Technology Vault - NewsBytes
Saturday 30 November, 2002
Mozilla 1.2 has been pulled by @ 1:18 pm
The latest version of Mozilla browser 1.2 has been taken off the download list due to a major bug that can cause DHTML on some sites to fail. Mozilla man tells Newsbytes, expect to see version 1.2.1 very soon.
Also, Mozilla tells us: the 1.2 release tag was not complete so builds created from that tag may not be correct.
For full details and updates on the releases visit the Mozilla release notes page.
Many thanks to eggz for bringing this to our attention!
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Thursday 28 November, 2002
TVTool update by @ 10:24 pm
 H.O.T have released an update to their popular TVTool. Version 6.8.4 is now avaiable. The update adds support for 8xAGP, multi soundcard support, all Philips modes updated and added, hardware detection added for GeForce4 Ti and hardware detection added for TV chips CX25872/3/4/5.
Other fixes to the previous version include frequency bug fixed with GF2 and 40.xx drivers and hotkey bug fixed.
Registered users should get the download link in an email. New users can read what TVTool can do for you HERE for the English version and HERE for the German version.
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WinDrivers Backup by @ 10:10 pm
Fitzy brings news of a new version of WinDrivers Back-up. A utility to back up all the drivers on your Windows computer.
Click HERE to read what this free (for home use) utility can do. Thanks Fitzy.
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Wednesday 27 November, 2002
Mozilla 1.2 by @ 11:34 pm
Mozilla man (eggz) brings news of a new version of Mozilla. Mozilla version 1.2 has some new features like the 'Browser Type ahead' feature. Mozilla will guess what your about to type.
Eggz says: Not a moment after recent convert The Caretaker downloaded the last "final" build 1.1, Mozilla.org finished up Mozilla 1.2.
Personal favourites for this release include:
Browser Type ahead find: Forget Edit>Find in page. In 1.2 hit "/" and start typing the word you are after. Mozilla will jump to the nearest match.
Mail filters: You can now run mail filters on a folder whenever you want (i.e. after the initial mail download, when filters would normally be applied)
You can read the release notes HERE or download the Windows installer HERE
Many thanks to eggz for telling Newsbytes about this news.
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Nvidia Detonator 41.09 leaked on the net by @ 11:21 pm
A new Detonator drivers has leaked it's way onto the net thanks to Driver Heaven. Both Windows 98/ME and 2000/XP are catered for. The files are dated 18th November 2002.
These drivers include the new style control panel. One of the neat features of this driver is a slider bar for performance and quality settings. If you run applications then you can set it to application. However, if you want run your favourite games at full speed you can pick agressive mode. Or you can pick the balanced setting for a bit of both worlds.
Performance and Quality settings
Take a visit to Driver Heaven to get your download.
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Monday 25 November, 2002
AVG Update by @ 8:44 pm
Grisoft's AVG
Grisoft have just updated their popular free antivirus software AVG. Grisoft tells us that this update has added protection for I-Worm/Winevar, I-Worm/Mellon, I-Worm/Qaz, BackDoor.Amitis, IRC/BackDoor.SbDot, IRC/BackDoor.Flood and new variants of BackDoor.BackOrifice. That last one sounds a bit painful.
The size of the update is 857.7Kb and a restart of your computer is not required.
If you use the Outlook Express plug-in you shoul see the following message at the bottom of all your emails:
Version: 6.0.423 / Virus Database: 238 - Release Date: 25/11/2002
Thank you to forum member Clive who told newsbytes about this update.
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Sunday 24 November, 2002
Jester's Detonator 30.xx to 40.xx tool update by @ 5:23 pm
Jester has just released version 1.1.1 of his upgrade tool which helps users move from nvidia's 30.xx Detonator graphics drivers to the new 40.xx Detonator graphics drivers.
He has removed the 'install the new drivers now' message as most people reported that the utility works best if you run it after installing the new 40.xx Detonator drivers.
Jester says:
1) Uninstall the current Detonator Drivers first
2) Reboot
3) Install the new Detonator Drivers
4) Run this program.
Fix: Version 1.1.1 Released. Removed references to install the "new drivers now" as program works better after new drivers are installed.
The Detonator Destroyed website also has details of Jesters update and details of what causes the control panel error for some users.
To visit Jesters website and download this little utility CLICK HERE
Newsbytes would like to thank forum member Fitzy for sending the details to us. Many thanks!
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Titbits from the last week by @ 1:38 pm
This weeks Titbits
Man burnt his 'private parts' with a laptop
A man who fell asleep for an hour had his private parts damaged by the heat of his laptop. We don't know what make of laptop it was but the man recovered after a few weeks.
Comdex
Nvidia released details of their new GeForce FX. Newbytes reported on this earlier in the week. We should start to see this stunning new GPU in the shops around March. Cost will be a tad over £300 in the UK.
Comdex II
Some fantastic new monitors were shown off this week. People took a glimps of the first flat screen 3D monitor that let you watch 3D action without having to wear glasses or special filters over your eyes. My we have come along way. I remember using Quality Street wrappers when I was a kid to watch TV in colour on our Black & White 405 line set.
Microsoft told of another major flaw
Microsoft was told about a major exploit to IE and OE this week. The exploit can completely format your hard disk just by the click to a webpage or a by looking at an email. More details HERE
BT named some new exchanges for ADSL upgrade
BT named Tottington, Danbury and Bradford-on-Avon to get ADSL by the end of January. BT also said it was looking into mid-band trials early next year to help out those unfortunate enough to live too far from their enabled exchanges. It would be an always-on 128kbps service.
Well, that's all the major (and not so major news) for this week. No doubt the wonderful world of technology will produce some more world shatering news in the comming week. Newsbytes will be there to record it.
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DirectX9 uninstall by @ 1:05 pm
Techconnect are hosting a utility to remove DirectX9 from your system and re-install DirectX8.1 from your original WindowsXP instalation disk. Handy if you like to try out beta versions of DirectX.
Techconnect says:This little application lets you uninstall DX 9 or any bogus Directx installations .. what it does is ask you for your winXP cd and restores DX 8.1 files from the disc it worked great for me so hope its usefull for you.
