SECURITY...

• Microsoft releases software update tools - Microsoft Corp. today made available the much-delayed Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) patching tool and Microsoft Update software patching service, which the company had originally planned to ship in the first half of 2004.  Shipping in mid-July will be two other software update tools currently in beta: Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer 2.0 and Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003 Inventory Tool for Microsoft.
• Osama spam spreads new malware - Computer users are being warned about new malware that purports to be pictures of a captured Osama Bin Laden. The emails arrive with a variety of headers such as 'God Bless America' or 'Captured at last' and contain an attachment with the malicious code. The message reads: "Turn on your TV. Osama Bin Laden has been captured. While CNN has no pictures at this point of time, the military channel (PPV) released some pictures. I managed to capture a couple of these pictures off my TV. I've attached a slideshow containing all the pictures I managed to capture."
• Are Virus Writers Creating a Super Worm? - Virus writers responsible for the recent rash of Mytob worm variants could be working on creating a super worm, a security researcher warns. The "HellBot" group behind the Mytob worms write programming instructions in their code that mirror the way developers work, says Sophos Security Consultant Carole Theriault.
• Spoofing flaw resurfaces in Mozilla browsers - A 7-year-old flaw that could let an attacker place malicious content on trusted Web sites has resurfaced in the most recent Firefox browser, Secunia has warned.  The flaw, which also affects some other Mozilla Foundation programs, lies in the way the software handles frames, which are a way of showing Web content in separate parts of the browser window. The applications don't check whether the frames displayed in a single window all originate from the same Web site, Secunia said in an advisory on Monday. Firefox 1.x, Mozilla 1.7.x and Camino 0.x versions are vulnerable to the flaw, the security monitoring company said.
• Online gamers targeted by Korean MSN hack - Last week a hack on MSN's South Korean portal left users of the MMORPG Lineage vulnerable to password stealing malware. The game has around 4 million users worldwide, but the number of users that have been attacked by the hack is unknown. The South Korean portal of MSN is now back online after removing the malware that took up residency on the news pages of the site. Microsoft blames the firm that run the site, claiming they failed to apply security patches that would have discouraged the attack.
• DVD Decrypter is dead - The popular DVD ripping tool DVD Decrypter has ceased all activities following an order by an as yet unnamed company. It is thought that it could be Sony who have served this notice, as it is rumoured that he broke their new copyright protection within 72 hours of its release. The author of the program, known only as LIGHTNING UK! had originally put up a notice on his website but that his since been taken offline. (thanks CDFreaks) Needless to say it was one of the easiest most reliable programs to use. /The latest version of DVD Decrypter can still be downloaded from here./

OFFTOPIC...

• The Open Season Teaser Trailer - Columbia Pictures have revealed the new teaser trailer online for the animated comedy Open Season, coming to theaters September 29, 2006. In the film, a deer buddies up with a domesticated grizzly bear when the two animals are alone in the woods during hunting season. Meanwhile, Beth, a forest ranger who raised the bear, embarks on a desperate search to find her friend.
• King Kong Trailer with War of the Worlds - KongisKing.net has confirmed that you'll get your first look at Peter Jackson's King Kong in theaters with Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds on June 29th. The trailer is expected to be released online on Tuesday, June 28. The trailer will reportedly give you a first peek at King Kong in action. The movie stars Naomi Watts, Jack Black and Adrien Brody, with Andy Serkis performing the movements for Kong, much like he did for Gollum in "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy. Universal Pictures will release King Kong on December 14th.
• Mission to build a simulated brain begins - An effort to create the first computer simulation of the entire human brain, right down to the molecular level, was launched on Monday. The "Blue Brain" project, a collaboration between IBM and a Swiss university team, will involve building a custom-made supercomputer based on IBM's Blue Gene design. The hope is that the virtual brain will help shed light on some aspects of human cognition, such as perception, memory and perhaps even consciousness.

TECHNOLOGY...

