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• Microsoft Prepares 'Comet' for Orbit
  Time: 17:01 EDT/22:01 GMT Source: CoolInfo Posted By: Alex H

  Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq:MSFT - news) is gearing up to launch a pre-beta suite of networking and security products, code-named Comet.

  Encompassing a proxy server, firewall, fax server, interactive voice response (IVR) engine, and other goodies, Comet has not yet been publicly announced. BetaNews.Com webmaster Nate Mook first reported the development Wednesday after anonymous tipsters pointed him to the pre-beta Web site.

  "They're going to start inviting beta testers very shortly," says Mook. "I assume people in the Windows 2000 testing program will be the ones invited."

   
• AMD-Intel: battle of the processors about to start
  Time: 16:54 EDT/21:54 GMT Source: The Register Posted By: Alex H

  Spectators in the gladiatorial contest between AMD and Intel are likely to see blood in the PC amphitheatre between now and the end of the year, as the contenders choose their weapons for the fight.

  But the question remains whether AMD or Intel will lie wounded on the ground, awaiting the final thumbs-up or thumbs-down from the modern spectators called consumers. In Rome during single combat, the people decided whether a fight should continue to the death or whether mercy should be shown to the wounded.

   
• IEtuner 1.02 released
  Time: 16:49 EDT/21:49 GMT Source: Desktop Watch Posted By: Alex H

  Just noticed over on Desktop Watch that they have reported that IEtuner 1.02 from Limestone Software has been released. Here is a snippet:

  This gem is a sleek powerful all in one radio tuner for Internet Explorer 5. It combines RealMedia and WindowsMedia technologies to streamline your internet radio needs.

   
• New Registry Tips & Bug Reports & Fixes Added
  Time: 06:11 EDT/11:11 GMT Source: ActiveWindows Posted By: Byron

  We have added a few more registry tips for you to go through, they include Internet Explorer and Autoplay techniques. Visit the tips section. We have also updated the Bug Reports & Fixes section with a few new articles.

   
• Gigabit per second delivered to desktop
  Time: 03:18 EDT/08:18 GMT Source: BBC News Posted By: Byron

  Computer scientists in the US have broken one gigabit per second data transfer to desktop computers in a local area network (LAN).

  This is 20,000 times faster than communication through a telephone modem and was achieved using TCP/IP, the communications standard for the Internet.

  Transferring a billion bits per second would mean, for example, that watching real-time high-quality video would be routine. However, one difficulty yet to be overcome is that the speed of writing to a computer's hard disk is still relatively slow, often only 40 megabytes per second.

   
• 3dfx unveils new 3-D graphics tech
  Time: 03:11 EDT/08:11 GMT Source: ZDNet Posted By: Alex H

  PC graphics chip and board maker 3dfx Interactive Inc. will announce on Monday details of a new graphics technology that will smooth out the flaws in today's 3-D images.  We want to close the gap between digital Hollywood effects and the PC," said Scott Sellers, co-founder and chief technology officer of the San Jose, Calif. company.

  Known as the T-buffer, the new hardware technology allows effects such as anti-aliasing (for smoothing the jagged look of 3-D images), motion blurring (emulating the effect of movement too fast for the "camera") and depth of field blur (foreground appears in focus while background does not).

   

• Why did Microsoft keep browser feature from partners?
  Time: 03:08 EDT/08:08 GMT Source: News.com Posted By: Alex H

  Is Microsoft holding out on its browser partners? Several developers say the software giant removed a key feature from browser code that it shares with third-party developers but kept the feature in its own version of the browser. Users are less likely to download custom versions of Internet Explorer if the Microsoft version has more desirable features, according to the developers.

  The "forms-autocomplete" feature in Internet Explorer 5.0, released in April, stores usernames, passwords, and any other information a user regularly enters into online forms so that when the user returns to a site, he or she does not have to remember all the data.

• The English Language according to Microsoft
  Time: 19:24 EDT/00:24 GMT Source: The Register Posted By: Dennis

  According to Microsoft, one is no longer amused by the Queen's English. Bill Gates has made it his quest to get us all saying fanny instead of bottom before the Millennium.

  British English is obviously outdated and needs a few Americanisms thrown in, so Microsoft has come up with a dictionary of world English.

  The Encarta World English Dictionary will hit our shores in hard-back next week, and be available on CD-Rom from August. It took 320 experts to come up with this new English Esperanto.

   
• 2 New MSN Messenger Builds Released Today
  Time: 19:19 EDT/00:19 GMT Source: Netigen Web Posted By: Dennis

  Microsoft has released a new build (1.0.0.874) of MSN Messenger that restores AOL functionality! That's two new builds today -- but with AOL ever vigil you can expect more until this dispute is resolved. Currently the auto-update feature doesn't seem to be registering the new build.

   
• Group calls for Boycott of AIM
  Time: 19:19 EDT/00:19 GMT Source: Geeknews.net Posted By: Dennis

  Well with the prediction by 175 million users by 2002 and including wireless capability the instant messaging market is valuable. So valuable that AOL and Microsoft are willing to piss off consumers over it. If you agree with Microsoft or just plain want to strike back there is a call for the Boycott of AIM by an independant group.
  

   
• AOL: We want to work with MS
  Time: 19:16 EDT/00:16 GMT Source: ZDNN Posted By: Dennis

  Microsoft Corp. and America Online Inc. continued to talk past one another in the battle over instant messaging Friday, with both sides asking the other to work together on the issue.

  Meanwhile, a top executive with portal operator Infoseek Corp called on AOL to simply contribute the code for its instant messaging service the standards-makings Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), which is already at work on a protocol that would allow different instant messaging services to work with each other.

   
• Microsoft's 'Comet' ready to Go
  Time: 19:13 EDT/00:13 GMT Source: ZDNN Posted By: Dennis

  Microsoft Corp. is gearing up to launch a pre-beta suite of networking and security products, code-named Comet.

  Encompassing a proxy server, firewall, fax server, interactive voice response (IVR) engine, and other goodies, Comet has not yet been publicly announced.

   
• Is John C. Dvorak sexist?
  Time: 19:11 EDT/00:11 GMT Source: ZDNN Posted By: Dennis

  John Dvorak doesn't mince words -- and he has no affection for Apple's newest machine, the iBook. In a recent column, Dvorak variously described the system as "a makeup case," a "girly machine" and an appliance that "no male in his right mind" would be seen with in public.

  If you don't remember who John C. Dvorak is, he's noted with posting the 1st screenshots of Neptune back in April.

   
• Hacker Turning to life of Porn
  Time: 19:08 EDT/00:08 GMT Source: ZDNN Posted By: Dennis

  Here's something Byron will get a kick out of.

  Former hacker and FBI informant Justin Petersen is back in the news -- claiming that he is leaving behind a life of cybercrime to join the cyberporn business.

  CNN and Time is promoting an "exclusive interview" with Petersen, who gained notoriety for informing on hackers Kevin Mitnick and Kevin Poulsen, and was recently released from prison after spending time in custody for parole violations.

   
• WindowBlinds 0.97 Released
  Time: 19:02 EDT/00:02 GMT Source: E-mail Posted By: Dennis

  Someone sent word that Stardock released WindowBlinds 0.97 earlier today. Usually we will post previews of these types of updates, but ActiveWindows has been busy lately (you'll find out soon), and this wasn't possible at this time. Here are some of the new features:

  - Toolbar skinning
  - Internet Feature: Skin of the week (privacy statement)
  - Internet Feature: Most Popular Skin (privacy statement)
  - Internet Feature: Passive news (privacy statement

   
• Microsoft's Letter to Steve Case
  Time: 12:32 EDT/17:32 GMT Source: ActiveWindows Visitor Posted By: Bob

  Here is a copy of the letter sent today by Microsoft and various other companies to Steve Case at AOL regarding the interoperability of their messenger services.

   
• 3dfx Voodoo3 3500 TV Ships to Retail Shelves Worldwide
  Time: 10:32 EDT/15:32 GMT Source: Press Release Posted By: Byron

  3dfx Interactive® Inc. (NASDAQ: TDFX) today announced the worldwide availability of its new Voodoo3™ 3500 TV, the ultimate PC entertainment system that combines the industry’s most powerful 3D and 2D graphics with complete TV tuner and multimedia functionality. Greeting strong demand in more than 9,000 retail stores throughout North America, Europe and Japan, the Voodoo3 3500 TV meets the high-performance needs of hard-core game enthusiasts and cutting-edge multimedia entertainment consumers. Based on 3dfx’s acclaimed Voodoo3 graphics accelerator technology, the Voodoo3 3500 TV features support for MPEG-2, DVD via software, FM stereo with dbx™, cable television and high-resolution displays – all accessible through a single card.

   
• Microsoft asks Case to stop blocking messages
  Time: 09:27 EDT/14:27 GMT Source: News.com Posted By: Bob

  Microsoft escalated its instant-messaging battle to the top of rival America Online, asking chief executive officer Steve Case to open the online giant's proprietary systems. Executives from Microsoft and seven other companies, including Yahoo and AT&T, signed a letter to Case asking that AOL representatives join an effort to create a single industrywide standard for the hugely popular way of communicating over the Internet.

   
• IS MS ducking the Win64 question?
  Time: 09:13 EDT/14:13 GMT Source: The Register Posted By: Byron

  Microsoft has taken a very low key approach to the 64-bit version of Windows, codenamed Janus, so low that it was not even mentioned at the recent financial analysts conference. This suggests that it is not even slideware yet.

  The search engine on Microsoft's web site includes a reference to an article in CRN that says that Janus is the code name for the Windows 2000 Data Center server, but does Microsoft does not confirm this otherwise.

   
• Group Approves Controversial Software Law
  Time: 08:08 EDT/13:08 GMT Source: Slashdot Posted By: Alex R.

  Remember the UCITA?  It's that Big Brother-approach proposal that would allow software vendors to enforce licensing agreements virtually any way they see fit... including, but not limited to, disabling your software remotely.  Well, the group that has been debating the law passed it overwhelmingly.  The draft legislation still has to head to the states for approval, but it is expected that it will pass since the states apparently approve whatever recommendation crosses their desks.

   
• New Shockwave and Flash
  Time: 07:56 EDT/12:56 GMT Source: BetaBites Posted By: Alex R.

  Macromedia has released new versions of Shockwave and Flash, bringing these up to v7.02d140 and v4.0r12 respectively.

   
• Extremely Nasty Office 97 Hole Discovered
  Time: 07:52 EDT/12:52 GMT Source: MSNBC Posted By: Alex R.

  Microsoft has now confirmed the existence of a very nasty vulnerability in Office 97's ODBC Jet 3.51 drivers that allow crackers to infect a PC without the users' knowledge.  The vulnerability was posted on the NTBugTraq list and confirmed by MS late Thursday.  MS advises everyone to update their Jet drivers to v4.0 (http://www.microsoft.com/data), which is installed by Office 2000... fancy that.

   
• ActiveWindows Mouse Pads and Competition Reminders
  Time: 03:31 EDT/08:31 GMT Source: ActiveWindows Posted By: Alex H

  Don't forget that the first ActiveWindows piece of merchandise is now available to pre-order. The first product in our new range of logos is the ActiveWindows Mouse Pad 1. We aim to have many other products pop up soon (Assuming these are popular). And also don't forget to enter our DVD-Game Competition to win a copy of Shadoan and a Mouse Mat.

   

• Intel preps 27 Sept Coppermine debut
  Time: 03:30 EDT/08:30 GMT Source: The Register Posted By: Alex H

  Intel will follow up its 2 August 600MHz Pentium III and 500MHz Celeron launch with the announcement of its eight-way Xeon server chip on 23 August, mobile Celerons on 15 September and the 133MHz 820 chipset on 27 September.

  The Xeon announcement will see Chipzilla unveil the ship date and pricing for a 550MHz version of the CPU. This will feature the PIII's Streaming SIMD Extension, and support a 100MHz frontside bus, up to 2MB of cache and eight-way multiprocessing.

   
• DVD to dominate disk market
  Time: 03:28 EDT/08:28 GMT Source: The Register Posted By: Alex H

  Worldwide sales of removable and optical drives will top £10 billion this year, according to DISK/TREND’s latest research. The outlook for the different product groups is mixed, with DVD-ROM drives and writable DVD/CD-ROM formats becoming the major stars.

  Sales of DVD drives were slow at first because of format uncertainties and high prices, DISK/TREND says. But the market is growing rapidly and shipments are expected to overtake CD ROM drives within two years. This year shipments have reached 92.8 million units.

   
• Microsoft's New Age approach to selling
  Time: 03:26 EDT/08:26 GMT Source: ZDNet Posted By: Alex H

  At one time, Microsoft needed only to convince tech-minded Chief Technology Officers about its products' merits. But software isn't just about technology anymore, it's about solving corporate problems, and working with CEOs has required learning a different set of rules.

  One of the more important parts of making the transition has been Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT) involvement with Franklin Covey, an international professional services firm, represented chiefly in the person of Mahan Khalsa, vice president of its sales performance group. Working with Microsoft over the last two and a half years, Khalsa has helped Microsoft move from selling software units to selling benefits.

   
• MP3 device makers wary of music standards
  Time: 03:23 EDT/08:23 GMT Source: News.com Posted By: Alex H

  Now that a specification to prevent the proliferation of illegal digital music has finally been adopted, the question remains: Which device makers will support it?

  Portable players such as Diamond Multimedia's Rio and Creative Labs' soon-to-be-released Nomad record and play back music stored in the MP3 format. These players have been at the center of an industrywide controversy because of the ease with which MP3 files can be reproduced and distributed without any degradation in sound quality.

  Net users have enjoyed access to a huge amount of free music, and the recording industry has protested the unrestricted access to pirated music and has pressured makers of MP3 players to adhere to standards designed to foil illegal reproduction. Established makers like Diamond have agreed to implement the standards. Small manufacturers looking for market share, however, have little incentive to do so. The popularity of downloadable music has put pressure on record labels.

   

• SuperSite reveals Neptune
  Time: 02:10 EDT/07:10 GMT Source: WinInfo Posted By: Byron

  As part of my ramp-up to coverage of Microsoft's upcoming Consumer Windows products, code-named "Millennium" and "Neptune," I've posted a series of images purporting to be of Neptune, the NT-based Consumer Windows due in 2001. These images are identical to the ones John Dvorak published earlier this year, so their source is identical, though questions remains about whether they represent an accurate look at the next generation of Windows.

  You can check out these images, as well as some other information about their upcoming coverage of Consumer Windows on the SuperSite. The images come from the Hebrew Web site. Doesn't look bad, if a little too Encarta-like to me.

• New NT Patch for "Malformed Dialer Entry" Vulnerability
  Time: 22:02 EDT/03:02 GMT Source: email Posted By: Alex R.

  Microsoft is still chipping away at the security vulnerabilities in NT 4.0.  A new patch for the "Malformed Dailer Entry" is available for Windows NT Workstation 4.0 and Server.

   
• Site News - Summer Cleaning
  Time: 19:22 EDT/24:22 GMT Source: ActiveWindows Posted By: Bob

  We would like to ask all our visitors that if they see a bad link that hasn't been fixed or notice a specific problem with our site to please bring it to our attention - this is a huge site and it is sometimes hard to find a single link without somebody pointing it out. Please e-mail Bob and it will get fixed right away.

   

• ATI XPERT 2000 On The Way
  Time: 16:37 EDT/21:37 GMT Source: Press Release Posted By: Byron

  ATI Technologies Inc. (TSE:ATY, NASDAQ:ATYT) today announced the XPERT 2000(TM), with 32 MB of memory, 32-bit true color acceleration and full hardware DVD acceleration for only $99. The XPERT 2000 is ideal for system builders and resellers looking to differentiate their low cost PCs. Traditionally, low cost PCs come with just 8 MB of graphics memory, poor 2D and 3D and no DVD. For just $99 (ESP) system builders can now add strong 2D and 3D, 32-bit true acceleration, hardware DVD and 4 times the amount of graphics memory. For system builders 32 MB of graphics memory will be the standard.

   
• DVD set to dominate the disk market
  Time: 16:33 EDT/21:33 GMT Source: The Register Posted By: Byron

  Worldwide sales of removable and optical drives will top £10 billion this year, according to DISK/TREND’s latest research. The outlook for the different product groups is mixed, with DVD-ROM drives and writable DVD/CD-ROM formats being the major stars.

  Sales of DVD drives were initially slow, the report said, because of format uncertainties and high prices, but the market is growing rapidly and shipments are expected to overtake CD ROM drives within two years. This year shipments have reached 92.8 million units.

   
• ActiveWindows Mouse Pads and Competition Reminders
  Time: 11:49 EDT/16:49 GMT Source: ActiveWindows Posted By: Byron

  Don't forget that the first ActiveWindows piece of merchandise is now available to pre-order. The first product in our new range of logos is the ActiveWindows Mouse Pad 1. We aim to have many other products pop up soon (Assuming these are popular). And also don't forget to enter our DVD-Game Competition to win a copy of Shadoan and a Mouse Mat.

   

• Department of Justice studies Microsoft breakup
  Time: 11:20 EDT/16:20 GMT Source: News.com Posted By: Bob

  The Justice Department is looking into different options if the court were to ultimately rule against Microsoft in the landmark antitrust trial. The Justice Department wanted an analysis on how the breakup of the software giant would affect the market, the report said, citing unnamed executives at the banks.

   
• AOL enlists Apple in messaging battle
  Time: 11:20 EDT/16:20 GMT Source: News.com Posted By: Bob

  While a battle continues to rage between AOL and Microsoft AOL today said it is teaming with Apple Computer to develop instant messaging products that will allow communication between Mac users and the AOL Instant Messaging service. AOL already offers the latest version of its Instant Messenger software on both Windows and the Macintosh. The agreement today is aimed at development of future products.

   
• MS Disables Feature to Give IE 5.0 Advantage
  Time: 04:54 EDT/09:54 GMT Source: Netigen Web Posted By: Byron

  Adam Stiles (the man behind NetCaptor) sends news regarding an obscure Internet Explorer issue. It seems that our favorite company in Redmond decided to give IE 5.0 a competitive advantage over competitors using their rendering engine. Between the release of beta 2 and IE 5.0 final Microsoft turned off the capability for third-party browsers (based around the IE engine) to use the form auto-complete function. It's even disabled in MSN's browser!

  Microsoft claims they disabled the function because it was a security risk and that they didn't have enough resources -- hah! It's no more a security risk in a third-party browser than it is in IE. They have said the capability will return but when is still up for grabs. Some believe that it will resurface in either 5.0 Service Pack 1 or 5.01 beta later this year.

   
• AMD brings forward Athlon to 10 August
  Time: 03:57 EDT/08:57 GMT Source: The Register Posted By: Alex H

  AMD will finally take the wraps of the Athlon K7 on Tuesday 10 August, according to reliable but eminently impeachable sources. Benchmark data, however, continues to leak out early.

  The company had originally been planning the big push for the end of August. As this has now been brought forward by three weeks, the implication is that AMD's yields on the K7 are better than initially planned for, and that it feels sufficiently sure of supply to counter the various pre-emptive strikes Intel has been mounting.