If your into testing out beta versions of DirectX then you should find this really handy. Pop over to the Techconnect website to download. Use at your own risk.
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Thursday 21 November, 2002
Windows Updates for WinXP SP1 by @ 9:41 pm
First up is a Cumulative Patch for Internet Explorer 6. Microsoft says: The "November, 2002 Cumulative Patch for Internet Explorer" eliminates all previously addressed security vulnerabilities affecting Internet Explorer, as well as additional newly discovered vulnerabilities. This update includes the functionality of all previously released patches.
The next update is a critical update for "Certificate Validation Flaw Could Enable Identity Spoofing". First issued in September, Microsoft has updated this fix again on 20 November 2002.
For details of both of these updates, visit the Microsoft Windows Update website or click Windows Update under the tools menu of Internet Explorer.
Newsbytes recommends that you keep your computer up to date with all the latest patches and fixes by visiting the Windows Update site at least once a month.
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MusicMatch Update by @ 6:45 pm
MusicMatch Jukebox has just been updated to version 7.5
This update adds a new Portable Device Manager which allows you to download your favourite music to your portable player. New enhanced CD printing allows you to design and print CD covers and the burn options have been made simpler to use. The player now includes super tagging.
Lifetime registered customers can use the update option in the player. A free basic version is also available. For full details and prices, visit the MusicMatch website.
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AVG Update by @ 5:12 am
Grisoft have just updated their popular free antivirus software AVG.
Update 422 is now available. It adds detection of new viruses and fixed detection of Win32/Dupator.
The download is a heafty 1933Kb and a restart of your computer is not required.
If you use the Outlook Express plug-in, you should see the following message at the bottom of your emails:
Version: 6.0.422 / Virus Database: 237 - Release Date: 20/11/2002
Many thanks to forum member Clive for sending Newsbytes this news.
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Tuesday 19 November, 2002
BT offer hope by @ 4:39 pm
Internet users who live too far away from their enabled exchanges have been offered a glimmer of hope from BT. BT are to start trials next spring of an always on mid-band internet service at 128kbps.
The service is expected to reach 97% of the country.
For users like myself who live in an area that has an enabled exchange but live too far away from it to be offered the service, this is very welcome news from BT. Mind you, I'm not going to jump up and down with exitement too soon, It is only a trial but it does offer a glimmer of hope to the 20% of users who are in the same boat as myself. I'm with you all the way;-).
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Monday 18 November, 2002
GeForce FX- The Nvidia Demos by @ 11:58 pm
Nvidia have added some screen shots of 4 new demos they have made for the new GeForce FX. The only words to describe these demos is awesome.
First up is a demo called Dawn. This demo shows a stunning pixie who is so real, you just want to fall in love with her. Using complex vertex shaders to produce skin so life like you would be forgiven for thinking this young lady is real. Nvidia explains that this is created with special skin shaders which take account of oils in the skin and how much blood that runs beneath the surface. This shot shows the pixie with her wings and a very sexy revealing top. A little closer now and we get to see features like skin tones and wrinkles around the nose in this shot.. Now for a real close up and the GeForceFX really shows how life like it's skin shaders and complex vertex shaders make her look as real a photograph. But this girl is no static model, she can move as smoothly as the best ballet dancer.
The next demo on the list is called Ogre. The ogre is taken from a real movie. Shown in real time, this demo shows how the GeForce FX can produce movie quality motion right out of your pc. The first Orge picture show a distant shot of our all singing, all dancing friend. The demo was inspired by a movie originally created by Spellcraft Studios and Nvidia says that the GeForce FX version is indistinguishable from that of the original off-line rendered composition. The second and third orge pictures just shows off how well our dancing friend is created at other angles. I personally like his leather jacket with "I eat little kids" written on the back.
On to demo number 3 now which is called Time Machine. Time Machine shows a 1950s pick-up truck. This demo shows how graphics can show age as the pick-up truck starts off as a rusty heap and as the time machine runs backwards, the pick-up ends up as a shiny new model. So in the first picture the pick-up starts as a rusting heap of metal and as you go backwards in time the rust starts to fade until you are left with a brand new gleaming motor.
In the fourth and final demo called Toys we enter a world of imagination as two young boys stage their own "War of the Worlds" with props from their toy box. The first of the pictures shows an array of toys lying on a bench. Nvidia tells us that pixel shaders are used to simulate camera effects like depth of field and full-scene blurring from an auto-focus lens. The cloth effects are awesome. On to pictures number two and we can see fine detail in the cloth and blurr effects on the tank. Closer still with picture number three and you can even see the individual threads in the weave of the cloth.
These pictures of the GeForce FX graphics card demos are awesome. With the many new features and effect this card can produce, I think we are going to start a whole new era of computer games. Games that combine real time cinema effects and real time action. Maybe Nvidia should have a new advertising slogan. Is it real or is it Nvidia (or was that used by someone else once). I ain't seen nothing like it.
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Geforce FX by @ 7:48 pm
Today, Nvidia have finally announced the launch of GeforceFX, the new official name for the NV30 chip. The Geforce FX will be the fastest ever GPU and will deliver real-time cinematic quality graphics and special effects packed with new features.
In three press releases today, Nvidia finally tells the world about their latest graphics chip now officially called GeForce FX. Nvidia says: The NVIDIA GeForce FX GPU is the industry’s first GPU to deliver real-time, cinematic quality graphics and special effects on the desktop PC. Featuring the NVIDIA CineFX™ engine and support for high-level programming languages such as Cg, the GeForce FX GPU delivers visual effects on par with the hottest motion pictures. Packing nearly twice the number of transistors as previous NVIDIA GPUs, the GeForce FX GPU also utilizes the industry’s most advanced 0.13 micron manufacturing process and incorporates support for the latest high-speed DDR2 memories, AGP 8X, and NVIDIA Intellisample™ technology, enabling developers to create compelling content of unrivaled beauty, running at unmatched speeds.
Card Manufacturers ASUS, BFG, eVGA, Gainward, MSI and PNY have already pledged their alegence to Nvidia and will manufacture the new GeForce FX.
