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 Gameguru Mania News - Nov,15 2002 - tech 
Evening Tech Madness - tech
(hx) 01:09 AM CET - Nov,15 2002 - Post a comment / read (4)
  • Microsoft pushes Xbox online  - Estimates are that the company will be lucky to have a million Xbox Live subscribers by the end of next year, and Microsoft's most optimistic projections call for 10 million subscribers by the time a new version of the Xbox is introduced around 2005. Analysts estimate that building the global network for Xbox Live will account for at least a quarter of the $2 billion Microsoft has said it intends to spend to establish its video game console.
  • Teen says game inspired crime spree - Nineteen-year-old Micah Zoerner of Somers, Wisconsin is charged with numerous counts of theft, burglary and auto theft. He's being held in lieu of a 15-thousand dollar cash bond.  A preliminary hearing is scheduled for November 20th. He was arrested Friday when officers in the village of Pleasant Prairie spotted him breaking into vehicles parked at a local apartment complex. When he was arrested, Zoerner had a vehicle that was reported stolen a week earlier from the same complex. Detectives say he told them he'd been inspired by the video game "Grand Theft Auto."
  • Security Alert: US Admiral Proposes "Big Brother" System  - According to the New York Times and the Washington Post, retired Vice Admiral John Poindexter has proposed the creation of a tracking and monitoring system called "Total Information Awareness". This system would gather information about individuals from widely varied sources, including telephone calling records, credit card charges, banking transactions, airline reservations, and biometric databases -- all without search warrants or prior notice. Poindexter is promoting the massive data mining system as a weapon against terrorism, and has been quoted as saying that it is necessary to "break down the stovepipes" between commercial and government databases so as to facilitate the hunt for terrorist activity.
  • Jowood in troubles? - An investor update on the JoWooD Official Website: "JoWood has already introduced extensive restructuring measures so as to be able to concentrate on its core competences - focusing on top titles with high sales potential. These measures will entail additional expenses of at least EUR 20 million. For the time being, we have therefore delayed publication of our quarterly figures and a detailed outlook for the fourth quarter and the year 2002 as a whole. However, on the strength of orders already received, we anticipate a considerable increase in sales for the fourth quarter. We have already commenced talks with our bankers with a view to ensuring the necessary liquidity for the company."
  • Linux utility site hacked, infected - CERT advised that a popular Linux download site, tcpdump.org, was hacked and recent downloads were infected with Trojan Horse code. Another in a string of similar attacks.
  • MS Takes Hard Line on Security - Craig Mundie, who oversees the company's Trustworthy Computing initiative, told an audience Wednesday that in response to the threat of terrorist cyberattacks, Microsoft would deploy security fixes to its installed base of hundreds of millions of computers worldwide in the coming year -- even if those fixes break applications in use by customers.
  • 3ghz Pentium 4 Reviews - As I mentioned morning, Intel has released a 3ghz Pentium 4 which brings us Hyper-Threading technology. You check some reviews&benchamarks: at:  Accelenation | Ace's Hardware | AnandTech | Gamers Depot |  HardOCP | Hardware Unlimited | Hexus | Sudhian | Tech Report | Tom'sHardware | TweakTown | Xbit Labs.
  • Group proposes 1066MHz PCI bus specification - The industry group behind the widely used PCI specification announced plans to extend the roadmap to support 1066MHz bus speeds. PCI-X 1066 will be developed as a backward-compatible follow-on to the recently announced PCI-X 266 and PCI-X 533 specifications, though the PCI Special Interest Group will consider adding new features such as enhanced power management, full isochronous support, redundant paths support, and modular form factors, according to the Portland, Ore.-based organization.
  • Wireless IRC for the Nokia 7650 - Germany-based mobileways has now released version 1.52 of WirelessIRC, an application which lets Nokia 7650 owners connect to IRC networks to chat and share files by means of DCC. As an IRC client, WirelessIRC allows users to connect to Internet Relay Chat (IRC) networks all over the world, where they can chat with thousands of other people that have connected either via PCs, mobile phones or handhelds. WirelessIRC provides menu shortcuts to most common IRC commands, and with version 1.52 offers users the option to send and receive files by means of a DCC relay proxy. Possible applications include taking a picture or recording a voice note, for then to send it to another person on the network. A free trial version of WirelessIRC 1.52 is available, while the full version of the application can be purchased for $9.95 USD.
  • Look! Up in the Sky! It's a Flying Cell Phone Tower! - Helios, in fact, is the centerpiece of a next-generation startup called SkyTower Telecommunications, an AeroVironment spinoff that plans to launch Helios and many of its clones to an altitude of 12 miles -- only weather balloons and U-2 spy planes venture that high in the atmosphere -- where they would serve as private communications satellites for consumers and businesses on the ground...Helios will bathe the ground directly below it in an electromagnetic mélange of bargain-priced broadband Internet, third-generation (3G) mobile-phone service, and high-definition TV signals. All you'd need is a dish the size of a cereal bowl nailed to your roof to get the whole wireless package.
  • Images and movies from the Sun - The images and movies on this page are the most highly resolved solar images ever taken. The observations were made with the Swedish 1-meter Solar Telescope (SST) by Göran B. Scharmer, Boris V. Gudiksen, Dan Kiselman, Mats G. Löfdahl, and Luc H. M. Rouppe van der Voort.
  • VIA said to push back KT400A and P4X600 production to 2003 - VIA Technologies has reportedly decided to delay volume production of its KT400A and P4X600 chipsets from the fourth quarter to early 2003, according to sources at motherboard companies.
  • AMD postpones 90nm products to 2004 - Affected by the delayed launch of K8-core processors, the introduction of 90-nanometer (nm) products by AMD will be pushed back to the first half of 2004, the company's latest roadmap showed. Originally, AMD scheduled to roll out its 90nm, SOI (silicon-on-insulator) process-based Athens core (for servers and workstations), San Diego core (for desktops) and Odessa core (for notebooks) in the second half of 2003, following its introduction of 0.13-micron K8 products from the end of 2002 to the first half of 2003.
  • ATI Introduces Next Generation IMAGEON 3200 - ATI today introduced IMAGEON 3200, the most advanced multimedia co-processor for handheld electronic devices such as PDA and the new generation of data-enabled Mobile Phones.  It integrates an advanced 2D graphics engine and an MPEG/JPEG decoder alongside a powerful and versatile set of peripheral I/O functions.
  • GeForce4 4200 Go Mobile GPU  - NVIDIA introduced the Company's newest mobile graphics processing unit (GPU), the NVIDIA GeForcet4 4200 Go GPU. Based on the critically acclaimed GeForce4 Ti 4200 GPU, the GeForce4 4200 Go GPU delivers the same features and level of performance that has earned the GeForce4 Ti 4200 GPU the reputation as the "perfect" GPU for desktop PCs.
  • Carmack Talks Quick about Doom 3 and NV30 - "My current work on Doom is designed around what was made possible on the original GeForce, and reaches an optimal implementation on NVIDIA's next-generation GPU. My next generation of work will be designed around what is made possible on NVIDIA's next-generation GPU. "
  • 87gigabytes DVD soon? - Boston College researchers have found a way to store about 19 times more data on a disk than a common DVD can hold, using optical media made with common products, the December issue of Nature Materials reports.  An epoxy glue sold at hardware stores and a glass-like substance were formed into a DVD-size disk able to hold about 87 gigabytes, equal to 87,000 paperback books. A typical DVD holds about 4.7 gigabytes. The discovery is unique because the materials remained stable, keeping data intact, the project's leader said.
  • Epox offers KT400, Thoroughbred unlocked - Epox recently announced a BIOS for its KT400 boards, branded as the 8K9A, that offers a feature for those wanting to overclocking Athlons without changing the processor itself. This makes it an easier task to overclock AMD chips, given that there's always a danger of losing the warranty on the microprocessor if you dabble too much.
    Epox has made it possible to have processors that are multiplier unlocked on AMD retail Athlons. This means you will be able to overclock your CPU just by plugging in it into the board, and then overclocking at will, because of the voltage and other settings Epox includes. The BIOS works for all Thoroughbred processors -- including revision B -- that support FSB 333. All processors from 2200+ up to the still unavailable 2800+ are supported.
  • Office 2000 Service Pack 3 - The Office 2000 Service Pack 3 (SP3) (download) provides the latest product updates to Office 2000 and offers you the highest levels of performance and security available for Office 2000. It can be installed by enterprise, small business, or individual users. Office XP SP3 addresses issues described in several previous Microsoft Security Bulletins as well as in several previous downloads.
  • NVIDIA Premieres NVDVD 2.0 - NVIDIA announced the immediate availability of NVIDIA NVDVD 2.0, the newest version of the Company's versatile PC-based software digital media player. NVIDIA is offering consumers a free, 14-day trial version, which can be downloaded starting today, along with a trailer for MGM's upcoming James Bond 007 movie "Die Another Day," provided by MGM and Ambient Digital Media.
  • Customized OCIA version of Sandra 2003 Standard -  As many of you already know, the popular benchmarking tool SiSoft Sandra has released their 2003 version of this program. In conjunction with OCIA, SiSoftware has created a customized version of this benchmarking program just for OCIA readers! This version is like any other Standard 2003 except for the fact that it features an OCIA splash screen and the "distributed by OCIA" info. Also, if you choose to purchase the full version of Sandra 2003 through the Standard version, OCIA earns a small commission. This money will go to cover site expenses, such as hosting, contests, etc. The file is a 5 MB download, so it might take a little bit for you dial-up guys. Broadband users should have no problems at all.
  • Windows 2000 Post SP3-Hotfixes / WinXP Post SP1-Hofixes - This document is a cumulative list of the articles that have been written to discuss hotfixes that have been released since the release of Windows 2000 Service Pack 3 and Windows XP Service Pack 1.
  • Windows .Net Server 2003 build 3714 released - This build is a continuation of the cleaning up of the code (shot1/ shot2) and implementation of the newer "Windows .NET Server 2003" (thanks NeoWin).
  • Star Office 6.0 Patch - Sun has released a new patch (for both Windows and Linux) for Star Office 6.0.
  • Intel Chipset Installation Utility 4.10.1012  - This utility allows the operating system to correctly identify the Intel chipset components and properly configure the system. The Intel Chipset Software Installation Utility installs specific Windows INF files. The INF files inform the operating system how to properly configure the chipset for specific functionality, such as AGP, USB, Core PCI, and ISA PnP services.
  • Nero InCD 3.51.61 - Nero InCD 3.51.61 (mirror1 ~ mirror2 ~ mirror3) has been released. InCD is Ahead Software's packet writing software for CD-RW's.
  • ATI Catalyst Drivers 02.4 - ATI today released the latest installment of their feature rich and well received Catalyst driver suite - WinXP/2K ~ Win9x/ME ~ ControlPanel. Features: CodeCreatures score is improved by 20% at 4X AA for 9700 series products, NASCAR 2002 framerate is up as much as 18% across the entire Radeon products line, NHL 2002 performance is up as much as 35% across the entire product line (largest gains on Radeon 7500/8500), Performance on legacy (DX6 and DX7) apps is improved by as much as 15% for Radeon 9700 series products.
 Gameguru Mania News - Nov,14 2002 - tech
Morning Tech Reading - tech
(hx) 12:20 PM CET - Nov,14 2002 - Post a comment / read (2)
  • House considers jailing hackers for life - A last-minute addition to a proposal for a Department of Homeland Security would punish malicious computer hackers with life in prison. The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday evening voted 299 to 121 to approve the bill, which would reshape large portions of the federal bureaucracy into a new department combining parts of 22 existing federal agencies, including the Secret Service, the Coast Guard, and the FBI's National Infrastructure Protection Center.
  • Tech taps into portable power sources - Canadian government researchers at the Alberta Research Council (ARC) announced this week that they have built a working prototype of a fuel cell that uses hydrogen gas as a fuel but can be adapted to run on a variety of sources such as natural gas, butane or propane.
  • NASA to Delay Decision on Shuttle Replacement - NASA announced a major change in direction today for its human space flight program, saying it would delay development of a replacement for the space shuttle and instead start work on a new, smaller orbiting space plane - a sort of minishuttle - to take people to and from the International Space Station.
  • tmsuk and SANYO reveals new and improved "Banryu" home-robot - tmsuk Co., LTD., (pronounced "temzack") a small robotics firm from Kitakyushu (Fukuoka Pref. Japan) and SANYO Electric Co., Ltd. Headquartered in Moriguchi, Osaka, have developed an improved version of their home-robot Banryu. The two companies wish to finalize the design and details and to commence the marketing of the first-ever useful home robot to the general public in year 2003.  The new "Banryu", which means "guard-dragon" in place of "guard-dog", takes on a look of an ancient reptile with a futuristic twist. Its speed has been increased from 3meters/min. to 15meters/min., a velocity more than fast enough for a home robot designed to travel in confined cluttered spaces. It also is able to confidently go over gaps over 10cm, sensing the height with sets of sensors located on its legs.
  • Qualcomm GSM chip speaks many languages - Available by the middle of 2003, the MSM6500 processor represents Qualcomm's latest push to sell mobile phones that are based on the world's most widespread wireless standard, GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications). Qualcomm said upcoming cell phones that use the new processors will be able to use networks based on GSM and CDMA, as well as a faster version of CDMA called CDMA2000 1xEV-DO.
  • Lite-On comes with stand-alone DVD/ MPEG-4 player - Lite-On's model LVD-2001 is a DVD player with several advanced features, including MPEG-4 playback, a photo browser and progressive high definition output. The LVD-2001 will be demonstrated at the IA Show taking place in Taipei on November 16th to 19th and will be in full production by February 2003.
  • Start-up to put LindowsOS on sub-$1,000 tablets - A group of PC industry veterans Tuesday took the cloak off a new company called StepUp Computing, and revealed its first product -- a low-cost, pen-based tablet computer that can run Windows 2000, Windows XP, and coming soon, a version of the Linux operating system from Lindows.com. StepUp Computing's first product to market will be a tablet computer called the DocuNote, which will cost as little as $799 depending on the software it ships with, the company said.
  • Overclocking your ATI Radeon 9700 Pro to 400 MHz - According to Andrew Vorobyev, new ATI Radeon 9700 Pro cards have an interesting feature: those who tried to overclock them might have noticed a gap between GPU and heatsink? The match lies on the GPU with heatsink removed. Notice the about 1mm gap between chip walls and the crystal! ATI's thermogasket doesn't add to the overclocking potential (see picture) Naturally, if you remove it, you will have a lot of thermal grease... better chip-cooler contact easily raised the ATi R9700 Pro clock up to 400 MHz. (source - Digit-Life news)
  • KDE 3.0.5 -  According to the SuSE README file for KDE 3.0.5, this is not exactly a full release of its own, as only the kdebase and kdelibs packages were affected from the (mostly security) updates (the rest of the packages have very minor changes). Users who already have 3.0.4 installed, will only need to re-install these two packages, while users using older versions, will have to do a complete installation.
  • DirectX 9.0 RC 0 Officially - I've posted a download link earlier, however this RC0 can now officially be downloaded directly from Microsoft. Supported Languages: Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Czech, Dutch, English (American), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Spanish, Swedish. This pre-release version expires on March 19, 2003.
  • BootXP 2.26 RC1 -  BootXP is an easy to use startup logo changer designed for Windows 2000 and XP that uses bitmap files or kernel files as sources.  BootXP shows animated full screen previews of the screens,sp you will see the previews as if you were booting.
  • MAME 0.62  - MAME 0.62 has been released (the first version under GPL!), and it supports 3596 ROM sets, 2045 unique games.
  • KaZaA Lite 2.0.2 - KaZaA Lite 2.0.2 has been released. Changes: 1) Cheats do not work in this version 2) There won't be any upgrade pop-ups 3) The starting bug of KaZaA is fixed.
  • Alcohol v1.3.5.1112 - Alcohol 120% (mirror) 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.
  • YahooPOPs! 0.4.0  - YahooPOPs! is an open-source initiative to provide free POP3 access to your Yahoo! Mail account. YahooPOPs! is available on the Windows and Unix platforms. This application emulates a POP3 server and enables popular email clients like Outlook, Netscape, Eudora, Mozilla, Calypso, etc., to download email from Yahoo! accounts.
  • ATI Catalyst DirectX 9.0 BRC0 Drivers  - ATI Technologies released a new beta drivers (Catalyst BRC0) supporting  DirectX 9.0 Release Candidate 0 (RC0) application program interface (API).
  • VIA 4in1 Drivers v4.43v - VIA Arena reports that they released a new VIA 4in1 drivers v4.43v (download). The difference between different versions of the 4in1 drivers can be found by reading this release note file.
