• Windows 2000 Gold Review
  Time: 18:29 EST/23:29 GMT News Source: CNet Posted By: Byron Hinson

  CNet has posted a review of Windows 2000 Final. Here is a snippet from the review:

  On Wednesday, Microsoft shipped its next-generation business operating system, Windows 2000, to manufacturers. It's been a long, strange trip to final code--fraught with delays and strategy shifts--but after an in-depth look at this new OS, we say it's worth the wait.

  For any size of business, Windows 2000 has the right stuff, both as a workstation and as a server. It's stable, easy to install, and packs in enough new features to make it a must-have upgrade from Windows NT 4.0. It's even easier to run on most laptops (an area where NT 4.0 fell short). Windows 2000's dizzying array of new server tools will keep larger businesses busy deciding which ones to deploy, and the server is sophisticated enough to make it worth the extra effort.

  Windows 2000 isn't for everyone, however. If you want a new OS for gaming or surfing the Net, you'll be better off with Windows Millennium, the Windows 98 replacement due out the second half of next year. And even if Windows 2000 is up your alley, you still have to wait a couple of months to get your hands on a copy. If Microsoft doesn't run into any snags, the boxed version of Windows 2000 will hit store shelves and start shipping with PCs on February 17, 2000, two months later than Microsoft had originally promised.

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• MSDN Windows 2000 Package News
  Time: 17:21 EST/22:21 GMT News Source: E-Mail Posted By: Byron Hinson

  I have just received a bit of good news from Microsoft in regards to the news about the version of Windows 2000 in the MSDN pack due sometime next month. It was expected (Well MS said it themselves) that the MSDN version would be time-limited, well it now seems that Microsoft has decided to ship out the full version which isn't time-limited in the MSDN shipment...Good news indeed.

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• ICQ 2000a Alpha Page Opens Download Page
  Time: 17:00 EST/22:00 GMT News Source: E-Mail Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  Mirabilis' has opened its download page for the much anticipated new 2000a Alpha Version. Only advanced ICQ users i.e. users who have installed and used previous versions of ICQ will be able to use ICQ 2000a Alpha. It is recommended to remember your ICQ# and password for use of later versions of ICQ 2000a Alpha.

  Caution! The nature of alpha software is that it is experimental, still under development and not yet ready for release to the general public. Therefore, ICQ 2000a time limited free alpha software version, the alpha versions of the IrCQ-Net plugin, the ICQ Message Archive , the Free ICQ Homepage or any other alpha software provided by ICQ Inc. or any part thereof ("Software") are likely to contain bugs, may be unstable and may expose you to privacy and security risks. ICQ Inc. does not warrant the performance of the Software in any way. ICQ Inc. may make improvements, corrections, adaptations, conversions or cease to provide, limit or terminate the availability of the Software, or access to the ICQ system and network or any part thereof, and/or the ICQ system or network may cease to support the Software, temporarily or permanently, to all users or any part thereof.

  At this time the download link does not seem to be working. We will keep checking and let you know when this becomes available.

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• Benefon Licenses Microsoft Mobile Explorer To Bring WAP and HTML-Based Services and Content to Mobile Phones
  Time: 15:24 EST/20:24 GMT News Source: Press Release Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Microsoft Corp. and Benefon today announced the licensing of Microsoft^® Mobile Explorer (MME) for Benefon's new wireless communication products. Microsoft Mobile Explorer, first announced on Dec. 8, is a comprehensive, open software platform designed to power Internet-enabled mobile telephones. MME enables wireless carriers to provide their customers with the choice of a broad line of applications and services on data-enabled telephones. It is a key component of Microsoft's end-to-end wireless strategy to provide mobile Internet solutions that utilize additional technologies such as Microsoft Exchange Server, the BackOffice^® family and MSN™ Mobile Services.

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• Consumers Can Sign Up for MSN Internet Access While They Shop At More Than 120 Simon Malls
  Time: 15:22 EST/20:22 GMT News Source: Press Release Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Microsoft Corp. and Simon Property Group Inc., the nation's largest mall owner and operator, today announced that they have joined forces to provide post-holiday mall shoppers with an exciting offer that includes a Simon mall shopping spree with purchase of the MSN™ Internet Access online service. Consumers who sign up to get connected to the Internet through this onsite offer for MSN Internet Access will instantly receive a $50 or $100 Simon mall gift certificate from any one of 120 participating Simon malls across the country.

