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Tech News for Friday October 6th 2000

Sun Gets Ready For The 'Everywhere' Web.
Posted: 10/06/2000     Source: TechWeb  Added by: Kim Heise

You have got to tip your hat towards Sun for planning some very interesting concepts. Sun has announced that they plan to develop a system for accessing devices from anywhere and anytime. The problem the company faces is to get competitors and other IT innovators to agree to one standard.

Sun's Scott McNealy is starting to sound more and more like Oracle's Larry Ellison with the "smart" remarks against Microsoft. (see bottom of quote) 

Scott McNealy, Sun Microsystems Inc. chief executive, said Thursday his company is developing its technology to support an Internet infrastructure that will be accessible anytime, from any device, anyplace in the world.

The affable CEO told attendees at his Oracle OpenWorld keynote that the Palo Alto, Calif., hardware vendor's development efforts are focused on continuous uptime, massive scalability, and an integrated stack of hardware and software.

Sun believes its products must support "Web-tone," the Internet's version of the dial tone that symbolizes the ubiquitousness of the telephone system.

"We focus on the big, frigging Web-tone switch," McNealy said, noting that "even our name is right.

"It's Sun Micro-systems. It's not Micro-soft," he said, referring to arch-rival Microsoft Corp. (stock: MSFT), Redmond, Wash.

Covert Napster clone under wraps.
Posted: 10/06/2000     Source: ZDNET  Added by: Kim Heise

This is exactly why I think it's a waste of money and time going after Napster. Now that the technology is out in the open you will see a multitude of file sharing systems springing up from all corners of the globe. It's no longer a question of stealing (that's fairly obvious) but about what are we going to do to work with these systems. RIAA cannot control the music piracy that will take place on these file sharing servers so they had better come up with something else.

By Christmas, computer engineers hope to launch a program that could confound those trying to sue the likes of Napster by providing complete anonymity for online music sharers.

The project, titled Tropus, is based on Freenet, a peer-to-peer file sharing technology created by Irish computer programmer and privacy enthusiast Ian Clarke. Freenet is similar to Napster but does not rely on a central server to pass around files. Instead files are passed between individual nodes, or computers, without identifying their source or destination.

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Bug hunter finds another hole in Microsoft IE browser.
Posted: 10/06/2000     Source: CNET  Added by: Kim Heise

I can't think of any other program (besides Windows itself) that been as scrutinized and dissected and Microsoft's IE browser.

Only a week has passed since the last time Bulgarian security expert Georgi Guninski exposed a potentially dangerous bug in Microsoft's software, and already he has stumbled upon another problem.

Guninski's terse "high risk" advisory circulating on the Net this morning warned people using Microsoft's recently released Internet Explorer 5.5 of a security hole that could let a hacker enter their computers and tinker with files.

An intruder "could not only read files but write and execute programs on a person's computer," said Elias Levy, a SecurityFocus.com analyst and moderator of Bugtraq, where the advisory was posted. "This hole allows someone to reach into the whole computer."

The problem lies with the complexity of two subsystems. Guninski found the latest hole by running Microsoft's ActiveX technology, which manages the sending and receiving of files. Combined with Java, the technologies allow a hacker to gain access to a victim's computer, which wouldn't be possible if the systems were run independently.

A Microsoft representative said that the company's Security Response Center is investigating the vulnerability. The center, which just today announced it has hired former SecurityFocus director Eric Schultze, has received about 5,000 bug notifications since the beginning of the year. Of those, only 400 required full investigations, resulting in 70 security patches so far.

Annihilator 2 MX: Announced.
Posted: 10/06/2000     Source: Avault  Added by: Kim Heise

I'm not here to pitch Creative Lab's products but if I were to recommend a video card for today's software and didn't want to spend $300 on a high end product then this is the card for you. The Annihilator 2 MX card is powered by the impressive GeForce2 processor but the chip has been clocked down to run at lower processor speeds which explains the very reasonable $129 price tag.

