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August 2006

Browzar - New Internet Browser

31 August 2006

A new free Internet browser called Browzar has appeared, weighing in at only 264KB. The focus of this particular browser is in making sure that no trace of your web browsing is stored anywhere. While this is already possible with other browsers (e.g. using the 'Clear Private Data' option in Firefox 1.5), Browzar seems intended for users who don't know how to fully utilize such features on existing browsers, or perhaps those using shared/public machines who want privacy without having to fiddle with settings.

Update: Various sites have pointed out that this browser still leaves some traces of your activity in the Index.dat file on your drive, so it is definitely not a foolproof solution.

CounterStrike: Source & Steam Client Updates

31 August 2006

Valve has released updates to both the Steam client, as well as CounterStrike: Source and SourceTV. Details are here and as always simply restart your Steam client while online to download and apply the updates.

Nvidia NTune 5.00.11.06 Released

31 August 2006

Nvidia have released Version 5.00.11.06 of the NTune system information, monitoring and overclocking utility for NForce-based motherboards.

Realtek AC97 Driver Version 3.92 Released

31 August 2006

Realtek have released a new Version 3.92 of the AC97 Audio driver which is used in most onboard audio chipsets.

Prey 1.1 Patch Released

31 August 2006

Human Head Studios have released a new patch for Prey, bringing it up to Version 1.1. The patch weighs in at 22MB and fixes a range of bugs, adds in-game widescreen resolutions, and optimizes multiplayer bandwidth usage. All Prey users should install this patch, and I'll update my Prey Tweak Guide shortly to account for the changes.

More Vista Pricing Details

31 August 2006

The Vista pricing drama continues, as now Amazon.com have put up prices for the various Windows Vista editions. For example the full version of Windows Vista Ultimate is listed at $399US with the release date given as January 30, 2007. It's still not clear what the final prices will be, and whether or not OEM and other discount editions will have significantly lower prices.

SpiralFrog - Free Music Downloads

30 August 2006

In December a new music download service will be available at SpiralFrog.com. The neat thing about this is that the downloads will be completely free and legal, the costs covered by advertising. This is fairly ambitious, and it remains to be seen exactly what songs will be available for download, and how long the service lasts, but it seems to be a step in the right direction.

Call of Juarez Multiplayer Demo

30 August 2006

A Call of Juarez Multiplayer Demo has come out, weighing in at 377MB. If you haven't tried the SinglePlayer Demo as well, I urge you to give it a go too. The final version of the game itself is due in late September for Europe/Australia, and for some reason in late December 2006 or early January 2007 for the US. I will update my Call of Juarez Tweak Guide for the MP Demo additions shortly.

Windows Vista Pre-RC1 Download Available

29 August 2006

Microsoft have made the 5536 Build of Vista, known as 'Pre-RC1', available for public download. The 32-bit version is 2.6GB, and places are limited to the first 100,000 downloads. Note that you must have an existing Vista CD Key to install this version. It's still not clear when the actual RC1 will be publicly released but an allegedly leaked version of it is now on torrents so it may be very soon.

Update: InfoWorld report that Vista RC1 is likely to go out to testers tomorrow, and may be available for public download by 5 September.

Windows Vista Pricing Revealed

29 August 2006

Neowin report the discovery of official Windows Vista prices on the Microsoft Canada Site. A rough conversion to US Dollars reveals for example that the full Windows Vista Ultimate will be $450, the Vista Ultimate Upgrade Edition is $270, and the full Vista Home Premium sits at $270. The 32-bit and 64-bit editions do not appear to differ in price though.

Update: Microsoft have now pulled down the prices on their site and will not comment.

Some Interesting Statistics

27 August 2006

I've been using Google Analytics for a couple of weeks now, and although my server-based stats package AWStats provides similar data, Google Analytics is easier to use and has additional features. None of the data is uniquely identifiable, it only provides aggregates of site usage stats. For example, the most common resolution used to view TweakGuides is 1280x1024 (37.4% of users), followed by 1024x768 (32.7%). Firefox 1.5.0.6 seems to be the browser of choice for 44.2% of readers, with Internet Explorer 6 following at 31.9%, and IE7 at a distant 4.2%. Finally at least 75% of our readers are using a broadband connection to view the site, and around 20% of readers are not native English speakers. Further details and the actual graphs are here. This sort of data is very valuable in informing me on how to target the site's content and layout to best meet the needs of readers.

