Sunday Tech Reading - tech
(hx) 12:32 AM CEST - Apr,07 2003
- Post a comment / read (2)
- UT2003 demo version 2206 DoS fix - All server admins running
version 2206 demo
servers should download this replacement
IpDrv.dll (62KB) which addresses a denial-of-service attack. Demo clients
should also apply the patch, as it is possible for malicious servers to cause
clients to crash. Epic promised fix for Linux version in the next day or two.
- Doom III Xbox exclusive? -
HomeLAN
Fed has posted some info found in a Wired print article about DOOM 3.
According to what they've read, "Microsoft is offering lots of money to id to
make an exclusive Doom III Xbox port (id hasn't decided yet if they will do
so) and in addition to the already announced multiplayer add-on there will
also be a single player mission pack for Doom III. There is also the
possibility of a program that could generate unique Doom III levels on the
fly, according to the article. The article also contains a number of new
screenshots from the game." Well, read Carmack's latest
.plan
update. He optimizes DOOM3 for GL_ARB_FRAGMENT_PROGRAM capable GPUs
(R300/NV30). XBOX is based on NV25 chip. Enough said.
- FBI Computers Enter the 21st Century - The FBI, hoping to shred its
paper-swamped reputation and maximize its crime fighting, has unveiled the
biggest change in its workflow in 50 years:
a $600 million computer network called Trilogy that will help the agency
sift the massive amounts of data it collects. A new database already used by
300 FBI agents and analysts will draw relationships between 26 million agency
records, according to Wilson Lowery, an executive assistant director with the
FBI. The agency aims to make its Virtual Case File, which tracks terrorists
and other criminals, available to all appropriate employees by December. The
database is expected to store 100 terabytes of information drawn from state,
local, and federal law enforcement agencies as well as the news media. The
system also accommodates multimedia elements such as audio, video, and 3D
mapping.
- 50 million historical documents posted on Web - Researchers,
genealogists and the plain curious
can now use the Internet to check more than 50 million historical records
(AAD)
at the National Archives, from Civil War battles to family immigration files.
Before the system became available, people had to either visit the Archives
and spend hours combing through documents or request the files by phone and
pay to have them mailed.
- Web goes down the toilet -
An
internet toilet roll browser and a net-enabled chopping board are among
cutting edge designs at the Ideal Home Show. The show, which runs at
London's Earls Court exhibition centre until 6 April, is home to a variety of
strange gadgets. Brunel University design graduates came up with five of
the 15 products showcased in the Future Concepts gallery. Design graduate
Andrew Cubitt has taken the humble toilet roll and turned it into a hi-tech
news and information service. A unit installed in front of a toilet on the
cubicle wall provides up-to-the-minute information on products, stocks and
shares and lottery results. People can even print off the information on a
standard toilet roll.
- Wear your cell phone on your wrist - Japan's cell phone giant NTT
DoCoMo will
soon start selling a mobile phone that's worn around the wrist and snaps
off to become a regular handset. Dubbed the "Wristomo," the watch opens
up to become a phone, and users can talk while wearing it like Dick Tracy, the
comic-book hero who debuted in the 1930's. The Wristomo, manufactured by
Seiko Instruments, weighs 4 ounces including batteries. It also hooks up to
DoCoMo's hit "i-mode" Web-surfing service. The company plans to sell 5,000
Wristomo phones for between $250 and $330 each, Kono said. The new phone will
only be usable in Japan. A competitor, Samsung Electronics of South Korea,
plans to launch its wristwatch phone late this year.
- MSI Technology & Solution Expo Spring 2003 - Explosive Labs has
finished
an article on MSI Technology & Solution Expo Spring 2003.
- Kiss Technologies DP-450 DVD/MPEG4-DivX Player -
Techseekers.net has
reviewed the KiSS DVD player DP-450 with MPEG4(DivX) playback. They say
"All in all, I was impressed with the DP-450. DivX and XviD playback was
outstanding, with some high quality files, you would be hard pressed to tell
the difference between that and a DVD."
- iAudio CW2000 Review - JetAudio recently released the
iAudio CW2000 All-in-One Digital Audio Player. The device has 3 main
functions: An MP3 player, an FM tuner, and a voice recorder.
- GeForce FX 5800 Ultra w/ Detonator 43.45 - Interestingly,
VR-Zone
found that the 3DMark2003 performance improved with even more the new
43.45 drivers over the "performance" 42.68 drivers. The card itself is made of
high quality 12 layers PCB and until now, NVIDIA has sticked to making the
whole card themselves due to the stringent PCB requirements. There is no
question that GeForce FX 5800 Ultra is the highest performing card now but
availability of the card is still a question as we don't see any retail cards
out there selling yet. GeForce FX 5800 Ultra overclocks quite decently with
core/mem at 570/1140Mhz but the heat is still limiting better overclocking.