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• MSN Adds a Calendar Service
  Time: 12:37 EST/17:37 GMT News Source: PC World Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  Microsoft launches beta of calendar gleaned from Jump; requires Hotmail.

  Yahoo's got one. Netscape does, too. And Go Network just added one to its site. Now Microsoft is joining the Web calendar club, by launching a beta version of the application on its MSN portal on Monday.  The technology for MSN Calendar is not Microsoft's own. About eight months ago, Microsoft acquired Jump Network, a subscription portal that offers Web-based utilities.

  "A calendar was missing from our site," says Brian Riseland, product manager. Jump's calendar, however, had to be tailored to Microsoft's look and feel before it was ready for launch.

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• Windows 2000 DDK Final Release Now Available
  Time: 09:57 EST/14:57 GMT News Source: EFront Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Microsoft has released the final driver development kit for Windows 2000. The Windows 2000 DDK is provided to assist IHVs in developing products that interact with the Windows 2000 operating system on i386 platform. It provides the development environment for creation of drivers for the Windows 2000 operating system. The DDK also provides additional driver-specific headers, libraries, sources, tools, and documentation. The final release of the Windows 2000 DDK includes clarifications, corrections, and new information about installing drivers and creating information (INF) files for Windows 2000. This release may be downloaded at http://microsoft.com/ddk/W2kDDK.htm

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• Intel drops Pentium bomb on AMD
  Time: 09:51 EST/14:51 GMT News Source: ZDNet Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Intel Corp. is stepping up its attack on Advanced Micro Devices Inc. in a battle that should ultimately benefit the consumer. The Santa Clara Calif. chip maker Monday rang the bell on the latest round with rival AMD, by announcing it is now shipping 750MHz and 800MHz Pentium III chips. The 750MHz Pentium III chip was expected in January. The 800MHz Pentium III, however, comes a full two months before it was originally expected.

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• The Bat flies out of Microsoft hell
  Time: 09:49 EST/14:49 GMT News Source: The Register Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Towards the beginning of last week, we found ourselves slightly embarrassed because two 20MB Powerpoint presentation, courtesy of HP's UK spin doctors, clogged up our big pipe here at Vulture Central for half of the afternoon. We killed the job because, basically, no-one could work, thinking that we'd pick it up at home, first thing in the morning, when the pipes have just been cleaned here in Blighty.

  There then followed a full four days of 20MB Powerpoint Hell at the teleworking office of a Reg staffer. Microsoft Outlook, which we had used at home, has an option that is supposed to let you specify that files above a certain size not be downloaded. Whoever put that box in Outlook had better re-examine his or her code, because it certainly didn't work. Instead, our ISP bravely attempted to download our email and then Outlook consistently fell over during the 20MB monster, so filling up our hard drive and, eventually, destroying Windows 98 completely. We thought we'd see if our StinkPad fared any better, but the Powerpoint Presentation from Santa HP's PR bunnies pulled over IBM's best too...

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• Microsoft in business deal with malls
  Time: 09:17 EST/14:17 GMT News Source: MSNBC Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  Microsoft Corp. is teaming up with the nation’s biggest mall owner and operator to advertise and sell its Internet service in shopping centers around the country. The deal, expected to be announced Monday, follows a flurry of partnerships in the last week between big bricks-and-mortar retailers and Internet companies that are both looking to expand their reach on and off the Web.

  “As the internet becomes a mass-market phenomena, we need to find new incentives to bring people online and hook them into the Web,” said Alan Alper, an analyst at the online research firm Gomez Advisers.

  Starting on Jan. 2, Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group will let Microsoft hawk its MSN Internet service in 120 of its more than 190 large malls, including Roosevelt Field in Garden City, N.Y., and Lenox Square in Atlanta.

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• Microsoft boosts streaming push with Intervu stake
  Time: 08:00 EST/13:00 GMT News Source: News.com Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  Microsoft today moved to expand its share of the streaming media market by taking a $30 million stake in Net streaming pioneer Intervu.

  Intervu said it plans to use the investment to expand its broadband capabilities and develop affordable applications based on Microsoft's Windows Media software in an effort to lure a greater number of users to streaming media.

  The investment allows Microsoft, which has been embroiled in a long battle against rival RealNetworks in the streaming media market, to bring its Media player to a larger number of media content companies. Recently, RealNetworks said it would focus its efforts on being both a streaming media infrastructure company and a content aggregator. Microsoft, on the other hand, is positioning its streaming efforts to be an infrastructure player only.

