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Gear News Archive: September 2002
September 29th Dude, You're Getting a DOpteron! Our good buddy Mike Magee points to an interesting article in the NY Times, no less. The article is a synopsis of Intel's Intanic dilemma. There is quite a bit to the article, but you may need a little background before we get to the details. For a number of years now Intel has invested literally billions of dollars on producing a 64-bit processor capable of competing with processors from companies like IBM and Sun Microsystems. As with all modern processors, Intel had to make up a name that they could trademark, and so they came up with Itanium (that's titanium without the I. Why didn't they call it the Lutonium?). Nonetheless, Intel produced the Itanium 1 last year, but much to their dismay the processor was a resounding dud in the marketplace. The reason was simple, the processor was abysmally slow. On top of its sluggish performance, this new 64-bit processor required software makers to completely rewrite the operating systems and applications that would run on it. Nobody rushed to write new software for an expensive, underperforming chip. Intel went back to the drawing board and came up with Itanium 2, scheduled for release next year. Itanium 2 is supposed to be much faster, but still suffers from the same stumbling block, meaning that all software needs to be rewritten to work with it. But there are other technical reasons why large corporations say they are unwilling to move to Intel's new 64-bit design. For example, Google is a major online search engine powered by a massive array of computers. They have already stated publicly that they cannot move to the Itanium 2 because of its high power requirements. With so many processors running in parallel, large computer arrays consume enormous amounts of electrical power, so power consumption is a primary concern. This is where the story gets interesting. AMD is getting ready to release its Hammer series of microprocessors, including the so-called Opteron 64-bit processor (there's another one of those trademarkable names). Silly names aside, AMD's new processor approach is as close to opposite from Intel's as it could be. AMD decided to design the Opteron to be 32-bit compatible, as well as being able to run 64-bit code if programmers decide to rewrite their software to take advantage of it. But this gives software makers the option of not having to rewrite their software if it is not economically feasible at the present. Also, the processor is not as complicated as the Itanium, and consumes less power. The upshot of all of this is that AMD's Hammer processor presents a serious threat to Intel's Itanium strategy for the server market. In fact, for the first time the management at Dell Computers is talking about moving to the AMD Opteron next year for their line of servers. This puts billions of dollars devoted to research and development at risk over at Intel. And that's where Intel's backup plan comes into play. Intel has been semi secretly working on a 32-bit compatible 64-bit processor for the last two years. They cannot talk about this project publicly because it further erodes confidence in the Itanium 2 project. Their behind the scenes work on an Opteron-like CPU clone has been code-named Yamhill. If Intel is forced to move Yamhill onto their public roadmap, it could spell doom for the Itanium 2. But at the moment, Intel swears by its devotion to the Itanium project, and hints publicly that AMD's Opteron will not work. But if companies like Dell, an Intel-only dealer, start to take the Opteron seriously, then Intel has to take it seriously too. September 27th Are AMD's Delays Intentional? Jack Robertson of EBN has a short story on AMD and it's upcoming Barton and Hammer processors. According to Jack, AMD is not reworking the Hammer design, and is not having any troubles making the interim Barton CPU. Because Barton is not using SOI (silicon on insulator) technology, it is really only a Thoroughbred-B with double the L2 cache. AMD could probably have this CPU on store shelves by next week if they wanted to. But they don't want to. Why? Because the PC market is too depressed now to make a splash. Indeed, this logic makes a certain amount of sense. This is lining up to be the worst holiday shopping season in years, and the time may not be ripe for a big processor debut. This delay gives AMD time to produce enough chips to fill the supply channels early next year if the economy starts to turn around. And the delay also gives motherboard makers time to get the newer motherboards produced in quantity, in order to make the processor debut go smoothly. September 26th Thoughts on TCPA. Lots of computer users are thinking about what TCPA means for