Het lijkt erop dat de Phantom Flusher toch geen trojan is. Als dit verhaaltje op het AnandTech forum waar is, is een Nederlander verantwoordelijk voor de grote hoeveelheid blokjes die AnandTech recentelijk behaalt bij RC5. Ik ben hier niet echt blij mee, want aangezien het dus geen trojan is, kan AT doorgaan op deze manier. Zo zullen de DPC niet zo vaak meer op de eerste plaats komen:

For a while now I have been suspecting someone quite near to me of being The Phantom Flusher y'all are so worried about. If I'm right about him being our guy, there's no need to worry, because he's just being funny in his own weird perfectionist sysadmaniacal way and it's no trojan.

It started exactly 2 days (!) after me pointing him to all this RC5 stuff, me pointing him to THIS forum *and* asking him to check it out and join the Dutch Power Cows. In fact, I mailed him 2 URLs, that of dpc.tweakers.net and that of this here forum. He was not aware of dnet's existence until that day. So: A coincidence? I think not, especially since your calculations in the long thread about PhF are about right for the amount of power I know he can get his hands on. He replied very enthusiastically about both URLs, by the way.

I then asked him if he'd joined DPC, like I told him to, and he said:
"No I don't like that, I'm more of a loner so I decided to have some fun with them." I asked him what the hell he meant by that, and he just smiled to me and said: "If I told you, it would spoil all the fun." (all in dutch of course) and he refused to give me any more info.

Ever since I knew he's been flushing I had also been looking for his name at distributed.net, but it still isn't there! I think I know all online names he uses, so I asked myself where all those blocks would go.. See what I mean?

Join de DPC nu allemaal om toch weer boven AnandTech te komen! Zie deze pagina voor meer info.

Clinton heeft zijn handtekening (geschreven en elektronisch) gezet onder het wetsvoorstel waarmee de electronische handtekening net zo rechtsgeldig is geworden als de geschreven variant. Verwacht wordt dat dit een zeer belangrijke stap is in het volwassen laten worden van de e-commerce:

"There is no doubt that this law has a huge potential for big companies to sell big ticket items online. What's not clear yet are the safety concerns," said David Butler of the Consumers Union, which publishes Consumer Reports. "We would have liked to have seen more consumer protection in the law."

Instead of allowing secure cryptographic digital signatures, used by companies such as Verisign and PGP, the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act instead allows companies to count touch-tones or perhaps clicking on hyperlinks as legally binding contracts. Secure digital signatures automatically become invalid when a contract or document is altered.

The phrase "digital signature" never appears in the law. Electronic signature is vaguely defined as "an electronic sound, symbol, or process, attached to or logically associated with a contract."

"The process of clicking now generates a legal relationship with a vendor, and can bind the consumer for categories of records," said William Simpson, a cryptographer who is active inside the Internet Engineering Task Force. "This gives legal weight to website product disclaimers, poor privacy practices, or installer shrink-wrap conditions, simply by making them available."

Lees voor het hele verhaal hier verder bij Wired.

hjc schrijft dat GamePC een review heeft geschreven over de Cheetah X15 hardeschijf. Deze Ultra160 SCSI hardeschijf bezit 5 platters die elk 3.84 Gigabyte bevatten en 15.000 rondjes draaien per minuut. 15.000 rpm is natuurlijk niet niks, het zorgt voor een berg warmte en herrie maar ook voor een errug snelle hardeschijf :

As one of the most anticipated drives to enter the data storage market, Seagate's X15 is currently a one of a kind type of drive. Though based around Ultra160 technology, the X15 makes its final mark with its insanely fast fifteen thousand revolutions per minute spindle speed. To this day, Seagate is the only manufacturer with a fifteen thousand-RPM drive under its name. So technically speaking, the X15 is the fastest mass-manufactured drive in the world. Its not likely you will find this in your everyday ordinary computer however. Its spindle speed gives a little hint of that, but there is more to what the X15 has in store for us. Supporting 3.68 gigabytes of data on each of the five platters, the X15 allows for a total of 18.4 gigabytes of storage. This may not seem like a whole but you must take into fact that the X15's main purpose is for performance rather then large data storage. Now on paper, the Cheetah is stated as having a 3.9-millisecond average seek time making it the fastest drive we should be seeing by far. To further help in performance a four-megabyte cache buffer comes with the X15, but Seagate is also offering a sixteen-megabyte version of the X15. It just comes to show you that Seagate is making the X15 a very versatile drive.

[...] So to conclude, when speed is an issue, the X15 barely passes. Even though it is the fastest SCSI drive we have seen to date, the ATA RAID 0 looks very temping. Downsides of the X15 are that the cost per megabyte is extremely high, although its performance does make up for it. One thing is for certain however, being that the X15 is SCSI based the I/O and CPU utilization is definitely much better over ATA RAID 0. In terms of market demand, the X15 should easily satisfy it. It probably won't be a common thing to see X15's in consumer based computers so Seagate will need to make the X15 a bit more enticing to beat out their competitors. As the fastest Ultra160 drive in the world, we tip our hats to you Seagate.