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• Reviews On The Web
  Time: 09:53 EST/14:53 GMT News Source: Various Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Half-Life: Opposing Force on Beyond 3D.
  Hype: the Time Quest on GameSpy.com.
  IntelliMouse Explorer on Power Gamerz.
  Jane's USAF on Electric Games.
  LogiTech Cordless MouseMan on CTNews.
  Odium on Glide Underground.
  Pharaoh on EuroGamer.
  Planescape: Torment on PC.IGN.com.
  Quake III Arena on Sharky Extreme.
  Razer Boomslang 1000 gaming mouse on Tac-Sim.com.
  Razer Boomslang 2000 gaming mouse on Dan's Data.
  South Park: Chef's Luv Shack on Gamers Depot and Glide Underground.
  Star Trek: Hidden Evil on Star Trek: Creative (in German).
  SWAT 3: Close Quarters Battle on MPOG.
  Tomb Raider: the Last Revelation on GibWorld.
  Tonic Trouble on PC.IGN.com.
  Unreal Tournament on Adrenaline Vault and Monolithic Illusions.
  Age of Wonders on Games Weekly.
  Battlezone II: Combat Commander on GameSpot UK.
  Driver on ESCMag.
  Half-Life: Opposing Force on Games Domain Review.
  Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine on Adrenaline Vault and GamePen.
  Jane's USAF on GameStats.
  Quake III Arena on Gamelinks.net and Game Downloads Online.
  Rayman 2 on Gamers Central.
  Sid Meier's Antietam! on GamesMania.
  Silver on Thresh's Firingsquad.
  Spec Ops II: Green Berets on GameProWorld.
  Spellbinder: The Nexus Conflict on Daily Radar.
  SWAT 3: Close Quarters Battle on GameSpy.com.
  Ultima IX: Ascension on Happy Puppy and ESCMag.
  Unreal Tournament on BarrysWorld.
  Wheel of Time on GameZilla.
  

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• Court overturns fake child porn act
  Time: 04:14 EST/09:14 GMT News Source: ZDNet Posted By: Alex Harris

  The day after former Infoseek Corp. executive Patrick Naughton was jailed for possession of child pornography, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the constitutionality of a portion of the Child Pornography Prevention Act. The section in question made it a crime to possess digital images or videos of people who "appear" to be minors engaging in sexual acts, even if the participants are youthful-looking adults who appear to be under the age of consent.

  In a 2-1 ruling on Friday, the court said, "We find that the phrases 'appears to be' a minor, and 'convey the impression' that the depiction portrays a minor, are vague and overbroad and thus do not meet the requirements of the First Amendment."

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• Paul Allen Adds Another Circuit to His Wired World
  Time: 04:07 EST/09:07 GMT News Source: Business Week Posted By: Alex Harris

  Billionaire Paul Allen is on the verge of creating a national phone and cable empire. So says one of his top executives, Jerald L. Kent, president and chief exec of Charter Communications, the Allen-owned cable company. Allen, co-founder of Microsoft with Bill Gates, has been busy assembling pieces of what he calls his "wired world" strategy, which anticipates a future where people conduct many of their daily activities over the Internet. Allen's strategy now includes building a national phone system, which would compete directly with telcos such as AT&T.

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• Site News: Job Opportunities
  Time: 19:29 EST/00:29 GMT News Source: ActiveWindows Posted By: Byron Hinson

  We are on the lookout for a few Registry Experts who would be interested in writing up tips for Windows 95/98/2000 and NT. If this sounds like your kind of thing - e-mail me at byron@activeie.com. We are also looking for some new reviewers, so if you would be interested in reviewing new software releases and getting to keep the stuff you review - then e-mail me byron@activeie.com ASAP with examples of your writing.

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• AMD Demonstrates 900-MHz Chips
  Time: 09:29 EST/14:29 GMT News Source: TechWeb Posted By: Alex Harris

  Advanced Micro Devices has demonstrated two different versions of its Athlon microprocessor running at 900 MHz. One uses the company's standard 0.18-micron process with aluminum interconnects, while the second is produced at the same line width, but comes from AMD's Dresden, Germany, fab and features copper interconnects.

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• Gateway's chip shortages could hurt earnings
  Time: 09:26 EST/14:26 GMT News Source: CNet News Posted By: Alex Harris

  Computer maker Gateway is being hurt by Intel chip shortages at the worst possible time: the holiday buying season.

