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• Microsoft Announces Asheron's Call Public Beta
  Time: 18:47 EDT/23:47 GMT Source:E-mail Posted By: Bob

  Microsoft's MSN Gaming Zone is expecting thousands of fans to flood their servers beginning next week, when the November issue of Computer Games magazine hits newsstands with the exclusive beta version of Asheron’s Call enclosed.After purchasing the magazine and installing the beta disc included on Computer Games’ CD sampler, gamers will be able to play the massively multiplayer role playing game for free for a limited time. The November issue is expected to appear at newsstands beginning in early October, and this unique beta program will run for the weeks prior to Asheron’s Call commercial release later this holiday season.

  Rather than providing an abridged version of the game (via a demo version), the Asheron’s Call beta disc will provide gamers with a full taste of the game’s epic virtual world. Players will have the opportunity to explore and see first hand the complete, 500 square mile isle of Dereth and interact with thousands of other players before this highly anticipated game is released. Gamers are encouraged to keep their eyes peeled for the November issue, featuring Asheron’s Call on the cover, at newsstands so they can pick up a copy and begin playing.

  Developed by Turbine Entertainment, Asheron’s Call is a massively multiplayer role-playing game that draws together thousands of players within a dynamic, 3-D online world. Players can create truly unique characters by choosing between extensive combinations of visual appearance, attributes and skill sets.  Asheron’s Call immerses players in an intense role-playing fantasy environment where they must compete or cooperate with thousands of other online players. An extensive system of allegiance and influence greatly enhances social interaction. The online nature of the game facilitates an evolving and dynamic adventure inside a consistent universe. The game will never be solved because there will always be more areas to explore and quests to complete.

   

• Verio To Host Microsoft Office Over Internet
  Time: 14:29 EDT/19:29 GMT Source: TechWeb Posted By: Byron

  In an effort to knock out Sun Microsystems' StarPortal initiative, Microsoft is teaming up with Verio, among other Web hosting companies, to offer its popular Office suite on a pay-as-you-go basis over the Internet.

  At Fall Internet World from Oct. 6 to Oct. 8, Englewood, Colo.-based Verio will give attendees a sneak preview of its forthcoming "Virtual Office" hosting services, but will also lay out its plans to offer rented software applications, including Microsoft Office, over the Web sometime in 2000, a Verio spokesman said Wednesday.

   
• Microsoft Pushes High-Speed Connections
  Time: 14:24 EDT/19:24 GMT Source: TechWeb Posted By: Byron

  Microsoft is pushing the adoption of high-speed Internet access by advocating more music and videos online. Called "Project Jumpstart," its plan is also meant to promote the company's Windows Media technologies, which lets users get Internet streaming video and audio. Content featured on Windows Media would come from Warner Bros., DreamWorks, and Sony Music.

   
• Netscape revs Communicator
  Time: 14:19 EDT/19:19 GMT Source: ZDNet Posted By: Byron

  Netscape on Thursday (Actually it was yesterday ZDNet) released a new version of its Communicator browser that allows consumers to access a shopping portal with one click.

  Communicator 4.7, currently available online, includes a Shop@Netscape button, a feature of Netscape parent America Online Inc.'s (NYSE:AOL) program to expand its commerce plan across brands. The button will take users to a site that provides links to merchants, news and specials, and themed merchandising.

   
• Is a fair partnership with MS possible?
  Time: 14:19 EDT/19:19 GMT Source: ZDNet Posted By: Byron

  As Microsoft continues to add more features to its operating systems, software developers and integrators—by necessity—have become increasingly adept at avoiding the dancing elephant.

  Until recently, the best way to evade Microsoft's big feet was to get the hell out of the way. If developers were lucky, they might manage to finagle a payoff or legal settlement in the process (like Stac managed to do). But instead, most developers found themselves scrambling at the eleventh hour to reposition themselves.

   
• Microsoft Unveils New Web Portal for Small Businesses
  Time: 14:14 EDT/19:14 GMT Source: Press Release Posted By: Byron

  It doesn't take someone with an MBA to know that nurturing a growing business is hard work. Although the Internet offers many ways to help entrepreneurs develop and manage their companies, finding the right tools and services can be a frustrating and time-consuming task. To make life easier for small-business owners, Microsoft today unveiled bCentral (http://www.bcentral.com), a Web portal that provides a comprehensive suite of services and resources geared toward starting, promoting and managing a growing company. The site, currently in beta, is scheduled to be fully operational in mid-October, but Microsoft is encouraging users to tour bCentral now, become familiar with its features and offer their feedback.

   
• The 'Blue Screen of Death'
  Time: 09:13 EDT/14:13 GMT Source: Wired Posted By: Byron

  Intel Corp. said it has discovered a bug in two versions of its Pentium III Xeon processors for the server and workstation market, a bug that will delay the shipment of servers based on the chip.

  Intel said it is still shipping the chips -- a Pentium III Xeon with a speed of 550 megahertz and a level two cache of 512 kilobytes, and the other with one megabyte of secondary cache. Both chips run in configuration of eight processors on an Intel motherboard, called the Sabre. Cache is a reserved section of memory to improve performance.