YCode schrijft: "Op tweaktown hebben ze nu al een tweaking guide neergeplant. In een 3 pagina lang verhaal helpen ze de tweaker verder in het customizen van windows ME. Ze hebben helaas niet de final gebruikt voor de tweaks maar deze zullen vast ook werken op de final."

Haast alle tips zijn tweaks die ook al toepasbaar waren op Windows 9x. Dit is natuurlijk niet zo gek, aangezien WinME in veel opzichten lijkt op de vorige home-user versies van het OS. Toch zeker een pagina die de moeite waard is om door te lezen voor de iets minder gevorderde tweakers. De die-hard PC-freaks zullen de meeste tips al wel kennen:

Microsoft WindowsME (Millennium) is based on just about the exact same kernel as Microsoft Windows98. Although by just taking a short venture around WinME there are noticeable changes compared to Windows98, enough to warrant a dedicated WinME System Tweaking Guide here at TweakTown... Many of the options we are about to recommend in this guide will be similar to the options recommended in our Windows9x System Tweaking Guide because many of the options in Win9x apply to WinME, without further ado... Let's begin!

Lees het artikel hier op TweakTown.

Voor iedereen die nog niet zeker weet of ie wel of niet de nieuwe Windows Millennium (ME) wil installeren, heeft de updates-sectie van ZDNet.com een handige upgrade-guide online gezet waarin alle belangrijke nieuwe functies van ME aan de orde komen. Aan de hand hiervan kan je dan zelf beslissen of je het de moeite vindt dit besturingssysteem van Microsoft te installeren:

As many of our readers may have already heard, Microsoft's newest operating system, Windows Me, has gone off to the presses and should be arriving on store shelves by September 14, 2000. We have just received an official evaluation copy and are discovering some of the merits of this new update to Windows 9.x.

In their commitment to making an operating system that delivers a simpler and more robust PC experience for home users and families, they have implemented key features allowing greater up time and a richer multimedia experience. When you combine those innovations with improved support for home networking and an enhanced on-line experience, Windows Me represents a step in the right direction to make computing accessible to the average consumer.

Dank aan Decs voor de tip.

Gisteren namen 9 mensen een wijs besluit en joinden DPC, waardoor we nu 2408 leden hebben! Helaas zijn dat er nog niet genoeg om de nummer 1 positie op TA te heroveren, maar het begin is er: het verschil met AnandTech was 17.056 blokjes kleiner dan de vorige dag.

Kijk hier even als je niet weet hoe je mee kunt doen, of als je je afvraagt waar dit toch over gaat...

De DPC hitparade top 10 van 30 juni

1. 58.866 [Dutch Power Cows] Dutch Cow Clan (122, Totaal: 218.785)
2. 51.614 [Dutch Power Cows] Interior Lulu (2, Totaal: 6.438.837)
3. 38.465 [Dutch Power Cows] wiho (1, Totaal: 10.641.442)
4. 32.490 [Dutch Power Cows] Chakotay (54, Totaal: 492.295)
5. 21.402 [DPC]-Killemall says: don't eat them, feed them... (38, Totaal: 671.345)
6. 17.716 Het Draakje (263, Totaal: 108.581)
7. 16.891 [Dutch Power Cows] Tuur (22, Totaal: 883.562)
8. 15.253 [Dutch Power Cows] Sub-Team Hack BV (17, Totaal: 959.731)
9. 14.759 [DPC] Quakers United | Cewle Coown' Cadavers (13, Totaal: 1.131.477)
10. 13.548 2fast4u [Dutch Power Cows] (8, Totaal: 1.388.940)

En de nummers 11 tot en met 30

11. 12.923 [Dutch Power Cows] The LawnMooh'er Men (5, Totaal: 1.859.543)
12. 12.651 [Dutch Power Cows] Collin de Grazer! (87, Totaal: 303.829)
13. 12.489 [Dutch Power Cows] GEB Software (72, Totaal: 379.333)
14. 11.617 [Dutch Power Cows] BaDMaN (19, Totaal: 943.103)
15. 10.780 [DPC] Mr. Fix-It (319, Totaal: 81.932)
16. 10.516 [Dutch Power Cows] EdVe (42, Totaal: 615.817)
17. 9.118 [Dutch Power Cows] RTo (68, Totaal: 407.002)
18. 8.872 [DPC] TechISG + Division Appeldorp (53, Totaal: 496.667)
19. 8.793 [Dutch Power Cows] Team BVD (6, Totaal: 1.575.226)
20. 8.571 [Dutch Power Cows] Schumi #2 (235, Totaal: 120.471)
21. 8.534 coen (211, Totaal: 131.116)
22. 8.358 [DPC] Cyber Cows Unlimited (18, Totaal: 952.507)
23. 8.288 [Dutch Power Cows] willie (180, Totaal: 151.557)
24. 7.773 WebAct (171, Totaal: 158.714)
25. 7.316 [Dutch Power Cows] Team EDG Ermelo (57, Totaal: 460.968)
26. 7.226 [Dutch Power Cows] Northern Delights (11, Totaal: 1.181.993)
27. 6.673 [Dutch Power Cows] Graasland (81, Totaal: 348.263)
28. 6.396 Faculty of Physics and Astronomy (Utrecht) (390, Totaal: 63.853)
29. 6.356 [Dutch Power Cows] - GRiMLoCK (51, Totaal: 502.267)
30. 6.316 [Dutch Power Cows] [eNeRGy] (28, Totaal: 774.333)

