It may be 2009, but the GeForce 9M series, just introduced last summer, is already last year's news: yesterday, Nvidia announced the new GeForce 100M series at CES.

Engadget reports that the GeForce 100M series' first three members exceed the performance of comparable GeForce 9M series GPUs by 17 to 35 percent. To learn more about the GeForce 100M family, join us after the jump.

ArsTechnica reports that some users who have downloaded Windows 7 from the early release outlets (Microsoft Connect, MSDN, TechNet) can't get keys - and thus can't activate their downloaded copies.

Here's what Microsoft is saying about the glitch (via ArsTechnica):

We've had some reports over the last few hours where customers have been receiving errors when requesting Windows 7 Beta product keys. We can confirm that we are having trouble distributing Windows 7 Beta product keys right now. Since Windows has a grace period built in before a product key is required, please don't hesitate to download and use the Beta without the product key. We will post information here as soon as this is resolved.

Like ArsTechnica, we'll also be keeping an eye on this problem and will let you know when it's solved. Join us after the jump and let us know what's good, bad, and ugly about the official Windows 7 beta.

The economy might be down, but Microsoft's betting a lot of your technology-challenged friends and relatives still bought or received new PCs this Christmas. Want to give them a helping hand - and give yourself more free time to get back to your favorite deathmatch or chat session? Tell them to surf over to Microsoft's new Windows Guides website and download - or email - some help.

Redmond has put together a nice assortment of simple guides for various chunks of the Windows Vista computing universe. Whether your family and friends have questions about Windows Media Center, gaming, working on the go, PC and family security, photo editing and sharing, or just getting started with the Windows desktop, adding new hardware, networking, printing, or getting remote assistance, there's a guide for them.

To learn more, join us after the jump.

Need a good reason to "go green" by recycling your old electronics? How about getting some green (money, that is) for your old desktop or laptop computers, digital cameras, monitors, PDAs, smartphones, inkjet or laser printers, table PCs, or workstations? HP has teamed up with Market Velocity, Inc. to offer the HP Consumer Buyback and Planet Partners Recycling Program. Whether you think you're sitting on a potential gold mine of old stuff or are looking for a painless way to get worthless digital junk out of your office, give it a try.

For details, join us after the jump.

One-Terabyte drives are no longer unusual, but until now, drive vendors have needed three or more platters to hit the magic 1TB goal. Not any more.

Seagate is now shipping the first 1TB hard disk to get the job done with just two platters: the Barracuda 7200.12. It jams 320 Gigabits of storage per square inch into each platter to achieve its 500GB per platter capacity. It uses a 3Gbps SATA interface and a 32MB cache to move your data around.

The drive is also available in 750GB (32MB cache) and 500GB (16MB cache) capacities. No word on official pricing yet on the 1TB big guy, but some websites are showing the 500GB model selling for about the same price as its predecessor, the Barracuda 7200.11 (32MB cache).

What do you think about getting the same capacity with fewer platters? Join us after the jump and sound off. 

Don't want to trade power and and versatility for light, thin, portability? Lenovo says, 'Why should you?' with its new Y-series IdeaPad laptops. The new IdeaPad Y series features three different models, all of which include:

• 16x9 HD screens
• Up to 500GB hard disks
• Lenovo OneKey Theater display and sound effects settings to optimize gameplay or movie watching
• Intel processors
• Up to 4GB of DDR3 memory
• VeriFace facial recognition technology
• OneKey Rescue system recovery
• Multi-touch touchpad

Optional features include NVIDIA GFX graphics and Bluetooth wireless connectivity.

To find out more, join us after the jump.

When Build 7000 of Windows 7 leaked onto the Internet recently, some bloggers speculated that Microsoft had deliberately leaked Build 7000. If that's the case, Redmond has some 'splainin' to do: numerous users have reported that Windows Media Player 12 (the media player included in Windows 7) corrupts some MP3 files. 

According to posters at a Neowin.net forum, WMP 12 removes the first 2 to 3 seconds of MP3s that have large headers (over 16KB) when the "automatically fill in missing metadata using the online service" option is selected. This option is part of the Express setup defaults. According to ZDNet's Hardware 2.0 blog, the problem seems to be confined to variable bit-rate (VBR) MP3 files.

