BlackICE Defender

A popular software Internet firewall has been compromised by hackers. If you are running BlackICE for Windows 2000 or XP, you should have downloaded the patch by now. If not, here's a reminder: Get it at www.iss.net or download it from within the BlackICE program itself.

Foveon's Digital Camera Breakthrough

The typical mass-market digital camera's imaging system is like a television picture tube in reverse. Light comes in through the camera's lens and is separated into the primary colors by grids over the sensing chip. Since each pixel (and there are often millions) on the chip can only capture one color, to get all colors, three filter grids, one for each of the primary colors (red, green, blue) are placed together (but ever so slightly offset) on the chip in front of the light-sensitive pixels (imagine a square plate of marbles with only red, blue, and green ones, neatly arranged into a repeating pattern of red, blue, and green marbles in adjoining, offset rows). A single ray of light coming into the camera can only strike one pixel (marble). To get a whole image, the camera's software must recombine these discrete bits of color into a complete image, a complex processing task. Also, since each pixel can only capture one third of the spectrum and any given ray of light can only strike one pixel, the digitally processed image is often slightly blurry or marred by color fringing. Foveon's innovation takes a clue from true film, where the color filters (masks) are layered one on top of the other, and deepening layers of the emulsion capture each of the primary colors. Thus, one single ray of light can simultaneously affect all three color layers (pixels) in the film at the same time. By exploiting the fact that silicon (a component of many electronic chips) absorbs different colors at different thicknesses, Foveon has designed an image sensor that works more like film. The advantage? Crisper, sharper images and much less digital processing (saving costs and probably image capture time). Sigma Corp. of Japan is the first to use the new technology. Naturally, cameras with this technology will be expensive at first, but expect prices to come down quickly and far.

Let Your Computer Help Find an Anthrax Cure

The global response to this request (see March PSN) was so fantastic, that shortly after we went to press on that issue, the project was completed! However, you can still participate in other "public good" projects via United Devices (http://members.ud.com/), such as helping to find a cancer cure and a cure for Alzheimer's. (Note: Recommended minimum system is Windows 98, Pentium processor, 48Mb RAM, Internet connection, 100Mb available disk space.)