Tech News for Friday March
24th 2000.
Abit
announces new Athlon K7 motherboard.
Posted: 03/24/2000
Source: Abit
Added by: Kim Heise
This may be the Athlon
motherboard I've been waiting for but we will have to see what the reviews say.
Abit announced the KA7 Athlon motherboard and I'm pretty much going to post the
full press release here:
Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C. March 24th 2000—Unveiling
a whole new level of quality and sophistication for the Athlon platform, ABIT
has released their long awaited Slot A board, the KA7. This board is designed to
support AMD-K7 Athlon Slot A 200MHz FSB
Processors using the VIA VT8371(KX133) /VIA 686A chipset. It also supports all
normal industry standard functions for motherboards such as Advanced
Configuration and Power Management Interface (ACPI). AGP 2X/4X and 100/133MHz
SDRAM Memory Bus Settings. The KA7 uses four 168-pin DIMM sockets supporting
PC100/PC133 SDRAM modules up to 2 Gigabytes MAX. (8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512MB
SDRAM). In addition ABIT has added a new level of stability and performance with
their famous 6 chip Data Buffer Set with ECC support.
6
Chip Data Buffer
With
systems now at the 133MHz external clock speed, the circuitry design is crucial,
especially concerning the SDRAM. Signal bandwidth and length need to be adjusted
accordingly. One slight mistake could cause an error, so a high speed data
buffer chipset called the Data Switch was developed to guarantee the proper RAM
stability at 100MHz and 133MHz when using 4 DIMMs.
The
chips act as buffers to increase the stability and data integrity when using all
4 DIMM slots. It is recommended highly to prevent system crashes when using 8
banks of memory. Since this data buffer is not required, but only recommended
you will not find it on most of other motherboards with 4 DIMM slots.
ABIT
has included the data buffer with the KA7 for an added level of stability and
performance. “When it comes to system crashes we don’t think you should
gamble and reliability is our primary concern at ABIT.” Says ABIT’s Eric
Boeing.
SoftMenu™
III
While
you might find some of the features you want in some Athlon boards, only ABIT
has Soft Menu™, and now only to be found on the new KA7, there is the newly
designed SoftMenu™ III for the Athlon platform. The KA7’s SoftMenu™ III
has some special added features and functions that will allow the maximum
performance and enhancement tweaks specifically for Athlon based CPUs, like FSB
settings from 100MHz to 183MHz in increments of 1, (84 settings). In addition to
SoftMenuTM
Technology the System BIOS features and supports Award Plug and
Play BIOS, Write-Protect Anti-Virus function by AWARD BIOS and is of course Year
2000 Compliant.
Multi I/O
Functions
The
KA7 has on board Bus Master IDE Ports
supporting UDMA 33/66 as well as 6 PCI slots and 1 ISA slot for maximum
upgradability, most other boards only have 5 PCI, but ABIT has added an extra
PCI slot making the KA7 the most expandable and upgradeable board in its class.
In addition to the normal serial and parallel ports the KA7 has 2 USB ports PLUS
an extra header for 2 extra USB channels.
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3Com
quits the modem market.
Posted: 03/24/2000
Source: eFront
Added by: Kim Heise
Nobody can say this is
a big surprise as dialup-modems become annoyances of the past because broadband
services (DSL & Cable modems) are becoming more available. It's a scary
thought to think that one day you will tell your kids about modems and dialup
head-aches and they will give you that blank stare that you see now when you
mention vinyl records or 8-track tapes.
3Com has announced plans to phase out production of its dial-up modems and
modem-based products, allowing it to concentrate on four main "high
growth" areas - IP (Internet protocol) telephony, broadband access,
wireless access and Web-based systems.
Products due for the chop include Corebuilder, Pathbuilder and Netbuilder, as
well as the complete range of modems that the vendor took on when it acquired US
Robotics in the spring of 1997.
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Amiga
Resurrected.
Posted: 03/24/2000
Source: eFront
Added by: Kim Heise
In the last couple of
years (or has it been months?) the Amiga license has been bought and sold at
least 3 times without any major progress. Now finally we may see some new
Amiga's coming down the pipeline as the new Amiga 2000 will be unveiled on April
1st. I wonder why they called the new machine "Amiga 2000" since
Commodore (the original owner) used to produce a "speedy" 7.14mhz
Amiga 2000 back in the early 1980's.