   

• Ask Jeeves tops estimates in second quarter
  Time: 03:56 EDT/08:56 GMT Source: ZDII Investor Posted By: Alex H

  Ask Jeeves Inc. (Nasdaq: ASKJ) posted a narrower-than-expected loss in its second quarter Wednesday, losing $9 million, or 42 cents a share, on sales of $2.7 million. First Call consensus pegged the search engine site for a loss of 45 cents a share in the quarter. Its shares closed up 2 1/2 to 44 1/16 ahead of the earnings report.

   

• E-mails Helped Microsoft in Connecticut Victory
  Time: 03:53 EDT/08:53 GMT Source: Cal Law Posted By: Alex H

  This time the damning e-mails worked in Microsoft Corp.'s favor. And Microsoft's lawyer, David Tulchin of New York's Sullivan & Cromwell, made the most of them. He did so before an eight-person jury in Bridgeport, Conn., that was weighing antitrust claims by tiny, homegrown Bristol Technology Inc. against the software giant.

   
• Key testing results for AMD's Athlon due soon
  Time: 03:50 EDT/08:50 GMT Source: News.com Posted By: Alex H

  For chipmaker AMD, the rubber will start to meet the road on August 9 when some key testing results for the new high-end Athlon processor are made public. The results, called benchmarks, are a standardized set of tests that are used to compare performance of different electronic components such as processors. Early next month, AMD said it will allow publications and analysts to first start discussing publicly the benchmarks surrounding the Athlon--formerly called the K7 processor. The event will likely be closely watched, because nearly every analyst contacted by CNET News.com has said informally that the Athlon, which AMD is banking on mightily, will outperform Intel's high-end Pentium III at the same speed.

• Compaq to Cut 8,000 Jobs
  Time: 19:48 EDT/00:48 GMT Source: MSNBC Posted By: Alex R.

  Ouch.  Compaq has posted a $184 million loss for this quarter and has decided to cut 8,000 jobs from its workforce. They expect to take a charge of $700 to $900 million for the next quarter.

   
• Microsoft working on Office 2000 Registry Fixer
  Time: 18:46 EDT/23:46 GMT Source: Microsoft Posted By: Byron

  Microsoft plan to release a registry fixer for Office 2000 called Eraser 2000 in the next week or so along with a new Windows Installer Clean Up Utility (Due early next week). This utility will intelligently clean the Windows Installer registry settings for Office 2000. It should make it much easier to fix problems caused by Windows Installer corruption.

   
• U.S. backs off private monitoring
  Time: 18:03 EDT/23:03 GMT Source: ZDNet Posted By: Bob

  With criticism rolling in from all quarters, U.S. government officials on Wednesday backed away from a controversial plan to monitor private-sector networks for hacking activity.

   
• Net merger mania totals $545 Billion
  Time: 18:03 EDT/23:03 GMT Source: ZDNet Posted By: Bob

  Merger value nearly doubles in first six months as companies battle for dominance. The value of mergers in the global technology sector nearly doubled to a record $545 billion in the first half of 1999 as companies battled to win a dominant position on the Internet, according to a report released Wednesday.

   
• Microsoft's Maritz to step back
  Time: 09:30 EDT/14:30 GMT Source: ZDNet Posted By: Byron

  Paul Maritz, once considered in the running to succeed Chairman Bill Gates and President Steve Ballmer at the top of Microsoft Corp., is giving up most of his operational responsibilities, becoming the latest senior executive to opt for a less-pressured role at the software company.

  Maritz, 44 years old, will remain with Microsoft (Nasdaq:MSFT) for "the immediate future," but may retire as early as next year, said Mich Mathews, Microsoft's vice president. She said Maritz will join a new "technical leadership team" to advise Gates.

   
• 64-bit Windows 2000 on track for mid-2000
  Time: 09:23 EDT/14:23 GMT Source: WinInfo Posted By: Byron

  As reported earlier in WinInfo, the 64-bit version of Windows 2000, code-named "Janus," is on track for a mid-2000 release that will coincide with the release of Merced, Intel's first 64-bit processor. The 64-bit edition of Windows 2000 will support far more memory than today's 4GB limit, allowing Merced systems to target the same 18GB plateau as Compaq's 64-bit Alpha.

  But Windows 2000 64-bit Edition isn't just about size and speed: It will also incorporate some new features that further differentiate it from the 32-bit versions of Windows 2000. For example, Active Directory will be enhanced to allow the merging of separate administrative domain "forests." And the failover and load balancing features will exceed that of the 32-bit versions as well, making Windows 2000 64-bit Edition a more compelling choice for Big Iron customers. And lest anyone snicker at this thought, remember that OS guru David Cutler, the engineer who designed Digital VMS and Windows NT, is leading the 64-bit charge at Microsoft.

   
• Lycos starts $70 million venture fund
  Time: 04:55 EDT/09:55 GMT Source: Red Herring Posted By: Alex H

  In what could signal a new role for portal companies, Lycos (Nasdaq: LCOS) is forming a $70 million venture capital fund, Lycos Ventures. The Waltham, Massachusetts-based Internet search and portal site has committed $10 million. Other investors include Mellon Ventures, Triangle Capital, Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC), Lycos's Korean partner Mirae, Sumitomo Bank (OTC: SUBJY), and Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen's Vulcan Ventures.

   
• Intel uncovers new erratum in PIII and Xeon CPUs
  Time: 04:46 EDT/09:46 GMT Source: The Register Posted By: Alex H

  Intel has found an erratum (one of those things that isn't a bug, honest) in Pentium III and Pentium III Xeon processors, according to hardware site HardwareCentral. The problem manifests itself as a system hang, and the more processors in the system, the more likely it is to occur. The fix requires a bios update, and OEMs were given the code for this earlier this month.

   

• Palm to drop Web clipping for WAP
  Time: 04:42 EDT/09:42 GMT Source: The Register Posted By: Alex H

  3Com subsidiary Palm Computing looks set to abandon its current approach to Web browsing and leap onto the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) bandwagon. So far, Palm's plan for wireless Net access, offered through the Palm VII, currently forming the basis for public trials and various parts of the US, centres on its Web 'clipping' technology, essentially a method for stripping out the less relevant data from a Web page so it can be easily sent over a low-bandwidth wireless link.

   
• Broad FBI computer monitoring proposed
  Time: 04:38 EDT/09:38 GMT Source: News.com Posted By: Alex H

  The Clinton administration is reportedly drafting a plan to create two broad, FBI-controlled computer monitoring systems designed to protect the nation's key data networks from interlopers. The proposal calls for software monitoring of non-military government systems and also networks used in the banking, telecommunications, and transportation industries, the New York Times reports in tomorrow's editions. The purported goal is to prevent disruption of government and economic activities by foreign interests or terrorists. But critics say the sweeping plan could lead to a surveillance infrastructure with grave potential for misuse.

   

• Intel, AMD ready fast chips at 600 MHz
  Time: 04:36 EDT/09:36 GMT Source: News.com Posted By: Alex H

  The two leading PC chipmakers will unveil high-performance processors that will hit new speed levels for the mass market in the next two weeks. Intel, the world's largest chip manufacturer, on Monday will release its fastest Pentium III and Celeron processors, which will reach 600 MHz and 500 MHz respectively. The following week, the first computers built around the new Athlon processor from rival chipmaker AMD--formerly called the K7--will appear on the market at competitive speeds, sources say.

   

• Virus can hit Norton AntiVirus during installation
  Time: 04:32 EDT/09:32 GMT Source: MSNBC Posted By: Alex H

  According to Symantec, you may have a virus named W95.CIH.1075, which can be memory-resident and affect the installation before Norton AntiVirus even gets a chance to start protecting your machine.

• AOL Users hit by Unusual Hoax
  Time: 19:11 EDT/24:11 GMT Source: ZDNet.Com Posted By: Bob

  The fake message allegedly fools users into giving up information on their accounts and credit cards.

   

• Online Betting Outlawed in NY
  Time: 14:05 EDT/19:05 GMT Source: News.Com Posted By: Dennis

  Online gambling suffered a blow today as the New York state Supreme Court ruled that a casino with servers in Antigua nonetheless violates U.S. law if it accepts wagers from state residents.

  New York State attorney general Eliot Spitzer's Internet and Investor Protection bureaus were investigating Suffolk County, New York-based casino WIGC.

   

• New High Speed Technology by Holidays
  Time: 14:02 EDT/19:02 GMT Source: News.Com Posted By: Dennis

  A consortium of tech firms today announced that they have agreed on a new high-speed standard that will network PCs and peripherals, such as printers, by means of plugging into standard phone jacks. A variety of high-profile networking companies believe that an agreed-upon method for linking devices will encourage a market for networking hardware and software by making the task simple for the common homeowner.

  The technology--developed by chipmaker Broadcom with help from Lucent Technologies--features data transfer speeds at 10 megabits per second (mbps), a rate ten times faster than products now shipping. The increased bandwidth will give home networks increased flexibility to handle video downloads, such as MPEG2 video streams for DVD players.

   
• AT&T Wins Cable Battle, For Now
  Time: 13:58 EDT/18:58 GMT Source: ZDNN Posted By: Dennis

  When it was all over, Milo Medin leaned against a marble pillar outside the meeting room and managed a smile.

  "It was a good vote," said Medin, the chief technology officer and co-founder of @Home, following the 9 to 2 vote by San Francisco's Board of Supervisors to approve the transfer of Tele-Communications Inc.'s cable franchise to AT&T.

   
• Hate your Computer? Compaq wants to listen
  Time: 13:56 EDT/18:56 GMT Source: The Register Posted By: Dennis

  Compaq has launched a Computer Rage Helpline, designed to relieve the stresses of working in a high tech environment.
  
  When The Register called the helpline, we were given a list of options to describe the type of computer problem we had. Did we hate our computer with a passion? Physically or verbally abuse it? Did we blame ourselves for the problem, or try to fix it but make things worse?

   

• Panda AntiVirus Platinum
  Time: 10:51 EDT/15:51 GMT Source: ActiveWindows Posted By: Dennis

  Panda Software has fixed the Panda Antivirus download problem, and you can download it on our AntiVirus Downloads website via the link on the left or right here. We've also updated the Antivirus page with information on NAV and Mcafee Antivirus updates if you don't like to use the Live Update or Update function.  You can view the screenshot of Panda Software's Panda Antivirus Platinum.

   

• Dell to Offer Affordable Computer with Internet Access
  Time: 10:21 EDT/15:21 GMT Source: ZDNet Posted By: Dennis

  Dell Computer Corp. said it plans Tuesday to offer a full-featured consumer personal computer, with a year's free Internet service, priced at $959 in a bid to navigate the fast-changing currents of the low-cost PC market.

  The new Dell's (Nasdaq:DELL) home PC offer, which come with a year's access to the company's Dellnet Internet service for U.S. customers, offers few if any sacrifices compared to subsidized PC offers that exclude key PC components like monitors or ask for a 3-year Internet commitment.

   

• MSN Messenger 1.0.0870 Loses AIM Support
  Time: 10:13 EDT/15:13 GMT Source: Netigen Web Posted By: Dennis

  Here's the latest news from the instant messaging front. Six builds and several downloads later MSN Messenger has once again lost support for chatting with users of AOL Instant Messenger. But as Microsoft has stated -- it will continue to reimplement support. Expect build 872 soon as this war takes an ugly (and increasingly childish) turn for the worst.

  We'll keep you updated. Looks like AOL wasn't joking in the article below.

   
• AOL Vows to Keep Blocking Microsoft
  Time: 07:37 EDT/12:37 GMT Source: ZDNet Posted By: Alex R.

  I have to admit... watching these two industry giants thrash each other is pretty hilarious.  The outcome of this whole ordeal will be extremely interesting - perhaps even precedent-setting.  It bears watching.  Despite the fact that AOL has sent a letter to Microsoft requesting a meeting to "work things out," they have vowed to continue to block Microsoft's MSN Messenger software from reaching their databases.  The hilarity continues... as MS releases updates to communicate with AOL, and AOL responds by changing the protocols to block MS.

   
• eBay Sellers Face "Bid Shield" Scam
  Time: 07:28 EDT/12:28 GMT Source: MSNBC Posted By: Alex R.

  Scam artists have figured out a way to win eBay auctions on the cheap. In a process known as “bid shielding,” two people work in tandem — one lays down a lowball bid, then the other puts in an outrageously high bid that scares off all other bidders. At the last moment, the high bidder withdraws, leaving the lowball bidder the winner. And victims may never know why their items sold for such a low price.

   

• IBM unveiling instant messaging software for business
  Time: 04:45 EDT/09:45 GMT Source: News.com  Posted By: Alex H

  International Business Machines will unveil software to let employees in different locations conduct meetings, complete with slides and charts, over the Internet. Using the software, an update of IBM's Lotus Sametime program, employees in meetings can jointly view presentations and send so-called instant messages, email that appears instantly on the recipient's screen.

  America Online has made instant messaging popular among email correspondents. IBM wants to use the function to help companies save time and money by linking far-flung employees using the Internet. The software complements IBM's Lotus Notes and Domino programs, which also let workers collaborate. "This isn't just teenagers chitchatting after school. This is business people coordinating projects," said John Patrick, IBM's vice president of Internet technology.

   

• USB line mixes and matches PCs, Macs
  Time: 04:42 EDT/09:42 GMT Source: Tom's Hardware Guide  Posted By: Alex H

  Asante Technologies is rolling out a new line of USB connectivity devices aimed at mixed-computer platform environments. The new FriendlyNet USB hub products include a 7-port USB hub, a multi-function USB station, USB-to-serial and -parallel converters, and USB home network products, all of which will be introduced within the next 90 days. The company is also announcing a new 4-port USB hub, which is available immediately.

   

• Microsoft: Europe's cable guy?
  Time: 04:22 EDT/09:22 GMT Source: ZDNet  Posted By: Alex H

  Cable television has suddenly become a hot investment in Europe, and Microsoft Corp. is supplying a lot of the heat. In the latest deal, Britain's NTL Inc. on Monday agreed to pay about 6.3 billion pounds ($10.03 billion) for the cable holdings of rival Cable & Wireless Communications Plc.  The transaction, if completed, would turn NTL into a new UK giant, with 2.8 million customers and a network that passes more than half of British households. It would also prove a boon for Microsoft (Nasdaq:MSFT), which owns five percent of NTL and is acquiring stakes in European cable systems in a bid to become the supplier of software that controls interactive TV services of the future.

   

• Intel prepares 'Merced' accessories
  Time: 04:22 EDT/09:22 GMT Source: ZDNet  Posted By: Alex H

  Intel Corp.'s first 64-bit processor may be a year away, but the semiconductor giant is already ramping up supporting products and technologies for the chip. At its Intel Developers Forum in Palm Springs, Calif., next month, the company is expected to announce a host of new products and technologies, including 64-bit development tools. The company will also disclose plans for PC designs, processors and chip sets.

   

• New Software lets you 'beam' money
  Time: 04:20 EDT/09:20 GMT Source: SiliconValley.com  Posted By: Alex H

  Sipping coffee at Buck's Restaurant early Friday, a venture capitalist beamed a $3 million investment through his Palm organizer to the happy, startup CEO sitting nearby. Patrons munching their poached eggs and hash browns couldn't actually see the flurry of money flying through the air, but that's virtually what happened. Within seconds, the words: ``Would you like to accept the money?'' popped up on Confinity CEO Peter A. Thiel's Palm organizer. He quickly tapped ``Yes.'' ``Of course that's an understatement,'' said Thiel. ``It should say, 'Yes, yes!''' Thus came the official launch of PayPal, an instant payment service that allows people to exchange money through their Palm organizers.

   

• Gates takes a swipe at iMac
  Time: 04:16 EDT/09:16 GMT Source: News.com Posted By: Alex H

  Microsoft may have made a $150 million investment in Apple Computer when the computer-maker was struggling, but that infusion of cash evidently does not equate to respect in Redmond. At Microsoft's annual gathering of financial analysts in Seattle last week, company chief Bill Gates took a swipe at Apple's multicolored iMac packaging strategy in the course of a discussion of various Intel-based devices. "The one thing Apple's providing now is leadership in colors," Gates said as he pointed out a red-colored Intel-based personal computer on display. "It won't take long for us to catch up with that, I don't think."

• Site News
  Time: 19:02 EDT/00:02 GMT Source: ActiveWindows Posted By: Dennis

  We recently posted that our Mouse pads would be able to order today, that was a very optimistic time. We have no date to order these as we have to order them ourselves for you to order. We'll keep you up to date.

   
• Shadoan Review & Competition
  Time: 14:53 EDT/19:53 GMT Source: ActiveWindows Posted By: Byron

  I have posted my review of the DVD-ROM/DVD-Video Interactive game Shadoan. Here is a snippet:

  Shadoan features some gorgeous cartoon graphics and animation, something we have come to expect from Rick Dyers creations over the years. DVD is a perfect technology to show off these kinds of interactive cartoons. It has a feel of some of the older cartoons shown on TV and has a good mystical feel throughout.

  Click here if you would like to win a copy of Shadoan & a new ActiveWindows Mouse Mat.

   
• A look at MS'S next OS
  Time: 13:39 EDT/18:39 GMT Source: Yahoo! News Posted By: Dennis

  Earlier in the week, Betanews.com and another online tester site, Activewin.com, were reporting that Microsoft (Nasdaq:MSFT - news) planned to release a build of Millennium before the weekend was over.

  Millennium is the version of Consumer Windows slated to follow Windows 98 Second Edition. It will be the last version of Windows based on the Windows 9X kernel.

   
• Site News & Job Availability
  Time: 13:19 EDT/18:19 GMT Source: ActiveWindows Posted By: Byron

  It has been a while since I last posted any site news (I haven't been well) so It is about time we posted some new updates.

  1..We are looking for a new news person to help us update the news, applicants can come from anywhere across the world, but this time we have one special request, you must be female (I know we already have Bob) as we would like to add a woman's perspective onto our already large news and articles area. So if you are interested, drop me a line.

  2..We are going to have our mouse mat ordering page up sometime today with a (Large) picture of the design. This logo on the mousepad will be our NEW ActiveWindows logo! This will be your exclusive preview of our new logo which will be displayed on our new website (only slight changes) which will debut in the near future.

  3..The beta site should be up sometime in the very near future, it isn't a major site update over the one we currently have, but it does feature a few tweaks and neat features that we hope you'll like

  4..Jonathan and I are still working on the new addition to the ActiveWindows website database which we hope we can announce this week, it has been put back a little due to major CGI problems on the site (You may have noticed there are a lot of those about)

  New reviews on the way:

  Games: Shadoan (DVD-ROM), Tender Loving Care (DVD-ROM), MiG Alley, Animaniacs: A Gigantic Adventure and International Cricket Captain 2
  DVD's: Ghostbusters, Affliction, A Simple Plan and 8MM

   

• Exciting Windows Millennium Feature
  Time: 12:03 EDT/17:03 GMT Source: Geeknews Posted By: Byron

  Geeknews has posted a little bit of information about a new feature in Windows Millennium called "Hibernation"

  Well with the news of the Developers beta of Windows Millennium, I asked around and got some great information. One of the things the little birdie told me was Windows Millennium will most likely have a 'Hibernation' feature. When you choose the 'Hibernation' option from the shutdown menu Windows will save the current state of your computer to a file then allow you to power down as normal. When you turn the computer back on Windows will restore the state of your computer exactly before you chose 'Hibernation'. Exciting indeed, but I still cant wait for the day I can simply turn me Windows machine on/off with a flick of a switch.

