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 Gameguru Mania News - Apr,05 2003 - tech 
Evening Tech Reading - tech
(hx) 02:17 AM CEST - Apr,05 2003 - Post a comment
  • The cell phone is 30 years old - Yesterday marked the 30th anniversary of the first public telephone call placed on a portable cellular phone. Martin Cooper, ArrayComm's chairman, CEO and co-founder, placed that call on April 3, 1973, while general manager of Motorola's Communications Systems Division. It was the incarnation of his vision for personal wireless communications, distinct from cellular car phones.
  • Secret UK stealth plane project revealed - The craft pictured is full-scale model and was completed in 1999, after five years of work. The L20 million programme, codenamed Replica, was jointly funded by BAE Systems and the UK Ministry of Defence.  Replica was never intended to be as difficult to detect as the exotic and extremely expensive pure stealth aircraft such as the US F-117a and B-2. But UK stealth specialists are said to have achieved their goal of striking a balance between low observability and cost. It also demonstrated British expertise in the complex world of stealth technology.
  • Athlon XP 3000+, AMD closing in on Intel - The new Athlon XP 3000+ is based on AMD's new 0.13-micron process which will also be used in manufacturing the upcoming Athlon-64. The Athlon XP 3000+ is based on a new core, codename Barton, which has a number of advantages over the previous, Thoroughbred, Athlon XP core. The biggest advantage, from looking at the specifications, obviously is the larger cache memory.
  • Microsoft to tweak XP after DOJ complaints - Microsoft will give more prominent display to a button in Windows that allows computer users to remove the company's Internet Explorer browser, company spokesman Jim Desler said.  The company believes the button's original placement complied with the settlement, Desler said. But he said the company agreed to change its position in the Windows "start menu" after talking with the Justice Department.
  • Spammers attack wireless networks - Nearly three-quarters of malicious connections to wireless networks are used for sending spam, according to new research. Security consultant Z/Yen set up two wireless local area networks (Lans) on behalf of RSA Security to monitor unauthorised connections - a so-called 'honeypot' trap.
  • PentaWare Ships File Manager - PentaWare, a company best known for its PentaZip compression program, is entering the file manager arena with the release of PentaSuite.  In addition to common file manager features like file viewing and compression, PentaSuite offers something very new: It can write to CDs and even span them, saving files across several discs. When combined with the scripting and scheduling abilities borrowed from PentaZip, this could make it a reasonable backup program. Many users, however, may find its $100 price tag steep.
  • OpenOffice gets programming kit - The OpenOffice.org group on Friday announced a kit that lets programmers build new modules for open-source alternatives to the Microsoft Office suite. The free software development kit lets programmers add features such as new spreadsheet calculation formulas. It includes program samples and a 900-page guide that describes components such as macro programs that automate word processing tasks and the standard interfaces that add-on modules can use to plug in to OpenOffice.org.
  • SMS 2.0 SP5 - With the introduction of Systems Management Server 2.0 Service Pack 5 (SMS 2.0 SP5), Microsoft continues to sustain and enhance the capabilities of SMS 2.0. For an overview of several key improvements, refer to List of Fixes in Systems Management Server 2.0 Service Pack 5 (Q816549) in the Knowledge Base on the Microsoft Product Support Services site.
  • FreeBSD 4.8 Now Available - FreeBSD's Murray Stokely announces the availability of FreeBSD 4.8, the latest FreeBSD-stable release, which has dealt with known security issues, and added initial support for Firewire, HyperThreading, and other new hardware technologies.
  • Red Hat 9.0 Download Links -  Red Hat, Inc today announced the availability of Red Hat Linux 9.  -> CD1 (MD5SUM, CD1: 400c7fb292c73b793fb722532abd09ad) ~ CD2 (MD5SUM, CD2: 6b8ba42f56b397d536826c78c9679c0a) ~ CD3 (MD5SUM, CD3: af38ac4316ba20df2dec5f990913396d).
  • The Animatrix Movie #3  - The latest Animatrix episode has been released, you can grab the high-res .MOV version from the official page.
  • Seismovision Demo Player v2.21 - Seismovision is a versatile demo player for Quake 1, Quake World, Quake 2, Quake 3 Arena, Half-Life, Counter-Strike Retail, Unreal Tournament, Unreal Tournament 2003, Star Trek Voyager Elite Force, Return to Castle Wolfenstein, Star Wars: Jedi Knight 2 and Soldier of Fortune 2.  The AVA (Auto-Version Adaptation) 'technology' makes Seismovision the best demo player every professional gamer.
  • Duke3D runs natively on Linux - So it took four days, but Duke3d now runs in Linux, courtesy of Icculus.org. Ironically, a win32 port has yet to be released. (thanks Slashdot.org).
  • DUP-DVD v2.2.0  - DUP-DVD is a powerful tool to convert a DVD movie to SVCD/VCD - easily, quickly, effortlessly. With DUP-DVD you can make a DVD backup to SVCD with just a click.
  • DameWare NT Utilities 3.70 - DameWare NT Utilities is an enterprise system management application for Windows NT/2000/XP, which provides an integrated collection of Microsoft Windows NT administration utilities incorporating a centralized interface for remote management of Windows NT/2000/XP Servers and Workstations.
  • Remote Task Manager 3.7.6 - SmartLine, Inc. has released a new version (3.7.6) of their network management solution, Remote Task Manager for Windows NT/2000/XP and Windows Server 2003.
  • Ad Muncher 4.5 Build 5911 Beta - Ad Muncher (download) is a program for Windows systems which removes adverts, popups and general browsing annoyances from all popular browsers and web-utilizing programs (as well as most banner displaying and popup generating programs.
  • Detonator 43.45 Driver Benchmarks - BitBender has benchmarked Nvidia's latest Detonator driver release, 43.45.
 Gameguru Mania News - Apr,04 2003 - tech
Nightly Tech Reading - tech
(hx) 03:24 AM CEST - Apr,04 2003 - Post a comment / read (3)
  • Half-Life 2 to be NVIDIA-only game? - Spong.com is reporting that Valve is currently looking at making its massively anticipated FPS sequel Half-Life 2 exclusive to nVidia graphics cards, in what will be the first deal of its kind in the PC gaming sector. This massive story comes from insiders at nVidia, who are boasting that this will be the first of many such deals for exclusive content, bespoke to its cards.
  • RIAA sues campus file-swappers - The recording industry has stepped up its campaign against campus music swapping, filing suit against four university students who operated file-search services on their school's internal networks. The lawsuits, filed against two students at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), and one each at Princeton University and Michigan Technological University, ratchet up the pressure that the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) recently has been putting on universities to block campus file-trading. The trade group still has not filed suit against average file-swappers who use more common services such as Kazaa, however.
  • Apache patch to thwart DoS attack - Apache, which makes the popular open-source Web server application, released version 2.0.45 to fix a denial-of-service (DoS) problem. A DoS attack floods a network with data, rendering it inaccessible to legitimate queries. The vulnerability in version 2.0.44 affects all operating systems, according to the advisory. But Apache issued a specific warning for OS/2 users, noting that for them the new patch still had a DoS vulnerability.
  • NV35 to Be Formally Announced Next Month. - According to X-bit Labs, Taiwanese media-sources revealed that NVIDIA's next-generation NV35 graphics processor will be formally announced next-month with actual graphics cards appearing shortly afterwards. NV35 GPU is going to be a considerably improved GeForce FX 5800 (NV30) graphics processor with several modifications made in order to boost performance, yield and other obstacles that presently do not let NVIDIA to start selling its GeForce FX 5800 solutions in mass quantities. The graphics cards based on the new graphics processor will utilise DDR SDRAM memory and feature 256-bit bus, providing more bandwidth than the current DDR-II memory with 128-bit bus on the GeForce FX 5800 Ultra.
  • AMD plan to offer 400MHz FSB Athon XP slips out - AMD will indeed release a version of its Athlon XP with a 400MHz frontside bus, mobo maker Abit announced this morning.  AMD has yet to announce such a part itself.  However, Abit's press release, issued today and headed "Abit engineered motherboards support the new AMD Athlon XP 333 and 400MHz Barton CPUs", says the company has unveiled "the 400MHz FSB Barton 3000+ and 3200+". So expect an announcement from AMD shortly..
  • Zalman ZM-80A Passive Video Cooler Review  - With video cards now generating as much heat as some CPU's, it's no wonder that there's a market for aftermarket video heatsinks. While this was happening, though, another trend has been arising: quiet computing. The video card is a whole different beast compared to a CPU, though. You can't just slap on a mega-heatsink... unless you don't need your PCI slots. Zalman was one of the first to try and make a good passive video card heatsink that didn't intrude into another PCI card's real estate.
  • Samsung DVD-V2500 DVD/VCR Combo - TweakNews has published a review on the Samsung DVD-V2500 DVD/VCR Combo Unit.
  • Dell Inspiron 5100 Review -  Thus the system came with a 2.4-GHz Pentium 4-the slowest of four processors Dell offers, but still adequate-and 256MB of RAM. The monitor was the midlevel Inspiron offering, 15 inches instead of 14, and XGA not SXGA+. All laptops in the 5100 line have a pair of USB 2.0 ports, a FireWire port, and an S-Video output for a TV set. Ours included 802.11b wireless Ethernet in addition to standard wired Ethernet and a modem, a fixed DVD/CD-RW drive, and a 16MB USB memory key instead of a floppy disk drive. For the price, the Inspiron 5100 is a good deal, and you're better served by picking the more fully equipped model than the $1,099 entry-level model. Conversely, those who do little more than Web browsing, e-mailing, and word processing can save $200 with the $899 Celeron-based Inspiron 1100.
  • Canon i550 Bubble Jet Printer Review - With decent speed and print quality for around S$319, the Canon i550 proves that it has what it takes to meet the demands of families or small-business folks who want decent text printing and acceptable photo quality prints any time of the day. With good paper support and a respectable software bundle, it should be able to last most users a reasonably long time before they need a new one.
  • HP Photosmart 7350 Review - The 7350 may have card readers and turn out magnificent photos, but it still leaves something to be desired. Read on for the pros and cons we found with HP's version of direct printing.
  • GP32 Super-emulator! - GP32 (fansite) is capable of emulating the GBA, Super Nintendo, Commodore 64, etc. plus there's a SCUMMVM engine for Monkey Island games and a Java VM. Seems to have a huge online following. It runs its own OS, and there are programs capable of playing divx/mp3 files, though there's also a Linux port on the way. Not too expensive either. (99UKP / 149USD) That's a UK supplier; they ship worldwide, though I found this more expensive American supplier too. (179USD)" Gotta catch 'em all! (thanks SlashDot.org)
  • AM:3D DieselPower for Hitman 2 - Silent Assassin  - The module, DieselPower 3D audio, enhances your ability to hear enemy footsteps, door slamming, talk, doves flapping their wings while ascending into the skies and much more, from any direction. "We have worked with the creators, IO Interactive, to ensure nothing but success in helping 47 take out targets. Hitman 2 has native support for DieselPower which gives you natural smooth 3D sound with full spherical directional perception, giving you the ability to completely pin-point your friends and foes with a blistering accuracy. Even though DieselPower supports other playback setups, all you require is a set of standard headphones to perceive true 3D sound in all directions."
  • Windows Application Compatibility Toolkit 3.0 - The Windows Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT) version 3.0 for Windows 2000 Service Pack 3, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 contains the tools and documentation you need to design, deploy, and support applications on these platforms.
  • Apache 2.0.45 - The Apache Project (changelog ~ download) is a collaborative software development effort aimed at creating a robust, commercial-grade, featureful, and freely-available source code implementation of an HTTP (Web) server.
  • DVD2SVCD 1.1.3 Build 1 - DVD2SVCD is a completely automated frontend for converting DVD, PVA and AVI files to SVCD.
  • cladDVD XP 3.0 - cladDVD XP is a DVD ripper that can pretty much rip any DVD just the way you want it as it uses vStrip for the decryption. This means you can rip a single file, complete title set or main movie as is, or, even better, initiate IFO Parsing (default) and rip the exact selected ProGram Chain (PGC).
  • AC3Filter 0.68b - AC3Filter (download) is DirectShow filter for AC3 decoding to play .AVI with AC3 audio tracks and MPEG2 (DVD).
  • Media Player Classic 6.4.4.1 - Media Player Classic (download) is similar to windows media player 6.4 but with features pertained to minimalist advanced users.
  • WinAMP 2.90 Final - Nullsoft has silently updated its winamp v2 to v2.90.
  • Quintessential Player 3.50 Plus - Quinnware has released new version of their Quintessential Player. This new version finally fixed seek bug.
  • BlindWrite Suite 4.3.1 - Blindwrite Suite (download) is the best set of tools to reproduce or clone any CD, even protected ones. Blindwrite Suite is the most powerfull tool to create a perfect copy from your original CD for personal private copy.
  • SecureCRT 4.0.5 - SecureCRT (download) gives you an encrypted SSH session with both SSH1 and SSH2 servers. SSH security goes far beyond the basic secure logon, rerouting data or local applications using TCP/IP ports through an encrypted channel.
  • PowerStrip 3.31 Beta Build 380 - PowerStrip (download) provides advanced, multi-monitor, programmable hardware support to a wide range of graphics cards - from the venerable Matrox Millennium I to the latest Radeon 9700DV and Matrox Parhelia.
 Gameguru Mania News - Apr,03 2003 - tech
Evening Tech Madness - tech
(hx) 01:18 AM CEST - Apr,03 2003 - Post a comment / read (4)
  • Microsoft manager facing charges died of poisoning - A Microsoft manager accused of stealing $9 million in software to fuel a lavish lifestyle died from drinking antifreeze, according to the King County Medical Examiner's Office. Daniel Feussner died Feb. 7 from ingesting ethylene glycol, the main ingredient in antifreeze, according to the Medical Examiner's Office. How it happened is unknown; there were no witnesses to his death.
  • Is Software Piracy Stealing Jobs? - Reducing software piracy by just 10 percentage points worldwide would generate 1.5 million jobs and add $400 billion to the world economy, according to a study released Wednesday by the Business Software Alliance and IDC. The BSA, composed of giant software vendors such as Microsoft, IBM, and Apple Computer, pegs the percentage of software programs pirated globally at 40 percent. The IDC study, commissioned by the BSA, concludes that reducing that rate to 30 percent would enable nations to add a total of $64 billion to their tax coffers.
  • Holes found in RealPlayer, QuickTime - The vulnerabilities have cropped up in RealNetworks' RealPlayer and Apple Computer's QuickTime. While unrelated, the weak spots could allow an intruder to execute damaging arbitrary code on a victim's computer.
  • Eircom introduces 'low-cost' broadband  - I-stream Starter (EUR45) will offer guaranteed download speeds of 512kbs, although upload rates may be slower for some customers, depending on a variety of circumstances. The new service will be available to about 700,000 lines around Ireland, Eircom said, extending to 1 million by year's end.
  • Counter-Strike Goes To The Arcade  - Namco has licensed the popular Half-Life modification Counter-Strike for use in its new chain of Ledzone entertainment centers, Impress Game Watch reports today. Namco's original version of the game will be called "Counter-Strike Neo," and the company plans to release a test version this month.
  • Sony Shows a Smarter Robot - Sony unveiled a new version of its Sony Dream Robot humanoid robot on Wednesday that, it said, packs major increases in abilities and intelligence. Major changes in the SDR-4X II have been made in four areas: The first is that of motion control and, in particular, improvements to the robot's sensory functions so that it can avoid falling down. Engineers have added an extra RISC CPU (bringing the total count to three) to the SDR-4X II in order to handle speech synthesis and speech recognition. Improvements have also been made in safety and identification.
  • Microsoft calls AMD X86-64 operating system Anvil - Anvil will run on both Opteron and Athlon64 chips and, the sources added, Microsoft is billing it as causing a big adoption of PC 64-bit computing because these chips will run 32-bit and 64-bit code natively.
  • Office 2003 Configurations Unveiled - Microsoft plans to offer a half dozen different editions of its upcoming Office 2003 productivity suite, but none of them will include the new OneNote note-taking application. And the company still isn't revealing pricing for the six different Office 2003 bundles or any of the stand-alone Office applications. All six versions include the core Office applications of Word, Excel, and Outlook.
  • AMD revs up transistor designs - The chipmaker's researchers have created and demonstrated a new Fully Depleted Silicon-on-Insulator transistor, the company said Wednesday. The silicon-on-insulator design technique uses special materials to better isolate transistors inside a chip, with the aim of increasing performance and reducing power consumption. AMD's twist on the transistor design is as much as 30 percent faster than some of the best published results seen so far, the company said.
  • Exclusive Intel Roadmap Details  - check it out!
  • Nvidia and Quantum3D team up to bring graphics technology to the battleground  - Nvidia Corp., the maker of high-powered 3-D graphics chips that are popular among players of shoot-'em-up PC games, is bringing the same technology to the battlefield. Military hardware -- ranging from Apache helicopters and F-22 Raptor fighter jets to Bradley fighting vehicles and M-1 Abrams tanks -- uses display systems powered by the Santa Clara firm's graphics processors.
  • ATI ships RADEON 9800 PRO - ATI Technologies is now shipping its RADEON 9800 PRO visual processing unit (VPU). Boards based on the world's fastest VPU have shipped to OEM, retail, distribution and online customers, fulfilling ATI's promise of delivering product within 30 days of the March 6 launch.
  • ATI said to start Radeon 9600 volume shipments in April - ATI Technologies has decided to move up volume shipments of its Radeon 9600 (RV350) chip from June to the end of April to compete with Nvidia's upcoming NV35 chip, according to sources.
  • ATI Radeon 9800 Pro Review - PC Mag has posted an ATI Radeon 9800 Pro review.
  • AMD Bundled Coolers: Blessing or Curse?  - As this test of AMD's bundled coolers reveals, these chill-machines are more than adequate for most users and applications.  However, if you're in the market for a quieter model, a real freezer powerhouse or a cooler that offers variable cooling capabilities, you should take a look at the vast array of cooler manufacturers.  If you want a cooler with excellent, variable capabilities, the brand-new Aero7 from Coolermaster is an outstanding choice.
  • NEC/Mitsubishi FE2111SB BK 22" Review - With very little surprise the FE2111SB produced some of most beautiful graphics to come across our faces. Outstanding color, due to the Super Bright settings on level 2 of 3, along with super high resolution of 1600x1200 85Hz, simply put, floored us. Unreal Tournament 2003 couldn't have looked better.
  • SBLive/Audigy ---> Audigy2. THE GUIDE! - OK this topic has been discussed for ages & ages and here it is! Info taken from two sites with two different ways to make your SBLive or Audigy to use the applications and the new features-if hardware supports them, that Audigy2 can give. To choose which guide to use, read the guides and FAQs and check the original Web Pages that have the Guides.
  • New version of Pocket War - Today MetalShard will release a new version of Pocket War, including an entirely new graphics set and network based multiplayer. Many optimizations have been made as well.
  • Medieval Heroes fight over handhelds - Arcona Magi has released a new strategy game for the Palm OS, Medieval Heroes. Medieval Heroes is a strategy game with some RTS elements set in 14th century Europe. The player must compete with five other nobles to conquer all of central Europe. That means building and equipping an army, espionage against neighboring lords, and of course fighting it out with enemy troops on the battlefield.
  • Antivirus Comparison - Virus attacks now target multiple entry points, so running antivirus software is more important than ever. Find out which personal and corporate products are up to the task and easiest to use. They compare McAfee VirusScan Home Edition 7.0, NOD32 2.0, Norton AntiVirus 2003, Panda Antivirus Titanium and PC-cillin 2003.
  • WinTasks 4 Professional Review - Hardware Extreme has posted a WinTasks 4 Professional Review.
  • 3ds max 5.1 Service Pack 1 brings DirectX 9 compatibility update - This English-only update is for customers who have 3ds max 5.1, DirectX 9, and a video card and driver which supports DirectX 9. This also addresses issues with XRefs that are detailed in the readme.
    PHP Nuke 6.5  - PHP-Nuke 6.5 (download) is now out to the public. As many of you already know this new version carries a lot of new stuff, fixes and security patches.
  • TV Tool 7.0 Beta - TVTool is a control center for the TV output of nVidia graphics cards. With this tool it is possible to adapt the TV output perfectly to your needs and to control the TV mode in a comfortable way. TVTool accesses the hardware directly and is able to offer a significant greater functionality than many graphics card drivers.
  • Eudora 5.2.1 - Eudora (download) is the best email program for people who get lots of email. If you're not one of those people now, you will be soon. So, take control of your email before it takes control of you. Eudora is more than a way to send and receive messages - it's a powerful email management tool with features to increase your productivity and enhance your communications.
  • Mozilla 1.4a - Mozilla 1.4a has been released. Mozilla 1.4 contains about 1000 new bugfixes, including changes to improve performance, stability, web site compatability, standards support, and usability.
  • IE++ 2.2 Beta 2 - IE++ is an additional Internet Explorer toolbar that increases the usability of the browser and make Web surfing more comfortable. Try IE++ if you want to use native Internet Explorer, but are in need of extra features.
  • SmartCode Vnc Manager 1.1  - Vnc Manager is an easy to use remote administration tool which allows you to connect, view and take control of any computers running VNC (Virtual Network Computing) on your network. It provides easy to use intuitive GUI interface and provides unique features that can significantly improve user experience of network administrators. The list of features includes but is not limited to: Grouping Support, Thumbnail View, IP address scan, Default session, Default password.
  • CPUCooL 7.2.1 - CPUCooL (download) has been updated. What is CPUCool? CPUCooL is a program that monitors temperature, fan speed, and voltages for many motherboards.
  • Nvidia WDM Driver 1.27, NVFlash Tool v4.38 - A new Nvidia WDM driver 1.27 is available. This driver is required for VIVO and Personal Cinema functionality with Nvidia display adapters. In addition, there's a new Nvidia NvFlash Tool version 4.38.
  • Western Digital Data LifeGuard Windows Diagnostic - This is a Windows version of the Data Lifeguard Diagnostics utility. The utility can perform drive identification, diagnostics, and repairs on a Western Digital FireWire, EIDE, or USB drive.
 Gameguru Mania News - Apr,02 2003 - tech
Nightly Tech Reading - No April Fools :P - tech
(hx) 02:45 AM CEST - Apr,02 2003 - Post a comment / read (3)
  • "DVD Jon" faces new trial for piracy - A Norwegian court will retry a teen whose DVD-copying exploits made him a hero to hackers worldwide, in a case that will be closely monitored by Hollywood. In January, an Oslo court acquitted 19-year-old Jon Johansen of charges that he developed a computer program that enabled mass copying of movies on DVDs. Hollywood studios accused Johansen of developing the software and posting his findings on the Internet.
  • Hackers strike Georgia Tech computer, gain credit card data  - Computer hackers invaded a computer at Georgia Tech and copied names, addresses and -- in some cases -- credit card information for 57,000 patrons of the Ferst Center for the Arts. Tech said the database held credit card records for about two-thirds of the 57,000 people. Some cards had expired. The hackers had access to the computer between Feb. 4 and March 14, when the attack was discovered.
  • AMD, Fujitsu to merge Flash ops - AMD and Fujitsu have agreed to merge their Flash memory operations in a bid to mount a direct challenge to Intel's dominance of the market.  The two companies' Memorandum of Understanding - which will presumably require shareholder and regulatory authority approval before becoming a done deal - calls for the merger of Flash operations into a separate entity called FASL (Fujitsu AMD Semiconductor Limited), to be based in the US and Japan. FASL already exists as a 50:50 JV between the two companies. FASL was launched in 1993.
  • HP bundles ADSL modems with PCs - Hewlett Packard (HP) will begin bundling broadband modems with a number of its higher specification PCs. According to HP, the built in ADSL modems will not be added to the cost of the PC, saving the end user L50 to L80 on the price of signing up for a broadband connection. Although the modems offer broadband access through any ADSL provider, BT Openworld discs offering free broadband activation have been included in the offer.  The PCs, priced at L1,119 to L1,299, will go on sale in the next few weeks exclusively, for now, at PC World.
  • Intel ships prelude to desktop overhaul  - Intel came out with two new Celeron processors for desktops this week, a prelude to a slew of desktop technology coming in the next few months. The two new Celeron chips for bargain desktops run at 2.4GHz and 2.3GHz and cost $127 and $117 each, respectively, in 1,000 unit quantities.
  • Hitachi Unveils Do-It-All DVD/CD Recorder - Hitachi LG Data Storage has developed a new optical disc drive that can record on all types of recordable DVD and CD, the company announced Tuesday. The GSA-4040B can record to DVD-R and DVD+R discs at 4X speed, DVD-RW discs at 2X, DVD+RW at 2.4X, and DVD-RAM at 3X. It is also capable of recording to CD-R discs at 24X and CD-RW discs at 16X, according to the manufacturer. Read speeds are 12X for DVD-ROM, 3X for DVD-RAM, 10X for other writable and rewritable DVD formats, and 32X for CD-ROM.
  • Sony Clié PEG-TG50 Review - The PEG-TG50 weighs 6.2 ounces and measures 4.9 by 2.8 by 0.6 inches (HWD) with its protective flip-cover installed. The PDA's application launch buttons and scroll dial are conveniently located directly below the excellent 320-by-320 backlit color screen. Because the jog dial, action dial, and Voice Recorder button are on the left panel, you can easily operate the PDA with one hand.
  • Longhorn Build 3683 Preview - PCWorld checked out a leaked pre-beta version of the successor to Windows XP, code-named Longhorn.
  • Duke Nukem 3D Source Code - As noted on the 3D Realms Website, the source code for Duke Nukem 3D is now available, as 3D Realms has chosen April Fool's Day to (no joke) release the source to the not-actually-3D build-engine game under terms of the GNU GPL. Mirror: 3DGamers.
  • WinBoost 4.22 - WinBoost 4 (download) is a special utility designed to boost Windows XP/2000/Millennium Edition (ME)/98 Second Edition/98/95 performance and productivity.
  • Windows Media Video 9 VCM (Beta) - The Windows Media Audio and Video 9 Series codecs offer the best experience when delivered using the ASF file container. To offer the flexibility our customers have asked for, new licensing terms allow for these codecs to be used in other file containers as well.
  • DVD Region-Free 2.0 - DVD Region-Free is an unique, effective and easy-to-use DVD tweaking too that allows you to watch all region DVDs on any DVD drive(especially RPC2) even if it has been locked.
  • PowerStrip beta 3.31.379 - PowerStrip provides advanced, multi-monitor, programmable hardware support to a wide range of graphics cards.
  • Nero 5.5.10.20 - Nero (mirror1 ~ mirro2 ~ mirror3 ~ lang.modules) is a flexible, reliable, and easy-to-use application designed to write both data and CD audio to CD-R and CD-RW discs. It supports ISO 9660 images as well as ISO mode 1 and XA mode 2, and allows for on-the-fly disc recording in addition to overburning.
  • Nero CD Speed 1.02e - Nero CD Speed is a utility that tests various parameters of your CD-ROM performance, including, of course, its speed.
  • PlexTools v1.21A, PX-W4012TA Firmware - Download PlexTools v1.21a and PX-W4012TA Firmware v1.05 (adds support for writing up to 99 minutes).
 Gameguru Mania News - Apr,01 2003 - tech
Nightly Tech Reading - tech
(hx) 03:52 AM CEST - Apr,01 2003 - Post a comment
  • XP update bolsters Wi-Fi security - Microsoft on Monday released a Windows XP update designed to enhance security (patch) for computers that connect to wireless networks, but the software is only a part of the Wi-Fi picture. The software update would change how the operating system connects to 802.11, or Wi-Fi, networks or base stations. Under the older method, one encrypted key is used by everyone connecting to the wireless network. The update would provide a means of associating a separate key for each computer connecting to the network, a change that in theory should increase security.
  • New Athlon XP "Thoroughbred B0" 1600+: Another Overclocking Sensation? - Advanced Micro Devices company has added a new processor to the list of its CPUs that utilize Thoroughbred B0 core. From now, all AMD Athlon XP chips with 256KB of L2 cache, including the lower-end 1600+ models that are even absent in the official price-list, use the latest revision of the 0.13 micron core. The new Athlon XP "Thoroughbred B0" has 1.60V core-voltage and dissipates up to 48.5W of heat. Maximum die temperature of the chip is 90 degrees Celsius.
  • More-Than-Personal Laser Printer - The Brother HL-5040 brings new meaning to the phrase personal printer. The unit comes with a 17-page-per-minute (ppm) print engine, a maximum resolution equivalent to 1,200 by 1,200 dots per inch (dpi), and an external Ethernet option that lets you plug directly into a network. And the printer takes up only a 15- by 15-inch square on your desktop-less than most ink jets need after you add room for paper to exit.
    Adobe Launches DVD Editor - With Encore DVD, you can edit a video, create menus, and then use a rewritable DVD drive to burn it onto a DVD disc. With its $549 price tag, however, Encore DVD is aimed squarely at high-end and professional users who already work with video but want to output their productions to DVD as well as video tape. It won't compete with products such as DVD Movie Factory 2 or MyDVD that target home and casual users.
  • Red Hat Linux 9 Officially Released - Red Hat Linux features Bluecurve, an easy-to-navigate interface with intuitively organized menus. Bluecurve has been upgraded in Red Hat Linux 9 and now extends to more areas of the operating system, including the menu and layout of the desktop. Red Hat Linux 9 features include: Red Hat Linux 9 binaries and source code are currently available to Red Hat Network subscribers. To subscribe to Red Hat Network, please visit http://rhn.redhat.com. Red Hat Linux 9 will be widely available at retail locations and for purchase ($149.95) on www.redhat.com on April 7, 2003. Red Hat Linux 9 has a MSRP of $39.95, and includes 30 days of Red Hat Network Basic Service and Web-based support.
  • sendmail 8.12.9 available - Sendmail, Inc., and the Sendmail Consortium announce the availability of sendmail 8.12.9. It contains a fix for a critical security problem discovered by Michal Zalewski whom we thank for bringing this problem to our attention. Sendmail urges all users to either upgrade to sendmail 8.12.9 or apply a patch for your sendmail version that is part of this announcement.
  • OpenZaurus 3.2 - The OpenZaurus project has released OpenZaurus 3.2. OpenZaurus is an alternative GNU/Linux distribution for selected handhelds, primarily the Sharp Zaurus SL-5000d and SL-5500. It replaces the stock ROM image on Zaurus and includes updated versions of most software, while still based on the same core applications.
  • Sorcery on your Pocket PC - As turn-based role playing adventure game, Sorcery PDA is based on Wizards of the Coast's d20 system and D&D rule sets. With an interactive storyline, the player must make decisions that control the adventure - unfolding the mystery - while solving the puzzles of the Orb of Power. Part I of what is expected to become a trilogy contains 14 gaming modules with over 30 quests, and supports Pocket PCs with 8 to 16 colour bit displays.  According to the official web site of the game, Sorcery will be translated into the following languages: French, Chinese, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish.
  • FlashFXP v2.0 Build 909 Beta 5 - FlashFXP is the most powerful and popular FTP & FXP Client for Microsoft Windows 9x/Me/NT/2000/XP on the market today.
  • ZoneAlarm v 3.7.159 - ZoneAlarm (download) provides solid PC protection for the home user. It's free for personal and non-profit use (excluding government and educational entities).
  • QuickTime 6.1 - This latest release(Win32) of Apple's cutting-edge digital media software for both Mac and Windows-based computers delivers unparalleled quality for creating, playing and streaming audio and video content over the Internet.
  • Gainward ExperTool v3.06 - Gainward have released a new version of their tweaking tool - ExperTool v3.06.
  • Intel Chipset Identification Utility 2.81 - The Intel Chipset Identification Utility provides an easy way to identify the specific Intel chipset that is located on your motherboard.
  • NVIDIA Linux drivers - NVIDIA has release some new Linux Drivers v1.0-4349 (IA32 => Standard). The drivers features GeForce FX and Quadro FX support as well as support for Red Hat 9.0 and Mandrake 9.1.
  • TerraTec Soundcard Drivers -  TerraTec's website has some new WDM drivers and control panel.
  • Canon Scanner Drivers - Canon UK has released new drivers version 7.0.3.0.
  • TechSpot.com device drivers section up - With almost 1,000 drivers to choose from already and updated daily.
 Gameguru Mania News - Mar,31 2003 - tech
Sunday Tech Reading - tech
(hx) 01:36 AM CEST - Mar,31 2003 - Post a comment
  • Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life  - Get an advance look at Angelina Jolie in the coming sequel 'Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life. In this installment of Lara Croft's ongoing adventures, the intrepid tomb raider searches for an infamous site known as "The Cradle of Life" and shows off -- jet skiing, riding horses, and racing motorcycles through exotic locations like Hong Kong, Wales, Greece and Kenya.
  • Linux Running on Xbox Without Modchip - It looks like people on xbox-scene.com and xboxhacker.net managed to run Xbox-Linux on a non-modded Xbox console. It requires no soldering at all - you don't even have to open up the Xbox. They are using an exploit in the saved game handling of the EA xbox game '007 Agent Under Fire'. It requires the original version of the 007 game and a memorycard you can connect to PC like the mega-X-key or datel's action replay. Apparently you can even build this memorycard yourself using a standard USB memstick." (thanks Slashdot.org)
  • Been thinking about...NVIDIA's NV35 editorial - Digital Silence has posted a short but quite interesting editorial on NVIDIA's upcoming NV35.
  • ReactOS 0.1.1 - ReactOS is an Open Source effort to develop a quality operating system that is compatible with Windows NT applications and drivers.
  • Connect Mandrake 9 to a Win2k Machine - This article applies to Mandrake 9.0, which by the way, totally rocks.
  • Windows XP SP2 Build 1185 - TechConnect has now offers the newest build of the Windows XP Service Pack 2. This time it's version 1185 and includes the patches and updates released until now. This build can be installed by simply running the EXE. This is alpha sotware, please use caution when installing it on your system. Install it only at your own risk.
  • Ad Muncher 4.5 Build 5814 Beta - Ad Muncher (download) is a program for Windows systems which removes adverts, popups and general browsing annoyances from all popular browsers and web-utilizing programs (as well as most banner displaying and popup generating programs like ICQ, Morpheus, Kazaa, Grokster, Opera, iMesh, Bearshare, LimeWire, etc).
  • BurnAtOnce 0.96 Out - Burnatonce is a CD burning tool that can burn audio and data CDs, create ISO and CUE images, copy CDs on-the-fly, and more.
  • Nic's XviD Codec Build 30-03-2003 -  XviD (download) is a video codec just like DivX.
  • Privacy Inspector 1.40 - Privacy Inspector (download) cleans up your tracks left by Windows,your browser and many other programs. Save storage space and improve performance of your computer.
  • Compaq ATI Mobility Radeon 9000 & Mobility FireGL 9000 Driver - Compaq has released some new Windows XP video driver and utility for the ATI Mobility Radeon 9000 ~ Mobility FireGL 9000 graphics subsystem.
 Gameguru Mania News - Mar,29 2003 - tech
Saturday Tech Madness - tech
(hx) 02:55 PM CET - Mar,29 2003 - Post a comment
  • Electrifying claims for DNA are dashed - Can DNA conduct electricity? Some physicists claim it is a superconductor. Others believe it does not conduct electricity at all. And biologists have agonised about how conductivity might affect its function.
  • Workers are gamers in office hours - One in four employees admits to installing games on their work computers, according to a research.
    And more than half of IT managers report that employees are accessing online game sites at work, according to data from internet access management company Websense. The research found that employees are bored with Solitaire and are turning instead to games such as Quake, EverQuest and Snood during working hours.
  • Sanyo Electric develops new blue-violet laser for dual-layer Blue-ray discs  - Sanyo Electric announced the development of semiconductor blue-violet laser with improved radiation power for Blue-ray recorders. The power input of new 405nm laser reaches 100mW in impulse making it suitable for new dual-layer disc recording. Power input of similar previous-generation lasers hasn't exceeded 50mW. Sampling will start in July, volume being scheduled to early October 2003. (thanks Digit-Life)
  • NEC Mitsubishi releases new MultiSync LCD1980S monitor  - NEC-Mitsubishi Electronics Display (NEC-Mitsubishi Electronics Display of America) released new 19" professional monitor - NEC MultiSync LCD1980SX – to be levelled with 18" NEC MultiSync LCD1880SX and 20" NEC MultiSync LCD2080UX. For the novelty the company plans aggressive pricing about $1000 in retail. (thanks Digit-Life).
  • Acer to launch new PDA under US$288 in April  - Acer announced yesterday that it will launch a new PDA product - the n10 - priced below NT$10,000 (about US$288) in Taiwan. The product, to be launched in April, will target the medium-range to low-end markets. According to the company, the n10 is geared toward the younger generation with its fashionable looks and affordable price. The model contains a full suite of handheld Microsoft Office applications, eBook reader, embedded games, photo viewer, video player and MP3 player.
  • Digital Media Receiver and Hub, Combined - In the fast-growing arena that includes media hubs (appliances for distributing multimedia content) and digital media receivers, there's a new device with an interesting twist: the Onkyo NC-500 Net-Tune ($400 street). This media hub has AM/FM stereo receiver and an Internet radio receiver-most other media hubs let a separate device perform the receiver functions. Against those attributes, three drawbacks will loom large for some users: the NC-500 has wired but not wireless Ethernet, doesn't display digital photos on your TV, and suffers from a clunky interface. But those who just want MP3 audio delivered reliably to their stereo systems may forgive the shortcomings.
  • New build of WinXP SP2 leaks out - Thats right folks, just like Windows XP SP2 and Longhorn a few weeks back another build of Windows XP SP2 has found its way onto the internet . This build  5.1.2600.1185 (xpsp2.030313-1931) is missing most of the meat - Media Player 9, Windows Messenger 5/MSN Messenger6, DirectX 9, Movie Maker 2 and three degrees, so it's largely hotfixes, but some or all of this may change before launch, which is currently scheduled for some time this year. (thanks Neowin.net)
  • Microsoft Acknowledges Glitch in XP SP1 - Microsoft has acknowledged and patched a glitch with its Windows XP Service Pack 1 update that can cause system slowdowns, but has not yet made its still-developing fix widely available. Because of changes made in SP1 to Windows XP's memory management system, programs that affect large blocks of memory may take up to ten times longer to load on a system running SP1 than on one without, Microsoft said.
  • DirectX9.0a Changelog - DX9 Beta News group has posted some sort of explanation, because of the confusion over DX9.0a and the DX9 "March Preview" Beta. "DirectX 9.0a is an updated version of DirectX 9.0 which includes bug fixes and improves performance in the graphics and networking components. There are no new or modified APIs in this release. Specifically, this update includes: Performance enhancement to the runtime texture management in Direct3D, General performance improvements to D3DX, Fix for a potential PSGP memory overwrite in Direct3D, Support for anti-aliased render targets added, Update for DirectPlay to address some network connectivity issues using some UPnP routers. The DirectX Managed Code layer has been removed from this download to minimize the potential download size. This component will continue to be offered as part of the DirectX redistributable for developers to redistribute as required. The DirectX 9.0a redistributable will be available soon. Expected download sizes are now less than 8Mb for the end-user runtime on Windows XP and less than 9Mb for Windows 98 and Me. The developer redistributable is now less than 33Mb. The full SDK download remains the same at approximately 228Mb. We'll mail on here as soon as the developer SDK with the updated runtime redist and symbols is available. To reiterate the version posted currently on the consumer DirectX website is solely for retail runtime bits. Do *not* use this to replace developer debug bits." (thanks Neowin.net)
  • DivX Pro 5.0.4 Schizo beta 3 - The DivX Schizo beta (download) release is a bug fix release for DivX 5.0.3 and includes the first version of the EKG (Electrokompressiongraph) application, a new gadget from the R&D labs of DARC. The EKG enables an advanced video compressionist to reallocate data to specific scenes within a video clip.
  • Fresh UI 5.60 - Fresh UI is a fresh solution for configuring and optimizing Windows. Loaded with hundreds of useful hidden settings this software covers the customizing and optimizing techniques that you'll be glad to know.
  • YahooPOPs! 0.4.2 - YahooPOPs! is an open-source initiative to provide free POP3 access to your Yahoo! Mail account.
  • Nero InCD 3.5.24.0 - Automatically launched when Windows is booted, InCD provides flexible drive letter access to the CD-RW, CD-MRW, DVD+RW or DVD-RW drive providing simple drag and drop or direct save options within applications. Files can be saved, renamed and deleted, just as with other rewritable storage mediums such as floppy or hard disk. InCD uses UDF 1.5 file system, the world standard file format endorsed by OSTA (Optical Storage Technology Association).
  • NeroMIX 1.3.1.11 - NeroMIX combines dynamic CD burning (data, audio, copying) with the newest Internet audio technology, all in one customizable interface.
  • Jet-Audio 5.1 - Jet-Audio (download) features an impressive home audio system interface, including independent A/V components for Digital Signal Processor, Audio CD Player, Digital Audio (MP3, RA, etc.), MIDI (MID, MOD etc.), and Digital Video (AVI, MPG, MOV, etc.), along with a Mixer and a Remote Controller.
 Gameguru Mania News - Mar,28 2003 - tech
Morning Tech Reading - tech
(hx) 01:05 PM CET - Mar,28 2003 - Post a comment / read (2)
  • Software Bug May Cause Missile Errors - U.S. Central Command said that the U.S. military is investigating the possibility that a software problem in the Patriot missile defense system may be responsible for targeting two friendly aircraft, but that other scenarios could just as likely be responsible for the mishaps.  On Sunday, a Patriot missile battery on the Kuwait border accidentally shot down a British Royal Air Force (RAF) Tornado GR-4 aircraft that was returning from a mission over Iraq. Two British pilots were killed in the incident.  Then on Monday a U.S. F-16 fighter jet fired at and destroyed a Patriot battery's radar dish after the pilot said the Patriot had 'locked on' to the plane.
  • NT4.0 too flawed to fix - Although a denial of service risk exists in an "important" security vulnerability, publicized yesterday affecting NT 4.0, Redmond tells users not to expect a patch for that operating system anytime soon. Windows 2000 and XP users do have access to a fix, designed to address a flaw involving Endpoint Mapper, but the best on offer for Win NT users is advice to shelter vulnerable servers behind a firewall.

