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• Gates, Barrett tout Wintel for workstations
  Time: 19:43 GMT Source: News.com Posted By: Byron

  Workstations using the Windows operating system and Intel chips are displacing Unix servers not just on the basis of price, but now also on the basis of performance, Intel chief executive Craig Barrett said today.

  Barrett and Microsoft chief executive Bill Gates took the stage at the Workstation Leadership Forum here today to show a united front in the war against the old guard, machines using RISC chips and the Unix operating system.

   
• Creative Dumps S3 Savage4
  Time: 13:16 GMT Source: MaximumPC Posted By: Alex R.

  MaximumPC reports that Creative has decided to stop shipments of the S3-based Savage4 3D cards.  This is, of course, in response to S3's purchase of Diamond Multimedia.

   

• Aliens Versus Predator - Review
  Time: 12:41 GMT Source: ActiveWindows Posted By: Byron

  I have posted my review of Fox Interactive's Aliens Versus Predator. Here is a short snippet from the review:

  Aliens Vs. Predator isn't like your usual 3D shoot-em up, it offers an excellent range of different settings and the game can be played three different ways as either a marine, alien, or predator. Each is different from the other, with differing speed, skills and weapons.

   
• Windows 98 Service Pack 1 Stuff
  Time: 09:51 GMT Source: ActiveWindows Posted By: Byron

  Well we posted the Service Pack 1 news hours before everyone else yesterday but as per usual our exclusives get ignored heh. Remember that the actual download of end users will still appear on Windows Update. Here are a couple of other takes on it:

  Microsoft posts bug fixes for Windows 98 - News.com
  Microsoft posts free fixes, patches - ZDNet

   
• Microsoft launches home page-building service
  Time: 09:50 GMT Source: News.com Posted By: Byron

  MSN, Microsoft's Web portal, is launching a new service that will allow users to build homepages on its site. Called MSN Homepages, the service will borrow technology from TalkCity, another homepage community on the Web.

  The latest wrinkle in the software giant's portal strategy takes aim at the many home page builders that have become popular on the Web. Early movers, such as GeoCities and Tripod, are highly regarded for their ability to attract millions of users.

   

• I Want My MP3
  Time: 09:49 GMT Source: OS Site Online Posted By: Byron

  MP3 is better than sex. Well at least as far as the net is concerned. With search engine requests for sites with MP3 downloads now exceeding those for porn, the net is becoming a Digital Audio swap shop. It's free, fun, fairly illegal and its scaring the hell out of record companies.

   

• W3C issues XML layout standard
  Time: 09:48 GMT Source: News.com Posted By: Byron

  The World Wide Web Consortium has approved a specification that allows developers to design the layouts of XML documents.

  The specification by the Web standards group is the first step in allowing developers to use style sheets with their Extensible Markup Language (XML) documents. Style sheets let users define how a document is presented, specifying color, font, or font size, for example.

   

• e-mail Tax A Hoax Says US Postal Service
  Time: 09:46 GMT Source: The Register Posted By: Alex H

  The US Postal Service has branded as "completely false" rumours circulating by email that the US government is planning to levy a surcharge on email usage.

  The email claims the per-message fee would be donated to the Postal Service to cover the $230 million in revenue it has lost as people send letters electronically rather than through the mail.

   
• Coming Soon: The New MSN
  Time: 09:43 GMT Source: ZDNet Posted By: Byron

  Ok - we posted the URL to MSN's beta site earlier in the month but everyone else finally seems to be noticing it now:

  "In an effort to catch up to the portals that have outmaneuvered it, Microsoft Corp. is adding new Web features that will provide more user interaction and collaboration.

  In addition to adding new user-generated Web communities to MSN.com, the company is putting finishing touches on a long-awaited instant messaging feature, according to beta testers on the BetaNews.Com Web site."

   
• Intel Offers Sneak Peek At Merced
  Time: 09:41 GMT Source: ZDNet Posted By: Alex H

  Intel continues to try to entice developers to adopt its IA-64 platform, whose first member -- Merced -- is due mid-2000.

  At an invitation-only event held recently for software developers, Intel (Nasdaq:INTC) showed a prototype of a four-way Merced server with 64GB of memory. Sources say Intel showed a diagram of the machine at its Fall Intel Developers Forum and also has run software simulations of four-way Merced servers. Intel would not comment, other than to say that Merced's design is ongoing.

   
• You've Got AOL 5.0
  Time: 09:39 GMT Source: News.com Posted By: Alex H

  Updated: America Online's latest version of its software, AOL 5.0, is slated for release later this year and will include new features, such as an interactive calendar and enhanced search and downloading capabilities.