Microsoft is aware of the bug and is working on a patch, but if you've decided not to wait for an official Beta 1 of Windows 7, what should you do in the meantime to protect your MP3 collection? Join us after the jump to learn how to protect your precious rips and purchased files - and for your chance to tell us if this has happened to you.

Let's face it, web developers. Even if you're the most devoted fan of Firefox, Opera, or Safari, the 800-pound gorilla in the room is still Internet Explorer. Like IE or hate it, your pages had better work properly with it. Unfortunately, you can only have one version of IE running on a test PC at a time...or can you?

Add Virtual PC 2007 SP1 to your Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows Server 2003 or 2008 box, and install your choice  of Windows XP SP3+IE6, Windows XP SP3+IE7, Windows XP+IE8 Beta 2, or Windows Vista+IE7 in VHD format. Now, it's easy to find out which pages make a particular flavor of IE gag, and you can switch between IE versions running in different VMs with the click of a mouse. For more Virtual PC downloads, including release notes, click here.

These disk images work until April 2009, so you have plenty of time to work out page glitches. Not developing websites? No problem! Try them anyway. 

If you have a shiny new PC running Windows Home Server (or an old PC you've refurbished for Windows Home Server) that includes Power Pack 1 (get it here), it's time to grab a new version of the Windows Home Server Technical Brief for Media Sharing from the Microsoft Download Center.

Version 1.1 uses the Word 2007 .docx format, so if you're not running a .docx-compatible word processor, you'll need a copy of OpenOffice 3.0, or you can add the Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats  to Office XP or Office 2003 installations.

So, what's new in this technical brief? Changes include

• Revised instructions for browsing for photos, music, and video from an Xbox 360; you now use My Xbox instead of the Media blade in the Xbox 360 Dashboard
• Simplified instructions for creating playlists on Windows Home Server and for working with playlists you created before moving music to Windows Home Server.

Enjoy!

Image courtesy of Tranquilpc.files.wordpress.com.
 

TG Daily reports that Google's Gmail is now recommending that IE6 users switch to Chrome or Firefox 3. IE6 users logging into Gmail see a link that says "Get faster Gmail" that takes them to a "Get faster Google Mail with a faster browser" page that provides links to download IE7, Firefox 3, or Google Chrome.

Interestingly enough, if you use IE7, the page recommends upgrading to Firefox 3 or Google Chrome, as well as offering a link to the IE 8 beta.

So, what's up with Gmail and IE? Is IE6 no longer fully supported? For the answers, join us after the jump.

Although the official release of Beta 1 of Windows 7 isn't expected until early January, a leaked copy of what looks like Beta 1's been making the rounds on the Internet for a few days. ZDNet's Ed Bott (a one-time colleague of mine back in the days of Windows Me) has spent some "quality time" with the build, and reports some interesting tidbits from the EULA:

• The revision ID at the end of the EULA is: Win7_B.1_PRO_NRL_en-US - so it sure sounds like Beta 1 is on the loose.
• There's no limit on the number of installs you can perform, but they stop working on August 1.
• Redmond says you can't use Beta 1 in a production environment.
• You can install Beta 1 in a virtual machine instead of a normal installation, but only one VM per hardware device.
• Potential privacy concerns (such as Customer Experience Improvement Program and automatic error reporting) are turned on by default, but you can turn them off if you prefer.
• Beta 1 must be activated.
• Releasing benchmark test results to third parties without Microsoft's prior written agreement is not permitted.

If you've already fired up Beta 1, what surprises have you discovered? Hit Comment after the jump and tell us about it.

As we reported earlier this year, Nvidia GeForce 8M series mobile GPUs have seen an abnormally high failure rate . VR-Zone  and The Inquirer report that Nvidia has a solution for its OEM laptop partners: buy their new mobile GPUs instead.

The old GPU is known as the NB8E-SE, and is used, according to VR-Zone, in notebooks running the GeForce 8700M GT, 8800M GS, and GeForce 9650M GS. The new GPU, the NB8E-SET (aka the G84-751) uses Hitachi underfill packaging for more reliability.

If you're in the market for a new Nvidia-powered notebook computer, it's worth finding out from the laptop maker if they've switched to the new GPU already. However, what should you do if your new (or not-so-new) notebook has one of the old-design GPUs onboard?

To find out what your options are, join us after the jump.

