Techspec

New Revision3 Shows

2005-11-17T19:37:00.000-08:00

Coming soon is a cooking show called Ctrl+Alt+Chicken and a sitcom called Outsourced. Also of course you all know Martin Sargent has made his return with a podcast on Revision3 called Infected. So have some fun and go check it out. Till then.

-Vash

$100 Laptop

2005-09-30T23:53:00.000-07:00

MIT released a Laptop for $100
The machine's A-C adapter would double as a carrying strap, and a hand crank would power them when there's no electricity. They'd be foldable into more positions than traditional notebook PCs, and carried like slim lunchboxes.
This is mainly a laptop for kids to use for school purposes. But I think, We're all going to have a good use for it.
Among the key specs: A 500-megahertz processor (that was fast in the 1990s but slow by today's standards) by Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and flash memory instead of a hard drive with moving parts. To save on software costs, the laptops would run the freely available Linux operating system instead of Windows.

-More new to come soon

..::Hacked.Alias::..

ITU Ready to Assume Control

2005-09-30T18:09:00.000-07:00

The International Telecommunications Union says the United Nations is ready to take control of the internet if the United States is ready to hand over the reigns. Yoshio Utsumi, head of ITU says ITU, "could do it if we were asked to" at a news conference on Friday. The chances of the United States handing the U.N. the key to the front door appears to be slim to none with no signs of change. The United States has made it clear that it has no intentions of turning its Internet traffic policing duties over to the United Nations, however that stance could create a roadblock in international web policy in the future. Countries like Iran are saying that the U.S. could use the control of the internet as a political gain, and to shut its enemies out. The U.S. called such talk like that nonsense, saying it wouldn't dream of harming the operation of the Internet for something like that. Beta News

-Vash

Zotob Worm Suspect in Court

2005-09-29T17:38:00.000-07:00

An 18 year old Science student is in court, for his role in creating and/or distributing the Zotob Worm. The Zotob Worm infected all major companies running Windows 2000; which includes CNN and New York Times. Despite the Zotob worm's power, it did not create such widespread havoc as previous malicious software programs like SQL Slammer and MyDoom.

..::Hacked.Alias::..

TWIT 24 is in the can!

2005-09-26T19:51:00.000-07:00

Here's the main feed for the mp3, or you can go to Revision3 and get the video version through bittorrent. Remember that video is the h.264 version only as of right now. Some topics covered are Microsoft's reorganization, updating to Firefox 1.0.7, how Dvorak can help you stop blog spam, and that Digg has added an RSS search to it's search feeds. Enjoy!

-Vash

G4 CEO Released

2005-09-16T21:38:00.000-07:00

Charles Hirschhorn who was not only the founder but the CEO as well, has been released from his duties. So far that is all that has been released so far but more will come later.
Kevin Rose

-Vash

Windows Vista To Have Seven Editions

2005-09-11T10:11:00.000-07:00

For some time now many have speculated how Microsoft will release its newest OS Windows Vista. Thanks to some exclusive insider information given to Paul Thurrott of Windows ITPro.com this information is now known. Windows Vista is distributed in not one or two editions, but in seven.

All of the editions are either categorized into two main categories; Home and Business (excluding the Ultimate Edition which is a combination of both). The home editions consist of: Windows Vista Starter Edition, Windows Vista Basic Edition and Windows Vista Home Premium Edition. The business editions consist of: Windows Vista Professional Edition, Windows Vista Small Business Edition and Windows Vista Enterprise Edition. There will also be an ultimate edition on Windows Vista that is a combination of both the home and the business editions. This is called nothing else but Windows Vista Ultimate Edition.

Product Overview
(ll Product Overview information is provided by Paul Thurrott of WindowsITPro.com)

Windows Vista Starter Edition:
Aimed at beginner computer users in emerging markets who can only afford a low cost PC. As with the XP version, Windows Vista Starter Edition is a subset of Home Edition, and will ship in a 32-bit version only (no 64-bit x64 version). Starter Edition will allow only three applications (and/or three windows) to run simultaneously, will provide Internet connectivity but not incoming network communications, and will not provide for logon passwords or Fast User Switching (FUS). Windows Vista Starter Edition is analogous to XP Starter Edition. This version will only be sold in emerging markets.