Creative has announced the 3D Blaster Annihilator 2 MX graphics accelerator in both PCI and AGP versions. Based on the nVidia GeForce2 MX, the two cards will ship to stores and online outlets in this month at an estimated price of 129 USD. The accelerators come equipped with 32MB of DDR RAM, which produces 2.8 GB per second of dedicated graphics bandwidth.

Intel 2001 Plans.
Posted: 10/06/2000     Source: Digit-Life  Added by: Kim Heise

When people read my comments on this web site and from chatting with me in general they get the feeling that I have something against Intel. I don't have anything against Intel in general since they have developed innovative products but I am tired of all the hype the company drums up to try to maintain the lead in mother chipset and CPU products. Lately all we have seen from the company is unstable chipsets and long delays on CPU products until they eventually see the market.

Digit-Life posts Intel's 2001 plans and I have plenty of reservations on the expected release dates since none of them appear to be holding in the last year or so. Not to mention that the released products were impossible to purchase because of low production yields so I wouldn't hold my breath.

Desktop CPU & Chipset

• Pentium 4 : 1.7 GHz - Q1'2001, 2 GHz - Q2'2001, Brookdale - Q3'2001
• Tualatin : 1.26 GHz - Q3'2001, Almador - Q2'2001 (will replace i815/E as a volume mainstream platform)
• Tehama-E with ICH3 added for incremental I/O features/performance - Q3'2001
• i810E2 (i810 with ICH2) to replace Timna - Q1'2001
• Celeron : 850 MHz - Q2'2001, 850+ MHz - Q3'2001

Mobile CPU & Chipset

• i815EM chipset to replace mobile 440BX/ZX in Q4'2000
• Almador-M for mobile 0.13 micron 1+ GHz Tualatin and 866+ MHz low-voltage Coppermine-T - Q2'2001
• 900 MHz and 1 GHz mobile PIII with SpeedStep technology targeted for January 2001

Server CPU & Chipset

• Foster CPU : DP Q1'2001 launch frequency 1.7 GHz, DP Q2'2001 launch frequency 2 GHz
• Tualatin DP - Q3'2001, Gallatin DP name changed to Prestonia
• i870 and Plumas by the H2'2002 and only third-party chipsets later

Yamaha announces worlds fastest CD-RW drives.
Posted: 10/06/2000     Source: CNET  Added by: Kim Heise

Yamaha has raised the stakes for releasing the fastest CD-RW drive on the market at 16x write, 10x for re-writing and 40x reading. Basically this translates into roughly 5 minutes of recording time for a 79 minute (700mb) CD.

No price was mentioned.

Yamaha also has added software designed to improve the recording quality of the CDs created with the drive. These improvements include the Pure Phase Laser System, a more precise method of recording digital signals.

The CRW2100 series of CD-RW drives, which includes four different products, will be available in both internal and external models by mid-November.

Tech News for Thursday October 5th 2000

IBM unveils 1GB 1inch pocket hard-drive.
Posted: 10/05/2000     Source: IBM  Added by: Kim Heise

Imagine carrying a hard drive in your pocket that holds 1GB of data and is approximately 1inch in size? Rather difficult to imagine but can you then imagine how useful the drive would be for portable MP3 players and video cameras?

Here's the specs on IBM's new microdrive:

• Provides high-capacity, high-performance removable storage ranging from 340 MB to 1 GB in a one-inch hard disk drive
• Integrates with a variety of handheld devices through use of the industry- standard CF+** Type II format and compatibility with PCMCIA Type II (with an adapter)
• Provides reliable storage for digital cameras, handheld PCs, digital audio players, laptops, and other portable handheld devices
• Incorporates leading-edge IBM technologies such as giant magnetoresistive (GMR) head technology, load/unload features, Enhanced Adaptive Battery Life Extender* 3.0, and TrueTrack* servo for maximum capacity, performance, and reliability

TOP

"Poke" Uncle Sam in the eyes.
Posted: 10/05/2000     Source: ZDNET  Added by: Kim Heise

If all the moves by the government to pry into your personal life on the internet is making you nervous then you should check out the list compiled by ZDNET. The site lists the most useful encryption tools.