GeForceFX has garnered the support of some of the best game development talent in the world. World-renowned game developers such as id Software, Epic Games and Legend, as well as publishing powerhouses including Electronic Arts, Microsoft Game Studios, Konami Corporation and Ubi Soft® Entertainment, to name a few, plan to leverage the power and performance of the GeForce FX.
We are about to see some stunning new games that use all the new cinematic features of the GeForce FX. We will be able to see game graphics to the standards seen in Toy Story generated in realtime.
The Geforce FX will have support for high-level programming languages such as Cg which will make programming the card much easier for developers.
The first cards are romoured to hit the streets sometime in February. The cost in the UK will be approx just over the £300 mark.
Some of the key features of the GeForce FX are:
Awesome 3D Graphics Power:
The world’s first 500MHz GPU is able to compute 375 million programmable vertices per second; 4 billion pixels per second; and 16 billion AA samples per second. And with the world’s first 1Ghz DDR2 memories, GeForce FX features the fastest frame buffer ever designed. Complete support for AGP8X and NVIDIA patent pending Intellisample™ technology ensures developers are able to create scenes of unrivaled beauty at unmatched speeds.
Engineering Excellence:
NVIDIA’s latest GPU delivers state-of-the-art technology and engineering expertise. The GeForce FX GPU packs nearly twice the number of transistors as the GeForce4 GPU by utilizing the industry’s most advanced 0.13 micron and copper manufacturing process. And combined with a radical and revolutionary patent pending dynamic thermal management solution, the GeForceFX GPU is an enthusiasts dream.
Cinematic Visual Effects:
Architected for high level programming languages such as Cg, the GeForce FX GPU with its new CineFX engine produces visual effects that take a quantum leap toward cinematic rendering. With the industry’s first 128-bit studio-quality color processing technology, the CineFX engine produces 3D worlds and characters more real than anything that’s come before.
Some other rumoured fact are that it is approx 40-50 times faster than a Radion 9700 and it would give a 3DMark score of somewhere in the region of 22,000 marks.
The funny thing is, I can still see folks wanting to overclock it and push every ounce of power out of it.
You can read the full press releases HERE
If you would like to see some of the movies and download some screen savers that Nvidia used on their Are You Ready website, you had better be quick while it's still up and running. Just CLICK HERE
No pretty pictures yet of the GeForce FX from Nvidia but I'm sure they will show us this little gem very soon.
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Free firmware upgrade soon by bluetracker @ 1:52 pm
Hot off the News wire
We have just been informed of an impending Free firmware upgrade for Sony Dual RW drive models DRU-500A and DRX-500UL. Sony tells us that this new firmware will allow your Dual RW drive to record at 4X on 4X compatible DVD+R media as well as improve the DVD-ROM reading performance with DVD recordable/rewritable media.
It is expected to be released on or before December 9th, 2002.
Check HERE regularly so you don't miss out!
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Are You Ready? by @ 7:02 am
Nvidia have posted what looks like the last of the movies on the Are You Ready website.
If you go to the Are You Ready website you can see the latest movie which is an interview with Tom Sweaney. This looks like the last of the movies.
Two other movies 'The Engine Room' and 'The Break-in' were posted earlier in the month. Nvidia have also posted their last streaming media too. From the main page you can see all 4 media titles 'The Movie Trailer', 'The Nvidia Club', 'The Nvidia Project' and 'Scary Graphics'. Apart from two other downloads on the My Computer icon it looks like Nvidias fun is about to come to the end which can only mean one thing. We are close, very close to the announcement about NV30. Enjoy it while it lasts.
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Friday 15 November, 2002
Update for "The Cleaner" by bluetracker @ 2:08 pm
The Cleaner...Database v3338 @ 456k
Released on 14th November this update adds detection of 7 more Trojans;
Anti-Lamer, CX2 DDOS Trojan, Gaghiel, NOSKeys,Tourniquet, Superbot and Tiny
Variants of DSNX and MoSucker are also detected in this release.
The Cleaner is a Trojan horse detection and elimination utility designed to run in tandem with your preferred anti-virus solution adding increased protection in cases where the AV program fails to spot a Trojan on your system. Although many commercially available Anti-virus packages are able to detect these malicious programs they all too often miss files dropped by the trojan that leave your computer open to attack. The Cleaner is able to spot these 'dropped files' and safely remove them from your system.
Update your copy now by using the built-in Moolive updater or surf on in to the Moosoft website.
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Thursday 14 November, 2002
Detonator Destroyed by @ 11:14 pm
As many of you may know from reading my posts on the forums, I have had problems with compatibility with Nvidias new 40.72 drivers. I have systematically gone through over 300 demoscene pc demos and listed the ones that don't work with these new drivers but used to work fine with the 30.xx series drivers.
It took over a week to go through all these demos and decided to add the list to a webpage. As I'm not much of a gamer and have very few games, I added a contact email address and ask folks to tell me about games they have had problems with regarding these new drivers.
After a little mention on NvNews, I have been inundated with email from frustrated gamers who can't get their favourite games to work with these drivers.
The little mention on NvNews
You can visit the Detonator Destroyed website HERE
OK, it's not major news of the day but it's not everyday that your own website gets a mention on such a respected website is it.
Many thanks to everyone that's taken time out to send me details of their problems. Keep 'um comming!
thecaretaker
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A few words from John Carmack and a scary movie by @ 5:28 am
Nvidia has added a few words from Doom creator John Carmack and a scary movie to their teaser website.
John Carmack from id software says "NVIDIA is the first of the consumer graphics chip companies to firmly understand what is going to be happening with the convergence of consumer real-time and professional offline rendering. The architectural decision in NVIDIA's next-generation GPU to allow full floating point precision all the way to the frame buffer and texture fetch, instead of just in internal paths, is a good example of far-sighted planning."
To read the full story click on the 'Q' on the Are You Ready website.
As for the movie, you get to see a typical US housewife who gets scared by a number of telephone calls. After she puts the phone down the door bell rings and Mr Scary Nvidia man is there to greet her with his little box containing the new NV30 chip. The movie is available for both broadband and dial up and in Real Player and Windows Media Player formats.