Windows Vista Developments

27 August 2006

Recently Build 5536 of Windows Vista, dubbed the 'Pre-RC1 Build', was released to official testers and Paul Thurrott has a Brief Review of it. The good news is that it appears to be greatly improved over Vista Beta 2. Even better news is that according to Neowin, Build 5552 which is tipped to be the actual Release Candidate 1 should be out on Monday, and hopefully available to the public then or shortly thereafter.

Firefox 2 Beta 2 RC2

27 August 2006

Another Release Candidate for Firefox 2 has been released, bringing it up to Firefox 2 Beta 2 RC2. I'm not sure of precisely what the changes are in this RC build, but given the final of Firefox 2 is not due until October 24, I dare say these are continuous bug fix builds.

Site Update

26 August 2006

While there's a bit of a lull on the 'significant news' front, now would be a good time for you to take a look through our Forums. There you'll find a range of interesting and intelligent discussions on the latest games and hardware, without the usual padding and garbage found on other forums. A lot of the news that doesn't make it onto the front page is on the forums.

Point of Existence and Project Reality BF2 Mods

26 August 2006

A major free modification for Battlefield 2 called Point of Existence 2 has just reached V1.0 and is available for download via torrent, however the files are password protected and the password won't be available until Saturday. Give the PoE:2 Manual a read through while you're waiting. Another major mod for BF2 called Project Reality is continuing to improve, and is also well worth checking out. The reason I'm mentioning these mods is to give BF2 fans who are not so keen to jump straight into BF2142 an alternative - these mods are very high quality and will effectively make BF2 a whole new game for you to enjoy, all for free.

Update: The password is out: ..]POEv1.0.0[..]BIGthanksTOeveryoneWHOhasSUPPORTEDus].. You can now also download the files without password protection - see the PoE Site for details.

CounterStrike: Source Update

25 August 2006

Valve have released an update for CS:S containing a range of enhancements you can read about here. Restart your Steam client while online to get the update.

Internet Explorer 7 RC1 Released

25 August 2006

Microsoft have made Internet Explorer 7 RC1 available for download for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003, though notably not for Vista just yet. The IE7 RC1 automatically detects and uninstalls previous Beta versions of IE7 during installation, which is very handy. Microsoft have said that IE7 RC1 is essentially a finished product, so I would strongly recommend that at the very least all beta users of IE7 update to this version. IE6 users may also now like to try IE7.

Sophos Anti-Rootkit Released

24 August 2006

Sophos have released a new free rootkit detector called Sophos Anti-Rootkit. Rootkits are becoming a more common form of malware, and are much harder to detect. This is yet another useful tool you should add to your anti-malware arsenal.

NASA World Wind

24 August 2006

For those of you who haven't seen this yet, NASA World Wind is a Google Earth-like application which lets you do a lot of very cool things. Aside from being able to view Earth at various levels of detail, you can also see real-time weather imagery and 3D terrain among other things. But here's the really great part - you can also view the Moon, Mars, Jupiter and Venus in detail as well. And there's a Large List of add-ons too, including other planets and extra features you can enable. Give it a go!

BF2142 Veteran's Program Open

24 August 2006

As mentioned in an earlier news update, the BF2142 Veteran's Program is now open. You can reserve the BF2142 username of your choice, however note that it may be hard to get onto the site due to heavy demand.

User Profile Hive Cleanup Service

24 August 2006

Microsoft have released a new version of the User Profile Hive Cleanup Service. If you haven't seen this before, it's a service which can resolve problems related to incomplete user logoff and/or long shutdown times in Windows XP. If you see event IDs 1517 or 1524 in your Event Viewer, then you should install this service.

Site Under Load

23 August 2006

I was pretty sure we'd be ready for any 'Digg effect', but it turns out we got far more traffic than ever expected due to a combination of our regular high level of traffic, Digg and the news item on RC1 below. I've turned off the Forums temporarily to increase site responsiveness, and while I realise it's frustrating, please do not host or mirror the TweakGuides Tweaking Companion as I've not given permission to do so. We should get over this bump shortly. On the plus side, it means a whole new range of people will be able to read the TGTC and hopefully get a better understanding of Windows XP and how to optimize, stabilize and troubleshoot their rigs.

Update: A sincere thank you to all who are supporting and spreading awareness of the site.

Windows Vista RC1 Public Release Soon?