   

• Gates strikes silver in mining company
  Time: 08:50 EDT/13:50 GMT Source: ZDNet Posted By: Byron

  Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq:MSFT) Chairman Bill Gates has taken a 10.3 percent stake in mining company Pan American Silver Corp., following his friend Warren Buffett into the precious metal market. Gates' investment vehicle Cascade Investment LLC began building its position aggressively in February of this year and currently has a stake of 3.15 million shares in the Vancouver, B.C.-based company, according to a document filed this week with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

   
• Microsoft's X-Box Reveals Itself
  Time: 05:01 EDT/10:01 GMT Source: Gamespot Posted By: Byron

  Here's what has been speculated about the system so far:

  What is the X-Box? A set-top game console from Microsoft based on a modified version of the Windows 2000 operating system. (Although it hasn't been indicated if it will be the consumer or the true 32-bit workstation version.)

  What will be inside? An Intel microprocessor as powerful as the chip inside Sony's PlayStation2, a DVD-ROM drive, a graphics chip supplied by Nvidia, and a sizeable (upward of 4GB) hard drive.

  What software will it support? CD-ROM and DVD-ROM formats.

  How will it control? X-Box will make use of USB controllers; four controller ports are likely since Sony's decision to use only two ports with the PlayStation has been hotly debated by gamers.

  What will it offer? The ability to play PC games with no hassle, online gaming through the MSN Gaming Zone, DVD movie playback, TV viewing functions (such as taping television shows to the hard drive), WebTV-based e-mail, and other Internet functions.

  How much will it cost? Sources speculate between US$300 and $350.

   

• Windows 2000 RC - 2 Screenshots
  Time: 03:04 EDT/08:04 GMT Source: Windows Planet Online Posted By: Alex H

  Just to let you know that Windows Planet Online has posted some new screenshots of Windows 2000 RC - 2. There are eight screenshots in total and give you a broad range of new things in Windows 2000. You can check them out here.

• Bill Gates Owns a Little Less Microsoft
  Time: 19:00 EDT/24:00 GMT Source: AVault Posted By: Byron

  Bill Gates' piece of the Microsoft pie was cut to $71 billion from $87.5 billion this year after he donated billions of dollars in shares to his charitable foundation. Gates has reduced his holdings to about 787 million shares, or a little more than 15 percent of the company, according to documents released Tuesday. That is down from almost 20 percent in January, the last time the company disclosed figures.

  Gates and his wife have donated about $15 billion this year to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, now the nation's biggest, with assets valued at $17 billion, according to foundation officials. They said Gates is expected to continue adding assets to the fund, in line with his stated commitment to give away most of his wealth. Even with the reduction, Gates is still the world's richest individual by far, according to Forbes magazine.

   
• Annual Report Highlights Microsoft’s Focus on Software Services in the PC-Plus Era
  Time: 18:50 EDT/23:50 GMT Source: Press Release Posted By: Byron

  Microsoft is turning its gaze beyond the PC to focus on simplified, Web-enabled software solutions that will empower people anytime, anywhere and on any device. In the newly issued Microsoft 1999 Annual Report, company chairman and CEO Bill Gates highlights Microsoft’s push to provide software services in this “PC-plus” era.

   
• Microsoft Builds Coalition to Jumpstart Broadband Industry
  Time: 18:48 EDT/23:48 GMT Source: Press Release Posted By: Byron

  Remember the first time you saw the scene in “2001: A Space Odyssey” where Dr. Heywood Floyd calls his daughter from the moon using a public video telephone? Remember how “futuristic” it seemed? Long-distance video communication is hardly the novel concept today that it was when Arthur C. Clarke and Stanley Kubrick presented it to us three decades ago, but video telephony and a host of other applications that rely on large amounts of streaming data have yet to appear in our homes and offices. The reason is not that the technology is beyond us, but that the necessary elements for delivering high-speed, high-bandwidth services and content are not yet in place -- not quite.

   
• Microsoft Launches Windows Media Broadband Jumpstart Initiative To Accelerate Consumer Adoption of Broadband Technology
  Time: 18:47 EDT/23:47 GMT Source: Press Release Posted By: Byron

  At the Digital Hollywood conference in Los Angeles today, Microsoft Corp. and more than 35 industry leaders launched the Microsoft^® Windows Media™ Broadband Jumpstart initiative, an end-to-end industrywide effort designed to accelerate broadband technology adoption by consumers and increase profitability for content owners. As a result of this initiative, consumers will have access to new broadband content by the end of this year. At the conference, Anthony Bay, general manager for Microsoft's Streaming Media division, predicted that this new initiative would play a key role in doubling consumer broadband adoption within the coming year.

   
• Microsoft's Chief Political Operative Quits
  Time: 18:41 EDT/23:41 GMT Source: TechWeb Posted By: Byron

  Microsoft's top government relations executive, in charge of the industry titan's political and campaign contribution strategy, is resigning. Kimberly Ellwanger, senior director of corporate affairs, is expected to step down next month, a Microsoft spokesman said. Ellwanger oversaw a staff of 30, including 10 lobbyists in Washington.

   
• Microsoft Builds Coalition to Jumpstart Broadband Industry
  Time: 17:47 EDT/22:47 GMT Source: Press Release Posted By: Alex H

  Remember the first time you saw the scene in “2001: A Space Odyssey” where Dr. Heywood Floyd calls his daughter from the moon using a public video telephone? Remember how “futuristic” it seemed? Long-distance video communication is hardly the novel concept today that it was when Arthur C. Clarke and Stanley Kubrick presented it to us three decades ago, but video telephony and a host of other applications that rely on large amounts of streaming data have yet to appear in our homes and offices. The reason is not that the technology is beyond us, but that the necessary elements for delivering high-speed, high-bandwidth services and content are not yet in place -- not quite.

