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ReactOS Revealed
DRM Hacker Alex Ionescu explained the internals of ReactOS in a recent talk. Ionescu indicates that ReactOS is nearly 100% binary and API compatible with the Windows 2003 kernel, and that they are aiming for full Vista compatibility. Ionescu attempted to demonstrate ReactOS but only succeeded in installing it after two BSoDs. This alone should make it clear that ReactOS is still not ready for prime time.
If you’ve wanted to learn more about the ReactOS internals, then now is the time. There are slides (pdf) released from a recent talk by the lead kernel developer Alex Ionescu, which go in depth about what ReactOS is and how it is designed to emulate Windows.
Source: Slashdot
TrueCrypt 4.3 Released
A new update to the best open source transparent encryption software has been released. TrueCrypt is (the only?) open source encryption software capable of creating and mounting encrypted virtual disk images that can then be worked with transparently like any other storage drive, with data encrypted and decrypted in real-time.
I have used TrueCrypt in the past and can attest to it’s quality. If you want to keep your files secure, this is one of the best solutions available thanks to it’s effectiveness and cost… free. The best part is that it’s available for both Windows -and- Linux.
Source: Slashdot
A Call To Action On The ATI Linux Drivers
ATI will not immediately improve their support due to users flaming on forums or from people sending evil notes through their feedback form. If you want action, contact ATI/AMD’s OEMs, AIBs, and ODMs. While it’s best to contact your graphics card or computer manufacturer, contacting other large partners such as ASUSTek, Sapphire Technology, and Dell can go a very long way.
This sounds like a reasonable idea. If you are a Linux user and would love some better ATI support, this article can give a few pointers on how to get the point across to the right people.
Source: Michael Larabel
Futuremark Launches Business Operations in China
Beijing, China March 20, 2007 – Futuremark Corporation announced today that it has started business operations in the rapidly developing China market. Futuremark signed a representation agreement with Alliance Digital, a leading China business development, sales, and support services firm. Futuremark is the world’s leading provider of performance analysis software and services for cell phones, handhelds and PCs.
Source: Futuremark Press Release
Mathematicians solve E8 structure
A transatlantic team of number-crunchers announced they had built a theoretical structure in 248 dimensions, resolving a 120-year puzzle that could be used to test theories about the structure of the cosmos.
The human genome is less than a gigabyte in size, but the E8 calculation is 60 gigabytes, enough to store 45 days of continuous music in MP3 format. The printout would cover an area the size of Manhattan.
Source: PhysOrg
RIAA Wins Worst Company In America 2007
The RIAA won The Consumerist’s “Worst Company In America 2007” reader poll. We predicted an RIAA landlslide, but they only managed a 53.8% majority over Halliburton’s 46.2%. The message is clear. The internet cares deeply about being able to download music illegally.
Huge congrats to the RIAA! I couldn’t agree more.
Source: Consumerist
Fujitsu Makes 32GB SSD a $1,300 USD Option…
SSDs promise faster transfer rates, lower access times, silent operation and increased battery life. The numerous pluses are counterbalanced, however, by the relatively high cost of SSDs. In the case of the two Fujitsu ultra-portables (which will use SSDs made by Samsung), the 16GB and 32GB SSD options will represent $650 USD and $1,300 USD options respectively.
Wow. That’s $40 per GB, compared to >$0.40 per GB on normal hard drives. That is one hardcore premium.
Source: Daily Tech
Carol Burnett Sues Family Guy
Carol Burnett suing the producers of the TV show Family Guy over a parody of a Carol Burnett character that was included in one episode last season. If you’re a regular (or even not-so-regular) watcher of Family Guy, you know that they often include short parodies of various famous TV shows.
Looks like someone doesn’t have a sense of humor at all. That, or Carol wants a quick buck since she hasn’t exactly been in the limelight lately.
Source: Tech Dirt
Adobe Apollo Released
The early part of this century has been dominated by software companies moving applications off the desktop and over to the Web. Now, Adobe is offering web developers a chance to move in the opposite direction. The company has released the first developer preview version of its Apollo toolset, which lets Web developers create desktop applications that can interact with any site on the Internet.
It’s hard to see at this point how useful Apollo will be, but it seems it will be for a selective audience. The example they gave was an eBay application that allows you to create auctions while offline. They will just be entered as soon as the PC is next online. There are a lot of different uses… just a matter or seeing what people decide to do with it.
Source: Ars Technica
Scoble Takes Jab at Microsoft
Microsoft isn’t going away. Don’t get me wrong. They have record profits, record sales, all that. But on the Internet? Come on. This isn’t winning. Microsoft: stop the talk. Ship a better search, a better advertising system than Google, a better hosting service than Amazon, a better cross-platform Web development ecosystem than Adobe, and get some services out there that are innovative (where’s the video RSS reader? Blog search? Something like Yahoo’s Pipes? A real blog service? A way to look up people?) That’s how you win.