them in the future. The Trusted Computing Platform Alliance says its mission is to "implement trust into client, server, networking, and communication platforms". But trust is a relative term in this context, because what it really boils down to is that large entertainment and IT corporations don't trust their own customers. The entire purpose of TCPA is to prevent computer users from doing anything that big corporations don't want them to do with computers. An email to me from a concerned computer user named Steve sums up much of what I have been thinking about very well: "Just prior to TCPA launch I'm going to get the highest performing non-TCPA compliant parts available and build a system to ride out the storm. The attempt by big business to reduce personal computers to nothing more than content delivery devices is a sign that the glory days of personal computing may be approaching an end. I started thinking the end was near with the advent of WinXP and WPA. The verbiage in WinXP's SP1 EULA that hands the keys to one's machine to Micro$oft leaves no doubt that the battle for control over the PC is well under way. My upgrade path looks like this: Win-3.1, Win-95, Win-95B, Win-98, Win-98 SE, SuSE Linux 8.0." Steve has been keeping up on the changes in the computer industry, but the danger is that the vast bulk of the computer buying public remains clueless. They will buy anything the salesman tells them is the best. And the push to sell TCPA enabled systems will be backed by the likes of Intel and Microsoft for all it's worth. Chances are, the corporations will win this battle. However, if there is a concerted effort by IT news sites to educate the public about what digital rights management will mean for them, and their ability to play music, copy files, or watch DVDs, some consumers may shy away from TCPA/Palladium machines. But only if they know what is going on. Most people don't pay much attention to the news, or what's going on in the world, so it's an uphill battle. If TCPA does come to fruition, I also see a new market in "black market non-TCPA computer parts" as well as modding services to remove or disable TCPA from motherboards, hard drives, DVD drives, etc. There will also be hackers who attempt to circumvent the software end of TCPA, such as Microsoft's 'Palladium'. It will be a very strange world at that point. This sort of modding already has become popular with consoles such as the Xbox, and I expect a similar community will spring up for PC modding to disable TCPA features. So it will change the face of computer modding from frilly side windows and neon lights, to reclaiming lost functionality. How Was Van Smith Silenced? A letter from Van Smith posted at The Inquirer is as illuminating of human nature as it is a disheartening look at the almost limitless capacity of some humans to hate others for the most trivial of reasons. The purpose of the letter was to respond to John "Intel" Dvorak's column in PC Ragazine. The controversy still centers on BAPCo's SysMark 2002 benchmark, which has been shown to be heavily biased in favor of Intel processors. After Van wrote an article showing how the benchmark had been rejiggered according to Intel's wishes, Van says he began getting serious threats both by email and by telephone. In his column, Dvorak dismisses Van's claims of threats as ludicrous. But the main point is this. Computers are pieces of hardware. They are not your mother, or your sister, and they don't need to be defended against slander or bad mouthing. CPUs are integrated circuit chips, not a computer users only source of personal pride. The fact that anyone would threaten someone else for writing articles about a processor or a biased benchmark is a clear indication that for some small percentage of computer users, mental health should be a much higher priority than defending the honor of their processor manufacturer. The Corporate Call for Linux An article by Arron Rouse at The Inquirer presents the arguments in favor of corporations turning to Linux in favor of Microsoft products. The arguments are pretty hard to counter, in fact, they are compelling. The stumbling block remains IT managers and CTOs that learned their trade in Microsoft training programs, and have little or no experience with Linux systems. This will change as younger systems managers come into the work force. So as long as Microsoft only provides expensive, proprietary software with onerous license agreements, the slow shift to Linux at corporations seems capitalistically inevitable. September 24th Will the Opteron be TCPA Hobbled? The arguments are going back and forth on the question of what "Palladium Trusted Computing features" will be in AMD's new 64-bit processors, and whether these features can be disabled or not. "Trusted