 Gameguru Mania News - Nov,13 2002 - tech
Morning Tech Reading - tech
(hx) 01:28 PM CET - Nov,13 2002 - Post a comment
  • Hacker busted - Federal authorities yesterday accused a British computer administrator of hacking into 92 computer networks operated by the U.S. military and NASA, including one break-in that shut down systems at a navy facility in New Jersey immediately after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Authorities said two of the computer systems were at the Pentagon. The intrusions also made inoperable the network that serves the military district for Washington, officials said. [Reuters]
  • Potter Pirates Fail to Copy Film on the Internet - Computer geeks have apparently tried and failed to use their technical wizardry to copy a pirated version of Warner Bros. newest "Harry Potter" movie to the Internet before its Friday theatrical release.  Warner Bros., a unit of AOL Time Warner AOL.N , said on Tuesday that it had opened a copy of "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" that it discovered in a hard-to-find location on the Internet and found it to be an empty decoy.
  • Drug-resistant bacteria discovered in Detroit  - A 40-year-old Detroit area woman had endured painfully infected foot sores for more than a year. Doctors gave her numerous antibiotics, but nothing worked. Finally, last April, they amputated one of her toes -- and made a frightening discovery. Her sores were infected with a virulent new strain of the bacterium staphylococcus aureus, or staph aureus. By stealing genetic material from another bug, the new strain became totally resistant to vancomycin, the longtime drug of last defense against it. Health officials would not identify the metro Detroit woman or what hospital treated her.
  • Nokia: BlackBerry phone ripe by 2003 - The first Nokia phone to feature BlackBerry maker Research In Motion's e-mail software will be launched in the United States by the end of 2003, Nokia said Tuesday. The $250 Nokia 6800 is aimed at business workers used to getting e-mails on BlackBerry devices and includes a keyboard that emerges when the clamshell-shaped phone is unfolded, said Nokia business applications product manager Brannon Perkison. Nokia licensed the RIM software earlier this month.
  • NVIDIA's David Kirk Interview - Hardware Accelerated has posted an interview with NVIDIA's Chief Scientist David Kirk as he talks aboutNV30, nForce2, Cg and more.
  • Athlon XP Price Drop  - According to other sources, AMD cut prices for the Athlon XP 2200+, 2100+, 2000+, 1900+, 1800+ and 1700+ processors. The Athlon XP 2200+ was said to be still priced at over US$100, while the prices of the other five processors fell by as much as about 40% to US$60-90. Prices of the high-end Athlon XP 2400+, 2600+, 2700+ and 2800+ remained unchanged.
  • Intel breaks 3GHz speed barrier - It may be a year before the 3GHz chip, expected this week, and its hyperthreading feature catch on among business buyers, but gamers and affluent consumers will have them both on hand for the holidays. PC makers such as Dell Computer will offer the 3GHz chip in their performance-oriented desktop models, which sell for $2,000 and above.
  • AMD ships mobile 2200+ - AMD yesterday launched the mobile Athlon XP 2200+, and in a pleasant change from recent 'launches', actually has parts in stock to ship. Fujitsu Siemens, AMD's biggest customer in Europe, is fitting in the 2200+ into the AMILO A-x600 series and it has stock available now.
  • Future Look: OpenGL 2.0 -  Currently available as version 1.4, OpenGL has proven to adapt with the evolution of graphics hardware, though it's age is becoming starkly apparent as compared to Microsoft's latest DirectX D3D technology. In hopes of revitalizing the decade old standard, 3Dlabs recently offers a new approach outlining the features of a possible OpenGL 2.0 revision.
  • Installing PHP 4 on your Windows box - This article continues along that line with the installation and configuration of PHP 4. If you have Apache up and running, PHP will further enhance your server by offering a myriad of new possibilities. First, here is a short explanation of each PHP.
  • VisualRoute 7.0d - VisualRoute (download) delivers the functionality of key Internet "ping," "whois," and "traceroute" tools, in a high-speed visually integrated package. VisualRoute automatically analyzes Internet connectivity and performance problems, displaying the results in an easy to understand table and on a world map.
  • Windows XP Keychanger tool - Wanna change your winXP key from the pirated key to your genuine key? This tool says it does it.
  • DirectX 9.0 RC0 Build 9.0.308.3 - Its been leaked and now available for free download. Don't forget that this is a pure beta and will expire in a month or two.
  • SNES9x Windows v1.39a - This is a Windows port of SNES9X. Now the Windows port not in beta stages anymore, and it's getting better. The most significant improvements are the 3Dfx support implemented in this Windows version.
  • Visual Boy Advance v1.2 - Visual Boy Advance is a Game Boy Advance and Game Boy emulator that runs with Windows system. This is the DirectX version of Visual Boy Advance.  You can also try the SDL version. SDL stands for Simple DirectMedia Layer. It is a cross platform library for graphics, input, audio, threading, etc... that can be used for games, emulators, etc. To some people, the SDL version on Windows may be faster than the DirectX version.
  • ICQ Lite Beta Build #1068 - ICQ Lite Beta Build #1068 (history) has been released- this is a lite version of ICQ (not the web ICQ) :)  
  • MSN Messenger Service 5.0.0540 - MSN Messenger (Win98/ME ~WinXP ~ Win2k/NT4SP6) is an instant-messaging program that notifies you when your friends are online so you can send messages or chat with several friends at once.
  • WinAce v2.3 beta 3 - WinAce is an archiving utility with an easy-to-use interface for creating, extracting, and viewing archives. If you're looking for archiver utility that has HIGH compression ratio, this one is for you.
  • Opera 7 for Windows Beta 1 - Opera Software has released Opera 7 for Windows Beta 1 (Mirror) The saying "Less is more" couldn't be more true! Opera's code has been reworked from the rendering engine and up, giving you a faster browser packed with features in an exceptionally small download. Enjoy new features such as the new e-mail and news client, a sleek new interface, improved Hotlist, skinning or drag-and-drop and much, much more.
  • Blindwrite Suite 4.2.2 - According to VSO-Software the company behind Blindwrite, v4.2.2 is the only 1:1 copy software to support latest protection (Securom 4.8, Safedisc 2.8), without a CD emulator required.
  • kX Project Drivers 5.00.3527 Beta - The kX Audio Driver is an independent WDM 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.
  • Windows 95/98/Me nVidia Detonator 40.72 (Updated) - If you experienced difficulty with this driver between November 8th and 11th, please download again. We have corrected the issue and updated the file.
  • Matrox W2K/XP Beta Driver (v5.87.037.0) - Matrox released a new beta drivers for G200/200MMS/400/450/450MMS/550 cards. Officially the set only is for 200MMS/450MMS but works with the other cards too.
  • nForce 1.14 Driver - There's WHQL'ed driver set for nForce 1 chipsets: nForce 220/230/415/420/430 for Windows 9x/Me & Win2K/XP.
 Gameguru Mania News - Nov,12 2002 - tech
Nightly Tech Reading - tech
(hx) 03:13 AM CET - Nov,12 2002 - Post a comment / read (4)
  • Qualcomm translates USB for phones  - The San Diego-based company plans to incorporate so-called USB On-The-Go technology into the chips it sells handset manufacturers, but didn't disclose any additional details about product plans. Qualcomm licensed USB On-The-Go technology from Irvine, Calif.-based developer TransDimension. Terms of the deal were not released. The chips will be part of the newer generations of cell phones, which have vastly improved processing power in comparison with the older generations of wireless devices, Qualcomm indicated.
  • GC75 GPRS PC Card Modem - Sony Ericsson announced their new PCMCIA GPRS wireless modem, capable of delivering 57.6 Kbps. It is tri-band and works in 900/1800/1900 MHz range, which led Sony Ericsson to imply that the card will work in 160 countries, providing an always-on Internet connection.
  • Movielink = Online movie rental service - For now, Movielink's store will debut with about 200 titles, including first-run and classic films such as "A Beautiful Mind," "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," "Pyscho" and "Breakfast at Tiffany's." The company plans to add more films that appeal to its audiences after its initial test. Prices for films vary from $2.99 to $4.99, and are set by the individual studio. First-run films will appear on the site after they are out on home video, but before they hit pay-per-view television. The Web site is accessible only to U.S. residents who have a broadband connection with a minimum speed of 128kbps.
  • Aussies dump prozzies for GTA - The Australian censorship board has given the Grand Theft Auto: Vice City for the PS2 game an MA15+ rating, after some scenes involving prostitutes were removed from the game.
  • Nvidia to launch NV28M at Comdex - According to The Inquirer, NV28M, NVIDIA's new mobile chip, will be introduced at Monday 18th November at Comdex Fall 2002. As you may know, NV28 is nothing more than a Geforce 4 with AGP 8X, while NV28M will be an AGP 8X version of Geforce 4 chip made to fit in a notebook
  • InnoVISION announces Inno3D GeForce4 Ti4200 AGP 8X  - InnoVISION Multimedia announced the latest Inno3D Tornado Geforce4 Ti4200 AGP 8X based on the latest NVIDIA GeForce4 GPU with AGP 8X technology. The Inno3D Tornado GeForce4 Ti4200 8X DDR will be available for sample quantity from second week of November, 2002.
  • CPU Influence on Graphics Card Performance - In this first article on ATI RADEON 9700 PRO based graphics product Xbit-Labs learned that this gaming chip is the fastest of all available today.
  • Alcohol Easy Build Disc - Alcohol Software has released screenshot on their forum announcing a new addition to their software. Alcohol Easy Build Disc will be added to the package and will allow simple mastering functions (like you do with Nero). Adds mastering capabilities - Currently Alcohol 120% is one the software packages that is able to make backups of the latest copy protections. (thanks CDRFreaks)
  • NTFS Conversion and Theory Guide - NTFS allows file level security, as well as local security. NTFS also has other benefits such as long file name support and larger partition sizes, up to 16 Exabytes in theory, but more like 2 Terrabytes in practice. NTFS is also less prone to disk fragmentation, though it still happens.
  • Soldier of Fortune II tweak guide (updated) - TechSpot has updated their Soldier of Fortune II tweak guide. This guide will take you through the mass of options available in the game. Updated from last time a new Multiplayer Tweaking section, and massive amounts of data for tweaking graphics settings have been added.
  • Detonator 40-series and tv-output problems - With the release of the all new Detonator 40-series many user experience TV-output problems with it. We worked on that issue and discovered the reason. There are 3 different solutions to solve this problem.
 Gameguru Mania News - Nov,11 2002 - tech
Evening Tech Reading - tech
(hx) 01:55 AM CET - Nov,11 2002 - Post a comment
  • "Rapunzel" CD-ROM Lets Barbie Free Her Prince - There's a crisis in Barbie Land: The world's most famous doll, starring in the fairy-tale role of Rapunzel, has lost handsome Prince Stefan.  He's been kidnapped and turned to stone by the evil witch Gothel. If that wasn't bad enough, is almost time for the masquerade ball! So how does Barbie respond to this devastating tragedy?  She redecorates, of course! The weird thing about Barbie's interior design strategy is that it actually makes sense when playing the "Barbie as Rapunzel" game ($30, Windows/Macintosh). [do you like Barbie? :P  ~ hx hides ...] :))
  • Silicon Valley's Jobless Rate 7.9 Percent - The technology downturn continues to hammer California's Silicon Valley, where the unemployment rate in October was 7.9 percent, the highest level since 1983 and well above last month's statewide average of 6.4 percent.
  • Sun's rays to roast Earth as poles flip - Earth's magnetic field - the force that protects us from deadly radiation bursts from outer space - is weakening dramatically. Scientists have discovered that its strength has dropped precipitously over the past two centuries and could disappear over the next 1,000 years.  The effects could be catastrophic. Powerful radiation bursts, which normally never touch the atmosphere, would heat up its upper layers, triggering climatic disruption. Navigation and communication satellites, Earth's eyes and ears, would be destroyed and migrating animals left unable to navigate.
  • Stargate SG1 Season 7 Confirmed - It's official! Stargate SG-1 will go on another year, according to an announcement made today by The Sci-Fi Channel. The cable network will hold on to the long-running science fiction series -- it's highest-rated original show -- for a seventh season. The last half of Season Six starts January 10 on Sci-Fi, with the season finale expected to air in March. Season Seven should begin airing in June.
  • AMD Athlon XP Processors 2600+ and 2700+ With 333MHz FSB For Sale in Japan - According to this translation at Xbit-labs, AMD Athlon XP processors with 2600+ and 2700+ model numbers appeared in Japanese retail. Both CPUs are intended for 333MHz system bus and run at 2083 and 2166MHz respectively. It worth to mention that there are very few 2600+ chips with 266MHz FSB support all around the world at this time, hence, it may eventually appear that AMD will offer its products with this model number only for the 333MHz system bus. The Athlon XP 2700+ processor is priced at Y50800 ($420), while its lower speed brethren costs Y42800 ($354). It seems that the novelties are a bit overpriced, since officially AMD sells such devices for $349 and $297 respectively in quantities starting from 1000 pieces.
  • Extreme Overclocking of Hercules 3D Prophet 9700 Pro - The video card was overclocked with the RivaTuner program. Half an hour later the card reached the maximum frequencies - 420/375 (750) MHz at which all the tests were fulfilled without failure.
  • ADSL Slow? This may be the solution  - ADSLGuide has an update from the popular broadband ADSL offering ISP Zen Internet, which relates to an issue where some ISP subscribers were experiencing slower speeds where it should be fast. BT have completed a series of tests on a number of end users connections that have been experiencing slow download speeds and have discovered the reason that some people are suffereing from sub-standard performance. If you want to find out the cause and solution read more.
  • How to fix 60 Hz Refresh Rate Bug In Win2K/XP - Theoretically this fix should be display-driver/adapter independent, since it modifies settings for the monitor rather than display-drivers/adapter itself.
  • PGP 8.0 Public Beta 2 - PGP encrypts electronic mail, files, and instant messages, and also provides the ability to create and manage PGP keys.
  • n.player v1.0 -  Freeware n.player is a versatile media player that plays DVD, audio CDs, MP3, WMA, AVI, DiVX, or any media with the preisntalled DirectShow decoder.
  • Tripex3 v3.12 Plugin For WinAmp - This plugin is a fading ambient demo-style effects (Requires DirectX 7). It features 12 effects, including metaballs and free direction tunnel.
  • True Launch Bar v2.0  -  True Launch Bar (download) is a Superior replacement for the standard Quick Launch bar. It allows you to combine your shortcuts into groups. This feature looks like popup menus. This vastly improves the management of your shortcuts and save working space on your desktop.
  • WinRAR 3.10 Beta 3 - WinRAR has been updated to version 3.10 Beta 3.
  • Tweak-XP Pro 2.05 -  Tweak-XP Pro bundles more than 37 different utilities in one: it was developed to combine both tweaking and optimizing features to increase the speed of your Windows XP system.
  • MagicTweak 1.96 - MagicTweak (download) is a special program designed to optimize and personalize Microsoft Windows. This unique software makes it easy to tweak hundreds of hidden settings in Windows,
  • TVTool 6.8.2 - A new version 6.8.2 of TV Tool has been released. This is the program that enables your video card TV-Output and seems to be the best external one.
  • PowerStrip 3.30 Beta Build 354 - PowerStrip 3.30 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 and Radeon 9700.
  • KaZaA P2P 2.0.2 - The KaZaa Media Desktop (download) is a second-generation peer-to-peer file-sharing service with which you can search and download media files from other KaZaa users.
  • SavageIX/MX Drivers v7.15.30 - S3 Graphics has released a new drivers (Win9x/ME) for SavageIX/MX.
  • SiS 648 Chipset IDE / AGP Drivers - SiS has released some new drivers for the 648 Chipset (648 + 963) - both certified under Windows XP
  • Asus Promise S-ATA150 Driver v1.00.0.14 - Asus has released a new Promise S-ATA150 driver version 1.00.0.14 for Win9X/ME/2000/NT/XP.
  • Massive Samsung CDRW/CDROM/DVD Firmware Update - Samsung has released a new firmware for the following drives - Samsung CD-ROM SM-316B/EXP T306, Samsung SLIM SN-324B/EXP U100, Samsung CD-RW SW-240B/COM R501, Samsung COMBO SM-304B/COM T100, Samsung DVD-ROM SD-616T/COM F305 and Samsung COMBO SM-332B/EXP T403.
  • Nvidia GeForce 4 Go Drivers 40.72 - You can leech&try but remember that  these drivers are not official GeForce4 Go drivers and are in fact the desktop drivers, adapted so that they will work on laptop systems.
 Gameguru Mania News - Nov,10 2002 - tech
Hardware Reviews - tech
(hx) 12:10 AM CET - Nov,10 2002 - Post a comment / read (1)
 Gameguru Mania News - Nov,09 2002 - tech
NVIDIA v40.72 WHQL Detonator Drivers - tech
(hx) 12:32 PM CET - Nov,09 2002 - Post a comment / read (4)
I've noticed that NVIDIA's Windows XP/2000 Detonator driver page has been updated with a WHQL version 40.72 (though the release date on the page is being shown as November 11, 2002., but it seems to be a typo). The Windows 9x/ME driver page also has the 40.72 WHQL drivers, but are showing a date of November 8th :) Well, who care :) As usually they claim up to a 25% increase in performance, nView 2.0 multi-display technology, NVRotate, NVKeystone, Digital Vibrance Control, New control panel streamlines user interface, Robust Channels that enables higher faster performance and better stability for all applications, CineFX Simulator and NVIDIA's patented Unified Driver Architecture (UDA) - supports all products in a single driver binary.