Scoble lets Microsoft have it, and it is hard to disagree with a lot of his points. Although, doesn’t it seem a little odd that he became so Anti-Microsoft now?
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Jack Thompson responds to the Take Two lawsuit
I have been praying, literally, that Take-Two and its lawyers would do something so stupid, so arrogant, so dumb, even dumber than what they have to date done, that such a misstep would enable me to destroy Take-Two. With the filing of this SLAPP lawsuit last week, my prayers are finally answered.
It’s no wonder so many people think that Jack has a few screws loose. He jumps at Ars Technica with a slew of scriptures from the bible and his usual needless ranting. He stresses the demise of Take Two, so now we just have to wait.
Source: Ars Technica
A Mozilla Desktop Environment?
A discussion that started a few days ago on the mozilla.dev.planning list has given birth to the idea of taking all this one step further by building a complete Desktop Environment, like gnome or KDE. Such a thing would then be based on XUL (XML User Interface Language) and it sounds like a very potent venture. This would then include expanding the features of, for example, Firefox to give the browser the ability to do local file management, just like Konqueror.
This is a solid idea, I admit. Though, most ventures like this seem to have a single goal in mind, in this case it would revolve solely around Mozillas own products. Even still, it might not be such a bad thing to see this in development.
Source: Nordic Hardware
Hitachi Deskstar 7K1000 1TB Reviewed
We fully expected Seagate to beat Hitachi in the race to single terabyte drive offerings based upon expectations after their 750GB drive shipped last June. However, it now appears the Seagate 1TB drive will not ship until Q2 of this year leaving Hitachi alone at the top of the storage capacity mountain for now.
Finally… 1TB drives. While the 7K1000 proved to be amazing, they are only currently available in pre-built Dell PCs. That’s a huge burn for those who are looking for mass storage. Seagates solution should be out next quarter though, so those looking for their 1TB single-drive fix will probably have to wait until then.
Source: AnandTech
CoolIT Inducted Into ASUS’ Republic of Gamers
Calgary, Alberta – March 19th, 2007 – Today, CoolIT Systems announces their patented MTEC technology has been recommended by the prestigious Asus Republic of Gamers(ROG) Certified Program. The Republic of Gamers is the most sought after motherboard on the market offering unparalleled performance and engineering. Republic of Gamers created the Certified Program recognizing computing hardware components that offer this same level of performance and reliability. Components tested and validated in the ROG labs provide gamers and overclockers with the upperhand in computing performance and help to satisfy the insatiable desire to outperform the competition.
CoolIT is one company that we here at Techgage don’t mind pushing for. They have impressed us multiple times with their quality products, so it’s no surprise that ASUS has "verified" their quality as well..
Source: CoolIT Press Release
Yet Another Contest Reminder.. Again
For those of you in the dark, you might not have noticed the two contests we have going on right now. First is our “Ugliest Case” contest, sponsored by Thermaltake. If you have a brutally disgusting case that you think can take the cake, you have a good chance at a new silver Tt Armor.
Our “Funniest Gaming Screenshots” contest is well underway as well and is getting plenty of action. If you have some hilarious game screenshots you want to submit, please do so. You could win a Razer Tarantula, Barracuda HP1 and their new DeathAdder mouse!
Source: Contest Page
CeBit 2007 Coverage – Part 4
The frequency of new CeBit content has slowed down considerably, but there has been lots published that you may have missed. techPowerUp is on an "A" binge with their look at Antec, Akasa and Aerocool. Hexus has a slew of new content including a chat with the guy in charge of HD-DVD in Europe and also takes a look at OCZs tentative "FireWire".
Beyond3D has a slew of first-looks as well. These included a motherboard running DDR3, ASUS drivebay overclocker, look at a naked RV610 and also more information about the ASUS XG Station.
This is all of interest that’s hit our inbox lately. If more happens to roll in, we will continue to post.
Best Buy to Put 20GB PlayStation 3 on Ice
Sony’s PS3 currently comes in two flavors: the $599 USD 60GB version and the $499 USD 20GB version. Both consoles feature a Blu-ray optical drive, but the 60GB version adds 802.11b/g wireless networking and a MemoryStick/Secure Digital/CompactFlash reader for digital camera media. According to internal Best Buy documents obtained by Joystiq, it looks as though the retailer is no longer going to stock Sony’s 20GB PlayStation 3 console. The document lists the 20GB PS3’s status as “discontinued.”
I am not sure who would be interested in a 20GB version to begin with. Even though the console is expensive, the extra $100 actually does deliver benefits. If you do happen to want a 20GB model, you should rush out now in case they suddenly disappear.