Computing" is a bit of PR spin which is really a misnomer, because rather than making computers "trustworthy" for consumers, they really mean that computers will be blocked from doing things in the future that they currently do efficiently. So there is no trust involved, just the opposite. Big corporations don't trust any of their customers, and feel they need to implement world-wide constraints on computer hardware and software in order to control the behavior of the pesky public. And why do companies like AMD say they need to implement these restraints on computers? Here's a quote [When I asked Pat Moorhead {of AMD} would anything cause AMD to reconsider adding TCPA functions {to the Opteron}, he said: "It's not (a case of) considering or not considering. I think we're committed to protecting the trust of privacy and trust of the end user because that's what they want."] Clearly, the public does not want to buy crippled machines in the future, so Mr. Moorhead was really talking about the recording and motion picture industries, and their "trusted computing alliance", not the end users. But as the "Trusted Computer" initiative moves forward, and companies start to hear from the public, rather than just the entertainment industry, their tune may change quicker than you can say "Palladium". September 22nd UT2003 Goes Gold! This means it's been released to the manufacturers, and it will show up on store shelves within two weeks. But you get more than just the game, you also get: 1) Full
Linux support That's a whole lot of stuff to be coming with a game, and it's certain to make the UT2003 mod community one of the largest dedicated to any one game. September 21st AMD Delays Confirming earlier reports, Digitimes reports that the Hammer series of processors is delayed until early or mid 2003. The problems are as originally stated, the SOI (silicon on insulator) design is giving low yields on wafers, and the actual design of the chip is still being tweaked. This means that the Hammer chips have not "taped out", and that the actual design is not even finalized yet. The intermediate AMD processor known as Barton will also be delayed until 2003. That leaves the Thoroughbred B as the only new CPU from AMD this year, with speeds up to 2600+ (2.13GHz). I expect AMD's stock price to remain low throughout 2002, and it is also possible that their marketshare could begin to slip in favor of Intel. September 20th AMD
Opt If the reports leaking out are true, not many people are going to want to buy AMD's upcoming Opteron processor, because it won't let them copy MP3 files or any other content that is not digitally signed. If AMD is serious about this, they are opting for self-destruction. Keep in mind that "digital rights management" offers the consumer nothing but a nightmare scenario where they can't copy files from one place to another. You will constantly receive error messages that the file you want to copy is not digitally signed, and therefore can not be copied. These measures are solely designed to give the recording industry a stranglehold over an entire technology that they have nothing to do with. Intel is obviously working on something similar (see story below). But one thing is clear, as the first "Digital Rights Managed" (DRM) computers get bought and consumers try to use them on the Internet, all hell is going to break loose as they discover their new machines are blocked from doing things that computer users have gotten very used to doing. If AMD incorporates DRM into it's new processors, and there is no way to disable it, they will kill their new processor before it even debuts. The Opteron is AMD's best hope for turning around it's sluggish sales and low stock price. But a DRM-crippled Opteron will be about as popular as herpes. An update at the Inquirer now says that the original story was incorrect in the sense that it mixed up comments from different people on different topics. AMD assures customers that their products will not block any content. Of course that would not be a true statement if they do add mandatory DRM features to their CPUS, unless the technology can be completely disabled in the motherboard BIOS. September 18th Is Prescott the Pentium5 or Palladium One? An article over at EBN discusses Intel's next processor, code-named "Prescott", which Intel is claiming is not just a beefed up P4, but a whole new processor. But is it? Let's take a quick look at the new stuff in the Prescott. 1.