Direct download links:
Windows XP (12.3MB) :  WinXP(1) ~ WinXP(2) ~ WinXPk(3) ~ WinXP(4)

Windows 2000 (12.3MB) :  Win2k(1) ~ Win2k(2) ~ Win2k(3) ~ Win2k(4)

Windows 95/98/ME (11.9MB) - Win9x/ME(1) ~ Win9x/ME(2) ~ Win9x/ME(3) ~ Win9x/ME(4)

Windows NT4 (11.9MB) - WinNT4 (1) ~ WinNT4 (2) ~ WinNT4 (3) ~ WinNT4 (4).
Nightly Tech Mania - tech
(hx) 03:08 AM CET - Nov,09 2002 - Post a comment
  • E-mail virus alert carries own worm - Kaspersky Labs informs users that on the night the November 7th there was a massive attack against the company's Web server. The attack resulted in a group of hackers sending the subscribers of the Kaspersky Labs e-mail newsletter a message containing the recently discovered "Bridex" worm.
  • Qualcomm finally mixes network cocktail - Sanjay Jha, a Qualcomm senior vice president, said the trial will test the operation of the technology, known as GSM1x, and not whether there is a market for it. The tests will involve a few hundred customers and begins early next year. GSM1x was created as a way for GSM carriers to add Qualcomm's 1x cell phone technology to their networks. Short for CDMA20001xrtt, 1x is built on the CDMA standard and promises to double voice calling capacity and create a wireless Web with download speeds of 40kbps to 60kbps.
  • Forum sets course for blue-laser DVD standard - The DVD Forum will use the 0.6-mm bonded disk proposed by NEC Corp. and Toshiba Corp. as the basis of its next-generation DVD standard utilizing a blue laser. The Forum will not consider the rival blue-laser technology backed by the Blu-ray Consortium, which was not formally submitted to the DVD Forum for consideration.  The standards-setting body had formed two groups earlier this year to study the two optical disk systems. The approach advocated by NEC and Toshiba uses the same 0.6-mm disk substrate employed in current DVDs, while the Blu-ray approach uses a disk with a 0.1-mm cover layer.
  • Panama cracks down on Net telephony - The Oct. 25 decision requires ISPs to begin blocking 24 UDP ports, including the gateways most commonly used to shuffle so-called VoIP telephone calls. VoIP is currently banned in the country, whose phone services are provided under an exclusive contract through January 2003 with Cable & Wireless Panama, a joint venture between the government and the U.K.-based phone giant Cable & Wireless.
  • Wireless USB underways - Sampling of the first product in Cypress Semiconductor's WirelessUSB family of products is now underways, with the Cypress CY694X being the first solution that enables manufacturers of human-interface devices (HID) including PC mice, keyboards and gaming consoles to eliminate cords whilst maintaining compatibility with existing USB accessories. Operating at 2.4 GHz, the same frequency Bluetooth and 802.11b wireless networks use, the CY694X can connect as many as seven devices up to 10 meters (30 feet) apart, making WirelessUSB a low-cost wireless RF solution - and possibly an alternative to Bluetooth. With an average latency of less than 8 milliseconds with four concurrent devices connected and less than 20 milliseconds with the maximum number of devices connected, WirelessUSB is also capable of serving the high-demand gaming market where a latency of 30 milliseconds is generally the maximum allowed.
  • Amiga Hardware Finally Shipping  - EyeTech Group Ltd., which announced the commercial availability of the AmigaOne in March, announced the rerelease and update of the AmigaOne after the company's developers discovered problems in the company's custom chipset. EyeTech is currently offering three boards: the AmigaOne G3-SE, and two versions of the AmigaOne XE, which contain either a 700-MHz 750FX, or an 800-MHz PowerPC 7451, or G4 chip. The hardware doesn't ship as a finished box; instead, customers must build chasses and add peripherals to the boards.
  • CDL Paron "secure PDA" - IBM and Consumer Direct Link, Inc. have co-developed the Paron MPC, a unique handheld PC which combines the functions of a PDA, Bluetooth wireless access, cellular telephone, and biometric fingerprint recognition, along with a security-oriented hardware/software architecture. In particular, IBM and CDL claim that the Paron represents the world's first handheld wireless device with built-in biometric user authentication.
  • TDK announces 4x +RW and 4x +RW DVD recorders - TDK today introduced its first-ever Indi DVD writers - a versatile multi-DVD format burner, and a single format 4x +R unit. The industry's first DVD burner capable of 4x writing for the +R format and 2.4x for -R, the new MultiFormat Indi DVD (Model AID+040212N) internal DVD writer is designed to give PC users the broadest range of flexibility in creative video/audio applications, including the ability to create, edit and share customized DVDs and CDs using video, still digital images, music and data, regardless of format.
  • Dolby Virtual Speaker - Dolby Virtual Speaker technology is a proprietary process that can be included in a wide variety of products (such as DVD players, TV sets, PCs, personal speaker systems, and home theater systems) to provide a true-to-life 5.1 surround-sound experience with just two speakers. Working in conjunction with Dolby Digital and Dolby Pro Logic II decoding, it enhances the playback of any program material, from 5.1-channel DVDs and satellite programming to stereo music CDs and MP3 files.
  • AOpen introduces SilentTek - With years of research, involving Electronic, Air Dynamic Thermal, Mechanical Engineering and BIOS, AOpen proudly introduces "SilentTek", the Silent PC Technology, on our new generation of AOpen motherboards. There are a total of 4 fan noise reduction algorithms, and one CDROM noise control function: Smart Fan, Fixed Fan, Multiple Level, and AOpen Recommended Setting. Among all, the Smart Fan algorithm is the innovative algorithm developed by AOpen. If you are not running too many applications with heavy loading, you may find your CPU fan is almost always running at zero RPM.
  • NV30 To Ship In '03 - While listening to NVIDIA's earnings conference call, CEO and President Jen-Hsun Huang stated that "we expect to begin production shipments (of NV30) in our January quarter." (thanks NVNews) + check this link - "Are you ready?"  (a NVIDIA Windows desktop theme is now available for download)
  • Pitou = Matrox Parhelia 2  - Pitou is the codename for Parhelia 2. Not the revised Parhelia (Parhelia 8X). Parhelia 8X can be launched at the God's Of Matrox's discretion any time but I would not be wagering on it because they are sitting on a large inventory of Parhelia already. Parhelia 2 does not have a completion date set in stone, but it is taped out and it does not look like the G450 in the line of Parhelia generation of chips. It is looking like it exceeds what the G400 did for the G series of chips.
  • XBox 2 Specification - According to C&VG' sources, Xbox 2 games about to go into development are looking at the following specs as a guide: 2.8Ghz Pentium 4 central processor, 512MB of RAM, NV30 graphics chip.
  • Silent Radeon 9700 Pro - Sapphire announced the new Ultimate Edition version of their Radeon 9700 PRO card Atlantis Pro. It comes with a special passive cooling that is combined with a heat-pump. The biggest advantage of that solution: No noise at all. The card will be available at end November. The price is still unknown yet.
  • Sony Vaio PCV-W10 Review - The VAIO W Series (1.6Ghz Intel Celeron processor, 512Mbyte DDR 2100 RAM, SiS650 integrated graphics chipset, 60Gbyte ATA100 HDD, CD-RW/DVD drives and 15.3'' WXGA wide aspect ration LCD) is arguably the nicest all-in-one system we've ever seen-even when compared with Apple iMacs. It has a 15.3-inch LCD with the wide aspect ratio (16:9) of 35-mm film and a PC riding piggyback. The monitor can tilt, and the attached rear-hinge keyboard can flip up to cover most of the display (the top two inches remain uncovered). The speakers that flank the LCD stick out farther than the computer module and emphasize the extreme width of the display.
  • How to find the best quality media ? - Some users report that very cheap media will not read back anymore after a couple of months, so if you have important data on them, this is certainly something to look at.
  • UT2003 Direct3D Driver - The Unreal Technology website has posted an updated D3DDrv.dll which "contains workarounds for S3 Savage 4 cards, fixes a bug in conjunction with z- pixel fog and works around a driver bug with vertex range fog on ATI cards which should fix the "brownout bug" in e.g. CTF-Face3."
  • Gimp 1.2.4 "Pre Release" For Windows - The GIMP is the GNU Image Manipulation Program. It is a freely distributed piece of software suitable for such tasks as photo retouching, image composition and image authoring. This site contains information about downloading, installing, using, and enhancing GIMP. This site also serves as a distribution point for the latest releases, patches, plugins, and scripts. We also try to provide as much information about the GIMP community and related projects as possible. You can find the installer for the latest build of The Gimp for Windows here
  • BurnQuick v2.10b - Once installed, BurnQuick becomes part of Windows and it can be used to burn a file or a complete directory to CD-R or CD-RW directly from the Windows Explorer. BurnQuick's simplified interface sets the new standard for ease of use in CD burning software. As one customer put it, "BurnQuick reduces the task of writing CD-ROM's from 'moon launch' hard to ZipDisk easy."
  • GameJack v2.00.164 - A new version of  GameJack can now be downloaded and has the following features: Incl. RAW COPY Mode, Copies and / or emulates all major copy protection methods, plus it does cope with the more tricky ones, such as VOB Protect CD, Starforce, the latest SafeDisc and Securom!, Hide ATIP Function, Fast skipping of defect sectors, EFM optimisation, Image splitting, Two virtual drives included, DPM Modec, Image Archiving on DVD (up to 6 Games), Copies all not CSS-protected single-layer DVD's, even PS2  and Video-DVD's.
  • Radeonator LE v1.2 - Radeonator LE 1.2 (download) is a small application that is made as a sort spin off from Radeonator. The only thing this piece of software does is overclocking, besides that it also features startup overclocking (but that is limited to Windows XP and 2000).
  • Radeonator v2.0 Final (leaked) - Radeonator (download) is a tweaker designed for the ATi Radeon videocards. Like most videocard manufacturers ATi hides alot of settings for the average user. This is mainly because most of these settings are used by the driver developers. Some of these settings can also be very usefull for us.... the customer, some settings can boost performance, unlock hidden abilities or just increase compatibility with certain games.
  • DVD2SVCD v1.1.0 Build 1 - Freeware DVD2SVCD is a completely automated frontend for converting DVD, PVA and AVI files to SVCD.  
  • Fresh UI 4.60 - Fresh UI - your FREE Windows tweaking tool - just got better with the release of version 4.6. This new version features MS Hearts cheat, Windows Media Player and Outlook Express hidden settings...enjoy :)
  • RegScrubXP 3.21 - Safely cleans junk out of the Windows 2000/XP system registry. All changes made to the registry are fully restorable to it's original condition. You can make an exclusion list of registry entries that RegScrubXP will not display as problems.
  • Sound Blaster Audigy Driver Pack (08/11/2002) - This Driver Pack Update pack (readme) is available for Sound Blaster Audigy owners operating on Windows 2000 or Windows XP operating systems only.  The driver contains optimized support for these two operating systems and is designed for use with all current models of Sound Blaster Audigy audio cards. (all existing SB Audigy Audio card to SB023x)  This update includes supports to the Korean, Japanese, German, French and English languages in addition to the first release of the Audigy Driver Pack. Note: This update requires the installation CD to be installed before running the update.
 Gameguru Mania News - Nov,08 2002 - tech
Evening Tech Reading - tech
(hx) 01:31 AM CET - Nov,08 2002 - Post a comment
  • New way to send hidden messages - The company, which was spun out of intellectual-property consulting firm Generics Group, an incubator of upstarts, has devised a method for sending wireless signals over ordinary audio speakers so that humans can't hear them. With this same technology, radio stations can unobtrusively transmit ads, Web site URLs, or information about music and artists to in-car cell phones. A major worldwide carrier will begin trials in the next six months.
  • Linksys vulnerability puts home users at risk -  A security hole in some versions of the software -- called "firmware" -- used by the router could allow a remote user to crash the device, interrupting Internet service for any computers attached to it, according to iDefense.  To cause a crash, an attacker only needs to enter the URL for a CGI script used to configure and manage the router without providing any "arguments" (input for the script to process), according to iDefense.  In most situations, the attacker would already need to be on a computer connected to the network to execute an attack. However, if the router has a 'remote management' feature enabled, a malicious hacker could execute an attack from anywhere on the Internet by entering the IP address of the router along with the name of the script into his or her Web browser.
  • Big Cable's Package-Pricing Ploy - New York City fans of HBO's Sex & The City who couldn't care less about the 20 or more channels that must be bought to get that particular premium service could slash their monthly cable bill from $56 to about $31. The smaller fee would get HBO and the major TV networks. In Orlando, fans who want Showtime's The Chris Isaac Show but not the assorted channels that come with it, could cut their monthly cable costs from about $51 to just $29.
  • ADV Confirms Cable Anime Channel - ADV Films has confirmed reports that they are working to create a cable television channel dedicated to Anime. Currently they are releasing very few details about the channel itself. All that has been publicized at this time is that the channel will run 24 hours a day and will break its content into four categories, Action Zone, Sci-Fi, Comedy Incorrect, and Horror/Martial Arts.
  • Tablet PC faces uncertain future - Microsoft and several top-tier computer makers introduced the new "Tablet PC" with much fanfare Thursday, but it remains uncertain how popular the device will be. Microsoft already invested roughly $400 million in development and research for the Tablet PC. The company is expected to spend tens of millions more marketing the new devices. Even so, Tablet PCs, all of which carry price tags exceeding $2,000, are not expected to make a big mark on the industry in the near term.
  • Shockwave surfs into online gaming - The online entertainment company hopes the new service, called GameBlast, will convince casual gamers to pay $9.95 a month to play. AtomShockwave already sells games that can be downloaded onto a PC, and more limited demo versions of these titles are available online. With GameBlast, the company is now letting people play full versions of the games via the Internet.
  • Understanding Memory Bandwidth And Latency - When people talk about bus bandwidth this way what they're really describing is only one type of bandwidth: the bus's theoretical peak bandwidth. The peak bandwidth of a bus is the most easily calculated, the largest (read: the most marketing friendly), and the least relevant bandwidth number that you can use to quantify the amount of data that two components (i.e. the CPU and RAM) can exchange over a given period of time. In most product literature this theoretical number, which is rarely (if ever) approached in actual practice, will be cited whenever the literature wants to talk about how much bandwidth is available to the system. Let's take a closer look at how this number is calculated and what it represents.
  • Windows XP SP2 Fixlist -  Here's an unofficial fix list for Windows XP SP2.
  • Yahoo! Messenger v5.5.0.1244 - Messenger has been updated to version 5.5.0.1244.
  • DVD-Cloner 1.81 - DVD-Cloner supports most DVD-RW drive . The DVD of cloned could be played on any players which support compatible format.
  • Nero Burning Rom 5.5.9.17.1 - Ahead Software has released Nero Burning Rom 5.5.9.17.1.
  • Zoom Player 2.90 Final - Zoom Player (changelog) 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 and works in two modes.
  • Hercules Muse Soundcard Series Driver 6.39 -  Hercules released a Windows 98SE/ME/2000/XP driver update v6.39 for the Muse soundcard series.
 Gameguru Mania News - Nov,07 2002 - tech
Evening Tech Reading - tech
(hx) 01:05 AM CET - Nov,07 2002 - Post a comment / read (4)
  • Your Mobile Phone Is Safe- Kaspersky Labs brings attention to the spread of a rumor among Internet users regarding a new computer virus that infects mobile telephones and renders them junk. The message being sent around looks as follows: If you receive a phone call and your mobile phone displays ACE-? on the screen DON'T ANSWER THIS CALL - END THE CALL IMMEDIATELY. IF YOU ANSWER THE CALL, YOUR PHONE WILL BE INFECTED BY THIS VIRUS.
  • Network Worm "Roron" - Red Alert!  - "Roron" spreads using several data transfer channels: via email as an attached file, via local area networks and the KaZaA file-sharing network. Systems become infected only if a user manually launches (opens) the file containing the worm that was received via one of the aforementioned sources. When penetrating a computer, "Roron" creates a copy of itself in the Windows system directory and Program Files and then registers one of these files in the system registry's auto-run key. In this way the worm ensures its activation the each time the system is booted.