22 August 2006

Two special placeholder pages have appeared on Microsoft's site: Windows Vista RC1 32-Bit and Windows Vista RC1 64-Bit. While I don't like to report rumors normally, given the mad rush that Vista Beta 2 provoked, I think it's wise to stay ahead of the game for when Microsoft does release the public preview of RC1. Keep an eye on those pages as the download information may appear soon.

Source Engine Update

22 August 2006

Valve have released an Update for the Source engine on Steam. This includes a fix for a progression bug in HL2: Episode 1. Restart your Steam client while online to get it.

Interactive CPU Charts

22 August 2006

For those of you considering a CPU upgrade, check out the Interactive CPU Charts at Tom's Hardware. It's been updated for the latest Core 2 and AM2 CPUs. You should also check their Interactive Video Charts however it has yet to be updated with the very latest graphics cards.

TweakGuides Tweaking Companion 3.2 Released

22 August 2006

I've updated the TweakGuides Tweaking Companion to Version 3.2, and the changes - listed at the bottom of the TGTC download page - are mostly minor. However I still recommend that you download this version just to stay up to date. I have emailed the Deluxe Edition download link to all those who purchased Version 3.1, and I have updated the Hardcopy Edition of the TGTC as well. If you've ever thought about buying a copy, now is the time as it is an extremely polished guide and you also provide support for the site.

Update: To further promote the guide, I hesitantly ask that you Digg the link.

GRAW Map Pack 3 Beta Test

22 August 2006

Ubisoft are looking for Beta Testers for the upcoming Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter Map Pack 3. Testing starts at the end of August, but the release date for the map pack is not specified.

Site Update

20 August 2006

It seems the site design refresh has been met with an overwhelmingly positive response, so it's here to stay. Shortly we should be getting a quality high-spec dedicated server all our own courtesy of a sponsorship arrangement with EuroVPS. This will not only ensure that the site remains responsive even under heavy load, but it should also allow me to eventually roll out some new features and gives the site room to grow. Regardless of any changes though, the site focus and philosophy will remain the same as always.

The next few guides I have coming up are the revision to the America's Army Tweak Guide for the delayed Version 2.7 of the game. I'm also going to do up a specific tweak guide for Dark Messiah of Might & Magic when it's released. There's some confusion over when Call of Juarez will be released, but indications are that at least in Europe, the release date will be early September, so the existing CoJ Tweak Guide will be updated for that. I'm also currently updating the TweakGuides Tweaking Companion to Version 3.2, but any changes should be quite minor.

So everything seems to be going well, and once again I appreciate the constructive emails and feedback, and the effort many of you are making in promoting TweakGuides around the Net.

Microsoft Faulty Patch Issues

19 August 2006

If you run a 64-bit version of Windows XP or Windows Server 2003, MS have released a fix for a previous security patch which was causing problems. An earlier patch which is also causing problems for XP SP1 or Win2K SP4 users with Internet Explorer 6 SP1 is set to be fixed by August 22.

CPU-Z 1.36 Released

19 August 2006

A new Version 1.36 of CPU-Z, the excellent CPU/Motherboard/RAM information utility has been released. This utility now covers all the latest CPU and motherboard chipsets, including the Intel Core offerings.

DOD: Source Update Released

19 August 2006

Valve have released a large number of changes for Day of Defeat: Source. You can get them by restarting your Steam client while online, and the full list of changes is here. Note that there is also a small general Source engine update which fixes demo recording, as well as some SourceTV fixes.

ATI Catalyst 6.8 Released

19 August 2006

ATI have released the Official 6.8 Catalysts, with the change list detailed here. These drivers contain performance improvements for X1000 series cards in Doom 3 engine games including Quake 4, Prey and Chronicles of Riddick, as well as general improvements in shader-intensive games on 256MB ATI graphics cards, and of course a large number of fixes, so they are recommended to all ATI users. I have updated my ATI Catalyst Tweak Guide for this version, but there are no significant changes.

Update: There is also a new version of the Chuck Patch for the 6.8 Catalysts.

Battlefield 2142 Beta Released

18 August 2006

It appears the public beta version of Battlefield 2142 has been released, however it is only available to Fileplanet Subscribers. The aim of the beta is to fine tune the game before its final release in October. Note that I will be writing a tweak guide for BF2142 when it is released.

Update: Fileplanet Subscribers don't automatically get access to the beta - the initial batch of beta Keys has already gone, so don't subscribe expecting instant access to the beta.

