Site To Release First Net-Only CD By Major Music Acts
The 19-song album, "Live at the Greek," by Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page with back-up from The Black Crowes, will be available Tuesday for $17.90 for a two-disk set. It will also be offered as pure download to the user's hard drive for $11.95. Fans will be able to sample and select specific songs they want from the selections on the album, or the can buy individual tracks, as well.
"It's legit," said Larry Lieberman, president of global marketing for Musicmaker.com. "It's a very cool thing."
Intel Slashes Chip Prices
Making way for new chip releases in March, Intel today announced price cuts on all existing processors. The Celeron 433 dropped to $69, the 500 MHz dropped 17 percent to $93, and the fastest Celeron, the 533 MHz fell 24 percent to $127. Intel also dropped the price of the Pentium III line, expecting to release the 850 MHz and 866 MHz version in the end of the first quarter. The PIII 500 MHz will cost $193, the 700 MHz $337, the 733 MHz $455, the 750 MHz dropped 29 percent to $550, and the top of the line 800 MHz fell to $647.
Gates Launches MSN Mobile 2.0
Bill Gates announced deals with Nextel and Airtouch Cellular to offer MSN Mobile 2.0 today at CTIA Wireless 2000. Demonstrating the use of MSN Mobile on a WAP enabled cellular phone, as well as a Pocket PC, Gates stated "Individuals should be able to receive the information they want, when they want it and where they want it, without the sender having to be concerned about the communication devices involved."
Compatible with a wide range of devices including WAP enabled cellular phones, Pocket PCs, and Palm computers, MSN Mobile users will have access to online services such as Microsoft Expedia, Hotmail, MSNBC.com news, and MSN MoneyCentral. Users will be able to set priorities, receive reminders, and set different types of notifications on their wireless devices using MSN Mobile.
CeBIT - Anti-Piracy MP3 Technology Debuts
Pine Software has unveiled a breakthrough MP3 digital music device that it says solves all of the piracy issues currently affecting online music. The unit, unveiled this morning at the CeBIT Computer Faire in Germany, incorporates copyright protection technology, as well as a variety of digital audio formats.
The UK-based firm says that its multi-codec player supports not only MP3, but newer formats - including AAC, WMA and MS Audio - and can be upgraded to any future digital audio format.
Drivers To Name Their Own Gasoline Prices
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) may not be increasing oil production, and the United States seems unlikely to release some gasoline from its strategic fuel reserves, but with the retail price of gasoline at a 10-year high, Priceline WebHouse club, a licensed affiliate of priceline.com, believes that it has a way for the approximately 170 million adult drivers in the US to reduce the price they pay to fill up the gas tank of the family car - name their own gas price via the Internet.
In an interview with Newsbytes, Robert Padgett, spokesperson for Priceline WebHouse Club, said that starting May 20, just in time for the Memorial Day Weekend, his company will launch a new service that will make it possible for drivers to ignore the price of gasoline at the pump. Instead, drivers will be able to go to http://www.priceline.com on the Internet and name their own price for up to 50 gallons of gas a month. After locking in their price, drivers can get their gas at local major-brand gas stations selected by Priceline WebHouse Club.
Microsoft and Windows 2000 After a Week
In the past week, Microsoft has come under heavy fire from multiple fronts regarding issues with Windows 2000. Reports of a massive number of bugs in the final code came just days before the official launch, and many experts are doubting the rapid success of the new operating system based on the fact that as of now, there are only 30 programs officially declared Windows 2000 certified.
Although Microsoft denies the first of these two problems, they reassured users by reporting that there are many programs on the right track, and they hope to have 100 certified by the end of the year. While it does not mean programs are not compatible with Windows 2000, being certified does mean that the programs take full advantage of the new features in the operating system. Hence, if a program is not certified, the upgrade to Windows 2000 seems costly.