  Don’t hold your breath for a colony on the moon or evidence of intelligent alien life by 2001, but you can expect to see the beginnings of affordable, accessible broadband telecommunications by then. Broadband essentially removes throughput barriers and, as a result, opens up an array of possibilities for new services, marketing and entertainment. Consumers will be able to watch movies on demand, take part in surveys and order merchandise as part of the TV programs they’re watching, and use non-PC devices to access remotely stored applications or content instantly. And that video-phone service may become as common as call waiting.

  Microsoft Corp., which for several years has been forging industry alliances, developing Windows Media Technologies for streaming media and making investments in the high-bandwidth arena, today announced a collaborative effort to bring broadband capabilities and services to the market more quickly. In a keynote speech today at the Digital Hollywood conference in Los Angeles, Anthony Bay, general manager of the Streaming Media Division at Microsoft, launched the Windows Media Broadband Jumpstart initiative, Microsoft’s end-to-end strategy for jumpstarting broadband business models and overcoming the barriers to making broadband services a reality. “Today’s explosion of digital audio, driven particularly by the music industry, gives us a peek at consumers’ enthusiasm for the benefits that a high-bandwidth Internet can offer,” Bay said. “But before broadband services can come into their own, we have to overcome several hurdles.”

   
• COMPASS ’99 Mirrors the Success of SQL Server 7
  Time: 17:45 EDT/22:45 GMT Source: Press Release Posted By: Alex H

  More than 1,000 database administrators, application developers, system administrators and IT managers are convening at the Hyatt Regency here today for the first user-run conference focusing exclusively on Microsoft SQL Server.

  COMPASS ’99, designed to help IT professionals expand their skills and leverage their companies’ investments in SQL Server technology, features a keynote address from Jim Gray, senior researcher at Microsoft and the winner of the 1998 Association of Computing Machinery A.M. Turing Award. Other keynote speakers include Paul Flessner, general manager of Microsoft SQL Server, and Russell M. Artzt, executive vice president of research and development at Computer Associates. Presentations from SQL Server experts and more than 75 educational sessions focusing on data warehousing, Web-based solutions, distributed application development and management will round out the event.

  COMPASS ’99 is sponsored by PASS, a not-for-profit, user-run association co-founded by Microsoft and Computer Associates that serves SQL Server professionals worldwide. The association is dedicated to providing educational opportunities and professional networks that give members the resources and knowledge they need to be successful with SQL Server.

  “PASS was co-founded less than six months ago, yet the number of attendees at COMPASS ’99 goes far beyond the association’s expectations,” said Barry Goffe, lead product manager for Microsoft SQL Server 7.0. “This is a great start for any independent organization such as this and is a testament to the groundswell of support for SQL Server 7.0.”

   
• Annual Report Highlights Microsoft’s Focus on Software Services in the PC-Plus Era
  Time: 17:43 EDT/22:43 GMT Source: Press Release Posted By: Alex H

  Microsoft is turning its gaze beyond the PC to focus on simplified, Web-enabled software solutions that will empower people anytime, anywhere and on any device. In the newly issued Microsoft 1999 Annual Report, company chairman and CEO Bill Gates highlights Microsoft’s push to provide software services in this “PC-plus” era.

  “In the new millennium, the remarkable power and flexibility of the PC will be available wherever it is needed,” Gates says in his letter to shareholders. “The PC-plus era will be about connectivity, scalability, and simplicity. It will be an era where people are at the center, where technology is a natural extension of the way consumers and businesses think about themselves and their interactions with others.”

  As intelligent devices and appliances join PCs as mainstays in everyday life, Gates says that “more software will be delivered over the Internet, and the boundary between online services and software products will blur.” Software will ultimately be viewed as a service, enabling friction-free information flow within organizations, seamless e-commerce operations, Web-enabled products for many devices, simplified and reliable PCs, and a personalized Internet.

  Microsoft’s software for knowledge workers in this PC-plus era will be designed to make them far more efficient. Future versions of Microsoft Exchange will offer a platform for unified messaging and “Web Store” technology to promote centralized communications and information access and management. A customized “Digital Dashboard” solution in Microsoft Office will help knowledge workers prioritize tasks, information, messages and meetings, as well as access the tools they need to analyze and process data.

  These services will be supported by a Windows platform that scales from the smallest embedded operating systems in thermostats and lights, to the largest mission-critical server farms. Windows2000 will deliver breakthrough load-balancing technology for superior reliability and IntelliMirror technology to simplify network backup and data synchronization on many devices.

   
• Linux distributor Caldera delays IPO
  Time: 17:22 EDT/22:22 GMT Source: The Register Posted By: Alex H

  Caldera is to follow fellow Linux distributor Red Hat down the IPO trail later rather than sooner. The company's plan to go public will now not take place until next year and not next month after all, according to sources cited by US newswires.

  The reason for the decision appears to be advice from Caldera's underwriters, who reckon that hi-tech stocks aren't as popular right now as they have been of late largely as investors are beginning to realise they're more than a little overvalued.

  The underwriters' advice to Caldera: wait a while.

  Caldera wants the money it hopes to make through the IPO for expansion. Like Red Hat, it realises the future for Linux distributors lies not in flogging more product per se, but in selling support services to business users.

  Or does it? It's interesting that Caldera president Ransom Love -- and that doesn't sound like the name of a romantic novelist, nothing does -- sees Caldera competing with major OS vendors, most notably Sun and Microsoft.

   
• Caldera signs Linux Net appliance deal with Fujitsu
  Time: 17:19 EDT/22:19 GMT Source: The Register Posted By: Alex H

  Linux distributor Caldera Systems today confirmed press speculation that it has done a deal with Fujitsu to bundle OpenLinux 2.3 with the Japanese giant's server products.

