News

I'm going to drop my stuff at college today. I'm coming back after I'm done though. Classes don't start till Tuesday and I have an article and a review to post today. Funny stuff.

The feature you hate in XP comes to Norton. Look for PA to be in the 2004 edition of Norton software. Will this stop software piracy? No.

Quote

Del Smith, senior product manger for Symantec, said activation is intended to protect consumers from widespread counterfeit copies of Symantec programs. The company estimates at least 3.6 million bogus copies of its programs are sold annually, causing headaches both for Symantec and unsuspecting buyers, who find out too late that the software isn't doing the job.

Well, well. It seems I messed up my email news script. Doh! I need to change it and resend it. Check out my HTPC case review. A new review should pop out today!

Water vs Air cooling @ HightekPC.
Abit Canterwood @ Tweaknews.
TR SLK900A @ Furioustech.
Dangerden block @ MTB.
Radeon IGP @ PCStats.
Spire cooler @ FastlaneHW.
Zalman 400w PSU @ Blynk.
Hitachi 15" LCD @ TWL.

Well, well... finally got tha review posted. Yeah, this is one heck of a case.



Check this thing out. Silverstone did an amazing job building this custom case. I'm getting a slim type HTPC from them as well in the future. And look for some more hardware reviews this week!

Looks like Comcast's DNS servers are down. Only my laptop has a large cache for DNS and I can still poke around on it. Everything else is trying to lookup IPs. Any other Comcast customer having this problem?

Can anyone recommend a good DNS server?

Tons of reviews... And hey! That HTPC case review is here!!!! Read about the new HTPC case from Silverstone. Pretty impressive.

Hardware:
Soltek KT-600 @ Ohls.
Soyo KT600 @ Technoyard.
OCZ PC4000 @ VL.
nVidia FX5900 @ PCStats.
ATI Radeon 9600 Pro @ Legitreviews.

Enclousers, storage:
Lanboy @ Nexus.
HTPC case @ Ascully.
Samsung Spingpoint 160GB @ MBReview.
GMC Trinity @ OCHardware.
AMS eCube @ OCA.

Other:
Fraggpad @ MTB.
Pyramid fan controller @ TTZ.
TR SLK900U @ Fastlane HW.
Radiator @ RBMods.
Nanotherm liquid paste @ Piratesoftware.

The first HTPC case to hit ASE Labs. Is it worth your hard earned money? You'll have to read more to get the whole story. There is a silent PSU included... at an extra.Next Page »

We are in the process of bringing PHP back up to date. While we do, some things may not work correctly. If you can't post the problems on the forums, shoot me an email.

We've reached another Milestone, 3 million page views! I'll come up with something to celebrate. Also, I'm going to extend the hat contest for another month because I forgot to advertise it (Doh).

Also, the site is going on two years old on Sept 21th. Wow! Moving right along aren't we!? Sooner or later, we'll plan an event so everyone can meet up and do something... somewhere... sometime... yeah!

And, Version is is still looking good for an end of September deadline. Of couse this may change as that date approaches closer, but whatever!

The Microdrive originally done by IBM will get a nice increase in space. 4GB of storage on a Compact Flash card. Also, there are plans to make the lower version CF Type 2 (Not 2+) so that many devices can use the microdrives. Remember that microdrives are regular hard drives and as such will have a much longer lifespan than normal flash media.

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Hitachi Global Storage Technologies will also offer a 2GB version of the Microdrive starting later this year. Like past versions, the new Microdrives will fit into a standard, Compact Flash Type II slot, allowing them to be used by devices that can accept memory cards and other add-ons that use the format. The company will continue to sell a 1GB Microdrive as well.

