*HOT* Tech News And Downloads, I Would Read This Thread And Post Any Good Info

quote IHoe
@ireland.......you continue to amaze me with all your valuable advise! I just installed the ERUNT program to backup and clean up my registry! This is a valuable program and it cleaned up and condensed my registry and now my computer reboot and start up is even faster than when I first set up my computer! It's amazing! Thank you sooooo much for this valuable program! I love it and I have it set to work automatically every time I start Windows up! Amazing program..... and it's FREEEEEEE!!!!!! WOW! THANKS AGAIN! I keep learning things here in AfterDawn with great members as yourself, Ireland..... thank you!
http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/484596#2941420



I never use a reg cleaner as it take out to meny good filesi use this to back up your registry b4 any install..
erunt

try this programs,as i used this for years

download here

http://www.larshederer.homepage.t-online.de/erunt/

go here to read the total info
http://www.larshederer.homepage.t-online.de/erunt/erunt.txt

 

AVS DVD Player
free DVD player with codec

Our Rating: 3 stars (Good)

AVS DVD Player is a basic DVD and media player that offers all the standard options as well as some additional features. Unlike most other free DVD players, AVS DVD Player includes a DVD codec and does not require any additional DVD software in order to watch DVD movies. In addition to DVD movies, the program also supports .mp3, .ogg, Quicktime, VideoCD, Windows Media and many other audio and video formats. Additional features include video snapshots, customizable aspect ratio for high quality video, audio visualizations, playlists (.pls or .m3u), interface skins and more.
Download AVS DVD Player
Freeware


Publisher Online Media Technologies Ltd.,
File Size 22774 kb
Version 2.3.1.117 (history)
Last updated Feb 14, 2007
License Freeware
Windows 2000/XP

DOWNLOAD HERE
http://www.snapfiles.com/reviews/avs-dvd-player/avsdvd.html

 

FREE,mp3DirectCut fast mpeg audio editing

All you need to cut your mp3
mp3DirectCut is a fast and extensive audio editor and recorder for compressed mp3. You can directly cut, copy, paste or change the volume with no need to decompress your files (e.g. to wav format) for audio editing. This saves encoding time and preserves the original quality, because nothing will be re-encoded. The built in recorder creates mp3 on the fly from your audio input. Using Cue sheets, pause detection or Auto cue you can easily divide long files.


Features of mp3DirectCut

* Non-destructive cut, copy, paste
* Volume change, fade, normalize, pause detection
* mp3 recording with ACM or Lame encoder
* Fast mp3 visualisation and easy navigation
* Supports Layer 2 (dvd/dvb audio)
* ID3v1.1 tag editor, ID3v2 tag keeping
* Cue Sheet support
* Auto cue (track dividing by time values)
* Track splitting with filename and ID3v1.1 tag creation
* VU meter, bitrate visualisation
* High speed recorder
* Fast play
* Command line usage


mpglib.dll
Decoding library for MPEG Layer III and Layer II. Required for playing MP2 or if your system has no ACM for MP3 (XP has). Binary + source, Version 0.92, 2001-11-19 (58 KB). Distributed under LGPL, see 'readme.txt'. local http · funsync.de

What's new (2.05)

* Undo function extended
* Ini file stored in user profile if necessary
* Command line option /split for Cue sheets and Project files
* Reading Project files with relative paths
* Keeping Lame header params
* ID3v1 genre list extended
* Converting possible 8.3 filenames
* Some more improvements


System requirements

* Windows or Linux with Wine
* mp3 ACM codec (present in XP) or mpglib.dll
* 300 MHz
* For mp3 recording: encoding ACM or Lame encoder DLL, >500MHz

DOWNLOAD
mpex.net
http://www.mpex.net/software/download/mp3directcut.html

OR

major geeks
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4668.html

mp3DirectCut 2.05
Author: Martin Pesch
Date: 2007-03-28
Size: 170 Kb
License: Freeware

mp3DirectCut is a non-destructive audio editor and recorder for MP3. You can directly cut, copy, paste or change the volume with no need to decompress your files into a pcm format. This saves encoding time and preserves the original audio quality, because absolutely nothing must be re-encoded.

The built in recorder lets you create MP3s "on the fly" from every source. Using the Cue sheet support or the pause detection and the split function you can easily divide longer files, e.g. CD images.

mp3DirectCut is very fast and gives you extensive edit functionality:
- MP3 visualisation and VU meter
- Easy navigation
- Fading, volume setting, normalizing
- Pause detection
- Direct recording of MP3 (ACM and Lame encoder supported)
(Requires Lame Encoder Installed)
- Layer 2 support
- ID3v1.1 support
- Cue Sheet support

What's new
- Notifying of unsaved changes works again
- Reading old format project files
- Easy creating simples fades
- Lowest gain for fade buttons can be set
- Function for loading a Cue sheet over current file
- Easier or automatic cue flag setting
- Smaller grips for gain faders
- Record view modified
- More accurate one-frame-back-navigation
- Option for always closing the save window
- Some other corrections
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4668.html

 

The Free, Cross-Platform Sound Editor

Audacity is free, open source software for recording and editing sounds. It is available for Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, GNU/Linux, and other operating systems.

About Audacity

Audacity is a free, easy-to-use audio editor and recorder for Windows, Mac OS X, GNU/Linux, and other operating systems. You can use Audacity to:

* Record live audio.
* Convert tapes and records into digital recordings or CDs.
* Edit Ogg Vorbis, MP3, and WAV sound files.
* Cut, copy, splice, and mix sounds together.
* Change the speed or pitch of a recording.
* And more! See the complete list of features.

