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News for Friday September 14th 2001
I'm having a difficult time attempting to add anything meaningful to news posts today due to the heavy sorrow we are all experiencing. - Kim
GameCube launches with little fanfare.
Posted: 09/14/2001 Source: ZDNET Added by: Kim Heise
In my personal opinion Nintendo should have delayed the launch of the Game Cube a couple of days. I think the last thought the world is thinking is entertainment.
TOKYO--Nintendo has finally launched its GameCube console in Japan and the reception so far has been relatively low-key.
Though lengthy lines were expected by the time stores were closing Tuesday evening, both Akihabara and Shinjuku districts, where game consumers gather, have been quiet. Less than a half-dozen people were waiting to buy a console by that evening, and by early morning Wednesday, the number did not significantly rise.
At one of Akihabara's game stores, Laox Computer Game, long lines were expected, as was the case with the Sony PlayStation 2 and the Nintendo Game Boy Advance launches, but an hour before the store opened only about 20 people were waiting in line. Surprisingly, most of them were from outside Japan. Some of those in line actually came from the United States to buy the Japanese import version of the GameCube hardware and software.
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Growing number of internet scams mar relief efforts.
Posted: 09/14/2001 Source: Electic Tech Added by: Kim
Heise
I'm not going to mince words with low life scumbags who take advantage of such a unspeakable tragic situation. Why don't you sub humans go pick through the pockets of dead people while you are at it?
How can people even think of scamming in a situation (or any) especially one like this is simply beyond me.....
The Internet, like American society itself, is a virtual reflection of the best and worst that humanity has to offer.
Most people, in response to Tuesday's attacks of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, reflected the best that we have to offer, with a vast outpouring of grief and vows of support.
Thursday, across the country, millions are participating in relief activities: people are taking reservations to give blood at the local Red Cross, radio stations are taking "pay-for-play" donations for support efforts, and people are coming together as a nation to provide emotional support for the families with loved ones still unaccounted for.
But there's another side to the story, the story of those that are looking to profit from the sorrow caused. In the real world, you have gas station owners who briefly engaged in price gouging at the tanks, before state and federal authorities jumped in to put a stop to the practice.
On the Internet, there's no such watchdog protecting well-meaning people from profiteers asking for donations in the name of organizations like the Red Cross and the United Way.
The SpamCon Foundation and the Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial Email (CAUCE), two non-profit organizations formed protect email as a legitimate form of communications, released an advisory warning email readers to be wary of solicitations that ask for "Express Relief Funds" or "Victims Survivor Funds."
In many cases, SpamCon Executive Director Tom Geller said, a link that seems to be sending you to the Red Cross Web site could in fact redirecting you to a different site entirely.
From there, these cleverly disguised Web sites will take your credit card information or display a mailing address to send in cash or checks. After that, it's too late to get the money back.
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List of contributors to disaster relief grows.
Posted: 09/14/2001 Source: Electic Tech Added by: Kim
Heise
Several big companies are opening their pocket books to help those in need. This is indeed a truly honorable move.
Companies now include Microsoft, Computer Associates and Cisco:
Software giant Microsoft said Wednesday that it will donate $5 million in cash and an additional $5 million in technical services to relief efforts. The cash donation will go to The September 11 Fund, created by the United Way and The New York Community Trust for established emergency-assistance agencies providing immediate support in cities affected by the events.
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VIA Fights Back Against Intel Suit.
Posted: 09/14/2001 Source: BetaNews Added by: Kim Heise
VIA will most likely issue a countersuit against Intel. It's going to get ugly over the next several weeks and don't expect any sort of resolution shortly.
VIA Technologies today issued a statement declaring it will fight a lawsuit filed by Intel on Friday alleging the Taiwan chip designer infringed on five of the company's patents. VIA's new chipsets, P4X266 and P4M266, allow the usage of DDR DRAM with Pentium 4 processors, an ability that has Intel
fuming. VIA claims Intel is scaring motherboard makers into refusing to use the new chipsets by threatening legal action.
In the statement, VIA wrote it "has made full preparations against unreasonable competitive measures," adding, "The company re-emphasizes its consistent stand of respecting intellectual property rights and will take necessary action to fully protect VIA's legal rights."
VIA says it will clear the air in an open legal process, and requests that Intel stop any "illegal interference" with its partners.
Intel declined to comment on whether it has threatened manufacturers into refusing to support VIA's P4X266 and P4M266 chipsets. The chip giant will begin selling an alternate low-cost i845 chipset -- similar to VIA's offerings -- Monday, with support for ordinary SDRAM.
Adding another twist to the saga, VIA claims the i845 and even the Pentium 4 processor, which still costs 25 percent more than the P4X266, actually infringes on several of VIA's patents and has filed counter suits against Intel. "Starting today, Via will begin filing a series of patent-infringement lawsuits and civil actions in Taiwan and U.S. courts, seeking damages and injunctive relief," VIA Marketing Director Richard Brown said in a news conference.
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Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.
Posted: 09/14/2001 Source: Amazon Added by: Kim Heise
The Red Cross has added a online system for taking donations directly from the web site.
This makes me proud to be living in America. I may not be American born but I consider myself 100% part of the United States of America and will take up arms to defend this great country in a heart beat.
