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Internet Explorer 6.0 Final released.
Posted: 08/27/2001  Source: Microsoft Added by: Kim Heise

Microsoft has finally released Internet Explorer 6.0. Here are the details regarding the new release:

Microsoft has just released to the web the latest version 6.0 of its award winning web browser. Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 is currently available only in english and carries the build number 6.0.2600. Internet Explorer 6 lets you control how your personal information is used by Web sites you visit, so you don't have to worry about security or privacy. By providing simple tools, Internet Explorer 6 allows you to control the information that Web sites collect about you.

Internet Explorer 6 supports the Platform for Privacy Preferences (P3P), a standard that the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is currently developing. P3P helps protect the privacy of users' personal information on the Internet by simplifying the process of deciding whether and under what circumstances personal information is disclosed to Web sites. Microsoft will continue to aid consumers in protecting their privacy on the Internet by building on current Web privacy features and providing additional control with future Internet Explorer releases.

Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 Installer (497Kb) English Only

Microsoft antitrust case returned to lower court.
Posted: 08/24/2001  Source: MSNBC Added by: Kim Heise

On the very same day Microsoft completes the final release of Windows XP (which will launched with plenty of fanfare) bad news for the company moves in to possibly ruin the day.

Personally (in my humble opinion) I do agree that Microsoft practices ruthless business tactics but the tactics are no more "underhanded" than any other company would practice if they were in the same situation. Every company strives to be a major player and eventually squash out the competion. Any company who says otherwise is taking you for a ride.

Take Wal-Mart for example: From my perspective they are killing all the "mom and pop" stores in small towns with their questionable business practices but it's no different than what any other company would do in the same position.

The U.S. Court of Appeals formally sent the Microsoft case back to a lower court Friday to begin new hearings to decide what punishment to give the software giant for violating antitrust laws.

THE CASE NOW returns to the U.S. District Court, which will assign a new judge to preside over the hearings. District court Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson, who ruled in 1999 that Microsoft holds a monopoly over the PC operating system and illegally used its immense power to extend its market power, was removed from the case by the Appeals Court for ethical breaches in talking to reporters during the proceedings. (MSNBC is Microsoft-NBC joint venture.)

The district court will assign a new judge to the case randomly as soon as today.

Microsoft supported by dead people.
Posted: 08/24/2001  Source: Internet News Added by: Kim Heise

Now here's a good laugh for a Friday news post:

Apparently the dead are fed up with the government's antitrust case against Microsoft Corp. According to a report in the Los Angeles Times Thursday morning, letters purportedly written by at least two dead people have made their way onto the desk of Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff. The letters asked Shurtleff to go easy on the company.

According to the article, the letters, along with those of 400 Utah citizens, are part of a nationwide "grassroots" campaign orchestrated by pro-Microsoft groups Americans for Technology Leadership (ATL) and Citizens Against Government Waste. The groups receive some funding from Microsoft but won't disclose how much.

The Times reported that the ATL calls citizens and says it is conducting a poll about the Microsoft case. Respondents who say they support the company are then sent individually written letters on personalized stationary, with varying wording, color and typeface, along with hand stamped, pre-addressed envelopes. The envelopes are addressed to their state attorney generals, President Bush and their Congressional representatives.

ATL Executive Director Jim Prendergrast first said respondents who expressed support for Microsoft were only given suggestions about what to write in their own letters. But after he was asked why some phrases were identical, he admitted that his group wrote the letters, according to the Times.

Via says Intel is using scare tactics to block its chipset.
Posted: 08/24/2001  Source: EBNews Added by: Kim Heise

Via is a major threat to Intel and of course the chip behemoth is going to use every tactic to slow down the rapid loss of market share in the motherboard chipset industry.

Unfortunately for Intel - Via has established some very solid partners in the market and the ever expanding company is not about to be pushed around so easily. This sort of paints the picture of David and Goliath in my mind....

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Via Technologies today said Intel Corp. was trying to torpedo Via's double-data-rate (DDR) chipset for the Pentium 4 by spreading fear and doubt among potential customers of the chipset.

“We disagree with these and other scare tactics that Intel is employing in the PC industry for marketing purposes,” said marketing director Richard Brown. “Intel should deal with facts openly and communicate through official press releases rather than threatening customers and sowing seeds of doubt in the marketplace."

Via has high hopes for its its P4 x 266 chipset, introduced earlier this month even though no license has been granted by Intel, and claimed it “will supply as much as its motherboard customers want.”

