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June 30, 2004 |
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Last week, we hid under our technological desks, bumping up browser
security amid warnings that a Russian server was broadcasting malicious
code to otherwise innocent Web sites. After that crisis passed, cell
phones, Apple's new OS X controversy, and teeny little USB drives
dominated your interest. |
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Internet
attacks
For a short time late last week, the Cold War was reignited, and we were
all living in fear of Russian attack. We weren't hiding under our desks,
but we--at least, those who use Internet Explorer--were ratcheting up
our browser security to DEF CON 1. That's after security researchers warned that Web sites infected with malicious
code could take advantage of IE weaknesses and do some unspecified Bad
Things on users' computers. Although the threat was avoided when security officials shut down the Russian server
hosting the code, analysts say infected Web sites are an increasingly
powerful way for evildoers to propagate network attacks. Meanwhile, some
security experts are biting the bullet with a
simple suggestion: Just say no to Internet Explorer. (It's probably no
coincidence that searches for Mozilla and Mozilla
Firefox were also up this week.)
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Sony
Ericsson T637
All Sony Ericsson phones are just cute as little buttons, but the
T637--successor to the T616 and T610, seems to have
really captured your roving eyes. The T637 (see a video demonstration here)
makes the camera a much more prominent design element,
and early user reviews say it has the usability, performance, and
battery life its predecessors only dreamed of. Plus, Cingular is giving
the sucker away to new customers--a pretty nice trick, considering its
price tag of roughly $200 (after rebates). Will it live up to the hype?
Stay tuned for our upcoming review, expected within the next two weeks.
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Intel
reinvents the PC
 Yeah, OK, it may sound like grandstanding to talk about truly
reinventing the PC. But look
carefully, because this buzz is legit. Intel has unveiled two new chipsets, the 915G/P Express (code-named Grantsdale) and the 925X Express (a.k.a. Alderwood),
which promise significant improvements in PC performance. Granted, there are only two of the rearchitected PCs
available (the Dell
8400 and the Sony
VAIO VGC-RA810G), and they cost more
than $1,000 and $2,000, respectively. Plus, for now, both will likely
prove too much computer for almost any individual user. But that's no
reason to ignore the announcement--and judging from your responses, you
didn't. When 915 and 925X chipset PCs launch personal and corporate
computing into another stratosphere, you can point to this humble Buzz
Report and say, "I was there."
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Tiger
No sooner had Apple previewed the latest version of Mac OS X, dubbed Tiger,
than controversy erupted. Tiger includes a new feature called the
Dashboard, which lets users access small programs such as sticky notes, a remote control for iTunes,
and a Webcam. Conference attendees and our own News.com noted the
similarity to a third-party app called Konfabulator, and developer Arlo
Rose, who cocreated Konfabulator, says it's more than a
similarity--it's a straight-up rip-off. Apple claims the similarity is
unintended and that Dashboard is an original creation, but other small developers have made similar claims over the years. For example, OS X's Sherlock 3.0 (included with the Jaguar update) closely
resembles a third-party tool called Watson, while a
company called Proteron complained to
Apple that its new application switcher was a dupe of Proteron's product,
LiteSwitch X.
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USB flash
drives
 What's the greatest technology challenge of the twenty-first century? Some would
argue that the answer is storage. We all have a ton of data, many of
us use more than one computer, and most of us, at some point,
want to move some of that data from one place to another. Sure, it
doesn't sound like a sexy topic, but that didn't keep you kids from
searching for USB extension devices left and right. Looks like tiny, portable
USB flash drives are a hit, whether they're disguised as pens,
keychains, attractive little fobs, or even watches.
(We love how this one's an analog watch.) If
CDs are clunky, iPods are expensive, FTP is insecure, and laptops are
just too heavy, these little gadgets could just be the storage solution
of tomorrow.
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