Tech News for Wednesday November 8th 2000

OS Dual booting on your PC.
Posted: 11/08/2000     Source: 3D Spotlight  Added by: Kim Heise

3D Spotlight was written up an article on how to configure your PC on allowing the option of booting under multiple Microsoft operating systems.

The article shows you how to configure your email, bookmarks and address book under multiple Microsoft operating systems.

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Vitesse announces optical chip for 10-Gbits applications.
Posted: 11/08/2000     Source: SemiBIZNews  Added by: Kim Heise

Some very new impressive technological steps are showing up in the high performance networking area. Vitesse has developed optical chips for 10-gigabit network support.

CAMARILLO, Calif. -- Vitesse Semiconductor Corp. here today announced an optical interconnect chip for 10-gigabit-per-second applications that combines the transmitter and receiver functions on the same device.

The VSC7166 device from Vitesse is based on the emerging very short research (Very Short Reach) optical interconnect IC standard, a technology developed by Cisco Systems Inc. and endorsed by the Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF).

The VSC7166 is used to interface SONET-based OC-192 framers with parallel optical modules, allowing OEMs to connect networking equipment at distances at 300 meters or less. The device converts 16-bit, SONET-framed data to twelve 1.244-gigabit/sec. serial data, thereby enabling OEMs to reduce systems cost.

PCI-X bridge chip will be available.
Posted: 11/08/2000     Source: SemiBIZNews  Added by: Kim Heise

I hope we will be seeing PCI-X implementation for consumer level computers sometime sooner than later. It appears if server platforms will be using the new architecture before it becomes readily available for everyday PC systems. The current PCI bus architecture is miserably slow at 33mhz which is a rather significant bottle-neck when you consider using a 1ghz processor.

Does the PCI-X bus architecture make the AGP bus obsolete?

Big Blue may be bringing PC-X to the market first.

IBM Microelectronics here today announced the industry's first standardized PCI-X bridge chip designed for use in high-speed I/O applications.

The chip is design for PCI-X bus applications, including storage area networks, enterprise computing, voice and data communication systems, said Tom Reeves, director, Storage Networking products for IBM Microelectronics.

"The push for faster data rates has put a premium on extremely high-speed designs," Reeves said. "IBM is helping to ease the transition from bus architecture to switched fabrics with the first industry-standard 133-MHz PCI-X bridge. Using our PCI-X intellectual property and ASIC strengths, IBM is enabling our customers to develop advanced technologies that address the increasing need for I/O performance," he added.

PCI-X is an evolutionary upgrade to the standard I/O technology called PCI. PCI-X significantly increases capacity of the conventional PCI bus from 66-MHz to 133-MHz using either a 32-bit or 64-bit bus.

The new IBM PCI-X bridge chip product is backward compatible with the PCI bus standard, ensuring that investments made in PCI-based systems are portable to the newer and faster PCI-X environment. The bridge connects two electrically separate PCI-X bus domains, allowing concurrent operations on both buses. The chip also supports configuration of PCI or PCI-X mode on either bus in any combination.

The IBM 133 PCI-X bridge chip in 1,000-unit quantities is $52. IBM is sampling its new PCI-X bridge chip, with production volumes available in March 2001.

Sun tries to cope with server flaw.
Posted: 11/08/2000     Source: ZDNET  Added by: Kim Heise

Word has been floating around for sometime that there was a problem with new Sun computer servers. Now Sun has reported a memory bug that supposedly only affects less than 1% of the machines out there.

For the past year, Sun Microsystems Inc. has struggled to solve a mysterious fault that can cause its high-end servers to crash unexpectedly, an embarrassing problem for a computer maker that routinely refers to its servers as "rock solid" reliable.

The Palo Alto, Calif., company said the problem, which was eventually traced to a memory flaw, is rare and probably affects fewer than 1% of all computers it has sold. Since the problem was first identified in its servers, the large computers often used to manage databases and handle e-commerce tasks, Sun (Nasdaq: SUNW) engineers have put together a variety of hardware and software fixes that appear to reduce the risk of spontaneous crashes. Sun has also revamped internal quality programs designed to prevent reliability problems in the first place.