I still have an old Amiga 500 sitting in my basement that I picked up a local
yard sale for $75 with monitor and printer. As you can possibly guess I'm an old
Amiga user and would love to see the machine survive.
On April 1, 2000, the debut of the latest Amiga machine will commence at a
developer’s show in St. Louis. The new owners of Amiga, Inc. will unveil a
developers’ personal computer entitled 'Amiga 2000'. Amiga is frequently
acknowledged as the company that started Commodore, Escom and Gateway.
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Live!Ware
2.0 supports "SMP" under Win2000.
Posted: 03/24/2000
Source: Ars-Technica
Added by: Kim Heise
Just an FYI for
SoundBlaster Live! owners that the new Windows 2000 drivers support SMP (Symmetric
Multi-Processing) or more than one CPU systems. Download the latest batch of
Live!Ware 3.0 drivers for Windows 2000 here.
Q17. Does
"Live!Ware for Windows 2000" support SMP?
A. Yes, "Live!Ware for Windows 2000" support multiple processors
working under Windows 2000.
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Since
it's Friday.....
Posted: 03/24/2000
Source: FairFax
Added by: Kim Heise
Since it's Friday and
how about something humorous to get your weekend started: Apparently there is
new email virus out there that substitutes all the occurrences of the word
"yes" to "no". Oh, boy can you imagine the trouble this one
would cause.
More recently, however,
viruses such as Winword/Wazzu have introduced a legal edge to the danger of
viral infection. It changes clauses in documents, while the unrelated Laroux
"data diddler" virus quietly alters numbers in spreadsheets, opening
the signatories on these contracts to potential legal difficulties if figures
are changed or words are deleted. One Portuguese virus made the simple but
potentially disastrous change of the word yes to the word no.
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Intel
to release new Celeron CPU line.
Posted: 03/24/2000
Source: CNET
Added by: Kim Heise
Intel will be releasing
a whole line of new low-end Celeron CPU's based on the Pentium III core architecture.
This means the new Celerons will run at much higher clock speeds and feature the
P3 "SSE" multimedia instruction set. Here's the scoop:
Next week, Intel will unveil two new Celeron processors for inexpensive
computers running at 566-MHz and 600-MHz, according to sources. The company will
then follow up in late April with two more Celerons running at 633-MHz and
667-MHz. A 700-MHz Celeron, which in February was slated
for the second half of the year, may also come out toward the end of the second
quarter.
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Seagate
Breaks Storage Record.
Posted: 03/24/2000
Source: PCeXtremist
Added by: Kim Heise
Isn't it simply amazing
how rapid computer technology is progressing? Just when I think there is nothing
that can surprise me anymore something big happens. Seagate has beaten IBM in
breaking the storage record – 45 Gigabits Per Square Inch!!
Read this:
If Seagate could utilize this storage potential in mass production drives
today, it would mean that 60GB (gigabytes) of data could be stored on a single
3.5” disc (60GB per platter). And since most drives are comprised of 4-5
discs, it would make for hard drives ranging in sizes up to 300GB!
300GB of drive space in a single 3.5" drive!
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AMD
"Sledgehammer" preview.
Posted: 03/24/2000
Source: AMD Zone
Added by: Kim Heise
Although the 1ghz race
is finally over (with all the hype anyone could muster), AMD and Intel are not
sitting still to enjoy the current crop of CPU's. AMD has a new 64bit version of
the Athlon K7 CPU in the works labeled "Sledgehammer". AMD Zone has
typed up a preview on this very impressive new CPU. The "Sledgehammer"
is not simply going to an Athlon CPU with a couple of tweaks.
What's impressive is that the CPU processes 32 data without taking a major
performance hit as do current (but sparse) generation 64bit processors. Launch
date is planned for October 2000.
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Taking
the Sony PlayStation2 for a Test Drive.
Posted: 03/24/2000
Source: SharkyExtreme
Added by: Kim Heise
Take a look at this article
that delves into the inner core of the Sony Playstation 2 with more detail than
you can imagine. SharkyExtreme traveled all the way to Japan to get this hands
on review with plenty of information. The review alone spends 2-3 pages simply
looking at the internal memory configuration of the PS2 and why it is so unique.
