• More Windows 2000 Tips & Tricks
  Time: 17:15 EST/22:15 GMT News Source: Active Network Posted By: Byron Hinson

  We have posted a few more Windows 2000 Tips & Tricks to our tips section. We have also split them up more into various sections so they can become easier to scan through.

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• Microsoft Announces Latest Partner Commitments, Expands Comprehensive E-Business Offering
  Time: 14:51 EST/19:51 GMT News Source: Press Release Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Today at the Internet & Electronic Commerce Conference & Exposition (iEC) 2000, Microsoft Corp. announced broad channel support for e-business, citing recent partner commitments and the launch of Windows 2000; further strengthening the already wide range of comprehensive e-business solutions based on the Microsoft^® Windows^® DNA platform for customers. Microsoft's best-of-breed software and services, combined with relationships across a broad continuum of partners, provide dotcom businesses with complete, integrated e-business solutions that help them get online faster and easier as well as meet a wide range of customer needs. Using the enhanced reliability and scalable features offered by the Windows 2000 operating system, the foundation for the Windows DNA 2000 platform, partners will be able to develop innovative, mission-critical e-business applications.

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• Microsoft To Acquire Peach Networks
  Time: 14:51 EST/19:51 GMT News Source: Press Release Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Microsoft Corp. today announced it has reached an agreement to acquire Israel-based Peach Networks Ltd., a leading provider of technology for enhanced TV services for digital television. This agreement extends the Microsoft^® TV platform to now include a solution for basic digital set-top boxes (STBs), like the Scientific Atlanta Explorer 2000 and Motorola DCT 2000 currently being deployed by cable operators. This alliance will help expand the overall availability of enhanced TV services worldwide. With the inclusion of Peach's technology, Microsoft can offer the most scalable enhanced TV platform solution in the industry. The acquisition underscores Microsoft's commitment to support a breadth of new enhanced TV services such as information on demand, e-mail, communications, Internet, shopping and entertainment applications to all digital television network operators and their customers.

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• Microsoft's next great interface?
  Time: 14:42 EST/19:42 GMT News Source: ZDNet Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Last week I complained that Microsoft was totally losing its way as it set out to design its next Web interface. The pieces of the so-called "Mars" interface that I had seen were too colorful, too cluttered, too derivative, and not nearly daring enough to take us into the 21st century.

  Now you can judge for yourself. Let me show you two of the screens I've been looking at and tell you why I think they're so awful. (One brief side note: the log-on screen I've seen opens with five accounts. I assume that Microsoft is going to follow AOL's lead and use multiple screen names for a single home account. The magic number appears to be five.)

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• Microsoft Introduces DirectX for Windows CE
  Time: 09:34 EST/14:34 GMT News Source: Press Release Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Today at the Embedded Systems Conference (ESC) Spring 2000, Microsoft Corp. introduced its new DirectX^® Platform Adaptation Kit (DXPAK) for the Windows^® CE operating system. This new DXPAK enables OEMs to create Windows CE-based devices that take advantage of the latest multimedia capabilities, including accelerated graphics, and streaming audio and video with full playback capabilities, delivered via the Web to applications ranging from game consoles and set-top terminals to factory-floor HMI devices.

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• Windows Media Extends Portable Device Leadership With Release of Windows Media Player for Palm-Size PC
  Time: 09:32 EST/14:32 GMT News Source: Press Release Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Microsoft Corp. today announced the immediate availability of the Microsoft^® Windows MediaÔ Player for Palm-size PCs, which gives owners of Palm-size PC devices from Compaq, Casio and Hewlett-Packard (HP) Co. the ability to play CD-quality digital music. Owners of Palm-size PCs will now be able to enjoy hundreds of thousands of digital music tracks and the hottest new music in the Windows Media format. This release continues the unprecedented support for the Windows Media format from the top consumer electronics manufacturers.

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• Win2000: appearance vs. reality
  Time: 09:05 EST/14:05 GMT News Source: ZDNet Posted By: Byron Hinson

  The biggest product launch of the millennium—so far, anyway—is history, and if all goes according to plan, hordes of computer users will rush out to buy Windows 2000, the best software product that Microsoft has ever produced.

  Or so the marketers would have us believe. We can't blame them for doing their job, but the reality is vastly different. We'll all be better off if we can separate Windows 2000 myth from fact.

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• Download Skins for Windows Media-Player For Palm-Size PC's
  Time: 09:03 EST/14:03 GMT News Source: E-Mail Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Customize your new Windows Media­ Player for Palm-Size PC with a new interface skin to match your personality or your music. Skins are the custom interface created for the Windows Media Player. A skin is a collection of bitmap files (files with the *.bmp extension) and a text file (called a .skn file) that organizes the images. You have complete control of what buttons you want, how they look, and where they are on screen. All this information is stored in the .skn file.

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• New Windows Media Player for Palm-size PC
  Time: 09:03 EST/14:03 GMT News Source: E-Mail Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Start enjoying your music wherever you go today. The Microsoft® Windows® Media™ Player for Palm-size PC is free software from Microsoft that pumps high quality stereo music through the Palm-sized PC you already own -- without any additional adaptors.

  Take your music with you on the road or to work, and leave your CDs at home. Download the latest music by hot new artists from the Web in Windows Media format or even MP3. Personalize your player with your own photos, graphics and creativity. Easy and flexible, the Windows Media Player for Palm-size PC could quickly become your favorite feature on your Casio, Hewlett-Packard or Compaq Palm-size PC.

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• MS-owned Slate reports Gates as 1999's top giver
  Time: 09:01 EST/14:01 GMT News Source: The Register Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Microsoft-owned online magazine Slate has been getting into a pretty scrappy war with rival Salon over the past few months, but one of the former's current big stories is scarcely likely to help it. A report on America's top 60 charitable donations of 1999?

  Naturally the Bill and Melissa Gates Foundation tops the poll by a mile, clocking-up $2.4 billion worth of giving over the year. The number two giver, Jim Clark, only managed $150 million, and another famous giver, Ted Turner, contributed $100 million. Ted is of course engaged in a yen year programme to give a billion, but the annual spend this results in still makes him look cheap.

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• ActiveWin: Pinnacle Systems TitleDeko: Review
  Time: 18:23 EST/23:23 GMT News Source: Active Network Posted By: Robert Stein

  Julien has posted his review of Pinnacle Systems TitleDeko. Here is a snippet from the review:

  With the high spread of the processors’ performance increase, many users are mounting their family or professional videos on their computers with high end and powerful software/hardware tools. What are the advantages, you’ll ask? Well, you can easily capture and create a real customized video like pros with just a few mouse clicks. Changing sounds, adding titles, resizing videos, changing videos pictures, making special effects, animated added pictures in your videos. The computer video solutions are more powerful and easy to use than the traditional high end VCR or camcorders.

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• MSN CarPoint Traffic Soars in January Through Exclusive Web Sponsorship of the 2000 North American International Auto Show
  Time: 15:09 EST/20:09 GMT News Source: Press Release Posted By: Byron Hinson

  The MSN™ CarPoint™ online automotive service (http://www.carpoint.com/) brought the 2000 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) to life "virtually," doubling the show's traffic by attracting online visitors from around the world.

  The online success of the official and exclusive NAIAS coverage from CarPoint contributed to a spike in visitor traffic in January, with more than 6 million unique visitors, according to Media Metrix. CarPoint continues to be the most-visited online car-buying site on the Web.

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• Leading Wireless Carriers Select MSN Mobile To Deliver Interactive Web Services to Consumers
  Time: 15:08 EST/20:08 GMT News Source: Press Release Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Today at CTIA WIRELESS 2000, the largest wireless technology conference in the country, Microsoft Corp. announced it has teamed up with leading wireless carriers to make MSN™ services and content more broadly available, any time, anywhere and from any device. Nextel Communications Inc. and AirTouch Cellular plan to offer MSN Mobile 2.0, the two-way customizable wireless information service from MSN, as part of their services beginning in April. WebLink Wireless Inc. and Totally Free Paging.com Inc. will offer an enhanced one-way version of MSN Mobile notifications. MSN Mobile 2.0 will be available from Web-enabled mobile phones and handheld devices such as Pocket PCs and Palm handheld computers.

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• Bill Gates Launches New Interactive Version of MSN Mobile at Wireless 2000
  Time: 15:08 EST/20:08 GMT News Source: Press Release Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Today at CTIA WIRELESS 2000, Microsoft Corp. Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates announced an agreement with Nextel Communications Inc. and AirTouch Cellular to offer MSNÔ Mobile 2.0, as well as agreements with WebLink Wireless Inc. and Totally Free Paging Inc. to offer an enhanced one-way version of MSN Mobile notifications. The announcements came as Gates launched MSN Mobile 2.0, which extends to wireless customers such services as the MSN HotmailÒ Web-based e-mail service, the MSN MoneyCentralÔ online personal finance service, the MSNBC.com news service and Expedia.com™, the most popular online travel service. MSN Mobile 2.0 offers the easiest and most complete wireless solution and provides access from an unparalleled range of handheld devices, including Web-enabled mobile phones, Pocket PCs and Palm handheld computers.

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• Microsoft Provides Fans with "Virtual Pass" To Gamestock 2000
  Time: 14:58 EST/19:58 GMT News Source: Press Release Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Microsoft announced today that fans of their upcoming games will be able to attend Gamestock events online again this year. Gamestock, a private event held every year to introduce press from around the world to the company's new lineup of games, will be opened up to the public via the Internet. Gamestock 2000 takes place on February 29 and March 1, and fans are invited to an inside look at the big show with several unique online events.

  Included in the 2000 lineup are: MechWarrior 4, Crimson Skies, Loose Cannon, Motocross Madness 2, Dungeon Seige and nearly a dozen other titles. Online Gamestock events open to the public include:

  * Gamestock Cup Sweepstakes http://www.microsoft.com/games/gamestock2000/sweepstakes/

  Starts today! Fans can test their computer and arcade gaming knowledge with ten trivia questions, and become eligible to win some fantastic prizes in the second annual Gamestock Cup Sweepstakes. In the Sweepstakes, fans can enter to win a Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer Mouse, Microsoft Games, and automatic entry into several upcoming Microsoft Games beta programs -- including Starlancer, Motocross Madness 2, Crimson Skies and more.