All of us at Amazon.com are deeply saddened by the recent tragedies in New York City, Washington, D.C., and southwestern Pennsylvania, and we extend our sympathies and condolences to those affected. You can support relief efforts by making a donation... Read more
Total Collected: $4,269,033.91
# of Payments: 118751
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AMD, Intel, Transmeta, VIA to launch new products on 10/15.
Posted: 09/14/2001 Source: X-Bit Labs Added by: Kim Heise
AMD needs to move fast now to keep up with the competition. Hopefully soon we will be seeing several new AMD processors on the market.
The four-day Microprocessor Forum, where all the leading processor manufacturers plan to demonstrate their new products and technologies, will break on October 15 in San-Hose (California). The agenda looks as follows:
- Intel will report on its new mobile, server and desktop roadmaps. Furthermore, Intel is going to unveil new details concerning the mobile Banias CPU with a new architecture, which is due in 2003.
- AMD will highlight for the first time the architecture of its new 64bit Hammer CPU clan, which is to be launched in the second half of 2002. The company will also touch upon the present and future of the HyperTransport technology to be implemented in Hammer based systems.
- Transmeta is intended to focus on its roadmap and the outlooks for its economizing CPU family with VLIW Crusoe architecture.
- VIA is going to share its plans to overcome the 1GHz bar and will tell the public about the new Voyager core.
Mid-October, as you can see, will be a hot time for the processor market.
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NVIDIA releases new video drivers with Windows XP support.
Posted: 09/14/2001 Source: NVIDIA Added by: Kim Heise
NVIDIA has released new Detonator video drivers with Windows XP support. I have yet to test the new drivers because I'm still waiting on replacement parts but from what I hear the performance is impressive in certain cases.
The NVIDIA DetonatorTM XP Unified Driver Architecture (UDA) delivers new performance optimizations and features in both DirectX® and OpenGL®, offering industry-leading performance, visual quality, and high reliability in the industry’s only true integrated software upgrade. Detonator XP provides a free performance upgrade for your Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), including the TNTTM, GeForce2TM, and GeForce3TM families of GPUs. Detonator XP
also offers full hardware and software acceleration for Windows® XP, the next-generation operating system from Microsoft®, enabling the best digital experience for Windows XP Home Edition and Professional users.
Detonator XP software provides a 30-to-50% increase in performance for all NVIDIA GPUs in both DirectX and OpenGL Application Programming Interfaces (API). In addition, Detonator XP software exposes new hardware acceleration for Windows XP, enabling new features such as 3D textures and shadow buffers.
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Maxtor announces new 160GB hard drives.
Posted: 09/14/2001 Source: CCBN Added by: Kim Heise
Watch out for the product hype here. Don't upgrade to the new 160GB drive if you are eager to add ULTRA ATA/133 support. Currently (to my knowledge) no motherboard chipsets/controllers offer ATA/133 support and the performance over ATA/100 would be marginal.
Maxtor(R) Corporation (NYSE: MXO), a worldwide leader in hard disk drives and storage solutions, today announced volume shipments of the 40 GB per platter DiamondMax Plus D740X, the first 7200-RPM desktop hard drive with the new Fast Drive Ultra ATA/133 technology. Also announced today is the world's highest capacity ATA hard drive, the new DiamondMax D540X, a 5400-RPM hard drive that breaks both the Big Drive and Fast Drive barriers by offering a whopping 160 GB capacity and the
latest Ultra ATA/133 interface technology.
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U.S. puts new restrictions on e-tickets.
Posted: 09/14/2001 Source: CNET Added by: Kim Heise
Expect to live in the USA with many more changes after the recent tragic events. We must all make adjustments to our lives and attitudes world wide - not just in the United States if we plan to slow terrorism and protect our fellow neighbors.
Federal authorities have implemented new regulations for electronic airline tickets as part of tighter security at U.S. airports, effectively taking away much of the convenience of online travel.
Commercial airlines will no longer allow passengers holding e-tickets to receive a boarding pass by only showing photo identification. Passengers will have to present a printed receipt of their e-ticket purchase, according to representatives from online travel company Travelocity and Southwest Airlines.
Also under the new restrictions, passengers will be required to show proof of a valid ticket to get past security checkpoints. The Federal Aviation Administration, which issued the guidelines, is leaving it up to each airline to decide what constitutes that proof. The FAA is encouraging customers to check in at the ticket counter instead of the at the gate.
Some airlines are allowing e-ticketed passengers to print out confirmations of their receipts to show as proof.
The changes in procedure are part of increased security efforts announced this week by the FAA in light of Tuesday's terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. Curbside check-in of baggage has also been forbidden, and knives of any kind will not be allowed on planes. In addition, the department said, carry-on baggage will be subject to search.
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News for Tuesday September 11th 2001
Cowardly Terrorist Attack on the United States of America.
Posted: 09/11/2001 Source: N/A Added by: Kim Heise
Today a cowardly terrorist attack was launched against the United States of America with significant loss of life to innocent people. Our hearts and prayers go out to the victims and their families.
When Pearl Harbor was attacked the Japanese Admiral Yamamoto felt that by attacking the US Japan would "awaken a sleeping giant". The sleeping giant has awoken again.
This cowardly act will not be forgotten or forgiven.
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