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News for Wednesday November 15th 2006.
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TiVo Announces Online Video Sharing and PC to
TV Playback
Source:
Dailytech
Still waiting for a affordable "all-in-one" media device that supports every
media format under the sun. XBMC anyone?
TiVo this week announce several major updates to its service. TiVo
subscribers will receive a new feature through its TiVo Desktop software
that will allow video downloaded on the computer to be played back through a
TiVo unit onto a TV. The new software update will convert video to a format
usable on a TiVo unit but will be one-way only. Protected video content will
still remain on the unit.
According to the press release:
TiVo subscribers will be able to choose from a variety of free downloadable
content such as music videos, video podcasts and user generated content.
This new software, TiVo Desktop Plus 2.4, will support video content
downloaded to PCs running Windows XP in formats such as QuickTime, Windows
Media Video, and MPEG-4.
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Security Now Episode 65: Why Is Security So
Difficult?
Source:
Security Now
Ok - I know this is three day old news but I was only
to listen to the new podcast yesterday. Hosts Steve Gibson and Leo Laporte
cover the following new topics:
- Remote Access to Gmail - Gmail does support SMTP, SSL, use https: to stay
in SSL with Gmail
- Windows Zero Day Exploit in XML Core Services
- Microsoft’s Kill Bit registry patch to fix the XML Core Services exploit
- Steve’s guide to Safe IE Use
- All Snap for Windows
Here's a clip:
Leo and I get a bit philosophical this week. We discuss the broad nature
of Security — all security, not just computer security. We propose a new
definition of 'Security' and flesh it out with examples to illustrate why
security is so difficult, if not impossible.
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Windows Vista on MSDN this Friday 11/17.
Source:
N/A
For those of you MSDN subscribers foaming at the bit
(present company included) for Windows Vista, it is being reported that
Windows Vista should be available for download this Friday 11/17.
I'm sure if you have been checking the MSDN download site every *ahem* 30
minutes you will have noticed that Microsoft Office 2007 final is already
available for download. Since we are on the topic of Office 2007 - I'm
unable to install the final build on a system that had the previous beta 2
of 2007 installed. I completely uninstalled Office 2007 beta 2 - including
Office 2003 and still receive the following message:
Setup is unable to proceed due to the following error(s):
The 2007 Microsoft Office system does not support upgrading from a
prerelease version of the 2007 Microsoft Office system. You must first
uninstall any prerelease versions of the 2007 Microsoft Office system
products and associated technologies.
Correct the issue(s) listed above and re-run setup.
Anyone else see this error message? Please send
me an
email if you have a solution - Thanks.
Microsoft's "2007
Microsoft Office System Known Issues" web site is not too helpful
regarding this issue.
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AMD Stream Processor launched.
Source:
Endgadget
With all the processing power these days on medium to high end video
cards, why not use the GPU processor to share the work load with the CPU.
This all looks impressive on paper but I'd wait to see any "real world"
benefits - Endgadget shares the sentiments.
Well, AMD's achieved that stream computing thing (with the help of its
latest acquisition, ATI) that we've all been hearing about for the last
month and change. At the Supercomputing 2006 show down in Tampa, Florida,
the company announced what it claims to be the "world's first dedicated
stream processor." The new GPU, creatively named the "AMD Stream Processor,"
is a PCI Express card that is loaded up with 1GB of GDDR3 memory.
TG Daily reports that the new processor is based on the R580 graphics
processor used in ATI's Radeon X1900 graphics cards and that it has the
potential of reaching 375 gigaflops. Now again, we take these numbers with a
healthy dose of skepticism -- while AMD's claims of performance boosts may
hold up in the lab, it's pretty unlikely that your everyday computer
applications will benefit exponentially from all those floating point
operations.
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Firefox 1.5.0.8 Released.
Source:
Mozilla
For those of you who have not jumped onto the Firefox 2.0 bandwagon for
various reasons - Mozilla has quietly released version 1.5.08 with several
security updates.
Firefox 1.5.08 can be downloaded
HERE
Note the Firefox 1.5.x download link also reports the following: "Firefox
1.5.0.x will be maintained with security and stability updates until April
24, 2007."
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Windows PowerShell 1.0 Released.
Source:
Betanews
At the IT Forum in Barcelona Tuesday, Microsoft announced the final 1.0
version of Windows PowerShell, the company's next-generation command shell
for Windows that enables administrators to automate and control tasks on
Windows desktops and servers.