Hyperthreading (supposedly already in the P4 core, but disabled) So what does this spell out? The Prescott IS a beefed-up Pentium4. Items 4, 5 and 6 are obvious updates to the current chip design, and adding "LaGrande" is much more likely to be a big downside, rather than an upside change for the CPU core. These so-called security features will be much more involved in preventing you from ripping MP3 files than they will be in preventing a hacker from getting to your computer. Most of the effort on Microsoft and Intel's part to make additions to their products such as "LaGrande" and "Palladium" is directed toward "digital rights management", which means more copy protection on more software, and less ability to back up and share data. So to me, the Prescott isn't the Pentium5, it's Palladium incarnate, Version 1. September 17th NVidia Says It Will Support Windows 98SE According to an article at the venerable Inquirer, NVidia has been bombarded with emails from testy Windows 98SE users about the lack of new Detonator drivers for Windows 98. NVidia claims that the new 40.41 driver for Windows XP is only a beta version, and when the official version comes out, there will be a Windows 98 version as well. See what a little consumer write-in pressure can do? And you thought Ms. Simpson's 3rd grade writing lessons were a waste of time! PS, This is just round one. What about the next driver release, and the one after that?? I hope that NVidia and ATI get into a driver war and try to woo customers with more driver support than the other company offers. September 16th Critical Data? Buy a Cheap Hard Drive! The word is that all major hard drive manufacturers are so confident in the quality of their wares that they have (un)extended the warranties on hard drives from 3 years, to 1 year. Gives you an exceptional level of assurance that your data is safe, doesn't it? If the manufacturers aren't worried, why should we? I've been spouting at the orifice for years that when consumers invariably buy the cheapest hardware available, it will force manufacturers to cut costs, including things like quality control, and warranties. So this result is a simple consequence of the penny pinching that PC customers have practiced over the years. The general logic is: Look... I can have three 120GB ATA/133 IDE drives for the cost of one, high-quality 36GB U160 SCSI drive, so if the first two break, I've still got a third backup drive. The logic is impeccable, as long as your time isn't worth anything to you. All this is becoming more pertinent as we hear of a recall by Fugitsu of over 300,000 IDE drives sold in the last year. They overheat and fail. Nice to find that out now, rather in the quality control facilities, eh? The fact of the matter is, at current prices, they can't afford to test more than a fraction of 1% of the product leaving the factory. The public speaks with it's pocket book, and the companies respond with cheaper, less-reliable goods. As long as the cheapest stuff sells the best, things will only get worse for system integrators and consumers. Bottom line, I suggest you splurge when given the option between a $90 Fugitsu drive from some fly-by-night company, and a $100 Maxtor drive of the same capacity from a reputable distributor. September 14th UT 2003 Demo Out! It's out folks. You can get it lots of places, including NVidia.com. But it's 100MB, so I hope you either have bandwidth, or spare time. The demo is lots of fun, and the gameplay is greatly improved over the beta version I have been playing recently. I expect that the full game will sell extremely well when it comes out in about a month. September 13th AMD in Trouble? AMD is now apparently admitting that all new processors will be delayed until 2003. This leaves only the Thoroughbred-b models (2400 and 2600) to debut this year, and those may not make it to market until late October. Indeed, the retail version of the 2200+ just came out this week, so AMD is definitely slipping. Intel representatives have been somewhat smug in the last few days, suggesting that if it were easy to make a 32-bit/64-bit hybrid chip, they would have done it long ago. But it looks like the problems are primarily with the new memory controller and SOI (silicon on insulator). Apparently, while the new built-in memory controller boosts performance 10% to 20%, it limits the top end that the chips can achieve. And SOI has turned out to be a very difficult technology to implement. The yields are very low, and if AMD can not improve the situation, they have a non-SOI fallback plan. Finally, the design of the original "Hammer" CPU is not stable enough. AMD will have to add another layer to the silicon, like they did with the Thoroughbred-b to achieve high clock rates with stability. What concerns me most, and probably many investors as well, is that this should have been discovered months ago, and they should already be most of the way through the redesign. Instead, it seems as though AMD hung on to a hope that they could tweak the timings or other parameters to reach stability. This didn't work, and now they are back to the drawing