Offspring Can't Take the Heat
Long time Napster-supporting band Offspring has announced that due to pressure from the man...err the record label, they will no longer be offering their album for download on Napster. They will instead offer a single track, hopefully not peppered with promotion dialogue like the recent Bare Naked Ladies incident as we will refer to it so kindly. Sony Music and Columbia Records threatened with lawsuits against the band, which forced the change in plans. "Conspiracy of One" hits store shelves on the 14th of November, and probably Napster long before then...even without the band or the label's assistance.
AOL/ICQ Interoperability?
According to a Newsbytes report printed today many ICQ users can now logon to AOL Instant Messenger and communicate with buddies on their ICQ list. Stemming from a Wall Street Journal Report, the article does not say how the feature works, in what build it works, or any further detail about the interoperability. No official word has come from America Online in regards to this added feature, so we're left wondering if it is really true. Has anyone checked into this or seen it work before? Please advise...
WindowBlinds 2.0 Finished!
The guys over at Stardock sent word that WindowBlinds 2.0 is finally ready for the public to consume and enjoy! There are far too many new features to list here, and a full listing of them can be found by jumping over to Stardock. New additions include changing skin colors on the fly and a speed increase as much as 150% depending on the system. You can grab your copy of WindowBlinds 2.0 from FileForum, and read the BetaNews preview of WindowBlinds 2.0 for a very detailed look into this new release.
Linux Security as Seen Through a Windows Security Expert
The guys over at LinuxSecurity.com sent over word of a recent interview they conducted with Avi Fogel, CEO of Network-1. The interview "offers his perspective on the state of Internet security, his experience with Windows and security, and the advantages and disadvantages to Open Source security." It should be an interesting read for both Linux and Windows lovers, and you can check it out by going on over to LinuxSecurity.com.
Phones, Phones, Everywhere
Both Palm and Handspring have now announced attachments for their respective handheld devices that will allow users to make cellular phone calls with said devices. Handsprings, dubbed the VisorPhone, is a cartridge that attaches to the Springboard expansion slot, and features a battery, speaker, atenna, and power button. You even get caller ID and Web access with the new attachment, that will eat another $299 out of your pocket when it comes out at the end of this year. The phone is completely integrated with the handheld, allowing users to simply tap someones name to have the phone dial. The Palm device retails for the same, and features Web access as well. The Palm won't be ready until early next year, and only in Europe unfortunately. Stay tuned as they tweak it for the states though!
New Technologies Are Everywhere
The power of a computer in the palm of your hand. not such a new idea these days, as new companies and technologies abound and have lead to the creation of a slew of such devices. Phones can access the Internet and send e-mail, and consumers can buy handheld PCs that do a whole host of functions to make life easier. Two of the major corporations in these separate fields are now teaming up to combine the technologies, giving consumers a whole new breed of smart phone devices.
The new device, which will hit the market in 2002, will feature the Palm operating system combined with Motorola phone technologies to wirelessly connect to desktops, surf the Web, and organize your days and weeks with calendar and planner software.
OneName Helps You Out
Everyone hates to fill out those "change of address" forms when they move or have to relocate to a new job or home. As a college student you are constantly changing where you live due to room changes, or new apartments, or going home for the summer, and it is extremely irritating to have to let all those credit card companies who gave you a free t-shirt in exchange for a credit card application, know where you are going. With a new startup coming, you may not have to anymore.
OneName hopes to solve all of your location problems in one swift action. Their new system, based on XML technologies, would allow people to not only store business cards and contacts online, but also medical records and other information you wish to travel with you.
OS X on Intel Petition
There is currently a petition going around to "let Apple know that OS X on Intel is a path worth pursuing," according to the Webmaster at OSXonIntel.com. By this time next week the site hopes to have collected 10,000 signatures, currently having 2,092. I'm not sure if this is worth reporting on, but I figured that if you all were interested in seeing OS X on Intel, I'd let you know you can sign this petition that will...I'm not exactly sure what it will do. Either way, visit OSXonIntel to sign it.
Ballot Stuffing OS?
According to Wired News, Linux users are accusing MSNBC of tampering with ballots in its weekend poll that asked its readers to "Rate the Best Operating System". In a not so surprising result, Microsoft's Windows beat out Linux. Now those Linux fans believe that the Microsoft affiliated site rigged the results to show the desired outcome. I'm sure this will get a rise out of both the Linux and Windows users that read BetaNews, and we would like to hear your opinion on the matter (the ballot stuffing and vote rigging, not what is the better OS).
Office 2000 Service Pack 2 Soon?
Paul Thurrott is reporting that unconfirmed sources have told him that Microsoft is currently working on a third major bug-fix package for Office 2000. This release will be dubbed Service Pack 2, instead of the usual "Service Release" terminology used in the past, and will contain all of the publicly available patches released for the office suite since SR-1a. Service Pack 2 will be patch only however, and will not be shipped with future installments of Office. Users must have SR-la previously installed for this patch, which is mostly aimed at the corporate environment according to Thurrott. Its expected release date of October 14th is less than a month away. Visit WinInformant for more information.
Senator Hatch Disapproves of Government Stance on Napster
In what may be a surprising announcement to some, if not all persons in the United States, reknown Senator Orrin Hatch has stated publicly that he refuses to endorse the DOJ stance on Napster. Acording to the Newsbytes report, Senator Hatch sent a letter this week to the federal district appeals court expressing his distaste for the way things are going, saying "Given the importance of the issues to be decided, I think it important
that the Court be under no misapprehension that the brief (filed by the Justice Department's Civil Division and two other agencies) necessarily expresses the views of the Congress in this matter." The DOJ quickly declined to comment on the matter.
MSN Subscribers Pay Out the @$$
Due to a glitch in the billing system at MSN Internet services, hundreds of customers were shocked to find that their bank accounts had more than the regular $21 taken out for payment...a lot more. Apparently MSN did not issue any public notice until the crackshots at MSNBC got ahold of the story and ran with it. There have now been more than a thousand reports of customers being billed wrong. Read the rest of the article over at ZDNet for more information.
Midtown Madness 2 Preview
The crew at 3D GameForce have posted a preview of the much loved sequel to the Microsoft game Midtown Madness, that raced through the streets of Chicago. This review features a plethora of screenshots and images to wet your appetite for the upcoming release. A little snipet from the review tells all. "As a sequel to a great running series, MTM2 delivers quite nicely" Read the rest of the review at 3D GameForce.
Microsoft Security Bulletin
Microsoft released another security bulletin last week for a Windows 2000 Telnet vulnerability. The Redmond giant has released a patch for the flaw that would allow a malicious user to obtain cryptographically protected information from a users computer. The usual security FAQ for this flaw can be found here and the patch can be downloaded using this link. (NOTE: The previous URL may not work, so you can try to download it here also)
Xteq X-Setup 6.0 Alpha Preview
The guys at Xteq have sent over some new screenshots of the ongoing private alpha testing for version 6.0 of their flagship software X-Setup. They told BetaNews that while the beta testing will also be private, they will certainly let us know if any beta testers are wanted, so keep your eyes open. These screenshots show the latest efforts on the new version, but the guys warn they are not done by a long shot. For more information about X-Setup, you can visit FileForum and view the latest screenshots on BetaNews. (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
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