• DVD-ROM Drivers Updated
  Time: 09:02 EST/14:02 GMT News Source: ActiveDVD Posted By: Byron Hinson

  We have made some big updates to our DVD-ROM Drivers section, in addition to new drivers we have also added a few of the latest software DVD players to download.

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• The History Of Internet Explorer
  Time: 08:37 EST/13:37 GMT News Source: ActiveWindows  Posted By: Byron Hinson

  I have posted up a history of Internet Explorer (Including build numbers) to help those of you out who are wondering what version of Internet Explorer you are using. Hopefully this will cut down some of the questions we get about it. We will update it each time a new release of Internet Explorer is made publicly available.

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• Windows Dual Boot
  Time: 04:02 EST/09:02 GMT News Source: E-Mail Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Tweak3D has put up a guide on how to setup your PC to have two operating systems at once. Well, this new How To guide will help you install Windows 98 and Windows NT4 on the same PC and optimize both for performance and stability. Here is a snippet:

  Windows 98 and Windows NT 4.0 both have their own benefits and drawbacks. Windows 98 is compatible with almost everything, has advanced 3D acceleration with DirectX 7.0 (NT4 only has support for DirectX 3.0), and is easier to use. However, NT4 is more secure, more stable, and faster than its more popular cousin. What do you do if you need both? You make a dual boot system!" The guide covers the processes of preparation, how to partition your hard drives for the three different file systems, installing Win98 and NT4, and more.

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• Site News, Community Update and ActiveSci-Fi
  Time: 03:43 EST/08:43 GMT News Source: ActiveWindows Posted By: Byron Hinson

  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, so make sure you check us out - our next chat is later tonight. 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 (This Weekend), SWAT 3, Interstate 82, Star Trek: Hidden Evil, Indiana Jones & The Infernal Machine, Ultima 9, Asheron's Call (Ongoing Monthly), Unreal Tournament, Wheel Of Time, Delta Force 2, Nocturne + Competition (This Weekend), Flight Simulator 2000, Driver, Encarta Africana
  Applications: Corel Suite 9, Vizact 2000

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• Theme Park World/SimTheme Park - Review & Final Day For Competition
  Time: 03:40 EDT/08:40 GMT News Source: ActiveWindows Posted By: Byron Hinson

  I have posted my review of Bullfrog's latest release - Theme Park World or SimTheme Park in the US. Here is a snippet from the review:

  Theme Park was way ahead of itself when the game first came out a few year ago in terms of fun and depth. The foundation of the game has changed a little. There are now four different "Theme Park Worlds" which you can run; they are Lost Kingdom, Halloween, Wonderland, SpaceZone. Each world has different designs for all of the rides, shops, side-shows etc but the basic idea of each ride is the same, for example a lost world roller coaster is only different to a roller coaster in the Halloween world in terms of graphical design, nothing else.

  To enter the competition to win a copy of Theme Park World/SimTheme Park just check out our competitions area.

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• Site User Survey
  Time: 03:38 EDT/08:38 GMT News Source: ActiveWindows Posted By: Dennis Gregory

  Please take a few moments of your time and fill out our User Profile Survey. This information will help us get a better idea of our average user's wants and needs. With this information, we will make ActiveWindows more customized to our viewers!

  Plus, we are giving away gift certificates to PC Connection - so it can't hurt! No E-Mail addresses will be given out, they are kept for our own use.

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• MS mediation headed for tough talks
  Time: 08:13 EST/13:13 GMT News Source: The Register Posted By: Byron Hinson

  The Microsoft mediation attempt will start next Tuesday in Chicago, and effectively if a solution is to be found, it will have to be found by 31st January, according to a source. This deadline is rather tighter than might be expected, and a lot tighter than would suit Microsoft.