Windows Vista Home Basic Edition:
A simple version of Windows Vista that is aimed at single PC homes. Windows Vista Home Basic is the baseline version of Windows Vista, and the version that all other product editions will build from. It will include features such as Windows Firewall, Windows Security Center, secure wireless networking, parental controls, anti-spam/anti-virus/anti-spyware functionality, network map, Windows Search, the Aero user interface, Movie Maker, Photo Library, Windows Media Player, Outlook Express with RSS support, P2P Messenger, and more. Windows Vista Home Basic Edition is roughly analogous to Windows XP Home Edition. This version is aimed at general consumers, Windows 9x/XP Starter Edition upgraders, and price sensitive/first-time buyers.

Windows Vista Home Premium Edition:
Whole home entertainment and personal productivity throughout the home and on the go. As a true superset of Home Basic, Windows Vista Home Premium Edition will include everything from Home Basic, as well as Media Center and Media Center Extender functionality (including Cable Card support), DVD video authoring and HDTV support, DVD ripping support (yes, you read that right), Tablet PC functionality, Mobility Center and other mobility and presentation features, auxiliary display support, P2P ad-hoc meeting capabilities, Wi-Fi auto-config and roaming, unified parental controls that work over multiple PCs, backup to network functionality, Internet File Sharing, Offline Folders, PC-to-PC sync, Sync Manager, and support for Quattro Home Server. Windows Vista Premium Edition is similar to XP Media Center Edition, except that it adds numerous other features and functionality, including Tablet PC support. My guess is that this will be the volume consumer offering in the Windows Vista timeframe (today, XP Pro is the dominant seller). This version is aimed at PC enthusiasts, multiple-PC homes, homes with kids, and notebook users.

Windows Vista Professional Edition:
A powerful, reliable and secure OS for businesses of all sizes. Windows Vista Pro Edition will include domain join and management functionality, compatibility with non-Microsoft networking protocols (Netware, SNMP, etc.), Remote Desktop, IIS Web server, and Encrypted File System (EFS). Additionally, Pro Standard will include Tablet PC functionality. Windows Vista Pro is roughly analogous to XP Pro today. This version is aimed at business decision makers and IT managers and generalists.

Windows Vista Small Business Edition:
Designed for small businesses without IT staff. Small Business Edition is a superset of Vista Pro Standard Edition, and includes the following unique features: Backup and Shadow Copy support, Castle and server-join networking, and PC fax and scanning utility. Additionally, Microsoft is looking at including a number of other features, many of which might be cut: These include Small Business Edition guided tour, pre-paid access to the Windows Live! Small Business or Microsoft Office Live! subscription services, Multi-PC Health (a managed version of Microsoft One Care Live), and membership in the Microsoft Small Business Club online service. Microsoft will offer a Step-Up program for Small Business Edition that will allow customers to upgrade to Windows Vista Enterprise Edition (see below) or Windows Vista Ultimate Edition (see below) at a reduced cost. This SKU is new to Windows Vista; there is no XP Small Business Edition. This version is aimed at small business owners and managers.

Windows Vista Enterprise Edition:
Optimized for the enterprise, this version will be a true superset of Windows Vista Pro Edition. It will also include unique features such as Virtual PC, the multi-language user interface (MUI), and the Secure Startup/full volume encryption security technologies ("Cornerstone"). There is no analogous XP version for this product. This version is aimed at business decision makers, IT managers and decision makers, and information workers/general business users.

