castledoom.com

[Robbo]

Note from Joe:

I've decided to have a dedicated computer news thread instead of a comprehensive technology thread. Please put games, gadget, and general tech news in Robbo's Gadget Roundup.


So we start this thread where Robbo makes his first computer news:






The Story of Andy's Computer:

How Andy assembled his computer...or not

[estio]

quite amusing story. It was worth the load time. :D

[Robbo]

Microsoft Optical Desktop with Fingerprint Reader

Image Here

Its the standard Microsoft Optical Desktop bundle, with a....fingerprint reader.

http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/mouseandkeyboard/productdetails.aspx?pid=034

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1731352,00.asp?kc=PCRSS02129TX1K0000530

Pretty cool, but not something I'd recommend to those of you who wear foil on their heads ;)

[Robbo]

Own a notebook? Have beefy processor, good video card and a huge screen, but crappy sound for your DVD's and games?

Despair no more, with the Creative Audigy 2 ZS PCMCIA.



Simply slide it into your PCMCIA slot, and apparently it improves typical notebook sound clarity by a factor of 256, bringing it up to the same standard as a PC running a Audigy 2 ZS.

And all for $369 (USD$287)

Web Link

[Brf]

$287 for a sound card? Those are like $20.....

[Robbo]

$20 :shock: For a notebook :shock: US RRP for this card seems to be about $129 - much cheaper than the aussie price (as usual), but not $20 :?:

Maybe I need to shop at your supplier in future :lol:

[Brf]

Well.... I wouldnt look for quality sound in a notebook.....

[JuntaJoe]

Microsoft Plans Restrictions on Fixes

January 27, 2005 7:52 AM EST

SEATTLE - Microsoft Corp. plans to severely curtail the ways in which people running pirated copies of its dominant Windows operating system can receive software updates, including security fixes.

The new authentication system, announced Tuesday and due to arrive by midyear, will still allow people with pirated copies of Windows to obtain security fixes, but their options will be limited. The move allows Microsoft to use one of its sharpest weapons - access to security patches that can prevent viruses, worms and other crippling attacks - to thwart a costly and meddlesome piracy problem.

But some security experts said the crackdown also could increase Internet security problems in general, if there is a spike in unsecured computers open to attack, which then could be used to attack others.

David Lazar, a director of the effort, said Microsoft would monitor that potential problem closely. But the company actually considers its authentication requirement one possible way to boost Internet security - countering the idea it may increase threats. That's because pirated copies of Windows could contain viruses or other security threats, he said.

Over the next few months, the software behemoth will begin to more broadly adopt the program, called Windows Genuine Advantage, that urges users to provide proof their Windows copy is authentic before receiving some software updates.

By mid-2005, the program will become mandatory for Windows users to get virtually all updates, including security fixes available through the company's Windows Update Web site. But users who have pirated copies of Windows will be able to continue to get security fixes if they sign up to automatically receive security updates.

Russ Cooper, a senior scientist with Cybertrust Inc., said completely cutting off access to security fixes for pirated machines could cause a spike in malicious, Internet-based attacks. He lauded Microsoft for mitigating that problem by continuing to allow all users to get the automatic updates, regardless of whether they're running pirated versions.

Still, Cooper said he expected Microsoft to eventually cut off that security update avenue for pirated copies. He said the company may feel it has few other options as it tries to stop the millions of users who are running pirated copes of Windows.

The operating system is one of the company's major cash cows, and the move comes as Microsoft is moving aggressively into emerging markets where piracy is thought to be more common.

"The reality is that shareholders of Microsoft would like to see them get all the money they are owed," Cooper said.

Microsoft said the company has no current plans to require users running automatic updates to provide proof that their copies of Windows are genuine.

Lazar said piracy has cost the Redmond-based company "billions of dollars over the past 10 years," but he would not be more specific.

"Our desire is to enhance the value of genuine Windows, to create a differentiation (and) to add more value in the form of greater security and reliability," Lazar said.

Customers who visit the manual Windows Update site will be asked to prove that their copies of Windows are legitimate by allowing Microsoft's system to automatically run a check, or by providing a product identification number. Users who have lost that number will be asked three basic questions, and if they are deemed to be acting in good faith they will be given a free replacement key.

The company also said it will begin providing discounted versions of Windows to users in China, Norway and the Czech Republic who discover they have a counterfeit version of Windows XP.

Rob Enderle, principal analyst with the Enderle Group, is expecting the more stringent authentication system to be successful, as Internet attacks become ever more sophisticated and users with pirated copies of Windows become helpless to stop them.

"It will create an environment where the pirated machines, if they're connected to the Internet, won't really work," he said.

