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6-30-99 Windows 98 has a bug that can render PCs unbootable after running the System File Checker tool. The bug occurs when the checker installs the wrong file in place of a damaged or missing Windows 98 system file. The wrong file can be installed because incorrect information was provided to the checker about the location of "cabinet" files, where Windows 98 system files are stored. The incorrect information can cause System File Checker to locate and install the wrong file in place of the system file. When the bug occurs, Windows 98 PCs can freeze and fail to load Windows 98. According to Microsoft, users who experience the problem can work around it by starting their computer with the Windows 98 Startup Disk and overwriting the replacement system files using extract.exe at a command prompt. Microsoft has posted information on the bug at http://support.microsoft.com. Just when you thought there were no new markets for advertising, I then heard Yahoo! has cut a deal with BIOS maker Phoenix Technologies Ltd. to offer Internet access to users during the boot-up sequence of the new PCs. Distributing Yahoo! Connections services through Phoenix's system software products will enables users worldwide to immediately connect to their choice of Yahoo!'s 19 World properties. Distribution of Yahoo! on Phoenix BIOS chips enables one-touch access to default home pages for Yahoo!'s main site (www.yahoo.com) as well as Yahoo! sites for Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Spain, Sweden, UK & Ireland, Australia & New Zealand, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, China, Brazil, Canada and Latin America. Phoenix Technologies' BIOS system software is currently designed into more than 70 percent of all PCs sold, and millions of other devices. More information about Phoenix and its products is available at www.phoenix.com. Imation Corp. will ship one of the fastest CD-RW desktop recorders available,
a CD-RW Super Recorder with 8x2x20 performance. The drive works with both CD-R
and CD-RW discs and supports packet writing, which allows users to write
individual files, instead of tracks, during a recording session. It utilizes a
plug-and-play Adaptec AHA-2930C SCSI card and a 4MB buffer to prevent buffer
underruns. An internal version of the drive will be available in July for about
$549. The external version is due out in August for about $649. Additional
information can be found at www.imation.com.
6-29-99 SKUN has posted a General Q3 Skinning Tutorial as well as an Advanced Q3 Skinning Tutorial to help out aspiring Q3 skin creators. JailBreak version 2.5 for Quake 2 has been released. I.Am/Half-Life has been updated with over 100 new deathmatch maps for Half-Life. There are over 700 total now. They are listed in a sortable listing for your convenience. SailorScout let me know that DoomGL v0.6 has support for MD2 models from Quake YPOD TC for Quake 1 and they are available for download from the main site. There is a new Eraser Ultra Bot for Quake 2. This version has bug fixes and support for the Rogue mission pack weapons. Word comes from several US sources that Legend Entertainment's official Unreal Mission pack, Return to Na Pali, is appearing on store shelves, so it may well be in your local geekatorium, as well. Kokak's Doom Page has a new version 0.6 of Kokak's OpenGL port of the Doom source code. Thanks Billy "Imp" Wilson. UnrealEngine.com has conducted an interview with Alex Redman of Zen Tao Interactive, talking about their unique Unreal engine title, Extreme Wing Chun. 6-28-99 Version 1.10 of QxAdmin has been released. Among the new features is a log viewer, which lets people view the server logs remotely. QxAdmin is a Win32-based program which allows server admin. to remotely control their Quake/2/3Arena via their PC. Christian Antkow (Email: xian@idsoftware.com)
says: The ClanWorld Network has announced the prizes for their upcoming "Summer Olympics" tournament in July. The Grand Prize for the winner of the Q3Test ladder is the following: 3DFX Voodoo 3 Video Card, CDI Cool Case, GameSpy Mousepads, Mugs, T-shirts, & Liscense, Mp3spy Liscense, and more. Check out their site for more info. 6-27-99 Quake 2 for the Mac has gone gold so you can expect it on store shelves in a couple of weeks. AMD’s K7 has a name: Athlon. The next-generation chip could put AMD back in the black, but it won’t be easy. At the same time it announced shipment of the Athlon, AMD confirmed it expects losses of $200 million for the current quarter. The loss is due mostly to a sharp decline in average selling prices for its AMD-K6 processor family and lower unit shipments. The company claims it has recovered from its manufacturing problems, however. AMD expects to produce more than 6 million K6 chips, half of which should clock at high-end speeds of 400MHz to 500MHz. The Athlon chip will be priced at $699 for a 600MHz chip, $479 for a 550MHz, and $324 for the 500MHz. America Online Inc. is in talks to produce AOL-branded PCs in conjunction with Microworkz Inc., a manufacturer of inexpensive computers. Future Power's E-Power, an egg-shaped Windows PC that bares an uncanny likeness to Apple's best-selling iMac, will ship in September. Introduced at PC Expo in New York this week, the unit features a colored shell casing that comes in hues such as amethyst, ruby, topaz, emerald and sapphire. The E-Power has a 466MHz Celeron chip, a 56K modem, 64MB of RAM, a 40X CD-ROM drive, and will retail for $799. Future Power says Apple has eye-balled it’s look-alike product, and the Wintel PC maker said it would release a statement about its discussions with Apple and possible legal ramifications -- on Friday. Future Power is backed by Daewoo Telecom, the South Korean-based manufacturer that once sold the Leading Edge brand of PCs. The full story is online at www.zdnn.com. 6-26-99 If you have a Creative Labs TNT 2 Ultra graphics card, you may want to check out their new Win9x drivers for the card. Wintune 98 v1.0.39 is available. There are new 3dFx Voodoo Graphics Reference Drivers
