• Chief Microsoft gamer Bach talks Xbox 360 - Robbie Bach, Microsoft's Mr. Xbox, the president of the company's entertainment and devices division, sat down with the IDG News Service to explain why he thinks Xbox 360 will steal a march on Sony's upcoming PlayStation 3 (PS3).
• Flaw found in Kaspersky antivirus - A "critical" flaw in Kaspersky Lab's antivirus software could let an attacker commandeer systems that use the products, a security researcher warned Monday. A remote attacker could exploit the heap overflow flaw by sending a malformed CAB file--a compression file--to a vulnerable system, the French Security Incident Response Team said in an advisory. The CAB file could be sent in an e-mail, for example, and once the Kaspersky antivirus scanner had accepted it, the malicious code would be in the system. No user interaction is required, Wheeler said. FrSirt describes the issue as "critical," its highest rating.
• Backdoor Trojan targets Microsoft Access - Virus writers have created a Trojan which uses an unpatched vulnerability in Microsoft Office to take over Windows PCs. The Hesive Trojan can be disguised as a Microsoft Access file. Once opened in Access, infected .mdb files take advantage of a five-month old buffer overflow flaw in Microsoft's Jet Database Engine software to seize control of vulnerable machines.
• Paramount to Support Both HD-DVD and Blu-Ray - Paramount Home Entertainment has decided to offer its films in both HD-DVD and Blu-Ray formats, becoming the first major content provider to publicly support both next generation media types.
• Google bids to take San Francisco WiFi - Google Inc. attempted to break into yet another sector of the Internet business with a recent bid to provide free wireless Internet access to San Francisco.
• Mini-box Offers Sub-$300 Car PC Kit - VIA Technologies and Mini-box.com recently announced the VoomPC family of x86 car PC kits for the telematics market.   The systems have an integrated 12V power supply to avoid power surge damages and eliminate battery drain, even when the car isn't running. Utilizing the VIA C3 processor, VIA and Mini-box claim the system uses no more than 15-30W of power at any time, which is less than the dimmest of parking lights. The unit features all the connectors one would expect, such as USB 2.0, Firewire, Ethernet, PCMCIA types I and II, S-Video, VGA, and six channel audio.
• Sony releases PSP Firmware 2.01 - The cyclical pattern continued today, as Sony has released the latest edition of firmware for the PSP, v2.01, for download on its Japanese website. Sony's US site for the PSP still only has version 2.0 available. However, North American users can reportedly upgrade to v2.01 now by using the "Network Update" feature on their PSPs. The only change noted during the install is a tightening of security.
• Microsoft to include native support for PDF in Office 12 - Program manager Brian Jones used his latest post to confirm to the community that the upcoming Office package will integrate support for Adobe PDF format in all core applications.
• 30GB Web Mail Launches Into Beta - 30gigs.com started off with the idea of creating an "All in one" site for the webmaster and avid computer users. According to the sites "about us" page, combining personal file storage, GD2 signatures and anonymous email all in one service, which would be free.
• Mozilla Thunderbird 1.0.7 - Users in our Mozilla Forum point out that Mozilla Thunderbird 1.0.7 (download) has been released by the Mozilla Foundation. The latest update to the open-source mail client resolves the recent Linux command line URL parsing security flaw, and contains various other improvements.
• Ticket to ride into space -  A ticket cost $20 million--but that didn't stop Greg Olsen from hopping a ride on a Russian spacecraft to visit the International Space Station. Olsen, whose flight was arranged by extreme travel agency Space Adventures, was launched with the station's next two-man crew on Saturday, Oct. 1, 2005. He will remain in orbit for nine days, returning with the outgoing crew.
• FIFA Tests Intelligent Adidas Soccer Ball - The FIFA tested successfully an Adidas Soccer ball with an integrated microchip.  The microchip is used to signal when the ball is passing the goal line. The chip sends out an encrypted radio signal to several antennas.The chip inside the soccer ball measures 15mm. Soccer players cannot find a difference to standard soccer balls. The intelligent ball will be tested next in Japan. Maybe it will be used at the Soccer World Cup in Germany 2006.
• Laser Pointer Pen with IR Remote - This laser pointer pen can also control a slideshow on a PC via Infrared. The remote page controller functions from a distance up to 15 meters. A forward and backward button are on the pen to page through slides. A small receiver unit has to be connected via USB to the computer.
• Ray Kurzweil's "The Singularity is Near" - The Wall Street Journal has a review of "The Singularity is Near" -- a new book by futurist, Ray Kurzweil
• How to dress like Darth Vader for less than $800 - check it out!
• Google OS screenshots? - Heh, it will be probably a fake :) But who knows...

• Down in Flames available - Battlefront.com informed us that Down in Flames (demo) is now shipping from our warehouses in Europe and in the USA. For all those who already pre-ordered the game, it should already be on its way!
• Universal Combat Gold Goes Gold - 3000AD sent out a press release announcing that Universal Combat Gold has gone gold and will soon be available via electronic download. There's also a new UCAWA 1.00.07 Patch.
• Battle of Britain 2 patch v2.01 - GMX Media and Shockwave Productions have released a patch (v2.1) for the epic flight simulation title Battle of Britain 2: Wings of Victory. The new update adds more improvements and addresses most issues reported by consumers.
• Guild Wars Music Add-On Pack - The DirectSong website now offers Guild Wars Battle Pak One, their official musical expansion pack for ArenaNet's multiplayer fantasy action-RPG. The expansion doubles the amount of in-game music in Guild Wars and costs $5.99 to download.
• Star Wars KOTOR Hi-Rez Movie Patch - KOTOR 2 page on nZone now offers downloads of six files that will update the movies in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords with higher-resolution versions. 
• Age of Empires III Collector Edition info - PlanetAgeOfMythology has links to details on the collector's edition of Age of Empires III, which fans might want to check out.
• BioWare: Announcement on Oct 4th? - The BioWare site has a small flash animation in the top right-hand corner that reads "2005 10 4".  (which also happens to be the first day of Microsoft's X05 event in Amsterdam). It's not particularly big but presumably portends something coming up.
• Strategy First lets gamers try before they buy - Strategy First Games is embracing a try-before-you-buy model of publishing, as the company today announced that more than 20 of its PC games are available for free trial downloads through its official website. The games range in price from $14.99 to $39.99 and cover several genres, including strategy, action, and racing.
• Electronic Arts unveils games for Xbox 360 - EA will debut the Xbox 360 games--"Need for Speed Most Wanted," "FIFA 06: Road to FIFA World Cup," "NBA Live 06," "Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06" and "Madden NFL 06"--at Microsoft's X05 event in Amsterdam on Tuesday and Wednesday. Additional EA titles under development for the Xbox 360 include "The Godfather," "Battlefield 2: Modern Combat" and a new game from the "Burnout Revenge" franchise. Release dates for the three additional Xbox 360 titles have not been announced.

Buy goodies: Stargate SG-1 - Season 8 Boxed Set (you save $17) / The Interpreter (Widescreen Edition) (2005) (you save $13) / Cinderella (Disney Special Platinum Edition Collector's Gift Set) (you save $17.5) / Warren Miller's Impact (2005) (you save $5)