  • Toshiba PlayStation-on-a-chip company closes - Artile Microsystems Inc., the chip company that promised to bring Playstation-level processing to the embedded world, has shut down and its assets reclaimed by parent Toshiba America Electronic Components.

  • 10 Years With Intel Pentium Processor - On the 22nd March of 1993 Intel Corporation introduced the first ever Pentium processor, so, on the 22nd March of 2003 the brand-name was here for a decade. The evolution of the Pentium processors from 60MHz to 3066MHz through the years is simply amazing both in terms of performance and capabilities. Basically, the whole computer industry evolved with the Pentium and, more importantly, the revolutions are still happening!

  • SSE Technology in New Intel Prescott Processors - Xbitlabs has posted an extensive editorial looking at SSE technology that's going to be implemented when Intel's new Prescott Processors are released.

  • Watercooled Opteron Pics - The Opteron watercooling solution is ready and AMDboard has some photos that show two kind of cooling on Arima and Tyan motherboards and a cluster entirely watercooled. Opteron is set to arrive on the 22 of April.

  • BIT NF7 VDD Mod - The Abit NF7-S rev. 1.2 comes with higher adjustable chipset voltage to help overclockers hit greater FSBs. However, the max of 1.7v is a real let down for high FSB seekers. Thus many resort to soldering a resistor on the pin of an IC chip to help increase chipset (VDD) voltage.  However, for those with a phobia of soldering, here's an easy way out. All you need is a pencil and a multimeter.
  • Windows Server 2003 goes gold - Microsoft is expected to announce on Friday (today) that Windows Server 2003 has completed testing and has been certified final, or gold, code. Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition will sell for $999 with five client-access licenses (CALs), or $1,199 for 10 CALs. The Enterprise Edition will sell for $3,999 with 25 CALs.
  • Flash 6 for Pocket PCs now available - Following up on its commitment to the Pocket PC platform through players for Flash version 4 and 5, Macromedia today announced the immediate availability of Macromedia Flash Player 6 for Pocket PC 2002 (download). The new player brings first-class Flash MX citizenship to owners of Pocket PC 2002 devices, enabling developers and publishers to deploy content and applications based on the MX format on such devices - and users to view it, of course.
  • Media Player Classic 6.4.3.6 - Media Player Classic (download) is similar to windows media player 6.4 but with features pertained to minimalist advanced users. It also supports DirectX 9 and VFW drivers for capture.
  • cladDVD XP 2.98 Beta - CladDVD XP is a 'DVD Ripper', meaning it decrypts the encrypted VOB files off the DVD and saves them to your hard drive.