• Xbox 360 To Sell For $75 Loss Per Unit? - The company provided little financial information when it unveiled the device last month, but Patrick Parr and Martin Cecchetto, analysts at UBS Securities LLC, expect Microsoft will pay its manufacturing partners about $375 (U.S.) a unit and sell them to consumers for $299. In a research note, they estimated that two of the contractors, Flextronics International Ltd. and Celestica Inc., will share revenue of between $350-million and $450-million this year and between $900-million and $1.1-billion in 2006.
• Revolution's downloadable games listed - Over at the Nintendo Forums is an unconfirmed list of games that will be downloadable for play on Nintendo's Revolution console.
• Laptops outsell desktops for first time - In a sure sign that the era of mobile computing has arrived, notebooks have for the first time outsold desktops in the United States in a calendar month, the research firm Current Analysis says. After tracking sales from a sampling of electronics retailers, Current Analysis says notebook sales accounted for 53 percent of the total personal computer market last month, up from 46 percent during the same period last year.
• [!] Apple shifts to Intel chips from IBM - Apple Computer on Monday said it will shift to using Intel microprocessors in its Macintosh computers, severing its long relationship with IBM, which had supplied chips to Apple. Apple said it will begin delivering Macintosh products using Intel microprocessors, the number-crunching nerve centers of personal computers, by this time next year and will have all of its flagship Macintosh computers using Intel processors by the end of 2007. Apple has publicly expressed frustration with IBM as a supplier in recent quarters. IBM had problems producing enough working versions of its PowerPC 970 chip, which Apple calls the G5. Also, IBM has yet to produce a version of the G5 that consumes less power and would be suitable for use in Apple's laptop personal computers.
• Intel says there's no DRM in 945 chipset - The Intel Pentium D Processor and the Intel 945 Express Chipset family do not have unannounced embedded DRM technologies. The DRM technology referred to in a recent report was not a secret or an embedded DRM from Intel. Intel does support various content protection technologies including DTCP-IP technology, which is publicly offered by a number of companies in the industry to enable protected transport of compressed content within a home network
• AIM e-mail debuts - America Online has launched free Web-based e-mail with 2GB of storage for AOL Instant Messenger users. AIM users can access e-mail with one click and can use their screen name as their e-mail address, the company said. The e-mail service, dubbed AIM Mail, is part of an updated version of the AIM 5.9 software, released Monday.
• Microsoft lets IT managers wipe your phone - Just weeks after releasing its latest operating system for mobile devices, Windows Mobile 5.0, Microsoft has unveiled a security and messaging features update.  Among the changes in the Messaging and Security Feature Pack for Windows Mobile 5.0 are faster access to the Outlook e-mail client, the ability to wipe data on devices remotely and certificate-based identity authentication, the company said Monday.

HARDWARE... 

