Dr. Bill | The Computer Curmudgeon

This week’s GSotW is Evalaze, an application virtualization platform, along the lines of another Geek Software of the Week, Cameyo.

Evalaze

“Software virtualization is a piece of technology that allows the running of applications, without having to install these in the ‘traditional’ way. The applications work in their own virtual environment and do not affect the operating system or other programs.

Amongst other features, this technology allows multiple identical applications to be run in parallel on the same system. This enables you to simultaneously run different versions of a browser on a system, for example. Outdated applications can be used on new and modern operating systems. A problem with non-virtualized applications is that they are firmly anchored to the system. The installation and configuration of applications is time-consuming. Uninstalling will not delete entries in the registry or file system and thus will put further strain on the system. This can lead to system slow-downs and crashes. Virtualized applications, however, are flexible. These can be run locally on a PC, on network drives, on terminal servers or on USB sticks. Evalaze also puts an application virtualization assistant at the users disposal to help with the software. In order to virtualize an application, Evalaze creates a snapshot of the system. Following this, the application of choice is installed and a second snapshot is taken. The installed files and registry entries are now converted into a new .exe file by Evalazes virtualization engine. This file can now be copied to an appropriate medium and executed.

Evalaze-Features

• Evalaze is cross-platform compatible with all 32 Bit/64-Bit operating systems like Windows XP (SP2), Windows Vista and Windows 7, as well as with servers running Windows Server 2003 and Windows 2008.
• 32-Bit/64-Bit Supports applications for 64-Bit Windows systems.
• A software ‘assistant’ guides the user through the virtualization of applications.
• During the process of creating the virtualized application there is a choice as to whether or not the sandbox will be automatically deleted each time the application is shut down. If so, the virtual application would automatically reset to its original state.
• The start-up screen can be customised to the user’s needs and wishes. This is ideal for software developers.
• The virtualized application does not need drivers, clients, or a server environment, as it runs completely independently.
• The system stays clean. A virtualized application is copied. If it is no longer required it can simply be deleted. It will leave no traces.
• Each virtualized application and any other elements will run in the same virtual environment.
• The virtual application runs entirely in user mode. Therefore, no administrator rights are required.
• The application is launched in a sandbox. This completely isolates the application from the operating system and any other applications.
• Business clients can take advantage of a simple licensing model and can now use Evalaze within their own IT environments.”

So, how cool is this! A flat sheet of material folding itself into a robot, and then going for a walk! Check out the YouTube video below to see it happen!

IBM has developed a new type of chip that processes data similar to the way that your brain processes data. It uses a million digital neurons and 256 million synapses which may allow IBM to build more intelligent computers. This new kind of computer chip consumes significantly less power and is suited processing images sound and other sensory data. IBM calls it the SyNapse chip and the over 1 million neurons which communicate with one another using electrical spikes are similar to the way actual neurons communicate, which allows it to mimic the connections and synapses of the human brain.

The synapse chip breaks with the design known as the Von Neumann architecture that has been used in computer chips for the last several decades.

Of course, one downside to this new chip is that it requires all new programming languages, since it operates very differently than ordinary computer chips. Of course, IBM has released software development kits so that development can begin on software that works with this chip.

The new SyNapse chip has more transistors than most desktop processors, or, in fact, any chip that IBM has ever made, with over 5 billion, but it consumes very little power. In fact, processors with a similar number of transistors consume tens of Watts of power which is around 10,000 times more power than the 63 mW consumed by the SyNapse chip.

Most modern web browsers block old, insecure and out-of-date ActiveX controls and things of that nature. Microsoft Internet Explorer, up to now, did not do this. This is actually to be expected since Microsoft Internet Explorer is the worst browser you can use if you want to protect your security. But now even lowly Internet Explorer will soon block ActiveX controls and Java.

Chrome and Firefox already block out-of-date and unsafe plug-ins. But, again, this is to be expected since they are much more secure than Internet Explorer.

This new blocking feature in Internet Explorer will begin operating around August 12 of this month. It should also be noted that this only applies to Internet Explorer 8.0 and above, and also those versions must be running on Windows 7 service pack 1 or Windows 8.x.

If you’re on an older version of the browser or an older version of the operating system then of course you are open to attack from all kinds of security bugs, hacks, exploits, and malware which you should expect if you’re using Internet Explorer anyway, so no big surprise there!

Microsoft is finally doing the right thing… it is killing off it’s old browsers. Now, if we could just get it to kill off Internet Explorer all together! Well, I can dream, can’t I?

Support for old versions of Internet Explorer to be dropped – in 2016

Ars Technica – By: Peter Bright – “Microsoft has supported Internet Explorer for an awfully long time. Each new version of Windows comes with a minimum of five years of mainstream support and five years of extended support. That support window covers all bundled and integrated software—including Internet Explorer—and any software updates.

Windows Server 2003, for example, is supported until July 2015. As such, Internet Explorer 6 (bundled with that operating system), Internet Explorer 7 (available as an update for that operating system), and Internet Explorer 8 (likewise, an update) are all supported until July 2015.

