In AMD’s recient anti-trust lawsuit AMD have examined the Intel compiler and found that it deliberatly runs code slower when it detects that the processor is an AMD. “To achieve this, Intel designed the compiler to compile code along several alternate code paths. … By design, the code paths were not created equally. If the program detects a “Genuine Intel” microprocessor, it executes a fully optimized code path and operates with the maximum efficiency. However, if the program detects an “Authentic AMD” microprocessor, it executes a different code path that will degrade the program’s performance or cause it to crash.

Source: Slashdot

Mozilla.org just released a new version of the open source browser Firefox 1.0.5

This release contains Several security fixes and Improvements to stability.

You can download Firefox 1.0.5 here

Today TiVo (Nasdaq: TIVO) is launching for a limited time, a $100 instant savings promotional offer on all TiVo Series2 boxes that brings the manufacturer’s suggested retail price of a 40 hour box to just $99, the lowest price ever without a TiVo rebate requirement. The promotion ends on August 20, 2005.

“New television programs aren’t just for the fall anymore,” said Katie Ho, vice president of marketing, TiVo. “New summer premieres on almost every major network demonstrate television has changed forever and we want to let as many people as possible see just how TiVo can change forever the way we watch it. With more new television available than ever and less time to watch it, TiVo lets any family time shift their favorite shows so they can watch what they want, whenever they want.”

This instant $100 promotional savings does not require buyers to fill out any additional paperwork or forms for rebates from TiVo, and is also available on all new boxes, including the Humax DVD recorder with TiVo that lets subscribers easily burn their favorite shows to DVD and take them on the road.

The promotional price reduction will end on Aug. 20, 2005.

In addition to the $100 instant savings, summer TV fans can also receive two months free service if they activate new units by July 31. The groundbreaking TiVo service which includes Online Scheduling so you can schedule recordings to your TiVo box from anywhere you can access the Internet and TiVoToGo(TM) which lets you take your favorite programming with you wherever you go, starts at just $12.95 per month.

TiVo Series2 boxes work with any TV setup including antenna, cable, digital cable and satellite, recording hours of entertainment without the hassles of videotape

Font Parsing Vulnerability in Word - Vulnerability (MS05-035)

Color Management Module Vulnerability (MS05-036)

Vulnerability in JView Profiler Could Allow Remote Code Execution (MS05-037)

Comcast Corp. plans to increase the speed of its residential high-speed Internet service by as much as 100 percent.

The nation’s largest cable operator will begin offering residential customers two new faster download speeds — 6 megabits per second and 8 megabits per second — this summer.

The new speeds will take effect as early as July 20 for customers in Delaware, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Detroit, New Jersey and Washington, D.C.

Source: delawareonline.com

The average number of simultaneous users on P2P networks inched up again in June, reaching 8.9 million according to figures from BigChampagne.

That is a modest 2.6 percent increase over May, and a substantial 20.1 percent jump over the same period last year. US users accounted for about 75 percent of the global total, with both figures closely aligned. The increase is notable heading into the summer months, which normally produce a drop in P2P traffic.

That seasonal effect could confuse any effect that the recent MGM v. Grokster decision has on overall volume, though so far there has not been a notable dip.

Overall, P2P traffic levels have been steadily increasing over the past few years. Current levels are now double what they were in September, 2003, when the RIAA first initiated lawsuits against individual file-sharers.

Source: digitalmusicnews.com

Amazon.com has purchased a DVD-on-demand site in an effort to broaden its portfolio of digital media services.

Amazon’s purchase last week of CustomFlix, a Santa Cruz, Calif.-based company that produces and sells independently produced DVDs, follows closely on its buying BookSurge this spring. BookSurge prints books on demand.

Source: News.com

Oracle Corp. let Release 2 of Database 10g out of the bag on Monday, promising tighter security and better performance and availability with the much-anticipated revamp.

This is the first overhaul of the database that Oracle first released in February 2004 and heralded as “the only database designed for grid computing.”

The added goodies in the new release include new sorting techniques designed to give better performance of all sorting operations, such as queries and index creation, and to eliminate the need for preloaded sort operations and related third-party software.

Oracle has also put new automated capabilities into Data Guard to enable failover to a standby database in seconds in scenarios where the database is unattended.

In addition, 10g R2 comes with new types of data encryption. It features Transparent Data Encryption for the encryption of database data on disk, such as credit card numbers or Social Security numbers, without the need for application rewrite.

Application developers are getting some new toys, as well. Oracle claims that its new version is packing the first commercial support for the W3C XML Query standard, used in accessing XML data. XQuery has not yet been finalized, however, and both of Oracle’s largest database rivals—IBM and Microsoft—support XML in their databases.

Source: eWeek

Microsoft’s MSN business unit is trying to hook customers onto “Kahuna.” Kahuna is code name for an upcoming version of Hotmail that will sport a new style of interface, automatic inbox refreshing and a preview pane that will enable Hotmail users to read and respond to e-mail without ever leaving their inbox.

According to sources familiar with the upgrade, Kahuna is a limited beta that is not heavy on features as of yet. Its interface is known internally as “Wave 11″ and is designed to be lightweight and “clean” for better performance.

Further integration with MSN Spaces and Messenger is said to be forthcoming.

Source: eWeek