Just saw this @ Xp-erience.org. Sony have released a "Spiderman" skin for Windows media player.

A computer science professor says Microsoft Corp. has the ability to create and release a modular version of the Windows operating system so computer makers can swap out Microsoft functions for competitors' programs. Microsoft has maintained that it would be impossible to create a stripped-down Windows because so many portions of it are dependent on others. Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer has said that the requirement, a key proposal by the nine states seeking antitrust penalties from the company, would force Microsoft to take Windows off the market. Read more...

Just got word from Brownie and he seem to of found an site that will show you how Microsoft are looking to s**** you when you get your X-Box online! here's a quote from the site.

A friend and I recently came across some interesting info about the Xbox Online Service. We have obtained detailed info about how they plan to charge you for every little thing and even give you bad service. Anything that is dark grey and to the right is a direct out take from these help files. The out takes are direct from Microsoft and are not edited in any way. It also seems you?ll have to purchase or some how get an update for your Xbox. At this time there is no detail info if it will be via CD or if it will be packaged w/ new games.

To our knowledge Microsoft is not making it too easy for developers to get net games up and running. They are planning on everyone having a horrible broadband connection, 64kbit/sec up and down with a 250ms ping. The last time I played on an online game with a server that had a 250ms ping, I immediately disconnected. This is supposed to be a very detailed gaming system meaning that there would need to be more data transferred than your average computer game, most new computer games require much better speed than the Xbox requires. This speed is so low that a person on 56k could almost use it.

Microsoft today made available a new security patch for customers hosting web servers using Microsoft Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000 or Windows XP. Ten new vulnerabilities, the most serious of which could enable code of an attacker?s choice to be run on a server were fixed and it is recommended to apply the patch immediately.

Just saw this @ our good friends from neowin.net.

This is going to be a long Article and all quotes are from NeoWin.Net.

Neowin has been emailed anoymously, and exclusivly about Microsofts secret project, code named "saturn". It appears to be a free (microsoft- free???!!) asp editor that microsoft is developing that will allow developers to to run and test code on 95 upwards. Heres a snippet for you.

While application developers have long enjoyed development tools like Microsoft?s Visual Studio suite, development tools targeted to Web developers have been few and far between. Sure, there have been development tools targeted to HTML designers such as Microsoft?s FrontPage and Macromedia?s Dreamweaver, but Web developers creating the backend code for data-driven Web applications have had to use tools not quite fit for the job. We?ve either been forced into using glorified text editors like Visual InterDev or Homesite, or are using tools like Visual Studio .NET to create our ASP.NET Web pages, which, in many cases, is akin to killing a flea with a cannonball. Not to mention Visual Studio .NET?s imposing price tag. If it is your job to do application or Web development, the one thousand to twenty-five hundred dollar price tag of Visual Studio .NET is reasonable, but if you do ASP.NET development for pay or for fun on your spare time, purchasing Visual Studio .NET might not be an option.

Microsoft Personal Security Advisor (MPSA) is an easy to use web application that will help you secure your Windows NT? 4.0, Windows 2000?, or Windows XP? personal computer system. Simply press the Scan Now button to receive a detailed report of your computer's security settings and recommendations for improvement.

MPSA will scan your system and build a customized report on items such as: missing security patches, weak passwords, Internet Explorer and Outlook Express security settings, and Office macro protection settings. For each weakness identified on your computer, MPSA provides easy to understand information on the security issue at hand, how to fix it, and links to additional information about the issue. Once you correct a reported deficiency, you can run the scan again and see the results of the change.

Microsoft has created a new tool, the Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA), to analyze Windows systems for common security misconfigurations. Version 1.0 of MBSA includes a graphical and command line interface that can perform local or remote scans of Windows systems. MBSA runs on Windows 2000 and Windows XP systems and will scan for missing hotfixes and vulnerabilities in the following products: Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Internet Information Server (IIS) 4.0 and 5.0, SQL Server 7.0 and 2000, Internet Explorer (IE) 5.01 and later, and Office 2000 and XP.

Windows 2000 Resource Kit software tools listed on this page for free and install them on your computer. These utilities can help you streamline administrative tasks such as managing Active Directory?, administering security features, working with Group Policy and Terminal Services, automating application deployment, and other important jobs. Nearly 300 such tools are included on the Windows 2000 Server Resource Kit companion CD.

