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Hot Hardware has posted a review on the MSI 694T Pro mainboard This board incorporates the new VIA Apollo Pro 133T chipset as well as diagnostic LEDs and USB networking. We found that the 694T Pro offered some excellent features as well as over all performance. Check the review for the full story and see how the board performed when we ran it through our battery of benchmark tests... Read more

Industry retailers and major computer makers are responding to the growing excitement for the Microsoft® Windows® XP operating system by accepting advance orders for the software and by making Windows XP Ready PCs available for purchase today. Windows XP was released to manufacturing Aug. 24 and is scheduled to be available worldwide Oct. 25. "Consumers are eager to get a copy of Windows XP and don´t want to wait until Oct. 25," said John Frederiksen, general manager for Windows marketing at Microsoft Corp. "Consumers can preorder a copy of Windows XP today from one of several retailers or buy a Windows XP Ready PC from a computer manufacturer." Read more

Microsoft has released a new version of MSN Explorer. Thanks Mark. Download

Hardware Analysis has put up a review on the Hercules 3D Prophet II MX400 video card. We´ve already seen what Hercules´ Kyro II-powered 3D Prophet 4500 can do, and now it´s time to take a look at nVidia´s answer, the GeForce 2 MX 400-based 3D Prophet II MX 400. Read on, as we put both cards to the test. Read more

Accelenation.com has posted a review on the Hercules Game Theater XP 5.1 channel sound card. The problem was that no sound card really offered up the level of expansion and feature set of Creative´s Platinum line of Live! Cards. While the Santa Cruz and Acoustic Edge could both support the same amount of speakers as the Live! Cards, they didn´t have many of the optional connectors Creative´s Live Drive offered. Hercules decided to change that. Read more

Thanks Atreyu & CestLaVie for this one: NEW YORK (CNNfn) - The U.S. Justice Department said Thursday it will not ask that Microsoft be broken in two during the next phase of its landmark antitrust case, choosing instead to seek court-ordered changes to the way the software maker conducts business. Read more

T-Break has posted a review on Gainward´s GeForce 2 PRO/450 card. We used the Coolbits hack to overclock the card. So just how high did we get? The GPU went up to a respectable 32MHz for a total of 232MHz while the RAM went all the way up from 400MHz to 472MHz with no sign of visual artifacts or instability- simply awesome in our opinion. At 472MHz the RAM was running about 24MHz higher than the Geforce 2 Ultra at stock speed. The GPU at 232MHz was just 18MHz slower than the Ultra. Lets reiterate. This is with STOCK cooling on the GPU and no ramsinks/cooling AT ALL on the RAM. Read more

PC Stats has posted a new article "Overclocking the 1.4GHz Athlon" Yes, I´ve learned my lesson, NO MORE SHIM´S for me! I´ve also decided to retire my old Global Win FOP-38 (with the terrible clip) and replaced it with Thermaltake´s Dragon Orb 3. It´s more of a sidegrade then an upgrade since the Dragon Orb isn´t much better in terms of cooling but it´s got a much more "user friendly" clip and a copper base. My old 1.4 GHz chip topped out at around 1.65 GHz, which wasn´t really too bad, I was rather disappointed that it didn´t hit 1.7 GHz. Well, actually, I wanted 1725. Is that too much to ask? A meesly 325 MHz overclock? After all, being spoiled with my old 1 GHz T-Bird that would do 1.5, I guess it inflated my expectations a little bit. Anyway, back to the present, I was brimming with new found hope, but unfortunately this chip let me down too. AYHJAR with 3rd line Y, and the highest I could get was 1620 MHz!!! What´s with all the rumors going around that the AYHJAR´s doing 1.7-1.8 GHz? Was I doing something wrong? Up´ed the Vcore to 1.85, using a Swiftech MC462-A with my idling temps around 34 and full load at around 41, what´s going on? Read more

Serial Addiction has posted a review on the DFI AK76-SN Motherboard Ahhh yes, The first DDR motherboard to grace our desks here at Serial Addiction. DFI was kind enough to send us the AK76-SN to review. DFI you ask? No they don´t hang with the big guys, but, their boards are stable. Sometimes praised but often overlooked or cast aside by people of the overclocking and tweaking communities. Read more

HotHardware has posted a review on the Massworks ID-75 USB Touchscreen Massworks has developed a compact USB Touchscreen controller for Windows and Linux based PCs called the ID-75. Initially, Massworks introduced this product to us as a "USB Touchscreen Game Controller", but once the product was in our hands and functional, it was painfully obvious that the ID-75 is capable of so much more. Read more

McAfee Virus definitions has been updated to version 4157 If you are using VirusScan 5.x, you can easily update your DAT files from the VirusScan Central (the main VirusScan menu) and click on the Update button. The DATS will be downloaded and applied for you. Updates for VirusScan, and all McAfee products that include VirusScan, ensure that your virus protection is constantly updated as cures for new virus threats are published. The cures are included in a virus definition file called a DAT file. The easiest way to obtain new DAT files is to use the UPDATE button from VirusScan 5.x Central. DAT files are published weekly, or in the event of a virus outbreak. Download

3D Spotlight has posted a Internet Explorer 6 tweak guide Internet Explorer 6 is the latest version of Microsoft´s Internet Explorer and was up until recently the most controversial version yet. Annoying online advertisers due to the Privacy Features (Cookie management) it supported, not to mention the Smart Tag support which was eventually removed during the Beta testing period. Read more