   
• Windows Millennium: Facts & Complete Fiction
  Time: 11:50 EDT/16:50 GMT Source: Wininfo Posted By: Byron

  As expected, there is a whole lot of bull floating around about Windows Millennium that just went into pre-beta, some people are trying to clear up the facts from the fiction (Which is hard to do with any pre-beta software). Here is a piece from the Wininfo website.

  According to several beta testers who have contacted me personally, the technical beta for Millennium--the next version of Consumer Windows, the follow-up to Windows 98 Second Edition--has begun. But if you spend any time browsing the Web looking for news about Millennium, you're going to run into rumors and opinion that are touted as "fact." Unfortunately, there's a lot of baloney floating around out there.

   
• Attack of the viral Web notes
  Time: 03:56 EDT/08:56 GMT Source: Red Herring Posted By: Alex H

  The Web is about to be overrun with Siskels and Eberts. A new generation of communications software players are gearing up for what might be the most interesting race for market share since the browser wars between Netscape and Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) -- or at least since the race to distribute "push" products that happened a few years ago. First came Third Voice, which has generated buzz over its concept of "Web notes" that allow visitors to post comments on a Web page. It launched its first version of its Web notes in May.

   
• Total Annihilation: Kingdoms v1.1 Patch Released
  Time: 03:56 EDT/08:56 GMT Source: 3DFiles.com Posted By: Alex H

  While looking over at 3DFiles I also saw that TA: Kingdoms had a new patch out as well. Here is what it fixes:

  Fixes a bug with team settings remaining after loading a save skirmish. 
  Fixes a bug with units under transport. Units being transported will no longer 
  have area of effect adjustments. 
  New Keyboard Commands: 
  MoveFight. This new command tells units to attack while moving. 
  SelectUnitsOnScreenAdd [UnitCategory]. This new command allows you to add units to selected units by category. 
  SelectUnitsOnScreenAdd. This new command adds only the units on screen to units already selected. 
  SelectUnitsOnScreen [UnitCategory]. This new command allows you to select units from an existing unit category on your screen. 
  SelectUnitsOnScreenSelectedType. This new command is similar to the existing CTRL-Z command, however, it only adds like units on screen. 

   

• Kingpin v1.1 patch Released
  Time: 03:47 EDT/08:47 GMT Source: 3DFiles.com Posted By: Alex H

  I just noticed over on 3D Files that there is a new Kingpin patch out. Here is a listing of what it fixes:

  -Fixed long level loads
  -Fixed pauses during multiplay
  -Fixed erratic mouse during multiplay
  -Optimized Vertex Array support
  -Allow access to consol while in multiplayer game
  -Only play intro once
  -Optimized scoreboard, fits more players
  -Fixed invalid model causing a thug model with sewer rat skin during teamplay
  -Fixed gibbing characters in single player mode causes character to dissapear
  -Completely disallowed alt-tab, causes several video drivers to hang the system
  -Added "maxrate" setting for servers
  -Pain skins on buddies in single player
  -Player ID display
  -Disappearing View Weapons on linux servers
  -Reduced network traffic on startup, causing overflowed client drops
  -Holster weapon, select weapon without ammo, can't raise weapon
  -Added "dm_realmode", allows only pistol, shotgun & tommygun, with 4x damage
  -Fixed dial-up connection dialing unnecessarily after selecting Begin Game in Gangbang menu
  -Allow for multiple CD drives
  -disable sound quality option for 64mb systems
  -Crouching shotgun, won't reload automatically
  -play animation properly after respawn
  -Color coded Player ID (green = friend, red = enemy)
  -Added use of (audible) talk keys during multiplay, accompanied by a random jesture
  -Automatically scale maxfps with rate setting, if cl_maxfps is higher than current setting can handle
  -Prevent safe blockers
  -New seperate text/chat display
  -Easier to hit switch in Bagman

   

• Study: Virus infections multiply
  Time: 03:35 EDT/08:35 GMT Source: ZDNet Posted By: Alex H

  Computer virus infections doubling every year since 1997, study finds. And e-mail viruses are the main culprit. Even ignoring a triple whammy of computer virus incidences this spring, infections by the digital bugs are becoming more frequent, according to a report released on Thursday by the International Computer Security Association Inc. In its annual Computer Virus Prevalence Survey, the ICSA pointed to macro viruses, such as Melissa and the Class virus, as the main threat to corporations. Still, despite increases in the chance of infection, the cost of infections has been low.

   
• Gates: New Devices Hold Promise For Software
  Time: 03:29 EDT/08:29 GMT Source: TechWeb Posted By: Alex H

  When Microsoft CEO Bill Gates peers into his crystal ball, he sees many new worlds for software.  Gates, speaking Thursday at the company's annual financial analysts meeting in Seattle, talked about the future of wireless networks, new PC forms, digital video, streaming media, interactive television, and technical topics ranging from digital-rights management to XML schemas to MP3 to IEEE standards. Gates demonstrated several concept PCs, such as a Sony PC with a built-in camera for video or still pictures. "[Soon] that same camera will recognize who is there using the PC," he said.

   
• NT still has life in it
  Time: 03:26 EDT/08:26 GMT Source: ZDNet Posted By: Alex H

  Microsoft Corp. officials insist the company is on track to release Windows 2000 to manufacturing before the end of the year. Yet the company is cautioning its reseller partners not to expect too much in terms of sales for the next-generation operating system release for a while. Microsoft (Nasdaq:MSFT) Chief Financial Officer Greg Maffei set expectations at Microsoft's annual Financial Analyst Meeting earlier this week, when he said Microsoft did not expect to see the first revenues from Windows 2000 until late in the first or even second calendar quarters of 2000.

  On Saturday, at Microsoft's annual reseller conference here, Debra Willingham, Microsoft's vice president of business and enterprise division marketing, told attendees to continue to push NT 4.0 for the foreseeable future.

• MS vs. AOL AGAIN and AGAIN
  Time: 12:21 EDT/17:21 GMT Source: ActiveWindows Posted By: Dennis

  AOL once again blocked MSN's Messenger's AOL IM function. We didn't think it was worth posting about it because of the times its happened, but considering the mountain of email from it, I'm posting about it now.

  MSN Messenger has an Auto Update feature which checks to see if you have the latest MSN Messenger version on startup. This does NOT activate if your still using Messenger, rebooting or shutting down Messenger and restarting it should activate the auto update feature (if there's a new version).

• MS vs. AOL AGAIN
  Time: 22:30 EDT/03:30 GMT Source: ActiveWindows/Robert Posted By: Dennis

  Recently this morning, AOL changed its IM service so MSN Messenger couldn't connect to it, MS replied with an update to its Messenger service. Then this afternoon, AOL changed it AGAIN. And thanks to Robert Sledge (rbrtsledge on MIM), we found out that MS updated its MIM AGAIN! This version christened 1.0.0.867, updates MIM to AOL IM support again. You can download it once again.

  Thanks to Robert Sledge who is a fellow visitor who reported this to us, and we reported it to Netigen and BetaNews.

   
• IIS Vulnerability Via MDAC - Patch Released
  Time: 20:40 EDT/00:40 GMT Source: email Posted By: Alex R.

  Microsoft has released a new patch to correct a vulnerability in the MDAC ODBC drivers.  Here's a quote from the security bulletin:

  Microsoft has identified a vulnerability in Microsoft(r) Data Access Components (MDAC) that could allow a web site visitor to take unauthorized actions on a web site hosted using Internet Information Server. The vulnerability can be eliminated by reconfiguring or removing the affected components of MDAC.

  This vulnerability originally was reported in Microsoft Security Bulletin MS98-004, issued July 17, 1998. It was re-released on July 19, 1999, to remind customers of the need to address the vulnerability. It was updated on July 23, 1999, to discuss the need to remove sample files that are affected by the vulnerability, and to clarify that MDAC 2.0 is affected even if deployed as a clean installation.

   
• Pixar to Remake Tron?
  Time: 20:17 EDT/00:17 GMT Source: ZDNet Posted By: Alex R.

  Here's a nice, non-topic rumor to tickle your fancy.  ZDNet News is reporting on a rumor that Pixar may be planning to remake Disney's Tron.  Pixar is the company that produced the CGI-extraordinaires A Bug's Life and Toy Story.  I had heard a rumor earlier this week that a full-CGI sequel to Tron might be in the works, but this is the first I've heard of a remake.  Pixar is under obligation to produce another film for Disney, thanks to a contract they signed a few years ago.

  Apparently this remake has some big powerhouse backing as well, namely Steve Jobs (but Steve Jobs has always been a part of Pixar anyway).

  Hey, for those of us who actually thought Tron was pretty neat, it's fun to think about.

   
• MS answers back with a new Messenger
  Time: 16:09 EDT/21:09 GMT Source: Netigen Web Posted By: Dennis

  Microsoft has released a new build (1.0.0.865) of MSN Messenger that restores AOL functionality! Download the new 323 KB build! Hopefully America Online won't disable AIM support again by tomorrow morning.

   
• Antz Review
  Time: 06:51 EDT/11:51 GMT Source: ActiveWindows Posted By: Alex H.

  I have just added my review of the DVD movie Antz. Here is a snippet from it:

  This DVD has loads of special features on it including Featurette, Audio Commentary, Additional Footage, Filmographies, Documentaries, Interactive Menus, Cast/Crew Bios, TV Spots, Theatrical Trailer, Production Notes. The additional footage is some of the most interesting that I have seen on a DVD in a while. What it does is take you through the different steps that happened to make two of the scenes. It starts from the basic storyboarding of the film all the way to the finished product. After they have show you each of the stages it  splits the screen into 4 and shows all the bits running at once so you can see where they have changed bits on it or taken bits out. This DVD also has some of the more normal additions to it such as Interactive menus Theatrical trailer and Scene access. 

   
• PC sales jump thanks to 'Free PC' trend
  Time: 04:29 EDT/09:29 GMT Source: ZDNet Posted By: Alex H.

  Sales of personal computers jumped in June, driven by lower sticker prices, Internet service provider rebates and an increasing number of leasing schemes, said market researcher PC Data Thursday. And July is expect to be bigger.

  "(PC makers) will be adding a lot of interest to a month that is relatively uninteresting," said Stephen Baker, director of hardware analyst for the Reston, Virginia firm. In fact, the so-called "free" PC is shaping up to be the major driver for the PC market, as leasing options and massive rebates become commonplace.

   

• Microsoft sees threats over developers
  Time: 04:27 EDT/09:27 GMT Source: News.com Posted By: Alex H.

  Microsoft president Steve Ballmer said today that he is more concerned about competition for software developers than at any time since the company broke with IBM during the early days of the PC revolution.

  Ballmer, speaking at the company's annual meeting for financial analysts here, said the combination of Internet technologies, the Java programming language, database-driven application development, and growth in use of the Linux operating system is threatening Microsoft's ability to attract programmers to Windows. The variety of options available to developers could "suck away" interest in the various forms of Windows, Ballmer said.

   

• AOL blasts MS instant message service
  Time: 04:23 EDT/09:23 GMT Source: ZDNet Posted By: Alex H.

  America Online Inc. today called Microsoft Corp.'s attempt to link its new MSN Messenger system to AOL's popular program "akin to hacking." "It raises significant and serious privacy and security issues," said Ann Brackbill, senior vice president for communications at AOL. "Microsoft is violating the cardinal rule of the Internet by asking AOL Instant Messenger users for their passwords and screen names. And its unauthorized access of the AOL namespace is akin to hacking."

   
• AOL sows high-speed seeds around AT&T
  Time: 04:21 EDT/09:21 GMT Source: News.com Posted By: Alex H.

  In the Darwinian world of the Internet, America Online and AT&T are following different paths in their parallel quests to become king of high-speed Net services. AOL, the world's largest Internet service provider, is methodically creating a patchwork of broadband Net access technologies, despite its high-profile campaign to gain access to cable TV connections. Through investments in digital subscriber lines (DSL) and satellites, AOL is attempting to reach out to millions of potential high-speed Internet customers.

   

• Digital IDs for kids could be in cards
  Time: 04:18 EDT/09:18 GMT Source: USA Today Posted By: Alex H.

  From futuristic-sounding retinal scans and digital signatures to old-fashioned signed permission slips, the debate over how to verify that parents know what kids are doing online moved into the final stages here Tuesday.

  A law aimed at protecting children from marketing online goes into effect next spring; it requires that sites get "verifiable" parental consent before collecting information from kids under 13. But nobody seems to agree on exactly what "verifiable" means in the new online world. Child-protection and privacy advocates squared off against Web companies at a day-long meeting organized by the Federal Trade Commission, which plans to rule on the matter this fall. After July 30, the FTC will not accept any more public input on the issue.

   

• New CEO: No learning curve needed
  Time: 04:15 EDT/09:15 GMT Source: ZDNet Posted By: Alex H.

  Speaking with the ease of a seasoned politician, new Compaq Computer Corp. President and CEO Michael D. Capellas Thursday held his first press conference less than two hours after the company's board of directors had formally appointed him to the posts. Until early June, when he was named acting chief operating officer, few people outside the company had even heard of Capellas, whose background lies mainly in IT, operations and manufacturing.

• The Quiet Death of Netscape
  Time: 20:058EDT/02:08 GMT Source: PCWorld Posted By: Alex R.

  This is definitely the end of an era.  PC World is reporting that Sun and AOL are planning to drop the "Netscape" brand name on all versions of the new browser.  The new name will be "iPlanet."  The term "Netscape" may still apply to the Communicator suite.  There are other developments taking place on the Netscape product line that sound pretty amazing... check out the article for full details.

   

• New Voodoo3 Drivers
  Time: 20:05 EDT/02:05 GMT Source: VoodooExtreme Posted By: Alex R.

  3dfx has released a new set of Voodoo3 drivers (2000 AGP/PCI and 3000 AGP) that offer numerous improvements in image quality control.  Most noticeably, alpha blending is now supported properly.  There's a press release here that describes the neato-keen features of the new drivers.  Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a download to start :)

   

• MSN Messenger Official Site
  Time: 18:01 EDT/23:01 GMT Source: ActiveWindows Posted By: Byron

  Microsoft have finally posted their official MSN Messenger website URL:

  See when your friends are online—whether they use MSN Messenger Service or AOL Instant Messenger.

  Send and receive instant messages in real time with one or more of your friends.

  Enjoy easy-to-follow exchanges by being able to tell when someone in the conversation is typing.

  Easily control who can see when you're online and who can send you instant messages.

  Be automatically notified when you receive new messages in your Hotmail e-mail account.

  See when your friends are online and send them an instant message using Outlook Express 5.

   

• Linuxlab launches $299 Web server
  Time: 04:01 EDT/09:01 GMT Source: The Register Posted By: Alex H

  US start-up Linuxlab yesterday introduced its first hardware product, a $299 personal Web server based on the open source OS. That sets the Linuxlab up to follow in the footsteps of US server vendor TeamInternet and UK start-up Inty. Both also offer easy-to-install Internet servers based on cheap PC parts and free operating systems.

   

• AOL Profits Rise
  Time: 03:58 EDT/08:58 GMT Source: Wired News Posted By: Alex H

  America Online on Wednesday reported fourth-quarter profits grew 170 percent to US$156 million, nudging ahead of Wall Street's earnings expectations, which were tempered by the seasonal softness in online services use during spring and summer. Fully taxed operating income for the fourth quarter ended 30 June was $156 million, or 13 cents per share -- excluding charges to cover the costs of several acquisitions -- compared to earnings of $58 million in the year-ago quarter.

  Fourth-quarter revenues rose to $1.4 billion, 46 percent above the fiscal year ending in June 1998. Advertising, commerce, and other revenues reached $306 million, up 87 percent from a year ago. Subscriptions from users of its 17.6 million-member AOL service and 2 million-member CompuServe service, still the company's revenue mainstay, grew 39 percent to $943 million.

   

• Via validates PC133 DIMMs
  Time: 03:54 EDT/08:54 GMT Source: The Register Posted By: Alex H

  Chipset firm Via said it has now validated seven dual inline memory modules (DIMMs) from different manufacturers for its Apollo Pro 133 chipset. The parts come from Fujitsu, Hitachi, Infineon-Siemens, Micron, Mitsubishi, Samsung and Toshiba.

   
• Microsoft sues retailers over piracy
  Time: 03:50 EDT/08:50 GMT Source: ZDNet Posted By: Alex H

  It has been quite a busy year for Microsoft's attorneys -- and not just on the antitrust front. The software giant, in continuing its aggressive bid to sink software pirates, this week has filed suit against multiple computer retailers across the U.S. The complaints target several companies that allegedly distributed counterfeit license agreements for Office 97 and, to a lesser extent, Windows 95. 

  The offenders, Microsoft alleges, include 4 Star Trading Co., Centurion Computers and Software Inc., Gateway USA Inc., MJ Micro Inc., R.P.M. International Inc., Software Wholesale Club Inc. and Volume Software Inc

• MSN Messenger Released
  Time: 23:19 EDT/04:19 GMT Source: DesktopWatch Posted By: Dennis

  Microsoft has released MSN Messenger early, though not a public announcement, its out! More information on this soon! My MSN Messenger ID is activedennis. See you on!

  Update! The Official MSN Messenger Web Site: http://messenger.msn.com. Check it out now!

   
• Quake III: Arena Test v1.07 Released
  Time: 07:36 EDT/13:36 GMT Source: BluesNews Posted By: Alex R.

  id Software has released a new version of Quake III: Arena Test.  The new version fixes some cheat exploits and an exploit in Disruptor's new q3tourney map.  A full list of mirrors are available here.

  A patch is available for those of you with v1.06 so you don't have to download the whole thing again.

   

• Panasonic launches new rewritable DVD-RAM drive
  Time: 04:29 EDT/09:29 GMT Source: Newsbytes Posted By: Byron

  Panasonic has launched a rewritable DVD-RAM drive. The new rewritable drive is designed for corporate, SOHO and private multimedia and high bandwidth users requiring high-speed data storage, transfer and retrieval. The DVD-RAM drive can read and write from disks with a maximum double-speed capacity of 9.4Gb and singles-sided capacity of 4.7Gb, as well as being able to read and write existing 2.6 and 5.2Gb DVD-RAM disks and will read DVD-ROM, DVD-Video, DVD-R, Audio-CD, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW and Video CD media. Expected availability is in early 2000.

   

• Intel i810 chipset has inherent limitations
  Time: 04:27 EDT/09:27 GMT Source: The Register Posted By: Byron

  A hardware site has taken an in-depth look at the Intel i810 chipset and has concluded that it has severe limitations. Lost Circuits has posted an article on the i810 exploring its benefits and its limitations.

  According to the piece, there are insurmountable handicaps inherent in the i810 chipset, no matter which CPU is used. "A 66MHz memory bus has to be inadequate for integrated processing," it states.

• AMD Athlon 600 Stomps PIII
  Time: 19:13 EDT/00:13 GMT Source: The Register Posted By: Dennis

  Hardware news and reviews site FiringSquad has produced a highly detailed "preview" of AMD's 600MHz Athlon, with benchmarks attached. In most of these it excels, and FiringSquad describes it as "an amazing product of engineering. By scaling results, it's clear that in most cases the Athlon is a faster processor than the Pentium III, and it will easily earn its place in the annals of PC history."

