SECURITY... 

• Sony Installs 'Rootkits' On Users Machines - In what's set to be 2005's hottest story yet Sony have been found to install illegal Trojan horse-based digital restrictions management (DRM) technology that installs itself as a rootkit on Windows PCs. Users who purchase certain Sony Music CDs from online stores like Amazon are subject to this rootkit being installed on their machines. According to Sysinternals' Mark Russinovich the kit installs itself in hidden directories and attempts to mask its existence as "Essential System Tools". What's more fun is that attempting to remove the rootkit with common tools that perform a RKR scan will render a Windows XP machine useless. "Users that stumble across the cloaked files with a RKR scan will cripple their computer if they attempt the obvious step of deleting the cloaked files," Mark wrote in an online blog entry yesterday.
• Bird flu virus infects PCs - According to Panda, the virus Naiva.A masquerades as a word document with e-mail subject lines such as "Outbreak in North America" and "What is avian influenza (bird flu)?" When the file is opened, the virus modifies, creates and delete files. A second part of the virus installs a program that allows hackers to gain remote control of infected computers. The firm said the virus cannot spread on its own but needs to be manually distributed via e-mail, Internet downloads or file transfers.
• Cisco IPS MC Malformed Configuration Download Vulnerability - An issue exists in one of the components of the Cisco Management Center for IPS Sensors (IPS MC) v2.1 during the generation of the Cisco IOS IPS (Intrusion Prevention System) configuration file that may result in some signatures belonging to certain classes being disabled during the configuration deployment process. Cisco has made a free software patch available to address this
  vulnerability for affected customers.

OFF-TOPIC

• Advance Xbox 360s Fetching $1,000-plus On Ebay - The online auction site is hosting dozens of listings for the system, many selling for asking prices of as much as $1,000, which is three times the retail price.
• BBC's PS3 report was just speculation? - Eurogamer has confirmed that the BBC’s report of a 2007 PlayStation 3 launch was "just speculation." The journalist responsible for the report told Eurogamer that the 22-month figure did not originate from an official source.
• A Closer Look at Star Wars on Film and Off  - Star Wars, Episode III - Revenge of the Sith comes out on DVD today, and there's an interesting article on Slate dissecting the now-complete trilogy as the avant-garde, intellectual sort of film that Lucas keeps saying it is (thanks Slashdot.org) In related news, comingsoon.net has posted an article/guide "where To Buy Episode III DVD's and Exclusives".
• Ultrasonic Songs of Male Mice - Previously it was shown that male mice, when they encounter female mice or their pheromones, emit ultrasonic vocalizations with frequencies ranging over 30–110 kHz. Here, we show that these vocalizations have the characteristics of song, consisting of several different syllable types, whose temporal sequencing includes the utterance of repeated phrases. Individual males produce songs with characteristic syllabic and temporal structure.

TECHNOLOGY...

• Nokia launches three new multimedia mobiles - The three devices -- the N71, N80 and N92 models -- are additions to Nokia's N-series, aimed at the premium end of the market. The N71 will allow Internet browsing, music playing as well as extra storage with memory cards. The N80 will allow users to share videos and photos through their television sets and play music on their home stereo system. It will be equipped with third-generation mobile technology and allow WLAN wireless broadband connections. The N92 mobile TV will have a 2.8 inch screen, and be able to use DVB-H (Digital Video Broadband-Handheld) -- technology for broadcasts direct to cellphones from TV masts, without having to go through mobile phone operators' signals.
• RIM launches powerful new BlackBerry - The 8700c will have Blackberry's traditional e-mail and telephone features, including speaker phones, and a longer battery life. RIM said the unit has 16 days of battery capacity, about twice the current 7200 model.
• Sprint offering full-song downloads - Sprint Nextel yesterday became the first major wireless carrier in the United States to offer full-song music downloads directly to cellphones.
• 24MB ADSL2+ broadband a 'myth' - Analysts have 'reverse engineered' data from BT and come to the conclusion that the vast majority of British residents will never be able to get 24Mbps broadband direct to the home. 24Mbps is achievable within 300 metres of the exchange so you can get those speeds if you happen to live next door," said Julian Herbert, editor of the Point Topic UK Plus service.
• Office Live Screenshots - The company demoed an early version of Office Live, a managed web application for organising calendar, mail and contacts. Office Live will combine Web Hosting, Collaboration of Projects, Business Applications and Communications. Many expect a fully hosted version of Microsoft Office but this is not the company's intension for Office Live.
• Windows Live Messenger Screenshots - The company also demo'd what is set to be Windows Live Messenger (the next generation of MSN Messenger). Windows Live Messenger is expected to intergrate better PIM functionality, Skype like calling features, Windows Live Local integration and better support for MSN Spaces.
• Sony unveils 5GB CompactFlash card - Sony Europe's Recording Media & Energy division today unveiled its first 5GB CompactFlash Type II media card. CompactVault provides storage capacity for up to 1,600 images or four hours of MPEG 4 recording. The 1in hard disk drive boasts a native transfer rate of up to 96.7Mbps.
• Bad capacitors found on video card -  In this case, it was a Mad Dog GeForce MX4000/128/DDR2 card I bought earlier in the year. The symptoms included corrupted graphics, and then repeated rebooting of the GPU, sometimes up to once a minute, it was really odd.