  The San Diego, Calif.-based company, which custom builds and ships its PC products, has been hit disproportionately hard by Intel's struggle to manufacture enough of its newest and fastest Pentium III processors, according to several industry research reports. Unfortunately for Gateway--reliant on Intel after a flirtation with competing chipmaker AMD--its highest-volume products run on the hardest-to-find chips, according to the reports.

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• Reviews On The Web
  Time: 09:16 EST/14:16 GMT News Source: ActiveWindows Posted By: Byron Hinson

  PowerGamerz - Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer
  Well Rounded Entertainment - MS Flight Simulator 2000

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• Site News, Community Update and ActiveSci-Fi/ActiveLinux
  Time: 09:00 EST/14:00 GMT News Source: ActiveWindows Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Christmas is drawing ever closer so we thought we would discuss some of our upcoming arrangements that will happen over the next few weeks. As you would expect, we will all be taking some time off from around the 23rd of December till the 27/28th so don't expect many/any updates during that time and with the Millennium on the horizon we will also have time off for a good few days then just like most of you guy/girls will too.

  We have decided to delay the launch of our news engine indefinitely - we expect it early next year if all goes to plan, you'll find out why soon enough.

  As most of you already know, we plan to launch http://www.activelinux.net at some point this month. My plan is to switch the front-page of that domain to a Linux news page sometime next week instead of the template that is up now. The site will contain all of the news, reviews and tips that you expect from us.

  We have begun our regular daily updates of ActiveSci-Fi, so those of you who are interested in science fiction - check it out. As you know we take your feedback seriously here - so if you have any comments on the Sci-Fi site just let me know.

  As usual it is also time to mention our MSN Community, we are currently still the leading Operating System community on MSN and we are yet again the main site featured in the Windows 95/98/NT/2000 area, so make sure you check us out - our next chat is on December 17th Here is a list of our upcoming reviews:

  Hardware: Microsoft IntelliMouse Explorer, SoundBlaster Live! Platinum, Microsoft Force Feedback Steering Wheel, Microsoft Force Feedback Joystick
  Software: Tomb Raider 4, Quake 3, Gabriel Knight 3, SWAT 3, Interstate 82, Star Trek: Hidden Evil, Ultima 9, Asheron's Call (Ongoing Monthly), Unreal Tournament, Wheel Of Time (Sometime this week), Delta Force 2, Flight Simulator 2000 (Next week), Driver (Sometime this week), Encarta Africana
  Applications: Corel Suite 9, Vizact 2000
  DVD's: Inspector Gadget, The Last Broadcast, The Iron Giant, Wild Wild West, The Haunting, The Thin Red Line

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• DirectX 7a SDK & Other Languages Released
  Time: 21:45 EDT/02:45 GMT News Source: ActiveWindows Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Microsoft has also released the new DirectX 7a SDK on their website. Here are a few of the new bits and pieces:
  
  

  • A new Microsoft® Visual Basic® type library makes key DirectX features available to applications developed using Visual Basic.
  • Microsoft® Direct3D® Immediate Mode offers many new features, including device-state blocks, geometry blending, cubic environment mapping, user-defined clipping planes, and more.
  • Microsoft® DirectMusic® supports the DLS2 (Downloadable Sounds level 2) standard.
  • Microsoft® DirectInput® now supports up to eight mouse buttons, exclusive access to the keyboard, and delayed start for force-feedback effects. New methods allow reading and writing of force-feedback effect files, and a Force Editor application is provided for creating effects.
  • Improved hardware voice management is provided in Microsoft® DirectSound®.
  • New 3-D audio processing algorithms result in better CPU utilization in DirectSound.
  • Microsoft® DirectDraw® stereo support has been added for active devices.
  • Ripple launching is provided for Microsoft® DirectPlay® lobbied applications.
  • Improved documentation includes dynamic filtering for language-specific information.
  • More sample applications are included.
  • Provides improved force feedback performance and the best compatibility with today's input devices.

  And on another note - DirectX 7.0a is available for download in following languages: Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Czech, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Spanish, and Swedish.

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• Exclusive: DirectX 7a Released
  Time: 19:59 EDT/00:59 GMT News Source: ActiveWindows Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Microsoft has released DirectX 7a to the public this evening. This new version fixes various DirectInput problems with game controllers and USB devices. Note that DirectInput drivers are the ONLY files updated in this version and they will change to build 0716 when this download is installed.

