Microsoft Releases Your Personal Hotmail Info! If you have a Hotmail account - or if you've used Microsoft Passport - for more than a month, there's something you need to check.

Tool 1: This command-line tool allows you to manage the Service Principal Names (SPN) directory property for an Active Directory? directory service account. SPNs are used to locate a target principal name for running a service. SetSpn allows you to view the current SPNs, reset the host SPNs, and add or delete supplemental SPNs.

Tool 2: This command-line tool allows you to set all file system security options that are accessible in Windows Explorer. XcAcls does this by displaying and modifying the access control lists (ACLs) of files. XcAcls is especially useful in unattended installations of Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional or Server. By using this tool, you can set the initial access rights for folders in which the operating system resides

Title: May 15th, 2002 Cumulative Patch for Internet Explorer (Q321232)
Software: Internet Explorer
Impact: Six new vulnerabilities, the most serious of which could allow code of attacker's choice to run.
Max Risk: Critical
This is a cumulative patch that includes the functionality of all previously released patches for IE 5.01, 5.5 and 6.0. In addition, it eliminates the following six newly discovered vulnerabilities: Read more...

The MS utility that helps you completely remove Microsoft Office 2000 is available from Microsoft. The Office 2000 CD1 and CD2 File and Registry Eraser Utility removes most of the files and Windows registry settings that remain on the computer after you remove Office. This utility is designed to be used on stand-alone computers or workstations. You should not use this utility to completely clean a working copy of Office from a computer. You should only run this utility after you run the Setup program for Office 2000 and click Remove Office.

Well it does stop not at Windows 2000 SP4, but you can also view other hot fix folders too. You can view hot fixes for the following operating systems: Windows NT SP7 Windows 2000 SP3 Windows XP SP1 Press Read more for further details and direct links.

Even thought Windows 2000 SP3 is not even out yet, Microsoft have now begun work on Service Pack 4. Work started on these hotfixs as early as the 8th of April 2002. Want to know more and view the SP4 folder? Sure you do. Press read more for futher info.

This document is a cumulative list of the articles that have been written to discuss hotfixes that have been released since the release of Windows XP. Click the Q# of the Knowledge Base article below to view the article. Rancho*: Very informative, but where is the bus? You can't download any patches for about 65% of the whole preSP1 list...

OK peeps this is my last post for a few days cos am off to party. It's my B Day! HeHe...

Did you know Microsoft was convicted of software piracy on September 27th, 2001 by a french court? Well nor did we...

Commercial Court of Nanterre fined Microsoft 3 million francs (EUR 457,347 or US$ 408,141) because it illegally included another company's proprietary source code in SoftImage 3D, a top-of-the-line animation package.

The strange thing is that anti-microsoft news sites such as Slashdot, InfoWorld, NewsForge... and many tech news sites including us didn't notice this important piece of news. The only person who did was Peruvian congressman Edgar David Villanueva Nuñez.

On our german site Planet-XP they got new screenshots, but now they have pictures of system, server-admin tools and more... Click on Read More... for direct link to the pictures.

Just got word that our sister site Planet-XP.de have got hold of some exclusive screenshots of Windows.NET Server Build 3621!

Who should read this bulletin: All customers using the Microsoft® MSN Chat control, which is available for direct download and ships with MSN Messenger and Exchange Instant Messenger.

Impact of vulnerability: Run Code of Attacker's Choice

Maximum Severity Rating: Critical

A computer can be configured to let you choose between two or more operating systems each time you restart the computer. For example, you could set up a server to run Windows® 2000 Server most of the time but allow it to sometimes run Windows NT® Server 4.0 in order to support an older application. With multibooting, you can choose which operating system to run or specify a default OS if no selection is made during the restart process.

I saw this @ Neowin.net. And this is what they said:
I have another longhorn Video, it is a 15 sec shot of logon and desktop and some clicks on the new taskbar. Later on friday I hope to receive some screen shots which are more clear then the video's This is obvously an alpha build, number 277 to be exact. Click on Read More... for direct download link of the video.

Heavy_K's Polygamy Patch will change your Messenger to allow you to use multiple instances. That means that you can log in with 2 different accounts at the same time.

Version 4.6.0078 of MSN Messenger is required.

The mates at Neowin.net have some info that DX9 Beta 1 will be released soon to testers: Dear DirectX 9.0 Beta Tester:

The DirectX team would like to thank you for your patience as we prepare to release DirectX 9.0 Beta 1. We are currently working on the final stages of Beta 1 for DirectX 9.0 and plan to release it to you for testing very soon. When the beta has released, you will be sent email with further instructions. We appreciate your willingness to test DirectX and look forward to working with you.

Team DirectX

Just saw this @ Gamers.com

Following last month's rather shocking revelation that Microsoft had originally tapped Sega to develop the Xbox, it's now been revealed that at one point Microsoft was dealing with Nintendo too. In fact, Microsoft was all but set to outright buy the company.

According to a new book called Opening the Xbox: Inside Microsoft's Plan to Unleash an Entertainment Revolution, Microsoft was at one point all set to plunk down 25 billion for the Japanese game giant. As the book describes, Nintendo's U.S. president Minoru Arakawa wasn't sure what to think when Microsoft made the offer. "I was surprised," Arakawa admitted. "We didn't need the money. I thought it was a joke.

The Microsoft Windows Installer is an installation and configuration service that ships as part of the Microsoft Windows 2000 operating system, and is provided as a redistributable product for Microsoft Windows 95, 98, ME, and NT version 4.0.

Windows Installer enables software users to efficiently install and configure products and applications. The installer can also provide software products with new capabilities to advertise features without installing them, to install products on demand, and to add user customizations. The Windows Installer supports advertisement of applications and features according to the operating system.

Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC) 2.7 RTM ? Refresh (2.70.9001.0) contains core components, including the Microsoft SQL Server? and Oracle OLE database provider and Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) driver. MDAC does not contain the MDAC software development kit (SDK) or the desktop database providers and drivers.File size: 5 megabytes (MB). Available for x86-based computers only.

This download document describes a proposed API that extends Microsoft DirectX VA to support de-interlacing and frame rate conversion of video content by graphics device drivers. The purpose of this document is to provide driver developers with a preview of the APIs and the opportunity to provide feedback.

The information in this document applies for Microsoft Windows XP SP1 and later versions of Windows Video that is interlaced must be de-interlaced using the DirectX Video Acceleration and Microsoft Direct3D® 9 APIs for video. The graphics engine and the hardware overlay, if present, must support a minimum of bob and weave de-interlacing functionality.

The Office XP SP-1 Speller Update: April 25, 2002 refreshes the dictionary of words referenced by Microsoft Office XP SP-1. This update adds improved and new terminology and improved replacement suggestions. US English only The Word 2002 Update: April 25, 2002 prevents ActiveX controls running without a warning when you use Word to edit an e-mail message with Outlook configured to disable script. Multilanguage support