  • 1by1 1.35 - Tired of creating and updating playlists to listen to your audios? 1by1 is a very small sized player which is not only small: It plays whole directories without any playlist. Navigating through your tracks has never been so easy. In addition, you can also download 1by1 command set for IRAssistant (a nice tool to control applications with an IR remote controller), mpglib.dll (Decoding library for MPEG Layer III and Layer II. Needed if you don't use an MP3 ACM or MP3 Plugin),  Compressor & Wider WinAmp DSP plugin (audio enhancer).

  • AntiVir Personal Edition 6.18.15.69 - The AntiVir Personal Edition (download) offers the effective protection against computer viruses for the individual and private use on a single PC-workstation. The private and individual use of the AntiVir Personal Edition is completely free of charge.
  • XP Skins 1.1 -  XP Skins is free tool for making your old programs look great on Windows XP.
  • LimeWire 2.9.6 - LimeWire (download) is a software package which enables individuals to search for and share computer files with anyone on the internet. A product of Lime Wire, LLC, LimeWire is compatible with the Gnutella file-sharing protocol and can connect with anyone else running Gnutella-compatible software.
  • VMware 4.0 Release Candidate 2 (build 4388) - VMware Workstation (Win32 ~ Linux.tar ~ Linux.rpm ~ get S/N)  is virtual machine software for technical professionals. It lets you run multiple versions of operating systems simultaneously on a single computer. Quit wasting time configuring hardware, installing software, rebooting/reconfiguring systems.
  • Opera 7.03 & 6.06b - Opera Software has released secruity updates for it's latest and most stable browsers Opera v6.06b: with Java ~ w/o Java and Opera v7.03: with Java ~ w/o Java.
  • kX Project Drivers 5.00.3531 Beta  - The kX Audio Driver is an independent WDM (Windows Driver Model) driver for all EMU10K1 and EMU10K2-based soundcards manufactured by Creative Technology Ltd. and/or E-mu Sytems Inc., including the SoundBlaster Live! series, the E-mu Audio Production Studio (APS) card, and the Audigy series of cards.
  • S3/VIA Drivers - S3 Graphics has released some new drivers: SuperSavage WinXP/2k v12.90.89 ~ Logo'd: SuperSavage Win9x v12.32.26 ~ Logo'd: ProSavageDDR WinXP/2K v13.94.07 NoIshld ~ Logo'd: ProSavageDDR WinXP/2K v13.94.07 Rotation ~ Logo'd: ProSavageDDR WinXP/2K v13.94.07 TVLargeFont ~ Logo'd: ProSavageDDR WinXP/2K v13.94.07 w/Util. (thanks SavageNews)
  • SiS AGP Driver 1.15 WHQL - SiS has issued a new AGP driver v1.1 (SiS540, SiS630, SiS630ET, SiS630E, SiS630S, SiS630ST, SiS635, SiS645, SiS645DX, SiS648, SiS650, SiS651, SiS730S, SiS730SE, SiS735, SiS740, SiS745).
 Gameguru Mania News - Mar,27 2003 - tech
Nvidia Detonator Drivers v43.45 - tech
(hx) 05:30 PM CET - Mar,27 2003 - Post a comment / read (1)
NVIDIA has finally released official Detonator reference drivers v43.45 for WinXP/2K and Win95/98/ME. "Nvidia's Detonator graphics driver is an industry standard for the graphics software industry. Based on the Nvidia unified driver architecture (UDA), the Detonator driver is both forward and backward compatible - across all implementations of Nvidia graphics processing units (GPUs)"
  • The industry’s best Microsoft® DirectX® 9 support
  • GeForce FX and Quadro FX support for cinematic computing
  • Ultimate “The Way It’s Meant to be Played” experience
  • NVIDIA’s patented Unified Driver Architecture (UDA) – supports all products in a single driver binary
  • nView™ 2.0 multi-display technology increases productivity and provides the necessary tools to control the way users access and view applications.
  • NVRotate™ enabling image rotation on today’s advanced flat panel displays.
  • NVKeystone™ allows for real-time image correction on portable projectors and heads-up displays.
  • Digital Vibrance Control™ allows users to adjust color controls to achieve accurate, bright colors under all conditions.
Morning Tech Reading - tech
(hx) 02:04 PM CET - Mar,27 2003 - Post a comment
  • Al-Jazeera Sites Hit With Denial-of-Service Attacks - The Arab satellite television network Al-Jazeera suffered a second day of sustained distributed denial-of-service (DDOS) attacks against its English- and Arabic-language Web sites on Wednesday. The attacks have pushed the network, which is based in Doha, Qatar, off the Web for the time being and forced Al-Jazeera to increase bandwidth for the sites and step up security in a desperate effort to get back online.
  • TextMaker Office Suite for Linux Unveiled - Consumers and small businesses seeking a desktop word processing program that looks and works much like Microsoft's Word but costs only a fraction as much can take a peek at the beta 2 version of TextMaker for Linux. The software, which runs on the open-source Linux operating system, is available through May 31 as a free beta download on the Web site of its developer, SoftMaker Software. TextMaker for Linux will start shipping worldwide on June 1 for about $50, Kotulla said. Users can purchase the product directly from the company's Web site.
  • Game Boy's new look - What other offerings are included in this pocket-sized device with a sticker price of approximately $100? Shoe pointed out it has increased battery life. He also mentioned the gadget's face-lift in the form of a more sophisticated look. He compared this look to a stylish fold-up cell phone or a personal digital assistant -- done to put SP's in the hands of an older audience. For those foaming at the mouth to upgrade, you'll still be able to play your old games on the new machine. Nintendo has said all current and future Game Boy Advance games will be compatible with the SP and likewise. Virtually all SP games will be compatible with the Advance.
  • Multiplayer game trial using GPRS connection - The Java Games developer, Macrospace is running a free global trial of its new CannonsME wireless Java game. The game allows up to 4 players to play an arcade classic against each other over today's GPRS networks. The trial is focused on Nokia Series 40 and 3G handsets (5100, 6100, 6610, 6650, 7210, 7250) and the Nokia 3510i. But versions for generic Java devices (e.g. the Motorola T720) and the Sharp GX10 are also available. (thanks CN)
  • Siemens SX1, M56, SL56 coming to the U.S. - The tri-band GSM 900/1800/1900 MHz SX1, Siemens' first Series 60 phone, sports a rather unusual design where the device has strips of keys built into each side of the phone rather than an ordinary keypad. Sporting a 16-bit color display, the SX1's embedded software includes a full PIM suite, support for SMS, MMS and e-mail (POP3/IMAP4/SMTP) messaging, as well as camcorder and picture management applications to handle the input from the built-in digital camera. Also on the feature list: Bluetooth, GPRS, J2ME, WAP 2.0 and desktop synchronization.
  • Lower energy power management for cell phones - The AT73C202 features a low-voltage 1.8V/300mA high-efficiency DC-to-DC converter, a set of 7X Low Drop Out Voltage Regulators, a Battery Charger, a 2.8V/1.8V SIM level shifter interface, a backup battery charger-regulator and also all the circuitry that enables the DC-to-DC converter soft start, reset generation, power supply sequencing, temperature and voltage supervision and other features. The sleep and low-power modes have been optimized in order to achieve extremely low current consumption (15uA max).
  • New cheap cameras for cellphones - Agilent Technologies has announced a new family of fully integrated CMOS camera modules that can be easily designed into mobile phones. Because they are fully integrated and require no external components, the new modules reduce time to market for handset and PDA designers. Agilent's new camera modules combine high image quality CIF or VGA resolution CMOS image sensors with a tightly integrated image processor, an embedded power supply and high-quality lens to offer a complete imaging solution.
  • Cirrus Logic to enable low-end DVD players with DivX - Cirrus Logic Inc. has licensed the DivX video codec from DivX Networks (San Diego, California) for both its high end and single-board DVD processor families. The deal would usher in the first sub-$149 DVD players that support DivX-enabled content by late 2003.
  • Intel Chipset Release Schedule - If you are interested in what chipset plans Intel has in store for us, check Adrian's Rojak Pot latest Intel's Chipset Release Schedule.
  • Samsung SyncMaster 172T LCD Review  - EnvyNews look at the SyncMaster 172T 17-inch LCD display. Featuring top-of-the-line features and specifications, this display will please corporate users and home end-users alike. Sporting a fancy-shmancy stand that allows the 172T to lie completely flat, this display is ideal for the small form-factor (SFF) power-user wishing for total portability for the entire system.
    AOpen HP-590 Vibrating Headphones video-review -     The AOpen HP-590 Vibrating Headphones are stylish, compact and offer great quality sound for music and/or gaming. One very interesting feature with this product is a vibration speaker which provides terrific bass response. These headphones have LAN party written all over them. Watch the Video to find out more...
  • Crucial Radeon 9700 Pro & Sapphire 9500 Pro comparison - TechSpot has posted a Crucial Radeon 9700 Pro & Sapphire 9500 Pro comparison.
  • Mandrake 9.1 Review - Without a doubt this is the most polished and professional looking release of Mandrake yet. The hardware detection is superb and with the exception of closed-source nvidia drivers, the installer had no problem configuring my hardware. For reference, a quick summary of my hardware is listed at the end of this review. The default look of KDE 3.1 blew me away...
  • Windows XP: Patch: Flaw In Remote Procedure Call Could Enable Denial Of Service Attacks - A security issue has been identified that could allow an attacker to cause a computer running Windows XP to fail. You can help protect your computer by installing this update.
  • Windows Media Player 9 Patch - The patch updates Wmvcore.dll from the original WMP9 version 9.0.0.2980 to 9.0.0.3001. Bugfix: Hardware-Created ASF Files Stop Playing in Media Player 9 Series.
  • DVDxCopy to version 1.5 - DVDxCopy is one the tools currently available to make backups of your DVD movies.
  • OpenOffice 1.1 Beta Build 644m7 - OpenOffice.org (Win32 ~ Linux) is the open source project through which Sun Microsystems is releasing the technology for the popular StarOffice productivity suite. It is an international office suite that will run on all major platforms and provide access to all functionality and data through open-component based APIs and an XML-based file format. The OpenOffice.org project establishes the necessary facilities to make this open source technology available to the developer community.
  • Application Compatibility Analyzer 1.0 - The Microsoft Application Compatibility Analyzer gathers application inventory information from network computers and compiles this data into reports showing the application compatibility status by computer, department, or application. The tool solves many problems encountered during the early phases of software deployment.
  • DirectX 9.0a End-User Runtime Back Online - Download DirectX 9.0a English (2003-03-26).DirectX 9.0a was previously removed because of an incompatibility with ATI Catalyst 3.1 drivers, Catalyst drivers 3.2 were unaffected.
  • Logitech v9.76 - Logitech has just released new drivers v9.76 for its mouse, trackball...
  • nForce/2 Drivers v2.03 (Win9x/Me) - NVIDIA has released new nForce/2 drivers version 2.03 WHQL - Unified Component Drivers 2.03 for Win9x/Me ~ Unified Display Drivers 2.03 WHQL for Win9x/Me.
 Gameguru Mania News - Mar,26 2003 - tech
Morning Tech Reading - tech
(hx) 12:12 PM CET - Mar,26 2003 - Post a comment
  • Windows 2000 Security Flaw Worse Than First Thought - A Microsoft security flaw announced last week is much more serious than initially thought, several security companies have said.  It's important that businesses apply a new patch to all Windows 2000 systems, advisories state -- not just those running Microsoft's IIS Web server software.
  • Microsoft Sets Limits to Stop Spam - Microsoft has reduced the number of e-mail messages that Hotmail users can send each day to 100 in an effort to prevent spammers from using the service to export spam. The cap, put in place earlier this month, only applies to users of the company's free Hotmail e-mail service, not to MSN 8 subscribers or to users who pay for MSN Extra Storage, a Microsoft spokesperson said Tuesday.
  • RTCW Deathmatch for $  - YouPlayGames announced that it has signed an exclusive deal with id Software and Even Balance, Inc. to offer Return to Castle Wolfenstein as the premiere title available through the company's new skill-based online gaming service. Through the agreement, gamers at any skill level can play Return to Castle Wolfenstein and vie against each other over the Internet for the opportunity to win money and prizes. Participants who connect to YouPlayGames' servers to play Return to Castle Wolfenstein will be required to have the latest version of Even Balance's PunkBuster Anti-Cheat software on their systems in order to compete.
  • EarthLink Speeds Its Dial-Up Service -  EarthLink today officially launched a "Plus" version of its Internet access software, which enables dial-up users to surf the Net at up to five times the standard rate. EarthLink Plus is powered by Propel Software's Web accelerator, which reduces the size of Web pages and Web elements sent to users' browsers, allowing users to surf faster, EarthLink said.
  • Nintendo Ups Game Boy's Allowance - Nintendo says it has invested heavily in a redesigned version of its top-selling Game Boy Advance to boost sales in the vital but struggling European and American markets.  In Europe, Nintendo has shipped 400,000 units of Game Boy Advance SP, an upgrade of the Game Boy Advance, ahead of its March 28 launch. The new device had a March 23 U.S. debut.  The company will spend $32 million in Europe alone to market the product, which features a rechargeable battery, a brightly lit screen and a sleeker metallic-look finish to appeal to an older consumer base.
  • IBM to produce Nvidia chips - Nvidia has signed a pact with IBM Microelectronics to help it avoid putting all of its graphics chips in one basket. The chipmaker on Wednesday will announce an agreement in which IBM will serve as an additional manufacturer for the GeForce family of graphics chips. Nvidia's current manufacturer is TSMC.  Nvidia wanted more manufacturing capacity and was looking to avoid the pitfalls of working with just one producer, said Nvidia spokesman Derek Perez.
  • Bye-Bye CD-RW? - Today, a top 52X/24X/52X CD-RW drive costs less than $150. But for $100 more, you can get a DVD burner with CD-RW functionality. If you add another $50, you can buy a fast, new rewritable DVD drive like Pioneer's DVR-A05.
  • SPD Performance on a 333 MHz FSB nForce2? - This review will deal with four RAM manufacturers: Corsair, Kingston, Mushkin, and OCZ. This is not a standard RAM review, in which a recently received stick of RAM is tested in a few benchmarks and results proclaimed; all of the RAM we'll discuss has been in our labs at least six weeks, with some of it present as long as four months.
  • Serial ATA Adapter Review - OCIA checks out a Serial ATA Adapter in their latest review.
  • Kingston 5GB DataPak PC Card HDD & Reader Review - Mikhailtech has posted a Kingston 5GB DataPak PC Card HDD & Reader review.
  • Linksys WRTG54 Wireless-G Broadband Router Review  - Linksys' WRT54G Wireless-G Broadband Router seems to have taken the lead over its sibling WAP54G Access Point. Although it's priced about the same, it has a key difference that you should know about before you buy. Read our review to make an informed purchase.
  • 9700 Pro to 9800 Pro SoftMod & Catalyst Driver Comparison - There comes a time when the past product has to be pulled from the shelf, dusted off and re-benchmarked with the latest drivers. This time we are going to share our findings with you as we move from ATI's Catalyst 2.3 drivers to the Catalyst 3.2 drivers and if our softmod 9700 Pro to a 9800 Pro got us some "free stuff!"
  • Mandrake Linux 9.1 - Mandrake Linux 9.1 (Bamboo) is now officially available at a number of FTP mirrors.
  • Microsoft Pulls DirectX 9.0a - Shortly after the initial release of the silent update, the Redmond based company removed the download. Now the website just displays a message that The download you requested is unavailable.
  • iuVCR v4.7.0.282 - iuVCR is a Windows 2000/XP intended video recording program. Have a TV tuner or a video capture card installed on your Windows 2000 or XP system? Now you can easily record your favorite TV programs and videos in *.AVI or *.WMV format. iuVCR has got a simple and plain interface, allows to capture video of any format, resolution and duration, can automatically start when scheduled and has a number of other useful features.
  • PowerStrip 3.31.375 Beta  - PowerStrip (download) provides advanced, multi-monitor, programmable hardware support to a wide range of graphics cards - from the venerable Matrox Millennium I to the latest SiS Xabre. It's the only program of its type to support multiple graphics cards from multiple chipset vendors, simultaneously, under every Windows operating system from Windows 95 to XP. This new version adds GeForce FX support.
  • Hmonitor 4.1.2.4 - Hmonitor (download) has much more functions than MotherBoard Monitor, for example, including thermocontrol features and COM/PerfMon API support.
  • MSN Messenger Service 5.0.0540 (official) - Windows Messenger 5 (Win98/ME ~ WinXP ~ Win2K/NT4SP6 ) supports 3 instant messaging services: MSN .NET, Exchange IM (part of Exchange 2000), and RealTime Communication Server (RTC, codename Greenwich). RTC uses an Internet-standard IM protocol called SIP (Session Initation Protocol).
  • Gainward Detonator 43.03 Drivers + 3D Stereo - Gainward have released a new set of Nvidia Detonator 43.03 drivers (Win9x/ME ~ 2k/XP ~ Stereo3D driver)
 Gameguru Mania News - Mar,25 2003 - tech
Morning Tech Reading - tech
(hx) 01:22 PM CET - Mar,25 2003 - Post a comment / read (2)
  • Sony's New Humanoid Robot SDR-4X II - Sony introduces at the Robodex 2003 it's new version of the humanoid Robot SDR-4X. The new version SDR-4X II has improved movement functions, safety functions and conversation capabilities. The new speech processor supports continuous speech recognition with about 20,000 words. The Sony SDR-4X II is about 580x190x270mm in size and weighs about 7kg (PR)
  • New Windows Flaw Disclosed by Microsoft - Security experts say the latest Windows vulnerability revealed last week by Microsoft Corp. has already been used by crackers to attack at least one machine belonging to the U.S. Army. And, it turns out, the flaw used to attack the Web server was discovered not by Microsoft or independent researchers but by the attacker himself.
  • War on Warez - Managers of websites offering illegal business software could face criminal proceedings under new laws due to come into effect from the end of this month, the Federation Against Software Theft (FAST) warned yesterday. The new law, precipitated by the EU's Information Society Directive, makes it an offence to "communicate to the public" copyright works, such as software, if the person knew or had reason to believe that this would infringe copyright.
  • Germany restricts game it says glorifies war - Electronic Arts says it is caught in the crossfire between the German and United States governments over the Iraq war. This month, the German government listed a new game produced by Electronic Arts on an index of games the government considers violent. Such games may not be advertised or displayed on shelves in Germany, although they may be kept under store counters and sold to adults. The game, Command & Conquer Generals, depicts an animated siege of Baghdad, with the United States military battling a fictional terrorist group called the Global Liberation Army, which bombs the city with missiles carrying anthrax, killing civilians.
  • University course to tackle hacking - Microsoft has formally joined forces with the University of Leeds to develop what it believes will be the UK's first undergraduate computer security module. The course aims to provide developers with the knowledge they need to identify potential weaknesses that could be exploited by hackers or virus writers. The final course, provisionally entitled Secure Computing, is about one year from completion.
  • Telewest to trial 2Mb home service - Telewest is to trial a 2Mb broadband cable service aimed at home users. The cableco is looking to recruit around 1,500 customers of its existing 1Mb broadband service and upgrade them to the 2Mb service. If the trial proves successful, then the 2Mb service could be made available for people in Telewest franchise areas later this year. Pricing for the new service has yet to be confirmed.
  • AMD claims Intel chipsets cause system crashes - Chip firm AMD has quietly dissed its much bigger competitor Intel by claiming that the latter's 845G/GL chipset crashes peoples' machines. According to a competitive notice on its website, aimed at its resellers and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), Intel's "extreme graphics" technology "struggles and even fails" to run some popular software packages.
  • Micron intros 512Mb DDR400 part - Memory maker Micron has launched its 0.11 micron high density 512Mb 400MHz DDR SDRAM chip, the company said yesterday. The chip is fully compliant with JEDEC's DDR 400 specification, said Micron. DDR 400 has yet to become an approved JEDEC standard, however.
  • DDR Guide II Updated - Overclockers New Zealand has updated their DDR Guide II with new RAMs from AData (Samsung TCC4 chip) and TwinMOS (Winbond BH-5 chip).
  • Mobile Graphics - DX9 on the Go - In recent weeks, ATI and NVIDIA have been flooding the world with announcements of new 3D chips in the desktop segment. At CeBIT, in a change of tactics, we saw both companies come up notebook versions of their desktop behemoths with ATI's Mobility Radeon 9600 and NVIDIA's GeForce FX G05600/5200. Desktop DirectX 9 acceleration is coming to laptops, and we take a restricted early look at this sea change in mobile graphics..
  • DVD-ROM 16x roundup  - Two "drivers" are the two biggest companies - Pioneer and Sony. There is no segment of the DVD market where these two companies have not clashed. Naturally, everybody is more interested in the current battle between DVD-R/RW (Pioneer) and DVD+R/RW (Sony) standard. Interesting thing, however, is that these two bitter enemies are often cooperating, at least when it comes to certain DVD player models.
  • AMD roadmap slots 400MHz FSB Athlon XP launch in April/May - Japanese Web site PC Watch has posted what it claims is the latest iteration of AMD's roadmap. Essentially, AMD will launch the Barton-based Athlon XP with 512KB of L2 cache and a 400MHz FSB late April/early May. Performance ratings will range to at least 3200+.  AMD has already announced it will launch the 64-bit Opteron (aka Sledgehammer on 22 April). Barton-based uni- and dual-processor Athlon MPs will a appear sooner: we should see them before the end of March, the roadmap suggests.
  • Exchange 2000 Post-Service Pack 3 (SP3) Rollup Patch  - This patch resolves problems that were found in the Exchange 2000 since SP3 was released.
  • Windows Messenger 4.7.2005 for WinXP  - This update improves security in Windows Messenger, removes 'Make a Phone Call' feature.
  • Gameboy Emulator For The Nokia 7650 v1.2 -  Wildpalm released the first FREE Gameboy Emulator for mobile phones!
  • VMware 4.0 Release Candidate 1 (build 4320) - VMware Workstation (Win32 ~ Linux/tar.gz ~ Linux/rpm ~ changelog ~ reg.for.trial S/N)- is virtual machine software for technical professionals. It lets you run multiple versions of operating systems simultaneously on a single computer. (thanks SavageNews).
  • Coding Workshop Ringtone Convertor 4.2.1 - The Ringtone Converter (download)  is a software program for both Microsoft Windows and Apple Mac systems that allows you to add new ringtones to your mobile phone without the need for cables or expensive premium rate SMS services. 
  • Direct X 9.0a updated - Microsoft has updated DirectX to version 9.0a.  This release also resolves an issue with DirectX 9.0 where some multiplayer games or MSN Messenger may not work correctly. A number of minor bugs were also resolved.
 Gameguru Mania News - Mar,24 2003 - tech
Morning Tech Reading - tech
(hx) 12:36 PM CET - Mar,24 2003 - Post a comment
  • Microsoft told to drop 'misleading' ad  - Microsoft claimed in an advertisement that its software is so secure, it will make hackers extinct. As it turned out, it was the ad which bit the dust.  This controversial advertisement, which was published in the November issue of Time magazine and tech digest ITWeb Brainstorm, featured three extinct animals--a dodo, a woolly mammoth and a saber-tooth tiger--as well as a caricature of a hacker.
  • Dell, IBM Ship Competing Laser Printers - Dell this week makes its first venture into the printer market, releasing a line of printers developed with Lexmark and going up against some established players. Among the new business printers, its new S2500n workgroup laser runs smack up against IBM's very similar Infoprint 1222dn. Both are based on Lexmark's T420d and have identical control panels and produce 600-dpi resolution. Their paper-handling capabilities are similar, and both use some Lexmark software.
  • Hauppauge WinTV-PVR-250 Personal Video Recorder - Sudhian Media has published a review on the Hauppauge WinTV-PVR-250 Personal Video Recorder.
  • Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9 80G SATA Drive - Hardware has posted a review on the Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9 80G SATA Drive. This drive is the fastest Desktop/Workstation class product they've seen in a long time.
  • AOpen HP-590 Music & Gaming Headphones with Vibration Bass Review - "Once I understood what I was looking for in these speakers I went back and listened to more music and played a few other games, constantly cranking the volume higher and higher and the AOpen HP-590's started really rocking. It was like having a subwoofer inside the headphones and I began to realize while this wasn't a ground breaking technology it was a cool effect."
  • Building a Media PC - Ever wanted a PC to sit underneath your TV, that works as a TIVO, Divx Player, Web Surfer, Mp3 Player, DVD Player? Well our latest project shows you just what you need to build one of these little wonders for under $500.
  • BIOS Optimization Guide Revision 7.5 - Adrian's Rojak Pot posted the new REVISION 7.5 BIOS OPTIMIZATION GUIDE with 12 new or updated BIOS options.
  • How to Choose the Best AMD Athlon XP Thoroughbred for Overclocking - Make sure you have AMD Athlon XP Thoroughbred processor with B0 core stepping. To determine it, check the CPU ID of your chip with appropriate software, such as WCPUID by H. Oda. If the CPU ID is 681, then you have the Athlon XP processor based on the Thoroughbred B0 core. If it is not, it means you have something else. The information below seems to be correct only for AMD Athlon XP Thoroughbred processors with B0 core stepping. Note that microprocessors based on Palomino core or Thoroughbred A0 core are rather poor for overclocking.
  • Windows XP Home/Pro Post Service Pack 1 Updates Chart -  This article will list all downloadable software packages, due to the fact that WindowsUpdate does not include many of the hotfixes that are available separately.
  • DivX Schizo Beta 1 - This version fixes lots of bugs found in DivX Pro 5.0.3 (download), and it adds a new tool, EKG , that helps manually change the bitrate distribution for multi-pass encoding. The Beta program is free and open to everyone. The beta is limited to 30 days beginning on the day of installation.
  • XviD Codec Build 22.03.2003.1420 (unstable) - XviD (download ~ changelog) is a video codec just like DivX, most new movies and videos are being encoded with XviD.
  • K-Lite Codec Pack 2.01 Final - The Final Builds of the K-Lite Codec Pack 2.01 (mirror) are available. These are the public versions. Uninstall the old version first.
  • cladDVD XP 2.97 Beta -  CladDVD XP is a "DVD Ripper", meaning it decrypts the encrypted VOB files off the DVD and saves them to your hard drive. The files can be ripped in a standard way preserving the original content along with the IFO, useful when you use or need to use a 3rd party application to process the VOB files.
  • WinAmp 2.9 beta 2 - Nullsoft WinAmp is a fast, flexible, high-fidelity music player for Windows. WinAmp supports MP3, CD, Audiosoft, Audio Explosion, MOD, WAV and other audio formats, custom appearances called skins, plus audio visualization and audio effect plug-ins.
  • WinAmp Plug-In File Writer 1.15 - Version 1.15 of the File Writer Plug-In for Nullsoft's WinAmp is released. At this moment it will let you specify a directory to write files in, it will let you choose between the raw, ape, mp3, ogg and wave file formats and it supports three different modes for creating a filename, just title simply uses the title as a filename, expanded title uses the title but expands some variables just like with the title option of the LineIn plugin, the expandable string option enables you to specify an expandable string which is used to create the filename (usefull with a setting like: %ut - on %dl), you have to use at least %ut (unexpanded title), %et (expanded title) or %p# with that option, %p# expands to the playlist position (padded with zeroes upto # digits).
  • NFR v0.6 - NFR v0.6 has been released, featuring bug-fixes, enhancements and more. NFR now has new name NVIDIA File Remover > Nasty File Remover (for copyright reasons etc). NFR can remove NVIDIA driver files from users system folder (non-recursive), it supports all known windows versions and detonator versions.
  • Intel Chipset Installation Utility 5.00.1012 - The Intel Chipset Software Installation Utility installs to the target system the Windows* INF files that outline to the operating system how the chipset components will be configured. This is needed for the proper functioning of the following features:Core PCI and ISAPNP Services, AGP Support, IDE/ATA33/ATA66/ATA100 Storage Support, USB Support, Identification of Intel Chipset Components in the Device Manager, etc.
  • CPUCooL 7.20 Final - CPUCooL (download) has been updated. What is CPUCool? CPUCooL is a program that monitors temperature, fan speed, and voltages for many motherboards. It provides Cpu cooling under Win9x/2000/XP/NT, allows FrontSideBus changing, optimizes your memory and CPU.
  • Virtual PC 5.2  - Virtual PC for Windows 5 (download trial ~ update) is a powerful software virtualization solution that allows you to run multiple PC-based operating systems and applications on a single workstation resulting in reduced hardware costs and improved productivity. Virtual PC for Windows allows you to create separate "virtual machines" on top of your Windows desktop, where you can install virtually any PC-based operating system including OS/2, Linux, Solaris, NetWare or other versions of Windows.
 Gameguru Mania News - Mar,23 2003 - tech
Weekly Hardware Reviews - tech
(hx) 01:37 AM CET - Mar,23 2003 - Post a comment
  • CPU - AMD Athlon XP-M preview | AMD Athlon MP 2.13GHz | AMD Athlon XP 2700+ | Intel Centrino Mobile Technology | BIOS Optimization Guide Revision 7.5 | Intel Pentium 4 3.06GHz