Visit this link for the latest encryption tools for your PC.

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The World's Largest Poll To Be Sun-Powered.
Posted: 10/05/2000     Source: News  Added by: Kim Heise

Not too much to add to this news post other than it is interesting:

In a world where most of us don't even know our neighbor's name, 3Com and Sun Microsystems are teaming up to complete what the two companies are billing as the world's largest interactive poll, resulting in a global forum for people to share and compare views on a host of topics.

The upcoming "Planet Project" poll, to be run in eight languages, will cover such topics as religion, health, well-being, self image, dating, sex, parenting and more, with 20 questions per poll topic. Online polling giant Harris Interactive was chosen to design the poll.

"[The poll has] assembled the technologies to allow people to instantly share and compare their views from many countries, on many topics, on a massive scale," he says.

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30 Millionth Domain Name Registered On The Net .
Posted: 10/05/2000     Source: NewsBytes  Added by: Kim Heise

The rate at which the internet is growing is simply phenomenal. I wonder if television sets or even radios grew as rapidly as the internet is. I would gladly trade my television and radio for internet access if I were to be faced with the choice.

NetNames, one of the mainstay domain name issuers in the UK, said that the Internet has now registered its 30 millionth domain name, and there is no sign that registrations are slowing.

In fact, NetNames said that it expects the numbers of registrations to actually increase in the future, as new users come online to the Internet and start registering their names and interests.

The milestone for the Net was passed Wednesday, Oct. 4, when Netnames logged the total domain names registered as hitting 30,272,862 - a figure that Netnames said looks set to double within the next few years.

Via sales quadruple on higher chipset market share.
Posted: 10/05/2000     Source: CNET  Added by: Kim Heise

With all the mistakes Intel has made in the last year competitors are starting to making serious inroads into the various markets. For example AMD is making great strides in the CPU market and now VIA reports excellent sales due to inroads into the Intel motherboard chipset market.

Via Technologies, the world's No. 2 computer chipset company after Intel, said third-quarter sales quadrupled from the year-earlier period.

Revenue for the third quarter was $323.2 million (T$10.1 billion), compared with $83.2 million in the same period last year, the company said. Fourth-quarter sales should also see a similar increase from the year-ago period, according to analysts.

"We expect Via's sales to reach T$10.8 billion ($345.6 million) in the fourth quarter," said Steve Connor, an analyst with Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette. "We expect another month or two of record revenue."

Sales for Via run counter to other bellwethers in the personal computer business such as Dell Computer and Intel, both of which reported that third-quarter sales failed to meet expectations.

Via has gained market share against Intel this year, as the world's No. 1 chipmaker scaled back chipset production to boost output of processors. Processors function as the brains of the computer, while chipsets manage the flow of information between a processor and other parts of a computer such as the display and memory.

"Intel is allocating fewer silicon wafers to the production of chipsets," said Connor. Silicon wafers are the material from which chips are made.

Via rose 3 cents to $9.76 at the close of trading on the Taiwan stock market. The stock has risen 33 percent this year and is the best performer on the Bloomberg Asia-Pacific Semiconductors index during the period.

MSN and Sprint Bring Wireless Web to Millions of Users.
Posted: 10/05/2000     Source: Microsoft  Added by: Kim Heise

Here's a press release direct from Redmond regarding a co-operation with Sprint to produce cell phones with MSN internet access. Here's some of the details:

MSN and Sprint PCS, the first portal to launch wireless services in July 1999, today announced a powerful relationship that bring content and services from MSN^® to Internet-ready Sprint PCS Phones. Sprint PCS, the nation's largest 100-percent digital, 100-percent PCS nationwide wireless network, pioneered the wireless Internet as consumers know it today with the nationwide launch of the Sprint PCS Wireless Web last year. With this announcement, Sprint PCS customers will have access to leading services available on MSN, enabling them to stay connected to the people and information they care most about, now through the clarity of their Sprint PCS Internet-ready Phone.