  Actually, it turns out the deal only covers "many of [Fujitsu's] servers" -- in other words, not all of them. For instance, it's not clear how many of Fujitsu's server-supplying subsidiaries, such as ICL, will offer Caldera's version of Linux. Probably not, since the deal appears to focus solely on the Japanese market.

  In fact, when the companies' release says "Fujitsu will distribute OpenLinux 2.3... on many of its servers, including the GranPower series", it means only on the GranPower series.

   
• Caldera signs Linux Net appliance deal with Fujitsu
  Time: 17:19 EDT/22:19 GMT Source: The Register Posted By: Alex H

  Linux distributor Caldera Systems today confirmed press speculation that it has done a deal with Fujitsu to bundle OpenLinux 2.3 with the Japanese giant's server products.

  Actually, it turns out the deal only covers "many of [Fujitsu's] servers" -- in other words, not all of them. For instance, it's not clear how many of Fujitsu's server-supplying subsidiaries, such as ICL, will offer Caldera's version of Linux. Probably not, since the deal appears to focus solely on the Japanese market.

  In fact, when the companies' release says "Fujitsu will distribute OpenLinux 2.3... on many of its servers, including the GranPower series", it means only on the GranPower series.

   
• Low PC prices ignite huge August sales
  Time: 17:17 EDT/22:17 GMT Source: ZDNet Posted By: Alex H

  PC retailers enjoyed a banner August, registering the highest growth rate in two years.

  Lured by subsidies from Internet providers and falling hardware prices, sales of Windows-based computers nearly doubled while average selling prices fell below $800 for the first time, according to market researchers.

  Indeed, unit sales in North America rose to 718,384 in August compared with 474,442 units a year ago, according to market research firm Intelect ASW Marketing Services L.L.C.

   
• Massive fiber cuts interrupt Net traffic
  Time: 17:15 EDT/22:15 GMT Source: ZDNet Posted By: Alex H

  At least four Internet service providers are experiencing severe traffic backlogs because of a massive fiber-optic cable cut that put out four OC-192 lines connecting data networks on the East and West Coasts.

  Industry sources told Inter@ctive Week that the cut was accidentally made by an unidentified gas company in Ohio around 12:30 EST today.

  The news is sending shockwaves through the networking community, with many carrier operators struggling to understand why, all of a sudden, their traffic is routed through London and Denmark.

  At least four Internet service providers are being affected by the outage. Various online sources have named AboveNet; GTE Internetworking; and MFS Communications, a WorldCom subsidiary, as ISPs hit the worst.

   
• Microsoft: Bad security, or bad press?
  Time: 17:13 EDT/22:13 GMT Source: CNN Posted By: Alex H

  Microsoft has been getting a lot of bad press lately over security vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer, Office and Hotmail, among other software. Security concerns with Windows NT even prompted the U.S. Army to move its hacked Web site from NT servers to WebStar servers running the MacOS.

  But does this mean Microsoft software is less secure than other software?

  A variety of experts think so, claiming the software giant is offering more functionality at the expense of security. Microsoft defends its strategy, saying users want ease-of-use and more features.

  And several users said they approve of that strategy. In the end, it's up to users to let the company know whether they are happy with the trade-off or if they want defaults to be set for greater security and more hand-holding.

   
• Microsoft Security Bulletin on New IE 5.0 Hole
  Time: 10:14 EDT/15:14 GMT Source: Email Posted By: Alex R.

  Microsoft has issued a security bulletin about a new hole in IE 5.0.  The security bulletin advises that the current workaround for this bug is to disable Active Scripting, until they release a patch.  Here's the copy from the bulletin:

  Microsoft has learned of a vulnerability in Microsoft® Internet Explorer 5 that could allow a malicious web site operator to take inappropriate action on the computer of a person who visited the site.  Customers can immediately protect themselves against this vulnerability by disabling Active Scripting in IE 5, as discussed in the FAQ.  Microsoft is also developing a patch that will restore safe operation to the affected feature; when the patch is available, this bulletin will be re-released.

   
• Microsoft patches holes in Explorer
  Time: 09:50 EDT/14:50 GMT Source: News.com Posted By: Byron

  Microsoft has patched a handful of security holes in its Internet Explorer browser that made computers vulnerable to attack by malicious Web site operators.

  The first patch takes care of a problem with IE's ImportExportFavorites feature, which lets users tranfer lists of frequently visited Web addresses. The bug lets a malicious Web site operator run executable code on the computer of someone who visits that Web site.

   
• Gaming/Hardware Newshounds Wanted
  Time: 10:28 EDT/15:28 GMT Source: ActiveWindows Posted By: Bob

  We are need of newshounds for the Gaming and Hardware Sections of ActiveWindows. Benefits include personal webspace and e-mail account, plus the ability to receive free review products, among other things! Interested individuals should e-mail Bob.

   
• Microsoft to add another billion to R&D budget
  Time: 09:49 EDT/14:49 GMT Source: News.com Posted By: Byron

  Microsoft expects to spend $3.8 billion on research and development in fiscal 2000, up nearly 36 percent from $2.8 billion in fiscal 1999, the computer software giant said in documents filed today.

  Microsoft chairman Bill Gates disclosed the figure in a letter to shareholders in the company's annual report. "We are investing heavily in the future...," he said. "There is, however, no guarantee of success. Competition continues to intensify, and regulatory pressures are unlikely to ease."

