Windows 7 Anti-Piracy Update Now Live

New patch checks for more activation hacks.

Earlier this month, we detailed that Microsoft was prepping a Windows 7 Update that would improve Windows Activation Technologies to detect more than 70 known and potentially dangerous activation exploits.

Those paying attention to their Windows Update will see that the patch KB971033 is now live. It's not explicitly named anything to do with Windows Activation Technologies, as it's simply termed as an "Update for Windows 7."

Microsoft previously pointed out that this update is completely voluntary and users can decline the update when it appears (though we can't imagine why legitimate users would worry). Of course, if a hack or exploit is found, Windows 7 will alert the user by removing the desktop background and pop up periodic reminders of just how non-genuine it is feeling.

LG 1st To Get Official Win 7 Touch Certification

LG's In-Cell Multi-Touch LCD panel gets a prize from Microsoft.

Far East Gizmos reports that LG Displays is the world's first to receive Microsoft's official Windows 7 Touch Logo certification for its in-cell touch screen panels. The current display receiving Microsoft's new stamp of approval is the 13.3-inch Capacitive In-Cell Multi-Touch LCD panel for notebooks.

In addition to providing support for two simultaneous touch inputs, LG's panel has built-in touch sensors rather than standard films used in other touch-screens, reducing light reflection and brightness declines. This makes the panel ideal for outdoor use.

"Until now, the [Capacitive In-Cell Multi-Touch] technology had limited use in smaller devices like mobile phones," said LG Display’s CTO and Executive Vice President, Dr. In-Jae Chung. "We believe Microsoft certification is a testament to the product’s excellence. We will continue to apply superior touch functions to larger IT products like notebooks and monitors to lead consumer and market trends."

As Softpedia explains, Microsoft's certification program is a means to establish compatibility and quality of multi-touch screens. This is also a good way to boost the sales of a particular screen. After all, Windows 7 consumers may purchase a certified screen before considering an identical panel --one without the stamp--sitting on the same shelf.

SanDisk Shipping New G3 SSD With ExtremeFFS

It's Extreme, FFS!

Flash memory company SanDisk is looking to be more than SD and CF cards. SanDisk announced that it is now shipping its G3 Solid State Drives to retailers in North America and Europe.

On the performance front, the G3 boasts sequential performance of up to 220MB/sec read speed and up to 120MB/sec write speed, which the company likes to describe as "twice as fast as a 7,200 RPM HDD." Those running Windows 7 will appreciate that the G3 supports the TRIM command.

SanDisk bills the G3 as a "rugged drive" that can endure up to 80TB of data written to it over its lifetime. Perhaps more unique to the G3 is SanDisk's file system technology for SSDs, which it calls the ExtremeFFS, or Extreme Flash File System.

The memory company explained, "ExtremeFFS incorporates a fully non-blocking architecture in which all of the NAND channels can behave independently, with some reading while others are writing and garbage collecting. Another key element of ExtremeFFS is usage-based content localization, which allows the advanced flash management system to 'learn' user patterns and over time localize data to maximize the product’s performance and endurance."

SanDisk previously said that this technology could result in improvement in random write performance by up to 100 times in best case scenarios. In the G3 announcement, however, SanDisk said that ExtremeFFS has the "potential to accelerate random write performance and thus extend the endurance of SanDisk G3 SSDs…"

SanDisk G3 SSD is available now in U.S. and UK e-commerce sites in 60GB and 120GB capacities with prices of $229.99 and $399.99 respectively. The drive will be available at retailers in North America and Europe soon.

Warid Plans to Play Facebook

Warid has ultimately decided to take Facebook as a serious medium. Not through a conventional fan page with a simple game, while offering iPod Shuffle for the winners.

There is this one advert of Warid’s recent campaign – all you need is to complete the advert by fixing the picture. One who will complete the advert in least time will get the prize.

Looks application is still under development. We have seen couple of enhancements in previous 2 days, but it still lacks few things, for instance, application doesn’t recognize when a user completes the picture. You need to press the submit button in order to alert application for response. Top Ten Score button on front is yet to display the list of top scorers.

In terms of online marketing, such applications can be very handy. Good thing about Facebook games is that they can get popular with not much effort and time with invite feature (condition: If game is good and interesting).

However, we will have to see how Pakistani companies in general and cellular companies in particular will use online media for generating sales, instead of just reaching out the masses for building brand image.

PCWorld: AT&T 3G 67% Faster Than Competitors

AT&T customers are no strangers to spotty coverage and slow 3G, and it's something competitors have had no problems pointing out in the past. However, in a recent series of tests by PCWorld, AT&T has come out on top for 3G speeds.

PCWorld today reports that after generating disappointing results in last year's tests, AT&T's 3G download speeds are 84 percent better than the numbers from eight months ago. In fact, AT&T has come out on top in the site's tests. With download speeds 67 percent faster than its competitors', AT&T is ahead of Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon.

According to PCW, AT&T last year posted speeds of 818 kbps across 13 cities. Tests conducted in December 2009 and January 2010 show the network's average download speed has increased to 1410 kbps.

Verizon came first last year and this year, was a close second to AT&T. The network's download speeds increased by 8 percent over last year's numbers. Sprint was found to be "upgrading its network capacity fast enough to meet the demand" being presented by smartphone users and PCWorld reports that T-Mobile's speeds are competitive with what Sprint and Verizon offers in most of the test cities. In fact, in one city (New York) T-Mobile’s network delivered download speeds that are usually associated with 4G networks.