  • Notre Dame Math Whiz Cracks Certicom Code Contest - Consider the work that went into cracking a secret code developed by Toronto-based Certicom Corp. CIC.TO , which makes wireless encryption software.  It took the power of 10,000 computers running around the clock for 549 days, coupled with the brain power of a mathematician at Indiana's University of Notre Dame, to complete one of the world's largest single math computations. Certicom had challenged scientists, mathematicians, cryptographers and hackers to try to break one of the encryption codes the firm uses to protect digital data. The solution, rewarded with a $10,000 prize and even richer bragging rights, was reached at 12:56 p.m. on Oct. 15, said Notre Dame researcher and teacher Chris Monico.
  • Microchips weigh heavily on environment - Researchers estimate that producing a single 2-gram chip used for memory in personal computers requires at least 3.7 pounds of fuel and chemicals. The study, funded in part by the Fulbright Foundation, will appear in the December print edition of Environmental Science & Technology, a journal of the American Chemical Society.
  • Borland Hones Java App Dev Tool - The Scotts Valley, Calif., company announced JBuilder 8 and Optimizeit Suite 5. JBuilder 8 features a number of new enhancements, including support for the Jakarta Struts open-source Web development framework, Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB) unit testing, debugging and code management enhancements, as well as support for Java 2 Standard Edition 1.4, JavaServer Pages, servlets, Web services and XML, the company said.
  • Intel Application Accelerator 2.3.0.2164 - The Intel Application Accelerator replaces the ATA drivers that come with Windows with drivers optimized for Intel desktop and mobile PCs.
  • DirectX 9.0 Build 9.0.308 - This interim release (mirror) is very close to what we will be releasing as Release Candidate 0. (thanks NeoWin)
  • Eudora 5.2 - Eudora is the best email program for people who get lots of email. Definitely much better client than Outlook :)
  • Alcohol 120% 1.3.4.1106 - 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.
  • P4 2.2Ghz Laptop Shootout - Gamersdepot have posted a nice P4 2.2Ghz Laptop Shootout.
  • Doom III - the plot thickens  - ATI told The Inquirer moments ago that it could not rule out the possibility that the leaked demo of outlandish gore-fest, Doom III, came from within its walls. The company has mounted an internal investigation into the matter, PR manager Patricia Mikula told The Inquirer. She said an investigation was a prudent move and suggested other of id Software's partners would responsibly do the same thing. 
  • ICQ Lite Beta Build #1067 - ICQ Lite Beta Build #1067 (what's new) has been released.
  • WinACE 2.3 Beta 2 - WinACE - 2.3 Beta 2 is out

  • Win32Whois 0.3 - Win32Whois (download)  is a small and efficient Whois client. It is able to retrieve domain information for most of the common TLDs (top level domains). It has it is internal list of servers that it connects to in order to provide a detailed report on a requested domain.

  • SiSoft Sandra 2003.1.9.26 - SiSoft Sandra, the famous benchmark utility has been updated to version 2003.1.9.26 (upgrade). Supports the latest technologies (AGP 3, Hyper-Threading), chipsets (Intel 7500, 845GL/GV/GE/PE; SiS 648, 655, 746; VIA KT400, P4X400), controllers (SiS 963; VIA 8233A/C, 8235/L), Clock generator ICs and devices on the market.
  • Total Commander 5.50 Silent Update 1  - This silent update fixes: File name and comment could overlap when showing extensions directly after file names, Lister: RTF viewer printed unlimited number of pages, Switch /O no longer working.
  • Xabre drivers v3.07.55 WHQL - Sillicon Integrated Systems has posted a new WHQL drivers version 3.07.55 (WinALL) for the Xabre 80/200/400 video chips/cards.
  • EPOX BIOSes - Epox has released some new BIOSES for EP-8K3A, EP-8K3A+, 8K3AP, EP-8K5A2+, EP-4G4A/I/N/P/R/+  and EP-4G4A Series.
 Gameguru Mania News - Nov,06 2002 - tech
Nightly Tech Reading - tech
(hx) 02:36 AM CET - Nov,06 2002 - Post a comment / read (6)
  • Army Shoots Down Artillery Shell with Laser - The U.S. Army used a high-energy laser to shoot down an artillery shell in mid-flight on Tuesday in a defense industry breakthrough, the Army and the manufacturer said.  The Army and TRW Inc, which developed the weapon, said in a joint statement that the laser tracked, locked onto and fired a burst of concentrated light energy photons at the speeding shell over the White Sands test range in New Mexico. "Seconds later, at a point well short of its intended destination, the projectile was destroyed," the Army's Space and Missile Defense Command said.
  • Fujitsu admits 4.9 million (potentially) defective HDDs - The papers lodged with the court in California, in the $50 million action between Cirrus Logic and Fujitsu (of Japan), confirm what observers had already guessed, that - contrary to the blasé denials of any notable problems - there is indeed an officially acknowledged problem with the MPG3xxx series of drives. And Fujitsu knew the massive scale and scope of the problem at least 18 months ago.  Cirrus Logic's case against Fujitsu for breach of contract was filed on 19th October 2001 - over a year ago, as was Fujitsu's counterclaim for breach of contract & breach of warranty.
  • ST builds chips for gene detection - The chip, technically called a MEMS (microelectromechanical system), essentially performs several of the tasks involved in scanning DNA for genes, a process that normally requires a battery of laboratory equipment, according to Barbara Grieco, business development manager in ST's printhead and microfluidics business unit.  Additionally, the chip needs only few drops of blood to conduct tests, less than current testing procedures, and performs tests more rapidly.
  • Kylix 3 has Plenty of Programming Power - It is not as if I am new to Kylix. I am a Delphi programmer since version 1, and I always keep my C++ skills up. So it was with great anticipation that I looked forward to the release of Borland's Kylix 3, the Rapid Application Development environment for Linux that includes both Delphi language and C++ IDE's (integrated development environment). The code produced with Kylix can be recompiled with minimal changes under Microsoft Windows using either Delphi for Windows version 6 or greater, or C++ Builder version 6 or greater.
  • ATi did leak Doom III demo - A deep throated source, at id software tells The Inquirer that ATi was responsible for leaking the 380MB demo version of the next installment of the gruesome classic. The company is now seeking to trace the trail to see if it can find out where the demo was first posted. Suspects include the Zelaron gaming forums (www.zelaron.com/forums) where an early post was sighted. Another front runner, apparently, is Iownjoo.com.
  • Software: Registry Cleaner Test - Nearly all of the most commonly used cleaners report many valid registry entries as invalid. This means only one thing, those programs are very badly designed and coded. And what disturbs me even more is that many of these software are commercial, I can't really understand how any software company can sell this kind of software with full price!
  • CuteFTP Pro 3.0 Final - CuteFTP Pro (download) integrates state-of-the-art security standards including SSL via FTP and HTTP, SSH2 and advanced S/KEY password encryption to ensure that confidential business data stays that way.
  • CloneCD v4.1.0.1 - This new updated version of CloneCD fixed bug in ElbyVCD.dll which caused CloneCDTray to crash, and bug which prevented setting the number of Virtual CloneDrives (Windows 9X/ME).
  • Fantom CD v1.2.1.1960 - Fantom CD is a program for reading CDs and running CD programs without a CD by creating a virtual CD-ROM drive on the hard disk using software methods. This emulator allows you to run CD-ROM applications from your hard drive or network server. In your hard drive space, you can establish and access up to 31 different virtual CD-ROM drives
  • FlashFXP 2.0 Build 905 - FlashFXP is the most powerful and popular FTP & FXP Client for Microsoft Windows 9x/Me/NT/2000/XP on the market today.  This build resolves a small problem that prevents users from successfully registering FlashFXP under WINE (A windows emulator for linux). Incidently a new code fragment that was being tested made its way into build 903/904 by mistake, as a result activating the popup menu or pressing a menu accelerator while the "Parent Directory" is selected in the local view resulted in an error. This has been resolved in build 905.
  • Serv-U 4.1.0.0  - Serv-U 4.1 (mirror) adds support for SSL FTP transfers. SSL connections between Serv-U and your secure FTP Clients will ensure that your data is encrypted.
  • Jester2K Detonator 30.xx To 40.xx Fix v1.1.0 - This small but useful tool is removing the elements of the Detonator 30.xx drivers that conflict with the 40.xx drivers
  • EPoX 8K3A/+ BIOS 2B01(01.11.2002) - EPoX UK has released a new official version of BIOS for this cool  motherboard. This new BIOS adds AMD Athlon XP 2600+, 2700+, 2800+(FSB333)CPU support, fixes system hang when in "setup is starting Windows 2000 screen when install windows 2000 and use ASUS v8420 + Promise TX2000 + Tekram DC395U", turn off KB led after Power OFF, fixes fan sensor to make system crash issue if the FAN speed result overflow, updates AWDFLASH.EXE version to V8.22A and also updates Adapt ROM for support High Point 372N.
  • Plextor Firmaware v1.03 - Plextor has released some a new firmware for Plextor PX-W4012TA  and Plextor PX-W4012TU.
 Gameguru Mania News - Nov,05 2002 - tech
Morning Tech Reading - tech
(hx) 11:38 AM CET - Nov,05 2002 - Post a comment
  • SBC has plans for Internet security - SBC Communications announced Monday that it is forming an Internet security project designed to improve network defenses. The company said that network-based security could bring several significant advances. For example, a network could be designed to detect unusual flows of traffic converging on a particular customer. If the traffic is considered a distributed denial-of-service attack, the network could automatically filter the offending traffic from multiple locations, SBC said.
  • Braid virus winds its way through e-mail  - Although the company has seen only 43 copies of the virus--indicating an extremely slow start--W32.Braid shares some attributes of the widely spread Klez family of viruses and could have similar success. Among the similarities, both viruses forge a fake sender address in the e-mails they use to propagate themselves, which makes finding infected PCs more difficult.
  • Nokia struts new phones at NMIC - At the Nokia Mobile Internet Conference, Nokia is showing a slew of new phones, including the 6800 messaging device, 2100 entry-level phone and 7250, 6100, 5100 and 8910i models.
  • Intel doubles cache on new Xeons - The new chips--formerly code-named Gallatin--are enhanced versions of Intel's Xeon line for multiprocessor servers. The fastest of the new chips runs at 2GHz and contains a 2MB tertiary cache, a reservoir of memory for rapid data access. The older Xeon, which came out in March, tops out at 1.6GHz and has a 1MB cache.
  • End-Of-Life For the GeForce4 Ti4600: GeForce4 Ti4200 Forever - According to Xbit-labs, NVIDIA had stopped producing the GeForce4 Ti4600 graphics processors at TSMC fabs and the company's closest partners confirmed the information. Moreover, some retailers indicated the tight supply of the GeForce4 Ti4600 based products in the channel
  • NV30 Tech Facts - NVIDIA's "Are You Ready?" web site has been updated with a new "F" button, which reveals some facts about the upcoming NV30: 3 times the size of a Pentium 4 microprocessor ~ 35 times the size of NVIDIA's RIVA 128 GPU, released just five years ago ~ 3.9 years, if you took one second to count every transistor ~ 4.5 times the population of Tokyo, Japan ~ If converted to US Dollar bills and placed end-to-end, would stretch from New York to Hong Kong ~ More than the number of people in the entire world who speak French or German ~  nice hype :)
  • Tech PC Cooling Guide - In any method of cooling you need a form of fluid to rush past the CPU to take the heat with it (convection cooling). With most computers the fluid is air blown by a fan over the heatsink. In those more adventurous overclockers looking for a reduction in temperatures, more speed or less heat water is used. This is more of a technical challenge since, as we all know, water and electricity don't get along. For the most insane/rich/hardcore (delete as you see fit) overclockers out there there is Phase Change. Based on the same technology that keeps your milk cold in your fridge, it is capable of producing temperature well blow zero.
  • WinXP Pro/home Patch: Explorer May Generate An Application Error When You Close A Folder - Windows may not respond when you try to open or close a folder by using Windows Explorer. When this occurs, you may be able to restart Explorer.exe to cause Windows Explorer to work correctly again. Download patch.
  • Windows Movie Maker 2 Beta - Windows Movie Maker 2 Beta makes home movies amazingly fun. With Movie Maker 2, you can create, edit, and share your home movies right on your PC. Build your movie with a few simple drag-and-drops.
  • Zoom Player 2.90 RC2  - Zoom Player (changelog) provides special zooming functions to improve TV-Output quality by eliminating overscan. Zoom Player's scaling system allows you to exactly match the video area to your screen's dimensions in real-time with adjustable background color in order to test for brightness bleeds
  • PassMark SoundCheck v2.0 - PassMark SoundCheck (download) is a Windows based application that allows users to test their PC sound card, speakers and microphone.
  • Final Fantasy XI benchmarks hit Web  - Squaresoft have released benchmarks for Final Fantasy XI which you can download to see if your system can stand it.
  • UT2K3 Retail Benchmarking Utility - HardOCP has posted a new version of benchmark utility for UT2K3.
  • HyperSnap-DX 5.01.00 Final - HyperSnap-DX 5 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.
  • CloneCD v4.1.0.0 -  Elaborate Bytes  has released a new version of CloneCD 4 (FTP) - the ideal CD copy program to make backups of your Music and Data CDs.
  • Nero InfoTool v1.03  - Nero InfoTool is a utility which analyses and displays the most important information about a drive, disc, configuration and software.
  • NVIDIA BIOS Editor v1.0 RC3 Rev.400 - NVIDIA BIOS Editor enables you to do virtually anything with your graphic card BIOS (as long as it is NVIDIAs). Now, it is simply a must have for me and according to the forum, for many other people, too. It enables you to change the sign-on message text & color, GPU & memory clocks, hidden features like SBA (Side Band Addressing) and much more.
  • ATI Developer Drivers 7.79 Leaked -  The drivers come from the set version 7.79 (7.79-021019m-006244C-ATI) and individual driver versions for each Operating System are as follows: Windows 2000/XP - 6.13.10.6200, Windows 98/98SE/ME - 4.13.01.9069
 Gameguru Mania News - Nov,04 2002 - tech
Nightly Tech Reading - tech
(hx) 03:10 AM CET - Nov,04 2002 - Post a comment / read (4)
  • Net service theft alleged 7 men indicted, computer equipment seized - Seven men whose computers were seized based on accusations that they altered modems to increase high-speed Internet cable service were indicted yesterday by a Lucas County grand jury. The theft of the service - called bandwidth - from Buckeye Express, an Internet provider operated by Buckeye CableSystem, ended June 26 when authorities served search warrants and seized computers and modems at residences in Toledo and surrounding suburbs.
  • Holograms in Motion - This kind of interactive science is on the way, and it will be made possible by a new generation of 3-D video displays. The technology enlists the power of holograms-or reasonable facsimiles thereof-to dish up startlingly realistic images that appear to pop out of the screen. Imagine the 3-D scenes produced by the venerable View-Master toy cranked up to "11" on the reality dial. But the new 3-D video images won't require special viewing devices. Users won't have to don the headgear or eyewear that tends to be distracting and can cause eyestrain, as they do with current so-called 3-D displays.
  • AIBO Speed Board ERA-201TP2  - AIBO Speed Board allows AIBO to entertain you with dances and routines on its very own scooter. You can navigate AIBO's skating with voice commands such as Turn left and Super Slalom!. Create your own skate routines by moving AIBO to record the motions that can then be replayed later on.
  • DOOM 3 Alpha Multiplayer FAQ - It's no big news that the Doom 3 E3 Demo Alpha has leaked to the public. It may be cool, but it's still ONLY an alpha version. I will rather wait for the final version :) But anyway, for those who leeched it already, here is a few links: how to load e3 demo maps / CVAR list / Multiplayer FAQ.
  • Longhorn Build 6.0.3683 Shots - These shots are of Windows Codename Longhorn Build 6.0.3683.Lab06_N.020923-1821 (it was compiled on 23 September 2002 at 18:21), clearly this proves conclusively what we have been saying in the channel for weeks that longhorn IS NT6.
  • TaskInfo 2003 - TaskInfo2003 (download) 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.
  • Easy CD-DA Extractor v5.0.5 - Easy CD-DA Extractor is a powerful and easy digital audio extraction utility that makes digital copies from audio CDs and saves as audio files such as MP3, Windows Media Audio and Windows Wave. You may use built-in encoders, get plug-ins for other free encoders, or use any Windows audio compression codec.
  • CPUCooL 7.1.5 - CPUCooL version 7.1.5 (download) has been released. What is CPUCool? CPUCooL is a program that monitors temperature, fan speed, and voltages for many motherboards
  • Kazaa Protector 2.1 - While you share your files, intruders from all over the world can attack your computer and steal your personal files. Kazaa Protector resists all known attacks and continues to explore all those vulnerabilities, stopping hackers and intruders thus making your computer theftproof.