VIA Hardware has posted some coverage of this years Fall 2001 Via Technology Forum. We have some great pictures of upcoming P4X motherboards from Acorp, Azza, Chaintech, ECS, Shuttle and Tyan. Also some nice pictures of upcoming KT266A motherboards. If you can´t make the show, be sure to check out our coverage on what we can expect to see from VIA in the near future. Read more

Symantec has released a new virus definitions update for Norton Antivirus. This update will work on the following products: NAV for Lotus Notes (Intel) NAV for MS Exchange (Intel) NAV 4.0, 5.0 and 2000 for Win9x NAV 4.0, 5.0 and 2000 for WinNT NAV 2000 for Win2000 NAV for Firewalls pcAnywhere32 7.5 and higher for WinNT Norton Utilities for Windows 95/98 (all versions) Norton SystemWorks (all versions) Download

PC Stats has posted a review on the FujiFilm FinePix 6900Z 3.3MegaPixel Digital Camera Digital cameras were once bulky, low-resolution pieces of expensive electronics with scant storage and little real world usefulness. If that was then, the FujiFilm FinePix 6900Z is now. Packing a powerful 3.3 megapixel honeycomb shaped Super CCD photodiode, dual LCD viewfinders, a Super-EBC 6X Fujinon zoom lens and graphite-black magnesium alloy body - the 6900Z is anything but ordinary. At a cost of about $1600 CDN, the FinePix 6900Z is targeted at the professional consumer who requires a high quality digital camera for work, for play, or for hobby use. The SLR shape will comfort traditional photographers, as many of the same functions and settings are at their disposal in familiar locations. Read more

RatedPC has put up a firewall comparision When I found the Shields Up! website last week, I wondered which of the more popular firewall software is actually more secure than the rest. This curiosity led to this article. By now, it is clear who the winner is. While the concept of shielding a PC is the same, ZoneLabs has been able to put this concept to use in the most elegant way. While the free version of ZoneAlarm is sufficient for home use, professionals and business users find the more aggressive protection of ZoneAlarm pro more appealing. Read more

StorageReview has posted a review on the Maxtor 536DX harddisk Since its absorption of Quantum last winter, Maxtor´s ATA product line has been uncharacteristically quiet. Competitors such as Seagate and Western Digital have been pressing forward with ever-higher densities on the 7200 RPM front. Meanwhile, Maxtor has rested with the 20 GB/platter DiamondMax Plus 60. On the 5400 RPM side of things, Maxtor´s released its 40 GB/platter 540DX series as well as a stab at being the first at 100 GB with the 536DX. Anyone who has observed the industry for a while knows not to underestimate the largest of independent drive manufacturers; in this potential calm before the storm, however, let´s turn our sights towards Maxtor´s largest drive. Read more

X-bit labs has posted a Leadtek WinFast GeForce3 TD Graphics Card review. We reviewed one of the most popular NVIDIA GeForce3 based graphics solutions from Leadtek. WinFast GeForce3 TD is a smart stylish-looking product, not yielding a bit to any of the competitors. Though not absolutely impeccable, it still deserves your attention. Read more

Thanks to CestLaVie for this one: Windows XP Embedded, the successor to Windows NT Embedded 4.0, is the componentized version of the leading desktop operating system—Windows XP. Based on the same binaries as Windows XP Professional, Windows XP Embedded enables embedded developers to individually select only the rich features they need for their customized, reduced footprint devices, using powerful development tools that streamline the end-to-end development process. Windows XP Embedded delivers industry-leading reliability, security, and performance along with the latest Windows technologies-including multimedia, Web browsing, power management, and extensive device support. Read more

Speedcorp has updated their Speedcorp Tools page. Check it out

WinInfo has posted some Windows XP news: At a recent meeting, Microsoft briefed me about the status of the company´s new OS, Windows XP, which will be widely available October 25. Some of the information I received was already known, but much of it was new and, frankly, pretty exciting. If you´re interested in XP, you might be pleased to hear about some of the changes Microsoft is announcing. Read more

Gateway on Tuesday started taking preorders for PCs with Windows XP, as the company looks to get a jump on competitors. The PC maker will begin shipping the systems to customers in late September, Gateway spokesman Brad Williams said. Although Williams would not give an official ship date, PC makers earlier had pegged Sept. 24 as the date when Microsoft said they could begin selling computers with the Windows XP operating system. Read more

TacoNuts has posted a review on the Gateway 6400 Server. It features onboard Dual Channel Ultra160 SCSI, Dual PIII Asus board, and more! Inside the door are the 5.25" drive bays, floppy drive, power and reset buttons. The door is capable of being snapped shut and locked with a tubular lock to keep prying hands (and the occasional feet) from hitting the power button or reset on accident (or on purpose). Read more

LITTLEWHITEDOG.COM has posted their review of the 2CoolPC Plus and Turbo System Coolers Just about all PC enthusiasts know heat is the number one enemy when it comes to your CPU. An overheating CPU can cause lock-ups, the ever so dreaded "Blue Screen Of Death", and numerous broken mice (depending on your temper). Of course you can get yourself the best heatsink on the market to help fight this "heated" battle, but sometimes that´s just not enough. One item often overlooked is quality case cooling. Of course, the ideal situation would be to get all of the hot air out of your case, and bring in new fresh air from outside. Not everybody has the time nor desire to start cutting their own holes and mounting case fans, so today we are going to look at an easier method of stirring up that stagnant air. Read more

Viper´s Lair has put up a Windows 2000 Setup Guide Despite the fact that many of you are already running Windows 2000, you´ll be surprised how many people do not, despite their desire to. It really isn´t hard to do, and despite the constant bombardment of Windows security issues, it isn´t as bad as one may think. Read more