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Tech News for Wednesday March 7th 2001

New entry-level Palm launched.
Posted: 03/07/2001     Source: MSNBC  Added by: Kim Heise

In order to stay competitive Palm Computing is beefing up the low entry m105 with additional memory and easier internet access.

Palm Inc. said it has begun sales of a new entry-level handheld computer with more memory and bundled with software that lets Palm users with mobile phones send and receive e-mail, browse the Internet and chat from virtually anywhere.

<SNIP>

Palm said it would sell the m105 with its Mobile Internet Kit, which normally retails for $39.95. The software uses a GSM mobile phone, which is not included, as a wireless modem. This enables Palm users to use Web-clipping software and exchange e-mail and instant messages.
The m105 has a suggested retail price of $199, $50 more than its predecessor. The new device is available for users of the Microsoft Windows and Macintosh operating systems in English, French, Italian, Spanish, German and Japanese. Non-English units will be available in mid-March, Palm said.

Hotmail shares e-mail addresses.
Posted: 03/07/2001     Source: MSNBC  Added by: Kim Heise

Correct me if I'm wrong that this sort of practice does appear to be a little 
"below the belt". By default the check box should be unchecked for users signing up with any service that gives any sort of permission for ANY additional "services".

In this case I could not imagine any user wanting their free Hotmail account to be freely distributed unless they wish to be spammed mercilessly.

Hotmail, the free e-mail service from Microsoft, is divulging subscribers’ e-mail addresses, cities and states to a public Internet directory site that combines the information with telephone numbers and home addresses.

HOTMAIL CUSTOMERS are automatically added to Infospace’s Internet White Pages directory unless they remove the check from a box in their registration form and “opt out,” company officials said.

Critics say users may be putting themselves at risk of receiving junk e-mail, known as spam, because they overlook the check box. Once their information makes the directory, it is easily obtained by advertisers.

“Once your e-mail addresses get into the spammers’ databases, you can’t get it out again,” said Internet activist Bennett Haselton, who made the discovery.

AMD CPU Roadmap.
Posted: 03/07/2001     Source: EBNews  Added by: Kim Heise

There are some very exciting new processors on the horizon from the AMD camp but I would take the dates with a "pinch of salt" as market variations and production issues that far ahead can influence any release dates. Consider the dates ball-park figures.

The microprocessor market waited eagerly for AMD Tuesday to kick off the next 1.3-GHz speed grade for its Athlon MPU -- but the MPU firm reportedly felt under no such pressure and continued to keep the higher speed chip in the wings.

AMD President Hector Ruiz told a Morgan Stanley Dean Witter investment seminar that the current 1.1-Ghz and 1.2-Gz Athlon processors outperformed the Intel Pentium 4 1.5-Ghz systems in PC WorldBench 2000 tests. He also cited benchmarks run by Tom's Hardware Guide rating the 1.2-GHz Athlon ahead of Pentium 4 at 1.5-Ghz and overclocked at 1.61 GHz.

Dan Scovel, processor analyst with Needham & Co., New York, said as long as AMD's current Athlon processors compete well against the Pentium 4, there is little pressure for the Intel rival to rush out with a new speed grade.

Table Courtesy of the VR-Zone

Intel and AMD CPU prices cuts.
Posted: 03/07/2001     Source: VR-Zone  Added by: Kim Heise

You may prefer one CPU company over another - but you would have to admit that the competition between the two is good news for your wallet. Not to mention that both companies are working overtime to produce faster and smarter new processors so you not only end up paying less but end up with better deals.

As you can see from the tables below (courtesy of VR-Zone) you can see that AMD still offers the best performance for the price. Even if you compare MHZ for MHZ from both sides of the fence, the AMD still typically wins in overall performance.

Table Courtesy of the VR-Zone

Table Courtesy of the VR-Zone

Memory Bandwidth Explained.
Posted: 03/07/2001     Source: Temple of Technology  Added by: Kim Heise

If you trying to keep your head over the waterline with all the "mumbo jumbo" that is being produced by various marketing hype machines on memory bandwidth - then this article is for you.

