News - Interviews

Botox and Fillers: Interview with Dr. Darren McKeown

Softpedia News (Elena Gorgan) — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 14:41:02 GMT

Not very long ago, cosmetic doctors and surgeons put up a united front to warn of the dangers of buying do it yourself kits of Botox or other fillers off the Internet and then using them without having any experience or the proper qualification to do so. We live in an age in which, whether we like it or not, the pressure to look a certain way has become too strong to ignore, and they say this could also explain why such DIY kits, although extremely dangerous, are seeing a surge in popularity.

We strive to look “perfect” (whatever that might mean) and, because of this, the temptation of choosing one such kit over having the procedure done in a specialized clinic, by a trained professional, can hardly be resisted. There is, of course, also the question of price. In the long run, though, the risks are not worth it because injecting such substances (poisons after all) in the wrong place can lead to permanent disfiguration, so this is not only a case of “well, the worst that can happen is that I might not like it,” experts explain. Women need to understand that injecting Botox and fillers is a surgical procedure no matter how one looks at it, and not something as easy as getting a haircut.

To shed more light on the procedure itself, as well as on the dangers of using DIY kits... (read more)

Kingston Looking into 512GB SSDs, New USB 3.0 Products

Softpedia News (Traian Teglet) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:12:00 GMT

Kingston's debut in the SSD market has been made possible by the company's partnership with Intel. However, since the debut of the first Kingston branded SSDs, the company has grown significantly, having expanded its lineup with new solutions, such as the recently introduced 40GB SSDNow V-series, specifically designed as a performance drive, for the boot partition of a desktop or notebook PC. The company has recently been promoting its SSD lineup, with media meetings all over Europe. We had the pleasure to sit down and have a discussion with Adrien Viaud, application engineer, Kingston Technology.

He went through the company's plans in the SSD market and showed how Kingston's strategy is aimed at the consumer, providing him with value for money. We also discussed the company's Q3 performance, after the expansion of its SSD portfolio, from the Intel-based solutions to new products aimed at the mainstream segment. So, without further ado, here's the interview.

Following the release of a complete new line of Solid State Drives, what are Kingston's plans for the future, in the SSD market?

Adrien Viaud: Our plans include higher capacities, because really people want to higher capacities, which is the main drawback of SSD... (read more)

Malwarebytes Accuses, IObit Plays Dead

Softpedia News (Ionut Ilascu) — Sun, 8 Nov 2009 11:51:02 GMT

Malwarebytes burst the bubble this week and came out accusing IObit of copying their database, thus providing through their IObit Security 360 product the same protection as Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware. The copyright infringement implications led to DMCA serving of the latter to a number of software download websites in US.

Both security vendors have engaged in a war of statements on their respective blogs, stirring up heated discussions among users on their forums. Speculations have been made, opinions expressed, but no official answer to clear all haze has been given. We tried to learn about the sparks that lit the scandal and the elements fueling it.

Before we begin, we'd like to note that, in order to be fair and give everyone involved a chance to express their point of view, we also sent a set of questions to IObit for a similar interview. We have received a short response from one of the company's representatives, making it clear that the vendor had more important software development-related tasks on hand than to continue responding to Malwarebytes' accusations.

From the reply we got, we conclude that IObit's position regarding this issue remains unchanged. The company describes Malwarebytes' claims as mere rumors and its actions as unwarranted attacks.

On the matter of other antivirus v... (read more)

Exclusive Interview: Softpedia Talks About 3dOcean with Cyan Ta'eed

Softpedia News (Catalin Cimpanu) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 07:53:00 GMT

Web designers around the Globe are already very familiar with websites like FlashDen, ThemeForest, GraphicRiver, AudioJungle, VideoHive or the Tuts+ network. What many don't know is the fact that all of these websites and more actually started three years ago inside a garage in Australia. One of the founding members of the Envato Network (which owns all of the above mentioned websites) is the charming Cyan Ta'eed.

Alongside Collis, Cyan put together a mammoth network for web-professionals, assuring them a secure place in the Web 2.0 Hall of Fame. Along with the new redesign of their marketplace network, a blog post and a video interview caught our attention and made us contact them and talk about their soon-to-be-released product 3dOcean.

Softpedia: We all know what the Envato marketplaces do, but describe what 3dOcean is for our readers.

Cyan: 3dOcean will be a marketplace to sell everything 3d. Our marketplace manager, Matthias Andre, has had a great time adding everything 3d that he always wished were available in one place. You can expect everything from 3d models, to materials and shaders, to textures, and even 3d print. Everything for sale will be submitted by talented independent authors, and will be sold at very competitive prices.

