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 December 27 The biggest news of the week may the actions of a European Union judge to force Microsoft to create a version of Windows XP without its Windows Media Player for sale in the European market (http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1744851,00.asp.) While saying it would appeal the case, Microsoft said it would comply with the order (http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1744846,00.asp). Now, even though I don't think Windows Media Player is necessarily the best media player on the market, I don't think that many - - or maybe even any - - consumers will want a copy of Windows without it, especially if it costs the same. In part, that's because there are windows applications that take advantage of the WMP features, for instance, including short video or audio help. But it does set the stage for more competition in the media player market. Not as visible, but perhaps more important, is that the company will have to offer its competitors access to a variety of communications protocols (http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1744885,00.asp). That may help make for more interoperability, and that seems to me to be a win for companies that rely on Windows. In other news, researchers uncovered three more vulnerabilities in Windows (http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,,1745642,00.asp), while we saw new patches to Linux and Unix to fix security issues there (http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1744994,00.asp). Underscoring how important computers have become, Comair had to cancel all 1,100 of its flights on Christmas Day because of computer glitches. (http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,,1745684,00.asp). On a happier note we announced the winners of this year's PC Magazine Awards for Technical Excellence (http://go.pcmag.com/techex2004). I hope you have a happy, secure, and technically excellent 2005! Michael And here's more from the Ziff Davis publications and websites: _________PC Magazine______________________________ POCKET-FRIENDLY CAMERAS http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1744867,00.asp These ultracompacts are tiny fashion statements for many users, and some of them are surprisingly good. PC Magazine tested seven of the latest to see which have succeeded there. A NO-HASSLE SERVER? http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1734846,00.asp A simple, affordable, multipurpose appliance could be the best way to equip your small business with a network. Find out who needs these appliances and who is better off with an alternative. _________ExtremeTech______________________________ NVIDIA GURU DAVID KIRK FIELDS YOUR QUESTIONS http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1558,1744817,00.asp ExtremeTech readers ask tough questions of nVidia's chief scientist, David Kirk. We get you the answers straight from the source, on topics ranging from GeForce 6800 to high-definition rendering and more. STATE OF THE INDUSTRY: HDTV http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1558,1744374,00.asp 2004 was another action-packed year for the burgeoning HDTV business that featured LCoS losing two champions, new DLP chips, and prices that keep on dropping. _________eWEEK____________________________________ RFID WOES LOOM IN THE YEAR AHEAD http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1744839,00.asp With Wal-Mart's deadline, technology updates, accuracy problems, incompatibility issues, a new version and licensing fee debates, the imminent RFID road ahead looks treacherous. eWEEK takes a look. AOL READIES WEB E-MAIL CONTENDER http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1745129,00.asp The company begins testing a remodeled Web-based e-mail service that will serve as the basis for an offering to take on Yahoo, MSN Hotmail and Gmail. _________Microsoft Watch__________________________ RODRIGO COSTA: MICROSOFT'S OEM MAN OF MYSTERY http://www.microsoft-watch.com/article2/0,1995,1744704,00.asp Unless you're a system builder, you may never have heard of Rodrigo Costa. But Costa heads up one of Microsoft's most powerful and profitable units, the OEM division. Microsoft Watch chats with Costa about everything from Microsoft's OEM licensing tactics, to Linux, to Windows XP Service Pack 2. His answers are especially pertinent, given the ongoing Microsoft-European Union antitrust wrangling. _________Baseline_________________________________ WANTED: CHIEF ESPIONAGE OFFICER http://www.baselinemag.com/article2/0,1397,1744061,00.asp Corporate America faces a new kind of cracker. Information- technology managers and chief technology officers - - the people charged with safeguarding corporate networks - - are engaging in acts of digital espionage. In the past two years, a half-dozen cases have hit the courts. Keep the fingers of your competitors off secrets you now store on hard drives and servers. Baseline reports. _________CIO Insight______________________________ GET READY FOR THE COMING SOFTWARE M&A WAVE http://www.cioinsight.com/article2/0,1397,1743849,00.asp Mergers and acquisitions - - like the recent Oracle and PeopleSoft deal - - are a growing fact of life in the software industry, and customers need to plan for them. Read about it with CIO Insight. _________1UP______________________________________ BATTLE FOR MIDDLE-EARTH http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3137398&did=1 One Real Time Strategy game to rule them all? Find out with 1UP.com. _________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. 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