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07/07/2006 - VIA e SiS, ancora flessione nel mese di giugno - I due produttori di chipset registrano risultati in calo nel mese di giugno, dovuti al periodo di stanca stagionale. Fiducia per la seconda metà dell'anno
07/07/2006 - Disponibile OpenOffice.org 2.0.3 in italiano - E' da poco disponibile una versione di Openoffice.org 2.0.3 in lingua italiana. I file di installazione sono disponibili nella nostra sezione download
07/07/2006 - Blizzard pensa ad un progetto rivolto a Wii? - Sul sito della software house dei Warcraft un'offerta di lavoro rivela l'intenzione di realizzare un progetto destinato alla nuova console di Nintendo.
07/07/2006 - Fatturato in crescita nel Q2 per AMD - Ma risultati complessivi inferiori rispetto a quanto inizialmente preventivato; complice il calo stagionale, e la guerra sui prezzi con Intel
07/07/2006 - Gothic III senza la protezione anti-pirateria StarForce - JoWood fa sapere di aver rinunciato alla protezione anti-pirateria StarForce per l'atteso terzo episodio della serie Gothic.
07/07/2006 - Fusione tra ATI e AMD: solo rumors - ATi e AMD non commentano in alcun modo le indiscrezioni che parlano di uan possibile unione tra queste due realtà
07/07/2006 - Sonic e Full Auto 2 al lancio di PlayStation 3 - SEGA partecipa al lancio di PlayStation 3 con due prodotti di prima fascia: Sonic the Hedgehog e Full Auto 2. Rivelata la data di Virtua Fighter 5.
07/07/2006 - Roadmap dei processori AMD aggiornata - Athlon 64 FX-64 in arrivo nell'ultimo trimestre dell'anno, ma sino a metà 2007 continuerà a venir utilizzato per la maggiore il processo produttivo a 90 nanometri
07/07/2006 - Da VIA chipset VX700 per sistemi UMPC - VIA Technologies annuncia un nuovo chipset single-chip di ridotte dimensioni, ideale per sistemi embedded e compatti
07/07/2006 - Ultima Online avrà un seguito - Il team che si occupa dello sviluppo di Ultima Online annuncia che il popolare MMORPG sarà aggiornato grazie alla collaborazione di EA Mythic.
07/07/2006 - Symantec identifica NSIS come trojan - Un errore nelle firme virali durante i giorni passati ha creato notevoli disagi al tool per la creazione di setup NSIS della NullSoft, identificato come trojan da Symantec
07/07/2006 - Athlon 64 X2 3600+ in anticipo - Il debutto della nuova versione di processore Athlon 64 dual core è atteso nel corso di questo trimestre
07/07/2006 - Intel vuole accelerare l'adozione di WiMax - Intel investe ingenti cifre in Clearwire, società specializzata in soluzioni WiMax. Nell'accordo è coinvolta anche Motorola
07/07/2006 - Halo 3: in test anche il single player - Bungie svela che è già in corso il test del single player di Halo 3 ed altri importanti dettagli su questo progetto e ciò che gli sta intorno.
06/07/2006 - Sophos: Mac più sicuro, scelta migliore per gli utenti - Pronto il rapporto semestrale di Sophos per quanto riguarda le minacce della prima metà del 2006. La top ten completamente occupata da malware per Windows.
06/07/2006 - Microsoft annuncia supporto al formato Opendocument - Microsoft supporta un progetto opensource per la conversione dei propri file in formato ODF
06/07/2006 - Nintendo Wii prima del previsto? - Un articolo pubblicato su CNN/Money prospetta una situazione per la quale Nintendo Wii sarebbe già in commercio tra settembre e ottobre.
06/07/2006 - Dischi Seagate e lubrificazione a nanotubi: ecco le capienze - Stando ad alcune voci circolanti in rete, le capienze ottenibili sfruttando la tecnologia di lubrificazione a nanotubi porterà ad avere oltre 1TB di capienza nel nostro futuro PC portatile
06/07/2006 - Finalmente un foglio di calcolo nel prossimo iWork? - La prossima edizione di iWork, la suite di produttività personale di Apple, dovrebbe includere un foglio di calcolo chiamato Charts
06/07/2006 - Comando vocale in Gears of War - Emersa una nuova caratteristica per il promettente sparatutto tattico destinato a XBox 360.
06/07/2006 - Radeon e nForce 4: problemi risolti - Un nuovo set di driver ATI risolve alcuni problemi di incompatibilità verificatisi con alcune schede Radeon X1000 e certe piattaforme nForce 4
06/07/2006 - Arriva la versione Educational dell'iMac - La casa di Cupertino mette a disposizione una apposita configurazione dell'iMac per il segmento educational, ad un prezzo molto concorrenziale
06/07/2006 - Il ritorno del creatore di Monkey Island - Ron Gilbert, creatore degli indimenticabili Monkey Island, ha svelato alcuni dettagli sul suo attuale progetto.
06/07/2006 - Samsung avvia la produzione in volumi di memoria GDDR4 - Il colosso Coreano da il via alla produzione di massa della quarta generazione di memorie grafiche. La prima ad adottarle sarà ATI, con R580+
08/07/2006 - Microsoft apre le porte a OpenDocument - Con mossa del tutto inattesa, il big di Redmond ha annunciato la creazione di un progetto open source che portera' in Office il supporto al formato dei documenti OpenDocument, noto rivale del formato made in Redmond Open XML
