Office Software

Evernote gets major Android update

As an avid Evernote user, I've really enjoyed watching both the service and its Android application evolve. That's why I was pleased today when I learned that the latest update would add security options, a new widget, and shared notebooks.

Likely to be the most welcome feature is the new ability to collaborate on notebooks using an Android phone or tablet. Mobile users now can search shared notebooks from other Evernote customers directly from their device, with full editing and sync capabilities. The person sharing the notebook must be a Premium subscriber to use the editing feature, but … Read more

Microsoft opens up Office 365 as public beta

Microsoft has opened the tap on its cloud-based Office 365 and is now offering the service as a public beta for anyone to try out.

Available in 38 countries and in 17 languages, the new beta follows several months of limited testing among a couple thousand businesses that were able to kick the tires on the service. After the public beta, Office 365 will officially launch later this year.

Unveiled last October, Office 365 is Microsoft's attempt to offer businesses a cloud-based alternative to some of its traditional desktop and server products. The service combines Office Web Apps with … Read more

Microsoft fixes IE, SMB bugs in big Patch Tuesday

Microsoft today urged customers to apply fixes for holes in Internet Explorer, including one being exploited in attacks, and for vulnerabilities in Windows Server Message Block (SMB) client and server software as part of a whopping Patch Tuesday.

The company released 17 bulletins resolving 64 vulnerabilities, nine of them rated "critical" and eight rated "important." However, 30 of the vulnerabilities are addressed by one bulletin, a kernel update that is rated "important," that was discovered by one researcher.

First priority is MS11-018, a cumulative security update for IE that is rated critical for IE6, … Read more

Microsoft to release Office for Mac 2011 Service Pack 1 next Wednesday

Bumping up security, stability, and adding a few new features, Microsoft's Mac Team announced on their blog today that the first major update for Office for Mac 2011, dubbed Service Pack 1, will be available for download next Wednesday. The major new feature will enable syncing from Microsoft's Outlook to Apple's Sync Services.

Calendars, contacts, notes, and tasks will all be available for syncing to any Apple device, including iPads, iPhones, and iPods. One limitation to be aware of, according to the announcement on the Microsoft Mac Team blog:

"MobileMe will no longer sync with MacOS … Read more

Adobe fixes critical Flash Player bug affecting Reader

Adobe today released a fix for a critical vulnerability in Flash Player that affects Adobe Reader and Acrobat and which reportedly has been exploited in attacks via Flash files embedded in Excel files distributed via e-mail.

The vulnerability, reported last week, could allow an attacker to crash a system or take control of it. Adobe is not aware of attacks targeting Adobe Reader and Acrobat, the company said, also noting that Adobe Reader X Protected Mode, a sandboxing technique, prevents an exploit of this type from executing.

The bug has been identified in Adobe Flash Player 10.2.152.33 … Read more

IE9 arrives, but not for XP

Microsoft has taken the training wheels off of Internet Explorer 9, debuting a full-featured browser that has proven to be the fastest, most standards-compliant IE version yet. There's a catch, though: IE 9's not for Windows XP. You'll need Windows 7 or Vista if you want this browser.

And if you're a Microsoft Outlook user prone to rash e-mailing, you might want to check out ToneCheck from Lymbix. This e-mail sentiment analysis app monitors your e-mail's composing window for potential errors of tone, just as spell-check scans for errors of spelling or grammar.

Finally, for … Read more

Microsoft to fix four holes in Windows, Office

Contrary to last month when Microsoft plugged 22 holes on Patch Tuesday, only four holes will be fixed in the company's monthly security update roundup next week.

There will be three bulletins, one of them rated "critical" for Microsoft Windows and the other two rated "important" and affecting Windows and Office, according to the preview advisory released today.

While they are few in number, they are not to be ignored. They all involve remote code execution, which means an attacker could force code to run on a target's machine and could lead to a … Read more

Scan receipts and reverse gravity: iPhone apps of the week

The big Apple news out this week was the event that launched the new MacBook Pros--and they are certainly drool-worthy. All three new models are twice as fast as their predecessors, featuring quad-core Intel i7 processors for the 15- and 17-inch models, and dual-core i5 and i7 processors for the 13-inch models. The AMD Radeon graphics processors have been improved along with newly added Thunderbolt technology that lets you use a new port (along side your USB ports) to transfer data at up to 10GB per second. Read our full coverage here.

I'm not sure whether I'll rush out and buy one of these new MacBook Pros with the iPad 2 coming out in April, but that's mostly because I don't have as much use for the high-powered graphics and processing power in my line of work. I also can't afford to buy both.

Are you in the market for a new laptop and thinking about getting a new MacBook Pro? Are you waiting to see what the iPad 2 will offer before pulling the trigger? Are you going to buy both? Let us know in the comments.

This week's apps include a handy image-scanning app for getting quick copies on the go and a 2D side-scrolling game where you can reverse gravity with a touch of your finger.… Read more

Can't make the meeting? Attend it remotely with free Join.me app

You're stuck in a cross-town taxi. An important meeting is just getting under way at the office. What do you do? What do you do?

You can dial in, of course, but then you'll be missing out on all the visuals: slide decks, spreadsheets, and so on.

Solution: fire up Join.me, a universal application that lets you connect to remote meetings or screen-sharing sessions. It's free, and nothing short of fabulous.

In case you're not familiar with it, the Join.me service offers fast, hassle-free Web conferencing. Whoever is hosting the meeting merely downloads and … Read more