• ATI R520 scores 10K+ in 3Dmark05 - The Inquirer got some numbers from this card and it turns out that R520 scores more than 10000 in 3Dmark05. This is actually even better or equal to two 6800 Ultra cards in SLI which kinds of makes it looks ridiculously fast.
• VIA K8T890 incompatible with dual-core chips - It looks like VIA's K8T890 chipset is incompatible with AMD's dual-core Athlon 64 X2 processors. VIA apparently has a new revision of the chipset that resolves the incompatibility, and intends to ship the new silicon to motherboard manufacturers "shortly." There's no telling when the new chipset revision will actually make its way onto the market, though
• BenQ previews Blu-ray DVD burner - BenQ demonstrated its BW1000 prototype blue-laser DVD burner at the recently concluded Computex 2005 and the company plans to start volume producing the product in the first or second quarter of 2006, depending on how quickly the market for blue-laser products develops. The BW1000 features writing speeds of 2x for Blu-ray single-layer and DL (single-sided double-layer) discs, 12x for DVD+R/-R, 4x for DVD+R/-R DL, 4x for DVD+RW/-RW, 32x for CD-R and 24x for CD-RW, as well as reading speeds of 2x for Blu-ray, 12x for DVD and 32x for CD, according to BenQ.
• Dell Latitude D810 notebook - The Dell Latitude D810 sports an Intel Pentium-M processor with 2MB of L2 cache (Dothan core), riding on the i915PM chipset, with ATI Radeon X300 or X600 powered graphics.
• AMD Athlon 64 3000+ 'Venice' Overclocking - If you've already got a decent S939 motherboard on your hands it would be almost criminal not to try an Athlon 64 3000+ E3-stepping CPU. Sure, it's not hugely fast at default speeds, but I'd be amazed if 2.5GHz wasn't a given and 3GHz on the cards with better cooling. There's just something rather naughty but nice about 50% overclocks with near-default voltage. For once, you can have your cake and eat it! Yum.
• OCZ PC5000 DFI edition - The modules are rated at an astonishing PC5000, which is roughly 313MHz (626MHz DDR) in laymans terms. OCZ guarantee the memory to run at 3.0-4-4-10 at those speeds, and we suspect that you will be able to achieve more than what you pay for if OCZ's reputation is anything to go by.
• GeIL 512MB DC UltraX-XL DDR400 CAS 1.5 - Techniz.co.uk has posted a review of the GeIL 512MB DC UltraX-XL DDR400 CAS 1.5 memory.
• Asus A8V Deluxe WiFi G Motherboard - The amount of peripherals Asus have bundled with the board is incredible: I have all 8 USB ports being used, the WiFi card works a treat, and the SATA raid configuration is extremely fast. 
• Mushkin 2GB HP3200 Dual Channel Memory Kit - Adrian's Rojak Pot has posted a review of Mushkin 2GB HP3200 Dual Channel Memory Kit.
• Albatron K8SLI - The K8SLI is bundled with some very nice features, but some additional accessories would be nice. The ABS was a real nice touch, in case you're one of those people who happen to corrupt their BIOS occasionally. The jumperless SLI switching will be very handy for those using the full capabilities of the motherboard. The space saving, smaller layout has both advantages and disadvantages that won't be much concern to many end users.
• PowerColor Radeon X700 256MB Bravo Edition - The price of the X700 has dropped to around $149. The Nvidia 6600GT is still hovering around the $199 mark, a $50 difference. Whether you want to sacrifice the performance for the $50 is up to you. I personally would spend the extra $50. PowerColor's bundle also includes a decent, but outdated, game. Including a copy of Counter-Strike: Condition Zero would have sweetened the deal. The main focus of the X700 Bravo Edition is cooling. The silent heatpipe and heatsink design is great, much better than the reference fan and heatsink design.
• NVIDIA GeForce 6200 AGP (NV44A) Roundup - As regards the overclocking, the Chaintech's board proved to the best buy at that - we were able to overclock it from 385/500 MHz (standard for OC Version) to 475/600MHz. That is the best chip overclocking result of all the three specimens. The second honorable place is taken by XFX GeForce 6200 whose overclocking shortcoming is made up for by the memory overclocking - we were able to overclock it to 650MHz DDR, thus the boost proved to be 150MHz DDR. As regards Leadtek's GeForce 6200, we were able to overclock it to 450/600 MHz.
• Samsung TS-H552U DVD-Writer - The 16x DVD+R/-R media compatibility and quality did not impress us, meaning there is room for improvement to make the write quality on both DVD-R and DVD+R media at 16x better. One positive point though is that the latest firmware added support for Traxdata 2.4x DVD+R DL media with media-code RITEK D01 to be written at 4x. Another point is the DVD-ROM bitsetting support for DVD+R media under Nero and Pinnacle, which make the media more compatible with i.e Standalone DVD devices.
• Corsair COOL Water Cooling Kit - It did an excellent job of cooling the Athlon 64 3200+ processor with minimal noise and was very user-friendly and easy to setup and install. Corsair attempted to select a combination of the best components available based on performance and reliability. It is unfortunate that an issue with the DDC pump had to tarnish this otherwise enjoyable review experience.
• Thermaltake Big Typhoon Silent CPU Cooler - Obviously, there are drawbacks to it, mainly just the physical size of the Big Typhoon. Should you choose to uninstall the Big Typhoon, you will basically have to go through the installation steps in reverse. It is not as easy as removing the regular SocketA heatsinks, but it is no big deal to do so anyway. This is not a heatsink/fan combo for just anyone, pretty much only for those with tower cases. In the end, I think the noise level trade-off was worth it.
• Seasonic "S12" 430w PSU - If you're looking for a power supply to handle the rigors of an enthusiast system, then keep the Seasonic S12 series in mind as one of your choices.
• Saitek P3000 Wireless Gamepad - The P3000 is well worth the money and performs flawlessly. This is without a doubt the best gamepad on the market for PCs. The buttons were firm and responsive and I experienced no lag when gaming with the pad. The existing batteries could use some overhauling or tweaking to eliminate the odd behaviors when they are low.
• Samsung Digimax V700 camera - In many cases the V700 is just as good as other 7 mega pixel cameras priced significantly lower. It has superb image quality as well as being coupled with a strong good quality lens. This is a great camera for the average point and shoot user who doesn’t go too into detail and tweaking.
• Sony Ericsson Z800i review - In open mode, the Z800i offers a bright and clear 262K colour display with a resolution of 176 x 220 pixels. Its keypad provides low audible noise and the navigation keys are comfortable in use, but unfortunately, horizontal edges separating the rows of the numeric keypad cause a feeling of inresponsiveness. The same key layout is used for three shortcut buttons placed just above the numeric keys, activating the video telephony application, the main menu and the music player. Some nice pictures of the phone can be found here.