  • Motherboard - nVidia nForce2 Motherboard roundup | VIA KT400A preview(1) | VIA KT400A Chipset(2) | VIA KT400A Chipset(3) | VIA KN400 Chipset | SiS 746FX Chipset || ABIT BH7 i845PE(1) | Abit BH7 i845PE(2) | AAbit KD7-E VIA KT333 | Abit BG7E i845GE | Abit NF7-S nForce2(1) | Abit NF7-S nForce2 (2) | Abit NF7-S nForce2(3) | Abit NF7-S nForce2(4) | Abit NF7-S nForce2(5) | AOpen AX4B-533 i845E  | AOpen AX4R Plus Intel E7205 | Asus A7N8X Deluxe nVidia nForce2 | Chaintech 7NJS nForce2 | EPoX 8RGA+ nVidia nForce2 | EPoX 8K9A+ VIA KT400 | EPoX 8K9A2+ VIA KT400 | e-Cube Mini Barebones System | Gigabyte 7VAXP VIA KT400 | Gigabyte 8PE667 Ultra 2 i845PE | Gigabyte 8INXP Intel E7205(1) | Gigabyte SINXP1394 SiS655(2) | Intel i845PE Motherboard roundup | Intel E7205 | MSI 655 Max SiS655 | MSI GNB Max Intel E7205 | MSI MEGA 400 Barebone | Shuttle SB52G2 XPC | Shuttle SN41G2 Barebone | SiS655 Chipset | Soyo KT400 Dragon Ultra Platinum VIA KT400 | Soyo P4I i845PE (1) | Soyo P4I i845PE (2) | Tyan Trinity S2495 VIA KT400 | VIA EPIA-M | VIA P4B Ultra P4X400 (1) | VIA P4B Ultra P4X400(2)


  • RAM - PC2700 DDR333 Memory Comparison | Dual Channel PC3200 RAM roundup | Corsair XMS-3500 Memory | Corsair TwinX PC2700/DDR333 Memory | Corsair XMS3500 vs Kingston KHX3500 | Crucial PC2700/DDR333 CA2.5 Memory | Kingston HyperX 512MB DDR PC3500 Memory | Mushkin EMS PC3500 256MB Memory | OCZ PC3500 Basic Series DDR RAM


  • Storage - DiamondMax Plus 9 320GB SATA-RAID HDD | Seagate Barracuda 7200 HDD (1) | Seagate Barracuda 7200 HDD (2) | Seagate Barracuda V SATA HDD | Seagate 10K.6 147GB Ultra 320 SCSI HDD | Highpoint RocketRAID 1542 eSATA/SATA Adapter & RocketMate 1000 e.SATA to IDE Enclosure (video) || Cendyne 48X12X48 CD-RW | Cyber Drive CW099D CD-RW | Iomega 52x24x52x CD-RW | MSI CR52-A2 52/24/52 CD-RW(1) | MSI CR52-A2 52X CD-RW(2) | Plextor PX-504A DVD+ReWritable Drive | Plextor PX-504A DVD+RW | Samsung SW-252B 52-24-52 CD-RW | Samsung SM-348B DVD/CD-RW | Yamaha CRW-F1 CD-RW || Trek ThumbDrive Secure 16MB | CoolMax USB 2.0 Drive | TX50 64MB USB Drive | Twintech Firefly USBee Flash Drive


  • Video - MSI FX5800 Ultra-TD8X GeForce FX 5800 Ultra | MSI GeForce4 Ti4600-8X | MSI G4MX440-T8X GeForce4 MX440-8X | nVidia GeForce FX 5600 / 5200 Go(1) | nVidia GeForce FX Go(2) | nVidia GeForce FX Go (3) | nVidia GeForceFX 5200 / 5600(1) | nVidia GeForce FX 5200 / 5600 Ultra(2) | nVidia GeForceFX 5800 Ultra(3) | nVidia GeForceFX 5600 / 5200 Ultra(4) | nVidia GeForce FX 5600 / 5200 Ultra(5) | nVidia GeForceFX 5200 / 5600 (6) | nVidia GeForce FX 5600 / 5200 Ultra (7) | nVidia GeForceFX 5200 / 5600 Ultra (8) | MSI GeForceFX 5800 Ultra (9) | Gainward GeForce4 Ti4200-8X || ATi M10 Mobile Graphics | Radeon 9800 Pro vs Geforce FX | Albatron GeForce4 Ti4280 GeForce4 Ti4200-8X | ATi Mobility Radeon 9600(1) | ATi Mobility Radeon 9600(2) | ATi All-in-Wonder Radeon 9700 Pro(video) | ATi All-in-Wonder Radeon 9700 Pro | ATi All-In-Wonder Radeon VE | ATi Radeon 9800 Pro | FIC A95P Radeon 9500 Pro | Gigabyte Maya II R9500 Radeon 9500(1) | Gigabyte Maya II R9500 Radeon 9500(2) | PowerColor Radeon 9700 Pro || DFI Xabre X400-T2 64MB | Key Digital XBlaster


  • Monitor - Planar PL191M 19" LCD Display | Samsung 172B 17" LCD | Samsung SyncMaster 191N LCD | Samsung 172T LCD | 15" LCD roundup (German)


  • Cooling - Shootout Socket A Cooler Shootout | P4 Cooler roundup | 3aCooler Z-Bra Cooler | Aguatec Blue Ice CP-101 Cooler | Asetek's Vapochill Cooling System | AMS gMONO CF-2029 vs CoolerMaster ATC-201C-SX2 |  Coolink U1L2 Cooler | Coolink U1P2 Cooler  | Cooler Master Black Front Bezel | CoolerMaster XDream Cooler | Cooler Master Xdream SE Cooler | Dynatron DC1207BM-X Cooler | Gyrox CP101 Cooler | OCZ Gladiator II Cooler(1) | OCZ Gladiator 2 Cooler(2) | OCZ Dominator 2-CU Cooler(3) | PCToys.com Northbridge Maxx | Pyramid V Fan Scilencer | Speeze Cooler | Swiftech MCX462-T Cooler | TaiSol K7 Cooler | Speeze CoolCat Cooler | Swiftech MCW462-UHT Cooler | Swiftech MCX4000 Cooler | Taisol CMK702151A Copper Cooler | Thermaltake Smart Case Fan 2 | Thermalright SK-6+ Cooler | Thermalright SLK800U Cooler | ThermalTake Volcano 9 CoolMod | Zalman CNPS7000 Cooler | Zalman CNPS5700D-Cu Cooler | Zalman ZM80a-HP Cooler | Zalman's CNPS7000-cu(1) | Zalman CNPS5700D-Cu(2) | Zalman HP80A VGA Cooler


  • WaterCooling - Cooling-Solutions UCD WaterCooler (German) | Danger Den H20 CPU Cooling Kit | Danger Den Water Cooling Kit | EverCool Water Cooler | Mega Tsunami Waterblock | Koolance Exos WaterCooler (German) | Swiftech MCW5000-A Water Block


  • Case - Case roundup  | AMS GBOX Blue Case | Antec PlusView 1000 AMG Case(1) | Antec PlusView 1000 AMG Case(2) | AOpen HX-08 Case | Beantech BT82 Acrylic Case | BeanTech Igloo8 Aluminum Case | Chieftec Black Aluminum Case | Chieftec CS-901 Case(German) | ClearPC Acrylic Computer Case(1) | ClearPC Acrylic Micro-ATX Case(2) | CoolerMaster ATC-220B-VX1 Case | Chieftech DX-01B-DU Case(German) | Enermax Mid-Tower Case | Koolance Exos Case | Lian Li PC-69 Mid-Tower Case | Thermaltake Xaser III (V-1000D) Case | Thermaltake Xaser III Case | TurboCase X-Dreamer Mid-Tower Case | Skyhawk PSR5601 Aluminium Case | SkyHawk Matrix PSR5601SL-W Case | Vexx Alien Green LE Case | Yeong Yang B-0211 Cube Case(1) | Yeong Yang B0221 Case (2)


  • PSU/UPS - Antec TruePower True430 PSU | Fortron/Source FSP350-PN PSU | High Power 420W PSU | Raidmax 400W PSU(video) | Thermaltake Xaser Edition Silent Purepower PSU | TTGI 520SS Quad Fan PSU | Vantec Stealth 470W PSU(1) | Vantec Stealth 470W PSU(2) | Vantec Stealth 420W PSU(3) | Zalman 300W Quiet PSU (video) |


  • Sound - Creative SoundBlaster Audigy 2 Sound Card | Chaintech AV-515M Sound Card | M-Audio Revolution 7.1 Sound Card(1) | M-Audio Revolution 7.1 Sound Card(2) || Altech Lansing 5100 5.1 Speakers | Altec Lansing 2100 2.1 Speakers | Altec Lansing 5100 Enhanced 5.1 Speaker (video) | Klipsch GMX D-5.1 Speaker System | Klipsch ProMedia SWS Subwoofer | Logitech Z-680 Speaker System | Sharkoon Sound Control Extension Kit


  • Peripheral - BTC Russian Keyboard | e-Dimensional E-D Glasses | KeySonic Metal Optical Mouse (German) | Logitech Cordless Keyboards and Mice | Logitech MX500 Cordless Mouse | Logitech MX 700 Cordless Optical Mouse(1) | Logitech MX700 Cordless Optical Mouse(2) | MacAlly iceKey Keyboard | Logitech Momo Racing Wheel | Microsoft Sidewinder Steering Wheel | MS Wireless Optical Desktop | PCXMods X-Trac HS Mousepad | Pyramat PM300 Gamingpad | X-Trac Pro HS Optical Mousepad(1) | X-Trac Zoom Optical Mousepad (2) | Xide-Pad Ultra C-Blue Mousepad | Ratpad GS Gaming Surface(1) | Ratpad GS Gaming Surface(2) | MicroTracker Mousepad


  • Network -  D-Link AirPlus 802.11b Wireless Products | DSL-Router roundup (German) | SanDisk Connect Wireless LAN Card | 802.11g Part 2


  • Modding - 300mm CCFLs | Antec Cobra UV Cable | CoolerMaster Neon LED Fan | CrazyPC Inferno Side Panel | DTek UV CCFL | Extreme Alterations 12 UV CCFL | FlexGlow Dual Bubble Light CCFL Kit | iCute Laser Cut Fan Grills | ITW Vandal Resistant Type 57 Switches | Lian Li Temperature Monitor | Light-Mods.com Dual 12 CCFL Kit | MX 221 Matrix Orbital LCD | Matrix Orbital MX212 LCD-Display | Quad LED 80mm Case Fan | Sound Card Controlled CCFL(1) | Sound Card Controlled CCFL(2) | Speeze NeonBar II | Sunbeam 4 Port Rheobus | Sunbeam 5.25 Rheobus | Sunbeam Blue EL Cable | SVC UV Fan and CCFL | Vantec Nexus Multifunction Panel


  • Miscelanous -
    •  SanDisk ImageMate 6-in-1 Card Reader | Crucial 6 In 1 Card Reader(1) | Crucial 6-in-1 Card Reader(2) | Crucial 6-in-1 Card Reader(3) | Performance Memory 6-in-1 Card Reader | Enermax 3.5 System Monitor Transfer Panel | Fan Mufflers | Extreme Alterations Rounded Floppy Cable |Akasa ATA-45-L Rounded Cables | Vantec EZ-Swap Mobile IDE Rack | ATi Remote Wonder | Xoxide SS Warrior | SunBeamTech El Strip | QuietPC SilentDrive Enclosure | CDM Optics Lens System

