• Microsoft Windows Updates
  Time: 22:16 EST/02:16 GMT News Source: E-Mail Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  The Windows Update page has a couple of new updates for downloading.

  Internet Explorer File Location Update: The file location used to download Internet Explorer components and updates has changed. Installing this update will ensure that you have continued access to these downloads.

  NetMeeting 3 Service Pack 1: Service Pack 1 provides a smaller, easier to use interface, a web based directory for finding others, data security, as well as many other performance and ease-of-use benefits.

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• T-online Adopts Windows Media as Digital Media Platform
  Time: 19:23 EST/24:23 GMT News Source: Active Network Posted By: Robert Stein

  Microsoft Corp. and T-Online today announced that T-Online, the largest Internet service provider in Germany, has adopted Microsoft^® Windows Media™ Technologies as a digital media platform and will use Windows Media for streaming and downloading digital media for its new broadband services.
  

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• Windows 2000 Licensing for Terminal Services Page Added
  Time: 18:08 EST/23:08 GMT News Source: Active Network Posted By: Robert Stein

  We have added a Windows 2000 Licensing for Terminal Services Page; this page explains how the Terminal Services component of the Windows® 2000 Server operating system delivers the Windows 2000 Professional desktop and the latest Windows-based applications to a wide variety of desktops, including those that normally would not be able to run Windows.

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• Windows 2000 Server License Types Page Added
  Time: 18:08 EST/23:08 GMT News Source: Active Network Posted By: Robert Stein

  We have added a Windows 2000 Server License Types Page; this page includes all the information about licenses for the Windows 2000 server and also lists which Client Access Licneses (CALs) are available.

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• Windows 2000 Hardware Compatability List Updated
  Time: 18:08 EST/23:08 GMT News Source: Active Network Posted By: Robert Stein

  We have updated the Windows 2000 Hardware Compatability List; this comprehensive list designated by Microsoft notes which Hardware Devices are compatible with Windows 2000. Be careful - 500 KB.

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• Windows 2000 Certified Program List Updated
  Time: 18:08 EST/23:08 GMT News Source: Active Network Posted By: Robert Stein

  We have updated the Windows 2000 Certified Programs Page, these are programs tested by an independent testing agency that guarantee the programs have been developed from a set of guidelines determined by Microsoft.

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• Windows 2000 - More Tips & Tricks
  Time: 17:55 EST/22:55 GMT News Source: Active Network Posted By: Byron Hinson

  We have added four more Windows 2000 tips and tricks to the Windows 2000 tips section, we will be adding tips regularly as we have quite a large amount to post. So keep checking back daily for more updates.

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• IBM PCs Get Embedded Security Chip
  Time: 15:54 EST/20:54 GMT News Source: PC World Posted By: Alex Harris

  IBM has begun shipping some PCs, notebooks, and workstations with an embedded security chip containing public and private "keys" that can be used to encrypt e-mail and files. The systems also come preloaded with Microsoft's Windows 2000 operating system, to be launched formally on February 17, with new security features of its own that complement the chip, IBM says.

  The chip comes soldered onto the motherboard of certain PC 300 desktops and Intellistation workstations, as well as the ThinkPAD 600X notebook computer. IBM is also offering a smart card security kit that allows the computers to be outfitted with an extra level of security that requires users to insert a credit card-like passkey into a special reader before gaining entry.

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• What Will Windows 2000 Really Cost?
  Time: 15:52 EST/20:52 GMT News Source: PC World Posted By: Alex Harris

  Customers who have well-established procedures for managing their desktops should find moving to Windows 2000 less expensive and less complex than those who have not, according to a new study.

  The study, released last week by The Meta Group consulting firm in Stamford, Connecticut, concludes that well-organized companies can trim up to $450 off the average per-desktop cost of upgrading to Win 2000 Professional, the desktop version of the operating system slated to ship next month.

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• Who Will Jump to Windows 2000?
  Time: 15:50 EST/20:50 GMT News Source: PC World Posted By: Alex Harris

  Next month's release of Windows 2000 will prompt companies to make critical decisions about the future of their desktop strategies and computing architectures. As users decide whether to go through the expense and aggravation of upgrading their desktop PCs to make them suitable for Windows 2000 Professional, thin-client vendors are using the opportunity to press their argument for abandoning the "fat" client model. With the trend toward centralized computing, the idea of upgrading desktops for Windows 2000 is giving IT departments pause for thought.

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• Pentium IIIs Reach a Warm 1 GHz
  Time: 15:48 EST/20:48 GMT News Source: PC World Posted By: Alex Harris

  Intel claims that a Pentium III processor can achieve a clock speed of 1 GHz while running at room temperature, and will present a paper at a closely watched technical conference next month to describe the process, an Intel spokesperson said on Friday.

  Intel has demonstrated a 1-GHz processor in the past using special cooling equipment. Producing a chip that can operate at that speed in real-world conditions will allow Intel to sell the part commercially for use in desktop PCs, the Intel spokesperson says.

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• Online wedding gift registry walks down e-commerce aisle with Windows DNA platform
  Time: 15:42 EST/20:42 GMT News Source: Microsoft Daily News Posted By: Alex Harris

  Here comes theweddinglist.com. It's all dressed up with fine gifts from around the world. And it has a new platform—Microsoft® Windows® DNA. The wedding registry and shopping site, which makes it easy to register for—and buy—wedding gifts, recently migrated from a UNIX-based system to the Windows DNA platform, including Windows NT® Server 4.0 Enterprise Edition, SQL Server™ 7.0 Enterprise Edition and Site Server 3.0 Commerce Edition. The New York-based company made the switch because it needed a site that's faster, more reliable and easier to update and maintain.

  "We've been getting comments from lots of users about how fast the site is," said Sean Phillips, chief technology officer at Etensity, an e-commerce solution provider that built The Wedding List site. "The Microsoft architecture has made that speed possible."

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• MS sells stake in SCO, and a chapter closes
  Time: 15:40 EST/20:40 GMT News Source: The Register Posted By: Alex Harris

  Microsoft has apparently sold its entire 12.3 percent holding in SCO. The indication on SEC Form 144 is that the sale took place around 12 January, with Goldman Sachs acting for Microsoft. Strictly speaking, the filing is an indication of a proposal to sell, and not a definitive notice.

  The timing of the sale is certainly interesting. Had Microsoft decided to sell its holding on 27 December, it would have done so when the share price was at a 52-week high of $35.875. But by 12 January, the price was around $25, and sank on 12 January when Goldman Sachs started selling the shares.

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• Gates-funded vaccine plan seeks allies
  Time: 15:38 EST/20:38 GMT News Source: ZDNet Posted By: Alex Harris

  A humanitarian fund bankrolled by billionaire Bill Gates that aims to vaccinate all the world's children against common diseases appealed Monday for more donations from public and private donors. 'Businesses, government and philanthropists should work together to provide the life-saving vaccines that we take for granted around the world,' said Gates, chairman of computer software giant Microsoft.

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• Windows 2000 vs. the world
  Time: 15:36 EST/20:36 GMT News Source: ZDNet Posted By: Alex Harris

  Windows 2000 vs. Netware. I thought the petty battles were over. I thought Microsoft and Novell were mature enough not to put up those puerile comparison checklists highlighting the merits of their operating systems. I thought by now they'd realize that the people getting a kick out of those checklists aren't the business decision makers.

  But they're at it again. Microsoft has had one such article up for more than a year and a half (msdn.microsoft.com/library/backgrnd/html/msdn_ntsvsnetware5.htm). Novell is just getting into it with a scathing rebuttal at www.novell.com/advantage/w2k.html. Some things never change.

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• More detours on Microsoft’s Windows roadmap
  Time: 15:33 EST/20:33 GMT News Source: ZDNet Posted By: Alex Harris

  Microsoft seems to be rethinking its entire Windows roadmap, including its plans for future versions of its integrated Internet Explorer browser. Last week, the company confirmed that it has tabled its “Neptune” and “Odyssey” Windows updates, preferring to converge its code base around the NT kernel with a future version of Windows that is code-named “Whistler.” Last Monday, the company sent an email to beta testers awaiting its next Internet Explorer beta – formerly code-named “Haley,” and currently referred to as “Mars” – notifying them that the Mars beta is postponed.

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• Faster, cheaper memory on the horizon
  Time: 15:22 EST/20:22 GMT News Source: CNet News Posted By: Alex Harris

  A faster version of PC memory will start to appear in workstations and server computers toward the end of the year, a development that could present yet another challenge to the much-hyped Rambus memory technology.

  Although the clamor isn't universal, a number of executives and analysts are predicting that the technology with an unwieldy name--Double Data Rate Dynamic Random Access Memory, or DDR DRAM--is in line to become the de facto standard for computer memory.

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• T-Online Adopts Windows Media as Digital Media Platform
  Time: 10:03 EST/15:03 GMT News Source: Press Release Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Microsoft Corp. and T-Online today announced that T-Online, the largest Internet service provider in Germany, has adopted Microsoft^® Windows Media™ Technologies as a digital media platform and will use Windows Media for streaming and downloading digital media for its new broadband services.

  T-Online will offer content in Windows Media in the coming months, which will include music-on-demand services, audio and video news broadcasts, and the integration of hosting services using Windows Media-based servers for their content partners in Germany. In addition, T-Online will distribute Windows Media Player through its leading consumer online service CDs and will promote Windows Media Player on its T-Online portal at http://www.t-online.de/. The relationship with T-Online further extends the reach and consumer availability of the Microsoft Windows Media platform in Europe. More than 50 million users have downloaded the Windows Media Player worldwide, and it is available in 24 languages.