  * Official Gamestock 2000 Web Site http://www.microsoft.com/games/gamestock2000/

  On March 1, the official Gamestock 2000 Web site will go live. Complete with screenshots, game introductions, and feature lists, this site will give gamers the scoop on all of Microsoft's upcoming game titles.

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• 3Com, Nortel offerings enhance Windows 2000 networking performance, quality of service
  Time: 13:58 EST/18:58 GMT News Source: Microsoft Daily News Posted By: Alex Harris

  Microsoft® Windows® 2000 was designed from the ground up to provide for the networking needs of today's businesses.

  And combined with third-party products and services, Windows 2000 offers even more networking power. Microsoft and 3Com Corp. have worked together on a new network interface card (NIC) designed for server applications that require both high performance and security, such as e-commerce, banking and health care. And Nortel Networks has demonstrated a Windows 2000-based quality of service network for converged voice, video and data.

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• Microsoft Office 10 for Mac?
  Time: 13:56 EST/18:56 GMT News Source: MacWorld Posted By: Alex Harris

  Microsoft has several ambitious goals for the next version of Office, its desktop applications suite: enhance user collaborative options, leverage rich-voice technology, and further the company's foray into the application-hosting arena. Its code-name, Office 10, could point to a Mac release soon after Apple starts shipping Mac OS X (pronounced 'ten').

  Office 10 is scheduled to go into beta testing this summer and to ship sometime in 2000, according to sources. When Microsoft released Office 98 for the Mac, it stated that new versions would ship first on alternate platforms. That said, many of the technologies reported are Windows-based, rather than aimed at the Macintosh.

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• Microsoft Updates MSN on Phones
  Time: 13:54 EST/18:54 GMT News Source: PC World Posted By: Alex Harris

  Microsoft is releasing at the Wireless 2000 show here an update of the software that brings timely information in its MSN portal to your Web-enabled phone.

  The company is unveiling MSN Mobile 2.0 at the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association show this week. The new version offers real-time, on-demand information such as flight schedules, weather conditions, and sports scores. The initial release let you request only static Web-based information from your mobile phone.

  Microsoft expects its wireless carrier partners to roll out MSN Mobile 2.0 in April. So far only Nextel, which largely services business users, has signed on.

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• Rambus off to slow start
  Time: 13:49 EST/18:49 GMT News Source: CNet News Posted By: Alex Harris

  Despite Intel Corp.'s (Nasdaq: INTC) lobbying efforts and the more than $1 billion it has invested in memory chip makers to spur adoption of Rambus technology, the memory architecture remains a minor player in the PC marketplace.

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• AOL inks wireless partnerships, unveils Mobile Messenger
  Time: 13:45 EST/18:45 GMT News Source: CNet News Posted By: Alex Harris

  America Online's wireless strategy is coming into focus.

  The Internet juggernaut today announced deals with Motorola, BellSouth, Sprint PCS, Nokia, Research in Motion and Arch Communications to extend its Internet products to cellular telephone and pager services. AOL also unveiled "AOL Mobile Messenger," a wireless version of its popular email and AOL Instant Messenger products.

  In addition, AOL said it has joined the WAP Forum, a wireless standards organization in which Excite@Home also recently enlisted.

  AOL joins several Internet players--including Yahoo, Amazon.com, Microsoft and Excite@Home--that are aggressively developing wireless services. According to market research firm The Yankee Group, there will be more than 1 billion mobile phone users by 2003, with about 60 percent capable of accessing the Internet.

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• Intel to debut Celerons in March
  Time: 13:43 EST/18:43 GMT News Source: ZDNet Posted By: Alex Harris

  "Star Trek" star Patrick Stewart probably won't be on hand at this launch, but Intel Corp. is planning for the next generation of Celeron chips in March.

  The new chips, running at clock speeds of up to 600MHz, will give low-cost, or value PCs, a performance bump, but without raising prices. Consumers will be able to buy a 600MHz value PC for about $1,000 without a monitor following the launch.

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• Kerberos made to heel to Win2000
  Time: 09:48 EST/14:48 GMT News Source: ZDNet Posted By: Byron Hinson

  In a move that company detractors said is another sign of its infamous "Embrace, Extend, Extinguish" strategy, Microsoft has used an open Internet security standard in its Windows 2000 operating system and made modifications without openly documenting its changes.

  Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) has incorporated open standard Kerberos security, which keeps user passwords from being sent over a network where they can be sniffed and stolen, into Windows 2000, making its marquee operating system (OS) more competitive with Unix.

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• Qulacomm, MS in wireless pact
  Time: 09:47 EST/14:47 GMT News Source: ZDNet Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Qualcomm Inc. (Nasdaq: QCOM) will work with Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) to develop wireless multimedia devices using Code Division Multiple Access digital wireless technology. The companies will focus on creating hardware reference designs for mobile devices including smart phones based on the Microsoft Mobile Explorer, and wireless Pocket PCs using Qualcomm iMSM4100 Internet Mobile Station Modem chip set and system software.

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• Win2k - Sun calls in the Exterminator
  Time: 09:45 EST/14:45 GMT News Source: The Register Posted By: Byron Hinson

  The New York Times' John Markoff reports the sad failure of a Sun plot to unleash a pest extermination company on Microsoft to coincide with the big Windows 2000 launch on 17th February. Bizarrely, it all seems to have miscarried because the company hired, Western Exterminator, was worried Bill Gates might buy it and close it in retaliation.

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• Microsoft Donates $70,000 in Software to Seattle District And Thurston County Schools
  Time: 09:41 EST/14:41 GMT News Source: Press Release Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Microsoft Corp. today announced a donation of more than $70,000 in software that will benefit students in Thurston County and the Seattle school district. The donation of 1,030 copies of MicrosoftÒ EncartaÒ Africana 2000 will be distributed to school libraries and classrooms through the Alliance for Education and the African American Alliance of Thurston County. Together, Thurston County schools and the Seattle school district serve approximately 81,000 students.

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• Microsoft Ranked Most Responsive Technology Company By U.S. Colleges and Universities
  Time: 09:41 EST/14:41 GMT News Source: Press Release Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Microsoft Corp. today announced that it has been named the most responsive technology company by more than 81 percent of U.S. colleges and universities in a new study by International Data Corp. (IDC), the Framingham, Mass., market research firm. The survey, part of IDC's "State of Technology Usage in Higher Education Institutions, 1999," examined the attitudes of technology decision-makers nationwide. The high rating of Microsoft is in keeping with the company's long-standing commitment, not only to developing the technology tools schools need to enhance teaching, learning and communication on campus, but also to offering innovative programs and resources that help the higher-education community effectively use technology for teaching and learning.

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• Sega Warns of Loss As Dreamcast Disappoints
  Time: 06:28 EST/11:28 GMT News Source: Yahoo! Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  Sega Enterprises Ltd warned on Monday of steep losses this business year from poor Japan sales of its Dreamcast game machine, casting doubt over its chances of survival as home video games enter the Internet age.

  The news came even before a full-blown game machine war kicks off on March 4 with the launch of rival Sony Corp's PlayStation2, successor to the world's most popular game system with 70 million units sold in the past five years.

  Sega's latest woes added credence to expectations that PlayStation2, with its capacity to play digital video discs (DVDs) and potentially tap the Internet, will cement Sony's number-one position in the industry.

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• Net leaders embrace wireless Web
  Time: 06:25 EST/11:25 GMT News Source: News.com Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  It's no surprise that Bill Gates, Steve Case and Jeff Bezos would be the headline speakers at an Internet industry conference.

  But this week the top executives of Microsoft , America Online and Amazon.com will steal the limelight at the U.S. wireless telephone industry's annual gathering in New Orleans, overshadowing many of the cellular world's own executives.

  This is a sign that the arrival of a long-awaited wireless Internet market may be at hand, an event carriers have for several years predicted would boost their bottom lines.

  "Data has always been the next thing, just around the corner," said Dennis Patrick, president of AOL's newly created wireless division. "Now it's really true and the killer app is turning out to be the Internet."

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• The Amazing PlayStation 2
  Time: 05:58 EST/10:58 GMT News Source: Newsweek Posted By: Byron Hinson

  The new Sony PlayStation 2, which goes on sale March 4 in Japan, is not only a quantum leap in game technology, but because of its Internet compatibility, it's Sony's bid to compete with AOL-Time Warner and Microsoft on the Web. In an exclusive look at the new machine, Newsweek reports in the current issue's cover story that the game console can play movie DVDs, audio CDs and can hook into the Internet. ``You can communicate to a new cybercity,'' Ken Kutaragi, the visionary behind the PlayStation, tells Newsweek. ``This will be the ideal home server. Did you see the movie 'The Matrix'? Same interface. Same concept. Starting from next year, you can jack into 'The Matrix'!''

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• USB 2.0 spec two, three months away
  Time: 05:51 EST/10:51 GMT News Source: The Register Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Hall Nine at CeBIT is the noisiest place in Hannover, and also the most crowded, with firms like 3dfx demonstrating their wares at ear-numbing decibels. Right at the front of the show, there is a large area devoted to smaller companies from Taiwan, with many showing the elements that make up a PC (such as cases and power supplies), and others demonstrating peripherals from the island.

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• Breaking Up Microsoft Would Be Tough Call
  Time: 07:04 EST/12:04 GMT News Source: TechWeb Posted By: Alex Harris

  Economists and attorneys on both sides of the Microsoft antitrust trial agreed Friday that there should be some remedy, but just what that remedy should be runs the gamut from business-contract changes to breaking up the software giant into several companies.

  Whatever the remedy, it must be good for both competitors and consumers, said the trial experts at a panel sponsored by the Progress and Freedom Foundation in Washington, D.C.

  Break-up plans reflect a fantasy world, said Stan Liebowitz, economist at the University of Texas, who has supported Microsoft. "They're not going to work that way in the real world. It won't be clean, it won't be easy, and it won't be good for consumers," he said. Liebowitz favors some type of behavior remedy.

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• Rivals Sun, Microsoft invest in same start-up
  Time: 07:02 EST/12:02 GMT News Source: Network World Fusion Posted By: Alex Harris

  Sun and Microsoft, well known as fierce rivals in the marketplace and the courtroom, separately announced that they have each made an equity investment of $25 million in the same start-up company.