Windows Vista Ultimate Edition:
The best operating system ever offered for a personal PC, optimized for the individual. Windows Vista Ultimate Edition is a superset of both Vista Home Premium and Vista Pro Edition, so it includes all of the features of both of those product versions, plus adds Game Performance Tweaker with integrated gaming experiences, a Podcast creation utility (under consideration, may be cut from product), and online "Club" services (exclusive access to music, movies, services and preferred customer care) and other offerings (also under consideration, may be cut from product). Microsoft is still investigating how to position its most impressive Windows release yet, and is looking into offering Ultimate Edition owners such services as extended A1 subscriptions, free music downloads, free movie downloads, Online Spotlight and entertainment software, preferred product support, and custom themes. There is nothing like Vista Ultimate Edition today. This version is aimed at high-end PC users and technology influencers, gamers, digital media enthusiasts, and students.
According to internal Microsoft documentation, the goal of the product edition differentiations in Windows Vista is to provide "clear value proposition" to all customer segments and take XP-era innovations, such as the Media Center and Tablet PC functionality, to the mainstream. Windows Vista is also being positioned as a transitionary product for the x64 platform: Almost all Windows Vista editions will be offered in both x86 (32-bit) and x64 (64-bit) versions. Microsoft expects to transition almost completely to x64 post-Vista.

Conclusion
I myself see Microsoft’s decision to release 7 separate editions of Windows Vista as one that will result in confusion among the consumers. However at this point it is hard to tell considering the fact that the final product has not yet been released yet (or a price for the matter).The release of Windows Vista may prove to be very interesting, however only time can tell what can happen at this point.
Source: WindowsITPro.com

Firefox Beta 1.5 out/Security Flaw with FF

2005-09-09T20:41:00.000-07:00

The new beta of Firefox is out. Go and get it! But beware, a major security flaw is now being seen as a security threat in all versions of Firefox. The problem has do with the way Firefox deals with IDN's or International Domain Names. IDN's are domain names that use local language characters. Although there is no known attack yet the exploit could be very devasting to those who haven't downloaded the patch. Director of Engineering at Mozilla, Mike Schroepfer said, "Luckily we do not have any known use of this exploit, but it is fairly critical if there were to be (an attack), so this is a recommended download"
Cnet

-Vash

Mac mini promotion already dead

2005-09-05T13:12:00.000-07:00

A few days ago Apple announced a 30-day, money-back gurantee on the Mac mini and other apple products. But of course as soon as that deal rippled the water it got smashed with a rock. The deal didn't even last 24 hours. Any of Ars Technica's calls to Apple were not returned but one Apple employee said the deal was "pulled" and would not comment further. Ars Technica

-Vash

Kazaa gets slapped in Australia

2005-09-05T12:53:00.000-07:00

The Federal Court in Australia has ruled that Sharman Networks has essentially authorized its users to violate copyright, so they must now modify it to prevent that. So now the recording industry is doing their little victory breakdance. "This is a milestone in the fight against internet piracy worldwide," said John Kennedy, chairman of the International Federation of Phonographic INdustries. Sharman Networks is also being ordered to pay 90% of the legal bill of the plaintiffs. Ars Technica

-Vash

Security Now #3

2005-09-03T22:37:00.000-07:00

Here's the direct download link. This week Steve and Leo talk about the benefits of using a NAT router. Steve also recommends using some software firewalls as well. Enjoy!

-Vash

Hurricane Katrina

2005-09-01T16:38:00.000-07:00

As many of you know Hurricane Katrina has taken the lives of many and has made many others homeless. People are trapped in New Orleans and they are litterally dying in the streets. On behalf of the Techspec I would like to offer our thoughs and prayers to the families and ask that you all donate to the red cross.
Huricane Katrina Relief fund
Donate
1-800-435-7669

Techspec now has hosting!

2005-08-23T14:19:00.000-07:00

I finally got some hosting for the Techspec. If any body would like to be a writer for the new site then send me an email at Kreasons@gmail.com. Also if anybody would like to help out with designing the site then let me know. I will be bring over the writers that I have here at Techspec and will change the focus of the site a little bit. The next version of Techspec will only be a glimpse (a small one) of what I would like to see the site turn into. It will be a fully functioning tech site of course (very much more then it is now) however it won’t be the "finished product" in my eyes. More to come soon... :)

Security Now podcast with Leo Laporte/Steve Gibson

2005-08-18T17:22:00.000-07:00

Although Episode #1 is only eighteen minutes long I think you people should give it a try. Head over to This Week in Tech or Feedburner to download now. It covers hot topics in security. Also Leo has set up an iTunes link.

