Before I begin, I just want to note that my previous post was my shortest post ever and yet somehow received the most comments ever. Seems somewhat twisted, but at least I know someone out there is reading…

There’s been a lot of developments in the news lately. Ironically I never heard about that one guy who was dancing in front of his webcam with some song. How did that become mainstream news? Heck, if that was so popular, then Steve’s infamous mp3 should be on national news and engraved into gold or something. Rest assured, there’s more important news than that…

b2evolution update
b2evolution is the software that runs your beloved blog right here. The last version (0.9.0.11) was released back in September. Since then there hasn’t been any updates. Although things seemed dormant, a recent post on the b2evo site confirmed that the next version will be a sight to see. I’m still debating whether I should throw a CVS version up for awhile and see how it runs. As long as I keep the database, there really wouldn’t be a problem. Time is the only issue there…

Microsoft extending security
Microsoft has announced that it’s AntiVirus software will be released later this year. This comes soon after Microsoft released a beta version of it’s Windows Anti-Spyware client (which is still in beta). Admittingly I love that program. I’ve pretty much stopped using Spybot and rarely run Ad-aware. I’ll probably keep the Microsoft Anti-Spyware and Ad-aware clients on my systems as it’s better having two eyes instead of one. Especially because Microsoft announced that AntiSpyware will not be bound to a payment plan or license. That means once the beta is done with, that little subscription expires thing will be gone. Microsoft’s AntiVirus program will have some interesting complications, as Microsoft just got over it’s whole Anti-Trust crap with Internet Explorer. Although it would be nice to get Microsoft AntiVirus for dirt cheap, that would probably be seen as an antitrust violation because it’s unfair competition against other companies like Symantec and McAffee. As expected, when Microsoft said their AntiVirus was on the way, Symantec (think Norton AntiVirus) stated that they thought it was a good idea, but didn’t think it was suitable for corporate customers. This is exactly what was predicted. The home/small business market will be easy for Microsoft to grab, but it’s the corporate customers that will take a little bit of nudging. It’s not like Network Administrators and the like will assume that a new product created by Microsoft will install flawlessly without bugs. Better keep your focus on us home/small business people, Microsoft.

It pays to read the EULA
There’s a 99% you’ve installed something on your computer. Whether it’s Microsoft Office, World of Warcraft, Mozilla Firefox, or even Windows itself. With that in mind, there’s a 99% chance you didn’t read the EULA–the End User License Agreement–either. You’ve probably seen it if you didn’t click the “Next” button too fast. It’s that really big boring document in the little box that usually starts with “TERMS OF AGREEMENT”. Most of these EULA’s serve as good insomnia deterrents. One exception, however, occurred when some lucky bastard read the EULA of the product “PC Pitstop Optimize” and saw the following clause:

SPECIAL CONSIDERATION

A special consideration which may include financial compensation will be awarded to a limited number of authorize licensee to read this section of the license agreement and contact PC Pitstop at consideration@pcpitstop.com . This offer can be withdrawn at any time.

After this product was released, it took someone 3 months to finally send the email. Good thing he did too, because he was awarded $1000. It’s too bad you don’t see that more often. I’m pretty sure you won’t find this in the Windows EULA, so don’t waste your time. So, remember–next time you install that piece of software you’ve wanted, take a gander at that EULA screen. You’ll never know what’ll show up.
Windows Product Activation Changes
Microsoft finally caught on and got sick and tired of OEM copies of Windows getting pirated like crazy. As of February 28, if you have to reactivate your OEM copy of Windows XP, you’ll have to call up the friendly folks at the Microsoft Product Activation Center. Dell users don’t have to worry since the install detects if you’re installing on a Dell box or not. Can’t say I know about other companies…

Farewell Clie
Sony is discontinuing it’s Clie PDA in Japan. Unlike Dell and my Axim X5 PDA, Sony will still be providing support for the series. (Catching a hint Dell??)
RIP Clie 2000-2005

Microsoft: Resistance is Futile
April 12th is the very last day. That?s when the clock runs, and the deadline looms.
And here you thought it was April 15th. Nope, it?s the twelfth. Because I’m not talking about the day your taxes are due. On no. I’m talking about the day that your Windows XP or Windows XP SP1 computer will be automatically updated to XP SP2 (Service Pack 2) whether you want it to or not. Period.
Up until now users who did not want to accept the SP2 update had the option of temporarily blocking the update from being downloaded to their machines through the Automatic or Windows Update mechanisms, however that option expires on April 12th.
According to Microsoft?s latest alert on the issue, ?The intent of this alert is to provide you with a reminder about the upcoming deadline around the date on which Automatic Update (AU) and Windows Update (WU) will deliver Windows XP SP2 regardless of the presence of the blocking mechanism.?
My advice: screw the automatic update. Slipstream your Windows XP CD to SP2 and do a reformat/reinstall with SP2 included. You definitely won’t regret it.

