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News for the Week Ending Nov 24, 2002
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BetaNews.com |
Microsoft Delays .NET ServerCommodore.ca | How long do CD-R's Last?
Well, this is difficult question as the answer relates directly to the quality of the media. I used to tell people that CD's are good for 7 years but after contacting several manufactures of CD media I will now expect about 15 years from crappy media.
The following table is from a high quality CD Manufacturer who guarentee's there media for 70 years and as you can see 'the cooler the better'. They expect nearly all of their media to actually last 300 years. The percentages on the right side relate to success rates and are based on 25.7% relative humidity (i.e 60% of media stored at 25 degrees will be good 700 years from now!). Note the American standard of temperature measurement is Fahrenheit (i.e. 25 = -4 in real degrees).
Astronaut.ca -
Want to be an
Astronaut?
Thanx to Rolando C for this one
The Canadian Arrow sub-orbital
vehicle design is based on the aerodynamics of the V2 rocket from WW2. The
vehicle has been designed as a two stage rocket, with cabin separation occurring
after engine burn-out.
The rocket motor is a reproduction V2 engine, capable of 57,000 lbs of thrust,
burning a mixture of alcohol and liquid oxygen. The engine will burn for
approximately 60 seconds, giving the vehicle enough momentum to reach about 70
miles in height.
From the instant of engine burn-out the pilot and crew will experience
weightlessness. This will last about 4 minutes, until the cabin re-enters the
atmosphere, and drag begins to slow the vehicle.
A parachute system will assist in slowing the vehicle as it descends. The
Canadian Arrow is designed for water splashdown recovery. For this reason, the
launch site will be a coastal area, with a splashdown range footprint of 40 by
30 miles.
BetaNews.com |
Windows 6.0 - Longhorn Alpha Leaks to the Web
By Nate Mook
An internal alpha build of Microsoft's next version of Windows, code-named
Longhorn, made its way onto Internet sites early Tuesday. The leaked build,
which is numbered 3683, appears to be from late September and sports quite a few
new feature concepts - although many are not yet functional...
...Although Longhorn is in its very early stages of development, the leak provides a rare glimpse into Microsoft's future plans. The alpha build viewed by BetaNews has received a slight interface makeover from Windows XP and includes a very rough new Visual Style dubbed "Plex."...
...Longhorn's new WinFS file system is included in the alpha build, but the services are not yet functional and cause immense performance degradation while active...
...Even with many core features
still incomplete, a telling sign of Longhorn's significance comes in the form of
the simple "About Windows" dialog box. The new operating system identifies
itself as Windows Version 6.0, a large departure from Windows XP's 5.1
designation.
Microsoft has not yet set a release date for Longhorn, but sources place a final
version in late 2004 or early 2005. However, any current plans could drastically
change as development of Longhorn progresses. The final release of Windows XP,
for example, only bore a slight resemblance to early Whistler alpha builds.
BBC.co.uk |
AOL Discs Returned to Sender
A campaign to collect one million AOL CDs has got off to a
good start. The two Californian men who kicked off the campaign have
now gathered more than 80,000 of the promotional discs.
The campaign is intended to tell the company about the damage the discs do to the environment when discarded, and shame it into curbing its zealous promotional efforts.
In addition sister campaigns to collect CDs are springing up around the world.
Net service America Online now has more than 35 million subscribers. It has built up this huge number by sending out CDs in the post, by putting them in magazines and newspapers and by handing them out on the street.
Californians Jim McKenna and John Lieberman want AOL to stop sending out the discs in huge numbers because the vast majority go unused and end up thrown away and buried in landfill sites.
The pair have set up a website to co-ordinate their campaign to collect one million unwanted CDs that they will then dump on the doorstep of the AOL head office in Virginia.
Since the campaign began, the pair have managed to collect over 80,000 unwanted promotional AOL CDs, many of which have been posted to them by fellow campaigners.
One campaigner alone has sent in more than 15,000 of the discs.
The protest has also spawned sister organisations in France, Germany, Australia and the UK.
Mr Lieberman and Mr McKenna said they had nothing against AOL as a company but simply wanted to show it how wasteful its efforts to promote its services were becoming.