  The start-up, BroadBand Office, was set up in July of last year by venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and other backers. The company is in the process of rolling out a range of communications and applications services to businesses in the U.S., including local and long-distance calling, dedicated Internet access and Web hosting.

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• Microsoft has high hopes for pocket PC
  Time: 07:00 EST/12:00 GMT News Source: Network World Fusion Posted By: Alex Harris

  Microsoft is confident that the soon-to-be-released Pocket PC software package will allow the software giant to gain on its competitors in the handheld device market.

  The first Pocket PC devices, which will be launched through several hardware vendors in the first half of this year, will be competitive with similar products running Palm Computing's Palm OS and applications, says Brian Shafer, marketing manager for Microsoft's mobile device division.

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• Windows PCs become tools for denial-of-service attacks
  Time: 06:58 EST/11:58 GMT News Source: Network World Fusion Posted By: Alex Harris

  Computer hackers may quietly be infecting thousands of Windows PCs in preparation for another wave of denial-of-service attacks of the type that brought high-profile Web sites like Yahoo and eBay to their knees two weeks ago, security experts today warned.

  James Madison University discovered last week that 16 Windows PCs on its student network had been infected with what looked like a variant of "Trinoo," one of a handful of viruses that hackers have been using to launch denial-of-service attacks. The university has sent a sample of the virus, which it has dubbed "Wintrinoo," to the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) for analysis, the university says on its Web site.

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• Firms seek edge in communications chip market
  Time: 06:57 EST/11:57 GMT News Source: CNet News Posted By: Alex Harris

  The race to build a faster and more versatile Internet is heating up a specialized corner of the microprocessor market.

  Three firms--Motorola, Lucent Technologies and Conexant--recently acquired start-up chipmakers to help them create a new type of networking processor that could offer a huge improvement in Net bandwidth and increase the variety of services offered online.

  The new breed of fast and programmable networking chips serve as the engine powering new networking equipment from companies like Cisco Systems, Lucent and Nortel Networks. That new equipment, in turn, will allow Internet service providers and telecommunications carriers to increase Net bandwidth and offer better security, and new services such as Internet telephony.

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• FBI site struck by Web attack
  Time: 06:56 EST/11:56 GMT News Source: CNet News Posted By: Alex Harris

  The FBI said today that electronic vandals shut down its Web site for hours last week in the same type of attack that disrupted some of the Internet's major commercial sites.

  The bureau's Web site remained inaccessible for more than three hours Feb. 18 because vandals overwhelmed it by transmitting spurious signals.

  "The FBI has made comments they're going to find who's responsible for the latest attacks, so it's a bit of war between the hackers and the bureau," said James Williams, a Chicago lawyer and former FBI agent who specialized in investigating computer crimes.

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• Why everyone should sign digital documents
  Time: 06:54 EST/11:54 GMT News Source: Network World Fusion Posted By: Alex Harris

  E-mail and electronic documents have become a normal part of today's business. Unfortunately, signing those documents using digital signatures is still relatively rare.

  Why should everyone sign e-mail and other forms of electronic communication?

  The problem is that forging messages is ridiculously easy in today's technical environment. Take word-processing documents, for example. The properties sheet can be filled out any way you want; it is simple to enter somebody else's name or somebody else's company in the appropriate fields. Send such a document to a recipient who assumes that the identification of the author must be correct, and you can have a real problem.

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• Intel has more chip set woes
  Time: 06:52 EST/11:52 GMT News Source: ComputerWorld Posted By: Alex Harris

  Intel Corp. will be about two months late shipping server and high-end workstation components to its customers due to problems the company is experiencing with the memory hubs used with its 820 and 840 chip sets.

  The memory hubs generate errors when either chip set is used with synchronous dynamic RAM, which utilize Error Checking and Correcting (ECC) circuitry.

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• Microsoft Office to get overhaul with upgraded voice support in SAPI 5.0
  Time: 06:50 EST/11:50 GMT News Source: Infoworld Posted By: Alex Harris

  Microsoft has several ambitious goals for the next version of Office, its desktop applications suite: enhance user collaborative options, leverage rich voice technology, and further the company's foray into the application-hosting arena.

  Office 10, the code name for the next version, is scheduled to go into beta testing this summer and to ship sometime in 2000, according to sources.

  Microsoft wants to reshape Office to better accommodate workgroup and collaborative applications, according to analysts familiar with the company's plans. One contentious issue has been which back-end platform can best anchor the product. Although SQL Server and Site Server are among the choices, Exchange seems to be the leading candidate, sources said.

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• Anti-DoS efforts take hold at universities
  Time: 06:48 EST/11:48 GMT News Source: Infoworld Posted By: Alex Harris

  A group of security companies and organizations are expected to announce an initiative next week that will provide universities with free software to help guard themselves against being turned into "zombies" used to launch a distributed (DoS) denial of service attack.

   SSH Communications Security, the SANS Institute, RSA Security, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and MindBright Technologies will detail plans on Monday to equip more than 130 colleges and universities in the United States with free encryption software via SSHs (Secure Shells).

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• AOL 5.0 Draws More Fire
  Time: 06:40 EST/11:40 GMT News Source: PC World Posted By: Alex Harris

  America Online has been slapped with another class action lawsuit claiming that version 5.0 of its Internet access software renders operating systems unstable and, in some cases, inoperable. The suit also claims that the software effectively blocks computer users from being able to connect to competing Internet service provider networks.

  The most recent suit was filed Thursday in King County Superior Court in Washington State and contends that AOL released version 5.0 knowing that it could alter a computer operating system, according to a written statement released by Hagens Berman, the law firm handling the lawsuit.

  AOL 5.0 has left users "drowning in software problems," says the statement.

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• Who Wants to Have Multimillion Pixels?
  Time: 06:37 EST/11:37 GMT News Source: PC World Posted By: Alex Harris

  Like prime-time game shows, digital camera pixels continue to proliferate. The latest examples of the megapixel trend come from Ricoh, which this week announced two digicams promising high resolution.

  Ricoh's RDC-6000 is aimed at consumers, while the RDC-7 is designed for professionals and others who want more multimedia functions. Ricoh will announce pricing upon release this summer of the Windows- and Macintosh-compatible digicams.

  The RDC-6000 has a 2.14-megapixel CCD that lets you capture still shots in resolutions ranging from 640 by 480 pixels to 1600 by 1200 pixels. Interpolation, the process of inserting "synthetic" pixels between existing ones, boosts the camera's resolution up to 2000 by 1500 pixels, according to the company. The camera stores pictures as JPEGs on SmartMedia cards (an 8MB card is included).

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• Microsoft goes on a bug hunt
  Time: 18:05 EST/23:05 GMT News Source: ZDNet Posted By: Alex Harris

  In the past week, Microsoft security teams have found themselves facing a sudden flurry of security problems. Since February 16 -- the day before Microsoft officially launched Windows 2000 -- Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) has issued five separate official security bulletins, with independent analysts delivering several more. To top the week off, anti-virus vendors announced the discovery of the first confirmed Windows-based distributed denial of service (DDoS) tool.

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• Microsoft Announces Exclusive Allegiance Pre-Order Programs
  Time: 15:57 EST/20:57 GMT News Source: Press Release Posted By: Byron Hinson

  In anticipation of the launch of Allegiance in April, Microsoft today announced exclusive pre-order programs with Electronic Boutique (http://www.ebworld.com/) and Babbages & Software Etc. (http://www.gamestop.com/).

  By pre-ordering Allegiance at store locations, or online at EB World or Gamestop, gamers will receive an additional month of free Allegiance Zone membership ($9.95 value), plus either a Limited Edition Strategy Guide (for pre-orders from Electronic Boutique) or 16 Microsoft Allegiance Collector Cards (for pre-orders from Babbages & Software Etc.). Combine this offer with the one month of free Allegiance Zone membership already available with the retail purchase of the game, and players receive two free months of larger-scale games, special events, persistent scoring and rankings, and exclusive new content. Microsoft encourages gamers to place their pre-orders early, as all offers are based on limited quantities.

  The game is currently in open beta, and players are welcome to download the game and joins thousands of other combatants in interstellar war. For details visit:

  http://www.microsoft.com/games/allegiance/beta.htm

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• Microsoft to patch Active Directory
  Time: 15:25 EST/20:25 GMT News Source: CNN Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Less than a week after releasing Windows 2000, Microsoft is already working on a patch for Active Directory that addresses problems with the directory's user administration features.

  While Microsoft was engaged in another directory tit-for-tat last week with Novell, company officials acknowledged that at least one fix for Active Directory will be in the first Win 2000 service pack. No date has been set for the shipment of the service pack.

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• Judge rejects key Microsoft motion in Java dispute
  Time: 15:19 EST/20:19 GMT News Source: News.com Posted By: Byron Hinson

  The possibility of a trial in the long-standing Sun vs. Microsoft Java technology dispute moved closer to reality yesterday as the judge rejected a key Microsoft motion. U.S. District Judge Ronald Whyte rejected Microsoft's request for summary judgement regarding the independent development of Java, Microsoft said. Whyte also dismissed a Sun counter motion.

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• New G400 Drivers for Windows 9*
  Time: 14:47 EST/19:47 GMT News Source: E-Mail Posted By: Byron Hinson

  To go with the earlier news about the Matrox drivers for Windows 2000, Matrox have today released the Windows 9* updated drivers:

  Notes and known issues:
  - Please read the release notes before downloading this driver.
  - Please uninstall your current driver using this procedure before installing the above driver. To uninstall 5.xx drivers you need our uninstaller utility.

  Download It Right Here

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• Microsoft Buy Up xbox.com
  Time: 10:50 EST/15:50 GMT News Source: E-Mail Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Interesting to see that as of yesterday Microsoft owns the xbox.com domain. Is this now the basic confirmation that they are working on the X-Box? (The worst kept secret in the console world)

  Microsoft Corporation (XBOX4-DOM) One Microsoft Way Redmond, WA 98052 US

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• Final G400/G200/G100 Windows 2000 Driver
  Time: 05:39 EST/10:39 GMT News Source: E-Mail Posted By: Alex Harris

  This one slipped by us last night. Matrox has released a final Windows 2000 driver for their G*** range of cards:

  Notes and known issues:
  - Please read the release notes before downloading this driver.
  - This is a Windows 2000 driver for G400, G200 and G100 products (excluding Marvel and MMS products). Drivers for older Matrox products are contained within the latest build of Windows 2000.

