McAfee update bricks thousands of enterprise computers

Earlier today, McAfee unleashed one doozy of an update for its popular antivirus software that crippled an untold number of Windows computers (tens of thousands for sure, potentially hundreds of thousands). The update, virus definition 5958, was pushed out at 06:00 PDT and caused a false positive detection of the critical Windows system file svchost.exe.

The botched update led systems running Windows XP SP3 to detect svchost.exe as the virus W32/wecorl.a. Users say this caused systems to display a BSOD before being caught in an endless cycle of reboots. Windows 7 and Vista computers were unaffected, and the update was mostly limited to corporate machines, meaning that most consumers are in the clear.

The company responded by pulling the tainted update from its distribution network and a clean version, 5959, was released around 10:15 PDT. Complicating McAfee's day, because of the overwhelming impact of 5958, the company's forum was knocked offline, blocking affected customers from sharing information. McAfee has since posted several possible workarounds.

HP slips out new all-in-one Compaq PC

HP has pushed out a new Compaq-branded all-in-one desktop computer, the Presario CQ1-1020. Equipped with Intel's lightweight Atom D410, there's no denying that the 18.5-inch system is intended for very basic use (read: Web browsing).

The CQ1-120 also houses a gig of DDR2 RAM (4GB max), a 160GB 7200RPM hard drive, and a DVD burner. Connectivity includes Ethernet, 802.11b/g/n wireless, a six-in-one memory card reader, eight USB 2.0 ports, and audio jacks. Oddly, the machine comes with Windows XP Home Edition SP3 preinstalled, rather than Windows 7 or even Windows 7 Starter.


The CQ1-1020 is shipping to grandmas everywhere -- so many in fact, that the system is currently out of stock. HP backs the machine with a one-year warranty and it's priced at $429.99 with few if any configuration options available.

Gmail gets drag-and-drop attachments, better calendar tools

Google has added a couple of useful features to Gmail which are now available directly on the main client without them having to graduate from Labs. The first is based on HTML 5 and will allow users to drag-and-drop files as attachments to their emails, replacing the usual method of clicking the 'attach a file' option. Just grab a file or multiple files off your desktop, drag it into a Gmail compose window and it will automatically be uploaded and attached to your message.


It's not an earth-shattering new feature, but it makes sending files quick and easy. It currently works on Chrome 4 or Firefox 3.6 only, but according to Google Engineer Adam de Boor, the feature will be enabled for other browsers too as soon as they correctly support the HTML 5 drag-and-drop functionality.

The second new feature comes in the form of a little "insert invitation" link just at the bottom of the subject line of outgoing e-mails. When clicked, it opens a Google Calendar invitation-maker that includes a visual of when there are open times to meet based the invitees' schedules (provided you have access to view their Google Calendars).

Dell prepping 7 and 10" slates, pictures leaked

In addition to its pint-sized 5-inch Android slate, Dell is whipping up a couple of larger offerings. Pictures along with an internal memo have made their way to Engadget's inbox, and if they're anything to go on, Dell is preparing 7 and 10-inch iterations of the Streak.

Based on the early photos, the larger models are a spitting image of their greatest adversary -- Apple's iPad. That's not necessarily a bad thing, though. Despite the iPad's faults, it's still a pretty piece of hardware. When asked for more details, Dell simply said it "continually develops and tests new products" and that it doesn't comment on speculation.


According to Engadget, the smallest model will be available sometime this summer, the 7-inch version will follow in late 2010, and Dell's largest tablet will appear in early 2011. On a somewhat related note, information about the Aero's AT&T release was also leaked, and you can expect that to launch this June.

Apple releases 27-inch iMac firmware updates, more

Apple has released two firmware updates to address several issues with its 27-inch iMac systems. The first update (27-inch iMac EFI FW Update 1.0) is recommended for all 27-inch iMac models using Intel Core i5 or i7 processors and fixes a couple of bugs. One flaw causes high processor utilization while playing audio via the headphone output jack, and another prevents the display backlight from turning on after the machine is powered on.


The second update (27-inch iMac SMC Firmware Update 1.0) targets an unspecified compatibility issue with Target Display Mode, a feature that is only available on 27-inch iMacs and allows the machine to be used as a secondary display via its Mini DisplayPort connector.

In somewhat related news, Apple has also issued Security Update 2010-003 for Snow Leopard (6.5MB), Leopard Client (218.6MB), and Leopard Server (379.5MB). Additionally, Server Admin Tools 10.6.3 (236MB) has been pushed out to the public.

Mobile Computing Modern Warfare 2 drama continues, remaining IW lead designers call it quits

Despite producing the most successful launch of any game to date with Modern Warfare 2, Infinity Ward’s entire lead design staff has resigned. It has been reported that the latest four employees to abandon ship include the final two lead designers: Steve Fukuda and Zeid Reike.

Interestingly, staff members continue to leave even after Activision made a promise to distribute Vince and Jason’s unpaid bonuses to those who remain employed.

While the drama unfolds, the two founding fathers of Infinity Ward have been hard at work on their next venture, aptly named “Respawn Entertainment”. In a sardonic twist of fate, Activision’s rival, EA, has also recently announced an official deal to be the sole distributor for Respawn Entertainment. The duo claims their next project is still on the drawing board, but word has it they will not be working on EA’s existing first person shooter franchises, Medal of Honor or Battlefield.

