The SoftwareMedia Tribune
Find out what happened in the world of software in December 2008. The SoftwareMedia Tribune gives you all the latest software news, releases, innovations, tips, tricks and more. Sign up to keep up with the latest Software News and get exclusive discounts for SoftwareMedia.com in you inbox once a month!

Help & How To
Compare Accounting Programs
Software Licensing Guide
VMware & Virtualization Guide
Audio Software Guide

New Software Releases
TurboTax 2008
TaxCut 2008
Filemaker Bento 2
CA Internet Security Suite 2009
Norton Systemworks 12

Briefly…

• Microsoft released “Seadragon Mobile”, its first iPhone app, for viewing images.
  
• A recent update to Mac OS X Leopard is causing a host of problems for users.
• Adobe’s Integrated Runtime (AIR) has been taken out of beta for Linux users.
  
• Microsoft settled with Primax Electronics, a mouse maker they sued in July.
• Symantecannounced the next version of Internet Security for Mac. Expected to ship soon.

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Holidays, Terrorist Attacks, Presidential Election Top Spam List
Keep an eye out for holiday-themed spam this season. According to Symantec, be wary of spam with “Christmas” in the subject line. In addition, spammers continue to use recent tragic news events as a staple tactic. The Mumbai terrorist attacks were followed by a surge of spam with subjects referring to the attacks. The messages were typically offering medication. Another major news event spammers are still playing up is the presidential election. Messages about Barack Obama, John McCain, speeches and more have not subsided.

On the plus side, spam volume decreased dramatically worldwide when Hong Kong based web hosting company McColo was shut down based on abuse complaints. Symantec saw a 65% drop compared to the 24 hours prior to the shutdown. In the New Year spam and phishing attempts related to the IRS and tax season are expected to increase. January to March is typically when taxpayers become reacquainted with their tax advisers as the mid-April tax deadline approaches. Click here for our Internet Security Software Guide.

Microsoft shipped an emergency security update this Wednesday, December 17th. The update, considered critical, was released outside of the usual monthly release cycle to protect customers. It is meant to counter an escalating wave of malware attacks targeting a zero-day browser vulnerability. The publicly disclosed vulnerability could allow remote execution if a user views a specially crafted web page using IE. The update modifies the way IE validates data binding parameters and handles the error resulting in the exploitable condition. Microsoft recommends that you immediately assess your systems and networks and apply this security update. Click here for full details.

While other companies are reporting revenue woes, Adobe is among the few with good news. Really good news. The software manufacturer just reported record revenue for Q4, 2008. Their fourth quarter revenue of $915.3 million was up $4.1 million from Q4 2007, and up $23.9 million from last quarter. It’s also their sixth consecutive year of double digit growth. The quarter’s success was largely due to the anticipated release of Creative Suite 4 and all the individual CS4 products. Its mobile and device segment also saw growth of 115%, representing 5% of Adobe’s revenue.

Adobe has few true competitors who actually threaten the design software giant’s domination. But is Microsoft the biggest threat? The Redmond based software manufacturer is using its deep pockets to challenge Adobe’s dominance in the Web design space. The main competing products to keep an eye on are Adobe’s Flash and Microsoft’s Silverlight. Netflix recently announced it would use Silverlight to stream movies over the Internet. And the CBS Corp college sports group built its Web site in Silverlight instead of Flash. Currently, 98% of PCs have Flash Player installed; only 25% have Silverlight. But Microsoft is “willing to invest” in order to win over certain sites. Have you used Silverlight? Do you have it installed? What is your opinion?