Developers of the Python programming language have released the final version of Python 3.0, also called Python 3000 or Py3K, which also sees a major reworking of the language, including making it intentionally incompatible with the Python 2 series of code, according to the founder Guido van Rossum.

The new changes was to simplify the development of the code and to remove the complexity that has been built up over time. Saying in a Linux.conf.au keynote in Melbourne, Anthony Baxter said that the release was “where we break all your code, but we're doing it for a good reason...Pretty much every program will need changes."

Some of the changes in the new version include:

• The print statement has been replaced with a print() function, and with keyword arguments replacing the special syntax of the statement.
• Unicode will be the default encoding in the code, so no more mixing non-Unicode and Unicode strings.
• Altering the models used for division and switching symbols for “not equal”.
• Some modules have been renamed or no longer have capital letters.

However, Python 2 will not be given the axe just yet, and will be maintain the version as long as there is some interest and need for the version of the language.

WordPress, the most popular blogging tool out on the web, has released the first beta of its latest version, WordPress 2.7. While the full version was supposed to go out on November 10th, it was delayed – but they managed to give out a beta version of the software for everyone to try out. So, I took that opportunity to find out what has changed and what has been removed.

But first, I have to tell you that all images were taken on my local server and not on the main server. This was done to make sure the site is still up, during the review process.

Read More »

While we enjoy the occasional news about Windows 7, we found a bounty today. And since we are getting ready to get back to work because of the long holiday that we usually get out of the Melbourne Cup, we decided to merge the entire thing in one post.

First off, Download Squad has found out that Windows 7 can now burn ISO images to a CD/DVD disk. While we are reluctant to get rid of Nero, Ashampoo and the other burning tools we have – this would be an easier way for people to get Ubuntu and switch. While the interface is basic, it would be easier for those who are not into technology to get started burning ISO files.

Secondly, Microsoft has added a feature to make your desktop into a slideshow, meaning that you can switch your family snaps on your background every 10 seconds. This neat feature is like the Dreamscene feature on Windows Vista Ultimate, but just remove all the heavy processor use and the nightmare to get a video up on your background. Also an interesting feature is that you can do a similar thing with feeds, meaning that if you get an RSS feed that is mainly has images – you can make that as a slideshow.

Lastly, lets talk about what has been removed from Windows 7. Windows Mail (or Outlook Express, if you haven’t switched to Vista), Windows Photo Gallery and Windows Movie Maker have all been removed from the operating system. While all three will be released under the “Windows Live” branding, it could be Microsoft’s answer to solve many of the anti-trust issues. And while Mac and Linux bundle similar applications, Microsoft is mainly the target.

But you will be happy to know that Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player will still be bundled with Windows 7, meaning that Microsoft will still have those anti-trust lawsuits – from the European Union.

OpenID, the login standard that allows you to use one account to login to different sites, has gotten a huge boost after Microsoft announced that its over 400 million Windows Live IDs will now be part of the initiative, mainly from its Hotmail and Messenger service). This basically follows in the footsteps of Yahoo and AOL, as both have supported the standard before the announcement.

While this may not mean anything to you, you will now be able to login to TECHGEEK.com.au and have your comment instantly bypass our filters. While the feature is expected to reach in 2009, you can test it yourself, thanks to the team over at Windows Live. However, your current account will not be able to access this feature since it has not been implemented, so you must create a new “INT” account.

The Windows Live ID INT environment is separate from the main Production environment, and is for testing purposes only. If you have not already created a Windows Live ID user account for testing in INT, you can do so at https://login.live-INT.com/

After you have your Windows Live ID account in INT, go to https://login.live-int.com/beta/ManageOpenID.srf to set up your OpenID alias on that test account.

NOTE: INT accounts are for testing purposes only and are NOT intended to be permanent user accounts. They do not allow access to Windows Live services in Production.

AppleInsider is reporting that the new Mac OS X 10.6, also known as Snow Leopard, will feature a massive rewrite of its Finder application to be on its Cocoa environment, similar to most applications that Apple and other developers have been using to write applications. On Leopard (OS X 10.5), it still uses the old Carbon environment.

New features include the support of Microsoft Exchange in Snow Leopard’s versions of iCal, Address Book and Mail; and a new, third option for disc image-based installations called ImageBoot, which allows you to set up any number of installations on a secondary partition, or even an external hard drive.

Microsoft has announced that it will ship popular ASP and PHP open-source projects, among other components, for its Web Platform for developers – for free. Basically this installs your choice of the projects, .NET Framework 3.5, IIS7.0 and Extensions, IIS FastCGI, Visual Web Developer 2008, SQL Server 2008 Express, SQL Server Management Studio, ASP.NET MVC and Silverlight Tools.

The open source projects includes Drupal, WordPress, osCommerce, PHPBB, DotNetNuke and Graffiti, with more being added soon after being evaluated by Microsoft. However, while certain applications need PHP and MySQL, like WordPress, Microsoft has not added that, but chosen to give you links on how to install it.

The software doesn’t actually have the project’s source files, but will merely just retrieve it from the source repository and install it for you via this installer.

The software is only available for Windows Vista SP1 and Windows Server 2008 users.

Microsoft’s Silverlight 2 has been released, with Microsoft saying that it has made it easier for developers and designers to make accessible and secure user interfaces with Silverlight. It will also add several built-in controls, and will allow you to program it with a wide range of programming languages, like Visual Basic, C#, JavaScript, IronPython and IronRuby.

Silverlight 2 will also be supported on Windows, Mac and Linux; and will support Firefox, Internet Explorer and Safari browsers.

As well, it also announced several partnerships to use Silverlight; including CBS College Sports network, Blockbuster’s MovieLink, the Home Shopping Network, Toyota, Yahoo Japan and the Hard Rock Hotel and Cafe. It also said that 50 million unique visitors viewed the site from NBCOlympics.com. As well, it also said that Olympic broadcasters in France (France Televisions), The Netherlands (NOS), Russia (Sportbox.ru) and Italy (RAI) used the Flash competitor in their online coverage.

Developers are mainly flocking to it since it has a higher bitrate than Flash, since it is capable of having bitrates up to 1.5mbps for high definition videos.

Microsoft has announced in a blog post that the successor of Windows Vista, which was known as Windows 7, will be known as Windows 7. Confusing? I know.

Windows 7 is expected to be given out at PDC and WinHEC as a “pre-beta developer release”, giving those attending the conferences a preview of what Windows 7 will be. According to several screenshots, much of the interface will remain from Vista’s Aero theme.

“The decision to use the name Windows 7 is about simplicity,” Mike Nash wrote in a blog post. “Over the years, we have taken different approaches to naming Windows.  We've used version numbers like Windows 3.11, or dates like Windows 98, or "aspirational" monikers like Windows XP or Windows Vista.  And since we do not ship new versions of Windows every year, using a date did not make sense.”

“Likewise, coming up with an all-new "aspirational" name does not do justice to what we are trying to achieve, which is to stay firmly rooted in our aspirations for Windows Vista, while evolving and refining the substantial investments in platform technology in Windows Vista into the next generation of Windows.”

But we all hope that it would be better than Vista, even though it uses almost everything from Windows Vista.