  Judge Jackson is holding his hearing on the findings of law on 22nd February, and this in itself limits Microsoft's ability to drag mediation talks out. But it's also unlikely that mediator Judge Posner, Chief Judge of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago, would allow Microsoft to engage in the stunts that were used in May 1997 when the DoJ was negotiating with Microsoft without a mediator.

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• Tower Records cranks up e-commerce volume with Site Server 3.0 Commerce Edition
  Time: 03:13 EST/08:13 GMT News Source: Microsoft Daily News Posted By: Alex Harris

  Can't remember how to spell the names of popular bands like Limp Bizkit? Not a problem if you're shopping for music at towerrecords.com.

  Shoppers who visit towerrecords.com can easily locate what they're looking for—even when they don't know the exact name or terminology used in the catalog database—thanks to an improved online catalog that runs on Microsoft® Site Server 3.0 Commerce Edition. The catalog solution, from Mercado Software Inc., helps visitors to the site find CDs and videos easily and intuitively. As a result, more shoppers can find—and buy—what they're looking for at towerrecords.com.

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• Microsoft waits for no one
  Time: 03:10 EST/08:10 GMT News Source: ZDNet Posted By: Alex Harris

  If you think Microsoft execs are sitting around and wringing their hands over the DOJ antitrust trial, think again.

  These guys aren't waiting for Judge Jackson, mediator Richard Posner or the Supreme Court before moving ahead with their strategies and plans. Just when everyone -- from the lawyers charging ahead with a wave of class action suits against Microsoft, to many of Microsoft's competitors -- is focusing on how the antitrust case might impact Microsoft as a software company, Microsoft is already well on its way to reinventing itself as a services company.

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• AOL drives Intuit to record high
  Time: 03:08 EST/08:08 GMT News Source: ZDNet Posted By: Alex Harris

  Shares of Intuit Inc., the largest maker of personal finance software, rose to a record on Wednesday, a day after it reported better-than-expected results and announced it was helping launch a consumer bill-payment system with America Online (NYSE:AOL). Shares of Mountain View, Calif.-based Intuit (Nasdaq:INTU) rose 6-5/16 to 50 3/8, a record close on the Nasdaq. The stock, which recently split 3-for-1, has risen more than 80 percent in the last month alone.

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• Here come even cheaper PCs
  Time: 03:06 EST/08:06 GMT News Source: ZDNet Posted By: Alex Harris

  With its 'Timna' chip, Intel hopes to make PCs even cheaper for consumers -- while allowing manufacturers some profit in the process.

  Just when it looked as if computers could not get cheaper, Intel Corp. hopes to usher in an age of minimal-cost PCs -- perhaps as low as $400 -- next year. And the systems would not only benefit consumers. The chip maker says the new personal computers will help PC manufacturers, whose margins have been squeezed by the sub-$1,000 PC phenomena, to make money at the low end of the price range.

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• Florida too sees class-action suit against Microsoft
  Time: 03:04 EST/08:04 GMT News Source: News.com Posted By: Alex Harris

  Two days after a similar suit was filed in California, Florida lawyers today initiated a class-action lawsuit against Microsoft, alleging the software company overcharged for its Windows 95 operating system after the updated Windows 98 version was released.

  The suit, filed in Miami-Dade County judicial court, accuses Microsoft of one count of violating the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act as well as federal antitrust laws. It seeks to collect damages that have yet to be specified.

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• Russian chip design may top Intel's fastest
  Time: 03:02 EST/08:02 GMT News Source: News.com Posted By: Alex Harris

  British investment bank Robert Flemings today said it hopes to nail down funding by the middle of next year for Russian computer engineers who say they have developed a microprocessor that beats anything in the West.

  The engineers, who developed computers operating Soviet missile defenses, say their E2K chip runs several times faster than a chip in development by Intel and could roll off assembly lines in three years if they can secure funding. But the Russian team, Elbrus International, has not made an E2K chip yet, but only designed and run simulations.

  Elbrus engineers say their chip, based on ones developed by the same team for the Soviet Union's military, will be fast and cheap, though a factory might cost well over a billion dollars to build.

