Nightly Tech Reading - tech
(hx) 02:24 AM CET - Mar,09 2004
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- New worm masquerades as Microsoft update -
A new variant of
the Sober worm has surfaced this morning, antivirus specialist F-Secure
has warned.
Sober D pretends to be a Microsoft software update that protects against a new
version of the MyDoom worm. Once activated the worm displays a patch loading
screen, but harvests email addresses and mails itself out using its own SMTP
engine.
- Bye-Bye, Pop-Ups. Hello...? - Pop-up ads, those reviled windows
that intrude on your Web surfing, seem to be on the decline. But don't
celebrate yet:
New forms of advertising that may be just as annoying and even more
intrusive are likely to replace them. Thwarted by both ISPs and blocking
utilities, use of pop-ups has waned over the past year. Internet advertising
analysts say Microsoft's decision to put a pop-up stopper into the next
version of Internet Explorer hastens their demise, but no one expects them to
disappear soon. And new styles of ads, including screen-grabbing full-motion
videos and rich media that overwrite the screen, are starting to appear.
- Windows could lose Media Player in EU tangle - If Microsoft cannot
settle an antitrust case brought by European Union regulators,
the company may be ordered to remove Windows Media Player as an integrated
feature of the dominant Windows operating system, at least for personal
computers sold in Europe. The European Commission also could order Microsoft
to include rival media players with Windows to make those products as easy for
users to access as Microsoft's own music and video player
- Off-topic: The potential of "brain pacemakers" - A handful of
scientists around the world have
begun
cautiously experimenting with devices implanted in patients' bodies to
deliver precisely targeted electrical stimulation to the brain in hopes of
treating otherwise hopeless behavioral, neurological and psychiatric
disorders. While stressing that the ethically sensitive research with "brain
pacemakers" has just begun, the scientists say the results so far have been so
promising that it could mark the beginning of a new era in treating often
intractable cases. The approach builds on rapid recent advances in
understanding how the brain works, on high-tech imaging technologies that
allow surgeons to pinpoint targets with unprecedented precision, and on the
miniaturization of computerized electronic devices that can safely be inserted
under the skin.
- Off-topic: Rings finale comes sooner to DVD - The film, which won
11 Oscars last month,
will be released on 25 May, producers New Line said. Fans had to wait
until August 2002 and 2003 for DVD versions of the first two Rings films. An
extended version of the film - including previously unseen footage - will
follow at the end of the year. The initial DVD release of the film will
include the film, as well as a 20-minute theatrical trailer and a range of
behind-the-scenes material. The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers were
also released with extended versions on DVD. The extended version of the film
- which will be considerably longer than the three hours and 21 minutes in the
theatrical version - will make the trio of extended versions more than 11
hours long.
- No Xbox 2 revelations at GDC - Reports suggest that
Xbox Next's hardware will not be unveiled at the forthcoming Game
Developers' Conference. Microsoft's chief Xbox officer, Robbie Bach, will take
to the stage at the GDC on 24 March to discuss the new console - but may limit
himself to games and some technical aspects of its format. The suggestion
comes from Microsoft Japan's Asako Miyata in an interview with Bloomberg, who
noted that a decision had not yet been taken to as to when the technical
specifications of the system should be released.
- Miniature fuel cells may oust batteries - A trick that boosts the
power of
miniature hydrogen fuel cells by up to 50 per cent has been revealed by US
researchers. Such fuel cells could help keep portable gadgets up and running -
cellphone giant Nokia warned last week that battery technology is not keeping
pace with advanced phone functions. The apparent downside is that the effect
only works with hydrogen fuel cells, whereas liquid methanol is currently the
fuel of choice for consumer electronics firms like Motorola and NEC that are
developing fuel-cell-powered cellphones and laptops. They favour methanol
because it releases more energy than hydrogen, volume for volume, so
methanol-powered gadgets would be able to have smaller "fuel tanks".
- ATI: tight supply of graphics chipsets will ease by end of March -
The tight supply of ATI Technologies’ graphics chipsets, particularly the
Radeon 9600XT line, will ease by the end of March, company chairman and CEO Ho
Kwok-yuen said in Taipei late last week. Ho also confirmed that
ATI will start delivering chipsets supporting PCI express technology in
the second quarter. Many of ATI’s OEM clients of motherboards and graphics
cards have already verified the company’s PCI express-based chipsets and have
decided to use the products, Ho said.
