Universe’s Tech Blog

“With Microsoft now saying that its next major service pack for Windows XP will not ship until 2008, some Windows users are wondering whether the software upgrade will ever be released.” and then later “Michael Cherry, an analyst with Directions on Microsoft, agrees that Microsoft may very well decide to drop XP Service Pack 3. “It absolutely could happen. Microsoft is under no obligation to produce any service packs, ever,” he explains. “They feel that because these fixes are available through the auto-update that there’s less need to create a service pack.”

Gamasutra is reporting on reporting, with financial information from some of the large gaming companies becoming available this week. Nintendo, who had already previously raised projections, saw their profits up 72% over last year. This dramatic increase was credited largely to the DS, with 10.9 million units sold in the first six months of this year alone. Sony, on the other hand, dropped profits by 94% over this time last year. The company attributes this largely to the battery recall and PS3 start-up costs. From the article: “The company’s games division reported a ¥43.5 billion ($366.6m) loss, from a ¥8.2 million ($69,000) profit in 2005, thanks to research and development, manufacturing and marketing costs related to the launch of the PlayStation 3. Sales and operating revenue were down by 20.5 percent to ¥170.3 billion ($1.43bn). A decrease in hardware sales worldwide was attributed to a drop in price for the PlayStation 2 and PSP. Software sales also decreased overall, although individual PSP sales were up on the previous year. Combined profit from the PS2 and PSP business was described as ‘relatively unchanged’.”

“The 23 year old Grant Stanley has been sentenced to five months in prison, followed by five months of home detention, and a $3000 fine for his role in the private BitTorrent tracker Elitetorrents. This ruling is the first BitTorrent related conviction in the US. Stanley pleaded guilty earlier this year to ‘conspiracy to commit copyright infringement’ and ‘criminal copyright infringement.’ He is one of the three defendants in the Elitetorrents operation better known as ‘Operation D-Elite.’”

Mozilla.com is now offering the official and final release of FireFox 2.0 web browser for download. The long anticipated release comes with plenty of extra features and comments on the release by Mozilla CEO Mitchell Baker.

New Features

-Visual Refresh: Firefox 2’s theme and user interface have been updated to improve usability without altering the familiarity of the browsing experience.
-Built-in phishing protection: Phishing Protection warns users when they encounter suspected Web forgeries, and offers to return the user to their home page. Phishing Protection is turned on by default, and works by checking sites against either a local or online list of known phishing sites. This list is automatically downloaded and regularly updated when the Phishing Protection feature is enabled.
-Enhanced search capabilities: Search term suggestions will now appear as users type in the integrated search box when using the Google, Yahoo! or Answers.com search engines. A new search engine manager makes it easier to add, remove and re-order search engines, and users will be alerted when Firefox encounters a website that offers new search engines that the user may wish to install.
-Improved tabbed browsing: By default, Firefox will open links in new tabs instead of new windows, and each tab will now have a close tab button. Power users who open more tabs than can fit in a single window will see arrows on the left and right side of the tab strip that let them scroll back and forth between their tabs. The History menu will keep a list of recently closed tabs, and a shortcut lets users quickly re-open an accidentally closed tab.
-Resuming your browsing session: The Session Restore feature restores windows, tabs, text typed in forms, and in-progress downloads from the last user session. It will be activated automatically when installing an application update or extension, and users will be asked if they want to resume their previous session after a system crash.
-Previewing and subscribing to Web feeds: Users can decide how to handle Web feeds (like this one), either subscribing to them via a Web service or in a standalone RSS reader, or adding them as Live Bookmarks. My Yahoo!, Bloglines and Google Reader come pre-loaded as Web service options, but users can add any Web service that handles RSS feeds.
-Inline spell checking: A new built-in spell checker enables users to quickly check the spelling of text entered into Web forms (like this one) without having to use a separate application.
-Live Titles: When a website offers a microsummary (a regularly updated summary of the most important information on a Web page), users can create a bookmark with a “Live Title”. Compact enough to fit in the space available to a bookmark label, they provide more useful information about pages than static page titles, and are regularly updated with the latest information. There are several websites that can be bookmarked with Live Titles, and even more add-ons to generate Live Titles for other popular websites.
-Improved Add-ons manager: The new Add-ons manager improves the user interface for managing extensions and themes, combining them both in a single tool.
-JavaScript 1.7: JavaScript 1.7 is a language update introducing several new features such as generators, iterators, array comprehensions, let expressions, and destructuring assignments. It also includes all the features of JavaScript 1.6.
-Extended search plugin format: The Firefox search engine format now supports search engine plugins written in Sherlock and OpenSearch formats and allows search engines to provide search term suggestions.
-Updates to the extension system: The extension system has been updated to provide enhanced security and to allow for easier localization of extensions.
-Client-side session and persistent storage: New support for storing structured data on the client side, to enable better handling of online transactions and improved performance when dealing with large amounts of data, such as documents and mailboxes. This is based on the WHATWG specification for client-side session and persistent storage.
-SVG text: Support for the svg:textpath specification enables SVG text to follow a curve or shape.
-New Windows installer: Based on Nullsoft Scriptable Install System, the new Windows installer resolves many long-standing issues.