The article will help you understand how important memory bandwidth is as well as memory speed.

Think of memory bandwidth as the amount of lanes on a freeway and the memory speed as how fast the cars move.

In this article we will look into the cause of the failed promises of these technologies by focusing on the most important part of memory performance, latency. What neither of these two new memory technologies give us is reduced memory latency, that is the time it takes to look something up in memory. This is because they are both based on DRAM. The latency is not so much an issue of the memory interface as it is the memory cell itself, and since both these two new memories use DRAM, the latency is not improved. As we will see in the following sections, latency is more important than peak bus bandwidth when it comes to providing effective memory bandwidth.

Pentium 4 vs. Athlon DDR - Grudge match above 1GHz.
Posted: 03/07/2001     Source: Tech Report  Added by: Kim Heise

Finding articles on AMD and Intel systems dueling it out on a one-to-one match is a rare find. Don't ask me why.

Tech Report posts the results of matching AMD's best against Intel's best. Read on for yourself if you are considering a new system and can't decide which processor too choose.

THERE'S NO LOVE LOST between the Intel and AMD camps these days. Both sides know they're in for the fight of their lives, and both are bringing spectacular advances to the desktop PC market with regularity. The latest salvos in the desktop wars are a whole new microarchitecture from Intel and a revamped Athlon platform from AMD. If you've not had the chance to do so yet, read up on these technologies in our review of the AMD 760 chipset with DDR SDRAM and our Pentium 4 review. We've already painted much of the backdrop for this article, and now it's time for the main event: The P4 and Athlon DDR in a head-to-head, take-no-prisoners benchmark brawl.

We've rounded up a 1.5GHz P4 system from Intel and tossed it into the ring with a 1.2GHz DDR system from AMD. To test our contenders' mettle, we've run them through a grueling gauntlet of benchmarks, from the highly synthetic to in-the-mud, real-world application tests.

Before the opening bell sounds, let's review our contenders' qualifications.

Sharing e-mail banned by law in Australia.
Posted: 03/07/2001     Source: Australia News  Added by: Kim Heise

This is what happens when you have far too many politicians with nothing to do other than sit together wasting YOUR time and dollars. How is anyone going to possibly manage this law by reading all the email traffic and deciding how to prosecute?

Meanwhile we have kids still dying on your streets today or being shot in school. Don't these "overweight" bureaucrats have other worries?

FORWARDING an e-mail to friends, family or colleagues without permission from the sender is illegal from today and could result in severe penalties.

New laws set out maximum penalties of five years' jail or fines of $60,000.

The illegality stems from breaching the copyright held by the person who originally wrote the e-mail.

An estimated five million or more e-mails are forwarded each day around the nation.

Attorney-General Daryl Williams QC has warned Australians that they could be breaking the law, if they continue to forward e-mails from today.

"It's quite possible that the forwarding of an e-mail could be a technical infringement of copyright," Mr Williams' legal adviser told The Sunday Telegraph.

"E-mailing something is a `communication' under the Digital Agenda Act and so is putting something up on a website."

"Scope" - Interesting New Web browser.
Posted: 03/07/2001     Source: Beta News/EFront  Added by: Kim Heise

We may have a fourth browser on the market sometime shortly but it's too early to tell how much of an impact it will have. I could see that web developers could make use of the new "Scope" browser for viewing/debugging web pages in a IE or Mozilla (Netscape) web engine without having to switch browsers.

A BetaNews reader sent word over the weekend about a new Internet browser hitting the net dubbed Scope. What makes Scope unique is its ability to show you what the same Web page looks like when rendered by both the Mozilla and IE engines. Using a simple tab interface it allows developers to check both simultaneously without having to load several programs all at once. You can also save groups of sites to be opened at the same time under one single command. This lightweight browser also features tools to block annoying popup advertisements. For more information check it out here.

Yahoo shares halted for expected news.
Posted: 03/07/2001     Source: CNET  Added by: Kim Heise

Anybody care to speculate on this one? I have no idea what is in store for Yahoo but keep checking the news wire for updates.

