- MP3/CD Player (3:00 PM EST)
I was wondering when this would happan... Since you can literally fit hundreds of MP3s on one CD rom it males a hell of a lot of sense to make a MP3/CD player. MacPower Peripherals has just released  the MP3-ROM, a MP3/CD player that requires no PC.

This new product offers the convenience of playing MP3 CDs without needing an expensive computer or the ability to use one. Its user-friendly plug and play system means consumers can use this player right out of the box just by connecting speakers or headphones. Simply insert an MP3 CD and press Play. That's it; simple, fast and inexpensive. No keyboards or mice to mess with,
everything can operate through the handy remote control.

MP-ROM Features:
  * Plays up to 220 songs continuously
  * Memory storage of up to 63 songs
  * Random play, Repeat and 10 second scan modes
  * Comes with an IR remote control
  * Capable of audio output either through earphones or speakers
  * Compatible with standard CD music format

This rocks, it's priced around $249.00 (US), which really isn't too bad for brand spanking new technology that can do what it does. Get more information on the MacPower site: http://www.macpower.com.tw/MP3/MP3.htm

- Compaq Shipping New PCs With Redhat 6.0
From the Press Release:

Compaq also announced the availability of additional Linux-ready platforms, certified under Red Hat Linux V6.0, on selected Compaq Deskpro EP, EN and EN SFF personal computers, and AP, SP, and XP Professional Workstation models. Additional plans include the availability of Red Hat Linux V6.0 pre-installed on Deskpro Series personal computers in the near future.

For the whole thing: http://www.redhat.com/corp/press_compaq.html
Another article: http://www.ecommercetimes.com/news/articles/990610-2.shtml

- CuteFTP 3.0
The official 3.0 release is due out Monday of CuteFTP 3.0. For a list of features as well as downloads (when released) hit the CuteFTP site: http://www.cuteftp.com/Html/beta.htm

- Sony Make-Your-Own-CD Kiosks (8:15 AM EST)
Digital On-Demand, makers of retail kiosks that allow consumers to create their own CDs, announced today that Sony Music Entertainment will begin making part of its catalog available through the system.

Read more: http://www.mp3.com/news/268.html

-Windows 98 Second Edition (8:00 AM EST)
Uncle Bill has finally released his bugfix for his inferior OS Winblows 98, and of course he wants money for it. Here's some information (From Betanews):

Windows 98 Second Edition is available in a retail box as well as preinstalled on personal computers. Estimated retail pricing for Windows 98 Second Edition for Windows 95 and Windows 3.1 users is $109 (US), the current estimated retail price of Windows 98. Current users of the Windows 98 operating system can receive the updated functionality by ordering Windows 98 Second Edition Updates on CD-ROM for $19.95 US ($34.95 CDN), plus shipping and handling.

To order it: https://order4.microsoft.upgrade.com/scripts/startwin98se.asp
For information about it: http://www.microsoft.com/windows98/guide/Win98/PurchasingInfo/default.asp
The factsheet: http://www.microsoft.com/windows98/guide/Win98/MoreInfo/FactSheet.asp

- New 'Ass Kicking' Movie?
Cliff Bleszinski (Epic MegaGames) posted this in his recent .plan file:

Heads up, everyone, looks like a truly ass kicking movie is on its way to theaters:

http://www.blairwitch.com
http://www.artisanent.com/blairwitch/trailer2.mov
http://www.blairwitch.com/aicn.mov

Some are calling "The Blair Witch Project" the scariest movie since "The Exorcist." I know I'll be first in line to see it.

The last time I was this stoked about a movie it was The Matrix. :)

- K7 Information
This site has loads of K7 information and links to feed your appetite for the upcoming CPU God. A brief description:

..a compilation on tech facts, marketing/support info, and general links relating to the K7.

http://www.jc-news.com/pc/article.cgi?AMD/Curtain_Call_K7

- Hacking Article
Most hacking articles are written by morons who think hacking is summed up in Wargames (the movie), but this one is different, it's intelligent and well written. http://www.usnews.com/usnews/issue/990614/14hack.htm

- Gnome Guru Defends Redhat
Miguel de Icaza, a Gnome guru defends Redhat in response to the Linux militants bashing of this popular distribution. Read the goods: http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=99/06/09/180239&mode=thread

- Real Darn Cheap SDRAM
$46 for 64 MB, $91 for 128 MB. Hot damn. http://www.wvccsi.com

- #104 SLEEP IS OVERRATED
Tis true, I'm proving it right now..

