Friday Tech Madness - tech
(hx) 12:52 PM CET - Nov,07 2003
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- Digital TV flags 'will not stop piracy' - The US "broadcast
flag"
system aiming to prevent online piracy of digital TV programming will not work,
say computer experts. On Tuesday, the US Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) announced that all hardware digital TV receivers built after 2005 must
be capable of responding to a copyright protection mechanism embedded in
digital broadcasts. But computer scientists say that injecting a string of
bits called a broadcast flag into the signal will not stop widespread
redistribution of TV shows on the internet.
- Could Antivirus Apps Become Law? - One lawmaker has
a possible solution to the increasing problem of computer viruses:
requiring all computer users in the United States to install antivirus
software on their PCs. At a congressional committee hearing on computer
viruses Thursday, Representative Charles Bass (R-New Hampshire) discussed this
possibility as a way to counter the billions of dollars in damage done by
viruses and worms in 2003 alone. IT security experts disagreed with his
suggestion, and with other ways for the government to encourage cybersecurity
among private companies and individual users.
- Attempted attack on Linux kernel foiled -
An
unknown intruder attempted to insert a Trojan horse program into the code
of the next version of the Linux kernel, stored at a publicly accessible
database. Security features of the source-code repository, known as BitKeeper,
detected the illicit change within 24 hours, and the public database was shut
down, a key developer said Thursday. The public database was used only to
provide the latest beta, or test version, of the Linux kernel to users of the
Concurrent Versions System (CVS), a program designed to manage source code.
The changes, which would have introduced a security flaw to the kernel, never
became a part of the Linux code and, thus, were never a threat, said Larry
McVoy, founder of software company BitMover and primary architect of the
source code database BitKeeper.
- Napster to give students music - The newly relaunched Napster music
service announced
a deal with Pennsylvania State University on Thursday to give students access
to music funded by student fees, in an attempt to replace campus file swapping
with legal listening.
- AMD processor roadmaps show chips up to 2006 - And some of
the changes aren't for the better, it appears. A chip codenamed Paris will be
a 32-bit silicon on insulator processor, but it will be built on a .13µ
(micron) process, rather than a 90 nanometer version, which is now slated for
the second half of 2005 – an aeon away in microprocessor terms.
And chips
called Venus, San Diego, Winchester, Paris, Odessa and Dublin are slated for
the second half of 2004. The San Diego is a 90nano SOI Athlon 64FX,
Winchester a 90 nano Athlon 64, while Paris is a 130 nano SOI chip. Odessa and
Dublin are Athlon 64s and XP-Ms at 90 nano and 130 nano respectively. Further
down the line, AMD will introduce an Oakville 90 nanometer SOI chip in the
first half of 2005. In the second half of 2005, we'll see Opteron "Egypt" 90
nano SOI, Italy, and Denmark.
- Wi-Fi at the Speed of Ethernet? -
The WGT624 router and WG511T PC Card, both based on the 54-mbps 802.11g
standard, boost performance by using compression and by simultaneously
broadcasting over 2 of the 11 channels in the 2.4-GHz band that 802.11b and
802.11g products use. But just as obstructions, distance, and encryption
prevent an 802.11g network from truly moving data at 54 mbps, Netgear's new
line doesn't work at anything like 108 mbps.
- Toshiba Boosts Small Storage -
Toshiba's new 1.8-inch hard drives for personal music players can store as
much data as hard drives on some low-end PCs, the company announced Wednesday.
The 1.8-inch drives now come in 20GB and 40GB varieties, Toshiba said in a
statement. The company's hard drives are used in ultraportable notebook PCs
and automotive applications, a Toshiba spokesperson said in a statement.
- SiS launches second RDRAM chipset - the R659 - Silicon Integrated
Systems (SiS) yesterday announced the immediate
availability of its second Rambus DRAM (RDRAM)-based chipset, the R659.
The chipset supports PC1200 direct RDRAM and delivers memory bandwidth of
9.6GB/sec for systems using four channels of 1,200MHz RDRAM memory. The R659
will be paired with SiS's SiS964 south bridge chip to support eight USB 2.0
ports and Serial ATA (SATA) architecture. The company expects monthly
shipments of the R659 will reach 100,000 units in 2004.
- Verbatim to deliver 8x DataLifePlus DVD+R media this month -
Verbatim Corporation announced that
it will
begin shipping 8x-speed DataLifePlus 4.7GB DVD+R media this month as
higher-speed DVD multi-format burners become widely available. At 8x speed, a
4.7GB DVD+R disc can be filled to capacity in less than 10 minutes. Verbatim
8x DVD+R media has been tested and approved by major original equipment
manufacturers of 8x burners such as BenQ DW800A, LiteOn LDW-841S, NEC ND-2100A
and Plextor PX-708A, as well as the 8x DVD+R burners announced by HP, Philips
and Dell.
- Mustek DV3000 digital camera review - Like all toy-cams,
the DV3000 isn't
the camera for everybody. If you need better image quality than a toy-cam
can provide (this one's good, but it's still not up there with "real"
digicams), if you need faster response, if you need zoom, if you need
autofocus, if you need more resolution - then don't buy a DV3000. Better you
should save your money for a camera that'll do what you need, or pick up a
second hand digicam that suits your current budget, than buy something cheap
new that won't be useful to you.