Beginning next week, customers across the country will be able to easily and conveniently access MSN Mobile 2.0 services by using any of more than 15 Internet-ready Sprint PCS Phones. The customizable information from MSN will include the No.1-rated news service MSNBC.com, the award-winning MSN MoneyCentral™ online personal finance service and Expedia.com™ travel services. In addition, over 70 million MSN Hotmail^® Web-based e-mail service users will be able to access, respond and manage their e-mail -- all from the Sprint PCS Wireless Web. Other MSN services include personalized news, sports, entertainment and weather information as well as stock quotes, e-mail alerts, receipt of instant messages, address book, lottery information, horoscopes, door-to-door driving directions and business listings in real-time.

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AMD to cut CPU prices by 50%.
Posted: 10/05/2000     Source: The Register  Added by: Kim Heise

Keep in mind that this is unconfirmed news from anyone including AMD but in the past the team over at the Register have been "right on the money". If this is the case then expect to see some very interesting looking deals from the AMD camp. Intel will begin to sweat when the price cuts hit the market and should in tandem begin cut P3 processor prices.

We have in our hands a new, but incomplete, AMD OEM price list, due to take effect from October 9. However, we understand that AMD may be having second thoughts (over timing, as opposed to pricing). And who could blame the company for making hay, while Intel don't shine.

Full details of the price cuts are not yet available - and AMD refuses to confirm or deny that a price move was in the pipeline - but if the changes we've seen are matched across the board, Intel should be worried.

An 850MHz Athlon drops by more than 50 per cent from around $350 to $165, while the little Duron 600 moves from $79 to $53. Other revised prices include Athlon 700, 750 and 800MHz at $116, $130 and $149 respectively.

Intel To Launch Almador In Q1 2001.
Posted: 10/05/2000     Source: iXBT Labs  Added by: Kim Heise

It should really come as no surprise as Intel is gearing up to release a new motherboard chipset that supports the speedier and cheaper DDRAM (than RAMBUS). Intel was pushing RAMBUS memory on their new motherboards but OEM's and the IT industry in general was not impressed with the price and the low performance gain over today's SDRAM.

Here's a rundown on the features on the new "Almador" chipset:

• DDR SDRAM
• Up to 1.5GB memory
• Integrated Intel 754 graphics core (it is a slightly enhanced Intel 752, which is used in i810/i810E/i815/i815E chipsets)
• AGP 4x
• New ICH3 supporting ATA/100, 6 USB 2.0 ports and CNR
• The first chipset versions will feature a 133Mhz FSB. However, then Intel is planning to replace it with a 200MHz Double Pumped FSB.

Tech News for Wednesday October 4th 2000

AMD readies new Athlon, Duron chips.
Posted: 10/04/2000     Source: ZDNET  Added by: Kim Heise

AMD is very smart for taking advantage of Intel's inability to produce chips that meet consumer demand and also to release new processors that actually have no know bugs. It's simply amazing to see how often the OEM's and consumers can forgive Intel for making serious mistakes. 

I suspect many huge computer companies such as Dell are going to report less than stellar sales because they are unable to ship machines without Intel processors. Intel repeatedly is failing to produce enough processors and most importantly processors that are not flawed in design.

Sunnyvale Calif.-based AMD will dog Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) with frequent releases of faster Athlon chips, starting with a 1.2GHz Athlon slated for introduction late this month, sources said.

AMD Chairman and CEO Jerry Sanders stated recently that it's his goal for the company to reach 1.5GHz with a desktop Athlon in January. To meet the goal, AMD will ship faster Athlons approximately every five to six weeks.

The 1.2GHz is the next step towards that goal. A faster Duron chip, running at 800MHz, will join it, sources said.

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Final beta of Netscape 6 arrives.
Posted: 10/04/2000     Source: ZDNET  Added by: Kim Heise

ZDNET reports that Netscape has released the final public beta of version 6.0 of the classic browser. Netscape is going to have to work hard to catch up to Microsoft's IE which has been gobbling up the browser market rather quickly.