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• MS enforces Win2k TS licensing via Web 'Clearinghouse'
  Time: 10:02 EST/15:02 GMT News Source: The Register Posted By: Byron Hinson

  A new, largely unnoticed feature of Windows 2000 takes control of client licensing out of the hands of network administrators, and transfers it to Microsoft. The new system only applies to client licensing within Terminal Services for Windows 2000, but as Microsoft gets deeper into the application rental/services business, it provides a glimpse of the shape of Microsoft licensing to come.

  Terminal Services for Win2k includes Terminal Services License Management (TSLM), which is a mechanism for ensuring that any device initiating a Win2k Terminal Services session has a Win2k licence or a CAL (Client Access License). This is the case for non-Microsoft clients as well as for Microsoft ones. As Microsoft puts it, prior to Win2k "management and assignment of CALs was left up to the system administrator, which led to the difficult problem of tracking purchased CALs against deployed devices."

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• Gates rules out outright MS purchase of content companies
  Time: 10:02 EST/15:02 GMT News Source: The Register Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Microsoft will not own "50 percent or 100 percent in businesses that are primarily driven by content activities", Bill Gates said in Davos, where he is attending the World Economic Forum. But co-operation agreements were possible, he said.

  Bernard Vergnes, chairman of Microsoft Europe expanded a little, and suggested that the strategy to be a pure software company was linked to Gates' assumption of the title "chief software architect". While it is true that the AOL-Time Warner merger was announced before Gates' job change, there is little evidence to suggest that the events were really linked. Microsoft is evidently breathing a little more easily - Vergnes called AOL an important Microsoft customer - now that AOL appears to be heading towards content rather than platform competition.

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• Bill Gates shot my Shark, says Ellison (again)
  Time: 10:01 EST/15:01 GMT News Source: The Register Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Oracle boss Larry Ellison has repeated claims that Bill Gates personally intervened to stop Digital's development of an NC, codenamed Shark. Answering a question at Upside's Showcase in Palm Springs, Ellison said that the Network Computer concept hadn't taken off because Bill Gates called Bob Palmer, then Digital CEO, and told him not to make them.

  Ellison has apparently been telling people this is the first time he's said this in public, but maybe this means that his view of "public" is different from most people's. In September 1998 he and a number of former Digital employees spoke to the New York Times (privately and separately, presumably) about the cancellation of Shark.

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• ActiveDVD: The Last Broadcast: Special Edition - Review
  Time: 07:37 EST/12:37 GMT News Source: ActiveDVD Posted By: Byron Hinson

  I have posted my review of the recently released creeper The Last Broadcast. Here is a snippet from the review:

  There has been some recent controversy surrounding The Last Broadcast. Why you may ask, well there was some animosity between The Last Broadcast and "The Blair Witch Project" camps. They are similar to each other in the way that they were filmed, both are done in a documentary style but the one that actually came first was The Last Broadcast, not perhaps surprisingly The Blair Witch Project. But as the final credits say "The story and characters depicted in this movie are entirely fictitious. But please don't tell anyone."

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• Microsoft Europe chief sees future in services
  Time: 02:09 EST/07:09 GMT News Source: ZDNet Posted By: Alex Harris

  Software giant Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) sees its future as making the Internet easier to use, differentiating itself from rival America Online (NYSE: AOL), which has placed its bets on developing online content, Microsoft's European chairman said on Sunday. "We see ourselves today and tomorrow as a software company, and we don't see ourselves any time in the short-(term) future considering buying a content company," Bernard Vergnes told Reuters at a forum of economic and political leaders in the Swiss mountain village of Davos over the weekend.

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• Linux: Belle of info appliances?
  Time: 02:09 EST/07:09 GMT News Source: ZDNet Posted By: Alex Harris

  Linux, the freely distributed operating system whose Cinderella story has riveted the market for Web servers, is ready to wear its glass slippers once again.

  The fairytale ball this time is the very posh information appliance market.

  Alluring, with its lack of license fees, open-source code and hordes of Web-savvy developers, Linux has been making serious inroads into a market that giant Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) hoped to make it own with Windows CE.

  Microsoft's problem: With info apps, no one cares about the OS's brand name. "The embedded OS market is a place where users have no idea what operating system they are running," said Chris Le Tocq, research director for industry watcher GartnerGroup Inc., who added that, because brand makes little difference, other factors -- such as price and developer support -- become most important.

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• "Serious" glitch hampers National Security Agency
  Time: 02:06 EST/07:06 GMT News Source: CNet News Posted By: Alex Harris

  The super-secret U.S. National Security Agency said its computer systems suffered a "serious" problem affecting their ability to process intelligence data for three days last week.

  The NSA, which eavesdrops on overseas conversations to monitor possible security threats to the United States, said the problem had been resolved and it was confident "that no significant intelligence information has been lost."

  But the agency noted that it took NSA technicians thousands of man-hours and some $1.5 million to get the computers up and running again at the agency's headquarters at Fort Meade, Md.

  As a result of the unprecedented blackout of information, analytical reports from Fort Meade that turn intercepted foreign telephone, cable and radio messages into meaningful data for the rest of government, were halted.

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• Clinton calls for nanotechnology investment
  Time: 07:34 EST/12:34 GMT News Source: Computer World Posted By: Alex Harris

  In his State of the Union speech last night, President Clinton called for funding a new technology that remains still somewhat in the realm of science fiction but could bring radical changes to the high-tech industry.

  Clinton never referred to "nanotechnology" by name, but he gushed about its capabilities, marveling at a technology that will someday produce "molecular computers the size of a tear drop with the power of today's fastest supercomputers."

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• 3Com donates $1 million to U.S. cities
  Time: 07:28 EST/12:28 GMT News Source: IDG.net Posted By: Alex Harris

  3Com Friday announced awards totaling $1 million in networking equipment and consulting services to 10 U.S. cities in a program aimed at bridging the digital divide. The money will be used to support computer and networking programs mostly in schools and libraries in 10 cities, 3Com said Friday in a news release issued at the U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting in Washington.

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• Play within a play
  Time: 07:28 EST/12:28 GMT News Source: Linux World Posted By: Alex Harris

  On January 10, the curtain suddenly and unexpectedly came down on a legal drama that was at the heart of one of the longest running feuds in all of techdom: Microsoft and Caldera announced a settlement just weeks before the lawsuit brought by the latter against the former would have finally gone before a jury.

  I spoke with Lyle Ball of Lineo and Caldera founder Bryan Sparks that very evening to learn what I could of this momentous, controversial, and perhaps historic settlement. Though both were forthright and open (at least as open as they could be), much of the story is hidden behind a cloak of silence dictated by the terms of the agreement.

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• Sony, Microsoft to invest in Japan Net bookstore
  Time: 07:14 EST/12:14 GMT News Source: Yahoo! Posted By: Alex Harris

  Japanese book store operator Bunkyodo Co Ltd said on Friday that investors including units of Sony Corp and Microsoft (NasdaqNM:MSFT - news) will invest in its online book store unit JBOOK.

  The announcement of the new investment, which will boost the capital value of JBOOK to 180 million yen ($1.72 million) from 105 million, sent Bunkyodo shares up 300 yen or 19.87 percent to 1,810 yen. Under the agreement, JBOOK will issue 1,500 new shares, out of which 200 shares each will go to Sony Music Communications, Microsoft's Japanese unit Microsoft Co, and Kadokawa Shoten Publishing Co Ltd .

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• Yahoo! close to racecar sponsorship
  Time: 07:12 EST/12:12 GMT News Source: CBS Marketwatch Posted By: Alex Harris

  The Formula One racing team Prost is close to sealing a sponsorship deal with Yahoo! Inc., ditching well-known French cigarette maker Gauloises as its main sponsor in favor of the U.S. Net portal, the London Sunday Telegraph reported.

  Motor racing "insiders" told the paper that Yahoo! (YHOO: news, msgs) has agreed to pay more than $25 million for a three-year deal. The Formula One racing world, which has relied on tobacco sponsorships for years, has been forced to look outside that industry in the wake of tough regulations on tobacco ads in sports from the European Commission, the paper said.

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• Tight chip supplies ahead for PC makers
  Time: 07:10 EST/12:10 GMT News Source: Yahoo! Posted By: Alex Harris

  Microchip supply chain problems in Asia caused by a major Taiwan earthquake may have temporarily hit profits for major U.S. PC makers, but analysts and executives in Asia warned that a capacity shortage was looming.

  Dell Computer Corp (NasdaqNM:DELL - news) warned of on Thursday that earnings would fall short of expectations due to tight component supplies and a Y2K-related sales drought. Gateway Inc (NYSE:GTW - news), which made a similar warning earlier in January, posted a profit slide on January 20.

  While both Dell and Gateway cited patchy supplies of Intel (NasdaqNM:INTC - news) microprocessors as chief among their shortage woes, computer industry executives in Asia said a powerful September 21 earthquake in Taiwan, a major components centre, also distorted the two PC makers' supply chain.

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• STD/InterAct Announce a PC Game Controller Design and Production Agreement with Microsoft
  Time: 21:59 EST/01:59 GMT News Source: Press Release Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  Some news which we just got off the wire. Fingers crossed it's the Hawk Headset Microsoft are working on:

  STD Manufacturing, Ltd./InterAct Accessories, a Recoton Corporation as well as the world's leading designer, producer, and marketer of video game accessories, today announced a new PC game controller design and production relationship with Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Washington. This is STD/InterAct's first project with Microsoft and it involves work on an exciting new PC game controller product scheduled for release in the fall of 2000.

  Bill Venne, Microsoft Program Manager, Game Devices, commented, "Our development group is pleased to be working with STD Manufacturing and InterAct Accessories. Their US, Hong Kong and Shenzhen, China teams are proving to be quite capable in supporting our needs throughout the entire production process. We are moving ahead rapidly with all phases of this product's development and we eagerly anticipate a successful and on-time launch of this exciting new Microsoft game controller."