If you simply can't wait to get your hands on one of these new gaming consoles
and do not like to read then you should view the article simply for all the
impressive screenshots.
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Mandrake
Linux 7.0: A First Look.
Posted: 03/24/2000
Source: CPU Review
Added by: Kim Heise
CPU Review has written
up a review of Mandrake 7.0 which is based on Linux Kernel 2.2.14. The bottom
line is CPU Review highly recommend this "flavor" of Linux and gave it
the full thumbs up.
TOP
Tech News for Thursday March
23d 2000.
Microsoft
To Roll Out Windows 2000 "Lite".
Posted: 03/23/2000
Source: TechWeb
Added by: Kim Heise
Microsoft will be
releasing a slimmed-down version of Windows 2000 for "Internet"
appliances. Don't ask me what is meant by "Internet" devices because
to me that means any devices that connects to or serves Internet traffic which
is rather vague. According to the article the "lite" OS will be
supporting scaled down hardware systems that are dedicated to single or specific
tasks only.
Microsoft will soon
introduce a "lite" version of its Windows 2000 operating system aimed
at running task-specific devices such as Internet appliances and caching
servers, according to sources familiar with the company's plans.
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How
USB (Universal Serial Bus) works.
Posted: 03/23/2000
Source: Tech-Review
Added by: Kim Heise
With all the major
technological advancements in PC's we are seeing some very positive changes like
the USB port. The purpose of the USB port on your PC is to eventually do away
with serial/parallel ports and allow for one multifunction/high-speed connector
for everything from keyboards to speakers.
Tech-Review has posted an article on just exactly how the USB device works. You
can read the full article here.
USB ports can be found on any BX or later generation motherboard chipset. There
are USB adapter cards you can purchase to upgrade older systems.
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Weekly
CPU Prices.
Posted: 03/23/2000
Source: SharkyExtreme
Added by: Kim Heise
Take a look at this
weeks CPU prices over at SharkyExtreme. Not too surprisingly since the
giga-hertz race is over the CPU prices are holding firm with very little
changes. The only major changes are on the high-end Intel Pentium III's that
have dropped by $22 in a response to AMD's price cuts.
TOP
Tech News for Wednesday March
22nd 2000.
IBM
unveils memory technology.
Posted: 03/22/2000
Source: ZDNET
Added by: Kim Heise
Ladies and Gentlemen we
have another memory architecture contender to be confusing the market. Not
really, if you read the article closely, you will find that the new memory is
simply the current DDR memory found on high end video cards. I'm not sure why
IBM claims to be the creator of DDR memory and I believe the award for that goes
to Hitachi.
Big Blue says
its new memory chips could deliver twice the amount of data to microprocessors.
IBM Corp. on Tuesday introduced computer memory chips that deliver twice the
amount of data to a microprocessor as current memory chips, addressing the
bottleneck between processors and memory performance in servers.
TOP
E-Tax
Commission Fails To Reach Consensus.
Posted: 03/22/2000
Source: TechWeb
Added by: Kim Heise
The commission that was
established to determine how the government was going to tax internet commerce
failed to reach consensus. I sincerely wish the government would keep it's hands
off the internet.
The final gavel on a 10-month process designed to create policy
recommendations for Congress to consider when making laws on the Internet and
interstate commerce will produce a document that meets an April 20 deadline, but
it may not contain portions that are considered a commission
"recommendation," which by law must be created by a two-thirds
majority vote of the 19-member body.
TOP
Caldera
Climbs 110 Percent In IPO Debut.
Posted: 03/22/2000
Source: TechWeb
Added by: Kim Heise
Wouldn't it be
wonderful to catch the wave with these IPO's? On the other hand, I am simply
dumbfounded when I see companies become more worth than the parent company -
take 3com.com for example when PALM went IPO.
SAN FRANCISCO
(Reuters) - Shares of Caldera Systems, a developer of services and software for
the Linux operating system, jumped 110 percent in its IPO, but its gains were a
far cry from the stellar performances of other Linux stock offerings.