No word on the final release date but it should be soon.

Netscape Communications Corp. on Wednesday will release the third and final beta version of its Netscape 6 browser, which is available for free download. At the same time, the company is launching its redesigned Web site.

Handhelds with wireless Web target blue-collar workers.
Posted: 10/04/2000     Source: CNET  Added by: Kim Heise

Take a look at the pictures on this web site over at CNET showing off the new wireless PDA's that us the classic Palm Pilot OS. The CNET article did not show prices for the fancy devices and exactly how much the monthly service charges will be. It is inevitable that all future cell phones will have some sort of internet connectivity as competition becomes more and more fierce between wireless companies.

Symbol Technologies has unveiled a new line of rugged handheld computers for factory employees, soldiers and postal workers who need wireless Web access.

Unlike other handheld makers, Symbol doesn't target the consumer market. The company, which uses both the Microsoft Pocket PC and Palm operating systems, instead manufactures and sells specialized handheld computers for workers in such settings as warehouses, retail stores and hospitals.

SETI@Home version 3.0 launched.
Posted: 10/04/2000     Source: Seti @ Home  Added by: Kim Heise

For those of you watching/waiting for ET to visit - you can help out by running Seti@Home on your home computer. The SETI project just launched version 3.0 today.

SETI, or the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, is a scientific effort aiming to determine if there is intelligent life out in the universe. There are many methods that SETI scientific teams use to search for extraterrestrial intelligence. Many of these search billions of radio frequencies that flood the universe, looking for another civilization that might be transmitting a radio signal. Other SETI teams search by looking for signals in pulses of light emanating from the stars.

Maxtor-Quantum Deal Creates Drive Giant.
Posted: 10/04/2000     Source: TechWeb  Added by: Kim Heise

I'm surprised we haven't seen more consolidation of the hard drive market much sooner since the companies are barely making any profit and it would be smart to join forces.

Hard-drive products maker Maxtor Corp. Wednesday said it would buy Quantum Corp.'s disk-drive unit, Quantum HDD, for about $1.3 billion in stock, creating one of the world's largest disk-drive makers.

Maxtor (stock: MXTR) said in a statement it would exchange 1.52 of its shares for each share of Quantum HDD. The deal does not include Quantum Corp.'s storage systems group, Quantum DLT, which will operate as Quantum Corp. (stock: HDD) after the deal.

The deal values Quantum HDD at $14.8675 per share, based on Maxtor's closing stock price on Tuesday of $9 25/32 on the Nasdaq. Quantum HDD, Milpitas, Calif., reported 88.5 million shares outstanding on a fully diluted basis in its fiscal first quarter earnings report, which would value the deal overall at about $1.3 billion.

House Follows Senate In Increasing H-1B Workers.
Posted: 10/04/2000     Source: TechWeb  Added by: Kim Heise

This was inevitable since the US has a major shortage of IT professionals and the industry is crying for extra people. I do hope that this somewhat controlled so that when all the H-1B visa workers return we do not have a major "brain drain".

The U.S. House of Representatives late Tuesday followed the Senate by a few hours in passing a bill to increase the number of temporary skilled foreign high-tech workers.

The House by a voice vote approved the Senate version of the H-1B visa bill, S. 2045. The bill now advances to President Clinton to be signed into law.

The legislation lifts the cap of the number of high-tech workers allowed in the United States annually for three years, to 195,000 from 115,000. It also reforms some provisions of immigration law and funnels part of the $500 visa fees toward training for U.S. workers and scholarships for low-income students studying math and science.

Technical problems force Napster down.
Posted: 10/04/2000     Source: MSNBC  Added by: Kim Heise

Several web sites panicked and reported that Napster was taken down by a court order because the system was unavailable. In fact Napster was experiencing technical problems that were not related at all to any court rulings.