- RINE'S LINK OF THE DAY
D-TOP DESKTOP WALLPAPERS. This guy has some killer stuff to make your desk more interesting. A couple example wallpapers are Q3A, Half-Life and Kingpin.
 
 

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 1999

- BWAHAHAHAHA (1:35 PM EST)
Fadz sent me this link to his very first webpage that Creep dug up. I'm not sure if he wants me posting this, but... ;) http://www.nofadz.com/khan

- A Joke (12:45 PM EST)
Jake Simpson (Programmer, Heretic II ) updated his .plan with this:

Joke of the day :-
Q: What do you get if you cross a nun with a computer?
A: A system that won't go down.

- Empeg Shipping (12:05 PM EST)
Empeg, the car MP3 player is now shipping, and by the logo on their front page, I'd say they prefer Linux too... ;)

The empeg-car is an in-car digital music player, allowing you to have up to 7,000 singles (or over 500 albums) instantly accessible in CD-quality, in your dashboard. No boxes in the boot. You can categorise tunes with the supplied PC-link software, and play the music that you like, whenever you want it.

Thinking my pal Fraggy will be a few hundred dollars poorer soon... :P Read more about it on the Empeg page: http://www.empeg.com

- Ubermachine Updated
Ubermachine, a site I'll begin to refer to as a 'partner site' (since I'll be referring to it so often) has been updated with a whole slew of new technoific MP3's for you downloading pleasure. To give you an idea of what Ubermachine is....

*Tuesday afternoons the new listings and mp3's will be posted.
*Wednesday mornings, all will be available for download
*Requests should be made before Sunday evening to make it into the next upload
*let me know if you have any comments, suggestions, or complaints, and definately let me know if any links are busticated!
*Also, a word of advice.... Please Please take my genre classifications with a HUGE grain of salt. I really have no clue!

Get some Ubertunes here: http://www.ubermachine.com/

- IBM Backing Linux To Topple Micro$oft
This is a snippet from a great article on OSOpinion about how IBM is making a full frontal assault on Micr$oft by backing the DOJ and supporting the open source movement and Linux. I'm getting all teary eyed.

IBM is cooperating with the DOJ in its case against Microsoft. In the mean time, IBM is trying to change the rules on Microsoft. You can see this in IBM's support of the Open Source movement. This is even hinted at in IBM's annual report, where IBM states that technology is no longer the source of competitive advantage. Interesting....

BM then goes on to support Linux and make alliances with the major Linux players. As if that's not enough, IBM goes a few steps further, trying to pull the rug out from under Microsoft by making different kinds of software free and open sourced. This includes the GPL of its ServeRAID device driver, open sourcing the IBM Visualization Data Explorer, as well as the Jikes Java compiler.

Read the whole thing here: http://www.osOpinion.com/Opinions/MarkRadulovich/MarkRadulovich1.html

- RealPlayer G2 Update 2
Newer version of the popular streaming video master. Description:

With RealPlayer Plus G2 Update 2 you get smoother video plus the ability to play MP3 music (including HTTP-streamed MP3). If you use Windows, you'll also experience improved performance in full-screen mode and have the option to get AOL Instant Messenger and RealJukebox, the ultimate product for music lovers.

Read more and download here: http://www.real.com/

- Raven Moving
Raven software is switching ISP's today, so don't be alarmed if pages aren't there....

- Degaussing
Slashdot has a Degaussing survey which tells what degaussing does (it is a good thing) for your monitor. You can read it here: http://slashdot.org/pollBooth.pl?qid=degauss&aid=3

- WinAMP 2.23
And yet another version of the bestest Winder$ MP3 player on the market, so go get it. Sad that AOL now owns it, I hope it stays free... What's new?

