New Norton AntiVirus and Internet Security Packages Announced

Slashdot It! Adds what Symantec calls "threat interceptor" defense to prevent execution of malicious code enabled through a drive-by download. Symantec unveiled the 2008 editions of its Norton AntiVirus and Internet Security desktop protection products, adding what it calls "threat interceptor" defense to prevent execution of malicious code enabled through a drive-by download. Used by consumers and small businesses, Norton AntiVirus 2008 and Norton Internet Security, which includes the antivirus capability plus a desktop firewall and host-based intrusion prevention, will now be able to block drive-by downloads from Web sites where visitors with unpatched computers can easily be infected and their machines compromised. Symantec's 2008 edition security products are designed to run on Windows XP Service Pack 2 and Windows Vista. "There are multiple infection vectors for drive-by downloads, both Web sites where malicious code is deliberately posted and legitimate Web sites that have been compromised," noted Ed Kim, director of product management at Symantec's consumer division. One striking example of this was the compromise of the Web sites of Dolphin Stadium and the Miami Dolphins in advance of the Super Bowl football game last winter when Web site visitors encountered drive-by downloads intended to take over their desktop machines. Kim pointed out that unpatched Web browsers aren't the only means that drive-by downloads exploit to dump malicious code on Web site visitors. "Hacks are becoming highly focused not only on Web browsers but on third-party applications as well, such as Adobe or QuickTime," he said. Failure to stay completely up to date on software patches can provide the hole for drive-by downloads to slip through. The threat interceptor technology -- branded as Browser Defender -- works by inspecting function API calls to execute what might be a malicious attack, and proactively blocking them. Kim said in most cases this would still allow the user to continue browsing the Web site, but in some instances it might cause a delay as threat interceptor blocks code execution. "Generally, you'd get a quick notification that we detected an attack," said Kim. The threat interceptor technology is not included in today's versions of Symantec's corporate antivirus and Internet Security software, but Symantec's history of product rollouts has often entailed adding capabilities introduced in consumer products to corporate editions. Symantec didn't disclose whether that would occur as regards threat interceptor. Other security upgrades to Norton Internet Security 2008 (but not Norton AntiVirus 2008) include a password-protected encrypted store for sensitive information, such as credit card numbers and addresses. Called Norton Identity Safe, the functionality prevents autofill on a Web site until the Web site's validity is first checked, and allows a "card metaphor persona" for business and personal use. It's also intended to prevent keystroke loggers from stealing sensitive data. Symantec says other improvements for both Norton Internet Security and Norton AntiVirus entail reducing scan time on a 1GB file from 2 minutes and 15 seconds in the 2007 editions to 1 minute and 55 seconds for the 2008 edition. Norton also says it has shrunk Norton Internet Security 2008 down to 10MB from what was closer to 15MB in earlier editions. Symantec is also releasing a beta of an upcoming Norton Smartphone Security product for the Windows Mobile and Symbian platforms, which is expected to be generally available in the fall. Norton Internet Security 2008 costs $69.99 for use on three PCs. It includes a way to recommend and determine configuration settings for wireless security such as WEP and WPA, with one of the three licensed machines now able to monitor the wireless-security configurations for all three used locally. A small-office version of Norton Internet Security 2008 for five to 10 users would cost US$109.99 and $199.99, respectively. Norton AntiVirus 2008 costs $39.99 per user, with Norton AntiVirus 2008 Small Office Packs for five to 10 users retailing for $89.99 and $149.99 respectively. Power Supplies Surf the web faster with Mozilla FireFox

Winchip DDR2 1200MHz PC2-9600 2GB RAM Kit @ Benchmark Reviews

Slashdot It! Ever since Intel released the 3 series chipset, DDR2 has had the wind taken from its sails so that DDR3 could make waves. This was meant with the best intentions, but as DDR3 was released to public it didn't take long for people to realize it was still too immature to compete against DDR2 in regards to performance. This put the weight of the world back on the shoulders of DDR2, which has just earned a repreive from execution. But now that manufacturers are tooling up for DDR3 production, there are only few names remaining on the shrinking list which are still releasing high-performance system memory for the DDR2 platform. Winchip still knows that DDR2 has performance potential left in it, and offers the 1200MHz PC2-9600 2GB DDR2 RAM Kit to Benchmark Reviews for testing. ARTICLE URL: http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=67&Itemid=1 IMAGE URL: http://benchmarkreviews.com/images/reviews/Winchip%20PC2-9600/frontpage.jpg Surf the web faster with Mozilla FireFox

Apple shares rise on new iPod buzz

Slashdot It! Apple shares rose more than 4.5 percent, fueled by excitement over the pending launch of new iPod digital music players, which could entice current users to buy upgraded models. The stock climbed $5.74 to $132.56 in early trading, after Apple distributed invitations to a September 5 event in San Francisco. Goldman Sachs said in a note to clients that the date would bring "the almost certain launch of a new family of iPods." "The product announcement is likely to include a full lineup of revamped iPods with significantly greater functionality at current price points, including the much-anticipated full-screen video iPod," Goldman said. Goldman recommended clients buy Apple shares, saying the next video iPod could drive "an accelerated upgrade cycle." Apple shares are up about 55 percent this year, driven by the steady strength of the iPod, which dominates the portable music player market, and the late June launch of the iPhone. The share gains come despite top mobile-phone maker Nokia's unveiling on Wednesday of its own online music store, new top-end handsets aimed at rivaling Apple. Separately, Apple said on Wednesday it will sell television programs in Britain via its iTunes Store as part of a push to become a one-stop shop for digital entertainment. Surf the web faster with Mozilla FireFox