Transmeta Stock Doubles In IPO.
Posted: 11/08/2000     Source: TechWeb  Added by: Kim Heise

This is simply beyond me. Transmeta loses two major OEM's and with all the hype people still fall for it and bingo - the stock doubles.

It would be refreshing to see a competitor to Intel in the portable market but Transmeta has very long way to go before making any significant inroads.

Shares of Transmeta skyrocketed in their Nasdaq debut Tuesday, one of the most anticipated initial public offerings of the year.

In afternoon trading, Transmeta Corp. (stock: TMTA) stock climbed 21 1/2, to 42 1/2, on heavy volume. The five-year-old maker of low-powered microprocessors had bumped its IPO price to $21 Monday from earlier ranges of $11 to $13 and $16 to $18, reflecting hot and heavy demand from investors.

Transmeta, Santa Clara, Calif., has been portrayed variously as a potent threat to chip giant Intel Corp. (stock: INTC) and an overhyped media creation. Either way, the company has gotten the interest of Wall Street.

High Tech Awaits Election Results.
Posted: 11/08/2000     Source: TechWeb  Added by: Kim Heise

Isn't this amazing the last 24 hours? The country is sitting on ice while the votes are being counted in Florida. The stock market will be very much affected depending on who finally wins the election for US president because each candidate sides with different market areas.

Voters went to the polls Tuesday to decide the what has turned out to be the closest presidential election in 40 years, a choice that will have enormous implications for the high-tech economy.

Whether the winner turns out to be Republican Texas Governor George W. Bush and Democratic Vice President Al Gore, he could affect policy in such areas as Internet taxation, telecommunications competition, antitrust, privacy over the Internet, computer exports, advanced wireless Internet, and intellectual property.

Control of Congress is also up for grabs and may depend on just a handful of races that are as tight as the presidential competition. The controlling party directs how the new president's agenda is implemented for the next two years.

Republicans have held the majority of seats in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate since 1994. Democrats need to pick up seven House seats and five Senate seats to reclaim congressional majorities.

The next Congress is likely to consider Internet privacy, taxation of online sales, and patent reform in the wake of increasing intellectual property business method patents.

Intel Moves To 0.13-Micron Technology.
Posted: 11/08/2000     Source: TechWeb  Added by: Kim Heise

The smaller the CPU core, the lower the voltages required to run the chip. This means we achieve faster clock speeds due to lower heat build-up on the CPU die iteslf.

Claiming to take the lead in chip manufacturing, Intel Corp. Tuesday entered the 0.13-micron race by announcing a new process technology complete with copper-interconnects and low-k dielectrics.

The company will move its new 0.13-micron technology into production in the first half of 2001, but it declined to give an exact timetable for product introductions based on the process.

Intel (stock: INTC) will announce more details about the process at the IEEE International Electron Device Meeting (IEDM) in San Francisco next month.

In the meantime, the company hopes to move its 0.13-micron process technology into production by the first half of 2001, said Sunlin Chou, vice president and general manager of the Technology & Manufacturing Group at Intel, Santa Clara, Calif.

The new process will enable Intel to develop and make microprocessors with more than 100 million transistors, with speeds exceeding 1-GHz, Chou said.

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TurtleBeach Santa Cruz Dolby Digital 5.1 Sound Card Review.
Posted: 11/08/2000     Source: GMachines  Added by: Kim Heise

At this point Creative Labs has no competition in the PC sound market. TurtleBeach almost disappeared underneath the might of Creative Labs but the company has announced an impressive new sound card with Dolby Digital 5.1 support. 

Imagine running 6 speakers on your computer.

After losing out on its previous sound card offerings, Turtle Beach has come back with a vengeance.  Its newest sound card, the Santa Cruz, could be one of the best values in the sound card market.  Not only does it allow for a Dolby Digital 5.1 connection, but it also has on board MP3 decoding to take the strain away from your CPU when you are listening to those newly downloaded tunes.  

Microsoft to promote tablet PC at Comdex
Posted: 11/08/2000     Source: WinINFO  Added by: Kim Heise

The future of portable computers will look more like notebooks and keyboards will be replaced by a stylus. There will always be a need for a keyboard but on portable devices keyboards take up so much room to accommodate both hands.

Bill Gates will be demonstrating the latest generation of "tablet" computers using Transmeta's CPU which is a very smart move since the Transmeta CPU consumes significantly less power than any of the competitors.

