Software developer Stardock has released a significant update to DesktopX today.  The world's most popular widget enabling program has found competition growing from programs such as Konfabulator, Avedesk and others.

While those programs do not support DesktopX's ability to build complete desktops and distribute them, they do support a robust "widget" architecture. Widgets in the desktop customization market are mini-programs that are designed to reside on your desktop. Where the desktop was once the exclusive home to icons, widgets (and DesktopX objects) allow users to extend the desktop functionality of Windows.

DesktopX widgets can be brought to the front with a function key (default is F9) or hidden entirely until needed (default is F10). But DesktopX widgets were previously not very configurable by end users. If a user wanted to change the color or tweak the shadow or even the Z-order, the user had to load DesktopX, import the widget, make the changes, and then re-export them.  With version 2.4, users can go to the properties of the DesktopX widget and change them directly.

"One of the key advantages DesktopX has over other widget-enabling programs is that DesktopX widgets are EXEs that can be run without running DesktopX.  However, many users requested the ability to be able to modify how those widgets functioned without having to import them into the DesktopX environment.  We consider 2.4 really the start on this journey," said Brad Wardell, Product Manager of DesktopX at Stardock. "Future versions will add labeling, and plugin configurability right into the context menu. Eventually a DesktopX widget will have all the advantages of a stand along program while using a fraction of the memory and resources that a typical stand alone program uses."

DesktopX 2.4 is a free download. Stardock provides an enhanced version that supports premium widgets as well as the ability to export content as widgets.  The enhanced version is available stand alone or as part of Stardock's overall suite of desktop enhancement utilities called Object Desktop.

Visit www.desktopx.net to get the new version of DesktopX.

A top Microsoft executive is warning PeopleSoft customers that they might want to think about a technology shift, now that Oracle's acquisition has been approved.

"Oracle's acquisition of PeopleSoft may be moving forward, but difficult technology decisions lie ahead," Microsoft vice president Bill Veghte wrote Wednesday in the e-mail, which was seen by CNET News.com. "The ongoing challenges of owning and maintaining business applications remain unchanged."

Judge Leonie Brinkema of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia granted Google's motion to dismiss a trademark-infringement complaint brought by Geico. The insurance company had charged Google with violating its trademarks by using the word "Geico" to trigger rival ads in sponsored search results. Geico claimed the practice diluted its trademarks and caused consumer confusion.

The judge said that "as a matter of law it is not trademark infringement to use trademarks as keywords to trigger advertising," said Michael Page, a partner at Keker & Van Nest, which represented Google.

The ruling is a triumph for Google in that it derives as much as 95 percent of its advertising revenue from keyword-triggered ads, which appear next to Web search results. Trademarks play a central role to the sale of such ads because people often use Web search to find products and services with common, trademarked brand names such as Nike or Geico.

The ruling also could inform similar trademark-infringement cases online, legal experts say. For example, Google is being sued by American Blind and Wallpaper for trademark infringement by its keyword ad program.

Read the whole thing: CNET's News.com

Ratcheting up its previous online antipiracy efforts, the Hollywood group is working with law enforcement agencies in the United States and Europe to target and arrest individuals who play a critical role in the functioning of each type of network.

Full article: [Here]