Patch service shuts after Microsoft request

Slashdot It! AutoPatcher, a 4-year-old project to distribute Microsoft patches and other updates to software that runs on Windows, has shut down because of a Microsoft request. "Today we received an e-mail from Microsoft, requesting the immediate takedown of the download page, which of course means that AutoPatcher is probably history," said project manager Antonis Kaladis in a post Wednesday. "As much as we disagree, we can do very little, and...we took the download page down." AutoPatcher had a variety of uses. For example, people with limited bandwidth could download patches once and install them on multiple computers, or people setting up new machines could apply security updates without having to expose the computer to network security risks. AutoPatcher could handle updates from Microsoft as well as third-party software such as Sun Microsystems' Java. Microsoft said it "discourages" others from distributing supplemental software such as hot fixes, security patches and service packs and that doing so infringes the company's copyright. "This policy is in place due to concern for the safety and security of our customers, as we can only guarantee the download's contents when it comes from a Microsoft Web site," the company said in a statement. "We contacted AutoPatcher earlier today to request that they stop redistributing our Microsoft intellectual property." According to a post on the Neowin news and discussion site, which hosted the official AutoPatcher forum, the company wants to be the sole distributor of its own software updates. Microsoft's legal department notified Neowin co-founder Steven Parker of the company's objections and had requested Neowin cut a tie it had to AutoPatcher. "I had a call from Microsoft Legal this morning and they have told me that we are no longer allowed to endorse AutoPatcher on Neowin. Microsoft will only allow updates to be downloaded from its own servers," Parker said in the post. Microsoft indicated it acted now because it just found out about the site. "Microsoft tries to contact anyone who is in violation of our policy as soon as we can once we are aware of what they're doing," the company said. However, the company has had plenty of time. AutoPatcher and its network of download "mirror" sites have been operating for four years, and the project's frequently-asked-questions page describes it as legal. "The AutoPatcher project has been going strong since 2003 and never had a sniff of trouble from Microsoft," the page says. "Kaladis once spoke to a Microsoft employee and apparently they know about us but don't care what we do," the page also says. Parker reported that Windows Genuine Advantage, a Microsoft antipiracy program that checks legitimacy of a version of Windows, apparently isn't involved. WGA certification is required to install some software updates. "I asked the representative if Windows Genuine Advantage had anything to do with it, and he categorically told me this was not the case," Parker said. "The concern at Microsoft had more to do with the possible malicious code that could be redistributed with certified Microsoft updates." The representative also told Parker that Firefox, an open-source Web browser rival to Microsoft's Internet Explorer, now can be used to access Microsoft's Windows Update service for versions of Windows predating Vista. However, some forum posters said they were unable to do so. Surf the web faster with Mozilla FireFox

1000 Boeing 777 being delivered

Slashdot It! The Boeing Company announced that an order from Brazil's TAM Airlines [BOVESPA: TAMM4 and NYSE: TAM] for four additional 777-300ERs brings to 1,003 the number of 777s ordered since the first order of the popular widebody in 1990. Today's announcement also means that, to date in 2007, Boeing has received orders for 100 of the popular 777s. TAM is Brazil's largest airline, flying both domestic and international routes. TAM became the first Latin American airline to incorporate the 777-300ER into its long-range fleet plan when it booked its initial order for four 777-300ERs earlier this year. TAM's first 777-300ER is scheduled to be delivered in June 2008. Prior to ordering these eight 777s, TAM was an exclusive Airbus operator. "TAM's recent orders confirm airline preference for the 777 family which commands more than a 65 percent market share in its category because of its lower operating costs, passenger pleasing cabin and unmatched reliability, " said Larry Loftis, vice president, Boeing 777 Program. "We have continually enhanced and improved the performance of the 777 family of airplanes. Today, we have grown that family to include two, new, longer range 777s and a freighter version that will enter service in the fourth quarter of 2008." Marco Antonio Bologna, TAM's CEO said the 777-300ER acquisitions are an important step for TAM's growth in the long-haul international market. "The Boeing 777 provides TAM with unmatched revenue-generating capability, beginning with fuel savings and environmental benefits," Bologna said. "Further, this is a plane long-haul passengers recognize for its spaciousness, comfort and award-winning interiors." The fuel-efficient 777-300ER is the world's largest long-range twin-engine jetliner capable of carrying 365 passengers up to 7,880 nautical miles (14,594 kilometers). The efficient twin-engine design provides the lowest fuel consumption and overall operating costs in its class. Surf the web faster with Mozilla FireFox