Microsoft chairman Bill Gates will reportedly show off a Transmeta-based PC tablet running Windows this Sunday during his keynote address at Fall Comdex in Las Vegas, officially unveiling a project the company hopes to see released in the coming years. Gates often uses Comdex as a springboard for Microsoft's visionary product plans: Two years ago, the company unveiled its ClearType display technology, which has only recently been used in shipping products. But the Tablet PC is notable for a number of reasons, not the least of which is its reliance on a non-Intel microprocessor. Instead, the Tablet PC will run on Transmeta's Crusoe chip, which compromises some performance for extended battery life.

Microsoft first showed off its Tablet PC prototype at the June .NET strategy briefing in Redmond, but Gates' demo at Comdex is expected to be more wide reaching. The Tablet PC currently runs a wireless-enabled version of Windows 2000, though sources say that the company will switch to Whistler early next year. But don't expect a Tablet PC any time soon: Microsoft Research, which developed early versions of the devices, says that it's unlikely to see the light of day until 2003 at the earliest. In the meantime, Microsoft will work to ensure that its latest hardware innovation doesn't suffer the same fate as the Apple Newton or Windows CE, two handheld designs that never really caught on with consumers.

Internet Explorer 6 features announced.
Posted: 11/08/2000     Source: WinINFO  Added by: Kim Heise

It appears as if IE 6.0 will not contain many new features but will mainly consist of cosmetic changes. IE 6.0 will be deployed with the new "Whistler" operating system which should be out in summer next year.

Microsoft has contacted the initial round of participants for the Internet Explorer 6 beta test, officially launching the testing phase of its next Web browser. IE 6 will build on the foundation of IE 5.x, adding new Explorer bars that will make it easier for users to work with digital media such as music, video, and images. Arguably not a major revision to the IE product line, IE 6 is expected to be released alongside the desktop versions of Whistler, the next version of Windows 2000. And of course, Whistler will ship with an integrated version of IE 6 when it's released next summer. In many ways, the new features in IE 6 simply copy functionality that was added to MSN Explorer, the company's rival Web browser for beginners. IE is now being marketed as a solution for more sophisticated users.

IE 6 will also feature as-yet-unknown extensions to Dynamic HTML (DHTML) and other features for Web developers, as well as a My Pictures feature that will allow users to easily view, save, and email pictures over the Internet.

Tech News for Tuesday November 7th 2000

Compaq drops Transmeta's Crusoe chip.
Posted: 11/07/2000     Source: ZDNET  Added by: Kim Heise

This just in hot off the press. It will be interesting to see what happens to Transmeta's stock that just went IPO yesterday.

Compaq Computer Corp. (NYSE: CPQ), according to published reports, has abandoned plans to use Transmeta Corp.'s low-power Crusoe processor in Compaq Armada notebook PCs. The decision by Compaq makes it the second top-tier computer maker to do so, after IBM Corp. (NYSE: IBM).

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Intel Rolls Out DSL Network Processors.
Posted: 11/07/2000     Source: TechWeb  Added by: Kim Heise

With the rapid growth of DSL it's hardly surprising companies are jumping onto the technology. Computer hardware heavyweight Intel is throwing it's might into the the DSL chip market.

Bearing the first fruit from its acquisition of Basis Communications, Intel on Monday announced two service-specific network processor lines for low-cost DSL applications.

The new chips, called the IXP220 and IXP225, are designed for use in host-processing functions in DSL modems, customer-premise equipment, low-end routers, residential gateways, and related products, said Steve Price, general manager of integrated access products at the network products division of Intel Corp. (stock: INTC).

The IXP220 is geared for data-only applications in DSL equipment, while the IXP225 is targeted for both voice and data protocols, Price said.

"Our products are geared for the last mile in DSL networks," Price said. "These chips are also geared for multiuser voice and data environments."

The chips were originally developed by Basis Communications Inc., a spinoff of Cirrus Logic Inc. (stock: CRUS). Earlier this year, Intel acquired Basis for about $450 million in stock. At present, Intel sells three types of network-processor products. At the low-end of the market, the company offers service-specific chips for DSL networks, which are developed by the former Basis operation.