   
• Teens Want to Buy Online too
  Time: 19:08 EDT/00:08 GMT Source: The Register Posted By: Dennis

  Online shops are ignoring the potential of the teenage market, says new research. According to a report from KPMG, 80 per cent of 12 to 16 year olds want to buy stuff on the Net.
  
  While individual teens don't have much cash, as a group they are worth £3 billion a year, says the professional services firm. There are many hoops that retailers will have to jump through, if they want to get their hands on the cash.

   
• Pentium III 600/Celeron 500 - The NDA emerges
  Time: 19:03 EDT/00:03 GMT Source: Netigen Web Posted By: Dennis

  Sources close to Intel's plans have now disclosed that the chip giant has released box versions of the Pentium III/600 and Celeron/500, available to channel partners.
  
  Dealers can only buy a maximum of three each, but are bound by one of Intel's fearsome non disclosure agreements (NDAs).

   
• Yahoo/BroadCast.Com deal Done
  Time: 18:56 EDT/23:56 GMT Source: ZDNN Posted By: Dennis

  Yahoo! Inc. Tuesday completed the acquisition of prominent Webcaster Broadcast.com, saying it will move ahead with integrating the company's content and services across Yahoo!'s Web site.

  Yahoo! (Nasdaq:YHOO) said the company will become Yahoo!'s Broadcast Services business unit, but will continue using the brand name Broadcast.com (Nasdaq:BCST) for its consumer business. Along with recently-purchased Geocities, Broadcast.com is among the first of Yahoo!'s acquisitions to be run as a separate brand.

   
• Worldnet Credit Card Scam
  Time: 18:54 EDT/23:54 GMT Source: ZDNN Posted By: Dennis

  WorldNet sent an e-mail Monday to its 1.6 million users, warning them about an e-mail being sent by someone who claimed to be a WorldNet employee fixing a billing problem and asking for credit card information. WorldNet Marketing Vice President Michael Chaplo told users in his note that this was a swindle, and that users should never "provide credit card or password information through e-mail." He also said WorldNet would never ask for such information via e-mail.

   
• MTV wants in on the MP3 Action
  Time: 18:52 EDT/23:52 GMT Source: ZDNN Posted By: Dennis

  MTV is entering the digital music business.

  MTV Networks Online, a division of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA), has signed a deal with Diamond Multimedia Systems Inc (Nasdaq: DIMD) subsidiary RioPort Inc. to deliver digital music over the Internet.

   
• RealNetworks breaks even in Q2
  Time: 18:50 EDT/23:50 GMT Source: ZDNN Posted By: Dennis

  Real Networks Inc. (Nasdaq: RNWK) almost broke even a quarter ahead of expectations.

  In second quarter results released after market close Tuesday, the provider of software for streaming media posted a net loss of $270,000, or virtually break even, on a per share basis. First Call's survey of 10 analysts predicted a loss of 2 cents per share for the quarter ended June 30.

   
• Microsoft Releases NT SP6 Beta
  Time: 18:47 EDT/23:47 GMT Source: ZDNN Posted By: Dennis

  Microsoft Corp. will release this week a beta of Service Pack 6 (SP6) for its Windows NT 4.0 operating system to technical beta sites of its premier customers.

  The service pack will apply to the Workstation, Server, and Enterprise Edition of NT and should be available in general release in approximately 60 days.

   

• ICQ gets vocal with telephony
  Time: 17:35 EDT/22:35 GMT Source: News.Com Posted By: Cliff

  America Online's ICQ today said it will partner with Internet telephony company Net2Phone to give ICQ users the ability to make phone calls over the Net. Sounds like a pretty good idea to me, imagine being able to actually talk with the people you meet over ICQ...sounds like fun.

   

• Windows 95 remains most popular Operating System
  Time: 17:35 EDT/22:35 GMT Source: News.Com Posted By: Cliff

  Windows 98 dominates the home market and is growing in popularity with small and medium-sized businesses. But large businesses have stuck for the most part with Windows 95 and even the previous version, Windows 3.11, particularly those large organizations with long-term software licenses.

• Microsoft plays Catch-Up with IM
  Time: 23:15 EDT/04:15 GMT Source: Netigen Web Posted By: Dennis

  Update: We received this link from Netigen Web's webmaster via ICQ, I posted it about an hour after the msg so I had forgotten that Raze gave me this link. Sorry Netigen. Even though you didn't say anything, I felt bad when I realized it. Sorry.

  Following numerous delays, Microsoft is planning to release its instant message software later this week, the giant's answer to America Online's popular Instant Messenger and ICQ offerings.

  MSN Messenger service is scheduled to launch on Thursday, sources told CNET News.com. The software's features are designed to integrate MSN Hotmail, the company's free email service, and make it possible for users to employ both MSN Messenger and other instant messaging software.

   

• Millennium Ripoffs
  Time: 20:01 EDT/01:01 GMT Source: MSNBC Posted By: Dennis

  Security experts believe that computer fraud, linked directly to the so-called Year 2000 computer bug, will cost America’s big business big money. In fact, one firm predicts that in a single computer theft, some American business will lose $1 billion. It could potentially be the biggest corporate heist in world history.

   
• China says it can make Neutron Bomb
  Time: 19:58 EDT/00:58 GMT Source: MSNBC Posted By: Dennis

  This is only half Technology news, but I got a kick out of it. Hmm, how do the Chinese explain their sudden increase in atomic knowledge? Remember they say they've never stolen United States confidential information.

   
• Year Old Hole in Big Web Sites
  Time: 19:53 EDT/00:53 GMT Source: MSNBC Posted By: Dennis

  A security expert was able to demonstrate major vulnerabilities in big-name Web sites last week, including Dell Computer Corp., Compaq Computer Corp., PSINet, Compuserve and Nasdaq-Amex. The vulnerability, which was demonstrated to MSNBC, was simple but potentially devastating. It required as few as eight lines of computer code but could have exposed personal information, including credit card numbers.

   
• Microsoft Windows 1.01
  Time: 19:48 EDT/00:48 GMT Source: Unknown Posted By: Dennis

  Ahh, the 80s.... If you've seen the newest TNT movie Pirates of Silicon Valley, you've probably seen the part where Steve Jobs accuses Bill Gates of stealing from the Apple OS for Windows 1.0, well we found a page on the internet with Windows 1.01 screenshots. My favorite one is the one that says "This will end your windows session." I thought freeze-ups ended the Windows session.... <G>

   
• WindowBlinds 0.96 Alpha 3
  Time: 19:42 EDT/00:42 GMT Source: Stardock Posted By: Dennis

  Stardock has been busy and has been diligently working on WindowBlinds 0.96. They've released their 3rd alpha. 1.0 Final is still a few weeks away, and ActiveWindows will keep you up to date.

   
• Voice-Activated Web Surfing
  Time: 19:08 EDT/00:08 GMT Source: GeekNews Posted By: Alex R.

  Conversa has released a new version of their voice-activated web browser, Conversa Web 3.0.  The software allows you to open links, scroll up or down, and do other things that you can do with a normal browser... via voice activation.

   
• Vizact 2000 Preview Release 2
  Time: 19:04 EDT/00:04 GMT Source: BetaBites Posted By: Alex R.

  Microsoft has released a second preview version of the "active document" creation program, Vizact 2000.  Vizact 2000 is billed as a part of Microsoft Office 2000, providing you with the power to create a document that lives and responds to user input.  Kinda like a cross between Powerpoint and Word, with DHTML thrown in... shaken, not stirred.

   
• Intel Explores "Interim Step" on Road to Rambus
  Time: 19:03 EDT/00:03 GMT Source: News.com Posted By: Alex R.

  Intel today said that, because of requests from PC makers and memory manufacturers, it is exploring releasing a chipset in the first half of 2000 that will function with a faster version of the memory that is currently found in most computers.

  That is significant, because, until now, Intel has maintained that it would jump from supporting current memory to the more costly, and somewhat controversial, memory designed around the Rambus architecture, without an intervening step. The chipset serves as a communication bridge between the processor and memory; hence, chipsets determine the kind of memory a given PC can handle.

   
• Coalition Accepts "Metadata" Standard Proposed by Microsoft
  Time: 19:01 EDT/23:58 GMT Source: News.com Posted By: Alex R.

  The Meta Data Coalition (MDC), of which Microsoft and 20 other software companies and services providers are members, has accepted the MDC Open Information Model as a new standard.

  The standard is intended to provide a common way to identify data stored in large corporations, so that knowledge-management software products and other tools from multiple makers can recognize the data.

   
• Microsoft Experiences Profit Surge
  Time: 18:58 EDT/23:58 GMT Source: News.com Posted By: Alex R.

  Microsoft has announced a 60% profit surge for this quarter, thanks to the introduction of Office 2000.  The software giant closed the fiscal year 1999 with an overall boost of 70% in profits.

   
• Site News
  Time: 18:55 EDT/23:55 GMT Source: me Posted By: Alex R.

  It seems Byron has fallen a bit under the weather, so we apologize for the lack of updates today.  I'm making late news runs now.

   
• Intel confirms i740, i754 dead duckies...
  Time: 10:56 EDT/15:56 GMT Source: The Register Posted By: Byron

  Chip giant Intel has now confirmed that its i740 chipset will become a thing of the past in August. The information is on its website. Intel said it will stop supporting the i740 in August. And Intel has also confirmed that it has canned its high end i754 chipset. (See Intel has (late) designs on your graphics)

   
• Via confirms Apollo PC-133 has landed
  Time: 10:55 EDT/15:55 GMT Source: The Register Posted By: Byron

  Taiwanese chipset manufacturer Via has now confirmed it has released its Apollo Pro133 chipset. Over the weekend, we reported that motherboards using the chipset are already for sale in Japan. It had the design ready at this year's Computex show in Taipei, but was forced to hold fire because of negotiations between it and chip giant Intel.

   

• MS to remove Sidewalk from Road Ahead
  Time: 10:52 EDT/15:52 GMT Source: The Register Posted By: Byron

  Sidewalk, Microsoft's local information service, is likely to going to be taken over by rival TicketMaster/CitySearch. The deal has been brewing for some months since it became clear to Microsoft that it was unlikely to see a return on its investment - put at $200 million plus - despite refocusing, relaunches, firing staff and cutting back expansion plans.

• Korean .gov hits out at Sun for Y2K overpricing
  Time: 17:12 EDT/22:12 GMT Source: The Register Posted By: Alex H

  Tomorrow's Korea Herald is reporting that Sun is coming under attack from government bodies for allegedly overcharging for year 2000 upgrades.

  According to the newspaper, which quotes an official at the Ministry of Information and Communication, Sun is using double standards by offering public bodies free upgrades but charging hospitals and other organisations large sums

   
• 600MHz Athlon stomps PIII in 'preview' tests
  Time: 17:12 EDT/22:12 GMT Source: The Register Posted By: Alex H

  Hardware news and reviews site FiringSquad has produced a highly detailed "preview" of AMD's 600MHz Athlon, with benchmarks attached. In most of these it excels, and FiringSquad describes it as "an amazing product of engineering. By scaling results, it's clear that in most cases the Athlon is a faster processor than the Pentium III, and it will easily earn its place in the annals of PC history."

  The site used a setup based on a 600Mhz Rev C Athlon, and threw a bunch of tests at it. It was substantially ahead of a 560MHz P3 in Quake tests (FiringSquad comments that its calling "looks to be truly one of gaming"), and although the two CPUs were pretty even on AGP tests, this appears to be a sign of AMD finally catching up with Intel here: "We can see AMD finally has a good AGP implementation," and Athlon's high-bandwidth architecture could allow it to establish a clear lead in the future.

   

• Microsoft money can't buy browser spot
  Time: 17:09 EDT/22:09 GMT Source: News.com Posted By: Alex H

  Microsoft likes to make investments to sell more software, but so far Qwest Communications International isn't playing along. Despite the software giant's stake in upstart telecommunications carrier Qwest seven months ago, Qwest's Internet access customers are given Web browser software made by Netscape Communications when they sign up for the ISP service. The result of a pre-existing corporate relationship with Netscape, Qwest dial-up modem users can't yet choose to install Microsoft's Internet Explorer, a competing browser.

   

• Site News
  Time: 15:04 EDT/20:04 GMT Source: ActiveWindows Posted By: Dennis

  Another slow day on the weekend. If you're bored, ABC Sports is showing the British Open, they're in playoffs I believe right now. Everything should be up and fast tomorrow when tons of news usually pops up. Thanks for being patient. Download WindowBlinds while your at it, or get the Alpha 2 version available on their newsgroups.

• CacheSentry's author offers an update on the peculiarities of Internet Explorer 5
  Time: 11:36 EDT/16:36 GMT Source: Infoworld  Posted By: Byron

  Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) 5 is now a standard part of Windows 98 Second Edition, Microsoft Office 2000, and other Microsoft products. As an upgrade to Version 4.0, IE 5 is billed as having many improvements -- but it also has its share of anomalies.

  Readers have sent me numerous pointers on IE 5. I printed some of these in my April 26, May 10, May 17, and May 24 columns.

  I asked for a reaction to these comments from David Pochron, author of CacheSentry, a free utility that manages IE's Web cache files more efficiently. I wrote at length about this on March 30, April 6, and April 13, 1998.

   
• Intel Cutting P3 Prices This Weekend
  Time: 07:34 EDT/13:34 GMT Source: News.com Posted By: Byron

  Intel is expected to cut the prices on the Pentium III processor lineup by 10-15% this weekend.  On August 1st, the P3-600mhz is expected to be released on the market, followed by another price cut on August 22nd for the Xeon, P2, P3 and Celeron processors.

   

• Quake III: Arena Test v1.06 Released
  Time: 07:30 EDT/13:30 GMT Source: BluesNews Posted By: Alex R.

  id Software has released the new Q3ATest v1.06.  The release hit the 'net last night at around 11:06 EDT.  Here's a list of mirrors from where you can pick up the 30.6mb download:

   

  • ftp.cdrom.com
  • 3DGamer's Archives
  • Barrysworld.com
  • QuakeCity
  • Clanworld.org
  • Warzone
  • HEAT.net
  • Q3Arena.com
  • Stomped
  • Zutroy.com
  • Sharky Extreme
  • Gamer's Depot
  • Telefragged

  I do believe this release contains a GLSetup program that uses the Active Setup approach.  Also, this is only a Win32 version... Linux and Mac versions aren't out yet.

   

• Milestone 8 Released
  Time: 07:08 EDT/12:08 GMT Source: e-mail Posted By: Byron

  Mozilla.org development has reached their Milestone 8. Mozilla is the main engine of the upcoming Netscape Communicator 5.0.

• Crystal computer chip uses chemistry for speed
  Time: 14:58 EDT/19:58 GMT Source: News.com Posted By: Byron

  Researchers at UCLA and Hewlett-Packard said they have taken a big step toward making tiny, super-fast computers known as molecular computers.

  Built on a crystalline structure, such computers will someday replace those based on silicon chips and could ultimately make it possible to have a computer so small it could be woven into clothing, they predicted.

   
• Microsoft tops $500 billion in market value
  Time: 14:54 EDT/19:54 GMT Source: News.com Posted By: Byron

  Microsoft became the first company to top $500 billion in market value, more than the economy of The Netherlands, as shares of the world's biggest software maker hit a record 98.

  Chairman Bill Gates's holdings in Microsoft neared $100 billion as the stock climbed 3.38 to 97.75 in midday trading of 27.2 million, making it the most active U.S. stock. Earlier, shares touched 98, up 41 percent for the year. The company's market value reached $500 billion at 97.97.

   
• Back Orifice CDs infected with CIH virus
  Time: 09:45 EDT/14:45 GMT Source: ZDNet Posted By: Byron

  Cult of the Dead Cow confirmed Thursday that official CD-ROM versions of its controversial Back Orifice 2000 program are infected with the CIH virus.

  "There must have been a virus on the duplicating machine and we didn't know about it," cDc member DilDog said in a phone interview.

   

• Microsoft poised to spin-off MSN?
  Time: 07:28 EDT/12:28 GMT Source: The Register Posted By: Byron

  Microsoft may announce the creation of a "tracking stock" for its Microsoft Network operations next week, according to US reports. The notion first surfaced in May, and the likelihood of such a move was reinforced by CFO Greg Maffei last month, who said the company would separate out some of the figures for its Internet businesses.

  Microsoft will report its year-end figures on Monday, and later in the week will hold its annual analysts meeting. Either of these could see the creation of the tracking stock.

• WindowBlinds 0.96 Preview
  Time: 21:20 EDT/02:20 GMT Source: ActiveWindows Posted By: Dennis

  Here's a simple zip with a few screenshots of the new WB .96. Enjoy, just a small preview, to get you going. Only registered and ODN users may use this build. To download this build click here to go to the development newsgroup.

   
• WindowBlinds 0.96 Released
  Time: 20:11 EDT/01:11 GMT Source: Stardock Posted By: Dennis

  Just as I was receiving WindowBlinds 0.96 from Brad Wardell, he uploaded it to the WB development newsgroup. If you have registered WindowBlinds, please check out the windowblinds.development newsgroup on the news.stardock.com news server. Object Desktop members can use the WB .96 upgrade on the development newsgroup, as it may not be uploaded to the ODN till tomorrow, maybe Monday. Some of the new features are a User Information screen where you submit information about yourself. The toolbar bitmaps are that great, it takes some editing to get it the way you want it. We will upload some more screenshots of .96 later tonight! Go and get it!

   
• WindowBlinds 0.96 Preview (Soon)
  Time: 19:33 EDT/01:33 GMT Source: Stardock Posted By: Dennis

  ActiveWindows will be receiving a copy of WindowBlinds 0.96 beta in the next few hours, we'll post a real small preview of it including just a few screenshots. Somethings that have changed include a slight increase in stability, toolbar bitmaps, and  Internet integration. Internet integration is the new major feature which will include skin of the day or week popping up in your config window. Giving you a more broad skin database. Expect the preview sometime tonight. Also, I will be out of town tomorrow in Columbus so any emails to me at dennisg@activewin.com may be unanswered until tomorrow night.

   
• New Homes in Houston, TX Will Include High-Tech Internet Wiring
  Time: 07:55 EDT/13:55 GMT Source: CNN Posted By: Alex R.

  Want a new home built?  Take a look at Houston, TX.  A number of Houston's home-building companies have signed an agreement with ClearWorks Technologies to provide a high-tech infrastructure for new homes in the greater Houston area.

   
• Computers to Allow Six-Way Multilingual Chat
  Time: 07:52 EDT/13:52 GMT Source: MSNBC Posted By: Alex R.

  The International Consortium for Speech Translation Advanced Research (C-STAR) is planning a demonstration of development technologies that allow users to chat worldwide in their native tongue, with the computers doing the translation in real time... with a delay of 1 or 2 seconds.  It's an interesting article... check it out!

   
• No Voodoo1/Voodoo2 in Windows 2000
  Time: 07:48 EDT/13:48 GMT Source: BetaNews Posted By: Alex R.

  BetaNews has reported that Microsoft and 3dfx have given up on making add-on 3D cards (i.e. Voodoo1/Voodoo2) work correctly in Windows 2000.  It appears that Windows 2000 just can't handle a 3D-only card.  2D/3D combo cards (i.e. TNT, TNT2, Voodoo Banshee, Voodoo3) will work correctly.

   
• New Q3Test This Week?
  Time: 07:37 EDT/13:37 GMT Source: BluesNews Posted By: Alex R.