  • Notebook, Camera, MP3 players -
    •  Small Form Factor Pentium 4 PC roundup | iAudio CW200 | Minolta Dimage F300 Camera | iRock Bling MP3/CD/FM Player | MSI Metis 266 Slim PC | CubesystemZ CF-S968 System | Pentium-M Notebook | Sony PEG-TG50 | Sony Ericsson T300 Mobile Phone | Axis 2130 PTZ LAN camera
     Gameguru Mania News - Mar,22 2003 - tech
    Nightly Tech Reading - tech
    (hx) 03:13 AM CET - Mar,22 2003 - Post a comment / read (1)
    • Microsoft slashes Japanese Xbox operation - The Japanese arm of Microsoft's Xbox division is to see personnel reductions across the board, as the console continues to struggle in the Far East - but the company denies any scaling back of the Xbox operation itself in the territory. The headcount of the 200-person strong division will be cut by 34, with reductions affecting personnel in both marketing and production. The company claims that these changes are being made to improve the profitability of the business. It's not clear whether the departments affected are purely related to the sales, distribution and promotion of Xbox in Japan, or whether development personnel will also be hit.
    • Office 2003 may pose antivirus problem - The latest test version of Microsoft Office 2003 could cause problems for antivirus companies because the XML-based format it supports will bog down scanning software, according to security experts.  The problem centers on macros embedded in documents in the Office 2003 beta, or test, version. When saved as an XML (Extensible Markup Language) file, the macros can more or less wind up anywhere. This means that scanners must search the entire contents of a file, rather than examine the part of the file where macros are always positioned.
    • Microsoft Warns of Firewall Flaw - Microsoft is warning customers of another security vulnerability, this one affecting its Internet Security and Acceleration Server 2000 firewall and Web cache product. A software flaw was found in the ISA Server's Domain Name Service intrusion detection application filter that could allow an attacker to launch a denial of service attack against the ISA Server that prevents that device from processing DNS requests.
    • Microsoft Asks Colleges to Teach Hacking - Microsoft is working with a number of universities in several countries to set up courses that teach students how to write secure code, the company said Friday. The University of Leeds in England is the first to announce such a course. As part of an 11 week module that will start in January next year, third-year undergraduates at the University of Leeds will be asked to hack into software and fix any security bugs they find, Nick Efford, senior teaching fellow at the School of Computing, University of Leeds, said.
    • CeBIT 2003, full report - Hardware Analysis has published their CeBIT 2003 report with lots of pictures.
    • First Opteron Pricing - After publishing the exclusive Opteron Launch Schedule on the 17th of March and being the first to group all known Opteron distributors in one single page, AMDboard is publishing the first Opteron official price taken from an official price list coming from one of the leading Opteron distributor in the USA.
    • Sweet Hercules Radeon 9800 Pro Card - Hercules has provided a first product shot of their upcoming Radeon 9800 Pro graphics card. The card features a brighter blue PCB than what we are used to from the earlier 9700 Pro and again sports the well received copper cooling solution and memory heatsinks. The card comes at standard clock frequencies: 380Mhz core / 340 memory on a 256bit bus with an initial 128Mbyte setup.
    • Windows XP Embedded with SP1 - Microsoft has released an update for Windows XP Embedded with SP. This update (Q816654) addresses a potential problem when using EWF on certain Windows XP Embedded with SP1 runtimes. In some cases, a blue screen error IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL can occur during EWF usage.
    • History of Windows - Neowin has an article that shows the progression of Microsoft Windows from pre-windows 1.0 through the 2003 server.
    • List of Win2k post SP3 fixes updated - The list of hotfixes released after windows 2000 service pack 3 came out has been updated.
    • Programs Run Slower After You Install Windows XP SP-1 - This problem may occur if the programs you run frequently allocate and deallocate large blocks of memory. Changes in Windows XP SP1 in the memory management system have caused this operation to take significantly longer than with pre-SP1 Windows XP. This fix (isn't publicly available) may receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, Microsoft recommends that you wait for the next Windows XP service pack that contains this fix.
    • ZoneAlarm v3.7.143 (Free) - ZoneAlarm provides solid PC protection for the home user. It's free for personal and non-profit use (excluding government and educational entities.
    • Nullsoft Winamp 2.90 Beta  - Nullsoft has made available Winamp 2.90 Beta (what's new)
    • HyperSnap-DX 5.04.02 - HyperSnap-DX 5 (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 Voodoo and Glide mode games.
     Gameguru Mania News - Mar,21 2003 - tech
    Nightly Tech Reading - tech
    (hx) 02:46 AM CET - Mar,21 2003 - Post a comment
    • Microsoft yet to set date for Opteron 64-bit support  - When Microsoft Corp. rolls out its next big PC server operating system on April 24 it will have versions supporting Intel Corp.'s 64-bit Itanium processor. But the software giant does not expect it will have any public schedule at the event for when it will ship a version supporting the 64-bit capabilities of AMD's Opteron microprocessor to be launched the same week.
    • Internet traffic cops could foil web attacks - Microchip maker Intel says it has come up with a way to automatically thwart distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, in which malicious hackers paralyse a website by flooding it with endless "packets" of junk data.
    • 3GHz CPU in a Notebook - Notebook buyers who can live with 1 to 2 hours of battery life are snapping up portables built around Intel's desktop PC processors (as opposed to Intel's mobile CPUs); this yields fine performance and saves up to $250 in the bargain. One of the first units with the desktop 3.06-GHz Pentium 4 (with HyperThreading) is the WinBook J4 732 3.06 ($3,136 direct).
    • M-Audio Revolution 7.1 PC Surround Sound Card  - The Revolution 7.1 is an audio card boasting 8 available channels of output. The card is based on the Envy 24HT sound chip, and boasts some impressive features.
    • Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9 320GB Serial-ATA RAID-0 Review - EnvyNews has posted a review on the Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9 320GB Serial-ATA RAID-0 harddisk.
    • LAN Camera: Axis 2130 PTZ - Tom's Hardware Guide has posted a review on the Axis 2130 PTZ LAN camera. The Axis 2130 PTZ is a network camera that has pan and tilt functionality built in. It also features a 16x optical zoom for some good close up images.
    • Latest OS Updates - There are recommended updates that you should install if you have Windows XP, 2000, Millennium Edition or 98 Second Edition. KDE 3.1.1 - The KDE Project today announced the immediate availability of KDE 3.1.1, a maintenance release for the third generation of the most advanced and powerful free desktop for Linux and other UNIXes.
    • Apple iPod Software 1.2.6 Update  - iPod Software 1.2.6 (Win32 ~ MacOSX) provides improved battery management which solves a problem that may appear to shorten your iPod's battery life.
    • SPECviewperfR 7.1  - SPECviewperf is a portable OpenGL performance benchmark program written in C. It was developed by IBM. Later updates and significant contributions were made by SGI, Digital (Compaq, HP), 3Dlabs (Creative Labs) and other SPECopcSM project group members. SPECviewperf provides a vast amount of flexibility in benchmarking OpenGL performance. Currently, the program runs on most implementations of UNIX, Windows XP, Windows 2000, and Linux.
    • SecureFX 2.1.4 - The SecureFX (download) client application lets you choose between SFTP or FTP over an encrypted SSH2 connection for secure transfers, or standard FTP for non-secure transfers. It has a simple Explorer-like interface, so it's easy to learn and use.
    • Intel Chipset Installation Utility 5.00.1012 - The Intel Chipset Software Installation Utility (AsusMirror, Fujitsu Mirror) installs to the target system the Windows* INF files that outline to the operating system how the chipset components will be configured.
    • MotherBoard Monitor 5.3.0.0 - Motherboard Monitor (MBM) is a tool that will display information from the sensor chip on your motherboard in your Windows system tray. MBM supports a wide range of Chipsets & Sensor Chip combinations. MBM is compatible with Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP and .NET.
     Gameguru Mania News - Mar,20 2003 - tech
    Nightly Tech Reading - tech
    (hx) 03:42 AM CET - Mar,20 2003 - Post a comment / read (1)
    • Nintendo Game Boy Advance SP Preview  - The Nintendo Game Boy Advance SP ($99.95 list), a sleek innovative update to the wildly successful GBA, is due to hit North America on March 23.
    • Cosmic rays could catch nuclear smugglers  - The particles generated by cosmic rays crashing into the Earth's atmosphere could reveal nuclear material and other dense objects hidden inside cars, trucks and sea containers. The objects can be detected because the particles are deflected by dense matter. For example, a cube of uranium only 10 centimetres wide hidden in a livestock truck could be spotted in just one minute, say the scientists at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico who have developed a detector.
    • Iraq war could send German cars in wrong direction - The satellite-based system, funded and controlled by the US Department of Defense, provides specially coded signals that can be processed to enable the receiver to compute their position, speed and time. The German automobile club AvD said experts fear that just before military action against Iraq, which seems likely to start later this week, the signals will be encoded in order to make them less accurate. The argument is that by doing so, the enemy -- in this case Iraq -- would not be able to exploit the system to pinpoint US-led forces sweeping into the country. Currently, the GPS system has an accuracy to within around five metresfeet), but AvD said it could be reduced to more than 100 metres.
    • Security: Another Critical Windows Flaw Found - A new software vulnerability that affects a number of different versions of Microsoft's Windows operating system could enable remote attackers to use a Web page or HTML formatted e-mail message to run their own malicious code on a Windows machine.
    • Security: Flaw Found in Siemens Mobile Phones - A long-known bug can still freeze two series of cell phones manufactured by Siemens if users haven't yet installed a patch. Siemens' 35 and 45 series phones are affected by the bug, said Siemens spokesperson Michael Stenberg. The company's new 55 series is not affected. The bug, according to Stenberg, is linked to the EMS, or enhanced messaging service, technology used in the phones. By sending a single word, for instance, from the phone's language menu surrounded by quote marks and preceded by an asterisk as control code to an EMS-capable handset, people can cause the phone receiving the message to freeze
    • Security: Latest Windows Patch Poses Problems - The patch, announced Monday in security bulletin MS03-007, is incompatible with 12 software fixes for Windows 2000 issued by Microsoft's Product Support Services between December 2001 and February 2002. Users running any of those fixes won't be able to reboot their Windows 2000 systems after applying the "critical" patch. Customers running Windows 2000 with Service Pack 2 installed should verify the version of a file called "ntoskrnl.exe" on their system before applying the patch. Versions of this file from 5.0.2195.4797 up to and including 5.0.2195.4928 were distributed by PSS and are not compatible with the patch.
    • Security: New Ganda Worm - The worm, called Ganda, appears to have been written in Sweden and promises images taken from Iraqi spy satellites.  It uses a variety of email subject lines to encourage users to open its attachment, with some exploiting latent anti-US sympathies by promising satirical screensavers ridiculing President Bush. These include: 'Spy pics', 'GO USA !!!!', 'G.W Bush animation', 'Is USA always number one?'.
    • CeBIT 2003: Final Day Coverage - Tom's Hardware Guide has posted the final day of their CeBIT coverage. This time they bring you up-to-the-minute reports of cooling solutions from Coolermaster, Pentalpha, Spire and Titan. In addition, there are new graphics cards from Abit, Chaintech, ECS, Elsa, Gainward, Innovision and Sapphire.
    • Micron sends 4-Gbyte DIMM to Intel - Micron Technology Inc. said today that it has delivered the industry's first 4-Gbyte DDR dual-in-line memory module (DIMM) to Intel Corp., even though Samsung claimed it had a 4-Gbyte DIMM back in January 2003. Micron's DIMM has been fashioned to meet 184-pin PC1600 and PC2100 DDR SDRAM standards. Micron used 1-Gbit DDR-266 SDRAMs in 400-mil thin small outline packages (TSOP), Micron said.
    • Intel Pentium 4 3.06GHz Review - Interestingly under Comanche 4 we can see that the best performance occurs with HyperThreading enabled. With HyperThreading On, the P4 3.06GHz is in the 25%-28% performance increase range over the P4 2.53GHz, which is a little better than the 21% clock speed increase. In comparison to the P4 2.4GHz the performance is over 50% better - much more than the 27% clock speed advantage.
    • Slackware Linux 9.0 Final - The Official Release of Slackware Linux (download) by Patrick Volkerding is an advanced Linux operating system, designed with the twin goals of ease of use and stability as top priorities. Including the latest popular software while retaining a sense of tradition, providing simplicity and ease of use alongside flexibility and power, Slackware brings the best of all worlds to the table.
    • AVG Free Edition 6.0 Build 463 - AVG Free Edition 6.0 Build 463 is out - download
    • Sony DRU500AX DVD Burner Firmware - Sony has released new firmware v2.0e for Sony DRU500AX DVD writer.
     Gameguru Mania News - Mar,19 2003 - tech
    Nightly Tech Reading - tech
    (hx) 04:31 AM CET - Mar,19 2003 - Post a comment
    • Tiscali UK downed by 'external attack' - Tiscali UK was knocked out this afternoon after the ISP came under attack from Internet saboteurs.
      The company experienced a massive Denial of Service assault that downed the ISP's portal, Net access and email services. The full details behind the attack are not know. However, in a statement the company said: "Tiscali has been subject to an external attack on our network.
    • London is a wireless hacker's playground - Many wireless Lans still open to attack, security experts warn Wireless local area network (Lan) deployment in London has rocketed but most businesses continue to leave their network open to hackers, security experts have warned. According to the second annual report of wireless Lan research commissioned by security firm RSA Security, wireless deployment has grown by 300 per cent. But levels of security have failed to improve.
    • Important: Critical Windows 2000 flaw found - Windows 2000 users need to patch (details) their systems immediately to avoid hackers taking control, Microsoft has warned.  Users have discovered a flaw in the operating system's implementation of the World Wide Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV) protocol.  WebDAV provides a standard for editing and file management between computers on the internet using HTTP, and is commonly used to manage web servers remotely.  If a hacker sends a specially crafted HTTP request to a server running IIS they can either shut down the server or cause it to run their code. The flaw is not related to the new version of CodeRed II that also attacks IIS servers.
    • Internet banking passwords stolen - The warning follows a scam email being sent en masse to Australian internet users in an attempt to steal their account passwords. The email, purporting to be an official communication from the Commonwealth Bank, asks customers to "reactivate" their account by logging in after a technology update. But the website provided for customers to log onto, while similar to the bank's website and including its security advice, is bogus.
    • Dropping GameCube: Argos' turn? - Nintendo may be facing a fight for its life at UK retail, as the decision by the Dixons group to liquidate GameCube stocks is replicated by another leading retailer - high street and catalogue sales outlet Argos. In an effort to clear existing stock of the GameCube, Argos will be cutting the price of the system to an all-time low of L78.99 - over L50 cheaper than Nintendo's SRP for the console, and significantly lower than the L99 price point set by Dixons in its stock clearance effort.
    • CeBit 2003 Editorial - Guru3D has posted pretty extensive article (over 15 pages) about CeBit 2003.
    • LGP Announces The Linux Game Development Project Team - Michael Simms announced the eight winners of LGP's game development company initiative last evening and Linuxlookup's very own resident programmer Matt Wilson was granted one of the eight positions on the team.
    • Details on Matrix Phone Emerge - A little more information on Samsung Electronics' as-yet unannounced "Matrix phone" has come out after the device received U.S. regulatory approval at the end of last week. The phone, which is a tie-in product to the upcoming "The Matrix Reloaded" movie, is called the SPH-N270, according to documents submitted to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission by Samsung. All devices that emit radio signals require FCC approval before they can be sold in the U.S.
    • TI unveils Lan, Bluetooth and GSM/GPRS PDA - Texas Instruments has unveiled a PDA design which it said is the first handheld to incorporate wireless local area network, Bluetooth and GSM/GPRS technologies.  Code-named Wanda (Wireless Any Network Digital Assistant), the Windows Pocket PC "tri-wireless PDA concept design" is powered by Texas Instruments' OMAP processors.  Its hybrid communications capabilities enable simultaneous phone calls, web browsing, mobile commerce and Bluetooth connectivity, such as printing and headset listening.
    • ECS said to launch notebook at US$599 - According to sources, second-tier Taiwan-based motherboard and PC maker Elitegroup Computer Systems (ECS) will launch a US$599 notebook in March or April. The notebook, equipped with Transmeta's Crusoe CPU, will command the lowest price in the market to date, sources said. Unlike ECS's DeskNote mobile PCs, the low-price notebook will come with a battery.
    • Personal Video Recorders Round-up - In this roundup, PC Magazine reviews several approaches to personal video recording: audio/video devices that hook up to your television (like the TiVo and the SonicBlue ReplayTV; new PCs with integrated PVR functions; PVR/tuner cards...). All of these products accept broadcast TV, cable TV, satellite, and digital cable signals. Most have program guides. About half of the PC products have video outputs so you can show your recordings on a television set. Recordings saved to hard drives take up about 1GB (VCR-quality) to 5GB (DVD-quality) per hour of video. no tuner included.
    • NextVision N6 HDVP Review - EnvyNews has posted a review on ViewSonic's High-Definition Video Processor; a box that enables you to adapt your computer CRT or LCD to display HDTV output from consoles, satellite broadcasts, Progressive-scan DVD players, and the like.
    • 802.11g Need-To-Know: Part 2  - Tom's Hardware Guide has posted the second part of their 802.11g Need-To-Know series.
    • TVTool 7.0 with nView support Announced - According to TVTool official website, the end of the development of TVTool 7.0 is in sight. In that version nView (formerly called TwinView) will be supported on GF2-MX and GF4 cards. This is probably interesting especially for GF2-MX card owners as the standard graphics card drivers don´t offer any overscan support (fullscreen without black borders). Also digitally connected (DVI) flat panel displays will be supported, as well as notebooks with GF2Go chips. This version should be available within this month.
    • Trojan Remover 5.0.0 - Trojan Remover was written to aid in the removal of Trojan Horses from a computer where standard anti-virus software has either failed to detect the Trojan Horse or is unable to effectively eliminate it. In no way should it be considered as an alternative to regularly using good anti-virus software to protect your computer.
    • K-Lite Codec Pack 2.00 Final - The Final Builds of the K-Lite Codec Pack 2.00 are available. These are the public versions. Uninstall the old version first.
    • MySQL 4.0.12 Gamma - MySQL 4.0.12-gamma (changelog) has been released today.
    • Riva Tuner v2.0 RC12.3 & SoftR9x00 - Rivatuner is an extremely polular tweaking utility for any NVIDIA based GeForce or ATI based Radeon graphics cards. This new version adds Detonator 43.xx support, updates scripts AnisoBoosterOGL, AnisoBoosterD3D, NVStrap antiprotection and LODBiasFix for the Detonator 42.90, revises NVStrap v1.4 driver for both Windows 9x and Windows 2000/XP, adds ATI RV280 and R350 graphics processors support, and also updates SoftR9x00 scripts for both Windows 9x/ME and Windows 2000/XP. Now the scripts are tested and certified for use with Catalyst 2.0 - 3.2 (both beta and release versions) and allow you to force RADEON 9800PRO PCI DeviceID as well as RADEON 9500 and RADEON 9700PRO PCI DeviceIDs, and many more.
    • Athlon XP Processor Identifier - This script turns the user unfriendly markings from any Athlon XP based processor to human readable information such as CPU frequency, FSB, operating voltage, cache size, multiplier and so on. One of the most useful function is that the script automaticaly identifies weather the CPU core is Palomino, Thoroughbred (A or B revision) or the newest one - Barton.
    • HighPoint BIOSes and Drivers v3.02 - There are some new HighPoint 3.02 BIOSes and Drivers for the RocketRAID 404 and the HPT374 RAID.
    • Pioneer DVR-A05/105 recorder firmware - A new firmware version 1.30 has been released for the Pioneer DVR-A05/105 DVD-recorder.
     Gameguru Mania News - Mar,18 2003 - tech
    Nvidia Detonator v42.42 - tech
    (hx) 10:43 AM CET - Mar,18 2003 - Post a comment
    Nvidia has released yet another set of drivers, this time its Detonator version 42.42 (Windows 2000  ~ Windows XP) This release is still not the anticipated cross-platform reference driver set. Instead it was released as a 3rd party partner certified driver set. This driver is recommended for:  Aveva Engineering IT and Softimage (Softimage XSI). (thanks warp2search & -HairBall-)
    Nightly Tech Madness - tech
    (hx) 03:22 AM CET - Mar,18 2003 - Post a comment / read (5)
    • OFF-TOPIC: Bush Sets Ultimatum for Saddam: Leave Country or Face War - President Bush today gave Saddam Hussein a 48-hour deadline to flee Iraq or face a U.S.-led invasion, saying American forces will wage war "at a time of our choosing."
    • OFF-TOPIC: Deadly pneumonia has spread globally - The threat from a highly contagious form of pneumonia is now global, with at least nine countries thought to be affected. The cause of the illness, dubbed Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), is still unknown. But some victims are responding to a combination of anti-viral drugs and steroids, Hong Kong's health minister said on Monday.
    • Techno sniffer dog debuts at Heathrow -  The world's busiest international airport, London Heathrow, unveiled a new electronic "sniffer dog" Monday, becoming the first in the world to trial the new screening technology.  The "Sentinel II" portal "sniffs" passengers as they pass through a detection arch, analyzing air that is blown across their bodies for particles of explosives or other banned substances, according to airport operator BAA.
    • BT accused over music piracy - The British Phonographic Industry said the telecoms giant had been reluctant to discuss the issue of online piracy, despite repeated attempts by its anti-piracy division to get BT to discuss peer-to-peer file-swapping. BT denies it is supporting illegal services, pointing out that peer-to-peer technology is not illegal. The record industry blames illegal music sharing for contributing to a fall in sales.
    • Man claims he's reduced Windows OS to 40MB - An enterprising soul claims to have taken the bloatware out of the Windows 9X operating system and reduced it from the huge size it was to a mere 40MB. And that means his PC boots "in seconds", needs no security updates and flies along like the proverbial off the hot shovel. The chap even posts free CDs and instructions to people who want to try out his SPEEDOS or STREWTH! operating system.
      Motorola Introduces New Mobile Phones       - Motorola today revealed two new additions to the company's growing 2003 mobile experience portfolio -- the Motorola E310 and V810. The new handsets deliver the latest technological advances in intelligent design, situational lighting, customizable music and interactive gaming -- all brought together in full color. Unveiled for the first time at CTIA Wireless, the Motorola models E310 and V810, offer North American consumers the most in-demand features for experiencing mobile fun, personalization and productivity.
    • Intel introduces Gigabit Ethernet networking chips - Intel Corp. introduced several Ethernet products to the market today including a gigabit/s Ethernet controller, a 10-Gbit/s Ethernet server adapter and 10-Gbit/s optical transceiver. The Intel PRO/1000 CT is Intel's gigabit/s Ethernet controller. It works with Intel's soon-to-be-released Springdale and Canterwood peripheral logic chipsets to double the performance attained on desktop-PC GbE-network connections, Intel said.
    • Microsoft Warns of Windows Flaw - Microsoft said Monday that it discovered a critical security vulnerability in a component of its Windows 2000 operating system that could enable a remote attacker to gain total control of a machine running Windows 2000 and Microsoft's Internet Information Server Web server.
    • New worm W32/Deborm-R - W32/Deborm-R is a network worm which carries and installs Trojans. When run, the worm searches for shares named C or C$ on the local IP subnet that have no password. If a share is found the worm will attempt to copy itself to one of the following folders in the share: WindowsStart MenuProgramsStartup ~ Documents and SettingsAll UsersStart MenuProgramsStartup ~ ~ WinntProfilesAll UsersStart MenuProgramsStartup
    • Intel Pentium on-chip flash could hide big secrets - Last Summer Intel started sampling Pentium 4 processors with Hyperthreading. At the time the chips came in 2.53GHz and 2.8GHz varieties. Since then, the only Pentium processor with Hyperthreading enabled to appear on the shelves has been the 3.06GHz Pentium 4. But suppose that much cheaper processors also had Hyperthreading on them, just disabled. And what if the thing disabling the Hyperthreading also set the processor clock speed?
    • CeBIT 2003: Swollen Feet on Day 3  - Today, THG was on the trail of innovative cooling solutions. They also bring you news from the area of mass storage, as well as a Centrino notebook with proportions that dreams are made of.