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Hackers Attack Republican Website.
Posted: 11/07/2000     Source: TechWeb  Added by: Kim Heise

This sort of underhanded practices can only hurt the party this hacker is supporting because it is immature and "below the belt". 

In a sign of the times, a leading Republican website was hacked just hours before polls opened in what Republicans said was an effort to discredit their presidential candidate George W. Bush. Late Monday, the Republican National Committee's website was replaced with a lengthy anti-Bush tirade, according to RNC spokesman Tom Yu, who said the unknown hacker also left a link to Democrat Al Gore's campaign website. 

Gates to Sell $135.4 Million in Microsoft Stock.
Posted: 11/07/2000     Source: Yahoo Daily News  Added by: Kim Heise

Can anybody shed some light on what Mr Gates is doing here? Either he needs some raw capital for a major project or he is getting nervous over current market moves.

Bill Gates (news - web sites) plans to sell Microsoft Corp. (NasdaqNM:MSFT - news) stock valued at $135.4 million, a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (news - web sites) showed on Monday.

Gates, Microsoft's co-founder and chairman, intends to sell 2 million shares of common stock, according to the SEC document.

It shows that the last time Gates sold Microsoft stock was on Sept. 8, when he sold 1 million shares for $69.7 million.

In the past three months, Gates has sold 10 million shares for $702.4 million, the filing showed. A foundation named after Gates and his wife, Melinda, has sold 22.865 million shares for $1.6 billion.

A spokeswoman said Gates sold the shares for portfolio diversification purposes.

As of Sept. 8, Gates held more than 731.7 million shares of Microsoft.

Seagate Wins Pact for Microsoft Xbox Drive.
Posted: 11/07/2000     Source: Yahoo Daily News  Added by: Kim Heise

Hard drive manufacturers are having a very difficult time on the market right now as hard drive prices are plummeting daily. The only plan for building a stable profit margin is by signing up with a major OEMs. Seagate did just that and has signed with Microsoft to supply the hard-drives for the upcoming X-Box gaming console.

Seagate Technology Inc. (NYSE:SEG - news), the world's biggest maker of hard disk drives, said on Tuesday that it was chosen to supply the hard drives for the Xbox, Microsoft Corp.'s (NasdaqNM:MSFT - news) upcoming video game console.

The Scotts Valley, Calif.-based company said it won a contract to provide hard drives from June 2001 through mid-year 2003 for the Xbox, which is scheduled for release in fall 2001.

``As a category, games represent 50 percent of consumer PC software sales. This is an opportunity for volume growth in disc drive shipments as the Xbox attracts a large portion of this audience,'' said Brian Dexheimer, Seagate's executive vice president of worldwide sales, marketing and customer service.

Shares of Seagate closed at $73-3/4 in New York Stock Exchange (news - web sites) trading on Monday. The stock's 52-week range is between $33-1/16 and $79-3/16.

CL, IndigoVision to add networked video capability to chips.
Posted: 11/07/2000     Source: SemiBizNews  Added by: Kim Heise

Just an FYI for those of you who are also watching exiting developments for handheld devices.

AUSTIN, Tex. -- Cirrus Logic Inc. here today announced plans to collaborate with IndigoVision Group plc. of Scotland to jointly develop real-time networked video capability in Cirrus' Maverick chip set product line.

According to the two companies, jointly-developed ICs and software will address embedded designs for networked video over the Internet in a range of consumer applications during the next couple of years. These systems include digital TVs, handheld devices, set-top boxes, video replay boxes, video servers and closed circuit TVs.

The partnership also aims to offer new video products that will further enhance portability and mobility of industrial applications in security and surveillance markets.

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Pentium 4 on sale but can't be used.
Posted: 11/07/2000     Source: CNET  Added by: Kim Heise

This is funny. The Pentium 4 processors are available but there is no way to use the new CPU because there are no motherboards currently available on the market.

Avid computer fans can already get their hands on the Pentium 4, two weeks before the chip's official debut, but a total lack of motherboards means that chips purchased now can't be used just yet.

A handful of computer dealers are already selling Intel's Pentium 4 processor, which is officially slated to debut Nov. 20. Dallas Memory International, for instance, is selling the 1.5-GHz Pentium 4 for $1,150 and the 1.4-GHz version of the chip for $990, not including shipping, said Alex Zhel, a company sales representative.

