[H]ard|OCP

Antitrust Complaint Filed Against Microsoft in Europe… Again

Doesn’t this sound a bit familiar? A Dutch software dealer filed an antitrust complaint against Microsoft with the European Commission. The dealer is complaining that Microsoft’s pricing policy in Europe violates antitrust laws. Apparently, this dude and MS have some history as he was sued by MS in May for piracy.

According to Abdalla's lawyers, the price difference between Europe and the U.S. is between 30 percent and 50 percent. "The evidence is fairly clear," van der Wal said. "There is a huge price difference, and Microsoft uses its intellectual property to control that."

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Malware Infects Nearly 75% of Systems at Base in Afghanistan

I’m sure most of you heard about the military banning the use of USB drives and other removable media earlier this month. The reason for the ban is just coming to light and the LA Times has the scoop: a malware outbreak at the largest US military base in Afghanistan that affected almost 75% of the systems there.

The invasive software, known as agent.btz, has circulated among nongovernmental U.S. computers for months. But only recently has it affected the Pentagon's networks. …The malware is able to spread to any flash drive plugged into an infected computer. The risk of spreading the malware to other networks prompted the military to ban the drives.

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[H] Gaming News

Game releases for 11/30-12/6 @ Shacknews

PS3 model guide @ HardCoreWare

The week in demos and patches: 11/23-11/29 @ FileFront

Guess the video game systems challenge @ Sporcle (I got 27 before I gave up at the 6 min mark)

Fable 2 for PC rumor @ Big Download

Battlefield 2 v1.5 patch public beta coming soon @ Planet Battlefield

Black Friday Online Sales Up from 2007

comScore is reporting that online sales on Black Friday were up 1 percent compared to last year and that the combination of sales on Thanksgiving and Black Friday were up 2 percent relative to last year. Hold up on that celebration, Mr. Sunshine. Overall sales for November 1-28 were down 4 percent vs the same days last year.

“It’s probable that on Black Friday consumers responded positively to the very aggressive promotions and discounts being offered in retail stores, so it will be important to see how they respond to similarly attractive deals being offered online on Cyber Monday, the traditional kick-off to the online holiday shopping season,” [said Gian Fulgoni, comScore chairman]

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[H]ardware Roundup: Leftovers Edition

Cases

Antec Skeleton video review @ 3GM

Thermaltake DH104 HTPC @ OC3D

Memory

OCZ DDR3 PC3-12800 Gold Low-Voltage Triple Channel @ Guru3D

Misc.

Core i7 920 core disabling performance analysis @ TweakTown

Sitecom WL-308 300N XR gaming router @ bit-tech

Motherboards

ECS A790GXM-A ‘Black Series’ (AMD 790GX chipset) @ TBreak

Power Supplies

Zalman ZM750-HP (750W) @ Hardware Secrets

Video

Sapphire HD 4830 @ B3D

WoW:Wrath of the Lich King video comparison – Nvidia vs ATI @ ExtremeTech

Vista SP2 Due in April?

TechARP has leaked info from a confidential source that says that Microsoft will be delivering a release candidate for Service Pack 2 for Windows Vista in February 2009. The binary release to manufacturing (RTM) is set for April 2009. TechARP nailed the previous SP release dates so it appears they have a solid source.

We have news of the upcoming Service Pack 2 for Windows Vista! Microsoft is doing their best to rush out Service Pack 2 for Windows Vista so there will be additional incentive for folks to upgrade to Window Vista now, instead of waiting for Windows 7.

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Shuttle’s Solid Rocket Booster Separation Video

Check out this video captured from the Shuttle Atlantis’ Solid Rocket Booster. It’s recorded from just before separation to ocean touchdown and has audio. Beware if you easily get motion sickness; the booster turns end over end and you can see it clearly.

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London Tunnel for Sale

If you were inspired by that data center in a nuke bunker idea, here’s your chance! A tunnel complex under London was put up for sale for a cool $7.4 Million. What are you waiting for, mate?

Appearing more like the set of a James Bond movie than prime real estate, the complex still has a bar and two canteens, not in use, and a billiard room, not to mention functioning water and electricity supplies.

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Web Distractions Help Some Stay Sane

TechNewsWorld has an article on how some web sites can bring some humor or warmth to a normally hectic and stressful day. I know that when my day job has me down and I can’t get away from the computer, I turn to the General Mayhem forum here at the [H] for some laughs. Share your sites for a quick distraction via the comments below, won’t cha?

The insanity of daily life can sometimes feel overwhelming, and people have always needed to periodically decompress someway, somehow. Nowadays, they're turning to the Web for five minutes of humor, cuteness or general distraction.

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Microsoft, Yahoo in Talks Again

Microsoft and Yahoo are trying to work on a search deal, according to the London Times. They report that the $20 Billion deal for Yahoo’s search business has been agreed upon in broad terms but details are still being worked out and there’s no guarantee that it will be finalized.

There is a management vacuum at Yahoo after Jerry Yang, the group’s co-founder, said this month that he will step down as chief executive as soon as the board finds a successor. He opposed the earlier Microsoft deal and an advertising alliance with Google that he championed broke down because of competition fears.

UPDATE 11/30 1342CT: Reuters has an article stating that this rumored deal is "total fiction."

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Updated 3DFX Driver Released – yes, 3DFX

The nostalgists at 3DFX Zone have cobbled together a new video driver that supports Voodoo3 and newer cards on Win2K and XP 32 & 64-bit OSes. Sorry, no Vista support. If you’re still messing around with Voodoo cards, check this driver out. I still have fond memories of gaming on my 1st SLI rig with dual Voodoo2 12mb cards.

After 1.4 release, it's time of new SFFT 1.5 driver. This software is based on Unified Architecture supporting by one package all Voodoo3 family, including Voodoo3 2000, Voodoo3 3000 and Voodoo3 3500 cards, as well as all 3dfx VSA-100 products and so Voodoo4 4500, Voodoo5 5500 and Voodoo5 6000 cards, is on line.

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Unlocking the iPhone 3G, Vietnamese Style

CNET has an article about how a little shop in Hanoi can unlock an iPhone 3G via hardware. It’s an interesting read, complete with pics. I’m sure Apple appreciates their logo on the shop’s window.

He hopes that what he's been doing with the iPhones wouldn't be considered "illegal" in the States. Oddly enough, his dream is to become an Apple partner officially supporting the company's products in Vietnam.

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