We hope 3dOcean... (read more)

Plus Size Haven: The Marie Denee Boutique

Softpedia News (Elena Gorgan) — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 13:21:02 GMT

Fashion equals fabulousness but, these days, fashion has another edge to it: it also equals exclusive, not so much in the sense that it offers women the guarantee that they won’t be walking down the street and see someone else with the same frock as them, but rather in that certain sizes are completely left out. Plus size women are often overlooked by designers and even mainstream clothing outlets, so much so that they’re often forced to wait for sales or forego all aesthetic considerations just to be able to buy something new.

Of course, that’s not to say that curvier women don’t want to be fabulous as well – just that, in most cases, they can’t. As we were also telling you a while back, this is about to change really soon, once Curvy Fashionista blogger Marie Denee opens her Marie Denee boutique, which she envisions as a haven for all plus-size women who refuse to let their curves define their style for them and go the other way around. We managed to get a hold of Ms. Denee and get her talking more of the upcoming boutique, as well as of what she aims to accomplish with it.

Softpedia: Marie Denee is a name well known in fashion circles, mostly because of your fabulous blog, The Curvy Fashionista. Tell our readers how you got it started and what exactly is the purpose th... (read more)

WWF's Dr. Neil Hamilton on Global Warming in the Arctic

Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 14:11:02 GMT

As I am trying to offer you, the readers, the most conclusive data on the threats of climate change, and the best possible ways of dealing with them, I thought I should enlist a second opinion, coming from one of the top environmental groups in the world. Dr. Neil Hamilton, the Director of the WWF International Arctic Program, was kind enough to answer a few of my questions. Without further ado, here is what the expert had to say on the threats on Arctic wildlife and effects of global warming in the region.

What do you think prevents some people from acknowledging global warming is real?

I think the most common reason is that most people have very busy lives and simply are not exposed to the real facts about what is happening. It’s much easier to pretend it’s not happening when you can’t see, on very short time scales, the actual impacts. Coupled with this psychological reality is the fact that society ‘is now’ rather than in the future. The inertia in the Earth System means that behavior today will have significant impacts tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow, rather than being immediate.

The most serious impacts of climate change today are not seen by most people in the western world as few venture into the developing world, or the poles, where most of t... (read more)

Exclusive: NVIDIA Talks About GT300, 40nm, Ion and Tegra

Softpedia News (Traian Teglet) — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 08:38:00 GMT

During this year’s Computex 2009 show, NVIDIA took the stage with a number of new Ion- and Tegra-based products, showcased by some of the company’s partners. Despite rumors prior to the debut of the computer show in Taiwan, the Santa Clara, California-based graphics maker didn’t reveal any details regarding its much-anticipated 40nm-based graphics processing units. However, the launch of the new Ion-based PCs, as well as the highly anticipated Tegra devices, confirmed NVIDIA’s business orientation, becoming a company that is involved in more than just graphics.

While we weren’t able to make it to Computex ourselves, we looked for the chance to find out more about what the graphics maker is preparing in the near future, as well as the company’s opinion on the current computer industry. The opportunity was just around the corner, as NVIDIA was actively promoting its latest technologies around the world, holding press events to demonstrate some of the things that were on display at Computex. We took this opportunity and sat down for a one-on-one with the company’s Igor Stanek, Product PR Manager for our region. We wanted to go through some of the most important aspects of the manufacturer’s business, taking into consideration the latest rumors that surfaced on the In... (read more)

Dr. Sanford Siegal Talks Dr. Siegal’s Cookie Diet

Softpedia News (Elena Gorgan) — Sat, 6 Jun 2009 13:21:02 GMT

Not long ago, we were telling you that, in her approach to weight loss, television personality and socialite extraodinaire Kim Kardashian had found a very strong ally in Dr. Siegal’s Cookie Diet. She was not the only one to discover this special diet that places emphasis on calorie control for the most extraordinary results, since almost anyone who’s anyone in Tinseltown has tried it, from singer Mandy Moore, to Oscar-winning Jennifer Hudson, the original American Idol Kelly Clarkson and even acclaimed British movie director Guy Ritchie.

In other words, Dr. Siegal’s Cookie Diet is the hottest thing in Hollywood right now and, from what testimonials say, it works just as it promises. It basically consists of eating a bag of the Cookies a day, as they act both as hunger suppressants and come to replace other unhealthy snacks that might tempt the dieter throughout the day. At 90 calories each (a bag contains six such cookies), the Diet also allows for a low-calorie meal in the evening, of no more than 300-800 calories.