Basically investors are looking for the new "Microsoft" and are
betting on Linux to become the market share winner in the future.
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Opera
4.0 Beta 1 Released.
Posted: 03/22/2000
Source: BetaNews
Added by: Kim Heise
Opera is another
alternative Web browser to Microsoft's Internet Explorer and Netscape's
Communicator browser. The new version supports 128-bit SSL encryption and
includes a built-in email client. The beta 1 release version can be download here.
With a myriad of new features
and added support, Opera Software has released a beta of version 4.0 of its
Opera Web browser for Windows. This version brings an e-mail client and 128-bit
encryption to the table, along with new support for WAP, HTML 4.0, WML,
ECMAScript, and JavaScript, as well as support for plugins. Read more about it
from Opera Software, or download the latest
version from FileForum.com,
and test the newest features of this Web browser.
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Windows
2000 "LiveWare" drivers.
Posted: 03/22/2000
Source: nVNews Added by: Kim Heise
nVNews has mentioned
that Creative Labs has released the "LiveWare" drivers for Windows
2000 and SoundBlaster Live! owners. Download the drivers here.
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Microsoft
DOS Device Security Patch 6467.
Posted: 03/22/2000
Source: FileForum
Added by: Kim Heise
Not much to add here:
A patch that eliminates a security vulnerability in Microsoft Windows 95,
Windows 98, and Windows 98 Second Edition. The vulnerability could cause a
user’s system to crash, if they attempted to access a file or folder whose
path contained certain reserved words.
Download the update here.
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BugNet Top 30
Windows 2000 Bugs.
Posted: 03/22/2000
Source: BugNet
Added by: Kim Heise
BugNet has been kind
enough to post the top 30 Windows 2000 bugs. This could be very useful
information for transition IT managers who wish to learn if the bugs may cause
problems in their particular work arena. You can view the list here.
Here's Windows 2000 bug number 30 and
it looks particularly nasty:
According to Microsoft, Windows 2000
Professional may hang after you install Microsoft IntelliPoint 2.2. Microsoft
says that pressing CTRL-ALT-DELETE will not help. To resolve this problem,
Microsoft says you have to reinstall Windows 2000 Professional.
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SuSE LINUX 6.4
Release coming early April.
Posted: 03/22/2000
Source: SuSE Added by: Kim Heise
SuSE Linux 6.4 will
arrive sooner than expected as the company posts this
press release. Here's some of the highlights:
SuSE Linux 6.4 features supporting
server systems include: memory to 3.5 GB; the SuSE Proxy Suite, SuSE's open
source firewall tool and FTP proxy; and the journaling Reiser-Filesystem. Each
of these features was developed in part by SuSE research and the results made
available to the Open Source Community. The journaling file system logs every
change to data structures in the file system, enabling its re-creation within a
few seconds after a sudden system failure (e.g. power outage). "We are very
proud to give the Linux users another stable filesystem. Our installation tool
is the first on the market that allows users to choose either the journaling
filesystem or ext2 at installation."
SuSE Linux 6.4 contains 6 CD ROMs or 1 DVD,
a 530-page handbook, Quick Install Manual and 60 days free installation support
(telephone, fax or e-mail). SuSE Linux 6.4 for Alpha and PowerPC will be
released end of April. SuSE Linux 6.4 will be available at the price of 49.95.
Details and further technical information can be found online at: http://www.suse.de/en
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The State of PC Hardware.
Posted:
03/22/2000
Source: Ars-Technica Added by: Kim Heise
The Ars team have
posted an article to try and help you focus through all the confusion with all
the PC hardware that is currently on the market. The article primarily focuses
on CPU and motherboards. Read the full article here.
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AMD Athlon 1ghz review.
Posted: 03/22/2000
Source: Gamers
Depot
Added by: Kim Heise
Gamers Depot has been
able to take AMD's speedy new 1ghz CPU for a test drive and posts a review how
it stacks up against Intel. The conclusion pretty much sums up my feelings also:
There really is no "value" here with this chip at its current
price, expect pure, raw speed. The only reason people are going to buy
this chip is to have "bragging rights" around their friends on how
they are running a CPU at 1000Mhz. It's obvious that AMD is releasing this
chip because it's a speed that the OEM's wanted to see.
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