  As reported by CNET News.com, available on AOL 5.0's new "Welcome Screen" is something called "You've Got Pictures," which was developed in conjunction with Eastman Kodak and allows users to share photos online as easily as they would send an email message, the company said.

  The "You've Got Pictures" icon appears with an audio message when photos arrive. The photo feature began testing this week in three cities, the company said.

   

• Java standard vote opens door for Microsoft
  Time: 09:39 GMT Source: News.com Posted By: Alex H

  Sun's control over the effort to standardize Java has slipped, and Microsoft is waiting in the wings with a list of enhancements.

  Last week in Kyoto, Japan, a standards body called ECMA (formerly the European Computer Manufacturers Association) voted overwhelmingly to set up a technical committee called TC41 to elucidate the standardize "write once, run anywhere" Java technology Sun invented.

• MSN to let users create communities
  Time: 19:57 GMT Source: ZDNet Posted By: Byron

  Microsoft Corp. plans to add organic Web communities to MSN soon, in an effort to attract more home users and bolster its struggling portal site, according to sources close to the company.

  Several companies, including Yahoo! (Nasdaq:YHOO) and Excite@Home Inc. (Nasdaq:ATHM), already offer the user-created communities, which let people build personal forums where they can chat uninterrupted about a variety of topics.

   
• Microsoft Year 2000 Product Analyzer
  Time: 19:49 GMT Source: Netigen Posted By: Byron

  With the millenium just around the corner it's about time you checked your system for compatibility. Although most hardware concerns have been dealt with -- software is another issue altogether. While your PC will likely continue to run after January 1 most software is expected to experience minor bugs. Thus it would be in your best interest to locate the latest versions of your software or check for Year 2000 upgrades.

  To ease your concerns over Microsoft products, the software giant has released the MS Year 2000 Product Analyzer. It scans the user's hard drive searching for MS products and generates a compliancy report.

   
• RealNetworks Adds Slide Show
  Time: 19:47 GMT Source: AP Posted By: Byron

  RealNetworks Inc. is venturing into the world of sound-enhanced slide shows. The Seattle-based company today announced software that will enable computer users to make sequential displays of images, accompanied with sound, that can be played on the Internet. The free software, called RealSlideshow, lets home computer users make family photo albums, wedding albums, personal movies and advertisements, the company said in a news release.

  Businesses can use it for apartment tours on the Internet, as well as product promotions, online auctions and photojournalism reports, the company said.

  Until now, the ability to make slide shows with sound has required programming, said Ben Rotholtz, general manager of the company's systems and tools division. The software allows fixed images in the popular JPEG or BMP formats to be synchronized with audio. Audio can be recorded from CDs, a microphone or WAV files, and automatically mutes when spoken captions describing the slides are recorded.

  Slide shows can be played only from Web sites hosted by Internet Service Providers that own RealServer.

   
• Windows 98 Service Pack 1 Components Released
  Time: 14:49 GMT Source: e-mail Posted By: Byron

  Exclusive First: Windows 98 Service Pack 1 Components and information have been posted on the Microsoft Windows 98 Corporate downloads page http://www.microsoft.com/windows98/downloads/corporate.asp

  The components are as follows:
  
  

  • Windows 98 System Update
  • Internet Explorer 4.01 Service Pack 2
  • Windows 98 Year 2000 Updates
  • Windows 98 Year 2000 Update 2
  • Outlook® Express Year 2000 Update

   

• MS gives Win98 SE update away for free - in the UK
  Time: 14:47 GMT Source: The Register Posted By: Byron

  If you thought Microsoft's Windows 98 SE upgrade strategy couldn't get any more complicated, you were wrong - Microsoft UK is giving it away free. This simplifies matters immensely for users who'd been puzzling over whether to download the free go-fasters or free service pack (as and when you can download that one) or splash out on the SE upgrade CD.

  Well it simplifies it in the UK anyway, but in a reversal of the usual situation, US users are still being charged $19.95 for the SE update for Windows 98. Microsoft UK's generous offer is available here, and simply requires you to fill in a form and fax it off together with your receipt from your original copy of Windows 98. Presumably, as the bulk of copies of Windows 98 shipped with new PCs rather than separately, the receipt for the whole PC will be acceptable.

   

• USB Concerns Arise
  Time: 10:29 GMT Source: Infoworld Posted By: Byron

  THE UNIVERSAL SERIAL BUS (USB), promoted as an easy-to-use universal connector for adding peripherals, remains a specification with major compatibility problems and a cause of great concern for IT organizations.

  The blame can be laid at the feet of a number of different industry players, but the results are always the same: Most devices end up being incompatible with an IT organization's host system.

  IT organizations recognize the benefits of using USB devices, but in its present state, USB will not be the panacea the industry has promised.

