NEWS, ETC.
June 2002
Friday,
28 June 2002
Cable
Firms Faulted For Restrictions On Internet Service. ...The
High Tech Broadband Coalition, also wants the FCC to ensure that cable
companies don't unilaterally prohibit any type of Internet use.
AMD
Swings Hammer at Server Makers. AMD increased
its share of the PC processor market in part by lowering the costs
for computer makers, and in 2003 it will try the same thing with servers.
MandrakeSoft
Eyes-up AMD's Opteron. MandrakeSoft will adapt its distribution
of Linux to AMDs' next-generation chip platform...
Xerox
Reduces 1997-2001 Income by $1.4 Billion. It becomes the latest
company whose accounting practices and past earnings reports have been
called into question.
Publishers
File Suit Against Gator Over Pop-Up Ads. Gator
has drawn the ire of publishers before because of its software that
delivers ads that hover -- and critics contend cover -- existing ads
on popular Web sites. Sometimes those ads are for rivals of the sites
on which they appear.
TechXNY
Roundup. DVD Prices drop and choices grow, but DVD formats
still lack a standard.
A
TechXNY with More Substance, Less Sizzle
Motorola
Says It Will Cut 7,000 More Jobs
GamesSpy
and KaZaA Infected by Viruses
Bugs
Clean Teeth
Thursday,
27 June 2002
Linux
Still on the Rise. Citing a
desire to move away from proprietary software systems, such as those
sold by Microsoft, many companies are considering making the jump
from using Windows on their servers to running Linux.
New
Products Impart Momentum to Linux
Tiny
Cameras Debut at TechXNY. Here's a closeup look at the wafer-thin
digicams Casio has introduced to rival Logitech's.
Wednesday,
26 June 2002
Cornell
Demos Single-atom Transistor. Using a single cobalt atom as
a switch, a research team at Cornell University has demonstrated a
working transistor only 1.3 nanometers in length. Silicon transistors
today are generally more than 100 nm long.
WorldCom
Plunges Step Closer To Bankruptcy After Latest Accounting Scandal. Reported
it had disguised $3.8 billion in expenses. WorldCom
Accounting Scandal Sends Markets Reeling.
AMD
Announces 64-Bit Web Server Support From Zeus Technology. The
Zeus Web Server was demonstrated on a four-way AMD Opteron processor-based
system using a 64-bit Linux operating system. The demonstration simulated
Web pages being served to an AMD Opteron processor-based system with
simulated network traffic of up to 500 concurrent users.
New
Version of Office Due in May 2003. Code-named Office
11. Four areas where Office will be upgraded were pointed out.
Tuesday,
25 June 2002
TECHXNY
Starts Today. Technology Exchange New York.
Western
Digital Launches 200 GByte Hard Disk Drive With 60 GByte Platters. Something
doesn't add-up here?
Seagate
Launches 60-GB-Per-Platter Disc Drive. First hard drive to
achieve 120 GBytes using only two discs. Will support native Serial
ATA interface in the Fall.
Intel
Ships 2 GHz Mobile P4 Processor
June
Shipments Reflect Growth for DRAM Modules But Decline for Motherboards
Monday,
24 June 2002
Red
Hat Hears Desktop Linux Calling. Cost and
security issues with Microsoft's software, combined with the arrival
of the Mozilla Web browser, have triggered Red Hat's interest in a
desktop Linux.
Users
Question JPEG Virus, McAfee Stands Firm. Users
and antivirus vendors are questioning the seriousness of a virus announced
last week by McAfee Security, as well as the manner in which McAfee
doled out details about the virus.
Microsoft
Plans Security Chip for Next Windows. The
company wants to add security hardware to PCs before its next-generation
Windows operating system is released around 2004. That's
nice for security, but what are the other implications? MS
to Micro-Manage Your Computer. Good
read, but I do not like his poor choice of at least one word.
Study:
Broadband Adoption on the Rise. One
in five Internet users in the United States accesses the network
with a cable modem, DSL connection or other broadband device, up
nearly 25 percent from the beginning of this year...
Is
Your PC Under Attack? At first, the signs are subtle: Your
computer is slower than usual, something is different about your browser,
occasionally you're redirected to an unfamiliar Web site for no apparent
reason.
Dreamweaver
M--A Dream for Web Developers
Friday,
21 June 2002
It's
the Final Reel for the VCR. DVD movies pushing tapes off retailers'
shelves. It took a long time, but
the laser video disk has finally arrived. From my perspective,
you can thank RCA for the long delay. And Pioneer and Phillips for
the dogged perseverance that made it happen.