However, early purchasers won't get much of an early insight into the how the chip performs. Motherboards and chipsets, which connect the processor to hard drives and other PC components, won't be available for at least another week or so, dealers said.

"You can't do anything yet," Zhel said. "We've sold about five so far."

The Pentium 4 will mark an evolutionary step in Intel's product line and will likely allow the company to once again grab--at least temporarily--the coveted "world's fastest desktop chip" title from rival Advanced Micro Devices.

Although complete benchmarks have yet to emerge, Intel is promising marked performance over the Pentium III and, by implication, over AMD's Athlon chip. Competition with the Athlon family will likely be a huge issue for the semiconductor industry in 2001.

Hacker hits Microsoft Internet server.
Posted: 11/07/2000     Source: CNET  Added by: Kim Heise

An update to the latest hack on Microsoft. I hope the move by Bill Gates to sell $135 million in Microsoft stock is not related to his nervousness over the break-ins.

In the latest security breach for Microsoft, a Dutch hacker infiltrated a company Internet server Friday, the software giant confirmed Monday.

The hacker, using the pseudonym "Dimitri," gained access last week to a backup Web server and posted the message "Hack the planet," a Microsoft spokesman said.

The incident comes just days after a major and malicious intrusion on Microsoft's internal networks. Although hackers did not swipe Microsoft's precious software code, the break-in at one of world's largest and most recognized companies again raised important security questions for many corporations.

The latest breach was minor by comparison and was fixed almost immediately, the company said.

Known as a redirect server, the infiltrated computer served only to point Web surfers to a new Uniform Resource Locator (URL), or Web site address, for a conference and events registration Web site, said Microsoft spokesman Adam Sohn. The server, which was nearing its scheduled retirement age, suffered from not having received a new software update, or "patch," that was issued Oct. 17, Sohn said. Microsoft has corrected the problem, he added.

IBM thinks small with new chipmaking technology.
Posted: 11/07/2000     Source: CNET  Added by: Kim Heise

Here's something interesting that has popped up in the news regarding Big Blue's new chipmaking technology. Lately we have been hearing plenty of news from IBM and I hope all these new technological break-troughs eventually trickle down to the public.

IBM on Tuesday announced it has developed a breakthrough chipmaking technology it said can be used to build smaller optical chips, which are used to build high-speed communications networks.

The technique can be used to build chips up to five times smaller than similar chips made by existing manufacturing processes, IBM said.

The Armonk, N.Y.-based company said it entered into an agreement with Scottish semiconductor maker Kymata to produce next-generation optical networking chips.

Under the agreement, IBM and privately held Kymata plan to jointly develop optical chips used to help networking gear drive data and information at higher speeds across optical networks.

IBM will take an undisclosed minority stake in Kymata, and the two companies will design products around IBM's process technology, allowing Kymata to make new chip designs for itself and IBM.

Sample products are expected to be available to customers starting in the first half of 2001.

According to a report issued by the Semiconductor Industry Association last week, the optical chip market is expected grow 68 percent this year to $10 billion, 30 percent next year to reach $13 billion, and 19 percent in 2002 to $15 billion.

DDR-SDRAM Explained.
Posted: 11/07/2000     Source: PC Mechanic  Added by: Kim Heise

Regardless of what you hear from the Intel camp DDR-RAM is the next logical upgrade for memory on the next generation consumer PC's. PC Mechanic has posted an article helping you understand the differences between the current SDRAM and the future DDR-RAM.

Ok, so we've all been wondering where the heck its been. DDR-SDRAM, the supposed next step for the memory industry, has proven itself...by actually showing up in the mainstream memory market. Although it has had a lot of press, anyone who has been involved with computers knows that this doesn't really mean anything, as vaporware has always been around. In any case, DDR-SDRAM is here, and its here to stay.

DDR-SDRAM has actually been on the market for some time, as it has been used in memory speed intensive things like graphics accelerators and whatnot. But now we actually get to see it used as the primary RAM in computers, so it is our duty as consumers to know the beef about this. Lets start from the top.

Microsoft seeks testers for IE6.
Posted: 11/07/2000     Source: ZDNET  Added by: Kim Heise

Microsoft has some major plans for IE 6.0 and they company is looking for some beta testers to help field test the new browser.