About Free Software

Audacity is free software, developed by a group of volunteers and distributed under the GNU General Public License (GPL).

Free software is not just free of cost (like “free beer”). It is free as in freedom (like “free speech”). Free software gives you the freedom to use a program, study how it works, improve it, and share it with others. For more information, visit the Free Software Foundation.

Programs like Audacity are also called open source software, because their source code is available for anyone to study or use. There are thousands of other free and open source programs, including the Mozilla web browser, the OpenOffice.org office suite, and entire Linux-based operating systems.

DOWNLOAD HERE
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

 

HOT READ TEMP FIX AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST
Attackers exploit zero-day Windows flaw


Attackers take advantage of vulnerability in Windows animated cursor. Also: Trojan spam dupes users into thinking it's an IE 7 beta.
By Dawn Kawamoto
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
Published: March 30, 2007, 2:28 PM PDT

Tell us what you think about this storyTalkBack E-mail this story to a friendE-mail View this story formatted for printingPrint Add to your del.icio.usdel.icio.us Digg this storyDigg this

A zero-day exploit that takes advantage of a vulnerability in the Windows cursor could be spreading rapidly.

The hole in the Windows animated cursor, which was flagged in a Microsoft advisory Thursday, has moved from a targeted attack to one that is widespread, said Johannes Ullrich, chief research officer for the Sans Institute, which also issued an advisory.

Attackers also on Thursday launched a Trojan spam that dupes users into thinking it's an IE 7 beta, according to a Sans advisory. The Trojan uses the same file name as Microsoft's legitimate IE 7 betas, making detection more difficult, Ullrich noted.

Antivirus software was initially pretty useless in combating it," Ullrich said. "It was spammed out quickly and probably used an existing spam network."

He noted, however, that users have to click on a link to have their systems affected, so it is less of a threat than the Windows animated cursor zero-day flaw, or a security hole that has been publicly disclosed but not fixed.

"With the (animated cursor), you don't have to click on a link to get it to launch," Ullrich said. "You just have to open a malicious e-mail or go to a malicious Web site."

Several dozen Web sites have become infected with the exploit in the past day, and Microsoft has yet to issue a patch, he added.
http://news.com.com/Attackers+exploit+ze...ml?tag=nefd.top




Quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Windows Zero-Day Flaw 'Very Dangerous,' Experts Say
Bug affecting IE and Windows is potentially very damaging, and there's no quick fix in sight.
Gregg Keizer, Computerworld
Friday, March 30, 2007 03:00 PM PDT

The Windows zero-day bug now being used by attackers is extremely dangerous, security researchers said Friday, and ranks with the Windows Metafile vulnerability of more than a year ago on the potential damage meter.

"This is a good exploit," Roger Thompson, CTO of Exploit Prevention Labs, said in an instant message exchange. "It's very dangerous. One of the reasons is that there's no crash involved...it's instantaneous. And all it takes is visiting a site."

Thursday, Microsoft's Security Response Center (MSRC) issued an advisory acknowledging a bug in Windows' animated cursor, a component that lets developers show a short animation at the mouse pointer's location. Attackers, who are already exploiting the bug in limited fashion, can hijack PCs by tempting users to malicious Web sites or by sending them a malformed file via e-mail.

Other researchers waded in Friday with warnings of the animated cursor danger. "This is reminiscent of the former Windows Metafile (WMF) attacks from 2005 and 2006," Ken Dunham, director of VeriSign's iDefense rapid response team, said in an e-mail. "It's trivial to update, multiple sites now host the code in a short period of time, and the highly virulent file exploitation vector within Windows Explorer exists."
The WMF Infections

In late 2005, exploits of the WMF vulnerability swept through malicious sites and infected thousands of PCs with a raft of malware, including spyware and bot Trojans. Microsoft rushed a patch into place in early January 2006, one of the few times it has gone out-of-cycle with a fix.

"There are a lot of exploits the equivalent of triple lutzes," said Ross Brown, the CEO of eEye Digital Security. "Only those high to the right on the hacker bell curve can pull it off. But this one doesn't need a lot of sophistication.

"It doesn't require a PhD in hacking," Brown said. "The number of people who can use this is huge."

EEye considered it so dangerous that early this morning it released a rare unofficial patch to temporarily plug the dike. This is only the second time that eEye has put out an unsanctioned fix for a Microsoft bug.

"We have some internal criteria for doing that, which this met," said Brown. "First, there's no direct mitigation, no registry switch or kill bit that a user or administrator can set. Second, the patch itself should be unobtrusive. And third, we want to make sure that the patch will unload itself when Microsoft releases its patch."

EEye's fix is "straight-forward," said Brown, who likened it to a shim. "This prevents any animated cursor except those already installed by Windows from being executed," he said. eEye's patch notes said that the fix blocks cursors from being loaded outside of %SystemRoot%, which prevents sites from loading their own, potentially malicious animated cursors.

