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OCAU News |
Microsoft have confirmed there will be no more Windows 7 betas. On the “Engineering Windows 7? blog, Windows development chief Steven Sinofsky reiterated what officials stated less plainly at the Professional Developers Conference last year: There will be just one beta of Windows 7. Microsoft’s “official” response when asked for a ship-date target for Windows 7 remains three years after Vista’s general availability date (which was January 29, 2007).
But Windows 7 might be insecure. Microsoft's efforts to make Windows 7 less annoying than Vista may also be making it less secure than its predecessor. With Windows Vista, the operating system popped up a warning any time a major change was being made to the system, whether by the OS or by a third-party application. With Windows 7, users can choose how often to be notified, with the current default set to notify only when a third-party application is making a change.
Intel might be releasing an 8 core Xeon next month. Speculation around the chip suggests that it will be Intel’s Nehalem EP processor, a chip designed for dual-socket workstations and servers. The EP, which is scheduled for a release in early 2009, will use Intel’s Quick Path Interconnect, removing all need for a front-side bus and letting more data flow between the processor and the system. It will also feature an integrated memory controller.
The government is keeping quiet about Internet Censorship trials. Mark White, COO of iiNet, said the ISP put in its submission to be part of the trial on December 6 and was told that the Government would come back with more details by the middle of January, but all it had heard was "deafening silence". "I can't for a moment speculate what's going on but it certainly doesn't seem to be running as a project on time and they're certainly not communicating with the people that they need to - that is, the ISPs that have offered to test this thing," said White.
Computers may soon be available for only $10. New Delhi: To take knowledge to every household and help students get feed on every subject while sitting home, the government is set to make available low-cost computers at $10 within six months. Technology for these small devices have been developed by IISC, Bangalore and IIT Madras.
Seagate's tales of woe continue. A few weeks ago, TG Daily noticed there were a growing number of reported drive failures posted on NewEgg.com's customer review section for Seagate's 7200.11 500G Barracuda hard drives. Trends in recent weeks have shown many more dissatisfied users than they had previously. Many users report their Barracuda drive became inoperable after a few months. And while Seagate has issued a fix, we find reports online which indicate Seagate is actively censoring negative comments and questions about this drive's reported errors on their website.
Have you wondered why everything is turning up as a beta? Like many PC gamers in the last week, I recently fired up the new Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II beta on Steam to see what all the fuss was about. While my thoughts on the game itself are best left for another day, it got me thinking about the current use of betas in PC gaming and their overall effect on the market. Primarily, when did "beta" become a new buzzword for "demo"?
DRM continues to cause issues. Players of the PC game Gears of War have a problem that means they are currently unable to even load their game. The reason – a hard-coded shutoff date in the DRM that prevents the game from playing. Yet again, DRM prevents an honestly purchased game from working. Will Crysis and GTA IV break next?
Have you finished yesterday's timewaster yet? If you have check out the sequel, Armor Picross 2.
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All original content copyright James Rolfe.
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