Windows vs. Wine
Microsoft’s Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) program has had its share of critics. But last week, a number of open-source advocates joined the ranks of those questioning Microsoft’s methods for thwarting software piracy. On Wednesday, a developer of Wine ? an open-source implementation of the Windows application-programming interface that allows Windows applications to run on Unix and Linux ? said he discovered that Microsoft’s Windows validation tool checks for Wine and generates an error when it is found.
Wine developer Ivan Leo Puoti’s e-mail was linked on the Slashdot.org site and immediately generated a flood of comments. While some posters said they believed Microsoft was within its rights blocking users who were running older versions of Windows, others said they believed Microsoft was unfairly targeting users running legitimate Microsoft software on top of non-Microsoft operating systems.

Cheers to Firefox
On February 15th, exactly 99 days after it was released, Firefox 1.0 smashed through the 25 million download milestone.
“Thank you.” says Blake on spreadfirefox.com “Thank you for helping us take this product from 25 to 25 million, from our little corner of the world to yours, from the technically elite to Karen and Rimone.”
“Twenty five million Firefox downloads is a significant achievement, and we see that number continuing to grow,” said Mitchell Baker, president of the Mozilla Foundation. “Firefox is being rapidly adopted by the mainstream, with this audience embracing Firefox as a more user-friendly web browsing solution.”
Firefox downloads have continues at a steady rate since it’s launch in November, with well above 200,000 downloads per day.
With Internet Explorer 7 being released as beta in the summer, and Firefox 1.1 planned for June, 2005 - its looking to be pretty good for browser development again (lets hope, eh).

Think different with your TiVo
Just when you thought it was all good with your TiVo.
TiVo Inc. shares jumped more than 17 percent on Wednesday, fueled by speculation that Apple Computer Inc. might make a try to buy the digital video recorder maker, analysts said.
“What we hear on the street is that Apple is interested in their business and that they are a takeout target,” said analyst Steven Kroll Jr. of Monness, Crespi, Hardt & Co.
Representatives for Apple and TiVo both declined comment.
TiVo’s chief executive, Michael Ramsay, has said the company is not for sale. But with a market capitalization of only $300 million, analysts figure the company might be an easy target, perhaps from consumer electronics makers to media companies looking to bolster their video services.
Several companies have been discussed as potential suitors for TiVo, including Time Warner Inc. and Comcast Corp., Sony Corp., and Liberty Media.

Big Memory on your video card
I fondly remember my 3dfx Voodoo3 2000 PCI video card with 16MB of RAM. That was a powerhouse back in the day. Now fast forward to today. ATi will be incorporating 512MB–the first time on a video card–on their newest X850 video cards lineup. As amazing as this is, there’s a slight catch: even ATi acknowledges that there will probably be no performance benefits to bumping the memory support from 256MB to 512MB since the cards are “intended to demonstrate the next-generation capability to gamers”. Us nVidia guys shouldn’t be worried: Gainward (a popular nVidia distributor) will be releasing it’s own 512MB video card soon.

Firefox in your pocket
A new browser ported to Windows Mobile/CE based on Mozilla Firefox. How much cooler could it get?!?

Future of Nintendo??
Here’s what Trip Hawkins, founder of Electronic Arts, says about it:

Q: What do you think about Nintendo’s future? People have commented that they should focus only on portable systems in the future.
Hawkins: My magic eight ball says they will be acquired by Microsoft within five years.

I’m surprised that EA didn’t just go outright and say they’ll take Nintendo. It’s not like they already acquired Satan, Hell, and all of it’s related properties.

And from the rumors department, Microsoft’s Xbox 2, set to be released this fall, could possibly have a removable hard drive.

Now you know the news. This was pretty interesting. I’ll have to do this more in the future…

~Jaker

This entry incorporated statements found at neowin, slashdot, Reuters, Microsoft, and Yahoo! news.