With no licence, this is going to be fun to watch
By Charlie Demerjian Friday, 6 February 2009
LAST AUGUST, WE said that Nvidia would not introduce an x86 part at the spectacularly successful Nvision show. We also said they would have to be mighty stupid to try to make one, and guess what, we were right again. Word reached us a bit ago that Nvidia is definitely working on an x86 chip and the firm is heavily recruiting x86 engineers all over Silicon Valley. The history behind this is here and here, and can be summarised by saying they bought an x86 team almost fully, and don't have a licence to make the parts. Given that the firm burned about every bridge imaginable with the two companies who can give them licences, Nvidia has about a zero chance of getting one. There are options to take, like fabbing at IBM, but that won't stop the lawyers. Claiming you are getting around the issue with a Transmeta-like approach will likely end up in a long lawsuit as well. Basically what it comes down to is that Nvidia is trying to get into the x86 business, and doesn't seem to care much about 'laws' and 'legality' when doing so. More humorous is how they are going to try and spin the whole "CPUs don't matter at all" screed that they have been on lately. "They don't matter, and x86 really doesn't matter, but we are going to do it anyway just because it doesn't matter" or something.
Read more here -->Link
Friday, February 6, 2009
Some Broadcasters to End Analog Signal Transmission Early
By Michael Barkoviak - February 6, 2009
Although Congress has ultimately decided to delay the analog to digital transition from this month until June, some broadcasters are going to move forward as planned. Although Congress has officially pushed back the analog to digital television transition from February 17 to June 12, stations still have the ability to make the DTV switch if they choose. Rather than keep it simple with one date for everyone, the FCC opened the opportunity for broadcasters who want to make the transition early, but they most follow a set of guidelines. All broadcasters aiming to switch on February 17 must contact the FCC by Monday and let them know of their intentions. Major broadcast networks, including ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC, will not switch off analog signals until this spring, though local affiliates are free to do as they please. It's likely the major networks will put pressure on their affiliates to also delay the switch until June 12.
Read more here -->Link
Although Congress has ultimately decided to delay the analog to digital transition from this month until June, some broadcasters are going to move forward as planned. Although Congress has officially pushed back the analog to digital television transition from February 17 to June 12, stations still have the ability to make the DTV switch if they choose. Rather than keep it simple with one date for everyone, the FCC opened the opportunity for broadcasters who want to make the transition early, but they most follow a set of guidelines. All broadcasters aiming to switch on February 17 must contact the FCC by Monday and let them know of their intentions. Major broadcast networks, including ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC, will not switch off analog signals until this spring, though local affiliates are free to do as they please. It's likely the major networks will put pressure on their affiliates to also delay the switch until June 12.
Read more here -->Link
Microsoft Says "Sorry" About Windows 7 UAC, Vows to Appease Critics
Microsoft wins points with the tech community by reversing its decision to ignore a critical security flaw
By Jason Mick - February 6, 2009
DailyTech recently reported on how a critical security flaw found in the beta of Microsoft's upcoming Windows 7 OS could allow attackers to easily disable the integral User Account Control (UAC) security component and gain control of systems. The flaw was first discovered by Windows blogger Long Zheng, and was also independently detailed by blogger Rafael Rivera. The pair followed up with additional information yesterday on how the flaw could be used to give a malicious payload full execution rights. Microsoft's reaction to the flaw initially was to totally deny that it was a problem, choosing to instead refer to it as "by design". Microsoft has apparently listened to its community and customers, today announcing a swift and dramatic reversal on its UAC stance. Microsoft announced that it will implement the seemingly obvious solution to the problem. It will warn users before any changes to the UAC. Previously this was only done in safe mode. The change preserves Microsoft's certification system, which provides less irritating warnings, while now safeguarding the UAC.
Read more here -->Link
By Jason Mick - February 6, 2009
DailyTech recently reported on how a critical security flaw found in the beta of Microsoft's upcoming Windows 7 OS could allow attackers to easily disable the integral User Account Control (UAC) security component and gain control of systems. The flaw was first discovered by Windows blogger Long Zheng, and was also independently detailed by blogger Rafael Rivera. The pair followed up with additional information yesterday on how the flaw could be used to give a malicious payload full execution rights. Microsoft's reaction to the flaw initially was to totally deny that it was a problem, choosing to instead refer to it as "by design". Microsoft has apparently listened to its community and customers, today announcing a swift and dramatic reversal on its UAC stance. Microsoft announced that it will implement the seemingly obvious solution to the problem. It will warn users before any changes to the UAC. Previously this was only done in safe mode. The change preserves Microsoft's certification system, which provides less irritating warnings, while now safeguarding the UAC.
Read more here -->Link
Latest Mozilla updates, including Firefox, address a serious vulnerability
by Scott M. Fulton, III February 6, 2009
Some of Mozilla's best researchers into the field of cross-site scripting discovered another instance where code from one site can be made to control the interface of another. As it turns out, version 3.0.6 software contains the fix. Users of Firefox 3 began seeing notices yesterday that version 3.0.6 has been formally released. Along with those notices is a complete list of bug fixes and addressed issues, one of which is the revelation of a potentially serious -- though far from blatantly obvious -- series of exploitable flaws that could lead to the execution of arbitrary code. In fact, were it not for the contributions of open source researchers including the now-legendary moz_bug_r_a4, very few malicious users may have ever discovered these flaws on their own. As Mozilla developers know, the Firefox Web browser, the Thunderbird e-mail client, and the Netscape Navigator-like SeaMonkey comprehensive Internet utility all use JavaScript for the rendering of their front ends, controls, and gadgets. It's a very easy language to manipulate, and for supporting developers to make add-ons for.
Read more here -->Link
Some of Mozilla's best researchers into the field of cross-site scripting discovered another instance where code from one site can be made to control the interface of another. As it turns out, version 3.0.6 software contains the fix. Users of Firefox 3 began seeing notices yesterday that version 3.0.6 has been formally released. Along with those notices is a complete list of bug fixes and addressed issues, one of which is the revelation of a potentially serious -- though far from blatantly obvious -- series of exploitable flaws that could lead to the execution of arbitrary code. In fact, were it not for the contributions of open source researchers including the now-legendary moz_bug_r_a4, very few malicious users may have ever discovered these flaws on their own. As Mozilla developers know, the Firefox Web browser, the Thunderbird e-mail client, and the Netscape Navigator-like SeaMonkey comprehensive Internet utility all use JavaScript for the rendering of their front ends, controls, and gadgets. It's a very easy language to manipulate, and for supporting developers to make add-ons for.
Read more here -->Link
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