Shares of Internet portal Yahoo were halted shortly after the start of Nasdaq trading on Wednesday for news pending.

The company was not immediately available for comment. The First Call/Thomson Financial consensus analyst estimate for Yahoo's first quarter is 5 cents. There was no indication that the news release would be about earnings.

Prior to the stock's halt, shares of Yahoo had fallen $1.41, or 6.3 percent, to $20.97, to their lowest levels since September 1998.

A sneak peek at Compaq's "power-busting" handheld.
Posted: 03/07/2001     Source: CNET  Added by: Kim Heise

No wonder companies will be releasing WindowsCE based PDA's with 64MB of memory because the memory requirements are insane. Load a app, load a game and maybe one MP3 and your 32MB WinCE PDA is out of memory.

Typically most Palm users can easily live on 4-8MB of memory but on the newer color versions, 16MB would be much appreciated.

In a more aggressive push into the corporate market, Compaq Computer is preparing to release a more robust version of its iPaq handheld.

The new model will offer "a power-busting 64MB" of memory and the option of a wireless networking card and an expansion sleeve capable of using two PC cards simultaneously, according to information inadvertently posted on Compaq's site. Most handhelds come with, at most, 32MB of memory.

"It just got out a little bit before we planned to announce it," a Compaq representative said Tuesday. An official announcement is expected within 30 days. Pricing is not final, the representative said, but the beefed-up product will cost more than the current versions. Compaq's current color model sells for $499.

Intel, Cisco and Corning fund optical components start-up.
Posted: 03/07/2001     Source: EBNews  Added by: Kim Heise

Just posting another news update on Cisco's investment on startup "GemFire". What makes the article even more noticeable is that other heavyweights such as Intel and Corning are also flexing their muscles to get the foot in the door.

You didn't hear me say this - but watch for an interesting IPO on "GemFire".

Cisco Systems, Corning, Finisar, Intel Capital and TriQuint Semiconductor have invested in Gemfire, an integrated photonics company, as part of a $63 million Series C round of funding in the company.

To date, the total investment in the Palo Alto, Calif. company is $85 million.

Additional investors included Hook Partners, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Mohr Davidow Ventures, and Spring Creek Partners. Specific terms of each investment were not disclosed.

"We are very gratified to have investors who recognize that the issues Gemfire is focused on solving at the component level are key to making new optical networking technologies easier to implement,'' said Richard Tompane, president and chief executive of Gemfire, in a released statement.

Other companies that have invested in Gemfire include Eastman Kodak, LG lectronics, Microvision Inc., and Ricoh Silicon Valley Inc. Gemfire rceived its seed funding from Kleiner erkins Caufield & Byers and Mohr Davidow Ventures.

Napster Begins to Block Songs.
Posted: 03/07/2001     Source: IDG  Added by: Kim Heise

Time will tell if this will amount to anything. As previously stated users are going to change the names of songs/bands to bypass the filtering system. See the last post for the day.

If I were to include my two cents worth I would tell the music industry to stop fighting and embrace the technology. It has nothing to do with the question of piracy (we already know it is) since the cat is already out of the bag and there is nothing the music industry can do to stop this.

The next stop is another Napster clone in a foreign country that cannot be touched by herds of US lawyers.

Napster looked to be making good on its promise to block more than a million music titles, as songs by the Beatles, Metallica and Jimi Hendrix dropped off the network on Monday.

A search for the Metallica song "Fade to Black" at 1:40 a.m. EST Monday turned up just four songs. A few hours earlier the same search pulled in 100 matches, the maximum permitted by the song-swapping network. A search for the Beatles' "I Am the Walrus" brought in 17 songs, compared with the 100 returned only a few hours earlier. There was a remarkable drop off as well for Hendrix songs, such as "Purple Haze" and "Foxy Lady."

A Napster spokeswoman early Monday morning confirmed the Redwood City, Calif.-based startup had implemented a new filter designed to keep users from downloading unauthorized songs. Napster, which is trying to ward off a draconian court order that could come any day, unveiled the new system on Friday at a hearing in federal court. Although Napster says it is blocking more than a million file names, the number of songs being blocked is believed to be much smaller. Napster won't provide an estimate.