WGA error is caused by human error

Slashdot It! Microsoft is now talking about the cause and scope of this past weekend's WGA outage. As expected, the problem was indeed Microsoft's WGA "validation service," which Microsoft says began experiencing problems processing validation requests on Friday, around 3:30 PM Pacific Time. The outage was caused by "human error." Alex Kochis, a Microsoft senior product manager for WGA, says that Microsoft learned of the outage "through a combination of posts to our forum and customer support." The company is now working to improve its monitoring so that it does not need to rely on customer notification in the event of future WGA problems. The failure was caused when "preproduction code" was sent to the production WGA servers. "The production servers had not yet been upgraded with a recent change to enable stronger encryption/decryption of product keys during the activation and validation processes," Kochis says. "The result of this is that the production servers declined activation and validation requests that should have passed." Even though this situation was fixed within 30 minutes, the effects on the WGA processing system could not be reversed as quickly. "While the issue affecting activations was fixed in less than thirty minutes (by rolling back the changes), the effect of the preproduction code on our validation service continued after the rollback took place," he said. The scope of systems affected is considerable, yet only a fraction of the world's installed Windows user base. "Our data shows that fewer than 12,000 systems were affected worldwide and that many of those have already revalidated and are fixed," said Kochis on the WGA blog. "This is encouraging news but we want to emphasize that one bad customer experience is one too many and that we're committed to learning from this experience and working to prevent this type of event from occurring again." In a more recent update, Kochis says that it's wrong to call this failure an "outage" because the servers were not down; they were just functioning incorrectly. Kochis says that were the servers completely down, clients would not have been misidentified as having pirated software. The good news is that Microsoft's system appears to be more fault-tolerant than we thought, at least in theory. Spinning whether or not this was an "outage" seems like an academic point, but Microsoft's emphasis here is that this failure was due to a very specific set of conditions that it believes won't be repeated. Windows Vista users who failed validation would have had the Aero user interface, ReadyBoost, and Windows Defender disabled, although Defender (like Windows Update) will still function for "critical" scans and updates. Kochis says that the full reduced functionality mode was not triggered for users because no 30-day grace period had been passed. Kochis also said that the company is going to look into why some of its support techs told users that a fix would not be forthcoming. Surf the web faster with Mozilla FireFox

Crucial Ballistix Tracer DDR2-800 2GB Memory Kit @ TheTechLounge

Slashdot It! “Good RAM wouldn't be good if it didn't have rows of flashing lights under its heatspreader. Wait, that makes no sense. RAM is good when it, and, therefore, your computer, blazes. It should be about lower latencies and higher bandwidth, not Blinken- and ground lights. But are the two mutually exclusive? If we apply rice theory, spinners and lights may be added to any vehicle (import or domestic--although it's pretty hard to be impressed by a pimped-out Taurus) and imply, but are not evidence of, high performance. OK, so hear me out--there's a place where that metaphor comes back to fit, fer rills. Real racecars don't have lights and junk. That's heavy. Can high-performance RAM have lights? Will the extra stuff and/or heat weigh down the memory just as surely as would a tail fin lovingly crafted from Bondo?” Article Link: http://www.thetechlounge.com/article/445/Crucial+Ballistix+Tracer+DDR2800+2GB+Memory+Kit/ Image Link: http://www.thetechlounge.com/files/articles/445/index_197.jpg Surf the web faster with Mozilla FireFox

Kingston 2GB HyperX DDR3-1375 CL7 @ Techgage

Slashdot It! Last Friday, we took a look at one of the first DDR3 kits on the market, OCZ's DDR3-1333 Platinum. This week, we are continuing that theme with Kingston's DDR3-1375 CL7, also one of the first kits available. How does this one compare to our OCZ kit? Read on to find out. Link: http://techgage.com/article/kingston_2gb_hyperx_ddr3-1375_cl7/ Surf the web faster with Mozilla FireFox

The problem with the new upgraded Windows Live Hotmail interface

Slashdot It! I am having some problems with the new interface of Windows Live Hotmail. They do not allow me to reply to emails. Shall update if I face more problems. Surf the web faster with Mozilla FireFox

Paper Airline Tickets Become So Last Year

Slashdot It! By next summer, paper airline tickets will become collector’s items, according to the International Air Transport Association, which represents the majority of international airlines around the world. It said it has placed its last order for paper tickets and by next June 1, air travel will go entirely to electronic ticketing. Guardian Unlimited reports 84 percent of ticketing is done electronically, up from just 16 percent three years ago. The move is expected to save $9 per ticket, though there’s no word on whether that savings will be passed along to passengers. And responding to environmentalists’ criticism of the industry, IATA director general Giovanni Bisignani said e-ticketing will save 50,000 mature trees a year. Surf the web faster with Mozilla FireFox

Google AdSense Replaces Yahoo on CNN.com

Slashdot It! The cash cow keeps getting healthier. CNN.com has agreed to join Google's AdSense advertising program, which has made the search vendor the multibillion-dollar Internet ad realtor it is. Neither the financial terms nor the duration of the deal were made public, but a CNN spokesperson confirmed for me that Google is replacing Yahoo as the provider of choice for contextually relevant text, image and video ads. Google will be the exclusive provider of auction-based text advertisements throughout CNN.com. Such deals are common and often circular. Google's leadership in search rankings may give it an edge in landing the bulk of such contextual ad deals. But it's partly through such deals that Google continues to be the search leader. To be sure, the CNN agreement is a coup over not only Yahoo but also Microsoft and AOL. All of the search and online portals covet advertising dollars and eyeballs for their content and additional Internet services. In July, Google renewed a multiyear deal with Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive whereby the search provider drives contextually targeted ads and Google Web Search functionality to washingtonpost.com's Web pages. A year ago this month, Google became the exclusive search and keyword ad sales provider for the properties of News Corp.'s Fox Interactive Media, including MySpace.com. But Google's rivals aren't strangers to such deals either. Earlier in August, Yahoo added Philly.com, online home of the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News as an online ad partner. Surf the web faster with Mozilla FireFox