This looks like the last of 4 movies to be offered by Nvidia from this button.
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Wednesday 13 November, 2002
AVG Update by @ 9:23 pm
AVG Update
Grisoft have updated their free antivirus software AVG. Update number 419 is now available for download and adds cover for I-Worm/Ainjo, I-Worm/Buzzard, I-Worm/Fregit, I-Worm/Scezda, Win32/Unzi, VBS/Gichty, FriendGreeting and new variants of I-Worm/Enviar, I-Worm/Pepex and W95/Radix.
The download is just under 1mb and a restart of the system is not required.
Many thanks to forum members triplea & clive for telling newsbytes.
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Opera Debuts V7 beta by bluetracker @ 11:11 am
Opera Software in releasing the new Opera 7 for Windows Beta 1, have completely revamped it from the rendering engine up. Opera 7 for Windows is reportedly smaller and faster than before, with a host of new features to improve end-users' Internet experience. Among the many new features, a new e-mail and news client and an alpha blended user interface are included.
Users are now able to test Opera's breakthrough Small-Screen Rendering (SSR) technology, that enables any Web page to be optimised for a small-screen device such as a PDA or even a mobile phone while keeping all functionality of the Web page intact.
Whilst this is only a beta version and may contain a few 'bugs' initially (let's face it, what Beta version doesn't have a few glitches?), it is becoming a firm favourite with "the masses" and is reportedly beginning to command more and more respect from users as a viable alternative to the Microsoft's Internet Explorer. As with other pretenders to the Microsoft throne This browser tends to be a lot less 'clunky' and dare we say, more secure and reliable than the MS offering.
In the related press release of the launch, Jon S. von Tetzchner, CEO, Opera Software ASA is quoted as saying "At Opera we try to cram a lot of useful features into a small package," says . "We are happy to be able to say that Opera 7 does just that. We have greatly improved our rendering engine, user interface and e-mail client, and increased the rendering speed." Initial reports on the browser would seem to support that statement. There are though, already those who seem disappointed in the visual impact of this release likening it to an earlier version that was unappealing to the eye. But hey, why worry about the wrapping when the parcels contents are the important issue? Anyway you can change the colouring of installed skins by selecting a colour scheme from the view menu, a fact that should pacify many visually motivated users.
This release also boasts improved standards support with added support for DOM and CSS2, and pages using DHTML (which is becoming a popular format in many web sites nowadays) are rendered without problems, ".....giving Opera's millions of old and new users a hassle-free Internet experience". as the publicity blurb tells us.
Mary Lambert, product line manager desktop, Opera Software ASA said at the launch..."I am very proud of all our developers who have managed to add a host of new features and improved the standards support, while actually reducing the size of the program," says . "We have thoroughly reworked the code from the rendering engine and up, trimming Opera down, while making it noticeably faster."
New features in Opera 7 for Windows Beta 1 (according to the official Press release) include:
New rendering engine
Opera's new modular rendering engine supports DOM (Document Object Model) level 2, dynamic HTML, extended CSS2, 100% ECMAScript, as well as improved HTML 4.01 support, and complete WML 1.3 and 2.0 support. It is faster, smaller and can easily handle non-standard pages using DHTML.
M2 -- new e-mail client
Opera's new e-mail client is so powerful that it's almost like having an e-mail management system, while remaining in an authenticated Opera environment. M2 automatically categorizes and sorts e-mail messages by contact and has an integrated spam filter. Innovative features such as QuickReply and QuickFind lets the user answer or find e-mails at unrivalled speed. Opera's e-mail client supports POP3, IMAP, and ESMTP, as well as threaded display of mailing lists.
Opera's M2 news client includes support for news servers with password authentication.
Small-Screen Rendering
Web developers can test and see how their pages would look on a small-screen device by simply pressing Shift+F11 to enable small-screen mode. This is the first time Opera's breakthrough Small-Screen Rendering technology is publicly available, and users can clearly see how the functionality of the page remains intact while the page is optimized in size. Users of mobile phones and PDAs only need to scroll vertically, and not horizontally.
New navigation bar
On sites that support navigation through link tags, users have more control over how they interact with Web pages. The site navigation will be displayed in the navigation bar, and the navigation menu will feel the same to the user regardless of site.
Sleek new look
Enjoy a new user interface with 3D buttons and enhanced alphablended effects.
Hotlist
Bookmarks and history, windows sessions and e-mail can be now be managed via the Hotlist and shown respectively as a bookmarks, history, e-mail, or windows panel. Manage your downloads and transfers via the floatable download and transfer manager with extensive drag-and-drop support.
Skinning
Skin your browser to reflect your creativity. You can even change the colouring of installed skins by selecting a color scheme from the view menu.
Window management
Instead of having to choose between multiple and single document interface (MDI/SDI) as in Opera 6, users can now combine MDI, SDI and tabbed browsing -- without restarting the browser. Users can also save different window combinations as window sessions, or go back and forth between different window sessions.
Multiple or single user accounts
Set up different Opera user profiles in one Opera browser to ensure that all your family members have the Opera set-up and look that suits them best.
Extended and improved drag-and-drop support
Rearrange or move toolbar items using drag-and-drop customization or move bookmarks, tabs, and window sessions (MDI/SDI) URL as shortcuts on the desktop. Open or save any page link.
Standards-Compliance
Opera continues its commitment to the standards as laid out by the W3C. Opera 7.0 for Windows supports the following technologies: 128-bit encryption, TLS 1.0, SSL 2 and 3, CSS1 and CSS2, XML, HTML 4.01, HTTP 1.1, ECMAScript, JavaScript 1.3, WAP/WML and full support for DOM level 2.
Availability
For those that are tempted by the sound of the above; the browser is available free of charge from Opera.com for those who can put up with the minor inconvenience of the addition of a sponsored advertising banner in the top-right corner of the user interface. Users who would like to remove the addy can register their version by shelling out $29 (Roughly £20) and remove the offending banner. $29 is, we are informed $10 less than the normal registration fee and is only available at this price during the Beta testing period.