08/07/2006 - Italia, prima condanna per phishing - Due truffatori avevano predisposto una rete di conti bancari e di complici residenti in Italia, spesso vittime a loro volta, per riciclare all'estero il frutto di numerose frodi. Per loro una sentenza pesante
08/07/2006 - Wales, da Wikipedia a Wikipolitica - Il creatore della celebre enciclopedia lancia un nuovo ambiente dove discutere dei temi politici piu' caldi. L'obiettivo e' creare una comunita' di dibattito alternativo a quello dei media tradizionali
08/07/2006 - Download/ Barre, cartelle, il Nulla - Nada de nada tra barre per sviluppatori, cartelle facili e statistiche sulle fotografie scattate al mare
08/07/2006 - Display LCD rimpiazzati dall'e-paper - Lo propone Epson, che presenta un prototipo di carta elettronica con dimensioni e risoluzione tali da poter rimpiazzare presto i tradizionali display LCD in dispositivi come i notebook
08/07/2006 - VIA svela un chipset per i PC ultra-mobili - Il chipmaker taiwanese ha annunciato quello che definisce il primo chipset integrato progettato espressamente per gli Ultra-Mobile PC, un tipo di PC in miniatura portato alla ribalta dalla piattaforma Origami di Microsoft
08/07/2006 - Microsoft correra` in Formula 1 - L'azienda si assicura un contratto esclusivo insieme a Bridgestone, produttore leader di pneumatici da competizione per il campionato di Formula 1. Microsoft fornira' hardware e software fino al 2010
08/07/2006 - Skype? No, OpenWengo - di Simone Brunozzi - Chi teme che Skype possa finire per essere uno strumento in mano all'intelligence o di chi non si fida di tecnologie proprietarie puo' affidarsi ad un potente software di comunicazione aperto
08/07/2006 - WiMax italiano entro il 2006? - Il dicastero delle Comunicazioni sollecita la Difesa per una soluzione al problema delle frequenze. La svolta potrebbe arrivare entro l'anno
08/07/2006 - Un pannello orbitante oscurera` le stelle - Potrebbe entrare in funzione entro pochi anni assieme al successore di Hubble. Il suo compito sara' consentire agli scienziati di individuare pianeti simili alla Terra anche se molto distanti
08/07/2006 - Internet per monitorare gli anziani - Nuova iniziativa nell'Oregon per tranquillizzare le famiglie che trasferiscono in strutture dedicate i propri membri meno giovani ma che vogliono comunque seguirli. Da lontano
08/07/2006 - Lo spam? Lo secernono gli zombie - Nuove conferme sull'andamento dello spam internazionale arrivano da uno studio di Trend Micro: i PC compromessi con trojan sempre piu' sofisticati sono la prima causa della circolazione di email non richieste, truffe comprese
08/07/2006 - USA, controllo antiterrore sui blog - Il Dipartimento della Difesa vara un misterioso sistema di analisi semantica della blogosfera, per estrapolare informazioni d'intelligence da usare nella lotta al terrorismo. Un progetto da 450mila dollari
08/07/2006 - Cancellate le liste nere dei nazisti web - Succede in Polonia dove, grazie alla collaborazione americana, le autorita' di Varsavia ottengono la chiusura di un sito che incitava all'odio e spingeva all'aggressione contro ebrei, omosessuali e militanti di sinistra
08/07/2006 - Singapore, censurato il blogger piu` famoso - Il piu' seguito blogger della ricca citta' stato asiatica e' nel mirino del Governo. Singapore non desidera commenti politici che remino contro l'amministrazione pubblica. Blogofobia alla cinese?
08/07/2006 - Kazakhstan: c'e` troppa liberta` in rete - Varata dal Governo una nuova legislazione per rendere piu' facile il controllo delle informazioni pubblicate sul web. Altola' al giornalismo online che critica l'operato di chi siede nella stanza dei bottoni
08/07/2006 - Piace la musica legale sui player mobili - Lo sostiene uno studio che dimostra come sui dispositivi mobili circoli piu' che altro musica acquistata regolarmente. Non decolla invece il video mobile
08/07/2006 - Frodi sui click? 1,3 miliardi di danni - Uno studio di settore lancia l'allarme: i click fraudolenti costano troppo agli inserzionisti. Il 14% di tutti i click sarebbero fasulli. La fine del modello Pay-Per-Click?
08/07/2006 - Pechino blocca le scommesse web - Le autorita' cinesi hanno scoperto un giro di scommesse clandestino sugli incontri del Mondiale di calcio, nonostante la Repubblica Popolare vieti esplicitamente qualsiasi tipo di gioco d'azzardo organizzato
08/07/2006 - BREIN fa strage di P2P in Olanda - Prosegue l'avanzata delle major contro BitTorrent in Olanda. Perquisizioni nelle scorse ore seguite da sequestro di un server. Salgono a quota 71 i siti torrentizi fatti chiudere dai discografici olandesi
08/07/2006 - Email marketing, cresce il mercato - Stime
07/07/2006 - 'Googling' Lands In Dictionary - On Thursday, Merriam-Webster stamped its approval on a raft of words that will appear in its next dictionary update, including the verb "google" and other tech terms such as "spyware" and "mouse potato."