  • Trillian 0.74 Or Trillian Pro 1.0 Patch 1b - Two new patches are now available. These will supersede the original patches released a few weeks back, so you will only need these files.  The patch for 0.74 fixes the recent Yahoo issue, a potential freeze with MSN, and a few remaining IRC vulnerabilities. The patch for 1.0 fixes the remaining IRC vulnerabilities. Pro was not vulnerable to the recent Yahoo issues.  It is recommended that you download these if you either use IRC or Yahoo, or if you have not gotten the original patch from a few weeks back.
  • FlashFXP 2.0 Final Build 903 - FlashFXP is the most powerful and popular FTP & FXP Client for Microsoft Windows 9x/Me/NT/2000/XP on the market today. I have no idea what they updated this time.
  • jv16 PowerTools 1.1.0.155 Final - jv16 PowerTools 1.1.0.155 (Final) are released. jv16 PowerTools is the next generation of RegCleaner. A full set of tools to keep your computer and your LAN up and running. jv16 PowerTools is basicly the tool to control your computer.
  • Set FSB Tool For Epox 8KHA & 8K3A MB - Set FSB is a utility that allows you to overclock your system in windows! This version is for the Epox 8kha and 8k3a motherboards. If you are an avid overclocker and you want to be able to change your fsb on the fly for added speed or stability while in windows this program is for you. This version is for the Epox 8kha and 8k3a models only, though it may work with other motherboards that use the ICS94228bf oscillator to generate clock speed. There may be other versions available for other motherboards.
  • CPUFSB v2.2.8 - CPUFSB is a small version of CPUCooL. It is for changing the FrontSideBus only. So you have a small tool only one of the the most important freatures of CPUCooL.
     
Windows Commander is now Total Commander v5.5! - tech
(hx) 01:01 AM CET - Nov,04 2002 - Post a comment
According to Ghisler.com (Total Commander official website), the Windows Commander is now called Total Commander. Why this name change? In Summer 2002, Windows Commander makers have received a letter from attorneys representing the owner of the name "Windows". In this letter they expressed concerns that their usage of the name could lead to confusion with their own products. In particular, people could think that our program could be from their company. They were indirectly (or unofficially) asked to change the name of our software. Because the name "Windows" is registered as a trademark, they didn't want to risk a lawsuit, and decided to change the name.....To celebrate this change, they have released a new version 5.5 that contains a lof of improvements and additions: File system plugins allow to access PocketPC devices, other file systems etc.,  Descriptions can be created for files, and will be copied with the files, NTFS file streams will now be copied with the files, RTF-Viewer in Lister, Open partially downloaded ZIP archives (while a download is still in progress), Improvements to Synchronize dirs, multi-rename tool, ftp client and many other parts of the program, and more.
 Gameguru Mania News - Nov,02 2002 - tech
Saturday Tech Madness - tech
(hx) 09:05 PM CET - Nov,02 2002 - Post a comment
  • Astronomers locate oldest known star in Milky Way -  Astronomers may have detected the oldest star in the Milky Way galaxy, which could date back to the beginning of the Universe more than 12 billion years ago. The star lies towards the southern constellation of Phoenix, about 36,000 light years from Earth. It is among the 10,000 or so brightest stars in the sky. An analysis of its chemical composition suggests that the star, known only by its catalogue name, HE0107-5240, is almost devoid of metals. This indicates that it is a relic from the very early history of the galaxy, when it was formed after the Big Bang.
  • Cassini-Huygens Mission Status - A successful test of the camera on NASA's Cassini spacecraft has produced images of Saturn 20 months before the spacecraft arrives at that planet. The planet was 285 million kilometers (177 million miles) from the spacecraft when the images were taken last week, nearly twice the distance between Earth and the Sun.
  • Microsoft attacks spam in new Outlook - Outlook 11 will, by default, no longer grab data such as images from outside servers when previewing e-mail formatted like Web pages. The ability to send and receive e-mail formatted in Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) was at one time touted as a feature in Microsoft's e-mail programs.
  • Wi-Fi Alliance Boosts Security - In an effort to address mounting security concerns, the Wi-Fi Alliance has launched new specifications, called Wireless Protected Access (WPA), for wireless local area networking products. Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) uses a higher level of encryption and brings in dynamic key exchange functions absent with WEP. WPA is designed to work with existing products and is expected to first appear in Wi-Fi certified products during the first quarter of next year.
  • Nvidia Audio Interview - Wall Street Webcasting has posted a half-hour long interview with Mark Burkett, Nvidia CFO. The interview was recorded at Nvidia Corp. Technology Conference which took place in New York on October 29th-30th.
  • 4th Annual NetHack Tournament - /dev/null's Fourth Annual NetHack Tournament has just opened. As with past years, the Tournament is open to anyone who'd like to play. NetHack is a monstrously complicated dungeon exploration game of great antiquity. Not only is it probably the oldest game of its type still being developed (and it's only up to version 3.3.1 ...), it's also one of the last large programs to try to support such a massive variety of operating systems in a single codebase.
  • US Robotics Wireless Access Point  - In the competitive world of wireless networking--now even more cutthroat with Microsoft's recent push into the market--U.S. Robotics hopes to differentiate itself with its new 22Mbps wireless access point. This mutant 802.11b product works with typical Wi-Fi products at 11Mbps but also features a mode that promises to boost speeds up to 22Mbps.
  • Speaker Buying Guide - You've made up your mind to get yourself some new speakers, and you want to get it right the first time. But there are dozens of speakers to choose from, and different configurations, with 2.1, 4.1, 5.1, and now even 6.1 setups among your choices. So which are the right ones for you? Read on, and ExtremeTech will show you how to figure out which type, and make the best choice no matter what your budget is.
  • AMD Athlon XP 2800+ and Intel Pentium 4 2.8GHz in 3DSMAX5 - The guys at X-bit labs have posted pretty interesting comparison  between AMD Athlon XP 2800+ and Intel Pentium 4 2.8GHz in 3DSMAX5.
  • Official Final Fantasy XI Benchmark Test - check it out (download).
  • OpenBSD 3.2  - It's available by FTP, CDROMs are shipping, and is CVS if you want to source upgrade. This is a big release for OpenBSD with many substantial changes.
  • Opera 6.10 Final for Linux and FreeBSD - Opera Software has released a new version of their browser for Linux and FreeBSD.
  • HyperSnap-DX 5.00 RC1 - HyperSnap-DX 5 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. The RC1 add help texts  and fixes minor bug fixes.
  • Creative WebCam Monitor version 2.06.04 - This is the release of the Creative WebCam Monitor version 2.06.04 in English and Japanese for all Creative WebCam series except Video Blaster WebCam I & Video Blaster WebCam II.
  • YahooPOPs! 0.3.9 - YahooPOPs! (download) is an open-source initiative to provide free POP3 access to your Yahoo! Mail account. YahooPOPs! is available on the Windows and Unix platforms.
  • Tweak-XP Pro 2.04 - Tweak-XP Pro bundles more than 37 different utilities in one -  it was developed to combine both tweaking and optimizing features to increase the speed of your Windows XP system.
  • Windows Media Player 9 build 2928 (beta) - Microsoft has updated the official Windows Media Player 9 beta to Build 2928 (WinXP ~ Win2k/9x/ME), Windows Movie Maker Beta 2.
  • Kazaa Movie Finder 2.0 - Kazaa Movie Finder enables you to download complete movies with help of the sig2dat program. It sends parameters to sig2dat and it adds the selected movies into your download section.
  • Easydivx v0.821 - Freeware Easydivx is a all in one rippack or graphical user interface program for vStrip, MPEG2AVI, AC3DEC Normalize, VirtualDub and MicroDVD menu.
  • VirtualDub 1.4.11 - Freeware VirtualDub is a video capture and processing program. It features fast capturing, process files larger than the 2 gigabyte limit, optimized for linear editing, support for Motion-JPEG, MPEG-1 video and layer 3 audio, real-time and near-realtime video processing, video job queues, and much more.
  • Ahead Nero Burning ROM 5.5.9.17  - Nero is a flexible, reliable, and easy-to-use application designed to write to both 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 (if supported by hardware). Nero also supports multisession and mixed-mode recording; HFS, ISO/HFS hybrid, UDF, PSX, OFAS (optimal file access speed), track-at-once (TAO), and disc-at-once (DAO) writing; and digital audio extraction.
  • SpeedFan v4.07 - SpeedFan is a freeware program that monitors fan speeds and temperatures in computers with a known monitoring chip.
  • NTFS Driver For Red Hat Linux - The Linux NTFS Project has posted NTFS RPMs for Red Hat Linux 7.3/8.0.
  • EVGA Offers Detonators 40.72 WHQL - EVGA instead is now hosting WHQL certified drivers 40.72 for Win9x/ME and Win2k/XP.
  • Sound Blaster Audigy DriverPack for Win2k/XP (updated) -  This is an updated driverpack (dated first of October) that features some new fixes and improvements (Dolby Digital decoding from external SPDIF Input, Speaker settings in Creative Audio Mixer are synchronized with Windows Multimedia setting, added presets and effects).  This update requires the installation CD to be installed before running the update.
 Gameguru Mania News - Nov,01 2002 - tech
Early Morning Tech Reading - tech
(hx) 10:17 AM CET - Nov,01 2002 - Post a comment
  • Today: The Future of PC Game Engines - Game "engines" are software suites that provide the technological underwiring for games. Everything you see on the screen and interact with in the game world is powered by the game engine. Buy into id Software's Quake III engine or the Epic Games Unreal engine, for instance, and you're guaranteed a certain amount of graphics power, lighting effects, and the ability to create drone enemies who move and shoot with lightning speed. If one wants to look toward the future of game development, one need only to look at the direction game engines are heading. Some companies build their own game engines, but many more are buying or licensing engines from other companies.
  • Start-up looks to beat LCD image - The San Francisco-based company has developed a new reflective screen technology using a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) device that the company calls "Interferometric Modulator," or "iMoD." The device could boost screen brightness to three times that of market-leading liquid-crystal displays (LCDs), while consuming less power in portable devices, according to the company.
  • Is That Your Blackberry Talkin' to Me? - The RIM BlackBerry wireless messaging devices have proved to be so reliable that they are supplied to all members of the U.S. House of Representatives and many members of the Senate. Cybernetics InfoTech hopes to up the ante for the most commonly deployed units-the RIM 857 and 957-with its MobiVoice MV-R1 ($95 direct), which adds voice recording, voice e-mail attachment capability, and FM-radio reception to the 857 and 957 devices inexpensively and easily.
  • Windows VPN software allows attacks - A buffer overflow in the implementation of Point to Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP) in the two operating systems allows attackers to cause any Windows 2000 or Windows XP servers to crash. Microsoft also warned of a bug in Windows 2000 that could allow an attacker to sabotage the system via a Trojan horse.
  • DVD Creation Guide - Interested in making DVDs? But afraid to ask? PC Mag has assembled a guide on just about everything you wanted to know but were afraid to ask.
  • Windows XP Prefetch Clean And Control 1.2.0 - Tool for flushing the Prefetch log and controlling the Prefetch Parameters.
  • Cumulative Patch for Internet Information Service - This patch is a cumulative patch that includes the functionality of all security patches released for IIS 4.0 since Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 6a, and all security patches released to date for IIS 5.0 and 5.1. A complete listing of the patches superseded by this patch is provided below, in the section titled "Additional information about this patch". Before applying the patch, system administrators should take note of the caveats discussed in the same section.
  • SQL Server 2000 Hotfix  - Microsoft has released a new hotfix for SQL Server 2000 - it handles leak with Shared Memory Network Library.
  • Cumulative Update for Outlook Express 6.0 SP1 - This update contains fixes and enhancements to Outlook Express 6.0 SP1 as well as eliminates all previously addressed security vulnerabilities affecting Outlook Express 6.0 SP1.
  • Turbolinux 8 Server (free) - A "promo" edition of Turbolinux 8 Server can now be had for free, after registration. The registration page is in Japanese only, but it's a simple matter to fill in your name (middle row) and email address (bottom row) and agreeing to the license by clicking on the long button on the bottom left. The next page will give you a login name and password to access the ISO image
  • WinZip 8.1 SR-1 (5266)  -WinZip have released Version 8.1 SR-1 (5266) to the public. This new version contains mainly bug fixes and new features to make zipping attachments in Outlook 2000 & 2002 easier.
  • Winamp3 Beta Build 490 - A new beta version of the Winamp 3 has been released.
  • MotherBoard Monitor 5.2.1.0 - 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.
  • Vulpine GL Mark Update - An update for the Vulpine GL benchmark  (download) utility for video cards has been released.
  • Audigy 2 Software Suite Leaked - Chinese website MyDrivers has posted a leaked version of the Audigy 2 software and drivers. According to MyDrivers the new revised driver and software suite also works on original Audigy and SoundBlaster Live! cards. Mirror: FileConnect.
  • DirectX 8.1b update, DirectPlay 8.2 - This download contains DirectX 8.1b (direct link) plus some DirectPlay fixes related to performance and connectivity issues exhibited with some online multiplayer game titles. This release of DirectX is not recommended for general installation. You should only consider installing this release if you have an online gaming problem that has been identified as being fixed with DirectX 8.2.
  • CPU RightMark 2.0 RC - The CPU RightMark benchmark is meant for objective performance measurement of modern and future CPUs in various computational tasks such as computational modeling of physical processes and solving of 3D graphics problems. The emphasis is placed on testing under the load of a CPU-RAM link and FPU/SIMD units.
  • Tweak-XP Pro 2.04 - Tweak-XP Pro bundles more than 37 different utilities in one: it was developed to combine both tweaking and optimizing features to increase the speed of your WindowsR XP system.
  • DVD Region-Free 1.20 - You don't need to flash any firmware which is dangerous or unavailable. DVD Region-Free also disables region check for popular software-based DVD players such as PowerDVD, WinDVD and CinePlayer. Other features include Region-Free for RCE DVDs, Macrovision-Free, Operation-Free and run self at DVD players startup automatically.
  • Unstoppable Copier 1.0 - This Freeware program is great for recovering files from scratched CD's or defective floppy/hard disks. Normally when your computer is unable to copy a file from a damaged disk it will abort and delete the partition of the file it has copied. This program however will continue to copy the file right to the end. Any data that is not recoverable after many retries is replaced with blanks. This will allow you to truly recover every byte of information that is available for recovery.
  • Adaptec Aspi Drivers 4.71.2 - Adaptec has released some new Aspi drivers version 4.71.2.
 Gameguru Mania News - Oct,31 2002 - tech
Hardware Reviews - tech
(hx) 01:41 AM CET - Oct,31 2002 - Post a comment
 Gameguru Mania News - Oct,30 2002 - tech
Nightly Tech Reading - tech
(hx) 04:29 AM CET - Oct,30 2002 - Post a comment / read (3)
  • Video Game Fans Flock to Debut of 'Vice City' - Hundreds of video game fans, including Fort, turned out early Tuesday morning at an Electronics Boutique video game store outside Los Angeles for a first look at the criminal-adventure game, which features sunny beaches, scantily clad women, a 1980s soundtrack and edgy violence.
  • RealNetworks Releases Digital Media Player Code - RealNetworks on Tuesday made the source code for its Internet media playing software available for other software and hardware makers to use in their products, in a push to make its technology the industry standard before rival Microsoft Corp.
  • AOL removes wall between AIM, ICQ messaging users - AOL Time Warner Inc said it is testing ways for users of its popular AIM instant messaging service to chat with those using its ICQ service, largely due to the growth of ICQ in AOL Europe. The move marks the company's first step in letting the two largest messaging services communicate with each other.
  • 3GHz P4 launch date set for 14 November - Intel's Pentium 4 processor is set to reach 3GHz on 14 November. The chip, which will run at 3.06GHz, will also be the first desktop processor to include hyperthreading, the performance enhancing technology already found in Xeon server processors, that allows multiple software threads to run more efficiently on a single processor.
  • Microsoft to limit access to Office 11 - A representative acknowledged that Microsoft plans to offer the productivity suite, code-named Office 11, only for Windows 2000 with Service Pack 3 and Windows XP. Microsoft started beta testing Office 11 last week, but some early participants found that they had been dropped from the program if they had planned to use older versions of Windows. They were dropped because Microsoft doesn't plan to offer Office 11 for Windows 98, 98 Second Edition, Me or NT. The Redmond, Wash.-based company already dropped support for Windows 95 with the release of Office XP in May 2001.
  • SuSE Linux makes its pitch for the Windows desktop - SuSE is pitching for the mainstream office client market with the announcement today of SuSE Linux Desktop, which it ominously describes as the "first element of SuSE's product campaign for the utilization of Linux on workstations." The product, which will ship from January, is aimed squarely at existing Windows users, companies and individuals with no previous Linux experience.
  • Dell's USB Key replaces floppy - Dell will offer a 16MB version of the USB Key device in place of a floppy drive for customers who opt to pair it with one of two Inspiron notebook models. The device uses flash memory and works by plugging into a PC's USB port. When connected, it appears on a computer's desktop as a removable hard drive, allowing people to drag and drop files for storage or to move them to another computer. When not in use, it fits easily into a shirt pocket.
