SECURITY... 

• Sony's Smaller Patch Brings Up "Blue Screen Of Death" & VIRUS!  - Sony BMG Music Entertainment on Tuesday re-issued the patch that reveals the copy-protection files some of its audio CDs install on PCs, but continued to be blasted by security experts outlining more details of the under-fire technology. The revised patch, which Sony labeled "Service Pack 2a," differs from the original released last week only in size; it's a third as large, weighing in at 1.5MB compared to the first version's 3.6MB. In related news, the first virus exploiting the incredible Sony DRM CD protection rootkit has been spotted! Breplibot.b is a file 10240 bytes in size, packed using UPX. When launching, the backdoor copies itself to the Windows system directory as $SYS$DRV.EXE. Using this name makes it possible for the Sony rootkit technology to be used to hide the activity of the malicious program. Of course, the backdoor's activity will only be hidden if DRM protection, as used on some Sony Audio CDs, functions on the victim machine.
• Computer Associates blacklists Sony DRM - Computer Associates has officially blacklisted the Sony BMG XCP Technology that the record label bundles with several of its audio CDs. CA's PestPatrol anti-spyware application now offers users the ability to remove the application, which it refers to as a Trojan horse.
• MS05-053: Vulnerabilities in Graphics Rendering Engine Could - A remote code execution security issue has been identified in the Graphics Rendering Engine that could allow an attacker to remotely compromise your Windows-based system and gain control over it. You can help protect your computer by installing this update from Microsoft.
• Security Updates for IE7 and Vista Beta 1 - Security updates for Internet Explorer 7 Beta 1 and Internet Explorer in Windows Vista Beta 1 are now available from the Windows Vista/IE 7 beta downloads page on the Connect.

CRIME/LAW...

• Sony faces Californian class-action suit & likely a 2nd US suit - With the serious issues Sony has caused with its CD's rootkit based DRM technology, they now face a class-action Californian lawsuit and as well as a 2nd nation-wide US lawsuit, which is expected to be filed in a New York court.
• Sony sued over Playstation, PSP - But Sony is also being sued by a firm which alleges it has breached multiple patents with its Playstation and PSP.
• EMI quick to distance itself from Sony over Rootkit DRM - EMI publicly announced that any DRM software they use can be easily removed if the user does not want to listen to the cd anymore. EMI reiterated that its DRM program does not leave traces of itself on the users system and does not run in the background. EMI has also publicly distanced itself from First 4 Internet the company that developed Sony's DRM rootkit, saying that they were not working with First 4 Internet. Though EMI did say that they were trialling other content protection from companies such as Macrovision's, SunnComm and Sony.

OFF-TOPIC

• 'Gravity tractor' to deflect Earth-bound asteroids - NASA scientists have come up with a surprisingly simple yet effective way to deflect an Earth-bound asteroid - park a large spacecraft close by and let gravity do the work. Previous suggestions have focused on deflecting an incoming asteroid with nuclear explosions. But NASA experts believe a "gravity tractor" should be able to perform the same feat by creating an invisible towline to tug the rock off its deadly course.  For a 200-metre-wide asteroid, the spacecraft would need to weigh about 20 tonnes and lurk 50 metres from its target for about a year to change its velocity enough to knock it off course.
• Sonic weapon zaps real-life pirates - The crew of a cruise ship attacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia used a sonic weapon to help ward off the attackers, according to AP Newswire. Miami-based Seabourn Cruise Line did not reveal the exact details of how the weapon had been used, nor how effective it had been. But the company said that the device works by transmitting an "ear-splitting noise in a directed beam".
• "Kill Bill's Browser" Site Aims To Cash In On Google's - Four political activists from Massachusetts launched a parody website Wednesday dubbed "Kill Bill's Browser" to convince Web users to switch from Internet Explorer to Firefox.  With a color scheme reminiscent of Quentin Tarantino's "Kill Bill" films, the site features "13 Good Reasons to Switch from Internet Explorer to Firefox." Number 7? "It will make Bill Gates soooooooooo mad." Number 11? "Reduce your weekly family & friends tech support load to 8 hours."
• Terminator TV Series Announced - Fox is developing a pilot for "The Sarah Connor Chronicles," a drama based that will follow the character of John Connor's mother, portrayed by Linda Hamilton in the first two "Terminator" films. The pilot script will be written by Josh Friedman, whose writing credits include "War of the Worlds" and next year's "The Black Dahlia."
• Jet Li to star in Tekken movie - According to China Economic Net, Jet Li is set to star as "the boxer" in the upcoming yet unannounced film adaptation of Tekken.

TECHNOLOGY...