Brown confirmed that the patch includes code to automatically uninstall itself once a user installs the expected Microsoft fix.
Safest E-Mail Client

Because simply previewing an HTML e-mail message can result in an infection, Microsoft also provided additional details late Thursday on which of its e-mail clients are safest to use. According to Adrian Stone, an MSRC program manager, Outlook 2007 is invulnerable, as is Vista's Windows Mail--as long as users don't reply or forward the attacker's messages. The SANS Institute's testing, however, contradicted Microsoft; by SANS' account, Outlook Express in Windows XP, Windows Mail in Vista, and Outlook 2003 in any version of Windows puts users at risk when they simply preview a malicious message. They don't have to actually open the message to be in danger of an infection.

In-the-wild attacks, said Dunham, have been limited so far to those against Windows XP SP2 through Microsoft's Internet Explorer 6 and 7 (IE6 and IE7) browsers. But that won't likely remain the case for long. "Our tests prove that trivial modification is all that's required to update the payload and functionality on multiple operating system builds," he said.

And while Microsoft Thursday said Vista's version of IE7 protects users, eEye's Brown added that browser-based attacks aren't the only game in town. "I get the PR [public relations] angle they're going down, but there are all sorts of ways this can come in, including HTML e-mail. Vista's not immune."
Who's Doing This

Websense said in a separate alert that it had identified at least nine different sites hosting the animated cursor exploit as of last night. Dunham, of iDefense, could only narrow it to "multiple domains," but added that they point back to two hostile servers, both based in China.

Both iDefense and Websense pinned blame on known hacker groups. Dunham said his team had traced the attacks to the Chinese Evil Octal forum, a group using a server supposedly registered to the Guilin University of Electronic Technology in Guilin, Guangxi Province, People's Republic of China. For its part, Websense claimed a link between the newest attacks and the group responsible for hacking the Web site of Dolphin Stadium in Miami, Fla.--the site of the 2007 Super Bowl--just days before this year's game between the Indianapolis Colts and the Chicago Bears.

The next regularly-scheduled Microsoft patch release date is April 10, more than a week and a half away. However, Microsoft has not yet committed to a fix date, much less to April 10. Thursday, a company spokeswoman would only say: "[We] will release an update for this issue at the conclusion of our investigation."

"The thing that really bugs me about this," said Brown, eEye's CEO, "is that it affects Vista. This is a known vulnerability that has a connection to a vulnerability patched in January 2005. I'm not sure what happened; maybe they checked in old code for Vista and then didn't fully check it against known vulnerabilities." More than two years ago, in its MS06-002 security bulletin, Microsoft credited eEye with providing information on a bug involving cursor, animated cursor and icon files.

"Worse, we know there are vulnerabilities that can be exploited in Vista to escalate privileges," said Brown. "All you need is access to the system, which this [animated cursor] provides." Once inside, said Brown, the attacker could up rights from even a safer local user to administrator privileges.

"Then, all bets are off."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,130287-page,1/article.html




HOT,Attackers exploit zero-day Windows flaw


Bug affecting IE and Windows is potentially very damaging,


Common Name:
Windows .ANI Processing

Date Disclosed:
3/28/2007

Expected Patch Release:
Unknown

Vendor:
Microsoft

Application:
Microsoft Windows 2000
Microsoft Windows XP
Microsoft Windows Server 2003
Microsoft Windows Vista

Description:
An unspecified vulnerability exists within Microsoft Windows which may possibly allow for a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code under the context of the logged in user. This vulnerability requires user interaction by viewing a malicious Windows animated cursor (.ANI) file. .ANI files are commonly used by web developers to display custom cursor animations to enhance web-site experiences.

The most potent attack method is by embedding a malicious .ANI file within an HTML web page. Doing so allows the vulnerability to be exploited with minimal user interaction by simply coaxing a user to follow a hyperlink and visit a malicious web site. Other exploit vectors exist including Microsoft Office applications since they also rely on the same .ANI processing code, making e-mail delivery also a potent threat by using Microsoft Office attachments.

Since .ANI processing is performed by USER32.dll and not the attack vector application itself, all attack vectors have the potential to use a similar exploit with similar address offsets targeted at Windows directly, allowing for a very reliable exploit.

NOTE: This advisory information is gathered from the references below. eEye Research is currently researching the cause of the vulnerability and trying to identify other vulnerable and will update this ZDT entry as more information becomes available.

Severity:
High

Code Execution:
Yes


Impact:
Arbitrary code execution under the context of the logged in user
A web browser remote code execution vulnerability has a very high impact since the source of the malicious payload can be any site on the Internet. An even more critical problem is generated when clients are administrators on their local hosts, which would run the malicious payload with Administrator credentials. Exploitation impact can vary from the reported trojan installation to full system compromise by coupling this attack with a privilege escalation vulnerability to acquire SYSTEM access.

Mitigation:
eEye Digital Security's Research Team has released a workaround for the zero-day vulnerability as a temporary measure for customers who have not yet installed Blink. Blink generically protects from this and other vulnerabilities without the need for updating and is available for free for personal use on all affected platforms except for Vista. This workaround is not meant to replace the forthcoming Microsoft patch, but rather as a temporary mitigation against this flaw.

The temporary patch mitigates this vulnerability by preventing cursors from being loaded outside of %SystemRoot%. This disallows websites from loading their own, potentially malicious animated icons, while causing little to no business disruption on hosts with the patch installed.

Organizations that choose to employ this workaround should take the steps required to uninstall it once the official Microsoft patch is released. More information regarding installation and uninstallation is available in the patch installer. Please note that at this time this workaround supports all affected platforms except for x64 and Itanium architectures.

