Prototype Creates 100% Undetectable Malware
Malware gets its own version of stealth technology...

This is just great, just when the Internet security sector was getting pc reasonably locked down comes along Malware that is "100 percent undetectable". There is nothing new about stealth programs that are not detectable on PCs, ala "Spying" programs that are commonly used by private investigators. What is new is the ability to completely control an operating system.
The good news is if your running anything from Norton or MacAfee you would never find it anyways... :)


"A security researcher with expertise in rootkits has built a working prototype of new technology that is capable of creating malware that remains "100 percent undetectable," even on Windows Vista x64 systems.
Joanna Rutkowska, a stealth malware researcher at Singapore-based IT security firm COSEINC, says the new Blue Pill concept uses AMD's SVM/Pacifica virtualization technology to create an ultra-thin hypervisor that takes complete control of the underlying operating system."

Read all about it here, courtesy of EWeek.com:
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,1983037,00.asp

-Eric

Tyan introduces Typhoon PSC personal supercomputer
Now this would make a sweet gaming pc, with a few "tweaks" of course...

Dual Dual Core processors not enough for you? 4 GB or memory just too not enough? Well, Tyan Computer has just the solution for you! How does 8 processors and 64GB of memory sound? I think it sounds SWEET!
I wonder if I could cram 8 - Nvidia 7950 GTX video cards in that beast...? *hhmmm*


Press release, June 29; Rodney Chan, DigiTimes.com [Thursday 29 June 2006]

Tyan Computer, a specialist high-end motherboard and system maker, has introduced the Typhoon PSC personal supercomputer range, delivering supercomputer power in a mobile, desk-side unit.
Typhoon models can accommodate up to eight processors and 64GB of memory, delivering up to 70 Gigaflops performance in a unit no bigger than two desktop PCs, according to the company.
The Typhoon PSC will appeal to users of compute-intensive applications in graphics rendering, data warehousing, financial and statistical analysis, scientific research, and the oil and gas industries, Tyan said.
With a mobile system like the Typhoon PSC, the supercomputer can be deployed easily in departments, on demand, the company said, adding that unlike the supercomputers of the past, the Typhoon PSC is quiet (<45dB) and plugs into a standard 13A power socket.

Read all about it here, courtesy of Digitimes.com:
http://digitimes.com/systems/a20060629PR205.html

-Eric

Trouble in Vista Paradise?
I hate to say it, but I told you so...

The following is an excerpt from a purported Microsoft developer. If in fact this is all true, this certainly paints a very unflattering and bleak future for the forthcoming Windows Vista Operating System platform. Touted as the " largest software project in mankind’s history now threatens to also be the longest". Vista has had more false starts than a Nascar drive on crack cocaine.
I predicted Vista will be a turkey and this only goes to further bolster my claims. If you are smart, you will run far far away from Vista.

"Ask any developer in Windows why Vista is plagued by delays, and they'll say that the code is way too complicated, and that the pace of coding has been tremendously slowed down by overbearing process. These claims have already been covered in other popular literature. A quick recap for those of you just joining the broadcast:

Windows code is too complicated. It's not the components themselves, it's their interdependencies. An architectural diagram of Windows would suggest there are more than 50 dependency layers (never mind that there also exist circular dependencies). After working in Windows for five years, you understand only, say, two of them. Add to this the fact that building Windows on a dual-proc dev box takes nearly 24 hours, and you'll be slow enough to drive Miss Daisy.
Windows process has gone thermonuclear. Imagine each little email you send asking someone else to fill out a spreadsheet, comment on a report, sign off on a decision -- is a little neutron shooting about in space. Your innocent-seeming little neutron now causes your heretofore mostly-harmless neighbors to release neutrons of their own. Now imagine there are 9000 of you, all jammed into a tight little space called Redmond. It's Windows Gone Thermonuclear, a phenomenon by which process engenders further process, eventually becoming a self-sustaining buzz of fervent destructive activity."

Read all about it here, courtesy of Blogs.msdn.com:
http://blogs.msdn.com/philipsu/default.aspx

-Eric

Software Industry Embraces AMD’s Upcoming PC Enthusiast Platform
— PC Games Joining Digital Media Software in Transition to Multi-Threaded Applications —
Translastion: your finally going to get some use and real world performance out of that $1,000 CPU.