  BluesNews & ShugaShack are reporting that id Software aims to release the newest Quake III: Arena test this week.  That's just a possibility, as there are some reported bugs they need to work out first... but it's something to get excited about for the weekend.  :)  There are new rules and at least one new map on the docket for the newest test release.  Also, the GLSetup portion of Q3:A now runs from an active setup approach, similar to Microsoft's efforts... to prevent having to download a 24mb specialized version of Q3:A.

   
• Kingpin - Review
  Time: 07:10 EDT/12:10 GMT Source: ActiveWindows Posted By: Byron

  I have posted my review of the recently released game Kingpin. Here is a snippet:

  The first puzzle element in the first level is how to get into a large warehouse to collect a coil that can then be exchanged for a pistol (The first weapon in the game). This is where the first of many bad points come in. On each level there is a place called the Pawn-O-Matic where you can go to exchange stuff (The coil for example) or buy new items such as weapons and health, while there is nothing wrong with having to do this, the fact that the Pawn-o-matic is classed as a separate level (Despite being one room) is a little bit ludicrous. It takes a long while to load up the room up and you only spend a few seconds in there at a time, then you have to load up the previous level when you leave the pawn-o-matic which adds to the frustration.

   
• Microsoft enters free PC throng
  Time: 05:49 EDT/10:49 GMT Source: News.com Posted By: Byron

  Microsoft said today that it will offer a free computer to customers who sign up for three years of its Internet service, the latest move in a game of one-upmanship driving down the price of hardware.

  Just two weeks ago Microsoft, America Online, and others began offering $400 rebates on computer purchases as a way to entice users to make a three-year commitment to their Internet services.

   
• Windows 98 Service Pack 1 Official Release
  Time: 04:53 EDT/09:53 GMT Source: e-mail Posted By: Byron

  As mentioned before -- Microsoft has now released a single download for Windows 98 Service Pack 1. The release is up on Windows Update but the file size is dependant on which components are necessary for your particular system. If you haven't upgraded to Windows 98 Second Edition, then make sure you grab the patches.

   
• IDT to quit Intel chip-clone business
  Time: 03:40 EDT/08:40 GMT Source: News.com Posted By: Alex H

  Plunging processor prices struck again as another designer of Intel-compatible chips is getting ready to exit the market. IDT, which designs and manufactures the WinChip family of low-cost PC processors and other products, today said it will stop selling clones of Intel products, so-called x86 architecture chips. By far the industry's leading design, Intel's x86 chips shipped in more than 75 percent of the world's personal computers in the fourth quarter of 1998, according to International Data Corporation.

  IDT will try sell its intellectual property and its Centaur design subsidiary to another company. IDT hopes to complete the sale by September 30; it will consider completely shutting down Centaur "only if there are problems with negotiations," said a company spokesperson. Recently, IDT had admitted it was seeking outside investors to help in its effort.

   

• AMD reports loss as operating chief quits
  Time: 03:36 EDT/08:36 GMT Source: News.com Posted By: Alex H

  Advanced Micro Devices today suffered dual setbacks when it announced a second-quarter net loss of $162 million and the resignation of its chief operating officer and heir apparent to CEO Jerry Sanders. While the financial loss was expected, the departure of president and COO Atiq Raza was not. His resignation will likely be viewed negatively, as he maintained a relatively strong reputation in a management team that has seen its share of criticism.

   

• Military conducts massive Y2K test
  Time: 03:27 EDT/08:27 GMT Source: USA Today Posted By: Alex H

  The Pentagon is conducting what is believed to be the largest-ever simultaneous test of computer systems to make sure Year 2000 problems won't prevent delivery of everything from bullets to toilet paper to American troops. With only one day remaining in the week-long test, the Pentagon said Tuesday it had identified -- and quickly fixed -- three minor glitches in its enormously complex computerized logistics network

   

• Domain registrar cleans up names
  Time: 03:24 EDT/08:24 GMT Source: News.com Posted By: Alex H

  A newly appointed registrar that was approving obscene domain names with the ".com" ending said today that it has curbed the controversial practice.

  The action was taken after CNET News.com reported yesterday that a Whois database provided by Geektools showed that at least one member of CORE (the Internet Council of Registrars) has registered domains containing words that have been banned by others. Other newcomers, however, say they will allow the expletives to be registered.

• Telecom execs testify on broadband
  Time: 16:20 EDT/21:20 GMT Source: ZDnet Posted By: Bob

  WASHINGTON -- AT&T Chairman Michael Armstrong and other leading telecommunications executives urged Congress Wednesday not to regulate broadband access.

   

• NSI rivals open Washington lobbying effort
  Time: 16:16 EDT/21:16 GMT Source: News.com Posted By: Bob

  About 20 registrars based in North America have hired a top Washington lobbying firm to approach Congress just a week before the first of two hearings called to explore controversial Internet governance issues. The registrars, recently designated to compete against Network Solutions (NSI) for sales of the most popular forms of Net addresses, are spending upwards of $15,000 on the effort, according to registrar sources.

   

• Bristol vs. Microsoft goes to the jury
  Time: 16:06 EDT/21:06 GMT Source: News.com Posted By: Bob

  BRIDGEPORT, Connecticut--A federal court jury began deliberations today in an antitrust case in which a small Connecticut software firm accuses Microsoft of anti-competitive behavior.

   

• WindowBlinds 0.96
  Time: 16:06 EDT/21:06 GMT Source: Stardock Posted By: Dennis

  Stardock has posted a screenshot of WindowBlinds 0.96 on their WindowBlinds website. Somethings that have changed include a slight increase in stability, toolbar bitmaps, and  Internet integration. Internet integration is the new major feature which will include skin of the day or week popping up in your config window. Giving you a more broad skin database. When can you expect to see WB .96? Well, Stardock is hoping for a Object Desktop Network release on Friday. Registered users will expect a release later next week. The next full version will be 0.99 or 1.0 by the end of the month. These are of course estimate dates from Stardock. ActiveWindows will of course keep you updated.

   

• Intel Completes Merced Design
  Time: 07:53 EDT/12:53 GMT Source: News.com Posted By: Alex R.

  Intel has completed the design of Merced and will ship samples of the new 64-bit chip this quarter.  Intel expects to begin manufacturing the chip at full volume by mid-2000.

   

• Microsoft Janus Will Follow Win 2000 Rollout
  Time: 07:45 EDT/12:45 GMT Source: Techweb Posted By: Byron

  Microsoft's planned launch of its Windows 2000 server this fall will be a modest prelude to a planned Unix killer that will debut next year.

  Janus, the code name ascribed to the company's Windows 2000 Data Center Server under development, will feature advanced clustering services such as robust fail-over and load balancing features as well as support for 16 processors out of the box, said sources familiar with the effort as well as company information. Some OEMs may push the envelope by incorporating as many as 64 to 128 CPUs, sources said.

   

• Microsoft & ICL reveal cable plans
  Time: 07:28 EDT/12:28 GMT Source: The Register Posted By: Byron

  ICL is getting further into bed with Microsoft with a five year development deal expected to bring in £1 billion in new business. ICL said that in addition to seven new sites already planned, it was opening new offices in Botswana, Finland, India, South Africa and France that would mean up to 250 new jobs.

  The companies will be working together to devise new smartcard and Internet technologies.

• Internet Explorer 5.01 Beta Release Impending
  Time: 18:01 EDT/00:01 GMT Source: BetaNews Posted By: Alex R.

  BetaNews is reporting that Microsoft has sent out an announcement to beta testers letting them know about MSIE 5.01 beta.  More emails should be sent soon with the download links and locations.  This beta test will most likely be restricted to previous Internet Explorer beta testers.

   
• Macromedia Acquires Elemental Software (Drumbeat 2000)
  Time: 17:58 EDT/23:58 GMT Source: email Posted By: Alex R.

  Special thanks to Shaun Williams for letting me know that Macromedia has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Elemental Software, the makers of Drumbeat 2000.  Drumbeat 2000 will be added to Macromedia's lineup of web creation software.

   
• Computer Screens "Making People Sick"
  Time: 09:41 EDT/14:41 GMT Source: ActiveWindows Posted By: Byron

  Magnetic radiation from computer visual display units is making office workers and users ill researchers have claimed.

   
• New Software Licensing Law Debate
  Time: 08:15 EDT/13:15 GMT Source: CNN Posted By: Alex R.

  CNN/IDG.net is reporting that the NCCUSL is set to meet in Denver, Colorado on July 23rd to have a conference on the proposed software licensing law (UCITA  - Uniform Computer Information Transaction Act).  This rather radical proposition is opposed by almost every consumer protection agency in the United States.  Supporters of the new law include Microsoft and Adobe Systems.

  Among the desires of the law: reduce vendor liability for software defects; permission must be obtained from the vendor before software is transferred to a new party; extreme licensing measures that allow vendors to disable your software while they inspect whether or not the license was violated.

   

• New Rage 128 (Quake 3 Compatible) Drivers
  Time: 08:13 EDT/13:13 GMT Source: Voodoo Extreme Posted By: Alex R.

  ATI Technologies has released drivers for the Rage 128 card that are "Quake III special purpose."  However, the new drivers have a new D3D module and a newer (1233) OpenGL driver as well... also, KNI and 3DNow! extensions are supported.

   

• New Canopus Voodoo2 Drivers
  Time: 08:09 EDT/13:07 GMT Source: Voodoo Extreme Posted By: Alex R.

  Canopus has finally released a final version of drivers for the Pure3D II cards (Voodoo2 chipset).  The new drivers include Glide v3.03.

   

• Pentium III/600 on sale in Japan
  Time: 05:07 EDT/10:07 GMT Source: The Register Posted By: Alex H

  Once again, the Japanese stores in the electronic district of Tokyo seem to have got the drop on the CPU companies. This store is listing the Pentium III/600, which officially doesn't start selling until the end of the month, at ¥99,800 yen.

   

• What Windows 2000 May Mean for Investors
  Time: 05:05 EDT/10:05 GMT Source: Business Week Online Posted By: Alex H

  It'll affect nearly every computer-industry player as corporate customers gradually adopt it By the end of this year, if all goes according to plan, Microsoft (MSFT) will launch its new operating system, called Windows 2000, and another chapter will open in the software king's history. With that event only months away, it's time for investors to join computer-industry savants in trying to piece together its implications. But it's not only Microsoft shareholders who should pay close attention: Over the next two years, nearly every technology stock, from Internet startups to motherboard makers to game designers will be affected by the new OS. For that matter, most companies in the world will eventually end up using Windows 2000 -- or a competitor that by necessity will have been heavily influenced by it.

  Before we get to that, a few words on what Windows 2000 does -- and why it's different. Windows 2000 is technically a server OS, which means it's designed to run the computers that run networks. But the distinction between a server OS and one for a personal computer is blurring so much that Windows 2000 is really designed for both. So sooner or later, you'll likely be using it when you boot up.

   
• Toshiba unveils wide range of new notebooks
  Time: 05:00 EDT/10:00 GMT Source: News.com Posted By: Alex H

  Toshiba introduced several new Satellite notebook computers today, hoping to retain its status as No. 1 in market share for retail notebooks. Toshiba's new laptops offer a range of processors and options in an attempt to cover many different consumer categories.

  As previously reported, Toshiba recently surpassed rival Compaq Computer in market share in the retail arena, partially by competing in the low-end market with aggressively priced systems based on processors from AMD. At the same time, Toshiba is also trying to push into the high-end of the market with the new Satellite 4100XDVD and 4090SDVD.

  The Satellite 4100XDVD and 4090SDVD, priced at $2,799 and $2,399 respectively, feature an Intel 400-MHz mobile Pentium II or mobile Celeron processor and offer a DVD drive. Toshiba today also introduced the lower-end Satellite 2595 series, ranging from $1,599 to $2,299, and the Satellite 2060CDS and 2065CDS for $1,399.

   
• HyperSnap 3.42.00 Released
  Time: 04:48 EDT/09:48 GMT Source: e-mail Posted By: Byron

  A new version of the wonderful HyperSnap has been released. This brings it up to version 3.42.00. It is an excellent utility that we use for screenshots on this website. Here is the list of fixes

  -Using different 3Dfx picture filters depending on user's selection on "Special Capture" window. 
  -Restored "Print Screen" key handling for DirectX and Glide captures (necessary if some picture disappears when any other key is pressed).
  -The Special Capture hot key selection was not saved, and always restored to default Scroll Lock key on HyperSnap-DX exit - fixed.
  -Trying to get the current screen resolution for Glide3X games now from DirectX - this should make games like NFS:High Stakes snap correctly now.
  -Fixed: font size and header/footer alignment for printing were not used or saved correctly on some Win95/98 machines.
  -Fixed: NFS:High Stakes game would not capture correctly 
  -Fixed: Saving WPG, PNG or PSD files would result in files with wrong extension to the name.
  -Worked around a bug in some ATI graphics card drivers that caused a crash in Region capture or Crop function.

   
• WinAmp 2.24 Released
  Time: 04:45 EDT/09:45 GMT Source: e-mail Posted By: Byron

  A new version of Nullsoft's WinAmp has been released, it is version 2.24. Here are a few of the new bits and pieces:

  -WSZ (Winamp Skin Zip) handling (simply open a .WSZ file in explorer to have it installed)
  -Two distributions (one with WMA and ASFS, one without)
  -Better equalizer presets
  -Better shuffle logic
  -Better docking code
  -Better support for invalid ID3v2 tags (for people putting invalid tags on)
  -Minibrowser optimizations
  -Fixed occasional random crashes from 2.23

   
• Logitech Wingman Gaming Mouse - Review
  Time: 04:40 EDT/09:40 GMT Source: Extreme Hardware Posted By: Byron

  Extreme Hardware has posted a Logitech WIngman Gaming Mouse Review. Here is a clip:

  If you’re unfamiliar with the MouseMan 96’s design, the Gaming Mouse sports a regular 3-button format, with none of the bells and whistles you might expect from Logitech. The Gaming Mouse does not include a wheel or thumb-button, though there is an indentation (compete with red highlight) of where to place your thumb for maximum comfort. While I found it a bit disconcerting, the spartan design of the Gaming Mouse might just be a blessing in disguise. For some gamers, the "build a better mousetrap" mantra has fallen on deaf ears, and all they want is a simple design, but a better overall mouse. Logitech has also included the first retail PS/2 report rate utility with the Gaming Mouse, allowing users to choose between a rate of 40 and 200, much the same as the free PS/2 rate utility. Many users want fewer features, but better function, and the Gaming Mouse delivers this in spades.

   
• Back Orifice creator's new projects
  Time: 02:05 EDT/07:05 GMT Source: ZDNet Posted By: Byron

  BackOrifice 2000 is not the only program being released by the media-friendly hacking group Cult of the Dead Cow.

  "Sir Dystic" -- the hacker behind the original BackOrifice program released at last year's DEF CON -- plans to release two other programs in the coming weeks.

   
• WindowBlinds 0.95 Released
  Time: 22:45 EDT/03:45 GMT Source: Stardock Posted By: Cliff

  Stardock has, as we told you they would, released Windowblinds 0.95 early this morning. You can download it and its addons at www.windowblinds.net

  You can still check out our WB 0.95 preview that we posted two days ago here.

   
• Site Design Notes (Site News)
  Time: 22:33 EDT/03:33 GMT Source: ActiveWindows Posted By: Cliff

  Ah, the life of the working college student (on Summer Break). I'm sure most of you see these rare posts from me and think, who's this guy??? (Well, maybe not :) But anyway, I'm Cliff and I work on the graphics and help out with design layout of AW, and of course, I'll post the occasional news item. That's my little introduction, aren't you happy now? :-)

  Needless to say, the new Navigation and design enhancements I promised you a while back are still being worked on, but don't fret, I'll be posting a beta soon so you can all take a look at what we've been working on. I'm sure you'll all like some of the new things coming to ActiveWin over the next couple of weeks. In addition to the design stuff, Byron and Jonathan also have a top secret project in the works, I can't give you any details, but I'll tell you right now, it's going to be very nice. So until then, just keep checking back as we'll still have all of the latest as usual!

• G400 & Max Finally Shipping
  Time: 14:56 EDT/19:56 GMT Source: AGN3D Posted By: Byron

  Both the G400 & Max are finally shipping in limited quantities. Here is the info from Matrox:

  The Matrox Millennium G400 Series is currently shipping through its on-line store and the distribution channel. All efforts are being placed on fulfilling the number of pre-orders placed on the Matrox on-line store. Those customers that pre-booked prior to June 11,1999 have begun receiving their boards and will continue to do so until the end of July. Those that ordered after June 11, 1999 can expect a delivery time of 5-6 weeks (from time of order) for both the Millennium G400 and the Millennium G400 Max. Although Matrox is currently shipping in volume, the overwhelming demand for the product may cause some delivery delays.

   
• Disney To Buy Infoseek
  Time: 14:50 EDT/19:50 GMT Source: The Register Posted By: Byron

  Disney today confirmed that it will buy Internet portal Infoseek, merge it with its own Web operation and build the whole lot into Go.com, the portal joint venture between Disney and Infoseek.

  Disney signalled its interest in Infoseek last month. Clearly its talks with Infoseek finally bore fruit, no great surprise since Disney already owns 42 per cent of the portal. The final deal would see it own 72 per cent of Go.com, with the remainder being held by Infoseek shareholders -- Go.com shares will be swapped for Infoseek stock at an exchange rate of 1.15:1.

   
• Europe to Begin Voting Online
  Time: 07:10 EDT/12:10 GMT Source: GeekNews Posted By: Alex R.

  As a U.S. citizen, I can claim some jealousy here :)  Europe is testing the waters to combat voter apathy by allowing its citizens to vote online by the year 2001.  Since this would be via web site, I can already see several flaws in the structure, but maybe those will get worked out before it goes live.

   
• Austria Bans Spam
  Time: 07:06 EDT/12:06 GMT Source: Slashdot Posted By: Alex R.

  A user on Slashdot.org has reported an article declaring that Austria is banning spam email.  Spam email may only be sent to users who opt in to receive the advertisements.  If spam is sent to users who didn't opt in, a huge fine will result.

   
• Another eBay Outage
  Time: 06:57 EDT/11:57 GMT Source: ZDNet Posted By: Alex R.

  eBay has suffered yet another disastrous service outage for the third time in less than a month.  Engineers are blaming the database server software produced by Sun Microsystems, Inc.  However, as of this morning, the service appears to be back up and in shape.

   
• New ABIT BX6 R2 BIOS (LU)
  Time: 06:51 EDT/11:51 GMT Source: BetaNews Posted By: Alex R.

  Rather unusual for ABIT to do this, but they have released another BIOS update to the BX6 R2 motherboard with a bug fix and two feature additions.  The BIOS is posted on their site - hit the headline to drop in there.

   
• Back Orifice 2000 Released
  Time: 06:45 EDT/11:33 GMT Source: News.com Posted By: Alex R.

  Network security tool or malicious trojan?  Cult of the Dead Cow has released BO2k, touted as a network security tool.  Microsoft disagrees, issuing warnings and advice to users of Windows.  The debate rages on.  The new BO2k is being released as an open-source project, which means we can expect to see many variations of this program in use.

  GeekNews has collected some other good reading links: Microsoft security bulletin for BO2K, BO2K screenshot, Removal information from Symantec, and a LIVE radio stream from DefCon 7.0.