Philips
Shrinks CD to 1.2 Inches. Blue laser technology supports tiny
drive capable of holding a Gigabyte for use in phones, PDAs.
Apache
Web Server Exploit Circulating, Users Urged to Patch. If
users have put off patching their Apache Web servers against the vulnerability
discovered Monday, they should wait no longer, as an exploit to attack
the security hole is now circulating on the Internet.
Will
Flat Panels Ever Replace CRTs? Flat
panels still have a way to go before they become the new desktop
standard.
HP
Furloughs 4,000 Contractors, Mulls Permanent Cuts. The contract
worker cuts by the computer and printer maker will be on top of previously
announced cuts of 15,000 permanent jobs, or 10 percent of its work
force.
● Memory
Chip Probe Widens
● Samsung
Says Not a Target of U.S. Chip Probe
● US
Antitrust Probe Could be Good for DRAM Prices, Say DRAM Suppliers
● Infineon
Files Suit Against Hynix and Samsung Over DRAM Subsidies
Largest
Asteroid in Years Misses Earth. An
asteroid the size of a soccer field whizzed by Earth at a distance
much nearer than the Moon. "It's a good thing it missed
the Earth, because we never saw it coming."
Thursday,
20 June 2002
Molding
a Smaller, Faster Chip. A technique that molds patterns into
silicon could promise smaller, faster and cheaper computer chips that
also are environmentally friendly to make. Thanks
to BBATES in our Forums for sending the link to this story.
Hands-on
With Windows XP Service Pack 1 Beta. Judging from
the beta, when SP1 becomes available in the third quarter few surprises
will greet those who have already downloaded bug fixes and security
patches using Windows Update.
Trial:
Microsoft Won't Back Down. Microsoft flatly refused Judge Kollar-Kotelly's
request to work toward a compromise in the antitrust case--after the
states complied and made concessions.
U.S.
Global Memory Chip Probe Widens in Asia. Analysts
said U.S. regulators might be looking into whether memory makers had
teamed up to keep prices low in order to drive out weaker rivals...
Wednesday,
19 June 2002
Buy.com
Nixes Most Shipping Charges. Buy.com has seen
Amazon.com's latest free-shipping offer and is raising the stakes.
Micron,
Infineon Subpoenaed in Antitrust Investigation. The antitrust
division of the U.S. Department of Justice has undertaken an industry-wide
investigation into alleged anticompetitive practices among DRAM manufacturers.
Music
Labels Urged to Move Fast on Home Networks. With
record labels suffering a downturn due largely to piracy by unauthorized
file-swapping on the Internet, a new report on Wednesday urged the
industry to move quickly on the next big digital thing -- transferring
songs from PCs to stereos...
Interest
Seen in Phone Calls Via Internet. It began about six years
ago as a geeky cyber-trick. But since then, using computers to make
telephone calls over the Internet has become such a huge threat to
some state-controlled telecommunications companies around the world
that more than a dozen countries have banned the practice.
AMD
Introduces Athlon MP processor 2100+
Apache
1.3.x and 2.0.x Web Server Vulnerability Fixed
Dux osCommerce php/MySQL-driven
Online Store becomes operational
Tuesday,
18 June 2002
Experts
Warn of Major Hole in Apache Web Server.
Microsoft
to reinstate Java in Windows. Microsoft said
it would include its own Java software in the Service Pack 1 update
to Windows XP due late this summer.
Drag
'N' Drop To CD-RW Easily. New technology promises simple file
transfers, near-zero formatting time.
Photonic
Structures Promise More Efficient Light Bulbs. Applying photonic
bandgap theory to a common light emitter — tungsten — Sandia National
Laboratories has developed a way to dramatically boost the efficiency
of light bulbs. The
Next Lightbulb. It's a flashlight,
and looks like millions of other ordinary flashlights. Press a switch
and it lights up. Big deal... What's producing the light is not a conventional
flashlight bulb but a tiny chip inside a white light-emitting diode
(LED) that's just as bright but consumes half as much power and lasts
years longer.
XML
Exposed. Ask ten IT people what XML is and you'll
get ten different answers...
One
to Beam Up, Scotty... In a breakthrough out of the realms of
Star Trek, scientists in Australia have successfully teleported a laser
beam of light from one spot to another...
