• Microsoft Excel 2000 SYLK File Security Update
  Time: 13:07 EST/18:07 GMT News Source: E-Mail Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Microsoft has recently become aware of a potential Excel SYLK file security vulnerability. When symbolic link (SYLK) files containing macros are opened in Excel 2000, users do not receive the usual macro warning dialog box.  These macros could potentially delete files or perform other malicious acts on a computer. You could encounter this problem by opening an SYLK file that contains an Excel macro sheet that is attached to an e-mail message or is linked to from a Web site. This patch corrects the SYLK file vulnerability by displaying the macro warning dialog box whenever you open an SYLK file containing macros. For more information, read the Microsoft Knowledge Base article XL2000: Macro Virus Warning Does Appear Opening SYLK File.

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• Driver - Review
  Time: 13:04 EST/18:04 GMT News Source: ActiveWindows Posted By: Byron Hinson

  I have posted my review of GT Interactive/Reflections Driver. Here is a snippet from the review:

  Driver's gameplay while being on the most part very impressive can be downright frustrating. The general gameplay consists of driving from point a to point b (although there are a few exceptions). For the first few games this is all well and good, but it does tend to bore you after a little while of playing. The frustration starts to appear from the very beginning (At least it did for me) In one mission you are asked to chase a car and try to out run and ram him down, but the AI was so hard that it was just too difficult.

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• Happy New Year
  Time: 09:04 EST/14:04 GMT News Source: ActiveWindows Posted By: Alex Harris

  We would just like to wish you all a very happy and safe New Year. We would also like to thank you all for your continued support that you have given us over the years and we will try and make ActiveWindows even better than it is already for you in the New Millennium. 

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• CIH virus author gets a job
  Time: 08:59 EST/13:59 GMT News Source: ZDNet Posted By: Alex Harris

  A Taiwan technology firm keen to test its own hardware has hired the super-hacker who created the notorious Chernobyl virus -- which laid waste to hundreds of thousands of computers worldwide in April.

  Wahoo International Enterprise Co. said it recently fought off a score of high-tech rivals competing to lure Chen Ing-hau after the 24-year-old completed Taiwan's mandatory military service.

  A remorseful Chen admitted he wrote the stealthy computer program during his tour of military duty, and was arrested in April but soon released because no complaints were filed in Taiwan.

  The virus, also known as CIH, wipes out an infected computer's hard drive data every April 26 -- the anniversary of the 1986 Soviet nuclear disaster at Chernobyl, Ukraine.

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• CA warns of Trojan.kill virus
  Time: 08:57 EST/13:57 GMT News Source: ZDNet Posted By: Alex Harris

  Computer Associates International Inc. said on Thursday a virus distributed through pirated copies of Windows 98 operating systems could wipe out information saved on computers when its date rolled past January 1.

  Computer Associates (NYSE: CA) said it was offering detection and cure downloads for the virus known as Trojan.Kill for personal use at its Website (http://antivirus.cai.com). 

  "Since Trojan.Kill is directly related to Y2K and carries a destructive payload, we're concerned about the damage it can do," said Simon Perry, business manager of security at Computer Associates.

  "Obviously this virus is specifically targeted at illegal software, and Computer Associates strongly recommends that all software deployed either in the business environment or for home use is a legal copy," Perry said in a statement.

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• Windows memory issue clogs some Compaq PCs
  Time: 08:55 EST/13:55 GMT News Source: CNet News Posted By: Alex Harris

  Compaq Computer today attempted to snuff out a problem with some of its consumer PCs that is caused by these systems' interaction with Microsoft's Windows 98 operating system.

  Many customers have been complaining that Compaq's Presario 5800 and 5900 models have been freezing up. The complaints increased around Christmas, and the computer maker's customer support operations--both telephone and online--have been swamped dealing with the problem, Compaq said.

  Too many software programs, including Windows 98, are competing for limited resources, causing the systems to slow to a crawl, Compaq and analysts said. But Houston-based company's consumer crisis may represent a much bigger issue: Almost all PC makers are struggling to balance the demands of Windows 98 and other programs intended to provide increased functionality.

  "If you're a manufacturer, you have to balance what you're going to put on there, what the customer is going to put on there and what performance they're going to get," said PC Data analyst Stephen Baker. "Obviously, manufacturers want to enhance the user experience, but unfortunately that doesn't always jive with what resources you can get out of Windows."

  Microsoft officials could not be reached for comment.

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• Russian nuclear reactor survives date change
  Time: 08:53 EST/13:53 GMT News Source: CNet News Posted By: Alex Harris

  The first Russian nuclear reactor to cross into the new millennium survived the Y2K computer bug test, Russia's atomic power company said in Moscow today half an hour after the plant entered the New Year.

