Next-Generation Virus Streams To Win2K
Russia-based anti-virus vendor Kaspersky Lab has discovered a new
generation Windows 2000 virus that, although not in the wild yet, has
been tagged as extremely dangerous if it gets out.
The first iteration of this new "Stream Companion" generation of virus,
called W2K.Stream, takes advantage of the Windows 2000 NTFS file
system, which allows multiple simultaneous data streams to execute.
AOL Not Planning Temporary Cancellation of AIM Service
APRIL FOOLS!
We hope you all had fun with the April Fools gag and apologize to those who took this too seriously. We were a bit surprised by the reaction, both negative and positive responses. AOL is NOT threating BetaNews. The client does have the bug however, and we recommend we update your AIM client.
In a surprise move by the Internet giant America Online, its popular AOL Instant Messenger service will be temporarily shut down effective midnight tonight. After pressure from several major security firms that confirmed previous reports on BetaNews concerning an error in the program's code, which allowed any malicious user with a newer client to crash an older one, AOL decided to temporarily shut down the system beginning tomorrow while engineers design a server-side work around for the bug.
Microsoft and ACEplanet.com Sponsor Teen TechFest
Young adults between the ages of 13 and 17 are invited to take the Teen TechFest Challenge and get the chance to win a free trip, including round-trip airfare, ground transportation, meals, housing, and the funds to attend the Teen TechFest Computer Camp in Seattle, WA June 17-21, 2000.
Sponsored by Microsoft and ACEplanet.com, attendees of the TechFest will spend four days of "intense digital fun" at the University of Washington where they will learn about Microsoft ASP, HTML, Visual Basic, and Visual C++. They will also get the chance to tour downtown Seattle, spend time playing the latest Microsoft video games, and visit the Microsoft Campus, museum, and store.
Microsoft Answers the 63,000 Bug Question
Jim Allchin of Microsoft issued a bulletin to Windows 2000 customers stating that the media reports concerning 63,000 known defects in Windows 2000 are inaccurate. "Microsoft is committed to delivering high quality products, and we believe Windows 2000 is the most reliable operating system Microsoft has ever shipped," stated Allchin.
According to Allchin’s open letter, there was an internal development paper that described a broad set of focus areas for the team that mentioned the 63,000 number, yet a misunderstanding of that paper may have led to the media reporting that this number was the amount of potential defects in the Windows 2000 operating system.
Microsoft to Open Windows?
Rumors circulated today that Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates stated Microsoft would be willing to reveal Windows source code to settle the anti-trust lawsuit against the company. During the interview, Gates stressed that his company is seeking a settlement in the case, and would try their hardest to produce such an agreement, although a spokesman for Microsoft said Gates "did not make any of the comments regarding source code".
Bloomberg continues to stand by the story, reporting that after the interview was completed, someone asked Gates if he would be willing to open source Windows and he replied "yes...if that's all it took."
DoubleClick: Sensitive Data
DoubleClick Inc. insisted today that it has not and will not use "sensitive" data in its profiles, just as the state of Michigan announced plans to file a consumer protection lawsuit
against the embattled Internet advertising company.
In a statement released today, DoubleClick President Kevin Ryan
said "DoubleClick has never and will never use sensitive online
data in our profiles, and it is DoubleClick's policy to only merge
personally identifiable information with non-personally merged
with non personally-identifiable information for profiling, after
providing clear notice and choice."
Microsoft Makes Special Offers Through Global Partners
Microsoft is now offering several special deals to consumers who run Windows 2000. Through its Global Partners program, Microsoft Corporation is offering giveaways and special deals on software and other products optimized for use with Windows 2000. With the official Windows 2000 launch today, Microsoft has posted three such deals with those partners, which include Adobe, IBM, HP, and Unisys Corporation.
Adobe, in celebration of the launch of Windows 2000, is offering consumers the opportunity to purchase Adobe GoLive 4.0 along with Adobe Photoshop, Adobe After Effects 4.1, or Adobe Premiere 5.1, for the price of $699. The offer to save $249 expires on March 5th. For more information visit the Adobe Windows 2000 Special page.