PowerShell is a fairly complex endeavor for Microsoft, which has previously
focused its attention on the graphical interface while competing server
software remains primarily command line based. The idea was to build a
Unix-like shell for administrators that offers advanced scripting
capabilities while remaining easy to program.
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News for Tuesday November 14th 2006.
-
Microsoft Security Bulletin Summary for
November 2006
Source:
Microsoft
Microsoft has officially released the latest security updates for Windows.
It also appears as if Internet Explorer 7.0 also shows up as an optional
download on Windows update. It was earlier reported that Microsoft was going
to "force" IE 7.0 installs through Windows update - however I suspect there
was significant push back from the IT industry on this.
Windows update can be accessed directly through
http://update.microsoft.com
Critical Security Bulletins
===========================
MS06-067 - Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer (922760)
- Impact: Remote Code Execution
- Version Number: 1.0
MS06-068 - Vulnerability in Microsoft Agent
Could Allow Remote Code Execution (920213)
- Impact: Remote Code Execution
- Version Number: 1.0
MS06-069 - Vulnerabilities in Macromedia Flash Player from Adobe
Could Allow Remote Code Execution (923789)
- Impact: Remote Code Execution
- Version Number: 1.0
MS06-070 - Vulnerability in Workstation Service
Could Allow Remote Code Execution (924270)
- Impact: Remote Code Execution
- Version Number: 1.0
MS06-071 - Vulnerability in Microsoft XML Core Services
Could Allow Remote Code Execution (928088)
- Impact: Remote Code Execution
- Version Number: 1.0
Important Security Bulletins
============================
MS06-066 - Vulnerabilities in Client Service for NetWare
Could Allow Remote Code Execution (923980)
- Impact: Remote Code Execution
- Version Number: 1.0
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Microsoft Officially launches Zune player.
Source:
Zune.net
Can't say there is too much excitement over the Zune player which is aimed
at the IPOD market. Last stats I saw - the IPOD commands 75% of the player
market so Microsoft has a huge uphill battle to wage.
If Microsoft would have not "scaled down" the Wireless support on the Zune
and offered less strict DRM polices the device would certainly be more
attractive. Right now the wireless feature is mostly useless since it only
allows you to share songs with other Zune players and those shared songs can
be played only 3 times within 3 days. I suspect the Zune desktop component
then tries to sell you the song(s) you have shared from other users at that
time.
Not rocket science to image how exciting this product would be if you could
sync up to the Internet through a WiFi connection to download podcasts,
eBooks, surfing the web....I could go on.
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Longhorn beta 3 due first half of 2007.
Source:
Infoworld
Microsoft will release beta 3 of the next version of Windows Server,
code-named Longhorn, in the first half of 2007.
Microsoft said in May that it would release the third beta of Longhorn in
early 2007, but did not say exactly when. The OS is still on track for its
delayed release by the end of 2007, said Bob Visse, a senior director for
Microsoft Windows Server marketing.
Beta 3 of Longhorn is expected to be feature complete and will be tweaked
only for performance and quality control before the first release candidates
of the product appear, he said.
Key new features in Longhorn include the ability for administrators to more
easily manage the OS as well as enhanced security, Visse said. These are all
features users had requested after the release of Windows Server 2003, the
current version of Windows Server.
On Tuesday, Microsoft will release a second service pack of patches and
updates for Windows Server 2003, with technology that will help IT
administrators prepare hardware running Windows Server for the deployment of
Windows Vista, Visse added. Windows Vista, the long-awaited update to the
Windows client, will be available to business customers at the end of the
month.
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AMD to launch 65nm core CPU's in December.
Source:
Daily Tech
Not overly exciting news other than the new AMD core's will consume less
power but no major (if any) performance increases. Not aimed to target
Intel's new DUO CPU's performance but lower power consumption and hopefully
reduced costs on the production run.
AMD unleashes 65nm beginning in December
AMD’s long awaited 65nm Brisbane core products are just around the corner.
DailyTech previously reported that Brisbane is expected to launch in
December. AMD’s latest roadmap shows Brisbane 65nm products will arrive as
scheduled. Brisbane will be AMD’s first 65nm core and is expected to launch
with four parts. The four 65nm Brisbane core based products include the
Athlon 64 X2 5000+, 4800+, 4400+ and 3800+. All four models will have
2x512KB of L2 cache and a 65W TDP rating.
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What is DirectX 10 all about?
Source:
Toms Hardware
A informative article on what is in store with Microsoft's new API
DirectX10. Well worth the read for a good summary of what has changed and
how this going to significantly benefit the PC gaming industry. On a related
note - DirectX 10 will require new hardware (video card) and at this time
the options are limited. If you are in the market for a new high end gaming
or 3D rendering system it would be best to wait until Vista hits the streets
and more DirectX10 cards are available. Right now I believe only the new
NVIDIA G80 supports DirectX10 but it will set you back anywhere from $450 to
$650 depending on the version.