GUIDES...

• Build an $800 Gaming PC - If you are on the market for a decent PC and don't have a ton of cash to throw at it, following the recommendations of this guide might be just what you are looking for.
• Apple's G5 versus x86, Mac OS X versus Linux - In this article, you will find a pedal to the metal comparison of the latest Xeon DP 3.6 GHz (Irwindale), Opteron 250, Dual G5 2.5 GHz and Dual G5 2.7 GHz.
• NVIDIA CoolBits For Linux Guide - Although CoolBits for Linux is a great utility all around, it still has its problems. One such option we would like to see added is the ability to apply the overclocked settings at startup, saving the time from having to go into nvidia-settings each time to re-tune the frequencies. The auto-detect function is also very nice, as it was able to sufficiently detect the optimal clock frequencies for the GPU and memory without losing stability.
• Secret TiVo Tips and Tweaks - If you own a TiVo digital video recorder, you know that this magic appliance can change the way you watch TV. But, with a little work from you, your TiVo is capable of much more. With several innocent gimmicks, you can make using TiVo even slicker. Whether it's a simple trick, like turning your TiVo into a clock, or a serious hardware hack to increase the amount of storage space in the device, we're here with several tips, tricks, and pointers to more information, so you can get more out of your TiVo time.
• Hack can upgrade XP Home to XP Pro Lite - German computer magazine C'T claims that by changing only 2 bytes from the file setupreg.hiv in Windows's XP Home kit, users can get access to certain functions only avalaible in Windows XP Professional, such as Remote Desktop, User management and enhanced security features.
• QuickTime infects PCs with iTunes - Visiting the default QuickTime Download Site greets you with only two options: 1. QuickTime 6.5 with iTunes for Win 2000/XP / 2. QuickTime 6.5 for Win 98/ME. No big deal right? Solution: You need to download and install the iTunes Software and then uninstall it. iTunes and the crap iTunes Service it installs with it, will be effectively purged from your system. The problem is you still don't have QuickTime installed! Not a problem, simply get the Standalone QuickTime Player. (Conveniently not obvious on the default download page) Alternatives: Yes you can use an alternative, in this case the QuickTime Alternative.
• The Simple Way to Back Up and Reinstall Your Device Drivers - A clean Windows reinstallation involves deleting everything in your system's Windows folder, including your hardware's device drivers. These batch files copy your drivers to another folder on your hard drive that won't be deleted by the Windows revamp. The file for PCs running Windows 98 or Me also copies your data from the Windows folder to a safer location. (Note that this step isn't necessary when reinstalling Windows 2000 and XP because these operating systems don't store user data in the Windows folder.)

