Interview: Intrinsity's Dynamic Logic
UPDATED As the Gigahertz war escalates between chip magnates Intel and Advanced Micro Devices, each firm is faced with committing itself to drastic price cuts in retaliation to fierce competition. In combination with shrinking revenues, the latest manufacturing techniques continue to remain increasingly complex and costly -- leading each company down paths of financial uncertainty. Several weeks ago, a little known start up announced a microprocessor that could utilize a traditional, less expensive fabrication method while achieving record breaking performance.
With its prototype 2.26 Gigahertz chip, a veteran design team and resurrection of dynamic circuits, Intrinsity, Inc. has spawned substantial cause for rumors and speculation. Dynamic Circuits, once abandoned in favor of a simpler technology more suitable for mass production, are a key component of the Intrisity framework. The company spent years developing what it calls Fast14 – named after the elemental number of silicon –- which allows chip designers to create high end processors that integrate dynamic circuits. Combined with additional innovations developed in house, a standard CMOS process can be used to fashion performance chips at an economic price.
Windows XP Goes Gold Amidst Redmond Brouhaha
In what is to be the company's biggest software launch to date, Microsoft today released to manufacturing the final version of Windows XP. The announcement was made this morning in Redmond, while representatives from six computer manufacturers stood by to receive copies of the golden master complete with gold briefcases. Helicopters then lifted off with the PC makers in tow, set to begin building computers with the new operating system.
The final build, numbered 2600, was completed at 3 a.m. Saturday, August 18, after three minor bugs were discovered in 2542, the final interim release. 1,000 CDs were distributed to internal testers for a final run, and golden master disks were created Sunday. Final testing of the media and build itself completed Thursday, whereupon testers signed off on XP's release to manufacturing.
New Hack Poses Threat to Popular Web Services
UPDATED Cross Site Scripting (CSS), a relatively new method of attack, has once again proven itself to be a formidable opponent in the quest to secure the Web. The attack involves a method where by an unauthorized script is passed to a Web server for execution – even if the server is secured against running such scripts. Simply by visiting a Web site or by reading an HTML formatted e-mail, users can potentially become the unwitting victims of malicious hackers.
Leading providers of Internet services such as Microsoft have long advised customers to "Avoid promiscuous Web browsing." However, some of the most mainstream sites. including Microsoft's own Hotmail service, were at risk to a vulnerability discovered by experts at WhiteHat Security.
DirectX Development Progresses, 8.1 Nears
According to beta testers, the DirectX Team at Microsoft is prepared to release a new interim build of DirectX 8.1 for testing. This is a compulsory upgrade for testers as prior test versions are set to expire on September 5th. DirectX 8.1 features a comprehensive collection of bug fixes from the previous version as well as support for new high precision texture formats and nPatch quadratic interpolation order.
Developers can also take advantage of a DirectX AppWizard for Microsoft Visual C++ that is included in the release. Directx 8.1 is an integral part of Windows XP.
Intuit Set to Announce Quicken 2002
UPDATED Quicken 2002, formerly known by the code-name "Kayak" for the PC and "K2" for Macs, will be officially announced early Wednesday morning. The launch of Quicken 2002 comes on the heels of Microsoft's Money 2002, which was publicly revealed yesterday.
Intuit has added a host of new features in an effort to deflect the software gaint's push to gain ground as the two companies duke it out for market share.
Available in Deluxe, Suite, Home and Business varieties, Quicken seeks to maintain its position as market leader. New features include an easier setup, tax and investment impact insights, a portfolio analyzer, automatic bank reconciliations, and automatic categorizations for transactions. Intuit has improved the variety of investment types that it can track, has more accurate tax forecasts, tracks reoccurring payments such as mortgages, and allows users to update all online accounts in a single step.
Apple Patches QuickTime, Solves Browser Woes
Adapting to Microsoft's discontinued use of browser "plug-ins" -- a technology originally devised by Netscape -- in favor of ActiveX controls, Apple has released a fix that will allow playback of its QuickTime video within the latest versions of Internet Explorer.
Back in June, BetaNews reported that installing the IE 6.0 Public Preview effectively broke QuickTime's ability to function. It quickly became apparent that Redmond made alterations to its browser when customers installing Internet Explorer 5.5 Service Pack 2 experienced the same problem.
Hotmail Flaw Raises Questions Over XP Security
UPDATED As Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer touted Windows XP's rapid progression toward manufacturing, news reports began to surface indicating that a proof of concept "hack" had compromised the integrity of the company’s Hotmail e-mail services. Throughout its lifespan, Hotmail has been plagued by outages and occasionally some highly embarrassing security oversights. Now that integral components of Windows are tightly integrated with Microsoft's Passport authentication system and Web based services, even seemingly minor incidents are examined under the lens of a microscope.
Late Sunday night, Root Core, a group of computer security experts, published information exposing vulnerabilities in Microsoft's popular service. While it is not known how many e-mail accounts were accessed, the methods employed in order to successfully follow the exploit prohibit widespread abuse. The hack requires specific knowledge of a target's username as well as a Message ID –- comprised of a string of 10-11 unique digits.