   
• The Intel Roadmap, According To Intel
  Time: 06:33 EDT/11:33 GMT Source: The Register Posted By: Byron

  As we speculate, talk to Intel OEMs and distributors, and pick up information from the world and its dog, let us never forget that Chipzilla does disclose some elements of its future.

  So, then, take a decko at this page to see how Intel sees its roadmap developing during the second half of this year and the first half of next year.

• WindowBlinds 0.95 Preview - Updated
  Time: 13:49 EDT/18:49 GMT Source: ActiveWindows Posted By: Dennis

  We have posted an update to our WB 0.95 Preview, which includes release info. Also, welcome users from Windows 98 Central, and users from the WB ngs. If you are an Object Desktop user or are interested in becoming one, this preview will interest you greatly. See WB 0.95 in action here and only here now.

   
• Hidden and Dangerous Review
  Time: 09:42 EDT/14:42 GMT Source: ActiveWindows Posted By: Alex H

  I have just posted my review of this great game by Illusion Softworks. here is a snippet from the review:

  This game is a combination of Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines and Rainbow Six. The game is split up into 6 campaigns with a number of missions inside each campaign. Each campaign when you start has an animated intro to get you into the feel of  what is going on and to give you some past history on what has happened previously. Once you have chosen your mission you have to select your team from 40 soldiers available to you. There is also the option to have the computer Auto Select your team. Once your team has been chosen you are given a list of equipment to arm your team with, ranging from military binoculars to Coding and decoding equipment and Colt 1911 to a Lee Enfield Mk4 sniping rifle. Once again you can choose to have the computer Auto select what weapons to give to each soldier

• Homepages & Site News
  Time: 09:11 EDT/14:11 GMT Source: ActiveWindows Posted By: Byron

  Today looks like it will be another boring day for news, with little or no new stuff hitting the sites. So I think most of us will be updating our homepages or work on a number of new reviews that are heading your way including the following:

  Games: Kingpin, Hidden & Dangerous and Discworld Noir

• WindowBlinds 0.95
  Time: 20:18 EDT/01:18 GMT Source: ActiveWindows Posted By: Dennis

  Finally, we have posted our WindowBlinds 0.95 Preview. This preview includes screenshots of brand new WB 0.95 features! Its a nice small preview that's easy to read. Take a sneak peek at one of the most popular windows utilities on the internet.

   
• Site News
  Time: 17:39 EDT/22:47 GMT Source: ActiveWindows Posted By: Byron

  Hi everyone. Well as you can see our newer graphics and navigation didn't quite make it this week. We will however post a note a couple of days before we are sure that it will go on the site. We are also working on something else that we hope will take off in the next few weeks (Something big for us) that we hope many people will find useful.

   
• Study Says Office 2000 Could "Blast Off"
  Time: 06:39 EDT/11:39 GMT Source: TechWeb Posted By: Byron

  While opinions differ in the channel over whether Microsoft's recently upgraded Office suite will be a significant hit, at least one influential prognosticator believes thecompany is "ready for a blast off."

  In a report released earlier this month by the equity research arm of SalomonSmithBarney, financial analysts say Microsoft is poised to reap huge rewards from the release of Office 2000 and other products.

   

• NT's Consumer Future Lies In Neptune
  Time: 06:36 EDT/11:36 GMT Source: TechWeb Posted By: Byron

  It's been a busy couple of weeks for Microsoft. The dust has barely settled on the first release candidate for Windows 2000, the successor to Windows NT, and now the software giant is preparing to release its first internal builds of "Neptune" -- the first consumer-level version of Windows NT.

  Neptune is designed to eclipse all editions of Windows based on the 9x kernel. Microsoft does have one final iteration of the 9x kernel, code-named "Millennium", to be released next year, but after that, the 9x kernel is being killed in favor of what has been described as "consumer Windows" -- a form of NT for regular users. (Future versions of NT, from Windows 2000 on out, are now being referred to as "Business Windows".)

• New Registry Tips Added
  Time: 18:54 EDT/23:54 GMT Source: ActiveWindows Posted By: Byron

  We have added around ten new Registry tips for Windows 98 users. You can check them and some of our older ones out in our Tips section.

   
• Startup to open source 3D Web technology
  Time: 15:36 EDT/20:36 GMT Source: The Register Posted By: Byron

  Not so long ago, we reported on a Redmond, Washington-based start-up attempting to leverage Microsoft's DirectX as a standard for complex 3D environments on the Web.

  The technology, developed by WildTangent, uses scripting commands to generate interactive 3D worlds which are then rendered locally using DirectX's Direct3D component and a compatible graphics card

   
• Intel's IA64 EPIC like a snake swallowing a hamster
  Time: 15:34 EDT/20:34 GMT Source: The Register Posted By: Byron

  A senior architect said today that Merced may be pushed up the food chain because the possibilities to produce real silicon might well be remote.

  It would be a simplification, he said, while he was quaffing his jar of peanut better. The architect was responding to our story earlier this week which talked about optimising processes on real Merced silicon.

   
• Third Voice Rips Holes in Web
  Time: 15:26 EDT/20:26 GMT Source: Wired Posted By: Byron

  Third Voice, a Web annotation utility, is more powerful than its authors intended -- in addition to providing freedom of expression, it can call up users' data and be used to generate fake Web pages.

  Software programmers in the US and Europe have discovered security holes that turn Third Voice into a cracking tool.

   
• WindowBlinds 0.95 Released (Sort of)
  Time: 09:03 EDT/14:03 GMT Source: Stardock Posted By: Dennis

  Without announcing it to anyone Stardock recently released WindowBlinds 0.95 to Object Desktop Network users. We're still waiting to hear if this is a beta or the final. There is a copy of the compete install currently being tested internally at Stardock that ActiveWindows got a copy of. The copy we have is an RC. We'll be posting our preview in a few hours to make sure we get the exclusive. If you have an Object Desktop Network account, you can download WindowBlinds 0.95 right now. To give you a preview of the preview here's a simple installation screenshot of 0.95. The complete preview is going to be online in a few hours.

   
• ATI Takes the Chip Fight to Net Devices, TV
  Time: 08:24 EDT/13:24 GMT Source: News.Com Posted By: Alex R.

  ATI is planning to take its success from this past quarter and leverage new products with a "system on a chip" design.  What's on the slate?  Net devices and TV set-up boxes.

   
• New Windows 2000 TNT/TNT2 Drivers
  Time: 08:12 EDT/13:12 GMT Source: Win98Central Posted By: Alex R.

  One of our affiliates, Win98Central, reports that AOpen has released new Windows 2000 drivers for their TNT/TNT2 products.  The ftp link is in the headline.

   
• DirectX Kicker (Beta) Released
  Time: 07:35 EDT/12:35 GMT Source: Voodoo Extreme Posted By: Alex H

  Christian Leinen has designed a new program called DirectX Kicker. I'll let him describe it:

  When you start a game (or another application) that uses DirectX and then exit it the DirectX Helper app still stays resident in memory and keeps several related drivers and DLL's running.

  The idea of this behavior is to speed up load time, so if you launch another app now that uses DirectX it will usually start up a bit faster because the drivers are already in memory and initialized - ready to go.

  This is great, as long as you do not need to change settings, which affect exactly the loaded drivers.

  On my system I need to adjust the gamma correction and the pixel clock settings for the Voodoo 2 for every game. Some games even require a reduced hardware acceleration for my SB PCI 128 soundcard.

  The changed settings however only take effect if the corresponding drivers are being loaded and initialized, but as long as the DirectX Helper app is running in the background the drivers are already loaded and initialized and will therefore not recognize the new settings.

  The solution is to unload the DirectX Helper app
  from memory. This will also free the captured driver files so the next time a game is started the drivers will be re-loaded again and initialized properly.

  The recommended way to do this is to reboot the
  computer or to restart Windows, because the DirectX Helper app does not provide a way to be closed. (note that if you exit its hidden window the app remains running!)

  Another way is to terminate the process of the app, which will remove the exe-module and all related DLL's from memory.

  This is exactly what the DirectX Kicker does :)
  So you do not have to restart Windows just because
  you changed some DirectX related settings.

  The tool is still a BETA, and of course it's for free. download: http://www.leinen.com/software/us/lsddxkck.zip
  website: http://www.leinen.com/english/software/systools.htm screenshot: http://www.leinen.com/english/scrnshots/lsddxkck.gif

   
• Intel's Merced chip may slip further
  Time: 07:29 EDT/12:29 GMT Source: News.com  Posted By: Byron

  Prototypes of Merced still aren't out, and it looks like Intel's next-generation processor may slip until the third or fourth quarter of next year. The latest lag, which could put off Merced's release by a few weeks or months, won't be as significant as the delay Intel imposed last year when it shifted the 64-bit chip's debut from the end of 1999 to mid-2000.

   
• Microsoft fears rerelease of Windows virus
  Time: 07:28 EDT/12:28 GMT Source: News.com  Posted By: Byron

  Microsoft and its antivirus allies are bracing themselves for Saturday's expected release of a new Trojan Horse program that could let hackers seize control of computer networks running Windows NT.

  The hacker group, Cult of the Dead Cow, issued statements earlier this week saying it will release Back Orifice 2000, a purported administration tool for NT networks, at the Def Con hacker convention in Las Vegas.

   
• Another exec departs Microsoft
  Time: 07:26 EDT/12:26 GMT Source: News.com  Posted By: Byron

  Sam Jadallah, considered a rising star, is resigning as Microsoft's vice president of enterprise sales. Jadallah, who's in his mid-30s, will join a Seattle-area Internet startup after working for Microsoft for 12 years, company spokeswoman Kim Davis said. Executives who'd been reporting to him now will report to John Connors, vice president of the worldwide enterprise group.

   

• World bar MS unites on directory interop
  Time: 07:24 EDT/12:24 GMT Source: The Register  Posted By: Byron

  It's hardly a surprise that when Data Connection, IBM, ISOCOR, Lotus, Novell and Oracle decide to get together in the Directory Interoperability Forum to ensure that their directory services interoperate, Microsoft is not sitting at the table.

  Cynics would say that could be because Microsoft has not got a directory that works, and that its revised late entrant expected in Windows 2000 is unlikely to spur any significant company to trust it at least until the third iteration. Some also remember the promise of an object-oriented directory service for Cairo that was supposed to be delivered some years back, but was quietly shelved.

   

• China says no to Pentium III, chip IDs and Win98
  Time: 07:21 EDT/12:21 GMT Source: The Register  Posted By: Byron

  Intel is facing major problems in selling Pentium III into China, it would appear. Strange but true, although you'd expect the Chinese regime to be keen on control-freakery of all sorts, it has a major downer on the Personal Serial Number (PSN) built into Pentium III.

  According to a report in the Guangming Daily, the Chinese Ministry of Information Industry (MII) has identified "hidden perils in Pentium III and Win98" (so Microsoft's control-freakery is causing angst as well), and has advised government agencies accordingly. Said a spokesman: "We have conducted serious research and thus acquired a thorough knowledge of hidden security perils in PIII chips, Win98 as well as servers produced by different companies."

• Standards body approves HTTP 1.1
  Time: 14:31 EST/19:31 GMT Source: News.com  Posted By: Byron

  A new version of a key Web protocol cleared a hurdle this week as an international standards group made HTTP 1.1 a draft standard.

  The new version will speed the performance of the Web, according to its authors at the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), which worked on the protocol, and the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), which granted it draft standard status. Those standards bodies said hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) 1.1 will cache content more flexibly and streamline the transfer of information packets.

   

• Back Orifice 2000 shows its face
  Time: 14:28 EST/19:28 GMT Source: The Register Posted By: Byron

  A new bug is set to plague our PCs from the rear with the unlikely name of Back Orifice 2000. This is a new version of the Back Orifice backdoor trojan virus, according Data Fellows, the developers of anti-virus and encryption software.

   
• Let the Hacking Begin
  Time: 07:15 EST/12:15 GMT Source: MSNBC Posted By: Alex R.

  That should actually be "cracking," for political correctness.  Anyway, MSNBC has an article entitled that, speculating that this weekend's release of Back Orifice 2000 from Cult of the Dead Cow could spawn a huge NT attack.  This weekend marks Def Con, the hacker/cracker convention in Las Vegas.  cDc launched the first version of Back Orifice on that date last year, and they'll do it again this year.

   
• Wintel Cranks Up Workstations
  Time: 06:55 EST/11:55 GMT Source: ZDNet Posted By: Byron

  With eyes on new markets, Intel Corp. and Microsoft Corp. are working together to raise the bar on Wintel workstation performance. Intel will lead the charge to push performance with new technologies for workstations, ranging from new processors to new graphics technologies. Microsoft will support them with forthcoming versions of Windows.

   
• Microsoft Warns Of Y2K Hoax
  Time: 06:54 EST/11:54 GMT Source: ZDNet Posted By: Byron

  Microsoft says users should ignore email from Tom Chandler claiming to hold a Y2K software fix. It's a hoax. The company says it doesn't appear malicious, but could be if modified. Click for more.

   

• Millennium G400 MAX Put Back
  Time: 06:52 EST/11:52 GMT Source: Coolinfo/Murc Posted By: Byron

  There's a great deal of confusion surrounding the shipping of the retail G400s at the moment. I've received a large number of emails telling me that major resellers are informing people that Matrox have stated that the Millennium G400 MAX has been delayed and the official shipping date is now 09/09/99. Last week Matrox were telling people that had pre-ordered from their online store that the first batch of MAX boards would begin shipping this week with orders being filled on a first come first served basis. Here is what Matrox are saying this week, it would seem shipping has been pushed back again.

  We have begun producing G400 MAX units and will start shipping them next week. Unfortunately, we are only getting a limited supply. We will therefore be shipping pre-booked units in order of order placement. Hence the customers who were first in placing their pre-orders will be first in receiving them.

  We are doing our utmost to fulfill our commitment made to customers who placed their orders prior to June 11. We will be receiving more MAX units week by week during the month of July and will continue to ship these units to our customers as we receive them.

  For our International orders, we will be sending batches of G400 graphic cards to our Dublin distribution warehouse in Ireland. They will then expedite your order via DHL Express. To account for the overseas shipping required, there will be an additional one week delay. An email will be sent to you, when the product will be available to ship, advising you of the shipping and handling charges and the VAT.

  Please note that for all our customers who ordered after June 11, your ship date of 5 to 6 weeks is still in effect.

  If you have any questions or comments, please contact us at customerservice@matrox.com, or call us at 1-877-MBUY-NOW. Thank you for shopping at the Matrox Online Store!

  Customer Service Representative

   

• Search Engines Can't Keep Up With Web
  Time: 06:50 EST/11:50 GMT Source: Netigen Posted By: Byron

  A new report confirms what surfers already know: Search engines can't keep up with the Web's growth. In a published Nature magazine article NEC research scientists present the findings of their latest study which shows search engines are providing out-of-date and biased coverage of the ever-expanding Web -- not to mention inaccurate. Read article!

• WindowBlinds 0.95 Beta
  Time: 23:55 GMT Source: Stardock Posted By: Dennis

  Remember me?!?  I'm back. Earlier tonight I was given a WindowBlinds 0.95 feature list, I am expected to receive an actual demo of it tomorrow. ActiveWindows will of course keep you updated, and we'll post a preview to it for you later this week. Some features that are included in this release since the last public release (0.90) are a new configuration layout, a display properties tab, new help system, new sizing method, IconPackager integration (more info on this soon), and much, much more!  We'll keep you updated.

   
• Microsoft Acquires Leading Developer of Meta-Directory Products
  Time: 19:46 GMT Source: Press Release Posted By: Byron

  Microsoft Corp. today announced it has acquired ZOOMIT Corp., the industry's leading provider of meta-directory products. Microsoft will integrate ZOOMIT's technologies with the Microsoft^® Active Directory™ directory service of the Windows^® 2000 Server operating system.

   
• Family Travel Section Debuts on MSN Expedia
  Time: 19:44 GMT Source: Press Release Posted By: Byron

  Millions of parents now have the tools to make their family travel planning easier as MSN™ Expedia^® travel service (http://expedia.com/) today unveiled its new Family Travel section. The new section contains news, expert advice, special vacation packages, and links to resources specifically designed to make planning family trips more convenient and enjoyable.

   
• Microsoft Unveils New Resource for Senior Citizens
  Time: 19:42 GMT Source: Press Release Posted By: Byron

  Microsoft Seniors & Technology Web Site Lists 1,500 Computer Training Centers For Older Adults

  What: Listing of 1,500 computer training centers for older adults around the country

  Why: To further promote computer literacy among older adults, Microsoft Corp. today unveiled the Senior Training Resource Guide as a tool for seniors and their families to find training programs for older adults in their communities.

   

• Entrega USBnet review
  Time: 13:44 GMT Source: USB Workshop Posted By: Byron

  USB Workshop has posted a review of the Entrega USBnet. Here is a snippet:

  Sharing resources between computers will be the next big game in computer industry as stepping into the 21st century.  Computers will share bandwidth for high-speed net and local resources - printers, hard drive space and etc.  A recent Yankee Group found out that 30 percent of all homes with multiple PCs want them to be networked. The demand is driven by faster Internet access and cheap prices for PCs.  Do you have two PCs dying to be networked to enjoy all the benefits of sharing? We look at Entrega USBnet, a simple and low-cost networking tool that ties two PCs together.

   
• MS UK Win98 SE free offer not very free really
  Time: 13:16 GMT Source: The Register Posted By: Byron

  Finally, we have the complete and totally accurate poop on Microsoft UK's free update to Windows 98 SE. And with a bit of luck, all of the people working for Microsoft UK will themselves have had their knowledge upgraded within the next few hours.

  Unfortunately, it turns out to be not very free at all. The story so far. Microsoft UK announced in late June that "existing registered customers of Microsoft Windows 98 will be eligible to receive a free copy of Windows 98 Second Edition." No mention of different arrangements for people who bought it retail and those (most) who got it shipped as an OEM copy, with their PC.

   
• DSL Coming Soon to the UK
  Time: 13:04 GMT Source: Slashdot Posted By: Alex R.

  This should make Byron's day.  Oftel has finally announced plans to deploy DSL in the U.K.  The plans aren't finalized yet, but you can head over to Oftel's web site to check up on it.

   

• New Domain Registrars Named
  Time: 13:00 GMT Source: News.com Posted By: Alex R.

  ICANN (and man, can they ever!) has named fifteen new domain name registrars to compete against Network Solutions.  It is unclear when the new registrars will begin to accept new domain names.

   

• Windows 2000 RC contains bug fixes, new features
  Time: 11:45 GMT Source: Wininfo Posted By: Byron

  According to a report in ENT, the Independent Newspaper for Windows NT Enterprise Computing, Windows 2000 Release Candidate 1 (RC1), which was released last week, includes a few new features in addition to the expected bug fixes.

  Reporter Thomas Sullivan writes that the "Configure Your Server" tool in Windows 2000 Server has been edited for clarity while the Server administration snap-ins for the Microsoft Management Console (MMC) have also been tweaked and enhanced. Terminal Services now offers two modes of installation: Remote Administration, which requires less resources on the server, and Application Server, which allows Terminal Services to enable remote application execution from clients.

  In Windows 2000 Advanced Server, the installation of Cluster Services has been simplified and doesn't require a reboot. The NetBIOS SMB protocol is also supported.