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• SoundControl Plus
  Time: 02:49 EST/07:49 GMT News Source: E-Mail Posted By: Alex Harris

  Sound Control Plus is a freeware application which adds functionality to Windows 95/98 so you can dynamically adjust sound volumes using keyboard hot keys. Ideal for anyone who is constantly having to open the sound mixer to adjust the volume when listening to sound files recorded at different volume levels. Support to control Winamp's Next, Previous and Pause buttons via a series of hot keys is also included. Also includes an On Screen Display.

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• VIA/Cyrix Joshua: A Preview
  Time: 02:45 EST/07:45 GMT News Source: E-Mail Posted By: Alex Harris

  CPU Review has posted an article about the new processor from VIA called Joshua and using the Socket 370.  Here is a snippet:

  Since Cyrix was acquired by VIA (who later also acquired Centaur's WinChip processors) people have been wondering about the future of those processor families... after all; VIA had until this time been a chipset manufacturer.

  VIA is a "fab-less" processor manufacturer, and uses the manufacturing capabilities of National Semiconductor, TSMC, UMC and who knows? possibly even IBM or Motorola at a later date...

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• GPLTrans available for Alpha testing
  Time: 02:42 EST/07:42 GMT News Source: E-Mail Posted By: Alex Harris

  A new machine translator, GPLTrans,  is available for alpha testing and it was written in PHP. GPLTrans allows users to submit corrections when the translator makes mistakes, allowing the quality of the translations to become better and better.

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• Pass the Yams and the Millennium Beta
  Time: 15:11 EST/20:11 GMT News Source: PC World Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Aside from turkey, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, and stuffing, Microsoft is serving up beta 2 editions of the successor to Windows 95/98--code-named Millennium--for Thanksgiving. Testers in the closed beta program should receive copies on CD-ROM by the middle of next week, Microsoft officials say.

  "For us, it's a checkpoint," says David Ursino, product manager. "One of the main goals of beta 2 is to get feedback and to refine glitches and gotchas."

  New features include an Auto Update utility, enhancements to digital media and entertainment, home networking utilities, system file protection, auto help, automated system restoration, driver assigning, a hibernate function, and an ACPI device bay.

  Because there's nothing worse than a sick PC, Microsoft's PC Health Initiative provides System File Protection, a Help Center, and a System Restore function. All are designed to assess the health of your desktop box and keep it operating at optimum capacity.

  System File Protection protects you from yourself by preventing you from accidentally deleting things you need, Ursino says. The function restores files that are crucial to running the operating system, even after you've emptied the Recycle Bin.

  Microsoft is still developing the Help Center with its partners. The center will contain a library of resource materials on peripherals and software, so you can get vendor support within Millennium instead of picking up a manual.

  Home networking functions are enhanced as well. Ursino says it's easier to set up shared resources and printers with the help of a new wizard.

  Partner Functions Featured

  On the digital media and entertainment side, Millennium will give users a number of new tools. It provides functions to organize your MP3 files, share Internet connections, and share images online, says Ursino. Plus, it will eventually offer a Windows utility that connects to Microsoft's hardware and software partners for technical assistance. But the company is still working with vendors, so that portion won't be included in beta 2.

  The Auto Update feature will let you know when to download new versions of applications. And it can do so invisibly when you're online, Ursino says.

  For gamers, Millennium frees up disk space by discarding parts of game files that aren't running.

  The CD-ROM that contains the Millennium beta 2 also includes the beta version of Internet Explorer 5.5. Among its new features are the ability to preview the printed appearance of a Web page before you send the file to the printer.

  While Millennium is filled with utilities to make your life on the PC easier, it is more a consumer operating system than ever--few functions are truly user configurable.

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• A Peek at Communicator 5.0
  Time: 15:11 EST/20:11 GMT News Source: PC World Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Once the beast Mozilla roared, but now America Online's Netscape Communications division just grumbles.