Google CFO Reyes to retire by end of year

Slashdot It! Google said that George Reyes plans to retire as chief financial officer by the end of the year, and that the company will begin a search for a replacement. Reyes, 53, has served as CFO of Google, the world's leading provider of Web search and online services, since 2002. He helped spearhead the company's initial public offering in August 2004. A veteran of Silicon Valley high-tech companies, Reyes previously served as interim CFO of optical networking equipment company ONI Systems before it was sold to Ciena in 2002. For 13 years, he held various financial executive positions at computer maker Sun Microsystems. Reyes serves on the board of directors of two Silicon Valley-based software makers: Symantec and BEA Systems. Surf the web faster with Mozilla FireFox

Apevia X-Telstar Black Aluminum Mid-Tower ATX Case @ Benchmark Reviews

Slashdot It! Today I'm reviewing the Apevia X-Telstar Black Aluminum Mid-Tower ATX Case. You might know Apevia from their many other products or particularly their very nice X-Navigator cases. The X-Telstar's prominent features are: large see-through side window panel; and a front LCD display; twelve drive bays; solid aluminum chassis; and three 120mm (large) fans. It is marketed as a gaming case however I'm sure you could load up Photoshop or a web browser up if your computer was inside, too. I wouldn't go so far as to say that any accounting or legal/law related programs would open on a computer in this case. ARTICLE URL: http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=51&Itemid=1 IMAGE URL: http://benchmarkreviews.com/images/reviews/Apevia%20X-Telstar/frontpage.jpg Surf the web faster with Mozilla FireFox

Apple now sells more than one in six laptops in U.S.

Slashdot It! Apple Inc.'s share of the laptop market is growing -- the company now sells more than one in every six laptops purchased in the U.S., a research firm said today. "Apple's definitely up," said Stephen Baker, an analyst at Port Washington, N.Y.-based NPD Group Inc. "Their sales are continuing to grow faster than the rest of the marketplace." NPD, which collects its data primarily from retail sources and excludes most online and all direct sales, said Apple's MacBook and MacBook Pro laptops accounted for 17.6% of June's unit sales, an uptick of more than three percentage points from May's 14.3%. Baker attributed the jump in market share to refreshes that both laptop lines recently received. The lower-priced MacBook was updated in mid-May with faster processors and more memory, while 15-in. models of the high-end MacBook Pro were outfitted with new backlit LED screens in early June. The market share increase pushed Apple past Gateway Inc. into third place on NPD's list of laptop sales leaders, behind Hewlett-Packard Co. and Toshiba Corp. Research firm IDC also has Apple in the third spot; data it released last month put Apple's share of U.S. sales at 5.6%, far behind leaders HP (28.4%) and Dell (23.6%) but tied with Gateway. Back-to-school sales during this month and next, Baker said, should be strong for Apple, but his forecast is that the company's share will remain stable through the quarter. "I don't expect it to improve any from the June numbers," said Baker. The next move by Apple, said Baker, will likely not be in its computer business -- it refreshed the iMac family earlier this month -- but on the iPod side. "I'll stay firmly in the path of conventional wisdom and say that it's iPods next," Baker said. "They haven't been refreshed in almost a year." Although bloggers and Apple-centric Web sites have been touting rumors of iPod announcements coming as soon as next Tuesday, Baker didn't have any inside information on possible release dates or even details. However, he did have some predictions. "Apple will up the capacity of the Shuffle," he said. The diminutive player, which sells for $79, currently maxes out at 1GB. "And Apple has to decide where they want to go with the Nano. It's a music player now, so the question is what can they do if they want to keep it in that form factor?" Some reports have surfaced with photos showing a shorter, wider Nano, with a screen better suited to video. At least one such posting has pulled the photos at Apple's request, fueling speculation that the images were legitimate. "I think we'll also see a whole revamp of the iPod video line," added Baker, citing talk of an iPod with the same size and shape -- including screen size -- as the iPhone as one possibility. Surf the web faster with Mozilla FireFox

New Digg Home Page breaks the Linux section on IE?