(thanks 3D
Shack) as well as 3dfx Voodoo 2 Reference Drivers
This New
York Times article
talks about Microsoft's plans to include a blocker that will supposedly prevent
kids from playing games depending on their rating. I'll believe it when I see
it. I certainly don't think it's a good idea but if it keeps lawmakers from
mucking with our games I'd live with it. 6-25-99 This Next-Gen article reports that Quake 2 for Nintendo 64 will finally hit stores on June 28th for a suggested price of $59.95. The Hercules TNT/2/Ultra Drivers page has new drivers that were released yesterday. SystemLogic has posted a Counterstrike preview posted for this Half-Life mod that is in beta. 6-24-99 There are new Canopus Spectra 2500/3200 BIOSes available for download. Rage Tweak 1.0 is now available to tweak performance on your ATI Rage Pro or Rage 128 graphics cards. Creative has posted a new Unified Driver for their TNT and TNT2 cards that allow you to play glide only games. They also have a new TNT2 drivers for Windows 95/98. 6-23-99 ICQ 99a v2.22 is now available. Get it from your local Tucows mirror. Unreal Universe has posted a James Schmalz interview. It includes info on what will be included in the Unreal Tournament demo, reportedly getting released when UT goes gold. A new UK based site called Quake3Arena : The Depot has opened it's gates. It aims to provide Files, News, Links and info on all things Quake3. There's not much content there at the moment but it might be worth a look. Illustrated Q3 has posted a Q3Arena strategy guide on their site. Here's a pretty good description of it, taken from their press release: So you've read all the reviews, downloaded Q3Test, and
decided you want to be the next Thresh, only to find out that you're frag bait
to more experienced players. Well, fear not, there's always room for
improvement. With some practice and a good strategy, you should be able keep up
with the leaders. That's what this page is for. After much experience with
Quake, QW, and Q2, I've found that the key to winning doesn't always rely on
skill. Knowing what to do when you spawn, the proper routes to take, and when to
attack are more important. The Quake Map Hotel has posted a new version of their Quake Map Magazine. Quake3Source.com has posted a mini interview with id Software mapper, Paul Jaquays. They basically discuss how he arrived at id, and the work he's done on Q3Arena so far. 6-22-99 PlanetHalflife has posted a Half-Life Beginner's Guide. Riva Station has pics up and tells the differences between the TNT2 and
TNT2 Ultra graphics cards for those that are curious about it. Graeme Devine {zaphod@idsoftware.com} said: We had the Ion Storm guys over last week to play a little deathmatch, and
while I won’t say who won between Romero and Killcreek, I can tell you it
wasn’t the male of the species. But boy, can those Ion guys talk smack. The
reason we asked them over was to have them check in on the status of our
tournament map, which we hope to get out there soon with the next version of the
test (to give you all time to practice on it before QuakeCon, you are going to
QuakeCon right?). We’re also looking at a /lot/ of bug fixes, changes, and
tweaks so we’re gearing up for your feedback. I’ll let Chris Hecker speak
for glsetup, but we’re looking to get that updated and support for 3Dfx in
there. Soon can be defined as soon. And that’s probably not this week. Enchilada is now offering $399 computers, which come with free in-home installation and three years of free unlimited Internet access. Enchilada, an Internet/PC service provided by The Simple Solution LLC, offers a desktop computer that includes an AMD K6-2 350MHz processor with 3Dnow technology, 32MB of RAM, a 3.2GB hard drive, a 24X CD-ROM, a 56K modem, and stereo speakers. The PCs come loaded with Windows 98 and include a 30-day trial period, as well as a 1-year manufacturer's warranty. A 15-inch monitor can be purchased separately for $149. For customers who want more, a $999 Enchilada Grande package includes the 15-inch monitor, choice of a color printer or scanner, six assorted software programs, a 4-year on-site warranty, and an additional year of unlimited Internet access. Ordering information can be found at http://www.enchilada.com. 6-21-99 PhReAkEr here with news... GamePC is pairing two Intel Celeron 300MHz PPGA CPUs, overclocked to 450MHz, in systems tuned for high-speed gaming. Company officials say game developers will be releasing titles tuned for dual-CPU systems in the future, beginning with id Software. id's Quake 3: Arena will be the first computer game to specifically take advantage of a dual CPU configuration, GamePC officials said. Microsoft's Windows 2000 will also be able to handle multiple processors. With the impending release of these two applications, GamePC claims its dual-CPU systems will show anywhere from a 20 percent to 60 percent increase in performance over their single-CPU counterparts. GamePC is offering its dual Pentium III 450MHz system for less than $1475. Customers interested in more information about these and other products can visit GamePC's web site at http://www.gamepc.com. 6-20-99 PhReAkEr here with news... Creative Labs has posted a new Mini GL Driver for 3D Blaster Banshee and Voodoo2 cards. Next Gen has posted screenshots and a link to the 11MB trailer for Quake 2 for the Nintendo 64. On a related note, KB Toys has dropped prices on Nintendo 64s and Playstations to $99! GL Hexen version 0.8 is available. It now has working animated textures, earthquakes and some more bugfixes. FiringSquad has posted a Build Your Own Computer Guide to help you do the respectable thing and build your own computer from parts....or upgrade it if you wish. Kingpin has gone gold (to manufacturing). Here is the info from Drew Markham of Xatrix: Kingpin is finished and off to manufacturing! You should see it in stores
