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KickAss Gear News Archive: November 2003

November 29th

Bargain Hunting Very Dangerous

The first casualty of the holiday shopping season is Patricia VanLester of Orange City Florida, who was trampled and bruised in a shopping stamped at a local Wal-Mart store. According to witnesses, the woman was knocked to the ground while picking up a DVD player, and was trampled by dozens of frenzied shoppers before she could be rescued by her sister. Paramedics had difficulty reaching the stricken woman because shoppers would not move out of the way.

Ah, the holiday spirit in America really is something to behold. Peace on Earth, and goodwill to all... "Hey! gimme' that damn DVD player or I'll break your neck!!!"

November 28th

Microsoft/SCO vs. ... Everyone Else

One of the biggest IT industry battles ever waged is shaping up, and it's sure to be one hell of a corporate conflagration. On the face of things, you have a small IP company, SCO, which bought some old patent rights, and is now suing half the IT industry over infringement. This makes it look like a David and Goliath kind of thing, with SCO on one side, and IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Sun Microsystems, Red Hat, Cisco Systems, Computer Associates International, Fujitsu, Hitachi, Nokia and other companies on the other side. But SCO wouldn't last a second if this were the actual starting lineup. It is commonly accepted that the $50 million payment that Microsoft made to SCO to cover any "Unix or Linux license issues" was just a bunch of war bonds to help fuel the fight.

Now the story starts to get more insidious. Rumor has it that SCO is about to sue a major, highly visible corporate Linux user. The latest hint is that the company in SCO's sights is Google. What a strange coincidence.... Microsoft is getting ready to incorporate a "Google-busting" search engine into their next operating system, with the hope of sucking as many advertising dollars from Google as possible. So they may be at the old anti-trust game again, while still under the ever watchful eye of the Ashcroft justice department. Just knowing that Mr. Ashcroft is on the case makes me sleep so much better at night.

Conspiracy theory, or fact? You decide.

November 26th

Senator Orin Hatch to Exempt RIAA/MPAA from Law Suits

Orin Hatch, everyone's favorite senator/musician from Utah, is so angry about music downloading that he is introducing legislation to prevent anyone from suing the RIAA or MPAA. The legislation is known as the EnFORCE Act (Enhancing Federal Obscenity Reporting and Copyright Enforcement Act), and will explicitly exempt the music and movie industry from anti-trust laws. You know, those pesky non-Republican laws that protect people from greedy, unscrupulous monopolies. But Orin thinks we don't need no such stinking laws, and it's his mission in life to protect the giant entertainment industry from the litigious likes of you.

Internet Explorer Holes Remain Unpatched

A Chinese researcher has found a bunch of new security holes in Microsoft's Internet Explorer, which have not been patched yet. The flaws are considered critical, and have to do with "active scripting". The current fix is to disable active scripting, or to use another browser like Opera.

November 25th

Time to Short SCO?

As the legal arguments pan out in the SCO case, things are looking pretty dire for the little IP company that couldn't. I've got to wonder what is happening over at the Boies law firm, the unfortunate folks who have to figure out how to make this pig fly. They certainly seem to be losing their grip on reality, right along with SCO executives. The fact that they have decided to attack the general public license (GPL) as "unconstitutional" seems almost silly, but that's about the best they can come up with at this point. SCO is running up a huge bill with these guys, and the latest tid-bit is that SCO is in part paying the lawyers with SCO stock. The share prices have shot up during the FUD phase of the SCO litigation, but are sure to plummet when the house of cards falls. So my question stands... how soon do folks start thinking about shorting highly over-inflated SCO stock?

No More Master/Slave Drives in LA County

In one of the weirdest announcements I've ever seen, LA county has contacted vendors and asked them to remove all references to "Master/Slave" devices, such as hard drives. They felt that the derogatory nature of the terminology was inappropriate. While I must admit, the terms could be construed as having derogatory connotations if taken literally, I'm not sure that this is a problem that needs tackling. Nonetheless, I've been trying to think up other options to describe such hard drive relationships... how about Boss/Wage Slave?