* Nitrane 1.60 MPEG audio decoder with MMX and 3DNow! acceleration
* MikMod module decoder plug-in version 1.3
* Self-destructing streaming dialog boxes
* Equalizer presets included
* Cosmetic fixes

Go snag a copy: http://www.winamp.com/index.phtml

- Quicktime 4.0 Final
Another top of the line utility for Winder$, Apple's Quicktime has reached version 4.0, which is said to be the final version.. To get a copy go here:http://www.apple.com/quicktime/

- New QERadiant Screenshot
For those of you level makers (me when I'm not lazy) their is a screenshot of the new QERadiant making a curved surface on QERadiant.com. Dammit, I barely remember all of BSP's hotkeys, now a new pain in the arse. Take a look: http://www.qeradiant.com/

- Q-Racing v1.03
Here's a neat mod, racing Micro Machines on real-world style maps made with the Quake II engine. This looks too fun to pass up, I used to love playing Quake Rally for Quake (even though I was playing alone). Go check this out and listen to some cool Knight Rider midi while you're reading... ;) http://www.telefragged.com/flitsoft/

- Kenn Hoekstra's Pop Adventure
Project Administrator, Soldier of Fortune Raven Software

Tuesday, June 8th, 1999 - Here's a nickel's worth of free advice for all of you car owners out there...  Don't leave cans of soda in your car in extreme heat!  *laughs* Yeah, I know what you're thinking.  You're saying to yourself, "That Kenn...what a  moron."  Well, it's true!  Apparently I am a moron...  Being from the arctic wasteland  that is Wisconsin, I'm well aware that you shouldn't leave soda or any carbonated beverage  in your car in the winter because you'll have one hell of a mess.  But here I am, driving  along in Raven's parking lot and I hear this tremendous explosion that sounds like a gun shot! I look around, thinking either someone is shooting at me, or I just blew a tire. Check my shorts!  After looking around a bit, I realized that the can of Diet Coke I had sitting in my back seat had just ruptured and made a nice mess in my car.   *sigh*  What next?  It was bad enough that my best friend vomited in my last car the night of his bachelor party a few years back, but a Diet Coke explosion?!?!?  WTF?!?!? It's about 90 degrees here today which is ungodly hot for Wisconsin, but I'll bet it was about 120 degrees inside my car.  Word to the wise...think before you drink!  Or you could end up one sorry dumbass like me.  Heh...  I wonder if I can sue Coca Cola for pain and suffering and emotional damage?  I don't see a "Hey dumbass, don't leave this can out in the sun" warning on the label.  Hmmm...  Time to call my lawyer!  =)

- Hehehehe
It seems I'm not the only victim of UPS.... Devon got screwed too... :)

I can't believe how ironic life is sometimes. I was just laughing my ass off the other day about the UPS guy "stiffing" you and here I am just one week later and the same thing happens to me! WTF?
Okay, so I order this great monitor from SONY. A 17" (16 vis) with a 1280x1024 @ 75Hz, and a 25mm DPI. I got it for $351. Check it here : buycomp .
Also, this place is giving away a $10 instate rebate for everything over $10. Go here for the coupon : buycomp gift certificate
Then, I wait all morning and the stupid UPS guy never comes. I check the tracking website, and this is what it says:
UPS  "NO ONE AVAILABLE TO SIGN - DELIVERY  ATTEMPT WILL BE  MADE THE NEXT  BUSINESS DAY"
You believe this sh*t?!!? I will take your advice and wait outside my place with a baseball bat (=
These people are soo lazy! I reported the dumbass though.

- Another Project
I'm making a new map, and this time I'll finish it ;) It's called 'The Black Cathedral' and it's going to be sweet. I got most of the ground floor, furniture etc done, next step it to add some real textures and such, then floor two... :)

 - # 103 TESTOSTERONE IS WORSE THAN HERION
Man, I'm so addicted, and when I see a particular woman I can't control myself... ;)

- RINE'S LINK OF THE DAY
After searching for a long while for some cgi stuff for the site I was steered here by Fraggy, this place can help you find everything. Now if only I could figure out how to use them.... CGI-RESOURCES.COM