On the heels of refreshing its Internet Explorer 5.5 release, Microsoft Corp. has begun lining up beta testers for Internet Explorer 6.0, a more consumer-friendly version of its Web browser.

According to two Windows enthusiast Web sites, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) put the call out for Internet Explorer 6.0 testers late last week. Just days before, Microsoft posted to its Web site the first collection of fixes and patches to Internet Explorer 5.5.

Version 6.0, according to ActiveWin.com and WinInformant.com, will get a more digital-media facelift. Microsoft will add Explorer toolbars that will allow users to work more easily with digital images, music, and video clips, the sites said.

ActiveWin representatives also claimed that Microsoft is adding new anti-virus capabilities to Outlook Express as part of the IE6 release. And Microsoft will almost certainly add the new dynamic HTML and cascading-style-sheet technologies to IE6 that it unveiled last week as part of its service pack 1 update to Version 5.5.

Microsoft did not respond to a request for comment prior to deadline.

Tech News for Monday November 6th 2000

Anti-Virus Software for Your Phone.
Posted: 11/06/2000     Source: eFront  Added by: Kim Heise

This is something that would have not occurred to me but your web enabled cell phones could be at risk. For now I suspect the anti-virus software companies are stirring up hype to create software sales. The words "recent rash" of virus attacks on web enabled cell phones is a little too harsh since I've only heard of one a couple of weeks ago.

In lieue of a recent rash of virus' attacking Web-enabled cellular phones and other Internet enabled devices, it seems logical that companies would be scurrying to be the first to develop anti-virus software for said electronics. Network Associates has announced the availability of such software, giving Webphone users protection against malicious users all over the globe. For more information read the press release over at Network Associates.

Transmeta's IPO debut today.
Posted: 11/06/2000     Source: CNET  Added by: Kim Heise

It will be interesting to see how they stock soars over the next several hours. This is going to be one major rollacoster ride.

Transmeta, the Santa Clara, Calif.-based maker of chips for notebooks and handheld computers, is scheduled to launch a high-profile initial public offering Monday, a week after IBM suspended a project to release notebooks equipped with the company's chips.

Despite the broken deal with IBM, Transmeta appears poised for a successful debut. On Friday, the company raised the terms of its offering to $16 to $18 per share, from a range of $11 to $13, because of strong investor demand.

Also Monday, Cisco Systems will announce earnings. The company is expected to report that fiscal first-quarter sales rose 61 percent. Investors will be watching Cisco closely, however, following an unfavorable report Oct. 24 from rival Nortel Networks.

Nortel announced that its third-quarter sales fell short of forecasts, creating fears of an overall slowdown for telecommunications-equipment makers.

Internet Explorer 5.5 Service Pack 1 and Internet Tools.
Posted: 11/06/2000     Source: Microsoft  Added by: Kim Heise

In case you missed the news last week that Microsoft has launched a minor update (SP-1) of Internet Explorer 5.5.

Download Internet Explorer 5.5 Service Pack 1 (SP1) and Internet Tools. The newest version of Internet Explorer includes improved support for DHTML and CSS, which gives Web architects greater control over browser appearance and behavior. Enjoy the ability to preview Web pages exactly as they will appear when printed. Internet Explorer 5.5 SP1 and Internet Tools makes it easier than ever to connect to the Internet and find the information you need. With Internet Explorer 5.5 SP1 and Internet Tools, you can use Connection Manager as your default dialer when Dial-Up Networking is already installed.

Internet Explorer 6 Testing Set To Begin.
Posted: 11/06/2000     Source: ActiveWin  Added by: Kim Heise

Just last week Microsoft release Internet Explorer 5.5 SP-1 and has already started gearing up for version 6.0 which has just started getting into early beta. No word on a possible release date but I suspect it may coincide with the new "Whistler" OS.

We have had a few e-mails these last couple of days that seem to lend great weight to us to show that the first beta release of Internet Explorer 6.0 is set to be launched with Microsoft's beta testers in the next day or so. No news of what is new except for more explorer bars and a few DHTML and CSS improvements but more news as we get it.