  Stephen Chu, president of STD, said, "We're deeply honored to form an alliance with Microsoft and join in the development of a new game controller that will truly transform the PC gaming experience. Both companies bring an incredible range of know-how to the product development process and by working together we will certainly achieve historic levels of success."

  Todd Hays, president of InterAct, said, "The new relationship with Microsoft brings an exciting new dimension to our business. The range of opportunities this alliance unleashes is almost limitless. What a great way to begin the new millennium."

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• IntelliPoint 3.1 - Released
  Time: 21:55 EST/01:55 GMT News Source: E-Mail Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Released over 2 weeks earlier than we were told, but anyway here goes:

  Installing Microsoft® IntelliPoint software provides your Microsoft mouse with full functionality and gives you with the power to customize your mouse settings and work more efficiently. The IntelliPoint 3.1 software update includes Microsoft Windows® 2000 support.

  http://www.microsoft.com/products/hardware/mouse/driver/drivers_pc.htm

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• What's wrong with Microsoft security?
  Time: 18:30 EST/23:30 GMT News Source: ZDNet Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  The term "Microsoft's latest security glitch" has become a cliche. But it didn't have to.

  From Melissa to BubbleBoy to the ODBC driver bug to the Hotmail fiasco, security problems with Microsoft products and technologies have come to be accepted as a given. But why? Microsoft has plenty of programmers, resources, and expertise. The company certainly has more money than you can shake a stick at.

  So why does Microsoft keep dropping the ball?

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• Alpha version of Mozilla makes debut
  Time: 17:59 EST/22:59 GMT News Source: News.com Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  Mozilla.org has released the long-awaited "alpha" version of its open source Web browser, dubbed M13, in a signal that the troubled project may finally be putting some of its problems behind it.

  With the alpha, which is posted on Mozilla's Web site, the organization is expressing its confidence that the software is stable enough to be the primary browser and mail client for members of the development team, although it still will go through several versions before a final release. In general, an alpha version is not considered stable enough for the public, but Mozilla watchers may want to give it a test spin.

  The release is a major milestone for Mozilla, which was founded by Netscape Communications to handle the open source development of the Communicator browser. During its short history, the group has struggled to meet deadlines and has suffered several key employee defections.

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• Judge bars Disney from using Go.com logo
  Time: 17:55 EST/22:55 GMT News Source: News.com Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  A federal appeals court has ordered the Walt Disney Co. to immediately remove its Go.com logo from TV ads and Web sites until a trademark infringement trial brought by Internet search service GoTo.com is resolved.

  Yesterday's order from the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco reinstates an earlier temporary injunction that Disney had sought to overturn.

  A trial date has not yet been set, but preliminary hearings in the case are scheduled for March, GoTo representatives said today.

  "We feel vindicated," said GoTo attorney Pierce O'Donnell in Los Angeles. "It's a victory for us and particularly for our consumers, who are entitled not to be confused about which service they're using."

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• Microsoft patches Windows 2000 security hole
  Time: 17:44 EST/22:44 GMT News Source: News.com Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  Microsoft achieved a dubious milestone this week, releasing the first security patch for its Windows 2000 operating system, despite the fact that the OS is still a few weeks away from its official release.

  The software giant this week released the security patch for two problems affecting the Microsoft Index Server, a file search engine included with Windows 2000, as well as Windows NT and Internet Information Server. Windows 2000 is the company's new corporate operating system, designed to run computers for large companies, Web sites and e-commerce services.

  Although the function affected by the glitch is not specific to Windows 2000, the vulnerability is somewhat embarrassing for Microsoft, given its recent struggles with security issues, its promotion of Windows 2000 as the most secure and reliable operating system to date, and the fact that the product has not yet even been officially released.

  Taken together, the security problems would allow a malicious user to learn where administrative files are stored on a Web server, then view and read the files, a Microsoft representative said. The bugs do not allow anyone to actually modify or gain access to the files themselves.

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• ActiveWin Review: Microsoft PhotoDraw 2000 Version 2
  Time: 14:56 EST/19:56 GMT News Source: Active Network Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Julian has posted his review of Microsoft PhotoDraw 2000 Version 2. Here is a snippet:

  This new version of the professional Microsoft brand of graphics software, which fits on 3 CDs, comes with an 'Office 2000' like setup build around the Microsoft Windows Installer Technology. It'll help you to install, repair & manage PhotoDraw easily like all the other Microsoft Office 2000 software. The setup is almost fast except on some 'slow' computers (on my PII 300 laptop the setup takes 45 minutes to complete). Once the install is finished, you can launch the software without rebooting the computer (even if it’s recommended to reboot). The user interface of PhotoDraw hasn't changed a lot... You'll notice two new toolbar buttons (Web effects & Save) and a more customizable & office 2000 looks like interface. So old PhotoDraw users won't be disrupt... This new release of PhotoDraw adds a new PhotoDraw 2000 2.0 file format known as MIX 2 that is somewhat compliant with the first one (MIX 1).

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• Windows 2000 Gamers Review
  Time: 14:42 EST/19:42 GMT News Source: E-Mail Posted By: Byron Hinson

  R-POV has posted a review of the Windows 2000 operating system from the point of view of the gamer. Check it out here.

  Performance is much better than Win9x. Hmm, bet I've got you going "WTF?" there so I'll explain. Windows 2000 does require more system resources than Win9x. Therefore you're going to need a Pentium 133 or better, at least 64MB of RAM, and over 1GB of hard disk space to get Win2000 going on your system (of course those specs are subject to change in the final release) However, Win2000 handles what resources you have much more smoothly than 9x. For instance, there is much improved memory handling: the OS is much better at allocating and returning memory, a feature that comes from its WinNT lineage.

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• Music.com endorses Windows Media, disses MP3
  Time: 14:42 EST/19:42 GMT News Source: The Register Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Online retailer Music.com has chosen Windows Media Technologies as the "preferred format" for music distribution from its Web site, the companies announced Thursday.

  "Windows Media provides the mission-critical reliability and quality our users are demanding, and will help us become an indispensable online destination for all music lovers," Music.com senior VP Adam Somers predicted.

  The company cites a ZD Labs study which it claims "shows that audio files in the Windows Media format sound more like CD-quality audio in half the size of MP3".

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• AOL 6.0 details leaked on Web
  Time: 14:41 EST/19:41 GMT News Source: The Register Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Executives at AOL are in a frothy lather after a teenager published details about the company's yet-to-be-released software on his Web site. AOL 6.0 -- which is still on the drawing board -- isn't even supposed to be beta tested until May. It's scheduled for general release in August.

  According to CNET, the youth has already been slapped with a notice from lawyers to remove the unauthorised material from the site or face the consequences. They claim he must have obtained the information from an illegal source. It seems the confidential information was either hacked or leaked.

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• Oregon company makes top bid for Microsoft check
  Time: 17:24 EST/22:24 GMT News Source: News.com Posted By: Byron Hinson

  A tiny Portland, Ore., software company scored the winning bid of $7,100 this morning for a $500 check from Microsoft auctioned on eBay. Microsoft had given the check to Linux consultant Michael Chaney of Nashville, Tenn., who bailed the company out by paying its $35 domain name fee. Chaney listed the check on eBay on Jan. 17, pledging to match $2,500 on the condition that the money be used for charity.

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• Ann McLaughlin Named to Microsoft Board of Directors
  Time: 14:56 EST/19:56 GMT News Source: Press Release Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Microsoft Corp. today named Ann McLaughlin, chairman of the Aspen Institute and former U.S. Secretary of Labor, to its board of directors.

  "We are excited to have Ann join the board because of her unique expertise as a thoughtful leader on important issues impacting business and society," said Bill Gates, chairman of the board and chief software architect. "She brings to Microsoft a proven track record in government service, business and policy. Her knowledge and expertise will be a great asset to the Microsoft board."

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• Think tank urges MS breakup
  Time: 14:54 EST/19:54 GMT News Source: ZDNet Posted By: Byron Hinson

  The Progress & Freedom Foundation, a conservative Washington think tank, is suggesting a new way to slice and dice Microsoft. While it's hardly the first third party to weigh in on suggested remedies in the ongoing Department of Justice vs. Microsoft antitrust battle, the PFF made public on Thursday its proposal for a "hybrid" structural remedy for Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson to consider.

  The recommendation is unusual because organizations and lawmakers on the conservative side of the political spectrum have generally been against heavy-handed government remedies in the case.

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• MS unveils Win2K anti-piracy tools
  Time: 10:47 EST/15:47 GMT News Source: The Register Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Microsoft outlined the anti-piracy measures for its Windows 2000 Professional operating system today at the Computer Trade Show in Birmingham. The US giant, which let copies of the software loose into the OEM channel on Monday in readiness for next month's launch, has added a couple of natty little features to try and foil the counterfeiters.

  Firstly, it claims the CD media - which will only be available through the distribution channel and not to direct buyers - is very difficult to copy because it is entirely hologrammed. The company will also be shipping a hologrammed authenticity sticker with the product name and code of the machine with every copy of the software.

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• Mozilla Milestone 13 Released
  Time: 10:31 EST/15:31 GMT News Source: E-Mail Posted By: Byron Hinson

  A new version of Mozilla has been released (The engine for Netscape Navigator 5) which brings them up to Milestone 13. Make sure you take a look at the released notes and all of the other jargon before installing.

  http://www.mozilla.org/projects/seamonkey/release-notes/

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• 3.75 NVidia Detonator Drivers - Windows 2000
  Time: 10:26 EST/15:26 GMT News Source: E-Mail Posted By: Byron Hinson

  3D Chipset.com have posted for  the leaked 3.75 Nvidia Detonator Drivers for Windows 2000 for download Besides being leaked, they are also BETA, so download at your own risk.