  Download it right here

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• Windows Media in Windows 2000 fuels adoption of streaming media in the enterprise
  Time: 04:07 EST/09:07 GMT News Source: Microsoft Daily News Posted By: Alex Harris

  Microsoft® Windows Media™ is helping to make streaming media a mainstream enterprise communications tool. Major corporations such as Aetna Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co., J.D. Edwards & Co., SAS Institute Inc., Creative Artists Agency and Charles Schwab are realizing significant benefits from their use of Windows Media for corporate communications. And the new Windows® 2000 Server gives enterprises more reasons to employ digital media. Windows Media Services built into Windows 2000 Server and Windows 2000 Advanced Server is designed to offer an easy-to-deploy, high-quality, cost-effective streaming solution for enterprises.

  "As the use of digital media continues to explode in corporations and on the Internet, customers demand four key factors: outstanding quality, rock-solid reliability, easy deployment and the ability to scale quickly," said Jim Allchin, group vice president of the Platforms Group at Microsoft. "Customers moving to Windows 2000 are now discovering that Windows Media Services offers the best platform for enterprise streaming."

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• Windows PCs become tools for DoS attacks
  Time: 04:04 EST/09:04 GMT News Source: IDG.net Posted By: Alex Harris

  Computer hackers may quietly be infecting thousands of Windows PCs in preparation for another wave of DoS (denial of service) attacks of the type that brought high-profile Web sites like Yahoo and eBay to their knees two weeks ago, security experts warned Thursday.

  James Madison University discovered last week that 16 Windows PCs on its student network had been infected with what looked like a variant of "Trinoo," one of a handful of viruses that hackers have been using to launch DoS attacks. The university has sent a sample of the virus, which it has dubbed "Wintrinoo," to the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) for analysis, the university said on its Web site Thursday.

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• First Win 2000 Virus Found
  Time: 04:00 EST/09:00 GMT News Source: PC World Posted By: Alex Harris

  As Microsoft developers were diligently developing code for Windows 2000, so too were developers from the dark side--virus writers--busily preparing the first batch of their infectious code.

  Windows 2000 made its public debut only last week. Already, the first native virus has surfaced for the brand-spanking-new operating system. The virus is dubbed W2K.Infis.4608, according to a report from Symantec, the maker of Norton AntiVirus. Luckily, or unluckily, this virus only spreads if you're online and logged on with administrator privileges, says Charles Rennert, director of research at Symantec's AntiVirus Research Center.

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• Quartz: The Palm-killing PDA?
  Time: 03:56 EST/08:56 GMT News Source: ZDNet Posted By: Alex Harris

  Is the stand-alone PDA dead? With the unveiling of the Symbian consortium's Quartz devices at the CeBIT computer show in Germany this week, analysts say current handheld devices, such as the Palm, face competition from a new breed of integrated handheld device that packs telephony, streaming multimedia, Web browsing and Palm-like computing.

  By Christmas, European cell-phone subscribers should be able to upgrade this year's digital handset to a Quartz "communicator," giving them the full functionality of a Palm organizer or handheld Windows CE device at no extra cost.

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• Professor allowed to post encryption program online
  Time: 03:54 EST/08:54 GMT News Source: CNet News Posted By: Alex Harris

  The United States will let a computer scientist put instructions for writing a powerful computer data-scrambling program on his Web site, but his high-profile lawsuit challenging U.S. export restrictions on encryption may continue, his lawyer said today.

  President Clinton in January dramatically liberalized once-strict U.S. export limits on encryption programs, which scramble information and render it unreadable without a password or software "key." The changes recognized that encryption, used in everything from Web browsing software to cellular telephones, has become essential for securing e-commerce and global communications.

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• Group urges Yahoo to shut alleged racist Net clubs
  Time: 03:50 EST/08:50 GMT News Source: CNet News Posted By: Alex Harris

  The Anti-Defamation League is accusing Net heavyweight Yahoo of violating its own rules by allowing anti-Semitic and racist Web communities to proliferate on its service.

  The ADL, an organization devoted to fighting anti-Semitism and bigotry, said it asked Yahoo in a letter last month to shut down communities on its Yahoo Clubs service belonging to members who support prominent hate groups, including the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, the National Association for the Advancement of White People, and the World Church of the Creator.

  Today, the ADL said it isn't satisfied with Yahoo's performance.

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• 3Com hits new high in anticipation of Palm debut
  Time: 03:47 EST/08:47 GMT News Source: CNet News Posted By: Alex Harris

  Shares of networking equipment firm 3Com climbed 6.9 percent to a record amid rising enthusiasm for next week's initial public offering of shares in its Palm unit. 3Com rose $5.38 to $83, surpassing a previous high of $80.13 on Dec. 9, 1996. Earlier, shares hit a new high of $83.38. The stock traded as low as $20 in April 1999. Shares of Santa Clara, Calif.-based 3Com have tripled since it unveiled plans for the Palm IPO and spin-off in September.

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• Microsoft Unveils Internet Explorer for the Pocket PC at CeBIT
  Time: 15:41 EST/20:41 GMT News Source: Press Release Posted By: Byron Hinson

  At CeBIT today Microsoft Corp. previewed Microsoft^® Internet Explorer for the Pocket PC, the most full-functioning Web browser software available for handheld devices to date. Pocket Internet Explorer creates the foundation for a rich Internet experience on Pocket PCs, enabling customers to easily access any Web site any time, anywhere - whether they are connected to the Internet or viewing content offline. Pocket PCs were first previewed by Microsoft Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates at the Consumer Electronics Show in January and are expected to ship in the first half of this year from hardware manufacturers that include Casio Computer Company Ltd., Compaq Computer Corp., Hewlett-Packard Co., Siemens Communications Devices, and Symbol Technologies Inc.

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• New MSN Messenger Released (2.1)
  Time: 15:35 EST/20:35 GMT News Source: E-Mail Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Version 2.1 is a minor service release which includes the following changes:
  
  

  • Fixes for Windows 2000
  • A new logo
  • Support for MSN Internet Access users
  • Other miscellaneous bug fixes

  Download it here

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• Report: Lessig skeptical about Microsoft breakup
  Time: 13:26 EST/18:26 GMT News Source: ZDNet Posted By: Alex Harris

  Harvard law professor Lawrence Lessig, whose views carry weight with the federal judge hearing the Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) antitrust trial, is skeptical about proposals to break up the software giant, the Washington Post reported Thursday.

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• MS, Honeywell team on e-hub
  Time: 13:24 EST/18:24 GMT News Source: ZDNet Posted By: Alex Harris

  Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) has made an equity investment in MyPlant.com, a division of Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE: HON) that acts as a hub for manufacturing businesses. MyPlant will use Microsoft software and services, including Windows DNA, a distributed application development platform. Microsoft services such as MSN will also be linked to MyPlant. Specific financial details of the deal were not released.

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• Electronic Arts to buy DreamWorks, Microsoft venture
  Time: 13:22 EST/18:22 GMT News Source: CNet News Posted By: Alex Harris

  Electronic Arts today said it will acquire DreamWorks Interactive from Microsoft and DreamWorks SKG. Under the deal, DreamWorks Interactive will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Redwood City, Calif.-based Electronic Arts, a video game developer and publisher, the companies said in a statement. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

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• ICQ hack raises security concerns
  Time: 13:20 EST/18:20 GMT News Source: CNet News Posted By: Alex Harris

  In the latest security breach affecting the popular ICQ instant messaging service, a Web consultant says his account was held hostage this week by a hacker who took over his user number and tried to pry a ransom out of the deal.

  America Online, which purchased ICQ last year, confirmed that an unauthorized person this week made off with a long-time customer's password and user identification number (UIN). The company returned the UIN to the original owner today.

  "I stood to lose four years' worth of business contacts," said Dale Ficken, a Webcasting consultant, who was locked out of his account for two days.

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• ActiveWin2k: Microsoft Windows 2000 Platform Help Files Page Added
  Time: 11:18 EST/16:18 GMT News Source: Active Network Posted By: Robert Stein

  We have added a page for the newly released help files for the Microsoft Windows 2000 Platform. You can download English versions of the help files (as they are on the Installation CD) for Windows 2000 Professional, Server, or Advanced Server. These files are big: 7.8 MB, 19.4 MB, and 20.3 MB, respectively.

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• ActiveWin2k: Microsoft Windows 2000 Hardware Compatibility List Updated
  Time: 11:18 EST/16:18 GMT News Source: Active Network Posted By: Robert Stein

  We have updated Microsoft's Windows 2000 Hardware Compatibility List, this is list is essential information for what will - and won't work in their newest operating system! Please note this text file is about 2 MB.

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• ActiveWin2k: Microsoft Windows 2000 Section Update
  Time: 11:18 EST/16:18 GMT News Source: Active Network Posted By: Robert Stein

  We have updated various pages throughout the Windows 2000 site - some we didn't put separate posts about; Windows 2000 Patches, Windows 2000 Utilities, and our Windows 2000 Links Page. Be sure to check them out!

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• ActiveWin2k: Windows 2000 FAQ Updated
  Time: 11:09 EST/16:09 GMT News Source: Active Network Posted By: Robert Stein

  We have updated our Windows 2000 FAQ to include some new released important information on Dual Booting, Dynamic Disks, File Manager and more! Be sure to check it out!

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• ActiveWin2k: Microsoft Windows® 2000 Professional operating system: Review
  Time: 11:09 EST/16:09 GMT News Source: Active Network Posted By: Robert Stein

  We have posted our 18 page review of Windows 2000 Professional Edition. Here is a snippet from the review:

  During the past few months Activewin has been a leader in presenting our readers with the most up to date features and improvements that Windows 2000 has to offer. We are proud to present you all with our full and complete review on the just released Windows 2000 Professional Operating System.

  Some may believe Windows 2000 is the successor of Windows 98SE. The fact is that Windows 2000 is the replacement for Microsoft's Windows NT business and network platform. Windows 2000 is a full operating system based on a full NT 32 bit engine that allows high end multi tasking, high security levels, and advanced networking features while still supporting DirectX and all the latest hardware.