---

On the Net:

http://www.microsoft.com/security

Copyright 2004 Associated Press.

[Robbo]

Malicious Software Removal Tool

The Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool checks Windows XP, Windows 2000, and Windows Server 2003 computers for and helps remove infections by specific, prevalent malicious software—including Blaster, Sasser, and Mydoom. When the detection and removal process is complete, the tool displays a report describing the outcome, including which, if any, malicious software was detected and removed.

http://www.microsoft.com/security/malwareremove/default.mspx

[JuntaJoe]

Next on the agenda, are you still using crusty old WinZip for compression?

Shame on you.

That's not modern compression.

This is:

http://www.zipgenius.it/index_eng.htm

It handles over 20 different compression methods, including the ACE and RAR formats.

It will squeeze those files by half again compared to plain old zip.

It's great way to handle 50 meg files or bigger.


Best of all......It's free! 8)

[Brf]

I havent used Winzip in years.... WinME, WIn2K and WinXP have native compression. At work, on NT, we used PowerArchiver. The older versions are free, and can handle all those compression methods.

[JuntaJoe]

ZipGenius has become very popular with game modders.

I have to admit that I found it easy to use and the gamers swear it's one of the best systems out there.

[Robbo]

A parent's primer to computer slang

While it's important to respect your children's privacy, understanding what your teenager's online slang means and how to decipher it is important as you help guide their online experience. While it has many nicknames, information-age slang is commonly referred to as leetspeek, or leet for short. Leet (a vernacular form of "elite") is a specific type of computer slang where a user replaces regular letters with other keyboard characters to form words phonetically—creating the digital equivalent of pig Latin with a twist of hieroglyphics.

Thank you Microsoft! :roll: :P
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/children/kidtalk.mspx

[Robbo]

Do you like PC parts that glow? Then this website is for you:

http://www.flexiglow.com/

Too much stuff for one 'feature', but my pick would probably be the xRaider mouse.

[Robbo]

Game Developers Conference 05 - Game Developers RANT!
A group of game industry veterans wrapped up GDC 2005 with a roar, venting about all the problems they see hampering the business...


http://www.gamespy.com/articles/596/596734p1.html

[NibbyCat]

Ugh! I downloaded it, unzipped it, ran it, and it stalled. I kept trying it, and it would stall. I rebooted again, and the whole computer was lagging. I deleted it, and my system's fine.

[JuntaJoe]

MIT, Taiwanese Laptop Maker Team Up

April 08, 2005 8:09 PM EDT
BOSTON - Taiwan-based Quanta Computer Inc. and the Massachussets Institute of Technology said Friday they are teaming up on a $20 million, five-year project to get PCs, laptops, cell phones, and handhelds to work together seamlessly, intuitively and in sync.

Rodney Brooks, a director of MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, said the agreement, financed by Quanta, is expected to be the first phase of a long-term partnership to incorporate new ideas into products and spur broad discussion of the digital future.

"We are going to be putting together prototypes to demonstrate ideas, and they (Quanta) will put it together in much more solid prototypes, and then we'll do the next level of experimentation beyond that," Brooks said in an interview.

"The hope is we will have a completely redone vision of the personal computer, which will get into the product line in time," he said.

The project will involve meetings between the partners both at MIT and in Taiwan to "work toward a new world of self-organizing devices which make our lives more pleasant and productive," Brooks said.

He hopes for concrete results by pairing the MIT faculty's big-picture perspective with Quanta's marketplace muscle.

Though Quanta isn't a household name in the United States, it's the world's largest producer of laptops, making portable computers and other devices for the likes of Dell Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co. and International Business Machines Corp.

"They have a longer-term view, but they're also very good at getting things out into the marketplace quickly," Brooks said.

One project focus is simplifying information transfers between devices and overcoming configuration conflicts.

Brooks envisions digital devices that could recognize whether a user is at home, at the office or in a car, and automatically reformat how information is presented on screen to fit the circumstances. For example, a commuter checking e-mail on the go might prefer to read snippets of e-mails rather than digest a single message taking up the entire screen.

"The system should reconfigure itself depending on where I am physically," Brooks said.

Copyright 2005 Associated Press.

[Robbo]

Prince Harry flunks army PC test

[Robbo]

Frozen polar waste gets Wi-Fi hotspot

Intel has rigged up a Wi-Fi hotspot just 80km from the North Pole.......Some might say that this is a clear sign that Intel's wireless strategy is adrift. Others might think it has more to do with the benefits of floating IP addresses. :lol: :lol:

[JuntaJoe]

That's too funny.

But mark my words that Intel did this as a publicity stunt. It should arrive in your local commercials soon enough.