Tomorrow. Yes, tomorrow. here comes the HTPC case review, and then the next day... A Gigabyte motherboard! System guides will be put off till next month. School is starting next week! (Doh)

Gigabyte KT600 @ AMDZone.
CM Aero 7 @ 3DX.
Seagate SATA @ Modtown.
A7N8X @ Piratesoftware.
TT Volcano 11 @ RBMods.
Another @ Fastlanehw.
Chaintech Apogee @ Monkeyreview.
Tyan R9600 Pro @ OCA.

PHP needs to be upgraded before I can do any reviews. I've got two on standby until it does. This should be done by tomorrow.

Albatron 5600P @ Nexus.
Geil PC4000 @ PCStats.
Mouserug @ Comp-Shop.
OCZ PC3700 @ VL.
Chaintech FX5600U @ IPkonfig.
ATI Remote @ Tweaknews. This might be something of interest for my HTPC (Or two.. or three)
TT Ducting mod @ CyberCPU.
Abit FX5900 OTES @ 3DGM.
PCmods Rheobus @ Voidedwarranty.
Wall comp @ Blynk.

I'm heading down the shore till Friday, so you're on your own till then .

Asus FX5900U @ PCStats.
Zalman CPU cooler @ 3DGM.
MSI CDRW @ ClubOC.
CM Wavemaster case @ OCA.
Aerocool @ 3DV.

And still I'm forced to wait for any site articles to be made... Hopefully by the time I get back, PHP should be up to date.

Almost finished with that HTPC case review, just waiting on Chris to disable something in PHP.

Corsair Hydrocool @ RBmods.
Seasonic PSU @ PCStats.
Gigabyte KT600 @ Hardcoreware.
Highpoint Sata external @ VL.
Vantec Aeroflow @ 3DV.
Chaintech FX5600U @ ipKonfig.
Palit FX5200U @ Tweaknews.

Ahh finally, I should have a review out by Thursday, it is a nice HTPC case. More reviews on the way as well!

Samsung 15" TFT @ MTB.
Antec 550W PSU @ 3DGM.
Sata bridge @ VL.
Athenatech Silver case @ Xtremods.
Abit FX5900 @ OCA.

Whoever thought of this one is a really good hacker. This new worm does the same thing as the Blaster worm, but instead of trashing your system, it kills the Blaster worm off and gets the patches from Microsoft! Automatically! This is a pretty good worm, and if you have the Blaster virus, if this worm infects you, you'll have a battle of worms.

Quote

This worm tries spreads by exploiting a hole in Microsoft Windows. It instructs a remote target system to download and execute the worm from the infected host. Once running, the worm terminates and deletes the W32/Lovsan.worm.a process and applies the Microsoft patch to prevent other threats from infecting the system through the same hole. When the system clock reaches Jan 1, 2004, the worm will delete itself upon execution.

There has actually been an increase in semiconductor sales. Hopefully, this signals better growth ahead for the technology industry.

Quote

Market conditions have improved in the past few weeks. In device markets, inventories are back to normal levels, pricing has stabilized and in some cases, there are shortages of critical components, Gartner reported. The market for digital cellular handsets remains robust, and demand for consumer-electronics gear has not waned.

Apple hopes to make some profit after losing that money to OS X buyers they have to give money back to. Apple is between a rock and a pool of acid.

Quote

Apple is counting on the new machines to improve Power Mac sales, which have lagged in recent quarters. Last quarter, the company sold just 156,000 Power Macs, down from a peak of more than 400,000 a quarter in early 1999, and down from 211,000 units sold a year earlier.

I've got two things in for review, but I can't even put them up because the images won't upload. I'm still waiting for that to be fixed. Hopefully it should be fixed by today.

CM Fanbus @ ClubOC.
CM Aero 478 @ RBmods.
Mini ITX case @ Bigbruin.
Aerocool Extreme @ 3DV.
Albatron KM18G Pro @ Furioustech.
Albatron FX5600 @ Tweaknews.

Damn, the site is still not working 100%, and I'm not sure when it'll be...