Windows Patches Released

18 August 2006

Microsoft has released another couple of patches, one for Vista Beta 2 and an interesting one for Windows XP which supposedly increases stability by preventing memory corruption issues. You can see what they are and download them from here.

FEAR Combat Released

18 August 2006

FEAR Combat - the completely free multiplayer component of FEAR - is now available for you to register and download. You'll be able to play against both existing FEAR owners and other FEAR Combat users. If you're new to FEAR, make sure to check out my FEAR Tweak Guide for performance optimization details, as the game can be quite system intensive. You can also download the FEAR Combat Manual for detailed gameplay tips. It can be quite fun, and the price is right, so give it a try for yourself.

FEAR 1.07 Patch Released

17 August 2006

Sierra have released a new patch for FEAR, bringing it up to Version 1.07 (290MB). Full details of the patch changes are here, but all of them relate to FEAR Multiplayer. Most importantly the patch makes the game compatible with the upcoming FEAR Combat free multiplayer component by splitting the game executable into a FEAR.exe and FEARMP.exe. If you never play FEAR Multiplayer then you can skip this patch, but if you do, it's a must-install.

Windows Patches Released

17 August 2006

Microsoft has released a few more patches for various version of Windows. You can see what they are and download the relevant ones here, and they should also be on Windows Update shortly. Note that the only one which is critical is the Security Update for Vista Beta 2; the others are not necessary unless you experience the problems described.

Boot Camp 1.1 Released

16 August 2006

Apple have released a new public beta Version 1.1 of Boot Camp, the software which allows Macs to run Windows XP.

Microsoft Windows Product Key Update Tool

16 August 2006

Microsoft have released a Windows Product Key Update Tool, which allows users running non-genuine copies of Windows to update the CD Key on their existing install of Windows once they've obtained a 'Get Genuine Kit' from an authorized MS OEM distributor. Note that this is the only legal way to change the CD Key - if you have problems with this method please contact Microsoft, do not post on our Forums regarding CD Keys.

Update: You can also use this method from Microsoft when re-installing an OEM copy of Windows XP.

Firefox 2.0 Delayed Until October

16 August 2006

It appears that the final version of Firefox 2.0 will be delayed until October, due to a large number of bugs which still have to be fixed. Meanwhile the 1.5.0.7 update for Firefox is set to be released in early September as a stop-gap measure.

Battlefield 2 1.4 Patch Delayed

15 August 2006

Having told us recently that the BF2 1.4 Patch would be out today, EA Games have now announced that the patch will be delayed. If you can't get through to the link above, the full statement reads: "Due to some last minute changes the release of the 1.4 patch has been delayed. We do not anticipate this delay being a lengthy one, however we do not have a fixed date for release at this time. We will update you as soon as there is further information. Apologies to those who were expecting the patch today, however in order for this patch to succeed in the way it is intended a little extra time is being taken to ensure it is right."

Update: EA have provided yet another announcement about the 1.4 Patch.

New Site Design

15 August 2006

After seeing an excellent logo designed by Dae from our Forums, I decided that TweakGuides needed a bit of a facelift. So today I unveil the new look TweakGuides - nothing amazing, but hopefully looking a lot more mature and more pleasing to the eye. To see the design properly, make sure to press CTRL+F5 on your browser to force-refresh all the elements. Let me know what you think of it, and bear in mind the aim was just to spruce up the place while keeping the layout as simple and quick-loading as always. A full overhaul of the site will occur at a later date. Thanks again to Dae for his contribution to the site in the form of the logo and the design inspiration. Note that the logo is now clickable and will take you to the main site page.

Battlefield 2 to Battlefield 2142

13 August 2006

For those of you who are considering purchasing the upcoming Battlefield 2142, EA's extension of the Battlefield franchise into the 22nd century, check out their Veteran's Program. It will help transition your BF2 character into BF2142, by reserving your current username for example so that noone else can take it. The tentative release date for BF2142 is the end of October, so now is also a good time for you to consider whether you want to punish or reward EA for the way they handled Battlefield 2. If you have no major gripes, go ahead and buy BF2142. If on the other hand you've complained a great deal about BF2, then you can actually do something about it and not purchase BF2142 until it is patched and working properly.

Prey 1.1 Patch Coming Soon

13 August 2006

3DRealms have recently announced that a 1.1 Patch for Prey is in the works, and they provide an unfinished list of changes in the link above. 3DRealms is also developing some new multiplayer content for Prey, including new characters and new maps. There is no firm release date for either of these upcoming releases as yet.