- LG GSA-4040B triple format DVD-Writer review -
The GSA-4040B
records data up to 4.7GB per side on DVD media and writes in all kinds of
formats: DVD+R/+RW, DVD-R/-RW, DVD-RAM and CD-R/-RW. The Super-Multi also
reads most DVD and CD formats, including DVD+R/+RW. Compared to must of its
competitors it seems like a clear winner, although there is a few drives that
supports faster CD reading and writing speeds, these do lack the support of
the DVD-RAM format.
- Hercules ProphetView 920 PRO review - The Hercules isn't a 22" inch
wide, wallet busting behemoth, with questionable gaming attributes.
It slots right in to the sub L325 gamer oriented LCD market with notable
aplomb. 17 inches, 1280x1024 pixel array and excellent fast motion
performance, combined with a low price, make it hard for me to say much bad
about it.
- 17" LCDs Panels Compared - At the time of the Tom IV 17"
Comparative, only AU and HyDis were on the screen. HyDis won. The advent of
two new challengers has changed nothing.
HyDis is still the winner, despite its response time of only 20 ms
compared to 16 ms for the others.
- SanDisk SD Wi-Fi Card review - SanDisk's SD WiFi card is an
impressive technical feat - a complete 802.11b client adapter the size of two
postage stamps. But looks aren't everything and our latest review will give
you the 411 on whether its performance is as impressive as its size.
- nVidia's New ForceWare Drivers Review - ExtremeTech has posted
a review on nVidia's New ForceWare Drivers. The 52.16 series marks the
biggest driver release nVidia has made in a long time. We compare them to
their previous release, examining performance, stability, and image quality.
- ATi Catalyst Installation Guide - The chaps at TweakTown take a
look at
the correct methods of ATi Catalyst graphics card driver installation and
tidying up.
- DVD Media Guide - Designtechnica has posted
a DVD
Media guide. The ability to hold a movie or several episodes of your
favorite television with crystal clear picture and full surround sound has
transformed how we enjoy our entertainment centers. Unfortunately, the
specifications of this media are not as clear as the picture it provides.
There are numerous, non-compatible, often conflicting formats currently in
use. One of the problems here is the merger of the home theater with the
computer. DVD is the central point between the two and has to accommodate both
types of systems.
- Introduction To Serial ATA Article - Just what is Serial ATA? How
does it differ from Parallel ATA? What does it mean to us? So many questions.
If you are confused about Serial ATA,
this is the article for you!
- Win2000 Patch: Computer Stops Responding (Hangs) When It Tries to Mount
an NTFS Volume After You Restart the Computer -
download
patch.
- Warcraft III Art Tools - Blizzard have now released
the Art Tools for Warcraft III. These tools allow advanced users to
create, modify, and quickly preview models and animations, including particle
and ribbon effects, that can be used in custom maps created with Warcraft
III’s World Editor. A valid license for Discreet’s 3ds max 4.0 is required in
order to use the Warcraft III Art Tools. They highly recommend that 3ds max
version 4.26 is used, with the service pack 1 fixes.
- Sonique v2.0 Alpha (November 6) -
Sonique is a windows audio player capable of handling Microsoft Windows
Media files, MP3 files, audio CDs, and more. It supports many audio formats,
including MP3, MP2, WAV, MOD, XM, IT, S3M, and CD audio and all MS Windows
Media audio formats. Version 1.0 adds skin support, an improved MPEG Audio
decoder, a contextual help system, full-screen visual mode and much more.
- Tweak-XP Pro 3.0.1 -
The
original Tweak-XP Pro - unlike other tweaking utilities, Tweak-XP Pro
bundles more than 48 different utilities in one: it was developed to combine
both tweaking and optimizing features to increase the speed of your Windows XP
system. With Tweak-XP Pro v3 we have added lots of new useful features to
improve the performance of your Windows XP system.
- Fresh UI 6.60 -
Fresh UI (download)
is the fresh solution for configuring and optimizing Windows. Loaded with
hundreds of useful hidden settings, this software covers the customizing and
optimizing technique that you'll be glad to know: Customizing Windows User
Interface, Optimizing system settings, Optimizing hardware settings,
Customizing Windows application settings, and Control user environment with
policies.
- DivX Pro 5.1.1 Beta 2 -
DivX (download
~
changelog) is a package that includes all the DivX codec, player,
utilities, and documentation that you need to play DivX files. DivX codec is
based on the MPEG-4 compression standard.
- EAX 4.0 Advanced HD Driver Update For Creative Sound Blaster Audigy
2/Audigy 2 - Creative Labs Asia has released
a new driver update for their Audigy 2 lineup of soundcards. This driver
update contains enhancements and fixes to improve the performance of your
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 or Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS product.
- Neutral Catalyst ATIPOWER Pack v2.7.0.1 Based On Catalyst 3.9 - New
Neutral Catalyst ATIPOWER pack v2.7.0.1 based on Catalyst 3.9 are
available to download. (thanks Warp2Search)
- Lite-On IT Firmware - Last week, Lite-On IT has released several
new firmware versions:
Lite-On
LDW-811S - HS06,
Lite-On
LDW-411S - FS0B, Lite-On
LTC-48161H - KH0P,
Lite-On
LTD-166S - DS31.
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Updated:03:04 PM CEST Jun,20
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