-Vash

Call for Help returning to the US

2005-08-17T15:29:00.000-07:00

Nothing else to be said except 'finally'.

G4 Forum Announcement

HBO uses Firefox to promote "Rome"

2005-08-16T07:29:00.000-07:00

HBO has designed a downloadable skin for the Firefox browser using the theme of it's upcoming series entitled "Rome." This skin will transform the buttons and external design of the browser into the feeling of "antiquity." The skin is available through your Firefox's tools menu but as of late last night, it was not available. Cnet News

-Vash

Diggnation Shirts are out!!

2005-08-16T06:59:00.000-07:00

Alex Albrecht announced that the new Diggnation shirts are out at Jinx. Have at it!

-Vash

Apple Accidently Sues Itself.

2005-08-11T14:23:00.000-07:00

Way too funny. Thanks to Apple Rumors.
Apple Sues Itself.

Ðoak

The San Andreas Backlash

2005-08-10T09:57:00.000-07:00

Well, for people like me that look for game prices to go down over time just caught a bit of bad luck. While waiting for San Andreas to go down in price to pick it up for the Xbox, it gets taken off the market because of this hidden sex game, which makes the game AO, or Adults Only. Anyhow, needless to say, this event severly kicked up the price of the game on ebay, now Xbox versions of the game are usually going for no less than 60 bucks. What lesson did I learn from this? Buy a video game when it first comes out so if someone finds a hidden sex game in this years version of Madden, I'll still have the game. Which is why I've already bought it of course.

Ðoak

Microsoft cuts Monad Shell feature in Windows Vista

2005-08-08T20:04:00.000-07:00

After hearing public reports that viruses have been written for Vista, Microsoft has cut the Monad Shell feature. The Monad Shell allows a user to access the operating systems using text-based commands instead of the usual graphical interface of Windows. However, Microsoft Director of Product Management Eric Berg said the Monad feature will be included with Vista in the next three to five years. "Our intention is to synchronize it with both client and server operating systems, " says Berg. The only reason they offer as to why this feature will not be included is that the Monad Shell would be an attractive tarket for hackers, even more if the shell were enabled by default. "Presumably, as time goes on, all of Microsoft's products will have Monad scripting interfaces," Berg said. PC World

-Vash

Linux to take hold of Indiana classrooms

2005-08-05T19:55:00.000-07:00

A program in Indiana will try and get a laptop to every high school student. The catch, it's got Linux on it. The Indiana schools are testing the laptops and hope to distribute about 300,000 laptops across the state. "Indiana schools aren't just talking about desktop Linux – students and teachers are actually using it every day," said Kevin Carmony, CEO of Linspire, which is supplying the Linux OS and software. The first initial rollout of Linux started three years ago but now they are finally getting their act together. More info can be found at Beta News.

-Vash

Zeta R1 Review

2005-08-03T12:52:00.000-07:00

When people look for alternative operating systems, most would look toward to Linux, or the BSD's, however, Zeta, based on BeOS R5 code, is trying to gain some of the spotlight for itself in the market. Right before Be Inc. was bought out by Palm, Inc. in 2001, a licensing deal was set up with YellowTAB to use the source to BeOS 5.1.0. Since then, YellowTAB has continued development on the operating system, and after a number of “release candidates”, version 1.0 has finally arrived. As it improved and worth the wait? Well.... It depends.

Zeta 1.0 has many improvement's over the release candidates and BeOS R5. First, Zeta 1.0 can now boot if more then 1 gig. Of ram is present in the computer, where before, a hack was needed to limit the amount Zeta would recognize. Second, the installer has been greatly improved. The partitioner, powered by Paragon, allows for non destructive partitioning of NTFS partitions, however other kinds must be reformatted, and partitions cannot be deleted outright. Hopefully future versions improve over this. The rest of the installer works just fine, however some of the default software choices are a bit puzzling. It's very bloated in software, for example, there are over 170 megabytes of game software (most of which are just emulators, or poor SDL games). While they can be turned off from being installed, for those just going with the defaults, there will be a lot of extra software that just does not need to be there.