Battlefield 2 1.4 Patch Announcement

12 August 2006

As reported on TotalBF2, EA Games have announced that the final version of the Battlefield 2 1.4 Patch will be released on August 15.

Creative X-Fi Crackling/Popping Update

12 August 2006

The Creative site X-Fi Zone has another update on the sound crackling/popping some X-Fi owners are experiencing. It seems Creative have narrowed it down to an issue with NForce4 motherboards, and no real fix is provided. Apparently only Nvidia can resolve this with a BIOS or driver update.

Windows Vista RC1

11 August 2006

The next public release of Windows Vista will be Release Candidate 1 (RC1). The Windows Vista Team Blog answers a few common questions about RC1, the upshot of it being that all Vista Beta 2 users will be able to automatically get access to RC1, and new people will also be able to sign up for the public Customer Preview Program. The actual release date of RC1 is not specified but it should be close.

EA Ends Online Play for Older Titles

11 August 2006

EA Games are ending online server support for a range of games - in fact many dropped off their server list on August 1, the remainder ceasing on October 1. The games span XBox, PS2 and PC, and include some popular older titles such as NBA Live 2005 and NFS:Underground 2. Strictly speaking they are within their rights to do this, but it's not a nice thing to happen if you still enjoy playing these games online.

Site Update

11 August 2006

Two site updates in a row - must be a slow news week. Actually that's precisely what this update is about. I just wanted to use this lull to reassure you that I haven't fallen asleep at the switch. The main reason people visit this page on a daily basis is to get important news. Not tech rumors, gossip, blogspam or the piddling stuff that pads out the news on other sites. If you don't see any new items here, it's because there really isn't any major news that I feel is worth reporting. I spend more time than ever now keeping my eye on tech developments. So important patches, updates, warnings and tech highlights will always appear here usually within hours of their release. But trust me when I say I won't waste your time with anything else.

Update: I forgot to mention that you can always check our Forums if you want to see other stories or developments as they happen.

Site Update

9 August 2006

You may recall in the last Site Update I mentioned that the simplest thing any of you can do to help support the site is to spread the word about it. Well thanks to a bunch of creative people on our forums, we are now able to present some buttons and banners which you can use to do just that. Check out the TweakGuides Support page for the details, and hopefully more will be added shortly. Thanks to those who created these, and to the people who will hopefully use them on their sites and in forums to raise awareness of the site.

Dark Messiah of Might & Magic Demo Released

9 August 2006

A Demo has been released of Dark Messiah of Might & Magic. It weighs in at a monstrous 1.4GB - clearly this will affect your decision on whether to try the demo or not. It is a similar type of game to Oblivion, and is based on the Source engine which powers games like Half Life 2. I will look into whether a guide for the game is feasible, but since a lot of people wrote to me about the demo release, clearly it's been heavily anticipated. For those of you who can't download the demo, you can check the screenshots of the game here.

Update: I've posted my thoughts, screenshots, movies etc. here. Note that to tweak the game you can use my Half Life 2 Tweak Guide as the game uses the same engine and the same type of settings.

FEAR Multiplayer Becomes FEAR Combat and Made Free

9 August 2006

Sierra have decided to release the complete FEAR Multiplayer component as a standalone free download. It will be renamed FEAR Combat and will be available for download on August 17. More details are here, and that is also where you'll have to register to get your free FEAR Combat key when it's released.

Windows Patches Released

9 August 2006

Microsoft has released the latest set of security and compatibility patches for Windows, and there's quite a few of them. The quickest way to get them is to use the Windows Update site. More details of these updates and individual download links can be found here.

ADF:Aviator - Free Game

7 August 2006

Taking a leaf out of the US Army's book with their America's Army game, the Australian Defence Force has released a free game called ADF:Aviator. It looks quite good, but it also appears it may only be available to Australian residents unless you get a bit creative with your details.

Google Warns On Unsafe Websites

7 August 2006

Google has taken to Warning Users of its search engine if they click on a link which leads to a site with known malware. A warning popup will appear stating 'The site you are about to visit may harm your computer'. To find out more about this, and to safely see an example of the popup, go to Stopbadware.org. I think this is a good idea - far too many sites intentionally harbor spyware and even serious malware.

Forums Back Up

7 August 2006

After a fair bit of work, the TweakGuides Forums are back up again. Make sure to read this thread which details the major changes.