   
• New cards speed network access for handhelds
  Time: 10:23 GMT Source: News.com Posted By: Byron

  Xircom today began shipping network cards for Windows CE handheld devices, bringing high-speed network access to these devices for the first time.

  Xircom introduced the Xircom CompactCard Ethernet 10; this ethernet card, which fits in the PC card slot, allows Microsoft's Windows CE handheld users high-speed access to information stored on corporate computer networks.

  The move comes at a time when communications and connectivity for mobile devices is gaining momentum. Microsoft and its partners announced last week an initiative that would bring wireless connectivity to some Windows CE devices via cell phones, an apparent response to Palm Computing's Palm VII wireless device.

   

• Microsoft to add plain-language searches
  Time: 10:22 GMT Source: News.com Posted By: Byron

  Centraal, whose RealNames system offers a plain-language alternative to traditional Web addresses, today said Microsoft will incorporate its system into MSN search engines and the Internet Explorer 5 browser.

  The deal integrates RealNames into MSN's search engine, which means users of both MSN and Internet Explorer-based searches will start turning up RealNames results.

  In addition, Centraal is making headway with another Web superpower. In a little-noticed provision of America Online's deal with search technology provider Inktomi, announced last week, AOL will start serving up RealNames both on AOL.com and throughout the AOL proprietary service.

• Graphics chip leader ATI pushes into new markets
  Time: 20:13 GMT Source: News.com Posted By: Byron

  ATI Technologies chief executive K.Y. Ho is steering his company down new avenues, much like a player driving a virtual race car along the unfamiliar roads in the video games powered by ATI's market-leading graphic chips.

  In recent years, most of the world's big computer makers have turned to ATI for components that create rich, crisp pictures for games and other applications.

   
• New Win98 Bug?
  Time: 11:56 GMT Source: ZDNet Posted By: Byron

  Tech site BigFix.com is warning of a recently-found bug in Microsoft's System File Checker (SFC) tool that might make Windows 98 unbootable. BigFix has determined the problem affects certain computers from Hewlett-Packard, Sony and eMachines. Others are being tested. Microsoft has posted a work-around.

   
• Intel Twister Set To Wreak Havoc
  Time: 11:54 GMT Source: The Register Posted By: Alex H

  The news that Intel has decided to take action against Via over its PC-133 chipset strategy will have serious repercussions for the entire PC industry. (Story: Intel busts Via over PC-133, this time it's personal)

  The twister has touched ground and will devastate vast tracks of engineering effort amongst third party players.

  At Computex, earlier this month, the vast majority of Taiwanese motherboard manufacturers announced their support for the PC-133 standard. And the island's largest memory manufacturer, Mosel-Vitelic, also announced it would support PC-133, at the same time making it clear there were problems with Direct Rambus.

   

• Merced...Kinda Dead? Or Kinder Dead?
  Time: 11:52 GMT Source: The Register Posted By: Alex H

  Some intriguing reports are trickling our way about the progress of the Intel Merced project and so we thought it worth our while to revisit the subject, once more.

  It's hard for us to firm up the story that nine months ago, Intel CEO Craig Barrett carpeted Dr Albert Yu and got very irritated at the progress of the processor. We weren't there, and neither was our fly on the wall, but those rumours are doing the round.

  More intriguingly, we hear that Intel has made some attempts to get samples of the Big Cartridge out of the door to OEMs, but that performance figures on those liken its performance to a PII/233 rather than the 800MHz behemoth world+dog was expecting.

• Mailing List
  Time: 14:11 Source: ActiveWindows Posted By: Byron

  Our mailing list is yet again have a few teething problems, it doesn't always send out to everyone on the list due to the program we use timing out, we are working on a better way of sending out the daily HTML mailing but would still like you all to keep signing up for it.

   

• Site News
  Time: 14:10 Source: ActiveWindows Posted By: Byron

  Just a note to thank everyone for all the visits you have been putting in over the last few weeks, you have helped to make the last two days our best ever in terms of unique visitors.

  On the reviews front we still have a load more stuff on the way including:

  DVD's: Pi, Grandmothers House, Dark City and Elizabeth
  Games: Aliens Vs Predator, F/A 18E Hornet Attack (DVD Edition) and Shaodan (DVD Edition)

• AMD post K7 Athlon Benchmarks
  Time: 22:38 Source: ActiveWindows Posted By: Byron/Alex H

  AMD has posted a number of benchmarks for their newly released Athlon chip. Check them out at the following URL:

  http://www.amd.com/products/cpg/athlon/benchmarks.html

   
• Tweak UI Download Added For Win 98 SE Users
  Time: 22:25 Source: ActiveWindows Posted By: Byron

  Because so many of you have been asking where Tweak UI is on the Windows 98 Second Edition CD (The reason why it isn't included on the CD is in our FAQ) we have made it available to download off of our website. Remember that Tweak UI is not supported by either Microsoft or us.