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• Right-wing think tank says break MS Windows
  Time: 10:17 EST/15:17 GMT News Source: The Register Posted By: Byron Hinson

  A right-wing Washington think tank is to call for the breakup of Microsoft later today. The Progress & Freedom Foundation, which is run by former members of the Reagan and Bush administrations, has scheduled a press conference for 11am US Eastern time today to present Creating Competition in the Market for Operating Systems: A Structural Remedy for Microsoft.

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• "Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings" Crowned No. 1 On Holiday Sales Charts Around the World
  Time: 10:15 EST/15:15 GMT News Source: Press Release Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Microsoft Corp. today announced it has shipped over 2 million copies of the "Age of Empires® II: The Age of Kings™" game worldwide. One of the most anticipated games to be released in 1999, "Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings" quickly climbed the sales charts worldwide, reaching the top position in the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Australia and Korea.

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• More Windows 2000 - Tips & Tricks
  Time: 04:36 EST/09:36 GMT News Source: Active Network Posted By: Byron Hinson

  We have posted some more Windows 2000 tips and tricks now that the operating system is in a few people's hands. We will continue to add more each week.

  Visit the Windows 2000 section

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• Microsoft invests in another software hosting firm
  Time: 02:18 EST/07:18 GMT News Source: CNet News Posted By: Alex Harris

  Microsoft today said it has made a $5 million investment in Web hosting firm Interland. The Atlanta, Ga.-based firm will use the investment to develop products and services for the application hosting market, the companies said in a statement. Interland's efforts will be based on Microsoft's Windows NT and Windows 2000 operating systems.

  Interland, which provides companies with hosting services ranging from supporting a Web site to establishing an e-commerce storefront, also participates in Microsoft's Office application rental program, announced in November. Under the program, customers access Microsoft's Word, Excel, PowerPoint and other Office software over the Internet, instead of installing the applications on their PCs.

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• Worldwide Fiber plans IPO
  Time: 02:16 EST/07:16 GMT News Source: CNet News Posted By: Alex Harris

  Worldwide Fiber, a fiber-optic networking start-up that recently lured Microsoft's chief financial officer to take over the helm, announced its intention to offer stock in the company by mid-year. The company, which constructs networks for other communications carriers, gained notoriety last month when Greg Maffei joined  Vancouver-based Worldwide as its chief executive.

  Worldwide plans to offer shares on Wall Street as well as in Canada and Europe during the first half of the year, though details about the size of the offering, precise timing, per share pricing, and the investment banks that will serve as underwriters have not yet been determined, according to a spokeswoman for the firm. The company plans to use the proceeds to complete its North American and European networks and to develop related Internet and data services.

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• Microsoft Ventures Into Sales Software
  Time: 17:51 EST/22:51 GMT News Source: PC World Posted By: Alex Harris

  Microsoft this spring will debut a Web-based, sales-lead clearinghouse package for small businesses, dubbed ClearLead, that will import leads from Web sites and run with third-party and Microsoft server software.

  ClearLead will be aimed at small and medium-sized companies, Microsoft officials say. ClearLead is designed to be integrated with the offerings of third-party developers and solution providers for vertical industries. The ClearLead package has already garnered the support of the Microsoft Network CarPoint online Web site, the first service to commit to the ClearLead platform, Microsoft officials say.

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• Will Pocket PC Push Palm Out of Our Hands?
  Time: 17:49 EST/22:49 GMT News Source: PC World Posted By: Alex Harris

  Programmer Matt Osminer relies on his Windows CE-powered HP Jornada 430SE for everything from scheduling and note-taking to playing games and music, and he synchronizes it all with Microsoft Outlook. Editor Judy Lewenthal turns to her Palm III to track her multiple deadlines and busy schedule. They're typical users of each type of handheld device. Osminer wants a tiny PC, while Lewenthal wants a digital organizer.

  So far, more than 80 percent of handheld customers are in Lewenthal's camp, voting with their pocketbooks for the Palm. Its name is synonymous with the market; even Microsoft and its hardware partners refer to "Palm-size PCs" in ads for devices that run Windows CE. Microsoft expects to change that with the Windows Powered Pocket PC, which is its newest weapon in the handheld wars and a successor to Windows CE devices. But does the 800-pound gorilla of software really understand what people want in a handheld--and how to snatch leadership from Palm Computing?

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• Microsoft Announces Support for XSLT and XPath With Web-Based Technology Preview Release
  Time: 17:44 EST/22:44 GMT News Source: Press Release Posted By: Alex Harris

  As part of its continued support for the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)'s Extensible Markup Language (XML) standards, Microsoft Corp. today released a preview version of its XML parser. The XML parser delivers on Microsoft's commitment to support the W3C's latest recommendations of XSL Transformations (XSLTs) and XML Path Language (XPath) and includes new features that increase performance and efficiency. Today's preview release is available for immediate download at http://msdn.microsoft.com/downloads/webtechnology/xml/msxml.asp.

  Building on Microsoft's commitment to support W3C standards, this preview version is the first in an ongoing series of technology previews that Microsoft plans to release to ensure that early adopters have access to the latest versions of W3C standards. As XML-based solutions become more pervasive, XML services need to be readily available on any development platform and work seamlessly with all available tools. Microsoft will continue to deliver these services as an integral part of the Microsoft^® Windows^® platform.

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• Dell hit by Intel shortage
  Time: 17:42 EST/22:42 GMT News Source: ZDNet Posted By: Alex Harris

  Even as Dell Computer Corp. was blaming chip shortages for a fourth-quarter shortfall, Intel Corp. was saying it expects difficulty meeting demand for its Pentium III and Celeron processors over the next few months. For PC buyers, this means a longer wait for systems with certain processors. And it could be a hit to earnings for some PC makers.

  "Right now, the industry is trying to recover (from the busy fourth quarter), including Intel," said company spokesman Howard High, interviewed before Dell announced its shortfall Wednesday afternoon. "There will be tightness in parts of our product line throughout about the next two months."

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• XHTML protocol gets thumbs up from Net group
  Time: 17:40 EST/22:40 GMT News Source: CNet News Posted By: Alex Harris

  Traditional HTML--the computer language commonly referred to as the lingua franca of the Web--was officially put out to pasture today with the introduction of its successor: XHTML.

  Standards body the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) today recommended XHTML (Extensible Hypertext Markup Language), the first of a new family of Web authoring languages written in XML (Extensible Markup Language). XML, also a W3C recommendation, lets anyone define new Web languages and tag digital documents to make it easier for computers to read and manipulate them.

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• Microsoft prepares fixes, updates for Windows 2000
  Time: 17:38 EST/22:38 GMT News Source: CNet News Posted By: Alex Harris

  With a couple of weeks remaining before the official release of Windows 2000, Microsoft is already preparing a package of fixes and updates, sources say.

  The fixes, called Windows 2000 Service Pack 1, will apparently be released in June, timed to coincide with the release of Windows 2000 DataCenter edition. DataCenter is the highest-end edition of the operating system, designed to run data-intensive Web and e-commerce servers. It will also include a service pack code-named Asteroid, sources say.

  Service packs, or SPs, are a collection of bug fixes and feature enhancements issued as routine updates to original software releases. This particular service pack, however, may have more significant implications because many large companies have indicated they will not consider adopting the new operating system until it has been released.

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• IBM lukewarm about Microsoft's 'proprietary' BizTalk
  Time: 15:24 EST/20:24 GMT News Source: ZDNet Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Don't expect IBM to become fluent in Microsoft Corp.'s BizTalk XML framework. A key IBM executive, in an interview here at the company's Partner World 2000 conference, said Big Blue will only support the BizTalk Framework -- a Microsoft-developed framework for describing how the Extensible Markup Language is to be used in business-to-business commerce -- in Windows environments.

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• Leading Management Solutions Companies Support Windows 2000 And Windows Management Instrumentation
  Time: 15:17 EST/20:17 GMT News Source: Press Release Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Microsoft Corp. today announced that leading management solutions companies BMC Software Inc., BullSoft, Computer Associates International Inc., Compuware Corp., Hewlett-Packard Co., NetIQ Corp. and Tivoli Systems Inc. support the Microsoft® Windows® 2000 operating system by providing management agents based on Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI).

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• Active Network: Norton Internet Security 2000 - Review
  Time: 15:05 EST/20:05 GMT News Source: Active Network Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Julian has posted his review of Norton's Internet Security 2000 package, here is a snippet:

  When NIS 2k starts for the first time it asks you to create a supervisor account and eventually accounts for other family members such as children, teenagers… Once this is done a small & beautiful NIS 2k icon appears in the tray notification area of Windows (near the windows clock on the taskbar). When you double click on this icon the NIS 2k main window appears: as you can see it’s fully integrated with Norton System Works 2000 due to its full support of the new Norton Symmetry technology. (Note: that if Norton System Works 2000 is not installed on your system, the setup asks you if you want to enable integration or not and when you’ll install SystemWorks 2000, NIS will automatically integrate to the default main SystemWorks window).

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• ActiveDVD: The Iron Giant: DVD - Review
  Time: 13:43 EST/18:43 GMT News Source: ActiveDVD Posted By: Byron Hinson

  I have posted my review of the Warner Animation DVD title, The Iron Giant. Here is a snippet from the review:

  I remember reading the book "The Iron Man" by Ted Hughes when I was much younger, it was one of the few books that I have read that I can actually remember anything about. The Iron Giant was somehow largely overlooked on by the viewing public when it was released in cinema's in the US and Europe (Recently went on release here in the UK). The Iron Giant did open to critical acclaim everywhere though.