You could also say that you can stop justifying why you spent $1,000 large on a processor, considering 99.9% of current applications are not coded for dual core. It is going to get real interesting when you want to run a program that does not natively utilize dual core, and your trying to run it on quad core system (2 - dual core CPUs). Yes, that is the next step and being worked on as I write this blog. I would not be surprised if we saw a drop in performance in games and applications.
Don't get me wrong here, Apple has been using quad core for a couple of years now with no issues that I am aware of. So it can be possible to implement, as long as the applications are coded for it.
Having more processing power than most DNA decoding labs in the average consumers grasp sounds like a stellar idea. I can see it now in college dorm rooms everywhere. Ripping illegal software simultaneously from 10 different feeds and playing F.E.A.R without a hit in frame rates.
Marvelous.

Read all about it here, courtesy of AMD.com:
http://www.amd.com/us-en/Corporate/VirtualPressRoom/0,,51_104_543~110132,00.html

-Eric

Wonderful World of Wireless
Local governments and ISP's provide wireless internet access for the masses...

Next time you drive by a traffic light in your town, you might notice something attached to it. No, I don't mean the local "Smokey" either. It will more than likely be a wireless repeater like device enabling your hometown with the joys and marvels of wireless internet access!
What this means is I will be telecommuting from work now. Why you ask? Simple. If people can find a way to put a laptop in front of their face and try to drive their car, they will.
It was bad enough with cell phones, or doing make up or eating dinner while driving. Now, we will have pimply faced 18 year olds surfing porn while rolling in their parents whips...great.

Read all about it here, courtesy of Wired.com:

http://www.wired.com/news/technology/wireless/0,71228-0.html?tw=wn_story_page_prev2

-Eric

Microsoft Exec: Linux No Threat To Windows On Desktop
...that *may* be correct, but how is that server buisness doing? Umm, yeah thought so....

"Linux isn't a threat to Windows on the desktop and is losing steam on the server as customers separate the

Read all about here, courtesy of Informationweek.com:



http://www.informationweek.com/windows/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=189600726&subSection=Product+News


-Eric

Beginners Guides: Understanding and Tweaking Windows XP Services
Learn to use the 'Services' young Jedi, they are powerful and control much of WindowsXP. Without mastering the 'Services', you'll be forced to run programs in the system tray for all eternity!! - Version 1.0.1

In my opinion Services are one of the things makes or breaks WinXP. Knowing how to use them and which one you don't really need is the trick. You can turn WinXP from the "Love Bloat" to a more streamlined screamin' Jet Boat. Remember PCStats has offered you a guide, and as with any "tweaking" of any operating system bad things can happen if you carelessly fumble around. It would be VERY WISE to read this guide FULLY and REALLY UNDERSTAND what your doing and what you may affect as a result.
3DCool does not hold itself liable for the use (or misuse) of the guide provided by another website. Read and fully know all instructions, their use, application of results of the use of these instructions.

Read all about it, here courtesy of PCStats.com:
http://www.pcstats.com/artvnl.cfm?articleID=1759

-Eric

Researchers Say New Chip Breaks Speed Record
What happens when you take a modern CPU + cryogenic test station + liquid helium? You get one insanely fast chip (now if I can get my hands on one)

I am not sure about you, but I was just asking my self this morning what am I to do with all this cryogenic gear lying around? Well, the NYTimes has reported on a great use for all that stuff I used to freeze road kill with. I can make me a super duper insanely unbelievably fast processor! Yay!
That is great news for me, I was getting backed up on road kill in my garage and boy was it starting to stink! *lol* :)
Anyways.....
"At 500 gigahertz, the technology is 250 times faster than chips in today's cellphones, which operate at 2 gigahertz. At room temperature, the chips operate at 350 gigahertz, far faster than other chips in commercial use today."

Read all about it here, courtesy of nytimes.com:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/20/technology/20chip.html?ei=5090&en=215511bacfc970b5&ex=1308456000&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&pagewanted=print

-Eric

Louisiana joins battle over violent video games
Are Louisiana's priorities in line with real life?

Considering Louisiana can't curb real life violence, I'm not sure how they are going to curb people from obtaining video games with violent content. Lt. Gov Blanco wants all of us to play Smurfs in Wonderland for our source of digital entertainment. Pfttt! Whatever!
Violence in video games doesn’t make people violent, period. This mentality of "non- ownership" and "no responsibility" for ones actions sickens me. We are a society that has gone to the point of blaming video games for violence instead of laying the responsibility at the feet of the person committing the violence. It is the individual person who makes a choice to perform in a violent way or not. The only mitigation here is mental disease or defect.

Read all about it here, courtesy of Washingtonpost.com:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/19/AR2006061900644.html

-Eric

Attack of the monster HDDs
Mass storage for masses coming to a pc near you.