   
• MS Encarta "Facts" Vary Depending On Edition
  Time: 22:00 Source: The Register Posted By: Alex H

  The Wall Street Journal's researchers have clearly been busy. Careful comparisons of the various international editions of Microsoft Encarta, today's edition reports, show that in numerous cases the 'facts' are different in different editions.

  That in itself is quite Microsoftish. More so is the quote from Dominique Lempereur, responsible for Microsoft's international education-related business, who says that "you basically have to rewrite all of the content" for international editions. Even more so is the one from MS European marketing director Richard Lindh, who jokes that the French and British English editions give a very different impression of who won the battle of Waterloo.

   

• Benchmark war: NT drubs Linux again?
  Time: 09:31 Source: ZDNet Posted By: Alex H

  Get out your flame-retardant suits: Microsoft Corp. NT triumphed over Linux in Round 2 in the Mindcraft Inc. benchmark saga -- in spite of the involvement this time around of representatives from the Linux community in the testing and tweaking process.

  So, are open-source advocates taking these results lying down? You've got to be kidding.

   
• Future Windows To Block Violent Games
  Time: 09:31 Source: ZDNet Posted By: Alex H

  Microsoft Corp. says an update of Windows to be released next year will allow parents to control which games their kids can play, based on levels of violence, foul language and gore.

  The feature, which a Microsoft (Nasdaq:MSFT) spokesman said will probably be called Windows Game Manager, addresses the concern of many parents about the influence of violent games on their children. Windows is the dominant operating system in the PC marketplace, which makes up a substantial part of the video-game market.

   
• Microsoft OS/2 - The Picture Proof
  Time: 09:29 Source: The Register Posted By: Alex H

  A few days ago, there was a little bit of debate on our message forum, with one reader amazed that Microsoft was involved in developing OS/2.

  So we looked into our collection of computing artifacts, and this morning snapped the mug we were given when we attended a Developer's Conference back in those heady days of 1987.

   

• MS Gives Advice On Preparing For Y2K
  Time: 09:28 Source: The Register Posted By: Alex H

  Windows 2000 will be released this year and system builders should pre-install Windows NT Workstation 4.0 prepare customers for the launch, Microsoft said today.

  Matti Suokko, Microsoft OEM product manager for Windows, said Windows 2000 Professional, the business software replacement for Windows NT, was on track for release later in 1999.

  “We’re very confident that it will ship this year,” he said. “We are working with a set of customers at the moment to make sure we get feedback before putting it on the market.

• Dungeon Keeper 2 - Review
  Time: 18:48 Source: ActiveWindows Posted By: Byron

  I think we yet again are one of the first sites to review this Dungeon Keeper 2: Here is a snippet:

  To say that if you played Dungeon Keeper you have pretty much played Dungeon Keeper 2 is pretty much close to the truth, but there are a number if new features that manages to make it an even better game than before. If you haven't played Dungeon Keeper then here are the basics. You control the dungeon and all the aspects behind it such as choosing where you want to build rooms, building the rooms for your minions, rooms to hold the gold your imps collect from digging, training up your creatures, building a library so your warlocks can study new spells and slap the imps to make them work harder. The main objective behind the game is to attract as many creatures to your dungeon, crush any rival dungeon keepers and expand your empire in a quest to reach the daylight and invade the world above.

   
• Outcast - Review
  Time: 13:09 Source: ActiveWindows Posted By: Byron

  I think we are one of the first sites to review this excellent new game from Infogrames called Outcast: Here is a snippet:

  Outcast's engine can run in both first & third person camera views, the first time I played the game I thought that the camera angles were awful, but when I realized that I wasn't controlling the game in the right way I then managed to figure out the way you actually control both your character and the camera angles at the same time. You have both walk & run modes, look up & down (Via the mouse if you like), special swimming moves and weapon controls via a sort of laser targeting system which is very easy to control especially when you use the Mouse & Keyboard combination.

   
• Microsoft To Offer Word 2000 For $8 In Korea
  Time: 09:50 Source: The Register Posted By: Alex H

  Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo is reporting that Microsoft is attempting to introduce a one year licence scheme where users can get Word 2000 at 10,000 won ($8). The paper claims that this is a move by Microsoft to capture the Korean wordprocessing market, which is currently owned by local software Hangul 815. Further, Microsoft will then provide Office 2000 at a higher price, the newspaper claims.

   
• Netscape debuts ten new browser languages
  Time: 09:49 Source: News.com Posted By: Alex H

  PALO ALTO, California--America Online's Netscape division today introduced versions of its browser in ten new languages to keep up with its target of being available to 99 percent of the worldwide Internet user base.