Despite the campaign AOL remains unmoved by it so far. A spokesman for the company said the widespread distribution of its CDs was the best way to promote its service
ZDNet.com |
Office & Windows Cover Microsoft Losses
By Joe Wilcox
Four of Microsoft's seven business divisions lost money in the most recent quarter, according to financial statements the company filed last week
In the routine filing with the Securities Exchange Commission, the company also revealed Windows desktop profit margins were as high as nearly 86 percent.
Losses in the four divisions cast a shadow over Microsoft's fiscal 2003 first quarter, ended Sept. 30, despite volume licensing changes that helped boost revenue 26 percent. Profits from Windows desktop and Office, which in their respective categories have more than 90 percent market share, accounted for most of Microsoft's profits, according to the filing...
Lindows.com | Lindows to Release US$500 Tablet PC In Spring 2003
Imagine an Etch-A-Sketch size
computer on the front of your refrigerator
or maybe on the coffee table in your living room. Anytime you want movie times,
sport scores, news headlines, or need to check your email, you'll have a handy,
battery-operated, wirelessly-networked computer ready for your use. This is
what the tablet computer is all about. We've been working on a tablet computer
running LindowsOS, which should be ready
near the first part of the year. (See below for how you can
signup to hear about their release
first.)
I
wanted to share with you some of our thoughts to get your feedback on where we're headed in the tablet market. I think you'll see our thinking about these devices may be different from others.
1) Tablet computers will need to be close to $500 to be
practical.
The LindowsOS Tablet PC will be around this price! Newly announced tablet
computers are debuting with big price tags in the $2,000 to $3,000 range. While
there will always be some techno-elite who purchase the latest toys no matter
what the price, most people can't justify such costs. To reach the masses,
tablets need to be substantially below $1,000. Anything priced higher will
simply be a novelty and something you won't want to risk spilling coffee on.
2) Tablet computers will not replace desktops or laptops (and
no all-in-one type of computers).
If you've ever used a laptop's tiny screen or keyboard or fumbled with their
abbreviated pointing device, you'll appreciate the old adage that bigger
sometimes is better. Cramming everything into a tiny form function (which
tablets need in order to be useful) makes general computing more difficult.
Furthermore, people like keyboards. In my book, they're essential. Even a poor
typist can outpace a fast hand writer. A tablet computer's usefulness will be
primarily used as an easily accessible informational display device. Tablets
won't be used for any intensive computing work. Instead, it will be used to go
places where desktops or expensive laptops can't, due to price or bulkiness.
Tablets will supplement desktops and laptops, not replace them, and only
that if they are at a low, attractive price.
3) Handwriting recognition won't work reliably enough to be
practical.
Have you ever gotten a letter from your grandmother? The cursive writing was
probably impressively precise. Now, compare that with the last letter from a
friend. If you're under 40 you probably can't remember getting one, because
written letters have largely been preempted by Email messages. So, think back
to the last greeting card. Chances are the writing was fairly poor. That's
because there's a lot less emphasis on handwriting in school and in business as
much of today's communication is keyboard driven. As a consequence, handwriting
has gotten sloppier making even the most accurate software unusable.
4) Even if we could perfect handwriting recognition, people
wouldn't use it.
Just because a particular technology becomes possible doesn't mean people will
flock to use it. Voice navigation is now quite good, but that doesn't mean that
people are talking to their computers. In fact, I know of virtually no one who
regularly uses voice navigation, despite the fact that many predicted widespread
adoption years ago. Sometimes, it's not just because of technical challenges
why people don't perform a task a certain way. Even if hand writing on screens
performed flawlessly, it doesn't mean that's what people will want to do.
People like keyboards. People need keyboards. They are efficient. My kids
will always be more proficient typists than writers. Society has made a
remarkable transition over the last 20 years as the computer has taken hold (and
before that with the typewriter). Younger folks have keyboard mentalities.
It's primarily 40-plus-year-olds, who grew up in handwriting eras, who believe
that handwriting will play a major role in computing. Active cursive writers
are the very same people who are least likely to own computers and will be the
last people to plunk down $3,000 for a tablet PC. The LindowsOS tablet will
be an affordable device priced close to $500 - which is where it needs to be to
gain mass market acceptance. It will supplement the PC and laptop
already in use by providing a handy way to get quick access to information in a
wireless manner...