by the end of the month. I'd like to personally thank the entire team for
pulling off the incredible feat of getting this title completed in just over 13
months. I think that you'll find a lot of attention to detail has gone into the
single player game; we listened closely to the comments regarding the demo and
have managed to implement quite a few of the features that people really wanted
to see. The multi-player aspects of Kingpin weren't overlooked either; we worked
hard on getting a well-balanced feel in straight death-match. Also, "Bag
Man" has turned out to be much cooler than we ever imagined. We've been
playing it quite a bit and its very addictive. Thanks again to everyone for you patience in waiting for Kingpin. We were
(and still are) very passionate about this title. Enjoy! Drew Markham Voodoo Extreme has posted a John
Carmack mini-interview. 6-19-99 PhReAkEr here with news... Q3Center has posted a Quake 3 Strategy Guide Quake3Nation has opened their own Quake 3 messageboards in case you're looking for an alternative to what is already available. Ars Technica has published a new article entitled "Clocking and hacking the BX chipset: SoftFSB and Hirobo's Turbo.PLL". The article explores how the BX chipset generates clock signals for the various components in a system. It also looks at a couple of interesting hacks that allow some serious overclocking action. It should be a good read for the curious novice and the hardened tech freak alike. Check it out at ArsTechnica 6-18-99 I noticed on Stroud's that GetRight 4.0 Beta 1 is now available for download. Some new features in this handy file retrieving util include a web and ftp browser, daily downloads, customizable toolbars, multiple phone numbers, a speed limiter, and many more options. BX Boards has posted a review of the AOpen AX6BC Pro motherboard. It looks to be a very good board for overclocking. 6-17-99 Got a note from sCary that he's got the FileShack up: Riva Station has some information on presumably cheaper, TNT2 Model 64 that uses a 64-bit memory path instead of 128-bit. 6-16-99 Herndon, Va., June 16, 1999 -- Digital Video Express, LP announced today that it will cease marketing of the Divx home video system and discontinue operations, but existing, registered customers will be able to view discs during a two-year phase-out period. Netscape version 4.61 has been released. If you're a Netscape kinda guy/girl then grab it here. Creative Labs has http://www.soundblaster.com/graphics/voodoo2/gldriver.htmlreleased new beta drivers for the 3D Blaster Banshee and the 3D Blaster Voodoo2, with support for greater than 256x256 texture sizes (by breaking textures up into smaller textures). Entech has released a new version of Powerstrip for overclockin video cards. Click here. 3dfx announced that it has filed suit against Creative Labs in the Federal Court for the Northern District of California. The suit asserts claims for copyright infringement and breach of contract. 3dfx claims that Creative breached a licensing agreement and infringed 3dfx copyrights by incorporating 3dfx Glide source code into the recently released Unified drivers, which allow owners to play GLide based games on a Creative's TNT and TNT2. The license agreement prohibits the use and modification of any 3dfx source code to operate with non-3dfx acceleration technology. 3dfx also asserted a claim against Creative Technology for unpaid amounts owed for 3dfx products. Microsoft has posted a piece on DirectX 7.0 6-15-99 Creative has just released new unified drivers that allow you to play GLide based games on a TNT/TNT2. There is a short GA Source Creative Labs Q&A about the 3Dfx lawsuit. Q3Center has posted a Quake 3 Strategy Guide for those that are tired of hearing that squishy gib sound from their bodies exploding all the time. 6-14-99 Toshiba America’s Tecra 8000 mobile PC series has stepped up to the 400MHz
mobile Pentium II, bringing its total variety of configurations to 12,600
possible options -- the most available in one platform, according to the
company. In addition to Intel's fastest mobile processor, Tecra models
incorporate the industry's largest 10GB and 14.1GB hard drives. The systems also
feature 14.1-inch TFT displays, up to 128MB of SDRAM, a 24X CD-ROM drive, and a
V.90/K56flex modem. Street prices will range from $3,099 to $4,399. Webdog version 1.08 is available to assist in watching your favorite sites for updates. 6-13-99 Quantum Corp. is introducing a new addition to its Fireball hard drive line: The Fireball Plus KX drive holds 6.8GB per 3.5-inch disk. Spinning at 7200 RPM, it is Quantum's second model to use giant magnetoresistive (GMR) heads to achieve higher areal density. The Fireball Plus KX has an average seek time of 8.5ms and comes in capacities of 6.8GB, 10.2GB, 13.6GB, 20.5GB, and 27.3GB. It uses the Ultra ATA/66 interface and incorporates Quantum's Shock Protection System and Data Protection System, as well as 224-bit on-the-fly double-burst error correction. The new drive is currently shipping for OEM qualifications, but it will be in volume production by the end of June. The estimated price for the 27.3GB drive is $399. 