  The company estimates its browser is used by 32 million non-English speaking users and is available to 200 million in 125 countries. The new browser languages are Norwegian, Finnish, Russian, Polish, Hungarian, Greek, Turkish, Czech, and Slovenian, as well as U.K. English, with British spellings and local content. The additions bring to 23 the number of languages in which Netscape offers its browser.

   

• What Next For The Creators Of Palm Pilot
  Time: 09:48 Source: Forbes Posted By: Alex H

  DONNA DUBINSKY AND JEFF HAWKINS didn't mean to start a cult. But since they unveiled the Pilot in 1996, more than 5 million people have gone gaga over the gadget and its imitators, doing everything on them from downloading the Hindu horoscope to balancing budgets.

  Now the fashionable parlor game in Silicon Valley is guessing what Dubinsky, 43, and Hawkins, 42, are up to at their startup, Handspring, Inc., in Palo Alto. The only safe bet, fans insist, is that it will be memorably different.

   

• AOL Jumping Into The PC Business?
  Time: 09:46 Source: ZDNet Posted By: Alex H

  America Online Inc. appears close to getting into the PC business. MSNBC has learned that the world's No. 1 Internet access company is in talks to produce AOL-branded PCs in conjunction with Microworkz Inc., a manufacturer of inexpensive computers.

  According to Rick Latman, president and CEO of Microworkz, representatives of America Online (NYSE:AOL) are today visiting the Lynnwood, Wash.-based company to discuss Microworkz producing the computers for AOL. But a source familiar with the talks says AOL is interested in buying Microworkz outright.

• Microsoft Releases Another Security Patch (for IIS)
  Time: Past the midnight bell Source: email Posted By: Alex R.

  Whoops... one more post before I head out.  This just crossed my Inbox.  Microsoft has released a security patch for the "Double Byte Code Page" vulnerability in IIS.  Check out the scoop:

  Microsoft has released a patch that eliminates a vulnerability in Microsoft(r) Internet Information Server that could allow a web site visitor to view the source code for selected files on the server, if the server's default language is set to Chinese, Japanese or Korean.

   
• Site News
  Time: Past the midnight bell Source: Myself Posted By: Alex R.

  Just a quick little post to let everyone know that despite my recent hire here at ActiveNetwork, I'm running off on vacation!  It's time for an annual IRC LAN party that I take part in... so it's off to North Carolina.  I will return on Tuesday.  Byron and the rest of the gang will keep you up to date, so you won't miss anything.

   
• What Dreams May Come - Review
  Time: 20:48 GMT Source: ActiveDVD Posted By: Byron

  I have posted my review of What Dreams May Come. Here is a snippet:

  I have always been a big fan of Robin Williams in both movie and television form and felt he never gets enough credit for his performances (Good Will Hunting being the exception) he manages to come across well in both his comedic and dramatic roles. What Dream May Come is an exceptionally sad movie (Emotionally, not in terms of being rubbish) so get your hankies at the ready as all but 10 minutes of the film will have you on the verge of tears.

   

• Windows 98 Second Edition Review
  Time: 20:09 GMT Source: CPU Review Posted By: Byron

  CPU Review has posted a review of Windows 98 SE. The review covers installation and also includes some tips and tricks he used to get Win98 Second Edition installed and up and running.

   

• Another NT Security Patch: CSRSS Worker Thread Exhaustion
  Time: 12:33 GMT Source: e-mail Posted By: Alex R.

  Microsoft released another security bulletin detailing another new NT security patch.  Here's the short of it:

  Microsoft has released a patch that eliminates a vulnerability in the Microsoft(r) Windows NT(r) CSRSS process that could be used to create a denial of service condition against a machine that allows interactive logons.

  The knowledge base article on this situation is:
  http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q231/3/23.asp

  You may also find a FAQ and the patch itself at:
  http://support.microsoft.com/support/bulletins/ms99-021faq.asp

   
• The Poll Is Back
  Time: 11:09 GMT Source: ActiveWindows Posted By: Byron

  Thanks to Jonathan we now have our poll back up and running. In theory it shouldn't screw up like it has before, but it is only a test version so who knows?. It is at the bottom of the navigation bar for those of you who would like to vote on the new subject.

   
• New modem standard may mean faster broadband deployment
  Time: 10:22 GMT Source: ZDNet Posted By: Byron

  What if getting connected to broadband Internet service were as easy as plugging in your telephone? That vision came a step closer to reality Tuesday with the approval of G.lite, a standard for DSL that makes the technology easier to install for consumers, and easier to roll out for service providers

   

• AMD Ships K7 Processor
  Time: 10:22 GMT Source: ZDNet Posted By: Byron

  In one realm at least, struggling PC chip maker Advanced Micro Devices Inc. has proven it can outdo rival Intel Corp. When Intel released its low-end processor, the Celeron, the industry poked fun. Now, that AMD has renamed its K7, the struggling company better have a thick skin.

