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March 3, 2004 |
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CNET users responded to the outbreak of six new viruses by scouring the site for news, reviews, and downloads that could help them beat back the latest assault on their in-boxes. But they still took time to check out the latest in laptop fashions and upgrades to digital video recorders. |
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Security
On the heels of last week's RSA conference--where Bill Gates proposed a series of new technologies to bring spam and viruses under control--the weekend saw the outbreak of not one, not two, but six new viruses. That sent CNET users scurrying to look up everything they could find on the latest bugs and their cures. Chief among those bugs: Netsky.D, which emerged on Monday and quickly clogged e-mail systems around the world. None of the new viruses was necessarily deadly--none of the six rated higher than a 6 on CNET's own Virus Meter. Netsky.d uses e-mail messages with randomized subject lines (to foil virus checkers) and spreads copies of itself via a PIF file attachment. It doesn't appear to do a whole lot of actual damage: it was scheduled to execute random sounds on infected computers on March 2, and it will try to remove copies of MyDoom.a and MyDoom.b. |
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Windows
Microsoft's next-generation operating system--dubbed Longhorn--has been postponed and postponed and postponed; it's not due now until sometime in 2006. Add in the ongoing threat from Linux, and you understand why Microsoft might want to get another substantial OS refresh out to customers before Longhorn. Which is why we saw so much interest in the story that dropped last week, news that Microsoft was considering a product that is reportedly being referred to as Windows XP Reloaded. That update would follow Windows XP Service Pack 2, which is expected later this year. |
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Stylin' laptops
Desktops have come a long way since the ubiquitous beige box; vendors such
as Alienware routinely crank out all kinds of wacky-looking boxes. Now, that design bug has infected laptops, too. Sony went high style last year with its VAIO Z1. Then Voodoo came out with its Envy M460. Now Acer has come out with a laptop that borrows its red case color and nameplate from Ferrari. According to our search logs, that Acer was one of the most popular topics on the site last week--proving that even sensible, rational technology buyers have their wild sides, too. |
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DVRs
Also big in the search logs last week were digital video recorders. One important reason: engineers at hard drive maker Maxtor figured out a way to let DVRs record or broadcast six media streams at a time; current machines can manage only three. Next-gen DVRs will also be able to serve those streams to multiple rooms at the same time. Our only question: who has time to watch that much TV? |
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Layoffs
Looks like those post-boom jitters are still with us: CNET users were all
over stories this week and last about the latest round of tech industry
downsizing. Gateway has announced it will probably cut another 1,000 jobs. Apple says it's laying off an unspecified number of employees. What's going on here? Nothing that would surprise anybody who's been following the news or the political campaigns of the past few weeks: Manufacturers in all sectors, not just in computers, are laying off U.S. workers and setting up factories overseas. Executives speaking at last week's Reuters Technology, Media, and Telecommunications Summit in New York said they foresaw more hiring in India and China and less in the United States. |
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