Patch Location: Download Now!
Patch Version: 1.0
http://www.eeye.com/html/research/tools/WindowsANIZeroDayPatchSetup.exe

Patch Source Code: View

http://research.eeye.com/html/alerts/zeroday/20070328.html

 

READ AND A TEMP FIX
Windows cursor threat

p2pnet.net news:- To borrow a phrase from Shakespeare, beware the "arrows of outrageous fortune," because the humble cursor is central to the latest serious security danger to threaten Windows users.

And it's currently being used in hack attacks.

A new security hole discovered by McAffee affects the way Windows handles animated cursors, and could leave PCs open, says US-CERT. The unpatched stack buffer overflow vulnerability in Microsoft Windows could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code, it says.

"Configuring Outlook Express to read email in plaintext will not protect against this vulnerability," warns US-CERT (the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team).

"Outlook Express in plaintext mode will download and parse a malicious .ANI file referenced in the email message without prompting."

The hole has been opened because Windows fails to properly handle specially crafted animated cursor (ANI) files, states US-CERT, going on.

"According to public reports, this vulnerability is actively being exploited via Internet Explorer. Specifically, the reports claim that browsing to a specially crafted web page with Microsoft Internet Explorer results in exploitation."

Posts US-CERT:

Vulnerability Note VU#191609

Microsoft Windows animated cursor ANI header stack buffer overflow

Overview

Microsoft Windows contains a stack buffer overflow in the handling of animated cursor files. This vulnerability may allow a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial-of-service condition.

I. Description

Animated cursor files (.ani) contain animated graphics for icons and cursors. A stack buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the way that Microsoft Windows processes malformed animated cursor files. Microsoft Windows fails to properly validate the size specified in the ANI header. Note that Windows Explorer will process ANI files with several different file extensions, such as .ani, .cur, or .ico.

Note that animated cursor files are parsed when the containing folder is opened or it is used as a cursor. In addition, Internet Explorer can process ANI files in HTML documents, so web pages and HTML email messages can also trigger this vulnerability.

More information on this vulnerability is available in Microsoft Security Advisory (935423).

This vulnerability is being actively exploited.

II. Impact

A remote, unauthenticated attacker may be able to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial-of-service condition.

III. Solution

We are unaware of a practical solution to this vulnerability. Until a fix is available, the following workarounds may reduce the chances of exploitation:

Configure Outlook to display messages in plain text

An attacker may be able to exploit this vulnerability by convincing a user to display a specially crafted HTML email. This can happen automatically if the preview pane is enabled in your mail client. Configuring Outlook to display email in plain text can help prevent exploitation of this vulnerability through email. Consider the security of fellow Internet users and send email in plain text format when possible.

Note: The Outlook Express option for displaying messages in plain text will not prevent exploitation of this vulnerability. This workaround is only viable for systems with Microsoft Outlook.

Disable preview pane

By disabling the preview pane in your mail client, incoming email messages will not be automatically rendered. This can help prevent exploitation of this vulnerability.

Configure Windows Explorer to use Windows Classic Folders

When Windows Explorer is configured to use the "Show common tasks in folders" option, HTML within a file may be processed when that file is selected. If the "Show common tasks in folders" is enabled, selecting a specially crafted HTML document in Windows Explorer may trigger this vulnerability. Note that the "Show common tasks in folders" is enabled by default. To mitigate this attack vector, enable the "Use Windows classic folders" option. To enable this option in Windows Explorer:

* Open Windows Explorer

* Select Folder Options from the Tools menu

* Select the "Use Windows classic folders" option in the Tasks section

Do not follow unsolicited links

In order to convince users to visit their sites, attackers often use URL encoding, IP address variations, long URLs, intentional misspellings, and other techniques to create misleading links. Do not click on unsolicited links received in email, instant messages, web forums, or internet relay chat (IRC) channels. Type URLs directly into the browser to avoid these misleading links. While these are generally good security practices, following these behaviors will not prevent exploitation of this vulnerability in all cases, particularly if a trusted site has been compromised or allows cross-site scripting.

 

Ireland,
The XP-Antispy sounds like a very good program. Before I install it
I was wondering if you knew if it also does away with the automatic
updates of Norton Antivirus. I would prefer to have that one turned
on. Also do you still get notices of available updates on things
like AnyDVD?
Thanks for the help.

 

More Great Google Product...

http://www.google.com/tisp/install.html

http://mail.google.com/mail/help/paper/more.html

LOL...

 

NOTE I USED THIS


CrystalDiskMark 1.0 Final
Author: Crystal Dew World
Date: 2007-04-01
Size: 247 Kb
License: Freeware
Requires: Win 2K/03/XP/Vista

CrystalDiskMark is designed to quickly test the performance of your hard drives. Currently, the program allows to measure sequential and random read/write speeds.

64 bit and older operating sytem versions are available at the authors webpage.

DOWNLOAD HERE
http://www.majorgeeks.com/CrystalDiskMark_d5574.html

 

EMI to announce DRM-free music plans tomorrow: report

By Eric Bangeman | Published: April 01, 2007 - 08:05PM CT

EMI will announce on Monday that it will be freeing much of its catalog from the shackles of DRM. The Wall Street Journal, citing "people familiar with the matter," reports (sub. required) that Apple CEO Steve Jobs will be present at the announcement in London and that the music will be sold through the iTunes Store and possibly other online outlets.


The news comes less than two months after Apple published Steve Jobs' famous open letter on the issue of DRM. In his missive, Jobs laid the blame for the DRM mess squarely at the feet of the music industry and said that he would gladly sell unprotected music if only the record labels would agree.