AMD Rolls Out 850 MHz Athlon
Advanced Micro Devices has unveiled its newest chip, the 850 MHz Athlon, and snatched the lead in the megahertz race from rival Intel. Although Intel is expected to bring out 850 MHz and 866 MHz versions of its Pentium III processor soon enough, AMD will also be the first of the two chip-making giants to switch to copper interconnects in their processors. AMD is expected to make that switch in the second half of this year, while Intel is slated to do so in 2001. Copper interconnects are said to be the next big technology breakthrough to improving processor performance and increasing clock speed.
Universities Continue to Block Napster
Following the recent trend, Indiana University moved this week to filter student access to the popular MP3 searching program Napster. Indiana joins universities around the country including Northwestern, and Oregon State University, which chose to block access to Napster after learning that as much as 5% of its bandwith was being used to access the popular server. Citing its Information Technology Facilitative/Fair Usage Policy, Indiana University made the decision after stating, "Network usage analysis shows this application consumes a significant amount of IU's connection to the Internet and affects IU's data network supporting teaching, learning, and research." More colleges across the nation are sure to follow the lead and begin banning the use of the Napster program in the future.
Office 2000: Registration Required
In an effort to counteract the piracy of its popular Office 2000 suite, Microsoft has detailed a new requirement that requires users to register the software. If a user fails to register in the first 50 times it is launched, the program will simply disappear. The "Registration Wizard" only requires the country of origin, and any user may register their copy anonymously via regular mail, e-mail, phone, or fax.
Microsoft Outlines Plans for Whistler and Blackcomb
In an internal memo sent to developers at Microsoft, the software giant outlined its plans and strategies for the development of Whistler, the next upgrade to Windows 2000 due in 2001, and Blackcomb, which is due out in 2002. Wanting to speed up the delivery process and cut out the lengthy development cycles of the past, this new plan will accelerate development of the operating systems to new levels.
Pushing for an alpha build of Whistler by April, Microsoft has already distributed a very small number of copies of Whistler, now at Build 2200, to executives and other people inside the company. They hope to offer Whistler as a public beta by July of this year, and they hope to have it pre-installed on computers for Christmas of 2001.
FreeBSD 4.0 Release Candidate Now Available
Twenty-one days from the official release, FreeBSD 4.0 Release Candidate is now on FreeBSD’s FTP servers. The Release Candidate is complete with ISO images for Alpha and x86, which are bootable for easy installing. Full XFree86 3.3.6 support is included, as well a barrage of new services and packages.
FreeBSD is an Opensource, free implementation of BSD UNIX. FreeBSD powers many popular websites including Yahoo, and eFront Networks.
eBay in the Hot Seat With the DOJ
The Department of Justice anti-trust division has begun preliminary investigations into the actions of eBay to bar so called Internet "bots" from searching their site for products. Although no action has been taken, and no formal investigation has started, there is no indication that the DOJ will not pursue legal action. Jay Monahan, eBay's senior intellectual-property rights counsel believes that the companies actions are a matter of blocking illegal entry and intrusion, and not "anti-competitive."
This lawsuit comes after eBay filed a claim against Bidders Edge for intrusion in December of last year. Citing that they do offer licensing to allow these auction "combing" activities to ease the chaos of most online auction sites, Monahan stated that the company was "confident our position will win the day."
DirectX to Include Real Time Voice Technology
Microsoft Corporation announced plans to incorporate real time voice technologies into the next version of DirectX. Entitled DirectPlay Voice, this newest API was adapted from the popular ShadowFactor Software, Inc. application called BattleCom, and will be optimized for multiplayer gaming. Paul Donlan, program manager for DirectX at Microsoft states, "With the addition of this technology to the DirectPlay API in DirectX, Microsoft will provide game developers with a powerful set of programming interfaces to cleanly integrate voice technology into their games." On February 18th, Microsoft plans to offer the BattleCom software for download from Shadow Factor until this summer, when the next version of DirectX, version 8.0, is scheduled for release.
Microsoft to Publish MSDN Magazine
The Microsoft Developer Network has joined forces with CMP Media, Inc. to publish a new step in the Microsoft Systems Journal and Microsoft Internet Development Magazine. This next step, MSDN Magazine offers a full range of development solutions and technologies in one new source.
Editor-in-Chief, Michael Longacre believes that "The time is right to combine the two magazines because the technologies each covered are converging. MSDN Magazine will continue the strategic editorial focus of both publications while moving forward as new technologies and solutions emerge."
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