Asked about Via's comments, Intel spokesman Chuck Mulloy said, "Our postion continues to be that they dont have the necessary license rights to create chipsets compatible with the Pentium 4. We've told our customers who asked the same thing."

As to whether Intel would take legal action against Via, he responded, "We have consistently said when asked about our legal plans that we dont comment on actions we may or may not take."

Mulloy noted that Intel has granted Pentium 4 licenses to ATI, Acer Labs, and SiS.

The lack of the license may be pushing motherboard makers away from Via's part. “All of Taiwan manufacturers are shipping Intel's 845 chipset,” said Jade Hung, finance manager at Microstar International Co., a tier-one company. “As for Via's chipset, we have the design ready, but no significant shipment is likely unless the demand is strong.”

In 1999, without a license from Intel, demand for Via's PC 133 chipset was so strong that it became the mainstream platform and boosted its share to about 40% at the expense of Intel. What's different now is that Intel has two rival products: the SDRAM-version coming soon and a DDR version coming in the first quarter of 2001.

PC makers to debut 2GHz systems.
Posted: 08/24/2001  Source: CNET Added by: Kim Heise

The first 2GHZ machines are about to make a debut on the market and the thought is that computer companies are getting a little out of hand with this upgrade pace. Just recently there was an article regarding customers feeling fed up with all the upgrades every three months just to keep up.

In today's market, unless you are a serious computer gamer demanding insane frame rates from your system you will find yourself very comfortable with a 700mhz machine and as much RAM as you can afford.

For the computing maniac who thought he had everything, PCs with 2GHz chips will land Monday.

Nearly every major PC manufacturer will release new models sporting Pentium 4 chips running at 2GHz and 1.9GHz, according to several sources. The chips will appear in high-end consumer PCs as well as in corporate desktops and workstations.

While the new PCs will increase the performance standards for desktop computers, they also will be fairly cheap, the result of a slow market for computers.
Compaq Computer, for instance, will slide under the limbo pole with a Presario 7000T desktop for $1,499. The computer will come with a 2GHz Pentium 4 processor, 128MB of RDRAM, a 20GB hard drive, a CD-ROM and a 17-inch monitor.

Dell Computer's 2GHz Dimension for the business market will start around $1,800, sources said. A basic configuration is expected to include a 2GHz chip, 128MB of RDRAM, a 40GB hard drive, a CD-RW drive and a 17-inch monitor.

At the luxury end of the spectrum, Gateway will release the Performance 2000XL, a $2,999 PC that will come with a 17-inch flat-panel monitor, an Nvidia GeForce3 graphics chip, surround speakers, and software packages for CD burning and photo editing. The company will also sell a scaled-down version for $1,999 with a 19-inch CRT monitor.

Hacker program threatens wireless security.
Posted: 08/24/2001  Source: CNET Added by: Kim Heise

Fortunately the range of most wireless network solutions are rather limited making this sort of threat a little over-hyped.

Jokes aside - the hacker would literally have to be sitting right on your lap to eaves drop on your network activity.

SAN JOSE, Calif.--Airports, schools and hotels might want to look closer at the wireless Internet networks they have been installing as a convenience for the must-stay-connected crowd.

A new program called AirSnort, released on the Internet this week, lets enterprising hackers easily grab sensitive data as it is transmitted through the air--unless certain precautions are taken.

"There's going to be some major events that will occur, some takedowns, things like that," said Les Owens, a Vienna, Va.-based expert on wireless security. "I would be cautious (on a wireless network in a public place), a lot more cautious than I would be at home."
Because wireless networks broadcast signals over the public airwaves like radios and cell phones, security experts have known for a long time that they are vulnerable to snoops.

But not until AirSnort--and a less-complete tool called WEPCrack that was released earlier--were the means to carry out such an attack made so easily available to anyone anywhere.

The programs exploit flaws in a commonly used encryption scheme for securing traffic on a certain kind of wireless network--the one based on a popular standard known as Wi-Fi, or 802.11b. Computers linked with a competing standard, known as Bluetooth, are not susceptible to AirSnort or WEPCrack, but Bluetooth also is considered more vulnerable to spies than hard-wired networks.

Apple patches QuickTime, solves browser woes.
Posted: 08/24/2001  Source: BetaNews Added by: Kim Heise

In case you have been wondering why QuickTime stopped functioning as advertised when you upgraded to IE 5.5 SP-2 or IE 6.0 then this may offer some explanations as well as a solution.