Source: Daily Tech
Microsoft Security Guru Wants Risks Rated Lower
Microsoft’s own bug hunters should cut Windows Vista some slack and rate its vulnerabilities differently because of the operating system’s new, baked-in defenses, according to the developer who is often the public persona of the company’s Security Development Lifecycle (SDL) process.
Such a modest request. “Because it’s new” doesn’t cut it. Vista was in production for near five years and in massive beta testing for months. Any security risks that are there, should be well known.
Source: Computer World
Russia’s War on Piracy/Malicious Software
Russian minister Leonid Reiman has announced new legislation to fight software piracy. According to official information the share of pirated software in the Russian Federation decreased in the last years from 90 to 60 percent. Reiman dismissed as a myth the impression that many viruses originate in his country: ‘Viruses are written all over the world.
I still don’t understand why ‘cybercrimes’ are not immediately punishable. Throw spyware/malware authors in prison for a while to get the word out that people are not messing around. Then we would start to see a steady decline. I think it’s a good thing that I’m not put in charge.
Source: Slashdot
Hackers Promise Month of MySpace Bugs
They won’t divulge their real names, they call their project a “whiny, attention-seeking ploy,” and they appear to take their fashion cues from Beastie Boys music videos. But two hackers going by the names of Mondo Armando and Müstaschio promise to begin disclosing security vulnerabilities in MySpace, News Corp.’s popular social networking site, every day next month.
I can’t wait to see this get underway, but would be surprised if it lasted long. MySpace is by far one of the most "hackable" websites on the planet. It seems just… thrown together. That aside, kudos to the hackers for liking the Beastie Boys.
Source: PC World
Nero Linux 3 Coming Soon?
Nero announced today that Nero Linux 3 will be unveiled at CeBIT in Germany. The new version of the definitive burning application for Linux operating systems will add Blu-Ray and HD DVD data recording support as well as an improved graphical user interface (GUI) that is similar to the look and feel of the current Nero Burning ROM 7 edition.
I couldn’t find the news on the Nero website, so I am hoping it proves true. NeroLinux 2 was rather useless if you had k3b or something similar installed, so I am looking forward to seeing how they plan to sway people to purchase their new edition.
Source: After Dawn
AMD Claims 5-hour Battery Life for Turion Notebooks in 2007
AMD guidance specifically details the transition from its 90nm to 65nm, in addition to the advances of the RS690 chipset, will boost Turion notebook battery life from 4 hours to in excess of 5 hours.
I love where technology is going. My laptop with with a 2.8GHz P4 barely lasts two hours. Five hours sounds like a dream. Now only if it proves true…
Source: DailyTech
Three Editions of Halo 3
Microsoft Game Studios and Bungie Studios have both confirmed that Halo 3 will be released this fall in three different versions. Gamers will be able to pick either a Standard Edition, Limited Edition or Legendary Edition.
For $10 more than the standard edition, the limited edition will get you a bonus disc with various content in addition to an art book. It also comes in a metal case, similar to the one we saw with Perfect Dark: Zero. The legendary is the cream of the crop, at $129.99. It comes in a helmet case and includes two bonus discs with lots of additional content.
Source: Daily Tech
AMD Hits #8 On Semiconductor Top List
According to research firm iSuppli, AMD has leaped into elite company: the top 10 semiconductor suppliers in the world. In its latest top 25 rankings, iSuppli has AMD in the number eight spot, up seven positions from last year. Its larger rival, Intel, is still in the driver’s seat at number one, but saw its revenues decline by 11.1 percent in 2006.
AMD must’ve eaten their Wheaties to make a jump from 15th to 8th! That’s an incredible move on their part. Although they have lost some of their momentum thanks to Intels Core release, they plan on making up for lost time this year. Maybe we will see them go beyond the 8th spot next year?
Source: Ars Technica
Colorado Woman Sues To Hold Web Crawlers To Contracts
Shell’s site states, “IF YOU COPY OR DISTRIBUTE ANYTHING ON THIS WEB SITE, YOU ARE ENTERING INTO A CONTRACT,” at the bottom of the main page, and refers readers to a more detailed copyright notice and agreement. Her suit asserts that the Internet Archive’s programmatic visitation of her site constitutes acceptance of her terms, despite the obvious inability of a Web crawler to understand those terms and the absence of a robots.txt file to warn crawlers away.
I am not sure what I am missing here. She has some text on her site and expects a spider to read and agree to it? The article goes on to mention, “..they’ll have to teach their Web spiders how to read contracts.” That’s what robots.txt is designed for. I am not sure if Archive.org pays attention to that file, but it wouldn’t be difficult to get it to. It would at least rid one more reason for these loonies to sue.
Source: Information Week