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• Compaq To Ship Windows 2000 Machines Next Month
  Time: 18:44 EDT/23:44 GMT News Source: TechWeb Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Microsoft's launch of Windows 2000 is slated for Feb. 17, but Compaq says it plans to ship systems to its customers on Jan. 24. Compaq and other original equipment manufacturers received the final code for Windows 2000 Professional, Server, and Advanced Server Dec. 15, the day Microsoft released its next-generation operating system to manufacturing.

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• Win 2000 Advanced Server More Stable Than NT 4.0
  Time: 18:36 EDT/23:36 GMT News Source: TechWeb Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Performance tests at the CRN Test Center showed the release-to-manufacturing version of Microsoft Windows2000 Advanced Server throttles back CPU and memory use to increase stability, at the sacrifice of throughput for Web applications.

  That lets the network operating system scale up better in enterprise environments, keeping the server up and running under torturous loads. Tweaks can be made to enhance throughput if the reseller so chooses.

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• Windows 2000 Server: A smart move
  Time: 18:34 EDT/23:34 GMT News Source: ZDNet Posted By: Byron Hinson

  The question for anyone running Windows NT 4.0 Server is not whether to upgrade to Windows 2000 Server but when to upgrade. That's not to say that the upgrade will be easy. In fact, upgrade is the wrong word; Windows 2000 will require a complete overhaul of NT 4.0 enterprise networks. However, it's a huge improvement over NT 4.0: Windows 2000's multilevel directory, Internet standards, quota-enabled file system, and built-in transaction and queuing services earn it a PC Week Labs Analyst's Choice award.

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• Prisoner's paradox: Mac and Windows
  Time: 14:30 EDT/19:30 GMT News Source: ZDNet Posted By: Byron Hinson

  The rutabagas are in, and I'm delighted with the apparent read-through rate on last week's "Macs rule, PCs drool" column. (For those who missed it, the piece tested reader attention by asking Talkback participants to include the word "rutabaga" in their posts. Guess you had to be there.)

  Other than the gratifying number of Brassicaceae references, however, the exercise didn't make much of a dent in the direction of the ensuing discourse; it more or less followed the normal pattern of platform advocacy that's become a tradition from week to week. I plead guilty in promoting that particular thread, since I find myself running into a fundamentally contradictory position: Even in the process of decrying Mac-vs.-Windows-vs.-Linux flame wars, I'm setting up a cross-platform comparison that ultimately encourages those kind of exchanges.

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• Windows 98 Large IDE Update
  Time: 08:43 EDT/13:43 GMT News Source: E-Mail Posted By: Byron Hinson

  We missed this one a few days ago. This new Large IDE patch for Windows 98/SE is now available on Windows Update. Here is what it fixes:

  This update addresses an issue on Windows® 98 and Windows 98 Second Edition computers that have an integrated device electronics (IDE) hard disk that is larger than 32 gigabytes (GB) in size. If you use the protected-mode (graphical) version of ScanDisk to perform a thorough scan (which includes a surface scan) on an IDE hard disk that is larger than 32 GB, ScanDisk may report errors on every cluster after approximately cluster number 967,393.

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• Chinese court rejects Micro$oft piracy suit
  Time: 08:36 EDT/13:36 GMT News Source: The Register Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Microsoft appears to have sued the wrong company for software piracy, the Beijing Number One Intermediate Court ruled on Friday. The court remained unconvinced that the foreign mega-corporation had identified the correct defendant. Not that being a foreign corporation could possibly have influenced the decision.

  Microsoft made the mistake of suing the Beijing's Yadu Group, accusing it of making widespread use of bootlegged Microsoft products, when in fact it should have set the crosshairs on Yadu Group subsidiary, Yadu Company, the court decided.

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• Majority of top shopping sites powered by Windows; seven of top 10 use SQL Server 7.0
  Time: 03:47 EDT/08:47 GMT News Source: Microsoft Daily News Posted By: Alex Harris

  Brick-and-mortar retailers need a foundation. E-commerce retailers need a platform.

  And according to Internet consulting firm Netcraft, the Microsoft platform is the choice of many of the top shopping sites on the Web. Netcraft says that the Microsoft® Windows® operating system powers 52 percent of the top 100 shopping Web sites. In addition, seven of the top 10 shopping sites use Microsoft SQL Server™ 7.0, and 12 of the top 60 sites use Microsoft Site Server 3.0 Commerce Edition, a number that exceeds any other commerce server on the market. Microsoft solutions have helped companies such as SuperMarkets Online and Buy.com get online quickly and easily and handle growing consumer demand.