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• Sony Licenses Microsoft Mobile Explorer
  Time: 10:01 EST/15:01 GMT News Source: Press Release Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Microsoft Corp. and Sony-Digital Telecommunication Europe today announced that Sony's CMD-Z5 GSM mobile phone, presented this week at CeBIT 2000, will be powered by Microsoft^® Mobile ExplorerÔ , Microsoft's modular software platform for Internet-enabled mobile phones.

  Sony is one of the first companies to demonstrate the Microsoft Mobile Explorer wireless communication platform, which includes a dual-mode (WAP and HTML), operating system-independent microbrowser to give users unparalleled access to both WAP and HTML Web sites via their mobile phone. Microsoft Mobile Explorer is an extensible and flexible platform that is a key component of Microsoft's end-to-end wireless strategy to provide mobile Internet solutions that utilize technologies such as Microsoft Exchange Server, the BackOffice^® Server and MSN™ Mobile Services.

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• MS PocketPC in your pocket by April
  Time: 09:59 EST/14:59 GMT News Source: ZDNet Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Just in time for tax season, consumers will be able to use Excel on their PocketPCs. Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) is preparing an April launch of, and a new suite of applications for, its PocketPC. The Redmond, Wash., software maker hopes that consumers will find PocketPC's user interface and application software, code-named Rapier, an easier-to-use successor to its Palm-size PC.

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• MS claims victory over hack attack
  Time: 08:07 EST/13:07 GMT News Source: The Register Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Microsoft.com has beaten off a hacker attack, the company claimed yesterday, possibly somewhat rashly, considering the number of people out there who fancy a challenge.

  The attack, which the company says took place on Tuesday, is claimed to have only caused a short slowdown in page viewing of 3-7 per cent, and was unable to melt the scads of hardware Microsoft has ready and waiting for bright-eyed and bushy-tailed users downloading vast Windows Update files.

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• Joint Exclusive: Microsoft Develops Mars...MSN Mars
  Time: 02:27 EST/07:27 GMT News Source: Active Network/Betanews Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  Microsoft has begun development on next-generation Internet software, code-named 'Mars', for its MSN online service. Secretly in the works for months, Microsoft refused to acknowledge the existence of Mars until ZDNet's John C. Dvorak announced the software in a recent column. BetaNews and ActiveWin have combined efforts to give you an inside look at the new software.

  Read more

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• Microsoft Security Bulletin (MS00-013) - Misordered Windows Media Services Handshake
  Time: 00:00 EST/05:00 GMT News Source: Microsoft Product Security Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  Microsoft has released a patch that eliminates a security vulnerability in Microsoft(r) Windows Media Services. The vulnerability could allow denial of service attacks against a streaming media server.

  The handshake sequence between a Windows Media server and a Windows Media Player is asynchronous, because certain resource requests are dependent on the successful completion of previous ones. If the client-side handshake packets are sent in a particular misordered sequence, with certain timing constraints, the server will attempt to use a resource before it has been initialized and will fail catastrophically, causing the Windows Media Unicast Service to crash.

  Read more

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• Europe Probes MS on Antitrust
  Time: 18:42 EST/23:42 GMT News Source: Wired Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  As Microsoft readies for Thursday's launch of Windows 2000 in Germany, the software maker is already fending off questions about whether the new operating system violates European antitrust law.

  The European Union's director general for competition, Mario Monti, is examining whether Microsoft bundled Windows 2000 with its own server software and middleware products to deny competitors access to the new operating system.

  his would potentially allow Microsoft to "leverage its dominance ... onto other markets [that] include server operating systems and ultimately e-commerce," Monti said at a press conference.

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• MS, Nortel And Safeco Team On Trading Network
  Time: 18:29 EST/23:29 GMT News Source: ZDNet Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  Nortel Networks Corp. (NYSE: NT), Safeco (Nasdaq: SAFC), Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT ) and Concur Technologies (TRADES: CNQR ) have teamed up to create a trading network for small businesses. Nortel and Safeco will make a $35 million investment in Concur, and Microsoft will provide marketing and technical resources.

  The new Concur Business advantage network will allow small business to buy products and services through an electronic network from suppliers such as Compaq Computer Corp., Manpower, and Software Spectrum.

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• Official Crimson Skies Website Goes Live
  Time: 18:27 EST/23:27 GMT News Source: Press Release Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Microsoft today announced that the official Web site for Crimson Skies, the highly anticipated action flight game developed by Microsoft and Zipper Interactive, is now live at http://www.microsoft.com/games/crimsonskies/. Shipping in the summer of 2000, Crimson Skies plunges gamers into a world of aerial piracy and daredevil adventures set during the golden age of aviation.

  The official Crimson Skies site offers gamers a wealth of information, including a detailed features list, story background, a multitude of screen shots, and concept art. The site also offers downloadable audio clips and AVIs from the game, as well as a behind the scenes interview with John Howard, the lead designer for Crimson Skies.

  To view the official Web site for Crimson Skies, go to:

  http://www.microsoft.com/games/crimsonskies/

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• Fighter Ace II Update
  Time: 18:27 EST/23:27 GMT News Source: Press Release Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Microsoft today announced the release of the first update for Fighter Ace II, the MSN Gaming Zone's (http://www.zone.com/) massively multiplayer WWII air combat game. Fighter Ace II allows more than 300 pilots to fight in a single air combat arena from the cockpit of any one of more than 40 World War II vintage fighters and bombers.

  The update adds five new airplanes to the deadly Fighter Ace II arsenal. Featuring the tank-busting Ki-84 Hayate (Japan), the IL-2 Sturmovik (Russia), and the Ju-87G Stuka (Germany), the update greatly enhances Territorial Combat game play. Both the IL-2 Sturmovik and Ju-87G Stuka will be featured in the Zone's next large-scale historical scenario, the Battle of Kursk, which was the largest tank battle in history. Details on this event will be announced in the coming weeks. The Fighter Ace II update also offers new 3D cockpits, improved tank functionality, squad tags, and more.

  Registered players of Fighter Ace II must download this update in order to continue play. For more information on the Fighter Ace II update, visit:

  http://www.zone.com/fighterace/

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• Flink Ink: When does integration cross the line? Win2K Time Service
  Time: 17:54 EST/22:54 GMT News Source: Active Network Posted By: Robert Stein

  "I'm one of those stubborn perfectionists who feel it necessary to keep clocks set to the correct time.  Now, I admit, this does little to get me places on time, nor does it help me meet deadlines.  I'm also one of those people that believe ideas are far more important than schedules, appointments, phone calls or other interruptions to my daily dreams.  I don't let artificial time limits stop me from thinking through a new idea any more than I count on the clock to start me thinking about one.  Clocks may be an obsession, but they usually don't give me ideas!  Except possibly in the case of this article.  Maybe this is the exception that proves the rule!..."

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• Flink Ink: DoJ Criminalizes Adoption of Open Standards
  Time: 17:54 EST/22:54 GMT News Source: Active Network Posted By: Robert Stein

  "About a decade ago, international atomic energy researchers around the word were frustrated in their efforts to exchange research papers. The Internet provided a useful transport medium, but the act of downloading the data and formatting it for reading was pure tedium.The whole process was frustrated by incompatible text and graphic file formats, often vendor proprietary corporate secrets, and further complicated by the arcane command language and awkward protocols used in exploring file directories on remote computers via the Internet. A young researcher at the European Center for Energy Research (CERN) had an insight: Why couldn’t exploring the Internet be as easy as exploring the “help” files on a Microsoft Windows PC or an Apple Macintosh?..."

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• Windows 2000 Step-by-Step Guides Section Opened
  Time: 13:26 EST/17:26 GMT News Source: Active Network Posted By: Alex Harris

  I have added some step by step guides to the Windows 2000 section. It is half way done, but there is a lot of information there at the moment and I will be adding to it later on today and probably during the week. The step by step guides range from Management Services to Active Directory.

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• System Mechanic 3.2 Released
  Time: 13:26 EST/17:26 GMT News Source: E-Mail Posted By: Alex Harris

  iolo technologies announces a new set of tools for Windows 95, 98, 2000, and NT. System Mechanic 3.2 is a complete suite of twelve utilities, providing the essential preventative maintenance today’s PC’s require.

  System Mechanic delivers the tools necessary to search for, diagnose, and solve the modern problems with today’s computers. As well as reacting to existing issues, System Mechanic allows the user to conveniently and preemptively maintain their computer in order to prevent problems from reoccurring, increase speed, and ensure reliability.

  You can download a trial version here.

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• SuSE 6.3: A First Look
  Time: 13:23 EST/17:23 GMT News Source: CPU Review Posted By: Alex Harris

  CPU Review have whipped up a rather large review of SuSE 6.3. Here is a snippet of the review:

  I liked the lists of supported SCSI / RAID / Parallel / Video devices, and I was particularly impressed with the list of unsupported video cards - that was definitely a nice touch.

  The back of the box showed a nice KDE screen shot, a positive quote from Linux Journal, and that SuSE was voted the "Best System Software" at the March '99 LinuxWorld Expo in San Jose. The new YaST2 installation tool is (justifiably) touted as a major new feature, as is the revised manual and installation support. Mention is made of hardware 3D accelerated support for 3dfx, Matrox and nVidia.

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• WinZIP 8.0 Beta 2 Available
  Time: 13:20 EST/17:20 GMT News Source: Beta Bites Posted By: Alex Harris

  A new WinZIP 8.0 Beta 2 is available today. You can view the major changes from the last build here. WinZIP is the popular compression and zip utility with version 8.0 adding significant improvements to e-mailing zip programs.

  Download WinZIP 8.0 Beta 2 Build 3046 (1.19MB).

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• Microsoft Exchange 2000 Conferencing Server in RC1
  Time: 13:18 EST/17:18 GMT News Source: Beta Bites Posted By: Alex Harris

  Microsoft Corporation on Tuesday announced a new member of the Exchange Server family, Exchange 2000 Conferencing Server, which was first revealed in WinInfo on February 12th. Additionally, Exchange 2000 hit a milestone this week, with the availability of Release Candidate 1 (RC1).

  If you're interested in evaluating Exchange Server 2000 RC1, please visit the Microsoft Web site. Currently, Beta 3 is available, but look for RC1 soon.

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• Netscape Communicator 4.72 Available
  Time: 13:16 EST/17:16 GMT News Source: Beta Bites Posted By: Alex Harris

  A new Netscape Communicator 4.72 has been released. As of Netscape Communicator 4.72, Enterprise Calendar is no longer included with your download. Netscape will no longer bundle Netscape Calendar as part of the Communicator download package, but those who have the calendar can continue to use it. Netscape 4.72 is structured so that its installation will not remove or disrupt the existing Calendar client or its data. However, you must follow the instructions on this page to keep the calendar.

