Intel Ramping Pentium 4 Production
In lieu of shortages on chips last year, and predicted sales for 2001, Intel reported today it is preparing for a selling frenzy by flooring P4 production. Originally expected to sell around 15 million units this year, new reports done by Merrill Lynch suggest it could be as much as 20 million, and Intel is taking no chances. Sources also told ZDNet that the 1.7GHz P4 has been pushed back a quarter, to the third, and that Intel is slowing its approach to 2GHz. Check out John G. Spooner's article on ZDNet for more information about Intel and this year.
Microsoft Launches Visual Studio for Applications
Microsoft has announced the availability its first .Net product for the new millennium, Visual Studio for Applications. According to the press release, VSA allows businesses to "tailor Web applications with specialized business logic [and] harness the power of the .NET platform." VSA offers support for custom code written in VisualStudio.Net, Microsoft's next version of the popular VB writing software. VS.Net is the first of the .Net series of languages to support VSA, the others will follow suit upon their release. For more information on the release of Visual Studio for Applications, visit Microsoft.
RealNetworks Buys Secure Digital Media Company
Streaming audio and video company
RealNetworks Inc. on Monday purchased Aegisoft Corp., a company that develops software to secure digital media files from pirates.
Rockville, MD-based Aegisoft makes secure digital media software
- software that can secure music or video files distributed over the
Internet from unauthorized copying.
Computer Crime "Dragnet" in the Works
A new not-for-profit group is slated to begin working on preventing and detecting cybercrime in coming weeks. Some of the industry's biggest players, including Oracle, Cisco, Microsoft, and IBM will have their hands in it, as the group vows to "share information among each other and with the government and respond to computer threats." AP reports the group will be named the Information Sharing and Analysis Center for Information Technology, or IT-ISAC, and becomes the second publicly funded group of this nature, the first being CERT. For the rest of the information visit Yahoo News.
OpenHack III Begins
Another hacker challenge has begun, OpenHack III, this one headed up by Argus Systems Group, makers of the security software PitBull. The prize, a bit more grand than a book, is $50,000 to any hacker who can penetrate a PitBull-protected system, which the company says is virtually inpenetrable. The Associated Press reports the contest consists of four separate assignments, prizes going to the one who completes each first, and a grand prize for the first to complete all four. For more information visit Argus. AP adds, "Argus thought of giving a car away - but realized from past hacking contests that participants aren't always old enough to drive."
BMG Expands Digital Music Program
BMG has announced today that it is expanding its digital music download program to include more than 2,900 tracks including artists such as Dave Matthews Band. Though currently separate from its alliance with Napster, Reuters reports the two will soon be equal, saying the full library would be available contigent on the lawsuit being dropped. Currently most other labels are preparing their own version of a subscription-based streaming network to compete with Napster.
Honeynet Forensic Challenge
The guys over at LinuxSecurity.com sent word of a new contest they are sponsoring, the Honeynet Forensic Challenge. The goal of the challenge? According to the Web site, "to allow incident handlers around the world to all look at the same data -- an image reproduction of the same compromised system -- and to see who can dig the most out of that system and communicate what they've found in a concise manner." All entries are due by February 12th, and the winner will receive a free copy of the book "Hacking Exposed." For full details visit LinuxSecurity.com.
IE6 Integrated Only?
Mary Jo Foley has the scoop concerning the heated debate on the Redmond Campus about the future of Internet Explorer version 6. Not even in its first beta stage yet, Foley reports that MS executives are currently struggling over the idea of issuing IE6 as a stand alone product. Since MS also has the MSN Explorer, and the upcoming Netdocs version of the browser, sources told Mary Jo that the company may not issue IE6 as a downloadable package at all.
One source close to the discussions said "MSN Explorer is being positioned as the premiere platform for the consumer. Netdocs is being positioned as the business platform with a business browser. So there's no room left for IE, It's being squeezed."
Laptops for Note-taking Professionals
IBM reports today that its newest laptop, geared for professional note-takers, combines the mobility and power of a laptop with the ability to store handwritten notes. Dubbed the TransNote, the newest device features a 10-inch touch screen with a full keyboard to the left and a pad on the right for writing handwritten notes.
Retailing for somewhere around $3,000 in store shelves this February, the TransNote is aimed at lawyers and bankers who write a lot of things down. Using a special pen, owners will also be able to write on regular paper and have it transfer to the computer via said pen. For more information check out the Reuters report.
FCC Approves AOL/Time Warner Merger
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that last night the FCC conditionally approved the multi-billion dollar merger of AOL and Time-Warner. The conditions of the deal impose limits on AOL's instant messaging, as well as its dealings AT&T for cable services. FCC Chairman William Kennard told the journal "These conditions in their essence are designed to protect the open, competitive nature of the Internet." For the rest of the article visit Wall Street Journal.
What is Ginger?
UPDATE - Jeff Bezos, Steve Jobs...both were impressed by this new invention, dubbed Ginger. Harvard Business School Press paid $250,000 for a book being written by acclaimed author Steve Kemper. Its creator? 49-year old Dean Kamen, whose list of inventions include the first portable insulin pump and a stair climbing wheel chair. In his words, Ginger provides the answer for products that "are dirty, expensive, sometimes dangerous and often frustrating, especially for people in the cities." With everything so hush hush about his latest creation, consumers will have to wait until it is revealed sometime in 2002. One investor called Ginger "the most lucrative start-up in history and will make Kamen richer than Bill Gates." For some more information read the article by Associated Press. Thanks to Paul Thurrott for sending the link, a copy of his patent can be found here and yes, it is a type of scooter. Though I suppose this could be some other invention, as a new scooter seems hardly earth-shattering, as many of our readers have already stated.
MSN, Lego Build Together
The latest online marriage joins clicks with
toy building bricks, as Microsoft Corp. and
family-owned Lego Co. announced a union to create Lego games and
content for Microsoft's MSN network and the recently unveiled
Xbox video game console.
The partnership is aimed at MSN's aggressive approach to contend
directly with America Online Inc. as a content
provider and furthers Lego's entry to the high-tech toy trend.
Be Launches Home Audio Appliance Platform
Be, Inc. most known for recently releasing its operating system, the BeOS, has been hard at work creating embedded software for use on all kinds of home Internet appliances and the like. Its most recent creation was unveiled at CES this week, in the form the Home Audio Reference Platform, or HARP. HARP is designed for Internet-enabled home stereo equipment, according to the press release, and uses BeIA to play CDs, tapes, and LPs.
BeIA was developed at Be, Inc. specifically as an Internet appliance solution, and is now being customized to fit a vast range of said devices.
La-Z-Boy, Microsoft Unveil E-cliner
Opera Hits 2 Million Downloads
In some good news for Opera, Inc. the company recently reached a milestone when its browser had been downloaded for the 2 millionth time. As you may remember the browser was recently released as a free product, much to the pleasure of netizens everywhere. It used to cost $39 per copy, and now will be seen distributed in magazines and other such media in the future. For more information about Opera visit Opera.com.
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