Since this sounds almost too good to be true, we managed to reach Dr. Sanford Siegal who has been kind enough to answer a couple of questions for us, meant to dispel whatever doubts we might have still had about this particular diet. Below is the Softpedia Q&A with Dr. Si... (read more)

Marc Price on Cannes Zombie Sensation ‘Colin’

Softpedia News (Elena Gorgan) — Sat, 30 May 2009 13:21:02 GMT

Not long ago, we were telling you about a zombie movie like no other before: “Colin” by Welsh director Marc Price was unique in more ways than one. For starters, it had been made on a budget of just $70 (£45); secondly, it brought something new to the table in that it was shot entirely from the zombie’s perspective; and, last but not least, it premiered at Cannes and managed to cast in a corner of shade Hollywood big productions whose budgets were somewhere in the range of millions of dollars. For such a small film and a new director, these are clearly amazing accomplishments.

Understandably then, when we got to speak to Marc for the first time, we had many questions – and we mean many. Good chance had it that Marc Price, although very busy with the almost unexpected wave of attention coming towards him, was more than happy to answer all of them, and then some, showing that, for once, hoping that there still are people in the industry passionate about what they do and not motivated solely by financial gain is not absurd.

Marc is as open about what he does for a living when he’s not making movies as he is about detailing every little aspect about how “Colin” came to be. There is not a single trace of conceit about him, the kind one would expect from someone who&r... (read more)

The Insides of Panda Cloud Antivirus

Softpedia News (Ionut Ilascu) — Sat, 16 May 2009 10:25:00 GMT

Not long ago Panda released its Panda Cloud Antivirus product, thus marking a shift in the paradigm of malware detection and removal. Even if in beta, it quickly gained popularity among users thanks to its connection to Collective Intelligence, a huge database of malware signature files. Based on the concept of cloud computing, this innovative approach yields remarkable results in both efficiency and impact on resource consumption.

The application is intelligent and has been designed to act only when necessary taking fast action in detecting and eliminating malware on your machine without affecting the performance of the system. However, after testing the beta version of this new antivirus model, we were still left with a lot of questions about its inner-workings, as well as Panda's future plans for it.

In our quest to get some answers, we contacted Mr. Pedro Bustamante, senior research advisor at Panda Security, who was kind enough to provide us with some insight into the technology. We invite you to read on as he details the processes behind the first truly cloud-based antivirus solution.

1. The concept of cloud computing has been out there for a while now. How long ago did you get the idea of a "cloud antivirus," and how long did the development for the "Collective Intelligence" platform and antivirus c... (read more)

Exclusive Interview with Matthew Zeghibe, the Beyonce Hoaxer

Softpedia News (Elena Gorgan) — Tue, 5 May 2009 16:01:00 GMT

A little over a week ago, an audio recording that was supposedly made during a Beyonce “live” performance made its way on the Internet, after Howard Stern played it on his radio station. The recording, of “If I Were a Boy,” was believed to be Beyonce’s board feed and, as fans must already know, saying it was horrendous is clearly an understatement.

The moment it hit the air on Stern’s show, the recording spread on the Internet, being picked by all the major media outlets and presented as the real deal, uncovering a “truth” skeptics had constantly hinted at: Beyonce couldn’t sing live for dear life. However, the next day, it was revealed that the recording had been doctored – and the man behind it was a 26-year-old computer arts student going by the name of Aladdin82 on his YouTube channel, or Matthew Zeghibe in real life. Below, Matthew tells us in an exclusive interview why he chose Beyonce, and how he made the audio recording sound so real.

Softpedia: Most people already know you, Matthew, or have heard of you. However, they know only too little about you, most of the media referring to you as the “Beyonce hoaxer.” To start afresh, please tell our readers something about yourself, and how you came to “pick” ... (read more)

GMX Has No Competition

Softpedia News (Ionut Ilascu) — Mon, 4 May 2009 14:53:00 GMT

GMX, the latest comer in the world of webmail, has released its services to the UK and US market for more than a year now and the team has made great progress based on the feedback from users worldwide. It comes out with appealing features that exceed the offer of leaders of the market such as Gmail, Hotmail or Yahoo!.

After reviewing the possibilities available in the GMX webmail service we've taken the matter further and came up with a set of questions designed to shed more light on the webmail service that has the potential to out-webmail the top dogs in the business.

