Week in review: Keeping watch over Web surfing

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There is no doubt that people will find glitches in Beta 2 of the oft-delayed operating system. The question is whether there are any showstoppers. Microsoft has time to squish some bugs, but it needs to avoid any significant headaches if it is to make its revised goal of finishing the code by November and launching the product in January.

Already, there have been discussions of installation issues and assorted issues related to battery life, performance and application compatibility. The company already knows of some problems and expects others. Only about 40 percent of Windows XP applications can run without any modification, for example. Also, there are still a number of hardware products that don't have drivers.

Security dogfight
The fight to provide you with desktop security is heating up.

Microsoft has started selling Windows Live OneCare, three years after it announced its intent to move into the antivirus arena. OneCare combines antivirus, anti-spyware and firewall software with backup features and several tune-up tools for Windows PCs. The product went on sale in the U.S. online and in stores Wednesday. Microsoft said it plans to expand to international markets in the coming 12 months.

OneCare will cost $49.95 a year for use on up to three PCs in a home, a competitive price compared with rival products from traditional security vendors including Symantec, McAfee and Trend Micro. Many retailers plan to offer rebates and other types of promotions that will discount OneCare.

Symantec's next-generation security software has been officially named Norton 360 but faces a delay from the original September due date.

Symantec announced that the product is slated to ship by the end of March next year. When 360 ships, the plan is for the product to be available worldwide with support for both Windows XP and the upcoming Vista operating system.

Meanwhile, McAfee is readying new security software, code-named Falcon, to rival upcoming products from Symantec and newcomer Microsoft. The product will integrate features found in McAfee's current range of security products with a revamped user interface to manage the application.

Falcon will protect PCs against spam, viruses, spyware and other threats such as phishing scams and rootkits, McAfee said. It will also offer tools to prevent data loss, help optimize PC performance and secure a wireless network, the company said. The product is scheduled to debut this summer in a variety of packages.

Go-go gadget
It's harvest season in the consumer electronics arena, and here's a sampling of some of the products we can look forward to.

Dell unveiled a so-called luggable computer that's either a blast from the past or a leap into the future. The 20-pound XPS M2010, which starts at $3,500, incorporates a large-screen monitor with a small, flat PC. The computer, part of Dell's XPS luxury line, includes two hard drives with capacities of up to 120GB each, a Core Duo processor and 4GB of dual-channel (667MHz) memory.

Attached to the flat horizontal PC, which remains on the desk, is a 20.1-inch wide-screen monitor. It folds down to meet the computer and keyboard as on a laptop. The monitor's support bar, when open, becomes a briefcase handle when the device is closed.

Microsoft formally unveiled a wireless keyboard and mouse for the Mac, expanding its lineup of Apple Computer-compatible products. The wireless keyboard incorporates Microsoft's Comfort Curve design with a Mac-oriented key layout and a wireless mouse that uses Microsoft's tilt-wheel navigation technology.

Meanwhile, Advanced Micro Devices unveiled its AMD Live PC and AMD Live Entertainment Suite, as the chipmaker goes head-to-head with archrival Intel in the digital entertainment arena.

AMD, with the aid of other companies, is aiming to create a media-center PC that will let people organize, distribute and share their content. The chipmaker is also launching AMD Live Entertainment Suite, a suite of applications and services meant to assist people in designing and operating digital entertainment systems.

Also of note
Sun Microsystems said it will cut between 4,000 to 5,000 employees over the next six months, which represents an 11 percent to 13 percent cut in its global work force...The Bush administration ramped up its support for erecting a "virtual" border fence to keep tabs on illicit entries into the country.

[computerman822]

Web Tracking

The Bush Administration is full of Morons! Hahahaha!

You want to fight Terrorism?

Impeach Bush and get the hell out of IRAQ. Put our soldiers in Afghanistan where they belong hunting down and eliminating Al Quaeda. Then, stay the hell out of the middle east and play nice.

I'd rather become a thief and steal a laptop in order to keep my anonymity than to be spied on by Dubbaya's illegal spying practices, even though I have nothing to hide. It's the principle of the matter. Where do our privacy rights come into play?

I'd like to thank every ******* that voted for this monster. You've helped bring more corruption, lies, and police state politics to the world than it ever had before. Bravo.

[btljooz]

Yes, the Righ to Privacy is

guaranteed by the Bill of Rights in the Constitution...which according to DUmBYA is "Just a 'G/D' piece of paper!"

AND have you ever heard of DIEBOLD rigging the votes? And what about "CHADS" 'residing' in the very state that DUmYA's BROTHER is Governor of and who was visably INvisable during THAT 'escapade'?

In addition to which, you think it's bad HERE? Not YET! THIS is what is coming soon to a neighborhood near YOU! :::::::::

Chinese = #1 in organ transplants in WORLD from UNanaesthetized people kept in concentration camps!!! The Chinese Communist Government is making the German Nazis of WWII look like Mother Teresa.

READ about it HERE:

<a class="jive-link-external" href="http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/156/" target="_newWindow">http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/156/</a>

[m.meister]

McCarthyism reigns supreme

In the 1950s, McCarthy would use "Communism" as a way to
justify actions that were unethical and illegal.

Today, Gonzales (and this administration in general) uses the
word "Terrorism" to do the exact same thing.

Apparently we don't learn from history. So we are doomed to
repeat a period that is driven by unwarranted fear.

This administration continues to use the "T" word to effectively
by-bass that nasty little thing known as the Constitution.

[btljooz]

That's EXACTLY what this is and

you stated it quite eloquently and precisely. ;)

[tdrv]

Web Surfing

1984, 22 years later.

[btljooz]

Look up the "Year 2012" and

see what you find.

Think about this: 1984 Take the 8 and the 4, add them together, you get 12. Now, take the 1 and the 9, add them together and you get 10. Add 10 to the 10 you got and you get 20. Put that 20 in front of the 12 you got earlier and you get 2012.

Now, go ahead and use your search engine to look up the "year 2012", sift through all the info you find there and then rock back on your heels a bit and reflect upon what you just learned.

[btljooz]

Actually it's the year 2012 to look out for..........

Look up the "Year 2012" and see what you find.

Think about this: 1984 Take the 8 and the 4, add them together, you get 12. Now, take the 1 and the 9, add them together and you get 10. Add 10 to the 10 you got and you get 20. Put that 20 in front of the 12 you got earlier and you get 2012.

Now, go ahead and use your search engine to look up the "year 2012", sift through all the info you find there and then rock back on your heels a bit and reflect upon what you just learned.