SECURITY... 

• Patch causes glitches with beta version of IE browser - Microsoft is receiving scattered reports that one of the security patches issued last week for Internet Explorer is causing problems for users testing a new beta version of the browser alongside the existing version, according to a company blogger. Links come up blank, multiple windows open when the browser is started, or the browser "hangs," wrote Jeremy Dallman, project manager for Internet Explorer security bulletins, on a Microsoft blog on Friday.
• Dasher cyber worm takes wing in China - Chinese cyber security watchdogs warned computer users yesterday to arm themselves against an attack by a new Internet worm that could rival the devastating fury of the Blaster and Mydoom bugs, which infected millions of computers worldwide a couple of years ago.
• Database Servers on Windows XP - Unintended Consequences of Simple File Sharing - This paper (PDF) presents some unexpected consequences of running database servers on Windows XP with Simple File Sharing enabled. In the real world, this kind of setup would typically be a developer's system and as it turns out, in some cases depending on the database software, you might not just be sharing your files but exposing both database services and data. In one case an attacker can easily gain DBA access to the database if Simple File Sharing is enabled.
• Steganos Security Suite 2006 review - The suite is divided into two main components, the AntiSpyware and the suite itself. The Security Suite is a collection of tools that will help keep your data safe, while the AntiSpyware is actually a stand-alone product that's been bundled in.

CRIME/LAW...

• Senators propose violent video game sale bill  - A  number of Democratic senators have introduced a bill that would make selling violent video games to minors a federal misdemeanor. The bill would enforce current ESRB ratings, making it illegal to sell games rated Mature, Adults Only, and Rating Pending to anyone under the age of 17.

OFF-TOPIC

• Ear Buds Cause Hearing Loss? - For the "hip and happening" set - it might be "cool" to listen to music on an iPod or MP3 player, with ear buds plugged directly into the ears But Dean Garstecki, a Northwestern University audiologist, warns that these ear buds might increase the risk of hearing loss. Garstecki says that ear buds associated with modern devices the likes of iPods, MP3 players, etc, boost sound signals by as much as 6 to 9 decibels, and are likely to result in loss of hearing.
• Siberian woolly mammoth fuels genome debate - The remains of a 28,000-year-old woolly mammoth fueled debate over the 21st-century science of genomics on Monday, as two teams offered evidence about the big mammal's genetic makeup
• Polar bears drown as ice shelf melts - Scientists have for the first time found evidence that polar bears are drowning because climate change is melting the Arctic ice shelf.

TECHNOLOGY...

• HP to support HD-DVD and Blu-ray - HP has decided to support both next-gen DVD formats. The PC giant has supported the Blu-ray format for some time, but now appears ready to join the HD-DVD group, as well.
• Last nail in the coffin for Mac Internet Explorer - Microsoft has announced plans to officially end support for and distribution of its Internet Explorer Web browser for Mac OS
• Gmail goes mobile - Gmail users can now access their account on the move as search giant Google launches Gmail Mobile. The small screen support for the popular e-mail account means that users can access their Gmail account from their mobile phone, using the URL http://m.gmail.com.
• New Windows Vista Preview Could Attract 500,000 Testers - Microsoft today released a third preview version of Windows Vista, and plans another test version of its next-generation operating system in February.
• MSIE To Adopt Firefox Feed Icon  - Forbes article is reporting that Microsoft forthcoming Internet Explorer 7 browser will adopt Firefox's RSS feed icon, the company announced on a blog--effectively making the orange square with white radio waves the industry standard.
• You can use MSN Messenger via the Xbox 360 - Microsoft says it is going to release some new software for the Xbox 360 within the next six months. It will be used to send and receive text messages within the existing MSN mobile phone network.
• Dell to recall 35,000 notebook battery packs - Dell Inc announced on Saturday that it will recall 35,000 battery packs globally including 22,000 packs sold on the United States market, according to a Beijing Times report on Monday.
• Texas to Get Broadband Over Power Lines - CNET is reporting that Texas will soon be getting broadband over power lines.
• StarForce offers $3,000 contest (updated) - Word is: "Anyone who can reproduce and demonstrate the mentioned above problem with CD/DVD drive in our office will receive $3000.00 US." The prize also includes a trip to Moscow and two nights in a hotel. They were originally offering only $1,000, but quickly became more confident, and raised the stakes. The contest ends on the 31st of January, 2006, and anyone in the world can take part. So, if you've got a bone to pick with StarForce, or you just like a challenge, here's your chance to win some cash and travel the world.

HARDWARE... 