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• Windows 2000 Manageability Offers IT Customers Significant Return on Investment
  Time: 09:29 EDT/14:29 GMT News Source: Press Release Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Microsoft Corp. today announced that Compaq Computer Corp., SWX Swiss Exchange and PeopleSoft Inc. are deploying Windows® 2000 in their demanding production environments and experiencing reduced total cost of ownership (TCO) through the advanced management features and deployment tools in the forthcoming operating system. In addition, analyst firm NerveWire Inc. has concluded that customers will experience significant time and cost savings from the increased manageability of Microsoft® Windows 2000. Specifically, customers deploying and configuring Windows 2000 Professional can expect an average cost savings of $279 per client vs. the Windows NT® 4.0 Workstation, Windows 95 or Windows 98 operating system.

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• Microsoft Expands Collaboration With Interland
  Time: 09:28 EDT/14:28 GMT News Source: Press Release Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Microsoft Corp. today announced its expanded collaboration with Interland Inc., a Web-hosting company that has developed technologies, which radically cut the time needed to provision Web sites based on the Microsoft® Windows NT® and Windows® 2000 operating systems. The latest collaboration is another step by Microsoft to build the Windows DNA platform as the premiere platform for the applications-hosting market, and it will allow application service providers to provision hosted accounts for customers more easily and efficiently.

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• Upgraders to Win2k face graphics drivers gotchas
  Time: 09:20 EDT/14:20 GMT News Source: The Register Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Windows 98 users keen to upgrade to Windows 2000 next month might do well to hold off while graphics drivers get more battle-ready. According to Microsoft's compatibility lists, scads of video adapters meet the Windows 2000 logo programme requirements, but it would be a mistake to think that this means they'll all run properly and to their full capabilities -- yet. The WDM (Windows Driver Model) video drivers shipped by Microsoft have only limited functionality and do not provide hardware 3D, OpenGL or AGP support.

  To get a flavour of what users can expect when Win2K ships in a few weeks' time, we looked at a couple of adapters. We identified a problem with two separate Riva TNT AGP graphics cards which worked fine under Windows 98, but underperformed tragically with Win2k.

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• More MS fudging from Win2k speed trials
  Time: 09:20 EDT/14:20 GMT News Source: The Register Posted By: Byron Hinson

  A sharp-eyed techie working for a major OEM (he understandably wishes to remain anonymous) draws our attention to further fudging in the Windows 2000 benchmarks exposed here yesterday. He also directs us to the NT versus Win95 product comparisons Microsoft ran at the time of NT 4.0's launch when - tsk - the results were precisely the reverse of the more recent NT-knocking propaganda.

  Our informant notes that in the latest benchmarks, carried out by ZD, a little extra work was obviously necessary to get video performance up. "In one configuration, they replaced the video card; in another, they went for updated video drivers. All because the originals were not 'fully optimised' for Win2000?!"

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• MS: Neptune consumer Win2k not cancelled, just not happening
  Time: 09:20 EDT/14:20 GMT News Source: The Register Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Microsoft has now confirmed that its Win2k development efforts have been merged into a single effort, covering both business and consumer markets, codenamed Whistler. The news, broken a few days ago by Paul Thurrott of WinInfo, effectively means that last year's triple-forked roadmap has been junked, but Microsoft's spinmeisters are still jumping through hoops to avoid using the world "cancelled."

  Last year's roadmaps planned for one consumer OS for 2000, Millennium, based on Win9x. In addition there was to be a Win2k-based consumer product for the 2001 timeframe, Neptune, and the next rev of Win2k for business users was codenamed Odyssey. Millennium has been substantially downscaled since then, and though it's intended to ship this year it'll create about the same waves as Win98 SE did, at the most. Odyssey and Neptune are now no more as separate projects, but although Microsoft is now conceding that the merge into Whistler has happened, it insists nothing's been cancelled. Earlier this week a company spokesman told Windows NT Magazine that it was combining and streamlining Neptune and Odyssey. This tallies with the other corporate line, that Neptune was never going to be an OS anyway, and is just a set of technologies which the company will use in Whistler.

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• META Group: planning lowers cost of Windows 2000 Professional migration, speeds ROI
  Time: 04:34 EDT/09:34 GMT News Source: Microsoft Daily News Posted By: Alex Harris

  Planning is crucial in all areas of business. And that's particularly true for companies making the move to Microsoft® Windows® 2000. A company that plans for its adoption of the new operating system can significantly reduce migration costs and speed its return on investment (ROI), according to META Group Inc. A study by the independent research firm has found that most organizations will spend $700 to $800 per workstation to migrate to Windows 2000 Professional.

  Depending on the migration environment and strategy, actual migration costs will vary from $250 to $1,800 per workstation.

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• Untangling Microsoft's Many Branches
  Time: 04:32 EDT/09:32 GMT News Source: PC World Posted By: Alex Harris

  If you're confused about what operating system is going to spring forth from Microsoft's loins and when, you're not alone. With Microsoft changing names, delaying launch dates, and planning to change the underlying code for its operating systems, who can untangle the roots of its gnarled Windows family tree? Well, we can try.

  Last December Microsoft made its first commitment to simplifying its product line when Jim Allchin was put in charge of all Windows development efforts. This began the company's plans to streamline all of its operating systems and base them all on the NT kernel, says Michael Gartenberg, vice president and research area director of personal and distributed technologies.

  "Microsoft's goal has to be to consolidate and simplify," he says. "They create the core technology running under it and maintain a consistent code base. They are trying to shift to NT-based technology and getting more of the market on the same code base, not on 9x. The less technology they need, the better."

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• Judge Reinstates Java Ruling Against Microsoft
  Time: 04:30 EDT/09:30 GMT News Source: PC World Posted By: Alex Harris

  A California district court Monday reinstated a preliminary injunction against Microsoft in its longstanding legal battle with Sun Microsystems, limiting the way the software giant can use Sun's Java technology in its products.

  However, the order provides only a partial victory for Sun. The court rejected a motion filed by Sun to reinstate the injunction based on copyright law, referring instead to California's unfair competition statutes.

  The distinction is an important one for Microsoft, which has argued from the start of the case that its disagreement with Sun is a contract dispute. Copyright violations presume that a plaintiff has suffered irreparable harm, while contract law requires harm to be proven in order to obtain an injunction.

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• Web startup has a touch of Microsoft
  Time: 04:24 EDT/09:24 GMT News Source: ZDNet Posted By: Alex Harris

  TeamOn.com is still a few weeks away from launch, but already it has attracted some big names to its board. On Tuesday TeamOn announced it had added former Microsoft executives Pete Higgins, Sabeer Bhatia and Sam Jadallah to its board of directors. Higgins and Bhatia invested in the company, as did Jadallah's new employer, Internet holding company Internet Capital Group.

  Despite the all-star lineup, TeamOn has its work cut out for it. The Seattle startup, targeting the Internet-based e-mail services space, is facing some formidable competition -- including Microsoft -- as it prepares to roll out its line of small-business services in early February.

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• AMD finds Sanders successor at Motorola
  Time: 04:22 EDT/09:22 GMT News Source: ZDNet Posted By: Alex Harris

  Advanced Micro Devices Inc. turned to another chip maker to restock its executive suite -- finding a likely successor to Chairman and chief executive W.J. "Jerry" Sanders III. The Sunnyvale, Calif., company on Tuesday named Hector de Ruiz, a former Motorola Inc. executive, as its new president and chief operating officer.

  De Ruiz, 54, had been president of Motorola's Semiconductor Products Section in Austin, Texas, where he was in charge of the company's $7.3 billion computer chip business and some 30,000 employees. De Ruiz, 54, who was with Motorola (NYSE: MOT) for 22 years, also becomes next in line when Sanders, 63, steps down. Sanders' contract expires at the end of 2001, the company said.

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• Israeli firm ready for round two of messaging fight
  Time: 04:19 EDT/09:19 GMT News Source: CNet News Posted By: Alex Harris

  A small Israeli firm may reignite the instant messaging wars with a new version of its product that interoperates with America Online's ICQ.

  NovaWiz has released Odigo 2.0, the second version of its instant messaging software. Odigo was one of the first messaging products that let users see other users of the same application who were visiting particular Web sites at a given time, letting them communicate with each other.

  AOL quickly seized on that messaging trend, launching a trial version of similar software for ICQ and commencing development of related capabilities for AOL Instant Messenger (AIM).

  AOL, which acquired ICQ in the summer of 1998, could not be reached for comment.

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• DOJ, states file rebuttal to Microsoft arguments
  Time: 04:17 EDT/09:17 GMT News Source: CNet News Posted By: Alex Harris

  Neither snow nor rain stops the postal service, and the same could be said for the team of lawyers prosecuting Microsoft. The U.S. Justice Department and 19 states braved a blizzard to file another brief in the Microsoft antitrust trial, which is rapidly moving toward oral arguments.

  The government today  had been scheduled to file the 30-page rebuttal to Microsoft's proposed "conclusions of law," but officials for the Justice Department and states earlier had said the filing would likely be delayed. Heavy snows closed federal offices in Washington, D.C., including the federal court that is hearing the Microsoft case.

  Nonetheless, the government filed a response and it was appropriate for the weather--blustery--said legal experts.

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• DOJ attorneys: Microsoft is still guilty
  Time: 04:28 EDT/09:28 GMT News Source: ZDNet Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Microsoft Corp. was accused Tuesday of taking "potshots" at U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson's finding that it was an abusive monopoly. In their last scheduled filing in the long-running Microsoft antitrust suit, the U.S. Department of Justice and 19 state attorneys general also charged that the Redmond, Wash.-based software company hid behind copyright law, ignored Jackson's core assertions, and dismissed established legal standards prohibiting it from incorporating the browser into Windows.

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• New Drivers
  Time: 04:24 EDT/09:24 GMT News Source: E-Mail Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Here are a few new drivers to tide you over:

  Voodoo3 2000/3000 Windows 9x Retail Drivers - AGP/PCI Boards Version: 1.04.00

  Savage 4 Drivers 8.10.32

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• IntelliType Pro 1.1 - Released
  Time: 04:12 EDT/09:12 GMT News Source: Microsoft Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Microsoft IntelliType Pro 1.1 software includes support for Microsoft Windows 2000. It also adds Hot Key functionality for America Online version 5.0.