The words will show in the 11th edition of the "Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary," scheduled for publication later this year according to the dictionary maker, but are already included in its online dictionary.

google: (transitive verb) To use the Google search engine to obtain information about (as a person) on the World Wide Web.

Other technology-related words to debut in the 11th edition include "spyware" (software that is installed in a computer without the user's knowledge and transmits information about the user's computer activities over the Internet) and "mouse potato" (a person who spends a great deal of time using a computer).

In all, Merriam-Webster plans to add nearly 100 new entries to its dictionary.

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News source: InformationWeek


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07/07/2006 - Vista's PC-rating tool gets a revamp - Microsoft has reworked the PC assessment tool in Windows Vista after fielding complaints from hardware makers--but the changes may not be enough to completely quell concerns.

In May, the software maker promised to make changes to the Windows System Performance Rating tool, which aims to assess how capable a machine is of harnessing the upcoming operating system's new features. Critics were unhappy with the way it presented scores and how it came up with its ratings.

The newly renamed Windows Experience Index includes tweaks both in the built-in software and in the way that the assessment is described. Despite these, some partners still believe that the score generated by the tool is not a balanced reflection of a computer's abilities.

For starters, Microsoft redubbed the tool the Windows Experience Index, arguing the moniker better represents what it measures. It has also given the new name "base score" to the overall rating generated by the tool. It's an effort to clarify that the main rating is the lowest score given to an individual component, rather than an average of each of the five subratings. The tool rates a system on its processor, memory, hard drive, graphics card and gaming graphics.

