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Tech News for Friday May 5th 2000.Apache
Web Site Hacked. Visit Apache.org for more information. Thought of the
day. Here is something to ponder on this Friday afternoon. It was forwarded to me by someone so I'm not sure who wrote this. The tribal wisdom of the Dakota Indians, passed on from one Authorities
close in on 'ILOVEYOU' suspect. The "heat is
on" for this particular hacker(s) as authorities are getting closer to
catching him/her. After spending a couple of months in jail he/she is going to
be hired by one of the big guns in the computer industry to help create security
systems. We should throw these people in a very deep hole and forget about them
to teach people a lesson. MANILA, Philippines -- The "Love Bug" virus wreaking havoc on computer systems worldwide appears to have originated in the Philippines, and the author may be a young man living in a Manlia suburb, police and local Internet firms said Friday. sources said the local National Bureau of Investigation was investigating the case following a request from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation. A Manila Internet service provider (ISP) had earlier said the virus appeared to have first spread from two of its e-mail addresses. "What happened is the author of the virus used two e-mail addresses through Supernet -- spyder@super.net.ph and mailme@super.net.ph," Jose Carlotta, chief operating officer of Access Net Inc., a Manila Internet company, told Reuters. Access Net is the owner of Supernet, a prepaid ISP. "We suspect the guy who is the owner of the account is 23 years old, from Pandacan and a male," he added. Pandacan is a middle-class suburb in Manila. Carlotta said the clues to the identity of the hacker had been gleaned from information supposedly provided in online chat rooms, but that there was no way of knowing if it was true. The two e-mail addresses had
been linked to prepaid access accounts, so it was not immediately possible to
zero in on the owner, he added. Building
your own PC. The best way to buy a new PC is to build it yourself. It is not as difficult as it sounds and there are several web sites out there to help you get started. SharkyExtreme has posted a guide for building your own PC and you can read it here. When you build your own PC you know exactly what is inside your system making troubleshooting that much easier and you get to pick the best affordable components. Drop me an email if you have questions about building your own PC. Cisco
buys network switch maker for $5.7 billion. Cisco Systems today acquired ArrowPoint Communications, a maker of network switches, for about $5.7 billion in stock. With the acquisition, networking giant Cisco is hoping to expand its portfolio of products to better handle the increasing amount of voice, video and data transmitted across the Web. ArrowPoint, based in Acton, Mass., makes switches that are designed to make the delivery of that Web content more efficient. Under the terms of the acquisition, Cisco will exchange 2.1218 shares of Cisco common stock for every outstanding share and option of ArrowPoint. The deal is based on Cisco's closing price yesterday of $63.63. The acquisition will be accounted for as a pooling of interests and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of Cisco's fiscal year 2000, the company said. The buy is the latest in Cisco's ongoing shopping spree. The company recently has scooped up several companies, including SightPath for $800 million, as it aims to provide integrated data, voice and video networks. "This is consistent with Cisco's ongoing strategy of acquiring to fill in certain products where they either don't have their own product or they have one that is behind the market," said Michael Cristinziano, an analyst at investment firm Gerard Klaurer Mattison. While the purchase has been approved by the board of directors of both companies, the acquisition is still subject to various closing conditions, including antitrust regulatory approval. ArrowPoint, founded in 1997, has 337 employees. The group is led by ArrowPoint chief executive Cheng Wu and will join the public carrier IP group at Cisco. ArrowPoint provides a content switching platform using a software and hardware-based architecture. That set-up allows ArrowPoint to direct network traffic and content based on what Web surfers are requesting and the frequency of those requests. Microsoft
