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May 5, 2004 |
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This week's big story was the Sasser worm. But that wasn't all you were clicking: PDAs, iTunes, spyware, and the return of the Internet bubble were also high on your reading lists. |
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Sasser
Hate to say we told you so, but: We told you so. Our news and security folks were beating the drums last week: whenever Microsoft puts out a security patch for Windows, a virus exploiting the security hole the patch was supposed to fill tends to pop up just a few weeks later. Microsoft delivered not one, but four patches on April 13. And, voilà: since last Friday, Sasser had infected (at last count) about a half-million machines on the Net. Yes, it's a cleverer pest than some, in that it doesn't require you to open up an e-mail message or click a dubious Web link. But, c'mon folks: it infects only machines that don't have the latest Windows patches installed. Maybe this'll learn you.
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New Zires
PalmOne released two new Zire handhelds--the Zire 72 and the Zire 31--and you were all over the news and our reviews. In the latter, our writers called the 72 a well-rounded PDA that's good for both work and play. It may not have all the latest bells and whistles; it's lacking Wi-Fi, for example. But for mainstream use, it's a pretty good little gadget. The 31, on the other hand, is the new entry-level model. Our reviewers say it's affordable, somewhat expandable, and...um...did we mention that it's affordable?
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iTunes
One year ago, Apple launched its iTunes music store. Since then, 70 million songs have been downloaded--not quite the 100 million set as a target by Apple execs, but still pretty respectable. The company now claims to have a 40 percent share of the market for legal downloads. That may not last: Sony and Wal-Mart are among the companies opening their own outlets in the online music mall. And that's just one of the ways iTunes has rejiggered the music industry. It now looks like the music industry has finally come to see legal downloads as a way to fight piracy and to grow, rather than shrink, its audience.
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Spyware
We oughta just rename this column "Spyware Report," because week in and week out, spyware and related terms are among the top topics you're looking for and clicking. This week was no exception--and fortunately, you got some new news in return for your searches. Congress is now considering legal remedies for the spyware scourge (and the associated adware plague). But a commissioner and a staff member of the FTC have gone public with their opposition to any legal remedies, saying laws would be ineffective and could hamstring legitimate software products.
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Earnings alerts
Why have terms such as Microsoft Corp, Apple Computer Inc, and Sony Corp-sponsored ADR suddenly popped to the top of our search logs? Probably something to do with the ongoing earnings season. What's funny is that Lycos, WebMD, TiVo, Red Hat, and other tech companies are still way up there in reader interest. With all that interest and the coincidental announcement that (at long last) Google is going public, it's beginning to smell a little like 1999 around here. Is it, as Bill Gates surmised, another tech bubble? Might be a good time to do a reality check on that portfolio.
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