View: Full Article @ CNET News.com


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07/07/2006 - Wi-Fi Ready Microsoft iPod Killer By Christmas? - Microsoft's 'iPod-killer' plans appear to promise everything one would expect from a giant company with deep pockets attempting to burst a competitor's bubble.

News today indicates the Microsoft media playing device will sport video and audio playback, and wireless connectivity. It also suggests Microsoft is preparing to answer Apple by entering every development area rumours have claimed Apple plans to play in.

And in what could be seen as a savage slap at Apple's iTunes marketshare, speculation now claims the company will offer iTunes users the opportunity to download any tracks they have purchased from Apple at no cost - but in Windows Media format.

"Microsoft will actually scan iTunes for purchased tracks and then automatically add them to your account. Microsoft will still have to pay the rights-holders for the songs, but they believe it'll be worth it to acquire converts to their new player," Engadget claims.

News source: Macworld UK



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07/07/2006 - Apple Slowly Catching Up to Dell - Apple seems set to gain momentum in the US education market this year, according to TechnoMetrica Market Intelligence. The company ran a survey into consumer computer-buying habits. This reveals a big jump in consumer interest in Macs, suggesting the company will reap dividends as parents buy computers for their children this year.

The survey showed Apple in a tie with second-place computer maker HP in the battle for consumer hearts and minds. Both were the brand choice of 11 per cent of prospective buyers. The two firms lag behind Dell's 41 per cent brand choice figure, but that figure is sliding: Dell took 48 per cent in May and 55 per cent April.

"Among those saying it's likely they'll buy a new desktop PC in the next six months, Apple was the number two preferred brand, with 16 per cent. That's the highest number for Apple since TechnoMetrica began collecting purchase-intent data more than two years ago. In May, 6 per cent of likely desktop PC buyers said they would choose Apple," Investor's Business Daily reveals.

The researchers observed that Apple's new-found glow is a result of its move to Intel chips and its success with the market-leading iPod. TechnoMetrica analyst Constantine Kambanis observed: "Apple's brand equity has been improving slowly. This seems to be coming mainly at the expense of Dell."

News source: Macworld UK

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07/07/2006 - Microsoft To Release 7 Patches Next Tuesday - Microsoft plans to release 7 security bulletins as part of its July 11 Patch Tuesday, the company said Thursday. Four of the updates are for Windows, with the most severe being rated as "critical." Three other patches are directed at Office, also with a maximum severity of "critical."

Although Microsoft does not disclose in advance what flaws are to be patched, two vulnerabilities in Excel are likely to be among the fixes. One issue relates to maliciously crafted spreadsheet files that could lead to a full system compromise, while the other relates to hyperlinks in Excel documents.

Two security flaws affecting Internet Explorer were also reported last week, including a cross-site scripting issue where an attacker could view information in an open browser window from another that is visiting a malicious site.

View: Full Article @ Betanews

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07/07/2006 - Creative and Apple Battle Could End in Peace - Apple and Creative Technology may find an out-of-court settlement to their current dispute regarding the way iPods allow users to navigate stored content.

The two companies are currently pursuing a litigation paper trail, with Creative suing Apple over claimed abuse of a patent it holds for user interface, while Apple has hit back with patent claims of its own. Apple claimed seven abuses relating to the use of icons, and the display and editing of data.

Bloomberg reports that recent filings with the courts reveal both firms to be "open to the possibility" of ending their battle. The two companies had been in discussion for six months before Creative filed its lawsuit.

Despite this stated willingness to negotiate, no settlement schedule has been confirmed by the two sides, indicating the legal lawsuit warfare will continue, for the time being.

News source: Macworld UK

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07/07/2006 - Double the Number of Wild Viruses in Two Years - Although widespread virus outbreaks may be a thing of the past, the total amount of malicious software being written is on the rise, according to McAfee.

On Tuesday, McAfee vendor added the 200,000th definition to its threat database, and the security vendor expects the total number of identified threats to double in another two years. McAfee's antivirus products use these definitions as digital fingerprints to determine which software should not be allowed to run on a user's PC.