6-12-99 AMD has released initial details about the K7 chip that is set to launch later this month. Not surprisingly, tests conducted at the chip maker show the new K7 processor outperforms its equivalent Intel counterpart. Both a 550MHz and 600MHz K7 processor were compared against a 550MHz Pentium III Xeon processor. All the processors had 512KB of L2 cache and were optimized for their respective instruction sets (i.e., the Intel SSE or AMD 3Dnow! technology). The Xeon L2 cache ran at full processor frequency, while the K7 L2 cache ran at half the processor frequency. The 550MHz and 600MHz K7 chips performed 5 and 15 percent faster than the Xeon, respectively, using the SPECint benchmark, and 35 and 40 percent faster on the SPECfp benchmark, and at least 40 percent faster on the 3DWinBench benchmark. In the latter case, the Xeon was substituted with a 550 MHz Pentium III processor. An AMD official also announced that the 3Dnow! instruction set has been enhanced by 19 new SIMD instructions and five new DSP extensions. Initially, the K7 will be supported only through AMD chipsets. Five motherboard vendors, including Asus, FIC, and Biostar, will be manufacturing products for the K7. 6-11-99 Actiontec Electronics Inc. has announced a 56K PCI controller-based fax/modem that can run on DOS, Windows, UNIX, OS/2, and Linux. The modem can also accomodate both single and multi-processor computers. Because the modem incorporates an on-board controller, the physical modem operation is independent of the host CPU. No processor cycles are spent for communication control, and the modem operation is independent of the choice of the operating system. 6-10-99 Combining the reproductive capabilities of the Melissa worm with the destructive force of the Chernobyl virus, a noxious piece of code called Worm.ExploreZip is on the loose. The Explore virus proliferates over e-mail based on MAPI (Messaging Application Programming Interface), such as Microsoft's Exchange. Masquerading as a benign zipped file attachment sent by a friend – the virus autoreplies to recent messages received by the victim – when the attachment is opened, mayhem ensues. The worm searches drives C: through Z: of a computer and selects a series of files to destroy based on file extensions (including .h, .c, .cpp, .asm, .doc, .xls, .ppt), wiping out data. Thousands of desktops have been hit in the United States, Germany and France, according to virus-fighters Network Associates. Corporate sites from Microsoft and General Electric, to market analysts Forester Reasearch and even Symantec -- a leading antivirus software provider -– were forced to temporarily shut down their mail servers Thursday to combat the virus. The Expolre virus is believed to have started in Israel. Complete details of how to identify and get rid of the virus are posted at http://www.zdnn.com. 6-9-99 Microsoft has shipped its Windows 98 Second Edition, a modest upgrade that incorporates bug fixes and several minor updates. Existing users of Windows 98 can upgrade for $19.95 though most of the significant new features already are available free on the Internet. The product does offer some features not available elsewhere. Internet connection sharing, for instance, allows two or more computers to simultaneously use a single Internet connection. The latest upgrade may appeal primarily to consumers who want to avoid the hassle of downloading the many separate bug fixes and drivers, as well as the new Internet Explorer version 5.0 web browser. 6-8-99 There are new Riva TNT/2 1.88 AGP Win9x Drivers available that fix a bug in the first 1.88 release. Riva3D has information on how to properly install them by deleting registry entries and a few other steps. Also, it appears you still need to turn on 16-bit multitexturing in OpenGL. X11 Spy version .1 has been
released. This program for Linux fixes sorting servers by ping and allows you to
see who is on the server before joining. 6-7-99 Oh boy, Id Software has forced the major websites to delete the user-made maps from their websites! Why? Here is a letter from Todd Hollenshead to one of the website maintainers! I always thought Id Software is happy about the whole situation with thousands of user making mods and maps...but this? Website maintainer: Recently Id Software, Inc. ("Id Software")
has learned that you are in possession of a copy of QUAKE III: ARENA software
alpha (the "Alpha"), or certain content removed from the Alpha, which
is the trade secret and copyrighted property of Id Software. The release of the
Alpha was not approved by Id Software and Id Software reserves all rights with
respect thereto. Your possession of and your distribution of the Alpha or any
property contained within the Alpha is not authorized and any such conduct is an
infringement against Id Software's rights. Demand is hereby made that you
immediately remove the Alpha or it's contents from your web site at http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/Neophyte98/q3arena.htm
and destroy all copies of the Alpha or its contents in your possession or
control. Id Software has also become aware that you are distributing maps and
other add-ons in violation of the End User License Agreement for the Q3test. The
creation and/or distribution of material apart from the content released by id
Software for the test is prohibited. Demand is hereby made that you immediately
remove such content from your web site at http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/Neophyte98/q3arena.htm
and destroy all copies of such content in your possession or control. Id
Software reserves all rights and remedies in regard to this matter and nothing
herein shall be construed as a waiver by Id Software of any right or remedy. Id
Software will vigorously protect its rights. Please promptly confirm your intent
to comply with these demands. Todd Hollenshead CEO id Software, Inc. 6-6-99 Graeme Devine
updated his .plan : Mailbombs suck. They can cause delays and make it hard to find the
meaningful emails from the noise. Please stop. I can't even read the language
the email is in to know what it says! Okay. A series of misunderstandings between id and Tom's Hardware has led
to a "vs." benchmark war. We're cool with Tom, and he's cool with us.