3dfx Launches Voodoo 4 and 5
3dfx demonstrated the Voodoo 4 and 5 graphics cards in Europe today, at the CeBit convention. These next generation cards designed for advanced gaming can run on either PC and Apple computers, and should be at retail stores in Europe this spring. Along with the new cards, 3dfx unveiled a new multi-lingual Web site dedicated to information about OEM partners, distributors, and retailers in the region. Visitors can also download the newest versions of OpenGL, Glide, and DirectX from the site, along with runtime engines and authoring tools. The new site even comes equipped with an online store, where 3dfx merchandise such as t-shirts, bags, and other novelty items. You can learn more about the new Voodoo cards at 3dfx.com.
Judge Undercuts Microsoft Defense
The judge overseeing closing arguments in the Microsoft antitrust trial on Tuesday compared the software developer to John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil, suggesting that, like Standard, the company could be heading for a break up by the courts.
U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson drew the parallel in response to Microsoft's claim that its copyright over the Windows operating system for personal computers gave it rights to control the way companies distributed it.
Gates May Discuss Microsoft X-box
Next week at the Game Developers Forum in San Jose, CA, Bill Gates may divulge information regarding the new Microsoft gaming console the X-box. Gates is expected to reveal plans for the console during his keynote address, mainly to cull the recent tidal wave of excitement over Sony's Playstation2, set to release next week in Japan.
Microsoft began seeking support for their latest efforts to focus on the entertainment industry last October, when they began talking to game and hardware developers. Critics say the X-box is merely a mirage to guide users away from the Sony Playstation2, as it is expected to sell millions in the first days of its release, receiving as much as half a million online pre-orders per minute last week.
Microsoft Releases Security Patch
Microsoft has released a security patch to fix the "Remote Agent Permissions" security vulnerability found in an installation procedure of the Microsoft Systems Management Server. This problem only applies to machines which have the SMS 2.0 Remote Control feature activated. Since the permissions on the remote agent folder are set to Everyone Full Control, a malicious user could replace the client code with any code, which would then run automatically the next time the PC is booted. Read the frequently asked questions regarding the security patch, and download it directly from Microsoft Technet.
Final Beta of XFree86 4.0 Available
The XFree86 Project, Inc. has released the fourth and final pre-4.0 beta snapshot of their free X Window system. XFree86 can be found in many of today's Linux distributions and has become the defacto standard for UNIX desktops. Version 3.9.18 is the last of the previews, with version 4.0 expected sometime next month. There are many code and feature improvements in this snapshot.
Read the release notes for more information, or download it from the FTP server now.
PHP4 Beta 4 Released Today
The PHP Group released PHP4 Beta 4 today for the general public to download and try out. This version incorporates the extremely fast Zend engine, and also offers built-in XML support. It also provides better session tracking, and a PHP core repository, as well as numerous other bug fixes. PHP4 is a remake of PHP3, and the PHP module is currently the most popular Apache module in use today. Download the latest PHP4 version from PHP.net.
AMD to Slash Prices Next Week
Expected next week, AMD will cut the prices on all of their Athlon processors, and cut them big, as much as 60 percent on the Athlon 700 MHz. The 850 MHz will reportedly cost $750 USD, the 800 MHz $530, the 750 MHz $350, the 700 MHz $270, the 650 MHz $226, the 600 MHz $190, and the Athlon 550 MHz will be eliminated. This all comes as AMD and Intel continue to battle it out for top dog in the processor market, and as the Intel Celeron is moving to cut in on the K6-2 low end market. Keep checking back for updates on this story.
Microsoft Encourages 64-bit Development
Yesterday, Microsoft announced the opening of a 64-bit Windows Developer Lab in Redmond, WA to aid developers in the creation and tuning of applications for the 64-bit Windows platform. Along with the lab, Microsoft also announced the availability of the IA-64 Software Development Kit for 64-bit Windows. This SDK provides the latest operating system, compilers, linkers, and libraries to hardware and software designers already working on 64-bit Windows. A beta of the new platform and tools is expected sometime in the second quarter of 2000, the final shipping simultaneously with the 64-bit Itanium processor. Send e-mail to [email protected] for more about the Developers Lab, and read more about the Itanium processor and 64-bit Windows from Microsoft.com
Windows 2000 Launched In Russia - By Pirates
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