Russian Warships in the Age of Sail 1696-1860 (HC)

Authors John Tredrea and Eduard Sozaev have a new book out which is now available for pre-order in hardcover, Russian Warships in the Age of Sail 1696-1860: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Release date 30 April 2010 in the UK and 15 June 2010 in the US.

Peter the Great created a navy from nothing, but it challenged and soon surpassed Sweden as the Baltic naval power, while in the Black Sea it became an essential tool in driving back the Ottoman Turks from the heartland of Europe. In battle it was surprisingly successful, and at times in the eighteenth century was the third largest navy in the world – yet its history, and especially its ships, are virtually unrecorded in the West.

Read More Russian Warships in the Age of Sail 1696-1860 (HC).

Microsoft takes off gloves against Google | Relevant Results – CNET News

Microsoft left little doubt Friday that it was one of the companies leading the charge against Google worldwide.

In a blog post entitled “Competition Authorities and Search,” Microsoft Vice President and Deputy General Counsel Dave Heiner said part of the motivation for Microsoft and Yahoo’s search deal was “we are concerned about Google business practices that tend to lock in publishers and advertisers and make it harder for Microsoft to gain search volume.” The post comes at the end of a week in which European authorities asked Google to explain its search algorithms after complaints from competitors–one of which is owned by Microsoft.

“Microsoft would obviously be among the first to say that leading firms should not be punished for their success,” Heiner wrote in one of Microsoft’s strongest public statements regarding Google to date. “Our concerns relate only to Google practices that tend to lock in business partners and content (like Google Books) and exclude competitors, thereby undermining competition more broadly.”

A Google representative declined to comment on Microsoft’s post.

via Microsoft takes off gloves against Google | Relevant Results – CNET News.

The Darkest Shade of Honor (HC)

Author Robert N Macomber has a new novel which is now available for pre-order in hardcover, The Darkest Shade of Honor, due for release on 15 March 2010.

This eighth novel of the Honor Series begins with Commander Peter Wake, of the U.S. Navy’s Office of Naval Intelligence, at New York City in 1886, where he meets two intense young men who will dramatically influence his life: Theodore Roosevelt and José Martí. Presented with a secret coded message, he deciphers it for Roosevelt, and soon wishes he hadn’t.

Read More The Darkest Shade of Honor (HC).

Reb01501 Review: The Eaglet at the Battle of Minorca by John Mariner

I’ve just finished the first book in the trilogy, The Eaglet at the Battle of Minorca and I am happy to report a successful mission. Mariner* is a talented writer who draws the reader into the the story of Winchip’s first missions in command of the Eaglet during the months leading up to the Battle of Minorca, while skillfully interweaving short flashbacks, bits of narrative and dialogue to reveal Winchip’s back story without boring the reader.

In this tale, we witness several of Winchip’s encounters with Admiral Byng, who is presented in a very favorable light, despite the incongruities of an admiral expressing dissatisfaction with his superiors to a subordinate. This I forgave, attributing it to a bit of artistic license that allowed Mariner to reveal the admiral’s inner thoughts without subjecting us to reading boring letters, or having to unrealistically place Winchip in the position of over-hearing conversations between Byng and his confidants. In any event, we are left with a picture of Byng as a courageous, honorable leader who is intent on doing his best for his king and country.

Read More Reb01501 Review: The Eaglet at the Battle of Minorca by John Mariner.

First Rate: The Greatest Warships of the Age of Sail (HC)

Author Rif Winfield has a new book out which is now available for pre-order in hardcover, First Rate: The Greatest Warships of the Age of Sail. Release date 30 July 2010.

In the sailing era First Rates were the largest, most powerful and most costly ships to construct, maintain and operate. Built to the highest standards, they were lavishly decorated and given carefully considered names that reflected the pride and prestige of their country. They were the very embodiment of national power, and as such drew the attention of artists, engravers and printmakers. This means that virtually every British First Rate from the Prince Royal of 1610 to the end of sail is represented by an array of paintings, drawings, models or plans.