  Microsoft IntelliType Pro 1.1 software supports the Microsoft Natural Keyboard Pro, Microsoft Internet Keyboard, Microsoft Internet Keyboard Pro, and Microsoft Natural Keyboard. This software is not intended to work with Microsoft Natural Keyboard Elite or any non-Microsoft keyboard.

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• Ed McMahon and Victory Entertainment to Launch World's Largest Online Talent Contest in Association with Microsoft
  Time: 16:39 EDT/21:39 GMT News Source: Press Release Posted By: Alex Harris

  Ed McMahon, Victory Entertainment Corp. and Microsoft Corp. today announced the launch of Next Big Star™, the world's largest Internet talent competition, at http://www.nextbigstar.com. Next Big Star brings a new level of interactivity to talent competitions by using the MSN™ network of Internet services and Microsoft® Windows Media™ technologies to broadcast contestants' performances for voting over the Internet.

  Every 13 weeks, winners of the online voting will appear on national TV in a final competition hosted by Ed McMahon ("Star Search," "The Tonight Show"). The final competition will be simulcast on the Web to the millions of users of Windows Media Player through MSN.com™ and NextBigStar.com.

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• Microsoft Announces New Advertising Agreements With Six Industry-Leading Online Financial Companies
  Time: 16:37 EDT/21:37 GMT News Source: Press Release Posted By: Alex Harris

  Microsoft Corp. today announced that its MSN™ MoneyCentral™ group has signed annual advertising sponsorship packages for 2000 with six leading online banks and brokerages: Chase Manhattan Bank N.A., Datek Online, E*TRADE Group Inc., Fidelity Investments, KeyTrade Online and Net.B@nk Inc.

  MSN MoneyCentral is an award-winning personal finance Web site that provides consumers with the financial tools, information and resources to easily manage all their financial needs online in one, easy-to-use place. The new sponsorship agreements offer users of MoneyCentral access to information from industry-leading online banks and brokerages in a single location.

  "For consumers, this is another step in Microsoft's Everyday Web strategy of providing consumers with the tools and information they need to lead the Web lifestyle," said James Kinsella, general manager of MSN Sales and Marketing at Microsoft. "The annual MoneyCentral advertising sponsorship deals for 2000 will deliver exactly the audience that these leading online financial firms are seeking. The 5 million monthly visitors to MoneyCentral are Web-savvy customers looking to do the majority of their banking and financial transactions online."

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• Ballmer saves Gates a trip to the DOJ
  Time: 16:30 EDT/21:30 GMT News Source: Active Network Posted By: Alex Harris

  In a shocking turn of events this past week, Bill Gates resigned as CEO of Microsoft Corporation and appointed Steve Ballmer President and CEO.  Gates made a new position for himself, Chairman and Chief Software Architect.  Gates said he wants to more fully devote his time to improving Next Generation Windows Services (NGWS), which was also announced on the same day.

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• Apple wants its Apple back
  Time: 16:29 EDT/21:29 GMT News Source: Active Network Posted By: Alex Harris

  Apple Inc. released information and screenshots of their new operating system called OS X two weeks ago.  No longer than a week later, there was a “skin” made which could turn any version of Microsoft Windows into something that looks just like Aqua.  Apple has threatened a web site, which posted the “skin”, and the creator of the program, which allows “skins” to be applied to Windows, with legal action if they do not stop distributing the “skin” called WinAqua.

  Aqua is what is called an Interface.  Aqua is the look and feel of OS X which is due to be released in a few weeks.  Application title bars are white with gray lines and all the buttons, tabs, etc. all look like pieces of glass.  It is a very pretty interface and I recommend you check it out on the OS X page at www.apple.com.  I modified WinAqua to what I think is a more user-friendly approach and I use it all the time now.

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• Bus-Tech saves money, reduces development time using Microsoft Windows NT Embedded
  Time: 16:27 EDT/21:27 GMT News Source: Microsoft Daily News Posted By: Alex Harris

  Bus-Tech, Inc. has built its business around products that give companies quick access to data. So it makes sense for the company to develop those products quickly.

  The Massachusetts-based company specializes in data center connectivity products, including drivers that help deliver high-speed connections between Microsoft® Windows NT® Server-based systems and IBM mainframes. When Microsoft announced Windows NT Embedded, Bus-Tech saw another opportunity. The company wanted to use Microsoft's open platform for developing single-purpose devices to combine Bus-Tech software with existing Bus-Tech hardware to create a TCP/IP controller for ESCON-to-Fast Ethernet connections.

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• Dell, Compaq offer Win 2000 services
  Time: 16:24 EDT/21:24 GMT News Source: ZDNet Posted By: Alex Harris

  Compaq (NYSE: CPQ) and Dell (Nasdaq: DELL) have thrown their hats into the Windows 2000 services ring. Following by two months IBM's launch of its Windows 2000 life-cycle services, Compaq and Dell are delivering services designed to help move businesses over to Microsoft's next-generation operating system.

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• AMD to announce new president, COO
  Time: 16:22 EDT/21:22 GMT News Source: ZDNet Posted By: Alex Harris

  Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE: AMD) said it will name a new president and chief operating officer later this afternoon. A spokesman for the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company declined to comment on who AMD will name, but he did acknowledge that the executive comes from outside the company. AMD will host a conference call with news reporters and analysts at 2:15 PM, Pacific time. AMD has been looking for a new president and chief operating officer since Atiq Raza abruptly resigned last July.

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• Intel to open another plant in Arizona
  Time: 16:19 EDT/21:19 GMT News Source: News.com Posted By: Alex Harris

  Intel will start to break ground on a new fabrication facility for semiconductors in Chandler, Ariz., a $2 billion investment designed to allow the company to adopt some of the latest silicon technology.

  The Arizona fab will essentially become Intel's first factory for mass producing chips out of 300 millimeter wafers, said Mike Splinter, senior vice president at Intel. Today's silicon wafers measure 200 millimeters in diameter. By moving to the larger wafers, costs will drop while the number of chips produced per wafer will increase by around 30 percent.

  "We will be able to get two times the units out of the same floor space," Splinter said. When the site goes live, Intel will have more than 13 fabs, a spokesman stated.

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• Microsoft's Java growing cold?
  Time: 16:17 EDT/21:17 GMT News Source: News.com Posted By: Alex Harris

  After more than two years, the lawsuit brought by Java inventor Sun Microsystems against Microsoft has yet to force the software giant to leave the Java tools market. But the ongoing battle may be hurting Microsoft's ability to stay competitive.

  As the lawsuit winds through the courts, Microsoft's popular Java development tool--its features frozen in time because of the suit and Microsoft's response--is slowly falling behind competitors tools, analysts say.

  Sun Microsystems, which filed the suit in October of 1997, argues that Microsoft has built implementations of Java into its products that are incompatible with Sun's reference implementation of Java. Sun further argues that Microsoft leads developers to build Java programs that only operate on Microsoft's Windows, defeating Sun's "write once, run anywhere" goal and violating the letter of Sun's Java licensing agreement. Microsoft licensed Java from Sun in 1995.

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• MSN Net access overload prompts lawsuit
  Time: 15:51 EDT/20:51 GMT News Source: News.com Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  A lawsuit claiming that Microsoft overloaded its Internet access service by signing up hundreds of thousands of new customers without properly upgrading the system will be filed next week, said a lawyer representing a subscriber.

  The suit, which lawyer Mitchell Wexler said will be filed in federal court in Chicago, will claim that customers spent hours trying to log in to the Microsoft Network Internet system only to get repeated busy signals. Wexler's clients' suit will seek class-action status and will claim breach of contract and negligence, he said. The lawsuit will ask the company to upgrade its network.

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• DOJ, states to rebut Microsoft's antitrust arguments
  Time: 15:24 EDT/20:24 GMT News Source: News.com Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  Government lawyers this week will counter Microsoft arguments in the company's federal antitrust trial, releasing rebuttal papers that are expected to portray the software giant as a monopolist, and a confrontational one at that.

  The U.S. Justice Department and 19 states will file a rebuttal brief to proposed "conclusions of law" Microsoft delivered to the court last week.

  The brief may be filed as early as tomorrow. The government had been scheduled to file its rebuttal today, but a snowstorm roaring up the East Coast forced a delay. The court, along with all other federal offices, is closed today in Washington.

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• Microsoft bullies IT news site into submission
  Time: 12:45 EDT/17:45 GMT News Source: The Register Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Sounds familiar:

  Microsoft has used all its corporate muscle to strong-arm an US-based IT news Web site to change its name because of alleged trademark abuse. Lawyers representing Microsoft wrote to ActiveWindows in November asking the publication to remove a Windows' logo on the site and to change its name.

  "While we appreciate your enthusiasm and support for Microsoft's products, the use of 'WINDOWS' and the Windows Flag Logo conflicts with Microsoft's trademark rights," wrote the lawyers.

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• Deploying Win2K Professional: fast or slow?
  Time: 12:43 EDT/17:43 GMT News Source: ZDNet Posted By: Byron Hinson

  With the ship date of Windows 2000 Professional Edition less than four weeks away, organizations are poised to begin deployments in earnest and to continue them throughout the next three years.

  As expected, Microsoft Corp.'s Joint Development and Rapid Deployment partners will install the next-generation operating system sooner rather than later. And while some companies are delaying deployment because of year 2000-related issues, many others factored those issues into their plans and are sticking to their proposed schedules.