board, much to Intel's delight. The rework of the Thoroughbred went fairly quickly, but that mainly involved adding another layer. With the Hammer series, as well as the "Barton" chip, there are more redesigns required (extra layer, SOI or no-SOI, and memory controller or cache changes). Lots of testing will be required at each stage, so we might as well all sit back and relax. If you own AMD stock, keep it. It will only go down now, and there's no need to throw your money away. When the Hammer chips arrive in the Spring, AMD's price will go up significantly. But until then, expect hard times for the littler chip maker. Unreal Tournament 2003 Demo This Week! According to PlanetUnreal, the demo version of UT 2003 will be out by Sunday! Good news if true. It's been delayed several times. I've been playing a beta version of the game, and like it a lot. Hopefully, the AI and HUD will be improved in the final release. If you have an old video card, and want to play UT 2003, it's probably time for an upgrade!!! :) September 12th Hammer Delayed? Another rumor has surfaced that the AMD "Hammer" processor (aka Opteron) has been delayed until next year. There is no way to confirm this, but considering AMD's trouble getting Thoroughbred chips to market, it wouldn't be too surprising. Hang on for more rumors as they are promulgated! Tom's Hardware Under Fire Tom's Hardware, which is no stranger to controversy, has posted a Pentium4 3.6GHz review that most other sites have challenged as a fake. For example, the engineering sample shown (with some markings censored) appears to be a 2GHz Willamette core. It will be interesting to see how Tom explains his way out of this one. "Oops... wrong picture folks!"? Tom has lost some credibility in recent years after being accused of being overly-cozy with Intel. Now everyone is awaiting the explanation for the latest P4 review posted on his web site. September 11th Another Big Windows XP Security Problem Reports are making their way across the web about a vulnerability in Windows XP that would let simple URL links delete files and folders from your hard drive. But the recent "admission" by MS VP Valentine that "Windows was not meant to be secure", have me wondering now. Is this a ploy? It could even be a two-stage ploy. The first part would be to get everyone to install Windows XP service pack 1, which coincidentally just was released yesterday (hmmmm). This service pack not only supercedes your original EULA (license agreement) with one that gives Bill permission to rummage around your hard drive looking for unlicensed software, but also changes your most of your rights. One right you lose is that you are not allowed to post, divulge or display dot Net server benchmark results. That's got to mean it's a pig... but that's another story altogether. The second part of the ploy is to drum up FUD-level support for Palladium, Microsoft's attempt to turn computers into little more than digital appliances, in the name of "security" (read "Digital Rights Management"). The 'born-again' nature of recent Microsoft admissions and patches stinks like a boat-load of rotten fish to me. Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm not the only industry watcher that has mentioned the fishy nature of the shift in mindset at Microsoft. I thought XP was supposed to be "better" and "more secure"? So why is it the only OS that is affected by this security hole?? Rambus Hangs On... Or Does It??? Rambus says Intel will continue to support it's memory architecture in future chipsets. This after Intel's roadmaps revealed a conspicuous absence of Rambus chipsets beyond 2003. But the most amusing part of the Rambus statement is that they are targeting the "gamer market". Maybe they hadn't noticed, but it was primarily gamers who turned against Rambus when it was discovered that they were trying to leverage the entire PC memory industry with under-handed, mobster-like tactics. The performance/enthusiast community is not likely to forget the tactics Rambus employed, nor the fact that better memory performance on Rambus systems never translated to a large system performance increase, just a price increase. Now that Rambus DRAM isn't really any more expensive to buy than DDR, it remains unwanted because of their poor business reputation. Rambus sales make up only a tiny fraction of all memory module sales, and that fraction is shrinking (only a very few memory manufacturers make Rambus DRAM). But wait! EBN just posted a story that says that Intel has officially confirmed that Rambus has been dropped from it's chipset roadmap! It looks like Intel is dropping Rambus completely in 2005, but it will linger for a few years more at least. Rambus officials are hoping that other chipset makers, like SiS, will continue Rambus-chipset