For the remainder of this article we will be talking about what most
people are most interested in: Direct3D. There are a lot of changes coming
in DirectX 10. Direct3D 10 adds new features to deal with existing graphical
problems, and tools to take on new rendering challenges. It also simplifies
the 3D pipeline, which will help move bigger and better game titles out of
the developers' studios and onto your PC.
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News for Friday November 12th 2006.
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PlayStation 3 vs. Xbox 360 vs. Wii
Source:
Endgaget
Endgaget has a picture comparing the sizes of the upcoming PS3 and Nintendo
Wii when compared to the current XBOX 360. Not that size matters but this
picture gives you a good idea of what to expect.
You have to admit the PS3 does not look as large as initially advertised -
when I first saw PS3 pictures I thought it was the size of refrigerator. The
Wii however looks no bigger than a external DVD/CD ROM drive.
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Microsoft to release 6 new patches next week.
Source:
Information Week
Head's up - next week is Microsoft patch November roll-out.
Microsoft Corp. announced Thursday that it will release six security
updates next week, including at least one to fix a vulnerability that
attackers are already actively exploiting.
In the advance notification posted on its Web site mid-morning Thursday,
Microsoft said it would release five updates for Windows and one targeting
XML Core Services. At least two of the updates will be labeled "critical,"
Microsoft's highest warning rating.
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NVIDIA Intel IGP, 9 More DX10 Cards in the
Works.
Source:
DailyTech
This is certainly interesting news. Looks like NVIDIA is taking the gloves
off with ATI/AMD and is ready to roll out their own integrated CPU/GPU
solution sometime early next year. I seriously hope that ATI has not thrown
in the towel as NVIDIA CEO reports as we need the competition in the video
card sector.
I'm curious to see if ATI will counteract this year against the recently
launched Geforce 8800 which has very impressive performance improvements.
However I think ATI is too busy with AMD right now working on a CPU/GPU
all-in-one solution.
Also discussed is that NVIDIA is going to be rolling out a whole slew of
DirectX 10.0 video cards based on their current G80 series GPU.
Late yesterday, NVIDIA held its Q3'06 investor call. Although the
discussion of the call was mainly financials and recaps of the GeForce 8800
launch, NVIDIA CEO Jen-Hsun Huang let everyone know the company is ready to
play hardball with AMD/ATI. Specifically, Huang stated that NVIDIA would
unveil its first Intel-based integrated graphics chipset early next year.
Outside of Intel-branded chipsets, ATI has traditionally dominated the Intel
IGP market. However, with the shift of allegiances after the AMD acquisition
earlier this year, NVIDIA has already set its targets on ATI's old turf.
This past July Jen-Hsun Huang already declared NVIDIA the winner in the GPU
market, claiming "I thought it was just impossible to get a gift like this.
ATI is basically throwing in the towel, leaving us as the only stand-alone
[graphics chip] company in the world." Huang made similar, less colorful
comments about the chipset market before announcing the Intel IGP chipset.
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Rootkit Revealer Absorbed by Microsoft.
Source:
Betanews
You can find more information on Rootkit Revealer 1.7 from Microsoft
HERE
The little software utility that uncovered the presence of Sony's stealth
DRM hiding like a rootkit inside a security engineer's computer, and that
triggered the chain of events that eventually led to the annulment ruling of
a multi-billion-dollar merger between Sony and BMG Music, is now a Microsoft
product.
Mark Russinovich's Rootkit Revealer, along with a multitude of his other
Sysinternals tools, are now available for download as Microsoft products.
The transfer of Russinovich's many assets from his original, independent
Sysinternals blog to his new home on Microsoft TechNet is now complete,
having begun last July. New documentation for Rootkit Revealer 1.7 was
posted earlier this week.
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Windows Defender 1.1.1592.0 Released.
Source:
Microsoft
Microsoft has released a updated version of Windows Defender. If you do not
have anti-sypyware software on your system and do not wish to spend
money on a solution then this program is definitely worth installing. This
update does not allow a update to previously installed versions - you need
to uninstall your current version to upgrade.
Windows Defender is a free program that helps you stay productive by
protecting your computer against pop-ups, slow performance and security
threats caused by spyware and other potentially unwanted software. Windows
Defender no longer supports Windows 2000 as mainstream support ended in June
2005.
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