You have to ask yourself how much is enough? I mean the trend in the pc market is bigger, better (maybe), faster and subsequently hotter (thank god for 3dcool). With both of those things said, HDD (hard disc drives) have gotten down right HUGE. 500GB and 750GB are in the market place as I type this. I am very sure 1000GB (terabyte) is right around the corner. If you are a business, I can understand the need for storage in this size. What about the home consumer? Do you or I really need 750GB of storage? I mean how much porn or illegally obtained software can one human being have anyway? Did I say that out loud! Opps! I mean how many pictures of grandma and her fluffy dog Toto can you have. Um yeah....
Anyways...There are a couple of reviews over at Silentpcreview.com and Trustedreviews.com. You can read all about it there. Enjoy!
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article617-page1.html

and

http://www.trustedreviews.com/article.aspx?art=3042

-Eric

Bill Gates Stepping Down
A new direction for the makers of the big blue E is on the horizon...

Yup, you heard me right, no joke. Bill Gates is looking to move on to focus his energies on his philanthropist activities and charities, mainly the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Don't look for any immediate changes; this "phasing out" won't be effective until July 2008.

Microsoft Corp. today announced that effective July 2008 Bill Gates, chairman, will transition out of a day-to-day role in the company to spend more time on his global health and education work at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The company announced a two-year transition process to ensure that there is a smooth and orderly transfer of Gates' daily responsibilities, and said that after July 2008 Gates would continue to serve as the company's chairman and an advisor on key development projects. The company announced that Chief Technical Officer Ray Ozzie will immediately assume the title of chief software architect and begin working side by side with Gates on all technical architecture and product oversight responsibilities, to ensure a smooth transition.

Read all about it here, courtesy of Microsoft.com:
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2006/jun06/06-15CorpNewsPR.mspx

-Eric

Microsoft shakes up security fray
MS tries a new approach to the PC market, protection and prevention.

Call me crazy, but having Microsoft doing security is like having a burglar installing your ADT home security system. On one hand, it's just plain counter intuitive...like jumbo-shrimp or military intelligence. On the other hand, who would better know the weaknesses of the Microsoft operating system (s). On a related note, I will be installing and using Microsoft OneCare very soon. Look for my review here.

Microsoft isn't just a newcomer to consumer security; it's also taking a different tack. The OneCare software and service package aims to be comprehensive, whereas Symantec and McAfee have traditionally charged for additional features. OneCare includes the security basics--antivirus, anti-spyware and firewall--found in the products sold by its rivals, but adds backup features and tune-up tools for Windows systems. It's being touted by Microsoft as "a pit crew for your PC."

Read all about it here, courtesy of CNet News.com:
http://news.com.com/Microsoft%2Bshakes%2Bup%2Bsecurity%2Bfray/2100-7350_3-6080718.html?tag=nefd.lede

-Eric

AMD vs. Intel, Will the Best CPU Please Stand Up?
The battle for desktop supremacy, heats up. Will Conroe crush the FX?

So, which will it be?
I think if you need to buy a computer in the very near future, gravitate towards a PC based on AMD's Athlon64 processor. It's simply superior to Intel's current Pentium 4 or Pentium D or Pentium XE processors. The Athlon64 trails a little when it comes to multitasking, but it's not behind by much.
Now, if you're planning on a new computer in eight months to a year's time from now, then I don't recommend Intel, or AMD. The way things are going now, both companies are involved with massive changes to their computing platforms, and there isn't a clear winner to side with right now. You'll be better of waiting and see how the next AMD VS. Intel war turns out... Just remember though, it's an eternal struggle and you'll need to choose a side at some point. Right now AMD simply kicks Intel's offerings out of the arena.

Read all about it here, courtesy of PCStats.com:
http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=1970

-Eric

Next-Gen Console Sales Figures?
Xbox360 pulls ahead in sales amidst the "Console Wars"...

There are some next generation console sales figures floating around the internet today that have everyone talking. According to the so-called “sales figures” the PS2 is currently outselling the Xbox 360. There is no data to back up the numbers displayed on this site other than the claim that they are sales totals from the NPD group. That would be all well and fine except the numbers don’t jive. The total number of Xbox 360s they have listed in the last 6 months is only 1.7 million. Revenue reports from MS had sales at well over 4 million with an expected 10 million by November. I guess it doesn't really matter, if nothing else, it still makes for good forums discussion.

Read all about it here, courtesy of pcvsconsole.com:
http://forum.pcvsconsole.com/viewthread.php?tid=11067

-Eric

Google’s GBuy Online Payment System
The beginning of the end for PayPal?...