We're both going to move on and start over afresh. I just don't understand why my Riva 128 isn't more popular... 6-5-99 PhReAkEr here with news... Voodoo
Extreme has an interview
with Brian Hook, who
recently left id Software to go to Verant. Riva3D sends
word that they have tested the new 2.25 patch as a client and not only does it
have new D3D rendering options but they saw a 20% improvement in D3D framerate. 6-4-97 PhReAkEr here with news... There are v1.88 reference drivers from nVidia for the Riva TNT and TNT2 available. John Carmack updated his .plan
with word that he will no longer be doing worklog update or reading email since
he has been mail bombed. 6-3-99 Hello I am back and yes all went as well as expected, except that my video camera and other cameras and lots of accessories were stolen from my car outside of the church just b4 the ceremony. The rumor mill proved to be right on this one. Brian Hook has just announced that he is leaving id Software for another currently unannounced company. Here are the details: Egads, how rumors fly so quickly and brazenly. And how scary that they are
often so close to the truth and yet so far. :-) To make a long story short, I'm leaving id. My work at id has been a pivotal and important part of my life. I've
learned a lot about programming, team work, and dealing with being in a position
of high visibility. Even better, I've made some really good friends. The owners
here have given me a great opportunity to advance myself both professionally and
personally and they've rewarded me far better than expected in the process. This
is a once in a lifetime gig, and will mark one of the most significant periods
in my life. For all these things and more I am hugely appreciative to Kevin, John, and
Adrian. I cannot emphasize enough what kind of a privilege and learning
experience it has been working here and, specifically, working with John. The
type of talent, genius, and hard work he has demonstrated is the kind of thing
you see once in a generation, and I feel privileged to have been able to work
with someone of his caliber. The team here consists of some of the most talented people I have ever
worked with, and it was one hell of a ride working with so many people that
simply will not accept anything but the best from you or them. These guys have
done a stellar job with Quake2 and Quake3 -- which will OWN the first person
deathmatch market -- and going forward, I expect even bigger and better things
from this crew. And of course -- the fans. You guys and gals rock. I may have had my
disagreements with some of you in the past, but most of all, if you're flaming
at me, it's because you care, and I'd much rather have you folks argue with me
than not give a damn. Crap, I'm getting all teary eyed and shit, so instead of turning this into
some James Cameron acceptance speech, let me wrap up. I will probably remain here another week or two cleaning up loose odds and
ends, getting things transfered over cleanly, and saying my goodbyes. For
business stuff, if you are an IHV your interim point of contact will be Graeme (zaphod@idsoftware.com).
I expect that I will continue to receive e-mail here for a bit, so I will start
forwarding relevant e-mails to the appropriate parties. There is no sinister reason for my departure, it's actually an age old
story: I got an offer from another company that, quite simply, I could not
refuse. Later this week a press release will be issued announcing my new
position, and I'm sure some of you will not be surprised when you see where I've
ended up. :-) Signing off, Brian Hook 6-2-99 PhReAkEr here with news... BostonChick.com has posted Goliath's E3 Q3A Impressions. Pels Interactive has posted an interview with Graeme Devine. WickedPC has cooked up a Hard Drive Tweak Guide to help you get the most performance out of your Ultra ATA 33/66 hard disk through your BIOS and Windows 95-98. According to this press release, AOL has purchased Nullsoft, makers of Winamp, for $400 million in stock. First ICQ, now this...What is next? 6-1-99 PhReAkEr here with news... QUAKELORD is back and will resume updating on the third of the month. :-) In a move sure to stir up a lot more controversy, Tom of Tom's Hardware has used a new version of the Quake 3 IHV 1.00 with working timedemo to run benchmarks on a variety of video cards. I fully believe the conspiracy theory about this one. Check out his Quake 3 PIII-550 Benchmarks for a laugh. The TNT2 came out on top (as if that is a surprise to anybody). He should have his Celeron benchmarks up later today. Brian Hook updated his .plan with some comments on Tom's Hardware benchmarks: "Ahhhh, a new month, a new beginning.
It looks more and more that Tom's Hardware benchmarks.html was Bogus since they are not even close to being realistic. Brian Hook says: Here's the deal on benchmarking. If a test is not reproducible on anyone's
system (because, for example, the test itself is secret); or if the test cannot
be validated through an independent or authoritative source on the matter,
especially if the validity of the test is in question; or if a testing
methodology is not published for peer review and public scrutiny, then it is
invalid. PhReAkEr here with news... Diamond Multimedia Systems has thrown its support behind Epigram Inc.'s 10Mbps technology for phoneline-based home networking products. Epigram has submitted its InsideLine technology to the Home Phoneline Networking Alliance (HomePNA) for consideration as the group’s 10Mbps specification. John Carmack said: For the past couple of weeks, I have been spending some development time on linux, and for the first time on a non-NEXTSTEP unix platform, I have actually been enjoying it. While Id has been supporting linux since the Doom days, I have not personally been much of a linux user -- it was always ddt or zoid doing the actual coding and testing. Every year or so I would install a linux distribution and play around with it for a few days, but I would always leave feeling that it was still pretty crude (UI wise) compared to the NEXTSTEP UI I was used to, or even what I had used on other commercial unix workstations and windows. There have always been a ton of reasons to like linux, but the user interface was enough of an issue that I couldn't buy into it completely. The gnome user environment in Red Hat 6.0 is finally at a level that I consider it a valid alternative to commercial desktop environments. Overall, its still not as smooth, consistant, or complete as windows or the mac, but is does have its strong points, and things seem to be progressing quite rapidly. Its still not something you would give to a purely casual computer user, but I won't be surprised if even that changes in a couple years. 5-30-99 PhReAkEr here with news... Creative has released new drivers for their Savage 4 3D Blaster. Head over to their download page. Cumetrix Data Systems Corp. has introduced a $299 personal computer through
its e-commerce site, http://www.suredeals.com.
