[06/30/2001]
iBook review

the register has posted a quick review of Apple's new iBook. (Well in fact it was written by PC Advisor and is being recommended).

[06/30/2001]
Varius gaming news

MGL has various news on games and gaming, among them "Alice" and "Tomb Raider Trilogy" being in duplication.

[06/30/2001]
Blizzard seeks Mac programmer

MacCentral reports, among others, that Blizzard is looking for a Mac programmer. Might be a nice job there, also there is a lot to be done right...

[06/30/2001]
Linux standard released

Slashdot notes that Linux Standard Base 1.0 has been released. The release is probably (probably!) a milestone in the evolution of Linux, as there is finally a standard the software developers (and Linux distributors) can stick to.

[06/30/2001]
Microsoft Word 98 sucks my balls

I was truly shocked when I today noticed that files written and saved as Word-Files in Microsoft Word 98 secretly include random information gathered on your harddrive. Opening a .doc file in BBedit will reveal a lot of scrambled stuff, as usual, and some very readable stuff that can basically come out of any file on your HD it seems. I saved 4 files and 3 of them contained obviously alien information that I had certainly not entered. The first two actually included almost complete ICQ messages that are still stored in my history files (think about how extremely intimate or sensitive information can leak out of your machine that way!!!) and the other included a couple of names of Rune maps. The history files and the Rune maps are in no way associated with each other, nor did I willfully include any links or info on those files in the word files.
I must assume this is a Macro Virus, but neither Word nor my Antivirus app noticed anything. If it is NOT a virus, but a spy feature built in by Microsoft themselves, this is going to have MAJOR consequences, I'm telling you.
Test for yourself, if you have Word. Write a small text in Word and save it as a Word file. Add ".doc" to it's name and open it again in BBedit or any other text editor that can open those files. Among the scrambled characters, you'll soon find the word you wrote, and then probably also stuff you never entered, like file names or extracts from other textfiles. I hate those Microsoft suckers, no matter who's fault it is.