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Monday 11 November, 2002
Password change by @ 11:33 pm
Nvidia has changed the password required to download the Are You Ready screensaver but at the time of writing this Newsbyte, there doesn't seem to be any new content.
You are asked to give the name of the new architecture which allows the NV30 chip to display movie quality graphics! OK, you will find the name in the story I posted on Sunday entitled Extraordinary Engineering. Oh go on, I wouldn't want to spoil Nvidia's bit of fun now. OK, here a clue from me, it's an abbreviation of the words Cinema and Effects. That's all your getting!
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Sunday 10 November, 2002
TVTool Update by @ 9:49 pm
A small update has been made to TVTool. A help file is now available for version 6.8 and a bug fix which made CX25871 TV chips to strobe.
Registered users will get an email with the update link and the demo version on their website has also been updated. Turkish and the Ukraine language files have been added, too.
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Extraordinary Engineering by @ 9:38 pm
Nvidia have added a story on their Are You Ready website called Extraordinary Engineering. It gives a good insight into what we can expect from Nvidias new NV30 chip.
Nvidia says: NVIDIA®'s next-generation graphics processing unit (GPU) will revolutionize the way games are played and how they're designed. In addition to being the fastest and highest performing GPU on the market, the unique technologies behind NVIDIA's next-generation GPU, including its revolutionary CineFX™ architecture, will make it a game developer's-and player's-dream.
This NV30 chip really does sound as though it will blow us all away. It will have the worlds fastest memory technology, 128 bit precision and will utilize TSMC's new 0.13 micron process and other technology enhancements. To read the full story, visit Nvidias Are You Ready website.
We can look forward to some stunning movie like effects. Nvidia says: Games can achieve the high color depth and advanced effects of digitally animated movies such as Toy Story 2 and Monsters Inc. and render them in real-time.
The story goes on to tell us that games makers are already making some head turning new games effects.
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Saturday 9 November, 2002
Nvidia's first Detonator 40 WHQL Certified drivers by @ 2:05 pm
For the first time Windows 2000 and Windows XP get there own drivers. Nvidia have released their first Detonator 40 WHQL Certified drivers. Version 40.72 WHQL is now available for download.
The driver release date is November 11, 2002. Both Windows 2000 and XP versions are available from the same page. They are 12.3mb in size for both OS.
Nvidia also provides the 40.72 driver for Windows 98/ME. The release date on these is November 8, 2002. They are 11.9mb in size.
Visit the Nvidia download page and pick the version you require.
Lots of firsts here, this is the first time that Nvidia have released full Detonator 40 WHQL Certified drivers (all previous versions were beta) and it is also the first time Nvidia have offered seperate drivers for Windows 2000 and Windows XP.
Nvidia have also added some more information about the new NV30 chip due for release any day now and some facts about Cg on their Are You Ready? website.
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ECCp-109 Encryption Key solved by @ 1:36 pm
Notre Dame Mathematician Solves ECCp-109 Encryption Key Problem Issued in 1997
In a press release today, Certicom Announces that after 2 years of trying, Chris Monico and his team of mathematicians from Notre Dame has successfully solved the Certicom ECCp-109 Challenge.
The challenge involved decrypting a message encrypted with an implementation of the 109 bit Elliptic Curve Cryptosystem key.
The challenge was solved utilizing a massive amount of computing power including 10,000 computers (mostly PCs) running 24 hours a day for 549 days.
“Without a doubt, this is one of the world’s largest single math computations ever completed,” said Chris Monico, a post doctorate researcher in mathematics at Notre Dame. “Cracking this code was a massive undertaking in terms of time, resources and CPU cycles. It has been the most difficult elliptic curve discrete algorithm problem ever computed.”
Issued by Certicom in 1997, the ECC Challenge has attracted some of the world’s leading cryptographers, mathematicians and computer scientists comprising of some 247 teams with 10,308 individual members. This first of its kind challenge was designed to encourage further research into security standards while placing ECC under third party scrutiny where individuals and organizations can freely test the technology. The knowledge and experience gained from this challenge will help confirm comparisons of the security levels of public key systems such as ECC, RSA and DSA that have been based primarily on theoretical considerations.
“We issued the ECC 109 challenge to demonstrate a real world example of how difficult it would be to solve a single instance of an ECC key even at a low strength,” said Dr. Scott Vanstone, Founder and Executive VP Strategic Technology for Certicom. “The ECC 109-bit problem was solved in the manner and timeframe we predicted. This challenge also validates the security strength of ECC because the key solved was well below the commercial standards our clients use today which is ECC 163 or higher. If someone were to try and solve ECC 163, it would be approximately one hundred million times harder to solve than ECC 109.”
Chris Monico will receive a $10,000 US prize for solving the ECC 109 Challenge. He will donate $8,000 to the Free Software Foundation while giving Meunier Gerard and B.J. Smith $1,000 each for their contribution to the problem.
Certicom is offering $20,000 US in prize money for the solution to the next challenge. It is expected that the ECC 131 Challenge will require several thousand times more computing power than the ECCp-109 Challenge.
Anyone fancy their chances?
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Friday 8 November, 2002
New virus varient threat via E-card! by bluetracker @ 9:16 pm
Thanks to DAD for supplying the lead to this one
My contribution to this section is of late rather like waiting for a bus.....you wait forever then three come along at once! Anyway.......
According to information from Trend Micro a variant of WORM_FRIENDGRT.A is circulating in the guise of an E-Card
Here is the text of the message sent to all Trend Micro customers....
Dear Trend Micro Customer:
This variant of WORM_FRIENDGRT.A is a "Friend Greetings" application that sends out an invitation email to all addresses listed on the system's Microsoft Outlook contact list.
The details of the email that it sends are as follows:
Subject: you have an E-Card from
Message Body: Greetings!
has sent you an E-Card -- a virtual postcard from FriendGreetings.com. You can pickup your E-Card at the FriendGreetings.com by clicking on the link below.
(all removed for safety's sake!)
Message:
------------------------------------------------------------?
, I sent you a greeting card. Please pick it up.?
?
----------------------------------------------------- -------?
Once a recipient clicks the URL on this message, he or she is prompted for the installation of this worm program. And as soon as this installation concludes, this worm immediately mass-mails the described message.