For everyone waiting for an online payment service to compete with PayPal, the wait is almost over. Forbes is saying that Google’s GBuy online payment system will go live June 28th.
GBuy looks to be a direct competitor to PayPal's "off-eBay" initiative, which is still early in its development, Rohan added. During the beta phase, Google will not charge merchants for its payment service. After some period, the analyst believes Google will charge 1.5% to 2%, in-line to slightly below that of PayPal.

Read all about it here, courtesy of Yahoo! News:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/zd/20060612/tc_zd/180611;_ylt=Ar5z0Hcd80Z6TrUN8o.6VdUjtBAF;_ylu=X3oDMTA0cDJlYmhvBHNlYwM-

-Eric

AMD to launch pricing campaign to counter Intel
When these "titans" clash good things happen for consumer in terms of price and innovation

AMD will launch a pricing campaign later this month, covering the full range of its product line, in head-to-head rivalry with Intel, which is expected to lower the prices for its processors in July, according to sources with motherboard makers.
The sources indicated that AMD will cut the prices for four models in its Athlon 64 single-core CPU series by 20-30% in mid June. On July 24, AMD will reduce the prices for its Athlon 64x2 dual-core CPUs by 25-50%, and its low-end single-core Sempron series will see a 10-15% cut in prices, according to the sources. Intel is expected to offer significant price reductions for its Celeron, Pentium 4 and Pentium D series when it launches its desktop Core2 Duo (Conroe) processors next month. DigiTimes reported these price cuts on May 26.

Read all about it here, courtesy of Digitimes.com:
http://digitimes.com/mobos/a20060612A1001.html

-Eric

ATi takes on Nvidia and PhysX
Is fighting a two sided war for two non-standardized technologies a smart move for Ati?

Ati released "Boundless Gaming" at Computex this year. Essentially, it is a combination of ATi CrossFire (tandem video cards) and a Physics card that will support the up and coming Havok physics engine (think PhysX card).
I am not so sure this is a smart move considering Physics Cards and running tandem video cards have yet to become a "standard". With that said, this could be a "gee whiz" technology, that ends up very expensive vaporware.
Well, if you have the cash to blow, go for it.


"Certainly Boundless Gaming looks to be a promising technology that will further put the squeeze on Ageia while hopefully bringing more value to those of us that are used to retiring old video cards. That said, I am sure a few of you would like the prestige that comes along with telling your buddies that you have three X1900 cards in your box.ATI left us saying, “Expect new Crossfire revisions early next year to overtake SLI. We are not here to play second fiddle.”"

Read all about it here at HardOCP:
http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTA3OSwxLCxoZW50aHVzaWFzdA==

-Eric

Corsair to make Power Supplies?
If Corsair memory is any indicator, then these babies will be worth thier weight in GOLD

Not much info on this scoop made by HardOCP while on prowl at Computex, but it certainly looks like Corsair is making the move to make Power Supplies (PSUs). I am personally hoping Corsair is getting in the PSU buisness. Just make a PSU as good as or better than the current "Gold Standard" PC Power and Cooling at a lower price and you have a winner.

Read all about it here:
http://www.hardocp.com/news.html?news=MTk0MDIsLCxobmV3cywsLDE=

-Eric

An open dialog to gaming developers
Where are all the "great" games?...