  • Home robot can entertain the kids -  The robot uses the owner's home computer and Internet connection to answer questions or help a human shop online. All data transmissions between the machines are wireless, so the robot is still free to roam the house. The robot can also upload everything it hears and sees to the Internet. Say you're staying late at work and want to make sure your kids are doing their homework, Xie said. You can direct the robot around your house, find your kids and check up on them by viewing the robot's video online. hen the first batch of the robots is released next year they'll likely cost between $1,500 and $3,100.
  • Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 (SP4) beta program - The Windows Sustained Engineering team is currently taking nominations for the Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 (SP4) beta program.
  • Star Trek: Nemesis Trailer  - Paramount Pictures is offering a new trailer to the December scheduled movie Star Trek: Nemesis, the latest incarnation of the Star Trek series.
  • Zoom Player v2.90 RC1 - Zoom Player is a robust Media and DVD Front-End Player. Zoom Player was designed to be simple at first glance while being remarkably dynamic and flexible when used to it's full potential.
  • DirectX 8.2 = DirectPlay 8.2 Final -  "We have found that Microsoft's DirectX8.1 will create a massive lag. To solve this problem Microsoft has created especially for New World Order and MS Combat Flight Simulator 3 a DirectX 8.1 patch (DirectPlay 8.2). The DirectPlay 8.2 beta patch (mirror) is set to expire on October 31, 2002 . However, the final release of the DirectPlay 8.2 patch will be available prior to this expiration date allowing plenty of time to upgrade the beta to the final release. DirectX 9 will also contain this patch." (thanks Warp2Search)
  • PowerStrip 3.30 Beta Build 353  - PowerStrip 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.
  • Parhelia Win2k/XP official drivers 1.02 - Matrox has released some new Parhelia drivers.
  • Nforce 1/2 1.07a Drivers (WHQL) -  Station Drivers have posted a new set of Nvidia Nforce 1/2 WHQL motherboard drivers.
 Gameguru Mania News - Oct,29 2002 - tech
Evening Tech Reading - tech
(hx) 01:29 AM CET - Oct,29 2002 - Post a comment
  • Xbox instead Beer? :) - Under the deal, Budweiser brewer Anheuser-Busch will help the software giant rotate 300 Xbox demo units through thousands of bars in the United States between now and the end of the year. Patrons will be invited to play Xbox games and to register to win promotional items from both companies. While some analysts have said Microsoft needs to focus on younger consumers to reach a mass-market audience, the new promotion is another indication the company intends to continue courting older, hardcore gamers.
  • Nextel bets on cutting-edge phone - On Monday, the wireless carrier announced its Nextel i90c Swiss Army Special Edition, a Motorola-built phone that Nextel has co-branded with Victorinox, the famous maker of Swiss Army knives. Victorinox helped design the $250 phone, which sports a translucent red plastic shell and a red screen backlight and comes loaded with text versions of "The Worst Case Scenario Survival Handbook" and a first aid manual, among other features. Buyers of the i90c even get a corkscrew and a plastic toothpick--though those aren't part of the phone itself; they come tucked inside a matching Victorinox knife that's part of the package.
  • Army researchers eye nanomachine-based 'smart' paints for combat vehicles - U.S. Army experts are trying to embed microscopic electromechanical machines in paint that could detect and heal cracks and corrosion in the bodies of combat vehicles, as well as give vehicles the chameleon-like quality of rapidly altering camouflage to blend in with changing operating environments. Officials of the Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command's Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center (TACOM-ARDEC) at Picatinny Arsenal, N.J., are working with scientists at the New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark, N.J., to develop nanotechnology-based "smart" coatings for Army vehicles and other materiel.
  • TFT volumes to pass CRT in 2004 - Samsung Electronics is hoping to consolidate its position in the LCD market with the opening of a factory in China. The Korean electronics giant has begun work on a 100,000 sq meter TFT-LCD factor in Suzhou in Jiangsu province, China, which will produce around 160,000 modules a month, when it opens in the second half of next year.
  • Reuters hacks accused of hacking - Reuters stands accused of hacking today amid accusations that it broke into the computer systems of Swedish IT group Intentia to publish its results ahead of their official release. Intentia said it would file criminal charges today after its internal investigation of how its disappointing third quarter figures came to be obtained before their scheduled release pointed the finger of blame at Reuters. Intentia told the FT that an internal investigation revealed evidence of an "unauthorised entry" into its IT systems "via an IP address belonging to Reuters".
  • ATI R300 & NVIDIA NV30 - A Technical Comparison - ATI published its powerful DX9 card, R300, in August, 2002 and has become the leader this time. However, R300 still has many secrets and in comparison with NVIDIA's NV30, which has been delayed again and again for some reason(s), is even more of an enigma. And rumors only make this situation even worse Chaps at Beyond3D have read many technical documents, including papers, whitepapers, specifications, and presentations about NV30 and R300 and  posted this article to share this pleasure with others.
  • Nvidia Detonator 41.03 Comparison - Pc-extreme.com has posted a comparison (the article is full in German language, but you can check Benchmarks) of the newly released Detonator 41.03.
  • FlasKMPEG 0.78.39 - FlasKMPEG converts digital video in the MPEG format to other formats.
  • PHP 4.3.0pre2 - This is the second pre-release version and incorporates a large number of bug fixes since the first pre-release. Still, to help the PHP Quality Assurance Team catch as many bugs as possible, please download it and start testing.
  • Windows XP Prefetch Clean And Control 1.1.0 - Tool for flushing the Prefetch log and controlling the Prefetch Parameters. Windows XP monitors the files that are used when the computer starts and when you start applications. By monitoring these files, Windows XP can prefetch them. Prefetching data is the process whereby data that is expected to be requested is read ahead into the cache. Prefetching boot files and applications decreases the time needed to start Windows XP and start applications
  • Alcohol 120% 1.3.3.1027 - 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.
  • Blindwrite 4.2 - Blindwrite Suite is a 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 backup use.
  • jv16 PowerTools 1.1.0.154 Final -  jv16 PowerTools is the next generation of RegCleaner. A full set of tools to keep your computer and your LAN up and running. jv16 PowerTools is basicly the Tool to control your computer. Until now your computer might had been the one who is in charge, but with jv16 PowerTools you can take the control.
  • ATI Radeon "Lord of the Rings" Beta Driver Pack  - This driver has been specifically bundled with Lord of the Rings in order to address the hard lock issue when running Lord of the Rings. An official driver release will be released at a later date which will include fixes for Lord of the Rings.
  • EPoX 8K3A+ Beta BIOS Oct 10th Download - Due to numerous requests for this beta BIOS used in comparison for the EPoX 8K9A2+ KT400 Review , I have put up the beta bios for 8K3A+ users to download. This new version adds AMD Athlon XP 2700+, 2800+ support and updates HighPoint BIOS.
  • EPoX BIOSes - EPoX has released many new BIOSes for EP-4**** motherboards.
 Gameguru Mania News - Oct,27 2002 - tech
Sunday Tech Reading - tech
(hx) 11:06 PM CET - Oct,27 2002 - Post a comment / read (1)
  • Xbox Hacker Interview -  Icrontic.com have posted an interview with the famous Xbox hacker from MIT, Andrew Shane Huang (aka bunnie). Andrew almost single handedly cracked the Xbox. He was the first one to dump the BIOS image from the Xbox, and continued to perform several other Xbox hacks and modifications.
  • Mobile car ban drives Bluetooth - Legislation banning the use of mobile phones in cars is spurring car manufactures to look for alternatives such as Bluetooth. Bluetooth is a wireless technology that allows devices to communicate with each other. Because it can be used with a hands-free headset that can connect to a mobile phone even if the device is some distance away, it could be a perfect way to get around the ban.
  • Mahajan launches Simputer at SMAU 2002 -  The Communications and IT Minister, Pramod Mahajan, has launched India's indigenously developed low- cost handheld Personal Computer - Simputer - at an IT and Communication expo, SMAU 2002, in Milan.  
  • SiSofware Interview - Icrontic.com have posted an  interview with Adrian Silasi the founder of Sandra's SiSoftware.
  • P4 3.06G Hyperthreading images - These images look really interesting. According to posts in this forum, Hyperthreading is supported by all Intel chipsets after (and including) i845E, with the exception of all current i845G's. It is supported on SiS648, with a BIOS flash.
  • The SuperAudio CD (SACD) explained - CDFreaks  has posted an article about The SuperAudio CD (SACD) from Philips and Sony. This new format is relatively unknown but perhaps a successor of the CD format. In this article they try to explain how it works and put it against the 'normal' CD format.
  • Disaster Recovery 101 - Oh dear, you've flashed your BIOS with the completely wrong image, haven't you?, What's that you say? - It failed mid-way through the flashing? - ugh! It's a serious problem if your BIOS is corrupt. This guide will give you the knowledge to get your system on the road to recovery. If you are not comfortable with any of the procedures discussed please ask for our help at any stage.
  • Sonique2 Alpha 2.1.10.25 - An updated build of the second alpha of Sonique2 has been released.
  • HyperSnap-DX 5.00 Beta 9 - HyperSnap-DX 5 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.
  • XP-AntiSpy v3.7 - AntiSpy is the latest Windows XP utility that stops Microsoft from sending information back and forward about your computer.
  • Asus LiveUpdate Utility 3.37.01 - Asus has released the latest version of their Windows based utility which lets you view your motherboards BIOS, flash from internet or file, save to file and more.
 Gameguru Mania News - Oct,25 2002 - tech
Evening Tech Reading - tech
(hx) 11:42 PM CEST - Oct,25 2002 - Post a comment
  • Europe busts Nintendo for keeping game prices high - Console outfit Nintendo broke European antitrust laws, and an announcement of the level of fine is possible by next week, according to today's Wall Street Journal. Nintendo's sin, says the Journal, was obstructing cross-border sales, thus allowing it to keep prices high, and keep a frim grip on its distribution channel.
  • PowerBook's new PC rival--designed by Porsche - The VPR Matrix 200A5 is the third notebook Best Buy has created, and it's the best. It's also the first Windows notebook with a wide-aspect, 15.2-inch LCD with a 1,280x854 native resolution and a remarkable, high-fidelity digital audio system. The $2,399 system also includes a 2GHz Pentium 4-M, 512MB of DDR SDRAM, a 40GB hard drive, a combo CD-RW/DVD drive, and integrated 802.11b wireless networking. It all comes in an eye-catching, silver-magnesium case that weighs 6.4 pounds and measures 13.9 inches wide, 10 inches deep, and 1.2 inches thick.
  • It's Linux for IBM supercomputer project - IBM's $100 million Blue Gene program is directed at creating, by late 2005 or early 2006, a new family of supercomputers that will be able to perform a quadrillion calculations per second (one petaflop). Blue Gene/L, the first member of the family, will contain 65,000 processors and 16 trillion bytes of memory. Due in 2004 or 2005, the system will be able to perform 200 trillion calculations per second. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory will use the system for performing nuclear weapons simulations.
  • Bank error gives woman billions - Following an error at a Swedish bank, a woman was credited with a sum of money twice the size of the country's defence budget. When Gun-Britt Marklund checked her account to see whether her monthly child allowance cheque had arrived, she found that the government had very kindly given her more than 93 billion kronor (L7bn). The mother of three told Associated Press: "You never see amounts like this. I thought that this money doesn't belong to me, and that something must be wrong."
  • Domino effect creates smallest chip - IBM has announced the latest development in the battle to create the smallest chip. Scientists at the company's Almaden Research Center in San Jose, California have built and operated a computer circuit in which individual molecules of carbon monoxide move like toppling dominoes across a flat copper surface. According to online publication Science Magazine, each circuit is so small that it would be possible to fit 190 billion of them on a standard pencil-top eraser.
  • Atari Adventure in Flash - Atari Adventure was the first of its kind, the mother of all graphic adventure games from Ultima to Zelda. It was also the instigator of hidden backdoors and easter eggs (now staples in every video game).
  • Matrox Graphics announces new Parhelia 256MB graphics card - Matrox Graphics today announced the new Parhelia 256MB graphics board designed for the most demanding 3D workstation users in the AEC, DCC, MCAD and GIS markets. At an ESP of US $599, an unprecedented price for this memory configuration on a graphics accelerator, the Parhelia 256MB provides the ultimate in productivity and reliability, award-winning image quality and cutting-edge workstation features.
  • ATI demonstrates world's first graphics cards powered by DDR-2  -  ATI engineers became the first to demonstrate a visual processing unit (VPU) powered by second-generation double-data rate (DDR) dynamic random-access memory (DRAM), known as DDR-2.
  • AMD Hammer FAQ - I've put up the initial portion of our new Hammer section. Initially it has only a few links, but I will add many more as time goes by. This will be the top place to go for links to important Hammer information and articles.
  • Unreal Tournament 2003 Tweak Guide - With UT2003 the incredible game engine developed by Epic Games is combined with the innovative gameplay and fast-paced action designed by Digital Extremes. And for a touch of nostalgia, the whole kit and kaboodle is distributed by Atari. This is one game dripping with atmosphere and charged with adrenalin, and it deserves nothing less than a tweak guide from TweakTown to do it real justice!
  • UT2003 Beta Patch 2126 - Here's a new beta patch for UT 2003 that was released on Epic's master server.
  • How to create a Voice Pack for UT2003 using Unreal Editor 3.0 - Voice Packs were one of the great ways of personalizing Unreal Tournament. When UT2003 (finally) came out, everyone was very disappointed that voice packs didn't seem to be possible; there is no obvious way of selecting the player's voice in the GUI, and all the taunts for all characters appear to be in a single file (PlayerSounds.uax). Well, after several hours of enjoying UT2003 I just had to get my Homer J Simpson voice pack back. So I went to work, and finally figured out how to do it.
  • RASPPPOE - PPP over Ethernet Protocol - RASPPPOE Version 0.98 has been updated to fix the "Error 31" issue some Windows NT 4.0 users experienced.
  • NetCaptor 7.0.2 Final - The small IE based browser NetCaptor has been updated to version 7.0.2 Final.
  • Drive Health v2.0.21 Beta - Drive Health is a Windows program that helps you to estimate your hard disks Life Resource. This tool allows you to predict possible HDD failure and prevent losing the critical data.
  • Fresh UI 4.50 - Fresh UI - your FREE Windows tweaking tool, check it out!
  • Roxio Easy CD Creator Platinum Update v5.3.2 - It can be installed in Windows NT, 98, 2000, ME, and XP. It has a number of fixes and adds new drive support, including support for DVD -R/RW and DVD +R/RW.
 Gameguru Mania News - Oct,24 2002 - tech
Hardware Reviews - tech
(hx) 05:17 PM CEST - Oct,24 2002 - Post a comment
Morning Tech Reading - tech
(hx) 01:24 PM CEST - Oct,24 2002 - Post a comment / read (1)
  • Google excluding controversial sites  - The search engine quietly deletes more than 100 controversial sites from some search result listings, including sites that are anti-Semitic, pro-Nazi, or related to white supremacy.
  • Encryption method getting the picture - Researchers have created a new way to encrypt information in a digital image and extract it later without any distortion or loss of information.  Its uses could range from sensitive military and medical diagnostic images to legal documents and photographs of crime scenes. The technique could also be used to encode information within the image itself for cataloging and retrieving from databases.
  • Feds investigating 'largest ever' Internet attack - US Federal authorities are investigating an attack on the internet that has been described as the "largest and most complex" in history. In a distributed denial of service attack that began 5pm US Eastern time Monday and lasted one hour, seven of the 13 servers at the top of the internet's domain name system hierarchy were rendered virtually inaccessible, sources told ComputerWire.
  • Windows Compact Disk Management Script (WINCDMAN) - The script will handle all the necessary file operations for slipstreaming a Windows 2000 single / multi-boot CD and integrating any hot-fixes in it. The script is written in batch code using a collection of utilities and Windows Command Extensions (won't work under Win 9X). Thanks Yog-Sothoth.
  • Alcohol 120% beats SecuROM new, dumps VOB ProtectCD - CDFreaks.com have received news from the Alcohol development team, the team has succeeded in emulating the latest SecuROM protection from Sony, as discussed many times in our CloneCD and Burning Software Forum. Besides this success they also report that they have succeeded in dumping images of CDs protected with ProtectCD 5 developed by VOB.
  • JAVA 1.41_01 -  Sun released a new JAVA version 1.41_01 that includes some bugfixes from previous 1.41.  
  • CPUCooL 7.1.4 - CPUCooL version 7.1.4 (download) has been released. What is CPUCool? CPUCooL is a program that monitors temperature, fan speed, and voltages for many motherboards.
  • Blindwrite Suite version 4.1.1 - Blindwrite Suite is the more powerfull tool to create a perfect copy from your original CD for personal backup purpose. Blindwrite Suite can create CD audio from MP3, Ogg Vorbis, WAV, WMA, monkey's audio and be use with an CD-ROM emulator like Daemon Tools.