HARDWARE... 

• Motherboard  - ASRock 939S56-M / Biostar M7VIG-400 Combo / DFI NF4 SLI Infinity / eVGA vs. ECS Socket939 Mini-Shootout / ECS KN1 SLI Extreme / Foxconn NF4SLI7AA-8EKRS2 (nForce 4 SLI Intel)
• Memory - Corsair XMS PC3500LL DDR RAM / Corsair 2GB XMS PC4000 Platinum / Corsair XMS2-5400UL / Corsair TWINX2048-4000PT Platinum Series / G.SKILL F1-4000USU2-2GBHZ PC4000 / OCZ DDR2 PC2-4200 Value Pro
• Storage - Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 Hard Drive / Seagate MomentusT 7200.1 2.5 HDD / Western Digital Caviar SE16 400 GB HDD ||  LG GSA-2166D USB 2.0 Super-Multi DVD±RW/RAM / Lite-On SOHW-1693S DVD±RW Dual Layer Writer || Transcend JetFlash 120 1GB Flash Drive
• Video - ATI All-In-Wonder X800XL(1) /ATI All-In-Wonder X800 XL(2) / BFG GeForce 7800 GT OC SLi / Gainward 7800 GT Golden Shower / GeCube Overclocked Radeon X800 GTO / HIS IceQII Radeon X800GTO Turbo PCI Express(1) / HIS X800GTO IceQ II Turbo 256MB(2) / Inno3D 7800 GT / Sapphire X800 GTO2 Limited Edition 256MB PCIe / XFX 6600 DDR-2

• Monitor/TV - ViewSonic VX924 3ms Display

• Cooling - Arctic-Cooling Silencer 64 Ultra TC heatsink / Cooler Master Ammo 533 Cooler
• WaterCooling - Alphacool CORA 662 Passive Water Cooling Kit  / Asetek Waterchill Xtreme KT12A-12VX Liquid Cooling Kit / Heatsink CPU Water Block Roundup
• Case - Cooler Master Ammo 533 case / NZXT Lexa Pre-Modified PC case / Raidmax Ninja 918 Silver ATX Computer Case / Silverstone LC17 / Sirtec High Power ATX-410-212 / Tuniq Symmetry I Mid-Tower Case / XG Ninja 2 Gaming Case
• Modding - AC Ryan UV kit / Amazing X-Fi case mod
• PSU - Antec Phantom 500W PSU / Dark Power 470W PSU / Enermax Liberty 620W / Hiper Type-R HPU-4B580 580W PSU / Sirtec High Power ATX-410-212 PSU / Ultra X-Finity FlexForce 500W
• Sound - Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic soundcard / Creative X-Fi Fatal1ty XPS soundcard || Behringer Truth B2092A subwoofer / Creative HN-700 Noise Cancelling Headphones / Logitech Z-5500 5.1 Speaker System THX Certified
• Peripheral - Logitech G7 Cordless Gaming Mouse / Logitech MX 5000 Wireless Keyboard & Mouse Combo / Logitech MOMO Racing Force Feedback Wheel / Razer Copperhead 2000 DPI Laser Mouse(1) / Razer Copperhead 2000 DPI Laser Mouse(2) / Sunbeam Lite-Up Slim Keyboard / Wacom Graphire 4x5 Pen Tablet / X-Arcade Trackball Mouse
• Networking - Maxtor Shared Storage Drive
• Printer/Scanner - Samsung SPP-2040 Photo Printer
• Notebook - ABS Mayhem G4 laptop / HP's nc6120 notebook means business / Lenovo ThinkPad X41 Tablet PC / Rock Pegasus 650
• Cameras, MP3/DVD players/recorders - Fujifilm FinePix S9500 9 Mega Pixel digital camera / Kodak EasyShare One Digital Camera || Apple Video iPod / Digital Cube i-Station i2 / Harman-Kardon Drive + Play / Samsung DVD-V9500 High Definition DVD/VCR Combination Player / Samsung YH-MT6 1Gb Digital Audio MP3 Player / SanDisk Digital Audio Player / X-Micro Video Mp3 400 Player and Mini DisGo
• Phones/PDAs - Siemens C75 / Nextlink Bluespoon AX Bluetooth Headset / Nokia N71 smartphone / Nokia 7380 / Nokia 7360

GUIDES...