   

• Does Microsoft fear rising tech stocks?
  Time: 09:48 EDT/14:48 GMT Source: News.com Posted By: Byron

  What made Microsoft president Steve Ballmer take a shot last week at the "absurd" prices of technology stocks, including his own? One fellow Microsoft executive, group vice president Jeff Raikes, yesterday joked at an investor conference in San Francisco that the balding Ballmer was just "having a bad hair day" when he trashed the stocks.

   

• Microsoft Takes Home Desktop Publishing to the Next Level With Home Publishing Suite 2000
  Time: 09:45 EDT/14:45 GMT Source: Press Release Posted By: Byron

  Microsoft Corp. today announced the release of Home Publishing Suite 2000, the latest version of the company's home desktop publishing software for consumers that combines the best of print publishing, easy-to-use Web functionality and the leading consumer photo-editing software, Microsoft^® Picture It!^®, into one complete package.

   
• Netscape Communicator 4.7 Released
  Time: 09:42 EDT/14:42 GMT Source: E-Mail Posted By: Byron

  Netscape has released a new version of Communicator. This new version brings it up to 4.7. So for those of you that still use Netscape Communicator download it now.

   

• Site News: Design Updates On The Way
  Time: 05:43 EDT/10:43 GMT Source: ActiveWindows Posted By: Byron

  We are currently working on some design enhancements for ActiveWindows. One enhancement has already been added to the site (Our new logo, the one seen on our mouse mats). These changes won't be drastic, so don't worry that the site will be getting a major overhaul as we really don't need to. Anyway, here are some of our confirmed upcoming reviews:

  Hardware: Microsoft Sidewinder Precision Racing Wheel, Microsoft IntelliMouse Explorer, Regular Visor, Microtek SlimScan6
  Software: Age Of Empires 2, Flight Simulator 2000, Pandora's Box, Links LS 2000 Encarta 2000 Reference Suite DVD Edition, Sinistar Unleashed, Firestorm, X: Beyond The Frontier, System Shock 2, Heavy Gear 2, Shadowman, Rogue Spear
  Applications: Photoshop 5.5, Corel Suite 9

   

• Windows CE Goes Browsing
  Time: 03:27 EDT/08:27 GMT Source: PC World Posted By: Alex H

  A broader selection of applications may soon be running Windows CE, and on a wider choice of devices, because Microsoft Tuesday updated its Platform Builder for the operating system at the Embedded Systems Conference here.

  Platform Builder 2.12 supports Web browsing through Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0, offering tighter Web connections for Windows CE programs. New tools will let developers enhance cryptography functions with 128-bit encryption, and support better interaction between Windows CE applications. For example, Microsoft Message Queue is a component that sends messages between programs.

  To actually develop applications for Windows CE devices, you'll have to be a programmer. But the benefit of the new development platform is that it will become easier and cheaper to support devices previously unable to run CE, according to a Microsoft representative.

  The announcement of the new Platform Builder may be shaking up the developer world, but it's nothing new to Wesstek. The development company has been designing CE-enabled devices using a prerelease of Microsoft's Platform Builder 2.12 for a few months now.

   
• Secrets of the Explorer Address Bar Revealed
  Time: 03:25 EDT/08:25 GMT Source: PC World Posted By: Alex H

  Look at the top of any folder or Explorer window on your screen. See that Address bar? It's not just for Web addresses, you know. You can also use it to issue commands and to navigate your hard disk. Here are my favorite undocumented tips and tricks for getting the most out of that little-used box:

  LAUNCH ANYTHING. You can launch any folder, file, application, shortcut, or batch file by typing its name in the Address bar. If the item you want to launch isn't listed in the Set Path line of your autoexec.bat file or in a place Windows normally checks (such as the Windows folder or the desktop), you may have to type a complete path (for example, c:\Program Files\opera\opera.exe). In addition, reader Robin Sequira of Miami points out that you can open Control Panel items simply by entering Control Panel\ followed by the name of the item you want (for example, Control Panel\Display ). You can use this technique to open items in the Printers or Dial-Up Networking folders, too (for example, you might type Printers\LaserJet ).

   
• Corel, others legitimize alternative IM software
  Time: 03:21 EDT/08:21 GMT Source: News.com Posted By: Alex H

  Only months after America Online and Microsoft declared war in the instant messaging market, alternative instant messaging products are cropping up that intend to both compete and interoperate with AOL's market-leading messaging systems.

  The rise of these alternatives comes as instant messaging solidifies its position as one of the hottest applications on the Internet, letting Web surfers communicate in real time and giving businesses new ways to communicate with their customers.

  Jabber.org, a grassroots effort to craft an instant messaging service under the open-source software development model, got a boost this week with Corel's decision to implement Jabber's software in Corel's Linux desktop operating system and applications.

  Corel will add the instant messaging client in a partnership with Webb Interactive Services, which has taken a keen interest in Jabber's project to produce an instant messaging client based on Extensible Markup Language (XML).

• Neti Beta Preview
  Time: 03:19 EDT/08:19 GMT Source: Beta Bites Posted By: Alex H

  "Neti is an invaluable, freeware utility from Katarn Corporation that is a bookmarks organizer with a twist. Neti contains a search engine with a regularly updated database of excellent sites, and promises very few or no dead links.

  Having Neti is like designing your own search engine. Neti gives you control over your searches, no more waiting for results you don't want or need. Neti also organizes those bookmarks that seem to suddenly vanish when you need them."

   
• 3Com, Microsoft team for home networking kit
  Time: 03:16 EDT/08:16 GMT Source: News.com Posted By: Alex H

  The first home networking kit from an alliance between 3Com and Microsoft will hit store shelves this week.

