APRIL FOOLS!


We hope you all had fun with the April Fools gag and apologize to those who took this too seriously. We were a bit surprised by the reaction, both negative and positive responses. Microsoft is NOT recalling Windows 2000.



In an unfortunate and embarrassing turn of events, Microsoft will announce on Monday a mandatory recall of their recently released Windows 2000, according to inside sources. BetaNews was sent word about the recall early this morning after Microsoft execs Paul Maritz and Jim Allchin held an emergency meeting regarding a major security hole in the operating system. For obvious reasons, specifics of the hole were not disclosed, however BetaNews has learned the issue was "so fundamental to Windows 2000" that a recall of the operating system was the only option.

The meeting is said to have lasted almost 5 hours and sparked heated discussions between the recently merged Windows and Developer divisions. A proposal was put together for how to handle the recall and will hit press wires on Monday.

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Just days after news that Sony's Playstation 2 allows users to seamlessly copy DVDs to VHS format, BetaNews has learned that by using the DVD Anywhere device by X10, the same can be done, bypassing the copy protection while maintaining picture quality. The signal, when relayed to your television from whatever source it is connected to, be it PC or DVD player, can be recorded on a regular VCR with ease. The DVD Anywhere device bypasses normal Macrovision copy protection found in DVD players.

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Due to many requests by skin developers who are continuing work on some excellent creations, eFront and Stardock have decided to extend the eFront Skins Contest 2000 until April 15th. This will give all you late-comers a chance at the nice prizes Stardock has lined up. Submitting a skin is a very quick and simple process, so don't miss out! Visit the eFront Skins Contest 2000 page for more details and to enter the contest.

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BetaNews has received word about a bug in older Windows AOL Instant Messenger clients. By sending others a specific HTML tag in a message, users can crash older AIM clients with a general protection fault. BetaNews tests have confirmed that versions up to and including 3.5.1808 contain the bug. The problem does not occur in newer clients or AIM clones. The problem stems from AIM's ability to convert HTML into the client's text, and crashes when it tries to convert a certain string. To avoid having your client crashed, visit FileForum and download version 3.5.1900.

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UPDATE: Netscape Communications has ceased allowing downloads of the unofficial Preview Release. eFront has received word about an unofficial version of Netscape 6 Preview Release 1. Secretly hosted on Netscape's FTP servers, the beta was not set for a public release until next month. Netscape 6 is the next generation browser from Netscape Communications, based on the work of Mozilla.org. In development for two years, many Netscape followers have tracked the browser's progress and are quite anxious to see the final product. After the decision was made to re-write the browser from the ground up, Netscape began to receive pressure from the Internet community due to delays in beginning development anew. The first Preview Release of version 6 comes complete with a new installer, Netscape messenger (an AIM clone), Net2Phone, a new HTML engine, Sun's Java2, and a spell checker. Please note this release is completely unofficial and unsupported. Use it at your own risk - it will contain bugs.

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Hackers zapped the encryption technology used to protect Stephen King's e-book, sending pirated copies onto the Web for free distribution of an item that sold for $2.50 and was commonly given away for free as a promotion.

Len Kawell, president of Glassbook Inc., one of the publishers
that are electronically distributing King's "Riding the Bullet," told
Newsbytes this afternoon that he knows of two sites upon which
pirated versions of the e-book were posted, and that publishers
are working with the FBI to find the encryption breakers and be
sure the sites and other Internet rogues do not offer the counterfeit
copies.

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Novell has launched itself into the Internet
instant messaging arena with instantme. Although the client software is free of charge to end users, Novell is hoping to make its money
from the enterprise versions of the package, which will be available on Solaris and Linux platforms by the end of the year.

Unveiling the software at the Brainshare 2000 developer's conference late Tuesday, Novell said that it allows users to communicate in
real time on the Internet, as well as enabling business to enhance communications with partners, customers and suppliers.

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3Com Corp. is reportedly planning a summer rollout of an Internet appliance that may be "bigger than Palm." The new device is part of 3Com's new strategy to concentrate on
high-growth products, 3Com Chairman Eric Benhamou told Reuters in an interview during a technology conference at Cannes, France. "We expect
the new product to be introduced in about three months. It is a consumer appliance which leverages all the things we learned about Palm. Our expectation is that this will be bigger than Palm," he said, adding that nearly 7 million of the Palm electronic organizers have been sold.

He described the device as one that would be used on a kitchen counter
top.

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Microsoft has made a technology preview of its popular multimedia software, Windows Media Player, available for public download. This preview boasts several new features, including skins support and enhanced song and artist information.

This new version of Windows Media Player is said to feature "all-in-one" integration with the streaming media player, one-click CD playing and recording capabilities, an enhanced media library for managing and finding your favorite media with ease.

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For those who have not yet taken notice to the link at the top of the page, we are now offering the old layout style while viewing BetaNews. If you are logged in, the site will remember which version you prefer. Obviously the old layout does not have the new features of the new, as the old codebase is in use, however we will soon launch full customization options to make the new layout look how you please. If you encounter any problems, let us know.

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Microsoft today released the first beta of Internet Explorer 5.01 Service Pack 1 to testers. In a message sent to testers this afternoon, Microsoft stated "IE 5.01 SP 1 provides a premier Internet Client for corporations and end users. Our goal is to bundle and deliver external customer QFEs, fixes escalated via support channels as well as public security fixes that were released after IE 5.01 gold. The bundling of such fixes in this Service Pack release ensures that our users maintain a fast, reliable and robust experience with the lowest ownership cost." Testers may download the latest SP1 betas here, however those running Windows 2000 should not install this service pack.

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Universal Pictures and America Online have reportedly formed a partnership to promote movies and sell tickets on the Internet. An Associated Press report said the pact means all new Universal
releases will be marketed across AOL's Web sites and will receive prominent placement in its movie-related areas, including AOL Moviefone, through which movie tickets can be bought online.

The alliance, announced Thursday, is the latest in an apparent AOL
signing spree. Last week Sears announced a marketing and product
development deal with the access and content provider, which also has
partnered with Wal-Mart, Circuit City and Blockbuster in recent
months.

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3Com has announced plans to phase out
production of its dial-up modems and modem-based products, allowing it to concentrate on four main "high growth" areas - IP (Internet protocol) telephony, broadband access, wireless access and Web-based
systems.

Products due for the chop include Corebuilder, Pathbuilder and
Netbuilder, as well as the complete range of modems that the vendor
took on when it acquired US Robotics in the spring of 1997.

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A movie codec dubbed DivX began circulating throughout IRC channels earlier this month, and is becoming quite popular in the pirating world. The new codec allows users to view DVD quality movies – at a fraction of the size.

Unrelated to the now defunct DVD rental system, the new DivX codec was released just recently. The encoding process enables users to convert DVD movies to AVI without sacrificing quality or hard drive space. Encoding this new format may be tougher than the usual procedure, but the overall quality is higher than current movie types and is bound to upset the industry.

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An internal build of Microsoft's future operating system, set to combine consumer and business versions into a product currently codenamed Whistler Windows 2001, has leaked out onto the Internet. Build number 2211.1 was posted onto various college and Internet sites early
this morning and spread as per usual, like wildfire.

While the new operating system currently looks almost identical to
Windows 2000, a number of people who installed the leaked build stated there
were a few HTML enhancements to folders, simplifying things for novice users. For example, the control panel is now by default an HTML interface, offering access to a few basic configuration options.

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