Microsoft Gears Up Windows 2000 SP3 Beta
Screening has begun for testers who wish to participate in the developmental phase of the latest service pack for Windows 2000. As per the usual, key areas being focused on by the sustained development team are setup, application compatibility, operating system reliability, and numerous security issues. There are no plans to incorporate new features into Windows, as this is solely a maintenance release. The soon to be released update marks the third installment of a service pack since Windows 2000 went gold in December of 1999.
A temporary guest account has been established at Microsoft's Beta Place, allowing access to a short survey that will be used in the nomination process. The test includes all versions of Windows 2000. According to Microsoft, "SP3 is slated for release the first half of 2002."
MandrakeSoft Opens 'Raklet' Beta
MandrakeSoft has announced the availability of "Raklet," or version 8.1 Beta 1, the latest incarnation of its Linux operating system for testing. Raklet introduces a host of new features including revised networking and server tools, an updated installer and hard disk partitioner, support for three different journalized filesystems, the latest Linux Kernel 2.4.8, KDE 2.2, a reworked MIME type manager, revamped printer and configuration tools, and finally, support for the Euro.
Testers will be able to evaluate a completely re-written version of Draknet, the operating systems network configuration tool. Other enhancements include the latest versions of popular server components. Installation has also been streamlined by URPMI, a reworked package installer, and software manager.
Microsoft Stay Denied
While Microsoft's request for a Supreme Court hearing is pending review, the Federal Appeals Court that upheld eight antitrust violations has denied the company's request for a stay. The ruling cited Microsoft's failure to demonstrate that any substantial harm that would result from the reactivation proceedings in the district court. A new judge will be assigned at random to begin deliberation on a remedy for the company's anti-competitive practices. Microsoft continues to press for judicial review, and seeks to hammer out a settlement in lieu of a court mandated penalty.
Siding with the Department of Justice, the ruling stated, "It appears that Microsoft has misconstrued our opinion, particularly with respect to what would have been required to justify vacating the district court's findings of fact and conclusions of law." Subsequently, the court decided to move onto the next phase of litigation against the company, calling for proceedings to resume in seven days. Microsoft still holds firm that the appearance of bias mandates that the decision be vacated entirely.
SnapStream Brings TV to the Pocket PC
Call it a portable TiVo. SnapStream Media has made it possible to watch your favorite TV shows anywhere, at any time with the release of PVS and PocketPVS 1.5. In conjunction with Windows Media Player, PVS 1.5 will also allow users to tap into live Internet broadcasts, recording them with ease. Content can be easily copied and converted into the SnapStream's PVR/DVR format enabling it to be viewed over a plethora of devices ranging from handhelds to Internet appliances, to any networked device.
Additionally, the personal television software now sports a newly overhauled interface for PocketPVS.
Palm to Acquire Be IP, Tech Assets
In a stock deal valued at $11 million, Be, Inc. today announced plans to sell its intellectual property and technology assets to handheld computer maker Palm, Inc. Be, creator of the fledgling BeIA and BeOS multimedia operating systems, confirmed intentions to sell the company in April after news that it was almost out of cash. Palm will make use of Be's embedded technology to better compete in the multimedia space with rivals such as Microsoft.
"This move will help us expand the Palm OS platform into broader markets," Palm CEO Carl Yankowski said in a prepared statement.
Web Beacons: Cookie Monster or Market Savior?
Anonymity and privacy serve as the primary foundations of Internet usage, frantically guarded by individuals and privacy advocates alike. Companies have walked a tight rope in order to maximize their ability to collect market research while simultaneously respecting the rights of their customers. In an effort to hone in on user behavior and demographic information, tools such as "Web bugs" -- transparent gifs that monitor Web site usage -- have been developed. The use of these Web bugs has become so commonplace among leading Internet destinations and personal Web sites, that Cyveillance estimates roughly a 500 percent increase in their prevalence throughout the past three years.
A leading provider of the so-called Web bugs, Be Free Inc. refutes claims that its services violate any of the principles surrounding the right to privacy. The company prefers to identify their information gathering tools as being "Web beacons," and claims to be an industry leader in maintaining tight controls over all information that passes through its hands. Over 250 customers use the technology to track the performance of marketing promotions.
Opera Sets Sights on Netscape, Linux
Taking aim at Netscape's grasp of the Linux market, Opera Software has released an alpha of their Opera 5.05 browser with an important feature -- support for Netscape plug-ins including Java. The Linux Technology Preview serves as an update to Opera 5.0, adding the ability to run plug-ins designed for Netscape, such as Flash, Acrobat Reader and perhaps most importantly, Sun Java 2 Runtime Environment.
Not shy about the announcement, Opera touts a "faster, better and less bloated Internet experience [for users] while enjoying their favorite plug-ins for video, audio, document viewing, animation and much more"
Philips Readies 8cm eXpanium Beta
Further establishing its dominance as the MP3 hardware king, Philips has announced a new addition to the popular eXpanium lineup. The eXp401 is a smaller incarnation of the portable MP3-CD player, utilizing 8cm disks -- 40% smaller than standard CDs -- that hold 185MB of compressed audio. Philips is looking for 50 beta testers to try out the portable, which is expected to debut late this year.
The eXp401 supports AAC and MP3 audio, and sports a 100-second electronic skip protection. Philips claims 3-hour playback on one AA battery, matching the length of music that can be stored on the 8cm CD. All disk formats are supported, including CDR, CDRW and UDF. A large LCD additionally provides quick navigation through artists and albums.
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