Microsoft has once again sparked controversy over its new operating system, Vista, with a change in its licensing terms which will allow owners of retail copies of Vista to only transfer their software to a new machine once. If they will need to move the OS a second time they will need to buy an additional copy.

Microsoft users have been quick to criticize the company for its move while many claim that it is precisely this attitude towards the consumer by Microsoft that will work as an incentive for hackers to work extra long hours to crack the new OS.

The company is also coming under fire from security companies due to competitive concerns. Many had planned to voice their opinions in a planned meeting with Microsoft. Unfortunately the MS Live Meeting technology used for the conference crashed 15 minutes after the meeting started. Some of the big players like Symantec and McAfee were unable to log back on.

The troubled OS has been met with skepticism from consumers while incentives such as games that will only play on the new OS (Halo 2) or the promise of DX10 gaming may not convince people to make the move, especially as long as issues such as DRM and the transfer of the OS remain unclear.

AMD is currently walking in the shadow of Intel’s Core 2 Duo and quad-core CPUs but as more details are revealed about AMDs native quad-core architecture, Intel may have to reconsider its strategy.

AMD has always claimed that its native quad-core design is superior to Intel’s plan of bundling two dual-cores in one chip. The company has already started revealing the details that back-up its superiority claims. At the heart of the issue lies AMDs Direct Connect architecture which utilizes serial hypertransport links to directly connect memory, CPUs and some IO subsystems. The design offers great advantages in scalability and is allowing AMD to even consider octal-core implementations.

Intel’s Kentsfield design is based on the sharing of the front side bus, a hurdle which AMD avoids using the dedicated HT links for each dual core CPU. This is stressed as a performance difference but we have to remind you that until AMD has a product out that can be tested rigorously and compared to Intel’s chips we will not be able to offer any real world comparisons, although we have to admit that on paper it does look good for AMD provided they can deliver the chips soon enough.

AMD has now also confirmed that its CPUs will be available in speeds varying from 2.6 to 3.0 GHz.

Ever since the details of the AMD buyout of ATI emerged, gamers wondered what the future of the graphics company would be. We are now discovering that AMD plans to gradually phase out the ATI brand name although it is likely that the RADEON brand will survive.

The first signs that the ATI name is on the go, come from the new AMD marketing push which claims that AMD+ATI=The New AMD. Further evidence of the subtle change is the Ati.com URL which now redirects to ati.amd.com. These new changes, coupled with earlier reports that ATI employees had been given amd.com emails suggests that the change may be quicker than initially anticipated. Additionally the, redesigned ATI website, now includes no ATI logo while the only logo present is an AMD one.