But all that is set to change under a new support policy announced today that is scheduled to take effect in about 18 months. Starting January 12, 2016, only the newest version of Internet Explorer for any given version of Windows will be supported. Older versions will cease to receive security fixes and other updates.

Once the new policy takes effect, Windows Vista and Server 2008 users must use Internet Explorer 9, and Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2 users must use Internet Explorer 11. Windows Server 2012 users must use Internet Explorer 10, while Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 users must have Internet Explorer 11.

The Windows Server 2012/Internet Explorer 10 pairing is due to Microsoft’s slightly odd handling of the transition from Windows 8 to 8.1, and 2012 to 2012 R2. There is no version of Internet Explorer 11 for Windows 8. However, for Windows 8, the Windows 8.1 update is essentially a service pack, and this includes Internet Explorer 11. Windows 8 and 8.1 have two years of ‘parallel’ support, during which both receive updates. After that period, the (free) 8.1 update becomes mandatory anyway. The cut-off date for Windows 8.0 is also January 12, 2016.

Windows Server 2012 is the server counterpart to Windows 8 and ships with Internet Explorer 10. However, Windows Server 2012 R2, the counterpart to Windows 8.1, isn’t treated like a service pack and isn’t a free update (except for Software Assurance customers). Instead of two years of parallel support, both Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2012 R2 are supported all the way through 2023.

Unless Microsoft remedies this somehow (either by treating the server operating system the same way as the desktop operating system, or by releasing the new browser for the older operating system), Internet Explorer 10 will continue to be supported and updated.

Even with this anomaly, the new support policy represents progress. As we note each month, while the majority of Chrome and Firefox users are all using the newest version of those browsers, Internet Explorer has a large user base that’s using old versions. Internet Explorer 8 is currently the most widely used version of the browser.

Microsoft started making Internet Explorer updates automatic with Internet Explorer 9 and made them automatic from day one with Internet Explorer 10. The result was that versions 10 and 11 spread much more quickly than their predecessors. But unlike the competition, the carrot of better performance and standards compliance never had a corresponding stick of non-support.

In 2016 that will finally change, a move that should help push old versions of Internet Explorer off the Internet. As we’ve seen with Windows XP, that change sadly won’t be instant, but any bit of pressure to discourage the use of old browsers can only be a good thing.”

I have a Nexus 10, so I already have access to Google Now… but now anyone with a late enough version of Android can use it!

Formerly Nexus-only Google Now Launcher out for all Android 4.1+ devices

Ars Technica – By: Andrew Cunningham – “When KitKat was released on the Nexus 5 last year, it included a new application launcher that we spent quite a bit of time on in our review. That launcher wasn’t actually a part of KitKat, though—it was exclusive to the Nexus 5 for several months and was only made available to other Nexus and Google Play edition phones well after they had been updated to KitKat. Now, Google is casting an even wider net. The company just announced that the Google Now Launcher can be installed on any phone running Android 4.1 or newer, regardless of manufacturer.

As we’ve covered previously, the Google Now Launcher isn’t really a launcher in and of itself—it just ties in to code that’s been shipping with the Google Search app for around a year now. If you try to install the Google Now Launcher on a phone with an older version of the Search app, you’ll be prompted to update it before you can actually switch home screens. Previous versions of the launcher could often be sideloaded onto newer phones and tablets with no issue, since the launcher is just part of the Search app, and the Search app is installed on all Google-approved Android devices.

If you haven’t experimented with it before, the Google Now Launcher replaces your phone’s home screen with the same one Google first released on the Nexus 5 late last year. It offers its own wallpapers, and it has voice controls that can be activated by saying ‘OK Google’ when sitting at the home screen. If you’ve opted into Google Now, you can see all of your cards by swiping right from your primary home screen.

When you first install the launcher, you can activate it by tapping your phone’s Home button, selecting the Google Now Launcher from the list that appears, and selecting ‘Always’ to make it the default launcher. If you decide you don’t like it later, you can switch back to the old launcher using the Home panel in the Settings, or you can uninstall the launcher completely (this isn’t an option on the Nexus 5). The first time you open it, it will offer to import your icons and widgets from your existing home screen, and it will prompt you to opt into Google Now if you haven’t already (it’s not mandatory, but it’s part of the launcher’s raison d’être).

While the Google Now Launcher can make any phone feel a good deal closer to the ‘stock’ Android Google is shipping on Nexus devices, it’s only a replacement for your home screen and application drawer. Any modifications your phone’s OEM or carrier has made to the notification center, the quick settings panel, the multitasking switcher, or any settings menus will remain intact, for better or worse.

Releasing the Google Now Launcher to all phones is just the latest step down a path that Google started down when it began updating certain Android apps through the Google Play store rather than through major Android updates. Now that the home screen has been added to that list of apps, it’s even easier to get a Google-approved, Google-designed experience on your phone, even if your OEM doesn’t keep your phone up to date. We have no doubt that the Google Now Launcher will be tweaked to reflect Google’s new Material Design initiative, alongside many other Google-controlled apps.”