Forums Offline

6 August 2006

The TweakGuides Forums are offline for at least the next 24 hours, perhaps longer. This is necessary for me to be able to upgrade the forum software to VBulletin 3.6 and implement a range of changes. Stay tuned and I will update here when the forums are open again.

Update: Everything has gone well, still some finicky little things left to finalize, forums should be back up soon after some testing.

Update 2: I've decided to implement a range of changes to the forum, so the forums will remain offline for a little while longer until I'm happy with the results.

Windows Vista: Not Ready To Go

5 August 2006

Neowin.net provides a brief but good State of Play on Windows Vista. The bottom line appears to be that if Vista is to make its January 2007 general release date, it needs to overcome a range of problems which beta testers are finding with its rather ambitious feature set. The general consensus among expert commentators like Paul Thurrott of WinSuperSite.com is that Vista needs more work before it's truly ready for release. If this means it misses its January 2007 release date, that would be preferable to it being released early and then receiving a slew of patches to fix broken features. I tend to agree. In fact I'm going to wait for Vista Release Candidate 1 before I even dabble with it.

DirectX9.0c August Update

5 August 2006

Microsoft has released an August Update for DirectX9.0c. As with most DirectX updates there is no performance improvement, updating is done primarily to ensure maximum compatibility with the latest games. Note that many sites reported this update yesterday, however until today, if you tried to run the updater all it did was attempt to install the June 2006 DX update, not the newer August one. So if you tried this yesterday, try it again today as MS has fixed the updater.

GRAW 1.21 Patch Released

4 August 2006

Ubisoft have released the 1.21 Patch for Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter. This patch is also known as the 'GRAW Multiplayer Pack 2', and the full version weighs in at 230MB. The patch adds a range of multiplayer features including new maps, two new game types, several new multiplayer and Co-op options, and some bug fixes, so all GRAW players are advised to install this map pack/patch.

Sandra 2007 SP1

4 August 2006

SiSoftware have released an update to the system information/benchmarking utlity Sandra 2007, bringing it up to Version 10.105 (11MB), otherwise known as 'Sandra 2007 SP1'. Although Sandra Lite is completely free, make sure the download location you select lists the version as 10.105.

Call of Juarez Tweak Guide

3 August 2006

I've really enjoyed playing around with the Call of Juarez demo, so I thought it was worth doing up a Call of Juarez Tweak Guide. As you would expect from a game which has so much to offer, it's a bit of beast to run on most systems. It ranks on par with games like Oblivion both for eye candy and for system requirements in getting things running smoothly. Fortunately the new version of the Chrome engine used by Techland is customizable enough for our purposes, so in this guide we examine in detail what the in-game settings actually do, the issue of game loading times, and how to further tweak and optimize the game using some advanced configuration settings. There are also a range of troubleshooting tips for common problems people experience with this game.

Firefox 1.5.0.6 Released

3 August 2006

Only days after releasing version 1.5.0.5, Mozilla have released an update to bring the Firefox browser up to Version 1.5.0.6. Once again the update is available initially only via Mozilla's FTP. It should also shortly be available on the Firefox front page and via Firefox's built-in update method (go to your Help menu in Firefox and select 'Check for Updates'). As with 1.5.0.5 the update addresses security and stability concerns. And as before, I suggest waiting until it becomes available through the Firefox auto update method.

Update: It is now available through the auto update method, and is also showing on the main Firefox site front page. The official Release Notes are also available.

Windows Live Spaces

2 August 2006

Microsoft has opened up Windows Live Spaces, another Live-based site which is the successor to MSN Spaces. A free online service where you can blog, share pictures and talk to others, this is basically Microsoft's attempt at replicating MySpace.

Linux to Get Reliable NTFS Support

2 August 2006

I don't report much Linux news here, but this is fairly major. A new NTFS Filesystem driver for Linux is apparently going to make it possible to provide Reliable NTFS Support out of the box for Linux, making it easier for Linux users who dual boot between Windows and Linux for example. More choice is always a good thing.

Quake 4 1.3 Patch Released

1 August 2006

Activision have released a major new patch for Quake 4, bringing it up to Version 1.3 (235MB). The patch contains a new game type, new weapon, a range of new maps and a new 'buy' mode for purchasing weapons rather than picking them up during a match. The patch also contains some fixes, so all up it's a must-install for all Quake players. I have updated the Quake 4 Tweak Guide, see pages 4, 8, and 9 in particular for the main changes.

To view the latest news click Here