  The product will allow consumers to link their Windows-based PCs, printers, and other devices together to share files, Internet access, or even play multi-player video games.

  3Com and Microsoft are just the latest companies to enter the fledgling home networking market that is expected to boom in the next few years, as high-speed Internet access technologies become widely available.

  Intel, Nortel Networks' NetGear, S3's Diamond Multimedia, and others firms are all competing for a piece of the market and have already shipped their own home networking products.

  These firms see a future where all electronic devices can be networked together, potentially transforming life at home and at work. Analysts say once home networking technology advances, a person could turn on the air conditioning through his or her TV, or keep an eye on the house over a video security camera feed to a Web browser at work.

• Unreal Tournament Demo Released
  Time: 14:46 EDT/19:46 GMT Source: Voodoo Extreme Posted By: Byron

  The full version of the new demo (55Mb) is now released. Modem users can download it from Gigex here - this is a resumable download so if your modem connection dies during the 55Mb download you can still get the file without starting the whole download over. Those using really fast connections and those behind firewalls should try here which is a more normal FTP-style download.

  The patch for the existing 3DFX demo (10Mb) is also available now. Modem users can download it from Gigex at here - this is a resumable download so if your modem connection dies during the 10Mb download you can still get the file without starting the whole download over. Those using really fast connections and those behind firewalls should try here which is a more normal FTP-style download.

  Win some UT goodies: If you download either version through Gigex, and provide your email address, you could be one of 50 lucky winners (chosen at random) to receive a long-sleeve, black UT T-shirt or be the one lucky winner to get a very exclusive Unreal Tournament leather jacket! Details appear with the download.

   
• Millennium not living up to its name?
  Time: 11:45 EDT/16:45 GMT Source: ZDNet/ActiveWindows Posted By: Alex H

  Looks like Microsoft is pooing on certain bad info coming out about Millennium, as we mentioned before, not all "Centers" were ever going to be in Millennium like some sites have said, and also no new amazing desktop features will be in Millennium (Real surprise there). The main changes to the UI will first feature in Neptune as we have previously talked about and posted the first ever image of. Yes some features of Neptune will get into Millennium, just don't believe anyone who tells you to expect major changes.

  Anyway, here is what ZDNet had to say about it all:

  Activity Centers "won't be a focus for Millennium, but are part of Microsoft's longer-range consumer OS plans," said a corporate spokeswoman. "It's too early to say how they'll be implemented, but I can say that you won't see them in Millennium, nor will you see a brand-new UI," she said.

   
• Microsoft Announces Windows-Based Terminal Professional, Based on Windows NT Embedded 4.0
  Time: 11:26 EDT/16:26 GMT Source: Press Release Posted By: Byron

  Microsoft Corp. today announced that it is extending its Windows®-based terminal (WBT) family with support for the Windows NT® Embedded 4.0 operating system. Microsoft and Compaq Computer Corp. also today announced that Compaq plans to ship a line of Windows-based terminals starting in October 1999.

   
• Microsoft Announces Availability of Windows CE Platform Builder 2.12
  Time: 11:24 EDT/16:24 GMT Source: Press Release Posted By: Byron

  Today at the Embedded Systems Conference, Microsoft Corp. announced the availability of Microsoft® Windows® CE operating system Platform Builder 2.12, the next step in the evolution of Microsoft's embedded product offerings. The Windows CE operating system is an open platform that provides embedded systems developers with more core operating system services and, with integrated support for Internet browsing and Microsoft Message Queue (MSMQ) Services, it introduces functionality and a feature set that make seamless connectivity possible where it wasn't before.

   
• Micrografx Webtricity Review
  Time: 10:28 EDT/15:28 GMT Source: ActiveWindows Posted By: Bob

  We have just finished our review of the graphics add-on/suite, Webtricity. Be sure to check the review out, it is a real interesting program and the possibilities with using it's images for the web and presentations, etc. is endless!

   
• Windows 98 Second Edition Shutdown Supplement - Fix
  Time: 09:28 EDT/14:28 GMT Source: E-Mail Posted By: Byron

  It seems that Microsoft has released a new fix for the shutdown problems that some users have been experiencing with Windows 98 SE. Remember that you can also check out their FAQ on the subject too before downloading the "Fix".

   
• Intel confirms 820 chip set delay
  Time: 09:25 EDT/14:25 GMT Source: ZDNet Posted By: Byron

  Intel Corp. confirmed Monday it has again delayed its 820 chip set for high-performance desktop PCs and is working on a fix.

  Intel (Nasdaq:INTC) is working with manufacturer Rambus Inc. to iron out memory errors seen in tests of certain system configurations with the chip set. In morning trading, Rambus (Nasdaq:RMBS) shares were down 13 percent.

   

• ActiveWindows Community Reminder
  Time: 05:28 EDT/10:28 GMT Source: ActiveWindows Posted By: Byron

  Just another reminder about signing up for our ActiveWindows Community on MSN. It allows you to chat with us in our chat room or via our message board, it also lets you post your own screensavers and backgrounds for other ActiveWindows readers to download.

• Site News: Recruiting
  Time: 16:18 EDT/21:18 GMT Source: ActiveWindows Posted By: Byron

  Hey again everyone, we are after a 2nd graphic design artist, if you like our site etc and would be interested in doing various graphical work on our "Sites" then please get into contact with us ASAP. The only catch is that you need to be well used to Photoshop, please also send us links to your examples (No images in the e-mails to us please)

  We have begun the beta of the new ActiveSci-Fi site, while we are creating the site we have decided for the first time to actually let you all watch it be created and use the site at the same time. The site will be updated throughout the day by a separate group of writers just like ActiveWindows is.