Napster fans feared the death of their beloved song-swapping service Wednesday morning as the controversial program suddenly became inaccessible. But while the recording industry has been trying to shut down the service, Napster was felled by technical problems Wednesday, not by a court order.

Tech News for Tuesday October 3d 2000

Aiming for Longer Distance in Electric Cars.
Posted: 10/03/2000     Source: NY Times  Added by: Kim Heise

Not directly IT related news but technology news never-the-less.

I first stumbled on this article over at Ars-Technica that reports on a NY times article about new electric cars with incredible driving distances on a single charge. These new electric cars can drive 600 miles on single charge!

Sadeg Faris seems to think that Evonyx, one of several technology development companies he owns, has quietly made enough progress that the moment has come for a little showing off. What better way, he decided, than to drive an electric car from the Evonyx laboratory in Hawthorne, N.Y., in Westchester County north of New York City, to Detroit without recharging? Such a 600-mile journey would smash the 373-mile record the Solectria Corporation set in 1996 for electric vehicle range on one charge, and would end up right under the noses of the big Detroit auto executives who long ago wrote off metal-air technology.

MacOS X Public Beta.
Posted: 10/03/2000     Source: Ars-Technica  Added by: Kim Heise

Apple has released the first public MacOS X beta to the public but you have to pay to test the long awaited OS upgrade. In the meantime Ars-Technica has posted a review on the public MacOS X beta release.

...

Finally, the "Beta" means...well, what does it mean? Some people contend that "beta" means "feature-complete, but still buggy." Others consider it simply "more stable than alpha." The only real common ground these days is that "beta" means "unfinished." Whether that means merely that bugs still exist or that entire features remain unimplemented has to be determined on a case-by-case basis.

Viking cuts prices up to 20 % on PC100 and PC133 SDRAM.
Posted: 10/03/2000     Source: Electic Tech  Added by: Kim Heise

Memory prices for SDRAM are currently outrageous (to say the least) and I think consumers are holding off from purchasing any RAM which is hurting the manufacturers. It's just as complicated to predict where RAM prices will be at any given time and you can easily compare it to predicting the stock market. I know several people (including myself) who are waiting for another major price drop in SDRAM.

Viking has decided to cut prices on SDRAM by up to 20% to help improve the market and you can now expect rapid price drops from other memory manufacturers.

Viking Components Inc., one of the world's largest and fastest-growing manufacturers of aftermarket and upgrade component technology, today announces a price reduction of up to 20 percent on the majority of its popular PC100 and PC133 SDRAM upgrades for server, workstation, desktop and notebook applications.

"As a result of the recent decline in DRAM chip pricing, Viking has chosen to pass its savings on to our reseller customers," said Mike Zaldivar, Viking's director of purchasing. "Although the memory market is volatile, Viking is committed to providing competitive pricing and is pleased to offer affordable upgrade solutions for today's leading computer systems."

Amid price reductions, Viking's quality remains its primary focus to ensure a lifetime of product reliability and performance. All Viking memory is 100 percent at-speed tested and ships with a lifetime warranty and toll-free 24/7 support.

For updated pricing information, resellers and distributors should contact their Viking representative or visit the Viking eTools Web site at: www.vikingetools.com.

Samsung to be producing DDRAM.
Posted: 10/03/2000     Source: SemiBIZNews  Added by: Kim Heise

This is good news for the PC consumer market because we now have another manufacturer for DDRAM (double data-rate) memory. Upcoming motherboards and future PC architectures will be using the speedier DDRAM over the current SDRAM used in today's systems. DDRAM is already being used in high-end 3D video cards such as the GeForce and ATI's Radeon.

If my memory is correct, Hitachi was the only company producing DDRAM.

SEOUL -- Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. here today claimed to be the first chip maker to develop a 128-megabit double data rate (DDR) SDRAM for graphics memory applications. The memory supports three-dimensional images and video storage using the DDR memory format, achieving data rates of 500 Mbits per second, according to Samsung.