GMX comes with an impressive feature list that does not comprise advertising (so you get a clean and clear view of your inbox), but includes third-party inbox collector, 1GB file storage, 50MB file upload, 5GB of inbox, POP3 and IMAP support, as well as drag and drop email organization.

Eva Heil, managing director at GMX Internet Service Inc., has been kind enough to provide an answer to our questions and explain the ups and downs revealed during our testing of the service. Among the GMX subjects tackled below we number alias forwarding (up to 10 addresses are permitted for each user), spam, file storage options and experimental features.

Softpedia: Alias forwarding is by far the most important issue in GMX. That's because once the user dele... (read more)

Exclusive: AMD to Soon Release 40nm Desktop Graphics Cards

Softpedia News (Ionut Arghire) — Tue, 7 Apr 2009 07:31:00 GMT

The graphics card market has seen some important changes recently, with Advanced Micro Devices releasing its first boards under the 40-nanometer process technology. Starting with last year, the competition in this market segment has become tighter, with both AMD and its competitor Nvidia trying to provide users with the highest performance possible.

Last year, AMD was the first company to come to the market with a graphics card manufactured using the 55nm process technology, while this year the giant manufacturer is the first to move to the 40nm fabrication, though only in the mobile card area. Even so, we should be able to see desktop graphics cards manufactured under the same technology node in the near future, since the company is working hard on delivering the boards to the market.

We recently had the opportunity to exchange a few words with Mr. John Swinimer, Public Relations Manager at AMD, who had the kindness to shed some light on a few of the company's plans in the graphics card area, as well as in a couple of other segments AMD is actively involved in. What caught our eye from the beginning was what he had to say about the 40nm graphics cards for desktop computers, namely that the “40nm graphics processors are scheduled for arrival in the market soon.”

Mr. J... (read more)

Hackers of Kaspersky, Bitdefender, F-Secure and Symantec Speak Up

Softpedia News (Lucian Constantin) — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 14:00:00 GMT

During the past few weeks, a Romanian self-proclaimed ethical hacking group has kept the leading antivirus vendors on their toes after disclosing SQL injection vulnerabilities on several of their websites.

The security companies that have been affected include Kaspersky, Bitdefender, F-Secure and Symantec. Even though some vulnerabilities have been less serious than others, these documented attacks have strengthened the idea that security is a cat-and-mouse game and that, indeed, no one is invulnerable on the Internet today.

The acts of these Romanian hackers have attracted a lot of media attention and have raised enough controversy. Who are they? What do they want? Why do they do this? Why are they after AV vendors? – these are all questions that many users might have contemplated while reading the news stories.

Therefore, driven by curiosity and armed with lots of questions, Softpedia has gone hunting for some answers and contacted the HackersBlog crew. Much to our surprise, at the other end of our “weapons” we have found people who are open to dialog and do not hesitate to speak their minds. If you're as curious as we have been, please read on to find out what we have dug up.

Softpedia: By now, everyone has become curious as to who you are... (read more)

SPAMfighter: 6 Million Users Fighting Spam

Softpedia News (Lucian Constantin) — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 09:56:00 GMT

We all receive junk e-mail messages, sometimes more, sometimes less, but we have generally got used to them filling our inboxes. However, unsolicited e-mails are a threat, and a costly one that is. Yes, spam is all about money and is subsequently fueled by illegal monetary gains. Whether you end up buying useless and potentially dangerous unregulated meds or having your financial information stolen and abused, or if you're a company investing money into software to block it or cleaning your infected computers of malware distributed through it, spam will end up costing you.

Fortunately, there are people out there who have pledged to rid our lives of this cyber threat, or at least limit its impact. Such is the case of an European company that develops a nifty little free spam filter called SPAMfighter. The company is headquartered in Denmark, but also has offices in the U.S. and Thailand. It was founded in 2003 by Martin Thorborg and Henrik Sørensen, two friends who previously created and operated Denmark's largest and most successful Internet portal, Jubii.

SPAMfighter is available as a both free and commercial edition, and provides anti-spam protection for the Microsoft-flavored e-mail clients (Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express and Windows Mail). The filter takes the interesting approach of using m... (read more)

Exclusive: Seagate on the Future of HDDs and SDDs

Softpedia News (Ionut Arghire) — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 07:02:00 GMT

The storage market is going through major changes these days, with SSDs gaining more and more ground and registering a good market penetration, while HDDs struggle to maintain their position. Undoubtedly, the battle between the two technologies will be a tough and long one, and perhaps they will come to a consensus at a certain moment and will coexist, as we've seen in other IT market areas.