Microsoft hacked again.
Posted: 11/06/2000     Source: The Register  Added by: Kim Heise

Ouch - this does not look good for Microsoft's public image regarding system security. On the other hand the top most frequently attached sites are most likely the US Government and Microsoft so any possible weakness in the security is going to be exploited. 

I still think that Microsoft's networks are probably one of the most secure because of the amount of attacks it receives and how much bad publicity the company would receive during each security breach.

Just one week after Microsoft admitted to a major breach of its security, another hacker by the name of Dimitri claims to have gained access to several of its Web servers.

Using a known security hole in M$' Internet Information Server software - which should have been fixed with its own patch - Dimitri hacked into the servers and uploaded a text file called Hack the Planet. He claims to have been able to alter files on Microsoft's download site and, if he so wished, add Trojan horses to software. The implications are obvious.

On top of this, Dimitri claimed to have possession of an encrypted file containing administrative user names and passwords. He could decode it, he said, but wouldn't. Other interesting info: Microsoft's server domain is called Houston (and now it has a problem) and all the Web servers are set up in the same way. Tut tut.

Microsoft has admitted that at least one server has been compromised and that access was gained through a known security hole. The patch hadn't been applied to the server and now it is rushing around checking all the others. However, the Redmond giant claimed, this was not an important server and was being used only to redirect traffic to more up-to-date content.

Dimitri used the Unicode bug to get access into the systems. Microsoft's first patch for the hole was produced in August and was made public last month. The failure of M$ to install its own patches was described as "extremely sloppy" by the hacker. You're not wrong there.

New AMD 760 motherboards & problem solved.
Posted: 11/06/2000     Source: FiringSquad  Added by: Kim Heise

Last week AMD announced a new motherboard chipset for their Athlon and Duron CPU's called the AMD 760 chipset. It was also reported a day later that the chipset was to be delayed due to a mysterious technical problem. Thankfully AMD has found the problem and motherboards from various vendors will be showing up shortly on the consumer market. Here is a list of some of the motherboards you can expect to see in the next couple of weeks:

• ASUS A7M266 : 4 DDR DIMM Slots, 1 AGP Pro, 5 PCI, 1 AMR
• AOpen MK7A : 2 DDR DIMM Slots, 1 AGP, 3 PCI
• Biostar M7MIB : 4 DDR DIMM Slots, 1 AGP, 4 PCI, 1 ISA, 1 AMR
• DFI AK76 : 2 DDR DIMM Slots, 1 AGP, 6 PCI
• EPoX EP-8K7A : 2 DDR DIMM Slots, 1 AGP Pro, 6 PCI
• FIC AD-11 : 2 DDR DIMM Slots, 1 AGP, 5 PCI, 1 AMR
• Gigabyte GA-7DX : 2 DDR DIMM Slots, 1 AGP Pro, 5 PCI, 1 AMR
• MSI MS-6341 : 4 DDR DIMM Slots, 1 AGP Pro, 5 PCI
• Soltek SL-75DRA : 2 DDR DIMM Slots, 1 AGP Pro, 6 PCI
• TYAN S2398 : 2 DDR DIMM Slots, 1 AGP, 6 PCI

AMD had encountered a problem with the 760 chipset therefore shipments of motherboards based on the chipset had been delayed.gth of the delay would be known. Firing Squad discovered that a glitch has indeed been found with the current version of the chip (B2), but a fix has already been implemented by AMD. Under certain conditions the 761 Northbridge will generate a clock glitch into the CPU that may cause the system to hang. To resolve this, motherboard manufacturers will have to integrate an external circuit to filter out the glitch.

What a vacation!
Posted: 11/06/2000     Source: N/A  Added by: Kim Heise

This vacation turned out to be huge surprise because my wife won a new Panasonic 51inch TV. The new TV should show up sometime in the next three weeks or so and we have no idea where we are going to put it. 

This is the 2nd TV my wife has won and two weeks before that she won a DVD player. My wife's lucky winning streak has given us three all-paid vacations, TV's, movies, Playstation/PC games, laptop and so many other fantastic surprises.

Take a look at the TV here:

Other than that I spent most of my vacation doing just about nothing and catching up on some much needed sleep. Looks like there was nothing overly exciting going on in the IT news world and I will dig back a couple of days to see if anything interesting pops up.

Please let me know if I missed anything.