Read More First Rate: The Greatest Warships of the Age of Sail (HC).

Microsoft vs. Google: The empire strikes back | Windows – InfoWorld

Ray Ozzie’s ambitious plan to revitalize Microsoft’s software, beef up its services, and kick the crap out of Google

It can’t be easy being Ray Ozzie. Microsoft’s chief software architect is just 18 months into the job as Bill Gates’ handpicked successor, yet depending on whom you ask, his tenure will either signal a bold new era for the company or mark the beginning of its terminal decline.

From the perspective of Microsoft shareholders, the picture certainly looks grim. After a decade of timid stock performance, the fiscal year that ended June 2009 saw Microsoft’s net revenue decrease for the first time in its history. It also announced its first-ever layoffs and has since exceeded its original estimate of 5,000 pink slips. But worst of all, for the first time in recent memory, Microsoft confronts a rival of goliath proportions that actually seems capable of going the distance with the software giant.

via Microsoft vs. Google: The empire strikes back | Windows – InfoWorld.

The Pirate Devlin (HC/PB)

Author Mark Keating has a new novel which is now available for purchase in the UK, The Pirate Devlin, in both Hardcover and Paperback. The book will be released in the US in July but is already available for pre-order.

As the great powers of Europe fight over the spoils of slavery, corruption and greed, the golden age of piracy is born.

Sold by his father as a child for four guineas, captain’s servant Patrick Devlin knows how cheap a man’s life can be.

But his instinct for survival is strong, and when his master’s ship is sunk by pirates, Devlin makes his choice – to trade his servile existence for a life of dangerous liberty. As he learns to adapt to his brutal new world, he watches men who would once have been his masters fall dead at his feet. Eventually, he finds himself captain of the very ship that took down the vessel of the man he once served – Captain John Coxon – who, disgraced and dissatisfied, hungers to return to the sea and take his revenge.

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The Price of Glory HC

Author Seth Hunter has a new novel which is now available for pre-order in hardcover, The Price of Glory , due for release on 8 July 2010.Nathan Peake charts a perilous course through the treacherous seas off Brittany and into the even more dangerous waters of post-Revolutionary Paris. There he encounters two of the most beautiful and scandalous courtesans in history – and their little toy soldier, laughingly dubbed Captain Cannon, who is about to win enduring fame as Napoleon Bonaparte. Returned to the command of the frigate Unicorn, Nathan is sent to join another young glory-seeker, Captain Horatio Nelson, in a bid to wreck Bonaparte’s plans for the invasion of Italy.

Read more The Price of Glory HC.

Search Engine Wars: Is Yahoo Doomed to be the Next Alta Vista? – PCWorld

After a couple years of false starts, aborted mergers, and other behind-the-scenes mishaps, Microsoft and Yahoo are ready to form a search partnership to better compete against Google, which continues to blow away its competitors in online search. Under the terms of the deal, Microsoft’s Bing engine will power both the Bing and Yahoo search sites, with any differentiation coming at a more superficial level.

It’s not exactly clear yet how Yahoo will add value to Bing’s search results. According to the companies’ press release, “Yahoo will innovate around those listings by integrating rich Yahoo content, enhanced listings with conveniently organized information about key topics, and tools to tailor the experience for Yahoo users.”

via Search Engine Wars: Is Yahoo Doomed to be the Next Alta Vista? – PCWorld.

Zeus Trojan infects 74,000 PCs in global botnet | Tech News on ZDNet

More than 74,000 PCs at nearly 2,500 organizations around the world were compromised over the past year-and-a-half, in a botnet infestation designed to steal login credentials to bank sites, social networks and email systems, a security firm said on Wednesday.

The systems were infected with the Zeus Trojan, and the botnet was dubbed ‘Kneber’ after a username that linked the infected PCs on corporate and government systems, according to NetWitness.

via Zeus Trojan infects 74,000 PCs in global botnet | Tech News on ZDNet.