Extremetech.com | Amiga Hardware Finally Shipping
If you're in the market for an Amiga box, today is a day for celebration. If you'd like an Amiga operating system to go with it, then perhaps you'd better leave the champagne on ice.
EyeTech Group Ltd., which announced the commercial availability of the AmigaOne in March, announced the rerelease and update of the AmigaOne after the company's developers discovered problems in the company's custom chipset. Although the company now offers systems based upon the PowerPC 7451 processor used in the Apple Macintosh, systems still won't be available until "just before Christmas", the U.K.-based firm said.
The boxes are functional; EyeTech has shipped them with a version of PPCLinux. However, the Amiga's secret sauce, OS 4.0, won't be ready until early next year. Users that purchase now will receive a free upgrade to the OS 4.0 package when it ships.
EyeTech is currently offering three boards: the AmigaOne G3-SE, and two versions of the AmigaOne XE, which contain either a 700-MHz 750FX, or an 800-MHz PowerPC 7451, or G4 chip. The hardware doesn't ship as a finished box; instead, customers must build chasses and add peripherals to the boards. Complete specifications on the systems may be found at the EyeTech Web site.
...Meanwhile, work continues on the Amiga OS.
"OS 4.0 is almost complete, and the Hyperion team is working very hard to get everything ready," wrote Bill McEwen, the president of Amiga Inc., in a memo to developers today. "They were delayed by having to complete some low-level work on the AmigaOne, and with their work completed they are ready to crank out the last remaining bit of work to provide a stellar achievement and package."
Amiga Inc. is also working on developing mobile software for its "Amiga Anywhere" initiative. The company's efforts split between working on mobile content and developing the Amiga 4.0 desktop OS.
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McEwen also said "pocket paks" of game titles will be sold around Thanksgiving in both the U.K. and U.S., each made up of four undisclosed game titles. The game packages will be able to be run on Microsoft's PocketPC and PocketPC Phone Edition only. In related news, Sendo, which had been an Amiga partner, said it cancelled its Z100 SmartPhone due to an inability to get source code from Microsoft
Lindows.com | Lindows 3.0 Public Release
...There's no dispute that Microsoft has had a hammerlock on retailers for many years and prevented competing products from coming to market. (They've been convicted twice of illegal behavior in this regard.) During this time, consumers have been gouged with high software prices and new companies have been frozen out of channels.
Without retailers marketing competing products, consumers are left with just one choice. With consumers all purchasing the same product, retailers question if there's demand for a competitor. Without any way to distribute their products, new companies have struggled and inevitably collapsed. It's a classic chicken and egg problem. The significance of the debut of LindowsOS 3.0 is not just the technical merits, but its availability preinstalled on PCs from some of the largest retailers in the world like Wal-Mart and TigerDirect.
No longer are the store shelves stocked only with Microsoft labeled products. For the first time, Linux-based PCs are being marketed to middle America (and middle UK by our British retailers). Many of those retailers are telling us that LindowsOS computers are the BEST SELLING computer in their entire inventory! For example, check out the Best Sellers chart at TigerDirect, where you'll usually find the $229 LindowsOS computer made by Wintergreen in the top spot (where it has been since it's introduction). Hopefully, this signals the re-emergence of true competition on the desktop, which will mean higher quality products and at lower prices.
Best-Selling Computer at
TigerDirect
runs LindowsOS
If you're considering LindowsOS 3.0, there are two ways for you to experience it. The easiest way is to purchase a computer from a retailer selling LindowsOS certified machines. You'll be pleased to hear that models sell for as little as $199 making them economical for business, home or school. You'll want to sign up as a Click-N-Run member for $99 after you receive the machine which gives you complete access to a well-stocked library of quality software programs to get the most value out of your computer. If you already have a computer to use LindowsOS on, you can purchase LindowsOS 3.0 with a Click-N-Run Membership included for $129 plus shipping. With your purchase, you will be given immediate access to download the software. You will also receive a handsome 2-CD installer and a full-color quick start guide. (If you don't want the physical CDs, then we'll knock $10 off the price to $119.)...
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