  Download Netscape Communicator 4.72 (18MB) for Windows or for Mac.

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• Dual Virtual Systems Don't Duel
  Time: 13:14 EST/17:14 GMT News Source: PC World Posted By: Alex Harris

  Want to hedge your bets on taking the plunge to Windows 2000? Consider installing a $309 utility that lets a single PC run several operating systems simultaneously.

  You can download a 3MB beta version of VMware 2.0 for a 30-day trial. With it, you can run two operating systems--and many applications--simultaneously.

  Most multi-OS utilities require you to reboot each time you switch operating systems, says Reza Malekzadeh, a VMware spokesperson. Powerquest's BootMagic (sold separately or bundled with PartitionMagic) and the free Linux Loader take that approach.

  VMware 2.0 lets you boot each OS once and leave it, plus applications, running.

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• Poor architecture let Web attacks succeed, CA says
  Time: 13:12 EST/17:12 GMT News Source: Computerworld Australia Posted By: Alex Harris

  The success of the recent distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks against leading Web sites was largely caused by the poor design of the systems architecture supporting those sites, according to Alan Lloyd, manager of strategic development for Computer Associates International's (CA's) OpenDirectory group.

  Systems that are set up to have a single point of entry have no chance of fending off coordinated attacks like those that disabled Web sites belonging to Amazon.com, eBay and others, Lloyd said at a press conference here yesterday.

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• Pirates lag behind Win2K launch
  Time: 13:10 EST/17:10 GMT News Source: Computerworld Hong Kong Posted By: Alex Harris

  Local press reports that the Customs Department seized publicly-available, pirated copies of Microsoft’s Windows 2000 shortly after its debut last week may be misleading.  Computerworld Hong Kong’s search of the market suggests that few, if any, of the illegal copies currently in the market are copies of the final version of the new OS.  Rather, the pirated copies were made from the beta or RC (release-to-candidate) versions, which have been available for months. 

  Computerworld Hong Kong found that while some pirated copies of Windows 2000 available in local computer malls state on the cover that they are a beta or RC version, most do not. (The RC version is the release immediately preceding the final version.) 

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• Windows 2000: The word from SMEs
  Time: 13:08 EST/17:08 GMT News Source: Computerworld Australia Posted By: Alex Harris

  Concerns over the stability of Windows 2000 are preventing many small and medium enterprises from implementing the operating system.

  This distrust of the OS's reliability, founded on the notorious instability of previous versions of Windows NT, will see a lot of corporates waiting until they're sure all the bugs are ironed out before installing the upgrade.

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• Windows 2000 Migration Made Easy
  Time: 13:06 EST/17:06 GMT News Source: PC World Posted By: Alex Harris

  Now that you can buy Windows 2000, you may find that the price involves more than the software. New customers of Windows 2000 will pay a total of $14 billion for migration services, according to the Gartner Group. And there are plenty to choose from.

  The debut of Windows 2000 this month was accompanied by a bevy of tools and services designed to help everyone from small offices to extra-large enterprises migrate fearlessly to the successor to Windows NT, Microsoft's business and server operating system.

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• Intel previews Itanium, Willamette systems
  Time: 13:04 EST/17:04 GMT News Source: IDG.net Posted By: Alex Harris

  Intel today previewed here at CeBIT systems running powerful forthcoming processors, including a Willamette prototype chip running slightly faster than 1.5GHz.

  In a presentation focused on electronic business concepts, interspersed with technology demonstrations of systems powered by yet-to-be-released processors, Intel executives showed off an 800MHz version of the 64-bit Itanium chip and a 1GHz Pentium III.

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• Microsoft Moves to Combat Software Piracy in State With the Nation's Highest Piracy Rate: Mississippi Company Continues Anti-Piracy Efforts in Alabama
  Time: 13:02 EST/17:02 GMT News Source: Press Release Posted By: Alex Harris

  Microsoft Corp. today announced that it has filed software piracy lawsuits against two companies in Alabama and three in Mississippi. The lawsuits, alleging copyright violations and trademark infringements, were filed against businesses in both states for allegedly distributing counterfeit and/or infringing Microsoft^® software. The lawsuits aim to protect customers and legitimate distributors from the effects of software piracy.

  "With Mississippi having a high software piracy rate, honest businesses like mine are finding it difficult to compete, often losing bids to resellers who sell counterfeit software at unreasonably low prices," said Mike Treat, president of American Computer Services Inc. "My company is committed to following the rules and is grateful to all software companies that make a concerted effort to stop those who distribute illegal software."

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• Microsoft Announces Relationship With BroadBand Office To Offer Bundled Services Solutions
  Time: 13:00 EST/17:00 GMT News Source: Press Release Posted By: Alex Harris

  Microsoft Corp. today announced a strategic relationship with BroadBand Office Inc., a leading national provider of next-generation communications services, to integrate advanced applications solutions for BroadBand Office customers across the country.

  The agreement, which follows a $25 million equity investment from Microsoft in BroadBand Office, will provide BroadBand Office customers with the most advanced applications technology and services by leveraging BroadBand Office's existing broadband network and core Microsoft^® technologies. The solutions, which will be developed on the Microsoft platform, will focus on messaging, e-commerce, Web- and application-hosting, and media services. BroadBand Office will use the funds from the equity investment to develop these Microsoft-based application solutions and expand its nationwide build-out.

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• Visio Products Now Available Through Microsoft
  Time: 12:58 EST/16:58 GMT News Source: Press Release Posted By: Alex Harris

  Microsoft Corp. today announced that, effective Feb. 17, all Visio^® products and volume licensing agreements are now available through existing Microsoft sales channels, having been acquired with Microsoft's purchase of Visio Corp. earlier this year. The products will be retailed as standalone applications and will be known as Microsoft^® Visio 2000 Standard, Technical, Professional and Enterprise editions.

  "One of our primary goals for this merger was to capitalize on Microsoft's sales and marketing expertise to make it easier for customers to license Visio products. This announcement marks our first step toward achieving that goal," said Morris Beton, director of marketing in the Visio Division of Microsoft. "As with any merger, rapid integration of products, people and systems is key and our plan is continue at this increased pace to reach more customers both in the United States and internationally."

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• Microsoft's ActiveX Too Active?
  Time: 12:56 EST/16:56 GMT News Source: Wired Posted By: Alex Harris

  Microsoft says it will fix its ActiveX installation program after a Spanish Web developer discovered that it modifies users' computers without asking for their permission.

  The problem affects Windows users running Internet Explorer versions 4 and 5. Juan Cuartango found the problem on 16 February and immediately worried that data on his computer could be exposed by Microsoft's Active Setup without his knowledge.

  "The basic security issue is that Microsoft has the power to freely run code in our systems," Cuartango said in an email to Wired News on Tuesday. "If I configure my Internet Explorer to warn me whenever a signed component is offered to me, I want to be warned. Microsoft software will bypass this security configuration setting."

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• Bust Microsoft? My Word!
  Time: 12:54 EST/16:54 GMT News Source: Wired Posted By: Alex Harris

  The beleaguered, software-enslaved masses and the unscathed also-rans are cheering -- if not sculpting statues -- for Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson Wednesday, following his latest right uppercut to Microsoft-and-getting-softer's chin.

  Macintosh diehards are singing Kumbaya, just like the old days. Linux geeks (hey, let's throw out that two-word phrase now, lest there be an anti-redundancy trial on the road ahead) are doing the lambada in the Ramada. Scott McNealy's beaming. Larry Ellison is ... well, let's not imagine right now what Larry Ellison is doing.

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• Microsoft, DOJ Await Antitrust Decision
  Time: 05:05 EST/10:05 GMT News Source: TechWeb Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  It's all over but for the waiting. Microsoft and the Justice Department mopped up their final arguments on Tuesday, and U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson is expected to rule in four to six weeks, attorneys said.

  "Antitrust is about a simple but critical notion for the American economy, and that is, we want competition on the merits," said assistant attorney general for Antitrust Joel Klein on the courthouse steps at the close of the case.

  Microsoft spent millions to develop what they admit was a no-revenue product, Klein said. "Would anyone in a competitive environment be able to do that? Only a monopolist who can tie and bolt and exclude can do that. Those were antitrust violations in 1890. They are violations today," Klein said.

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• Microsoft Security Bulletin (MS00-012) - Patch Available for "Remote Agent Permissions" Vulnerability
  Time: 04:59 EST/09:59 GMT News Source: Microsoft Product Security Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  Microsoft has released a patch that eliminates a security vulnerability in an installation routine associated with Microsoft® Systems Management Server (SMS). If particular features have been enabled, the vulnerability could allow a user to gain elevated privileges on the local machine.

  Read more

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• Windows 2000, SQL Server on Compaq servers set world record on e-commerce benchmark
  Time: 05:16 EST/10:16 GMT News Source: Microsoft Daily News Posted By: Alex Harris

  Microsoft has proven it can help businesses keep up with the increasing demands of e-commerce.

  Microsoft last week announced a world-record result on a key database benchmark that shows the power of Microsoft® technologies for e-commerce solutions. Windows® 2000 Advanced Server and SQL Server™ 2000 Enterprise Edition set the fastest-ever Transaction Processing Performance Council (TPC) TPC-C benchmark result for any hardware, operating system or database. Running on 12 Compaq 8-way ProLiant servers, the platform was more than one and a half times as fast as the nearest competitor, at a price much lower for the performance than the previous record holder. Together with the scalability features in the upcoming SQL Server 2000, the TPC-C benchmark results indicate that customers will soon enjoy unprecedented Internet scalability on the Windows 2000 platform.

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• Studies show Site Server 3.0 Commerce Edition gets performance boost with Windows 2000
  Time: 05:15 EST/10:15 GMT News Source: Microsoft Daily News Posted By: Alex Harris

  E-commerce sites need scalability to serve growing traffic.

  And with Microsoft® technologies and Compaq ProLiant servers, Web sites can serve more customers without adding more servers—reducing their total cost of ownership. Separate tests conducted by Compaq and Microsoft show that Microsoft Site Server 3.0 Commerce Edition gains a significant performance boost when running on Microsoft Windows® 2000.

