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April 14, 2004 |
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This week, you were buzzing about Microsoft--from an upcoming Windows
service pack to fallout over the recent EU ruling. Also: An easy-to-use
digital camera and a controversial new e-mail service. |
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Service Pack 2
Microsoft isn't
expected to release its Service Pack 2 for Windows XP until this
summer--but already, interest is peaking among CNET readers. The SP is one
of the fruits of the company's two-year-old Trustworthy Computing
initiative: once installed, SP2 will turn on Windows security options
(such as the built-in firewall) by default and consolidate security options
for several different modules (Internet Explorer, the network control
panel, and so on) in one, central interface. One unintended consequence of
SP2: because Microsoft has diverted so many development resources to the
service pack, the company won't launch
Longhorn, the next-generation version of Windows, until 2006.
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Windows Media Player
A couple of weeks ago, the European Union's competition czar slapped a record $615 million
fine on Microsoft for a variety of anticompetitive behaviors. Along
with that fine came orders to offer PC vendors the option of installing
Windows without
Windows Media Player. Interestingly, CNET readers remain interested in
the story--but not, apparently, in the ruling itself as much as in the
possibility of getting greater choice in media players. Immediately
following the ruling, Microsoft rival RealNetworks embarked on a tour of
Euro PC vendors, touting its RealPlayer as a nice alternative to Microsoft.
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SharePoint
For some reason, U.S. workers have never really taken to technologies that
would help them work together better. That could be changing: one of the
top search terms on CNET last week was SharePoint--the name of the
Microsoft
collaboration tool that's embedded in Office 2003.
The idea is that,
instead of saving files to your own private hard drive, you'd save them to
a shared document space in SharePoint--thus enabling your coworkers to get
at them more easily and all of you to work together more harmoniously.
Sounds nice. Will it work? Could you forsake your sacrosanct, private data
vaults in favor of more-open data commons? We'll believe when we see it.
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Gmail
News about Google's new free-mail service, dubbed Gmail, was a hit with
readers last week--and it's still hot. Among the latest developments: some
European privacy groups were initially
concerned about Gmail's terms of service and its business model; the
latter would rely on context-appropriate ads, which would require the
company to scan your in-box. Those same groups have apparently been
mollified by a ruling
from Britain's information commissioner, a spokesperson for whom says,
"As long as it's transparent to people when they sign up that Google is
monitoring their e-mail usage and passing that information on for marketing
purposes, then they probably wouldn't be breaking any legislation." Still, after weeks of hullabaloo, Google says it may tweak the final product to appease the critics.
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Kodak
EasyShare DX6440
CNET readers are generally a pretty high-end bunch; given the choice,
they'll go for the $5,000 plasma screen over the $400 CRT every time. But
there are exceptions. The latest: our search logs registered lots of
interest in Kodak's EasyShare DX6440 camera, a 4-megapixel snapshooter that
can be had for less than $300. As our
review summarized it, "With almost no learning curve, the DX6440
recommends itself to neophytes." What's up with that? One theory: with
spring breaks upon us and summer vacations looming, parents are looking for
a quick-and-easy digicam for themselves or the kids. Note for you
high-enders: our review of the Nikon
D70 digital SLR, which we know you've been waiting for impatiently, has
posted.
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