Other variants of this worm send out the following links instead:
(deleted)-greetings.com/pickup/pickup.aspx?code =&id=
(deleted)-cards.net/pickup/pickup.html?code=< ;sender>&id=
WORM_FRIENDGRT.B is detected by pattern file 381.
For more information on WORM_FRIENDGRT.B please visit the Trend Micro Web site.
Also make sure your anti virus solution is switched on and completely up to date!
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Yet another AVG Update tonight by @ 8:26 pm
Grisoft's new policy must be "An update a day keeps the virus away". Yes, another update from AVG. Grisoft says that this updates adds detection of I-Worm/Roron, I-Worm/Wonna and I-Worm/Wlymak.
Use the update manager in the AVG control panel to update your version of AVG.
If you use the Outlook Express plug-in, you should see the following message at the bottom of your emails:
Version: 6.0.417 / Virus Database: 233 - Release Date: 08/11/2002
Many thanks to forum members clive and inspector for telling Newsbytes about this update.
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Corel Grafigo by bluetracker @ 8:23 pm
What is Grafigo?
Well this newly launched application (7th November actually) owes it's name to Corel's thought of Graphics on the Go and with the help of a little dyslexia they came up with GRAFIGO
The marketing blurb reads...
"Built for pen-based computing, Corel® Grafigo™ features a user interface that eliminates the need for a mouse or keyboard. Instead, it emulates the experience of drawing or sketching with a pen and notebook. The Onionskin feature and annotation tools allow you to mark up documents and images individually, or in a collaborative environment over the Internet, and save your files in SVG format. For the first time ever, you can use your tablet PC to turn rough sketches into precise graphics through the use of basic shape recognition, symbols and templates. Annotation tools let you visually provide feedback to your colleagues, no matter where you happen to be. So create and exchange ideas while you're on the move
All you need is
Windows® XP Tablet PC Edition
500 MHz or higher
128 MB of RAM or higher
7 MB of available hard disk space
Super VGA (800 × 600 or 768 x 1024 in portrait mode) or higher-resolution video adapter and monitor
A pointing device such as pen stylus and digitiser
Corel tell us (not in so many words you understand) that although the application can be run on a normal desktop the quality won't be upto much. But after visiting their site and seeing the demos it does look quite good if I say so myself, anyway it's not for me to judge given the spec of my abacus!
To quote from their rather lengthy launch statement what they actually said was..."Using version 1 of Corel Grafigo on a Windows XP desktop will compromise user experience as it has been ultimately designed for the pen and digital ink workflow."
Anyway at the moment they have it on their website as a FREE DOWNLOAD.
These days quality kit rarely bears that sort of price label. If you find it just isn't to your taste, you ain't out of pocket! So enjoy...or not, the choice is yours. If you do decide too 'give it a whirl' why not share your thoughts on the product with us all in the forums?
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Update for "The Cleaner" by bluetracker @ 1:39 pm
Database 3337 size 453k.
In this update Moosoft have added protection against 3 more trojans and updated definitions to two more
Added Beast, CigiCigi, ISpyNow.
Updated Aristotles and Nimda
As always the update is available from Moosoft.com or by using the Moolive Updater application from within the program itself.
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Nvidia desktop theme pack by @ 6:24 am
Nvidia have added a desktop theme pack to their collection of goodies on their Are You Ready website.
Nvidia desktop theme pack
You need to download the theme installer which is a 2.2mb download or if you already have 'WinStyles Desktop Manager' you can just download the theme elements at 574kb. A 64k instruction file is also provided.
You will find them on the download page on Nvidias 'Are you Ready' website.
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Thursday 7 November, 2002
Another AVG Update by @ 10:14 pm
Grisoft have updated their free antivirus software again to include detection of I-Worm/Bridex and updated the resident shield.
A large file size of 1448.3kb is downloaded and a restart IS required.
If you use the Outlook Express plug-in, you should see the following at the bottom of your emails:
Version: 6.0.416 / Virus Database: 232 - Release Date: 06/11/2002
Many thanks to forum members clive and Triplea for telling Newsbytes about this update.
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NV30 details by @ 9:36 pm
It's not often that Newsbytes points to another sites story but after reading some of the tantalizing information about the NV30 over at Winoscentral I couldn't help but share it with you. I'm sure they won't mind if I give you a little tid bit from their story bought back from a Nvidia conference in Korea.
NV30
• The NV30 will be fully twice as fast as the recently discontinued GeForce 4 4600
• It will have 125 million transistors
• The NV30 will have more floating-point power than a top-of-the-line Cray SV-1 supercomputer, and will have 30 times the power of an Infinite Reality engine. This will allow the GPU to attain full floating-point precision throughout the graphics pipeline
• The NV30 will be capable (in theory) of 51 GFLOPs (billion floating-point operations per second) in the pixel shader alone
• The NV30 die is three times the size of a Pentium 4. This probably explains why they chose not to produce it on a 150 nm process
• It should produce a score of approximately 22000 3D Marks, an impressive number by any measure.
What can I say apart from thanks to Winoscentral and gimmi gimmi gimmi I won't one now!
Go visit Winoscentral for the full story.
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Oasis approve SAML mark up language by @ 9:07 pm
The Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS) has approved the Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) 1.0 as an official standard.
In a very long press release from Oasis, they tell us that SAML is an XML-based framework for Web services that allows the exchange of authentication and authorization information among business partners. SAML enables Web-based security interoperability functions, such as single sign-on, across sites hosted by multiple companies.
SAML's many functions include digital signatures and encryption based on Extensible Markup Language (XML), which makes it an ideal protocol for exchanging authenticated information authorized by security domains.
The SAML standard has been developed by Baltimore Technologies, BEA Systems, Computer Associates, Entrust, Hewlett-Packard, Hitachi, IBM, Netegrity, Oblix, OpenNetwork, Quadrasis, RSA Security, Sun Microsystems, Verisign, and other members on the OASIS Technical Committee of Security Services.