  "At 3:00 p.m. Moscow time (1200 GMT) the staff of the Bilibinsk nuclear power plant met the New Year. In connection with the change of date no shutdown in the work of the equipment was observed," the Rosenergoatom firm, which manages eight of nine civilian nuclear power plants in Russia said in a press release at 1230 GMT.

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• No signs of Y2K hoarding in U.S.
  Time: 08:51 EST/13:51 GMT News Source: CNet News Posted By: Alex Harris

  Americans show no signs of hoarding cash, food or other supplies one day before the technology-challenging Year 2000 dawns, President Clinton's top Y2K aide said.

  "As a general matter, there are no reports of any changes of any significance in consumer buying habits in either food, pharmaceuticals, or gasoline at this stage," the Y2K troubleshooter, John Koskinen, told reporters.

  Separately, the Federal Aviation Administration acknowledged that it had wrapped up an 11th hour upgrade to air-traffic-control computers to head off a possible Y2K glitch.

  It could have caused controllers' screens to show aircraft positions up to 10 seconds late if two related systems failed during the transition from 1999 to 2000.

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• Sydney reports no problems in first hours of 2000
  Time: 08:49 EST/13:49 GMT News Source: CNet News Posted By: Alex Harris

  Almost a million people crowded the shores of Sydney Harbor on Saturday as the Olympic city saw in the new millennium with the biggest firework display and party in its history.

  Twenty tons of fireworks lit up a crisp and windy summer's night as the Olympic city entered what will be a crucial year. Acrobats danced down the roofs of the Sydney Opera House and 18 giant sea creatures paraded around the harbor as the clock ticked down to midnight. Tens of thousands watched the spectacle from an estimated 5,000 boats moored within view of the Harbor Bridge.

  Among those reportedly watching the celebrations was Microsoft chairman Bill Gates. The world's richest man was a guest on the yacht of Australia's richest, media baron Kerry Packer.

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• Exclusive: New Internet Time Standard?
  Time: 18:44 EST/23:44 GMT News Source: ActiveWindows Exclusive Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  We have recently discovered that Tony Blair (the Prime Minister of Britain) and the British Government are developing a new initiative to establish a universal time standard for global e-commerce, Greenwich Electronic Time (GeT).

  Obviously, this will simplify Internet communications and commerce by putting Internet activities on the same time clock. British government hopes that GeT will be the virtual equivalent of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), which was established in 1884.

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• Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server Page Added
  Time: 13:13 EST/18:13 GMT News Source: ActiveWindows Posted By: Robert Stein

  We have posted a comprehensive feature list for Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server in our new Windows 2000 Section; Windows® 2000 Advanced Server operating system contains all of the features and functionality of the standard version of Windows 2000 Server, plus additional features for organizations that require higher levels of scalability, reliability, and availability.

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• Microsoft takes stake in messaging services provider
  Time: 11:17 EST/16:17 GMT News Source: News.com Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  Microsoft today said it has taken an equity stake in CommTouch Software, a provider of outsourced email and messaging services.

  Microsoft exercised its warrants to purchase 707,964 CommTouch shares at $28.25 per share, totaling $20 million and representing a 4.7 percent equity stake, the two companies said in a statement. The warrants were granted to the software giant by CommTouch two months ago.

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• Internet Seminar for New Online Ventures
  Time: 09:17 EST/14:17 GMT News Source: Press Release Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  Microsoft Corp., along with co-sponsors Dell Computer Corp. and AV Labs, today announced a free public seminar focused on creating Internet start-ups and putting existing businesses online. The event will provide practical business and technology advice for starting and operating a successful online company. The Business Internet seminar is scheduled for Jan. 20 at the Austin Convention Center in Austin, Texas.

  "Microsoft and its co-sponsors have carefully structured what we believe is one of the most comprehensive one-day e-business programs currently offered, bringing in technology experts, venture capitalists, legal experts and representatives from several successful e-commerce businesses to provide practical insight into launching a Web business operation in this rapidly growing industry," said Mohammed Kateeb, general manager of Microsoft's Gulf Coast District. "With competition among dot-com companies becoming more fierce every day, it's imperative that new Internet start-ups have the right tools and knowledge to succeed and be profitable."

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• Bill Gates Keynotes CES 2000
  Time: 09:15 EST/14:15 GMT News Source: Press Release Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  Microsoft Chairman and CEO Bill Gates will speak about his vision for technology in the new millennium on Wednesday, Jan. 5, at 7 p.m. at the Las Vegas Hilton Theatre.

  He will highlight Microsoft's vision of how the home of today and the future will deliver to consumers their own music, books, entertainment and communications, whether at home or on the go. Building on Microsoft's vision for creating software and services that empowers people anytime, anywhere and from any device, Bill will demonstrate how integrating software, electronics and services will make technology more personal and useful for consumers.