slammed for email security holes. Security issues tied to Microsoft's Outlook email program drew heated criticism today from security analysts after a new virus swept through computer systems across the globe. Some analysts said the "I Love You" attack points to serious flaws in Microsoft code. They noted that the virus takes advantage of well-known exploits involving Visual Basic script files, which end in the extension ".vbs." Visual Basic is a high-level programming language developed by Microsoft that is graphically oriented. Michael Zboray, chief technology officer for market researcher Gartner Group, harshly criticized Microsoft for releasing a programming language with the "wrong security posture" to businesses and the public. "Visual Basic script and the macros are proving to be a disaster. This is just happening over and over again. We have to get away from this hostile active content that is coming in through Word documents, Excel spreadsheets and the browser. "You can say a lot of things (about) how Java's not good, and you can say JavaScript has a lot of flaws," Zboray said. "But the security posture from which they were designed was the right posture. The security posture from which A ctiveX and VBScript were designed is the wrong posture." For its part, Microsoft attributes the ongoing security issues not so much to inherent problems with Visual Basic script and its macro language, but to bad people misusing good software. "We include scripting technologies because our customers ask us to put them there, and they allow the development of business-critical productivity applications that millions of our customers use," a Microsoft representative said. "Obviously, the technology can be misused by human motivation, and that's why we provide the security features for the customers to judge when the programs should be run or not." The Microsoft representative said that since last night, the software maker had been working with major virus makers to combat the problem, and that by this morning, most companies had updated their virus definitions to detect the bug. New
variant of 'ILOVEYOU' virus. A new variant of the "ILOVEYOU" virus is spreading, according to several sources. An unknown copycat has created a new virus that may continue to spread by changing the name of the attached .vbs file to "Very Funny.vbs" and the subject of the e-mail to "joke." In all other respects, the virus appears to be the same. -- Robert Lemos, ZDNet News. Matrox
G450 First Glimpse. Sharky has been able to find preview information on Matrox's upcoming G450 video card. Matrox has always had a strong reputation for designing video cards with superb picture quality and some very unique features. Poor video drivers and late shipping dates have plagued the G200 and G400 video cards but hopefully we might see a possible winner this time. The article does not include benchmarks but simply looks into some of the features that were bundled with the upcoming G450. Virus
Definition Updates. Download the latest Virus definitions to clean up the "I Love You" virus. Tech News for Thursday May 4th 2000.Businesses
shut down e-mail servers. And they thought the Melissa virus was lethal.... Companies are shutting down their email servers to try and curb this new virus. Our company today shut-down their entire email system to try and contain this new virus. It's a
'last-resort' option, but some corporations are shutting down their e-mail
servers to stop the 'ILOVEYOU' worm from spreading. Victims include Department
of Defense. Sources at San Francisco-based Pacific Bell said the company has shut down its e-mail servers to stop the bug's spread. A company spokeswoman said "there's been no significant impact for any Pacific Bell company," but she didn't know the extent of the infection. A spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Defense said the worm had been detected on military servers, but it was unclear whether any servers were shut down as a safety precaution. Intel's 'Timna' to kickstart low-end PCs. Maybe someone can explain this to me: Intel has just released the new Celeron II CPU's aimed at the low-end/low-cost computer market and now the chip-maker is yet announcing another low-cost CPU? As far as I know the new Celeron II CPU's are just about as common as hen's teeth and now they want to release another new chip. Intel Corp.'s forthcoming Timna chip could revitalize the stalled market for sub-$600 PCs -- or prove another expensive stumble in attempts by chip makers to jam more features on a single chip. The issue: Are PC buyers willing to accept lower clock speed and overall expandability in exchange for a lower price tag? Timna, it was revealed last week, will be introduced at a clock speed of at least 600MHz in the second half of the year. Designed for low-cost desktop PCs, the chip will integrate a processor core, graphics engine and memory controller with the aim of reducing cost. The promise of the chip is that its lower cost, compared with Intel's Celeron siblings, would allow PC makers to offer lower-priced products. AMD's
2000 Roadmap. Anandtech takes a look at AMD's year 2000 roadmap and you can gain some inside information of what the company is planning. It won't be long before AMD regains the performance lead in both the low end and the high end desktop markets. Although the current Athlon is definitely performing quite well, its power is being severely limited by its slow L2 cache. The release of the Thunderbird & Duron will help restore power to the AMD name, but the real thing to wait for will be the Mustang, which in the Athlon form will be the competitor to Intel's Willamette. Netscape
Communicator V4.73 released. Netscape has updated their popular web browser bringing it up to version 4.73. Visit this link for a list of changes/fixes and you can download the new version here. 'ILOVEYOU'
e-mail worm invades PCs. This new virus is