We have had the chance to talk to Siobhan M. Lyons, Seagate Corporate Communications, Consumer Solutions Division, who has been more than kind to answer some of our questions regarding the plans the company has. Also, he has given us an “inside view” on the future of storage industry, confirming some of our thoughts and expectations. Here is the e-mail interview we have had with Mr. Siobhan M. Lyons. Mr. Forrest Monroy, Seagate company spokesperson, should also be credited for the answers we received.

HDD technology has been reportedly advancing towards higher densities, higher storage capacities, faster transfer rates, as well as higher spinning speeds for the platters. How does Seagate see the future of HDDs from this perspective?

Seagate: Seagate sees a bright future for HDDs, and storage in general, as digital content continues to proliferate. We've demonstrated advances in technolo... (read more)

The Audio Carpenter - Luxury Turntables from Audio Wood

Softpedia News (Florin Tibu) — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 09:13:00 GMT

If you've ever wondered if there are any unique, state-of-the-art pieces of audio technology, this article brings a definitive answer: Yes, there are! And Joel Scilley is the man behind the exceptional Audio Wood turntables, some of the most intriguing and eye-catching vinyl records players around, and by far among the most beautiful ones man can devise.The Audio Wood turntables are quite hard to tell apart from other high-class, audiophile technology items and works of art: crafted from exquisite varieties of wood and fully expressing the inner beauty of the materials, these turntables boast a remarkable and fluid, natural styling, suitable for refined interiors and top-shelf custom installations. [img=2]It was really hard for me to think about the most suitable speakers to be used in conjunction with any of the Audio Wood turntables, as their unique and stunning presence would definitely be a match for any of the crazy-expensive cabinets out there.Audio Wood turntables are loaded with premium technology, adding to the overall value of these pieces, Rega tonearms and Maxon DC motors, and come in a variety of configurations, including the classic separate motor casing, adjustable metal spikes and pretty much anything the most demanding customer could desire.And, I myself was looking for more info related to these amazing ... (read more)

Softpedia Exclusive Interview: The Present and Future of GeIL RAM Memory

Softpedia News (Alex Vochin) — Sat, 24 May 2008 18:06:00 GMT

As all the hardware fans among you know only very well, GeIL (or Golden Emperor International Limited, as the company's actually called) is one of the world's leading suppliers of various memory modules, designed especially for hardcore gamers, overclocking fans and technology enthusiasts who simply can't keep their hands out of their computers. This is the reason why we've decided to find out more about what GeIL has in store for us and, with the help of Skin, the official GeIL representative for Romania, we've asked Mr. Hank Cheng, Marketing Department Manager for GeIL, a few questions regarding the company's current offering, as well its plans for the future. Softpedia: OCZ and Kingston are pumping new DDR2 products on the market. Has GeIL's commitment to the DDR2 products been changed by the advent of the new memory standard?Hank Cheng: GeIL's commitment to all memory products has not been changed as we will be launching new series of DDR2 and DDR3 in the second half of 2008. Softpedia: The DDR3 memory promises twice the performance of the pervious DDR2 generation in terms of clock speeds, but its support is limited to a couple of high-end chipsets only. When will the DDR3 standard take over the market?Hank Cheng: The demand for DDR3 will be more evident in Q4 of this year. However, a more obvious sh... (read more)

CeBIT 2008: Exclusive Interview with Intel

Softpedia News (Bogdan Botezatu) — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 15:03:16 GMT

Upon attending CeBIT, we've had the chance of having a very interesting conversation with two of Intel's representatives, namely Mr. Hans-Jurgen Werner, Intel Country Marketing Manager, and Mr. Zane Ball, Director of the Microprocessor Marketing Business Client Group. And as you can see as follows, we've managed to gather quite a lot of very interesting information regarding the chip manufacturer's current products and plans for the future. Softpedia: First of all, since portability and ultra-mobile PCs are among the hottest topics today, I'll start by asking you how Intel is planning to cope with the increased competition on this market and what are you planning for this particular segment? Hans-Jurgen Werner: As you already know, we've just announced the line of processors for ultra-mobile devices, the smallest one being formerly known as Silverthone, and now known as Atom. We've also got a companion chipset for this chip, supporting wireless communications, all of this components being known under the full name of Intel Centrino Atom mobile technology. This is what you'll find in mobile internet devices, which are even smaller than the ultra-mobile PCs. We're talking about a very special brand of devices, which are supposed to run for 8 hours straight in active mode (not stand-by) and to be used for su... (read more)