• Play Quake 3 on your mobile phone - Imagine Technologies will be demonstrating both Quake Mobile and Quake III arena on its PowerVR-enabled Dell Axim X51v at this week's Korean Games Conference.
• Motorola Backs Fuel Cell Maker - Motorola today announced they are investing in a Canadian company that is working on a fuel cell battery hybrid. Tekion is developing a small unit that combines a Formira fuel cell and a lithium ion battery. The battery would actually provide the power while the fuel cell would recharge the battery. The company hopes to launch the units commercially by 2007, initially offering them for satellite phones.
• BBC to trial high-definition TV next year - The BBC is going begin trial broadcasts of high-definition television (HDTV) in mid-2006 with what it calls "highlights of the schedule " made available to selected digital satellite and cable viewers. The trials, lasting a year, will test how HDTV broadcasts are transmitted and received and will not affect the reception of current channels.
• Epson Chip Can Read Text to You in Multiple Languages - Seiko Epson announces the availability of their multilingual text-to-speech (TTS) synthesis chip S1V30100. The chip can read text and speak it in US English, French, German, Castilian Spanish, and Latin American Spanish. Other languages are in the works. The Epson chip S1V30100 contains Fonix DECtalk v5.0* as its TTS engine.
• MSI to offer nForce4 SLI mobo with Audigy audio  - MSI has announced an nForce4 SLI X16 motherboard with an interesting twist: onboard Audigy audio. According to MSI's press release, the K8N Diamond Plus features an integrated Sound Blaster Audigy SE with support for 24-bit/192kHz audio, EAX Advanced HD, and a 106dB signal-to-noise ratio
• ASUS 4-Way SLI - Sources close to ASUSTeK Computer have reportedly demonstrated select Asian journalist a capability to enable 4-way multi-GPU system based on two of ASUS' dual-GeForce 7800 GT graphics cards. The systems appeared to function and even work in Futuremark's 3DMark05 benchmark.
• XFX GF 6800 GS - The GeForce 6800 GS is finally beginning to appear on PriceGrabber searches. Although the XFX GeForce 6800 GS is currently the the only model listed, it happens to be an overclocked model with a core speed of 485MHz (up from 425MHz) and memory clock of 1100MHz (up from 1000MHz).
• BenQ DW-1640 most popular DVD burner of the moment - The BenQ DW-1640 has been voted as the most popular DVD burner at the moment. This DVD burner seems to be the biggest succesor for BenQ ever and is also sold by other brand names such as Sony, which usually uses Lite-On drives.
• PCs plagued by bad capacitors - At issue are faulty capacitors on motherboards that store power and regulate voltage. Defective capacitors found in the Dell Optiplex workstations, some Apple iMac G5s, HP xw-series workstations made in 2004 and PCs with the Intel D865GBF motherboard have been found to bulge, pop, leak and crust over, causing video failure and periodic system shutdowns.
• Nikon recalls melting batteries - Nikon has issued a recall on more than 700,000 rechargeable batteries used in its digital SLR D100, D70 and D50 cameras. The EN-EL3 battery pack has a recently discovered flaw that means the battery can overheat and even melt in some circumstances. The cause is thought to be a short circuit within the power pack.

HARDWARE... 

