Nightly Tech Madness - tech
(hx) 03:02 AM CEST - Apr,28 2004
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- PKWare Delivers Secure Compression -
A new security-led version of the popular Zip compression technology has
been released this week, extending the tool into the business market and
putting it up against PGP. Zip developer PKWare has added encryption and
centralized management to SecureZip, so documents can be protected and
compressed at the same time with a systems administrator able to define
variables from one location. Currently the program is solely for Windows
desktops but Unix and Linux versions are in the wings, and a server version is
currently in beta, the company's COO and president Tim Kennedy tells us.
- Spanish judge rules X-Box mods "legal" - Spanish judge has ruled
that modifications to games consoles to allow them to play DVDs and games from
other countries
"are not illegal". According to El País, the ruling comes after the
Guardia Civil charged Barcelona video games shop Innovagames with offering its
clients "alteration of Play Station 2 and X-Box games consoles to allow them
to read games from other parts of the world or downloaded directly from the
Internet... by carrying out modification of their components as per diagrams
found on the premises".
- First Ten Programs on New Install? -
What are the first 10 programs you would install on a Windows machine? How
about for a Unix machine?
- Off-topic: China 'Shocked' at U.S. Cold Shoulder in Space -
The Chinese, who launched their first astronaut into space last year,
are "shocked" the United States has not welcomed them into the tight-knit
community of space-faring nations, a leading U.S. expert said on Tuesday.
Joan Johnson-Freese, who chairs the National Security Decision Making
Department at the U.S. Naval War College, said one space official she met on a
recent trip to China was in tears as he pleaded for U.S. recognition and
cooperation. "They are shocked that the U.S. is not reaching out to them. They
want very much to work with the United States," she said.
- [!] Off-topic: 'Laser vision' offers new
insights -
US
firm Microvision has developed a system that projects lasers onto the retina,
allowing users to view images on top of their normal field of vision. It could
allow surgeons to get a bird's eye view of the innards of a patient, offer
military units in the field a view of the entire battlefield and provide
mechanics with a simulation of the inside of a car's engine. The system uses
tiny lasers, which scan their light onto the retina to produce the entire
range of human vision, reported the journal of the Institute of the Electrical
and Electronics Engineers, IEEE Spectrum.
- Off-topic: Green tea polishes hard drive heads -
Green tea provides a more effective and environmentally-friendly method of
preparing computer hard disks, say US scientists. Inside a hard drive a
component known as a read-write head is used to magnetically impart and
retrieve information from a spinning disk. The point of this head must be
extremely smooth as it travels on a microscopically thin layer of air above
the disk's fast-moving surface. In fact, imperfections larger than 10
angstroms (a billionth of a metre) may interfere with the normal operation of
the head.
- How Microsoft planned Xbox 2 for Christmas 2004 - Internal
schedules at Microsoft as recently as last November called for the Xbox 2 to
be launched in time for Christmas 2004,
sources close to the company have revealed - and the firm is still thought
to be considering a launch by mid-2005. Sources at a number of key Xbox
developers, who cannot be named for legal reasons, have confirmed that when
the company originally revealed the outline specification for Xbox 2 late last
year, the company surprised its partners by suggesting that the new hardware
would be in shops for Christmas 2004. The system has since slipped from that
schedule - which also called for an unveiling of the specification at GDC, at
the high-profile press conference which the company eventually used for the
launch of the XNA development platform - but Microsoft apparently still has
hopes to get the new console out in mid-2005, ahead of the Christmas 2005
release anticipated by most commentators.
- Pressure on Sony for PS2 Price Cut Grows -
Sony Corp. may be forced to cut the price on its PlayStation 2 video game
console as soon as the coming weeks or risk being outsold in the U.S. market
by rival Microsoft Corp., analysts said on Tuesday. Sony forecast earlier on
Tuesday that PS2 sales in the business year ending March 2005 would fall by as
much as 30 percent, a much sharper decline than analysts had expected. Unless
Sony cuts the price on its PS2 in order to spur sales, U.S. game software
makers, many of whom track Sony's fiscal year, may find sales growth targets
harder to reach, analysts said.
- AMD to introduce 32-bit CPU for K8 motherboards - AMD aims to
strengthen its position in the entry-level processor market by introducing a
32-bit CPU, codenamed
Athlon XP Paris, in the third quarter of this year, according to sources
at Taiwanese motherboard makers. The 754-pin Paris will be targeted for the
desktop and will be fully based on the K8 micro-architecture, with 256KB of L2
cache, but will not support AMD64, i.e. x86-64 technology, said the sources.