Since 2002, CastleCops has been among the leading antimalware research websites, offering a Wiki, blog, malware removal and prevention tips, and much more. CastleCops founder Paul Laudanski went to work for Microsoft's Live Consumer Services team in mid-May of this year, and CastleCops, which was volunteer-driven, did not survive the transition. CastleCops' last day on duty was December 23, as the farewell message relates:

Greetings Folks,

You have arrived at the CastleCops website, which is currently offline. It has been our pleasure to investigate online crime and volunteer with our virtual family to assist with your computer needs and make the Internet a safer place. Unfortunately, all things come to an end. Keep up the good fight folks, for the spirit of this community lies within each of us. We are empowered to improve the safety and security of the Internet in our own way. Let us feel blessed for the impact we made and the relationships created.

With respect to the server marathon, by March 17 2009 CastleCops will refund contributions made through PayPal that were specifically designated for servers. Unfortunately, server donations made via check cannot be returned because we do not have the addresses for the donating entity. Unless instructed otherwise, CastleCops will re-allocate these funds as a donation to the Internet Systems Consortium (ISC.org). This organization sponsored our hosting environment for approximately the past 2 years. Please contact us [cc at laudanski dot com] before March 17, 2009, if you would like a return of your server marathon donation. Otherwise, we would like to thank the ISC for their unfettered support.

We thank everyone in creating our unique footprint and memories in time.

Love, Best Wishes and Happy Holidays, CastleCops
PST 23 Dec 2008

If you've depended upon CastleCops' databases and forums as a resource for fighting malware, now what? Join us after the jump for new resources, and for your chance to suggest your favorite anti-malware websites and tools.

Terry Childs, who locked down San Francisco's FiberWan system last summer, will get his day in court on January 13, exactly six months since he went into the slammer for allegedly hijacking the network he designed and maintained. $5 million bail stands between Childs and a 'get out of jail' card until trial.

The San Francisco Chronicle website reports:

After an eight-day preliminary hearing, Superior Court Judge Paul Alvarado ruled Wednesday that prosecutors had produced enough evidence of Terry Childs' probable guilt to hold him for trial on four felony charges of tampering with a computer network, denying other authorized users access to the network and causing more than $200,000 in losses.

How much more than $200,000? According to prosecutors, the city claims it spent almost $1.5 million in "attempts to regain control of the network and assess its vulnerability to intrusions."

Childs' attorney claims her client was trying to protect the network from other employees:

Mr. Childs had good reason to be protective of the password. His co-workers and supervisors had in the past maliciously damaged the system themselves, hindered his ability to maintain it...and shown complete indifference to maintaining it themselves...He was the only person in that department capable of running that system.

The case made our 250 Most Important Tech Products, Events, and People of 2008 list at number 232. Stay tuned to MaximumPC.com for further updates.

Before you drop in on the American Express website to see how much damage you did to your credit line with holiday shopping, you should know it's vulnerable to an XSS (cross-site scripting) exploit. As The Register reports, this news comes after a bungled attempt to fix the problem. As El Reg puts it,

The cross-site scripting (XSS) error that makes it trivial for attackers to steal americanexpress.com user's authentication cookies is alive and kicking. The confusion stems from a mistake made by many application developers who incorrectly assume that the root cause of a vulnerability is closed as soon as a particular exploit no longer works.

So far, only proof-of-concept exploits have been written to show how easy it would be to pilfer login credentials, but until AmEx really eradicates this problem, keep a careful eye on your website transactions. For a list of precautions you can take to stop XSS exploits, see our 2007 article.

Have you been victimized by an XSS error? Join us after the jump and sound off.  

After Windows Vista's disappointing performance versus Windows XP, and controversial benchmarks of a pre-beta build of Windows 7, everyone's wondering how Windows 7 compares, not just with Windows Vista, but also with the "operating system that will not die" (Windows XP SP3).

ZDNet's Hardware 2.0 maven, Adrian Kingsley-Hughes, rose to the challenge and has put Windows 7 build 6956 up against Vista SP1, Vista RTM (the original and worst), and Windows XP SP3 in three benchmarks: boot time, Passmark Performance Test 6.1, and Cinebench R10.

Not surprisingly, Windows Vista SP1 blew the doors off its RTM ancestor, but was similarly run off the road by Windows 7, which also made Windows XP SP3 eat its dust in virtually every test. The only test in which Windows XP SP3 held off its two-generation newer rival was in the OpenGL version of the Cinebench R10 benchmark. If this performance level continues until Windows 7 sees the light of day sometime next year, Windows 7 users will be very happy, and Windows XP diehards who have resisted "Mojave" will finally upgrade. 