  Netcraft also found that more than 6,000 Web sites are using Windows 2000.

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• Athlon Mail over on CPU Review
  Time: 03:37 EDT/08:37 GMT News Source: CPU Review Posted By: Alex Harris

  CPU Review have posted up a small selection of the mail they got about their recent Athlon related articles; including:

  - a pointer to an upcoming inexpensive Athlon board
  - another confirmation of an upcoming Tyan board
  - more on memory speed
  - an IWill(!) Athlon board

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• Intel closes in on 1,000MHz chip
  Time: 03:34 EDT/08:34 GMT News Source: ZDNet Posted By: Alex Harris

  Coming closer to breaking the next major chip barrier, Intel Corp. plans to disclose plans for a 1,000MHz Pentium III chip in February. The Santa Clara, Calif., chip maker will present a paper on the 1,000MHz, or 1GHz, Pentium III, which is based on its current Pentium III design, code-named Coppermine, at the IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) on Feb. 7.

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• Father of World Wide Web wins $100,000 prize
  Time: 03:32 EDT/08:32 GMT News Source: ZDNet Posted By: Alex Harris

  Tim Berners-Lee, the father of the World Wide Web, is one of the recipients of a $100,000 grant celebrating the ability of the entrepreneurial spirit to benefit society worldwide, the Stargazer Foundation said Thursday. The Vienna, Va.-based Stargazer Foundation named Berners-Lee, currently director of the World Wide Web Consortium at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Laboratory for Computer Science, and Bill Shore, founder and executive director of Share Our Strength, a national anti-hunger organization, as its first two recipients of the $100,000 tax-free grant. "There's something going on in society that's more than just stock options and IPOs," said foundation Chairman Arthur Bushkin. "We define the entrepreneur to be anyone who has a vision and makes it so."

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• Microsoft shares climb on Windows 2000 optimism
  Time: 03:29 EDT/08:29 GMT News Source: CNet News Posted By: Alex Harris

  Microsoft shares reached an all-time high today, boosted by analysts' reports indicating that the stock is undervalued and by the release of Windows 2000.

  Despite the uncertainty hanging over the company as a result of the pending Justice Department antitrust suit, a group of analysts issued reports today raising their price targets for the company's shares. The reason: Windows 2000's potential to dominate the nascent e-commerce and Internet battlegrounds much as Windows 95 dominated the personal computer desktop.

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• Microsoft Security Bulletin (MS99-057) - Patch Available for "Malformed Security Identifier Request" Vulnerability
  Time: 20:36 EDT/01:36 GMT News Source: E-mail Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  Microsoft has released a patch that eliminates a vulnerability in Microsoft(r) Windows NT(r) 4.0. The vulnerability could allow a malicious user to cause a Windows NT machine to stop responding to requests for service. The patch for this vulnerability is included in the previously-released patch for the "Syskey Keystream Reuse" vulnerability. ( See article below ) Customers who have already applied it do not need to take any further action.

  Read more

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• Microsoft, Time Warner fear outcome of benefits suits
  Time: 17:06 EDT/22:06 GMT News Source: NYLJ Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  Mention Microsoft and Time Warner to employment lawyers and one thing comes to mind: litigation over misclassified workers. Depending on the outcome of suits filed against the two companies, the potential liability they could face for denying certain workers employee benefits could be enormous. And that risk has sent a chill down the collective spines of employers across the country.

  Publishing, high-tech, construction and consulting companies have routinely hired contingent workers to help them with unexpected projects or busy periods, but many now worry that these workers or the Department of Labor might bring suit, alleging that the employer misclassified workers and unlawfully denied them benefits.

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• Microsoft Security Bulletin (MS99-056) - Patch Available for "Syskey Keystream Reuse" Vulnerability
  Time: 16:19 EDT/21:19 GMT News Source: E-mail Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  Microsoft has released a patch that eliminates a vulnerability in Syskey, a utility that provides additional protection for Microsoft(r) Windows NT(r) password databases. The vulnerability allows a particular cryptanalytic attack to be effective against Syskey, significantly reducing the strength of the protection it offers. The patch eliminates the vulnerability and restores strong protection to the password database.