  "Compaq's and Microsoft's findings show that Windows 2000 will enable Microsoft Site Server Commerce Edition customers to accommodate a larger number of concurrent shoppers on a given configuration," said Rebekkah Kumar, lead product manager for Site Server Commerce Edition at Microsoft. "The ability to deliver more capacity with fewer servers offers valuable benefits to a business in terms of total cost of ownership."

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• Hot off Microsoft Press: Windows 2000 titles for IT pros, developers, end users
  Time: 05:14 EST/10:14 GMT News Source: Microsoft Daily News Posted By: Alex Harris

  Microsoft® Windows® 2000 is now widely available.

  And so are Microsoft Press® publications that can help IT pros make the most of the new operating system.

  Microsoft Press is offering titles designed to help people use, deploy, support and develop for Windows 2000. The offerings range from hands-on tutorials for end users to in-depth technical references for IT pros. The titles can be purchased in bookstores and software stores throughout the United States and Canada, or online via the Microsoft Press Web site. Customers can also order toll-free at (800) MSPRESS (677-7377) in the United States and (800) 667-1115 in Canada. Information on Windows 2000 products is available at the Microsoft Press site.

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• Companies committed to deploying Windows 2000 on nearly 2 million PCs, servers
  Time: 05:13 EST/10:13 GMT News Source: Microsoft Daily News Posted By: Alex Harris

  Microsoft® Windows® 2000 became available in stores yesterday, and it's already a hit with many customers.

  Companies such as General Motors, Wells Fargo Bank and Merrill Lynch have committed to installing the new operating system on nearly 2 million PCs and servers. And more than 250 corporations worldwide have already deployed the operating system in a variety of mission-critical environments. These early adopters are experiencing benefits such as better reliability, manageability and scalability and lower total cost of ownership. They also expect a return on their investment in less than one year.

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• AMD rolls out 550MHz K6-2 chip
  Time: 05:12 EST/10:12 GMT News Source: ZDNet Posted By: Alex Harris

  Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE: AMD) Tuesday boosted its K6-2 processor lineup with the introduction of a 550MHz K6-2 chip. The processor accelerates the chip's clock speed over AMD's own 533MHz K6-2 chip as well as Intel Corp.'s (Nasdaq: INTC) 533MHz Celeron. The chip will cost $189 each in 1,000 unit quantities, AMD officials said.

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• Microsoft unleashes last-ditch defense
  Time: 05:10 EST/10:10 GMT News Source: ZDNet Posted By: Alex Harris

  Microsoft Corp. started off its final day in court in the ongoing U.S. Department of Justice antitrust case against the company Tuesday by emphasizing that a settlement is still not outside the realm of possibility.

  But by the end of the day, after representatives for the 19 states and the U.S. government presented their case before U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson, and Microsoft attorneys presented theirs, the two parties seemed as far apart as ever.

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• Judge compares Microsoft control to Rockefeller's
  Time: 05:08 EST/10:08 GMT News Source: ZDNet Posted By: Alex Harris

  The judge in Microsoft Corp.'s (Nasdaq: MSFT) antitrust trial on Tuesday likened the software giant to the sweeping Standard Oil monopoly, which was broken up by government trust busters nearly 90 years ago. In a further blow to Microsoft, U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson said he saw little difference between the Windows operating system used on most personal computers and the 19th-century oil monopoly of tycoon John D. Rockefeller.

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• Where America hangs out online: AOL
  Time: 05:06 EST/10:06 GMT News Source: ZDNet Posted By: Alex Harris

  America Online Inc. continued to dominate Internet traffic during January, accounting for 38 percent of the total time U.S. residents spent online. Survey firm Media Metrix said Tuesday that Americans spent 57.5 billion minutes online last month, an average of 13.2 hours per person.

  This is the first time the company has measured the amount of time spent online.

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• Texas Instruments launches new fast chips
  Time: 05:04 EST/10:04 GMT News Source: ZDNet Posted By: Alex Harris

  Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN), the world's largest supplier of semiconductor chips used in mobile phones, introduced two new chips designed to enable high-speed Internet access for homes and for use in the next generation of Web-based wireless gadgetry. The two digital signal processors (DSPs) the C64x and the C55x, are at the center of TI's efforts to maintain and increase its dominance of the DSP market, which is one of the fastest growing segments of the semiconductor industry. Analysts said that for TI the move is crucial as it seeks to remain well ahead of the pack in the mobile-phone chip business.

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• MS slips 'simplicity' into PocketPC
  Time: 05:02 EST/10:02 GMT News Source: ZDNet Posted By: Alex Harris

  While 3Com Corp.'s Palm Computing division launched its much anticipated color Palm IIIc on Tuesday, Microsoft Corp. was preparing to show off another piece of its rival Palm-size platform, now called PocketPC.

  At the giant CeBIT tech-industry trade show in Germany this week, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) will show a new Internet Explorer, called Pocket Explorer, for PocketPC products. The browser will allow users to view sites offline, automatically reformatting sites for better viewing on its small screen.

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• "Plausible benefit" is key phrase in Microsoft trial
  Time: 05:00 EST/10:00 GMT News Source: CNet News Posted By: Alex Harris

  The federal antitrust trial with Microsoft has waged for months, and the case now could be boiling down to a question of "plausible benefit" for consumers.

  Plausible benefit has emerged as one of the key issues, and most commonly uttered phrases, in the final oral arguments of the trial, taking place today in front of a relatively uncrowded courtroom here. The trial is taking place while settlement talks continue in Chicago.

  The phrase refers to what occurs when companies with monopoly power combine, or tie, products together. One of the major claims in the case is that Microsoft combined its Internet Explorer Web browser to its Windows operating system in an effort to dominate the browser market.

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• Microsoft may talk up X-box next month
  Time: 04:58 EST/09:58 GMT News Source: CNet News Posted By: Alex Harris

  Microsoft chairman Bill Gates may disclose his company's plans to participate in the game console market soon, but analysts cautioned that any statements are likely to be long on promise and short on details.

  Gates may unveil plans for the X-box, a game-console project based around PC technologies, when he delivers a keynote speech at the Game Developer's Forum in San Jose, Calif., on March 10, according to various published reports. This event happens a few days after the Tokyo debut of Sony's anticipated PlayStation2 console. The X-box announcement could also come at Seattle's coming GameStock convention, other sources have said.

  Microsoft has been meeting with hardware makers and game publishers since at least last October to drum up support for the X-box project.

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• Microsoft Rivals Team to Sync Data
  Time: 18:48 EST/23:48 GMT News Source: PC World Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  Partnership could advance mobile Net, but where is Microsoft?

  British handheld computer maker Psion said on Tuesday it had set up an alliance to establish a lingua franca for all computers to exchange data, but Microsoft is missing from its list of partners.

  If it works, it could banish the irritation for consumers of trying to keep neat and updated all their files, e-mail messages, or address lists spread across a growing number of computers--at work, at home, on a laptop, or on a mobile phone.

  Analysts say it could be a key advance of the mobile Internet, unlocking networked data for all wireless devices.

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• Windows 2000 Migration Made Easy
  Time: 18:45 EST/23:45 GMT News Source: PC World Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  A handful of advisors, vendors are ready with migration tools to help you move to Microsoft's new OS.

  Now that you can buy Windows 2000, you may find that the price involves more than the software. New customers of Windows 2000 will pay a total of $14 billion for migration services, according to the Gartner Group. And there are plenty to choose from.

  The debut of Windows 2000 this month was accompanied by a bevy of tools and services designed to help everyone from small offices to extra-large enterprises migrate fearlessly to the successor to Windows NT, Microsoft's business and server operating system.

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• Microsoft, DOJ: Far apart as ever?
  Time: 18:40 EST/23:40 GMT News Source: ZDNet Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  Microsoft Corp. started off its final day in court in the ongoing U.S. Department of Justice antitrust case Tuesday by emphasizing that a settlement is still not outside the realm of possibility.

  But as representatives for the 19 states and the U.S. government presented their case before U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson, and Microsoft attorneys presented theirs, the two parties seemed as far apart as ever.

  Following Tuesday's court appearance, Jackson is expected to issue a ruling in the case. If Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT ) is found to be in violation of antitrust laws, appropriate remedies, if any, will be suggested.

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• Judge Keeps Hammering on MS
  Time: 18:37 EST/23:37 GMT News Source: Wired Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  The judge in Microsoft's antitrust trial Tuesday likened the firm's control of its Windows software to John D. Rockefeller's sweeping Standard Oil monopoly of the 19th century, casting doubt on a company defense.

  "Mr. Rockefeller had fee simple [absolute] control over his oil," District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson told Microsoft lawyer, John Warden.

  "I don't really see a distinction," the judge said of the comparision with the Windows operating system used on most personal computers.

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• Gates To Address GDC
  Time: 18:15 EST/23:15 GMT News Source: E-Mail Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates will convey the opening address at the Game Developers Conference in San Jose, Calif. on March 10. The address will focus on Microsoft's ongoing commitment to the entertainment market, thus the "X-Box" is now almost certain to be mentioned. A complete list of the sessions and lecturers is available here.

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• Microsoft and Yahoo! Enable Millions of Users To Publish Web Sites Quickly and Easily on Yahoo! GeoCities
  Time: 16:15 EST/21:15 GMT News Source: Press Release Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Microsoft Corp. announced that starting today millions of Yahoo! users can effortlessly save Microsoft^® Office 2000 documents to their personal home pages on Yahoo! GeoCities (http://geocities.yahoo.com/), Yahoo!'s personal publishing area. Yahoo! GeoCities users can now publish their Office documents, including Microsoft Word 2000 documents, Excel 2000 spreadsheets, PowerPoint^® 2000 presentations and FrontPage^®2000-created Web pages, to the Internet quickly and easily using Office 2000, which makes Web publishing as simple as saving an Office document to a hard drive.

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• Microsoft Enhances Industry-Leading Host Integration Offering With Host Integration Server 2000
  Time: 16:15 EST/21:15 GMT News Source: Press Release Posted By: Byron Hinson

  In a move that further substantiates its commitment to customer satisfaction in the host database and application integration industries, Microsoft Corp. today announced availability of the beta 1 version of Host Integration Server 2000. Traditionally, integration technologies have provided users with only a single technology to solve myriad host integration scenarios. With Microsoft^® Host Integration Server 2000, formerly code-named "Babylon," Microsoft provides developers with the breadth of flexible integration technologies needed to solve host integration challenges.