• CPU - AMD Athlon64 3400 "Newcastle" / AMD Athlon64 X2 / Intel Roadmap Update / Opteron 165 Toledo Core Overclocking With High End Air
• Motherboard  - Comparison overview with 25 AMD Socket A Motherboards / ASRock 939Dual-SATA2 / Biostar GeForce 6100-M9 TForce / ECS KN1 SLI Extreme / Epox 8NPA SLI / Foxconn WinFast 6150K8MA-8EKRS (nForce 6150/nForce 430) / GigaByte GA-K8N PRO-SLI / Gigabyte 8VT880P Combo /  WinFast 6150K8MA-8EKRS
• Complete / SFF Systems - Shuttle SD11G5 XPC / Shuttle SD11G5 SFF PC
• Memory - Corsair PC-3500LL Pro 2GB Dual Channel RAM / Corsair TWINX 2048-3500LLPRO RAM / Crucial Ballistix PC4000 2GB Memory / Mushkin Redline XP4000 2GB / OCZ EL DDR PC-4000 Dual Channel Gold VX / Patriot Memory 1GB DC DDR2 PC6400 / TeamGroup Xtreem PC4800 1GB Dual Channel RAM
• Storage - AXIOMTEK ExBoot 80GB External Storage / BYTECC "Backup Star" External Enclosure / Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 HDD series(1) / Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 500 GB (2) / Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 500GB SATA (3) / Scythe Silent HDD Box SBX-1000 / Vantec SATA EZ-Swap MRK-200ST-BK Hard Drive Rack  / X-micro Mini DisGo Portable Hard Drive || XFX's Revo64 Serial ATA RAID card || LiteOn SHW-1635S DVD-RW
• Video - GeForce 6800 GS(1) / GeForce 6800 GS(2) / Connect3D X800 GTO / Diablotek nVidia GeForce 6600 256MB / EVGA e-GeForce 6800 GS 256MB PCI-E / Leadtek GeForce 7800 roundup / XFX 7800 GT SLI / XFX GeForce 6600 256MB DDR2(1) / XFX 6600 DDR2(2) / XGI Technology Volari 8300 (XG47)
• Monitor/TV - Dell 2405FPW Widescreen LCD Display / MMI FujiPlus FP-988D 19" LCD / Samsung SyncMaster 204T 20" Silver LCD / Samsung SyncMaster 930BF 19" LCD monitor
• Cooling - Aerocool HT-102 CPU Cooler / Ajigo MF043044 Athlon64 Heatsink / Cooler Master AquaGate Mini R120 / Cooljag JZC811C heatsink / Dangerdan MCT5 & 40 / Evercool H.D.D Air Condition / LS Cable LSHS L500 and X500 CPU Coolers / Thermaltake Golden Orb II at 3D / Thermaltake Venus 12 Athlon64 Heatsink / Zalman CNPS9500 Led CPU Cooler
• WaterCooling - NorthWater Xtreme Xchangers
• Case - Antec Minuet II Micro ATX Case / Asus Vento 3600 ATX Case / Cooler Master Praetorian 730 case / Nikao Dragonfire Case / SilverStone Nitrogen NT02 Case
• Modding - Logisys Wireless Remote MultiFunction Panel / Sunbeamtech Theta TP-101 fan controller
• PSU - Enermax Liberty 620W Modular PSU / Enermax Liberty EL500AWT 500W PSU / Hiper HPU-4S350 (350W) PSU / Jou Jye 480W SLi PSU / Nexus NX-5000 SLI 500 Watt Quiet Power Supply (video-review) / Seventeam ST-550EAG 550W Power Supply / Super Flower Plug-N-Power PSU / Thermaltake PowerStation 520W
• Sound - eDimensional AudioFX Gaming headset / Logitech Z-4 Speaker System / Logitech Z-5500 Speakers
• Peripheral - Cyber SnipaT PC Game Pad / Logitech G5 Laser Mouse / Microsoft Wireless Optical 5000 Mouse / Razer Copperhead Mouse / SunbeamTech X-1300 gaming mouse || Func sUrface 1030 Archetype Competition Mouse Surface / Icemat 2nd Edition Mouse Pad
• Printer/Scanner - Samsung SF-565P Laser Multi-Function Printer
• Misc - Microsoft Optical Desktop with Fingerprint Reader / Boxwave Minisync Cable
• Notebook - ASUS Z63A Whitebook Laptop / ASUS V6-V Notebook / Sony VAIO S5VP || Titan TTC-G3T Notebook Cooler / Spire Pacific Breeze Laptop Cooler
• Cameras, MP3/DVD players/recorders - Epson R-D1 - Digital Rangefinder Camera / Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-R1 Digital Camera || Creative Zen Nano Plus 512MB and the iriver T20 MP3 players / Morphy Richards 29200 DAB/FM MP3 Player
• Phones/PDAs - Samsung Reveals New US Lineup

GUIDES...

• ATI Radeon X1K Overclocking - Testing R520 and RV530 - So there we have it, overclocking the ATI Radeon X1800XT and X1600XT.
• Mobile GPU Comparison Guide Rev. 4.1 - Currently covering over 40 mobile GPUs, this comprehensive comparison will allow you to easily compare 14 different specifications for each and every GPU.
• PC Silencing Guide - Part 1 and part 2 at GamersHell
• Buying Guide: Chic Laptop Bags For Fall - check it out...
• High End Audio Cable Design - Part 2 - In part 2 of High End Audio Cable Design, audio engineer Adam Blake gets really technical as he define some of the more commonly referred to electrical properties and the roles that they play in audio cables.
• Explanatory Guide: How To Record & Play Music From A DVD - Why would you want to have a DVD full of music? Think about the party scenario mentioned earlier - unless you have a remote for your iPod, you'll be spending a lot of time tethered to your stereo, and with the tiny display you certainly won't be changing tracks from across the room. You could also use an Audio DVD in your vehicle if you have a car or mobile DVD player.
• Overclocking and WindowsXP x64 Edition -  PCStats thought it would be interesting to see how overclocking is affected on the WindowsXP x64 Edition platform by illustrating both 32-bit and 64-bit benchmarks for an AMD Athlon64 4000+ based system.
• Call of Duty 2 Tweak Guide - The guide runs through all the in-game settings in careful detail, providing lots of screenshot comparisons of the main graphical effects to aid you in deciding on the precise balance of performance vs. visual quality on your system.
• Call of Duty 2 High-end Graphics Shootout - Wondering which card runs faster for Call of Duty 2?: "In our testing, ATI's RADEON X1800 XT outperformed the GeForce 7800 GTX by up to 19%, with that particular result coming at the most strenuous settings: 1600x1200 screen resolution with 4xAA/8xAF enabled. In general though the RADEON X1800 XT particularly shines once the resolution is cranked up, at 1280x1024 and up the margin was typically in the double-digit range, with the only exception coming when AA/AF were disabled on page four."