  • UltraISO 5.1 - UltraISO is a CD image file edit tool, it allows you to directly edit the CD image file and extract documents from it. You can also make an ISO file from your CD-RW/ROM drive or hard disk.
  • AIM 5.1.3009 - A new version of AOL Instant Messenger has been released . This new version allows you to see your AOL Instant Messenger Buddy List within Microsoft Outlook Express, Send IM's directly from Outlook Express, Express yourself and send your expressions to friends and family when you initiate a conversation, Find public chats, get sports news, and find fun things to do right in the buddy list and See when someone's responding to your messages.
  • WinZip 8.1 SR-1 - WinZip 8.1 Service Release 1 (download) includes a change to the original release of WinZip 8.1 . The change addresses a vulnerability that is already properly handled, as of WinZip 8.0, for Zip files; WinZip 8.1 SR-1 addresses it for the other archive types supported by WinZip, such as TAR and CAB.
  • Kazaa Movie Finder 1.0 - Kazaa Movie Finder enables you to download complete movies with help of the sig2dat program.
  • WinRAR 3.10 Beta 2 - WinRAR, one of the best archivators made ever has been updated to version 3.10 Beta 2.
  • NVIDIA Detonator Drivers 41.03 (Official) - NVIDIA have updated their video card drivers to version 41.03 for WinXP/2K ~ WinNT4.0
 Gameguru Mania News - Oct,23 2002 - tech
Nightly Tech Reading - tech
(hx) 04:20 AM CEST - Oct,23 2002 - Post a comment
  • Money-making games macro banned - The long-running game EverQuest, which has attracted the interest of economists because of its ability to create virtual economies, is suffering from a spate of virtual counterfeiting. According to the BBC, the game's makers have had to crack down on users who have found a way to bend the rules. The huge amount of virtual money being pumped into the game is threatening to bring the EverQuest economy to its knees. The influx of cash may have prompted hyperinflation and made it impossible for new players to get established.
  • Siemens announces its first 3G handset - The U10 is a mobile multimedia powerhouse. It has an integrated camera which rotates 180° and captures video with sound and still images. With high speed Internet access via WAP 2.0 it allows data streaming at up to 384kbs and offers the download of additional applications based on Java Wireless Technology as well as connectivity to peripheral devices such as laptop computers through Bluetooth, USB or infrared. The U10 supports video streaming with file formats such as MPEG-4 and music files like MP3 and AAC (Advanced Audio Coding). It has an expandable 2MB worth of memory.
  • Microsoft Smartphones To Reach US Next Year - Microsoft's long-awaited Windows-Powered Smartphone 2002 operating system was launched Tuesday--but not in the U.S. The new OS, previously known by the code-name Stinger, is available in a cell phone being distributed overseas by European carrier Orange SA. AT&T Wireless will be the first U.S. carrier to offer the OS in a cell phone expected to be released by mid 2003, Microsoft says.
  • Microsoft bulks up XP for devices - The software giant releases a new version of Windows XP Embedded, the company's operating system for cash registers, ATMs and other embedded devices.
  • IE flaws leave systems vulnerable - An Israeli Web-application company has warned users of Internet Explorer that nine related security flaws in the program could be used by malicious hackers to gain access to a victim's computer files.
  • Office 11 beta 1 released - Microsoft Corp. today announced the first beta release of its next version of Microsoft Office, code-named "Office 11." Expected to ship in mid-2003, "Office 11" is a significant step forward in the delivery of Microsoft's vision for improving information worker productivity.4
  • Sharp Unveils Glass Computer - Sharp Corp., Japan's largest maker of liquid crystal displays, unveiled a screen Tuesday with microprocessor circuitry applied directly onto the glass, enabling it to function like a computer.  The company hopes to have products available by 2005 using the advanced circuitry, perhaps even a "display card" that could store data and be carried around for use with various gadgets from games machines to mobile phones to car navigation systems.
  • KiSS releases first DivX compatible DVD player - The KiSS DP-450, set for release in late October, will enable playback of videos encoded in DivX versions 4.xx and 5.xx. Additionally, the two companies are working closely together to develop future products that will be "DivX Certified" and offer full compatibility with all versions of DivX video.
  • Airborne computer mouse unveiled - The difference is, this one's airborne. Meaning, like all optical mice, it doesn't need a desktop mouse pad. But it also doesn't need a desk. The $79.95 Ultra Cordless Optical Mouse from Gyration, Inc., of Saratoga, California, uses gyroscopic sensors to control the cursor movement as you move your wrist, arm, whatever through the air.
  • Interview With ABIT - VR-Zone has posted an interview with Florence Shi, the sales and marketing director of ABIT, as he talks about  ABIT motherboard plans, sales target etc.
  • ATI shows off DDR-II graphics cards - ATI Enginners have demonstrated the world's first graphics cards powered by DDR-II technology using Radeon 9700 Pro VPUs (Visual Processing Unit).
  • UT2003 skeletons are out of the closet - As promised, Polycount's Rogue13 has posted yet another set of UT2003 source art files to offer the community for download at the bulk low price of a download. These are the raw MAX files, grouped per species for the animations of the character models.
  • Unreal Tournament 2003 Mapping (An Introduction) - DeviantPC has posted an article about creating a personalized Unreal Tournament 2003 level.
  • DUP-DVD v2.1.2 - 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.
  • DVD Region-Free v1.16 - You don't need to flash any firmware which is dangerous or unavailable. DVD Region-Free also disables region check for popular software-based DVD players such as PowerDVD, WinDVD and CinePlayer. Other features include Region-Free for RCE DVDs, Macrovision-Free, Operation-Free and run self at DVD players startup automatically.
  • Realtek RTL8139(A/B/C/D/8130)/810X series Drivers 5.05 (Official) - Realtek have released new Drivers (dated 2002/10/22) for the RTL8139(A/B/C/D/8130)/810X series Version 5.05 for Win 98 ~ WinME ~ Win2K ~ WinXP.
 Gameguru Mania News - Oct,22 2002 - tech
Nightly Tech Mania - tech
(hx) 04:21 AM CEST - Oct,22 2002 - Post a comment
  • AMD's Opteron to power supercomputer  - The company beefs up its server resume with a deal involving Sandia National Laboratories. The lab will install a $90 million Cray machine that runs on AMD's upcoming server chip.
  • UK plc risks piracy fines over employee file-swapping - Four in five UK companies have file swapping programmes in active use on their networks, leaving them at risk from fines as the recording industry cracking down on music piracy.  According to Packeteer, the network traffic management firm, many firms are unaware that employee file swapping could land them in legal hot water. Packeteer wants firms to buy its software, root out MP3-swapping action, and then ban it.
  • Chess duel ends in a draw - The battle between man and machine has reached a stalemate, after the eight-match Brains in Bahrain chess duel ended in a draw. World champion Vladimir Kramnik of Russia tied 4-4 with the chess program Deep Fritz, and picked up more than $800,000, according to the BBC.
  • Toshiba recalls 9,000 e740 Pocket PCs - Toshiba is recalling around 9,000 of its e740 Pocket PCs worldwide after the discovery of a fault with the back-up battery. The problem exists in a batch of the PDAs with the serial numbers 72014641L to 92041620L, where the back-up battery fails to kick in when the main battery is fully discharged or removed from the device. The serial number can be found on the back of the product.
  • NHL.com ices Microsoft deal - In a slapshot at RealNetworks, the National Hockey League, in partnership with Microsoft, introduces a digital video subscription service for watching game highlights.
  • New Scientific Discovery Could Lead to Tearless Onions - Japanese scientists report finding the chemical in onions that makes our eyes water. The discovery could lead to genetically modified tearless onions. Researchers at the House Foods Corporation in Chiba, Japan say previous evidence was wrong. Earlier studies had indicated that the tear-inducing factor in onions was simply a byproduct of the interaction among compounds that give the vegetable its distinct taste.
  • Japan's first space shuttle - JAPAN says the first test-flight of its delta-wing space shuttle has been a success. The unmanned vehicle is smaller than the US space shuttle and is a prototype for the larger Hope-X project.  On its first test flight, Japan's delta-wing space shuttle successfully lifted off Christmas Island in the South Pacific and soared for about 8 kilometres (5 miles) before landing with only a slight jolt, Japan's space agency announced.
  • Longhorn Out of the Microsoft Corral? - Microsoft still has yet to deliver the second release candidate (RC2) of Windows .Net Server 2003, but that doesn't mean work on the version of Windows due in 2005, code-named Longhorn, has come to a standstill.  Over the weekend, a couple of Windows enthusiast Web sites, led by Winbeta.org, posted a handful of screen shots (mirror) and preview movie of an alleged early version of Longhorn.
  • MySQL to be included with NetWare 6 - Looking to boost NetWare as a Web services platform, the MySQL database is to be included with NetWare 6, providing a data management platform for applications running on Novell's core platform, Novell and MySQL will announce on Monday. The database also is being bundled with Hyperion Essbase, according to MySQL.
  • DVDxCopy 1:1 DVD software released  - 321 Studios has released their software DVDxCopy package. Because the software is able to make 1:1 copies of DVD movies it's unsure if the laws of the United States will allow the software, altough it's intentionally made to backup the movies. The software can be purchased here and will cost you 99.99$ (they now only accept pre-orders with 20$ off). Don't worry, I really don't profit from this announcement :))
  • Open Office 1.0.1 Review - The OpenOffice 1.0.1 Suite features 4 main programs - Writer (Word Processing), Calc (Spreadsheet), Impress (Presentations) and Draw (Drawing). Now obvious are the lack of a Personal Information Manager, and Desktop Publishing program. The lack of a PIM is a pretty big down side, but if you can get over this, I'd say for many of us, the essential programs are there and OpenOffice is free, as can be expected (since it is an Open Source program), and that alone says a lot. It is also available for users of Windows, Linux, and Solaris, and they are working on a Mac OS version as well.
  • NFS Hot Pursuit 2 US demo to Australian demo converter - Leech some converters from Tiscali Games.
  • Remote Task Manager 3.7.5 - Remote Task Manager is a system control interface that can be run from any Windows XP and Windows 2000/NT computer. The simple-to-use, tabbed interface separates applications, services, processes, events, shared resources and performance monitor, making each of these very easy to manage.
  • SectorSpyXP/98 2.0 - Examine all data on a hard drive or diskette, at the sector level! Use SectorSpyXP/98 forensically to find and retrieve incriminating evidence! Append text information evidence to a text file.
  • RegScrubXP 3.2 - Safely cleans junk out of the Windows 2000/XP system registry. All changes made to the registry are fully restorable to it's original condition. You can make an exclusion list of registry entries that RegScrubXP will not display as problems.
  • DrvImagerXP 2.1 - DrvImagerXP makes backups (image files) of NTFS and FAT32 drive partition structures (as well as floppy disks), for the Windows 2000/XP operating systems, by copying, byte-for-byte, the drive partition sectors. And when not using file compression, can do this very quickly, much faster than copying files.
  • Actual Transparent Windows 1.2  - Actual Transparent Windows lets you apply a transparency effect to any window in Windows 2000/XP. The transparency effect looks very impressive and may be useful with such objects as Windows Taskbar, WinAmp, drop-down menus and other windows.
  • WinMX 3.31 - WinMX is a FREE file-sharing program like no other. It allows you to simultaneously connect through the decentralized WinMX Peer Networking Protocol AND to many networks based on the OpenNap and Napster protocols.
  • LimeWire 2.7.0 Beta - LimeWire 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.
  • HyperSnap-DX 5.00 Beta 8 - HyperSnap-DX 5 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.
  • Windows Messenger for WinXP - v4.7.0105  - A new build, enjoy :P There are no details of what has changed since the last release.
  • Acrobat Reader 5.1 - I've noticed over at Adobe website that they have updated their Acrobat Reader program to version 5.1.
  • Daemon Tools 3.23 - Daemon Tools is an advanced application for multiprotection emulation. It is further development of Generic Safedisc emulator and incorporates all its features. This program allows running BACKUP copies of SafeDisc (C-Dilla), Securom or Laserlock protected games. This new version 3.23 (434kb) fixes some blacklists (e.g. UT 2003) and also added a lot new MDS-Files for a lot of the latest games protected by the new Securom.
  • PocketPC 2002 Service Pack - A service pack for PocketPC 2002 has been released.
  • Intel Chipset Identification Utility v1.05 - The Intel Chipset Identification Utility provides an easy way to identify the specific Intel chipset that is located on your motherboard.
  • Abit BIOSes -  Here's some new BIOS files for Abit motherboards: BN BG7 Rev 1.00 | BH BG7-E Rev 1.00 | BT IT7/IT7E/IT7-MAX2 Rev 1.0  | B4 KT7A/KT7A-RAID Rev 1.3 | A7 SD7-533 Rev 1.0 | C7 IT7-MAX2 Rev 2.0.
  • Aopen BIOSes - Here's some new BIOS files for Aopen motherboards: AX4B-533-PLUS R1.02  | AX4T2 R1.02 | AX4GERN R1.00 | AK77-8X MAX R1.00 | AX4PE-MAX R1.01 | AX4T-533-PRO R1.00  | DX34-RU R1.03  | AX4GE-MAX R1.01 | AX4B-533-N R1.00 | MX46-533-MV R1.00
  • Epox BIOSes - Here's some new BIOS files for Epox motherboards: EP-4SDA A09 | EP-4SDM2 A09 | EP-4BDAE A07 | EP-4GLM A02 | EP-4GEA+ A15.
  • Elsa detonators 31.00 - Elsa Asia has updated its website with some new drivers based on 31.00 detonators for all Nvidia based cards with TNT2 (Erazor ,Gladiac ,Gloria and Synergy)
  • PowerStrip 3.30 Beta Build 352 - PowerStrip 3.30 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 and Radeon 9700.
  • nVidia Refresh Rate Fix MKII v2.01 E - If you have a NVIDIA  graphics card, you'll probably know about the very common bug, that occurs together with the NVIDIA Detonator drivers under Windows NT/2000/XP: Normally, you can't get a higher refresh rate than 60 Hz in the OpenGL/Direct3D modes, which makes you very blind after a while of gaming. ;-) I programmed this tool (1.9MB), to fix this bug, since I could not find an existing tool for this on the internet, which is compatible with the new official Detonator v28.32 drivers. There already were some tools around that supported the older Detonator versions.
  • Pioneer A03 firmware hack 2X on all media -  Pioneer have just released version 1.33 of their firmware for the Pioneer A04/104. This firmware allows 2x burning on CMC manufactured media but not on Ritek manufactured media.
 Gameguru Mania News - Oct,19 2002 - tech
Saturday Tech Reading - tech
(hx) 08:44 PM CEST - Oct,19 2002 - Post a comment
  • Microsoft chief puts on gloves to defend Xbox - Microsoft would be forced to reconsider selling the Xbox video game system in Australia, or seek changes to the law, following the acquittal in July of a Sydney man alleged to have sold chips that modify a Sony PlayStation 2 to play imported games, Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer said yesterday.  After the launch of a Telstra mobile computing device, Mr Ballmer said the decision affected Xbox's business model, which relies on subsidising the hardware console in return for a royalty on every game sold.
    WiFi software tracks you down -     Ekahau has released an updated version of its software, which allows devices to be physically tracked when they are connected to an 802.11 WLAN network.
  • Hundreds of Navy PCs missing  - The U.S. Pacific Fleet's warships and submarines were missing nearly 600 computers as of late July, including at least 14 known to have handled classified data.
  • Don't Bother with AGP 8X?  - Based on our initial testing, AGP 8X on today's architectures and with current applications doesn't appear to deliver any appreciable performance improvement for nVidia boards. The Radeon 9700's potential benefit from AGP 8X is still something of a question mark.  This story may change down the road, it will take some time for game developers to architect game engines that use AGP 8X to produce significant performance improvements.
  • The First Hammer Board Hits the THG Lab - Tom's Hardware brings a first look at details of the board with Socket 754 for ClawHammer. Top secret: new info for manufacturers from VIA, NVIDIA and AMD, as well as an overview of roadmaps.
  • RealPlayer vs. Windows Media Player  - PC Magazine has posted a comparison review between RealPlayer and Windows Media Player.
  • How to install NVIDIA drivers in Mandrake 9.0 - Since there are no Mandrake 9.0 RPMs I will show you how to make your own.
  • UT 2003 Beta Patch 2122 - A new beta patch 2122 for Unreal Tournament 2003 is out.