Jobs noted that if DRM requirements were removed, "the music industry might experience an influx of new companies willing to invest in innovative new stores and players." (Jobs also argued that interoperable DRM schemes are inherently less secure than closed systems—a questionable assertion, at best.)

EMI and the other Big Four labels have been beset by falling revenues over the past few years. Digital downloads are growing, but not quickly enough to offset the large declines in CD sales. Suggestions to drop the DRM have been widespread, and the recent formation of a licensing authority—Merlin—which combines a bunch of independent labels into a "virtual fifth major" have increased the pressure for change.

In early February rumblings were heard that EMI was thinking about ditching DRM, but EMI was unable to entice the likes of Apple, Microsoft, and others. As it turned out, EMI wanted a considerable advance payment to offset what it perceived as a "risk": selling DRM-free music online. EMI's position was simple: if they sell music without DRM, then users will find trading it that much easier. What this view ignores is the fact that DRM-free music already flows online, on P2P networks and USENET, among other places. This happens (in part) because CDs are, by and large, free of DRM and easy to rip.

When more details of the announcement become available -emi-to-announced-drm-free-plans-tomorrow-reports.htmlonday, we'll update here as necessary.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070401-emi-to-announced-drm-free-plans-tomorrow-reports.html

 

X Codec Pack 2.1.4 Build 416 (XP/Vista)
Apr 02, 2007 - 7:05 AM - by Digital Dave
Updated for those who use it.

X Codec Pack is an small codec pack for viewing/encoding movies. It includes DivX Codec, XviD Codec, AC3 Filter, DivX AntiFreeze, DivXG400, and Video Toolbox.

betanews.com

Latest Changes:

* AC3 filter updated to v1.30b
* DivX Community codec updated to v6.5.1

Released: March 28, 2007
Publisher: Recode Media
Homepage: X Codec Pack
Downloads: 77,791
License: Freeware
OS Support: Windows 2000/2003/Vista/XP
Uninstaller?: Yes


DOWNLOAD HERE
http://fileforum.betanews.com/detail/X_Codec_Pack/1103671567/1

 

SpeeDefrag 5.0.1
Author: Vicky's Cool Software
Date: 2007-04-02
Size: 1.1 Mb
License: Freeware
Requires: Win All


The data stored in your hard disk may get fragmented...
Due to this you may face following problems:-

1.Slow computer speed
2.Long hard disk access time
3.Reduced hard disk life
and many more...

To overcome these problems your must have some program which can defrag your hard disk... Windows defrag program works well but it takes a lots of time and your computer gets busy for atleast 3-4 hours.

SpeeDefrag will take all pain for you...

This program restarts your pc and runs defrag program only which optimizes defragmentation speed and also it automatically shutdown your pc after completion...
So just before going to bed switch it on and in the morning you'll find your hard disk defraged and pc shutdown...


download here
http://www.majorgeeks.com/SpeeDefrag_d4889.html

 

EU goes after Apple, major labels

p2pnet.net news:- Apple has been formally charged by the European Union with restricting music sales in Europe. And with it in the virtual dock are, probably, EMI (Britain), Vivendi Universal (France), Sony BMG (Japan and Germany) and Warner Music (US), the members of the Big 4 music cartel.

We say "probably" because Reuters, which reports the development, says, "The European Commission said it has sent a Statement of Objections in the past week to Apple and unidentified major record companies."

However, it also names "the world's four major record companies" as EMI, et al.

"European Commission spokesman said agreements between Apple and the record companies violate the European Union's rules that prohibit restrictive business practices," says the story.

"Consumers can only buy music from the iTunes online stores in their country of residence and are therefore restricted in their choice of where to buy music, and consequently what music is available and at what price," it has Jonathan Todd, European Commission spokesman, saying.

And once again Apple is blaming the Big 4 for its troubles.

"Apple said it wanted to offer a pan-European store but was hemmed in by the music companies' demands," states Reuters.

Yesterday came the news that Apple and EMI have struck a deal under which EMI will drop its DRM (Digital Restrictions Management) consumer control mechanisms and Apple will sell the results, including music files of a higher quality than at present, but at a significant price increase, sans its own so-called FairPlay DRM.

"Much of the concern over DRM systems has arisen in European countries," said Apple boss Steve Jobs in February. "Perhaps those unhappy with the current situation should redirect their energies towards persuading the music companies to sell their music DRM-free. For Europeans, two and a half of the big four music companies are located right in their backyard. The largest, Universal, is 100% owned by Vivendi, a French company. EMI is a British company, and Sony BMG is 50% owned by Bertelsmann, a German company. Convincing them to license their music to Apple and others DRM-free will create a truly interoperable music marketplace. Apple will embrace this wholeheartedly."

In 2005 British consumer advocacy group Which? said in the UK, iTunes songs went for 79 pence, or about $1.45, against the .99 euros (about $1.25) charged elsewhere in the European Union.

But, "There is no justification of this because the product is virtual," said Alena Kozakova, Which? principal economist. "The traditional way of justifying this is that property and wages are more expensive in Britain and therefore products should be as well. But because this product is virtual this cannot apply."