A press release, posted on both the AMD and ATI websites, pretty much puts an end to the speculation about ATIs future by announcing the creation of ONE company although it stops short of actually stating that the name ATI shall cease to exist. The press release states:
On October 25, 2006, AMD and ATI joined forces in a transaction that combines AMD’s technology leadership in microprocessors with ATI’s strengths in graphics, chipsets and consumer electronics. The result is a processing powerhouse: a new competitor, better equipped to drive growth, innovation and choice for its customers in commercial and mobile computing segments and in rapidly-growing consumer electronics segments.

Headquartered in Sunnyvale, California with centers of excellence around the world, the new company has a combined workforce of approximately 14,900 employees. This transaction breaks new ground for both companies and is expected to provide increased customer benefits in four key technology areas:

Commercial Clients
As a combined company, AMD and ATI will develop commercial platforms that deliver simplicity, stability, and manageability in graphics-rich and mobile environments.

Mobile Computing
As a combined company, AMD and ATI will advance mobile computing by delivering integrated platforms that are designed to extend battery life while optimizing graphics and media processing.

Consumer Digital Media
As a combined company, AMD and ATI will empower users to create and experience rich, immersive digital entertainment across multiple consumer devices, including PCs, handhelds, and digital televisions.

High-Growth Markets
As a combined company, AMD and ATI will deliver highly-integrated, low-cost, power-efficient solutions to meet the expanding demands of billions of new users in emerging markets.

Microsoft has announced that development on Gears of War, its XBox 360 exclusive title, has been completed and that the game has gone gold. The game will be available beginning November 7 and across the U.S. on Emergence Day, November 12.

November 12 will also see the beginning of a Marketing Blitz by MS in order to promote Gears of War and also take out some of the sting from the launch of the Wii and PS3 consoles. Xbox Live Gold members will have the chance to compete for 24 hours and win a Gears of War-branded guitar and secure a place in the worldwide Gears of War tournament in 2007 (what no chainsaw-related prize?). Prizes will also be given to players who are lucky enough to be drawn in Microsoft’s hourly giveaways during the event.

Fans of the game will also have a chance to battle it out against Megadeth and game designer Cliff Bleszinski on XBox Live. XBox Live Marketplace also has a 720p and 480p version of the new Gears of War TV ad for your viewing pleasure.

Gears of War will retail for USD 59.99.

Lik-Sang.com, the popular gaming retailer from Hong Kong, has announced that it is forced to close down due to multiple legal actions brought against it by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Limited and Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Sony claimed that Lik-Sang infringed its trade marks, copyright and registered design rights by selling Sony PSP consoles from Asia to European customers, and have recently obtained a judgment in the High Court of London (England) rendering Lik-Sang’s sales of PSP consoles unlawful.

As of today, Lik-Sang.com will not be in the position to accept any new orders and will cancel and refund all existing orders that have already been placed. Furthermore, Lik-Sang is working closely with banks and PayPal to refund any store credits held by the company, and the customer support department is taking care of any open transactions such as pending RMAs or repairs and shipping related matters. The staff of Lik-Sang will make sure that nobody will get hurt in the crossfire of this ordeal.

A Sony spokesperson declined to comment directly on the lawsuit against Lik-Sang, but recently went on to say that ultimately, we’re trying to protect consumers from being sold hardware that does not conform to strict EU or UK consumer safety standards, due to voltage supply differences et cetera; is not - in PS3’s case - backwards compatible with either PS1 or PS2 software; will not play European Blu-Ray movies or DVDs; and will not be covered by warranty.

Lik Sang strongly disagrees with Sony’s opinion that their customers need this kind of protection and pointed out that PSP consoles shipped from Lik-Sang contained genuine Sony 100V-240V AC Adapters that carry CE and other safety marks and are compatible world wide. All PSP consoles were in conformity with all EU and UK consumer safety regulations.