Slashdot It! So I'm sitting here eating lunch and go to see if there is anything new on Digg. Saw the new layout, looks nice, haven't really had a chance to play around with it yet. However, when i got to the Linux/Unix section, it wouldn't show up in Internet Explorer (6). It works fine in FireFox. Does someone over at Digg have a sense of humor or is my browser just acting on the bunk? Surf the web faster with Mozilla FireFox

Why changing your blog template would help you

Slashdot It! Two A-List bloggers have recently overhauled their site design in big ways. Both Problogger Darren Rowse and Dot Com Mogul John Chow went new from top to bottom with their designs. While both bloggers received mixed reactions from their fan base, there are a few perks that come with almost any new design. So, with two high profile examples at my disposal, I figured now would be a great time to discuss the Benefits of a Blog Redesign. Before we get too far into things, let’s take a look at the designs in question. First up is Darren’s incredibly popular Problogger. He had announced that a redesign was coming and even offered a sneak peak of the new logo but I don’t think anyone was quite prepared for this dramatic change: As I mentioned earlier, both new blog designs were met with somewhat mixed reactions. For example, on John’s site, many people felt that the header was now way too busy and didn’t put enough emphasis on the content. On the other hand, many others gave the new look rave reviews and one reader even mentioned they were so impressed they had already contacted the designer about redesigning their own site. Now that we’ve all seen these snazzy new designs, I’m sure many of us (including myself) are considering giving our site’s a facelift. What are the benefits to be gained? Well I’m glad you asked… Buzz When you visit a website on a regular basis, chances are you’re a fan. When that website then does something as dramatic as a redesign, that’s going to get you talking. These two examples have been perfect examples as both sets of readers have been analyzing, critiquing, and discussing the new looks. People who normally read the content via RSS feeds are making a point of clicking through to check out the new look and feel of the site. Bottom line, after a redesign, whether good or bad, there’s a lot of buzz. Obviously you’d like that buzz to be positive in nature but you’re never going to please everyone. Linkbait In the online world we live in, buzz almost always translates into links. While these two redesigns we’re using for examples certainly weren’t done with an eye on linkbait, they’ve turned out to be just that. I’ve read about both new designs on multiple other blogs. Whether people love or hate your new design, chances are they’ll link to your site to when letting their readers know that they love or hate it. Shoot, even this post is an example of this. Again, you’re hoping that the bulk of the links are from positive reviews and people raving over your new look but in the end, the search engines couldn’t care less. In the offline world there’s a saying that there’s no such thing as bad press. Well ladies and gents, I’m here to tell you there’s no such thing as bad links. (Note: I really don’t want to get into an SEO debate here, you get my point so roll with it.) Renewed Ad Exposure One thing that happens naturally over the course of time is ad blindness. Frequent visitors to your site know where the content is and they’ve probably already seen the ads on your site hundreds of times. Another benefit of a redesign, albeit a somewhat short lived one, is renewed exposure for your ads. It will take a while for your readers to become acquainted with your new look or layout and that means there’s a better chance of your ads catching their attention. As I said, this benefit won’t be all that long lasting but more attention placed on your ads, even for a short time, likely means a quick infusion of cash in your pocket. Refreshing Similar to the previous benefit, changing the appearance of your blog can have a very refreshing effect… on you! I don’t know about you but a few days after I put a site up (sometimes quicker) I start to see the little things that I want to change or a few things I’m not real fond of. It’s a bit like painting a room in your house. At first you love it because you’ve got the new color on the walls. As time passes you start to notice spots you missed or didn’t cover well enough. After a while, those little things start to annoy you and a while later they start to drive you nuts. The same thing applies to your blog. You probably loved it for a while but after a bit even the little things can drive you nuts. If you’re struggling with blogging burnout or just can’t stand to work on your site, a redesign might be just what the doctor ordered. More ROOOOM The last benefit I’m going to discuss is the one that’s most obvious. While you can’t see it in my small screen shots above, both the “after” designs are wider than their predecessors. As technology improves and prices drop, more and more people are viewing your site on larger and larger monitors. Not long ago, 800 pixels was the maximum width for your website if you didn’t want your readers to have to scroll to the left or right (and believe me, NO ONE wants to do that). Now, screen resolutions of 1000 pixels wide are common place if not the standard. You should always check out your stats before blowing out the side wall of your design and adding on, however, chances are you can give yourself quite a bit more room to work with. Now, whether that means more ad space or an extra row of navigation or just more room for your content, that’s up to you. Whatever you do with it though, extra space is always nice. Just look at the increasing size of our houses, I mean who doesn’t want to spread out a bit? So there you have it. While it’s always a good idea to improve your site when you decide to take the plunge and begin a redesign, these benefits accompany just about any new look, whether it’s good or bad. As I mentioned the redesign bug seems to be going around and as you might have guessed, I’ve apparently caught it. I’ve been very happy with the theme from BloggingPro but I feel it’s time for some improvements. A new design is in the works and it will include (finally!) a Blogging Experiment logo as well. I’m not 100% sure when it will roll out but the target is the middle of next week. Now that I think about it, maybe I should make a big event out of it and push the new look out with the post announcing the winner of the Complete Blogging Package contest. We were up to 133 subscribers yesterday but have fallen back into the 120’s today. The goal of 150 is mighty close but if you’d like any of the extra prizes time is running out! Surf the web faster with Mozilla FireFox

Ultra X-Pro 800W Aluminum PSU ULT33185 @ Benchmark Reviews

Slashdot It! Ultra has been in the business of producing good looking products which are known to perform well, and still not cost a fortune. We recently reviewed the Ultra ULT33186 Chilltec TEC CPU Cooler, which offered a unique blend of technologies into one product. Equally as unique is the Ultra X-Pro 800W Aluminum PSU ULT33185, which matches a very attractive power supply chassis with high-performance electronics previously found in mission critical components. Offering 800 watts of power gives the X-Pro a very wide range of applications: from pedestal servers to hardcore gaming systems. Benchmark Reviews has seen plenty of power supplies that look good, and they often promise more than they deliver. Ultra's X-Pro 800W will need to prove that function still comes before fashion. ARTICLE URL: http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=70&Itemid=1 Surf the web faster with Mozilla FireFox