TOP    MORE

'NAKEDWIFE' Trojan strikes.
Posted: 03/07/2001     Source: IDG  Added by: Kim Heise

Several companies reported being hit by this new virus. Just yesterday the company I work for circulated a warning message. Watch your back on this one.

A new mass-mailing "Trojan horse"-type virus called NAKEDWIFE is circulating and, if executed, can delete files that are necessary for everyday computer operation, several computer security companies confirmed Tuesday.

Trend Micro Inc. began getting reports of the Trojan worm that spreads through e-mail at 8 a.m. PST Tuesday, as nine U.S. organizations, including a telecommunications company and a government agency, reported it, said Susan Orbuch, a company spokeswoman. The Trojan is currently in the wild and is rated a "medium" security risk by Trend Micro, she said.

NAKEDWIFE is a Trojan horse, and as such, is spread through Microsoft Outlook, sending an e-mail to every e-mail address in the infected user's address book, security firms said. It is known as NAKEDWIFE, W32/Naked@MM, W32.HLLW.JibJab@mm.

When the Trojan is executed, it displays a "Flash" window that states "JibJab loading." While the file loads, the Trojan deletes DLL (Dynamic Link Library), INI (initialization files), EXE (execution files), BMP (picture files) and COM (resource) files in the Windows and system directories, according to Trend Micro. In other words, it deletes files used for everyday computer operation, Orbuch said.

Researchers close in on single-atom switch.
Posted: 03/07/2001     Source: Silicon Strategies  Added by: Kim Heise

Here's an interesting read if you are having a slow day or simply enjoy reading about breakthroughs that ultimately change our daily life.

TOKYO — After more than a decade of research using scanning tunnel microscopes (STMs) to precisely manipulate polymers, Japan's Institute of Physical and Chemical Research in now months away from developing Japan's first single-electron tunneling transistor capable of operating at room temperature, according to Masakazu Aono, head of the institute's surface and interface laboratory.

Though the technology may not find its way into semiconductors until the end of the decade, the tunneling transistor will make possible a 10 cm² microprocessor of terabit density, Aono told EE Times.

"It's hard to imagine the world after a couple of generations of technology. Fifty years ago Bell Labs created the first transistor and at that time no one imagined the present scale of integration," Aono said. "This transistor will be three magnitudes of order smaller than the gigabit limit for MOS as predicted by Moore's Law."

Infineon introduces low-latency 133MHZ SDRAMs.
Posted: 03/07/2001     Source: Silicon Strategies  Added by: Kim Heise

If you were to translate this into simple English it would mean that your main processor has to do less work every time it stores or retrieves data to and from memory.

I am curious to see real world benchmarks.

MUNICH -- Infineon Technologies AG today (March 6) launched a new low-latency 128-mgeabit synchronous DRAM, which can be read in one less clock cycle than previously available PC133 SDRAM chips.

"We are able to assure supplies of memory at the fastest CAS-latency of 2 by taking advantage of our advanced 0.17-micron manufacturing technology," said Heinrich Florian, director of product marketing in Infineon's Memory Product Group. "We are ramping PC133 CL-2 production volume as we see a strong general trend in the industry to use PC133 DRAMs for almost all volume SDRAM applications, and the CL-2 version offers clear performance benefits to our customers."

The new memory operates at 133-MHz speeds and delivers data in two vs. three column-address-strobe (CAS) read cycles. (CAS-latency is the access time from the "read" command of the memory controller to the time the SDRAM delivers the requested data.) The lower latency times are expected to be a popular feature for servers, workstations, and high-performance desktop PCs.

Bill Gates For President, should Run US - Survey .
Posted: 03/07/2001     Source: Newsbytes  Added by: Kim Heise

I'm just reporting an unusual survey here and have no opinions one way or another - other than the survey is absurd.