These tools are designed to be installed and run only on Microsoft® Windows 2000. They are neither localized nor supported by Microsoft.

This is an update for the Microsoft BackOffice Web Administrator component of Microsoft BackOffice Server versions 4.0 and 4.5. This update is only intended to correct the problem described in KB article Q316838 and should only be applied to systems that have been determined to be at risk of attack.

Windows XP Service Pack 1 alpha builds have shipped to OEMs and eventually will include many enhancements to the core OS as well as the usual bug fixes we are used to seeing with a service pack. Such enhancements include:

Ibelite.com Vibrant Logic claims to have interesting Information on the next version of Office Codenamed NGO. The site writes its codename as ONG, however the video shows it as NGO. I can't verify the authenticity of this presentation...but see for yourself, either someone at Microsoft wasn't too careful, or someone spent a long time on a fake.

It seems that a relatively extensive flash presentation on Microsoft's next revision of Office has been leaked. It details the features and pricing model for Office.NET or Office NGO. Suggesting that consumers can buy office and use its standard features, which look similar to current versions of Office XP or a buy into a contract based model, where they get the software and a 1 year subscription to an online workspace, with options to renew subscriptions or purchase a working copy of Office.

Just got word from Malti @ our sister site Planet-XP.de that he's snagged some more screenshots, this time for the following:

Exclusive Screenshots Of Microsoft Windows Memphis part 2.

Screenshots of Windows Neptun and Whistler.

Exclusive Screenshots of Internet Explorer 6 SP1 build 2800.1005

Just saw this @Neowin.net

Cheers IRazor for the link.. A quickie post to let you guys know we have received a link for the latest build of IE6 SP1 (Service Pack 1) and you can download it.. Sop grab it while you can and feel free to mirror it.

I can also confirm the new whacky dialog that warns the user of potential harm when downloading off the Internet. Not much else visably new and where is the RESUME feature!! gaaah. Pff, ah well theres always IE7!

Update From Ibelite.com:

How to Install

Option 1:

Ok Here is the Deal, this pack was missing a cab file called scripten.cab. Its 818 kb. IeXbeta set up a new *re-pack* of it. You can download Ie6 Sp1 from IEXbeta.

Option 2:

If you downloaded the existing file and recieved a prompt for a user and pass, download these files. Put them into your install directory and make sure you replace the iesetup.ini with the new one from the zip.

The .NET Framework Data Provider for Oracle is an add-on component to the .NET Framework that provides access to an Oracle database using the Oracle Call Interface (OCI) as provided by Oracle Client software.

This update resolves the "Opening Group Policy Files for Exclusive Read Access Blocks Policy Application" issue affecting Windows 2000 domain controllers, and is discussed in Microsoft Security Bulletin MS02-016. Download now to prevent an attacker from blocking the application of Group Policy within a Windows 2000 domain.

This update addresses several CD Burning issues that are discussed in Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB) Article Q309691 and Q320174. Download now to prevent problems with CD burning.

The Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT) is a collection of useful tools and documents that enable both application developers and IT professionals to resolve application compatibility issues. The ACT can be used on both Windows 2000 and Windows XP.

Microsoft has released a patch that resolves the "Unchecked buffer in the Multiple UNC Provider" security vulnerability in Windows XP. The vulnerability results because of a flaw in the Multiple UNC (uniform naming convention) Provider (MUP), which is a network file system resource locator that runs in kernel-mode memory in Windows. Download now to prevent a malicious user from causing your computer to restart or to run unauthorized programs.

Planet-XP.de our sister site seems to have got their hands on some exclusive screenshots of Microsoft Windows Memphis. I bet your wondering wtf is this? So am I. Here's a quick translation using babelfish cos both Degger and Rancho have been on a 4 day p*** up! Told them not to go too that beer festival. LOL

Windows Memphis - which is what? You will ask yourselves surely - the solution is quite simple:

Windows Memphis was the first beta version of the later Windows98 - from Microsoft.

Neowin.net are reporting a new version of Internet Explorer SP1 build 2800.1005 has been released. Here's what they have to say about it:

To install IE 6 SP1 build 2800.1005 you must either uninstall your previous tech betas or use a clean machine to install this release of Internet Explorer 6 SP 1.

128-bit doesn't appear when mousing over padlock on https site.

Mousing over the padlock in the status bar on a https site will not cause the 128-bit message to appear. However 128-bit encryption does still occur although the tool tip is broken.