Virus writers turn up the heat

After a bit of a lull in their efforts, virus writers have spent the past few years creating more of this software than ever before, said Jimmy Kuo, a research fellow with McAfee's Avert Labs. Between 1999 and 2002, when McAfee's database held steady at around 50,000 definitions, but since then, the number of different worms and viruses being created has jumped, he said.

At the same time, the number of serious outbreaks has dropped dramatically. In 2004, McAfee counted 48 virus outbreaks of at least medium severity. In 2005, that number dropped to 12. This year there haven't been any.

When the going gets tough, the hackers turn pro

These trends reflect the growth and increasing professionalisation of hacker culture that no longer seeks the fame that accompanies a worldwide virus outbreak. Instead of fame, hackers want money, Kuo said.

"There are now hackers for hire in spamming and phishing campaigns and they're in it to work," he said. "When you create a big incident... the police react and they go searching for you," he added. "So the bad guys don't create these incidents anymore."

McAfee may be bragging that it has discovered a large number of virus definitions, but there's a down side to all of this good work: sluggish computers. There are now more antivirus signatures than there are files on a typical PC, according to Andrew Jaquith, a senior analyst at the Yankee Group. "Collectively the industry is creaking under the load of all of it," he said.

Viruses age PCs

With its 200,000 definitions, McAfee's software is going to cause some trouble on some PCs, Kuo admitted. "For those companies that still have really old machines, they basically stop updating their dat [virus definition] files after a while," he said. "If you run it on a 1998-style machine, it's not going to run very well at all."

But even if newer "behaviour-based" antivirus techniques begin to take a front seat in identifying viruses, definitions will not go away because they serve an important role in cleaning up systems that have already been compromised, Kuo said. "In terms of preventing, you might lean more upon behaviour-based [techniques]" he said. "But after you've been hit by something you're going to want to go to definitions."

News source: Macworld UK

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06/07/2006 - UK agrees extradition of hacker Gary McKinnon - The US request to extradite the British hacker accused of the "biggest military hack of all time" has been granted by the UK Home Secretary John Reid.

Gary McKinnon, accused of breaking into US government computers, has been fighting extradition since his arrest in November 2002. He has told the BBC that he feels "very worried and let down by my own government".

The US, in its case for extradition, said Mr McKinnon caused more than $700,000 (£375,235) of damage while exploring the computer networks at various US military institutions.

Mr McKinnon has admitted that he spent almost two years exploring these networks but said he was motivated by a search for "suppressed technology". His family have 14 days to appeal against the ruling.

News source: BBC News
Video: Interview with Gary McKinnon


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06/07/2006 - Google fixes security flaw in Reader - Google said it fixed a security flaw in Google Reader on Wednesday that could have allowed a hacker to steal sensitive information from Web surfers.

A Google RSS feed addition tool was vulnerable to a cross-site scripting attack, a poster to the Ha.ckers.org blog wrote on Tuesday. Such attacks involve an attacker embedding HTML scripts in Web postings or input fields on a Web site.

"What are the implications of this attack for Google?" the blog posting asked. "Well, for starters, I can put a phishing site on Google. 'Sign up for Google World Beta.' I can steal cookies to log in as the user in question...I can steal your phone number from the /sendtophone application...get your address because maps.google.com is mirrored....The list of potential vulnerabilities goes on and on. The vulnerabilities only grow as Google builds out their portal experience."

News source: ZDNet

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06/07/2006 - Microsoft "super excited" as Office Live passes 100,000 user - According to Internet statistics company, Ipwalk, Microsoft Office Live, Microsoft's web hosting, email and collaboration service for small businesses has accumulated more than 100,000 users since its beta launched in February this year, despite several factors limiting the amount of users that have been able to join.
Microsoft is very pleased with the demand for the service and has plans to take it out of beta at the end of 2006. "We are super excited about the positive reaction and demand from our customers," said Baris Cetinok, director of product management and marketing for Office Live at Microsoft, in an interview with Ipwalk.

Ipwalk, which has tracked the growth of Office Live since the start of the beta in February, said that Microsoft had initially used a wait list to restrict the influx of new users, only sending out a limited amount of product keys every week. Another factor that had limited user numbers was that the Office Live beta was only available to US residents.

News source: iTWire

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