Yale Dropped from Metallica Lawsuit
Yale University's network officials shutdown access to Napster shortly after the announcement of the lawsuit was made. "Last Friday, we began to block Napster around the clock in response to the lawsuit and until we can clarify the legal issues surrounding Napster," stated Tom Conroy, a Yale spokesman.
Metallica's agents decided to drop Yale as a defendant after the school decided to block Napster, and they also stated that they will not seek further damages. Metallica released a statement on Wednesday, which said, "We appreciate the prompt and responsible reaction by Yale University in dealing with the gross violations of copyright laws and the protection of intellectual property."
Toshiba Developing Liquid-Cooled Notebooks
Toshiba Inc. is developing a new technology dubbed 'Super Cooling,' which will be incorporated into Toshiba's notebook computers. The new cooling apparatus utilizes a copper tube filled with purified water, which draws heat away from the processor. This cooling method will be available in Toshiba's Protege 3040 model. The notebook will ship next week with a price tag of $2,499.
In this new technology, one end of the copper pipe sits over the processor. As the CPU heats up, the water inside the pipe will begin to boil. When this happens, it expands the funnels towards the other end of the pipe, which will draw the hot water away from the processor, towards other cool parts of the notebook.
Microsoft Including Network Software in Windows Me
Contrary to the announcement made by Microsoft last month, Windows Me will ship with networking technology that allows consumers to connect their PCs into networking software from Novell and Banyan. Previously, Microsoft chose to drop the idea to "nudge customers to the company's more lucrative Windows 2000 software." The software giant decided to continue development based on feedback from partners and customers.
Although the look and feel of Windows Me is expected to be on the Windows NT side, the product is more focused on providing digital media and home networking support, rather than stability. Microsoft stated that the decision to incorporate the networking software into Windows Me would not change the intention of the operating system - home use. "It's still targeted at the consumer," said a product manager at Microsoft, Shawn Sanford.
Wireless Internet For Palm Devices
In the second half of this year, Palm Inc. will expand its product line, and
ship each handheld unit with wireless internet capabilities. Currently,
the only Palm unit which contains world wide web features is the Palm VII. In
the near future, Palm will market Palm III and Palm V versions that contain
the technology necessary for wireless communications.
The new units may contain Bluetooth chips, although this is uncertain. Palm is
aiming to create a more unified product line, which revolves around
connectivity. "We will put wireless connection capabilities into all our
handhelds," said vice president of product strategy at Palm, Michael Mace.
New Alternative to DirectX?
Many graphics and sound businesses are working in partnership to develop a new cross platform equivalent to DirectX. Companies such as 3dfx 3Dlabs, ATI, Compaq, Discreet, Evans & Sutherland, IBM, Intel, S3, and SGI have formed a group dubbed 'Khronos' to design a new API for graphics, video, and audio. This new API could boost Linux's gaming capabilities immensely.
Khronos is described as "a new Special Interest Group formed by a cross section of media software, hardware, and platform vendors. Its purpose is to develop a specification to effectively integrate and synchronize video, graphics and audio across platforms, operating systems, hardware devices and software applications."
Toshiba Introduces New LCD Technology
Toshiba is preparing a new LCD technology geared towards mobile computing and telecommunications devices. The new LCDs will not require a backlit display, or separate supporting chips. The technology utilizes a color reflective LCD, which decreases power consumption, while offering the same high-contrast display as a conventional LCD screen.
By removing the need of backlighting, the average power consumption of the unit is cut by one third. This factor is important in devices that require batteries to operate. However, by removing backlighting on a conventional LCD display, viewing the screen is virtually impossible. Reflective LCDs use surrounding light sources to provide picture on the display.
In addition to the power savings, the removal of the backlight lessens the overall weight of the unit.
Windows Media Screen-Capture Technology Debuts
Today at the National Association of Broadcasters Conference 2000, Microsoft Corp. unveiled its new screen-capture technology, which is able to deliver "Perfect reproduction of computer screen motion at dial-up bandwidth speeds." This new screen-capture capability is a feature in the recently announced Windows Media Technologies 7 package.
Current screen-capture applications are not designed for streaming media, resulting in impossible presentations of large files. Microsoft's new technology breaks through this barrier by using its new technology to deliver presentations of the same quality as in-person demonstrations, complete with sound.