• How the Nintendo Revolution works - Howstuffworks has put together an explainer (thanks Joystiq) on how the Nintendo Revolution is expected to work, with explanatory details on the gyroscopic hardware, the expected graphical power of the console, and a comparison to the Nintendo GameCube
• Mid-level PC Buying Guide - There are two big goals for this guide. The first goal is to assemble a real enthusiast-level computer that will fly along in the office or at the LAN party. The second goal is to make sure you can also pay next month's rent.
• Beginners Guide to installing Windows - In this guide you'll learn to properly reformat a hard drive, install Windows, install drivers, configure Windows and install programs for maximum safety and finally, to tweak Windows settings to gain the maximum achievable performance your computer can get.
• XP Media - A Windows XP Media Guide v1.2.0 - Using Media in Windows XP requires having the right software. This Free guide will show you the best Freeware Applications that will let you create, edit, playback, display and send Documents, Reports, Spreadsheets, Multimedia Presentations, Graphics, Photos, Pictures, Audio, Music, MP3s, Video, Movies, DVDs, CDs, Instant Messages, RSS Feeds, FTP transfers and more.

SOFTWARE...

• FireFox 1.5 RC1 - New UNstable release of the famous Mozilla Firefox browser has been just released to the web - download.
• PHP 4.4.1- PHP 4.4.1 is now available for download. This version is a maintenance release, that contains numerous bug fixes, including a number of security fixes related to the overwriting of the GLOBALS array.
• Microsoft Office 12 beta leaked - Office 12 leaked on the Internet, Flexbeta reports that it is spreading via Torrent networks.
• Weather Watcher 5.6 - Weather Watcher (download) is your personal Windows desktop weather station. Automatically retrieve the current conditions, hourly forecast, daily forecast, detailed forecast, severe weather alerts, and weather maps for over 77,000 cities world-wide.
• SyncBack Freeware 3.2.8.600 - SyncBack (download) is a freeware program that helps you easily backup and synchronise your files to: the same drive; a different drive or medium (CDRW, CompactFlash, etc); an FTP server; a Network; or a Zip archive.
• CCleaner (Crap Cleaner) 1.25.201 - CCleaner is a freeware system optimization and privacy tool. It removes unused files from your system - allowing Windows to run faster and freeing up valuable hard disk space.
• Nero 7.0.1.2 - No changelog yet - release date is 2nd Nov, it's a 100mb update heh..
• MSN Messenger 7.5 Build 0311 Final - The software giant Microsoft has released for download an updated version of MSN Messenger - this is the final version 7.5 (build 0311).
• Easy CD-DA Extractor 8.2.4 (shw) - Easy CD-DA Extractor (download) package includes: CD-Ripper, CD-Burner, and Music File Format Converter.
• Serv-U 6.1.0.4 - Serv-U (download) is a powerful, easy-to-use, award-winning FTP server created by Rob Beckers.
• Jet-Audio 6.24 - Jet-Audio (download) features an impressive home audio system interface, including independent A/V components for Digital Signal Processor, Audio CD Player, Digital Audio (MP3, RA, etc.), MIDI (MID, MOD etc.), and Digital Video (AVI, MPG, MOV, etc.), along with a Mixer and a Remote Controller.
• PSP Video 9 v1.74 - PSP Video 9 (download) is a free PSP video conversion and management application. It can convert regular PC video files (avi, mpeg, etc) into PSP video files, as well as manage/copy these PSP video files between your PC and PSP.
• VideoLAN Client 0.8.5 Beta - The VideoLAN Client can read the stream from the network and display it. It can also be used to display video read locally on the computer : DVDs, VCDs, MPEG and DivX files and from a satellite card.
• Media Player Classic 6.4.8.5 - 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.
• QuickTime Alternative 1.64 - QuickTime Alternative 1.64 includes Media Player Classic 6.4.8.5 and is based on QuickTime 7.0.3.50, which adds support for H.264 and more, but it does not support Windows 95, 98, 98 SE, ME and NT any longer.
• WinZip 10.0 Final - WinZip (download / what's new / cmd-line add-on) brings the convenience of Windows to the use of Zip files and other compression formats. The optional wizard interface makes zipping and unzipping easier than ever. WinZip features built-in support for CAB files and for popular Internet file formats such as TAR, gzip, UUencode, BinHex, and MIME. ARJ, LZH, and ARC files are supported via external programs.
• PSPad UNICODE 4.5.0 (2140) Beta - There have been tons for fixes and updates to the official release and this beta is intended for testing purposes on systems with UNICODE support, enjoy.
• K-Lite Codec Pack Full 2.59 Beta 3 - K-Lite Codec Pack is a collection of codecs and related tools. Codec is short for Compressor-Decompressor. Codecs are needed for encoding and decoding (playing) audio and video. This Codec Pack is designed as a user-friendly solution for playing all your movie files. You should be able to play all the popular movie formats and even some rare formats.
• nVHardPage SE v3.2 - nVHardPage nVidia videocard tweaker is tweaking utility for nVidia display adapters running under Windows 98 (SE) / Windows ME / Windows 2000 and Windows XP. With this tweak utility you can enable/disabe hidden features in nVidia control panel, tweak nVidia Direct3D and OpenGL settings and overclock your nVidia display adapter