2003 November

“…Two examples of “exploit” code for a buffer overrun in the Windows Workstation Service were posted to security-related Internet discussion groups at the weekend. Both exploits have been tested and work, according to Dan Ingevaldson, director of X-Force at Internet Security Systems Inc. (ISS).
The Workstation Service vulnerability was disclosed by Microsoft in Security Bulletin MS03-049 [...]

It seems to me that after 25 years, COMDEX is in a state of identity crisis. In a recent mea culpa posted on CNET on November 12th, COMDEX GM Eric Faurot claims that COMDEX “lost focus, and to a great extent, we lost relevance to the community we serve.” I think they’ve lost track far [...]

Just got word that the Software Mod For Turning Your Radeon 9500 Non-Pro Into A 9700 , 9800SE and 9800 PRO guide has been updated for combination with the Catalyst 3.9 drivers! If the softmod succeeds your card will behave exactly like a 9700 and 9800 PRO (8 pipelines, 256bit bus) card.

China, the world’s biggest maker of DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) players, moved on Tuesday to create its next-generation rival — the EVD — the first step toward creating a possible new national industry standard.

Japanese firm Seiko Epson is to show off the “FR,” a micro flying robot, at the International Robot Exhibition in Tokyo later this week.
The flying robot uses two rotating propellers powered by an ultra-thin ultrasonic motor, said Epson, and balances in mid air by using a stabilizing mechanism that uses a linear actuator.
[tags]robot, android[/tags]

There is a long and nasty history of people having their domains stolen from under their nose, thanks to the sloppy security of the companies the domain was registered with.
It was every Webmaster’s worst nightmare - waking up one day to find that your site had disappeared and someone else owned it. Then the phone [...]

“Microsoft has not had merger discussions with Internet search engine Google, as was widely reported, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates says.”

“Time Warner’s America Online division is considering creating a desktop application that lets people access popular Web services such as search, news and maps, the company confirmed Monday.”
Sure, why not, Google and Yahoo are doing it, don’t want to be left behind, right?

“A recycling group in Tucson called “Downtown Don’t Waste It” has created an innovative project that harnesses the power of e-mail to connect people with things they want to throw away with others who would like to have those things. That way it doesn’t wind up in the garbage. Through a simple Yahoo! Groups e-mail [...]

A cool way to see what’s current in the news.

“Sharman Networks, distributor of the popular Kazaa file-sharing software, previewed its first-ever set of print ads Monday that will run in major newspapers and Rolling Stone magazine beginning this week.”

“Microsoft Corp. confirmed Monday that it will enter the legal online music market. Never shying away from a market that involves technology that they can dominate, the Redmond, Wash., based company plans to offer their own version of a song-downloading service next year, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.”
More info, such as [...]

“Record labels are urging artists to put fewer tracks on albums because fans are put off by too many average songs, the Los Angeles Times has reported.”

“Fear of spam is stopping consumers from providing e-mail addresses for loyalty programs in which they wish to participate, making it difficult for marketers to accommodate consumers who wish to redeem loyalty programs online, according to research released last week from Maritz Loyalty Marketing.”

Looks like Microsoft is going to take on Google’s News feature. Check out their “Newsbot (beta)”.

“Bill Gates opened Comdex with his annual keynote, reiterating some of Microsoft’s messages from recent events and showing publicly for the first time several new security and spam-blocking technologies.”

At its annual developer conference in Los Angeles, Microsoft made a lot of noise about the upcoming release of Longhorn, the next re-haul of the Windows operating system. Longhorn won’t be available until 2006, assuming there are no more slips in the release date (it has already been delayed three times).
Microsoft served up another dose [...]

Here’s a great link that’ll generate a break-up letter for you in 12 short steps…

Out of warranty iPod Battery Service: $99.00 USD: labor, parts, and a 90-day guarantee on materials and workmanship, plus $6.95 shipping. $105.95 USD total.

The way this works is as follows:
-You have a blog or site that updates regularly.
-You want to create an RSS feed for it
-You make a small change to the HTML template which formats your site’s output. By adding a few HTML tags you can create a valid RSS feed. It will even ping weblogs.com when [...]