AIM Version 4.0 Released
Earlier today, AOL released the final version of its popular instant messaging service, AOL Instant Messenger 4.0. The new version includes some new features, along with some minor bug fixes. AIM allows over 50 million of its current users to communicate privately and instantly.
Some features in the latest version include Instant Images, stock alerts, buddy alerts, e-mail alerts, AIM Talk, automatic upgrades, a docked Buddy list, and more.
AMD's Thunderbird Soon
The development of Thunderbird, a new chip from Advanced Micro Devices Inc. is nearing completion, and will be available in the near future. The new chip offers increased computing performance, with a price fit for cost-sensitive consumers. This new line of Athlon processors is expected to debut in the second half of this year.
Some sources suggest that the Thunderbird processor may be revealed in late May, offering three to five clock speeds reaching as high as 1GHz. However, the chip has been demonstrated running at 1.1GHz.
Netscape WebMail Customers Frustrated
Roughly half a million users of the Netscape WebMail service will be forced to change their email accounts, due to a critical software upgrade. Some bugs in the new software have blocked certain customers from access entirely.
Netscape's plan of combining email usernames of Netscape Netcenter, CompuServe and America Online commenced late last week. The transfer caused overlaps in many email addresses, which could only be resolved by changing the identities. Many WebMail customers are unhappy with the result, as they were promised the same address for life.
Windows 2000's 'Area 51'
An IP limitation bug has been discovered in the Windows 2000 operating system. The new bug seems to misplace directory objects in Windows 2000 Server's Active Directory for every IP that is configured after 51. For most Windows 2000 installations, this won't be an issue. However, for organizations that do their own Internet hosting (such as Web, e-mail, etc.), this could cause problems.
Microsoft claimed that the issue only surfaces if the machine with multiple IP addresses is also a domain controller. As of now, Microsoft does not plan on releasing a patch for this bug, due to a lack of complaints. A Microsoft representative stated, "Microsoft would not likely produce a hot fix for this, given that none of our customers have reported the issue. If a customer does report this, however, we will take it very seriously."
Apple to Release OS for x86-based Systems?
Apple is readying a new operating system designed to run natively on x86-based machines. However, the OS is still able to perform on Macintosh systems as well. 'Darwin' is said to be a "stripped-down" version of the MacOS X Server, which was first introduced in January 1999. Apple's new Darwin OS may be recognized as an alternative to Microsoft's Windows.
Apple fans are excited by the idea that Apple could use the Darwin design to develop future versions of the MacOS that could run on cost sensitive Intel-based machines, rather than expensive Macintosh hardware. Some discussion groups on the Internet seem to be fueling the idea of making the new Darwin OS an alternative to Microsoft's Windows operating system. It is also rumored that Apple is discussing license ideas with PC-makers.
BeOS 5.0 Released
BeOS 5 was released earlier today, and is available for download from the Be Web site. The latest version of the OS promises more hardware support, along with more functional media resources. The downloadable version includes the basic software packages, and the full release will be available in the near future.
Visit Be's site for more information, and download mirrors.
3dfx To Acquire GigaPixel
3dfx Interactive Inc., a global marketer and developer of 3D technology announced today plans to buy GigaPixel Corp. for approximately $186 million. Founded in only 1997, GigaPixel is new to 3D core design. Their technology boasts capabilities of displaying high quality 3D graphics, at a low power consumption rate.
"We view the GigaPixel technology as a disruptive capability in the 3D market," claimed Scott Sellers, chief technology officer of 3dfx Interactive. According to Scott, by reducing memory requirements by up to a factor of 10, true 32-bit anti-aliased rendering at unsurpassed performance is possible. He also stated that with their combined technology, rendering 3D could be done at substantially reduced power requirements.
IBM To Revolutionize TV
IBM announced Friday plans to release a new group of set-top box (STB) chipsets, which will enable compatible television sets to perform the same bi-directional commands any conventional computer could. These new boxes feature a built-in hard disk drive for digital media capabilities.
The new STB chips will enable Web browsing, e-commerce, Java and other useful applications to be used in conjunction with the user's TV. The unit also comes with a built in hard drive for downloading MP3 files, and other multimedia content. Users will be able to customize their set-top with what programs they wish to view, and when. The box also features Tivo-style technology, which allows the user to pause during a live telecast and return where he/she left off.
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