Miller's Choice is a weekly selection of the top news, features and commentary by Ziff Davis journalists. Edited by Michael J. Miller, Executive Vice President and Editorial Director of Ziff Davis Media as well as Editor-in-Chief of PC Magazine, this copyrighted material is offered with the understanding that any fair usage will give attribution to the source.
Week in Review for October 11 Remember when every week we saw hot new things introduced for the Internet? It almost seemed like 1999 again, with a large number of changes to browsers, search engines, and the like either introduced or on the horizon this week. The search wars have been heating up for some time, with new entrants such as A9. At this week's Web 2.0 conference, we saw a new search engine called Snap and a lot of discussion about new features in other Internet properties (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1668298,00.asp). Google Print (http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1667882,00.asp) is a new service for searching books, potentially putting Google in some competition with Amazon's similar feature. We're even seeing interest in competitive browsers. We already have Firefox and Opera gaining new converts http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1622107,00.asp). Now AOL seems to be readying a new browser based on IE but with lots of new features entering the game (http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1668477,00.asp); and there are rumors of Google getting into the game (http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1650810,00.asp). But the rest of the computer industry isn't standing still either. Fall Processor Forum (http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1558,1667417,00.asp) showed lots of 64-bit, multi-core processors. And in product news, PC Labs finished its testing of the first pre-802.11-n product, which promises much faster wireless networking (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1668079,00.asp). While you're watching the baseball playoffs this week, you might want to think about all the technology behind the scenes. (http://www.eweek.com/category2/0,1738,1597029,00.asp) We've look at how IT boosts revenue for baseball clubs, what Wi-FI does in a stadium, and more. Finally, in the week to come, we expect lots of new stuff from Microsoft and its partners early in the week; then we have the DigitalLife show in New York (www.digitallife.com). We're expecting a show floor filled with new products and a bunch of special guests; and I'll be hosting a keynote panel with lots of cool new products. I hope to see you there. In the meantime, here's more from the Ziff Davis websites and publications: _________PC Magazine______________________________ SMART PHONES http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1651978,00.asp Can a smart phone replace your PDA? PC Magazine tackles this burning question by reviewing 14 cutting-edge smart phones for everyone from businesspeople to gamers. E-mail, pictures, and IM are just the beginning. WEB 2.0 CONFERENCE REPORT http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1668298,00.asp Is the Web on the rebound from the dot-com bust? Sure seemed that way at the Web 2.0 conference in San Francisco last week. Web glitterati from the 90s and beyond gathered to discuss their favorite topic - - what's new and upcoming online. _________ExtremeTech______________________________ FALL PROCESSOR FORUM 2004 WRAP-UP http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,,1669018,00.asp New chip designs of all kinds were presented at the Fall Processor Forum, with "multi-core" being the common theme. ExtremeTech Co-Founder (and PC Magazine Labs Director) Nick Stam, discusses show highlights and takes a deeper look at AMD's upcoming dual-core Opteron. _________eWEEK____________________________________ GATES: MICROSOFT TO TACKLE THE SPYWARE PROBLEM http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1666300,00.asp Microsoft chairman Bill Gates says he's never had a computer virus, but that adware and malware have him ticked off enough that Microsoft plans to do something about them. The figure "hundreds of millions" of dollars was mentioned. AOL READYING STAND-ALONE BROWSERS http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1668477,00.asp Based on Internet Explorer, AOL's browser sports many useful features, from tear-off tabs to image previews on buttons. GOOGLE SETS SIGHTS ON CLUSTERING, TRANSLATION http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1668357,00.asp The search company's leading researcher previews its work on clustering entities and words to better glean users' intentions, and on using statistical machine translation to show Web pages in other languages. _________Microsoft Watch__________________________ POTENTIAL SECURITY BREACH DELAYS MSN MESSENGER BETA http://www.microsoft-watch.com/article2/0,1995,1669710,00.asp "Rogue Winks" are the culprit behind the week-long delay in the start of the MSN Messenger 7 beta. When the beta does go live in six countries this week, the Winks Flash automation won't be part of it. MSN officials are saying they'd rather be safe than sorry. And given reports of potential security problems with the Winks feature, they decided to eliminate it until they can guarantee that it is secure. Get the details with Microsoft Watch. _________CIO Insight______________________________ UNDERSTANDING TO USE AND ADOPT IP TELEPHONY http://www.cioinsight.com/article2/0,1397,1666696,00.asp Enticed by cheap long distance? Don't be fooled. The value of IP telephony lies elsewhere in colloboration, the agile efficiencies of voice recognition and centralized network management. But will it save you money? Read on with CIO Insight. _________Baseline_________________________________ KISS YOUR APPS GOODBYE http://www.baselinemag.com/article2/0,1397,1668257,00.asp For the last three years, you've been reducing expenses by tackling the low-hanging fruit. Now it's time to get serious. Nuke apps you don't need. Read about it with Baseline. _________1UP______________________________________ NINTENDO GAMER'S SUMMIT 2004 http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3135189 1UP.com has hands-on impressions of the Nintendo's new DS handheld machine and its star lineup of games: Mario 64 DS, Metroid Prime Hunters, Spider-Man 2 DS, and lots more! _________Sync_____________________________________ SET IT UP http://www.syncmag.com/article2/0,1759,1666496,00.asp How long does it take to erect a high-definition projector? Sync takes a look, and comes back with an interesting slide show. _________Newsletter Information_________________________________ The e-mail address for your subscription is: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNSUBSCRIBE from Miller's Choice, click here: http://www.pcmag.com/unsubscribe_newsletter/0,4223,,00.asp?n=81&type=u&[EMAIL PROTECTED] To SUBSCRIBE to Miller's Choice or other PCMag.com newsletters, click here: http://www.pcmag.com/newsletter_manage/ Copyright (c) 2004 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Ziff Davis Media Inc., 28 East 28th Street, New York, NY 10016 Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Ziff Davis Media is prohibited, except that journalists are free to use any of the summary descriptions above as long as they cite the author and source, and, in the case of online use, as long as they include the link back to the actual story. PC Magazine, ExtremeTech, eWEEK, CIO Insight, Baseline, Microsoft Watch, 1UP, Sync and their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Ziff Davis Media.
