Thursday, April 12, 2001

New GLSetup -- 10:47 pm CST, Update by A.T. Hun

A brand spanking new GLSetup has been released. This handy utility automatically detects your 3D video card and installs the best OpenGL driver for it in the various flavors of Windows. Handy if you don't feel like wading through all kinds of drivers on your own. Thanks Planet Quake.

J.t.Qbe comments: GLSetup is cool. I used the other other night and it was extremely easy to get the OpenGL drivers for my setup. Now Sin is actually fast enough to be playable.

101 Stupid eCommerce Tricks -- 12:57 pm CST, Update by A.T. Hun

The eCompany posted its list of the 101 dumbest moments in e-Business history. Some will make you laugh out loud, others will make you cry, others are just plain fraud. It reminds me of the words of two famous philosophers:

• P.T. Barnum: "There's a sucker born every minute."
• Dogbert: "The Latin word for 'close your eyes and open your mouth' is 'prospectus'."

And people wonder why I smile when all these companies go up in smoke . . .

x-bit labs Reviews GeForce2 MX 400 -- 11:22 am CST, Update by A.T. Hun

NVIDIA has recently announced two new versions of it's low-end GeForce2 MX, the 400 and the 200. The 400 is the same as the original MX, it's just clocked faster. The 200 is clocked the same as the original MX, but only uses 64bit SDRAM. x-bit reviewed these new cards, comparing them to the original MX, the original GeForce, and ATi's offerings. The MX 400 is faster than the GeForce DDR in 16 bit color, but slightly slower in 32 bit. Still, for an estimated street price of $100, the MX 400 is a steal. Plus it runs a lot cooler than the original GeForces do. Thanks Riva 3D.

WinXP vs. MP3s -- 8:57 am CST, Update by A.T. Hun

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that WindowsXP will not allow users to rip MP3s at higher quality levels. Here's a snip:

Under Microsoft's new restrictions -- which prevent its built-in software from recording MP3 files at fidelity rates higher than 56 kilobits per second -- MP3 music "sounds like somebody in a phone booth underwater," says P.J. McNealy, an analyst who researches Internet audio issues for Gartner Inc. in Stamford, Conn. (Existing versions of Microsoft's audio software don't allow consumers to record music as MP3 files of any quality.)

The new restrictions in Windows XP won't prevent other vendors' software applications from recording MP3 music at a higher fidelity, but early testers of beta versions of Windows XP already complain that the most popular MP3 recording applications -- which compete with Microsoft's format -- don't seem to function properly, apparently because of changes Microsoft made to how data are written on CD-ROMs under Windows XP. Microsoft says that while other software vendors' products may not be "optimized" to run with Windows XP, those products should run acceptably with the operating system.

Now whether these limitations can be worked around remains to be seen. It's not surprising that M$ would be teaming up with the music industry to limit our fair use of the music we buy. Practically everything I hear about WinXP makes me want to vomit. I will entirely go over to Linux before I buy XP. Thanks Slashdot.

The Master comments: All Microsoft is going to do is drive the hardcore to Linux-which will cost them the profits they're grasping for. We'll see how long they're willing to push this Big Brother attitude.

J.t.Qbe comments: In a perfect world stuff like this would drive a mass exodus to Linux. However, M$ has an ace up its sleeve: the game developers. Most of the hot new games are going to be released for Windows, eventually for XP only. What are you going to do? Most users will cave in and go to XP so they can have their bread and circuses. M$ knows that.

Wednesday, April 11, 2001

Pondering the Imponderable -- 11:23 pm CST, Update by A.T. Hun

The Stanley Cup playoffs have begun! Let's go Red Wings! My beloved Wings dispatched of the L.A. Kings 5-3 at the Joe tonight. I expect the Wings will take the series in five. Hopefully the Captain's (Steve Yzerman) leg injury is not too severe. They can beat the likes of the Kings without him, but they will definitely need him if they plan on advancing very far.

Tribes 2 and SMAC For Linux Shipping -- 8:49 pm CST, Update by A.T. Hun

Linux Games got word that the Loki's Linux version of Tribes 2 and Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri Planetary Pack will be shipping next week. Looks like Loki has awakened and are actually releasing games again. Always a Good Thing.

J.t.Qbe comments: Loki puts out some good stuff. I've been playing the Linux version of Heroes of Might and Magic III and it's been a lot of fun, a quality piece of work. The fact that it was only $15 at Half Price Books made it even nicer.

A.T. Hun comments: Ditto my copy of Soldier of Fortune. A good (albeit violent) time is had by all! I've also used their Unreal Tournament binaries with great success.

M$: XP Will Be Secure. Really. -- 4:41 pm CST, Update by A.T. Hun

CNet News quotes Microsoft's Steve Lipner and Dave Thompson on the companies efforts to make Windows XP secure. The cynic in me doubts M$'s ability to secure an OS without making it unbearably unusable for end-users. However, I must admit that this is the first time I've seen Microsoft make security a big deal for a personal OS--a welcome change.

BTW, does anyone besides me find it interesting how M$ themselves are bashing Win9x/ME in an effort to sell people on Win2K/XP? A quote from this article:

Retiring the old Windows code--upon which Windows 95, 98 and Me are based--is the first step toward securing the PC. Or, as Lipner put it, "(Windows XP) is based on the Windows NT code base--it's a real operating system."

I guess "real" is a relative term.

J.t.Qbe comments: In the Microsoft world, so is the term "innovation"

Handspring Extends PalmOS License -- 1:20 pm CST, Update by A.T. Hun

VisorCentral is reporting that Handspring has extended its PalmOS License through 2009. This should clarify the direction that Handspring is taking with their Visor line of PDAs for at least the foreseeable future.

Past Two Days' News

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