Blame it on Sony. That’s the latest dark spot in their shameful track record as gaming industry leader. The Empire finally ‘won’, few dominating retailers from the UK probably will rejoice the news, but everybody else in the gaming world lost something today, said Pascal Clarysse, formerly known as the Marketing Manager of Lik-Sang.com.

Blizzard has announced that the release of Burning Crusade, the expansion to the extremele successful World of Warcraft, will be delayed for a few weeks until January 2007 in order to extend the closed beta test.

Technically this is not a delay as Blizzard had only mentioned Winter as a release estimate for the expansion but it had been assumed that the game would release before holiday 2006.

The official explanation behind the extension of the closed beta test is that it will help …further refine the new content that will ship with the game.

We appreciate the enthusiasm surrounding World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade, and we’re excited about putting the finishing touches on all of the new content, said Mike Morhaime, president and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. We feel confident that the extra time spent polishing the game will result in the high-quality experience that our players expect and deserve.

Blizzard began the closed-beta phase of testing on World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade earlier this month. The January 2007 release window will allow extra time for current beta testers to participate in the final stages of development and continue providing valuable feedback.

Further information on specific worldwide release dates, pricing, and other details will be announced in the near future.

Scott Miller, 3D Realms’ CEO, has updated his blog with an entry which confirms that there will be a Prey sequel.

In his blog, Mr. Miller mentions that Prey managed to sell over 1 million copies in its first two months, an impressive performance for a game that was available on two platforms, PC and X360. As for what we can expect from the new game, Mr. Miller only mentions it briefly but he does manage to add, There will be a sequel, and we think we have a interesting follow-up story to tell and some all-new innovations to bring new excitement to the table.

So the success of Prey will definitely lead to a sequel, let us hope that the tortured past of the original will serve as a lesson to 3D Realms in order to avoid pitfalls with the sequel.

Microsoft is taking the ‘prevention is better than cure’ approach to small businesses who have traditionally lacked IT departments with the resources to anticipate problems before they occur.

A new integrated package called Systems Center Essentials 2007 will automatically monitor server and network responsiveness and keep desktop PCs patched. It is not yet released but is available as a free beta 2 download.

SCE helps to prevent problems by automating patching of your business PCs (through Windows Server Update Services 3) as well as notifying you of problems and helping you diagnose and troubleshoot them.You can view the status of servers, clients, hardware and software in a single console, which is also the place where you start troubleshooting problems if they occur.

This approach will help small/medium businesses avoid the falling into the “fireman” trap: putting out spot fires as they happen rather than resolving broader problems.

As is often the case, larger businesses typically take their time dealing with these pains earlier and put solutions in place to proactively monitor hardware and software, but Microsoft seems intent on filtering this approach down to small to medium businesses, too.
Microsoft has been moving in this direction for some time: Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 was released in a Workgroup Edition, which could manages up to 10 servers.

There’s also an open-source tool called Just For Fun Network Monitoring System (JFFNMS).

However, SCE goes beyond Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 in that it does patching as well as packaging and deployment of software (not just Microsoft software) to servers and clients.

By integrating updates from Microsoft Update, other products such as Exchange and Microsoft Office can be updated, not just operating systems.

SCE also inherits the concept of management packs from MOM; these are a collection of rules and “knowledge” of a particular product, such as IIS. The rules and scripts monitor the service or application and suggest fixes for any problems that crop up.

SCE can also take inventory of software and hardware across your organisation for licence compliance and asset tracking.

Of course, SCE is really designed for medium businesses with Windows-server networks. However, Microsoft has also finally taken into account small businesses who don’t have IT staff.

An external IT consultant can now use Operations Manager 2007 to connect to a small business’ SCE installation and remotely manage server performance, do desktop patching and management and see key stats.

The link between the consultant and the small business is secured using SSL – no VPN is required.

Microsoft Australia was not immediately able to provide any pricing information for SCE2007 as it is still in beta.