After the install, the computer restarts, and boots Zeta (unless of course you are running a multi-boot system, then bootman starts and allows one to pick which OS to start). Now, here are where the problems really begin. The major issue right after starting Zeta, hardware support. My video card (ATI x800 pro AGP) is not supported, being so, Zeta only allowed resolutions up to 800x600 at 8-bit's of color. Being based off the “multimedia OS”, this was a major issue. Alternative drivers did not help at all as well. Also, my network card was not detected as well , which is very odd as according to YellowTAB's website my network card is supported right out of the box. Again, alternative drivers did not help, however I was able to get network support from my motherboards Ethernet slot detected, but I could not use it for some reason. My Creative sound blaster live card worked fine, but if I can't watch any of the video's on my computer because of the video driver or go on the Internet to get new videos or games, it just does not work out. The cost of Zeta is also very high, at around $120 to $130

If your hardware is supported (REALLY supported) by Zeta, then there is a good amount to like. The interface is easy to use (however menus can be a bit convoluted), mounting of partitions and drives is painless. Mozilla firefox comes in right out of the box, and works very well (much better then past versions), however, There is no Java support as of right now. The media player plays videos and music well enough (depending on hardware). Boot time for Zeta is very low (because of the BeOS/Zeta micro-kernel), being about 10-15 seconds. Word processing and such is taken care of thanks to Gobe Productive, which is a very easy to use and well made program.

If you have the right combination of hardware, Zeta 1.0 is a easy to use OS worthy of your time, however because the hardware and drivers issues, it's very hard to recommend this operating system. Most of the problems with Zeta stem from issues using BeOS, which also had issues with hardware support. The best bet, is to wait for the next version's of the operating system, which hopefully will iron out these issues. Zeta: Try before you buy.

Microsoft, a dying age?

2005-08-01T20:27:00.000-07:00

Those of you listened to any of Leo Laporte's various podcasts you'll have heard of Leo saying that Microsoft is a dying age. I agree wholeheartedly. I think Windows Vista is just the latest mistake that Microsoft is making while going down in a blaze of shame. All the great things that were supposed to be in Vista have been stripped and now Windows Vista seems to me like nothing but a new distribution of Windows that is full of nothing. Of course Vista wasn't Microsoft's only mistake. Inlude Window's Mellenium Edition. I have that currently installed on my crappy HP Pavilion 6830. I hate it so much. Thank god the opposition has come out with open source alternatives like Linux and their distro's, along with Apple with OS X. Another of Microsoft's big mistakes, Internet Explorer. This thing is so riddled full of security holes you could throw a flare in it and see all the way to China. Here's the solution to Internet Explorer, obviously one of them definately is Firefox, another is Opera. Both of these are fine alternatives to the joke of a web browser Internet Explorer. So here's what I say, if your a tech geek, make the switch to Linux. If your just your run of the mill average joe, then go with an Apple product and use OS X. Only gamers should really stick to Windows. Considering almost all pc games are formatted for only Windows use. So be a rebel and dump Microsoft quickly!

-Vash

P.S. The guy on the Opera home page is wearing a power ranger's suit.

Systm Episode #3

2005-07-30T11:56:00.000-07:00

Finally another episode of the great systm is out. Your gonna need bit torrent though to download it (Not that anyone doesn't have this). Go to Revision 3 if you haven't downloaded the episode yet.

-Vash

Edit: As many of you now know that there are direct downloads now on the systm episode 3 page. So download now!!!

iHome iH5 iPod dock/clock needs some tweaks

2005-07-28T13:26:00.000-07:00

This is a little cool dock for your iPod that includes AM/FM tuning and compatibility with all iPod models. After looking at this device on the Engadget page, I agree with Mark Perton about how the dock needs radio presets. How could you not include those with that? All I can say is thank god it comes with a remote.

-Vash