WinInsider

IBM researchers have created a storage device that holds up to a trillion bits of information, or about 25 million textbook pages in a postage stamp-size area, as the push to find new storage technologies rolls on. The experimental prototype, part of an ongoing nanotechnology-research project code-named Millipede, is a chip containing more than 1,000 heated spikes that can make, or read, tiny indentations in a polymer film, said Peter Vettiger, the Millipede project leader. Like punch cards in the computers of old, the pattern of the indentations--measuring 10 nanometers each--essentially is the digitized version of the data meant to be stored. The minute size of the indentations, though, means that Millipede chips are 20 times more densely packed with information than current hard drives. With this, cell phones could hold up to 10GB of data.

AMD said there is a Linux kernel bug related to cache attribute conflicts in newer versions of the Athlon XP and Athlon MP and has appealed to the Linux Community to help it solve the probkem. A posting reveals that the problem is related to the use of the AGP Aperture with Athlon processors but there appear to be short term fixes and long term fixes en route. A note from Richard Brunner at AMD outlines the problems which happen mostly when an AGP card is present.

The remarkable growth and leadership of Microsoft SQL Server (TM) 2000 in the enterprise database marketplace is corroborated by recent analyst firm reports and customer testimonials. These independent analyst reports underscore what customers already know -- the SQL Server platform delivers the dependable and scalable infrastructure with the highest return on investment (ROI).

The recently released IDC database market forecast analysis titled "Worldwide Relational and Object-Relational Database Management Systems Software Forecast and Analysis, 2002--2006" (IDC No. 27289) indicates that SQL Server has grown 28.5 percent in new software revenue. The IDC report is consistent with some of the findings of other analyst firms. Gartner Dataquest published a report earlier this month titled "DBMS Software Market: Flat But Not Calm,"* which indicated that SQL Server accounted for nearly 40 percent of new database license sales in the Windows Server relational database management systems (RDBMS) category in 2001. In addition, database sales for the Windows Server platform (Windows NT and Windows 2000) segment grew by 11 percent, representing the strongest segment growth in database license sales.

Two separate investigations into Microsoft's behavior in Europe might soon be wrapped up, according to Microsoft. The European Commission (EC), the European Union's (EU's) antitrust arm--is investigating Microsoft for allegedly rigging its server software so that it works well only with Microsoft's other software products, and in a separate, recently started probe, for violating user privacy with its .NET Passport service. Microsoft says that the privacy investigation, however, is already completed and no charges will be filed. And when the wider server investigation is done, the company will work on settling that case as well.

Software giant Microsoft denied on Tuesday that the European Commission or any EU state was formally investigating its .NET Passport system of collecting personal data from Internet users. "Not one of the 15 member states or the European Commission is investigating Passport," Peter Fleischer, senior attorney for law and corporate affairs at Microsoft, told reporters. He was commenting on reports last month that the Commission and EU states were to investigate whether .NET Passport complied with strict EU rules on the protection of individuals' data on the Internet. He said the company was in a "constructive dialogue" over this issue with the Commission and EU states.

Microsoft Corp said on Tuesday 39 game makers will offer a total of 47 titles for the company's online game service set to be launched this autumn for users of its Xbox console. The U.S. software giant said a starter kit for Xbox online games will be priced at $54.50, which includes service fees for the first 12 months. Last month, Microsoft said it was preparing a global online gaming network for Xbox in a bid to jump-start Internet-linked video games. Microsoft rolled out Xbox on February 22 in Japan following its U.S. debut in November.

The software giant hasn't issued an important Windows system certification for any modems that use just 802.11a, a new generation of wireless network, Microsoft said Monday. Wireless networks using 802.11a operate twice as fast as networks based on an older standard, 802.11b. There are between 15 million and 30 million 802.11b networks in homes and offices worldwide. In avoiding the newer standard, Microsoft has repeated the same concern that dogs the equipment based on 802.11a ever since the standard was approved in 1999: The 802.11a standard isn't compatible with 802.11b networks, which means an 802.11a modem card will not work with any wireless networks using 802.11b. To ensure compatibility with the older wireless networks, Microsoft is instead granting certification to equipment that uses both the 802.11a and 802.11b standards on one device, according to Microsoft. Such "dual mode" modems and access points are beginning to settle into the United States market after nearly two years in development.

In a move that brings the 4-year-old antitrust case against Microsoft closer to resolution, the software giant and state trustbusters delivered Monday their last major legal filings in a hearing designed to determine remedies in the case. Both sides filed proposed "findings of fact" and "conclusions of law" with U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, who is charged with crafting a remedy to Microsoft's antitrust violations. Kollar-Kotelly will draft her own version of the same documents for her ruling, which is expected as soon as late summer.

"The non-settling states paraded before the Court 13 self-interested representatives of Microsoft's competitors, many of whom have been working with the non-settling states behind the scenes for several years," Microsoft charged in its 546-page filing. "These competitors seek to use this remedy proceeding to obstruct Microsoft's ability to compete and to secure various competitive advantages for themselves at Microsoft's expense."

In Joy Paul Tharakan's opinion, the acquisition of 19-year old Danish software company, Navision, by Microsoft, announced om May 7, will bring about a win-win situation for all involved - the company, its customers and partners. On the company level, Microsoft and Navision already have the technologies that complement each other well, with Navision solutions supporting the Microsoft Windows NT, Windows 2000 and Microsoft SQL Server. The deal would enable Microsoft to further advance into the small-to-medium-sized-enterprises (SMEs) market with its .Net offerings at a much quicker pace.

Microsoft on Monday laid out its defense in the antitrust case pursued by nine states, arguing that the states are entitled to no penalties stricter than those the company agreed to in its settlement with the federal government last year. The Microsoft document, well over 500 pages, summarizes the points the company made in two months of testimony and arguments earlier this year. It is the last step before closing arguments in the case, scheduled for June 19.

"Today's court filing details the strong record we built during trial and provides evidence that supports our main arguments: that the states' remedy is unworkable, would cause great harm to the PC ecosystem, would hurt consumers and is hopelessly vague and ambiguous," Microsoft spokesman Jim Desler said in a statement. As a matter of law, Microsoft argues that the states do not have the legal standing to demand any remedies at all. But "in the interests of maintaining uniformity," the company's lawyers wrote, the federal settlement should be entered as an alternative judgment.