To read the full press release CLICK HERE
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The Nvidia club by @ 6:14 am
Nvidia have released another movie called 'The Nvidia Club'. If you like American humour then you'll love it. It's about a Nvidia staff being briefed about company privicy. A number of bleeps are used to cut out key words. Personally, I didn't find it very funny, not very informative and does nothing to show off the product. It uses cheap stereotypical US sit-com style humour that our overseas partners seem to love so much.
I hope their new graphics chips are better than their movie making! You can watch the movie via the Are You Ready website. You will need Real Player or Windows Media Player to watch it and both broadband and dial-up users are catered for.
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Wednesday 6 November, 2002
AVG Update by @ 8:44 pm
Grisoft have just updated their free antivirus software AVG. Update 413 is an incremental update to version 406 of the main software and adds version 232 of the virus database which gives cover for I-Worm/Bridex.
If you use the Outlook Express plug-in you should see the following message at the bottom of your emails:
Version: 6.0.413 / Virus Database: 232 - Release Date: 06/11/2002
The files size is 927.1kb in size and a restart of Windows is not required.
This update should fix the cosmetic bug in AVG which causes some users to have the AVG toolbar icon greyed out. This cosmetic bug is due to the control panel (which loads the icon) from loading faster at start-up on your system than the main AVG engine. Newsbytes reported about this bug a few weeks ago.
Many thanks to CLIVE who emailed Newsbytes about this update, Jimv7 for posting details on the forums and triplea who IM'ed me about the update.
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Nvidia Mac Screensavers by @ 6:14 am
Nvidia asks: Are You Ready?
Nvidia have added 2 Mac versions of their screen saver on the Are You Ready site.
Just a quick recap. So far, Nvidia have a game (Game1), 3 movies you can watch, a set of icons you can download, a 3D screensaver using the Anark plug-in, some scant facts about the new chip and a charcoal picture screensaver for Windows and now Mac. The password for log-in has now changed, it's nolonger TWIN TEXEL, it's now CG.
Tempting teasers to come are two more screensavers, 2 more movie clips and possibly another game. All this for free!
It's a bit of fun in readyness for the launch of the new long awaited NV30 graphics chip which will blow off our boots! You can visit and download these goodies for free from HERE
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Tuesday 5 November, 2002
W32.Brid.A@mm by @ 5:53 pm
W32.Brid.A@mm
Symantec and other antivirus providers are warning of a new virus threat. The W32.Brid.A virus includes a modified variant of the FunLove virus.
It is a mass mailing worm which attempts to insert several files on your system. The worm comes with it's own SMTP engine and attempts to obtain the address of the email server and contact it directly.
Symantec says The worm uses a known exploit in Internet Explorer.
This virus is also known as:
PE_BRID.A by Trend
W32/Braid@mm by McAfee
W32/Braid-A by Sophos
Win32.Braid.A by CA
This virus may use your address book to spread itself, it tries to overwrite the MSconfig.exe file in Windows, it may degrade performance (the computer will become slow, and may stop responding) and your computer may crash and/or become completly unresponsive to any commands.
Visit the Symantec website for further details.
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A few facts from Nvidia by @ 6:57 am
Nvidia have for the first time offered up some facts about the new NV30 gpu. The NV30 will have 125,000,000 transistors says Nvidia.
- 3 times the size of a Pentium 4 microprocessor!
- 35 times the size of NVIDIA's RIVA 128 GPU, released just five years ago!
- 3.9 years, if you took one second to count every transistor.
- 4.5 times the population of Tokyo, Japan!
- If converted to US Dollar bills and placed end-to-end, would stretch from New York to Hong Kong.
- More than the number of people in the entire world who speak French or German.
Well, that's it. You can read these fact on the Are you Ready website. A new globe with the letter 'F' has been added to the main page. Click on it to read the facts. Also, those people who clicked on the little 'n' on the bottom right of the page, the question as changed. Typing in 'TWIN TEXEL' will nolonger let you gain access. You are now asked "What is the new tool that Nvidia and Microsoft have developed together?" The answer you'll need to that question can be found on THIS PAGE. I'm not going to make it that easy for you:-)
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Sunday 3 November, 2002
The Engine Room by @ 6:07 pm
Nvidia have added a new Movie called 'The Nvidia Engine Room' to their 'are you ready' website.
The Movie plays in Windows Media Player and is 20.2MB in size. You will need a broadband connection to watch it. Go to the Nvidia 'Areyouready' website (address on previous story) log in (Everyone must know the password by now. If you don't, it's been answered on our forums) and go to the network icon. Your them presented with the download link.
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Saturday 2 November, 2002
Nvidia Icons by @ 11:06 pm
Nvidia have released a set of desktop icons to download on their 'Are you Ready' website. Just go to the globe with the download arrow on it on the Nvidia Are You Ready website.
I know, short but sweet but what else can I say! Enjoy!
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Friday 1 November, 2002
New Audigy Win2000/XP DriverPack by @ 10:51 pm
Creative have released a new Sound Blaster Audigy driver pack for Windows 2000/XP. This driver has 3 new features and 8 bug fixes.
Creative tells us that they have added Dolby Digital decoding from external SPDIF Input, Speaker settings in Creative Audio Mixer are now synchronized with Windows Multimedia setting and New presets and effects.
These new driver support all all existing SB Audigy Audio card to SB023x. These drivers are optimised for Windows 2000/XP.
Some of the fixes include:
- Reduces excess reverb in MIDI while using software synthesizer
- Removes glitches when playing MIDI using SoundFonts®
- Removes distortion during AC-3 playback
- Performs recording without playback
- Improves multi channel wave file playback
- Hardware acceleration of Open AL
- Fixed audio distortion and slow start up when resume from standby
- and Fixed elevation bug causing muffled sound in some games
Visit THIS PAGE for further information and to download this new Sound Blaster Audigy driver.
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Windows Movie Maker 2 Beta by @ 10:30 pm
Microsoft have released a beta version of Movie Maker version 2.
Microsoft says: Windows Movie Maker 2 Beta makes home movies amazingly fun. With Movie Maker 2, you can create, edit, and share your home movies right on your PC. Build your movie with a few simple drag-and-drops. Delete bad shots and include only the best scenes. Add special effects , music and narration. Then share your movie via the Web, e-mail, on your PC, CD or even DVD. You can also save your movie back to the DV tape in your camera to play back on a TV or on the camera itself.
