Latest Technology News

Kaspersky Lab's is now reporting that the Linux-based virus 'Ramen' is now "in the wild." The firm sent word around the net today that several Web sites have now been defaced by the malicious code, enough to up its status to "in the wild". Places affected by the bug include NASA, Texas A&M, and Supermicro. As of right now, the worm only seems to be affecting Redhat 6.2 and 7.0 versions of Linux.

Using three known breachable security exploits in the operating system, Ramen can penetrate the system and take over root access to execute its payload.

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Microsoft has released another update to DirectX, version 8.0a, and made it available to download for gamers everwhere. According to reports over at ActiveWin, the new release fixes several issues with international installations of DirectX. Along with that, it fixes several problems where devices which could have input buttons disabled that were enabled with previous DirectX releases. You can grab the latest release here.

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In some humorous political news, it seems that the democrats have had the last laugh during the transition of power at the Whitehouse. Reuters is reporting that on more than a dozen keyboards throughout the executive offices in the Whitehouse the "W" key has been removed, marked out, or broken. Some were even taped to the tops of doors around the place. Bush aides are working to correct the broken or missing keys.

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3Com Beta Test Services sent word over that a pair of new products are currently starting beta testing. The 3Com Transcend Network Supervisor beta improves an already existing product with a new user interface and added features. With this software you can monitor your small to medium-sized network and detect stress levels.

The second test, 3Com's Network Performance Manager and LAN Agent (formerly known as Dynamic Access) is also a network monitoring tool that gives users easy access to business critical information.

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Digital Airways has taken the wraps off the first Java-based WAP
(wireless application protocol) microbrowser for Palm
PDAs and Palm operating system-based compatibles.

Known as Wapaka, the full microbrowser builds on earlier technology
of the same name that is downloadable to users' PDAs as a Java
applet.

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Rumors are flying all over the place in regards to the latest buzz that Sega is halting production of its Dreamcast gaming console. The struggling gaming company has been losing market share and money on the console, and according to the Reuters report, its shares jumped 15% in lieu of the possible production stoppage. Sega will instead focus on software development in general, and possibly for other consoles including the PlayStation2 and Gameboy Advance.

Dreamcast marketshare is expected to decline even further when Microsoft unveils the X-Box, and PlayStation2 prices drop. Lets not forget Nintendo's GameCube either, which could push the Dreamcast into bringing up the rear of the console market.

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Once again making room for its new line of processors, chipzilla Intel is said to be slashing prices on existing processors as much as 40%. The price on the P4 1.5GHz chip will fall almost $200 to $644, along with slashes up to 30% in the mobile processor category. The price drops come as Intel continues to wage war against AMD for the reign of the PC market. The PIII 1GHz processor will drop a dramatic 43% to $268 accordin to sources at ZDNet. For the rest of the pricing, read Spooner's article over at ZDNet.

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The X-Desk Software sent notice late last night that a potential major problem with uninstalling the software has cropped up in certain systems. Only affecting full uninstalls of the software in very complex circumstances, the bug could potentially erase other files on the same drive in which X-Desk is installed. Currently the company can offer no "precise" explanation for the error, but has developed a workaround.

The creators stress not to attempt to uninstall the program for the next 24-48 hours, but if you must, then there is something you can do. To avoid the glitch, simply DO NOT use any uninstall feature from Windows, such as the link in the start menu, or the control panel option. All you need to do is delete the contents of the folder and check later for said links.

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Digital music distribution will send the CD to the audio
graveyard, alongside such former stalwarts as the vinyl record and the
eight-track tape, within the next two years.

So says Rob Reid, CEO of Listen.com, who delivered a keynote address
at the Upside Events "Showcase" conference, at the La Quinta Resort just
outside Palm Springs, Calif. Showcase is designed to demonstrate the
latest technologies, products and services in the Internet, personal
computing
and communications industries.

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Microsoft Corp. will pay rival Sun
Microsystems Inc. $20 million as part of a settlement
to Sun's three-year-old lawsuit over Java technology, the companies
announced today.

The settlement grants Microsoft limited use of Java technology
for seven years, bars the software giant from displaying the Java
compatible trademark and cancels a 1996 licensing agreement.
Microsoft said in a statement that it has not used the trademark
since 1998.

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Gamespot reports today that Sony has already begun discussing possibilities and hopes for its next console venture, the PlayStation 3. According to the report, Sony Senior Vice President of R&D Shinichi Okomoto touted during a keynote recently that the company has already begun research on the console, shooting for a system 1,000 times more powerful than its predecessor, the PlayStation 2.

Ken Kutaragi, CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment, told reporters that he already has specific plans to develop new advanced graphics processors for the console.

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Paragon Software is reportedly set to begin providing owners of Handspring Visors with software to translate the Visor interface into one of twelve European languages currently supported. According to the ZDNet news brief, the new software will be based on the existing PiLoc 2.0 software, and will begin shipping on devices in the end of January. Currently the software will be able to translate from English into Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Estonian, Hungarian, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Slovenian, Turkish and Ukrainian.

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IBM is planning to announce an enhancement to
its Electronic Media Management System that will prevent unauthorized
music distribution over the Internet.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the enhancement will be
offered to record companies and others later this quarter, and will
stop unauthorized music distribution via the likes of Napster Inc.

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Kaspersky Lab, the Russian anti-virus specialist, has warned about a
new Internet worm that attacks Linux-based computers.

The worm, which executes under Red Hat Linux, is called Ramen, and
represents a surprise for what had been considered to be one of the
most protected platforms available today.

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After nearly two years without a stable upgrade, MySQL Version 3.23 has officially been declared stable by developers. New features in the latest release include full-text searching, and replication between a master and many slaves and several new table handlers that support large files and transactions by using the Berkeley DB library, available from Sleepy Cat software. Michael Widenius, chief MySQL developer reports that future upgrades will only contain bug fixes and the like as he focuses his attention on MySQL 4.0. Download MySQL 3.23 from MySQL.com.

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