SOFTWARE...

• iDoom 1.1 released - A new build of iDoom has now been released. The improvement-list is as follows: Support for nano, Configurable controls.
• The Bat! 3.62.14 (shw) - The Bat! (download) is powerful email client with a friendly, neat interface. It has every feature that an advanced user will ever need.
• Tools: GAlert 2.5.0.6 - GAlert (GMail/Google News Notifier) is an easy to use and high performance skinable Google notifier supports Google News, multiple GMail accounts, label filters and automatic login.
• µtorrent 1.2 - With a slew of improvements, the most notable new feature is Mainline compatible DHT (Trackerless) support. The version was bumped from 1.1.7.2 to 1.2 due to the significance of the changes ~ download
• Firefox 1.5 RC2  - Firefox 1.5 Release Candidate 2 is out.
• Media Player Classic 6.4.8.6 - Media Player Classic (download) is similar to windows media player 6.4 but with features pertained to minimalist advanced users. It also supports DirectX 9 and VFW drivers for capture. It supports viewing through ActiveX controls of Real and QuickTime files.
• Real Alternative 1.45 - Real Alternative will allow you to play RealMedia files without having to install RealPlayer or RealOne Player from Real Networks. Supported are: RealAudio (.ra .rpm), RealMedia (.rm .ram .rmvb .rpx .smi .smil), RealText (.rt) and ReadPix (.rp). It also supports RealMedia content that is embedded in webpages. The very user-friendly installation is fully customizable, which means that you can install only those components that you want.
• QuickTime Alternative 1.65 & 1.53 - QuickTime Alternative will allow you to play QuickTime files (.mov, .qt and other extensions) without having to install QuickTime Player from Apple. It also supports QuickTime content that is embedded in webpages. The very user-friendly installation is fully customizable, which means that you can install only those components that you want.
• DVD2One v2.0.0 - The new version introduces a complete new GUI, a faster transcoding engine which is also able to deliver better picture quality. Also interesting is that the software now is able to burn discs directly.
• Fraps 2.7.1 - Fraps is a tool that lets you monitor current framerates in a corner of the screen for programs using DirectX or OpenGL technology. It also allows you to easily take screenshots of games, make movies of gameplay, and manually determine the average framerate between two points.
• VisualRoute 2006 10.0c (shw) - VisualRoute (download) delivers the functionality of key Internet "ping," "whois," and "traceroute" tools, in a high-speed visually integrated package. VisualRoute automatically analyzes Internet connectivity and performance problems, displaying the results in an easy to understand table and on a world map.
• CPU-Z 1.31 - CPU-Z (download) is a freeware detection program base on the Panopsys hardware detection engine. It allows to get some information on your system.
• SpeedFan 4.27 - SpeedFan (download) is a freeware program that monitors fan speeds, temperatures and voltages in computers with hardware monitoring chips. SpeedFan can even access S.M.A.R.T. info for those hard disks that support this feature (almost all :-)) and show hard disk temperatures too, if supported.
• Philips launches new Firmware page - check it out!
• PlexTools Professional version 2.28 - With PlexTools Professional you can control how your Plextor drives operate, perform various CD and DVD quality tests and of course create both data and audio discs
• Realtek AC97 Driver v3.79 - Realtek released version 3.79 driver for their ALC AC97 audio chipsets. The driver supports all ALC series audio chipsets from ALC100 up to ALC850 mainly used as onboard sound on various motherboards
• ForceWare 81.86 WHQL & 81.89 - Here's two new sets of Forceware Drivers in the shape of 81.86 WHQL for Windows 2000/XP and 81.89 for Windows 2000/XP and Windows XP 64bits. Another mirror: Guru3D.
• ATI Catalyst 5.11 - TweakTown let us know they are hosting the driver one day before the actual launch through ATI's website. The driver is just like the final version except it is not WHQL approved by Microsoft in its current state and it is not officially supported by ATI. The new Catalyst includes better support for the upcoming X1800XT as well as two new modes of Adaptive Anti-Aliasing, plus the OpenGL fix. The driver can also be found on Bit-Tech.