  Sullivan notes that Professional Edition, which replaces the high-volume Windows NT Workstation, supports far more hardware than Beta 3 and includes full DirectX 7.0 compatibility. New drivers include Voodoo3 and ATI Rage 128 video cards and over 25 additional printers, he says. Microsoft has also revamped several dialogs for clarity.

  As reported in ENT, Microsoft plans to release new Release Candidate builds every 5-8 weeks until Windows 2000 ships in the fourth quarter.

   
• Updated 3Dfx INF files for Windows 2000
  Time: 11:35 GMT Source: e-mail Posted By: Byron

  Philip Esselback from NT Gaming Palace has sent us a note that "Anthony Toste" has updated his 3dfx inf files for Windows 2000. Here are the updated files:

  Voodoo INF
  Voodoo INF Quake 3 compatible
  Voodoo 2 INF
  Voodoo 2 INF Quake 3 compatible
  Voodoo 3 INF D3D & Glide
  Voodoo 3 INF Quake 3 compatible
  Voodoo Banshee INF D3D & Glide
  Voodoo Banshee INF Quake 3 compatible
  Voodoo Rush INF

  You can download them over at NT Gaming Palace.

   

• AOL Wants A New Face On Netcenter
  Time: 11:12 GMT Source: ZDNet Posted By: Byron

  One of the reasons America Online bought Netscape last year was, the company says, its popular Netcenter site. Now, the online leader has brought in a former magazine-publishing heavyweight to turn the portal into a more enticing destination.

  When Jim Martin was president of MacWorld magazine, he contracted out some multimedia work - and thought he was overcharged. But that was about a decade ago and multimedia companies were scarce, so he never said anything. He kept in touch with the man, however - a decision that has paid dividends because that friend, Barry Schuler, is now president of America Online Interactive Services. And Schuler recently hired his old client to be the new Vice President and General Manager of Netscape's Netcenter portal.

   

• Neptune: Home Hub Of The Future?
  Time: 11:10 GMT Source: ZDNet Posted By: Byron

  With its forthcoming NT-kernel-based consumer Windows release, Microsoft is aiming to enable a whole new class of PCs and devices to function as the central source of entertainment and information in consumers' living rooms.

  Currently, Microsoft touts its Windows CE operating system as the solution for appliance devices. But internal Microsoft documents viewed by Sm@rt Reseller and PC Week indicate that the company is also working on an adaptation kit for its consumer Windows version -- code-named Neptune -- that would allow third parties to develop their own "non-desktop PCs."

• New NT Security Patch
  Time: 20:40 GMT Source: email Posted By: Alex R.

  Microsoft has released another new NT security patch.  This one covers the "Unprotected IOCTLs" Vulnerability in NT Server and Workstation v4.0.  Since Byron has been filling up the page with plenty of info today, I'll just keep this post short and sweet :)

   

• PC Keyboard Adds New Multimedia Controls
  Time: 19:39 GMT Source: GA-Source Posted By: Byron

  Behavior Tech Computer announced today the immediate availability of the BTC 9000 and 9000A Multimedia Keyboards. The new keyboards incorporates 15 easy-to-use buttons along the top to control Internet access, CD functions such as speaker volume, shortcuts to files and applications, and power saving features. BTC designed the keyboards to meet the increasing end-user demand to bypass mouse activity and create easy access to common PC functions, such as the need to surf the web at the touch of a button.

  "With the BTC 9000 and 9000A Multimedia Keyboards, we enable the keyboard peripheral as a means to access popular PC functions, rather than pointing and clicking on the small icons with a mouse for every activity," said Daniel Lee, marcom deputy manager for BTC, "The end user finds that switching from a stock keyboard to a new BTC multimedia keyboard results in faster, much easier computing."

  The BTC 9000A features a push-button volume control, while the BTC 9000 provides a rotary knob volume control. Both keyboards provide Internet, CD functions, shortcuts to applications and files, and power saving functions at the touch of a key.

  The keyboards provide three keys for the internet: WWW key, which instantly launches the user's internet browser; WWW Search, which activates the browser's search function for a quick Web search; and the My Favorite key, which activates the user's favorite bookmarked sites on the Web. The multimedia buttons are designed similar to those found in home stereo equipment, providing an intuitive interface for CD playing. The multimedia keyboards also take advantage of the PC's ACPI power management functions designed into Windows 98 by providing buttons for the Power off, Sleep, and Wake up commands provided in this utility.

  Both keyboards feature a curved-radius keyboard layout for easy typing, and a palmrest to support the users wrist. Both of these features add an ergonomic health benefit over stock Windows keyboards. The keyboards are also spill resistant.

  The BTC 9000 and 9000A Multimedia Keyboards are available now through BTC's U.S. network of distributors, and are priced in the $20 to $30 price range.

   
• MS to turn IE Favourites into giant Data Mountain
  Time: 12:52 GMT Source: The Register Posted By: Byron

  A sniggering reader mails us the URL for Microsoft's fabled research division, claiming it's a blank page. This may be the case if you look at it on a Mac, but we can see it fine.

  "This URL is supposed to provide a glimpse into Microsoft's next-generation user interface," he says. But "at least on my Mac, the page comes up blank." We're not sure what MS research has been doing to Macs, but there's some very weird stuff visible to plain old Win95 and Navigator. "Data Mountain," it says here. "An alternative to IE Favourites or the Explorer."

  MS Research is apparently oblivious to the irony of substituting a data mountain for your favourites list, but if you like data mountains, click on the link and you can download a 1.5Mb word document on it. Something of a mountain itself, right?

   
• MS UK extends free Win98 SE upgrade to OEM PCs
  Time: 12:50 GMT Source: The Register Posted By: Byron

  Microsoft UK has now put in place a mechanism that will allow all UK Windows 98 owners to get a free upgrade to Win98 SE. The other day (MS gives SE update away for free) the company's UK operation broke ranks with the US, which is charging $19.95 for the upgrade, and said how people who'd purchased retail Win98 could get the free upgrade.

  As this required a copy of a receipt, it wasn't then clear how people (i.e., most people) who got Win98 with their machine could get an upgrade. Microsoft now says it's just a matter of calling the Microsoft Connection on 0345-002000, asking for the upgrade and then faxing through a copy of your Win98 Certificate of Authenticity.

  You'll only have to stump up for postage, and presumably this won't be $19.95. The upgrade should arrive within a week, says Microsoft. Meanwhile, US customers still have to pay. Tee hee, readers... ®

   

• Diamond Multimedia Homefree Phone Line USB Networking kit first look
  Time: 09:48 GMT Source: USB Workshop Posted By: Byron

  You may think this is another Diamond's USB modem.  No, you are wrong.  This is the latest HomeFree Phoneline USB Networking Kit from Diamond Multimedia.  The product looks damn cool, from its color to technology. With USB, installation is easier than ever before. Just plug the HomeFree network adapter into the USB port of your computer and it's instantly recognized. There's no configuration - you'll be asked to insert the CD-ROM and it will automatically install and connect your computers. And because USB is a cross-platform technology, HomeFree allows you to network a Macintosh with a PC! That means you can share your Internet access, printers and files between your PC and your new iMac or G3 Macintosh.

• New Office 2000 Suite Mate Makes Docs Look Astounding
  Time: 22:20 GMT Source: Microsoft Posted By: Alex H

  Just noticed over on the Microsoft Product Insider site about this product for Office 2000 called Vizact 2000 . Here is an outline of the features that it can do:

  Interactive Bullets
  Reduce the amount of information readers initially see in your document, helping them focus on key points and allowing them to drill down for detail by clicking on each bullet.

  Table Highlights
  Make table data easier to read. Cells “light up” when the cursor reaches them.

  AutoMotion
  Elements move on, off, and around the page. Motion attracts attention and directs readers to specific starting points and areas of emphasis.

  Visual Timeline
  Choreograph the time at which any element appears or disappears. Adjust the start time, stop time, or duration of your elements. It’s like making movies!

  You can download Preview 2 from here.

   

• AMD stands firm on Athlon K7 pricing
  Time: 22:10 GMT Source: The Register Posted By: Alex H

  A senior executive at AMD Europe said today that speculation Intel is cutting its prices would not alter its position its Athlon K7 pricing.

  (See Intel turns Pentium III/600 price screw on AMD K7)

  Meanwhile, an industry observer said he doubted whether Intel would take such steps pro-actively and wondered whether the company was managing to build more Pentium IIIs faster.

  Robert Stead, European marketing director at AMD, said: "Our position is we will offer a good product at a fair price. A fair price is determined by infrastructure costs and the competitive position." But, he added: "Clearly we need to run a business and have customers."

  But Joe D'Elia, senior microprocessor analyst at Dataquest Europe, said: "Certainly, if I were Intel, I wouldn't take prices down proactively but wait to see what the position on the Athlon is. "Intel might want to do that anyway if its Pentium III yields are ahead of what it thought it could do."

  He pointed out that Intel did not really move its prices, it moved its products. If Intel had taken pro-active steps on pricing, it would only have done so if it could maintain its margins, D'Elia said.

   

• Intel pulls plugs on plans for Kahneeta PC
  Time: 22:08 GMT Source: The Register Posted By: Alex H

  Want to know about Intel's Kahneeta reference platform? Well you're too late, Intel seems to have pulled the plugs on it well in advance of most of the world having heard of it.

  If you look here, you'll see that Kahneeta is no more, "due to limited supply," as Intel enigmatically reveals. Other references to what it is/was are scarce, but we've managed to track its appearance in a Microsoft OnNow for Windows NT 5.0 (alias Win2k) late last year.

  Kahneeta was one of the key desktop platforms Microsoft was aiming NT 5.0 OnNow features at, along with "Intel Atlanta based motherboards," and Compaq and Dell machines. And just to show you how anally-retentive old Chipzilla is, a search of intel.com for Atlanta and motherboard throws up a page in the support section that says: "The phrase Atlanta is not an Intel product name. The correct product name is Intel AL440LX motherboard." So there.

  The Kahneeta reference platform program was a part of Intel's Instantly Available PC project, which itself is part of the confusing thicket of Intel projects and initiatives designed to make PC easier to use, manage, switch on and off and so on. Intel was showing a "Concept PC" demonstrating ease of use at Comdex last November, and Microsoft was talking about Kahneeta support that December, so go figure.

   

• Lucent sues Micron, expects counter suit
  Time: 22:05 GMT Source: The Register Posted By: Alex H

  Lucent has taken legal action against Micron Technology for allegedly refusing to pay it royalties for the last two years.

  At the heart of the dispute are a series of Lucent-owned patent which it claims were licensed to the memory chip company by Lucent's former parent, AT&T, in 1988.

  Lucent says it took over ownership of those patents in 1996 when it was spun off from AT&T. The following year, it claims, Micron stopped paying licensing fees on its use of those patents. In redress, Lucent wants $7 million in unpaid fees.

  Of course, it emerges that Micron is already claiming that Lucent is infringing upon six of its patents, so the same action from Lucent was always on the cards. And "Lucent is in reasonable apprehension of imminent suit," the company's suit says. Micron denies Lucent's claims -- and vice versa.

   

• Hitachi and Intel agree to standardized chip specs
  Time: 22:00 GMT Source: News.com Posted By: Alex H

  Hitachi and Intel have decided to join Sharp and Mitsubishi Electric in creating standard packaging for their computer chips, a Hitachi official said on Monday. The companies will design a single package for stacking flash memory and static random-access memory (SRAM) chips, which will enable them to make smaller and lighter mobile phones and handheld information devices, he said.

  Sharp and Mitsubishi Electric initially proposed shared specifications for their packages last September, the four companies said in a joint statement. Seiko Epson, Sanyo Electric, Mitsui High-tec, Amkor Technology, and Power Technology will also support the specifications, the statement said. Fujitsu, Toshiba, and NEC agreed to different stacked-chip package specifications last September.

   

• Doubts Emerge Over Intel Chip Tracking
  Time: 19:30 GMT Source: The Register Posted By: Byron

  The massive haul of Intel Pentiums that the Chinese (HK) government caught last week should be trackable by Intel itself, it has emerged.

  Earlier this year, Intel admitted that processor serial numbers (PSNs) were embedded in Pentium IIs and Celerons as well. And earlier today, facts and figures emerged from Hong Kong about the level of Intel counterfeiting going on. Making it important.

   
• MS denounced by ZDnet readers - is it a Linux hit team?
  Time: 11:53 GMT Source: The Register Posted By: Byron

  We've no way of knowing the source of the Microsoft documents ZD used for Friday's story on future versions of Windows (ZD Story). Maybe Microsoft leaked them deliberately to start the hype spinning again post Win2k, maybe they're real internal MS documents leaked without authorisation - but they seem to have had a bizarre effect.

  Microsoft historically has been a master of preannouncement, and whatever the provenance of the documents, their content wouldn't be out of place in a standard spin-heavy Microsoft presentation. It's all positive stuff giving a broad-brush and exciting picture of the road ahead, i.e. the material for a classic MS preannouncement.

   
• DirectX Meltdown Stuff
  Time: 11:51 GMT Source: Voodoo Extreme Posted By: Byron

  Slide show presentations from this year's Meltdown have been posted on Microsoft's DirectX site. Here is a snippet:

  View any or all of the almost 30 slide show presentations from the three-day Meltdown '99 event. From the big picture on “DirectX 7 and Beyond” to specifics on graphics and audio, these Meltdown presentations are an incredible source for information on DirectX and the future of multimedia.

   
• AMD Athlon K7s go retail in Japan RSN
  Time: 10:18 GMT Source: The Register Posted By: Alex H

  Once more, and as we predicted a week or so back, the Japanese market will be first off the starting blocks with sales of the AMD K7, now known as the Amazing Athlon.

  Thanks to our friends for pointing to the following place where the 500MHz, the 550MHz and the 600MHz parts are already priced up.

  According to Daiki, sales will start mid-July...The parts will cost ¥44,800; ¥69,800 and ¥89,800 respectively. The UK distributor and dealer market is being told early August for real K7 parts

   
• PC133 delivers 'awesome stability'
  Time: 10:17 GMT Source: The Register Posted By: Alex H

  BX Boards has turned its screwdrivers on PC133 memory. With its usual thoroughness, the British-based hardware review site puts modules from Samsung, Enhanced Memory Systems, Crucial and Corsair through their paces.

  And the conclusions? Don’t throw away PC100, just for the sake of it. But if you’re in the market for new memory, buy PC133. This offers future proofing and "awesome stability" Finally, reviewer Andy Drake advises: "shop around and go for whatever is cheapest!"

  "Normally in a round-up such as this," he says, "I would be looking to make a buying recommendation. However these modules are hard to separate -- benchmarking the modules showed they all performed identically -- no surprise really -- and stability at 133Mhz was 100 per cent with all modules too."

   

• Intel turns Pentium III/600 price screw on AMD K7
  Time: 10:12 GMT Source: The Register Posted By: Alex H

  c't magazine in Germany is reporting that Intel will ratchet its price screw on AMD when it releases its 600MHz Pentium III part later this month.

  Last week, we reported that Intel will also cut prices on its mainstream Pentium III/500 parts to compete aggressively with AMD's soon-to-be-released K7 Athlon chips.

  Intel had hoped to release its 600MHz Pentium III with 133MHz front side bus (FSB) in September, but problems with the i820 chipset caused that idea to burn to flames. Instead, a few weeks back, it announced it would have a .25 micron 600MHz part out in July.

  Intel was to have released the Pentium III/600 at $823/1000 (see desktop roadmap), but will now price it below or near AMD's $700/1000 for its Athlon K7/600 part. One source suggested $670/1000. The Intel desktop roadmap is now changed out of all recognition.

• WebTV Networks and RealNetworks Agree to Provide RealAudio G2 Support For WebTV Networks Subscribers
  Time: 19:43 GMT Source: Press Release Posted By: Byron

  WebTV Networks, Inc. and RealNetworks, Inc. today announced that RealNetworks will provide WebTV Networks with technologies enabling an upgrade of existing WebTV® products to support the latest RealNetworks RealAudio G2 format. In addition, RealNetworks agreed to develop a new RealPlayer G2 for the Windows® CE operating system platform, allowing WebTV to incorporate RealPlayer G2 support in its future products that connect to the WebTV Network(TM) service. Under this agreement, users of WebTV will be able to listen to next-generation RealAudio programming, which will greatly widen their listening choices and enhance their experience on the WebTV Network service. WebTV Networks intends to provide RealAudio G2 support to its subscribers via a service upgrade later this year.

   
• Microsoft Demonstrates Windows CE Operating System with CRS State of the Art Robot
  Time: 19:41 GMT Source: Press Release Posted By: Byron

  CRS Robotics Corporation announces that Microsoft Corp. has successfully demonstrated robot control using the Microsoft Windows CE operating systems and the CRS F3 robot. The demonstration took place at the 1999 Microsoft Windows CE Developers Conference in Denver, Colorado.

  ``The fact that Microsoft was able to develop a working demonstration with the F3 robot in such a short time attests to the ease of use of both Windows CE and the F3, which is the first intelligent robot in the industrial market,'' said Paul Ritchie, Managing Director of CRS' Robot Division.

   
• How Microsoft Plans to Remake Windows
  Time: 17:26 GMT Source: MSNBC Posted By: Alex R.

  MSNBC is the supplier of some required reading on this holiday.  They have an article lightly touching on what to expect with "Neptune," the code name of the first consumer-targeted Windows based on the NT kernel.  The article also outlines some contingency plans just in case the NT kernel doesn't bode well for a consumer-oriented OS.

  One of the more eye-catching items is Microsoft's desire to drop all DOS applications and move toward a legacy-free environment.  Also on the slate is the "self-healing PC."

   

• Secret CompaQ memo shows depth of Unix commitment
  Time: 09:18 GMT Source: The Register Posted By: Alex H

  Any doubts that CompaQ is revising its Unix-Alpha strategy have been dispelled by a memo issued by the triumvirate running the firm. But CompaQ is revisiting it. On Thursday, the office of Ben&Frank&Ted issued an internal memo to staff showing how committed CompaQ is not only to Tru64 Unix but to the Alpha chip.

  The memo, forwarded to us by an insider at the company, shows that CompaQ will invest more money in Tru64 and Alpha. At the same time, our insider said, it will push the proliferation of Alpha-Linux servers.

   

• Intel sued by supplier
  Time: 09:15 GMT Source: ActiveWindows Posted By: Alex H

  A supplier of clean room equipment has taken out a writ against chip giant Intel. The company filed against Intel on the 24th of June last in North Carolina district court.

  The case is a breach of contract dispute, and Flanders, which has a Web site here, also named Conap in the action. Flanders is demanding $3,040,745.10 from the defendants. Summonses were issued on the 30th of June.

   

• Happy Independence Day
  Time: 09:08 GMT Source: ActiveWindows Posted By: Alex H

  We would just like to wish all the Americans that view our site a Happy Independence Day. If you are a tennis fan as well you will be over the moon since in total there are three Americans playing in the Wimbledon final.

• Diamond Rio 500 - First Look
  Time: 20:42 GMT Source: USB Workshop Posted By: Byron

  USB Workshop has posted a first look at Diamond's new Rio 500 MP3 player. Here is a snippet:

  Diamond Multimedia is back with the new Rio 500. Rio 500 succeeds as the new throne of the popular portable MP3 digital audio player, Rio 300. MP3, short for MPEG-1 layer 3, is remarkable compression format to bring compact disc quality audio on personal computers. For PC users, MP3 allows users to enjoy hundreds of their favorite songs without swapping CDs because every highly compressed song is stored inside their PCs.  For Diamond Multimedia, MP3 opens new ground for next generation portable audio players.