You have your new Intel Conroe x6800 or AMD FX-62 processor, you have 4 gigs of the fastest DDR-2 memory, you have quad SLi, you have two raid 0 150 gb Western Digital Raptors, Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty sound card, a PC Power and Cooling 1 kilowatt power supply and you have all this wrapped up in Thermaltake Tao case with extreme water cooling. To say that this is a George Lucas "wet dream machine" is a bit of a understatement. So are we gamers playing the latest and greatest games that blur game and reality into one seamless highly addictive epic piece of coding mastery?
Ummm...nope.
I for one, won't plunk down lots and lots of my hard earned cash to play the original Doom game on my "super uber leet" gaming rig just to brag I got 240 frames per second when I benchmarked it at 640 by 480 screen resolution. The market place has the hardware goods, that’s for sure. What we as gamers don't have is any great games to play on our PC's that can make full use out of all this potential.
The problem is, we in the gaming world have hardware overkill all around us (for those that can actually afford it). However, we have no games that take advantage of all of this firepower. Worse yet, there are no real "epic" games out these that you WANT and NEED to play. Why is this?
I can tell you one this, the coders of games are certainly not being over worked trying to develop efficient and streamline code that is highly scaleable across a variety of platforms and levels of hardware. In fact, they have is darn easy, code can be "sloppy" because the gaming hardware can chug through all of it. With that said, why aren't games visually jaw dropping, highly addictive and with great plots and story lines? I am talking about the games where they get under your skin and make you want and need to play them all the time. You can't stop thinking about these games. Where are all these games?!!?
So what are we left with? Oh sure these is Oblivion, but that can be played perfectly well on a Xbox 360. So that doesn't count here, I am only concerned with PC only games. I for one still love FarCry and can't wait for FarCry-Crisis. That was a great game and still play it today. Other love Half-Life 2 and Doom 3. Problem is, those games were release a few years ago. There is nothing really out there that makes you drool with the thought of playing the game.
This is where I will beg the developers and writers of games to really come up with something original, immersive and highly addictable. I want the gaming DNA of Blizzard games. Why can Blizzard do this and no one else? Maybe it's me but I can go back and play any of the Diablo, Starcraft of WarCraft (especially WOW) games and truly LOVE them. World of Warcraft (WOW) is in my opinion the equivalent to digital crack cocaine. I can stop playing this game. The best part is, it plays just great on my rather humble 6800GT Nvidia card and that is with all the in game settings maxed out!
I don't care if other game houses have to beg, barrow, steal, sell their kidney or make a pact with the devil to get this magic in their games. Just do it. While they are at it, make darn well sure that game is jaw droppingly beautiful. Is that too much to ask for?

-Eric

Shuttle XPC SN27P2 SFF Socket AM2 Barebones
Good things do come in small packages...

I have to admit with the inception of Small Form Factor (SFF) PC's a few years ago, that I was not a fan. The problems I had with SFF were the lack of features, adequate cooling, power and versatility. With the Shuttle XPC SN27P2 SFF Socket AM2 this all is a thing of the past. SFF has matured enough to work out most of, if not all of the kinks.
Utilizing the new AMD AM2 CPU's along with the capability to use up to 8gigs of DDR2 memory this mighty mite can pack a serious punch. Considering it can also run SLi configurations, the days of the hulking desktop server style cases might be coming to an end.

Read all about it here at PCStats:
http://www.pcstats.com/NewsView.cfm?NewsID=50904

-Eric

GIGABYTE GA-965P-DQ6 6-Quad Motherboard for core 2 Duo Processor
Overkill? More than a mouthful, and hard to say 5 times in a row, but boy does this Intel Core 2 Duo MoBo look tasty...

This bad boy Intel board is the very definition of overkill, but hey who cares!

A key feature of the GIGABYTE GA-965P-DQ6 is its amazing performance that stems from its excellent design, an innovative tuning facility that allows power users to tweak performance, and the killer combination of the new Intel® Core™2 Duo processor plus the new Intel P965 chipset. Innovative GIGABYTE tuning facilities include a complete range of performance tuning tools, such as C.I.A.2, BIOS Setting Recovery, and the latest Easy Tune5 that allow the user to customize their rig according to their individual requirements.
The motherboard's unique design includes features such as Quad Cooling, Quad e-SATA2, Quad BIOS, and Quad-Triple Power Phase that enable the user to fully utilize all the latest technologies. Add to this the fact that quad cooling includes the fanless GIGABYTE Silent-Pipe cooling system and the result is a quiet but exceptionally powerful platform for PC enthusiasts to explore the new performance boundaries made possible by the latest CPU and chipset technologies from Intel®.
The full press release with all the tech specs is posted here.
FULL STORY @ PCSTATS

Eric

Dell goes for a double play with the XPS 700
Mmmm...I want one of these too!

Dell has really stepped things up as of late with their two most recent offering the XPS M2010 and XPS 700. You heard me croon over the XPS M2010 yesterday, but the XPS 700 is what I really want, make mine with 4 GB of memory and that quad SLi *new* Next Gen 7 Series Nvidia Cards. You heard me right. This bad boy has dual GPUs on each card with a dedicated 512 MB of memory per GPU, making for a total of 1GB per card. Plus the new case design looks pretty sweet from the inside out!
Mmmm...tasty goodness.
Check it out from Dell's website:
http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/xpsdt_700?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs

-Eric

Dell XPS M2010 - James Bond and the Transformers have a love child
A laptop I can really LOVE...

As many of you may know I am not really into laptops. For me they have too may shortcomings...until now. That is not to say the new Dell XPS M2010 is without flaws, but I mean this thing is HOT!
Read about it on Dell's website.

http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/xpsnb_m2010?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19

Note: If someone wants to buy me one for a very extended review...I would be happy to accept.

-Eric