CeBIT 2008: Exclusive Interview with AMD

Softpedia News (Alex Vochin) — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 13:42:00 GMT

AMD's 780G platform has been one of the most important announcements made at this year's CeBIT exhibition. So, in order to find out more about this particular product, as well as AMD's plans for the future, we've carried out a very exciting interview with Ian McNaughton, senior product manager at AMD, which provided us with some very important pieces of information regarding the company's plans. Softpedia: How do you think that the latest innovation you've announced, the 780G chipset, will influence the market of HD cards and solutions? Do you think that it will bring a whole shift in the market? Ian McNaughton, AMD: I think it will have an unprecedented influence on the market. We think that the new RS780 is the best chipset the world has ever seen, as it offers a level of performance that has never been achieved before in the case of a motherboard GPU, it has a new set of instructions, it has connectivity that enables new displays like never before on the market, it offers a DX10 GPU core, it is by far the best experience available. When you have the opportunity to launch a product like that, it's rare, in a sense that it offer significant performance. And it's funny because 2 days ago we found online a motherboard for sale with RS780 included for just 69 dollars. So you're looking at a price point which offers perfor... (read more)

Academic Resource Kit - Free Tools and Resources from Microsoft

Softpedia News (Marius Oiaga) — Sat, 9 Feb 2008 12:23:00 GMT

Whether you want to build an AJAX-based web application, or a Windows game, the Academic Resource Kit is a great place to start. A Microsoft Romania initiative aimed at driving technology access and adoption, ARK is designed as a comprehensive collection of tools and resources addressing both the development and design aspects of building software solutions. I had the chance to chat with Microsoft Romania's Todi Pruteanu about the ARK initiative, and the interview below will provide you with a great insight into the Academic Resource Kit. 1. Just to get started, please tell our readers who you are and what is your role at Microsoft.Pruteanu: My name is Todi Pruteanu, my role is Academic Developer Evangelist at Microsoft Romania for more than 4 years now.2. What is the Academic Resource Kit and how does it benefit students today?Pruteanu: ARK is a set of powerful development and design tools plus useful educational resources, such as documentation, code samples, curriculum materials, and tutorials that demonstrate the value of the Microsoft platform in technical education.The result is a fully loaded DVD that we've produced in a quantity of 100,000. We have disseminated most of the copies during the summer and in back-to-school campaigns, especially in High Schools and Universities. The product is described on www.... (read more)

Exclusive Interview with The Creator of MyLiveSearch - Google's New Rival

Softpedia News (Bogdan Popa) — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 12:24:00 GMT

MyLiveSearch is one of the search engines that will be released soon and, although its creator says that it is not a new Google rival, he admits that some of the consumers can use it as a stand-alone service. Because the Internet audience is very interested in this new project, I asked Rob Gabriel, the founder and developer of this new search technology, a few questions about the product that will debut on Wednesday, 29th August 2007.Softpedia: Where did the idea of MyLiveSearch come from?Rob Gabriel: The idea came to be back in 1995 when I was running my own private internet service and I became frustrated with search results. I knew that the information was out there but search engines back then did not satisfy my expectations and I thought of searching the internet much the same way that I would search for files on my own computer. After many years of hard work and development, I began to think of ways to better search the web deeper and better, so I decided to work on these issues and over time developed tools that now will have a profound impact on how we search and explore the internet. Softpedia: Is MyLiveSearch a potential competitor for Google, or do you think consumers will use your search technology as an alternative to Google or other search engines?Rob Gabriel: MyLiveSearch was designed ... (read more)

Sophos: We Don't See Any Advantage in Deploying Windows Vista

Softpedia News (Marius Oiaga) — Sat, 19 May 2007 08:10:00 GMT

Windows Vista, Microsoft latest operating system made available on January 30, 2007, is applauded by the Redmond Company as the most secure Windows platform to date. In the first 100 days on the market, Vista has sold approximately 40 million licenses and it is lagging behind various Linux distributions and Mac OS X Tiger in terms of the vulnerabilities that have impacted the platform. Find out what Sophos, a world leader in IT security and control solutions, has to say about Windows Vista and Microsoft's baby steps into the security industry. Sophos has had security solutions in place for Vista since November 2006, even before Microsoft released the operating system to Software Assurance customers. Sophos Anti-Virus for Windows Vista received the prestigious Virus Bulletin VB100 award in 2007, outperforming newcomer Microsoft with OneCare. Still, although it does run Vista internally, Sophos has not completely rolled out the operating system, because it sees no advantages in such a move.Just as I have promised earlier this week, today, you are in for a real treat: an interview with Graham Cluley, Senior Technology Consultant at Sophos. 1. How has Microsoft's latest operating system impacted the threat environment? Has Sophos' role changed in any way?Our role hasn't changed at all. Many different types of threa... (read more)