Windows Movie Maker Beta version 2 is for WindowsXP Home or Professional.
Warning: You cannot uninstall Movie Maker once you have installed it. Microsoft recommends that you create a restore point before you install it.
You can download Windows Movie Maker 2 Beta HERE
To learn more about Windows Movie Maker 2 Beta visit THIS Microsoft webpage.
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Windows Media Player Series 9 Release Candidate by @ 10:07 pm
Microsoft have released what they hope will be the final official release of Windows Media Player Series 9. Packed with new features and fixes, WMP Series 9 is for Windows 98/ME/2000 and XP.
Newsbytes has followed the development of Windows Media Player and after a few problems with the early beta versions (like not working if you run a firewall) the latest Series 9 player seems to work well. One of our favourite features is the tool bar player. You can tell WMP Series 9 to add a control panel in your tool bar when it is minimised.
Windows Media Player Series 9
New in this 'Release Candidate' according to Microsoft is:
Media Link Use Media Link to email shortcuts to highlights from streamed news, presentations, home movies and more. Accessible from View|Enhancements. (Windows XP version)
HighMAT CD Burning A new option for CD burning, HighMAT makes it easy to save personal digital music and video created on your PC to recordable discs that work seamlessly with next-generation consumer electronics devices. (Windows XP version).
Synchronized Lyrics support View or add your own synchronized lyrics to music files. Displayed as captions, synchronized lyrics are displayed in Now Playing and Full Screen modes.
Auto Playlist Enhancements Expanded support for more types of criteria when creating or editing Auto Playlists (Windows XP version)
Performance improvements Continued optimizations improve startup time and media library performance dramatically over previous versions.
Usability Improvements Based on real feedback in newsgroups, many improvements have been made to areas including Mini-Player mode, Info Center View, Album Lookup, Queue-it-Up, and more.
Visit THIS PAGE to download your version. The 98/ME/2000 verion is 13,517 kb in size and can take up to an hour to download on a dial-up modem. The WindowsXP verion is smaller at 9882 kb and should take about 40mins to download with a dial-up modem.
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DirectPlay 8.2 official release by @ 9:40 pm
Microsoft have officially released DirectPlay 8.2 for Windows 98/ME/2000 and XP. The latest version has some fixes for online gamers.
This download contains DirectX 8.1b plus some DirectPlay fixes related to performance and connectivity issues exhibited with some online multiplayer game titles says Microsoft. You are advised that unless you are having problems with your online play as outlined on THIS PAGE you should not download this version.
You will need approx 60mb of free disk space to install this update. You can download DirectPlay 8.2 from HERE
Microsoft says:
Note: After installation, the DirectX 8.2 runtime cannot be removed (uninstalled). The installation process changes core components and makes numerous registry changes within your operating system. Microsoft does not support un-installation.
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SpywareBlaster by @ 11:24 am
A new tool to combat spyware has been released by Javacool. SpywareBlaster stops spyware from being downloaded on your Windows based PC. The makers tell us that SpywareBlaster doesn't scan and clean for spyware - it prevents it from ever being installed.
The program has an updatable database of all know spyware active-X controls. Unlike other spyware removal programs, SpywareBlaster stops spyware from being installed and if you have any on your PC, will prevent it from running.
The program is compatible with Windows 95, 98, ME, NT 4, 2000, XP and is a tiny 434kb in size.
Many thanks to Tony for telling Newsbytes about this new revolutionary method of stopping Spyware in it's tracks.
To check out this little program yourself, visit the SpywareBlaster webpage. They also have a forum where you can get any help regarding this program if you find your having difficulties with it. As this program takes such a new approach to removing Spyware, Newsbytes would recommend doing a back-up of your system or create a restore point before giving it a try just in case.
Disclaimer: Newsbytes is not connected in any way with the makers of SpywareBlaster. We neither persuade or dissuade you from using it. We just inform you of it's existance. If you decide to try it, you do so at your own risk.
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Cumulative Update for Outlook Express 6.0 SP-1 by @ 6:01 am
Microsoft have released a cumulative update for Outlook Express 6 with Service Pack 1.
Microsoft says:The Cumulative Update for Outlook Express 6.0 SP-1 contains fixes and enhancements to Microsoft Outlook Express 6.0 Service Pack 1 (SP-1). The Cumulative Update for Outlook Express 6.0 SP-1 also gets rid of all previously addressed security vulnerabilities that affect Outlook Express 6.0.
Many of the fixes and enhancements in the Cumulative Update for Outlook Express 6.0 SP-1 were a result of direct feedback from our Most Valuable Partners (MVPs).
This update fixes the following problems:
Problem Switching Between Dual Identities After You Install Outlook Express SP-1
There Is Not an 'Attachment' Button in the Preview Pane When You Use Outlook Express 6.0 for Microsoft Windows XP with Multilanguage User Interface
You Cannot Reply with Encrypted Messages If Lotus Notes Has Dual Certificates
You Cannot Delete Individual Newsgroup Messages from the local .dbx (Filestorage)
You Receive an Error Message for an Invalid Digital ID When You Send Messages That Are Signed with Esign Certificates
Outlook Express Does Not Save the Default Attachment Path
Long Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) That Wrap in the Body of a Message May Break
Outlook Express May Stop Responding When You Insert a Signature in a Message
The update doesn't seem to have been added to Windows Update site just yet, but it often takes a few days. You can read all the details and download it manually from this page
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The Nvidia Project by @ 5:32 am
The Nvidia Project is the second of 4 short movies to be released by Nvidia to tickle our taste buds prior to the launch of the NV30 chip.
The movie shows a young girl deep in the heart of Nvidia trying to discover the whereabouts of the new chip from Nvidia. No passwords needed to view the movie, just go to the main areyouready page and click on the movie globe (bottom right).
You will need Real Player or Windows Media Player and you can watch the movie with modem or broadband. A downloadable version is available at 7.8mb for those with modems who would like to watch a high quality version. Just click on the arrow, right click and pick 'save target as'.
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