The Planet Announces Reseller Hosting Promotions

The Planet(www.theplanet.com), a privately held dedicated hosting company, announced a promotion to help resellers increase hosting revenues. The company states that beginning today and through March 31, customers who purchase five or more select servers will receive per-server discounts up to 68 percent.

It further states that resellers can use these bulk servers to provide an upgrade path for their larger customers who require a dedicated platform. The company adds that the additional servers can also accommodate an expanded infrastructure for resellers looking to provide shared or value-added offerings, including applications and custom services.

''In the competitive hosting landscape, resellers are tasked with offering their customers a wide range of options, coupled with the best value for their dollar,'' said Urvish Vashi, General Manager of dedicated hosting for The Planet. ''With this bulk-discount offering, resellers can move their customers to a dedicated environment cost effectively.''

Google Ocean

Google Ocean (http://earth.google.com/ocean/), which is included in the newest download version of Google Earth, allows users to explore the high seas with thousands of images of underwater landscapes from volcanoes to sea life.

Users can also watch videos, read stories and contribute photos as they explore the ocean.

Google Earth, which combines satellite photos, maps and information to enable users to explore streets and cities around the world, has been downloaded 500 million times since it was introduced in 2005.

Microsoft’s online employment resource

Microsoft Corp on Sunday announced the creation of a website, Elevate America, aimed at improving access to job training tools.

www.microsoft.com/ElevateAmerica, provides resources to help individuals gain the technical skills needed for acquiring jobs, the world’s largest software company said.

The economy has shed 3.6 million jobs since the recession began in December 2007 with about half of the decline occurring in the past three months, recent Labor Department data showed.

The website provides access to several Microsoft online training programs, including how to use the Internet, send e-mail and create a resume, as well as more advanced programs on using specific Microsoft applications.

“We are also providing a full range of work force development resources for state and local governments so they can offer specialized training for their workers,” said Pamela Passman, corporate vice president of Microsoft Global Corporate Affairs.

Microsoft tapped Washington state as the first state to provide Elevate America to its residents.

Microsoft To Kill Vista, XP Upgrade Blockers

Microsoft wants users of its Windows operating systems to move to upgraded versions of the software, so it's killing a tool that prevents upgrades from automatically self-installing.

"I have some important information for those of you who have installed the Service Pack Blocker Tool for Windows XP or Windows Vista," wrote Brandon LeBlanc, Microsoft's in-house Windows blogger, in a Friday post.

"The Service Pack Blocker Tool temporarily prevents the installation of a service pack through Windows Update, typically for one year after general availability of the service pack. We are announcing the upcoming expiration dates for the Service Pack Blocker Tool for Windows Vista SP1 and Windows XP SP3," LeBlanc wrote.
LeBlanc said the blocker for Vista SP1 will expire on April 28, while the blocker for XP SP3 will expire on May 19.

Despite the tools' expiration, LeBlanc noted that companies that don't want to upgrade to the Windows service packs won't be forced to do so. Users that have the Automatic Updates feature turned on will receive an alert from Windows Updates indicating that an important update is available for installation. Users can then elect to install the service packs or ignore the update.

Users that don't have Automatic Updates turned on will receive the alert only after manually checking for updates in Windows Update.

LeBlanc said Microsoft is urging enterprises that haven't already done so to install the service packs. "Microsoft strongly recommends all customers move to Windows Vista SP1 if they are running Windows Vista or Windows XP SP3 if they are running Windows XP," he wrote.

Software makers typically issue service packs to improve security, stability, and other product attributes.

"Our goal in announcing the removal of the blockers early is to provide you with an early notification to ensure you're prepared to deploy the appropriate service pack when the blockers expire," wrote LeBlanc.