Dear Windows-Help.NET Subscriber,
Microsoft gave in to numerous complaints from advanced & corporate users and finally made the Windows 98 updates available "the old way".
According to Microsoft: "If you are a corporate IT Manager and would like to download Windows 98 Updates for installation at a later time or on a different machine, use the Windows 98 Updates for Corporate IT Managers site. This site is designed for Advanced Users who are familiar with the Windows Registry and know how to roll back to previous versions of software."
So if you have had trouble using the Windows Update site in the past, or want to save the downloads for later use, just head over to the new download site.
The "default" Windows Update site, which is accessed from the Windows Update shortcut on your Start menu will, of course, continue to function, and still offers the best solution for novice users.
In other Microsoft related news, the Washington Post (article removed by the WP) has an interesting article about discussions apparently underway between the U.S. Govt. and 19 States, and about the possible sanctions against Microsoft, in the event the government wins its groundbreaking antitrust case against the software giant.
Mary Jo Foley, a journalist who has been covering Microsoft for the past four years, wrote a very interesting article about the internal problems Microsoft is currently facing.
In the past week AMD started shipping their K6-III processor. Initially available in a 400MHz version, a 450MHz version should be available soon. The K6-III sports 256KB of secondary cache on the chip (running at full clock speed), uses AMD's 3DNow CPU instructions (which seems to be increasingly popular with game developers) and also has a 100MHz bus to an (optional) Level 3 cache on the motherboard.
This processor is not going to beat the Pentium III on performance. For a shot at that, we'll have to wait for the K7, whose biggest advantage seems to be that it will have a 200MHz bus (when used with the accompanying chip set). The K7 is rumoured to debut at a speed of 500MHz or higher.
But there are problems. For one, AMD has problems meeting chip demand. Unlike rival Intel, which operates half a dozen chip factories, AMD has only one plant. AMD has also stated that it expects to post an operating loss in the first quarter, as it has been hurt by Intel's aggressive price cutting in the low end of the processor market.
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Fix Available for Windows NT "KnownDLLs List" Vulnerability
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Microsoft has learned of a vulnerability in the Microsoft® Windows NT® operating system that could allow a user to gain administrative privileges on the computer the user is interactively logged onto. This vulnerability is primarily a concern for workstations and other systems that allow non-administrative users to interactively log on.
More information and a work around can be found in Microsoft Knowledge Base article Q218473
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Patch Available for Taskpads Scripting Vulnerability
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Microsoft has released a patch that eliminates a vulnerability in the Taskpads feature, which is provided as part of the Microsoft® Windows® 98 Resource Kit, Windows 98 Resource Kit Sampler, and BackOffice® Resource Kit, second edition. The vulnerability could allow a malicious web site operator to run executables on the computer of a visiting user. Only customers who have installed one of the affected products and who surf the web using the machine on which it is installed are at risk from this vulnerability.
More information and the patch can be found in Microsoft Knowledge Base article Q218619
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27 Feb. 1999, Vol 2 No. 9