Acer to acquire Gateway for $710 million

Slashdot It! Acer plans to acquire Gateway in a deal worth $710 million that Acer says will make it the world's third-largest PC vendor. Under terms of the agreement announced Monday, Acer will purchase all of Gateway's outstanding shares for $1.90 per share. The deal has already been approved by the boards of directors at both companies and should be completed by the end of this year, subject to government approval, Acer said in a statement. Gateway's shares ended at $1.21 Friday on the New York Stock Exchange. "This is the biggest acquisition in Acer's 30 year history," said J.T. Wang, Acer's chairman, speaking at a news conference in Taipei. "After this acquisition, we are solidly number three in the global PC market," Wang said. Acer's acquisition deal with Gateway also derails rival Lenovo Group's plans to acquire Packard Bell. Alongside the acquisition deal with Acer, Gateway unveiled plans to exercise its right of first refusal to acquire shares in Packard Bell's parent company, PB Holding Co. SARL, from John Hui. Hui is the founder of eMachines, which Gateway acquired in 2004, and the largest shareholder in Packard Bell. Gateway did not disclose how much it has offered for Hui's stake in PB Holding. Acer's efforts to overtake Lenovo will get a big boost from Gateway, which was the world's eighth largest PC vendor during 2006. Together Acer and Gateway shipped 18.6 million PCs during 2006, compared to 16.6 million PCs shipped by Lenovo. The Gateway acquisition will have the greatest impact in the U.S., where Acer has been growing fast but remains in sixth place among PC vendors. "This is definitely a good play for them from the U.S. consumer perspective," said Bryan Ma, director of personal systems research at IDC Asia-Pacific. However, the big question is how Acer plans to integrate Gateway with its own operations, and how smoothly the integration process will go, he said. Acer's share of the U.S. PC market grew 164 percent during the second quarter of 2007, compared to the same period last year. Acer shipped 888,000 PCs to U.S. customers, giving the company a 5.2 percent share of the market. By comparison, Gateway was the fourth-largest PC vendor during the second quarter, shipping 965,000 PC and taking 5.6 percent share of the U.S. PC market. The Gateway acquisition vaults Acer into the number three spot in the U.S. PC market, behind only HP and Dell. "Acer is an outstanding strategic partner for Gateway," said Ed Coleman, CEO of Gateway, in a video feed at the Taipei news conference to announce the deal. Gateway reported net income of $1.9 million for the second quarter, compared to a loss of $7.7 million one year earlier. The company said gains in its retail division during the period were offset by declining revenue in its professional and direct divisions. However, talks are currently underway to sell off the professional division to a third party, Gateway said. The company did not offer details of those discussions. Surf the web faster with Mozilla FireFox

Google might buy Godaddy

Slashdot It! It can be a lot of fun to predict who Google may buy next. So when a colleague pointed out a blog post on Domain Name Wire last week that suggested Google could buy GoDaddy, I went fishing. Noting that registrar GoDaddy has been on a veritable patent filing rampage (more than 50 pending), Domain Name Wire editor Andrew Allemann specifically pointed to a search patent application GoDaddy filed in May 2006 for presenting search engine results based on domain name related reputation data. A glance at the patent summary on UPTO's Web site confirmed the filing is right in Google's bailiwick: "The search engine may sort or order search engine results based on domain name related reputation data. In some cases links connected to low reputation domain names may be excluded from search engine results. Alternatively, the search engine may show reputation ratings next to the links in the search engine results. Thus, allowing the Internet user to determine whether to visit the link or not. The reputation data may be tracked on the domain name itself, URLs, domain name purchaser or registrant, or email addresses associated with the domain name." There is also a filing for providing a user with domain name suggestions in response to a search performed on a computer network, as well as numerous filings for e-mail, VOIP and other patents the ever-expanding Google may find valuable. Wouldn't the GoDaddy patents go along way toward helping Google's goal to get more information from search queries? As Allemann pointed out "Google would get its hands on reams of data about the very domain names it is indexing, as well acquire its patent portfolio." Oh, and Google has been an official registrar for two years and partners with GoDaddy and ENOM to distribute domain registrations for $10 a year. I haven't heard a peep from Google and GoDaddy is getting back to me later. Could it be that GoDaddy is ramping up its IP filing cycle to defend against any Google power moves here, or maybe even to make itself more attractive to the search giant? Can you imagine the marketing campaigns in the wake of this union? The GoDaddy's girls would swap their tight tees for Google shirts. The "oo" letters in Google would certainly be strategically placed. Marketing minds will hit warp speed for new Web and TV campaigns for the Super Bowl. Surf the web faster with Mozilla FireFox

Logitech G9 Laser Gaming Mouse @ Techgage

Slashdot It! Looking for the ultimate gaming mouse? Logitech's latest G9 offers a lot... and then some. Included is a switchable body, color-changing LEDs, 3200 DPI capabilities, MicroGear scroll-wheel, braided cable and much more. The question: Is it worth your $99? Link: http://techgage.com/article/logitech_g9_laser_gaming_mouse/ Surf the web faster with Mozilla FireFox