The Green PCs Are Coming to Get You

Softpedia News (Tudor Raiciu) — Tue, 15 May 2007 07:15:00 GMT

On the 14th of May I attended Dell's Technology and Solutions Tour held in Bucharest. Since there is much to cover on such a complex event as this one, I will be referring only to the main points of interest. In general, Dell only holds conferences whenever they need to explain (and in some cases to prove the usability of) some new concepts. And the "Simplifying the IT one" seems like a big deal, especially if I'm to think about the presentation held by Mark Boulton, Director of Enterprise Marketing for Dell EMEA.I have to say that the presentation itself was pretty impressive as it "touched" some particularly interesting issues, most of them related to this very concept (check the title!). Mister Boulton started the press conference with a quick introduction related to Dell's marketing strategy. The introduction was brief (as expected when dealing with important changes) and evolved around a single point: the service business.On this occasion, I found out that most of Dell's business is represented by the server market and that they hold the Nr. 1 spot on USA (both servers and retail PC market). Worldwide, Dell is currently glued to the Nr. 2 spot, given the constant expansion of HP in the client-server solutions. And it possesses some 11 fulfillment and manufacturing sites, 5 design centers, 5 enterprise command centers and 2 service ops centers. But enough with the numbers...The presentation itself revealed some interesting facts about Dell's future plans. According to M... (read more)

SOFTPEDIA EXCLUSIVE: Meet The Potential Father of Anna Nicole Smith's Child

Softpedia News (Elena Gorgan) — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 12:31:00 GMT

When Anna Nicole Smith was living, she was by far the greatest drama queen that walked this earth. Many of those who knew her can testify to that - whatever she did, she did it in such a way as to attract as much media attention as possible and, in most cases, she succeeded. Then again, now that she is no longer with us, Anna's case continues to interest us to a great extent.Why, we ask? It's not as if she was an extremely talented actress or a celebrity on her own merit! Saying that would mean deceiving ourselves into believing exactly the opposite of reality. Instead, Anna was a wonderful human being (so say those who met her) and the embodiment of every person's secret dream: a woman who rose from the gutter and became a superstar. She married into money, by saying her second 'I Do' to a man who could easily have been her grandfather. She claimed she loved him until his final hour, thirteen months after their wedding. Her entire life was nothing but a rollercoaster ride but, despite the way it was heavily mediated, there still are many little things the public did not have access to.One of those things is Mark 'Hollywood' Hatten's story, the man whom Anna dated for almost two years and who claims they were even engaged. In the light of recent events (Hatten petitioning for a DNA paternity test ... (read more)

Meet Hamad Darwish - Windows Vista Photographer

Softpedia News (Marius Oiaga) — Thu, 8 Mar 2007 16:54:00 GMT

As I have promised a while back, here is the interview with Hamad Darwish, one of the photographers commissioned by Microsoft for a Windows Vista wallpaper photoshoot. I would like to thank Hamad for the time he has taken to share his Vista experience with us. You will be able to download a set of Vista wallpapers Hamad has made available via this link on his personal website, and also access his other works here on Flickr. That being said, I will let you read the interview. Enjoy!1. Could you please give us some details, something about yourself? An introduction on one of the contributors to Windows Vista, for our readers.I am a 24 years old Kuwait Radiographer / Network Administrator. I am a photography hobbyist, and an adventure enthusiast. I was born and raised in Kuwait. In the year 2000, and at the age of 17 I moved to the United States to acquire my Bachelor's degree in Radiological Sciences and Medical Imaging from Oregon Institute of Technology in Klamath Falls, Oregon. In spring 2006, I finished my education and moved back to Kuwait with my family. I currently live and work in Kuwait for the Ministry of Health at a local hospital specialized for heart and chest diseases.This may sound a bit awkward, but I'm also a hardcore gamer. I can't live without my video games. I build my own gaming PCs, and I also own the two major ... (read more)

The Coordinates of Windows Vista Security

Softpedia News (Marius Oiaga) — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 10:20:46 GMT