The EU move is, "unrelated to a deal announced on Monday, under which EMI agreed to make its music available online without anti-piracy protection, becoming the first major music group to take the risk in a bid to increase digital sales," says Reuters, adding DRM, "makes Apple downloads generally incompatible with MP3 downloads from competing formats," says the story.
http://p2pnet.net/story/11859

 

Bavaria's musical pants

p2pnet.net news:- "There's nothing quite like sitting in a Munich beer garden on a sunny summer day sipping on a fresh liter of Helles," says German magazine Der Spiegel. "The locals in their lederhosen at the next table complete the image of traditional rusticality.

Right : ) Nothing like it ...

--- until their leather pants, "start ringing."

Because these leather pants sport live buttons to control an mp3 player and cell phone, says the story, pointing out they were revealed at the recent tech convention CeBit in Hanover.

"The manufacturer, Londonfrey, began with traditional lederhosen, but replaced the usual deer-antler buttons with five buttons that control an MP3 player," says The Archbishop of Canterbury on his MySpace blog, going on:

Londonfrey's [the maker] Tectile line also includes a jacket with 'fully integrated anti-insect capabilities.' Weird.

Bavaria is an inebriated land of yodeling chocolatiers, the perfect place to combine absurdly traditional clothing with technological gadgetry. The actual motto for Bavaria is "Laptop and Lederhosen." Many beer gardens offer wireless Internet.

Tourists generally assume that all Germans are like Bavarians. In reality, Bavaria is the Texas of Germany, the only region where you will find large sections of the populace shit-housed on lager and wearing lederhosen.

Maybe the musical britches should be called 'liederhosen,' though.

"Lederhosen ('leather trousers' in German; singular: 'Lederhose') are knee-breeches (knickerbockers or shorts) made of leather," says the Wikipedia, adding:

"The word Lederhosen is frequently misspelled and mispronounced in the English language as 'leiderhosen' (literal German meaning: regrettably-breeches) or 'liederhosen' (literal German meaning: song-breeches) and should rhyme with 'fader chosen'."
http://p2pnet.net/story/11862

 

Preinstalled Open Source: The Next OS Battleground?

By Jack M. Germain
LinuxInsider
03/02/07

The consumer response to Dell's request for product suggestions showed a large interest in PCs preloaded with open source operating systems and applications. Negligible financial benefit has often stood in the way of such offerings. Unknown interest among consumers has also been an obstacle, but now that Dell has asked them directly, can it afford to ignore their replies?


Discover Linux software solutions for your business.

Enterprise and consumer computer buyers will have to speak louder if they want to influence manufacturers to offer Linux Free 30-Day Trial. Seamlessly Integrate UNIX & Linux systems with Active Directory. and open source Latest News about open source applications preinstalled on new computers.

Without stronger guarantees of consumer and enterprise interest, computer makers have no financial incentive to offer non-Microsoft software options.

Dell (Nasdaq: DELL) Latest News about Dell recently touched off a firestorm of customer reaction after debuting its new customer feedback Web site called IdeaStorm. Users can submit and vote on ideas for new products and enhancements to older products. A heavy response from Dell customers showed growing support for Linux and open source applications preinstalled on new desktops and laptops.

More than 45,000 users over a three-day period agreed with a suggestion that Dell should "preinstall Linux" to cut the price of new PCs. A related suggestion that Dell offer new-computer buyers an option to have the open source suite OpenOffice preinstalled on new systems garnered some 25,000 votes in two days.

"The goal for a software developer is to get on the [computer] box first. There is not necessarily a draconian intent to be realistic about only offering Windows," Dave Roberts, vice president of strategy for open source networking firm Vyatta, told LinuxInsider. "Open source started out as anti-business attitude. That concept is changing at the commercial level."
No Linux Incentive

The terms of the contracts between Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) Latest News about Microsoft and computer manufacturers make it profitable to ignore Linux, according to Dr. James Bottomley, CTO for SteelEye Technology, a software security developer for networks.

"There is no financial incentive for large computer makers to preinstall Linux. Ultimately, it is up to the manufacturers to decide what they do with software," Bottomley told LinuxInsider.

Dell currently supports Linux on its servers. In addition, Dell offers buyers Red Hat (Nasdaq: RHAT) Latest News about Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 preinstalled on a set of three desktop computers.

Some manufacturers, usually the smaller ones, will swap out Windows for Linux and give a rebate of US$50, Bottomley added, noting that he recently made such a purchase.

Part of the strategy for large computer makers in offering some Linux options is to leverage Microsoft to negotiate the price of Windows, Bottomley said.
No Restrictions

Despite widespread conceptions that Microsoft bullies computer manufacturers into offering only the Windows OS, Bernard Golden, CEO of open source strategy consulting firm Navica, insists that is not the case in today's world.

"There are no contractual arrangements with Microsoft that preclude hardware manufacturers from selling machines loaded with non-Windows operating systems," Golden told LinuxInsider.

At least that's the case currently. Many past OEM (original equipment manufacturer) contracts with Microsoft had forced hardware makers to pay Microsoft a licensing fee for Windows regardless of whether the machine shipped with Windows, another operating system, or no OS at all, Golden explained. However, antitrust action brought by the U.S. Department of Justice killed that type of contract.
Must Pay, Period

Most computer makers avoid seeking buyers who want Linux preinstalled, Golden said, because of Microsoft's pricing structure for Windows. There is nothing that precludes Microsoft from aggressively pricing its products to avoid volume sales Email Marketing Software - Free Demo.

"Manufacturers end up paying just as much in total for a smaller number of copies of Windows than it would if it shipped every machine with Windows," Golden exclaimed.