development. September 10th AMD Transistor Breakthrough AMD has announced that a joint project with UC Berkeley has succeeded in producing the first 10 nanometer double-gate transistor. This is six times smaller than the smallest currently in production. The new transistor is called a Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor Fin Field Effect Transistor (CMOS FinFET). You can read more about the breakthrough here. September 9th Who's making New Processors? I've been thinking about new processors for the last few months, and Mike Magee's story at the Inquirer today got me cogitating CPUs again. I've been thinking about it because chip companies are at a real crossroads here, and it will be very interesting to see how each company behaves and reacts. Intel is pretty much stuck with the Pentium 4 design right now, warts and all, and they will hit a brick wall on the MHz rating by the time they get to 3.5GHz. They will not be making the Pentium 5 (isn't that somewhat redundant?) any time soon, so their only move is to go to the 90 nanometer fabrication process, and hope that will clear the way to higher MHz. That should happen in 2003. But what's going on at AMD? They are making new chips. Plenty of them. First is the Athlon XP "Barton" chip, with 512Kb of L2 cache, and some other new features (SOI? etc) that should let them get to between 2.5 and 3GHz. With the front side bus running at 166MHz x 2 = 333MHz, this setup will give the Pentium 4 a hernia. But that's just the beginning. Shortly thereafter, or perhaps concurrently, AMD will release the "Opteron" with 64-bit capabilities, and a reworked internal design that should permit higher clock frequencies, without the big misprediction hit that the Pentium 4 suffers from. After that, AMD will release it's server version of the Opteron, code-named Sledgehammer. Unless Intel really does have a functional x86 compatible 64-bit chip in the wings (rumored to be "Yamhill"), they have nothing to counter AMD's moves. This would be very uncharacteristic for Intel. AMD's stock price is absurdly low right now. I can guarantee (at least if we don't have another great crash like in the 1920s) that AMD's stock price will rise significantly when the Opteron is debuted. Of course the amount of rise will depend on how nasty Intel's response is. They have many reviewers and analysts in their back pocket, and I'm sure they'll call in all the favors they are owed when the Opteron is released. September 6th Microsoft VP: "Our Products Aren't Engineered for Security" A shocking level of honesty crept into Senior Vice President of Windows Development Brian Valentine's speech at a recent 'dot Net' development conference. The uncharacteristically honest comments came in light of the fact that in recent weeks, hackers have been gaining access to Windows computers is a way that Microsoft can not explain. "As of August 2002, the PSS [Product Support Services] Security Team has not been able to determine the technique that is being used to gain access to the computer." The statement quoted at InfoWorld reads thusly: "I'm not proud. We really haven't done everything we could to protect our customers ... Our products just aren't engineered for security... It's impossible to solve the problem completely. As we solve these problems there are hackers who are going to come up with new ones. There's no end to this." Don't you feel more secure now? Well, there is no escape, because according to Valentine, all operating systems have poor security. In his inimitable words: "Every operating system out there is about equal in the number of vulnerabilities reported. We all suck." Abit Revamps Warranty Motherboard makers have had it easy for years when it comes to providing warranty service. They dump the responsibility on the vendors who make a couple bucks on each sale. But now, Abit is taking responsibility for their motherboards, and is providing direct RMA service and repair of motherboards. They have also increased the parts warranty from 1 year to 3 years, and the labor warranty from 1 year to 2 years. This is a major step forward, and makes Abit look very good when compared with most other board makers. It's about time the vendors were taken out of the loop, considering they had nothing to do with manufacturing the product, and would just send the boards back to Abit anyway. This method is more direct, and much more honest. September 5th AMD Makes Inroads in India The Indian government buys lots of computers, and until recently, operated under a dictate which stated that only Intel-based computers could be purchased by all government agencies. But AMD has managed to convince the Indian government to allow agencies to bid for AMD-based systems now. This should be a significant boost for AMD. And I hope