Adapting to Microsoft's discontinued use of browser "plug-ins" -- a technology originally devised by Netscape -- in favor of ActiveX controls, Apple has released a fix that will allow playback of its QuickTime video within the latest versions of Internet Explorer.

Back in June, BetaNews reported that installing the IE 6.0 Public Preview effectively broke QuickTime's ability to function. It quickly became apparent that Redmond made alterations to its browser when customers installing Internet Explorer 5.5 Service Pack 2 experienced the same problem.

Over the past month, BetaNews has contacted Microsoft asking for an explanation of the problem. However, it appears that the ball was in Apple's court and it has subsequently moved to restore QuickTime's ability to provide playback.

To resolve the incompatibility with Internet Explorer, Apple has created a special Web page to assist customers. The site will ask visitors to install an IE compatible ActiveX plug-in to enable QuickTime functionality.

Windows XP Released to Manufacturing.
Posted: 08/24/2001  Source: Microsoft Added by: Kim Heise

No, I'm not a Microsoft employee but I am excited about Windows XP. Once you get comfortable with the GUI changes it is difficult going back to the previous Windows versions.

With Windows XP Now Complete, Industry Excitement Continues to Build As General Availability Date of Oct. 25 Nears

REDMOND, Wash. -- Aug. 24, 2001 - Microsoft Corp. today announced the release of Microsoft® Windows® XP, the highly anticipated next major version of the Windows operating system, to computer manufacturers around the world. With development of the software now complete, Windows XP is on schedule for widespread availability on Oct. 25. Industry partners, computer manufacturers and customers greeted the news with excitement about the opportunities Windows XP will offer for creating, connecting and communicating in new ways.

Microsoft preps for Windows XP bash.
Posted: 08/24/2001  Source: ZDNET Added by: Kim Heise

Expect to have your senses assaulted with press releases and advertising regarding the new Windows XP launch.

Microsoft on Friday will host a celebration marking the release of Windows XP to PC manufacturers, but the big question is how much interest the company can generate for the software.
At a lavish ceremony at the company's Redmond, Wash., headquarters, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates and Jim Allchin, group vice president and head of the Windows effort, are expected to present each PC maker representative with a Windows XP-branded briefcase containing a master disc with the operating system's final--or gold--code. The group then is supposed to board a helicopter and fly off while the two Microsoft executives wave.

Software companies typically stage such events at the time the software is available at retailers. In the case of Windows XP, that date is still two months away.

As a result, Friday's celebration with manufacturers could be intended to send two messages: Microsoft is determined to push ahead with XP despite concerns by some competitors, lawmakers and privacy advocates. And PC makers hope Windows XP will spur sales of new PCs.

Microsoft on Friday also announced pricing for Windows XP. Windows XP Home Edition will cost $199 for the full version, and $99 for an upgrade version. Windows XP Professional will sell for $299 for the full version and $199 for the upgrade edition.

Sound Blaster Audigy products.
Posted: 08/24/2001  Source: Creative Labs Added by: Kim Heise

Creative Labs has posted a list of new audio cards (5 in all - If my memory serves...) based on the new Audigy sounds processor. Looks very exiting and once again another excuse to spend more money on your quick-becoming obsolete system.

Journey into the new and exciting world of Sound Blaster Audigy™. Packed with 4x more power than any existing audio processor, the Audigy processor enables EAX ADVANCED HD™ to deliver a host of innovative, high-definition audio effects with next-generation interactive 3D audio for gaming and sophisticated effects for music.

• The Audigy processor is the first DSP to be released that is capable of delivering 4x more effects processing power than any current audio processor and EAX ADVANCED HD™.
• Sound Blaster Audigy delivers stunning audio clarity in multi-channel through 24-bit/96kHz digital-to-analog converters (DACs), producing an outstanding 100dB signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). This dramatic increase in audio quality is attributed to the Audigy's high definition components.
• EAX ADVANCED HD™ offers dramatically increased 3D audio performance and functionality for games, along with superior audio fidelity and powerful music enhancement technologies, for an unsurpassed digital entertainment experience.
• The high performance sound engine is optimized for complex digital audio signal mixing and processing for next-generation interactive 3D audio for gaming and sophisticated effects for music.
• Includes the power to process more complex audio algorithms, rendering higher fidelity effects and reverbs.