• Motherboard - ABIT SLI Motherboards / ASUS K8N-DL Opteron Server Motherboard / DFI nF4 SLI-DR Expert / DFI RDX200 CF-DR Cross-Fire / ECS 945P-A (2.0) / Foxconn 6150K8MA-8EKRS / Gigabyte GA-K8N51GMF-9 / MSI K8N Diamond Plus (NVIDIA nForce4 SLI X16)
• Complete / SFF Systems - Dell XPS 'Gaming' PC / Fujitsu Siemens PRIMERGY TX150 S4 Rack Server / Realm Systems BlackDog Portable Linux Server
• Memory - Corsair CMX1024-3500LLPRO / Corsair XMS TWINX2048-4000PT 2GB Dual Channel DDR(1) / Corsair 2GB TwinX2048-4000PT memory(2) / G.SKILL F1-3200USU2-2GBHS PC3200 / GeIL Value Dual Channel PC3200 400MHz DDR RAM / OCZ PC-4000 Gold Gamer eXtreme XTC DDR Memory Kit / OCZ EL DDR PC-3200 Gold GX XTC RAM / OCZ EL PC2-5400 Gold Edition DDR2 RAM
• Storage - XFX Revo64 RAID 3 Controller || Crucial Gizmo! 2GB flash drive
• Video - ADS Tech InstantHDTV PCI card / ATI X1000 Series Video Card Roundup / ATI Radeon X1800 Crossfire(1) / ATI Radeon X1800 XT Crossfire(2) / Club 3D GeForce 7800GT 256MB / Gigabyte 3D1-68GT / MSI NX7800GTX-VT2D512E 512MB / Sapphire Radeon X800 CrossFire Edition with Pure CrossFire / Sapphire X1800XT Performance Edition
• Cooling - PrimeCooler MegaCool 6 AMD Athlon 64, Sempron Heatsink / Zalman 9500 CPU Cooler || Liquid Metal thermal transfer compound / Thermax Tech XtFlux-GA Thermal Grease
• Watercooling - Swiftech H20-80 Micro Liquid Cooling Kit / Swiftech H20-Apex / Swiftech APOGEE Extreme Performance CPU Waterblock
• Case - Foxconn TP-544 ATX Case / Thermaltake Mambo VC2000 Case / Thermaltake Swing VB6000SNS ATX Computer Case / Thermaltake Shark case / Xion II Case
• Mods - Jetart 3D Slot Fan / VIZO Master Panel
• Sound - Dolby Digital on the Fly from your PC with the X-Mystique 7.1 Gold || Planex Communication Bluetooth Stereo Headset BT-01HSS
• PSU - AcBel 500W PSU w/power management LCD display / Antec Neo HE 500W Power Supply / Antec TrueControl 2.0 550W PSU / HEC WinPower 480W SLI PSU (video-review) / OCZ Modstream 520W / Silverstone Zeus ST56ZF 560W PSU / Ultra Products 500w X-Finity PSU
• Peripheral - Good Work Systems R2 Mark II Gaming Mouse / The Buttkicker Gamer / Logitech G5 mouse / Razer Copperhead Gaming Mouse / X-Arcade Trackball
• Printer - Epson Stylus Photo RX520 Printer
• Notebook - Asus A6Km-Q002H Laptop
• Cameras, MP3/DVD players/recorders - Casio Exilim EX-S500 5.0 Mega Pixel Digital Camera / D'zign DV-5 3.2MP Digital Video Camera || Apple iPod Video / Creative Zen VisionM 30GB Media Player / Sony Walkman NW-A1000 Media Player
• Misc - Datacolor SpyderTV Color Calibration Device

GUIDES...

• Intel EM64T Technology Explained - Everything you need to know about Intel's 64-bit technology available on Pentium 4 6xx CPUs.
• Intel Virtualization Technology (VT) Explained - Everything you need to know about the new Virtualization Technology (VT) from Intel that is being shipped with the latest Pentium 4 CPUs.
• Optimize XP - A Windows XP Optimization Guide v2.1.4 - This Free guide will help you improve your overall system performance without having to manually edit the Registry. I avoid using or recommending "all-in-one" Windows XP Tweak programs since many blindly adjust settings that have no affect on performance and can cause future problems.
• ATI Catalyst 5.13 Beta HQV Test - check it out

SOFTWARE...

• AutoPatcher XP December 2005 - This release is based on the all-new AutoPatcher 5.1. Although it was made with Windows XP SP2 English in mind, it will load on any (English) Windows version, showing only the items which match the running environment. There are also special releases for Portuguese, Norwegian (thanks Corteoz!), Polish (thanks Marcin.Riki!), Dutch (thanks DaFlapDrol!), German (thanks Tarnatos!), and Greek versions of Windows.
• GAIM 2.0.0 Beta 1 - Gaim (changelog / download) is a multi-protocol instant messaging client for Linux, BSD, MacOS X, and Windows. It is compatible with AIM (Oscar and TOC protocols), ICQ, MSN Messenger, Yahoo, IRC, Jabber, Gadu-Gadu, and Zephyr networks
• MSN Messenger 7.5.0322 - Build 322 of MSN Messenger 7.5 /A-patch for MSN Messenger 7.5.0322 / is now released in full and as a QFE patch following numerous other QFE patches for beta testing this update. This update is considered important because of the sign in fixes, if you have been getting error 80048820 since updating to MSN Messenger 7.5, give this one a try and see if it works.
• Maxthon v1.5.1 build 39 - Maxthon (MyIE2) (download) is a powerful web browser with a highly customizable interface. It is based on the Internet Explorer engine (your most likely current web browser) which means that what works in IE, works the same in Maxthon but with many additional efficient features. This new build improves pop-up blocking.
• Dial-a-fix Full 0.55 Beta - Dial-a-fix is a collection of 'known fixes' that have been compiled over the past year that really knock out some serious Windows problems, all with one or two clicks. It tackles issues with SSL/Cryptography, Windows Update, Microsoft Installer, and many miscellaneous shell problems
• ATI AVIVO Video Converter 1.12 - download.
• ATI Catalyst 5.13 beta - The 5.13 drivers are optimized for quality video playback, AVIVO, in othe words HDTV lovin Santa has brought the thirteenth Catalyst driver release of 2005.