- Faster Fujitsu drive plays catch-up - Fujitsu Computer Products of
America on Monday unveiled
a 300GB drive that spins at 10,000 revolutions per minute. It also
announced a 15,000 rpm drive with a capacity of up to 147GB. Compared with
previous generations, storage capacity in the models has been doubled at both
speeds, the company said.
- HP Compaq Business Notebook nc6000 First Look - If you're looking
for a thin and light workhorse, the
HP Compaq Business Notebook nc6000 ($1.899) should be on your list. Though
not very stylish, and slightly bulky at 6.6 pounds (including the AC adapter),
this business-class notebook performs very well and gives...
- VIA's Dual-Channel Memory KT880 Chipset Takes on Nvidia's nForce2 -
VIA's KT880 dual-channel memory chipset shows that the AthlonXP processor
still has a lot of fire power left in it. While the Athlon64 represents AMD's
latest and greatest processor, AthlonXP-based chipsets, especially those with
dual-channel memory, still have much to offer. With its introduction of the
KT880, VIA also hopes to eat some of Nvidia's nForce2 Ultra 400 lunch with its
AthlonXP, dual-channel memory chipset offering.
- RAID set up guide - PC Stats have published
a new guide called "how to set up a Raid array". The guide quickly
describes what "RAID" actually means.
- MSFN's Official Unattended XP CD Guide (March 2004) - Have you ever
wanted a Windows XP CD that would install Windows XP by automatically putting
in your name, product key, timezone and regional settings? Followed by
silently installing all your favourite applications along with DirectX 9, .Net
Framework and then all the Pre-SP2 hotfixes, updated drivers, registry tweaks,
and a readily patched UXTheme.dll without any user interaction whatsoever?
Then
this guide will show you how you can do just that.
- NTI CD&DVD-Maker Platinum Edition 6.7.0.16 -
NTI CD&DVD-Maker 6.7 (download
trial) is a solution for burning CDs and DVDs. The integrated user
interface delivers fast and easy burning in a few EasySteps®. Perfect for all
your recording needs! fast burning in a few easy steps. Safeguard, Organize
and Share - all of your files with one, easy-to-use CD and DVD burning
solution.
- BitTorrent 3.4 -
BitTorrent is a protocol designed for transferring files. It is
peer-to-peer in nature, as users connect to each other directly to send and
receive portions of the file. However, there is a central server (called a
tracker) which coordinates the action of all such peers.
- SHAD0W's Experimental BitTorrent Client 5.8.11 - This is another
BitTorrentr client (download)
- MAME 0.80 -
MAME is the
best Arcade Machine emulator.
- VideoLAN 0.7.1 -
VideoLAN is an excellent multimedia player with it's own plugins for
playing different formats, so it doesn't need any codecs to be installed. It
works great for previewing partially downloaded files too.
- Bart's PE Builder 3.0.31 -
Bart's PE Builder (download)
helps you build a bootable Window CD-Rom or DVD from Windows XP or Windows
Server 2003 very suitable for PC maintenance tasks.
- AutoPatcher XP 4.5 (Feb2004 Update) -
AutoPatcher XP (download)
is a comprehensive collection of patches & registry tweaks that give you peace
of mind in the knowledge that your Windows XP is up to date.
- Memtest86 3.1 - A new version of
Memtest86 is available
for download. This new version adds processor detection for newer AMD
processors, new "Bit Fade" extended test and fixes a complile time bug with
gcc version 3.x.
- Codec Pack All in 1 6.0.0.3 -
CodecPack All In
1 is a simple installation program that will install on your computer a
set of DirectShow Filters and codecs for playing movies (XviD, DivX, SVCD,
MPEG2 ...). This codec pack includes: Decoder for DivX 5.1.1, XviD Koepi 1.0
b3, DivX, XviD - FFDShow 28.11.2003 alpha, MPEG2 2.0.0.2525 , subtitles g400
2.83, subtitles DVobSub 2.23, 2.32, OGG Vorbis 0.9.9.5 , AC3 0.70b and Morgan
Multimedia Stream Switcher 0.97.
- Realtek ALC AC97 Audio Driver v3.56 -
The ALC650 incorporates proprietary converter technology to achieve a high
SNR, greater than 90 dB. The ALC650 AC'97 CODEC supports multiple CODEC
extensions with independent variable sampling rates and built-in 3D effects.
- Pioneer DVR-107 RPC1 12xRIP / 1.10 firmware -
http://pioneerdvd.rpc1.org/ has done it again, now with the latest
1.10 firmware. You can now rip at 12xDVD and have RPC1 and selectable 8x
DVD-R for suitable media. (thanks
TechSeekers)
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Updated:03:04 PM CEST Jun,20
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