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• New MSN Political Pulse Channel and WebTV Networks Bring Americans Closer to the Political Heartbeat of the Nation
  Time: 12:41 EDT/17:41 GMT News Source: Press Release Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Microsoft Corp. today announced Political Pulse, the new politics channel on the MSN™ network of Internet services that brings together the Web's best political content and delivers comprehensive, original news and commentary from MSNBC and Slate.com™. Political Pulse will provide in-depth coverage and interactive services to help people stay informed and engaged throughout the elections. Furthering the MSN commitment to making the Everyday Web a reality, MSN Political Pulse is a big step in helping citizens take an active role in their government as the Internet continues to affect the 2000 elections.

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• Microsoft Windows 2000 Section Updated
  Time: 12:31 EDT/17:31 GMT News Source: Active Network Posted By: Robert Stein

  We have made a major update of our Windows 2000 Section; We have added a Server Licensing Types Page and a Licensing for Terminal Services Page. Also, we have updated the Windows 2000 History Page, and the Pricing & System Requirements Page. Be sure to check them all out!

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• Netscape Goes International with Strong-Encryption Browser
  Time: 11:08 EDT/16:08 GMT News Source: InternetNews Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  Something we mentioned a while ago but got slammed saying Netscape wasn't planning it - anyway, here is the news: Capitalizing on a recent ruling on encryption regulations, Netscape Communications said Monday that international users of its Communicator 4.7 client software can now benefit from enhanced security for online shopping, banking, trading and e-mail.

  Netscape expressed its support for the U.S. Department of Commerce's newly released encryption regulations that enable the worldwide distribution of high-grade encryption and extended its offer of high-grade (128-bit) encryption browsers to international clients in 23 languages. Netscape Communicator is available worldwide with high-grade encryption in the following 23 languages: U.S. English, UK English, French, German, Japanese, Danish, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Brazilian Portuguese, Korean, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Russian, Polish, Czech, Greek, Hungarian, Turkish and Slovenian.

  Previously, due to encryption export restrictions, customers were limited to low- and medium-grade encryption browser software outside of North America. Now, customers can use high-grade encryption browsers, making online shopping and banking a safer experience.

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• Microsoft Delivers Second 'Megaservice'
  Time: 11:08 EDT/16:08 GMT News Source: ZDNet Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  Microsoft has begun to make good on its promise to turn software into a service.

  The company outlined its vision for the second of a number of promised "megaservices" on Monday, with the introduction of ClearLead. The first megaservice offered by Microsoft was Passport, an Internet-authentication service that was introduced last year.

  Megaservices, in Microsoft parlance, are hosted Web components from Microsoft and third parties that can be used to create Internet-enabled applications and more easily programmable Web sites.

  Microsoft calls ClearLead a "customer-management-service platform." In effect, ClearLead will be a jazzed-up contact-management system that's hosted on Microsoft servers and be accessible by browsers running on a variety of PCs, handhelds, cell phones and other devices. ClearLead is due to go to beta test at the end of January; Microsoft anticipates shipping the final version in April. (Despite the similarity in names, ClearLead has no connection to Microsoft's ClearType screen-reading technology, company officials say.)

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• Judge restricts Microsoft's use of Java
  Time: 10:12 EDT/15:12 GMT News Source: News.com Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  A federal judge partially reinstated a preliminary injunction against Microsoft, putting restrictions on how the software maker uses Java in its products.

  The injunction is a partial victory for Sun Microsystems in its long-standing feud with Microsoft over the use of Java. U.S. District Judge Ronald Whyte did not fully reinstate the injunction as Sun had requested.

  Michael Morris, Sun's general counsel, heralded the reinstated injunction as a victory. "As we have said from the start of this case, Microsoft's misconduct with respect to Sun's Java technology has harmed competition, as well as those who use and rely on the Java technology."

  Sun sued Microsoft in October 1997, alleging the maker of Windows violated its contract with Sun for developing and deploying products using the Java programming language and also Sun's Java copyright.

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• Columbia TriStar Television Distribution and Microsoft Take Interactive Television to the Next Level
  Time: 09:10 EDT/14:10 GMT News Source: Press Release Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  Companies Work Together to Spearhead Development of Interactive Television.

  Taking interactive television from concept to reality, Microsoft Corp. and Columbia TriStar Television Distribution are teaming up to fund development of the winning Microsoft TV Interactive Pitch concept.

  Microsoft and Columbia TriStar Television Distribution will provide development support to the winner to help bridge the gap between creative and technical communities and facilitate the creation and delivery of interactive television (ITV) programming content to viewers worldwide.

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• Hackers learn how to take over AOL IM accounts
  Time: 08:59 EDT/13:59 GMT News Source: News.com Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  America Online Instant Messenger users could find their online identities stolen via a security hole that allows hackers to hijack their accounts through another popular service: AOL 5.0.

  A small band of hackers has discovered a way to take over any AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) account as long as they have a person's screen name. By using an AOL staff tool they unearthed while poking around the company's proprietary online service, they exploit a public hole in the AOL 5.0 registration process that lets them reset AIM users' passwords.

  Once the hackers do this handiwork, initial users of the screen names are locked out of their accounts, giving the hackers open access to users' buddy lists of other AIM users and the ability to maintain trial AOL 5.0 accounts under the same screen names, as confirmed by CNET News.com.

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• Microsoft fudges Win2K speed trials
  Time: 08:52 EDT/13:52 GMT News Source: The Register Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  Microsoft has fudged the results of Windows 2000 Professional speed tests in an attempt to convince potential purchasers that the OS offers better performance than NT Workstation 4.0.

  In the press release announcing the shipment to manufacturing of Windows 2000 on 15 December, Microsoft said "new benchmark results illustrate the specific performance benefits that customers will receive with Windows 2000. These tests show that Windows 2000 Professional outperforms Windows 95, Windows 98 and the Windows NT Workstation 4.0 operating system running on a computer with a minimum 64MB of memory". This claim is not sustained by the data.

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• Microsoft makes Windows detour
  Time: 08:00 EST/13:00 GMT News Source: ZDNet Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  Software giant shelves consumer-friendly version of Windows NT kernel -- preps combined consumer/business version, code-named Whistler.

  Just a month after consolidating all operating system responsibilities under Group Vice President Jim Allchin, Microsoft has taken a detour on its Windows road map.

  Where the company had planned "Neptune," a consumer-oriented version of Windows based on the NT kernel, Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) is now readying a combined consumer/business version of the operating system, code-named Whistler. Whistler also supplants Odyssey, referred to by some sources as NT 5.5, which had been slated as the first full-fledged upgrade to Windows 2000.

  Now, Microsoft is touting Whistler simply as "the next version of Windows."

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• Gateses Give Foundation Another $5 Billion
  Time: 15:59 EDT/20:59 GMT News Source: Yahoo! News Posted By: Alex Harris

  The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation said on Monday that billionaire Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates and his wife had given $5 billion to the fund, bringing its total assets to $21.8 billion.

  The fund, which committed nearly $2 billion to charities in 1999, must give away at least 5 percent of its endowment each year to maintain its status as a tax-exempt charitable organization.

  ``Particular attention will go toward accelerating the development and distribution of life-saving vaccines,'' said Patty Stonesifer, who co-chairs the foundation with Gates's father, William Gates, Sr.

  In 1999 the Gateses pledged $1 billion to fund minority scholarships and $750 million for children's vaccines.

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• Redesigned Microsoft TechNet Web site offers new resources, Windows 2000 sessions
  Time: 15:55 EDT/20:55 GMT News Source: Microsoft Daily News Posted By: Alex Harris

  IT professionals need access to the best, most current information on the technologies they use.

  To help IT professionals get that information, Microsoft® has redesigned the TechNet Web site to ensure that it's the best resource for people who plan, deploy and manage Microsoft-based solutions. Using feedback from 8,000 IT professionals, Microsoft improved the site's navigation and search tools, added personalization options and updated its content. The redesign also includes a TechNet Windows® 2000 Discussion Forum. In addition, Microsoft has added 15 new TechNet sessions, nine of which focus on Microsoft Windows 2000.

  The revamped TechNet Web site is designed to give IT professionals a convenient place to find the most current and useful information on working with Microsoft products.

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• Microsoft details e-commerce Web services
  Time: 15:53 EDT/20:53 GMT News Source: CNet News Posted By: Alex Harris

  Microsoft is slowly making good on plans to deliver Web-based services for e-commerce.

  The software maker today announced ClearLead, an online service that manages customer leads and information. The service, one of Microsoft's so-called megaservices, will debut this spring.

  Microsoft said last fall that it planned to create a new crop of Internet-based services. At the time, it was the giant's first major effort to both simplify its software tools message and appeal to dot com companies building e-commerce sites. Other technology providers, including IBM and Hewlett-Packard, have already announced plans to support Web services.

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• Microsoft Announces Windows 2000 Support for New Commerce One Products and Services
  Time: 15:07 EDT/20:07 GMT News Source: Press Release Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Microsoft Corp. today announced Microsoft® Windows® 2000 support for the new suite of industry-leading electronic-commerce products, services and portal solutions from Commerce One Inc., including Commerce One MarketSiteÔ Portal Solution 3.0, Commerce One BuySiteÔ 6.0 e-procurement application as well as a new version of Commerce One MarketSite Global Trading Portal. Microsoft and Commerce One are working together to help ensure that the Windows 2000 operating system provides the best platform for Commerce One solutions.

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• How Secure Is Windows 2000?
  Time: 14:51 EDT/19:51 GMT News Source: PC World Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  Security experts warn that the new operating system will have new, unanticipated holes.

  Microsoft said last week at RSA Security's RSA 2000 conference that it pulled out all the stops to create a secure Windows 2000, including changing its engineering process and having 15 consultants and 100 big user sites put the operating system to the test.

  But security experts say the sheer size and complexity of the operating system means it will contain a large number of bugs that could open up security holes.