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• Review: BUSlink USB Hard Drive
  Time: 05:16 EST/10:16 GMT News Source: Cool Computing Posted By: Alex Harris

  Cool Computing have posted a review of the USB Hard Drive by BUSlink. Here is a snippet:

  The USB Hard Drive ($189 street) by BUSlink (www.buslink.com) is basically a 2.5" notebook hard drive housed in an external case with an IDE to USB bridge.  The USB Hard Drive is available in three capacities: 3.2 GB (the version tested), 6.0 GB, and 10.0 GB.  The package is pretty much no-frills.  You get the drive, an USB cable, the power supply, driver diskette, and a 2-page "manual."   The drive is relatively small- about 2/3 the size of an external Zip drive.  There are two LED indicator lights at the front of the casing to indicate drive access and power. 

  To read more click here.

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• Intel looking beyond Rambus?
  Time: 05:10 EST/10:10 GMT News Source: CPU Review Posted By: Alex Harris

  CPU Review have posted an article about Intel possibly looking beyond Rambus. Here is a snippet:

  For the last year Intel has been taking a lot of flack for its attempts to get the motherboard industry to standardize on Rambus.

  Certainly Intel's efforts were not helped by the delays in the introduction of the Camino (i820) chipset; and the subsequent recall of motherboards equipped with three Rimm sockets.

  Rambus appears to be positioning itself as a high speed inter-chip connection protocol (see RAMBUS: The Next Generation) and appears to want to diversify outside of the memory technology license business - in my opinion, a good move on their part. Their proposed next-generation Rambus looks potentially quite interesting.

  To read more click here.

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• Site News: Domain
  Time: 05:00 EST/10:00 GMT News Source: ActiveWindows Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Updated!!! Problem Resolved We have been having a few problems with the URL http://www.activewindows.com that should be resolved pretty soon. So we recommend using our main one - http://www.activewin.com which I guess you already are if you can read this.

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• New mobile PIII to save on batteries
  Time: 04:53 EST/09:53 GMT News Source: ZDNet Posted By: Alex Harris

  Notebook PCs will get more power and improved power management in January with the release of a mobile Pentium III processor from Intel Corp. But Intel's chief rival, Advanced Micro Devices Inc., will not be far behind in offering similar technology. The new technology will allow Intel to increase chip speed without compromising battery life.

  The new mobile Pentium III, a 600MHz chip to be announced Jan. 18, according to sources, will give users a 100MHz jump in clock speed from the current top mobile Pentium III chip and at the same time deliver the first implementation of Intel's (Nasdaq: INTC) SpeedStep Technology. SpeedStep, formerly known by the code-name Geyserville, will lower power consumption while the notebook is running on battery power, according to Intel.

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• Digital certificates set to expire
  Time: 04:46 EST/09:46 GMT News Source: ZDNet Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Prepare for another Y2K hiccup. And this one could affect your browsers. Users of Netscape Communications Corp.'s Navigator and Communicator browsers 4.06 and older, as well as users of Microsoft Corp.'s Internet Explorer 4.5 for Macintosh and older, could have problems buying goods online after the clock strikes midnight at the new year.

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• Year 2000
  Time: 04:29 EST/09:29 GMT News Source: ActiveWindows Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Well now, I assume most of you are prepared for the Year 2000 bug, right? If you have kept everything to the last minute then this is basically your last chance to check out all your software, BIOS and RTC to make sure you won't have any problems come 11:59 tomorrow night. Most recent PC's will be fine as long as they are switched off in between 11:59 and 12:01 (Most Intel boards) but others won't be so lucky. Here are a few site suggestions.

  http://www.microsoft.com/y2k
  http://www.mcafee.com/centers/clinic/
  http://support.intel.com/support/year2000/index.htm
  http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1009.html
  http://home.netscape.com/products/year2000/index.html
  Test Your Software's Y2K Compliance

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• Early Neptune Testing Begins
  Time: 17:57 EST/22:57 GMT News Source: Various Posted By: Alex Harris

  We mentioned a few weeks ago that NDA's for Neptune had been sent out to a select few testers (And we mean few). Lots of sites said we were wrong but now we have the confirmation that early testing begun yesterday with the testers receiving one of the early builds on CD. There are currently NO significant changes over Windows 2000 (It is classed as Microsoft Windows 2000 5.00.5111 NTC in system properties), no new UI is present as yet and no new features have cropped up so far either - the only main changes are a few Mars Core files (Expected to be the main UI change - Activity centers) but they are currently inoperable and PC Health is now included (From Millennium). There is also a welcome screen with a listing of users, when you switch from user to user, it doesn't close applications or the net connection, very handy, you can also change identity "Pictures" from this new area too.