ATI AIW 9800 Pro @ Hexus.
Enermax tower @ Viperlair.
Gainward FX5600U @ 3DV.
Paste shootout @ TWL.
Acousticase @ Ripnet.
Vantec Nexus @ ClubOC.

Gillete is still moving forward with their RFID plans. Public outcry does not bother them one bit. The store that ran the trial actually took pictures of people that bought the razors. Invasion of privacy? Yes.

Quote

The Boston-based consumer products company is one of the first to start trials of the controversial radio frequency identification (RFID) tags in its Mach 3 razor blade packets. U.K. supermarket chain Tesco has been testing the tagged products in a store in Cambridge, England. But privacy groups started protesting outside the Tesco store when it emerged that the supermarket was automatically taking photographs of shoppers when they picked the blades off the shelf and when they left the shop with any tagged product.

The Northeast region of the US is in a blackout due to a powerplant going down. Plans are in effect to reroute power from other places. Damn Con-Ed screws everyone.

Since the server exploit, the image functions that are used in articles is broken. Once that is fixed, I'll write this HTPC case review. It is a nice one.

TT Volcano 11 Xaser @ Ripnet.
Herc 9800 Pro @ Piratesoftware.
USB LCD @ 3DGM.
AMK case @ Short-Media.
Xtrac mousepad @ Hightekpc.
Seagate 2.5" HDD @ ClubOC.
TR SLK900A @ ClubOC.
Silent PC Dos and Don'ts @ BuildSilentPC.

Just an update to the previous news post. If you are having that RPC issue, there is a quick fix you can try before calling up someone to fix your computer (I've had at least 40-50 calls yesterday).

First of all, stop the process 'msblast.exe' if you see it. Then you need to wipe the worm out. Goto Symantec to download the tool. Then you'll need the Microsoft patch. Download that here. After that, you should be safe from this virus.

A few notes about this bug. It does do DoS attacks against Windows Update, so if you're having trouble getting there, that's why. This bug broadcasts itself throughout the network, so if you have a firewall that has SPI, you should be safer. Block all incoming ports.

I just need to finish taking pictures of the HTPC case, and see how it functions as well. Look for it in a few days.

TT Xaser 2 case @ Short-Media.
AOpen KT400 @ AthlonXP.
Epox Springdale @ Metku.
Corsair XMS3500 @ Hardcoreware.
MSI FX5600 @ CyberCPU.
Vantec Nexus @ VL.

I work in a tech shop and yesterday I had numerous calls about this issue. I didn't find out what it was till now. Go here and download this patch immediately. The US gov't has declared this a homeland security issue. Way to go Microsoft! If your system gives you an RPC error and then shuts down, you have the worm. All version of Windows NT are affected.

Government security warning.

AMD has just started a new logo plan for 64bit computing. I personally don't care about 'logo'ing things, just say something works. Damn Microsoft.

Quote

AMD, which refers to the 64-bit chips collectively its AMD64 platform, will offer three similar logos, including one for the AMD64 platform and one each for the chips. The logos will be used in AMD's advertising and packaging as well as ads and packaging from third parties that license the icons.

Still waiting on that report, more info when it gets to me. I have a nice HTPC case that just came in as well.

Corsair Hydrocool @ VL.
Custom watercooling @ OCA.
ATI AIW 9800 Pro @ Techjuice.
Epox 8KRA2+ @ TWL.
Seasonic 400w PSU @ 3DGM.
Antec 550w PSU @ DVH.

Damn I'm tired... Got work tomorrow. I'm also waiting for the full report on what exactly happened to the site.

Steelpad 4S @ Ripnet.
Samsung SATA 160GB @ MTB.
CM Aerocool @ ClubOC.
ATI VE @ Ascully.
CM Keyboard @ OCC.
TwinX XMS4000 @ VL.
FIC Canterwood @ MBReview.

I must've missed a bunch, but my email was down for a bit.

Yeah, three days offline due to someone exploit. More details to come in a few...