- PCI Gets Version Upgrade -
The new Conventional PCI 3.0 spec completes the migration to 3.3V-only
slots by removing support for 5.0V-only keyed add-in cards. Universal keyed
add-in cards (cards that are keyed for both 5.0V and 3.3V slots) continue to
be supported by the Conventional PCI 3.0 spec. Version 3.0 also incorporates
the errata and ECNs (Engineering Change Notifications) to version 2.3
specification. Version 3.0 supports multiple bus specifications: PCI 66,
PCI-X, Mini PCI, and Low Profile PCI.
- Optware Unveils Small Holographic Device Capable of Recording
200GB-300GB on One Disc - The company hopes to introduce a commercial
product for business use that
can record 200GB to 300GB on a 12 centimeter disc by the summer of 2005.
Optware has been aiming for the practical application of its technology called
"polarized collinear holography," which enables a more simple optical system
than conventional holographic recording and playing devices. With this
technology, the "signal beam" and "reference beam" used for the recording and
playing of holographic media can be directed to the disc with just one
objective lens.
- Citrix unveils MetaFrame Access Suite 3.0 - The Fort Lauderdale,
Fla.-based company detailed a new version of its flagship product,
MetaFrame Access Suite 3.0, at a financial analyst meeting. One feature
the company touted was the software's SmoothRoaming capability, which gives
users uninterrupted access to data as they move from device to device, or
temporarily lose their connection after entering an elevator, for instance.
The software includes session-persistent features that automatically
re-establish network connections, while preserving the information when the
connection is lost. It also includes a password manager that provides for
single sign-on, as well as user recognition capabilities that work with
biometrics identification and proximity cards.
- Sony SDM-HS73P First Look -
The SDM-HS73P ($610) shows off Sony's flair for making stylish products,
but it does not deliver the top-notch image quality that most buyers expect
from the brand. The limited viewing angle and other flaws are not fatal, but
better choices are available at a similar price or lower.
- External Disk Roundup - The guys at Hexus.net have done
a roundup of External Disks.
- Contour Design's Shuttle Pro 2 review - The Shuttle Pro 2, with its
15 programmable buttons and twin jog shuttles, is designed to help you avoid
having to move your hands from the mouse to keyboard. But does this controller
meet the needs of the video professional?
- Removing XP SP2 & Disabling IE's downloads Guides - I am not a Geek
has posted two new Windows XP guides -
Removing/Uninstalling Windows XP SP2 and
Disable IE'S Downloading Capabilty.
- How To Rename Your Start Menu in Windows XP - Overclocking HQ.com
has posted
an article called "How To Rename Your Start Menu in Windows XP".
- Understanding Virtual Memory - OSNN have posted
a pretty informative guide about Virtual Memory in Windows operating
sytem.
- Dekart Private Disk 2.02 -
Dekart Private
Disk is an easy-to-use, fast and affordable software program that allows
individuals to quickly encrypt both personal and business documents, as well
as any other types of files stored most types of storage media. Dekart Private
Disk allows to 100% protect the privacy of the important data, ensuring that
only the owner of the documents will get access to the protected data in
accordance with the defined user privileges.
- 3D Performance with Far Cry - Part 2 NVIDIA - The Firing Squad have
posted
part 2 of their 3D Performance with Far Cry article using Nvidia's
Flagship GPU the GeForce 6800 Ultra.
- CloneDVD v2.0.8.3 - Elby has released
a new version of
CloneDVD. This new version fixes deadlocking problem in case of corrupted
IFO files, adds support for unicode UDF volume names, updates japanese
translation and fixes write speed setting.
- BSPlayer 1.00 RC1 Build 808 -
BSplayer (download)
is a Windows player that plays back all kinds of media files.
Codec Pack All in 1 6.0.0.9 -
A collection of codecs for playing DivX movies. All you need to see DivX
movies: DivX, XviD, AC3...
- VisualRoute 8.0e -
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.
- MultiRes 1.46 -
MultiRes is a 32-bit alternative to QuickRes, which adds refresh rate and
multi-monitor support, as well as optional timed confirmation prompts.
- Winnow Anonymous Proxy 4.1 -
Winnow
Anonymous Proxy (download)
is an Internet utility to let you browse the Web anonymously by hiding your IP
number.
- McAfee AVERT Stinger 2.2.1 -
Stinger
is a stand-alone utility used to detect and remove specific viruses.
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Updated:03:04 PM CEST Jun,20
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