Linux in every A380 seat

Slashdot It! To make flying more enjoyable for its passengers, Singapore Airlines Ltd. is adding bigger screens, more in-flight movies and a PC, running Red Hat Inc.'s distribution of the Linux operating system, in every seat on its newest planes. Unlike many U.S. airlines, the carrier doesn't view in-flight service as a cost center where cutbacks can be made to reduce losses or boost profits. Instead, Singapore Airlines' latest investments in cabin service are designed to help it stand out from the competition and attract more passengers KrisWorld, Singapore Airlines' in-flight entertainment system, is a main focus of these efforts, offering on-demand movies, television shows, games and music to passengers. Now, the airline aims to raise the bar, rolling out a new version of KrisWorld that improves significantly on existing systems and hints at what passengers can expect to see on the Airbus S.A.S. A380 and The Boeing Co. 787 Dreamliner, when these aircraft enter service. In recent years, video-on-demand and audio-on-demand have become common offerings on many airlines. "It's become expected," said Eric Tong, senior manager of inflight entertainment product innovation at Singapore Airlines, during a recent interview. Carriers have to push the boundaries of what's possible with these systems to stand out from the competition, he said. The latest version of KrisWorld is based on Panasonic Avionics Corp.'s eX2 in-flight entertainment system and was jointly developed by the two companies. The system consists of a central Linux server that connects to a network of PCs installed in every seat on the aircraft. The KrisWorld software offers an improved user interface and each economy-class seat is fitted with a 10.6-inch LCD (liquid crystal display) screen that offers resolution of 1,280 pixels by 768 pixels. They are larger in business and first class, where each seat comes with a 15.4-inch and 23-inch screen, respectively. The heart of the KrisWorld system is the main server, which is equipped with "terabytes" of storage capacity to hold the content that's made available to passengers, Tong said. When passengers choose to watch a movie or listen to a CD, the content is streamed from the KrisWorld server to the seat's computer, which has 40G bytes of local hard-disk space and is based on a Via Technologies Inc. processor. The amount of content that's available on the latest KrisWorld system for passengers to choose from is staggering: 100 movies, 150 television shows, 700 music CDs, 22 radio stations, and 65 games. Movies and television shows are refreshed on a monthly basis, meaning frequent fliers will always find fresh content. In addition, the system offers Berlitz language lessons, travel guides from Rough Guides, and live text news, among other choices. KrisWorld can also be used as a PC and includes Sun Microsystems Inc.'s StarOffice application suite, which offers a word processor, spreadsheet, and a presentation program. Every seat is fitted with a USB (Universal Serial Bus) port that lets passengers access documents carried on a thumb drive or portable hard disk. The port can also be used to connect a USB keyboard or mouse, making it easier for business travellers to create and edit documents without having to dig out their laptops and power cords, Tong said. Don't want to carry a keyboard with you? No problem. You can buy one on board the aircraft. Alternatively, the handsets installed in each seat that offered controls for the in-flight entertainment system on one side and a phone on the other, have been replaced with a model that offers user controls on one side a QWERTY keypad on the other. Unfortunately, since the demise of Boeing's Connexion service, Internet access hasn't been available on Singapore Airlines. But the carrier is looking for another way of providing Internet access, hoping to offer yet one more way to for passengers to spend all those hours in the sky. "We are reviewing options and once we find that there are viable options, sustainable ones over the longer term ... we will certainly look at it," Tong said. Surf the web faster with Mozilla FireFox

Google is releasing the Google Phone in India in two weeks time

Slashdot It! Reports out of India suggest that Google will be releasing their rumored "Google Phone" worldwide in two weeks. The report is questionable for a number of reasons, the first of would probably have to be that it is only coming out of India, and the second of which is the unlikelihood that Google would stab their tech buddy Apple in the back by releasing a phone so soon after iPhone. Maybe Google's CEO Eric Schmidt sits on Apple's Board of Directors just so he could eavesdrop on conversation Steve Jobs was having when the iPhone was still in development. Now THAT would be a story. While the two-week timeline may be very questionable, it does seem to be fairly well assumed that Google is going to release a cellphone at some point in the future - and that it might even be free thanks to advertisements that would run on it. Also fairly likely is a phone from Microsoft, which may or may not be a ZunePhone. I see it now: in 2010 the three biggest selling cellphones in the U.S. are going to be the iPhone, the gPhone, and the zPhone - all made by crossovers from the computer/Internet industries. While there will still be the majority of the population using cellular technology - a sizeable portion will have begun using their phones with services like Skype over WiFi or WiMAX - or Google's gNetwork. Then Microsoft will launch a competitor called Skynet (come on, is Live SkyDrive that far off?...) and Arnold will step down from his new Senate seat to fight them... Surf the web faster with Mozilla FireFox