   

• New Registry Tips Added
  Time: 18:44 GMT Source: ActiveWindows Posted By: Byron

  Added a number of new Registry tips for Windows 95 and Windows 98 and also added a new section to the registry tips area for passwords and restricting access.

   
• More Site News
  Time: 15:23 GMT Source: ActiveWindows Posted By: Byron

  We are working hard on the new Windows 2000 section which will include a number of FAQ's, Articles and much, much more. We have also updated the About Us & Contacting Us pages, because Dennis has rejoined us as both a news and Windows 2000 section writer.

   
• Intel hits roadblocks on eight-way server push
  Time: 08:00 GMT Source: News.com Posted By: Alex H

  With the arrival of the eight-processor servers based on mass-produced Intel technology, computer makers and Intel have been stepping on each other's toes in a market that isn't yet that lucrative.

  As Intel carries its technology closer to the core of giant corporate networks, it's treading on computer design territory that manufacturers consider to be home turf. And Intel's one-size-fits-all approach doesn't sit well with some of those computer manufacturers, who are trying to make their eight-way servers different from their competitors' offerings, instead of indistinguishable boxes, as in the case of desktop computers.

   

• Quantum slaps OEM customers, chins Seagate
  Time: 07:58 GMT Source: The Register Posted By: Alex H

  A senior executive at the Quantum Corporation said today that HP, IBM and Seagate will fail to deliver on their Ultrium tape storage solution.

  IBM and HP are major customers of Quantum's DLT tape storage, which the hard drive manufacturer acquired from the Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), some years back

  Quantum was at Marxist hideout Quo Vadis in Soho London, in an attempt to explain why the joint initiative between HP, IBM and Seagate -- dubbed Ultrium -- will not work.

  Senior executive John Barnes, based at Quantum Bracknell, insisted that his company's DLT solution was better than anything that the Ultrium consortium can and will offer.

   

• Software maker Corel draws patent lawsuit
  Time: 07:54 GMT Source: News.com Posted By: Alex H

  Canadian software developer Corel has been hit with a lawsuit by Advanced Software that alleges word processing patent infringement. Ottawa, Canada-based Corel, which develops graphics and office automation software, and the U.S. unit of Anglo-Dutch joint venture Reed Elsevier, are being sued by Advanced Software, which claims Corel's WordPerfect software Reed Elsevier'sCompareRite infringe on its patent.

  Advanced Software said a 1989 patent and 1998 patent reissue cover an invention by employee Cary Queen that allows the comparison of documents in original and modified versions in split-screen format. "Our lawyers have been served," said Corel spokeswoman Nicole Sanford. "They're just reviewing the complaint right now."

  Neither firm named in the suit yet has filed a reaction, said a spokeswoman from the U.S. District Court in Wilmington, Delaware, where the suit was filed June 16. Nutmeg Securities analyst Jean W. Orr said she understands the suit may refer to a feature that allows the comparison of two legal documents with different wording.

  "This is a feature that WordPerfect has had for several versions now," said the analyst. In its complaint, Advanced Software is seeking unspecified damages, legal fees, and asking the court to stop Corel and Reed Elsevier from using the technology.

   

• Happy Saturday (Site News)
  Time: 02:54 GMT Source: ActiveWindows Posted By: Cliff

  Happy Saturday everyone! Don't mind me, it's a holiday weekend in the US, and it's always fun seeing millions of people make more trouble than it's worth to try and get a little rest, but then they just end up wearing themselves out... and then they all have to go back to work on Monday. Well, ActiveWindows will be with you here as usual all weekend, and I thought I'd give you all a little info about what's going on with the site.

  We'll be making a few changes to the site design next week, to put the "Active" back in ActiveWindows, adding some DHTML touches to the menu, give some better placement for the Poll, as well as some CSS tweaks. That'll be in store for sometime mid-week, but don't fret, we won't stop giving you fresh news updates as usual. I hope you all will like the updates, it's something we've been planning for a little while now.

  So I hope you all enjoy your weekend, and for those of you in the US, Happy Independence Day! (Enjoy the fireworks! :)

• Windows 98, Bill Gates & South Park
  Time: 23:52 GMT Source: E-mail Posted By: Byron

  Windows 98 and Bill Gates are featured on the new South Park movie. We won't tell you what happens, just in case it spoils the laugh for you - it is a must see movie.

   
• Are portals slaves to Windows?
  Time: 23:25 GMT Source: News.com Posted By: Byron

  The recent trend of applications migrating from the PC desktop to the Web has heartened advocates of standards-based computing who see the Web-based services as a potential path to a platform-independent computing future. But if you want full functionality at some of the top portal sites aggregating these applications, you'd better have Windows.

  Portal sites such as Yahoo and Excite remain basically cross-platform Web sites, written to offer their content and services to users running Microsoft's Windows operating system, the Macintosh platform, Unix, or other operating systems.

   
• The remaking of Windows
  Time: 23:09 GMT Source: ZDNet Posted By: Alex H

  Microsoft Corp. is attempting to churn out this month its first internal builds of Neptune, the code name for the first consumer version of Windows built on the NT kernel.

  Neptune is slated as the follow-on to Millennium, the code name for the final version of Windows based on the Windows 9x kernel.

  Neptune will be Microsoft's first operating system to make use of the WinTone service that CEO Bill Gates outlined last fall. Much like Sun Microsystems Inc.'s WebTone concept, WinTone is aimed at making PCs self-healing and self-updating.

   

• Win Windows 98 Second Edition
  Time: 22:50 GMT Source: Microsoft Insider Posted By: Alex H
  
  Microsoft is offering you the chance to win the new Windows 98 Second Edition. There are two ways you can do this : If you order it online July 1, 1999 through July 31, 1999 at shop.microsoft.com, you are automatically entered to win. Or, see the official rules for details on how to enter without purchase.

• Sites Lure GeoCities Refugees
  Time: 22:35 GMT Source: Wired News Posted By: Alex H

  Yahoo's rivals are using the company's high-profile misstep over ownership of GeoCities homesteads to lure customers to their own Web-hosting services. Warner Bros. Online began an advertising campaign Friday morning to stress that, unlike Yahoo, it has never claimed rights to the text, sounds, and images that its AcmeCity members post on their free Web sites.

  "We don't have those claims on the consumer's content, nor would we ever do so," said Jim Moloshok, president of Warner Bros. Online. "As copyright owners, we know the value of content."

  Moloshok predicts that by the end of the July 4th weekend, the 20-site campaign will result in about 50,000 new subscribers -- a big boost to the entertainment-themed site's current membership of 350,000.

   

• Adaptec ''Easy CD Creator 4 Deluxe'' Will Burn MP3s
  Time: 22:09 GMT Source: Maximum PC Posted By: Alex H

  Adaptec is jumping on the MP3 bandwagon with Easy CD Creator 4, the latest revision of its popular CD-R software.

  But while the new version gives users the ability to burn MP3s, that function is just the tip of the improvement iceberg. Adaptec recently showed Maximum PC the new version of Easy CD Creator, and we were surprised to find that it offers a totally unique feature (at least to Adaptec)--the ability to add fades between tracks, providing the illusion that the songs have been mixed together.

  The company has also included its Take Two image-based disaster recovery program, which supports compression, sector skipping, and CD spanning, so you’ll never be without a backup in the event of a drive failure. The new version also incorporates a new and fully-improved interface, the ability to edit video clips, access to the CDDB online CD Disc Recognition Service, and a fully rebuilt disc sleeve creation interface.

  Look for Easy CD Creator 4 sometime this fall. Retail pricing is expected to fall under $100.

   

• NSI's Web site hacked
  Time: 21:28 GMT Source: News.com Posted By: Alex H

  Hackers struck major linchpins in the Internet's address system today, redirecting Network Solutions visitors to one of its future ".com" competitors and the new body in charge of managing the Net's technical functions, crippling that site too, according to NSI executives.

  The world's dominant domain name registrar, NSI discovered that its various sites were down about 2 a.m. PT today and that they were automatically sending surfers to a hopeful registrar, the Internet Council of Registrars (CORE), and the Net's new administrator, the nonprofit Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers.

  NSI's main site still appears to be malfunctioning, although the company said its system has been restored. ICANN's site also was inaccessible this morning, possibly due to increased traffic from NSI's visitors.

   

• Real stock rises on WebTV deal
  Time: 21:23 GMT Source: News.com Posted By: Alex H

  Shares of RealNetworks surged as much as 15 percent after the company said its technology will be used in Microsoft's WebTV and Windows CE operating system.

  RealNetworks shares rose 9.13 to 87 in midday trading of 4.3 million. Earlier, the stock rose as high as 89.69. The shares have soared 41 percent this week.

  RealNetworks' audio technology, which lets users listen to music and voices over the Internet, will be added to Microsoft's WebTV, which links TV sets to the Internet, and to Windows CE, which runs Web devices such as hand-held computers. The agreement is an acknowledgment by Microsoft that RealNetworks' technology is in strong demand.

   

• DRAM prices keep on falling
  Time: 21:19 GMT Source: The Register Posted By: Alex H

  DRAM prices are continuing to fall across the world, the latest price survey from ICIS-LOR reveals. Average prices fell between 3 and 6 per cent between June 4 and June 11, according to the Reed- owned market research firm.
  
  ICIS-LOR produces a 30-day rolling average trade price for 64Mb DRAMs (PC100, 8M x 8) in North America, Europe and Asia

   

• This hardware has an ice maker
  Time: 21:11 GMT Source: ZDNet Posted By: Alex H

  First it was books, then toys and drugs. Now the consumer electronics industry is taking on the Internet. But will consumers buy a refrigerator online as easily as they order the latest Thomas Harris thriller?

  Two Web sites launching next month hope to convince consumers that it's OK to shop for VCRs and refrigerators online. And the major retail chains have announced plans to begin selling their wares online as well.

   

• NEC debuts NT graphics accelerator
  Time: 21:07 GMT Source: The Register Posted By: Alex H

  NEC has launched what it is claiming is the world's fastest 3D graphics accelerator for NT-based workstations.
  
  The NEC TE4E Graphics Accelerator scored 30 on the industry-standard Viewperf ProCDRS-01(1) benchmark. It will come as part of NEC's Express5800 workstation range, and will be pre-loaded on to the 5800/55Wb and 5800/56Wb high-end machines.

   

• Windows Hardware Compatibility List
  Time: 19:28 GMT Source: BetaOS Posted By: Byron

  Microsoft has recently (yesterday, in fact!) posted a Windows Hardware Compatibility List website, so people don't have to waste time downloading the BIG text file from their ftp. In the site includes a searchable database, where you don't have to read through all the long list of the compatibility list. Very convenient! http://www.microsoft.com/hcl/ 

   
• More 810 chip set problems for Intel
  Time: 16:07 GMT Source: ZDNet Posted By: Byron

  It's not good timing. Intel Corp. confirmed Thursday it has delivered to PC makers a fix for another glitch with its 810 chip set for Celeron-based PCs. The glitch -- or erratum, as Intel calls it -- can cause the chip set's real-time clock to display incorrect date and time, officials said.

   
• Wallpaper Changer v. 1.85 Beta is Out!
  Time: 15:57 GMT Source: Betabites Posted By: Byron

  Wallpaper Changer is a FREEWARE Windows 9x/NT wallpaper manager that can change your background images on every startup, once a day or at regular intervals. It features JPEG, GIF and BMP support. Several options are provided, including the ability to change your images in random order. Your pictures can be tiled, centered or resized to full screen. Wallpaper Changer can analyze your picture and will determinate the best matching background and the most readable icon caption color for every wallpaper you apply to your desktop.

  Download Wallpaper Changer v. 1.85 Beta here!

   
• 'July' Virus Strikes In Asia
  Time: 15:12 GMT Source: ZDNet Posted By: Byron

  A computer virus that forces users to play a taunting game of Russian roulette - named July killer, because it will delete all files on a user's c: drive if the current month is July - has been found in Asia.

  But it will almost certainly cause few problems in the Western hemisphere. It can only infect computers running Microsoft Word in its Chinese or Japanese versions, according to virus company Data Fellows.

   
• Site News
  Time: 15:07 GMT Source: ActiveWindows Posted By: Byron

  We have been having some slight server related problems on the site this afternoon, we have been working to fix them, the server has been rebooted and hopefully everything will be fine now.

   

• DirectX 7 Beta 2 Released To Testers
  Time: 12:02 GMT Source: e-mail Posted By: Alex H

  Wow - it looks like Microsoft are releasing new betas left, right and center. Today, well yesterday evening, Microsoft released DirectX 7 Beta 2 to testers, not much longer before the public get their hands on it now. The build is 201 for those of you wondering.

  Related articles:

  DirectX 7 Info
  Microsoft DirectX 7.0 Technology Ignites Enthusiasm at Meltdown 99

   
• Microsoft closes in on final Windows 2000 version
  Time: 11:23 GMT Source: News.com Posted By: Byron

  The first steps toward final release of Microsoft's long-delayed Windows 2000 desktop and server operating system upgrade have begun.

  Microsoft has completed a testing process consisting of three so-called beta releases of the Windows 2000 software code. Now the company has delivered an initial "release candidate" to testers and members of the company's preview program.

   
• Microsoft, AOL giving users free PCs
  Time: 11:17 GMT Source: The Register Posted By: Alex H

  The free PC is almost upon us, with AOL, Microsoft and Prodigy all promising to give them away, effectively, in exchange for a three year commitment to use their services. Does this mean Microsoft intends to cut off the entire PC industry's air supply, browser style? Could happen.

  All three companies are experimenting with a kind of subsidy model similar to the one used for mobile phone sales. Hardware is heavily discounted or free so long as the user signs a contract to use the service for a minimum period, and three years seems to be what MS et al are going for.

   
• Yahoo may join MP3 player fray
  Time: 11:15 GMT Source: News.com Posted By: Alex H

  Yahoo is seriously considering a foray into the Internet music player business, joining Net giants such as America Online in the booming market, sources said today.

• Microsoft Primps IE 5.0 With New Betas
  Time: 22:54 GMT Source: WinInfo Posted By: Alex R.

  As we mentioned earlier a new version of IE5 is on the way - well Wininfo has a bit more news on it - Microsoft is readying new releases in the Internet Explorer 5.0 family, including a Service Pack, a point release, and Macintosh version.

  Internet Explorer 5.0 Service Pack 1 (SP1) will contain a group of bug fixes and responses to common customer issues and will eventually be provided for free to users of IE 5.0. Internet Explorer 5.01, meanwhile, will incorporate the fixes in IE 5.0 SP1 with some enhancements that will put it on par with the version of IE that eventually ships in Windows 2000.

   
• Microsoft TV Platform Adaptation Kit to Feature Microsoft Windows Media Technologies
  Time: 22:19 GMT Source: Press Release Posted By: Byron

  Microsoft Corp. today announced that Windows Media™ Technologies will be an integral part of the Microsoft^® TV Platform Adaptation Kit (TVPAK) - Microsoft's client/server television software - enabling an enhanced listening and viewing experience for consumers using televisions or set-top boxes based on future TVPAK technology. By delivering Windows Media Technologies as a native feature of TVPAK, Microsoft is able to offer CD-quality audio and near-DVD-quality video efficiently and cost-effectively to licensees of Microsoft TV client software being used with interactive television devices. Based on the Windows^® CE operating system, Internet Explorer browser technology and WebTV^® technology, TVPAK will be available to OEMs in 1999.

   
• SoundBlaster - Liveware 2.1 Released
  Time: 20:22 GMT Source: Creative Posted By: Byron

  Live!Ware 2.1 is an update for Live!Ware 2.0. If you do not have Live!Ware 2.0 installed, please download Live!Ware 2.0 before running the Live!Ware 2.1 installation.

  If you are a NEW Sound Blaster Live! owner, do find out more about how the Live!Ware program benefits you and protects your investment.

   
• ABIT Confirms LX6/Voodoo3 Problem, Offers Fix
  Time: 19:37 GMT Source: Weslovian Gazette Posted By: Alex R.

  ABIT has confirmed the existence of a voltage problem on the LX6 motherboard when trying to use a Voodoo3 or TNT2 video card (AGP 2x).  They are offering a free fix for users who are within the LX6 1 year warranty.  Other users can receive the fix for a small handling fee.

   

• Via Purchases Cyrix
  Time: 14:24 GMT Source: ZDNet Posted By: Alex R.

  Looks like Via is declaring war on Intel!  They have signed a letter of intent to acquire National Semiconductor's Cyrix x86 microprocessor manufacturer.

   

• Another NT Security Update
  Time: 14:23 GMT Source: email Posted By: Alex R.

  This just hit my inbox: Microsoft has released a hotfix for the "Malformed Image Header" vulnerability.  This patch is already available in service pack 5 of NT 4.0, but if you're scared of SP5, at least now you have a way to grab the fix.

   

• HP Sues Xerox
  Time: 14:22 GMT Source: ZDNet Posted By: Alex R.

  From another news bulletin on ZDNet... HP has filed suit against Xerox for nonpayment of royalties and has suspended their license to HP's TrueRes technology.  Full story is due there any time.

   

• New Matrox Drivers
  Time: 12:47 GMT Source: BluesNews Posted By: Alex R.

  Matrox has posted a new set of drivers for the G100 and G200 cards.  This set of drivers features the final OpenGL ICD for these cards.  Matrox is also claiming a 25% increase in performance of OpenGL games with this final ICD.

   

• Intel & SGI to Optimize OpenGL
  Time: 12:44 GMT Source: Yahoo Posted By: Alex R.

  This is a tasty tidbit for gamers and 3D-modellers everywhere.  Intel and SGI have announced an agreement to optimize OpenGL for current and future Intel architectures.

  I'm not sure how this affects Microsoft's approach to OpenGL in Windows, so we'll have to see what happens.

   
• Microsoft Sued Over "Monkey" Photo
  Time: 12:35 GMT Source: News.com Posted By: Byron

  Microsoft is being sued for linking a photo of a black couple to the word "monkey" in its Publisher 98 software program.

  The program displays the photo of a black couple sitting on playground equipment when the word "monkey" is typed under the "Clip Gallery" icon. The photo is also programmed to appear under key words such as "couples," "playground equipment," and "monkey bars."

  Microsoft has sold several million copies of Publisher 98, which provides users with photos and graphics that can be used in fliers, newsletters, and memos. Microsoft said it became aware of the problem through its own testing, and has notified more than 1 million registered users since May on how to fix it.

   
• SEC probes Microsoft's accounting methods
  Time: 12:35 GMT Source: News.com Posted By: Byron

  The Securities and Exchange Commission is reviewing potentially improper accounting procedures at Microsoft, according to a company executive.

  The federal agency is investigating how the company accounts for its financial reserves and related policies, according to Greg Maffei, chief financial officer for the leading PC software maker. Microsoft is cooperating with the SEC's efforts, he said.

   
• AOL Radio Beta
  Time: 11:17 GMT Source: e-mail Posted By: Alex H

  AOL has started a beta for its new Radio program. Currently it only has music, acting, and television interviews available. Hopefully the look will change.

Read more of the past months news in our News Archive for May and Previous June News.

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