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Microsoft's efforts to make Windows 7 less annoying than Vista may also be making it less secure than its predecessor.

With Windows Vista, the operating system popped up a warning any time a major change was being made to the system, whether by the OS or by a third-party application. With Windows 7, users can choose how often to be notified, with the current default set to notify only when a third-party application is making a change.

Blogger Long Zheng, however, is drawing attention to an apparent shortcoming in that approach. Because changes to the user account control setting … Read more

An ultimate mobile productivity application, Pageonce's personal assistant gives you the tools to view all your online accounts in one sophisticated application. Sure, you'll have to be comfortable storing all your passwords on your phone, but if you are, you'll find yourself relying on Pageonce's stylish interface to get all your details in a glance.

After adding accounts through an assisted browsing process, Pageonce will display them as buttons on the Accounts tab. Tap it to view, for instance, your banking transactions and total balance, travel itineraries, social commitments, and friends' status updates on a slew … Read more

WorldCom's former CEO Bernard Ebbers is seeking clemency from George Bush in the final days of his presidency.

Ebbers, who was convicted of helping mastermind an $11 billion accounting fraud, is asking the president to reduce his 25-year sentence. Ebbers has filed a petition for commutation to the Office of the Pardon Attorney. And the petition is under review, a Justice Department spokeswoman told Reuters.

The U.S. Constitution grants the president the power to pardon convicted felons either erasing their convictions or reducing their prison sentences. And it's common in the last days of an administration for … Read more

Since Monday, I have been running a prebeta copy of Windows 7, the next operating system from Microsoft.

At first glance, build 6801 of Windows 7 appears very much like Windows Vista; that's because enhancements to the look and feel part of the operating system typically come late in the development process. Right now, the core programming is being set, and there are already some changes in how Windows 7 will handle computer security.

Gone is the Security Center, introduced in Windows XP SP2. Instead, there will be an "Action Center" that incorporates alerts from 10 existing … Read more

On Wednesday Google formally announced its support as a provider for the OpenID 2.0 protocol, offering some site owners a way to let users log-in and register for new accounts using existing Google account information. More importantly, Google will be letting these same users manage all their linked account information in one central location.

This new log-in offering is not available to all site owners just yet. Google has set up a sign-up form where developers can apply with their URL and OpenID identification to get access. Plaxo and Zoho are two of the first sites to already have … Read more

The rampant success of the iPhone has forced Apple and its financial watchers to re-evaluate the value of the company.

Saying that Apple's iPhone business "had become too big to ignore," Apple CEO Steve Jobs made a rare appearance on the company's earnings conference call earlier on Tuesday to explain just how much money the iPhone is dumping into Apple's coffers. For the first time, the company used supplemental financial details to give some color on the contribution that the iPhone could be making to Apple's bottom line if iPhone sales were handled like … Read more

Updated 10/20/08 with a product download link.

I just demoed the prerelease version of Pageonce for BlackBerry, an app that will help track your personal finance and other online accounts.

For those of you unfamiliar with the product of which I speak, Pageonce (covered here and here) is a one stop shop for accessing all your online accounts from your mobile phone (as of today that's just the iPhone).

You sign up for an account online and begin filing the details for any number of personal accounts. There are templates you can choose by category, such as … Read more

Microsoft's recently acquired Fast Search & Transfer was charged on Thursday with accounting fraud by Norwegian officials, Reuters reported Thursday.

According to the Reuters report, police raided Fast's offices in Oslo in order to preserve evidence.

Microsoft didn't mention the charges in a statement, but it confirmed that police showed up at its offices Thursday.

"We can confirm that the Norwegian Police for Economic Crime this morning conducted inquiries at Fast's offices in Oslo," the software maker said in a statement. "Microsoft and its subsidiary Fast Search & Transfer (are) cooperating fully with … Read more

Intuit shared details of bookkeeping app QuickBooks 2009 on Monday. With this release, the company aims to broaden the focus beyond the ledger book, providing a management center for small businesses that includes expanded online banking, support for transactions in more than 100 currencies, and 12 months of free Web hosting.

The applications are set to arrive in stores October 8.

The 2009 release targets businesses that do work globally, whether that means say, shipping vintage Disney toys to eBay buyers in Japan or employing basket weavers in Uganda. At least 30 percent of QuickBooks users handle international transactions, according … Read more