This Month: Cold, Flu and
Allergy Season, Good Security Is Serious Business, If You Take It Seriously, Here
comes the Iomega Predator CD-RW drive, History of Photography, Inside the Wired Homes
of the Rich, Mac users get update for Quake 3, Poets' Corner brings wisdom and fun,
The Pentium 4 Is Coming, TopoZone for topographic maps
Good Security Is Serious
Business, If You Take It Seriously - One of our favorite newsletters
is InternetWeek, and when an article like this one appears in those pages we like
to pass it along to you! Wayne Rash, writer for InternetWeek Newsletter said:
__"I was talking on the phone with a colleague.
It was just after the "I Love You" virus came out, and we were marveling
at how effectively it exploited Microsoft Outlook. "In reality," he said,
"Outlook is a security hole disguised as an e-mail package." We agreed
that it was a lot like other Microsoft attempts at security--overall, not very serious.
__In fact, the security in Microsoft applications and
operating systems has been the butt of jokes among product reviewers for years. The
products are relatively easy to subvert. It almost seems as if security was a design
afterthought.
__It's no wonder, then, that someone recently broke
into Microsoft's internal development network at company headquarters in Redmond,
Wash. Incredibly, the interlopers had easy access for months. Worse, they got in
using a Trojan horse scheme already known to the security industry. Microsoft didn't
take such security holes seriously enough to implement protection.
__While it's unclear exactly where the invaders went
and how much information they obtained, it's clear they had access to the source
code for a number of Microsoft applications. Whether that access will enable the
hackers to create more--and more sophisticated--malicious software remains to be
seen, but it's certainly possible.
__If you're a Microsoft customer, and you almost certainly
are, this could affect you in a number of ways. - Thanks to: Wayne
Rash, Internetweek News for sending this in. File this one under: Web culture For
more info go to: http://www.internetweek.com/columns00/rash111300.htm
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Inside
the Wired Homes of the Rich - Hang on to your wallets folks, Andy
Carvin reports a new status symbol for Silicon Valley's rich and nerdy. The size
of your Head End -- the control room housing those floor-to-ceiling banks of servers,
routers, computers and other requisite gadgets for the ultimate wired home. The bigger
your Head End, the more whiz-bang your villa. Paul Wilkinson, CEO of Advanced Automation
Engineering, a Campbell-based home networking installation company, says his most
outrageous and costly job ... "I have one pushing $5 to $6 million," --
the design drawings for the home theater system alone cost well over $50,000.
So if you want someone to envy, click below to check out the full story!
Andy Carvin is a Senior Associate for the Benton Foundation. Visit his website, Anatolian
Fortnight, http://edweb.gsn.org/anatolia - Thanks to: Andy Carvin
for sending this in. File this one under: News and events For more info go to: http://www0.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/special/digitalhome/
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The Pentium 4 Is Coming - You
knew it wouldn't be long, right? With Mac G4s hitting the market like a freight train,
Intel and Hewlett-Packard have jointly announced a concept PC based on Intel's upcoming
Pentium 4 chip.
Mark Hachman of TechWeb News, gives you a quick look at this new monster...
__ The system, called the Deep Forest Concept PC, is
a technology demonstration and the product is not for sale. Still, the PC is based
on the Pentium 4, supposedly an unannounced processor that's due this coming Monday.
__Executives said the demonstration of the system was,
in part, an attempt to prove to the market that the Pentium 4 will be more than just
a high-performance niche processor. Initially, the Pentium 4 will be geared for high-end
workstation and server applications, but Intel Corp. is planning to position the
chip as a mainstream desktop chip by early 2002.
__ Meanwhile, Hewlett-Packard Co. executives positioned
Deep Forest as "the far future" of the ePC, the company's managed PC line
designed for corporate systems. The product is a small-footprint system measuring
approximately 10-by-13-by-4 inches, about the size of a lunch box.
__Click to get the full story! - Thanks
to: Mark Hachman, TechWeb News for sending this in. File this one under: Hardware
For more info go to: http://www.internetweek.com/story/INW20001115S0004
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Here comes the Iomega Predator CD-RW drive
- According to this news item posted by the Insanely Great Mac News
Staff, Iomega has started shipping its new CD-RW drive. Dubbed the Iomega Predator,
the CD-RW drive is the latest storage product from the company.