A study by Brouillard Communications asked people which company they would most like to run the US government, and which they would be least likely to put in charge. The results indicate that most Americans view Microsoft [NASDAQ:MSFT] as highly effective and innovative, but lacking character and prone to poor behavior.

The divided feelings about Microsoft are among several findings of the study, which surveyed a random sample of over 1,000 Americans (voting age of 18 or older) on their views of corporate reputations.

Nvidia Unwraps GeForce2 Variants.
Posted: 03/07/2001     Source: TechWeb  Added by: Kim Heise

Nvidia needs to keep the heat up for the lower end video processor market as not to loose out to competitors because not everyone is going to spend $600 on the most recent incarnation.

Nvidia Corp. (stock: NVDA) has unveiled two new variations on its GeForce2 graphics chip for PCs. The GeForce2 MX200 and MX400 chips are virtually identical to the low-cost GeForce2 MX chip, with two exceptions: The MX200 only has a 64-bit SDRAM interface, and the MX400 has a 64-bit DDR interface and a 128-bit SDRAM interface. The existing GeForce2 MX chip contains all three interfaces. Both of the new chips will be available in 30 to 60 days.

P2P file swapping for handhelds.
Posted: 03/07/2001     Source: ZDNET  Added by: Kim Heise

Imagine swapping MP3 audio using your PDA while waiting for your lunch. Someone has plans for just that.

Swedish software maker Pocit Labs says it has created the world's first Napster-like file-swapping software for mobile devices that communicate using so-called Bluetooth technology.

The software, called BlueTalk, is expected to make its debut in June at the Bluetooth Congress 2001 in Monte Carlo, Monaco. Although no deals have been signed yet, Pocit Labs Chief Executive Christer Rindebratt said BlueTalk could make its commercial debut by 2002.

The software, Rindebratt said, will let up to 54 people at a time trade files, play the same games or use any of 50 other proposed software applications on wireless devices.

Pocit Labs is the second company to say it's working to bring peer-to-peer networking to handheld devices. In January, Irvine, Calif.-based Endeavors Technology announced it successfully tested a peer-to-peer application on Compaq Computer's iPaq handheld device.

Peer-to-peer is a form of computing in which people allow their stored data to be shared by anybody. Napster is its best-known application, with an estimated 64 million users trading music files.

But peer-to-peer has spread beyond music. Scientific research firms have also begun using peer-to-peer as a way for colleagues in different parts of the world to collaborate. Some universities, including Stanford, have their own peer-to-peer networks for students to use. There are also several search engines in development using peer-to-peer architecture.

Pig Latin encoder tricks Napster.
Posted: 03/07/2001     Source: MSNBC  Added by: Kim Heise

Not much to add here other than it would be difficult to say one could not have predicted these tactics.

Programmers at the file-sharing firm Aimster say they have found a disarmingly simple way for Napster users to avoid recent restrictions imposed on the service by a federal judge: an encryption scheme based on Pig Latin.

Tech News for Monday March 5th 2001

Win a GeForce3.
Posted: 03/05/2001     Source: nVIDIA  Added by: Kim Heise

If you're not rolling in cash and the price on the GeForce3 video card for $600 looks a little steep you may want to fill out this survey at Nvidia for a chance to win one.

Want to win the new GeForce3?

Fill out this short survey, and you may become one out of five randomly chosen winners!

It will take approximately three minutes to complete the survey. Your answers will help us tailor the content of this web site to better meet your needs. Personal information will ONLY be used in order to contact you in the event that you are a winner.

NVIDIA GeForce 3 Manufacturer Comparison Guide
Posted: 03/05/2001     Source: SystemLogic  Added by: Kim Heise

There are several manufacturers going to be rolling out video cards using the new GeForce3 processor and System Logic was kind enough to post an article that lists the differences between each vendor.

Since each video card is most likely based on the original reference design it may be a choice of bundled software and any other features. Performance wise they should be running at the same speed.

For the past 2 generations of NVIDIA cards we have done manufacturer comparisons. For both the GeForce 256 as well as the GeForce 2 GTS. Today we bring you coverage of the next graphics chipset lineup from NVIDIA, the GeForce 3.