Join us after the jump for your chance to chime in on how you rate Windows 7 versus its predecessors.

If you're of "a certain age," you might remember when "computer literacy" equaled "everyone will be a programmer." Unfortunately, the limitations of BASIC (line numbers leading to incomprehensible "spaghetti code," primitive graphics, and no syntax checking) made most would-be programmers dropouts.

I haven't written a computer program in over 20 years, but Microsoft has introduced a modern, easy-to-use language designed for the masses (and for dropouts like me): Small Basic.

Small Basic, available in pre-release version 0.2, runs on Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista, Windows Vista 64-bit Editions Service Pack 1, Windows XP, Windows XP 64-bit. It relies on .NET Framework 3.5 SP1, which you will need to install if you don't have it already.

This Ain't Your Daddy's BASIC

Microsoft says that Small Basic "is a project that is aimed at making computer programming accessible to beginners. The project comprises a simple programming language that gathers inspiration from the original BASIC programming language; a modern and attractive programming environment; and rich, extensible libraries. Together they make programming fun for kids and adults alike."

So, what's special about Small Basic, and how can you learn more about it? Join us after the jump for all the details.

If you're tired of tiny form-factor HTPCs run by underwhelming processors, the newest version of the Epson Endeavor ST HTPC is a shot of adrenaline. As Nexus404 reports, the new ST120, which measures only 75x185x195 mm (or approximately 2.95x7.28x7.68 inches), features powerful processing and movie playback power:

• Core 2 Duo processor running at speeds from 2.26-2.8GHz
• GM45 Express chipset
• HDTV Tuner
• 1GB DDR2 RAM with upgrade options to 4GB
• 80GB to 250GB SATA hard disk
• Blu-Ray or DVD drive

So, what's the catch? Catch us after the jump to find out.

Bare (aka "OEM") hard disk drives have always been good deals for tech-savvy shoppers (aka the typical Maximum PC reader) - buy a drive in an anti-static bag, provide your own mounting screws, download a disk management utility from the vendor's website, and you can save a lot of greenbacks, without a sacrifice in warranty coverage.

That's about to change. Channel Register reports that Seagate's bare drives for desktop and laptop computers are about to take a 2-year cut in warranty coverage. Starting January 3, 2009, bare drives will have 3-year limited warranties, compared to the current 5-year limited warranty.  Seagate says that they'll use the ship-to-dealers date of January 3, 2009 and beyond to calculate warranty terms, but I'd recommend holding on to your sales receipt, especially if you're buying a last-minute Christmas gift or grabbing an after-Christmas sale.

To find out why Seagate is reducing its bare drive warranty period, and to see how it stacks up to its competitors, join us after the jump.

Once again, Internet Explorer (aka "Internet Exploder") has been attacked through a "zero-day" remote code execution vulnerability. That might not seem like MaximumPC.com-worthy news, except for two factors: the flaw is affecting thousands of websites, and this time, it isn't just Firefox fans who are saying "time to switch browsers, already!" - security experts at Trend Micro, the Spamhaus Project, and the UK's PC Pro magazine are all recommending making a switch, according to the BBC. And here's why:

The flaw in Microsoft's Internet Explorer could allow criminals to take control of people's computers and steal their passwords, internet experts say.

Switching Browsers? Choices Abound!

Attacks against IE7 have been verified, but all versions of IE (including IE 8 Beta 2) have the same underlying vulnerability; a vulnerability not present in IE's competitors (Firefox, Opera, Chrome, and Safari). Switching browsers makes sense for most web surfing, but, alas, some websites and (of course) Windows Update and Microsoft Update for Windows XP won't work with anything but IE.

Redmond Readies Security Update

Since the vulnerability was detected on December 10th, Microsoft code jockeys have been working hard to patch the flaw (Redmond doesn't want you to switch, naturally, and given the way that IE and Windows work together, a broken IE isn't good for anybody), and a patch will be available tomorrow (December 17th) for all versions of IE from 5.01 up, applying to all versions of Windows and Windows Server from Windows 2000 on up. It's rare for Microsoft to perform a security update between Patch Tuesdays, but when a "Critical" vulnerability (the most dangerous category of vulnerability) is discovered, there's no time to waste.

If you must use IE and you're looking for workarounds until you can get the update, join us after the jump for details.