De Top 15 teams

1. (0) 1.563.805 AnandTech
2. (0) 1.055.807 Dutch Power Cows
3. (0) 912.663 Russian Team
4. (0) 893.079 HackZone Team -- Combined power of Russia and exUSSR countries
5. (1) 888.488 Slashdot.org
6. (90) 699.425 Japan Celeron Users Group
7. (0) 477.589 The Amiga RC5 Team effort
8. (1) 416.850 Team Warped (OS/2)
9. (1) 399.321 Team EvangeLista (Macs Rule! :-)
10. (25) 379.732 Team OS/2 Japan
11. (1) 377.173 Libertarians for Privacy (1-800-ELECT-US)
12. (0) 332.543 Japan FreeBSD Users Group
13. (2) 331.379 Japan Windows NT Users Group
14. (1) 298.011 Team Hungary STB+
15. (0) 293.885 Team Win32 (Windows)

Teams om ons heen (total stats)

8. () Japan FreeBSD Users Group (Tot: 180.735.691, Gis: 332.543)
9. () Libertarians for Privacy (1-800-ELECT-US) (Tot: 157.715.765, Gis: 377.173)
10. () @stake L0pht Labs (Tot: 149.943.495, Gis: 236.337)
11. () Japan Linux Users Group (Tot: 148.737.967, Gis: 201.129)
12. () Dutch Power Cows (Tot: 141.130.269, Gis: 1.055.807)
13. () Japan Windows NT Users Group (Tot: 137.887.083, Gis: 331.379)
14. () Team Hungary STB+ (Tot: 123.356.803, Gis: 298.011)
15. () Team Win32 (Windows) (Tot: 116.714.107, Gis: 293.885)
16. () Czech RC5 Team (Tot: 111.245.507, Gis: 205.172)
(Teams waarvan de score van gisteren ontbreekt, hadden geen score in de top 100!)

Wanneer halen we ze in

Japan FreeBSD Users Group: 55 dagen
Libertarians for Privacy (1-800-ELECT-US): 25 dagen
@stake L0pht Labs: 11 dagen
Japan Linux Users Group: 9 dagen

Mijlpalen

MegaFlush 6 stats

Gisteren: 106.184
Totaal: 3.434.927

Dutch Power Cows is vandaag 2e en heeft een kans van één op 43 om de sleutel te vinden!

oCe schrijft: "De Technical Beta van Windows Whistler, de opvolger van zowel Windows2000 en WindowsME is begonnen aan zijn Technical Beta. Het OS komt in vele uitvoeringen, die ieder weer in 32 en 64 bit versies te krijgen zijn, met uitzondering van de Personal Edition die alleen in 32 bits versie uit gaat komen.":

"[It's] a new product, a new line of products, Windows.NET, where the .NET technologies are infused into Windows, and we sell servers as we do today, we license clients as we do today, we license the .NET technology for other devices, whether those run Windows or do not run Windows," said Microsoft president and CEO Steve Ballmer earlier this month. "It's important in Windows.NET to start putting in elements of the [Dot NET] user interface, elements of the [Dot NET] programming model, tightly and nicely integrated into the Windows product, at the client level and over time at the server level." Ballmer notes that Windows.NET will ship "next year"; internally, the company expects to ship it in Q2 2000.

Al heel snel na Millennium en 2000 gaat dit dus uitkomen, als Microsoft de releasedatum ook haalt.

Inmiddels is het laatste deel van de rapportage door OCtools over het koelen met Fluorinert en vloeibare stikstof online. Als je 'm beter koelt dan een Cray blijkt zelfs een Celeron 366 tot vrij spectaculaire resultaten (voor een 0.25 mu CPU) in staat:

366@ 650MHZ (FSB 118) THIS IS THE LAST OVERCLOCK WE CAN GET [..] AS WE RAN OUT OF LN2 [break] Helaas was de vloeibare stikstof eigenlijk een beetje te koud voor de fluorinert: [/break] Then DISASTER struck!!! Maybe from the non-stop pouring of the LN2, our Fluorinert turned to gel! Our pump was spurting away because of the air packets when the fluid turned to gel. We had to stop the pump and blow dry the intercooler and wait till the Fluorinert turns to liquid again before we can proceed.

Misschien de volgende keer toch maar even ook dit soort specs opvragen en lezen voor je $1000 uitgeeft aan koelvloeistof?