Built around a 350MHz AMD K6-2 processor with no monitor or operating system.
The PC also includes 32MB of SDRAM, a 1.44MB floppy drive, a 36X CD-ROM drive, a
4.3GB hard drive, V.90 56K Modem, 4MB of AGP graphics, a 16-bit ISA Sound Card,
15W speakers and a 108-key keyboard. 5-29-99 PhReAkEr here with news... Tim Sweeney has made an update to the Unreal Tech page with details on the Unreal 225 patch. 3dfx has approved beta Voodoo 3 and Banshee drivers for Linux. 5-28-99 PhReAkEr here with news... Mark 'QUAKELORD' Pasko's honeymoon is still going on and on and on... There is a new Winamp v2.22 available. Have you been wondering what
buying a TNT 2 will get you? Riva
Station has posted
an article showing you what features you get in the TNT2 as well as
performance figures. Brian Hook updated again with further comments on the Creative
MiniGL drivers. It is rather lengthy. Here is the first portion: Some people misinterpreted our stance on the Creative minidrivers as being a Bad Thing, the general reasoning be "Hey, whatever works is what we should use, and screw you if it doesn't match your idea of what's right or wrong". A legitimate attitude, to be sure, however there is the issue of what is best for _gamers_ in the long run, not just the "OMG I gotta run Q3TEST NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW!" timeframe. The existence of minidrivers has been a greater cause of grief than any other single support issue related to graphics that I can fathom. Users blindly copy their old minidrivers around EXPECTING them to work, then blame us if it doesn't, and expect personal replies to every plea to help. This is somewhat of a tech support burden (as you would expect) that we would like to minimize, since it allows us to spend more time on features and dealing with real bugs. I'm not saying that users aren't deriving some benefit immediately from using the Creative minidriver, since some of you are. But like eating tasty food, the short term benefits may have a negative implication for your health down the line. 5-27-99 PhReAkEr here with news... Brian Hook says: Someone mentioned that my Celeron 400 Rage128 numbers weren't in order, and they were right. Thanks for the heads up. The Rage128 numbers have been moved up into their proper slots. Sorry for any confusion. On to graver matters. We will not be supporting any form of OpenGL minidriver for Quake3. As a matter of fact, we will actively be attempting to DENY support for minidrivers. Minidrivers have proven to be nothing but a support headache for us and a constant barrier to improving technology and giving user's sane maintenance updates. We are philosophically opposed to the idea of an OpenGL minidriver in this day and age because every important IHV has a solid, working _full_ OpenGL driver. Creative's minidriver is being developed against our desire, and we do not intend on supporting it in any fashion. I would also like to clarify that 3Dfx is not involved with the minidriver situation at all, this is something that Creative Labs has undertaken unilaterally without the assistance of 3Dfx. We are trying to work with Creative to come up with a better solution to whatever problems they may feel exist with 3Dfx's existing implementations. 5-26-99 PhReAkEr here with news... Mark 'QUAKELORD' Pasko's honeymoon is still going on. Don't you wish we had a live video feed from his honeymoon sweet? Jason "Loonyboi"
Bergman takes a look at Q3A,
TF2, and Unreal Tournament
from what he saw at E3 and gives his opinion as to which will end up on top. 5-25-99 PhReAkEr here with news... There is a new Creative
Labs Voodoo2 and Banshee MiniGL Driver
available. This was designed to work specifically with GL Quake, Quake II, Hexen
II, AND add support for Quake 3 Test 1.05. 5-24-99 PhReAkEr here with news... "A new type of memory cell developed by a team of Hitachi and Cambridge University researchers could potentially replace both DRAM and flash. The device, called a Phase-state Low Electron(hole)-number Drive Memory, or PLEDM, offers an ideal combination: lower power and faster read and write cycle times than DRAM. PLEDM is also more scalable to well beyond the levels where DRAM cells become problematic. Hitachi says the cell will be ready for production by the memory generation just beyond the 1-Gbit DRAM." The full story appears at EE Times’ web site, http://www.eet.com. Extreme's Intel Pentium III Overclocking Guide offers a guide on how to overclock the P out of your PIII. Computer Games Online previews Kingpin looking ahead at Xatrix's upcoming game where you strive to succeed at your life of crime. Xatrix is the company that also made one of the QUAKE 2 missionpacks. 5-23-99 PhReAkEr here with news... Tim Sweeney updated the Unreal Technology page with word on his latest programming efforts on the upcoming 225 patch, which he says will run twice as fast as previous iterations of the server, which should allow server operators to run twice as many games per server. Thanks Unreal Universe. Soyo today announced that its 100MHZ Slot 1 based Intel BX chipset motherboard will have a new addition. The SY-6BA+3 motherboard will feature new components and software-driven features designed to maximize the performance of Intel's new Pentium III CPU as well as the management of systems built with the SOYO motherboard. The ATX footprint motherboard will also be bundled with Symantec's Norton AntiVirus to protect board components and software from virus attacks, as well as Symantec's Norton Ghost disk cloning software, and Virtual Drive CD-ROM emulation application. SOYO's SY-6BA+3 motherboard has been reengineered with a new clock generator that allows the CPU Frontside System Bus (FSB) and PCI bus clock to be configured 29 different ways -- from 66MHz-155MHz -- in order to fine-tune the system bus speed for performance-oriented applications such as 3D modeling, animation or gaming. The new design also protects overclocked systems from crashes, particularly when using PCI bus add-in cards, because the redesigned SY-6BA+3 automatically sets the PCI bus clock to a safe level when the CPU FSB is set. When users overclock the CPU FSB, the PCI bus clock will be automatically clocked to a safe level. Other enhancements geared to overclocking include adjustable CPU Core voltage. Users can set CPU Core voltage directly through the BIOS directly without jumpers. 