OCZ intros new Colossus LT desktop SSDs

If you're just an everyday pencil pusher hoping to lay hands on OCZ's high-capacity, 3.5-inch Colossus solid-state drives, your odds just got a tiny bit better. The company has launched its Colossus LT series, which is comprised of 120GB, 250GB, 500GB, and 1TB models -- all of which use 34nm MLC NAND flash memory chips.

On paper, the new LT drives look pretty similar to the original Colossus. The 120GB unit offers a peak read/write rate of 260MB/s with a sustained write of 140MB/s and 15,000 IOPS, while the 250GB to 1TB versions have a speedier 220MB/s sustained write. All of them feature a dual Indilinx controller design, have 128MB of cache, and ship with a three-year warranty.

Although still wildly expensive when compared to mechanical storage, the LT series seems to be a little more affordable than the first Colossus lineup. Prices vary between sellers, but the 120GB drive is around $415, the 250GB jumps to $800, the 500GB is about $1,550, and the 1TB model is fetching over $3,300.

Mobile Computing Modern Warfare 2 drama continues, remaining IW lead designers call it quits

Despite producing the most successful launch of any game to date with Modern Warfare 2, Infinity Ward’s entire lead design staff has resigned. It has been reported that the latest four employees to abandon ship include the final two lead designers: Steve Fukuda and Zeid Reike.

Interestingly, staff members continue to leave even after Activision made a promise to distribute Vince and Jason’s unpaid bonuses to those who remain employed.

While the drama unfolds, the two founding fathers of Infinity Ward have been hard at work on their next venture, aptly named “Respawn Entertainment”. In a sardonic twist of fate, Activision’s rival, EA, has also recently announced an official deal to be the sole distributor for Respawn Entertainment. The duo claims their next project is still on the drawing board, but word has it they will not be working on EA’s existing first person shooter franchises, Medal of Honor or Battlefield.

Apple delays international launch of iPad until late May

The iPad's success has taken many tech enthusiasts by surprise, and apparently, it's selling better than Apple first expected, too. With sales of the tablet climbing to 500,000 in the first seven days, Apple says demand will likely exceed supply over the coming weeks. In addition to shipping Wi-Fi models, the company is trying to manage an untold number of preorders for the 3G-equipped iPads, which should launch later this month.

Due to this "surprisingly strong U.S. demand," Apple has decided to postpone the iPad's worldwide launch by one month. It's now set to go global toward the end of May, and the company will announce international pricing as well as begin taking preorders online on Monday, May 10.

The tablet will eventually appear on shelves in countries including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland, and the UK. For what it's worth, the cheapest Wi-Fi model starts at $499, while the most expensive 3G version is $829, so expect similar pricing in your region.

Intel demos Light Peak equipped laptop at IDF

Last September, Intel announced a high-speed optical cable interface for PCs called Light Peak that promised a 10Gb/s transfer rate -- or twice the speed of USB 3.0 -- with the potential ability to scale to 100Gb/s in the next ten years. The technology is being developed as a way to reduce the proliferation of ports on modern computers, and could eventually replace the plethora of interfaces currently used, from USB itself to HDMI, DisplayPort, LAN, and so on.

During a recent speech at the Intel Developer Forum in Beijing, the company shared some of its views on the upcoming Light Peak technology and insisted that there's no conflict between it and USB 3.0 -- at least not immediately. According to Intel executive Kevin Kahn, both can exist together in the market and perhaps on the same platform at the same time, as Light Peak will enable USB and other protocols to run together on a single, longer cable and at higher speeds.


A laptop with Light Peak built-in was shown off during Kahn's speech, where a single cable was used to simultaneously transmit Blu-ray video, a feed from a high-definition camera and a duplication of the laptop's display onto another screen. What's more, the Light Peak cable was plugged into the laptop through a tweaked USB 3.0 port with components added to receive the optical signal while still being able to accept normal USB 3.0 devices.

Intel argues that existing electrical cable technology is approaching limits that optical technology can surpass, so eventually they do see Light Peak replacing USB and other interface's cables/connectors altogether. The technology will reportedly become available later this year, with partners expected to start shipping compatible devices next year and an industry group is being formed to make Light Peak a standard and speed up its adoption.

Toshiba announces Tecra M11 business notebook

Toshiba has unveiled the latest member in their business class series of notebooks. The Tecra M11 will debut with prices starting as low as $879, featuring a 14-inch 1366 x 768 LED backlit screen, 2.13GHz Core i3 processor, Intel's integrated graphics, 2GB of RAM, a 250GB hard drive and a DVD burner. Of course, that price tag will increase depending on the level of customization that you go with.


Toshiba offers a handful of pre-built models to choose from, including one that bumps the hard drive to 320GB for a mere $20 more, another sporting a faster Core i5 430M and 3GB of RAM which brings the price up to $1,029, and a third one that adds an Nvidia Quadro NVS 2100M graphics card on top of that for a total cost of $1,229. All of them come with Windows 7 Professional (64-bit) installed, a charcoal black exterior and a 6-cell battery.

Other than that you can configure the Toshiba Tecra M11 with up to 8GB of RAM, a 2.66Ghz Core i7 processor and a 128GB SSD. In terms of ports and connectivity, you can expect Wi-Fi 802.11 a/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, one ExpressCard, two USB 2.0 ports and one eSATA/USB 2.0 port with Sleep and Charge.