Pair of Internet Technology Updates from MS
Microsoft has announced the immediate availability of the SOAP Toolkit 2.0 and Web Services Support for Internet Explorer. The beta release of the SOAP Toolkit provides developers using Microsoft's Visual Studio 6.0 with "rapid Web Services development capabilities for production-ready applications." The second tool, the Web Services Support, allows developers to consolidate Web services from multiple Web pages into one.
Microsoft said in its press release that the two updates are "are key technologies for facilitating the creation and integration of Web Services, the programmable building blocks that form the next-generation applications of the Internet."
Linux Kernel 2.4 Almost Ready
Linux guru Linus Torvalds told testers at the new year that this release of the 2.4 kernel will be the only such testing before the final version is released. Many companies such as Red Hat are counting on the newest kernel for products slated for release in the first half of the new year. The delay on the update came as the development team rushed to add a slew of new features to the kernel, making it better than ever. Torvalds told those testers "Ok. I didn't make 2.4.0 in 2000. Tough." In all the kernel is more than a year overdue, according to Mary Jo Foley at ZDNet. No one is Linux bashing here, as most of us know that Microsoft has missed a few promised dates in its time. For the rest of the story check out ZDNet.
Battle.net Hacked - Players Lost
Diablo II loyalists are fuming over events surrounding the recent hacking of Battle.net, the free servers Blizzard Entertainment uses to host Diablo II online playing, including player profiles and characters gamers have been building for ages. Blizzard promises gamers full restoration to December 19th status by Monday, but would not say whether or not the loss was due to system exploitation. One player is livid over the loss of his level 87 barbarian, while another player put it best by saying "Hey, it's only a game. Don't take it seriously!" For more information check out ZDNet.
New MP3 Player Helps Karaoke
A new MP3 player set to hit the market this weekend from First International Digital, a Motorola spinoff, should help those of you who like to sing along to the music. The Irock 680 player features a tiny display to show lyrics and visualizations for the new MP3 format being used by the player, created by Songdog and dubbed MP3i.
The new format allows graphics such as advertising, lyrics, liner notes, album art, and visualizations to be encoded directly into the file.
AMD and Transmeta Team Up
In a deal with yet undisclosed terms, Intel rival AMD has announced a partnership per se with competitor Transmeta to improve both company's processor lines. In the deal AMD is sending computers with special versions of Transmeta's code morphing software to run a program that simulates AMD's Sledgehammer server processor. In exchange for this, Transmeta has a license to create chips based in part on the Sledgehammer design. For the full story check out Mary Jo Foley's article over at News.com.
Test Drive the X-Box
In other Microsoft news, the net is buzzing with the latest information about the X-Box, as Microsoft has set up a "Playtest" camp for game lovers to check out X-Box and PC games before they are released. No experience is necessary, but you must live in the Seattle/Puget Sound area and have the ability to get to the Playtest Labs. By participating in the program, you can even win free games from the Redmond Giant. For more information visit Microsoft.
Intel Revs Up the Celeron
In keeping with its timetable and beating AMD in the new year's race to push processor speeds, Intel announced today announced the availability of an 800MHz version of its popular Celeron processor. The new chip will be featured in subzero PCs aimed at the lower end market. Chipzilla also unveiled its new chipset for the processor, running a 100MHz bus as compared to its current 66MHz bus.
Reuters reports Intel also launched a 1.3GHz version of its newest processor line, the Pentium 4, in order to spur market demand and increase Pentium 4 sales. Computers with the new processor will retail in the neighborhood of $1500 USD.
Another Label Joins Napster
Just a short time after Bertelsman AG dropped its lawsuit with Napster and licensed its music to the file-swapping network, Reuters is reporting that Edel Music AG has joined the ranks. Edel Music is one of the worlds largest independent record labels, and in the deal agreed to allow master recordings and musical compositions it controls and owns to be traded by the network. This marks the second of such deals by Napster, with hopefully many more to follow as the company made a New Year's resolution to make the company "prosper as a real business."
DotComGuy Comes Out
Yahoo News is reporting that DotComGuy has emerged from his humble abode after one solid year of confinement. Last year the computer systems manager challenged himself to go no further than his backyard and to get all of his supplies online. Of course, his daily life was recorded by 20 different cameras and broadcast on his Web site DotComGuy.com. Corporate sponsors helped pull off the stunt. His big plans include changing his name back to Mitch Maddox and marrying a woman he met in a chatroom on his Web site. Check Yahoo! for more information.
Apple Cuts Prices on PCs and Servers
Apple has decided to make its holiday price cuts permanent this week, slashing prices on many of its Powerbooks, desktops, and server product lines. The 500MHz G4 server dropped by a margin of $1000, while the G4 400MHz dropped $300 USD. These cuts come as Apple attempts to cut inventory after it had swelled quite a bit at the end of the year. For more information and a full list of price changes visit ZDNet.
Napster Files Copyright Suit on Logo
Napster, in the midst of several court battles itself for copyright infringement, has filed its own copyright lawsuit in U.S. District Court in San Francisco. The suit stems from alleged copying of the Napster logo on t-shirts and other such merchandise by Sports Service, Inc. who is retailing the items on its Web site Napsterstore.com. Keep checking back as the case heads to the courtroom.
Intel to Intro MP3 Player
Chip giant Intel will take the wraps off a brand new MP3 player, dubbed the "Pocket Concert", at the Consumer Electronics Show next week. Roughly the size of a deck of cards, and packing 128MB of flash memory, the Pocket Concert will be able to hold as much as 4 hours of downloaded music according to the Associated Press article. The new device will retail for $299 USD with an accesssory kit, which includes a carrying case, home and car stereo connections, and rechargeable batteries retailing for $59 USD. Visit Intel for more information.
Another Year in Review - Haiku Style
News.com has taken an intersting approach to presenting its readers with a "year in review", this time using Haikus to summarize the year in just three lines. For those of you who would like to enjoy this lighthearted look at the year 2000, you can read them here, and don't worry, there is only ten of them.
Unnamed Company Seeks Anti-Trust Investigation into MS Buy
Bloomberg is reporting an unnamed Silicon Valley startup has requested the hel of a legal team to push an anti-trust investigation into the latest move by Microsoft to purchase Great Plains Software. The company makes add-ons for accounting software, and are worried about the acquisition by Microsoft. MS already had plans to purchase Intuit five years ago, but those plans fell through due to anti-trust worries. The startup in the case is worried that revealing its identity may cause serious economic repercussions.
CPU Roadmaps for 2001
Next year could be a big year for processors, as both Intel and AMD plan to release a whole slew of new lines at amazingly increasing speeds. The first to break ground in 2001 will be Intel, with 800MHz/100MHz FSB and 1.3GHz P4 processors in January. AMD will also hit the market in January, debuting an 850MHz Duron processor, followed by a possible 1.4GHz Athlon in February/March. For those of you who are interested, Anandtech has the full roadmap.
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