HIV vaccine goes to trials [lnk.to]

Microsoft SEC filing shows hideous losses except for Windows. Where – surprise – it shows hideous profits [The Register]

No more oil aid for N Korea. South Korea presses North Korea to scrap its nuclear weapons programme¸ as it backs a decision to stop fuel aid to its neighbour. [BBC News | WORLD]

China hands power to ‘new generation’. Hu Jintao is the new Communist Party chief but Jiang Zemin retains far-reaching influence¸ in a sweeping leadership shake-up. [BBC News | WORLD]

PC upgrade cycle on hold, report says. There will mostly be coal in PC makers’ stockings for the fourth quarter because consumers and businesses are squeezing more out of their old computers, according to Gartner. [CNET News.com]

Must-read Fortune article on venture capital in 2002. [Scripting News]

I picked up Shemmue II at the company store yesterday, and then headed down to the local game store at crossroads to see if Unreal Championship had shown up yet. It hadn’t, but will be there today. So there I was, xbox live was active and waiting for a fun game at home, with no shooter (wacked just doesn’t count, man). I knew MechAssault would be in the company store eventually, but I had needs now dammit! I tried to offset the burning desire with some used game cheap, I knew at that point that I wasn’t going to leave the store empty-handed. I took a brief look at the $15 Wild Arms 1 for the playstation, but eventually I gave up, put my credit card on the counter and told them to give me the mech. The damn thing taunted me the rest of the half an hour drive home. My first impressions of it is that the single player is fun, but I’m not so sure that the multiplayer is all that good. I think it might get better once I’ve done the single player more, and have gotten better. However tonight is Unreal Championship, and it should be a bloody good time 🙂

Linux, Open Source have ‘more security problems than Windows’. Aberdeen Group report [The Register]

Intel server sales to outpace rivals. In 2003, sales of servers built on Intel processors will for the first time exceed sales of more customized Unix systems built on RISC processors, analysts say. [CNET News.com]

US gov’s ‘ultimate database’ run by a felon. 300 million ghosts in the machine [The Register]