November 21st

Novell/SuSE Linux vs. SCO Ware

I think the comparison between what is happening at Novell, and what is happening at SCO, is quite telling of state of the IT industry right now. Everyone is scrambling to grab a piece of the Linux pie. I suppose it was bound to happen once Linux started looking slick and functional. But the comparison of the two companies current fortunes reveals that there are good tactics in this struggle, and there are poor tactics. Novell's stock is surging at the announcement that they will be adding Windows emulation support to their newly acquired SuSE Linux. In contrast, The Gartner Group has advised SCO customers to arrange to migrate to another system within the next two years, just in case SCO loses in court. My guess is now that Gartner has issued a veiled death-threat against SCO, that the writing is on the wall. Expect even wilder claims from SCO over the next few weeks, which will be their final attempt to get IBM to buy them outright. If that fails to move Big Blue to cut the checks, SCO will begin it's final flaming death spiral.

November 20th

SuSE Linux to Add Window App and Game Support!

As with all first attempts, I'm sure that SuSE Linux's entry into the Windows emulation arena will probably be less than perfect. But that doesn't matter. If it works, and lets people use some of their Windows applications and games under Linux, it will take off. The biggest obstacle to greater Linux adoption is the fact that many people have a large library of Windows software, and they aren't eager to just dump it. If SuSE can slowly and steadily add support for Windows software, it will definitely increase the use of Linux on the desktop. And if they can seamlessly integrate WineX Direct X emulation into Linux, that doesn't kill performance, they'll bring in gamers in droves.

November 19th

Dual-Layer DVD-R Burners by Next April?

Modern movie DVDs are made with "dual-layer" technology, which means that data is recorded at two different depths in the disk. This almost doubles DVD capacity. But, current DVD burners only burn at a single depth, and are hence "single-layer" burners. That means that if you use DVD copy software to make a backup copy of a movie, there often isn't enough room on a single layer DVD to put the whole movie onto a single disk. But that looks like it may be about to change. Several manufacturers are working on a dual-layer DVD burner that would increase the capacity of DVD-R disks to around 8.5GB!

I'm not sure that folks who just paid $250 to $300 for a good single-layer burner are going to be rushing to get a dual-layer burner, but I expect that the older type will be phased out as the new ones come down in price.

November 15th

ATI Catalyst 3.8 and 3.9 Driver Glitches

It's official now, ATI admits that both the 3.8 and 3.9 version of the Catalyst drivers have some serious bugs. We noticed this weeks ago with the Desert Combat mod of Battlefield 1942, in which both drivers would scramble the menu after leaving a game (on a Windows 2000 machine). ATI's official fix right now is the one we figured out in two seconds, "use the 3.7 drivers". Other complaints have been heard, including overheating and game crashing.

Well, it looks like another black mark on ATI's driver reputation, which has greatly improved over the last year. But these obvious bugs remind us all of the driver hell that we used to experience all too often with ATI cards. Maybe a few thousand of us should register as beta testers to help debug new ATI driver releases. Obviously they could use the help.

November 14th

GameSpy Tries to Silence Bughunter

An Italian "hacker" is in a fight with GameSpy over bugs in GameSpy's "Roger Wilco" and Game Server Finding applications. The hacker, Luigi Auriemma, says that GameSpy has ignored his letters concerning serious flaws in the software which could let a malicious person take control of a game server. GameSpy has been trying to force Auriemma to remove information from his web site on the vulnerabilities in the programs, but so far he has refused. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DCMA) has been called into action, which makes it a crime to expose vulnerabilities in software, but because Auriemma lives in Italy, the law does not apply.

November 13th

Recent Linux Moves Bad for Microsoft?

A lot of things have happened with Linux recently, including Red Hat leaving the desktop OS market, and Novell purchasing SuSE Linux. Of course there is also the legal battle between IBM and SCO over Linux code IP. But what this all means is that Big Money is now fighting tooth and nail over an open source operating system as though it were worth big money. And that must mean they see big money in them thar lines of code. To me these fights and restructurings are a sign that Linux has finally come of age.