no laughing matter as it shutdown our entire corporate email system. Be warned! When a user running the e-mail program Microsoft Outlook clicks on the attachment, the virus sends a copy of itself to every person in his or her address book. A Microsoft security spokeswoman told ZDNet News the company currently has no plans to issue a patch or security warning to its customers. Instead, Microsoft is simply reminding its users to "continue to follow best security practices, such as to be leery of dubious e-mail." "This is a virus. The anti-virus
companies are the experts here," the spokeswoman said. "We are working
closely with the anti-virus community to provide them with any information we
can." She added that, right now, Microsoft has no plans to temporarily shut
down its own internal mail servers -- something the company did to halt the
proliferation of the Melissa virus last year. Something
to ponder.... Here's something interesting to think about. It was forwarded to me by someone I used to work with. Three beggars were begging in New York City. Tech News for Wednesday May 3d 2000.DDR
Chipsets To Flood H2 2000. Several motherboard manufacturers are going to be unveiling new chipsets that support new DDR (Double-Data Rate) RAM technology. What this means is faster FSB (Front-Side Bus) speeds which translates into massive performance gains on your system. With DDR-RAM based motherboards you will be seeing 166mhz, 200mhz and faster FSB speeds. Currently the industry speed for the FSB is 133mhz. Remember FSB or Front-Side bus is the speed between your CPU and your main memory which is currently suffering from extreme bottlenecking. According to this
interesting
CTech Taiwan report
, the three major Taiwanese chipset makers VIA, ALI and SiS are ready to flood
the market with DDR chipsets in the second half of 2000: total DDR chipset
shipment in Q4 2000 is expected to be around 5-7 million sets. ALI will announce
its DDR chipset for Athlon in June and will mass produce that in Q4 2000. VIA
will take the wrap off its PX-266 chipset, the sucessor to APP-133A with DDR
PC-2100 support, around May or June. VIA's DDR chipset for Athlon, the KX-266
will also debut around that same time frame. SiS will likely incorporate DDR
support into its upcoming SiS640 (Intel platform) and SiS730 (Athlon platform)
chipsets as well, abondoning the expensive Rambust DRDRAM. Intel and AMD are
also expected to roll out their own DDR chipsets (AMD-760 for AMD)by Q3 2000. Broadcom
Announces Low-Cost Optical Chip. LOS ANGELES -- Broadcom, the leading maker of semiconductors used in high-speed Internet access devices, is entering the white-hot market for optical networking with a new low-cost chip. The arrival of Broadcom (Irvine, Calif.) in the fast-growing optical networking field should have a "very material impact" on the company, chief executive Henry Nicholas told Reuters in an interview. "This is the most significant announcement we have made since the company went public," Nicholas said. Broadcom (stock: BRCM) went public April 1998 at a price of $24 a share. Late today, it was trading at 183-17/64 on Nasdaq. Broadcom's chip allows for the transmission of data at speeds up to 10 Gbits/s over Ethernet WANs using optical fiber at distances up to 30 miles. For consumers, the development of low-cost, optical WANs should speed the delivery of virtual private network (VPN) services that would let them open windows on their televisions and access company computer networks securely from their living rooms. "Consumers are going to be able to see seamless virtual private networks at much lower cost," Nicholas said. "We've developed a breakthrough technology that substantially lowers the cost. "This is huge," he said. The fast-growing optical networking market is drawing companies such as Cisco Systems (stock: CSCO) and Lucent Technologies (stock: LU), along with a host of startups. Nicholas said Broadcom was now offering the chip on a sample basis at $88, compared with about $1,300 for existing chips using more expensive materials and manufacturing processes. He said volume production could begin immediately. Metallica
Fingers 300,000 Napster Users. For those of you who are not familiar with Napster - it is a internet utility for sharing your MP3 audio archives with fellow internet users. Lawsuits and other attempts to control this technology are simply futile because the cat has been let out of the bag and there is nothing anyone can do to stop it. The music industry's battle continues with MP3 company Napster (San Mateo, Calif.). The rock band Metallica has identified 335,435 distinct users whom it alleges have used Napster servers to transfer its songs illegally. The band said it will take the list of users to Napster offices on Wednesday so that the company can delete the users' accounts. The list was obtained from NetPD, a company that tracks and monitors online usage.. Dell