it has some effect on deflating the AMD processor gray market, which has been flooded with low-price OEM chips in recent months. The gray market often becomes a dumping ground for CPUs when sales slump, because computer makers and parts distributors panic, and dump their inventories at a loss. September 4th We're All Bozos on this Rambus I and others have said it so many times, it now sounds like a chant, but maybe this time is for real. The year; 2003. The reason; Intel's contract with Rambus Inc. expires. The thing; Rambus leaves the Intel roadmap officially, and for good. According to Mike Magee of The Inqwell, Intel's roadmaps now have their bus full of Rambus bozos arriving at the "Springdale P" chipset stop. That's the chipset Intel will introduce in 2003 after the i850E. The i850E, which is slated for October, will be Intel's last Rambus chipset. The Springdale chipset will support dual channel 333MHz DDR DRAM, with a 533MHz CPU. A moment of OK, enough of that. Rambus could still struggle on, continuing to collect royalties on products it neither invented nor manufactured. This could keep the Rambus bozos in the game long enough to gather support from other companies (now at cut-rate prices I'm sure) to produce Rambus chipsets. SiS, which has an excellent record recently with Intel-like chipsets, is producing a Rambus capable P4 chipset. Other smaller companies may follow, or they may not. Time will tell if the next stop for the Ram-bus full of bozos is fat city.... or the twilight zone. September 3rd Bill Tightens Control over Windows I've been talking for a few days about the future of Windows product activation, and where that leaves users of the various versions of Windows. As Bill Gates slowly but surely tightens control over Windows XP, you have to wonder what he is going to do about Windows 98SE and Windows 2000. One of the primary changes with Windows XP is the greatly increased antipiracy protection. The Windows product activation scheme will only become more burdensome and difficult to circumvent over time, and this will put many computer users into a significant financial bind. Folks with home LAN networks notoriously use one copy of Windows for all the computers on their network. If they upgrade to the retail version of Windows XP home edition, it will cost them $200 per computer. For a three computer network, that is $600 just for the operating system to run the network. Then Microsoft will release its next operating system (Longhorn?), and the network owners will need to come up with even more cash for Bill. Because Windows XP detects the serial number for each operating system on a network, LAN owners will need to buy a full copy for each machine on the LAN. But that same LAN owner could pull out an old copy of Windows 98SE or Windows 2000, and install it on every computer on the LAN without any problems. And because most computer owners have copies of older versions of Windows from previous computer purchases, this is a very simple and cost free way of keeping the price of owning a LAN to a manageable level. And this is the major chink in Windows XP's armor. Bill cannot rein in all Windows users as long as rogue operating systems without product activation are floating around the country in vast quantities. It seems to me that the easiest way for Bill to kill off Windows 98 and Windows 2000 is to stop providing updates for them. This could be further enhanced by convincing companies such as NVidia that there is no need to continue supporting the older operating systems with new driver updates. Then Microsoft could make DirectX 9 so that it was only compatible with Windows XP. I assume that any XP version would also be compatible with Windows 2000, which may turn out to be a nagging problem for Bill for some time to come. But just as nobody supports Windows 3.1 anymore, support for Windows 98, and eventually Windows 2000 will come to an end. The question is, how long will that take? September 2nd Windows XP Service Pack 1 The Summer is over, and Service Pack 1 is just about ready for Windows XP. This is where we get to see the interplay between product activation and the ability to remove Microsoft bloatware from the OS with Bill's and the DoJ's blessings. The bad and the good, all rolled into one executable file. We also get to see how many folks dislike the new license agreement enough to avoid installing the pack. But considering it is easy to turn off the "automatic update" feature that comes with service pack 1, most people will gladly install the update. Just don't forget to disable auto-update after you install SP1, or Bill might decide to rummage around your hard drive looking for unlicensed copies of Office XP! Service Pack 1 will be released next Monday, Sept. 9th. Copyright 2002, KickAss Gear |