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.
This week's big news was the heating up of the Google- Microsoft search wars. Just about a week after Google introduced its desktop search product (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1706794,00.asp), Microsoft made its new search engine public (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,,1723640,00.asp), albeit only in "beta" form, including a whole host of new features designed to retrieve answers to specific questions. It also lets users tweak it to try to come up with more relevant answers (http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1725018,00.asp). All of this is quite good, but a lot of folks treated it as if this was the end of a process, instead of the beginning. Remember, it's still a beta and Microsoft has been clear it won't be final until next year. Between now and then, I expect both Microsoft and Google to add new features - - and don't forget about Yahoo!, which I'm sure has some tricks up its sleeve as well. Again, Windows and security have been the focus. One software company issued a report highlighting potentially serious vulnerabilities in Windows XP Service Pack 2 (http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,,1724800,00.asp), but Microsoft claimed the report was overblown. Meanwhile many folks argue that despite the problems, people should install SP2 anyway (http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,,1724107,00.asp) - - arguing that the alternative are machines that are even more vulnerable. One important, yet mainly unheralded development, was the FCC's decision that Voice over IP is a federal, not a state issue (http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,,1722200,00.asp); something that makes it much easier for VOIP providers. The legal side never ends. In a week where Microsoft settled outstanding issues with a number of groups, including Novell, Novell turned around and sued Microsoft over alleged unfair competition releated to Word Perfect (http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1725817,00.asp) which Novell owned for two years in the mid-90s. Microsoft denied the charges, of course. In any case, this all seems like a long time ago - - back when Windows 95 was all the rage. As VH1 sometimes says, "I love the 90s". On a more current product front, we got our hands on an Apple iPod Photo (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,,1723665,00.asp). Finally, we wondered how good ISPs were, and got some interesting results in our latest reader satisfaction survey (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,,1724801,00.asp). You may be surprised at the difference between cable and DSL providers. And here is more from the Ziff Davis websites and publications: ________PC Magazine_______________________________ SUPERSONIC SEARCH ENGINES http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1725657,00.asp Whether your information haystack is on the Web, in e-mail, or on your desktop, one or more of these 5 search tools can extract the needle you seek with lightening speed. Get the complete reviews with PC Magazine. SOUND TRICKS http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1683753,00.asp Even those of us who aren't musicians can use music- generation software to create royalty-free sound tracks from scratch. We review five products that help you do just that. _________ExtremeTech______________________________ AKIMBO DVR SETS STAGE FOR INTERNET VIDEO http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1558,1725217,00.asp Akimbo launches a video service that delivers content over the Internet rather than the more traditional cable, airwaves, or satellite. Can a startup deliver compelling content over the Internet? The short answer is: not yet, but stay tuned. ExtremeTech checks it out. CREATIVE ZEN MICRO: MORE MINI FOR THE MONEY http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1558,1725159,00.asp Creative's latest Zen gets small and versatile, adding an FM tuner. This MP3 player looks more iPod-like than ever, but you get 20% more storage for the same price. _________eWEEK____________________________________ MSN SEARCH BETA ALLOWS RELEVANCY TWEAKING http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1725018,00.asp The beta, which expands the connections back into MSN's other services, lets users create custom searches by specifying domains or countries to be searched and constructing more complex queries. Get the details with eWEEK. BROADCOM TO PUSH SECURITY IMPROVEMENTS IN 2005 http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1725190,00.asp The communications company aims to integrate security into its enterprise products and boost its presence in handsets. _________Microsoft Watch__________________________ IT'S ALL WINDOWS SERVER "R2," ALL THE TIME http://www.microsoft-watch.com/article2/0,1995,1724546,00.asp Microsoft still hasn't released a wide-scale beta of its next Windows Server release, code-named 'R2.' But that doesn't mean Microsoft Watch can't scare up lots of R2 goodness, thanks to some of our sources. We've got more details on what to expect, feature-wise, in R2 when it ships in the latter half of 2005. We've corralled information on the R2 "Corral" storage-management subsystem: http://www.microsoft-watch.com/article2/0,1995,1724628,00.asp And we've ferreted out a few more specifics on Microsoft's R2 branch-office-management attack plan: http://www.microsoft-watch.com/article2/0,1995,1724577,00.asp _________Baseline_________________________________ PATENT SPENDING http://www.baselinemag.com/article2/0,1397,1724757,00.asp Companies, particularly non-technology firms, face millions in costs to defend the intellectual property rights of the software they buy or develop. Baseline has the story. _________CIO Insight______________________________ WEB POLITICS 2.0 http://www.cioinsight.com/article2/0,1397,1714694,00.asp In a year when online campaigns showed great potential, the election results proved that Web marketing still has some growing up to do. CIO Insight takes a look. _________1UP______________________________________ HALO 2 BREAKS ENTERTAINMENT SALES RECORDS http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3136413 Halo 2 sold through 2.4 million units in its first 24 hours of North American release, Microsoft announced today. That adds up to $125 million in gross receipts, giving Bungie's latest Xbox project a place in the record books for both games and the entertainment industry at large. And check out these 1UP.com stories on the wonder that is Halo: HALO 2 PLAYERS SWARM XBOX LIVE http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3136299 HALO 2 ON XBOX LIVE: DAY ONE http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3136346 as well as reviews: http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3136252&did=1 - 1UP Review http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3136249&did=5 - XBN Review http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3136245&did=6 - GMR Review http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=2005815&did=2 - EGM Review _________Sync_____________________________________ THE AMAZING ORGASMATRON http://www.syncmag.com/article2/0,1759,1720916,00.asp A remote-control device that pleasures women at the touch of a button? Sync says it can do what man cannot. And it should be scaring the hell out of them everywhere. _________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.
