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ICQ fever knows no limits. Interest in the release of ICQ 2001b overwhelmed the Buzz Meter, with alternate spellings of the popular instant messenger nailing 7 of our top 10 slots (we've combined them all into a single entry that easily tops the charts). This is quite an impressive showing, considering that ICQ has yet to release a final version of its software. That's right: the program has never been out of beta (or even buggier alpha). Downloaders could care less. As of press time, ICQ boasted 115,913,770 users. Now that's a community, finished product or not. Are you a member? Let me know why in our Buzz Meter forum.
--Steve Fox, editorial director, CNET.com |
Based on search data from October 29 to November 6
| This week's gainers |
| 1. | ICQ 2001b: | When ICQ comes out with a new version of its instant messenger, it's big news. Witness last week's release of version 2001b and the resulting download frenzy. CNET's editors say that this beta is right for die-hard ICQ fans only; apparently that didn't scare many people away. |
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| 2. | Netscape 6.2: | The August release of Netscape 6.1 purged the memory of the sorry 6.0 version; the just-released 6.2 adds XP and OS X 10.1 compatibility. The browser battle may have some life in it yet. |
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| 3. | DeCSS: | An appeals court rules that the code of the DVD-cracking program DeCSS can now be posted online. The rationale? Free speech. Needless to say, the film industry doesn't see it that way. |
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| 4. | Thanksgiving: | Thoughts turn to turkey as the Emmy Awards, the World Series, and Halloween subside. Get in the spirit with a holiday game or screensaver. |
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| 5. | Day of the Dead: |
The festive Mexican holiday (observed November 1 and 2) commemorating late friends and family also drew searches under its Spanish name, Dia de los Muertos. We don't know the tech angle, but we do know that holidays bring out the Web searchers (see No. 4).
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| 6. | Civilization III: | Sid Meier's empire-building game gets another brilliant installment with Civilization III, which shipped last week. We're betting plenty of gamers lost some sleep.
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| 7. | Steganography: | Might Osama bin Laden have used a technology called steganography to hide secret messages inside innocent-looking photos on the Web? Allegations are unproven. We're just impressed that enough people could spell the term correctly in order for it to show up here. |
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| 8. | World Series: | From that lopsided 15-2 score Saturday night to the ninth-inning turnarounds in games four, five, and seven (not to mention the Emmy Awards that lured the unfaithful away from America's favorite pastime), we won't soon forget this roller-coaster World Series ride. |
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| 9. | Nimda: | It's not over yet. Last week, a suspicious "storm of data" that interrupted the New York Times' Net connection proved to be more of the worm's dirty work. Variants of the tenacious little bug also showed up in the Asia-Pacific region. |
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| 10. | Tony Hawk: | Looking to snap an ollie over the gap in your neighbor's empty swimming pool? Expect to absorb some pain. A better track is to let Tony take the beating for you. Pro Skater 3 for the PlayStation is in stores now. |
How we calculate the Buzz Meter
Last week's Buzz Meter |
Week of 10/21 to 10/14 | Week of 10/14 to 10/7 | Week of 10/2 to 10/9 | Week of 9/24 to 10/1 | Week of 9/16 to 9/23 |
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