  Microsoft also announced that Windows 2000 will ship to international customers with 128-bit encryption instead of 64-bit encryption, reflecting the U.S. government's recent decision to lift encryption export controls.

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• Microsoft Sidewinder Plug & Play Gamepad USB
  Time: 11:59 EST/16:59 GMT News Source: Microsoft Posted By: Byron Hinson

  We have got a bit more information through on the new Microsoft Sidewinder Plug & Play Gamepad USB. Microsoft® SideWinder® Plug & Play Game Pad provides price-conscious gamers with an entry-level SideWinder game pad that supports basic game requirements.  The appeal of the Plug & Play Game Pad is its distinctive and customer-valued SideWinder look and feel and its substantial comfort improvement over other low-end pads.

  It is due for release on March 9th

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• Microsoft Upcoming Games Section - Updated
  Time: 10:59 EST/15:59 GMT News Source: Active Network Posted By: Byron Hinson

  We have updated our Microsoft upcoming games section with a few more bits and pieces, including information on Starlancer (and screenshots) which now includes the latest news on its expected release date which we received today. We should be posting a preview of the game sometime next month.

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• Publisher 2000 and Publisher 2000 Deluxe - Service Release 1 In April
  Time: 10:50 EST/15:50 GMT News Source: Active Network Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Microsoft has "announced" that they will release new versions of Publisher 2000 on April 13th with an estimated street price of $129.00 US for  Microsoft® Publisher 2000 Deluxe with Picture It!® 2000 and $99.95 US for plain old Microsoft® Publisher 2000

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• BizTalk: All talk?
  Time: 08:49 EST/13:49 GMT News Source: PC Week Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  Key pieces of Microsoft's e-commerce strategy are still missing in action

  Last spring, top Microsoft Corp. executives stood before a ballroom full of reporters at San Francisco's Argent Hotel and touted a product that didn't exist and that used technology that had yet to be developed.

  The product was the BizTalk Server, an application that Microsoft said would make it easy for companies to integrate computer systems for business-to-business e-commerce. The technology was the BizTalk Framework, which will use XML (Extensible Markup Language) to define how computer systems at different companies talk to each other.

  Unfortunately for Microsoft, which has had more than its share of product delays, BizTalk development is lagging. Ten months after Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates and industry luminaries such as SAP AG Chairman Hasso Plattner and PeopleSoft Inc. CEO Dave Duffield waxed poetic about the product's importance, BizTalk is still just talk.

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• Microsoft adds to Windows Media deals with Intertainer stake
  Time: 08:41 EST/13:41 GMT News Source: News.com Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  On the heels of its Windows Media licensing deal with Liquid Audio, Microsoft today made an undisclosed investment in Intertainer, a broadband service that delivers entertainment content to users with high-speed Net connections.

  Microsoft will gain access to Intertainer's offerings, including movies, music, TV programs and shopping services, to be delivered via PCs and television. In return, Intertainer will adopt Microsoft's Windows Media software and related technologies. The New York Times reported that Microsoft's investment was $56 million, giving the software giant a 20 percent stake in Intertainer.

  Just last week, Liquid Audio said it would license Microsoft's Windows Media technology for its Internet music distribution system.

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• Microsoft Kicks Off First Interactive TV Pitch Event at NATPE 2000
  Time: 08:05 EST/13:05 GMT News Source: Press Release Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  Playing along while watching a game show. Responding to a poll while viewing a local news show. Ordering a pizza while watching a pizza commercial. While interactive television promises innovative ways to interact with our television sets, the real possibilities are just starting to emerge.

  In an effort to spark creative ideas for interactive television programs -- and push those ideas closer toward reality -- Microsoft is holding its first "Microsoft TV Interactive Pitch" event. The event, which starts today at the National Association of Television Programming Executives (NATPE) 2000 conference, will give 100 people the opportunity to pitch their interactive TV program ideas to a panel of Hollywood insiders for the chance to win awards and turn their ideas into the next big television deal.

  "The purpose of this interactive TV pitch is to reach out to the television development community and say, 'We should be coming up with great new programs that no one's ever done before,'" says Marty Behrens, group manager in the Microsoft TV Platforms Group. "This will help us break out of the box so that consumers can see the fun and compelling nature of interactive television."

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• Security in the Internet Age
  Time: 08:00 EST/13:00 GMT News Source: Press Release Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  The Internet has created remarkable opportunities for consumers and businesses to communicate, share information and participate in the convenience and benefits of e-commerce.

  At the same time, our increasing interconnectedness, rapidly evolving technologies and the growing complexity of those technologies have created a major challenge in terms of protecting the security and privacy of information as it is transmitted from one place to another.

  As Internet usage grows, making computing safe and secure from malicious hackers and viruses becomes more critical.

  Whether you’re a user at home connected to the Web through an Internet Service Provider, a small business with a handful of networked PCs, or a large corporation with sophisticated computer systems, you need to know that your information is secure and protected from unauthorized disclosure, alteration or disruption.

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• Sun's revised Solaris defends against Linux, Windows 2000
  Time: 07:44 EST/12:44 GMT News Source: News.com Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  Sun Microsystems will debut its newest version of Solaris Wednesday, part of a reinvigorated effort to fend off Windows, Linux and other competing operating systems.

  The Solaris 8 launch initially was planned for February, the month Microsoft will debut Windows 2000, but Sun has moved the date up. Meanwhile, computers with Windows 2000 will be available starting today , even though Microsoft officially is unveiling its business-use software on Feb. 17.

  Among the debut's highlights will be Sun's adoption of some Linux principles, according to people familiar with the company's plans. The Palo Alto, Calif.-based computer maker will eliminate licensing fees and make its "source code," or underlying programming instructions, available to customers, these people said.

  Such steps would mark a new stage in Sun's love-hate relationship with Linux. The upstart operating system has helped Sun attack Microsoft at the same time as it has helped rivals encroach on the low end of Sun's turf.

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• Sony SuperStation External Tape Drive Review
  Time: 07:39 EST/10:49 GMT News Source: Active Network Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  I have posted my review of the Sony SuperStation External Tape Drive. Here is a snippet of the review:

  The Sony SuperStation External Tape Drive easily connects to the parallel port of any desktop or laptop equipped with a 25-pin connector. With it's 10GB capacity and it's low cost, this unit is a must for anyone concerned with safe back-ups.

  The Sony SuperStation External Tape Drive can read / write the SONY SuperStation 10GB and 6.6GB tape cartridges as well as read the QIC-Extra, TRAVAN, QIC-WIDE, and the XL Imation tapes as long as they have been backed up using Seagate Backup Exec.

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• Windows 2000 systems available today
  Time: 07:35 EST/12:35 GMT News Source: News.com Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  Computers loaded with Windows 2000 will hit store shelves and Web sites today as Microsoft allows computer makers to start quietly selling its new business operating system three weeks in advance of the official launch.

  Compaq Computer, Hewlett-Packard, Dell Computer and IBM are among the PC manufacturers that will offer PCs, notebooks and servers with Microsoft's newest OS for business computers. Although beta versions have been available before today, the computers coming out now will be the first to contain the final version of the long-awaited--and often delayed--software.

  The one thing customers won't get is a lot of hype. Microsoft is allowing these companies to seed the market with Windows 2000 boxes as long as they don't publicize it too much. The Redmond, Wash.-based software giant plans to hold a gala release party in San Francisco on Feb. 17 and doesn't want to deflate the event. Bill Gates, Dell CEO Michael Dell and Compaq CEO Michael Capellas will attend, among others.

  After several delays, the software giant recently completed writing, testing and revising the code for Windows 2000, estimated to be the most important software development project in the company's history. Windows 2000 will also be the centerpiece of Microsoft's overall strategy going forward, designed to power, enhance and augment all of the company's other software and Internet offerings.

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• And the winner is: Dell Computer
  Time: 07:33 EST/12:33 GMT News Source: News.com Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  Dell Computer took over the top spot among PC companies in the United States in 1999, a year that saw shipments grow by a hearty 23 percent, though close rival Compaq remained the world's largest PC maker.

  Last year's market share figures, to be issued today by International Data Corp. (IDC) and Dataquest , tell a surprising tale that few anticipated. Despite early predictions that the PC was dying, price wars in the United States and recovering economies in Asia fueled higher-than-expected growth--and the Y2K scare played a comparatively small role.

  PC shipments in the United States grew by 17 percent for the year, according to IDC, and 36 percent in a recovering Japan. In all, 112.7 million desktops, laptops and servers left factories in 1999, with 33.2 million of those going out in the fourth quarter.

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• AMD Athlon 1GHz: Running Linux
  Time: 07:32 EST/12:32 GMT News Source: CPU Review Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  CPU Review has posted there review of the AMD Athlon 1GHz running the Linux System.

  Here is a snippet of the review:

  Running Linux on the 1GHz Athlon test system was an eye opening experience.

  The Athlon 1GHz is without doubt the fastest single x86 processor I've had the pleasure to use for running Linux.

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• As rivals lurk, Microsoft retools BizTalk Server
  Time: 07:30 EST/12:30 GMT News Source: News.com Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  A key piece of Microsoft's e-commerce software strategy is being retooled as the giant software maker sorts out its plan for tackling that market in the face of growing competition.

  One vital element is Microsoft's BizTalk Server--an Extensible Markup Language (XML)-based software application for linking business systems such as purchasing and procurement systems across the Internet. That product was slated to debut in mid-1999 in beta form, but the company missed that deadline and rescheduled beta testing until the end of last year. Microsoft, however, has only delivered pieces of the new server to beta testers and is busy building a new component of the server needed to keep the company up to speed with competitors, sources said. .

  A Microsoft spokesman declined to comment on the server's new component, but he said the entire BizTalk Server product is now slated to debut by the second half of 2000. Microsoft had originally planned to ship the product in the first half of this year.

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