• NT Security Patch: Malformed LSA Request
  Time: 18:25 GMT Source: e-mail Posted By: Alex R.

  Microsoft has released a patch for the "Malformed LSA Request" that causes a denial of service on NT Server 4.0 and Workstation.  The FTP URL is in the headline.  The knowledge base article on this will be found at http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q231/4/57.asp.

   
• Mozilla Milestone 7 Released
  Time: 17:59 GMT Source: e-mail  osted By: Byron

  Mozilla Milestone 7 has been released. It is well worth checking out to see just how well things look as if they will go with Navigator 5.

   
• Frequently Asked Question - Updated & Site News
  Time: 17:59 GMT Source: ActiveWindows Posted By: Byron

  We have made a few changes to the Frequently Asked Questions area including updates to the Windows 98 & DirectX FAQ's sections. We have also added a "Add to My Favorites" link on the navigation menu that makes it really easy for you to bookmark our site.

   
• Sony goggles simulate 52-inch monitor
  Time: 15:44 GMT Source: ZDNet Posted By: Byron

  I was wondering around the PC Expo looking for something interesting to tell you about. Things were looking pretty slim. Just when I was about to give up, I saw a large crowd in front of a chair. People were lined up to try on these brand-new goggles. Not one to shy away from such things, so did I. Then I didn't want to take them off.

  These things are so new that the Sony people had no brochures on hand. Just a nice lady who acted as part demonstrator and part traffic cop for the throngs who politely waited their turn.

   
• Petition Against Phoenix Technologies, Ltd.
  Time: 11:47 GMT Source: ICQ Posted By: Byron

  the weslovian gazette is sponsoring a petition against Phoenix Technologies, Ltd. to "help them see the light" about selling advertising in future releases of their BIOS's.

   

• New Creative Labs Drivers
  Time: 11:44 GMT Source: Various Posted By: Alex R.

  Creative Labs has released a full gamut of new drivers for the following cards: Riva TNT2, Savage4, and Savage3 chipsets.  Head over to their site to pick 'em up.

   

• Enemy Of The State - Review
  Time: 12:24 GMT Source: ActiveDVD Posted By: Byron

  I have posted my review of Enemy Of The State. Here is a snippet:

  Surprisingly for a Disney related DVD, the picture quality is actually quite good. Enemy Of The State has a large range of scenes that range from dark to light. Unfortunately it is yet again a Non-Anamorphic title from Disney which stops it from getting the A grade. Sound is excellent as with most DVD titles. The sound is deep and rich, dialogue is clear and the music is also great.

   

• Consumer NT?... Don't Make Me Laugh!
  Time: 10:03 GMT Source: OS Site Online Posted By: Byron

  Microsoft will soon begin Internal Testing of Project "Jupiter", a consumer version of NT...but it's going to be a tough nut for MS to crack

  Since before the original Microsoft Windows 98 Beta program finished in May 1998 it had been expected that this would be the final version of Windows based on the 9x kernel and that eventually everything would be happily unified with NT making it more robust and stable OS...but in a surprising U-turn earlier this year Microsoft (MS) announced that there would be yet another version of windows based on the 9x kernel before the proposed convergence, which has internally been codenamed Jupiter, while its 9x (or probably 200x by the time its released) interim counterpart has been dubbed "Millennium

   

• Alpha pushes processor to a cool 1 GHz
  Time: 10:02 GMT Source: News.com Posted By: Byron

  Although widespread acceptance continues to elude the Alpha processor, companies backing the platform broke through two major speed landmarks today and rolled out an architectural change that should reduce the cost for adopting Alpha.

  Alpha Processor Incorporated (API) and Samsung, two of the chief proponents of Alpha, demonstrated a computer system running an Alpha processor clocked at 1 GHz (1,000 megahertz) at PC Expo here today that did not require special cryogenic equipment to keep it from overheating. Intel and AMD have both demonstrated 1-GHz chips before but on supercooled computers.

• Microsoft Announces New Line of Keyboards
  Time: 21:45 GMT Source: Press Release Posted By: Byron

  Responding to growing consumer demand for more choice and functionality, today at PC Expo Microsoft Corp. unveiled three new feature-filled keyboards, including one split-key (commonly described as "ergonomic") keyboard and two traditional straight models. The new keyboards offer features such as Internet and multimedia hot keys and built-in USB ports. They join the Natural^® Keyboard Elite, currently the top-selling ergonomic keyboard at retail, and mark Microsoft's first offering of the traditional straight keyboard design.