  You can now sign up for the ActiveSci-Fi community on MSN Communities and help us to test out the new ActiveSci-Fi website by posting your comments about the site onto the message board or you can contact us directly via e-mail. Here is a list of confirmed upcoming reviews:

  Hardware: Microsoft Sidewinder Precision Racing Wheel, Microsoft IntelliMouse Explorer, Regular Visor, Microtek SlimScan6
  Software: Age Of Empires 2, Flight Simulator 2000, Pandora's Box, Links LS 2000 Encarta 2000 Reference Suite DVD Edition, Sinistar Unleashed, Firestorm, X: Beyond The Frontier, System Shock 2, Heavy Gear 2, Shadowman, Rogue Spear
  Applications: Photoshop 5.5, Coral Suite 9

   

• Exclusive: Millennium Hits Beta 1 (Yes It Does This Time)
  Time: 16:02 EDT/21:02 GMT Source: ActiveWindows Posted By: Alex H

  Our source has come up trumps again, we have gotten it confirmed that Windows Millennium Beta 1 (2380.2) has gone RTM and is now with testers...No bugs in it as other sites liked to guess at.

   
• USB for Windows NT 4.0, Embedded NT due next month
  Time: 16:01 EDT/21:01 GMT Source: Info World Posted By: Alex H

  At the Embedded Systems conference in San Jose, Calif., this week, Microsoft will be on hand with over a dozen partners showing off prototypes, betas, and finished products using Windows Embedded NT 4.0.

  At the conference Hewlett-Packard will announce support of Windows Embedded NT 4.0 on its just introduced line of L, X, and G Entria thin clients before the end of the year.

  Among the other standouts at the show will be BlueWater Systems with a Universal Serial Bus (USB) driver software developer kit for both Windows NT 4.0 and Embedded 4.0, two operating systems that do not have native USB support.

  The USB extensions for either operating system will allow device manufacturers to support plug and play capabilities on non-computer appliances as well as USB plug and play capability in notebook computers.

  Bill Kyle, vice president of marketing and sales at BlueWater, in Edmonds, Wash., said that the USB extensions are part of the company's WinDK kernel-level tool kit for building kernel level device drivers for NT.

  Kyle hinted that the company is in talks with major system OEMs for licensing deals. The WinDK with USB extensions will ship in early October and be priced at under $2,000 for the extensions and 100 licenses.

   
• MicroAge gears up for Windows 2000
  Time: 16:01 EDT/21:01 GMT Source: Info World Posted By: Alex H

  MicroAge on Monday announced a comprehensive plan for rolling out Windows 2000 and other Microsoft technologies, and said more than half of its Microsoft engineers will be devoted to the practices.

  "This really advances the objectives of our clients and provides Microsoft solutions for people who have scar tissue around some Microsoft services," said Dean Tyree, director of MicroAge's Microsoft Business Practice, who is based close to Microsoft, in Bellevue, Wash.

  The Tempe, Ariz., company's three bundled offerings center on Office 2000, Exchange Server, and Windows 2000. The services address issues such as deployment, migration from previous Microsoft technologies and other vendors' products, help desk services, and software licenses.

  "At some point down the road, Windows 2000 will occupy 70 percent of the network system market," Tyree said.

   
• Microsoft warms up to renting apps
  Time: 15:51 EDT/20:51 GMT Source: Info World Posted By: Byron

  Although it may be premature for IT shops to rip out their existing hardware and software, each week the trend toward rentable Web-based applications gains momentum. And while productivity-application giant Microsoft weighs its options in the application-rental arena, start-ups are already making the case for the virtual desktop.

  Microsoft's rent-an-application efforts will begin in the consumer and the small-business arenas before the company offers them more broadly. While company officials would not elaborate on timing, Microsoft Office 2000 will be available to small businesses through the company's bCentral Web site, which goes into beta testing this week. The initiative is part of Microsoft's expansion of its MSN portal site into an "Everyday Web" offering, which it hopes will become a one-stop site for Internet users.

   
• Official: Microsoft doesn't know which Millennium it is
  Time: 15:45 EDT/20:45 GMT Source: The Register Posted By: Byron

  Confusion over Microsoft's on/off Millennium Beta 1 announcement has echoed around the Web over the past couple of days, but that's scarcely surprising, considering how confused Microsoft itself is about it.

  Microsoft announced Beta 1 accidentally (MS announces Millennium beta by mistake) on Friday, then rapidly pulled the release. It was, apparently, a mistake, and Redmond had only meant to send out the routine weekly build of Millennium, and not issue a press release at all, honest. But if you turn to the original release, which you still can, thanks to Paul Thurrock of WinInfo (Escaped beta release), you can see how awesomely confused Microsoft really is.

   
• SoundBlaster Live!Ware 3 On The Way
  Time: 15:23 EDT/20:23 GMT Source: Press Release Posted By: Byron

  Creative have announced that Live!Ware 3.0 is on the way very soon (Mid-October for download although it is already available with their new cards)

  By reprogramming the EMU10K1 audio processor of Sound Blaster Live!, Creative lets you enjoy new experiences in Internet Entertainment. Live!Ware 3.0 for the Sound Blaster Live! series will transform your sound card into the most ideal audio solution for Internet Entertainment. The following Internet-related applications will open new experiences and enhanced enjoyment:

   
• Microsoft and Akamai Form Strategic Relationship To Enhance Internet Content Delivery
  Time: 10:47 EDT/15:47 GMT Source: Press Release Posted By: Byron

  Microsoft Corp. and Akamai Technologies, which operates a global Internet content delivery service that accelerates Web performance, today announced a broad relationship to integrate Microsoft software technologies into Akamai's network. The companies also announced that Microsoft made an approximately $15 million investment in Akamai. The goal of this strategic relationship is to help further the rapid growth of the digital media market.