- Online Security & Speed Tuneup Guide - APK Windows 2000/XP
"Security &
Speed" tuneup page & "Local System Performance" tuneup pages updated. For
Cable or DSL users by default only in settings used for Windows 2000 or
Windows XP only.
- How to Install Plus! for Windows XP in Windows Server 2003 -
Microsoft has unveiled
a set of instructions to enable and install Plus! for Windows XP on
Windows Server 2003.
- SBLive/Audigy ---> Audigy2 guide to version 3.c - Futuremark's
Smiro has
updated his SoundBlaster SBLive/Audigy ---> Audigy2 guide to version 3.c.
- Windows Compact Disk Management Script -
The
script (changelog)
will handle all the necessary file operations for slipstreaming a Windows 2000
single / multi-boot CD and integrating any hot-fixes in it. The script is
written in batch code using a collection of utilities and Windows Command
Extensions (won't work under Win 9X).
- DirectX 9.0a Redistributable (Unofficial) - This
MSFN's download (they repackaged the files from the websetup) provides the
DirectX 9.0a end-user redistributable that developers can include with their
product. (Mirror1 -
Win2k ~
WinXP,
Mirror2)
- MSN Messenger 5.5.0544 - MSFN.org ripped latest
MSN messenger out of the yesterday leaked MSN 8.5 beta.
- Magic Utilities 2003 v2.10 -
Magic Utilities (download)
is a cute program designed to make your computer clean and more stable. These
utilities include Uninstller Plus,StartUp Organizer,Process Killer.Magic
Utilities enables you to easily and safely uninstall programs;inspect and
manage the programs that automatically start when your turn on or logon to
your computer;lists and controls all currently running processes(system and
hidden processes are also shown).
- Foobar2000 v0.6 Beta 7 -
Foobar2000
(download) is
a very recommendable media player. It is developed by Peter Pawlowski, who
used to work on Winamp3.
- Flexbeta Slipstreamer XP 1.0 -
Slipstreamer XP is an application that will slipstream any Windows XP or
Office XP Service Pack into your installation files. It has currently been
tested to work for all Windows XP and Office XP Service Packs up to SP2 (SP2
1185 for Windows XP).
- Fresh Diagnose 5.70 -
Fresh Diagnose (download)
is an utility designed to analyze and benchmark your computer system. It can
analyze and benchmark many kinds of hardware, such as CPU performance, hard
disk performance, video system information, mainboard information and more.
- WinRar v3.20 beta 3 - The compression utility
WinRAR (download)
is a powerful archive manager with support for packing RAR and ZIP archives
and unpacking RAR, ZIP, CAB, ARJ, LZH, TAR, GZ, ACE, UUE, BZ2, JAR and ISO
archives. What's new since beta 2? 1.Successfully completed "Test"
command reports "No errors found" not only in WinRAR shell, but also when
activated from Explorer context menu. 2. Bugs fixed: a) word wrap option in
"Settings/Viewer" did not work; b) previous versions displayed "Convert" and
"Test" context menu items even if they had not been enabled in
"Settings/Integration"; c) toolbar was not displayed in Windows 95 OSR2; d) -u
and -f switches did not work correctly with 'x' command; e) "Rename" command
in WinRAR shell could not rename encrypted files.
- VCDEasy 1.1.5 -
VCDEasy 1.1.5 features project saving and loading, reusable MPEG analyze
information, an anti flickering option has been added to the MPEG stills
option, additional compliance tests have been added and most settings not
directly related to a VCD project have been moved to a settings dialogue.
- Divx Mastermind Beta -
Mastermind
(download)
gives you the ability to access your entire music and movie collection from
anywhere with an Internet connection. Install the Mastermind application on
every computer where you store your media files, then use the Mastermind web
client to see a combined and organized view of your media. Play back your
media from anywhere, to anywhere.
- ZoomPlayer 3.0 RC1 -
ZoomPlayer is now available in two flavors: Standard edition which is
limited to file playback, and Professional edition which is a commercial DVD
front-end.
- D-Force MobileMod 1.0 -
D-Force MobileMod 1.0 can automatically read an ATi Driver INF file
(Windows 2000 or XP format), see if it supports mobile cards, and if it
doesn't, write the neccesary keys. I've noticed that download has been taken
down (temporary ) due to bugs.
- OPN-462 -
OPN-462 (download)
is an intelligent program designed specifically to translate the three codes
found on, or around the core of all Socket-A, AMD CPU's, what you can expect
the program to do, can be found in either or the screenshots in the
screenshots section.
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Updated:12:40 AM CEST Jun,21
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