  Related Site Article: New Microsoft USB Keyboards

   
• The Morning Surprise: S3 To Acquire Diamond Multimedia
  Time: 12:15 GMT Source: BluesNews Posted By: Alex R.

  Well, it's still morning in the States!  Just when you thought it was safe to hit the morning shower comes the press release: S3 has announced its intent to acquire Diamond Multimedia.  Click the headline to read up about it on BusinessWire.

   
• Future Phoenix BIOS Will Contain Advertisements
  Time: 12:05 GMT Source: ZDNet Posted By: Alex R.

  According to a report on ZDNet, there are plans for future revisions of the Phoenix BIOS (used in 70% of motherboards on the market today) to contain advertisements on boot up.

  Opinion withheld.

   
• Newer ICQ
  Time: 11:38 GMT Source: VoodooExtreme Posted By: Alex R.

  VoodooExtreme is reporting the release of a newer ICQ99a, v2.22, build #1800.  Click on the headline to pick up the latest version of the program with the most complex version numbering scheme in the universe.

   
• New Drivers
  Time: 10:20 GMT Source: Various Posted By: Byron

  Creative has released new drivers and a new bios, for their Savage 4 based 3D Blaster. The drivers fix several problems such as Quake 3 lockups and more. You can download the drivers from their website here.

  Voodoo Extreme is reporting that Quantum 3D has released new drivers for their Raven, Voodoo Banshee based card. The drivers include the new MiniGL 1.48, Glide 2 and 3 and of course more 3DNow! support. You can download the drivers from their site here.

   
• K7 is definitely AMD Athlon
  Time: 10:11 GMT Source: The Register Posted By: Alex H

  Our feverish request to come up with the definitive new name for the K7 chip seems to have found a response. An OEM, who under no circumstances whatever wishes to be named, tells us that Athlon will be the name of the K7 processor at its launch next week. AMD wouldn't even give us the date of the launch so that we could write a piece ready for the announcement.

   
• Gates is world's richest at $90B
  Time: 10:07 GMT Source: ZDNet Posted By: Alex H

  So what else is new? Bill Gates is still the richest man in the world.

  The chairman of Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq:MSFT) has seen his personal worth rise to a cool $90 billion from $51 billion last year and at one point in April, it actually broke through the $100 billion barrier as the value of his stock holdings rose.

  Gates, who founded the personal computer giant in 1975, is so rich that his fortune is nearly three times the $36 billion of his nearest challenger, investor Warren Buffett, according to the latest edition of the business magazine Forbes. Gates has been the world's richest person now since 1995.

   

• Diamond's new Rio expected Wednesday
  Time: 10:05 GMT Source: News.com Posted By: Alex H

  Diamond Multimedia Systems is expected to unveil a new version of its Rio portable MP3 player Wednesday that carries twice the digital music as its current device.

  Diamond confirmed it's unveiling a "new digital audio platform" in Los Angeles on Wednesday evening. The San Jose, California-based company declined to give further details.

• The Faculty - Review
  Time: 19:07 GMT Source: ActiveDVD Posted By: Byron

  I have posted my review of the Robert Rodriguez and Kevin Williamson Sci-Fi movie The Faculty. Here is a snippet:

  The quality of the DVD picture is very good with vivid colors and very little grain. The sound is also excellent, there does have to be a bad point on the DVD though after all of this, and unfortunately it is a big one...There are no extras, ok we have a trailer, but can you really call that an extra these days? No you can't. The lack of extras is a major disappointment for such a good movie and it lets down the rest of the DVD's high quality.

   
• Does Coppermine Have A Bad Core?
  Time: 18:10 GMT Source: The Register Posted By: Byron

  Problems which Intel admitted with its Coppermine core last week point to the platform giving little performance boost. But sources close at Intel suggest that Willamette, as reported here earlier, is the chip giant's secret weapon. The sources told us earlier today that there cannot be a problem with the .18 micron process itself, so it must be the Coppermine design.

   
• Site News
  Time: 11:46 GMT Source: PC World Posted By: Alex R.

  Sometimes, it's just too cool to be recognized :)  PCWorld has a mention of ActiveWindows in their newest issue:

  ActiveWindows This well-designed site houses a galaxy of useful technical information about--but not limited to--Windows. You'll find articles, tips, FAQs, bug alerts, downloads, and reviews collected from around the Web. ActiveWindows contributors generate much of the content, but many items are reproduced from--or simply link to--other computing sites. The interface is a marvel of organization. For quick reference help and troubleshooting, check out the FAQs section, with categories for DirectX, Internet Explorer, Windows 98, and more.

   
• 'Net Population Tops 92 Million
  Time: 11:24 GMT Source: MSNBC Posted By: Alex R.