Windows Genuine Advantage server down

Slashdot It! Late last night we started receiving reports from readers experiencing problems with Windows Genuine Advantage authentication. Users of both Windows XP and Windows Vista were writing to say that they could not validate their installations using WGA, and one user even said that his installation was invalidated by the service. We contacted our sources at Microsoft, who told us off the record that the company is aware of a major WGA server outage affecting users across the globe. The Windows Genuine Advantage support forum has exploded with complaints, as a result, and Phil Liu, WGA project manager, says that he won't sleep until the problem is fixed. Windows Vista and XP are affected, 32- and 64-bit versions. Microsoft is telling users who are affected that they should "try again" later, with some support techs telling readers that Microsoft is aiming to have a fix in place by Tuesday, August 28. That would mean the outage will last more than three days, given that it started last night (and may have started earlier; we're hearing reports of some users running into this earlier in the week, on a limited basis). Reader Aaron Woolf tells us he was unable to validate patches for installation on a developer's copy of Vista pulled from MSDN. He writes, "My legitimate MSDN-acquired Vista Ultimate, which has been running, activated and validated for several months, now fails WGA." Others have reported similar difficulties. How does this affect you? If you use Windows, do your best to avoid anything that requires a ping to WGA. That means you should stay away from patches and add-ons until the coast is clear. WGA will not reach out across the Internet and deactivate your copy of Windows, but you should avoid talking to a WGA server for any reason. For those of you doing installations and upgrades this weekend, we recommend that you avoid activation at this time. Remember that you can run Windows legally for 30 days without activating. If you attempt a validation and it fails, your install may be marked as non-genuine, which could lead to several annoyances. First things first, do not reboot a Windows machine that has been marked as non-genuine. Once you do so, you will lose functionality and the Aero interface. It would be best to wait until this problem has been resolved. The cause Right now we don't have official word on a cause, but one source with familiarity with WGA tells us that the issue may be caused by updates to the service that were required after Microsoft expanded the number of activations keys available for Windows XP. However, the sense we get from Phil Liu is that Microsoft is pretty much in the dark right now. More as this develops... Update: Word from Microsoft is that this problem has been fixed, and all users affected should revisit the WGA site and re-validate. There's no explanation as to why Microsoft was originally telling people to wait until Tuesday, but the good news is that the problem has been solved. Surf the web faster with Mozilla FireFox

The challenge of algae fuel

Slashdot It! Making fuel out of algae is one of those ideas that everyone loves. An acre of algae can produce 50 times more oil than an acre of soy, estimates John Sheehan, now vice president of strategy and sustainable development at LiveFuels. "It can produce a lot of oil," he said in an interview on Wednesday. The oil can be used to make biodiesel or synthetic forms of petroleum or both. Many hope that algae-based fuel can sell for around $40 to $50 a barrel, or a lot less than crude. Algae facilities can also suck significant amounts of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. The fumes coming out of utility smokestacks can be piped into algae growing facilities. And to top it off, algae's not a massive food crop at the moment, so you aren't using a valuable food crop to gas cars. Sheehan's not new to the field. He oversaw biomass, ethanol and algae programs at National Renewable Energy Labs. An NREL paper on algae--along with research from some of the national labs--forms the basis of a lot of the thinking around algae. Right now, though, no one is producing it commercially. Companies such as LiveFuels, GreenFuel Technologies and Solazyme hope to start seeing algae oil get into the fuel markets in a substantial way over the next few years, but it's still mostly experimental. GreenFuel recently hit some snags and changed CEOs. One challenge is removing the water. It's not uncommon to have 1 gram of usable algae in every liter of water. "That's 1,000 parts of water for every part of algae," he said. The industry is also in the midst of a few religious wars. One is controlled versus open ponds. In controlled facilities, engineers can regulate the growth of organisms and control what kinds of species grow in the environment. These facilities cost quite a bit. Controlling the rate of growth can also be a problem. "Open ponds are the cheapest, simplest solution," he said. "But it is much harder to maintain consistency." Then there is the question of using biologically enhanced organisms or a mixture of naturally occurring species. Enhanced organisms can produce more oil per cell. However, they may not thrive if foreign species enter the pond. LiveFuels is an open pond/multispecies company, by the way. "The issue is: is it doable?" he said. "The question is: can we get the costs down to where it can compete" with fossil fuels? Surf the web faster with Mozilla FireFox

Some Halo 3 updates

Slashdot It! Does this gun make me look fat? New weapons like the Gravity Hammer (capable of fungoing a charging vehicle) will add a chaotic dimension to multiplayer combat, while old favorites like the Sniper Rifle have undergone minor tweaks. Remember how tough it was to kill Hunters in Halo 1 and 2? Not much has changed for H3. They’re still 12 feet tall, still packing deadly Fuel Rod Guns, and still some of the toughest bastards anywhere in the game. Halo 3 will see some new grenade types, undoubtedly making for some fresh and exciting ways to kill opponents. You know what else is good for killing opposing players? Shooting them in the throat... Guardian, a remake of the Halo 2 map, Lockout, contains carefully engineered vantage points, rooms, and weapon placement. The result? A far more balanced playing experience than its predecessor. Is that a Needler in your pants, or are you just happy to see me? A player’s secondary weapon now appears attached to his back or holstered at his side — no more surprise rocket attacks! Yep, you'll be able to play as an Elite in campaign, co-op, and multiplayer game modes. New for multiplayer, however, is the ability to design and customize different aspects of Spartan armor. What’s the Mosh Pit game type like? It’s exactly like a mosh pit at a concert, only everyone is 7 feet tall and a killing machine armed with weapons from the future. Surf the web faster with Mozilla FireFox