Cuts Prices On LCD Monitors. The price on flat-screen monitors is slowly becoming affordable but they are still far too expensive to compete with standard CRT monitors. Dell has dropped the axe on their flat-screen monitors. Dell today announced significant price reductions on its space-saving, energy-efficient flat panel displays.Price reductions on the Dell flat panel displays, which produce less heat than traditional monitors, include a cut of almost 21 percent for the 17-inch display, the 1700FP, from $2,229 to $1,799. Dell also cut the price of its 15-inch 1501FP by almost 10 percent, from $1,109 to $999. Both displays are excellent upgrades for financial, medical, industrial, governmental, educational or any mission-critical use where space, weight, power conservation and heat dispersion are important. They are true analog, active-matrix, thin film transistor (TFT) displays that deliver bright, vivid images with no geometric distortion. Either display can be used with a standard graphics connector without additional, potentially expensive, hardware. The Dell 1501FP also includes a digital visual interface (DVI) interface which allows connectivity to digital graphics cards with DVI capability. According to DisplaySearch, a marketing research firm, shipments of flat panel displays grew by 244 percent worldwide in 1999. In the fourth quarter of 1999, Dell increased sequential shipments by 48 percent, becoming the No. 3 supplier of flat panels in North America and the No. 6 supplier worldwide.2 The 1700FP is TCO-95 and the 1501FP is TCO-99 compliant. Both displays also meet the stringent emission requirements of MPR-II and the power conservation requirements of Energy Star and NUTEK. They offer Plug-and-Play and asset manageability support, and each Dell display comes with a three-year limited warranty. eBay
Yanks Elian Items. The whole conversation regarding Elian Gonzales is something that I would have preferred to avoid but this article just shows you how "out-of control" the whole situation in Florida is becoming. What will they think of selling next on eBay? This is totally absurd. SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- A weathered raft purportedly used to carry Elian Gonzalez from Cuba and a jar of air supposedly from Little Havana were yanked from eBay's auction site amid complaints from fellow auctioneers.Bids for the raft, a 9-by-5 straw-strewn slab of wood with a tire on one end, were halted Monday after eBay users complained to the San Jose-based company that the items were fake or nonexistent. "We reserve the right to pull down questionable auctions,'' said eBay spokesman Henry Gomez. "The bids were extremely high. At one point there was a $10 million bid on the raft and that bid was retracted.'' Gomez said neither the raft itself nor the high bid could be verified. Other Elian-related items removed from eBay
included a toothbrush "like the one Elian would have used,'' a jar of air
containing scents from Miami's Little Havana neighborhood and an offer to sell
Elian himself.
Visa
plans bill payment for mobile devices. You would think that at this time it is already far too easy to obtain access to credit cards and become drowned in debt. On the bright side Visa is going to make it easier to pay off credit cards. Here's the full story: OWINGS MILLS, Md.--Visa USA and software maker Aether Systems today are expected to announce a partnership to develop bill payment systems for cellular phones, pagers and handheld computers, according to reports.Terms were not disclosed. Visa, the largest U.S. credit card network, and Aether will develop a system that allows people to make payments online without having to enter personal details for each transaction, The Wall Street Journal reported. Aether, based here, had revenues of $6.3 million last year. Microsoft
Announces Windows Media Player 7 Beta. Please remember that this audio player is labelled BETA and so be warned when installing this on your system. Here's part of the press release from Microsoft: Only Player to Deliver All-in-One Experience Is First to Include SRS WOW 3-D Audio Enhancement TechnologyREDMOND, Wash. -- May 2, 2000 -- Microsoft Corp. today announced the immediate availability of the beta version of Microsoft® Windows Media™ Player 7. The beta release, available for download from http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmedia/ and http://WindowsMedia.com/, furthers Microsoft's efforts to bring digital media to the mainstream by enabling consumers to enjoy a full range of digital media activities, including CD audio playback, streamed and downloaded audio and video, jukebox capabilities for CD recording, media management, and Internet radio. The Windows Media Player 7 beta version introduces pioneering new features including SRS WOW™ 3-D audio enhancement technology, breakthrough audio and video quality, unmatched support for popular portable devices and storage media, and new customization features. Tech News for Tuesday May 2nd 2000.Site
News Update. Apologies for the slow news stream. It's been a very busy week and thankfully news highlights have been slow. Again - it's the same as last week: All eyes are on Microsoft. I'm still looking for some help posting news articles so drop me an email if you are interested. Handspring
beats Palm during first week in stores. Handspring began selling its Visor handheld computer in retail stores |