The GeForce 3 will most likely boast the same performance with current games as the GeForce 2, but it is the technology behind it that will make upcoming games be awesome. It may take a while, but the upcoming games will make full use of DirectX 8 as well as the new technologies that are featured in the GeForce 3. Interested in finding out more about these new technologies, and what really makes the GeForce 3 what it is?

Microsoft: 64-bit Whistler Ready for Itanium, McKinley.
Posted: 03/05/2001     Source: WinInfo  Added by: Kim Heise

Ladies and Gentlemen the hype alarm is blaring loud on this one! We are still at least a year away for more before we begin to see 64 bit processors and any applications that could take advantage of the extra breathing room. 

Intel is pulling all the stops on the media to try and boost their ratings in view of all the problems.

The 64-bit versions of Whistler Server and Windows XP will ship when the Intel Itanium ships, and a version for the next-generation Itanium, currently code-named McKinley, will be available when that processor ships in 2002. At yesterday's Intel Developer Forum (IDF), Intel Executive Vice President Paul Otellini demonstrated Whistler running on four four-processor McKinley-based systems--the first time anyone has demonstrated Microsoft's 64-bit Windows OS running on McKinley-based systems. I spoke with Michael Stephenson, Microsoft's lead product manager of Windows Enterprise Servers, about the demonstration.

Initial version of OS X to lack some 'goodies'.
Posted: 03/05/2001     Source: ZDNET  Added by: Kim Heise

Another much hyped new product - this time from Apple. It appears in order to meet the recent deadline for the new Mac OS X the company is stripping down the package.

I'm not sure how well that sits with Mac people who have taken more than their fair share of beatings from Apple Computer. 

Company loyalty is severely being abused in my opinion.

When Mac OS X hits store shelves next month, it will be short a few pieces, according to Apple Computer Inc. Mac OS X Product Manager Ken Bereskin.

Bereskin told MacCentral that DVD playback won't initially be available from the next-generation OS. He also noted that, although Mac OS X-native versions of iTunes and iMovie are in the works, they "probably won't" ship in the first commercial CD, slated to arrive March 24.

TOP    MORE

Intel To Support Lower-Cost Rambus DRAM
Posted: 03/05/2001     Source: TechWeb  Added by: Kim Heise

The price of Rambus is still insane when compared to today's prices on 133mhz SDRAM. In the end you only end up with 5% performance gains under everyday use on your PC.

Don't let the salesman talk you into something that does very little in terms of performance for the money. 

A new lower-cost four-bank Direct Rambus DRAM chip now in development depends on a new Intel chipset slated to be introduced next year, the Intel Developers Forum heard Tuesday.

The four-memory-bank chip can cut the Direct RDRAM cost by 20 percent to come close to parity with SDRAM in full production, said Jon Kang, senior vice president for memory product planning and applications engineering at Samsung Electronics Corp. Samsung expects to sample the four-bank RDRAM version later this year, and be ready to ramp up production as soon as the new Intel chipset is available.

Microsoft Plans Public Preview Of IE 6.0.
Posted: 03/05/2001     Source: TechWeb  Added by: Kim Heise

Microsoft is moving close to releasing IE 6.0 for public preview. Early reports had the IE 6.0 release coincide with Windows XP but it appears that IE 6.0 should be available very soon.

Microsoft is showing off its updated version of the product that landed it in legal hot water: Internet Explorer.

On Wednesday, Microsoft (stock: MSFT) was planning to issue a public preview of Internet Explorer 6.0, an upgraded Internet browser that offers new Explorer Bars; improved privacy support; virus protection in Outlook Express; and a host of new additions to the Internet options, according to an internal Microsoft document obtained and posted by ActiveWin.com.

Microsoft's engineering team had also planned to release Windows XP Beta 2 on Wednesday, but has now pushed back that date to March 14.

Internet Explorer 6.0, which continues to be offered as both a stand-alone product and integrated with the Windows operating system, incorporates a bevy of new Explorer Bars including Media; Contacts; Search the Web; and News bars.

