Nightly Tech Madness - tech
(hx) 03:39 AM CET - Nov,22 2003
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- Feds' Cybercrime Crackdown Yields 125 Arrests - A crackdown
on Internet fraud schemes dubbed Operation Cyber Sweep has
netted 125 arrests or convictions and more than 70 indictments, federal
law-enforcement officials say. The operation began Oct. 1 and involved more
than 125,000 victims with losses estimated to exceed $100 million. Department
of Justice officials said Thursday that more than 90 search-and-seizure
warrants were conducted.
- Is Russia a Haven for Software Pirates? -
Russia's reputation as a haven for software pirates is being reinforced by
allegations that a code thief has been illegally distributing a program called
RaceCAD that is actually a product of Texas-based software company Alibre.
Alibre alleges that the individual responsible is a former employee who stole
the source code for Alibre Design after being terminated. Alibre has contacted
ISPs in Russia who are hosting a site that offers RaceCAD and requested they
stop. The site remains up but a link to download the software is no longer
working.
- Man Arrested Over "Spam Rage" - A Silicon Valley computer
programmer has been
arrested for threatening to torture, kill and send a "package full of Anthrax
spores" to employees of the company he blames for bombarding his computer
with spam promising to enlarge his penis.
- Customer Data Was on Stolen PC, Wells Fargo Says -
Wells Fargo & Co. said on Friday it had offered a $100,000 reward for
information leading to the arrest and conviction of the burglar who stole a
bank consultant's computer that had sensitive customer information on it.
The computer was one of several stolen earlier this month from the office of
an analyst for the bank in Concord, California, the bank said. The stolen PC
contained names, addresses, bank account numbers and social security numbers
for customers who had taken out personal lines of credit that are used for
consumer loans and overdraft protection, according to Wells Fargo. No
passwords or personal identification numbers were among the stolen data and no
other Wells Fargo customers were affected, the bank said.
- Off-topic: Nano-transistor self-assembles using biology -
A functional electronic nano-device has been manufactured using biological
self-assembly for the first time. Israeli scientists harnessed the
construction capabilities of DNA and the electronic properties of carbon
nanotubes to create the self-assembling nano-transistor. The work has been
greeted as "outstanding" and "spectacular" by nanotechnology experts.
- Off-topic: US begins hypersonic weapons program - The US military
has begun development of
an ultra-high speed weapons system that would enable targets virtually
anywhere on Earth to be hit within two hours of launch from the continental
US. Ten companies have been given grants by the Pentagon's Defense Advanced
Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Pentagon for six-month "system definition"
studies. If the Pentagon likes the results, a three-year design and
development phase will begin. The ultimate aim, slated for around 2025, is a
reusable Hypersonic Cruise Vehicle (HCV) that can take off from a conventional
runway in the US and strike targets up to 16,700 kilometres (10,350 miles)
away.
- Off-topic: Walking robot carries a person -
The first walking robot capable of carrying a human was unveiled on Friday
in Tokyo, Japan. WL-16 uses 12 actuators to move forwards, backwards and
sideways while carrying an adult weighing up to 60 kilograms (130 pounds). The
robot can adjust its posture and walk smoothly even if the person it is
carrying shifts in the chair. At present it can only step up or down a few
millimeters, but the team plans to make it capable of dealing with a normal
flight of stairs.
- Comdex 2004 Coverage -
PCWorld
|
ZDNet | OverclockersClub |
Bink.nu |
Bill Gates: on web services, Linux, security and more...
- Intel sets the bar at 4GHz - The chipmaker, which discussed its
plans in a wide-ranging meeting with financial analysts on Thursday, said it
aims to boost the performance of a broad range of its products next year,
including cranking up its desktop PC processors.
"Our goal is to hit 4GHz in 2004," Intel President Paul Otellini said
during a meeting that was Webcast.
- Samsung Unveils LCDs, Printers -
The 17-inch SyncMaster 172X LCD has a response time of 12 milliseconds,
according to Samsung representatives, who target it for multimedia
applications. Many gamers continue to eschew LCDs in favor of CRTs for their
speed. The 172X is scheduled to ship in January with an estimated street price
of $649. The top and bottom bezels are a half-inch wide; the sides are 0.4
inches thick.
- AMD delays 90-nm process ramp by one quarter - Amid a new and bold
plan to build a 300-mm wafer fab, Advanced Micro Devices Inc. disclosed that
it has delayed the volume deployment of its 90-nm process technology by two to
three months. AMD originally hoped to ramp up its 90-nm process in the first
half of 2004, with volume production due in the latter part of the second
quarter of next year, said Hector Ruiz, AMD's president and CEO. The company
now plans to move into volume production in the second half of 2004, Ruiz
said. Specifically, the AMD executive indicated that
90-nm chip production would take place in the third quarter of 2004, he
said.
- Tablet PC Claims Nine-Hour Battery -
The $2599 Tablet PC weighs 3.1 pounds and has a 12.1-inch display; it's
only 0.75 inches thick without its detachable keyboard. The SC 2000 runs on a
1.2 Intel Pentium M ULV Centrino processor and has 512MB of RAM and a 40GB
hard drive. It also has 10/100 megabits per second Ethernet on board and comes
with a 56-kilobits-per-second modem. The screen offers 1024 by 768 resolution.
- Windows XP Service Pack 2 Nears Beta - Windows XP Service
Pack 2, a major update of the most current version of the desktop operating
system,
will enter beta testing in the next few weeks, according to E-mail from
Microsoft posted on a Windows enthusiast Web site. Neowin, which frequently
posts copies of E-mails from Microsoft's beta team on its site, displayed a
copy of a message to beta testers alerting them that Service Pack 2, which
Microsoft has said would release sometime during the first half of 2004, will
be "available in a few weeks."
- Fresh UI 6.65 - 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.
- MSN Messenger 6.1.0203 - MSN Messenger 6.1 (Win9x/ME
~
WinXP/2k) has been silently updated, although nothing has changed
visually.
- HyperSnap-DX 5.40.04 (SHW) -
HyperSnap-DX (download)
is a screen capture and image editing tool for MS Windows. It captures screens
from standard desktop programs and even those hard-to-grab DirectX, Direct3D,
3Dfx, 3dfx, Voodoo and Glide mode games.
- Adobe Acrobat 6.0.1 Patch -
A new patch for retail version of Adobe Acrobat is out.
- Opera 7.23 -
Opera (Win32
with Java ~
Win32 w/o Java |
Linux) browser is significantly faster on computers with lower modem
speeds and weaker system resources.
- SoundStorm Audio Driver 3.75 (non-WHQL) - A new set of
Soundstorm Audio Drivers and Control Panel version 3.75 (Abit AN7 release)
is availlable for download.
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Updated:03:04 PM CEST Jun,20
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