This has the effect of dissuading OEMs from pursuing non-Windows bundling deals. Similarly, having to pay for Windows installations one way or the other serves to dissuade computer manufacturers from spending the resources to investigate Linux.
Changes Coming?

There is a strong prospect for a change in attitude among PC makers, believes Vyatta's Roberts. He sees preinstallation of Linux a distinct possibility for two reasons.

First, computer manufacturers once found it difficult to deal with all of the Linux variables. That, however, is less of a consideration now.

"We've talked to some computer makers about having a corporate set of open source products pre-configured. The world is going in that direction," said Roberts.

Second, he sees the practice of forcing computer manufacturers into paying for Windows becoming less blatant. There is a rising cost incentive for vendors to preinstall Windows products, not just the operating system Forge ahead and stay on budget with simple to install HP server technology..
Interest Factor

Despite what could be a softer incentive atmosphere developing, computer makers still have to face the prospect of low consumer demand. Golden presents the standoff as a classic chicken-and-egg dilemma. Manufacturers are not sure if the demand for Linux is there because most PC makers lacked interest in finding out.

"Because of the lack of interest in discerning the level of consumer interest in Linux preinstalls, there hasn't been much evidence of people buying PCs with preinstalled Linux," he explained.

This has created a situation in which a lack of machine availability causes low orders, thus indicating a lack of consumer demand.

"What's great about the request page that Dell has put up is that it offers a concrete way for end users to directly indicate their interest, thereby bypassing the chicken-and-egg situation," Golden said.

Golden sees Dell's initiative as a starting point for a new look at preinstalling Linux. He hopes that Dell and other computer manufacturers will recognize the 75,000 user requests for preinstalling Linux and open source applications so far as a sizable market. That could motivate Dell and other companies to pursue a real experiment with Linux preloads.

"If I had to predict, I would say that Dell will start to sell machines will Linux preloads. After all, if they don't, they'll look like they are ignoring the feedback they requested in the first place," Golden concluded.
Cry Freedom

Such a response from Dell could push for further adoption, agreed Roberts. SteelEye's Bottomley said he has heard rumors that Dell is already discussing offering Linux and open source application preinstallations.

Dell representatives declined to respond to inquiries about offering consumers a Linux option or about consumer responses on IdeaStorm postings.

"People will want a freedom of choice," said Roberts.

 

How Do I Speed XP's Shutdown?
Tips for getting out of Windows more quickly.
Lincoln Spector
Tuesday, April 03, 2007 01:00 AM PDT

You could hard-boil an egg in the time it takes some Windows XP systems to shut down. If your PC doesn't know how to say good night, Gracie, try these tips.
Don't Shut Down, Hibernate

There are only two reasons to shut down Windows: to save electricity, and to reset the operating system when it starts acting goofy. If nothing really bad is happening and the stars have aligned correctly, XP can run reliably for days or even weeks between boots. So instead of shutting down your system, tell it to go to sleep.

Putting Windows into Hibernate mode copies the contents of your machine's RAM to your hard disk, then powers everything down, which saves just as much electricity as shutting it down--from the hardware point of view, the two actions are identical. Hibernating XP and waking it out of hibernation take much less time than closing it and rebooting. For more information, read the "Enable Hibernation" section in my September 2002 Answer Line.
Close Programs First

Windows must close every running program before it can shut itself down, which is time consuming. Of course, you could close each program manually beforehand to speed up the shutdown--but unless Windows seems to take forever to close, that won't save you much time.

However, if your shutdowns are unusually slow, you could try closing your running programs (both your applications and your system tray icons) prior to turning Windows off. If your system shuts down more quickly, one of those programs is causing the hang-up.
Watch Out for Bad Drivers

Buggy or improperly installed drivers can also cause shutdown difficulties. Check to see if your device drivers need updates by right-clicking My Computer and selecting Properties, Hardware, Device Manager. Look for entries with yellow question marks or red exclamation points: A question mark indicates that Windows is using a generic driver for that device instead of one designed for it, and an exclamation point means that the device is not working.

The drivers for graphics boards, sound cards, and printers are most likely to need an update. Visit the vendors' Web sites to download the updated drivers to your PC. Then right-click the entry in Device Manager, choose Update Driver, and step through the wizard, selecting "No, not this time" to the Windows Update question, and choosing the "specified location" option when it appears. When you're able to navigate to the driver file, select it and click OK to install it. When you finish updating your drivers, close all open windows.
Terminate Terminal Services

Windows XP's Terminal Services can also cause recalcitrant shutdowns. That's more, if you never use remote desktop, fast user switching, remote assistance, the terminal server, or other Terminal Services, you don't need them. To shut it off, select Start, Run, type services.msc /s, and press Enter. Find and double-click the Terminal Services listing. (Of course, if you don't have Terminal Services installed, your slow shutdowns have another cause.) Change "Startup type" to Disabled or Manual and click OK.
Don't Clear Virtual Memory

If you use Windows XP Pro (but not the Home edition, alas), you can speed up your shutdowns by verifying that you're not clearing your virtual memory whenever you exit Windows. Select Start, Run, type gpedit.msc, and press Enter. Navigate to Computer Configuration\Windows Settings\Security Settings\Local Policies\Security Options in the left pane. In the right pane, scroll to Shutdown: Clear virtual memory pagefile. If the option is enabled, double-click it, select Disabled, and click OK. (You may not have this option on your system.)
Reduce Windows' Wait Time

You can speed up some shutdowns--and risk losing unsaved data--by reducing the time Windows waits for a program to stop itself properly before taking this job into its own disruptive hands. But first, save a restore point as described in the third option in Scott Dunn's "No-Brainer Backups Using Windows' Own Tools." Then select Start, Run, type regedit, and press Enter. In the left pane navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control. Double-click the WaitToKillServiceTimeout item in the right pane. Set it to a value lower than the default 2000 (or 2 seconds), perhaps to 1000 (1 second). Click OK, and then reboot.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,130305/article.html

 

Dead simple way to quit xp faster than it normally allows..