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• New Microsoft Exchange 2000 Conferencing Server Enables "Meetings Without Walls"
  Time: 16:14 EST/21:14 GMT News Source: Press Release Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Microsoft Corp. today announced Microsoft^® Exchange 2000 Conferencing Server, the newest member of the Exchange 2000 product line, as well as the first release candidate of Exchange 2000. Exchange 2000 Conferencing Server enables knowledge workers to collaborate with anyone, anywhere by providing data, video and voice conferencing across intranets and the Internet. It also provides integrated scheduling and management services to help maximize network bandwidth and availability. The Exchange 2000 product line is the reliable, scalable and easy-to-manage platform for messaging and collaboration that brings knowledge workers and information together. A cost-effective platform for "meetings without walls," Exchange 2000 Conferencing Server reduces travel costs, improves productivity and enables any time, anywhere collaboration for knowledge workers.

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• MSN HomeAdvisor Traffic Soars to New Levels in January, Resulting in Record Number of Leads for Brokers
  Time: 16:14 EST/21:14 GMT News Source: Press Release Posted By: Byron Hinson

  The MSN™ HomeAdvisor™ online real estate service, the award-winning guide to finding homes and loans on the Web, today announced record-breaking traffic numbers for the month of January, according to Media Metrix Inc. HomeAdvisor received more unique visitors in January than in any other month since the site launched in summer 1998, with traffic up 37.5 percent from December 1999 and more than 160 percent from January 1999, making it the nation's fastest-growing real estate site.

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• MediaBay and Microsoft Announce Launch of Unique Affiliate Program for Spoken Word Content
  Time: 16:13 EST/21:13 GMT News Source: Press Release Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq "MSFT") and MediaBay Inc. (Nasdaq "MBAY") today announced that MediaBay has chosen Microsoft^® Windows Media™ as the digital media technology for an innovative affiliate program that will allow participating Web sites to offer high-quality audio streams from such classic radio shows as "The Jack Benny Program," "The Abbott and Costello Show," "War of the Worlds" and "Suspense." MediaBay chose Windows Media because of clear customer preference. On MediaBay sites where streaming content is offered in both Real and Windows Media formats, customers are choosing Windows Media streams more than two-thirds of the time.

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• Screenshots - Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force
  Time: 16:48 EST/21:48 GMT News Source: Active Gaming Posted By: Per Kristensen

  Michael Webster from Activision was nice enough to send me a couple of screenshots from their upcoming 3D shooter based on the Star Trek universe, Voyager: Elite Force. In this game you join the crew of Federation starship USS Voyager, which is lost in the Delta Quadrant. Voyager: Elite Force uses id Software's Quake 3 engine which has been modified to fit the needs. The game is being developed by Raven Software. I don't know if all of these shots have been seen before but I thought I would post them anyway.

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• Microsoft case in last hearing before final ruling
  Time: 10:42 EST/15:42 GMT News Source: News.com Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Microsoft and the government today face off for the last time as the landmark antitrust case goes before the judge for a final ruling. Legal experts expect little from final oral arguments that will affect the case's outcome. The larger drama may be ongoing settlement talks, which are simultaneously on the verge of breakdown and breakthrough.

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• Capita & MS push Win2k to schools market
  Time: 10:41 EST/15:41 GMT News Source: The Register Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Microsoft has signed a deal to help it flog Windows 2000 to British schools. The software giant today hooked up with outsourcing company Capita Group to offer a range of online services through an education portal. As part of the deal, Microsoft and Capita will jointly develop a site for the education market – called education.uk.com, according to the FT - due to launch later this year.

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• No settlement, so MS and DoJ return to court
  Time: 10:40 EST/15:40 GMT News Source: The Register Posted By: Byron Hinson

  The parties in the Microsoft trial meet again in Judge Jackson's court again today after a failure to reach a settlement during Judge Posner's mediation. Although a settlement is still possible, it is clear that the DoJ has stayed resolute and that the plaintiff states have not weakened.

  The deliberate leaks so far, despite Judge Posner's warnings to the sides not to brief the media, suggest that Gates and Ballmer have drawn the line at the splitting of Microsoft, but that most other things are negotiable. For its part, the DoJ evidently does not think that a conduct remedy would work, in view of Microsoft's previous behavior concerning timely disclosure, amongst other things.

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• AMD Athlon at heart of Microsoft X-Box spec
  Time: 08:20 EST/13:20 GMT News Source: The Register Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Upstart graphics firm Gigapixel has beaten off S3, Nvidia, ATI and other big-name rivals to win the contract to design the graphics chipset for Microsoft's X-Box. And it in turn has awarded the contract to build the chipset to AMD.

  An AMD Athlon CPU, a hard drive, DVD ROM and a modified version of Windows will form the other major components of the X-Box, according to sources cited by the IT Network. The Gigapixel graphics chipset in combination with the Athlon CPU will, apparently, provide the X-Box with enough power to exceed the performance of the Sony PlayStation 2 by six to eight times. Moreover, the Microsoft console will be less expensive and likely to be compatible with existing Windows applications.

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• MS loses Korean action over Windows trademark
  Time: 08:20 EST/13:20 GMT News Source: The Register Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Microsoft has lost an attempt to get a 1980 Korean trademark for "Window" overturned in the Patent Court after the Supreme Court ordered a re-trial last May. The trademark is held by diary and stationery producer Yangji Total Stationery Co of Seoul. The company has a turnover of $36 million, is the country's largest diary producer, and has the Window diary concession for 2002 World Cup merchandise.

  Microsoft challenged the trademark in 1993, and offered a paltry $1,000 for it in 1996, but to no avail. Microsoft may now find itself faced with a damages suit, and may have to stop using the name Windows in South Korea. It has been a long slog for Kim Yong Se, the president of Yangji, who has a trademark for Window in both English and Korean script.

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• Review: Dragon NaturallySpeaking Preferred
  Time: 06:00 EST/11:00 GMT News Source: Active Network Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  I have posted my review of the Dragon NaturallySpeaking Preferred Voice Recognition Program. Here is a snippet of the review:

  As I am always on the look out for another time saving program I was very excited in receiving and reviewing the new Dragon NaturallySpeaking Preferred voice recognition program.  We would like to thank the people over at Dragon Systems, Inc. for providing us with this program to evaluate and review.

  Dragon NaturallySpeaking lets you talk to almost any Windows program instead of typing. As you speak, your words are transcribed onto your screen and into your document. You can dictate into Microsoft Word, Corel WordPerfect, e-mail programs, personal information organizers, and virtually any other program in which you normally type. You can also use your voice to start programs, open menus, and click buttons. If you use Internet Explorer to browse the Web, you can use Dragon NaturallySpeaking to follow links and go to favorite sites by voice.

  Also as an added challenge, all text entries in this review will be entered using the Dragon NaturallySpeaking program.

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• MS talks sputter as deadline looms
  Time: 18:31 EST/23:31 GMT News Source: USA Today Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  Combatants in the Microsoft antitrust trial see little chance of a settlement before Tuesday's closing arguments, though analysts say a deal in coming weeks is still possible.

  The two sides set Tuesday as an unofficial deadline because the case would then be back in the hands of Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson. Microsoft and government lawyers have made little progress in talks mediated by Judge Richard Posner.

  Representatives of the Justice Department and 19 states have proposed a breakup of the company; Microsoft has suggested limited conduct restrictions, say people familiar with the matter. Still, a pact could be struck in the weeks before Jackson hands down a ruling on whether the company violated antitrust laws.

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• Microsoft to sack temp workers after one year
  Time: 11:14 EST/16:14 GMT News Source: The Register Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Microsoft has replied to criticism that it exploits temporary workers by employing them for years -- making them virtual permanent workers -- while denying them the benefits associated with a permanent position. This so-called 'permatemp' status saves the obscenely wealthy software giant millions in fringe-benefit costs each year.

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• Compaq ProLiant Servers running Microsoft SQL Server and Windows 2000 Produce Record-Breaking Performance
  Time: 08:58 EST/13:58 GMT News Source: Press Release Posted By: Byron Hinson

  By last August, when Compaq unveiled its eight-way ProLiant 8800 and 8500 systems for the burgeoning e-business market, the company had already achieved remarkable performance results from a single machine running SQL Server -- proving that customers could rely on this low-cost solution for high-performance e-business applications.

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• Microsoft Showcases Windows 2000 Benefits for the Grocery Industry, With an Eye on the Future of E-Business
  Time: 08:56 EST/13:56 GMT News Source: Press Release Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Microsoft Corp. will use the opportunity of Marketechnics 2000 to showcase the advantages that the Windows^® 2000 operating system offers retailers. In addition, the event will highlight Microsoft's efforts to promote retail integration and standardization through industry alliances, resulting in best-of-breed customer solutions.

  The combination of MicrosoftÒ Windows 2000 and Windows DNA represents a winning platform for customers in the grocery industry. Working in tandem, these technologies offer companies multiple benefits, including reduced development and training costs, increased business adaptability, and overall ease of implementation.

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• Allegiance Information
  Time: 08:49 EST/13:49 GMT News Source: VE3D Posted By: Byron Hinson

  The Allegiance Zone has posted up a page with all of the specific ship/weapon/shield data information in Microsoft's massively multiplayer space combat sim, Allegiance. There is also a new mini-guide over at Allegiance Zone with advice for lag/lockup.

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• Windows 2000 Active Directory Bug
  Time: 08:47 EST/13:47 GMT News Source: ZDNet Posted By: Byron Hinson

  In a competitively strategic move aimed at casting a pall on the launch Windows 2000, Novell published a report outlining a security hole in Microsoft's flagship operating system. While few people would argue that the timing of this report entitled "Windows 2000 Security Issue: Problems with Limiting Administrative Access" was accidental, the report does raise some serious issues with Windows 2000's Active Directory. This week, BugNet's testing verified Novell's findings. Microsoft vehemently denies that this is a security bug, stating "After assessment, Microsoft has determined that the issue raised on Friday [February 11, 2000] by Novell is not a security vulnerability. Instead, it appears to be a misunderstanding of the NT security model."

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Read more of the past months news in our News Archive for December and January News.

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