Novell has recently purchased Ximian Inc, a developer of Linux interfaces and an email client program called Evolution. Obviously Novell has decided it is going to put a major effort into competing head-to-head with Microsoft in the OS market, particularly in the enterprise market. But if they are really smart, they will also take advantage of Red Hat's departure from the desktop market, and develop a truly competitive version of Linux that can compete with Windows in the home market. This market is worth billions of dollars, and is ripe for some real competition. If little old Lindows can make a seamless home version of Linux, the Novell should be able to come up with something much more impressive.

November 12th

Follow the Money

In the never-ending saga of SCO vs. Linux (and IBM), a new twist has some analysts and SCO investors in a twist. IBM, angered by SCO's reluctance to turn over discovery information prior to trial, has subpoenaed both SCO investors, as well as analysts who have been publishing favorable articles on SCO's legal stance. SCO condemns the move, whereas outside analysts say it is standard practice when a litigant refuses to produce the requested documents for discovery.

The theory is that IBM believes that Microsoft and several large investors have been funneling money through third parties to help finance SCO's legal fight against Linux. So this is IBM's way of uncovering any such connections. Also, IBM believes that some of the analysts who have been subpoenaed either have a stake in SCO, or have been paid for their positive articles on SCO's legal case. Sure seems like something is rotten in Utah. If IBM can prove that SCO was secretly underwritten by Microsoft and other large donors, and that analysts have been paid for their "opinions", it will go a long way toward implicating SCO in unjustly enriching itself at IBM's expense. Follow the money.

If I were SCO, I'd get on the phone with Bill first thing this morning, and see if he can cut some more fat checks.

Postscript: SCO has now counter-subpoenaed Novell, Linus Torvalds and others in an attempt to clog the judicial system up as much as possible. SCO does not want this case to get to court, and they don't want to turn over the information requested in discovery. Can it get more ridiculous than this? I'm sure it can.

WWIII? US Helps Israel with Nukes?

I just ran into several disturbing articles that state that the US has recently given Israel a significant number of cruise missiles (100?), which Israel is modifying to accept nuclear warheads. These could be launched from Israel's Dolphin class submarines. There isn't too much in the way of hard facts to be had, as with all of the belligerent things the Bush administration does, but what we do know is certainly unsettling. Considering the fragile state of the Middle East, in no small part due to US aggression in the region, I'm not sure a nuclear arms race is the best solution.

Arms Control Today

November 11th

Where is Microsoft Going?

Bill Gates is the richest man in the world, and has amassed a fortune that he could never spend in a lifetime. Nonetheless, he continues to struggle on a daily basis to increase his fortune as fast as possible. Obviously, he has a personality disorder, but that's another story. The really big question is, what will Bill do with all that money? We've heard real scare stories recently, like Bill wanting to buy Google, and turn it into another propaganda machine like MSN.com. Indeed, Bill buys whatever he wants to kill, and he has the means to do it. He could buy a small country, and have tens of billions left over.

Bill has even boasted that Longhorn (the next Windows) would cost as much to make as the Apollo moon shots. What he forgot to mention is that an operating system only costs that much to develop if you have crammed hundreds of sub-programs into it just to kill off small competitors making similar stand-alone products. Making a solid, secure, and streamlined Windows would cost a fraction of the amount.

OK, so Bill has told us how he is going to waste a few billion, but what's he going to do with the remaining $50 billion? He's already given SCO $50 million to wage war on Linux, so that's covered. Hmmm, now that you mention it, why not buy a big Linux distributor? SuSe is apparently already spoken for (by Novell), but that leaves Red Hat! Red Hat just canned their desktop version of Linux in order to concentrate on enterprise versions. So why doesn't Bill buy it and kill it? Na... that would plug just one leak in Microsoft's very leaky boat... better come up with something better than that.

Let me think. Tablet PCs are selling as fast as frosties in Fairbanks, so maybe Bill should give away a couple billion dollars worth to schools to get kids hooked? Forget it. Bill needs something with more oomph than that.

Wait! I've got it! Washington DC is in pretty bad financial shape, I'll bet it could be had on the cheap! Maybe two, or three billion at the most. Then he could close down the Senate, the House, and especially... the White House. Now that's some real bang for your buck!