SOFTWARE...

• Knoppix 3.9 - The Debian-based live-cd Linux distribution Knoppix (torrent links) has been updated to version 3.9. Among the most notable changes are the update to kernel 2.6.11 and the inclusion of OpenOffice 2.0 BETA and KDE 3.4. This is likely the last single-CD version of Knoppix before the split into 'Light' and 'Maxi' versions.
• AMD CPUInfo - This Windows application executes and displays the return data from the CPUID instruction set and displays Hypertransport information if the processor supports it. This application also shows the maximum speed of the processor.
• CPU-Z 1.29 - CPU-Z (download) is a freeware detection program base on the Panopsys hardware detection engine. It allows to get some information on your system.
• AOL Instant Messenger 5.9.3797 - download
• EfreeSoft Boss Key 3.10 - EfreeSoft Boss Key (download) allow you to hide active program window immediatlly using a hot key! You can hide the browser windows,folder windows,applications windows,all your desktop icons and taskbar when your boss or anyone else you don't want to see your screens comes in.
• RSVME - a free outlook-based personal feedback/survey tool - RSVME (download) is a free application that integrates with Outlook and other email packages, and makes obtaining feedback from people a snap.
• Opera 8.01 - Opera (download) is an Internet browser with a pop-up blocker, multiple-windows navigation, mouse gestures, keyboard shortcuts, e-mail client with Spam filter, and integrated search all for user security and speed. The cross-platform browser includes a multitude of other functions such as integrated built-in e-mail client, IRC-compatible chat, support for RSS newsfeeds, password manager, one-click customization and privacy protection settings.
• FastStone Image Viewer 2.12 Beta - FastStone Image Viewer (download) is an image browser, viewer, converter and editor with an easy to use interface and a nice array of features that include resizing, renaming, cropping, color adjustments, watermarks and more. It also includes an intuitive full-screen mode that provides quick access to EXIF information and thumbnail browser via hidden toolbars that emerge when you touch the edge of your screen with the mouse.
• AbiWord 2.2.8 - AbiWord (download) is a free word processing program similar to Microsoft Word. It is suitable for typing papers, letters, reports, memos, and so forth
• Task Coach 0.39 - Task Coach (download) is a simple todo manager to manage personal tasks and todo lists. It grew out of a frustration that well-known task managers, such as those provided with Outlook or Lotus Notes, do not provide facilities for composite tasks.
• WinRAR 3.50 Beta 5 - WinRAR (download) is a powerful archive manager. It can backup your data and reduce size of email attachments, decompress RAR, ZIP and other files downloaded from Internet and create new archives in RAR and ZIP file format.
• Driver Cleaner Professional 1.2 - Driver Cleaner Professional Editon is a program which helps you to remove parts of drivers that are left after uninstalling the old drivers. The program is for ATI, nVidia, Creative, Realtek, SIS, 3Dfx, S3 and more drivers.
• ATI Tray Tools 1.0.2.685 - ATI Tray Tools is a small utility that can be found in the windows tray which then allows instant access to options and settings.
• NVIDIA Linux drivers 1.0-7664 - download - IA32 | IA64
• Forceware 77.13 Win2000/XP - This is ForceWare 77.13 for Windows 2000 and XP. It was build on May 13th, 2005 making this an extremely new driver. The drivers comes with a setup.exe for easy installation. All GeForce Series based GPU's seem to be supported.