Monday,
17 June 2002
U.S.
Electronics Production Rose Strongly in May. 0.6% more computers
and peripherals in the United States and 2.3% more semiconductors and
components. Overall output had the weakest gain this year.
AMD
Tech Tour 2002 Coverage
The
Straight Story on Search Engines. MSN, on the other hand, has
decided that it's okay to mix paid and unpaid results in its top category,
Featured Sites, and not tell you which is which...
Mobos
Continue Capacity Expansion, Preparing for Likely PC Sales Rebound
in 2003. Although most motherboard companies are relatively
conservative about their business outlook for the third quarter, several
first and second-tier manufacturers have decided to continue expanding
production to prepare for a possible PC market recovery next year.
What
Is DSP (Digital Signal Processing)?
Friday,
14 June 2002
10
Gigabit Ethernet standard approved. IEEE
802.3 Ethernet standards group sanctioned the final draft of a standard
for a faster Ethernet that paves the way for new products that can
easily interoperate.
Bush
Promises 'Aggressive' Expansion of Broadband
New
Virus is First to Infect Image Files. A new virus can infect
image files, meaning that it could be spread through Web sites containing
infected image files, and force antivirus companies to re-engineer
their products.
New
Planetary System Resembles Home
Thursday,
13 June 2002
Unbranded
PCs Threaten Major Vendors. A research company has
credited so-called "white box" computer manufacturers with
nabbing more than half of the worldwide PC market, beating out such
major companies as IBM, Hewlett-Packard, and Compaq. White box PCs
are machines built by little-known companies, and they are generally
far cheaper than major brands. "White
box" is a new term to me for describing "IBM-compatible," "Clone," or "Custom" computers,
which my business has been building since 1987. It is usually used
to describe unbranded products packaged for use/resale by OEMs.
PC
Market Ahead of Analyst Expectations. After suffering through
last year's slump--its worst decline in more than a decade--the PC
industry is faring much better than originally expected, according
to IDC analysts.
Microsoft
Fixes Four Security Flaws. One
hole in Windows NT, Windows 2000, and Windows XP was rated "critical." What
Do You Want to Patch Today?
The
World Fights Microsoft with Open Source
Top
10 Laptop Killers
A
Pair of Portable Speakers Puts a New Spin on Hot Air. You
may have to log into the NY Times, but it is free and is well worth
the little effort that it takes.
Wednesday,
12 June 2002
TSMC
Unveils Breakthrough Transistor. 1/10 the size of existing
transistors.
United
Technologies in $4.5B IT Overhaul. Includes
changing out 45,000 PCs.
Technologist
Sketches IBM's Silicon Road Map. Plans to introduce strained
silicon technology...
Microsoft
Warns Again on MSN Chat Flaw. The
software giant says its May patch worked for MSN Messenger, MSN Chat
and Exchange Messenger, but it does not protect earlier versions of
the software.
IBM's
Nanotech Punch-cards Hit Terabit Density. A new nanotechnology
take on the old punch-card storage system has enabled IBM Corp. researchers
to demonstrate a data storage density of one trillion bits (1T bit)
per square inch -- 20 times higher than the densest magnetic storage
currently available... IBM
Nanotechnology Creates 1-Terabit Memory.
Intel
Advances Celeron Processor to 1.80 GHz
What
do Formula One Racing Tires Have in Common with Fly's Feet?
Intel's
New Itanium 2 Fit and Trimmer. Slated to go on sale in a few
weeks, the upcoming chip for high-end servers and workstations will
be about 10 percent smaller than originally planned.
Mozilla
1.0—Released and Ready to Go. Not intended for your
typical end user, Mozilla is an open-source browser that supports
emerging Web standards.
AOL
Launches Broadband in Britain
AOL
Quietly Plans to Take IM Into Businesses
Monday,
10 June 2002
Motorola
Develops First 1-Mbit MRAM. Believed to be the world's first
1-megabit MRAM (magnetoresistive random access memory).
AMD
Introduces Athlon XP Processor 2200+ Based on 0.13 Micron Technology
Friday,
7 June 2002
Top
10 CD-RW Drives. Five new CD-RW drives debut on our chart this
month: four that write to CD-R media at speeds up to 40X, and one,
from Benq, at speeds up to 32X.
Early
June DRAM Contract Prices Plunge 25%. Global early June DRAM
contract prices have plunged a devastating 25% across the board, according
to data posted by DRAMeXchange on June 6.