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• Y2K Advice for the Last Days
  Time: 17:38 EST/22:38 GMT News Source: PC World Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  Computer vendors offer online resources, fixes, and reassurance in the waning days of 1999. In just a matter of days, the world will learn if computer problems caused by the date rollover to the year 2000 will bring society to its knees or cause only minor inconveniences. But consumers still have plenty of time left to perform checks on home software and hardware, with numerous resources available on the Internet.

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• MP3 Players Update
  Time: 15:24 EST/20:24 GMT News Source: ActiveWindows Posted By: Robert Stein

  We have updated the MP3 Players page in our MP3 Section; the new page has a full update on computer players, portable players, car players, and also a new section on home players. Be sure to check it out! There should be a few more MP3 updates throughout this week.

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• MSDN Windows 2000 News
  Time: 13:51 EST/18:51 GMT News Source: Windows 98 Central Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Win98Central has posted a bit more info on the MSDN version of Windows 2000 that we mentioned last week. Here is a snippet:

  Wooohoooo... "We have received official word that the MSDN versions of Windows 2000 will not be time limited as some other news sites have stated. The Windows 2000 MSDN version will have the hologram technology built into it and will be separate from the regular MSDN subscription CDs in order to lessen the chance of it being pirated. The MSDN version of Windows 2000 will be the full retail product, and falls under the MSDN software licensing and usage agreement.

  We are making this information available as there has been concerns of the MSDN version of Windows 2000 being crippled by a time usage limitation of 120 or 444 days."

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• Linux community scores coup in Hotmail outage
  Time: 13:49 EST/18:49 GMT News Source: News.com Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Microsoft owes a small debt of gratitude to a lone Linux programmer. The software giant confirmed today that its popular Hotmail email network was partially paralyzed over the Christmas holiday when it failed to pay a $35 registration fee for the domain name Passport.com.

  As previously reported, the oversight was remedied by Linux programmer Michael Chaney, who covered the payment with his personal credit card. Within hours, Hotmail was back online.

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• Macromedia Flash 4 Review
  Time: 11:54 EST/16:54 GMT News Source: ActiveWindows Posted By: Robert Stein

  We have posted our review of Macromedia Flash 4: With Macromedia Flash 4 you can "easily design and reliably deliver high-impact, low-bandwidth Web sites to all browsers.  Flash is the only solution that lets you produce sites with vector and bitmap graphics, motion, MP3 audio, form input, and interactivity." So what exactly does that mean to both webmasters and web surfers alike...

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• Latest Apple operating system vulnerable to attacks
  Time: 11:28 EST/16:28 GMT News Source: News.com Posted By: Robert Stein

  Customers who have installed Mac OS 9 are susceptible to "denial of service" attacks from malicious programmers if their computer is hooked up to the Internet via "always on" DSL (digital subscriber line) or cable modem connections.

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• $9 Billion spent online over holidays
  Time: 11:28 EST/16:28 GMT News Source: ZDNet Posted By: Robert Stein

  Shop.org and the Boston Consulting Group released a study Wednesday claiming that during the two-month period order growth increased by 270 percent and revenues rose 300 percent, compared with the previous year.

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• Virus 2000: Nasty and Network-aware
  Time: 11:28 EST/16:28 GMT News Source: ZDNet Posted By: Robert Stein

  Be prepared: next year's viruses will spread fast and use more tricks than a Trojan horse to lure in users. Virus writers are finally catching on to something that tech companies have known for a while: If your applications don't use the Internet, you're behind the times.

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• The biggest computer bugs of 1999!
  Time: 08:31 EST/13:31 GMT News Source: ZDNet Posted By: Byron Hinson

  The year 1999 may forever be known as the Year of Melissa. The e-mail macro virus caused a week of havoc and overtime at major companies across the United States after it struck in late March. But that very visible virus ranked only second on ZDNN's list of worst computer glitches for 1999.

  At No. 1? Two security holes that have drawn relatively little media attention, but have let Internet intruders into military systems and onto the Nasdaq Web site.

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• Oops, Y2K: MS Press plans new pubs Jan 1900?
  Time: 08:28 EST/13:28 GMT News Source: The Register Posted By: Byron Hinson

  As the witching hour approaches we must remember that Microsoft is going to be the victim of many a Y2K hoax or joke --but this one looks plausible. According to a Register tipster, earlier this week Microsoft Press Online's "Coming Soon" section was advertising several titles due to be published in, er, January 1900.

  The page doesn't show any 1900 titles now, but our informant sent us a copy of what he claims to have seen. Suspiciously, the three 1900 titles simply don't appear on the current version of the page. They are the MSCE Online Training Kits for Win2k Active Directory, Win2k Professional and Win2k Server, and their ISBN numbers are respectively 0-7356-1008-8, 0-7356-0953-5 and 0-7356-0954-3.

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