Adobe Kills Free Photoshop Application, Urges Users Online

Although I'm not entirely stoked about it, there's a huge shift lately in how companies would like us to use their software. If you ask Google, they believe any application you need should be available online, and they've proved it by offering suites of various sources that way (including their very popular office suite). But what about applications that are incredibly robust, such as Photoshop?

Well, as much as hate working with applications of any sort online (I'll always be a desktop guy), there are some applications that, when done right, will work online just fine,  like image manipulation tools, such as the one offered by Adobe at Photoshop.com. Obviously what's offered online here isn't going to be near as robust as the full-blown suite, but rather, it's designed people on a low budget, or people who just want to take care of quick photo edits fast.

The reason that the site is significant now, is because Adobe has just discontinued their Photoshop Album Starter Edition application, which has always been free, in order to push people towards their online service. It's an interesting move, to say the least, because rather than have people use their free desktop application, they'd rather people use their bandwidth and be confined to a web browser. Seems a wee bit odd to me, but once again, I am not a web apps guy.

How do you guys feel about this? Would you rather use Photoshop in a web browser than on the desktop? I admit, it is a nice feature if you are on the go and need a quick photo edit, but I don't recall the last time when I was in that situation, and without my notebook. Either way, I realize I'm probably in the minority, as it's far from being only Adobe that's starting to throw such robust applications online.

The move reflects the growing importance of Web-based applications even for software powerhouses such as Adobe. Web applications, even when using relatively sophisticated technology such as Adobe's Flash, are typically primitive compared to what can run on a computer, but they offer advantages in sharing, maintenance, and remote access from multiple computers and mobile devices. And of course the Web is gradually growing more sophisticated as a foundation for applications.

Chkdsk Bug in Windows 7 Could Cause BSOD?

Yesterday, a fierce storm blew through the Internet targeting Windows 7, and the reports weren't good. It's been discovered that there is a severe enough issue that many are believing could result in a delayed Windows 7 release, although that would be tough to believe, since the RTM has just been released to MSDN subscribers today. According to Microsoft though, they see no issue, and if there is one, it's not their fault.

The problem lies with the built-in disk-checker, "chkdsk". When run with the /r switch, on a secondary drive, the program suffers from a major memory leak that effectively hogs all of your system RAM, and ultimately, gives you the infamous Blue Screen of Death. While many people have verified that this issue exists, Microsoft is adamant in stating that they've yet to experience the issue, and they believe if anything, it would be caused by hardware, not their software.

"While we appreciate the drama of 'critical bug' and then the pickup of 'showstopper' that I've seen, we might take a step back and realize that this might not have that defcon level." is what Microsoft's Steven Sinofsky, president of the Windows Division, said, so it appears that they don't believe it to be a major issue at this point. It's also unknown whether or not this bug only exists in the RTM or not, because you'd imagine that if it has always existed, people would have discovered it long ago.

If anyone out there happens to be running any build of Windows 7, and you have a two-disk setup, and you are feeling a little brave, try out the chkdsk command, and see if the bug exists on your system. If your secondary drive is "E:", then the proper command would be, "chkdsk /r e:", without quotes.

On the Chris123NT's blog, a user name FireRX, who appears to be a Microsoft MVP, said, "the chkdsk /r tool is not at fault here. It was simply a chipset controller issue. Please update [your] chipset drivers to the current driver from your motherboard manufacturer. I did mine, and this fixed the issue. Yes, it still uses a lot of physical memory, because [you're] checking for physical damage, and errors on the Harddrive [you're] testing... Again, there is no Bug." FireRX also said he was sure a hotfix would be issued today.

Accused Domain Name Thief Faces Jail Time

The Internet has been around for about 14 years now, which many would consider to be a while. But, despite all that time, the legal system still hasn't had time (or so it seems) to catch up, as there are still many uncertainties about what's legal, and not, online. Even things that are blatantly illegal, or should be, are not, and as you could imagine, that can cause a headache for some people.

Once such crime is theft of a domain name. That is, to physically log (or break) into the rightful owners domain account, change the information, and simply call it your own. That's just what Daniel Goncalves did with web URL P2P.com. Except, he didn't just steal it, he actually sold it from right under the real owner's noses. As you'd expect, such a domain would sell for a pretty penny, and it did... $110,000 to NBA player Mark Madsen.

It's hard to tell if the owners received the domain name back yet, or not, but it's proven to be a complicated process in having the case dealt with, since, as mentioned before, it seems that no one knows just how to handle legal cases like this. It's a legal gray area, but with the Internet what it is today, I don't think it's safe to keep on going without hardened laws. After all, the owners of P2P.com had the money to fight their case... many people do not.

The main problems affecting victims of domain name theft are lack of experience of law enforcement, lack of clear legal precedents, and the money necessary to launch an investigation. DomainNameNews, which first reported the arrest, relates the Angels' experience in reporting the crime. When the Angels called Florida police to report the theft, a uniformed officer in a squad car was sent to their home. "What's a domain?" the officer asked them, according to DomainNameNews.

Tech Roundup - August 6, 2009

Motherboards & Processors
• ASUS M4A79T Deluxe - PureOverclock
• Gigabyte GA-EP55-UD4P - Overclockers Club
• MSI 785GM-E65 - Motherboards.org

Displays & Video Cards
• GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 285 2GB OC - TweakTown
• Using Dual-Monitors to Optimize Productivity - Benchmark Reviews
• Zotac GTX 285 Infinity - XS Reviews

Memory & Storage
• Iomega eGo Mac Edition - Digital Trends
• OCZ Platinum PC3-10666 6GB - Hardware Logic
• OCZ Vertex Turbo MLC SATA SSD - Benchmark Reviews

Peripherals & Gadgets
• Iqua VizorSUN Bluetooth Handsfree Car Kit - Tech-Reviews
• Logitech G13 Advanced Gameboard - Phoronix

Cooling
• AeroCool Touch-2000 LCD Fan Controller - Legit Reviews
• Xigmatek S126384 Thors Hammer CPU Cooler - FrostyTech

Chassis & Power Supplies
• NZXT Zero 2 - Virtual-Hideout
• ThermalTake Element G - Ninjalane
• Xclio Godspeed One Advanced Chassis - DragonSteelMods

Competitions, Complete Systems & Et cetera
• Hantech SISO Markus-800 Full 1080p HD Media Centre - ModSynergy
• Samsung Highlight SGH-T749 Cell Phone - Digital Trends
• ZeroShock III Netbook Case - TestFreaks