IE 6.0 also offers the ability to add new HTML Explorer Bars created by Microsoft or third-party software developers.

Sanyo ships 24x/10x/40x CDR-W drive.
Posted: 03/05/2001     Source: CDR-Info  Added by: Kim Heise

Making use of a 24x burner would be a dream come true with the ability to copy CD's in around 2-3 minutes from start to finish.

No word on the price but I suspect the initial cost is in $350-$450 range.

Last year, Yamaha was the first company which ever released 16x writer (even partial) in retail - back in November 2000. The first Sanyo 16x CDR-W drive came out in January 2001(CLV) (TDK CyClone 161040) and the first PleXWriter 16x drive came out this month (Feb2001). As you can understand there is a great competition between various manufacturers and the results are faster and better recorders for us..

Do you think that 16x writing speed is already fast enough? Then i imagine hearing about 20x and 24x CDR-W drives would make you jump off your seat...Sanyo soon will release the first (?) 24x writing CDR-W (true CLV) drive. For taking a small taste click on the left picture.

Drive features:
Writing speeds: 24x Z-CLV
Re-Write speeds: 10xCLV
Reading speed: 40x (max)
Average Seek time: 130ms
2MB of Buffer
BURN-Proof technology
Supports both Ultra SCSI and ATAPI interfaces

Office XP Goes RTM (Official).
Posted: 03/05/2001     Source: ActiveWin  Added by: Kim Heise

Microsoft Office XP is going to be available sooner than anybody expected as it appears that the new office suite has been shipped for manufacturing. This means the last release candidate was blessed as the final release and the code has been shipped off for CD duplication, instruction manuals and packaging.

Microsoft has today confirmed our exclusive news from Saturday that Office XP has indeed gone RTM. Here is the press release.

Microsoft Corp today announced that Microsoft® Office XP, the new version of the world's leading office software, has been released to manufacturing and will be available for retail purchase later this spring. The company has completed extensive development and test efforts for Office XP, which is the most significant version of Office ever released. Major customers, industry partners and developers, including Timex Corp. and The Vanguard Group, are lining up in support of Office XP, which will deliver exciting new experiences for all types of customers, whether they are at home or in the enterprise. These experiences simplify productivity, enable collaboration for everyone, and provide flexible ways to solve business needs.

ZyXEL Prestige 316 wireless router.
Posted: 03/05/2001     Source: hardCOREware  Added by: Kim Heise

The next step I would like to take at home is the wireless networking frontier. Sitting on the deck in the sun with a laptop surfing the web sounds rather appealing. Then again sitting in the sun on the deck and having to "work" defeats the purpose.

Nevertheless, being able to move PC's just about anywhere in your house without having to install network cables is good news.

The Prestige 316, like most wireless routers that are being released these days, uses the IEEE 802.11b wireless standard. This gives it a capability of 11 mbps networking at distances of around 400 feet (or 120 metres) in an open space. It works very well beyond walls too; I was able to walk around my entire home without so much as a glitch in connection!

In addition to 11 wireless channels (this number varies, depending on your country), you get one 10/100 LAN port that you can connect to a hub with as many connections as you want, or directly to your PC via a crossover LAN cable. I did the latter, since I only have a single PC and a notebook.

It should be noted that the P316 only includes on wireless adapter, you can see it in the picture above, connected to the router itself. To make use of the wireless capability, you are going to need to buy another one. That is the bad news. The good news is, since it uses the 802.11b standard, any card you get should work. This includes USB based, PCI based, or PCMCIA based (ZyXEL makes all of these), as well as a Compact Flash card for devices such as Pocket PC's.

A CD Burner for Music Lovers.
Posted: 03/05/2001     Source: PC World  Added by: Kim Heise

Sony has this ability to dream up more gadgets than consumers can possibly use for long enough to enjoy before a new gadget emerges. The features on Sony's portable CD-RW drive which features MP3 playback capability does sound very exciting.

