Google introduced new AdSense ad format for content ads on websites, called AdSense Ad Links. These smaller-than-usual formats use a bit of shorthand to link to several categories of ads, rather than display the ads themselves.

Ad Links are automatically matched to web page contents using AdSense technology. Google thinks that Ad Links are useful for web publishers (who get a more flexible way to incorporate more advertising into their sites); advertisers (who get more inventory); and users (who get more relevant ads to choose from).

Another new project debute today on Google Labs is Google X.
Google X is a new interface which mimics MacOSX tool bar to access all of Google’s services.

It’s official. IBM has confirmed the existing of ‘Antares’, the dual-core G5-class PowerPC chip formally dubbed the 970MP.

The company this week posted an advisory note on its website informing hardware developers how to use the chip’s on-board temperature monitors - two thermal diodes - to ensure the chip doesn’t overheat.

The note confirms the 970MP’s dual-core nature, with each core possessing its own 1MB L2 cache. The note suggests the chip is likely to be clocked higher than today’s top-end PowerPC 970FX chips, which Apple uses in its iMac G5, Power Mac G5 and Xserve G5 machines.

This means higher power consumption levels and higher operating temperatures. That in turn means more aggressive cooling facilities, so we’re likely to see a greater usage of liquid cooling systems in dual-core desktops. Apple introduced liquid cooling to the Power Mac range with its 2.5GHz dual-processor desktop machine last Summer.

Source: The Register

Linspire, Inc. today announced the release of its latest operating system, Linspire Five-0. More than a year in the making and with more than 1,200 improvements, the newest version of Linspire boasts enhancements in every core application

Highlights include a completely revised and streamlined graphical interface, improved laptop and hardware support, significant Internet optimization, and dozens of enhanced software applications to provide a complete user experience. The new Linspire Five-0 operating system is available immediately via digital download from www.linspire.com/buylinspire and will be available in more than 1,000 retail outlets later this month.

Beginning in the second quarter, Viewsonic Corp. said it will ship a pair of LCD monitors with 4-millisecond response designed for high-performance gaming.

According to the Viewsonic web site, the company will ship two monitors: the 19-inch VX924, as well as the 17-inch VX724. Prices on the panels were not announced, although Viewsonic’s vice president of Asia-Pacific sales and marketing, Allan Chang, told DigiTimes that the larger panel will cost approximately $549. Both monitors will ship in May and June, respectively.

Source: ExtremeTech

Microsoft has shared publicly that IE 7.0 will be focused primarily on improving security. Company officials said recently that Microsoft plans to make IE 7.0 available to Windows XP Service Pack 2, Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 and Windows XP Professional x64 users. A first beta of IE 7.0 is due out this summer.

But Microsoft is sharing quite a bit more IE 7.0 specifics privately with key partners, sources who requested anonymity claim.

Sources say that IE 7.0 – which is code-named “Rincon,” they hear – will be a tabbed browser.

IE 7.0 will feature international domain name (IDN) support; transparent Portable Network Graphics (PNG) support, which will allow for the display of overlayed images in the browser; and new functionality that will simplify printing from inside IE 7.0, partner sources said. The new browser also will likely include a built-in news aggregator.

(Coincidentally, or perhaps not, MSN just began testing a new Microsoft-developed RSS aggregator.)

Among the myriad security enhancements Microsoft is expecting to include in IE 7.0, according to partner sources:

• reduced privilege mode becomes the default;
• no cross-domain scripting and/or scripting access;
• improved Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) user interface;
• possible integration between IE 7.0 and Microsoft’s Windows anti-spyware service, which currently is in beta.

Source: Microsoft Watch

Yahoo is stepping into social networking and blogging, with a new service that promises to offer a simpler way to keep in touch with people.

According to a page on its Web site, the company is inviting members to sign up for a beta test of a new product, dubbed Yahoo 360°.

“It’s really about keeping connected to people you know,” said Julie Herendeen, vice president for network services at Yahoo. “Yahoo 360° allows consumers to conveniently connect with the people they care about by creating and sharing blogs, photos and other content across Yahoo.”

Herendeen said Yahoo had no immediate plans to add advertising to the service. “We’re focused on engaging people first,” she said.

Yahoo’s move comes as social networking and blogging draws increased interest from rivals, including Microsoft and Google.

Source: News.com