Piezoelectric
Tennis Rackets Add Professional Oomph. Not
professional at all. I think they should be banned from the game.
Hackers
Unlocking Norway's History. A Norwegian educational
center for cultural preservation lost the password to a historical
database cataloging 11,000 original books and manuscripts, but was
able to recover it with help from the Web.
Intel
Shares Tumble on Lowered 2nd-Quarter Guidance
World's
Longest Suspension Bridge Gets Go-ahead. Italy's government
has given the go-ahead this week to build the world's longest suspension
bridge, linking Sicily to the mainland.
Unconventional
Science Book is a Surprise Hit. 15 years in the making, physicist’s
1,200-page tome sells out its first printing.
Meet
the Real Spider-Man. Oxford University's Prof Fritz Vollrath
doesn't wear a blue-and-red suit, but he is certainly of an arachnid
persuasion...
Thursday,
6 June 2002
Cirrus
Unveils New DVD Recording Technology. The company
said its new design reference will enable the manufacture of sub-US$200
devices that will allow users to "preserve, edit and store aging
analog home movies and videotape collections onto DVD media."
First
Beta of Windows XP Service Pack 1 Released. Microsoft released
the first beta of Windows XP Service Pack 1 yesterday, while it readies
that update and Windows 2000 Service Pack 3 for final release this
summer.
Cornering
The Retail Market. Internet commerce may seem like a puny weakling
today, claiming barely 1 percent of retail sales, but top practitioners
are flexing muscles that suggest it will grow up to be an industry
heavyweight.
Microsoft
Details Web Services Security Plan. Microsoft
is developing new security software code-named TrustBridge that it
hopes will make Web services and its entire product lineup more appealing
to big companies.
Verizon
Cuts DSL Fees. Latest deal cuts monthly costs for do-it-yourselfers,
and plugs retail partners.
Repaired
Space Camera Shows Four-Galaxy Collision. A
Hubble Space Telescope camera that was broken for more than three years
has roared back to life after repairs...
COMPUTEX
- AMD to Let Thoroughbred Processor Loose on June 10
Top
10 19-Inch Monitors. New CRT displays from CTX, Compaq, and
NEC-Mitsubishi make their debut.
Wednesday,
5 June 2002
Rumored
Early K8 May Not Help Sales Much. New 8th-generation (K8) processors
from AMD may hit the market at the end of August, instead of the scheduled
October, industry sources said. Following the schedule, K8 motherboards
would be available after mid-August.
AMD
Demos New Graphics Technology for Hammer Chips. AMD's graphics
technology, dubbed AGP-8x, enables PCs to support low memory latency,
increased throughput, and larger cache sizes...
Steve
Jobs: MPEG-4 is the Next Big Thing
Tuesday,
4 June 2002
Hitachi
Buys IBM's Hard Disk Drive Business for $2 Billion. Hitachi
will initially hold 70 percent of the new venture and assume full
ownership after three years.
Retail
PC Sales Wilt in April. April was the cruelest
month for retail sales of desktop PCs, sliding 22.5 percent from a
year ago...
Is
There Life on Earth? Click
on the "Interactive Feature: Is There Life on Earth?" on
the right side of the page for a thought-provoking picture.
You may have to log into the NY Times, but it is free and is well worth
the little effort that it takes.
COMPUTEX
Coverage - Day 2
Public
Division Belies Private Cooperation of PCI Rivals
Vacuum
Tube Motherboard
Monday,
3 June 2002
COMPUTEX
2002 in Taipei, Taiwan Has Started. Coverage
With Pictures.
AMD
Working to Improve Opteron Processor Performance. AMD
used the opening day of the Computex Taipei 2002 show, Asia's biggest
electronics exhibition, to take the wraps off the prototype four-way
server running a 64-bit version of SuSE Inc.'s Linux operating system... AMD
Concedes Poor Performance of Early Hammer Processors
nVIDIA
to Produce nFORCE Motherboard Chipset for the AMD Opteron Processor
VIA
Introduces 1GHz C3 Processor at Computex 2002
VIA
to Display Totally Fanless Thin PC at Computex 2002
ALI
Introduces Chipset for Opteron and Eighth-generation AMD Athlon Processors
Swan
Song: Bankruptcy For Napster
Climate
Changing, U.S. Says in Report. You
may have to log into the NY Times, but it is free and is well worth
the little effort that it takes.
Index |