November 10th

AMD Opterons at 90nm

Rumors are out that AMD has been able to move Opteron fabrication to the 90nm process, which should almost cut heat production in half. Also, it will drop the cost of manufacturing the chips as well, and we could see a price drop if the yields are good. If AMD can pull this off this year, it will be very impressive, and as the analysts are suggesting, it will put even more pressure on Intel to counter the move in the server arena. The Xeon and Itanium offerings from Intel are poor performers compared with the AMD Opteron, they also cost more, and in the case of the Itanium, require an entire new suite of operating systems and applications to be written. In contrast, the Opteron works with existing software, and has both the 32-bit and 64-bit capabilities of the Xeon and Itanium wrapped up in a single, cheaper package. Expect Intel to begin following rather than leading for the foreseeable future.

November 5th

SCO Outed as Microsoft Shill (or Schiller?)

SCO has finally been outed as the paid huckster of Microsoft, and therefore Mr. Bill Himself. And who spilled the beans on SCO? SCO of course! In their latest SEC filing, SCO discussed providing financial and other incentives to migrate from Linux to "a proprietary operating system". In fact, they aren't even saying the "the other OS" is necessarily Unix, as long as it is proprietary, with a "stronger IP basis than Linux".

Where do these guys come up with this crap? Perhaps from "Boies, Schiller and Flexner", the legal team from IP hell that has turned greed and deceit into a virtue. I used to have respect for David Boies, but now I see him as a money grubbing shill, right up there with his buddies Schiller and Flexner. All the more reason to hope they are all wasting everyone's time, with the case being dismissed with extreme prejudice when it gets to court. Hey... I thought the parties in litigation were supposed to refrain from talking in public about upcoming cases? So why is SCO changing legal strategies in public on a weekly basis? I think I'd have to say it's Bill and Schill(er) and David pulling the strings.

November 5th

DRM Coming to a TV Near You

The FCC has voted to mandate copy-protection on all devices that can receive digital broadcasts by the year 2005. All receivers will have to be DRM "flag" compliant, which means that they will detect copy-protected content, and prevent it from being re-transmitted. You know that this will create a wonderful market for "flag-stripping" technologies that will defeat the measure, in the same way that DVD players now can disable Macromedia protection on DVDs. The DRM arms race continues.

64-Bit Gaming?

Microsoft has released a preview of DX9 for the AMD-64 CPU to developers. Typically, this means you can expect to see games using the new technology in about a year. Hopefully, Windows-64 will be ready in the late Spring, or early Summer, at which time gamers can migrate to AMD's Athlon-FX processor, and get full support for the new CPUs. The question on everyone's mind is... how much of a boost will 64-bit computing offer us gamers?

Intel P4EE a Joke

As soon as AMD announced their AthlonFX series of CPUs with 1MB of L2 cache, Intel announced that they would soon have a Pentium 4 Extreme Edition, with 2MB of L3 cache. But it was a "paper launch" because the P4EE is still not available. Note however, when it does come to market it is going to cost.... get this... around $1000! Geeze, that's got to be a mistake. You can get a whole computer for $1000. If that is Intel's idea of keeping up with the Jones's, they've got another thing coming... especially since the P4EE doesn't outperform the AMD Athlon-FX, which costs hundreds of dollars less. I have a piece of advice for AMD and Intel. CPUs shouldn't cost over $500, and your sales volumes will plummet whenever you exceed that price.

November 3rd 2003

DellIntel: Dell is Intel's Lapdog

There is a very amusing article over at the Inquirer discussing a topic I've been amused by recently. Dell is selling Intel Itanium servers, but insists that there is no need to sell AMD Opteron servers. This is a mighty strange position to take in a free-market, capitalistic society. But of course, money talks more than principle, and the end result is often that big companies can control their big customers in ways that have nothing to do with free-markets.

The reporter at the Inquirer suggests that Dell come clean with their customers, and admit the real reason. Indeed, a sample press release is provided which states:

"Even though the Opteron platform is the most technically advanced, offers the best value for money, and is the best migratory platform to 64-bit computing, Intel offered a financial inducement we couldn't afford to ignore".

Now wouldn't that be something different... companies actually telling the truth. Hell, if that happened, we might actually start to expect politicians to tell the truth....

Na!

Copyright 2003, KickAss Gear