The Korean memory maker said it expects the 128-Mbit DDR graphics memory to generate sales of $700 million in 2001. Samsung said the DDR memory chip is aimed at a range of 3-D graphics and video applications, including computer games, Internet systems, and high-end PCs.

The high-speed DDR format will help improve graphics performance in systems by two-and-a-half times over current chip designs, according to Samsung. Faster memories and higher levels of storage enable systems to produce more colors with higher resolution of images.

Samsung claims to have developed the DDR graphics memory with 0.17-micron design rules. The new chip supports image-refresh rates on displays that are three times better than the resolution of conventional televisions, the company said. Samsung said it has delivered samples of the new memory to leading suppliers of graphics chip sets.

Corel stock up 73 percent on Microsoft pact.
Posted: 10/03/2000     Source: ZDNET  Added by: Kim Heise

Ahh, the magic of the stock of market - Microsoft announced a pact with Corel and in an instant the Corel stock jumped 73 % on early morning trading. I wonder if this means good-bye WordPerfect since Microsoft will be having much to say in the pact.

Corel Corp. (Nasdaq: CORL) bolted 72 percent Tuesday after announcing Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) will invest $135 million in the company. The former arch rivals will also work together on Microsoft's new .NET initiative.

Shares in Corel were up 2.66 to 6.34, already well above the $5.625 price at which Microsoft bought its 24 million share stake. Microsoft shares were up 0.56 to 59.69.

Napster Decision Put On Pause.
Posted: 10/03/2000     Source: TechWeb  Added by: Kim Heise

The federal appeals court that decides the fate of Napster has been put on hold for an unknown length of time until they can decide what ruling to hand down. What RIAA and other opponents fail to see is that the "cat is out of the bag" and there will hundreds of other similar technologies that will spring up from every corner of the globe. 

What will they do when the next "Napster" springs up in a foreign country where the US jurisdiction has little to no value?

A federal appeals court hit the pause button on Monday after a crucial 50-minute hearing in the heavily scrutinized legal battle between the recording industry and Napster Inc., the embattled online music-swapping service.

The three-member panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, based in San Francisco, retired without a decision after attorneys for the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and Napster delivered arguments and fielded questions from the federal judges.

In the coming days or weeks, the court is expected to rule on RIAA's request to reinstate a July 26 decision by U.S. District Court Judge Marilyn Patel that had prohibited Napster, in San Mateo, Calif., from allowing copyrighted songs to appear on its website.

Beijing Cracks Down On Net.
Posted: 10/03/2000     Source: TechWeb  Added by: Kim Heise

It is fairly obvious that this sort of attempt to control the internet is only going to spawn more forms of encryption and other tricks to elude the authorities. 

China published Monday sweeping new regulations on Internet companies that limit foreign investment, require strict surveillance against "subversive" content, and threaten to close down any unlicensed firms.

The rules, passed by China's cabinet two weeks ago and published in the official Xinhua Daily Telegraph on Monday, are sure to send shockwaves through the country's fledgling Internet industry, which is heavily dependent on foreign capital.

By holding companies responsible for blocking vast categories of illegal content on their websites and chat rooms, the rules also illustrate Beijing's determination to contain the spread of ideas deemed dangerous to Communist Party rule.

The regulations ban any content that is "subversive," that supports cults, that "harms the reputation" of China, or that hurts reunification efforts with Taiwan, to name just a few.

Internet content and service providers must keep records of all content that appears on their sites and of all users who dial onto their servers for 60 days. The records must be handed to police on demand, the rules state.

3COM Rolls Out New Modem.
Posted: 10/03/2000     Source: TechWeb  Added by: Kim Heise

If you notice the heading for the article over at TechWeb it reads "U.S. Robotics Rolls Out New Modem" which is technically incorrect since U.S. Robotics no longer exists and has been swallowed up by 3COM.

Anyway, 3COM will be selling the first consumer VoIP (voice over IP) modem which was developed in conjunction with Net2Phone. What this means is that you can make free long distance calls (within the US and Canada for now) with this new modem by simply dialing into your local ISP. You can be rest assured that local and long distance phone companies will not be not happy.