5-22-99 PhReAkEr here with news... Mark 'QUAKELORD' Pasko's wedding is 5-22-99 3:00 CST at St. Helen Church 2315 W. Augusta in Chicago, I hope you don't crash the wedding... S3 has released new BETA drivers for Savage 4 based cards that are Quake 3 Arena compliant. Voodoo Extreme is reporting that that version 1.02 of the Requiem: Avenging Angel patch is in quality assurance testing. It is due for release anytime between Friday and Monday. Ritual has released a new patch version 1.05 for Sin, their 3D first person shooter. Thanks Blue's News. 5-21-99 I am so busy with last minute wedding plans but never fear you will still get a plethora of updates from a friend of mine PhReAkEr (wedding is 5-22-99 3:00 CST). PhReAkEr here with news... Microsoft Security Bulletin MS99-013. The purpose of the update is to advise customers of the availability of patches that eliminate a vulnerability that occurs in some file viewers included in Microsoft Internet Information Server and Site Server. The vulnerability could allow a web site visitor to view, but not to change, files on the server, provided that they knew or guessed the name of each file and had access rights to it based on Windows NT ACLs. Microsoft highly recommends that customers evaluate the degree of risk that this vulnerability poses to their systems and determine whether to download and install the patch. The patch can be found at: - Internet Information Server: ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/bussys/iis/iis-public/fixes/usa/Viewcode-fix/ - Site Server: EIDOS has released a new Warzone 2100 (a 3D real-time strategy game) demo. 5-20-99 The marketing research firm Stanford Resources yesterday confirmed that product shortages in the liquid crystal display industry would prompt price increases. JTR has made available several replacements for the HUD in Q3A TEST. Majic has a tweak for Q3A TEST
to get the maximum framerate possible. John Carmack said: Now that all the E3 stuff is done with, I can get back to work... This update is relevant only for all magazines, CD bundlers, coverdisk
makers, and shareware bundlers.
Netscape Communicator 4.6 has been released. Qtracker has released the beta 6 build 2.3 and you can check it out here. 5-18-99 Intel’s 550MHz Pentium III processor is available now in volume, both in
systems from major PC manufacturers, and in a boxed format from Intel product
dealers and resellers. The 550MHz Pentium III uses the Intel 440BX AGP set. With
512KB of L2 cache and in SECC2 package, the chip costs $744 per unit in 1,000
unit quantities. 5-17-99 My site was one of the few QUAKE sites updated daily since everyone appeared to be at E3. Just because I was not there does not mean you will not know what went on. E3 coverage: Gamecenter E3 John Carmack Interview 5-16-99 My site will be one of the few QUAKE sites updated in the next few days since everyone appears to be at E3. It looks more and more that Tom's Hardware benchmarks.html was Bogus since they are not even close to being realistic. Brian Hook says: Here's the deal on benchmarking. If a test is not reproducible on anyone's
system (because, for example, the test itself is secret); or if the test cannot
be validated through an independent or authoritative source on the matter,
especially if the validity of the test is in question; or if a testing
methodology is not published for peer review and public scrutiny, then it is
invalid. My site will be one of the few QUAKE sites updated in the next few days since everyone appears to be at E3. Brian Hook says: GENERAL COMMENTS: 5-14-99 Check out this unofficial add-on pack and it's site. (3.9 meg) Do not forget that my site will be one of the few QUAKE sites updated in the next few days since everyone appears to be at E3. Intel is reportedly preparing to slash prices of its P-III and P-II this weekend. The 500MHz Pentium III will drop from $637 to $483, according to news reports. The slowest Pentium III clocking in at 450MHz will drop from $411 to $273 in volume. The 450MHz Pentium II will go from $396 to $273 and the 400MHz P-II will bottom out at $181 from $234. All prices are for CPUs purchased in volume. Intel officials said they could not comment on the reports. IBM's storage division said it is preparing to ship a 36GB hard drive and has broken a world record for storage. ,IBM's Ultrastar 36ZX spins its glass disk platters at 10,000 RPM and uses "load/unload" technology for higher reliability and performance. Essentially parking the heads off the disk when not in use, the 36ZX cuts down on power consumption when in sleep mode and reduces wear on the drive. You can have this Big Daddy for only $1,950 per drive 5-13-99 Do not forget that my site will be one of the few QUAKE sites updated in the next few days since everyone appears to be going to E3. ChemicalX has put out some new crosshairs for q3test Timedemo and Timerefresh are broken in the latest Q3Atest. Of course, if you
want to see current framerates you can use the command cg_drawFPS 1 5-12-99 Brian Hook gives good words of advice in his latest rant... here's a portion : When you install a set of drivers, just run the
installer, and do NOT move things around. You're not going to get any benefit by
copying 3DFXVGL into your Quake3 directory. What you WILL get is complete hell
when newer drivers come out and Q3TEST is still looking at the old one in the
local directory. We do NOT load 3DFXOGL directly, we load 3DFXVGL. If we are
loading 3DFXOGL, then you are either screwing with something you shouldn't be,
or Q3TEST is doing something very wrong. Install the drivers, then leave them
alone.