  • FlashFXP v2.0 Final Build 902 - FlashFXP is the most powerful and popular FTP & FXP Client for Microsoft Windows 9x/Me/NT/2000/XP on the market today. It is loaded with features for the power user, but has an intuitive user interface that takes only minutes to master. It's already second minor update since the final release, but seems I have missed what's new :]
  • WinDriversBackup 1.0 - WinDriversBackup is a free utility provided by JerMar Software Corp. specifically for backing up your Windows system driver files. WinDriversBackup can identify all of your Windows driver files and save them to a secure location in two simple mouse clicks. Backing up your Windows driver files means they will be available to you the next time you need to reinstall the driver or the whole operating system. WinDriversBackup places the driver files in one organized location of your choosing.
  • Diskeeper Lite 7.0 Build 418 - Diskeeper Lite is a short version introduction to full-featured Diskeeper. Diskeeper Lite can only analyze fragmentation levels and run manual defragmentation on one disk volume at a time.
  • CuteFTP Pro 3.0 Beta 2 - CuteFTP Pro (download) integrates state-of-the-art security standards including SSL via FTP and HTTP, SSH2 and advanced S/KEY password encryption to ensure that confidential business data stays that way.
  • WinDVD Tweaker 4.06 - WinDVD Tweaker is designed to allow users of the WinDVD playback software to enable some hidden settings and allow for maximum playback pleasure.
  • Opera 6.10 Beta 1 for Linux and FreeBSD - Opera Software has released a new version of their excellent browser for Linux and FreeBSD.
  • kX Project Drivers 5.00.3526 (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.
  • Hercules 3D Tweaker LE 3.0 build 21 - Hercules' FTP has offers a new version of tweaking utility for ATi RADEON video cards.
  • Hercules KYRO Driver v16.055 -  These drivers  (Win9x/ME  ~ Win2k  ~ WinXP) are compatible with 3D Prophet 4000, 4500 and 4800.
  • KYRO Linux Drivers -  PowerVR has released a new beta (build 2.00.20.0427) of their Linux drivers for the KYRO/KYRO II.
  • Award 4.51PG BIOS Can Support Big HDDs -   The 32GB bug in Award BIOS that prevents many users from using HDD larger than 32GB (BIOS hangs at detection) can be easily fixed in existing BIOSes. This means that if there's no BIOS for your board that supports HDDs over 32GB but supports up to 32GB, it can be fixed. The 64GB bug that causes hang at configuration table can be also fixed. Fixed and tested BIOSes will be on this page. (thanks Warp2News)
  • Lite-On CD-RW Firmware - LiteOn have released a new CD-RW firmware updates for Lite-On LTR-48125S ( 48X/12X/48X ) CD-RW and Lite-On LXR-40122 ( 40X/12X/40X ) CD-RW.
  • VIA integrated VGA drivers - VIA has released some new integrated VGA drivers for the CLE266 chipset and VT8361 - KL133, KLE133; VT8601 - PLE133, Apollo MVP4.
Hardware Reviews - tech
(hx) 06:18 PM CEST - Oct,19 2002 - Post a comment
 Gameguru Mania News - Oct,18 2002 - tech
Morning Tech Reading - tech
(hx) 10:00 AM CEST - Oct,18 2002 - Post a comment / read (12)
  • The Xbox Failure - Microsoft gambled on the Xbox and they lost. The Xbox has not sold, and is completely dominated by the Playstation 2 and GameCube in every part of the world. Microsoft has invested billions in the development and production of the console, and they still are losing money with every console sold. The recent price cuts only further the dent in Microsoft's wallet. The Xbox is not a computer, and it's not a good gaming machine. What is it? I'm not quite sure.. Oh yeah, really nice article at Icrontic :)
  • Acclaim Responds To BMX XXX Controversy - Acclaim's CEO and Co-Chairman Greg Fischbach has responded to all the controversy surrounding BMX XXX.
  • MS beta site cracked - The server on which Microsoft makes its beta programs available for testing has been infiltrated by outsiders who have downloaded an unspecified cornucopia of programs. Among the items available are forthcoming editions of Win-XP, .NET Server, and some confidential works in progress. The company doesn't know how many programs have been downloaded, but has hastened to point out that no source code was included in the haul.
  • Spam Masquerades as Admin Alerts - A new breed of pop-up ads is appearing mysteriously on Microsoft Windows users' computers. The so-called "Messenger spams" have security experts and system administrators scratching their heads -- and recipients fuming. Some of the ads, which hit Windows systems through backdoor networking ports and not by e-mail or Web browsing, appear to have been generated by Direct Advertiser, a $700 software program developed by Florida-based DirectAdvertiser.com.
  • Holograms in Motion - This kind of interactive science is on the way, and it will be made possible by a new generation of 3-D video displays. The technology enlists the power of holograms-or reasonable facsimiles thereof-to dish up startlingly realistic images that appear to pop out of the screen. Imagine the 3-D scenes produced by the venerable View-Master toy cranked up to "11" on the reality dial. But the new 3-D video images won't require special viewing devices. Users won't have to don the headgear or eyewear that tends to be distracting and can cause eyestrain, as they do with current so-called 3-D displays.
  • When Hard Drive Warranties And Expectations Collide - By now, most readers know that three of the largest hard drive manufacturers have announced their "unpopular news" that, effective October 1st, 2002, their normal warranties for most ATA hard drives will be reduced to one year. Consumers, as well as OEMs, are accustomed to the standard three-year warranties that these hard drive manufacturers have previously offered on their ATA hard drives, and they are not at all happy with this news.
  • Microsoft, Matsushita Bring PCs and Devices Closer - The new technology, called HighMAT, offers a standardized way for CD and DVD players to read recordable disks so that music and photos can be transferred more easily to and from personal computers, the two firms said in a statement.
  • Bell Labs BLAST Off With New 3G Chips -The fastest third generation (3G) network today offers maximum data transfer speeds of about 2.5 Megabits per second (Mbps) but Lucent said tests prove the new chips can allow data delivery at 19.2 Mbps.
  • AMD Shifting Away from Clawhammer - In place of Clawhammer, executives said, AMD's 2003 PC desktop and mobile offerings will largely be driven by Barton, the delayed follower to the Athlon XP. Neither Ruiz nor Rivet said the Clawhammer was going to be delayed, per se, but they gave a strong indication that if the Clawhammer is introduced, it may be only in the limited quantities that have of late accompanied AMD product launches.
  • Building a completely silent PC - Several companies are opting not to go the "extreme performance, LOUD operation" route, and are going for more of a sophisticated "sufficient performance, silent operation" approach. Thermaltake has been doing this for quite some time now, with temperature-based fan speeds and whatnot. Thermaltake does not make entirely passive heatsinks however, and remember that we are going for a DEAD SILENT PC here.
  • Norton Systemworks 2003 For Free - For some reason Norton is sending free copies of Norton Systemworks 2003 Not For Resale edition to anyone who requests one.
  • SuSE Linux 8.1 PE Review - SuSE Linux 8.1 Pro is the latest Linux distribution release for the desktop and corporate users. With a wide variety of desktop applications, a sleek desktop, a dead easy to use control center and strong focus on security, this is one of the best Linux distros we've tried to date.
  • Linux Mandrake 9.0-Dolphin Review - MandrakeSoft has released Linux Mandrake 9.0 about three weeks ago. How does this version compares to the also recent SuSE and Red Hat releases? Read review here.
  • NVIDIA's Detonator 40 Drivers Review - The main difference between the 30 and 40 series of drivers is the inclusion of a refresh rate fix. Lord knows how long this has been needed, but it is through no fault of NVIDIA that this issue even exists in the first place. Microsoft generally caters to the lowest common denominator, and in doing so figured that everybody likes to run monitors at a migraine-inducing 60Hz. There are those amongst us who couldn't tell the difference, but the vast majority in this community could tell the difference between 60Hz and 100Hz - even with their Coke bottle bottom glasses behind their backs.
  • How to Setup Windows 95/98/Me on a Windows 2000/XP System - BitBender has published a new guide -  "How to Setup Windows 95/98/Me on a Windows 2000/XP System".
  • KlipFolio 1.5d Beta - Serence Klipfolio is a free information channel viewer that lets you view and manage Klip information channels right on your desktop.
  • PowerStrip v3.30 beta build 348 - PowerStrip 3.30 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 and Radeon 9700.
  • Mozilla 1.2b Beta  - A new beta of Mozilla is out (changelog).
  • 3Dlabs Wildcat VP Drivers v3.01-0138 - This new driver (WinXP ~ Win2k) adds support for Acuity Window Manager, support for Wildcat VP560, and fix for memory leak in OpenGL driver.

  • 3COM 3C910 (EL910) drivers version 2.18.0529.2002 - 3COM has released new drivers for their 3C910 network card. This is version 2.18.0529.2002 and no real release notes could be found.

 Gameguru Mania News - Oct,17 2002 - tech
Nightly Tech Reading - tech
(hx) 04:27 AM CEST - Oct,17 2002 - Post a comment / read (2)
  • Star in galactic heart confirms central black hole - Observations of the star closest to the heart of the Milky Way confirms the existence of a colossal black hole there, astronomers announced Wednesday.
  • Initial Leadtek K7NCR18D (nForce2) Benchmarks - T-Break has posted some initial benchmarks on the Leadtek nForce2 using an XP2700.
  • Word 2002 Update - 16 Oct 2002 -This update (download) offers you the highest levels of stability and security available for Microsoft Word 2002. This update prevents users from unintentionally updating links to external data within Word documents, including email messages using Word as your mail editor in Outlook.
  • Excel 2002 Update - 16 Oct 2002 - This update (download) offers you the highest levels of stability and security available for Microsoft Excel 2002. This update prevents users from unintentionally updating links to external data within Excel spreadsheets.
  • A-Tuner 1.2.2.5 - A-tuner is a small tool for changing the following 4 settings on your Nvidia card and should work with Nvidia Detonators 23.11 - 40.72 and Windows 98/ME/2000/XP. This tool features Anti-Aliasing (including all unofficial modes) Anisotropic Filtering Vsync MipMap LOD (Level Of Detail) Bias
  • Matrox Parhelia Betadriver and Apptimizer Game tool - Matrox released a new Matrox FTP Parhelia Beta drivers 1.02.00 and Apptimizer Game support tool enhancing many games for Parhelia and adding support Sourround gaming.
  • VideoLAN 0.4.5 - The VideoLAN Client can read the stream from the network and display it. It can also be used to display video read locally on the computer : DVDs, VCDs, MPEG and DivX files and from a satellite card. It is multi-plaform : Linux, Windows, Mac OS X, BeOS, BSD, Solaris, QNX, iPaq... The VideoLAN Client and Server now have a full IPv6 support.
  • Trillian patches - Cerulean Studios has released small patches to fix security problems with both Trillian 0.74(a) and 1.0(a) Pro.
  • WinRAR 3.10 Beta 1 - WinRAR, one of the best archivators made ever has been updated to version 3.10 Beta 1 (changelog).
  • DOS/32 Advanced 7.20 - DOS/32 Advanced DOS Extender is a state-of-the-art, high-performance, high-speed, true "Plug&Play" replacement of the world's most popular DOS Extender, DOS/4GW for WATCOM/OPENWATCOM C/C++ and FORTRAN..
 Gameguru Mania News - Oct,16 2002 - tech
Nightly Tech Reading - tech
(hx) 03:47 AM CEST - Oct,16 2002 - Post a comment
  • Deep Fritz Won Today - Deep Fritz won another one today, and the famous chess series is now 3-3. The second win in a row for Deep Fritz brought the eight-match series to 3-3 in what has been billed the "Brains in Bahrain" challenge. "It had the potential to be the best game I have ever played in my life," the 27-year-old Russian said after the match. "I'm not depressed. When you play such a wonderful game you can't be. It could have gone either way. Fritz played such great defense. I think I can still win the match," Kramnik said.
  • Online CD/DVD pirate busted in UK -  A so-called warez CD/DVD dealer in Burwell, United Kingdom, is currently being quizzed after an undercover operation to clamp down on CD piracy. The 30-year-old man sold pirated CDs and DVDs on the internet. His computers and discs were seized during a raid in his house.
  • Intel Banias To Have 1MB Cache - The chip, a completely new mobile processor coming from Intel in the first quarter of next year, will include a 1MB secondary cache, said Mooly Eden, general manager of Intel's Israel Design Center, where the chip was developed. That's twice as big as the cache found on the Pentium 4 and the same size found on the company's Xeon chip for servers.
  • Intel touts security on a chip - Intel today claimed the industry's first network processor for secure content processing. The Intel IXP2850 network processor features high-performance packet processing with security features in a single chip and is designed for applications such as Virtual Private Networks, Web services and Storage Area Networks. Hardware mechanisms within the chip enable popular encryption standards, such as 3DES and the recently introduced Advanced Encryption Standard, to be implemented at speeds up to 10Gbps, Intel says. The company is positioning the chip as an alternative to customised ASICs commonly found in current high-speed firewall/VPN appliances from the likes of NetScreen.
  • Intel describes billion-transistor four-core Itanium processor - Intel Corp. described at Microprocessor Forum 2002 how it could combine four Itanium 2 cores with a large, shared cache memory to create a processor with more than 1 billion transistors, and said it could build a processor of that size in 65-nanometer technology by 2007.
  • Commercial graphics processors define next-gen military systems - ATI Technologies Inc., Nvidia Corp., and 3DLabs Inc. are selling their commercial PC graphics parts to the military, although volumes are relatively small. Even so, graphics designers say the use of their products in such high-profile, demanding applications provides a hidden benefit by showcasing the processors and cards for other new markets.
  • Toshiba speeds up low-cost PDA - Toshiba has announced a new low-cost personal digital assistant (PDA), the Pocket PC e330.
    The device is based on an Intel XScale PXA250 300MHz processor with 64 MB Ram, compared to the StrongArm 206 processor and 32 MB Ram used in its predecessor, the Pocket PC e310.
  • Hard drives taking over from VHS tapes - In this vision, consumers would slide drives containing music, digital photos, or recorded TV programs into an empty bay, similar to the bay on PCs that holds CD drives. Drives could also be linked to consumer-electronics devices by way of a USB 2.0 or FireWire connector.
  • Intel Pentium 4 3.06GHz PDF  - According to this leaked PDF,  this baby  will have a 533MHz FSB!
  • Akasa PaxMate Sound Dampening Mats - I already mentioned it in hardware reviews article, but anyway - according to this review on BurnoutPC,  it does help reducing the sound, not really that much but it does quiet down the vibrations of your HDD, pump etc.
  • SwiftTech Peltier Cooler For AMD Processors - The MCX462+T is a fully assembled air-cooled thermoelectric (Peltier) solution designed to manage thermal loads of up to 100 Watts. The product is intended for applications where liquid cooling is not an option. 
  • SiSoftware SANDRA 2003 in November - SiSoftware today announced that SANDRA 2003 will be released in November 2002.
  • UnitedLinux developing a desktop - Attending last week's Linux Expo UK in London, Blepp also said that the group was considering bringing in new members once version 1.0 of its main server software is out the door.  Blepp, who acts as spokesman for UnitedLinux on top of his role as vice president of international business for member company SuSE, said that the introduction of a version of UnitedLinux aimed at desktop computers such as workstations was more dependent on organizing the UnitedLinux members than on producing the technology. "We have a desktop plan almost ready. The products are ready. We have the technology, but the question is how to put it on the street, and to make sure everybody is thinking the same way," Blepp said.
  • Memorex 48/24/48 overclocked to 52/24/52 - Well we've wondered if the version 6 chipset could do it and indeed it can. My Memorex 48Maxx (which I had flashed to a Lite-On LTR-48246S) is now a 52Maxx (52/24/52) with firmware 6WS2. Nero reports 7,800 maximum speed and tests have shown about a 14-15 second jump in writing an 80 minute disc. No problems so far.
  • VGA Card Benchmarks With UT2003  - This article is in Korean, but still worth checking :)
  • MSIE 7.0 beta screenshots - There's is screenshot taken from a beta version of IE 7  from a half finished version of Windows XP Service Pack 2.
  • OpenOffice 643: Developer Release - Leech it from the mirrors...
  • Gens v2.11 - Gens is an excellent Sega Megadrive/Genesis emulator which works on Windows 9x. You need Directx 7.0 or higher to run this emulator.
  • Virtual CD 4.5 - Virtual CD copies your favourite audio-, data- or video-CD/DVDs as compressed image files on the hard disk and emulates up to 22 CD drives to access and to run the CD applications.
  • IfoEdit 0.94 - IfoEdit 0.94 has one major new feature: It can Author DVDs. Specifically it can multiplex DVD compliant MPEG-2 video streams and audio streams (AC3, MPA, WAV/LPCM).
  • mp3DirectCut v1.26  - Freeware mp3DirectCut is a small tool for editing MPEG audio directly. You can remove parts, change the volume, split files or copy regions to several new files. All without the need to decompress your MP3 into a PCM format.
  • Blindwrite Suite 4.1 - Blindwrite Suite is a set of tools to reproduce or clone any CD even protected ones. Blindwrite Suite is the more powerfull tool to create a perfect copy from your original CD for personal backup purpose.
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