  Read more

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• DirectX 7a To Be Released Tomorrow
  Time: 16:14 EST/21:14 GMT News Source: E-Mail Posted By: Byron Hinson

  I know a number of you have been waiting for this release to fix the numerous DirectInput bugs that cropped up with gaming devices, well the good news is that Microsoft will release DirectX 7a on their website tomorrow.

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• Netscape admits Communicator flaw
  Time: 16:06 EST/21:06 GMT News Source: ZDNet Posted By: Byron Hinson

  America Online Inc.'s Netscape division acknowledged yesterday that a security flaw can allow a hacker to break the password code in the e-mail component of the Communicator Web browser. Two engineers at Reliable Software Technologies Inc., a Sterling, Va., software security company, spent eight hours duplicating the mathematical algorithm that Netscape Messenger uses to scramble users' passwords, according to Reliable officials. The duplication allowed them to figure out the supposedly encrypted password.

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• Best Buy & Microsoft Agree to Form Comprehensive Strategic Alliance
  Time: 14:13 EST/19:13 GMT News Source: Press Release Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  Nation's Largest Digital Technology Retailer and Worldwide Software Leader to Join Forces

  Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE: BBY) and Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) today announced their plans for a comprehensive strategic alliance that encompasses broadband, narrowband, in-store and online efforts. The parties signed a letter of intent that provides for significant joint marketing in Best Buy's retail stores, online and through print/broadcast vehicles, profit sharing, the promotion of BestBuy.com to the 40 million users throughout Microsoft's properties, and technology assistance.

  Under this alliance, MSN™ Internet access and Microsoft's full range of connectivity solutions will be demonstrated and sold at the more than 350 Best Buy stores in the U.S. and through BestBuy.com. In addition, Microsoft plans to invest $200 million in Best Buy common stock.

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• EU court says pro-Microsoft ruling was wrong
  Time: 11:53 EST/16:53 GMT News Source: ZDNet Posted By: Byron Hinson

  A European court ruled on Thursday that the European Commission was wrong to reject a complaint from a French software wholesaler against Microsoft in a dispute over cheap imports from Canada. The Court of First Instance said the Commission failed to consider Micro Leader Business' allegations that the U.S. giant had abused a dominant position when it took steps to prevent the French firm from purchasing software in Canada for resale in France.

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• ActiveWindows/ActiveLinux Run By Microsoft?
  Time: 10:17 EST/15:17 GMT News Source: ActiveWindows Posted By: Byron Hinson

  This morning I have come online to a lot of hate mail (Which is always welcomed) from Linux users - well mostly Slashdot readers actually. The reason...Well most people who read our site know that we are working on a Linux news, tips etc etc website, because of this we created a quick way for people to post comments about it and Linux via an MSN community (Anyone can create them you know?) before our news engine and comments stuff begins next year.

  Someone posted a note on Slashdot to say that it was funny that an ActiveLinux site and Community was being created by us here, while I agree that the Community is quite funny as it is hosted by MSN...Most people who read us regularly know that we create sites based on the Active**Whatever name, none of them are run by Microsoft whatsoever. I know it may be hard for some paranoid Linux users to realize, but there are actually some of us don't take sides in this so called "War". Some of the regular readers will also take note that we have recently been slamming Microsoft, but hey, it has brought in more hits so that can't be bad.

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• Microsoft Introduces Ask Maxwell, an Automated Support Assistant Designed to Find Answers for Consumers Quickly
  Time: 09:42 EST/14:42 GMT News Source: Press Release Posted By: Byron Hinson

  In an ongoing effort to simplify and improve online support, Microsoft Corp. today announced that Ask Maxwell™ Internet search technology, a new, easy-to-use question and answer service, is available on the Microsoft® Personal Online Support site at http://support.microsoft.com/askmaxwell/.

  Ask Maxwell, which utilizes the Corporate Question Answering Service from Ask Jeeves®, allows consumers to ask questions in plain English (e.g., "How do I install and remove programs in Windows® 98?") and then directs users to the best answer located within Microsoft Online Support. Instead of using search, Ask Maxwell compares consumers' questions to a knowledge base of known questions. It then returns a list of questions and answers that most closely resemble the original inquiry. Consumers simply click on the best match and Ask Maxwell guides them to their answer. This service helps consumers navigate more quickly and easily through the Microsoft Knowledge Base of more than 200,000 articles.

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• Microsoft Helps Small Businesses "Get Found" on the Web By Offering RealNames Internet Keywords