  Census time: The number of people over 16 years old in the United States and Canada using the Internet has climbed to 92 million, and the number of women making purchases online has risen dramatically, a new survey says.

  Of course, that number doesn't count the number of users in other countries!

   
• Site News
  Time: 11:15 GMT Source: ActiveWindows Posted By: Byron

  You may have noticed that I have changed around some of our CSS and fonts that we use across the site. We have decided that our main font will now be Verdana in place of the Tahoma we used to use. We feel it is a better for reading and far more compatible in other browsers.

   
• IE5 installation kills-off NT remote update service
  Time: 10:07 GMT Source: The Register Posted By: Byron

  A network administrator for a major US bank has drawn our attention to a serious (for him, at least) breakage of NT caused by Internet Explorer 5.0. In summary it would appear that Microsoft integration/proprietorisation via IE 5 disables a highly useful open systems(ish) routine, the Schedule service.

  This ships with NT, and in the equivalent of the Unix cron service. "We use it extensively at our company to deploy updates and perform functions. We run it under special user account so that it can access network resources."

   
• G4 and other spex make Web appearance
  Time: 10:01 GMT Source: The Register Posted By: Alex H

  A kindly reader has sent us two URLs possibly worth reading if you like the G4 PowerPC 450MHz microprocessor. The addresses are this and that. But go back a bit further just to here and you'll find some stuff about Sony's Emotion, AMD's K7, Intel Coppermine, PA-RISC 8500, Dirk Meyer's RM presentation and gawd knows what else.

   

• Key Linux leader to address Microsoft
  Time: 09:58 GMT Source: News.com Posted By: Alex H

  A key leader of the Linux movement will address Microsoft tomorrow as Windows faces increasing pressure from the rapidly growing rebel operating system.

  Eric Raymond, a founder of the Open Source Initiative, will speak to Microsoft researchers at the company's headquarters here. The address comes as Microsoft searches for a manager to analyze the competitive threat from Linux and after creation of a team to counter the competition, analysts said.

• Site News
  Time: 19:28 GMT Source: ActiveWindows Posted By: Byron

  Well it is turning out to be the usual boring Sunday with little tech news around at all so we have been updating sections and we have also started work on the Windows 2000 area. Not only that - we have also been producing our own Active Network mouse mats (Which look darn cool) which we will be using in competitions and selling on the site.

  If you would like to be one of the first to own one - send us an e-mail and we will contact you as soon as we have an image of them online for you to take a look at.

  DVD: Star Trek: Insurrection, A Bugs Life, Elizabeth, What Dreams May Come, American History X, Enemy Of The State, The Faculty, Grandmothers House and Pi
  Games: Hidden & Dangerous, Star Wars: Racer, Alien Vs Predator, Outcast and Mechwarrior 3

   
• SonicVortex2 Review
  Time: 19:27 GMT Source: Betabites Posted By: Byron

  Beta Bites has a SonicVortex2 Review. VideoLogic Systems has moved into the sound card arena with their lower priced SonicVortex2 card that supports A3D 2.0. Here is a snippet:

  The SonicVortex2 in 3D gaming calculates the positioning of the audio. However, the quad speaker support does not go as far as positioning, and only allows for panning of volume in the rear speakers in 3D gaming. The environmental positioning is limited to the front speakers. While playing both Unreal and the Drakan demo, I found the sound to be quite remarkable, and didn't even notice the lack of positioning in the rear speakers. I mean really, who has time to kill and listen at the same time? :)

   
• Logitech QuickCam VC review
  Time: 13:28 GMT Source: USB Workshop Posted By: Byron

  USB Workshop has posted a Logitech QuickCam VC review. Here is a snippet:

  A video camera targeting video conferencing, the QuickCam VC(VC) has all the basics you need.  It has been said that USB connection allows higher frame rate. And because of its USB connection, VC works with both Windows (Win95 OSR2 and Win98) and Mac (iMac System 8.0, driver downloadable from its web site). There are a few different video cameras selling under the Logitech brand name, and VC has the lowest price tag in the currently shipping ones, but providing most support on platforms or connections among all Logitech products.  VC comes with a CD-ROM, and it has a USB cable for data and power (bus-powered).

   

• Microsoft's Jump gives users the bump
  Time: 13:24 GMT Source: News.com Posted By: Alex H

  Microsoft's honeymoon with the calendaring site Jump Networks is off to a rocky start with a major outage. Jump Networks, which was acquired earlier this year by Microsoft, went offline indefinitely Wednesday morning following what Microsoft described as a database error.

• Slot B pix arrive as API confirms AMD collaboration
  Time: 19:12 GMT Source: The Register Posted By: Alex H

  Alpha Proces