  Netscape has slid from owning the browser market with an 87 percent share in 1996 to trailing with a current 36 percent share, behind nemesis Microsoft's Internet Explorer, according to Zona Research.

  Now Netscape is preparing to pull up its anchor and set a new course with Communicator 5.0. Netscape won't give a ship date or details about features. However, this week it promised developers a minor upgrade, Communicator 4.71, in December, quelling rumors of 5.0's debut.

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• PalmOS extends lead over WinCE -- just
  Time: 08:23 EST/13:23 GMT News Source: The Register Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Palm Computing and its licensees continue to outsell Windows CE-based handheld providers, and by an even greater margin, if market research company NPD Intelect's latest snapshot of the US market is anything to go by.

  According to the numbers, the 3Com subsidiary took 77.9 per cent of the US PDA market this September, up from 75.4 per cent for the same period last year, an increase of three per cent.

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• Site News
  Time: 08:20 EST/13:20 GMT News Source: ActiveWindows Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Just a very quick note to wish all of you over in the US a happy Thanksgiving. No more holidays here in Europe until Christmas, sigh.

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• Site News, Community Update and ActiveSci-Fi
  Time: 18:36 EST/23:36 GMT News Source: ActiveWindows Posted By: Byron Hinson

  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, so make sure you check us out - our next chat is on the way on 27th November. 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, Indiana Jones & The Infernal Machine, Ultima 9, Asheron's Call (Ongoing Monthly), Unreal Tournament, Wheel Of Time, Delta Force 2, Nocturne + Competition, Flight Simulator 2000, Driver, Encarta Africana
  Applications: Corel Suite 9, Vizact 2000

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• Microsoft To Buy Stake In Japanese Cable Firm
  Time: 17:13 EDT/21:13 GMT News Source: TechWeb Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Microsoft is close to buying a majority stake in a Japanese cable-TV operator, Titus Communications, for an estimated $952 million. Microsoft is in negotiations with U.S. cable provider MediaOne for possible purchase of MediaOne's60 percent stake in Titus. MediaOne is expected to reach an agreement with Microsoft by the end of this month.

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• Microsoft waits for no one
  Time: 16:55 EDT/21:55 GMT News Source: ZDNet Posted By: Byron Hinson

  If you think Microsoft execs are sitting around and wringing their hands over the DOJ antitrust trial, think again.

  These guys aren't waiting for Judge Jackson, mediator Richard Posner or the Supreme Court before moving ahead with their strategies and plans. Just when everyone -- from the lawyers charging ahead with a wave of class action suits against Microsoft, to many of Microsoft's competitors -- is focusing on how the antitrust case might impact Microsoft as a software company, Microsoft is already well on its way to reinventing itself as a services company.

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• Windows Millennium Beta 2 Goes RTM
  Time: 16:14 EDT/21:14 GMT News Source: E-Mail Posted By: Alex Harris

  We have just received some confirmation that Windows Millennium Beta 2 has gone RTM (Released To Manufacturing). This latest beta adds a few new features over the first beta release, including a few new UI changes. We should (Fingers crossed as the Windows Consumer group don't like us much anymore for some unknown reason) have a full official preview of Beta 2 in the next few weeks.

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• Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 6a
  Time: 15:22 EDT/20:22 GMT News Source: Windows98 Central Posted By: Byron Hinson

  As many of you know, Windows NT SP 6 was released a couple weeks ago, and conceived several bugs in it. Microsoft has now released SP 6a to fix these problems.

  Service Pack 6 (SP6) provides the latest updates to Microsoft® Windows NT® Workstation 4.0, Windows NT Server 4.0, and Windows NT Server 4.0, Enterprise Edition. SP6 contains known Year 2000 updates for Windows NT 4.0. These Year 2000 updates are also available as separate Web downloads that customers may apply to a Service Pack 4 or 5 system. Providing these options gives