    • Beyond3Ds CeBit Coverage  - Beyond3D had a short time at CeBit too: "Gainward showed me their low end, entry level GeForce FX 5200, with passive cooling, an FX 5600 class product and their version of the 5800 Ultra, with a mindbogglingly large array of bundled extra's. Gainward will still be opting for a 2 slot solution for the FX 5800 Ultra, but in this instance it will be drawing air from the inside of the case and expelling it out, which means that at least this solution will not only be dumping more hot air in the case, as is the case with NVIDIA’s reference solution."
    • DDS-DAT is back from the dead - Two years after terminating DDS-DAT with extreme prejudice, customer pressure has pushed HP and Seagate into reviving the popular mid-range tape technology. Showing at CeBIT, the new version is called DDS Generation 5 and stores 72GB of compressed data per cassette.
    • Gamers to Decide on New Color Options for Xbox Controllers - Recognizing that color allows people to express their individuality, Microsoft Corp. is listening to gamers who wanted color options for their Xbox controller. Xbox is offering gamers a vivid palette of choices, including red, orange, green, blue and clear. The new color controllers will retain the physical characteristics of the highly popular and ergonomic Xbox Controller S.
    • PC silence is golden - Hush Technologies has launched the Silent Mini-ITX PC at the CeBit trade show in Hannover, Germany. It uses a new cooling technology to eliminate all fans from the system so it produces no noise at all during normal operation. Only when the CD-ROM drive is used does any sound escape the sleek metal chassis. This chassis is the key to the system, having cooling fins down both sides that help dissipate the heat generated by the processor, power supply and other components.
    • Opteron release schedule - After taking back the performance crown with Barton XP 3000+ and releasing no less than 12 Athlon XP-M (M for mobile) processors, the company is now on the verge to storm the server market with the most-awaited Opteron processor. This is what could be confirmed by an unofficial Opteron's launch schedule, published today at AMDboard, which shows no less than 12 different Opteron models, from 1 to 8-way, to be released from April to June 03.
    • Creative SB Audigy 2 Review - You will be happy to know that Creative has taken care of the board quality from the ground up, newer and better DACs are used to ensure 24-Bit/96-kHz/192kHz playback and among the rest of niceties the card offers you have DVD-Audio playback, full 6.1 surround sound, THX certification and the mandatory (for a Creative soundcard) EAX Advanced HD.
    • Interview With ATI's Dave Orton - Within3D has posted an interview with ATI's President and Chief Operating Officer David E.
    • New Revision 7.4 BIOS Optimization Guide - Adrian's Rojak Pot just posted a new revision 7.4 BIOS optimization guide. Covering a total of 175 BIOS options, this is the most comprehensive guide to BIOS tweaking... until the next revision, that is. :) This new version adds AGP Fast Write, CPU Level 3 Cache, ISA Enable Bit, L3 Cache, Split Lock Operations.
    • Microsoft Office XP Web Services Toolkit 2.0  - The Microsoft Office XP Web Services Toolkit 2.0 brings the power of XML Web services to Office XP by enabling developers to use the Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration (UDDI) Business Registry or the URL to a Web Services Description Language (WSDL) file to reference XML Web services.
    • mp3DirectCut 1.30 - mp3DirectCut (langpack ~ mpglib.dll)  is a small tool for editing MPEG audio directly. You can remove parts, change the volume, split files or copy regions to new files. All without the need to decompress your MP3 into PCM/WAV. This saves work, encoding time and disk space. And there is no quality loss through any re-compressions.
    • KaZaA Lite K++ 2.1.0 - KaZaA Lite K++ 2.1.0 Final and a couple of translations are released! The following languages are available: English, Deutsch (German), French (Francais), Italiano (Italian), Dutch (Nederlands) and Czech.
    • Avast! Home Edition 4 Build 525 - Avast! Home Edition is a complete anti-virus package for Windows 9x/Me, NT/2000/XP. It is FREE for registered home noncommercial users. It's certified by ICSA and obtained 100% mark from Virus Bulletin in June 2002 under Windows XP Pro.
    • Serv-U 4.1.0.6 Beta - Serv-U (download) is a powerful, easy-to-use, award-winning FTP server created by Rob Beckers. An FTP server uses the FTP protocol to share files across the Internet.
    • CPUCooL 7.20 Beta - CPUCooL (download) has been updated. What is CPUCool? CPUCooL is a program that monitors temperature, fan speed, and voltages for many motherboards.
    • HWiNFO32 Version 1.30 - A new version of HWiNFO32 has been released. HardwareInfo32 is a powerful system information utility designed especially for detection of hardware.
    • WinRAR 3.2.0 Beta 2 - WinRAR (changelog) is a 32-bit Windows version of the RAR archiver - a powerful tool which allows you to create, manage and control archive files.
    • SiS Xabre WHQL Driver 3.10 & BIOS v1.09.01 - SiS has just officially released a brand new WHQL v3.1 driver for SiS Xabre and also new BIOS.
     Gameguru Mania News - Mar,16 2003 - tech
    Sunday Tech Reading - tech
    (hx) 04:28 PM CET - Mar,16 2003 - Post a comment / read (3)
    • Fight Your Way to Victory with Three Fighters for Xbox - Fighting games set in the context of the martial arts have long been favorites among gamers. While some believe that fighting games are nothing more than "button mashing fests" that destroy your fingers, others believe that the manual dexterity and mental concentration required to press the buttons along with the memorization of the correct button combinations takes quite a serious level of skill. In this article, Tom's Hardware will give you the low down on three fighting games for the Xbox.
    • New Radeon 9700 coolers- Do they look familiar? - Tom's Hardware have posted a couple pics up of new Radeon 9700 coolers and boy do they look familiar, check them out for a little laugh.
    • Samsung SyncMaster 191T LCD Monitor -  This monitor is the successor to the Samsung SyncMaster 191N which is an LCD that can save you $100-150 compared to the 191T. The only difference between the 191N and 191T is that the 191N doesn't have a digital connector. It still has all of the same stylish looks as the 191T and on-screen menu so it's up to you if the extra money is worth the DVI connector. In my opinion with out a doubt it is.
    • DangerDen H2O CPU Cooling Kit Review  - The reservoir is not necessary to run a water cooling system. You can set up a closed-loop, as long as you have a valve you can open and close to 1) bleed air from the system and 2) fill the system.
    • ATI Radeon 9800 PRO F-Buffer Opinions - Following the announcement of the Radeon 9800 PRO Beyond2D have asked a few developers (Epic, Croteam, Ubisoft) for their opinion on the F-Buffer.
    • Windows Server 2003 as a Workstation Guide - So Windows 2003 Professional turned out to be a pipe dream, faster than we could get used to the idea being a reality it was played down/denied by Microsoft and all the knowledge base articles were removed to be corrected. It turned out to be an oversight. Well, we aren't ones to give up so easily at Neowin, so we have put together a guide that turns Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition into what we would rather call Windows 2003 Professional.
    • ABIT's Intel Canterwood board with... 1000MHz FSB! - ABIT decided to set its own record at CeBIT 2003 and announced an Intel Canterwood-based system featuring 3.319GHz Pentium 4 overclocked via the bus: 13? multiplier provided 1021MHz FSB (255.34 ? 4)! The memory has also been overclocked to 465MHz.
    • Radeonator project discontinued - Marcel Hoffs announced the fact that he is stopping development on Radeonator. As the main reason is the lack of motivation to continue. You can download latest Radeonator 3.0 alpha and Radeonator 2.0 final.
    • NeroVision Express 1.0.4.6  - NeroVision Express will guide you through the whole process of creating DVDs, VCDs and SVCDs in an easy and innovative way. Limitations: Free of charge for Nero 5.5 users. Neither the MPEG-2/SVCD encoder nor the MPEG-2/DVD encoder are integrated in NeroVision Express.
    • Style XP 1.01n - Style XP allows you to easily add new visual styles or themes to Windows XP. Style XP is not a skinning engine. It uses Microsoft's built-in visual style engine, but enhances it by providing many useful tools. Style XP can import, select, rotate, and manage Themes, Visual Styles, Wallpaper, and Logons.
    • Trillian v0.74D - Trillian (download ~ download patch) simplifies your chat as well as your desktop and system resources by letting you simultaneously connect with the five most popular chat clients on the Web: Yahoo Messenger, MSN Messenger, ICQ, mIRC, and AIM.
     Gameguru Mania News - Mar,15 2003 - tech
    Nightly Tech Reading - tech
    (hx) 03:39 AM CET - Mar,15 2003 - Post a comment
    • Sony shifts PS2 production to China  - Sony is to shift the production of its PlayStation 2 console to Chinese production facilities next year in a bid to reduce costs, the company announced this week, prompting speculation that the company will pass on the cost savings to consumers in the near future.  Spokesman Koichiro Katsurayama said the company would move production to Chinese plants run by Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. and Asustek Computer Inc, and cease production in Japan, where half of its current PS2 output is based.
    • Sony reportedly looking for PS3 component suppliers - According to Digitimes, Sony will come to Taiwan next month to hold talks on product and component purchases of up to US$4 billion, said an official at Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA). The talks reportedly are for PlayStation 3 game console-related orders.
    • VIA graphics team unwraps DX9 DeltaChrome - VIA's graphics division, S3, yesterday announced its first chip to support DirectX 9, DeltaChrome.  Versions of the 0.13 micron part will be tailored for a range of market segments, VIA said. The S8 and S4 will be aimed at the mainstream and value sectors, respectively, while the F1 will target top-end systems.  The F1 supports up to 256MB of video memory; the others support up to 128MB. It has an eight-pixel pipeline, as does the S8, capable of a 2.4 billion pixels per second fill rate. 
    • SanDisk announces new capacities, formats - SanDisk has released not only newer, larger flash cards for existing formats, but a new flash card format as well. Compact Flash now reaches 4 GB, SD reaches 1 GB, and miniSD hits the market. In a market already saturated with different flash card form factors, SanDisk has released a new format dubbed miniSD. Developed by the SD Association of which SanDisk is a member, miniSD is essentially just a shrunken Secure Digital card measuring a tiny 21.5 mm long, 20 mm wide and 1.4 mm thick.
    • iPAQ H1915 arrives in Europe - Despite persistent rumours and a previous confirmation from Hewlett-Packard itself, the newly announced iPAQ H1915 model for the European market does not offer integrated Bluetooth. In fact, it does not offer any new features over the iPAQ H1910 which was only made available in the UK, except for what according to HP is a slightly improved display provided by a different manufacturer than the one responsible for the display in the iPAQ H1910. The iPAQ H1915 should now be available in most European countries for 399 EUR.
    • Music companies fear new 100-hour discs  - The music industry this week condemned the launch of two recording systems that will let people copy between 30 and 100 hours of music onto a single disc. The launches, from electronics giants Sony and Philips, are being seen as a potential pirates' charter.  Philips's system uses a computer DVD recorder to save at least 100 hours of MP3 music on a blank DVD, which will play on a new portable DVD player.
    • AMD's enchanted April - After years of hype, the AMD Opteron 64-bit processor will debut in April. The advantages of AMD's new design are many. The most talked-about feature is the CPU's support for 64-bit applications. Unlike previous 64-bit processors, Opteron implements the full x86-32 instruction set. Software that runs on a Pentium III or AMD Athlon now will run unmodified on Opteron. Opteron-based servers will likely spend the majority of their time running the 32-bit Windows and Linux programs that businesses use today.
    • CeBIT 2003: Day 1 - There's one trend that's clear: move away from killer performance, and towards products with a more promising profit margin. Tom's Hardware makes its rounds at the CeBIT, visiting partners and manufacturers. You can also find Plextor & CloneCD coverage @ CDFreaks.
    • CeBIT 2003:  Day 2  - Tom's Hardware has posted their second round with AMD, MSI, Gigabyte, Soyo and Twinmos, and they gathered lots of news.  You can also find Lite-On IT & Nero Burning Rom Coverage @ CDFreaks.
    • CeBIT 2003 : Xabre II - The Xabre II will offer through the Frictionless Memory Control III technology bandwith usage optimizations : Hidden Surface Removal (HSR), color compression, Z Culling and other compression algorythms.
    • SiS655 With Dual DDR333  - The Taiwanese manufacturer SIS follows Intel's footsteps with a Pentium 4 chipset that supports two DDR channels. The SiS655 has been developed from the Sis648, and it now has APG 8X. Unlike the Intel E7205, it not only supports DDR 266 but DDR 333 as well, finally. This gives the newcomer an edge, at least on paper. Can it live up to expectations?
    • Centrino notebooks Round-up - Japanese notebook vendors Sony, NEC Electronics and Toshiba launched their versions of Centrino-based notebooks on Wednesday.
    • MSI 52X CD-RW Drive Review - HotHardware has posted a MSI 52X CD-RW Drive review.
    • Samsung SW-252B 52/24/52 CD-RW Review - EnvyNews has posted a Samsung SW-252B 52/24/52 CD-RW review.
    • Windows Server 2003 RTM Delayed--Again - The latest target date to start duping disks is now March 28, sources close to Microsoft said. A company insider also confirmed that this is the latest proposed release-to-manufacturing date. Previously, the RTM had been scheduled for March 19, which followed an earlier target date of March 12.
    • Virtual PC 6 Review - Connectix recently released version 6 of Virtual PC, the standard for emulating Windows on a Mac. With version 5, the main feature was Mac OS X compatibility. With version 6, the focus is on better performance and Mac integration.
    • SoftModding a Radeon 9500 Pro  - Not too long ago there was a flurry of 9500 Mod articles and guides, most of which showed exactly which items to solder and move. However, as drool-worthy as they were, they did not take into account that a significant portion of the end-user crowd would faint at the mere mention of these procedures on their expensive cards. Thankfully, there are other options, and this is where this small article comes-in. For those of you who want an extra 20% performance without opening-up your case, read on!
    • Myth II Updated  - Today, MythDev and Project Magma are releasing their first update to Myth II: Soulblighter, created by Bungie Software. This update brings the game to version 1.3.2, and patches noticeable bugs in Windows XP/2000, as well adding native support for Mac OS X. Coinciding with this release, the group is also announcing Myth II 1.4, to be released May 15th, which is a major update to Myth II that contains over 100 enhancements, including: graphical and interface improvements, OpenGL support for Windows and Mac OS X, gameplay bug fixes and improved AI, and the addition of vTFL, allowing virtual play of Myth: The Fallen Lords in Myth II. (thanks Slashdot.org)
    • Microsoft IPv6 1.205 Technology Preview - IPv6 is a new suite of standard protocols for the network layer of the Internet. It is the future of networking. It is designed to solve many of the problems of the current version of IP (known as IPv4) with regard to address depletion, security, autoconfiguration, extensibility, and more. Its use will also expand the capabilities of the Internet to enable a variety of valuable and exciting scenarios, including peer-to-peer and mobile applications.
    • Active WMA Studio v.1.2 - Active WMA Studio is the audio conversion utility with Explorer-like interface, It allows you to encode WAV, MP3 and OGG files to WMA (Windows Media Audio) format with a lot of format options(from 8000 to 48000Hz, up to 192kbps), convert WMA and MP3 files to WAV PCM format, convert WMA files to MP3 format with LAME 3.92 encoder library, convert WMA to OGG Vorbis format, resample WMA files, grab audio CDs into WMA.
    • PowerDVD 4.0 Add-On Pack Patches - The first patch will update PowerDVD SE for Windows XP to build 2417, the second patch will update PowerDVD MP3 PowerEncoder for Windows XP to build 2417.
    • Getright 5.0 Final - GetRight is a Download Manager program to help you download files from the Internet. It allows you to easily download files and recover (resume downloading) if errors occur--and has many other advanced features.
    • Zoom Player 3.00 beta 6 - Zoom Player (download ~ changelist) is a robust media and DVD front-end player. It was designed to be simple at first glance while being remarkably dynamic and flexible when used to its full potential. It works in two modes: a Media mode which can play any file supported by DirectShow (any file which plays in MediaPlayer) and a DVD mode which uses pre-installed DirectShow DVD filters to play DVD content.
    • Savage4 Server Drivers - S3 Graphics has released new server (Windows XP and .NET Serv) drivers for the Savage4.
    • SofR9800 for ATi Catalyst 3.2 - Mod your Radeon 9500 into a Radeon 9500 Pro or your 9700 into a 9800 with this patch (direct link) (~ or Guru3D). To execute the script you'll need the latest RivaTuner 2.0 You must start it at least once, then simple extract and open attached file with Windows explorer, RivaTuner will do the rest. This script works with Catalyst 3.2.
     Gameguru Mania News - Mar,13 2003 - tech
    Late Afternoon Tech Reading - tech
    (hx) 11:12 PM CET - Mar,13 2003 - Post a comment
    • U.S. nanotech funding expected to hit $1 billion - The race for the high ground in nanotechnology development and applications is heating as U.S. government efforts gain momentum, funding and direction.  Congress approved $849 million for nanotechnology research and development in fiscal 2003. "We're rapidly heading toward a $1 billion program," said Richard Russell of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. "Now's the time to shape the program."
    • World's first brain prosthesis revealed  - The world's first brain prosthesis - an artificial hippocampus - is about to be tested in California. Unlike devices like cochlear implants, which merely stimulate brain activity, this silicon chip implant will perform the same processes as the damaged part of the brain it is replacing.
    • Indian hackers target Pakistan - A new e-mail virus has been released on the internet in the latest cyber war of words between rival hackers in India and Pakistan.  A variant of the Yaha internet e-mail worm has been written by a group of hackers calling themselves the Indian Snakes.  It has been attacking websites in Pakistan, including government sites, internet service providers and the Karachi Stock Exchange, said anti-virus firm Sophos.  Yaha-Q arrives as an e-mail attachment and can send itself to people listed in the recipient's e-mail address book.
    • Renault F1 revs up IT network links - Formula One may be trying to take IT out of racing, but the drivers will not go short of information. Renault Formula One has upgraded its network and speeded up links between design staff and cars on the circuit, in time for the 2003 championship which started at the weekend.
    • Via Chips in to Build Smaller PCs - Via Technologies Thursday will introduce a 1-GHz processor with an integrated Northbridge chip that will allow vendors to build smaller PCs. Called Mark, the chip includes a 1-GHz C3 processor and Via's Pro Savage CLE266 Northbridge chip, which is one of the components that comprise the Northbridge-Southbridge chipset architecture used in most PCs.
    • A PDA With A Long Memory  - Toshiba this week announced a new version of its popular line of Pocket PC devices that uses another type of flash memory known as NAND flash. The difference between NAND flash and conventional flash memory is that NAND (NAND is a contraction of the words "Not" and "AND"--the relevance of which isn't worth explaining) can maintain the data stored on it even after the battery runs down. Toshiba's new unit is the e750. The device looks like previous Toshiba-made Pocket PCs. It has 96 megabytes of memory, 32 MB of which is NAND flash
    • Opteron rated 3800+ in September 2003! - According to Canadian Ontario distributor MRS MAINTENANCE, the chip will be available in 3 flavors: 3400+ - 3600+ and 3800+. The price list mention only the speed of the 3400+ that is 2GHz which show a better rating for 32Bit operation than actual Barton XP+ 3200 with an 400MHz FSB running at roughly the same speed. (big thanks AMDBoard)
    • ATI unleashes the MOBILITY RADEON 9600 family - ATI Technologies unveiled the MOBILITY RADEON 9600 family of mobile visual processors today at a worldwide launch event at CeBIT. The MOBILITY RADEON 9600 will be the first mobile graphics processor to ship with hardware support for the richest Microsoft DirectX 9.0 feature set and version 2.0 programmable pixel and vertex shaders, which are required for dramatic, true-to-life cinematic special effects.
    • ATI unveils MOBILITY RADEON 7000 IGP - ATI Technologies today announced MOBILITY RADEON 7000 IGP, the newest addition to its award-winning lineup of mobile integrated graphics processors for Intel-platform PCs. The new processor is a performance-enhanced version of its market-leading predecessor, RADEON IGP 340M. MOBILITY RADEON 7000 IGP is the first true mobile IGP to bring support for DDR333 memory to notebook users, which means more memory bandwidth for higher performance and image quality settings.
    • Microsoft Makes Plans for Media2Go Device - Creative Labs will make a personal media player that runs Microsoft's forthcoming Media2Go software, Microsoft said Wednesday. The Singapore-based hardware company is the fifth device partner for Media2Go. Samsung Electronics, Sanyo, ViewSonic, and iRiver were announced as partners earlier this year at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where Microsoft announced the software. Media2Go is the code name for Windows CE 4.2-based software for devices that can play video and music and display still images. Prototypes of devices Microsoft is displaying at the CeBIT trade show here have a 4-inch screen, 20GB hard drive, and IEEE-1394 ports to connect to a PC.
    • An Introduction to 64-bit Computing and x86-64 - This article deals with the x86-64 ISA only. The sequel will cover the specific implementations (Hammer, Opteron, etc.). And note also that the general discussions of 64-bit computing that make up the first half of the article are applicable to 64-bit platforms, not just x86-64. So those of you interested in the implications of a possible Apple move to a 64-bit platform like the PPC 970 might want to read at least the first half of the article.
    • Seagate 10K.6 147gb Ultra 320 SCSI Hard Drive Review - VR-Zone Hardware has posted a review of the newest Seagate SCSI Drive, the Seagate 10k.6 147gb Ultra 320 SCSI hard drive.
    • CeBIT: Overclock your PC with a twist of your wrist - ECS, in Taipei, on Wednesday introduced its EZ-Buddie line of PCs which let users overclock their CPUs by adjusting a dial located on the front of the PC case. Expected to be available worldwide in May, the EZ-Buddie is based on either an Intel Pentium 4 processor, Intel Celeron or AMD Athlon processor and will be priced starting from around $700 to $800, depending on the exact configuration, said Frank Niessen, marketing director for ECS in Germany.
    • How to unlock an XP! T'Bred UPDATE! Feb 12th '03 - BE CAREFUL doing this, I just killed my 1900+ this way! Here is a method of breaking the bridges on your Athlons and Durons that is much easier than cutting them with a pin or small blade! What you need: AT PSU, some pins/nails(the pointer the better) and a female molex connector.
    • RightMark Audio Analyzer 5.0 Pre-release - RightMark Audio Analyzer is an independent audio measurements open-source project developed by iXBT.com / Digit-Life team. The test suite performs various tests of electro-acoustical performance of sound cards and other real-time audio devices. Testing is accomplished by playing the test signals and recording them after they pass through the testing chain.
    • GetRight 5.0 Final - GetRight solves this problem by allowing you to resume a download. If you got part of the file before the problem, GetRight will restart the download in the middle so it only gets the rest of the file, without having to restart from the beginning. This makes downloading your files much easier and faster. Sadly GetRight costs some money, if you want something for free try Download Express :)
    • PHP 4.3.2RC1 - This is the first release candidate and should have a very low number of problems and/or bugs.
    • StarOffice 6.1 Beta 1 - StarOffice 6.1 builds on the features in StarOffice 6.0 by adding accessibility, the StarOffice Configuration Manager, Asian language enhancements, PDF export, keyboard macro recorder and a Software Development Kit (SDK). StarOffice is a full-featured, affordable alternative in office productivity suites that runs on Solaris[tm] Operating Environment, Microsoft Windows, and Linux. The office suite has a simple, easy-to-use interface and contains full-featured applications including word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, graphics and database capabilities.
    • SpeedFan 4.08 - SpeedFan is a freeware program that monitors fan speeds and temperatures in computers with a known monitoring chip.
    • Opera 7.03 - Opera 7.03 (download Java-version ~ Non-Java version ~ what's new) is the latest version with special language support, already available in a Japanese version. Many more language versions will follow in the weeks to come.
    • Mozilla 1.3 - Mozilla is an open-source Web browser, designed for standards compliance, performance and portability. What's New in Mozilla 1.3: Mozilla Mail has junk-mail classification. With some initial "training" the client can identify and segregate spam messages from good messages. To see more about Mozilla's junk-mail classification, visit the Mozilla Spam Filtering page. Newsgroup filters have been implemented, etc...
    • nForce NVSwap 1.0 - NVSwap is an NVIDIA utility designed to help you set up and optimize your NVIDIA nForce audio experience. NVSwap tests and configures the setup of a 4 or 5.1 speaker system attached to the following qualified NVIDIA audio products: NVIDIA nForce2 with NVIDIA SoundStorm, NVIDIA nForce with MCP or MCP-D, NVIDIA nForce2 with MCP or MCP-T, Any NVIDIA nForce-supported AC' 97 audio codec.
    • DivX 5.0.3 Updated - DivX is a package that includes all the DivX codec, player, utilities, and documentation that you need to play DivX files. DivX codec is based on the MPEG-4 compression standard. This codec can reduce an MPEG-2 video (DVD format) to ten percent of its original size. DivX is a digital video compression technology based on the ISO MPEG-4 standard.
    • K-Lite Codec Pack 2.0 Release Candidates -K-Lite Codec Pack 2.0 Test Builds are available. These are NOT the public final versions yet. For testing purposes only. Uninstall the old version first.
    • Foobar 0.58 - Foobar is a very recommendable media player. It is developed by Peter Pawlowski, who used to work on WinAmp. It uses a plain and simple UI, no skins, no fuss. While in playback mode, it only approximately consumes 1.9 Mb of RAM.