Pull the f****** plug!!

My *nix system closes down in 11 seconds.. average xp 45 to 120..

XP saves too much crap, and makes too many tmp files which it doesn't clear up.. so the drive fills up with garbage. Checking and listing all that junk is what takes all the time.
Let's be honest.. a bloated monolithic OS wastes your time with it's internals. Things it must do before it can close.. Others just kill all running processes and park the drives.

 

my xp home takes about 11 sec xp-pro-about 25 sec..and win 2000 around 18 sec..to shut down and another win 2000 around 10 sec.

all about the same on start up.........

for got win-98..about 10 sec..

 

the answer for my problem and with a ton of other users of XP,who also had the same problem with todays update..925902

THIS PROBLEM WAS POSTED ALL OVER THE NET..

AND I FOUND THE FIX..IT WAS A MICROSUCK SCREW (F@@KUP)UP THAY POSTED THE FIX AFTER A COUPLE 1000 REPORTED IT TO THEM..
link

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=925902

MS07-017: Vulnerability in GDI could allow remote code execution
View products that this article applies to.
Article ID : 925902
Last Review : April 3, 2007
Revision : 2.0
On This Page
Known issues
Microsoft has released security bulletin MS07-017. The security bulletin contains all the relevant information about the security update. This information includes file manifest information and deployment options. To view the complete security bulletin, visit one of the following Microsoft Web sites:
• Home users:
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/update/bulletins/200704oob.mspx (http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/update/bulletins/200704oob.mspx)
• IT professionals:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms07-017.mspx (http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms07-017.mspx)

Back to the top
Known issues
After you install this security update on a Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2)-based computer, Realtek HD Audio Control Panel (Rthdcpl.exe) may not start. Additionally, you receive an error message that is similar to the following:
Rthdcpl.exe - Illegal System DLL Relocation
The system DLL user32.dll was relocated in memory. The application will not run properly. The relocation occurred because the DLL C:\Windows\System32\Hhctrl.ocx occupied an address range reserved for Windows system DLLs. The vendor supplying the DLL should be contacted for a new DLL.
For more information about this issue, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
935448 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/935448/) The Realtek HD Audio Control Panel may not start, and you receive an error message when you start the computer: "Illegal System DLL Relocation."

Note As of April 3, 2007, Microsoft is not aware of any other programs that are affected by this problem. If you receive a similar message when you use other programs, contact Microsoft Customer Support Services to obtain the 935448 hotfix. If we confirm that other programs are affected by this problem, we will update Microsoft Knowledge Base article 935448 with more information.

Back to the top
APPLIES TO
• Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2 Standard Edition (32-bit x86)
• Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise Edition (32-Bit x86)
• Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2 Datacenter Edition (32-Bit x86)
• Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2 Standard x64 Edition
• Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise x64 Edition
• Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2 Datacenter x64 Edition
• Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Standard x64 Edition
• Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise x64 Edition
• Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Datacenter x64 Edition
• Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1, when used with:
Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition (32-bit x86)
Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition (32-bit x86)
Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition (32-bit x86)
Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Web Edition
Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition for Itanium-based Systems
Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition for Itanium-Based Systems
Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003 Standard Edition
• Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2, when used with:
Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition (32-bit x86)
Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition (32-bit x86)
Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition (32-bit x86)
Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Web Edition
Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition for Itanium-based Systems
Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition for Itanium-Based Systems
Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Standard x64 Edition
Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise x64 Edition
Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Datacenter x64 Edition
Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2 Standard Edition (32-bit x86)
Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise Edition (32-Bit x86)
Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2 Datacenter Edition (32-Bit x86)
Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2 Standard x64 Edition
Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise x64 Edition
Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2 Datacenter x64 Edition
• Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition (32-bit x86)
• Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition (32-bit x86)
• Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition (32-bit x86)
• Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Web Edition
• Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003 Standard Edition
• Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition for Itanium-Based Systems
• Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition for Itanium-based Systems
• Microsoft Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005
• Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005
• Microsoft Windows XP Professional x64 Edition
• Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2, when used with:
Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
Microsoft Windows XP Professional x64 Edition
• Microsoft Windows 2000 Service Pack 4, when used with:
Microsoft Windows 2000 Datacenter Server
Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server
Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional Edition
• Microsoft Small Business Server 2000 Standard Edition
• Windows Vista Ultimate
• Windows Vista Enterprise
• Windows Vista Business
• Windows Vista Home Premium
• Windows Vista Home Basic
• Windows Vista Starter
• Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit edition
• Windows Vista Enterprise 64-bit edition
• Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit edition
• Windows Vista Home Basic 64-bit edition

 

But this

wasn't the error you posted...

It was another .ocx

that was giving the problem.. which was what I looked for.. typical M$ crap.. an update screwed up, that needs another update to fix it.. Don't they test this junk before they release it??