__ "Predator richly delivers on that need by providing
consumers with a dynamically designed CD-RW drive that is a dramatic departure from
the heavy, brick-like look of existing external CD-RW drives," said Doug Collier,
VP marketing, Iomega.
__Originally introduced last month, the Predator is
an external CD-RW for Mac OS and Windows computers. The drive features an 8x write,
4x rewrite and 32x read mechanism that supports multiple interfaces. The device that
started shipping this week has a USB interface. Because of USB's slower throughput,
the drive only operates at 4x4x6x speeds. The USB version is expected to hit store
shelves some time after the holidays and will have an estimated retail proce of $269.95.
__Iomega plans to also offer a FireWire version, which
is expected during the first quarter of 2001. The FireWire drive is will carry an
estimated street price of $329.95. Iomega also plans to introduce USB 2.0 and PCMCIA
interfaces for the drive later next year.
__The Predator ships with a variety of software for
the Mac OS and Windows, such as Adaptec Easy CD Creator 4.0, Adaptec DirectCD 3.0,
Adaptec Toast, MusicMatch Jukebox Plus, MGI PhotoSuite, Iomega Quik Sync 2 software
(30-day trial version) and Adobe ActiveShare software. - Thanks to:
Insanely Great Mac News Staff for sending this in. File this one under: Hardware
For more info go to: http://www.iomega.com/zipcd/predator.html
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Mac users get update for Quake 3 -
Insanely Great Mac reported that Id Software has posted a major update to Quake 3
Arena. For Mac users, this is the first update since 1.17, which has been available
since last spring. Release 1.25 was released for the PC in the fall, but never made
its way to the Mac OS. Release 1.27 includes all the features and changes found in
the PC 1.25 release, plus updates the Mac version to the current 1.27 PC version.
The update is still in development and, at least on the PC side, so far as been received
with mixed feelings. Performance and bug fixes aside, gamers in news groups and web
boards appreciate some new features of the release, while showing displeasure for
other features. ftp://ftp.idsoftware.com/idstuff/quake3/mac/mac127beta.bin - Thanks to: News Staff, Insanely Great Mac for sending this in. File this
one under: Leisure and entertainment For more info go to: ftp://ftp.idsoftware.com/idstuff/quake3/mac/mac127beta.bin
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History
of Photography - Anyone interested in photography should bookmark
this fantastic history resource presented by the Department of History University
of California, Riverside. This resource offers not only lots of content, but a substantial
collection of good links to other photo history sites. Check it out. - Thanks
to: Ben Cooper for sending this in. File this one under: Photography, learning For
more info go to: http://www.ucr.edu/h-gig/hist-art/phot2.html
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TopoZone
for topographic maps - The TopoZone is the Web's center for topographic
map users and outdoor recreation enthusiasts. They have worked with USGS to create
the Web's first interactive topo map of the entire United States. If you're looking
for maps that don't leave big blank spaces between the highways, check this one out!
__ A similar site, 3D Atlas presents some of the most
fascinating information about our planet, including the best research links for every
country and a considerable Geographic Glossary. 3D Atlas Online is the ideal resource
for reference and research about Planet Earth. http://www.3datlas.com/ - Thanks
to: Ben Cooper for sending this in. File this one under: Education, reference For
more info go to: http://www.topozone.com/
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Poets'
Corner brings wisdom and fun - Poets' Corner is a massive online collection
of poetry, with thousands of works from hundreds of poets. Works range from medieval
times to the early 20th century. Author, Title, and Subjects indices available. Updated
frequently. Online since 1995, and continuing to grow. - Thanks to:
Ben Cooper for sending this in. File this one under: Education, reference For more
info go to: http://www.geocities.com/~spanoudi/poems/
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Cold,
Flu and Allergy Season - Colds, Flus and Allergies season is here...
do the sniffles have the best of you? Has the flu bug bit? Use BHG Live Interactive
Guides to investigate what ails you and what you can do about it. Take two of these
and log on in the morning. - Thanks to: N. A. Daze for sending this
in. File this one under: Web culture For more info go to: http://www.bhglive.com/health/coldflu.html
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