    • WinAce 2.50 Release Candidate 2 - WinAce is an archiving utility with an easy-to-use interface for creating, extracting, and viewing archives. It includes built-in compression for ACE, ZIP, LHA, and MS-CAB formats, and built-in decompression for ACE, ZIP, LHA, MS-CAB, RAR, ARJ, ARC, GZIP, TAR, and ZOO formats. You can create multi-volume (disk-spanning) archives for ACE and MS-CAB formats and self-extracting archives (sfx) for ACE and ZIP formats.

    • Sound Blaster Live! - LiveDrvUni-Pack - This package upgrades the Sound Blaster Live! driver and enhances the overall product performance on Windows 2000 and Windows XP. The package also upgrades core applications including Audio HQ and Surround Mixer for optimal Sound Blaster Live! performance.
    • ATI  CATALYST 3.2 Available - ATI Technologies Inc. unveiled CATALYST 3.2, a high-quality, reliable graphics software suite that includes unified driver and software applications to enable its RADEON family of graphics products. This latest release features ATI's industry-recognized MULTIMEDIA CENTER 8.1 (release notes) software suite.  Note: The drivers are FINALLY available for download!(thanks jd)
     Gameguru Mania News - Mar,12 2003 - tech
    Afternoon Tech Reading - tech
    (hx) 06:55 PM CET - Mar,12 2003 - Post a comment
    • Struggling GameCube's shop price slashed - Shops are slashing the price of the GameCube to get more people to buy it.  The price has been cut to Ł99 from Ł129 at Dixons, Currys and PC World. That price includes a game too. BTW: Does anyone here know where I can buy premoded Europien(PAL) PS2? Mail me pls :)
    • First test for US monster bomb - In a show of military might seemingly aimed at intimidating Iraq's armed forces, the US has tested the most powerful non-nuclear weapon ever developed. The new weapon is named the Massive Ordinance Air Burst (MOAB), but has also been dubbed the "Mother of All Bombs". The 9.7-tonne device contains only conventional explosives, but creates a mushroom cloud and a shockwave similar to that of a small nuclear explosion. It has blast range of several hundred metres.
    • How Hydrogen Can Save America - How much money? How about the amount spent to put a man on the moon: $100 billion in today's dollars. With that investment, the nation could shift the balance of power from foreign oil producers to US energy consumers within a decade. By 2013, a third of all new cars sold could be hydrogen-powered, 15 percent of the nation's gas stations could pump hydrogen, and the US could get more than half its energy from domestic sources, putting independence within reach. All that's missing is a national commitment to make it happen.
    • British scientists in bio-terror breakthrough - A UK scientist has developed a revolutionary computer-based DNA fingerprinting technology that he hopes could save thousands of lives. The computerised technique can identify bugs far more quickly than current methods.  Authorities could use it to identify killer bugs contained in biological attacks launched by terrorists and speed up the treatment of victims.
    • McDonald's to Offer Wireless Internet  - Would you like super-sized Internet access with that burger and fries? In a further sign of the spread of wireless Internet technology, McDonald's restaurants in three U.S. cities will offer one hour of free high-speed access to anyone who buys a combination meal. Ten McDonald's in Manhattan will begin offering wireless WiFi, or 802.11b, Internet access on Wednesday, McDonald's spokeswoman Lisa Howard said.
    • Are Windows Broadband Users at Risk? - The weakness specifically refers to nonexistent or easily discovered passwords on SMB (Server Message Block) file shares, with thousands of systems being compromised in this way, CERT/CC said in an advisory. Windows uses the SMB protocol to share files and printer resources with other computers. The two versions of the operating system referred to in the CERT bulletin transfer information via TCP/IP. These systems are vulnerable to attacks using tools such as W32/Deloder, GT-bot, sdbot, and W32/Slackor. Older operating systems which share SMB information differently are not vulnerable, according to CERT/CC.
    • New Code Red Variant Causes Concern - A new version of the Code Red worm is spreading on the Internet, more than 18 months after the original worm infected Web servers worldwide, according to alerts posted Wednesday by a number of antivirus software vendors. The new version, labeled CodeRed.F, is almost identical to another Code Red variant, CodeRed.C, also known as Code Red II, according to information posted by F-Secure of Helsinki, Finland.
    • Intel Unveils Wireless Computer Chips - At news conferences throughout Asia and Europe Intel unveiled a set of chips known as Centrino, which it said will allow mobile computer users to access the Internet at home and a growing number of public places via radio waves. Intel said Centrino notebooks would cost about the same as current laptops, starting as low as $1,399. In Japan, models are expected to sell for as low as 200,000 yen (US$1,702).
    • Samsung unveils Sens X10 Centrino-based notebook - Samsung Electronics today unveiled its Sens X10 Centrino-based notebook, weighing 1.8 kilograms and measuring only 23.8mm (less than one inch) in thickness.
    • AMD Unveils Notebook CPUs - AMD is trying to steal some of Intel's Centrino thunder by announcing 12 new notebook processors, including five low-voltage chips designed for thin-and-light notebooks and higher-wattage chips for larger notebooks. AMD's five new low-voltage chips carry the model numbers 1800+, 1700+, 1600+, 1500+, and 1400+. They make use of a Micro PGA (pin grid array) design that differs from AMD's traditional Socket A pin design, Varela says. Micro PGA occupies less space on the motherboard, allowing notebook vendors to build smaller systems, he said. The low-voltage chips dissipate 25 watts when operating at maximum power.
    • AMD Drops Prices On Processors - AMD Athlon XP CPUs are continuing on the trip down the pricing roadmap today. Surely it must be a complete coincidence that the prices are being dropped on the same day as Intel launches its new Centrino technology.  The biggest shift has happened in the middle of the range with the 2200+ dropping to $107, the 2400+ to $141 and the 2600+ to $241. Playing odd-man-out in the pricing curve is the 2700+ which is only $26 more than a 2600+. The full list of new prices on the XP follows: 3000+ $588, 2800+ $375, 2700+ $267, 2600+ $241, 2400+ $141, 2200+ $107, 2100+ $92, 2000+ $81, 1800+ $67, 1700+ $54.
    • VIA releases KN400 chipset for new Athlon XP-M processors - Following its recent launch of the KT400A chipset for the Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) desktop platform, VIA Technologies on March 12 introduced a new chipset, the VIA ProSavage KN400, supporting AMD's new notebook-use Athlon XP-M processors. AMDBoard has posted a short preview of this newest VIA chipset.
    • NVIDIA GeForceFX 5600 Ultra & FX 5200 Ultra - Performance - Tom's Hardware Guide has posted a review on the NVIDIA GeForceFX 5600 Ultra & FX 5200 Ultra video cards
    • NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra Benchmarked  - HotHardware has posted some NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra Benchmarks. They directly compare the 5200 Ultra's performance to a Radeon 9000 Pro, using a mid-level CPU, indicative of today's "mainstream" PCs.
    • Tennis Addict goes Series 60 - Hexacto has now ported well-known Tennis Addict to Nokia's Series 60 platform, making the game available for owners of Nokia's 7650 or 3650 models, as well as future Nokia N-Gage and Siemens SX1 owners. Players can choose from 16 different opponents and four court types, and either play a quick game using the "Quick Match" option or an entire tournament. (thanks InfosyncWorld).
    • SuSE Announces SuSE Linux 8.2 Personal and Pro - SuSE Linux today unveiled the latest version of its Linux package - introducing an easy to use, application rich desktop for home users. Available April 14, SuSE Linux 8.2, sets a new milestone for ease of use - incorporating the latest versions of KDE 3.1 and Gnome 2.2. (thanks OSNews).
    • Windows 2000 Patch: The Correct File is Not Installed When You Chain Multiple Hotfixes - This update addresses the Windows 2000 issue, "The Correct File is Not Installed When You Chain Multiple Hotfixes" and is discussed in Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB) Article 815062. Download now to install the updated copy of qchain.exe
    • Microsoft flicks on IM Webcam - Microsoft Tuesday said it has begun offering Webcam functionality on its MSN Messenger instant messaging software, heating up the battle of features against America Online and Yahoo. The new application allows MSN Messenger 5.0 users to stream live videos to other contacts using the software and a Webcam. Logitech will host the video streams on its servers, and will allow 56kbps modems a resolution of three to five frames per second (fps) and broadband as high as 15fps.
    • Ad Muncher 4.41 Build 4936 Beta - Ad Muncher (download) is a program for Windows systems which removes adverts, popups and general browsing annoyances from all popular browsers and web-utilizing programs (as well as most banner displaying and popup generating programs like ICQ, Morpheus, Kazaa, Grokster, Opera, iMesh, Bearshare, LimeWire, etc).
    • ClonyXXL 2.0.1.4c - ClonyXXL is a copy protection detection scanner, which can show what kind of protection is used on a disc. It will provide you with the right settings for CloneCD, so you can make a working copy of the disc!
    • SANDRA 2003 Standard SP1 9.44  - SiSoftware Sandra (the System ANalyser, Diagnostic and Reporting Assistant) is an information & diagnostic utility.
    • Coding Workshop Ringtone Convertor 4.2 - The Ringtone Converter (download) is a software program for both Microsoft Windows and Apple Mac systems that allows you to add new ringtones to your mobile phone without the need for cables or expensive premium rate SMS services.
    • K-Lite Codec Pack 2.0 Release Candidates -  K-Lite Codec Pack 2.0 Test Builds are available. These are NOT the public final versions yet. For testing purposes only. ninstall the old version first.
    • NetCaptor 7.1.0 Final - The small IE based browser NetCaptor has been updated to version 7.1.0 Final.
    • DirectX 9 & Mad F/X -  Mad Software has released an optimized DirectX 9 version of Mad F/X, a cutting-edge real-time visualization and animation software package for the desktop PC.
    • Dell's Nvidia Detonator v43.30 - Dell released a new Detonator Driver v43.30.. Files are dated 3rd of March, 2003.
    • ATI Delivers CATALYST 3.2 - ATI Technologies Inc. today unveiled CATALYST 3.2, a high-quality, reliable graphics software suite that includes unified driver and software applications to enable its RADEON family of graphics products. This latest release features ATI's industry-recognized MULTIMEDIA CENTER 8.1 (release notes) software suite.  Note: The drivers are not yet available for download.  (keep checking this page)
    Early Evening Tech Reading - tech
    (hx) 12:06 AM CET - Mar,12 2003 - Post a comment
    • Bad passwords open new can of worms - A spike in Internet traffic caused by a worm over the weekend can be largely blamed on bad passwords and poor security practices, security experts said on Monday. The Deloder worm, which spreads by communicating with Windows computers that have file sharing enabled, may have spread to perhaps as many as 10,000 systems using a list of 86 passwords to break into computers running WinNT/2k/XP. While not an epidemic, the attack did highlight that people frequently choose easily guessable passwords to guard their computers' security.
    • Support wanes for antipiracy chips - Chipmakers have not completely abandoned efforts to create such copy protection features, but developers now say that they're ready to move ahead with what some call a second best alternative in order to feed surging demand for chips bound for new multimedia devices such as MP3 players, cell phones, and PDAs. This so-called soft coding--putting antipiracy rules into software that is more accessible to users--is slower and less secure, but lets companies adapt to rapid changes in the market more easily, developers say.
    • Toshiba Boosts Pocket PC Flash Memory  - Toshiba American Information Systems' new Pocket PC e750 series builds on the promise of the older e740 product that helped the company make strides in the handheld market despite a product recall. The e740 PDA was Toshiba's first unit with integrated 802.11b wireless connectivity, and the new e750 also comes with that technology. It features 32MB of NAND flash memory dedicated to data storage, out of a total of 96MB of memory, said Craig Marking, senior product marketing manager for Toshiba.
    • A Host of Options - PCMagazine has reviewed 7 nationwide Web site-hosting services that have all the options small and midsize organizations need.
    • Microsoft Unveils Office 2003 Beta 2 - Microsoft expects to distribute about 500,000 copies of Beta 2, and is offering it publicly through its TechNet site and an Office preview site. New features in the works include Business Contact Manager, an Outlook add-on intended for small-business users who want more-powerful tools for customer relationship management (CRM) but don't need a more sophisticated and expensive multiuser app such as Act or Goldmine. In addition, Microsoft has release some MS Office 2003 Videos: Excel 2003 XML Mapping Video ~ Word 2003 XML Mapping Video ~ Building Managed Solutions Behind Excel 2003 Workbooks Video ~ Building Managed Solutions Behind Word 2003 Documents Video.
    • AMD targets NT 4.0 users with Opteron - AMD will target users of Windows NT 4.0 with its 64bit Opteron processor, due for release on 22 April. The strategy highlights the diverse approaches of AMD, which is encouraging firms to make a gradual move from 32bit to 64bit worlds, and its larger rival Intel, which expects firms to make a sharper change because its 64bit Itanium processors slow the performance of 32bit applications.
    • Nforce 2 BIOS problems confirmed and fixed - Users of a new Shuttle Nforce 2 based machine had reported problems with the BIOS. They had been trying to overclock their machines only to find that, once they went past a certain point, the machine would stop working. Hard Tecs 4U, a German site, unwittingly uncovered the missing jumper. They had reviewed six Nforce 2 motherboards from different manufacturers and managed to kill all of them. The only one that was easy to recover was an MSI K7N2-L board which has the jumper. Using the jumper sets the BIOS back to a 100MHz FSB safe mode.  Other people had discovered that you could use a 100MHz FSB processor, for example a Duron, in a motherboard that had stopped working to get it going again.  And there lies the problem. Setting the FSB too high can stop Nforce 2 motherboards from POSTing. Once the motherboard has stopped POSTing, the only way to get it going again is to reset the FSB back down to 100MHz. Only most motherboards don't have the jumper so you can't do that.
    • Mitsumi to release 485FTE - first 54x CDRW - The Mitsumi 485FTE CD-RW drive offers a highly reliable 54X write speed, 32X rewrite speed with the power and performance of a 54X read speed. The Mitsumi 54x32x54 CD-RW drive's Enhanced IDE interface can be installed easily and is fully compatible with almost any PC for true plug-and-play capabilities.
    • Sony BDZ-S77 blue-ray recorder preview - Most news sites have recently posted that SONY Japan Corp is going to start sales of first household blu-ray DVD recorder, 23 GB, in Japan on April 10, 2003. The manufacturer-recommended price runs into US $3800. SONY BDZ-S77 DVD recorder based on blu-ray media is probably positioned for the Japanese and US consumer markets with their digital satellite broadcasting bringing high-definition TV to a growing number of houses. SONY BDZ-S77 has a built-in digital BS (broadcasting satellite) tuner for digital satellite television. In addition to 2 hours of high-quality video you can record MPEG-2 AAC 5.1 sound from digital satellite boadcasting. One-layer one-side optical blu-ray disc can contain 23 GB.
    • Samsung 172B 17" LCD Review - Techware Labs has posted a review of the Samsung 172B 17" LCD monitor.
    • Samsung Syncmaster 191N 19INCH TFT LCD Monitor Review - Tweaknews.net has posted a review on the Samsung Syncmaster 191N 19INCH TFT LCD Monitor. "Now let me add this up. Improved 191N analog technology which is better than the older digital 191T, same great looks and a US$200-$300 price cut? I don't think there is even a question that this product deserves the Tweaknews.net's seal of approval, the "Top Rank Award". Better and cheaper are always a good thing in my mind, wouldn't you agree?"
    • VIA chipset targets Athlon XP 3000+  - VIA has unwrapped its latest Apollo chipset, the KT400A, which it claims is the fastest single-channel DDR chipset designed for AMD's Athlon XP 3000+ and more than ten per cent faster than previous Apollo offerings. The chipset comprises VIA's FastStream64 memory controller, developed to reduce memory latency without forcing vendors to provide dual-channel DDR memory banks. FastStream64 supports DDR at 200-400MHz. The KT400A provides an AGP 8x graphics channel, and supports 200-333MHz processor bus speeds.
    • The VIA KT400A Special - AMDBoard informed us that its VIA KT400A special page is now online. The page offers the 3 following choices:
      KT400A Preview  ~ KT400A Special Page with previews from around the world and Soyo KT400A Dragon Ultra first KT400A specifications and photo.
    • New copy-protection released in the UK - Soldiers of Anarchy - In the thread, started by CDFreaks forum member logicwatch, a new copy-protection has possibly been discovered on the UK release of the game 'Soldiers of Anarchy' version 1.1.2.177: "you CANNOT use dpm on alcohol it will hang at 98%. you CANNOT make a bwa using blindwrite again it hangs with "error reading during measurement at sector 8150. you CANNOT make a normal image using clone cd or alcohol..."
    • Reclaiming Resources under WinXP - WinXP, like its predecessors works very quickly after a fresh install. Unfortunately, as time goes by, things tend to slow up as your hard drive gets clogged and more applications decide to run in the background without as much as a by your leave. Removing some of these items allows you to regain systems resources, Hard Drive (HD) space and Memory (RAM) and as an added bonus, they can provide free performance gains. This article attempts to provide step-by-step instructions for the unfamiliar, an aide-memoire for the old and the bold!
    • Sound Forge Studio 6.00e Build 237 - Sonic Foundry has released an updated version of their audio content editing software called Sound Forge 6.0e.
    • AVG Free Edition 6.0 Build 461 - AVG Free Edition 6.0 Build 461 has been released.
    • K-Lite Codec Pack 1.9 Release Candidates - K-Lite Codec Pack 1.9 Test Builds are available. These are NOT the public final versions yet. For testing purposes only. Uninstall the old version first.
    • MAME v0.66 - MAME stands for Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator, and currently runs 1800+ classic (and even some not so classic) arcade games! Believe it or not, MAME now even runs Neo Geo Games.
    • Alcohol 120% 1.4.2.308 - Alcohol 120% is a CD/DVD emulation and recording software that allows users to copy a visible and invisible discs. It enables users to create 31 virtual CD/DVD-ROMs to play discs without needing a physical disc.
    • TaskInfo 2003 v5.0.0.86 RC3 - TaskInfo2002 is combination of Task Manager and System Information Utility, It visually monitors different types of System information in Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP.
    • BPS SpyWare/Adware Remover 7.0 - BPS Spyware/Adware Remover is a multi Adware, SpyWare, Trackware, Thiefware & Big Brotherware removal utility with multi-language support. It scans your memory (for active memory ad components, which are not stored on your hard drive and last only as long as the computer is powered up), registry and hard drives for known SpyWare parasites and scum-ware components and lets you remove them safely even ad component DLLs.
    • Rage3D Tweak 3.8b - Rage3D Tweak v3.8b (download) has been just released. What is the Rage3D Tweaker? Rage3D Tweaker is a Radeon Tweaker program designed to fit right in with the other ATi option tabs in the Advanced Display Properties accessed through the Control Panel.
    • VIA Hyperion 4in1 v4.46 (released 10 March 2003) - VIA Tech has posted new, updated set of VIA 4-in-1 (Release Notes) set of chipset drivers
    • Realtek ALC AC97 Audio Driver 3.41 - Realtek released version 3.41 driver (.de Mirror) for their ALC AC97 audio chipsets. The driver supports all ALC series audio chipsets from ALC100 up to ALC650.
     Gameguru Mania News - Mar,11 2003 - tech
    Microsoft's big PC gaming plans - tech
    (hx) 12:30 PM CET - Mar,11 2003 - Post a comment
    According to GameSpot, DirectX 9 will be the last DX release for a while, as Microsoft focuses resources on making bigger improvements for PC gaming in Longhorn, including introducing a standard controller. At GDC, they had a chance to sit down with Dean Lester, the head of Microsoft's Windows Graphics and Gaming division, to hear about the software giant's major new project to make the PC a better gaming platform. Lester acknowledged that two or three years of the company's attention was focused on launching the Xbox, but he said that now it's the PC's turn. The PC gaming initiative has support from "Bill and Ballmer" on down, and it's enough of a priority that there are some 200 people working on it. Basically, Microsoft will make improving the PC gaming experience one of the central appeals of Longhorn, the next major version of Windows that's expected in about two years.
    As has been rumored, Longhorn will likely include a major overhaul in Window's visual presentation, which may include 3D interface elements. Lester also said it would include a special "My Games" view that would centralize all the matchmaking, control panel settings, patching tools, and game lists and make such tasks much simpler. Microsoft is working on streamlining a number of current technical trouble areas, like the installation process and display drivers, and will centralize game updates through a Windows Update-like patch server. It's also looking into making it possible to run Windows games directly from the CD without installation. Somewhat more straightforward features include adding sophisticated matchmaking into Microsoft Messenger and parental controls over which users can play certain games.
     Gameguru Mania News - Mar,10 2003 - tech
    Evening Tech Reading - tech
    (hx) 02:14 AM CET - Mar,10 2003 - Post a comment
    • Pentium 4: next price cut in May  - According to Taiwanese industrial sources, about May, 11, after Pentium4 with 800MHz FSB are released, Intel plans to cut prices for previous models. Despite sales were high in January and February, distributors believe May price cut will be well-timed to prolong market activity for some time.
    • Valve Releases Hammer Port of Counterstrike Server  -  Valve, L.L.C., creators of Counter-Strike and Half-Life, announced immediate availability of a 64-bit version of the Counter-Strike dedicated server using the upcoming AMD Opteron processor. Counter-Strike has the largest service footprint of any game on the Internet, with 35,000 servers generating over 4.5 billion player minutes per month. In a straight port of code highly optimized for x86-32, Counter-Strike dedicated server tests with both 32- and 64-bit versions revealed a 30% clock-for-clock gain, and is expected to show further performance gains in future upgrades.
    • Love at first sight - Nokia's 7250 - The 7250 has all of the features that you want in a phone, for the most part. It is triband GSM, it has a color display, polyphonic ringtones, Java, and a speakerphone function, too. Sure, it is missing Bluetooth, but I pretty much have given up on Nokia and Bluetooth ever really working well together. For as much as Nokia seems bent on getting others to use their UI standard (Series 60), they sure seem unable to play by somebody elses rules (those of the Bluetooth SIG).
    • Office 11 Resource Kit Documentation Beta Preview - Microsoft has released Office 11 Resource Kit Documentation Beta Preview. This is a collection of deployment and tools documents to support the Office 11 Resource Kit Beta release.
    • Ad-aware 6.0 Reference File 0R125 09.03.2003 - This update includes updated signatures for Mainpean, Unified Dial-In System (Bloiscom), Hot Connector,GoIndirect,Deepthroat Trojan, LOP.com and IGetNet.  To install, unzip into your Ad-aware and restart the program. Ad-Aware also includes an web updater, so you can do this through the program if you like, or are not comfortable doing it manually.
    • LCD Analyzer version 1.2 - LCD Analyzer allows you to check the quality of Palm LCD. It can be used for inspecting for dead pixels or dust on your Palm LCD.
    • ShellToys XP 3.0 - ShellToys XP 3.0 has been released. A suite of 33 shell extensions for Windows XP/2000/Me/98, adding powerful new features to the context menu for files, folders, windows and file-dialogs.
    • Magic Utilities 2003 - Magic Utilities 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).With a cool and user-friendly interface makes it easy for anyone to use Magic Utilities.
    • WinRAR 3.2.0 Beta 1 -  WinRAR (download Win32 ~ Linux ~ changelog) 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.
    • DivXRepair v1.0.1 - Using DivXRepair you can repair corrupt avi files and eliminate freezes. This program automatically detects and eliminates bad frames. This program is based on VirtualDub (version 1.4.2.x) - mp3 - VBR.
    • Alcohol 120% v1.4.2.308 - Alcohol 120% (download) is a combination of both Alcohol 52% and Alcohol 68%. It enables users to both copy and emulate real or virtual CDs & DVDs. Alcohol 120% can handle the creation of 31 virtual CD & DVD-ROMs, allowing the user to play discs whithout needing the physical disc.
    • CpuIDMax 2 - This release includes support for new CPUs (including Prescott and Barton), support for SSE3, bugfixes, etc
     Gameguru Mania News - Mar,09 2003 - tech
    Weekly Hardware Reviews - tech
    (hx) 07:17 PM CET - Mar,09 2003 - Post a comment
  • CPU - AMD Athlon XP3200+ CPU | AMD Athlon XP Barton 2.167 GHz / 3000+ (German) | Barton Overclocking Database | Intel Pentium 4 2.66GHz