   
• Cirrus Logic and Microsoft Collaborate to Enable Next Generation Of Portable Music Devices Based on Windows Media Technologies 4
  Time: 10:46 EDT/15:46 GMT Source: Press Release Posted By: Byron

  Cirrus Logic Inc. and Microsoft Corp. today announced a technology agreement that will deliver immediate support for the Microsoft^® Windows Media™ Audio format and digital rights management solution in the new Cirrus Logic^® Maverick™ line of Internet audio chips. This agreement marks a major milestone: Cirrus Logic, the market leader in audio chips worldwide, is the first chip vendor to build in support for Windows Media Technologies 4 and to include licensing to its OEMs at no additional cost. The Windows Media-enabled Maverick chip line, with its revolutionary processor programmability, will power the next generation of portable music devices as early as this Christmas. This agreement will deliver Windows Media Audio compatible portable devices to the more than 40 million users of the Windows Media Player.

   
• Developers Showcase the First 20 Innovative Solutions On Windows NT Embedded at Embedded Systems Conference West
  Time: 10:45 EDT/15:45 GMT Source: Press Release Posted By: Byron

  Today at the Embedded Systems Conference West in San Jose, Microsoft Corp. customers displayed their next-generation devices and applications based on the Microsoft^® Windows NT^® Embedded 4.0 operating system. Only six weeks after the general availability of Windows NT Embedded was announced, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are ready with designs that span a range of market segments including telecommunications, retail, office automation, health care and manufacturing.

   
• Microsoft Windows CE and HP Jornada Explodes Into MGM's New James Bond Movie, "The World Is Not Enough"
  Time: 10:44 EDT/15:44 GMT Source: Press Release Posted By: Byron

  At last, Bond girls have better gadgets! Microsoft Corp. today announced it is teaming up with Hewlett-Packard Co. and MGM to feature the Microsoft^® Windows^® CE operating system-based HP Jornada Palm-size PC (P/PC) in the upcoming James Bond action film, "The World Is Not Enough," scheduled for release Nov. 19, 1999. In the movie, Dr. Christmas Jones, a nuclear physicist played by Denise Richards, relies on her own Windows CE-based HP Jornada P/PC to handle a potentially explosive situation.

   
• IBM buddies with MS over Win2k server
  Time: 08:27 EDT/13:27 GMT Source: The Register Posted By: Byron

  More than four years on from white-knuckle IBM-Microsoft negotiations over Windows 95 and technology access, the pair are buddied-up again, and IBM has access to Windows NT source code at its Kirkland, Washington site (near Redmond). As Microsoft trial evidence made clear earlier this year, source access for Kirkland was a key issue for IBM in the run-up to 95's launch.

  These days the Kirkland facility is known as the IBM Center for Microsoft Technologies, and the focus is Win2k. IBM's vision is apparently to make IBM hardware "scream with Microsoft software", and some of IBM's code fixes have been incorporated into Microsoft's forthcoming product.

   
• Dreamcast a hit: 500,000 sales
  Time: 03:34 EDT/08:34 GMT Source: ZDNet Posted By: Alex H

  The new Sega game player is rocketing out of the starting box. But the race is still far from over with Sony and Nintendo ready to take the field.

  Sega of America Inc., the North American sales arm of Japan's Sega Enterprises Ltd., said sales of its new Dreamcast video gaming console have topped 500,000 units in just two weeks of sales.

  Sega said it has sold 514,000 units of the new Dreamcast, the first Internet-ready video gaming console with a built in modem, since it was launched on September 9.

  Sega said these sales figures surpass its own projections of 400,000 in the first month of sales.

  These numbers also eclipse the initial sales of the first Sony Playstation when it was launched in 1995, Sega said. Sony Corp.'s (NYSE:SNE) Playstation, which reached the half million mark in four months, is now the dominant video gaming console.

   
• Will Microsoft lose the living room?
  Time: 03:34 EDT/08:34 GMT Source: ZDNet Posted By: Alex H

  With consumer electronics makers ready to release ultimate multimedia devices, Microsoft is developing WebTV, home networking and games. But will it be too late?

  Microsoft may have finally found the recipe to capture the couch potato and move PC technology from the living room to the den.

  The key ingredient is games. The big software maker is busy putting the pieces together to make Windows CE a premier gaming platform.

  Ultimately, the idea is to have multifunction set-top boxes that not only can play games, but surf the Net, control home entertainment, and play DVD movies.

  There's only one hitch: Sony (NYSE:SNE) seems to have beaten Microsoft (Nasdaq:MSFT) to the punch.

  When the Japanese consumer electronics maker announced details of its heavily anticipated PlayStation 2 two weeks ago, its plans went far beyond just another game machine.

  "If Sony makes it out with a cable-ready version of their PlayStation 2 before Microsoft comes out with a Windows CE-based gaming box, Microsoft is in trouble," said Jeremy Schwartz, game market analyst at industry watcher Forrester Research Inc.

   

• IBM to offer e-commerce security standard
  Time: 03:31