Sony's latest device does both: It's a CD-RW drive that doubles as an audio-CD player. The $399 Digital Relay--available from Sony later in March and in retail stores in April--records to CD-Recordable and CD-Rewritable at 4X, and reads CDs at 24X. And if that's not enough to get your attention, the Digital Relay can also play CDs jammed with MP3 files. Though the Digital Relay is priced at about $100 more than most portable USB CD-RW drives, its cost is less than the combined prices of a CD-RW drive and an MP3-capable CD player.

Sharp to challenge Palm, Pocket PC with Linux PDA.
Posted: 03/05/2001     Source: CNET  Added by: Kim Heise

Somehow I don't think Sharp's new PDA which features the Linux operating system is going to challenge Palm Computing on the consumer market. Don't misunderstand me - I have nothing against Linux at all, but there certainly is a public stigma that the operating system is not user friendly. Sharp needs to change the public view.

Sharp, which leads Japan's market for handheld electronic organizers, said it will challenge Palm and Microsoft on their home turf by introducing a device running on the free Linux operating system.

Osaka-based Sharp will be the first major maker of PDAs (personal digital assistants) to introduce a Linux OS-based PDA, said Hiroshi Uno, general manager of the company's mobile systems division, in an interview. The new models will be available in the United States and Europe from October, he said.

Sharp's PDAs, which run its proprietary Zaurus operating system, face competition in the local market from Palm OS handhelds made by Palm, Handspring and Sony. Last year, Microsoft introduced its Pocket PC technology. By going abroad, Sharp hopes to boost sales and to create a market for Linux-based devices.

AMD snags first corporate win.
Posted: 03/05/2001     Source: CNET  Added by: Kim Heise

Good job AMD and NEC! What this means is that the consumers have the ability to choose between more than one single source for processors and motherboards.

NEC has decided to incorporate AMD's Athlon and Duron processors into a line of PowerMate DT computers for corporate and government customers in Europe. Initially, NEC will target customers in France, Britain, Italy and the Netherlands.

The deal marks AMD's first design win with a major manufacturer for the corporate market, an AMD spokesman said. The company has tried for years to get its chips into computers for large businesses, one of the largest subsegments of the market. However, manufacturing snafus, shortages, business conditions and other issues have stumped the company's ambitions in the past. 

Cisco, Corning back fiber-optics maker Gemfire.
Posted: 03/05/2001     Source: CNET  Added by: Kim Heise

Just an FYI for those of you who are keeping their eye on Cisco. The company has been very quietly absorbing companies and shaking hands with several new startups. Very interesting developments as Cisco makes some smart "chess" moves.

Fiber-optic parts maker Gemfire will announce Monday that it has completed a $63 million round of funding with investors that include Cisco Systems and Corning.

The big-name backers joined Finisar, Intel Capital and TriQuint Semiconductor in the Series C round of financing. Gemfire, a start-up, has raised a total of $85 million, taking into account earlier backing from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Mohr Davidow Ventures, Spring Creek Partners and Hook Partners.

Gemfire, which will formally unveil its plans Monday, makes optical-networking components--one of many start-ups attempting to exploit what is expected to be a lucrative niche. The company intends to integrate the functions of several parts in its components and will introduce two new products Monday.

Napster to voluntarily halt song trades.
Posted: 03/05/2001     Source: CNET  Added by: Kim Heise

Can anybody tell me how Napster could possibly accomplish this feat? If they block songs that contain certain band or group names users will simply insert characters to by-pass the block. For example the band Dire Straits could be renamed as #dire_straits!. Unless they have some very smart code in place to do this but I can't see how they can catch every instance.

SAN FRANCISCO--Napster fans this weekend may be unable to find thousands of songs as the company voluntarily removes titles in anticipation of a court order that could demand stronger remedies.

The music file-swapping service announced the filtering plans for specific song titles at a court hearing Friday, where attorneys for the company and record labels presented arguments regarding how to police alleged copyright violations on the service.

A ruling is not immediately expected. But Napster said it has created a way to screen individual file names that would likely go into effect this weekend. Potentially millions of files will be blocked at that time, Napster attorney David Boies said.