There are hundreds of online websites claiming to have any number of tweaks you can apply to Microsoft’s Windows XP operating system to make it run faster. However, some of the more commonly repeated tweaks are just useless myths.
Category: Technology
Violence Erupts Over $50 Laptops
The Henrico County school system probably never expected violence to be the result of a $50 used laptop sale, but that’s exactly what they got when they organized a sale of the used equipment to county residents.
According to MSNBC, 5,500 people showed up today, hoping to score one of the 1,000 $50 laptops. Excitement over the sale lead to one woman apparently wet herself rather than lose her place in line, while another person use the folding chair he had brought with him to beat at the crowd pushing into the crowded center.
ATI Catalyst 5.8 Drivers
According to Rage3D.net ATI should have the new Catalyst 5.8 Radeon video card drivers on their driver download site on Wednesday, August 17th.
If you can’t wait an entire day, Driver Heaven has apparently scored a 24 hour exclusive on downloads, meaning that they’re available today. However, ATI notes that they will not give technical support to any drivers not downloaded through their own website, so you may want to wait until tomorrow.
For those currently testing Microsoft’s Windows Vista beta, ATI now has official beta drivers as well.
Windows 2000 Zotob Worm Variant Hits
Users of Microsoft’s Windows 2000 operating system are advised to check for Microsoft security updates and stop by the website of their favorite anti-virus program for patches to fight the latest security vulnerability.
CNN, which itself was hit hard by the Win32/Zotob.A Worm, is reporting that the worm is spreading quickly among Windows 2000 computers.
If you believe you’ve been hit by the virus, consider taking your system to your local Geek Squad.
Linkskey USB and Audio KVM Switch
If you’re looking to use two computers with a single monitor, USB mouse and USB keyboard, you might want to check out the Linkskey USB KVM switch ($28 @ Newegg.com).
This unit includes built-in cables for the USB, VGA, speakers and microphone ports, making the overall setup clean and simple. Since I have two sets of speakers for my computers, I did not make use of the audio support, which is often the weakest feature in most KVM switches. However, my 19″ Samsung monitor, Saitek Eclipse USB keyboard and Microsoft USB mouse all work flawlessly with the device.
The only drawback to the device comes from one of my two workstations running Ubuntu Linux, which seems to not want to allow the KVM to detect the double-tap of the scroll-lock key for quick switching, but placing the KVM in a convenient place so that I can easily use the button on the unit itself to switch from computer to computer has made this of little inconvenience.