Modem maker U.S. Robotics, Rolling Meadows, Ill., Monday rolled out its 56K Internet Call Modem. It allows VoIP calling and has sophisticated call management capabilities. The product was developed with Net2Phone, Newark, N.J., a provider of voice-enhanced Internet communications services. The modem sells for $99.95, and all calls made within Canada and the United States are free.

Tech News for Monday October 2nd 2000

Apple shares plunge on lowered expectations.
Posted: 10/02/2000     Source: CNET  Added by: Kim Heise

It's a pity to see Apple's shares plummet after Friday's report on their profits which fall well below market expectations. I think Apple has a very remarkable and unique set of computers to offer the market but sometimes I wonder if they are trying to hard to be different from the rest. 

IT companies may not necessarily want a computer in the office looking like something out of the Jetsons and would prefer a more "business" look. Not to mention that Apple rotates new hardware in and out of the market faster than consumers can digest the products. The Apple hardware market changes more rapidly than the PC market and I fear consumers are taking the brunt.

Shares of Apple Computer today plummeted nearly 50 percent following a grim profit warning yesterday by the computing giant that said sales in its fourth quarter will fall "substantially below expectations" because of slower sales in September.

Isuzu offers free PCs to SUV buyers.
Posted: 10/02/2000     Source: Electic Tech  Added by: Kim Heise

It is simply amazing to see what car companies will do to sell vehicles. If you are in the market for a new SUV then you may want to consider the deal offered by Isuzu and you get a free PC from Gateway if you hop on board.

As part of the campaign, which starts Monday, buyers of 2001 Rodeo, Rodeo Sport, Trooper and VehiCross SUVs get a 500-megahertz Gateway 500SC personal computer. The package includes a 15-inch monitor, 7.5-gigabyte hard drive, Internet access, and Microsoft's Windows Millennium Edition operating system.

1GHZ CPU comparison.
Posted: 10/02/2000     Source: Chick's Hardware  Added by: Kim Heise

Chick's Hardware has been fortunate enough to get their hands on two of the fastest CPU's on the market and compare them to see which one is the better choice. The review compares Intel's latest 1ghz P3 against AMD's 1ghz Thunderbird.

The 1Ghz mark was meant to be a big event in the CPU industry. Intel and AMD both released their 1Ghz CPUs at about the same time, but availability was a whole different issue. Intel was only releasing their processor's to major OEM's, while AMD had more than a plentiful supply of their processor's. Today, both processor's are available in quantities, but it's still hard to find an Intel 1Ghz CPU in the retail market, since most are still reserved for OEMs. At the time of their releases the Athlon was edged out in most benchmarks by the Coppermine.

i850 Chipset Delay Pentium 4.
Posted: 10/02/2000     Source: The Register  Added by: Kim Heise

Not surprisingly Intel is delaying the Pentium 4 processors due to problems with the motherboard chipset that drives the new CPU. I had a strong feeling that it was the chipset that was delaying the launch date because in the past Intel has released new processors regardless of how many they could produce. Read this clip below form the Register article - it is most interesting.

Tier one vendors were delivered test samples of Intel's own reference motherboard for the Pentium 4, codenamed Garibaldi. That is completely insufficient time for the vendors to test the microprocessor properly, and come up with their own tweaks and tricks to make it sing properly. Intel and Dell have now confirmed there is an issue with the i850 Tehama chipset affecting graphics performance.

Tehama is used in Intel's Garibaldi TTM (Time To Market) Pentium 4 mobo which shipped to OEMs in June. Dell is concerned that an instability within the chipset can cause the system to crash under heavy graphics load. Tier one vendors are now chary of going ahead with chipsets after they experienced the fiasco of last year of introducing machines using Intel's i820 chipset which ended up not working properly and forcing a recall. We called it Caminogate, although we hesitate about calling this Garibaldi-gate, seeing as the great Italian patriot did such a good job uniting the country, last century.