Stephen Toulouse, senior program manager for the Trustworthy Computing Group was kind enough to give Microsoft's perspective on the security of Windows Vista. However, this mile-long interview covers a larger scope than Vista. You will be able to get an overall idea of the threat landscape for 2006 and 2007, along with the measures Microsoft had implemented in order to protect customers. The interview also covers Microsoft's relations with its security partners, the main security enhancements in Windows Vista, the principal security threat that users will face in 2007, the first service pack for Vista, and so much more...Just sit comfortably, grab a coffee, a large coffee, and enjoy. A large coffee because when I said this is a mile-long interview I was not exaggerating. I would like to use this opportunity to thank Stephen Toulouse and Margeau Lebeau for their patience and help. Can you give us an oversight of the threat landscape in 2006 in comparison to 2005? What would you say is the backbone of cybercrime in the past year? It's an ever changing landscape, that's certain. In fact, to give an overview of the threat landscape, according to the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) list, the number of vulnerabilities is estimated to have doubled from 2005 to 2006 representing an increase in vulnerability reports across the indust... (read more)

Swiss Metal Band Samael in EventYou!

Softpedia News (Florin Tibu) — Sat, 9 Dec 2006 12:14:00 GMT

One Event and Metalfan brought Samael in Romania. They played their best. I imagined the discussion-topics. You'll be glad we all did our jobs...The large matte glass walls separating the lobby of the hotel went open and the guys from RockXpres came out. They were a bit dazed or so it seemed to me. Short hails from both sides and a handshake before they told me that the two individuals me and my photographer were about to meet are absolutely fantastic. Then I knew that we'll do an extraordinary job...First of all, this wasn't quite the ordinary interview you might have been used to read...it was more like a chat between friends who haven't seen each other in a long time and they finally met in some sort of work-related environment or situation. As you'll surely notice, even the two discussion partners observed that this interview had nothing to do with the "glamour"; it was more technical and more oriented towards what professionals would like to hear from such a band. So, as promised, an extremely interesting interview with the masterminds of Swiss metal band Samael, (read more)

Cicciolina Interview

Softpedia News (Cristi Marculescu) — Fri, 7 Apr 2006 02:20:00 GMT

With some "girl on girl live action" taking place 9 feet away from her and all the erotic products one can imagine (and the ones no one can ever imagine) on display in the building, Cicciolina, former adult movie star, former Italian senator and actual writer, still gathers most of the visitor's attention.As she sits relaxed on a couch, with people asking for her autograph and taking photos of her, she looks as any former xxx-star would look in her 50s: blond hair, a lot of make-up, some huge breasts and a trashy unrevealing long grass-colored dress. We stand in line for the soon to start interview, while all around us, a curious crowd, is waiting for a handshake and a smile from Cicciolina. As the interview started, I grew aware of the former diva's irony and cut-to-the-chase way of dealing with certain issues.Softpedia: How many erotic conventions do you attend each year?Cicciolina: There certainly are many, but I never considered counting them. I don't attend just erotic events, I also do TV shows, TV interviews. Too many things to take the time and count them.Softpedia: As you have attended so many erotic fairs and adult industry conventions, could you tell us what are the things that differ from one to another?Cicciolina: I don't think there are many or important things to be different. I mean, every erotic event like this has ... (read more)

There's A Lot More Behind This Pretty Face - Cain

Softpedia News (Adina Gheorghe) — Sat, 14 Jan 2006 09:26:00 GMT

It's a pity only few people know Mihnea Manoli, alias Cain. He's a 23-year-old ambitious talent whose fantastic love for acting was able to blossom even though he didn't have the chance to make the best of it till now. This love for acting and theater morphed into a great passion for film and so, Cain found himself quite a movie buff, watching movie after movie on the translated videocassettes that appeared on the Romanian market.Leaving Romania, due to his extracurricular work, he enrolled at the prestigious Phillips Exeter Academy, in Exeter, New Hampshire, where he took his first acting classes and directed his first play, Christopher Durang's "The Living Room". Then he went on to act in Richard Brinsley Sheridan's "The School for Scandal", as the vicious Joseph Surface, and in Tom Stoppard's "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead" as title character Rosencrantz. Finishing highschool, he moved to Boston, where he chose advertising as his major. After one year of studying here, he moved back to Bucharest and enrolled at the National School of Political and Administrative Studies, David Ogilvy Faculty of Communication and Public Relations.During the summer break preceding his junior year, while back at home in Bucharest, he was offered a contract with Sony Music Romania and a year later he released "All She Wants Is The Money", the title track from "Break The Game Rules", his debut album. The hot video, featuring a simulated sex orgy between male and female Romanian top-mo... (read more)