  • Motherboard - nVidia nForce2 Motherboard roundup | Abit KD7-G VIA KT400 | Abit NF7-S nForce2 | Albatron PX845PEV Pro i845PE | AOpen AX4GE Max i845GE | Asrock K7S8X SiS746FX  | Asus A7N8X nForce2(1) | Asus A7N8X nForce2(2) | Asus P4SDX SiS655 | Asus A7N8X Modding Guide | CubeSystemZ CF-S968 SFF System | e-Cube CF-S968 SFF System(1) | e-Cube CF-S968 SFF PC (2) | EPoX 8RDA+ nForce2(1) | EPoX 8RGA+ nVidia nForce2(2) | EPoX 8RDA+ nForce2 | Intel E7205 / Granite Bay roundup | Intel D845PEBT2 i845PE | Iwill P4GB Intel E7205 | Iwill XP4 Cute Cube | Leadtek K7NCR18G Pro nForce2 | SiS 746FX Chipset | MSI 845PE Max2-FIR i845PE | MSI K7N2-L nForce2  | Soltek 75FRN-L nForce2 | Soyo P4I i845PE | VIA Epia-M Platform

  • RAM - Crucial 256MB PC2700 DDR333 Memory | Crucial PC2700 DDR Memory | Corsair XMS Twin X PC3200 LL PC3200 Memory | GeIL PC3500 Ultra Platinum Memory | GeIL PC3500 256MB Ultra Platinum Memory | OCZ Technology Basic Series PC3200 Memory | OCZ 1gb PC2700EL Dual Channel DDR Kit(1) | OCZ PC2700 EL Dual Channel Memory(2) | OCZ PC3200/DDR400 CAS2.0 Memory | TwinMOS PC3200/DDR400 Memory

  • Storage - High-End IDE HDD roundup | IceCube 3.5"USB 2,0 HDD | Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9 SATA(1) | Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9 HDD(2) | Seagate Serial ATA Barracuda V 120GB HDD || CD-RW roundup | MSI StarSpeed MS-8216M 16x DVD-ROM Drive | BenQ 52x24x52x Internal IDE CD-RW | Samsung DVD-V2500 Combo Drive  || Lexar 2 / 4 GB Compact Flash | Twintech 32MB USB Drive

  • Video - Albatron TI4680 GeForce4 Ti4200-8X | Gainward GeForce4 Ti4400-8X(1) | Gainward GeForce4 Ti4400-8X | Gainward GeForce4 Ti4400-8X(3) | GeForce FX 5800 Ultra(1) | GeForce FX 5800 Ultra(2) | nVidia GeForce FX 5600/5200 Ultra(3) | nVidia GeForce FX Family(4) | MSI G4Ti4800SE-VTD8X GeForce4 Ti4400-8X | MSI G4Ti4600 GeForce4 Ti4600-8X | MSI GeForce4 Ti4600-8X | nVidia QuadroFX 2000 | Reference GeForce FX 5800 Ultra | XFX GeForce4 MX440 64MB  || ATi Radeon 9800 Pro(1) | ATi Radeon 9800 Pro(2) | ATi Radeon 9800 Pro(3) | ATi Radeon 9800 Pro(4) | ATi Radeon 9800 Pro (5) | ATi Radeon 9800 Pro (6) | ATi Radeon 9800 Pro(7) | ATi Radeon 9800 Pro(8) | ATi Radeon 9800 Pro(9) | ATi Radeon 9800 Pro(10) | ATi Radeon 9800 Pro(11) | ATi Radeon 9800 Pro(12) | ATi Radeon 9800 Pro(13) | ATi Radeon 9800 Pro(14) | ATi All-In-Wonder Radeon VE | Radeon 9500 Pro roundup | Sapphire Radeon 9100(1) | Sapphire Atlantis Radeon 9100(2) | Sapphire Radeon 9500 Pro | Sapphire Atlantis Radeon 9700 Pro || PowerColor Xabre 600 | Soltek Xabre 600

  • Monitor - Samsung SyncMaster 760v LCD | Planar PX171M 17" LCD | Sharp LL-T1620 16" LCD

  • Cooling - Socket A Cooler Comparison | Arctic Silver vs Nanotherm Thermal Paste | AVC Tundra 2 Cooler | Cobalt3 Pyramid V Fan Controller | CpuFX Z4 Micro Intercooler Kit | Dynatron Crossflow Blower  | OCZ Gladiator II Cooler | OCZ Gladiator II Copper Cooler (video) | OCZ Gladiator II Cooler | PCMods 3.5 4 Channel Fan Controller | Spire Socket A Cooler roundup | Spire 5R265B1H3T SkiveStream Cooler | Titan Aluminum Frame Fans | Thermaltake Spark 7 Cooler | Thermaltake Volcano 9 CoolMod | Thermaltake Xaser III Aluminum | Thermaltake Volcano 11 Cooler | Thermalright SLK-800 Socket-A Cooler | Thermalright SLK-900 Copper Cooler(video) | WForce Super Panel FanController | Vantec VP4-C7040 Cooler | Zalman HP-80A VGA Cooler (video)

  • WaterCooling - Aguatec CPU Water Cooler | Little River White Water Block | ThermalTake Aquarius-II | Water / Air Cooling Hybred Cooler | Watercube GT3 WaterCooler (German)

  • Case -  Antec Lanboy Portable Case | Chenming ATX-301K Case | Chieftec Dragon DX-01 GN-D Case | Crazy PC Silver Inferno Case | Colorcases 0106 Web Tower Case | CoolerMaster SAF-B82 Case Fan | Cooler Master 201B-BXT Case | Enermax CSX-3181L Case | Koolance PC2-601W Case | Skyhawk Aluminum AL4378D-SL Case | SS Warrior Aluminum Case | Sunrise Tequila C3 Case | Thermaltake Xaser III V1000D Case | Z40 Insight Case | Zalman ZM-F1 Silent 80mm Case | X-Pider Case | X-Sonic Aluminum Case

  • PSU/UPS - Antec True 550 Watt PSU | Antec True Blue 480W PSU | I-Star TC-400R8A 400W+400W Mini Redundant PSU |

  • Sound - Chaintech AudioExcel AV515M 6 Channel PCI Sound Card | Creative Audigy2 Platinum eX | Terratec Sound Cards || Logitech Z-340 2.1 Speakers

  • Peripheral - Logitech MOMO Racing Wheel | Ratpadz vs Icemat mousepad | X-Trac Standard Optical Mousepad


  • Printer/Scanner - Epson Perfection 3200 Photo Scanner

  • Network - Gigabit Ethernet |  Linksys Wireless Access Point Router | Winter WonderLAN

  • Modding - Antec 120mm Red LED Fan | Antec 80mm Trilight Fan | AutoDeletePro UV Reactive Fans | Bitspower 12 Cold Cathode Kits Rev 2.0 | Bitsmodding Blue CCFL | Bittspower CCFLS and UV Fan | Crystalfontz 632 USB LCD Screen | Cyber Cooler 80mm Blue LED Fans | DIY Led Fan | Lamps Electronics CCFL | Luxeon LumiLED | Mac Style Case | Molex LED Mod | PcToys System Maxx Multi-Function Panel | Sunbeam Sound Activated Electroluminescent Cables | SunBeam 12 RGB Cold Cathode Kit | UV Lazer LED PSU | Vantec Tornado 80mm Case Fan

  • Miscelanous -
    •  Belkin 2 KVM Switch | Belkin OmniView E Series 4-Port KVM  | Californeon Lightstrip | Dremel Multi-Pro 395 | Duracell Prismatic Battery  | Innovatek SoundDampening Mats | Noiseblocker HDD Silencer | Nokia 7210 | Tweakmonster EL Lightstrip Rev3.0(1) | Tweakmonster Rev 3.0 Light Tape Kit(2) | Vantec Nexus NXP-201-SL FanController | Vantec Nexus Fan Controller

  • Notebook, Camera, MP3 players -
    •  Canon PowerShot S50 Digital Camera | Creative Nomad Jukebox Zen | iRiver SlimX iMP-350 | Kodak LS633 First OLED Display | Magic Star MP3 Player USB Flash Drive | Nokia HS-1C Camera Headset | Olympus 4/3 Digital SLR E System | Olympus C-730 Ultra Zoom Digital Camera | Sony Ericsson P800 Mobile Phone
     Gameguru Mania News - Mar,08 2003 - tech
    Saturday Tech Madness - tech
    (hx) 05:18 PM CET - Mar,08 2003 - Post a comment / read (1)
    • Dawn of the Airborne Laser - The Air Force is readying the first airborne laser weapon, which could be used to intercept Scud missiles. Lasers have long been used to cut tile, correct vision, weld with extreme precision and, yes, point to things on chalkboards; except in Star Wars or Star Trek, however, no laser has ever been successfully fired in anger. But when all the components of the ABL are installed in a 747 later this year, it could become the world's first functional laser weapon-at a time when the need for such a weapon couldn't be more urgent.
    • Dinosaur-Killer" Asteroid Crater Imaged for First Time - A high-resolution map from NASA's Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), released yesterday, has provided the most telling visible evidence to date of a 112-mile (180-kilometer) wide, 3,000-foot (900-meter) deep impact crater, the result of a collision with a giant comet or asteroid on one of Earth's all-time worst days. 
    • Microsoft speaks, site goes dark - In an uncommonly harsh application of a widely used Internet enforcement tool, a Windows news site was taken offline for nearly 24 hours this week after Microsoft accused the site of infringing its copyrights.  Neowin was shut down late Thursday and came back online Friday afternoon. Microsoft's Internet investigator sent a takedown notice on Tuesday, alleging the site was infringing the company's copyrights relating to its recently released Windows XP Peer-to-Peer Software Development Kit (SDK), apparently due to a message posted by a reader in an online feedback forum. And here is some info directly from Neowin: "IF YOU WONDER where your post count has gone or why half of our hacks on the boards or site are still not working or even why Neowin has been warped back to Feb 13th you might want to ask Andrew G. Tereschenko ([email protected]) at TAG Software Research Lab, Odessa, Ukraine. He seems to be mass mailing websites claiming a personal victory against Neowin for reporting us for breaking NDA (Non Disclosure Agreement) that we haven't signed. It seems Microsofts contracted Anti-Piracy team did find something they could email our Server provider for what followed was icing on the cake for Andrew G. Tereschenko."
    • Games anti piracy bot fingers ZX Spectrum archive site - The Interactive Digital Software Association last month sent a "Berne Convention - Demand for Immediate Take Down - Notice of Infringing Activity" to World of Spectrum, which is home of the Sinclair ZX Spectrum archive and also describes itself (maybe carelessly, considering how some phrases set robots' juices going) as "the largest on-line gaming center on the Internet."
    •  Intel to boost Xeon chips next week - The Santa Clara, Calif., chipmaker is expected to launch the new chips, running at clock speeds of 3GHz and 3.06GHz, on Monday. Though they've yet to be officially unveiled, the new Xeon chips first appeared in workstations in early February.
    • Samsung develops ear bud microphone - The device, according to Samsung, is the first earbud headset to contain both a transmitter and a microphone. It picks up the sound of speaking directly via the user's head, filtering out some 90 percent of the background noise. The Korea-based manufacturer explained--in promotional material released ahead of the world's largest ICT show--that "when we speak, our heads act as natural resonance chambers. That's why, for example, singers use earplugs: so they can hear their own voice better when on stage."
    • MiTAC unveils Smartphone 2002-based Mio 8380 - Taiwan-based MiTAC has after a brief flood of rumours now introduced its Mio 8380 smartphone, based on Microsoft's Smartphone 2002 platform. Joining HTC and Samsung as manufacturers using this platform, MiTAC delivers the most fully featured device based on Smartphone 2002 thus far, with the clamshell 8380 sporting tri-band GSM/GPRS, J2ME, MMS, MPEG4 playback and even an integrated digital camera. As a phone, the GPRS Class B, Class 10-compliant Mio 8380 supports 900, 1800, and 1900 MHz cellular networks, as well as SMS and MMS out of the box. Powering the device is a 200 MHz Intel XScale processor, joined by 16 MB of internal RAM and 32 MB of ROM.
    • Mobile phone Java games ported to the GBA - aJile Systems has developed a way for companies that develop Java Games for mobile phones to also sell them for use in the Nintendo Game Boy Advance players. aJile's JAMiD game development kit is also the first platform to use Sun's latest MIDP 2.0 technology, which offers advanced audio and graphics features to Java mobile game developers.
    • Logitech Revelaed New USB Keyboard And Optical Mouse Designed For PS2 - Logitech today announced that its USB Keyboard and Optical Mouse designed for the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system are scheduled to arrive on retail shelves in the U.S. and at www.logitech.com later this month. The USB Keyboard has a suggested retail price of $29.95 USD and the Optical Mouse has a suggested retail price of $19.95 USD.
    • Microsoft Promises End to 'DLL hell' - ZDNet is reporting that Microsoft is attempting to do away with DLL version conflicts in its next version of Windows with a technology it calls 'Strong Binding'. When new programs attempt to overwrite old versions of DLL's, the Strong Binding will index the DLL's and allow the programs to reference them by a unique ID, rather than by file name.
    • Windows XP Patch: Application Compatability - This update addresses the "Some Application Compatability Fixes Stop Working After You Install the 328310 Update" issue in Windows XP. Download now to update Application Compatability Fixes. For more information about this issue, read Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 814995.
    • WinBoost 4.15 - WinBoost 4 (download) is a special utility designed to boost Windows XP/2000/Millennium Edition (ME)/98 Second Edition/98/95 performance and productivity.
    • Media Player Classic 6.4.3.1 - Media Player Classic (download) is similar to windows media player 6.4 but with features pertained to minimalist advanced users. It also supports DirectX 9 and VFW drivers for capture.
    • VCool 2.0 Alpha 1 - VCool 2.0 will cool your Athlon/Duron processor on any VIA KT133 or KX133(A) (VT8363, VT8361, VT82C691/693A/694 or VT8371 +VT82C686x) chipsets during idle.
    • ATi's Radeon9800 Tech-demos - ATi Technologies released two technical demos (MPEG/EXE format) for their RADEON 9800 graphical card. Both demos require DirectXR9.0 and latest CATALYST 3.1 display drivers.
    • NVidia releases GeforceFX demo executables - Nvidia official website has been updated with some GeForceFX demos (Dawn, Ogre, Time Machine, and Toys) - check it out.
     Gameguru Mania News - Mar,07 2003 - tech
    Morning Tech Reading - tech
    (hx) 12:27 PM CET - Mar,07 2003 - Post a comment
    • Australian ISPs raided in MP3 probe -  Federal have executed search warrants on Telstra and internet company Eftel in one of Australia's largest investigations into alleged music piracy, which could be worth up to $60 million. Warrants were also executed at several other un-named internet service providers, with more warrants possible as the investigation continues.
    • Bank glitch gives student $9.9 million - An online banking glitch gave a Princeton University student access to university accounts totaling $9.9 million when he tried to access a student publication's account.
    • Two men arrested for allegedly stealing $136,000 from bank using Internet - Two Japanese men were arrested for allegedly hacking into bank accounts through the Internet and stealing $136,000, police said Thursday. Police suspect 35-year-old Ko Hakata, a former computer software developer who is now unemployed, and Goro Nakahashi, a 27-year-old businessman, robbed the unidentified bank's accounts from a computer at a Tokyo cafe Sept. 18. The men allegedly downloaded software from the Internet that detects what keys previous users of the computer punched, police said. They then figured out the passwords that five people had used to access their bank accounts online, and transferred a total of $141,000 from those accounts to another bank, police said. Using an alias, Nakahashi allegedly withdrew $136,000, police said.
    • PayPal Users Hit With Another Scam - Another Internet scam that targets online shoppers who use the EBay PayPal payment service is circulating, according to reports from those who have received the suspicious e-mail and to messages posted to online discussion groups. PayPal did not respond to requests for comment.  The e-mail appears to come from "[email protected]" and has a subject line that reads "Your PayPal account is Limited." The body of the message reads, in part: "PayPal is currently performing regular maintenance of our security measures. Your account has been randomly selected for this maintenance, and placed on Limited Access status."
    • GDC 2003 - And Now for ATI's Next Trick - First up was the 9800 -- the product aimed at hardcore gamers. Like its predecessor, the 9700, this accelerator features eight pipelines, 256-bit memory, full precision architectures, and full support for DirectX 9. Its versions of Smartshader, Smoothvision, and Hyperz III have been updated as well. The standard version ships in April and sports 128 MB of RAM, while the Pro model is slated for an April release and touts a hefty 256 MB. ATI did not reveal the core and memory frequencies at this time. Pricing of these models should top out at $399.  For comparisons sake, ATI ran some benchmarks against an overclocked NVIDIA Quadro 2000. The rationale was that the GeForce FX 5800 Ultra was not available for testing. It was a bit silly since ATI could have easily procured a 5800, but the company wanted to illustrate how its chief competitor has yet to ship silicon. Getting back to ATI's benchmarks, the company asserts that the 9800 outperforms the FX 5800 by 50 to 60 percent.
    • $300,000 for Unreal Engine Per Game - Epic Games asks developers who want to use the Unreal graphics engine $300,000 per game plus 3 percent of royalties, according to an article on NewsObserver.com. The company also offers a $600,000 deal that won't include payment of royalties to Epic Games. Mark Rein, Epic's vice president, is quoted saying the company still makes most of its money on its own Unreal games. Sales of the graphics engine can make up half of Epic's annual income between releases of its own titles though. (thanks PlanetUnreal).
    • Nokia gaming phone set for post-summer launch - Finnish mobile phones giant Nokia expects to launch its first foray into phones that double as portable game consoles shortly after the end of summer, executives of the company said on Thursday. At the annual Game Developers Conference in this Silicon Valley town, Ilkka Raskinen, senior vice president of Nokia's entertainment and media business unit, told Reuters that the company's N-Gage combination unit was getting ready to go into testing.
    • Tiny Firm Loads MP3 Song Files Onto Cellphones -  A tiny company called Xingtone on Thursday said it has developed technology to enable users to load digital songs onto cellphones for the first time, but admits the software may hit a sour note with the embattled music industry.
      The software converts MP3 files, or compressed digital music files, onto wireless phones, which would take the current ring-tone phenomenon one step beyond providing the robotic sounding renditions of tunes currently playing on phones.
    • Zooming in on the nanoscale - Researchers have created the highest resolution optical image ever, revealing structures as small as just tens of billionths of a metre across.  Carbon filaments: The technique can resolve detail down to about 25 billionths of a metre "This is the highest resolution optical spectroscopic measurement ever made," said Lukas Novotny, professor of optics at Rochester University, US.
    • From SoundBlaster Live! to Audigy - Please read carefully, it does not say that it can convert a Live! into an Audigy2! However, it does unlock more features in a SB Live!
    • Windows XP Patch: Windows XP Media Center Edition Fast User Switching Hotfix - Download this package if you use Fast User Switching on Windows XP Media Center Edition. This will correct the problem where your Media Center PC may stop responding when you switch between users while watching live TV.
    • OpenOffice Build 644m4 - OpenOffice.org (Win32 ~ Linux) is the open source project through which Sun Microsystems is releasing the technology for the popular StarOffice productivity suite. It is an international office suite that will run on all major platforms and provide access to all functionality and data through open-component based APIs and an XML-based file format. The OpenOffice.org project establishes the necessary facilities to make this open source technology available to the developer community.
    • Official NVIDIA Quadro Certified Detonator Drivers 43.00 for Win2K/XP - NVIDIA has released new Quadro Certified Detonator Drivers version 43.00 for Win2K/XP.
    • Xabre Performance Drivers v3.10.58 - The official SIS Xabre website has some new Xabre Performance drivers.
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