If you do not use GameSpy, try the id servers page to locate a q3 test server. 5-11-99 Q3Test is better than expected. It will work well on most hardware accelerated computers but do not try it on anything lower than a P166 w/VOODOO 1. To get it to run smoothly on a slow system, turn off lightmaps and use lowest quality textures and low quality sound. A comparison is: low quality textures and, high quality textures. More screenshots It is now 12:03 and here is the Wintel version you have been waiting for: 22,743,709 bytes
It is now midnight here in Chicago and we are only minutes away from the release. Are you excited yet? 5-10-99 As of 11:00 PM CST, still no Q3Test yet BUT it is due to be released at or around midnight CST.!!! And don't forget where you got the latest and greatest inf. first! (See 3-30-99 update) As of 8:00 PM CST, still no Q3Test yet... As of 5:00 PM CST, still no Q3Test yet. Graeme Devine of id said today. Q3Test 1.05 is DONE! As of 1:00 PM CST, still no Q3Test yet... John Carmack said today: A good day of work. I just finished a long test
game with all three As of 9:45 AM CST, still no Q3Test. As of 6:15 AM CST, still no Q3Test. As of 3:00 AM CST, still no Q3Test. 5-9-99 As of 11:49 PM CST, still no Q3Test. GameSpy 3D 2.1 shareware was released today. This version supports Quake III Arena Test. Registered and non-registered users alike may download it. As of 6:44 PM CST, still no Q3Test. John Carmack says: We would up making tweaks to both maps today, so the data didn't reach final form until a few hours ago. I just finished making release candidates for all three architectures, but I already found a couple problems that need to be fixed. If everything goes perfectly (ha), and I nail these problems immediately when I wake up, then we might make it out tonight, but it is looking a bit doubtful. There are a few known issues that I decided NOT to hold the test up for: The gauntlet is functioning correctly, but the visuals are wrong. The designed behavior is that when you hold down attack it will scan for a target and only punch forward when it hits. The visuals currently show it punching constantly. Dynamic lighting is currently taking a really excessive amount of cpu time. If you are having performance problems in firefights, you may want to turn it off. The option is in the preferences, or you can just issue "r_dynamicLighting 0" at the console. The powerup item sounds aren't global across the entire world since I went to the client side predicted items. There are some cases when a weapon that was picked up with a predicted item and immediately fired doesn't make a muzzle flash. As of 3:00 PM CST, still no Q3Test. As of 12:00 PM CST, still no Q3Test. 3dFX's web site has Quake III compatible drivers posted for the Voodoo3 Windows 9x Retail Drivers (AGP/PCI) , Voodoo2 Windows 9x , Voodoo Rush and Voodoo cards. 5-8-99 John Carmack says: There is one must-fix issue and a couple smaller issues remaining before the release candidate build, then we have to do a lot of testing on it. I made a lot of significant changes in the last week, and I'm sure there are some things we still need to sort out before we inflict it on the general public. We are aiming for sunday, but understand that that means sunday evening, not sunday morning. If saturday night / sunday morning testing on the release candidate turns up significant problems, we will put off the release until they are fixed. That could be later sunday night, or it might not make it until monday night. The previous release delays for win32 were issues out of our control, but this release rests squarely on me. The content and other issues are ready, but we still need to make sure all the new code is solid. 5-7-99 Graeme Devine and Brian Hook say that Q3test will be out Sunday or Monday. For my wedding tuxedo, I have decided to rent from Gingiss. 5-6-99 3dfx has just released the MiniGL v1.48 for the Voodoo 3 video cards. Xate's Q3 Page has a bunch of screenshots from the Linux Q3Test. The creator of bleem!, the PlayStation emulator software for PC, has successfully defeated a second attempt by Sony Computer Entertainment of America to block sales of the product. 5-5-99 PC Week Online reports that Intel planned to roll out this week the road map for its next-generation StrongARM processor, including high-end chips running at 600MHz and processors requiring as little as a half watt of power. 5-4-99 There is a new version of ICQ out, 99a version 2.20 Build 1800. You can get it from here: download.com. Windows NT 4 Service Pack 5 has also been released. 5-3-99 John Carmack has written a short technical paper on optimizing OpenGL drivers for Linux and Quake 3 Arena. Jedi Org has whipped up a strategy guide, broken down by mission. 5-2-99 The Unreal 224 patch is out now. I am finally back from Wisconsin. |
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